I've had a dark romance with horror movies for nearly three decades. Watching Ridley Scott's ALIEN on VHS, barely into my teens, and seeing Tobe Hooper's POLTERGEIST at the cinema had a profound effect on me. At age 13 I snuck into the theatrical release of HALLOWEEN II (which was restricted to 16 in New Zealand, my home country) ... and that was it! I was a fully-fledged gorehound, terrorfreak, HORRORPHILE! I collected Fangoria magazine for many years and have every issue from August 1979 (issue #1) through to December 1988. In nightmare cinema I relish phantasmogorical, oneiric atmosphere and dark moody tones; tension and suspense are paramount. Graphic violence can be exhilarating when executed with conviction, style, intelligence and panache. I savour the illusion of special effects makeup - Tom Savini, Rob Bottin, Rick Baker, Stan Winston (RIP), Dick Smith, KNB (Greg Nicotero/Howard Berger) ... they're all magicians of the macabre! But, to be more precise, I'm actually a complete cinephile - I love the artifice of movies. But I'm quite fussy in my tastes. I don't dig just any kind of movie. As a rule of thumb the kinds of films that I end up purchasing on DVD for my eclectic collection are of a darker hue ... I gravitate toward lurid dramas, gangster flicks, moody sf, black comedies, action thrillers, exploitation ... and of course, horror. I have a particular taste for all things creepy, scary, gruesome and transgressive, which is why I thought writing a blog on the high art and deep trash of nightmare movies was a bloody good idea. This is HORRORPHILE ... Welcome to my PLEASURE OF NIGHTMARES!
my all-time favourite nightmare movies
1. Alien (USA, 1979) directed by Ridley Scott 2. Halloween (USA, 1978) directed by John Carpenter 3. Day of the Dead (USA, 1985) directed by George Romero 4. The Thing (USA, 1982) directed by John Carpenter 5. Phantasm (USA, 1978) directed by Don Coscarelli 6. Deep Red (Italy, 1975) directed by Dario Argento 7. Videodrome (Canada, 1982) directed by David Cronenberg 8. An American Werewolf in London (USA, 1981) directed by John Landis 9. The Evil Dead (USA, 1982) directed by Sam Riami 10. Suspiria (Italy, 1977) directed by Dario Argento 11. Eraserhead (USA, 1976) directed by David Lynch 12. Possession (Germany/Poland, 1981) directed by Andrzej Zulawski 13. Angel Heart (USA, 1987) directed by Alan Parker 14. Dead Ringers (Canada, 1988) directed by David Cronenberg 15. Them (France/Romania, 2006) directed by David Moreau & Xavier Palud 16. The Descent (UK, 2005) directed by Neil Marshall 17. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (USA, 1956) directed by Don Siegel 18. Let the Right One In (Sweden, 2008) directed by Tomas Alfredson 19. Cat People (USA, 1942) directed by Jacques Tourneur 20. Dawn of the Dead (USA, 2004) directed by Zack Snyder
my other movie blog
Bruno Dante's CULT PROJECTIONS http://cultprojections.com ... basking in the dark sunshine of cult cinema The lewd and the ludicrous, the wicked and profane, the savage and sardonic, the ethereal and arcane. Come and visit my movie parlour of lurid, vivid dreams!
A grimy darkened street, a siren wails in the background, voices call out, a young girl walks nervously along the edge of the brick wall, past graffiti-strewn rollerdoors. She stops behind a large garbage container; she counts out her remaining dollars, tears rolling down her cheeks. She wipes them away and walks off. A van drives down a lonely stretch of road. The young girl is on her mobile making a life-changing call. The van pulls into a rural driveway and pulls up beside a small nondescript home. The young girl is being lead up some stairs in a warehouse, she looks nervous. The driver of the van is at the front door of the home, dressed as pest control. A man answers the door; the pest controller is ushered in and proceeds to beat the living daylights out of the man. He wants the truth: who was responsible for his daughters sexual degradation and subsequent death by overdose. His name is Christian and hes about to descend into hell and take as many of the bastards down along the way
Peter Marshall as Christian
Young filmmaker Steven Kastrissios has delivered a powerhouse debut feature about as brutal and relentless a revenge flick as Ive ever seen. The Horseman (2008) takes no prisoners and pulls no punches; its a hardboiled journey into the darkness of the soul where vengeance offers little in the way of consolation, only provides distraction from the pain of the loss of one so dear. Its a low-budget, but technically superb movie. All of the production values are top notch for such a compromised production (the making of featurette on the DVD revealed how the production team had use their ingenuity on a tight budget and schedule using strictly local (Queensland) talent.
