Just like last week with the Friday the 13th films, AMC is showing the edited versions of the first 5 Halloween films this week. Also just like Friday the 13th, I have already seen these uncut (except for Halloween III), so I don't mind watching the edited versions. Notice that I don't start with the original Halloween, as I always save that viewing for my all day viewing marathon on (or near) Halloween itself...
Halloween II (1981)
Halloween II takes up immediately after the original (which ended with Michael Myers being shot 6 times, but walking away). Michael ("The Shape") is still on the loose and killing his way through the town, looking for Laurie, the survivor of the 1st film. The sequels attempts to give a reason why Michael is after Laurie (other that she survived) - apparently she is Micheal's sister, who was adopted by another family after Michael was committed for his first murder as a child. The remaining sequels (other than III) will continue this thread that Michael is motivated by a desire to wipe out his family.
II is nowhere near as great a film as the original (I would be saying that even if Halloween wasn't my favorite horror film of all time - its pretty evident). What the original accomplished with very little blood and high suspense/tension, the sequel tries to do with a higher body count and moor blood. However, I have always enjoyed II and felt that it got a bad rap. It is better than a lot of the other slasher film immitators that the original spawned.
Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982)
This was a film that I have never seen. Because of my love for Halloween, I made it a point to see all the sequels, ending with Halloween 6 (since that one was so bad I lost interest after that). As is well known, this sequel has nothing to do with Michael Myers, so I never got around to seeing it until now.
III revolves around a company that is attempting to market their Halloween masks to kids and, in combination with a certain television program shown on the night of the 31st (a plot that is much more plausible back in the day before everyone had cable and would ever fly today), would lead to a mass sacrifice that would bring about some supernatural event (the film is not very clear on that point).
The only thing this film shares with its predecessors is a name and the fact that at 3 different times in the movies, the original Halloween appears on a TV screen. I know that the producers were attempting to start fresh and have series of movies that would come out every year, revolving around Halloween, but having nothing to do with Michael Myers. However, I think this was a terrible miscalculation. Had this movie been named anything else besides Halloween III, I think it would have had a much better chance at the time and not be nearly so reviled as it is today. Its not a great movie, but it has some good stuff going for it - the basic plot is original, and the ending is fantastic (the main character is ALMOST able to stop the catastrophe, but he can't convince the last station manager to halt the trigger program, before the film abruptly ends (very few major studio films today have the guts to end on anything less than a happy ending). Unfortunately, it bombed and the studio decide it was back to the Michael Myers well...
Halloween 4: Return of Michael Myers (1988)
The title of this sequel tells you every thing you need to know about the plot to this sequel. Its been 10 years since the events of Halloween/Halloween II, and despite what happened both Dr. Loomis and Michael have survived the fire (the latter in a coma). Michael comes out of his coma on the day before Halloween when he accidentally overhears that Laurie (Jamie Lee Curtis from the first 2 films) has a daughter that is alive in Haddonfield (Laurie has died and her daughter Jamie has been adopted by another family, much like with Laurie). Michael of course proceeds to go on a killing spree on his way to trying to knock off his last remaining relative.
I always remembered liking this movie when I saw it previously, and this viewing (being many years since my last) did nothing to change that. It did a good job with remaining true to what worked with II - attempting to stay true to the spirit of the original, but adding to it with a little more blood and a higher body count (and in this case more outlandish kills, like a shotgun used to impale a victim). It had a lot of the spirit of the first 2 films in the series, so, while not a great film, it was a success in my book (especially since I really liked the ending)
Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers (1989)
Where the last sequel tried to replicate the high points of the previous films and finds a little success, this one tries the same thing and fails.
Once again, they fail to kill Michael and he, one year later, tries to kill his last remaining relative. The twist they try and throw into this film is of a supernatural nature. During the entire film a mysterious man in black follows Michael around and, at the end, breaks him out of jail (the next sequel tries to flesh this out a little more, but the less said about that film the better). There is really nothing special about this film, and can definitely be skipped.
Next:
I have gotten really backed up in writing about the horror films I have seen this month. This is the most expansive horror movie fest I have undertaken to date. Before last year, I limited it to one date. Last year, I slightly expanded it (I periodically watched horror films in October before my end of month marathon). This year, I have watched nothing but horror movies for an entire month. I still thought I had enough time to write about everything I watched before the "official" marathon was here. However, since that marathon is taking place on Friday, October 29th, and I am writing this post late on Thursday, October 28th (by the time its done it is actually Friday), the only way I am going to get caught up is to blow through the remaining films as quickly as possible (no big deal, since the handful of followers this blog has are taking the month off anyway...). Away we go:
1.) The New York Ripper (1982)
An Italian version of a slasher film before slasher films took off. A nice amount of suspense and gote, but the killer's Donald Duck fake voice was a HUGE distraction.
2.) Magic (1978)
The good - Anthony Hopkins as a crazy man, losing his mind as his show business success rises; a ventriloquist dummy - which are ALWAYS creepy; a sexy Ann-Margret.
The not-so-good - not nearly enough happens in this film. It could have been much creepier.
3.) Cabin Fever (2002)
Eli Roth's (director of the Hostel films) first film as a director. A pretty good change of pace horror film (have you ever seen another horror film about a killer flesh eating virus?) that foreshadowed a lot of what Roth would do in in his later films - a must see for people that were turned off by the gore and violence in Hostel but still like horror, jut to see Roth's skill in the genre.
4.) Dolls (1987)
A completely over the top (in a good way) film about killer dolls. If you like films like Puppet Master, check it out....
5.) Let's Scare Jessica To Death (1971)
Terrible acting by the main character completely overshadows any chance this film has to be scary.
Coming up:
Sleep (for now) and a marathon (tomorrow)!
Friday, October 29, 2010
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
2010 Horror Fest Pt. 12
Madman (1982)
Since by the end of the Friday the 13th series, the films were pretty far away from their early 80's slasher roots, I decided to pick a film from that era to watch next. I had never heard of this film, but it was showing on IFC this month, so I decided to give it a try.
This is a pretty straight forward entry in the genre - low budget, takes place in the woods at night, silent killer performing his killings on the anniversary of some earlier tragedy/massacre (although, that may have just been part of the story one of the counselors told at the beginning to scare the kids - it may not actually have been the same date as the earlier killings). Madman takes place at a camp, and one of the counselors tells a campfire story about Madman Marz, who killed his family with an ax but escaped the noose and ran into those very woods. Of course, one of the smart ass kids does exactly what you are not supposed to do (say Marz' name above a whisper) and he appears and begins to knock off the adults one by one. Like in most slasher films, there is a final confrontation with the killer and he is seemingly killed. This wasn't a bad entry in the slasher film genre, and at a quick 88 minutes, worth a watch if you are a fan of that type of film (sure, its pretty much a ripoff of Friday the 13th, but pretty much all of the slasher films at the time were...).
Black Sunday (1960)
This is the debut of Italian director Mario Bava (director of previous entry in the fest Shock). This film really shows why he has the reputation as one of the greatest Italian horror directors.
Black Sunday is the story of a 200 year old witch (who is also some type of vampire) who is accidentally resurrected from her tomb. She proceeds to make more vampires and attempts to drain the blood of her lookalike (played by the same actress). Its up to a local priest and a traveling doctor to put a stop to her. The film is a definite call back to the Gothic horror films of the 30s. It is black & white, and looks like it could have been made at the same time as some of the Universal classics of the time. Black is very creepy and atmospheric, and adds a touch of gore that wasn't allowed back in the 30s. This film definitely showed why Mario Bava is considered one of the greatest Italian Horror directors of them all.
Near Dark (1987)
This is a late 80s vampire movie that has a good reputation (and was directed by the same person as The Hurt Locker!) that I was looking forward to, but ultimately was fairly uneven.
The plot: One night, a young guy named Caleb meets a girl who bites him (turning him into a vampire), kidnaps him, and brings him to her "family" - all vampires themselves. They are not pleased and want to kill him, but they decide to give him time to see if he can become a killer and one of them. Caleb refuses to kill, and holds out long enough for his family to rescue him. His father manages to cure him of his vampirism (more on that in a bit), and he manages to cure the woman who turned him after killing off the the rest of the vampire family.
First, the things I liked about the film: Lance Henriksen plays the lead vampire, and he is his usual awesome self - disturbing and menacing. Bill Paxton plays another of the vampire clan, and he is HIS usual awesome self - high-strung and spastic. I like that they attempt a different vibe for a vampire film - it really shies away from a lot of the supernatural elements (other than them being vampires). There are no crosses or holy water. No changing into bats or being able to hypnotize anyone. The sun is really the only thing they fear. Finally, there is a pretty great scene in a bar, where the clan is giving Caleb one last chance to become a killer. The tension really mounts as each member of the family tries to show him how its done.
Now, the things I didn't like: Caleb is cured of his vampirism by a simple blood transfusion from his father. That seems like a giant cop out to allow the film to have a happy ending. I could see it if maybe they gave some sort of explanation, like it worked because he never actually fed on a victim (just on Mae, the vampire who turned him), or it worked because it was from a family member. However, they used the same technique on Mae at the end to turn her back. Another negative is that there was no attempt to have a realistic passage of time at night. It seemed that, just to suit the plot, whenever they needed to ratchet up the tension, it was almost dawn, whether it made sense for it to be or not (this town must have the shortest nights on record - in one scene it was almost dawn after they left a bar that was still open for business, and at the end, it was almost dawn when it really hadn't been all that long since Caleb and his family finished dinner). Lastly, there were way too many stretches with not enough happening.
I might have to give this one another viewing in the future to see if the positives outweigh the negatives the 2nd time....
Since by the end of the Friday the 13th series, the films were pretty far away from their early 80's slasher roots, I decided to pick a film from that era to watch next. I had never heard of this film, but it was showing on IFC this month, so I decided to give it a try.
This is a pretty straight forward entry in the genre - low budget, takes place in the woods at night, silent killer performing his killings on the anniversary of some earlier tragedy/massacre (although, that may have just been part of the story one of the counselors told at the beginning to scare the kids - it may not actually have been the same date as the earlier killings). Madman takes place at a camp, and one of the counselors tells a campfire story about Madman Marz, who killed his family with an ax but escaped the noose and ran into those very woods. Of course, one of the smart ass kids does exactly what you are not supposed to do (say Marz' name above a whisper) and he appears and begins to knock off the adults one by one. Like in most slasher films, there is a final confrontation with the killer and he is seemingly killed. This wasn't a bad entry in the slasher film genre, and at a quick 88 minutes, worth a watch if you are a fan of that type of film (sure, its pretty much a ripoff of Friday the 13th, but pretty much all of the slasher films at the time were...).
Black Sunday (1960)
This is the debut of Italian director Mario Bava (director of previous entry in the fest Shock). This film really shows why he has the reputation as one of the greatest Italian horror directors.
Black Sunday is the story of a 200 year old witch (who is also some type of vampire) who is accidentally resurrected from her tomb. She proceeds to make more vampires and attempts to drain the blood of her lookalike (played by the same actress). Its up to a local priest and a traveling doctor to put a stop to her. The film is a definite call back to the Gothic horror films of the 30s. It is black & white, and looks like it could have been made at the same time as some of the Universal classics of the time. Black is very creepy and atmospheric, and adds a touch of gore that wasn't allowed back in the 30s. This film definitely showed why Mario Bava is considered one of the greatest Italian Horror directors of them all.
Near Dark (1987)
This is a late 80s vampire movie that has a good reputation (and was directed by the same person as The Hurt Locker!) that I was looking forward to, but ultimately was fairly uneven.
The plot: One night, a young guy named Caleb meets a girl who bites him (turning him into a vampire), kidnaps him, and brings him to her "family" - all vampires themselves. They are not pleased and want to kill him, but they decide to give him time to see if he can become a killer and one of them. Caleb refuses to kill, and holds out long enough for his family to rescue him. His father manages to cure him of his vampirism (more on that in a bit), and he manages to cure the woman who turned him after killing off the the rest of the vampire family.
