Bride of Chucky is what happens when a horror franchise hits a midlife crisis and decides the solution is black vinyl, ironic needle drops, and giving the killer doll a girlfriend with better comedic timing. It’s loud, trashy, self-aware, and very convinced it’s cooler than it really is—like that guy in high school who quoted … Read More “Bride of Chucky (1998) – When your slasher becomes Hot Topic” »
There are messy films, and then there’s Cruising—a movie that charges into the late-’70s New York gay leather scene waving a knife, a badge, and absolutely no idea what it wants to say. It’s part crime thriller, part character study, part panic attack about queer sex, and part “Al Pacino tries standing around in a … Read More “Cruising (1980) – Leather, murder, and a very confused movie” »
If you’ve ever wondered what would happen if someone made a horror movie entirely out of bad ideas found in a sticky lobby, Blood Theatre is your answer. It’s part slasher, part horror-comedy, part haunted-theater story, and somehow manages to fail at all three while still finding time to fry someone in a popcorn machine. … Read More “Blood Theatre (1984) – When the popcorn kills the plot” »
Art Film Or Ambien With Murders?Who Saw Her Die? More importantly: who managed to stay awake through it? Aldo Lado’s giallo is often praised as moody, atmospheric, and haunting. It’s definitely moody. It’s definitely atmospheric. It is very haunting if you find meandering plotlines and endless walking shots traumatizing. For a movie about a murdered … Read More “Who Saw Her Die? (1972) – Gorgeous Venice, clueless thriller shuffle” »
Neon, Blood, and Cheap BeerSome exploitation movies sleaze their way across the screen and vanish. The Swinging Barmaids kicks the door in, orders a round of shots, and dares you not to have a good time. Ostensibly about a serial killer targeting cocktail waitresses at the Swing-A-Ling Club, it somehow manages to be both grimy … Read More “The Swinging Barmaids (1975) – Booze, boobs, and body bags” »
If you built a murder mystery out of hotel ledgers, bad memories, and a priest with anger issues, you’d get something very close to Seven Blood-Stained Orchids. Umberto Lenzi’s giallo is one of those movies that looks straightforward on paper—someone is killing women connected to an old incident, our attractive leads play detective—but on screen … Read More “Seven Blood-Stained Orchids (1972) – Half moons, full mayhem mystery” »
My Dear Killer wants you to believe it’s one of the crown jewels of the giallo genre. Critics have called it “vibrant” and “well designed,” which is technically true if you’re only grading the wallpaper. Visually, it’s a sleek, handsome little thriller. Intellectually, it’s what you’d get if you fed a crime novel to a … Read More “My Dear Killer (1972) – Gorgeous giallo, brain made of Jell-O” »
If you’ve ever thought, “What my Christmas needs is less caroling and more attempted stepmother homicide,” then Home for the Holidays is basically your Hallmark movie from the darkest timeline. Long before prestige streamers started doing ironic yuletide thrillers, this 1972 ABC made-for-TV slasher was quietly stuffing stockings with paranoia, family trauma, and a killer … Read More “Home for the Holidays (1972) – Snow, sisters, and a pitchfork” »
If you’ve ever wondered what it would look like if a rancid joke book and a gallon of stage blood tried to solve a murder together, The Gore Gore Girls has your answer. Herschell Gordon Lewis’ last major splatter outing isn’t so much a movie as it is a sloppy dare: “How long will you … Read More “The Gore Gore Girls (1972) – Cheap meat, cheaper mystery” »
Portrait Of The Artist As A Walking Violation There are films about struggling artists, and then there’s The Driller Killer, where “struggling” means “one bad gallery rejection away from going full Black & Decker on the neighborhood.” Abel Ferrara’s grubby little classic is part slasher, part black comedy, and part cinéma vérité panic attack, shot … Read More “The Driller Killer (1979) – Art, madness, and power tools” »