A Very Happy Halloween To All

Have a very happy Halloween from all your undead friends at Movies at Midnight!

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THE LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT (1972) Movie Review

THE LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT (1972)

Review by Tom Parnell

Maybe it’s an indictment of the desensitizing of modern audiences, but I find that most films which were banned or heavily censored decades ago would probably attract no more than a PG-13 rating today. LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT is not one of these films.

Made in 1972, it was part of the BBFC's infamous Video Nasties list. It wasn't until 2002 that this film was officially allowed to be released in the UK, and then it wasn’t until 2008 that a fully uncut version was passed by the BBFC. The film is still banned in multiple countries around the world.

If LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT had been about killer monsters or aliens I don’t think it would have had half the problems passing the censors, or half the impact on the viewer. However, the horror which director Wes Craven creates here is one that is so despairingly human that it becomes difficult to watch and for once I can understand why the BBFC might have wanted to protect certain people from seeing it.

The film tells the story of an ‘as American as apple pie’ family who live out in the sticks, and begins with their celebration of daughter Mari’s sweet seventeen. Much to the concern of her protective parents, Mari is heading out to the big city to watch a rock band with her rebellious friend Phyllis. What’s going to happen to them?

Meanwhile nearby, escaped criminals Krug Stillo and Weasel Podowski are holed up with equally disturbing partner Sadie and Krug’s junkie son Junior.

On their way to the concert our young protagonists meet Junior in a shop and are lured back to the gang’s hideout on the premise of buying some drugs. So begins a horrific ordeal, both psychological and physical, which sees the girls kidnapped and driven out into the countryside, where their torment continues.

LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT was horror big-hitter Wes Craven’s directorial debut, and even though it is of the same genre it is far from the cartoonish violence of A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET or SCREAM. The film is also arguably more intelligent than Craven’s later work, as the viewer is faced with a series of escalating nightmarish scenarios and we get a real feeling of the girls’ powerlessness in the hands of their captors.

Craven also successfully uses Junior as a vehicle for a more human, nearly sympathetic witness to the girls’ torment, building a bridge between the viewer of the film and the character and pointing out the impotence of both in their ability to change the course of events.

This is not the ludicrous and tasteless realms of more recent ‘torture porn’ horror trend, as seen in films like SAW or HOSTEL. LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT’s last act causes the viewer to turn from revulsion at the acts of the psychotic criminals to practically cheering on Mari’s middle class parents as they perpetrate similar horrors, which leaves you on very thin moral ice and is a powerful statement about the fragility of society.

LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT is a difficult film to watch, but it is also an intelligent, thought-provoking film, which makes it a rare gem in the horror genre.

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The Walking Dead Comic and TV Series - What You Need to Know

Article by Bill Bedlam

Here we are, just a few days before the premiere of The Walking Dead television series on AMC, which debuts Halloween night at 10pm EST. For those of you who have lived in a cave for the past year, here's what you should, strike that, NEED know about The Walking Dead.

The Walking Dead started-out as a black & white indie comic published by Image Comics and was created by series writer, Robert Kirkman (Invincible, Battle Pope, Brit, The Astounding Wolf-Man) in 2003. Originally, the art duties were handled by Tony Moore, but were taken over by current regular artist, Charlie Adlard, since issue #7.

The story revolves around lead character Rick Grimes, a small town police officer, his son, Carl, and an ever changing cast of survivors dealing with the trials and tribulations of life during The Zombie Apocalypse and the threats that come with it.

Kirkman has crafted one of the most compelling stories in comic history. His characterization of the human players and their relationships with each other and personal struggles are so intriguing, you almost forget that you're reading a comic about zombies. Don't be fooled though, the zombies are ever present and provide the element of danger and uncertainty that creates the uneasy and frightening backdrop to the series.

The success of The Walking Dead has truly been an example of a grassroots movement. In a day where superhero comics dominate the industry, mostly by the "Big Two" publishers Marvel and DC, The Walking Dead's meteoric rise in popularity has no other examples to compare to. The series has won numerous awards and nominations and continuously sells-out every issue to this day. Kirkman was made a partner of Image Comics and launched his own imprint, Skybound.

With all the success and buzz about the series it wasn't surprising that Hollywood would come a calling. Originally, Kirkman was approached by several movie studios offering deals to adapt the series into a feature length movie, but Kirkman held-out in hopes of an offer that would help ensure the integrity of the series.
Eventually, a deal was reached with televison network AMC to develop an adaption into a TV series.

Now having a home, AMC quickly attached critically acclaimed director Frank Darabont (THE MIST, SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION, THE GREEN MILE) as writer/director and an executive producer along with Gale Anne Hurd (THE TERMINATOR, ALIENS, THE ABYSS) and Robert Kirkman himself. The pedigree of The Walking Dead is expanded even further with veteran special effects and make-up master Gregory Nicotero (DAY OF THE DEAD EVIL DEAD II) leading the FX team.

With a powerhouse of behind-the-scenes talent secured, the on-screen talent was not far behind. The announcements came quickly with notable cast members, including Andrew Lincoln who's acting background consists of mostly European television and film roles as Rick Grimes, John Bernthal as Rick's partner, Shane, Sarah Wayne Callies (Prison Break) as Rick's wife, Lori, and Jeffrey DeMunn (THE MIST, SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION, THE GREEN MILE) as Dale.

