There are some movies that somehow imprinted on me when I was young; movies I watched over and over again, more than anyone would consider normal. There are several of these for me, but the most notable, the one I’ve watched more than any other single movie (we’re talking triple digits here), is The Terminator. There are probably many reasons for this, and while I’d like to think that 7-year-old me was a discerning aesthete and I still honestly believe the movie is phenomenal, there are several non-obvious reasons why I watched this movie hundreds of times.
For example, The Terminator was only the second movie we taped off of cable back in the mid-80s when my family first acquired a VHS player (the first was The Last Starfighter, a movie that got considerably less play over the years – it was basically a proof of concept – but while I didn’t watch that movie often, I must admit a certain nostalgia for it, even today). It might seem quaint in this day of on-demand digital streaming, but the notion that you could record something and watch it repeatedly was something of a novelty back then. Near as I can tell, kids today tend to imprint on Disney/Pixar fare, maybe superheroes. For me, it was The Terminator.
It wasn’t exactly high quality. A pan-and-scan 4:3 picture on an analog VHS that’d been watched hundreds of times (and thus experienced some degree of degradation), there were some aspects of the film that were nevertheless unforgettable. I sprung for the DVD upgrade when it came out, and remember being quite pleased with the visual quality of the picture, the crispness of the sound, the special features (Deleted scenes! A one-hour long featurette!), and so on. It was around this time that they started mucking with the sound.
Sound isn’t something I tend to obsess over when it comes to movies, but The Terminator is the one exception to that rule. The original release utilized Mono sound, which I’m guessing was something of a cost-savings issue for the relatively low budget film. As home video releases progressed, they invested some money in creating new stereo version of the sound. This was all well and good, and for the most part, the newer mixes sound good… except for the gunshots. The original sound had these sorta extra-crunchy, loud gunshots. The remixes made the guns sound like they were using silencers or something. The shotguns sound ok, but it’s the .45 ACP that was most noticeable. To this day, it remains bizarre that the newer sound mixes have such awful gunshot effects.
Is it a little weird that I care so much about the sound of a particular gunshot so much? Absolutely! But that’s the sort of thing that happens when a movie imprints on you at a young age and then you watch it hundreds of times. Even subtle differences can be jarring (and that .45 is not a subtle difference) and take you out of the experience. One of the frustrating things about the Blu-Ray releases was that the original Mono audio was unavailable.
Enter the long awaited 4K release. Like the other recent James Cameron 4K releases, this one is not without a little controversy. I won’t relitigate the whole thing here, but suffice it to say that Cameron and team leaned on AI noise reduction techniques to clean up the picture. That said, The Terminator is probably the best looking of all the Cameron 4K releases. There’s a little grain evident (there’s some speculation that it was added in after the fact, but whatever the case, the movie looks natural and filmic) and even some minor imperfections (particularly in the optical effects shots) that were left in. It looks great. None of the overscrubbed, waxy faces that you see in, for example, the True Lies 4K. More importantly, the Mono audio track is back! It’s not the default, but it’s there if you want it.
All that, and I haven’t even really talked about the movie itself very much. Suffice it to say, it holds up remarkably well. Conventional wisdom is that T2 is the better film, but I will always prefer this original, and not just because of the nostalgic reasons. The plot in the first film is just so tight and compact, and the action so kinetic. Even the bald exposition scenes work better than you might expect (credit to Michael Biehn for nailing those monologues). Tons of weird details and grace notes too. I dunno, I probably can’t be objective here, but it’s an amazing film that still captivates me, even after 40 years and countless rewatches. The new 4K is worth the upgrade if you’re in the market.
The Six Weeks of Halloween may appear to be a movie watching exercise, but all is not what it appears: the Halloween season is filled with other nominally spooky activities like hayrides, haunted houses (and haunted dining establishments and haunted mini-golf and haunted bonfires/cookouts, you get the picture), pumpkin mutilation carving ceremonies, and of course, lots of Halloween Reading. This year’s selections have a mix of old and new, classic and… not so classic (and everything inbetween). A few new-to-me authors, a couple of folks only discovered the last few years, and some legendary names that I wanted to brush up on… I think I found a pretty good balance, so let’s take a closer look:
Halloween Reading Roundup 2024
Dracula, by Bram Stoker – One of those foundational novels that everyone should read, if only because so much of the genre can be traced back to here. Stoker didn’t invent the concept of the vampire and this wasn’t the first novel to tackle the subject, but he established and codified so much of what we know that nearly everything that followed is dependent, in some way, on this novel. We’ve already covered a few of the filmic adaptations this year, and it’s always interesting to read the source material, especially when it’s so divergent from its adaptations.
This is an epistolary novel, meaning that the story is told entirely through diary entries, letters, and newspaper articles. This is the sort of thing that doesn’t translate well to screen adaptations, though the story itself isn’t all that complicated. Still, reading the story in its original form does help smooth over some of the issues you might have with the various adaptations. The very form of the novel emphasizes the perspective of various characters, including their lack of knowledge. This leaves certain gaps in the overall story that feel natural in the context of the novel, but can be difficult to adapt. Perhaps as a result of its unusual format, it holds up surprisingly well. It’s also worth noting that you get more information about various side characters, several of whom are more prominent in the novel than the various adaptations.
Dracula himself is only described by other characters, so you don’t get anything from his perspective. In previous posts, I’ve mentioned that Dracula is a character that tends to suffer from Flanderization, and it’s interesting that his eponymous novel actually has less background and detail than many of the adaptations, which usually add a tragic backstory, more personality, and even romance (or horniness) than is present in the original novel. He is far more monstrous here than we are accustomed to from the movies, though some get it reasonably correct I guess.
I have the dead tree edition and referenced that, but I mostly just listened to the Audible Edition, which is an excellent production featuring different voice actors for each character, including some big names like Alan Cumming and Tim Curry. Recommended if you’re looking for a new way to experience the novel (or if you’ve never read it). It’s also free if you have an Audible subscription (there are several other editions available on Audible, but I have not sampled those).
The Portable Edgar Allan Poe – I was already familiar with some of Poe’s more famous stories and poems (i.e. The Raven, The Tell Tale Heart, etc…), but I wanted to have Poe fresh in my mind before watching Mike Flanagan’s The Fall of the House of Usher Netflix series, so I picked up the Penguin Classics collection (which is not comprehensive, but good enough for my purposes).
In terms of his fiction, the collection splits the stories up into various themes, like Predicaments, Bereavements, Antagonisms, Mysteries, and Grotesqueries. If you’ve read any Poe, you know he has a dense, baroque style that can be impressively moody, but he is also able to anchor many of these stories with good storytelling and plotting. The stories in the Bereavements and Grotesqueries (and some, but not all of the Predicaments) sections are less effective in terms of plot, but no less potent (even if those stories are usually more difficult reads). The Mysteries often hinge on things that will be immediately obvious to modern readers, but were true innovations in their time (as such, your mileage may vary, especially if you’re not in the mood or right frame of mind).
Indeed, many of these stories have permeated throughout culture such that you can probably see various twists and turns coming even if you haven’t read the story before, but Poe’s evocative style helps keep it fresh. It’s still great to read “The Black Cat”, even when you know where it’s going to end up because you’ve seen countless imitations throughout the years. There are still some stories that aren’t very well known, but which are clear precursors to more modern stories (take “William Wilson”, a clear precursor to Fight Club…)
Look, you probably don’t need me to tell you that Edgar Allan Poe is worth reading, but even though I’d read some of his stuff before, I’m really glad I took the time to do a more thorough exploration of his work.
The Dracula Tape, by Fred Saberhagen – Remember when I said that the original Dracula doesn’t feature that much information about its titular character? Well, this is a novel that retells the original story entirely from Dracula’s perspective. It’s an interesting idea, but one that strikes me as a bit too slight to support an entire novel. It’s the sort of revisionist work you see all over the internet these days, but I guess this approach was considered more valid in 1975.
Saberhagen attempts to paint a more sympathetic portrait of the famous monster here, to middling success. I mean, he’s still clearly a murderer and not everything can be explained away so easily, but he does point to the most glaring issue with the original novel. Blood transfusions were incredibly risky at the time of the novel and the concept of Blood Types wouldn’t be discovered for a few years. It’s something that’s pretty easy to gloss over when reading the original novel, but it’s funny how Saberhagen uses it to justify Dracula’s actions here. He was simply trying to protect Lucy from that idiot Van Helsing, who was killing her with unsanitary blood transfusions from multiple different people (who probably had incompatible blood).
It’s a fun idea, but has difficulty sustaining the approach for the whole story, which can get a bit tedious after a while. On the other hand, I wonder if that’s just because I had just read the original novel? It might play a bit better if you haven’t done that…
The Holmes-Dracula File, by Fred Saberhagen – I guess the aforementioned Dracula Tape was successful enough to warrant this sequel, where Saberhagen attempts a crossover between the two most popular (or, at least, frequently portrayed) characters in all of fiction: Dracula and Sherlock Holmes. While “versus” stories like this don’t exactly have the greatest reputation, there’s plenty of potential here, and it’s a more complete story than The Dracula Tape.
That being said, Saberhagen is no Arthur Conan Doyle, and the mystery at the heart of this story isn’t the greatest. Even the interactions between Holmes and Dracula, which are effective enough in themselves, are taken too far, as Saberhagen develops an elaborate backstory and family relationship between the Holmes clan and Dracula. I won’t spoil it, but it’s more than a little silly. It’s all in good fun though. It’s no classic, but a worthwhile, if lightweight, Halloween season read.
The Painter, the Creature, and the Father of Lies: 30 Years of Non-fiction Writings, by Clive Barker – I probably should have looked into this book further before buying it, because it’s not what I was expecting. I was hoping for something like Stephen King’s Danse Macabre or On Writing, but it turns out that this book is simply a collection of previously written introductions to Barker’s novels and other stories. Some of these are pretty good (there’s a good overview of Faust stories, for instance), but many (particularly the introductions to the various comic book projects he worked on) are disjointed and repetitive. It’s not completely without value, but I would not recommend seeking this out.
