Dying For Movies 4 Part Four

Day two of my adventure at the movie theater is over with at long last. Considering that I was there pretty close to 12 hours, I felt like they should have made a bed for me there while they were cleaning up. While I had fun, and got to see some very cool movies, I discovered that it kind of sucks to be at the theater for that fucking long! I went for walks after Lake Mungo (2008), and after the next movie. I forgot with it being Sunday that stores close a little earlier, so I was stuck in the theater for a good while waiting for the next movie to start. Today I got to the theater quicker than I thought I would actually. I even stopped for a quick snack so I wouldn't have to spend a lot on drink and popcorn. The nice thing about getting lost, is you tend to remember how to get there the next time. I'm actually pretty good at remembering how to get somewhere once I make the trip the first time, so I wasn't worried. First up for the day was Lake Mungo.

After 16 year old Alice Palmer (Talia Zucker) drowns while swimming near the local dam, the rest of the family is left to deal with this tragic loss. June (Rosie Traynor) is taking it the hardest. Russell (David Pledger) is also taking it hard, but seems more rational about it. Mathew (Martin Sharpe), Alice's brother, doesn't seem to know how to deal with it for sure. When strange things begin to happen around their home, they set off to discover if it is Alice, or if there is some other explanation.

To be honest here, Lake Mungo was the film I was probably looking forward to the least. Imagine my surprise when by the end of the movie, it became my over all favorite by far. In fact, after watching all eight of the movies now, Lake Mungo remains at the top of my list. It is shot in a documentary style. I know this has been done what feels like a million times now, but Lake Mungo manages to set itself apart from other movies like this. The main reason why is because it truly does feel like an actual documentary film. There are no recreations, and "actual" footage is kept to a minimum. This is an after the fact documentary, where they are interviewing family and friends of Alice after all the events we are being told about happen. Some video is used of some of the events that we are being told about, and we see plenty of photographs. At no time do they ever break out of this.

The acting is what also helps out a lot. Everyone puts in some convincing acting that manages to draw you in. Only once did I start to lose a little interest, after some things were revealed, but it quickly pulled me back in. Lake Mungo is billed mostly as a ghost story. In part it is, but it so much more than that as well. It is actually set up so you can believe either way. I have to be careful with what I say about this movie, because it would be so easy to accidentally give something away. Lake Mungo felt like a roller coaster ride almost. It gets your attention, and then drops the floor out from under you. But it does build itself back up again. One of the things that makes it so interesting, and surprising, is how well it builds up the main characters. Even though Alice is only shown in home made films and pictures, we still learn a lot about her. Some of it is shocking, while some of it is down right creepy.

The only makeup effect is when we see Alice being taken out of the water. Director/writer Joel Anderson only resorts to one jump scare, but I felt like it was completely within the story to do so. He wasn't doing it in order to try and get us to jump by using a loud noise, or something like that. It made me jump because I was so into the story by then, and I wasn't expecting what was shown. I can't say that I felt scared at any time, but it did manage to creep me out something bad a couple of times. I really missed that feeling. After some things were revealed, I did start to lose interest and didn't think it was going to win me back. Now that I look back at how I felt though, I am a little disappointed with myself. Just because a movie doesn't go in the direction I thought it was heading doesn't mean I should give up on it. Lake Mungo manages to do that a few times as it leads you down a path, but goes off in a direction you weren't expecting. If the mother/daughter reveal at the end of the movie doesn't manage to creep you out, I will be damn surprised.

I got so caught up in talking about how much I liked this movie, that I forgot to throw in what I didn't like. For some people I know that the fact that not everything was tied up nice and neat will be a problem. Not everyone cared for the style it was shot in. But I thought it worked very well. My biggest issue was the fact that some of the things they showed in videos were very hard to make out, yet the family knew what was going on seemingly. Like at one point all we can see is the shadowy figure of someone's head. June somehow knew this was a man, and that he was looking for something. How you can gather all that from a shadowy figure of just the head? There is another video that shows Alice sitting on the ground. That is all it looked like to me, that she was just sitting there. But her family was somehow able to figure out she was doing more than that.

Lake Mungo turned out to be a real treat. If you go see any of these movies, go see this one! They will be showing all week, and I believe next weekend as well. At least that is After Dark's plan anyway, since I have no idea if theaters will actually do that. Before After Dark managed to include this movie as part of the new 8 Films To Die For, Hollywood announced a remake of it set for 2011. Luckily for us that After Dark did include it. You could go ahead and order it from Lake Mungo's web site if you don't want to wait. If you plan on buying the set, I would just wait it out since it didn't take long for last year's movies to hit DVD. Even though it didn't scare me, it did manage to creep me out more than once and got me so involved with the story and characters, I have to give it my top rating. It really is that good.
5 out of 5 Make sure not to turn it off as soon as the credits pop up

Dying For Movies 4 Part Three

I probably won't get to write this much tomorrow night. The way the movies played out is that one film is only being shown at 10pm tomorrow night. Because I don't want to make two trips, or hang around for hours on end, I decided to watch all five movies offered tomorrow, and catch the three not being offered today. I will be there close to 12 hours in all tomorrow, but I will have time to eat more than just popcorn I believe. One is at 2:15pm, and the next at 5pm, so that leaves about an hour to grab something to eat quickly. The last movie I took in today was The Graves. I thought this had something to do with graves, but instead it happens to be the last name of the sisters featured in the movie.

