Tobe Hooper

CHICAGO – Whether it’s the 1982 original or the remake just released in theaters today to the wrath of numerous fans, the lesson of “Poltergeist” remains the same: Don’t do a half-assed job when relocating skeletons for corporate greed, or suffer the supernatural consequences.

CHICAGO – She was the sole survivor of a horror movie classic, and was notable for her impressive screaming throughout the film. Marilyn Burns passed away this week at age 65, but she made her mark in director Tobe Hooper’s “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” in 1974, earning the coveted title of Scream Queen.

CHICAGO – Why do they keep making these awful movies? I’m a horror fan. I think Tobe Hooper’s original “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” is a truly effective (if a bit overrated) movie that has to be included on a list of the most influential of its era. But nearly everything that it has literally spawned has been awful. Sure, “TCM 2” has some wackadoo charm but the modern remakes — the two Platinum Dunes flicks and now this 3D stinker, reecently released on Blu-ray and DVD, are just a waste of time. To be fair, this reboot/sequel isn’t nearly as annoying as the last two but it’s still awful.

CHICAGO – If you’re like me, you forgot how totally weird the cult horror classic “The Toolbox Murders” actually is. Perhaps the dull, by-the-numbers Tobe Hooper remake (with the otherwise great Angela Bettis from “May”) warped our minds, but this is a trippy slasher film, a notable entry in the slasher genre now available in glorious B-movie High-Def for the first time.

CHICAGO – Halloween is the perfect time to revisit those horror films of youth, lost in the mall theaters or crackling through the VCR in a multiply rented copy. “The House of the Devil” reveres those roots and brings them back to light.