John’s Horror Corner: House of 1000 Corpses (2003), Rob Zombie’s sick experiment in extreme cinema.
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MY CALL: This felt like a sick kid’s slapstick torture film and back when this came out I really wasn’t so excited to see what Rob Zombie would do next. Not necessarily original or clever, I view this first film to be his experiment in filmmaking. I may not have been impressed (at the time), but I’ll still call this experiment a victory and I imagine this hard-R horror and its popularity helped transform the genre as we know it today.
MORE MOVIES LIKE House of 1000 Corpses: The Devil’s Rejects (2005) for more but better of the same. Lords of Salem (2013) for a major change in pace and artistic approach.
Written/directed by Rob Zombie (Lords of Salem, Halloween), this modernly spun 1970s throwback immediately lets you know what you’re getting into–and it’s really SOMETHING! It’s gory, in-your-face, brutal, macabre, schlocky and offensive as a gas station hold-up goes horribly awry for two bumbling criminals who are gleefully resisted by the evil clown-faced Captain Spaulding (Sid Haig; Creature, Galaxy of Terror). But this film’s greatest impact was not on the audience, but the genre itself. Dare I be the hater to say I wasn’t at all impressed with this film on its own. But far be it from me to deny how this film (among others like Wrong Turn and the TCM remake; also 2003 releases) reintroduced brutality and gore back into mainstream studio-release horror after a over a decade of soft-R and PG-13 theatrical releases. Take my word for it, the 90s weren’t awesome for fans of hard-to-watch horror. And there was almost nothing so schlocky gracing screens backed by a studio!
A group of four friends (including Rainn Wilson; Cooties) stop by Captain Spaulding’s monster museum, go on his Murder Ride, and pick up a hitchhiker (Sheri Moon Zombie; Lords of Salem, Halloween) who wastes no time in luring one of them away from the others to her home after they get a flat tire. By the way, Rob Zombie is clearly very proud of Sheri Moon’s body (and I think so is she, and rightfully so)–a trend you’ll observe in all his movies along with her comfort with nudity and scant wardrobe.
The gigantic, mask-wearing, mute and shy Tiny (Matthew McGrory; Big Fish) and the scraggly, stringy-haired Otis (Bill Moseley; The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, House) are clear reflections of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre (parts 1-2) family and a shallow gene pool. Rounding out the crazy family of murderers is a sultry mother and a loud mouth grandfather.
For his first feature-length film Rob Zombie does well, but still displays some beginner-level editing and camerawork that we see more honed in his subsequent movies. The same can be said for the somewhat crass writing (typical of direct-to-DVD movies starring Clint Howard) and Sheri Moon’s acting. I’m not trying to be mean, but all of these components seem far more developed in his more recent work. But, then again, this is a deliberate schlocky throwback.
The choppy editing offers visions of malevolence, necrophilia, torture and nudity. These scenes are meant to create a twisted flavor, but the celluloid scenes also unevenly break the pacing. Flayed bodies, masks and suits of human skin, and general evil-doing may impress some viewers. But to me this is a beginner’s take on extreme horror. It had no sense of story and became more over-the-top with each subsequent scene, culminating in a most unreasonably elaborate finale in a mineshaft lair of pseudozombie ghouls, Dr. Satan’s lobotomized human experiments, and a mutant barbarian that leads us to an ending that, again, smacks of a lovechild between an R-rated acid trippy videogame and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. I thought it was silly (and maybe I enjoyed it a little), but this was something horror-goers weren’t getting elsewhere, perhaps making it the hot commodity of its time.
The violence is campy and unconvincing by current standards (again, this is schock cinema, though). This film has a reputation for brutality, but well-seasoned horror fans probably won’t see it that way today. Some may find the macabre humor, evil laughter and odd score to be more than a bit disconcerting–but I was not so affected. This felt like a sick kid’s slapstick torture film and back when this came out I was honestly not so excited to see what Rob Zombie would do next. It wasn’t original or clever and it offered little more than to demonstrate that Rob Zombie knew his way around the features on his camera. To that end, we see him trying (and learning) about alternative lighting schemes and filters (very music video-ish actually). Although it didn’t really fit well here in my opinion. I guess it was fun at times, and it’s lunacy lends itself well to drinking games. No scares to be found (nor were there meant to be), but a constant flow of bloody evil craziness.
