Tron: Ares (2025) – Joachim Ronning

I was there in 1982. I remember sitting in the Odeon in Kingston. It was me, my sister, and my father. It wasn’t my dad’s thing. I was gobsmacked by the idea of being able to go inside a computer, and live in this new world of video games, which, at the time, were just…

TIFF 25: Frankenstein dir. Guillermo del Toro

I’ve been a fan of Guillermo del Toro since I took home the film Chronos one night from my video store. Since then, I haven’t missed anything he’s done, and look forward eagerly to each new project. When I heard that he was taking on Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, I was delighted. The classic monsters have…

Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy (1955) – Charles Lamont

Bud Abbott and Lou Costello make their final Universal Monster movie with Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy. I’m not sure if I think this one is better, worse or equal to Meet the Invisible Man. I do know that Meet Frankenstein is their best. This time out, the pair are a couple of would-be…

Fringe (2010/2011) – Marionette, and The Firefly

While Olivia (Anna Torv) deals with the fallout in her life from Fauxlivia’s presence in their universe, the team gets called in on a case that sees victims with vital organs removed and a slower than average decomposition rate. It seems someone is killing these people for a horrifying reason. Marionette was written by Monica…

Weird Science (1985) – John Hughes

John Hughes’ Weird Science is very much a male teen fantasy fulfillment. It riffs on Frankenstein while drawing in themes of self-confidence, and being who you are instead of worrying about what others think of you, because in the end, if they really like you, they’ll like you for you. Gary (Anthony Michael Hall) and…

Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives (1986) – Tom McLoughlin

Jason (C.J. Graham) is back for another go around, as he gets resurrected and is now a truly unstoppable killer. Tommy Jarvis (Thom Matthews – the third actor to play the role, another problem that causes a lack of empathy and continuity with the character) is no longer in a mental institution, but he’s still…

The X-Files (1997) – Detour, and The Post-Modern Prometheus

Detour, written by Frank Spotnitz gives us our first monster-of-the-week episode of season five of The X-Files. First airing on 23 November, 1997, the episode sees Mulder (David Duchovny) and Scully (Gillian Anderson) in Florida on their way to a team-building/communication seminar held by the bureau, when a forest search and rescue holds up their…

Star Trek: Enterprise (2003) – Judgement, and Horizon

Captain’s log: date unknown Archer (Scott Bakula) has some problems with the Klingons, who make a return appearance in this episode written by David A. Goodman from a story he developed with Taylor Elmore. It first aired on 9 April, 2003. Archer is captured and told to stand trial by the Klingons. He is charged…

Frankenstein (1910) – J. Searle Dawley

The mad scientist chapter of DK Canada’s Monsters in the Movies book would be remiss if it didn’t cite one of the most deranged men of science ever created, Frankenstein. And what better way to celebrate than look at the first filmed version of the story created by Edison Studios back in 1910. Using Mary…

Van Helsing (2004) – Stephen Sommers

After his fairly positive success with two Mummy movies, and the cult favorite Deep Rising, Stephen Sommers looked to do an homage to the Universal Monsters and hopefully launch a new tentpole franchise with the Hugh Jackman led Van Helsing. This is the next recommendation from DK Canada’s Monsters in the Movies by John Landis,…