A bit of horror history

2 comments November 21st, 2008

NEW YORK TIMES movie critic Manohla Dargis narrates this visual history of vampire movies. I’m glad she mentions Francis Ford Coppola’s BRAM STOKER’S DRACULA. The accents are a tad hinky (Winona? Keanu?) but visually speaking, this movie is a true feast.

 As for TWILIGHT? She says Edward is “a vampire for the girls who love the Jonas Brothers.”

Just in time for Halloween…

Add comment October 31st, 2008

…. Here’s a list of the Top 25 scariest films of all time, courtesy of the fine folks at Screengrab. The Internet is full of these sort of lists this week, but this one is especially solid, with a combination of the usual suspects (THE SHINING, THE EVIL DEAD ) and some unusual suspects (NEAR DARK, the original MUMMY). Plus there’s a well-written piece to go with each movie and a choice You Tube clip, too.

It’s in seven parts, but well worth a look. Be sure to check out the honorable mentions, if only to relive Robert Shaw’s famous USS Indianapolis speech from JAWS. (I also appreciate the inclusion of INVASION OF MARS, a great science fiction film that’s a personal favorite for the way it conveys the terror of being a kid that no one will believe.)

Friday Morning Videos: ‘DON’T’ trailer

1 comment October 31st, 2008

Arguably the highlight of the entire GRINDHOUSE double-feature experience was this trailer for the nonexistent movie DON’T by Edgar Wright, director of SHAUN OF THE DEAD and HOT FUZZ. It’s funny, it’s creepy and it sure feels like the genuine article.

Happy Halloween!

That’s a whole lotta ‘Saw’

1 comment October 30th, 2008

Over at the always interesting Onion AV Club, writer Sam Adams (apparently no relation to the beer) watched all five SAW movies in one sitting and, more importantly, had the energy to write about it.

I’ve only seen the first SAW, but I never felt like I was missing much. I thought it was merely a so-so horror movie, with a few clever death traps and a nice twist at the end, but there was nothing in it that made me want to rush out and see the sequels. I’ve always preferred my horror movies more in the classic mode (i.e. the Universal gems of the early 1930s and the Val Lewton movies of the 1940s) or off the beaten path (the original TEXAS CHAINSAW, the original DAWN OF THE DEAD, Cronenberg’s SHIVERS). But then again, the SAW franchise is the biggest moneymaker in horror history, so what the heck do I know?

How about you? Seen SAW? Seen ‘em all? What do you think? Am I missing something?

Pack mentality

9 comments October 21st, 2008

Over at his thoughtful Cinema Styles blog, Jonathan Lapper reveals why zombie movies are so scary, and it has nothing to do with the fact that they want to eat you. He asks what’s scarier, the single monster or the pack?

“I vote for the pack. A single panther on the hunt is scary, like the hunter of the PREDATOR movies, but can be defeated with a plan. A wolf pack however must be outlasted. There is no plan other than destroy, destroy some more, and keep destroying. Hopefully, before you die of exhaustion you will have destroyed them all. If not, you’re dead.”

That’s why people who think the slow-moving zombies in the original NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD (the movie Lapper is discussing) and DAWN OF THE DEAD aren’t a threat are wrong. (Dead wrong, har har har.) It’s not their speed that makes them a threat, it’s their sheer numbers. Sure, you might be able to outrun one, or two, or even a dozen. But what happens when you’re surrounded by a hundred zombies? A thousand? A million?

I’ll tell you what happens: Their number, whatever it is, is about to increase by one. And that, my friends, is what’s scary about slow-moving zombies. They don’t have to run.

They have all the time in the world.

And the worst movie ever made is…

9 comments October 20th, 2008

… the 1989 obscurity THINGS! Here’s the video review (with selected clips!)…

Get the Flash Player to see this player.

And here’s the write-up.

Feel free to try and top it, but I don’t think it’s possible. At least, I hope it’s not.

Friday Afternoon Videos: ISLAND OF LOST SOULS

Add comment October 17th, 2008

ISLAND OF LOST SOULS is one of the great horror movies of the 1930s, with a startling starring performance by Charles Laughton and a genuinely creepy premise: the not-so-good doctor is creating his own army of beast men by giving the animals on his island a boost up the evolutionary ladder.

Trouble is, the movie’s not available on DVD, and it only shows up rarely on Turner Classic Movies or Fox Movie Classics. But here, just to whet your appetite, is the original trailer…

SAW: The Ride? Really?

Add comment October 16th, 2008

Yes, really.

Here’s the (bloody, rusty, serrated) scoop from Leonard Pierce over at Nerve.com:

“No, we’re not kidding:  there really is going to be such a thing as SAW:  The Ride. Based on the depressingly popular torture-porn horror series, it’s set to open at Surrey’s Thorpe Park in Britain in March of 2009.  Alleged to be the first roller-coaster to be based on a horror movie, the ride features a 100-foot vertical drop in free fall, which is so scary that it induced SAW producers Lionsgate to release a suicide-inducing press release claiming that ” SAW: The Ride is a reflection of how thoroughly the Saw franchise has crossed over into pop culture at large.”  The rides will evoke the nausea-inspiring horror caused by serial killer Jigsaw as he systematically murders people for your amusement.  Bring the kids!”

Friday Morning Videos: CAT PEOPLE

Add comment October 10th, 2008

Here’s a classic bit of cinematical misdirection from the 1942 horror classic CAT PEOPLE, directed by Jacques Tourneur and produced by the legendary Val Lewton. The set-up: All-American gal Alice (Jane Randolph) is walking alone through Central Park, and she might — or might not — be followed by exotic beauty Irena (Simone Simon) who might — or might not — have the ability to turn into a panther.

The effect at the end was so successful that it became known as a “bus” (you’ll see why), and Lewton used similiar jolts in his other films.

The original monster mash (up)

1 comment October 9th, 2008

Over at his fascinating movie blog, Greenbriar Picture Shows, John McElwee takes a loving look at the pairing of FRANKENSTEIN and DRACULA in movie theaters. Seems like a natural, almost inevitable idea now, but that wasn’t always the case. As McElwee says…

“For seven years after their initial release in 1931, showmen regarded them separately. Playdates were infrequent as Universal provided sequels (BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN, DRACULA’S DAUGHTER) beginning right where originals left off, but there were gold deposits untapped even as the mine’s route lay not hidden, but in plain sight. The magic was in combining them, but nobody thought of that until seemingly bungled reissues of FRANKENSTEIN and DRACULA suddenly caught fire together in August 1938.”

Here’s part one, and here’s part two. They’re long articles, but well worth reading. And Greenbriar always features an amazing amount of rare promotional art. I can only image what McElwee’s personal archives look like — and boy, and I jealous.