Category: Horror

Craig’s “The Best of 2022”

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As we start 2023, let’s pause for a look at the BEST OF 2022. I hope you see something that you enjoyed or gets you interested to check out. Here we go…

Movies and Limited Series

In 2022, I watched 409 movies and limited series. That number is up 37 from last year. None were seen in a theater! My favorite films and limited series released in 2022 included (in alpha order):

  • The Batman
  • Better Call Saul: Final Season
  • The English
  • God Forbid
  • Interceptor
  • Interview with a Vampire: Season 1
  • Ozark: Final Season
  • The Patient
  • Primal: Season 2
  • Reacher: Season 1
  • RRR
  • Star Trek: Strange New Worlds
  • Top Gun: Maverick
  • Werewolf By Night

Tulsa King would have made the list, but since the season hasn’t finished yet, I haven’t added it. It will definitely make next year’s Best Of list.

Books

In 2022, I read 37 books (2 less than last year). My favorites from this year included (in the order I read them):

  • Love & Bullets Megabomb Edition by Nick Kolakowski

  • Boise Longpig Hunting Club by Nick Kolakowski

  • The Devil’s Own Piss… by Whiskey Leavins

  • 61 Hours by Lee Child

  • Ice Station by Matthew Reilly

  • At Their Own Game by Frank Zafiro

  • IQ by Joe Ide

  • Murder in Grease Paint by Whiskey Leavins

  • And Sometimes I Wonder About You by Walter Mosley

  • Righteous by Joe Ide

  • Trouble is What I Do by Walter Mosley

  • Once Upon a Time in Hollywood by Quentin Tarantino

  • Later by Stephen King

  • Down the River unto the Sea by Walter Mosley

I’m surprised I didn’t read anything by Joe Lansdale this year. How did that even happen??

My Most Popular Posts of the Year

I continue to find some surprises in what became my most popular posts each year. Here are the top ten for 2022 and some thoughts for each…

10. Top 10 Most Iconic Horror Movie Villains – Dropped from #7 last year. Second year in a row to drop.

09. Batman & Manbat by Marshall Rogers & John Beatty! New to the list!

08. The Different Covers for David Morrell’s First Blood. New to the list!

07. “Clean” starring Adrian Brody – The Poster and Trailer are Here! New to the list!

06. Gadot & The Rock Strike a Pose – was in the 8th spot last year.

05. Evidence Points to NEW Suspect as the Zodiac Killer. New to the list!

04. Louis Meyers: Evidence He was the Zodiac Killer – came in the #3 spot last year and #2 the year before.

03. Dracula Through the Ages – was in our 4th spot last year. Flipped places with Louis Meyers.

02. The TWILIGHT ZONE New Year’s Eve Marathon is Coming and the Full Schedule is Out! – was the most popular post last year but was beat out this year by Schwarzenegger and Williams.

01. Schwarzenegger in “King Lear” & Robin Williams in “Jack and the Beanstalk” – regains the #1 spot for the year.

My All-Time Most Popular Posts

The top 4 didn’t change and only one new post broke in to the All-Time most popular posts. Let’s see how things shook out…

10. Joel Osteen in Jacksonville – dropped from 7th to 10th. Two years in a row of drops. May not make the list next year.

09. Gadot & The Rock Strike a Pose – was in the 9th spot for the last two years.

08. The TWILIGHT ZONE New Year’s Eve Marathon is Coming and the Full Schedule is Out! – New to the list!  I love the love that the TZ is getting!

07. Steve Reeves as Superman – was the #5 all-time most popular post last year.

06. Dracula Through the Ages – up from the 10th spot. Vampires are in.

05. TOP 10 MOST ICONIC HORROR MOVIE VILLAINS! – from 6th to 5th. Two years in a row of moving up!

04. New Billy the Kid Photo Discovered – No change!

03. Zodiac Killer Code Cracked? – No change!

02. Louis Meyers: Evidence He Was the Zodiac Killer – No change!

01. Schwarzenegger in “King Lear” & Robin Williams in “Jack and the Beanstalk” – was #1 last year and continues to be our most popular post of all-time.

