I had heard so much about the original of Black Christmas from 1974 by the time I finally got to see it. Its reputation as being the main film that inspired the slasher movie sub-genre pre-Halloween was well established, with horror fans salivating over it and singing its praises to the heavens. 'Let's see how …
Continue reading The Gift That Keeps On Giving- What Makes Black Christmas So Darn Scary?
Eddie Turner steps on a landmine whilst serving in Nam and loses his limbs as a result. His fiance Winifred is a physicist and looks to her former teacher Doctor Stein (his name is a red flag already) who has recently won the Nobel prize for his work regarding DNA and so may be able …
Continue reading 31 Days of Halloween- Day 5- Blackenstein (1973)
Jessica, her husband Duncan and their friend Woody arrive at a new house in the country that Jessica and Duncan have bought. When they arrive they are surprised to find someone squatting there. They ask this person, Emily to join them for their evening meal and then to sleep there for the night. The next …
Continue reading 31 Days of Halloween- Day 2- Let’s Scare Jessica To Death (1971)
One of my earliest memories involves the film Friday the 13th (those who know me are rolling their eyes and thinking 'This doesn't surprise me!') I'm 5 years old and I'm running towards my local cinema, The Odeon in York. I regularly go there when my family ventures into town as there are posters and …
Continue reading ‘It’s Got A Death Curse!’- Taking A Deep Dive Into Friday The 13th (1980)
I first heard of the director Jeff Lieberman when I recalled seeing the artwork for one of his films, Squirm on the video shelves in the 80's. The sleeve depicting a shower head dripping with worms instead of water with some of them having crawled under the skin of the scared woman in the picture …
I love the horror films that are unlike any other films in the genre and stand-alone with their quirks and idiosyncrasies. One such film is Alice Sweet Alice. The film was actually called Communion when it premiered at numerous film festivals but was then retitled Alice Sweet Alice when it was picked up by its …
I saw The Texas Chain Saw Massacre at the cinema the other day. It's been a long road, but I feel like I've had my own personal journey with this horror masterpiece. After years of not being able to view the film, it grew in my mind to almost mythic proportions. When I finally got …
Continue reading Leatherface and Me- Growing Up With (and Without) The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
This 1980 slasher movie concerns a jilted lover who kills his ex prior to her wedding day. He's now been released from prison and intends on repeating history as he's after a soon-to-be bride. The film borrows heavily from Halloween (the piano score, the autumnal street shots etc etc) and even the title card for …
Some of my favourite childhood memories involved me being in a local video shop (and there were quite a few in my area) and poring over the lurid and sleazy artwork for the horror movies. In the 80's video shops were like art galleries for weirdos and I was (and proudly still am) one of …
Continue reading Meathook Cinema Hall of Fame- Visiting Hours (1982)
It used to be really popular in Britain when I was growing up for the hottest topics of the day to be debated and discussed live in a studio with experts on a stage and an audience who would ask questions and contribute. A famous example is the debate regarding certain religious figures calling for …
Meathook Cinema 