In 1984 writer, director, actor and martial artist John Liu shot a low budget film on the streets of New York about a ninja on a quest for revenge. But with little to nothing in the way of resources and money the production never truly went anywhere and the footage sat on a shelf for decades. But last year, cult film Blu Ray/DVD distributors Vinegar Syndrome found themselves in possession of the…

During the 1980’s and 1990’s writer/director/producer Fred Olen Ray made a name for himself churning out cheap horror and sci-fi flicks. Given this was an era when he horror content could find video distribution one could always turn some kind of profit. In 1983, he made Scalps, one of his most famous movie solely because all it required was “six kids, a station wagon, and a tent”. He used an old…

I get a warm and fuzzy feeling in my tum-tum when I am at the drive-in. Sure the asphalt may be crumbling and the snack stand building wears every bit of its 1980’s decor proudly, but there is a certain magic about the place. There have even been nights when I have been there until the wee hours of the morning enjoying one of the Time Warp nights at my local drive-in. That being said if I were…

This latest Retro Review is a look at a fan favorite from the era of the video store. Luckily this 1987 zombie flick has been reborn thanks to the good people at Shout Factory! who have overseen a beautifully remastered Blu Ray release. One of my big issues about the zombie movie has always been that there are only so many variations you can do on the scenario of huddled survivors in a wasteland…

Actor, producer, screenwriter Dan Akroyd has been behind a number of true fan favorite 80’s classics, from The Blues Brothers to Ghostbusters. But there is one movie in his filmography during this era which was released in 1983 and was unfortunately largely forgotten by all but the devoted. This odd movie still has his talented fingerprints all over it and that movie was Doctor Detroit. Geeky…

In 1984, Paramount Pictures released Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter on movie audiences. Sure these were fun movies, but the powers-that-be at Paramount were always embarrassed by the franchise. After all they were one of the Big Five studios, with a history of films like: The Godfather, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Sunset Boulevard, Harold & Maude, and many other of the greatest films of all-time.…

I believe I have some kind of brain condition where whenever I stumble across some low-budget horror movie that likely adorned the aisles of video stores. Recently I stumbled across a 1981 Canadian horror movie, and because I have a soft spot for 80’s horror flicks from the Great White North, The Pit was too tempting to pass up. An strange socially-ostracized little creep named Jamie has only…

Horror is often used as a mirror for the dark side of our society. In Reagans’ America the rich got richer and the nuclear family headed in record numbers to the suburbs to enjoy the Era of Excess. But this materialism was built on the bones of those whose homes were now the lands for expansive new neighborhoods. In a famously contentious partnership in 1982 producer Stephen Spielberg and…

This is part two of my look at the greatest science fiction films of the 1980’s. Last time we looked at the years 1980-1984 and now we look at the rest of the classics during the Decade of Excess. The Return of Godzilla/Godzilla 1985 (1985): Japan’s greatest monster returned in the 80’s to start a new era, the Heisei Era to be exact. The Return of Godzilla (or simply Godzilla 1985 as it was also…

The 1980’s gave moviegoers an embarrassment of riches in every regards, especially in genre films. This is why when I began to compile this list I realized this would be too much for a single entry on the site. Thus this will be a two-part series with this first entry looking at the science fiction films released between 1980-1984. You will see both blockbusters and cult classics as this decade…

By 1982 audiences were already becoming familiar with the tropes of a slasher movie where the deranged killer pursues poor young coeds. Feminist activist and screenwriter Rita Mae Brown decided to have some fun with this with her screenplay for The Slumber Party Massacre. She guessed that with a title and premise like this, it would clearly establish a tongue-in-cheek tone for the final product,…

A staple of 1970’s cinema was the star-filled disaster films. Films like: the Swarm, Towering Inferno, Earthquake, and relevant to this retrospective, the Airportfranchise, were major hits for Hollywood. Throwing an all-star cast into grand chaotic situations proved to be big box office draws. All the while three screenwriters/directors wondered if they could put their own stamp on this trend and…

Even those with only a passing knowledge of horror movies are familiar with the enigmatic slasher Michael Myers. Since debuting in 1978’s Halloween, the Boogeyman has become one of the most iconic characters in moviedom. Through director John Carpenter’s original masterpiece as well as the sequel Halloween II, audiences got used to seeing Myers square off against Laurie Strode and Dr. Loomis.…

In 1981, author Thomas Harris wrote the first of a series of novels centered around the brilliant and terrifying Dr. Hannibal Lecter. His book Red Dragon attracted the attention of Hollywood. Given that a movie with a similar title had recently bombed, veteran producer Dino De Laurentiis who bought the film rights changed the title of the ultimate adaptation to Manhunter. While this 1986 film…

It has been said many times that clowns are kind of the worst. For children they are terrifying and for adults they are annoying and off putting. There is something unnerving about their painted and grinning faces which horror storytellers have turned to for centuries. In 1987 B-movie director Bill Rebane took a stab (no pun intended) at bringing a creepy clown to cinemas with a movie called Bloo…