THE MOST BLOOD-CURDLING, SHADOW-FEARING VAMPIRE FLICKS EVER!
November 19th 2009 22:36
Bryn
Sydney, New South Wales, AUSTRALIA
Joined August 14th 2006
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"Is all that we see or seem but a dream within a dream?" --- Edgar Allan Poe
- my flesh and blood
- 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!
Recent Posts THE MOST BLOOD-CURDLING, SHADOW-FEARING VAMPIRE FLICKS EVER!November 19th 2009 22:34
Have I actually seen Twilight (2008)? No, of course I havent, its not my cup of adolescent, melodramatic romantic twaddle; I call a spade a spade, and Twilight needs burying. Of course by the middle of next week New Moon will probably have broken some kind of box office record, and thats sweet irony. My criterion for vamp selection excludes most of the obvious spoofs, satires or broad comedies. Dont get me wrong; there are many excellent vampire comedies from across the spectrum, such as Vampires Kiss (1989) and The Fearless Vampire Killers (1967). But I decided I wanted to concentrate on the scary ones, the atmospheric ones drenched in dread and foreboding, the ones most likely to stop your heart, the blood draining from your face. 
Innocent Blood (A French Vampire in America) (1992) John Landis does for vamps what he did for werewolves; dark comedy streaked with blood. Anne Parillaud is a most strikingly sexual and contemptuous vampire indeed! Near Dark (1987) Nomadic clan drift from small town to small town, hungry and squabbling, then one of their own falls for a mortal, it can only get sticky. The Addiction (1995) Vampirism as metaphor for drug addiction, as portrayed by Lily Taylor through the dark shadowy morals of New Yorker Abel Ferrara, this is vamp anxiety with serious intellectual bloodletting. 30 Days of Night (2007) Savage, primal, hellbent; this was the most exciting and violent vampire movie in years. These are the hideous undead you certainly dont want to play silly buggers with. Rather curiously director David Slade is directing the Eclipse installment of the Twilight Saga. Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens (1922) German Expression at its most unnerving. Max Schreck is Graf Orlok. Director Murnau freely plays with Bram Stokers novel creating probably the most nightmarish adaptation of Dracula ever committed to celluloid. 
Another Bavarian countryman, Werner Herzog, delivers a rarity; a remake as compelling as the original, that is oh so different, yet bewitchingly similar in atmosphere. Klaus Kinski inhabits the vampyre Count with unctuous ease. Let the Right One In (2008) This turned out to be the most satisfying and rewarding mainstream vampire movie in years. Whilst being poetic, it didnt shy from its darker framework (although nowhere near as dark as the original novel). Daughters of Darkness (1971) Another German production, echoing with sensual abandon from modern horrors most provocative decade. This dares not to play by the rules, feels perverse, but chaste, and lingers like a bewitching dream. 
One of the best Stephen King adaptations, Tobe Hoopers made-for-television two-parter was re-edited into a much creepier and more violent feature. The floating kid scratching at the window still makes my skin crawl. Cronos (1993) Guillermo Del Toros debut feature kicks arty ass! Vampirism plucked from the ancient past and the projected into the future via the present. Creepy-crawly ingenuity that gleams in the night. Bram Stokers Dracula (1992) Forget Keanu Reeves dire portrayal of Harker, Francis Coppolas reasonably faithful, and dramatically stylized telling of the legendary novel is a sumptuous display of bravura cinematic storytelling. Martin (1977) George Romero strays from the zombie path to delve effectively into one mans delusion and paranoia, a desperate thirst for sanguine in a world oh so cynical and real. From Dusk Till Dawn (1995) Wild and wicked, lewd and lascivious, director Robert Rodriguez with both stakes blazing, writer Quentin Tarantino playing sub-genres to the hilt and then some. Salma Hayek steals the show. Now for the lycanthropes! Scary, sweaty werewolf movies are a rare breed indeed! Much to my dismay, I was hard-pressed to think of more than five that possess a serious bite. Perhaps thats why Ive started co-writing my own werewolf feature The Most Hair-Raising, Howl-Inducing Werewolf Flicks Ever! (well, five of them at this stage) 
This is the seminal comedy classic from director John Landis that stars Rick Bakers truly astonishing special effects make-up (years before CGI). Griffin Dunne and Jenny Agutter have a ball. The Howling (1981) Made at the same time as American Werewolf, Joe Dantes movie features the equally impressive special effects makeup work from Bakers protégé Rob Bottin (only 21 at the time). This is another bona fide fright-chuckle classic.  Lycanthropy as metaphor for the menstruation cycle, this was the most original and freshest flick sprouting lupine hair since Landis and Dante butted heads. Emily Perkins and Katherine Isabelle are superb. Dog Soldiers (2002) Neil Marshal delivers a masterful exercise in macho cowboy shenanigans pitted against huge monstrous wolfmen in the woods. Its every man - and the odd woman - for themselves, its gonna get hairy! The Company of Wolves (1985) The fairytale of Little Red Riding Hood gets a makeover courtesy of contemporary mythmaking author Angela Carter and is directed with consummate style and wit by Neil Jordan.
Just what ARE the most DISTURBING MOVIES ever made?November 19th 2009 00:00
Just what ARE the MOST DISTURBING MOVIES ever made?November 18th 2009 23:59
MATURE CONTENT
PARANORMAL ACTIVITY DOUBLE-PASS GIVEAWAYS DOWN UNDER!November 16th 2009 22:35
Vampire Hunter D: BloodlustNovember 16th 2009 02:08
Vampire Hunter D: BloodlustNovember 16th 2009 02:00
 Both movies are set in the far distant future (the 121st Century to be precise). In the original D is hired by a woman, Doris, who has been bitten by Count Magnus Lee after she trespasses in his domain whilst hunting marauding demons. Fearing for her life she enlists the services of the man known as D in order to hunt down the evil vampire. The movie was directed by Toyoo Ashida based on the novel Kyuuketsuki Hantaa D by Hideyuki Kikuchi. The Japanese-language version is much better than the American dub (made at the time), but unfortunately the movie has dated badly; the animation is simplistic, the storytelling is pedestrian, the tone uneven, and its frequently just downright silly
FRIDAY THE THIRTEENTH, TWENTY-OH-NINENovember 12th 2009 23:50
The genre of horror in the history of cinema began in Germany, during the Expressionist Movement, and arguably was heralded and still championed - with the release of Robert Weines oneiric tale of a crazed doctor and his somnambulist killer, the feature The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1919
FRIDAY THE THIRTEENTH, TWENTY-OH-NINENovember 12th 2009 22:55
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Some nice stuff. 
Comment by Bryn
on And In The Epic Battle of Horror Films the Winner Is....
Horrorphile