While the samurai film has its trappings as far back as the silent era, the genre received a major critical and populist push around and after WWII, when filmmakers like Kenji Mizoguchi and Akira Kurosawa began re-envisioning and expanding the ...
Read More »The Power of Creation: Interview with THE DUKE OF BURGUNDY director Peter Strickland
After his last film, Berberian Sound Studio, British director Peter Strickland became quite a name film circles. The artistic flare of his cinematography, matched with a sensible wit and familiarity with Italian exploitation tropes allowed the film to perform well for ...
Read More »Shocker [Collector’s Edition] (US Blu-ray review)
In 2013, SNL alum Mike Myers commissioned and directed a documentary about famed music agent-turned-jack of all trades, Shep Gordon. The documentary, Supermensch, follows Shep through his life’s story, supplemented by no shortage of stories by either Shep or the myriad ...
Read More »Nomads (US Blu-ray review)
A year before he put himself on the map with Predator, and two years before Die Hard solidified his role in mainstream action cinema, Director John McTiernan had his debut with the mostly-forgotten psychological horror film Nomads. Upon its release, the film ...
Read More »The People Under the Stairs (Collector’s Edition) (US Blu-ray review)
If you were to compile a list of pantheon-level horror directors, with ease Wes Craven would land high on it. Even Craven’s weaker efforts (and there are a few) are genuinely still lively and filled with a spirit that is ...
Read More »Episode No. 36: Escape from New York (1981)
Time has been good to Escape from New York. From the cinema netherworld of the early 80s, John Carpenter’s dystopian adventure prospered on home-video, spawned a sequel, and has been emblemized by cinephiles as an avatar of eighties cool. Being ...
Read More »I, Madman (US Blu-ray review)
In 1987, Hungarian-born director Tibor Takács would make his name in the genre with the stop-motion horror film The Gate. Grossing almost twice its budget in the opening weekend, The Gate was a surprise success for Takács, and one that, ...
Read More »Fear and Self-loathing in Los Angeles: Penelope Spheeris’ Odyssey through 20 Years of Punk and Metal in the City of Angels
“It’s something new and it’s just reviving like old rock n roll, and it’s like it’s raw and it’s for real, and it’s fun. You know like it’s not bullshit; there’s no rock stars.” These are among some of the ...
Read More »Sleepaway Camp II and III (US Blu-ray review)
In 1983, a young man fresh out of NYU film school made what was to become a shocking midnight-slasher favorite. It was a dark film that was at times incoherent, and at other times unintentionally hilarious, campy. In the film’s ...
Read More »Astron-6’s ‘The Editor’ finds US Home with Shout! Factory
While we may be biased (full disclosure, Conor Sweeney of Astron-6 is a past contributor of Diabolique), we couldn’t be more ecstatic at the news that the recent film festival sensation, giallo-influenced film from Astron-6 has found its US distribution ...
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