It’s always interesting to see which topics resonate with fans and continue to be popular long after their initial post.

“The Watcher”: Season 1 (2022) / Z-View

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The Watcher: Season 1 (2022)

Directors:  Ryan Murphy (episodes 1, 3); Paris Barclay (episodes 2, 4); Jennifer Lynch (episodes 5, 7); Max Winkler (episode 6)

Teleplay: Ryan Murphy & Ian Brennan (episodes 1 – 5); Ian Brennan & Reilly Smith (episode 6); Ian Brennan & Reilly Smith & Todd Kubrak & Ryan Murphy (episode 7)

Stars: Naomi Watts, Bobby Cannavale, Mia Farrow, Terry Kinney, Henry Hunter Hall, Isabel Gravitt, Luke David Blumm, Jennifer Coolidge, Christopher McDonald, Noma Dumezweni, Margo Martindale, Richard Kind, Seth Gabel, Michael Nouri and Susan Merson

Tagline: None.

The Plot…

Soon after Dean, Nora and their two kids move into their beautiful dream house, anonymous threatening letters begin to arrive.  As the letters become more menacing, it becomes clear that whoever is sending them has access to their house.  The letters contain information about their kids, private conversations and are always signed The Watcher.

The police are unable to help.  Dean and Nora install a new security system. It doesn’t stop the strange events.  The letters keep coming.  As Dean and Nora become more paranoid, every neighbor becomes a suspect.  They cannot sell the house because they mortgaged everything to afford the place.

Who is The Watcher?  What does he/she want?

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

The Watcher is based on real events.  A family purchased their dream home and began receiving threatening letters from a stalker who signed off as The Watcher.  The family ultimately sold the house at almost a $400,000 loss and moved out of town!  The Watcher was originally conceived as a limited one season series.  Thanks to good ratings, a second season was ordered.

I enjoyed The Watcher.  For me the journey was better than the destination.  In all fairness, I thought this was a limited series of one and done.  Therefore I was looking for a definite conclusion.  I’m not sure if the ending was the one planned or if it changed due to a second season order.

The Watcher is extremely well cast. Mia Farrow is perfect as an irritating, crazy neighbor. Jennifer Coolidge is a scene stealer as the unlikeable “friend”.  Naomi Watts and Bobby Cannavale are excellent as the leads.  Familiar faces show up in supporting roles: Terry (Oz) Kinney, Christopher (Family Law) McDonald, Margo (Justified) Martindale; Richard (Spin City) Kind and Michael (Flashdance) Nouri.  I’d never seen Noma Dumezweni and Henry Hunter Hall before, but will be watching for them in the future.

The story has twists and turns in every episode.  As the tension increases, so do mistakes made by Nick and Nora as far as blaming the wrong (?) people.  As unbelievable as the twists become, because the story is based on a real incident and because the acting is so good, I went with it.  The Watcher was a fun ride.  I just wish the final episode was more satisfying… but then again, that might have negated the need for a season two.

The Watcher earns 4 of 5 stars.

“Knock at the Cabin” (2023) Directed by M. Night Shyamalan – The Second Trailer is Here!

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Here is the second trailer to M. Night Shyamalan’s Knock at the Cabin.  Deal me in.

Knock at the Cabin – Only in Theaters February 3, 2023
https://www.knockatthecabin.com/

While vacationing at a remote cabin, a young girl and her parents are taken hostage by four armed strangers who demand that the family make an unthinkable choice to avert the apocalypse. With limited access to the outside world, the family must decide what they believe before all is lost.