Today, by the way, my opinion on Rob Zombie has changed dramatically as he has matured as a filmmaker. I’m actually quite excited to see 31 and Halloween 3…and everything else he does. I view this first film to be his experiment in schlocky filmmaking that paved the way for heavier R-rated horror. I may not have been too impressed upon its release, but I’ll still call this experiment a solid victory.
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Five Reasons Why Escape From L.A. is a Bonkers Masterpiece
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Escape From L.A. is an insane film that doesn’t get the credit it deserves. It was released in 1996, and was met with indifference and poor box office results. However, time has been kind to it, and in honor of its 20th anniversary I wanted to promote this crazy John Carpenter film. Carpenter knew what he was doing, and he turned up the volume to 11 and let Snake Plissken (Kurt Russell) do his thing. The movie is stuffed to the brim with insanity and pretty much follows the same exact plot of Escape From New York. Basically, Snake has to rescue the President’s daughter from L.A. in 10 hours or he will die. What follows is beautifully ridiculous and I love every second of it.
Here are five reasons why Escape From L.A. is an underrated treasure. After you’ve read the post make sure to check out our 50th podcast that is dedicated to Kurt Russell. It is pretty amazing.
1 . There is a Big Trouble in Little China Reunion
Stuart Quan, James Lew, Leo Lee, Gary Toy and Al Leong pop up as Pam Grier’s Henchmen in Escape From L.A. It was awesome seeing the Chang Sing and Wing Kong unite to help Snake Plissken! I bet they felt invincible.
Sidenote: Jack Burton is my favorite action hero. The guy can do no wrong while totally not doing anything right. Check out the post I wrote about his awesomeness!
All the arrows lead to the reunion. I was stoked to see this!
2. Snake Plissken was Fast & Furious before the fast was furious
The craziest scene in Escape From L.A. features Kurt Russell and Peter Fonda surfing a tsunami. The two high-five and eventually Snake steers his surfboard towards the road and effortlessly manages to jump into Steve Buscemi’s convertible. What?!?! I have a feeling that Vin Diesel ripped off these films in the later Fast installments.
3. Snake is a great basketball player
There are a few things I’ve never thought I’d see, and seeing Snake Plissken play basketball is one of them. There is a weird scene that involves a captured Snake being forced to make five baskets or face certain death. When he makes a shot the buzzer starts counting down from 10 seconds, and the poor guy has to run full-court to drain another shot. Snakes pulls off a miracle and becomes the first person to survive the basketball game of death. A cool little fact is that Russell practiced on his downtime to make his shots look authentic. I wonder how many times it took him to nail the full-court shot?
4. Bruce Campbell plays a devilish plastic surgeon
Did you know that Russell and Campbell have both played Elvis and have the same stunt double? That is a mind blowing fact! I lost it when I saw Bruce Campbell on screen in 1996 because I loved the Evil Dead movies. It was awesome seeing two of my favorite actors together on screen. Of course, they were acting together in a bonkers film that is crazy violent and was initially disliked.
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5. Snake lands a hang glider perfectly on the villain
What do you do when you need to find the bad guy? You jump on a hang glider, kill several hundred goons and eventually land on the main villain. What make this scene crazy is how Snake perfectly steers the glider onto the bad guy! Hundreds of people are shooting at him, and he still finds his guy, despite the benefit of both eyes.
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Escape From L.A. is a crazy little cult classic that won’t appeal to the mainstream but will most certainly satisfy John Carpenter fans.
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MFF Special: Kurt Russell’s Long History With Elvis Presley
THE HATEFUL EIGHT
This post takes on the Herculean task of tracking Russell’s cinematic Elvis experiences. Elvis and Russell have a history dating back to 1963 when a 12-year-old Russell kicked Elvis in It Happened at the World’s Fair. From 1963 to 2001 Russell has gone back to the Elvis well several times, and I feel it is my duty (or birthright) to bring this information to the masses. The following piece is going to blow your mind and change the way you think about cinematic Elvis portrayal.
