Category: Horror

Ranking the Films of Stanley Kubrick

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Robert Vaux at ComicBook.com decided to look at the Rotten Tomatoes ranking of every film by Stanley Kubrick.  I enjoy this kind of thing and decided to see how I would rank Kubrick’s films..  Here’s how the rankings compare.

Rotten Tomatoes

Craig

13. Fear And Desire

*** Fear And Desire

*** Lolita

*** Barry Lyndon

I haven’t seen the above films so my rating will be for my top 10 Kubrick films.

12. Eyes Wide Shut

11. Killer’s Kiss

10. The Shining

10. 2001: A Space Odyssey: I’ve watched this several times over the decades, but it is just not for me.

9. A Clockwork Orange

9. Eyes Wide Shut: I didn’t care for it. I plan to give it another shot some day to see if my opinion changes.

8. Lolita

8. Killer’s Kiss: I liked it. Another viewing might even move it higher on my Kubrick list.

7. Barry Lyndon

7. Paths Of Glory: I liked Paths of Glory, but not as much as most folks. Perhaps a new viewing will give me a new opinion.

6. Full Metal Jacket

6. The Shining: I think the, uh, shine has come off this one over the years. I still like it although it is more Kubrick than King.

5. 2001: A Space Odyssey

5. A Clockwork Orange: Such a strange film. I look forward to seeing it again since it has been a while.

4. Spartacus

4. Full Metal Jacket: One of my favorite war films.

3. Paths Of Glory

3. Spartacus: Perhaps the greatest epic of them all!

2. The Killing

2. The Killing: If you like crime/noir, The Killing is for you (and me, too).

1. Dr. Strangelove

1. Dr. Strangelove: I love Dr. Strangelove. The perfect mix of humor and drama.

“A Quiet Place Part 2” – Poster and the Final Trailer is Here!

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It seems like we’ve been waiting for A Quiet Place Part II forever.  Weill, the wait is almost over.  Today we have a poster and the final trailer.  Make sure you save me a seat!

Following the deadly events at home, the Abbott family (Emily Blunt, Millicent Simmonds, Noah Jupe) must now face the terrors of the outside world as they continue their fight for survival in silence. Forced to venture into the unknown, they quickly realize that the creatures that hunt by sound are not the only threats that lurk beyond the sand path.

Did You Hear What Eddie Gein Done? by Eric Powell and Harold Schechter is Coming!

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It seems that everyone has heard of Charles Manson, The Boston Strangler, Jack the Ripper, Ted Bundy, The BTK Killer, and other infamous psychos.  Not as many folks have heard of Ed Gein.  Gein is a true life wacko who inspired Psycho (the book and film), The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and even The Silence of the Lambs (book and film).  Eric Powell is teaming with Harold Schechter to tell Ed Gein’s story.  Here’s the synopsis from Amazon:

One of the greats in the field of true crime literature, Harold Schechter (Deviant, The Serial Killer Files, Hell’s Princess), teams with five-time Eisner Award-winning graphic novelist Eric Powell (The Goon, Big Man Plans, Hillbilly) to bring you the tale of one of the most notoriously deranged serial killers in American history, Ed Gein.

Did You Hear What Eddie Gein Done? is an in-depth exploration of the Gein family and what led to the creation of the necrophile who haunted the dreams of 1950s America and inspired such films as Psycho, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and The Silence of the Lambs.

Painstakingly researched and illustrated, Schechter and Powell’s true crime graphic novel takes the Gein story out of the realms of exploitation and gives the reader a fact-based dramatization of these tragic, psychotic and heartbreaking events. Because, in this case, the truth needs no embellishment to be horrifying.

If this sounds like something you’d like, you can use this link to pre-order Did You Hear What Eddie Gein Done?

Here’s an interview with Eric Powell on the killer behind the monster in DID YOU HEAR WHAT EDDIE GEIN DONE?

“The Tomorrow War” Starring Chris Pratt – The Teaser is Here!

