October Horrordays

[Reed]

Certain movies just have a hypnotic quality about them that are going to get people talking. Obviously filmmakers should pay attention to detail and all that, but most of the time, you aren't going to have people obsessing over it and wondering what it all means.

 

Watching it, I thought the interesting thing was just what this movie has than draws in people. The story is good, but not especially great. The acting is patchy (depending on just how annoying you find Shelley DuVall). Obviously Kubrick was a fantastic director, but it's not like people are still trying to figure out the meaning behind Eyes Wide Shut or anything.

[piranesi]

I'd agree with Jae, though, that it's a great example of how the artist/writer/director/composer's intentions are not (or more specifically cannot) ever be the final word on what something means.

 

Once it's out there, the culture of the audience takes over.

[jaedmc]

Has anyone involved with the movie admitted that Nightmare on Elm St. 2 is about repressed homosexuality? Because if not, that's my Room 237.

[S.K.o.S.]

Has anyone involved with the movie admitted that Nightmare on Elm St. 2 is about repressed homosexuality? Because if not, that's my Room 237.

 

That really long documentary (Never Sleep Again?) has a little section on it.  If I`m remembering right, the guy who wrote the screenplay is gay, and acknowledges that's what he was going for.  And a lot of the stars were like "Yeah, we didn't realize it at the time, but looking back, wow."

 

Then they interviewed the director and he was like "I don't know what people are talking about with that.  I don't see it at all."

[jaedmc]

That's perfect that the director doesn't see it. Thanks for that.

[EVA]

Is this an okay place to talk about ROOM 237, that documentary about THE SHINING? Because I just watched that, and it blew my mind. The part where they get into showing the movie playing forwards and backwards at the same time with one superimposed over the other is one of the most insane things I've ever seen. I would give anything to be able to see the whole film presented that way.I mean, HOLY SHIT, the part where Jack's face is superimposed over the twins' murder and it looks like blood is coming out of his eyes??? WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT?

 I know the "Kubrick faked the moon landing" theory is total BS, but I found it shockingly credible when it was explained here.

Yeah, I actually saw that guy's film about his moon landing theory a while back, and though it's such obvious hokum, when you hear the guy explain it, it's fucking mesmerizing. You're like, yeah, I can buy that. It's crazy, but his stuff sounds WAY more credible than the people who think it's about the Holocaust or America's treatment of Native Americans, which are actually far more likely theories.

[Reed]

My Room 237-esque theories:

 

Starship Troopers is a recruitment video made by the Federation to lure in new people. Hence why you've got the gorgeous, but totally wooden, Denise Richards in a lead role. She's the type of vapid fantasy woman the Federation want naive youngsters to think is in the military to make service look more attractive. 

 

The entirety of Mulholland Drive is basically the last dream Marilyn Monroe ever has before she dies.

 

The reason The Joker from The Dark Knight can't keep a consistent story about his past is because he doesn't actually have one. He's essentially a demon that somehow made his way from Hell to Gotham, albeit one who lacks any real supernatural powers.

[Jiji]

So last night I found Monster Squad and of course sat down to watch it. I loved it as a kid, and probably haven't seen it in fifteen years. While I felt some parts dragged a bit, I was surprised with how modern mist of the dialogue and jokes felt. Sure, things like Frankenstien saying bogus are pretty inherently 80s, but some of the asides and meta comments could be placed right in a Joss Whedon project and would not be amiss. I did find myself comparing it unfavorably to Lost Boys, which I was surprised by because I think if you had asked me before I would have said Monster Squad had the fonder place in my heart.

A friend and I had the biggest blast watching it for the first time last year. The ending had me in tears from laughter for multiple reasons.

Dracula calling a little girl a bitch in the most heinous of tones AND...