First, the things I liked about the film: Lance Henriksen plays the lead vampire, and he is his usual awesome self - disturbing and menacing. Bill Paxton plays another of the vampire clan, and he is HIS usual awesome self - high-strung and spastic. I like that they attempt a different vibe for a vampire film - it really shies away from a lot of the supernatural elements (other than them being vampires). There are no crosses or holy water. No changing into bats or being able to hypnotize anyone. The sun is really the only thing they fear. Finally, there is a pretty great scene in a bar, where the clan is giving Caleb one last chance to become a killer. The tension really mounts as each member of the family tries to show him how its done.
Now, the things I didn't like: Caleb is cured of his vampirism by a simple blood transfusion from his father. That seems like a giant cop out to allow the film to have a happy ending. I could see it if maybe they gave some sort of explanation, like it worked because he never actually fed on a victim (just on Mae, the vampire who turned him), or it worked because it was from a family member. However, they used the same technique on Mae at the end to turn her back. Another negative is that there was no attempt to have a realistic passage of time at night. It seemed that, just to suit the plot, whenever they needed to ratchet up the tension, it was almost dawn, whether it made sense for it to be or not (this town must have the shortest nights on record - in one scene it was almost dawn after they left a bar that was still open for business, and at the end, it was almost dawn when it really hadn't been all that long since Caleb and his family finished dinner). Lastly, there were way too many stretches with not enough happening.
I might have to give this one another viewing in the future to see if the positives outweigh the negatives the 2nd time....
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
2010 Horror Fest Pt. 11
Friday the 13th Part VII: Jason Takes Manhattan (1989)
At least this one gets credit for trying to mix up the formula a little bit. Sure, its still basically Jason stalking and killing a bunch of teens, but this time, its on a BOAT! Then, its in MANHATTAN!
In order to have the plot be a little bit different, though, it requires a massive amount of improbability. A group of high school kids are taking a boat trip to NYC that is apparently school sanctioned since there are 2 teachers on board (what the hell high school is this? Why didn't they just take a bus?). So, instead of stalking kids through the woods, Jason does his work throughout the ship. This allows him to expand on his pattern of continually more outlandish methods of killing that has been established in the last few films (one victim is dispatched with a sauna rock). Eventually, Jason causes a fire on the ship, causing the survivors to abandon it and head for Manhattan (with Jason in hot pursuit). Eventually, the last 2 people alive are stuck in the sewer with Jason, where he is taken down by the most implausible ending to a Friday the 13th film yet (even more implausible than the ending to Part VII, where the psychic girl uses her powers to resurrect her dead father from the bottom of Crystal Lake to drag Jason down to the bottom) - a flood of toxic waste hits Jason, devolving him back to what he looked like as a kid when he initially drowned (????) before he dies.
This is by no means a good movie, but at least they had a little fun with what had become a very tired premise by the time.
Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday (1993)
This installment also tries to change up the stale Friday the 13th formula, but in a completely different way than the previous film. Final Friday decided to completely embrace the supernatural side of Jason (which had always been there below the surface, seeing as how he is an un-killable zombie that originally rose from a lake) and run with it full speed ahead.
After a fairly inventive opening (in which an already resurrected Jason is caught in an FBI sting and blown up), only Jason's spirit is revived instead of his body and he begins to inhabit other people in order to continue his killing spree, jumping from body to body. It turns out that Jason will always return from seeming death unless he is killed by someone from his own bloodline. It just so happens that some of his relatives are still around, and eventually one of them doers manage to kill him once in for all, as he is dragged down to hell (and his mask is grabbed by the hand of Freddy Krueger to boot!).
This film scores a few points for originality, but the franchise was definitely in need of ending at this point. However, it took 2 more sequels - one of which tried to mix things up by sending Jason into space(!) (Jason X) and one that paired him up finally with Freddy (Freddy vs. Jason) before it was finally put to rest, only to be resurrected (much like Jason himself) in a reboot (2009's Friday the 13th).
At least this one gets credit for trying to mix up the formula a little bit. Sure, its still basically Jason stalking and killing a bunch of teens, but this time, its on a BOAT! Then, its in MANHATTAN!
In order to have the plot be a little bit different, though, it requires a massive amount of improbability. A group of high school kids are taking a boat trip to NYC that is apparently school sanctioned since there are 2 teachers on board (what the hell high school is this? Why didn't they just take a bus?). So, instead of stalking kids through the woods, Jason does his work throughout the ship. This allows him to expand on his pattern of continually more outlandish methods of killing that has been established in the last few films (one victim is dispatched with a sauna rock). Eventually, Jason causes a fire on the ship, causing the survivors to abandon it and head for Manhattan (with Jason in hot pursuit). Eventually, the last 2 people alive are stuck in the sewer with Jason, where he is taken down by the most implausible ending to a Friday the 13th film yet (even more implausible than the ending to Part VII, where the psychic girl uses her powers to resurrect her dead father from the bottom of Crystal Lake to drag Jason down to the bottom) - a flood of toxic waste hits Jason, devolving him back to what he looked like as a kid when he initially drowned (????) before he dies.
This is by no means a good movie, but at least they had a little fun with what had become a very tired premise by the time.
Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday (1993)
This installment also tries to change up the stale Friday the 13th formula, but in a completely different way than the previous film. Final Friday decided to completely embrace the supernatural side of Jason (which had always been there below the surface, seeing as how he is an un-killable zombie that originally rose from a lake) and run with it full speed ahead.
After a fairly inventive opening (in which an already resurrected Jason is caught in an FBI sting and blown up), only Jason's spirit is revived instead of his body and he begins to inhabit other people in order to continue his killing spree, jumping from body to body. It turns out that Jason will always return from seeming death unless he is killed by someone from his own bloodline. It just so happens that some of his relatives are still around, and eventually one of them doers manage to kill him once in for all, as he is dragged down to hell (and his mask is grabbed by the hand of Freddy Krueger to boot!).
This film scores a few points for originality, but the franchise was definitely in need of ending at this point. However, it took 2 more sequels - one of which tried to mix things up by sending Jason into space(!) (Jason X) and one that paired him up finally with Freddy (Freddy vs. Jason) before it was finally put to rest, only to be resurrected (much like Jason himself) in a reboot (2009's Friday the 13th).
Sunday, October 24, 2010
2010 Horror Fest Pt. 10
Dracula Has Risen From the Grave (1968)
(I decided to take a break from the happenings at Crystal Lake to watch the last of the Hammer Dracula films that I'll be watching this month...)
My dog accidentally erased the post I had for this movie (don't ask, he's a lummox), and I don't feel like retyping it. This is the 3rd sequel to Horror of Dracula, and I liked it just as well as the others I have watched (other than Dracula AD 1972), for the same reasons (Lee as Dracula, the settings, etc.). There are still other Hammer Dracula films I need to see, but the month is winding down and I am getting Dracula'ed out, so this will be the last one (I can save the rest until the 2011 Horror Fest).
Friday the 13th: A New Beginning (1985)
This is the installment of the series where it crosses over from old school, early 80's slasher film to campy horror. In addition to the acting being over the top (a given for this type of film), the characters are now over the top as well (especially the white trash family that lives next door to the halfway house). Also, they do away with the slow build of tension that the earlier films employed. The focus is now on trying to cram as many killings in as they can, and to make them as gruesome and outlandish as possible.
At least New Beginning attempted to shake things up a little, plot-wise. Here, we move away from a summer camp setting to a halfway house for mentally disturbed teens. Tommy, the kid who finally was able to put Jason out of his misery at the end of the last film, is 5 years older and is sent to the halfway house as he has been warped by what he was forced to do to take care of Jason. Of course, killings start again, leading people to think Jason has been brought back to life (he hasn't). This film (as you can tell by the title) was an attempt to take things in a different direction, and eventually have Tommy take over for Jason as the killer. People didn't care for that, so it it wasn't long before Jason was back for good...
Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives (1986)
In fact it was only 1 year later. Jason is ressurrected right at the beginning, and he is front and center the whole film. The makers of this movie knew what the people wanted - no more lurking behind trees and using POV camera shots to show when the killer is around. Its all Jason, all the time.
There really isn't much to say about the film, other than it is my least favorite of the series. There is nothing to distinguish it from the other Friday the 13th films (at least New Beginning had a different killer, and Part VII has a girl with psychic powers - more on that below). Its pretty bland.
Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood (1988)
New Blood takes place 10 years after Jason Lives. There has to be these huge jumps in time between the films to explain why ANYONE would want to spend any time at all in the same area where, by this point, 5 different brutal slayings have occured (New Beginning was the only one that took place away from Crystal Lake or, as it was renamed in Jason Lives in an effort by the townspeople to move on from the killings, Forest Green). Unlike the last installment, this film at least tries to add a new twist to the (by now stale) standard plot of getting a bunch of teens together to allow jason to wreck havoc - the main character Tina has psychic powers. Its her powers that inadvertantly ressurect Jason from his watery grave, and also play a part in Jason's final demise. The rest of the film is what you'd expect, but at least some attempt was made to change things up a little.
(I decided to take a break from the happenings at Crystal Lake to watch the last of the Hammer Dracula films that I'll be watching this month...)
My dog accidentally erased the post I had for this movie (don't ask, he's a lummox), and I don't feel like retyping it. This is the 3rd sequel to Horror of Dracula, and I liked it just as well as the others I have watched (other than Dracula AD 1972), for the same reasons (Lee as Dracula, the settings, etc.). There are still other Hammer Dracula films I need to see, but the month is winding down and I am getting Dracula'ed out, so this will be the last one (I can save the rest until the 2011 Horror Fest).
Friday the 13th: A New Beginning (1985)
This is the installment of the series where it crosses over from old school, early 80's slasher film to campy horror. In addition to the acting being over the top (a given for this type of film), the characters are now over the top as well (especially the white trash family that lives next door to the halfway house). Also, they do away with the slow build of tension that the earlier films employed. The focus is now on trying to cram as many killings in as they can, and to make them as gruesome and outlandish as possible.
At least New Beginning attempted to shake things up a little, plot-wise. Here, we move away from a summer camp setting to a halfway house for mentally disturbed teens. Tommy, the kid who finally was able to put Jason out of his misery at the end of the last film, is 5 years older and is sent to the halfway house as he has been warped by what he was forced to do to take care of Jason. Of course, killings start again, leading people to think Jason has been brought back to life (he hasn't). This film (as you can tell by the title) was an attempt to take things in a different direction, and eventually have Tommy take over for Jason as the killer. People didn't care for that, so it it wasn't long before Jason was back for good...
Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives (1986)
In fact it was only 1 year later. Jason is ressurrected right at the beginning, and he is front and center the whole film. The makers of this movie knew what the people wanted - no more lurking behind trees and using POV camera shots to show when the killer is around. Its all Jason, all the time.
There really isn't much to say about the film, other than it is my least favorite of the series. There is nothing to distinguish it from the other Friday the 13th films (at least New Beginning had a different killer, and Part VII has a girl with psychic powers - more on that below). Its pretty bland.
Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood (1988)
New Blood takes place 10 years after Jason Lives. There has to be these huge jumps in time between the films to explain why ANYONE would want to spend any time at all in the same area where, by this point, 5 different brutal slayings have occured (New Beginning was the only one that took place away from Crystal Lake or, as it was renamed in Jason Lives in an effort by the townspeople to move on from the killings, Forest Green). Unlike the last installment, this film at least tries to add a new twist to the (by now stale) standard plot of getting a bunch of teens together to allow jason to wreck havoc - the main character Tina has psychic powers. Its her powers that inadvertantly ressurect Jason from his watery grave, and also play a part in Jason's final demise. The rest of the film is what you'd expect, but at least some attempt was made to change things up a little.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
2010 Horror Fest Pt. 9
AMC is showing all the Friday the 13th movies this week, and since I haven't seen them in years, I am going to watch them all and the next few posts will be about these films (with the occasional other movie popping up).
(I know that I will be watching the edited versions on TV, but I have seen all of these un-cut often enough that I don't mind)
Friday the 13th (1980)
This film, along with Halloween, is the one that started the early 80s slasher boom. I think it stands right at the top of the all-time slasher film list (keeping in mind that Halloween is on its own list, which is above this list).
