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Film Review: On the Trail of Bigfoot: The Ancients

I’ve reviewed several high-strangeness documentaries from the reliable filmmakers at Small Town Monsters (links to previous reviews are below), and while the quality is always high, with the group’s latest effort On the Trail of Bigfoot: The Ancients, director Seth Breedlove takes a more personal approach to the search for Sasquatch. While presenting the usual fascinating local color and eyewitness accounts for which Small Town Monsters films are known, Breedlove also dives into his family history in and love of the Appalachians, where his family has deep roots. Read More.

**Film Review: The Last Voyage of the Demeter (Pigeon Shrine FrightFest)**

If you are in the mood for an outstanding modern take on classic gothic horror cinema, you need look no further than The Last Voyage of the Demeter. Director André Øvredal has crafted a beautiful looking, finely acted, thrilling feature based on a single chapter from Bram Stoker’s novel Dracula. Read More.

Summerween Arts Festival in Warrior, AL: July 13, 2024

My wife Tonya and I headed to Warrior, Alabama, just off of I-65 between Cullman and Birmingham on July 13, 2024, for the Summerween Arts Festival. It was a brutally hot July day with temperatures at, or just above, 100 degrees. Despite the oppressive southern heat, the Summerween Arts Festival had a fantastic turnout, I mean the place was packed! Not only were there a lot of people looking and shopping at Warrior Community Center, but we were very surprised at the large number of vendors on site selling tons of crafts, handmade goods, and horror and Halloween themed merchandise. When It Was Cool are currently planning to be vendors there in 2025 ourselves! Read More.

Film Review: Book of Monsters

Director Stewart Sparke’s U.K. horror outing Book of Monsters (2018) is a fun romp full of cool creatures and bucketloads of grue. It recalls the spirit and chutzpah of 1980s monster movies in the best ways, delivering a can’t miss package certain to leave viewers with huge smiles. The film is the sophomore follow-up to Sparke’s somber, microbudget Lovecraftian debut feature The Creature Below. Both that film and Book of Monsters were written by Paul Butler. The Creature Below was an intriguing effort that showed its budgetary constraints, especially in the CGI effects department, but Book of Monsters obviously had a larger budget. Read More.

Nashville Nightmare Haunted Attraction Review (2023) - Fantastic Haunted Attraction Experience Worth Seeking Out

Each year Karl and Tonya from When It Was Cool set out to discover a new haunted attraction, haunted house, or cool Halloween themed adventure. This year we decided to take on a large haunted attraction just north of Nashville, TN in the city of Madison called Nashville Nightmare. As we usually do, we elected to purchase the “skip the line” tickets as these large, haunted attractions often draw thousands of people, especially the closer to Halloween you get. I have never regretted buying those tickets as the waits can sometimes be hours. We went mid-week on a Wednesday night and the lines weren’t too bad, but I imagine on the weekend they are substantial. Read More.

Film Review: Spooktacular (Fantastic Fest)

Billed as the first Halloween theme park in the United States, SpookyWorld started as a hayride during the 1990s and grew into a business that reportedly cleared more than $2,000,000 in one month in its heyday. That month was, of course, October, when residents of Berlin, Massachusetts were as initially shocked as SpookyWorld founder David Bertolino and his crew to find traffic jams caused by people looking to attend. All good things must come to an end, though, and this documentary from director Quinn Monahan traces the rise and fall of this legendary theme park. Read More.

Film Review: Flesh for Frankenstein (Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival)

I first saw U.S./Italian/French coproduction Flesh for Frankenstein (1973) — alternatively known as Andy Warhol’s Frankenstein, though the famous artist merely lent his name at the request of director Paul Morrisey — as a teenager in all of its gory 3D glory. Certain images have stuck with me for years, and were pretty much exactly as I remembered them when I watched the film again at South Korea’s Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival this past weekend. For both good reasons and not particularly good ones, Flesh for Frankenstein is a lurid, outrageous must-see for horror movie lovers. Read More.

Monsterama Market Macabre Horror Themed Yard Sale 2023

Karl and Tonya from WhenItWasCool.com traveled to Marietta, GA this past Saturday, May 13, 2023 to the Monsterama Market Macabre hosted by Monsteramacon. We weren’t sure what to expect but since we love yard sales and horror then why not take a website sponsored trip and maybe even pick up a few cool things (and scout it out to possibly sell at if the event takes place next year… stay tuned!) Read More.

