By Steve Newton Just before she started getting recognized for her appearances in a string of videos for Aerosmith power-ballads, Alicia Silverstone made her feature film debut in the low-budget 1993 thriller The Crush. The film was shot in Vancouver, so naturally I did the set visit for Fangoria magazine. I interviewed Silverstone, who had recently … Continue reading Feeling out The Crush with 16-year-old Alicia Silverstone in Vancouver
Tag: scary movies
Horror review: Pet Sematary
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON MAY 5, 1989 By Steve Newton The long list of movies based on Stephen King's writings range from excellent (The Dead Zone, Carrie), to mediocre (Christine, Firestarter), to downright terrible (Maximum Overdrive). Unfortunately for fans of the horror genre, the latest King story to hit the screen, Pet Sematary, is a dead … Continue reading Horror review: Pet Sematary
Horror review: The First Power
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, APRIL 20, 1990 By Steve Newton In recent years, horror moviedom's best-known villains have been masked avengers or burned-up baddies, but there has been the odd attempt to give evil a human face. Rutger Hauer did it perfectly well as the unstoppable blond phantom of The Hitcher, while Terry … Continue reading Horror review: The First Power
Horror review: Nightbreed
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, MARCH 2, 1990 By Steve Newton Clive Barker told a fib. When the British writer/director came to town on a promotional visit recently, he promised that his new film, Nightbreed, would be a lot "jumpier" than his filmmaking debut, Hellraiser. Well, I dunno. It sure didn't make me jump. And … Continue reading Horror review: Nightbreed
Horror review: Night of the Demons
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, SEPT. 8, 1989 By Steve Newton The newspaper ads for Night of the Demons show a vampiric female demon holding a party invitation, and the caption reads: "Angela is having a party. Jason and Freddy are too scared to come... But you'll have a hell of a time." Well, … Continue reading Horror review: Night of the Demons
A Nightmare on Elm Street 5 is a visual rollercoaster ride that is more fun than frightening
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON AUG. 25, 1989 By Steve Newton In the original Nightmare on Elm Street, Freddy Krueger stole the show. As the new face of evil, Robert Englund's character was mean and menacing, and writer/director Wes Craven played up the unique look and style of Krueger in a film that few people expected to … Continue reading A Nightmare on Elm Street 5 is a visual rollercoaster ride that is more fun than frightening
John Carpenter unmasks evil Republicans in They Live
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON NOV. 18, 1988 By Steve Newton With such harrowing films as The Thing, Halloween, and Escape From New York under his belt, John Carpenter has proven himself one of the world's top directors in the sci-fi/horror/thriller genres. So what's he doing making a lightweight piece of fluff like They Live? He's trying … Continue reading John Carpenter unmasks evil Republicans in They Live
Horror review: Friday the 13th Part VIII–Jason Takes Manhattan
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, AUG. 18, 1989 By Steve Newton Okay, okay--so the Friday the 13th movies are not exactly cinematic works of art. But people realize, when they lay down their money, that they're not getting The Last Emperor. They're only going to a Friday movie for two things: to see Jason … Continue reading Horror review: Friday the 13th Part VIII–Jason Takes Manhattan
The aliens don’t seem alien enough in Alien Nation
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON OCT. 28, 1988 By Steve Newton Looking at the credits for Alien Nation, fans of the horror/sci-fi thriller genres could be forgiven for foaming at the mouth. The movie was produced by Gale Anne Hurd, whose Aliens and The Terminator were landmark films in the annals of fright cinemas. Then there's director … Continue reading The aliens don’t seem alien enough in Alien Nation
David Cronenberg strives to make the realistic seem fantastic in Dead Ringers
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON OCT. 28, 1988 By Steve Newton Dead Ringers opens with a scene wherein studious young twin boys, Elliot and Beverly Mantle, are seen poring over an anatomically correct model of a woman. The twins are fascinated with female anatomy--internal female anatomy, that is. "They're so different from us," observes Beverly. "We're going … Continue reading David Cronenberg strives to make the realistic seem fantastic in Dead Ringers
Ken Russell gets freaky with The Lair of the White Worm
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON DEC. 2, 1988 By Steve Newton Ken Russell, the man who blew minds with his hallucinatory Altered States and then twisted them with his erotically charged psycho-sexual drama Crimes of Passion, has really gone out of his way to freak people out this time. With The Lair of the White Worm, a … Continue reading Ken Russell gets freaky with The Lair of the White Worm
Child’s Play is a hilarious hair-raiser that’s equal portions frolic and fear
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON DEC. 2, 1988 By Steve Newton Were you ever frightened by dolls or other inanimate objects as a kid? Maybe you woke up in the middle of the night, and thought you saw something grinning evilly at you through the darkness of your bedroom? If so, then Tom Holland's new movie Child's … Continue reading Child’s Play is a hilarious hair-raiser that’s equal portions frolic and fear
Dean R. Koontz won’t be happy with how Watchers turned out
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON DEC. 9, 1988 By Steve Newton When novelist Dean R. Koontz was asked, after reading a screenplay based on his book Watchers, how he thought the film would turn out, he said, "I think they've done a good job with the [scary] throat-clutching parts, but the rest of it I'm not sure … Continue reading Dean R. Koontz won’t be happy with how Watchers turned out