The WGON Helicopter

The Innkeepers (2011) Go Ahead, Stay For A Night

2012-01-17T20:01:00.000-05:00

Ti West has a bright future in filmmaking.

That needs to be said right off the bat. The writer/director of The House of the Devil (which bears a second look from me) set out to make an homage/update to the classic haunted house story and - despite a near-miss of an ending (which I won't spoil here) - created a beautifully tense and suspenseful film with The Innkeepers. West has an uncanny talent for setting up scenes and building tension, as well as drawing performances from the actors that fit the style of the film perfectly. He's building on such a high platform that as his films get better and better, we're going to see more rich visual storytelling as the years and films go by.

The Innkeepers is mostly a two-character film, with Pat Healy starring as the snarky Luke and Sara Paxton as the enthusiastic, cute-as-a-button and asthmatic Claire. Luke and Claire are the only staff on duty at the Yankee Pedlar Inn, a quaint little hotel that is on the verge of closing up shop. Luke started a ghost hunting website and enlists Claire to help gather evidence. Claire is gung-ho about finding out more regarding the local legend of a woman who hung herself after being stood up at the altar. While the two take shifts, we focus mostly on Claire as she investigates strange noises and spooky hallways, rooms, and garages.

The inn is short on guests, but not short on creepiness. There's a troubled woman and her young son (Alison Bartlett and Jake Schlueter), staying there as leverage in an argument with her husband. There's also a famous actress turned psychic, Leanne (Kelly McGillis), who seems to know more than she's willing to let on. A strange, sad older man (George Riddle) who insists on staying in the hotel room where he spent his honeymoon. As the night wears on, Claire forms a bit of a bond with Leanne, whose steady drinking gives cause for skepticism from Claire, despite her fan-girl-ishness. The woman and her son storm out after what they believe is shoddy treatment by the staff (causing some good lines from Luke), but Leanne stays. After a big scare, Luke confesses his feelings for Claire in a roundabout way. Yet after another big scare, he runs off, saying that his encounters with the local ghost were fabricated and the real terror he feels after exploring the basement is too much for him.

Leanne warns Claire that something horrible will happen to her if she doesn't leave. Claire decides to evacuate the inn, and discovers the old man dead in a bloody bathtub, a victim of suicide. Luke returns and tries to tell Claire something, but she's panicked and wants him to help her get out. When she heads to the basement, thinking Leanne has somehow ended up there, the movie hurtles towards its sad and strange conclusion.

The only issue, if I can call it that, that I had with the movie was its ending. It wasn't quite there for me. I tried thinking about it from outside the box, but still couldn't get a strong feeling for it. Endings are hard, I know that. But when you consider the rest of the film is so solid and so incredibly well-filmed, it's really a small nitpick overall. As I mentioned, the tension is palpable. You really are along for the ride as Claire explores the hotel and encounters both real and red herring scares. The acting from Paxton and Healy was simply fantastic. They have obvious chemistry and were just so natural. They seemed like real people having a really crazy night at an allegedly haunted inn. The dialogue was natural, never forced. The scares were beautifully done, subtle yet never weak.

Ti West really has the potential to become one of this generation's greatest horror filmmakers. He understands tension and character, and modern - and mainstream - horror needs more of that to effectively balance out the slick shocks and occasional gore. I expect his next film will be even better.

Memorable scenes:

* Claire's dream featuring a spooky visitor. Brrrrr....

* Any time the audio equipment was used. Excellent use of sound.

* The banter between Luke and Claire.

* The ghost at the top of the stairs, then in the basement. Subtle but oh, so creepy.

* Luke and Claire trying to contact the ghost in the basement. Ratchet that tension up to ten!

And now, as a small bonus, here are some pictures of the actual Yankee Pedlar Inn I took on a recent road trip up to Torrington, Connecticut.

Until next time, dear readers, enjoy the trailer:

Happy New Year, 2012! Is This The Year For The Zombie Apocalypse?

2012-01-01T16:51:00.001-05:00

Well, another year has gone by and we head into the infamous year of 2012, when the world is supposed to end and we're supposed to follow John Cusack to salvation. How will it end? I'm not sure, but I'm checking the rations to make sure I have enough cookies.

First off, allow me to thank you, the readers, once again for taking the time to read my little thoughts on various horror movies. As of today, the blog is just a few people away from 100,000 views. So thanks for stopping by and hopefully, you're taking some entertainment and information away from the ol' helicopter.

Second, another big thanks go out to others in the horror and pop culture blogging community, who continue to be friendly and supportive.

Sadly, I didn't get to Chiller this year. I planned on going in October, but thanks to the freak snowstorm here in the northeast, the kibosh was put on that. I'm shooting for a trip in April, though.

I'm hoping 2012 will see more entertainment, and I'd like to feature more interviews, more reviews of independent films/screeners, and more diverse subjects like books and music. Hey, it's all up to me!

I also started a new blog for another of my big interests: comic books. Go check out Born In The Silver Age - not much there yet, but it'll grow.

In keeping with tradition, I'm going to share my ten favorite movies that I reviewed in 2011 - not including the ones I already own. Trust me, there were more than ten that I really liked, but I'll narrow it down in no particular order. Here goes:

The Last Exorcism - This listing is actually more about the context of the film and how it may have gone outside the box to tell its story. Yeah, it's "found footage" but the theory I subscribe to is that even the description of the genre "found footage" is being played with here.

Phantasm - An older film and a cult classic, it always brings back great childhood memories of the weird horror films we could only catch on the early days of cable or at the video store. Yes, Phantasm on VHS is a fond memory of mine.

Stake Land - Word of mouth propelled my interest in this little movie that offered a very unique take on vampires and what they could mean to the world if left unchecked. Great performances and a heartbreaking invasion scene were two traits that made me really enjoy this movie.

Dance Of The Dead (2008) - Definitely a fun horror-comedy with a great deal of likable characters and funny moments. It had a b-movie appeal with modern sensibilities, combining the two with flair. Neat explanation as to why certain zombies move faster than others as well.

I Saw The Devil - What an emotional punch to the stomach. This film has it all: deft direction, great pacing, and amazing acting. It's brutal yet human - it's definitely not a ray of sunshine, but it's a quality, extremely well-made film.

Tucker and Dale vs. Evil - This was probably my favorite movie to review in 2011. An absolutely wonderful film, full of sweet characters, hilarious predicaments, and a subplot that boils to the surface in the third act make this a purely magical movie experience.

Trollhunter - Wild Norwegian fare that elevated the "found footage" genre even more, with some great performances and special effects that are absolutely seamless. A film about encountering Nordic trolls seems like a silly premise, but they pull it off with style.

House On Haunted Hill (1959) - One of the true classics starring one of my absolute favorites in Vincent Price (and eternal doom-sayer Elisha Cook) , this one of the films that adds to the foundation of horror. Sweet suspense and a cheeky performance by Price.

Attack The Block - I'd classify this as sci-fi/horror and it's well on its way to being a cult classic. A gang of tough London kids battle a herd of very, very toothy aliens. A real lesson on character development and pacing, my love for this film grew as it went on to its satisfying conclusion.

Skew - Definitely a lot of "found footage" films on my blog, and this list, but this one was near the top. A seemingly simple premise holds a lot more details in this road movie that has as one of its stars a possibly haunted/cursed video camera.

And one TV miniseries:

Dead Set (TV) - While technically not a film, this British TV miniseries was a kinetic, gory, and emotional rollercoaster set against the backdrop of a popular reality show. I believe it featured some of the best "being overrun by hordes of zombies" scenes I've seen.

And one special mention of a short film I reviewed:

Crestfallen - From producer Russ Penning and director Jeremiah Kipp came this wordless, quiet, and emotional short film about the downfall of a young woman who feels she has lost it all. Actress Deneen Melody turns in a fantastic performance, making her someone to watch as her career no doubt grows.

Honorable mentions: Let Me In, Piranha (2010), Poultrygeist, The Horde, Cronos, The Horseman

So, a Happy New Year to all my helicopter passengers - let it be safe, happy, and full of good surprises with none of the bitey zombies. Thanks for reading, and I'll see you at all the post-apocalyptic shelters!

Zombieland (2009) Lively, Drooling, Angry-Eyed Fun

2011-12-30T22:04:00.001-05:00

Why have I taken this long to review one of my favorite horror-comedies? Why ask why?

2009's stellar Zombieland, written by Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, and directed by Ruben Fleischer, is a slam-bang, energetic romp (always wanted to use that word in a review) through a world devastated by zombies of the "caught a nasty virus and really got messed up with a taste for human flesh" variety. There's been a long-standing debate as to whether or not this is truly a horror film. Many maintain it's a comedy instead of horror. I tend to believe that it is indeed a comedy with horror elements; therefore, I'm comfortable with the genre label of "horror-comedy."

The world has ended and all neurotic Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg) wants to do is head home to his family. A nervous but careful young man, Columbus (not his real name, but where he's from) has survived the zombie apocalypse through his meticulous rules, which include shooting a zombie twice to ensure it's dead (Rule #2), not being a hero (Rule #17), and the all-important keeping up of the cardio (Rule #1).

Yeah, Rule #3 is pretty important, I'd say.

On his way out of town, he meets tough-guy Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson), an expert in zombie-killing who is searching for the last stash of Twinkies, as they represent a simpler, happier time in his life. The two complete opposites soon run afoul of two grifting sisters, Wichita (Emma Stone) and Little Rock (Abigail Breslin), who steal their guns and their ride. Soon the tables are turned, and despite their differences, the four team up at least to get where they're going: Pacific Playland, which is supposed to be devoid of zombies.

They stop for an overnight in Los Angeles and stay at Bill Murray's mansion, which leads to some hilarity, in-jokes, and one big misunderstanding. Tallahassee lets his guard down and we discover just why he hates zombies so much, a truly heartbreaking reveal. Columbus and Wichita grow a little closer, leading the nervous young man to think he's finally found the family he always wanted with these strangers. But Wichita and Little Rock bug out, trying to convince themselves they don't need anyone else, and head for Pacific Playland. Columbus refuses to let them go and gets Tallahassee to join him in tracking the girls down.

At the amusement park, the sisters' night of fun is rudely interrupted by hordes of zombies attracted by the bright lights and now, fresh meat. They find refuge on the drop tower ride but their time is running short. Columbus and Tallahassee ride to the rescue, with Columbus overcoming his paralyzing fear of clowns - yes, that means clown zombie - and Tallahassee making a last stand inside a concession booth. Somehow, through sheer bravery and quite a bit of luck, the four manage to survive. And yes, Columbus finds the family he so longed for.

Zombieland is just pure fun from beginning to end. It pops on the screen with four likable characters fueled by excellent performances by Eisenberg, Harrelson, Stone, and Breslin. So many memorable lines, so many memorable scenes, as well as the funniest cameo put on film in ages. It's not a long movie, clocking in at around 88 minutes, but it moves along very quickly, never pausing too long on overly serious scenes yet still bringing about depth in each character. If you're squeamish, the opening scene will be enough to let you know you may be averting your eyes a few times during the movie, but really, it's entirely worth watching. If the planned sequel is anywhere near as much fun, I'll be happy.

So Zombieland is definitely a comedy with roots in horror, and it not only walks the fine line between the two genres, it puts on a lampshade and boogies down on each side of the line. So much fun, and definitely belongs in my high pantheon of horror-comedies along with Shaun of the Dead, Tucker and Dale vs. Evil, and Evil Dead II: Dead by Dawn.

Now "nut up or shut up" and see it!

Grave Encounters (2011) This Would Make A Great Haunted House Attraction

2011-11-25T22:52:00.002-05:00

You know those haunted house attractions that pop up everywhere during the Halloween season? Some are hokey, many are extremely creative. Through my entire viewing of The Vicious Brothers' Grave Encounters, I kept thinking how sweet it would be if they could parlay the film into an actual haunted house one could brave on a crisp autumn evening. I also kept thinking about how well the filmmakers skewered "reality ghost hunter" series as fame- and ratings-seekers. Only in Grave Encounters, the question is asked, "what if one of those shows actually finds something?"

Continuing my unofficial "found footage month" here at the Helicopter, Grave Encounters slides right in as an entry in that genre, as nearly the entire film is told through footage that was "found" at an abandoned insane asylum and, as a concerned television executive tells us in the few moments that are not in first-person, "altered in any way." Although this subgenre is starting to saturate the market just a tad, I'm still interested in it. Although I had slightly lower expectations for this film, I was pleasantly surprised at how fun it was.

Written and directed by the awesomely-named Vicious Brothers (Colin Minihan and Stuart Ortiz), the film sets us up with premise that a film crew producing the latest episode of a ghost-hunting reality show called - as you may guess - "Grave Encounters." An executive lets us know in documentary format that the crew has disappeared and what we're about to watch is an edited, yet undoctored account of what happened to them. We then meet the leader of the team, Lance (Sean Rogerson) who bears an uncanny...hell, an obvious resemblance to that spiked-hair muscle guy on "Ghost Adventures." His mannerisms in front of the camera had me laughing since I'm so entertained by the antics of the real show, it seemed like a parody-homage. To investigate the supposedly haunted asylum, he brings his team of camera man T.C. (Merwin Mondesir), occult expert Sasha (Ashleigh Gryzko), tech guy Matt (Juan Riedinger), and psychic Houston (Mackenzie Gray). Early on, the on-camera facades drop and we see that Lance and his team hardly believe in the paranormal - the whole thing is about ratings and of course, money. Lance is obsessed with the show being successful, and Houston is hardly a real psychic, just an actor who complains that the overnight taping session might cut into his auditions. They even pose like a hip paranormal investigation team. They're ready-made for fame.

But strange things begin to happen over the night, at first nothing overly alarming. But when Matt goes upstairs to investigate a window that moved during the night, it kicks off something that ranges from mysterious (his disappearance) to the terrifyingly surreal (what the team finds when they finally open the front doors). Although they're not locked in anymore, they can't leave. The asylum itself becomes an antagonist. Maps and directions mean nothing. Doesn't matter that their clocks say it's daytime...outside the windows, it's still dark. Horrifying apparitions appear and the party is separated in the pitch black. One by one, the crew is picked off in chilling ways. I won't spoil how they go down, but I will say I found T.C.'s fate especially creepy. Eventually, it's down to just Lance, exhausted and alone. At the end of his rope, it's as if the asylum allows him to glimpse answers to long-standing questions about the nefarious doctor who likely created the restless spirits before handing him over to his doom.

Unlike Skew, the found footage film I reviewed recently, Grave Encounters isn't deeply layered. There's no symbolism or puzzles you need to solve, not even a breathtaking final shot to nestle itself in your brain. Grave Encounters is straightforward and wild, a walk through a haunted house not unlike some of the better Halloween attractions out there. It's not fancy, but it manages to hold the interest and entertain with no small amount of flair and nods to a slew of urban legends. Rogerson is excellent as the central character, and his Lance is intense, brash, and slightly unlikeable. He demands his crew follow him, even when things get insane. One standout for me was Gray as Houston, the over-dramatic, cowardly psychic. He's so over-the-top when he's "on camera" for the show, displaying his "powers," but a fame-seeking diva when he's not. I found him to be both hysterical and interesting by playing both sides of that coin.

Overall, the film is a lot of fun, not nearly as bad as I thought it might be...don't ask me why I thought it would be bad. I guess I thought I was due for a dud, but I was happy to find I really enjoyed Grave Encounters.

So give it a try, and you'll see what I mean: making this a haunted house tourist attraction would be money in the bank. Charge admission at the door, gift shop on the way out. Money, I tell you.

Skew (2011) The More I Think About This Movie...

2011-11-17T22:49:00.001-05:00

...the more I like it.

Skew had me thinking. Not just during the movie, which is always a positive, but after. Long after. It made me think about everything I saw during the course of the film and every line of dialogue. It especially made me think about a final scene enough that I went back and watched the final few minutes over again. The final frame froze me in my tracks. Figuratively, of course. I don't usually pace around the room when I watch movies.

The last found footage/cinema vertite/first person film to make me formulate ideas and theories long after I shut it down was The Last Exorcism, which I enjoyed more after I watched it as well. My theories may not be right, but it's fun to think them up. The last shot in Skew is a game-changer. It made me go back over everything I had just seen and re-think all of it. It's chilling and exciting at the same time. Like a goofball fawning over a double rainbow, I felt like laugh-shouting, "What does it MEAN?"

Basically, Skew is a story told from one point of view, first-person-style. It's deftly written and directed by Sevé Schelenz about three friends on a road trip. Some movies could tell a story with just that, but Schelenz goes much further. Simon (Robert Scattergood) wants to document the entire trip to a friend's wedding with his spankin' new camcorder. Buddies Rich (Richard Olak) and Eva (Amber Lewis) pick him up but there's already tension because Simon has just had a fight with his girlfriend Laura (Taneal Cutting). Eva goes inside to convince Laura to go anyway, but is given the cold shoulder. The three head out on the road and after some friendly shenanigans and typical road trip fun, strange things begin to happen. Hey, you knew they would. It starts when they hit a coyote on the road, then check in to a local motel. Simon films the desk clerk and finds his face distorted and twisted. Later that night, the clerk is found dead and police are everywhere. But it doesn't stop there.

An entire bus full of tourists winds up dead after being filmed through Simon's lens, and the weirdness is just getting started. Terrifying things happen. Tensions flare. Nerves are stretched thin. Visions intrude (but only for Simon). Secrets are confessed, one of which brings friends closer, another which tears them apart. It all comes to a head, and when the final few minutes finally air, we get some answers and one huge reveal that might give you more questions to ponder.

And my friends, sometimes that ain't all bad.

Sometimes I like being left with a few questions partially answered...or not answered at all. It's good exercise for the brainpan to be given some slack to dance around the information it's been given, see it from different angles. Too often, audiences are spoon-fed the answers and soon grow to demand it. Look at some (some, I say) of the frustration with the TV show, Lost. Answers were deliberately held back, but there were those who got angry because every little detail wasn't revealed. But I digress.

Skew wasn't without a couple faults, the way I saw it. I understand and very much appreciate the importance of a slow build, but there were a few spots where dialogue and non-action felt a touch snail-like. But I'm definitely willing to look past those slow spots because the acting was very good, very genuine. It's hard to pick out a single star, and I have to hand it to Scattergood for basically what amounts to voice acting, as it is through his perspective that we see the film. Olak is a study in a breakdown as he goes from jaunty slacker-ish guy to hard-drinking angry friend on the verge of blowing his top. Lewis is the voice of reason, the almost angelic one that everyone loves. She tries so hard to keep the three together with so much going on behind her eyes. The script is natural and flowing, and the direction is tight, especially during the scenes of mounting tension or utter creepiness. I'm not alone in looking forward to Schelenz' next body of work.

Give yourself some time and have a gander at Skew. It's a fine entry in the current "found footage craze," even though it's technically a forerunner, since it was actually filmed in 2005. It doesn't have the frantic craziness of, say, a [REC], but for genuine creeps and chills, it makes a damn strong case for itself.

Now here, take a look at the trailer if you like. *warning: some language and possible spoiler-ish stuff*

Atrocious (2010) The Windup, And...Well, The Pitch

2011-11-10T19:52:00.001-05:00

I really wanted to love Atrocious.

Honestly. Instead, I just kind of liked it. It built itself a nice little foundation. You know, like in baseball, a really good windup. Then the pitch just sailed in at a nice velocity, but was a little flat.

I miss baseball already.

Atrocious, the Spanish film written and directed by Fernando Berreda Luna, is a found-footage style film (an increasingly popular subgenre) set in the Spanish countryside concerning a family that has been found horribly murdered. When the viewer begins the film, it's as if they're part of the investigative team reviewing the evidence. A jarring sudden rewind flashes some telltale near-subliminal images until it starts at the beginning.

The Quintanilla family heads to their old country home for the first time in a very long time, and siblings Christian and July intend to film the entire thing for their online paranormal investigation webcast. They're specifically excited about a local urban legend about the ghost of a girl named Melinda. Christian insists on filming everything while July joins him in exploring the creepy labyrinth outside the house. Soon after opening a locked basement, where they find old family artifacts, including an old TV and tons of old VHS tapes (including some Dario Argento selections), things get spooky. Strange sounds at night seem only a little odd, but then the beloved family dog disappears. Events take a turn for the frightening when they find the poor thing dead at the bottom of a well in the labyrinth. The ol' family vacation ain't what it used to be. The climactic scene finds the youngest brother missing and a frantic mother desperate to find him...in the dark labyrinth. The father and the family friend are conspicuously absent, but the resulting stumble through the dark with Christian's camera is jarring and ultimately reveals an ending you might not see coming.

I wish the ending hadn't fallen short of what I was expecting (or rather, hoping for), but that's not to say it wasn't decent. Maybe you, loyal readers, will get more out of it. The tension leading up through the entire movie was very well played out, to where we didn't really know what would be in front of the camera at any given time. But I think the movie got caught up in the atmosphere and somewhat, I don't know, lost itself. I wasn't blown away by the ending, instead saying "oh" out loud.

But I will say this: the ratcheted-up tension built at a really good pace. You really do end up wringing your hands over what you think might happen, and that's good by me. I just wish I hadn't felt so "meh" as it came to a close. Anyway, judge for yourself.

It appears that found footage (or first-person, or cinema verite, whichever term you please) is a subgenre here to stay. I'm mostly good with it, although for every Trollhunter or [REC], there might be a Monster. Thankfully, Atrocious, for all its faults, isn't lumped in with the latter. Keep an eye out, fellow zombie apocalypse survivors, as I'll have more found footage film review on the way.

For now, have a gander at the trailer for Atrocious:

Attack The Block (2011) Aliens Pick The Wrong Block

2011-11-05T22:39:00.001-04:00

It always comes back to Spaced.

Longtime readers of my blog know of my love for that British television series, which starred Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, and Jessica Stevenson, directed by Edgar Wright, and co-produced by Nira Park. I always seem to find a way to connect it to something...that is when I'm not watching it for the fiftieth time.

Along comes the little British sci-fi/action/horror flick Attack The Block, and sure enough, it stars Frost, is co-produced by Park, and executive produced by Wright.

Quality!

There was a lot of buzz surrounding Attack The Block, with a lot of voices proclaiming its excellence. It kind of snuck up on me, so I was quite happy when I realized I could get a hold of it sooner than later. The premise looked unique enough to catch my eye: aliens invade an inner city housing project only to meet resistance from the local ruffians. That may sum it up, but it was definitely a richer experience than just those words.

During Guy Fawkes Night, young nurse Sam is mugged on her way home by a bunch of kids, who are threatening despite their obviously young age. They're interrupted by a meteor-like object crashing into a nearby car, where they discover a mean little creature that scratches the leader Moses before running off. The gang finds the creature hiding in a shed and proceeds to beat it to death. Taking it to the local weed dealer Ron (Frost), they're full of piss and vinegar when Moses gets promoted by the block's head drug dealer Hi-Hatz. They go out in search of more aliens to beat up on, but run into bigger, meaner, and toothier versions of the one they killed. Not only that, they get pinched by a couple policeman on a tip from Sam. Soon, Moses and his gang and Sam are forced to team up as the creatures descend on the block, killing anyone associated with the gang. Hi-Hatz thinks Moses betrays him, so he sets out after him, too. The deadly serious Moses steels himself, realizing it's up to him to protect his gang, protect Sam, and defeat the aliens. There are a few interesting twists and a satisfying ending that redefines heroism within the context of the movie.

Even with the presence of Nick Frost and a funny performance from Luke Treadaway as Brewis, a drug customer who just wants to be seen as cool, Attack The Block isn't really a comedy. The presence of aliens speaks to a science fiction genre, and the violence and suspense are earmarks of horror. Like I wrote before, I see it as a sci-fi/action/horror movie with a coming-of-age flavor - it's non-stop with some pretty frightening alien juggernauts that are all black fur and teeth. Rows and rows of glow-in-the-dark teeth. The performances are genuine, and the street slang spoken by the kids ends up not distracting the viewer, even if the person watching didn't grow up in South London, where the film takes place. While there are a few chuckles, they're usually nervous ones as the characters are scared. When you see these aliens in action, who wouldn't be?

