tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-52794624256368914742024-03-05T03:10:21.259-05:00Inside the Wicker BasketHorror Reviews, News, Ramblings and MoreSBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11824078917151529330noreply@blogger.comBlogger21125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5279462425636891474.post-30681621128305229812010-01-11T23:23:00.032-05:002010-01-19T14:18:48.943-05:00Harper's Island: It's Safer On the Mainland<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhDn1UEE7iTJFO6dOnpiPbrSz7aGGoUnQk7frG1JHGXrduOp-CNESoiqM-Zoiy7n_kpJqq3LG4koYheHDFG_Qtzl9qy-PgE3R3hDN0-ifekW-rmj6ISYjYfFj4icKYdeMCHZQ_uTUsRoA/s1600-h/harpersisland.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5425705231826587362" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 140px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhDn1UEE7iTJFO6dOnpiPbrSz7aGGoUnQk7frG1JHGXrduOp-CNESoiqM-Zoiy7n_kpJqq3LG4koYheHDFG_Qtzl9qy-PgE3R3hDN0-ifekW-rmj6ISYjYfFj4icKYdeMCHZQ_uTUsRoA/s200/harpersisland.jpg" border="0" /></a>Without a doubt, the slasher is my favorite, most-cherished sub-genre in horror. I hold these films near and dear to my heart, whether it be popular entries like<em> Friday the 13th</em> or <em>The Burning</em>, or lesser-known gems such as <em>Slaughter High</em>. As fun as these movies are, a common (and most of the time, warranted) criticism against slashers is often the lack of any substantial plot or character development. It could be argued with strong conviction that the majority of these films churned out in the 1980s certainly miss those marks.<br /><br />Not that I'm one to complain - most horror fans, including myself, usually aren't looking for anything more than a madman violently dispatching promiscuous teenagers, and welcome it with open arms. But what happens when you take the standard slasher formula, address the above criticisms, do it exceptionally well and expand the run-time from 90 minutes to 13 hours? You get <em>Harper's Island</em>.<br /><a name='more'></a><br />The story in a nutshell: seven years ago, John Wakefield brutally murdered six people on Harper's Island, a small isle of the coast of Washington. One of the victims was the mother of Abby Mills, a local girl whose father also happens to be sheriff of the island. Shortly after the incident, Abby's dad supposedly kills Wakefield and forces Abby to move to California, where she remains up until the wedding for childhood friends Henry and Trish beckons her back home.<br /><br />Upon Abby's arrival, old wounds are reopened as she confronts her father and deals with the tragedy from her past. To make matters much, much worse, people in the wedding party start mysteriously disappearing - permanently. Has John Wakefield somehow returned from the grave? Or is there a copycat killer adding to the legend and continuing his reign of terror?<br /><br />I must admit, <em>Harper's Island</em> immediately won me over by the end of the first episode. For such a large cast (roughly 25 actors or so, including the awesome Harry Hamlin and Richard Burgi), the show does a fantastic job in establishing the characters and their relationships with each other. The ensemble consists of friends, enemies and even lovers having kinky affairs - all social circles are represented here.<br /><br />At first you might be led to believe everyone is just a typical stereotype, and you'd be correct - the final girl, flirt, outsider, jock, nerd, etc. all are featured from the get-go. But where a movie only has an hour and a half to introduce a group of kids and start killing them off, television provides us the luxury of getting to know (almost) everyone from episode to episode before they are offed.<br /><br />This really raises the stakes of the series, in my opinion. Once emotionally invested in the people, it actually leaves a lasting impression when they are murdered. Plus, with the exception of Abby, who I never felt was in any real danger, literally anybody could be killed at any moment. In one of the last episodes, the deaths of two main characters (involving a bridge) are genuinely disturbing; realizing they wouldn't escape the island and seeing them taken out in such a cold fashion definitely took the wind out of my sails.<br /><br />Which brings me to my next point - the gore factor. Good Lord, I don't know how CBS got away with some of the stuff they showed. It's almost comical to think that in 2009, a TV show on basic cable is far bloody than, say, <em>Friday the 13th Part 7: A New Blood</em>. There is a ridiculously high body count; you get stabbings, burnings, shotgun blasts, hangings, numerous impalements, decapitations and a body bifurcation! As a fun side note, the title of each episode is the sound of a character getting slaughtered: "Ka-Blam," "Snap" and my favorite, "Sploosh." Seriously, if I was in grade school and casually flipped to Channel 4 when this was airing, I would have loved it - and also been scarred for life.<br /><br /><em>Harper's Island</em> also maintains a high level of suspense from week to week. The first few episodes allow the viewer to soak in the atmosphere, before roughly the fifth or sixth hour, when all hell breaks loose. Again, the flexibility with a television series allows the setting to change quite often, so one episode could deal primarily in the woods, while others might take place predominantly in underground tunnels or the local tavern. This keeps the show fresh and prevents it from becoming what could have easily become a repetitive endeavor. Perhaps the producers could have shaved an episode or two off, but for a simple premise it never truly feels drawn out and the tension remains high throughout the proceedings.<br /><br />As for the mystery behind the killer, <em>Harper's Island</em> manages to keep the audience guessing for most of the series as to who the actual culprit is. There are quite a few red herrings - some more glaringly obvious than others - and the writers also throw a few twists and turns to throw suspicion off from one person to the next. The build-up pays off, however; not only did the reveal surprise me, but thankfully the motives also made sense within the context of the show.<br /><br /><em>Harper's Island</em> manages to take what horror fans love most about slasher movies and improves upon them, not only with elaborate, messy kills, but also an exciting story and characters that are easily identifable. It's a shame there won't be a <em>Harper's Island 2 </em>on the horizon, as the series' end doesn't lend itself to a sequel. But as a self-contained story, the show is an extremely satisfying guilty pleasure, one that I'll happily revisit again one day.SBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11824078917151529330noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5279462425636891474.post-55890284395902963362010-01-05T01:24:00.019-05:002010-01-07T22:31:56.442-05:00Cannibal Terror: Savages with... Mustaches?<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwFlvExh9dLX60o43CW-39EacULrGGMFy-CjG3s1Yr6Yn-EARbIJj7uOLKYWTFhN3a0ovH7l2I94vAWvz-LTIVhqVTX08-LTpxG3gVQ2AE4a9nt4alFMT8M7lwYIqWOQXI3EDfGQGZSJE/s1600-h/cannibal-terror-poster.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5423138007557029234" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 141px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwFlvExh9dLX60o43CW-39EacULrGGMFy-CjG3s1Yr6Yn-EARbIJj7uOLKYWTFhN3a0ovH7l2I94vAWvz-LTIVhqVTX08-LTpxG3gVQ2AE4a9nt4alFMT8M7lwYIqWOQXI3EDfGQGZSJE/s200/cannibal-terror-poster.jpg" border="0" /></a>In recent years, both French and Spanish filmmakers have found considerable success within the horror community; anyone who hasn't heard of <em>Inside</em>, <em>Martyrs</em> (France) or <em>REC </em>(Spain) doesn't deserve to call themselves a fan of the genre. This isn't anything new either - both countries have a rich history with things that go bump in the night, whether it be <em>Tombs of the Blind Dead</em> (1971), <em>Vampyres </em>(1974), or <em>The Grapes of Death</em> (1978).<br /><br />Unfortunately for <em>Cannibal Terror</em>, a 1981 co-production involving <em>both</em> France and Spain, this film will not be joining such prestigious ranks. If the aforementioned movies are home runs, this one is somewhat of a foul ball.<br /><a name='more'></a><br />What comes to mind when you think of the cannibal sub-genre? Graphic mutilations, castrations, gut-munching, deadly jungle traps and animal cruelty - in short, associations that make the movies incredibly deserving of their infamous reputation. You'd think this criteria would have been kept in mind during the making of <em>Cannibal Terror</em>, yet almost everything I've mentioned is absent from the film.<br /><br />Don't get me wrong; for the most part I still found myself having a lot of fun, due largely in part to the first half proceedings. We are quickly introduced to a trio of bumbling crooks desperate to cash in on any big score they can find. When the opportunity presents itself to kidnap the young daughter of a wealthy family, the criminals commit the act and demand a ransom (although curiously enough, this abduction scene isn't even shown on-screen). A monkey wrench gets thrown into their poorly-conceived plan, however, and in an effort to evade the police, the gang catches a plane into the "jungle" to lay low in hiding (more on the "jungle" later).<br /><br />Now in most cases, awful dubbing doesn't really bother nor distract me. Sure, I prefer subtitles whenever possible, but I won't completely discredit a film just because an actor's voice doesn't perfectly sync up with his or her mouth. To be honest, the majority of the time this just doesn't happen in foreign horror DVDs anyway. But not only does <em>Cannibal Terror</em> take this to a new extreme, they also hit a laughable low in quality of voice casting.<br /><br />The little girl who gets kidnapped sounds like a grown man trying to impersonate a little girl, and if you can stifle laughter during the phone call in which the father meows incessantly to his daughter, you're a better man than I. One bit of dialogue with two men commenting on the features of an attractive woman almost had me in tears, not because of the lines themselves, but the utter indifference in which the voice actors' delivered them:<br /><br />Man #1: Nice feet.<br />Man #2: Nice thighs.<br />Man #1: You can say that again.<br />Man #2: Nice thighs.<br /><br />This is also one of the rare cases in which the film's pacing slows considerably once the movie shifts from the city to the "jungle." I continue to put "jungle" in quotations because I refuse to believe this was filmed within 500 miles of one - it has more similarities to my backyard than anything seen in <em>Cannibal Ferox</em> or <em>Jungle Holocaust</em> (I'm surrounded by dense New England forests, nothing at all tropical). One thing the midway point of the film had going for it though was it <em>finally</em> introduces the audience to the cannibals, which had me excited... for about 30 seconds.<br /><br />Feast your eyes on the least-convincing cannibal portrayals of all time. This is probably an exaggeration, but Christ - it's an almost completely male tribe, and the majority of guys look like dudes straight off the street. Now this wouldn't be as insulting if they didn't have sideburns, mustaches and combovers, which Severin was also quick to point out on the back of the DVD. The cannibals themselves don't do much besides run, or hop up and down for 10 minutes, and in like two scenes, actually practice cannibalism. I suppose they walk around the forest (I'm not using "jungle" anymore) lazily hunting their human prey, but even then that's relegated to the final 15 minutes of the movie.<br /><br />That's the only thing that really bothered me about <em>Cannibal Terror</em>; the cannibals sucked. It would be the equivalent of watching a <em>Friday the 13th</em> movie where Jason just kinda shoots the breeze at Camp Crystal Lake, not stalking or killing any teenagers. Who the hell wants to watch that? One scene at the end made me laugh though: someone decided it was a good idea to use the silliest eating sound effects ever committed to film; it actually sounds like "yum," "chomp," "slurp" and "smack" when the cannibals devour one of their victims. You can't hate on a movie that takes its cues from Tasmanian Devil cartoons.<br /><br />But for all its failings as a cannibal film, at heart <em>Cannibal Terror</em> is a decent-enough exploitation outing. What it lacks in gore it more than makes up for in sleaziness; there is the obligatory voyeurism/rape scene (in which later that night the victim laughs, sings and strips for the others, as if nothing ever happened), as well as a moment where the female kidnapper walks up to some random guy playing the guitar and seduces him. The best part is, the musician doesn't even say a word, he acts as though it's perfectly normal for some strange woman to come over and start kissing him after he finishes his song. That's my kind of guy - act first, questions later.<br /><br />Although I find it hard to believe this was labeled a "video nasty" back in the day, <em>Cannibal Terror</em> isn't without its redeeming qualities, and I would still cautiously recommend it to more than just completists. It's definitely closer to <em>Emmanuelle and the Last Cannibals</em> than, say, <em>Cannibal Holocaust</em>, but that certainly isn't a bad thing. A word or two of advice though: if the cannibal subgenre is ever resurrected (however unlikely that may be), perhaps the French and Spanish should stick to what they know best, and leave the gut-munching savages to the Italians.SBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11824078917151529330noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5279462425636891474.post-18972058704481864882010-01-04T16:38:00.005-05:002010-01-04T16:51:42.426-05:00My New Year's Resolution for 2010...<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic6Pvhs1enDwltX4CV-HpyqxCHxpsFDbpjh1qtuggBqKkSm7zlOVCbs1OwKRLuIzFmBP_96vNo3rvaGDrsslUjksN9Kv-nBlsVc_8yRQmpOUD0HXHEEIsWVIA6j-viIMEpOTRHQ8xNjmM/s1600-h/__84e3.