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Posted on January 6, 2016

Horror Block Subscription Box Review

Full disclosure: I have a slight addiction when it comes to collecting items related to The Walking Dead. And by slight addiction I mean entire rooms packed with merchandise, autographs, and all those bits and baubles associated with the show. So when it was announced that Horror Block was going to contain an exclusive TWD item, I knew the time was right to finally try out a subscription box service.

What You Need to Know:

The Cost: $19.99 plus shipping (Shipping is $8.75 to Canada, $9.50 to US, $12.50 Worldwide)

What’s In It: All Horror Blocks comes with a custom t-shirt (you specify the size) and 5 or so items including the latest Rue Morgue.

Ships to: US, Canada, and Worldwide!

The December 2015 Box Contents:

Overall, I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the box’s merchandise as well as its packaging.

Posted on December 30, 2015

The Lurking (2015) Review

Elizabeth Erwin

82 min | 2015 | (USA) | Rob Michels (Hole in the Wall)

With an opening that immediately creates an observational vibe, The Lurking is a fun throwback to 1980s horror, capturing all the qualities that made the era such a popular one in American horror. The story begins with two roadie slackers, referred to in the credits as Wasteoid 1 and Wasteoid 2, who have taken to the woods “to trip balls.” Unbeknownst to them, a serial killer is wreaking havoc in those same woods and it isn’t long before he has the two drug-addled men within his sights.

We soon discover that the perspective from which we are watching events unfold is not the point of view of an impartial observer: we’re looking through the eyes of the killer. By having the camera consistently adopt the point of view of the killer, the audience becomes an active participant in the murders and the end result is more intimate than one would expect.

Posted on December 23, 2015

Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984): Connecting Depravity with Childhood Trauma

Elizabeth Erwin

The corruption of childhood by adults, both neglectful and deranged, is a predictable staple of American horror films. Throw in a murderous Santa Claus and a whip-wielding nun and the moral depravity gets ratcheted up ten-fold. Such is the case in Charles E. Sellier, Jr.’s Silent Night, Deadly Night. Residing between ridiculously quotable dialogue and an endless array of sexual, albeit creative, violence is a pointed commentary on the connection between depravity and trauma. The film’s message is clear: it isn’t so much the creatures of myth (Santa, The Boogeyman) children ought to fear but the adults who surround them.

You know a horror film has ticked all the right boxes when the PTA petitions to have it banned. Such was the case in 1984 when Silent Night, Deadly Night opened and immediately raised the hackles of media watchdog groups. Despite its opening weekend grossing more than A Nightmare on Elm Street, TriStar Pictures pulled the plug on its media campaign and the film quickly faded from theatres.

In many respects, the controversy surrounding the 1984 release of the film as well as its advertisements showing an axe-hefting Santa Claus emerging from a chimney seems an echo of a simpler time. People still picketed theatres and film critics still had the power to shape public perception. Consider Leonard Maltin who gave Silent Night, Deadly Night zero stars and predicted the next thing filmgoers would be subjected to would be the Easter Bunny as a child molester. Also weighing in were the notable film critic duo of Siskel and Ebert. Their eviscerating review of the film, in which they called out by name—repeatedly—the people associated with the film, is the stuff of legend:

Posted on December 9, 2015

Mako: The Jaws of Death (1976) Review

Elizabeth Erwin

In the pantheon of sharkploitation films, Mako: The Jaws of Death (1976) stands apart as a legitimately interesting take on the shark in horror trope. Unlike its predecessors, the audience isn’t asked to identify with those seeking to wrangle the flesh eating oceanic monsters. Rather, the sharks and their somewhat psychotic human caretaker become the heroes of the piece. Directed by known exploitation auteur William Grefe, the film includes all of the ridiculousness you’d expect of a B film with an underlining message about the importance of protecting the natural world from humans. The end result is a bizarre film that still resonates years later.

Posted on November 30, 2015

The Walking Dead: Did the Carol/Morgan Scene Go Too Far?

Elizabeth Erwin

SPOILERS BEHIND THE CUT

There is an obvious danger in trying to suss out the success or failure of a season of television that has only reached the midway point. Not only are arcs halfway developed, but things we assume to be true often turn out to be something wholly different.

When I initially sat down to write up my assessment of The Walking Dead’s sixth season thus far, I was not nearly as frustrated with the show as some critics. With three near perfect episodes opening the season and a brilliantly plotted, and even more bravely timed, peek into Morgan’s backstory, my criticisms of the show had been largely confined to pacing issues. And then the fight scene between Carol and Morgan aired.