Almost instantaneously after the news broke that The Walking Dead was being picked-up and developed for AMC, the buzz on the internet became more and more feverish with speculation and anticipation with every announcement.

Taking a page from the word-of-mouth movement that brought The Walking Dead comic such notoriety, AMC utilized viral campaigns on social networks like Facebook and Twitter to spread the word about the upcoming show, almost as quickly as a zombie outbreak!

AMC increased the frenzy among the media and fans alike with production stills of zombies for the show, blog videos of zombie actors attending "Zombie School", interviews with Kirkman and Darabont about their insight and passion for the series, and driving the fans rabid with video footage and trailers at both the San Diego Comic Convention and Spike TV's Scream awards.

Coming from such great source material, and having a creative team who not only has extensive experience in the Horror/Sci-Fi genre, but who are enthusiastic and care about the project, not to mention having the series creator as an executive producer, it seems like The Walking Dead is almost certain to be a hit with both fans old and new.

As a fan of The Walking Dead who was there from day one, I'm excited for the series premiere! It'll be nice to revisit how it all began, and will be interesting to see some new twists and turns that the show will introduce. So barricade the doors and windows, and stock-up on provisions and ammo, for the "Roamers" are coming and not everybody is going to get out alive!

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Win a Hardcover Copy of THE DEAD PATH Novel

Movies at Midnight and Nightly Horror News are teaming up with Random House to give away one free hardcover copy of Stephen M. Irwin's debut horror novel The Dead Path, with a glow-in-the-dark jacket cover!

To enter, simply subscribe, like or follow one of the Movies at Midnight social media profiles and then comment below on which platform you've subscribed.

If you are already a subscriber, just mention in the comment that you are already a disciple of Movies at Midnight.

One random winner will be chosen and contacted to receive the free book on November 26th.

For more information on the author and to read an excerpt from the book, check out Stephen M. Irwin on Facebook.

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CANNIBAL TERROR Movie and DVD Review

CANNIBAL TERROR (1981)

When two bumbling crooks and their prostitute friend hatch a plan to kidnap the young daughter of a car manufacturer, they think their money troubles are all over. But, these crooks can’t even get a simple kidnapping right, and when their plan falls through, the trio pull a few favors and quickly cross over into the next country to hide out, taking the little girl with them. There’s only one problem - the cottage they’re hiding out in is right on the border of cannibal territory!

Though the crooks think they’re safe, tension mounts no doubt due to the fact that Mario rapes Manuela, the wife of the cottage’s owner. Manuela’s husband deals with Mario in his own special way, while the other two race into the jungle. On their trail though, are the parents of the little girl and the tribe of cannibals who have picked up their scent. As the chase turns into free-for-all battle for survival, the only question remains is who will be lucky enough to simply die and who will become the next sacrificial meal of the cannibals?

For bottom-of-the-barrel EuroTrash sleaze looking to cash in on a horror fad, look no further than this Alain Deruelle (directing under the pseudonym Allan W Steeve) French/Spanish co-production from 1981, as he tries to ride the coattails of Italian directors like Ruggero Deodato and his infamous CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST. However, Deruelle proves that his abilities to mimic a genre to make a few bucks are even worse than Jess Franco at his worst. Interestingly enough, Franco was thought to be the true director of this movie for years.

The cannibal sub-genre is a particularly nasty offshoot in the realm of horror, and lends its perverse violence, often times demeaning stereotyping and lurid acts of sexual depravity to those with an acquired taste. And that is when the genre is done right. When done as a poorly cobbled together cash-in such as CANNIBAL TERROR, the results are a mixture of unintentional humor and boredom, interrupted ever so briefly with moments of stomach-turning disgust.

Here, the laughter starts from the first scene with abysmal acting from everyone involved, magnetized by the canned and nearly-emotionless English dubbing, but really gets the guffaws rolling with the introduction of perhaps the worst depiction of cannibals the screen has ever seen. These cannibals, who for the most part are pasty white Europeans with sideburns, flowing locks of hair, and beerbellies who have painted their faces and can barely contain their giggles as they hoot and holler and dance around endlessly. Rather than try to exploit their “savage rituals” a la MONDO CANE, here it amounts to nothing more than a ridiculous updating of white guys pretending to be Indians in old Hollywood westerns.

Now the highlight, if one can call it that, of any good cannibal films is of course the visceral display of flesh eating. Derulle’s version of that is to substitute a pig’s body for that of human, drape some clothes over it, and let a few extras tear it apart. We get two scenes of this grotesque barbarity, as a few fellows pull at and pretend to eat the organs of some piggy. Its a bit revolting, until you notice their smiles, as if it say, “look at us, we’re cannibals!” It is impossible to take anything even remotely serious after that.

The rest of the film amounts to a few brief glimpses of nudity thanks to exploitation mainstay Pamela Stanford (BLUE RITA, GIRL SLAVES) in one of her final roles, lots and lots of walking, a few clips of jungle stock footage, and a rollicking African beat inspired soundtrack. In fact, there’s just enough footage of interesting and exciting scenes to be able to cut together a trailer that (as is often the case) promises much more than is ever delivered.

