Now YOU can be in a horror movie!! (Chicago)
Current mood: catalyzed
Category: Movies, TV, Celebrities

Hey Chicago horror troops,

Local director Robert Cappelletto is currently shooting the upcoming film, PICKMAN'S MUSE, based on the H.P. Lovecraft story, HAUNTER OF THE DARK.  There is a scene that takes place in a movie theater, and they need bodies in the seats!!

The shoot will take place at the Portage Theatre in Chicago, 4050 N. Milwaukee Ave (near the corners of Cicero and Irving Park) on SUNDAY, JULY 13 at 11AM.  Dress casually and comfortably (with no large logos or brands).  We anticipate the shoot will last approx 2-3 hours, and it should be a whale of a good time for all involved.
 
Please pass this message along to your friends and drag a few along to join the party.  The more the merrier, and you'll be supporting independent Chicago horror filmmaking!!

For additional information, email cappelletto_productions@yahoo.com

Thanks, everyone!  See you there!


AC

Currently reading : The Haunter of the Dark: And Other Grotesque Visions By H. P. Lovecraft

11:57 PM - 3 Comments - 10 Kudos - Add Comment

Fool’s Views (6/16 – 6/22)
Current mood: jubilant
Category: Movies, TV, Celebrities

Hello, my friends!

Wow, what a wild week this was.  In addition to raking in a few terrific flicks and cooking up trivia and preparing for WildClaw Theatre's Midsummer Nightmare, I also took a ride up north with Lord Kitley to visit good friend John Pata and to meet MySpace friend Jessica in the flesh for the one year anniversary of House of Heroes/Horrors monthly Share the Scare episode.  They were screening the French flick INSIDE, which I has just watched that week, so I was also able to watch other people watching one of the best new horror flicks of recent memory (it's now tied with THE ORPHANAGE and TEETH for top honors, making 2008 a very good year indeed).  With food, drink, trivia and movie trailers, it was an amazing night.  Thanks to all the HoH folks for welcoming a couple of Chi-town kids to the party.

Then the next night, I was the co-MC for the WildClaw benefit, which turned out to be an enormous success, both in fundraising and in sheer entertainment value.  In between raffle sales and Dr. AC's Horror Score quiz, we had several rounds of "Horror-aoke," which could have been an unmitigated disaster but ended up being the highlight of the night.  Performing scenes from THE SHINING, CARRIE and THE EXORCIST, various participants had a ball living out their favorite horror roles, eliciting laughs and cheers from the standing room only crowd.  And let me tell you, you haven't lived until you are in a bar of drunken patrons all screaming "The Power of Christ Compels You!" in unison.  Magic, my friends.  Pure magic.  Thanks so much to everyone that came out and made the weekend what it was, both up north and in town. 

And Flashback Weekend is only a few days away.  I don't know how much more I can stand.

Anyway, on with the Views.  Did some dancing in the old, some in the new and not a one of them mainstream.  (Well, except for CRANK).   Happily, all of them were also pretty damn good.  Hopefully you've seen a few of these, and if not, definitely check 'em out. 

As always, feel free to leave your two cents worth - we'll make sure you get some change back...  Enjoy!!

Horror:

Inside (aka A l'interieur) (2007) (1^st and 2^nd viewings)

You know, I thought I was prepared for this.  I'd read enough pre-release buzz about Alexandre Bustillo and Julien Maury's debut film to know that it was going to be vicious and hard to take.  After all, a flick about a pregnant woman (Alysson Paradis) being terrorized by a madwoman (Beatrice Dalle) intent on claiming the baby as her own – and not willing to wait until, oh, it's born – already puts its prospective audience on high-squeam alert.  But what truly impresses, taking the viscera-drenched French shocker to an entirely different level, is the balance it strikes between familiar slasher/home invasion motifs and brazenly daring cinematic terrain.  We've seen damsels in distress before, but rarely are they are as humanly, desperately, fiercely portrayed or swollen with the potential of new life, highlighting a twofold fight for survival.  During early scenes, Paradis' ambivalent feelings regarding her child-to-be are openly displayed, reminding her forever of the tragic loss of her lover.  But when her life and maternal rights are threatened, the emotional stakes are raised to a level unheard of in a genre flick.  Likewise, Dalle's psycho is so focused, so committed to her goal , she emerges as a terrifyingly human force of nature.  When she shrieks in anger and frustration through the bathroom door where Paradis has taken refuge, we relate to both characters' struggle and our retreat into the backs of our seats evidences that the assault is not only on our minds and gag reflexes (this is one of the nastiest, goriest flicks in recent memory, leaving its American brethren such as Hostel and the Saw series whining for mercy), but on our very souls.  Regrettably, in a film so emotionally authentic, the occasional false blip in Bustillo's screenplay sets off the bullshit detector louder than normal (for instance, the French police's disregard for standard operating procedure sets bells a-ringing).  But Inside's visceral atmosphere, storytelling velocity and raw simplicity overrides any minor quibbling, leaving us numbed, breathless and shaking in our boots with admiration.  Easily one of the best genre releases of the year.

Them (aka Ils) (2006) (1^st viewing)

The "home invasion" scenario is not a new one for the horror/thriller genre, and this French offering offers little revelatory in the way of story save for its divisive ending reveal (shocking to some, wholly unsatisfying to others).  However, the most refreshing aspect of writing/directing team Xavier Palud and David Moreau's effort is its utter lack of distraction, with not an onscreen moment wasted and no superfluous characters throughout its hard-edged lean and mean 77-minute running time.  Instead, following its tense, dread-filled roadside opening, the focus is purely and simply 1) putting attractive couple Olivia Bonamy and Michael Cohen in jeopardy at the hands of faceless, sweatshirt-hooded assailants and 2) terrifying viewers onto the edge of their seats.  As the duo fends off the interlopers from within and without the confines of their nightmarishly huge and isolated country house, Palud and Moreau's supremely-tuned suspense sequences trump the need for splatter, delivering a white-knuckle ride whose shocking climax administers a jolt of what-if-this-was-you? horror.  By the way, I reject the claim that the recent U.S. release, The Strangers, "ripped Them off" – the two films share a "couple harassed by mysterious assailants at home" scenario, but aside from this basic premise (simplicity itself) and the fact that both films provide the suspense-filled goods, the disparate narrative/stylistic differences easily set them apart.

