You can download the pod on iTunes or LISTEN TO THE POD ON BLOG TALK RADIO.
If you get a chance please make sure to review, rate and share. You are awesome!
Summary: In last year’s Halloween special (Carpenter (1978) vs Zombie (2007)) John Carpenter’s masterpiece Halloween (1978) and Rob Zombie’s 2007 Halloween remake faced off. Well, it’s time for a rematch! This year we endure two of the craziest sequels in horror history: Halloween II (1981) and Halloween II (2009), and discuss their madness!
We answer the tough questions in this podcast! For example…
“Is Ghostbusting a form of unlawful imprisonment? Do ghosts have rights?”
“Who are the creepiest horror kids?”
“Why don’t we like any of these Halloween victims?”
“Is there a motive-less female counterpart to Michael Myers?”
“Did Michael Myers just stop caring… or did the directors?”
LISTEN TO THE POD ON BLOG TALK RADIO,
or head over iTunes, and if you get a chance please SUBSCRIBE, REVIEW, RATE and SHARE the pod!
Share this post:
John’s Horror Corner: Wrong Turn 2: Dead End (2007), an over-the-top gorefest that was made for Henry Rollins.
MY CALL: More of a slapstick, less credible, “bad movie” version of Wrong Turn (2003), offering less in almost every way…except for Henry Rollins and gore. Rollins and some over-the-top gore make this worth a watch for fans of the original. MORE MOVIES LIKE Wrong Turn 2: Dead End: Wrong Turn (2003), The Hills Have Eyes 1-2 (1977, 1984, 2006, 2007), Just Before Dawn (1981), The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (1986) will all continue to satisfy the hillbilly horror subgenre. Maybe Cabin Fever 1-3 (2002-2014) for the gore hounds.
Director Joe Lynch (Chillerama, Knights of Badassdom) picks up where Wrong Turn’s director Rob Schmidt left off in the Greenbriar Back Country of West Virginia. Unfortunately, Lynch doesn’t do nearly as well, except when almost satirizing part 1 with slapstick gorefest violence.
This sequel features less flattering introductory shots of the Appalachian woods. But I happily enjoyed the cameos in the opening sequence. While on the phone with her agent her agent (Patton Oswalt; Odd Thomas), singer Kimberly Caldwell (as herself) makes the very same “wrong turn” that got those folks into trouble in Wrong Turn (2003) and hits a young mutant hillbilly. The brutal tone is set immediately as the disfigured boy bites off her lips and she is cut top-to-bottom in half, dropping her intestines in a gore-slathered mess as we watch her legs fall in opposite directions! If you don’t simply love that, then you may as well stop the movie right there.
Retired marine and TV show personality Dale (Henry Rollins; He Never Died, Feast) hosts Ultimate Survivor. The contestants include the X Games athlete Jonesy (Steve Braun; The Skulls III, Pterodactyl), overly conceited Elena (Crystal Lowe; Insomnia, Final Destination 3), artist Nina (Scream Queen Erica Leerhsen; The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Book of Shadows: The Blair Witch 2), ex-football star Jake (Texas Battle; Final Destination 3), marine Amber (Daniella Alonso; The Hills Have Eyes 2, The Collector), and the recently deceased Kimberly Caldwell. To win The Ultimate Survivor they need to endure five days in the wilderness. Producers Mara (Aleksa Palladino; Holidays, The Ring Two) and M (Matthew Currie Holmes; The Fog) organize as Dale barks survivalist melodrama at the contestants.
As we meet our cast of victims, the acting wreaks of stagnant direct-to-DVD dialogue—the writers clearly didn’t care. It just “feels bad.” What holds it together is Henry Rollins. Maybe I’m just a fan, but he seems to be the only one who cares about his role—or maybe he’s the only member of the cast the director liked. His scenes produced the majority of entertaining action and decent on-screen kills. It seems like this movie was made thinking of him, and to that end I withdraw my previous complaints about the film.
With head-cams on each contestant and hidden cameras throughout the forest, we watch as our victims wander into harm’s way. We encounter deformed mountain men scalping people, shamefully forced gratuitous nudity, a messy birth scene of a monster baby, some decent after-the-fact gore, and a goofy incest scene. Even if you consider Wrong Turn (2003) a “bad movie,” this is a “badder movie” that thankfully retains its so-bad-it’s-good status for our entertainment. Attention was only aimed at over-the-top details (i.e., goofy incest) and not the atmospheric aspects (e.g., the inbred family cabin contains not a fraction of the macabre unkempt horror of part 1).
We have a new mutant redneck family that is a bit less animalistic than before. Three-Finger returns from part 1 (played by a different actor) and is a less menacing, more slapstick farce of his former self. And part 1’s gas station owner (Wayne Robson; Cube, Wrong Turn) is back and, for some reason, looks far healthier.
I don’t know about you, but I really loved Wrong Turn (2003). It was nothing stunning film-wise, but it scratches an itch I have every now and then—like when I want something brutal, but not The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974, 2003) brutal. It cultivates a fun experience, has several recognizable actors and is highly rewatchable. The shots of the forest were gorgeous (when not CGI), there was thematic admixture of things feisty and dire, and the brutality was visceral!
