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This is the spot where I discuss, and offer my opinions on, different topics (both horror-related and not) each month. I decided to create this page because I find that I often come across things that either interest me, excite me or maybe just bug me. For example, I'll often read about movie projects that I have a strong interest in, or opinion on, for one reason or another. This page gives me a forum to discuss these things. Anyone who has feedback concerning what I have to say here, feel free to contact me. I'd also like to point out that the following is just my opinion, and everyone is free to agree or disagree with what I have to say. ENJOY!
Click the links below to view each column in a separate window, or scroll down to read column summaries and first paragraphs:
All images, photographs and videos contained within this website are copyrighted material.
SUBJECT: Movie Review: "Black Christmas" (1974) February 2007
- A look at an unforgettable Cult Horror Classic
Plus: A review of the recent "Black Christmas" (2006)
Filmmaker Bob Clark's 1974 horror film Black Christmas is a chilling, methodical murder mystery that works because of the simplicity of the story, and because it has good characters and acting. It's a cult gem that no doubt influenced more well-known films that followed such as When A Stranger Calls and Halloween to name but a couple. Conversely the 2006 remake, directed by usually reliable X-Files veteran Glen Morgan,
is a disastrous film from start to finish.
SUBJECT: Independent Filmmaking and the Information Age March 2007
- Some random thoughts... and reminiscences
In this column I talk about the age of instant information fueled by the World Wide Web, and how the public
is able to discuss new technologies well before they become successes or failures. I also look back on my early days of VHS video editing, and speak about how media is being created and distributed by increasing numbers of individuals.
SUBJECT: DVD Horrors Movie Review: April 2007
“Going To Pieces: The Rise and Fall of the Slasher Film”
This comprehensive documentary covers all aspects of the horror film subgenre known as the slasher film, which was prominent from the late 1970’s up until the early 1990’s. Many famous horror film luminaries offer their perspectives, and the viewer is treated to a plethora of facts, figures, reminiscences and incredibly interesting points of discussion. I liked the in-depth analysis of key films such as Halloween, Friday the
13th and Prom Night, and talk of how those movies contrast and relate to one another. Also discussed are the socioeconomic and societal aspects of these films, in terms of the time periods when they were released. Going To Pieces is a fascinating and comprehensive look at an often misunderstood subgenre, and one
that far surpasses previous efforts like the more mainstream-oriented Boogeymen in depth and breath of coverage.
SUBJECT: Movie Review: “Grindhouse - Planet Terror/Death Proof” May 2007
A look at the exciting new retro-style double feature from directors Robert Rodriguez
and Quentin Tarantino
The new Quentin Tarantino-Robert Rodriquez collaboration Grindhouse is stylistically a throwback to
the golden era of B-movie Drive-in cinema. Planet Terror, the first half of this double-feature, is an action-packed, entertaining zombie romp in true exploitation style. The movie has copious amounts of blood and gore, exploding heads, severed limbs, sexy women, nudity and more. Death Proof is a road movie starring veteran actor Kurt Russell which really gets exciting about halfway through. Overall Grindhouse is an impressive production with a great cast and lots of extras thrown into the mix as well. I really enjoyed the
fake movie trailers in between the two segments - especially "Thanksgiving" and "Don't".
SUBJECT: Movie Review - “Vacancy” - An extremely efficient little thriller. June 2007
Vacancy is a straightforward, minimalist thriller that delivers solid suspense and chills. The characters
are believable and the setting reminded me of the claustrophobic classic The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
And like that movie, a lack of onscreen graphic carnage did not deter from the horror of the situation.
Highly recommended…
SUBJECT: Some thoughts on Independent Filmmaking, July 2007
Movie Criticism and Cinematic “Old” & “New” Media.
The internet and the World Wide Web have made it possible for consumers to now become producers of content as well. These new technologies have also opened up the channels of communication. The Internet Movie Database (IMDb), blogs, online message boards and opinion columns have increased the reach of
movie criticism to include films beyond Hollywood. Numerous specialty websites have sprung up to review independent movies, and various standards are applied in this new movie criticism. The challenge for web critics is to improve the craft of feedback and criticism, and contribute to the overall betterment of cinema.
