Duane & Belial Have the Time of Their Lives

Not that I'm trying to make a habit of showcasing other people's work, but I'm going to make an exception for anything Basket Case-related. I also love the Angry Video Game Nerd, and anyone who hasn't seen his reviews for old school Nintendo games is definitely missing out (especially the Friday the 13th and A Nightmare on Elm Street episodes); plus he drinks Rolling Rock and swears a lot, so he's A-OK in my book.

Anyway, the AVGN also gives his opinion on horror movies, and here's his take on my much-cherished Basket Case from Cinemassacre. It's edited quite nicely, and he gives the movie a fairly positive review (luckily leaving out the god-awful sequels). He even throws in Green Day's "Time of Your Life" for good measure, which made me laugh.

Sure, there's no clip of Kevin Van Hentenryck running through the streets of Times Square completely naked, but I can't fault the AVGN for that. Definitely check it out!

She-Wolves of the Wasteland: Guy and Dolls

Usually I try to start my reviews with a small introduction or amusing story, but given the serious subject matter of today's film, I'm cutting right to the chase. Three very important observations occurred to me as I watched James Emery's character in She-Wolves of the Wasteland (Phoenix the Warrior):

1. Emery bares an uncanny resemblance to Walton Goggins (best known for his role as Shane on The Shield, one of the greatest television dramas of all time), if Walton Goggins grew an incredible mustache.
2. All of the women characters have cool, intimidating names like Cobalt, T-Bird and Neon, and his name is Guy. What gives?
3. Why are all men in most of these post-apocalyptic movies so adamantly against being sex slaves? Besides Guy, you could also cite Sam Hell from Hell Comes to Frogtown as a perfect example. Both of them make numerous attempts to escape captivity from females, and Sam even gets strapped with an explosive codpiece to deter him from fleeing. I'm all for the Bill of Rights, but would a life of "breeding" with beautiful women really be that bad of a future, especially considering the alternative? It's not like they have any male friends to complain about their wives, watch sports and drink beer with anymore - they're literally the last of their kind.

Rock and Shock 2009: More Reasons to Love the Italians!

I'm just going to say it flat out: I absolutely love the Italians.

Allow me to explain. At the New Jersey Fangoria convention last June, my friends and I decided to go to the ATM across from the hotel we were staying at in Secaucus that Saturday night (I'm guessing probably for bar money). On our way back inside, we saw a girl getting out of a taxi van with Ruggero Deodato, Lamberto Bava and Sergio Stivaletti, as well as horror journalist Paolo Zelati. Not one to miss this golden opportunity, we started to make pleasant small talk with these legends (minus the girl, of course) while they smoked their cigarettes. To our surprise, Deodato and Stivaletti stayed outside and talked to us for more than an hour! Sure, they barely spoke any English, but Zelati helped translate, and it wasn't always needed - for example, Deodato was more than capable of explaining his disdain for Giovanni Radice without the help of an interpreter.

Rock and Shock 2009 Starts Today!

For those of you in the Central Massachusetts area this weekend, today marks the beginning of Rock and Shock 2009 at the DCU Center/Palladium in Worcester. Featured guests include John Landis, Corbin Bernsen, Tom Savini, and many more! I don't attend for the concerts (I'm the furthest thing from an ICP "juggalo"), but I will be going with some friends on Saturday for the actual convention.

My first R&S was back in 2007 and I had an absolute blast - I got to see William Forsythe in tiny gym shorts and witnessed an amazing panel with Greg Nicotero discussing the history of KNB. In terms of tomorrow, I'm most excited for the "Lucio Fulci Remembered" panel with a number of actors from Zombie and The Beyond, so that should be awesome. My plan is to post my experiences of the event sometime early next week, as well as one or two more reviews (She-Wolves of the Wasteland and Trick 'r Treat are in the pipeline), so stay tuned!

Insane Foreign Poster #1: An American Werewolf in London

I've been a long-term believer that most foreign horror posters are far superior to our own domestic output, especially since the awful '90s trend of "floating heads" syndrome - where four or five actors' faces are plastered on a one-sheet or DVD cover next to the movie title - basically the creative equivalent of the Powers That Be writing, "We just don't give a shit" in big bold letters.

