#monthofspooks

Japanese high school girls are in big trouble in surreal blood-drenched art-house horror Tag (2015) #MonthOfSpooks #Review

Very much not the bawdy Jeremy Renner comedy vehicle, “Tag” is a movie I’ll cheerfully admit to having tracked down after a bizarre gif piqued my morbid curiosity. Given that the gif shows a scene from the first ten minutes of the movie and it just gets weirder and more bizarre from there, that should give you an idea of what you’re in for.

From cult director Sion Sono, “Tag” brings us the story…

A rerun of the Richard Whiteley TV quiz show contains more horror than Countdown (2019) #MonthOfSpooks #Review

The ubiquity of mobile phones and apps in daily life is ripe for exploration and a horror film is a perfect vehicle to explore the darker side of our societal obsession in a clever and insightful way. Unfortunately, there’s nothing remotely clever or insightful about the stupid and inconsistent “Countdown”.

A new app is sweeping the, um, town I guess – one which predicts when you will die, down…

J K Rowling has got some 'splainin' to do as Troll (1986) brings us the original Harry Potter and the cursed child... #MonthOfSpooks #Review

Starring Atreyu himself, Noah Hathaway, “Troll” is perhaps less a straight horror movie than it is a dark fantasy. If there’s such a thing as adorable terror, “Troll” manages to strike that weird balance.

When a wicked troll king in search of a magical ring that will enable him to become human takes over a San Francisco apartment block, it’s up to young Harry Potter (Noah Hathaway) to learn from…

Sleepaway Camp (1983) offers very little sleep but a whole load of camp. #MonthOfSpooks #Review

There’s nothing remotely subtle about 1983 slasher “Sleepaway Camp” – from the moment the first images of the empty Camp Arawak site to the accompaniment of shrieking horns and ominous chords, this film is working hard to let you know this is going to be a horror movie. And a good job too, because it swiftly moves on to the world’s most unlikely and surprisingly bloodless boating accident which…

Salem's Lot (1979) is a vampire tale to get your teeth into! #MonthOfSpooks #Review

There are few of Stephen King’s books I’ve read more often than “Salem’s Lot”. There’s something so perfect about the mix of the gothic sexual horror of vampire lore and the petty intrigues of small-town American life and King balances both aspects perfectly through a blend of tight plotting and great characterisation. He even manages to stick the landing on this one.

Ben Mears (David Soul), a…

Wishmaster (1998) is an 80's horror fan's wish fulfilled #MonthOfSpooks #Review

At a time when horror cinema was taking a sharp left turn into knowing irony and metatextual commentary, 1998’s “Wishmaster” is a gloriously gory, throwback to the previous decade of supernatural powers, ancient evil, hellish puzzle-box curses and bucket and buckets of gore.

In 12th century Mesopotamia, an evil Djinn (Andrew Divoff) asks the Sultan to make a final wish, once which will doom…

Ernest Borgnine proves he is the GOAT in star-studded B-movie The Devil’s Rain (1975) #MonthOfSpooks #Review

Borgnine! Shatner! Skerritt! Er…Travolta? “The Devil’s Rain” is a real curate’s egg of a movie, if the curate is a goat-worshipping Satanist with a penchant for cheesy, overwrought and overacted B-movies.

When satanist cult leader Corbis (Borgnine) is burnt alive by the local church he vows to come back to hunt down and enslave every descendant of his congregation using a Satanic book in the…