Living Forever is Grossly Overrated

There's something interesting about the fact that the original Nosferatu (1922) came about because its creators could not get the rights to Dracula, and thus gave birth to their own unique and creepy take on Stoker's classic tale. As a result, ever since there many vampire movies have chosen to even further deviate from the original standard vampire cliches, and the best ones have done this rather successfully. Cronos (1993), a modern update of the vampire lore, is one such movie, and Del Toro does a fantastic job of making a believable movie that is not just a horror movie.

Early on the movie is largely setup, but with a very large payoff. Without properly establishing Jesus' tender relationship with his granddaughter, or giving us strong hints into how much Angel despises his uncle, what happens later in the film would have no emotional strength to give it character or strengthen the overall movie. Even though the beginning narration feels oddly lifted from some PBS documentary about the dangers of trying to live forever. "You see, this fellow here decided to create a very special device...."

How the rest of the movie plays out is very interesting, as Del Toro slowly but surely builds and continues to layer the foundation, making Jesus' plight into something even more sinister and eerie. Even though certain elements of this movie are not at all horror, the film itself belongs to the genre based on the fact that its not only creepy mostly throughout, but also the obvious: Jesus becomes midway through the movie a vampire. Not your typical vampire, of course, yet nevertheless a creature of the night seeking blood.

This is mostly articulate through several moments, primarily when Jesus in a moment of weakness actually licks blood off of the bathroom floor. The rational response would be for one to react in horror; however since Jesus is a rather sympathetic character, one feels pity for his condition instead. Cronos is fascinating not just in how the movie plays out, with Angel's rage and anger going against him, but also for moments of real tenderness and love as displayed towards Jesus by his granddaughter, Auroa. Who even though she quickly recognizes that the device has transformed her once loving grandfather into an ancient monster, does not judge but continues to care for him, which comes off as surprising and touching.

Honestly this is one of those few horror movies where the ending manages to be unexpected, not to mention open ended, without resorting to tricks, jump scares, or being overly depressing. Which is really quite refreshing for a change, as is the movie's overall tone and style. Powered also by a rather understated and beautiful score, and complimented by its rather good cast, this is an outstanding addition to the vampire sub-genre of horror movies.

Small Town, Big Secrets

1981 really was a banner year for horror movies, primarily when it came to werewolves: An American Werewolf in London, Wolfen, and The Howling. From the writers of Alien, Dan O' Bannon and Ronald Shusett, and the director of Raw Meat, Gary Sherman, came a lesser known and somewhat underrated flick called Dead & Buried. Just like Raw Meat and Strange Behavior, this film was quite different from much of the horror fare that was more commonly found in the genre at the time.

In fact, much of this movie has the feel of a lost 80s Twilight Zone episode, or a short story from some famous horror novelist. The small town of Potters Bluff, nestled in New England has some rather dark secrets. Primarily the fact that the residents kill off anyone who has the misfortune to stop by in the town, or just be passing through. Unlike some other films, this movie gets right to the point with that fact: the opening scene quickly descends into a crowd of locals burning a hapless victim alive.

Despite some clearly obvious cliches, Sherman and O' Bannon aim for a distinctive atmosphere that actually works. The characters themselves aren't too well drawn out, but the local town corner and the in over his head sheriff are rather interesting people, and they help drive the film's plot. Most of the kills are rather shocking due to the rather simple fact that ordinary people ganging up on you and murdering you with a smile and not even thinking twice is something straight out of many nightmares.

Naturally a film like this has to have some rather stark twists, and this one does not disappoint. Even though Dead & Buried has a couple of rather large plot holes, and the movie at times is sketchy, the twists and the movie's being overall solid is enough to overcome those. And all things considered, this was really just a dry run for O' Bannon's 1985 cult classic Return of the Living Dead.

Pretty Pictures Full of Blood

When it comes to the giallo subgenre of horror, you get slasher movies that are more unique, twisted, and imaginative than the average "Lovely woman gets chased by machete wielding psychopath." Dario Argento was one of the genre's giants, creating many memorable and well crafted giallos. Deep Red, his 1975 film, is one of his more famous creations, although not as well known as Suspiria, which came out only two years later. This movie has a lot in common with Argento's fellow Italian director Mario Bava, who also made a couple of giallos as well and is just as renowned, particularly concerning his cult classics Blood and Black Lace and The Girl Who Knew Too Much.