It is a sure bet that if CANNIBAL TERROR had not been labeled a Video Nasty and briefly banned in the UK during the mid-’80s, the film would have long ago disappeared into obscurity. But now, thanks mostly to this infamous list it has lived on, and now the movie has finally been restored to all its uncut “glory” by Severin Films for its US DVD debut, where it will surely continue to provide laughs for a whole new generation of gut-munching fanatics.

The DVD provides an anamorphic widescreen transfer of an uncut print, and has been remastered in Hi-Definition, though the quality varies from one scene to the next, and even one cut to the next. The sound retains glaringly obvious of its dubbed roots. The special features include a deleted scene, which is just a short clip of Pamela Stanford dancing around topless that should have been reinstated into the film and the theatrical trailer featuring a priceless voice-over, especially when the announcer exclaims “Cannibal Terror!”

For genre enthusiasts this is worth a precursory glance just for the sake of curiosity and mocking, and for those that absolutely positively have to own every Video Nasty. For the rest, there is nothing to see here.

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GINGER SNAPS (2000) Movie Review

GINGER SNAPS (2000)

Sisters and best friends Brigitte and Ginger Fitzgerald are inseparable teens who share everything together, and are never far from each others side. When the two decide to kidnap a fellow student's dog for attacking Brigitte, Ginger is attacked by a snarling monster in the woods. Was it just a big dog, or was it the small town's fabled beast, who kills and eats animals? The next day, Ginger's graphic wounds from the attack begin to rapidly heal, and Ginger starts to feel a primal change within her. She also finally gets her period, three years later than she should have.

When Ginger's changing attitudes begin to drive the two sisters apart, Brigitte begins to suspect that Ginger was attacked by a werewolf. Ginger's physical changes, from thick coarse hair and a small tail protruding from her back, solidify her fears. She turns to the local drug dealer and horticulturist for advise on a possible cure. Ginger's changes appear to be from a biological virus, and if it is a disease, then there must be a cure. The only question is whether an antidote can be found before Ginger completely snaps.

Horror, and to a slightly lesser degree science fiction, has always had the benefit to its writers to mean something else or to be seen as an allegory to a more serious or dangerous topic to discuss. The classic monsters of early horror cinema hid frail human emotions. Communist undertones were rampant in the 1950s, under the guise of cheap B-horror schlock. The "body horror" sub-genre was perfected by David Cronenberg and Shinya Tsukamoto to talk about contagious disease and the natural breakdown of the human body. Sometimes these topics can be overlooked, or not even noticed, by those who are just looking to be entertained or get a cheap scare. Sometimes they are seen by those with a keen perception. Sometimes however, the "real" topic of the film is so obvious that it almost becomes silly to hide it within another genre. Such is the tragic story about Ginger, written by Karen Walton and directed by John Fawcett.

Werewolves have always had the distinction of being a cover to talk about involuntary physical and mental changes or to serve as a juxtaposition to a spreading disease via blood. From THE WOLFMAN to AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON, the main protagonists become lycanthropes against their will, and must deal with their permanent curse. Such is the case in GINGER SNAPS, were Ginger's affliction is merely a red herring for puberty and all the unbalanced hormones that come with it. For Ginger, the slowly gestating lycanthrope virus is just the same as her new found primal desires for boys and her period - she can not control her desires, and is willing to do anything to make it stop. Karen Walton's script, which is laden with the terrors of womanhood, gives a feminine injected boost to a genre that seems permanently bulls-eyed at 18-34 year old males. For the men in this film, their horror comes from their inability to dominate and control a woman either through verbal put-downs or archaic parenting, in the face of her female ferocity.

This is not to say that the film skimps on the actual werewolf story. It is quite the opposite in fact. Walton's biological take on the subject is well thought out, and it takes the entire film for Ginger to finally succumb to the virus. In between, make-up and creature effects designer Paul Jones (who previously worked on NIGHT BREED and the HELLRAISER series) slowly transforms actress Katharine Isabelle into an animalistic version of herself. The changes are very subtle, and his dedication to physical make up and latex, play integrally into the believability of Ginger's transformation. And when Ginger finally makes the full transformation, it is a violent and painful turn, recalling the transformation in AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON. The final creature, which again is a physical effect brought to life by an actor and animatronics, is a unique creature. And thanks to Jones' build up earlier on, one can easily make the connection, especially in the eyes of the creature, that this was once Ginger.

Under Fawcett's direction, the film gets a standard horror atmosphere as he brings his characters through dimly lit woods and drenching school hallways and the sisters' room with shadows, though there is nothing mind blowing in his approach to his suspense set-ups. During the attack sequences, the camera keeps with the characters witnessing the attack, or are hiding during the attack, rather than showing what is actually happening. Fawcett gives just enough of a glimpse to let the viewer fill in what is happening. Though this may have been done due to the budget constraints, Fawcett makes it work. What he doesn't skimp on is the aftermath, showing multiple half eaten dogs and the invariable dark-laced humor that follows during clean up, or Ginger's shredded victim when she has to protect her secret.

