A few months back, I took my first-ever trip to San Francisco. This included an unplanned drive down to Santa Cruz, which has a rather famous boardwalk you may have seen before. 

Yes, this is the place where THE LOST BOYS hung out in “Santa Carla”. I’m happy to report that the wooden rollercoaster, The Giant Dipper, featured in the film was still there and celebrating its 100th anniversary!

The Boardwalk may also look familiar to Jordan Peele fans, as it was highlighted in the opening of his acclaimed thriller, US. It also got onscreen time thanks to the kooky cult classic, KILLER KLOWNS FROM OUTER SPACE. Other Hollywood hits that have used the site for its backdrop include the Michelle Pfeiffer vehicle DANGEROUS MINDS (1995), the hit Dirty Harry sequel SUDDEN IMPACT (1983), and the Frankie & Annette reunion flick BACK TO THE BEACH (1987). Paying tribute to this, the Boardwalk has a small area featuring posters of some of the films made there.  

Seeing it in the offseason was strangely quiet, but the sun was still warm and we had the whole place to ourselves. Though the rides were only operating on the weekends by that point, there were other attractions to enjoy, including some vendors, arcades, a great pirate-themed miniature golf course, and the beautiful beach area overlooking Monterey Bay. 

If you’re ever in the area, definitely check it out. It’s a fun spot for adults and kids alike. And who knows, you just might run into Kiefer Sutherland…or your own doppelganger.

#onlocation #santacruzbeachboardwalk #california #sanfrancisco #santacarla #thelostboys #us #killerklownsfromouterspace #suddenimpact #backtothebeach #dangersousminds #giantdipper #rollercoasters #montereybay #jordanpeele #dirtyharry #michellepfeiffer #frankieavalon #annettefunicello #kiefersutherland

Whoooo-EEE! Four films in one night!

Drive-ins were fun to a point. It was great to watch movies in your car, bring your own snacks, and be able to talk if you wanted to. You could also skirt extra ticket prices by throwing your buddies into the trunk (hopefully the lock didn’t jam).

My very first drive-in memory was me and my sister falling asleep in the back of my parents’ AMC Gremlin watching SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER, circa early 1978. However, if we’d had something more akin to the four-picture horror extravaganza we feature today, I probably would have stayed up longer.

We start with one of my all-time favorites, THE BLOOD ON SATAN’S CLAW (sometimes known as SATAN’S SKIN) before dovetailing into THE BEAST IN THE CELLAR. But the night isn’t over yet! We then charge bleary-eyed into the Hammer film THE MUMMY’S SHROUD. Depending on which theater you visited, your fourth and final offering was either the another Hammer offering, THE BRIDES OF DRACULA, or MUNSTER, GO HOME! Not that it matters because I guarantee I would have been asleep by the opening credits of THE MUMMY’S SHROUD, anyway!

#fearflashbacks #thebloodonsatansclaw #satansskin #thebeastinthecellar #themummysshroud #munstergohome #thebridesofdracula #hammerfilmproductions #drivein

Director Osgood Perkins’ latest, THE MONKEY, based on Stephen King’s short story, captured more than $14 million at the box office in its first weekend. Our movie landscape has been the same for years, littered with comic-book adaptations and animated fluff, both of which still pull in big bucks. Despite this, THE MONKEY placed second for the week and landed comfortably on target with projected earnings.

Reviews for the film have been good, but the buzz hasn’t been quite as loud as Perkins’ 2024 offering, LONGLEGS, which scared up nearly $75 million in domestic receipts alone. Still, THE MONKEY has nothing to be ashamed of, especially when you consider its stiff marketplace competition, namely CAPTAIN AMERICA: BRAVE NEW WORLD, the latest $180 million Marvel Comics extravaganza, which took the weekend’s top spot.

For all the details, check out the original article courtesy of the fine folks over at Screen Rant.

#horrorhappenings #themonkey #stephenking #osgoodperkins #longlegs #captainamericabravenewworld #marvelcomics #boxoffice #screenrant

Wasn’t expecting THAT mash-up, were ya?

#killermemes&comics #iknowwhatyoudidlastsummer #sixteencandles #longdukdong

Here’s a little something I kept from when HALLOWEEN 5: THE REVENGE OF MICHAEL MYERS came on video. I’m glad someone was keeping track of these kinda stats.

This clipping was taken from a Spring, 1990 edition of Entertainment Weekly.

#fearflashbacks #halloween5therevengeofmichaelmyers #entertainmentweekly

Nothing to see here–just Tom Savini making that money.

Though I saw it as a major step down from DAWN OF THE DEAD (1978), any horror fan would be crazy to say that DAY OF THE DEAD didn’t have some of the best FX of the 1980s. Truly some awe-inspiring work on display here.

Taken from Fangoria Poster Magazine #1 (1987)

#onesheetwonders #dayofthedead #dawnofthedead #tomsavini #fangoria

Opie’s little brother goes buckwild on some bullies…and hey, there are some pigs running around here, too! 

