France has been shockingly consistent the past 25 years in unleashing artful, gory, and even thought-provoking horror films. This cinematic movement, dubbed the New French Extremity, has burgeoned with quality thrillers from directors such as Julien Maury and Alexandre Bustillo (INSIDE), Gaspar Noe (IRREVERSIBLE), Pascal Laugier (MARTYRS), Alexandre Aja (HIGH TENSION), and Julia Ducournau (RAW). These films reaped box office receipts and controversy in equal measure, graphically tackling such hot-button topics as rape, revenge, pregnancy, homosexuality, and vegetarianism.

In 2024, we got a prominent new entry in the movement. THE SUBSTANCE, directed by Paris-born Coralie Fargeat, had a limited release this autumn before recently taking up residence on a number of streaming services. It tells the story of an aging star who goes to horrific lengths to extend her stay in Hollywood’s warm limelight. Specifically, this includes injecting a black-market drug that guarantees glowing, youthful results…but only if the directions are very closely followed.

With its monstrous, twisted body parts and geysers of body fluids, you might think there’d be no comfortable room for commentary. Hold on there, folks, because THE SUBSTANCE handily takes on body dysmorphia, ageism, and celebrity in one fell swoop. In what may be her greatest career achievement, Demi Moore dives head-first into her role as Elisabeth Sprinkle, a Hollywood has-been who’s tumbled down quite a few pegs on the ladder of fame and fortune. The results of her dabble in biofuckery is a pretty, perfect entity simply named Sue, wonderfully fleshed out (literally!) by Margaret Qualley, recently featured in Yorgos Lanthimos’s odd fantasy, POOR THINGS.

Playing out like a coked-up mix of BASKET CASE, MALIGNANT, and Joe Dante’s GREMLINS, THE SUBSTANCE boils its darkly comedic social commentary down to one point: how humans just cannot play by the rules, and that we’re seemingly pre-programmed to derail ourselves. As Fargeat’s blood-soaked fairy tale shows us, vanity, opportunity, and a few extra body parts are destined to get in the way.

#horrorhappenings #thesubstance #coraliefargeat #newfrenchextremity #julienmaury #alexandrebustillo #gasparnoe #alexandreaja #juliaducournau #pascallaugier #yorgoslanthimos #joedante #poorthings #malignant #inside #irreversible #martyrs #raw #basketcase #gremlins #demimoore #margaretqualley

You’re probably saying, “It’s a freaking control panel, big deal!”…and you’d be exactly right!

This is one of the actual props used in James Whale’s 1931 Universal monster classic, FRANKENSTEIN. That’s correct, folks, this thing is almost 100 years old and was also repurposed for the film’s sequel, THE BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN (1935).

I snapped this at the Museum of Popular Culture (MoPOP) in Seattle, WA back around late 2018. I’ll have lots more props to share with you in the coming months!

#fearflashbacks #frankenstein #thebrideoffrankenstein #jameswhale #universalpicture #universalmonsters #maryshelley #museumofpopularculture #mopop #seattle #washington

We here at UBHB understand. For those folks still feeling bad about Halloween season being over for this year, this one’s for you.

#killermemes&comics #halloweenII #michaelmyers #finger #butt

I don’t know how to feel about this.

One one hand, Guadagnino proved innovative when he rebooted Dario Argento’s landmark of sights and sounds, SUSPIRIA, back in 2018, but Mary Harron already gave us a keenly grotesque and funny adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis’ bestseller the first time around, way back in 2000.

Go check out the original article over at Variety and see what your take is on this one. One thing’s for certain: Guadagnino is going to have a tough time besting Harron’s “did-he-or-didn’t-he?” ending, which still stands as one of the strongest of its era.

#horrorhappenings #americanpsycho #breteastonellis #lucaguadagnino #maryharron #adaptation #variety

Some of the greatest horror taglines of all time are so damn good, society chose to fold them into our permanent lexicon. These marketing bon mots from such films as ALIEN (1979), DAWN OF THE DEAD (1978), and THE FLY (1986) have become as well-known as the classic films that birthed them.

Stuart Gordon’s go-for-broke adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft’s “Herbert West – Reanimator” is no exception: “Herbert West has a very good head on his shoulders…and another one in a dish on his desk!” Not only is this statement throwing down the horror gauntlet to get audiences into theater seats, it’s almost perfectly aligned with Gordon’s gloriously icky black humor.