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5423002968471421058" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 130px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic6Pvhs1enDwltX4CV-HpyqxCHxpsFDbpjh1qtuggBqKkSm7zlOVCbs1OwKRLuIzFmBP_96vNo3rvaGDrsslUjksN9Kv-nBlsVc_8yRQmpOUD0HXHEEIsWVIA6j-viIMEpOTRHQ8xNjmM/s200/__84e3.jpg" border="0" /></a>...is to get back to updating this blog on a somewhat-regular basis!<br /><br />Unfortunately, it has been an insanely busy past few months for me at work, and the hectic holiday season certainly didn't sweeten the deal. But now that things have slowed down, I'm determined to post some long overdue reviews I've been working on since Halloween (it seems like it was only yesterday I was drooling over <em>Trick 'r Treat</em>).<br /><br />So check back in later this week, hopefully I can get some content up soon, as well as post my thoughts on what I'm looking forward to in the upcoming months!SBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11824078917151529330noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5279462425636891474.post-71754271001540952032009-10-22T17:14:00.009-04:002009-10-22T21:13:10.948-04:00Duane & Belial Have the Time of Their LivesNot that I'm trying to make a habit of showcasing other people's work, but I'm going to make an exception for anything <em>Basket Case</em>-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 <em>Friday the 13th </em>and <em>A Nightmare on Elm Street</em> episodes); plus he drinks Rolling Rock and swears a lot, so he's A-OK in my book.<br /><br />Anyway, the AVGN also gives his opinion on horror movies, and here's his take on my much-cherished <em>Basket Case</em> from <a href="http://www.cinemassacre.com/new/?p=2620">Cinemassacre</a>. 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.<br /><br />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!<br /><br /><embed src="http://blip.tv/play/AYGa7UEC" width="480" height="390" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed>SBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11824078917151529330noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5279462425636891474.post-34045670315463227102009-10-21T00:54:00.008-04:002009-10-21T01:34:32.464-04:00She-Wolves of the Wasteland: Guy and Dolls<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOQH1O2T6tcsMkgu6CUwuTP3ttx9CWeJpQMWashloyz7vc0_CxxhnizfBihiQHKmEOgnGa1VcpJP6UC34tpSCcVqE9CBCxdcBXCmfhcTFuSbS1cXO5ALVoNOHIHfUfCq4E7zaihSe7HsE/s1600-h/phoenix.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 110px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5391799934485306786" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOQH1O2T6tcsMkgu6CUwuTP3ttx9CWeJpQMWashloyz7vc0_CxxhnizfBihiQHKmEOgnGa1VcpJP6UC34tpSCcVqE9CBCxdcBXCmfhcTFuSbS1cXO5ALVoNOHIHfUfCq4E7zaihSe7HsE/s200/phoenix.jpg" /></a>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 <em>She-Wolves of the Wasteland</em> (<em>Phoenix the Warrior</em>):<br /><br />1. Emery bares an uncanny resemblance to Walton Goggins (best known for his role as Shane on <em>The Shield</em>, one of the greatest television dramas of all time), if Walton Goggins grew an incredible mustache.<br />2. All of the women characters have cool, intimidating names like Cobalt, T-Bird and Neon, and his name is Guy. What gives?<br />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 <em>Hell Comes to Frogtown</em> 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.<br /><a name='more'></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0BHvtcK0mtimN030N1ZUI6W5A3ig64qrn-AaG6rOBnML1vwUkeCHQygJ9vlwBBSCywyCV9ZOSKU8mulcFbvw5arE-dvjeEPg3d1aXvUIQyvs0l7gSCohIgmRMqHerBLTewFxDgCdK0sE/s1600-h/WaltonGoggins1.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 138px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5394913328751163330" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0BHvtcK0mtimN030N1ZUI6W5A3ig64qrn-AaG6rOBnML1vwUkeCHQygJ9vlwBBSCywyCV9ZOSKU8mulcFbvw5arE-dvjeEPg3d1aXvUIQyvs0l7gSCohIgmRMqHerBLTewFxDgCdK0sE/s200/WaltonGoggins1.JPG" /></a><br />In terms of the movie itself, it's a fairly so-so entry in the genre. I'm a fan of most of them, ranging from the low-budget spaghetti <em>1990: Bronx Warriors</em> and <em>2019: After the Fall of New York</em>, to the classics such as the <em>Mad Max</em> trilogy, and the more recent but excellent Neil Marshall's <em>Doomsday</em>. I love the dystopic-punk asethetic that these films share; I'd like to think I too would sport a purple mohawk, eyeliner and leather chaps if I ever survived the end of the world.<br /><br />In a nutshell, <em>SWOTW</em> follows Phoenix (Kathleen Kinmont - <em>Halloween 4</em>, <em>Bride of Re-Animator</em>) and Keela, two women trying to protect the latter's newborn son and avoid the evil clutches of the Reverend Mother, a nasty old broad who enslaves an entire population of girls and uses the strength or energy or something of babies for her own personal power (I think). Along the way, the duo encounters the aforementioned Guy, TV-worshipping scavengers, and of course, hordes of scantily-clad ladies that want them dead.<br /><br />Like most B-movies, I have a soft spot for them - even if they aren't particularly good. I have trouble giving a thumbs down to any film with a gratuitous waterfall sequence, especially when the participants get murdered immediately afterwards. Following the first third of the movie, there's an inexplicable five-year interval of time that passes; yet, nothing at all in terms of story has changed besides the fact that the kid looks a little older. Maybe the producers didn't want to deal with a crying infant on set and added it into the script midway through the shoot.<br /><br />But like I said, for all of the goofiness, it's still a decent - if not generic - outing. It has the often ripped-off <em>Beyond Thunderdome</em> scenes, but there's a reason gladiator fights are constantly copied; it's always exciting to see two opponents square off to the death in a circle full of weapons. Who cares if it isn't original? It's still fun. Hell, here's another example: Reverend Mother's righthand woman, Cobalt, collects the ears of her victims. If that's not fun, I don't know what is.<br /><br />The acting leaves a lot to be desired (even Kinmont appears to phone it in), although the above average set design and costumes make up for it, helping you to ignore the horrid line delivery of most of the actresses. In terms of structure, <em>SWOTW</em> mostly consists of chase scene, fight, chase scene, then repeat, but it maintains a healthy dose of skin and violence to keep the pace rolling. It had a few lulls, but the silly explosions and special effects scattered throughout kept me from glancing at my watch every few minutes.<br /><br />One last note about Guy that I wanted to save until the end because I suppose it's a minor spoiler; I found it particularly hilarious that he becomes a fairly important character going into the final act of the movie, then is virtually forgotten and ignored for the last 15 minutes. What becomes of our beloved anti-hero? We never learn of his fate, though I'd like to think following the events of the film, he went back to his now-destroyed shack and sat by himself in the rubble, soaking in the radiation and realizing he had it made when all he had to do was enjoy his imprisonment and have sex with hot chicks everyday.<br /><br />Maybe my girlfriend is right - guys are retarded.SBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11824078917151529330noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5279462425636891474.post-56608661952274193422009-10-20T21:33:00.015-04:002009-10-21T01:44:10.053-04:00Rock and Shock 2009: More Reasons to Love the Italians!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkP1jq-u_Pfhy01YJGOz2BWfRlq4HReg9rNZa73CEJPtJZUoYBlqcV_AiXFOiLqaRrIr6ojgPqxuzcvm-gwYjsfhGUA_5_5dJR0TyXH5Ba9nG6WlRIV50nK69RDzX63YHx7uZsGEVbkDg/s1600-h/rock_and_shock_logo09_crop.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 92px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5394861461721695330" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkP1jq-u_Pfhy01YJGOz2BWfRlq4HReg9rNZa73CEJPtJZUoYBlqcV_AiXFOiLqaRrIr6ojgPqxuzcvm-gwYjsfhGUA_5_5dJR0TyXH5Ba9nG6WlRIV50nK69RDzX63YHx7uZsGEVbkDg/s200/rock_and_shock_logo09_crop.jpg" /></a>I'm just going to say it flat out: I absolutely love the Italians.<br /><br />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.<br /><a name='more'></a><br />To say it was one of my most memorable moments as a horror fan is an understatement, and I'll truly never forget that night (see the pic below of my friends and I with Zelati). What makes it even better is they actually remembered us the following day; on Sunday I went over to their table again to thank them for taking the time to hang out, and Stivaletti gave me a hand-drawn sketch of the killer from Dario Argento's <em>Phenomena</em>. It's still one of the coolest damn things I own.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt9w6qxvb_5LwYF38QnClVSnCd6tDpwH1VWBdeImUWRT_oI8BuW9S89du6SRyZRQOyyfw07C4S4aEkG9VWCRj87kApk8WyfhPCx9TtYHXsAB-C9UbD8-tmTH9ZV-jjeIw8Gfz_OemdhBg/s1600-h/The+Boys+%26+Paolo.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5394878130109116306" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt9w6qxvb_5LwYF38QnClVSnCd6tDpwH1VWBdeImUWRT_oI8BuW9S89du6SRyZRQOyyfw07C4S4aEkG9VWCRj87kApk8WyfhPCx9TtYHXsAB-C9UbD8-tmTH9ZV-jjeIw8Gfz_OemdhBg/s200/The+Boys+%26+Paolo.jpg" /></a><br />The reason I've recalled this story is because from that fateful June weekend on, I told myself I'd go out of my way to attend any type of Italian horror-related event I possibly could. And as luck would have it, this past weekend's Rock and Shock in Worcester featured a "Lucio Fulci Remembered" panel Saturday afternoon. While I didn't become as personally invested in it as my experiences last summer, it was still the highlight of the convention for me.<br /><br />The panel included Catriona MacColl (<em>City of the Living Dead</em>), Al Cliver (<em>The Beyond</em>) and Ottaviano Dell'Acqua (<em>Zombie</em>). MacColl, who still looks beautiful for her age, knew the most English and as a result had the most to say. She spoke on such topics as her amicable relationship with Fulci in spite of his ill feelings in general towards women. MacColl also talked about working with other actors such as John Warbeck, and how she dealt with the excessive violence in Fulci's scripts.<br /><br />Cliver had a little more trouble with the language barrier, but seemed genuine in his answers when he could explain himself. He delved into Fulci's unfortunate family history (one wife died, the other divorced him; one of his daughters was a drug addict), but also spoke of his humorous side, often giving actors on the set nicknames (though he couldn't remember what Fulci used to called him).<br /><br />Last but certainly not least was Dell'Acqua, who knew almost no English, and as a result was the funniest. He gave mostly one word answers or just nodded his head and laughed, which I was charmed by, even though he kind of shrugged off my question for him ("Have you ever been seriously injured during your career?" "Knees.") As a stunt man in more than 300 films, he still works today in movies all over the world - including the U.S., where he even doubles for Daniel Craig.<br /><br />Although I wasn't wild about the moderator (I forget his name, but he used to work at Media Blasters, so go figure - the quality of his jokes were as good as his former company's DVD transfers), the panel itself was a delight and further cemented my belief that the Italians are simply fucking awesome.<br /><br />The other panel I attended was for John Landis, which immediately followed the Fulci one. It was just as entertaining; Landis swore like a sailor but was refreshingly honest about his thoughts on Hollywood and major studios today (cliff notes version: they suck), as well as some of the disasterous experiences he had as a director (<em>Beverly Hills Cop 3</em>, <em>Blues Brothers 2000</em>). Unfortunately, he didn't talk too much about <em>An American Werewolf in London</em>, but Landis did make up for it by completely embarassing some asshole in the crowd who was trying to be funny, so his stock rose in my book.<br /><br />After the panels I walked around the dealers' tables with my buddies, and after careful consideration picked up the Tromasterpiece edition of <em>Redneck Zombies</em> as well as a <em>Deep Red</em> and <em>Re-Animator</em> poster. No t-shirts this year, although there was an incredible <em>Slaughter High</em> one that I kinda regret not buying.<br /><br />Some last observations about the convention:<br /><br />1. Sig Haig had a constant line of 20 fans deep for the entire afternoon. Am I the only one that finds this odd?<br />2. Not that I've really seen any of his movies, but I was impressed with Doug Jones' (<em>Pan's Labyrinth</em>) repoire with fans; he gave everyone in his line a hug and kiss on the head, even the guys.<br />3. Malcolm MacDowell basically had his own wing for signings. Not that he didn't deserve it, but I'd like to have slapped the pen out of his hand if he was personalizing anything <em>Halloween 2</em>-related.<br />4. One minor gripe: Why can't guests charge $10 for an autograph instead of $20?<br />5. One major gripe: Why on earth would you have a <em>Friday the 13th</em> remake panel??? Derek Mears seems like a nice guy, but come on, American Olivo and Arlen Escarpeta fielding questions from the audience?? I can promise you all I didn't stick around for that.<br /><br />In short, I had a great time at Rock and Shock 2009. It was really nice not having to drive through Connecticut or worry about accidently taking the George Washington Bridge, and I feel like I got my money's worth. Let's hope 2010 brings more of our Italian friends back to New England, or at least Frank Henenlotter - that's not asking for too much, is it?SBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11824078917151529330noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5279462425636891474.post-8388085400833444662009-10-16T13:42:00.005-04:002009-10-16T14:07:11.764-04:00Rock and Shock 2009 Starts Today!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPNFcSQEk1xZs7Lnb5BkloANeieUSXFpu6Lft6YpEc9Qw38Ncs2igsSjWS5ZyXYDbXRDUgHU-ZYOtsfHur0eqnRAOVUgoBU0ZJP7jw6hfnptMQs6p-NJIcwfU-rIBW7EgmpBw55QSvugA/s1600-h/RnS.