X-Men (2000, directed by Bryan Singer)

Posted on October 15, 2026 by Jedadiah Leland

I saw X-Men on the first day that it opened in theaters. Actually, I saw it twice.

The first time I saw it was by myself. I had been planning on waiting to see it in the evening with my friends Johnny and Kyleigh, but I actually found myself with a few hours to spare, so I decided to go ahead and see it. I watched it in the later afternoon and, after that showing got out, I met up with Johnny and Kyleigh outside the theater and went straight back in.

It’s hard to describe what a big deal the X-Men movie was in 2000. This was before there was a new Marvel movie or show every three months. It was also at a time when comic book movies, following the failure of Batman and Robin, were no longer considered to be a sure thing. Johnny and I were lifelong Marvel fans and, having survived the trauma of The Phantom Menace, were very much looking forward to the X-Men movie. We knew that both Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen were the perfect choices for Professor X and Magneto. Anna Paquin seemed like a good choice for Rogue. But would Hugh Jackman, an actor neither of us had heard of before, be able to bring Wolverine to life?

Even though we both rolled our eyes when we heard that Rogue’s name was apparently Marie, Johnny and I were shocked at how good X-Men was. Today, we take it for granted that comic books can be turned into movies, but in 2000, X-Men took us by surprise by being well-acted, well-directed, and surprisingly entertaining. Kyleigh was not a fan of comic books in general and she liked the movie considerably less than we did. (“Dr. Wheelchair” was her name for Charles Xavier.) But for Marvel fans, X-Men was the anti-Phantom Menace.

Looking back, the plot felt like it could have been lifted from the pages of the comic book. Sen. Robert Kelly (Bruce Davison) is leading a national political movement against the mutants. Magneto has created a machine that will induce mutations in human beings. (The movie opens with a flashback that establishes Magneto as a survivor of the Holocaust. Today, everyone knows his backstory, but in 2000, people were stunned that a comic book movie could also deal with reality.) Magneto and Professor X both try to recruit Rogue to their side, and Wolverine, as Rogue’s protector, reveals his claws and reluctantly becomes a member of the X-Men.

When X-Men was first released, Hugh Jackman was the big question mark, but he turned out to be the perfect choice for Wolverine, even if he did seem to be too tall for the role. Jackman was tough and surly and somehow, he looked credible with claws. He was everything that fans like me wanted out of Wolverine and, once he showed up, I knew it was going to be a good movie. Not surprisingly, Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen were perfect for Xavier and Magneto, as was Anna Paquin as Rogue. Though they’re overshadowed by Stewart, McKellen, Jackman, and Paquin, the other members of the X-Men are played by James Marsden (Scott), Famke Janssen (Jean Grey), and Halle Berry (Storm). Ray Park plays Toad, Tyler Mane plays Sabretooth, and Rebecca Romijn-Stamos excited male viewers everywhere by playing the naked and blue Mystique.

A lot of time has passed since 2000. An entire Marvel Cinematic Universe was created that did not initially include the X-Men, though that has since changed. Bryan Singer is no longer on the A-list. But I still always look fondly on the day that I watched X-Men twice.

Leprechaun: Origins (2014, directed by Zach Lipovsky)

Posted on October 15, 2026 by Jedadiah Leland

Two young American couples are hiking through Ireland when they come across a small town that is under the control of the Leprechaun (now played by wrestler Dylan “Hornswoggle” Postl). Long ago, the villagers stole all of the Leprechaun’s gold. In order to make it up to the Leprechaun, they have to sacrifice at least two humans a year. Usually, they sacrifice travelers that no one will miss, but at least one villager has become disillusioned with the practice. As for the Leprechaun, he’s finally escaped from where he was being held prisoner.

Nope.

After Leprechaun: Back 2 tha Hood, it took eleven years to make another Leprechaun movie, and this is what they came up with. There’s no Warwick Davis, even though he was (and is) still alive and working. There’s none of the humor that, in the previous films, provided a distraction from how stupid the plot usually was. There’s really not even a Leprechaun, or at least not the type of leprechaun who was in the previous movies. This one is just a generic monster. None of the past Leprechaun movies were that good, but most of them were watchable because of Warwick Davis and his scary but campy leprechaun makeup. Even setting the film in Ireland doesn’t help things. As dumb as it was to have the Leprechaun showing up in places like North Dakota and outer space, at least it was enjoyably weird.

Jennifer Aniston did not risk her life fighting Warwick Davis just for a movie like this to be made 21 years later.

Retro Television Review: The Ghost Writer (dir by Adam Rafkin)

Posted on October 15, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Welcome to Retro Television Reviews, a feature where we review some of our favorite and least favorite shows of the past! This Thursday, I will be reviewing Ghost Writer, which was produced for Fox in 1990. The show can be found on YouTube!

