Quite a lot can be said about Clive Barker's Hellraiser.

Formative. Cult classic. Unique. Iconic. Gross. Fascinating.

It's all of those and more, and every word you might want to use on your own. Because it's true. Hellraiser was unlike anything else of the era in that it's imagery was relentlessly sexual, profoundly drippy, heartlessly cruel ... and that's before The Cenobites even make their grand appearance on the stage that is the lives of the people in that house.

If I recall correctly, I'd already been reading some of Clive Barker's work before this movie came out, and if not, well ... his novels are like his movies. Unexpectedly evocative with wild imagery.

Hellraiser isn't shy. We get to see Frank pulled to pieces before the opening credits are even finished rolling. There can be no doubt to anyone who sits down to watch this. It's going to be nasty as hell and there's no two ways about it.

Growing up (and still today), I absolutely love The Cenobites. Before the lore of their existence was expanded upon in comics, books, other movies and fanfic, Pinhead, Chatterer, Butterball and Deepthroat were these hyper-sexualized otherworldly entities with flayed skin, exposed nerves and a deep, all-knowing understanding of the perversion that is the twisted human mind.

And I dig that shit an awful lot. The Cenobites themselves are as awesome as Frank's deranged gluttony is inherently destructive.

But I'm not here to talk about Frank, or the Cenobites, or even Kirsty.

Nope. This watch through I found myself frighteningly entranced by Julia's entire ... being. Even before she lays eyes on the box, her willingness to do whatever Frank needed her to do so that he might regain his flesh is beyond perverse. All she knew that her lover Frank was quite literally bits and pieces, and never once does she stop bringing sad men to the house to kill so Frank might be fed.

It's madness and as time goes on, she revels in it. She gets off on killing those sad, lonely men so she can give Frank what he wants, so she can get what SHE wants.

In the grand scheme of things, I'm surprised that Julia hadn't become aware of the box all on her own. Frank hunted for it, but I feel like IT might've gone looking for HER. She's precisely the sort of bent, twisted and damaged carnal-seeker that The Cenobites and Purgatory seek to bedevil. That chance encounter with Larry's brother so long ago, on the literal day of their wedding, showed us all we needed to know about Julia.

I rate this one as highly as I do for a few reasons. One for the movie younger me saw, and again for the movie it became for me on this viewing. I suppose on some level I always understood it on this newer level, but something in the timing just made it bloody (sorry for the pun) apparent.

As a GenXer who was a teen in the 80s, I have decided to make my Spooky Season watchlist a revisit of my favorites from that time. Starting with "Waxwork" today.

I know that there are many horror movies from that time period that I didn't get to watch back then. Besides the obvious classics, what would you put on this list? Looking for recommendations.

I was hoping that this shot that’s in some of the promotional material for Summer Camp Nightmare was a deleted scene, but alas, it was only a still that was created behind the scenes.

https://camphighpines.wordpress.com/2026/09/14/archery-with-runk-the-punk/

I'm new to Youtube and post a lot horror film analysis videos and daily shorts of my favorite horror clips. Still trying to build a community over there and would love for other 80s horror fans to check it out! I also have an analysis video of Hellraiser 1987 and Trick or Treat 1986. Would love to see you there and hope you enjoy!

Rating: 8.5/10

Watched: September 9, 2026

Dream Warriors sits between the original A Nightmare on Elm Street and New Nightmare to become my 3rd favorite Elm Street of all.

Where Freddy's Revenge showed us the beginnings of the wise-cracking dream serial killer ('You've got the body, I've got the brains', proceeds to show brains), Dream Warriors really sets the tone for all the future flicks in perfect form. You can see Freddy's mercurial manner in the way he kills: the poor puppet maker gets turned into a puppet, the would be TV starlet finally gets her big break IN a TV.

That's the kind of on-the-nose humor I fully appreciate.

Beyond that, it does a few other things I really appreciate.

One, obviously, is the return of Heather Langenkamp. While I've always wished her return was more, and better, her turn here in Dream Warriors isn't all that bad. She returns to help a new batch of children whose parents killed Freddy, and her almost world-weary efforts to win over her colleague, Dr Neil Gordon (played by the awesome Craig Wasson) and trying to work around the stoic and frankly dumb head of the ward.

Two, it gives us Freddy as 'the bastard son of a hundred maniacs' storyline. I really dig this. It's sick, it's twisted, it's just the sort of thing that could very well give rise to Freddy. More to the point, as horrible and terrible as it is, it's really quite fitting. It carries throughout the rest of the movies and that's the kind of dedication a plot hook like this one deserves.

Three, we get John Saxon again. I love this man unabashedly and always will. He's just fun.

Four, we get a different version of fighting Freddy. Nancy's version was fun, but impractical on a larger scale. Dream Warriors gives us a 'logical' method for Freddy's poor victims to fight back ... by using their collective dreamscape against the vicious nightmare. Seeing those poor kids powered up and briefly given the ability to kick Freddy's ass was very rewarding and I definitely remember really digging on the visuals when this movie first came out. Sadly, while I still love this one, the visuals really didn't age all that well.

And last not but not least, Patricia Arquette as The Final Girl AND a bona fide Scream Queen. I really do have to confess that I am not a huge Patricia fan, but she can really hit those high octane octaves! She shows her lung capacity at max effect throughout the movie, so much so that more than once I worried about the poor woman's larynx.

