WOW. My jaw is still dropped. I wouldn't necessarily classify this movie scary, as it takes quite a bit these days to give me a fright, but “Crushed” came pretty damn close. Imagine “Fatal Attraction” mixed with “May” and “Hostel” if you can. There is nothing original about the story itself. Clint Eastwood made his directorial debut in 1971 with “Play Misty For Me”, which is really where “Crushed” gets its roots. There are only so many ways you can tell the same story without diluting its impact, but “Crushed” managed to take things a step further than any of its predecessors. Its originality comes solely from the brutality of the film.  Patrick Johnson managed to immortalize most men's worst nightmare on film in a very real and brutal way (well, “Teeth” might actually take the cake on that one, but I digress....).

Natalie Dickinson takes the role of psychotic female to a whole new level. I am so disappointed that I am just now hearing about about the promotional campaign on YouTube leading up to the films release. For three years Natalie posted videos as Tara showing her slowly start sinking into insanity. Fantastic concept and unbelievable marketing tool taking a remarkable amount of dedication on her part. I must say I found the rest of the cast to be pretty weak with the exception of Ray's friend at work(who's name I can't recall and IMDB isn't telling me). That dude cracked me up.

Overall, “Crushed”, aka "She's Crushed" proves that a good horror movie can still be made for $200 and five cases of beer. The gore and effects aren't great and the acting is nothing special, but “Crushed” is a definite must see. I give it a 7/10 for its shock value alone.

When I first heard about Black Swan, I must admit I was a bit skeptical. I mean, how interesting could a movie about Ballet be? I had known about Darren Aronofky’s previous works, (such as Requiem for a Dream and The Fountain,) but I had no idea how a film of this nature would pan out. I must say I was more than pleasantly surprised. First let me lay out the basics of the film.

Sweet Nina is a coddled child. She gets everything she wants in life, as long as it comes with her mother’s approval. When Nina gets the chance to play the lead in Swan Lake, she faces stiff competition in Lily. Where as Nina is sweet and perfect for the part of the White Swan, she lacks the dark side Lily is able to bring to the part. In her race to try and become the perfect Black Swan, Nina starts to get in touch with her dark side and finds her life spiraling out of control.

While there is very little gore in the film, that which is shown is highly effective. Several scenes are actually cringe-worthy for even the most seasoned Horrorphiles, not for their blood content but how the damage is done to the characters. The acting is top-notch, with Kunis and Portman bringing their A-games to their roles. The plot is very well structured and while the end of the film might be a bit predictable, most scenes are fresh and very surprising as they come up. The film, while brilliant, is not without it’s flaws. The character of Thomas Leroy is somewhat stereotypical. The strange foreigner/teacher who is not only lewd but also manages to seduce the pure main character seems to be a quiet cliché in any good suspense story. Qualms aside, the film is astounding and is allowed to bear the right of Oscar Nomination. As to if it should win the Oscar, that is up to you the viewer to decide.

And here I thought Halloween was a scary time of year.

The tree is lit, the stockings are up, and you poisoned all those little bastard mice to keep them quiet, but something is still…wrong. Did you forget to get the kids that hot new toy, or your wife something shiny that will satiate her for another year? Never mind all that, it’s time to fall asleep and dream of sexy fairies dancing around your head and hope the wife doesn’t catch on before the kids wake you up at 4 A.M.