This sequel, however, has zero cinematography worth mentioning. All in all, this is a mixed bag. The brutality (outside of the playful death of Kimberly Caldwell) is over-staged and uninspired in the first hour yet somehow spectacular in the third act. The characters are bottom-of-the-barrel, but the inbred cannibal rednecks manage to live up to the hillbilly horror subgenre in the end after a stale early introduction. We are never nervous, shocked or on edge. Although you’ll enjoy more than a few gory chuckles during Henry Rollins’ scenes. They reach sloppy delight status towards the end.
Rollins basically goes survivalist Rambo. He stitches himself up, escapes being butchered, detonates incestuous hillbillies, and makes explosive arrows. He essentially saves this movie from complete unwatchability. By the end, this was basically trying to be The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (1986) with its macabre cannibal butchery, the dinner scene, and Dale’s crazed rescue mission into their lair.
Dead End (top); The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (bottom)
The first half of this movie may be terrible, but it might just be worth it for the last gloriously gut-sloppy 30 minutes and, of course, the opening sequence. It becomes a great B-movie death scene mess of gore as bodies are literally ground into chum and offal. Oh, and of course, it gives a direct nod to usher in future sequels.
Share this post:
The MFF Podcast #77: The Alfred Hitchcock Pod
Hello all. Mark here.
You can download the pod on Itunes or LISTEN TO THE POD ON BLOG TALK RADIO.
If you get a chance please make sure to review, rate and share. You are awesome!
The MFF podcast is back and we are talking about Alfred Hitchcock. Hitchcock is undoubtedly the cinematic master of suspense and we cover his classics films Rebecca, Notorious, Read Window, North by Northwest and Psycho. In true MFF fashion we cover way too many movies and it all plays out like a wonderful cliff notes version of Hitchcock’s illustrious decades long career. You will laugh, cry (probably not) and attempt the Herculean task of watching every Hitchcock film (they are tough to find).
Hitchcock is the best.
As always we answer random questions and discuss whether or not the film Rope is good or just dependent upon cinematic tricks. It is a enlightening 80-minutes that will change your perception of Hitchcock and hopefully motivate you to watch and embrace some classics.
Check out the MFF pod on Blog Talk Radio or head over to Itunes and listen to the randomness!
If you get a chance please SUBSCRIBE, REVIEW, RATE and SHARE the pod!
Share this post:
The Neon Demon (2016), visually stunning, morally reprehensible, and emotionally traumatic.
MY CALL: Intense, beautiful, artificial, dangerous…and ultimately BRUTAL. Difficult to explain—but even as a fan of brutal films, I’d say I “appreciated” this movie a lot more than I “enjoyed” it. MORE MOVIES LIKE The Neon Demon: Above all, Drive (2011) and Antichrist (2009). Also maybe Black Swan (2010) and Starry Eyes (2014).
Drive (2011) was an excellent yet soul-rattling film of sociopathy-laced catharsis; an intense, sensory, noirish tale so tone-sensitive that one would hardly notice the plot. I loved it! Director and writer Nicolas Winding Refn (Valhalla Rising, Drive, Only God Forgives) embarks on a similarly disorienting journey when an aspiring model moves to Los Angeles only to have her youth and vitality devoured by a group of beauty-obsessed women who will take any means necessary to possess what she has.
Scintillating from the first minute, the colors are vibrant and the score enchanting—somehow feeling gorgeous yet totally artificial. Every effort is made to test our morality while taunting our senses, as if True Blood glamoring us. Like Charlie or Alice, at first impressed by the magical wonders of Wonderland and Willy Wonka’s factory, only to eventually reveal their true nature; their dangers.
Imagine the prettiest teenage girl from a small Idaho town. She’s probably the “Potato Princess” in the Cadillac for the 4th of July parade and perpetually told her beauty would take her far in life and far from this little old town. Fresh off the bus to Los Angeles and full of youth, beauty and naivete, Jesse (Elle Fanning; Super 8, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button) is a young model succumbing to the most avant-garde artists’ whims. Like a black lamb centering a snowy field, her stark innocence is readily apparent to the ever-vigil predatory denizens of the tree line preparing for the slaughter. She is marinaded with compliments, if only to prepare her fair flesh for rending.
Some of the imagery and dialogue is coarse, with tongues sharpened. Despite the lovely strobe-lit iridescence you can’t help but to momentarily react as if a small piece of metal had struck glass. Perhaps aiming for a brutally honest revelation behind the curtain of the Los Angeles fashion industry, we find ourselves in blunt and shallow waters where we may encounter the kindest compliment one moment, only to be followed by a scathing remark the next—however, both delivered with a glimmering smile as if the speaker equally found pleasure in both. Ah, Los Angeles—where small town girls’ big dreams come to die…or, more honestly put, to be crucified.
