Dan O’Bannon who helped write Ridley Scott’s Alien, worked with John Carpenter on Dark Star, wrote the super helicopter fave, Blue Thunder, the original Total Recall, the questionable, but imminently enjoyable Lifeforce, ushers me into the next chapter in DK Canada’s Monsters in the Movies book, Zombies! Using Romero’s classic Night of the Living Dead…
Tag: 80s
War of the Worlds (1989) – The Meek Shall Inherit, and Unto Us a Child is Born
The battle for the planet continues this week with more War of the Worlds. The first episode up this week, The Meek Shall Inherit, sees the ruling party of the morthren, known as the Advocacy planning to disrupt society by destroying our communications networks. Blackwood (Jared Martin), Ironhorse (Richard Chaves), Suzanne (Lynda Mason Green) and…
The Company of Wolves (1984) – Neil Jordan
The next werewolf film to be featured in DK Canada’s highly enjoyable Monsters in the Movies is this Neil Jordan film from the 80s. I remember seeing the VHS case for it when I was beginning my movie education as a young teen. I didn’t recognize any of the names, and the VHS cover had…
Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark & More Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (1981 & 1984) – Alvin Schwartz
Scary stories are always a delight to take part in, wrapped oneself in darkness and trying to laugh the chill that the scares gives us, while enjoying the fright and perceived danger of it, like whistling past a graveyard, seems to be ingrained in our DNA. I never read these young adult collections when they…
The Monster Squad (1987) – Fred Dekker
The next werewolf title that DK Canada’s very enjoyable Monsters in the Movies recommends doesn’t only feature a Wolfman (Carl Thibault), but also includes Dracula (Duncan Regehr), the Mummy (Micheal Reid MacKay), Frankenstein’s Monster (Tom Noonan) and the Creature From the Black Lagoon known as Gillman (Tom Woodruff, jr.) in this version. This cult favorite…
Paprebacks From Hell (2017) – Grady Hendrix
Grady Hendrix wowed and delighted me with his nostalgia, and horror filled, My Best Friend’s Exorcism, and I’m always on the look out for the other books he’s written. So when I came across his non-fiction book, Paperbacks From Hell, documenting the paperback horror novels of the 70s and 80s, I had to grab it…
True Romance (1993) – Tony Scott
DK Books’ brings me a 90s classic that is on the What Else to Watch list following The Movie Book’s recommendation of Bonnie & Clyde. Directed by Tony Scott, featuring his flashy, gaudy style, and a script by Quentin Tarantino that is rife with his pop culture references and sharp dialogue, True Romance is a…
Miami Vice (1986) – Florence Italy, and French Twist
First airing on 14 February, 1986, the story finds Crockett (Don Johnson) and Tubbs (Philip Micheal Thomas) investigating the murder of a prostitute, Florence Italy aka Abigail Cook (Marilyn Romero). The suspect is one of the drivers in the Miami Grand Prix. Their investigation leads them to a father-son pair of racers, Frank (Stephen Joyce)…
TAD 2018: You Might Be the Killer (2018) – Brett Simmons
The final night of Toronto After Dark gets underway this evening, and while I didn’t get to see all the films I wanted to see (life gets in the way), I enjoyed the ones I did, and loved sharing my thoughts on them with you. The final screening tonight (which does so twice, once at…
Miami Vice (1985) – Milk Run, and Golden Triangle: Part 1
It’s back to Miami for another flashback to the 80s, as Crockett (Don Johnson) and Tubbs (Philip Micheal Thomas) continue to do their part to stem crime in the seedy world of drugs, arms, prostitution, and vice. Milk run was written by Alison Hock and first aired on 4 January, 1985. Staking out the airport,…