And then something cuts off your head. Had you just watched horror movies you would have known to lock the doors and windows, shut the flume on the chimney and not have fed the pets after midnight. Yes, in horror Christmas has become the third most dangerous time of year after summer and Halloween. There is always some cheap knock-off mall Santa or Gary Busey possessed Gingerbread Men waiting to take a swipe out of you while you wallow in the joys of consumerism hell. But just why is Christmas so dangerous in the land of Horror? Could it be a natural outgrowth of the stress we all feel during the holiday season rearing it’s ugly head (What do you mean you don’t have this is XXXL and purple!), or is it a play on the reason for the season? (Who needs Jesus when you have X-box?) The answer is simple. It’s a large Holiday, when everyone is supposed to come together and put aside their differences. That’s why they must be ripped apart. Horror films fill the crucial role of giving humans something to be afraid of. It helps keep our minds off life’s real problems such as bills, kids, and burning the turkey. They are coping mechanism. If you’re afraid of a fictional character, you are distracted from your real worry. You know they can’t hurt you, but you still get a nice little high from it. (Look it up, fear releases Adrenaline. It’s why most people love fast rides and cheap dates.) Horror films also act as a cautionary tale for those who need one. While there is a poor chance of some psycho killer coming down the chimney on Christmas Eve and killing you, there is a fair chance someone might break into your house and steal your crap so you better lock those doors. Yes, as time has gone on and Christmas has become more commercial and the economy has gone to crap, more and more Christmas horror films have been produced to help address these fears. Don’t believe me? What other reason would Gingerdead Man have been produced and given a sequel?

Name: Jason Voorhees Height: 4' 2" at time of death. Reported to be 6' 5" after death? Weight: Unknown. Hair Color: N.A. Eye Color: Blue D.O.B.: June 13th, 1 946 D.O.D. June 13th, 1957 Last Known Place of Residence: Crystal Lake, N.J. Last Known Employer: N.A.

The Events of These Reports are Based on Information Given by Eyewitness Accounts and Police Reports. The Views Expressed are not of the Interviewer.

Jason Voorhees was born to Pamela and Elias Voorhees. Very little is known about Elias other than he was an alcoholic and abandoned the family due to Jason's condition. He would later father a daughter named Diana and disappeared, his body being found months later in a ditch. Jason, being mentally and physically disabled, died while attending Camp Crystal Lake where his mother was a cook. He had jumped in the lake while the counselors were distracted and drowned. However, his body was never recovered. That same year, Camp Crystal lake was the home to two murders and was shut down. Every attempt to re-open the cam was halted due to what can only be assumed interference by Pamela Voorhees. The Camp finally re-opened in 1979, 21 years after the first murders occurred.

On June 13th 1979, Pamela Voorhees killed six camp counselors. The only survivor of the rampage, Alice, killed Pamela and was treated for shock. Two months later, Alice disappeared. Five years later, in July of 1984, Camp Crystal Lake re-opened once again. Over six days, Jason Voorhees was reported to have killed 52 people before young Tommy Jarvis impaled him in the head with his machete. This event is supported by not one but two coroner internment reports, a record fifteen police reports, and six witnesses, three of them claiming to have killed Jason. Crystal Lake was shut down one again, and renamed Forest Green.>

Two years later, Forest Green's name is changed back to Crystal Lake and marketed as a tourist trap. All was quiet again until 1992, when Jason rose from the grave. Even though Camp Crystal Lake is at this time defunct, the primary victims are still teenagers. Eleven people were murdered over a period of four days. The police start to report the incidents, but do not arrest the survivors.

A year later, Jason was reported on the cruise ship The Lazarus and then in Manhattan. Everyone on-board the Lazarus died save for two teenagers who reported to the police soon after port.

Somehow, the deaths continued at Crystal Lake until 1996, where in police shoot and kill a man in the woods assuming him to be Jason. The Coroner for the case disappeared and was found dead 3 miles away from the morgue where Jason's body was interred. It is assumed he started copycat killing, yet oddly his body when examined had been dead for two days with his heart missing. That would place the time of his death as the night he disappeared from the morgue. Several more bodies were reported to be found in the same condition, each one found to have been dead yet many were seen just hours prior in town. This discrepancy is not addressed in the FBI files. The killings continued for a period of three days, each getting closer to Crystal Lake. Diana Kimble was found dead in her home, stabbed in the back. Her body then disappeared from the morgue. It was assumed it is the work of her daughters boyfriend, Steven Freeman. On the night of October 21st, five people were killed around the old Voorhees home, one of these being the famous Creighton Duke. Freeman, Jessica Kimble and their child are allowed to return home after brief questioning.