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The teaser for The Tomorrow War starring Chris Pratt is here.  Sign me up, deal me in.

THE TOMORROW WAR premieres July 2, 2021 globally on Prime Video

In The TOMORROW WAR, the world is stunned when a group of time travelers arrive from the year 2051 to deliver an urgent message: Thirty years in the future mankind is losing a global war against a deadly alien species. The only hope for survival is for soldiers and civilians from the present to be transported to the future and join the fight. Among those recruited is high school teacher and family man Dan Forester (Chris Pratt). Determined to save the world for his young daughter, Dan teams up with a brilliant scientist (Yvonne Strahovski) and his estranged father (J.K. Simmons) in a desperate quest to rewrite the fate of the planet.

Directed by Chris McKay
Written by Zach Dean
Produced by David Ellison, Dana Goldberg, Don Granger, Jules Daly, David Goyer, Adam Kolbrenner
Executive Produced by Rob Cowan, Chris Pratt, Brian Oliver, Bradley J. Fischer

Starring Chris Pratt, Yvonne Strahovski, J.K. Simmons, Betty Gilpin, Sam Richardson, Edwin Hodge, Jasmine Mathews, Ryan Kiera Armstrong, Keith Powers

“Don’t Let Her In” – The Trailer is Here!

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“Don’t Let Her In” looks like fun.  Check out the trailer below.

When an attractive young couple rent out a room in their spacious loft to an eccentric, beautiful female artist, they soon live to regret it. Slowly but surely, their seductive new tenant invades their minds, their beds, the very fabric of their lives. A sensual supernatural nightmare from writer/director Ted Nicolaou (TERRORVISION, SUBSPECIES, THE VAMPIRE JOURNALS).

“London After Midnight” – Rare, Creepy Photo!

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I love how creepy this London After Midnight still is.  London After Midnight starred Lon Chaney and was directed and co-produced by Tod Browning!  There is no known copy of the film (the last known print was destroyed in a fire in the 1960s) and is considered to be the most “sought-after” lost film. From WikipediA…

London After Midnight (also marketed as The Hypnotist) is a lost 1927 American silent mystery film with horror overtones directed and co-produced by Tod Browning and starring Lon Chaney, with Marceline Day, Conrad Nagel, Henry B. Walthall and Polly Moran. The film was distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, and was based on the scenario “The Hypnotist”, also written by Browning.

I truly hope that a copy of the film is found for fans, like me, to see.

“Unhinged” (2020) starring Russell Crowe / Z-View

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Unhinged (2020)

Director: Derrick Borte

Screenplay: Carl Ellsworth

Stars:  Russell Crowe, Caren Pistorius, Gabriel Bateman.

The Pitch: “It’s Spielberg’s Duel crossed with the scariest monster you can imagine!”

Tagline: He can happen to anyone.

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

Rachael is having a bad day.  She’s going through a rough divorce.  Her mom has just been moved into an assisted living home that Rachael can’t afford, her out of work brother and his “fiancé” have moved in with her and her teenage son.  To make this bad day even worse, Rachel overslept.  She’s got to drive her son to school, herself to work and both will be late.  Yeah, Rachel is having a bad day.

It’s about to get worse.

At an intersection Rachael finds herself behind a big truck that just sits when the light turns green.  She’s already late and this guy isn’t moving.  So she lays on the horn.  Still no movement.  She lays on the horn again and then pulls around him.  As she passes the truck she gives the driver a gesture letting him know she’s pissed.

As it turns out, the guy in the truck is having a worse day.  His wife was divorcing him, going after his house and all his assets, and having an affair with her attorney.  I say was divorcing him because she (nor her attorney-lover) are now in a position to do anything.  Yeah, this guy is having a real bad day and Rachael’s actions have pushed him to the limit.

He pulls up beside her and gives her a chance to apologize.  This just infuriates her and she says things to make it worse, not realizing that she’s dealing with a man who is about to come unhinged.  And he does.

