The Halloween franchise found itself in a moment of transition circa 1988. The two figures driving the series’ creative direction to that point, producer/director/writer/composer John Carpenter and producer/writer Debra Hill, had taken a surprise left turn in 1982. Rather than document the continued shenanigans of hulking insane asylum escapee Michael Myers, Carpenter and Hill wanted…
Pairing wine with movies! See the trailers and hear the fascinating commentary for these movies, and many more, at Trailers From Hell. The jack-o-lantern on the porch has not yet been completely consumed by the squirrels, so we’re in the mood for a few scary movies. There will be wine pairing opportunities, of course. I…
Science fiction goes psychedelic, with an audiovisual light show that far outstrips 1960s efforts with oil smears and surreal imagery. Maverick director Ken Russell was the man for the job, interpreting a powerhouse script by Paddy Chayefsky through a well-chosen young cast: William Hurt, Blair Brown, Bob Balaban, Charles Haid. We think it works like…
Is this the most violent crime film of the pre-Code era? It takes an extreme Law ‘n’ Order position, one that downplays the need for Civil Rights while glamorizing brute vigilantism. Police chief Walter Huston takes the law into his own hands, while his detective brother Wallace Ford screws things up by getting all warm…
Whoa — this Halloween, horror fans are up to their severed necks in fancy restorations of Hammer’s first Gothic horror film, the world wide smash that singlehandedly revived the genre and made stars of Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee. This Baron Frankenstein lies, kills and profanes the dead in his quest for god-like power; he’s…
Hammer special editions are the craze in 2025, and another fine disc label gets in on the action with a vintage title directed by Terence Fisher, with the sumptuous Hammer Technicolor look provided by cameraman Jack Asher. Anton Diffring murders to maintain an indefinite, if shaky, state of immortality; Hazel Court is the beauty who…
Here’s the second installment of my list of the twenty-five greatest horror films from the past quarter century, starting from the bottom of the list and gradually heading to the top by the end of this year. Here’s a link if you missed the first installment. I’ll try to stay as spoiler-free as possible for…
Pairing wine with movies! See the trailers and hear the fascinating commentary for these movies, and many more, at Trailers From Hell. This week, a little insectual healing. We will pair wines with movies about ants. You can take these wines on a picnic, but don’t hold us responsible for what happens after you’ve unfurled…
Peter Hyams both wrote and directed this lavish ‘space hardware’ movie, set in an off-world mining colony of the future. The show looks good, but what saves it is the committed performance of star Sean Connery, who remains a class act all the way. Peter Boyle and James Sikking flesh out underwritten characters, in a…