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5393255059519679474" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 184px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPNFcSQEk1xZs7Lnb5BkloANeieUSXFpu6Lft6YpEc9Qw38Ncs2igsSjWS5ZyXYDbXRDUgHU-ZYOtsfHur0eqnRAOVUgoBU0ZJP7jw6hfnptMQs6p-NJIcwfU-rIBW7EgmpBw55QSvugA/s200/RnS.jpg" border="0" /></a> For those of you in the Central Massachusetts area this weekend, today marks the beginning of <a href="http://www.rockandshock.com/">Rock and Shock 2009</a> 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.<br /><br />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 <em>Zombie</em> and <em>The Beyond</em>, 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 (<em>She-Wolves of the Wasteland</em> and <em>Trick 'r Treat</em> are in the pipeline), so stay tuned!SBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11824078917151529330noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5279462425636891474.post-70666659441998595922009-10-12T13:43:00.024-04:002009-10-12T18:55:02.450-04:00Insane Foreign Poster #1: An American Werewolf in London<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG3nwyOZnM2jSA3kMAdLE9EOzVY5TvZ3MSJOirE7Ticj-NhxTCNiKZE4MeA7bG-ug6UCScPKQzDBKGB1ffObyQurqhfecFxFz9GfQ4SJPr0vrRn-qXohLyuwpcZiZfeH7BVr8bmm8AozY/s1600-h/AAWWIL_german.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 142px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5389324255681466418" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG3nwyOZnM2jSA3kMAdLE9EOzVY5TvZ3MSJOirE7Ticj-NhxTCNiKZE4MeA7bG-ug6UCScPKQzDBKGB1ffObyQurqhfecFxFz9GfQ4SJPr0vrRn-qXohLyuwpcZiZfeH7BVr8bmm8AozY/s200/AAWWIL_german.jpg" /></a> 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.<br /><br />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 <em>An American Werewolf in London</em> - it really is one of the most ridiculous things I've ever seen.<br /><a name='more'></a><br />Now, <em>AAWIL</em> is one of my favorite horror movies, ever. I used to watch it on Bravo every Halloween, and the special edition released in 2001 was one of the first DVDs I ever owned (behind <em>Saving Silverman</em> and <em>Hannibal</em>, oddly enough). I bought the Full Moon Edition the second it came out, and proceeded to enjoy both the exceptional <em>Beware the Moon</em> documentary and the movie again this weekend. It gets better with each viewing, and in my opinion is the ultimate werewolf movie (sorry, <em>The Howling</em>).<br /><br />So imagine my bewilderment and confusion when I stumbled upon the poster above. I'm assuming the artwork is depicting the scene in which the main character David is waiting in line outside wearing a woman's coat. The reason for his strange wardrobe choice, of course, is because he wakes up in the zoo completely naked after a night of terrorizing the populace of London, and decides to steal it from a lady in the park (after a hilarious encounter with a kid and his balloons, I might add).<br /><br />Perhaps more troubling, however: why is the guy standing to the right of David transfixed on his chest with a creepy smile glued to his face? The answer to that may be more terrifying than anything the movie itself can offer.<br /><br />The only indication that this is an actual <em>horror</em> movie is that David's left leg is more hairy than his right. I don't know any lycanthropes that only have one body part transform while the rest remains human, especially since this doesn't happen in <em>AAWIL</em>. Imagine if John Landis told Rick Baker, "You know what? Screw Academy Award-winning special effects. We don't need a groundbreaking, full-body metamorphosis. Just do one leg - that will get the audience's blood pumping." Thank goodness they ended up setting the bar a bit higher.<br /><br />Honestly, it's frightening to think this is how distributors wanted to promote the movie: "If you love cross-dressing creatures of the night (who could pass as the long-lost twin of Dr. Frank N. Furter), this film is right up your alley." I can't help but think if this poster had music accompanying it, I'd undoubtedly expect Q Lazzarus' "Goodbye Horses" to play on loop; it would fit perfectly.<br /><br />As a nice bookend to this column, I'd like to present a close runner-up, this one focusing on David and nurse Alex's relationship:<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGRTaNty7WQEZUdaRSBDvkbscMXvMSbyZ_sUbJiQ4HXf3sAyBc9gu3G-NnWVSMnLEaoewhcHFQTHINXJ4m-uEnl9lnT1krG0ptN-VoXqh0yE1ZugdBsa95RV2xiUENj5psoLDDaGO41O0/s1600-h/AmerWWLondon_japan.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 127px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5391783456890055410" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGRTaNty7WQEZUdaRSBDvkbscMXvMSbyZ_sUbJiQ4HXf3sAyBc9gu3G-NnWVSMnLEaoewhcHFQTHINXJ4m-uEnl9lnT1krG0ptN-VoXqh0yE1ZugdBsa95RV2xiUENj5psoLDDaGO41O0/s200/AmerWWLondon_japan.jpg" /></a>This should not come as a shock to anyone, but yes, this batshit craziness comes straight from Japan. Basically everything that comes out of that country could have been created by someone condemned to life in an insane asylum (i.e. <em>hentai</em>, 'nuff said), but I think it's this loony-bin quality that gives most Japanese culture its charm.<br /><br />And the red coat makes another appearance!SBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11824078917151529330noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5279462425636891474.post-33995095578911320172009-10-05T15:34:00.010-04:002009-10-05T21:50:08.637-04:00Cupid's Arrow Double Feature: MBV (1981) and Valentine<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirkIFwWtj5WK7Yhh0G35zPipC1Z46VW9MorGOFPafThzNWxKdFYEw8fntMoE5I9gJaXbRozyGBOPErsIb7wh3uY2tzQs8N8U-ea9WqTCSK0DYzcu6G9YIi7zXVlvZjiLwd6NiktR3quw4/s1600-h/mbv.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 136px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5389290383145483346" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirkIFwWtj5WK7Yhh0G35zPipC1Z46VW9MorGOFPafThzNWxKdFYEw8fntMoE5I9gJaXbRozyGBOPErsIb7wh3uY2tzQs8N8U-ea9WqTCSK0DYzcu6G9YIi7zXVlvZjiLwd6NiktR3quw4/s200/mbv.jpg" /></a>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.<br /><br />Over the following two years or so, there's been an above-average 3-D remake of <em>My Bloody Valentine</em> (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.<br /><a name='more'></a><br />I was, however, lucky enough to see the 1981 version up on the big screen this past February at the Brattle Theater in Cambridge. They had a screening of <em>Friday the 13th</em> on Friday the 13th and a midnight showing of <em>MBV</em> (technically on Valentine's Day), so it was a pretty awesome experience. Anyone who hasn't been able to see some of the classics in an actual theater setting simply doesn't know what they're missing (as a side note: even though it's not horror, I also got to check out <em>Streets of Fire</em> there over the summer - another <em>amazing</em> time).<br /><br />Anyways, enjoy my thoughts on Harry Warden as well as Jamie Blanks' generic yet slightly underrated <em>Valentine</em>:<br /><br />Forget about romantic comedies; no other genre sums up the spirit of Valentine's Day than horror. Think about it: the tension-filled weeks leading up to the day for single people attempting to find a date, the overwhelming, heart-stopping dread upon realizing you have to shell out $100 for (fill-in-expensive-gift-here), or the look of murderous, bloodthirsty rage when your girlfriend realizes you got her absolutely nothing.<br /><br />Here are a few healthy alternatives for a romantic evening that don't include Julia Roberts, Kate Hudson or Meg Ryan:<br /><br /><em>My Bloody Valentine</em> (1981)<br /><br />Like the countless others that followed, <em>MBV</em> strove to ride the successful coattails of the precedent-setting slasher films <em>Halloween</em> and <em>Friday the 13th</em>. But given the enormous wave of movies churned out during the late 1970s and early 1980s about masked killers terrorizing teenagers, many of them proved to be overwhelmingly unremarkable or forgettable. Luckily, despite a few flaws, <em>MBV</em> manages to stand out from the typical holiday slasher.<br /><br />The movie is set in the small mining town of Valentine's Bluff, as the locals prepare for the annual holiday celebration after a 20-year hiatus. You see, two decades ago during the Valentine's Day party, a group of miners forgot about their jobs, went boozing and indulged in sinful behavior.<br /><br />A gas explosion in the mine occurred as a result, killing the other miners except for Harry Warden. The following year, Warden killed two supervisors and warned the town never to have another party. Now that the celebration is about to begin again, will the blood start flowing?<br /><br /><em>MBV</em> follows the conventional slasher formula, but does it exceptionally well. Many of the main characters are fleshed out or entertaining (even the standard I'm-40-years-old-but-I'm-playing-a-teenager guy), and the love triangle involving the film's protagonist brings an added level of tension to the proceedings.<br /><br />The movie is well-paced and spreads out the creative kills, leading up to a suspenseful mine-cart showdown deep in the Hanniger Mine. Oh, and <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IuY7GsM6tvE">The Ballad of Harry Warden</a>, the song that plays during the end credits, is one of the greatest musical masterpieces in horror movie history - period.<br /><br />My only complaint is the injustice committed by the MPAA, which butchered almost all of the movie's carnage. Many of the murder sequences suffer from off-screen and implied violence, which will leave gorehounds feeling largely unsatisfied. It's a shame too, because I had the opportunity to look at stills online of the edited scenes, and they were all shockingly brutal. I'm still praying one day for a director's cut (<em>Editor's Note: my wish came true!</em>).<br /><br /><em>Valentine</em> (2001)<br /><br />Ah yes, <em>Valentine</em>. If there was ever a movie to represent the term "guilty pleasure," this one might take the cake.<br /><br />Is it a particularly good film? No. Are the characters enjoyable or fun to watch? Not really. Did it win an Academy Award? Of course not. But as overwhelming as its shortcomings are, this is still an entertaining way to kill 96 minutes with your significant other.<br /><br />The plot is simple: a group of friends who used to be complete bitches in high school are getting creepy Valentines from an unknown "admirer." An example of the mystery man's lyrical craftsmanship: "The journey of love is an arduous trek / My love grows for you as you bleed from your neck."<br /><br />As the body count starts to rise, the girls attempt to uncover the killer before their past behavior comes back to haunt them - in the form of a cherub-masked murderer.<br /><br />I guess the main reason I loved this movie was because of David Boreanaz's performance as the alcoholic journalist Adam Carr. Already being a huge fan of <em>Buffy the Vampire Slayer</em> and<em> Angel</em>, I was excited to learn that Boreanaz would be playing a character I could certainly relate to (the journalist part, not the alcoholic... yet, anyway). He knows how to charm an audience, as his role in this film shows. Plus, the last frame is worth this movie's weight in gold alone; just watch it, you'll know what I mean.<br /><br />As an added bonus, this movie features the likes of Denise Richards, Katherine Heigl and Marley Shelton. Not only are these women drop-dead gorgeous, but they get viciously dispatched by various sharp objects as well! So get off your high horse, forget about how predictable <em>Valentine</em> is and just relish in its campy goodness.<br /><br />There you have it - After emptying your wallet for a velvet teddy bear or some silky lingerie, do yourself a huge favor and indulge in a deliciously gruesome double feature. And if you're single, well come on, it's not like you have anything better to do, do you?SBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11824078917151529330noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5279462425636891474.post-88354759571772547782009-10-02T12:52:00.019-04:002009-10-03T02:45:12.393-04:00Combat Shock (American Nightmares): As Grim As It Gets<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS6g2RP4TT1ogMrDgjnPcWj2PEkMGNTfsP9ebAbEeVUMNtSWKS3OnZlEI5yvKBbTmuSqxysjBrOsXnQ-W99td5f50l9oCCFYV0zdQ6FCCr8rJojmKHTiZ3Zd98aFFLIk3_xFchFUMsgsg/s1600-h/combat+shock.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 134px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5386693495630095554" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS6g2RP4TT1ogMrDgjnPcWj2PEkMGNTfsP9ebAbEeVUMNtSWKS3OnZlEI5yvKBbTmuSqxysjBrOsXnQ-W99td5f50l9oCCFYV0zdQ6FCCr8rJojmKHTiZ3Zd98aFFLIk3_xFchFUMsgsg/s200/combat+shock.jpg" /></a> Maybe it's because I grew up on a steady diet of shoddy, second-rate VHS tapes for movies like <em>Surf Nazis Must Die</em> and <em>Rabid Grannies</em>, but I'm still taken aback when I see advertisements for the extremely well-polished <a href="http://www.tromasterpiece.com/front">Tromasterpiece Collection</a> nowadays.<br /><br />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 <em>Terror Firmer</em>, <em>Citizen Toxie</em> and <em>Poultrygeist</em>. Now they are kicking it up yet another notch with this amazing anthology of cult favorites.<br /><a name='more'></a><br />The fourth Tromasterpiece entry is <em>Combat Shock</em>, probably one of the most unrelentingly hopeless and depressing films ever captured on film. Seriously, not only does main character Frankie suffer from severe post-traumatic stress disorder and war flashbacks, but:<br /><br />1. His wife is a nagging bitch.<br />2. He's jobless and ravaged by poverty.<br />3. His toilet doesn't work.<br />4. His Agent Orange-infected infant gives the baby from <em>It's Alive</em> a run for its money.