★★★ out of ★★★★★
Ugly, vulgar, obnoxious, and totally entertaining. Meatball Machine has perfected the low-brow J-Horror splatter-fest. You don’t get more gonzo than this!
Author Archives
lightninli
By day, Eric is a mild-mannered Architect, bringing great buildings to the good boys and girls of his hometown of Portland, Oregon. By night, he is a disreputable podcaster looking to promote the best and worst of horror movies!
Eric’s TV Review: Swamp Thing (2019)
★★★★1/2 out of ★★★★★
DC Universe ups the horror ante with Swamp Thing, a smart, brutal, and completely engaging tale that is both complex and comprehensible. Beautiful, and savage. Worth the price of subscription for sure. Too bad it’s only going to be one season!
The Scariest things Podcast Extra: An Interview with FANGORIA’s Amanda Presmyk
The Scariest Things were gifted with an interview at the Overlook Film Festival with Satanic Panic’s Producer, Amanda Presmyk, who gave us her behind the scenes insights on her new movie and the movie business. Get the scoop in our Podcast Extra!
Eric’s Review: Godzilla King of the Monsters (2019)
★★★1/2 out of ★★★★★ if you like Kaiju vs. Kaiju battles.
★1/2 out of ★★★★★ if you don’t
It’s rock-em-sock-em Kaiju in Godzilla’s return to the western screens. The monster-on-monster action is gorgeous and frenetic, and the humans are superfluous. This is Toho-style stompy monsters with a big Hollywood budget.
Creepy Stuff: Unsettling Toys
Do you have a toy that is staring at you from the corner of your bedroom, and you just can’t handle it anymore? Well, Unsettling Toys is here to help you out.
Eric’s Review: Nightmare Cinema (2019)
★★★1/2 Out of ★★★★★
Nightmare Cinema is an anthology horror feature, with some of the biggest names in the genre directing a series of grisly short films, and uses an abandoned cinema as the connecting thread. As with most anthologies, it’s a bit of a mixed bag in quality and style.
Eric’s Review: Depraved (2019)
★★★★1/2 Out of ★★★★★
Depraved is a modern retelling of Frankenstein and manages to preserve all the empathy of the source material while making a more sophisticated and nuanced take on the classic tale.
Eric’s Review: Stay Out Stay Alive (2019)
★★★ out of ★★★★★
Digital effects wizard Deane Yurke takes a seat in the director’s chair for his first feature, Stay Out, Stay Alive, a cautionary tale of greed unchecked as five young campers fall prey to the lure of a haunted gold mine.
The Scariest Things Podcast Extra: The Overlook Film Festival in Review
The Scariest Things went to the Big Easy and saw LOTS of movies, and for good measure also checked out some really cool live panels. Many of these films will be getting wide release later this summer and fall, so give a listen for a preview of what’s worth checking out!
Eric’s Review: Satanic Panic (2019)
★★★★ out of ★★★★★
FANGORIA continues its reputation for bringing fun, low-budget elevated B-movie fare. Their new feature, Satanic Panic, has a look and production quality that belies its minuscule budget, and stars charismatic newcomer Haley Griffith.
Eric’s Review: Come to Daddy (2019)
★★★★ out of ★★★★★
Come To Daddy is a movie with two lives. The first half is a taught father-son dysfunctional family character piece, and the second is a hyper violent fight for survival, featuring Elijah Wood.
Eric’s Review: Head Count (2018)
★★★1/2 out of ★★★★★
A remarkable debut feature film that expands on a familiar curse, and continues to tweak and adjust the theme as the plot unfurls.
Eric’s Review: The Dead Don’t Die (2019)
★★ out of ★★★★★
It was bound to be a curiosity. A famous auteur art-house director, gifted with an all-star cast and a classic zombie tale, what could go wrong? Plenty.
Eric’s Review: Extra Ordinary (2019)
★★★★1/2 out of ★★★★★
A near pitch-perfect possession horror comedy from Ireland, featuring one of the most endearing and unlikely horror heroines in recent memory.
The Scariest Things Podcast Episode LXII: Literature Adaptations to Film
The book was better! Or was it? Our book expert Liz and Eric talk about some of their favorite adaptations from the page to the screen.
Eric’s Review: Late Phases (2014) (AKA Night of the Wolf)
★★★1/2 out of ★★★★★
Chalk up one for the elderly and the blind! This little werewolf movie surprises in many ways.
When Johnny Came Marching Home Again as a Zombie: 22 War Themed Horror Movies for Memorial Day
As America honors its fallen soldiers, The Scariest Things is taking time out to remember some of the warriors lost […]
The Scariest Things Podcast Extra: The Portland Horror Film Festival 2019
MICK GARRIS, WORLD PREMIERES, AND MONSTERS APLENTY AT PORTLAND HORROR FILM FESTIVAL™ JUNE 5th-8th
Eric’s Review: American Mary (2012)
★★★★ out of ★★★★★
Brazen, wicked, and nasty, the medical-revenge flick American Mary takes a med student down a very dark career path as a chop-shop extreme make-over doc.
The Scariest Things Podcast Extra: The Overlook Film Festival Preview
Once again, the Overlook Film Festival is stocked with a veritable treasure trove of movies to be screened. The Scariest Things will be in the Big Easy to preview for you all the great indie horror to come out of Overlook.
Eric’s Review: The Curse of La Llorona (2019)
★★ out of ★★★★★
A couple of good set pieces and a solid premise can’t overcome a jump-scare laden and predictable plot. Unfortunately, The Curse of La Llorona pulled its punches.
The Scariest Things Podcast: Episode LXI – A J-Horror Sampler Platter
We’re going on a trip to the far east, where Horror delves where Hollywood had feared to tread. We’re trading in the hillbilly horror for some scary little girls with wet hair! Join Liz, Eric, and Mike for a combo plate of some of our favorite offerings from across the Pacific.
Trailer Alert: Ma
Finally, a leading lady role for Octavia Spencer, as she gets to play a flamboyant teenager killer! Ten bucks says that this is going to be a lot of fun.
Mother’s Day Horror!
Happy Mother’s Day! Let this poster be a message to you, don’t forget to call your mom! (Or Else) Here are ten of our favorite horror movie moms, for good or EVIL!
Horror Shorts: Alien 40th Anniversary Short Film Project – Alien: Harvest
A bleak and intense conclusion to the Alien 40th Anniversary Short Film Project, Alien: Harvest is the most polished of the series.
Great Horror Movie Opening Scenes: Video Clips (NSFW)
Aaaaaand… ACTION! Here are the video clips of Mike and Eric’s Episode 60 favorite opening scenes from horror movies. Beware, […]
Trailer Alert: It: Chapter 2
Probably the most anticipated horror movie of 2019 has its first reveal in the just-released teaser trailer for It Chapter 2, an extended clip featuring Jessica Chastain’s adult Beverly Marsh. It’s time to revisit Pennywise, and all those awful things in Derry.
Horror TV: What We Do in The Shadows Episode 7 “The Trial”
It’s a Vampire all-star show! A who’s who of Hollywood vampires just showed up as the council in the most […]
The Scariest Things Podcast Episode LX: Our Favorite Horror Opening Scenes
Forget the slow burn, let’s get this show off with a BANG! It doesn’t guarantee that the movie is going to be great, but making a good first impression, like a blind date, can shape the rest of your experience.
Eric’s Review: The Cleanse (2016)
★★★ out of ★★★★★
What would happen if you barfed out your inner demons, and they came to life? Good news! The Cleanse will answer that very strange question for you.