Michael Cavacini

An award-winning arts and culture blog.

Archive for the tag “Movies”

22 Apr 2020

Joe Bob Briggs Discusses Horror, Wrestling, & Books

In March 2019 I met Joe Bob Briggs, the wildly popular authority on drive-in movies who currently hosts horror movie marathons on Shudder, as well as The Last Drive-In: a weekly double-movie marathon featuring Joe Bob’s hilarious and insightful musings, Darcy “The Mail Girl,” and special guests. Speaking of which, Season 2 of The Last Drive-In airs this Friday at 9 p.m. ET and it features guest co-host Chris Jericho. Read on for my interview with the legendary Joe Bob Briggs, where we discuss horror movies, wrestling, books, and more.

28 Jan 2020

Movie Review: Scream Queen! My Nightmare On Elm Street

Scream Queen! My Nightmare on Elm Street is the best documentary I’ve seen this year and in a very long time. This film sets the record straight about the controversial sequel to A Nightmare on Elm Street, which both launched and ended Mark Patton’s acting career. This film is about him attempting to make peace with his past and embrace his legacy as cinema’s first male scream queen. Scream Queen! also finds Mark confronting the Freddy’s Revenge cast and crew for the first time, including co-stars Robert Rusler, Kim Myers and Clu Gulager, as well as Freddy Krueger himself, Robert Englund.

16 Dec 2019

Shudder: Best Of 2019

Shudder, AMC Networks’ premium streaming service, had a banner year. Not only did the popular platform feature top-tier content that received critical praise, it also saw a surge in viewership as a result of exclusive and original shows and movies. And 2020 overall is poised to be another great year for Shudder. Among the highlights are the premiere of the mythic Māori action/adventure series The Dead Lands in January, a co-production with TVNZ; the exclusive streaming premiere of Rob Zombie’s 3 from Hell in February; an untitled “queer horror” documentary from director Sam Wineman and two of Horror Noire’s executive producers; Daniel Isn’t Real, out in limited release now after picking up awards at Sitges, SXSW and other film festivals, and coming to Shudder in 2020; and the acquisition of a multiple films presently on the festival circuit including Jeff Barnaby’s Canadian First Nations zombie movie Blood Quantum, which premiered at TIFF, Jayro Bustamante’s Guatemalan horror La Llorona which premiered at Venice and won the Fedora Award for Best Film and the GdA’s Director’s Award, and Josh Ruben’s comedy thriller Scare Me, which will have its world premiere next month at Sundance Film Festival. The latter two acquisitions were announced earlier today.

What follows are images highlighting the cream of the crop on Shudder in 2019.

Posted in Horror, News and tagged AMC, Horror, Michael Cavacini, Movies, Shudder, TV Shows | Leave a comment

25 Nov 2019

Shudder December Highlights

Thanksgiving is almost here, which means December is right around the corner. With a new month on the horizon, Shudder is gearing up to end the year strong with a bevy of holiday gifts for one and all. Joe Bob’s Red Christmas and several of Wes Craven’s films—including the highly entertaining Shocker—will be available, as will The Lost Boys and Mick Garris’ Sleepwalkers. And what would Christmas be without some holiday-themed slashers? You can enjoy Black Christmas, Christmas Evil, and Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2, just to name a few. Below is the full rundown of what to expect from Shudder in December.

Posted in Horror, Movies, News and tagged Christmas, December, Horror, Joe Bob Briggs, Michael Cavacini, Mick Garris, Movies, News, Shudder, Tom Savini, Wes Craven | Leave a comment

31 Oct 2019

Shudder Launches Halloween Hotline

Happy Halloween! Shudder, AMC Networks’ premium streaming service for horror, thriller and the supernatural, offers the best, hand-selected collection of horror movies around. But sometimes you need a little extra help picking exactly which great slasher, ghost story, giallo or monster movie to watch next. In celebration of Halloween, Shudder’s head curator, Samuel Zimmerman, will be offering callers his live, personalized picks for their perfect Halloween night/weekend viewing.

Posted in Horror, News and tagged Halloween, Horror, Hotline, Michael Cavacini, Movies, Samuel Zimmerman, Shudder, Summer of 84, Wes Craven's New Nightmare | Leave a comment

25 Oct 2019

Shudder: November Highlights

It’s crazy to think that this time next week it will be November 1. October is flying by and Halloween is almost upon us. If you’re looking for Halloween to last all year long, Shudder has you covered. Below are highlights of the exclusives, originals, and new content that’s being released all month long in November. The addition that excites me the most is Wes Craven’s New Nightmare, which is my favorite movie of all time. The premise, acting, and score are excellent. This film was ahead of its time, and it still holds up to this day. Make sure to add it to your to-watch list, along with all of the other great content coming to Shudder in November.

Posted in Horror, News and tagged A Nightmare on Elm Street, AMC, Freddy Krueger, Horror, Michael Cavacini, Movies, News, November, Shudder, Wes Craven | Leave a comment

21 Oct 2019

Rob Zombie’s Firefly Trilogy

In 2003 Rob Zombie made his writing and directing debut with the gritty horror film House of 1000 Corpses. The success of this movie spawned a sequel, The Devil’s Rejects, and a third entry in the series, 3 From Hell, was just released on digital and physical video this month. Let’s take a look back at these films about the infamous Firefly family, including my thoughts and Rob Zombie’s insights on each of these twisted tales.

Posted in Horror, Movies and tagged 3 From Hell, Horror, House of 1000 Corpses, Michael Cavacini, Movies, Review, Rob Zombie, Sid Haig, The Devil's Rejects | Leave a comment

07 Oct 2019

Joe Bob’s Halloween Hootenanny Premieres October 25

Shudder, AMC Networks’ premium streaming service for horror, thrillers and the supernatural, announced today that Joe Bob Briggs, the world’s foremost drive-in movie critic, will return on October 25 with an all-new special, Joe Bob’s Halloween Hootenanny. The hosted triple feature will stream live at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT on Shudder in the U.S. and Canada. It will also be made available on demand later in October. Read more…

Posted in Horror, News and tagged Halloween, Halloween Hootenanny, Joe Bob Briggs, Michael Cavacini, Movie Marathon, Movies, Shudder | Leave a comment

27 Mar 2019

The Last Drive-In With Joe Bob Briggs – March 29 On Shudder

This Saturday I’m meeting Joe Bob Briggs at the New Jersey Horror Con and Film Festival. A day prior, March 29, his new weekly series debuts on Shudder: The Last Drive-In With Joe Bob Briggs. For those that are unfamiliar with it, Shudder is a premium streaming video service owned and operated by AMC, serving fans of horror, thrillers, and supernatural movies and TV shows. I think it’s a wonderful service that is overflowing with excellent content that I’m constantly backlogged on. Having thoroughly enjoyed Joe Bob’s standalone Shudder specials over the past several months, I look forward to his weekly Friday night double-features. Below are more details on this show and a trailer. Enjoy!

Posted in Horror, Movies, News and tagged AMC, Double-Feature, Horror, Joe Bob Briggs, Michael Cavacini, Movies, Shudder, The Last Drive-In | Leave a comment

06 Mar 2018

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A Conversation With “Big” John Harte

“Big” John Harte is the former head of security for KISS. He also worked for Prince, Iron Maiden, and Billy Idol, as well as numerous TV and movie stars. His autobiography comes out this summer, and he has a Pledge Music campaign going on right now that you should check out. John was kind enough to speak with me about his impressive and exciting career.