Category Archives: Editorial

Lisa Marie’s Week In Review: 10/12/26 — 10/18/26

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Horrorthon continues!  It’s hard to believe that we have two weeks left to go!  I can’t wait for Halloween.  I’m enjoying October and I hope you are too.

I’m enjoying despite the fact that I spent the majority of this week in bed, sick.  The cold weather has finally arrived and so has my annual fall cold.  As I write this, I am very thankful to all the members of the TSL Crew who have stepped up and kept this site busy while I’ve been resting and getting better.  I’m very much looking forward to jumping back into things on Monday!

Here’s what I watched this week:

Films I Watched:

  1. Abrakadabra (2018)
  2. Center Stage For Murder (2026)
  3. Cheer For Your Life (2021)
  4. The Couple Across The Street (2026)
  5. Creature From The Black Lagoon (1954)
  6. Daughter of Dracula (19720
  7. Death by Dialogue (1988)
  8. Friday the 13th (1980)
  9. Friday the 13th — A New Beginning (1985)
  10. Friday the 13th Part II
  11. Friday the 13th Part 3
  12. Friday the 13th — The Final Chapter (1984)
  13. The Hackers (1988)
  14. The Horror of Party Beach (1964)
  15. The House on Haunted Hill (1959)
  16. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984)
  17. Limbo (1999)
  18. Morbius (2022)
  19. The Mothman Prophecies (2002)
  20. Piranha II — The Spawning (1982)
  21. The Stay Awake (1987)
  22. The Stickup (2002)
  23. Sweet November (1968)
  24. Teen Witch (1989)
  25. The Terror (1963)
  26. The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part One (2011)
  27. The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part Two (2012)
  28. The Woman In Green (1945)

Television Shows I Watched:

  1. The Amazing Race
  2. Austin City Limits
  3. Bar Rescue
  4. Baseball: Devil Rays vs Guardians
  5. Baywatch Nights
  6. Crystal Lake
  7. Diff’rent Strokes
  8. Freakylinks
  9. The Ghost Writer
  10. Holy Mass In Honor Of Our Lady of Fatima
  11. In Search Of….
  12. Jail
  13. Mother Angelica Classics
  14. Night Flight
  15. Seinfeld
  16. Shawn’s Eyes
  17. Survivor

Links From Last Week:

  1. Meet “The Creeper!” My “A – Z” Of Horror Has The “J – K – L” Of Shocktober!
  2. Embrace the Darkness that is your Shadow
  3. Media Round-Up: Aug. – Sept.

New From Last Week:

  1. Director Jeremiah Kipp Has Passed Away
  2. Actor RJ Mitte Dies At 34
  3. Musician Lucian Paine Dies At 46
  4. Actor Michael Forrest Dies At 97
  5. Actor Alan Mandell Dies At 98
  6. Steven Soderbergh to Help Finish ‘The Batman 2’ Filming After Matt Reeves Stepped Away for Family Matter

Live Tweets:

  1. The Stickup
  2. Cheer For Your Life
  3. Horror of Party Beach
  4. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
  5. Piranha 2 — The Spawning

4 Shots From 4 Films

  1. Klaus Kinski
  2. October 17th
  3. Kevin S. Tenney
  4. October 15th
  5. Jack Arnold
  6. October 13th
  7. October 12th

Scenes We Love:

  1. Nosferatu
  2. The Creature From The Black Lagoon
  3. Godzilla vs Megalon
  4. Young Frankenstein
  5. Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter
  6. Suspiria
  7. The Shining
  8. Teen Witch

Songs of the Day:

  1. David Bowie
  2. Claudio Simonetti
  3. Goblin
  4. The Del-Aires
  5. Slayer
  6. Donovan
  7. Paul Zaza

Artworks of the Day:

  1. Delusion
  2. Science Fiction Plus
  3. Black Candle
  4. Friday the 13th — The Final Chapter
  5. Detective Fiction Weekly
  6. Weird Tales
  7. Uncanny Tales

Music Videos of the Day:

  1. Pat Benatar
  2. The Misfits
  3. Lou Gramm
  4. King Kobra
  5. Vinnie Vincent Invasion
  6. Lulabox
  7. Iron Maiden

Horror On The Lens:

  1. Creation of the Humanoids
  2. Last Man On Earth
  3. The Dead Don’t Die
  4. The Clones
  5. Not Of This Earth
  6. The Terror
  7. Carnival of Souls
  8. The Werewolf of Washington
  9. Black Friday
  10. In Search of Bigfoot
  11. The Naked Witch

Horror On TV:

  1. In Search of Ghosts
  2. Freakylinks 1.11
  3. In Search Of The Loch Ness Monster
  4. Freakylinks 1.7
  5. In Search of The Siberian Fireball
  6. Freakylinks 1.5
  7. Baywatch Nights 2.12
  8. Freakylinks 1.3
  9. Degrassi of the Dead
  10. Freakylinks 1.1
  11. In Search of Bigfoot
  12. The Cloning of Clifford Swimmer
  13. Fear Itself 1.12

Links From The Site:

  1. Arleigh reviewed The Funhouse, The Barn, Hellraiser: Revival, Batman: Crimson Mist, The Babysitter, Batman: Bloodstorm, The Other Mommy, Batman & Dracula: Red Rain, The Batman vs Dracula, Carnival of Souls, The Ignored, Still Wakes the Deep, and The Lord of Illusions!
  2. Case reviewed Momo, Coward, Lights Out, That’s Not Me, Looking Back, Man on a Train, and The Last Person You Hooked Up With Dies!
  3. Brad reviewed Someone’s Watching Me, Through Naked Eyes, Dead Tone, Hide and Seek, When Michael Calls, an episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents, and Blacktop!
  4. Erin reviewed the last three Twilight films — Eclipse, Breaking Dawn, and Breaking Dawn Part 2!
  5. Erin updated us on baseball and congratulated the Brewers!  She shared a moment!  She featured the Covers of The Magazine Of Horror!
  6. Jeff reviewed Deep Rising, Leprechaun Returns, X2, Frankenstein, Dazzler The Movie,X-Men, Leprechaun: Origins, Leprechaun: Back 2 Tha Hood, Morbius, Leprechaun In The Hood, Howard the Duck, and Leprechaun In Space!
  7. Jeff shared a great moment in television history and a great moment in comic book history!
  8. I reviewed Degrassi, Crime Story, CHiPs, Saved By The Bell: The New Class, Pacific Blue, The Love Boat, 1st & Ten, Hunter, St. Elsewhere, Sledge Hammer, Baywatch, Saved By The Bell, and Homicide!
  9. I reviewed Run, Only One Way, One Nation Under God, Demonwarp, Black Friday,The Fort, One More Round, Truth or Dare, Amityville 3D, Menendez: Blood Brothers, Zack, and My Refuge!
  10. I shared a blast from the past!

Click here for to check out last week!

 

Lisa Marie’s Week In Review: 10/5/26 — 10/11/26

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

 

I spent most of this week sick and underproductive so I’m so proud of my fellow contributors here at the Shattered Lens, who stepped up and lept the 2026 Horrorthon going strong while I got some rest.  Fortunately, there’s  a lot of days left in Ocobter!

Here’s what I watched this week:

Films I Watched:

  1. American Rickshaw (1989)
  2. Bride of the Monster (1955)
  3. Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992)
  4. Damien: Omen II (1978)
  5. Deadly Dorm (2019)
  6. The Demon Murder Case (1983)
  7. Heart of Midnight (1988)
  8. The House of Fear (1945)
  9. Killer Prom (2020)
  10. Killer Twin (2018)
  11. Marjoe (1972)
  12. Moonstalker (1989)
  13. Night of the Ghouls (1959)
  14. Once Within A Time (2022)
  15. Plan 9 From Outer Space (1957)
  16. Point of Terror (1971)
  17. Poppers (1984)
  18. Robot Monster (1953)
  19. Short Time (1990)
  20. The Sinister Urge (1960)
  21. A Sister’s Grudge (2021)
  22. Twilight (2008)
  23. The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (2010)
  24. The Twilight Saga: New Moon (2009)
  25. Voices From Beyond (1991)
  26. The Warriors (1979)

Television Shows I Watched:

  1. The Amazing Race
  2. Austin City Limits
  3. Carrie
  4. Fear Itself
  5. Kitchen Nightmares
  6. SCTV
  7. The Steve Wilkos Show
  8. Survivor
  9. Twilight Zone

Links From Last Week:

  1. Walking “Dead”, Head-Spinning “Exorcists” And Deadly “Fog”…It’s My “D – E – F” Of Shocktober 2026!
  2. Twin Cities Film Fest 2026 countdown—Wild Horse Nine, Elsinore, La Bola Negra, and more! Plus 10 Indie Films to Watch at TCFF this year

News From Last Week:

  1. Actress Eva Marie Saint Dies At 102
  2. Mike Ditka Dies At 86
  3. Singer Freddie Jackson Dies At 70
  4. Actor Michael Kearns Dies At 76

Live Tweets:

  1. Short Time
  2. Killer Twin
  3. The Warriors
  4. Buffy The Vampire Slayer
  5. Damien: Omen II

4 Shots From 4 Films:

  1. October 11th
  2. Edward D. Wood
  3. Sam Raimi
  4. October 8th
  5. October 7th
  6. October 6th
  7. Ti West

Scenes We Love:

  1. The House on Haunted Hill
  2. Plan 9 From Outer Space
  3. Flash Gordon
  4. Cat People
  5. Pieces
  6. Attack of the 50 Foot Woman
  7. Link
  8. Halloween 2
  9. Wake in Fright

Songs of the Day:

  1. Keith Emerson
  2. Howard Shore
  3. Ennio Morricone
  4. Jerry Goldsmith
  5. Goblin
  6. George Edward Lott
  7. Felony

Artworks of the Day:

  1. Weird Tales
  2. Horror Stories
  3. Gripping Terror
  4. Thrilling Detective
  5. Popular Detective
  6. King of Snakes
  7. Detective Story Magazine

Music Videos of the Day:

  1. Siouxsie and the Banshees
  2. Alice Cooper
  3. Guns N Roses
  4. Candlemass
  5. Shriekback
  6. Megadeth
  7. INXS

Horrors On The Lens:

  1. The House on Haunted Hill
  2. Plan 9 From Outer Space
  3. Bride of the Monster
  4. Night of the Ghouls
  5. Robot Monster
  6. Raiders of the Living Dead
  7. The Pumaman

Horror On TV:

  1. Fear Itself 1.11
  2. Fear Itself 1.10
  3. Fear Itself 1.9
  4. Fear Itself 1.8
  5. Fear Itself 1.7
  6. Fear Itself 1.6
  7. Fear Itself 1.5

Links From The Site:

  1. Arleigh reviewed Hellboy: Almost Colossus, Convent of Sinners, The Other Hell, The Convent of Hell, MADiSON, Visage, Evil Dead, Evil Dead II, Army of Darkness, the Evil Dead remake, The Legend of Hell House, The Evil, and Hellboy: Wake The Devil!
  2. Brad reviewed Bell Book and Candle, Death Weekend, Urban Legend, On The Line, and Hush!
  3. Case reviewed Ignore It, Last Call Lenny, Human Holes, The Guest, Backrooms, They Finally Found Us, and Don’t Go The Wolf 1069!
  4. Jeff reviewed Leprechaun, Leprechaun 2, Leprechaun 3, G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, G.I. Joe: The Revenge of Cobra, G.I. Joe: Arise Serpentor Arise, G.I. Joe: The Movie, The Werewolf of Woodstock, X-Men: God Loves Man Kills, Voodoo Castle, The Immortalizer, Marvel Comics: The Untold Story, Evolver, Dr. Strange, and The Gate!
  5. Jeff shared a great moment in television history and a great moment in comic book history!
  6. Erin reviewed The Beaning, Twilight, and Twilight: New Moon!
  7. Erin took a look at the covers of Strange Terrors!
  8. Erin shared a Possum Moment!  She wrote about the baseball playoffs and congratulated the Rays!
  9. I reviewed Degrassi, Crime Story, CHiPs, Saved By The Bell: The New Class, Pacific Blue, The Love Boat, 1st & Ten, Area 57, Hunter, St. Elsewhere, Sledge Hammer!, Baywatch, Saved By The Bell, and Homicide!
  10. I reviewed Abel’s Field, Fatal Exposure, Killer Prom, Stan The Man, The Harbinger, Storm Rider, Hollow Man, The Ground Beneath My Feet, House of the Damned, Cancel Me Not, The Bye Bye Man, Vampire Time Travelers, To Catch A Killer, Back From The Dead, The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction Movies, Beauty and the Atheist, Buried Alive, Spine, The Mutations, Yoga Teacher Killer, Specters, Operation Unite, and Taste of his Poison!
  11. I shared an AMV of the Day!  I shared some weekend books and some weekend movies!  I shared both a villain of the day and a hero of the day!  I shared a blast from the past and my thoughts on the culture!

More From Us:

  1. At Days Without Incident, Leonard shared War For You!
  2. At her photography site, Erin shared 30, Fog, Watching, Grave Marker, Cemetery, Dracula’s Pub, and Have A Seat!
  3. At my music site, I shared songs from Creedence Clearwater Revival, Warren Zevon, Hot Blood, Jakalope, John Carpenter, The Vampire’s Sound Incorporation, and Goblin!
  4. At my dream journal, I shared Air Conditioner Dream, A Dream About Stealing The Neighbor’s Mail, and No Dreams Last Night!

Click here to check out last week!

Thoughts On The Culture — 10/8/26

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Photography by Erin Nicole

Happy Horrorthon

Hello and welcome to Day 8 of our annual October Horrorthon. I hope everyone is enjoying the horror content that we’ve offered so far. There’s a lot more to come! I was being somewhat flippant when I originally said that I was hoping for 1,000 October posts this year, but still, October is traditionally the month that brings out the site’s prolific side. One of the more interesting things about the horror genre is that there has always been a demand for it. People have always been in the mood for a good scare. Perhaps it helps them deal with reality. If I can handle seeing something scary on a screen, I can handle seeing it on a street corner as well.

I Blame American Horror Story

That said, I do have to say that I worry horror is becoming too “respectable” for its own good. When I was growing up, horror films got terrible reviews and were hated by parents. Today, they get nominated for Oscars, and horror filmmakers are given glowing write-ups in glossy magazines. That just doesn’t feel right to me. The best horror tended to be subversive, rebellious, and fearfully fun, and I fear that’s something that has been lost in this age of “elevated” horror.

Personally, I blame American Horror Story. Ryan Murphy’s deathless series normalized the idea of horror as something you watch in your living room with your family, as opposed to something you watch with all the lights out and the sound turned down so you don’t get in trouble. I’ve always felt that American Horror Story was essentially a horror show that was made by people who think that they’re better than the genre. We’re meant to be impressed that American Horror Story has a political and cultural subtext, as if that weren’t true of thousands of horror productions released before AHS aired its first episode. We’re supposed to be impressed that Jessica Lange and Sarah Paulson are willing to do horror, while ignoring all of the truly talented actors who worked exclusively in the genre before them.

Probably the worst thing that could have happened to the genre was American Horror Story winning that first Emmy for Best Limited Series. True horror doesn’t need awards.

In Praise of Older Movies

With all the controversy surrounding AI, I will say that, speaking for myself, I will always prefer movies with human beings, and I will always prefer practical effects to CGI. I think that’s reflected in the movies that I choose to review. I prefer older movies, and it worries me that those classics are running the risk of being forgotten.

That’s why I’m going to keep reviewing and promoting older films. I’m going to keep watching It’s a Wonderful Life every time it airs, because I know that, as soon as the ratings slip, NBC will use it as an excuse to yank it and replace it with Caroling With Celebs or something similar. And I am going to hold onto my physical media and keep it safe. That doesn’t mean that good films can’t be make use of AI, though I do think that it’s something that will work better for short films than for feature length productions. But my heart will always be with movies starring real people and shot in real locations and I’ll always admire the ingenuity of low-budget filmmakers who managed to make a compelling movie while spending very little money.

In the end, I think the future of AI in the film industry will depend on whether or not the studios feel that they can increase their profits by using it. That’s just the way things work. That said, I also think that there’s something a little bit boring about the inauthentic perfection of Tilly Norwood, and hopefully audiences will agree.

Who Are These People?

I’ve noticed that films are now being advertised with pull quotes taken from Letterboxd and other social media reviews. At the risk of being a snob, that really bothers me. I don’t know who any of these people are. Why should I care what they think about a movie? In the advertising for Backrooms, a Letterboxd user is quoted as saying, “Horror fans are eating good.” What does that even mean? Why should I be impressed that someone couldn’t even come up with something original to say?

Is That It?

That’s it! I hope everyone continues to enjoy Horrorthon and that this October is a great one for you!

