Sebastian Bendix's Blog, page 8
October 25, 2015
10/25/15 – day twenty-five of thirty-one days of horror!
One of the first and best examples of the psychosexual freak-out,
Jacques Tourneur’s 1942 Cat People, produced by the visionary Val
Lewton, is a noir-drenched master class in suggestion and suspense.
Though made in the fading heyday of the Universal horrors, you won’t
find any monsters here, at least none that you can see. But the
supernatural, or at least the strong implication of it, is very much
present, captured at that sweet spot between reality and the lingering
terrors of nightmares. Simone Simon
makes for the perfect alluring yet tormented lead, playing a woman that
believes she will turn into a panther if she gives her body over to the
man that she loves. Paul Schrader made an interesting if not entirely
successful 1982 remake with Natassja Kinski, but no Halloween season
should pass without a revisiting of the classic and only recently valued
original.
October 24, 2015
10/24/15 – day twenty-four of thirty-one days of horror!
George C. Scott makes his triumphant return to this year’s list with
1980’s The Changeling (not to be confused with the Angelina Jolie film
of the same name). This ghost-infused mystery is one of the most
genuinely creepy haunted house stories of the modern era, and Scott
brings his usual gruffness, but somewhat tempered by a world-weary
sadness over the death of his onscreen wife and child. Directed
masterfully by Peter Medak who uses both sound and imagery to it’s most
chilling effect, this film deserves a
place among top-tier ghost stories like the Haunting and, released the
same year, Kubrick’s the Shining. It also features the great Melvyn
Douglas, who was really doubling-down on supernatural thrillers as Ghost
Story, a film I also enjoy, would come a year later. If you haven’t
seen this one, and many haven’t, it is well worth seeking out.
October 23, 2015
10/23/15 – day twenty-three of thirty-one days of horror!
I’m
not the biggest fan of the “home invasion” sub-genre of horror, but one
way to get me on board with your home invasion thriller is to give the
killers creepy masks! For my money, 2008’s The Strangers does the genre
right by keeping it small with one location and a minimal cast, which
features surprisingly strong turns from leads Liv Tyler and Scott
“Felicity” Speedman. Director Bryan Bertino does so well creating
suspense and atmosphere that you’ll find yourself wondering
why the hell he hasn’t made another movie. The French film “Them” is
quite similar to this, so much so that many thought The Strangers was an
American remake, but I think home invasion was just on a lot of
people’s minds around that time. Then everyone lost their home and it
wasn’t a problem. There’s supposed to be a sequel to this that takes
place in a trailer park, but I’m not holding my breath.
October 22, 2015
10/22/15 – day twenty-two of thirty-one days of horror!
One of the my favorite slasher films (and noise-rock bands) My Bloody Valentine
asks the eternal question, “What would happen if a miner went
kill-crazy with a pickax on valentine’s day? The answer might surprise
you… well, maybe it won’t, but the film, a cheap Canadian production
made at the height of the early 80’s slasher boom will surprise you with
how effectively it deals out suspense and shocks. A more well-thought
out whodunit than the original Friday the 13th and a better movie to
boot, My Bloody Valentine did not go on the be the franchise it deserved
to be – though it did spawn a pretty OK 2009 remake starring that guy
from Supernatural. Still, for my money, nothing beats the original, so
don’t wait till February 14th to watch it. And stay for the folky
"Ballad of Harry Warden” that closes out the credits!
October 21, 2015
10/21/15 – day twenty-one of thirty-one days of horror!
Controversy! Now I know full well that I’m in the minority when it comes
to loving Jennifer’s Body (the movie, not the body), but I say this to
the naysayers – to hell with you! This is a fun horror movie that
harkens back to the heyday of 80’s high school horror, well directed by
Karyn “Girlfight” Kusama and brilliantly – that’s right, I said
brilliantly – written by Diablo Cody. Most people cite Cody’s
“stylized” dialog as their reason for hating this movie, yet those same
people are OK when it comes from Tarantino or Joss Whedon and not a
former stripper. Why do you hate women so much, I ask? Seriously though,
this may be my jump the shark moment with some of you, but I will
proudly clutch my Blu Ray of Jennifer’s Body to my chest and thrill to
the demonic exploits of Megan Fox at the height of her negligible
powers!