Megan (Clare Grant) is the older of the two sisters, and she has decided it is time to part ways. Even though Abby (Jillian Murray) is Megan's best friend, and younger sister, Megan has decided to move to the big city of New York. Before she does though, the two sisters have decided to head off for an adventure together. They end up lost in Arizona while looking for the world's biggest thermometer. Why they are looking for that, I have no idea. They find a small town, and decide to stop to get something to eat, along with directions. The woman at the dinner talks them into going to a more local tourist spot, Skull City. This is a ghost town that was left after a mine dried up. The sisters are promised that there are real ghosts there, which is reason enough for Megan to want to go. What they find instead is a blacksmith that wants to kill them.

Even though I wasn't all that impressed by the trailer for The Graves, I still had high hopes for it. After all, when they throw out names like Tony Todd and Bill Moseley, how can you not get your hopes up? Even though the movie starts off a little slow, I have to admit that Jillian Murray was growing on me the further the movie played out. By the end of the movie though, I left feeling disappointed. Sit with me, and I will tell you why. Once they enter the ghost town, it turns into something of a cat and mouse type movie. The sisters see a random character get killed, and know they need to get out. Of course that isn't possible because their car has been messed with to the point it is no longer useful. I didn't get why they just didn't make a mad dash to the road right then, but whatever. That is all The Graves is for a huge chunk of the movie though, just a cat and mouse type movie. Every once in a while they will throw in some random character that they barely bother to set up that were there before the sisters. Once we do get to an explanation of what is going on (each time someone is killed there is a strange noise not too long after), it is too little way too late. I didn't really care anymore, because I got so tired of seeing the sisters running around all over the place.

I was a little disappointed with the effects too. It isn't that they are bad, but I felt like they used way too much CGI. For some of the things, like seeing a person's ghost or soul, I could understand. But for other effects, I didn't understand the use of CGI. Most of the violence happens just off the screen, but you know what is going on. Like a person being pummeled by a blunt object. We get to see blood fly up with each strike, but it looked so faked because it was a CGI effect. I could be wrong on this, but it sure looked like it to me. Another thing that bothered me is that the person doing the pummeling, or cutting open a throat, doesn't always get blood on them. The acting was the only sweet spot for me. I loved Jillian Murray, another dark haired beauty, which made two films in a row! I don't see myself as a lesbian, but I also don't see anything wrong in admitting when another woman looks hot as hell either. Bill Moseley and Tony Todd both put in great performances. Out of the two, I have to go with Tony Todd for this movie. He gets the part of a preacher, and really just runs with it with great results.

I sort of have mixed feelings about The Graves. The performances were worth watching the movie for. But I didn't care for the movie itself. As much as I would love for it to happen, I know that asking for eight great films is probably asking too much. I think The Graves would have worked better if they had cut back on the chasing. The sisters get chased around for a while before making it back to the road, only to get chased around some more. All this takes place in the same location even. If you are fans of some the actors I named off, I would suggest giving it a try, but outside of that I can't really suggest it. Now I'm off to bed so I can get up in time for the next five movies!
2 out of 5 You're beautiful when you're mad Abby

Dying For Movies 4 Part Two

There wasn't too much of a wait between the first movie and the second movie today, which turned out to be The Final. What was funny though, was that once the movie started, the projectionist apparently forgot to change the reels. Instead of The Final, ZMD started playing again. Some of the people that were there for ZMD left to tell them of the mistake. They are showing all of the films on the same screen, even though they have 16 of them there. We can't take away one of three screens from Avatar. No, that would take money out of the theater's pocket then. I understand there aren't many people that are showing up for these movies. I think in part that is because all three movies I went to see today, all showed up yesterday. Another error is that After Dark is not advertising at all, except the cheap way - through bloggers. It would have been nice if they were showing on two screens though. That way they wouldn't have to limit each movie to one day.

