NVR - Horror movie a day
Here's the skinny:
Every year, I try and watch a horror movie a day in October. I never make it the whole way through. I try and document the process though, and post thoughts on each film. So if no one minds, I'd like to post my thoughts here. Cool?
The rules: The "horror movie" must be 45+ minutes in length. Multiple television episodes can count as long as the entire disc is watched. Related genres can count (i.e. exploitation, thrillers, etc.) but they must contain either copious gore, ultra-violence some supernatural elemnet, or any combination of the above. If a movie is watched past midnight, it can still count, as long as it's before bed time.
The kick off was September 30th, so here we go!
Movie #1 - 'Frankenstein' (1931)
What can I say about this movie that hasn't all ready been said? It sets the standard for all horror movies since. A touch of blasphemy, a touch of reality and plenty of genuine human emotions. Just watching the first 15-minutes gives you all the aesthetic trappings of stereotypical horror. Gloomy grave yards, Gothic mansions (the interior of some of these are actually mat paintings - nice!) and plenty of mad sciency stuff.
I guess I'll talk about the two iconic scenes in this movie, since there are literally volumes out there about this movie.
The "It's Alive!" scene... What makes this work and so memorable, is the emotional swing that takes place. It starts with trepidation as Henry is greeted by 3 unwanted guests. The guests are also apprehensive as they find Henry's goals not just mad - but impossible. Upon the voicing of this last doubt, the scene swings. Henry becomes determined, committed and finally ecstatic as he proves them wrong... the overcome by horror and doubt at what he has done. Yes, the clip of "It's Alive!" is great, but the entire scene and sequence has a surprising modern resonance when viewed in full. Still we debate today about where the line is of what science can and should do.
The "Little Girl" scene. It's just a heartbreaker. The didn't know any better tragedy. The kind that scare us all. Especially from a parenting perspective. We bring children into the world, and some unthinking well meaning oaf can harm them... or worse. Scarier still, we may be that unthinking, unknowing oaf. I speak not just of physical, but emotional harm. Every parent has the fear that there will be "one thing" that screws their kid up... and they pray it's not them. But the wonderful portrayal of The Monster by Boris Karloff brings an amazing amount of humanity to this scene.
If you've never watched this classic, remedy that fact, ASAP.
Movie for 10/1/07 - "Jesse James Meets Frankenstein's Daughter" (1966)
P.S. - My wife is joining in this year. If any one wants her thoughts, let me know and I'll arrange to post her comments.
Thanks for the indulgence, folks!
- If anyone has seen any of the mentioned flicks, please chime in. I lovelovelove seeing opinions on horror flicks. :)
The American werewolf in London psyched me out
If you've never watched this classic, remedy that fact, ASAP.
noted! I've never seen it and shall remedy that ASAP.
check out this one. It's next on my netflix, I haven't seen it so I'm not in the position to recommend it but it looks like it might be a "good" one:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0466766/
If you've never watched this classic, remedy that fact, ASAP.
noted! I've never seen it and shall remedy that ASAP.
check out this one. It's next on my netflix, I haven't seen it so I'm not in the position to recommend it but it looks like it might be a "good" one:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0466766/
Oooo... I've debated adding that one to my queue a few times. The reviews are univesally awful. But then again, that's half the fun sometimes, isn't it?
startaurus, YES! Gawd what great flick.
Movie #2 - "Jesse James Meets Frankenstein's Daughter"
If I told you I knew a movie that was not just a horror movie, but a western horror movie, you might be intrigued. Well, once I clarified that I did indeed mean Cowboys & Horses Western not just from the Western Hemisphere, that is.
And if I also mentioned that the movie featured elements of science fiction and alternate history... well, your curiosity just might be piqued. YOur inner beard-o may even be stroking his chin furiously. You may even want me to recommend this movie to you.
Except I wouldn't.
Because you'd then spend the next week and a half pummeling my junk because I let "Jesse James Meets Frankenstein's Daughter" into your life. Yeah, it's bad. Bad in all the wrong ways.
The set up is ridiculous. Frankenstein's (grand) daughter Maria and her brother Rudolph (who can't quite pin down what accent he wants) drop a Gothic castle - whoops, sorry - converted monastery by a small pueblo town and start experimenting on the peasants. Who flee.
Jesse James (who didn't really die, you see) and his buddy Hank, a uber-strong man-child, decide to take part in a stage coach robbery. It goes wrong, and with the help of a peasant girl Juanita ("Juan. Eee. Ta."), they find themselves at Frankenstein's castle - damn! - I mean, monastery and thing go from bad to worse.
