If you like your monster movies with an Eco-message then you’ve come to the right place. Let a giant mutated Bear teach you about the dangers of logging.
31 Nights of Frights
Night #7: Lake Placid
Bill Pullman, Brendan Gleeson, Oliver Platt and a giant Crocodile! What is there not to love?
Night #6: Paranormal Activity
The Blair Witch Project has a lot to answer for. Ostensibly that film was the first film of the Internet generation; a time when a film could be made on affordable cameras that anyone could go and buy in their local shop. Though it wasn’t the first film to use the faux-documentary conceit, thanks to the use of cheap videocameras and the Internet, it was the first film to imply that this could happen to anyone.
Night #5: The Loved Ones
OK so that was unexpected.
It’s hard to talk about The Loved Ones because, like Tikashi Mike’s Audition, it’s a film that benefits from not knowing anything about it. Here’s the set up though; Girl ask boy out to the Prom. He says no and laughs it off with his girlfriend. Girl’s father isn’t happy and brings Boy home. Things ensue…
Really that’s all you need to know about this film (And why I need to keep this short. There’s a lot to talk about, but only with someone who’s seen it). You might be tempted to go and watch the trailer now as well. DON’T! Sadly the trailer gives away almost everything that happens from the start to the end and it spoils the many twisted surprises on offer. Do be warned though, the film is graphic, and I guess the dreaded ‘Torture Porn‘ term will come up once or twice in discussion. Personally, if I may digress, I think the term is never really applicable. I think torture has been misused in Movies (Turistas, Captivity) but handing the moniker of ‘porn’ to it implies people watch just for the torture scenes. I don’t think it’s true. People just want to be scared, and currently we’re just riding that wave; Like we did slasher Movies or monster Movies.
Anyway, the performances are pretty good all around with Robin McLeavy as Lola being the standout. I hope this film gets seen by the right people because she’s simply brilliant. Again I’d like to say why but that would be giving too much away. Not the best blog/review I know. But hey, you’ll thank me when you see me.
Up Next: A beastly weekend.
Night #4: The Man Who Haunted Himself
Before he was Bond, Roger Moore starred in this British Curio from 1970. Moore plays Mr Pelham, who manages to crash his Car in the opening moments of the film (Complete with out of place Swinging beats). While in the Hospital he briefly registers 2 heartbeats, and that’s where the fun begins.
Night #3: Sleepy Hollow
If I was a lot younger I would love Sleepy Hollow, and when I was I did. Convolutions aside this is to say that I don’t anymore. It used to be that a Tim Burton movie was cause for Celebration, but at some point either Burton lost his way; or I grew up.
Night #2: Hellraiser
…It wasn’t Manos.
Hellraiser began life as short story titled The Hellbound Heart (Check it out, it’s worth reading) and was later adapted by its Author for the screen. It’s a curious oddity that means more watching it as an Adult than it did when I was a kid.
Night #1: The Stuff
So here we are. It’s the first day of October and like Richard Gere with a Gerbil I thought I’d ease into it. Larry Cohen is probably most well known these days as the writer of Phone Booth. But to genre fans (And fans of film in general) he was also known as the Man who brought us Q: The Winged Serpent (The ‘Q’ of the title stands for Quetzacoatl, which probably gave the marketing department a seizure), Black Ceaser and this little gem.
Is This Thing On? 