Every Halloween, horror fans curate lists of holiday appropriate horror films and TV specials to immerse themselves in. The genre has given us plenty to choose from. The options range from the obvious – such as the Halloween films to new classics like Trick r’ Treat to beloved family friendly staples like Hocus Pocus and everything in between.
Every year websites publish Halloween movie listicles and social media is awash in personalized lists and recommendations.
But what about horror films that are a bit off the beaten path – horror films that don’t have anything at all to do with the holiday, but give us those special vibes that make them great viewing for the season? Below are three films to seek out if you’re looking for fun and immersive thrills for your Halloween binging.
Fender Bender
Mark Pavia of The Night Flier wrote and directed this straight-to-television slow burn slasher.
Every year websites publish Halloween movie listicles and social media is awash in personalized lists and recommendations.
But what about horror films that are a bit off the beaten path – horror films that don’t have anything at all to do with the holiday, but give us those special vibes that make them great viewing for the season? Below are three films to seek out if you’re looking for fun and immersive thrills for your Halloween binging.
Fender Bender
Mark Pavia of The Night Flier wrote and directed this straight-to-television slow burn slasher.
- 10/27/2022
- by Tyler Eschberger
- bloody-disgusting.com
Craig Lines Apr 5, 2017
Marvel? DC? They have their moments, but how about Shogun Assassin, and in turn, the Lone Wolf & Cub movies?
Like most western viewers, I came to the Lone Wolf & Cub series via Shogun Assassin – a recut/mash-up of the first two movies, trimmed to 90 minutes and dubbed into English by a pair of enterprising Andy Warhol acolytes. It was one of the original 'video nasties' in the UK, banned for years, so highly desirable to a kid like me. And it didn’t disappoint. In fact, it was probably the goriest movie on the list.
While it may seem criminal now to butcher a pair of bona fide Japanese classics and completely change their meaning and tone, Shogun Assassin got away with it by being so vibrant and hyperactive. The inappropriate score is a joyful synthesiser meltdown and the spirited dub goes full-pelt, even if what they...
Marvel? DC? They have their moments, but how about Shogun Assassin, and in turn, the Lone Wolf & Cub movies?
Like most western viewers, I came to the Lone Wolf & Cub series via Shogun Assassin – a recut/mash-up of the first two movies, trimmed to 90 minutes and dubbed into English by a pair of enterprising Andy Warhol acolytes. It was one of the original 'video nasties' in the UK, banned for years, so highly desirable to a kid like me. And it didn’t disappoint. In fact, it was probably the goriest movie on the list.
While it may seem criminal now to butcher a pair of bona fide Japanese classics and completely change their meaning and tone, Shogun Assassin got away with it by being so vibrant and hyperactive. The inappropriate score is a joyful synthesiser meltdown and the spirited dub goes full-pelt, even if what they...
- 4/4/2017
- Den of Geek
Stars: Tomisaburo Wakayama, Akihiro Tomikawa, Yunosuke Ito, Go Kato | Written by Kazuo Koike, Tsutomu Nakamura | Directed by Kenji Misumi, Buichi Saito, Yoshiyuki Kuroda
Producing six films across two years (1972-1974) is no mean feat, especially when you consider that they mostly retain their quality throughout. Based on the 28-volume manga series by Kazuo Koike (writer, who adapts for screen) and Goseki Kojima (illustrator), Lone Wolf and Cub is a set of brisk, ultraviolent action-adventure movies, packed with clever ideas, beautiful scenery, and weird characters, set in the Edo period (17th to 19th centuries) of Japan.
Martial arts star Tomisaburo Wakayama plays Itto Ogami (meaning “wolf”), an ex-Shogunate Executioner whose wife is murdered by the fearful Yagyu clan, led by the cruel Retsudo (Yunosuke Ito). Framed and shamed into exile, Ogami takes his son, Daigoro (Akihiro Tomikawa), and hits the road. Not just any road, but the “Demon Way in Hell...
Producing six films across two years (1972-1974) is no mean feat, especially when you consider that they mostly retain their quality throughout. Based on the 28-volume manga series by Kazuo Koike (writer, who adapts for screen) and Goseki Kojima (illustrator), Lone Wolf and Cub is a set of brisk, ultraviolent action-adventure movies, packed with clever ideas, beautiful scenery, and weird characters, set in the Edo period (17th to 19th centuries) of Japan.
Martial arts star Tomisaburo Wakayama plays Itto Ogami (meaning “wolf”), an ex-Shogunate Executioner whose wife is murdered by the fearful Yagyu clan, led by the cruel Retsudo (Yunosuke Ito). Framed and shamed into exile, Ogami takes his son, Daigoro (Akihiro Tomikawa), and hits the road. Not just any road, but the “Demon Way in Hell...
- 3/29/2017
- by Rupert Harvey
- Nerdly
You'll always be careful with knives after seeing the outrageous, impossibly gory violence of this brain-warping samurai series from the early 1970s. Tomisaburo Wakabayashi rolls his tiny tot Daigoro through feudal Japan, looking for trouble. There's simply been nothing like it: breathtakingly beautiful images aestheticize bloodletting as never before or since. Lone Wolf and Cub Sword of Vengeance, Baby Cart at the River Styx, Baby Cart to Hades, Baby Cart in Peril, Baby Cart in the Land of Demons, White Heaven in Hell + Shogun Assassin Blu-ray The Criterion Collection 841 1972-1974 / Color / 2:40 widescreen / 630 + min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date November 8, 2016 / 99.95 Starring Tomisaburo Wakayama, Akihiro Tomikawa. Written by Kazuo Koike, Goseki Kojima Produced by Shintaro Katsu, Hisaharu Matsubara, Tomisaburo Wakayama Directed by Kenji Misumi, Buichi Saito, Yoshiyuki Kuroda
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
In an unexpected move, Criterion has released one of the most influential Japanese film series of the 1970s,...
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
In an unexpected move, Criterion has released one of the most influential Japanese film series of the 1970s,...
- 11/7/2016
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
November tends to be the biggest month of the year for the Criterion Collection, the boutique home video company releasing some of their most exciting releases in time for the holiday shopping season. And, lucky for us, that trend continues in 2016, as Criterion has just revealed this year’s batch of November titles, and the slate includes some absolutely major must-owns. From Paul Thomas Anderson finally joining the Collection (and bringing Adam Sandler along with him!) to a series of samurai films that have never gotten their proper due, these are movies that are worth stampeding for on Black Friday.
Check out Criterion’s full November 2016 slate below, listed in rough order of our excitement for each title. And be sure to visit Criterion’s website for full release info.
1. “Punch-Drunk Love” (dir. Paul Thomas Anderson, 2002). #843
It was only a matter of time before Paul Thomas Anderson finally joined the Criterion Collection,...
Check out Criterion’s full November 2016 slate below, listed in rough order of our excitement for each title. And be sure to visit Criterion’s website for full release info.
1. “Punch-Drunk Love” (dir. Paul Thomas Anderson, 2002). #843
It was only a matter of time before Paul Thomas Anderson finally joined the Criterion Collection,...
- 8/15/2016
- by David Ehrlich
- Indiewire
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