Upon its release in the US in early 2001, it was completely ignored as a theatrical release (IMDB states it was shown on *one* screen) and then unceremoniously dumped on DVD in 2003 in a full-screen only version. Fortunately for those with a little hunting power, in Canada (the Canadian government funded this film as part of their film program) there is an incredible DVD release. It is a shame too, because this film deserves a much wider audience than it has received. Two decent sequels rounded out the Ginger "trilogy" in 2004.

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Nightly Horror News Website Up and Running

I'm very happy to announce the launch of Nightly Horror News, a website dedicated to horror movie news plus the occasional story on music, comic books, and television.

This will allow Movies at Midnight to return and refocus on what it has always been meant to be, a movie review website.

I hope you check it out.  I'm just getting the website up and running, but it will soon be integrated into most aspects of the Movies at Midnight social media empire, such our facebook fanpage and twitter account plus I'll be setting up independent accounts for this new venture.

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BAY OF BLOOD (1971) Movie Review

BAY OF BLOOD (1971)

On a grand estate on the shore of a bay, an elderly woman clings desperately to the land so that it will not be bought and turned into a resort. However, her murder sets off a chain reaction that brings all of the potential heirs to the estate out of the woodwork, and more disturbing, an unknown killer who begins to systematically murder each of these heirs. The situation takes another turn for the worse when a group of teenagers decide to trespass on the estate, and are quickly targeted by a killer who knows no remorse, sympathy, or limits to their cruel imagination for slaughtering their next victim.

In 1970s Italy the murder-mystery, also known as a giallo, was coming into its golden age soaking the screen in blood, filling it with red herrings and sleazy sexuality and generally confusing the hell out of the audiences with complicated plots. But when famed director and writer Mario Bava brought BAY OF BLOOD to the screen, it was like nothing anyone had seen before. Starting off from a generic storyline that could be found in any run-of-the-mill giallo, Bava quickly amps everything up from the almost insane weaving of all the characters' relationships, to the one-after-another murders that are each committed in a more horrific way, to the gratuitous and graphic sex and nudity.

This film has become known as the very first official slasher film, and is (or at least should be) the water mark to compare all other films that compete for the slasher subgenre label. In America, it can be debated whether BLACK CHRISTMAS or HALLOWEEN was really the first US slasher film, though both owe all their screen credit to Bava's masterpiece. The early FRIDAY THE 13TH films in particular also borrow heavily from this film, right down to the first-person POV and some of the signature murders in the series. For better or worse (and for most fans it is probably the better), due to BAY OF BLOOD, sex and violence will always be married in the slasher genre.

It is not just that the film is the very first slasher, it is a great slasher and can still to this day hold up against any would be film adversary. The groundbreaking murder sequences within the film alone make the film worth seeking out, even if you are passive fan of the genre. The make-up special effects, helmed by Carlo Rambaldi (who would later work on E.T. and ALIEN among others) can still hold up almost forty years later, which is testament to their realism. It is truly a crime that as the years passed this film has become more obscure, fallen off the "must see" lists of some horror stalwarts, and may even be unknown to younger and newer faces to the horror scene.

This was one of the last films that Mario Bava would make, and it is a culmination of a lifetime of work. Even though the movie's essence can be boiled down to a horror shocker, each of the film's individual parts are given the respect and professionalism that would be seen in a high art or dramatic picture. Bava has always been known as one who uses color to manipulate and enhance his films, and it is no exception here. The music plays a critical part in setting moods and building up suspense. Bava's camerawork pulls from the well established "unknown killer" motifs and makes them his own, which set the stage for future directors and cinematographers to mutate to their own needs.

Any horror fan owes it to themselves to give this film, and Mario Bava, the full credit and respect that it deserves, and that even if it doesn't become a permanent part of your home collection, that it is seen at least once for historical purposes. When watching this, try to keep in mind when it was made practically no one had done anything like this before. And guaranteed, no one will see the ending coming, nor has anyone had the balls since to make an ending quite like BAY OF BLOOD. The couple being double-impaled on the bed while having sex is just icing on the bloody cake.

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SUSPIRIA (1977) Movie Review

SUSPIRIA (1977)

Review by Tom Parnell

What exactly do witches do?

If you think about it nobody has ever really explained this. From a very young age we are told there are witches, they have little pointy hats and broomsticks, throw frogs into cauldrons and cackle a lot. But nobody ever explains why they do all this. What is their goal?

Dario Argento’s cult classic SUSPIRIA poses this question in a sort of Grimm fairytale for adults (if the brothers Grimm were sponsored by an artificial blood production company). Whether the film actually answers it is another matter.

The movie begins with all-American stranger-in-a-strange-land Suzy Bannion (played by Jessica Harper) arriving in an unnamed European country where she has enrolled in a prestigious ballet school. What’s going to happen to her?

We are less than five minutes in before the tension begins to build, driven in no small part by the EXORCIST-style theme performed by the aptly named Goblin. Although Argento goes to great lengths to build suspense throughout SUSPIRIA, we are left in no doubt as to the nature of what lurks in the shadows, as the phrase “Witch” is repeatedly whispered whenever the music grows to a climax. At points this can get somewhat irritating, as there are several moments when the characters are listening for specific creepy noises around them and it becomes hard to distinguish sound effects from the relentless repeating soundtrack.