Witch Tales (Cuentos de la Bruja) (2020) Film review

Peruvian film Cuentos de la Bruja (Witch Tales) is a fun tribute to pre-code American horror comics that adapts three such stories, with introductions hosted by a fetching witch (Mayella Lloclla). The first tale, “Cycle of Horror,” based on Al Eadeh’s Chamber of Chills story, stars Renato Babilonia and Oscar Babilonia as two thieves who murder a man for the money in his briefcase. When it comes time to divvy up their take in a rat-infested motel room, one thief kills the other and takes off with all of the loot. The surviving criminal soon finds that every room he tries to sleep in holds a grim reminder of his deadly double-cross. Read More.

Heartland of Darkness (1992) Review

Shot in 1989 but not released until this month — a puzzle as to why it took so long, because it is a pretty fun and well-made shocker — Heartland of Darkness (AKA Blood Church) nicely captures the direct-to-video aspect of that era. Take a healthy dose of satanic panic and add a dash of scream queen Linnea Quigley and you have a film that should pique the interest of horror aficionados of eighties and early nineties fear-fare cinema. Read More.

**Film Reviews: The Once and Future Smash and End Zone 2 (Arrow Video FrightFest)**

Mockumentary The Once and Future Smash (U.S., 2022), from codirectors Sophia Cacciola and Michael J. Epstein, is part of a double-bill with the faux proto-slasher End Zone 2 (U.S., promoted as 1970 but actually 2022). The premise of the mock-doc is that the two elderly actors who played the same deformed killer, Smash-Mouth, in End Zone 2 — Mikey Smash (Michael St. Michaels of The Greasy Strangler, 2016) and William Mouth (Bill Weeden of Sgt. Kabukiman N.Y.P.D, 1990) — have to put aside their longstanding feud when it is announced at the fan convention they are both attending that a new actor is being tapped for the franchise reboot. Read More.

They Crawl Beneath (2022) Film Review

In director Dale Fabrigar's new creature feature They Crawl Beneath, Police officer Danny (Joseph Almani) is on the outs with anthropology student Gwen (Karlee Eldridge). He spins his wheels at the remote home of his Uncle Bill (Michael Paré, who must have had in his rider that he be given a bottle of beer to hold in each of his scenes in the first act). Together, the men begin working on restoring a vintage Ford Mustang when an earthquake strikes, trapping them under the car. Matters only get worse as an invasion of Tremors-like sharp-toothed, oversized worms make their deadly presence known. Read More.

The Face in the Courthouse Window. A Pickens County, Alabama Ghost Story You Can See Today

The “Face in the Courthouse Window” is a famous Alabama ghost story which you can still see evidence of today. The story of the Pickens County, Alabama courthouse window has been chronicled in such books as 13 Alabama Ghosts and Jeffery by Kathryn Tucker Windham. Karl and Tonya from When It Was Cool traveled to Carrollton, Alabama on October 1, 2022 to see the face for themselves and to take a tour of the old Pickens County Courthouse. Read More.

Slaughter Day (1991) Film Review

Microbudget shot-on-video horror movie Slaughter Day may be one of the least professional slices of fright fare cinema you will ever see, but at the same time, it is an absolute blast for that very same reason. Shot and edited in 1991 on consumer grade equipment by twin brothers Brent and Blake Cousins — Brent directed from a screenplay by the pair, and both star — this was, in my estimation, made by a group of guys who saw the first two Evil Dead movies and thought, “Heck yeah, we can make our own version, and add in action sequences!” Read More.

**Film Reviews: The Barn Part II and Final Summer (Popcorn Frights Film Festival)**

If you are in the mood for 1980s-style monstrous-killers mayhem, writer/director/editor Justin M. Seaman’s The Barn Part II — the sequel to his 2016 feature The Barn — has what you crave, in spades. With mind-boggling practical effects and a cast list reading like a Who’s Who of eighties fear-fare talent, The Barn Part II feels just like a film horror fans would pull off the rental shelves without prior knowledge about it at their local video store and, two hours later, be glad they took the chance. Read more.

On the Trail of UFOs: Night Visitors (2022) Film Review

The always reliable Small Town Monsters crew, headed up by filmmaker Seth Breedlove, delivers another thought-provoking look into high strangeness with their latest release, On the Trail of UFOs: Night Visitors. This time, Breedlove and fellow researcher/podcaster Shannon LeGro head to Colorado to interview subjects about their experiences with the mystery of cattle mutilations and the high rate of UFO sightings in the state, focusing on the San Luis Valley. Read More.