Murder Road, by Simone St. James – A couple on their honeymoon get lost and find themselves in the middle of an infamous local legend involving a haunted roadway, hitchhikers, and unsolved murders. This novel starts out strong, with relatable characters thrust into a dangerous situation where they don’t know what’s going on, can’t trust the police, and find themselves in the middle of a mysterious local legend.
After that initial burst of excitement, things bog down a bit as the couple begins to investigate the mystery. The small town atmosphere is well crafted, and some of the townfolk are memorable, if a bit cliched (i.e. the ornery landlady who has a connection to the mystery, the gossipy sisters that know all the town’s dirty secrets, etc…), but our intrepid heroes do act a bit dumb from time to time. The supernatural stuff is minimized, and thus this isn’t all that scary, but it does all resolve in a satisfactory way. There is a big twist that I must admit that I didn’t see coming (in part because I was a bit checked out by that point), and the ending, while exposition heavy, is strong. Ultimately, it’s a fine little thriller, but not exactly a new classic or anything.
Phiction: Tales from the World of Phantasm, by Don Coscarelli – Longtime readers know that I’m a big fan of the movie Phantasm, so I jumped on this short story collection by the writer/director of the movies. Each story is told from the perspective of one of the side characters in the movies, sometimes including folks with just a few seconds of screentime.
The story involving Reggie encountering something spooky during his tour in Vietnam is clearly the best of the bunch, with some solid action and a genuinely creepy encounter at its core. One story is about the Morningside Cemetery caretaker (the one who gets, er, sphered in the first movie) and fleshes out his backstory in a surprising way. Another story features Tim, the resourceful little lad from Phantasm III, and has an interesting post-apocalyptic feel to it (that is honestly better than the movie he’s featured in). Tobe was a character who showed up in one scene of the first movie as one of Jody’s friends attending a funeral, and this story has him encountering creepy stuff in town that parallels the events of the movie (one of the less effective stories of the bunch, but not bad or anything). The nunchuk-wielding Rocky gets a story that leads into the events of Phantasm III (another underwhelming story, but still probably more interesting than the movie). Finally, another post-apocalyptic story told from the perspective of Chunk from Phantasm: Ravager. I got a distinct Stephen King vibe (particularly The Stand) from this story, and I love the way Coscarelli forms a found family around Chunk.
The collection starts and ends on a strong note, and it’s obviously recommended for fans of the Phantasm films, who will get a real kick out of these stories. I think Coscarelli has some chops as a fiction writer too, and I wouldn’t mind seeing more fiction from him…
Crypt of the Moon Spider, by Nathan Ballingrud – Short novella (novelette?) that is apparently first in a trilogy, this one almost defies description. It speaks to Ballingrud’s facility with worldbuilding that he’s able to set this story on the moon with a whole history of giant spiders whose silk is used in medical procedures and, yeah, I’m still having trouble wrapping my head around this. It’s not Ballingrud’s best (“The Butcher’s Table” is my favorite for sure), but I’m interested enough to read more. I normally would have waited for the rest of the trilogy before starting this, but Ballingrud lives in Asheville, NC, which is still suffering the effects of Hurricane Helene, so I figured I’d throw some support his way.
My Soul to Keep, by Tananarive Due – Investigative journalist Jessica has married David, who is seemingly the perfect husband. But when mysterious deaths start to crop up around them, David reveals that he’s actually a 400 year old immortal being, and others from his sect will try to keep this secret at all costs.
There’s some fascinating stuff explored here about the practical realities of what it’s like to be an immortal being. It’s hardly the first book or story to tackle the subject, but it’s a good portrayal of the issues involved. Unfortunately, a good deal of this comes at the price of pacing and storytelling. Due is generally able to craft good, page turning sequences, but her extensive use of flashbacks just wreaks havoc with the pacing, leading to a disjointed reading experience. The flashbacks do inform the story and flesh out character and again, as individual sequences, they’re well executed. The flashbacks having to do with slavery, in particular, are important to the rest of the story and provide an effective illustration of the effect that could have on an immortal being (which is a good metaphorical way of showing how slavery in the past still impacts us today). But it all felt a bit too episodic for me (this is clearly a “me” problem; it’s just an approach I don’t love for storytelling).
Then there’s the fact that David is a bit of an arse. I mean, yes, that’s the point, but for an immortal guy who’s supposed to be very smart, why does he do so many stupid things? Why does he engage in impulsive murders, like Jessica’s best friend and coworker? I mean besides the petty, selfish ones that are obvious. Yes, he’s a flawed human who has become immortal and that leads to many complications, but still. Jessica, as a character, is a little better, but where this story ends up is kinda wild (and almost breathtakingly stupid given the setup – it’s actually kinda weird that none of the other immortals ever broke ranks and did what Jessica is doing at the end of the novel, but despite all the flashbacks, we don’t really get to know the immortals that well).
I’m clearly the outlier on this, as this is a popular book. It’s thematically complex and interesting, but there are several choices that I just couldn’t go with, particularly in the ending (both from a plotting and character standpoint). There are sequels, but I probably won’t be seeking them out.
Songs of a Dead Dreamer, by Thomas Ligotti – I’m only about 2/3 of the way through this collection of short stories, and the Penguin edition also includes another of Logotti’s short story collections (Grimscribe) in the same volume (both were basically out of print and impossible to find up until Penguin rescued them not quite a decade ago). All of which is to say, I will probably finish up Songs of a Dead Dreamer next week, and won’t tackle Grimscribe until some later time.
As for the stories themselves, they’re good. Maybe even great. But they are a bit… much. Ligotti may be the bleakest, most pessimistic writer I’ve ever read, but he’s certainly got a knack for… something. So I can’t exactly call these stories enjoyable, but they are strange and beautiful and evocative and they get under your skin in an odd way. My biggest complaints have more to do with nuts and bolts plotting and storytelling, but even that isn’t for all the stories. It’s one of those things that probably shouldn’t work for me as well as it does – other stories that engage in this sort of thing often don’t work. Something about Ligotti’s writing just works well, even if I can’t quite figure out why.
It’s certainly very dark, but there is sometimes a faint spark of black humor underlying some of the stories. Or maybe that’s just me. For instance, I couldn’t stop visualizing the narrator of this story called “The Chymist” (first in The Nyctalops Trilogy) as a Christopher Walken “The Continental” sketch. Obviously, the story isn’t as jokey or funny, but there’s a real similarity that I found amusing. These stories are not for everyone, and frankly, I’m not entirely sure they’re my thing either, but somehow I think they work and I’m glad I made the effort to seek them out.
Another successful Six Weeks of Halloween in the books (literally!) At 9.5 books, it seems I’ve surpassed the pandemic fueled record I set in 2020, though I think several of these are much shorter books, and I will admit to starting a little early (plus, listening to audiobooks always helps).
Time flies when you’re terrified beyond the capacity for rational thought. The Six Weeks of Halloween went as fast as ever this year, and now we’re already at the big day. In accordance with tradition, this is when we engage in a Speed Round of brief thoughts on films I watched during the 2024 marathon, but haven’t otherwise covered. Usually because it didn’t fit with a weekly theme. Or maybe I just didn’t have much to say about it. Or I had too much to say about it, but the moment and/or inspiration has passed. Or it’s a rewatch of an all time classic (or, uh, a non-classic) and you don’t need anyone, let alone me, telling you more about it.
As of right now, I’ve seen 56 horror or horror-adjacent films during this Halloween season. Due to this being posted a bit before the big day, I expect that number to rise by two with the traditional Halloween night blowout tomorrow. Regardless, this number is well below last year’s count (which rivaled the pandemic fueled record of 71 back in 2020), but it’s worth noting that one of the TV shows I watched last year tracked each episode as a separate entry on Letterboxd (while this year’s big series was just one entry). Even with that, I’ve basically reverted to pre-Covid levels of viewing, which is… probably a good thing.
In accordance with tradition, we’ll have one final 6WH post next week about the horror books I read during the 2024 Halloween season, but for now, let’s dive into this 2024’s Speed Round:
Six Weeks of Halloween 2024: Speed Round
Dracula (1931) – I read Bram Stoker’s novel of the same name early on in the marathon and went on a bit of kick of adaptations (and derivative novels, which we’ll cover in another post), resulting in a mid-week theme post, but I watched a few other adaptations, including a revisit of the Tod Browning original. I’ve actually covered this several times during the 6WH, most recently watching both this and the Spanish language version a few years ago (for the record, I prefer Browning’s take over the Spanish one). This rewatch was interesting in light of having just read the book, but while they changed or condensed lots of elements, it’s still a pretty good adaptation (especially given the svelte 74 minute runtime). It’s a movie that’s grown on my every time I’ve watched it, even if it has some flaws. ***1/2
Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992) – Which would probably be more accurately titled as Francis Ford Coppola’s Dracula, since so many liberties were taking with the story. I mentioned in an earlier post that Dracula is a character that tends to suffer from Flanderization, and this is a prime example of that tendency. Coppola adds a tragic backstory and romantic subplot to make Dracula’s character more sympathetic. Did I say romantic? It’s probably more accurate to call this movie horny. Just incredibly horny. Almost comically horny.
