Studio 666 (2022)

I can appreciate what Dave Grohl and BJ McDonnell were going for with “Studio 666.” In spite of me being a big Foo Fighters fan, I respected what they were trying to do. “Studio 666” is a horror comedy musical with shades of “Evil Dead,” “The Exorcist,” and “We Are Still Here.” It’s also kind of a commentary on the compromises you make in order to acquire artistic success, but those more dire themes are passive at best. “Studio 666” looks like one of those movies that was more fun to make than anything else, and that’s both a caveat and advantage.

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Don’t Panic (1987)

I’d love to have been a fly on the wall where Rubèn Galindo Jr., director of “Don’t Panic,” actually watched as someone from the wardrobe department went out, bought dinosaur pajamas in a man’s size, and decided to make it the primary outfit for his film’s protagonist. Dinosaur pajamas with red and blue dinosaurs that you’d find on a seven year old unironically became the motif for the central hero of a horror movie. And that’s not all that “Don’t Panic” has in store for its audience. Rubèn Galindo Jr.’s “Don’t Panic” is a mélange of plot devices that rip wholesale from the likes of Wes Craven, and Sam Raimi.

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The Barn Part II (2022)

If Justin M. Seaman’s “The Barn” was “Ghoulies,” then “The Barn Part II” is the “Ghoulies II” of his horror movie series. His Halloween centric horror movie series has managed to deliver in surprises and good old fashioned vintage scares and I’ve enjoyed a lot of the mythos that Seaman and co. have created. “The Bart Part II” is superior to the first film in every way, as while the original is a very good small scale Halloween movie, this follow up doubles up on every aspect. There’s double the gore, double the body count, double the T&A and even larger scale monsters.

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End Of The Line (2007)

I’m frankly shocked that I’ve never seen or even heard of Maurice Devereaux’s “End of the Line” until this year. I typically have my ears perked to new horror titles, and “End of the Line” slipped right by me. I don’t know if I’d call it a masterpiece, but it sure is a damn good siege and survival horror movie in the tradition of “Assault on Precinct 13” and or “The Void.” It’s bleak, it’s dark, it’s gory and it has a climax that will likely keep the audience debating for days.

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The Exorcists (2023)

When all is said and done, “The Exorcists” could have been so much worse. And that’s about as good as it gets with Jose Prendes’ horror thriller. As is typical of “The Asylum” studios, “The Exorcists” arrives right around the time of the big reboot of the classic William Friedkin film (I’ll see your two priests and raise you five!). This new film isn’t bashful in hiding its intentions, even styling the title fonts to look similar to “The Exorcist.” Even with all the reservations, “The Exorcists” has a decent concept, but what hinders it is that the script feels painfully under developed.

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Seven Horror Baddies that Deserved to Be Bigger

For every Jason Voorhees, Michael Myers, Chucky, and Freddy Krueger we have, there are at least two dozen horror villains that either fell in to obscurity, or were never fully realized. Every horror geek has their own list of horror baddies that they felt could have and should have risen to mainstream popularity, or icon status, but alas sometimes the horror world isn’t in their favor. These are seven horror villains that deserved more films, or better films than they received, in the end. 

What are some of your beloved horror baddies you think deserved a huge fan base or franchise?

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Night Of The Demons 2: Collector’s Edition (1994) [Blu-Ray]

I originally saw Brian Trenchard-Smith’s “Night of the Demons 2” before ever seeing Kevin Tenney’s original 1988 classic. It was a late night viewing on Cinemax that still remains burned in to my brain. Brian Trenchard-Smith fills in with Kevin Tenney offering up a sequel that’s just as good as the original “Night of the Demons.” Hell, I wouldn’t argue if you even insisted the sequel is better.

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Night of the Demons (1988): Collector’s Edition [4K UHD/Blu-ray]

There aren’t many horror movies that I’d genuinely pass out for Halloween as party favors, but “Night of the Demons” is one of them. It’s low key one of the top five Halloween horror movies of all time. It is set on Halloween night, revolves around a disastrous Halloween party and even ends on a completely pointless but fun scene involving razor blades in candy. Kevin Tenney’s horror production is known for being a cheapie production that was constrained to filming in one setting and one setting only. Kevin Tenney is talented enough to where we can barely tell the difference turning the house that the whole movie is set in in to a veritable cauldron of pure terror.

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