John’s Horror Corner: The Wretched (2019), a Disturbia-like witch-next-door movie for horror beginners.
MY CALL: This movie is perfect for teens and/or folks who prefer a lighter-handed horror movie (like beginners to the genre). There’s just enough gore, likable characters, and an engaging story. But if you live for gore, dread and tense atmosphere, this will surely be too Horror-LITE for your taste.
Visiting his father Liam (Jamison Jones) at his new house, high schooler Ben (John-Paul Howard; Snatchers) and his dad seem to get along well. They’re neighbors are a young couple with two small kids. They’re all good, grounded characters, written endearingly and acted in kind, which is a strong start for any horror film! One day the neighbor Abbie (Zarah Mahler; Nightmare Cinema) wanders by just the wrong tree inhabited by a witch, and from there our story takes root.
Eventually the witch assumes Abbie’s body and whispers enchantments into her husband’s ear to make him forget his own children’s existence and behave as she pleases. Their young son Dillon (Blane Crockarell) watches Abbie shift from his cool, rocker, deer-gutting mom into a janky ghoul with noisy cracking joints and a frightful disposition. Ben sees firsthand how Dillon fears his mother, and Ben can see why! After Dillon disappears, Ben spies on Abbie and her strangely behaving husband.
Like in The Witches (1990), this witch wears the skin of others to disguise her nature, and like The Guardian (1990) she feeds her child victims to a tree. At times, she functions as readily as a demon, possessing someone and then roaring like some infernal dinosaur. We first find her trying to lure a child to her treehole dwelling, then emerging from the guts of a dead deer like Luke Skywalker in a TaunTaun, and skulking around the house like a gargoyle-poltergeist before claiming Abbie’s body for her own.
Not so much my taste, this feels as much a teen movie as a horror movie. Teen angst, teen crushes, teens drinking at parties, mean teens being jerks to nice teens… and if you’re thinking “there are teen characters in loads of horror movies”, that’s not what I mean and that’s not what this feels like. It doesn’t exactly have a “young adult” feel; something more akin to Disturbia (2007) with a Lifetime Channel horror-drama flavor—but obviously less-so during the horror scenes and this Lifetime aura completely dissipates near the end. This definitely makes for strong PG-13 vibes making for a very soft horror for beginners.
But even horror for beginners needs a few deaths and a bit of gore. We enjoy slick wet sloppy gore during the deer cleaning scene, when the witch emerges from the deer carcass, and when the witch crawls out of a host body from a hole in its stomach. The eventual true form of the witch is gnarly enough, and she leaves some gaping bitten-out feeding holes in a couple small children.
Co-writers and directors Brett and Drew Pierce (Deadheads) produced a very well made, written, directed and acted movie. It was just a bit too Horror-LITE for my taste. But with that said, I enjoyed it just fine. And considering how lighter horror is totally not my thing, I’d say that this particular lighter horror movie was actually pretty impressive.
Witch Movie SIDEBAR: Some excellent witch movies that actually feel like witch movies include Warlock (1989), Warlock 2: The Armageddon (1993), The Witch (2016; podcast discussion), Hagazussa (2017) and The Witches of Eastwick (1987). Beautiful Creatures (2013) and The Woods (2006) may appeal to young adult audiences. But I would sooner direct you to Hocus Pocus (1993), The Witches (1990) and The Craft (1996).
The campy The Kiss (1988), Spellbinder (1988), Necromancer (1988), Necropolis (1987) and Cherry Tree (2015) are entertaining but bad. And speaking of campy, Superstition (1982) and The Haunting of Morella (1990) are allegedly witch movies but don’t feel like it. But even if you want a bad movie, definitely skip Witchcraft (1989) and all sequels.
