Being hungover today and slipping in and out of sleep was probably not the best way to watch this. But these are the sacrifices I make in the name of the blog.
Horror
Night #20: The Last House On The Left
There was a period in American Horror, from the 70’s onward, that spawned a certain type of film. Ostensibly it was seen as a reaction to the Vietnam War, not a politically motivated action, but a subconscious one. The violence that was shown on television at the time permeated into the violence you would see on screen. With the leaps being made in special effects (What better frame of reference than some news footage on TV) it meant that filmmakers could push the boundaries of what was seen before. Indeed, filmmaking itself was getting cheap and mobile enough that it was easier for a Director with no budget to go out and shoot something.
It’s this perfect storm of influences that led to Wes Craven’s The Last House On The Left.
Night #18: Night Of The Comet
I was a strange child of the 80’s. That might come as no surprise to any of you that know me, but while people look back fondly at movies like Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (Seriously people, Ferris is a sociopath. How can you not see this?) or The Breakfast Club or any plethora of so-called ‘classics’ I was developing something more of an…askew taste.
So it’s no surprise that Night of the Comet was right up my alley.
Night #17: Detention
Music video Director Joseph Kahn first burst on the scene with Torque, a mostly misunderstood film that pointed out how ridiculous The Fast and Furious films were. Sadly this was mistaken for an attempt to jump on the F&F bandwagon by audiences and critics who seem insistent on taking things at face value and will forever be on the same shelf as Biker Boyz in your local Blockbuster. So what do you do when you’re reeling from a failure like that? Well you self finance a bizarre and brilliant film and unleash it on the unsuspecting public.
Night #15: Friday The 13th: Jason Lives
Our journey, faithful reader, into the saga of one Jason Vorhees, ends here with the sixth installment in the series.
Jason Lives is, for some reason, the entry I’m most familiar with. It seemed like it was always the one that was getting aired on TV and it was the one I was looking most forward to in this re-watch. Gone is the psychological slant of Part II, out the window goes the sexually infused makings of The Final Chapter, instead we have a different beast entirely.
Night #14: Final Destination 5
Ah plans. There’s some saying about plans are the best way to make God laugh. And that’s what happened when I said I was going to view Jason Lives tonight. DVD problems prohibited that and for some reason all the films were taken off Netflix on the 1st October – great timing there.
So instead we’ll take a look at another long running franchise that reduces the slasher formula to it’s most base elements.
Night #13: Friday The 13th: The Final Chapter
Faithful reader. I’ve travelled back to Camp Crystal Lake (Or thereabouts) just for your pleasure. Well mine too of course but mainly for you guys. So today we’re privy to the fourth entry in the series. Is this really the final chapter?
Night #12: The Fog
Welcome back faithful reader, tonight’s offering is a ghost story. Something a little different from all that hacking and slashing we’ve been seeing recently.
What’s that? These ghosts hack and slash too? Great.
Night #11: Friday The 13th Part 3 (Yes Really)
I couldn’t help myself. My thought process was simple enough. I’ve seen the original, then I went and watched Part 2 last night. So what now? Hey I have Part 3 here too. It’s been a while, so why not. Those Friday The 13th films man, they’re just like [Insert drug of choice here].
Night #10: Friday The 13th Part 2
Ok, I don’t know what I’m doing here. I come home, I pick a movie and I watch it. Sometimes I’m in the mood for something a little more highbrow (Not that anything on my list could be considered such) and sometimes I’m just in a slasherin’ sort of mood.
So after that stellar introduction, let’s take a look at a film that proves sequels can be better than the original.
Is This Thing On? 