Lisa Marie’s Week In Review: 9/28/26 — 10/4/26

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Photographed by Erin Nicole

Happy October!

Four days ago, we launched our annual Horrorthon and I am already exhausted.  That said, it’s totally worth it.  It’s the exhaustion that comes from staying up late, writing your heart out, and creating  something in which you can take pride.  I’m thankful to my collaborators here at the TSL Bunker for their hard work and I am thankful to you for reading.  This is going to be a great October.

With the return of Horrorthon comes the return of my full-scale weeks in review.  Believe it or not, Horrorthon is the entire reason why I started posting these reviews.  When a team of writers is posting over 200 times a week, it can sometimes be easy to miss something.  This review is not meant to be just a link of lists.  Instead, it’s your weekly guide to our favorite time of year.

Here’s what I watched, listened to, and read this week.

Films I Watched:

  1. A Better Tomorrow (1986)
  2. Buried Alive (1989)
  3. The Execution of Gary Glitter (2009)
  4. Happy Gilmore (1996)
  5. The Harbinger (2022)
  6. Live and Let Die (1973)
  7. Mile High Escorts (2020)
  8. The Mutations (1974)
  9. The Pearl of Death (1944)
  10. The Phantom of the Opera (1925)
  11. Planet of the Vampires (1965)
  12. Raiders of the Living Dead (1986)
  13. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
  14. Saved By The Belding (2010)
  15. Shin Godzilla (2016)
  16. Something (2019)
  17. Space Mutiny (1988)
  18. Specters (1987)
  19. The Swan: Behind The Mirror (2026)
  20. Taste of His Own Poison (2025)
  21. Yoga Teacher Killer: The Kaitlin Armstrong story (2024)

Television Shows I Watched:

  1. The Amazing Race
  2. Bar Rescue
  3. Big Brother
  4. Cheaters
  5. The Curse of Degrassi
  6. Doctor Doctor
  7. Fear Itself
  8. Lauren Lake’s Paternity Court
  9. Saved By The Bell: The New Class
  10. SCTV
  11. The Steve Wilkos Show
  12. Survivor
  13. Unsolved Mysteries

Music To Which I Listened:

  1. Adi Ulmansky
  2. Animotion
  3. Barry Adamson
  4. Bill Lloyd
  5. Caleb Flynn
  6. Capyac
  7. The Chemical Brothers
  8. The Cordettes
  9. Concrete Blonde
  10. Cornershop
  11. Crud
  12. Das Mortal
  13. De La Soul
  14. The Decemberist
  15. Dillon Francis
  16. Dirty Heads
  17. ELO
  18. Fatales
  19. Felony
  20. Goblin
  21. J. Geils Band
  22. John Carpenter
  23. junii
  24. Kim Wilde
  25. Lance Owg, Gabriel Rohels, and David Cole
  26. Madonna
  27. Magnet
  28. M/A/R/R/S
  29. Michelle David and the True-Tones
  30. Mike Oldfield
  31. No More Kings
  32. Piper
  33. Radiohead
  34. Raspberries
  35. SAULT
  36. Space
  37. Suzanne Vega
  38. Taylor Swift

Links From Last Week:

  1. Alien! Black Christmas! Carrie! My “A – B – C” Of Shocktober 2026 Begins!
  2. Sweeney’s New Year’s Resolutions – Nine Months In…
  3. The Year in Box Office: 2012  (I think it’s always interesting to take a look back at these things! — LMB)
  4. Dream Journal (10.2.2026)

News From Last Week:

  1. Marjoe Gortner, Child Preacher and Starcrash Actor, Dies at 82
  2. Dennis Haskins Dies At 75
  3. Actress Mary Lou Weller Dies At 80
  4. Venom Frontman Conrad “Cronus” Lant Dies At 63
  5. Saved By The Bell Cast Remembers Dennis Haskins
  6. North Texas Band The Dick Beldings Plan A Tribute To Dennis Haskins
  7. American Idol’ alum Caleb Flynn blubbers as he’s convicted on all counts for killing wife to be with young mistress
  8. Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs living VIP life behind bars with massages, alcohol, nude photos and a cell phone: report
  9. David Fincher Ending Netflix Deal After Six Years and Three Movies, Including ‘Cliff Booth’
  10. Golden Globes Surprise: ‘Obsession’ Submitted for Musical/Comedy Categories  
  11. How Ms. Rachel’s political activism is sparking pushback from parents
  12. Tony Romo Is Officially Out From CBS
  13. Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery Will Be Named Skydance
  14. James Gunn, Peter Safran to Stay at DC Studios as Brand Takes Key Position at Skydance
  15. Warner Bros’ Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy reportedly set to leave studio
  16. ‘Digger,’ Warner Bros.’ Last Release Before Merger, Is a Major Flop

Live Tweets:

  1. A Better Tomorrow
  2. Mile High Escorts
  3. Rambo
  4. Space Mutiny
  5. Live and Let Die
  6. The Harbinger

4 Shots From 4 Films:

  1. Anne Rice
  2. Denis Villeneuve
  3. October 2nd
  4. October 1st
  5. Michael Powell
  6. Nicolas Winding Refn
  7. Horrorthon

Scenes That We Love:

  1. The Omega Man
  2. Silent Rage
  3. The Beyond
  4. The Wicker Man
  5. Suspiria
  6. The Red Shoes
  7. Twin Peaks: The Return
  8. The Sopranos

Songs of the Day:

  1. Lance Owg, Gabriel Rohels, and David Cole
  2. The Decemberists
  3. Magnet
  4. Barry Adamson
  5. ELO
  6. M/A/R/R/S
  7. Adi Ulmansky

Artworks of the Day:

