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!

Scott Glosserman to Direct "Playing House"

Submitted by Nate Yapp on Wed, 2007-07-11 16:41

Variety.com reports that Scott Glosserman, writer-director of Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon, has been tapped by Paramount Vantage to direct Playing House, a film he pitched to the studio with Macy Raymond. Glosserman and Raymond will also write the screenplay together. The story of the film involves a couple who move into an empty island mansion and are preyed upon. Glosserman is also working on the script for the fantasy film Tal.

Review: Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992)

Submitted by Eric Miller on Mon, 2007-07-09 21:44

Since Bram Stoker first brought the tale of Dracula to life in 1897, the story has been told and retold countless times on screen. Directors such as F.W. Murnau, Tod Browning, Terrence Fisher and John Badham have all offered up different versions of this story, while actors as diverse as Max Schreck, Bela Lugosi, Christopher Lee, and Frank Langella have all portrayed the blood sucking count. By 1992, it seemed that this tale had been told so many times that there was nothing left to say. However, that is the year that the legendary director of The Godfather and Apocalypse Now, Francis Ford Coppola, presents us with a flamboyant new look at Dracula. Over one hundred years after Stoker first penned the novel, Coppola’s Bram Stoker’s Dracula is the most faithful film adaptation of the book. While not flawless, it is an engaging and visually exhilarating exercise in screen horror.(read more...)

Strike Entertainment in Pre-Production on "Black Lagoon" Remake

Submitted by Nate Yapp on Mon, 2007-07-09 15:58

Buried in Variety.com's news story about Brothers of Invention is the tidbit that Strike Entertainment (Dawn of the Dead '04, Slither) is in pre-production on the long-rumored remake of Universal's 1954 classic Creature from the Black Lagoon. Producer Gary Ross (Pleasantville, Big) has already written the screenplay, and Breck Eisner (Sahara) is set to direct.

Ebert, AFI, and the Dead Teenager Movie

Submitted by Nate Yapp on Mon, 2007-07-09 12:49

Let me begin by saying that there's a certain irony in the story I'm about to tell. I've spent the last week and a half in defense of the so-called "Dead Teenager Movie". When I started Classic-Horror, eight years back when I was younger and dumber, it was meant as a shining spire of enlightment, broadcasting a message of excellent horror in what I perceived to be a wasteland of Freddy Krueger and Jason Voorhees fansites. My notion of horror on the Internet has changed significantly since then, as has my appreciation of the slasher genre.(read more...)

Final Poster for "The Invasion"

Submitted by Nate Yapp on Thu, 2007-07-05 16:37

Cinematical has posted what they report as the final poster for the upcoming Invasion of the Body Snatchers remake, The Invasion. The film, due to come out August 17th, stars Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig. The plot concerns an alien disease which robs the infected of their humanity.

New Universal Classic Horror Box Sets

Submitted by Nate Yapp on Thu, 2007-07-05 16:29

DVD Drive-In reports that Universal Home Video will be releasing two five-movie box sets as Best Buy exclusives sometime before Halloween. The sets will retail for about $20 each.

The first set, a "Horror Collection" will contain several sought after titles, including The Black Cat (1941), Man-Made Monster (1941), Horror Island (1941), Night Monster (1942), and Captive Wild Woman (1943).

The second set will be skewed towards science fiction and will include Dr. Cyclops (1940), Cult of the Cobra (1955), The Deadly Mantis (1957), The Land Unknown (1957), and The Leech Woman (1960).

Review: Going to Pieces: The Rise and Fall of the Slasher Film (2006)

Going to Pieces: The Rise and the Fall of the Slasher Film

Submitted by Chris Justice on Wed, 2007-07-04 12:46

Studying a genre is like studying a species. You learn its diversity, habits, evolution, demise, and idiosyncrasies. You learn its strengths, weaknesses, and characteristics. You learn its habitat, context, and place in the ecological, social, and historical order. Regardless of the genre, the exercise is challenging and engaging.

Going to Pieces: The Rise and Fall of the Slasher Film does an admirable job of surveying the genre’s breadth and commercial value, but its analysis of the genre’s aesthetic and cultural importance screams for more details, and ultimately, it becomes a victim of its own fascination. Standing in awe of the slasher film’s appeals, the film and its makers forget to fully document its hypothesis, that slasher films are complex films rich with political, historical, and aesthetic value. Thus, we’re left tantalized, but rarely convinced.(read more...)

More Details on Fox's "The Fly Collection"

Submitted by Nate Yapp on Mon, 2007-07-02 11:40

DVD Drive-In has more details on Fox Home Video's upcoming The Fly Collection. The box set, which will contain The Fly (1958), The Return of the Fly (1959), and (for the first time ever on home video in the US) The Curse of the Fly (1965). Additionally, DVD Drive-In has learned that David Hedison, star of The Fly, has recorded a commentary track for that film, moderated by David Del Valle of FilmsInReview.com. Del Valle said of the commentary: “David Hedison was in fine form for the duration of the taping. He had not seen the film for years so it was a fresh approach for him and he had fun with it. It was interesting to watch him look at himself as he appeared on film half a century ago.” In addition to the commentary track, the set will include two new featurettes -- one on the making of the films and another on Vincent Price, who co-starred in The Fly and The Return of the Fly.(read more...)

Details for Dark Sky's "Spider Baby" DVD

Submitted by Nate Yapp on Mon, 2007-07-02 11:33

Dread Central has received word for DVD producer Elijah Drenner on what fans can expect from Dark Sky Films' September 25 DVD release of Jack Hill's classic Spider Baby, or The Maddest Story Ever Told. Features will include:

A new commentary track by director Hill and co-star Sid Haig.
The Hatching of Spider Baby - a documentary featuring interviews with Hill, Haig, and a bevy of others from the Spider Baby cast and crew.
Spider Stravinsky: The Cinema Sounds of Ronald Stein - a brief featurette on the movie's composer.
The Merrye House Revisited - Jack Hill revisits the location where Spider Baby was filmed.

The DVD has its own MySpace page where the cover art will soon be revealed.

Review: Mary Reilly (1996)

Submitted by Julia Merriam on Fri, 2007-06-29 00:00

Based on the Nebula-winning novel by Valerie Martin, Mary Reilly is an interesting reinterpretation of an old classic: Robert Louis Stevenson's novella, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Taking the original story of good and evil, and then shooting it from an outside, female perspective, Mary Reilly should have offered a new twist, or at least an amusing diversion. Instead, Mary Reilly is nothing more than an example of pretty art direction bolstered only by bad storytelling and even worse acting.(read more...)