The Christmas tradition is one of hope and cheer, a time for us all to come together in the spirit of peace and love and forget about our troubles in the name of fellowship and […]
Category: Articles
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 […]
EVIL DIES AT THE APPROPRIATE MOMENT
Times The Halloween Franchise Should Have Ended, Ranked From Worst To First The Halloween franchise concluded with Halloween Ends, at least that’s what the title would have us believe. Do I believe it’s over forever? […]
HALLOWEEN EVERY DAY (EXCEPT NOV 1 THROUGH SEPT 30)
Luck, wisdom, and desperation all play an important part in forcing the hand of cinema in new directions. A little over a decade ago, a small handful of streaming platforms were pushing for viability in […]
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 […]
SUMMER NEVER DIES WHEN YOU’RE A GRUMP
Labor Day is traditionally the “end of summer” but as the fall approaches and many of you are dreaming in pumpkin spice, we here at Grumpire HQ aren’t ready to let go of the endless […]
FAMILY MOVIE NIGHT: XTREME!
Nothing makes parents happier than teaching their children to love Horror. Just visit any Horror convention and you’ll see toddlers dressed as Freddy Krueger holding hands with their father and his Art The Clown forearm […]
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 MATADOR’: WHEN MASCULINITY AND VULNERABILITY COME TOGETHER
Jarred by a nightmare, a middle-aged man wakes up in a panic. He’s in a hotel, an empty bottle next to him and a passed-out woman sharing his bed. Obviously distressed, he puts his hand […]
VISUAL TENSION, IRONY, DISCOMFORT, AND METAFICTION IN ‘THE VISIT’
Something I think about sometimes is how I basically never had a grandpa. My grandpa on my dad’s side, Grandpa Ted, died when I was two and I don’t remember him one bit. On my […]
“YOU’RE ALREADY DEAD”: LIFE, DEATH, AND LETTING GO, IN ‘JACOB’S LADDER’
“See. According to this, you’re already dead.” Everyone remembers the party scene in Adrian Lyne’s Jacob’s Ladder. You know the one. It’s impossible to forget: a woman dancing seductively at a party is attacked from […]
LIVIN’ THE DREAM: THE SLY SUBVERSION OF ‘THE BEACH BUM’
Twice in the course of The Beach Bum, Matthew McConaughey’s greasy itinerant poet-drunk, known only as Moondog, recites his piece “The Beautiful Poem” – once at the beginning, to the weeknight crowd at a beachside […]
‘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, […]
INTERVIEW: Justin Decloux on Gold Ninja Video, “The Criterion of Public Domain Bargain Bins”
As described by the label itself, Gold Ninja Video is “The Criterion of Public Domain Bargain Bins: A boutique film distribution label that focuses on releasing neglected films with lots of new special features.” That’s […]