All of this is pretty interesting considering that of the straight adaptations of Dracula, this one probably contains the most elements from the book. It’s just that they added more to the story, and tweaked tons of things. In any case, it’s a gorgeous movie – Coppola throws every practical effects trick in the book at you (a sorta last gasp before CGI took hold), and he knows how to harness that sort of stylistic virtuosity in a way that doesn’t overwhelm. But as a narrative? It’s a total mess. If I hadn’t read the book or watched countless other adaptations, it would probably be difficult to follow (and indeed, that’s my memory from watching this on cable back in the early 1990s). Still a fascinating movie with tons of memorable shots, and the 4K looks great. **1/2
In Search of Darkness: Part III (2022) – Basically a talking heads documentary about 80s horror, split up into various themes or years. If you’ve seen any of the previous installments in this series, you know exactly what you’re in for. Usually this sort of thing focuses on the big hits and more famous movies, but by this point in, they’re reaching for more and more obscure movies to cover, which is nice. It’s pushing 6 hours in length (and indeed, I started watching this last year, and only finished it this year), but given the nature of the movie, it’s very easy to pop in and out of it. Nothing exceptional, but always fun to reminisce or even discover something new. **1/2
Children of the Corn (1984) – Part of The Last Drive-In Nightmareathon, an all night marathon that actually aired in August. I obviously didn’t stay up all night back then, but I caught up with some of the remaining overnight segments after the fact. I actually covered this a little over a decade ago, and my feelings about this haven’t changed very much. Fun, but basically functional and more than a little silly (one of those things that works on the page better than it does on screen). **
The Silence of the Lambs (1991) – This is an annual rewatch, I’ve already said my piece on this, but it remains a classic standby and according to Letterboxd, it’s the movie I’ve rewatched the most in the past 10 or so years in which I’ve been tracking my movie watching there. Go figure. ****
Deep Red (1975) – After the Argento theme week, I revisited this with Arrow’s excellent 4K edition. This time around, I watched the extended cut, which is a bit odd in that the surviving audio is mixed between Italian and English language. This is one of those weird quirks of Italian cinema of a certain age in that absolutely everything was dubbed. In this case, the actors are all clearly speaking English, and the American version has an English language audio track to match. The extended cut has more footage, but the English audio never survived (but they do have the Italian). So it’s a bit of an awkward watch (if you watch it in all Italian, it would be consistent, but the actors are clearly speaking English, which would still be odd), but the movie is still great. I think I probably prefer the American cut, but it’s still one of the better Giallos out there, the Goblin soundtrack still rips, and the Arrow 4K looks great. ***1/2
Student Bodies (1981) – A slasher parody made in 1981? It probably speaks to how firmly the slasher tropes and conventions were established even that early on that such a parody was possible. Tons of effective gags here: a runny tally of deaths shows up after each attack, graphics and text show up on screen indicating character’s obvious mistakes (door unlocked, etc…), the movie is set on Halloween, Friday the 13th, Jamie Lee Curtis’ birthday, the night of the big game, big parade, and the big prom. And so on. The best, and most famous bit, is when the movie basically stops so that a censor can come on screen and scold the audience (while ensuring that the film gets an R rating). It’s not perfect and some of the humor doesn’t land, but I actually quite enjoyed this. **1/2
Race with the Devil (1975) – A couple vacationing in an RV witnesses a satanic ritual and is subsequently chased by the cult (which is seemingly comprised of everyone in the tri-state area (or wherever; it’s more fun to say tri-state than “region”). At first it seems like they’re going to fumble this solid premise (doesn’t really capitalize on the isolation of the terrain or the paranoia of being amongst the local townfolk, who aren’t really off kilter enough), but the vehicular mayhem in the third act saves it. Not quite Road Warrior-levels gratuitous action, but it’s a welcome development, and you’re left with the typical 70s bleak ending. Given my general dislike for sequels and remakes, it’s worth noting that this one seems ripe for such a treatment (i.e. good premise but not a classic, could benefit from an action and suspense auteur’s talents)… **1/2
It’s What’s Inside (2024) – Technically more horror-adjacent, this body-swapping SF flick does generate plenty of suspense. It requires you to pay close attention (keeping track of who is in who’s body), but I quite enjoyed that aspect, and they put the premise through its paces, developing multiple effective conundrums with plenty of twists and turns.
The only problem is that the characters are quite obnoxious. Nowhere near as bad as Bodies Bodies Bodies in that respect, and this struck me as a much better version of that sort of thing, but it’s still a tad annoying. Really wish I got to see this one in a theater (stupid Netflix), but it’s something that will probably show up in our year end festivities… ***
The Last Horror Film (1982) – Cheapo Troma attempt at American Giallo with Caroline Munro and Joe Spinell. Set during the 1981 Cannes Film Festival, there’s tons of obscure (and not so obscure) movie dork references (Possession! Thief! And several others are featured in background posters, etc…). The horror elements are a little more uneven, but Spinell is great (this would make a good companion piece to the superior Maniac) and the ending was better than expected. **1/2
Galaxy of Terror (1981) – The last of the aforementioned Last Drive-In Nightmareathon movies I caught up with, this is a sleazy Alien-ripoff, a cheapie Roger Corman production that looks surprisingly great but has a dull, nonsensical story. There’s some neat stuff for sure, and you get to see a pre-Freddy Robert Englund running around, but this is another one that actually might be a good candidate for a loose remake. As it is, it’s got its moments (I kinda liked the ending twist, as goofy as it was) and it’s a little fun, but it’s mostly just a curiosity. **
Scary Movie 3 (2003) – After watching the first two, I did continue to this third entry in the much maligned parody series. I would probably still recommend the aforementioned Student Bodies over any of these, but this one holds up favorably to the first two entries in the series. The targets this time around are more J-Horror related (or rather, the American remakes of J-Horror that were popular at the time), particularly The Ring, to solid effect. **1/2
The First Omen (2024) – Handsomely appointed prequel to The Omen that generates some solid scares, has great atmosphere, and a twist that I actually did not see coming. That said, the premise is ludicrous in the way a lot of modern Religious horror can be, and so it never really coheres in a way that really gets to me. It almost feels like an accelerationist plot by Hollywood, but that instinct falls into the same conspiratorial trap this movie does (not to mention its companion piece, Immaculate, which came out on top of The First Omen – both were probably in theaters at the same time – and features nearly identical Catholic born conspiracies.) As pure entertainment, it’s fine, if derivative (the last line in the film is an abomination), but deeper readings don’t hold up. Director Arkasha Stevenson is someone to keep an eye on though; she made something better than the franchise slop it could easily have become. **1/2
Transylvania 6-5000 (1985) – Dumb horror comedy about tabloid reporters going to Transylvania to track down… Frankenstein? Whatever, it’s got a great cast, with Jeff Goldblum, Ed Begley Jr., Carol Kane, Jeffrey Jones, Michael Richards, and an absolute smokeshow in Geena Davis. Alas, much of the humor falls flat, with some of the bits (particularly Kane and Richards) going on for an interminably long time (and not in the way where something can be funny, then go on too long, then go on so long that it boomerangs back to being hilarious – it just sorta lingers in that unfunny zone). The ending is pretty good though, and some of the jokes land fine. Ultimately mediocre stuff that should have been much better than it was. **
King on Screen (2022) – Bizarrely erratic documentary looking at Stephen King adaptations. Mostly talking head stuff, and the best interview comes from Frank Darabont, but the documentary just doesn’t have a good organizing principle and it’s not even particularly comprehensive either, so it ends up feeling like the sort of thing produced on a deadline that meant they just had to use what they found, rather than having some sort of overarching thesis or theme. On the other hand, it’s fun watching people talk about King and adaptations, so it’s not a complete waste either. **
Mute Witness (1995) – Underrated thriller about a mute woman who witnesses a crime and must escape from Russian mobsters. The first act is almost ludicrously tense, just perfectly executed cat and mouse stuff.
Tons of unexpected twists and turns, and some clever developments in the end (trying to be vague here, as I’m guessing most have not seen this, and the less you know about it, the better). There’s even some well integrated comedic relief that doesn’t undercut the overall suspense. Highly recommended, and the newish Arrow 4K looks great. ***1/2
Ninja III: The Domination (1984) – Wildly entertaining mashup of action, horror, and 80s cheese. A classic childhood cable discovery that seemed lost for a while, at least until Scream Factory rescued it. I always forget how much this relies on the 80s fitness craze, almost rivaling the other seminal entries (Killer Workout and Death Spa), but the added Ninja lore and action is just great. Not conventionally good, but I still kinda love it. ***
Woman of the Hour (2024) – Anna Kendrick directed and stars in this recounting of an odd bit of lore in which a serial killer went on The Dating Game (and won). The game segment and immediate aftermath is the real centerpiece of the movie, and Kendrick does a great job capturing how this happened and the immediate aftermath. The sequence at the tiki bar is expertly crafted (the way Kendrick moves from simple shot/reverse shot to a more isolated side-on angle is subtly unnerving), as is the parking lot scene. Kendrick makes good use of the frame without getting overly showy or hamfisted about it. Outside of that gameshow centerpiece, the movie is a little more disjointed, but I chalk this up to the limitations of basing this on a true story (even if I’m sure some elements are exaggerated). Really curious to see how Kendrick proceeds from here, as she’s clearly got some chops. **1/2
Tragedy Girls (2017) – Interesting little comedic slasher about two teenagers who want to increase their social media clout by usurping a local serial killer’s reputation and murdering their enemies. All well and good, but the murders tend to look like accidents, so the police don’t really put it together. Womp womp. Great lead performances from Brianna Hildebrand and Alexandra Shipp, with solid supporting roles by the likes of Jack Quaid and Kevin Durand.
Much of the humor lands, but the commentary and satirical japes often come off as insufferably smug. If you can get past that, it’s a darkly fun movie that’s worth checking out. **1/2
Slayers (2022) – Every year, for some reason, I end up watching some sort of godawful vampire movie. Sometimes I’ll enjoy it despite it still being quite bad, other times, I’m not as fortunate. This is the latter. What a dog. It’s got a solid cast though (Thomas Jane, Abigail Breslin, Malin Åkerman, etc…) and there’s a nugget of an idea here, but man they pad the hell out of this and spend an awful lot of time delivering dry exposition about vampire lore. It’s pretty stupid and not recommended, even for fans of bad movies. *
The Convent (2000) – This is a throwback to mid-80s cheese, complete with a typical teen cast spending the night in an abandoned church, and Adrienne Barbeau wielding a shotgun. It even kinda looks like it’s from the 80s (it definitely doesn’t have that slick, early aughts nu-metal feel). It’s short and sweet and a total blast. Spoiler Alert: The doggy gets posessed.