Welcome to Arrow Beach (1974) (1^st viewing)

A long, long way from his signature roles in Room at the Top and The Manchurian Candidate, Laurence Harvey's final film – which he also directed (editing from his deathbed, according to Leonard Maltin) – is a strange little shocker which never completely satisfies but often intrigues.  When flaky vagabond hippie chick Meg Foster (she of the unnerving silver eyes) meets up with Harvey's Korean War veteran, he invites her to spend the night in his seaside mansion with protective sister Joanna Pettet, but soon finds himself at odds with his cannibalistic urges.  Foster uncovers his unsavory secret and narrowly escapes, but when she tries to report the crime, her counterculture ways don't sit so well with local authorities Stuart Whitman and John Ireland.  Despite the logy pacing and universally bizarre characters, there are a few bright moments (the slaying of a local barfly is hauntingly hallucinogenic) that make this rare curiosity item worth seeking out.  (Note: Be leery of shortened prints, which completely delete the cannibalism angle.)

Who Can Kill a Child? (aka Island of the Damned) (1976) (1^st viewing)

When a couple of English tourists (Lewis Fiander and Prunella Ransome) arrive on an isolated Spanish island, they begin to discover the mutilated corpses of adults and soon realize the shocking truth:  the innocent-looking youngsters have massacred their elders, exploiting the grownups' reluctance to defend themselves against the children.  Narciso Ibáñez Serrador, like his dark and chilling La Residencia (aka The House that Screamed), mines a rich vein of taboo subject matter by making his antagonists the "untouchable" fresh-faced youth, while the film (based on Juan Jose Plans' novel, El Juego) also pays homage to such obvious influences as Village of the Damned and strangely enough, Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds, with the island village's tykes standing in for the aviary assailants.   With sparse dialogue, oft-blinding outdoor daylight settings, dread-filled atmosphere and downbeat ending, Child is an unusual, provocative and extremely well made picture that provides a welcome change of pace from well-worn genre conventions.

Witch Who Came from the Sea, The (1976) (1^st viewing)

Director Matt Cimber (Jayne Mansfield's final husband and creator of the notorious non-starter Pia Zadora vehicle Butterfly) helmed this bizarrely atmospheric and unsettling feature: a horror flick with art house trappings.  Millie Perkins, child star of 1959's The Diary of Anne Frank who later appeared in such edgy fare as Wild in the Streets and Ride in the Whirlwind, radiates substantial off-kilter charm as the damaged and hedonistic Aunt Molly.  Desperately seeking human connection, Molly dotes on her nephews during the day, then beds (and murders) numerous adult sexual partners after sundown, all with equal enthusiasm.  Suffering from a multitude of delusions and flashbacks, our view of the world through Perkins' eyes becomes increasingly dreamlike and haunted, yielding numerous lyrical and poetic images of truly horrific actions.  It's no small wonder the film (scripted by Perkin's husband Robert Thorn) has yet to find favor with a wide audience – it's far too bleak and emotionally devastating to provide easy thrills for genre fans, while the narrative content – laced with episodes of incest, sexual disillusionment, drug and alcohol abuse, murder and castration – is hardly the type to attract favor with the smart set.  To further complicate matters, Witch found itself on the BBFC's "video nasties" list in the 80s, making it a criminal act to own or distribute the already obscure title.  However, for the patient and adventurous horror fan, there are rewards to be mined here:  The strong performances, ample bloodshed and nudity should keep viewers occupied throughout, with its daring subject matter and imagery providing fertile conversation afterwards.

Civilian Mini Views:

Crank (2006) (1^st viewing)

Professional assassin Jason Statham is injected with a poison that will stop his heart if he doesn't keep his adrenaline flowing, leading to an outrageous parade of BDF (big dumb fun) sequences.  Essentially Speed on foot, we follow our Brit bad boy around town as he races cars, steals motorcycles, runs, shoots bad guys, runs some more, has sex with his ditsy blonde girlfriend Amy Smart, trades insults with hotheaded villain Jose Pablo Cantillo, and runs, runs, runs.  Violent as hell and goofy galore, you just gotta switch off the cerebrum for this one and enjoy the ride.  Yes, that is Efren Ramirez (Pedro from Napoleon Dynamite) as Statham's cross-dressing informant.

Bad Boy Bubby (1993) (1^st viewing)

This 1993 Australian cult classic and film festival favorite centers around Nicholas Hope's astonishing performance as Bubby, a 35-year-old misfit who has spent his entire life living with his mother, locked away in a cold, lifeless apartment.  When the man/child's father shows up at the apartment unannounced after being completely absent from his life, Bubby decides to make a break from his prison.  Described as "Being There directed by David Lynch", writer/director Rolf De Heer creates a travelogue filled with bizarre characters and circumstances, working a sublime balancing act between humanism and pure vulgarity.  The result is a film that pushes its "stranger in a strange land" plot to the darkest cinematic corners, tackling everything from religion to sex, punk rock to the physically handicapped.  Challenging (in a good way) at its worst and brilliant at its best, this is one bad boy that's good to know.  Recommended.

2008 Totals:  165 films, 119 1^st time views, 90 horrors, 20 cinema

Currently reading : In Silent Graves By Gary A. Braunbeck

9:57 AM - 29 Comments - 26 Kudos - Add Comment

AFI shows no love for HORROR??!?!?!??!!
Current mood: enraged
Category: Quiz/Survey

Hey kids,

Hope everyone has a great weekend!  Couple reminders for you Chicago folks:


Tonight at the Portage Theatre (http://www.portagetheatre.org), one of the strangest double features I've ever seen programmed.  HOUSE OF WAX with Vincent Price teamed with KING KONG VS. GODZILLA.  While I love these two movies dearly, I fail to see the connection. 