To give away more plot would not only destroy any shred of suspense that existed to begin with, but it would probably make you cry. From the bored.
I'm not sure which aspect of the movie is worse. The fact that it's a blatant attempt to cash in on an audience ("Hey! You know what kids like? Westerns! And Monsters! What are two recognizable untrademarked names?"), the fact that everyone is taking themselves so seriously in the most ridiculous of situations (Maria wearing The Yipes Stripes Fruit Stripes Science HelmetTM and convulsing while pushing buttons... What?) or the fact that this film is indeed the precursor to the modern day Internet scourge know as... Fan Fiction.
Yes, Fan Fiction. The odious stink of self insertion - a hallmark of fanfic - is all over this movie in the form of Mr. Jesse James. You see, everybody knows Jesse. Everybody talks about Jesse. The women - all of them - love Jesse. The men are in awe and fear of Jesse. Even musclebound lunkheads love Jesse. JEsse's misunderstood... Jesse's the fastest and smartest... you get the picture.
The story itself fails on many levels, the acting fails, the directing fails... this movie just fails. Sure, the last 20 minutes have a certain charm, but why did they drag out all the exposition before that? When you have a title like "Jesse James Meets Frankenstein's Daughter" no one is expecting a serious, gritty motion picture. This film could have used some self-awareness or at least some intentional humor. Nope, nuttin'.
While not the worst movie ever, it certainly not one I'd recommend.
Move for 10/2/07 - Sex & Fury (1973) assuming it arrives in the mail today.
Alternate movie "Oasis Of The Zombies" (1981)
Do you have your month of movies already planned out, or are you open to suggestion? Also, will you rewatch and review a movie that you have already seen?
Love the horrors!
Do you have your month of movies already planned out, or are you open to suggestion? Also, will you rewatch and review a movie that you have already seen?
Love the horrors!
Our month isn't entirely planned out, and we're open to suggestions. I'm considering both startaurus's and IM HUNGRY's suggestions. It's all a matter of getting it ready on Netflix and making the time.
We have a small reserve of short movies incase we're in a pinch, some we've seen (Nosferatu, House Of Dracula, etc.) and some we haven't (Shock (with Vincent Price), Bucket Of Blood). Aside from that, I think a Sponge Bob Halloween DVD is our only lock.And we're all for rewatching movies. So suggest away!
See the original Wicker Man. It's totally bizarre and awesome. It's a horror movie musical. If you get the uncut dvd, you'll see the town leader sing a delightful song about sex.
See the original Wicker Man. It's totally bizarre and awesome. It's a horror movie musical. If you get the uncut dvd, you'll see the town leader sing a delightful song about sex.
I LOVE this movie. So much so that I almost screamed aloud with joy when I heard the Sneaker Pimps version of "Willow's Song". I jumped around like a dork instead. I'd have noooo problem rewatching that one. ;D
I'm not sure what this says about me, but I always thought it was just a campy film about slightly eccentric people living on an island in britain. I had no idea it was considered horror until I watched the dvd extras. I loved that movie as a little kid. Did you see the remake with nicholas cage? There's a youtube vid that sums that one up quite well:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=e6i2WRreARo
I almost want to see it because it looks so d**n funny.
EDIT: I had no idea sneaker pimps did a cover!! I've been drooling over that soundtrack forever. So awesome and beautiful. Curse my slow-ass internet, or I'd totally try to download it. Thanks for the heads up, though! I'll try to remember it when I'm over at the SO's house (on his highspeed connection ;D ).
I LOVE horror movies, but am having a hard time watching them now that I live alone. :p You can benefit from my experience though! You MUST see Microwave Massacre...it's hysterical and awful, but SO worth it!
A much more f*d up one that really freaked me out is The Crawl Space.
I know you've mentioned the Evil Dead series, but in that vein, have you seen Dead Alive, Bad Taste, and other wonderful early Peter Jackson gems?
I like some of the new zombie remakes- particularly Dawn of the Dead. Land of the Dead was cool too. Love zombie movies!
Oh, and how about the original Village of the Damned? Or Children of the Corn?
Ok, I'll stop. Good luck with your undertaking! I'll be sure to comment when I've seen something!
I LOVE horror movies, but am having a hard time watching them now that I live alone. :p You can benefit from my experience though! You MUST see Microwave Massacre...it's hysterical and awful, but SO worth it!
A much more f*d up one that really freaked me out is The Crawl Space.
I know you've mentioned the Evil Dead series, but in that vein, have you seen Dead Alive, Bad Taste, and other wonderful early Peter Jackson gems?