Attack The Block was definitely a fun little film, great for late-night viewing. Even though the kids are junior criminals, you're guaranteed to root for them as the film progresses. The monsters are of a simple design, but it absolutely works, as does the reason why they're focusing on the gang. You could do a lot worse if you need some good entertainment.

Now I'll go watch Spaced again, while you check out the trailer for Attack The Block. Enjoy, and watch the skies...

Dead Set (2008) Reality Shows Need More Zombies

2011-11-05T14:25:00.000-04:00

I must admit: I'm not that big of a fan of most reality shows. They used to be interesting, like The Real World when it first started out. Occasionally, there are still some that might catch my eye. I'm sure through law of averages that at least a few will slip through that really aren't that bad - hell, there are a million of these shows anyway. In the glut of these things, there are bound to be some OK to decent ones. But for me, they're mostly not my cup of tea. Pretty soon, the most mundane events will have drama-soaked reality shows: "next week, on Watching Paint Dry." And don't get me started on the "famous for being famous" shows.

You know what these programs really need?

Zombies.

Lots and lots of zombies.

Thank you, my dear United Kingdom, for granting my wish. In 2008, Britain's E4 channel aired a five-episode miniseries called Dead Set, and despite the glut of zombie media these days (yes, the irony of my own statements is not lost on me), it offered a hyperkinetic, no-holds-barred take on the living dead genre. These are zombies of the "spry" variety, sporting characteristics such as colorless eyes and low, dog-like growls. We can debate the pros and cons of fast and slow zombies all day long, but for me, it's a moot point. The story is what I want to click, to strike chords with me. Dead Set definitely struck a chord.

Why the reality show reference? The whole setting for Dead Set is the Big Brother UK house (or a reasonable facsimile thereof) on a night when one of the contestants is being evicted. There are blatant nods to the nature of modern reality shows and how rabid the fans are. You know it's coming: Big Brother fans in the live audience + a fast-acting zombie plague = wacky fun.

It's eviction night on Big Brother UK, and airheaded Pippa (Kathleen McDermott) is about to take the elimination walk outside with the massive cheering crowds and an interview with host Davina (Davina McCall as herself). The show itself is in danger of being bumped for news of riots breaking out all over England, riots that include people attacking one another. Producer Patrick (Andy Nyman), a vain, mean-spirited fellow, cares only about stirring things up in the house and resulting ratings. Production runner Kelly (Jaime Winstone) juggles her job, her real boyfriend Riq (Riz Ahmed), and flirtations from a co-worker. In the house itself are a wide variety of personalities: sassy Angel (Chizzy Akudolu), ladies' man Marky (Warren Brown), sexpot Veronica (Beth Cordingly), lonely older man Joplin (Kevin Eldon), peacemaker Space (Adam Deacon), and wildly flamboyant Grayson (Raj Ghatak).

They have no clue what's about to happen when the show employees who drive Pippa's mother to the festivities come across a bloody accident scene. When they finally arrive at the show in what I thought was a wonderfully-filmed scene, all hell breaks loose in one of the best "zombies overrunning a location" scenes I've viewed in a while. After that initial "ka-pow!" the survivors try to assess the situation, but humans being humans, that isn't as easy or as comforting as it sounds.

Patrick and Pippa are trapped together in the green room, and that often-discussed point about bathroom privileges when stranded during a zombie apocalypse are addressed. While Patrick is often played for dark laughs, he's truly a vile individual. Riq and another survivor on the outside, Alex (Liz May Brice), discover that the feed of Big Brother is still being broadcast. Riq sees Kelly and sets out on a quest to save her. In the house, the contestants don't even know what's happened until Kelly arrives. Angel's bitten and quarantined to the greenhouse with her best friend Grayson, a male nurse, tending to her. Joplin has eyes for Veronica, despite being much older and nicknamed "Gollum" for his appearance. Veronica usually sleeps with Marky, but all bets are off now.

Much like an episode of Big Brother, alliances form and trust breaks down. All the while, outside the house and the gates, the living dead gather. One brilliant scene catches them hurrying down a sloped street to gather at the gates, much like they did when alive. Things really come to a head when the disagreements between Kelly and Patrick take a turn for the tragic and everything just crumbles down around everyone. As usual, I won't spoil certain moments, including the ending, but let's just say it doesn't end well for a lot of people. For you symbolism fans, the last shot of the entire series is of an average zombie standing in front of a store TV, staring blankly at what happens on the screen.

Dead Set was good, bleak fun. If you're looking for laughs or an inspired ending with characters looking off hopefully into the sunset, you've come to the wrong place. Everything and everyone is fraying at the edges, dark and desperate. The acting is tremendous with spots of urgency and frustration and a very loose grip on reality. For me, the two standouts were Andy Nyman as Patrick and Jaime Winstone as Kelly. Not to diminish the others, but those two really stood out as intense characters with whom you could relate. Yeah, Patrick was a sociopathic boor, but everything he did fit in his character. He wanted out, and he didn't care who he had to roll over to get there. Kelly struggled with an old boyfriend, a new crush, a jealous manager, a jerk of a boss, as well as several frustrating wannabe celebrities all swirling around in a fast-paced zombie apocalypse. And she ended up becoming a leader on top of all that.

There were some sweet nods to past zombie classics with the phrase "They're coming to get you, Barbara" uttered at one point, and paraphrasing of the great line in Dawn of the Dead about "this place being important to them." One character even dies much in the same way Rhodes does in Day of the Dead, yelling defiantly at the creatures eating him. Not to mention, there were some standout scenes that really hit home: the car full of freshly-turned zombies arriving at the house, the frantic overrunning of the studio, the horde of zombies converging on the fence, and the dark ending where you just say, "Aw, no."

Dead Set might not be easy to find in the United States. IFC showed the episodes around Halloween, and I caught them on IFC's on-demand channel, where they were available for a very short time. Amazon has each episode on pay-per-view here. It's worth the close to $10 you'd have to pay for the whole series ($1.99 per episode).

In the meantime, take a look at the trailer and see if it strikes your fancy.

Shaun Of The Dead (2004) A Slice Of Fried Gold

2011-10-16T20:31:00.001-04:00

It's about time I reviewed this.

Seriously.

Shaun of the Dead, the British romantic zombie comedy (or "rom-zom-com"), easily ranks in my top ten of not just horror movies but my top ten in comedies and my all-time top ten. It is the measuring stick to which I hold any horror-related comedy, the gold standard for "yucks and yuks." I have no idea why I haven't gotten around to discussing it here but now's the time, and this is the month. More reviews like this are comings, my "Why Haven't I Reviewed This Earlier?" series, you could say.

Right. Now, as anyone who reads my blog knows, I like films with energy. Something that tells me some real effort, some real passion was infused into the making of the film. Even if the film isn't all that great, I can appreciate the amount of energy it exudes. Well, this movie has energy in bundles. Directed by Edgar Wright (who recently brought us Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World, and shares writing credits here with star Simon Pegg), the film dashes and leaps, sizzles and pops, shakes you up and buys you a pint before dancing on your table.

Shaun (Pegg) is having a rough day. His girlfriend Liz (Kate Ashfield) has had enough of his lack of ambition, and breaks up with him at the urging of her two friends Diane (Lucy Davis) and David (Dylan Moran). He is at odds with his stepfather Philip (Bill Nighy) which makes visits with his beloved mother Barbara (Penelope Wilton) quite uncomfortable. The presence of his drug-dealing, ne'er-do-well best friend Ed (Nick Frost) angers his roommate Pete (Peter Serafinowicz). One morning, the end of the world arrives as the recently dead begin rising and dining on the living. Once they realize what's happened, which takes a while after being severely hung over, Shaun and Ed devise a plan to rescue Barbara and Liz, then hole up until the crisis passes at their beloved pub, The Winchester. Things obviously don't go to plan. Philip, already bitten, dies and revives, causing them to ditch the car and go on foot to the surrounded Winchester. Keep an eye out for when Shaun and his group run into his old friend Yvonne (Jessica Stevenson, the co-creator of Spaced with Wright and Pegg) and her group. Once at The Winchester, the group falls apart. Barbara is bitten, Liz and Shaun try to work things out, and David is vocal about his doubt, mostly because he carries a torch for Liz. However, we witness the confidence Shaun grows when placed in the role of leader. He rises to the occasion, even when things get bad during the climax of the movie. Still, without spoiling it for the few who haven't seen it, I will just say the movie ends on a chipper high note with a fitting end theme song.

Shaun of the Dead, to me, is - to quote Pegg's Shaun - a slice of fried gold. Impeccably paced, with scores of references to classic zombie films peppered throughout, it never stops moving. Musical cues, nods to zombie film actors (Shaun works for Foree Electric, named after Dawn of the Dead's Ken Foree) lines of dialogue ("We're coming to get you, Barbara!"), and the slow-walking zombies themselves are all part of the love letter to the classics of our culture, especially the films of George A. Romero. There are so many references, so many of those nods, I can only direct you to IMDB's trivia page for the movie. The acting is top-notch, with the obvious chemistry between Pegg and Frost as best friends in the movie, as they are in real life. They even reprise a line from their Spaced series that sums up their relationship with the "thanks, babe" exchange. The first in the "Cornetto Trilogy" (spot the Cornetto ice cream product), Shaun of the Dead serves as the first motion picture to build on the Spaced legacy. They are absolutely linked which is one of the reasons I'm mentioning the sitcom so much. That, and I just love it to bits.

Some time ago, I wrote a review of an episode of my favorite British sitcom, Spaced, during which the lead character Tim (played by Pegg) hallucinates seeing zombies thanks to staying up all night on cheap speed, eating Twiglets, and playing Resident Evil 2. That hilarious bit during the television show gave Pegg and Wright some of the inspiration for Shaun of the Dead. That series, and this movie, are huge breaths of fresh air - often imitated, never duplicated. They're what's right in entertainment.

There have been some wonderful recent additions to the horror-comedy subgenre: Zombieland and Tucker and Dale Vs. Evil come immediately to mind. But Shaun of the Dead is my gold standard. If you haven't seen it, please...do yourself an immense favor. I can only gush so much about it before telling you go out in the world and give your eyes a treat.

Here, to give you a little...taste...the trailer:

Trollhunter (2010) Norway Has A Giant Pest Problem

2011-10-03T22:41:00.000-04:00

You have a problem with cockroaches or ants, maybe mice or termites? It should be easy to find an exterminator in the yellow pages or online. You have a problem with trolls knocking down your trees or eating your livestock? Might be a little more difficult. But if you live in the more remote regions of Norway, you just might be able to get some help from a troll hunter. Getting a hold of him, however...that's another story. You're probably going to have to deal with the enormous pests on your own. But if you get a camera, you could film it and put it on the big screen, a plot device central to the wacky offering from Norway, Trollhunter (aka Trolljegeren).

I say "wacky" because honestly, this is a film about trolls. Not dinosaurs, not overgrown Sasquatches, not Blair Witches. Trolls. There's the potential there for this to really fall flat on its celluloid face. And yet it never does. It maintains a deadpan expression as it presents the possibility of these mythical, semi-humanoid, giant creatures as being real. It's tongue-in-cheek, yet never becomes a parody of itself.

Filmed in "found footage" style (although written and directed by André Øvredal), a bunch of college filmmakers set out to make a documentary about an area of Norway that is suffering from a rash of bear attacks and get wind of a poacher named Hans (Otto Jespersen). He's a odd sort of fellow and the film crew grows more intrigued with him, making several attempts to interview him. One night, they follow him into the deep woods only to be caught in the middle of a troll hunt, leading to a frightening confusion that leaves the students' vehicle destroyed and their leader, Thomas (Glenn Erland Tosterud) bitten. Hans finally relents and allows the students to follow him as he does his thing, and they're made aware of a deeper conspiracy regarding these mythical creatures. Hans allows it as he's done doing the government's dirty work, possessing scars that run deep about his role in the co-existence of humans and trolls. The film crew continues to follow Hans as he hunts down the source of the recent bold migration of various trolls, one gigantic troll that may actually be rabid.

Rabid trolls. It's actually scary if you think about it.

Trollhunter is alternately serious and straight-faced funny but doesn't make the difference between the two over-wrought. The trolls themselves are pretty sweet effects, especially as you get towards the end of the film. The ending has the same problem that most found-footage films have in that it seems like they're not quite sure how to end it and on what note. It's fine for what it is, but the ending didn't leave me breathless or laughing or wanting more. Jespersen, the very controversial Norwegian comedian, plays Hans very understated and as I described before, scarred. He's been through some things you don't expect, and is ready to retire...or something more permanent.

It's a fun movie...not really a game-changer, but something of a blast nonetheless. I'll tell you, Norway is really making some waves in the horror genre (and with monsters, this can be classified as horror) with this and the energetic zombie film, Dead Snow. Should be interesting to see what comes out of Scandinavia next.

Until next time, friends, be glad there aren't zombie trolls...yet.

The Horseman (2008) How Far Would You Go?

2011-09-18T19:10:00.000-04:00

Revenge thrillers are a slippery slope. If you're making one where the protagonist is simply killing others without much backstory or sympathetic motive, then what separates that character from the serial killers and deranged crazies that serve as antagonists? Ah, and there's the rub. The very question of a good revenge thriller is just that: what separates our hero from the villains he or she is hunting? In order to remain human or on the "side of the angels," the hero has to have something rooting him or her in reality, something that reminds them that they may be on the path to being monsters, but will never become one. We hope.

One revenge thriller that really set the bar high was Korea's entry, I Saw The Devil, which I reviewed a couple months ago. That was an amazing character study on both sides of the fence. But ranking really high was another great character study in vengeance and violence from Australia, The Horseman. A relatively quiet film - except for moments of intense screaming, crying, and yelling - it showcases the considerable acting talents of Peter Marshall as the distraught, relentless father-in-mourning as well as the fantastic directing of writer-producer-director Steven Kastrissios.

Christian (Marshall) is a father mourning the loss of his daughter from an overdose of heroin, among several other drugs. When he discovers that she participated in a low-rent porno film and was left for dead by someone involved, he takes it upon himself to hunt down each and every person connected with the film. Collecting his tools and hopping in his van, he takes out his vengeance on a variety of people, some who are sorry and some who are not. Along the way, he meets a young, pregnant runaway, Alice (Caroline Marohasy) who definitely reminds him of his daughter. Up until then, the guy was a juggernaut with a tool box, but Alice brings him back down to earth, for a short time anyway. Christian soon discovers that not all of the men are what they seemed, or what he believed. He also uncovers a web much darker than he ever could have imagined. Where it looked like Christian was the force of nature, and the scummy filmmakers were the weak villains, tables turn horribly on the father and he has to reach deep down to not only exact vengeance, but survive.

The film is impeccably-paced, with stretches of introspective calm peppered with growing swells of brutal violence. Marshall is utterly tremendous as Christian, a man we can identify with as he tracks down those responsible for his daughter's death, despite the fact that she sought them out to make a quick buck. He chooses to see past that, to the little girl he once protected and cared for in his own home. His role as protector shifts to Alice, played wonderfully by Marohasy. Marshall brings moments of intense compassion, violence, determination, and even confusion to the role of Christian. He's tough and wants revenge, yet desires to just be a father again. When he's weeping at the end of the film, you see what he's feeling, you see why he's crying. All those pent-up emotions finally break the gate, and it's stunning.

Take a chance on The Horseman if you want a revenge thriller that's a cut - or crowbar smash - above others. Fine acting, great directing, a haunting score, and the question of just how far would you go?

Until next time, enjoy the official website and this trailer:

In The Helicopter Bay 9-18-11

2011-09-18T12:58:00.000-04:00

Trying to nail down a rhythm in my blog-writing, and I think it'll come around once I'm used to my new schedule. What I need to do is write about non-film horror subjects, like I had always intended. Well, here are a few tidbits for this beautiful almost-fall day:

* Speaking of writing blogs, I'd better get my rhythm together because I have decided that I will indeed write a comic book blog. Its theme and tone will be similar to this humble blog, and I hope to delve into the mythology and symbolism of certain stories as well.

* I also think I may try expanding into more genre films on this blog as well, such as martial arts films, grindhouse goodies, and whatever I think would be a good fit.

* Recently, I received a very nice award from Pixie over at Pixie's Horror Galore, the "I Dig Your Blog Award." It's always nice to be given a little recognition, and so I thank Miss Pixie for this and will place it over in my sidebar. Now, the award comes with some criteria, but I'm going to go against the grain and modify some of them just a tad. The first three criteria, I'll keep the same, which were to gratefully accept the award (which I did above), link to the the person who gave it me (which I also did above), and jot down three interesting facts about yourself (which I'll get to in a minute). I'm going to add a few nice words about Pixie and her blog, and modify the original bestowing of awards on other blogs.

First, let me say that Pixie is a fresh new voice in the horror blogosphere. Her enthusiasm and love for the horror genre cannot be measured, and that energy comes through in her written voice. She's very funny and very nice as she engages all of her readers in conversation. So thank you, Pixie, and keep up the good work!

Three mildly interesting things about me:

I lived in Sweden for a year as an exchange student, and can still reach deep down in my subconscious to speak/read the language despite it being AGES ago. It was one fantastic year.
I worked at Walt Disney World in the 90's, first at Magic Kingdom then what is now Hollywood Studios (Disney-MGM back then). Three AMAZING years full of fun, mischief, and friends with whom I still keep in touch.
I did play-by-play commentary for numerous wrestling companies throughout the midwest and also in Windsor, Ontario, Canada in the 2000's. Some of the greatest adventures I ever had came during those road trips.

Now, as far as giving out awards, it's a slippery slope. I know there are some that don't care for getting awards, especially those that require you to do something, like continue to pass it on. I know there are some that absolutely love it. So here's what I'll do: see that list of blogs over there on the right? Scroll down, you'll see all of them. I list them here for a reason. They're worthy of any award that finds its way to them and therefore if you have a blog listed there, consider yourself a recipient of this award. I may also let you know in an e-mail or something at some point, and you can decide what to do with it. If you do post it on your blog, consider it coming from me. If you don't want to do anything with it, hey, that's why I'm doing it this way.

That being said, if you're reading this, have a really good blog, and think I should include it on my sidebar, then get a hold of me and show it off!

As for me, I'm going to put it on my sidebar and once again, thank Pixie for the award.

* OK, what else is there today? The weather here is getting cooler and crisper, and that means my favorite time of year is not far behind. It's almost October, which will bring Halloween and of course, Chiller Theatre in Parsippany, New Jersey. I am planning on being there, but won't be set in stone until I actually buy the tickets in advance. Hopefully, my plans won't change!

Until next time, fellow zombie apocalypse survivors, enjoy the approaching autumn!

Tucker And Dale Vs. Evil (2010) And A Classic Is Born...

2011-09-05T20:23:00.000-04:00

I remember reading somewhere - it may have been Stephen King's fantastic dissection of horror, "Danse Macabre" - that horror and comedy were the two most difficult genres to write. Combining the two is like doubling the difficulty level. Combining the two successfully takes some real skill.

Over the years, I've placed some horror-comedy hybrids very high in my pantheon of films: Shaun of the Dead, Zombieland, and Evil Dead II: Dead By Dawn just to name a few (all of which I haven't reviewed...yet). Easily joining that pantheon of yuks and yucks is the 2010 film Tucker And Dale Vs. Evil. Not since the most recent of those horror-comedies, Zombieland, have I doubled over laughing quite like I did during the adventures of lovable, misunderstood hillbillies Tucker and Dale. Snappy dialogue, memorable characters, and an absolutely classic twist of perception and mistaken identity made this film a true party, a blast while watching and over far too soon.

Written and directed with admirable skill and timing by Eli Craig, the film follows the titular Tucker (Alan Tudyk of the Firefly TV series) and Dale (Tyler Labine of the Reaper TV series) as they joyfully travel to their "vacation home," a rundown, deserted house that may or may not have been the home of a serial killer (animal bones and articles about murders adorn the walls). Tucker is the obvious leader, always admonishing the good-hearted Dale for not standing up for himself and believing that he is good enough to talk to pretty college girls like Ally (Katrina Bowen). Already spooked by their appearance, the college kids all believe Dale is certifiable when he approaches Ally to strike up a conversation (while holding a scythe, incidentally) and begins laughing nervously. They nervously leave, led by hotheaded, asthmatic, and somewhat psychotic Chad (Jesse Moss). The fun really starts after Chad tells a campfire story about murders that had happened in the very woods in which they're camped. As usual in a horror film, the kids decide to go swimming in a nearby lake...a lake upon which Tucker and Dale happen to be fishing. Ally sees them and, startled, falls into the lake, hitting her head on a rock. Dale clumsily, but successfully, rescues her. However, the college kids think the two buddies are kidnapping her. Tucker doesn't exactly help things by calling out, "hey, we have your friend!"

What follows is a hilarious and twist-filled love letter to all the tropes of an 80's teen horror movie. It takes those tropes - kids in the woods, deranged hillbillies, a past history, among others - and turns them completely around. All Tucker and Dale want to do is make sure Ally is okay and return her to her friends, but Chad is out for blood. Why he is so gung-ho is one of the many neat surprises in the film. But the real highlights are the side-splitting misunderstandings that almost make you question those "killer in the woods" horror films so prominent in the 80's. For example, when Tucker saws into a log filled with bees, he panics, running away with his chainsaw swinging wildly. What do you think that looks like? Leatherface, anyone? It just works so perfectly.

And the characters...this is one of those rare occasions in which I really hope there are sequels. The take-charge, more pessimistic Tucker is such a great companion to lovable, low self-esteemed Dale, who only wants to fall for Ally, the smart and sweet therapist-in-training. Chad starts as an egotistical "frat boy" (popped collar and all) who relies on his puffer and bullies his friends, but he ends as a one seriously messed-up young man. Even the "cannon fodder," if you will, were tropes in themselves, providing some good laughs during their fatal misunderstandings. I even loved Jangers (Weezer), Dale's dog who is just like his owner: a big, friendly lug.

Writer/director Eli Craig hit one seriously funny home run with his feature film debut. The film just flows from one event to the next, telling one story while building one just under the surface. It never lulls, never skimps on the body count yet never overdoes the bloody bits, and definitely never lets up in the laughs and character development department. It was truly one of the best horror-comedies that I've seen, and a film that I hope is the start of a successful and hilarious franchise.

By all means, see this film. If you haven't been able to tell until now: I loved Tucker And Dale Vs. Evil. Welcome to my list of favorite horror-comedies, you well-meaning, charming hillbillies.

Now here, enjoy the official website and the trailer to prepare you for the fun times:

In The Helicopter Bay 9-3-11

2011-09-03T01:24:00.000-04:00

Well, it has been a while, hasn't it?

Last time I checked in with a blog, I was in the middle of a vacation. Since then, I've been rather busy, but have been rewarded with a new career after a very long search. There was also the matter of that pesky Hurricane Irene. I hope you dear readers who had to put up with that storm came through unscathed. Real-life terror is far more frightening than what we see played out in fiction.

Let's move on with this edition of In The Helicopter...

* In taking an unintentional break from horror, I'm thinking of including more genre films under the banner of this blog. Hey, it's my baby, I can basically write about what I want, but horror will always be the core genre featured here. We'll see how that goes, but I'll still stick with the easy-going, drama-free, and friendly tone I've always maintained.

* Speaking of blogs, I've been tossing around the idea of starting a blog about another strong interest of mine, comic books. I've been reading them since 1974 and while I realize there are a million comic blogs out there, I'd just want to write a few words about the medium in the same tone as this horror blog. None of the poison, none of the bitter dismissal of The Simpsons' Comic Book Guy, just a guy who grew up loving the art form writing about it. Again, we'll see what I do with that.

The Anti-Monitor? Do not want.

* Earlier this evening, I went to see Apollo 18, directed by Gonzago Lopez-Gallego for his first English-language film and produced by Timur Bekmambetov (director of Wanted and Night Watch). While presented as "found footage," I did recognize one of the actors as Lloyd Owen, who played chaste James in three episodes of one of my favorite British comedies, Coupling. The film's pace didn't gel well with me, but the performances of the three leads as well as the bleak, claustrophobic feel made it a pretty good movie. I felt it should have been a different kind of movie, maybe more terrifying - and it could have been done - but it wasn't all that bad in my opinion. It also made me think of the mixing of horror and science-fiction, and why we don't see more of that out there.

