Harper's Island: It's Safer On the Mainland

Without a doubt, the slasher is my favorite, most-cherished sub-genre in horror. I hold these films near and dear to my heart, whether it be popular entries like Friday the 13th or The Burning, or lesser-known gems such as Slaughter High. As fun as these movies are, a common (and most of the time, warranted) criticism against slashers is often the lack of any substantial plot or character development. It could be argued with strong conviction that the majority of these films churned out in the 1980s certainly miss those marks.

Not that I'm one to complain - most horror fans, including myself, usually aren't looking for anything more than a madman violently dispatching promiscuous teenagers, and welcome it with open arms. But what happens when you take the standard slasher formula, address the above criticisms, do it exceptionally well and expand the run-time from 90 minutes to 13 hours? You get Harper's Island.

Cannibal Terror: Savages with... Mustaches?

In recent years, both French and Spanish filmmakers have found considerable success within the horror community; anyone who hasn't heard of Inside, Martyrs (France) or REC (Spain) doesn't deserve to call themselves a fan of the genre. This isn't anything new either - both countries have a rich history with things that go bump in the night, whether it be Tombs of the Blind Dead (1971), Vampyres (1974), or The Grapes of Death (1978).

Unfortunately for Cannibal Terror, a 1981 co-production involving both France and Spain, this film will not be joining such prestigious ranks. If the aforementioned movies are home runs, this one is somewhat of a foul ball.

My New Year's Resolution for 2010...

...is to get back to updating this blog on a somewhat-regular basis!

Unfortunately, it has been an insanely busy past few months for me at work, and the hectic holiday season certainly didn't sweeten the deal. But now that things have slowed down, I'm determined to post some long overdue reviews I've been working on since Halloween (it seems like it was only yesterday I was drooling over Trick 'r Treat).

So check back in later this week, hopefully I can get some content up soon, as well as post my thoughts on what I'm looking forward to in the upcoming months!