Horror movies are the stuff of nightmares.  Sometimes, the nightmare IS the horror movie.  Sometimes, horror movie music makes that nightmare all the more real... 1984 saw the start of the " A Nightmare on Elm Street " franchise- and in doing so, gave the horror world a truly classic horror icon in the shape of Freddy Krueger... and an equally iconic theme. This piece of music is both dreamlike, and nightmarish at the same time.  It walks the line between the two realms with etheral wind sounds, and low pulsing beats of the heart.  The combination of wind instruments, guitar, and synth sounds add up to a really mysterious and otherworldly song.  The ever changing melody and rhythm create an slow building of unease as you sense the creature in the shadowy depths of your bedroom slowly creeps up to whisper in your ear. The layers of sounds, rhythms, and tunes lay on each other, adding a heaviness of mood that reflects the overall tone of the movie.  ...

Such an odd, odd movie--I'd actually forgotten how bizarre it is but I've been freshly reminded once again! I've seen the whole "film within a film" concept done a bunch of times but never quite like this where it seriously alters the entire series before it, and I'm honestly not too sure what I think about it. Is it clever at times? Yeah, it has its moments. Are there half decent scares? A few here and there. The big question I have to ask though, after all is said and done is: what was the point?

Allow me to quickly introduce myself: My name is Kara, and I live over at www.karaschatter.com . I have no experience in the movie industry, other than watching and appreciating them. I thought I would offer up my movie reviewing skills, or lack thereof, to The Basement to give readers a female perspective on movies, new, old, good, and bad.  I’m not a fan of Halloween. No – let me rephrase that; I like Halloween – the candy, the cutesy little kids coming to my door and asking for said candy. I do NOT like the horror movies that come along with the “holiday.” I don’t like being scared. I don’t like having to lock myself in my house and being paranoid by every noise I hear in or outside our house. I especially don’t like going anywhere near cemeteries, clowns or voice distorters. I digress … I’m pretty sure my distaste for the thrills and chills of horror started when I was 10 or 11. It was around Halloween, and the USA Network had a horror marathon on with various scary...

Regular listeners to the show will know our Top Five segment that pops up from time to time. Every Top Five features five things Shawn and I like or don't like about film or film-related things. Think theatre experiences, geek Christmas presents, kills. And given our long and storied history with movies, Shawn and I have little trouble finding five things to talk about. Today Top Five finds its way to the site, and I'm kicking it off by highlighting five of my favourite movie posters. Just five? It was hard to narrow the list down -- and ask me in two days and the list could change -- but these are five posters that have always stuck with me. Hell, several of them were on my bedroom wall as a kid. You'll notice right away that there's one similarity between them -- they are hand drawn. Back in the day movie posters were art. And all five of these are works of art. Here they are, in no particular order: Leviathan Shit movie, awesome poster. Simple, effect a...

Basement contributor Matt Bellamy has taken it upon himself to watch and review at least one horror movie a day for the month of October . . . because he's awesome that way! And Bellamy better watch out, because tonight it's "One, two, Freddy's coming for you!" Yeah right, as if I would have the remake on here, that would be a good joke! This has become a classic over the years and Freddy Krueger is no doubt one of, if not the most, iconic horror villains of all time. Not a bad reputation to have as an actor and Robert Englund probably never dreamed (ha ha) his career would pan out that way but he seems to relish every moment as Freddy both on and off the screen. Wes Craven knocked this film out of the park, on a relatively low budget it looks anything but with some fairly groundbreaking effects and superb makeup, even today it still looks damn good and is as creepy as ever! I could go over the basic story prem...

Slick production values and a capable new incarnation of Freddy Krueger in the form of Jackie Earle Haley can't save this otherwise flat, boring remake Wes Craven's 1984 classic. A prime example of if it ain't broke, don't fix it. What was once a creepy, campy, low-budget excursion into slasher-horror has become just another Hollywood product void of fun, energy and, sadly, scares. Rooney Mara may look good, but her Nancy lacks any of the charm Heather Langenkamp brought to the role. The other characters are just as lifeless as the corpses Freddy leaves in his wake. A Bad review from this Basement dweller. Click here to check out a review by frequent contributor Mike S.

Since Wes Craven's "My Soul to Take" premiered last night, Mike S thought we would watch and review the Samuel Bayer directed "re-imagining" of the classic Wes Craven's "A Nightmare on Elm Street": "This is a slicker looking version of Wes Craven's Nightmare... and not much more. If you've seen the original, you'll be able to easily predict much of the events that happen, and the roles that the various characters fulfill. For a "reimagining", there really isn't that much imagination in this film. Jackie Earle Haley does a decent job of portraying Freddy Krueger, but lacked that magic that Robert Eglund had. He just seems to be going through the paces of getting revenge- rather than enjoying the torment he was inflicting. The characters are pretty flat, and rather bland. Even Nancy, the heroine, was simplistic and interchangable with pretty much any other character in the movie. The one really nice touch I ap...

Wes Craven returns to the horror genre with "My Soul to Take", and follows other big name directors by going 3D.  Will it take your breath away, or will it wind up be souless eye candy?  You'll be able to find out for yourself since this movie opens tonight in theatres. Seven people born on the same day as a serial killer was killed.  A sleepy little town sixteen years after the killers death.  People vanishing.  Is it the killer... or someone else? The trailer looks like this movie has potential- and Wes Craven has always had a solid understanding of the horror genre, having done "Nightmare on Elm Street", and "Scream".  All we can hope is that he's not simply trying to cash in on the 3D technology that's out there. Check out this trailer and let us know what you think.

Sony Pictures announced today that Rooney Mara of the recent Nightmare On Elm Street remake will star alongside Daniel Craig in the Hollywood version of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. She will play the film's lead, computer hacker Lisbeth Salander. Duh. Reports also suggest Mara is signed on for film versions of all three books in the trilogy, including The Girl Who Played With Fire and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, provided the North American films prove as popular as the Swedish ones of the same name. Mara is no stranger to Fincher, having filmed a role in his upcoming Facebook drama The Social Network. While some have complained Mara's performance in Elm Street was too wooden (don't know, haven't seen it yet) one must have faith that Fincher tends to bring out the best in actors. The film starts shooting next month in Sweden. To hear our review of the Swedish film just click on the handy dandy embedded player to your right.