* I'm also thinking of writing some "horror primers." The approach: what if someone who has never seen horror films asks me "give me five good movies to watch and tell me why I should watch them"? Taking it a step further, what if they want to know five good movies I'd recommend in any given subgenre, like zombie movies or ghost movies? What I'd like to do is write short paragraphs about each film and why I think they're important to the genre. Maybe, if I'm lucky enough, I could have some of my horror blog buddies write about what they would recommend for their primer. Stay tuned. It might be fun to write.

Well, that's all for now, dear readers. Back to regular programming for the next blog, and until then, take care of yourselves and make sure your door is barricaded.

I Saw The Devil (2010) Blurring The Lines

2011-08-08T02:27:00.001-04:00

When you look into an abyss, the abyss also looks into you. ~ Friedrich Nietzsche

That's the quote that kept running through my mind as I watched the profoundly disturbing, deeply stirring Korean film I Saw The Devil. Those words sum up exactly what the film was about. What makes a monster? And do you have to become a monster to do battle with one?

Directed by Jee-woon Kim (A Tale of Two Sisters) and starring two brilliant actors in Choi Min-sik (Oldboy) and Lee Byung-hun (The Good, The Bad, The Weird), I Saw The Devil is the story of one man's angry descent into that abyss in order to do battle with a man already entrenched there. These are two men who excel at what they do: one, a good man and a secret agent of the country, and the other man, an experienced serial killer with practically no fear. It takes an innocent woman's death to slam their worlds together and begin the downward spiral.

A young woman awaits help in her car one snowy night when she's approached by Kyung-chul (Choi Min-sik), who offers to help her. She refuses politely, but is brutally attacked anyway. Kyung-chul takes her to his lair, where he systematically murders and dismembers her. Her fiance, Soo-hyun (Lee Byung-hun), is devastated by her death and swears to hunt down the man responsible. After viciously cutting a path through suspects, he finds clues that point directly at Kyung-chul, and the game, as they say, is afoot. Soo-hyun thwarts Kyung-chul's attempt to make a young schoolgirl his next victim, beating the living hell out of him, then forcing him to swallow a transmitter. In a compelling and strange journey, Kyung-chul sets out to get his wounds treated. By "compelling and strange," I mean his odd and eventually violent taxi ride with two other insane gentlemen. He threatens the doctor who treats him and begins assaulting the nurse, only to be interrupted by Soo-hyun, who leaves him with a severed Achilles tendon.

Kyung-chul holes up with a buddy from his circle of psychotic murderers, a cannibal who lives with his complicit girlfriend. Soo-hyun follows his prey to the house, where he engages in another insane battle with not one but all three nutjobs in the house. All three are taken to the hospital, and it is here that Soo-hyun's overconfidence and rage - coupled with his underestimation of Kyung-chul's own craftiness - cause his own downward spiral. The people around Soo-hyun, his friends and colleagues and his fiancee's grieving family, all warn him against pursuing Kyung-chul for reasons other than apprehending him. And it is here in the hospital that Kyung-chul is given an opportunity to turn the tables on his vengeance-seeking hunter. The battles of wills begins in earnest here, and never lets up until the undeniably sad conclusion...a battle and conclusion you really need to see for yourself, trust me on this.

The chemistry between Choi Min-sik and Lee Byung-hun is electric and dynamic. Whether they're on-screen together or in separate scenes, their performances are like dances or a battle. They're matched up perfectly as villain and hero, and as a duo whose methods become eerily similar. Soo-hyun has looked in that abyss - a dark canyon in Kyung-chul - and it stared hard and defiant back at him.

Kyung-chul is no ordinary villain. He is relentless, remorseless, cunning, and a force of nature. And guess what? Those exact traits can be applied to Soo-hyun, who is no ordinary hero. Their motives are different, but both have become monsters. Director Jee-woon Kim leads the two in a duel for the ages, down and dirty, gritty and bloody, framed with beautiful photography. All the pieces just fit.

Two moments stick out in my mind as I write this. Two character moments that simply summed up each man. One, while Kyung-chul sits with his cannibalistic friend for dinner (during which he refuses to eat the "house special"), the friend cracks a joke about Kyung-chul, who quietly stares down his host. The friend goes from "oh, come on, I'm just kidding" to fearful for his life to tearful relief. Kyung-chul's unspoken reputation, which we already know is pretty sick, snowballs to frightening size.

The other moment belongs to Soo-hyun and it comes during the final shots of the film. When the realization hits him regarding what he has done, how far he has gone to get it done, and the prices he has paid to get it done...it's a punch in the gut to both him and the audience. His cold, expert expression finally melts and he weeps uncontrollably in the middle of a street. He knows what he's done and it's too late to go back. Far too late.

As you may guess, I highly recommend I Saw The Devil. If you have a weak stomach or have a low tolerance for cinematic brutality, you may want to steer clear. But the violence isn't gratuitous. It is an important key to the story. It is about that abyss and its question to you: "what would you do?" It is disturbing and gritty and unflinching. It is also compelling and exciting and a story very well-told.

Just be sure to remember Nietzsche's words...

Rammbock: Berlin Undead (2010) Short Movie, Short Review

2011-07-21T23:13:00.000-04:00

Clocking in at just over an hour, the German infection horror offering Rammbock: Berlin Undead offers some really good moments in what turned out to be a mostly decent little horror flick sponsored in the United States by the wonderful horror news website Bloody Disgusting. It's a pretty straightforward story with basic undertones of longing and lingering loyalty. No frills, as the story takes place in one location, an apartment building in Berlin that falls under attack by victims of a mysterious illness that causes them to become raving, mad-dashing, bitey zombie-ish thingies.

Milquetoast Michael is in Berlin to return keys to his very-recently-ex-girlfriend Gabi, who isn't home when he arrives. He meets young plumber's assistant Harper just in time to witness the plumber working on Gabi's apartment turn into a frothing-at-the-mouth nutjob with milky eyes. They get out of that situation, but quickly realize it's not just one rabid dude teeming with infection, but all of Berlin. They hole up in Gabi's apartment, with Michael worrying about his ex - who hasn't returned his frantic phone calls - and Harper worrying about his family. From the window, they watch as those in the courtyard are slaughtered, and meet other survivors through their own windows. Michael sets about finding a way to a man's apartment after the man offers food in trade for some sedatives for his infected wife. This begins an odyssey through the next apartment and into the attic, where Michael finds one thing he's looking for, but it's not what he had hoped. The rest of the movie is not only the struggle for survival, but Michael's own transformation from a relative wimp pining for his ex-girlfriend to a resourceful hero for those he meets on his journey to escape. Not going to spoil it here for you, but the movie ends on a bittersweet note.

There's nothing fancy about Rammbock: Berlin Undead. It tells its story, and tells it better than some vehicles for infection horror. There's an air of urgency and hopelessness laced throughout, with signs of hope just enough to not make it a total downer. As anyone who reads this knows, I liked to see the scale of devastation in these movies, even for a glimpse. The scene where Michael casts his eyes on Berlin from a rooftop, as shown in the American movie poster, sums up the insane odds against anyone surviving the plague. The infected - not sure if calling them undead is accurate, since we never really know if they die and come back - are of the fast-running, rabid variety, as seen in 28 Days Later and [REC], only with eyes that film over when infection fully occurs. I found the characters intriguing from the main characters to the brother/sister across the way (a scene where she cries on the balcony is heartbreaking) to the silent tattooed man with what appears to be a bite on his arm. The man who offered food and his infected wife have a particularly tragic scene. While Rammbock didn't offer me anything new, it was tried and true, and sometimes that's just fine.

Honestly, it's not all that bad of a way to spend an hour if you're in the mood for some of your basic flash mob zombies.

Until next time, fellow survivors...no more flights to Berlin for a while. Let the infection blow over. Here, enjoy the trailer:

Insidious (2010) I Blinked And They Switched Movies

2011-07-14T19:44:00.000-04:00

You know those dreams where in it, you're on a wild rollercoaster, twists and turns, dips and peaks, the best rollercoaster you've ever been on...and suddenly the dream switches, and you're in a bumper car far too small and you're the only one there not a unicorn driving the cars?

Or is that just me?

That's how I can describe my experience with 2010's Insidious, from the writer Leigh Wannell and director James Wan, the team that brought the world the very original Saw. I was watching one movie when suddenly it switched to another, and I swear I only blinked. The first three-fourths of the film was a creepy, atmospheric, and quite excellent haunting story built on the strong acting of Rose Byrne and Patrick Wilson. The last act was, for me anyway, like that unicorn bumper car dream. It seemed somewhat related to the rest of the movie, but didn't seem to fit. Suspense and tension seemed to give way to super-powers and demons from the fringe of Hell. Don't get me wrong: combining super-powers and demons would make for a sweet movie, but it didn't seem to gel here. Take those two elements, make two films featuring those traits, and you've got the potential for two outstanding movies. As it is, Insidious combined the two and made one mostly good movie, in my opinion.

Josh and Renai Lambert (Wilson and Byrne) have moved into a new house, when strange things begin to happen: weird noises, their oldest son Dalton being afraid of things in the house, and so on. Dalton falls off a ladder in the attic while exploring and encounters something frightening. The next morning, he doesn't wake up and even the doctors are puzzled, as all his tests are normal. He's in a coma, but not any coma they've ever seen. Three months pass and mysterious events happen again, increasing in intensity until Renai has a horrifying encounter with what can only be described as a ghost. She insists they move, and they do. However, the bizarre spirits follow them. This time, Josh's mom (Barbara Hershey) calls in an old psychic friend Elise (Lin Shaye) to help determine not only why this is happening, but how it relates to Dalton. Turns out Dalton's got himself a little super-power: the ability to project his astral self with ease, and he's been lured too far from his physical body, leaving it open for bidding amongst the restless spirits. I won't spoil how the rest of the movie goes, as secrets are revealed and a showdown with those spirits takes place in a netherworld known as The Further. Needless to say, it's an abrupt change from the rest of the film, the way I saw it.

Now before anyone assumes I thought the whole thing was a mess, let me say this: overall, it was not a bad film. The acting is very good and the chills through the wonderful first three-quarters of the movie are genuine and well-executed. The clues leading to the climax were placed well, and we're given great examples of foreshadowing and flashback. The score by Joseph Bishara consists of both traditional music and jarring noises that lend an unsettling air to the proceedings, and "unsettling" is a good thing to shoot for in this style of film. I pay attention to how the titles look, and I loved the old-school lettering of the title card.

There were some moments that seemed borrowed or meant as a tribute to other movies, such as Poltergeist (which I'm sure the movie has been compared to, and that's not entirely fair to it) and The Haunting. Something that struck me was the world of The Further. I was often reminded of the bleak afterworld glimpsed at the end of Lucio Fulci's The Beyond (see my review of that film here), but with a little less light. A character hurrying through The Further, lantern in hand, and seeing a house shrouded in pale light and fog reminded me a great deal of the video game series, Silent Hill. These reminders may not have been intentional on the filmmakers' part, but I couldn't help seeing those other images in my mind as I watched.

Insidious was alright, and I urge people who have been wanting to see to go ahead and see it. This is just one man's opinion, and really, I didn't hate it. As I always say, judge for yourself. Maybe you'll like it, maybe you'll hate it. That's the beauty of individual tastes: we all like things to different degrees, and it can make for healthy discussion.

Until next time, enjoy the trailer, and don't wander too far if you're good at astral projection.

Dance Of The Dead (2008) A Hell Of A Night

2011-07-04T17:12:00.002-04:00

I remember prom. It was the 80's, so those proms you see in "homage movies"? Yeah, that wasn't my school. That's not to say our prom wasn't bad. It was fun for the most part. I dressed in a white tux (that came with a swank cane), took a girl named Julie to dinner, then prom. Nothing crazy, nothing wild. Nobody threw up on the dance floor, nobody spiked the punch, and nobody was a reanimated corpse hungering for human flesh.

Yes, that is me. Now BASK in the glory that was my nerd-before-nerd-was-cool 80's self. At least the cane was swank.

That's essentially what happens in Ghost House Underground's Dance of the Dead, written by Joe Ballarini and directed by Gregg Bishop. You've got your teen hormones, rivalries, drama, and a horde of undead firing out of the cemetery like rocks from a catapult. It's a little movie with a modest budget and no "big-name" stars, but that doesn't take away from it in the slightest. The cast more than holds their own in creating what is a very good zombie movie with healthy doses of comedy, adventure, and romance to round out the flavor.

In a cemetery near a nuclear power plant, the poor caretaker is apparently the only one that knows the radiation is causing the buried dead to come back to life. He calmly goes about his day, cleaning headstones, trimming hedges, and making sure the dead stay in their coffins. Meanwhile in the town of Cooas, the teen population is readying for the prom. The characters go through an assortment of typical teen pre-prom excitement. Troublemaker Jimmy (Jared Kusnitz) thinks everything is a joke which causes his sweet, prom committee girlfriend Lindsey (Greyson Chadwick) to dump him in favor of smarmy popular guy Mitch (Jeff Adelman). Jimmy's buddy Stephen (Chandler Darby) aches over asking out cute cheerleader Gwen (Carissa Capobianco), whose date just canceled on her. Gwen, although very sweet, has eyes for the high school rock star Nash (Blair Redford). Thrown in the mix, but playing important parts, are adrenaline junkie/bully Kyle (Justin Welborn of The Signal) and the Sci-Fi club, led by John Heder lookalike Jules (Randy McDowell). All the characters are in place thanks to some nudge-nudge-wink-wink 80's-style montage action and when the Sci-Fi Club heads to the cemetery for some exploring, the action begins.

The dead come to life and literally explode out of their coffins. Interestingly, the speed of the undead seems to depend on how long they've been buried. More ragged zombies move slowly, while "fresher" ones zip along with reckless abandon. Not all of the Sci-Fi clubs make it, and Mitch - who just tried getting a little too forward with Lindsey - loses his head over the whole zombie-rising situation. They make it to, of all places, a funeral home and hole up there. While running from the undead, Jimmy meets up with Kyle - who has a gun - and Gwen, who is oblivious to the zombies as she's out for a run with her iPod. They escape into the sewers after hearing from Lindsey and make their way to the funeral home.

After a battle in the home in which Kyle is killed, Gwen makes a daring run to retrieve the hearse and the gang escapes. Running into the wild-eyed, militaristic gym teacher, Coach Keel (Mark Oliver), they load up on weapons and plan to rescue whoever is left at the prom. They pick up Nash and his band along the way, gaining some important intel: the zombies are affected by sound waves. They stop and sway to music which provides a shade of hope to the little group of living rebels.

The school is overrun by the time they get there, so Keel goes through with a plan to blow up the school with all the undead in it. The Sci-Fi Club and Gwen embark on a rescue mission while Jimmy and Lindsey undertake the mission of retrieving the explosives trigger that the Coach dropped in a bowl of potato chips. Not everything goes as planned, and not everyone makes it out alive, but the school is destroyed while the dialogue afterwards sets up the possibility of a sequel.

Dance of the Dead really is a fun little movie. It might not be the greatest zombie movie ever made, but it ranks pretty high on my own list. The actors are having a blast and there's a definite nod to 80's-style teen comedies running through it. Each character has a distinct personality and interacts well with the other characters in the story. No one really clunks through a scene with a counterpart. The movie moves along quickly and sharply, with the main emphasis being on the fun. Yes, friends die and yes, the town is overrun by flesh-eating zombies, but as the viewer, relatively safe from the zombie plague in his or her home, is enjoying the ride. There are some great scenes of comedy, especially when Kyle interacts with the "geeks" or dispatches zombies in his own Jackass-inspired way. There are some heartfelt moments, such as when Jimmy comes into his own and the final fate of Gwen and Stephen (although you could include laughs and gore with their final scene, too). Whether or not Dance of the Dead is your bag, take a look and judge for yourself. Personally, I did have fun both times I've seen it, and I'd see it again.

Next time you have a rough night out or lament having a "lame" prom when you were younger, just be glad there wasn't a zombie apocalypse in progress.

Or was there?

Now go on, enjoy the trailer:

Cronos (1993) Now That's A Different Take On It

2011-06-26T00:19:00.002-04:00

Usually with a vampire movie, you know what you're getting. Fangs, low tolerance to sunlight and garlic, possibly a stake wielded by a vampire hunter. Sadly, in recent years, some even...sparkle.

In Guillermo Del Toro's 1993 directorial debut Cronos, however, the genre is explored from an entirely different perspective, and it's fresh and very interesting. You may have heard of Del Toro. He's a director-writer-producer hailing from Mexico that has put out a few little films like Hellboy, The Orphanage (which he produced), and Pan's Labyrinth, among many others. He's known for having a unique vision and a flair for atmosphere. Usually, when I hear his name attached to a project, I'm in...I want to see it.

I've had Cronos on my list for a long time and just felt it was time to move it up so I could see it sooner than later. I'm glad I did. What I discovered was an entirely different take on the vampire genre, one with entirely different set of rules, albeit with some of the tried and true cornerstones. The focus was placed squarely on the desperation of one man to figure out what has happened to him and how it affects his close-knit family.

Antique dealer Jesus (Federico Luppi, a Del Toro regular) stumbles across a strange artifact among the stock that has recently arrived at his store. Little does he know, this little Cronos Device was created over 400 years previous by a mysterious alchemist...who just died in an accident. That's some serious Highlander stuff right there. While handling the Cronos Device, Jesus sets off the mechanism, which injects him with some strange solution from an old insect. His granddaughter, the adorable Aurora (Tamara Shanath), worries about him but tells no one about his strange find. Also in pursuit of the device is the sick but devious De La Guardia (Claudio Brook), a dying millionaire who knows all about the Cronos Device and what it can do for him. He sics his thuggish nephew Angel (Ron Perlman) after the device, first by being nice (yet creepy) then through force. Jesus is finding out strange things about himself after exposure to the device. He never grows fangs, but he has a slight craving for blood and a rejuvenated body. But all for naught as Angel pushes him off of a cliff inside a car, and Jesus is set to be cremated. But hold on...Jesus isn't done yet. He crawls out of his own coffin and, hidden by Aurora, plans his final showdown with De La Guardia at the selfish old fart's factory/hospice room.

Like many of Del Toro's films, Cronos just flows. It doesn't have the smoothness of a, say, Pan's Labyrinth but it was very early in his career, and it was easy to see where he was going with it. The plot is unique: sure, it's something of a vampire movie, but it breaks so much with tradition, it really challenges you to place it squarely in that genre without considering its other elements. It's a beautiful family relationship film as well. Jesus and Aurora are not only grandfather-granddaughter, they're the best of friends. They play games in the antique store. Aurora turns her toy chest into a makeshift coffin for him to sleep in, away from the painful rays of sunlight. It's also a commentary on religion. Consider the main character's name - Jesus - and the themes of resurrection throughout the film. When discussing insects, De La Guardia makes reference to them as being "God's favorite creature," as they can display long life and a sort of resurrection in extreme cases.

The acting is nothing short of great. Luppi is outstanding as the overwhelmed grandfather trying to do what's right. As Aurora, Tamara Shanath only says one word of dialogue, but that's all she needs. She communicates through her eyes, and does it well. I can't leave out Ron Perlman's toothy, dripping-with-smarmy-evil portrayal of Angel. You don't trust him from the minute he appears on screen, and his presence adds tension - you know he's going to do something, you're just not sure what. He's all mouth and eyes, and it's fantastic - even though he's playing a character obsessed with the plastic surgery he's about to have on his nose.

Looking for something different? Tired of the same old vampire flicks? Might I recommend Cronos for what ails you? It's really a neat little film and the launching pad of one of today's finest directors. It's not a scary film, and the tension is mostly pretty light, but it's a great story, well-acted and well-produced.

Here, enjoy the trailer (which may be a little spoiler-y in my opinion, but good enough):

The Horde (2009) If They Don't Kill Each Other First

2011-06-22T20:16:00.001-04:00

You remember those trailers from movies that featured two unlikely allies who must accomplish some goal "if they don't kill each other first"? My friends and I used to riff on it quite often - "Hey, they're heading down to the bar...if they don't kill each other first." Pure hilarity, I'm tellin' you.

Well, that whole notion is the basis of the French zombie action film, 2009's The Horde. Directed by Yannick Dahan and Benjamin Rocher in their feature film debut, the basic plot is pretty straightforward. In France, a group of cops who refer to themselves as a family unit, decide to take revenge on a Nigerian drug lord who has killed one colleague, and kidnapped another. They're on an unsanctioned mission of vengeance, quietly storming the high-rise tenement building where the drug lord is based. The raid doesn't go well, and the police are quickly held at the mercy of the bad guys. Within minutes, the building is under siege by the titular horde of undead. It's happening inside, too, as the kidnapped cop revives and attacks after being shot multiple times. The zombies themselves have the origin characteristics of early Romero undead (don't have to be bitten, just be dead to revive) and the physical attributes of the mad runners of 28 Days Later (they're hungry and fast). What brought on this undead virus is never revealed. The important thing is you have two groups of people who couldn't be more different throwing those differences out the window to feed their instinct for survival. Their goal is to get out of the building and escape the horde, but you know as well as I do, that ain't happening as easy as they think. The rest of the film is their attempt at escape, with the building, the zombies, and each other as enemies.

While as a whole, the movie rates as "pretty good" in my opinion, it's the parts that make up the sum that stand out to me. The action drives the relationships, and so the focus is there, unlike most zombie films where characterization is ranked higher. I would daresay that this is more of an action movie than a horror movie, the way I see it. There are stretches where scenes drag on a little too long, but the action is fast and furious. And no, Vin Diesel is not in it. Getting back to the "parts that make up the sum" thing I mentioned, I wanted to note that there were are scenes and moments that really made those parts enjoyable.

There were a lot of hand-to-hand combat scenes between uninfected and infected. No martial arts goodness, but some brutal "fighting for my life" kind of fisticuffs. One hood, Greco (Jo Prestia), finds and completely destroys two zombies using his fists and a small knife. Completely badass, but only an appetizer for a scene towards the end of the film when heroic cop Ouessem (Jean-Pierre Martins) faces off with a giant-size horde using at first two pistols, then a machete, then his fists in an increasingly-futile battle. It's riveting and sad and insane at the same time, and really a highlight of the film.

While Ouessem is a great character, for me, the most intriguing character was Adewale, the drug lord. Eriq Ebouany portrays him with a full spectrum of emotion, from cold killer to protective brother to respectful ally. He's smart and tough and will do anything to survive, even help his enemies. His strength is seen on display when his hotheaded brother Bola (Doudou Masta), Greco, and a crazy old soldier they meet named Rene (Yves Pignot) - all hopped up on cocaine - contemplate sexually assaulting a wounded zombie. While the zombie writhes on the floor and the drugged-up guys stand over her, Adewale's expression is one of horror and anger. He shoots the zombie in the head, then angrily reminds Bola of their past in Nigeria and hints at something similar that may have happened in their younger lives.

All parts considered, I liked the movie. The action sequences were very kinetic, the acting was quite good, and I'm going to give points to zombie movies that show a glimpse of the infection's scale in the world. In this case, it was a dark, panoramic shot of the city burning and it's the punch in the gut to the characters that lets them know, things just got serious.

Until later, my dear readers, remember: in a zombie apocalypse, we're all in it together. Except for Fred Phelps and his Westboro nutjobs. I don't want them anywhere near my shelter.

Here, enjoy the trailer:

Hatchet (2006) Victor Crowley Needs Decaf

2011-06-07T18:10:00.002-04:00

Writer/director Adam Green's Hatchet was supposed to be a return to the roots of the modern slasher, a throwback to the early days in the Friday the 13th and Halloween franchises, among others. Victor Crowley, the monster antagonist, was supposed to join Jason and Michael in the pantheon of memorable killers of curious movie teens. It's hard to say if that has actually happened.

Hatchet is a divisive movie. I have horror blog colleagues that absolutely love it, and others that absolutely hate it. There are several in between, and I think that's where I stand. I didn't hate it by any means, but it didn't "wow" me either. However, the attempt at bringing back that old school flavor was not only noticed, but it is to be commended. Green brings a certain freshness to the genre, not filling the screen with wild colors and big special effects. It's a low budget he's working with, and therein lies the energy. And my readers know I love for a film to have energy.

