The Italians know how to kill people in imaginative ways. Of course, I’m referring to their rich horror film history that started with I Vampiri, Italy’s first horror film, in 1957, directed by Riccardo Freda; […]
Author: Jay Alary
Jay lives in downtown Calgary, Alberta with his beloved partner, two cats, and far too many books and movies.
The Architect of the Post-Modern Haunted House Story: Richard Matheson and The Legend of Hell House
Another Halloween is upon us and I’m very happy to focus on ghosts, ghouls, goblins, and other supernatural phenomena that can only be found in works of fiction (I do not believe in such phenomena […]
Space Babes, Robots, and Disco Boogie: ‘Buck Rogers in the 25th Century’ in the 21st Century
It’s not easy being an astronaut: studying vectors, fuel consumption reports, star charts, and demonstrating fast reaction times, all while piloting a 135-ton space vehicle roaring against the unrelenting pull of Earth’s gravity. What happens […]
BLOOD AND BUTTERFLY COLLARS: ‘DRACULA’ 1979
Dracula is one of the most popular literary characters ever conceived, a masterful synthesis of history and supernatural fiction, as written by Irish novelist Bram Stoker in the classic Victorian epistolary novel that has chilled […]
Timeless Twin TV Titans of Terror: The Night Stalker and The Night Strangler
This piece is dedicated to the memory of my mother, Sharon Alary (1949-2022), my childhood curator of all things morbid, chilling, and spooky… When I was five years old, I remember my mom taking me […]
End of Summer Blues Are for Bloody Mayhem and Gooey Sea Creatures: ‘Humanoids from the Deep’ Revisited
Summer is not over. Yes, there are only two weeks left before autumn officially begins, but by the time the Labor Day long weekend is over, most people have switched to fall sensibilities—though I implore […]
‘INDEPENDENCE DAY’: AN EXPLICATION OF A ’90S SCI-FI BLOCKBUSTER; OR, JAY LOSES A BET
Author’s note: Thanks to a foolish wager on an NBA playoff series, this article you’re now reading exists. I have no business making friendly wagers on professional sports, as I always bet with my heart […]
DEATH IS A RUNNING TAP: ‘STRIP NUDE FOR YOUR KILLER’
Why is it that when fans of Italian giallo talk excitedly about the genre, people are quick to find an exit? Is it because they don’t want to be subjected to a one-sided conversation about […]
‘The Devil’s Rain’: Satanic Panic Goes Legit
The culture of the 1970s has always fascinated me: a disgraced American president and subsequent political conspiracy theories, shag carpeting, station wagons, hideous earth-tone plaids, key parties, punk rock, NASA space probes, New Age/occult trends, […]
‘Creature’: Alien Knock-Off or Misunderstood ‘80s Sci-Fi/Horror? (Yes, this is a terrible title)
Classifying films by genre can be a harrowing experience and not for the faint-hearted. Last year, a mere one year into the pandemic, a Twitter user caused online apoplexy by daring to ask if Alien […]
I SAY, A DOUBLE-WHAMMY OF BRITISH HORROR
I’ve always found watching British horror films to be strangely comforting. Unlike their American counterparts, British horror has a different vibe, a patina of politeness masking the terror lurking beneath the surface; that well-furnished study, […]
‘JAWS 2’: THE SEQUEL THAT KNOWS ITS WORTH
I’m not ready for autumn. In late September and early October, as the days grow short and the nights cool off sharply, horror fiends’ pulses quicken as Halloween lurches ever closer; I’m just not in […]
DISNEY’S ‘THE BLACK HOLE’: RIPE FOR A REBOOT?
By the late ‘70s, Star Wars mania was so infectious, it jolted awake the slumbering, science-fiction-loathing Hollywood studios, as they scrambled to put together their own space-fantasy knockoffs or dust off dormant sci-fi IPs. Steven […]
Brian De Palma’s Body Double: Shrewd Metatextual Masterpiece or Shameless Masturbatory Piece?
In a time when sexuality is frowned upon in a country already well-known for its puritanical attitudes, I’m shocked filmmaker Brian De Palma hasn’t been dragged away by an angry mob in a flurry of […]
A SIX-PACK, MAGNUM .44, AND A KITTEN: IT’S ‘TRUCK TURNER’!
I’m not a big action film fan, but I love Blaxploitation films. I consider Shaft (1971), the opening chapter of a glorious trilogy of films, to be one of the greatest crime films of all […]