In The Final we get a group of high school students that are constantly being picked on. Dane (Marc Donato) inherits a secluded house from his uncle. He gathers together fellow rejected teens, Jack (Eric Isenhower), Ravi (Vincent Silochan), Andy (Travis Tedford), and Emily (Lindsay Seidel), to plot revenge against their tormentors. They invite those that they hate the most to a costume party, and then pretend that they weren't invited. I guess they didn't have to pretend since they didn't have to invite themselves. Once there, they let everyone party, but eventually they slip a drug into their drinks, that causes everyone to pass out. When they come around, they find themselves chained up. Dane promises them that no one will be killed, and not everyone will be harmed. Dane also promises that this is a night that none of them will ever forget.

Even though I knew the plot going in, I was still surprised by this movie. It has a powerful message behind it that is often repeated: Why is this happening to me? It is something that those that are always being picked on often ask themselves. It is also a question that those doing the picking on, find themselves asking once things are reversed. We have all heard the news stories of things like this happening. Someone that just can't take it anymore opens fire on their classmates and teachers. The Final takes it to a new, and different, level though. As Dane tells them, "We won't kill you, but by the time we are finished, you will wish we had". It is this level that makes this movie more interesting, but I can also see it being blamed if life imitates art. As much as I liked this movie, and I found it the best horror movie of the three today, I had some problems with it. I will have to watch this movie again because I got confused over something. Because the story jumps ahead a little too much at times, I wasn't sure if there were just five people getting revenge, or more than that. Two people get killed that were wearing the same costume as people that were still alive. This confused me because I wasn't sure if it was a mistake, or two different people. Because it appeared that everyone was wearing a different costume, I had to assume it was a plot mistake. I will have to watch it again, once the DVD is out, in order to find out for sure.

The effects were nice, but they held back at times, which was disappointing to me. They are already making a movie that I'm sure will be seen as controversial to some. So why not go for broke? Like we see one person having some kind of cream put on her face. As it is being put on, we are told that the longer it is on, the hotter it will feel. After this the movie cuts away to a different character. When the plot shifts back to what is happening in the house, the person that was having the cream applied is gone, and not seen again until the end of the movie. They could at least have shown her being dragged off. We do get to see some fingers being snipped off, which ends up being the biggest effect for this movie. There are also some makeup effects done towards the end, which are also well done.

The acting was actually very good. I was a little surprised by this because I didn't know anyone in this movie. My favorite out of this movie would be Lindsay Seidel, who is making her first film with this one. Not only is she very pretty, but I also loved her acting. She was great in making you think that maybe she isn't going to go through with things, only to show that she is more than willing to do so. Marc Donto was also great as the ring leader. His character appears to be the most extreme of the five, simply because life has driven him to the point where he no longer cares if he lives or dies. Justin Arnold has the big bully act down to a science. Julin (Jennifer Guhlin and Julin Jean are her alternative names) and Whitney Hoy have the drama queen (and we all know how much I hate those types) and the bitch down pretty good as well.

Another small flaw is that at the start of the movie, they showed guys picking on other guys, and the girls picking on other girls. That is usually the case, but not always. My high school years were fairly uneventful. I'm the type that doesn't have a lot of friends, but I can get along with almost everyone. I was part of the popular crowd, but I wasn't at the same time. I didn't really consider them friends, but I did hang out with them here and there. But because I would turn down every guy that asked me out, a rumor started that I must be a lesbian. It wasn't other girls doing this, at least none of the girls said it to my face, but some of the guys would. It didn't hurt my feelings, but I do understand how it can. I looked at it as, if guys wanted to think that of me, they would stop asking me out so much. Besides, there are worse things to be so it didn't bother me at all. It was still enough that I could understand the group getting their revenge though. I never resorted to name calling back, but I would pop off some sarcastic remarks at times.

What makes The Final more interesting is the fact that each in the revenge group knows that this plan is more than likely the last thing they will ever do. That means that they will possibly turn on each other if the plan isn't followed through. They also manage to turn the people they are holding hostage against each other at times too. The Final is a really good movie, but it stops short of being great. I so wanted it to be great, but the jumps in plot and my confusion over some of the characters, keep it from being great. To be honest, I'm surprised we haven't heard of something like this happening in real life by now. It is a sad movie in its way, but I also found it interesting. It makes you feel bad for the people that were getting picked on, but sickened by what they think they have to do to get back at their tormentors.
3 out of 5 Glad I had a somewhat normal high school life

Dying For Movies 4 Part One

Once again it is time for the After Dark Horrorfest! My day didn't start off too well. I had planned on leaving early enough to make it to the theater on time. I was using my dad's GPS system in order to get there, but the battery was too low to put the address in. So I had to wait until I was in my car. Once there, I discovered that the GPS didn't know where the address I was trying to put in was. After going back and forth between my car and the house a couple of times, I gave up and just wrote down the directions using Yahoo Maps. I was getting somewhat close to the theater, but couldn't find one of the roads I had written down. I stopped for directions, and was told to use a different road I had written down. I found that road, but thinking my road might be further ahead, I kept going. I never found that road, so I stopped for directions again. I was told to use the same road, but I quickly discovered, after driving a little ways, I was given the wrong directions. To make sure, I stopped again for directions. This guy happened to be on his work computer so was nice enough to print out directions for me. So I ended up being a tad late for the first movie, Zombies Of Mass Destruction.

