Category: Movies

The 25 Best Horror Movies Based on True Stories

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Gem Seddon and Games Radar present The 25 best Horror Movies Based on True Stories.  Here are three that I enjoyed and my thoughts on each following Seddon’s comments.

21. The Strangers (2008)

The horror movie: House invasion horror starring Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman as a couple who go to stay at a summer home, only to fall victim to a trio of menacing, mask-wearing psychopaths.

The true story: Director Bryan Bertino revealed the movie’s premise was based on an incident that happened to him; as a kid a stranger appeared at his door, asked for someone who didn’t live there and left. He later found out that a series of break-ins occurred in his neighbourhood that night. On top of that, he also drew inspiration from the infamous Manson killings, carried out by the minions of occultist Charles Manson.

Craig’s Thoughts:  The Strangers is a creepy movie.  The idea that murders would randomly choose your house — not much is more frightening.  No reason, no rationale other than you were selected.  Brrr!  That gives me the chills.

14. The Town That Dreaded Sundown (1976)

The horror movie: A micro-budget indie slasher that pre-dates Halloween (but not Black Christmas). A hood-wearing killer terrorises a town in 1946 Arkansas, while a Texas Ranger attempts to bring him down.

The true story: A spate of murders in the 1940s, called the Texarkana Moonlight Murders, were carried out by the so-called Phantom Killer. Over a ten week period, the Phantom Killer murdered eight people… and the culprit was never found. Shudder.

Craig’s Thoughts:  I, like many folks, am intrigued by serial killers who never get caught.  First of all there’s something terrifying about a person who is compelled to kill again and again.  It’s even more frightening to think that despite the increasing publicity and police presence the killer still goes out and finds victims to slaughter.  Then add in that the killer could still be lurking around the corner…

5. The Silence of the Lambs (1990)

The horror movie: An Oscar-winning horror-thriller in which FBI trainee Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster) is chucked in at the deep end when she’s tasked with working alongside cannibal Dr. Lecter (Anthony Hopkins) to bring down Buffalo Bill (Ted Levine).

The true story: Author Thomas Harris based Buffalo Bill on a number of serial killers, including Ed Gein (skinning his victims) and Ted Bundy (using a cast to lure in innocent women). Harris also based the relationship between Starling and Lecter on that between Bundy and Robert Keppel, a criminal profiler and professor at the University of Washington.

Craig’s Thoughts: The Silence of the Lambs gives us two serial killers but interestingly enough, the one that gets remembered is the one that’s already caught!  Anthony Hopkins wasn’t the first to play Hannibal Lector, but he owned the role in such a way that not only is he the actor people remember, but it is THE role of his career.

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11 Screenwriters Who Hated Their Own Movies

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Rudie Obias and Mental Floss present 11 Screenwriters Who Hated Their Own Movies.  Here are three of the eleven that I enjoyed despite the person(s) who wrote them didn’t.

1. QUENTIN TARANTINO // NATURAL BORN KILLERS (1994) During the early 1990s, Quentin Tarantino sold his screenplay for Natural Born Killers to Oliver Stone and used the money to fund his debut film, Reservoir Dogs, which was released in 1992. Two years later, Stone released the film with Woody Harrelson and Juliette Lewis in starring roles.

While it was a box office hit, Tarantino despised the production because of the changes and alterations to much of his original content. “I hate that f*cking movie,” Tarantino told The Telegraph in 2013. “If you like my stuff, don’t watch that movie.”

Years after its release, the producers of Natural Born Killers sued Tarantino when he tried to publish the original screenplay as a book, as he had done with his original script for True Romance. The producers believed that Tarantino forfeited his rights when he sold it to them, but a judge ruled in Tarantino’s favor.
(Craig’s thoughts: Oliver Stone, like Tarantino has an over-powering style of movie-making.  Tarantino was probably most upset because the movie felt more like a Stone film than a Tarantino movie.  I liked Natural Born Killers.)

 

3. KURT SUTTER // PUNISHER: WAR ZONE (2008)  Before Marvel’s The Punisher made a comeback as a TV series on Netflix in 2017, Sons of Anarchy creator Kurt Sutter was hired to write a sequel to The Punisher starring Thomas Jane and John Travolta. In 2007, Sutter started writing a new script and wanted to ground the antihero in a grittier reality and move the character from Florida to New York City.

However, after Jane dropped out of the project, Marvel Studios wanted to start over with a new sequel that felt more like the comic book version of Frank Castle instead of the more realistic idea that Sutter envisioned. The end result was so far removed from what Sutter had written that he asked for his name to be removed from what would turn into Punisher: War Zone.

“I threw away the first draft written by Nick Santora and did a page one rewrite,” Sutter wrote of the project in 2008. “I changed the locations, the characters, the story. I dropped Frank in a real New York City with real villains, real cops, real relationships. To me, the Punisher deserved more than the usual comic book redress. It shouldn’t just follow the feature superhero formula. Apparently, I was the only one who shared that vision.”