  1. Bizarre
  2. Dime Detective Magazine
  3. Detective Story
  4. Have a Seat
  5. Weird Tales
  6. Weird Tales
  7. The Shadow

Music Videos of the Day:

  1. Concrete Blonde
  2. J. Geils Band
  3. Radiohead
  4. Space
  5. The Bubblemen
  6. Animotion
  7. Kim Wilde

Horrors On The Lens:

  1. Destroy All Planets
  2. Drive In Massacre
  3. Planet of the Vampires
  4. The Phantom of the Opera

Horrors On TV:

  1. Fear Itself 1.3
  2. Fear Itself 1.2
  3. Fear Itself 1.1
  4. The Curse of Degrassi

Links From The Site:

  1. Arleigh reviewed Ninja Assassin, Hellraiser, Dark Night of the Scarecrow, Trick ‘R Treat, A Field In England, The Ritual, and Kill List!
  2. Arleigh profiled artist Franck Besancon!  Arleigh took a look at Pinhead!
  3. Case reviewed They Have Awakened, The Devil’s Mouth, Warning, Hostile Life Detected On A Planet, and They Awakened An Ancient Being In The Sea!
  4. Brad reviewed The Seventh Curse, We’re Going To Eat You, and Macon County Line!
  5. Erin profiled artist Gerard C. Delano and shared the covers of Saturn!
  6. Erin picked a team to cheer for!  She also shared her thoughts on The Turkey Vulture!  And she welcomed you to October!  And then she gave you an update on the MLB postseason!  Yay Erin!
  7. Jeff reviewed Capital Punishment, Judge Dredd, The Ghostmaker, Wonder Woman, Time Walker, Steel, Legion, Hobgoblins, and Man-Thing!
  8. Jeff played and reviewed Crush, Crumble, and Chomp!
  9. Jeff shared a great moment in television history and a great moment in comic book history!
  10. I shared a moment in time.
  11. I shared my Oscar predictions for September and my Thoughts On The Culture!  I took a look at the making of Raiders of the Lost Ark!  I shared my hero of the day, John Nada!
  12. I reviewed Degrassi, Crime Story, CHiPs, Saved By The Bell: The New Class, Pacific Blue, The Love Boat, 1st & Ten, Hunter, Blood Ties, Saved By The Bell, Baywatch, Sledge Hammer, St. Elsewhere, Hunter, and Homicide!
  13. I reviewed Kid 90, Bring Him To Me, Go, The Black Connection, Swingers, Sudden Death, Rambo III, Not Without My Daughter, Wild Style, Dance, A Chorus Line, The Music Machine, o.k., AWOL, The Punk Rock Movie, Devil on Campus, Tony Manero, Nightmare PTA Moms, The Mist, The Bells, Forgiven, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Something, Deadly Manor, Beyond The Seventh Door, Dwight Little’s Phantom of the Opera, The Perfect Boss, Lords of Chaos, Dario Argento’s Phantom of the Opera, Castle of Creeping Flesh, They Live, Gramps Goes to College, In Gramps’ Shoes, Trap, Bikini Guillotine, Hollow Gate, Psychomania, Killing All My Sisters, Suitcase Killer, Ogroff, P2, Gamera vs Viras, War of the Satellites, Slashlorette Party, Psycho Scarecrow, Amityville A.I., She Made Them Do It, Surviving the Sleepover, Amityville La Llorona, City of the Vampires, and Sorority House Guillotine!
  14. I reviewed Season Finale, The Amulet, The Funhouse, First Blood, and The Fury!
  15. I shared weekend watching and weekend reading recommendations!
  16. I shared 6 Trailers for October 2nd!  I also shared a blast from the past with Count Floyd!  I told you about six things that I was looking forward to in October!  I shared a clip of Vincent Price reading a classic poem!  And I shared an AMV of the Day!

More From Us:

  1. For Horror Critic, I reviewed The Devil’s Mouth and Lone Star Shark!
  2. At my music site, I shared songs from The Chordettes, Barry Adamson, Mike Oldfield, and Crud!
  3. At SyFyDesigns, I shared October 1st and Is Live And Let Die An October Film?
  4. At my Dream Journal, I shared Last Night’s Argument With My Dad Dream, Last Night’s Nurse Dream, Last Night’s Cat Dream, and Last Night’s Aunt Dream!
  5. At her photography site, Erin shared Cookies For October (yum!), Wasp Nest (yikes!), A Tower In Dallas, and They’re Coming To Get You!

Click Here For Last Week!

Photographed by Erin Nicole

Welcome To October On The Shattered Lens!

Posted on by Dazzling Erin

by Erin Nicole

Welcome to October on the Shattered Lens!

Here’s hoping this month finds you with joy, family, friends, fiends, ghouls, and ghosts!

Today is also the start of the Shattered Lens’s annual horrorthon!  Sit back, enjoy the reviews, the art, and the music videos, and have a great month of ghoulish fun!

by Erin Nicole

Thoughts On The Culture — 9/30/2026

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

It’s the last day of September and also the last day before the start of our annual October Horrorthon! Here are my latest thoughts on the culture.

Why Do We Have An Entire Month Devoted To Horror?

Why wouldn’t we?

Horrorthon is one of those TSL traditions that I’ve always cherished. This site has been active since 2009. We’ve hosted a lot of different writers with their own unique and individual views of the world. We’ve had film, television, music, and gaming reviews written from every point of view. I’m proud of that. I’m proud that we are a site that values true diversity as opposed to just robotically moving from trend to trend. No matter what else might have been going on here in the TSL Bunker or in the world outside, one thing has always remained consistent. October is for horror.