Just like his other giallos, Argento has a brilliant score that only adds to the film's atmosphere and is remarkable. In this case, it is done by Goblin, who also created the eerie score for Suspiria, and was also responsible for the score to George A. Romero's masterwork Dawn of the Dead. Argento of course must have a hapless protagonist, be it male or female-in this case, it is Marcus, played by David Hemmings. Marcus is a lonely jazz pianist who lives in Rome, has an alcoholic buddy, and lives a rather solitary life. It is unfortunate for him that, on a dark and bleak night, that he stumbles into a murder mystery, and also ends up having to deal with a nosy and chatty journalist.

Rather than hop the next plane to America, he decides to stay instead and investigate, which of course has to happen-otherwise the movie wouldn't continue. This is one particular case of the protagonist defying reason, something that happens a lot in not only giallos but also slasher films, too. This is particularly showcased later when Marcus decides to explore a crumbling mansion late at night, all by himself. Luckily for him he's the main character, so nothing really too serious is going to happen to, him. At least for most of the movie, anyways, despite another close call that makes the viewer wonder if Marcus is smart enough to survive.

Not content to merely make a good movie, Argento once again aims for a distinct visual style, although this movie isn't half as gorgeous as Suspiria. These visual flourishes though only add more to the movie's strong levels of tension and suspense, which are added even more by Argento's willingness to go beyond the pale. Many of the movie's rather disturbing scenes are merely Argento diving into fears he was sure plenty of people held at the time, and thus this makes the death scenes all the more horrifying.

Of course it also wouldn't be an Argento movie without a last act that is both shocking, although in this case I would say that this film, for now, features arguably his best and most brazen ending. With Deep Red, Argento crafts one of his best films, and continued to build upon his reputation in the 1970s as one of the top horror auteurs. This is slightly better than Suspiria and The Bird With the Crystal Plumage, and defiantly superior to Inferno, partly due to Hemmings' brilliant and understated performance, but also due to being a bit better made. The characters in this one are less sketchy than the other films, and really Argento goes the extra mile here, which is decidedly noticeable.

The 1950s Are Alive With the Sound of Screaming

Really its a shame that "Popcorn" came out at the tail end of the slasher genre craze, considering that its smarter and savvier than some of its lesser competition. The changing of directors midway through shooting, and switching actresses as well, apparently lead to this movie going from having a supernatural feel and being really out there, to instead being turned into your seeimgly typical "Killer on the loose" film with some certain twists involved. Also I have to note that "Possesor" certainly makes for one twisted and bizarre short film, although these days it would pass for a not weird enough music video, certainly outdone by say, something from Nine Inch Nails.

Despite the fact that this movie is engaging and entertaining, there's really not much to write home about. The film isn't particularly deep or truly interesting in that regard, even if its better made than say, some of the latter Jason or Michael Myers movies. There's our hapless heroine, plagued by terrifying and mysterious dreams that do not make any sense. The rest of the cast is filled out by college students, led by a teacher who's your typical college professor sleeping with one of his students. What makes this movie a cut above the average masked killer movie is really its setting, which is an abandoned movie theater cleaned back up to host a scary movie festival.

Another movie released two years after this one, Joe Dante's "Matinee," probably pays better homage to the campy 50s and 60s horror movies that "Popcorn" so lovingly displays and mocks to a certain degree. I admit not having seen that movie, so I cannot say for certain, aside from judging based on Dante's previous body of work. Still, "Popcorn" is certainly not without its charms, and certain elements were clearly taken and used by Wes Craven later on in "Scream 2," which is a more clever and better movie than this one.

What's That Buzzing Sound?

At this point, I've seen a decent amount of David Cronenberg's work, so I have a fair grasp of many of his themes and ideas. Despite not having yet dived into his 90s and most of his 2000s movies, I still have viewed a lot of his 70s and 80s films, ones that dealt with body mutilation, mutation, sex, and featured lots of gore and disgusting moments. His remake of the 1958 sci-fi picture "The Fly" is no exception, only there's something more at work here. Aside from a plot that was inspired by Kafka, to a certain degree.

This is why Cronenberg's horror movies are a cut above typical horror movie fare-he operates within a certain perimeter of ideas, never wavering from his vision no matter how disturbing that vision may end up being. Jeff Goldblum's Brudle is a scientist playing God with powers he does not even understand, and in the process this completely backfires on him.

Clearly Cronenberg is covering disease and its nasty effects upon the human body, and one could even make a case that this movie is partly about the AIDS epidemic that by 1986 was ravaging America. Even though by the third act his body is falling apart, his girlfriend Veronica refuses to abandon him, perhaps out of love, but also out of guilt of some kind. In some ways I'm reminded of Scanners, where a man clearly not entirely human still is able to stay with a normal, regular human being.