(Craig’s thoughts: I’ve only seen Punisher War Zone once, but I liked it a lot better than The Punisher starring Jane and Travolta.  I agree with Sutter that The Punisher needed to be grounded in a grittier reality and thought War Zone did a fine job.  Perhaps another viewing is in order.)

 

4. AND 5. LANA AND LILLY WACHOWSKI // ASSASSINS (1995)  During the mid-1990s, Lana and Lilly Wachowski sold the screenplays for Assassins and The Matrix to producer Joel Silver for $1 million per film. Assassins was the first to go into production, and Richard Donner signed on to direct with Sylvester Stallone and Antonio Banderas attached to co-star.

Although Assassins was one of the hottest unproduced screenplays at the time (you can read the Wachowskis’ original version here), Donner didn’t like the darker tone and artsy symbolism, so he hired screenwriter Brian Helgeland to do a page-one rewrite to make it into a standard action thriller instead. The Wachowskis were not happy with the decision to tone down their screenplay, so the siblings wanted their names to be taken off the project, but the Writers Guild of America denied their request.

“The film was not really based on the screenplay,” Lana said in a 2003 interview. “The one thing that sort of bothered us is that people would blame us for the screenplay and it’s like Richard Donner is one of the few directors in Hollywood that can make whatever movie he wants exactly the way he wants it. No one will stop him and that’s essentially what happened. He brought in Brian Helgeland and they totally rewrote the script. We tried to take our names off of it but the WGA doesn’t let you. So our names are forever there.”

If there’s a silver lining to this story it’s that the experience with Assassins led the Wachowskis to want more control over their work—so they decided to become directors; they made their directorial debut with Bound in 1996.

(Craig’s thoughts: I was excited when it was announced Richard Donner was directing Sly in Assassins.  Although not as great as I hoped it would be, Assassins was still a lot of fun.  I’ve never read the Wachowskis’ original script so I have no idea if that might have been the way to go.  Still, the money that they received from selling Assassins led to The Matrix (the original) and THAT is a classic.)

10 Big Facts About “Last Action Hero”

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Scott Beggs and Mental Floss present 10 Big Facts About Last Action Hero.  Here are three of my favorites (and for the record, I liked Last Action Hero!)…

1. THE PRODUCTION ITSELF GOT META EARLY ON.

Original screenwriters Zak Penn and Adam Leff wrote what would become Last Action Hero as a film that would work both as an adrenaline-fueled action ride and as a goof on adrenaline-fueled action, but the sources they drew inspiration from soon invaded the project. Action icon Jack Slater’s name was originally Arno Slater as a nod to Arnold Schwarzenegger, who then took the role of Arno Slater. Penn and Leff studied all of Shane Black’s scripts (the Lethal Weapon movies and The Last Boy Scout) to get the satirical rhythm right, but then Black was hired to rewrite their script. They also used Die Hard and other John McTiernan-directed movies as a baseline for the movie’s style, and then McTiernan was hired to direct their movie. Their comedic love letter was taken over by titans of the very genre they were mocking, who were then put in charge of mocking themselves.

7. THERE WAS AN OVERWHELMING NUMBER OF CAMEOS IN IT.

Schwarzenegger also called in a lot of favors from co-stars and connections he’d made while ascending to the very top of global Hollywood stardom. Sharon Stone shows up as her Basic Instinct character alongside Robert Patrick as a Terminator 2 T-1000 in a background shot. Schwarzenegger’s then-wife Maria Shriver appears as herself, Danny DeVito voices the police cat, and Joan Plowright plays a teacher showing a class her real-life late husband Laurence Olivier’s version of Hamlet (“You might remember him as Zeus in Clash of the Titans”). Plus, Leeza Gibbons played herself doing celebrity interviews, Tina Turner plays the mayor of Los Angeles, and Jean-Claude Van Damme, Jim Belushi, and Chevy Chase are in the audience for the premiere of Jack Slater IV. Tony Danza, MC Hammer, Little Richard, and James Cameron also pop up. There are even more, but the best is Ian McKellen playing Death, emerging from the screen from Ingmar Bergman’s The Seventh Seal.

8. THERE IS ALSO AN OVERWHELMING NUMBER OF REFERENCES TO OTHER MOVIES.

References are to be expected with any spoof, but Last Action Herosmothers you with them. IMDB lists 68 references, which means there’s a reference to another movie every two minutes. They range from King Kongto The Wizard of Oz to Serpico to E.T., but of course the bulk of the callbacks evoke movies from Schwarzenegger, Black, and McTiernan. There are nods to Commando, The Running Man, Die Hard, Total Recall, Raw Deal, and an advertisement for Terminator 2 (with Sylvester Stallone starring instead of Schwarzenegger). But the sharpest homage comes after Frank’s (Art Carney) house blows up when a black cop says with resignation, “Two days to retirement,” referencing Danny Glover in Lethal Weapon.

