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The Lightning Bug
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The Lightning Bug is the Boss Man of the Moon. When he's not teaching people how to talk like him ("reaaaal sexy") or taking his flying wing out for a spin, he enjoys watching and reviewing all kinds of cult, exploitation, sci fi, b-movies, and horro
Recent Posts Tagged With '1980's'
Bloody New Year (1987) We\'re Gonna Party Like It\'s 1959
When it comes to holiday themed genre films, some holidays have it easier than others. Christmas is by far the champ while St. Patrick’s Day, Easter, Valentine’s Day, and Arbor Day have to scrape by with a few selections. When it comes to New Ye...
Psycho II (1983): More Psycho Killer? Qu\'est-ce que c\'est ? Indeed.
Even though I’ve heard good things about Psycho II, it’s a film that I’ve avoided for some time. Long time readers will know that I can talk about Mr. Hitchcock and his films ad nauseum, and while Vertigo remains my favorite, Psycho runs a tigh...
Silent Night Deadly Night 2 (1987): All I Want For Christmas Is Two Bushy Eyebrows
A few months back I was at a flea market, and there nestled amongst a heap of video tapes that held no interest for me was a tattered and torn copy of Silent Night Deadly Night 2. I had never had a chance to see this long out of print gem though I wa...
Elves (1989): It\'s Like Troll 2 For Christmas...With Nazis!
Hey, folks. With less than a week until Christmas, I bet lots of you are thinking, “Hey, what’s something I could see that’ll give me the same feeling as Troll 2, has a Nazi subplot, and a Yuletide connection.” Well, get ready to deck your ha...
Ladies Night Presents Gremlins (1984) Mogwai? or Mogwai Not?
Gremlins (1984) Directed by Joe Dante Wiritten by Chris Columbus. Starring: Hoyt Axton, Zach Galligan, Frances Lee McCain, Pheobe Cates, and Corey Feldman. Randal Peltzer (Axton) has found the perfect Christmas gift for his bank teller son, Bill...
Don’t Open Till Christmas (1984): I Knew in a Moment, I Must Kill St. Nick
Tom Petty once said, “The waiting is the hardest part.” If he wasn’t talking about Christmas morning, then he totally should have been. I recall how impatient I was for the day, scratch that, hour to come that signaled Christmas morning. My par...
A Christmas Carol (1984): Ghosts, Horror, and Humbug!
One hundred and sixty six years ago, Charles Dickens first published what would become his most famous work, A Christmas Carol. Twenty-five years ago, CBS first aired George C. Scott’s adaptation of the classic tale. When it aired, my family taped ...
The Dead Zone (1983): Where You Go If You Don\'t Get Enough Cowbell
With over three hundred movies reviewed and a vast majority of them horror films, you would think that I would have already included something that rose from the pen of Stephen King. You’d be wrong. While Mr. Bachman has graced the site with The Ru...
Star Knight (1985): Kinski + Keitel × Sci Fi ÷ Fantasy = More Than You Expect
It’s been a couple of weeks since last we checked in with our old friend Klaus Kinski. So tonight, I want to take you on an amazing journey with Klaus, Harvey Keitel, and an alien who came all the way across the Universe to get nearly literally nag...
Ladies Night Presents: Over The Top (1987)
Over the Top (1987) Director: Menahem Golan. Writers: Story- Gary Conway, David Engenbach. Screenplay- Stirling Silliphant, Sylvester Stallone. Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Robert Loggia, David Mendenhall. Lincoln Hawk is a long haul truck driver...
Remote Control (1988) - Or Pardon Me Sir, But There’s a UFO in my VCR
Despite the title of today’s film, it does not star the dearly departed Ken Ober who has gone on to the great game show in the sky. There is nary a Colin Quinn anywhere to be seen, and though it could have used it, not a hint of Kari Wuhrer. Instea...
I, Madman (1989)- Reading Might Be Fundamental, But It Can Be Murder!
Once again, it’s time to throw open the video tape vaults here at the Lair and delve into another diabolical selection from the world of VHS. That’s right; it’s time for another thrilling installment of It Came From Video Tape. Today’s select...
Halloween Top 13:The Sequel #2- Aliens (1986)
Yesterday, in number 3 on the countdown, I got a chance to talk about the best male hero in the horror genre, Evil Dead II’s Ash. Today I get to talk about another hero, but a very different one. In most horror films, women are portrayed as either ...
Halloween Top 13:The Sequel #3: Evil Dead II: Dead by Dawn (1987)
I’ve talked an awful lot about villains over these last few days. Freddy, Jason, Pinhead, Angela, and The Tall Man have all made appearances on the countdown, but for the next couple of days, I’m going to set the focus on the bad guys aside and t...
