The Happening (2008)

The Happening (2008)

[3] One of the now-many thuds on M. Night Shyamalan's fall from Hollywood grace was this apocalyptic tale of (drum roll) plants exacting revenge on humankind... because they're mad... or something. It's hard to believe that it never occurred to…
Flowers in the Attic (1987)

Flowers in the Attic (1987)

[8] This film version of V.C. Andrews' popular novel is considerably toned down, but it's still a wonderfully creepy and sadistic melodrama. A widower takes her four children to live with their grandmother, who views them all as vile sinners.…
The Creature Walks Among Us (1956)

The Creature Walks Among Us (1956)

[3] The Gill Man's second sequel starts off okay and gets progressively worse. It's cool enough while a team of scientists are hunting the Creature, especially when they catch him on fire (the highlight scene of the movie), but once…
The Reflecting Skin (1990)

The Reflecting Skin (1990)

[8] Imagine Twin Peaks from a child's perspective, paired with the visual austerity of Days of Heaven, and that might give you an idea of what to expect from this odd but utterly compelling little movie. Jeremy Cooper stars as…
The Entity (1982)

The Entity (1982)

[7] Barbara Hershey plays a single mother who is repeatedly sexually assaulted by an invisible force. I was impressed with how brutal and explicit the attacks are, right down to some creepy special effects that simulate the squeezing of Hershey's…
The Giant Behemoth (1959)

The Giant Behemoth (1959)

[4] Just six years after directing The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms, director Eugene Lourie goes back to the well for another giant lizard movie, only this time the monster is radioactive. While production values are high for a low-budget British…
Frozen (2010)

Frozen (2010)

[7] Emma Bell (Final Destination 5), Shawn Ashmore (X2: X-Men United), and Kevin Zegers (Wrong Turn) star in this claustrophobic thriller about three friends stranded on a ski-lift. Writer/director Adam Green (Hatchet, Holliston) winds the tension nicely, introducing wolves, frostbite,…
Friday the 13th: The Franchise (1980-2009)

Friday the 13th: The Franchise (1980-2009)

#12: Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan (1989)  [2] This is the worst of the Fridays. The subtitle is a misleading marketing gimmick, as Jason only arrives in Manhattan for the last twenty minutes. Those twenty minutes are…
Crimson Peak (2015)

Crimson Peak (2015)

[8] Guillermo del Toro (Pan's Labyrinth, Pacific Rim) serves up an old-fashioned gothic romance the likes of which we haven't seen on the big screen since Roger Corman last dabbled with tales from Edgar Allen Poe. Heavily inspired by the…
The Green Inferno (2015)

The Green Inferno (2015)

[3] I enjoyed the blend of dark humor and horror that Eli Roth brought to his first film, Cabin Fever. And even though it was pretty much torture porn, I thought Hostel had merit, too. But The Green Inferno is…