Photo courtesy of our good friend Jerry, who originally gave us a supersized version that I had to resize...  ;-]

Anyway... tonight and Saturday at the Music Box Midnight show, you can also see either Dario Argento's INFERNO or THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW.  Or you can go both nights and see 'em both.


Don't forget, this Sunday, from 7-10pm at the Four Moon Tavern, please join us for an amazing evening of drink, food, and horror-iffic nonsense. 

WildClaw Theatre's MIDSUMMER NIGHTMARE

will feature horror trivia, games, and several rounds of horror-aoke (where people are invited to act out scenes from their favorite fright films.  Get all liquored up and get your inner Jack Torrance on in front of an appreciative crowd...)  We will also be announcing our upcoming theatrical season, so you don't want to miss out.  Plus, Four Moon will be sharing a percentage of every drink, every burger, every french fry with us, so come hungry!!  For more info, go to  http://www.wildclawtheatre.com


Finally, this just came in from my buddy Jon Kitley, one of the horror genre's greatest champions, over on Kitley's Krypt (http://www.kitleyskrypt.com) :

"Yesterday, I came across a little news story about AFI's latest movie list, American's 10 Greatest Films in 10 Classic Genres.  For those who don't know who AFI is, they are a film school of sorts, who in the past have given us lists such as AFI's 100 Thrills, AFI's 100 Movie Quotes, and so on. 

According to their website, "AFI is a national institute providing leadership in screen education and the recognition and celebration of excellence in the art of film, television and digital media."  Sounds cool, right?  We are always behind people that are trying to educate people in the art of the cinema.
   
So imagine my surprise when checked out just what genres were listed in their "10 Classic Genres".  Here they are: Animation, Romantic Comedies, Westerns, Sports, Mystery, Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Gangster, Courtroom Drama, and lastly Epic. 

That's right folks, the horror genre is nowhere to be seen.  Now, I know they did a previous show on AFI's 100 Thrills.  But can someone please explain how you can have a list of classic genres and not include one of the oldest and most profitable genres out there!?!?!  I just don't get it.  Once again, the horror genre is pushed aside like some embarrassing relative that is kept hidden in the attic.
   
So if you wish to send AFI a little note asking why they left out the horror genre, click HERE to be taken to their website's Contact Us section.  Remember....be polite and intelligent.  We don't want them thinking that the horror fan stereotypes are true.  At least not all of them.

Thanks, Jon.  Freaking unbelievable.  Everyone, please drop a line to the AFI and remind them that last time you checked, "Epic" wasn't a category at your local BallBuster, but darned if "Horror" was.  Shocker, that.

Well, off to the wilds of Oshkosh, WI on Saturday to revel in the House of Horrors 1st Anniversay soiree.  Can't wait.  Have a great weekend, and we'll see you at the Four Moon on Sunday or here on Monday!!

So, there you go.

Fool out, dawg.

Currently watching : Them (a.k.a. Ils) Release date: 2008-03-25

2:30 AM - 16 Comments - 24 Kudos - Add Comment

Fool’s Views (5/19 - 6/15)
Current mood: pugnacious
Category: Movies, TV, Celebrities

Hey kids,

Hope y'all had a good weekend!  So, here's the story.  Due to work/travel obligations, I hadn't been able to watch many movies since the last FV installment.  And to make matters worse, until last week, I had only seen two horror flicks in three weeks (while the civilian total was much higher).  Well, I wasn't going to let that stand, so this past week, I dived back into the horror pool and now we've got a respectable amount of both to dish up.  So, enjoy and as always, please feel free to throw in your two cents worth and we'll make sure you get some change back.

On with the Views!

Horror:

Bonnie and Clyde vs. Dracula (2008) (1^st viewing)

I had the privilege of viewing a fine cut of this latest Tiffany Shepis vehicle last month when producer and co-star Jennifer Friend rolled through town.  While there are still a few technical rough patches to be ironed out, I got a pretty good idea of what we're in store for, which is a good ol' fashioned mash-up of Depression-era criminals on the run combined with Gothic bloodsucking, and a little absurdist humor thrown in for extra flavor.  The good news?   Shepis and fellow Troma alumnus Trent Haaga are absolutely terrific as the titular bandit duo, swapping insults and bodily fluids with equal ardor.  In this incarnation, Shepis' Bonnie Parker is an ill-tempered nymphomaniac sociopath, with Haaga's Barrow focused primarily on keeping the sultry siren from biting his (or blowing anyone else's) head off, without much success.  A sexy, funny, and equally matched team, their scenes crackle with lust and bloodlust.  Unfortunately, the vampiric portion doesn't hold up its end of the flick, as every time we visit the nefarious Dr. Loveless (Allen Lowman) trying to revive the Count (Russell Friend) in the castle down the way, the film stalls out, only regaining its momentum when it turns its focus back to the sassy, saucy crooks.  Writer/director Timothy Friend would have been wiser to save the undead goings-on for the final reel when B&C and the monster's paths finally cross, or to focus less on the anachronistic hijinks of Loveless' younger sister, played by the auteur's spouse Jennifer. As things stand, it's still an enjoyable film, thanks primarily to Haaga and Shepis, but with a little judicious editing (just imagine that family dinner conversation.  "Um, honey?  Bro?  We need to talk."), this could be a certifiable cult classic.