The plot is straight out of the 80's, and honestly, that's not a bad thing. Ben (Joel David Moore of Grandma's Boy) is a sad sack whose girlfriend just broke up with him. His friends try to cheer him up with debauchery in New Orleans, but Ben just isn't into it. He thinks a ghost tour into the bayous might be more his speed, so he's joined by his buddy, Marcus (Deon Richmond of Not Another Teen Movie). The original tour's guide (Tony Todd in a hilarious cameo) isn't running tours anymore, so he sends them to another guide, Shawn (Perry Shen). The two friends join a would-be pornographer named Shapiro (Joel Murray of Mad Men), his two willing "stars" Jenna and Misty (Joleigh Fioravanti and Mercedes McNab), the jaunty Permatteos (Richard Riehle and Patrika Darbo), and a mysterious young woman named Marybeth (Tamara Feldman) as they head into the swamp.

There's a local legend about a deformed child who was accidentally killed during a fire caused by local bullies. Seems Victor Crowley's father tried chopping down the door with a hatchet, and it hit Victor in the head. But we know Victor is still roaming the woods and not willing to share some of that deep South hospitality. Marybeth knows this as well, as she is searching for her lost father and brother (Robert Englund of Nightmare on Elm Street and Joshua Leonard of The Blair Witch Project), who met with a bloody end at Victor's hands in the prologue. Shawn, who's neither a very good tour guide nor a very good boat captain, manages to sink the ship by running it into some rocks. The tourists are stranded in Victor's woods just a stone's throw from Victor's house.

Let's just say Victor's a stickler for property boundaries.

"Get off my lawn!"

The enormous Victor (Kane Hodder, who has played Jason Voorhees a million times) bursts out of the house and sets about slaughtering the tourists with such over-the-top methods as the "twist top kill" and the "Pez dispenser kill" and the "I-really-hate-your-shoulder-old-man hatchet kill." Victor is a force of nature: pure strength and manic energy. He's not one for stealth. He just comes in like a Tasmanian Devil on Red Bull and starts ripping and chopping until the final scene.

And that ending. Yeah, I can see where it has something in common with the way the original Friday the 13th ended...sort of. Still, if there wasn't a sequel planned, it was just a little bit too abrupt for my tastes. Others may like it...hell, some people love it. That's fine, but I'm just going by my own preferences here.

Hatchet was pretty good, but for me, it wasn't the new savior of retro-flavored slasher flicks. It was pretty standard, but with a little more flair in terms of dialogue and direction. To me, those were the strong points. The snappy dialogue, especially coming from Deon Richmond, infused the movie with some verbal lightning. Adam Green showed quite a bit of creativity and, yes, energy in his direction. Working extremely well with a low budget, Green is definitely paying homage to the teens-in-the-woods monster slasher. It's straightforward and unflinching in its gore, which is so wild that you're more amused than disgusted or even scared. It was fun, but I would hesitate to call it the movie that returned American horror to glory. And don't think I hated it because I didn't - I thought it was pretty good, but really, that's about it in my humble opinion.

But hey, judge for yourself. All I know is, if I'm ever in New Orleans again, I'm sticking to the craziness on Bourbon Street and staying far away from the bayou ghost tours.

End Of The Line (2007) Maybe They Should Put Up Billboards

2011-06-04T00:08:00.001-04:00

Look at me, being all timely. Well, sort of. I mean, that piece of work, the bubbly Harold Camping did recently give another one of his spot-on predictions for the end of the world (two weeks ago as of this writing), and he's got another apocalyptic prediction scheduled for October. Among the first things I thought of, other than the usual disdain that I feel towards money-grubbing, victim-creating crackpots, was the low-budget horror film End Of The Line, an interesting little apocalyptic flick that I saw a couple years ago. The hamster wheel began turning in my head, and I thought it would be fun to look at it again in the light of all the Family Radio hullabaloo.

Hullabaloo. Man, how old am I?

Anyway, End Of The Line was a small 2007 film written and directed by Maurice Devereaux, and it was a darling at several film festivals, including the Toronto Film Festival. Touching on the subject of religious zeal, mob mentality, and fear of the dark and closed-in spaces, the film has its fans (and detractors) in the horror community. Regardless, it offers a unique take on survival horror.

Karen (Ilona Elkin) heads home from her job at a psychiatric hospital, taking the local subway. After meeting Mike (Nicholas Wright), who saves her from a seriously creepy guy named Patrick (Robin Wilcock), she boards a train for the ride home. The train suddenly stops and several passengers, seemingly religious types from the Voice of Hope Church who wear similar clothes and acting generally nice, all get messages on their beepers. They produce various sharp objects and begin stabbing other passengers, saying things like "God loves you" and "This is for your own good." The train turns into an abattoir, with only a few - Karen and Mike included - making it off the train in mostly one piece. But help isn't coming. The land and cell phone lines are down, and the TV is showing nothing but bizarre images coming from the enigmatic preacher who heads this bizarre cult. Apparently, they all believe that the Earth is being besieged by demons, and it is the End Times. They show their "love" by killing others so that they're "spared" the coming apocalypse. Karen and the survivors head into the tunnels, but getting away isn't so easy.

Man, the Backstreet Boys got DARK.

The tunnels are crawling with Voice of Hope members, including kids, creepy guy Patrick, and even a member of the survivor's party, although she wants to rebel and go with the dude who took her virginity on the train. One of the guys who helps them get out of a break room deep in the tunnels is even a member, despite being new and "not really a believer." The growing paranoia adds to the tension, and Karen's occasional hallucinations don't help. When they hole up in a control room, where they tie up Patrick, they get their first glimpse of the reverend on a TV, and the murderous chaos is widespread. He's calling for Armageddon and a "holy rapture"...hm, sound familiar? Hopefully, Harold Camping hasn't seen this movie.

The survivors, with the exception of the conflicted member and the boy she now loves, move on after hearing the subway workers come under attack. The scene in which the Hope members descend upon the workers is harrowing and disturbing. The lengths these people will go to "save" people is horrifying. Patrick gets loose, and as the pursuing Hope members arrive, the boy and girl are killed. In the meantime, the survivors have a bloody battle with some more Voice of Hope nutjobs and get away mostly OK, but Mike is hurt badly. With multiple stab wounds right from the start, this movie just hates poor Mike.

I LOVE this door!

The survivors split up, but not all of them make it. Another page beeps for the Voice of Hope members, and they immediately cease their onslaught and take suicide pills. Still, resident perv Patrick pursues Karen, completely off his rocker. Karen dispatches Patrick in a most brutal way, and then the movie takes a turn for the weird...or does it? The ambiguous ending isn't really that ambiguous if you've been paying attention.

Look and listen during the first few minutes of the movie to pick up on the fact that the movie is not being told in a linear fashion. While much of the ending is left open for interpretation, there are some helpful hints along the way. The hallucinations are not coincidental or a throwaway device; they're pretty central to what's happening. Think muffins. Yeah, muffins possibly laced with some kind of hallucinogen run throughout the movie, and since we're seeing a lot through Karen's eyes - and she casually eats one early on - we can't always trust what she's seeing. Are the demons real? Did Reverend Hope have it right? Or was he an insane but gifted strategist who plotted the horrible acts of terror?

The performances are quite good, especially from Ilona Elkin as Karen, showing strength and fragility, and Robin Wilcock as Patrick, smarmy and evil, wanting to rape his way to the end of the world. There is a great deal of gore and scares, mixed with good amounts of tension. Obviously the budget wasn't very large, but that doesn't matter. Devereaux works well with what he has, and it's a nice little take on the "end of the world cult lays the nutbar smackdown on the world" subgenre.

It also bears watching since the whole Harold "You Gotta Believe Me This Time" Camping debacle. A charismatic religious leader creating a following of human lemmings so desperate for spiritual absolution that they're willing to kill because someone tells them to commit murder is comparable to what happens out there in the real world. How many people base their religion or politics on what someone on TV tells them? Yeah, a frightening amount. People who don't think for themselves and blindly follow someone with obvious agendas might be easy targets for jokes, but there's the potential for very dangerous behavior. End Of The Line shows an extreme, fictional account. Read the headlines if you want the real chills - or worse yet, the comments sections of any political article. The looney-tunes in the movie might seem tame compared to what crosses some peoples' minds.

In the meantime, my dear zombie survivors, remember to steer clear of the subways if you see a lot of smiling people all dressed the same.

In The Mouth Of Madness (1994) Getting Lovecrafty

2011-05-30T20:24:00.001-04:00

When John Carpenter wants to end the world, he does it in such interesting ways.

In The Thing, he hinted that a parasitic, all-consuming alien life form would spread to the rest of the world unless it was stopped at that lonely Antarctic outpost. The son of the Anti-God would usher in its unholy father in Prince of Darkness unless several desperate people ended the threat in a run down old church. However, with In The Mouth of Madness, it's reality itself under assault from the Old Ones made famous in the literary world by H. P. Lovecraft. And what can one man played by Sam Neill do?

In short: nothing.

Lovecraft was known for penning tales of unseen horrors, monsters so vile and so primed to crack reality at its seams that to glimpse them would cause instant madness. The whole Cthulhu mythos? That was him. Casting shadows over Innsmouth? Lovecraft. The fish people who worship the mad god Dagon? Yep. He even had a story called "At The Mountains Of Madness," so it's a pretty fair bet that In The Mouth of Madness is a tip of the cap to his writing genius.

But Lovecraft isn't the only prolific, talented writer showcased in the film. There are several obvious nods to my own longtime favorite, Stephen King: the northeast region, the small town, the name of the antagonist author (Sutter Cane = Stephen King). In truth, the entire film is about fiction, about the written word and its power over reality. Words guiding us to believe anything, then using that power to fuel...well, in this case, the return of the Old Ones. And that's not a good thing, dear readers.

See, Sam Neill plays John Trent, insurance investigator extraordinaire. When we first meet him, he's a little on the...nutty side. He's locked up in an asylum when he's visited by Dr. Wrenn (David Warner), who wants the lowdown on what brought him there. So John tells him the whole, horrifying story...which begins when he's called in by a publisher (Charlton Heston) to find their missing cash cow, the eccentric mega-superstar writer, Sutter Cane (Jurgen Prochnow), who has a final, blockbuster novel to get into the stores. The name of the book? "In The Mouth of Madness." After reading some of Cane's horrific novels, John has bad dreams, weird feelings, and a sudden revelation: the covers of Cane's books can be manipulated into a map of New Hampshire, revealing the location of a fictional town called Hobb's End. Accompanied by editor Linda Styles (Julie Carmen), John sets out to find Hobb's End. After a very trippy...er...trip, he finds it.

Hobb's End is like a ghost town with some eerie little residents, like the strange old lady up at the hotel bearing the name of a real Lovecraft character (Pickman from "Pickman's Model"). Discovering a menacing-looking church on the outskirts of town, John and Linda investigate and find Sutter Cane, that's for sure.

From there, things get really freaky in the little hamlet of Hobb's End. Linda goes after Cane, but she's helpless against the new, vast power that the Old Ones have granted the author. Then it's down to John, and his role in what is essentially the end of all that is. John slowly discovers the truth about Hobb's End, its residents, and Sutter Cane, and give the man credit, he stands up to it the best he can. But despite his obvious strength, Cane is far, far too powerful. John is meant to deliver the end of the world, typed just as Cane envisioned it, and there's nothing he can do.

The ending doesn't present any in-your-face world destruction scenes. In that Carpenter never shows you out-and-out chaos, he's making it even more frightening. John Trent may be the last sane person on Earth, and we're hanging on to that final unraveling thread with him. We know something's going on in the world, but just like Lovecraft did in his stories, we don't see it. The knowing is terrifying enough.

In The Mouth of Madness isn't linear in its storytelling. Much of the story is a flashback controlled by John's memories. But there's a bit of meta-storytelling going on here as well. Sutter Cane goes on and on about controlling reality, and he may be controlling what we see in the movie as well. During a fun little scene on a bus late in the movie, he proclaims that he "is God now" and asks John, "Did I ever tell you my favorite color is blue?" When John snaps awake, everything is indeed blue. But throughout the movie, the color blue shows up, especially in peoples' eyes. Has Cane not only been controlling what John sees, but what we see as well? Possibly. Something to think about. I love when movies play outside the sandbox, and Carpenter has never been afraid to do that.

What a fun movie In The Mouth of Madness turns out to be. It's the third in Carpenter's loose Apocalypse Trilogy and it can be argued that it's the most dire of circumstances - certainly it's the most bleak in terms of ultimate endings. The little nods to Lovecraft and King are a kick to uncover. Sam Neill does a fantastic job as a true "omega man," part detective, part skeptic, all victim. Definitely a great closing to the Apocalypse Trilogy, and a great way to spend a movie-watching evening.

In fact, get a hold of all three movies and watch them back-to-back. It'll put a little sunshine in your day.

Now here, enjoy the trailer:

Stake Land (2010) Quality Over Quantity

2011-05-19T18:46:00.000-04:00

Everyone knows I love me some infection horror, from Dawn Of The Dead to the [REC] series. I know that technically, vampire movies can be classified as "infection horror." One bite (or more, depending on the mythos) from a vampire and it's all over, much like a bite from the undead. Vampire flicks, though, are usually lumped into their own genre, a rich, traditional genre that has its roots in the forever-creepy Nosferatu and has been somewhat co-opted by the Movie-Franchise-That-Shall-Not-Be-Named-But-Has-Sparkly-Bloodsuckers, which dilutes the potent potion with a strong history behind it.

Stake Land made me love the genre all over again.

From the people who brought you the underrated Mulberry Street comes this truly creative and compelling take on a world decimated by a vampiric plague. Director Jim Mickle and co-writer Nick Damici took a small budget and loads of passion, mixed it up in a big bucket marked "good stuff," and threw it on film as Stake Land.

It goes something like this: It's a world where vampires have taken over. Considered a plague, it spreads fast, causing people to become mindless, blood-craving killers. No one knows how it started, and much like George A. Romero's Dead movies, the origin is left a mystery. Fine by me, since the origin's not the story here. We are introduced to Martin (Connor Paolo), a teenage boy preparing to escape with his family. When he witnesses them all - mother, father, and infant sibling - slaughtered by a vampire, he's saved by one bad-ass vampire killer simply known as Mister (Damici). Mister takes Martin under his wing as they battle their way towards New Eden, a supposed vampire-free area in Canada. Along the way, they run afoul of the dangerous, militant religious nutjobs called The Brotherhood, led by Jebedia (Michael Cerveris of Fringe). See, Mister rescues a nun from what turns out to be Jebedia's son and a buddy, and Mister tends to play for keeps, human or vampire. The nun, known as Sister (Kelly McGillis of Top Gun), joins them on their journey before they're set upon for the first time by The Brotherhood. Eventually, Martin and Mister reunite and meet a couple more friends along the way, the pregnant Belle (Danielle Harris of the Halloween films) and former Marine Willy (Sean Nelson). Sister rejoins them, and it seems like the perfect family unit, heading straight for the border.

But it's never that easy.

Not everyone is safe, not even ones who traditionally are safe in movies like this. In one of the most well-done and heartbreaking scenes, you're witness to just how far The Brotherhood will go to not only get to Mister, but simply sow terror and fear, something they'd apparently done on a large scale. It's during a moment of rest, of happiness, in an idyllic militia-protected town that The Brotherhood does the unthinkable, and something entirely original: they airdrop vampires. Airdrop. Vampires. Yeah, that's right. Think about it. A simple night of neighborly goodwill, toe-tapping music, and most of all, rest for our by-now beloved characters. Then it happens. It happens and in the short time for the carnage to unfold, you really want to get your hands around the necks of The Brotherhood. It's chilling, and it breaks your heart.

So who makes it to New Eden? What happens in the cold hills just miles away from this alleged haven?

I'm not going to spoil it for you. The ending is ambiguous, as it should be. No one is truly safe in the reality of Stake Land. It's an ending that makes sense and even though it is left open to what happens to the remaining characters, it doesn't leave you saying, "Whaaaat?" It ends, but only the way you believe it ends as the credits roll.

The acting is wonderfully sound. Only Jebedia is portrayed a little over-the-top, but he's an effective villain nonetheless: you WANT to hate this religious fanatic. And you do. Damici is grizzled and understated, no-nonsense in his role, and much like his character Clutch in Mulberry Street, he's someone for whom you can really cheer. Paolo is fantastic as Martin, a young boy thrust into becoming a man in the worst possible environment. He's both tough and awkward, vulnerable and still possessed of great inner strength. I cannot take away from the others in the group, as Harris is immensely sympathetic as the young mother-to-be and Nelson is solid as the ex-Marine. McGillis is a real standout, as the nun struggling with traditional faith and the new necessities of the world.

Like all great infection horror works, the characters are the focus, but there is an underlying theme tying them together. A theme of faith rings both loudly and subtly through the film. The Brotherhood represents the current state of "mob religion" in the world, people who would use faith as a weapon or an excuse to hate. Look around. It's everywhere you look today. The traveling band of heroes represent the true, inner faith of people who only want to survive and only want to do good for each other and themselves. The Brotherhood are those loudmouth, ignorant people who demand you think they way they do, like those Westboro nutjobs. The heroes are that pastor who greets others at the door of his modest church with a friendly "all are welcome."

Also, let me get one thing perfectly straight: the similarities between Stake Land and the wonderful Zombieland end with the names. I've heard people say, "oh, so it's Zombieland with vampires." No. It is not. Stake Land has not a lick of comedy in it. The world is bleak, it is dying, and it will never be the same. Don't let the title throw you off in the slightest. We're talking two different movies here.

Stake Land might be hard to find at the moment. It's not playing on that many screens, although check your on-demand features with your local cable company. That's how I saw it. It's well worth the hunt and it stands head and shoulders above most big-budget horror fare in that it's an honest, passionate, creative movie. One that actually tells a tried and true story (getting safely from point A to point B) without a hint of stagnation.

Well, I've gushed enough for now. Go judge for yourself, and I sincerely hope you find it as fulfilling an experience as I did. If you don't like it...oh, well. I won't hold it against you.

Until next time, dear readers, don't stay out when the sun goes down. It might be a little bitey out tonight.

Now enjoy the trailer...

La Casa Muda (The Silent House) (2010) Bad Things Happen In One Take

2011-05-15T14:37:00.000-04:00

From the moment La Casa Muda (a.k.a. The Silent House) begins, the camera eye never blinks. That was the drawing point in the advertising for the Uruguayan suspense offering: for 79 minutes, there is one long, continuous take. The real draw is the tension it creates and ultimately the part it plays in the actual story, a minimalist take on madness, fear, and possibly ghosts...with a twist...all based on a true story that occurred in the 1940's.

Laura (Florencia Colucci) and her father, Wilson (Gustavo Alonso), arrive at a rustic, out-of-the-way cottage owned by family friend Nestor (Abel Tripaldi) with the intention of getting it cleaned up to sell. Nestor gets them set up, warning them not to go upstairs due to the precarious nature of the stairs. He leaves them to turn in early as dusk sets in. It isn't long before Laura hears noises upstairs and begs her father to check them out. There are sounds of a struggle, and Laura is frozen in fear before she carefully explores the old house. Her father returns, bound and bloodied, and Laura is sure there is someone else in the house, stalking and taunting her. A little girl appears out of the corner of the camera eye several times, but something even more sinister seems to be closing in on Laura. After a run-in with her mysterious antagonist, Laura runs outside to see the girl for the first time, but also meets a returning Nestor. Nestor investigates the supposed noises and intrusion, disturbed that Laura went upstairs, but then disappears while he and Laura check out an upstairs room. Laura loses her source of light and relies on an old Polaroid to take strobe flashes of the room to see where she is, ratcheting up the tension. The little girl makes an appearance in one flash, as well as someone who appears to be Nestor advancing on Laura. She escapes the room, and makes a strange discovery in another room: hundreds of Polaroids showing Nestor, her father, and herself, as well as other young women. Some seem innocent enough, but others...something a bit...off about them.

Laura finds Nestor bound and bloodied soon after, and from here, the movie takes an interesting sharp turn. The dialogue changes tone, Laura's emotions change, and certain truths come to the forefront. When it happens, and for the rest of the movie, it's no surprise that the viewer might be confused. Hell, I was. But things make sense the more you put the pieces together. All the clues are there. I won't give much away, but I can say the following: what you see for the first 70 minutes or so is not really what you might think it is - it's not as cut and dried as one might believe. Listen to what Laura says towards the end, pay special attention to the Polaroids during the credits, and wait for the mid-credits epilogue. Put those clues together and you'll get exactly what happened. Wow, a movie that makes you do some of the detective work? Yes, please.

La Casa Muda is full of quiet tension, where every noise counts. The camera never shies away from Laura, and in that, buries the mystery deeper and deeper. By the end, you'll ask yourself, "but how can that be?" but if you look at the clues, you'll see. The dialogue is sometimes so quiet, though, that you'll strain to hear it even though you'll have the benefit of subtitles. It could be because I saw it on-demand, so it could be Xfinity's problem. But the camera moves fluidly through the house with Laura, and I imagine a choreographed dance as the cameraman must know exactly where Laura is and is to be through the entire 79 minutes. I don't imagine that would be very easy, and I wonder how many times they had to start from the beginning to get it just right. I can just see them getting right to the end, and someone trips..."Aw, crap. OK, cut! From the top!" That's scary in itself.

It was a good movie, with some fine acting by the few actors involved. The shots were set up nicely, considering the difficulty of shooting one whole take. And everyone knows I love the use of low ambient music to create deeper tension. It's not a perfect movie, but it was well worth the price to pay for on-demand.

But now I don't want to renovate an old cottage. Or own an old Polaroid.

Check the official trailer:

28 Days Later (2003) A Little Case Of The Rage

2011-05-01T18:10:00.002-04:00

It's become a classic of modern horror arguments: should zombies be fast or slow? "Fast" increases the urgency, but "slow" - the more traditional choice - allows for more character development. Well, this argument as it pertains to Danny Boyle's 28 Days Later can be thrown out the window for one very obvious reason: the movie isn't about zombies.

In fact, the antagonistic force of nature in 28 Days Later isn't comprised of dead-becoming-undead people at all. They're still alive, but infected with something called The Rage. So that argument I mentioned? Save it for another day because while we're talking about infection horror here, the infected are still technically alive. The danger, though, is still the same as undead movies: the infected are going to chase you down and viciously attack you until you're a) dead or b) infected as well. The disease takes hold quick, and makes you twitch and growl with madness, much like a person suffering the after-effects of a late-night Heineken run and too many burritos. Not that I would know...ahem.

Despite the fast-moving nature of the infected, there are plenty of moments of character development in the film and that's the balance that helps hold this film higher. It's a wild, kinetic ride when the action is in full swing, yet subdued and soft during scenes of real human interaction, and quietly tense during moments you know something is about to happen.

Literally 28 days after a militant animal rights group naively sets an infected chimp free, London is an abandoned urban wasteland. Bicycle courier Jim (Cillian Murphy) awakens from a coma to an empty hospital, and a seemingly empty city. When he's set upon by a group of infected people, he's rescued by Selena (Naomie Harris) and Mark (Noah Huntley) who fill him in on what's happened. The infection has apparently spread like wildfire, and London - as well as most of England - has been evacuated.

The trio heads to Jim's house, where he discovers the final, peaceful fate of his parents. While there, neighbors attack, resulting in an injury to Mark. Without hesitation, Selena kills Mark, knowing the infection can manifest in minutes. We never know for sure if the injury would have led to infection or not, but the scene marked the stark new reality of post-infection London.

Selena and Jim eventually meet up with Frank (Brendan Gleeson) and Hannah (Megan Burns), a father and daughter surviving in the upper floors of an apartment building. The four of them hit the road, as they're running low on supplies and follow the signal of soldiers broadcasting from near devastated Birmingham. They find an abandoned outpost, and Frank is infected when a drop of Rage-filled blood gets in his eye. He is gunned down by the arriving soldiers, who take the others to their base in an old mansion. They meet Major West (Christopher Eccleston), who welcomes them warmly at first before revealing that he plans on keeping the human race alive by forcing the women into sex with the soldiers, making Jim expendable. Caught trying to escape, the girls are separated from Jim, who is to be executed the next morning.