To tell more would be to tell too much.  Suffice it to say, Unhinged delivers thrills and continues to ratchet up the tension until the very satisfying climax.  Crowe is perfect as the man who is on a mission to destroy Rachael by killing everyone dear to her before he is killed.  What makes Crowe so scary is he knows he’s going to die, probably at the hands of the police, and he is alright with that.  For him it is just a question of how much damage he can do before they get him.

Caren Pistorius is excellent as Rachael.  What I liked about her character is that she creates most of her issues and it is her actions that sets everything in motion.  This is a nice change from the innocent woman in the wrong place at the wrong time.  Pistorius is believable as Rachael.  Kudos also to Gabriel Bateman who plays her son, Kyle.  He comes off as sympathetic and likeable.

Crowe deserves special praise for his portrayal of the nameless man who becomes Unhinged.  He isn’t just a one-dimensional psycho killer, and perhaps that is what makes him scarier than Jason, Michael Myers or any of the other monsters we’re used to seeing.

If you’re looking for a action-thriller, then you should consider Unhinged.  I really liked it!

When I first watched Unhinged, I was impressed.  The movie was better than I thought it would be.  Since that viewing, I’ve watched Unhinged a few times.  It holds up with each viewing.  My initial rating for Unhinged was 4 stars, but that changes today with an updated 5 star review.  As always your mileage may vary.

“The Conjuring​: The Devil Made Me Do It” – The Poster and Trailer are Here!

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Wow!  I like the poster and love the trailer for The Conjuring​: The Devil Made Me Do It.  The addition of the true crime (although I’ll have to look into how true the crime is) aspect works for me.  I like everything about this so far and it may end up being my favorite of The Conjuring films.

True horror returns. Based on the case files of Ed and Lorraine Warren. #TheConjuring​: The Devil Made Me Do It, in theaters and HBO Max June 4.

“The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It” reveals a chilling story of terror, murder and unknown evil that shocked even experienced real-life paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren. One of the most sensational cases from their files, it starts with a fight for the soul of a young boy, then takes them beyond anything they’d ever seen before, to mark the first time in U.S. history that a murder suspect would claim demonic possession as a defense.

Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson return to star as Lorraine and Ed Warren, under the direction of Michael Chaves (“The Curse of La Llorona”). The film also stars Ruairi O’Connor (Starz’ “The Spanish Princess”), Sarah Catherine Hook (Hulu’s “Monsterland”) and Julian Hilliard (the series “Penny Dreadful: city of Angels” and “The Haunting of Hill House”).

“The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It” was produced by James Wan and Peter Safran, who have collaborated on all the “Conjuring” Universe films. Chaves directed from a screenplay by David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick (“The Conjuring 2,” “Aquaman”), story by James Wan & David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick, based on characters created by Chad Hayes & Carey W. Hayes. Serving as executive producers were Richard Brener, Dave Neustadter, Victoria Palmeri, Michael Clear, Judson Scott and Michelle Morrissey.

The behind-the-scenes creative team reunited “Conjuring” Universe contributors, including director of photography Michael Burgess, production designer Jennifer Spence, costume designer Leah Butler and composer Joseph Bishara, along with the director’s editor from “The Curse of La Llorona,” Peter Gvozdas, and editor Christian Wagner (“Furious 7”).

“The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It” is the seventh film in the “Conjuring” Universe, the largest horror franchise in history, which has grossed more than $1.8 billion worldwide. It includes the first two “Conjuring” films, as well as “Annabelle” and “Annabelle: Creation,” “The Nun,” and “Annabelle Comes Home.”

New Line Cinema presents An Atomic Monster/A Peter Safran Production, “The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It.” It will be distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. The film opens in theatres and IMAX nationwide on June 4, 2021 and will be available on HBO Max for 31 days from theatrical release. The film is rated R for terror, violence and some disturbing images.