The TSL Horror Grindhouse: House of the Damned (dir by Maury Dexter)

Posted on October 7, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

1963’s House of the Damned tells the story of an isolated mansion. It’s a place that many people have tried to live in but no one has ever been willing to stick around for too long. There are rumors that the mansion is haunted. In fact, you could even make the claim that the mansion is a house of the damned! Of course, we all know that there’s no such thing as ghosts, right?

Joseph Schiller (Richard Crane), the new owner of the mansion, calls architect Scott Campbell (Rob Foster) and tells him to go up to the house and check the place out. Scott points out that he was planning on celebrating his anniversary with his wife, Nancy (Merry Anders). Joseph say that there is no better way to celebrate an anniversary than to visit a house that might be haunted. Scott and Nancy (who is amazingly understanding) head for the house, where all sorts of strange things happen.

What type of strange things? Keys disappear. There are weird noises. Sometimes, it seems like something or someone might be lurking in the shadows. Could the house be haunted? While Scott and Nancy try to figure out what’s going on, Joseph shows up with his wife, Loy (Erika Peters). When Loy disappears, it becomes obvious that something is happening in the house of the damned!

House of the Damned is a briskly paced and occasionally effective haunted house story. It was directed by Maury Dexter, who was a director who was so fast and so capable of stretching a low budget that, at his best, he gave Roger Corman a run for his money. House of the Damned is only 63 minutes long and the film’s story isn’t particularly complex but Dexter still manages to create a properly ominous atmosphere and he does keep you guessing as to whether or not the house is actually haunted. The house itself was the former estate of infamous gangster Bugsy Siegel. Dexter reportedly spent ten days filming the movie at the Spiegel estate. Hopefully, he was not bothered by Bugsy’s ghost.

None of the characters are particularly well-developed but they are well-cast and the actors are all likable. The best performance comes from Erika Peters, who plays Loy as being slightly self-absorbed but ultimately good-hearted. She also gets to wear a bathing suit that is simply to die for. This film also features a very early performance from the great Richard Kiel, playing “The Giant.” It’s always nice to see Richard Kiel in a movie. Shortly before he passed away in 2014, Kiel visited my Alamo Drafthouse for a showing of The Spy Who Loved Me. Though it was obvious that he wasn’t in great health, he still took time to answer questions and to show off a rather charming smile. When a certain redhead told him that she loved him in a beloved 90s golf comedy, he smiled and said, “I believe that jacket belongs to Mr. Gilmore.”

House of the Damned was a nice surprise. We need more 62-minute films.

Horror Game Review: Voodoo Castle (1979, Alexis Adams)

Posted on October 7, 2026 by Jedadiah Leland

Count Christo has been cursed by his enemies and is currently in a coma. Your job is to search his castle and gather together both the clues and the equipment necessary to reverse the spell. If you take too long you might get hit by the curse as well. So, don’t waste any time!

Sometimes, I miss the simple and innocent text-adventure games that used to be a mainstay for personal computers. I’ll get nostalgic for the puzzles and the simple commands of “n, w, e, s.” I miss the familiar pattern of: “Get object,” “Look object,” and “Inventory,” to make sure that you still had the object with you. I’ll fondly remember when you could play and beat a game without having to spend hours sitting in front of a screen.

Then I’ll remember how frustrated I used to get with games like Voodoo Castle. Like many of the early test adventures, Voodoo Castle takes a bare-bones approach to story-telling. Later editions came with simple graphics but, even then, it never really made you feel as if you were actually a part of the story. Searching the castle isn’t a problem. Figuring out how to cast a spell when the game’s parser can only understand two words at a time is the bigger frustration. There’s at least one puzzle where the game itself specifically tells you what to type and for that, I was thankful. Good luck figuring out what to type to cast the spell necessary to awaken Count Christo, though.

Voodoo Castle is available to download from a lot of abandonware sites. There’s also a buggy version on the Internet Archive, which loads slowly and gets hit by errors. The best thing about the version on the Archive is that it opens with an open letter from Scott Adams, the husband of the game’s author, in which he encourages you not to give the game to your friends.

