ORIGINALLY POSTED ON STRAIGHT.COM, JULY 22, 1016 By Steve Newton Lights Out is a new horror flick about a murderous ghoul that you can only see--and get terrorized by--when the lights are out and its silhouette is visible. Illumination renders the thing harmless, so there's a helluva lot of victims-to-be sprinting for lightswitches and fumbling … Continue reading Lights Out ain’t The Babadook, people
Tag: scary movies
The 5th Wave takes alien-attack flicks to a new low
ORIGINALLY POSTED ON STRAIGHT.COM, JAN. 21, 2016 By Steve Newton Sci-fi action flicks about alien invasions are pretty hit-and-miss. For every kickass Edge of Tomorrow you’ll find a crappy Independence Day. And then there’s The 5th Wave, based on Rick Yancey's 2013 young-adult novel. It took three whole screenwriters to turn that book into a laughable pile of juvenile hokum. Chloë Grace Moretz stars as … Continue reading The 5th Wave takes alien-attack flicks to a new low
The Forest is long on jump scares, short on suspense
ORIGINALLY POSTED ON STRAIGHT.COM, JAN. 7, 2016 By Steve Newton The first scary movie out of the gate last year was the Jennifer Lopez thriller The Boy Next Door, which didn't bode well for Hollywood horror in 2015. This year the first Tinseltown fright flick to hit theatres is The Forest, which--while vastly superior to that bogus … Continue reading The Forest is long on jump scares, short on suspense
Wes Craven’s 1991 horror hoot The People Under the Stairs gets collectible Blu-ray release today
By Steve Newton Scream Factory, the horror arm of the Shout! Factory home video and music company, is releasing a collector's edition Blu-ray of terror titan Wes Craven's The People Under the Stairs today. Bonus features include: Audio Commentary With Writer/Director Wes Craven Audio Commentary With Actors Brandon Adams, A.J. Langer, Sean Whalen And Yan Birch House Mother … Continue reading Wes Craven’s 1991 horror hoot The People Under the Stairs gets collectible Blu-ray release today
Jason Bateman discovers his dark side in The Gift
ORIGINALLY POSTED ON STRAIGHT. COM, AUG. 5, 2015 By Steve Newton If you thought Jason Bateman could only play affable sad-sacks, prepare for a nice surprise with The Gift. The actor best known for his gentle portrayal of the put-upon Michael Bluth in Arrested Development discovers his dark side in a big way in this unsettling revenge thriller … Continue reading Jason Bateman discovers his dark side in The Gift
The Intruders is about as scary as iCarly
ORIGINALLY POSTED ON STRAIGHT.COM, MARCH 18, 2015 By Steve Newton Horror movies featuring actors who are also pop stars are often nothing to scream about. J.Lo in Anaconda and the mostly naked Aaliyah in Queen of the Damned come to mind as good examples. And it looks like that trend will not change with the new Miranda Cosgrove vehicle, The … Continue reading The Intruders is about as scary as iCarly
Dracula Untold is patently ridiculous, and not in a good way
ORIGINALLY POSTED ON STRAIGHT.COM, OCT. 10, 2014 By Steve Newton Dracula Untold is so patently ridiculous that it’s hard to even fathom how it came to be. Did some billionaire producer on meth sit through a Lord of the Rings marathon and declare: “That would be so much better with vampires!”? After a rambling prologue describing … Continue reading Dracula Untold is patently ridiculous, and not in a good way
Creepy-doll flick Annabelle has more potent scares than The Conjuring
ORIGINALLY POSTED ON STRAIGHT.COM, OCT. 6, 2014 I've been a sucker for creepy-doll flicks ever since that ventriloquists' dummy from Magic put its unblinking spell on me back in 1978. The genre has had its ups (Child's Play) and downs (Dead Silence), but it gets a major boost with Annabelle, a prequel to last year's over-rated The Conjuring. Married couple … Continue reading Creepy-doll flick Annabelle has more potent scares than The Conjuring
As Above/So Below is a descent into shaky-cam hell
ORIGINALLY POSTED ON STRAIGHT.COM, SEPT. 1, 2014 I've seen plenty of shaky-cam fright flicks since The Blair Witch Project jittered its way to horror fame back in '99, but the ultra-jittery As Above/So Below really pushes the limits of what any reasonable found-footage fan can take. It's a real shame, too, because director John Erick Dowdle--whose credits include 2008's … Continue reading As Above/So Below is a descent into shaky-cam hell
All the Oscar-winners in the world can’t make The Calling memorable
ORIGINALLY POSTED ON STRAIGHT.COM, AUG. 29, 2014 With its pitch-black humour, quirky characters, and desolate small-town vibe—not to mention those furry-earmuff cop hats—The Calling seems like it might be trying to be a horror flick for the Fargo set. Unfortunately, even with a cast that includes Oscar winners Susan Sarandon and Ellen Burstyn and the scene-stealing Donald Sutherland, The … Continue reading All the Oscar-winners in the world can’t make The Calling memorable
The Purge: Anarchy isn’t worth the numbing ride
ORIGINALLY POSTED ON STRAIGHT.COM, JULY 18, 2014 Last year The Purge introduced viewers to the absurd concept of an annual, government-sanctioned bloodbath in which Americans are encouraged--for the economic good of the country--to either go out and commit whatever heinous crimes they want for a 12-hour period, or hunker down in their barricaded homes with their weapons handy … Continue reading The Purge: Anarchy isn’t worth the numbing ride
Sinister director goes from horrifying to horrible with Deliver Us From Evil
ORIGINALLY POSTED ON STRAIGHT.COM, JULY 3, 2014 Director Scott Derrickson's Sinister was one of the better Hollywood fright flicks of 2012. It was a grim descent into domestic horror, with Ethan Hawke convincingly portraying a true-crime writer uncovering genuinely creepy supernatural goings-on at his new home. Derrickson's latest, Deliver Us From Evil, is pretty much the opposite. … Continue reading Sinister director goes from horrifying to horrible with Deliver Us From Evil
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