Werewolves

But what will Leatherface do with the *rest* of the body? It makes for tasty barbecue, they say. Somebody who had a deal worked out with a surgeon who had leftover human skin on-hand from performing cosmetic surgeries on formerly morbidly obese patients who have since lost lots of weight and thus had to have…Continue readingHuman Skin For Sale

A group of twentysomething friends—shockingly there are five of them, two females and three males, and of the latter, one of them is a wisecracking black dude; this in itself ought to tell you all you need to know about the kind of movie you’re going to be watching—goes to a cabin in the woods…Continue readingMovie Review: THE BREED

My hat is off to screenwriter Anna Shields, who also portrays the lead character in this film. She’s got some real chops. MONSTROUS does a fine job of subverting expectations. Things don’t play out the way you expect them to. The flick is fresh and inventive and, supported by strong performances by all the principal…Continue readingMovie Review: MONSTROUS

Yes, I despaired. The visitation had robbed me of all hope. Yet that hopelessness gave me a renewed strength, as well, for when one is in all sense devoid of hope, in the grip of perfect hopelessness, what recourse has he but to abandon all to God? In my weakness was my strength. In my…Continue readingTHE CONFESSIONS OF SAINT CHRISTOPHER: WEREWOLF Part 51

Neil Marshall, the guy who gave us DOG SOLDIERS and THE DESCENT, two of the best Horror movies of the past two decades, is working on a new flick entitled THE LAIR. I’m in, already. This guy’s resume sells it for me. And the title. And the fact that it’s described by him as a…Continue readingAnd Speaking of THE LAIR

I won’t say that I’ve been champing at the bit (Note: I didn’t misspell the word “champing”, there; “champing” is correct, not “chomping”—there’s your English lesson for today. See, Mom, all those years spent working towards that English degree and that teaching degree weren’t wasted!) for a sequel to DOG SOLDIERS. I sure wouldn’t turn…Continue readingAnother DOG SOLDIERS?

The other day I was driving north on Interstate 65 in my home state of Alabama when I saw a sign advertising a Halloween store at an approaching exit. As the first day of Halloween had just passed (You all know that Halloween is a season, right? It isn’t just one day.) I wondered if…Continue readingRebel Hell

After the Roman writer Petronius, who, in his SATYRICON in 1 AD, mentioned a werewolf transformation beneath a full moon but did not explicitly draw a connection between the two events, when was the next mention of the connection, or possible connection, between lunar activity and the transformation of man into beast? In Literature, which…Continue readingWhence the Full Moon, Part Two

Before I say anything else, let me say this. My grandfather only had three fingers on his right hand. Some people with disabilities, specifically ectrodactyly (which means they are missing fingers (or toes, but it’s fingers that are the issue here), or people who claimed to be speaking out for them, got bent out of…Continue readingGive Them The Finger(s)

I sought God. The Devil answered me. My personal Devil. I could tell, the last night before the change came over me. I could feel the beast inside me awake and stirring, stretching itself, raking claws down the inner walls of my soul. I knew that the following night the moon would reach sufficient fullness.…Continue readingTHE CONFESSIONS OF SAINT CHRISTOPHER: WEREWOLF Part 50

No, I don’t mean the movie of that title, the one we were supposed to have seen already had the coronavirus pandemic not led to the movie being postponed an entire year. I’m referring to the score I made at Spirit Halloween this year. I’ve never been a Black Friday shopper. In fact I actively…Continue readingHALLOWEEN Kills

People buy books based on the covers. That’s a statistical fact. That isn’t the only criteria, no, but it’s one of them. I have never purchased a book solely because it had a snazzy cover, but I’ve picked them up for that reason, and read the back, and, if it had an intriguing premise and…Continue readingHUNTER HUNTER: Attention Snagged

IFC Midnight will be handling distribution in the United States for the Canuck shocker OUT COME THE WOLVES from director Adam MacDonald. Filming is set to begin in the summer next year. Wow, they’re this far out and already have IFC onboard. Good for them. Here’s the official pitch for the flick: “The story follows…Continue readingOUT COME THE WOLVES Promises, um, Wolves