Changeling, The (1980) (2^nd viewing)

This stellar haunted house tale usually takes a back seat to the big budget envisioning of Stephen King's The Shining, released the same year.  But in many ways, Peter Medak's smaller film, loaded with creepy atmosphere and tightly fashioned suspense sequences, surpasses any axe-swinging histrionics that Kubrick dishes out.  As a grieving composer recovering from the deaths of his wife and daughter (a harrowing pre-credits sequence), George C. Scott anchors the picture with a compelling strength and vulnerability.  Roused by a murdered child's spirit in the mansion where he has retreated, Scott's utter conviction with which he seeks to uncover the mystery is riveting.   There's also the neat subplot of Melyvn Douglas' duplicitous politician, whose backstory proves more and more integral to the house's healing.  William Gray and Diana Maddox have crafted a marvelous script, one that functions not only as a pure ghost story but equally well as a character study charting Scott's journey back from the abyss of tragedy and loss.  Well worth seeking out.

Creepers (aka Phenomena) (1985) (2^nd viewing)

This may be the only "insect detective" movie out there on the shelves.  A very young Jennifer Connelly (one year before Labyrinth) appears as the daughter of a famous American movie star sent away to study at an exclusive Swiss girl's academy, whose students just happen to be falling victim to a homicidal killer.  But as this is a Dario Argento movie, things are hardly what they seem.  The film opens at a full gallop, with an extremely stylish sequence of a young woman in peril, then slows down to introduce Connelly's character and her uncanny relationship with insects.  Those familiar with Donald Pleasance primarily for his increasingly loony portrayals of Dr. Loomis in the Halloween series should check out his fine, subdued work here as a wheelchair-bound entomologist.  Usually one with a fine ear for musical accents, Argento elects for a song score composed of outside recording artists (including Bill Wyman, Motorhead, and Goblin), and while much of it works, it often calls attention to itself rather than complementing the onscreen action (particularly with Iron Maiden's offerings).  The very strong opening half hour is followed by a middle section riddled with kinetic fits and starts, and the bizarre, gory ending has "kitchen sink" written all over it.  While it may be a bit much for the uninitiated, those accustomed to Argento's lack of narrative logic and flair for the unexpected will enjoy the ride. 

Dracula: Prince of Darkness (1966) (3^rd viewing)

Following the international triumph of Hammer's Dracula (aka Horror of Dracula) in 1958, Christopher Lee avoided donning the fangs again for several years.  But eventually he was lured back into the cowl for this follow-up, again directed by Terence Fisher. Opening with a flashback of the Count's thrilling demise at the hands of Peter Cushing's Van Helsing, the story then picks up with the rather predictable tale of two vacationing English couples traveling through the Carpathian mountains, who, despite the warnings of the locals, wander into the almost-but-not-quite deserted castle and before long, throats are slit, blood is spilled, Drac is revived and the quest for a good stake dinner begins in earnest.  From there, it's all fairly by the numbers stuff for Gothic horror fans, with Andrew Kier's gruff Father Sandor respectably taking up vampire hunting duties for the absent Cushing.  The tourists are a thinly drawn lot, with the exception of Barbara Shelley's vivid character arc from priggish prude to prowling predator, though Suzann Farmer is quite easy on the eyes.  Lee's dialogue was reputedly so clumsy that he refused to utter a word of it, reducing his performance to a series of hisses, stares and gestures.  Even so, his substantial screen presence resonated with audiences, the film was another gigantic hit, and he would return to the role four more times under the Hammer banner.  For some reason, frequent Hammer scribe Jimmy Sangster assumed the non-de-plume of "John Samson" for the script duties, working from a story by "John Elder," aka Anthony Hinds.

Last Jaws, The (aka Great White) (1981) (1^st viewing)

Universal Studios got all in a tizzy over this Italian big fish muncher, claiming that it vaguely resembled some other film about another big shark by some no-name called Spielberg, and demanded it pulled from theaters.  So what if it's set on a coastal resort town?  Is it really that big of a deal that events are taking place during a centennial celebration?  Or that there's a local politician who won't listen to reason while various bathing beauties are being gobbled up by the dozen?  And saying that there's a direct connection between James Franciscus' shark expert and Vic Morrow's salty old sea captain with characters in Spielberg's flick?  Preposterous!  Hey, Morrow's old man of the sea is Irish – Two totally different accents, bub.  But seriously, Enzo G. Callestari (who gave us Inglorious Bastards and who had already dabbled with the finned ones in 1979's The Shark Hunter) lays out a yarn as high in its body count as unintentional belly laughs, making for a grand old cheesy time.  Great moments abound, be it when the Great White Menace walls Morrow and Franciscus up "Cask of Amontillado"-style beneath the waves or when it strikes an unsuspecting boat from beneath (sending it and its crew straight up in the air like a pogo stick) or when all of the participants of a windsurfing race simultaneously fall off their boards as ol' Big Tooth goes by.  This new release from Xploited cinema is currently only available in PAL formatting, so dust off that all-region player and dive in – you won't be sorry.

Madhouse (1981) (1^st viewing)

Having done quite well with his spirited redux of The Exorcist and Jaws (Beyond the Door and Tentacles, respectively), Ovidio G. Assonitis turned his hand to the slasher genre next, and manages to create a rather stylish and often suspenseful entry.  Trish Everly stars as a schoolteacher for the deaf whose dominating twin sister (Morgan Hart) has been institutionalized and has subsequently contracted a disfiguring skin disease.  When the disturbed sibling breaks out with the help of a murderous Rottweiler (!), she vows to wreak vengeance, and soon several members of Everly's inner circle, including her batty landlady and one of her students, come to bloody ends.  With several well-constructed chase sequences, a smattering of gore and one character's penchant for reciting old nursery rhymes combined with Riz Ortolani's sing-song strings, Assonitis turns in a polished and worthwhile shocker.  Interestingly, Madhouse's birthday table finale echoes that of the American slasher, Happy Birthday to Me, released the same year.

