ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, MAY 11, 1990 By Steve Newton In the wrap-around story that ties the three Tales From the Darkside together, former Blondie vocalist Deborah Harry plays a typical American housewife planning a dinner party. The film opens with her returning home from the supermarket with the fixin's--the main course is … Continue reading Horror review: Tales From the Darkside
Tag: Stephen King
Horror review: Dreamcatcher
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, MARCH 27, 2003 Several Stephen King novels have been made into films and TV shows shot in B.C., including the 1990 miniseries It, the ’93 feature Needful Things, and the current cable offering The Dead Zone. But none of them has been as suspenseful, horrifying, and engrossing—with an accent … Continue reading Horror review: Dreamcatcher
Final Destination 2 is one sick, gruesomely over-the-top flick
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON JAN. 30, 2003 By Steve Newton In his 1981 treatise on horror, Danse Macabre, Stephen King wrote: “I recognize terror as the finest emotion and so I will try to terrorize the reader. But if I find that I cannot terrify, I will try to horrify, and if I find that I … Continue reading Final Destination 2 is one sick, gruesomely over-the-top flick
Horror review: Frailty
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, APRIL 25, 2002 Hollywood marketing departments seem more desperate than ever to find sources for the hyperbolic reviewer quotes they splash across TV screens and newspaper ads. There’s no need to rely on established critical outlets like the New York Times and the Village Voice when they can magnify … Continue reading Horror review: Frailty
Horror review: The Mangler
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, APRIL 6, 1995 By Steve Newton The fear of being mangled by machinery is a powerful one, indeed. Of course, not everyone suffers the daily risk of being sucked into a threshing machine, but the potential for physical harm is always there. Say the electric lawn mower gets clogged … Continue reading Horror review: The Mangler
Discriminating horror fans and Stephen King freaks needn’t bother with Needful Things
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON AUG. 27, 1993 By Steve Newton “Hollywood North” has been quite a hotbed for horror films in the past few years. But whether it’s a direct-to-video gorefest (The Resurrected), theatrically released slasher entry (Friday the 13th Part 8: Jason Takes Manhattan), or big-budget TV miniseries (Stephen King’s IT), there has been nothing … Continue reading Discriminating horror fans and Stephen King freaks needn’t bother with Needful Things
Children of the Corn II is so despicable it makes the lowly original look good
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON JUNE 10, 1993 By Steve Newton The previous movie “based on a short story by Stephen King”, 1992’s The Lawnmower Man, bears so little resemblance to anything King wrote that the horror master belatedly sued to get his name separated from the film. The latest flick spawned by one of King’s short … Continue reading Children of the Corn II is so despicable it makes the lowly original look good
Horror review: Pet Sematary Two
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, SEPT. 3, 1992 By Steve Newton In a recent edition of top horror magazine Fangoria, Pet Sematary author Stephen King explained how he felt about Pet Sematary Two, the sequel to the 1989 horror hit that grossed $84 million worldwide. “I don’t approve of the movie and I didn’t … Continue reading Horror review: Pet Sematary Two
Horror review: Sleepwalkers
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, APRIL 16, 1992 By Steve Newton There are some people out there who refuse to believe that this year’s big Oscar winner, The Silence of the Lambs, is a horror movie—even though it concerns a face-ripping cannibal with a taste for human liver who helps capture a sicko who … Continue reading Horror review: Sleepwalkers
Horror review: The Lawnmower Man
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, MARCH 12, 1992 By Steve Newton Boy, they sure did scrape the bottom of the Stephen King barrel for this movie, which takes its name—and little else—from a nine-page story that first appeared in the girlie mag Cavalier back in 1975. It was also included in the Night Shift … Continue reading Horror review: The Lawnmower Man
Everything works to make Misery a Stephen King flick worth remembering
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, DEC. 6, 1990 By Steve Newton Stephen King’s 1987 novel Misery is widely regarded by King aficionados as one of his most compelling and consistently terrifying works. The tale of a best-selling author held captive by his “number-one fan”, Misery is all the more frightening because it is real … Continue reading Everything works to make Misery a Stephen King flick worth remembering
Stephen King dedicates Doctor Sleep to underrated rock genius Warren Zevon
I scored a copy of the new Stephen King novel Doctor Sleep for Christmas, which was great as it continues the story of The Shining, one of my fave works--next to Carrie, The Dead Zone, and The Stand--from King's '70s heyday. But before I even got into the further supernatural torments befalling the telepathic Danny Torrance … Continue reading Stephen King dedicates Doctor Sleep to underrated rock genius Warren Zevon
Horror review: Carrie
ORIGINALLY POSTED ON STRAIGHT.COM, OCT. 18, 2013 Carrie was one of the most impressive film adaptations of a Stephen King horror novel ever, right up there with The Shining, The Dead Zone, and Misery. In director Brian De Palma's capable hands, King's tale of a timid teenaged outsider with telekinetic powers who uses them to strike back against the … Continue reading Horror review: Carrie