It’s late at the night in the middle of October. There’s a bit of brisk air and rain in the forecast, and Fall is officially in full swing. Fall is one of my favorite times of year and most of that is because of Halloween. I grew up on a steady diet of Freddy Krueger, Jason Voorhees, and Michael Myer, so this time of year is just right for me. While I plan on making a mix of the more memorable movie scores as we get closer to Halloween, I wanted to start things off with the amazing (and sometimes amazingly bad) songs created for some of the best Horror movies ever. If love ’80s horror flicks as much as me, then this mix is for you!
From now until Halloween, my wife and I are watching horror movies every night to get in the spooky mood. I love horror movies, so this is definitely my favorite time of year. Tonight, we watched the original Carrie movie from 1976 starring Sissy Spacek, John Travolta, and the dude from Greatest American Hero (among others).
I’ve seen it on more than one occasion and I still like watching it, but this time around, I noticed a few things that just don’t jive these days. For starters, the opening girl’s changing room scene feels like a scene out of Porky’s. If you think about it, the actresses in that scene are all playing high school kids. Do you think a movie filmed these days would have a scene depicting a room full of naked high school kids? I don’t.
The clothing and the music also make this classic horror film feel pretty dated. So much so that all the scares and mayhem feel completely telegraphed with all the music cues.
The whole time I watched the movie, I just kept swaying between thinking Carrie was a classic or just another dated flick.
What I learned is that it’s just too close to call. I guess it’s a dated classic…
I guess that conflict is one of the reasons they’re remaking the movie…well, that and for another payday.
I just hope some of the other horror flicks I plan on watching in the next week don’t conflict me this much.
Day Twenty Seven: One, Two Freddy’s Coming For You
I’ve been teasing a Freddy Krueger post since this whole blog challenge started, I figured it was now or never.
I’ve been watching Freddy movies since I was about nine or ten years old, so I wasn’t quite sure what angle to take with this. The first Nightmare on Elm Street movie I saw was Dream Warriors and the first one I saw in the theatre was Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare. For better or worse, Freddy Krueger will always be a part of my life. In a battle between Jason, Michael Meyers, Leatherface, and Freddy…make mine Freddy any day. If this were the Twilight universe, I’m on Team Freddy.
Freddy is one of the best villains in cinema history in my opinion (potentially only topped by Darth Vader). Originally, he was a child murderer who was caught by parents and murdered; coming back as a vengeful spirit who is able to kill people in their dreams resulting in their real deaths. In the first Nightmare flick, Freddy goes after Nancy because of the circumstances surrounding his death. In true Wes Craven fashion, the original Nightmare is definitely the best of the bunch and should be in any horror fans DVD library.
He’s a bad dude, and the first flick really messed me up the first time I saw it, but I kind of felt that as the series went on, the movies were more a showcase of Freddy anti-hero instead of Freddy major scary villain. At some point, the series flipped from gory and scary to campy and fun. I think that’s about when Freddy really jumped into the pop culture realm. At one point in my childhood, I remember having a Freddy glove, dressing as Freddy for Halloween, having a Freddy NES game (old school), and even having a Freddy board game. I guess it’s kind of weird to see a character like Freddy Krueger so revered in pop culture, but I really think most of that was due to the character’s personality and Robert Englund’s portrayal. Jason, Leatherface, and Michael Myers will never reach the levels of Freddy because they were all silent killers.
Sadly, as cool as Robert Englund’s portrayal of Freddy is, Jackie Earle Haley’s Freddy is a complete disappointment (as most horror remakes are…seriously…name a good horror remake, I dare you). The new incarnation of Freddy is a blatant child molester, which makes the movie completely uncomfortable to watch (and makes Krueger absolutely pathetic). It also destroys the fun of the original series (yes, I realize how bad that sounds). Besides, while watching the remake, I felt I was watching Rorschach without the mask. Also, the piece de la restistance is the involvement of Michael Bay. His name should be enough to clue you in on how bad the new movie was going to be.
One last thing about the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise, like them or not, it’s safe to say they launched the careers of Johnny Depp, Patricia Arquette, and Rooney Mara. For that fact alone, you should be thanking Freddy Krueger.
When this movie first came out in the theatres, it didn’t even hit my radar. Most modern American horror flicks these days (and back then) have all either been crap remakes, torture porn, or so by the numbers that it hasn’t been worth my time to even care. After finally seeing The Strangers on DVD a year or so ago, I’m glad I didn’t see it in the theatre. Not because it was crap and a waste of money, but because I would have embarrassed myself in front of a packed theatre because this movie scared the H-E-double hockey sticks out of me.
The movie starts off innocently enough: a couple heads to their vacation house in the middle of the night after attending a wedding. James (Scott Speedman) is also planning to propose to Kristen (Liv Tyler) that evening. Shortly after their arrival, they get a knock on the door by a blonde woman asking for someone. Kristen and James let them know she has the wrong house and go about their night. When James leaves to get Kristen cigarettes, the blonde woman comes back and starts to bang on the front door. Kristen tries to call James, but all the phones are dead. While Kristen is home alone, three masked people harass and intimidate her until James gets home.