Strangers, The (2008) (1^st viewing)

Young lovers Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman, arriving at his parents' remote summer home after a wedding, are terrorized in the wee hours by three masked assailants whose motives are never explained. Making his debut as writer/director, Bryan Bertino exploits all the old horror standbys – the phony based-on-a-true-story preface, the knock on the door in the dead of night, the eerily skipping record on the turntable, the creepy figure glimpsed in soft focus over the heroine's shoulder.  Like Steven Mena's 2004 indie flick Malevolence, there's nothing remotely new here, but Bertino manages to cultivate the taut, queasy feel of an early 70s drive-in shocker, providing old-fashioned suspense without any guarantee of old-fashioned comeuppance for the evildoers.  The acting is strong throughout and the unnerving use of country-twanged LPs is a deliciously demented choice.  If I have one true complaint (other than the apparent teleporting powers of the killers and the unnecessary shock ending), it lies with Peter Sova's irritatingly manicured hand-held cinematography.  Presumably designed to keep audiences off-kilter and ill at ease, it only had me thinking, "Would it have been that difficult to put the camera on a tripod every once in a while? Or to hire a camera operator that wasn't drunk?"  But this is a minor issue and the film's simplicity and nihilistic virtues by far outweigh its minor stylistic flaws. 

Stuck (2007) (1^st viewing)

Sci-fi/horror director Stuart Gordon specializes in comic outrageousness, from his outstanding cult films of the '80s (Re-Animator, From Beyond) to the realistic-but-still-gory vein of 2005's pitch-black Edmond.  Stuck more resembles the latter film, nightmarish but grounded in a recognizable universe (not surprising, as the story is based on a real-life 2001 incident in Texas): Down on his luck white-collar worker Stephen Rea gets hit by a car late one night and plunges halfway through the windshield; the driver (a corn-rowed Mena Suvari) is a hospice worker who is so stunned that she continues home, hides her car in the garage, and leaves her victim to suffer alone in the dark. "You should have watched where you were going," she tells him as he stares in disbelief, bloodied and pinned down by glass shards and a snapped wiper that's punctured his gut. What follows is a comedy of bad manners with things quickly unraveling as the simple situation is exacerbated through the application of naked girlfights, nosy neighbors, saintly children and little puppies that gnaw on meat scraps that just happen to be connected to their still-living owners.  Again and again we cut to Rea pinioned in the windshield: It's a horrifying image, but beneath Suvari's kindliness as a caregiver, there's an even more appalling level of cruelty that emerges when her well-being is threatened.  Stuck might have been a more rewarding and challenging picture had Gordon chosen to make Rea's character not entirely sympathetic, but in the end, it remains a gross, dirty, ugly and nasty but also wildly funny and completely unpredictable film.  One of the director's best in years.

Vampire Circus (1972) (3^rd viewing)

In a Serbian village cut off from the world by an outbreak of the plague, the mysterious Circus of Nights appears and corpses are soon discovered drained of blood.  This three-ring horror has many of the tropes of their previous gothic ventures, but also provides more than a few twists of its own, making it one of the more distinctive entries in the Hammer canon.  Robert Tayman plays the wicked bloodsucking Count Mitterhaus, staked in an extended pre-titles sequence but not before he vows to kill the villagers' children to revive himself.  The swarthy Anthony Corlan, Mitterhaus' cousin, swears vengeance with gypsy woman Adrienne Corri by his side and malicious dwarf Skip Martin (also seen in Masque of the Red Death and Horror Hospital) by his knees.  The vampire performers and their familiars (including strongman David "Dave" Prowse) are able to transform into bats and panthers while their sexual allure – by now quite front and center in Hammer offerings – is darker and more animalistic, as seen when Corlan ravishes comely Elizabeth Seal.  Robert Young directs from a script by Judson Kinberg.  Regrettably still absent on DVD in the US, but import discs are available.  

Civilian Mini-Views:

Death of a President (2006) (1^st viewing)

Gabriel Range's terrific faux-documentary about the assassination of George W. Bush in Chicago.  Well made and acted by its enormous ensemble, it's not as incendiary or as insightful as it wants to be, but still engaging.

Devil Wears Prada, The (2006) (1^st viewing)

Anne Hathaway is a journalism grad who gets a to-die-for job at Meryl Streep's fashion maven's magazine and gets some style, but at what price?  Likeable enough, but an Oscar nod for Streep?  Come on.

In a Lonely Place (1950) (1^st viewing)

Humphrey Bogart is a cynical and violent Hollywood screenwriter who falls for next-door neighbor Gloria Grahame following a murder.  As their romance blossoms, it becomes unclear as to whether Bogie is guilty of the rap.  Nicholas Ray (Rebel Without a Cause) creates a nightmarish feeling of claustrophobia and Bogart's soul has never been darker.

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984) (2^nd viewing)

I went back to revisit this to see if it was as painful as I remembered.  Oh.  My God.  Kate Capshaw is so unremittingly bad, there must have been a bet on.  Not the first PG-13 film as is often attributed, but rather the movie that created the need for said rating, with its scenes of heart-rending and chilled monkey brains.

Place in the Sun, A (1951) (1^st viewing)

Montgomery Clift stars in George Steven's remake of Joseph von Sternberg 1931 version of An American Tragedy.  A weak young opportunist (Clift) is torn between the poor warehouse worker that he's knocked up (Shelly Winters) and the beautiful wealthy girl who falls in love with him (Elizabeth Taylor, in her first "grown-up" role).  Winner of 6 Oscars, including Director for Stevens, but lost out to An American in Paris for Best Picture.

Rambo (2008) (1^st viewing)

Sylvester Stallone comes back again, reviving his second most popular character for the fourth go-round.  Sly may be old, but he still can waste some foreigner ass in the most gory and gratuitous ways.  However, just for the record, gore does not equal horror, so I'm a little bemused to see genre mags like Fangoria and Rue Morgue reviewing the film.  It's a dangerous little precedent, if you ask me.

Steve McQueen All-Star Remakes Double Feature:

Cincinnati Kid, The (1965) (1^st viewing)

A great cast (McQueen, Edward G. Robinson, Karl Malden, Ann-Margret, Tuesday Weld, and a very slim Rip Torn) in the stud poker version of The Hustler, sharply directed by Norman Jewison.  McQueen is very cool, Margret is very hot and the stakes are very high, leading to a wonderful nail biter of a climax.