I love October, but even more importantly, I respect it. At a time when the scolds are trying to ruin everything, October has remained resilient. Halloween has remained pure. For as long as I can remember, people have been trying to cancel Halloween. When I was a kid, it was said that Halloween was some sort of demonic holiday that would lead us all astray. Now, as an adult, it’s coming from people who claim to be traumatized by the sight of someone in a costume. (The truth is that they’re traumatized by the sight of anyone having any sort of fun at all.) Regardless of who was coming after it, Halloween survived. Halloween survived the scolds. It survived the COVID era. It survived the joyless leeches who panic whenever anyone thinks for themselves. Every October, people wear costumes and they watch horror movies and they enjoy getting scared. Halloween survives.

And so do we.

My Plans For October

My initial plans for October were incredibly grandiose and not at all practical. That’s the way things usually go around this time of year. In all honesty, I would be thrilled if we broke our previous record for posts and views over this upcoming October. A thousand posts? That’s a lot of work, but it could happen over the course of 31 days.  I’ve been writing reviews since late August.  For the past week, I’ve been using those song that Caleb Flynn sent his mistress as my writing music.

But last night I realized that October should be fun. And that’s going to be my number one concern this month. My hope is that we’ll all end up loving October together.

What The Hell, Flanagan?

Last night, I read that Mike Flanagan said that he could easily imagine his version of Carrie lasting for three seasons.  So, is it going to take Carrie that long to make it to the prom?  Or is Flanagan talking about exploring the trauma of the survivors?  Stephen King’s original novel ended with a report of a second teenage girl with similar powers.

Well, let me just go on the record as saying that Carrie works because it’s a simple story that can be told in 90 minutes.  It doesn’t need multiple episodes or seasons.

Speaking Of Which….

Watch yourself, Crystal Lake.  It’s nice that you want to bring Jason Voorhees and his mother to a new generation but if you mess this up with a bunch of American Horror Story-style nonsense, there is an army of horror fans who will never forgive you.

We Need To Bring Back Old Timey Horror Hosts

The One Thing That You Need To Have For A Good October

A bag of Reese’s peanut butter cups. Actually, several bags.

What If My Friends Insist That I Spend The Holidays Talking About Politics?

Get better friends.  If I can spend October ignoring James Talarico, so can you.

But What About….

Shhh. Just enjoy the next 31 days.

Don’t Worry, You Three, We’re Coming

Lisa Marie’s Week In Review: 9/21/26 — 9/27/26

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

We’re just three days away from the annual October Horrorthon!  Things are going to get crazy around here and I can’t wait!

Here’s what I watched this week:

Films I Watched:

  1. Above the Limit (1900)
  2. AWOL (1972)
  3. The Black Connection (1974)
  4. Blood, Sweat, and Lies (2018)
  5. Dance (2024)
  6. Go (1999)
  7. The Graduate (1967)
  8. Graduation Day (1981)
  9. Holocaust 2000 (1978)
  10. o.k. (1970)
  11. The Punk Rock Movie (1978)
  12. Rambo III (1988)
  13. Sherlock Holmes and the Spider Woman (1943)
  14. Twin Detective (1976)
  15. Wild Style (1982)

Television Shows I Watched:

  1. 1st & Ten
  2. 2016 MTV Video Music Awards
  3. Big Brother 
  4. Blind Date
  5. Degrassi: The Next Generation
  6. E! True Hollywood Story
  7. Football: Chiefs vs Dolphins
  8. Football: Cowboys vs Ravens
  9. Hunter
  10. Saved By The Bell
  11. SCTV
  12. Sledge Hammer!
  13. Survivor
  14. The Steve Wilkos Show

Live Tweets:

  1. Graduation Day
  2. Blood Sweat and Lies
  3. Rambo III
  4. The Graduate
  5. The Chosen

4 Shots From 4 Films:

  1. Arthur Penn
  2. 2005
  3. Robert Bresson
  4. Bert I. Gordon
  5. 2014
  6. John Woo
  7. Bill Murray

Scenes That We Love:

  1. Sling Blade
  2. Bonnie and Clyde
  3. The Terminator
  4. The Sea Wolf
  5. Wall Street
  6. Empire Records
  7. The Tall T
  8. House on the Edge of the Park
  9. Black Rain
  10. Convoy
  11. Zombieland

Songs of the Day:

  1. Georgie Fame
  2. Olivia Newton-John
  3. Yvonne Elliman
  4. Naked Eyes
  5. Riz Ortolani
  6. John Powell
  7. DJ Judaa

Artworks of the Day:

  1. Liberty
  2. Cavalier
  3. Complete Story
  4. Triple-X
  5. Wild West Weekly
  6. Pirates Comics
  7. Spy Stories

Music Videos of the Day:

  1. Grateful Dead
  2. Beck
  3. Naked Eyes
  4. Rose Tattoo
  5. Talking Heads
  6. Mr. Mister
  7. Information Society

Links From Last Week:

  1. Happy Caturday!
  2. Visiting Calico Ghost Town – A “Wild West” Haunt – Plus An “Airline Boneyard” Too!

News From Last Week:

  1. Singer Pete Byrne Dies At 74
  2. Singer Angry Anderson Dies At 79
  3. Musician Chuck Varga Dies At 68

Links From The Site:

  1. Arleigh profiled artist Alex Maleev and reviewed Volcano, Dante’s Peak, The Distinguished Gentleman, 100 Bullets Vol. 5, The Good The Bad and the Ugly, and The 13th Warrior!
  2. I reviewed Crime Story, CHiPs, Saved By The Bell: The New Class, Pacific Blue, The Love Boat, The Best of Times, St. Elsewhere, Baywatch, Law & Order, and Homicide!
  3. Erin said goodbye to Rangers. : (
  4. Brad shared the trailer for Madden and reviewed The Annihilators!

Click here for last week!