You can see almost all of the features we commonly find in slasher films on display here (although some of them had their start in Halloween and are just being copied here). Unknown killer not revealed until near the end of the film. Splitting up the large group into smaller couples (and then into individuals) and then picking them off. Couples that have sex are killed (including a feathery-haired Kevin Bacon!). The killings take place on the anniversary of a former tragedy or other milestone.
The story is pretty well known - teens are working on getting Camp Crystal Lake ready for the summer and a crazed killer decides to do away with them as revenge (in her mind) for counselors allowing her son, Jason, to drown at the camp 22 years earlier. It also happens to be Jason's birthday, so that is bad luck for the teens.
The movie manages to do a good job of building up the tension as each character is picked off 1 by 1 by not showing too much - some of the kills even happen off screen - and leaving a lot up to your imagination (the edited version I watched didn't even have to remove too much. Topping off the movie is the weirdly creepy portrayal of Mrs. Voorhees, the killer. She is only in the movie at the very end, but man is that lady freaky. Friday the 13th also has one of the most iconic soundtracks in horror - almost everyone recognizes its signature "ki ki ki, ma ma ma".
Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981)
While this sequel is not as well regarded as the original, i think I like it almost as much. Its certainly my favorite of the films where Jason Voorhees is the killer, probably because in this one (despite the fact that he had been living in a lake for 22 years) he comes off as just a normal person, rather than the supernatural unkillable zombie he becomes in every film after this.
Part 2 takes place 5 years after the original (other than the opening scene, in which Jason tracks down the only survivor of the first film to take care of some unfinished business), which is long enough for everyone to forget the original killings and make their way out to Crystal Lake again. The plot is pretty similar to the first one - a bunch of teens are together in the woods (this time for counselor training), they all get separated and then get picked off one by one. Even the ending is similar - the survivors think they are out of danger before one last unexpected scare. Since this is a sequel, things are turned up a notch - more nudity, more blood (although not to much, as once again not a lot had to be edited out of the AMC version as far as the killings are concerned), more inventive kills. Its not quite as good as the original, but still pretty decent.
Friday the 13th Part 3 (1982)
And here is where things start to go downhill, quality-wise...
First of all, this movie was released in 3D, and they tack on so many superfluous shots just to have more 3D scenes that it makes a lot of the film very cheesy. Some examples of the crappy 3D - someone tosses a wallet across a store; as one of the characters lays on the round, another plays with a yo-yo right over her head; someone makes popcorn on the stove. UGH. Another mark against this movie are too many scenes similar to the first Friday the 13th (there is one kill similar to the way Kevin Bacon's character was killed in, and the survivor winds up in a canoe on the lake for one last scare at the end). I am sure they are suppose to be homages, but they just come off as inferior imitations.
This is the first Friday film that has the version of Jason Voorhees with which most people are familiar - big, hulking, relentless, hockey mask-wearing unstoppable killer (seriously, Jason is like twice as big as he was in Part 2). Also, the style of kills employed by Jason are more outlandish than in either of the first 2 films (ex. Jason uses a spear gun on one victim, and crushes the head of another with his bare hands) that will continue through the rest of the series.
Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984)
I always enjoyed this sequel better than Part 3, mostly because of the ending (there is no point in talking about what comes before the ending, since its the same as what happened in the first 3 movies). Even though the ending is a takeoff of the ending to Part 2 (someone puts on a disguise to confuse Jason - in Part 2 it was as his mother, and here its as Jason himself - Jason isn't very bright), I thought it was very effective, mostly due to the performance of Corey Feldman (I know, surprising, right?). Corey's character shaves his head to appear more like Jason as a child, which looks creepy enough on its own. Then, Corey viciously attacks Jason with a machete when it is apparent that Jason is not yet dead. The look on Feldman's face as he performs the attack was always very disturbing.
(I know that I will be watching the edited versions on TV, but I have seen all of these un-cut often enough that I don't mind)
Friday the 13th (1980)
This film, along with Halloween, is the one that started the early 80s slasher boom. I think it stands right at the top of the all-time slasher film list (keeping in mind that Halloween is on its own list, which is above this list).
You can see almost all of the features we commonly find in slasher films on display here (although some of them had their start in Halloween and are just being copied here). Unknown killer not revealed until near the end of the film. Splitting up the large group into smaller couples (and then into individuals) and then picking them off. Couples that have sex are killed (including a feathery-haired Kevin Bacon!). The killings take place on the anniversary of a former tragedy or other milestone.
The story is pretty well known - teens are working on getting Camp Crystal Lake ready for the summer and a crazed killer decides to do away with them as revenge (in her mind) for counselors allowing her son, Jason, to drown at the camp 22 years earlier. It also happens to be Jason's birthday, so that is bad luck for the teens.
The movie manages to do a good job of building up the tension as each character is picked off 1 by 1 by not showing too much - some of the kills even happen off screen - and leaving a lot up to your imagination (the edited version I watched didn't even have to remove too much. Topping off the movie is the weirdly creepy portrayal of Mrs. Voorhees, the killer. She is only in the movie at the very end, but man is that lady freaky. Friday the 13th also has one of the most iconic soundtracks in horror - almost everyone recognizes its signature "ki ki ki, ma ma ma".
Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981)
While this sequel is not as well regarded as the original, i think I like it almost as much. Its certainly my favorite of the films where Jason Voorhees is the killer, probably because in this one (despite the fact that he had been living in a lake for 22 years) he comes off as just a normal person, rather than the supernatural unkillable zombie he becomes in every film after this.
Part 2 takes place 5 years after the original (other than the opening scene, in which Jason tracks down the only survivor of the first film to take care of some unfinished business), which is long enough for everyone to forget the original killings and make their way out to Crystal Lake again. The plot is pretty similar to the first one - a bunch of teens are together in the woods (this time for counselor training), they all get separated and then get picked off one by one. Even the ending is similar - the survivors think they are out of danger before one last unexpected scare. Since this is a sequel, things are turned up a notch - more nudity, more blood (although not to much, as once again not a lot had to be edited out of the AMC version as far as the killings are concerned), more inventive kills. Its not quite as good as the original, but still pretty decent.
Friday the 13th Part 3 (1982)
And here is where things start to go downhill, quality-wise...
First of all, this movie was released in 3D, and they tack on so many superfluous shots just to have more 3D scenes that it makes a lot of the film very cheesy. Some examples of the crappy 3D - someone tosses a wallet across a store; as one of the characters lays on the round, another plays with a yo-yo right over her head; someone makes popcorn on the stove. UGH. Another mark against this movie are too many scenes similar to the first Friday the 13th (there is one kill similar to the way Kevin Bacon's character was killed in, and the survivor winds up in a canoe on the lake for one last scare at the end). I am sure they are suppose to be homages, but they just come off as inferior imitations.
This is the first Friday film that has the version of Jason Voorhees with which most people are familiar - big, hulking, relentless, hockey mask-wearing unstoppable killer (seriously, Jason is like twice as big as he was in Part 2). Also, the style of kills employed by Jason are more outlandish than in either of the first 2 films (ex. Jason uses a spear gun on one victim, and crushes the head of another with his bare hands) that will continue through the rest of the series.
Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984)
I always enjoyed this sequel better than Part 3, mostly because of the ending (there is no point in talking about what comes before the ending, since its the same as what happened in the first 3 movies). Even though the ending is a takeoff of the ending to Part 2 (someone puts on a disguise to confuse Jason - in Part 2 it was as his mother, and here its as Jason himself - Jason isn't very bright), I thought it was very effective, mostly due to the performance of Corey Feldman (I know, surprising, right?). Corey's character shaves his head to appear more like Jason as a child, which looks creepy enough on its own. Then, Corey viciously attacks Jason with a machete when it is apparent that Jason is not yet dead. The look on Feldman's face as he performs the attack was always very disturbing.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
2010 Horror Fest Pt. 8
The Mummy (1959)
This version of The Mummy is from Hammer Studios' trifecta of films (along with 1958's Horror of Dracula and 1957's The Curse of Frankenstein) re-introducing the classic Universal horror icons to a new generation. Unlike with Horror of Dracula, which was a very good film, yet not as good as the original (mostly due to Lugosi's portrayal of the Count), I enjoyed Hammer's version more than the original (the verdict is still out on the Frankenstein battle, since I have not seen Hammer's entry).
This version of the story (which has more in common with Universal's Mummy sequels The Mummy's Hand and The Mummy's Tomb than with the plot of the original) finds the Mummy being summoned by a modern day Egyptian man to take vengeance on a bunch of British archeologists for disturbing the tomb of a princess. The Mummy was cursed with eternal living death as punishment for his love for the princess and he was entombed along with her. The Egyptian and the Mummy follow the archeologists back to England and start their murderous spree.
While the 1932 version had the great Boris Karloff as the title character, he really only appears as an actual mummy for a few minutes in the film (the rest of the time he tries to pass himself off as a normal person). In the 1959 version, an unrecognizable Christopher Lee is the Mummy throughout the whole film (other than a flashback to ancient Egyptian times to give his back story) and he is fantastic. The Mummy is very menacing and Lee portrays him in the relentless, shambling manner that was copied for every mummy in movies and TV for decades.
The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb (1964)
This film is the first of three sequels (although they were unrelated, story-wise) from Hammer Studios to their original Mummy film. The basic plot is pretty much identical identical to the first film - a tomb is disturbed by foreigners, and a mummy is summoned to pick of the tomb's violators one by one once they return to England. The sequel suffers from a vastly inferior Mummy, as this actor can't hold a candle to Lee's portrayal. However, while this is a lessor movie, if you enjoyed the first one, you'll probably enjoy this one.
(I also started watching the next film in the series, The Mummy's Shroud, the same night - as TCM was having a marathon, but the plot seemed to be the same once again, so, since it was late and I was Mummy-ed out, I turned it off and went to bed)
The Mephisto Waltz (1971)
The Mephisto Waltz is a classic 70s horror film that has been on my "need to see" list for a long time (considering how many movies I watch, that list never seems to get any smaller...).
In the film, Alan Alda is a music journalist who becomes friends with a world renowned piano player named Duncan Ely, and his daughter. His wife doesn't like all the attention they (especially the daughter) are lavishing on her husband, but she relents when she finds out Duncan is dying. After he passes on, Alda inherits a sum of money from Ely and undergoes a complete attitude transformation. This is because Ely and his daughter are Satanists, and they have switched Ely's soul into Alda's body at the moment of Ely's death.
Until this film, my exposure to Alan Alda was related to mostly comedy roles - M*A*S*H* (which I watched a lot in re-runs as a kid), which did allow him the occasional dramatic turn, and guest appearances in other comedies like 30 Rock. I wasn't sure how he would do in this type of movie. He really nailed it. His transformation from the laid-back journalist to the egotistical, sinister pianist is quite well done.
This is another very good version of the type of atmospheric movies that came out of the 60s and 70s. A lot of the action takes place at Duncan Ely's old mansion, which is creepy on its own, but is especially creepy during the New Year's Eve masquerade party (the scene where they put the human mask on the family dog is one of the most disturbing sights I have seen in a long while) and during the occult ritual. Also, the use of a fuzzy, fish eye view for dreams and visions adds a nice surreal quality to those scenes and makes you as disoriented as the character experiencing them in the film.
This version of The Mummy is from Hammer Studios' trifecta of films (along with 1958's Horror of Dracula and 1957's The Curse of Frankenstein) re-introducing the classic Universal horror icons to a new generation. Unlike with Horror of Dracula, which was a very good film, yet not as good as the original (mostly due to Lugosi's portrayal of the Count), I enjoyed Hammer's version more than the original (the verdict is still out on the Frankenstein battle, since I have not seen Hammer's entry).
This version of the story (which has more in common with Universal's Mummy sequels The Mummy's Hand and The Mummy's Tomb than with the plot of the original) finds the Mummy being summoned by a modern day Egyptian man to take vengeance on a bunch of British archeologists for disturbing the tomb of a princess. The Mummy was cursed with eternal living death as punishment for his love for the princess and he was entombed along with her. The Egyptian and the Mummy follow the archeologists back to England and start their murderous spree.