Magnificent Seven, The (1960) (2^nd viewing)

Another amazing cast (Yul Brynner, James Coburn, Eli Wallach, Charles Bronson and Robert Vaughn) surrounds McQueen in this Western redux of Akira Kurosawa's The Seven Samurai.   Almost everyone dies by the end, but somehow we still walk out smiling.  Ah, Hollywood.

Stuart Gordon Sci-fi Mini-Festival:

Robot Jox (1990) (1^st viewing)

Fortress (1993) (1^st viewing)

Space Truckers (1996) (1^st viewing)

Inspired after seeing Stuck (and after Kitley hauled out Space Truckers for our Share the Scare on Saturday), I decided to dive a little deeper in the undiscovered country of Mssr. Gordon.  Robot Jox could have been a great futuristic B-movie had their been a little more 'bot combat action and more exploitation elements (i.e., gore & nudity, neither of which would have been out of place).  Fortress, on the other hand, is a terrific futuristic B-movie with prisoner Christopher Lambert rasping out his lines to fellow inmates Jeffrey Combs and Tom Towles while evil cyborg warden Kurtwood Smith looks on.  Finally, Space Truckers is just good ol' fashioned silly futuristic fun, with Dennis Hopper as a free-spirited rig driver (hauling square hogs, no less) who's got an eye for space waitress Debi Mazar, who's got an eye on rival driver Stephen Dorff.  Oh, and there are killer androids thrown in for good measure.

2008 Totals:  157 films, 112 1^st time views, 84 horrors, 20 cinema

Currently reading : Cinema Sewer: The Adults Only Guide to History's Sickest and Sexiest Movies!

1:07 PM - 31 Comments - 22 Kudos - Add Comment

Why June is the new October…

Happy Friday the 13^th, everyone! 

Man, this month is shaping up to be one of the best horror months on record, at least in my neck o' the woods.  This week, I got to the cinema for the first time in weeks and took in THE STRANGERS and Stuart Gordon's STUCK, both of which were well worth my time.  To further sweeten the deal, I emailed Mr. Gordon when I got home to tell him how much I enjoyed the film and received a short but courteous thank you note from the man himself.  (Yes, I'm a big nerd and I don't care who knows it.)

Tonight we're off to enjoy the Horrorbles Hammer Double Feature at the Portage Theatre, where they are screening DRACULA, PRINCE OF DARKNESS and VAMPIRE CIRCUS, neither of which have I seen on the big screen before.

Currently reading : See No Evil By David Kerekes

8:14 AM - 8 Comments - 12 Kudos - Add Comment

Fools Views - The FRIDAY THE 13TH franchise
Current mood: stoked
Category: Movies, TV, Celebrities

Well, summer is *finally* here, and look what the date is tomorrow!  Seems like a perfect time to take a trip to Camp Blood...

Friday the 13^th  (1980)

One of the most influential modern horror films, this surprise hit from producer/director Sean S. Cunningham spurred a spate of sequels and imitators, giving birth to an entirely new genre: the American slasher film.  Unlike its most immediate influence, Halloween, where emphasis was placed on spine-tingling suspense punctuated by scenes of violence, here the body count is everything and audiences flocked to witness the mayhem.  Rather than focus on the romantic couplings of Camp Crystal Lake's attractive teenage counselors, of far more interest to screenwriter Victor Miller are the means by which they can be messily dispatched.  Courtesy of Tom Savini's terrific makeup effects, we get up close and personal with axes to heads, knives through throats, arrows in eyes, all delivered with Henry Manfredini's shocking musical stings.  Considering the fright-free dreck that followed within its own prolific series and without, Cunningham's successful combination of scantily clad (and scripted) victims and creatively executed homicides remains surprisingly effective.  The performances (including an early screen appearance by Kevin Bacon) are hardly noteworthy, though Betsy Palmer exhibits considerable wild-eyed acumen in her role of the enigmatic Mrs. Voorhees, mother of unstoppable horror icon Jason.  Of historical interest to today's slavering gorehounds, who may be surprised how much tension is achieved with little splatter.  The film's climax contains one of the greatest "jump" scares to date.  

Friday the 13^th, Part II  (1981)

This worthy follow-up to the immensely popular 1980 slashfest places steadfast homicidal maniac Jason Voorhees center stage, setting him on the road to cinematic immortality.  Writer Ron Kurz deserves kudos for expanding on Victor Miller's original storyline, creating an astonishingly enduring mythology of Jason and Camp Crystal Lake.  Far more interesting than the indestructible killing machine of the inferior sequels to come, Jason is a real flesh-and-blood character for the first (if only) time, exhibiting pain and confusion even as he paints the cabin walls red.  Utterly ruthless, yet somehow fragile and freakish (a la Gunnar Hanson's Leatherface from Texas Chainsaw Massacre), stuntman Steve Dash moves likes a wounded animal, conveying genuine emotion through a single eyehole in the flour sack worn in childlike embarrassment (Jason's trademark-to-be hockey mask doesn't appear until the third film). Director Steve Miner creates a fine recreational atmosphere filled with likeable characters joking and flirting before the place becomes an abattoir, with plenty of nubile flesh on display.  When the mayhem starts, Miner provides excellent suspense and scares throughout, finding inspired bloody application of varied murderous implements (ice pick, butcher knife, claw hammer, and of course, the trusty machete.)  Highlights include an audacious 11-minute pre-credits stalking sequence of the first film's still-shaken survivor Adrienne King, and a particularly memorable double-impalement of two lovers in bed.  Despite being almost directly lifted from the original, the thrilling final moments are startling and deliciously effective. 