Kurt Russell shin kicked Elvis in 1963
In 1963, a 12-year-old Kurt Russell helped Elvis by kicking him in the shin. The role didn’t require much acting, but, you knew immediately that one day the kid would make for a great one-eyed killer. I love this trivia from IMDb:
Recalling the scene years later, Russell says that he didn’t want to do it, as Elvis was such a huge star and Russell was a fan of his. He says that finally Elvis paid him $5 to do it and he did. Russell would later go on to play Elvis in the TV movie, Elvis (1979)
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Kurt Russell played Elvis in TV movie
The A.V. Club just released a fantastic piece about John Carpenter’s 1979 Elvis film. The made-for-TV film didn’t light the world on fire, but it proved Russell wasn’t afraid to take chances and that is noted in the A.V. Club article.
But though the swagger Russell would bring to his later starring roles for Carpenter wouldn’t be out of place in a movie about The King Of Rock ’N’ Roll, he plays Elvis as deeply vulnerable. There is never a point at which he doesn’t look like an outsider; whether as a young man with a ducktail haircut and silk shirt, or as a grown man who regularly wears a cape and sunglasses indoors, he always seems dressed for another world.
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Kurt Russell’s Tombstone co-star Val Kilmer portrayed Elvis in True Romance
I love Tombstone (1993). It is a brilliant film that is quotable and stands the test of time. My favorite aspect of Tombstone is the relationship between Wyatt Earp (Russell) and Doc Holiday (Kilmer). The two actors are great together and would love to see a Tombstone 2: The Incredible O.K. Corral. One cool fact about them is they’ve both played Elvis. Val Kilmer played The King in True Romance (1993), and channels Elvis in Top Secret!. If you haven’t watched True Romance and Top Secret! do it now!
Kurt Russell voiced Elvis in Forrest Gump
Kurt Russell supplied the uncredited voice of Elvis in Forrest Gump (1994). The guy just can’t stop playing Elvis!
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Kurt Russell’s Escape From L.A. costar Bruce Campbell played Elvis in Bubba Ho-Tep
Escape From L.A. is a cheeky film that features Kurt Russell playing basketball and surfing into action. During his quest he comes across Bruce Campbell’s murderous plastic surgeon. When putting together this piece it dawned on me that both of these guys have played Elvis! It was a life changing moment that proves great actors can’t stay away from oddball Elvis impersonations.
If you haven’t watched Bubba Ho-Tep you need to do it now. It is a fantastic film.
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Kurt Russell dressed up as Elvis in 3,000 Miles to Graceland
3,000 Miles to Graceland (2001) is a garbage pail film that netted Kurt Russell/Kevin Costner a 2001 Razzie nomination for Worst Screen Couple. The movie is a dirty little thing that features no joy, excitement or logic. The only good thing is seeing Russell dress up as Elvis one more time. The guy is a natural Elvis impersonator, and the film gave Russell’s hair another chance to shine.
The only cool thing to come from the stink bomb is it takes the Kurt Russell/Val Kilmer/Elvis world full circle. Christian Slater dressed up as Elvis in 3,000 Miles to Graceland, and received advice from Val Kilmer’s Elvis in True Romance. The Slater unites.
There you have it! Kurt Russell has had a long and random history with Elvis Presley!
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The MFF Podcast #50: Kurtchella, the Kurt Russell Special
You can download the pod on iTunes or LISTEN TO THE POD ON BLOGTALKRADIO.
If you get a chance please make sure to review, rate and share. You are awesome!
Go visit the episode that started it all:
Episode 1: Kurt Russell’s Best Sleeveless Roles.
SUMMARY: This week we discuss our favorite movie icon, KURT RUSSELL. We review our favorite Kurt Russell trivia, review six degrees from Kurt Russell to Elvis, the best DVD commentaries on the market, and our favorite moments from his earlier career with special emphasis on Big Trouble in Little China, The Thing, Used Cars, Escape from LA, his countless links to Elvis and other actors.
We also answer such important questions as…
“If Kurt Russell had won an academy award for any of his films, which one should it have been for?”
“What movies role would have been much better if Kurt Russell had gotten the part instead?”
“Why is Kurt Russell the worst loser ever and the best loser at the same time?”
“Did Kurt Russell really make that full court basketball free throw?”
LISTEN TO THE POD ON BLOGTALKRADIO,
or head over iTunes so you can download, REVIEW, RATE and SHARE the pod.
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John’s Horror Corner: Aberration (1997), a surprisingly fun and gooey B-movie about a mutant lizard infestation.
