Michelle McNamara's true-crime book I'll Be Gone in the Dark is easily one of the best -- if not the best -- of its kind. It's an exhaustive and fascinating dissection of the crimes committed by the Golden State Killer, a violent criminal responsible for some 50 rapes, and 10 sadistic murders, back in the 1970s and 80s.

I reviewed the book right here, and encourage true-crime addicts like myself to give it a read. Or, if you're like Shawn and don't do reading, you should definitely check out HBO's adaptation, which debuted Sunday night.

I caught the first of six episodes last night, and was hooked. The series is actually two stories; the first being an examination of the Golden State Killer's crimes, with the second an equally detailed look into McNamara's obsession with the case.

McNamara died before she could finish the book. Her husband, comedian Patton Oswalt, helped complete it, and get it published.

The first episode scratches the surface of what…

Fright Night is the first horror movie I saw in a theatre, and it scared the crap right out of me.

I'd seen scary movies before, but at home on TV. I knew well and good vampires weren't real, but I wasn't prepared for the immersive experience of seeing a vampire movie on a giant Vancouver screen with full audience participation, not to mention big-budget gore and special effects.

It terrified and excited me, and I was hooked!

Fright Night doesn't scare me anymore. Hundreds of viewings have diminished its impact to do so. But it has aged really, really well, and the effects still have an impact. I'm a particular fan of the almost demonic vampire makeup. No glittery, Emo douchebags here!

Chris Sarandon is probably my favourite vampire ever put on screen. He's charming and funny, but is also monstrous and scary. Pretty much everything a vampire should be. And I get why all the ladies would flock to him. This is an iconic horror villain.

It goes without saying the…

One of the things that horror does, is take something we often WISH for- and make us rethink that wish...

After Bill Halleck accidentally runs over an old gypsy woman, a simple word is whispered to him- and his life becomes a living hell.

The word is, "Thinner"...

This book is one of Stephen King's earlier books, written under the name "Richard Bachman", but isn't what I would consider one of his better novels.

The premise is interesting.  The old gypsy guy and the "fixer" friend of Halleck's are interesting.  The writing style isn't bad, and there's a decent flow to the words.

The fault isn't with those things.  Rather, the problem for me lies in the character of Halleck, and the pace of the story.  I had zero sympathy for Halleck, so felt no real tension on his behalf.  Maybe if he had some redeeming qualities, and felt real remorse for what he did, then I might not have minded the slow pacing of the story.  As it was, I wanted it…

The Postcard Killings is one of those movies that got lost in the pandemic shuffle. This indie-thriller was set to hit screens in March, right when the world shuttered its doors due to COVID-19. I'd not even heard of the flick until I stumbled across it while scanning recent VOD releases.

This is a surprise, as it's based on a James Patterson novel, which he co-wrote with Liza Marklund about a decade ago. And Patterson, of course, is the author of several Alex Cross novels, a couple of which were made into mid-90s hit movies starring Morgan Freeman.

And it's directed by Danis Tanovic, a Bosnia director who's No Man's Land won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film. Quite a pedigree!

Alas, The Postcard Killings is pretty standard serial-killer stuff. If you've seen Kiss the Girls and Along Came A Spider, Se7en, or any number of mid-90s serial-killer movies, you've seen The Postcard Killings. Gruesome crimes, dedicated detective, and a final race against t…

We interrupt your weekend for this important announcement: We Want to Believe returns with Ep. 3 of The Demon Jar on July 1!

That's Canada Day, our nation's biggest holiday, for our international friends and fans. And what better way to celebrate than with a scare. Not a question, a statement.

This is the penultimate chapter in The Demon Jar investigation, which finds the We Want to Believe team continuing to investigate paranormal activity at an allegedly haunted hotel in the Interior of British Columbia.

What new evidence to Peter Renn, Jason Hewlett, Sarah Jane, Marcus Flor, Shawn Knippelberg and Brandon Knippelberg find? How does it all connect to this so-called Demon Jar? You'll have to check JoBlo Horror Videos on Wednesday!

In the meantime, revisit Ep. 1 right here:



And Ep. 2 here:



The We Want to Believe team is, from left to right, cinematographer Brandon Knippelberg, music/sound/executive producer Shawn Knippelberg, writer/director/creator Jason Hewlett, lead inv…

Friday night has come and gone, and with it the latest successful broadcast From The Basement on the mighty Radio NL 610 AM Kamloops.

But fear not, as there's this -- the podcast version of last night's show! And we've got even more of our interview with veteran actor Marshal Hilton!

How much more? Like the full 25-minute chat between Jason and Marshal. They cover everything from Marshal's latest film, A Clear Shot, and working with the legendary Mario Van Peebles, to his role in the Bigfoot flick Primal Rage. Jason and Marshal cover a lot of ground, and it's a great conversation for movie fans.

Stick with us, though, as Jason and Shawn have a bunch of reviews for your ear holes. The Dynamic Duo have seen Kevin Bacon and Amanda Seyfried's latest, You Should Have Left, as well as The Courier starring Olga Kurylenko and Gary Oldman. Plus Shawn caught up with Keanu Reeves in Replicas.

But that's not all! There aren't any movies to see this summer, so The …

Friday is a great day.  It's one of my favorite days.  It's a great favorite day.

Beer is great.  It's one of my favorite drinks.  It's a great favorite drink.

26 beers into this series, and this is what I'm doing for an intro...


Steamworks Brewing and The Blasted Church teamed up to produce a bottle conditioned saison called "Santuary".  The label is simple, but evocative of gothic church parchments.  I love the soft, creamy textured background that contrasts nicely with the text.  the "S" in "Sanctuary" is a nice, classic look fitting a "religious experience" like this.


Pouring this brew, I was able to enjoy the lovely golden colour, coupled with a beautiful white head of foam.  There is a slight haze from the bottle conditioning, but it's not something that detracts from the look.  In fact, it gave it a pleasant "middle age" feel to its appearance.

The tartness of the first sip woke me up good.  There was a …

A couple of months back we interviewed veteran genre actor Marshal Hilton about his work on the great indie horror flick Echoes of Fear. At the time, we invited Marshal to return any time he had a new project to promote.

A week later, it was announced his latest film, A Clear Shot, would be released. So it only made sense to have him come back ASAP.

Marshal will indeed be in The Basement when Jason and Shawn take over the Radio NL 610 AM airwaves tonight at 6:05. And he talks A Clear Shot, working with legendary actor/director Mario Van Peebles, and how historically accurate the film -- which is based on the largest hostage incident in U.S. history -- is. It's a great talk with a great man.

But that's not all. With no summer movies to see in theatres, The Basement Boys riff on their Top 5 favourite summer movies of all time. What are they, and why do they make the list? Stick with us!

And stick around for reviews of the just-released-on-VOD You Should Have Left starring Kevin…

OK, I know you're not supposed to talk like this given our political climate, but I don't care. My sexual orientation is as straight as an arrow (not ashamed to admit it), I'm attracted to strong, independent women, and I admire the female form very much.

So I was drawn to the new(ish) action movie The Courier because it stars former Bond girl Olga Kurylenko, who is not only one of the most beautiful women on the planet, but one of the few women on screen who I legitimately believe could kick anyone's ass. It's the way she carries herself, the raw confidence she has. I've seen her throw down in a few films, and I believe it.

And yes, on The Courier's poster she's dressed in form fitting biker leather. I noticed that too.

So right away, I'm hooked. Then I read Gary Oldman -- arguably one of the best actors of all time -- plays the main villain. Sold!

The Courier is a cheesy, B-grade action movie. But it's one of the best cheesy, B-grade action m…