[JRGoldman]

So last night I found Monster Squad and of course sat down to watch it. I loved it as a kid, and probably haven't seen it in fifteen years. While I felt some parts dragged a bit, I was surprised with how modern mist of the dialogue and jokes felt. Sure, things like Frankenstien saying bogus are pretty inherently 80s, but some of the asides and meta comments could be placed right in a Joss Whedon project and would not be amiss. I did find myself comparing it unfavorably to Lost Boys, which I was surprised by because I think if you had asked me before I would have said Monster Squad had the fonder place in my heart.

A friend and I had the biggest blast watching it for the first time last year. The ending had me in tears from laughter for multiple reasons.

Dracula calling a little girl a bitch in the most heinous of tones AND...

My biggest laugh this viewing was in the opening at Dracula's castle, with all the creepy bats and spiders and what not, and then a random ass aardvark walks by. It blew my mind.

[FluffSnackwell]

So last night I found Monster Squad and of course sat down to watch it. I loved it as a kid, and probably haven't seen it in fifteen years. While I felt some parts dragged a bit, I was surprised with how modern mist of the dialogue and jokes felt. Sure, things like Frankenstien saying bogus are pretty inherently 80s, but some of the asides and meta comments could be placed right in a Joss Whedon project and would not be amiss. I did find myself comparing it unfavorably to Lost Boys, which I was surprised by because I think if you had asked me before I would have said Monster Squad had the fonder place in my heart.

 

Waxwork smokes 'em both. I mean it is more or less the R-rated version of Monster Squad. Furthermore it smokes the 2012 version of Waxwork AKA Cabin In The Woods because it came before everything became so smug and self-aware. The only major flaw with Waxwork is subpar monster designs.

 

A fun game to play is picking random brat packers and thinking how much Lost Boys would've actually sucked and descended into full-on camp if they would've played David instead of Kiefer Sutherland. For starters: Judd Nelson. Seriously, the rest of those hair metal GLAM vampires hold up terribly if their leader wasn't such a total badass.

 

I can't really give Lost Boys a totally fair shake because every recent time I've caught it's been the neutered version on VH1 Classic. But to me Monster Squad holds up fine against Lost Boys. I'm underwhelmed by the vamps swoop down attack; especially set to godawful crap like "Walk This Way."

 

I definitely think Monster Squad's finale holds up against Lost Boys. My name is Horace!>Death by stereo! Well, not the very last death or next to last vamp death in Lost Boys but for the actual lead-up battles Monster Squad works fine. I liked the way Rudy did his thang slaying sacrificial brides and the wolfman better than the Frogg Brothers taking out lame ass GLAM vampires. Plus how in the fuck are you gonna top the wolfman getting blown to bits then spontaneously reassimilating? You can't so don't even try. 

 

Finally, I think the Hatchet franchise basically is Groundhog Day fully realized.

[FluffSnackwell]

Someone really needs to get Horror of Dracula as a Halloween Havoc present. Hammer films can be pretty drawing-room, old and musty feeling, but Peter and Chris (I am not making a Kiss joke) really blast all the cobwebs off in that one. The drawing-room feeling is part of the appeal but they liven it up so much. Jae, you should watch Curse of the Werewolf next since you're delving into Hammer. 

 

And on the topic of Argento, Inferno. EVERYONE should watch Inferno this year if you haven't already. That or Tenebrae.

 

I'm one of the few odd ducks that prefers Inferno to Suspiria.

[Curt McGirt]

You are my weirdo bred'ren by saying you like Inferno better, FluffSnackwell. BUT...The Lost Boys and The Monster Squad. Apples to oranges. Both taste great but you really can't compare them, at least in my opinion. 

 

I thought Cabin in the Woods was more of a loving tribute and also a hilarious comedy. I saw it with a huge college audience late night in a theater though (and will again soon). Wine was involved. I'll let everyone know the second time.

[Reggie20x6]

More songs for the piranesi song battle royal, please.

 

 

 

 

They played this song while I was waiting to checkout at a Party City, a couple of weeks ago, and I was completely marking out on the inside.