The execution doesn't go as planned. Jim escapes and lures soldiers to the roadblock where they first met. After taking care of those soldiers, Jim makes his way back to the mansion, sets loose an infected soldier to cause mayhem, and goes about rescuing Selena and Hannah, almost meeting the business end of Selena's machete due to the brutal way in which he kills a soldier. On the way out, Jim is shot by West and after leaving the Major to the tender mercies of an infected soldier, the girls hurry Jim someplace where they can tend to his wounds, which may or may not be fatal, depending on which ending you prefer. And yes, there is more than one ending, the happiest one being the default at the end of the theatrical release.

Boyle always has an eye for the stylistic, from Trainspotting to the more recent 127 Hours. In his films, he manages to reach past the wild or unique circumstances of the characters to get right to the heart of their being. I remember watching Trainspotting and thinking how much I loved and cared about the characters, even if they had less than redeeming qualities. The same could be said for 28 Days Later. Even minor characters have depth to them, and the major characters - you just want them to live. You just want this makeshift family to get to where they're going. The acting is as good as expected in a Danny Boyle film, with Murphy and Harris as real standouts.

There are some really great moments in it as well. Jim's awakening and wandering around a beautifully empty London is haunting and sad. Jim's standoff at the roadblock is surrealistically bad-ass. His rescue of and subsequent brush with a machete wielded by Selena is heartbeat-fast tension. There are plenty to choose from, believe me.

Plus, I have to admit. It's weird looking back on this movie and seeing Doctor Who (Eccleston) face off with The Scarecrow (Murphy) after the death of Mad-Eye Moody (Gleeson).

That's the nerd in me.

28 Days Later is kinetic and solemn at the same time, at the time a new look at infection horror when the genre was really starting to break out again. It's always worth a look and makes you think twice when you hear about a new strain of the flu making its rounds. Cover your mouth! And eyes, nose, ears...

Crestfallen (2011) Wordless and Powerful

2011-04-19T21:45:00.004-04:00

Words are powerful. No doubt about that. Sometimes, however, the absence of words can be just as powerful. The awkward pause, the angry silence, the space between story and punch line. Your own mind can fill in the words when it encounters a silent narrative, and what that narrative might be trying to tell you could punch you right in the gut.

The short film Crestfallen, a six-minute cautionary tale of a young woman driven to the edge of her life - the edge of a knife - by betrayal and sadness, has no words, no dialogue, nothing shouted or whispered. The viewer is simply made witness to the young woman's pain, both physical and emotional. Written and produced by Russ Penning, filmed by Dominick Sivilli, and directed by Jeremiah Kipp, Crestfallen stars Deneen Melody as Lo, the young woman who suffers the titular emotion.

Quite simply, Lo has been betrayed by the love of her life and decides to take her own. It's not an easy decision, and things may not turn out the way anyone expects as the minutes tick on and the memories flow. It doesn't take long for the viewer to sympathize with Lo, who glides naked and with an air of dignity into a bathtub. As the knife runs along her arms, the memories flow with the blood, and not all of them are hurtful. She reflects on what brought her to this point, and what should keep from doing it. It's Lo's downward spiral, and we're along for the ride, helpless to do anything but watch.

Crestfallen is beautifully shot, directed with a deft hand by Kipp, whose wonderfully surreal short Contact I reviewed last year. Here's a guy who takes his craft very seriously, and will never be accused of "phoning it in." Keep an eye out for Kipp; he's headed for big things. Deneen Melody is the centerpiece of this short film, and is beautiful and effortless in her performance. We see the hurt in her eyes, the sadness and pain, all without words. She looks like someone we all might know, someone we would want to help. That sense of familiarity is strong - I couldn't help thinking she looked just like an old friend of mine, but I couldn't place who. You want her to be okay, no matter what, and that's brought to life by some fine acting. The fact that Crestfallen is silent, except for a score, only added to its beauty. I really am cheering for this film to make a big splash soon.

But enough of my words - I was fortunate enough to have both Kipp and Melody answer some questions about Crestfallen and I'd love to share them with you dear readers now. Let's start with Mr. Jeremiah Kipp, the director:

Was there a specific influence that inspired this narrative (writer, director, etc.)?

"The writer and producer of this film, Russ Penning, based the movie on some rather heavy personal experiences, so that was our primary influence. I thought he was brave to face those demons. My job was to visually interpret his story as best I could, along with my key collaborator, DP/Editor Dominick Sivilli. Dom tends to downplay his participation, often saying his vision of the project is to shine a light through the window and turn on the smoke machine. But he has a profoundly sensitive and poetic approach to his work. When we shot the suicide scene, he whispered, "This feels like BEOWULF." He was right; we were trying to tell an intimate, personal, character-driven story in an epic and operatic way. Our feelings (love, hate, fear) are as large to us as castles and kings; and suicide and the flood of memories our main character endures should be told in a way that is bold, daring and sincere."

Will we see Crestfallen in some film festivals or contests?

"Russ has an entire festival plan for Crestfallen. With a running time of six minutes, we hope it will fit nicely in a short film program or preceding a feature. Since it was intended as an anti-suicide film, we hope horror and mainstream festivals and audiences are able to connect with it."

Any projects on the horizon? Has Crestfallen opened any more doors?

"One of the more immediate doors opened by this project was the opportunity to work with associate producer Marv Blauvelt and his company Muscle Wolf Productions, as well as Chris Jay and Kitsie Duncan of Dark Rider Productions. I cannot say enough about how welcoming and instrumental these Midwestern filmmakers were in making Crestfallen, and it opened a dialogue about more projects we'd like to work on together. As the old saying goes, work begets work. I'm currently editing a "hired gun" horror trailer I recently directed, and start principal photography on a non-genre movie next month starring my old friend Scott Miller and Geoffrey Owens from The Cosby Show. There's also The Sadist starring Tom Savini, which is currently finding its form in post. My producers and I are navigating that path right now. There are a few exciting monster movies in development as well. All we can do is let the future come."

And now I give you Deneen Melody, in her own words:

From where did that intense performance emerge? Inspirations, motivations?

"I haven't discussed this with many people, but one of the main reasons I wanted to do this film is for a friend of mine. She took her own life a few months before, which absolutely broke my heart. It is such a sad thing when someone, despite the reasons, feels that there isn't any hope...that there is absolutely nothing to fight for."

"That being said, Crestfallen is very personal and was something I wanted to do in a more positive light. Some people may see the movie and feel it is a depressing, which is true, but the end message is a positive one. It shows that no matter how harsh life may be, in the end, there is always something to live for."

"Jeremiah and I didn't have a chance to rehearse before the shoot, due to him being in New York and myself in Chicago, but we had several conversations about the piece. Developing the character with Jeremiah helped bring something more to Lo...she became someone with an entire back story instead of a random woman in a bathtub. It was important to all of us that we create a character that, without anyone having to say a single word, feels for or identifies with."

Crestfallen seemed so effortless. Describe working with Jeremiah, Dominick, and Russ.

"They were fantastic, of course! I had already worked with Dominick on a film called Lewis, and we got along very well, so I was familiar with how he works. And while I had never worked with Jeremiah before, we had chatted online and I am a fan. As mentioned above, we didn't have a chance to rehearse anything before we shot the film, but Jeremiah would talk to me in detail about the way he works, so when we were on set, we were able to just jump into the story. Both Jeremiah and Dominick always bring something very unique and visual to their films, and I am honored to have the opportunity to be a part of something so beautifully shot and put together."

"Russ is someone I had met online and he is such a good friend, always super supportive and encouraging towards my career. When we all first started talking about doing this film, I could relate to the personal aspects of the story and understood where Russ was coming from in his writing. I've read some other things he has written since then and he has so much talent. I hope that I can work on another film he writes in the future!"

Any projects on the horizon? Has Crestfallen opened any more doors?

"I am currently working on a project of my own creation called Rose White. It is a fantasy thriller/crime drama based on the Brothers Grimm story, Snow-White and Rose-Red. I play the role of Lilly (Snow White) and the beautiful Erin Breen stars as my sister, Rosalyn (Rose Red). The film also features Daniel Kuhlman (who is also directing the film along with Brian Kilborn), Tom Lodewyck, and Anthony Fleming. Breakwall Pictures is working in association with TinyCore Pictures (III SLICES OF LIFE) to bring this movie to life!"

"Some other projects I have coming up include Prey to God, Witches Playground, Bloodstruck, Astro Noir, Dark Light, and the dramatic feature film Strawberry Summer. You can keep up with news and updates on all these projects at my Facebook page and website!"

"Crestfallen has opened a door to a more dramatic path, which is something I was looking for and am very thankful to achieve. I really must thank Russ, Jeremiah, and Dominick for believing in my abilities and giving me such a rewarding opportunity!"

*****

And now I must say a HUGE thank you to both Jeremiah Kipp and Deneen Melody for being so nice and taking the time to answer my questions. Keep an eye out for Crestfallen, and for the talented people involved with this short film.

As for your humble helicopter pilot, I bid you all a healthy "until next time," and don't get too close to the fences...the undead have a hell of a reach.

Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead (2006) Fast Food Satire From Uncle Lloyd

2011-04-07T21:53:00.001-04:00

If you've been reading my humble blog for any amount of time, it's pretty obvious I enjoy movies with energy and vitality. Budget be damned. Sometimes, taste and logic be damned. If it's got that spark, and that spark lights something in my little brain, I'm going to enjoy it.

Many, many years ago, in my college-years job in a video store (sadly I did not go on to direct Reservoir Dogs), I took home a cute little film called The Toxic Avenger, and thus my love and respect for Lloyd Kaufman and Troma Entertainment began. I remember The Toxic Avenger as this wild, energetic, tasteless, and hilarious presentation of a whole new kind of superhero, and an introduction to a whole new style of filmmaking, at least to my eyes in 1989.

I tend to be a late bloomer sometimes with certain things, it seems, and I only saw Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead in the spring of 2011. Hey, better late than never. I'd heard about the movie through other horror fans, other horror bloggers. I was intrigued, and not having seen a Troma film in longer than I should admit, it was due time to revisit the energy I sensed from that first viewing in 1989.

What I got was a goofy, oddball, delightfully tasteless, ultra-gory, naughty, toe-tapping semi-musical slam on the big target of the fast food industry that I couldn't help but like more and more as it went along. It's about fresh-faced Arbie (Jason Yachanin) hoping for one last night of shenanigans with his high school sweetheart Wendy (Kate Graham), and hoping for a promise that they'd always be together. When the college semester ends, Arbie returns home to find the local Indian burial ground has been cemented over, with a fast-food chicken franchise built callously over the now-empty graves. Not only that, he finds that Wendy has taken to sexually experimenting with Micki (Allyson Sereboff), the leader of a large protest group taking issue with the new restaurant, seemingly forgetting their promise. Upset, Arbie rebels by taking a job at the new American Chicken Bunker and becomes their new "counter girl," complete with tutu. It's there that Arbie meets his strange co-workers, including manager Denny (Joshua Olantude), Hummus (Rose Ghavami), Paco Bell (Khalid Rivera), Carl Jr. (Caleb Emerson), owner and main villain General Lee Roy (Robin Watkins), and Old Arbie (director Lloyd Kaufman), who may be a future version of the younger Arbie...phew! Lots of people, lots of fun.

What follows is the inevitable merging of the angry Native American spirits and countless chickens, as everyone who consumes the food from American Chicken Bunker turns into a chicken-beaked, violent zombie-demon-thing possessing super-human strength and a thirst for blood and regular human flesh. The restaurant becomes an abattoir as people are horribly, and often hilariously, dispatched in increasingly gory ways that only a Troma film can deliver. Arbie and Wendy have to overcome betrayal (turns out Micki and the General were working together the whole time) and overwhelming odds to not only survive, but get a little girl they've rescued out and to freedom.

Peppered with catchy songs with very explicit lyrics, buckets of blood (and other things probably best left unmentioned), boundaries-of-taste-pushing gags, cameos (like Ron Jeremy's "Crazy Ron"), and a crazy energy, Poultrygeist is pure Troma fun in the classic vein. It harks back to movies like the aforementioned Toxic Avenger. The acting is hammy and over-the-top, but in a Troma film, that's how it should be. Jason Yachanin is an awkward and likable hero, and Graham is sexy and cute all in the same breath - the leads head a cast that's obviously having a ball doing this insane little movie. It's definitely no secret that Lloyd Kaufman is a champion of small, independent films - he's like a father figure to many aspiring and established horror film folk. Yeah, some of these films might not be for everyone, or to everyone's taste. That's okay. I've said it before: we all have unique tastes that really shouldn't be put down.

So if you like Poultrygeist, hold your head up high and steer clear of the chicken.

Until next time, enjoy this trailer that...well, may be offensive to some, but if you're reading a horror blog, something tells me you're not offended by much. And hey, I picked the least offensive trailer I could find! Enjoy...

Cinematic Alphabetic Fun: My Movie ABC's

2011-04-07T19:56:00.000-04:00

It's a given that when there's a list meme going around the horror blogosphere, I'm going to want to join in like a healthy game of dodgeball. This particular list meme comes from the fine blog (and list fan) Rupert Pupkin Speaks and is pretty simple: provide a list of movies alphabetically by first letter. That's it. The rules are wonderfully clear in that there is no set way it should be done. Just do it.

So here we go. Movies that I enjoy, most of which are in my collection, and ones that span genres (although some of the horror ones are pretty obvious). Let's get started, shall we?

A is for A Mighty Wind

B is for Big Trouble In Little China

C is for Cannibal: The Musical

D is for Dawn of the Dead

E is for The Eye (the original)

F is for The Fifth Element

G is for Gladiator

H is for Hot Fuzz

I is for I Sell The Dead

J is for Justice League: The New Frontier

K is for Kung Fu Hustle

L is for Lake Mungo

M is for Manhunter

N is for Napoleon Dynamite

O is for Orgazmo

P is for Prince of Darkness

Q is for Q: The Winged Serpent

R is for [REC]

S is for Shaun of the Dead

T is for This Is Spinal Tap

U is for Unbreakable

V is for Versus

W is for The Wicker Man (definitely the original)

X is for X-Men

Y is for Yojimbo

Z is for Zombieland

There you go. I went with movie posters because, well, I love movie posters. Plus these are films I would urge anyone to see, so they're also what they're intended to be: advertisements. Go get a hold of these movies. I have (or in some cases, intend to have) many of these fine flicks in my own collection.

Until next time, list lovers...

Powerful Cinematic/Small Screen Moments: My Own (Partial) List

2011-03-23T09:00:00.032-04:00

Boom, baby!

Over at a WGON Helicopter favorite, The Horror Digest, my good friend Andre discussed a recent poll by Filmclub regarding the most powerful moments in cinema. I fully agree with her that these polls and "official lists" and their ilk shouldn't be considered definitive and the ultimate authority on what is or isn't. One person's powerful moment may be another person's groaner, and vice versa. To me, it's much more interesting to see a variety of lists, as was done with Andre's original Top 10 Willie-Inducing Moments challenge - there are plenty of enlightening "I didn't think about that one" realizations upon seeing others' lists (see mine here). I had originally compiled some of these as an article I was outlining about moments in film that have made me say, "there's something in my eye."

With that in mind, I'm going to expand it and present a few of what I consider powerful moments in film (and TV). Some might be horror, some might not be. The movies or shows you enjoy should move you in some way, and although I focus on the scary parts of the whole beast in this blog, this article will include the funny and sad as well as the scary. You might agree with some of them, and there might be some at which you roll your eyes. That's fine. It's my list.

In no particular order:

LOST "The End" final scene

OK, let me nip this in the bud right now: I'm not going to open this up to arguments over whether or not the finale "sucked." I'm aware of how some people thought the ending wasn't right. I'm not one of them. I thought it was the very definition of a perfect ending. I'm not posting this to start an argument, but rather to show my feelings on it in terms of powerful moments.

Now, why this scene? There are several during that last episode that kick me right in the gut, but the final scene, after everything's tied together, gets me every time.

--AVAST! YE SPOILERS LAY AHEAD!--

To sum up - because recounting the entire mythology of the series would take forever - heroic Dr. Jack Shepherd has been mortally wounded, despite winning his battle with an ancient evil force on the island and saving the world. We discover that the "sideways world" paralleling the present world is actually a sort of "heavenly waiting room" where this tight group of people would gather before moving on. Cutting between his true reunion with those he most loved and his final moments in actual life, the series comes full circle as Jack finds and collapses in the very spot he woke up in the first episode. It's already hard watching Jack slowly die, but when Vincent runs out of the woods as he did in the first show, his appearance and Jack's smile are perfect. But when Vincent lays next to Jack - the final demonstration of no one ever really going it alone on the show - something somehow gets in my eye. Top that with Jack's triumphant final smile as he sees the remaining survivors escape in a repaired plane, and try not to feel something. I mean, have you no soul?

There were plenty of great moments like this all through the entire series, but that would be an entirely different blog altogether for another day.

Gladiator - Commodus pretty much poops his pants

You know the moment: Maximus, once a mighty Roman Army general, is betrayed and left for dead by the conniving Commodus. Maximus fights his way back to Rome through sheer badassery. Impressed by this mysterious gladiator, Commodus demands to meet him, and this reveal causes the "awwwwww, crap" expression to spread across his face:

I've seen this movie a million times, I've practically worn out the Hans Zimmer score, and this moment still makes me want to say, "in your face, Commodus!"

Dawn of the Dead (1978) - Roger's last wishes

It's no secret that the original Dawn of the Dead is my favorite horror movie, and among my favorite movies, no matter what the genre. To say it's influential is a gross understatement. While there are many scenes that give me chills, this scene sums up the sadness of Roger's inevitable death and zombification. The tough Peter - who only had met Roger just before their escape from Philadelphia - visibly cracks a little under the stress and emotion of a comrade and friend weakly crying out his final wishes.

Doctor Who "Doomsday" - The Doctor and Rose are forced to part

I came into Doctor Who late, but absolutely devoured all the recent episodes since the series was revived in 2005. It goes without saying that of the three outstanding actors they've had play The Doctor in that time, David Tennant is the favorite (not to take away from Christopher Eccleston and Matt Smith). The chemistry between Tennant and former pop singer Billie Piper as Rose Tyler was undeniable. So when it came time for Piper to move on, the character of Rose wasn't killed off, but left stranded in a parallel dimension as a result with a battle between The Doctor, Torchwood, and two of the Doctor's worst enemies, the Daleks and the Cybermen. Rose and The Doctor had fallen in love, but had never admitted it until...

Schindler's List - "I could have done more."

Schindler's List is simply a masterpiece, a real cinematic piece of art about a real and very dark time in our world's history. Among the many great performances in that movie was that of Liam Neeson as the titular Oskar Schindler, a wealthy German who lost faith in the Nazi Party and saw the value of human life in his Jewish workers. Every name he put on a list would be spared the concentration camps, a mission to which he became dedicated. When the war ends, he realizes he should leave the country, but even more devastating is his belief that he could have saved one, two, many more lives by sacrificing as much as he could. His knee-buckling revelation and the workers' rush to support him gets me every single time.

Dragons Forever - the "who needs wires" end fight scene

Although I've let myself slip in recent years, Hong Kong action films were often my genre of choice, especially in the 90's. Now, I was always a huge Jackie Chan fan. I saw Cannonball Run in the theaters as a kid, and that was my first exposure to his wildly acrobatic martial arts style. Some time later, I saw The Big Brawl, a very Americanzied version of that style. I had little idea this guy had a superstar career besides what my then-limited resources could uncover. After seeing a documentary on Hong Kong films sometime around 1992, I was able to obtain a copy of Dragons Forever, starring Chan with his childhood buddies Sammo Hung and Yuen Biao. What I saw floored me. Gave me chills. Made me want to get up and try to avoid pulling a hamstring imitating the insane action on the TV screen. Hard-hitting, acrobatic, and mind-boggling - just three adjectives I can use to describe it all. Watching Chan battle kickboxing champion Benny "The Jet" Urquidez in that final scene simply blew me away, and there is nothing like the string of tremendous films these guys made during the 80's.

I called this a "partial" list because there are others I could include. Many others. What draws us to the movies and shows we love? Moments that touch us in some way, the hope that there are more moments like these in productions we're about to see. It could be a line, a martial arts battle, a snippet of music, the expression on an actor's face, a sequence of events that encodes itself into each of our unique tastes and feelings.

It's why we all love to sit in our comfy chair or that perfect seat at the theater and allow ourselves to be drawn into whatever stimulates that unique taste.

Until next time, it's time I turned on the DVD player and lose myself in what I'm about to watch.

Two Years of The WGON Helicopter: Now I Want Cake

2011-03-15T21:44:00.008-04:00

Seems like just yesterday I was typing up the one-year birthday blog for this ol' thing. Time absolutely flies.

Just about two years ago, I first took the WGON Helicopter up into the sky. I always intended for it to be a fun outlet for me to talk about things horror: movies, comics, personal fears, books, games, pretty much anything I felt like writing about in that field. Looking ahead, I want to continue to write about those aspects of horror in an intelligent, hopefully funny way that leaves the reader more informed or entertained than when he or she came into each article. I'd like to make some improvements to the overall look and layout of the blog, and there will be some changes - little things, mostly - that only enhance the experience.

I'm having fun with The WGON Helicopter. I hope you are, too, dear readers. Thanks for your readership, and thank you to all those peers who have supported me, given me advice, or simply have been mighty friendly for the past two years. Readers, take some time to explore some of the other blogs I've listed over on the sidebar. There are some great reads there, written by some really good people. I'll be adding even more in the coming days.

Thanks again, and keep watching the skies, fellow survivors!

Product Review: T-Shirt Bordello

2011-03-15T18:30:00.005-04:00

As I've said before, I love t-shirts. I have a discerning eye for them, and they have to represent something about me. A movie or TV show I enjoy, a college I attended (of which there are three), comics I enjoy, wrestling promotions with which I used to help...and they have to be unique. I hate to sound "hipster" but if the design is "what all the kids are wearing nowadays," then I'm likely to pass it up. But that's me.

The awesome folks at T-Shirt Bordello recently sent me packages full of joy, including a few bonuses on top of the outstanding-quality t-shirts. The shirts themselves are as comfortable as I expected, and I chose two designs that indeed represented me. One, I'm sure you'd have no trouble guessing why I got it - yes, I extended my WGON t-shirt collection with a black one that has the familiar logo with the words "news, weather, traffic" below it. The other is a Zombieland reference, a black shirt with Rule #32 explained across the front.

Now, T-Shirt Bordello doesn't just deal in shirts. You can order mugs, ashtrays, hats, pint glasses, and keychains, as well as zombie-specific police tape. They gave me a little sample of the tape as well as a zombie "emergency" poster and some handy zombie targets to test the apocalypse survivor's aiming skills.

The targets.

The sweet poster.

The police tape.

Good stuff over there at T-Shirt Bordello. Some nice shirts I'm sure to pick up in the future, as well as a swank Winchester Tavern pint glass for when I eventually build my bar in the den I'll eventually have.

Check 'em out!

The House By The Cemetery (1981) House-Sitting, Fulci Style

2011-03-12T21:45:00.007-05:00

I always know with Lucio Fulci, I'm getting both the expected and the unexpected.

Fulci will always bring the weird, the technicolor-bloody, and quite often, some kind of eye trauma. I know I'm going to get atmosphere, perfect lighting (or perfect lack of), and a spooky soundtrack with slithering electronic sounds. But I never know exactly how Fulci is going to bring it to me. He might bring buckets and buckets of stomach-churning gore, like he did in City of the Living Dead. He might go with a bleak, atmospheric mind-twister like The Beyond (which was pretty gory in its own right).

With 1981's The House By The Cemetery, Fulci didn't disappoint in either the atmosphere or the gore factor. While not as in-your-face with the blood and guts like in the other two films I mentioned, Fulci doesn't short the viewer on mood and ambiance. There is that familiar feeling of dread, that itch that makes you want to look under your own bed for some monstrous Fulci creation that wants to eat your soft bits in order to live an unholy long life of some sort. While some of his other films like the aforementioned The Beyond and City of the Living Dead, as well as Zombi 2, get more attention, The House By The Cemetery is a little gem that deserves a piece of that attention pie.

