Once upon a 1997, in a time when TV movies thought they could be edgy and horror anthologies were still dragging their half-dead corpses across the airwaves, someone said, “Let’s mix Clive Barker and Stephen King. What could possibly go wrong?” Enter Quicksilver Highway, a two-story anthology directed by Mick Garris and built like an … Read More “Quicksilver Highway (1997): Two Tales, No Brakes, and a Whole Lotta Bad Hair” »
Some sequels feel unnecessary. Others feel like someone found a bag of money labeled “horror franchise” and screamed, “Quick, get Tony Todd on the phone!” Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh is the cinematic equivalent of a Mardi Gras float crashing into a mausoleum. Loud, messy, full of beads and regret. Released in 1995, this soggy, … Read More “Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh (1995) – A Honey-Drenched Dumpster Fire in the Big Easy” »
Nightbreed is what happens when you let a horror novelist direct a monster movie, hand him a bucket of latex, a Bible, a bottle of absinthe, and a copy of The Island of Misfit Toys, and tell him to go nuts. Clive Barker, the leather-bound lunatic who gave us Hellraiser, returns in full freakshow mode … Read More “Nightbreed (1990): Monsters, Misfits, and the Most Metal Therapy Session Ever Filmed” »
Clive Barker didn’t just kick the door down with Hellraiser. He tore it off the hinges, reattached it upside down, and summoned a quartet of interdimensional sadomasochists to drag our souls into a world of exquisite torment. Released in 1987, Hellraiser is Barker’s directorial debut, and it arrives soaked in blood, dripping with ambition, and … Read More “Hellraiser (1987): Skinless Men, Sex Demons, and the Glory of Pain With Purpose” »
There’s something poetic about the fact that Underworld was originally titled Transmutations. Because about halfway through watching it, your brain begins its own transmutation—from curious to confused, from bored to bitter, and finally into something resembling existential nausea. This isn’t the kind of movie you watch. It’s the kind you survive. Preferably with medication and … Read More “Underworld (1985): Clive Barker’s Dumpster Fire of Gothic Nightmares and ’80s Hair Gel” »
There are two types of people in this world: those who believe in due process, and those who watched Eye for an Eye and said, “You know what? Screw it, let’s kill the bastard.” John Schlesinger, the director who once gave us introspective meditations on loneliness (Midnight Cowboy), generational ennui (Sunday Bloody Sunday), and the … Read More “Eye for an Eye (1996) — Justice, Jodie, and Justifiable Homicide” »
Let’s just say this up front: Pacific Heights is not a horror film. It’s a stress aneurysm filmed in soft California sunlight. It’s yuppie paranoia soaked in power drills and eviction notices. It’s the cinematic equivalent of inviting a stranger to crash on your couch, only to find out he’s drilled holes in your foundation … Read More “Pacific Heights (1990) — When Michael Keaton Moved In and Ruined Your Life with a Smirk” »
John Schlesinger, the master of tragic restraint (Sunday Bloody Sunday, Midnight Cowboy, Separate Tables), decided in 1987 to take a detour from British ennui and emotional fragility and instead drive a jagged, blood-soaked machete straight through Manhattan. The result was The Believers, a supernatural horror-thriller about cults, child sacrifice, grief, and the absolutely baffling idea … Read More “The Believers (1987) — Schlesinger Goes Voodoo, and You’re Gonna Need a Stronger Nightlight” »
John Schlesinger’s 1983 TV remake of Separate Tables is like checking into a seaside hotel where everyone’s on the verge of tears, and the only thing on the room service menu is regret. Based on Terence Rattigan’s 1950s plays and the 1958 Oscar-winning film, this British miniseries isn’t flashy. It doesn’t explode. It simmers, politely … Read More “Separate Tables (1983) — Polite Misery with Room Service” »
John Schlesinger’s Yanks is one of those World War II movies that forgets about the war for long stretches, only to let it creep in like damp under the floorboards. Released in 1979, when the world had grown weary of noble epics and macho shootouts, Yanks is a soft, slow, and surprisingly human film about … Read More “Yanks (1979) — Love, War, and Other Tactical Errors” »