I don’t know about this one. On the one hand, Peele has made it his specialty crafting quality Horror cinema centered around black characters and black issues, and THE PEOPLE UNDER THE STAIRS has both. There’s all this subtext about gentrification, greed, and class warfare that Wes Craven imbued into the original film. Peele could…Continue readingJordan Peele Remaking THE PEOPLE UNDER THE STAIRS

I drank the wine, for in truth my head ached to the point of misery, but I did not eat the food. Nor did I eat anything when servants came, escorted by guards, to exchange my still-filled plates for fresh ones. I let the food go cold. Nor did I, as Selene had suggested, rest.…Continue readingTHE CONFESSIONS OF SAINT CHRISTOPHER: WEREWOLF Part 49

Working on a separate article this week got me to chasing down this particular rabbit again. Specifically, when did the full moon appear as a common trope in werewolf mythology? I’ve written on the subject before, and I recall that the facts are shadowy; it’s impossible to say for sure when the trope first appeared…Continue readingWhence the Full Moon? Part One

I chanced across this linked article, “Werewolves: 7 Strange Facts About These Mythical Creatures”. This could be fun. I like to, any time I encounter some article on werewolves or vampires or the like, check to see just how accurate they are—because lots of times, they aren’t. If I had a nickel for every time…Continue readingFact-checking Strange Facts

This comes to us from not the most credible of news sites, so I can’t swear to its veracity, but I expect it’s fairly accurate. They’ve found some bones in China—human bones, although a different species from those of us alive today—bearing bite marks. Human bite marks, although from a different…yeah, you got that part…Continue readingGnawing on Bones

Well, here’s your weekly dose of dumbassery. This nonsense comes from Eric Kripke, who is the showrunner for the Amazon television series THE BOYS. Here’s what he had to say: “Not to overstate it or be overdramatic, but it’s a little dangerous to train an entire generation to wait for someone strong to come in…Continue readingThe Power of the Metaphorical

Concerning the demon Valek from THE CONJURING 2, here’s what James Wan posted on his Instagram account this past week: “Here’s my first design of the demonic entity haunting the family and Lorraine. Aaron Sims (concept designer) and myself took inspiration from our Dracula design for a movie I was attached to a long time…Continue readingThe Demon That Might Have Been

The next day they transferred me from my cell beneath the arena to another. I cannot say to where they took me because I had made an attempt (useless, and I had known it would prove so, but born of desperation) at escape, and one of the guards had struck me across the head with…Continue readingTHE CONFESSIONS OF SAINT CHRISTOPHER: WEREWOLF Part 48

This past weekend, I caught Stanley Kubrick’s THE SHINING at the theater for the first time. The fact that I refer to it as “Kubrick’s” and not as “Stephen King’s” is likely why Stephen King doesn’t care for the film. The movie is probably even more Stanley Kubrick’s creation than it is Stephen King’s. So…Continue readingRedrum and the Red Room

It makes for a poignant picture. A woman, carrying a small child, through a wilderness rife with dangerous beasts, the kind that could easily kill a human being. Animals like sabertooths and giant sloths. The latter could shred a human almost as an afterthought. They’re freakin’ huge, and they’ve got freakin’ monster claws. But they…Continue readingFootprints in the Sand

I saw this meme the other day on social media all about how you shouldn’t dress up like this or that because it’s not politically correct. It immediately engaged my eyeroll response. The thing is, I do agree with the concept, as a good general rule. What political correctness used to mean was, don’t be…Continue readingPC Werewolves

To celebrate the return to grocery store shelves of Frankenberry, Boo Berry, and Count Chocula this Halloween season, General Mills contracted with sculptor Karlee Morse for her to create three busts, one of each of the three most famous monsters. (Ahem…where the hell is Fruit Brute?!) From the quote by Morse, from the linked article:…Continue readingMonster Cereals, Busted

