The Conjuring: Things That Go Bump In The Night

After the groundbreaking success of Saw and Insidious, there were no doubts about how director James Wan's newest fright-fest The Conjuring would terrify and amaze horror audiences around the world. Unsurprisingly, Wan didn't fail to deliver one of the scariest films in recent years.

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6 Must-See Body Horror Films

Body horror, sometimes called biological horror or venereal horror, is one of the many specialized sub-genres falling under the horror umbrella. Body horror films are described as movies including the destruction, mutilation, or mutation of the human body as a central plot idea. Destruction and mutilation may seem like an average occurrence in horror films, but body horror films tend to shy away from true antagonists, and instead pit the human body itself against the protagonist. While some of them may seem like simple gross-out films trying to get the audience to cringe, directors like David Cronenberg have used the genre to send a message or comment on society. So, here we'll take a look at some of the best body horror films out there, if your stomach can handle it.

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Prometheus: Engineering Mankind

Prometheus, which marks director Ridley Scott's first return to the universe he helped create with 1979's Alien, is a story about questioning the very creation and purpose of mankind on planet earth. A group of scientists, mercenaries, and explorers discover an ancient symbol which they believe will help lead them to the origin of man. They set off through space and discover a distant planet which matches up with their ancient star maps. Soon, they find themselves in a struggle with their environment, themselves, and something much more ancient.

1979's Alien is one of best horror sci-fi film ever made, but was unfortunately subject to which took the franchise in a completely different direction. Prometheus takes the Alien universe back to its roots. It essentially ignores every film other than the original Alien, which is the only one directed by Ridley Scott. The two films take place in the same fictional universe, but Prometheus can not be considered a prequel in the traditional sense. It answers many questions that viewers may have about Alien, but does not at any point suggest that Prometheus takes place before Alien, or that the events of Prometheus directed affect or lead to the events of Alien.

Overall, Prometheus was a very good sci-fi film. It was incredibly well-made (which is expected when seeing Scott's name attached to a project) which made is visually stunning and remained interesting and gripping throughout, despite running just over 2 hours. For fans of Alien, Prometheus is required viewing. It opened up the Alien universe in a way that may have seemed impossible just a few years ago, and really helped deepen that place for further investigation in future works.

However, this also brings about problems. Prometheus answered many questions about Alien, but at the same time, asked many questions which remain unanswered when the theater lights go back on at the end of the film. Scott has very subtly hinted at plans for a sequel, and the ending further supports that, however, it also leaves people a bit unsatisfied.

Prometheus had an excellent story and incredible performance by Noomi Rapace and Michael Fassbender (who both stood out among the well-acted cast), but the big questions that remain when the film ends may cause a bit of disappointment to many viewers. 

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Vintage Horror Review: The Basement (1989)

The best of the worst!

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Cabin in the Woods: God Have Mercy

Where to even begin my review of Cabin in the Woods...

Well, the film begins with a couple of very official looking men making small talk while walking through a seemingly bland office environment, but then BAM a very grindhouse-esque, red block letter title appears and we cut to the typical horror teenagers: the stoner, jock, cheerleader girlfriend, sensitive new guy and the daddy's girl virgin. We soon find out the group plan on staying in a (spoiler!) cabin in the woods. However, in an odd turn of events, our two office buddies from scene one return and we discover that they're controlling everything that goes on from a high-tech lab in an undisclosed location.

It''s hard to say how I feel about this film.

On one hand, I loved how it very purposely set itself up using the 80's horror film formula. It was also just chock full of great references to Evil Dead, Hellraiser, Japanese horror, King Kong, and many more, which made it pretty enjoyable to watch and pick apart. The special effects were great, there were some awesome kills, and it even had a few pretty funny moments too, which made me think of Evil Dead 2.

However, on the other hand, the story got a bit tripped up towards the end. It almost felt as if they were just writing it as they went along, leading up to the incredibly disappointing ending that explained little to nothing about the events of the film.

So it's the type of film that really just needs to be seen to get a good idea of whether or not its for you, because I'm still not sure how I feel about it days after viewing it.

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Silent Night, Deadly Night Reboot in the Works

Anchor Bay has announced plans to remake the 80's santa-killer slasher Silent Night, Deadly Night this week, as horror fans around the country let out a heavy sigh of frustration.

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Hemlock Grove: A Netflix Original Horror Series

In their latest attempt to bring back all of those people who cancelled their subscription after the ridiculous price change, Netflix has begun run their own original shows that aren't available to non-subscribers. Hemlock Grove will be one of the first of these series'.

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