Some movie characters are so terribly bullied, you’re willing to give them a Charles Bronson-like free pass to even the score. Stanley Coopersmith is a paunchy orphan attending West Andover Military Academy, and every person there hates his goddamn guts. Fellow cadets tie his clothes in knots, joke about his dead parents, and kill his puppy. The teachers aren’t any better, looking the other way in Stanley’s times of need while giving him lowly chores such as looking after the pigsty (every college has one,…right?) and cleaning out the church basement. 

The latter of these punishments leads him to finding a book of black magic penned by a 16th century Spanish satanist, Father Lorenzo Esteban. Somehow, Stanley has access to some kind of early-80s ChatGPT-level translation software, and he quickly uncovers the text to Esteban’s pentagram-clad tome. Using these centuries-old details of black masses, Coopersmith conjures up the Prince of Darkness using little more than some human blood and a Commodore 64 floppy disk. 

No, absolutely none of this is believable, especially in 1981, but once Stanley’s cronies start biting the dust, it doesn’t matter! Consecrated host this, sulfur that, blood whatever, blah, blah – BAM! After 75 minutes of satanic masturbation and technical hooey, we get exactly what we came for: a levitating, sword-wielding weakling about to go apeshit on his bullies. Hearts are pulled from chests, fat kids are eaten alive by pigs, and heads are split open like watermelons at a Gallagher comedy show. 

There are a number of reasons EVILSPEAK wasn’t a sensation when it first hit theaters. Many films of the 70s and 80s slasher cycle were hurt by widespread and often excessive censorship here in the US. The theatrical, R-rated cut of the EVILSPEAK was a neutered mess, extracting a hefty portion of the bloody vengeance everyone waits for in its final reels. I remember having to buy an import VHS copy in the 90s to finally see the complete film. Not only did the movie fall under the axe of the MPAA, but it was a late-edition coda of sorts to the ‘satanic panic’ of 1970s horror films. By the early 1980s, trickle-down economics had reared its ugly head and we had worse things to worry about than Satan. 

The glory of the DVD era allowed us all to enjoy EVILSPEAK the way it was meant to be seen. When you combine this with a solid cast that includes Richard Moll (Bull the bailiff on “Night Court”), R.G. Armstrong (the mechanic in CHILDREN OF THE CORN), and Clint Howard as Coopersmith, you really can’t go wrong. Every time I watch this movie, I can’t help but think of Howard’s turn in that “Seinfeld” episode, “The Trip (Part 2)”. His reading of “Ah, Ann Landers SUCKS!” is still one of the greatest lines from season four. Do yourself a favor and watch EVILSPEAK and then that “Seinfeld” episode, back to back. It’ll give you a great, two-hour overview of Clint Howard’s career in one entertaining evening. 

#unclean&unseen #evilspeak #clinthoward #richardmoll #rgarmstrong #satan #mpaa #childrenofthecorn #seinfeld #nightcourt #gallagher #charlesbronson #annlanders

Hey, I’ll be the first to admit that Kevin Williamson wore out his welcome really fast in the horror genre, but I always thought that Wes Craven’s SCREAM 2 was a solid sequel to a film that, for better or worse, totally changed the face of horror cinema.

Today, we give you yet another whiny bitch who is seemingly more depressed than an unemployed alcoholic with a bad case of hemorrhoids. Lighten up, dude. I mean, Heather Graham makes a cameo in this! Yes, the chick that was in BOOGIE NIGHTS, DRUGSTORE COWBOY, and AUSTIN POWERS 2. I don’t know if Heather Graham is capable of making a bad movie!

Recently, I’ve been watching a lot of old Siskel and Ebert horror reviews on YouTube, and I gotta admit, the fat one gets whipped into such a lather over slasher films, you almost think he’s gonna collapse from a coronary right there on the set. (His reviews of those mid-80s FRIDAY THE 13th sequels are comedy gold.) What originally seemed to be singular, self-important voices making vain attempts to join the ranks of the morality police have years later become hilarious reading for genre fans.

Keep those one-star reviews a-coming.

#fearflashbacks #scream2 #wescraven #kevinwilliamson #heathergraham #siskelandebert #fridaythe13th

Goddamn, there hasn’t been a double bill this good since chocolate and peanut butter!

Kudos to the insane Brit who thought of putting these two slasher classics together for one shorts-soiling evening at the cinema. Now this is a night out. Though Hooper’s sleazy, suspenseful THE FUNHOUSE is the slightly better film of the two, the long-lost uncut edition of MY BLOODY VALENTINE has proved itself an absolute monster and a MUST for tonight’s Valentine’s Day viewing!

Ad originally appeared around London in the spring of 1981, just a couple of months after the release of both films.

#fearflashbacks #mybloodyvalentine #thefunhouse #tobehooper #slashers #valentinesday

Listen up, lonely hearts–spaghetti and Harry Warden is actually better than most of the Valentine’s Days I’ve had , so just go with it. And, to be honest, some really good garlic bread kicks ass and is totally underrated.

#killermemes&comics #mybloodyvalentine #valentinesday #garlicbread