Another Hole in the Head Film Festival Revision of the Planet of the Apes History Metal Horror

Filmmaker Jorge Torres-Torres (whose credits include writing or cowriting and directing Shadow Zombie [2013] and Sisters of the Plague [2015]) has made some interesting projects by editing and revising well-known film franchises into single-film presentations. This year, he has two such entries at San Francisco’s hybrid (online and in-cinemas) Another Hole in the Head Film Festival: Rocky Revision and Revision of the Planet of the Apes. Read More.

“Skinwalker: The Howl of the Rougarou” (2021) Film Review

Regular readers of When It Was Cool know by now that I am a big fan of director Seth Breedlove and his Small Town Monsters documentary releases (see my list of previous reviews below). Skinwalker: Howl of the Rougarou, the latest from Breedlove and his crewmates, is truly one of their best efforts. The Rougarou — sometimes referred to as The Cajun Werewolf — is said by many to be merely the basis of spooky stories to warn children about misbehaving. Others in southern Louisiana, however, swear that they have encountered the supernatural beast in real life. Interviewees in Skinwalker: Howl of the Rougarou discuss both sides, with eyewitnesses giving compelling accounts of what they encountered. Read More.

Arrow Video FrightFest Reviews: Bring Out the Fear and Shadow of the Cat

Irish psychological horror Bring Out the Fear sees troubled couple Rosie (Ciara Bailey) and Dan (Tad Morari) take a day trip to the woods, where he attempts to save their relationship by proposing marriage. Rosie, who is a recovering alcoholic and has recently had an affair, turns him down, and when the pair decide to wrap up their day and head home, they find themselves not only lost, but walking past landmarks that they had passed earlier — including an ominous human-looking figure constructed from wood — and being assaulted by loud, frightening sounds. Read More.

Filmmakers Nick + Lexie Discuss Their Horror/Dark Fantasy Series “Tales from Black Manor”

Filmmakers Nick Trivundza and Lexie Findarle Trivundza, who work under the shared moniker of Nick + Lexie, scored big with their film-festival favorite throwback action feature Danger! Danger!, and they are following up that project with Tales from Black Manor, a brand-new three-episode series about a family whose lives intertwine with Death himself. Nick + Lexie interviewed each other about Tales from Black Manor, and When It Was Cool is happy to share their fun interview with our readers. Read More.

Fantaspoa Film Festival Reviews: “Cemetery of the Lost Souls” and “Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes”

Brazilian feature Cemetery of the Lost Souls (O Cemitério das Almas Perdidas) is an occult horror film that asks a bit of viewers in regards to keeping up with its different plot threads but rewards them with a grue-soaked blast. After the devil forces a blind monk to write a book, the book passes, quite violently, through different hands until it winds up with Jesuit priest Cipriano (Renato Chocair). The book corrupts those who possess it because of the great power that it offers… Read More.

SXSW Online 2021 Reviews: Sasquatch and The Lost Sons

You’ll come for Bigfoot massacring three men on a California pot farm and you’ll stay for the mind-boggling rabbit hole that investigative journalist David Holthouse goes down when trying to get the facts behind that story in director Joshua Rofé’s three-episode Hulu documentary series Sasquatch. Read More.

“Sator” (2019) Film Review

Sator is an independent American horror film that keeps viewers guessing whether the events on display are psychological or supernatural. Writer/director Jordan Graham also edited and scored the movie, which took five years to complete. Read More.

“The Queen of Black Magic” Film Review

Everything Indonesian horror master Joko Anwar, director/writer of Impetigore (2017) and Satan’s Slaves (2017), has touched recently has turned to gory gold, and his latest screenplay continues that run. Director Kimbo Stamboel does a super job helming the project, aided by a game cast and an incredible array of supernatural set pieces. Read More.

Another Hole in the Head Film Festival Reviews: “The Explorer” and “Danni and the Vampire”

Director Alexandre Brecher’s French documentary The Explorer follows Michel Ballot — a former lawyer who for the past 15 years has been searching for proof that the cryptid Mokele-mbembe exists — during an African expedition. Ballot and his crew traverse the Congo Basin, with its dangers ranging from the elements to elephant poachers, trying to find tangible evidence of, and hopefully actually see, the sauropod-like creature. Read More.

“A Creepshow Holiday Special” Series Episode Review

Shudder’s Creepshow series helps horror fans get in the seasonal mood with an hour-long episode dubbed A Creepshow Holiday Special. Showcased is “Shapeshifters Anonymous,” a horror comedy entry written and directed by Creepshow showrunner Greg Nicotero, based on a short story by J.A. Konrath (Last Call). Read More.

