Category: Horror

The 10 Best, Bloodiest, and Battiest Horror Sequels

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Rob Hunter and Film School Rejects present the 10 Best, Bloodiest, and Battiest Horror Sequels.  Using just Hunter’s list, here are three of my favorites with my comments…

  • The Exorcist III (1990): While none of The Exorcist sequels lived up to the quality or scare quotient of the original, The Exorcist III holds its own with the tale of a police detective’s investigation of a serial killer leads him to a hospital psych ward.  According to the IMDB, The Exorcist III  features “one of horror cinema’s scariest scenes” involving a murderer, a nurse and some giant pruning sheers.  I wholeheartedly agree.
  • Dawn of the Dead (1978): While the social commentary undertone is a bit heavy-handed and the motorcycle gang’s pie throwing at the zombies is a bit much, DotD is still a very decent follow-up to the classic Night of the Living Dead.
  • Blade 2 (2002) Ah, finally a sequel that surpasses the original.  While I’m not a fan of the original Blade, I absolutely love everything about Blade 2.

The 10 Best Ridley Scott Films

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Nate Williams and ComingSoon present the 10 Best Ridley Scott Films.  Here are three of my favorites with my comments…

  • Black Hawk Down:  is a movie that can suck me every time I am flipping channels and come across it.  Soldiers in an impossible situation – in a foreign land, against overwhelming odds and it is all true.
  • Alien:  A simple concept — a haunted house in outer space — but it is much, much more.  First of all the terror isn’t a ghost but an alien seemingly designed to kill.  It bleeds acid for God’s sake!  We’d never seen a creature like it and it’s method of reproduction is a real killer!
  • Gladiator:  Scott’s masterpiece takes us back to Rome to tell the story of Maximus Decimus Meridius, the commander of the Armies of the North, General of the Felix Legions and loyal servant to the TRUE emperor, Marcus Aurelius. Father to a murdered son, husband to a murdered wife. who will have my vengeance, in this life or the next.  ‘Nuff said.

 

The 10 Best Alfred Hitchcock Movies

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Alfred Hitchcock was the first director I learned to know by name.  I’ve always been an Alfred Hitchcock fan so I was delighted to see Nate Williams and ComingSoon present the 10 Best Alfred Hitchcock Movies.  Here are three of my favorites with my comments (and Hitchcock films that didn’t make the cut that should have)…

  • Rope: I love that Hitch was able to film the movie (in 1948 no less) as if it was shot in one complete take.  He did this in order to give the feeling of real time as if seeing the action unfold on stage as in a play.  So, kuddos to Hitchcock for this technical achievement.  Unfortunately, many times I think this technical aspect overshadows the fact that Rope is a suspenseful movie.  And the question isn’t who will be murdered or who committed the murder, but how will they be caught — what will trip them up?
  • Psycho: was a groundbreaking film well ahead of its time.  I love the fact that it starts off like a crime caper, moves into a murder mystery and wraps up as a horror film.  Hats off to Hitch!
  • North by Northwest:  For my money,  North by Northwest is Hitchcock’s finest film.  Cary Grant was never better and the supporting cast (Eva Marie Saint, James Mason, Leo G. Carroll, Martin Landau…) were perfect.  There was the right blend of action, suspense and humor.  It doesn’t get any better than North by Northwest.

Three Hitchcock films that would have made my Top 10, but didn’t make Williams’ list are Lifeboat; Saboteur and The Birds!

12 Horror Movies That Should (or Shouldn’t) Have Won Best Picture

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Scott Beggs and /Film present 12 Horror Movies That Should (or Shouldn’t) Have Won Best Picture.  So, let’s look at Beggs’ choices and the Best Picture Winner for that year and decide…

  • The Phantom of the Opera (1925) vs Nothing
    As Beggs points out, the Academy Awards didn’t begin until 1927 so my decision is NO CHOICE.

  • Frankenstein (1931) vs  Cimarron
    While I haven’t seen Cimarron, I have seen Dracula that was released the same year and Dracula would be my choice for the Horror Movie That Should Have Won.

  • Psycho (1960) vs The Apartment
    The Apartment has been on my to be viewed list for quite a while.  Since I haven’t seen it, I’ll abstain from a choice.

  • Night of the Living Dead (1968) vs Oliver
    I am a huge NOTLD fan, but part of the appeal is it is NOT a Hollywood, Oscar-winning type movie.  I prefer NOTLD to Oliver.  I even prefer NOTLD to Rosemary’s Baby which also came out the same year.  Still, I think my vote for the Best Picture would go to Oliver.

  • The Exorcist (1973) vs The Sting
    I’ve seen and enjoyed both but I would have given the Best Picture Award to The Exorcist.

