Tag Archives: siskel & ebert reviews

Let’s All Reminisce And Watch Gene Siskel Get Really Angry About ‘My Bloody Valentine’ (1981)

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Oh man – nothing got ol’ Gene Siskel riled up more than those damn 80’s slasher movies! And he was fired up and fuming over our favorite Valentine’s Day themed horror movie, My Bloody Valentine back in 1981.

I always just have to chuckle when Siskel & Ebert would review horror movies. At least they acknowledged that Halloween was good in this review, and I admire Roger for even mentioning New Year’s Evil – but geez were they a couple of Grumpy Guses. The funny thing is, I had just watched a review they did for Henry: Portrait Of A Serial Killer and they loved it! Granted, it’s a much better film than My Bloody Valentine – but two completely different styles obviously. Don’t listen to Ebenezer Siskel though, folks – you go watch My Bloody Valentine by yourself or with your significant other next month, and you cheer on Harry Warden while he murders those kids that look like they’re in their 30’s! It’s what any 80’s slasher movie would want you to do.

That Time That Gene Siskel Said ‘From Beyond’ Tickled Him……

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Ah yes.  Thank the heavens for Youtube.  Because that’s where you can find old Siskel & Ebert clips from their show and see them reviewing old 80’s horror movies.  Up to bat in this post:  Stuart Gordon’s…….From Beyond!  Let’s hear what the boys had to say about it:

Where to begin with that.  Well, for starters – how about that kinky sex?!?!  Such prudes those two were.  How can you not appreciate Barbara Crampton in a leather dominatrix outfit??  But anyway, kudos to Gene for loving From Beyond!  He loved it so much that it “tickled” him too.  Sounds fun.  Roger was on the bubble with it – but at least he noted several times that he loved The Re-Animator.  It’s just called Re-Animator, Roger!  Geez.  I love watching these old reviews because it’s actually a huge piece of my childhood, and I can vividly remember watching this show just for the horror movie reviews.  Rest in peace to both of them – especially Gene.  Because he loved From Beyond, just not the kinky sex.

That Time That Roger Ebert Said ‘Child’s Play 2’ Made Him Feel Unclean & Disturbed……

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With the kinda great news that our favorite psychopathic killer doll Chucky would be gracing us with his screen presence again in the upcoming Cult Of Chucky, I thought it would be fun to snoop around Youtube for anything Child’s Play related.  And boy am I glad I did!  Remember Siskel & Ebert?  They were a thing one time.  And it’s not an exaggerated fact to say that they really didn’t like horror movies.  But man oh man are their reviews of horror movies fun to watch!  Let’s watch Roger Ebert confess that Child’s Play 2 made him feel “unclean and disturbed“:

Well, at least Ebert gave some props to the overall production value of the movie.  After he called it “Sick, unwholesome, and a completely malignant exercise!” though.  If you do watch a majority of their horror movie reviews, you would come to the conclusion that horror movies were responsible for the hunger and famine problems in the world today. But anyway, to say this is an enjoyable watch would be an understatement.  Btw guys (and I know they can’t read or hear this because they’re both dead now), Child’s Play 2 was a movie about a talking killer doll trying to play a game called ‘Hide The Soul’ with a little boy.  Let’s not overthink things, mmkay?

Hooray For Gruesome Stupidity! Siskel & Ebert’s Review of ‘Terror Train’ (1980)

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With the year 2016 approaching at the end of the week, it’s time to dive into the shallow pile of horror movies that are set around the moment of New Year’s Eve.  Not many to choose from, but Terror Train is always a crowd favorite.  Not to Siskel & Ebert apparently though……

Gruesome stupidity!  Oh if I had a dime for every time I heard that about a horror movie, I would really only have a dime because that’s the first time I’ve ever heard anyone use that phrase.  Good ol’ Siskel & Ebert and their horror movie hating ways.  I think any self-respecting horror movie fan knows that Terror Train wasn’t made to win any Oscars.  Which is why I always love watching these old clips from when Siskel & Ebert would review horror movies because they just don’t seem to get it.  And I’m pretty sure that there weren’t “buckets of blood” in the movie.  In fact, Terror Train was pretty tame when it came to the gore.  But alas, it’s still fun to listen to people who hate horror movies talk about hating horror movies.  Happy New Year, everybody!

Dirty Horror Memory Lane: ‘The Evil Dead’ Review From Siskel & Ebert (1981)

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Growing up, I would constantly turn on the Siskel & Ebert TV show on Saturday afternoons to see if they were reviewing any horror movies that week.  It’s not a revelation that most horror movies that they did review got trashed (except Carnosaur for some reason), and one of my favorite reviews that they did was for The Evil Dead:

I think I will call horror movies ‘Ghoulies‘ from now on thanks to Gene Siskel.  I had never heard that term before, but I must start using it now.  But anyway, their review for The Evil Dead wasn’t a shock – but I was glad to see that they recognized the effects that were used at the time, even on the shoestring budget that Sam Raimi had.  Part of me kind of wishes that Siskel would have actually barfed while watching the movie though.  It would have been an accomplished mission from Sam and his crew.  Fun fact btw:  Roger Ebert actually gave Evil Dead II a glowing review when it came out in 1987.