From the start the film’s set design and cinematography are stunning. Every building and room is bigger than life and decorated in a spectrum of coloors with wallpapers that appear to have been designed by an excitable descendent of William Morris. Argento continually finds unusual and exciting angles from which to frame shots, from distant headlights through a pitch-black woodland to the unusual spectacle of pouring a glass of wine practically straight down the viewer’s throat.

Where this film falls down is in the plotline and dialogue. Suzy wonders around the mysterious dance academy doe-eyed and mouth agape, while the requisite number of friends and acquaintances are knocked off in a variety of gore-soaked ways. Then suddenly and inexplicably she starts talking about witches (I can only suspect that she somehow caught a snippet of the soundtrack) and the next thing you know she’s off consulting a ‘witch expert’ who happily knows an awful lot of plot exposition.

I read afterwards that Argento had initially planned to populate the dance academy with 12-year-olds, but the studio wouldn’t let him so he kept the dialogue in protest. This would explain a lot, but if it is the case it seems a shame that he ultimately punishes the viewer for this censorship.

In all SUSPIRIA is a stylish and well-paced horror, with some truly grizzly set pieces. But if you’re wondering what motivates a witch I still can’t tell whether it’s murder or whether they’ve just got to dance!

Tom Parnell is a writer and former journalist who is eagerly awaiting the DVD release of Toy Story 3.

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Rick Takes Action in Latest THE WALKING DEAD Clip

In this latest clip from the upcoming comic book adaptation of THE WALKING DEAD, Rick shows he's already learned the mantra of any zombie apocalypse survivor - aim for the brain.

The 90 minute season premiere is set to air on AMC Halloween night at 10pm EST.

The dead are coming. Are you prepared? Spread the word!

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The Top 5 Horror Movies of 2010 (So Far) - 15 Days till Halloween

Top Horror Films of 2010 (So Far)

Article by Joe Johnson

I personally feel that 2010 has been a somewhat lean period for our beloved horror genre. Maybe I’ve had my head in the sand, but I don’t feel we’ve been treated to the steady drip feed of horrors that we’ve had in pervious years. Although horrors have been few and far between, I think we’ve had some real gems nestling in amongst those pesky Rom-Coms your girlfriend always wants to see. Here are my Top 5 Horrors of the year so far:

1. PIRANHA 3D

This film was trashy, throwaway, tongue in cheek, and all the better for it! It never once took itself seriously and for this reason endeared itself to even the most staunch horror critics. Blending colorful, summery imagery and gyrating chicks in bikinis with levels of gore that truly put SAW and HOSTEL to shame, it proved a unique experience that left me mentally drained!

2. THE LAST EXORCISM

Another exorcism film? Really?! It seems every flick that deals with demonic possession is trying to out do the 37-year old daddy of horror, THE EXORCIST. THE LAST EXORCISM is a good effort but falls short of this accolade, mainly for its bizarre and anti-climactic ending that no one really understood!

3. THE HUMAN CENTIPEDE

An underground classic if ever there was one, THE HUMAN CENTIPEDE charts the escapades of a deranged surgeon who captures unwitting guinea pigs for his twisted experiment which consists of sewing people together, orifice-to-orifice. This was not released in mainstream cinemas and with good reason, it was bleak and challenging.

4. DAYBREAKERS

This turns the classic vamp flick on its head. Set in 2017 it depicts a world where the majority of the population are vampires. The human population is dwindling, meaning the vamps are rapidly running out of blood and a number of scientists are battling to save the human race while pioneering an alternative food source.

5. SHUTTER ISLAND

One in a long list of silver screen horror hits with a mental-health theme, SHUTTER ISLAND sees DiCaprio visit an asylum where there are some strange goings on. DiCapro faces a struggle to deal with the voices in his own head while fending off crazy people in this thought provoking masterpiece with a killer twist.







What lies in wait for the rest of 2010 that could topple one of these titles? Anything out there you'd would hav rather seen here? Let us know!

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Top Twenty Horror Films Presented to Final Girl - 18 Days till Halloween

Over at Final Girl, Stacie Ponder is currently counting down a reader generated list of favorite horror films as part of her Shocktober shenanigans. That list contains 732 unique movie titles. Crazy! Fantastic! Fantazy!

Your humble blogger submitted his top twenty of course, and is anxiously awaiting to see where they line up. Thus far, I've only seen one of my twenty pop up, that being EVIL DEAD TRAP. I'm always asked to name my top films, and more specifically my top horror films. When I submitted my last a few weeks ago they happen to be (in no particular order):

• John Carpenter's Halloween
• John Carpenter's The Thing
• The Haunting
• Nosferatu
• Nightmare on Elm Street 3
• Ringu
• Ju-On: The Grudge
• Evil Dead Trap
• Mr. Vampire
• Tobe Hooper's Texas Chainsaw Massacre
• George A. Romero's Dawn of The Dead
• Alien
• Evil Dead II
• Silence of the Lambs
• Friday The 13: The Final Chapter
• Zombi 2
• David Cronenberg's The Fly
• The Descent
• Suspiria
• Bay of Blood

I'm a little irked that I didn't put THE EXORCIST on here, but I'll make up for that on October 17th. Be sure to come back in a few days for a special dedication to THE EXORCIST.