The dark noir Lord of Illusions (1995) is intriguingly edgy and, while more a “magic movie” than a “witch movie,” it hits a lot of the same dark arcane notes. And, of course, The Blair Witch Project (1999) and Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 (2000) were awesomely stylized in their own unique ways despite never actually showing us a witch—at least, not until Blair Witch (2016). Check out Pumpkinhead (1988) for a great depiction of a witch, though it’s not a “witch movie.” Meanwhile Deadtime Stories (1986) and The Theater Bizarre (2011) feature a pretty cool witch short story, and The Pit and the Pendulum (1991) addresses witch trials.
Witches can come in so many flavors, can’t they? Lords of Salem (2013), Moloch (2022), Suspiria (1977), Suspiria (2018), Inferno (1980) and Mother of Tears (2007) deal with witches’ spirits in the form of dark ritual and possession. Quite the opposite, Snow White and the Huntsman (2012), The Last Witch Hunter (2015; podcast discussion) and Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters (2013) offer action and effects-driven popcorn fun—Season of the Witch (2011) attempted this, but failed miserably. But the witch from The Brothers Grimm (2005) was pretty cool.
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The Movies, Films and Flix Podcast – Episode 460: The Batman Forever Soundtrack, Elliot Goldenthal, and Seal
You can download or stream the pod on Apple Podcasts, Tune In, Podbean, or Spreaker (or wherever you listen to podcasts…..we’re almost everywhere).
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Mark and Billy Patterson (@billyapatterson on Twitter) talk about their favorite songs from the Batman Forever soundtrack. Released in 1995, the soundtrack featuring Method Man, The Offspring, Brandy, and PJ Harvey, sold more than two million copies and won Seal three Grammys for his song Kiss From a Rose. In this episode, they also talk about Elliot Goldenthal’s score, Jim Carrey’s performance, and whether or not they’d want to recreate Seal’s famous Kiss From a Rose music video. Enjoy!
If you are a fan of the podcast, make sure to send in some random listener questions (we love random questions). We thank you for listening, and hope you enjoy the episode!
You can download the pod on Apple Podcasts, Tune In, Podbean, or Spreaker.
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Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022) – Review
Quick Thoughts – Grade – B+
Note – The toughest part about reviewing a Marvel Cinematic Universe film is that I never want to give away any spoilers that will wreck the experience for the viewer. Thus, I’m going to write as much as I can with the synopsis in mind. The synopsis for the sequel reads “The leaders of the kingdom of Wakanda fight to protect their nation from invading forces in the wake of King T’Challa’s death, while a new threat emerges from the hidden undersea nation of Talokan ruled by Namor.”
When Black Panther (2018) ended, King T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman) shared the secret of his powerful country with the rest of the world. Rich in vibranium (a super uber metal that came from a meteorite), his technologically superior nation had kept itself a secret from the rest of the world as it didn’t want to get involved with all the violence and mayhem that earthlings were capable of. However, after the assassination of T’Challa’s father T’Chaka (John Kani), and Killmongers (Michael B. Jordan) takeover of Wakanda, T’Challa felt the time was right to introduce his country to the rest of the world. It was a bold move that was meant to help the planet by creating jobs, outreach programs, and homes. But, once the world powers learned about vibranium, they became greedy and put plans in motion to snag some of the sweet space metal. All of this was interrupted by the blip (Thanos making half the universe’s population disappear), but when things started getting back to post-blip normalcy, the hunt for vibranium was back on, and this kicks off the main plot for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever begins with Shuri (letitia Wright) desperately searching for a way to save her brother T’Challa from dying. He kept his sickness a secret from his family, and eventually succumbed to his illness. This leaves a massive power gap as there is no Black Panther successor, which leaves Wakanda without a protector, and no king which leaves the ruling duties up to Ramonda (Angela Bassett), the Queen Mother of Wakanda.. After a long period of mourning, the country needs to find a way to deal with world leaders who are hungry for their technology, while dealing with another threat from Namor (Tenoch Huerta), the rule of Talokan, an underwater nation loaded with vibranium-armed warriors who aren’t happy that their civilization is being threatened by the search for vibranium. Namor tasks Ramond, Shuri, and Okoye (Danai Gurira) with finding, and killing the person responsible for creating the machine that can locate the meteorite metal. The problem is, the creator is a 19-year old Tony-Stark-esque genius named Riri Williams (Dominique Thorne), who created the machine as a class assignment and isn’t aware it’s being used to actually locate vibranium. Since, the Wakandans aren’t killers, they decide to not kill Riri and this sets the two powerful nations towards a brutal and water-logged war.