Special thanks to Final Girl’s Shocktober post ranking this #336 for pointing this one out, really glad I took a flier on it. ***
Silent Madness (1984) – A slasher from the tail end of the Golden Age, but remains true to nearly every trope and convention of the subgenre. Escaped mental patient who suffered a tragic “prank” in the past and is now out for revenge, promiscuous teens, a sorority house massacre, lots of stalking and gnarly kills (was this originally made in 3D? Some pretty blatant shots of sharp objects being pushed directly at the screen here…), the list goes on. A bit bumpy at the start, but it’s a solid little slasher. (Another obscure movie rescued by Vinegar Syndrome a few years ago…) **1/2
Strange Darling (2024) – Covers the end of a serial killer’s spree using clever nonlinear storytelling. Visually impressive, well acted, with plenty of interesting twists and some good lead performances. There are some divisive components to the story, but I don’t want to spoil anything and I was able to go with it just fine. The only really annoying thing about this is actually a text card that shows up at the beginning of the film informing us that the film was shot entirely on 35 mm (which is great, and the movie looks great, but please don’t hit us in the face with it before the movie even begins – throw it in the end credits or something – ultimately this is a small quibble, but still.) Well worth seeking out. ***
Satan’s Little Helper (2004) – Part 1 of Joe Bob’s Beelzebub Bash, this is a movie we’ve covered briefly before, but it still holds up reasonably well. Not my favorite or anything, but it’s got a goofy, mean-spirited charm that might work for some. **1/2
Jason X (2001) – I’m cheating a little, as I watched this on Friday, September 13 – a little early for the marathon, but worth calling out as one of the more fun entries in the Friday the 13th series. Three great components of this: The Cronenberg cameo, the liquid nitrogen gag, and the sleeping bag callback to part VII. Lots of other ridiculous but fun wrinkles in this (and very much a product of its time), but it may be a bit underrated at this point. **1/2
Smile 2 (2024) – Well executed sequel that suffers a bit from, you know, being a sequel. The novelty of the premise is gone and at over two hours long, that could get a bit tedious, but it’s all executed well enough that it doesn’t really get boring. After an amazing first scene (shot as one take) that provides the connective tissue between the first movie and this sequel, the Smile curse is passed on to a pop-star about to embark on a comeback tour. Honestly, while there are several crafty jump scares and the trademark smiling face remains creepy, the daily rigors of being a pop star seems almost as horrific. The ending cheats a bit, and implies that a pretty significant portion of the film didn’t actually happen, but it capitalizes on something kinda clever (even if it’s a bit predictable when you find out who our protagonist is, it’s still effective when you see it come to fruition). Just a dumb observation – the demon is presenting our protagonist with an alternate version of reality, while presumably driving her body in the real world, so, like, did the demon have to learn the dance routines (like, pop, twist, shake, pivot, then hop) and meet with fans, sign autographs, and stuff? It’s unclear. Anyway, it’s better than expected, but still suffers from sequelitis. **1/2
Horror in the High Desert (2021) – Interesting mock documentary with a found footage climax that works reasonably well. It starts off a bit slow and conventional, profiling a dorky outdoorsman who can’t pronounce his Rs and went missing after going out on a multi-day hike. The mock doc stuff works reasonably well, though it suffers a bit from amateur acting and overuse of its soundtrack. The overall photography doesn’t look great (still functional, but clearly some budget would have helped here), but the final 15 minutes are so are quite effective (YMMV, but it worked fine for me). Also, they devised a clever and logical reason for him to keep filming, always a bit of a challenge in found footage. Not exactly a classic, but a solid entry in the sub-genre, and there are multiple sequels that I’m interested in checking out (was actually going to make this a mid-week theme, but ran out of time this year). **1/2
Late Night with the Devil – Part 2 of Joe Bob’s Beelzebub Bash, I was actually fortunate enough to see this in the theater earlier this year. Not exactly a found footage film, but not quite a mock documentary either, it sorta features elements of both… and more. Indeed, I think it probably cheats a little bit, straying from the idea that you’re watching a late night talk show that aired live in 1977 (with behind-the-scenes documentary footage spliced in). On the other hand, I found it riveting from start to finish. David Dastmalchian plays the talk show host and does quite well (it’s a departure from the types of roles he is usually cast in, and he rises to the challenge) and the supporting cast is all great, particularly Ingrid Torelli as the young possessed girl and Ian Bliss as the skeptic. It doesn’t quite reach the level of verisimilitude that Ghostwatch (a clear analogue) achieved, but it’s worthwhile. It’s a shame that there’s an AI controversy over some minor imagery used in the film (which was done before any recent AI provisions in contracts, etc…) that has dominated the discourse about this, because it’s actually quite good and worth seeking out. ***
Phantom of the Paradise – Phantom of the Rock Opera. Or cantata. Whatever. Built on the foundation of Phantom of the Opera, but incorporating elements of Faust and even The Picture of Dorian Gray, with Brian De Palma’s delirious visual style ramping up the energy. The story also has some prescient criticisms of the music industry, including an anticipation of auto-tune that was pretty amusing to see. It’s all very relevant, even to this day. Unfortunately, the music is kinda pants, though you could convince me that it gets better with repeated viewings (and especially with a crowd).
I can see why this has garnered such a cult following, though the near universal praise is a bit strange to me. I mean, who among us hasn’t felt the urge to don a cape and seek revenge against those who’ve wronged us, but this sort of kitschy experience doesn’t always work for me. I’m just not much of a musical guy either, and while De Palma’s bravura camerawork kept my attention, I just didn’t really connect with this the way everyone else seemingly does. **
The Rocky Horror Picture Show – I had this idea to do mid-week Horror Musicals theme, but ran out of mid-weeks to do it. I really wanted to catch up with the aforementioned Phantom of the Paradise, and while I was at it, I thought I’d give another chance to The Rocky Horror Picture Show. I’d seen bits and pieces of this one over the years, usually in the background of some party or bar or something, but I’ve never seen it all the way through, and sadly, I still have not seen it in its true environment: a midnight screening at a movie theater with a raucous crowd. Like Phantom, I can see why this has such a big cult following, and while the music isn’t exactly my thing, it’s absolutely catchy and totally the sort of thing that I could see a participatory crowd getting into. That being said, I’m just not a musical guy, maybe there’s something broken in here, whatever, but I just don’t seem to connect with this sort of thing. **
Trick ‘r Treat – An annual tradition on Halloween night, I’m excited to try out the brand spankin new Arrow 4K. Will hopefully be an upgrade over the old Blu-Ray, though it’s not like that one was bad or anything (and the difference between BD and 4K is not as big as DVD to BD). ***1/2
Halloween – Duh. (Another Halloween night tradition for tomorrow, will be watching the Scream Factory 4K.) ****
Another successful Halloween season in 2024, and I already have ideas for the 2025 marathon. In the meantime, stay tuned, as we’ll cover some Halloween season’s readings on Sunday. Have a great Halloween everyone!
After the mean-spirited excess of the Terrifier movies, I was ready for something more formulaic and comforting, which can only mean… slasher movies. It’s a sub-genre I inexplicably have a lot of affection for, and frequently revisit during the Six Weeks of Halloween. I probably haven’t exhausted the golden-age slashers yet (indeed, I just watched one last night), but I figured I’d give another shot to the Neo-Slasher. Yes, I tackled this weekly theme a decade ago, but the Neo-Slasher is a sub-genre that tends to get short shrift, so let’s take a look at a few more of them.
For the purposes of this post, any slasher made after Scream represents a Neo-Slasher. We’ve got a couple from that immediate post-Scream rush below, as well as a more recent updating of the sub-genre. Let’s get to it:
Urban Legends: Final Cut – At the (fictional) most prestigious film school in the country, someone is vying for the coveted Hitchcock Award (complete with a sizeable cash prize and pretty much a guarantee for a job in Hollywood) for their student film… by knocking off the competition. Hijinks ensue.
I actually don’t remember much about the original Urban Legend other than that I thought it was a neat idea, but that it didn’t really capitalize on the premise of exploring urban legends in any real depth. After a promising start, this sequel pretty much abandons the premise about halfway through as well. We do get a few solid examples, including Kidney Thieves and Humans Can Lick Too, but others are given short shrift and the whole proposition falls by the wayside as the increasingly convoluted plot starts heading towards a climax. As a sequel, it doesn’t really connect in any meaningful way with its predecessor (a security guard from the first film shows up and her presence works well enough without bringing too much baggage), which is probably for the best (there’s another sequence at the very end, a sorta epilogue, that I guess also connects in an odd way.)
As a humble slasher, I do think this works, and indeed, it’s better than a lot of the immediate post-Scream imitators. The killer, this time sporting a fencing mask and black robe, is a definite upgrade over the first film. Why he’s wearing the costume doesn’t really make any sense, but it’s visually effective. Speaking of which, the film is set during winter at a university campus that has lots of neat architectural features; it’s a setting they make good use of, and gives the film a somewhat unique look. Being a film school, there are tons of filmic references that film dorks can geek out over. There’s a little bit of history that’s driving the story, and the red herrings are numerous. The kills are reasonable, if a bit tame, even by the standards of the day (the most effective one is the aforementioned Kidney Thief segment, which ends in a surprising and well executed decapitation).