I like some of the new zombie remakes- particularly Dawn of the Dead. Land of the Dead was cool too. Love zombie movies!
Oh, and how about the original Village of the Damned? Or Children of the Corn?
Ok, I'll stop. Good luck with your undertaking! I'll be sure to comment when I've seen something!
Microwave Massacre is one that I remember taunting me from the video store shelf. Always curious, always had something better to rent.
And yes, I love me some old-scholl Peter Jackson and Romero. I haven't seen the 'Dawn' remake, though. Seems blasphemous... but maybe this would be an ace time to examine it. Same goes for thwe Wicker Man remake...
I LOVE horror movies, but am having a hard time watching them now that I live alone. :p You can benefit from my experience though! You MUST see Microwave Massacre...it's hysterical and awful, but SO worth it!
A much more f*d up one that really freaked me out is The Crawl Space.
I know you've mentioned the Evil Dead series, but in that vein, have you seen Dead Alive, Bad Taste, and other wonderful early Peter Jackson gems?
I like some of the new zombie remakes- particularly Dawn of the Dead. Land of the Dead was cool too. Love zombie movies!
Oh, and how about the original Village of the Damned? Or Children of the Corn?
Ok, I'll stop. Good luck with your undertaking! I'll be sure to comment when I've seen something!
Microwave Massacre is one that I remember taunting me from the video store shelf. Always curious, always had something better to rent.
And yes, I love me some old-scholl Peter Jackson and Romero. I haven't seen the 'Dawn' remake, though. Seems blasphemous... but maybe this would be an ace time to examine it. Same goes for thwe Wicker Man remake...
I understand, I'm always reluctant to see remakes for the same reason. (Haven't touched the new Texas Chainsaws...) But Dawn of the Dead was pretty great. I'll tell you my favorite part after you watch it. ;)
I understand, I'm always reluctant to see remakes for the same reason. (Haven't touched the new Texas Chainsaws...) But Dawn of the Dead was pretty great. I'll tell you my favorite part after you watch it. ;)
Heh heh... I actually have seen the TCM re-make. And I can say the same: It was actually pretty great. Not the fever-dream that the original was, but a nice effort in and of itself. :)
Ah no! Not early Peter Jackson! hahaha he was so crap before!!!
I was going to suggest The Blob. My all-time favorite horror movie, if you can consider that 'horror'. It still freaks me out actually!
And, for a laugh, you have to look up 'Nymphoid Barbarian in Dinosaur Hell' on tv-links or something. Just to watch the preview of the movie in the first 3 minutes to see how many times a person can say 'NYMPHOID BARBARIAN IN DINOSAUR HEEEEEELLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!'
How about the movie where someone feeds a venus fly trap human beings?I remember seeing some of it a long time ago. I think it was called the Little shop of horrors I'm not sure on that one.
I got another one- Deep rising that's a good monster flick I think
Did you see the remake with nicholas cage? There's a youtube vid that sums that one up quite well:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=e6i2WRreARo
I almost want to see it because it looks so d**n funny.
;D OMG This video made me laugh so hard! That's just awesome. I think I'm going to have to rent it.
My personal favorite: John Carpenter's The Thing
Ah no! Not early Peter Jackson! hahaha he was so crap before!!!
Whatever man, don't hate! Dude, in Bad Taste, a man falls off a cliff and cracks his head open. He spends the rest of the movie stuffing little pieces of brain back into his head and tying it closed. That is BRILLIANT!
Would the SAW movies be considered horror or really just a disgusting bloody "mystery" ? I can't believe I spent almost two hours watching the original.
As far as obscure scary movies I suggest the.....dang....I can't remember exactly....It's alive or It Lives trilogy!! Little mutant cannibal babies that get banished to some island. Creepy! I haven't seen those movies in a long time. Not even this time of year.
I LOVE the saw movies...at least the ones I've seen. Wait, I think I've only seen the first one but still it was great! I would always watch Saw in Oct. if it was on.
The Howling series is really good too (I especially like the second one "Your Sister is a Werewolf")
And don't forget campy stuff like "Attack of the Killer Tomatoes". Classic.
But for blood and guts stuff you should really see Blood Diner. The bad guy (gal) wins in that one. it's all about the gore.:)
Viv
Have you seen any of the Ginger Snaps movies? http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0210070/
The first two are good, the last, not so much. They're all pretty entertaining though. My dad has copies of a lot the old black and whites, Creature from the Black Lagoon, The Mummy, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Dracula's daughters... They're always good fun. If you're looking for something truly awful try Blood Feast (slowest chase scene ever) or C.H.U.D.
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