What are your top horror films at the moment? Don't think to much, just start typing and the goods will float to the top naturally like a body that hasn't been properly weighted with a ballast.

18 days till Halloween...

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DEAD SNOW (2009) Movie Review

DEAD SNOW (2009)

Review by Tom Parnell

When it comes to monsters, Nazi zombies may not be a new idea, but they are up near the top of the horror food chain, along with ghost ninja pirates. It would be far too easy for a lazy director to rely on this epitome of horror squared to carry the whole film, while simply ignoring the basics of character development, or even just decent dialogue.

DEAD SNOW however, with its snappy script, great direction and post ironic nods to its predecessors, happily avoids falling into this trap. This is a highly enjoyable movie which can have you laughing and wincing in the same moment, without relying on one gimmick to keep the audience enthralled.

Norwegian director and co-writer Tommy Wirkola’s only previous feature film, KILL BULJO, is a bizarre Scandinavian parody of Quentin Tarantino’s KILL BILL, with murdered reindeer, racist police officers and a pastiche of the famous DELIVERANCE ‘squeal like a pig’ scene. Although it may not seem like the most natural step to go from there to a full-blown zombie horror, much of the humour is carried through into DEAD SNOW and you get the feeling that, like a smirking version of Tarantino, Wirkola is a man who likes his movies.

DEAD SNOW has many of the classic cabin horror elements; a group of youngsters heading out for a ski holiday and staying in a remote shack, something evil lurking in the woods and a mysterious stranger with a tale of horror. What it doesn’t do is treat these as anything more than the clichés we all know they are.

For one of the first times since SCREAM the main characters actually exist in a universe where horror films are available; they know the rules (there is an excellent scene involving what to do if you’re bitten by a zombie) and they aren’t about to go quietly into the night. There are plenty of laughs and nods to films such as EVIL DEAD, but I still felt myself genuinely caring about some of the characters and willing them to survive.

Wirkola does a great job of creating tension when it’s needed and going for full-on blood-spattered snow when the time comes. You may have been wondering why the fact that the walking dead are Nazis makes any difference, but the addition of SS uniforms does add a genuine extra element of sinisterism to the zombie hoard and the high quality of the zombie make-up perfectly complements this.

In all, DEAD SNOW is funny, exciting, beautifully visual and genuinely terrifying in parts and with a the tagline “Ein, Zwei, Die” who could resist?

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MONSTERS (2010) Movie Review

MONSTERS (2010)

Review by Michael Montenegro

I recently watched MONSTERS as an early release on my FiOS Video on Demand; it's USA theatrical release is scheduled for October 29th. I went in to watching this movie with moderately high expectations since they are marketing this movie as "2010's DISTRICT 9".

However, let me be the one to burst that bubble! In order for that comparison to be accurate DISTRICT 9 would need to remove 95% of their alien scenes, have the lowest common denominator plot devices and turn out to be a love story masquerading as a "monster" movie.

MONSTERS' premise is that 6 years ago NASA found the possibility of intelligent alien life in our solar system. They launched a probe and instead of landing safely it crashed in the middle of Mexico and the region was quickly inhabited and over run with "strange creatures." The area was walled off and became the Infected Zone, with sections of Mexico (and presumably America) bordering the Infected Zone constantly under attack from said creatures.

Now that sounds like a great idea for a movie about giant monsters! Sadly this is NOT a movie about giant monsters, it's a love story?! That's right, I watched and waited patiently for my big pay-off alien showdown and all I got was two of the most flat and uninteresting characters trekking across Mexico together and falling in love at the end. The offending characters are Andrew Kaulder, a photographer for a major US publication and Samantha Wynden, the "runaway bride" daughter of the publisher of said publication.





Samantha is caught in and slightly injured in an altercation between military forces and a wandering creature near her hotel in Mexico, where she is hiding out from her father and fiancee. Apparently her emotions around getting married are so confusing she runs to creature-infested Mexico presumably on daddy's dime to think things over. Really?! Not some tranquil far away European nation or some private island that fits your characters' background? Nope she picks the most ghetto areas of Mexico where alien encounters and devastation run rampant.

Enter our photographer Andrew, who is tasked by daddy dearest to find and bring his daughter back safely to the US. He's hesitant at first since leaving the area to escort "Ms. Whiny rich girl with problems" home will likely derail his opportunity to get some real shots of these creatures, which is his job and the whole reason he's stationed down there in the first place. But after a somewhat "stern talking to" over the pay phone from daddy he agrees to get her to the harbor and on the last ships to the states.

Arriving at the harbor they find there's only one company selling tickets for the last ship out and of course the price of admission is a steep one. They negotiate a little and get two tickets on the ferry leaving at 7am the following day. So what better to spend the night before your last shot of leaving the area for 6 months then shack up in a shady flee-bag motel and go out drinking like it's Cinco De Mayo!