SUBJECT: The impact of New Media on our celebrity-obsessed culture. August 2007
Many forms of new media are offering us more entertainment choices than ever before. The internet is creating new celebrities, and viewers are using technology to become cultural contributors. This begs the question of how the role of the traditional celebrity in our society will be affected. I believe we continue to live
in a celebrity-obsessed culture, and as long as Hollywood and the music industry exist that will be the case. However with the internet giving everyone a chance for "fifteen minutes of fame", there just may be fewer megastars.
SUBJECT: Movie Review - "Halloween" (2007) September 2007
- A look at director Rob Zombie's new re-imagining of a horror film classic.
Despite having a dream cast featuring some of the coolest horror and cult film actors in the business, rocker Rob Zombie’s “re-imagining” of John Carpenter’s classic slasher movie Halloween manages to negate everything that made the original film memorable. All the mystery about Michael Myers is erased with a highly detailed back-story that paints The Shape to look like any other serial killer, while the memorable Dr. Loomis is turned into an inconsequential, throwaway character. And unfortunately even Final Girl Laurie Strode seems an afterthought in this run of the mill remake. An unfortunate butcher job (no pun intended) of a classic...
SUBJECT: A look at the Evolution of Underground Digital Cinema October 2007
A discussion of some of my experiences, insights and perspectives - Part 1.
Before the home video revolution of the 1980's I was what might be described as a mainstream film fan.
My interest in the horror genre began with a viewing of the 1984 classic A Nightmare on Elm Street on VHS.
Around the same time I also discovered Fangoria magazine, and years later attended my first Weekend of Horrors convention in New York City. I then became exposed to the world of underground digital cinema and became an independent filmmaker myself.
SUBJECT: A look at the Evolution of Underground Digital Cinema November 2007
A discussion of some of my experiences, insights and perspectives - Part 2.
(Note: See the October 2007 Thoughts For The Month for Part 1 of this continuing column.)
I had my first taste of truly underground cinema when I purchased a copy of the 1995 shot-on-video movie Psycho Sisters at a Fangoria Weekend of Horrors convention. Produced by New Jersey-based W.A.V.E. Productions, it is a gritty and raw indie in the tradition of such infamous rape-revenge films as The Last House on the Left, I Spit on Your Grave and Ms. 45. Psycho Sisters features many common elements often found in underground cinema productions, and I believe it was a prototype for many similar types of movies that have come out of the New Jersey independent scene since then.
SUBJECT: A look at the Evolution of Underground Digital Cinema December 2007
- A discussion of some of my experiences, insights and perspectives - Part 3.
(Note: See the October 2007 Thoughts For The Month for Part 1 of this continuing column, and the November 2007 TFTM for Part 2)
The adult drama and the raunchy comedy are two traditional types of exploitation movies. The 'Emmanuelle' series of films, which started in 1974, is one of the more long-lasting examples of adult drama. Actress Sylvia Kristel and others after her became famous for playing the character. Adult dramas can also consist of more sensationalistic type of fare. The 1990's franchises Night Eyes and Body Chemistry are examples discussed. These types of films are also commonly called erotic thrillers. Actresses such as Tanya Roberts and Shannon Tweed became well known for this flavor of adult drama in the 1990’s.
Do you remember exactly how many camp counselors and staff were killed in the slasher film classic Friday
the 13th? How about what horror film Zsa Zsa Gabor (briefly) appeared in? Or what female director helmed The Slumber Party Massacre? While a search through The Internet Movie Database (IMDB) would most likely yield these answers, one could also choose to watch the new documentary Going to Pieces: The Rise and Fall of the Slasher Film. The preceding questions are some of the easier ones included in the trivia question section of this exciting new production. Now let’s take a more in-depth look at what this documentary covers.
This column presents a list of some of my favorite movies of 2006. The horror movies on the list are:
The Descent, Final Destination 3, The Hills Have Eyes (2006 Remake), Silent Hill, Snakes on a Plane, and Underworld: Evolution. The non-horror movies are: Clerks 2, Firewall, Scary Movie 4, and Superman Returns.
For my first Thoughts For The Month column of the New Year I’d like to talk about some of the movies I enjoyed
in the previous year. Below is a list of my Best Movies of 2006. Read More...
