Tag Archives: Universal Pictures

Darkman featured

Darkman (1990)

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As comic book adaptations go, Sam Raimi’s Darkman released in 1990, on the back of an inspired marketing campaign that queried the origin of the character by posing the question ‘Who Is Darkman?’ was one of the most interesting of the era. This was despite the fact it was scripted from an original story idea by The Evil Dead helmer as opposed to an actual comic book from the period it pays homage to.

Drawing on the Universal horror movies of the 1930s, in particular the celebrated oeuvre of James Whale, as well as The Shadow, The Phantom of the Opera and a veritable glut of monster and comic book staples, the film would […]

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The People Under the Stairs (1991)

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Wes Craven would front some screwball productions during his time as a mainstream horror director.

Perhaps the most famous of these was sci-fi/horror mash-up Deadly Friend, the story of a pallid robotics whizz-kid who uses a microchip to Frankenstein his late girlfriend with typically dire consequences. Craven would receive widespread criticism for his efforts, particularly for a series of nightmare sequences that were distinctly at odds with […]

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Child’s Play 2 (1990)

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“Sorry, Jack! Chucky’s back!”

For those of you who remember, this was the acerbic proclamation that announced the return of a very different breed of antihero, and unless you were on the receiving end of a plethora of sadistic doll-related murders back in 1990, it was a return that was very much welcome. If you don’t remember, take a quick look at this trailer for the much-anticipated Child’s Play 2, the inevitable follow up to Tom Holland’s cult sleeper hit, and a movie that would spawn a decades-long franchise of rare endurance […]

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Tales From the Crypt: Demon Knight (1995)

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Even in the disjointed and scattershot, decades-long history of Tales from the Crypt, Demon Knight is an outlier.

From the E.C. comics of the 50’s to Amicus’s two 70’s anthology films to the HBO series in the early 90’s to whatever the hell is going on at TNT right now, the three feature-length films sporting the Tales from the Crypt banner stand in stark contrast to everything that came before. For starters, they’re not anthologies, and—if you can indulge me donning my Asshole Film Critic Hat for a moment—not very good […]

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