ZMD is set in 2003. It centers around two characters mostly. We have Frida (Janette Armand), who is an Iranian college student. She has to deal with most of the town of Port Gamble thinking that she is a possible terrorist. Then we also have Tom (Doug Fahl), who is a businessman that happens to be gay. Along with his boyfriend (Cooper Hopkins), Tom has returned home in order to tell his mother that he is gay. Before he can tell her though, she tries to eat him. Frida runs into her redneck neighbor (Russell Hodgkinson) who thinks she is somehow responsible for the zombies. While Tom runs into church people who think that all sinners are responsible.

ZMD bills itself as a horror/comedy. Judging from the people that were there, it worked for some, but didn't for others. I felt the comedy was hit and miss, but for the most part it worked for me. In some ways, ZMD reminded me of The Mist. A group of people holed up and pointing fingers at each other. The characters are almost too stereotyped, but I think that is needed in order to define the lines they stand on. Port Gamble is set on an island, so it isn't all that easy to escape from. I had to wonder why someone would cause a terrorist attack, which is strongly hinted at, on a small town on some island. I guess it could have been just a test run. Maybe this is explained in the part of the movie that I missed. I will have to wait for the DVD to find out. The zombie outbreak had already happened by the time I got into the movie. I probably should have just skipped it, instead of paying full price. But I didn't want to wait around another two hours in the theater.

The effects looked very good. We get the usual zombie fair for effects, such as eating of guts and zombie heads exploding after being hit by a shotgun blast. We also get an arm being ripped off, and a nail through the foot. All looked very well done, including the zombies. The acting also seemed to be very good. I liked Tom and his boyfriend's story line slightly better, just because it made me laugh a lot more. Cooper Hopkins was my favorite actor out of this movie. He comes across as being the gayest of the two, mostly by the way that he talks. He also isn't ashamed of being gay, since he wears a t-shirt that says I'm with him, through most of the movie.

The two story lines, which eventually meet of course, take different paths. Frida's story is a bit more serious, while Tom's has more comedy in it. This is helped in large part by the preacher, played by Bill Johns. He feels like he can convert anyone back to God. He feels he can save gay people, who he has a special chair for, and even zombies. I would like to see the entire film before I decide just how much I liked it. Even though I came in late, I was still able to figure out what was going on, for the most part anyway. What I did see, I really liked. But since I didn't see it all, I will just give it my middle rating for now.
3 out of 5 It must suck to be hit by your own arm

Eating Up Love

I got my computer back! I'm not sure if it is completely fixed yet, but at least it boots up now, which it wouldn't do before. Keep your fingers crossed for me. So, today's plan was to head to a theater and start watching the new 8 Films To Die For. But I changed my plans last night. I noticed that I could watch all 8 movies in two days, instead of three days. I figured if I could do it in two days, and save a tank of gas, I would go ahead and hit them that way. Plus I felt I needed a day to just sit around and do nothing all day after working 48 hours in four days. I was feeling a little more tired than usual yesterday, but not feeling bad. So the plan is now to catch 8 movies in two days and write up a review for each one. With those, and this review, that will leave me at post number 650. I will do that write up and then get back to the guest posts. Sorry for the delay here with those, but I want to get the reviews out while they are at least somewhat fresh in my mind. The review I wanted to work in today is for Cannibal Taboo (2006), which was a requested review.

Luke (Paul Logan) is returning home for his younger brother's (Scott Carson) 21st birthday. His father (not listed on the IMDb page) was an explorer who met his mother (Ashlie Rhey) in some jungle. Luke and his brothers and sister (Jessica Simone), have lived by the rules of the jungle. Luke has sworn off meat now though, much to his mother's disappointment. Unknown to everyone but the father, their mother has something special planed for their brother on his birthday. Needless to say, it isn't the type of surprise party he is expecting it to be.

Cannibal Taboo is a pretty self explanatory title. There is some cannibal action to be found, which could also explain the taboo part of the title. It might in part, but you can also find some incest going on as well. Not a lot, but it is there. Neither subject bothered me all that much, but I can't say that I am fan of cannibal films. I found the plot for this movie a little confusing. I never knew for sure if the entire family were cannibals or not. It is hinted both ways, so I assume they are leaving that up to us to decide. The incest is more straightforward, since they almost start off the movie with it. People that love nudity in their horror movies, will love this film. Every woman that appears on screen is shown nude at some point. Another thing about the plot is that it takes a long time to get to the point. Cannibal Taboo is a two hour movie, and at times it feels it. That is the major flaw for this movie.

