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 Nate Yapp

As Sure as His Name's Boris Karloff, It's a "Thriller" on DVD

Submitted by Nate Yapp on Mon, 2010-05-17 10:31

While it's been swirling around the rumor mills for the past six months, a press release on Friday made it official: Image Entertainment will be releasing the complete series of Boris Karloff's seminal horror/mystery anthology Thriller on DVD on August 31, 2010. The show ran for 60 episodes over two seasons from 1960 to 1962. Boris Karloff hosted each episode and acted in a few of the stories as well. One episode, "Pigeons from Hell," made our list of great episodes of television horror. The full press release (courtesy of Tom Weaver posting at the Classic Horror Film Board) is below:(read more...)

Happy 80th Birthday, Jesus Franco

Submitted by Nate Yapp on Wed, 2010-05-12 10:22

Put up the banners and bring out the cake! Prolific and oft-misunderstood genre auteur Jesus Franco, the man behind The Awful Dr. Orlof, The Diabolical Dr. Z, Venus in Furs, and Vampyros Lesbos, becomes an octagenarian today. In his eighty years of life, he's directed nearly 200 films, often writing, acting, and composing the musical score as well. Sure, he's reviled as a hack in some circles, but a number of critics (including the inestimable Tim Lucas) have also sung his praises. You can count me among his fans, as well. His films are like free-form jazz, played by a distractable genius who hasn't discovered Ritalin yet -- and I mean that as praise. There are moments, sublime moments, in some of Franco's films that simply cannot be found with any other director. He's a treasure and I'm happy to hear that he's still going. Feliz cumpleaños, Jesus.

The Terrorphile: Sometimes We Come Back

Submitted by Nate Yapp on Fri, 2010-04-30 11:35

Did you miss us? It's been six long months but Classic-Horror.com is back from hiatus. In that time, I got married, was promoted at my "real job," started writing a book, stopped writing a book (note that I didn't say "finished"), and spent more time than is reasonable fiddling around in Final Cut Express.

I'm happy to say that the primary goal of the hiatus was definitely met: I was able to take some time to consider the whys and wherefores of the site and what makes it work. In the future, we'll be more focused on the history of horror (as our banner promises). This includes three new regular columns: (read more...)

Review: Dying Room Only (1973)

Submitted by Nate Yapp on Mon, 2010-03-01 11:31

The 1973 television movie Dying Room Only concerns itself with the tensions between the modern suburb dweller and those who make their living along the highways that run between "civilized" places. Writer Richard Matheson tackled similar subject matter in 1971's Duel, where he explored the conflict between a salesman and a faceless, homicidal truck driver. Here, he moves off-road to a diner to examine who, exactly, makes the rules out in the middle of nowhere.
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2010 Rondo Nominees Announced -- Classic-Horror.com Nominated

Submitted by Nate Yapp on Mon, 2010-02-22 13:51

Nominations for the Eight Annual Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards were announced last night on the rondoaward.com website and the Classic Horror Film Board. The purpose of the Rondos is to recognize "the best in monster research, creativity and film preservation." Classic-Horror.com is proud to be a nominee in the category of Best Website. Praise goes out to all of our hard-working writers who helped make 2009 one of our best years ever.(read more...)

Coming Soon: Phoenix Fear Film Festival 2010

Submitted by Nate Yapp on Fri, 2010-01-15 18:01

I'm breaking the site's hiatus briefly to help my good friends over at Trash City Entertainment spread the word about the Phoenix Fear Film Festival, taking place January 23rd, 2010 at Madcap Theaters (730 S Mill Ave in Tempe, Arizona). Five features and eleven short films will haunt the screens through the course of the day. Special guests scream queen Tiffany Shepis and slasher star Nick Principe (Chrome Skull in Laid to Rest) will be on hand, as well as musical acts Fancy Pants, Count Smokula, and Thunderstump.(read more...)

Shiverin' 6: Holiday Horrors

Submitted by Nate Yapp on Thu, 2009-12-24 12:58

Twas the day before Christmas, and all through this site
Not a staffer was stirring, which just wasn't right.
The hiatus hung over like a mordid death pall,
Until our fearless editor said, "Have a list, ya'll!"

The readers all gaped because the site should be still,
Weren't these people on break? Did they know how to chill?
But old Nate figured that just one post couldn't hurt,
So he opened the WYSIWYG and got down to work.

He threw together a list of Yuletide frights and terrors,
And hoped that commenters would call him on errors.
Six films he chose, with their own peculiar cheer.
Listed chronologically, how else would they appear?

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Paul Naschy (1934 - 2009)

Submitted by Nate Yapp on Tue, 2009-12-01 09:53

Word has reached us from the Latarnia forums that Jacinto Molina, better known to the horror world as actor-writer-director Paul Naschy, died on November 30th, 2009, after a year-long struggle with cancer. He was 75. Naschy broke onto the horror scene in 1968 with La marca del Hombre-lobo (known as Frankenstein's Bloody Terror in the United States), which introduced to the world his most lasting creation, the troubled lycanthrope Waldemar Daninsky. He would play Daninsky over a dozen times in the course of his career. He would also tackle such characters as Dr. Jekyll, Dracula, the Phantom of the Opera, Quasimodo, Frankenstein's monster, and Satan himself.(read more...)

Tribute Video: Boris Karloff in Columbia's Mad Science Films

Boris Karloff in The Man with Nine Lives (1940)

Submitted by Nate Yapp on Sat, 2009-11-28 14:15

The following is our contribution to Frankensteinia's Boris Karloff Blogathon.

Starting with The Man They Could Not Hang, Columbia released four mad scientist films starring Boris Karloff in an eighteen-month period between 1939 and 1941. The other films in the series were The Man with Nine Lives, Before I Hang, and The Devil Commands. As a tribute, I created a short video to illustrate the general shared tone of the films and their similarities in structure, casting, theme, and direction.

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Read This: Frankensteinia's Boris Karloff Blogathon

Submitted by Nate Yapp on Mon, 2009-11-23 13:21

To celebrate the 122nd birthday of horror legend Boris Karloff, the blog Frankensteinia (an Internet destination recommended without hesitation to anyone with the slightest interest in horror) is running a Boris Karloff Blogathon all this week. Over 100 sites, including Classic-Horror.com, have pledged to make a Karloff-centric post between today, November 23rd and Sunday, November 29th. Check out the first day of Karloff posts, including a special thank you message from Sara Karloff, Boris's daughter.(read more...)