Pleasant and candid, Ruby (Jena Malone; Sucker Punch, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire & The Mockingjay) seems to actually care for Jesse’s well-being…but her intentions will be tested as the viewer comes to suspect everyone of foul play. Rounding out the cast, Abbey Lee (Mad Max: Fury Road, Gods of Egypt) and Bella Heathcote (Dark Shadows, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies) play immensely shallow models, Christina Hendricks (Drive, Mad Men) has a brief but wonderful role at the modeling agency, Jesse’s landlord is strangely played by Keanu Reeves (John Wick, 47 Ronin, Man of Tai Chi), and Desmond Harrington (Wrong Turn, Dexter) is an enigmatic photographer who is ghoulishly gaunt and enthralled in his own art.
A great many themes run amok in the third act. Among such concepts are voyeurism, homicidally erotic shower scenes, bloody nudity, murderous models, strangely urinating in the moonlight, macabre vomit, gory self-mutilation, suicide, consuming thy enemy, and a diversity of severe mental illness.
This film observes Jesse’s rapid social degeneration, and her downward spiral finds peril in others’ jealousy and attraction to her. The treacherous journey endures forced sexual advances, necrophilia, fixations leading to murderous behavior, a brutal fall from grace, and a blood of virgins finale.
This film may not paint the modeling industry in a positive light, but it is serenely shot with a fleeting sense of reality. Like a model, many of the shots are perfect and beautiful. But like the industry, the waters are shallow yet dangerous.
Highly recommended for fans of brutal, nourish films like Drive (2011).
Share this post:
John’s Horror Corner: Lifeforce (1985), Tobe Hooper’s big budget naked space vampire epic.
MY CALL: People often discuss this epic film for its nudity (and not much else) and I consider that a shame. It’s excellent, features strong acting and an elaborate story, and including great concepts and special effects. I’d recommend it to all horror fans, new and old, critical and horror-hound alike. MORE MOVIES LIKE Lifeforce: For life-draining horror films featuring excellent effects and interesting stories, I’d highly recommend Hellraiser (1987) and Hellbound: Hellraiser II (1988).
Director Tobe Hooper (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre II, Poltergeist, Funhouse) is a horror master! Many know of Steven Spielberg’s heavy-handed involvement in Poltergeist and thus question Hooper’s contribution as a director. True. Spielberg is awesome and the family-urgency was likely a product of his influence. But have these Poltergeist nay-sayers even seen Lifeforce!?!?! Get ready for an AMAZING experience!
An investigative space mission is graced with the discovery of the millennium! The astronauts unexpectedly encounter a 150-mile-long space vessel during an exploratory mission of Hailey’s Comet. The influence of H. R. Giger is undeniable as the vessel’s interior has an organic motif, as if the explorers were entering the anatomy (even the womb) of a leviathan being—much as in Poltergeist (1982; late in the film) or Alien/Aliens (1979, 1986). The spaceship’s inhabitants are all deceased, and they resemble bat people. You may be thinking “Holy shit! Are we really only 6 minutes into the running time?” The answer is YES. This film has a LOT to offer and it wastes none of your time!
While most of the bat-like inhabitants are long dead, the explorers find three preserved, naked, uncannily human lifeforms in stasis chambers—two men, and a woman. Then…something mysterious happens and the mission returns home with zero contact for thirty days. So what happened on that ship that returned with no living crew members? It’s not as obvious as you may think.
It’s not until mid-story that Colonel Tom Carlsen (Steve Railsback; Alligator II: The Mutation, Barb Wire, Ed Gein), who was on the original exploratory mission, is recovered as the sole mission survivor in an escape pod to inform the military that an alien vessel was encountered…and what happened on that ship. He comes back a changed man, and the only hope of hunting down the escaped female who is now wandering the streets of London and draining its inhabitants.
Our interstellar succubus (Mathilda May; The Jackal) is beyond stunning, supernaturally manipulative, and clearly is on some sort of life-draining mission of her own. Her abilities infect our sexual weaknesses as well as our subconscious desires. So much so that a grown man might feel compelled to kiss Patrick Stewart (Green Room, Dune).
For 1985 the special effects are fantastic!!! Utilizing Star Wars-like rotoscoping for space scenes and Ghostbusters-style ectoplasm for supernatural life-sucking effects, you almost forget this film is over 30 years old. The life-drained bodies are desiccated husks and the zombie-esque animatronics of their movement is impressive.
Not only are the effects genuinely fantastic, but the concepts are as well. Classical vampire notions like the charming gaze, life-draining, telepathic links, and shapeshifting are clearly present, although cleverly modified. When the astronauts first enter the alien spaceship, it feels “strangely familiar” and when Tom sees the preserved female (Mathilda May) he seems to be entranced. And one can’t argue here, Mathilda May has entrancing boobs and a serious enthusiasm for kissing. Most men would be powerless.
The first 20 minutes of this film are more substantial than most entire horror films. I know…you’re thinking “really, John, but all the nudity.” But you’d be wrong. This film remains something special even if there was not a nipple to be seen.
