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!

Universal is Remake-Happy: "Bride of Frankenstein" Up Next

Submitted by Nate Yapp on Wed, 2009-06-17 16:59

The Hollywood Reporter's Risky Business blog broke the inevitable news that Universal is developing a remake of James Whales's Bride of Frankenstein. In fact, it turns out that Universal's been kicking around the idea for at least five years, although never with any success. The new Bride would be co-produced with Imagine Entertainment. Neil Burger (The Illusionist, The Lucky Ones) is in talks to write and direct; he would likely partner with Dirk Wittenborn on the screenplay. (read more...)

Ten Years of Classic-Horror.com

Submitted by Nate Yapp on Sun, 2009-06-14 21:17

Here we are, ten crazy years after a naïve sixteen-year-old started the website that would eventually become Classic-Horror.com. Back then, I just wanted a corner of the Internet to express my half-formed opinions on the genre that I loved. I had no idea that it would still be here ten years later or that it would take me all the places it has taken me. I have no interest in rehashing the past decade, though. I would like to say that I am deeply grateful to the friends, family, writers, and readers who have helped make Classic-Horror what it is today. (read more...)

Arise, Sir Dracula...

Submitted by Simon Powell on Fri, 2009-06-12 23:20

Christopher Lee has been awarded a knighthood in the Queen's Birthday Honours List, for his services to drama and his charity work. Although the 87-year-old has over 250 TV and movie credits to his name, he will probably always be associated with horror films. It was his work with Hammer that made him an international star, playing, amongst others, Dracula, Frankenstein's Monster, the Mummy and Sir Henry Baskerville. From there he went on to appear in other genre classics such as The Wicker Man (his personal favourite of any film he's been in) and Death Line, as well as playing Bond villain Scaramanga in The Man with the Golden Gun. More recently he found a new generation of fans playing the evil Count Dooku in Star Wars Episodes II and III, and Saruman in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Aside from his acting work, Lee has also been a supporter of the United Nations childrens charity UNICEF for many years.

David Carradine (1936 - 2009)

Submitted by Nate Yapp on Wed, 2009-06-03 22:00

David Carradine, star of the 1970s television series Kung Fu as well as a number of horror films, has been found dead in Bangkok, Thailand of undisclosed causes, according to the Associated Press. He was 72 years old. David, the son of legendary character actor John Carradine, worked in a diverse range of projects throughout his forty-six years as an actor, including crime movies, horror films, sci-fi, and martial arts flicks. He had worked with directors such as Ingmar Bergman, Martin Scorcese, Larry Cohen, Paul Bartel, Walter Hill, John Badham, and Quentin Tarantino. He was also a follower of Eastern philosophy, going so far as to write a book, The Spirit of the Shaolin, in the early 1990s.(read more...)

Review: Drag Me to Hell (2009)

Submitted by Timothy J. Rush on Sat, 2009-05-30 15:42

Horror, as a genre, often seems something that directors leave behind them as they gain in fame. David Cronenberg, Peter Jackson, it seems like there's some sort of invisible graduation ceremony and they declare they're doing other movies now. So when Sam Raimi returns to the genre after having helmed three Spider-man movies, all eyes are on him. We watch, hoping that he is not simply returning to his roots for a paycheck, but instead brings that manic magic that enraptured us in Evil Dead II or Army of Darkness.

We had nothing to fear. Raimi delivers the goods, and delivers them well.

(read more...)

FEARnet is Putting on the Biohazard Suits for "Infectious Films"

Submitted by Nate Yapp on Fri, 2009-05-29 10:46

FEARnet.com is looking to put all swine flu anxieties to the test on June 3rd, when they unleash a festival of free online streaming movies centered around the theme of terrifying viral infections. FEARnet's "Infectious Films" will include titles both new (Resident Evil: Apocalypse, Dance of the Dead) and old (Night of the Creeps, C.H.U.D. II - Bud the Chud). Here's a sneak peek at the titles awaiting those brave enough to watch on June 3rd:

Resident Evil: Apocalypse (2004, Web Premiere!)
Starring Milla Jovovich and Oded Fehr.
(read more...)

Review: Psycho III (1986)

Submitted by Eric Miller on Thu, 2009-05-28 11:20

After a surprisingly good sequel, Psycho II (1983), the opportunity for an additional follow up to Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho was clearly present. Why, Norman Bates himself, Anthony Perkins, took up the director's chair for the third installment of Norman’s sad and fearsome saga! Having been Norman for nearly thirty years (and also having worked with such legendary directors as Alfred Hitchcock, Stanley Kramer, and Orson Welles), there was probably no one better qualified to helm this installment. While Perkins does not rise to the cinematic heights of these screen giants, he and screenwriter Charles Edward Pogue (who later penned the screenplay to David Cronenberg’s The Fly), fashion a horror experience that, while far from perfect, inspires more than its share of jumps and chills.(read more...)

Jane Randolph (1915 - 2009)

Submitted by Nate Yapp on Wed, 2009-05-27 17:01

Jane Randolph, star of Cat People, Curse of the Cat People, and Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein, died on May 4, 2009 in Gstaad, Switzerland, of complications from a broken hip, according to The Hollywood Reporter. She was 93 years old. In the two Cat People films, she played Alice, the love interest and eventual wife of Kent Smith's Ollie Reed.(read more...)

Review: Gojira (1954)

Submitted by Nate Yapp on Mon, 2009-05-25 16:02

For his size, Godzilla certainly gets around, having attained a certain pop cultural ubiquity in the fifty-five years since his creation. He's been the star of several dozen Japanese films, an American remake, video games, comic books, cartoons, shoe commercials and even a series of novels for young adults. Godzilla references also pop up in sources ranging from the Friday the 13th series to The Simpsons. However, in his debut in Ishiro Honda's Gojira (1954), Godzilla is not a lovable icon, but a solemn and powerful force of devastation - a far cry from the image we have of him today. Ironically, it is in this film that Godzilla is at his most effective.(read more...)

Review: Godzilla (1998)

Submitted by Timothy J. Rush on Thu, 2009-05-21 02:48

Roland Emmerich specializes in movies that are practically critic proof. He populates his films with amazing spectacle, blockbusters packed with explosions, disasters, and well known landmarks destroyed in various ridiculous ways -- exactly what people want to see when they desire entertainment that won't spoil the taste of their movie theater popcorn with intellectually challenging issues or drama. Emmerich therefore makes sure to keep things simple with his films, which means a sacrifice of character development and depth, logic, and general believability. Emmerich's 1998 remake of Godzilla is no exception to the rule. While there's a definite sense of grandeur and epic destruction, it is like a paper-mache pinata. When you hit it hard enough with a bat, there is certainly some disposable candy to be found. But what's truly there is now a broken, empty hull that never really had any substance.
(read more...)