The cast is pretty solid too. Jennifer Morrison (probably best known for her work on House) isn’t the most memorable final girl or anything, but she gets the job done. Loretta Devine reprises her role as the security guard from the first film, and her presence actually lightens the mood a bit. Hart Bochner (he was in Terror Train but is probably best known as the platonic ideal of coked-up, go-go 80s businessmen – Ellis in Die Hard) plays the film professor, and he provides some level of gravitas (I mean, not much, but he’s an adult). There are some larval roles for the likes of Eva Mendes and Anson Mount, and Joey Lawrence shows up being suitably bitchy. Anthony Anderson and Michael Bacall are essentially playing Chainsaw and Dave, and thus provide some comedic relief.
Look, this isn’t a perfect movie or anything. In a lot of ways, it’s simply going through the motions of a slasher. On the other hand, that’s mostly what slashers actually are – they’re formulaic and conventional in the extreme, and this movie hits the appropriate notes. Is it the best neo-slasher? No way. Is it cliched? You betcha. Do all the twists and turns make a lot of sense? Not especially! Is the killer’s revealed motivation insanely ludicrous? Absolutely. Does any of this really matter? Apparenly not. I enjoyed this way more than I thought I would. It’s certainly not fine cinema, and there would be better neo-slashers in the following years, especially once they emerged from the shadow of Scream. But after a week of Terrifier films, this was like putting on a warm sweater. **1/2
Valentine – A group of college students start getting threatening Valentine’s cards, and soon enough, a masked killer shows up as Valentine’s Day approaches.
Of the group of immediate post-Scream imitators, this is the rare one that plays its slasher shenanigans almost completely straight. There’s no self-aware winking or homages or anything like that. It’s like someone found an unproduced script from 1983, did a minor rewrite to update the technology, slang, and fashions, and just made that. It’s still got all the hallmarks of a 2001 production. Slick, music video style looks with beautiful cast members mostly pulled from, like, the CW casting couch. The fashions and music and mannerisms are all vintage 2001. But the structure, right down to the tragic prank in the past being revisited upon the present, not to mention a fantastic mask and costume for the killer, is pure slasher cliche.
This sort of modern and retro at the same time take on the genre fell flat at the time (the bottom was really falling out of the teen horror boom by 2001), but it has garnered a bit of a cult following over the years. That said, it still only really rises to the level of a curiosity these days. For dorky students of the genre like me, it represents an interesting tipping point, but the text of the film itself isn’t as interesting as its place in the history.
The cast is once again pretty solid though. Denise Richards is sometimes thought of as a punchline as an actress, but she’s perfect for this sort of role. David Boreanaz hits his marks and does what’s needed. Even Katherine Heigl shows up, however briefly. Most of the characters are folks you don’t mind seeing killed, and the kills are long on the stalking, which sometimes works really well.
This isn’t perfect either, but I can see why it’s developed a following over the years, and it’s worth checking out for students of the genre. It’s certainly not going to overtake My Bloody Valentine‘s (or maybe even the remake‘s) stranglehold on the holiday though. **1/2
The Ranger – After a run in with the cops at a punk concert, a group of kids decide to lay low at an old, abandoned family cabin in the woods. There they come under the watchful eye of an overzealous park ranger who knows about one of the punks’ past.
Look, I’m no expert on the world of “punk”, but there seems to be a few different strains. The bold fashions and hard hitting music are obvious, but there’s often an underlying political sensibility and even principle driving the transgression. These people are a little hard to handle, but they have a point of view that’s hard to shake. Then there’s a different stripe who have all the superficial appearances of punk, but are pure narcissistic types who don’t care about anyone or anything but themselves because “Fuck you, we’re punk.” The clothes fit, but there’s nothing underneath. This movie is filled with the latter.
As a result, the whole Punks vs Park Ranger battle that is being set up feels a bit lopsided. It would be one thing if there was an actual exploration of punk here (even the latter types), but all we really get is the outfits and kids being really shitty to each other. There are occasional glimpses of care, I guess. Two of the punks are in a gay relationship that’s barely established, and the final girl clearly has more going on in her head than everyone else (not to mention a connection with the park ranger). But the first half of the film is spent almost exclusively with this insufferable crew of assholes, such that I really wanted to see the Ranger start messing with them.
Things pick up once he does exactly that. And while he’s not the usual slasher villain, he wears his Ranger uniform like costume. The hat and aviators frame a strong jawline in a way that almost resembles a mask, and he is suitably menacing even before the fireworks begin. Of course, he’s not exactly a likable guy either (and we later find out just how unlikable he can be). There’s clearly something sinister bubbling under the surface of his short monologues and quoting of laws. This isn’t a gore-focused slasher either, though there are brief bursts of intense violence that are reasonably effective. Unfortunately, that means that there’s no real catharsis in the kills either. If you’re going to do the thing where you set up characters to be genuinely horrible, like drug dealers and murderers with little to no redeeming qualities… I dunno, I guess they didn’t let the characters off the hook and there’s something to be said for subverting that trope, it still comes off a little muddled.
First time director Jenn Wexler does have a keen eye, and the movie looks pretty good. I may find the characters annoying, but the punk aesthetic is visually striking, and Wexler does a good job contrasting that with the more subdued nature of the surrounding countryside. The soundtrack also takes full advantage of punk music, infusing the occasional jolt of energy into the proceedings.
The final showdown with the Ranger and the final girl works well enough and the history between them is effective, if a bit clumsily presented. When this movie is good, it’s great, but there’s definitely a lot of not-so-good elements that really hold it back in my mind. Interestingly, I thought I spotted Larry Fessenden in the flashbacks and sure enough, this was a movie made under Fessenden’s production company, Glass Eye Pix, and Wexler has worked with them in other capacities (mostly as a producer) before. Even if I don’t love it, this is a movie that shows a lot of promise, and there are some really great elements, it just didn’t really come together for me. **
Hard to believe we’re almost done with the Six Weeks of Halloween. All that really remains is the customary Speed Round of short reviews, the big day itself, and next week, a recap of Halloween season’s readings.
Those who celebrate the Halloween season do so in many and varied ways and hard as it may be to believe here in 2024, they even maintain blogs to document their celebration. Here, we do the Six Weeks of Halloween horror movie marathon, but there are lots of other approaches. As with last year, I goofed off with some AI image generators using the prompt “Fellow Travelers in the Halloween Ways” and I guess this works well enough (I kinda like last year’s better though).
Old Hands
Film Thoughts – Zack, previously the only other practitioner of the Six Weeks of Halloween, has decided to expand his marathon to the full two months of September and October. As per usual, his output is prolific, typically covering two movies and a smattering of television episodes nearly daily. He’s also quite thoughtful and insightful in his reviews, and his curation is eclectic (always find new things to watch reading his blog).
Cinema Crazed – I only started following these folks a few years ago, but I guess that qualifies as an Old Hand at this point, and they’re still going strong, covering everything from old silent flicks to recent horror based festival releases.
Horror Movie a Day – Brian doesn’t post every day anymore and his output this Halloween season has been somewhat limited, but the man watched and wrote about a horror movie every day for several years, so his archives are invaluable this time of year.
Hellowe’en Horror -Well curated collection of images, posters, screenshots, and gifs from various horror flicks, still marching along with the season…
Final Girl – Standard Shocktober shenanigans are well underway, this year doing another reader poll and counting down the films mentioned. She asked readers to submit a top 20 list, then ranked the results by number of votes, resulting in a list of 816 films. She’s done this a few times before, and it’s always surprising how many of the films I haven’t seen or even heard of… I mean, I know there are 800 films on the list, but still.
Classic Horrors Club – Lots of movie reviews ranging from the obscure to the popular to the… not popular… (as all Halloween movie marathons should be!)
Dispatches from the Macabre Republic – I want to say that I’ve included this one before, but regardless, there’s lots of reviews of horror literature and short stories here, amongst the usual oddball stuff.
Severed Hands
Wonderful Wonderblog – Spreading the love beyond just movies and into various spooky versions of stuff like lottery tickets and records and whatnot.
Halloween Mixes – Well, technically, this blog is titled “The Murderer’s Plague Of The Phantasmagoric Beast Of The Haunted Screaming Horror Of The Mad Scientist’s Monster’s Bride Of The Vampire’s Bloody Psychotic Alien Werewolf Curse Of The Ghost Of The Zombie That Ate The Return of Dav’s Ultimate Halloween”, but uh, yeah it’s got an archive of nice playlists of Halloween themed music (including a recently compiled 2024 list)
Countdown to Halloween – Long list of blogs and websites doing some sort of Halloween theme…
So there you have it. Halloween blogs are still a thing, kinda. It’s not just me. Anywho, stay tuned, we’ve got some Neo-Slashers coming on Sunday, followed by the traditional Speed Round (not to mention the big day itself) and a Halloween Reading Roundup as well…
Least you think this year’s Six Weeks of Halloween were softening a bit too much, what with all the parodies and old standards, we jumped aboard the Terrifier franchise this week. Even amongst the horror dork crowd, this is a somewhat controversial series. There is definitely a school of thought that says that horror movies should push boundaries, be dangerous, make you feel miserable after watching. It’s… not especially my perspective, but I can respect the sentiment, and the Terrifier series, which makes the New French Extremity look like Pixar fluff, certainly qualifies.
I actually watched All Hallows’ Eve last year, and that’s the first film featuring Terrifier‘s fledgling horror icon, Art the Clown. It’s more of a demo-reel or proof-of-concept though, as it’s really just a fix-up collection of previously released short films with a poorly conceived wraparound narrative added after the fact. Inconsistent and slipshod, it had its moments and showed a little promise, but didn’t really move the needle. But writer/director Damien Leone soldiered on for years in obscurity, building a reputation amongst the horror extremophiles. When Terrifier 2 showed up in theaters after the Covid hangover and did surprisingly solid business (at least, relative to it’s paltry budget), more people started to take notice. Just this past week, Terrifier 3 debuted to #1 at the box office, beating out Joker 2 (which, to be fair, has been poorly received and experienced an 80% drop in its second week, but still, no one expected the unrated schlock sequel to beat the comic book sequel). So despite my reservations, I dove in the deep end this week, and watched all three Terrifier films.