<br /><br />And that's only half of his problems. The entire movie basically focuses on Frankie's struggle to cope at home in the face of extreme hardship, intertwined with his past experiences in a Vietnam prison camp. It's the cinematic equivalent of taking a break from ripping your fingernails off in order to give yourself papercuts. My best advice is not to watch <em>Combat Shock</em> if you are on suicide watch - you won't make it more than 10 minutes into this movie. Unless crippling drug addiction, underage prostitution, and broken father/son relationships are your cup of tea, it will more than likely put you over the edge.<br /><br />While watching this film, it reminded me of the equally bleak <em>Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer</em>. Even though the subject matter is quite different, both movies offer a cold, objective eye towards urban decay and the foul characters that pollute it. While Ricky Giovinazzo's performance may not be as powerful as the one by Michael Rooker, he still perfectly conveys the pain and desperation his character is faced with. You can't help but feel sorry for the guy as he walks around New York, getting beat up by a gang and given the cold shoulder at the employment office.<br /><br />As for the final scene, let's just say it leaves quite a haunting impression on the viewer; I won't spoil it, but it certainly fits in with the overall tone of the movie. In some sick way, I suppose it could almost be regarded as a "happy ending," especially when you consider the future (or lack thereof) for Frankie and his family. Hell, his wife fed their baby a bowl of watery bread crumbs! I know they had no money, but what kind of meal is that? No wonder the thing cried all the time.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCTYk9ZY6_HW5bLdki_9TQTsfzIUPHsLZfvtcs-uUI7RM2z4VsoQ_rpfYwwZLosHqDdZj-ZjZHLDFEzTYXR3dR74dIHHaXTHvPqen7cc9d7YixKXaqW2qAp8liqHpl2yk32RqKJc4yVX0/s1600-h/combat_shock_baby.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 160px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 129px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5388255433272943058" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCTYk9ZY6_HW5bLdki_9TQTsfzIUPHsLZfvtcs-uUI7RM2z4VsoQ_rpfYwwZLosHqDdZj-ZjZHLDFEzTYXR3dR74dIHHaXTHvPqen7cc9d7YixKXaqW2qAp8liqHpl2yk32RqKJc4yVX0/s200/combat_shock_baby.jpg" /></a><br /><div>In true Troma style, they marketed <em>Combat Shock</em> as an action-packed war film (see the above movie poster for evidence). Jesus, I can only imagine an audience in 1986 expecting <em>Rambo:</em> <em>First Blood Part II</em> and proceeding to walk out of the theater and head straight into therapy. It's a shame too, because it's probably a predominant factor as to why it didn't do so well at the box office upon release.<br /><br />The new DVD itself is fantastic - besides two versions of the film (Troma's 92-minute version, known as <em>Combat Shock,</em> and the 100-minute <em>American Nightmares</em> cut), it has a number of interviews and documentaries, as well as a commentary with director Buddy Giovinazzo and Jorg Buttgereit of <em>Nekromantik</em> infamy. I haven't summoned the strength to exhaust the special features yet, but I know I'm in for a treat when I eventually do.<br /><br /><em>Henry</em> director John McNaughton summed up <em>Combat Shock</em> quite nicely when he said, "[This movie] makes you want to slit your wrists." But behind the mutant babies and exploitative violence is a powerful film with a message about the constant struggle that soldiers face every day of their post-war lives, an issue that is still timely today. It adds a layer of substance to the movie and really helps separate it from being just another run-of-the-mill genre film.<br /><br />I have to give Troma credit for giving this movie the DVD treatment it deserves, and look forward to picking up the other films in the collection (especially <em>Cannibal! The Musical</em>). Here's hoping their reputation for putting out legitimate products continues to grow; bring on editions of <em>Mother's Day</em> and <em>Bloodsucking Freaks</em>! Not bad for a company that once upon a time also distributed the movie <em>Killer Condom</em>. Not bad at all.</div>SBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11824078917151529330noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5279462425636891474.post-51351207788828929362009-09-29T00:45:00.015-04:002009-09-29T14:13:14.044-04:00Essential Viewing For Halloween - The Classics: Part Two!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHeSlE6CajblPEVhXeIdK0XYHWPxLY-Sriq9Vx_Dl-VpHOWSLkPo0hqO8nmJ25SCCT0eOsP0xrjNuwA1IXwX2Fp-X4AmII9wqWN2wM8flCZPibaWTkCYNPL8Vbvgo7AzrZWzcxfmRXCU0/s1600-h/TXChainsaw_french.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5386900886902609282" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 134px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHeSlE6CajblPEVhXeIdK0XYHWPxLY-Sriq9Vx_Dl-VpHOWSLkPo0hqO8nmJ25SCCT0eOsP0xrjNuwA1IXwX2Fp-X4AmII9wqWN2wM8flCZPibaWTkCYNPL8Vbvgo7AzrZWzcxfmRXCU0/s200/TXChainsaw_french.jpg" border="0" /></a>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.<br /><br />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!<br /><a name='more'></a><br />5. <em>The Shining</em> (1980) - Although differing in some instances from Stephen King's novel, Stanley Kubrick's vision for the most part follows the source material. Anyone who hasn't heard the famous lines, "Heeere's Johnny!" or "Redrum!" has been living under a rock. In what is arguably one of his best performances, Jack Nicholson perfectly conveys the progression from a normal loving husband/father to the murderous lunatic Jack Torrance. And you can't help but get chills when you see the images of the two twin girls in the Overlook Hotel hallway or the wave of blood coming out of the elevator; in fact, I dare you not to.<br /><br />4. <em>An American Werewolf in London</em> (1981) - No other werewolf movie has managed to combine the elements of horror and comedy quite like director John Landis' classic take on lycanthropes did. The film features a soundtrack with the word "moon" in every song (Van Morrison's "Moondance" being one of my personal favorites) and a werewolf transformation sequence that earned special makeup effects artist Rick Baker an Academy Award. And in what other movie are you going to have the pleasure of seeing a werewolf unleash his bloodlust at a porno theater in Piccadilly Circus? The answer is nowhere, my friend.<br /><br />3. <em>The Texas Chainsaw Massacre</em> (1974) - Not only is Tobe Hooper responsible for introducing the world to Leatherface, one of the most popular and well-known horror icons of all time, but his low-budget film about a group of unlucky teenagers crossing paths with a murderous cannibal clan has inspired countless films following it, most recently <em>The Devil's Rejects</em> and <em>Wrong Turn</em>. The sheer insanity of the last 10 minutes of the movie is reason alone to check out this classic. So do it, or face the wrath of a chainsaw-wielding maniac.<br /><br />2. <em>Night of the Living Dead</em> (1968) - All four of legendary director George Romero's Dead films should be on this list (the others - <em>Dawn of the Dead</em>, <em>Day of the Dead</em>, and <em>Land of the Dead) </em>but to make things fair, we'll focus on the one that started it all. The film not only manages to scare you, but also provides the viewer with razor-sharp social commentary to think about long after the film is over. Its influences can be seen in every Italian zombie film, as well as England's <em>Shaun of the Dead</em> and <em>28 Days Later</em>. Chances are if you haven't seen a Romero zombie movie, you aren't a horror movie fan.<br /><br />And now ladies and gentlemen, what you have all been waiting for... (Drum roll, please)<br /><br />1. <em>Halloween</em> (1978) - So just how many good things are there to say about this film? For starters, it is one of the pioneers of the slasher genre and resulted in countless copycats (the <em>Friday the 13th</em> franchise probably being the biggest) throughout the '80s and even today, with <em>Scream</em>. John Carpenter's unforgettable soundtrack is impossible to get out of your head, and his masterful direction is even better. Perhaps the biggest compliment one can give this movie is that it is downright scary, in every sense of the word. Carpenter shows us that you don't need to see one drop of blood in order to get you to jump out of your seat and hide under your bed covers. How many movies made these days can boast that?SBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11824078917151529330noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5279462425636891474.post-84918818020103674952009-09-28T21:04:00.016-04:002009-09-29T01:30:37.017-04:00Essential Viewing For Halloween - The Classics: Part One!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQkZzyymeYFLVvvyk4LHYEf8GDKax4jpudLPf2fpP1rW2qEMQ9lTDqJZhTCbBcMPPsoQhUrOIr-Dl843eGHjOULrul7TaiHeZ8LE3C_owcMpEYNT2iNWMyne3nydQxr0izTJ3VcrWE7CA/s1600-h/beyond_poster_05.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 136px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5386753630958362002" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQkZzyymeYFLVvvyk4LHYEf8GDKax4jpudLPf2fpP1rW2qEMQ9lTDqJZhTCbBcMPPsoQhUrOIr-Dl843eGHjOULrul7TaiHeZ8LE3C_owcMpEYNT2iNWMyne3nydQxr0izTJ3VcrWE7CA/s200/beyond_poster_05.jpg" /></a>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.<br /><br />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 <em>Phantasm</em> or <em>The Exorcist</em> didn't make the list - it goes without saying they could have easily made it.<br /><a name='more'></a><br />Also, as we get closer to the 31st, I want to come up with another list of more obscure films for the holiday, and I already have a few in mind. So keep your eyes open for it!<br /><br />Some might say that Christmas is "the most wonderful time of the year," but I beg to differ.<br /><br />Putting up a fake evergreen tree and getting presents in December is great and everything, but if I had to choose between that or dressing up in Halloween costumes and having some good old-fashioned hi-jinks with friends, I'd have to choose the latter.<br /><br />Perhaps a more important reason, however, is the whole atmosphere of All Hallows' Eve. The trees are bare, the weather is cold and windy, and the days are shorter. All of these factors create the perfect setting one should immerse themselves in when getting into the Halloween spirit and watching a horror movie.<br /><br />Now I'm a huge horror movie fan and I watch them year round, but there is nothing better than popping an old favorite into my DVD player towards the end of October and soaking it all in. It's heaven I tell you.<br /><br />So given my background, I feel like I would be committing a grave injustice if I didn't impart my divine wisdom in these matters for those of you who are horror movie-deficient. In order to do so, I will provide you with what I consider to be a definitive list of classic horror movies that one should see to celebrate Halloween. I could have easily made a top 20, or a top 50 list for that matter, but there is only so much time between now and the 31st, so I'll cut everyone a break.<br /><br />With that said, here are the Holy Grail of horror movies, the cream of the crop, the top 10 list I consider to be required viewing for Halloween.<br /><br />10. <em>The Beyond</em> (1981) - Although this film may be the least-known on the list, that shouldn't prevent you from checking out Italian director Lucio Fulci's supernatural zombie gore-fest. What the movie lacks in plot it more than makes up for with its surreal, dreamlike atmosphere and soundtrack. Creative death scenes, many of which deal with Fulci's eye fetish (those who have had the pleasure of seeing <em>Zombie</em> can attest to it), include death by spiders, acid and a shotgun blast to a young girl's head. Yes, you heard right: a little girl gets her head blown off.<br /><br />9. <em>A Nightmare on Elm Street</em> (1984) - One of director Wes Craven's most popular films (and arguably one of his best, behind <em>The Last House on the Left</em> and <em>The Hills Have Eyes</em>), <em>ANOES</em> introduces us to the infamous Freddy Krueger, the child murderer who is killed by angry parents but comes back to terrorize kids in their dreams. Featuring a truly terrifying concept (imagine not being able to sleep for fear of being killed) and a mean-spirited villain who manages to be both funny and scary, it's no wonder the movie spawned six sequels (seven, if you count <em>Freddy Vs. Jason</em>) and is ingrained in the hearts and minds of many horror fans.<br /><br />8. <em>The Evil Dead</em> (1981) - While the majority of the college circuit has only heard of the third movie in the franchise, <em>Army of Darkness</em>, <em>The Evil Dead</em> is one of the most innovative low-budget horror movies ever made. Sam Raimi's directorial debut tells the tale of five young adults (one of which is Ash, played by B-movie star Bruce Campbell) who spend their vacation at a cabin in the middle of the woods. When one of them reads from the Book of the Dead that they find in the basement, all hell breaks loose with very bloody results. One of the more unique moments in the film: a demonically possessed tree rapes a girl. Gives new meaning to the term "getting wood," don't you think? Bah-dum-ching!<br /><br />7. <em>Fright Night</em> (1985) - This modern-day take on the classic vampire tale relies on its strong cast of characters, tight plot, and memorable '80s soundtrack (especially during the night club scene). When teenager Charley Brewster finds out his next-door neighbor is a creature of the night, he realizes that only washed-up TV star Peter Vincent can help him save the day before it is too late. The movie boasts one of the most charming, sexually-charged vampire villains of the decade, Jerry Dandridge (played by the always suave Chris Sarandon).<br /><br />6. <em>The Thing</em> (1982) - John Carpenter's claustrophobic thriller features groundbreaking special makeup effects by Rob Bottin and an all-star cast (Kurt Russell and Keith David, to name a few). When an alien life form starts taking over members of a scientific expedition in Antarctica, the tension and paranoid begin to run so thick you can almost cut it with a knife. For a film made before CGI, not enough can be said about how truly awe-inspiring Bottin's effects work is, especially in the scenes when the alien takes over the dogs' bodies, and when one unlucky guy's head separates from his body.