From visionary filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan, Knock at the Cabin stars Dave Bautista (Dune, Guardians of the Galaxy franchise), Tony award and Emmy nominee Jonathan Groff (Hamilton, Mindhunter), Ben Aldridge (Pennyworth, Fleabag), BAFTA nominee Nikki Amuka-Bird (Persuasion, Old), newcomer Kristen Cui, Abby Quinn (Little Women, Landline) and Rupert Grint (Servant, Harry Potter franchise).

Universal Pictures presents a Blinding Edge Pictures production, in association with FilmNation Features and Wishmore Entertainment, an M. Night Shyamalan film. The screenplay is by M. Night Shyamalan and Steve Desmond & Michael Sherman based on the national bestseller The Cabin at the End of the World by Paul Tremblay. The film is directed by M. Night Shyamalan and produced by M. Night Shyamalan, Marc Bienstock (Split, Glass) and Ashwin Rajan (Servant, Glass). The executive producers are Steven Schneider, Christos V. Konstantakopoulos and Ashley Fox.

“The Raven” (1935) starring Boris Karloff & Bela Lugosi / Z-View

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The Raven (1935)

Director:  Lew Landers aka Louis Friedlander

Screenplay: David Boehm based on the poem by Edgar Allan Poe

Stars: Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, Lester Matthews, Irene Ware, Samuel S. Hinds, Spencer Charters and Ian Wolfe

Tagline: While this mad surgical genius chanted “The Raven,” horrible screams rose up from his torture chamber below!

The Plot…

Dr. Richard Vollin (Lugosi), who is obsessed with Edgar Allan Poe, is called out of retirement to perform a life-saving operation on Jean Thatcher (Ware).  The operation is a success.  Jean and Dr. Vollin become friends.  As the friendship grows, Vollin becomes obsessed with Jean.

When escaped killer Edmond Bateman (Karloff) shows up at Dr. Vollin’s mansion asking for a facelift, Vollin comes up with a sick plan.  He performs the operation, but turns Bateman into a hideous looking monster.  Vollin says he will fix Bateman’s face if Bateman will help him kill Jean’s fiance and father.  Vollin plans to murder them using methods based on Edgar Allan Poe stories.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Although Bela Lugosi had the leading role in The Raven, Boris Karloff got top billing.  In addition Karloff earned $10,000 to Lugosi’s $5,000.  Lugosi was reportedly unhappy to learn this news.

The idea of disfiguring an escaped murderer to make him do your bidding is an interesting take.  Credit to the writers to wrap that idea around an obsession with Edgar Allan Poe.   I wish the end result was as good as the ideas.

The Raven earns 2 of 5 stars.

“Interview with the Vampire” Season 1 (2022) starring Jacob Anderson, Sam Reid, Eric Bogosian, and Bailey Bass / Z-View

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Interview with the Vampire Season 1 (2022)

Directors:  Alan Taylor (episodes 1-2); Keith Powell (episodes 3-4); Levan Akin (episodes 5-6); Alexis Ostrander (episode 7)

Teleplay: Rolin Jones (episode 1); Jonathan Ceniceroz & Dave Harris (episode 2); Rolin Jones & Hannah Moscovitch (episode 3); Eleanor Burgess (episode 4); Hannah Moscovitch (episode 5); Coline Abert (episode 6); Rolin Jones & Ben Philippe (episode 7)

Stars: Jacob Anderson, Sam Reid, Eric Bogosian, Assad Zaman, Bailey Bass, Rae Dawn Chong and Dana Gourrier

Tagline: None.

The Plot…

Interview with a Vampire is an adaptation of Anne Rice’s novel, Interview with a Vampire.

In 1910, Louis de Pointe du Lac (Anderson) is a successful black business man.  He owns several brothels and rubs shoulders with many of the city’s civic leaders.  Louis meets and befriends  Lestat de Lioncourt (Reid).  Lestat is handsome, charismatic and somewhat mysterious.  He’s also a vampire! As Louis and Lestat spend time together, their friendship grows.  Ultimately, Lestat turns Louis into a vampire.

