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!

Morality and Mortality in "Pathology"

Submitted by Emily Langton on Mon, 2008-04-28 18:15

Death, to most people, is a fairly abstract concept. Pathologists, though, deal with the physical reality of death. They face daily reminders that the human body is easily broken. Reminders that every one of us has an expiration date.

Pathology, a new horror-thriller which came out in limited release on April 18th, gives us a look at a group of medical students that deal with death by pushing their own lives to the limits. Drugs, twisted sex and murder are just recreational activities for these characters.

“We've numbed ourselves to what death is to many people - to whatever that provokes,” says Michael Weston, who plays Dr. Jake Gallo. “And that numbness has caused us to try and find out what really makes us alive. My character has a bunch of friends that he corrals into this 'game' of murder. ”(read more...)

Original Universal "Mummy" Getting Special Edition DVD

Submitted by Nate Yapp on Tue, 2008-04-22 16:19

Karl Freund's 1932 classic The Mummy, featuring Boris Karloff and Zita Johann, will be released in a 2-Disc Special Edition DVD set on July 8th, 2008, as part of the Universal Legacy Series. The set comes out just a month before the theatrical release of The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (a sequel to Stephen Sommers' 1999 Mummy remake). According to DVDTimes.co.uk, Freund's original will be presented in 1.33:1 aspect ratio with the soundtrack in mono. No word yet on whether these will under go any further restoration/remastering like the recent 75th Anniversary editions of Dracula and Frankenstein. (read more...)

Dreyer's "Vampyr" Coming to Criterion DVD in July

Submitted by Nate Yapp on Fri, 2008-04-18 10:19

Criterion Collection has announced the upcoming release of a two-disc special edition of Carl Theodor Dreyer's 1932 undead opus Vampyr. The film itself will be presented in its original 1.19:1 aspect ratio (pillarboxed) from a new, restored high-definition transfer of the 1998 restoration done by Martin Koerber and the Cineteca di Bologna. An English-text version of the film will be an option, but purists will still be able to watch it with the original German. Additionally, the English subtitles have been retranslated and improved from past releases of the film.(read more...)

Join the Classic-Horror Team!

Submitted by Nate Yapp on Thu, 2008-04-17 15:23

Classic-Horror is expanding its writing team! If you love horror films, write well, and are interested in contributing your skills, then this may be the opportunity for you.

This go-around, we are specifically looking for film reviewers, although we will consider applications for newsreel reporters and Masters biographers. More details on exactly what we're looking for can be found on our Help Wanted page.

Hazel Court 1926 - 2008

Submitted by Nate Yapp on Tue, 2008-04-15 16:55

Word came in from Jim Clatterbaugh over on the Classic Horror Film Board (no relation to Classic-Horror.com) that Hazel Court, a actress who added so much to the horror genre in the course of her career, passed on this morning, April 15th, 2008, at the age of 82. Her autobiography, Hazel Court: Horror Queen, was set to make its United States premiere at the Monster Bash convention in June of this year. No word yet on how this sad news affects that.(read more...)

Rolling Release for "Mother of Tears"

Mother of Tears: The Third Mother poster

Submitted by Nate Yapp on Thu, 2008-04-10 11:50

Myriad Pictures will be rolling out Mother of Tears, the long-awaited third film in Dario Argento's Three Mothers trilogy, in limited release across the United States starting on June 6th. In the film, an art student (Asia Argento) opens an ancient urn that releases a plague of witches. Fangoria.com has the schedule:(read more...)

Review: The Brain That Wouldn't Die (1962)

Submitted by Chris Justice on Wed, 2008-04-09 09:28

The Brain That Wouldn’t Die is a cult horror classic that, itself, refuses to die. Resuscitated by Elvira’s Box of Horror Classics series and "Mystery Science Theater 3000," The Brain’s no-name cast and low-budget schlock are not as corny as expected. Although splattered with goofy flaws and over-the-top performances and producing plenty of chuckles, the film probes primitive fears that should unnerve the most stoic spectator.(read more...)

New Production Stills from "Hellboy 2"

Submitted by Nate Yapp on Thu, 2008-04-03 17:01

This is only marginally related to the horror genre, but we received new production stills for Guillermo del Toro's Hellboy II: The Golden Army, coming out July 11, 2008. There's some pretty good stuff in here, so we felt obligated to share.(read more...)

Review: Magic (1978)

Submitted by Eric Miller on Thu, 2008-04-03 01:00

Richard Attenborough is not typically a director that one associates with screen horror, his name usually calling to mind such sweeping epics as Gandhi, Cry Freedom, or Chaplin. However, in 1978, Attenborough broke tradition and directed a small, intimate horror film: Magic. Based on a novel by William Goldman (of The Princess Bride and Marathon Man fame), Magic is indeed a frightening film. It is not, however, the shocks that make it memorable. What makes this film special is the thought that has been put into it and the conviction of its performances. Boasting a sadness and a nasty sense of horror, Magic avoids the campyness that is usually associated with movies about living dolls.(read more...)

Review: I Am Legend (2007)

Submitted by Julia Merriam on Tue, 2008-04-01 12:36

Generally, I’m the first to say that movie adaptations of literary works need to be considered as separate entities from the progenerating material. Expecting unwavering faithfulness to the original work is not only an unreasonable request, it often results in poorly shot, painfully boring films (take the first Harry Potter film, for instance). However, while I will tolerate a lot of concessions in the name of good filmmaking, I expect a movie adaptation to stay true to the spirit of the original, enough so that I can at least recognize the vestiges of the original plot amidst the new additions and modifications. Francis Lawrence's I Am Legend, however, hasn’t been adapted from Richard Mathesons’s novella, so much as it’s sent the novella to its room and thrown an unsupervised party in its absence.(read more...)