Caroline Marohasy as Alice
The Horseman apparently is reference to the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse; Christian must therefore be Death. Or perhaps War. Hes certainly gone into battle against those he sees are to be held accountable, but hes also a determined harbinger of death. His teenage daughter Jessica is dead after having performed in a porn video and taken drugs with the men who performed in it with her. Christian proceeds to murder these men and those that were involved in the videos distribution in an act of cleansing the world from these ruthless, heartless pornographers.
Christian beats information out of Pauly (Christopher Sommers)
Theres nothing new in the premise here, weve seen it numerous times before, most notably in Get Carter, Death Wish, Hardcore, and The Limey. In all of these movies a man who loses one or more members of his family (usually a wife, lover, or daughter) takes it upon himself to act as judge, jury and executioner. While The Horseman may not be as calculating as Get Carter, or as stylish as The Limey, its not as repugnant as Death Wish or as soulless as Hardcore. What it lacks in originality The Horseman it makes up in ferocity. Director Kastrissios, who was the screenwriter and editor, as well as the movies digital colourist (specifically grading the raw HD material so that it has a more filmic quality), has made a very impressive movie that, despite implausible moments, paces well, sports a decent score and solid performances from the lead actors; chiefly Peter Marshall as Christian, newcomer Caroline Marohasy as Alice, a young runaway hitchhiker whom Christian befriends as his ersatz daughter, and Brad McMurray as Derek, the pornographer head honcho.
Porn merchant Jim (Evert McQueen) squeals like a stuck pig
The movie also features some convincingly staged (and filmed) fight choreography. However, its the combination of the movies ultra-realism and the intense brawling that I have a problem with. It only takes one vicious left hook to smash a mans jaw; yet middle-aged Christian takes a thorough pounding, time and time again, and even manages to dispatch three strong young men single-handedly. He also employs creative torture methods which seem a trifle elaborate for a man seemingly blinded by fury. However it seems these are part and parcel within the dark poetic licence that drives the revenge flick sub-genre. What does work is how Christians initially nasty demeanor is softened when events take a turn for the worse after Alice and Christian are pulled over by one of Queenslands dodgiest and most dangerous men in blue. Christians questionable ethics are no longer viewed in such a harsh light as the more inherently darker evils are presented and unleashed.
Christian burns his daughter's filth
Kastrissios will be a name to watch, part of Australia's pounding new wave, as The Horseman kicks some serious ass like a wronged mule in a foul mood. But watch out, its not for the fainthearted or the squeamish; the violence, while not especially gory, is definitely of the hardened ultra variety.
The Wolfman (2010), is Universals remake of their classic tale of the curse of lycanthropy, The Wolf Man (1941), and it certainly bears a striking similarity to much of the originals look and premise. It has also been one of the most hotly anticipated horror movies (first announced four years ago with Benicio Del Toro, its final release date kept getting pushed back). I was at one of the very first screenings in the world last night (it doesnt open in Los Angeles til Friday) and although I enjoyed myself, I was impressed and disappointed in equal measure.
The first disappointment came a while ago when I read that director Mark Romanek had left the production. Hed have certainly injected the movie with some suitably dark subtextual storytelling skills, and arguably, hed have elicited more passionate performances from his three leads. Replacing him was Joe Johnston, director of such juvenile fare as Honey, I Shrunk the Kids and Jumanji, a director known for his commercially reliable use of lush special effects-driven pedestrian storytelling. He doesnt fail to deliver precisely that with The Wolfman.
Benicio Del Toro as Lawrence Talbot
But Johnston isnt the only one to blame for the movies trappings. Screenwriter Andrew Kevin Walker (Se7en, 1995) wrote early drafts, and then David Self (the dire The Haunting, 1999) was brought in. The screenplay has no real intrigue, sports cliche-ridden dialogue, and rapidly descends into farce (with a particularly risible confrontation between father and son that defines hair-raising silliness). The screenplay makes notable changes from the original movie, yet still credits Curt Siodmak as the screenplay inspiration.
Anthony Hopkins as patriach John
Lawrence Talbot (Benicio Del Toro, with way too much eye-shadow), a thespian nobleman, has returned to the dilapidated Blackmoor estate of his estranged father Sir John (Anthony Hopkins channeling Van Hesling fer Chrissake) after his sister-in-law, Gwen Conliffe (Emily Blunt in sustained misery) has written in desperate need for support to search for her missing fiancée, Ben, Larrys brother. But John quickly informs Lawrence that Ben has been found dead and badly chewed.