Watching THE SHINING again this past weekend, in my local theater, it really hit home with me how much of a factor isolation plays in the narrative. Had he not been cut off from civilization, it’s doubtful Jack Torrance would have been so susceptible to the Overlook’s influence. It’s doubtful that he would have snapped.…Continue readingTHE SHINING and The Wendigo

The Gamesmaster came to see me, giddy, so pleased he felt with himself and with me, his new celebrity fighter. “Splendid! Magnificent!” he crowed. “Better than I could have hoped! And, oh, the moon is full next week! How much stronger will you become then, my pet? How much more fearsome!” “What will you have…Continue readingTHE CONFESSIONS OF SAINT CHRISTOPHER: WEREWOLF Part 47

As much press as I’m giving this movie, they ought’a put me on their payroll. (No, just to be clear, I’m not getting paid to pimp their movie, or any movie. Not that I wouldn’t be willing to do it. I mean, I wouldn’t lie. If I thought a movie sucked I wouldn’t say that…Continue readingTHE WOLF OF SNOW HOLLOW Attacks

Well, this movie did NOT open in any theaters around my geographic base this past weekend. I would’ve been a lot more pissed than I was had I not read that it was supposed to be a limited release. There’s still hope it’ll make its way to my neck of the woods. In the meantime,…Continue readingAbout THE WOLF OF SNOW HOLLOW

I will freely admit that I am, according to some, a pessimist. I would argue that I am a realist as opposed to a pessimist, but I for dang sure can’t be accused by anyone who knows me of being an optimist. Instead of a “glass half-full” kinda guy I’m a “Who the hell drank…Continue readingLook on the Bright Side

I was reading this here linked article about a man’s disappearance in the woods four years ago. Maybe it goes to show that I spend too much time researching things unexplained and of the paranormal variety, or that I’m all too aware of the phenomena of people disappearing in the woods without any credible explanation.…Continue readingThe Missing

A priest got arrested because he was having a ménage à trois on the altar of the church where he served as the rector. I say “served” past-tense because they not surprisingly fired his ass and stripped him of his collar. (I wonder if he was wearing the collar while engaging in the act. He…Continue readingYou Want Demons? ‘Cause That’s How You Get Demons!

This year I have become addicted to the Halloween-themed shows on the Food Network, shows like HALLOWEEN WARS and HALLOWEEN BAKING CHAMPIONSHIP. If you take the Horror spin away, I wouldn’t and couldn’t possibly care any less about a cooking show of any kind, but there’s something about the haunted holiday aesthetic that makes it…Continue readingDelectable Edible Werewolves

This past weekend, I once again got to experience THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK in the theater. It’s always magical, and, as there were only two other people in the auditorium and they were seated way across the room, I honestly don’t see how it could have been much safer for me, in terms of possible…Continue readingIs the Wampa a Sheepsquatch?

Is it a carryover of our lineage, harkening back to Adam our progenitor, that we mortal men carry within ourselves such an instinctive, primal fear of and loathing for the reptile? No other predator, no matter how large and fierce, chills us so in the marrow as does the serpent and its kindred. I do…Continue readingTHE CONFESSIONS OF SAINT CHRISTOPHER: WEREWOLF Part 46

I don’t wear pajamas. Never have. A few times as a kid, when my mom would insist I put some on, but even then I’d wake up in the middle of the night uncomfortable and take them off. Pajamas were for back in the days when bedrooms got cold at night, when fires in fireplaces…Continue readingCakeworthy is Worthy of Universal Monsters

Expect to be hearing a lot about this one, right up until the time that I do or don’t get to see it, depending on whether or not the theaters in my part of the world choose to show it or not. It’s a new movie, it’s opening in theaters right now (hopefully ones around…Continue readingWatch this Clip from THE WOLF OF SNOW HOLLOW

I’m still not certain how the Science of it works. My understanding—and granted I am no geneticist—is that hybrids are sterile. Animals born of the breeding of two different species cannot reproduce. But it appears our Cro-Magnon ancestors could and did interbreed with Neanderthals, because the Neanderthals were our ancestors too, a little bit. Most…Continue readingGot Covid? Blame Neanderthals.

