Classic-Horror.com | Reviewing the History of Horror Movies

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!

Review: Scream (1996)

Submitted by Nate Yapp on Fri, 2002-10-11 00:00

A phone ring. A bizarre phone call. A flirtation. A threat. A quiz. A display of violence. A chase. An end. A discovery. Finally, a scream. And all the while, the Jiffy Pop burns...

Thus begins Scream, possibly the best film in the hit-and-miss oeuvre of Wes Craven. A re-imagining of the stalk 'n' slash genre, which up until that point had been fairly stagnant, it was marked by both a reverence for its predecessors as well as a willingness to make up some of a few of its own rules.(read more...)

Review: The Mummy (1932)

Submitted by Jason Jones on Wed, 2002-10-09 00:00

"This is the scroll of Thoth. Herein are set down the magic words by which Isis raised Osiris from the dead." More importantly, those are the opening words of Universal Pictures monster classic The Mummy. While of the big four classic Universal monster movies (including Dracula, Frankenstein and The Wolf Man), this may be the least fondly remembered, but it was one of the most important films the studio would make in the thirties. Following the success of Dracula and Frankenstein, The Mummy established Universal's prowess in horror and began some now well-known monster movie formulas.(read more...)

Review: Dracula: Prince of Darkness (1966)

Submitted by Jenn Dlugos on Thu, 2002-10-03 17:26

I must start out this review by saying that it was a true pleasure to review this film. I am a clinically insane Hammer buff and have not seen this movie for quite a few full moons. Therefore, in order to give it a proper review, I had to view it again. I was even more thrilled with the film after the second passing.(read more...)

Review: Red Dragon (2002)

Submitted by Nate Yapp on Wed, 2002-10-02 00:00

Red Dragon makes one appreciate Silence of the Lambs. I don't mean that in a negative way.

It's just that Red Dragon is a much simpler version of 1991 film in many ways. It strips away deeper subtext (Clarice Starling's journey for self-understanding and acceptance, epitomized by the pull that Hannibal Lecter exudes on her), and opts to concentrate on the story proper. In a way, the two films are complimentary of one another.(read more...)

Review: Deep Red (1975)

Submitted by Rob Wrigley on Wed, 2002-10-02 00:00

Deep Red (AKA Profundo Rosso), Dario Argento's 1975 uber-giallo is, more than any other film, the cornerstone of the director's work. Written with the help of Bernardino Zapponi, shot in vivid, hyper-real color, and scored with ear-rattling rock-and-roll, it is a thriller like none before and few since.(read more...)

Review: The Black Cat (1934)

Submitted by Nate Yapp on Tue, 2002-10-01 00:00

Every great era of horror is marked by at least one film that is so unlike its contemporaries that it is often not given its due importance. This is especially true of Edgar G. Ulmer's The Black Cat, and it's a shame, too, as it is one of the finest genre films made by Universal Pictures.

The Black Cat is also notable in that it pairs Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi for the first time. Although several collaborations would follow, this is the most interesting as it is the only one where each actor has equal importance. Later works would typically see one playing second banana to the other (unless they don't even share a single scene, as in Black Friday).
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Review: Inner Senses (2002)

Submitted by Dellamorte on Sun, 2002-09-29 00:00

Yan (Karena Lam) is always moving from place to place. She is trying to run away from these horrifying visions of ghosts and the supernatural that plague her eyes. She locates to a new apartment building, but even then is haunted by inhabitants with a gloomy past; they have importance to her new place. Forced by a relative, she unenthusiastically goes to see a psychiatrist named Jim Law (Leslie Cheung). Jim discovers that Yan has had a difficult past with relationships and a rough family life; he thinks this is the source of all of her problems and haunting visions. After he teaches Yan how to face and get rid of her inner demons, Jim in fact has a frightening past coming back to break into his life. Will the devotion and help of Yan save him the same way he saved her?(read more...)

Review: Dark Water (2002)

Submitted by Dellamorte on Sat, 2002-09-28 00:00

In a decaying, musky apartment building, the most terrible nightmares commence for Yoshimi (Hitomi Kuroki) and her five-year-old daughter Ikuko (Rio Kanno). Yoshimi is in the middle of a divorce, and is trying to gain full guardianship of her daughter. This is an extremely hard task while looking for a job and a stable place to stay; so she picks the first apartment she can find. Once they move in, bizarre things immediately start occurring.(read more...)

Review: Battle Royale (2000)

Submitted by Dellamorte on Fri, 2002-09-27 15:19

During the dawn of a new millennium, Japan is in the state of near collapse. Unemployment has hit an all time high, and the youth is chaotic and out of control. Children in school completely boycott learning and commit physical damage upon their superiors. So, the government has come up with a plan called the Battle Royale Act. This act is overseen by a former teacher named Katano ('Beat' Takeshi), who is sick and tired of teenagers mocking adults. A random class of forty-two students is sent to a desolate island and forced to fight to the death. All of the students are given a weapon, whether it benefits them or not is completely random. Some are lucky and some aren't. There is a three-day limit on the so-called game, and the main rule is only one student can be left alive.(read more...)

Review: Cannibal Apocalypse (1980)

Submitted by Rob Wrigley on Fri, 2002-09-27 00:00

If for nothing else, Antonio Margahritte's 1980 film Cannibal Apocalypse is famous for its huge number of AKA's. Released as Invasion of the Flesh Hunters, Cannibals in the Streets, Apocolipisse Domani, as well as near a dozen other variations, it is one of the most well known films of the Italian splatter films from the 70's and 80's. It is also one of the most enjoyable, accessible films from that era. Written by Margahritte and tireless screenwriter Dardano Sacchetti (Twitch of the Death Nerve, City of the Living Dead, Blastfighter) and starring a practical who's who of genre stars, Apocalypse is a film for every fan of Italian splatter.(read more...)