Five years later, Jason is spotted in Springwood, Ohio. Little information is available on this incident, as most of the files seem to refer to previous case subject Fredrick Krueger. As they referred to Krueger, most of the police files from the Springwood Police Department have been destroyed. It is said by the survivors that both attacked the town at the same time, however this is very unlikely. As of this writing, the Voorhees case remains open. Camp Crystal Lake is slated to open again for the Summer 2010 season. The new camp claims to be in a fenced enclosure and touts complimentary police protection as well as mandatory self-defense courses.

This list was restricted to movies I've seen more than once. A lot of good films didn't make the cut, simply because I haven't re-watched them yet.

10. The Burbs

9. Battle Royale

8. Dead Alive

7. The Orphanage

6. Evil Dead II

5. Bad Taste

4. The Descent

3. The Thing

2. Shaun of the Dead

1. Oldboy

This list was provided by independent horror director Jesse Blanchard. For more info on Jesse, check out his exclusive interview right here at The Horror Shack. Also, make sure to check out two of his short films, Space Bugs and Run For Your Life, in our Indie Horror Theater.

Ever get home at night, take off the dress and the slippers, and just want to have a good cry while watching someone get disemboweled? No? How about just watch a horror film with a touch of sentimental value to it? Here are the top ten films that love to remind you that you’re a woman, even if you’re not.

10. Inside (À l'intérieur) 2007

Being a mother has never been harder. Four months after the death of her husband, a young woman has to protect her child from an intruder who wishes to take it for herself. The only problem is, the child hasn’t been born yet.

9. Grace(2009)

When Madeline looses her unborn child, she refuses to let it die. Carrying it to term, she is surprised when the child lives. However, it has some unusual tastes.

8. May(2002)

7. Ju-On 2 (2003)

All Kyoko wanted was to make it big on T.V. What she got was the Saeki Curse. The sequel to the hit Japanese film Ju-On: The Grudge, this film will tug at your heart strings a few times before shocking you into submission

6. Wishing Stairs (Yeogo goedam 3: Yeowoo gyedan) 2003

This film is the third sequel to the Whispering Corridors series. At a girls boarding school, there is a legend. If you climb the 28 steps leading to the dormitory with your eyes closed and find a 29, you will be granted any wish you desire. Yun Jin-seong makes her wish, but the results turn out disastrous.

5. Dark Water (Honogurai mizu no soko kara) 2002

When Yoshimi goes through a horrible divorce and gains custody of her daughter, she is forced to move into a new building. However, the building has a past that wishes to claim Yoshimi’s daughter as it’s own. Written by Koji Suzuki, creator of The Ring Cycle.

4. Poltergeist(1982)

Written by Steven Speilburg and Directed by Tobe Hooper, this film is a staple of many horror fan’s childhoods. Carol Ann and her family have lived in peace for years in their house. Sadly, that peace was not meant to last.

3. One Missed Call (Chakushin Ari)

People start dying after a mysterious ring-tone appears on their phone and tells them how they will die. And it’s spreading. Directed by Takashi Miike.

2. Ginger Snaps (2000)

Ginger and Bridgett don’t fit in. What’s even worse is Ginger is starting to pull away from her sister. Bridgetts worries get worse when her sister goes through the changes of life; Hair growing in new places, getting into boys, and turning into a werewolf. Ahh, the joys of adolescence.

1. The Orphanage (El Orfanato) 2007

Laura, an orphan, brings her family back to the orphanage in which she grew up intending to make it an Orphanage for other children. However, unknown to Laura, the Orphanage has unexpected secrets to tell, and it will tell them only to her.

Dark, or black comedy truly is a world of its own. It is a tool that has been used for centuries to satirize popular culture and to tackle taboo issues in a subtle, yet comical way that may not necessarily be picked up on by the untrained eye. there are an absolute ton of movies that fall into this category and they span all genres of film and literature. We recommend giving the following that fall into the horror genre a watch (or re-watch)very closely to try to pick up on some of the humor you may have missed if you weren't looking for it.

