Monster Movie Madness was a fun little column I wrote over on the long-running and well-respected film review site, Cinema Knife Fight. Due to technical difficulties back in 2018, CKF essentially disappeared and the site collapsed. Rather than try to re-create ten years worth of posts—a horribly daunting prospect—CKF's creator, owner, editor-in-chief, and head reviewer, LL Soares, heaved a great sigh and handed the staff all the the rights for their reviews. The great Cinema Knife Fight was no more.
There was a terrible sadness in the land.
Recently, I was cat sitting while my sister was out of town, and Charlie and I (Charlie's the cat, in case that wasn't clear) spent a couple of late nights/early mornings irresponsibly watching horror movies when I should have been sleeping. One night I was explaining to Charlie just what makes Dog Soldiers (2002) such a terrific werewolf movie, and another I was pointing out who I thought was going to live and die in Swamp Shark (2011), and I suddenly said, "Hey, you know what? I kinda miss this. I should start up my column again."
Charlie's only answer was to purr louder and lean into my scratching fingers a little harder, really the only reason he was on the couch with me in the first place. That was okay. I hadn't really expected an answer anyway—I'm not that crazy.
So here it is, a little revamped, and all solo and stuff. All mine. I'll be posting a mix of new reviews and old—I do have a couple years' worth that LL gave back to lean on—at least once a month. If nothing else, it'll give me an excuse to kick back and watch a movie now and then. Maybe I'll call 'em Retreads and Rokviews (I usually watch stuff now on my Roku TV). We'll see how it shakes out. It's all me, so I guess I can change it whenever I want.
Fair warning: I'm no expert, nor aficionado. I don't have any special insider knowledge about the movie industry in general or horror movies in particular, but I do write scary stories and I have a pretty good feel for how they should work. I'm a regular guy who likes what he likes and, apparently, doesn't mind talking about it. You just might come to the conclusion that I don't know my ass from my elbow, and here's a little secret: you just might be right. Like I said above, we'll see how all this shakes out.
In the meantime though, welcome back to Monster Movie Madness.
I sure love me some monster movies.
. . . And just for shits and giggles, here's the original About blurb, from back in 2015:
Monsters.
From the time we were little chiddlers, listening with rapt attention as our elders read stories of a cross-dressing wolf stalking Red Riding Hood, and Jack climbing that beanstalk to outwit a bone-grinding giant with a fantastic nose, our hearts have thrilled to the idea of man vs. beast, or man vs. thing: Man vs. Monster. Most of us have never outgrown this heart-pounding combination of vicarious fear and pride as we watch one of us, a human being, a member of the great species Homo sapiens to which we all belong, taking on something that is obviously other.
Whether it’s a 400-foot atomic reptile rampaging through downtown Tokyo (Godzilla, 1954), or a homicidal six-inch doll rampaging through Karen Black’s apartment (Trilogy of Terror, 1975), or even a children’s pop-up book rampaging through a single mother’s mind and home (The Babadook, 2014), people have always turned out, tuned in, or logged on in droves, to gasp, cheer, and sometimes—let’s face it—laugh at the battle between monster and man.
We do love us some monster movies.
Join me here at MONSTER MOVIE MADNESS, as I take an occasional look at some of the monster movies I have seen and enjoyed (well, mostly enjoyed): werewolves and vampires; giant apes and tiny men; strange monsters, living, dead, and some I just can’t tell about one way or the other.
There was a terrible sadness in the land.
Recently, I was cat sitting while my sister was out of town, and Charlie and I (Charlie's the cat, in case that wasn't clear) spent a couple of late nights/early mornings irresponsibly watching horror movies when I should have been sleeping. One night I was explaining to Charlie just what makes Dog Soldiers (2002) such a terrific werewolf movie, and another I was pointing out who I thought was going to live and die in Swamp Shark (2011), and I suddenly said, "Hey, you know what? I kinda miss this. I should start up my column again."
Charlie's only answer was to purr louder and lean into my scratching fingers a little harder, really the only reason he was on the couch with me in the first place. That was okay. I hadn't really expected an answer anyway—I'm not that crazy.
So here it is, a little revamped, and all solo and stuff. All mine. I'll be posting a mix of new reviews and old—I do have a couple years' worth that LL gave back to lean on—at least once a month. If nothing else, it'll give me an excuse to kick back and watch a movie now and then. Maybe I'll call 'em Retreads and Rokviews (I usually watch stuff now on my Roku TV). We'll see how it shakes out. It's all me, so I guess I can change it whenever I want.
Fair warning: I'm no expert, nor aficionado. I don't have any special insider knowledge about the movie industry in general or horror movies in particular, but I do write scary stories and I have a pretty good feel for how they should work. I'm a regular guy who likes what he likes and, apparently, doesn't mind talking about it. You just might come to the conclusion that I don't know my ass from my elbow, and here's a little secret: you just might be right. Like I said above, we'll see how all this shakes out.
In the meantime though, welcome back to Monster Movie Madness.
I sure love me some monster movies.
. . . And just for shits and giggles, here's the original About blurb, from back in 2015:
Monsters.
From the time we were little chiddlers, listening with rapt attention as our elders read stories of a cross-dressing wolf stalking Red Riding Hood, and Jack climbing that beanstalk to outwit a bone-grinding giant with a fantastic nose, our hearts have thrilled to the idea of man vs. beast, or man vs. thing: Man vs. Monster. Most of us have never outgrown this heart-pounding combination of vicarious fear and pride as we watch one of us, a human being, a member of the great species Homo sapiens to which we all belong, taking on something that is obviously other.
Whether it’s a 400-foot atomic reptile rampaging through downtown Tokyo (Godzilla, 1954), or a homicidal six-inch doll rampaging through Karen Black’s apartment (Trilogy of Terror, 1975), or even a children’s pop-up book rampaging through a single mother’s mind and home (The Babadook, 2014), people have always turned out, tuned in, or logged on in droves, to gasp, cheer, and sometimes—let’s face it—laugh at the battle between monster and man.
We do love us some monster movies.
Join me here at MONSTER MOVIE MADNESS, as I take an occasional look at some of the monster movies I have seen and enjoyed (well, mostly enjoyed): werewolves and vampires; giant apes and tiny men; strange monsters, living, dead, and some I just can’t tell about one way or the other.
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