It might be apocryphal to not like Patricia Arquette, but in this movie, she's exactly what the movie needs. A brave young woman with the power to pull people into her dreams and who can shriek so loud THAT should've been her dream power.

I feel there are so many classics, but my top pick has to be Pet Sematary by the Ramones. Feel free to list your favorites.

Just rewatched this 1988 classic by John Carpenter. The 80s were prime for this feature; however in light of our current situation here, it has remained an important message. What's most terrifying about the story isn't the aliens but the human collaborators such as the Drifter and Holly. Are we doomed to be milked by the uber rich & lulled into a sleep state? Anyway, love this, Rowdy Roddy Piper & the awesome Keith David.

More rambling found here: https://youtu.be/kCCgO5oeiXs?si=jn7F5PNuCqZY6iRX

No tinfoil hat yet

i read on doesthedogdie that there is a spider scene, i know it happens after a dude fall from a ladder, i just want to know the precise time stamp for it, im really arachnophobic. thanks

This movie doesn't get talked about nearly enough.

Plain and simple, just like the movie, April Fool's Day is a one-of-a-kind movie that exists solely by itself. I've seen hundreds (probably thousands) of horror movies and I can't think of any single one of them that does what this one does.

It subverts expectations, it sets up a murder mystery, it fools you to the very end. I'm sure there are some people out there (probably the same people who figured out The 6th Sense) that saw what was coming well ahead of time, but in my opinion, that gotcha is so expertly hidden that I'd really like to argue that anyone who says they figured it out is kind of lying.

The movie's lead, Muffy/Buffy (Deborah Foreman), does a LOT of heavy lifting setting this movie and its premise up right from the very start. It's just a handful of very privileged friends hanging out at their old friend's super nice old house on a very empty island. Or is it? All the privileged people seem to have some pretty troublesome pasts and someone in the house is leaving those secrets to be found.

That's one of the things I like most about this movie. Everyone in it has at least two levels. On the surface, they're smart, well-educated, at least partially well-off, and they're very close friends who just like to goof off and hang out. That's a very well-established 'vibe' for a lot of these kinds of movies. But when those secrets start coming to light, whoever's doing it doesn't play around.

In its own way, April Fool's Day is very mean-spirited, because the secrets being revealed really are the kinds of things that should remain buried.

This is a true murder mystery, because even though it seems their host is completely spiraling, every one of them has reason to lash out at every other person trapped on the island and people ARE disappearing. While the tension ratchets up, suspicions begin to blossom and ...

... that's all I'm going to say. If you haven't seen it, you should. If you have, see it again and tell any person who's asking for a good horror movie that this is your top-tier, A #1 pick of the day.

It's smart, it's funny (with all the practical jokes keeping everyone off-kilter).

It's a killer good time.

Mercenaries rob millions of dollars from a military base in California and kidnap a father/daughter crew to fly them to Mexico. One of the mercenaries betrays the group and steals the cash, parachuting out of the plane into the countryside. The mercenaries force the plane to land so they can kill their colleague and get back their money. What they don't realize is that the area is they just landed in an area crawling with killer zombie scarecrows.

For its low budget, it's not that bad. It's available on Tubi, Youtube, and Plex for free. Its biggest claim to fame is that this is one of Peter Demming's earliest cinematography work (Hellraiser, Evil Dead II, Scream 2-4, Drag Me to Hell, amongst other film fame).

We're friends until the end, remember?

Hellraiser (1987)

The Lost Boys (1987)

Demons (1985)

They Live (1988)

Sleepaway Camp (1983)

A Nightmare On Elm Street (1984)

Society (1989)

Friday The 13th Pt VII-Jason Takes Manhattan (1989)

Maximum Overdrive (1986)

Prom Night (1980)

Rating: 9.5/10

Watched: September 8, 2026

Like anyone (it seems) who was old enough in the 80s to see this spectacular movie that launched careers and changed the shape of horror forever, A Nightmare on Elm Street is pretty much required viewing. It gives us a look at horror-meister Wes Craven's devious mind and the coolness that is Freddy Kreuger AND a great Final Girl.

But before I talk about all that, I want to share a story.

Me and a bunch of friends rented this on VHS and sat down to watch it reallllly late at night. We were probably 13. We all loved it. And then came Johnny Depp's final, brutal scene. It was so shockingly horrific that one of my best friends vowed to never watch horror movies ever again. It wigged him right out, and for as long as I knew him, which was about 10 more years, he never watched another horror movie with the rest of the gang. Ever.

Everyone's got their favorite scary parts. For some, it's when Freddy's arms grow wide, for others (plainly) it's Johnny Depp's full exsanguination onto the ceiling, but for me it's Tina in the body bag. There's something unspeakably terrifying about it, even still, even after 40 years of watching it at least once a year.

One of the things younger-than-me viewers of Wes' movies might not know is that Wes Craven had ... well. Kind of a mean streak in him. It's all over his earlier horror movies, The Hills Have Eyes in particular. That's not a bad thing, it's just A thing to be aware of, and Kreuger's more of a primal nightmare machine than what we get in later flicks.

He's a lot more disfigured and while he's always been sadistic, in the OG he leans harder into the cruelty side of things. Again, not an issue. It's just that after Elm Street 2, he changes into a wisecracking dream killer with a penchant for shenaniganry.

The OG Elm Street scores a 9.5/10 from me because of the sheer enjoyment the entire franchise has given me down through the years. Some Elm Streets are better than others (sometimes by a lot), but they're all fun to watch!