Before anyone panics, this game is no longer for sale and Adventure International no longer exists so you can safely download Voodoo Castle or share it with friends if you wants. I still wish I had seen this message when I was younger. I had no idea I was a pirate. I feel guilty now.

Great Moments In Comic Book History #47: Classic Comics Series Featuring #28

Posted on October 7, 2026 by Jedadiah Leland

From 1976 to 1978, Marvel published a comic book with an unwieldy name. Each issue of Classic Comics Series Featuring adapted a piece of classic literature. In 1977, the #28 issue featured the work of Edgar Allan Poe. Three stories were adapted: The Pit and the Pendulum, The Tell-Tale Heart, and The Cask of Amontillado.

In doing so, they gave us one of the best covers of the 1970s horror boom.

Credit for that goes to Gene Colan, Tom Palmer, and Danny Crespi.

Inside the comic, readers would find this image of a man not only tied beneath the pendulum but also covered in hundreds of rats.

Credit for that memorable image goes to Rudy Messina.

Fredric Wertham was not available for comment.

Previous Great Moments In Comic Book History:

G.I. Joe: The Revenge of Cobra (1984, directed by Dan Thompson)

Posted on October 7, 2026 by Jedadiah Leland

“G.I. Joe is the code name for America’s daring, highly trained special mission force. Its purpose: to defend human freedom against Cobra, a ruthless terrorist organization determined to rule the world!”

It’s good to see that some things never change. Land, sea, or air, G.I. Joe is there! If Cobra ceased to exist, would G.I. Joe be disbanded? It seems strange that G.I. Joe is apparently the only opponent Cobra has, especially when you consider that Cobra is an international organization. Is there a British version of G.I. Joe?

Those questions and a lot more were not answered in the second G.I. Joe animated five-episode miniseries, The Revenge of Cobra. This time, Cobra steals a special laser from G.I. Joe and uses it to power a weather machine. As usual, Destro does all the work, and then Cobra Commander ruins everything by pushing the machine too far. The machine breaks into three separate pieces, all of which land in different and very dangerous parts of the world and continue to create havoc. The Joes and Cobra fight to retrieve the three parts. Duke, meanwhile, gets captured again and ends up fighting in the arena of the Cobra Temple again.

It’s the same basic plot as G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, just with more emphasis on showing off all of the toys that the audience could then demand their parents buy them. This episode features Zartan and his Dreadnoks, and whenever they’re on screen, they might as well have a price tag on their foreheads, because who wouldn’t want to be Cobra’s master of disguise?

In G.I. Joe terms, a five-part miniseries is the equivalent of a 90-minute film. There’s a lot of action packed into those 90 minutes, and there’s a cliffhanger every 18 minutes. The animation is sleeker than in A Real American Hero, but it’s still clunky in that ’80s way that will either make you feel nostalgic or bored. Snake Eyes is given next to nothing to do, which is a mistake, because everyone knows Snake Eyes and Scarlett were the only members of the team who really mattered. If you watch, be prepared to hear “Yo Joe!” every two minutes.

There are a lot of battles in The Revenge of Cobra, but no one ever dies or is even seriously injured. What would G.I. Joe and Cobra do without each other?

The Immortalizer (1989, directed by Joel Bender)

Posted on October 7, 2026 by Jedadiah Leland

Dr. Divine Will See You Now!

Dr. Divine (Ron Ray) has a successful practice going in his heavily guarded clinic. The mixed-up mutants and rednecks who work for him go out into the city and bash attractive 20-year-olds on the head. They drag them back to the clinic, where old people pay a million dollars to have their brains put into younger bodies.

“If you’ve been thinking about plastic surgery, Dr. Divine would like to change your mind!”

Dr. Divine has a point. Why get plastic surgery when you can just pay a million dollars to have your brain scooped out of your skull and stuffed into someone else’s head? Laugh at the plot all you want. Jordan Peele won an Oscar for coming up with the same basic story. Of course, The Immortalizer doesn’t have any of the subtext of Get Out. In fact, it doesn’t have any subtext at all, beyond the fact that everyone wants a body that’s healthier than the one they’ve got.