The Mothman Legacy Film Review

Writer/director Seth Breedlove and his Small Town Monsters crew released their documentary The Mothman of Point Pleasant in 2017, and their latest video venture finds them revisiting the topic in The Mothman Legacy. This documentary centers on how the mystery of the reported sightings of a large, red-eyed, winged cryptid — and the belief by some that it is a harbinger of doom — still affects the town and residents of Point Pleasant, West Virginia. Read More.

Monstrous Film Review

Director Bruce Wemple’s Monstrous is a Bigfoot film of a different stripe. For potential viewers who have felt cheated when the legendary creature has been promised in movie ads but minimally delivered, if at all, fear not — the beast is on the rampage here, though suffice it to say that the film’s title doesn’t refer only to Sasquatch. Darker human elements are also at play, which makes this film more of a thriller than a creature feature. Read More.

The Dark End of the Street Film Review

Writer/director Kevin Tran makes an impressive feature film debut with The Dark End of the Street, an ensemble cast character study revolving around the mysterious killings of pets in a suburban American neighborhood. Neighbors who are mostly strangers other than occasional “Hi/Bye” interactions — if that — are thrust into becoming suspicious, supportive, or otherwise dealing with the incidents that shock their sheltered area. Read More.

Impetigore Movie Review

In Impetigore, toll collector Maya (Tara Basro of Satan’s Slaves and Anwar’s 2019 superhero film Gundala in a fine lead performance) is attacked by a motorist who she thought was stalking her. She seems correct: the man certainly seems to know who she is. After surviving the ordeal, she decides to seek out more information about her past. Raised in the city by an aunt after being orphaned, Maya was actually born in the countryside and it stands that she may have claim to her parents’ house. Accompanied by her friend Dini (Marissa Anita, also of Gundala), Maya travels to the far-off village of her birth. As seasoned horror fans might guess, many dark secrets await the two young women. Read More.

An English Haunting Film Review

Fear-fare fans clamoring for the feel of a good old-fashioned ghost movie in the vein of The Changeling (1980) or The Haunting (1963) should find a great deal to enjoy about An English Haunting, the latest offering from prolific British writer/director Charlie Steeds. With an eerie atmosphere and a mysterious air to its story, the film delivers surprises and shocks aplenty. Read More.

The Wretched Film Review

When It Was Cool readers who grew up on such classic fear fare — or shared it with their offspring — as the Goosebumps novels and TV series, and such other TV anthology series as Monsters, Are You Afraid of the Dark? , Amazing Stories, Tales from the Darkside, and the like will find plenty to love in The Wretched, the new film co-written and co-directed by brothers Brett Pierce and Drew T. Pierce. This coming-of-age supernatural terror tale has all the charms of those creepy shows of yesteryear, with relatable teen protagonists, but adds an extra wallop of gruesomeness and suspense, as it is aimed at the now-adults who fondly devoured those programs, along with any other horror material they could get their hands on. Read More.

Abominable Review

Your enjoyment level of the new cryptid creature feature Abominable will depend largely on how much you like low-budget monster movies, how forgiving you are of rubber monster suits that show their seams, and how willing you are to suspend disbelief in such matters as flat forest land doubling for Himalayan mountains. Some folks might find these to be instant turn-offs, but for many connoisseurs of man-in-a-suit monster romps, they are fun reasons to spend 72 minutes with this new fright flick. Read More.

Documentary Series Review: Shudder’s “Cursed Films: The Exorcist”

Cursed Films, the latest in streaming service Shudder’s original offerings, is a five-part documentary series that delves into the facts behind the rumors and legends, and the odd and sometimes tragic events concerning the making of some classic horror movies from the 1970s and 1980s. The series debuted last week with a look at the making of The Exorcist, a film that is still controversial and chilling all this time after its 1973 release. Read More.

MidWest WeirdFest Film Reviews: “In Action” and “There’s No Such Thing as Ghosts?”

Directors/writers/stars Sean Kenealy and Eric Silvera captured MidWest WeirdFest’s Best Film award with their action comedy In Action. The film tells the story of how screenwriters Sean and Eric, who decide to try and let bygones be bygones after five years of not speaking together, have their script about an invasion at the wedding of the U.S. President’s daughter intercepted by the government. This leads to the pair being mistaken as potential terrorist threats and captured, and sends them on a deadly, downward spiral. Read More.

