// Category Archive for: Horror

Wes Craven’s The Hills Have Eyes Turns 40

By Tim Murr

This July marks the 40th anniversary of Wes Craven’s landmark horror classic The Hills Have Eyes. It’s a story about an east coast American family taking a trip through the desert when they are besieged by a family of cannibals. The cannibals are loosely based on the real life Sawney Bean clan from the UK, known for attacking and eating travelers. Eventually, the Bean family was arrested and brutally put to death.
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Top 20 Alice Cooper Deep Cuts

By Tim Murr

Alice Cooper, 69 years young, has reunited with three members of the original Alice Cooper Band and hit the road to support their new album, Paranormal. This will be the first new Alice album in six years and the first with Michael Bruce, Dennis Dunaway, and Neal Smith since 1973’s Muscle Of Love. On the official Alice website you can find videos of the reunited group playing in Nashville recently(with a current member of Alice’s touring band standing in for the departed Glen Buxton). They sound fantastic.

Alice himself still looks good, but who knows how many more years anyone has, so if Alice comes to your town, try not to miss it! I saw him on the Theater of Death Tour a few years ago and then a year or so later playing with Iron Maiden and the shows were phenomenal.

So in honor of a new Alice album I thought I’d make you an imaginary mix tape of the top 20 best deep tracks from across Alice’s storied career!
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Farewell and Thank You to the Makers of “Bates Motel” (Expect Spoilers)

By Tim Murr

This week marked the series finale of A&E’s Bates Motel, a show that many people, myself included, was suspicious of as soon as the series was announced. However, I was won over within the first couple of episodes. I enjoyed the numerous subplots that ran through the five seasons, none of which related back to the original film or book, namely the marijuana and sex slave trades. I also liked the change of setting to Oregon (remember, Hitchcock changed the setting from the novel as well), and nearly all the characters invented for the show and the changes made to the original characters. Yes, at times it was hard to reconcile the show with the film and novel, but when I was able to let go and just enjoy the show as its own thing, that’s when watching Bates Motel became one of the most engrossing and rewarding shows on TV, something it had no reason to be.
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Movie Review: Rites Of Vengeance

By Tim Murr

As a far-left liberal I have long since opposed the death penalty. I find it barbaric and rigged by class war. When it comes to child molesters and abusers, though, the only justice I find suitable is to publicly hang them and leave their bodies to be picked over by birds. Fuck you if you think I’m being hypocritical in my views. And fuck you if you disagree with me. These crimes against children are inexcusable, indefensible, and unforgivable. And it keeps happening!
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“Cannibal” Is 100 Proof Southern Noir Goodness

By Tim Murr

Set in the swampy Florida Gulf Coast, Cannibal is about a virus that causes the infected to crave flesh. Wait! It’s not another zombie story! Stay with me.

We’ve all got zombie fatigue, but Cannibal is different. Writers Brian Buccellatto and Jennifer Young and artist Matias Bergara craft a fantastic tale where character comes first. There’s also a solid mystery story built on the bedrock of great horror. Volume one collects the first four issues of this Southern Gothic noir and for me it’s a home run.
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TV Review: The Walking Dead, “Rock In The Road”

By Laury Scarbro

Things are really starting to pick up on The Walking Dead. Last episode, Negan took off with Eugene, leaving us all to wonder what horrifying music the poor guy will have to endure, not to mention the rest of the degradation commonly visited upon those under Negan’s “care.” This episode serves as the beginning of weaving together all the separate threads that previous episodes have left dangling in the wind.

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Book Review: Ben Wheatley – Confusion and Carnage

By Less Lee Moore

My introduction to Ben Wheatley was Sightseers, a film based on characters so hilariously loathsome I wasn’t even sure I actually liked the movie until days later. That’s when I knew that Wheatley, who already had two other features under his belt (Down Terrace, Kill List), was destined for greatness.

Wheatley has only directed three films since then—A Field In England, High-Rise, and Free Fire—and is still working, so he might seem an odd subject for a career retrospective. This is something that film critic Adam Nayman acknowledges in his new book Ben Wheatley: Confusion and Carnage. It’s a clever bit of self-deprecation that puts the reader at ease.
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TV Review: The Walking Dead, “Hearts Still Beating”

By Laury Scarbro

I’m not even going to sugarcoat it. Season 7 thus far has been rather lackluster compared to other seasons. With the exception of a few episodes here and there, and how this episode began, I was really beginning to question whether the writers had just lost heart. But thankfully, I was proven wrong.
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Book Review: Zero Saints

By Tim Murr

Fernando is a drug dealer from Mexico living in Austin, Texas. He works for a man named Guillermo and is doing all right for himself since crossing “la frontera.” Then one night he’s attacked, shoved into a trunk, and presented to a man named Indio. Indio isn’t the kind of man you usually find in Austin; a large, powerfully built monster, covered in so many tattoos that his skin is almost black. He wants to take over much of Guillermo’s territory and wants Fernando to deliver a message. Part of that message involves having to watch the torture and murder of his colleague Nestor. So begins Zero Saints, a fearful, fast-paced descent into what may be the final few days of un hombre invisible.
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Ten Valentine’s Suggestions For The Discerning Fannibal

By Less Lee Moore

“Hannibal-entine” by Brandon Bird

While recent developments in pop culture news have led Hannibal fans to believe that we might never get that fourth season of the greatest TV show of all time, it doesn’t mean we have stopped pining for it. We’ll never stop fawning over our favorite fancy cannibal, Hannibal Lecter, and his beloved empath, Will Graham. As Valentine’s Day approaches, we wonder: What kinds of rare gifts might this pair of murder husbands exchangeor even seek to acquire for their homicidal brethren?
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