  • Jaws (1975) vs One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest
    Both are classics films but the my nod would have went to Jaws.

  • Alien (1979) vs Kramer vs Kramer
    Alien     easily gets the win from me

  • The Shining (1980) vs Ordinary People
    The Shining would get my vote over Ordinary People but Raging Bull should have been the real winner. (I know, I know, we’re talking horror movies vs the actual winners, but c’mon, Raging Bull!)

  • The Thing (1982) vs Gandhi
    At the time I would have went with Gandhi, but now my choice would be The Thing.

  • The Silence of the Lambs (1991) vs The Silence of the Lambs
    Ah, I guess I’ll go with The Silence of the Lambs.

  • The Babadook (2014) vs The Birdman
    I didn’t care for the Babadook and I haven’t seen The Birdman so for me No Choice.

  • Get Out (2017) vs The Shape of Water
    Get Out was excellent, but I’d give the Oscar to The Shape of Water.

 

 

“It Follows” Trivia

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Scott Beggs and Mental Floss present 10 Fascinating Facts About It Follows. Here are three of my favorites…

1. ITS TIME PERIOD DOESN’T FEEL REAL.
David Robert Mitchell, production designer Michael Perry, and costume designer Kimberly Leitz coordinated to throw us off-balance without us even realizing it. Almost none of the young characters use cell phones, but they exist—and Yara (Olivia Luccardi) has that clamshell e-reader. The vintage cars all look brand-new, but people also have cars from the 2010s. It’s presumably modern day, but all the TVs are from the 1980s, and all the movies the kids watch are classics. Characters also wear bathing suits or heavy winter coats on the same day without appearing too hot or cold. Essentially the movie takes place during a stretch of impossible weather during an unreal era, making it impossible for you to find your footing. (Craig – This is genius!)

7. ONE OF THE MONSTERS IS JAY AND KELLY’S FATHER.
The monster takes on the form of a middle-aged man when Jay and Kelly try to kill it at the pool. In an incredibly subtle moment, Jay refuses to tell Kelly (Lili Sepe) what the monster has taken the form of, but if you rewatch the movie, you’ll see that the middle-aged man is their father, who is featured in several family photographs in the house but completely absent from their lives. Some viewers theorize he killed himself, and others see his throwing appliances at her in the pool as a nod toward possible abuse, but Jay is definitely protecting her sister.

4. THE PLAN TO KILL THE MONSTER IS TERRIBLE. BUT THAT’S ON PURPOSE.
Jay and her friends plot to electrocute the monster in a pool even though they don’t know anything about what might weaken it, and they were warned directly that it’s not dumb. “It’s the stupidest plan ever!” Mitchell told Vulture. “It’s a kid-movie plan. It’s something that Scooby Doo and the gang might think of, and that was sort of the point. What would you do if you were confronted by a monster and found yourself trapped within a nightmare?”

Mitchell specifically wanted to avoid the trope of the perfect nugget of information about the monster’s vulnerabilities magically dropping into the gang’s lap.

 

‘Invasion of the Body Snatchers’ (1956) Trivia

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Rob Hunter and Film School Rejects present  22 Things We Learned from Joe Dante’s ‘Invasion of the Body Snatchers’ Commentary. Here are three of my favorites …

11. Sam Peckinpah, who has a small role in the film, was apparently very quiet on set. He can be seen in the basement at 37:32.

13. They disagree over when exactly Dr. Dan Kauffman (Larry Gates) became a pod person. Dante thinks he’s one for the first time when Miles and Becky arrive in their bathrobes, but McCarthy says he’s been one since the earlier car ride. “Hmm, interesting,” says Dante, clearly not believing him but choosing instead to be a gentleman and a fan.

16. Siegel once snuck into Wynter’s house and hid a pod prop beneath her bed. No one challenges her on the commentary to prove she’s still human.

This version of Invasion of the Body Snatchers is one of my favorite horror films.  I fondly remember watching it many times over the years — with my favorite viewings being hosted by Sammy Terry late at night at my grandparents house.

State by State – The Most Popular Horror Films in America!

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Zack Sharf and IndieWire present The Most Popular Horror Films in America: New Study Reveals Each State’s Most Talked-About Title.   Here they are (with my comments)…

Alabama: “Halloween” (A classic!)

Alaska: “Little Shop of Horrors” (Comedy over horror)

Arizona: “What Ever Happened to Baby Jane” (Arizona does have a lot of retirees)

Arkansas: “The Thing” (Now we’re talking!)