10. Street Trash

A wildly outrageous film of non-stop gore, sleaze, and depravity. A movie filled with strangely endearing characters and over the top politically incorrect humor that will have you laughing at things you never thought you would. In the same sense as Basket Case it has to be seen, and you will love or hate it, but either way it's a must see.

9. Basket Case

Frank Henenlotters masterpiece of B horror that is still original over 25yrs later. This movie is hard to describe without making it sound stupid and contrived. It has to bee seen - plain and simple, and you will either be overjoyed or disappointed.

8.Trick r' Treat

Destined to be a Halloween classic, this anthology has me wonder what Warner Bros. was thinking when they sat on this film for a year and then released in the summer. It has everything you could want - black humor, scares, unexpected surprises and everything ties together at the end. Be glad Warner Bros. saw the and finally released this gem of a movie.

7. Parents

A tale of suburban lifestyle in the fifties where nothing is as it seems to a young boy. Are his parents really cannibals or is he just it all a figment of his imagination. A fun and enjoyable film that may take a few viewings to fully comprehend, but well worth the time.

6. The Dentist

OK - who doesn't fear going to the dentist? Corbin Bernsen does a masterful job of playing a deranged dentist who goes off the deep end. It plays on the fear most of us have and takes it to the extreme. It is an unsettling movie from Brian Yuzna and Stuart Gordon - both of whom are responsible for The Re-Animator, among other horror classics.

5.Freaks

A brilliant and extremely creepy film from 1932 that still hold up today. You will find yourself amused and empathetic at the same time thanks to Tod Brownings excellent direction. The sense of unease you get comes from the fact that you will be repulsed by and endeared to the characters. The humor comes from the feeling that such "normal" surroundings and people are anything but.

4. Teeth

Vagina Dentata - those two words say it all. This movie will have every male crying in pain and every female screaming with glee. It plays on the old wives tale to both horrify and delight the viewer, all the while never stooping to childish jokes or excessive nudity. Kudos to writer/director Mitchell Lichtenstein for not following convention and making a memorable film.

3. April Fool's Day

A grossly underrated horror movie that uses subtle humor to make the viewer comfortable just before they are about to be scared. A typical teen slasher type movie that does not follow the T&A and gore conventions of other movies of the period, April Fools Day has a fun feel to it which is not expected from a horror movie.

2. An American Werewolf In London

A masterpiece of horror from John Landis that influenced horror/comedy movies ever since it first hit the big screen in 1981. The music and offbeat humor contrast the violence and gore brilliantly, keeping the viewer strangely relaxed while screaming at the same time.

1. Re-Animator

This film is a fast paced ride into the world of gore and macabre. It will repulse you, make you laugh, and make you think all at the same time. One of the few critically acclaimed horror movies ever, it launched Jeffrey Combs into horror movie cult icon. The dark humor will unfortunately be lost on the average viewer but for the true horror fan it will delight to the very end.

"It's time to do what the good Lord would refer to as a 'cleansing of the wicked'" ~ Sheriff John Quincy Wydell

In today's age of gay, emo vampires that don't hurt anyone, it was kinda refreshing to see a more traditional vampire flick out there. The story centers around Pitt(played by William Forsythe), an extreme southern preacher turned vampire who has decided to use his "gift" to create an army of the undead to do god's work, ridding the world of sinners. The concept showed some serious potential and Foresythe delivers a solid performance (as always), but I feel a lot more could have been done with both the story and the character. Things started off strong, but seemed to fizzle out towards the end. The movie could have seriously benefited from Pitt leading his army on an all out rampage of the small town of Redemption, but his attention was primarily focused on Starla, a local stripper, and her daughter Hope. Yul Vazquez does a decent job as the story's sullen hero, Fortune, who is attempting to make up for his past by protecting Hope from the vampire threat.