[piranesi]

The one from THE SHINING is another Wendy Carlos reworking of a classical piece.  In fact I think everything in that movie is all from previously existing orchestra music (Bartok is in there a lot):

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bd-2Yfhy-LE

 

Right then!  Let's keep this going.  Next installment of awesome songs from horror movies of the 80s (ish):
   
   This is also more "score" than song in function, but it really is just a song without a singer.  And it fits the 80s moody song template pretty perfectly.  Imagine if you hired John Carpenter to write a song for Night Ranger...Can you imagine that?  No?  Well, you're in luck because someone figured out how to do that:
   

   Also, the animation is fantastic.
   
   
   And now for two very different songs.  This is not 80s at all, but is all Celtic/primitive and terrifying given the movie it's from:
   

   [shiver]
   Like, seriously...fuck this song.  Like just turn off the lights and listen to this and see how long you can take it.
   

And my own absolute personal favorite, from the horrible, absolutely unexcusably awful (and completely wonderful) Dean Cameron vehicle/Vampire musical ROCKULA (yes...mentioning this movie requires stringing together the words "Dean Cameron vehicle" to mean something other than a 1986 Ford Festiva.

 
  Illustration 1A: The more commonly accepted representation of "Dean Cameron vehicle"
 

 
   
   I'm pretty sure I wrote this up, along with the equally awesome 1985 made-for-t.v. IN THE MIDNIGHT HOUR in last year's October thread.  But, sadly, that's all lost now.  I can, however, remind you of the greatest moment in a movie that features Thomas Dolby as villain attempting to kill someone using a giant ham bone in order to fulfill a prophecy....and Toni Basil as a super hot Vampire mom.
   
   Whatever else you think about this movie, (you need to be pretty tolerant of nonsense to not hate it) Toni Basil knocks it out of the park.  She is fully committed to this and reminds us of just how awesome she is.  This song will get all up in your ears and snuggle in and stay there whispering itself into to your brain hole for months.  The choreography is infectious too.  The best woman.
   
   

   No, that is not WWE's Tensai (Smark = Albert...intolerable smark = Matt) running the turntable...But let's pretend it is.
   
   
You know what...screw it, now that we're here we should see the parallel diva scene from IN THE MIDNIGHT HOUR again too.  In this case the Dvia is Shari Belafonte, the condition is revenge-Zombie-ism, and our special guest star is LeVar MOTHERFUKITY Burton!!!!

Triple bonus for happening AT A HALLOWEEN PARTY that looks just like the ones that Elvira was always hosting in giant cardboard cutout in the beer aisle where Bob Eucker was somehow dressed as Bob Eucker!!! OHGODTHAT'STheSTUFF...I'm spent.

Oh, I almost forgot...FUCKTHEFUCKINGWICKERMANHOLYSHIT!!!!!

I think I'd rather take my chances with George Clooney on a space shuttle than go anywhere near the Hebrides.

[J.T.]

Vampire Circus is still fucking great... and kinky!

 

 

FEARNet OnDemand and Xfinity Streampix queues are also shaping up nicely with favorites like Session 9, Slither, RING, and Insidious.

[Curt McGirt]

Just to make you all jealous, I also get to see the OG version of The Wicker Man on the big screen at the end of the month. 

[J.T.]

Just to make you all jealous, I also get to see the OG version of The Wicker Man on the big screen at the end of the month. 

 

Regal Cinemas will be showing The Shining on the big screen in October!

[J.T.]

All The Boys Love Mandy Lane should now be available in both Fios and Xfinity's Same Time As Theater's queue.  It probably won't cost more than five or six bucks, so check it out.

 

Cold Fish is only available on Xfinity Online, dammit.

[Niners Fan in CT]

Can someone recommend a couple horror films where the Halloween season is really played up? I love the atmosphere of parties and trick r' treating etc..

 

I've seen Trick 'R Treat. It's awesome.

