My friends Jay and Shawn over at " Film Reviews From the Basement " has agreed to a bit of a partnership between our two sites.  Every Friday night, while they're doing their Radio show on 92.5 FM " The X " in Kamloops, BC from 10:00 pm to 11:00 pm, I'll be posting tweets for them letting their Twitter fans know what's going on.  We did it for the first time this Friday- and they managed to gain three new listeners!  How awesome is that!?!  In addition, once a month, I'll be stepping out of my corner and into the basement with a review of either a classic or more recent horror film.  We'll actually be kicking  that off this upcoming Friday when I actually review a Sci-Fi classic- Kubrick's "2001: A Space Odyssey". I know it's not horror, but don't worry, I'll start in with the proper genre in April. Also, every Sunday, they convert their radio show into a Podcast on PodOmatic , for those  that missed the live show.

A father is devestated when a firey car crash kills his wife and daughter- Audrey Rose.  Seeking comfort in their passing, Elliot goes for advice from a psychic- who informs him that his daughter has been reincarnated... and is in torment.  Enter Ivy Templeton, a sweet girl whom Elliot is convinced houses his dead daughter's suffering soul.  Is she, and what lengths will Elliot go in order to save his dead daughter? This 1975 novel by Frank De Felitta came at a time when the New Age movement started gaining popularity.  The idea of reincarnation was catching on, and interest in the supernatural was growing.  Questions about whether or not a soul maintains memories from its previous life when reincarnated were being asked.  What if the previous life ended horribly- would those memories be transferred to the new body? "Audrey Rose" examines that question, and uses it as the basis for an interesting and eerie read.  Like some of the best horror stories, the scares don

Demons, skeletons, gun slingers and zombies abound as an old west outlaw rises from the grave in the modern west seeking revenge. Of the genres that tends to attract the most deplorable movies, I would have to say that horror and comedy are about equal.  At least with horror, you can count on- if not an A-List movie, at least coming across a decent B-Grade movie... unlike comedy where it's either a good comedy, or a trainwreck. Of course, that's not to say that the horror genre doesn't have its share of trainwrecks... or in the case of "Dead Noon," stagecoach wrecks. The premise sounds cool in a Sam Raimi, "Evil Dead: Army of Darkness" sort of way.  The potential for humour and scares is ripe for that premise.  Too bad this movie doesn't come close to fulfilling that potential. I have a very basic movie watching rule: You don't stop until it's over.  I wound up breaking that rule while watching this movie... within the first ten to f

1980 saw the town of Antonio Bay, California celebrating it's 100th birthday, and some uninvited guests showing up to wish them a "Happy Deathday" in John Carpenter's "The Fog"... After the success of "Halloween" Carpenter was given a budget of one million dollars, and filmed "The Fog".  after creating a rough cut, he realized that as it was, the movie didn't work- so he added and reshot many scenes to highten the gore and horror elements.  In fact, one third of the movie comprises of the added and reshot material. As with "Halloween", John Carpenter showed great skill in directing.  He deftly builds up tension and suspense to a good level before releasing the audience from Death's cold grip.  His use of sound and visual effects, enables the fog itself to become as much a menacing character as it is a mood setter.  I also like John Carpenter's brief cameo as well. The characters are well developed and engaging,

Well all know it's coming.  We've seen the movies.  We've seen the Facebook tests.  We've seen it in the blank expressions of people shuffling off to their morning Starbucks... The zombie apocalypse.  Hoardes of the dead rising from their graves to feast upon the flesh and brains of the living.  We've seen the progression- from "Night of the Living Dead", through it's dawn, and day until the world is the "Land of the Dead". So, yeah- we all know it's coming.  The question is: "What do we do when it comes?"  Well, here's the answer: "Max Brooks' 'The Zombie Survival Guide', that's what." This book, though obviously tongue-in-cheek, could very well be an honest to goodness survival guide.  It is well thought out, clear, precise, and logical in its approach to how one could survive a mass uprising of the feasting dead. "The Zombie Survival Guide" covers the "known facts" abo

In honour of today being Valentine's Day... a day when we all want to win that "special" someone's heart (and possibly gnaw on it a bit), I thought I would revisit a horror movie based on this romantic day.  I remember watching the original "My Bloody Valentine" several years ago, but I can't remember enough to do a decent review of it- nor have I seen the recent remake of it. So, alas, I will have to shoot my arrows at the 2001 teen slasher move, "Valentine".  I wish I could say these were arrows of love, but alas (I do love that word), I can not.  Cupid's arrow misses the mark with this not so sweet gift. Even though I do enjoy David  Boreanaz in the TV show "Angel", and as FBI Special Agent Seely Booth on "Bones", he wasn't quite able to save this film from being a Valentine offering I'd like to return to sender.  Nor could Denise Richards' hotness, since she was a big draw name at the time.  The rest

Imagine if you will that you're a zombie.  You're shambling along the darkened streets of the city, the occasional flickering of the street lights illuminating you in a staccato rhythm.  Your kindred are staggering through the alleys and parks around you.  All you know is a need... an unending hunger... and undying, painful desire for human flesh. Suddenly the sound of voices, and the scent of living meat draws your attention to the intersection in front of you.  The deathly silent air brings the voices and the enticing aroma of dinner to you- pulling you forward with a sluggish limping gait.  You approach them, the shadows and their voices disguising your approach.  If you could articulate what you saw, you would describe one of the appetizing morsels as lean... low fat but tough.  The other tasty treat is high in fat, but tender. Suddenly, the street light on the corner comes on as its timer activates!  They see you, and in some dim corner of your thinking mind, you reali

I'm going to go back in time for my first movie... all the way back to when Francis Ford Coppola was just starting out... back to 1963... Producer Roger Corman hired Coppola to direct "Dementia 13" right after shooting the movie "The Young Racers," with a budget of $22,000.00, and his friends acting in it for about $600.00.  The script was written in about three days, and shows in the slight stiffness of the dialogue.  When it was released in theatres, Corman insisted on having a William Castle-like "prologue", where a "professional psychiatrist" discusses the D-13 test handed out to the audience... in order to see if they were mentally fit to watch the movie. For me, this is one of my favorite horror movies.  True, the dialogue is stiff and awkward, and the storyline is a little confusing and disjointed, but under that roughness created by the short span of time used to write and film the movie, you can see the potential sparkle of a tru

There is nothing like sitting in a darkened theatre.  The lights slowly dimming... the curtains parting... the audience quieting down. And then the gasps, and screams, and the rustle of clothes as people jump and squirm in their seats at the sights upon the screen... There is nothing like the horror movie.  They can reach deep into our minds, and bring out most twisted nightmares to hellish reality in front of us.  They can splatter us with hot crimson life blood and slimey entrails.  They can stalk us from the shadows and pounce on us with the speed and violence of a black panther.  They can haunt us long after the lights come up and the credits roll. Oh, yes... to my mind, there is nothing like the horror movie.  Vampires, zombies, and werewolves.  Sea serpents, radioactive lemmings, and rampaging dinosaurs.  Faceless killers, suave psychos, and beautiful black widows.  Ghosts, banshees, and demonic children.  All up on the big screen... all for a perverse therapy session of ma