POLTERGEIST (1982)
The first big budget Hollywood production by THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE’S Tobe Hooper, although POLTERGEIST’S actual director has long been in question
PARANORMAL ACTIVITY
This phenomenally successful no-budgeter proves two things: 1). That audiences are always up for a good scare, and 2). Marketing-wise there’s no substitute for old-fashioned hype
THE UNINVITED (2009)
The Hollywood remake of the Korean A TALE OF TWO SISTERS. THE UNINVITED’S makers tried to create something beyond most Hollywood horrors, but what they came up with, in contrast to the complexity of the original film, is a hokey gothic melodrama
GHOST STORY OF YOTSUYA
From 1959, a stunningly executed, no-nonsense exercise in old-fashioned ghost story chills
LET’S SCARE JESSICA TO DEATH
A unique viewing experience that breaks nearly every genre movie rule yet still succeeds as an unnerving excursion in pure horror
2014: Bedlam in Print
2014 was an above-average year for books in my view. Quite a few terrific titles turned up from both established and debuting authors, with a few, I’m certain, that will go on to become classics
TALES FROM THE QUADEAD ZONE
A 3-part anthology flick from crap movie auteur Chester N. Turner, which given his pedigree is every bit as astoundingly horrible as you might expect
A TALE OF TWO SISTERS
This Korean film is among the most visually expressive ghost stories you’ll ever experience—and also among the most convoluted and confusing
RINGU
Forget about SCREAM or THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT—RINGU is the state of the art in nineties-era horror
RETURN TO GLENNASCAUL
An interesting obscurity from 1951, of note primarily because of an extended appearance by Orson Welles, who also narrates the film