A Guide to NYC Haunted Houses

Happy early Halloween! As everybody gets ready for Halloween on Sunday, if live in NYC (or are visiting) and you're in the mood to get your scare on this weekend, this is your guide for all the haunted houses in NYC.I've reviewed 5 haunted houses and there were a couple I didn't get a chance to go to. But this is an all inclusive guide to give you options. Depending on your level of fear, you can pick from the list below. They all have their slight...

Categories: after dark, blood manor, fear at 21 street, haunted house, madame tussauds, nightmare superstitions, nyc halloween haunted house, nyc haunted house, steampunk haunted house, vortex theater

The Opening Credits and Theme of the Halloween Films

"I met him, fifteen years ago. I was told there was nothing left. No reason, no conscience, no understanding; even the most rudimentary sense of life or death, good or evil, right or wrong. I met this six-year-old child, with this blank, pale, emotionless face and, the blackest eyes... the *devil's* eyes. I spent eight years trying to reach him, and then another seven trying to keep him locked up because I realized what was living behind that...

Categories: halloween, happy halloween, john carpenter, michael myers

NYC Haunted House - After Dark at Madame Tussaud's (Review)

Wait! Another haunted house review? Really Mr. Jaded Viewer? Jeez, how many has it been?Yes I know what you're thinking. I've gone to waaaay too many haunted houses. But hell it's October in NYC and the smell of fear and Halloween is in the air. And what better way to get your scare on but to go to a haunted house...and in my case how about 4 of them? To recap, I've been to Nightmare: Superstitions, Blood Manor, Vortex Theater's NYC Halloween Haunted...

Categories: haunted house, madam tussauds, nyc halloween haunted house, nyc haunted house

NYC Haunted House - Steampunk Haunted House (Review)

You would have thought 3 haunted houses would have been satisfied my scare quota but as Halloween creeps closer, a few more haunted houses in NYC are getting buzz. After Nightmare: Superstitions, then Blood Manor, then Vortex Theater's NYC Halloween Haunted House I figured the trifecta was complete and I could relax, take it easy and rewatch Trick R Treat.But I realized there were other haunted houses in NYC that I missed. With that hanging over...

Categories: halloween, happy halloween, haunted house, nyc halloween haunted house, nyc haunted house, steampunk

Siskel and Ebert Review Good Horror Movies

Before bloggers, before Facebook and Twitter and before the Interwebs, real critics who we the public sort of respected reviewed movies. You know who Siskel and Ebert are. But when you go back into the YouTube time machine and watch clips of their shows, I turn back into a tween and actually want to know what they had to say about my favorite movies.I think I've been conditioned to respect their opinions because well....they were the only famous...

Categories: candyman, halloween, movie critic, siskel and ebert, zombies

What horror movies do you put on for your non horror loving friends?

October is the usual time my non horror friends and family ask what horror movie should they go see. Paranormal Activity 2? Saw 3D? So it's fitting that Mike over @ All Things Horror posed this same question to the horror blogosphere. What horror movies do you put on for your non horror loving friends?I of course picked the Lucio Fulci's Zombie and you can read why if you head over to All Things Horror. There you'll see the other opinions from...

Categories: halloween, happy halloween, horror blog, horror blogging, links from the horrorsphere, lucio fulci, zombi 2

NYC Haunted House - Vortex Theater's NYC Halloween Haunted House (Review)

I'm kind of proud of myself this year. I set a goal for myself to go to all 3 major NYC Haunted Houses. First was Nightmare: Superstitions which was cleverly fun, next up was Blood Manor which always thrilled me with their highly detailed sets and finally I had to go to the one haunted house that I didn't go to last year. Josh Randall and Kris Thor's Vortex Theater's Halloween Haunted House was the most intimidating of the 3 and I was actually kind...

Categories: haunted house, insane asylum, nyc halloween haunted house, nyc haunted house, nyc horror, psychological horror, vortex theater

Brain Dead (Review)

Brain DeadBrain Dead (2007)Directed by Kevin TenneyNo its not that Brain Dead.If you're like me, that title goes with one film and one film only and that's Peter Jackson's zombie classic. But let's not judge the film based on title alone. Because if you know horror, you know who Kevin Tenney is. The man has quite a directorial horror resume which includes Witchboard and the classic Night of the Demons.So I kinda knew what I'd be in for when I watched...

Categories: brain dead, gore, gratuitous nudity, horror comedy, indie horror, low budget horror, night of the demon, nudity, splatter, splatter gore, zombies

Mute Slashers vs Chatty Slashers: Which do you prefer?

I've been thinking about this for a while but I've never actually seen anybody debate this on a blog. Well, I figure I'd get some opinions. We all love our slashers with all their different personalities but there are 2 distinct characteristics you can group em into.Silent and deadly or chatty and jokey.Which do you prefer?Insano Steve prefers mute slashers. I too prefer the silent types. But that's not too say I don't love some sadistic one liner...

Categories: 80s slasher horror, slasher films, slashers

Death of the Dead (Trailer)

Sometimes I can be a little mean when it comes to low budget horror. I know filmmakers have to make lemonade without even lemons but sometimes it comes out a little laughable and it's an easy target to make fun of. Why do I bring this up?It's because when I reviewed Gary King's Dismal: Eat or be Eaten, I kinda made a few zingers at the movie's expense. I didn't mean to be harsh but I was just being honest. But at the conclusion of my review, I...

Categories: death of the dead, dismal eat or be eaten, dismal review, dismal trailer, independent cinema, indepentent horror, indie horror, low budget horror, zombies

NYC Haunted House: Blood Manor 2010 (Review)

Blood Manor is the James Cameron of haunted houses.Big production values, absolute detailed rooms and actors who really get into their roles. That's Blood Manor in a nutshell. You're not going to get story or themes here like other haunted houses. It's pure frightening eye candy and like a summer movie, you kinda know what to expect but it still scares the shit out of you.So my 2010 trek to Blood Manor is actually a sequel as I went last year. As...

Categories: blood manor, blood manor review, halloween, happy halloween, haunted house, nyc haunted house, nyc horror

The Awesome Gimmicks of William Castle

With the resurgence of overly expensive 3-D, I thought it'd be fun to talk about the pre-3D gimmicks of one William Castle. Castle directed many notable horror films with circus-y gimmicks that amplified the experiences for certain audiences.For you vets, there is no need to explain the brilliance of Castle's gimmicks, but noobs...read on. All of gimmicks listed are from Wikipedia.1.) "Insured by Death by Fright"Macabre (1958): A certificate for...

Categories: 3d, 3d horror movies, movie gimmicks, william castle