Menu
When Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez’s double feature Grindhouse was released in 2007, who could have imagined that a spoof trailer for a holiday slasher would be the most talked about aspect of the film? While faux trailers for Rob Zombie’s Werewolf Women of the S.S. and Machete were instant classics (the latter of which was made into not one but two features also directed by Rodriguez), it was Eli Roth’s THANKSGIVING that elicited the most yucks (and screams) from moviegoers.
Last year, the headline-making TERRIFIER 2 stabbed, strangled, sliced, and slashed its way to box office glory by way of visceral, merciless visuals, a surprising shift in storytelling tone differentiating it from its predecessor and a strong hero worth rooting for in new fan-favorite character, Sienna (Lauren LaVera). The film’s success is also due, frankly, to the incredible and outright demented performance by the franchise’s silent but deadly Big Bad, Art the Clown, the actor who plays him (David Howard Thornton) and the man who created the whole damn thing, Damien Leone. Upon theatrical release, the film famously incited vomiting and fainting in unsuspecting theatergoers and racked up a whopping $15 million+ on a budget of only $250,000.
The beautiful, inherently spooky walls of Broadway’s iconic Lyceum Theatre have long been home to some of the most impactful moments in theatrical history. Yet, no production to grace its stage has ever accomplished such an unusual and frightening experience as its most recent inhabitant, the new horror play GREY HOUSE. Written by Levi Holloway and directed by two-time Tony winner Joe Mantello (Broadway’s The Humans and Wicked), the show is a frightening exploration of the fears we take with us and the fears we leave behind.
Cast members weren’t the only ones experiencing stage fright Tuesday night, as the new horror play GREY HOUSE opened at Broadway’s Lyceum Theatre. The show offers a uniquely scary theatrical experience that’s atypical for Broadway, as it evokes all the qualities of a terrifying A24 horror thought-provoker without the protective barrier of a movie screen. Like its characters, you’re trapped in GREY HOUSE with your fears. .. and they won’t let you leave.
In the vast sea of classic horror films, there are a small handful brought up in nearly every conversation. The Exorcist, Halloween and The Texas and Chainsaw Massacre are frequently listed, and then, of course, there’s 1975’s Jaws. Counted by many to be among the best movies of all time and considered by some to be a perfect film, Jaws launched the era of the summer blockbuster cast and catapulted director Steven Spielberg to fame. However, the creative team behind it could have had no idea the impact the film would have on the world after its release.
When it comes to horror movies that instilled a lasting phobia in moviegoers, a few come to mind. Psycho may have terrified people out of the shower, but Steven Spielberg’s Jaws really made us afraid to get wet. At the time of its release in 1975, Jaws was unlike anything anyone had ever seen. Beheld as the first blockbuster, the movie shook the world and continues to terrify us away from the beach to this day.
Few may be aware that before portraying the iconic monster in the 1931 Universal classic Dracula, star Bela Lugosi played the fanged fiend in 1927 on Broadway in his first English-speaking role. Bram Stoker’s groundbreaking story has been told on stage a number of times since, including a 1977 production starring Frank Langella and an ill-fated attempt at a musical adaptation by Frank Wildhorn. (Is there any other fate, when it comes to Wildhorn?) Now, haunting the wings of Off-Broadway’s New World Stages is a new take on the ultimate vampire tale, DRACULA! A COMEDY OF TERRORS.
In a year fettered with union strikes and Hollywood moneymakers taking gross advantage of the creators providing them with their profits, it’s more important than ever to support independent cinematic ventures. Audiences seem to have grown tired of the same old Marvel mishaps, and the overuse of world-building and cinematic universes has inspired fatigue amongst even the most hardcore of fans.
The world of the grotesquely wealthy is a complicated narrative to explore. As common folk, the less fortunate among us have, for centuries, held both fascination and disdain toward those dripping in better, more comfortable means. The idea of eating the rich is nothing new, but the notion is seldom explored from the inside out, as well as Emerald Fennell’s latest feature, SALTBURN. Masterful, subversive, and shocking, SALTBURN is, without a doubt, an unforgettable experience.
When I was a child, I vividly recall bedtime consisting of goodnights to my mom and dad, a cautious walk down our house’s long, dark hallway, flipping off my bedroom light switch, and booking it toward my bed, leaping into it with enough height and speed that whatever evil was lurking beneath it wouldn’t be able to grab me and pull me under. Then came the imagining of sounds and faces in the darkness of my house as it settled in for the night. (I was a very imaginative child.) The latest micro-budgeted ($15,000) indie film to go viral, SKINAMARINK, successfully recreates these senses of confusion, powerlessness, unclarity, and fear. However, it also successfully bores its audience into submission with very little traditional payoff.
This October has been quite the letdown when it comes to new horror films. Once again, we’re inundated with soulless, big studio sequels, requels, and everything in between. However, while such intended studio “blockbusters” as SAW X and THE EXORCIST: BELIEVER (don’t get me started…) were receiving lavish marketing treatments, one indie/foreign horror flick has snuck its way into theaters and created a word-of-mouth marketing strategy of its own: Argentina’s WHEN EVIL LURKS.
Through the cinematic decades, horror actors have captivated and terrified audiences with their ability to evoke fear, sometimes humor, and even sympathy, through their iconic performances. Lon Cheney, Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, Lon Cheney Jr., Vincent Price, Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, and more, can be counted among such legendary stars. As a modern-day horror icon, Robert Englund (A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET), is without a doubt cemented in both the dreams and nightmares of horror fans everywhere. Even non-horror folk know his iconic figure, Freddy Kreuger, whether they want to or not. The new documentary, HOLLYWOOD DREAMS & NIGHTMARES: THE ROBERT ENGLUND STORY, gives a personal account of the life of one of horror’s most impactful figures.
Read more reviews by Ricky at Spoiler Free Reviews >>