MidWest WeirdFest Film Review: “On the Trail of UFOs”

The documentary series On the Trail of UFOs is the latest release from cinematic investigator of high strangeness Seth Breedlove and his Small Town Monsters team. Having earlier explored such phenomena as the Momo Monster and the Bray Road Beast, Breedlove and company set their sights on unidentified flying objects and those who have come into contact with UFOs and sometimes the beings piloting the crafts, as well as conspiracy theories and historical folklore about visitors from the skies. Read More.

Inner Ghosts (2020) Film Review

Old-school British horror collides with a more visceral modern approach in the chiller Inner Ghosts. Fans of writer Nigel Kneale, whose screenplays include The Stone Tape (1972) and the Hammer Films classics Quatermass and the Pit (1967) and The Witches (1966), will see his influence in this English-language Portugese/Brazil coproduction. Read More.

Another Hole in the Head Film Fest 2019 Preview

San Francisco’s Another Hole in the Head Film Fest has some vintage and retro-feel slices of cinema on tap that should greatly whet the appetites of When It Was Cool movie buffs. The festival celebrates its 16th anniversary this year with a December 1st –15th run at the New People’s Cinema in the city’s Japantown. The festival’s website says to expect “a two week cinematic excursion into the realms of science fiction, fantasy, and horror, [culling] together a diverse collection of films of all varieties and budgetary considerations. From your buddy Keith’s skateboarding footage in an enchanted forest to Burt Reynolds in space, Another Hole in the Head provides a unique vehicle for independent cinema.” Read More

Mary (2019) Film Review

Gary Oldman and Emily Mortimer, two top-notch and well-known actors, give their best shots in the new horror film Mary, but unfortunately the rest of the movie doesn’t match the quality of their work, except for some fine cinematography. A cliche-ridden plot, along with characters and situations with little backstory, make this effort one for Devil’s Triangle completists and the cinematically curious. Read More.

Haunt and Bloodline Film Reviews

Halloween haunt attractions are a favorite topic annually with When It Was Cool, and as the Halloween season is just a few dried leaves away, a new horror film set in an extreme haunt is out. Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, the co-screenwriters of last year’s excellent creature feature A Quiet Place with its director and star John Krasinski, both cowrite and direct Haunt, a shocker set in the modern day that hearkens back to such drive-in fear fare as Tourist Trap (1979) and Terror Train (1980). Joseph Perry reviews two horror themed movies. Read More.

GenreBlast Film Festival Reviews: Reckoning and Cold Wind Blowing

The amazing indie thriller Reckoning is one of the absolute best films of 2019, anchored by Danielle Deadwyler’s superb performance as Lemon Cassidy, a wife and mother who lives on a small piece of land in Appalachia. The area she lives in has its own codes and laws, and when her husband goes missing after being sent on a dangerous mission by a local matriarch, Lemon must find him quickly before a villainous family takes its revenge on her and her young son. Join Joseph Perry as he tells us more about this film festival. Read More.

North Bend Film Festival Reviews: Extra Ordinary, Monument, Koko-Di Koko-Da, and The Incredible Shrinking WKND

The second North Bend Film Festival offered a fine selection of engrossing independent genre offerings. Following are reviews of four of the dozen features screened at the festival, which ran August 15–18 in North Bend, Washington. Join Joseph Perry as he tells us about these films. Read More

Hoax Film Review

Horror movies about Bigfoot, America’s favorite hirsute cryptid, are always welcome for me and countless other creature feature fans, and new entry Hoax is a solid, and at times disturbing, entry into the subgenre. With a game cast including some familiar genre-film faces, and a fun Sasquatch suit design, Hoax has plenty of reasons to come recommended. Join Joseph Perry as he tells us about this film. Read More.

**Fantasia 2019: Sadako and Stare Film Reviews**

Japanese horror films involving long-haired ghosts bringing terror and death came to modern international prominence after the release of director Hideo Nakata’s Ringu (1998). Many viewers outside of Japan saw the film for the first time as second-generation or worse videotape dubs, adding to the eerie sense of the story about a ghost named Sadako who crawled out of television sets to claim the lives of her cursed victims. Read More.

Head Count Movie Review

Horror thriller Head Count takes tried and true elements seen in such supernatural shockers as The Beast Must Die (1974) and John Carpenter’s version of The Thing (1982) and delivers a fresh, current spin on matters, featuring a talented young cast of newcomers. Join Joseph Perry from Uphill Both Ways Podcast as he reviews the horror thriller Head Count. Read More.