I don’t’ want to spoil anything else, just know that things go off the rails, and this forces Nakia (Lupita Nyong’o), M’Baku (Winston Duke), Everett K. Ross (Martin Freeman) and Ayo (Florence Kasumba) all join the battle to save Wakanda and prevent an aquatic bloodfest.
What I like most about Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is that it takes its time and isn’t afraid to deal with grief, loss, and sadness. The early passing of Chadwick Boseman was wildly tragic, and the fact that director Ryan Coogler was able to create a film that moves the MCU forward while honoring Boseman is an impressive feat. Also, the cinematography by Autumn Durald Arkapaw (Teen Spirit, Loki) finds ways to be intimate despite the film being about two secret nations loaded with ultra-technology about to go to war. The biggest disappointment is that Hanna Beachler’s production design seems augmented with way too much VFX. A lot of the sets seem quickly constructed and lack the personality of the 2018 film which won her an Academy Award.
Final thoughts – I can’t think of a film that has had such high expectations. 2018’s Black Panther was a massive blockbuster that earned over a billion dollars and was nominated for Oscars. With the passing of Chadwick Boseman, the creators had to pivot, refocus, and pull off a movie that honors Boseman, introduces several new key MCU players, and gives the dozen or so characters from the original screen time and character development. In the end, Coogler pulls it off, and I’m excited to see what he does next.
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MY CALL: This… this is what you’ve been waiting and longing for all these years, all these these decades. You scratched an itch with sequel after sequel to ill-construed reimagining from 2000-2018, and now you finally see the reward for your suffering. This glorious reimagining truly has such sights to show you.
MORE Hellraiser MOVIES: There’s a lot of them. Be sure to see Hellraiser (1987) and Hellbound: Hellraiser II (1988), of course. Then maybe Hellraiser 3: Hell on Earth (1992), or even just skip to Hellraiser IV: Bloodline (1996). Hellraiser V: Inferno (2000), Hellraiser VI: Hellseeker (2002) and Hellraiser VII: Deader (2005) are all more standalone films that are decent but hold no candle to parts I-II or the worthy part IV. Hellraiser VIII: Hellworld (2005) and Hellraiser IX: Revelations (2011) are easily the worst, perhaps slightly bested by Hellraiser (X): Judgment (2018) even if by creativity alone.
After touring a luxurious orgy in the Voight estate, we wander through the mansion to a gallery room serving as a shrine to the icon of the franchise: the Puzzle Box. Our introduction to the Box lacks the mystique of 1987 and instead brings with it the lofty reverence of nearly 40 years of Hellraiser fanfare. With the trigger set, the Box reconfigures itself as a gate to another world forms in empty space where no doorway could possibly exist, through which jettison hooked chains that impale, outstretch and suspend its solver before presumably dragging them to Hell. All the while Voight (Goran Visnjic; The Accursed, Santa Clarita Diet) gazes in humble satisfaction at the relic, awaiting a hopeful audience with the God at the other side of the infernal portal.
If you’ve never seen a Hellraiser film before, you should stop reading now. Discussions of the past films in this essay-like review will double as SPOILERS for this 2022 movie if you are new to the franchise.
The original Hellraiser (1987) was a chamber thriller about an infernal fugitive reconstituting his body one chunk of fleshy sopping viscera at a time from human victims in an almost vampiric manner. We find the same actions amid a far grander, world-building story in Hellbound: Hellraiser II (1988). No such thing occurs in this remake. This 2022 film is more about the box itself, the consequences it brings to those who dare dream of the rewards for opening it, and the desires of the “angels” it summons to bestow these rewards. Those who loved 1988’s world-building will find tastes of it in the imagery and story, which otherwise remains grounded in our Earthly realm, only being touched by this nigh-unimaginable influence, more as in 1987.