<br /><br /><em>Stay tuned for part two tomorrow!</em>SBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11824078917151529330noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5279462425636891474.post-90710267710808381172009-09-26T23:52:00.031-04:002009-10-03T02:29:19.466-04:00Chopping Mall (Killbots): The Superior 'Mall Cop' Movie<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn_HVU8KPH13UNWulZ9VBd6LTLiAuULB47kyYRSCHuJaxA7aXKBGgAQn3fhWY9S0GnNxm0g2bc-zdk-dpxO2lV_yy3mCbShJFUwXTGfyigNKruTiSanFwMmuQ6SBtU8eZ3Q0bZKMO2xbQ/s1600-h/73-7.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 128px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5386656564678870050" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn_HVU8KPH13UNWulZ9VBd6LTLiAuULB47kyYRSCHuJaxA7aXKBGgAQn3fhWY9S0GnNxm0g2bc-zdk-dpxO2lV_yy3mCbShJFUwXTGfyigNKruTiSanFwMmuQ6SBtU8eZ3Q0bZKMO2xbQ/s200/73-7.jpg" /></a>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 <em>Observe and Report</em>, 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.<br /><br />The other film I caught this weekend was <em>Chopping Mall</em> - 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 <em>Paul Blart: Mall Cop</em> this week and complete the genre trifecta. On second thought, no, I won't.<br /><a name='more'></a><br />Anyways, the film's opening scene completely won me over. First off, there’s a cameo from Paul Bartel and Mary Woronov, reprising their roles of Paul and Mary Bland in <em>Eating Raoul</em> (a great cult classic). Secondly, there’s quite possibly one of the most incredible montages of the goings-on at a mall ever committed to film during the opening credits – it really needs to be seen to be believed (hint: it’s very, <em>very </em>’80s).<br /><br />The rest of <em>Chopping Mall</em> unfolds in rather typical fashion: a group of teenage mall employees get together after-hours for some drinking and sexual hi-jinks, then start getting picked off one by one. I didn’t really recognize much of the cast besides Barbara Crampton (<em>Re-Animator</em>, <em>From Beyond</em>) and legend Dick Miller (<em>The Howling</em>, <em>Gremlins</em>) in another wonderful cameo appearance, but the remaining teens are serviceable enough in their standard slasher roles - the douchebag jock, the slut, nerd, straight-edge girl, etc.<br /><br />In the kills department, for the most part it's nothing too memorable besides an <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNj-kHe-EmQ">exploding head</a>, which unfortunately happens far too early on in the movie. The film blows its load much too soon; I kept hoping something else was going to top or at least match it, but there wasn't much else to write home about. The majority of the remaining deaths involve fire, electricity or more robot lasers, but aren't really wow-inducing (although one involving a slow-moving mall security vehicle ramming into a Protector is unintentionally hilarious).<br /><br />As for the Protectors themselves, their production value was actually pretty impressive considering the low budget. They move around quite fluidly, shoot out taser projectiles and according to the IMDB, were voiced by director Jim Wynorski. In a nice touch of black humor, after every murder the robots say, "Thank you, have a nice day," which kind of reminded me of <em>Robocop</em>; I was half hoping to hear them say, "Dead or alive, you're coming with me." (even though this came out a year before Paul Verhoeven's masterpiece). I guess in theory the "killbots" could have been a little more intimidating, but given the fact that there were only three of them, had limited weapons and move at a speed of about 10 mph, they put up a respectable enough fight.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHGXntI0-o8FEXbzO2NfA0SVwKH-PJzxuuXQiovX74ohBS7zPvlQ9QHaMfw40GO9lW1gyY2eXwJVGZAsgUlAg3c8V3rPuUqNyfECaVeeV0u77jHTaujhSg6euoUUPqEPke4j73qyEEQ8g/s1600-h/rochoppingmall.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 68px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5388256862829043346" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHGXntI0-o8FEXbzO2NfA0SVwKH-PJzxuuXQiovX74ohBS7zPvlQ9QHaMfw40GO9lW1gyY2eXwJVGZAsgUlAg3c8V3rPuUqNyfECaVeeV0u77jHTaujhSg6euoUUPqEPke4j73qyEEQ8g/s200/rochoppingmall.jpg" /></a><br />Speaking of dialogue, there are plenty of charming one-liners and other quips scattered throughout the film; among others, here are a few gems: "I'm just not used to be chased around a mall in the middle of the night by killer robots." "Let's send these fuckers a Rambo-gram." And my personal favorite, which I hope to use at the office sometime towards the end of the week: "Oh, fuck the fuchsia, it's Friday!"<br /><br />As incredible as <em>Chopping Mall</em> sounds, it isn't entirely perfect. Although the movie ran under 80 minutes, this one dragged a bit midway through, and got a little tiresome towards the end after the 6th or 7th confrontation/chase scene. Despite its uneven pace, it's still a pleasure to sit through, especially if you like your horror movies in the shopping center setting - just think <em>Dawn of the Dead</em> with robots instead of zombies and thought-provoking social commentary.<br /><br />Plus, it doesn't have Kevin James in it - so it's already better than 1/3 of the mall cop genre.SBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11824078917151529330noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5279462425636891474.post-17293144785864710852009-09-17T00:07:00.020-04:002009-10-03T02:35:07.888-04:00Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers – An Allegory for Safe Sex?<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgilfoDkUSfKgutemDTH5WrIqKYAFe50hSZdhBAXF-OGsAmVvKkSEtXQDrh2kokjJ8Wq5sntROAtEwKHdD3CabwjacBIkv-TmiIJFffbBkRa7PjXYTPj-gH7AgLqEz-IBOp2NoLFYUd_cA/s1600-h/hollywood_chainsaw_hookers.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 130px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5384538739680021298" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgilfoDkUSfKgutemDTH5WrIqKYAFe50hSZdhBAXF-OGsAmVvKkSEtXQDrh2kokjJ8Wq5sntROAtEwKHdD3CabwjacBIkv-TmiIJFffbBkRa7PjXYTPj-gH7AgLqEz-IBOp2NoLFYUd_cA/s200/hollywood_chainsaw_hookers.jpg" /></a> 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.<br /><br />Anyways, I’d like to think that instead of preaching abstinence or discussing the dangers of STDs, she could have showed my class <em>Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers</em> 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.<br /><a name='more'></a><br />At least that was director Fred Olen Ray’s intention, or so he says in the making-of featurette off the new 20th anniversary special edition DVD. Ray tells the interviewer he wanted people to view the film as a cautionary tale, and think twice before having sex with someone they didn’t even know.<br /><br />Now it sounds very noble of him, although I’m not completely convinced that the same guy who made such classics as <em>Genie in a String Bikini</em> and <em>Scream Queen Hot Tub Party</em> had some underlying motive to promote responsibility in young adults and steer teenagers away from losing their virginity to a sleazy prostitute - but hey, who am I to judge?<br /><br />Hard-hitting social commentary aside, <em>Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers</em> succeeds on a much more basic level. The film follows detective Jack Chandler and his quest to find runaway teenager Samantha at the request of her worried mother. During his efforts to locate her inside the city’s seedy underbelly, Jack gets more than he bargained for when he crosses paths with a chainsaw-worshipping cult of whores.<br /><br />It’s fairly obvious that after reading the movie title alone, you won’t go into this expecting high art. Shot over five days and on a shoestring budget, the film’s flaws are undeniably apparent if you want to nitpick: the blood looks like orange water, the acting is atrocious and the production values are non-existent.<br /><br />But if you can’t stand these types of no-budget affairs without rolling your eyes, you really shouldn’t even put this movie in your hands in the first place, never mind your DVD player. For those that do enjoy a nice slice of grindhouse cinema every now and again, there are some aspects to <em>Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers</em> that’ll be the bread to your butter.<br /><br />Now just because the acting sucks, doesn’t mean the cast isn’t fun. B-movie staples Linnea Quigley (<em>Night of the Demons</em>, <em>Return of the Living Dead</em>) and Michelle Bauer (<em>Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-O-Rama</em>) bring their usual flare (a.k.a. "breasts") to the proceedings, while cult leader Gunnar Hansen shows why he had no speaking parts in his legendary role as Leatherface – the man’s wooden line delivery is deadlier than his chainsaw.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikLXvW51cSrhUuRMECcolsNE7TYJ-qUJEBCCfQk4Rdv9OO0pnsAoj2GYybSU9BfH4HGLsnASpYqB8NNfkZZRZvM32RDKPCLRtS5mcZCgr-sT3TJGYfYBa4LQPqTw76zxFIefRfdtZCaTY/s1600-h/Hollywood-Chainsaw-Hookers-Linnea-Quigley-9.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 110px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5388258202580536914" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikLXvW51cSrhUuRMECcolsNE7TYJ-qUJEBCCfQk4Rdv9OO0pnsAoj2GYybSU9BfH4HGLsnASpYqB8NNfkZZRZvM32RDKPCLRtS5mcZCgr-sT3TJGYfYBa4LQPqTw76zxFIefRfdtZCaTY/s200/Hollywood-Chainsaw-Hookers-Linnea-Quigley-9.jpg" /></a><br />The script has a few bright spots, however, with some of Jack’s voiceovers adding genuine humor to the mix. Sure, he’s a poor man’s Humphrey Bogart, but fans of noir films from the 1930s will dig the vibe of the tough-talking, womanizing private eye. He also not-so-subtly provides valuable insight into Quigley's more noticeable attributes (pay attention to the last line of the film in particular for a good laugh).<br /><br />Obviously the film doesn’t take itself quite seriously, especially when Jack and Sam uncover the cult’s hideout by finding the huge Egyptian statues with the sign “TEMPLE, THIS WAY” out in the open. But that’s why the film is so fun; there’s a campy appeal to it that allows you to turn your brain off and just be entertained – and what’s wrong with that?<br /><br />The movie’s supposedly infamous scene at the end is “The Virgin Dance of the Double Chainsaws,” which is really just Quigley’s character struggling to look sexy while awkwardly swinging around two chainsaws and gyrating – kind of like my junior prom experience, but without the weapons or body paint. I hate to say the scene is anti-climactic, but unfortunately it is - an example where the name is a lot cooler than the execution of the concept.<br /><br />I won’t ruin the final battle’s outcome, but I did gain a greater appreciation for it after I found out that the participants used <em>actual </em>chainsaws for the bloody showdown. I’m not sure if the people willing to risk their lives for this type of movie should be admired, or slapped for being so damn stupid.<br /><br />At a whopping 75 minutes, <em>Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers</em> is a fairly harmless endeavor. Of course there are a thousand films out there that are better – ones that provide scenes of nail-biting suspense, showcase realistic special effects, etc. – but sometimes you don’t feel like eating filet mignon every night; fast food burgers can be just as satisfying and tasty.SBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11824078917151529330noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5279462425636891474.post-76303146947040346522009-09-16T15:07:00.015-04:002009-09-23T02:03:59.787-04:00Saw II - 2005, Back When the Franchise Still Made Sense<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp4x0hi9KeuADYlX_CGWMc3MrspfcT7mFqwaCO5ZX7fzY0Z1iqiT9h0ScFdW-YDck2g3Sp5o8IG21BX8JNtWZtxJVSx163P-Yk42eE5GvfEez0jyannoMRziTvAwtOU9317QfnwUe4i9s/s1600-h/saw_II.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 134px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5384539600901785186" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp4x0hi9KeuADYlX_CGWMc3MrspfcT7mFqwaCO5ZX7fzY0Z1iqiT9h0ScFdW-YDck2g3Sp5o8IG21BX8JNtWZtxJVSx163P-Yk42eE5GvfEez0jyannoMRziTvAwtOU9317QfnwUe4i9s/s200/saw_II.jpg" /></a> 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.<br /><br />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, <a href="http://www.ramcigar.com/"><em>The Good 5 Cent Cigar</em></a>. 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.<br /><a name='more'></a><br />For the most part, this review of <em>Saw II</em> from November 2005 is left as is - although I did edit a word or two here and there to make it flow a bit better. I do find it fun to go back and see how my writing style has changed (perhaps not necessarily for the better!), plus it helps me add material to what I hope will be a long-running blog.<br /><br />Oh yeah, and lastly, it was written back before you needed flowcharts and bar graphs explaining the convoluted mess that has now become the <em>Saw</em> franchise (with the sixth entry due out next month, and <em>Saw VII</em> currently entering pre-production).<br /><br />We live in troubled times. In a genre currently plagued by mediocre PG-13 drivel and endless unnecessary remakes, it seems as though you have a better chance of winning the lottery nowadays than you do of seeing a good horror movie in theaters.<br /><br />For every <em>Land of the Dead</em> or <em>The Devil's Rejects</em>, we get 10 of some filth like <em>The Fog</em> (the remake, not John Carpenter's original; the newer version should be avoided at all costs). Luckily 2005’s fall season had at least one diamond in the rough, with <em>Saw II</em>.<br /><br />For those who haven't seen the original, <em>Saw </em>deals with two guys forced to play along in the sadistic game of Jigsaw, a man who teaches immoral people to learn from their sins and appreciate their lives by putting them in situations where they have to fight to survive.