Most interesting to me is how this 1985 movie, in the early HIV/AIDS era, captured the raw pansexuality of the vampire. Much as Anne Rice’s Lestat, even a withered male husk can allure another man to his charm. Although the “kiss” is admittedly more distant when male-to-male than when Mathilda tongue-wrangles her drained prey, infectious male-male kissing (or, at least, its implication) is quite frequent. It seems that Hellraiser (1987) and Hellbound (1988) were influenced by the exquisite life-draining effects, which set the bar high.
The final segment erupts into an epidemic owing much to Dawn of the Dead (1978), with London immersed in a contagious essence-feeding maelstrom. The effects are consistently high quality and the bat monster is awesome, but the gore doesn’t properly kick in until this third act.
Is this movie a work of film art? No.
Is it an amazing horror film? YES!
Does it have its fair share of heavy exposition? Sure.
Do I care? Not at all! They deliver it well and in plausible context.
This excellent horror film has my 100% backing. I may have fallen in love with it as a teenager (understandably for the boobs, at that age), but now I would love it if there were not a single nipple to boast. This film is smart, oddly elaborate without getting carried away with itself, and 96% serious in its delivery. Unusual in many respects, and noteworthy in more, this is not the film to miss.
Share this post:
John’s Horror Corner: Pumpkinhead II: Blood Wings (1993), a decent B-movie creature feature sequel that pales to the original.
MY CALL: Anyone seeking a worthy follow-up to Pumpkinhead will surely be disappointed. But adventures in search of a worthy B-movie or a silly scary movie date night will find an entertaining evening. MORE MOVIES LIKE Pumpkinhead II: Blood Wings: Pumpkinhead (1988), of course, is FAR superior. Maybe even try the later sequels (2006 and 2007)—I haven’t seen them but they couldn’t possibly measure up to the original. But this sequel harkens to the quality of Leprechaun 2 (1994), Leprechaun 3 (1995), Leprechaun in Space (1996), Wishmaster 2 (1999) and Wishmaster 3 (2001).
Some people dread the sequels of their favorite classic horror movies, often picked up by different and less experienced writers and directors and remanded to direct-to-video/DVD. Not me. Even when they never measure up, I’m happy someone tried.
Director Jeff Burr (Puppet Master 4-5, Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III) takes the helm and follows in the footsteps of makeup special effects wizard turned one-time horror director Stan Winston (Pumpkinhead). Those are some big shoes to fill.
The opening scene is far from promising. It’s a shining example of how the video era made the 90s a terrible decade for horror. Anyone could make a film in the 90s (and today…but not in the 80s). They couldn’t necessarily act, write, direct or edit. But they could film whatever drivel that wandered in front of the camera. In this sequel the acting is bottom tier, the characters aren’t at all likable, and the dialogue is 80% lame exposition; just awful.
We flash back to 1958, when a disfigured boy is tortured and killed by a clique of malicious greasers as his elderly mother watched. Then we shift to present day and find the modern counterparts of those young criminals. These delinquents waste no time smoking pot, drinking underage, and making unwanted sexual advances. Pumpkinhead (1988) was heavily troped up, but at least I could enjoy the characters. This is just crass.
Even at a glance the 1988 victims (above) look way more credible than the bright-eyed bushy-tailed “delinquents” in 1993 (below).
A big city cop (Andrew Robinson; Hellraiser, Trancers 3, Child’s Play 3) moves his family to the woods to become a small town sheriff. His daughter Jenny (Ami Dolenz; Ticks, Witchboard 2) falls into the wrong crowd almost instantly.
While out late and up to no good they hit the local witch (Lilyan Chauvin; Predator 2, Silent Night, Deadly Night) with their car and stumble across her cabin. In her primitive and filthy home they find a ritual, a spell from the Book of Shadows to raise the dead. But the vehicular assault clearly wasn’t enough, so a teenager (J. Trevor Edmond; Lord of Illusions, Return of the Living Dead 3) beats her, steals a magical totem and leaves her to die as her cabin burns down with her in it. So naturally, the witch curses them that the demonic entity Pumpkinhead will exact her revenge.
But what’s strange is that, after being cursed, the kids go dig up her dead son (somehow knowing exactly where to dig), desecrate his grave, and perform the dead-awakening ritual themselves! Soooooo… did the curse even matter? Well, like I said, it’s not competently written.
Well now somehow all the locals know that “it’s back” and “it won’t stop until it gets what it wants.” Evidently the local folklore is more like common knowledge.
SIDEBAR with SPOILERS: The Nature of the Curse, Part 1 vs Part 2. Another unfortunate shortcoming is that this sequel completely ignores the rules of the curse as they were laid out in Pumpkinhead. In Pumpkinhead Ed has the witch invoke the ritual to summon Pumpkinhead, a demonic spirit of vengeance. In doing so, he tied his own fate to that of the demon such that when Pumpkinhead was injured, he would suffer the same injury, and when Pumpkinhead was killed, he also would die. But it wasn’t so simple. Ed not only died with Pumpkinhead, but Ed “became” the placeholder for the next Pumpkinhead summoning and as the demon came closer to completing Ed’s revenge, Ed took on some aspects of the demon (e.g., his whitening eyes). Ed’s body was buried in the pumpkin patch, disfigured as the neo-natal, pre-summoned Pumpkinhead before him.