Here, you've got a prologue featuring a woman wandering an abandoned house, searching for her previously amorous boyfriend before running afoul of a mysterious, knife-wielding person, who performs amateur acupuncture on her head before dragging her off. Cut to a little girl crying out a warning from a window in said house, seen in a photograph by little Bob (whose dubbed voice is...well, you have to hear it to appreciate it). Bob and his family, college professor Norman and his wife Lucy (Fulci regular Catriona MacColl), are in the process of moving into that same house. Seems Norman had a colleague who killed himself while living there, and he's going to finish the research project.

Moving in is easy, but weird. The townspeople seem to recognize Norman, no one wants to acknowledge who previously owned the house (a kooky doctor named Freudstein), and Bob makes friends with the little girl from the picture, Mae, who may or may not be a ghost. Even the babysitter (Ania Pieroni, the foxy Mother of Tears from Dario Argento's Inferno) is a little bit of an oddball. The house itself isn't much help either. There's a tombstone laid into the floor in one room, for crying out loud. Tell me that wouldn't put you off just a tad.

Upon investigating the previously nailed-shut basement (thanks for opening it, babysitter), the family is attacked by a very bite-y bat and that ends up being the guano that breaks the camel's back as Norman insists to the realtor that he wants his family moved to a different house. When the realtor visits later, she's attacked by the stabby guy from the prologue, only he uses a fireplace poker to give her an unwanted tracheotomy.

After dutifully cleaning up the blood, the babysitter's head is soon separated from her body while in the basement. It's around this time that Norman finds out a little more about this Doctor Freudstein, who conducted some funky experiments. Funky as in painful, deadly, and illegal. Bob takes it upon himself to go search for the babysitter in the basement, but meets Dr. Freudstein and despite Norman's best attempt at an axe-aided rescue, is carried off by the strange doctor. Turns out the doc has been "living" in the basement for some 150 years or so, killing people and using their parts to keep himself alive. That is, if his present state of half-decay is considered "alive." Norman and Lucy descend into the basement to save Bob, but are each killed by Freudstein. Bob makes it out in the nick of time, thanks to Mae, who accompanies him along with the spirit of Mrs. Fruedstein into an uncertain, but probably very bleak future.

Fulci relies much more on atmosphere in this one, but all you sickies out there will be pleased with the bat biting, head stabbing, neck poking, and maggot pouring the director throws into the mix. The creepy sounds, ghost appearances, and who's-there shadow play will satisfy the horror mood lovers out there. If you like Fulci, I don't doubt you'll like The House By The Cemetery. Made in the same vein as his "buildings on the gates of Hell" films, it's not in the same canon as those movies, but just like them, the menace hides and does its most terrifying work in a subterranean area. Fulci may hate eyes in some of his films, but he does love himself some spooky underground rooms and basements.

If you're looking to start watching Italian horror movies, you can do much worse than The House By The Cemetery. It's not the top of my own list, but it's definitely worth a look.

So, my fellow survivors, just remember: read the fine print next time you rent an old house. Trust me on this.

Double Dipping: Friday the 13th and Pirnaha (The Remakes)

2011-03-04T10:04:00.001-05:00

I seem to be steeped in remakes right about now. Last week, I presented my thoughts on the very good Let Me In - a remake of Let The Right One In - and today, I bring you not one but two looks at recent remakes: 2009's relaunch of the Friday the 13th franchise, and 2010's jaunty remake of Joe Dante's Piranha. Both movies are modern updates of two drive-in-style features from roughly the same period in time, with the original Piranha coming out in 1978 (a great year for horror movies) and Friday the 13th coming out in 1980. Both had their fair share of energy and a certain freshness, which brings about mixed results with their younger descendants.

Let's start with Friday the 13th, originally brought to us in 1980 by Sean S. Cunningham (with writing credits going to Victor Miller). It was a campfire tale brought to life: young, pretty, devil-may-care camp counselors are systematically murdered by the mother of a child that drowned several years before. Boil the story down to its essence, and it truly is one of those flashlight-under-the-chin spooky stories that have been told for generations. In the original, it's given a fleshed-out story, and if anyone remembers, the killer juggernaut Jason Voorhees was not in the first movie, at least not as a the horror icon. He didn't appear until the second film (which I actually find to be the better one).

2009's version, produced by Michael Bay and directed by Marcus Nispel, starts where the original ends: unhinged old lady tries to murder the last teenage counselor, but is given the business end of a machete. Like the beginning of the second film in the 80's, we learn Jason witnessed his beloved but insane mother bite the dust, or mud in this case. Many years later, he takes out his deep-rooted psychological problems on an admittedly annoying group of pretty post-teens out near Camp Crystal Lake geocaching for a secret garden of Mary Jane. A few weeks later, another group of pretty college students heads to the summer home of one of their number and meets Clay (Jared Padalecki of TV's Supernatural), who is still searching for his missing sister, Whitney (Amanda Righetti). Turns out Whitney wasn't killed by Jason in the beginning, as he spared her due to her resemblence to his mother - but he still keeps her chained up in an underground tunnel. It doesn't take long for Jason to start doing his thing to the new group, dispatching them in brutal ways before being defeated by Clay and Whitney in a classically ambiguous ending.

While this remake isn't horrible, I wasn't overly impressed with it either. It's somewhat entertaining, but doesn't have the wild abandon that the original series - despite its shortcomings - possessed. An intriguing change is the no-nonsense body language of Jason. He doesn't lurk for long, instead coming right at victims like a raging hockey-masked rhino. The only time he really "lurks" is when he's stalking Chelsea (Willa Ford) on the lake, and that's just because she's in the water and he's not, which subtly plays into his probable fear of water. It's in the mythology that he was presumed drowned, or was damaged by prolonged time in the water. Anyway, the movie itself was a quarter-pounder, good enough to snack on, but not great as a meal.

Trying to segue deftly from the food analogy of my previous paragraph, I give you Alexandre Aja's Piranha (usually with "3-D" attached to the end), which was a whole different experience. It's based loosely on Joe Dante's (Gremlins) film of the same name, which in itself was a loose sendup of Jaws. Lending itself to the recent trend of homaging grindhouse films, Piranha doesn't have any illusions about itself: it's got boobies and gore, and lots of them, combined with silly lines and situations, and WTF-style cameos that make you say, "wait, he's in this?" I mean, seriously, it's such a rollicking cast. You've got Elizabeth Shue, Ving Rhames, Jerry O'Connell, Paul Scheer, Adam Scott, Ricardo Chavira, Dina Meyer, Richard Dreyfuss, Christopher Lloyd, a couple of genuine porn stars, and a cameo by horror director Eli Roth. It's like one of those Airport movies of the 70's. Only with hungry fish.

It's another basic plot: we meet a fisherman (Dreyfuss) who may or may not have triggered a deep tremor by losing his beer bottle while hauling in a fish. The tremor opens up a vast underground lake that's been covered up since the time of the dinosaurs. Out come the fish and of course, it's spring break time in this sleepy little Arizona town. That means a steady diet of alcohol-infused dudes and chesty trollops, along with a few people who don't even deserve it. There is family drama involved as the sheriff (Shue) not only has to deal with the massive carnage at the center of the festivities (which results in a few yuks, both gory and funny) but has to rescue her kids and some others, who are trapped on a porn mogul's (O'Connell) boat. There is, of course, the "gotcha" ending and many 3-D-ready tricks that were pretty much lost on me, watching it in good ol' 2-D.

Piranha is a wacky, toothy good time. Check your brain at the door; you won't need it. And every so often, what's wrong with watching a movie like that? It didn't say, "oooh, look at me, I'm all serious with my mean fish and artsy nudes." No, it said something more along the lines of "dude, check this out and here, pull my finger." It moves along quickly, no one seems to be safe, and you get to see Elizabeth Shue be an action heroine. A movie made just to be fun wink and nod to movies from the tail-end of the grindhouse era. Well, how about that.

And hey, fun fact: the original Piranha had a goofy sequel, Piranha II: The Spawning featuring piranhas that could fly. That film's director, making his feature film debut?

James Cameron.

Until next time, fellow survivors, it's back to the chopper for me.

Let Me In (2010) Remake Done Right

2011-02-25T22:50:00.011-05:00

Maybe...maybe remakes have gotten taken a few too many blows to the head.

Maybe some of us, especially those of us who study film or have discerning film tastes have been too harsh on remakes. After all, not all remakes have been eye-rolling groaners. I mean, sure, once you've seen the original French Martyrs, the resulting facepalm upon hearing news of an American remake is perfectly natural. But look at 2004's remake of Dawn of the Dead. That was good. That was very good. And, hey, 2008's remake of The Crazies was also really quite good.

I think a lot of us don't want the original experience of a film - especially a beloved classic or a visceral, gut-punching breakthrough - to be diluted or, worse yet, dumbed down. We fear the home-cooked recipe will be processed to death.

2010's Let Me In, a remake of 2008's Swedish original, Låt den rätte komma in (aka Let The Right One In) is really another adaptation of Swedish author John Ajvide Lindqvist's novel of the same name. Writer/director Matt Reeves (Cloverfield) carefully crafted an equally beautiful film that even with some significant changes, doesn't dumb down the first film's unique outlook. The changes from the first film are pretty noticeable, but they work, and that's what counts.

The story is pretty much the same: in early-80's New Mexico, troubled and bullied Owen (Kodi Smit-McPhee) lives a bleak and constantly frightened existence with his mother (Carla Buono, whose face we never see) at an apartment complex. Mysterious new neighbor Abby (Chloë Moretz of Kick-Ass) moves in with what appears to be her father (Richard Jenkins). The two loners become friends, despite Abby's strange behavior and the scary voices coming from her apartment. The "father" sets out at night to attack local young men and drain them of their blood for Abby, but age - and possibly a lack of motivation - is catching up with him. He becomes sloppy, and in one case, fatally careless when he's involved in an accident and is forced to disfigure himself with acid. A police detective (Elias Koteas) begins putting the pieces together of this strange case after the "father" throws himself out of a hospital window.

Meanwhile, Owen and Abby's relationship grows in parallel with the increasing brutality of the bullies' attacks on Owen. Owen, on advice from Abby, finally stands up to the bullies, splitting the leader's ear with a pole during a skating session on a nearby lake. At that point, a jogger that Abby had fed on turns up in the same lake, adding more pieces for the detective. When Owen tries to make a blood pact with Abby, she reverts to vampire form and runs away, attacking another neighbor in the complex before being chased off. Much like in the first film, this woman survives long enough to turn into a vampire herself before the morning sun hits her in the hospital and she bursts into flame.

The detective finally figures it out and pursues Abby in her apartment, but makes the cardinal error of waking up a sleeping vampire. After feeding, Abby tells Owen she has to leave, sending him into a deep sadness - his first true love is a vampire and has now run away. Those are some deep issues, kid.

The climax is similar to the original, enough that you know what's about to happen if you've seen the first, yet you're still glued to it to see how it will be done. It's very much the same, and it's done well. The ending shot is also very much the same, but none of the sweetness is lost.

Yeah, it's a remake. Yeah, it's got a lot of the same elements and some things have been altered. Doesn't make this a bad film. In fact, this movie is very good. That same atmosphere, the haunting nighttime of winter in New Mexico, the old trappings of the 1980's, the slow and deliberate way Owen and Abby's scenes unfold - it's all there, and done quite well in Reeve's hands. One of the biggest changes - a revelation about Eli in the first film - isn't present with Abby in this one. That was a big element in the Swedish version, but its absence here doesn't take a single thing away. I won't spoil what it is here, but once you've seen both movies, you'll know.

Smit-McPhee and Moretz are absolutely fantastic in their lead roles. Each exudes a serious vulnerability that is vital to the story. Their chemistry is perfect: they are two innocents at heart (even though one has to guzzle blood to survive). Reeves has crafted a movie here, not just churned one out. It looks good, it's haunting, it's heartbreaking, and as remakes go, it's right there at the top of ones done right.

So, until next time, my fellow survivors, see Let Me In. Until you get your mitts on it, though, here's the nice little trailer:

Paranormal Activity 2 (2010) More To The Story

2011-02-20T21:04:00.008-05:00

A couple years ago, a little low-budget movie about a couple harassed by an unseen evil shot into the public consciousness, spreading virally, like that video of a cat playing keyboards. It was Paranormal Activity (my review is right here) and although fans and bloggers alike would be split on liking it, no one can deny the publicity machine that surrounded it.

Before the movie is barely born unto the world, a sequel is announced. I tell you, they're announcing sequels sooner and sooner these days. The success of the first film warranted a second, which, of course, is a tried and true Hollywood formula. Paranormal Activity 2 was released in 2010, this time with a different writing team (Michael R. Perry, Christopher B. Landon, and Tom Pabst) and a different director (Tod Williams), as original writer and director Oren Peli fell back into producer duties. While Paranormal Activity had its super-happy-crazy hype machine, the sequel had what seemed to me a lot less shouting. Sure, it had its share of viral videos and weird websites - in fact, the trailers and interactive website were downright creepy. But I either didn't feel or was subconsciously resistant to the hype surrounding the sequel.

Now, before there's a collective "aw, man, sequels" groan, let me say out of the gate that I found Paranormal Activity 2 to be quite interesting, holding my attention for the entire film. It's the same formula as the first movie: normal family, weird happenings, cameras documents, weirder happenings, get-out-of-the-house-NOW finale. Sometimes you just go with what worked before. What I found most interesting was how it intertwined with the story of the first movie.

The story begins with the arrival of baby Hunter (William and Jackson Prieto) into the Rey family, consisting of papa Daniel (Brian Boland), his daughter from a previous marriage Ali (Molly Ephraim), and his second wife Kristi (Sprague Grayden). We discover very quickly that Kristi is the sister of Katie, one of the stars of the first movie - and those who have seen it suddenly realize the time frame is very important. Reprising their roles as Katie and Micah are Katie Featherston and Micah Sloat, appearing at various points throughout the story. As you soon find out - and this is no spoiler - Paranormal Activity 2 is essentially a prequel. Sort of.

After some small incidents, followed by a ransacked house in which only a necklace belonging to Kristi was stolen, the Reys install cameras throughout their home. We're privy to their life with a growing child in what is, by all accounts, a normal, happy existence. But like Katie in the first movie, Kristi is deeply affected by the strange happenings: voices, footsteps, pots falling off their hooks, Ali relating a feeling like the place may be haunted. In fact, Ali thinks it's "cool" at first, but deeper research into ghosts and demons quash her enthusiasm reeeeal quick-like.

The strange occurrences get wilder and more malignant until Kristi is at the center of a particularly violent episode. Finally wanting to do something about it, Daniel takes matters into his own hands with the help of the nanny he fired earlier (Vivis Cortez), someone who seems to know a little about keeping bad spirits away. I'm not going to get into the climax, denouement, and snap ending of the movie. Don't want to spoil it, although through logic, you may already have guessed the outcome. Still, there are story elements that add some spice to it, and for that, it made me want to keep watching.

I can safely say I thought Paranormal Activity 2 was pretty good. I know that notion will be at odds with some, but hey, variety's the spice of life. The use of deep ambient tones as a score was effective, and I believed Ephraim and Grayden's performances were especially good and quite believable. Like I said, I rather enjoyed the intertwining of the stories.

That said, I didn't come away from the movie feeling like I watched something special. It was entertainment, and that's it. That's fine, believe me. But for me, it didn't affect me like some films can. The ending was abrupt, which kept with the formula, but I did utter out loud, "oh, I guess that's it." Don't ask me what could have made it meatier. I've had pizzas that didn't satisfy me, but I couldn't tell you how to make them better. I'm just happy that I didn't waste my time, and that I can relate my opinion that I thought this movie was pretty good. I'm actually OK with Paranormal Activity 3 being made.

Now just make sure you've installed cameras, my friends...never know what they'll capture...

Monsters (2010) Is There Beauty In The Beast?

2011-02-15T23:00:00.004-05:00

If there's anything I love in the realm of film, it's when filmmakers use every single cent of a tiny budget and make something look like a few million bucks.

Enter 2010's Monsters, written and directed by Gareth Edwards. I knew it was low-budget, but that phrase doesn't scare me away. You can have low-budget that's really bad, but then you have low-budget where it looks like the people involved really went out and tried to make something special. Whether they did or not doesn't really matter, actually. The passion and creativity are there, and that's what important...and maybe leads to bigger and better things.

The story is your basic road story with twists appropriate for the genre. Scoot McNairy and Whitney Able, a real-life couple at the time, play world-weary photographer Andrew Kaulder and Samantha Wynden, daughter of Kaulder's boss, a magazine magnate. Kaulder is tasked with getting Samantha out of Mexico after a disaster destroys her hotel. Oh, and the disaster? A very large, spider-octopus-lookin' thing that could easily have been a star in an H. P. Lovecraft story.

Seems that six years before the movie begins, a probe was sent into space. It crashed back to Earth carrying something...well, many somethings...that grew into these destructive creatures. The new residents of our world are contained in an "infection zone," right about at the border of Mexico and the United States. And, before you start reading political undertones into the movie, Gareth Edwards has stated that there were no such undertones - it's simply where the story is set. So get any political mumbo-jumbo out of your head right away. Some of us watch movies to be entertained, not comb through them for liberal/conservative "secret agendas." Simmer down.

Now, Samantha's dad hired Andrew to get her out of there, but complications arise. Ferries to and from the coast are shutting down due to the creatures' migration patterns. Tickets cost $5000 apiece. Andrew loses Samantha's passport. The only way home is straight through the infected zone.

The film chronicles their journey from the heart of Mexico back home to the United States, and the perils in between. They have several run-ins with the creatures, including one that kills or chases off their armed escort. On their own, and bonding closer and closer along the way, they reach the US of A, only to find the border wall is wide-open, and towns in Texas are being evacuated. They hole up in a gas station and come to terms with their personal lives: Samantha is engaged to someone she doesn't love, and Andrew has a son at home that he loves, but isn't allowed to be his father.

The gas station sequence is really something I enjoyed. Two creatures arrive and after a tense moment, the main characters watch - mesmerized and brimming with emotion - as the two enormous "monsters" communicate and gently caress each other, biological electricity flashing through their bodies in the night. It's a well-done scene, meant to be beautiful, and I imagine I would have the same reaction if I saw something like that at night near my corner gas station. Lucky me, I usually get to see the oblivious schlub picking his nose while he pumps mid-grade.

Monsters is very low-key. It's narrative is slow and deliberate, not meant for shocks and thrills. The "monster" scenes are meant to be tense, but it's never jump-out-of-your-seat stuff. The acting is natural, never forced - Andrew and Samantha come across as real, average people. Everyone else is pretty much an extra...seriously. They used people who were right there to play people...um...right there.

I wouldn't call Monsters scary, but I'd call it a damn fine effort in making a low-budget, good-looking film.

Oh, and pay close attention to the very beginning and the very end of the movie. Neat little storytelling device there...

Until next time, fellow survivors, pray our own "border walls" hold - the undead are getting pretty relentless...

Roots of Personal Horror: Fears As A Kid (Part I)

2011-02-13T16:07:00.006-05:00

Everyone has their own story. We're as different as our own fingerprints. And among those personal differences, we have differences that fall under various umbrellas, including that of social experience. And with those unique experiences come unique fears, depending on where and how one grew up.

The boat that is this particular blog entry set sail early last week. I teach library media in an urban school, which is a far cry from the rural Midwestern town in which I was educated. With the widely varied experiences I've had in my life, I have had little problem adapting to environments unlike the ones closest to me. In fact, I cherish the chance at the challenge or the adventure.

During an eight-grade class, one of the young men handed in his worksheet dealing with Black History Month. One of the names I had the kids research was the brave Medgar Evers. As is well-known, Evers was murdered in 1963 by cowards that were part of the Ku Klux Klan. This student and I fell into a great conversation about Evers, and during the course of the talk, he asked me what the KKK was, as he'd never heard of them. I described them as an "evil, racist gang that hated...actually feared anyone different from them." The young man's expression turned wistful and he admitted to me that he was just chased the week before by a gang that "tried to jump [me]." I told him I was glad he got away, and he continued on about the experience. "They wanted me to join their gang because I'm fast," he said. "But they couldn't catch up to me. " He described how they flanked him, how they ordered each other to "take him down," and how his cousins who are actually in the gang protected him by telling the others to lay off.

"That has to be scary," I told him. "I'm really glad they didn't get their hands on you." He smiled - as many of these children do when an adult expresses genuine care for them - and told me something hopeful, "They want me in their gang, but I won't ever join a gang. They'll keep coming after me, but I won't do it." I patted him on his back and said, "Good. But just be careful, got it?"

I thought about that conversation. I thought about how different his childhood is from what mine was. Yeah, we can't all have the same things or be the same way - nor should we as being unique is what is so interesting - but I couldn't help but think about how wide apart our fears were.

When I was in eighth grade, my biggest world fears centered around the Cold War. On a personal level, however, there were no gangs, per se. Not much "hard knock life" in the small town of Cadillac, Michigan, at least not compared to Bridgeport, Connecticut. Worlds apart. Sure there were the "Jock vs. Burnout Fights" that happened every other day, and the worst that would happen would be someone might have brought a small knife to the rumble. People had rough lives, but I only knew my own life.

I can only imagine the fear that my students live with daily. Torn-apart families, drugs, gangs, and at the center of it all, violence. Violence to each other, from their parents, from others in their community. I wish they could have their childhoods, lives without the real-life fears, but I know it's just that: real life.

Doesn't stop me from wishing though.

Phantasm (1979) I Love Your Free-Wheelin' 70's Ways

2011-01-30T17:14:00.008-05:00

Right around the summer of 1980, I remember my cousin Scott excitedly telling me about this weird movie he somehow saw late at night. We were 13, and it's not like we were allowed to watch anything we wanted yet, so this rebellious tale intrigued me. He told me of a movie unlike anything he'd ever seen: Phantasm. It had, according to my cousin, "this tall, weird guy who's strong...and his finger gets cut off, but it's still alive...oh, and there's this ball with knives in it and it kills a guy...and people crushed down to midget size...and then the weird guy comes through the mirror!"

I thought he was making it up.

As I would discover in my journeys growing up, it turns out he didn't make it up. It is a real film, indeed. Made in 1977 and released in 1979, it is writer/director Don Coscarelli's first great tribute to cult films. He would make splashes throughout his career with cult classics like Beastmaster and Bubba Ho-Tep, as well as contributing a strong entry to the Masters of Horror series with Incident On and Off A Mountain Road. There's a free-wheeling creative energy to Coscarelli's films, and Phantasm is where I believe the ball started rolling.

To properly summarize Phantasm isn't a straightforward task. Its plot doesn't meander so much as it runs laughing, sometimes hitting walls, then proceeding to scamper in another direction, giggling with glee. This is a complaint by many, an endearing trait to others. As for my opinion, I found it fun because sometimes in life, it's OK to run flailing and laughing into walls.

Basically, it goes a little like this: Jody and Michael's brother Tommy is murdered by a mysterious person in the graveyard of the local mortuary. Jody wants to leave, but finds himself forced to care for his teenage brother. Michael, still hurting from the loss of their parents, is terrified of Jody leaving. When he spies the incredibly imposing Tall Man (the legendary Angus Scrimm) removing Tommy's coffin from the fresh grave, he pleads with Jody to investigate. Turns out people have been disappearing from the town for years, and the Tall Man and his house are at the center of it. Things get stranger and stranger, with hooded dwarves making periodic attacks on the two. Aided by their friend, groovy ice cream vendor Reggie (who becomes a bit of a randy, accidentally-indestructible action hero in his own right through the series), Jody and Michael enter the house to stop The Tall Man once and for all in a brouhaha that includes killer dwarf slaves, the Tall Man's gender-switching shapeshifter abilities, and gateways to other worlds.

If you cherish cult films as much as I do, you really should see Phantasm. It's not made on a huge budget and the acting is often unintentionally hilarious, but one can't fault a film that not only tries, but is perfectly comfortable in its own celluloid skin. Long-time readers know I like a film that has energy and a bit of a swagger (see my review of Equinox). Phantasm has that, and still resonates to this day. This film put Angus Scrimm on the map, and he is now undeniably a horror film icon - rightfully so, as his scenes are genuinely creepy and performed with confident presence. The musical score stands out, very John Carpenter-esque in its minimalistic approach, which lends to branding certain scenes with a certain mood.