Gregg (Chris Crone) is among those abducted. He manages to escape from the clinic, but he struggles to get anyone to take him seriously when he tells them about what’s happening. Eventually, he does get some help, but will it be in time to save his friends?

This is very much a direct-to-video, late-’80s horror film, complete with big hair, bad acting, and gratuitous nudity to go along with the lengthy shots of the brain surgery. The doctor worries about the bodies getting damaged, but he’s the one who is opening up people’s heads and moving brains around. That’s going to leave scars. It’s fun in the nonsensical way that most late-night Cinemax horror films were fun. It’s on Tubi, and it’s a nostalgia rush, even if the title does sound like the name of a minor Marvel comic villain.

Spider-Man vs. The Immortalizer? My money is on Spider-Man. He’s been around since 1962, and he’s still only in his 20s. Who needs brain surgery when you’ve got radioactive spiders?

Brad spends some time ON THE LINE (2022) with Mel Gibson!

Posted on October 7, 2026 by Bradley Crain

As far back as I can remember I’ve been a fan of Mel Gibson. I also truly believe that the LETHAL WEAPON series is one of the greatest action franchises of all time. Of course, part of that could be because it meant so much to me when I was growing up. I remember renting the original action classic with my family when we were on a spring break vacation at a resort in Hot Springs. I was 16 when part 2 became a huge hit in the late summer of 1989, and one of my first real dates was to see the film at the theater. Part 3 didn’t have as lasting an impact, but part 4 introduced me to the action legend Jet Li. Needless to say, if the long-rumored part 5 ever materializes, I’ll be there.

So, when I recently came across the thriller ON THE LINE (2022) on Netflix, I was happy to see Gibson back in a leading man role that appears to give him a chance to have some real fun. Here, he plays Elvis Cooney, a controversial late-night radio host whose show takes a serious turn when a distraught caller threatens to murder his family if he doesn’t play a dangerous game with him. What begins as any other night at the station turns deadly, with Elvis trying to figure out who he’s dealing with and just how far he’s willing to go.

One of the things I’ve always liked about Gibson is his ability to play characters who can be funny, obnoxious, and downright nuts, sometimes all at the same time. He brings plenty of that crazy personality to Elvis, who often comes off as a complete A-hole. But Gibson has a way of making even a real jerk entertaining to watch, and I enjoyed seeing him carry this film. I’ll just say this right now, if you don’t like Gibson, this is probably not the movie for you. He’s the primary reason to watch. I know Gibson has had some very public controversies over the years, and I certainly don’t condone some of his actions. But that doesn’t change the fact that this guy, his performances, and his movies were a staple of those early years when I was falling in love with cinema.

ON THE LINE reminded me a little of THE GAME (1997), the David Fincher thriller starring Michael Douglas and Sean Penn. Both films use the lead character’s birthday to set into motion an elaborate deception. I don’t want to give away this film’s surprises, and I’m certainly not suggesting that it’s nearly as accomplished as THE GAME, but I found it interesting that the two movies brought those same thoughts to my mind.

Is ON THE LINE a great movie? I wouldn’t go that far, and I’m sure there are plenty of folks who may feel cheated by the twisty ending(s). While I understand all of that, I’m the kind of viewer who doesn’t need every movie I watch to be a masterpiece. First and foremost, I’m a fan of actors, and I enjoy having a chance to see Mel Gibson being the true lead in a film that allows him to shine. That goes a long way with me.

Backrooms, Horror Film Review by Case Wright

Posted on October 7, 2026 by casewright

I actually thought that I reviewed “Backrooms” already, but I had not. However, since it is October, it’s a perfect time to review this …. story. The fanbase is Star Wars-level obsessive and just because I don’t particularly care for something, it doesn’t mean it’s terrible- it usually does, but maybe this time is different. I can’t be correct – all the time…. or can I?

