Nightmare City

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xKmPCFP6pI8

Director Umberto Lenzi prefers Nightmare City to be known as a film about the dangers of “radiation sickness” rather than as a monster movie. Regardless, the opening sequence, in which dozens of hideously mutated men burst out of a military plane and attack people at random, bears the unmistakable look of a zombie flick. The plot concerns a TV news reporter’s desperate search for his wife in a city that is rapidly being overrun by blood-drinking creatures.

The gore is pretty subdued in this one, but the general mayhem is in full effect, with plenty of scenes of monsters chasing down civilians by the dozens, the reporter hero mowing down monsters with an Uzi, and a thrilling final chase set in an abandoned amusement park.

Zombi 2

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ViXN7D3E7aI

Lucio Fulci is arguably the most famous name in Italian zombie horror, and the monsters in Zombi 2, created with the aid of makeup artist Giannetto De Rossi, are some of the best ever put on film. The plot follows Italian scream queen Tisa Farrow, who teams up with a reporter played by Ian McCulloch to investigate a mysterious illness that is bringing the dead back to life.

Fulci’s well-composed shots and an Ennio Morricone sound-alike musical score by Fabio Frizzi almost bring a touch of class to the proceedings. Fortunately, the movie is rarely more than a few minutes away from a “zombie fights a shark” or “horrific eye gouging” sequence to make you jolt in your seat.

Anthropophagus

This video nasty from Joe D’Amato is a pretty grim affair — even by Italian horror standards.

Scenes that depict an auto-cannibalizing ghoul and an unorthodox “child delivery” are just some of the gory treats that await viewers brave enough to seek out this Italian classic. The movie follows six tourists exploring an idyllic Greek island and being terrorized by a deformed creature.

The cast, including Tisa Farrow in her last role, surprisingly has quite a bit of chemistry, which puts Anthropophagus a cut above most other Italian zombie movies in the acting department. However, it’s the creative kills and over the top gore that make this one for the international horror history books.

City of the Living Dead

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPOI89uhei4

Another bleak, haunting, and criminally underrated film by Lucio Fulci, City of the Living Dead has a plot heavily inspired by H.P. Lovecraft, in which the suicide of a priest unleashes a plague of zombies on an unsuspecting small town. Only a psychic played by Katriona MacColl can stop the terror.

Fulci is in full force here, alternating giallo-inspired close ups, off-kilter camera angles, and bright splashes of color with scenes of intense violence. Effects directors Gino de Rossi and Franco Rufini create some of the most memorable on-screen deaths of all time, including a murder committed with a hand drill and a girl who vomits her own intestines. Catch it on El Rey Network some Friday night (more details here)…if you have the stomach, that is!

Let Sleeping Corpses Lie

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-x54TlYs94s

The Jorge Grau-directed beastie bears a much closer resemblance to Night of the Living Dead than some of the other Italian greats. The plot is mannered and socially conscious, concerning a pair of tourists who are framed for murders committed by zombies awakened by pesticides being used in the area.

Slow to get going but delightfully weird when it does, Let Sleeping Corpses Lie has a couple of standout scenes, including a claustrophobic zombie fight in a crypt and a massacre at the local hospital. Also of note are the zombies themselves, played by actors who aren’t wearing a dab of corpse makeup and are all the creepier for it.

If wine, roses, and romantic comedies aren’t your cup of tea for Valentine’s Day, you’re not alone. Whether you choose to cozy up with a loved one or choose to do the solitary thing, if you’re into both horror and dark romance, this list is for you. And no list of dark romance movies would be complete with vampires. Ours is no exception. Enjoy!

Interview with the Vampire

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b7m_n2aM51Q

Based on the Anne Rice novel, this is the darkly seductive and alluring tale of Louis, as told to a mortal reporter. He tells of his transformation to vampire at the hands of Lestat, followed by his 200-year journey from colonial New Orleans to France and Eastern Europe, back to New Orleans and eventually to San Francisco, where the reporting is taking place. Rice’s vampires retain their soul and personality, so Louis’ story is strongly emotional as well as factual. He describes both the ecstasy of feeding and his revulsion at the need to feed. It doesn’t hurt that the leads of Louis and Lestat are played by Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise, respectively as well as a young Kirsten Dunst in a standout role. A must see for vampire lovers.