Halloween Top 13: The Sequel #5- Nightmare on Elm Street III: Dream Warriors (1987)
Freddy was at his best when he was scary. In Wes Craven’s Nightmare on Elm Street, Freddy Kruger was terrifying. Sure, he might have had a couple of one liners, but they weren’t intended to make anyone laugh. They were intended to send chills up ...
Halloween Top 13: The Sequel #6- Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (1986)
Great sequels sometime follow up the previous film with more of the same, but sometimes they get inventive with the story line and taking it in a new, unexpected direction. Tonight’s film takes the latter route. Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) was a...
Halloween Top 13: The Sequel #8- Phantasm II (1988)
Sometimes when a director has to make a film in the studio system, it means that he’s going to have to reign in his vision, acquiesce to casting demands, and suffer heavy cuts in the editing process. Yet if the director stands tall, then he might g...
Halloween Top 13: The Sequel #9- Sleepaway Camp II:Unhappy Campers (1988)
A couple of months back I got a chance to go see Bruce Springsteen in concert. It was a great show, but next time I must be closer to the stage. Not because I really have the need to see every bead of sweat that comes off The Boss or bask in the glow...
Halloween Top 13: The Sequel #11- Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982)
Let me start by making a statement that is both bold and possibly alienating. I don’t care for Michael Myers. Halloween is a good film, but from his second appearance on, frankly, it loses me. You may even notice that I’ve never even touched on t...
Halloween Top 13: The Sequel #12: Hellbound: Hellraiser II (1988)
Leaving behind the nostalgic thrills of #13, I want to turn my attention to something a bit more horrific. Today’s flick is also the first on the list to be a follow up to a film that was on last years Top13, and when I say follow up I’m not kidd...
Halloween Top 13: The Sequel #13- House 2: The Second Story (1987)
Hello, folks, and welcome to the first of the 13 horrific sequels that I’ll be counting down this year in the Halloween Top 13: The Sequel. I’m starting off with a film that probably isn’t on everyone’s radar as a great sequel, but it’s bee...
Puppet Master (1989) Really Pulls My Strings
There’s a fine line between stupid and genius when it comes to horror comedy, and perhaps no one was more willing, able, and crazy enough to ignore that line than Charles Band. Over the years Band has worn many hats, producer, director, writer, and...
Terrifying Trailers Presents C.H.U.D.
Hello folks. I’m taking off for a romantic getaway with my lovely wife, but before we escape to the mountains and the fall foliage, I wanted to watch a film that makes you ready to get out of the city. So we sat down together and watched the one a...
B.L.O.G. Presents: Elvira, Mistress of the Dark
Hello, folks, and welcome to the first post of October. With all these great horror films to come, how could I not start off this month with the most curvaceous of all horror hostesses? So that’s what this week, Beautiful Ladies of Genre turns it...
How Low Can You Giallo?- Tenebre (1982)
Dario Argento and I don’t always get along. In fact, for a while, I thought the best gift he had given to the world of film was his smoking hot daughter, Asia. Not to diminish that contribution, I have finally started to get into Argento’s film. ...
Multi- Monday Gets Beat Dead By Robocop
In 1988, the Soviet Union was crumbling, the Iran-Contra affair was blowing up in the government’s face, Rain Man was ruling the box office, and the literary world mourned the death of Robert Heinlein. Meanwhile, action films were going new places ...
Right Back Where I Started At Sleepaway Camp
Last year the first film I tackled for the Lair was the classic slasher film Sleepaway Camp, and since then every time I go back and check out that review, it makes me cringe. Sure, it was a first effort, but so was Sleepaway Camp for director Robert...
The Original Rise of Cobra (1986)
Beverly Hills Cop is undoubtedly a classic film. Eddie Murphy in his prime and the movie is one of the funniest comedies of the eighties. Much of the credit has to go to the great script by The Big Easy screenwriter Daniel Petrie Jr., but it almost w...
The Multi-Monday where Dorothy and Kevin Hang Out With People Shorter Than Them
Heya folks, back from a long weekend of relaxing, cuddling with the wife, and watching a handful of little films, and I’m ready to rock. Friday night I got started by pulling out an old faithful classic, The Marx Brother’s Duck Soup, an assault ...
Terrifying Tuesday's a bitch... and she's back in heat : They Live (1988)
If one is to believe the Wikipedia entry (and who am I to say) then sunglasses have their roots in 12th Century China, but did not come into the popular use until the early 1900’s when the stars of early silent films to protect from the bright arc ...