Terrifier – Two women trying to get home on Halloween night get stranded and wait for their ride when they run afoul of a maniacal clown-costumed man named Art, who massacres everyone in his path, from pizza shop employees to janitors to homeless cat ladies.
Once again, it does still feel like we’re in demo-reel/proof-of-concept mode here, though this is more consistent and cohesive than the aforementioned All Hallows’ Eve. And there does seem to be an overarching purpose to this movie, which is to subvert nearly every horror trope in existence. Art the Clown is often referred to as a new slasher icon, but this movie really seems hostile to the general conventions. The only real exception is that the killer has a unique appearance and there’s creative violence and plentiful gore (including one particularly gnarly, mean-spirited kill), but beyond that, everything gets tweaked. There’s no tragedy of the past being revisited upon the present, no motivations, no harbingers, and the characters don’t even rise to the level of cardboard cutouts. At one point, when it appears that a character has gotten the jump on Art, he pulls out a gun and just shoots her (generally a no-no in slasher films, which mostly rely on, you know, slashing and bashing motions). Even the ostensible Final Girl doesn’t exactly count as a true Final Girl, given where she ends up (mild spoiler here, but her “victory” isn’t much of a victory).
There can be value in this sort of thing, but Terrifier veers perhaps a little too hard into its nihilistic extremity to be genuinely effective. There’s a reason so many of these things became conventions in the first place – they work.
It’s not all bad news though. David Howard Thornton plays Art the Clown with reckless abandon, and despite never talking, manages to express some level of personality and even a sorta sick, demented sense of humor. The scene at the pizza shop starts out genuinely creepy, and even later in the film, he does darkly humorous things like riding a tricycle and honking his little clown horn in a goofy way. I suspect his performance alone is what makes these early appearances notable.
Shot on a literal shoestring (something on the order of $35,000), it’s hard to fault the movie for its locations or some of its visual repetitiveness. They know where their bread is buttered though, putting most of their budget towards gory effects work, and that part of it is pretty well executed. As much as I don’t particularly care for the philosophy behind the movie, there was some thought put into it, and writer/director Damien Leone is clearly growing his talents, even if the movie remains somewhat shapeless. Ultimately, this is not my thing, but it has its moments. *1/2
Terrifier 2 – A year after the events of the first film, Art the Clown returns to stalk teenage Sienna and her younger brother Jonathan on Halloween. Together, they try to figure out who Art is and how they’re possibly connected.
While the first film was almost an anti-slasher, this one actually deigns to have something of a real narrative. You’ll noticed in my (still quite brief, let’s not get carried away) plot description above, I actually named a couple of characters. That’s because the film actually spends a surprising amount of time getting to know them, their family, and their friends. We even find out a little about Art, and he gets something of a sidekick in a creepy little Clown girl (we later learn that she may have been his first victim). To be clear, we’re not entering A24 elevated horror territory here or anything, but compared to the first film, this thing is like Citizen Kane.
There’s still plenty of subversion to be had. Art pulls out a gun again (on multiple occasions), his powers and that of his new sidekick are vaguely established (at best), and plenty of kills border on bad taste. This sort of thing is always a little hard to justify, but I dunno, I’ve read some history. We’re a species that invented all manner of gruesome torture devices and grotesque methods of dismemberment. I mean, sure, Art will cleave someone in half using a hacksaw in an acutely revolting manner, but we are the species that invented drawing and quartering. And as much as we might like to pretend, those tortures weren’t conducted by demonic Clowns.
The budget has increased, but is still quite low ($250k), but you see all of it onscreen. The settings are more varied and interesting, it’s visually more consistent and while it still has some of the digital sheen of modern filmmaking, it also gives off a bit of the throwback vibe it’s clearly going for. Damien Leone has clearly grown as a filmmaker, and he makes some surreal creative choices here that were unexpected. David Howard Thornton continues to evolve Art into a fledgling horror icon, and Leone gives him time and space to cook, especially in the early goings. A long sequence at a Halloween costume shop is quite effective and actually builds and releases tension the way horror movies should.
Of course, all of this comes at the expense of the runtime, which clocks in at an unwieldy 138 minutes. A judicious editing could perhaps bring it down to a more manageable length, but there is something to the shaggy dog nature of the proceedings that is effective. It may get a bit exhausting by the end, but it’s never boring. Indeed, the weird digressions and even the strangeness of the post credits sequence are part of what make it noteworthy. And unlike the previous films featuring Art, this is actually noteworthy. It’s still not for everyone and I find it hard to recommend, but there’s something here. This sort of mean-spirited nihilism is definitely not my favorite thing in the world, but there is some sort of alchemy at work here that’s interesting, even from the outside looking in. I can actually see why this movie has struck a chord. It’s a big leap forward creatively and I was genuinely curious to see where they’d take things. **1/2
Terrifier 3 – Five years later, Sienna and Johnathan struggle to put their traumatic experience behind them, but are planning to have a nice Christmas holiday together with their remaining family. Naturally, Art the Clown and his new sidekick have their own holiday plans that may throw a wrench into the proceedings. Hijinks ensue.
By this point in the series, you pretty much know what to expect, and this new entry retains the increased level of creativity and craft established in the second film. Indeed, and maybe this is just because I was watching this one in a nice theater, it actually just looks fantastic. It wasn’t shot on film, but something about the lensing or graininess lends it a distinct vintage feel. The Christmas setting and great production design helps, what with all the colorful lights and decorations. I was genuinely surprised at how great this looked.
As befitting the slow establishment of a new horror franchise, this one also features tons of cameos, including the likes of Tom Savini, Clint Howard, and several other recognizable faces. David Howard Thornton continues to work wonders with his expressive performance (his delight at encountering Santa Claus in a bar and subsequently messing with him is quite well done). Victoria Heyes returns from the first movie as the final girl turned villain and basically becomes Art’s sidekick, to middling effect. One of the great things about Art is that he doesn’t speak, and while we’ve started to establish a bit of “lore” about him, we really don’t know much. Heyes’ sidekick is clearly some sort of demonic presence, and she speaks too. It’s implied that there’s some sort of connection between her and Sienna, though it’s all very hand-wavey.
It comes off a bit as one of those things where the series started off trying to subvert conventions, but is now diving headfirst into the same conventions it was trying to subvert earlier. Is that a good thing? I dunno, it’s all still mostly just an excuse to engage in gory mayhem, which is obviously still on the menu here. It’s more or less on par with Terrifier 2 in terms of the mean-spirited and gruesome kills, including multiple kids (usually considered a cheapshot in horror films, but not unheard of either, especially in stuff like this series). A few kills happen offscreen, which is a bit odd, but I suspect here may be a reason behind that. Clocking in at just over two hours, this one is shorter than Terrifier 2, but still perhaps a hair too long.
Again, this is not a series for everyone, and if you’ve gotten to this point, you pretty much know what you’re in for. The Christmas setting breaths a bit of fresh air into the series, while the establishment of lore is perhaps a bit less successful. There is an actual plot and characters, even if it can be a bit clunky at times (and honestly, by this point, setting the bar so low in the first movie will only get you so far). The ending isn’t exactly a cliffhanger, but we know there’ll be another movie coming. I suspect this series will run out of steam at some point, but I think it’s probably safe to say that we do have another horror icon on our hands, even if Art the Clown won’t quite reach the mainstream heights of his predecessors (but then, box office for this is at $38 million and counting, which is mighty impressive for an unrated splatter flick) **1/2
Well that was… interesting. Even if these movies aren’t exactly my thing, watching them feels a bit like anthropology or something. I can certainly appreciate these movies on some level, though I doubt I’ll be revisiting them often. I am genuinely curious to see where it goes though, and will probably catch them at the theater. One thing I thought about this series is that even though I don’t love them, I like them a lot more than several of the recent attempts to revive longstanding franchises (I was particularly thinking of David Gordon Green’s recent Halloween movies, which were mostly just a slog). Anywho, we’re already in the homestretch of the Six Weeks of Halloween. These Terrifier movies gave me a hankering for some more conventional slasher type movies, so I think we’ll be tackling some neo-slashers next week.
I usually cover Halloween season’s readings towards the end of the 6 Weeks of Halloween, so just to preview this year’s offerings, one of the things I’ve read was a large selection of Edgar Allan Poe stories (amongst other writings, poems, etc…) Obviously, I was already familiar with some of the more famous stories and poems (i.e. The Raven, The Tell Tale Heart, etc…), but I wanted to have Poe fresh in my mind before watching Mike Flanagan’s The Fall of the House of Usher Netflix series.
Flanagan had found something of a patron in Netflix, at least for a while, and it seemed that every year brought a new series around Halloween. I’ve never watched them in a timely manner, but I appreciate the effort and Flanagan is a talented guy who’s collected an accomplished repertory cast (it’s almost like an anthology series, similar to American Horror Story, only these are actually good.) The Fall of the House of Usher turns out to be the last of Flanagan’s Netflix productions. Rumors abound for the reasoning behind the breakup (Netflix cancelling the underperforming The Midnight Club after one season is often referenced as a flashpoint), but Flanagan is now working with Amazon Studios (and it seems like he will be taking yet another swing at Stephen King’s Dark Tower series), and I’m assuming we’ll see some familiar faces in future series. Until then, I’ll be catching up on some of the stuff I haven’t watched yet, like The Fall of the House of Usher:
Six Weeks of Halloween: Week 4.5 – The Fall of the House of Usher
Despite the title, this isn’t an adaptation of any one Poe story, but rather an ambitious mashup, remixing tales into each other while retaining Poe’s trademarks of death, decay, premature burial, antagonism, and betrayal (amongst others). It even layers in some of Poe’s poetry, which adds a dreamlike vibe to the proceedings, while relegating some other Poe tales to backstories that underline and reinforce the overall narrative. It also incorporates some non-Poe elements, most notably of the Faustian variety, and it’s all been modernized, so there’s an eat-the-rich component that’s popular these days.