Louis is shocked and sickened by what he’s become.  He vows to never see Lestat again… but that doesn’t last.  Lestat teaches Louis how to hunt, the things that will kill a vampire, and how to blend in among humans.  Louis makes Lestat agree to some concessions.  They will prey only on the worst humans.  Lestat agrees, but he’s a remorseless killer.  The promise is a sham. There is more that Lestat keeps secret.

When a fire breaks out in a poor part of town, Louis pulls Claudia (Bass), a young girl, from a burning building.  Claudia is on the verge of death.  Louis saves Claudia by turning her.  Louis and Lestat become her “uncles” and the three vampires live together.

Over time Claudia sees the differences between Louis and Lestat. Louis is compassionate and caring.  Lestat is self-centered and heartless.  A rift forms.  Louis and Lestat are already having issues with their toxic relationship.  Problems increase with Claudia’s need for independence. Plus rumors are growing about strange goings on in Louis and Lestat’s mansion…

All of this is relayed in flashbacks as Louis is interviewed by Daniel Malloy (Bogosian), a cynical writer planning a book on Louis’ life.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Interview with the Vampire Season 1 is a tour de force.  Well written with extremely well cast actors joined by top notch direction results in a wonderful viewing experience.

Jacob Anderson (Louis) and Sam Reid (Lestat) have chemistry.  I knew Anderson from his impressive role on Game of Thrones.  I had seen Reid a decade ago in the mini-series Hatfields & McCoys, but didn’t remember him until looking up his credits.  Reid makes an impact here! Baily Bass as Claudia is an actress to watch.  I’d never seen her before, but imagine she’ll be a household name soon.  She’s that talented.  Eric Bogosian is great as the cynical writer.  I’ve never been a big fan of Bogosian’s but he’s perfect here.

Interview with a Vampire isn’t your typical vampire tale.  These vampires have more desires than just drinking blood. It’s interesting how different aspects of a vampire’s life are explored.  First there’s the loneliness. A vampire is a rare creature that if discovered by humans would be killed.  All of a vampire’s relationships change.  Family and friends know something is different.  Vampires never age.  They are rarely seen during the day.  How  to get rid of the bodies they feed on?  How long before missing people are linked to the vampire?

Interview with a Vampire Season 1, like Anne Rice’s novel, doesn’t shy away from the homosexual aspects of Louis and Lestat’s relationship.  Nothing graphic is shown.  Louis was a closeted homosexual in 1910.  Lestat was uninhibited and took whatever he desired whether it was a woman or a man.  Who’d think that a toxic vampire relationship would make great television.

I loved every episode of Interview with a Vampire Season 1.  There’s a lot of ground to cover between 1910 and 2022.  While many questions were an answered even more were not.  I look forward to Season 2.

Interview with the Vampire Season 1 earns 5 of 5 stars.

“Troll” (2022) / Z-View

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Troll (2022)

Director:  Roar Uthaug

Screenplay: Espen Aukan from a story by Roar Uthaug

Stars: Ine Marie Wilmann, Kim Falck, Mads Sjøgård Pettersen and Billy Campbell

Tagline: Mountains Will Move

The Plot…

A drilling operation accidentally sets of a large explosion in the Norwegian Dovre mountains.  Something huge is unleashed. Whatever was set free is destroying everything in it’s path.  Surprisingly there is little evidence left behind the destruction.

The government brings in a diverse group of military leaders and scientists to brainstorm next steps.  Nora Tidemann (Wilmann), after studying blurring camera images and evidence comes to believe the monster could be a giant troll.  She’s nearly laughed out of the room.

