Sometimes you watch a movie and realize the casting director nailed it. Not for the leads, not for the supporting players, but for the dog. Bad Moon is one of those rare cinematic achievements where the German Shepherd is the only professional on set. Everyone else? Flailing. This 1996 Canadian-American horror film tried to sell … Read More “Bad Moon (1996): When the Dog Deserves Top Billing” »
At some point in the mid-90s, direct-to-video horror sequels stopped pretending they had plots and just started stapling random supernatural creatures to whatever franchise happened to be available. Witchcraft VII: Judgement Hour (also known as Witchcraft 7: A Taste for Blood) is a perfect example. It’s the seventh entry in the Witchcraft series, which by … Read More “Witchcraft VII: Judgement Hour – When Vampires Attack… the Audience’s Patience” »
By the time Xtro 3 slimed its way onto VHS shelves in 1995, the franchise had already lost any sense of identity. The first Xtro was a weird little British splatter gem. Xtro II was basically Aliens made by people who couldn’t afford the “s.” And then there’s Xtro 3: Watch the Skies—a movie that … Read More “Xtro 3: Watch the Skies (1995) – Or How to Kill a Franchise With One Alien and a Bunch of Marines Who Can’t Read a Map” »
Some horror franchises age gracefully (Halloween, Evil Dead). Others age like a jug of milk left on a porch in July (Amityville). By the time we reached Amityville Dollhouse in 1996, the franchise had already coughed up more straight-to-video junk than your local Blockbuster clearance bin. And then—because the world is cruel—we got this: a … Read More “Amityville Dollhouse – When Your Dollhouse Has More Acting Talent Than the Cast” »
Some movies feel like accidents. Others feel like tax write-offs. Witchboard III: The Possession feels like both—an accident you might have in a rental car while doing your taxes drunk. Released straight-to-video in 1995, this Canadian horror film is the unwanted third child of a franchise that wasn’t all that healthy to begin with. The … Read More “Witchboard III: The Possession (1995): When Demons, Ouija Boards, and Direct-to-Video All Conspire Against You” »
Some questions in life don’t deserve answers. Like, why do birds suddenly appear? Or why did Jim Wynorski, patron saint of cleavage-driven direct-to-video schlock, get a slot on Showtime in 1995? This is the man who never met a low-cut top or rubber monster suit he couldn’t exploit—and here he was, playing in Roger Corman’s … Read More “The Wasp Woman (1995) – Showtime’s Stinger in the Rear” »
There are bad movies, and then there are movies so bewilderingly awful that you stare at the VHS box wondering if you’ve been hexed for even picking it up. Voodoo (1995) is one such cursed artifact—a horror film so absurd, so half-baked, and so drenched in cheap cult clichés that even Corey Feldman looks like … Read More “Voodoo (1995) – Corey Feldman, Frat Boys, and Zombie Nonsense” »
Every so often, a film comes along that makes you wonder if the director lost a bet. Tokyo Fist is one of those films. Directed by Shinya Tsukamoto—who also stars in it alongside his brother Kōji Tsukamoto and Kahori Fujii—it’s a sweaty, shrieking exercise in masochism masquerading as art. It’s part boxing drama, part psychosexual … Read More “Tokyo Fist – Boxing, Body Piercings, and the Death of Subtlety” »
Sometimes a film arrives that is so gloriously strange, so oddly compelling, that you can’t help but wonder if the entire cast was being blackmailed into participating. The Nature of the Beast—also released under alternate titles like Bad Company and Hatchet Man, presumably to trick people into renting it twice—is one of those films. Written … Read More “The Nature of the Beast (1995): When Eric Roberts and Lance Henriksen Go on the Worst Road Trip Ever” »
There are two types of sci-fi horror movies: the kind that want to explore the human condition (Alien, The Thing) and the kind that want to explore how many people a half-naked alien can kill before the MPAA throws a fit. Species happily throws itself into the second category, flashing a crooked smile as if … Read More “Species (1995) – The Sexiest B-Movie Ever to Pretend It’s A-List” »