Horror by Harrison

“ Ju-On: the curse of one who dies in the grip of powerful rage. It gathers and takes effect in the places that person was alive. Those who encounter it die, and a new curse is born.” Thus begins the 2002 J-Horror film Ju-On: The Grudge . This film has been on my mind a lot recently and I’ve been eager to revisit it. As I was putting together my review schedule I knew that I wanted to visit some international horror and I realized almost immediately that this was the one I wanted to explore first. Ju-On: The Grudge was written and directed by Takashi Shimizu and is a sequel to Ju-On: The Curse and Ju-On: The Curse 2 (both of which are largely unavailable outside of Japan). Ju-On: The Grudge was released on October 18th, 2002 (the first in the franchise to be released theatrically) and was met with mixed reviews; with critics praising the film’s atmosphere but comparing the film negatively to the popular Ringu . I was unable to find information on the film’s budget, it grossed $3...

This week we’re taking a deep dive into the early days of film with 1932s White Zombie . As I mentioned in my first post, I wanted to cover a variety of horror from different sub-genres, time periods, and countries and I knew I wanted to cover a pre-Code film early on. I found this film in a book I own called 101 Horror Movies Must You See Before You Die (an off-shoot of the 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die series) and felt it would be a good place to start. White Zombie was written by Garnett Weston and directed by Victor Halperin; it was inspired by the novel The Magic Island by William Seabrook and was released on July 28th, 1932. White Zombie had a budget of approximately $50,000 and was reasonably successful at the Box Office, though exact figures are hard to come by. Reviews upon release were highly negative, with critics focusing on poor acting, dialogue, and story. The film saw a slight resurgence in popularity and became a cult classic after being released on VHS an...

This week we’re traveling back to 1993 to discuss Jurassic Park . As I mentioned in my first post, growing up I loved creature features (still do) and this was my all time favorite. I’ve watched this film so many times over the years that I could have written this review without watching it first. Of course I did watch it, I’d never pass up a chance to watch this film. I chose this week to revisit this gem as a birthday gift to myself (my birthday is on Friday).  Jurassic Park was written by Michael Chrichton and David Koepp and directed by Stephen Spielberg; it was based on the novel of the same name by Chrichton and was released on June 11th, 1993. Jurassic Park had a budget of $63,000,000, made $47,026,828 upon opening, and went on to make $1,032,020,521 worldwide (including re-releases). Jurassic Park received overwhelmingly positive reviews upon release, with critics praising the groundbreaking special effects, acting, score (provided by John Williams), and direction. Li...

Welcome back to Horror By Harrison! This week I’m covering Alice, Sweet Alice (originally titled Communion and sometimes known as Holy Terror ). Luckily for you, faithful reader, this won’t include my entire horror origin story so this will be a little shorter than last week.  Alice, Sweet Alice was directed by Alfred Sole, written by Rosemary Ritvo and Alfred Sole and was widely released on November 18th, 1977. Alice, Sweet Alice was made for a budget of $350,000 however Box Office Mojo doesn’t have any information about what it made at the Box Office. The film received mixed reviews upon release, with some critics praising the direction and screenplay and others condemning the violence and perceived anti-Catholic bias. Alice, Sweet Alice follows a troubled young woman named Alice (Paula Sheppard) who is suspected of killing her younger sister Karen (Brooke Shields). After a series of other murders the true killer is revealed to be Mrs. Tredoni (Mildred Clinton), the housekeeper ...