We all know drinking leads to feelings and a "connection" but it doesn't lead to anything physical with unattached to Whiny rich girl so Andrew, being a guy, finds a local lady to end his night. The next morning Samantha, upon discovering Andrew's passed out bed mate, runs away upset and Andrew gives chase in his boxers to "apologize?"

If you're confused by this don't worry, it's natural. So of course after working this apparent "tiff" out Andrew returns to find... the tickets and their passports have been seemingly stolen by his now absent lady of the night. Oh no!! Who could have foreseen such a plot twist?! Oh right anyone who has half a brain and knows the movie isn't even halfway over and they haven't entered the Infected Zone yet!

They try to reason with the uncaring ticket guy who simply explains the price has now doubled! How could they possibly afford double... if only one of them had a super rich and connected father... but that only happens in the movies! So the the only option left is to go through the Infected Zone with "Mercs-for hire" and to cover the cost our heroine hands over her diamond engagement ring. Gasp!

Well at least now I'll get to see the creatures attack people and run amok right?! Wrong! Our intrepid duo navigate the Infected Zone with their "guides" coming to rest for the night and hearing stories told around campfire of why the area is refereed to as Infected. Turns out the creatures mate and the female lays her eggs in the form of glowing toadstool growths on tree trunks all over the jungle.





The group's night is interrupted by a radio squawk of an obvious attack in the area. As they try to escape the danger the first truck out of the two is picked up by some dark tentacles and dropped. Gunfire and screaming ensues and through a broken and flipped over truck window we see our first real, all be it quick, glimpse of the creatures. Back lit only by the moon we see basically a big Octopus on what appears to be stilt like legs, yep... that's all these new breed of Monster movie makers can imagine for us.

So now alone Andrew and Samantha push on toward the "promised land" of America. They reach a very old temple and climb to the summit and look out across the jungle and see a massive wall signaling the border of Mexico and America. The scene, which could have had a really interesting effect, is ruined by the next few pieces of dialogue in which, with the subtlety of a sledgehammer to the head, drives home the point that America is something we take for granted while inside and how it's so different looking at her from the outside in.

Wow! So on top of a love story it's also addressing the issue of illegal immigration! What can't this movie do... oh right, show me Giant Monsters being Giant Monsters!

Thankfully we're reaching the end of this dribble. So as our couple reach the seemingly deserted and abandoned border wall, seeing only emptiness and hurricane like destruction, it appears all is not safe in America. They wander into the night finally finding a run down yet still functioning gas station equipped with lights and a working phone and pay phone. They quickly call the 911 and are told to stay put and a military unit is in the area and en-route to pick them up.





Now this has promise, our heroes are alone in the dark, the military is on the way and all signs point to a nice decent action sequence to close out the movie. Again Wrong!

What we see on the final moments of MONSTERS is not one but two creatures, again back lit by sporadic lightning flashes, who stumble upon the gas station and come together and mate. They apparently lock tentacles and glow with bio-luminescence then walk away making almost whale like calls. As they walk away the military unit of twin Humvees show up and take our couple away separately. That's right, the final image we as an audience of MONSTERS see is our couple looking longingly at each other, knowing they can never be, that their just from two different worlds. Fade to black. The End. WHAT!?!

The level of anger and sheer disappointment I felt at a movie that was billed as a return to the Giant Monster movie was epic! What we have here is a movie about two people from different worlds coming together and eventually falling in love with each other with the backdrop of creatures roaming around the jungles mating. The perfect words I can find to describe this movie are "Wasted Potential". However if the idea the entire time was to make MONSTERS a love story then why call it MONSTERS?

I can't in good faith recommend this movie for any fan of legit monster movies. The ratio of monster to human drama is completely off balance. If you're looking for a love story that has an indie feel with very little monster parts this is the movie for you. But if you're a fan of old school GODZILLA or BEAST FROM 20,000 FATHOMS movies stay away, unless you like to be teased and taunted with no payoff.

Michael Montenegro is an avid Horror/Sci-fi movie fan. He is also a hardcore comic reader and artist having graduated from The Joe Kubert School of Cartoon and Graphic Art. He currently resides with his fiancee, two cats and a ferret in NJ.

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Origin of the Jack-o-Lantern in Irish Myth - 21 Days till Halloween

One of the easiest to recognize and longest lasting symbols of modern Halloween is a jack-o-lantern, a pumpkin which has been hollowed out, had a face carved on one side and a candle placed inside to give off an eerie glow. While this tradition is religiously followed by millions every year, the origin of this icon has alluded many.

The practice of carving jack-o-lanterns has been around for centuries, though it has not always been associated with Halloween. It origins is steeped in an Irish myth about a man who was nicknamed Stingy Jack, who played a trick on the Devil, of which there are several variations of the trick played. One of which features Jack tricking the Devil to turn into a coin to pay for a night of drinks and then placing the coin in his pocket next to a cross preventing the Devil from changing back. Another features Jack asking the Devil to climb a tree to grab some fruit, then placing crosses around the tree preventing the Devil from climing down. Though the trick is different from story to story, the resolution is always the same, in which Jack only releases the Devil after promising not to claim his soul when he dies.