Phantasm is pure, popcorn fun, taking me back to my youth, an early-80's kid just getting his feet wet in the horror genre, listening with a rapid heartbeat hammering in my ears to anyone who would tell me the synopsis of the latest "forbidden fruit," be it Phantasm or some years later, the classic Evil Dead. No Internet back then - word of mouth, trial and error at the local video store (miss you sometimes, VHS) and eventually Fangoria were the only ways I could get my horror movie interest stoked.

Enjoy, and remember to duck:

I Love T-Shirts: A Product Review

2011-01-21T21:42:00.009-05:00

I love t-shirts. I really do. They're comfortable and if they're of the graphic variety - like 99% of mine are - they're an expression of tastes, advertisements for your interests for everyone to see. I've got all kinds: one for each college I went to, several Philadelphia Phillies selections, a couple with Jack Kirby comic book art. Many describe my personal experiences, such as staff shirts from comic book conventions I worked to many from the wrestling promotions I whose shows I either attended or helped in some way.

The kind folks at Crazy Dog T-Shirts and Nacho Mama Tees passed along a couple shirts from their catalog, and they're very welcome additions to the t-shirt family. From Crazy Dog T-shirts, I received a white shirt with not only the WGON logo from Dawn of the Dead emblazoned on it, but a spelled-out warning "do not remain in your home..." with a list of the shelters that you glimpse at the beginning of the 1978 film. I like that attention to detail. Looks great. From Nacho Mama Tees, there came an olive green shirt with the logo of the pub from Shaun of the Dead, The Winchester Tavern.

Hey, the shirts are comfortable, I got them very quickly, and I have a feeling that if there was a problem, it would be resolved quickly and professionally. I plan on ordering from them again. Check out their sites, and browse around - lots of good choices. Here's a little bit more about each site, direct from the source:

About Crazy Dog T-shirts

"Crazy Dog T-shirts (www.crazydogtshirts.com) is the number one source online for funny t-shirts and vintage shirts that help you stand out and get noticed. Founded in 2004, the t-shirt empire offers custom shirts in Rochester, NY. They provide customers with a variety of cool t-shirts and crazy shirts featuring both creative original concepts and popular licensed designs. Looking for a funny t-shirt? They have hundreds of funny shirts which you won't want to miss!"

About Nachomamatees.com

"Nacho Mama Tees (www.nachomamatees.com) has some of the best offensive t-shirts around. Founded in 2004, the t-shirt giant offers funny shirts which include Chuck Norris shirts, The Hangover t-shirts, and zombie t-shirts. They provide a variety of funny t-shirts and crazy shirts. With new men's vintage tees and great movie t-shirts, you are sure to find one you will fall in love with!"

The Last Exorcism (2010) Sleight Of Hand, Magnified

2011-01-16T17:12:00.011-05:00

You know when movies leave you with just enough to form your own interpretation, thereby making you mull over it for a while after you've shut off the TV, imagining hypothetical pathways down which the movie might have intended to go?

I like that.

I know there is a general "either you like it or you hate it" feeling about director Daniel Stamm and producer Eli Roth's The Last Exorcist out there - I've got friends who are steadfast in their opinion either way. That's fine. Everyone seemed to see something different. Even among those who liked it, there are varying viewpoints on what happened, what the movie meant, what the central theme may or may not have been. All I know is this: The Last Exorcist made me ponder what I had just seen long after I was done watching it, and for that, it earns points.

To give a full, blow-by-blow account as I often do would be to give away far too much. I do, however, want to offer my opinion on what I saw. To be honest, it's only one of my interpretations...but we'll get to that in a bit. First, allow me to give you some of the basics.

Reverend Cotton Marcus (Patrick Fabian) is an ultra-charismatic preacher who's been groomed for the pulpit since he was a child. When he talks, people listen and testify, no matter what he says - proven in a hilarious little bit regarding a "banana bread sermon." He has a loving wife, an energetic deaf son, and a high standing in the community as a preacher and exorcist. There's a problem, though: Marcus has lost his faith. He's on a new crusade after discovering an exorcism's role in the death of a child, and he wants to expose exorcism as a "sham." The documentary crew is there to film him as he engages in his "last exorcism," so he can show step by step the ways in which he himself has scammed believers out of thousands of dollars.

He randomly chooses a handwritten cry for help out of a pile and takes the case of young Nell (Ashley Bell) in a backwoods Louisiana town. Marcus is met with instant hostility from Nell's brother Caleb, and fire-and-brimstone rhetoric and belief from Nell's father Louis (Louis Herthem). Marcus is slick, though. He gets the father to agree to film the exorcism and sets about earning Nell's trust. Through some sleight of hand, he causes the water Nell has her feet in to "boil," indicating a demon is indeed inside her and needs to come out.

Marcus performs the exorcism, and we are treated to parallel shots of how he will set the whole thing up to look authentic. You have to chuckle at the audacity, the creativity, the slickness, and the brass balls of the whole operation. After an emotional performance, Marcus proclaims Nell free, counts his money, and leaves for his motel.

From here, the movie takes one of its 90-degree turns.

Nell shows up at the motel, acting strangely. After a hospital visit, Marcus shows up again to find that Nell has sliced her brother in the face. The father, Louis, takes his other child to the hospital while Marcus and the film crew keep an eye on Nell.

You think Nell acting strangely before...

Nell gets downright scary here: staring, speaking in two voices, "drowning" a doll, even killing a cat with the camera as the crew sleeps. She remembers none of it, though. Marcus feels he's in over his head and believes she should have psychiatric treatment. Louis will have none of it, and after discovering that Nell is...shall we say...carrying more than a possible demon inside, demands - shotgun and all - that Marcus perform another exorcism.

Now, here is where I will tread carefully. I really don't want to give away anything to those who haven't seen the film. If you have seen it, bear with me. If you have NOT seen The Last Exorcism, I'm going to be VERY clear where the spoilers start and VERY clear when they end. OK? OK.

HERE THERE BE SPOILERS! BEYOND THIS POINT, IT WILL BE ASSUMED THAT YOU HAVE ALREADY SEEN THIS MOVIE. THEREFORE, PLEASE DO NOT SAY I DIDN'T WARN YOU THAT IMPORTANT, SPOILER-IFFIC PARTS OF THE MOVIE ARE ABOUT TO BE DISCUSSED:

Alright, are we clear? Good...let's continue.

You've seen the movie, you know how it ends as we see it: second exorcism seems to reveal that Nell wasn't possessed, but suffering from extreme shame from becoming pregnant despite the teachings of her zealous father. Everything seems like it will (eventually) be fine. The pastor from Nell's former church arrives to reconnect with the family. Marcus and the crew leave, meet the supposed father of Nell's baby, discover conflicting evidence, and return to find Nell and the others gone and Satanic symbols painted all over the house. Later, they stumble upon a dark ceremony where Nell is forced to give birth to a demon baby, which is thrown on a fire and "reborn." Marcus finds sudden resolve and faces down the demon while the film crew runs and is killed just as one of Nell's drawings foretold.

One interpretation is that we have seen exactly what we were intended to see. The story played out, no frills. That's the end, much like an old 70's demon versus man midnight movie. Check out the recent The House of the Devil for a more direct homage to that subgenre. Definitely a down note, but a common trait of that style.

Another interpretation is along the same lines, only with the added bonus that Nell was in on it the whole time, and everything leading Marcus to that end point was pre-ordained, whether through supernatural or clever man-made means. A footnote to that outlook is that maybe Marcus was meant to go there, guided not by demons but by God in order to win back his faith. "In order to believe in one, you have to believe in the other," Marcus says early in the film (and I'm probably paraphrasing - I don't have it on right now).

Now for an interpretation that I seem to gravitate to, and it's one of many that seem plausible. I thought it out, but that doesn't mean I'm the first person to get the idea. I'm sure someone had the idea before me. Here goes: I offer that not only was Nell in on it, but that Marcus orchestrated the entire thing from start to finish. Early in the movie, Marcus' wife tells us that he is heavily involved with community theater: writing plays, performing special effects, and other areas of it. We know Marcus is charismatic. People believe him. We also can see he likes magic tricks, as he uses them in his sermons and playing with his son. His whole exorcism act is based on magic tricks and sleight of hand. At every turn, Marcus is the central character, no matter what. Things are happening, but we are focused on him. That's sleight of hand carried out to a larger scale: focus on one thing, and something else is happening just out of your sight. What if everything was already meant to play out that way? What if Marcus wrote the community theater production of a lifetime, complete with the special effects he loved? While it can be argued as something supernatural guiding the path, from the random choosing of the assignment to Nell's prophetic drawings, it can also be argued that it was all written by Marcus himself to be that way.

I don't know. That's just my take on it. Take it or leave it as you will. And that's why I like the movie. It made me use my brain and, dare I say, my imagination.

OKAY, THIS IS WHERE THE SPOILERS END. DON'T SCROLL UP UNLESS YOU'RE LOOKING FOR THE WARNING IN THE SAME BOLD, CAPITAL LETTERS. FROM HERE ON OUT, IT'S SAFE TO READ IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE MOVIE.

A few final thoughts about the movie: the direction by Daniel Stamm was excellent, building tension, making us familiar with the characters, maybe even engaging us in sleight of hand. The acting was great, but the performances by Patrick Fabian as Marcus, Ashley Bell as Nell, and Louis Herthum as Louis really stood out to me. They were believable, realistic characters. You feel and understand Marcus' inner turmoil, smile as Nell giggles, and have pity on Louis and his struggle to deal with family issues. And while the ending is a talking point, there were some parts of it that seemed overwrought, but that's really a small nitpick compared to how the rest of the film held up.

A movie about possession? The power of faith and belief, both good and bad? A preacher and his own inner demons? Perhaps something more? Maybe it's all those things, or another animal entirely.

Depends on what you believe.

House on Haunted Hill (1959) Great Way To Be Snowed In

2011-01-12T17:58:00.007-05:00

A solid eighteen inches of snow fell here during the night. I knew work would be canceled. I knew that after some shoveling, I would be sealed in for the day. There was no doubt in my mind I was going to sit and watch House on Haunted Hill. I was in the mood for something classic, something with Vincent Price, and something I knew I'd love. So as the sun set and I prepared to get back to the grind the next day, I propped up some pillows and kept the lights off.

House on Haunted Hill came along during a time when gimmicks were called "gimmicks," and not "viral advertising." I admit that a lot of today's viral tricks and such can be quite creative: fake websites (Cloverfield), vinyl albums by a fake band (Fringe), and countless others. But back in the 50's, you couldn't just jump on the Internet. Computers were the size of rooms anyway. Legendary producer-director William Castle took what can be classified as a simple locked-room murder mystery, added some supernatural touches, created a classic gimmick for the film, and made it on a shoestring budget. Castle's been called a king of B-movies, but he made quality films full of meat and substance.

It's the story of a wealthy couple, Frederick and Annabelle Loren (Vincent Price and Carol Ohmart), who throw an expensive party for a group of strangers in a reputedly haunted house. Frederick and Annabelle aren't the picture of married bliss, however. They repeatedly trade barbs that seem jaunty and bored on the outside, but mask a true hatred for one another. The strangers come from all walks of life: a handsome test pilot, Lance (Richard Long); a pretty but easily rattled secretary, Nora (Carolyn Craig); a no-nonsense psychiatrist, Dr. Trent (Alan Marshal); a gambling gossip columnist, Ruth (Julie Mitchum); and an alcoholic, fearful man, Watson (Elisha Cook), who once spent a horrible night in the house. They apparently don't know each other, or the Lorens, but there they are, ready to spend eight hours in a deadly house for $10,000 apiece. Why they are there is anybody's guess.

It doesn't take long for the party to kick it up to levels rivaling my college days. We had ghosts and mysterious dripping blood on the ceilings, too.

The movie has one of those plots where to summarize it all would be to include spoilers, whether I want to or not. There are a few twists and turns, a little murder among strangers, some weird occurrences that add to the atmosphere of the movie. It was remade in 1999 with heightened effects and some added backstory - a decent effort, but created a mini-franchise that hasn't cast the best light on the original. Two glaring differences: the remake didn't have the "gimmick" and it didn't have Vincent Price.

The "gimmick" was a skeleton that would sail through the theater at just the right moment in the movie, and when you see it, you'll know about when that happens. To today's jaded audiences, it might be hokey, unless you count yourself as a real film fan, in which case it might be quaint or an honest-to-goodness tribute. It's been over 50 years since the original. The reaction it might have elicited then cannot be duplicated now, despite our love for it. Still, I would love to see it in action.

What can I say about Vincent Price that hasn't already been said by countless others? That voice, that delivery, that presence...he is easily one of my favorite actors of all time, and his name will pop up again and again in future installments of this blog. In this, he is one cool cat, equally friendly and treacherous, voicing concern for one character, then coldly insulting his wife the next. His performance, as well as Elisha Cook's, is worth the price of admission. Everything else is just a bonus.

The snow stopped falling, finally. It's going to be a pain to drive in tomorrow. But, I'm thankful it gave me the chance to get reacquainted with an old friend who used to haunt me on various creature features as a kid.

Plus, the snow keeps the zombies away, but that's neither here nor there.

Roots of Personal Horror: The Sheik, Wrestling's Original Madman

2011-01-08T22:01:00.018-05:00

The year: I'm going to go with 1976. That's the best I can remember. The place: outside Cadillac, Michigan. My brother and I sit glued to the black and white TV, one of three channels. That's right, young'uns. Three channels is ALL we had: the local ABC, CBS, and NBC affiliates. FOX wasn't even a sparkle in an executive's eye back then. My brother and I, we're glued to our favorite weekend entertainment (after the dearly-missed less PC cartoons): Big Time Wrestling.

Big Time Wrestling was a staple not only in the Detroit wrestling scene, but the national one as well. Anyone who was anyone back then came through the Detroit territory, and this is before Vince McMahon turned his little corner of the wrestling territory into the juggernaut it is today. Dick the Bruiser, Abdullah the Butcher, Andre the Giant...they all passed through the Detroit area.

And they all, in their own way, met up with The Sheik.

The Sheik - or Ed Farhat - ran the territory for decades, their heyday coming in the 70's with a wide-ranging TV deal and regular stars that captured the hearts and imaginations of impressionable youth such as my brother and I. The Sheik was a madman who slinked into the ring, often prayed on his sacred rug to the chagrin of his opponent, the proceeded to maul, bite, and carve up his hapless opponent with a sharp foreign object before clamping him in the dreaded Camel Clutch, his signature submission hold (as seen above as he applies it to Terry Funk).

My brother and I were scared out of our wits by this guy. He made ugly faces as he jabbed whatever object he could into the face of his foe. He fish-hooked the guy's mouth. He stuck his fingers in his eye. Our hearts beat wildly with equal parts fear and awe. We'd go into a frustrated frenzy at his actions...how could he get away with it? Fortunately, there was a hero: Bobo Brazil. Bobo was one of the pioneers of diversity in the business, a black man wildly cheered by predominately white audiences. Bobo, the commentators always reminded us, was the only person who could scare off The Sheik. Sure enough, the roar of the studio crowd prefaced an eleventh-hour rescue by Bobo Brazil, who would almost get his hands on The Sheik. Arrgh! So frustrating! Again, the villain gets away. But matches were signed: Bobo would face The Sheik at the legendary Cobo Arena in Detroit, and there would finally be a reckoning. My brother could only imagine, as we lived nearly five hours north in Cadillac, Michigan.

Flash forward to January, 2003. I was still fresh to my new position as wrestling commentator in independent wrestling and was attending my broadcast colleague and dear friend Jim Hall's debut show for his Marquee Wrestling. At the after-party, I received the sad news: Ed Farhat, the fearsome Sheik, had passed away at the age of 76. There was silence followed by hushed tributes from the wrestlers and staff who had either known him personally or, like me, had been affected by the man's work in our younger lives.

In something of a "come around full circle" thing, we flash forward once again, this time to December of 2004. Jim and I were asked to be commentators for a benefit show for Sabu - The Sheik's nephew - organized jointly by Scott D'Amore's Border City Wrestling out of Windsor, Ontario, and BCW's Detroit affiliate Prime Time Wrestling. Now the young kid who sat in front of his old TV, mesmerized and completely afraid of The Sheik in the mid-70's, was a small part of a show that paid tribute and respect to not only Sabu, but The Sheik. This was in Detroit. This was the heart of Sheik country, and a real heart of professional wrestling as history. Getting to say his name as a lasting part of DVD commentary cemented my own personal "horror" history with The Sheik.

Through my travels in that time, I met other connections to The Sheik, such as his son, Ed Farhat Jr., who runs the direct descendant of Big Time Wrestling, the All-World Wrestling League (AWWL). I also met a man I'm still proud to consider a friend, Mark Boone, a longtime musician, current wrestling manager, and lifelong Detroit wrestling historian. If there is anything to be known about wrestling in Detroit, he's the go-to guy. He even contributed to the soundtrack of the film about The Sheik, I Like To Hurt People. There's never a doubt in his voice when he says that The Sheik was the "Daddy of what became known as 'hardcore wrestling.'" The following pictures were taken by Mark himself during the 70's, at the same Cobo Arena that my brother and I longed to go to, and are only a drop in the bucket of his personal collection:

Previous two photos courtesy of Mark Boone

Simply great stuff. Thanks, Mark!

The Sheik was the monster under my bed. His was the name my brother and I evoked to scare each other. Back in a time when I was too scared to watch anything close to horror, a bloodthirsty, foreign-object-wielding, biting, scratching madman was enough monster for both of us.

And we wouldn't have it any other way.

(Like scary wrestlers? Then check out this post by my friend B-Sol of The Vault of Horror - trust me, this man also knows his wrestling. After you check out that post, check out more of his posts - you won't be sorry.)

A Look Back At 2010 - In The Helicopter Bay Special Edition

2010-12-31T11:50:00.006-05:00

"Special edition" - yeah, don't make a huge deal out of that. This is just going to be me reflecting back on the year here at The WGON Helicopter.

The first thing I want to do is thank everyone for reading. I check the stats of the blog every so often, and it's nice to know I've got people checking out my brain-flares now and then, and from all over the world. Welcome to the blog if you're new, thanks for staying if you're not.

I also wanted to thank members of the horror blogging community who have been supportive and just plain awesome people to read and with whom to share ideas. I'm going to add more blogs over there to the right in my blogroll because seriously, there are so many to recommend if you haven't checked them out. Maybe a new future feature for the Helicopter would be to pick one blog and give a big ol' thumbs-up to them every now and again. Hm...

Looking back, I see Sleepaway Camp was the film I began the year with, and I watched it before and after midnight on January 1, 2010, hence the "clever" title I gave that article. Sleepaway Camp was definitely big fun, but what would be my list for the top five movies I watched in 2010? I saw a lot of really good movies, a couple not-so-good, and a few in between. Now watch: I'll make a top five list, publish it, then remember I liked another movie that I should've included and facepalm myself. Ah, well. I'll make it a top SEVEN then. So there. Let's take a look:

My 7 Favorite Movies I Wrote About In 2010 That I Hadn't Seen Before (in no particular order):

The Monster Squad - I finally had a chance to see this movie from start to finish after watching it piecemeal over the course of 20 years. It's a true cult classic with snappy characters, menacing monsters, lines of dialogue that are quoted to this day, and the awesome Tom Noonan as Frankenstein's Monster. Movies that stir a reaction in me are ones I like to write about, and The Monster Squad evoked pure joy.

Triangle - The most-read article on the blog, this turn-your-mind-into-tapioca movie still has elements that haunt me to this day. The "what-if's" and the "what we don't sees" are effectively used as weapons to assault our tender brainpans in this intelligent, loopy thriller.

I Sell The Dead - I expected it to be fun, but not as much fun as I had watching this little gem. Full of lively, kinetic energy, this film features a fresh new take on the grave robber genre, a popular subsection of horror many years back. The movie crackles with motion and dialogue, but most especially wild ideas.

[REC]2 - In my opinion, the [REC] series is currently the most terrifying horror movie series going. It takes the first-person perspective (or gimmick, as some might say) and does it right, creating a frantic, horrifying atmosphere. I like where the series is going, and I hope the next in the sequence will top the first two in terms of sheer horror. It's a high bar that's been set.

Ink - Although not technically a horror movie, this independent beauty held me tight to the screen. I couldn't look away, the creativity and the emotional beats still resonate to me right now as I think of it. An example of what kind of film can be made without studio restrictions and, well, fear, Ink brings the use of the fable back to life.

Lake Mungo - I know I said "no particular order," but Lake Mungo is the number one on this list. Not since I was a child have I needed to turn on the lights during a movie. This one did that to me, and I love it for that. You don't need garish special effects, big-name or "pretty" stars direct from The CW, or a sly fourth-wall "wink" to the audience to make an effective, emotional horror movie. Like a passionate wrestling fan once said regarding his emotional fandom, "It's still real to me, dammit!"

(Honorable mentions: Inside, Inferno, The Children, The Crazies remake, and Sleepaway Camp)

2010 was also the year I started attending the Chiller Theatre Expo in Parsippany, New Jersey. Lost in throngs of fellow horror fans, it's a bit overwhelming. But I did get to meet David Crawford of Dawn of the Dead as well as the great Zacherley, once the host of the original Chiller Theater TV show. I plan on being there again in April (when it's far less crowded), ready to get some nice pictures and memorabilia.

This past year, my comic book and zombie thrills were made "flesh" when The Walking Dead finally hit the small screen, thanks to AMC. I've been reading the book for years (just got Volume 12 for Christmas) and to see Rick Grimes and all the great characters of Robert Kirkman's comic series come to life was truly something to see.

In 2010, I was also honored to join some fellow horror bloggers over at Cinema-Geek, writing about films out of the horror genre. Finally, I get to write an article about Woody Allen's Radio Days or Christopher Guest's A Mighty Wind (two I have planned for the coming year).

Oh, yeah, and The WGON Helicopter turned one year old in March (how fitting) of 2010!

I look ahead to 2011 and think about what I can do with the blog. I'm going to write more articles about non-film horror vehicles, such as books and games, plus I'll continue to write about things from my past that contributed to my love of the genre. Hey, I'll even do more lists.

That's it for now, my friends. 2010 ends - as of this writing - in about 10 1/2 hours. I wish a fantastic 2011 for all of you - stay safe, don't stray too far from the shelter, and keep limber.

But really, have a HAPPY New Year and I hope your festivities are wild and/or memorable for all the right reasons.

See you next year!

Mother Of Tears (2007) I Want A Monkey Helper

2010-12-05T18:12:00.022-05:00

I was really rooting for this movie. Honestly, I really was. Mother of Tears has a tremendous pedgiree: it's the final chapter in a trilogy that put director Dario Argento in the pantheon of legendary directors. It should been the climax of the trilogy that started with 1977's Suspiria and continued with 1980's Inferno. But it seemed like a modern shadow, a ghost dressed up in sparkly 21st century clothes. The previous two had something about them; an atmosphere or a "feeling." Mother of Tears left me feeling like I'd seen a pretty good modern movie about a powerful, evil witch, but didn't leave me feeling like I'd experienced it.

Sarah Mandy (Asia Argento) aids in the investigation of a strange box dug up in a graveyard in a small Italian villa. The box contains several items connected to a powerful witch known as Mater Lachrymarum or Mother of Tears. She is reputed to be the last survivor of a trio of witches called The Three Mothers. In Suspiria, we met Mater Suspiriorum and in Inferno, we met Mater Tenebrarum. If you've seen those movies, you know how those two panned out. Mater Lachrymarum, however, is the most powerful of the three. When the box is opened, demons and the Mother of Tears herself descend on the poor woman helping Sarah, and she dies a rather grotesque death. Sarah escapes the demons, the Mother, and the most adorable evil monkey ever thanks to the disembodied voice of what she later finds out is her own mother, a white witch of considerable power.

Much like the other films, from here on out, disaster follows Sarah wherever she goes. The son of her boyfriend is kidnapped and well...let's just say he doesn't make it. Rome falls into a state of chaos, with people randomly committing acts of mayhem and murder. Sarah is pursued by the police, who think she murdered her poor friend at the museum. Sarah's boyfriend - the one with the missing son - runs afoul of some of the young witches gathering in Rome to celebrate Mater Lachrymarum's rise.