This sequel now identifies that Pumpkinhead was Tommy’s father. Well, Tommy died in 1958 when he and Ed were both children. So when Ed (in his childhood flashback in Pumpkinhead) saw the demon, did he see Tommy’s father as Pumpkinhead? Even if so, Ed replaced the former Pumpkinhead. So it should instead be Ed who is this iteration of Pumpkinhead. Moreover, the second Pumpkinhead was formed from Tommy’s body (not his father’s) in his own grave site (not the pumpkin patch). And this new Pumpkinhead was summoned by the witch, who dies while Pumpkinhead continues to exact his revenge—so there goes the bound fate idea. Shame…it was a great idea in Pumpkinhead.
I can’t explain why they’d break that continuity. Was it really so much easier to do it this way instead, thus throwing out such excellent folklore? Of course, the binding fate conferred a sense of human frailty and realized morality. Even though Ed Harley summoned the beast and tied their fates, he stopped the demon despite it meaning his own end. There is no such grace to be found in this sequel.
So we eventually learned that this Pumpkinhead is actually Tommy! Not his father. And at the end of the movie Pumpkinhead has no implied successor—certainly not the dead witch. Only a lame finale. So the once-harrowing cursed sense of legacy is also squandered. Yet further perplexing is that Ed Harley’s father was Tom in Pumpkinhead, but Tom had a ten year old Ed back in 1958. So there’s no dispute that this Tom is not Tommy-Pumpkinhead nor is there any link between them. I wonder if the writer and director even saw Pumpkinhead!
To call the special effects inferior to Stan Winston’s glorious original wouldn’t be unwarranted. This rubber monster is certainly more than passable. The long fingers lack some of the refinement of Winston’s Pumpkinhead, which also had a perpetual mucousy sheen and a more expressive face that conferred greater personality.
1988 above, 1993 below
There’s some blood and dismemberment, but most of the flesh-rending action takes place off-screen. The important thing is that we really get to see the monster—it’s entire body—and not just his head in some shots and a swinging claw in others. We see it and we see a lot of it! And if I had never seen part 1 for comparison, I’d be pleased with this creature feature’s Pumpkinhead. One deficit, though, would be this monster’s feet. They lack the spindly xenomorphic look of 1988. No, this 1993 model is a bit more lumbering T-rex than velociraptor.
Hulking 1993 demon above, spindly 1988 demon below.
When it came to the witch, this sequel was barely even phoning it in. The 1988 witch was shrouded in menace and primitive mysticism. When she spoke your ears listened and your stomach tightened. She exuded that backwoods black magic atmosphere. This which was a lumpy latex-faced menace with no lines of substance and a cheaply over-staged cabin lair. But that would fit most comparisons to be made between 1993 and 1988. Woefully ill-written, less expertly effected, and unthoughtfully over-staged. Don’t even get me started comparing Lance Henriksen (Harbinger Down, Aliens, AVP, The Pit and the Pendulum) to Andrew Robinson; it wouldn’t be fair, especially with the hand Robinson (who was once great in Hellraiser) was dealt in terms of the script and director.
The “okay” 1993 witch above; the harrowing 1988 witch below.
This sequel feels more campy. Kane Hodder (Smothered, Wishmaster, Hatchet, Love in the Time of Monsters) and Linnea Quigley (Night of the Demons, Silent Night, Deadly Night, Creepazoids) have cameos—really just an excuse to throw in some boobs and fan favorite actors. At one point Pumpkinhead picks up a victim and executes a WWF backbreaker—at which point any minimal semblance of creepy atmosphere the film had, is lost. A broken spine is devastating and all, but it didn’t seem like the style of a demon, nor did the “death by pecking chickens” scene.
And therein lies this movie’s greatest shortcoming: completely uninventive death scenes. It’s awesome seeing Pumpkinhead, but almost boring watching him kill (largely off-screen). That is, of course, outside of the so-bad-it’s-good chuckle here or there. With the exception of one sloppy campy decapitation, there is no gore worth mentioning. And, by the way, there are no “wings” in Blood Wings despite some suggestive movie posters. It’s just a really stupid play on a really stupid plot point.
See the “blood wings” on the wall? Yeah. That’s our title. SMH.
Anyone seeking a worthy follow-up to Pumpkinhead will surely be disappointed…very disappointed. But adventures in search of a worthy B-movie or a silly scary movie date night will find an entertaining evening.
Share this post:
15 Images for 15 Years of Horror, Part 2 (2001-2015): some of the greatest, goriest, most shocking and most memorably defining moments in horror since 2001
Greetings, horrorounds! We spend so much of our time complaining about re-used, recycled, unoriginal, tired-out horror tropes and stories and stale archetypal horror character roles presented by actors that can’t act, directors who can rarely direct, and budgets that don’t get us anywhere. So I thought it was time for us to take a moment to remember that even today in the modern horror era we find the occasional delight in our modern horror in the form of worthy remakes or original approaches to old ideas…maybe even some new ideas.