<br /><br />While trapped in an abandoned bathroom, one of the men has to kill the other within a certain time limit or else his wife and young daughter will be murdered. The movie is infamous for its surprise ending, which I won't ruin for anyone but is so intense that the girl I was dating at the time almost vomited when we saw it.<br /><br />All puking aside, I must admit I felt apprehensive when I first heard about an upcoming sequel. The first movie is great as a stand-alone film and a follow-up seemed like it would only fall short of the high standard set by <em>Saw</em>. I'm glad to say that despite its flaws, however, <em>Saw II</em> is indeed a worthy sequel.<br /><br />For starters, I knew I would be in good hands after the first five minutes of the film. No time is wasted in reintroducing viewers to the sick games of Jigsaw, and the resulting cringe factor put me on edge for the rest of the movie.<br /><br />The main plot revolves around Eric Matthews, a down-on-his-luck police officer who is going through a divorce with his wife and has a rocky relationship with his son. When his boy becomes involved in Jigsaw's games and is one of many unwilling participants locked in a house with a deadly nerve agent, Matthews must race against the clock and figure out how to save him before it is too late.<br /><br />A lot stood out in the film for me; first and foremost, Tobin Bell as Jigsaw is a god. He stole every scene he was in, and I really liked how they added more depth and a back-story to his character. Jigsaw is a morally complex villain and as crazy as he is, I found myself understanding his logic and actually sympathizing with him at times.<br /><br />Unfortunately, I can't say much for the rest of the characters in the film. Besides Glenn Plummer's character Jonas, I wanted everyone trapped in the house to meet as brutal an end as possible. Jonas was the only one who actually tried thinking rationally; everyone else either just whined and cried (the always annoying Beverley Mitchell) or made idiot decisions (crawling into a furnace in a booby-trapped house).<br /><br />And I could go on a 500-word rant about how I hate Franky G with every inch of my being and soul, but there isn't enough space in today's review.<br /><br />Luckily, the ways in which all of these characters are eliminated are incredibly bloody and satisfying. Gorehounds can rest assured that there is plenty of red stuff in this film, most notably in the form of stab wounds and slit throats, various torture devices applied to the body, a nail-studded bat to the head and a shudder-inducing scene involving lots of hypodermic needles.<br /><br />As for the final act, some of the impact was lost because I went into the film expecting another twist ending and the sequel followed much of the same pattern of the original. This isn't a bad thing; it is still well-written enough and certainly warrants another viewing. Fans of the first film will also appreciate the many references to <em>Saw</em>, which on top of nicely tying the two films together also clears up many unresolved plot points.<br /><br />Any horror fan tired of the recent trend of catering horror movies toward 15-year-old girls or attempting to make a quick buck by cashing in on a respected franchise should go out and see <em>Saw II</em> as soon as possible. It’s refreshing to see a film take chances and offer both a smart and gory sequel. Although it doesn't top the original, <em>Saw II</em> is definitely a breath of fresh air.SBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11824078917151529330noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5279462425636891474.post-83140453155439885982009-09-08T09:23:00.010-04:002009-09-23T02:12:23.866-04:00Aristotle Meets Argento: Part Two!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiB9d-OZ5_ipeoV7q57-0FSQ5v3lIe9jSUZ-CNmzwjMKDz8SdFNLHGbC98yWVJnXmv83siW7LVLAM4tkTCitT3G_XaVnMCmuPxgLIMBar9zTOL6y0UoYLdb8ZcqE4WS0rbCnzC-SNPMYA/s1600-h/argento1.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 134px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5384541777437541170" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiB9d-OZ5_ipeoV7q57-0FSQ5v3lIe9jSUZ-CNmzwjMKDz8SdFNLHGbC98yWVJnXmv83siW7LVLAM4tkTCitT3G_XaVnMCmuPxgLIMBar9zTOL6y0UoYLdb8ZcqE4WS0rbCnzC-SNPMYA/s200/argento1.jpg" /></a> ...and here's the final half!<br /><br />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.<br /><a name='more'></a><br />Filmmakers can break up a scene into its components and depict it from different angles, then reassemble the parts. An editor can produce a non-realistic sequence of intercut, edited images, which forces the audience to interpret the images according to a set of semiotic rules. When a film director stages a scene, the audience may consider it less realistic; this is because the scenario is filtered through the filmmaker’s sensibilities and the outcome reflects the director’s motives. Hence, the lighting, make-up, costumes, acting methods, cutting and soundtrack music selection combine to inform the audience about the filmmaker’s intentions (1).<br /><br />Over time, certain styles and conventions of shooting and editing are standardized within a medium or genre. Some conventions tend to naturalize content and make it seem more real. Other methods – which are quite popular in numerous subgenres of horror, including the slasher or <em>giallo</em> – breach convention to create an effect. In movies with aestheticized violence, the “standard realist modes of editing and cinematography are violated in order to spectacularize the action being played out on the screen;” directors use quick and awkward editing, canted framings, shock cuts and slow motion to emphasize the impacts of bullets or the “spurting of blood” (3).<br /><br />A perfect example of a highly stylized portrayal of explicit violence is in Italian horror director Dario Argento’s <em>Suspiria</em> (1977). The plot of the supernaturally charged <em>giallo</em> (the Italian word for “yellow,” used to describe the dustjackets of old pulp detective stories) deals with a coven of witches who control a German dance academy. The opening murder sequence showcases a woman being stabbed repeatedly – including once in the heart, shown in an extremely uncomfortable close-up – then subsequently hanged after her bloodied body crashes through a beautiful stained glass ceiling.<br /><br />Xavier Mendik, the director of the Cult Film Archive at University College Northampton, describes the movie as “a film that requires contemplation. Its surreal compositions emulate the feel of an artist’s canvas, with individual scenes being more aesthetically pleasing than the film as a whole. In characteristic Argento style, [the opening murder] is saturated with primary colors and a near-hysterical soundtrack. Both of these features are so overpowering as to distract the viewer from the gory activities that the scene details. The unnerving force of the scene is once again testament to the director’s ability to manipulate every aspect of cinematic technology in his quest to expand the boundaries of horror cinema” (10).<br /><br />So are these stylistic and artistic elements the reason why horror movies maintain such a firm grasp on moviegoers today, or is it something else completely different altogether? In his book, <em>The Philosophy of Horror, or Paradoxes of the Heart</em>, Noel Carroll attempts to answer this very question: “Why would anyone be interested in the genre to begin with? Why does the genre persist?” (4). He is puzzled by this, because Carroll says in the ordinary course of affairs, people shun what disgusts them: “We do not, for example, attempt to add some pleasure to a boring afternoon by opening the lid of a steamy trash can in order to savor its unwholesome stew of broken bits of meat, moldering fruits and vegetables, and noxious, unrecognizable clumps, riven thoroughly by all manner of crawling things” (4).<br /><br />Carroll believes this to be the “paradox of horror.” Horror movies obviously attract consumers, but by means of the “expressly repulsive.” There is evidence showing the genre is pleasurable to its audience, but it does so by dealing with the sort of things that cause “disquiet, distress and displeasure.” The fundamental question then becomes: “Why are horror audiences attracted by what, typically [in everyday life], should [and would] repel them? How can horror audiences find pleasure in what by nature is distressful and unpleasant?” (4).<br /><br />Jerrold Levinson attempts to summarize Carroll’s answers, and provide some of his own insight. Carroll offers everything from author H.P. Lovecraft’s belief that horror is valued for the quasi-religious cosmic awe it inspires, to Freudian explanations in terms of surrogate enactment of repressed psychosexual longings, and suggestions of Eaton and Feagin that satisfaction might reside in some sort of controlling meta-response to inherently unpleasant first-order reactions (7). However, Levinson says, “Carroll claims that our main interest and pleasure in horror fiction lies in its narrative structure, rather than directly in the monster’s horrific nature or our reaction to that. It is this curiosity, the desire for information, that drives the horror genre” (7). Daniel Shaw supports this statement, saying, “Curiosity is at the heart of most narratives; without the desire to know, the narrative flow would be un-involving” (13).<br /><br />The nature of horror movies is merely a side effect for Carroll, “a side effect that is paid in order to reap the cognitive rewards of investigation, disclosure, and unmasking, and not the key to a more fundamental explanation of horror’s appeal. The monster is interesting, ultimately, only because it fascinates.” Levinson believes that while Carroll offers compelling arguments that support their relevance to aesthetic theory, a qualm, “that the account fails to locate the specific appeal of horror tales as opposed to ones of benevolent fantasy or marvelous categorical violation, stubbornly remains” (7). Shaw agrees, saying, “[Carroll] provides an ingenious solution to the paradox, but fails to come to grips with the essence of horror in the process” (13). It appears that this “specific appeal,” or the essence of horror, is left to be interpreted by the audience.<br /><br />Horror cinema aficionados are left to wonder if there are numerous reasons or maybe no reason at all as to why excessively violent films are popular among moviegoers, past and present. Is it because people are impressed by the lighting and camera techniques combined with bloody special effects? Do they need to satisfy their morbid curiosity, and succumb to the fear of the unknown? Or, quite simply, do they just enjoy being scared out of their wits? Whatever the case may be, it is safe to say the horror genre is alive and will remain going strong. Regardless of whether critics think these films act as cathartic devices, or are extremely dangerous and detrimental to society, people will continue to be entertained and disturbed by the appeal of the horror movie.<br /><br />1. “Aestheticization of violence.” <em>Reference.com Encyclopedia</em>. Lexico Publishing Group, LLC., 2006.<br />2. Broeske, P.H. “Killing is alive and well in Hollywood.” <em>Los Angeles Times</em>, p.19-22, Sept. 2, 1984.<br />3. Bruder, Margaret Ervin. “Aestheticizing Violence, or How To Do Things with Style.” <em>Film Studies</em>, Indiana University, Bloomington IN.<br />4. Carroll, Noel. <em>The Philosophy of Horror, or Paradoxes of the Heart</em>, p.158-160. New York: Routledge, Chapman and Hall, 1990.<br />5. “Catharsis.” <em>Dictionary of the History of Ideas</em>. University of Virginia Library: The Gale Group, 2003.<br />6. Griswold, Charles. “Plato on Rhetoric and Poetry.” <em>Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy</em>. 2003.<br />7. Levinson, Jerrold. “The Philosophy of Horror, Review.” <em>The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism</em>, Vol. 49 No. 3, p.253-258, Summer 1991.<br />8. Martin, Adrian. “The Offended Critic: Film Reviewing and Social Commentary.” <em>Australian Quarterly</em>, Vol. 72 Issue 2, April-May 2000.<br />9. Maslin, J. “Tired blood claims the horror film as a fresh victim.” <em>New York Times</em>, p.15, 23, Nov. 1, 1981.<br />10. Mendik, Xavier. “Dario Argento.” <em>Senses of Cinema</em>, November 2003.<br />11. Meyer, M. “Keeping a lid on gore and sex.” <em>Video Magazine</em>, p.75-76, March 1988.<br />12. Sapolsky, Barry S., and Molitor, Fred. “Sex and Violence in Slasher Films.” <em>Mass Media and Society</em>. Greenwich, CT: Ablex Publishing, 1997.<br />13. Shaw, Daniel. “A Humean Definition of Horror.” <em>Film-Philosophy</em>, Vol. 1 No. 4, August 1997.SBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11824078917151529330noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5279462425636891474.post-39143045728749717692009-09-07T18:45:00.014-04:002009-09-29T01:24:05.698-04:00Aristotle Meets Argento: Part One!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGGw7lPKxctThrdJRMvQaRw89smQuZskrFjk6Le3BBt8ZsMnvofjbdWtw9x6oUXNAPEF_ibPgPhHWkKPvtbKCzctcllE3DOIU0zktoYcv6LVZfqq6Xfahr4F-oT9ZhBuA0vfYCFjhxkAI/s1600-h/aristotle.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 154px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5384540747150954962" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGGw7lPKxctThrdJRMvQaRw89smQuZskrFjk6Le3BBt8ZsMnvofjbdWtw9x6oUXNAPEF_ibPgPhHWkKPvtbKCzctcllE3DOIU0zktoYcv6LVZfqq6Xfahr4F-oT9ZhBuA0vfYCFjhxkAI/s200/aristotle.jpg" /></a> 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 <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6zJGUUiG0c">murders</a> in <em>Suspiria</em>!<br /><br />Due to the length of the paper, I split it into two parts. Look for part two (and my work cited) tomorrow!<br /><a name='more'></a><br /><strong>The Appeal of Murder in Style:<br />Aestheticization of Violence, Catharsis Theory and the Paradox of Horror Cinema<br /></strong><br /><em>“If any human act evokes the aesthetic experience of the sublime, certainly it is the act of murder … if murder can be experienced aesthetically, the murderer can in turn be regarded as a kind of artist – a performance artist or anti-artist whose specialty is not creation but destruction.”