While the 1932 version had the great Boris Karloff as the title character, he really only appears as an actual mummy for a few minutes in the film (the rest of the time he tries to pass himself off as a normal person). In the 1959 version, an unrecognizable Christopher Lee is the Mummy throughout the whole film (other than a flashback to ancient Egyptian times to give his back story) and he is fantastic. The Mummy is very menacing and Lee portrays him in the relentless, shambling manner that was copied for every mummy in movies and TV for decades.
The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb (1964)
This film is the first of three sequels (although they were unrelated, story-wise) from Hammer Studios to their original Mummy film. The basic plot is pretty much identical identical to the first film - a tomb is disturbed by foreigners, and a mummy is summoned to pick of the tomb's violators one by one once they return to England. The sequel suffers from a vastly inferior Mummy, as this actor can't hold a candle to Lee's portrayal. However, while this is a lessor movie, if you enjoyed the first one, you'll probably enjoy this one.
(I also started watching the next film in the series, The Mummy's Shroud, the same night - as TCM was having a marathon, but the plot seemed to be the same once again, so, since it was late and I was Mummy-ed out, I turned it off and went to bed)
The Mephisto Waltz (1971)
The Mephisto Waltz is a classic 70s horror film that has been on my "need to see" list for a long time (considering how many movies I watch, that list never seems to get any smaller...).
In the film, Alan Alda is a music journalist who becomes friends with a world renowned piano player named Duncan Ely, and his daughter. His wife doesn't like all the attention they (especially the daughter) are lavishing on her husband, but she relents when she finds out Duncan is dying. After he passes on, Alda inherits a sum of money from Ely and undergoes a complete attitude transformation. This is because Ely and his daughter are Satanists, and they have switched Ely's soul into Alda's body at the moment of Ely's death.
Until this film, my exposure to Alan Alda was related to mostly comedy roles - M*A*S*H* (which I watched a lot in re-runs as a kid), which did allow him the occasional dramatic turn, and guest appearances in other comedies like 30 Rock. I wasn't sure how he would do in this type of movie. He really nailed it. His transformation from the laid-back journalist to the egotistical, sinister pianist is quite well done.
This is another very good version of the type of atmospheric movies that came out of the 60s and 70s. A lot of the action takes place at Duncan Ely's old mansion, which is creepy on its own, but is especially creepy during the New Year's Eve masquerade party (the scene where they put the human mask on the family dog is one of the most disturbing sights I have seen in a long while) and during the occult ritual. Also, the use of a fuzzy, fish eye view for dreams and visions adds a nice surreal quality to those scenes and makes you as disoriented as the character experiencing them in the film.
Friday, October 15, 2010
2010 Horror Fest Pt. 7
My Bloody Valentine (1981)
Somehow, this is the first time I have seen this film. I spent a lot of weekends in the 80s watching horror films, so how did I miss one of the most popular (among horror films, not in terms of box-office success) slasher films that popped up in the wake of the Halloween/Friday the 13th knock-off boom?
This film is one of the better examples of a slasher flick out there. The plot follows the basic formula of the genre - there is a maniac on the loose (in this case, on Valentine's Day), and the victims, unaware of any danger, find various reasons to be split up and picked off. The main thing that sets this film apart from its contemporaries is the setting - it takes place in a mining town, and since most of the characters are miners, a lot of the action takes place in a mine. The makers of the film decided to use an actual mine, too. The mine adds a little something extra to the film. A mine is bigger than an old mansion, so there are even more isolated tunnels/hallways spread out over a larger area that makes it more plausible that people could be split up and not hear what is going on around them. Also, a mine is supposed to be dark and spooky, so there is no need to manufacture that feeling with things like a power outage or a thunderstorm.
The killer himself looks especially scary with his miner outfit (I have no idea if that's how miners actually dressed in the early 80s, but the get-up was certainly effective), and the kills are well done. I watched the extended version of the film, which restored several minutes of footage that was removed to avoid an X rating at the time. After seeing films like Saw and Hostel in recent years, the removed scenes do not compare to some of the stuff film makers get away with today, but the removed scenes are still effective (one guy is killed by drowning in a scalding pot of hot dog water).
This is a must-see for anyone who is a fan of the genre. I am going to try and watch the remake this month to see how they compare (most likely not very well,but you never know).
Return of the Living Dead (1985)
This is another film from the 80s that I remember seeing all the time at the video store when I was a kid, but somehow never saw all the way through until now (I had recently seen a bit of the edited version on cable recently and I enjoyed it enough to stop watching and add the DVD to my Netflix queue).
Return... was based on a story by on of the guys, John Russo, that was involved with George Romero in making the original Night of the Living Dead. When they parted ways, Russo kept the rights to any films with "Living Dead" in their title (which was why none of Romero's subsequent zombie films had any version of the title of his original). This film is a great example of the over the top, somewhat campy, morbidly funny horror film that, when done right, can be very enjoyable. Its not scary at all, but it's really not trying to be. It relies on special effects and gross humor to get its reaction from the audience rather than fear.
The plot revolves around the chemicals that cause the zombie out break in Night of the Living Dead (in the world of the movie, that film actually exists and as a true story, but the details were changed to hide the truth of what really happened) are released into a medical supply warehouse, and then eventually to a cemetery. Of course, zombie mayhem ensues.
I enjoyed the hell out of this film. The the acting was sub-par, but this movie wasn't meant to be played straight, so it fit. The zombie effects, especially the initial creature that was freed, were weird end gory enough without looking cheap. This is a completely different film than the Romero zombie films, but it is enjoyable for its own reasons.
Return of the Living Dead Part II (1988)
Since the sequel to the last movie was available on Netflix Instant, I decided to dive right in. Within the first few minutes, it was apparent that I was not going to enjoy this movie as much as the first one for one simple reason - I hate movies that have child characters that behave and think like adults, and the main character in this film is one of them. However, one of the other main characters is the guy who played Bobby Briggs on Twin Peaks, so it has that going for it.
This film tries to replicate everything that the first film pulled off - over the top acting, campy/morbid humor, and weird zombie effects, and does none of it as well. It even casts two of the main actors from the first film in different roles, but has them act just like (and has the same thing happen to them, practically) as in the original Return. There are much more zombies in this film, and it takes place over a larger area (a whole town instead of just a cemetery (and the surrounding blocks), since this is a sequel after all. However, most of this movie falls flat.
Virgin Witch (1971)
I really wish I would have looked into this film a little more before I added it to my Netflix queue. There is nothing scary, suspenseful or creepy about it - its an early 70s British soft-core nudie film that just happens to be about a coven of witches. A total waste of time (if you are expecting a horror film - if you are expecting copious amounts of 70s female nudity, totally NOT a waste of time...).
(No trailer available)
Somehow, this is the first time I have seen this film. I spent a lot of weekends in the 80s watching horror films, so how did I miss one of the most popular (among horror films, not in terms of box-office success) slasher films that popped up in the wake of the Halloween/Friday the 13th knock-off boom?
This film is one of the better examples of a slasher flick out there. The plot follows the basic formula of the genre - there is a maniac on the loose (in this case, on Valentine's Day), and the victims, unaware of any danger, find various reasons to be split up and picked off. The main thing that sets this film apart from its contemporaries is the setting - it takes place in a mining town, and since most of the characters are miners, a lot of the action takes place in a mine. The makers of the film decided to use an actual mine, too. The mine adds a little something extra to the film. A mine is bigger than an old mansion, so there are even more isolated tunnels/hallways spread out over a larger area that makes it more plausible that people could be split up and not hear what is going on around them. Also, a mine is supposed to be dark and spooky, so there is no need to manufacture that feeling with things like a power outage or a thunderstorm.
The killer himself looks especially scary with his miner outfit (I have no idea if that's how miners actually dressed in the early 80s, but the get-up was certainly effective), and the kills are well done. I watched the extended version of the film, which restored several minutes of footage that was removed to avoid an X rating at the time. After seeing films like Saw and Hostel in recent years, the removed scenes do not compare to some of the stuff film makers get away with today, but the removed scenes are still effective (one guy is killed by drowning in a scalding pot of hot dog water).
This is a must-see for anyone who is a fan of the genre. I am going to try and watch the remake this month to see how they compare (most likely not very well,but you never know).
Return of the Living Dead (1985)
This is another film from the 80s that I remember seeing all the time at the video store when I was a kid, but somehow never saw all the way through until now (I had recently seen a bit of the edited version on cable recently and I enjoyed it enough to stop watching and add the DVD to my Netflix queue).
Return... was based on a story by on of the guys, John Russo, that was involved with George Romero in making the original Night of the Living Dead. When they parted ways, Russo kept the rights to any films with "Living Dead" in their title (which was why none of Romero's subsequent zombie films had any version of the title of his original). This film is a great example of the over the top, somewhat campy, morbidly funny horror film that, when done right, can be very enjoyable. Its not scary at all, but it's really not trying to be. It relies on special effects and gross humor to get its reaction from the audience rather than fear.
The plot revolves around the chemicals that cause the zombie out break in Night of the Living Dead (in the world of the movie, that film actually exists and as a true story, but the details were changed to hide the truth of what really happened) are released into a medical supply warehouse, and then eventually to a cemetery. Of course, zombie mayhem ensues.
I enjoyed the hell out of this film. The the acting was sub-par, but this movie wasn't meant to be played straight, so it fit. The zombie effects, especially the initial creature that was freed, were weird end gory enough without looking cheap. This is a completely different film than the Romero zombie films, but it is enjoyable for its own reasons.
Return of the Living Dead Part II (1988)
Since the sequel to the last movie was available on Netflix Instant, I decided to dive right in. Within the first few minutes, it was apparent that I was not going to enjoy this movie as much as the first one for one simple reason - I hate movies that have child characters that behave and think like adults, and the main character in this film is one of them. However, one of the other main characters is the guy who played Bobby Briggs on Twin Peaks, so it has that going for it.
This film tries to replicate everything that the first film pulled off - over the top acting, campy/morbid humor, and weird zombie effects, and does none of it as well. It even casts two of the main actors from the first film in different roles, but has them act just like (and has the same thing happen to them, practically) as in the original Return. There are much more zombies in this film, and it takes place over a larger area (a whole town instead of just a cemetery (and the surrounding blocks), since this is a sequel after all. However, most of this movie falls flat.
Virgin Witch (1971)
I really wish I would have looked into this film a little more before I added it to my Netflix queue. There is nothing scary, suspenseful or creepy about it - its an early 70s British soft-core nudie film that just happens to be about a coven of witches. A total waste of time (if you are expecting a horror film - if you are expecting copious amounts of 70s female nudity, totally NOT a waste of time...).
(No trailer available)
Thursday, October 14, 2010
2010 Horror Fest Pt. 6
Strange Behavior (1981)
This was the second pleasant surprise so far during the horror fest (the first being Day of the Dead ). I have never heard of this movie before and only selected it because the description on Netflix sounded interesting. I was looking for an early 80's slasher film to make up for New Year's Evil being lackluster, so I gave it a shot.
There is actually some originality in this film that puts it above the rest of the cheap Halloween/Friday the 13th knockoffs from the same era. There are multiple killers and why they are performing the murders is a mystery that the film builds up nicely along the way. Also, with the multiple killers, the film makes each kill different - the first is only shown by the shadow of the act, which makes the killer appear to be a Michael Myers-type mask-wearing maniac, but then the camera pans back to show it is just a normal man; the second act is perpetrated by someone wearing a very creepy mask. Another nice feature of this movie is that the murder scenes all build tension really nicely without ruining it with "scary" music or fake scares.
The middle tends to drag a little, as the mystery of what is going on is being unravelled, but its still a fairly good low-budget scare that doesn't let its low-rent status hold it back. Definitely worth checking out.
Shock Waves (1977)
There were two words in the description of this film that jumped out at me and instantly made me want to watch it - "Nazis" and "Zombies". How could you pass up a film about Nazi zombies? Plus, it has Peter Cushing in it. That clinched it.