In this reimagining, Riley (Odessa A’zion; The Inhabitant, Let’s Scare Julia) is an addict who encounters the Box, loses a loved one, and seeks to use the powers of the box to resurrect him. Riley’s curiosity with the Box elicits a knowing and satisfyingly familiar anticipation (among Hellraiser fans) as she manipulates and inquisitively thumbs the cursed artifact into new and different configurations than we saw in our parents’ Hellraiser movies. Her brother, boyfriend and close friends get caught up in her Puzzle Box endeavors which lead them all to the wealthy Voight’s mansion. Little do they understand that the box conjures horridly mutilated, infernal stewards known as Cenobites, which see the puzzle box solver’s wish fulfilled with dark pleasure. Of the Cenobites, only Pinhead and Chatterer will be familiar, with Weeper, Masque, Mother, Gasp and Asphyx offering new and interesting mutilations to titillate your gory sensibilities.
While still obviously the iconic Pinhead (even if not named as such), our lead Cenobite is referred to only as The Priest (Jamie Clayton; Sense8, The L Word: Generation Q, The Neon Demon). With so many casting decisions in film being made out of timely and much needed conscientious diversity and inclusion, casting a transgender woman as the iconic Hell Priest Pinhead was exactly the kind of decision that should have been made in 1987—not that the world was yet ready for that. After all, in Barker’s short story The Hellbound Heart, the Priest’s voice and appearance were described in gender-ambiguous terms.
Clive Barker’s original Hellraiser (1987) was steeped in the sexual “deviancy” of bondage and sadomasochism, with themes of genderless sexuality, dark desires and blood exchange from his own history with homosexuality and HIV. The sexuality and bondage themes have been partially replaced by themes of addiction and grief in this 2022 reboot. And although “pain as pleasure” remains a focal point, we have ditched the Cenobites’ snug black leather wardrobes for additional lengths of taught flesh stretched tightly across their bodies like saltwater taffy. Trust me, you’ll wince when you see close-ups.
Of course, the menace of promised physical torture, flesh flaying, and impalement abounds. The gore is exactly as extensive and frequent as it should be. Very bloody, occasionally very chunky, and often shocking in execution. The Cenobites are exquisite visions of Hellish stewards, with perhaps considerably more elaborate flesh-flaying body modifications than ever we’ve seen. The budget, effects and intellectual innovation exceed that of anything we’ve seen since Hellbound or Bloodline. The hooked chain visuals are every bit as familiar as we yearn for them to be, yet different enough to feel novel from what we’ve seen in the past; creative and inspired, yet still the bloody hooked-chain mess we want.
Taking a hard turn from the original film, instead of “feeding” victims to a person seeking escape from Hell via fleshy reconstitution, Riley instead must feed the Box and the Cenobites victims in order to resurrect her lost loved one. So Riley serves as a combination of the original roles of Kirsty and her wicked stepmother Julia. I was also pleased at how Voight and his home call back strongly to Hellbound: Hellraiser II (1988) and Hellraiser IV: Bloodline (1996), which together with Hellraiser (1987) (and specifically excluding Hellraiser 3: Hell on Earth (1992)) form my original Hellraiser Trilogy. Moreover this reboot has taken the strengths of these three films, marrying them into a single cohesive vision of sin, sinner and Hellish consequence. I must say, I approve.
Were I to criticize, I’d prefer a single victim’s journey (as in Hellraiser I-II and most sequels) rather than this typical ensemble of twentysomething victims. But as far as victim ensemble tropes go, this played out surprisingly effectively. Even if the secondary characters were not great, they were never empty-lined, throwaway, forgettable roles for death scene fodder. I’d also prefer the markedly more dire tone of 1987. While a truly wonderful reimagining of Barker’s work, the gravity just doesn’t attain quite the same levels of hopelessness nor hold on as strong after the wowing opening Puzzle Box introduction in Voight’s mansion.
