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).