By the time it’s understood that Nora is right, the giant mythological beast is heading for the nation’s capital destroying all that gets in it’s way.  While the city evacuates, Nora and Captain Kristoffer Holm (Pettersen) put together a plan that may stop the creature. If it doesn’t kill them first.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Troll is so much fun!  If someone came to me with the idea of a giant troll movie, I would have passed.  It’s a great thing I wasn’t in charge of greenlighting this movie.  Everyone plays it straight which sets up both comedic and scary scenes.  The troll design is awesome.  If you’re a fan of King Kong and Godzilla, you should love Troll.  Keep an eye out for Billy Campbell of Rocketeer fame in a small role!

Troll earns 4 of 5 stars.

“All Quiet on the Western Front” (2022) / Z-View

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All Quiet on the Western Front (2022)

Director:  Edward Berger

Screenplay: Ian Stokell, Lesley Paterson, Edward Berger based on the novel  All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque

Stars: Felix Kammerer, Albrecht Schuch

Tagline: None.

The Plot…

Paul Bäumer (Krammerer) is about to graduate high school when he and his classmates hear a rousing patriotic speech about joining the service.  Paul and his friends enlist thinking that the war will be over soon and they’ll come back heroes.  They will learn how wrong they are… if they survive.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

All Quiet on the Western Front is based on Erich Maria Remarque’s anti-war novel of the same name.  Written in 1929, it was banned when the Nazis took over Germany.  All Quiet on the Western Front has been adapted three times.  Twice for feature films and once for television.  It’s a timeless story about the harsh realities of war.

This 2022 adaptation is excellent.  It won National Review awards as one of the Top Five Foreign Language Films and for Best Adapted Screenplay.  It won for Best Makeup and Hairstyling as well as Best Visual Effects in the European Film Awards.

All Quiet on the Western Front contains powerful, tense scenes of war that are heightened by quiet moments before and after the carnage.  There are scenes that will stay with you.  For me, one of the most telling is when the new recruits are unknowingly given uniforms taken off dead soldiers.  The bullet holes having been sewn together by scores of women at sewing machines.

It’s also a sad comment when young soldiers on both sides are in the elements with little to eat, fighting the weather as well as each other. Meanwhile diplomats and high ranking soldiers are getting the best food and amenities as they argue the terms of surrender.  Then when an agreement to end the war at 11:00 is reached, one power-hungry commander orders his soldiers to make a last minute attack that will cost many, many lives but have no positive outcome to the war.

If I was to nitpick, I might say that All Quiet on the Western Front was a bit long, but not long enough to kill my enjoyment of it.

All Quiet on the Western Front earns 4 of 5 stars.

“The Price We Pay” starring Emile Hirsh & Stephen Dorff – The Poster and Trailer are Here!

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The Price We Pay trailer looked like a typical crime movie until, well, check it out and see for yourself.  I like crime and I like horror.  Deal me in.

From the director of Midnight Meat Train comes this gripping thriller starring Emile Hirsch (Into the Wild) and Stephen Dorff (Blade). After an intense holdup at a pawnshop, Grace is taken hostage by the thieves. Forced to take refuge at a remote farmhouse late at night, they discover a secret dungeon with evidence of sadistic violence—and when “Grandfather” comes home, all hell breaks loose. Can Grace muster the courage to escape the gut-wrenching fates that befall her criminal companions?

The Price We Pay – in select theaters, on digital and on demand 1/13/23! Starring Stephen Dorff (Cody), Emile Hirsch (Alex), Gigi Zumbado (Grace), Tyler Sanders (Danny), Erika Ervin (Jodi), Jesse Kinser (John), Sabina Mach (Carly), and Vernon Wells (The Doctor).

EERIE ARCHIVES VOLUME 2 is Coming!

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Eerie Archives Volume 2 is available for pre-order now.  Here’s the lowdown…

A gruesome gold mine of horror, suspense, and the supernatural, Eerie magazine (and its partner in crime, Creepy), set the bar for gripping tales of terror in the comics medium.