Episode 1.1 “Pilot”

(Dir by Adam Rafkin, originally aired on August 15th, 1990)

Elizabeth (Leigh Taylor-Young) is the new wife of famous horror writer Anthony Strack (Anthony Perkins). Elizabeth and her daughter, Cindy (Juliet Sorci), have just moved into Anthony’s mansion, and it’s taking both of them some time to adjust. Anthony is a workaholic but, as he informs his new family, he’s not a psycho. Elizabeth is disturbed by the strange housekeeper (Pam Matteson) and the picture of Anthony’s late first wife that hangs over the fireplace. Cindy is creeped out by her stepbrother, Edgar (Joshua John Miller, who also played a teen vampire in Near Dark and the obnoxious brother in Teen Witch). After Edgar plays a few pranks and then runs off to the cemetery, Anthony realizes that, instead of worrying about how to finish his latest book, he needs to be spending time with his family. Anthony even takes down the picture of his dead wife. Of course, this leads to his first wife’s skeleton rising up through the staircase. She and Anthony share one final dance, and Anthony declares that he now knows how his book is going to end.

This was a pilot that was not turned into a series. I watched it twice before writing this review. The first time I watched it, it was pretty obvious to me why it wasn’t picked up. A lot of the humor fell flat, and Anthony Perkins, who would die two years after this aired, looked tired and unwell. Too many of the jokes were jokes only because Perkins was the one saying them. That said, when I watched it a second time, I saw that, for all of its flaws, the pilot was actually rather sweet-natured, and it probably could have made for a good series if the show had been given an opportunity to develop. Anthony dancing with his wife’s remains and then dedicating his book to her worked surprisingly well. That said, even on a second viewing, Perkins still didn’t seem particularly comfortable delivering sitcom-style one-liners. If ever a role called out for Roddy McDowall, it was the role of Anthony Strack.

I can see why this pilot didn’t become a series, but it did have potential. If nothing else, Ghost Writer is a more than appropriate way to kill 23 minutes in October.

A Blast From The Past: Tip O’Neill’s 3D House of Representatives

Posted on October 15, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Hey, kids! This week, it looks like Count Floyd has a real scary one! Sit back and watch this preview for Tip O’Neill’s 3D House Of Representatives!

(This blast from the past comes to us from SCTV and the year 1983.)

Horror Film Review: Black Friday (dir by Casey Tebo)

Posted on October 15, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Black Friday! It’s an unofficial holiday, or at least it was until the COVID lockdowns screwed up everyone’s spending priorities. After spending Thanksgiving with family, eating turkey, and maybe watching a football game or two, people gather outside of their favorite stores and wait for the doors to open. When those doors open, the crowd rushes into the store with the energy of a riot. Getting in the store first presumably means that you’ll be the first to clear all of the marked-down merchandise off of the shelves. It’s your chance to get a good start on shopping for Christmas. If anyone gets in your way, knock them down. If anyone tries to grab what you’re trying to grab, beat them over the head with Junior’s future Christmas gift. Black Friday is a time when you have to be ruthless. Sure, you could just do all of your shopping online, but then you have to hope that your gifts actually arrive on time and without anyone else opening them. My sisters and I used to love Black Friday, though it’s been a while since we’ve participated. To be honest, I imagine it’s one of those traditions that will soon end. New generations will never know the joy of fighting over a silverware set.

That said, as much as customers love Black Friday and as much as business executives enjoy the extra money, I imagine it really has to suck for the poor people who actually work at the stores. I mean, you’re basically giving up your holiday weekend so that you can deal with a bunch of entitled jerks who think that the world is going to end unless they get the perfect gift, and they’re willing to get into a fight and potentially damage merchandise to do it. It has to suck, cleaning and straightening up after a human tornado has torn through your store. That’s why my sisters and I always went out of our way to not make too much of a mess and to pick up after ourselves on Black Friday.

That said, I don’t think that there’s much that we could have done to help out the crew in 2021’s Black Friday. The employees of We Love Toys already know that, as a toy store, they’re going to get hit hard. What they don’t expect is that a virus is going to break out and it’s going to turn the shoppers and anyone bitten by a shopper into the equivalent of a bloodthirsty zombie. The employees soon find themselves trapped in their store, forced to use toys as weaponry. Fortunately, their manager is played by Bruce Campbell, but Bruce isn’t playing Ash Williams here. Instead, he’s just playing a store manager who made the mistake of opening the doors on Black Friday.

Black Friday is occasionally amusing. I liked the fact that it was occasionally difficult to tell the difference between the infected lunatics and the crazed shoppers. I imagine the film itself would be a bit of wish-fulfillment for anyone who has ever worked in a store on Black Friday. It’s not a classic by any means. Some of the characters are a bit underwritten. But it does have Bruce Campbell, and you can’t go wrong there!

Anyway, this Black Friday, remember to be polite to the people who are just trying to collect a paycheck. They deserve to enjoy their holiday too.

Brad plays HIDE AND SEEK (2005), starring Robert De Niro & Dakota Fanning!