While each episode is named after a different Poe story, this is not exactly an anthology series, even if there is a discernable structure to the 8 episodes, and the titular stories are heavily referenced. However, as mentioned above, they’ve all been blended together into one fluid, unified narrative with overarching themes. It’s an impressive feat of adaption, and despite Netflix’s tendency to dump all episodes at once, this is a little too dense to really binge.
That being said, it’s also probably the most fun of Flanagan’s Netflix series, which feels weird to say given its deeply macabre tone (after all, the series centers around the horrific deaths of Roderick Usher’s six children), but there’s a certain ironic gallows humor under the surface that keeps things moving. Once the structure becomes clear, some of the deaths are robbed of their impact a bit, but there remains a distinct Grand Guignol influence, such that even when you see it coming, it works surprisingly well, and by the end I was really relishing the mayhem. Maybe it’s telling that the first (inspired by The Masque of the Red Death) and last (inspired by The Pit and the Pendulum) of the deaths were my favorites, though I’m not sure exactly what to make of that (and it’s not like the others aren’t effective or anything).
As usual, the cast is great, anchored by Flanagan regulars Bruce Greenwood and Carla Gugino, with some new but recognizable names like Mary McDonnell and Mark Hamill fitting in seamlessly. The rest of Flanagan’s reparatory group pitches in admirably, as per usual, and it’s become interesting to recognize these folks mostly through their collaborations with Flanagan. Visually solid, as always, with particular attention played to the sound design. Many of Flanagan’s trademarks are there, like Easter Eggs and details hidden in the background and showy monologues, but they’re all filtered through Poe’s prose and poetry, which actually has the effect of making this feel more restrained than Flanagan’s other Netflix efforts.
Overall, it all works well, and it’s quite entertaining. Thematically, there’s lots of room for interpretation, including some perhaps unintended endorsements of conservative ideals (the Usher family got filthy rich off of an evil drug company that falsified records in order to get everyone addicted to an Oxy-like drug, the kids are all sexual deviants and druggies, one of the more evil characters denounces the traditional concepts of family and motherhood, they’re all punished for their sins (with one notable exception), etc…), but it’s actually quite well conceived in its approach and execution. Recommended!
I’ve watched a few episodes of some other Halloween season appropriate shows, but nothing that could approach Usher’s level, so we’ll just save those other shows for the inevitable Speed Round post at the end of the 6WH. Next up in the Six Weeks of Halloween? Terrifier(s). Is Art the Clown a new horror icon, or is it all smoke and mirrors? Stop by on Sunday to find out.
Sometimes these weekly themes are more rigid than others. This week is really more of a three movies I’ve always wanted to watch but never found the time and am now catching up with them than anything else. Of course, there’s a long list of movies that fit that criteria, so filtering by Sci-Fi Horror makes it easier to narrow down to three. All of which is to say that Sci-Fi is somewhat loosely defined for the purposes of this theme. I’m a big fan of science fiction and could probably bang out 10,000 words giving a good definition of the genre, but that’s overkill for the purposes of the Six Weeks of Halloween. Anyway, here’s three movies I watched this week:
The Incredible Shrinking Man – Richard Matheson has this knack for coming up with goofy sounding premises that he somehow manages to wrangle into grounded, interesting stories. This mode of operation was perfect for things like the Twilight Zone, a series where he contributed some of the more memorable episodes (most notably Nightmare at 20,000 Feet), but some of his pitches could sustain a full feature film too.
Due to a hand-wavey exposure to radiation and insecticide, Scott Carey is shrinking, slowly but surely. He eventually becomes so small that he begins to live in a doll house, and as he becomes even smaller, his home becomes an obstacle-laden wilderness. As he continues to shrink down to mere inches (and even smaller), he must survive encounters with the likes of house cats and spiders.
50s science fiction has a certain reputation as being a little silly or hacky, and reading the plot here, you can’t help but feel that the high concept is probably all their is to it. To be sure, the film delivers on the exasperation of exploring a familiar environment from a radically different perspective, and there’s plenty of action. The effects are often quite simple, but they remain remarkably effective, even to this day (when he gets really small, there are some shots that are perhaps not perfect, but they’re still quite good – I’ll take those over some of the weightless CGI slop of today’s blockbusters.) The cat chase is pretty fantastic, the challenges of navigating the basement to find some food are also quite well executed, and the spider is genuinely terrifying (it helps that they use the biggest, hairiest tarantula they could find rather than a simple daddy long-legs or orb weaver).
What you’re probably not prepared for are the dark, existential monologues that Matheson peppers throughout, particularly in the ending, which contains a bittersweet glimmer of hope. Again, it’s one of those things where Matheson takes what could be a deeply unsatisfying ending and turns it entirely around, even though all the unsatisfying stuff is still there. There’s a few elements that aren’t entirely baked (an abortive romance with a circus performer, the way his wife just assumes he’s dead), but at just 86 minutes long, it never wears out its welcome. Great stuff. ***1/2
Mimic – Guillermo del Toro began his career in Mexico with Cronos, a unique blend of vampires, alchemy, and del Toro’s distinct brand of fairy tale. This garnered enough success that he was able to make the jump to Hollywood to make Mimic at Miramax, which was apparently quite an ordeal:
“I really hated the experience,” del Toro said to the crowd at the festival. “My first American experience was almost my last because it was with the Weinsteins and Miramax. I have got to tell you, two horrible things happened in the late nineties, my father was kidnapped and I worked with the Weinsteins. I know which one was worse… the kidnapping made more sense, I knew what they wanted.”
Yikes. Apparently tons of studio interference here, but enough of del Toro’s style remains that the film is worth a look, and the idea behind the film is kinda interesting, though a little far-fetched.
In order to combat an emerging epidemic in NYC, an entomologist genetically engineers a breed of insect that will kill the cockroaches that spread the disease. The insect was specifically designed to die off after one generation but life, uh, finds a way. What’s more, their heightened metabolism has allowed them to evolve the ability to mimic their greatest predator, human beings. Hijinks ensue.
This turns out to be del Toro’s most conventional film, and while there are some interesting ideas bubbling under the surface here, they’re pretty clumsily presented. The cautionary theme of unfettered science is presented through overly literal exposition and on-the-nose dialogue; there are much better explorations of this sort of thing that are more subtle and thorough. The titular mimicry is an interesting idea, but ultimately, you are left having to believe that 6 foot tall cockroach monsters are walking around New York undetected (in the dark, from a distance, maybe, but with the creature design they have, it would not survive any real scrutiny). del Toro gets around this a bit with the way he frames and blocks these sequences, so it’s probably good enough, but this movie requires you to make several leaps that make suspension of disbelief a bit of a challenge.
On the other hand, the set design and atmosphere are impressively moody, and the creature itself is well done. Goopy and gross at times, these things all play to del Toro’s strengths. The more ambitious effects are perhaps a bit dated, but it’s pretty good for a low-budget attempt. The cast is actually quite good, with Mira Sorvino leading the pack as the entomologist who figures everything out, and Charles S. Dutton playing the thankless role as a subway cop who gets caught up in events (that guy deserved better in the 1990s, he always brings a gravitas to the proceedings that elevates anything he’s in…)
Unfortunately, perhaps due to the studio interference, the film’s pacing grinds to a halt on a few occasions. It’s an interesting movie, well worth a look, especially for fans of del Toro, but it’s not exactly a classic. **1/2
Maximum Overdrive – By the mid-80s, Stephen King had parlayed his phenomenal success in the writing world into films, with tons of successful adaptations, and he finally got a chance to direct his own movie, an adaptation of his short story, Trucks, in which a group of people at a truck stop are terrorized by a bunch of tractor trailers which have become animated by some unknown force and mow down every human they can find. In this movie, King expands on the concept beyond the Trucks of the story, with all technology betraying mankind, and the result is a fine example of cocaine-fueled 80s excess.
This is quite obviously not a strictly good movie, but man it’s wildly entertaining. I would say that it’s unintentionally hilarious, but I don’t know, I suspect everyone knew what they were doing with this one, even if they never actually wink at the audience. I mean, this is a movie where Stephen King himself has a cameo in which his ATM repeatedly calls him an asshole. Emilio Estevez is putting on some kind of bizarre accent. After the trucks start their rampage, the scummy manager of the truck stop whips out an actual rocket launcher and starts blowing up trucks (a trend from the 80s we desperately need to bring back). The vehicular mayhem is suitably destructive and frequent (something we also need to bring back: massive practical explosions). One of the trucks is inexplicably sporting a giant Green Goblin mask strapped to its grill. AC/DC provides the soundtrack. There’s a weird romantic subplot. The cast is a veritable who’s who of character actors, including the aforementioned Estevez, the woman who would go on to voice Lisa Simpson, Barney from Silence of the Lambs, a bartender from Deadwood, and probably a dozen other recognizable “that guy” or “that gal” faces.
Look, it’s not really scary in any way, but it’s such a singular oddity of 80s cheese that I can’t help but love it. I’m glad that King would sober up and mostly return to writing, because he’s just so great in that arena, but this is actually an interesting film to have under his belt. This is one of those things that sorta defies ratings, but what the hey: ***
Next up, some televised (er, streamed) horror. After that, I’m planning on a few things. I should probably catch up with the Terrifier movies at some point this year (ah, I see the new one just came out), and I’ve got some Neo-Slashers on the schedule too, not to mention a few other potential themes. A few other themes may have to be relegated to the Speed Round, but I wanted to watch some Fly sequels, horror musicals, and moar. Stay tuned!