Bram Stoker’s Dracula

True to its name, this more recent remake of the 1974 classic tells of Vlad, a mortal driven mad by the death of his wife who then becomes the vampire Dracula. 400 years later, he travels to England in search of his solicitor’s fiancé, Mina, first seen in a photograph of Jonathan Harker, the solicitor. While Harker (Keanu Reeves) is held prisoner at Dracula’s castle, Mina (Winona Ryder) is pursued, wooed, and eventually seduced by Dracula. The story departs slightly from the source material in that Dracula is driven more by love than by vengeance, and in the end refuses to turn Mina into a vampire but instead insists that she finish him off and give him peace at last. Also watch out for Monica Bellucci’s American film debut as one of Dracula’s brides. Ah, l’amour!

My Bloody Valentine 3-D

A departure from the vampire story but with plenty of hearts, albeit human ones, to keep up the Valentine mood, this remake of the 1981 film is for the true horror/slasher fan. The story centers around four survivors of a teen massacre that occurred ten years earlier in a mine and ended with a couple dozen dead bodies and the eventual death of the miner responsible. As the survivors reunite, the killings start up again and speculation runs wild as to whether the original miner, Harry, is still alive. The deaths by pickaxe provide enough gore to satisfy any true horror lover, and the idea of giving one’s heart, in a Valentine’s gift box, no less, takes on whole new meaning.

Bride of Chucky

Who doesn’t love a pair of children’s dolls inhabited by the souls of a former serial killer and his one-time girlfriend? In this sequel to the original Chucky movie (both of which, plus their sequels, you can easily watch back to back through platforms like Netflix and DirecTV), Tiffany is intent on reviving Charles Lee Ray’s soul-in-a-doll. She restores the doll and the soul but is later tricked into having her own soul transferred to a bride doll and becoming just like her former lover. Intent on regaining human bodies, they trick a couple of young lovers into taking them back to Ray’s grave, where they believe is the magic they need to take over the bodies of the young couple. Murder and mayhem ensue as they try to avoid detection during the trip, which also includes a gratuitous dolls-having-sex scene on a hotel room floor. Now, that’s love.

The Bride of Frankenstein

Returning to the monster in love ideal, this twist on the ending of the original Frankenstein story finds the monster alive and trying to live among humans, while his scientist creator tries to distance himself from his sinister past. Unfortunately, a second mad scientist, Dr. Pretorius, discovers and then persuades the now almost-human monster (famously played by Boris Karloff) to assist him in coercing Dr. Frankenstein into resuming his experiments by creating a bride and companion for the original monster, who is now lonely. While marital bliss does not necessarily follow the successful creation of the bride, this movie is a must see for fans of the classics.

If you like your romance with a twist for Valentine’s Day, this movie list is for you. So grab the popcorn, the wine and chocolates, and sit back and enjoy some spine-tingling fare.

Die Hard

This is a movie that most people forget is set at Christmas. It starts out innocently enough cop John McClane (Bruce Willis) arriving in Los Angeles to attend a Christmas party with his estranged wife, Holly. Cue the arrival of villain Hans Gruber, played by Alan Rickman and his crew of thugs, who are attempting a theft in the building under the guise of a terrorist attack. This is where the festivities end and the killing and explosions begin. The good guy wins in the end, making it a very Merry Christmas for everyone except Gruber and Co. It’s also worth noting if you enjoyed the original, Die Hard 2 also takes place during Christmastime.

Bad Santa

If your family are fans of black comedy, this Billy Bob Thornton flick might be a hit around the holidays. The story revolves around Willie T. Stokes and Marcus, two professional thieves. Willie, an alcoholic and a sex addict, likes to dress himself up as Santa Claus and rob malls at the holidays. One Christmas at a mall in Phoenix, Willie meets Thurman, a boy with a troubled family background. He also meets Sue, a woman with a Santa Claus fetish. Willie uses these two to his advantage while suspicious mall security guard Gin Slagel tries to catch him in the act. The end of the movie has a bit of a redemption aspect, but It’s a Wonderful Life it’s not. The film is (obviously) not for the whole family so save it for a night when the kids are asleep, you’ve got a nice bottle of wine, and it’s easily available to stream or watch on demand through services like AmazonPrime and DirecTV.