Our friends across the pond are also responsible for some of the more outrageous, head-scratching artwork out there, and yes, I wholeheartedly advocate this and really think it needs to be showcased. My idea for this post came about after seeing what I think is a German poster for An American Werewolf in London - it really is one of the most ridiculous things I've ever seen.

Cupid's Arrow Double Feature: MBV (1981) and Valentine

What better way to celebrate October than by reviewing a couple of Valentine's Day-themed slashers, right? Even though it's not exactly timely from a holiday perspective, here's a review I dug up from the vault circa February 2007.

Over the following two years or so, there's been an above-average 3-D remake of My Bloody Valentine (with Tom "the Man" Atkins!) AND an uncut DVD release of the original, so my below qualm about the excised gore no longer applies - though to be fair, I haven't seen it yet in all its uncensored glory.

Combat Shock (American Nightmares): As Grim As It Gets

Maybe it's because I grew up on a steady diet of shoddy, second-rate VHS tapes for movies like Surf Nazis Must Die and Rabid Grannies, but I'm still taken aback when I see advertisements for the extremely well-polished Tromasterpiece Collection nowadays.

While the words "quality DVDs" and "Troma" used to be oxymorons, over the past few years Lloyd Kaufman's infamous production company has put out a wealth of behind-the-scenes material for releases such as Terror Firmer, Citizen Toxie and Poultrygeist. Now they are kicking it up yet another notch with this amazing anthology of cult favorites.

Essential Viewing For Halloween - The Classics: Part Two!

Five down, five to go. It's funny, because the more I look at this list, the more I'd like to reorder it and maybe add or subtract a few entries. Not because I don't think these ones deserve recognition - all of them are equally amazing of course; rather, some of my opinions have simply changed over time.

It's interesting to see where my mindset was four years ago, and how many other movies I've experienced since then that I would maybe throw in the top 10. But anyways, that can be a project for next month; here is the final half!

Essential Viewing For Halloween - The Classics: Part One!

October is right around the corner! As if I needed more of a reason, it's another excuse to watch even more horror movies. So in anticipation of one of my favorite months of the year, I figured I'd dust off another entry from my younger days (Oct. 2005, I believe) to get in the spirit of Halloween.

Looking back on this list, it obviously occurs to me that it's nothing groundbreaking, but it reminds me of why I love some of the more popular classic horror films: it's because they're damn good. And as a disclaimer, these aren't necessarily my favorite movies of all time (although some fall in that category); rather, some of the best ones to watch as autumn draws near. Oh yeah, and don't be pissed because stuff like Phantasm or The Exorcist didn't make the list - it goes without saying they could have easily made it.

Chopping Mall (Killbots): The Superior 'Mall Cop' Movie

By utter coincidence, I ended up watching two movies about shopping center security guards this week. A couple days ago I got around to seeing Observe and Report, a moderately funny dark comedy with Seth Rogen that got released in theaters earlier this year. It probably could have been a lot better, but the film featured the always lovable Ray Liotta and also had an amazing scene involving full frontal male nudity, so it wasn't completely without merit.

The other film I caught this weekend was Chopping Mall - but instead of an overweight, bi-polar pariah, the fate of the movie’s characters rested in the hands of the Protectors, a series of robots that turn homicidal after a freak lightning storm strikes their control center. Hell, maybe I should check out Paul Blart: Mall Cop this week and complete the genre trifecta. On second thought, no, I won't.

Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers – An Allegory for Safe Sex?

Anyone growing up in the public school system probably had to suffer through a health education class at some point during their adolescence. As if puberty wasn’t awkward enough, I remember learning about the mysterious concept of sex from a teacher old enough to be my great-grandmother. She also made us practice CPR on a creepy-looking mannequin, but that’s a story for another day.