MY CALL: I must say, I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this B-movie. It’s loaded with silly action, playful humor, and rubber lizards that violate everything you learned in biology class; zaniness abounds. If you watch only the first 10, 20 or 30 minutes of this, you’d think you’d be making the right decision to stop watching. Just please keep watching. If you’ve ever loved a B movie this will probably be a pleasant surprise for you. MORE MOVIES LIKE Aberration: Mutant infestations are loads of fun. For some of my favorites featuring slugs, cockroaches and rats, try Slugs (1989), The Nest (1988) and Of Unknown Origin (1983).
This film opens with a sluggish pace as we meet Amy (Pamela Gidley; Cherry 2000) and her cat moving into her winter vacation home (?), a secluded cabin in the woods, where something is clearly (to the audience) amiss. The cat functions very much as dogs often do in horror, hesitating to enter the cabin as if it sensed an enemy and pointing out clues to the presence of “something” else.
We encounter traces of thick, green “horror movie” monster slime in and around her cabin. What’s more is that the local elderly weirdo’s dog has disappeared and a nearby biologist is collecting samples of slimy reptilian skin sheddings in the wild. Playing the harbinger trope, the old man warns Amy to “get out while she still can” because it’s “mating season.” Evidently this guy knows something bad is coming and, for some reason, doesn’t take the time to explain. Isn’t that just always the case in horror movies, by the way? How the people who could actually save your life are too busy being vague and weird to consider explaining something.
Observing signs of some sort of infestation, she buys some bug spray and mouse traps. But after she comes home to a mutilated cat, it’s apparent this is more than a few roaches or mice. Our know-it-all biologist reveals that they’re dealing with geckoes, mutant geckoes…with teeth! In fact, it’s an iguana-gecko hybrid that spits poison! Ridiculous! But also stupid fun.
What follows are some pleasant surprises including a feasted upon human corpse, plenty of laughs, a gooey dissection, stupid nonsense science, rubber lizard monsters, idiotic logic, pulsating mutant lizard eggs, some unexpectedly random martial arts, communicating like velociraptors in Jurassic Park (1993), three explosions, lots of gory lizard splatters and slimy gooey egg squishing. There’s a surprising amount of bad humorous B-action here, and only a few seconds of it are CGI.
This B-movie plays all the strings of horror tropes. The weirdo harbinger, the pet sentinel, the secluded cabin in the woods, an incoming storm, a socially awkward scientist who seems to know everything and the uncharacteristically sensual candlelit bath scene. But all these tropes are delivered with a sort of forgivable B-movie charm. This movie is surprisingly likable. The pinnacle of the eye-rolling so-bad-it’s-good moments comes when Amy drowns a lizard, that then “evolves” (complete misuse of the word evolve, by the way) gills right in front of them! They also develop an immunity to poison in hours and develop bulletproof scales!!!! Yeah, this is surely something your biology teacher never wanted you to see.
I must say, I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this B-movie. If you watch only the first 10, 20 or 30 minutes of this, you’d think you’d be making the right decision to stop watching. Just please keep watching. If you’ve ever loved a B movie this will probably be a pleasant surprise for you. There are LOADS of scenes with effects and blood and zaniness!
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I can’t wait to hear the audience reaction towards 10 Cloverfield Lane in the upcoming days and weeks. It has received a massive marketing push and the curiosity/buzz surrounding it is epic. However, sequel expectations are going to throw a lot of people for a loop. I really enjoyed the movie, and thought it was a well-put-together thriller that features some very good performances. However, if people are expecting a movie about hipsters battling a blurry monster they will be disappointed.
10 Cloverfield Lane tells the story of three people waiting out the apocalypse in a bunker. They all got to the bunker differently, and their existence underground is anything but peaceful. The movie goes to some dark places that I totally didn’t expect, and I was really happy to see it ditch the stock sequel cliches (bigger, louder, bigger). There is a link to Cloverfield, but this movie shouldn’t be looked at as a direct sequel. 10 Cloverfield Lane takes place in the same world, but on opposite poles.
What makes 10 Cloverfield Lane work so well are the performances. Mary Elizabeth Winstead is fantastic as the imprisoned Michelle. When we first meet her, she is driving away from a bad relationship and her vehicle gets unexpectedly smashed. She wakes up chained to a wall, still bloody and totally confused. She is imprisoned in a doomsday haven, and we soon learn there is another “trapped” fellow named Emmett (John Gallagher Jr.). The two form an unlikely bond as they get used to their life under the rule of the bonkers Howard (John Goodman).
