Author Archives: Thomas Ellison

Humongous (1982) Review

In 1946, a woman is raped during a Labor Day party. 36 years later, a group of teens become stranded on Dog Island after their yacht hits some rocks. The group quickly discovers there is something worse than wild dogs … Continue reading

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SOV Week: Video Violence 1-2 (1987-1988)

An early SOV series that bridges the cinematic gap between Snuff and Hostel. Gary Cohen, a video store owner back during the Mom & Pop glory days, noticed the glut of terrible horror movies flooding shelves on a weekly basis … Continue reading

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SOV Week: The Ripper (1986)

Prof. Richard Harwell (Tom Scheier) discovers Jack the Ripper’s ring in a Tulsa, Oklahoma antique shop. Wearing the ring unleashes Jack from limbo and allows him to increase his bloody body count. Only horror geek Steve (Wade Tower) and skeletal … Continue reading

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SOV Week: Sledgehammer (1983) DVD Review

In 1983 David A. Prior wrote and directed Sledgehammer. After languishing for a year, it found a distributor but slasher fans had a hard time finding copies at local mom & pop video stores. Fortunately, Sledgehammer has been saved from … Continue reading

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Slashers and Urban Legends: Cropsey

The Legend: The woods in Upstate New York belong to Cropsey, a madman with a passion for butchering young campers. Why Cropsey kills is unclear. Some say he was a cruel handyman disfigured by campers who fought back during one … Continue reading

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Interview: Bill Kinison Discusses The Honeymoon Killer (APRIL FOOL’S)

Charlie Sheen, Alison (Nellie Oleson on Little House on the Prairie) Arngrim, and radio personality Rush Limbaugh star in Sam Kinison’s The Honeymoon Killer now in post-production. The late Sam Kinison’s take on the slasher genre, which was previously covered here, deals … Continue reading

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Writer Calls on Horror Fans to Boycott Leisure Books

When I wrote about the demise of Leisure’s mass market paperback line in favor of e-books, I had no idea the terrible drama playing out behind the scenes.  According to genre author Brian Keene, Dorchester/Leisure Books stopped paying royalties owed … Continue reading

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A Retro Slasher Salute to USA Network 1985-1995

These days USA Network is known for wrasslin’, Law & Order marathons, and hip original shows like Burn Notice.  Back in the 1980s and early 1990s USA featured some really wild and crazy shows, the kind of shows that stay with impressionable … Continue reading

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Is Mass Market Horror Fiction Dead?

Over the last thirty years the market for horror novels has exploded, dried up to almost nothing, found new life through the splatterpunk movement, died off again, and then made a comeback through Leisure Books’ line of mass market horror novels.  Last … Continue reading

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The Slasher Expeditions Part 2: The Attic of Terror

There once was a local Pic-A-Flick-Video store that was home to the greatest collection of horror movies I’ve ever seen.  What made this store so special was its location,  a two story building.  Downstairs was pretty much like every other … Continue reading

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