Friday the 13^th, Part 3  (1982)

After delivering an admirably suspenseful, well-directed sequel to Friday the 13^th the year before, director Steve Miner unloads this artless parade of thoroughly obnoxious characters meeting gruesome ends at the hands of perennial serial killer Jason.  (Regrettably, this is the template from which most future installments would operate, resulting in a long and unfulfilling trip downhill.) Equipped with truly heinous dialogue, Martin Kitrosser's lazy script pays little attention to what has gone before, and we feel not an ounce of regret (or anything, really) watching his thinly drawn characters as they are folded, spindled and mutilated beyond repair.  Even Jason (Richard Brooker) seems only marginally related to his previous incarnation, suddenly bald and deformed (despite it being the next day since we saw him last in Part 2, looking hairier and less mutated).  Originally filmed in 3-D, with a neverending array of horribly obvious shots designed to have audiences jumping in their seats that succeed only in eliciting groans of annoyance.  The opening effect of the cheesy titles jumping out over Henry Mandfredini's putrid techno-bop soundtrack is but a taste of the awfulness to come. The final act's flurry of screeching violins and screaming mimis culminates in a perfectly detestable "surprise ending," sinking an already stupid film to a new level of twaddle. The only joy to be found in this pile of doo-doo is the deep, intense secret thrill of watching Jason don his iconic hockey mask for the first time, immediately followed by an screen-popping speargun kill (the film's best moment by far).

Friday the 13^th: The Final Chapter  (1984)

Rebounding from the abominable Part 3, director Joseph Zito and makeup wizard Tom Savini team up to create this spirited offering, which delivers exactly what devotees of the series crave:  an attractive cast, ample nudity, decent acting, adequate storyline, and hockey masks.  But most importantly, lots and lots of brilliantly bloody deaths, brought to sanguinary life by Savini, displaying some of his finest work outside of Romero's Dead series.  While admittedly low on realism, this episode is high on shock value and good jumpy scares, with the filmmakers firmly realizing Jason's die-hard nature even as they set out to destroy him once and for all. Corey Feldman is quite good as a nerdy fanboy whose family (and the cabin full of partying teenagers next door) comes within reach of Jason (an uncredited Ted White), who has returned from the hospital morgue to his old wooded stomping grounds.  Writer Barney Cohen's able script provides the actors with less-than-painful dialogue, and most of the unsuspecting hedonists (including a young Crispin Glover, whose spastic dancing is priceless) are up to the task.  Among the showcased carnage are impalings by corkscrew, victims thrown from windows, heads crushed in showers and a nauseatingly vivid machete-to-the-head in the final reel.  Yes, its all goofy, gory stuff, but done with a sense of style and skill.   Oddly enough, what could have been a satisfying omega to the series ended up making oodles of money, leading Paramount to revive the series the very next year with Part 5: A New Beginning.

Friday the 13th: A New Beginning  (1985)

A no-brainer sequel after F13: The Final Chapter made bucketloads of cash.  This so-so installment's serviceable plot picks up with TFC survivor Tommy Jarvis (John Shepherd), still shaken five years after his encounter with Jason, being transferred to Pinehurst, a mental facility located in tranquil wooded seclusion.  Wouldn't you know it, as soon as Tommy arrives on the scene, all manner of heinous murders begin to occur.  Apparently, someone has adopted Jason's hockey mask and M.O., wiping out loonies galore, both in and out of Pinehurst.  Has Tommy gone wacko, or is it someone else?  Young male slasher fans should appreciate the abundant female nudity and double-digit body count (the highest thus far).  Included are some respectably gruesome kills (garden shears to the eyes are always good for a squeal, and a man's head belted to a tree provides welcome diversion from the routine impaling).  With few exceptions, the characters and/or the acting are pretty darn unbearable, with the way-out hillbilly mom & son team receiving highest/lowest marks.  Shepherd does well as Tommy, creating a character lean and dangerous, yet still debilitated by fears of the boogeyman. Returning the series to its "who's the killer?" roots lends a modicum of mystery, although the ultimate reveal is reminiscent of a Scooby Doo episode.   Though generally maligned by fans of the series as "the one without the real Jason," it holds up better than the next three sequels (faint praise indeed).  Also contains its share of high camp moments, including Miguel A. Nunez and girlfriend's outhouse duet, and Tiffany Helm's surreal pre-death breakdancing exhibition.

Friday the 13^th Part VI: Jason Lives  (1986)

An abrupt shift of gears for the Voorhees fellow: Instead of going for thrills and chills, the aim from writer/director Tom McLoughlin is to trot the big guy out of the grave for laughs.  Back again is Tommy Jarvis, this time portrayed by Thom (Return of the Living Dead) Matthews, still suffering heebie-jeebies from Old Goalie Mask Himself.  So he does what any self-respecting nutcase would do: he gathers up Ron Palillo (Horshack from TV's "Welcome Back, Kotter") to dig up Jason and cremate him.  Through a miracle of plotting, melodramatic acting, and a lucky lightning strike, Jason is revived, reconstituted and "stronger than ever."  Quickly grabbing his best Sunday hockey mask, he slides that baby on, and is ready and raring to get back to Crystal Lake (re-dubbed Forest Green) to decrease the surplus population.  There's only one problem: None of it works.  While McLoughlin's intentions of injecting life into a tired storyline are admirable, his efforts are inept on all fronts.  Combining scenes of suspenseless slaying along with awkward attempts at amusement, the hapless helmer repeatedly drops the cinematic ball for 86 long minutes.  Characters are more thinly drawn than ever, now mere human shadows plentifully puppeted into range for Jason to eviscerate to his (and less discerning viewers') heart's content.  In addition to smart-alecky youngsters, paintballing weekend warriors, and Alice Cooper's painful 80's rock songs, some questionable occult mythology is introduced in the final reel, bringing the claptrap to a welcome end (though left wide open for the inevitable sequel).  Sad stuff. 