The masked home invaders
From there, things go from bad to worse. The three masked assailants begin to terrorize Kristen and James (and even one of their friends who shows up about part way through the movie). I don’t want to say much more because I don’t want to ruin the movie, but just be ready to be completely scared, uncomfortable, and anxious while watching everything unravel for Kristen, James, and Mike. No lie, my wife and I watched this movie in the middle of the day, and I kept leaving her alone in the room to distract myself (I am ashamed to admit this, but it’s true – this movie scared me so much, I left my wife to fend for herself). Looking back on it, I don’t think the actual movie is scary, but the scenario and situations are scary and uncomfortable. The real horror lied in the complete and utter helplessness Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman portrayed with their characters. I just kept hoping they would persevere, but as the movie continued, I just didn’t know if they would/could (did they or didn’t they? watch the movie to find out).
So, it’s Friday and we’re getting close to Halloween. In most of the country it’s chilly, wet, and rainy, which means it’s the perfect time to bundle up in some blankets and scare the crap out of yourself. If that sounds like a good plan, I recommend the movie you watch to scare the crap out of yourself be The Strangers.
Day Seventeen: Detroit Macabre author Joseph Williams shares his top five horror flicks
I plan on offering up a few movie recommendations on my own later this week (or early next week), but before I did I wanted to hand the blog off to a local horror author and share his picks first.
Joseph Williams is the author of a new short story collection called Detroit Macabre (out now from independent publisher Post Mortem Press). The collection is filled with stories that will fill all your horror needs from straight gore to stories that would make Poe and Lovecraft proud. Some of the stories in the collection, I still think of to this day (and I read it about a month ago). The stories are creepy, fun, and probably some of the best short stories I’ve read since Don Ray Pollock’s Knockemstiff.
Detroit Macabre – for your reading pleasure
So, without further delay, here are Joseph William’s picks for best horror flicks to watch this Halloween season!
It’s that time of year.
Whether you are a diehard fan of horror films or someone who only watches them around Halloween, now is the time when everyone wants to be scared. The trouble is that if you don’t like the Freddy or Jason films (or Freddy vs. Jason, for that matter) and are sick of all the other cliché teen slasher flicks, you might think there isn’t anything to watch to get a good scare. You might be sick of seeing the same films on TV every year or haven’t gotten around to seeing some of the classics that don’t get as much airplay as the fifth installment in the Halloween franchise. Want to try something new, eh?
Well, this year, you’re in luck.
Here are five of my favorite horror films to watch around Halloween:
Carnival of Souls
Carnival of Souls (1962, Herk Harvey) Carnival of Souls is a surprisingly bold and terrifying classic with amateur actors and a miniscule budget, yet the strangeness and the outstanding performance by Candace Hilligoss are what make this one truly memorable. Even today in the era of special effects and over-the-top grotesquerie, this one will still manage to give you nightmares.
Book of Blood
Book of Blood (2009, John Harrison) The framing story that began Clive Barker’s astounding Books of Blood series of short fiction is brought to life in all of its unsettling glory. At times gruesome, terrifying, and remorselessly dark, this is one of the best Barker adaptations in a new wave of outstanding Barker adaptations (see Dread and The Midnight Meat Train). You can’t go wrong with any of them…or really anything written by Barker.
The Cell
The Cell (2000, Tarsem Singh) Singh hit a home run in his major directorial debut starring Jennifer Lopez and Vince Vaughn. This is truly the most compelling visual masterpiece of any horror movie I’ve seen. The sets are both beautiful and revolting and never seem out of place. Singh was able to translate the intangible visions of the human mind onto film so well that no one before or since has come close to replicating it. Part detective thriller and part psychological-terror romp, this is one of the most underrated films of the last fifteen years.
The Thing
The Thing (1982, John Carpenter) Carpenter’s films are hit and miss, but The Thing may well be my favorite movie. Kurt Russell gives an outstanding performance as an American helicopter pilot stationed in the Arctic with a handful of other researchers/workers. After a couple of crazed Norwegians fly over their camp trying to shoot down a mysterious dog, all hell breaks loose. A shape-shifting alien has infiltrated the crew through the dog with the ability to exactly mimic the behaviors and mannerisms of the bodies it absorbs. Russell has to figure out who among the crew is the alien and destroy it before it escapes into civilization as one of them, while at the same time proving to the other men that it hasn’t taken over his body.
Session 9
Session 9 (2001, Brad Anderson) Session 9 was released in 2001 without much fanfare and has continued to receive mixed reviews from critics. Don’t listen to them. Anderson was able to make a truly disturbing film without needing gore, rape, or boogeymen to do it. The setting of the abandoned psychiatric hospital (Danvers) is enough to put you on edge, but the enigmatic figure Simon–an alternate personality of one of the hospital’s former patients (and more)–will have you looking over your shoulder at every turn. Definitely worth a second viewing to appreciate the subtleties.
While these films aren’t necessarily mainstream classics (with the exception of The Thing, which has a prequel of the same title being released this October) that you’ll see on TCM or AMC or even featured at your local video store (if you still visit one), they are worth the time and attention of even the casual fan of horror movies. So this year, rather than watching a marathon of every ridiculous Michael Myers sequel or the cartoonish Nightmare on Elm Street films from the late ’80s and ’90s (which isn’t to say that I dislike them), pick out something new and remember what it’s like to be truly terrified, surprised, disturbed, and vulnerable again.
Dane Jackson - Musings of a Curious Mind 