Anyways, I’d like to think that instead of preaching abstinence or discussing the dangers of STDs, she could have showed my class Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers and achieved the desired effect. Sure, maybe it wouldn’t have persuaded me away from the opposite sex, but it would have been a nicer alternative than having to endure graphic photos detailing the long-term effects of chlamydia.

Saw II - 2005, Back When the Franchise Still Made Sense

It's my goal for Inside the Wicker Basket to offer you readers as much new and original content as I possibly can. While I attempt to get back into the routine of writing reviews again, unfortunately with my busy schedule I've only been averaging about one new post per week.

In the meantime, I'd like to every once in a while re-post an old article or review - "time capsules" if you will - that I wrote for my college newspaper, The Good 5 Cent Cigar. Chances are you only read my stuff if you went to URI between 2003 and 2007 (or if you're my mom, who enjoyed collecting my issues), so I figured it would be nice to get some of them out there in the public eye again.

Aristotle Meets Argento: Part Two!

...and here's the final half!

Lines are clearly drawn in the sand over whether violence portrayed in horror movies has a good or bad effect on its viewers; it seems as though either position comes down to a matter of taste. But is the aestheticization of violence in horror movies a less subjective concept? In regard to cinema, the term is used to explain the depiction of violence in a manner that is “stylistically excessive in a significant and sustained way” so audience members are able to connect references from the “play of images and signs” to artworks, genre conventions, cultural symbols and concepts (1). The way in which violence is aestheticized can be done in a number of ways.

Aristotle Meets Argento: Part One!

Back in the fall of 2006, I took a Philosophy of Art course during my senior year of college. For my end-of-the-semester paper, I was able to focus it on my love of horror movies. It's probably my favorite non-journalism piece I wrote throughout my four years of higher education; plus, I was able to show my class the opening murders in Suspiria!

Due to the length of the paper, I split it into two parts. Look for part two (and my work cited) tomorrow!

Death Race 2000 – You’ll Think Twice About Jaywalking

After more than eight years and 550 DVDs, the first time I felt overwhelmingly compelled to visit a custom DVD cover Web site was after I bought Death Race 2000 last week. Now I’ve been annoyed by a lot of covers in my day, such as the first editions of Happy Birthday to Me and My Bloody Valentine, but this one just really depressed me.

Now as a disclaimer, this was the disc put out by Digital Multimedia Ltd., and cost about $8. Still, there’s no excuse for such a shitty cover, especially when compared to previous editions. Said cover was made by someone who couldn’t be bothered to learn Photoshop properly (perhaps the same guy who made the upcoming Night of the Creeps DVD?); there are three different cheap-looking fonts used for the movie title alone, and Sylvester Stallone’s bad-ass Machine Gun Joe character bears a striking resemblance to Speed Racer.

Murder Rock - Like Flashdance, But With Lots of Death

As a huge fan of ‘80s movies, I’m slightly ashamed to admit I’ve never seen Flashdance. I’m not quite sure why; maybe because it has always looked like too much of a chick flick, or because I’ve always been partial to Footloose. Hell, maybe it’s because it now reminds me of that dumb Jennifer Lopez music video from a few years ago, and the movie will be forever tainted.

I’m not against seeking it out one day, I just don’t know when. I can, however, say with unquestionable certainty that even if I do eventually see Flashdance, it will never, ever hold a candle to Lucio Fulci’s Murder Rock.

Rob Zombie's Halloween 2 - David Lynch for Rednecks

Remember the last time Rob Zombie made a watchable film? No? That’s okay, because neither do I.

Don’t chalk it up to having a bad memory either, it’s simply because it’s been more than four years since audiences experienced one of his movies without wanting to walk out of theaters in disgust.

First Post Thoughts and Why Everyone Should Love Basket Case

First off, for all you inquiring minds out there: Why "Inside the Wicker Basket"?

Hopefully you didn't stumble upon this blog thinking you'd find a tutorial on how to weave with rattan core, or some other delightful basket-making technique. I tried to come up with a fun site name that incorporated the words "horror" or "blood" into it, but most of the good ones are already taken (plus, I'm just not that witty).