Director David Bruckner (V/H/S segment “Amateur Night”, Southbound segment “The Accident”, The Ritual) has pleased me with his past forays into horror, and continues to impress me today. Or… wowed me today! The performance, direction, effects and production value are all fantastic. This is what Hellraiser fans have anticipated for decades. Oh, and the flesh-flaying finale… David Bruckner and his Cenobites truly did have such sights to show us.
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John’s Horror Corner: Alligator II: The Mutation (1991), a failure in the realm of huge animatronic alligator horror and the natural horror subgenre.
MY CALL: It’s just not worth it. Part 1 was great, this is awful—and not the good kind of bad. Just bad. MORE MOVIES LIKE Alligator II: Go watch Alligator (1980) and then Lake Placid (1999) instead. They’re very different kinds of pleasures! But both are a pleasure.
NATURAL HORROR SIDEBAR: Looking for more natural horror? Check out Night of the Lepus (1972), Frogs (1972), Bug (1975), Jaws (1975), Food of the Gods (1976), Grizzly (1976), Squirm (1976), Empire of the Ants (1977), Day of the Animals (1977), Orca (1977), Piranha (1978), Piranha II (1981), Of Unknown Origin (1983), Cujo (1983), Razorback (1984), Monkey Shines (1988), Slugs (1988), Gnaw: Food of the Gods II (1989), Shakma (1990), Arachnophobia (1990), Ticks (1993), Mosquito (1994), The Ghost in the Darkness (1996), Anaconda (1997), Lake Placid (1999), Rogue (2007), Pig Hunt (2008), Chaw (2009), Piranha 3D (2010), The Grey (2011), The Bay (2012), The Shallows (2016), 47 Meters Down (2017), Boar (2017), Crawl (2019) and The Swarm (2020).
Although purely in unflattering laughable terms, it is on the verge of infuriating that this tactlessly PG-13 movie is attached to Alligator (1980) in any way. In the world of giant alligator horror movies of the 70s-80s, Alligator (1980) is the Oscar winner and Alligator II is hardly amusing enough for a Razzy. This is no more a sequel than a line of dialogue blabbing “something like this happened before in New York.”
The alligator attack from the opening scene features a man dropping below the waist-deep water surface and thrashing as we see nothing at all. The camera alternates between guy thrashing in the water, and an underwater alligator mouth (with nothing in its mouth) chomping away at bloody water. I feel like if an episode of Miami Vice from the 80s had an alligator attack it would be just as weakly executed and just as softly presented for its TV audience. Lame. I may enjoy writing about how bad this is, but I’m already regretting my movie choice for today—and if you’ve been a John Horror Corner reader for a while, you know that’s saying a lot!
The gory highlight from the first attack scene was a one-second shot of a severed (clothed and booted) leg floating to the surface. I love me some bad movies. But let’s be clear, this sequel is far from “so bad it’s good.”
Detective David Hodges (Joseph Bologna; Transylvania 6-5000) is on the case and his wife Christine (Dee Wallace; Popcorn, The Howling, The Lords of Salem, Critters, Critters Attack!, The Hills Have Eyes) is the pathologist who informs him that the remains appear to be the product of an alligator attack in a southern California lake. Worried about the possibility of a giant sewer alligator threatening the safety of the public during a festival arranged by the mayor—yeah, this is nothing like Jaws (1975) at all—Hodges races to find this animal. The mayor enlists the help of alligator hunters from Louisiana led by Hawk (Richard Lynch; Scanner Cop, Necronomicon: Book of the Dead, Puppet Master III, Trancers II) and including a familiar face (Kane Hodder; Friday the 13th parts VII-X, Hatchet I-IV) among his goons.