Emily Blunt as Gwen
Larry is keen to get to the bottom of it and visits the local gypsy camp that Ben had dealings with. The full moon gleams in the dark night sky and the nomadic community is set upon by a savage and ferocious humanoid beast that tears people and campsite apart, and manages to give poor Larry a nasty chomp on the shoulder. A gypsy woman, Maneva (Geraldine Chaplin, looking creepily skeletal-faced in her twilight years), ignores protests and insists on stitching Larrys wound and sending him on his way. Fate has a funny way of intervening.
Hugo Weaving as Inspector Abberline
Set in 1891 England (rather than the original Wales) the cinematography is suitably Gothic and oppressive, with the palette being predominantly charcoal-coloured and deeply tenebrous. The most impressive design element is the werewolf transformation process. Im not talking about the finished look, which is a very obvious tribute to the look of Lon Chaney Jr. as the original Wolf Man. That was fine for 1941, but Im afraid the tribute was ill-conceived, as it just looks darn silly now. Benicio snarls like a dog-man and I just wanna chortle. It gets even worse when we see the werewolf bounding along the Victorian rooftops at breakneck speed on all fours, completely CGI-ed. I felt like I was watching Rise of the Lycans (2009), Van Helsing (2004), or Twilight: New Moon (2009). What a major disappointment!
Geraldine Chaplin as Maneva
Rick Baker, the legend who did the special effects work for An American Werewolf in London (1981), was adamant he be the man for the job when he first heard Universal were going to remake The Wolf Man, since watching that movie as a boy was his primary source of inspiration. Although responsible for the finished werewolf look (Benicio in prosthetic makeup), he apparently wasnt involved in the actual transformation which is seen about three times during the movie, the most spectacular is a scene where Lawrence is strapped to a seat in front of a large room of psycho-analytical geeks. The look of the werewolf as hes changing is profoundly more menacing and nightmarish than the end result, which is another major disappointment that they didnt stay in the moment. However there are some great gore set-pieces, and thank God they didnt opt for a PG-13 movie!
More cat-like during transformation, but way scarier than the end result
Danny Elfman delivers one of his more tolerable scores (that curiously reminded me of Howard Shore's LOTR score), and, although the movie has been Benicio Del Toros pet project for many years (he acts as one of the producers), it is Hugo Weaving who delivers the movies best performance as wry Scotland Yard Inspector Abberline. Anthony Hopkins always looks and sounds great, but he hasnt given a truly memorable performance in years (one could argue hes been playing Hannibal and/or Van Helsing for nearly twenty years). Im a big fan of Emily Blunt, but her morose and drab presence failed to move me after so much anticipation.
Lawrence heads back to the Talbot estate to confront his father
The Wolfman is one for Del Toro completists and the werewolf lovers, but dont expect the animalistic lupine menace of Dog Soldiers (2002) or mythological re-invention of 30 Days of Night (2007). We horrorphile True Believers were counting on a new modern classic, but, as I shouldve known; great trailer = not-so-great movie.
The late Italian director and legendary gorehound Lucio Fulci is best known for his Romero rip-off Zombi 2 (1979, AKA Zombie Flesh Eaters), as it was known in Italy, where Dawn of the Dead (1978) had been re-titled Zombi ... yes, confusing, I know. However Fulci had been making movies for years before he descended into the surrealist, phantasmogorical mire of his 70s work. Before supernatural incoherence completely overwhelmed his sensibilities he made a handful of giallo psycho-thrillers, the Italian "yellow" brand of lurid murder mysteries, lurid being the operative word.
Florinda Bolkan as Carol Hammond
Anita Strindberg as Julia Durer
A Lizard in a Womans Skin (1971) is the best known of his giallo movies, but its not his best movie. Made with the English-language market in mind, the movie takes place in London and features less Italian actors than normal. In the US it was cut and re-titled Schizoid, while in France it was known as The Whores Go to Hell. Fulci directs more competently than his latter work, but the inherent trappings of the murder-mystery genre weigh heavily on the movie and despite some alluring elements the movie is overlong and frequently tedious. Still, a brilliant title, a sensational pursuit set-piece, and several sensationalist, sexadelic dream/nightmare sequences lift the movies game considerably.
Silvia Monti as Deborah
Carol is seduced by Julia ... In reality or her dreams?