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What I love about Michelle is she is industrious, intelligent and believable. I’ve always been a fan of Winstead’s work and I was really happy to see her get a showcase role. She adds a maturity and toughness that doesn’t feel forced and you actually like her as a character. She is always looking to escape, but, also realizes just how insane the outside world has become. She is stuck between a rock and a hard place, so she spends her time figuring out how to survive.
You definitely won’t find a signal in a doomsday bunker.
John Goodman is terrifying in his role of bunker builder and bully. He uses every inch and ounce of his body to create a multilayered monster of a man. His character Howard Stambler is a doomsday preparation specialist who has quirks aplenty and an always simmering temper. He was supposedly in the Navy for many years and he thinks the world is under attack by something alien (not wrong). Howard is the the living embodiment of a nightmare, and his interactions with Michelle and Emmett are spine-tingling. I really hope Goodman is remembered come awards time because he is awesome in this film.
I won’t go into what happens next. This movie should be enjoyed with a blank slate and wide open expectations. Don’t expect too much monster mayhem and instead prepare yourself for a neat little chamber thriller. Kudos to Director Dan Trachenberg for creating a claustrophobic atmosphere and delivering a taut peice of work.
Sit back, relax, and appreciate a tiny film that is making giant waves.
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John’s Horror Corner: Indigenous (2014), pretty much The Descent with Chupacabras in a Panamanian jungle.
MY CALL: Director Alastair Orr may not amaze us with this Descent knock-off, but he demonstrates that he is highly capable of entertaining us with an unoriginal story and a slim budget. This was totally watchable. I’m looking forward to seeing what he does next. MORE MOVIES LIKE Indigenous: Forget this flick. Just go watch The Descent (2005).
This starts out feeling vaguely reminiscent of The Ruins (2008). A bunch of 20-somthings go on a Central American vacation and a side-trek goes horribly wrong as they discover the local fauna. It takes place in the extremely remote Panamanian forest Darien Gap, which is allegedly the reason we can’t drive from North America to South America. They go on a jungle hiking adventure to find a nearby “secret” waterfall that the locals warn not to visit. It’s too dangerous. Why? It just is. The real answer: chupacabras.
I have no complaints about the acting or general production value, it all seems up to snuff–decent, in fact. It seems that this film was trying to make an above-ground version of The Descent (2005) with chupacabras. The result is moderately entertaining, but it doesn’t come close to its predecessor.
From here on, we observe a series of Descent knock-off gimmicks rehashed in lower quality as our 20-somethings are picked off by hairless, albino, blind flesh-eating bat people that squeal like stuck velociraptors whenever they move. The gore includes a chewed off face, a grotesque leg wound, and various other bloody messes. It’s generally not a very gory movie, but it has its moments. Eventually our victims wander into a deep network of bat caves complete with offal pits of slimy human bones. The budget limitations are most apparent when you realize you never see more than one monster at a time. But they look alright.
They did a pretty good job with the characters. I wasn’t really rooting for any of them, but they did a great job making the tough guy jock into a scared-shitless mumbling survivor and I wouldn’t exactly say I didn’t care about them at all…just not as much as I should have.
Director Alastair Orr may not amaze us with this flick, but he demonstrates that he is highly capable of assembling something entertaining even with a highly unoriginal knock-off story, no major actors and a slim budget. I’m looking forward to seeing what he does next.
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MY CALL: Parts 1 and 2 were great for direct-to-DVD, and part 3 lost some inertia but remained a fun franchise installment. However, with no cool effects and a messy story, part 4 felt just plain lazy. I wish they never made it. And that’s hard for me to say as an otherwise huge fan of the franchise. <<apathetic shrug>> MORE MOVIES LIKE Subspecies 4: Hopefully you saw Subspecies (1991), Subspecies II (1993), and perhaps Subspecies III: Bloodlust (1994). ALTERNATE TITLE: Subspecies 4: Awakening.
Is he…reaching for her boob???
After a major refresher montage of pretty much every scene and special effect of the franchise, we pick up right where Subspecies III: Bloodlust (1994) ended with a barbequed Radu not dead because Michelle (Denice Duff; Subspecies II–IV, Night of the Living Dead 3D: Re-Animation) and her rescuers had left the bloodstone behind. So Radu (Anders Hove; Subspecies I-IV, Critters 4) scrambles away to regenerate as Michelle, now a fully initiated vampire, is taken to a hospital where a vampire-knowledgeable doctor (Mihai Dinvale; Blood and Chocolate, Dark Angel: The Ascent) claims he can cure her ancient malady!
