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!

International Horror & Sci-Fi Film Festival 2008 Starts Tonight

Submitted by Nate Yapp on Thu, 2008-10-23 15:26

Arizona horror fans will want to head to Chandler, AZ tonight for the first night of the International Horror & Sci-Fi Film Festival 2008. They're kicking off with a showing of Sundance Selection Donkey Punch at 8:00PM. Grab your tickets and head out to Chandler Cinemas (2140 N Arizona Ave, Chandler, AZ) for the beginning of what promises to be an exciting (and deliciously sponsored-in-part-by Classic-Horror.com) festival.

We've included some of the highlights of the weekend below:

Thursday:

8:00 PM - Donkey Punch - 2008, UK. Dir: Oliver Blackburn. Theater 10.

Friday:(read more...)

"The Strangers" on DVD

Submitted by Nate Yapp on Thu, 2008-10-23 12:22

I've been late with news before, but this is embarrassing. We've been tracking The Strangers for a while, ever since talking with writer/director Bryan Bertino about his inspirations and whatnot at Comic-Con 2007 (sadly, we never did get that coverage posted). The film, which follows a couple (Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman) who have their romantic evening is interrupted by masked strangers with sinister plans, had a great trailer but had trouble nailing down a release date before finally coming out last May. Somehow it totally passed me by that Universal put it out on DVD and Blu-ray disc two days ago, October 21st, 2008. Whoops.(read more...)

Review: Whispering Corridors (1998)

Submitted by Julia Merriam on Thu, 2008-10-23 01:48

If I had to pick a word to describe Whispering Corridors, I think I’d have to go with quixotic. In many ways, Corridors is typical of 1990s Asian horror: one dead girl, creepy chilling atmosphere, and a fairly predictable plot. Unlike American films, which are almost always plot driven, Whispering Corridors is driven by mood, so much that, at times, the story only seems to exist to get the film from one tension filmed scene to the next. Unfortunately, the screenwriting isn’t necessarily up to the task.(read more...)

Review: Ichi the Killer (2001)

Submitted by Eric Miller on Wed, 2008-10-22 00:15

Ichi the Killer (titled Koroshiya 1 in Japan) is one of the most brutal and intense films to come out this decade. Based on a manga by Hideo Yamamoto and directed by the prolific director of Audition, Takashi Miike, Ichi the Killer is a dark, disturbed, and often very humorous tale of sadism and violence. With no holds barred, Ichi presents extremely graphic scenes of gore that leave absolutely nothing to the imagination. While thematically it barely qualifies as a horror film, its obvious influence on later films like Hostel and Saw make it a landmark in the genre.(read more...)

Review: Shutter (2004)

Submitted by Eric Miller on Tue, 2008-10-21 01:59

One of the more common motivational factors in ghost stories is revenge. In this respect, Shutter, a Thai film from directors Banjong Pisanthanakun and Parkpoom Wongpoom (they also co-wrote the screenplay with Sopon Sukdapisit) is nothing new. Using the phenomenon of spirit photography as its springboard, Shutter offers a chilling, if not terribly original, story of guilt, deception, and ghostly revenge. The two directors confidently present their tale, aided by an intriguing idea and a very strong cast.(read more...)

Review: The Host (2006)

Submitted by John Dubrawa on Mon, 2008-10-20 01:27

Bong Joon-ho’s The Host is the best political monster movie to come along since the original Gojira, but don’t think the film is content on being just a biting satire on government policies of both the United States and South Korea. No, there is so much more to uncover that each aspect of the film could be its own separate review. There is a subtle, almost dark comedic undertone to this movie, as well as a few scenes of poignant drama and sincerity. But above all else, it’s a serious horror film, a thriller packed with scares and screams as a result of an amphibious creature with a vicious temper and carnivorous tendencies. Don’t expect this monster to ever have a showdown with Mothra or King Kong. It just wouldn't be fair to those two.
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Shocktober Foreign Frights: Southeast Asia

Submitted by Nate Yapp on Mon, 2008-10-20 01:00

As we head into our fourth celebration of international horror, we head to the Pacific coast of Asia. To be honest, it's probably unfair of us to lump Asian horror together into one big pot. Each country involved has its own unique identity and its own approach to horror. Japan has a long tradition of ghost stories that, in recent years, have melded with their increased dependence on technology to create such horrors as Ring and Pulse. Meanwhile, South Korea -- a deeply Christian country -- draws on religious themes of guilt and redemption for its cinematic tales of terror. Thailand's supernatural cinema is informed by a culturally-held belief that spirits are everywhere -- they even have a "ghost festival" every year.

Still, time in October is limited, so we are only able to present a very limited selection of the wide range of horror movies produced by Southeast Asian countries.(read more...)

Review: Nosferatu: Phantom der Nacht (1979)

Submitted by Nate Yapp on Fri, 2008-10-17 02:15

Nosferatu, F.W. Murnau's 1922 adaptation of Bram Stoker's novel Dracula, may be the finest of all vampire films; it's certainly one of the best horror films ever made. To even contemplate a remake of such a highly-regarded masterpiece would be thought of as pure folly. Writer/director Werner Herzog, never one to care what others think, mounted just such a remake in 1979. Filmed simultaneously in German and English, Nosferatu: Phantom der Nacht (American title: Nosferatu the Vampyre) is Herzog's endeavor – not always a successful one -- to recreate and reinterpret Murnau's film, hewing closely to the original's plot and visuals while adding color, sound, and a more complex reading of the central vampire.
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Review: Castle of the Walking Dead (1967)

Submitted by Kevin Nickelson on Thu, 2008-10-16 01:01

In the 1960s, while the United States, Great Britain, and even Italy were cornering the market on Gothic horror, West Germany was busy trying to regain a foothold into a style once dominated by Germany, that of expressionistic, wildly visual cinema. The front-running entry in this could very well be 1967’s Castle of the Walking Dead. Directed by Harald Reinl and starring the eclectic trio of Lex Barker, Karin Dor, and Christopher Lee, the film is replete with eye-popping imagery, garish color, and a so-so script that add up to a product that is, if not great cinema, at least perfectly good fare for 3:00am viewing on a Saturday morning.(read more...)

Review: The Door with Seven Locks (1962)

Submitted by Nate Yapp on Wed, 2008-10-15 01:01

Before the giallo, there was the krimi – West German crime films frequently based on the works of British novelist Edgar Wallace and his son Bryan Edgar Wallace. These movies were marked by their sensationalistic content and their tendency to skirt the horror genre when they weren't plunging headlong into it. Alfred Vohrer's The Door with Seven Locks (German title: Die Tür mit den 7 Schlösser) is a horror-skirter, but it also skirts nearly every other genre that doesn't involve bursting into song or traveling back in time. If it can conceivably be stuffed into a pulp crime novel, it's here. With so many weird plot elements flying around, The Door with Seven Locks often feels a little breathless, but it's quite enjoyable if you don't bother with thinking through its various twists and contrivances.
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