Although any individual actor may be fairly holding their own under the circumstances, the pacing is sluggish and the dialogue is painful. Oh, and the alligator shots are weak—mostly full body shots in the dark at great distance of a guy in a rubber gator suit or an actual alligator, or close up shots of an animatronic tail, flank, or head. Eventually we start actually seeing more of the alligator, but it’s never satisfying. And when it starts attacking people, the attacks are slow and sort of boring. Imagine if you will a pool float slowing moving towards a victim, and once the pool float slowly touches the victim, they scream and flail in the water as if being mauled and ravaged. Yeah, it’s often like that. Even the finale when the alligator ravages a carnival… yeah, even that sucked. The violence sucks, the gore is almost entirely absent, and the alligator attacks are neutered.
One of the better death scenes in this movie can be reduced to a man yelling while treading red water until he just dips below the surface. The lead alligator hunter Hawk gets the most honorable alligator attack scene, complete with death roll while stabbing the crap out of it with a bent rubber knife. That may have been the one horror scene I truly enjoyed for its efforts.
The way they kill the alligator is pretty fun to watch—a rocket launcher blows it into chunks on screen. So sad that the build-up for the scene was a slog. But we need to celebrate the little victories as we find them, like the lower jar of an alligator spiraling through the air with other chunky bodily debris.
Director Jon Hess (Watchers) didn’t hit this one outta’ the park for us, did he? I loved Alligator (1980), yet loathed this sequel. I recommend a hard pass.
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The Movies, Films and Flix Podcast – Episode 459: Godzilla vs. Kong (2021), Monster Fights and Atomic Breath
You can download or stream the pod on Apple Podcasts, Tune In, Podbean, or Spreaker (or wherever you listen to podcasts…..we’re almost everywhere).
If you get a chance please make sure to review, rate and share. You are awesome.
Mark and Norbert (@eddiecaine on Twitter) discuss the 2021 blockbuster Godzilla vs. Kong. Directed by Adam Wingard (watch You’re Next and The Guest now!), and starring Rebecca Hall, Alexander Skarsgård, Demián Bichir, and several large monsters, the movie focuses on what happens when two titans are annoyed at each other. In this episode, they also talk about boat fights, hidden worlds, and monsters punching each other.
If you are a fan of the podcast, make sure to send in some random listener questions (we love random questions). We thank you for listening, and hope you enjoy the episode!
You can download the pod on Apple Podcasts, Tune In, Podbean, or Spreaker.
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Fall (2022) – Review
Quick Thoughts – Grade – B- – the $3 million budgeted Fall features a lot to be admired, however, too many twists and unnecessary drama weigh it down. It’s still worth watching because of Grace Caroline Currey and Virginia Gardner, and the clever production design by Scott Daniel.
Fall tells the story of two friends Becky (Grace Caroline Currey), and Hunter (Virginia Gardner) climbing to the top of a remote 2,000 foot-tall TV tower so they can spread the ashes of Becky’s late-husband Dan (Mason Gooding), who died during a rock climbing accident. Since it’s a survival thriller, things go horribly awry when after spreading the ashes, the ladder at the top of the tower breaks off and leaves the two stranded 2,000 feet in the air without food, water or cell service. Aside from the initial melodrama, it’s a good idea that director Scott Mann can’t quite make work. Unlike The Shallows (86 minutes), or this year’s Beast (which runs a refreshing 93 minutes), which are both lean-and-mean, Fall leans into melodrama and cringey-twists that aren’t necessary. Yes, it’s hard to stretch out a movie about two people trapped on a tower, but between the initial climb, retrieving a fallen backpack which is dangling out of reach below them, and hungry vultures, there’s enough there to sustain a movie. Watching the film made me appreciate The Shallows more because the 2016 movie starring Blake Lively builds drama by simply stranding lively’s character on a rock during low tide, and forcing her to figure out her next steps before she’s eaten by a jerky great white shark. There’s no cheating subplot (like in this year’s Shark Bait, which muddied it’s plot with too much drama), horrifying sibling death (The Reef: Stalked), or added drama (Blackwater: Abyss) that has been plaguing recent survival thrillers.
