The name “Frankenstein Island” conjures up an over-engineered theme park attraction, complete with ticket takers and souvenir circuit breakers. “Welcome to Frankenstein Island! Can I interest you in a bag of candy neck bolts?” Remarkably, what you get from the movie Frankenstein Island (1981) is something even more absurd. The…
Do you remember when you were in college and you did something that you regretted immediately afterward? Something that haunts you and drives you even now, years later? (Is it just us?) We’re not expressly told what happened between Denis and “Dad” Gordon 20 years ago, but it seems that…
Loosely modeled after 1970s-style vampire flicks, Kiss of the Damned (2012) incorporates many of the iconic elements of films from that era, including the sparse opening credits in electric purple and pensive second-crew shots of treetops and the mundane, suddenly but illogically bathed in meaning. But is a nostalgia for…
The Witch is being billed as one of the most genuinely scary films of the year. But does it stand up to, what is for horror lovers, such a high endorsement? Only you can say for sure, but for this filmgoer, the answer was clear. The film bills itself as…
Full disclosure: one of the reasons I haven’t reviewed this film yet is because I love it so much, I didn’t want the review to be done and over. Severance holds a special place in my heart. I first saw it in a theater during a film festival in Asheville,…
Lovers of 90s television sci-fi are gearing up for this month’s special network treat: A six-episode The X-Files mini-event on the show’s original network, FOX. In preparation for the big day, I’ve been rewatching the best episodes of the series. But when season 5 ended, I couldn’t move on without…
At the SML Haunted Mansion and Blog Laboratory, we’re the kind of monsters that don’t let a few bad reviews sway us from watching a movie. And when the reviews are all over the board? Well, that’s just all the more reason to dive right into a film. Such is…
I’ve always said that Mr. Hyde is one of the greatest of the original Universal Monsters. He has never gotten his due, though, likely because he has to share billing with the insipid Dr. Jekyll. Dracula would never stand for such impertinence. Jekyll and Hyde have popped up occasionally since…
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Featuring movie essays from the Head Monsters of SML and others that explore our love for horror cinema! Published by the Collinsport Historical Society.