In the last installment of this continuing column I discussed in detail the underground horror movie Psycho Sisters, and talked just a bit about two New Jersey-based independent production companies - namely Ei Cinema (now called POP Cinema) and W.A.V.E. Productions, the company behind Psycho Sisters. As mentioned, these companies (among others) today specialize in low-budget horror and exploitation movies,
and they are major players in the whole underground digital horror movie scene. I’d like to begin to delve further into this particular unique type of cinema; however first, in order to provide a framework for the discussion,
I’ll begin by talking about some exploitation and b-movies from decades past. This of course was before the
digital video revolution, before the aforementioned companies came into existence, and thus it should be
noted the categories and movies discussed below refer to more traditional (for lack of a better word) types of exploitation and b-movie cinema. Read More...
* Since my first film convention visit in 1995 I’ve now attended well over a dozen more shows. For several years
I went to The Fangoria Weekend of Horrors convention in New York City (usually in January), and then years later friends introduced me to the other big (rival) convention called The Chiller Theater Toy, Model & Film Expo (or Chiller Theater for short), which has traditionally been held in New Jersey. (New Jersey is actually,
from what I’ve observed, a key center for Underground Digital Horror Filmmaking - more on that later). And as
I mentioned in Part 1 of the column, the second big highlight of these shows (the first being the celebrity guests) is the vendor rooms. In these rooms sellers have almost everything horror film-related available for purchase, including video tapes and DVD’s, film soundtracks, horror film t-shirts, horror film trading cards, posters, magazines, and almost anything else film and horror film-related one can imagine. ** Much of this material consists of Hollywood movies and merchandise related to Hollywood movies, however there is also a good amount of indie film merchandise one can buy, and it is this that I will primarily focus on in my discussion.
This month’s TFTM column is the first in a planned continuing series on the expansive topic of Underground Digital Cinema. Since my particular specialty is horror films, I’ll focus on that genre quite a bit throughout the course of this discussion. As anyone familiar with my past columns knows, I’ve filled a lot of space writing about independent and underground digital video. I’ve talked about how once there was primarily only professional cinema (film), and how the average person who had ambitions about making a movie was pretty much out of luck - or at the very least relegated to the production quality of VHS or 8mm (analog) home video consumer-grade equipment. Of course that all changed in the mid 1990’s with the advent of low-cost, high-quality digital video equipment, which put real power into the hands of would-be filmmakers everywhere. (My own evolution as a filmmaker proceeded right along those lines, with a progression from VHS and 8mm video to DV - with HDV on the horizon). The evolution of this new form of digital cinema has continued to have a dramatic impact on my experiences as both a film lover and filmmaker. I was first a fan of Hollywood and mainstream cinema, and then when the home video revolution took hold in the 1980’s, I was gradually introduced to a wider array of viewing choices. As my interest in the horror film genre grew I eventually came to be exposed to many underground digital horror movies. Digital Cinema is what I produce as a filmmaker, and in this series of columns I’ll discuss the evolution of this genre using my own personal experiences and observations as both viewer and filmmaker as a backdrop and point of reference. Read More...
Besides being a gifted musician, rocker Rob Zombie also has quite a talent for putting together some of the most amazing casts around. * In his previous films House of 1000 Corpses and The Devil’s Rejects he had some diverse talents on board including the likes of Bill Moseley, Priscilla Barnes and Geoffrey Lewis. In his
new remake of the 1978 John Carpenter masterpiece Halloween however, he has what I can only describe
as a dream cast made up of some of the coolest horror and cult films stars working today. While sitting in a darkened movie theater watching the film on its opening weekend, I couldn’t help but constantly tap my buddy on the shoulder to point out the likes of Brad Dourif, Richard Lynch, Clint Howard, Danny Trejo, Dee Wallace, Ken Foree and Danielle Harris (who starred in Halloween 4 & 5). (It occurred to me during the film just how much of a horror film geek I am at heart, and as such I must also admit to completely missing Udo Kier until seeing his name in the end credits). Having these people together in one film should equal good results, or at least a good time. Unfortunately however, I found this remake to be neither, and quickly began wishing the director had chosen to produce another original creation instead of reworking a classic. Read More...
I’ve written numerous columns on the impact new media - including the internet, the World Wide Web, DVD, high-end video/computer gaming, and especially independent digital filmmaking - is having on our entertainment landscape. In my April 2006 TFTM column I discussed how the popularity of DVD video (as well as other home entertainment options) is contributing to the decline of the theatrical movie market. Basically, because of the ever-increasing abundance, selection, and availability of new media (some of it now consumer-generated such as on YouTube and other video sharing sites), people are being offered more and more entertainment choices. Accordingly, this abundance of choices is putting growing numbers of new performers in front of large, often worldwide, audiences. Internet celebrities are emerging with increasing frequency. How then does this affect the popularity and impact of “traditional celebrities” like Hollywood movie stars and recording artists represented by music industry major labels? Those questions will be the major focus of this discussion. Read More...