This is a follow-up article to 15 Images for 15 Years of Horror, Part 1 (2000-2014) and 15 Images for 15 Years of Horror: The Good, the Bad and the Hilarious. So if you don’t see your favorite movies listed here, they were probably in last year’s review of awesome horror scenes. If you want some excellent horror suggestions from further back, you should check out The Best Moments in Horror: looking back 20 years to 1995 and looking back 20 years to 1996, and The Best Horror Came from the 80s: Part 1 and Part 2.
I really wanted to include movies like Session 9 and The Skeleton Key, but such films are more about tone than single iconic images that ignite memories. So now I give you 15 more photos for 15 years of horror. These don’t necessarily represent the 15 “best” horror movies since 2001–for that you should check out our articles on What is the Best Horror Movie of the 21st Century? and The Top 21 Horror Films of the 21st Century!–but rather 15 of the most memorable moments for me.
Krampus (2015)
Remember when that demented, possessed elderly woman swallowed a child’s head whole like one of those egg-swallowing snakes in The Taking of Deborah Logan (2014)? This was kinda’ like that.
Krampus was loaded with a yuletide menagerie of monsters, one of which was a somewhat cute-yet-clearly evil Jack-in-the-Box with the lower body and snow-burrowing habits of one of the victim-dragging Tremors (1990) monsters. How’s that for nightmare fuel? But the real shock came when we caught this snow slug with its mouth full. And just like Deborah Logan and her unhinging jaw, this Christmas creature was hungry for kids on the “Naughty List.” Feel free to listen to our podcast discussion of Krampus.
Goodnight Mommy (2014)
For future reference, if your child is so guilt-stricken over the accidental death of his twin, just let him enjoy his new imaginary friend. If you don’t, you may experience a bit of a domestic power struggle. This film was loaded with brutal scenes, twisted imagery, and paranoid crises of identity. I highly recommend it. If you don’t believe me, check out our podcast discussion on the film.
Evil Dead (2013)
The Evil Dead remake succeeded because it had many of the elements of the first two films (1981, 1987), but they have been chopped up, modified, meshed with other elements, spread across the entire cast or lumped into one. For example, there is no character that fills the role of Ash. Not really. But you’ll see “Ash” moments played out by different characters as well as “Ash” lines and other Ash-isms. What’s great about this is that you don’t know who, if anyone, is going to survive this movie. What a nice touch. It all feels so familiar to Evil Dead fans yet, despite this familiarity, you never know what’s in store except for a few iconic scenes. This horrendously brutal “tongue scene” however, was original to the remake. Please join us and listen to our podcast discussion on this remake.
The Cabin in the Woods (2012)
Most people like referencing the Merman as the most memorable aspect of this brilliantly funny, gory and clever film. And in last year’s post I refer you to the board and the premise behind it. Was it genius? No. Was it 100% what we horror fans never knew we wanted? ABSOLUTELY!!! With such entries as “angry molesting tree” honoring Evil Dead, sexy witches and the much discussed “Kevin”….this film managed to give nods to a broad sweep of the horror genre’s better moments.
But for me, nothing offered such adorable levity as when our government horror technicians celebrated prematurely, breaking out into some impromptu white guy dances! Not only did we love this film, so did our readers! We conducted a poll and podcasted the results: that this was the best horror film of the 21st century!!!!
The Human Centipede 2: Full Sequence (2011)
In case you should ever find yourself arguing “what’s more disgusting than a human centipede”…here’s your answer. And it’s not an even larger human centipede, but rather its creator. This little deviant masturbates with sandpaper while fantasizing about compound shit-eating alimentary canals. This mentally retarded, severely disturbed and abused man obsesses over Tom Sixx’s movie, takes it as medical canon and pursues his own dreams of a bigger, better human centipede. This metamovie sequel (as did Hostel 2) presents its sick, depraved story through the mad scientist’s perspective.
Altitude (2010)
I DO NOT recommend watching Altitude unless you’re in the mood for a bad movie featuring a giant flying squid monster brought to life by the overactive imagination of a nostalgic horror comicbook fan. This is not happening in the sea. It’s happening 20 thousand feet above the ground at 200 mph!!!! I’m pretty sure that their plane would get shredded in the tail winds of this monster, which, by the way, is flying 200 mph backwards while assaulting this plane.
Drag Me to Hell (2009)
When Alison Lohman gets dragged to Hell in Drag Me to Hell. Yeah, I know it’s the title of the movie. But that was SHOCKING and somehow totally unexpected anyway.
But, then again, she did turn down a loan that threw an elderly dead-eyed gypsy out on the street. And, while you may argue she was just doing her job and making a tough call, she also did kill a kitten. Kitten killers go to Hell. It’s as simple as that. Honestly, I’m sort of relieved that Justin Long didn’t end up marrying that kitten killer.
Mirrors (2008)
Let’s be clear here. Mirrors definitely had its share of shortcomings. The movie is effectively quite creepy–as a more films relying on evil mirror images–but it starts off at a sluggish pace and ends in a lame finale. But trust me, the movie is worth it anyway. And this is the scene that brings it all together. There are few scenes so effectively terrifying…and it is not short either. Poor Amy Smart.
