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Horror Movie Corner
Halloween is upon us once again, and since this is one of the few holidays in which I write something that is somewhat timely, I figure I should continue the tradition (and this year, I'll actually publish the post before Halloween). A few horror movies I've had the pleasure to view recently:

• The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974): I'd seen this once before, a long time ago, and was pretty well creeped out by it. About as pure an exercise in horror as is possible in a movie. As such, there are some who feel it lacks real purpose (and thus that it is a waste of talent), but it is so well executed that I can't help but love it and it didn't really lose any impact upon my second viewing this past weekend. It's got that gritty 70s horror feel, and you can almost feel the sweaty, grungy Texas setting. Speaking of which, it's interesting to note that what makes this movie so creepy is not just the freaky chainsaw-wielding maniac, it's that there really isn't anywhere to go. Unlike a lot of horror movies, there really isn't anywhere safe to run. And when our heroine is cornered and you think to yourself "Just jump out of the window, you moron," she actually proceeds to jump out the window. Of course, that only buys her a minute or so, but it's still a refreshing difference. It's obviously a low budget film, but it doesn't detract at all from the experience (and I think it contributes a little to the atmosphere too). It unfolds in a surprisingly realistic way, and that is part of why it is so effective. There's a ton more that could be said about this, but if you've never found yourself on the business end of a chainsaw or a meat hook, and you don't mind that it doesn't really seek to do anything deeper than creeping you out, it's worth watching. ***1/2
• Re-Animator (1985): In the 1980s, we started to see the emergence of horror films that were aware of how ridiculous they were, and even embracing the cheesyness in a humorous way. These films were less scary than they were funny, and Re-Animator is one of the better examples of this. It's a ton of fun, and it has taken on an added dimension of humor recently as one of the characters bears a striking resemblance to John Kerry. Heh. It's silly, it knows it's silly, and it's a lot of fun. **1/2
• Cabin Fever (2002): In a lot of ways, this movie starts off similar to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. There's an element of realism in the setup, and the setting is a similar sort of desolate, helpless area. Alas, the tendency to wink at the audience and descend into gory meyhem gets the better of writer/director Eli Roth (who also made this year's squirm-inducing Hostel) and the movie becomes unhinged about halfway through. However, the ending (last 10-20 minutes or so) manages to transcend the cheesy gore as Roth somehow orchestrates a series of simultaneously idiotic and yet brilliant sequences. This ending kicks off with a car crashing into a deer, moves on to a harmonica... incident, has a nice shootout, and then goes into hyperdrive when Roth makes a joke involving a racist shopkeep and a rifle. Oh, and I almost forgot about the lemonade. It's completely ludicrous.
  
  It reminded me of the ending of Mario Bava's Bay of Blood, a film notable mostly for it's inventive death sequences (many of which were lifted by Friday the 13th Part 2) and its totally unexpected and absurd ending involving two kids and a shotgun. Roth manages to capture this feeling several times as his film winds down, and that's actually pretty cool. In the end, it's not the greatest horror film out there, but if you don't mind movies that start realistically and then take the premise over the top as the film goes on, it might be worth checking out. **1/2

Interesting stuff. For those interested, here are a few older Kaedrin Halloween themed posts and some other Horror movie related posts:

• Save it with the music: Wherein I discuss the role of music in horror films.
• Horror: Wherein I blather on and on about more obscure horror films and novels.
• Friday the 13th: Wherein Weasello hilariously reviews all of the movies in the Friday the 13th movie series.
• The Biology of B-Movie Monsters: Wherein someone takes B-Movies way too seriously. Still interesting though.

Well, that's all for now. Happy Halloween!

This post is part of the Kaedrin Weblog. It's been categorized under Movies and was originally published in October 2006.

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A quick run-down of the stuff I watched this season:

Shaun of the Dead- still as funny as the first time I watched it. The final big battle with the zombies, set to music? Awesome.

Night of the Living Dead and Dawn of the Dead (originals)- *THE* zombie films to watch if you're only going to watch one. Er. Two. These pretty much set the standards for zombie films afterwards.

My Bloody Valentine - ridiculous slasher flick involving a miner and valentine's day, and a dance. Oh, and he sticks real hearts inside heart shaped boxes. Classy.

Naina - I have a movie review of this somewhere that I'll repost for you guys. Basically, though, it's a rip-off of like six different J-Horror movies, wrapped up in Bollywood glory. Ridiculous. Stupid. And so much fun to watch with a couple of buddies and plenty of booze.

In the Mouth of Madness - God. I love this movie so much. I can't even explain my fondness- it's just fantastic.

We also watched Halloween, Friday the 13th, Hellraiser, and the 1st short from 3 Extremes. There are a handful of others that I *meant* to watch, but didn't get around to. Maybe next year?

Shaun of the Dead - I concur:P

Night of the Living Dead and Dawn of the Dead (originals)- You know, I really need to watch these again. And actually, I don't know that I've see the whole thing of Night of the Living Dead... I know, this is a major hole in my supposed horror loving persona...

My Bloody Valentine - Never seen this one, but it sounds... fun.

Naina - Never even heard of this one, but it sounds interesting...

In the Mouth of Madness - One of my favorite horror movies of the 90s. Also probably John Carpenter's last good movie (which is a shame, really, as he was pretty solid for about 15 years or so)

I also saw Hellraiser and Friday the 13th part 2 (but both were on TV, so they were edited versions:( I'd actually optimized my Netflix queue to celebrate Halloween with a bunch of horror movies, but due to unexpected travel and other events, I only got a few movies in. I should be getting Slither and Red Eye this weekend...

Slither looked ridiculous (which is not to say bad- ridiculous can be tons of fun), but I wasn't thrilled with Red Eye. You'll definitely have to do a write-up on it.

I've heard good things about Slither and I've heard that the previews don't do it justice (and I agree that the previews don't look too great). Red Eye seems to get mixed reviews, so I'm not expecting much (which usually leads to me enjoying the movie:P)

Yeah, it's always hard to tell with previews. Especially previews for horror or horror/comedy. I mean, the previews for Eight Legged Freaks looked terrible, but I actually thought the movie was a fun (if stupid) romp. I mean. Giant spiders = awesome.

Then again, I also really enjoyed Mars Attacks, which I've been led to believe is kind of reviled. *shrug*

I think the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre is great, a real horror classic. There's only one point in the film I can remember where I thought the realism was compromised (when it turns out the grandfather is alive and starts sucking the blood from the heroine's finger).

Haven't seen Re-Animator. I'll have to check it out.

I think Cabin Fever is best enjoyed if you look at it as a really gorey comedy, mocking but honouring horror flicks at the same time. I think the increasing ridiculousness of it works perfectly this way but if you expect a straight horror movie, you'll end up feeling like someone just made fun of you by the end.

Shaun of the Dead - I also concur. Great movie.

Night of the Living Dead/Dawn of the Dead (originals) - I've actually not seen much of the original NofLD. I saw the original DofD years ago and remember liking it a lot but really need to watch it again. The remake's pretty good too.

I saw a preview for Slither recently. It looks enjoyably ridiculous.

Red Eye isn't horror. The previews lead you into thinking it is but it's supposed to be more a suspense/thriller kinda thing. What it really is though, if you ask me, is just a bad movie.

Alas, I've yet to see My Bloody Valentine, Naina, or In the Mouth of Madness.

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