The legend continues that when Jack finally does die, God does not allow Jack into heaven for all the tricks and misery he has caused during his life. True to his word, the Devil does not claim Jack's soul and refuses his entry into Hell. Instead, he sends Jack back off into the dark night with only a burning ember from the pits of Hell to light his path. Jack carves out a turnip and places the coal inside to light his way as he roams the Earth for eternity looking for a resting place. The Irish began to refer to this doomed figure as "Jack of the Lantern," which eventually morphed into "Jack O'Lantern."

Throughout Ireland and Scotland, people began to make their own versions of Jack's lantern by hollowing out turnips or potatoes, carving scary faces onto them and placing them into windows or near doors to scare away Stingy Jack and any other evil spirits wandering around. Irish immigrants came to the United States in the mid 1800s they brought the jack-o-lantern tradition with them. They soon found that pumpkins, a fruit native to North America, made for much better jack-o-lanterns and adopted them as their lantern of choice.

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the jack-o-lantern became adopted first into Thanksgiving and fall harvest festivals, and then into Halloween festivities which had morphed from their pagan origins into a community celebration.

21 days till Halloween...

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THE WOODS (2006) Movie Review

THE WOODS (2006)

Heather is a rebellious teen who has been brought to an isolated all-girls school deep within an old forest in an attempt for her to learn some control over herself. Heather is none too keen on the idea, and attempts to worm her way out of it, but to no avail. She meets the headmistress Ms. Traverse, befriends shy Marcy, and likewise becomes the object of torment by the school’s alpha student, Samantha. On her first night sleeping there, Heather has a horrific nightmare, as she has visions of the surrounding woods and begins to hear voices. And though no one will come out and say it, Heather feels an aura of the supernatural lingering around the school as days turn to weeks. When a student goes missing, and Heather learns of the legend of the school, she begins to suspect that there might be some truth behind it. As her intuitive nature leads her on, Heather comes to realize that school may in fact be run by a sisterhood of witches.

Lucky McKee follows up his 2002 sleeper horror hit MAY with this supernatural ode to witchcraft, sisterhood, and rebellion. However, as McKee’s film is drenched in European-styled slow-building suspense and filled with three-dimensional fleshed out characters, rather than the long haired ghosts and torture chambers, fans had to wait almost three years for his film to be quietly ushered onto DVD. It is quite a shame, as McKee’s film seems an attempt to bring back into the horror spotlight a more lyrical and dreamlike tempo which has been widely absent from modern American screens, and has more than a passing resemblance and paid respect to SUSPIRIA.

Throughout cinema's history and in storytelling reaching back into Shakespeare’s MacBeth and beyond, the woods and forests have always been a source of the unknown, of horrors untold, of mysteries waiting to unfold, of spooks and specters, witches and warlocks. In modern days, forests have housed unstoppable killers and unseen evil forces. McKee taps into this subconscious fear of the woods quite aptly here, sending his characters into the underbrush both in day and night, and allowing his camera to idle through the shadows and silhouettes of the treetops. The effect is both hauntingly calming and frightening. McKee even goes so far as to bring in Bruce Campbell in a supporting role, an actor who will always be synonymous with haunted forests, to ratchet up the viewer’s embedded terror of what lurks beyond the tree line.

David Ross, who makes his writing debut here, makes a stylistic choice to set his tale in 1965. This decision gives the film a unique twist on the story as it plays out. Given the year and the isolation of the school, the setting has a very natural and earthy feel to it. Technology is given very little screen time, and much of that is during Heather’s car ride in. The classrooms, and especially the dormitory, doesn’t look like they have been updated in the one-hundred plus years of the school’s operation, and give the setting more of a haunted castle aura than that of a learning institution. Second, is the dawn of rebellion that was blossoming in the mid-60’s youth, and the distrust for all authority. This subtext plays a crucial part of Heather’s being, and adds texture to her anti-authoritarian stance against both the teachers and her parents.

Ross also takes his time to give depth to his supporting cast. He keeps the horror and suspense subdued through most of the first hour, limiting it to a few nightmares of Heather’s, and a fantastically paced goosebump covered ghost story that one of the students tells as a way to explain what lies in wait in the woods and its connection to the history of the school. But when he unleashes the woods in the final act, they are more terrifying and lifelike than ever before seen. Though most of the gripping, thrashing, and constricting plant life is CGI, it is wonderfully brought to the screen and meshes with the physical set and actors, serving to enhance rather than distract. And when Heather finally gets a hold of an axe, it brings forth a quick and satisfying bloodletting that plays not only for shock, but as a logical conclusion to the story that is multiple layers thick.

Just as the extreme and graphic horror of the mid-2000s was a backlash against the watered-down “near beer” horror of the late 1990s, so too does it seem that character driven horror seems to be clawing at the throats of the James Wans and Eli Roths at the time of this film's release. And though THE WOODS did not get the widespread initial recognition it should have, perhaps it be looked back upon fondly as a forebearer of what was soon to come. Or it may just have to sit and wait patiently on the rental rack, waiting for the next unsuspecting soul to get too close, so that THE WOODS may grab its next victim.

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