Trick ‘r Treat (2007)
Trick ‘r Treat is a favorite for many reasons and I consider it one of the better horror anthologies you can watch. I especially loved the artistic license taken on the werewolf transformation scene! It may seem a little questionable to horror fans at first glance, but it was done VERY well and it mingled fantastically with the “girls in slutty costumes” theme; they literally “stripped” off their human skin (i.e., the Wolf’s slutty costume) to reveal the wolf within. Given the tone of the movie and the scene, it felt perfect.
Slither (2006)
There couldn’t have been a more deliciously disgusting movie in 2006. Slither was the gourmet of all things gory and gooey. There are tentacles and mutations and transformations…and Nathan Fillion proclaiming that he has too much muscle mass to get drunk.
The Descent (2005)
Talk about cultivating urgency. When all your friends have been eaten alive by a race of subterranean blind vampire Morlocks and the only way to evade detection is to submerge yourself in an offal pit of decaying blood and chunky guts, it’s pretty fair you’re having a rough day and starring in a horror film that doesn’t need to resort to cheap thrills to get you on edge. Watch this movie. It has so much more to offer than it’s spelunking mole people monsters suggest.
Shaun of the Dead (2004)
There truly is something magical about the completely credible, everyday apathy that could permit someone to completely overlook the beginnings of the zombie apocalypse around them. And this was before people walked about with their eyes affixed to a SmartPhone screen. Shaun of the Dead will likely forever remain among the very greatest of horror comedies. Not only is the writing on point, but the acting is splendid and this film always finds a way to be funny.
When Freddy Krueger and Jason Voorhees first met, I felt like such a fan boy! Their direct fights may not have been amazing, but Jason did rip off Freddy’s arm and Freddy did stab Jason with his own machete. I guess that’s just the kind of conflict that arises when a soul-stealing dream demon is serially foiled by the exploits of a promiscuous camper-killing zombie of vengeance. There’s also some general silliness, like getting baked with an evil caterpillar and using mommy issues to manipulate your nemesis. All in all, a great ride even if not a great film.
GOOD LORD! Scenes like this are why I loved the Cabin Fever films so much. But this scene had to be the best of all four movies–even the Cabin Fever: Spring Fever (2009) and Cabin Fever: Patient Zero (2014) had their charm. So good was this scene, in fact, that the Cabin Fever (2016) remake, of course, had to replicate it. This scene is really a simple concept brilliantly realized on screen.
Thirteen Ghosts (2001)
Remember how cool it was seeing all the different ghosts of the Black Zodiac? Well, few were as fun as the “Angry Princess.” Yeah, as a teenager I loved boobs, too. This suicidal specter wandered around with dead eyes, bare boobs, and a fixation on beauty. I remember being so nervous when she was standing behind Scream Queen Shannon Elizabeth.
****************************************
Hope you enjoyed some of my favorite mania-feeding moments.
Please read on to 15 Images for 15 Years of Horror, Part 1 (2000-2014).
Share this post:
Arrival: The Words of the Worlds
.
Arrival is a truly remarkable film because it is patient, smart and forgoes theatrics for small discussions. Director Denis Villeneuve (Prisoners, Enemy, Sicario) has created a science fiction treat that looks beautiful and tells a small story that features big ideas. I’ve love that the internet has fallen in love with Arrival because this is the type of film that could’ve easily slipped through the cracks and become an under watched cult classic. It is rare that a literate (based on a short story) and moderately budgeted ($47 million) science fiction film hits big and captures a lot of hearts.
Arrival focuses on 12 alien ships that have appeared in various areas around the world. There is no pattern to where they’ve landed and every 12(ish) hours their doors open to allow scientists or government officials to come inside in an attempt to communicate. Nobody knows why the aliens have appeared because there is no simple way to ask them or understand when they answer. That all changes when linguist Louise Banks (Amy Adams = the best) and theoretical physicist Ian Donnelly (Jeremy Renner) come in and begin to crack the alien language. From there, it is a race against the clock to prevent potential war and appease the millions of earthlings who are justifiably freaking out.
Villeneuve could’ve loaded Arrival with jump scares, probes and Jeremy Renner spin-kicking aliens. Instead, he and the director of photography Bradford Young (Selma) focus on jaw-dropping moments and beautifully staged set pieces. My favorite moment involves Louise and Ian entering the space ship for the first time. The moment plays with gravity and gives us a play-by-play breakdown of how people enter the towering ships. I think the moment is really important because it familiarizes us with the location and gives us a mental picture of the process so we know the journey they take each day.
.
What I love about Arrival is how the pacing, themes and performances combine to form a thoughtful and patient experience. Giving more away would be a travesty so I implore you to go check out Arrival and immerse yourself in all its glory.
Share this post:
John’s Horror Corner: The Being (1983), a passable mutant monster creature feature for B-movie fans.