October 20, 2015
10/20/15 – day twenty of thirty-one days of horror!
With people blathering endlessly about some other space movie, it seems a
fitting time to sing the praises of Paul W.S. Anderson’s 1997
masterpiece Event Horizon. True, this was made by the hack Paul (not
Boogie Nights) Anderson who would go on to barf out Resident Evil movies
and marry Milla Jovovich, but somehow the much-maligned British
director managed to make a pretty creepy and at times shocking “hell in
space” movie that holds up to this day. Sure, there are some not-so-great
stock movie characters. but the atmosphere of dread Anderson creates
really works, and there can be no faulting the great Sam Neil for his at
this point patented ‘descent into madness’ performance. It does pale in
comparison to something as monumental as the original Alien
(my favorite movie of all time, BTW) but if you’re looking for a
cheaper version of that kind of sci fi/horror rush, you may want to book
a trip on the Event Horizon!
October 19, 2015
10/19/15 – day nineteen of thirty-one days of horror!
The greatest 80’s gang of vampires movie that isn’t Lost Boys
is Kathryn “Hurt Locker” Bigelow’s grungy classic Near Dark. Set in a
bleak stretch of the American midwest, the film concerns a roving,
nocturnal gang of outlaw vampires and a young man who finds himself
seduced into their recklessly violent lifestyle. Featuring a cavalcade
of stellar character actors like Lance Henriksen, Bill Paxton, Jenny Wright, Adrian Pasdar, Jenette Goldstein and the always creepy Joshua John
Miller, the film, written by Bigelow and Eric Red, is lean, violent
and scary, capturing a side to vampire mythology never seen before on
film. There’s a bar scene in the middle that will stay with you forever,
and if you somehow haven’t caught up with this one, it’s time to get
that stamped into your brain. A must see for horror fans, vampire fans,
and even fans of the Western genre.
October 18, 2015
10/18/15 – day eighteen of thirty-one days of horror!
Because I’m going to see Crimson Peak today, it seems fitting to call
back to Guillermo del Toro’s excellent and creepy 2001 ghost story, The
Devil’s Backbone. Set during the Spanish Civil War (and yes, it’s in
Spanish so you have to read), this is the sort of intimate, small-scale
horror film that del Toro does well and in my opinion should focus on
rather than robots fighting dinosaurs, but I don’t run Hollywood. Yet.
Hope Crimson Peak continues in this tradition, but I doubt anything in
it will be as eerily effective as Santi, the ghost boy who trails
floating blood from his head. But a man can dream.
October 17, 2015
10/17/15 – day seventeen of thirty-one days of horror!
In my yearly list I like to highlight a horror anthology TV show as they
are rich wellsprings of childhood terror, so this year I am honoring
the somewhat obscure 1981 series Darkroom. Hosted by the silver-maned,
tobacco-voiced James Coburn (as some kind of photographer or something),
the short-lived series had notable episodes featuring stars like Helen
Hunt and David Carradine, and with its exceptionally creepy theme was
one one the first TV shows to turn my warped young brain on to the
concept of a horror anthology, which in turn led me to Twilight Zone,
Night Gallery, Tales From the Darkside, etc. Never officially released
on home video, some episodes can be found on Youtube, along with the
opening credits which I have posted below for your blood-chilling
enjoyment.
10/16/15 – day sixteen of thirty-one days of horror!
Sure you know Phantasm,
but do you really know Phantasm? This was a movie that freaked me out
as a kid, and I know I’m not alone. Another dream logic master class, Don Coscarelli’s
1979 indie horror smash became the gold standard for horror movies that
don’t totally hold together but scare the hell out of you anyway – and
besides, who says a good horror movie needs to make perfect sense?
Giving us a true icon in Angus Scrimm’s
Tall Man and skulleted, free-loving hero Reggie Bannister, the scrappy
film would go on to spawn a franchise with rumors of more to come. But
for my money, nothing beats the creepy thrills of the original. Good
luck finding a copy to watch however as the Anchor Bay Horror DVD is way out of print and there seems to be no effort towards putting out a Blu Ray release. Jerks.