The advent of the global internet and the World Wide Web has changed the way people communicate and
made our world more interactive than ever before. This has had far-reaching implications on many facets of life, including the media, and in particular the entertainment industry. Traditional or “old” media, as it’s sometimes called, has historically been more or less a one-way communication street. This means there have always been a relatively small number of producers of media (content producers), and a larger number of consumers of media (everybody else). However because of the online world and new digital technologies these lines are becoming more and more blurred as individuals who were once strictly consumers begin to produce their own content in many different forms, including video, music, and of course written commentary, feedback and criticism, of all varieties. Because of this new level of unhampered interactive communication, movie criticism, among other things, has become more prevalent than ever these days. Read More...
In the new thriller Vacancy Luke Wilson and Kate Beckinsale play David and Amy Fox, a young married couple on the verge of divorce who find themselves stranded at a rundown old motel in the middle of nowhere after their car breaks down. The dirty, bug-infested hotel room looks to present nothing more than one night of annoying inconvenience until David starts watching some old VHS tapes he finds near the television. Rather than the adult entertainment he’s expecting to see, David is soon staring wide-eyed at images of grisly murders being committed in the very room they are in. It doesn’t take him long to realize there are cameras taping their every move and that they need to leave quickly. However as one might guess, simply hightailing it away doesn't prove to be so easy. David and Amy soon find themselves in a fight to survive the clutches of masked assailants who want to add a new tape to the hotels grisly collection. Read More...
In a past Thoughts For The Month column about the 1980’s B-horror movies Chopping Mall and Night of the Comet (see TFTM July 2006) I used the phrase “back in the day” quite a few times. That phrase once again seems appropriate in discussing Grindhouse, the most recent collaboration from filmmakers Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino. The two movies in this double bill are Rodriguez’s Planet Terror and Tarantino’s Death Proof, each of which is stylistically reminiscent of movies made in the golden era of the Drive-ins and Drive-in cinema. As many know, lower-budget fare (often called B-movies) once found a home
at the Drive-ins, and later during the home video revolution on VHS. (* As I talked about in the aforementioned column, I discovered movies like Chopping Mall and Night of the Comet at home on VHS tape and on pay cable). The use of this retro-style makes Grindhouse differ quite a bit from the typical big-budget event movie often seen today at multiplex theaters. At the same time, the picture is a unique and daring event in itself that is well worth some serious discussion. Read More...
Note: DVD Horrors is a Thoughts For The Month topic focusing on horror films made for the DVD and
home video markets, and horror films that have been successful primarily upon release to DVD and video.
The majority of the movies I review under this topic heading are low/no budget, non-Hollywood independent
films, or foreign titles that don’t see theatrical release here in the USA. The first DVD Horrors TFTM column was a review of Day of the Dead 2: Contagium in December, 2005. Prior to that I reviewed the following independent horror films: Slashers (in the November 2002 TFTM column) and Beyond Re-Animator
(in the March 2004 TFTM column). I also reviewed the independent short film comedy More Than Friends
in the December 2004 TFTM column.
Being an independent digital filmmaker to me means not only using digital technology resources like DV cameras, computers, computer hard drives, and non-linear editing software, but also staying up to date (or at least attempting to) on the latest technological gadgets, trends and news. For example recently I’ve been reading about the battle raging between the new high-definition DVD formats Blue-Ray and HD-DVD, and how several factors will determine which one, if not both, will ultimately be accepted by the public. These factors include prices of players, acceptance by major Hollywood movie studios, and titles available, to name but a few.
Note: The following reviews of the two versions of Black Christmas contain some plot details which could be considered spoilers.
Review of the 1974 Original:
The original Black Christmas has quite a simple story. A mysterious psychopath sneaks into the attic of a sorority house right before Christmas break and terrorizes the sorority sisters there. First the girls start receiving obscene phone calls and then things get much worse as the unseen assailant begins a killing spree. The police don’t really get involved until a 13 year-old girl turns up dead in a local park, and by then it may be too late.