Crimson Screen Horror Film Fest 2019

Joseph Perry is back with a look at the 2019 edition of Crimson Screen Horror Film Fest, which focuses on showcasing and celebrating independent horror films from around the world, took place at the S. of Broadway Theater in North Charleston, South Carolina from May 24–26. Among the festival’s engaging entries was the “Creature Shorts Block,” a showcase of short films featuring monsters, creatures, and things that go bump in the night, with plenty of homages, nods, and love letters to cinematic fright fare of the past. Read More

All the Creatures Were Stirring and Slay Belles Film Reviews

Christmas season means traditions, and one cinematic tradition during the winter holidays is the release of new fright fare films. Joseph Perry brings When It Was Cool reviews of All the Creatures Were Stirring and Slay Belles, two horror movies released this week, and are well worth adding to your December watch list. Read More.

BAFF 2018: “Survival of the Film Freaks” and “Dead by Midnight” Film Reviews

November 14–18 at the 7 Stages Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia, it features a bevy of horror features and short films ranging from the surreal to the extreme. Among these offerings are two that should be of particular interest to When It Was Cool readers: Survival of the Film Freaks, a documentary about cult films and their fans, and Dead by Midnight, a horror anthology that boasts a 1980s vibe. Read More.

Ithaca Fantastik Film Festival (2018)

Ithaca Fantastik is now underway with the 7th edition of this upstate New York celebration of genre film, electrifying music, and dynamic art, and blasts from the past screen alongside many amazing new films, both retro-themed and not. The fest kicked off at its homebase of Cinemapolis on October 26th and runs through November 4th. Join Joseph Perry as he tells us about some of the horror and sci-fi offerings from this festival! Read More.

Netherworld Haunted House Attraction Review (2018)

For the third year in a row the When It Was Cool family traveled to just outside of Atlanta, GA to visit one of the largest and most impressive haunted house attractions in the United States- Netherworld. This year, Netherworld has moved to a new location in Stone Mountain, GA. The elaborate sets, impressive actors and make-up, and over all quality of Netherworld remains as great as ever. In fact, I would say that the haunted house itself is even better than before. Read More

Empathy Inc. (2018) Movie Review from Brooklyn Horror Film Festival

Black-and-white independent science fiction thriller Empathy Inc. recalls the tradition of the classic television series The Twilight Zone in its tale of a man going from bad-off to far worse when a high-tech opportunity presents itself. Always compelling and entertaining, this merging of lo-fi, analog-style technology and human nature at its best and worst provides plenty of social commentary to go with its eerie chills. Join Joseph Perry as he tells us all about this new thriller. Read More.

Sleep No More (2018) Film Review

A group of graduate students unleash a deadly evil in Sleep No More, a 1980s-set horror movie that does a solid job of attempting to recapture the feel of such films from that decade as A Nightmare on Elm Street, with a dose of 1990’s Flatliners mixed in for good measure. Impressive performances and keen building of suspense are the highlights of this chiller. Join Joseph Perry as he tells When It Was Cool readers all about this great film. Read More.

Halloween - Ten Fond Retro Halloween Memories

Contributor Joseph Perry provides When It Was Cool with images and memories of when Halloween really was cool and fun! Join When It Was Cool for this retro Halloween trip back in time to plastic Halloween masks and costumes, games, haunted houses, scary stories, and so much more. Grab your Moon Monster poster and horror comic book as we look at the fun times of Halloween’s past. Read More.

Arx Mortis Haunted House Attraction Review

The When It Was Cool family visits our first Halloween haunted house attraction of the season with Arx Mortis located in North Alabama. Arx Mortis improves every year and this was the best year yet. With elaborate and fantastic sets, great actors, and a wide variety of scenes, Arx Mortis has become a must see Halloween attraction in the Mid-South area. In this article (with accompanying Patreon podcast special) we tell you all about one of our favorite haunted attractions - Arx Mortis! Read More.

Housewife (2018) Horror Movie Review

Joseph Perry takes a look at director Can Evrenol’s sophomore feature film Housewife, an enigmatic, unsettling horror outing with shades of classic Italian horror movies, H.P. Lovecraft cosmic horror, and surrealism. This Turkish arthouse horror with English dialogue is meant to provoke and puzzle, and it certainly succeeds at that, while delivering a jaw-dropping, gore-drenched third act. Read More.

The Internet’s Top 31 Horror Movies of All Time

Comic book creator Mike Imboden, takes a look at numerous internet website rankings of the best and greatest horror movies of all times, crunches the numbers, and comes up with the Internet’s Top 31 Horror Movies of All Time! Now you can watch a classic, critically acclaimed, horror movie every day in October! Celebrate #MonsterMonth with When It Was Cool and check out Mike’s list of these classic horror movies. Read More.