MY CALL: This monster movie is nothing special at all outside of providing a less mainstream B-movie to entertain horror fans. The effects are more entertaining than good, but unlike the acting and writing, the effects clearly put forth a solid effort. MORE MOVIES LIKE The Being: This movie is similar to but not as good as Xtro (1983), Without Warning (1980), Blue Monkey (1987), The Kindred (1987), The Nest (1988), Metamorphosis: The Alien Factor (1990), The Deadly Spawn (1983) and Humanoids from the Deep (1980). I’d recommend you see all of these before attempting The Being.
Written and directed by first-time filmmaker Jackie Kong (Blood Diner), this film opens uninventively with a narration of the most basic exposition—locals are missing, strange things are happening, and “the ultimate terror has taken form” right there in Pottsville, Idaho. We are “told” these three things.
The creature effects swing into action early, which is always a good thing when dealing with B movies since the creature effects are really the only reason we’re here—and I can gladly say the effects are satisfying even if truly nothing special. They include gross slimy monster limbs, gory on-screen decapitation, an out-of-focus monster attacking an in-focus naked woman, the old ripping the heart out of the chest gag, a prehensile frog-like tongue, and loads of green slime and gelatinous sludge.
Propagandist scientist Dr. Garson Jones (Martin Landau; Without Warning, Ed Wood) addresses the public regarding the safety of dumping nuclear waste into drinking water sources.
Because what harm is a little toxic waste?
I guess this movie is telling us!
At first things don’t totally make sense. For example, during a gratuitous sex scene in a car green sludge oozes through the AC vents and radio as our Casanova rounds third base. Then, all of a sudden, a skeletal slimy sludge hand reaches up and attacks the young lovers—so the thing must have formed right there in the car! But wait…did the monster liquefy then reform? We never find out! Speaking of slimy monster arms, that is all we see until we find a slimy mutant monster fetus and a throwback creature to the Husky lump in The Thing (1981).
When our protagonist meets our monster and tries to warn Mayor Gordon (José Ferrer; Dune, The Sentinel, The Swarm), he could care less. His only concern is the town’s revenue stream of potato exports. The mayor actually hires Dr. Jones to look into things and keep the situation quiet. This all highlights some of the dumber aspects of the movie, among some other probably unintentionally silly scenes poorly held together by wooden acting and some incredibly lazy dialogue. These actors couldn’t be troubled to care about delivering a single line. But hey, it’s a fun B-movie. What did you expect, right? I mean, whenever the monster leaps towards someone, it seems a production assistant just throws a monster dummy across the camera and onto the victim. There’s even a low-speed chase scene and a needless car explosion.
It’s not until the finale that we get to see something awesome. The somehwat full-body creature is a sloppy, gory mess of teeth. We actually just see its head and an arm. But the head is pretty cool. Not creative at all, but fun to watch.
And that’s what this movie is. It’s “fun to watch” and nothing else. There’s nothing to brag in terms of interesting effects or story and the death scenes are uninspired. But this bad movie is a good bad (i.e., so bad it’s good). The fight between our hero and the toxic mutant is about as bad as it gets—and I giggled throughout. If you enjoy B horror movies, you probably will, too.
Share this post:
Sing Street: A Fantastic Crowd Pleaser That Is Funny, Heartfelt and Cool
.
Have you ever told somebody you were in a band to impress them? If so, did you tell them they could be in your upcoming music video? Did they believe you? The answer is probably “no,” but that is the problem the hero of Sing Street finds himself in. Conor (Ferdia Walsh-Peelo) is a gawky 15-year old kid who has to start attending local state-school after his parents can no longer afford the expensive private school he was attending. At first things goes predictably awry, but after he blatantly lies to a beautiful girl named Raphina (Lucy Boynton) things start coming together for him. He puts together a band with the help of music maestro Eamon (Mark McKenna) and manager Danny (Ben Carolan) and together they mimic many musical genres, wear some very awkward clothes (it was the 1980s) and create some really fun music.
.
Sing Street is alive with fantastic pop music, charming performances and legitimate melancholy. I didn’t want the movie to end and immediately after the film ended I wanted to buy the soundtrack then watch it again. Director/writer John Carney (Once, Begin Again) experiences growing up in 1980s Dublin helped create a movie that is equal parts history lesson and love letter to the music of the 1980s. The costumes, haircuts and musical choices all feel authentic and I love how Carney deals earnestly with the musical proceedings.
.
There is an authenticity to Sing Street and I love how the characters come together and prove themselves more than their initial introduction. For instance, Conor’s brother Brendan (Jack Reynor – really good) comes across as a slacker music enthusiast, but as the film progresses you see he has a keen sense of human nature and his observations about their parents relationships are spot on. You begin to cheer for the guy and respect the fact that he is helping his brother move forward in life. I love the little character moments in Sing Street because in those tiny moments you learn a lot about who these characters are. Jack Reynor was actually sold on the film by one line that Carney wrote.
.
Do yourself a favor and check out Sing Street. It is a wonderfully nostalgic breath of fresh air that will put a smile on your face.
Movies, Films & Flix 
