Highway 299 high up in the Trinity Alps. Nighttime. Nobody on the road. On the side of a mountain looking down into a valley as my girlfriend puked her guts up on the road’s shoulder. All those years of studying Leatherface and his clan led to this moment. All those years of wondering why the …
The year was 1990. I was excited walking into the theater to watch Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III on its opening night. I avoided all media coverage about it (which was just Fangoria at the time), though I had seen a few promising photos. I wanted to be surprised. Would it live up to …
Watching the 1986 Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 was not like watching the original for the first time. Gone was that sense of realism, and absolute terror was not the norm throughout the film. It was, however, its own special kind of beast, and it was one I thoroughly enjoyed. The sequel had moments of terror. …
Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2. The year was 1986, and it was coming. My first indication of it was not Fangoria, surprisingly enough. I used to devour each issue as it came out, but for some reason the only store near me that carried it was getting shorted its copies or not getting it at all, …
Note: If you have not read parts one and two of this column, please do so here and here first. Now I had my very own VHS copy of Texas Chainsaw Massacre. My Holy Grail of horror films. It was mine to keep forever. To say I was in Heaven was an understatement. The fact …
Terror in the Aisles. That was the film which pushed my obsession with Texas Chainsaw Massacre into a full-blown case of fanaticism. Released in 1984, Terror in the Aisles was a horror documentary of sorts. Donald Pleasence and Nancy Allen took audiences on a tour of the best parts of horror movies, all while talking …
When asked about my favorite films, one always comes to mind. I feel it changed American cinema, and it definitely influenced my horror writing. That film is none other than the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre (using the more common spelling of the title). It is a movie I can watch multiple times and find something …
It’s true. Vampires suck. Vampire stories bore me to tears usually. They offer very little in the way of what I would consider real fright. They have their place in horror history, of course, but for me the best stories with vampires in them are only good because of everything else going on around them. …
Horror writers. We are legion. We are everywhere. We are also easily dismissed, misjudged, and often blamed. Sometimes being a horror writer feels like being a scapegoat for the world’s ills. After all, how can any “normal” person think up so many horrific things? And then they write them down and “influence” others with their …
Every once in a while I run into that person. I’m sure you have, too. You know the one I’m talking about. The one who says they don’t like horror … but then at some point they tell you about this great film they saw called The Silence of the Lambs or Seven. Little do …
