Horror, Fantasy & Science Fiction Films
Articles on specific topics of interest
Keith Emerson – the keyboard genius and composer – has died. According to Rolling Stone, the 71-year-old musician was found at his home in Santa Monica, with a single gunshot wound in his head – an apparent suicide (though that has not been confirmed yet). Emerson was known mostly for his virtuoso keyboard work in …
Parmount Pictures recently created a new YouTube channel, The Paramount Vault, which streams free films from the studio’s library. Along with clips from classic titles, there are approximately 150 full length movies. Of course, these are not premium titles but lower end stuff for which services such as Netflix might not be inclined to pay …
Read More “Laserblast: The Paramount Vault – Science Fiction & Horror on YouTube”
The ninth issue of Cinefantastique featured a career article devoted to Christopher Lee, way back in the fall of 1973. Peter Cushing wrote this heartfelt introduction for his good friend, although they were only to make three more films together. Luckily Ted Newsome brought them together one last time for his documentary on Hammer films, …
Insurgent, the second chapter in Summit Entertainment’s Divergent series, arrives over a year after the first film, but takes place only three days after the climatic battle that ended Divergent, where the heroine, Tris seemed to be heading with her boyfriend Tobias Eaton or “Four” towards the walled “outlands” of a futuristic Chicago, that has …
THE LAZARUS EFFECT is quite an effective little horror chiller, that benefits greatly by treating it’s subject–a group of scientists exploring the possibility of bringing the dead back to life–with deadly seriousness. The movie follows two romantically involved researchers, Frank (Mark Duplass) and his fiancée Zoe (Olivia Wilde), who are operating with a grant from …
BATMAN comes to TV — but will the audience accept the mysterious Masked Manhunter into their living rooms? Maybe if he’s a duly deputized member of the law. Tune in to find out.
What are the ten best cover images ever published by Cinefantastique magazine? Daily Grindhouse weighs in on that question here, offering a Top Ten plus a few runners-up. Take a look at the whole list; it’s a fun trip down memory lane. I especially like the artwork for LOGAN’S RUN and THE BLACK HOLE (regardless …
The final track on Deep Purple’s latest album, Now What?!, features a title that immediately endeared it to Cinefantastique: “Vincent Price.” That’s right: the late, great “Merchant of Menace” – the actor who portrayed Dr. Phibes, Prince Prospero, Roderick Usher, the Invisible Man, and many other memorable villains – is the subject of a hard …
Read More “Review of Deep Purple Music Video: "Vincent Price"”
In an article at Boingboing.net. author Ethan Gilsdorf muses on the recent passing of special effects artist Ray Harryhausen, an event which inevitably symbolizes the demise of old-fashioned analog special effects: miniatures, models, and most especially the Harryhausen style of stop-motion puppetry that brought imaginative creatures to life for decades. While acknowledging that digital effects …
Read More “Cybersurfing: Was Ray Harryhausen's stop-motion more real than CGI?”
Interesting tidbit: Among films that have divided audiences and critics on the Rotten Tomatoes tomato-meter, SCARY MOVIE 5 ranks third. The film earned a 4% approval rating from critics and a 79.1% approval rating from viewers. The difference of 75.1% places the film just below MOGDALINI (2004) and just above OUT COLD (2001).