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!

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Universal Terror III: 1932

The Mummy 1932 poster

In 1932, Universal released its first horror film after Frankenstein. It was titled Murders in the Rue Morgue and it was loosely based on the story by Edgar Allan Poe. Murders in the Rue Morgue was the second film that Universal released starring Bela Lugosi. Bela Lugosi plays the mad scientist Dr. Mirakle. Dr. Mirakle works at a carnival in Paris with a giant gorilla named Erik. Mirakle uses his sideshow to promote his own theories of evolution. At night he kidnaps a young street girl and injects her with Erik's blood to test his theories, she dies from the experiment. Dr. Mirakle kills several women for his experiments.(read more...)

Late Night Horror Shows: Memoirs of a Misspent Youth

Late night TV, we all watch it, some of us on a regular basis and some only when sleep is fleeting. The thing is, none of us really look forward to watching it. Who really waits with bated breath to see Leno tell more Clinton jokes or Letterman pull more "wacky" stunts that try desperately to recapture the hipness he once enjoyed. Although some of us used to look forward to SNL years ago, nobody is really anxious to see it limp through another season.(read more...)

The Trick

The second of two essays related to the production process of They Only Come Out at Night.(read more...)

Look Back in Angus: Confessions of a "Phantasm" Phanboy

Look Back in Angus

The funeral is about to begin... Sir!

In movies, it’s often much too easy to see the pivotal moment coming; in real life, we rarely do. In fact, we’re usually blindsided by it, and I must admit I prefer it that way. Case in point...(read more...)

Universal Terror II: "Frankenstein"

Frankenstein 1931 poster

The success of Dracula caused Universal to believe that a second horror film would be remarkably profitable. The next logical film to make would be an adaptation of Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein." The film was released in December of 1931. Frankenstein told the story of Henry Frankenstein (Colin Clive) who, with his hunchbacked assistant Fritz (Dwight Frye), robs graves. He uses the body parts for his experiments. Henry needs a brain for his experiments, so he sends Fritz to Goldstadt University to acquire a brain. Fritz breaks in and steals a normal brain, but a loud noise frightens him and he drops it.(read more...)

Homogenized Horror Part V

Now right about now many of you are thinking that I don't like franchise terror. Well, actually some of it is quite good. Britain's Hammer Films did rather well with their Frankenstein and Dracula movies. Okay, Evil of Frankenstein (1964) caused a bit of confusion by happening outside the chronology of the other films and Frankenstein Created Woman (1967) is open to debate by even the staunchest terror enthusiasts. After transplanting brains with such vigor why would the durable Baron (Peter Cushing) attempt to transplant a human soul? We could expect Colin Clive to try such a thing because despite his experiments he kept his religious convictions. I have to wonder out loud of Peter Cushing's character even believed that the soul existed.(read more...)

Universal Terror I: "Dracula"

Dracula 1931 review still

A grade schooler would have a hard time identifying a picture of Humphrey Bogart from The African Queen. A pre-schooler would be equally baffled by a photograph of Vivian Leigh from Gone With the Wind.(read more...)

Homogenized Horror Part IV

Friday the 13th inspired, if that is the word, clones from all over the world and introduced the term "Franchise Horror" into the mainstream. Paramount was quick to capitalise on its new "star" Jason Voorhees and brought him back time and again. Nobody noticed, or cared, that it was virtually the same plot over and over again just so long as the murders were gory. The studio clearly was hoping the censors were looking the other way part of the time. Meanwhile others were copying the "knife wielding assassin in the woods" theme in movies like The Final Terror, Just Before Dawn, Mother's Day, The Forest, Forest Prime Evil, and Lisa Lisa.(read more...)

Who Knows What Lurks

The first of two essays related to the production process of They Only Come Out at Night.
(read more...)

The 2000 Caligari's Cabinet Awards

Hello, I'm your presenter for the evening, Nate Yapp. We're here to give the final results of the Caligari's Cabinet Awards, taken from a poll that you, the reader, took part in during the months of November and December. Yes, all the greatest horror films are here tonight, in bated breath to see which are "among the best," which are "the cream of the crop," and what is "the greatest horror movie ever made!"(read more...)

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