Other than wanting to see Nazi zombies, I didn't have very high expectations for this film, so I couldn't really be disappointed. However, I wish they would have done more with the Nazi zombies. The plot of the film sounds pretty interesting. Passengers on a boat somewhere on the ocean stumble across an island that seems deserted after they have a run in with another ship that damages their vessel. It turns out the mysterious ship is full of the remnants of a secret Nazi squad of soldiers that were turned into zombie-types that could survive underwater. The squad was thought destroyed at the end of the war, but they survived and come ashore on the island to menace the people from the first boat. The problem is that it takes forever to get to the part of the movie where the zombies come in. Once they start attacking, things pick up (the fact that they can just attack right out of the water is a nice twist), but the chase scenes weren't especially scary or exciting. Overall, not a bad movie, but it could have been more (there is another, more recent, Nazi zombie movie - Dead Snow - in my Netflix queue that I am going to check out to see what they do with the concept).
Mark of the Witch (1970)
This is a film that I enjoyed way more than I should have. However, it was more due to the circumstances under which I watched it than the actual film itself. It was unseasonably nice the other day, so, after work, I took my laptop out on the deck to watch this movie, smoke a cigar, drink a Great Lakes Nosferatu (is there a better named beer for watching horror films?) and enjoy the weather. Since the back of my house isn't in the sun, it was an almost dusk-like atmosphere. That, coupled with the fact that the version of this movie on Netflix Instant is terrible scratchy (the film even jumps and skips a few seconds here and there), created a very drive-in movie-like experience. That made me nostalgic for drive-ins, which added to my movie watching experience.
The movie itself is kind of a mess: a bunch of college students inadvertently summon the spirit of a 300 year old witch and she possesses one of the students. The witch sets about seeking revenge for her death and also the deaths of 3 members of her coven. There is way too much talking and too little going on in this film (plus the acting is terrible - this film is EXTREMELY low budget, and doesn't even have a Wikipedia page, usually a sign that it is bottom of the barrel) to recommend it, but my experience was enjoyable.
(There was no trailer available for this one...)
This was the second pleasant surprise so far during the horror fest (the first being Day of the Dead ). I have never heard of this movie before and only selected it because the description on Netflix sounded interesting. I was looking for an early 80's slasher film to make up for New Year's Evil being lackluster, so I gave it a shot.
There is actually some originality in this film that puts it above the rest of the cheap Halloween/Friday the 13th knockoffs from the same era. There are multiple killers and why they are performing the murders is a mystery that the film builds up nicely along the way. Also, with the multiple killers, the film makes each kill different - the first is only shown by the shadow of the act, which makes the killer appear to be a Michael Myers-type mask-wearing maniac, but then the camera pans back to show it is just a normal man; the second act is perpetrated by someone wearing a very creepy mask. Another nice feature of this movie is that the murder scenes all build tension really nicely without ruining it with "scary" music or fake scares.
The middle tends to drag a little, as the mystery of what is going on is being unravelled, but its still a fairly good low-budget scare that doesn't let its low-rent status hold it back. Definitely worth checking out.
Shock Waves (1977)
There were two words in the description of this film that jumped out at me and instantly made me want to watch it - "Nazis" and "Zombies". How could you pass up a film about Nazi zombies? Plus, it has Peter Cushing in it. That clinched it.
Other than wanting to see Nazi zombies, I didn't have very high expectations for this film, so I couldn't really be disappointed. However, I wish they would have done more with the Nazi zombies. The plot of the film sounds pretty interesting. Passengers on a boat somewhere on the ocean stumble across an island that seems deserted after they have a run in with another ship that damages their vessel. It turns out the mysterious ship is full of the remnants of a secret Nazi squad of soldiers that were turned into zombie-types that could survive underwater. The squad was thought destroyed at the end of the war, but they survived and come ashore on the island to menace the people from the first boat. The problem is that it takes forever to get to the part of the movie where the zombies come in. Once they start attacking, things pick up (the fact that they can just attack right out of the water is a nice twist), but the chase scenes weren't especially scary or exciting. Overall, not a bad movie, but it could have been more (there is another, more recent, Nazi zombie movie - Dead Snow - in my Netflix queue that I am going to check out to see what they do with the concept).
Mark of the Witch (1970)
This is a film that I enjoyed way more than I should have. However, it was more due to the circumstances under which I watched it than the actual film itself. It was unseasonably nice the other day, so, after work, I took my laptop out on the deck to watch this movie, smoke a cigar, drink a Great Lakes Nosferatu (is there a better named beer for watching horror films?) and enjoy the weather. Since the back of my house isn't in the sun, it was an almost dusk-like atmosphere. That, coupled with the fact that the version of this movie on Netflix Instant is terrible scratchy (the film even jumps and skips a few seconds here and there), created a very drive-in movie-like experience. That made me nostalgic for drive-ins, which added to my movie watching experience.
The movie itself is kind of a mess: a bunch of college students inadvertently summon the spirit of a 300 year old witch and she possesses one of the students. The witch sets about seeking revenge for her death and also the deaths of 3 members of her coven. There is way too much talking and too little going on in this film (plus the acting is terrible - this film is EXTREMELY low budget, and doesn't even have a Wikipedia page, usually a sign that it is bottom of the barrel) to recommend it, but my experience was enjoyable.
(There was no trailer available for this one...)
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
2010 Horror Fest Pt. 5
The Plague of the Zombies (1966)
Turner Classic Movies is showing old horror movies Friday nights in October. The first 3 Fridays have been devoted to offerings from Hammer Studios, which has allowed me to get a much larger exposure to the Hammer catalog than I had before this month. Unfortunately, I missed the first 40 minutes of this one - I thought it was DVR'ing but I neglected to set it to record. However, I really enjoyed what I saw and it wasn't hard to pick up the plot - an English village is being affected by a plague of zombies of the voodoo, not brain eater, variety. It had the trademark sets from the other Hammer films I have seen - old English manors, misty cemeteries, etc. As I get further in to this horror marathon, I think that these types of movies from the 50's and 60's may be my favorite type of horror film - they aren't necessarily scary, but they are creepy and atmospheric, the dialog and plots are rarely cheesy, and the performances are are rarely over the top.
The Devil's Bride (1968)
This was the second Hammer film from TCM last Friday night, and the first I have seen with Christopher Lee where he is not Dracula. In even more of a change, he is the hero of the movie, rather than the villain. Its a credit to his talent that he is able to pull off both types of roles equally well.
The Devil's Bride is about a cult in the 1930s who's members, English aristocrats, are trying to summon Satan himself. Lee plays a family friend of the cult's newest member who attempts to save his friend and stop the ritual. The leader of the cult (played by the same actor who portrayed Blofeld in the James Bond film Diamonds Are Forever), has the scary magnetism that you would expect a cult leader to have. This is a solid supernatural thriller that builds the tension well right up until the end. Another classic from Hammer.
(This is the trailer for the British version, The Devil Rides Out...)
New Year's Evil (1980)
New Year's Evil struck me as what a made-for-TV version of a slasher film would have been like in the early 80s. The production values were all low rent, there wasn't a lot of blood, all the kills happen off screen, and the dialog and acting were bad.
The plot revolves around a Punk/New Wave music program (or, at least what Hollywood in the early 80's thought that type of music program would be like - the first band on the show looked and sounded like an early hair metal group) holding a New Year's Eve special where viewers could call in and vote for their favorite song of the year. The show takes place in California, and someone calls in and says he is going to kill someone at the stroke of midnight in every time zone, finishing up with the host of the program (a woman named "Blaze", who is way to old to be hosting this type of program, and who comes off as more of a forced sultry lounge singer than a Punk/New Wave queen) at the stroke of midnight local time.
I did like the idea that the killer had a plan in place, rather than the film being about a bunch of random murders, or murders that only seemed random until the big explanation at the end. That was a nice change of pace. However, other than that, there is not a whole lot of originality in this movie (the only other inspired bit is one of the victims was asphyxiated with a giant bag of weed - I enjoyed that). It wasn't boring, it was just middle of the road. Nothing stood out to recommend it, just as nothing stood out to not recommend it.
Turner Classic Movies is showing old horror movies Friday nights in October. The first 3 Fridays have been devoted to offerings from Hammer Studios, which has allowed me to get a much larger exposure to the Hammer catalog than I had before this month. Unfortunately, I missed the first 40 minutes of this one - I thought it was DVR'ing but I neglected to set it to record. However, I really enjoyed what I saw and it wasn't hard to pick up the plot - an English village is being affected by a plague of zombies of the voodoo, not brain eater, variety. It had the trademark sets from the other Hammer films I have seen - old English manors, misty cemeteries, etc. As I get further in to this horror marathon, I think that these types of movies from the 50's and 60's may be my favorite type of horror film - they aren't necessarily scary, but they are creepy and atmospheric, the dialog and plots are rarely cheesy, and the performances are are rarely over the top.
The Devil's Bride (1968)
This was the second Hammer film from TCM last Friday night, and the first I have seen with Christopher Lee where he is not Dracula. In even more of a change, he is the hero of the movie, rather than the villain. Its a credit to his talent that he is able to pull off both types of roles equally well.
The Devil's Bride is about a cult in the 1930s who's members, English aristocrats, are trying to summon Satan himself. Lee plays a family friend of the cult's newest member who attempts to save his friend and stop the ritual. The leader of the cult (played by the same actor who portrayed Blofeld in the James Bond film Diamonds Are Forever), has the scary magnetism that you would expect a cult leader to have. This is a solid supernatural thriller that builds the tension well right up until the end. Another classic from Hammer.
(This is the trailer for the British version, The Devil Rides Out...)
New Year's Evil (1980)
New Year's Evil struck me as what a made-for-TV version of a slasher film would have been like in the early 80s. The production values were all low rent, there wasn't a lot of blood, all the kills happen off screen, and the dialog and acting were bad.
The plot revolves around a Punk/New Wave music program (or, at least what Hollywood in the early 80's thought that type of music program would be like - the first band on the show looked and sounded like an early hair metal group) holding a New Year's Eve special where viewers could call in and vote for their favorite song of the year. The show takes place in California, and someone calls in and says he is going to kill someone at the stroke of midnight in every time zone, finishing up with the host of the program (a woman named "Blaze", who is way to old to be hosting this type of program, and who comes off as more of a forced sultry lounge singer than a Punk/New Wave queen) at the stroke of midnight local time.
I did like the idea that the killer had a plan in place, rather than the film being about a bunch of random murders, or murders that only seemed random until the big explanation at the end. That was a nice change of pace. However, other than that, there is not a whole lot of originality in this movie (the only other inspired bit is one of the victims was asphyxiated with a giant bag of weed - I enjoyed that). It wasn't boring, it was just middle of the road. Nothing stood out to recommend it, just as nothing stood out to not recommend it.
Sunday, October 10, 2010
2010 Horror Fest Pt. 4
Shock (1977)
Shock is a film from the other master of Italian horror (along with Dario Argento), Mario Bava. It was Bava's final film before his death, but it is the first of his movies that I have seen. I enjoyed it enough that I will definitely check out other entries in his catalog.
Shock is the story of a woman who, along with her son and second husband, move back into the house in which she lived with her first husband, and where he killed himself. From the moment they move in, its apparent that his spirit is still inhabiting the place, and is intent on terrorizing his former wife. There are a couple of nice twists and turns along the way, and the actor playing the son has some creepy scenes when he is possessed by his father's spirit. Its not a great movie by any means (and I am expecting that there are few great films among Bava's previous films based on his reputation as one of the all-time greats), but it was an effective little thriller.
(This was the only English trailer I could find for this film, and it is under it's alternate title Beyond the Door II, which was an attempt to cash in by making it seem like Shock was a sequel to a totally unrelated movie...)
Flesh for Frankenstein (1973)
As I said in my review of The Toolbox Murders , I said that horror films can come in many forms (gory, campy, etc.). This one falls decidedly into the category of WEIRD. Now, knowing ahead of time that this movie is also known as Andy Warhol's Frankenstein (he is the producer), I expected a certain amount of weirdness. This film managed to surpass any of my expectations in that department.
Flesh... is a retelling of the Frankenstein story that revolves it completely around sex. Not in a way that is meant to titillate, lie a soft-core Skinimax version, but in that sex, in one way or another, is the driving force behind everything that happens. The Baron is married to his sister, but it is a sexless marriage that was done in order to secure their inheritance (I think - the film is a little unclear on the reason). The wife satisfies her urges by sleeping with whatever servant or peasant she can get into her bedroom. The Baron, on the other hand, suppresses his urges and instead focuses on hos work - creating a set of male and female creatures from the pieces of corpses that will obey his commands, and eventually procreate to give him an entire race of subjects to command.
