Drive-in Trailers: Anthology Horror

Sometimes you want something besides a full-on horror film. You want a taste of several things. A creepy cornucopia. A vicious variety. A -something something alliteration scary-. That's where anthology horror takes the cake. I've always loved short stories, on the page and on the screen. Hopefully the following trailers (obscure and mainstream) can give you something new to watch this Halloween.

The first trailer isn't a real one, from what I can tell, but anyone who hasn't seen 'Dead of Night' is really doing themselves a disservice. It's one of the best. Also, note that I adore all of the Amicus films, but it'd be a bit boring if I just focused on them alone. Also, reserving any Price-related trailers for a strictly Vincent Price-centric post.

Horror Flick of the Week: Popcorn (1991)

This one took more than one attempt to watch, because it opens with a trippy dream sequence. Narration and dream sequences are two film devices I tend to struggle with, as they are fairly lazy attempts to tell a story without properly showing it. Then, just a couple of weeks ago, I tried again. Why? Because just look at that poster! There's no way in hell a movie could have a poster like this and not turn out to be awesome!

This time I made it. After the dream sequence, which I can appreciate now is a clear not to Giallo, the movie got so much better. College students get one special night to take what could possibly be one of the most incredible movie theaters in history and host a horror film marathon. William Castle style. Gigantic props flying around, smell-o-vision, shockers in the seats, and everything in-between. Popcorn is a bit of a love story to classic horror, despite the main actress's at times grating voice (despite this, Jill Schoelen was, and is, a lovely person). It doesn't stop there, however, as strange memories plague her character throughout the film, and bizarre murders begin to take place. Madness? Ghosts? A killer stalking the night? I guess you'll have to find out for yourself.

Horror Flick of the Week: 'Tales from the Darkside: The Movie (1990)'

I feel like maybe a lot of people would disagree about this, but honestly...I enjoyed this movie a lot more than Creepshow. Don't get me wrong, Creepshow is awesome, and the framing structure with the animations were pretty freaking cool. Yet...as a kid...Creepshow didn't put me through the roller coaster ride of emotions this movie did. Each story really does have its own awesome appeal, the cast is great, the writers are awesome...

https://youtu.be/R9lVoUKk-8Y

The fact that the framing story to this is a Hansel and Gretel-esque tale with a witch preparing to cook a little boy to serve at her supper party makes this an absolutely delicious watch for the Halloween season, and I think it does the series it's associated more than justice (in fact, it's actually considered a spiritual successor to Creepshow, too.) I can't praise this movie enough. For the love of god, if you haven't seen it yet, watch it this year as soon as humanly possible.