Another flaw would be the makeup for the effects. They aren't the worst I have ever had to watch, but they are hardly good either. I would include a best of with this review, but I have already sealed up the movie in order to send it back to Netflix. I didn't think I was going to get my computer back tonight, so I didn't wait to seal it up. Anyway, we get a couple of hearts that are pulled out. There are also a bunch of stab wounds and a slit throat. A head also gets separated at one point too. The makeup applied (and I realize this was a low budget movie) looked very flat. Like the slit throat. It looked like a line of blood with no depth to it, and no skin slightly sticking out to look like it has separated. The acting wasn't too bad, but it would usually depend on the actor.

I didn't hate Cannibal Taboo, but I wished it had been a shorter movie. I was ready to forgive it for dragging a little bit, but I just couldn't get past the effects. It is interesting in that it explores the different relationships within the family. The sister gets her brother to have sex with her, but then you can see the confusion, and disgust, over what she just did. The end of the movie is a bit of a stretch, but does tie itself to the start of the movie in a way. I can't really tell everyone to go out and find this movie. The subject matter will turn a lot of people away. It didn't bother me all that much, but then if it's a horror movie, so I will give it a shot.
2 out of 5 I hear humans taste like chicken

I'm Special

Just in case you didn't know that, you do now. I will be working 12 hour shifts at work this week, so reviews will be scant, if any at all. Working 12 hours and getting 8 hours (hopefully) of sleep in, doesn't leave much personal time. I wasn't going to work that much this week, but then my mind got to thinking about that 16 hours of overtime. I am off Friday to hopefully go see the new After Dark Films. That will make a nice check next week. Since I don't know when I will be asked to work overtime again (it is slightly frowned upon), I figured too that I had better get it while the getting was good. Since I am in a writing mood of late though, I wanted to share something with everyone.

Many of you know that I love horror movies where kids get killed in them. I'm not talking about teenaged kids either. I'm talking about the younger ones. Since it is only a movie, I'm not offended by a kid getting killed. I have been told that will change when I have kids of my own, but honestly, I don't see that happening. I always argue that since kids are killed in the real world, why do we rarely see it in movie worlds? Since I have no kids of my own, I guess I will have to wait and see if my mind changes about this. Unlike some of my friends, the clock inside me that many describe as motherhood has yet to go off. I like kids, but I don't at the same time. They like me, and I don't mind playing with them from time to time. But I'm damn glad they go their own way after.

All this brings me to the story I wanted to share, which explains why I'm special. A good friend of mine has a much older brother, who now has two kids of his own. Both are girls. The oldest is somewhere between the ages of two and three, while the youngest is just over a year old. I have been to my friend's house many times when the kids were there. The youngest took to me right away, always smiling and laughing at me. The oldest took a little more time though. She would follow me around, but if I tried talking to her then she would get all bashful and walk away from me. I don't know what broke the ice, so to speak, but now she won't leave me alone when we are both there. When I went over there this last weekend, the oldest was there. When I walked in my friend asked her "who is that"? She smiled and said my name and then ran over and hugged my legs before I could take a few steps into the house. I basically ended up helping my friend babysit her niece for a few hours.

I have to say that I did have fun, even if my friend's niece wouldn't leave me alone the entire time. I'm not sure how it got started, but I started chasing her through the house and tickling her. Since she isn't very tall, a little short for someone her age I think, she of course doesn't run very fast. Still though, she was laughing the entire time, and running to her aunt to be "saved". Once her spring ran down, she would come over to me and tell me to pick her up. She would sit with me for a little while before wanting down. She wouldn't stay down for long though. She was always coming back and either saying "pick me up",or simply saying "up". So I learned that even a two year old can be pretty demanding when they want to be. I even had to read her new book to her.

So how does all this make me so special? It wasn't really the fact that she ignored everyone else, except to be saved, that made me feel that way. Today my friend called me and told me that her niece's mom asked her daughter some questions. She was asked if she saw her aunt, or grandma and grandpa. The answer always came back as: "No, Heather". Since I was apparently the only person that she saw all day, that makes me feel pretty damn special.

Meeting Your Twin

The only nice thing about not having a computer all weekend was that I could catch up on my DVR saved stuff. I was three episodes behind on two shows that I record. Now I am all caught up again. One of those two shows was Fringe where they had a dead character back. I'm not sure whether the episode was aired out of order, or if they just made a mistake. There was no mention of anyone being surprised that he was alive again, and he hasn't shown up again since. I'm thinking it was just aired out of order for whatever reason. Anyway, before the playoff games today, I worked in The Attic (2008). This was a movie I was going to review for the challenge, but I ended up not needing it. It got sent to me before I bumped up the Hammer films I was going to watch, so I have had it for a long while now.