All of that sounds weird enough, but doesn't really do this film justice in expressing HOW weird it is - for example, the Baron loses control of his urges in one scene and takes them out on his female creature by humping her in an open incision by her gall bladder. Later, when the baron's assistant decided he deserves a reward for his loyalty, and wants to have sex with the female creature, he thinks that the way to do it is to follow the Baron's earlier example so he eviscerates her in order to perform the act (but that results in her death). That's the kind of weirdness I am talking about.
If you can get over all that, its not really a bad film (although the random attempts to put 3D effects into the movie, since that is how it was released to the theaters, tend to be annoying). Flesh tries to emulate the horror films of the 50s and 60s and does a decent job of it. Just be prepared for exactly what type of film this is before you start watching.
Deep Red (1975)
After my disappointment with Dario Argento's Opera , I wanted to go a little farther back in his catalog to find a film I would enjoy a little more (I wanted a viewing experience closer to Suspira than Opera). Deep Red was a much better film than Opera, but it had its flaws as well.
Deep Red is the story of a murder that is witnessed by an English pianist in Italy, and the resulting publicity makes him, and everyone around him, a target for the killer. Argento does a really good job creating an atmosphere of terror through the use of the pounding musical score and the sets - every character seems to live in a sprawling apartment that has many narrow corridors and isolated rooms where the killer could be around any corner. Deep Red also contains one of the creepiest scenes I have come across in a horror film: one of the victims realizes he is not alone in his house, and, just as he expects the killer to enter the room, a mechanical doll (with the type of extremely disturbing face that all dolls used to have) comes flying into the room instead in an effort to distract. It was pretty chilling.
There were 2 major areas that kept this from being a great film. First, it was about 25 minutes too long. The plot starts to wander when the main character is trying to determine the identity of the killer. It could have been tightened up a little. Also, for some reason, the characters would switch back and forth between English and Italian, sometimes in the same conversation. It was a little jarring. I would have preferred that they kept it all in Italian with sub-titles.
Shock is a film from the other master of Italian horror (along with Dario Argento), Mario Bava. It was Bava's final film before his death, but it is the first of his movies that I have seen. I enjoyed it enough that I will definitely check out other entries in his catalog.
Shock is the story of a woman who, along with her son and second husband, move back into the house in which she lived with her first husband, and where he killed himself. From the moment they move in, its apparent that his spirit is still inhabiting the place, and is intent on terrorizing his former wife. There are a couple of nice twists and turns along the way, and the actor playing the son has some creepy scenes when he is possessed by his father's spirit. Its not a great movie by any means (and I am expecting that there are few great films among Bava's previous films based on his reputation as one of the all-time greats), but it was an effective little thriller.
(This was the only English trailer I could find for this film, and it is under it's alternate title Beyond the Door II, which was an attempt to cash in by making it seem like Shock was a sequel to a totally unrelated movie...)
Flesh for Frankenstein (1973)
As I said in my review of The Toolbox Murders , I said that horror films can come in many forms (gory, campy, etc.). This one falls decidedly into the category of WEIRD. Now, knowing ahead of time that this movie is also known as Andy Warhol's Frankenstein (he is the producer), I expected a certain amount of weirdness. This film managed to surpass any of my expectations in that department.
Flesh... is a retelling of the Frankenstein story that revolves it completely around sex. Not in a way that is meant to titillate, lie a soft-core Skinimax version, but in that sex, in one way or another, is the driving force behind everything that happens. The Baron is married to his sister, but it is a sexless marriage that was done in order to secure their inheritance (I think - the film is a little unclear on the reason). The wife satisfies her urges by sleeping with whatever servant or peasant she can get into her bedroom. The Baron, on the other hand, suppresses his urges and instead focuses on hos work - creating a set of male and female creatures from the pieces of corpses that will obey his commands, and eventually procreate to give him an entire race of subjects to command.
All of that sounds weird enough, but doesn't really do this film justice in expressing HOW weird it is - for example, the Baron loses control of his urges in one scene and takes them out on his female creature by humping her in an open incision by her gall bladder. Later, when the baron's assistant decided he deserves a reward for his loyalty, and wants to have sex with the female creature, he thinks that the way to do it is to follow the Baron's earlier example so he eviscerates her in order to perform the act (but that results in her death). That's the kind of weirdness I am talking about.
If you can get over all that, its not really a bad film (although the random attempts to put 3D effects into the movie, since that is how it was released to the theaters, tend to be annoying). Flesh tries to emulate the horror films of the 50s and 60s and does a decent job of it. Just be prepared for exactly what type of film this is before you start watching.
Deep Red (1975)
After my disappointment with Dario Argento's Opera , I wanted to go a little farther back in his catalog to find a film I would enjoy a little more (I wanted a viewing experience closer to Suspira than Opera). Deep Red was a much better film than Opera, but it had its flaws as well.
Deep Red is the story of a murder that is witnessed by an English pianist in Italy, and the resulting publicity makes him, and everyone around him, a target for the killer. Argento does a really good job creating an atmosphere of terror through the use of the pounding musical score and the sets - every character seems to live in a sprawling apartment that has many narrow corridors and isolated rooms where the killer could be around any corner. Deep Red also contains one of the creepiest scenes I have come across in a horror film: one of the victims realizes he is not alone in his house, and, just as he expects the killer to enter the room, a mechanical doll (with the type of extremely disturbing face that all dolls used to have) comes flying into the room instead in an effort to distract. It was pretty chilling.
There were 2 major areas that kept this from being a great film. First, it was about 25 minutes too long. The plot starts to wander when the main character is trying to determine the identity of the killer. It could have been tightened up a little. Also, for some reason, the characters would switch back and forth between English and Italian, sometimes in the same conversation. It was a little jarring. I would have preferred that they kept it all in Italian with sub-titles.
Saturday, October 9, 2010
2010 Horror Fest Pt. 3
Before I get started, this post was supposed to contain at least 1, but possibly all, of the first three Friday the 13th films. I found out last week that they were available on Netflix Online, and I was very excited, as I hadn't watched them in years. However, when I went to watch them this week, they were no longer available. That is terrible timing on the part of Netflix...
Dracula: Prince of Darkness (1968)
This film is a big improvement over the previous Hammer Dracula film I watched (Dracula A.D. 1972). This is the third of the Hammer "Dracula" films, and forth vampire film by the studio overall. However, it is the first to star Christopher Lee in the title role since the original, The Horror of Dracula, in 1958. He doesn't appear in the movie until about 40 minutes in (he has to be resurrected from his death at the end of Horror...), but he manages to own the picture with a great, menacing portrayal, despite the fact that he doesn't have one word of dialog in the entire film! Instead, he relies on his sinister gaze and intimidating bearing to convey the evil of Dracula. You really don't need much more than that to have an effective Dracula film, and this one succeeds. I am a sucker for films like this that use creepy old castles or manors to create an atmosphere of foreboding and hidden evil around any corner. There isn't much to the plot - Dracula needs to be resurrected, and when he does, he tries to feed and create more vampires. You really don't need much more than that to have an effective Dracula film, and this one succeeds.
The Toolbox Murders (1978)
As I said last year in my first post on my love of horror movies, I said that I like them all: scary, campy, gory, weird, good and bad. I have watched a lot of bad horror movies in my time, but have enjoyed a lot of them. However, there is one thing that a horror movie can never be and still manage to be enjoyable, and that is boring. And The Toolbox Murders is a BORING movie. So boring that I finally gave up and fast forwarded through the last 20 minutes in order to see how it ended.
The shame is that the movie had a pretty solid start, and a decent final scene. Unfortunately, what happened in between those parts was a slog. There were way too many stretches of nothing happening, and an excruciating monologue by the killer (whose identity they revealed out of nowhere about 40 minutes in) that I am sure was meant to establish how crazy and unhinged he is, but instead almost put me to sleep (in the middle of the day).
As I said above, the only thing I really liked about the movie was the beginning. The movie starts right of with a bang - the killer shows up and starts his murder spree. As you can tell from the title, the killer uses various items from his tool box to dispatch his victims, so its a nice change of pace from your standard butcher knife killings that most slasher films employ. Another thing I liked was how, instead of an added on musical score, the film uses the music that the first victim is playing in her apartment to accompany the kill. This is always an effective technique and adds an extra sense of scary realism when it is used in place of a musical score (its scarier because it makes the scene seem like something that is really happening instead of something that is taking place in a movie).
Unfortunately, after those opening scenes, there is nothing else in this movie that could make me recommend it.
Day of the Dead (2008)
This is the semi-remake of the classic 3rd film in George Romero's Dead zombie series. Its also the first pleasant surprise of my 2010 horror fest. I really wasn't expecting a whole lot from this film - I remember it not getting very good reviews when released and it was direct to video. I decided to give it a shot anyway. I am glad I did.
The plot is super thin - people start getting sick, the military shuts down the town, and the sick turn into zombies and go on a rampage. However, it works. The zombies (they are of the super fast, come out of nowhere variety rather than the slow, mindless, shambling type of the Romero films) are particularly menacing and creepy, and the film manages to convey the sense that you are being smothered, by both the situation and the swarms of zombies themselves, that zombie flicks should. It definitely owes (ripped off) a lot from 28 Days Later, but if you are a fan of zombie films its worth checking out.
Dracula: Prince of Darkness (1968)
This film is a big improvement over the previous Hammer Dracula film I watched (Dracula A.D. 1972). This is the third of the Hammer "Dracula" films, and forth vampire film by the studio overall. However, it is the first to star Christopher Lee in the title role since the original, The Horror of Dracula, in 1958. He doesn't appear in the movie until about 40 minutes in (he has to be resurrected from his death at the end of Horror...), but he manages to own the picture with a great, menacing portrayal, despite the fact that he doesn't have one word of dialog in the entire film! Instead, he relies on his sinister gaze and intimidating bearing to convey the evil of Dracula. You really don't need much more than that to have an effective Dracula film, and this one succeeds. I am a sucker for films like this that use creepy old castles or manors to create an atmosphere of foreboding and hidden evil around any corner. There isn't much to the plot - Dracula needs to be resurrected, and when he does, he tries to feed and create more vampires. You really don't need much more than that to have an effective Dracula film, and this one succeeds.
The Toolbox Murders (1978)
As I said last year in my first post on my love of horror movies, I said that I like them all: scary, campy, gory, weird, good and bad. I have watched a lot of bad horror movies in my time, but have enjoyed a lot of them. However, there is one thing that a horror movie can never be and still manage to be enjoyable, and that is boring. And The Toolbox Murders is a BORING movie. So boring that I finally gave up and fast forwarded through the last 20 minutes in order to see how it ended.
The shame is that the movie had a pretty solid start, and a decent final scene. Unfortunately, what happened in between those parts was a slog. There were way too many stretches of nothing happening, and an excruciating monologue by the killer (whose identity they revealed out of nowhere about 40 minutes in) that I am sure was meant to establish how crazy and unhinged he is, but instead almost put me to sleep (in the middle of the day).
As I said above, the only thing I really liked about the movie was the beginning. The movie starts right of with a bang - the killer shows up and starts his murder spree. As you can tell from the title, the killer uses various items from his tool box to dispatch his victims, so its a nice change of pace from your standard butcher knife killings that most slasher films employ. Another thing I liked was how, instead of an added on musical score, the film uses the music that the first victim is playing in her apartment to accompany the kill. This is always an effective technique and adds an extra sense of scary realism when it is used in place of a musical score (its scarier because it makes the scene seem like something that is really happening instead of something that is taking place in a movie).
Unfortunately, after those opening scenes, there is nothing else in this movie that could make me recommend it.
Day of the Dead (2008)
This is the semi-remake of the classic 3rd film in George Romero's Dead zombie series. Its also the first pleasant surprise of my 2010 horror fest. I really wasn't expecting a whole lot from this film - I remember it not getting very good reviews when released and it was direct to video. I decided to give it a shot anyway. I am glad I did.