Regal Cinemas, the second largest theater chain in America, the American branch of the company Cineworld, has decided to close all its theaters worldwide until 2021. This doesn’t affect me so much, since they’d never opened up any of the theaters they own in my part of the world to begin with, but it’s bad…Continue readingMovies. Where be da Movies?

I could not help, as much as Roman society and its debaucheries disgusted me, being impressed with the Romans’ ingenuity, even when that ingenuity they applied towards killing. A civilization is judged by the barbarity of its entertainments. History then must pronounce a severe condemnation on the Roman race. Yet their architecture, their arts were…Continue readingTHE CONFESSIONS OF SAINT CHRISTOPHER: WEREWOLF Part 45

First, the official synopsis, aka the spiel: “Paul lives an isolated life with his father in upstate New York. He finds making friends impossible due to a rare condition he has known as congenital hypertrichosis–an affliction that causes an abnormal amount of hair growth all over his face and body. On his 13th birthday, Paul…Continue readingLooking for THE TRUE ADVENTURES OF WOLFBOY

Well, why not? A better question would be, why is FROST BITE shooting for a summer 2021 release instead of waiting to release at Christmas? Especially since Director Airell Hayles said: “I love Christmas [H]orror movies, and to work with this cast on such a crazy story really is another nightmare come true…” Christmas Horror…Continue readingSanta is a Werewolf

The forthcoming film BLOOD “follows Jess (Michelle Monaghan of TRUE DETECTIVE and MESSIAH, as well as the perhaps unwise upcoming remake of THE CRAFT), a separated mother and nurse who moves with her daughter and young son Owen back into her old family farmhouse. Shortly after settling in, Owen is bitten by the family dog,…Continue readingWill BLOOD have Bite?

The maw of the werewolf snapped closed over the gladiator’s face. His skull gave way beneath the pressure of its jaws. The giant died before my transformation had even completed. Then the beast put on quite a show for the populace of glorious Rome. It tore the giant’s carcass apart, sending his blood up in…Continue readingTHE CONFESSIONS OF SAINT CHRISTOPHER: WEREWOLF Part 44

Christopher Nolan had the guts to stick to it, and TENET opened in theaters, just as he’d promised it would. And it did okay—relatively. It did about as well as it was expected to do, with circumstances being what they are. But it sure didn’t rake in the quadzillions of smackers that greedy movie studios…Continue readingThe Movie-going Experience is Dead. Long Live the Movie-going Experience!

It almost seems conspiratorial. A judge negated all the anti-trust laws that had been in place since the days of Teddy Roosevelt, laws that kept the big studios from buying their own theaters, and it happened at exactly the time when movie theater chains are the most vulnerable due to the coronavirus shutdown. You’d almost…Continue readingCould Movie Theater Monopolies Actually be a Good Thing?

Halloween is going to look and feel a little different this year, what with the real-world Horror we’ve all been living through since March. (Look, whatever your opinion regarding the deadliness of the virus, and we must concede that it has an over 99% survival rate, thank the Almighty, there are still over 200,000 dead…Continue readingAlternative Halloweens and the Bride of Frankenstein

Dread Central has the exclusive, so we must give them the credit. They have two exclusive clips from the new werewolf Horror flick BEAST WITHIN. Check them out by clicking here. Here is the synopsis: “A new gaming app Werewolves Awaken is being launched at a VIP event hosted by an eccentric billionaire at his…Continue readingBEAST WITHIN

That werewolf movie we’ve heard about from Jim Cummings, we can assume it’s this one, THE WOLF OF SNOW HOLLOW. And it will be arriving shortly, on October 9th from Orion Classics. It’s going to be released to theaters and to VOD on the same day. I damn sure hope it comes to some theater…Continue readingThe Werewolf of Winter Arrives a Little Early

Guillermo Del Toro is working on a stop-motion movie about Pinocchio, you may recall. In a recent conversation, he extrapolated on the similarities between that classic fairytale and the immortal story of Frankenstein. “To me, they’re not exactly the same, but they’re similar. They are both creatures that are created and thrown into a world…Continue readingPinocchio and Frankenstein