#onesheetwonders #reanimator #stuartgordon #herbertwest #alien #dawnofthedead #thefly

Hide the eggnog! Those maniacs over at Cineverse and Bloody Disgusting have just dropped the news that they will be in cahoots to bring us a remake of SILENT NIGHT DEADLY NIGHT.

Though most reports of remakes, reboots, and ‘reimaginings’ make me groan–and even occasionally throw up–this one gave me pause. Let’s face it, the original franchise wasn’t exactly memorable (okay, okay, it’s terrible), so the idea of another go-round for this one gives me a bit of unexpected Christmas cheer.

We’ll all have to wait until at least late 2025 for the results, but in the meantime check out the full story over at Bloody Disgusting!

#horrorhappenings #silentnightdeadlynight #cineverse #bloodydisgusting #remake

From FINAL DESTINATION to the coveted role of Ben in Tom Savini’s 1990 remake of NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, Tony Todd was a well-known face in the horror crowd for more than 30 years. Sadly, the actor passed away at his Los Angeles home on November 6th, as reported by TMZ. He was 69 years old.

Todd will forever remain in the horror pantheon for his title role in CANDYMAN, the 1992 film adaptation of a short story by Clive Barker. The Washington D.C. native exuded a stinging mix of danger and sensuality as a legendary, hook-handed boogeyman, capturing the imagination of audiences and critics alike. Upon the film’s success, Todd saw his star power rise as he starred in a number of sequels while pursuing high-profile roles in such television shows as “The X Files”, “Stargate SG-1”, “Boston Public”, “Law & Order”, and a turn as Worf’s brother, Kurn, on both “Star Trek: The Next Generation” and “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine”.

#grimgoodbyes #tonytodd #candyman #clivebarker #finaldestination #nightofthelivingdead #thexfiles #stargatesg1 #bostonpublic #law&order #startrekthenextgeneration #startrekdeepspacenine #washingtondc #losangeles

Curiosity killed the George.

#killermemes&comics #curiousgeorge #fridaythe13th #campcrystallake

Here’s another lovely poster Fangoria supplied us teenagers to scare the shit out of our parents. I liked to put this one in hidden places, so when my mum turned the corner…BOOGA, BOOGA!

I’m surprised she didn’t disown me by the end of the 80s.

From Fangoria Poster Magazine #2 (1988)

#onesheetwonders #hellraiser #clivebarker #fangoria

Giving us one of the few examples where the tribute outshines its source material, STAGE FRIGHT is what happens when you take an overused pile of slasher tropes and twist them into a genius-by-accident performance-within-a-performance.

STAGE FRIGHT is the feature debut of director Michele Soavi. You know Soavi–he’s that guy in CITY OF THE LIVING DEAD who watched his girlfriend puke up her digestive tract! Barely 30 years old at the time, Soavi proved here that he was paying very close attention when served as second assistant director on Dario Argento’s TENEBRAE (1982).

A clutch of theatre kids rehearsing an avant-garde production about a masked murder turn out to be the most unlucky sons of bitches in history when they all begin to get graphically bumped off by an actual serial killer who’s recently escaped from the loony bin. Suiting his slasher in a gigantic owl mask, Soavi wastes no time chopping, drilling, and pickaxing his principals with great flair. Mercifully, the film isn’t “arty” simply to align with its theatrical conceit. Soavi just has a great eye for this kind of thing, efficiently balancing black comedy, bitchy dialogue, and a putrid array of hardcore gore with something close to ‘aplomb’. The rest of these sordid details were handled by producer Joe D’Amato (born Aristide Massaccesi), famous for churning out a staggering amount of popular porn, exploitation, and horror titles, particularly during the VHS era.

I have no idea why the film needs such head-scratching alternate titles such as DELIRIA (okay), BLOODY BIRD (meh) and AQUARIUS (wha’?!), but I’m going on record with a bold statement here: STAGE FRIGHT outpaces in most every way Argento’s own OPERA, yet another theatrical-themed slasher released just four months later. Sure, the young Soavi doesn’t have eye needles or that jaw-dropping bullet-through-the-peephole sequence, but what he lacks in balletic refinery, he more than makes up for in gory chutzpah. (I’ve been dying to work that word into one of these posts.)

It’s not perfect, but no classic slasher fan should be without STAGE FRIGHT. Hell, I still have my VHS copy more than 30 years later. Nice blu-ray releases abound these days, so hop to it–it’s a hoot!

#unclean&unseen #stagefright #bloodybird #aquarius #deliria #michelesoavi #cityofthelivingdead #darioargento #tenebrae #joedamato #aristidemassaccesi