I’ve been on record lately bad-mouthing theatrical releases in our beloved horror genre, and I stand by that embaddening of mainstream films.  I have also been running on about how DVD horror has been a source of pain lately, too, but I am here to rescind that statement.  I was wrong and I want to apologize.

Recent weeks have offered up some multiplex horror fare, most notably the clash of the mediocre, when Rob Zombie’s Halloween II and The Final Destination went had-to-head and punished filmgoers unlucky enough to have seen them.  How Halloween II has garnered any praise from fans, which it has, apparently, is beyond me.  Of course I don’t mean you, loyal reader, one of the enlightened out there, but there’s no excusing the sloppy execution of Zombie’s film.  

In a recent interview on the state of the genre, I was asked if seeing remakes, retreads and sequels get green lit over and over again, despite poor quality, was discouraging, both as a writer and a viewer.  Of course it is.  But, I am not so old as to be unable to adapt, and adapt I have.  I have all but given up on major studio releases to get my horror fix.  That way lies despair and madness, in no particular order.

flipping the display boxes to get a hint of the horrific treasures inside.  Many times, the movies were a let-down, but that’s any genre.  Let’s face it, only about twenty percent of the movies you’ll see in your lifetime are worth a damn.  In my line of work, the percentage is probably lower, due to seeing films like The Telling, a movie so bad I didn’t even bother to review.  For future reference, don’t see it.

This year has rekindled my love of the video scene.  From the surprising Red Mist earlier in the year to those films that may have appeared on screens across the country, but only in limited markets, and are now finding an audience on DVD, there are special films out there.  We’ve talked on the site already about the horror-western The Burrowers, a movie that was criminally under-watched, but there are others…  

September 15th, we’re getting two of the year’s best.  Both Deadgirl and Grace are making their debut on home video next week, films that, by their very nature, would be unthinkable investments in the eyes of studio execs looking for a quick return based on name recognition, resulting in cinematic travesties like the remakes of Friday the 13th and The Hitcher.  I won’t digress again into my distaste for Platinum Dunes (suffice to say, I loathe them), but big budget horror has lost its edge.  Sure, the films can crank out some violence, but I’m talking the kind of edge that made Repulsion or Carpenter’s The Thing so impressive.  And it’s the same edge Grace and Deadgirl possess… thoughtfulness and awfulness in perfect harmony.

execution of Zombie’s film.  

In a recent interview on the state of the genre, I was asked if seeing remakes, retreads and sequels get green lit over and over again, despite poor quality, was discouraging, both as a writer and a viewer.  Of course it is.  But, I am not so old as to be unable to adapt, and adapt I have.  I have all but given up on major studio releases to get my horror fix.  That way lies despair and madness, in no particular order.

Instead, I am embracing again my love for video releases.  The Final Girl herself, Stacie Ponder, in an upcoming interview you’ll hear right here, talked about browsing the video shelves during her youth and snagging up copies of the Full Moon releases like Subspecies or Demonic Toys, in addition to now-classics like The Evil Dead and Re-animator.  I remember those aisles of my local video store fondly, flipping the display boxes to get a hint of the horrific treasures inside.  Many times, the movies were a let-down, but that’s any genre.  Let’s face it, only about twenty percent of the movies you’ll see in your lifetime are worth a damn.  In my line of work, the percentage is probably lower, due to seeing films like The Telling, a movie so bad I didn’t even bother to review.  For future reference, don’t see it.

big budget horror has lost its edge.  Sure, the films can crank out some violence, but I’m talking the kind of edge that made Repulsion or Carpenter’s The Thing so impressive.  And it’s the same edge Grace and Deadgirl possess… thoughtfulness and awfulness in perfect harmony.

I still wade through a lot of crap to get to these gems (although having a website means sometimes the good stuff gets delivered unto you unsolicited, and those are happy days, indeed), but I’m learning to dismiss those rather quickly.  Direct-to-video, or those limited-run chillers that hit On Demand services or DVD very quickly, is the place you will find the best horror, hands-down.  How I wish the studios could be trusted to offer up something original and entertaining on a semi-regular basis, but that’s not the case, and it hasn’t been for some time.  

We’re back to basics, hunting through the virtual aisles of Netflix like we scoured the shelves of the video stores of our youths, flipping the boxes, checking reviews and rolling the dice.  You can keep your inevitable Halloween remake sequels – I’ll be happy at home with a Deadgirl to keep me company.