Despite there being too much drama, Fall is technically sound and a lot of that is because it was mostly shot on location in the Mojave Desert. The on location shoot adds a lot to the credibility of the film, and it genuinely does induce some queasiness when the characters get 2,000 feet in the air. The cinematography by MacGregor (Vivarium) is effective as it captures the expanse of the mojave desert while constantly letting viewers know these two characters are in a lot of trouble. It’s also cool that the same people who built the actual towers that inspired this story were the ones who built the tower for the production. There’s a lot to like here, and it would’ve been cool to see Fall in a theater because it actually tries to make audiences say “wow.” I also wanted to give props to actors Grace Caroline Currey and Virginia Gardner, who are totally believable and pull off the very physical roles with ease. It would be cool to see them in another film where they’re forced to battle the crawlers from The Descent (a classic survival horror film that I love).
Final thoughts – Fall is worth a watch because of the performances and VFX, but I just wish it ditched the drama and was confident enough to know that people being stuck 2,000 feet in the air is enough drama.
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The Movies, Films and Flix Podcast – Episode 458: Trick ‘r Treat, Werewolves, and Horror Anthologies
You can download or stream the pod on Apple Podcasts, Tune In, Podbean, or Spreaker (or wherever you listen to podcasts…..we’re almost everywhere).
If you get a chance please make sure to review, rate and share. You are awesome.
Mark and John Leavengood (@MFFhorrorcorner on Twitter) discuss the 2007 horror anthology Trick ‘r Treat. Directed by Michael Dougherty, and starring Brian Cox, Anna Paquin, Dylan Baker, and some zombie children, the movie focuses on what happens when a little maniac named Sam visits a small town on Halloween. In this episode, they also talk about werewolves, chocolate puke, and cult classics. Enjoy!
If you are a fan of the podcast, make sure to send in some random listener questions (we love random questions). We thank you for listening, and hope you enjoy the episode!
You can download the pod on Apple Podcasts, Tune In, Podbean, or Spreaker.
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John’s Horror Corner: Popcorn (1991), a surprisingly original and enjoyable wacky slasher despite its very strong Nightmare on Elm Street influences.
MY CALL: Despite all the obvious Elm Streety influences, this is a largely original and a very fun watch. More of the budget went into the masks and related gags than the death scenes, this movie’s strength seems to be the movie marathon setting itself, the silly scenes of movies within the movie, and this unique slasher’s story. Strongly recommended to fans of all walks of horror. MORE MOVIE LIKE Popcorn: If you like Elm Street sequel-esque horror, I’d definitely direct you to Prom Night II: Hello Mary Lou (1987), Prison (1987) and The Horror Show (1989).
A group of film students—including Maggie (Jill Schoelen; The Phantom of the Opera, Curse II, The Stepfather) and Cheryl (Kelly Jo Minter; A Nightmare on Elm Street 5, The Lost Boys, The People Under the Stairs)—arrange an all-night horror movie marathon to raise money for their program. Local horror memorabilia store owner Dr. Mnesyne (Ray Walston; Galaxy of Terror) volunteers his collection of props to spruce up the atmosphere. But as soon as they start decorating an old abandoned theater for the event, they discover a disturbing film allegedly made by the murderer Lanyard Gates.
Likely enjoying the Elm Street sequel mania (1985-1990), this movie features a long-forgotten killer who haunts a high schooler’s (i.e., Maggie) dreams, is all too familiar to her mother (Dee Wallace; The Howling, The Lords of Salem, Critters, Critters Attack!, The Hills Have Eyes) who of course denies any knowledge of Lanyard Gates, and a few dream-like surreal sequences that glimmer of Freddy Krueger’s feisty influence. There’s even a little musical signature that plays when Maggie senses the killer, quite similar to that of NOES 1-5.
Again, like Freddy, our horribly burnt-faced killer was the victim of a fire fifteen years ago and now wishes to take vengeance on those who caused it, and pretty much every else around, too. This killer’s thing is making masks, really good masks. Once someone has fallen prey to him, he may appear as them nearly perfectly.