“Rocky” by JC Richard – New Release from Grey Matter Art

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Grey Matter Art, under license from MGM, is proud to announce a new officially licensed, limited edition screen print featuring the classic 1976 Sylvester Stallone film, “Rocky” by artist, JC Richard. With the “Creed 2” trailer being released last week what a way to honor the original film. Below are details regarding poster and release information.

“Rocky” by JC Richard
12″ x 36″ hand-numbered screen print
Regular Edition: 150/40.00
Variant Edition: 75/50.00
Printed by: D&L Screenprinting

This poster will be released this Wednesday, June 27th on our website shop page at 1:00 PM est. at www.greymatterart.com

Follow Grey Matter Art on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, and be sure to sign up for the GMA Newsletter for all future news & information.

 

Reviews That Resonate!

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Recently Christopher McQuarrie sent out the following in a Tweet…

After 25 years of making them, I’ve learned to measure movies not in terms of quality, but of resonance. Some resonate with me. Others don’t. Some resonate with the masses, others don’t. I wasted years of creative energy arguing quality. I was wrong even when I was right.

That quote really, pardon the expression, resonated with me.  So many times when I was reviewing a movie (book, tv show, etc.) and tried to grade it, the end result felt wrong.  There are movies (books, tv shows, etc.) I absolutely love that fall short of being classics, but I don’t love them any less.  At the other end of the spectrum there are movies (books, oh, you get what I mean) that are considered classics that I can’t stand.

Arguing the point with someone who felt differently was, ah, pointless.  So I’ve decided to change up my ratings.  The grades are gone.  Now we have a simple number system that indicates how the movie resonated with me.

Your mileage may be different.  And the cool thing is we’d both be right.

 

George Romero’s Tribute Statue Gets Perfect Location!

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If you were going to decide on the perfect place for this bust of George Romero, the man who re-invented and re-invigorated the zombie movie genre, where would it be?

If you asked me (and no one did) I’d say the mall where the original Dawn of the Dead was filmed.  Guess what?

The Monroeville Mall in Pittsburgh, Pennsylania just got 1000% times more in touch with it’s creepshow roots. A large copper bust of indie horror director (and grandfather of the genre) George A. Romero was finally installed… in the very shopping center that served as the location for much of his ‘birth of the modern zombie’ classic, 1978’s Dawn of the Dead.

Source: SyFy Wire.

The 25 Best Horror Movies of All Time

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David Houghton and GamesRadar present The 25 Best Horror Movies of All Time.  Using just his list here are my top three choices…

4. The Thing (1982)

The movie: A shapeshifting alien stalks the inhabitants of an Antarctic research station, masquerading as one of them until it gets an opportunity to attack. John Carpenter’s remake of the 1950s sci-fi The Thing From Another World ramps up the gore and the paranoia, and ends on a note of resignation, not triumph.

Why it’s scary: That paranoid atmosphere, for one thing. The Thing’s oppressive, one-second-from-doom vibe never lets up for a moment, amplified by brilliant, tightly-wound performances throughout. And it’s impossible to over-value The Thing’s ground-breaking (and award-winning) special effects work, which unleash increasingly bizarre, hybrid nightmare creatures that will stick with you for life.

 

3. Alien (1979)

The movie: Arguably one of the greatest science fiction movies ever made is also one of the greatest horror movies, as director Ridley Scott sends the crew of the Nostromo off to investigate a distress call from an abandoned alien spaceship as innocently as any gang of hormonal teenagers headed off to a remote cabin in the woods.

Why it’s scary: There’s nowhere more horribly isolated than a spaceship light years away from home. And Giger’s alien is as terrifying a monster as you could wish for. The dread goes much deeper than teeth and claws. The creature represents a multilayered, bottomless pit of psychosexual horror, its very form praying on a raft of primal terrors. And the visual ambiguity of Scott’s direction during the final act – during which the high-tech environments almost merge with the monster’s biomechanical countenance – are a masterclass in ‘What’s that in the shadows?’ tension.

 

1. The Exorcist (1973)

The movie: After messing with a Ouija board, Regan (Linda Blair) starts acting weirdly. And not just acting weirdly in a normal teenage kind of way: she talks backwards, scuttles around the house like a crab, and does unspeakable things with crucifixes. Her mother calls in a couple of Catholic priests to cast out Regan’s demons, but it won’t be easy.

Why it’s scary: It quite simply has the most evil-soaked atmosphere of any film ever made. The Exorcist is relentless in its determination to creep you out, but ignore the scares for a moment and you’re still left with an exceptionally smart and sophisticated film that demands your unreserved attention and has kept people talking to this day. A bona fide cinematic masterpiece that just so happens to be an edge-of-your-seat scare-fest too.

A few movies that didn’t make Houghton’s list that I’d have included are: 28 days later, Them! and World War Z.