Emma (Elisabeth Moss) is moving into a new home with her family. Before you know it, Emma is seeing a ghostly figure wondering around. Upon finding the attic, she finds a full length mirror. While looking into it, she sees herself standing behind her. After taking a nasty spill out of the attic, she meets John (Jason Lewis) who is a paramedic. The police don't really take Emma seriously, but John comes back and explains that he is also a detective on the police force, and does believe her. Emma soon begins to believe that she had a twin sister, and now her parents are trying to bring her back to life by stealing her own soul. With only John to help her, will she be able to survive, or is it truly all in her head?

When the opening credits began to roll, I have to admit that I got rather excited about watching this movie. Catherine Mary Stewart was listed, and I haven't seen her in a movie in a long time now. The opening scene actually has the very pretty Alexandra Daddario in it. Thinking that she was the main character, I was even more ready to keep watching. Sadly though, she disappears after meeting her own twin. Director Mary Lambert, another reason to want to watch this movie, didn't make it overly obvious that the ghost looked like Alexandra. But when it was obvious from the start that the ghost looked just like Emma, it was a safe bet to rule out a ghost story. This made me glad that I didn't watch it for the challenge, since it doesn't fit in with the haunted house type movie after all.

Outside of pretty women, and somewhat known actors, The Attic doesn't work. One reason is that we don't get to know the characters at all. We have no idea how this family interacts with each other, so when they act mean towards each other we have no idea if this is normal for them, or if it has more to do with what is supposed to be happening in the house. When Emma first spots the ghost, which I think is what she believes it to be at first, she suddenly refuses to go outside. Even though she sees the ghost both outside and inside of the house, she will not step out of the house. Again, I have no idea if this is normal for her. Emma seemingly stops eating as well. Even though all this worries her parents, it is not talked about all that much. It is hard to care about characters when you don't know if they are behaving is odd ways. The pacing ends up being very slow. Most of the movie is Emma complaining about how no one believes her, and arguing over her not going outside. Once in a great while something interesting would happen, but it wasn't enough to improve the movie at all.

The only effects that can be found are a slit throat and some gun shot wounds. They are well done, but kind of just there at the same time. The acting was also just okay. I can't say that the acting was bad at all, just not really all that noteworthy either. Catherine Mary Stewart is only in a handful of scenes, and doesn't get to act much in those scenes. Co-writer Tom Malloy also shows up as Frankie, Emma's slightly slow brother. John Savage plays the part of Emma's dad.

To me, they made a mistake saying that John is a police detective who moonlights as a paramedic, or vice verse. I don't know of any towns small enough where this happens, so this made John suspect in my mind right away. The story also seems to be all over the place. I can understand Emma thinking there is a ghost around, but not why she refuses to leave the house. I also understand that she begins to believe the ghost to be her twin sister, even though everyone keeps telling her there never was a twin. John plants the idea that this twin died like 12 days after they were born. For whatever reason, Emma starts to believe that her father killed her twin sister. But then she starts to believe that the same father now wants the twin back. I didn't follow the logic of this. If that was the whole point, then they could have done it better. There is also a cat that shows up for one scene. Sounds silly to complain about this, but since the cat never shows up before or after this scene, and no one ever mentions that there is a cat in the house, I had to wonder why they bothered to include this scene.

I didn't feel my time was completely wasted watching The Attic. I did discover Alexandra Daddario after all. I will have to check out some of her other movies, and hope she is in them longer than she was in this movie. It was also great to see Catherine Mary Stewart again, even if it was such a small part. If you are interested in knowing how this movie ends, at least the main story since the movie bookends with completely different characters, just watch the trailer sometime. I don't know who the brain child was that decided to put the end of the movie at the start of the trailer, but way to spoil the movie! Unless you are a big fan of one of the actors, I would just give this one a pass.
2 out of 5 Wondering what my twin is up these days

Fictional Women

The end is here! My last review for the 999 Challenge, and I'm very happy to have it complete at long last. What will I do now that it is over? Stacie has decided to keep the challenge alive, but she is going to up the ante. Instead of nine categories, she has added another to make it an even ten. She will also be adding another movie to each category, so she will need to watch and review a hundred movies! Since I decided that I just wanted to watch whatever this year, I wish Stacie, and whoever else will be doing the challenge, a lot of luck. I do have a movie to watch that has been requested for a few months now. Since the person keeps asking if I have watched it yet, I guess I had better do so. I have been putting it off until I got this challenge done. Now that it is, I will put it off for one more movie before getting to it. I have a movie here from Netflix that I have had for over two months now, so I would like to get it watched and sent back. Outside of that, no real plans. For the last movie for the challenge, at random I selected Valerie On The Stairs (2006).

