Our editor-in-chief Nate Yapp is proud to have contributed to the new book Hidden Horror: A Celebration of 101 Underrated and Overlooked Fright Flicks, edited by Aaron Christensen. Another contributors include Anthony Timpone, B.J. Colangelo, Dave Alexander, Classic-Horror.com's own Robert C. Ring and John W. Bowen. Pick up a copy today from Amazon.com!

Posts by Brandt Sponseller

Review: The Guardian (1990)

The Guardian poster

Director William Friedkin's The Guardian is an excellent film that unfortunately suffers for a number of ridiculous plot developments in the climax.(read more...)

Review: Fury of the Wolfman (1972)

Fury of the Wolfman poster

Fury of the Wolfman never knows quite what it wants to be. It starts out with the aftermath of a Tibetan mountain adventure, turns into a werewolf movie for a few minutes, changes course to become Dangerous Liaisons without the charm, adds a bit of a detective and investigative journalism theme for spice, then devolves into a cross between a mad-scientist film and an S & M dungeon, PG-exploitation film.

Such mishmash wouldn't necessarily have to be a bad thing. Well, I suppose I wouldn't call it mishmash if it was a good thing, but combining various elements can often work well. It doesn't here.(read more...)

Review: Eegah (1962)

Eegah poster

Eegah is a notoriously bad film, but it has a reputation in some circles as a bad film that's not fun to watch. That's not the case - so many scenes in this film will have you laughing at how ridiculous it is that Eegah provides a couple hours of entertainment.

The story is simple - a young woman, Roxy, almost runs over Eegah, a "prehistoric giant," on the desert highway one night. She tells her lover, Tom, and her dad, Robert, a professor, who goes to investigate because he wants to write a book about Eegah. While searching for Eegah, the professor is kidnapped, and Tom and Roxy head out to the desert mountains in Tom's hip dune buggy to search for him. Roxy is caught by Eegah also. She and her dad escape. Eegah later heads towards civilization in search of Roxy.(read more...)

Review: A Demon in My View (1991)

A Demon in My View poster

Without a doubt, this is the worst film I've ever watched. It is a shame to watch Anthony Perkins go through this embarrassment.

Surprisingly enough, the previews for A Demon in My View looked attractive. I watched this film on a promotional screener tape, and the preview ran before the movie. Luckily, I skipped over it (I hate knowing too much about a film before I watch it) and returned to view the trailer after the film was over. I say "luckily" because if I had watched the trailer first, my opinion of the film itself would be much lower.(read more...)

Review: Deadly Friend (1986)

Deadly Friend poster

Deadly Friend, directed by Wes Craven -- best known for A Nightmare on Elm Street -- has much of Craven's positive attributes, while at the same time bordering on a silliness that may turn some horror fans off.(read more...)

Review: Cujo (1983)

Cujo poster

Vacillating between moments of excellence and moments of extreme mediocrity, Cujo is enjoyable but ultimately a bit disappointing.

Dee Wallace (who plays a fine genre mom -- she was the mom in E.T., also) is Donna Trenton (no she doesn't have a New Jersey-ite accent or hairdo), wife, mother and philanderer. She has a twinge of uneasiness about her. Whether she is under or overreacting to philanderer guilt is debatable. It could also be indigestion.(read more...)

Review: Crucible of Terror (1971)

Crucible of Terror

Ostensibly a horror film, Crucible of Terror is more a drama. As a drama, it is adequate, but there is nothing particularly notable about it. There are hundreds of adequate dramas out there, and hundreds of more than adequate ones. So there is no reason that a drama fan is likely to seek out this film. Since it is marketed as horror, and has horror elements, I'll review Crucible of Terror primarily for fans of that genre.(read more...)

Review: The Crazies (1973)

Crazies poster

The Crazies deserves wider recognition. Known primarily to hardcore horror fans, and in particular George A. Romero fans, this solid 10 is one of the better films of the 70s.

In the same vein as societal breakdown stories such as Fahrenheit 451 and Soylent Green, every aspect of The Crazies conveys claustrophobia, panic and confusion. Romero creates this not only through the plot and dialogue, but from the pacing of the dialogue, the pacing of the edits, rapid fire edits in some places, an opening that begins in confusion, an excellent score, etc.(read more...)

Review: Circus of Fear (1966)

Circus of Fear poster

Based on the titles that this film is known as, and the fact that Christopher Lee is in it, many people might assume that Circus of Fear is a horror film. It isn't. It's a fairly straightforward mystery/suspense film. So, if you are looking for horror only, avoid this one. On the other hand, if you are a fan of mystery and suspense, you might like Circus of Fear.(read more...)

Review: C.H.U.D. (1984)

CHUD poster

I have to say that I was almost dreading watching this movie. Not only had I heard bad things about it from other people, but I watched C.H.U.D. 2: Bud the Chud - the horror film that currently holds my "worst of all time" title - less than a week before. What a difference! C.H.U.D. is a great film.

The story, as might be expected, concerns "Cannibalistic Humanoid Underground Dwellers" - or mutant bums, affected by toxic wastes illegally stored in abandoned tunnels deep beneath New York City. While the premise might sound ridiculous, it is no more absurd than the basis of just about any comic book hero. C.H.U.D. is actually an atmospheric, engaging film.(read more...)