</em> – Joel Black, University of Georgia literature professor<br /><br /><em>“One of television’s greatest contributions is that it brought murder back into the home where it belongs. Seeing a murder on television can be good therapy. It can help work off one’s antagonism.”</em> – Alfred Hitchcock, director of <em>Psycho</em>, <em>The Birds<br /></em><br />For almost a century, horror cinema has frightened, shocked and disgusted audiences with its portrayal of terrifying monsters, deranged serial killers with a bloodlust for young virgins, and other spooky things that go bump in the night. The question that has been asked for years is: why are these movies so popular? What is it about being scared and having the hair on the back of one’s neck stand straight up that keep people coming back for more? As horror movies become more and more socially acceptable in today’s culture, it is crucial to look at what makes these films attract mass appeal: plot, characters, tone, or perhaps most importantly, the aestheticization of violence. It is also important to ask: as a result of these films, are there any consequences to being fed a steady diet of severed eyeballs, guts and bloody aerial spray?<br /><br />The origins of the mainstream horror movie began in the 1930s, with the release of such films as <em>Dracula</em>, <em>Frankenstein</em> and <em>The Wolf Man</em>. But while these classic Universal movie monsters provided big scares for their audiences, much of the violence was shown off-screen or largely implied. Although the commercial success of these movies was widespread, by the late 1940s the novelty began to wear off. Following the end of World War II, movie producers switched their focus to colossal insects and aliens from outer space. These films “appealed to the public because they vented fears of nuclear war and expressed a general mistrust of science and technology” (12).<br /><br />The 1950s and 1960s ushered in a new element to horror cinema: color. <em>The Curse of Frankenstein</em> (1957) shocked moviegoers with its colorized blood and gore. H.G. Lewis, known as “the Godfather of Gore,” entered uncharted waters with 1963’s <em>Blood Feast</em>. The film’s main plot revolved around a man who stalks and mutilates beautiful young women. Lewis used the same formula in <em>2,000 Maniacs</em>, <em>The Gore Gore Girls</em>, <em>Color Me Blood Red</em> and <em>Wizard of Gore</em>, single-handedly changing the face of horror with his full-color torture and murder scenes, which audiences loved (12).<br /><br />As the decades passed, horror movies began to feature more and more explicit violence. The 1970s and 1980s delivered <em>The Texas Chainsaw Massacre</em>, <em>Dawn of the Dead</em>, <em>Halloween</em>, <em>Friday the 13th</em>, Lucio Fulci’s <em>The Beyond</em>, and countless other gore epics. These movies had two major similarities: they were all huge financial hits, and they all featured impressive special effects involving extreme gore. With recent entries such as <em>The Devil’s Rejects</em> and <em>Haute Tension</em>, it is clear that these movies are still immensely popular in today’s culture, and more than half of the aforementioned titles in this paragraph have been remade in the past four years. So why does content that deals with such violent and disturbing subject matter appeal to mainstream audiences? Are there any far-reaching effects – positive or negative – because of this phenomenon?<br /><br />When attempting to answer this question, it is important to look at the theories surrounding the effect of violence in mass media on society. Some critics say violence serves a “cathartic or dissipating effect ... providing acceptable outlets for anti-social impulses” (3). According to Adrian Martin, these “critics, who have regard – love, even – for violent cinema in its diverse forms ... have developed a ... response to those who decry everything from <em>Taxi Driver</em> to <em>Terminator 2</em> as dehumanizing, desensitizing cultural influences.” They argue that “screen violence is not real violence, and should never be confused with it. Movie violence is fun, spectacle, make-believe; it’s dramatic metaphor, or a necessary catharsis akin to that provided by Jacobean theatre; it’s generic, pure sensation, pure fantasy. It has its own changing history, its codes, its precise aesthetic uses” (8).<br /><br />This ideology is very similar to that of the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle. He supported a useful role for drama and tragedy: a way for people to purge their negative emotions. Aristotle mentions “catharsis” at the end of his <em>Politics</em>, which is the Greek word for “purgation, cleansing, and purification.” It is derived from <em>katharein</em>, meaning “to cleanse.” Aristotle says that after people listen to music that elicits pity and fear, they “are liable to become possessed” by these negative emotions. Afterwards, these people return to “a normal condition as if they had been medically treated and undergone a purge [catharsis] ... All experience a certain purge and pleasant relief. In the same manner cathartic melodies give innocent joy to men” (5).<br /><br />At the opposite end of the spectrum, some critics see depictions of violence in films as superficial and exploitative. They argue that it causes audience members to become desensitized to brutality, and thereby increases aggressivity. One condemnation of the slasher movie subgenre (with such films as <em>The Burning</em>, <em>My Bloody Valentine</em> and <em>Slaughter High</em>) is the widely-held view that they single out women for injury and death. For example, a <em>Los Angeles Times</em> film critic claimed that the “brutal victimization of women [is] a recurring and obviously popular theme in such films” (2). During the ABC news show <em>Nightline</em>, correspondent Gail Harris summed up slasher films as “short on plot and long on brutality and violence, much of it sexual, almost all of it directed at women” (11). Film critics Gene Siskel and Robert Ebert also made similar claims on their television program <em>Sneak Previews</em>.<br /><br />Slasher films have also been criticized for mixing excessive violence with sex. A <em>New York Times</em> film critic wrote that the violence in slasher films is “usually preceded by some sort of erotic prelude: footage of pretty young bodies in the shower, or teens changing into nighties for the slumber party, or anything that otherwise lulls the audience into a mildly sensual mood” (9). Daniel Linz and Edward Donnerstein have reported that slashers often include the mutilation of women in scenes that include sexual content. Many critics who claim that slasher films often portray sexual assaults believe combining erotic and violent scenes can be a direct cause for viewers, especially males, to associate sex with aggression in their everyday lives (12).<br /><br />These opinions and beliefs echo the same words as the famous student of Socrates, Plato. He proposed to prohibit poets from his perfect society because Plato worried that their aesthetic ability to create attractive narratives about immoral behavior would corrupt young minds. Plato’s writings refer to poetry as a kind of rhetoric, whose “influence is pervasive and often harmful.” He believed poetry that was “unregulated by philosophy is a danger to soul and community.” He also warned that tragic poetry can produce “a disordered psychic regime or constitution” by inducing “a dream-like, uncritical state in which we lose ourselves in ... sorrow, grief, anger, [and] resentment.” In short, Plato argued that “What goes on in the theater, in your home, in your fantasy life, are connected” to what a person does in real life (6).<br /><br /><em>Stay tuned for part two tomorrow!</em>SBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11824078917151529330noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5279462425636891474.post-58305762673431519222009-09-07T14:43:00.007-04:002009-09-23T02:15:00.910-04:00Death Race 2000 – You’ll Think Twice About Jaywalking<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvJrAXVn2NihgbPxfJcbGDnsby9VfvOkVwltdKTAJD50t2eFoT1hysI3gKw_9yslQ44rIvi43ydYPSK1nxg70BVZ2-_dwT5QudtJqEFcmM-N_ZMG7_wUAqDg4o_zuo56cD2yAOSa5Hk_w/s1600-h/death_race.bmp"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 133px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5384542440608610610" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvJrAXVn2NihgbPxfJcbGDnsby9VfvOkVwltdKTAJD50t2eFoT1hysI3gKw_9yslQ44rIvi43ydYPSK1nxg70BVZ2-_dwT5QudtJqEFcmM-N_ZMG7_wUAqDg4o_zuo56cD2yAOSa5Hk_w/s200/death_race.bmp" /></a>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 <em>Death Race 2000</em> last week. Now I’ve been annoyed by a lot of covers in my day, such as the first editions of <em>Happy Birthday to Me</em> and <em>My Bloody Valentine</em>, but this one just really depressed me.<br /><br />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 <em>Night of the Creeps</em> 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.<br /><a name='more'></a><br />Luckily, the movie itself is a hell of a lot better than the cover. I didn’t exactly have high expectations either, since this was one of the rare instances in which I saw a remake before the original film. And, like most Paul W.S. Anderson films (the entire <em>Resident Evil</em> franchise, for example), <em>Death Race</em> was largely an underwhelming endeavor.<br /><br /><em>Death Race 2000</em>, however, manages to be a very fun, campy thrill ride. The movie wastes no time in cutting to the chase, opening with the introduction of our five drivers and the rules of the government-sanctioned Transcontinental Road Race (yes, Death Race sounds way cooler). Contestants must travel from New York to California, finding the fastest route while battling each other on the road and stopping at select checkpoints along the way to rest and refuel.<br /><br />Where the movie really shines though, is the way in which drivers earn points. In order to boost their score, the death racers must hit and kill pedestrians – for example, 70 points for kids under 12, and 100 points for senior citizens. It’s all very tongue-in-cheek, but the whole idea behind it is just too outrageous not to love, especially if you derive sick pleasure out of watching innocent onlookers get mowed down to bloody bits by speeding vehicles (and I do).<br /><br />Not everyone sees the national event as entertainment though, as pockets of resistance throughout the country attempt to sabotage the race and eventually overthrow the tyrannical Mr. President and his fascist rule. Some of their schemes are straight out of a Wile E. Coyote/Road Runner cartoon, and the hilarious thing is, a lot of them are successful.<br /><br />The cast is great too, with the aforementioned Stallone as the main competitor to David Carradine’s Frankenstein, a driver with a mythic reputation and two-time winner of the race. Unbeknownst to him, his navigator Annie is a mole for the resistance, and has her heart set on making sure he doesn’t finish the race. Not all is what it appears, however, once Frankenstein starts revealing to her his true intentions for the finish line.<br /><br />The other drivers act as comic book archetypes, ranging from the Roman emperor-like Nero the Hero, to Nazi she-wolf Matilda the Hun (and her navigator Herman the German), and promiscuous cowgirl Calamity Jane. For the most part they end up as cannon fodder, but their eccentric personalities add a lot of color (and skin) to the movie while they’re on the screen.<br /><br />Perhaps it’s because of the nature of his death a few months ago, but I was strangely freaked out by seeing the late Carradine in this role, dressed up like a gimp, dominating his opponents and sharing awkward sex scenes with Annie. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a huge fan of his work, but I have trouble pushing the image of his accidental suicide out of my mind, especially when he’s dressed up in skintight black latex.<br /><br />As for Stallone, he doesn’t exactly bust out the acting chops here, since 99% of his lines are him yelling in a fit of rage. But it’s Stallone, so come on, he’s still amazing – plus, he calls his airhead navigator a “baked potato.” I don’t know what that means exactly, but I like it, and hope to use the term some day.<br /><br />And while it’s nothing out of <em>The French Connection</em>, the car chase scenes are plentiful and action-packed. It’s fairly obvious that in a lot of cases the actual film was sped up to achieve an effect of making the cars look faster, but it’s techniques like this that add to the movie’s charm. There’s even a decent amount of explosions and crashes to satisfy the audiences' bloodlust.<br /><br />At the end of the day, <em>Death Race 2000</em> is the type of movie that just wouldn’t get made in the 21st century, except maybe by Troma (the remake fails to incorporate the pedestrians). It gives new meaning to the term politically incorrect, and while it’s slightly anti-climatic, there's a surprising amount of substance to the film, and you really get the feeling director Paul Bartel (<em>Eating Raoul</em>) stretched every dollar as much as he could.<br /><br />Plus, who needs endless amounts of cash at your disposal when you can make an impactful, memorable film for less? Hell, you could have millions of dollars for a budget, and still put out a bland, forgettable action film – just ask Paul W.S. Anderson.SBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11824078917151529330noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5279462425636891474.post-88013590997568913682009-09-02T10:35:00.002-04:002009-09-23T02:18:10.929-04:00Murder Rock - Like Flashdance, But With Lots of Death<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuMpx2JLgh-8oCeRUBAzRbs9ze2YbMC0Ds9V03pPpgUphcuW2EiRZLQfPKaagOb5uYQ5L9CHhhvUC_9YvvFDLbJfcADrWai6721hinkQ221XfUW8SGAJ25Q4RwXHpDnJ7gUup0doY6NT4/s1600-h/murder_rock.bmp"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 140px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5384543255763847538" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuMpx2JLgh-8oCeRUBAzRbs9ze2YbMC0Ds9V03pPpgUphcuW2EiRZLQfPKaagOb5uYQ5L9CHhhvUC_9YvvFDLbJfcADrWai6721hinkQ221XfUW8SGAJ25Q4RwXHpDnJ7gUup0doY6NT4/s200/murder_rock.bmp" /></a>As a huge fan of ‘80s movies, I’m slightly ashamed to admit I’ve never seen <em>Flashdance</em>. 