Lisa Marie’s Week In Review: 9/14/26 — 9/20/26

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Here is my week in review!  October is right around the corner!

(Well, two corners.)

Films I Watched:

  1. American Psycho (2000)
  2. Bring Him To Me (2023)
  3. The Devil’s Mouth (2026)
  4. Kid 90 (2021)
  5. Killing All My Sisters (2024)
  6. Lords of Chaos (2018)
  7. The Music Machine (1979)
  8. Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985)
  9. Sherlock Holmes In Washington (1942)
  10. Sudden Death (1995)
  11. Surviving the Sleepover (2024)
  12. Trap (2024)

Television Shows I Watched:

  1. Big Brother
  2. CHiPs
  3. Degrassi: The Next Generation
  4. E! True Hollywood Story
  5. Hunter
  6. Pacific Blue
  7. Saved By The Bell
  8. SCTV
  9. Sledge Hammer!
  10. Turn of the Century

Live Tweets:

  1. Bring Him To Me
  2. Dying For A Bid
  3. Rambo: First Blood Part II
  4. Sudden Death
  5. American Psycho

4 Shots From 4 Films:

  1. Stephen King
  2. David Hess
  3. Striking Films
  4. Edgar G. Ulmer
  5. Guy Hamilton
  6. Jean Renoir
  7. Cinematic

Scenes That We Love:

  1. Four Flies on Grey Velvet
  2. The Full Monty
  3. Used Cars
  4. Band of Outsiders
  5. Ghetto Freaks
  6. Animal Crackers
  7. JFK
  8. King of the Hill

Songs of the Day:

  1. S-50
  2. Duncan Sheik
  3. Joe Pesci
  4. Frank Stallone
  5. James Horner
  6. John Williams
  7. The Wallflowers

Artworks of the Day:

  1. Planet Stories
  2. Spotlight On Sin/Backwoods Shack
  3. Romance Round-Up
  4. Fantastic Adventures
  5. Police Detective Cases
  6. The Long Wait
  7. Argosy

Music Videos of the Day:

  1. Information Society
  2. Duran Duran
  3. Melle Mel
  4. U2
  5. Rick Springfield
  6. Animotion
  7. Sam Kinison

Links From Last Week:

  1. Saying Goodbye To “Beef…” RIP Actor Gerrit Graham…Here Are Two Great Performances…
  2. A Touch of Romance

News From Last Week:

  1. Actor Gerrit Graham Dies at 77
  2. Peter Max Dies At 88
  3. Bob Mackie Dies At 87
  4. Singer/Songwriter Duncan Sheik Dies At 56
  5. Guitarist Chad Gilbert Dies At 45
  6. Paramount Sets California Exit Plans Over Antitrust Battle With Blue States & Stymied $111B WBD Merger
  7. Emmys 2026 Full Recap: Widow’s Bay and The Pitt Win Big amid Host Mariska Hargitay’s Razzle Dazzle and a Taylor Swift Cameo

Links From The Site:

  1. Arleigh reviewed Chicken Run, Hereticus: Eisenhorn, The Cable Guy, Hellboy: Seeds of Destruction, Resident Evil, Unforgiven, and Yurusarezaru Mono!
  2. I reviewed Crime Story, Saved By The Bell: The New Class, The Love Boat, Sylvan in Paradise, St. Elsewhere, Baywatch, and Homicide!

Click here to see what I watched last week!

Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985, dir by George Pan Cosmatos, DP: Jack Cardiff)

Lisa Marie’s Week In Review: 9/7/26 — 9/13/26

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

I was sick and congested for most of this week but I still managed to get a little Horrorthon work done.  Fortunately, as I type this, I’m feeling a lot better.  We’ve two and a half more weeks to go until October, the greatest time of the year!

Here’s what I watched this week:

Films I Watched:

  1. Amish Stud: The Eli Weaver Story (2023)
  2. Devil on Campus: The Larry Ray Story (2024)
  3. First Blood (1982)
  4. 4o Watts From Nowhere (2025)
  5. Happy Gilmore (1996)
  6. Matinee (1993)
  7. Office Space (1999)
  8. The Omega Syndrome (1986)
  9. Psycho Sister-In-Law (2020)
  10. Saturn 3 (1980)
  11. Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon (1942)

Television Shows I Watched:

  1. Big Brother
  2. Degrassi: The New Generation
  3. Hunter
  4. Pacific Blue
  5. Saved By The Bell
  6. SCTV
  7. Sledge Hammer!

Live Tweets:

  1. The Omega Syndrome
  2. Sinister Sister
  3. First Blood
  4. Matinee
  5. Saturn 3

4 Shots From 4 Films:

  1. Being Watched
  2. Surreal
  3. Brian De Palma
  4. Fred Olen Ray
  5. James Dean
  6. Star Trek
  7. Elia Kazan

Scenes That We Love:

  1. Veep
  2. Dallas
  3. The Untouchables
  4. Scarface
  5. The Day The Earth Stood Still
  6. Happy Gilmore
  7. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
  8. Deep Red

Songs Of The Day:

  1. Donovan
  2. John Williams
  3. Moby
  4. Ennio Morricone
  5. Riz Ortolani
  6. James Horner
  7. C.W. McCall

Artworks of the Day:

  1. Irene’s Room
  2. Detective Story
  3. World Trade Center Under Construction
  4. La Paree
  5. Dime Detective Magazine
  6. All Detective Magazine
  7. Road Work Ahead

Music Video of the Day:

  1. Bauhaus
  2. Black Sabbath
  3. Lenny Kravitz
  4. John Waite
  5. Frank Black
  6. Metallica
  7. Dire Straits

Erin’s Labor Day Fun:

  1. Happy Labor Day From The Shattered Lens
  2. Celebrate Labor Day With These Patriotic Posters
  3. Celebrate Labor Day With Baseball
  4. Celebrate Labor Day With The Pulps