Friday the 13^th Part VII: The New Blood  (1988)

"Now there's a Friday for every day of the week," ran the ads.  Well, that's something to be proud of, I guess.  Unfortunately, the contents of this garbage bag of celluloid are less inspiring, as writers Manuel Fidello and Daryl Haney team up to produce the most outlandish exploit of Jason chasin' to date.  Apparently finding the hacking-up the-teens storyline too well worn (hey, no argument here), the scribes conspire to throw a psychic spanner (or is that Scanner?) into the mix.  You see, troubled Lar Park Lincoln accidentally killed her father in Crystal Lake with her telekinetic abilities as a child.  So as a grieving teen, she attempts to revive him from the dead (never a good idea, Lar).  However, as fans of Part 6 will remember, guess who else is bobbing in Crystal Lake?  Before you can say "Filet me now," he's shaking off his overalls to slice and dice in a trice.  Terry Kiser (pre-Weekend at Bernie's) appears as Lincoln's shrink, intent ..ling her in order to…well, we're not really sure why.  But since his patient is not only telekinetic, but also able to tell the future and revive the dead, who can blame him?  The dialogue here is so bad, the acting so profoundly inept, the gore so lackluster, and the murders so pedestrian (with the notable exception of the sleeping bag kill, a personal favorite), there is ab-so-lutely nothing to recommend here.  Even the object-flinging showdown between our machete-lovin' hero and Lincoln's cut-rate Carrie stinks of desperation rather than inspiration.  A thoroughly exhausting effort, with even Henry Manfredini's recycled music (with a few new notes from Fred Mollin) sounding tired.  Bright spot: stuntman Kane Hodder makes his debut appearance as Jason, a role he would assay three more times (and counting). 

Friday the 13^th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan  (1989)

Well, it was bound to happen.   Tired of the poison ivy and ticks (not to mention those pesky campers) near Crystal Lake, Jason packs up his favorite hockey mask and hops a cruise ship headed for the Big Apple.  And for the high school graduation partygoing teens on board, death and dismemberment get added to shuffleboard and dancing as part of the maritime activities.  While it is mildly diverting to see Jason hacking away in a different location, everything about the film feels extremely cheap, even for a F13 flick.  Rob Hedden's direction and writing all-too-clearly reveal his television background, as everything feels like a Movie of the Week, from the inept acting right down to Fred Mollin's bruisingly bad pop-rock froth soundtrack (more horrifying than anything onscreen).  The title itself is a misnomer, as only the final 20 minutes or so actually take place in NYC, with most of the scenes placed in generic back alley sets rather than recognizable locations.  As Jason, Kane Hodder goes through victims with his usual gusto, with the urban atmosphere lending him powers of teleportation (how else to explain his ability to appear in front of people running away from him?)  But as much of the onscreen violence was trimmed in order appease the ratings boards, it's a matter of quantity over quality (18, for the record).  Of these, only the endless rooftop boxing match sticks in the memory, due to its hilarious top-popping payoff.  Even with a "toxic-waste-in-the-sewers" subplot, audiences stayed away in droves.  This was the last slash for Paramount, who eventually sold the franchise to the "house that Freddy built," New Line Cinema. 

Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday  (1993)

After being kicked to the curb by Paramount following the disappointing returns of Jason Takes Manhattan, New Line Cinema happily adopted the orphaned serial-killing monolith.  This, the 9^th chapter in the series, introduces a knowing comic flair and some truly wacky mythology to explain Jason's unstoppable nature:  A Voorhees can only be truly killed by a Voorhees, and then only when wielding a mystical dagger, currently in the possession of gonzo bounty hunter Steven Williams.  (So, how did Mrs. Voorhees…oh, never mind, that was eight movies ago).  Since Jason's body gets blown to pieces in the opening sequence by an assault team, Jason's ever-murderous spirit must move from victim to victim (primarily in the form of a nasty-toothed worm) until it can be reborn through a Voorhees descendant.  Wow, heavy stuff.   So, the stage is set as Kari Keegan, the last limb in the V. family tree, is doggedly pursued by Jason (in whosever body he happens to occupy at the moment), Williams, and Erin Gray as Keegan's mom.  While fans may be disappointed by the minimal presence of Kane Hodder's hockey-masked countenance, there is more than enough gore to satisfy the hounds, and Adam Marcus directs with an enthusiasm absent from the series for a long time.  Even if it seems like writers Jay Huguely and Dean Lorey are just making things up as they go along, the film is never boring as it bravely attempts to take the series in a different direction.  Williams is a hilarious standout amidst a relatively competent cast.  Watch sharp for cameos by props from other horror flicks, including Evil Dead's "Necronomicon" book, the crate from Creepshow and the jungle gym from The Birds.

Jason X  (2001)

While the concept ("Jason in Space") smacks of utter desperation, this is actually the most fun to be had at a Friday the 13^th movie in ages.  Granted, the loony plot asks its audience to check its brain at the door and just go along for the ride, but it's a heck of a great ride, combining elements of The Terminator, Aliens, The Matrix and half a dozen other movies into a boffo bloody smorgasbord.   The whopper of a setup:  Jason, having proven himself utterly destructible, has been captured by the military and ends up cryogenically frozen in a top-secret scientific compound.  Flash forward 455 years, where a futuristic university field trip uncovers him and brings him aboard their spaceship filled with…lots and lots of nubile student scientists and macho military types.  Can you smell where this is going?  As expected, Jason gets thawed out and unleashes his old-school brand of mayhem on the ship's inhabitants, along with a few new twists (the frozen face set piece is quite original and quite messy).   And just when you think things can't get any zanier, through a turn of the cybernetic screw, Jason is transformed into a literal killing machine.  The good times just don't stop.  Director James Isaac utilizes a fair amount of computer-generated effects, but employs them wisely, and Todd Farmer's script provides a generous amount of legitimately, intentionally humorous moments and dialogue (along with a few groaners.)  The undeniably attractive cast is capable and efficient across the board.  But best of all, F13 veteran Kane Hodder is actually given the opportunity to do something as Jason other than just mindlessly disembowel