Rob Hanisey (Tyron Leitso) is an unpublished writer who is trying to get an apartment is a building that has been set up for writers. The building is much like a hotel in a way, that has a couple of rules. The first is to keep somewhat quiet so everyone can work on their writing. The other is that once you do have a published work, you have to move out. Rob gets an apartment, and starts to unpack. No sooner has he started when someone knocks on his door. When he opens the door though, there is no one around. Not thinking much of it, he goes back to what he was doing only to hear a much heavier knock this time. Again, there is no one around. That night he is wakes up to the sound of a woman crying. Upon exploring, he finds a woman on the stairs, who he later learns is Valerie (Clare Grant). She begs for his help, but before he can do anything, she is dragged by some unseen force into a wall. The next night the same thing happens, but this time he sees what looks like a demonic hand grab her. Rob believes the place is haunted, but the truth of it all is something only a writer could think up.

The DVD for this episode has the name of Clive Barker on it. I was disappointed to learn that this was only a story written by Clive, but directed by Mick Garris, who also wrote the teleplay. Since this wasn't based on one of Mick's stories though, I was hoping it would be good. I like Clive Barker's stories, even if I haven't read a lot of them. The story doesn't waste any time getting to the horror. The knocking on the door happens within the first ten minutes I believe. The story does pace itself though, but never felt drawn out at any point. I like how the story manages to take you into one direction, and sells it very well, only to find out what you think is happening isn't true at all. I didn't start to figure things out until late into the episode. I also liked the ending really well. I'm still thinking about how it ended, and what it means for Rob. I have a pretty good idea though. Like many of Clive Barker's works, he mixes horror and sex in this story. Of course this means that there is a little bit of nudity to be found.

I was surprised that there weren't more effects to be found in this episode. There was one very gory scene with a spine being taken out the hard way, along with other body parts maybe. There were a couple of other bloody spots, but nothing as drastic as the first effect. I was a little surprised by the actors they were able to tap for this episode. Tony Todd (who has become a horror icon), shows up as the best, or demon, or whatever you want to call him. You can't really tell that it is him because of the makeup, which is very good, but you can always place that voice of his. Christopher Lloyd also shows up as one of the writers in this apartment building. Neither are really small roles, but they aren't the main character either. Tyron Leitso does a great job with the lead role, but it is really the supporting cast that shines the most.

I have to dig hard to find something I didn't care for about Valerie On The Stairs. The only thing I can really think of is, that Rob eventually gets frustrated because people in the building seemingly know who Valerie is, but are acting like they know nothing about it. Because of this, Rob blows up and keeps saying he is leaving, but never does. After the first time he says it, we find him back in his place writing again. The second time he says it, he does start to pack, but then we find him wanting to talk. So I guess I am complaining that even though he was getting very mad, he didn't follow through on actually leaving. It's a small complaint that doesn't affect the story a whole lot in the end. They could have given him better reasons to stay in my view. Overall I would have to say that this has been one of the better episodes from the Masters Of Horror set. I had no complaints about the directing Mick Garris did for Chocolate, but I wasn't impressed by the story at all. I would have liked to have seen Clive Barker directing this episode, since he has directed before. But I will just have to settle on a story by him. I think any writer would really enjoy this episode a lot. It was very interesting, and it keeps you guessing. Can't ask for much more.
4 out of 5 Hoping I'm not a figment of my own imagination

Vampire Cult

I have good news and bad news. The bad news is that my computer isn't fixed just yet. My friend thinks he can save the hard drive, which turned out to have some kind of virus that attacked it, but he wasn't able to get to it today. Since he is working on it for free, I can't really complain about how long he takes to fix it. But I was hoping he could get it done before the weekend. The good news is, I have access to a lap top. The best gory moment will have to be put on hold, as well as guest posts, until I get my computer back. But at least I can still write a review. Maybe I can get my challenge done this weekend after all. Tonight, one I got home from work, I put in The Kiss Of The Vampire (1963). This is the last of the Hammer movies to watch, at least for the challenge.

Gerald (Edward de Souza) and his wife Marianne (Jennifer Daniel) are traveling in their motor car when it runs out of gas. Gerald is able to find someone to at least get their car to the nearest hotel. Bruno (Peter Madden) is happy to see someone that will actually rent a room. Even though everyone tells them that no one ever comes to this area anymore, no one will explain why that is the case. As Gerald and Marianne settle in, a letter arrives for them. They can't figure this out until Bruno tells them that it is from Dr. Ravna (Noel Willman). Bruno gets them to accept the invitation to dinner with the doctor. Upon arriving, they meet Dr. Ravna, along with his son (Barry Warren) and daughter (Jacquie Wallis). What they don't know is that Ravna is the leader of a vampire cult.

