Cinema Basement

 A review by Forrest Humphrey Picking up right where “Halloween (2018)” left off, “Halloween Kills” once again drops us in Haddonfield on Halloween night. After thinking she and her family had finally stopped Michael Myers for good, Laurie Strode (Jaime Lee Curtis) and her family are rushed to the hospital. But evil never dies, and when the fire department responds to Lauri's house being on fire, they unwittingly save Myers from what should have been a fiery grave. After brutally dispatching the fire team, Myers goes right back to what he does best; killing everyone in brutal fashion. But this time, the citizens of Haddonfield have had enough, and they mobilize to search the town and finally put Michael Myers down for good.  That's the basic premise, and its a solid one. Everyone from the previous film returns, but in a neat twist, several other characters from the original film return as well. These include Tommy Doyle and Lindsay Wallace, the kids Laurie babysat in the o...

 A retrospective by Brooks Rich I don't always need to watch a horror movie for the month of October. Sometimes I just want a story set during autumn – with gold and red scenery, leaves on the ground, jack o’ lanterns on porches. I want to be immersed in the season. This brings us to The Halloween Tree, a 1993 animated film based off the book of the same name by the immortal Ray Bradbury.  On Halloween four friends are disappointed when Pip, the coolest kid in the whole wide world, looks like he's going to miss Halloween due to a bout with appendicitis. When they see their friend running off into the woods, they follow him to a creepy old house. where they meet the mysterious Moundshroud, voiced by the legendary Leonard Nimoy, who takes the kids on a journey through time to teach them about their costumes.  This film is so wonderful. First, we have the writing of a true master in Ray Bradbury. The book is amazing and Bradbury is truly one of the greats of all time. He wro...

 A ranking by Brooks Rich My love for horror started when I was a little kid. I've covered the classic Nickelodeon show Are You Afraid of the Dark before. That was a big influence for me as far as loving creepy stories and being scared once the sun goes down. But Are You Afraid of the Dark was only on Saturday nights. RL Stine's Goosebumps series was available every day at anytime. I could read them at anytime. I recently took Stie's Masterclass and it made me look at the original Goosebumps run around again. Do they hold up? No not really. But nostalgia was strong with this one and I thought a ranking of my ten favorite Goosebumps would be fun. So reader beware, you're in for a scare. Sort of.  10. Night of the Living Dummy 10. Night of the Living Dummy Controversy already. One of the most beloved books in the series ranked so low? Yes. I like this one but it doesn't hold up in the annals of creepy puppet horror. Slappy the dummy, maybe the iconic monster of the Go...

 A retrospective by Brooks Rich Borderline whether this film is forgotten or not. I will call it a forgotten film as while I think it's a horror classic, I don't think it's held up on the level of films like Halloween or Night of the Living Dead or Texas Chainsaw Massacre. But 1979's Phantasm is a fantastically creepy independent horror film with one of my favorite horror boogeyman, the terrifying Tall Man, played by the immortal Angus Scrimm.  I don't want to give away too much. Basically the Tall Man is a creepy undertaker at a mortuary who is up to some sinister acts. He is discovered by young Mike, who attempts to stop the Tall Man and save himself and his friends. That's not really it but I'm not giving anything away. Just know the stakes are high. Young Mike has a lot to contend with as far as The Tall Man goes. I love the use of the location in this film. Shooting at a real funeral home and mortuary really adds to the story. There's just an inhere...

 A retrospective by Brooks Rich It's interesting to look back at films that dealt with sexuality back in the '40s during this era of Wokeness. As Hollywood tries to change it's views towards women in general, Cat People is an interesting case study of the attitude of the past. A time when women were sexually repressed. A woman's sexual appetite was jut not discussed on film. If it was in a Hollywood film, it was seen in a negative context.  And here we have Cat People, a film where a woman transforms into a bloodthirsty beast if she becomes sexually aroused. On face value yes it might seem like this film is taking a negative view of a woman and her sexuality. But I think director Val Lewton is commenting on what sexual repression can do to a person. We all have needs and eventually sexual desires will not be repressed. The sexual repression within the Catholic Church, a requirement of celibacy, is partially to blame for the decades of abuse of altar boys by priests. Cat...