Several scenes in this movie are key, especially a dream sequence that is beyond terrifying, and a last act that clearly shows the mad scientist being turned into a full blown monster. A man going from creator to creation is something that Cronenberg has done before, primarily in Videodrome, and it works even better here. Although he has made several other movies that are better than this one, his remake brashly takes an older version and gives it a modern update that's nastier, more brutal, and more shocking. I am aware there is a sequel, but I doubt without Cronenberg's daft touch or Goldblum and Davis's honest, raw performances its even half as good.

Horrorfest 2011

Every year since 2008, I've tried to watch a bunch of horror movies from August to early November. This year will be no different, although considering that I'm starting to run out of the more famous and major horror movies, as the years go on the lists will probably feature more modern and lesser known films.

Total Viewed: 25 films

First Six List: (out of 100, or ****)

Die Monster, Die! (1965)-62, **
The Fly (1986)-95, *** 1/2
Night of the Ghouls (1959)-21, * 1/2
Popcorn (1991)-75, ***/** 1/2
Deep Red (1975)-92, *** 1/2
Dead and Buried (1981)-82, ***

Average Rating: 71, or ** 1/2

Next Up:

Cronos (1993)-93, *** 1/2
The Masque of the Red Death (1964)
The Shiver of the Vampires (1971)-74, ** 1/2 or ***

Family Video Rentals:

*Dawn of the Dead (2004)-90, *** or *** 1/2
*Cat People (1982)-90, ***
*A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master (1988)-75, ** 1/2 or ***
*Halloween H20 (1998)-80, ***
*The Hitcher (1986)-85, ***
*The Hills Have Eyes (1977)-80, ***
*Innocent Blood (1992)-81, ***
*Slither (2006)-94, *** 1/2
*Pulse (2001)-88, ***
*Undead (2003)-64, ** 1/2 or **

Average Rating: 82, or ***


DVR:

*The Gorgon (1964)-71, ** 1/2
*Dementia 13 (1964)-80, ***
*The Devil's Bride (1968)-84, ***
*The Changeling (1979)-95, *** 1/2
*Christine (1983)-85, ***
*Ginger Snaps (2000)-95, *** 1/2

Average Rating: 85, or ***

Meh, Monster, Meh!

Many movies have been inspired by, and based off of, H.P. Lovecraft's many stories that he wrote back in the early 1900s. Die Monster, Die! (!965) is one of those, based on Lovecraft's tale called The Colour In Space, which I will admit I've never read. Still that story has to be more engaging and entertaining than this picture, which doesn't do Lovecraft any kind of justice.

Despite containing many gorgeous visuals, the movie comes off as more of a House of Usher ripoff than anything in the Lovecraft mythology. If maybe the story it is based off of is very similar to the movie, knowing something of Lovecraft I bet that his story has heavy atmosphere, is quite creepy, and works very well. Sometimes certain ideas and stories don't translate well from the printed word to the silver screen, and this is certainly one of those cases.

Which is too bad, because some scenes work really well, Boris Karloff gives it his usual all, and the last act is quite bizarre. Too bad that what comes before it is a relatively uninteresting movie that could have stood to use more creepiness. Certainly this movie is sadly a dud, and a rather forgettable one at that.

Someone's Listening In: The Phone Hacking Scandal

Despite everything that's going on in the world today, really my current attention is aimed at the hacking scandal, which has already cost people jobs, money, and continues to be really horrible in that a dead girl's phone was hacked, while remaining completely engaging. This is playing out more in the vein of a political thriller than your average news related scandal, especially with a journalist who was a whistle blower on this dying and then it being ruled not suspicious. Give me a break. Next they will be trying to tell me there were actually WMDs in Iraq.

What's truly even more fascinating is how this entire mess is really a commentary on the dangers of the media and government becoming too buddy buddy with one another. Not to mention involving the police, as two top cops have already resigned as well. Sure its really fun to watch NewsCorp and Fox News squirm, yet I would rather see some type of actual justice and true punishments melted out. For me its not enough that one of the biggest companies in the world has lost tons of money, or that Rupert Murdoch's troubling attempts to further conquer the British media market have been scuttled, hopefully for good.

Oh yes, he did apologize to the girl's family, however even when hauled before a committee he refused to sound anything other than shallowly trite. If anything he's more sorry a branch of his media empire got busted for violating the law and ethical standards of journalism. After this whole mess, which is continuing to be investigated, gets sorted out, perhaps people will step back and realize that their particular brands of outrageous, self-serving, and rule breaking and bending ways of trying to get to "THE TRUTH" isn't worth the overall cost of selling out one's soul for a better scoop. This goes for America media especially, particularly cable news and those awful lame tabloid newspapers and TMZ.