Sarah takes a train to meet with an experienced exorcist (Udo Kier), but that trip is fraught with craziness. Several arriving witches and the police chase down Sarah, who is told by her mother's disembodied voice that she has the ability to turn invisible. Pulling a Harry Potter, Sarah escapes the police, but ends up brutally smashing a witches head in a bathroom door.

The priest tries to help, but the infection of insanity has spread to his door. His assistant goes on a mini-killing spree, taking out her own son and the priest before offing herself. Sarah and Marta, a visiting psychic who provides a lot of answers about Sarah's past, escape the compound, but just barely. Marta invites Sarah to stick around, but pretty soon the cute little monkey familiar shows up with magical wacko. Sarah runs outside and tries to call Marta and her lover, but they are dispatched with horrible gusto.

Sarah runs into her lover, Michael, but he's too far gone, having been killed and reanimated for the Mother's purposes. Sarah gets away, thanks to the Jedi apparition of her helpful mom. Sarah then seeks out the help of a powerful alchemist, who gives her a copy of the book, The Three Mothers. If you recall in Inferno, that book is trouble. But it does help Sarah uncover some of the clues as to where the Mother of Tears is hiding out: an old mansion in Rome designed for her by the alchemical architect Verelli, the man who designed the dance school in Suspiria and the apartment building in Inferno.

Sarah heads deep into the catacombs below the mansion - a running theme through the three movies, that the protagonists must face the evil in subterranean surroundings. With the help of the policeman in charge of her pursuit, Sarah confronts the Mother of Tears in a short battle that ends much like the first two movies. You could say it's a tried and true ending, but in keeping with the symbolism of the number 3, this Mater is taken out in a very similar way with very similar surroundings.

There were some good things about the movie, I can say. Asia Argento is easy on the eyes, so I'll get that out of the way first. Delving deeper, the connection to the previous two movies is made quite clear in such a way that you don't have to have seen the first movies (you should anyway) to get what's happening in this one. The heroine of Suspiria is mentioned by name, and the buildings where the first two witches lived are illustrated in The Three Mothers as a bit of nostalgia. A reason is also given for Mater Suspiriorum's relatively easy defeat as well, and her role in Sarah's life brings it full circle.

But what's missing are the things that made the first two movies so special to me. The color palette I loved so much isn't there. It looks good, but it doesn't have that emphasis on moody color - the stark and rich reds and blues - the first two movies have. And where's that crushing atmosphere? The one where, even in open spaces, there's a feeling of being trapped or crushed or boxed in. The heavy atmosphere that no matter what the hero did, you really weren't quite sure if they'd make it because hey, the evil they're facing is just so freakin' strong.

There weren't any cats in this movie - a good thing for cat lovers, given their role in this trilogy - but monkey fans will find their hearts stolen by this little guy:

You take a size 4 or 5, lady?

I really wanted to love this movie, but it gets a lukewarm "OK" from me. That's my opinion. Compared to a lot of modern attempts at artsy horror, it did hold up fairly well. In most circumstances, it's unfair to hold a film up to its predecessors, but the way I see it is that it's part of a high-profile trilogy by a hugely renowned director.

Nobody's perfect, though. And I still love Argento's work.

Until next time, fellow survivors, remember that a monkey helper is nice, but they might betray you to a powerful witch, so keep that in mind.

In The Helicopter Bay 12-3-10

2010-12-02T14:58:00.016-05:00

Just a real quick set of tidbits for the day:

-- I mentioned it at the end of my look at the film Ink (which I still love), but I wanted to bring it up again. Recently, I was honored to accept an invitation from Nate Yapp to write for a blog called Cinema-Geek, a collection of articles by horror bloggers...about non-horror movies. I'm in great company there, along with Nate: B-Sol of The Vault of Horror, Andre of The Horror Digest, Pax of Billy Loves Stu, and Ryne of The Moon Is A Dead World. Take a peek, and check out their individual blogs as well.

-- I was checking out the stats of my blog recently just for kicks and found some interesting nuggets o' trivia:

* The most popular blog entry is the one I wrote about Triangle: 2,707 views - almost 1,000 more than the one I wrote about Trilogy of Terror.

* Most of the traffic comes from Google, but some viewers have kindly jumped over after reading the fine blogs at The Horror Digest and Kindertrauma.

* Some interesting search terms led to my blog, including "divided by zero," "chiller theatre," "herb tarlek," and "corbin bernsen."

* Over 10,000 hits have come from the good ol' US of A. The United Kingdom had around 1,600, with Canada (1,150) not far behind. Sweden checked in with around 250 - I lived in that country for a year as an exchange student. I get some visitors from Greece, The Netherlands, Israel, and the Czech Republic. Welcome, everyone!

-- Take a gander at this indie vampire film with a twist, passed along to me by producer Matt Compton, called Midnight Son. Matt's one of the producers, along with writer/director Scott Leberecht, and executive producer Eduardo Sanchez (The Blair Witch Project). The cast includes Zak Kilberg, Maya Parish, Jo D. Jonz, Arlen Escarpeta, Larry Cedar, and Tracey Walter.

According to Matt, Midnight Son "is the story of Jacob, a young man confined to a life of isolation, due to a rare skin disorder that prevents him from being exposed to sunlight. His world opens up when he meets Mary, a local bartender, and falls in love. Tragically, Jacob’s actions become increasingly bizarre as he struggles to cope with the effects of his worsening condition. Forced by the disease to drink human blood for sustenance, he must control his increasingly violent tendencies as local law enforcement narrow their focus on him as a suspect in a series of grisly murders."

Here's a link to the trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LS2nLbEoMy8 and one for the website: http://www.midnightsonmovie.com/

Check it out - it looks very interesting!

Inferno (1980) Don't Touch That Book

2010-11-21T21:36:00.022-05:00

Watching a good Dario Argento horror movie is like a big colorful funhouse. Some of the images thrown at you are ridiculous and scary at the same time in a way that is entirely unique and never boring. A lot of people hold Argento in high regard, and it's no surprise he's one of the fathers of modern suspense and horror - well, the good parts of it, anyway.

Starting with 1977's Suspiria, Argento set out to tell the story of The Three Mothers, three immensely powerful witches hidden throughout the world, manipulating reality. He would begin with the aforementioned Suspiria and finish it with 2007's Mother of Tears. Bridging the gap would be 1980's Inferno. Where Suspiria introduced the Mother of Sighs, Inferno brought us the Mother of Darkness and despite all the darkness in the film - nearly the entire film takes place at night - there are rich palettes of color throughout, something I always find to be a treat in Argento's films.

Photobomb!

The story finds an old book, The Three Mothers, falling into the hands of Rose, who thinks she may be living in one of the witches' houses as described in the book by an architect named Varelli. Rose sends a letter about it to her brother, Mark, then descends into the basement to investigate. She finds a hidden underwater room containing a portrait titled "Mater Tenebrarum" (Mother of Darkness) and is startled by the surprise howdy-do by a rotting corpse. She escapes, but already, the eyes of evil are upon her - somebody's watching the girl. In Rome, Mark reads the letter from his sister, then is distracted by a smokin' fellow student holding a cat and practicing a silent charm like Snape in the first Harry Potter movie:

Hubba-hubba. Wait...did you just curse me?

The woman - who is quite possibly the third Mother, the Mother of Tears - disappears and Mark wanders off to search for her, leaving the letter behind. Inquisitive friend Sara reads the letter and stops off at a local library to further her research of The Three Mothers. She gets lost in the bizarre basement of the library before escaping back to her apartment, where she asks a fellow tenant to stick around and keep her company. He's thinking, "Sweet. Score!" until right about the time he gets a knife through his neck. Sara doesn't get too far before she's murdered as well.

Mark starts putting pieces together and attempts to get a hold of his sister, but neither he nor Rose can hear each other on the phone. Rose is then pursued by some mysterious figures and gets repeated shots of a glass panel against the throat for her troubles. Seriously, that book...just steer clear of it.

Mark arrives and finds that Rose has disappeared. In the meantime, he meets several of Rose's neighbors, including elderly Professor Arnold and his nurse, the Countess Elise, and the book store owner who sold Rose the book in the first place, the detestable Kazanian (the guy likes to drown cats, so yeah, detestable). Mark gets all fainty when he finds some blood spots and is set upon by a shrouded figure, which turns its attention to Elise, who is watching from a window. Elise runs, but is attacked by SUDDEN CATS* before she's stabbed.

The nurse and the building's caretaker take care of Mark until he decides he's with-it enough to ask Kazanian some questions. The book proprietor remains tight-lipped about Rose and Mark gets nothing. Later that night, during one of his gleeful cat-drowning sessions, Kazanian is attacked by rats and a possessed hot dog vendor in the park. At this point, I began to wonder if the evil was truly evil for offing the sadistic Kazanian.

People continue to drop like flies as a butler is terminated, and the caretaker inadvertently causes a fire and falls to her death. Mark, much like Suzy in Suspiria, explores deep into the bowels of the building where he uncovers some shocking truths about the building and about the tenants he meets. I won't spoil it here, but it's safe to say he meets Mater Tenebrarum.

Like many of Argento's movies, Inferno is beautifully shot and framed with meticulous care. Angles and colors play important parts; the way the blues and the reds stand out, as well as how a hallway or a sidewalk scene is shot. I don't know if I'm the only one who feels this way, but I'm going to take a stab - no pun intended - in the dark here. Inferno has a "claustrophobia in open spaces" feeling to me. I don't really mean "agoraphobic," I mean it manages to create a weight even in scenes shot in large rooms or outside. This bizarre world crushes down on Mark, and in turn, us. There's no escape for anyone who's even remotely associated with The Three Mothers. I don't know...I just got that sense of every angle of every area as unforgiving or heavy. I liked it. Just goes hand-in-hand with how Argento conducts a movie.

So that's two of the three "Three Mothers" movies down, one to go in Mother of Tears. We'll get to that crazy bridge when we get to it. Until then, survivors, if you see that accursed book in your local antique book store, run like the wind, I tell you. Run. Wind.

-----------

*It's actually a sudden swarm of angry cats, but SUDDEN CATS is more fun to say.

A Nightmare On Elm Street (2010) Rorschach Gets Stabby

2010-11-19T22:10:00.020-05:00

Ah, yes. Remakes.

It seems to be all the craze right now. Like the hula hoops and the Steve Urkel lunchboxes the kids are into these days, remakes of horror films - just about any film, really - seem to be all the rage. And sometimes, rage is the emotion they evoke. Once in a while, you get a remake that's done right, say, like the remake of Dawn Of The Dead. Respects the original without ripping it off or mocking it. Others, like the upcoming remake of the slug-in-the-gut, purely visceral Martyrs, bring about question marks. Does every foreign horror film have to be remade? And does every horror film have to be remade into a vehicle for pretty, savvy teens to audition for the CW Network? Oh, well. We'll always have Paris. And by Paris, I mean the originals.

I remember 1984. I was 17, just back from a year in Sweden as an exchange student. Still feeling my wild teenage oats. You know, hula hoops and Urkel lunchboxes and all. I went to see this new movie, A Nightmare On Elm Street, after hearing about it from my friends. I wasn't sure what to expect, but thanks to one Wes Craven, I practically peed myself from fright. I'd never seen anything like it, which is a common theme with Craven's films. Freddy Krueger was unlike any horror killer before him: he fed on fear and belief, and murdered in the dreamscapes of others (or brought them into his own reality to kill, either way...). The role cemented Robert Englund as a legend in horror films, spawning several sequels and a TV show along the way.

Along comes 2010, and as I mentioned before, remakes and reboots are "en vogue" right about now. There was a collective groan from the horror community when just on the heels of the divisive Halloween remakes, a remake of A Nightmare On Elm Street was in full swing. My fears were softened a bit with the casting of Jackie Earle Haley, fresh off of his so-much-like-the-book portrayal of the superhero Rorschach in Watchmen. I grew up on Haley's work in The Bad News Bears and Breaking Away, and was overjoyed to see him make a comeback - albeit in a creepy role in Little Children - so knowing he was Freddy Krueger made some of it easier to take. Unfortunately - and not unexpectedly - the movie employed the same formula as most "savvy modern teens in horror" remakes and it didn't stand out. It just became another movie.

As viewers, we don't have to wait long for the action to start in the movie. Dean, looking worse for wear, talks to Kris about his nightmares seeming too real and that he hasn't slept in three days. He nods off and meets Freddy Krueger, struggling with him in a dream world before dying there and in the real world, in front of Kris and Nancy, a waitress at the diner where this all happens. At Dean's funeral, Kris sees a picture of herself with Dean as kids, but doesn't recall ever knowing him until high school. Pretty soon, Kris is dreaming of Freddy and allows ex-boyfriend Jesse to keep her company while her mom is away. In a death very much like Amanda Wyss' Tina in the original, Kris is tossed around by an unseen force before being slashed open in front of Jesse. Jesse runs to Nancy's house to plead his case before being captured by the police. It isn't long before Jesse falls victim to Freddy while in his jail cell. It comes down to Nancy and Jesse's friend Quentin - who has a crush on Nancy - to uncover the mystery of this burned man and why there seems to be a connection between them and other strange deaths of kids their age.

I don't always want to come across like I instantly don't like remakes. Like I've said, some remakes work. The Seven Samurai remade as The Magnificent Seven works. The Thing From Another World redone as The Thing, and the aforementioned Dawn Of The Dead retelling are really quite good. This remake, honestly, did nothing for me.

That's not to say that it was all bad. It wasn't. I liked Haley as Freddy, and I did like the little touch of enhancing his voice whenever he spoke. Gave him an "omniscient" tone, much like Tony Todd in Candyman. In this movie, there is no doubt as to what he was before he was attacked by an angry mob of parents, and that lends some disturbing atmosphere to the character. The "body bag" moment, much like the original, lent some creepiness to the scene. I also liked Rooney Mara's performance as Nancy. She was portrayed with more social awkwardness and less "girl on the edge of being popular" than Heather Langenkamp's original role. She came off smart and haunted, which was a nice touch.

Otherwise, the movie didn't stand out. It wasn't - pardon the pun - a cut above anything else Hollywood wants to churn out. It didn't have a fresh energy or a unique fingerprint. It was an imitation. Some plot holes really, really stood out, though. Memory repression? Every single kid had it? Not a single one could even suspect something had happened in their youth? No explanation, just...repressed memories. I had trouble with that one. And the story didn't pop. This happens...then this happens...then this happens. Despite some neat moments, it just didn't resonate.

As I said before, we'll always have Paris in the original 1984 Wes Craven classic. And we'll always have Memphis wrestling, which made Freddy Krueger into an in-ring character:

Until next time, fellow survivors, watch your back when you fall asleep.

Ink (2009) Creativity Isn't Dead

2010-11-07T14:25:00.014-05:00

Several months ago, my friend and fellow horror blogger Andre from The Horror Digest recommended a slew of movies to me. From the visceral Martyrs to the emotional suspense of I'm Not Scared, she batted 1.000 with them. 2009's Ink was among those recommended, but it got shuffled around on my Netflix queue to the point where I was surprised to see it turn up in my mailbox. I've got to manage that list a little more closely.

Because I should've watched this sooner.

Ink, written and directed by Jamin Winans, is a study in how to weave a powerful tale - a fable in this case - without the benefit of an enormous budget. It wrote its own rules. It was not afraid of its own imagination. And yes, although there are jump cuts, rapid-fire visual tricks, and echoes of The Matrix (among some other distant relatives), it's what was at the heart of the film that moved me. That's it. This film had serious heart.

I can't really provide a detailed synopsis for Ink. To do so would be to spoil certain story elements that you really need to experience for yourself. I can tell you this much: after a tender prelude that actually begins with a jarring car accident, we meet little Emma who is watched over - like everyone - by The Storytellers, people who live on an astral plane and who provide the good dreams people have. Their opposites, the creepy Incubi, cast shadows that bring the nightmares. A misshapen, monstrous man covered in chains and cloaks - who we find later is the titular character, Ink - arrives and kidnaps Emma's astral form from her bedroom. Despite the warrior efforts of Allel, Gabe, and Sarah - the Storytellers assigned to Emma - Ink makes off with the girl in an attempt to bring her to the leader of the Incubi. Ink wants to become one of them, and must help sacrifice the girl, but a small drum he uses to open "doors" to other places is broken, and he must take the long road with Emma and soon another Storyteller, the legendary Liev. Meanwhile, Allel, Gabe, Sarah, and the somewhat-insane blind Pathfinder named Jacob must formulate a plan to reunite Emma with her emotionally distant (and for what he believes is a good reason), somewhat douche-y father, John, the man from the short prologue.

With all of these strings in motion, the film heads toward a conclusion full of action and revelations, punctuated by a lesson. The journey is beautiful. Music swells and weaves during the thoughtful and the action-packed scenes. Visually, shots are set up to frame not just the disorientation of the adventure, but the characters and their outward emotions. Settings and even the effects just look different. Plus, what you find out at the end of the journey is worth every second it took to get there. I like stories that step outside of linear narrative to push and pull reality like taffy. More subtle than most, Ink brings it all home with a climax that's emotional and exciting, packing two punches instead of one. There's that lesson, and it rings true for all of us: what is important in your life and is your anger or guilt sending you on a downward spiral? What can you do to - as Jacob says - "stop the flow"?

Ink is not really horror, although the Incubi are creepy beyond creepy, but I honestly wanted to include this on my blog and spread the word of a low-budget independent film that was a labor of love and I'm sure not easy to distribute. But once it was out there, peer-to-peer sharing (normally illegal, but encouraged by the filmmakers) and word-of-mouth hurtled this little film that could to cult status. I've seen it classified as science fiction, but that genre doesn't fit it either. Fantasy works, and I like the description of "dark fable."

And, oh, the details. Little things I noticed here and there. Among other things, when you see this movie, look for these:

* How the Storytellers appear in our world, like flashes of fireflies or cameras. Sweet little detail.

* How the real world "repairs" itself during a fight scene between Ink and The Storytellers. I love how there's NO evidence that there are forces battling for Emma because the physical world "rights" itself when the astral world makes an impact.

* The straight creepy visual of the Incubi: screens in front of their faces that magnify and distort their expressions, coupled with visual "interference." They rarely speak, but do in hushed tones like a team of conceptual Iagos (woo! Othello reference!).

* Jacob's demonstration of how he listens to the rhythm of the world, and how he can influence it to set in motion something that is designed - no matter how brutal - to help reunite John with his comatose daughter. The music and the cause-and-effect "dance" make for a beautiful scene.

* A single tear running down a certain character's face towards the end, along with the revelation of what has been happening. It's sudden, and it makes sense.

Ink moved me, pure and simple. Many movies claim to be "feel-good" movies, but this one really earned that stripe. It may not be scary, and it may not be disturbing, and it may not be shocking, but once in a while, it's nice to come away from a movie feeling like you really want to smile. And then dream some more.

Watch it. Enjoy. I hope you get the same out of it as I did. Take a peek at the well-done trailer for a glimpse:

Oh! And a quick, unrelated note: I was graciously invited by Nate Yapp of Classic-Horror.com and my good buddy B-sol of The Vault of Horror to contribute to the movie blog, Cinema Geek. I was honored and quickly accepted, so head over there to see articles by yours truly, as well as some of the other great writers from the horror blog community, about movies other than horror.

Until next time, my fellow survivors, sweet dreams...don't let the Incubi give you nightmares.

The Walking Dead Premiere - Some Things Are Worth The Wait

2010-11-01T17:24:00.014-04:00

"Anticipation...it's makin' me wait!" - Old Heinz ketchup commercial

I've been disappointed by hype before, or at best, just a little let down. Way in the back of my mind, I feared the same would happen with AMC's new original series, The Walking Dead. It finally - after months of waiting - premiered appropriately on October 31 to the well-oiled hype machine that is AMC. That station, I tell you, is riding a serious wave of successful original series like Mad Men and Breaking Bad. They, like HBO, seem to set the bar very high in terms of quality, so I knew the series was in good hands. But that nagging fear remained in the back of my head: "What if it's just so-so...or worse, what if it sucks?"

I'm happy to say that not only did the premiere live up to my expectations, it exceeded them.

Now, I may or may not review each episode. I haven't decided yet. More likely, I'll bookend the season with reviews starting with this one. Needless to say, if was borrowing a page from Roger Ebert's book, I'd be giving this a huge thumbs-up.

I love infection horror, and that's evident in my blog. Hell, I prefaced watching this premiere with my annual Halloween viewing of 1978's Dawn of the Dead. More than that, I'm a huge fan of the comic book from Image Comics, created and written by Robert Kirkman, who also co-produced the series (Kirkman also writes a superhero series called Invincible that I hope makes it to the screen as well). Knowing he had a huge say in what went down, and knowing director/screenwriter extraordinaire Frank Darabont was in charge, put me more and more at ease.

Many of you have already seen it, and I'm not going to spoil things for the rest of you. Basically, the plot follows the book for the most part: Deputy Rick Grimes wakes up after a gunshot puts him in a coma to find that the world has really changed. There aren't any living people that he sees right away, but there are plenty of dead bodies...and some of them move. Rick leaves the hospital and returns home to find his wife and son gone. He meets Morgan and Duane, a father and son living in a house once occupied by Rick's neighbors, and they get him up to speed about the disease that has reanimated the dead. In a brilliant but tragic addition to the mythos, Morgan and Duane agonize over the sight of Morgan's wife, Duane's mother, returning day after day as a zombie. Rick intends to move on to Atlanta to find his family, hoping Morgan and Duane will join him later. He finds a horse and rides into the city, but finds nothing but hungry ex-people. Trapped in a tank, Rick hears someone calling him "dumbass" on the radio (if you read the book, you know who it is) as the episode comes to a close.

I skimmed over quite a bit of it, but really, if you're able to watch it, you need to see and hear the experience. The flies buzzing? Nice touch. There are scenes that are perfectly silent, and the confusion and disorientation is enough to drive you crazy because you have no music cues to warn you, or tell you how to feel. The disease spares no one. Yes, a little girl zombie falls in the first few minutes. I know the "politically correct" will be up in arms: "what kind of image is that to show our precious children?" Please. It's horror. What would you do, give it Twizzlers and positively reinforce it not to bite you? Same with the horse. That's in the comic as well. It's hard to see, but it portrays how a zombified world would be. The living dead don't care about cuteness. They're just hungry forces of nature. Another gory, but great, touch was the completely masticated woman lying in the hospital hallway. Darabont told so much story in Rick's post-awakening scene with hardly a word. The half-woman bicycle zombie is straight from the book, but Darabont adds so much pathos and emotion to each scene, it's like an enhanced version of an already-great work. I really hope the rest of the season holds up to this fantastic premiere.

I can't enough good things about it. I've seen overwhelmingly positive reviews, and mine stands as my own. I'm sure there are some who didn't like it, but that's life. Or undead life. So many puns, so little time.

Until later, my friends, try to be awake when the zombie apocalypse comes. And be sure to catch The Walking Dead on AMC, Sundays at 10 p.m.

Happy Halloween 2010 From The WGON Helicopter

2010-10-31T14:12:00.009-04:00

Ah, October 31st, one of the most beloved times of the year for those of us who cherish a little spookiness in our daily mix. I have loved Halloween since I can remember, whether I'm completely dressed up and out at a party or just enjoying a nice autumn evening at home with my favorite horror movies. It's the pleasant crossroads of summer and fall, the weather easing into crisp air and brilliant, golden sun spreading across the vibrant colors of the season.

Yeah, I have always loved this time of year. In fact, please allow me to share some past Halloweens with you here through the magic of photos and interpretive dance, the latter you won't actually see:

My brother and I - circa 1974 - in our homemade Captain Marvel and Superman costumes. We rocked to Casper then.

We were the law. My college roommate Dan and I - as Sonny Crockett of Miami Vice - in 1987.

"Push the button, Frank." Your pilot as Dr. Clayton Forrester of Mystery Science Theater 3000. Slapped together pretty quick in 1992.

Ah, yes, youth.

I hope all of you readers and fellow horror bloggers have an insanely spooky, safe, and wild Halloween, full of laughter, sugar, and festivity. And now I shall sit down well before the LONG-anticipated series premiere of The Walking Dead on AMC and watch my traditional viewing of my favorite horror film of all time, 1978's Dawn of the Dead:

Happy Halloween, everyone!