Collecting the groundbreaking series, Eerie Archives is now available in a value-priced paperback edition. Under a jaw-dropping cover painting by Frank Frazetta lies a collection of chilling tales written by comics legend Archie Goodwin and illustrated by a murderer’s row of top talents including Steve Ditko, Gene Colan, Neal Adams, Gray Morrow, Johnny Craig, Dan Adkins, and more.

Collects Eerie magazine #6–#10.

  Deal me in.  Pre-Orders are available now.

Eerie Archives Volume 2

EERIE ARCHIVES VOLUME 1 is Coming!

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Hey!  If you were excited to learn that Dark Horse is republishing Creepy magazine in a trade paperback format, you’re going to love to know that Eerie is also getting the same treatment!

Now available in an affordable paperback format, Eerie Archives Volume 1 features some of the most acclaimed works of horror, murder, and the macabre in the history of graphic fiction.

Eerie, like its killer kin Creepy, features work from many of the grandmasters of comics storytelling, including Frank Frazetta, Al Williamson, Gray Morrow, Alex Toth, Steve Ditko, and others and stories by the legendary Archie Goodwin.

Features the ultra-rare Eerie #1, for which only 200 “ashcan” copies were originally printed!

Collects Eerie magazine #1–#5.

  Deal me in.  Pre-Orders are available now.

Eerie Archives Volume 1

CREEPY ARCHIVES VOLUME 2 is Coming!

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Yesterday I posted about Creepy Archives Volume One.  That got me to thinking that maybe Volume Two has been announced.  Guess what…

The second bone-chilling volume of Creepy Archives is now available in a value-priced paperback edition, showcasing some of most harrowing stories of horror, murder, and supernatural mayhem in comics history!

Created by a who’s-who of comics legends, including Archie Goodwin, Frank Frazetta, Alex Toth, Gray Morrow, Reed Crandall, John Severin, and more. Of special interest are Goodwin and Crandall’s superb adaptations of “The Cask of Amontillado” and “The Body Snatcher” by gothic horror master Edgar Allan Poe.

Collects Creepy magazine issues #6–#10 and includes original letters pages, text features, and ads.

  Deal me in.  Pre-Orders are available now.

Creepy Archives Volume 2

CREEPY ARCHIVES VOLUME 1 is Coming!

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When I was a kid I’d sometimes get to read a Creepy magazine.  Creepy contained, well, let’s just go to the synopsis…

Gather your wooden stakes, silver bullets, and the skeletons in your closet, and prepare for a descent into horror and science-fiction history with Creepy Archives Volume 1!

Reanimated in all its gruesome glory in a value-priced paperback format, and in its original magazine size, this terrifying tome presents some of the finest work by comics legends Archie Goodwin, Frank Frazetta, Al Williamson, Reed Crandall, Alex Toth, Joe Orlando, Gray Morrow, and more. Collects Creepy magazine issues #1–#5 and includes original letters pages, text features, and ads.

I love that the reprint will contain the original ads, letters pages, etc.  It goes without saying when you have artists like Frazetta, Toth and Williamson that they are worth the price of admission.  I think I’m gonna have to get this.  Pre-Orders are available now.

Creepy Archives Volume 1

“Spooks” (1953) starring The Three Stooges / Z-View

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Spooks (1953)

Director:  Jules White

Screenplay: Felix Adler

Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Shemp Howard, Norma Randall, Philip Van Zandt and Tom Kennedy

Tagline: Hollywood’s First Comedy Featurette in 3-D

The Plot…

The boys (Moe, Larry and Shemp) are private detectives hired to find a kidnapped woman.  The trail leads to a spooky house where the woman is being held hostage by a mad scientist, his hulking assistant, and a gorilla…

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

If Spooks reminds you of Dopey Dicks it should. Both contain the same elements: a spooky old mansion full of hidden passages, a mad scientist, his hulking assistant, a woman in distress and the Three Stooges. Spooks kicks it up a notch by adding a gorilla and a release in 3D!

Spooks earns 5 of 5 stars.