It takes a special kind of movie to make you root for the guy who wants to abandon a child. Usually, that’s a cue for audiences to hiss at the screen and start Googling the number for child protective services. But in The Godsend—a film whose idea of suspense is watching a man stare thoughtfully … Read More “The Godsend (1980): Or How to Raise the Antichrist Without Even Trying” »
When Porn Meets Zombies and Nobody Wins If you ever wondered what would happen if George Romero and a grindhouse pornographer got trapped on a tropical island with no budget, no shame, and an industrial-sized bottle of baby oil, Joe D’Amato’s Erotic Nights of the Living Dead is your answer. Unfortunately, it’s an answer to … Read More “Erotic Nights of the Living Dead (1980) – The World’s Least Sexy Zombie Apocalypse” »
Deborah Ann Woll didn’t just waltz into Hollywood stardom on a red carpet of roses. Like most actors worth their salt, she cut her teeth with bit parts and grinding auditions. Raised in New York and armed with a BFA from USC’s School of Theatre, Woll paid her dues guest-starring on procedural TV and quirky … Read More “Baptism in Blood: Deborah Ann Woll’s Genre Odyssey from True Blood to Daredevil” »
If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to take a flamethrower to your own childhood trauma and call it a hobby, congratulations, Joseph Ellison’s Don’t Go in the House is here to deliver that experience directly to your retinas—whether you want it or not. Released in the spring of 1980, this American slasher extravaganza isn’t … Read More “Don’t Go in the House (1980): How to Set Your Life—and Everyone Else’s—on Fire Without Really Trying” »
Contamination (1980), or as I like to call it: How to Make Humanity Explode Without Really Trying. Directed by Luigi Cozzi, this is the kind of film that gives you the lasting impression that Italian sci-fi horror in the early ‘80s was basically a fever dream fueled by coffee, bad dubbing, and one very unmotivated … Read More “Contamination (1980): How to Make Humanity Explode Without Really Trying” »
The Changeling (1980)—the film that proves ghosts don’t just haunt old houses, they haunt your sense of composure, your trust in historical societies, and your faith in wheelchairs. Directed by Peter Medak, it’s the kind of slow-burn Canadian horror that sneaks up on you with the subtlety of a violin string snapping during a concerto—and … Read More “The Changeling (1980)—the film that proves ghosts don’t just haunt old houses” »
The Boogey Man (1980), a movie that proves Ulli Lommel knew how to mix suburban anxiety with the gleeful terror of reflective surfaces—basically, the cinematic equivalent of telling your kids, “Don’t look under the bed,” and then installing mirrors in every room to really mess with them. It’s the kind of film that walks the … Read More “The Boogey Man (1980)” »
Antropophagus, the kind of movie that makes you question not just your taste in cinema, but also humanity’s survival instincts. Joe D’Amato delivers a 1980 Italian horror flick that could best be described as “gore, islands, and regret,” with the subtlety of a sledgehammer to the face. If you were hoping for nuance, you might … Read More “Antropophagus (1980)” »
Screams of a Winter Night—where anthology horror meets the awkward charm of a college camping trip that quickly devolves into a nature documentary about how the woods hate your life choices. Watching it now is like leafing through a photo album of bad decisions, flannel shirts, and teens who should have gone to therapy instead … Read More “Screams of a Winter Night (1979)” »
Meet Max: The Friendly Nightmare If you’ve ever thought your apartment needed a bit of TLC, The Plumber will make you think twice. Peter Weir’s 1979 psychological thriller introduces Max, a man who carries a wrench in one hand and a full-blown psychosis in the other. Max doesn’t just fix pipes; he fixes your life… … Read More “The Plumber (1979) A charming Australian flat, a grad student, and a plumber with a little too much personality” »