He looks as confused and disappointed as I was with this movie.
I’m sorry to say that this fourth installment is far less interesting than its predecessors. Lt. Marin (Ion Haiduc; Subspecies II-IV, Dark Angel: The Ascent, Mimic: Sentinel), my least favorite character from part 3, returns and contributes nothing of value as one of Radu’s recent weak creations. Adding to the needlessly complex plot, the doctors are more interested in researching the bloodstone than helping Michelle, another of Radu’s fledglings and his protégé conspire against Radu, the doctor is himself a vampire, Michelle suddenly has a soft spot for Radu…it’s just too much and it keeps us from getting into any one plot element. There’s too much going on for it to develop into anything. This is all on top of the base storyline of Radu trying to reclaim Michelle under his wing. Haven’t we had enough of that yet with the last two films??? <<sigh>>
Behold, the most farcical moment in the franchise thus far.
BARF! We get it. The sun doesn’t hurt you, but you’ll ironically put on sunglasses.
The special effects seem a less frequent (than parts I-III) as well. We see lots of shadow walking (which is no longer interesting or impressive really), I still have a love-hate relationship with Radu’s gangly fingers and there are a few blood feedings, but outside of the introductory footage from part 3 and a couple of beheadings there are no cool effects. What the Hell? Nothing comes even remotely close to the neat claymation of Radu’s minions or Radu’s head reattaching itself a la The Thing (1982) with arterial tendrils whipping from his detached head and affixing themselves to his body to drag his head into place as his spinal cord extends outward to receive it…AWESOME EFFECT from Subspecies II. Where was all that? It seems that both the writing and special effects were left behind on this one.
Yes, by all means. Cut off the head of this wretched film!
And…doesn’t he look a tad like Willem Dafoe?
Parts 1 and 2 were pretty damn good–great, in fact, for direct-to-DVD releases. Then with Subspecies III: Bloodlust (1994) director Ted Nicolaou (Subspecies I-III, Terror Vision, Puppet Master vs Demonic Toys) lost the inertia that started this franchise so powerfully–but part 3 was still a fun franchise installment. However, part 4 felt just plain lazy. No cool effects and a messy story. I wish they never made it. And that’s hard for me to say as an otherwise huge fan of the franchise. <<apathetic shrug>>
Another look of disappointment.
She looks like Helena Bonham Carter from Fight Club…
But Fight Club came out a year LATER!
Mind = BLOWN!
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John’s Horror Corner: Last Shift (2015), the story of a rookie cop in a haunted police station.
MY CALL: I was generally unimpressed and disappointed with this satanic haunting film. MORE MOVIES LIKE Last Shift: I’ve read many people comparing this drivel to Assault on Precinct 13 (1976) and I honestly don’t see it, outside of the setting being the last night at a police precinct. I consider this comparison to be an insult to the late John Carpenter.
The set up isn’t exactly promising. A rookie police officer (Juliana Harkavy; The Walking Dead) shows up to a near abandoned police station for her first shift on the job. Young, attractive and seemingly too meek for conflict, she strikes me as no more than tenderized final girl victim bait for whatever evils herein lurk. Unfortunately for us, the greatest evil here is in the poor filmmaking.
Without easing us into a false sense of security, our cadet encounters all manner of flickering lights, strange noises, objects moving on their own, a disturbed hobo (J. LaRose; Insidious Chapter 2, The Devil’s Carnival) who keeps “appearing” in the building, slamming doors and mysterious phone calls. Among the disordered melee of distractions, very little seems nearly as effective as intended and most of it is just plain annoying.
With all this going on she doesn’t seem to acknowledge how weird this all is until she’s in too deep. She doesn’t call for back-up…perhaps for fear of being embarrassed on her first day. But before we know it we learn our rookie is not alone in the station and that she is somehow connected to its haunting.
Writer/director Anthony DiBlasi (Dread, The Profane Exhibit, Cassadaga) stencils the film’s contours with strong supernatural influences. For example, the film “borrows” the iconic chair stacking scene from Poltergeist (1982; podcast discussion) and subsequently Dark Skies (2013). Other scenes (e.g., the locker room scene) likewise echo the Paranormal Activity 2 (2010) kitchen cabinet scene, the spectral corpse drag from A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) or the fast-twitching face-shaking of The House on Haunted Hill (1999).