Slash Back to the Past at the Brooklyn Horror Film Festival

The decade of the 1980s was the slasher film heyday, and the third edition of The Brooklyn Horror Film Festival, running October 11th–18th with screenings and events across Brooklyn, New York, takes a fond, bloody look back at that classic era of horror movies with its 80s Slash-A-Thon. This series includes a 35th anniversary screening of cult classic Sleepaway Camp, along with the New York book launch for celebrated horror journalist Michael Gingold’s Ad Nauseam. Join Joseph Perry for this and much more in this feature article. Read More.

Dark Shadows (1966) TV Show Review

Dark Shadows is a dark, gothic, and macabre 1960s television soap opera drama that features the intriguing vampire character Barnabas Collins. Dark Shadows is full of mystery and many atmospheric settings that pull you in. The show has a slow pace that allows the twists and turns to set in and the character of Barnabas Collins (played by Jonathan Frid) is unlike any other character you have seen. Take a journey into Collinwood with When It Was Cool as we take a look back at Dark Shadows. Read More.

The Dead Children's Playground

Near downtown Huntsville, AL there is a 100 acre cemetery which dates back to the early 1800s. There are six 1800 era Governors of the state of Alabama buried there. The cemetery is riddled with Masonic headstones, obelisks, and mausoleums but perhaps the most macabre thing located at Maples Hills cemetery is the playground for dead children... we went there. Read More.

The LaPlace’s Demon (Portland) Film Review

Joseph Perry brings us a review of this film which takes some old-school haunted house thrills and blends them with mystery elements along with film noir lighting and overtones. The LaPlace's Demon is a chilling film and Joseph Perry takes us inside all the information about this movie which will appeal to horror and mystery movie fans alike. Read More.

Ghost Stories Film Review

Fans of classic British horror movie anthologies such as Torture Garden (1967), The House That Dripped Blood (1971), and The Vault of Horror (1973), or those who just love good old-fashioned chilling tales of the supernatural should find plenty to love about the new omnibus effort Ghost Stories. Providing old-school eeriness and mounting terror, this film is one of the best scare-fare efforts of the year so far. Joseph Perry tells us all about it in his latest When It Was Cool article. Read More.

The Lodgers Film Review

Fans of classic gothic horror cinema such as The Others, The Woman in Black, The Innocents, and The Haunting will want to see director Brian O’Malley’s new Irish chiller The Lodgers. The sense of dread is palpable, and the atmospheric visuals are ominous and beautiful. In this review article, Joseph Perry takes a look at this chilling new film. Read More.

**Final Girls Berlin Film Festival - Lyle and Pin Cushion Reviews**

Joseph Perry reviews two films from the Final Girls Berlin Film Festival with echoes of classic horror movies, held February 1–3 in Berlin, Germany. American independent feature Lyle is a modern riff on Rosemary’s Baby, and British drama Pin Cushion recalls Carrie in its tale of high school bullying. Join film connoisseur extraordinaire Joseph Perry in his review of these two great new features. Read More.

A Night of Horror and Fantastic Planet Film Festivals: "Borley Rectory" and "Sixty Minutes to Midnight" Reviews

Joseph Perry brings us two movie reviews from A Night of Horror and Fantastic Planet Film Festivals. Fans of retro styled horror will be thrilled by both Borley Rectory and Sixty Minutes to Midnight. Sydney, Australia’s recent A Night of Horror and Fantastic Planet film festivals were loaded with incredible horror, science fiction, action, and other genre films, several of which should be of great interest to When It Was Cool’s retro-loving readers. In this article, I will look at two solid offerings from these fests: the U.K. ghost documentary Borley Rectory and the Canadian thriller Sixty Minutes to Midnight. Read More.

Invasion on Chestnut Ridge Documentary Review

Joseph Perry brings us more #MonsterMonth goodness. Some locations are known for certain types of unusual activity, hosting a higher than average amount of reports of either UFO, cryptid, or other strange phenomena. The southern Pennsylvania area of Chestnut Ridge is seemingly such an area, as Invasion on Chestnut Ridge, the latest terrific documentary from director/co-writer/producer Seth Breedlove and the Small Town Monsters crew, relates. Read More.

Netherworld Haunted House Attraction Review 2017 - A Must See Halloween Experience!