This film started as a 4chan post that went viral and the writer/director Kane Parsons built his life around this 4chan post. Then, he went all found footage on its ass. From the age of sixteen to twenty, his entire life was devoted to this magical world that looks a lot like a cubicle farm without the cubicles. The backrooms is a place where you expect to see sad data entry professionals working in sweatshop conditions. Maybe the backrooms is really just a front for an H1-B scam? Whenever a person enters the backrooms, all the workers are gone; so, maybe they used the backrooms as a means to move around their illegal data entry group and things got out of hand, creating a H1-B multiverse?

The film’s quantum mechanics are very intricate, but the movie itself has a very thin plot like saran wrap thin. Backrooms is 95% lore and the plot exists just to have more scenes wandering around the backrooms. Clark is the vehicle we use to get into the backrooms; he is the protagonist – sort of. He is an abusive alcoholic and failed architect who likely killed his wife. He also runs a furniture store and has employees who hate him, but that’s pretty normal for Clark because Clark is an asshat. In fact, his asshattery is so well-developed that even his therapist thinks he’s a boring jerk.

During one of his self-loathing sessions, Clark goes to his store’s basement and tries to do some electricity maintenance and he falls through a portal in his wall to …. wait for it…the backrooms! They basically look like the same room that he was in, but crappier and there are infinite backroom dimensions and quasi-fake people who you can eat- if you want. Apparently, it is okay to go Dahmer on these freaky people because they are “still lifes” – copies of copies of the earth prime people- I think.

He tells his therapist about the backrooms and she checks them out and nearly dies. I would have avoided this adventure and I would’ve been just fine. Clark, unlike me, becomes obsessed with the backrooms, gets his employees to explore them with him, and all the employees die because of a monster or because Clark eats them. Yes, Clark is a quasi-cannibal or a full-on cannibal or he is long pig curious. Don’t worry, Clark is stopped because he gets eaten by a paper mache version of himself. I always knew that arts and crafts were the devil’s workshop.

You could say that the backrooms are a Clark eat Clark world….

If you want to understand the backrooms, be prepared to have A LOT of homework like D&D dungeon master levels of homework!

Horror On The Lens: Robot Monster (dir by Phil Tucker)

Posted on October 7, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

I love this movie!

In this 1953 film, a gorilla wearing a diving helmet uses the Calcinator Death Ray to wipe out almost all human life on Earth. Only 8 people survive, among them a professor, his family, and Roy (future Eurospy star, George Nader). Ro-Man (George Barrows) is hounded by his superior to track down and destroy the survivors. Ro-Man does his best, though the humans prove to be …. well, they’re not really that resourceful. In fact, they’re pretty dumb. But Ro-Man is pretty dumb himself.

Regularly (and incorrectly) cited as being one of the worst films ever made, Robot Monster is an enjoyably absurd hybrid of horror and science fiction. Earth is destroyed through a combination of bad lighting effects and stock footage and the arguments between Ro-Man and his superior have to be heard to be believed. Robot Monster is actually a bit more self-aware than a lot of people realize. This is a low-budget Z-movie that realizes that it’s a low-budget Z-movie and which cheerfully embraces its identity. Robot Monster is a personal favorite and it’s a bit of Halloween tradition around these parts.

And now, enjoy Robot Monster in all of its black-and-white glory!

Horror Song of the Day: Buio Omega by Goblin

Posted on October 7, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Today’s horror song of the day comes from the 1979 film, Beyond The Darkness.

This film’s theme song, courtesy of Goblin, was so acclaimed that it later turned up in several other Italian horror film, usually without anyone bothering to credit Goblin. In this video below, it’s performed by the members of Goblin Reborn, who should not be confused with the members of Claudio Simonetti’s Goblin or Goblin Legacy.

(I swear, the members of prog rock bands are almost as difficult to keep track of as the minor members of European royalty.)

As for the image behind the band, that is Cinzia Monreale, who played two roles in Beyond The Darkness.

Horror Scenes That I Love: Cheatin’ Harry Gets Grabbed In Attack of the 50 Foot Woman

Posted on October 7, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

From 1958’s Attack of the 50 Foot Woman, Harry discovers that cheaters never get away with it. Especially when they’re cheating on someone who is 50 feet tell….