By Steve Newton Here’s my original reviews of five worthy horror flicks now streaming on Netflix Canada. Three of them are from Lionsgate. Way to go, Lionsgate. Saw II (2005, Lionsgate) The original Saw had a pretty interesting premise, and one that kept the options wide open for gruesome, sadistic, squirm-in-your-seat horror. It was about a psychopathic … Continue reading Five recommended horror flicks now streaming on Netflix Canada
Tag: Hostel
The Green Inferno is a weak homage to cannibal horror
ORIGINALLY POSTED ON STRAIGHT.COM, SEPT. 25, 2015 By Steve Newton If you were a horror fan in the eighties you were no doubt aware of the cannibal exploitation genre, which was best exemplified by Italian director Ruggero Deodata's Cannibal Holocaust. That 1980 gore epic was extremely graphic for its time, so realistically graphic, in fact, that at one … Continue reading The Green Inferno is a weak homage to cannibal horror
Ten recommended horror flicks now streaming on Netflix Canada
Halloween is fast approaching, and everyone who's coughed up their 8 bucks a month for Netflix is no doubt scanning the Horror section to see what's available. Decent scary movies are hard to find, so here's a quick rundown of 10 now streaming on Netflix Canada that I'd wholeheartedly recommend. They're listed in order of … Continue reading Ten recommended horror flicks now streaming on Netflix Canada
Meat Loaf’s bug-eyed antics make Stage Fright less painful to endure
ORIGINALLY POSTED ON STRAIGHT.COM, MAY 7, 2014 As far as movies go, the horror-musical is a strange bird. How many horror freaks want a film’s unstoppable killer to break out in song seconds before committing his evil deed? That ruins the suspense. And how many Broadway devotees want to follow a viewing of Cats with a midnight … Continue reading Meat Loaf’s bug-eyed antics make Stage Fright less painful to endure
Horror review: The Collector
ORIGINALLY POSTED ON STRAIGHT.COM, OCT. 28, 2009 Now here’s a twisted little gem just in time for Halloween nightmare-making. The Collector—no relation to the same-named ’60s thriller in which weirdo Terence Stamp kidnaped hottie Samantha Eggar—should make the backers of the Saw and Hostel franchises think twice, because it takes the rotting corpse of torture-porn out of the abandoned warehouse … Continue reading Horror review: The Collector
Horror review: Untraceable
ORIGINALLY POSTED ON STRAIGHT.COM, JAN. 30, 2008 It was only a matter of time before the lamentable movie subgenre known as torture-porn stopped being the sole property of the horror scene and grew into a marketable angle for the mainstream thriller. Untraceable boasts a respected director (Gregory Hoblit of Fracture and Primal Fear), and a … Continue reading Horror review: Untraceable
Horror review: I Know Who Killed Me
ORIGINALLY POSTED ON STRAIGHT.COM, AUG. 1, 2007 Hollywood is crawling with limo drivers, so how come Lindsay Lohan keeps thinking that she has to drive herself around L.A. whenever she's drunk and packing drugs? Maybe she's taking transportation tips from her agent, or whoever the hell suggested she top-line this ultra-sleazy horror-thriller, an excruciatingly awful … Continue reading Horror review: I Know Who Killed Me
Horror review: Captivity
ORIGINALLY POSTED ON STRAIGHT.COM, JULY 18, 2007 As the distributor of the Hostel and Saw franchises, Vancouver-based Lionsgate Films has a virtual stranglehold on today's gruesome and sadistic horror flicks. But now that Lionsgate has seen how much money it can make with so-called torture porn, it's gotten greedy; case in point being Captivity is … Continue reading Horror review: Captivity
Horror review: Severance
ORIGINALLY POSTED ON STRAIGHT.COM, MAY 30, 2007 In Severance’s promo material, the British horror-comedy is described as “The Office meets Deliverance”. It’s better defined, however, as a freaky cross between Friday the 13th and Hostel—with some serious chuckles thrown in. Discriminating horror fans should also note that it’s the most exhilarating fright flick to hit … Continue reading Horror review: Severance
Horror review: Turistas
ORIGINALLY POSTED ON STRAIGHT.COM, NOV. 29, 2006 What Hostel did for the Slovakian tourism industry—which was basically to drag it into a backroom and torture it to death—Turistas should do for the backpacking-in-Brazil set. But while Hostel director Eli Roth’s controversial 2005 shocker was about as subtle as an electric drill to the eye, Turistas … Continue reading Horror review: Turistas
The Descent is in the running with The Hills Have Eyes as top horror flick of the year
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON AUG. 10, 2006 By Steve Newton A few weeks ago, we went camping at a lake near Powell River, and by camping I mean sleeping in a camper. I chose to crash at the very back of the rig, against the wall in the little bunk above the truck cab. Maybe it … Continue reading The Descent is in the running with The Hills Have Eyes as top horror flick of the year
Horror review: Hostel
ORIGINALLY POSTED ON STRAIGHT.COM, JAN. 5, 2006 By Steve Newton The horror scene seems to be in the grip of a hardcore revolution these days. It's as if a cabal of serious fright-film fanatics got together and organized a bitter backlash against hokey Hollywood body-count flicks with cookie-cutter plots and predictable outcomes. In the last … Continue reading Horror review: Hostel