The plot is at once ludicrously simply and painfully convoluted; and therein lies the Rub. The giallo movies reply on way too much dialogue and supposed detective work, and precious little action and suspense. Dario Argento made the two finest giallo movies: The Bird with the Crystal Plumage (1970) and Deep Red (1975). But Argento injected his murder-mysteries with shards of the supernatural, and drenched his movies in the most memorably creepy atmospheres. Curiously it wasnt until Fulci launched into his full-blown horror movies that he began to command a most impressive hold on surrealist atmosphere, with his rough-cut diamond from Hell, The Beyond (1981), being the flawed jewel in his crown
Retribution (2006) is a J-Horror ghost tale that melds with a police crime story, written and directed by Kiyoshi Kurosawa, who made the original Kairo (Pulse, 2001). The literal English translation of the original title, Sakebi, means shriek or the scream, yet it is known as Dark Crimes (Argentina), The Ghost That Never Forgets (Peru), I Punish (Italy), and Victim of an Hallucination (Brazil). Its international title is Retribution, which holds dear to its central theme.
Noboru Yoshioka (Kôji Yakusho) is a police detective based in Tokyo. He has a beautiful girlfriend, Harue (Manami Konishi), yet both have a very detached relationship (I actually thought she was a call-girl from the way they interacted). Yoshioka is investigating a murder, a woman in a red dress found head down in a small pool of saltwater on a disused landfill. He finds a button in another puddle nearby. Another murder has similar circumstances, a young man found head down in a container full of saltwater, also on the landfill. No leads, no substantial clues, but Yoshioka feels they are connected by more than just the elements.
Stranger still, Yoshioka feels he is being viewed as a potential suspect, since he owns a trenchcoat missing the same button, and he owns yellow cord like that which was used to strangle the young man. Creeping him out even further the detective starts having visions of the woman in the red dress. She is haunting him, but he doesnt recognize her, he doesnt understand her spectres motive. Who killed her? What is his connection? Even Yoshiokas partner doesnt have anything much to offer. They interrogate a man who confesses to murdering the woman in red, so why wont the ghost leave Yoshioka alone
Premonition (2004), a supernatural J-Horror directed by Norio Tsuruta who made Ring 0: Birthday (2000), has a great premise and some excellent set-pieces, but is marred by overwrought acting and a very ordinary visual narrative that makes the whole movie feel like a television episode to some less-than-stellar Twilight Zone-styled series (which curiously it is: J-Horror Theatre Series 2).
Hideki Satomi (Hiroshi Mikami) is traveling in the car with his wife Ayaka (Noriko Sakai) and daughter Nana (Hana Inoue). His laptop runs out of battery power, and he urgently needs to email some work documents, so his wife returns to a payphone by the side of the country road where he can make the transmission through dial up
Released the same year as Alfred Hitchcocks Psycho (1960), Peeping Tom, directed by Michael Powell, was also a movie years ahead of its time, a psychological thriller that operates with the dark machinations and severity of a horror. Powell had garnered enormous critical acclaim for numerous films he made with Emeric Pressburger in the 40s and 50s, but he went alone on Peeping Tom, and it proved to be the kiss of death, effectively ending his career in England. He made several other features before his death in 1990, but none came close to capturing the disturbing slow-burn subversive power of Peeping Tom.
Carl Boehm as Mark Lewis
Mark Lewis (Carl Boehm) is a strange, lonely, sexually-repressed man working as a focus-puller for a British film studio. He moonlights shooting cheesecake pics in his mezzanine apartment for the seedy newsagent on street level below, whilst harbouring his own directorial desires; a documentary on the expression of extreme human fear. It is this unhealthy obsession with the elusiveness of mortality and his intent on capturing it on film that has lead Lewis to become a murderer.
Anna Massey as Helen
Maxine Audley as Helen's mother
His twisted state of mind, kept in check (just) by the mundane routine of his day job, and the amorous curiosity of his apartment building neighbour, Helen (Anna Massey), who lives with her suspicious blind mother (Maxine Audley), dates back to the psychological testing of his scientist father when Lewis was just a boy serving as his fathers subject for cold-blooded experiments in terror. Of course, now as a grown man, Lewis is a chip off the old block but hes fallen much further. Lewis is a determined documenteur, recording womens contorted features and dying gasps on his portable 16mm camera after he stabs them with the blade concealed in his tripod. But like all obsessions, it will eventually consume him
I actually really like the title, and exactly for that reason, that it isn't what you think it will be. Still, the movie doesn't live up to the title's potency.
Hewhomustnot ... cheers for the comments. The Thing is in my top five horror movies of all time (up with Alien, Halloween, Day of the Dead and Phantasm). Is Wild Zero an Asian flick? I think I've heard of it.
I reviewed both The Eye and the remake.
As for supernatural suggestions ... You have to check out The Broken, which deals with doppelgangers, probably my favourite horror from the past decade. Also Left Bank, superb pagan hijinx from Belgium.
Curious to know what you think of Ils. The prologue suggests the supernatural ....
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