Category: Action Horror

Action Horror, Monster Horror, Nostalgia, Opinion/Editorial, vampires

“Van Helsing” 20 Years Later – Was It Too Campy For Its Own Good?

Following the massive success that was The Mummy (which spawned an entire franchise) director Stephen Sommers teamed up with Universal again to do a quasi remake crossover of several more of their classic monsters of the 1930s/1940s.  The result was 2004’s Van Helsing.  A movie that featured Count Dracula, several wolf men, Frankenstein’s monster, Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde, and of course the titular monster hunter Van … Continue reading “Van Helsing” 20 Years Later – Was It Too Campy For Its Own Good?

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Action Horror, Comic Book, Nostalgia, Opinion/Editorial

Why Guillermo Del Toro’s “Hellboy” Still Holds Up 20 Years Later

Just as Fox’s X-Men movies and Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man movies were kicking off what would become the comic book movie boom that would dominate the next two decades, another lesser known comic book from Dark Horse got the cinematic treatment way back in 2004. Based on Mike Mignola’s character Hellboy, the movie adaptation of the same name brought life to the wise-cracking, sometimes immature demonic … Continue reading Why Guillermo Del Toro’s “Hellboy” Still Holds Up 20 Years Later

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Action Horror, Movie Review, screambox

“Here For Blood” Blends Wrestling Action and Home Invasion Horror [Review]

Horror and wrestling have always had a large overlap in their fandoms.  People who are into monsters, blood, and guts, are usually also into over the top, campy antics, and creative action sequences.  One movie that captures this dichotomy in a very interesting way is Screambox’s latest original movie Here for Blood. Blending a typical home invasion thriller and supernatural horror with a campy, but … Continue reading “Here For Blood” Blends Wrestling Action and Home Invasion Horror [Review]

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Action Horror, Nostalgia, Opinion/Editorial

What Went Wrong with “The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor” – 15 Years Later

When it comes to trilogies, pulling off the proverbial hat trick always seems to be an issue for the final installment.  There’s a laundry list of examples where the third film in a series seems to be weakest.  And for a movie as beloved as 1999’s The Mummy (as well as its 2001 sequel), it was unable to escape the same fate. Originally celebrated as … Continue reading What Went Wrong with “The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor” – 15 Years Later

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Action Horror, Movie Review

“Mad Heidi” – A Cheesy, Over the Top Exploitation Saga [Review]

What do 70s exploitation, lactose intolerance, Nazis, and a kickass protagonist who’s just deadly as she is beautiful have in common?  They’re all features of the world’s first “Swissploitation” film (which is also the name of the production company that made it) Mad Heidi! Completely crowdfunded and independent in every way, Mad Heidi is every bit as cheesy (both literally and figuratively) as you’d want.  … Continue reading “Mad Heidi” – A Cheesy, Over the Top Exploitation Saga [Review]

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Action Horror, Nostalgia, Opinion/Editorial, zombies

“World War Z” 10 Years Later – A Terrible Adaptation, But Decent Zombie Movie

Released at the height of the 2000s zombie craze, Max Brooks’ 2006 novel “World War Z” treated itself almost like a historical document.  Modeled after a 1984 WWII book “The Good War: An Oral History of World War Two”, it fascinated readers and quickly became a bestseller; gaining even more notoriety than Brooks’ 2003 satirical book “The Zombie Survival Guide”. So it was no surprise … Continue reading “World War Z” 10 Years Later – A Terrible Adaptation, But Decent Zombie Movie

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Action Horror, Nostalgia, Opinion/Editorial

“The Purge” 10 Years Later – How It Predicted the Future

In moments of road rage and (sometimes) justified frustration, we’ve all imagined what we would like to do if for just a little bit, the rules of society didn’t apply.  At least this was the idea that James DeMonaco had when he wrote and directed The Purge back in 2013.  In fact the whole concept started with a road rage incident involving a drunk driver … Continue reading “The Purge” 10 Years Later – How It Predicted the Future

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Action Horror, Movie Review

“The Wrath of Becky” – A Gory, Hilarious, Over the Top Sequel [Review]

Back in 2020 when the world was in lockdown and movie theaters were mostly closed, a small indie survival horror/thriller called Becky managed to rule the box office at the #1 spot for 3 weekends in June.  At a time when big summer blockbusters usually dominate the landscape, this low budget movie gained national headlines for its success, given that it was still playing in … Continue reading “The Wrath of Becky” – A Gory, Hilarious, Over the Top Sequel [Review]

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Action Horror, Movie Review, Sci-Fi Horror, shudder

“The Lair” – Movie Review

Science gone wrong remains a popular subgenre of both sci-fi and horror (often at their intersection) going all the way back to the monster movies of the 1950s.  In Shudder’s latest exclusive film The Lair, we see extra-terrestrial monster horror set against the backdrop of a war drama and the result is a decent action-horror movie that despite taking itself too seriously at times, ends … Continue reading “The Lair” – Movie Review

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Action Horror, Nostalgia, Opinion/Editorial

“Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters” 10 Years Later – A Campy, Fun Horror/Action Thriller

Who else remembers that odd trend in the early 2010’s when studios were putting out gritty, action-oriented adaptations of classic fairy tales?  This trend included 2011’s Red Riding Hood, 2012’s Snow White and the Hunstman (and its 2016 sequel), 2013’s Jack the Giant Slayer, as well as Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters (also from 2013). The result was a much darker take on some of … Continue reading “Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters” 10 Years Later – A Campy, Fun Horror/Action Thriller

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