The Family Stone

This movie is a heartwarming tale of family dysfunction and misplaced romance. Everett Stone, played by Dermot Mulroney, brings home his girlfriend, Meredith (played by Sarah Jessica Parker) with the intention of proposing to her on Christmas. It is soon evident however, that Meredith does not fit in with the Stone family. Everett’s mother, Sybil (Diane Keaton), refuses to give him the family heirloom ring to give to Meredith and Meredith accidentally invites Ben, the ex boyfriend of Everett’s sister, Amy, to attend Christmas dinner with the Stones. Further complications arise as Meredith’s sister, Julie, comes to support her sister and Everett finds himself falling for her. Likewise, it seems that Meredith can only relax in the company of Everett’s brother, Ben. Through the myrid of dysfunction, it is obvious that the Stones love one another deeply and manage to work through their differences. While not a classic Christmas tale, this story may ring true to more families than not.

Santa Claus Conquers the Martians

If you want a camp-fest, this movie is for you. Regularly rated one of the worst movies ever made, this was Pia Zadora’s acting debut as one of the Martian children. This is a convoluted tale of Martian parents who decide that the Martian children need a Santa Claus figure. Their inept plan for making this happen is to kidnap the real Santa Claus and two Earth children, to make toys for the Martian children. Other Martians try to sabotage the new toy factory and it is a battle of the wills over the status of Santa Claus on Mars.

Gremlins

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nGd36NhmTE

This is a black comedy that uses a Christmas setting to keep it from going over the edge. The film, produced by Steven Spielberg, revolves around a young man, Randall Peltzer, who buys a creature called a mogwai and takes it home as a pet. Randall receives specific instructions on how to care for mogwai, keep it out of bright light, never get it wet and never feed it after midnight. Randall give the mogwai, named Gizmo, to his son, Billy, along with the instructions. Billy lets Gizmo get wet and he spawns five more hostile mogwai. The mogwai turn into reptilian like gremlins and wreak havoc on the Peltzer family and on their small town.

On the occasion of Robert De Niro’s 70th birthday, here is a look at four classic De Niro and Scorsese outings!

Mean Streets (1973)

Harvey Keitel plays Charlie, a debt collector for the mafia in New York City in the midst of an existential crisis. He constantly struggles to reconcile his professional ambitions and criminal lifestyle with his Catholic upbringing, and he also struggles to reconcile his obligations to the mob with his obligations to his best friend John Boy (played by De Niro.) Roger Ebert, who would remain a fairly loyal supporter of Scorsese, was so impressed with the film that he called it “one of the source points of modern movies.”

Taxi Driver (1976)

De Niro starred as a former U.S. Marine turned cab driver Travis Bickle, who lives alone in New York City. Bickle becomes something of a vigilante in order to rescue a 12-year old prostitute (played by a young Jodie Foster) from her pimp Sport (played by Harvey Keitel.) The film was nominated for a total of four Academy Awards, and also won the Golden Palm at Cannes. In one if the film’s most iconic scenes, Bickle, anticipating his confrontation with stares into a mirror and repeatedly asks “Are you talkin’ to me?” with De Niro ad-libbing most of those lines.

Raging Bull (1980)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YiVOwxsa4OM

Loosely based on the autobiography of middleweight boxer Jake LaMotta, the film features Robert De Niro in the starring role as LaMotta. The film also stars Cathy Moriarty as LaMotta’s wife Vickie, and Joe Pesci in the role of LaMotta’s brother, Joey. Throughout his career as a professional boxer, LaMotta’s personal and professional life is marred by angry outbursts, marital issues arising from his jealousy and obsessive issues, and his relationships with various members of the mafia. Although he performs well in the ring during the fights, LaMotta’s anger and generally-destructive behavior ruin his life. The film was nominated for eight Academy Awards, and won two — one for Best Actor for De Niro, and one for Best Editing. Roger Ebert declared it the best film of 80’s, and one of the ten best films ever made.

Goodfellas (1990)

The film is an adaptation of the book Wiseguy by author Nicholas Pileggi. The story follows the true-life story of the Henry Hill and his friends who were involved with the Lucchese family mafia. The film covers Hill’s story, which starts in a working class Italian American community in Brooklyn in the 50’s. Hill, seduced by what he perceives to be a glamorous lifestyle, and one that he believes will enable him to transcend the poverty of his upbringing, wants to be a gangster. He becomes involved with the Lucchese family associates Jimmy Conway (Robert De Niro), Paulie Cicero (Paul Sorvino), and Tommy DeVito (Joe Pesci.) A tremendous amount happens to the group over the course of their twenty something years working together. They come into obscene wealth; they incur the wrath of other mobs by killing “made” men (men who are fully initiated into the mafia); and some of them end up in prison. The film was an enormous success. Roger Ebert ranked it the #1 Best Film of 1990.