ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON APRIL 6, 2018 By Steve Newton In A Quiet Place, Lee Abbott—played by director, co-writer, and executive producer John Krasinski—has it rough. He lives in a post-apocalyptic world teeming with fierce alien monsters that hunt humans through sound. The slightest noise will have them racing towards you out of nowhere, and then … Continue reading A Quiet Place delivers horror with heart
Category: scary movies
Unsane is as crazy good as iPhone-shot psycho-thrillers get
By Steve Newton There’s a lot to fear around the world at this particular moment in time, and we’re not just talking spiders and snakes. There’s the ongoing fear of your kids getting shot while they’re attending high school. There’s the newer fear of coming in contact with a deadly Russian nerve agent while you’re … Continue reading Unsane is as crazy good as iPhone-shot psycho-thrillers get
The Strangers: Prey at Night is routine masked-killer fare
By Steve Newton According to the on-screen message in its opening scene, The Strangers: Prey at Night was “based on true events”. It kinda makes you wonder if anyone was ever actually stalked by an axe-wielding psycho at a trailer-park swimming pool while Bonnie Tyler’s “Total Eclipse of the Heart” blasted over the outdoor PA. In this … Continue reading The Strangers: Prey at Night is routine masked-killer fare
The Shape of Water resurfaces as a ’50s monster-horror flick
By Steve Newton Long-suffering horror fans are finally getting their due. It's been 27 years since The Silence of the Lambs was chosen as Best Picture at the Oscars, but this Sunday both Get Out and The Shape of Water are in the running for the grand prize. What's that? You don't think The Shape of Water is a horror movie? But … Continue reading The Shape of Water resurfaces as a ’50s monster-horror flick
Silly Winchester proves a weak platform for Helen Mirren’s horror debut
By Steve Newton Three-and-a-half months ago Jigsaw, the eighth entry in the Saw torture-porn franchise, was released. Not too surprisingly it was a mostly mediocre affair, although it included one memorable scene near the end where a guy's head got sliced lengthwise into several pieces by a barrage of high-tech laser scalpels. Lasting moments are also rare in … Continue reading Silly Winchester proves a weak platform for Helen Mirren’s horror debut
Another WolfCop is way better than WolfCop, but still pretty awful
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON DEC. 1, 2017 By Steve Newton Apparently, quite a few people thought WolfCop--the 2014 horror-comedy about an alcoholic werewolf policeman battling ancient shapeshifters in smalltown Canada--was an okay movie. It holds a "Fresh" rating of 65% on Rotten Tomatoes, with some critics seeing it as an entertaining throwback to the cheap direct-to-video gore … Continue reading Another WolfCop is way better than WolfCop, but still pretty awful
Jigsaw’s killer twist takes torture porn up a notch
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON OCT. 27, 2017 By Steve Newton Back in October of 2010, after six straight years of hugely successful Saw films coming out on the Friday before Halloween, the seventh and "final" entry in the series, Saw 3D, was released. It made money--eventually raking in $136-million worldwide on a $17-million budget--but also garnered the worst reviews … Continue reading Jigsaw’s killer twist takes torture porn up a notch
“Saw Six is the sixth Saw I’ve seen”: my original reviews of every Saw movie, 2004-2010 & 2017
By Steve Newton As most in-the-know horror-movie freaks are no doubt aware, the latest entry in the Saw franchise, Spiral: From the Book of Saw, opens this Friday (May 14). As the designated horror reviewer for Vancouver weekly the Georgia Straight since the early '80s, it was my journalistic duty to cover all the Saw … Continue reading “Saw Six is the sixth Saw I’ve seen”: my original reviews of every Saw movie, 2004-2010 & 2017
The curse of the old-school horror freak means that Tim Curry is still the Pennywise of choice
By Steve Newton As the only journalist invited to interview Tim Curry on the set of It back in 1990--I was the Vancouver correspondent for fabled New York horror mag Fangoria at the time--I've felt a connection to the two-part TV miniseries. Not that I really liked it much. I thought the acting was pretty weak … Continue reading The curse of the old-school horror freak means that Tim Curry is still the Pennywise of choice
Houseguests from hell cause havoc for Jennifer Lawrence in insane Mother!
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON SEPT. 15, 2017 By Steve Newton When I saw the TV trailer for Darren Aronofsky's Mother! I thought it looked like a pretty decent horror flick--or maybe "psychological thriller", the label horror-phobic Hollywood marketing departments tend to prefer. But now that I've seen it, I don't know what the hell it is. In this … Continue reading Houseguests from hell cause havoc for Jennifer Lawrence in insane Mother!
Hellraiser shows rising horror star Clive Barker should, like Stephen King, stick to writing
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON SEPT. 18, 1987 By Steve Newton Some guys just don't know when to leave well enough alone. Stephen King just wasn't satisfied with the work that other directors did with his stories. He had to write and direct last year's Maximum Overdrive. It was one bad movie, and not even a nifty … Continue reading Hellraiser shows rising horror star Clive Barker should, like Stephen King, stick to writing
Hollywood wins the War for the Planet of the Apes
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON JULY 12, 2017 By Steve Newton I've harboured a peculiar fondness for the Planet of the Apes movies ever since I saw the 1968 original at Chilliwack's historic--and since demolished--Paramount Theatre at age 11. Even then I could tell that it was pretty dumb, but I had a thing about "gorillas"--even if … Continue reading Hollywood wins the War for the Planet of the Apes
It Comes at Night oozes paranoia and dread
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON JUNE 7, 2017 By Steve Newton First you had the awesome Get Out blowing scary-movie fans away with its shockingly sly take on racism in America. And now you've got It Comes at Night and its gloomy commentary on the Trump-inspired fear of outsiders. Socially reflective horror is back bigly, baby! But while Get … Continue reading It Comes at Night oozes paranoia and dread