Links From Last Week:

  1. “I Play Rocky!” The True Story Of Sylvester Stallone’s “One In A Million” Life!
  2. Perchance to (Day)dream

News From Last Week:

  1. Director David Worth Dies
  2. Guitarist Cheetah Chrome Dies
  3. Producer Jeremy Thomas Dies
  4. Actor Mike McFarland Dies

Links From the Site:

  1. I reviewed Homicide, Baywatch, St. Elsewhere, Darke of the Night, 1st & Ten, The Love Boat, Saved By The Bell: The New Class, Crime Story, and CHiPs!
  2. I posted a new edition of Thoughts On The Culture!
  3. Arleigh reviewed Flight of the Navigator, The Last Starfighter, The Blood of Dawnwalker, The Adventures of Brisco County Jr,
  4. Arleigh paid tribute to Ash Williams!
  5. Brad reviewed Hope and paid tribute to Labor Day!
  6. Erin reviewed Raygun and A League of their Own!

Click here to see what I watched last week!

Thoughts On The Culture — 9/11/26

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

It’s Been A While

It’s been two months since I last did one of these. With October approaching and horror movies demanding my attention, I decided to get at least one essay in here before the ghosts and the goblins take over for a month. Fair warning: This is not one of my happier editions of Thoughts On The Culture (and some of the earlier drafts were even angrier!) but these are some things that I’ve been trying to say for a few years now. If not now, when?

25 Years Ago

Every September 11th I decide I am going to write about the anniversary, and almost every year I give up after a few sentences. After the first few sentences, I always find myself getting too angry to continue.

There were 2,977 official victims of 9/11. And then there are the people who died in the days, months, years, and decades afterward, some from illnesses related to the toxic dust at the scene, some from the depression and anxiety that followed the attacks, and many in the wars that were fought after the attack. The world changed that morning. That is a difficult thing to deal with in one essay.

I know that a lot of my friends who are a bit more on the Left than me get upset with the patriotic rituals that surround the anniversary. That is because 9/11 sits badly with their preferred narrative, the idea that America is always at fault, that terrorists are simply activists trying to be heard, and that a capitalist society like this one is always one disaster away from collapse.

9/11 showed something else. I do not care if you dislike American foreign policy. That does not justify killing nearly three thousand innocent people. Subsequent investigations did not reveal saintly militants with a message. They revealed a crew of men whose ideas about sex and morality looked to be permanently stuck in early adolescence. And America did not collapse. That day is full of stories of heroism and sacrifice from the kind of ordinary Americans who usually don’t get much respect from our leaders. A society in which people have individual freedom does not come apart because of a disaster. Meanwhile, to take two countries long beloved by the anti-American Left, Venezuela couldn’t survive the loss of Hugo Chavez and Cuba’s power grid cannot even handle a visit from Hasan Piker.

Heroism

Actor Steve Buscemi was an FDNY firefighter with Engine 55 from 1980 to 1984.  The day after the attacks, Buscemi put on his old uniform and worked 12-hour shifts for days on end. He did not have his people alert the media. He did not brag about it later. He did it because he thought it was his duty. A lot of other people, who were not famous, did the same. Father Mychal Judge, a fire department chaplain, died while praying over the bodies of those who had crashed down to the streets. The passengers of UA 93 fought back and, at the cost of their own lives, prevented one of the planes from crashing into the U.S. Capitol. That was America on September 11th.

A Few Words From My Father

My dad thought the attacks showed how weak the terrorists actually were. As he put it, flying a plane into a building does not take a genius. It just takes someone willing to do it. He was not intimidated. He took the lack of immediate follow-up attacks to mean the whole operation was sloppier than it looked on television. He thought the terrorists had gotten lucky, and that their leaders would be blown to oblivion soon enough. At the time, everyone assumed he was wrong. “Well, not many people agree with you on that,” one of my cousins said. It turned out my father was largely right.

Who Is More Traumatized?

This week, on Twitter or X or whatever you want to call it, a lot of Zoomers have been complaining that 9/11, an event which they were not even around for, is getting too much attention, and that the COVID years were actually the worst trauma.

The trauma from 9/11 came from not knowing what the future held, and from the feeling that another attack could come at any moment. On 9/11, even those of us who did not live in New York watched the attacks unfold on television. I saw people jumping to their deaths. I saw, and heard, the towers fall. Those images have never left. On that day, they were in the whole country’s head. As for COVID, how traumatized you were depended a great deal on which state you were living in. Not everyone was set free from the lockdowns at the same time.

The weird thing, to me, is this attitude that trauma is a competition. Nothing seems to scare certain people more than the fact that not everyone looks at the world the same way they do.

Is It Okay To Lighten The Mood?

It’s always okay to lighten the mood. In fact, I think there are times when writers have a duty to lighten the mood. Sometimes, I think it’s too tempting (and perhaps too easy) to simply obsess on the bad at the expense of the good. It’s easy to focus on the darkness but we need to be willing to accept that there are reasons to be happy as well. For instance, Big Brother is nearly over. Seriously, this has been a very frustrating season of the show that I love to moderately dislike. This season hasn’t so much been bad as it’s just been overwhelmingly bland. It’s not good enough to get excited about but it’s not really bad enough to hate. Fortunately, it’ll all be over on October 1st, just in time to celebrate the scary season!

Admittedly, this is mostly good news for me and my friend Jim. I introduced him to Big Brother last season and I don’t think he’s ever going to forgive me.

On a Happier Note

Let’s end this edition on a hopeful note. I am already busy watching and reviewing films for this year’s Horrorthon. October is my favorite time of the year, and I look forward to celebrating it with all of you!