the words and worlds of John Robinson
American psychologist John Holden, known for exposing frauds, travels to London to attend a convention on the topics of parapsychology and the supernatural. In London, he is to meet a Professor Harrington. The professor plans to expose the Dr. Julian Karswell, leader of a satanic cult, as a phony at the convention. When Holden lands, …
I don't know if I read it or heard it said, but Wes Craven was once described as a good director who had made some bad movies. It doesn't matter who the artist is, there's gonna be some fouls, fumbles and strike-outs along the way. Shakespeare didn't exactly have a spotless record-- who remembers Troilus …
If it's been a long work week, or just a particularly stressful day, you may feel like getting away from it all. There are myriad ways to relax (legally, my friends, hopefully): some people head to a bar and start a tab to take the edge off, some opt for a glass of wine in …
Growing up, I thought Clint Eastwood made four types of movies: westerns, war films, Dirty Harry ones, and the two with the orangutan. Those were his only movies I was aware of because those were the only ones I'd seen on television. As I became older, I discovered Eastwood's work beyond The Outlaw Josey Wales …
As someone who worked the graveyard shift for nearly twenty years, I know what it's like at two in the morning when your body is screaming that you should be in bed asleep and not trying to earn your dollar for the day. I also know what it's like in those wee hours when you …
There are very few sequels which equal or surpass their original film. For every Silence of the Lambs there is a Caddyshack II. For every Exorcist III or Terminator 2: Judgment Day, there is a Jason Goes To Hell or a Jaws: The Revenge. Most sequels are more of the same, and that seems to …
Continue reading "Movie of the Week: Amityville II: The Possession"
In the English suburbs live Billy and Myra Savage. The Savages appear to be a typical, middleclass British couple-- unassuming people in an unassuming house. Normal, more or less, except for Arthur doesn't work due to his asthma and Myra is a medium who believes she talks to the spirit of their dead son, Arthur, …
Continue reading "Movie of the Week: Séance on a Wet Afternoon"
I don't know when it started, or for how long they will have them, but the good folks at Shudder have added a selection of classic Val Lewton films to their streaming line-up. Included in the collection is the granddaddy of the jump scare, Cat People. In the words of Randy "Macho Man" Savage-- "Oooh …
War is hell, no matter how you spin it. Private Charlie Shakespeare knows that all too well. At sixteen years old, he has lied about his age and enlisted in the military. As a British soldier he finds himself in a trench on the front lines facing the onslaught of German artillery. And his squad …
Is there anything better than Golden Age Hollywood? From the early days of silent pictures to about the mid to late sixties (the standard defining time), the Dream Factory of La La Land, with its studio kingdoms, was the home of American royalty. The Golden Age, especially the thirties and forties, to my mind, is …
Curio Macabre 