The plot is super thin - people start getting sick, the military shuts down the town, and the sick turn into zombies and go on a rampage. However, it works. The zombies (they are of the super fast, come out of nowhere variety rather than the slow, mindless, shambling type of the Romero films) are particularly menacing and creepy, and the film manages to convey the sense that you are being smothered, by both the situation and the swarms of zombies themselves, that zombie flicks should. It definitely owes (ripped off) a lot from 28 Days Later, but if you are a fan of zombie films its worth checking out.
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
2010 Horror Fest Pt. 2
Still no title yet for my movie fest. Ghoul-o-vision? Spooktacular? Nah...
Zombiemania (2008)
I enjoyed this, but it was a completely different film than I thought I was watching. I intended to watch American Zombie ( http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0765430/ ), which is a mockumentary about what it would be like if zombies were real. However, I didn't pay close enough attention to what I was selecting from my Netflix Instant queue, and instead I got this - an ACTUAL documentary about zombies in our culture. It was a quick (57 minutes), breezy review of zombie books and movies, featuring clips and interviews with the main people behind zombies both past and present (like George Romero and Max Brooks) as well as actors, writers and critics. Not a bad way to blow an hour, although I still intend to watch American Zombie before the end of the month...
The House of the Devil (2009)
This is another movie that I have seen already. in this case, though, I re-watched it on purpose. I know I enjoyed it during the first viewing, but I was watching it late at night and (due to the time and a few beers) I dozed off and on through the last 30 minutes. Therefore, I wanted to give it another go.
The House of the Devil is an homage to horror films from the late 1970s and early 1980s. It even includes a statement at the beginning that it is based on true events - a trick used often by other films from that era, whether it was true or not. The director, Ti West, used several other techniques that were straight out of the horror movies of the time, like a freeze frame of the final scene under the closing credits. West also shot the movie on 16mm film to give it a retro look. The characters had 70s/80s hairstyles, and all the music played (other than the "scary music") was from the time period.
All of this attention to detail to make this feel like a much older film would have been a waste if the movie itself were lacking, but fortunately that was not the case. House is a very suspenseful throwback that relies on the scenery, the situation and the characters to scare you, rather than loud music and cheap fake outs like a lot of movies today. The story is pretty simple: a college student in need of money agrees to babysit for a family that turns out to be a satanic cult, and needs her for a ritual. Rather than through a convoluted plot, the film instead uses a creepy old house, ill-lit rooms, and lack of music to create a sense of isolation and of not being alone all at the same time. The tension ratchets up until the scary music finally kicks in and things speed up to creepy concluding sequence that has some nice twists.
Zombiemania (2008)
I enjoyed this, but it was a completely different film than I thought I was watching. I intended to watch American Zombie ( http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0765430/ ), which is a mockumentary about what it would be like if zombies were real. However, I didn't pay close enough attention to what I was selecting from my Netflix Instant queue, and instead I got this - an ACTUAL documentary about zombies in our culture. It was a quick (57 minutes), breezy review of zombie books and movies, featuring clips and interviews with the main people behind zombies both past and present (like George Romero and Max Brooks) as well as actors, writers and critics. Not a bad way to blow an hour, although I still intend to watch American Zombie before the end of the month...
The House of the Devil (2009)
This is another movie that I have seen already. in this case, though, I re-watched it on purpose. I know I enjoyed it during the first viewing, but I was watching it late at night and (due to the time and a few beers) I dozed off and on through the last 30 minutes. Therefore, I wanted to give it another go.
The House of the Devil is an homage to horror films from the late 1970s and early 1980s. It even includes a statement at the beginning that it is based on true events - a trick used often by other films from that era, whether it was true or not. The director, Ti West, used several other techniques that were straight out of the horror movies of the time, like a freeze frame of the final scene under the closing credits. West also shot the movie on 16mm film to give it a retro look. The characters had 70s/80s hairstyles, and all the music played (other than the "scary music") was from the time period.
All of this attention to detail to make this feel like a much older film would have been a waste if the movie itself were lacking, but fortunately that was not the case. House is a very suspenseful throwback that relies on the scenery, the situation and the characters to scare you, rather than loud music and cheap fake outs like a lot of movies today. The story is pretty simple: a college student in need of money agrees to babysit for a family that turns out to be a satanic cult, and needs her for a ritual. Rather than through a convoluted plot, the film instead uses a creepy old house, ill-lit rooms, and lack of music to create a sense of isolation and of not being alone all at the same time. The tension ratchets up until the scary music finally kicks in and things speed up to creepy concluding sequence that has some nice twists.
Monday, October 4, 2010
2010 Horror Fest Pt. 1
I need to come up with a title for my October horror movie extravaganza, like how AMC (back when they still showed old movies) always had "MonsterVision" every Halloween. I'll see if I can think of something before the end of the month.
I hadn't intended to start in with the horror movies this quickly, but after mentioning them at the the end of my last entry I got in the mood. So, with an entire evening to myself (the wife really does not like horror movies), and a awesome pumpkin ale to get me in the mood (Heavy Seas "Great Pumpkin" imperial pumpkin ale), I decided to jump right in. I went for a mix of different horror genres to kick things off, so we have an '80s slasher film, a classic black & white atmospheric cult film, a Hammer Horror classic, and finally a selection from the most famous Italian horror director, Dario Argento.
The House on Sorority Row (1983)
This film has apparently attained cult classic status among slasher film fans (according to IMDB, Quentin Tarantino selected it for his very first film fest in 1996). While not a great example of that type of film, it does have a few things that set it apart from most. First, the victims are not just innocent people caught up in a terrible situation (such as the camp counselors in Friday the 13th) . The members of the sorority play a prank on an old woman (who admittedly deserved it) that goes awry and they leave her for dead. Second, the film doesn't follow the "If you have sex, you die" rule that almost every slasher film since the original Halloween swears by. Lastly, the final sequence was well crafted - I honestly did not see where the killer was hidden amongst all the clown/harlequin effects (and having the killer dressed as a jester clown added a good bit of creepiness that the killer was lacking from his few appearances throughout the movie). While the movie really wasn't scary, it also avoided trying to scare you with any "false" scares (another thing that sets it apart from other slasher flicks), which is always appreciated.
Carnival of Souls (1962)
While there are certain films that I watch every year during my marathon (I always watch the original Halloween during my all-day, end of month viewing, for example), I try and make sure that the films I select are ones that I have not seen (unless there is something I am in the mood to re-watch). It wasn't until about a 3rd of the way through Carnival of Souls that I realized I had already seen it (in fact, I am pretty sure I watched it during my Halloween day marathon a few years ago). Luckily for me, it was a movie that I really enjoyed (if I would have wasted my time on a crappy movie I had previously viewed, I would have been pissed). Carnival is a low budget film, but it is a great example of how not to let a lack of money hinder the quality of the film. Rather than employ make-up and effects that scream bargain basement, this film uses low key make-up and haunting organ music for the ghouls that are terrorizing the main character. Organ music can be a cliche that is over used in older horror films, but in this one it fits. The female lead is an organ player for a church, so carrying over the music she plays as part of her job to scenes away from the church works nicely as a way to ratchet up the tension. Church organist Mary is involved in a car accident at the beginning of the film that send her vehicle off a bridge into the water. She survives, but is afterward haunted by visions of a ghastly creature with an appearance similar to a scary version of Beetlejuice (this is not a knock - the ghoul is decidedly creepy). This film is a case where the fact that it was shot in black & white is an advantage - color would only have shown emphasize the low budget instead of being hidden by the b&w. The ending sequence with a literal "Dance of the Dead" leading to the climax was very well done and a pre-cursor to the ball room scenes in The Shining. Definitely recommended for fans of classic horror.
Dracula A.D. 1972 (1972)
This is the 7th sequel from Hammer Studios to their 1958 remake of Dracula. For fans of classic horror films, you can break the great films as having come from one of 3 eras: The original Universal Pictures era of Lugosi and Karloff (1930-1939), the second Universal Pictures era of Lon Chaney, Jr. and other monster features, like the Creature from the Black Lagoon (1941-1956), and the Hammer Studios era that resurrected Dracula, Frankenstein and the Mummy for a new generation of fans (1954-1974). Many of the Hammer films featured Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing (especially in the Dracula films, where Lee was Dracula and Cushing portrayed whatever member of the Van Helsing family was required for the plot). Both actors brought excellent performances to whatever role they were tackling, and helped establish Hammer as the premiere horror studio of their time.
Since this was the 7th sequel to their Dracula film - also known as Horror of Dracula (which was almost the film that occupied this spot until, 5 minutes in, I realized I had already seen it during a previous Halloween fest. How the heck did I keep track of what films I have seen before I had Netflix to rate them?) - I should have realized that this one would not hold up to the quality and fame of most Hammer pictures (I only watched this one instead of the earlier sequels because the others were not available on Netflix online). As you could tell from the title, this was an attempt to movie their Dracula series to modern times. The movie kicks off with a "swinging" London party that reminded me of a cross between Austin Powers and an episode of The Monkees - not the type of imagery you want to invoke in a horror film. It was an off choice to start off with a scene that was so silly, when the tone of the movie shifts to horror right after that and never shifts back. Another odd choice was to reduce the screen time for Dracula himself (although, as usual, Lee makes the most of what time he does have). There was way too much time spent on his acolyte, Johnny Alucard, and his plot to resurrect Dracula.
Overall, this film comes off as more cheesy than scary, and I would recommend checking out the original and the earlier sequels than jumping right to this one as I did (fortunately, TCM ran a few of them Friday night, so I DVR'd and will be watching them as the month goes on).
Opera (1987)
Opera is the 3rd film by Italian horror master Dario Argento that I have seen (it was his 11th film as a director overall). The 2 previous films - Suspira and Inferno - were both classic examples of Italian horror. They were creepy, atmospheric, scary films where Argento used music, lighting and distinctly European scenery to create a sense of terror around every corner. Based on those previous films, I was really looking forward to this movie. Unfortunately, this was the first major disappointment of the 2010 film fest (while Dracula A.D. 1972 was disappointing, I had already prepared myself for that fact due to how far along in the series it came).
This is a tremendously uneven film. There are definitely things I like about it - the way the killer forces them main character Betty to watch his killings is inspired; the chase through Betty's apartment and AC ducts was decidedly tense. However, these are completely outweighed by what I didn't like. First, the soundtrack. The main character is an opera singer and most of the plot revolves around an opera. As a consequence, most of the soundtrack is opera. That was fine - I like the use of opera in horror films. I think it helps create a creepy atmosphere of ancient evil. However, every so often, in scenes away from the opera house, Argento used some incredibly cheesy hair metal that was very distracting, and took me out of the film every time it was on. I have no problem when watching older movies that use (now completely out of date) contemporary music in the soundtrack, as long as it is used in the whole film, which allows it to become part of the film. In this case, it was so jarring compared to the rest of the soundtrack that it was all I could think of when it was playing.
The other major fault of this film was the utter stupidity displayed by most of the characters. In most horror films, you expect a little stupidity from the characters in order to make the plot move along (its pretty much a necessity to make horror work). However, there was none of that exhibited in the 2 earlier Argento films that I watched, so it was a let down and came off as really lazy.
I hadn't intended to start in with the horror movies this quickly, but after mentioning them at the the end of my last entry I got in the mood. So, with an entire evening to myself (the wife really does not like horror movies), and a awesome pumpkin ale to get me in the mood (Heavy Seas "Great Pumpkin" imperial pumpkin ale), I decided to jump right in. I went for a mix of different horror genres to kick things off, so we have an '80s slasher film, a classic black & white atmospheric cult film, a Hammer Horror classic, and finally a selection from the most famous Italian horror director, Dario Argento.
The House on Sorority Row (1983)
This film has apparently attained cult classic status among slasher film fans (according to IMDB, Quentin Tarantino selected it for his very first film fest in 1996). While not a great example of that type of film, it does have a few things that set it apart from most. First, the victims are not just innocent people caught up in a terrible situation (such as the camp counselors in Friday the 13th) . The members of the sorority play a prank on an old woman (who admittedly deserved it) that goes awry and they leave her for dead. Second, the film doesn't follow the "If you have sex, you die" rule that almost every slasher film since the original Halloween swears by. Lastly, the final sequence was well crafted - I honestly did not see where the killer was hidden amongst all the clown/harlequin effects (and having the killer dressed as a jester clown added a good bit of creepiness that the killer was lacking from his few appearances throughout the movie). While the movie really wasn't scary, it also avoided trying to scare you with any "false" scares (another thing that sets it apart from other slasher flicks), which is always appreciated.
