Previews and Reviews that are Z's Views
Here’s a vintage drawing by Mike Mignola, the creator of Hellboy. I love how he took the classic Universal Monsters Wolfman as the basis for his werewolf. Although I usually prefer the Curse of the Werewolf design, I wouldn’t mind seeing a story about this guy.
Source: Cool Comic Art.
Lon Chaney is my favorite silent movie star. (Take that, Chaplin fans!) Hopefully you will enjoy that Jane Rose and Mental Floss present 9 Transformative Facts About Lon Chaney Sr. as much as me. Here are three of my favorites…
1. LON CHANEY SR. WAS KNOWN AS “THE MAN OF 1,000 FACES.”
Unlike many of Hollywood’s leading men, who trade on their good looks and recognizable faces, Lon Chaney Sr. made his name by donning a series of disguises and elaborate makeups, completely changing his appearance from film to film. Chaney, an early character actor, gravitated toward bizarre and distinct roles—playing a series of criminals, toughs, circus performers, clowns, pirates, ghouls, and vampires. His ability to disappear into his roles soon earned him the moniker “The Man of 1,000 Faces.” It also made him the subject of a popular joke at the time: “Don’t step on that spider! It might be Lon Chaney!”
3. SOME OF LON CHANEY SR.’S MOST MEMORABLE FILMS WERE MADE WITH DIRECTOR TOD BROWNING AT THE HELM.
Chaney had been working in movies for more than a decade before he began his frequent collaborations with director Tod Browning, who is best known for putting Bela Lugosi on the map with the 1931 film Dracula (and most infamously known for directing the 1932 movie Freaks). But when they did finally come together, it was a meeting of macabre minds. To begin with, Chaney and Browning had several things in common: Both had experienced past brushes with personal tragedy (Browning had been the driver in a car accident that killed actor Elmer Booth; Chaney’s first wife had tried to kill herself); both came from a Vaudevillian background; and both had a penchant for spectacle and the grotesque.
Among Chaney and Browning’s collaborations were the 1925 silent version of The Unholy Three, in which Chaney plays a sideshow ventriloquist masquerading as a kindly grandmother; the 1927 film The Unknown, in which Chaney plays a fugitive masquerading as an armless knife thrower, who later blackmails a surgeon to amputate his arms in order to win the woman he loves (the film is one of several in which Chaney and Browning concocted a bizarre character and built an entire film around it); and the 1927 film London After Midnight, in which Chaney plays a vampire-like figure. Tragically, this film is also famous forbeing lost; the last known copy was destroyed in a 1965 MGM vault fire.
7. LON CHANEY SR. HATED PUBLICITY.
Chaney was a mysterious presence both onscreen and off. He disliked hobnobbing with the Hollywood set, going to premieres, giving interviews, and/or signing autographs (except for fans behind bars—Chaney was a self-taught penologist, or student of prisons and convict rehabilitation). He once boasted that he would “fix it so no one will write my autobiography after I’m gone.”In fact, details of Chaney’s life were so scarce that actor James Cagney had a difficult time researching the part of Chaney for 1957 biopic Man of a Thousand Faces. While he was no doubt genuinely reclusive to an extent, Chaney’s reticence may have in fact been the smartest publicity move of all, as his mystery only added to his allure.
Jim Steranko can do it all.
Thanks to Doug at Black, White and Bronze we get to see a great example of Steranko’s writing and art. The complete story is At the Stroke of Midnight and it’s presented in both the black & white and color versions.
Check ’em out!
Mark Rozeman, Jim Vorel & Paste Movies Staff put together their list of The 100 Best Vampire Movies of All Time.
I like their list. I’ve viewed almost half of all of the movies listed. Of the one’s I’ve seen, these are my top ten (listed by year of release)…
Dracula (1931): Forced to pick my all-time favorite vampire movie, this is the go-to. Bela Lugosi IS Count Dracula.
Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948): How could anyone not love this one? You get Frankenstein, the Wolfman, Dracula (Bela is back) plus Abbott and Costello! Look for the secret Vincent Price cameo.
The Night Stalker (1972): I remember watching this as a kid when it first premiered on tv. The build-up to it had me so excited. A great memory of watching it with my mom.
Salem’s Lot (1979): Another vampire movie that premiered on tv. Again, the build-up was great. Watched it for the first time with my future wife.
Near Dark (1987): Very under-rated. Love this modern take on vampire.
Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992): has some great moments. I remember seeing it in a theater when it premiered and loved that Coppola was making a movie experience and not just a horror movie.
Interview with The Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles (1994): I love this film and think it’s also under-rated. I’d never read any of the Anne Rice novels (and still haven’t) which I really should fix.
From Dusk Till Dawn (1996): Tarantino and Rodriguez made a winner. (No surprise there.) Love how FDTD starts out as a crime flick and transitions to a horror film.
Blade II (2002): I didn’t care for Blade but absolutely love Blade II.
30 Days of Night (2007): I was familiar with the comic and love the movie even more.
What We Do in the Shadows (2014): I was surprised how funny and well done WWDitS was. Check it out!
Cheezburger.com is back with More Two Sentence Horror Stories. I love these and here are three of my favs from the new batch…
“Two eyes peered at me through the darkness, then disappeared again.
“No, no survivors down here,” I heard the rescue searcher say.
“Hey,” my wife said, looking at the police sketch of the suspected killer, “that looks just like your dad.”
