Lionsgate

Author Alvin Schwartz’s Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark books have been terrifying children since 1981 with macabre tales accompanied by unforgettable, eerie illustrations by Stephen Gammell. In truth, one of these illustrations – specifically, the one included in the first book’s story “The Haunted House” – still shakes me interminably; I cannot look […]

My memories of The Spy Who Dumped Me go like this: ACTION SCENE. Okay, that’s kinda neat. Quiet establishing scene. Wait, is that supposed to be funny? MORE BIG BOOM. Okay, this is a comedy, so why am I not laughing? MORE BOOM. Hey, we have a butt shot – oh, and there’s a big, […]

Growing up, I didn’t know the difference between a “scary movie” and a “horror film.” I kinda still don’t, but Ghost Stories made me realize just how vast that difference is. Everyone knows “scary movies” – the kind where the mysterious killer stalks and slashes the good-looking teenagers, the funhouse-type frights make you and your […]

So this psychic hooks up with the FBI to catch a serial killer… oh, you’ve heard this one before? But wait, there’s more. “Solace” is almost a carbon copy of David Fincher’s “Se7en”. Except instead of killing people for their sins, this psycho is mercy-killing the terminally ill. But hold on, here’s the interesting part: […]

Two years ago, I reviewed Thunder and the House of Magic, an animated film which wore its “Hey, kids! Here’s a lesson, now swallow it!” ethos on its 3D sleeve. I’d given it points for having its heart in the right place, but not much else. Now, one of that film’s directors and the production company are […]

In many ways, the 19th century-set “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies” is more satirical of the current YA trend than it is of Jane Austen’s novel. Its star, Cinderella-turned-brunette Lily James, is indeed the young warrior type that we’ve seen in the “Divergent” and “Hunger Games” series, but her character’s intellect, as written by Austen, remains fully intact. […]