Posted on October 15, 2026 by Bradley Crain

I’m a big fan of Robert De Niro, and I think it all started because of the movie MIDNIGHT RUN (1988). I was only 14 years old when it came out, but it was everything I wanted in a movie, which was primarily great action, with a dash of fun comedy. I was soon seeking out all of his great work, whether it be with Coppola, Scorsese, De Palma, or even Roger Corman. Well, just this evening, as I was browsing through Amazon Prime’s selection of horror films, I came across HIDE AND SEEK. Since I’d never seen it before, and it looked kind of creepy, I thought I’d give it a chance.

De Niro plays David Callaway, a psychologist who is struggling to cope with the death of his wife. He moves with his young daughter, Emily (Dakota Fanning), to a house out in the country in upstate New York, hoping that a change of scenery will help them both recover from their loss. Unfortunately, Emily begins acting strangely, talking about an imaginary friend named Charlie. Before long, David finds himself dealing with a series of increasingly disturbing events that seem to have something to do with this mysterious friend.

I’ve always enjoyed a good psychological thriller, especially one that keeps you guessing about what’s going on. HIDE AND SEEK is one of those movies that wants to freak you out and make you question whether or not you can trust what you’re seeing, or any of the people involved. Of course this being a psychological thriller, you can’t really trust anyone, especially the people who pretend to care the most.

Dakota Fanning is excellent as Emily. I’ve always held her performance in the great Denzel Washington film, MAN ON FIRE (2004), in high regard as an example of how great a child actress can be. Here, I think she does a good job of making Emily seem both vulnerable and a little scary at times. De Niro is also effective, particularly as the story gradually reveals more about the relationship between him and his daughter. The supporting cast, which includes Famke Janssen, Amy Irving, and especially Elisabeth Shue, adds to the mystery surrounding the film. I just like seeing Elisabeth Shue in any film, because I’ve had a crush on her since the fifth grade.

HIDE AND SEEK is the kind of thriller that depends on its twists and turns, and whether or not we’re willing to go along. I will say that I enjoyed the watching the story unfold, even when the ending doesn’t come off quite as clever as the filmmakers had hoped. My final verdict is that it’s an entertaining film with strong central performances from De Niro and Fanning. I enjoy movies that give me something to think about while I’m watching them, and this one kept me interested in finding out what was really going on. It was a fun watch on dark night in October.

Moments #38: Three Dolls

Posted on October 15, 2026 by Dazzling Erin

My mom owned over a thousand dolls, all of which now divided amongst her daughters. These three dolls are from mom’s collection. They’re currently in a little building in our backyard.

By Erin Nicole

That building has several hundred dolls in it, all waiting to greet anyone who steps inside. Some people think that dolls are creepy but I’ve never understood why. Is it just because their eyes follow you wherever you go? Is it just because they’re always smiling? I occasionally go on Ebay to look at the dolls that are being sold and it’s funny how many of them are described as being potentially haunted or moving on their own. Most dolls are harmless, as long as you don’t get on their bad side.

Previous Moments:

The Covers of The Magazine Of Horror

Posted on October 15, 2026 by Dazzling Erin

From 1963 to 1971, 36 issues were published of The Magazine Of Horror. The magazine paid homage to pulp magazines of the 1920s and 30s and each issue mixed new stories with reprints from authors like H.P. Lovecraft, Clark Ashton Smith, H.G. Wells, Ambrose Bierce, and others. The magazine was even published on the same type of cheap paper that was used for the original pulps.

Here’s a small selection of covers from The Magazine of Horror! When known, the artist is credited.

by Carl Kidwell

by Garry Marrow

by Virgil Finlay

A Bonus Horror On The Lens: Carnival of Souls (dir by Herk Harvey)

Posted on October 15, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

1962’s Carnival of Souls was the only feature film to be directed by Herk Harvey. It was made on a budget of $33,000 and was filmed in Kansas and Utah, often without permits. The film was also the feature acting debut of model Candace Hilligoss, cast here as a emotionally withdrawn church organist who is involved in a serious car accident and then finds herself haunted by pasty-faced ghosts and surreal visions.

When it was initially released, Carnival of Souls was dismissed by American critics. Indeed, it would a little over twenty years before the film started to be appreciated as both a classic independent film and also a truly eerie horror movie. Today, it’s recognized as a classic of the genre, an expressionistic ghost story that also works as a character study of a woman who is haunted by not just physical death but also emotional malaise.

Carnival of Souls is a Halloween tradition here at the TSL offices. This year, the tradition continues. You can read Arleigh’s review here!

Horror On The Lens: The Werewolf of Washington (dir by Milton Moses Ginsberg)

Posted on October 15, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

In The Werewolf of Washington, Dean Stockwell plays an aide to the President of the United States who, during an assignment in Hungary, meets some gypsies, and ends up getting attacked by a werewolf. Soon, Stockwell is back in Washington and turning into a wolf under the glow of the full moon…

The Werewolf of Washington features a memorable performance from Stockwell and the werewolf effects are fairly effective. However, The Werewolf of Washington is mostly memorable as a document of its time. The film was first released in 1973 and it’s meant to be a social and political satire along with being a traditional werewolf movie. Admittedly, this is a low-budget and frequently uneven film but it’s worth seeing just for the scene where Stockwell gets his finger stuck in a bowling ball.