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 <em>Footloose</em>. 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.<br /><br />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 <em>Flashdance</em>, it will never, <em>ever</em> hold a candle to Lucio Fulci’s <em>Murder Rock</em>.<br /><a name='more'></a><br />Now of course, I’m saying this with a huge bias in favor of Fulci. <em>Zombie</em> (<em>Zombi 2</em>) was the first Italian horror movie I ever saw, and pretty much anything of his involving the supernatural ranks quite highly in my book (with the exception of maybe <em>Manhattan Baby</em>).<br /><br />I even love his earlier <em>giallos</em> and non-zombie movies, including <em>The New York Ripper</em> and <em>Don’t Torture a Duckling </em>– I really hope to get into his lesser-known spaghetti westerns and crime thrillers later this year.<br /><br />But anyway, the film starts out at a prestigious New York dance academy, with an intense tryout underway for an upcoming Broadway show. Tensions are high among those who are fighting for the few open spots, and nerves are shattered further when the competition starts getting bumped off by a mysterious killer.<br /><br />Armed with chloroform and a jeweled hairpin, our crazed murderer drugs his victims and proceeds to pierce their heart with the deadly instrument – but not before unbuttoning the girls’ blouse and exposing their breasts (in true exploitative fashion, of course). The instructor (Olga Karlatos, keeping both eyes intact for this role) races to discover the perpetrator before too much blood is spilled.<br /><br />Unfortunately, for most people this will probably be a “love it or hate it” type of film. If you don’t like synthesizers or “cheesy” ‘80s dance music, avoid <em>Murder Rock</em> at all costs – you won’t make it through the first five minutes. If you’re like me, however, you’ll absolutely love every second of it.<br /><br />It’s too bad that most people aren’t willing to look past the fact that the film is slightly dated, and will turn their noses up simply because the characters dressed “silly” in 1984 when compared to today’s fashion standards. To those people claiming to have superior tastes, I label you as just plain ignorant.<br /><br />Keith Emerson (<em>Inferno</em>, <em>Nighthawks</em>) provides the amazing soundtrack, including a number of memorable selections such as “Tonight is the Night” and “Are the Streets to Blame.” For a great montage of these catchy tunes, click <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7rPDy82vQg">here</a>.<br /><br />Also, color me surprised as to how well-paced this movie felt. The body count isn’t incredibly high and the kills aren’t gory, but they are spread out nicely and I didn’t feel as though the film dragged at any point. The fact that there is also a fairly coherent storyline is also worth noting, especially if you are accustomed to the usual Fulci fare (although he does throw in a surreal dream sequence or two for good measure).<br /><br />As is the case with most entries in the slasher genre, Fulci throws a number of red herrings at us, including the stereotypical creepy boyfriend (Cristian Borromeo, perhaps best known as the guy who gets his face bashed in by David Hess in <em>House on the Edge of the Park</em>), the academy director with a taste for young girls, the male model with a dark past, etc.<br /><br />By using this tactic, I must admit that with everyone marked as a suspect, I was wrong about the killer’s identity. There is one scene in particular towards the end that works exceptionally well at misleading the audience, and I was surprised – and delighted – that Fulci was able to pull the wool over my eyes.<br /><br />I could continue gushing over this film, but you get the idea. Also known as <em>Dancing Death</em> and <em>Slashdance</em>, seek out the 2-disc special edition put out by Shriek Show if you can. I haven’t exhausted the special features yet, but there are numerous featurettes about Fulci and co-star Ray Lovelock on the second disc, so right there it goes to greater lengths than most Media Blasters releases.<br /><br />Truthfully, even if it was a barebones DVD with a grainy transfer and poor audio, the fun I had with <em>Murder Rock</em> on its own merit is worth the recommendation alone.SBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11824078917151529330noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5279462425636891474.post-72915338579801605492009-09-01T20:52:00.004-04:002009-09-23T02:20:12.970-04:00Rob Zombie's Halloween 2 - David Lynch for Rednecks<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNlOOFkPV7tKSSKFn8KKO7aQikrA6QppkXXLW0JhyvBUTCdcXZS8BUBgAMeZxB28W71ISKxv8hk2V7FEXcHYKY2nbDcjKozQoScfA2pcfhxk94FdQAkEZmv30wzY-75V6g3RRY9EOGaog/s1600-h/halloween_2.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 132px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5384543769316152642" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNlOOFkPV7tKSSKFn8KKO7aQikrA6QppkXXLW0JhyvBUTCdcXZS8BUBgAMeZxB28W71ISKxv8hk2V7FEXcHYKY2nbDcjKozQoScfA2pcfhxk94FdQAkEZmv30wzY-75V6g3RRY9EOGaog/s200/halloween_2.jpg" /></a>Remember the last time Rob Zombie made a watchable film? No? That’s okay, because neither do I.<br /><br />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.<br /><a name='more'></a><br />Before I begin my review of his most recent “effort,” I will tell you straight out: I HATE both of Zombie’s <em>Halloween</em> films.<br /><br />Now it’s not because I don’t like Zombie. I really enjoy <em>House of 1000 Corpses</em>, and I still think <em>The Devil’s Rejects</em> is one of the best horror films of 2005. Hell, I don’t even mind his music.<br /><br />It’s also not because I detest all remakes. Sure, do I wish Hollywood was a little more original nowadays? Of course. But once in a great while, I actually enjoy them – and I’m not just talking about the classic examples, like John Carpenter’s <em>The Thing</em>, but more recent entries, such as <em>Dawn of the Dead</em> (2004) and <em>The Hills Have Eyes</em> (2006).<br /><br />No, I hate Zombie’s <em>Halloween</em> and its sequel purely on the basis that they are awful, awful films.<br /><br />Here are just a few things I learned about Zombie after watching <em>Halloween 2</em>:<br /><br />1. He can’t write dialogue – i.e. also known as the ability to create one sentence without using the word “fuck” or “cocksucker” multiple times.<br />2. His idea of tension or suspense involves scene after scene of Michael Myers plowing through the scenery and quickly dispatching his victims with a series of grunts and a mere 25 stab wounds.<br />3. He has to showboat his wife in every movie he makes, no matter how worthless or retarded the role.<br />4. He thinks Haddonfield is in Alabama, not Illinois.<br /><br />And so on and so forth. It’s a shame too, because I actually didn’t mind the first 20 minutes of the movie. I thought the hospital scene was well-done, and even though it was shot in a way that made you think the song was 10 minutes of chorus, I liked the use of The Moody Blues’ “Nights in White Satin” as well.<br /><br />From there, however, the film plummets downhill. What follows is an aimless, frustrating movie that mainly consists of Michael wandering the countryside back to town, Laurie having a nervous breakdown every five minutes (and about 17 nightmares), and Loomis, well, Loomis is just an all-around dick, and his entire subplot could have wound up as deleted scenes.<br /><br />Plus, there’s countless plot-holes abound. No one really thought to tell Laurie before Loomis’ book was published that she was related to Michael? Snipers really couldn’t get a shot off at Michael when he and Laurie were surrounded by SWAT teams and helicopters inside a barn with no roof and half the walls rotted or missing?<br /><br />I know that some of this sounds like nitpicking, but trust me, I wanted to like this film. After gouging my eyes out after the first one, I thought to myself, “Self, there’s no way this can be any <em>worse</em>. Surely, I’ll be able to at least <em>tolerate</em> this second outing.”<br /><br />But no, I can’t. And that’s mainly due to the fact that <em>Halloween 2</em> is the <em>same exact</em> goddamn movie, with the addition of a white horse and the Earl of Pumpkin.<br /><br />Yes, it’s as dumb as it sounds. And maybe in the hands of a capable director, the concept could have worked better. But to show The Shape’s inner thought process as Zombie portrayed it didn’t bring any new, deep insight into the character; instead, it resulted in nothing but unintentional hilarity and a distracting, groan-inducing mess.<br /><br />Don’t show shocking or unusual imagery just for the sake of it. And don’t explain the whole meaning behind it by using a definition card at the beginning of the film. The audience could have understood Michael’s twisted sense of family without Sheri Moon’s wide-eyed mug popping up at the most inappropriate times. Its overuse throughout the movie is just another example of lazy writing and really adds to the rushed feel of the whole production.<br /><br />It’s almost like Zombie made the film as a “fuck you” to the horror community. Instead of fixing what was wrong with the first movie, he ignored the numerous flaws, added a few more problems and made an exact carbon copy.<br /><br />Besides the aforementioned hospital scene, the only other diamonds in the rough are Brad Dourif (but come on, when isn’t Dourif amazing?) and Laurie and her friends’ <em>Rocky Horror</em> Halloween costumes. Other than that, I can’t think of any other reason why I’d subject myself to this garbage again.<br /><br />In short, I don’t hate Zombie’s “unique vision” because it’s different. I hate it because it sucks. The whole thing is a forced, half-assed affair and here’s hoping that after its disappointing opening weekend box office gross, this is the last we'll see of the <em>Halloween</em> series for a long time.<br /><br />Here's a suggestion: you want to see a fun "remake" (or rip-off, depending on what side of coin you land on) of the <em>Halloween</em> story? Check out Joe D'Amato's <em>Absurd</em> (aka <em>Rosso sangue</em>, <em>Grim Reaper 2</em>, <em>Zombie 6: Monster Hunter</em> - God, I love the Italians). It has George Eastman in it as "the Boogeyman," so right there you know you can't go wrong.<br /><br />And in regards to Zombie, I really don’t know what to say. I don’t want to call him a hack, because judging from interviews he seems like a true horror fan and a pretty nice guy.<br /><br />But much like the way the new Michael offs his victims, Zombie has killed this franchise 10 times over – perhaps it's best to keep it that way for now.SBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11824078917151529330noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5279462425636891474.post-41569652809573559302009-09-01T15:03:00.003-04:002009-09-23T02:22:46.964-04:00First Post Thoughts and Why Everyone Should Love Basket Case<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtUzo7lqi0AjYlTs8JUo8g86lzxqVwEkgAEh2FY7BnFknJqTKs5Srvz6bGR5xJg0Up1rq97TshBp_z6rpEQhf4ypG6W7AlHgPQys9KXcYtISwqgyGI0tQ9qdlvxjI3OA4F5WvfCo-1tgE/s1600-h/basket_case.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 126px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5384544431997615874" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtUzo7lqi0AjYlTs8JUo8g86lzxqVwEkgAEh2FY7BnFknJqTKs5Srvz6bGR5xJg0Up1rq97TshBp_z6rpEQhf4ypG6W7AlHgPQys9KXcYtISwqgyGI0tQ9qdlvxjI3OA4F5WvfCo-1tgE/s200/basket_case.jpg" /></a>First off, for all you inquiring minds out there: Why "Inside the Wicker Basket"?<br /><br />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).<br /><a name='more'></a><br />Instead, I decided to use a reference from an obscure horror movie - Frank Henenlotter's 1982 low-budget masterpiece <em>Basket Case</em>.<br /><br />You see, <em>Basket Case</em> is easily one of my favorite horror films of all time. Among other things, it has a wonderfully grimy atmosphere to it, along with a lot of memorable characters that give the movie an undeniable charm. I’ll never forget the summer night a few years ago that I watched the VHS copy rented from the now-deceased Video Paradise – <em>Basket Case</em> truly left its mark on me.<br /><br />For those who haven't had the pleasure of experiencing it (and shame on you), the movie follows the story of Siamese twin brothers Duane and Belial Bradley, separated at birth - literally - because the latter was a deformed monster.<br /><br />Now all grown up, Duane travels to Times Square with his genetically-deficient sibling in a <strong>wicker basket</strong> (ah ha!), seeking bloody revenge on the doctors who tore them away from each other.<br /><br />Anyway, if you haven't seen <em>Basket Case</em>, Netflix it now, or better yet buy the damn Something Weird DVD. It's like $5 in most places, and has a lot of great special features, including an informative commentary by Henenlotter.<br /><br />And if you have seen it, watch it again. I'll post my complete thoughts on this cinematic gem (along with the far inferior sequels) another day.<br /><br />Perhaps more importantly, why do I feel the need to post my thoughts for the whole world (or more realistically, maybe 10-15 people) to read? No reason I guess. It's something I just enjoy doing; I've loved horror movies since I was little, and I love talking about them with anyone who will listen. I have a degree in journalism and wrote horror movie reviews for my college newspaper whenever I could - this is just another outlet for me to rant and rave.<br /><br />I don’t claim to be the definitive source on all things horror, but I hope I can offer a refreshing perspective on the past, present and future of my beloved genre. Whether or not you have a passion for Italian zombie movies, slasher flicks or vigilante exploitation films, I hope this blog can be both entertaining and informative.SBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11824078917151529330noreply@blogger.com0