I was just disappointed that they made me look so old.
“Stop shaking David, it’s just minor surgery” said the doctor as I laid on the operating table.
I thought he just forgot my name until I saw his nametag.
Jim Vorel & Paste Movies Staff present The 50 Best Serial Killer Movies of All Time.
Their list is an interesting one in that it contains a few movies that don’t normally spring to mind as serial killer movies (but are!). Movies like Arsenic and Old Lace, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari and Halloween are technically movies about serial killers but is that the first thing you think of when you hear those titles?
My top three serial killer movies would be…
3. Cell
2. Se7en
1. The Silence of the Lambs
Happy Halloween! Today we have a poster (created by Richard Hilliard) for a Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein!
Who doesn’t love A&C Meet Frankenstein? It’s got great humor as well as Frankenstein, The Wolfman and Dracula (Bela is back!). Plus — a great cameo from Vincent Price.
Source: Movie Poster Moment.
How about this Creature from the Black Lagoon print by Jason Edmiston? If you like it (I do!), you can see a larger version at Mondo.
Alex Maidy and Joblo.com present The Top 10 Zombie Movies of the 21st Century. I’ve seen nine of the ten films listed and here are my ratings and thoughts…
9. REC (2007): I didn’t care for this one.
8. DEAD SNOW (2009): This was okay. I’d like to see it again to see if my opinion changes.
7. PLANET TERROR (2007) Definitely had the drive-in feel which they were going for. I thought I’d like it better.
6. SHAUN OF THE DEAD (2004) I liked this one. If you’re down for funny zombie movies, then this is for you.
5. ZOMBIELAND (2009) Another funny zombie film that works.
4. TRAIN TO BUSAN (2016) Surprisingly good.
3. DAWN OF THE DEAD (2004) Don’t hate on me, but I liked the remake better than the original.
2. 28 DAYS LATER (2002) One of my favorite zombie movies.
1. WORLD WAR Z (2013) Get’s better on each viewing and I can’t tell you how many times I’ve watched it. Sucks me in every time.
The poster and trailer for I See You are here. Not sure about the poster but the trailer looks interesting.
Helen Hunt stars in the mind-twisting psychological thriller I See You. When a 12 year-old boy goes missing, lead investigator Greg Harper (Jon Tenney) struggles to balance the pressure of the investigation and troubles with his wife, Jackie (Hunt). Facing a recent affair, great strain is put on the family and slowly gnaws away at Jackie’s grip on reality. But after a malicious presence manifests itself in their home and puts their son, Connor (Judah Lewis), in mortal danger, the cold, hard truth about evil in the Harper household is finally uncovered.
Song parodies don’t get better than Careless Sister. Congrats to…
Filmed and edited by The Merkins. Written by Matt Helmick. Song production by Nate Vaill.
Starring Jake Barcus of Taco Truck
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnIh…Vocals by Aaron James @aaronjames216 on all social media platforms.
Special thanks to Jayden Frost of Freedom.
https://www.facebook.com/freedomgeorg…
Matthew Jackson and Mental Floss present 10 Gruesome Facts About Dawn of the Dead. Here are three of my favorites and my thoughts on each… click over to get the full story.
1. WE CAN THANK THE MALL (AND DARIO ARGENTO) FOR DAWN OF THE DEAD. (Romero had avoided returning to the genre for years and had it not been for Argento helping with creative control and financing, Dawn of the Dead may have never happened! – Craig)
3. MULTIPLE VERSIONS OF DAWN OF THE DEAD EXIST. (This is news to me! I’d love to see Argento’s version that cut down on the humor. I have a feeling I’d prefer it. – Craig)
4. DAWN OF THE DEAD WAS RELEASED UNRATED IN AMERICA. (I took my future wife to see the unrated version on Dawn’s initial release. It’s the only movie we’ve ever walked out on. The gore was too much for her. Later in the week I returned with my buddy, John Beatty and we made it to the end. – Craig)
Meg Shields and Film School Rejects posted their choices for 10 Jolting Jump Scares That Don’t Feel Cheap. Let me say from the start that I’m a sucker for a good jump scare. It’s not safe to be sitting to close to me during a horror movie because I will not only flinch, I will jump.
Sheilds’ list is a good one, but there are three great jump scares that didn’t make her list that would have made mine…
Play Misty For Me (1971) Clint Eastwood plays a popular DJ who’s had a one night stand with a woman who comes unhinged when he dumps her. There’s a scene where Eastwood wakes up to find her in his bedroom that has a great jump scare. I saw this in a drive-in when I was 13 and I’ll admit that I jumped more than Clint Eastwood — and he came out of his bed!
Carrie (1976) The final scene of the movie. I saw this at a midnight movie when I was 18. I came out of the seat and probably scared my date more than the jump scare.
Friday the 13th. Again, the final scene. I saw this on HBO and had no idea what was coming. In fact it was well after midnight and I got up to walk over to turn off the tv (no remote control in those prehistoric days) thinking the credits were about to roll. They were but not before that classic jump scare!
Jacob Trussell and Film School Rejects came up with their list of 10 Horror Posters That Are Seared Into Our Brains. Their list is a good one, but they didn’t find a spot for one of my favorites, George Romero’s Dawn of the Dead.
The Radioflash poster and trailer are here. Trust me, the trailer is better than the poster.