Carnival of Souls (1962)
While there are certain films that I watch every year during my marathon (I always watch the original Halloween during my all-day, end of month viewing, for example), I try and make sure that the films I select are ones that I have not seen (unless there is something I am in the mood to re-watch). It wasn't until about a 3rd of the way through Carnival of Souls that I realized I had already seen it (in fact, I am pretty sure I watched it during my Halloween day marathon a few years ago). Luckily for me, it was a movie that I really enjoyed (if I would have wasted my time on a crappy movie I had previously viewed, I would have been pissed). Carnival is a low budget film, but it is a great example of how not to let a lack of money hinder the quality of the film. Rather than employ make-up and effects that scream bargain basement, this film uses low key make-up and haunting organ music for the ghouls that are terrorizing the main character. Organ music can be a cliche that is over used in older horror films, but in this one it fits. The female lead is an organ player for a church, so carrying over the music she plays as part of her job to scenes away from the church works nicely as a way to ratchet up the tension. Church organist Mary is involved in a car accident at the beginning of the film that send her vehicle off a bridge into the water. She survives, but is afterward haunted by visions of a ghastly creature with an appearance similar to a scary version of Beetlejuice (this is not a knock - the ghoul is decidedly creepy). This film is a case where the fact that it was shot in black & white is an advantage - color would only have shown emphasize the low budget instead of being hidden by the b&w. The ending sequence with a literal "Dance of the Dead" leading to the climax was very well done and a pre-cursor to the ball room scenes in The Shining. Definitely recommended for fans of classic horror.
Dracula A.D. 1972 (1972)
This is the 7th sequel from Hammer Studios to their 1958 remake of Dracula. For fans of classic horror films, you can break the great films as having come from one of 3 eras: The original Universal Pictures era of Lugosi and Karloff (1930-1939), the second Universal Pictures era of Lon Chaney, Jr. and other monster features, like the Creature from the Black Lagoon (1941-1956), and the Hammer Studios era that resurrected Dracula, Frankenstein and the Mummy for a new generation of fans (1954-1974). Many of the Hammer films featured Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing (especially in the Dracula films, where Lee was Dracula and Cushing portrayed whatever member of the Van Helsing family was required for the plot). Both actors brought excellent performances to whatever role they were tackling, and helped establish Hammer as the premiere horror studio of their time.
Since this was the 7th sequel to their Dracula film - also known as Horror of Dracula (which was almost the film that occupied this spot until, 5 minutes in, I realized I had already seen it during a previous Halloween fest. How the heck did I keep track of what films I have seen before I had Netflix to rate them?) - I should have realized that this one would not hold up to the quality and fame of most Hammer pictures (I only watched this one instead of the earlier sequels because the others were not available on Netflix online). As you could tell from the title, this was an attempt to movie their Dracula series to modern times. The movie kicks off with a "swinging" London party that reminded me of a cross between Austin Powers and an episode of The Monkees - not the type of imagery you want to invoke in a horror film. It was an off choice to start off with a scene that was so silly, when the tone of the movie shifts to horror right after that and never shifts back. Another odd choice was to reduce the screen time for Dracula himself (although, as usual, Lee makes the most of what time he does have). There was way too much time spent on his acolyte, Johnny Alucard, and his plot to resurrect Dracula.
Overall, this film comes off as more cheesy than scary, and I would recommend checking out the original and the earlier sequels than jumping right to this one as I did (fortunately, TCM ran a few of them Friday night, so I DVR'd and will be watching them as the month goes on).
Opera (1987)
Opera is the 3rd film by Italian horror master Dario Argento that I have seen (it was his 11th film as a director overall). The 2 previous films - Suspira and Inferno - were both classic examples of Italian horror. They were creepy, atmospheric, scary films where Argento used music, lighting and distinctly European scenery to create a sense of terror around every corner. Based on those previous films, I was really looking forward to this movie. Unfortunately, this was the first major disappointment of the 2010 film fest (while Dracula A.D. 1972 was disappointing, I had already prepared myself for that fact due to how far along in the series it came).
This is a tremendously uneven film. There are definitely things I like about it - the way the killer forces them main character Betty to watch his killings is inspired; the chase through Betty's apartment and AC ducts was decidedly tense. However, these are completely outweighed by what I didn't like. First, the soundtrack. The main character is an opera singer and most of the plot revolves around an opera. As a consequence, most of the soundtrack is opera. That was fine - I like the use of opera in horror films. I think it helps create a creepy atmosphere of ancient evil. However, every so often, in scenes away from the opera house, Argento used some incredibly cheesy hair metal that was very distracting, and took me out of the film every time it was on. I have no problem when watching older movies that use (now completely out of date) contemporary music in the soundtrack, as long as it is used in the whole film, which allows it to become part of the film. In this case, it was so jarring compared to the rest of the soundtrack that it was all I could think of when it was playing.
The other major fault of this film was the utter stupidity displayed by most of the characters. In most horror films, you expect a little stupidity from the characters in order to make the plot move along (its pretty much a necessity to make horror work). However, there was none of that exhibited in the 2 earlier Argento films that I watched, so it was a let down and came off as really lazy.
Friday, October 1, 2010
1978
This is the first post in a new series I have come up with in order to get on a more regular writing schedule. I am going to randomly pick a year between 1974 (the year I was born) and 2010 and list my favorite CDs from that year. A few rules: I am sticking to CDs that I actually own. I am going to exclude any compilations or greatest hits albums (although I won't rule out live albums). Depending on the year, the list will either be 5 or 10 albums (there will be some years where I have fewer CDs from which to choose, and there is no reason to include discs just to pad the list to 10).
The first year I selected was 1978 (I used a random number generator). 1978 was a transition year in music, where Punk was fading away and New Wave was rising (all 5 records on the list are New Wave of a sort).
5.) The Police - Outlandos d'Amour
Its really hard to imagine that the Sting of the last 20 years is the same person responsible for the the music of The Police. I don't know if Andy Summers and Stuart Copeland were much more a part of the success of the band than they are given credit, or if Sting just either lost the touch or completely changed. At any rate, The Police (along with the band at #3 on this list) were one of the bands that helped bring New Wave to the mainstream by crafting songs that were catchy enough to gain radio airplay. "Can't Stand Losing You" and "Roxanne" are both mainstays of classic rock stations today.
4.) Talking Heads - More Songs About Buildings and Food
Talking Heads came up in the NY Punk scene (their first gig was opening for the Ramones at CBGB in 1975), but they never really fit in with the rest of the acts. While their music had a decided punk sound, it also combined pop, funk, and world music among other sounds. That helped them to outlast the decline of punk, as a lot of what they were doing in their music was what became New Wave. More Songs... was their second album, and the first to start getting them noticed. It is one of those albums that didn't sell all that well when released, but is now considered a classic (it appeared on both Rolling Stone's all-time Top 500 and Pitchfork's Top 100 of the '70s).
3.) The Cars - The Cars
The Cars are another New Wave band that is a constant fixture on classic rock radio rotations today. However, while they released 6 albums that sold very well (4 of them hit the Billboard Top 10), the majority of the songs for which they are known came from their self-titled first release: "Good Times Roll", "My Best Friend's Girl", Just What I Needed", "You're All I've Got Tonight", "Bye Bye Love", "Moving In Stereo". Years of use in bad commercials and movie trailers have played out some of these songs, but that doesn't change the fact that that is one hell of a list of singles from a debut release.
2.) Blondie - Parallel Lines
Blondie is another act that started in the Punk scene but wasn't really "Punk". They were definitely New Wave before people knew what that was. Parallel Lines was their 3rd album and the one that rocketed them to stardom based on 6 hit singles and the fact that they had a pretty blond lead singer in Debbie Harry who was perfect for the transition popular music was making into a visual medium that started around this time.
1.) Elvis Costello and the Attractions - This Year's Model
This is Costello's second album and the first with his backing band The Attractions, who would stick with him for his next 9 albums. Elvis Costello's early music was a mix of New Wave, Punk and Pub Rock. Pub Rock was the British precursor to Punk - a back to basics approach to music that came about as a reaction to the growing spectacle of Prog and Glam Rock. Punk took up that bare bones attitude and ran with it, pushing Pub Rock aside, but for a short time it was pretty popular. Costello took the brash attitude of Pub and Punk rock and melded it with a songwriting ability that few of his contemporaries possessed, resulting in a sound that was in your face and beautiful at the same time.
Note: Today is October 1st, which means its now time for my annual personal Horror Movie Festival/Marathon. As with last year , what started as a 1 day occurrence (http://oldmanattheshow.blogspot.com/2009/10/october.html) has now transformed into a month-long undertaking, with a day-long marathon at the end. As a result, most of my blog posts for the next month will be related to horror movies (although the occasional music or TV post may pop up if something inspires me).
The first year I selected was 1978 (I used a random number generator). 1978 was a transition year in music, where Punk was fading away and New Wave was rising (all 5 records on the list are New Wave of a sort).
5.) The Police - Outlandos d'Amour
Its really hard to imagine that the Sting of the last 20 years is the same person responsible for the the music of The Police. I don't know if Andy Summers and Stuart Copeland were much more a part of the success of the band than they are given credit, or if Sting just either lost the touch or completely changed. At any rate, The Police (along with the band at #3 on this list) were one of the bands that helped bring New Wave to the mainstream by crafting songs that were catchy enough to gain radio airplay. "Can't Stand Losing You" and "Roxanne" are both mainstays of classic rock stations today.
4.) Talking Heads - More Songs About Buildings and Food
Talking Heads came up in the NY Punk scene (their first gig was opening for the Ramones at CBGB in 1975), but they never really fit in with the rest of the acts. While their music had a decided punk sound, it also combined pop, funk, and world music among other sounds. That helped them to outlast the decline of punk, as a lot of what they were doing in their music was what became New Wave. More Songs... was their second album, and the first to start getting them noticed. It is one of those albums that didn't sell all that well when released, but is now considered a classic (it appeared on both Rolling Stone's all-time Top 500 and Pitchfork's Top 100 of the '70s).
3.) The Cars - The Cars
The Cars are another New Wave band that is a constant fixture on classic rock radio rotations today. However, while they released 6 albums that sold very well (4 of them hit the Billboard Top 10), the majority of the songs for which they are known came from their self-titled first release: "Good Times Roll", "My Best Friend's Girl", Just What I Needed", "You're All I've Got Tonight", "Bye Bye Love", "Moving In Stereo". Years of use in bad commercials and movie trailers have played out some of these songs, but that doesn't change the fact that that is one hell of a list of singles from a debut release.
2.) Blondie - Parallel Lines
Blondie is another act that started in the Punk scene but wasn't really "Punk". They were definitely New Wave before people knew what that was. Parallel Lines was their 3rd album and the one that rocketed them to stardom based on 6 hit singles and the fact that they had a pretty blond lead singer in Debbie Harry who was perfect for the transition popular music was making into a visual medium that started around this time.
1.) Elvis Costello and the Attractions - This Year's Model
This is Costello's second album and the first with his backing band The Attractions, who would stick with him for his next 9 albums. Elvis Costello's early music was a mix of New Wave, Punk and Pub Rock. Pub Rock was the British precursor to Punk - a back to basics approach to music that came about as a reaction to the growing spectacle of Prog and Glam Rock. Punk took up that bare bones attitude and ran with it, pushing Pub Rock aside, but for a short time it was pretty popular. Costello took the brash attitude of Pub and Punk rock and melded it with a songwriting ability that few of his contemporaries possessed, resulting in a sound that was in your face and beautiful at the same time.
Note: Today is October 1st, which means its now time for my annual personal Horror Movie Festival/Marathon. As with last year , what started as a 1 day occurrence (http://oldmanattheshow.blogspot.com/2009/10/october.html) has now transformed into a month-long undertaking, with a day-long marathon at the end. As a result, most of my blog posts for the next month will be related to horror movies (although the occasional music or TV post may pop up if something inspires me).
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