Watching nothing but horror movies for six weeks can get a bit grueling if you don’t know how to pace yourself, by which I mean incorporating something a little less dour into the marathon so you don’t completely burn yourself out. I already managed to sneak one parody into this year’s proceedings, but it’s not like there’s a quota or a maximum or anything, so let’s watch a couple of Scary Movies. That is, movies from the Scary Movie franchise, a series of horror parodies that was developed by the Wayans brothers around the turn of the century.
Today, we’ll take a look at the first two movies in the series, which happens to coincide with the Wayans’ involvement (the series would shamble on under the leadership of Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer for a few more movies, and they would also attempt to expand the concept to other genre parodies, mostly to disastrous reviews.) I may get to some additional Scary Movie entries in the inevitable 6WH Speed Round, but for now, we’ll just hit the first two.
Scary Movie – As a genre, horror experienced a bit of a boom in the 1970s and 80s but had mostly run out of steam by the early 90s (still good stuff if you know where to look, but definitely not as popular or accessible.) That changed in 1996 with Scream, the self-aware neo-slasher that ignited a stream of mainstream deconstructions of horror flicks. This wave of ironic meta-takes on horror only lasted a few years, but there were enough movies to warrant a string of parodies in the Scary Movie series.
This first entry mainly spoofs Scream and I Know What You Did Last Summer (including their sequels), and follows the stories closely. It’s a bit of an odd target. Scream and it’s ilk aren’t precisely parodies, but they’re already a comedic rendition where the folks in the movie know about horror tropes and joke about subverting the conventions. So this plays a bit like a parody of a parody, resulting in less scares and more jokes for sure, but it’s cruder and less intelligent. Which, like, has its place, don’t get me wrong (I like a good fart joke as much as the next guy), but I probably laughed more at Scream than I did at this. This is partly due to some dated humor (much of which runs afoul of current mores, especially amongst the gender and sexuality crowd), but hard as it may be to believe, things were like that 24 years ago (jeeze, has it really been that long, ugh).
The only bit that really hit home in a memorable way was when Shannon Elizabeth was attacked by the killer and gives a sorta play-by-play of how the tropes are supposed to play out that continues even once she’s been beheaded. That’s actually pretty clever and well executed. Plenty of othermovies (and, um, Budweiser commercials) get referenced, including some weird non-horror choices – in particular, there’s a big Matrix-style bullet-time sequence that seems kinda incongruous. I dunno, it’s not like other classic parodies don’t contain far afield references (i.e. Airplane referencing Saturday Night Fever), but they usually seem more in line with the main thread of the parody.
So this isn’t exactly a classic genre spoof or a must-watch, but if you can get past some of it’s dated elements, it displays a reasonable degree of cromulence and it made me chuckle a few times, which is always a welcome change of pace during the six weeks of Halloween. **
Scary Movie 2 – The gang is back, this time being invited to stay the weekend in an old spooky house at the behest of a professor who wants to see how their trauma (from the first movie) impacts the ghosts that are living in the house. Or something like that.
This time around, they take a much broader cross-section of the horror genre, spoofing the likes of The Exorcist, House on Haunted Hill, The Haunting, 13 Ghosts, and many more. Many of these movies had received prominent, big budget remakes in the years preceding this movie, but the general premise is something of a horror staple anyway, so this aspect tends to work a little bit better than the first movie (on the other hand, there’s nothing as memorable or creative as the aforementioned Shannon Elizabeth bit from the first movie). It’s only a year later, so you get the same crude behavior and style of joke, and while I laughed plenty of times, this ain’t exactly a classic either. Also, they do the thing where they spoof other popular movies of the day, this time Charlie’s Angels, which again, doesn’t really fit with the horror theme, but whatever.
I never really mentioned the cast when discussing the first movie, but most of them return in this one. The series is led by Anna Faris and Regina Hall, who are actually solid, have good comedic timing, and decent chemistry with each other and the rest of the cast. Shawn and Marlon Wayans are also doing their usual schtick to decent enough effect. David Cross and Tim Curry are always fantastic and provide a bit of a boost, but Chris Elliott is perhaps overused here and gets a little grating (I like Elliott, but he’s best in smaller doses).
Again, not exactly a classic, but it’s always nice to break things up a bit during a horror marathon. **
These aren’t exactly the best horror comedies out there, but I’ll likely hit up a couple more of them in the remaining weeks as a palate cleanser. Anywho, stay tuned for some Sci-Fi Horror (eh, loosely defined Sci-Fi), coming on Sunday.
As a director and producer, Larry Fessenden has a reputation as the patron saint of indie horror, but he’s probably much better known as character actor. He’s worked with tons of indie darlings, like Kelly Reichardt and Jim Jarmusch, but also big name folks like Martin Scorsese. In the past year alone, he’s been in Killers of the Flower Moon, MaXXXine, and Brooklyn 45 (amongst others). He’s mentored lots of young horror directors, notably Ti West and Jim Mickle, and probably others I don’t even know about.
Up until this week, the only Fessenden-directed film I’d seen was Habit. Ostensibly a vampire movie, it’s actually much more of a personal drama about addiction than anything else. After having watched a few more of Fessenden’s movies, this sort of genre mashup seems to be a common theme. Most horror genre hybrids veer more towards the sci-fi horror (we’ll tackle some of that later in the 6WH) or comedic horror, but Fessenden tends to prefer mixing drama and horror. He clearly has an affection for the genre, so unlike some of the prominent “elevated horror” entries of recent years, his films never seem like they’re embarrassed by their horror trappings, even if the focus might be more on the drama side. It’s an intriguing blend, so let’s take a look at a few:
Blackout – Small town artist Charlie develops a sneaking suspicion that his blackouts might not be caused by his binge drinking habit, but rather the thought that he’s actually a werewolf.
This is less of an original take on werewolves than he’s done with vampires in the aforementioned Habit, or Frankenstein in Depraved (see below), but it’s still reasonably well done. Of course, the werewolf story is set on the backdrop of a small town suffering under the thumb of a local power-hungry businessman who wants to build a resort despite potential environmental impacts (this guy is also an anti-immigration racist, despite the fact that he needs those folks to build his resort). Charlie feels strongly about the whole situation, but is mostly powerless to stop it, much like he can’t resist the full moon.
It’s a solid production, decent acting, plenty of low-key werewolf effects. It’s a low budget affair, so don’t expect incredible transformation shots or CGI movements, but the simple makeup works well enough, and Alex Hurt has the physicality to pull it off as well. Fessenden also uses our protagonist’s paintings in quasi-animated sequences (a pretty effective way to get around budget constraints).
The small town politics of the movie are ham-fisted and the writing is a bit melodramatic, but it’s got an earnestness to it that is hard not to appreciate. It’s not his best work, but it’s still interesting and it looks like he’s actually trying to set up a crossover with Depraved (mild spoiler, I guess, and I’m a little hesitant on this, but there’s precedent for the Wolf Man meeting Frankenstein after all, so why not). **1/2
Depraved – An Iraq war field surgeon with PTSD creates a living human out of body parts in his Brooklyn lab. As per usual, Fessenden loads this premise up with other themes, including ruminations on fatherhood and, of course, plenty of criticism of the pharmaceutical industry.
Fessenden is stylistically more playful here, despite the obvious low budget. This sort of DIY aesthetic can come off cheesy at times, but once again, the movie’s earnest nature forgives a lot, and the notion that he’s playing off of James Whale’s 1931 Frankenstein (more than the book) also helps. It’s a tad too long, drags a bit in the middle, and even once the “monster” escapes and engages in some monstering, there’s some awkward clunkiness, but the ending picks up considerably and ties things together well.
David Call and Alex Breaux give solid performances as the doctor and his creation, respectively, but Joshua Leonard steals the show as a tightly wound businessman hoping to reap the rewards of a new drug that made the whole thing possible (how he’ll do this given the clearly illegal nature of the experiment is left unanswered, despite literally being brought up in the movie). It’s nice to see that someone from The Blair Witch Project has made a career for himself, but still manages to seek out interesting roles like this one.
This is a better, more original take on an old story than Blackout. It’s a bit shaggy and clumsy at times and a little overlong, but it’s got a lot of heart. **1/2
Wendigo – A family on their way to spend some time at a country farmhouse hits a deer on the road, an accident that runs afoul of the local hunters who were tracking the deer and are now upset that their prey has been taken from them. This incident kicks off a feud that eventually conjures up the spirit of a Wendigo, a mythical, voracious, shape-shifting creature from Native American folklore.
The usual Fessenden pattern asserts itself: this wintery horror atmosphere with some light cryptid mythology is really just a backdrop for an exploration of modern manhood. It touches on the country/city divide that drives a lot of this sort of thing, but also gives three perspectives. City slicker George (played by Jake Weber) has his manly confidence shaken by the confrontation. Boorish country bumpkin Otis is humiliated by losing his deer kill and then getting scolded by George’s wife, played by Patricia Clarkson. George’s young son, played by Erik Per Sullivan (Dewey from Malcolm in the Middle), also finds himself unsettled by the encounter, which manifests as nightmares about Otis and later, the Wendigo. It turns out that there’s more simmering underneath the surface of the conflict, with potentially tragic consequences.
This is another film shot on a shoestring budget, but which manages an effective snowy atmosphere. The more stylized dream sequences or hallucinations rely mostly on editing and quick cuts, which are less effective, but work well enough. The Wendigo doesn’t really show up until late in the movie, and even then it feels more symbolic than literal. As an allegory for the various crises of masculinity the movie is going for, the Wendigo is actually a pretty good fit though, and I think this is probably the most successful of the three Fessenden movies I watched this week. ***
An interesting filmmaker for sure, though probably not for everyone. Next up, Sci-Fi Horror (this will be, ah, a kinda loose definition of sci-fi) and maybe some Scary Movies or televised 6WH action.