The film offered some decent gore effects, but I was pretty disapointed with the fact that the script didn't stick to more traditional vampire lore in terms of death. They did highlight the fact that sunlight will kill a vampire, but last time I checked vamps could not hang out in churches or be killed with guns. With that aside, the death scenes were pretty good considering the obviously low budget.

Overall, Mark Young(Tooth & Nail) could have done a lot more with the concept and talent he had to work with. I appreciate the attempt and things started out great, but really ended up falling flat. It is no suprise that this film was not released on DVD until last month, despite being made in 2007. The movie is certainly watchable, but don't get your hopes up too high as the beginning really did show lots of promise. A mediocre film at best, but a definite improvement from the current trend of shiny ipod vampires. 4/10

DVD currently available from Amazon

For us die hard horror freaks, regular comedies just don't seem to cut it. Personally, if a movie doesn't have any death, blood, or monsters it simply doesn't hold any interest, but it is always a nice change of pace to watch a movie that makes me laugh. Luckily, there is a whole sub genre of films to fill this need. Here are a few of our favorites:

10. Black Sheep

Genetically engineered sheep who eat human flesh - those words alone make it a must see. With a mix of humor and gore you will be entertained throughout. The special effects are top notch and the characters funny and endearing, New Zealand movies have become much more polished thanks to Peter Jackson.

9. Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead

No comedy/horror list would be complete without at least one Troma film. This movie will offend you to no end and have you rolling on the floor laughing at the same time. If you know anything about Troma and enjoy their films then you will love his movie.

8.Love At First Bite

Where to start - this film is a fun ride full of nostalgia and stereotypes and laughs. It's hard to argue with George Hamilton as a modern day Dracula and Richard Benjamin Van Helsing, so see it if you haven't already.

7. The Burbs

Tom Hanks and Bruce Dern team up for an hilarious ride into suburban hell. An original movie that will suck you in and leave you laughing and being apprehensive at the same time. A very underrated film by Joe Dante.

6. Evil Dead Series

Sam Raimi basically invented the modern comedy/horror template that most movies of the genre use today. Evil Dead, Evil Dead 2, and Army of Darkness have developed a cult following for good reason. Any true comedy/horror fan will have these in their collection.

5. Abbott and Costello Meet ...

The duo of Abbott & Costello met most all of the horror icons of the their time with all the laughs you could ask for. You will be hard pressed to find more laughs and fun out of a movie than one of their classic comedy/horrors.

4. Shaun of the Dead

Some sites, if not most, may rate this movie 1 or 2, and for good reason. It contains enough laughs to keep you laughing for the entire film. Shaun spoofs almost every zombie film stereotype there is with great aplomb.

3. Special Dead

OK - the humor may be low brow and childish at times but will leave you rolling on the floor none the less. It contains all the tongue in cheek humor and gore you could want from a comedy/horror movie. A must see !

2. Return of the Living Dead

A cult classic from Dan O'Bannon that has all the wit and satire anyone could want from a film of this genre. It pays homage to the classics while being original, which is rare for a movie of any type. Most all zombie movies after it owe a debt of gratitude to this great movie.

1. Ghostbusters

With an all-star cast and some of the most memorable one-liners in movie history there isn't much left to say. A movie that the whole family can and get scares AND laughs from.

No intros needed on these. These cars speak for themselves.

10. Black Cadillac

1957 Cadillac Fleetwood Series 75 Limousine

9. Maximum Overdrive

Green Goblin: 1977 Western Star 4864

8. The Wraith

1984 Dodge M4S

7. The Car

1971 Lincoln Continental Mark III

6. Duel

1971 Plymouth Valient

5. Death Proof

1969 Dodge Charger

4. Death Proof

1970 Dodge Challenger

3. Phantasm

1971 Hemi Cuda

2. Christine

58 Plymouth Fury

1. The Raimimobile

1973 Oldsmobile Delta 88