Category: Horror

“From Dusk Till Dawn” (1996) directed by Robert Rodriguez, written by Quentin Tarantino, starring George Clooney, Harvey Keitel, Juliette Lewis & Quentin Tarantino / Z-View

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From Dusk Till Dawn (1996)

Director: Robert Rodriguez

Screenplay: Quentin Tarantino, story by Robert Kurtzman

Stars: George Clooney, Harvey Keitel, Juliette Lewis, Quentin Tarantino, Ernest Liu, Salma Hayek, Cheech Marin, Danny Trejo, Tom Savini, Fred Williamson, Brenda Hillhouse, John Saxon, Marc Lawrence, Kelly Preston, John Hawkes, Greg Nicotero, Robert Rodriguez and Michael Parks.

Tagline: From Quentin Tarantino. From Robert Rodriguez. From Dusk Till Dawn

The Plot…

Seth (Clooney) and Richie (Tarantino) Gecko are bank robbers on the run.  They’re desperate to get to across the border to Mexico.  If they make it, they’ll meet Carlos at a strip club called The Titty Twister.  From there, for a price, they’ll be taken to a sanctuary.

The trip won’t be easy.  Every cop including the Texas Rangers are after them.  There are roadblocks, constant news reports plus Richie is liable to royally screw things up.  Seth is a thief and will kill anyone who attempts to bring him in, but there are lines he won’t cross.  Richie is a sadist, sexual deviant and is an eager killer.

Opportunity presents itself when the Gecko brothers see Jacob Fuller (Keitel) and his two teenage kids, Scott (Liu) and Kate (Lewis) outside their RV.  They kidnap the family and force Jacob to drive them across the border.

Now it’s a short journey to The Titty Twister.  Once there the family will be set free and the brothers will go to sanctuary.  Or so they think.  No one can imagine the horrors that await.  Not everyone will survive.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

I love how From Dusk Till Dawn morphs from a crime flick to a horror movie.

There are movie easter eggs throughout the film.  Earl McGraw (Michael Parks) appears here and in Kill Bill, Planet Terror and Death Proof.  Big Kahuna Burgers, made famous in Pulp Fiction (and later Death Proof) show up.  A Precinct 13 shirt worn by Scott is a reference to John Carpenter’s Assault on Precinct 13.  The crotch-gun that Sex Machine uses was also seen in Rodriguez’s film Desperado. Chango Beer seen in this film was also a beverage in Desperado.

Cheech Marin plays three roles in the film: a border patrol agent, the barker at The Titty Twister and Carlos.

From Dusk Till Dawn fits in perfectly with Rodriguez and Tarantino’s Grindhouse double feature… instead make it a triple feature that would run from, uh, dusk till dawn.

From Dusk Till Dawn (1996) rates 5 of 5 stars.

“Organ Trail” (2023) starring Zoé De Grand Maison and Clé Bennett / Z-View

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Organ Trail (2023)

Director: Michael Patrick Jann

Screenplay: Megan Turner

Stars: Zoé De Grand Maison, Lisa LoCicero, Olivia Grace Applegate, Sam Trammell, Nicholas Logan, Michael Abbott Jr., Alejandro Akara, Clé Bennett, Jessica Frances Dukes and Thomas Lennon.

Tagline: None.

The Plot…

The year is 1870.  The Archer family, Abraham, Celeste, and their teenage children, Tobias and Abby are traveling across the frontier in a covered wagon.  One evening they come across a massacre.  Everyone except a young woman named Cassidy has been brutally murdered.  The Archers treat Cassidy’s wounds and tell her she can travel with them.

Late that night, the four murderers, Logan, Rhys, Brody, and Felix return.  They kill everyone in the Archer family except Abby.  It turns out Cassidy is with the four men.  Abby is bound and taken to a deserted ghost town.  It is the base of operations for the killers.  They routinely use Cassidy to slow down travelers who they then kill and rob.  Cassidy’s injuries were because she tried to escape the men.

The men are sadistic, perverted killers.  Now they have two women to use as bait on unsuspecting travelers. Abby realizes that escape is unlikely and will likely result in her death.

Abby plans to leave the first chance she gets.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Organ Trail is western/horror mashup.

Zoé De Grand Maison and Clé Bennett are both new actors to me.  I will be keeping an eye out for their future performances.  They were excellent.

Nicholas Logan once again makes an excellent scary bad guy.

Organ Trail (2023) rates 4 of 5 stars.

“Sinners” directed by Ryan Coogler, starring Michael B. Jordan – The Poster and Trailer are Here!

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Check out the poster and trailer for Sinners directed by Ryan Coogler, starring Michael B. Jordan.

I cannot remember the last time a trailer had me this hyped to see a film.

