Halloween Horror II — Blog

Thursday Rethink: Halloween Horror: Who’s Afraid of Ari Aster's Elevated Horror?

Digging deep into the thematic implications and cultural discourse around Ari Aster’s two works of elevated horror, Hereditary and Midsommar.

Features, Thursday Rethink, Halloween Horror IIAnton BergstromOctober 29, 2020Halloween Horror, Hereditary, Midsommar, Ari Aster, evil, horror, trauma, paganism, neopaganism, demons, cultural horror, elevated horrorComment

Halloween Horror: Dark Water (2002)

Dark Water is a creepy and water-logged entry in the J-horror genre, but its human drama is what makes it particularly memorable and disturbing.

Reviews, Halloween Horror IIAnders BergstromOctober 28, 2020horror, J-horror, Japan, water, ghost story, Hideo Nakata, Koji Suzuki Comment

Halloween Horror: Resolution (2012)

Justin Benson and Aaron Scott Moorhead’s slow-burn horror film plays like a low-budget, earnest counterpoint to The Cabin in the Woods.

Overlooked and Under-Appreciated, Reviews, Aren's Reviews, Halloween Horror IIAren BergstromOctober 27, 2020Resolution, Halloween Horror, Justin Benson, Aaron Scott Moorhead, Peter Ciella, Vinny Curran, Zahn McClarnon, Bill Oberst JrComment

Halloween Horror: The Last House on the Left (1972)

Wes Craven’s controversial classic horror film uses unrefined formal techniques and realistic content to unsettle viewers and examine the horrors of bloodlust.

Overlooked and Under-Appreciated, Reviews, Aren's Reviews, Halloween Horror IIAren BergstromOctober 21, 2020Halloween Horror, The Last House on the Left, Wes Craven, Sandra Peabody, Lucy Grantham, David A. Hess, Fred Lincoln, Jeramie Rain, March Sheffler, Eleanor Shaw, Richard Towers, Marshall Anker, Martin KoveComment

Halloween Horror: The City of the Dead (1960)

Featuring horror legend Christopher Lee and plenty of Gothic atmosphere, this tale of witchcraft in a New England town is a spooky though backward-looking treat.

Reviews, Overlooked and Under-Appreciated, Halloween Horror IIAnders BergstromOctober 16, 2020Halloween Horror, Gothic horror, witchcraft, New England, Christopher Lee Comment

Halloween Horror: Inferno (1980)

Dario Argento’s spiritual sequel to Suspiria is just as spectacularly moody as its predecessor, even if the narrative is slapdash.

Flash Back, Reviews, Aren's Reviews, Halloween Horror IIAren BergstromOctober 8, 2020Inferno, Dario Argento, Suspiria, Thomas de Quincey, Irene Miracle, Leigh McCloskey, Eleonora Giorgi, Daria Nicolodi, Sacha Pitoëff, Alida Valli, Veronica LazarComment

Halloween Horror: The Fog (1980)

The Fog is a compelling mood piece, with atmospheric scares and great low-budget special effects.

Reviews, Overlooked and Under-Appreciated, Aren's Reviews, Halloween Horror IIAren BergstromOctober 6, 2020John Carpenter, The Fog, Debra Hill, Adrienne Barbeau, Tom Atkins, Jamie Lee Curtis, Hal Holbrook, Janet LeighComment

Halloween Horror: Black Sunday (1960)

Mario Bava’s official debut combines arthouse style and B-movie horror conventions to strong effect.

Halloween Horror: The Hills Have Eyes (1977)

Wes Craven’s The Hills Have Eyes has a grimy atmosphere, nasty deaths, and a simmering subtext of class rage

Halloween Horror: Christine (1983)

Christine finds John Carpenter working at the height of his formal powers, transforming a ridiculous concept into a thrilling film.

Reviews, Overlooked and Under-Appreciated, Aren's Reviews, Halloween Horror IIAren BergstromOctober 22, 2019Christine, John Carpenter, Bill Phillips, Stephen King, Keith Gordon, John Stockwell, Alexandra Paul, Robert Prosky, Harry Dean Stanton, Christine Belford, Robert BlossomComment

Halloween Horror: It Chapter Two (2019)

It Chapter Two is effective and scary if a bit muddled.

Halloween Horror: Ranking the Films of the Nightmare on Elm Street Series

Exploring all nine films in the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise and what makes this often scary, usually campy, and frequently bizarre horror series worth watching.