The story comes to include a satanic cult of murderous devil worshipping fanatics. I found most of the scenes, ploys and acting to be vastly underwhelming. However, a few scenes were creepy and quite effective. Again, “a few.” In fact, the bulk of the movie felt random and in desperate need of synthesis and direction…and talent. There, I said it.
Among the film’s successes were scenes of ghosts, disturbing imagery involving corpses, and unexpected gore. The gore is neither frequent nor abundant, but its presentation represents the best execution of the film. Otherwise, this chaotic fever dream is nothing I would ever recommend.
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The 10 Best Moments of the 1992-2002 MTV Movie Awards
Remember back in the 1990’s when you didn’t have access to the internet, and you learned about movies via Premiere, Empire or the MTV Movie Awards? From 1992-2002 I thought the MTV Movie Awards were the coolest thing on the planet. I knew it wasn’t highbrow, but I learned about some great movies because of the MTV First Time Filmmaker Award and the various spoofs. MTV honored some great first-time filmmakers, and because of this I was introduced to Doug Liman, Guy Ritchie, Christopher Nolan and most importantly Wes Anderson. I also fell in love with the band Foghat because of Jim Carrey’s acceptance speech for The Truman Show (amazing moment) in 1999.
In honor of the fantastic 1992-2002 run of the MTV Movie Awards here are the 10 best moments!
10. The Kahuna burger gets shot (1995)
I love when the Kahuna burger blows up in the Welcome Back Kotter/Pulp Fiction spoof. I appreciate the idea of replacing a head explosion for a burger explosion. The video felt cool because I watched Pulp Fiction when I was 12 and I felt in on the joke.
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9. I think there are too many kicks in the movie (2000)
“I’m not his stunt double, I’m his “oneble.” Ben Stiller and Tom Cruise nailed this video for Mission Impossible II.
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8. Lisa Kudrow meets Yoda and Andy Dick (1999)
Remember when Andy Dick was funny? I love this video that involves Lisa Kudrow and Andy Dick dealing with a really old Yoda.
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7. Titanic Sequel (1998)
“You put Buddy Hackett on that boat you got a billion dollars.” Watching Vince Vaughn and Ben Stiller trying to sell James Cameron on a Titanic sequel is pure gold. I couldn’t find a Youtube clip but you can head over to MTV to watch the video.
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6. Chewbacca gets a Lifetime Achievement Award (1997)
The big guy finally got his medal! What I loved about the MTV Lifetime Achievement Award was how random it was. The recipients were Jason Voorhees, The Three Stooges, Richard Roundtree, Jackie Chan, Godzilla, Chewbacca and Clint Howard.
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5. Clint Howard wins the Lifetime Achievement Award (1998)
This is the most earnest speech that nobody saw coming. MTV actually retired the award after Howard, because his speech was so endearing and well-thought-out.
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4. The Mummy and Rob Schneider (2001)
A lot of time and money went into the Mummy spoof and I love every second of it. I also really like that Jimmy Fallon and Kirsten Dunst battle Rob Schneider. In our 2016 world that sounds really weird.
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3. Max Fischer and his players recreate all the best picture nominations (1999)
MTV let Max Fischer take over the awards. What?!?! How cool is that?
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2. Jim Carrey promotes Foghat (1999)
This is the greatest speech ever.
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- Wes Anderson accepts his Best New Filmmaker award (1996)
Wes Anderson is my favorite director and I love Bottle Rocket. After listening to Anderson’s speech I hunted down the Bottle Rocket VHS (thanks Blockbuster) and it changed my cinematic world.
I had to include this. Here are the winners of the Best New Filmmaker Award from 1992-2002.
1992 – John Singleton – Boyz n the Hood
1993- Carl Franklin – One False Move
1994 – Steven Zaillian – Searching for Bobby Fischer
1995- Steve James – Hoop Dreams
1996 – Wes Anderson – Bottle Rocket
1997 – Doug Liman – Swingers
1998 – Peter Cattaneo – The Full Monty
1999 – Guy Ritchie – Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels
2000 – Spike Jonze – Being John Malkovich
2001 – Sofia Coppola – The Virgin Suicides
2002 – Christopher Nolan – Memento
Movies, Films & Flix 