Artwork For Paperback Cover Of "Death Dealer Book 1: Prisoner Of The Horned Helmet" By Frank Frazetta.

Darkman by Sam Raimi.

Along with Batman (1989) and Spider-Man (2002), this signals the birth of quirky, inventive, modern comic-book movies. This film was very close to the genre, and it wasn't even based on a comic!

Note: I think the explosion that originates Darkman is meant to be an Alec Holland wink to the masterpiece: Swamp Thing.

Dune (aka Dune: Part One) by Denis Villeneuve.

The first of a two-part adaptation of the 1965 novel of the same name by Frank Herbert.

I urge you to see this movie.  

I loved it and admire it.

Haunted Britain: A Guide to Supernatural Sites frequented by Ghosts, Witches, Poltergeists and other Mysterious Beings by Antony D. Hippisley Coxe.

The Invisible Man (1933) by James Whale.

Based on H.G. Wells' 1897 novel, "The Invisible Man: A Grotesque Romance."

James Whale at, perhaps, his most Whale-ish. Unyielding, cutting and misanthropic. A funny, creepy, and brisk story of madness.

Definitely one of Universal's creepiest monsters.

The Eternals (Volume 1) #1.

"The Day of the Gods".

Favorite non-DC/Marvel, comic book adaptations:

The Mask

The Crow

The Rocketeer (released internationally as The Adventures of the Rocketeer)

Ghost World

A History of Violence

The Lone Wolf and Cub films

Ichi the Killer (殺し屋１)

The Amazing Screw-On Head

The Rabbi's Cat (Le chat du rabbin)

Danger: Diabolik

Urusei Yatsura: Only You/Beautiful Dreamer

Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky

Snowpiercer

Persepolis

Blue is the Warmest Color

Tales from the Crypt (1972)

The Death of Stalin

Wrinkles (Arrugas)

The Diary of a Teenage Girl

Akira (アキラ)

Gantz (2010)

Ghost in the Shell (1995)

Road to Perdition

American Splendor

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World

Oldboy (올드보이)

Ed Wood by Tim Burton.

One of my favorite Tim Burton movies. A film about a man whose name is synonymous with bad filmmaking.

If you want to talk about the father and pioneer of bad cinema, Ed Wood is your guy. He directed such "classic" films like "Plan 9 From Outer Space", "Glen or Glenda", and "Bride of the Monster".

His films were notoriously known for their poor and sloppy direction, their terrible and cheap production value and (even worse) acting, even when compared to the films of his time.

But ironically enough, this man and his poor films are more celebrated and liked today than they were when they originally came out. Not because everyone was blind to the fact that these were great films. No, no, they're liked in the more ironic way of being so bad that they're hilariously good. If I wanted to have a good laugh at a creatively bad film, "Plan 9 From Outer Space" is one of the films I would watch.

In my opinion, this is not only one of Burton's best films and a long-lasting meditation on art and commitment, but a great piece of cinema writing. Johnny Depp and Martin Landau are utterly perfect, as is Rick Baker's make up effects.

Little known fact: Johnny Depp's delivery of Ed Wood's enthusiastic speech pattern was partially based on Casey Kasem.

Some of my favorite Ghost Stories on film.

1) Casper

2) Personal Shopper

3) The Innocents (1961)

4) The Uninvited (1944)

5) Ringu (リング, "Ring")

6) The Haunting (1963)

7) The Stone Tape

8 ) The Shining (1980)

9) The Others (Spanish: Los otros)

10) The Sixth Sense

11) Kuroneko (藪の中の黒猫, "A Black Cat in a Bamboo Grove"; or simply "The Black Cat")

12) The Woman in Black (1989)

13) Any episode of BBC's A Ghost Story for Christmas

14) Kwaidan (怪談, "Ghost Stories")

15) David Lowery's A Ghost Story (Masterpiece.)

16) The Changeling

17) Hasta el viento tiene miedo (known in English as "Even the Wind is Afraid" and "The Wind of Fear")

18) Stir Of Echoes

The Phantom Stranger (Volume 2) #19.

"Return to the Tomb of the Ice Giants".

Tokyo Godfathers (東京ゴッドファーザーズ) by Satoshi Kon.

A masterwork by the late storytelling master, Satoshi Kon.

For those who don't know, Satoshi Kon is the same director who worked on films like Paprika, Perfect Blue, and the mystery/psychological thriller/supernatural anime masterpiece Paranoia Agent. Unfortunately, on August 24, 2010, we lost this creative mind to terminal pancreatic cancer. If you ask me, we're probably never gonna get anything close to the creepy works this guy managed to craft ever again.

Tokyo Godfathers is a really good example of a tragicomedy, and it is one of the most disturbing Christmas films you'll ever encounter (without relying on pure shock value) solely because of the subject matter. While animated, it really focuses on making the setting as realistic and as gritty as a wacky story like this can be, leading to this unsettling, off tone in a familiar, yet urban setting that really made me feel uncomfortable. What makes this movie disturbing is how realistically the developed characters and setting are. These are just average, everyday people - the kind you may have encountered or known in real life - dealing with a stressful/unfortunate situation, while also dealing with the preconceived notions about who they are from the people around them and each other. There are fantastical elements to this movie, to be sure. But I'd say that the grounded nature and focus on mental health and identity are just downright heartbreaking and genuinely hard for me to watch.

Ultimately, it doesn't matter what background you come from, what horrible thing has happened in the past or what society says about who you are. The things that make us truly human is the empathy we can have for one another. This isn't your traditional Christmas film, but it's most certainly one of the best I've ever seen. It's not only disturbing, heartwarming and more than earned the right to be labelled as a modern classic, I think it's one of Satoshi Kon's greatest projects that he's ever worked on. To me, this film exemplifies his filmography the best and shows how an artist really can create something that is stunning, beautiful and eerie all at the same time. He has a perfect filmography. Let us never forget.

The biggest mistake is that anime, in general, is often misunderstood. It has created timeless adult masterpieces.