Netherworld Haunted House is located just northeast of Atlanta, GA in Norcross, GA and for the second year in a row Karl & Tonya from When It Was Cool visited the attraction to celebrate #MonsterMonth. This year was even better than before as we skipped the lines and went straight to the main event. Find out everything you want to know about this must see Halloween haunted attraction. Read More.

**Brooklyn Horror Film Festival, Part Two: The Crescent and I Remember You Reviews**

Joseph Perry reviews two films from the Brooklyn Horror Film Festival for #MonsterMonth here at When It Was Cool. The two movies reviewed in part two of this series include The Crescent and I Remember You. Join Joseph as he takes us through a spoiler-free review of these two films sure to put you in the mood for the Halloween season. Read More.

**A Glen Doll from Seed of Chucky (Child's Play) Haunts My Closet**

I have never watched a minute of any of the Child's Play movies but Tonya from When It Was Cool owns a doll that haunts my nightmares and sits in our closet. One day I finally decided to ask her what this Frankenstein looking #MonsterMonth monstrosity is. Here is his (or her) story. Read More.

Brooklyn Horror Film Festival Review Part 1: 1974 and Salvation Reviews

Joseph Perry reviews two films from the Brooklyn Horror Film Festival for #MonsterMonth here at When It Was Cool. The two movies reviewed in part one of this series include 1974 a wonderful found footage period piece and Salvation, a moody thriller. Join Joseph as he takes us through a spoiler-free review of these two films sure to put you in the mood for the Halloween season. Read More.

Werewolf by Night - When It Was Cool Remembers this Dark Marvel Comic Book Series

When It Was Cool takes a look back at the 1970s Marvel Comic book series Werewolf by Night which, not only brought the classic Wolfman / Werewolf into the Marvel Universe but introduced us to other new and interesting characters like Moon Knight. #MonsterMonth continues with a look back at this frightening Marvel Comic book series- Werewolf by Night! Read More.

**Funko Pop Review - Jason Voorhees from Friday the 13th Pop Vinyl 01**

When It Was Cool #MonsterMonth continues with a look at a figure from Tonya's Funko Pop Vinyl doll collection. In this article we look at Jason Voorhees from the Friday the 13th movie franchise. A very cool horror themed figure from Funko Pop! Read More.

The Tomb of Dracula - When It Was Cool Remembers this Macabre and Dark Marvel Comic Book Series

When It Was Cool takes a look back at the dark 1970s Marvel Comic book series The Tomb of Dracula which, not only brought the classic Vampire into the Marvel Universe but introduced us to other new and interesting characters like Blade the Vampire Slayer. #MonsterMonth continues with a look back at this macabre Marvel Comic book series- The Tomb of Dracula! Read More.

**Funko Pop Review - Regan from The Exorcist Pop Vinyl 203**

When It Was Cool #MonsterMonth continues with a look at a figure from Tonya's Funko Pop Vinyl doll collection. In this article we look at Regan (Linda Blair) from The Exorcist movie franchise. A very cool horror themed figure from Funko Pop! Read More.

Devil’s Gate (AKA Abduction) (FrightFest) Film Review

Joseph Perry is back with another great horror film review. In this exclusive When It Was Cool article, Joseph takes a look at Devil's Gate (Abduction) which screened at FrightFest. An experienced cast appears in a film that will strongly appeal to fans of classic science fiction/horror hybrids. This gripping chiller is filled with surprises and well-executed misdirections, and sports a solid cast with a wide range of genre-fare experience, and fantastic creature effects. Read More.

Radius (FrightFest) Film Review

Radius is a new movie which screened at FrightFest and Joseph Perry takes a look at this thriller. This is a Twilight Zone flavored science fiction/horror thriller that played at London's FrightFest and When It Was Cool has one the earliest reviews! Read More.

The Transfiguration Film Review

The Transfiguration is a new horror film with nods to classic and cult vampire movies and stories. Joseph Perry brings us a review of this film and a look at the characters and story of this recent VOD movie thriller. Read More.

Unsung Horrors Book Review

Unsung Horrors is a new book reviewed here by Joseph Perry about a collection of film reviews from the silent era to 1970s horror films. The book is a great introduction to the genre and fans of horror movies with enjoy it. Read More.

The LaPlace’s Demon (Fantasia) Film Review

The LaPlace’s Demon screened at Fantasia International Film Festival, which ran July 13–August 2 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Joseph Perry brings us a review of this film which takes some old-school haunted house thrills and blends them with mystery elements along with film noir lighting and overtones. Read More.