California: “The Orphanage” (Wonder if the latest border separations influenced this…)

Colorado: “The Shining” (When a movie is made in your state…)

Connecticut: “Pan’s Labyrinth” (Ok…)

Delaware: “The Birds”  (Another classic!)

District of Columbia: “The Exorcist” (The movie that scares you most after watching it…)

Florida: “This Is the End” (Comedy over horror)

Georgia: “Get Out” (A modern day classic…)

Hawaii: “The Exorcist” (See District of Columbia)

Idaho: “The Birds” (See Delaware)

Illinois: “The House of the Devil”  (Huh?)

Indiana: “Frankenstein” (My birth state goes with a classic!)

Iowa: “Evil Dead 2” (Groovy!)

Kansas: “Shaun of the Dead”  (Comedy over horror)

Kentucky: “Evil Dead 2” (See Iowa)

Louisiana: “Get Out”  (Interesting that GA and LA are both Southern States… “They’re on to us!”)

Maine: “The Host” (Surprised it wasn’t a Stephen King adaptation)

Maryland: “Blair Witch Project” (When a film is made in your state…)

Massachusetts: “The Silence of the Lambs” (Is SotL really a horror film?)

Michigan: “Near Dark” (Well, played Michigan.)

Minnesota: “The Silence of the Lambs” (See Massachusetts)

Mississippi: “Drag Me to Hell” (Seems redundant since you’re in Mississippi.  – Just kidding!)

Missouri: “The Silence of the Lambs” (See Minnesota)

Montana: “Young Frankenstein” (Comedy over horror. How about A&C Meet Frankenstein?)

Nebraska: “King Kong” (A classic)

Nevada: “Shaun of the Dead” (See Montana)

New Hampshire: “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” (The original or the remake?  The original.)

New Jersey: “The Silence of the Lambs” (Seems to be a state favorite. But is it really horror?)

New Mexico: “Bride of Frankenstein” (A well deserved classic.)

New York: “Psycho” (A modern – does the 60’s still count as modern? – classic.)

North Carolina: “Halloween” (John Carpenter’s classic – don’t accept substitutes.)

North Dakota: “Aliens” (A great movie!)

Ohio: “The Silence of the Lambs” (Ok.  I get it. I give up. SotL is Horror!)

Oklahoma: “This is the End” (Comedy over horror.)

Oregon: “A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night” (Sounds like the start of a joke.)

Pennsylvania: “The Silence of the Lambs” (I’ve already conceded.)

Rhode Island: “The Love Witch” (Sounds like a 60’s drive-in movie)

South Carolina: “The Loved Ones” (The second feature to “The Love Witch” at the drive-in.)

South Dakota: “Cabin in the Woods” (Now we’re talking.)

Tennessee: “The Witch” (Ok.)

Texas: “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” (Another modern (?) classic.)

Utah: “Zombieland” (Comedy over horror)

Vermont: “The Exorcist” (Scariest movie ever.)

Virginia: “Drag Me to Hell” (Or Mississippi. – Again, I’m kidding!)

Washington: “Shaun of the Dead” (We like our horror played for laughs.)

West Virginia: “A Nightmare on Elm Street” (Pleasant nightmares!)

Wisconsin: “Shaun of the Dead” (See Washington.)

Wyoming: “The Babadook” (That’s the best you’ve got?)

I’m surprised ot a single state picked: Night of the Living Dead; 28 days later; or  World War Z?

The 20 Best Horror Movies of All Time

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Rebecca Pahle and Mental Floss present The 20 Best Horror Movies of All Time. Pahle’s list is a good one that made narrowing down to my top three tough, but here they are with my thoughts on each…

NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD (1968):  is one of those rare movies that influences a genre.  Can you imagine the billions (trillions?) of dollars that would have been lost if George Romero had never made NOTLD?  Romero made a horror movie with a layer of social commentary that shocked and inspired.

THE EXORCIST (1973): is perhaps the scariest movie ever made.  Its the kind of scary that stays with you and invades your mind in the dark hours of the night when you’re trying to sleep.  Here’s a true story involving The Exorcist:

Back in the pre-internet days when the only way to see a movie at home was through HBO or a similar service, I was fortunate enough to have both HBO and a video recorder.  A friend of mine didn’t have cable but did have a VCR.  He asked me to record The Exorcist for him.  I did.  He lived alone and decided to watch the movie late one night. When he turned off the VCR, the counter was at 666.  What are the odds?  Needless to say, he didn’t sleep the rest of the night.

THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS (1991): doesn’t usually come to mind when I think of horror movies.  It does meet the criteria but I always think of it as a cop movie.  Still, it did make Pahle’s list and it is one of the top three films selected, so of course it made it to my selections as well.