 TENEBRE
1982 / d. Dario Argento
  
A.K.A. UNSANE. Dario Argento’s brilliant giallo TENEBRE is in some ways more akin to the American slasher than the famed Italian crime thrillers. But all the ingredients are still here in there gory goodness. A black-gloved fiend is going about murdering gorgeous young women, all the homicides connected with the latest book from a notable crime novelist. The murderer is an intense fan of the author and will do anything to prove just how far they will go to demonstrate their devotion. Suspicious characters, amazing (if at times a tad overbearing) camera maneuvers, a fantastic score by Goblin, and a double twist ending that will leave your head reeling, TENEBRE is an intricate murder mystery that is engaging enough for all the detectives out there and soaked in enough bloody slashings for all the gorehounds as well. [JC]
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 TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE, THE
1974 / d. Tobe Hooper
Controversial, grizzly, terrifying: horror filmmaking at its finest. A repulsive glimpse into the savage side of America in which a group of roadtripping teens are hunted by a family of cannibalistic psychopaths. Too brutal to be considered an ordinary slasher film, THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE is revered for its grainy documentary-style feel, which makes the movie seem all-too-real. A true landmark classic.
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 TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE 2, THE
1974 / d. Tobe Hooper
Tobe Hooper is a smart man. When he created the follow-up to his original masterpiece, he took it in a completely different direction (in much the same way that Sam Raimi did with EVIL DEAD 2) infusing it with tongue-in-cheek comedy, introducing new characters, and fleshing out the storyline even further. Bill Moseley stars as the demented Choptop, a Vietnam vet with a metal plate in his head who perpetually eats little pieces of his scalp with a heated hanger. De-lish! Highly recommended, highly entertaining, and highly... well... just rent the damn thing already and enjoy.
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 THEATRE OF BLOOD
1973 / d. Douglas Hickox
Pure grotesque fun as only Vincent Price can promise to deliver. Starring as a wronged actor seeking vengeance on a group of eccentric critics, Price gleefully hams it up as he slashes, cuts, and quotes lines from Shakespeare. Similar to his DR. PHIBES series, Price delivers poetic justice in highly-intriguing and wicked fashion. All the deaths that occur in the film are modeled after the demises of some of the Bard’s most famous characters. If one were to watch this film for any reason, let it be for these two: not only do you witness Price masquerade as a French gourmet chef stuffing pieces of poodle pie down a cad’s gagging throat, but you also have the rare pleasure of viewing the Prince of Terror disguised as a homosexual hairdresser, with afro, sunglasses, and all political incorrectness included. Pile on top of that killings that involve heart rippings, decapitations, gang stabbings, electrocution by hair dryer, and a spectacular spear to the chest and you have a marvelous show of gruesomeness that should not be missed by any horror fan! (JC)
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 THING, THE
1982 / d. John Carpenter
Early Carpenter is un-be-freakin-lievable. The man had the Midas touch when it came to making horror flicks, and with movies like THE FOG, HALLOWEEN, and THE THING under his filmography, it's no wonder why he's one of the undisputed masters of the genre. THE THING, though not a box office smash by any means, is almost undescribable. When Pinhead, in HELLRAISER, says the line "we have such sights to show you..." he must have planned to throw on a copy of THE THING, because the special effects are unimaginably disgusting and downright breathtaking. Without a doubt the darkest and most grim of Carpenter's films, the remote and claustrophobic Arctic setting only amplifies the terror and hopelessness that dominates the film from start to end.
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 THINNER
1996 / d. Tom Holland
After killing a gypsy woman with his car, Robert John Burke is cursed to waste away just by the gypsy king’s touch upon his face. The gypsy plots are a bit stereotypical, yes; but this plays into our fears about what creepy curses they might be capable of. The social analysis of weight, dieting, and such stereotypes are all here, along with the freaky deterioration of body, soul, and self. I guess guilt and food do go together. (KB)
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 THREE . . . EXTREMES
2004 / d. Fruit Chan, Park Chan-wook, Takashi Miike
A unique and at times unsettling anthology of Asian horrors. The three tales are carried out by their respective directors with artistry and confidence behind the camera. The three separate tales consists of a woman going to extreme lengths to retain her youth… even if it means devouring the young (“Dumplings”); in “Cut,” a director working on a horror picture finds himself victimized by a psychotic stunt man who is intent on making the filmmaker suffer for having a great life; in the final tale, “Box,” a young writer is haunted by memories of her sister, a sister who she left to burn to death at the circus where they performed. Each vignette manages to contain their own creepy moments and deliver them in that typical Eastern fashion. Although a little confusing in spots, the film’s strong stories and absolutely gorgeous cinematography help to make it one of the more distinctive Asian horror films. (JC)
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