[HumanChessgame]

Do you wanna party? (nsfw)

 

[jaedmc]

DAY 6 of 31 HOUSE OF WHIPCORD

It's the 70's It's Britain. The chick from Are You Being Served? is working with a comically bad French accent. And there's a woman trying to usurp a blind man's power named MARGRET. House of Whipcord, about a woman who gets tricked into captivity by a family of psychos who want to mete out punishment on the moral bankrupt because society is afraid to, isn't a very good movie. A lot of it is really dumb, much like our pitifully stupid protagonist. In one scene, her strange psychotic boyfriend starts driving incredibly fast on a winding road. She voices her concern, and pleads for him to slow down - he speeds up. Then he passes the turn where they were to get off. She voices her concern again. He tells her "Just lie back and go to sleep." She goes to sleep. And yet, the deranged prison guards who hold her captive are worried that this imbecile will upset the equilibrium of this phony penitentiary with her crazy revolutionary ideas like "Let me go!" or "Okay, I'll take off my clothes like you asked."

 

It's a horribly bad movie that is absolutely fun to watch for all the dumbness. The opening shots of the girl crawling through the rain are nice and moody, and there's some cool lighting choices in the prison, but outside of that there aren't many scares. It's on Netflix if you have friends and want to watch something stupid. 

 

DAY 7 of 31: THE CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN.

My second Hammer Horror of the season and Wowie Zowie was this good stuff. Better than Dracula, in both mood and character. Actually I'd go as far as to say this is a better film from start to finish than the Universal Frankenstein - Frankenstein wins in the category of cinematography and Karloff's Frankenstein is still #1, but as a total film I think this is superior. Most of it is because of the insanely brilliant performance of PETER CUSHING. His Victor Frankenstein is an insolent, despicable child and Cushing reflects it in every line and gesture. You also get Hazel Court bringing the sexy - you may remember her from some of the Corman Poe Cycle (The Raven, Premature Burial, MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH~!)

 

This is a must watch if you haven't already. Just a great mix of gothic mood, a little gore, restrained 50's sexy, and Peter Cushing going all-in on crazy. Probably my favorite movie I've seen this month. 

[J.T.]

I shoulda pimped Curse of Frankenstein last year. It is the most underrated and underloved of the Frankenstein films and few realize that it was one of Hammer's first cracks at the horror market.  Christopher Lee is pretty convincing as the creature, but the story of the movie is Cushing portraying a far more batshit insane Von Frankenstein than Colin Clive was as the titular mad doctor.

 

I still give the nod to Bride of Frankenstein as being the best Frankenstein movie of all time.  Universal had it going on.

 

Most of Hammer's Frankenstein movies are fairly acceptable, but nearly every vampire movie they made was solid gold.

[jaedmc]

I should probably clarify that I was only comparing the two "origin stories" - Bride of Frankenstein is still the greatest story to feature the characters EVAR.

[J.T.]

Speaking of CoF and Hazel Court, I am not sure if this is going on but not too long ago, Hammer Films reached out to fans and openly called out for people to help them obtain lost footage from some of their classics.

 

Lost scenes they wanted to recover included:

 

- Scene deleted from CoF where a severed head is dropped into a vat of acid.

- Long lost Hazel Court nude scene from The Man Who Could Cheat Death.

 

I was shocked that the rare long edit of Dracula's death scene from the '58 original wasn't included in the list.

[Curt McGirt]

Nude Hazel Court is something I have to see. Curse is a treasure, so lurid and Cushing is a total cunt. I still like Dracula better, but Curse rules. My favorite is still Curse of the Werewolf. The Mummy is damn good too, and the Quatermass films are a whole different beast.

 

I watched House of Whipcord on Netflix recently too. Not the best Pete Walker film obviously, and really not sleazy enough. It's an interesting concept but the execution just did not match up. One of those ladies looks facially exactly like one of the female FBI agents from The Sopranos. At least the end was decent.