Ghoulish Grin Films

 In 2013 I went to see James Wan's supernatural horror film "The Conjuring," based on the cases of Ed and Lorraine Warren, based on real life events. Wan had made waves with 2004's "Saw," creating a whole new level of gore in horror. Though it was filled with it, the story wasn't just gore for the sake of gore. It was a very intriguing mystery film about the search for the Jigsaw killer. He would follow this modern horror classic with "Dead Silence" and "Death Sentence" before releasing 2010's "Insidious." This film would ultimately create a James Wan Universe, connecting characters and themes. What intrigued me about this film was that he was following up the ultra gory debut of "Saw" with a PG-13 supernatural film. This was rather exciting, since I grew up with classic horror that never really relied on blood and guts but on scares. It was a fantastic film that spawned some great sequels. So going into "...

 On June 20th 1975, audiences were treated to the cinematic adaptation of Peter Benchley's 1974's page turner "Jaws." As is the legend, a young Steven Spielberg (who only had a handful of films on his filmography) had a torturous time getting the mechanical shark to obey his directions. A troubled production that went over budget, he had thought that he would never make another film again. But the film was released to great acclaim and box office dollars and, as they say, the rest is history. This film celebrates 50 years. It's only one year older than I am. I grew up with not only this film but it's rather silly sequels. I have fantastic memories of the Universal Studios tram tour and the Jaws theme park 'ride' where you pass by the waters as Jaws jumps out at you. It's quite thrilling to experience in person. Sadly my baby brother was frightened by this mechanical beast. (It's okay, he's old enough to laugh now) As a guy born one year aft...