Beyond the mask scenes, the most memorable scenes for me include draining the juices from a man’s head which likely inspired the movie Mosquito (1994), maybe even Starship Troopers (1997); a gross kissing gag reminded me of Society (1989); an electrocution gag that smacks hard of Shocker (1989); and a “more fun than impressive” prop impalement.
Despite all the Elm Streety Freddy-ness of this movie, this is far beyond some cheap copy. For all its obvious influences, this story is very much its own entity and seems more to homage the NOES sequel-stylings with quality execution. Much to my surprise (and a little disappointment), this movie does not thrive on death scenes and murderous gore. There are some cool gory scenes, sure. But overall, this movie’s strength seems to be its movie marathon setting (with great scenes of movies within the movie, which included special effects and death scenes), and the interesting killer, his story and his macabre masks. A lot of budget clearly went to those components, and it certainly gave Popcorn a very different vibe than most slasher movies. Very unique indeed. And more fun for it!
I’m not sure if he found his passion elsewhere or just never got another break. But I find it criminal that this is director Mark Herrier’s only feature film ever.
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MY CALL: Want to watch an awesome bad movie? This is a solid choice. This flick is fun to watch, scratches your 80s itch in just the right silly spots, and keeps good pacing with gory death scenes and butchered body parts presented scary booby traps. MORE MOVIE LIKE Intruder: There are many 80s slashers of high quality. I’d recommend the earlier half of the decade with the likes of Maniac (1980), The Prowler (1981), Madman (1981), Pieces (1982) and maaaaaybe even The Slumber Party Massacre (1982).
It’s closing time at the local supermarket and the staff—including Jennifer (Elizabeth Cox; Night of the Creeps, The Wraith), Linda (Renée Estevez; Heathers, Sleepaway Camp II), Bill (Dan Hicks; Evil Dead 2, Darkman), Randy (Sam Raimi) and the produce guy (Ted Raimi; Evil Dead 2, Shocker, Darkman, Candyman, Wishmaster, The Grudge) among others—is preparing for their night stock and inventory duties when ultra-creepy ex-boyfriend and ex-con Craig (David Byrnes; Witchcraft VII, Witchcraft IX) wanders into the grocery store and harasses Jennifer. He’s dangerous and angry and he wants her back. After a big, clunky full-staff fistfight feeling like the stuff of “the best worst movies,” Craig becomes our primary suspect for the slasher flick to come.
Despite kicking him out of the store and calling the cops, Craig continues to skulk around outside and grocery staff begin to die off one by one. As the body count rises, so does the playful occurrence of randomly displayed severed body parts throughout the store. And while I’d not call this a horror comedy, the body part presentation is amusingly zany. Cheeky even. We also enjoy a good chuckle when the killer uses a severed head as a weapon to repeatedly bludgeon another man unconscious.
The death scenes are decent for a low budget entry of the era. Happening largely onscreen with a lot of blood and latex, there’s much for a classic 80s gorehound to enjoy here. The hydraulic head smash was my second favorite death, behind the obvious show stealer when a guy’s head is buzzed in half with a table saw in gloriously gory form. The aftermath of that kill is an iconic screen grab among 80s slashers.
Directed by Scott Spiegel (Hostel Part III, From Dusk Till Dawn 2) and produced by a young Charles Band (Prison, Dolls, Parasite, Meridian, From Beyond, Doctor Mordrid, Head of the Family, Castle Freak), this slasher classic is also a who’s who of before-they-were-huge actors and filmmakers. In addition to the Raimi brothers, we enjoy brief cameos by Bruce Campbell (Moontrap, The Evil Dead, Evil Dead 2, Escape from LA) and Greg Nicotero (The Walking Dead).
This flick is fun to watch, scratches your 80s itch in just the right silly spots, and keeps good pacing about itself between gory death scenes and impish macabre displays of butchered body parts set up essentially as scary booby traps. A nostalgic romp for sure… but also sort of bad. But like, the good kind of bad.
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