Deal me in.

A new vision of fear from director Ryan Coogler and Michael B. Jordan. #SinnersMovie – Only in theaters March 7. #ShotWithIMAXFilmCameras

From Ryan Coogler — director of “Black Panther” and “Creed” — and starring Michael B. Jordan comes a new vision of fear: “Sinners.”

Trying to leave their troubled lives behind, twin brothers (Jordan) return to their hometown to start again, only to discover that an even greater evil is waiting to welcome them back.

“You keep dancing with the devil, one day he’s gonna follow you home.”

Written and directed by Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Coogler, “Sinners” stars Jordan (the “Black Panther” and “Creed” franchises) in a dual role, joined by Oscar nominee Hailee Steinfeld (“Bumblebee,” “True Grit”), Jack O’Connell (“Ferrari”), Wunmi Mosaku (“Passenger”), Jayme Lawson (“The Woman King”), Omar Benson Miller (“True Lies”) and Delroy Lindo (“Da 5 Bloods”).

The film is produced by Coogler and frequent collaborators Sev Ohanian and Zinzi Coogler. The executive producers are Ludwig Göransson, Will Greenfield and Rebecca Cho.

Coogler’s behind-the-camera artisans include his “Black Panther” franchise collaborators: director of photography Autumn Durald Arkapaw, Oscar-winning production designer Hannah Beachler, editor Michael P. Shawver, Oscar-winning composer Ludwig Göransson, and Oscar-winning costume designer Ruth E. Carter.

Warner Bros. Pictures presents A Proximity Media Production, A Ryan Coogler Film: “Sinners.” The film will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, in theaters only nationwide on March 7, 2025, and internationally beginning March 2025.

“Eyes Without a Face” (1960) / Z-View

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Eyes Without a Face (1960)

Director: Georges Franju

Screenplay: Boileau-Narcejac, Jean Redon, Claude Sautet; dialogue by Pierre Gascar; based on Les Yeux sans visage by Jean Redon

Stars:  Pierre Brasseur; Alida Valli; Juliette Mayniel; Alexandre Rignault; Béatrice Altariba; François Guérin and Édith Scob.

Tagline: Beautiful women were the victims of his FIENDISH FACIALS!!!

The Plot…

Dr. Génessier is a brilliant surgeon.  His work with skin grafts is cutting edge.  When Génessier causes an accident that destroys his adult daughter’s face, he is determined to repair it with skin grafts.  But to do that he will need young women’s faces!

When women begin disappearing, the police are baffled… until…

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Eyes Without a Face was not well received when first released.  Over the years it has become a cult classic.

Eyes Without a Face is a stylish horror film with a nightmarish quality.

Eyes Without a Face (1960) rates 4 of 5 stars.

The Best Horror Movies of All Time

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IndieWire recently posted their choices for The 75 Best Horror Movies of All Time.  It’s an eclectic list.  Of the 75 films listed, I’ve seen 44.  Using just their list, here are my top ten in alphabetical order.  I picked films that I felt were the scariest (we’re talking horror after all), and not necessarily the best.

  • “Alien” (dir. Ridley Scott, 1979)
  • “Birds, The” (dir. Alfred Hitchcock, 1963)
  • “Exorcist, The” (dir. William Friedkin, 1973)
  • “Fly, The” (dir. David Cronenberg, 1986)
  • “Get Out” (dir. Jordan Peele, 2017)
  • “Halloween” (dir. John Carpenter, 1978)
  • “Night of the Demon” (dir. Jacques Tourneur, 1957)
  • “Night of the Living Dead” (dir. George Romero, 1968)
  • “Psycho” (dir. Alfred Hitchcock, 1960)
  • “Thing, The” (dir. John Carpenter, 1982)

BURN TO SHINE: A JOE LEDGER AND ROUGE TEAM INTERNATIONAL NOVEL by Joe Ledger!

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Jonathan Maberry’s new Joe Ledger is titled BURN TO SHINE: A JOE LEDGER AND ROUGE TEAM INTERNATIONAL NOVEL.  It’ll be released on March 4, 2025 (and in my mitts the same day).  Here’s the scoop…

Rogue Team International joins Joe Ledger in a new, tension-filled mission to stop a wave of bioterrorism from devastating the country in the fourth installment of bestselling author Jonathan Maberry’s ongoing series.

A covert group is infiltrating the world’s most secure bio-weapons research sites. All across the country, people are acting as human ‘disease bombs’ by infecting themselves and walking into public places. And heavily-armed groups of illegal private soldiers are massing for some unknown strike.

Joe Ledger and the members of Rogue Team International, still reeling from the devastation and heartbreaking losses of their last mission, are forced into relentless action to try and save the country, if not the entire world.

