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: The Gorgon (1964)

Submitted by Jenn Dlugos on Wed, 2004-09-15 00:00

Probably one of the most underrated films on The House That Dripped Blood’s bookcase, Hammer Films’ The Gorgon combines the fabulous directing talent of Terence Fisher with Hammer’s two juggernauts, Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee. With such a triple threat, you may think that you could not go wrong with this film - and you would be dead on balls accurate.(read more...)

Review: Creepshow (1982)

Submitted by Nate Yapp on Tue, 2004-09-14 00:00

George A. Romero's comic book sensibilities have always boiled just under the surface of his work. Dawn of the Dead is as much a graphic novel made flesh as it is a zombie movie. Martin is a concept that would fit easily into an EC comic. Even Night of the Living Dead, with its shock ending, is a bit like a story from "Tales from the Crypt." So when Romero and Stephen King collided creatively for the first time, it came as little surprise that the effort would not be for a straight adaptation of one of King's novels. Instead, they recreated something straight out of their childhoods...(read more...)

Review: Dawn of the Dead (1978)

Submitted by Nate Yapp on Sat, 2004-09-11 01:00

After months of rumors, whispers, impatient foot-stomping, and a major Hollywood remake, the Dawn of the Dead: Ultimate Edition DVD is finally out. And oh boy, is this worth the dough.

George A. Romero's sequel to Night of the Living Dead progresses the overarching story of its predecessor (the recently dead rise and try to eat the alive) by a few weeks. The zombie population has reached epidemic levels, and private homes are no longer safe to inhabit. Attempting to escape the chaos are four people in a helicopter. In a search for supplies, they find a massive indoor shopping center (a relatively new concept at the time of the film's production) and battle the undead inside for dominance. But the zombies aren't the only enemy they face...(read more...)

Review: Horror of Dracula (1958)

Submitted by Jenn Dlugos on Thu, 2004-09-09 00:00

Without a doubt, 1958's Dracula is the Granddaddy of Hammer Horror. Changed to Horror of Dracula for the US release (to prevent confusion as Bela Lugosi’s Dracula was still playing in the theaters), this film put Hammer on the map.
(read more...)

Gore and Loathing in Phoenix IV: The Uncasting of "One Bloody Night"

Submitted by Matt Earles on Wed, 2004-09-01 00:00

Part of a series of essays related to the on-going production of an Arizona-based indie horror film, One Bloody Night.
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Review: An American Werewolf in London (1981)

Submitted by Chrissy Derbyshire on Thu, 2004-08-19 00:00

An American Werewolf in London is a strange beast. Its mixture of innovation and blatant cliché gives the viewer the unsettling (though not necessarily unpleasant) feeling that they are watching two different movies. The film’s beginning is so extravagantly ‘borrowed’ from every other werewolf film ever made that we may be lulled into a false belief that we are about to watch a so-bad-it’s-good, substance-free monster flick. Not so. Still, the first few scenes of the film are certainly good for fans of the aforementioned well-respected genre. Hey kids, can YOU spot some windswept moorland, a pub full of suspiciously paranoid locals, a distant howl and the choice bit when they suddenly remember ‘Beware the moon – and keep to the road… oops…’?(read more...)

Abbott and Costello

Submitted by Jason Jones on Sun, 2004-08-15 01:50

Bud Abbott was the tall thin one, Lou Costello the short chubby one. That answers the second most important question after "who's on first?" That classic bit, among the duo's other polished vaudeville routines catapulted them to the heights of Hollywood stardom in the early nineteen forties.

Stephen King

Submitted by Chris Gaskey on Sat, 2004-08-14 21:09

Stephen King is synonymous with the keywords "weird", "strange", and "spooky". It's not unheard of to hear him referred to, not as Stephen King, but as "the weird guy who wrote (insert work here)." King obviously has no problem with his persona, as he has been writing since the early 1960s and is undoubtedly one of the most successful writers of 20th century novel and film.

Review: Day of the Dead (1985)

Submitted by Nate Yapp on Fri, 2004-08-13 00:00

By 1985, George A. Romero had basically nothing left to prove. His resumé was stuffed with the kind of classics that most directors couldn't come near, even with unlimited backing and unhindered creative control. He'd told some of the most frightening stories ever about zombies, about people, about vampires, and about the EC Comics he grew up with. Sitting on the top of his game, he crafted the screenplay for an epic zombie film the likes the world had never seen -- and probably never will.(read more...)

Review: May (2002)

Submitted by Chrissy Derbyshire on Mon, 2004-08-02 00:00

From start to finish, I watched this film with my jaw dropped in disbelief. This is not an unusual reaction for me and it can mean many things. It can mean that I am witnessing the most spectacular pile of crap the world has ever known. It can mean, equally well, that I have just seen a person’s brain eaten in close-up, and I would rather not have. On rare occasions, it may be because the movie is, in fact, stunningly brilliant. But why did Lucky McKee’s May elicit such a reaction? Yes, it is gory (think blind children crawling over broken glass) and yes, it is brilliant. Most of all though, the film, like May herself, is weird. "I like weird," say two of the film’s (doomed) characters. You have no idea.(read more...)