That said, I'm not holding my breath that anyone who engages in gross ethical and even law breaking violations will stop as a result of this scandal. They will just try harder not to get caught, and that's not surprising. In that regard, perhaps the lack of institutional controls at many of these organizations that stains the good name of journalism is as much a problem as is the media being in bed with too many corporate entities that often lead to stories being restricted or not even reported. One can only hope that the public continues to back the ones that do a fairly decent job of being honest, and reject those that peddle dumb entertainment as news.

Sanity is Just a State of Mind (House, 1986)

When I was in high school, a buddy of mine and I actually watched this movie way too many times. Not only is it really weird, but the film has odd flashbacks that keep popping up throughout and are not fully explained until later on in the movie. All I know is that a Vietnam vet who writes freaky novels decides to move into his aunt's house after she decides to hang herself. How nice of him to take over the place despite the fact that it drove his last remaining relative utterly insane. This is usually how horror movies, especially ones about haunted/possessed houses, often start, so I let that aspect slide.

However, the movie itself doesn't sustain enough tension, and even though there are really creepy moments, they are often negatively impacted by the movie's way too campy/cheesy tone. This hurts the movie, along with the fact that some aspects are obviously borrowed from other movies. Funny enough though when the main character, Roger, is attacked by inanimate objects, that bit reminds me of Evil Dead II: Dead by Dawn, even though that movie came out a year later.

The difference between the two is that Evil Dead II actually succeeds in giving off a creepy/hilarious vibe with such a technique, where as in House its too random and isn't anything other than eye rolling. I guess its all how you film certain material, and if the director is smart enough to properly set up his more outlandish and frightening scenes.

Oh there are some really hilarious moments, such as when Roger kills and cuts up a monster, and then the soundtrack decides to play oldies tracks that only make the scenes more disturbing, which I suppose means that bit works. George Wendt from Cheers at some point helps out Roger by making sure he doesn't go to jail, and only exists for clear comedic relief. So the movie veers from comedy to horror, not smart enough to do either incredibly well, although at times it does succeed at being creepy.

My favorite scene has to be some demonic winged monster grabbing Roger's shotgun, turning it on him, and shooting the rope holding him up, causing him to fall into a pit below. Such a moment is too random to mean anything, but it made me laugh a lot, which perhaps was really its intended goal. Or the director actually thought something like that would scare audiences.

Unlike some of the rather stupid 80s slasher movies, though, this film does have a certain degree of campy charm that stamps its status as a B-movie cult film. What's really disappointing is that the movie should have stuck with Roger just going completely insane. In the hands of a better director, the film would have been something like Legend of Hell House, or The Haunting, far better films that are not only creepy, but are really more effective. Too bad, because I wish I could actively champion this movie as being an gem from my birth year, instead of merely enjoying it for being a limited, weak, but entertaining little movie. 68

Cannibalistic Underground British Tunnel Dwellers

Considering that both are considered cult classics, its really no surprise that a couple weeks back TCM showed Strange Behavior and Raw Meat back to back. Thanks to Rowland I heard of both, and I think both get the same rating. Now Raw Meat has some rather obvious allegorical references, and the movie could have gone a bit further with some of its political/social commentary. At the same time, that would detract from the fact that its a fairly solid, creepy film that smartly utilizes violence and gore that results in the audience getting moments that are rather shocking, and thus have an effect on the viewer.

Elements of the main cannibal's behavior almost reminded me of Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and thus I wonder if Tobe Hooper wasn't a bit influenced by this movie. Only one jump scare is even used, which is a good thing, especially since that moment actually freaked me out quite a bit. I loved how many scenes were not underscored by music, as the tunnels are rather creepy. The drip drip sounds and the echoing footsteps would be enough to drive anyone down there crazy, and I'm glad there isn't anything to ruin such moments.

Having also recently seen Let Sleeping Corpses Lie, with its keystone cops, I have to wonder if it was in fact 70s horror that established the eventual cliche of "The police are powerless to deal or handle some incredible evil they've never seen before." Donald Pleasance, who sadly later became type casted, gives his character a funny and grumpy persona that has a rather oddly calm manner, considering that he's dealing with a murderous underground dweller running amok. I'm not even sure why Christopher Lee is in this movie, as he only has one scene and doesn't even do much. Perhaps he was on contract for the studio, which was common in those days with many famous horror movie actors.

Despite some of its notable faults (I think the film could have been a bit scarier, and they could have pushed the envelope more), this is one is a hidden gem. I'm glad that Netflix had it on Instant Viewing, as the transfer looked good (although on full screen it was a bit blurry), and this movie is another reason to love 70s horror. Its a unique gem, original and worthy of note, and another reason why 70s horror is the best: the 80s would have turned this into a dumb slasher movie, and the 60s wouldn't have gone far enough. 82