Old enemies are rising and joining forces to hit Joe and his team with one devastating blow after another. What is the end game for all of this madness and terror? Outnumbered, outmaneuvered, and outgunned, Joe Ledger has to find a way back from the fires of grief in order to make a stand between these enemies and millions of potential innocent lives. But Joe has allies, too. His team, the vicious fighters of Arklight, and friends who may or may not be entirely human.

A war of darkness and light is coming. Who will stand? Who will fall? And how will anyone ever survive?

“The Faculty” (1998) directed by Robert Rodriguez / Z-View

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The Faculty (1998)

Director: Robert Rodriguez

Screenplay: Kevin Williamson; story by David Wechter, Bruce Kimmel

Stars: Jordana Brewster, Clea DuVall, Laura Harris, Josh Hartnett, Shawn Hatosy, Salma Hayek, Famke Janssen, Piper Laurie, Christopher McDonald, Bebe Neuwirth, Robert Patrick, Usher, Daniel von Bargen, Elijah Wood, Jon Abrahams, Danny Masterson, Harry Knowles and Jon Stewart.

Tagline: Six students are about to find out their teachers really are from another planet.

The Plot…

When some members of the Herrington High faculty begin to act strangely, only a few students notice. Delilah (Brewster) and Casey (Wood) secretly see two teachers turning another faculty member and realize aliens are involved.

Only four of their closest friends believe what is happening.  As more of the faculty and students are turned the six students realize it is up to them to stop the alien takeover.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

The Faculty is like a love letter to horror movies of the 1950s geared to high school students with a nice helping of Invasion of the Body Snatchers and The Thing.

The Faculty features Jordana Brewster and Usher’s film debut.

Bebe Neuwirth and Robert Patrick own their scenes.

The Faculty (1998) rates 4 of 5 stars.

“Operation Blood Hunt” – Rampage Jackson, Louis Mandylor, Sonia Couling & Jonathan Rhys Meyers vs Werewolves – The Poster and Trailer are Here!

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Both the poster and trailer for Operation Blood Hunt cries out for a drive-in theater showing.  It’s low budget, horror with “C” level stars.  Sometimes a fun drive-in movie is just what is needed.

Deal me in.

In 1944, a band of Special Forces are sent to a remote Pacific island to solve the mystery of missing Marines. They uncover a deadly secret: werewolves. Now, they must outwit and outfight the supernatural to survive. Welcome to Operation Blood Hunt.

Cast: Quinton Rampage Jackson, Louis Mandylor, Sonia Couling, Jonathan Rhys Meyers

On Demand and On Digital, October 4th, 2024.

EERIE Archives Volume 9 featuring Esteban Maroto, Doug Moench, Tom Sutton, Steve Skeates, Luis Dominguez & more!

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EERIE Archives Volume 9 will be released on December 17, 2024.  It will contain 272 pages of horrific fun! Here’s what we get…

Enter the laboratory of Cousin Eerie as he prepares to throw the switch on another shocking collection of terror tales in Eerie Archives Volume 9, now in a value-priced paperback edition.

Prepare yourself for an extended series of forbidden experiments by comics masterminds Esteban Maroto, Doug Moench, Tom Sutton, Steve Skeates, Luis Dominguez, and more. By the way, who’s that strapped to the slab? Oh, it’s you! Don’t worry, the pain won’t last forever—but it’ll feel like it!

Collects Eerie magazine issues #42–#46.

  Deal me in.  Pre-Orders are available now.

MIDNIGHT LULLABIES: UNQUIET STORIES AND POEMS by Jonathan Maberry!

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Jonathan Maberry has a new one coming out in just a few days.  It’s titled MIDNIGHT LULLABIES: UNQUIET STORIES AND POEMS.  Here’s the lowdown…

It’s dark out there…and it lasts a long time…

MIDNIGHT LULLABIES: UNQUIET STORIES AND POEMS is a collection of the horror short stories and poems-both old and new-by New York Times bestselling author and 5-time Bram Stoker Award-winner, Jonathan Maberry.

In the darkest hours of the night the natural world yields to the creatures who dwell in the dark. A serial killer who adopts orphaned children during the apocalypse; a heartbreaking reconciliation of two estranged brothers; a paralyzed MMA fighter receiving an offer he can’t refuse; strange voices crying out from the heart of a collapsed mountain; a little girl who enlists the aid of the monsters in her closet to battle cosmic horror; a delicious revenge by a refugee from the death camps; rednecks battling zombies; a terrified child whose family has become monsters; Earth-borne horrors taking hold on an alien world; and more! Plus, new horror tales and eerie poems.

With a foreword by New York Times bestselling author, Joe R. Lansdale.