I decided to go with The Kiss Of The Vampire as my last Hammer film because it wasn't part of any series. It might have vampires in it, but it was a stand alone film. It starts off in an interesting way, with this film's Van Helsing type character, Professor Zimmer (Clifford Evans), killing a vampire in a somewhat odd way. The pace slows a little from there, as we are introduced to the different characters. I was a little surprised at how some of the characters were doing whatever they were being told to do by the doctor. I understand their fear, but still surprised. I liked the grand party that we got to see, with everyone dressed up and with masks on. The Kiss Of The Vampire can also claim one of more original ways that vampires are killed at the end of the movie. It was really this ending that actually sold me on the movie. I didn't think it was a bad movie up to that point, but it did improve a lot by the last twenty or so minutes. This movie also has a way to make a cross that I had not seen in a movie before. I can't say that I have watched a lot of vampire movies, but I was still surprised that this was the first time I had noticed two new things for a vampire movie, and in one that is over forty years old at that.

Not a lot going on for effects in this movie. The opening death has the most blood in it. The fangs look very cool at least. There are also a lot of bats to be found, which are all very obviously on strings. The acting wasn't all that bad. This is one of the few Hammer movies that didn't have one of their big named actors in it. The two actors that impressed me the most were Edward de Souza and Peter Madden. They both gave great performances. Even though it was a much smaller role, I also liked Vera Cook as one of the vampires.

The Kiss Of The Vampire manages to break a vampire rule, vampires out during the day. It was hard to tell, but the weather was keeping the sun from being out in full force. It was a nice touch when Zimmer hinted that the weather was clearing up. The movie also explores, in a hinting way, that Marianne has a side to her personality, that is just waiting to be released by the vampires. While listening to the piano being played, she looks flushed and almost begs for the person not to stop playing. I can't say that I was real impressed with this movie. Even so, I think that The Kiss Of The Vampire is a movie that I would like more and more with repeated viewings. There are enough things that set this movie apart from other vampire films that makes it more interesting. If you haven't given this movie a try yet, and you like vampire movies, I think it is well worth a watch.
3 out of 5 I didn't see any vampires kissing

Birthday Guest Blogging Part Seven

My seventh guest birthday post comes from Becky over at The Horror Effect. This is another blog that I first came across while checking out which blogs did a review for one of the Final Girl Film Club posts. I had also noticed Becky leaving comments on another blog I visit, so I decided to check out her blog. Even though I thought Becky's blog looked great, I wasn't so sure about her movie reviews. I have discovered that I don't always agree with what she has to say about movies at times. I don't have a problem with someone taking a different view than I do. But it is the reasons I disagree with her that makes her blog so much fun to me.

Becky is a filmmaker in her own right. If you explore her blog, you will find that she was kind enough to publish some of the shorts she has filmed. It is because she is a filmmaker that makes her reviews more interesting. Becky looks at films with a more critical eye than I do. Even though I have been told I am more than just a fan of horror movies, that is all I see myself as. I don't have a desire to act in a movie, or try to film a movie. So I see myself as nothing more than a fan. Becky is also a fan, but because she has also filmed movies, she sees things in films that I don't. It is for this reason that I enjoy reading her reviews. I sometimes think she is being too critical of a movie, instead of just having fun with it. But it is refreshing to see this side of things in a review.

Another thing I have discovered about Becky is how nice of a person she is. I haven't talked to her much outside of comments on our blogs, but when I have she has always been great to talk to. Like everyone else I asked, Becky was more than happy to try her hand at one of these posts. With that, I will turn things over to Becky so she can tell us about one of her all time favorite films.


When Heather first explained her idea for guests posts—that we were to pick a favorite movie and explain why it’s our favorite rather than reviewing it—I knew exactly what she was talking about and exactly what movie I would select. Halloween is unquestionably my favorite film. It has been since I was 12. However, I’ve never made the argument that it’s the greatest film of all time. It’s simply my personal favorite (along with many other people) and I’m partial to it for several reasons.

Halloween is the film that inspired me to become a filmmaker. John Carpenter and Debra Hill’s screenplay was simple yet effective. It was one of the first films I saw that didn’t rely on a large budget, celebrity actors, or Hollywood stunts. Suddenly the world of filmmaking didn’t seem so far away. Movies could be made with the help of family and in the backyards of friends. Whoever said that elaborate sets and expensive cranes were necessary to make a good film? Toying around with a camcorder (which I begged my parents for), I began making my own Halloween knock offs. Were they terrible because I was a tweenager shooting video? Yes. But were they lessons learned for future filmmaking ventures? Yes.

I’ve always loved slasher films and Halloween is the epitome of them all. Perhaps my inclination towards slashers developed directly from Halloween or maybe it sprung from necessity. Slashers are a more convenient approach to filmmaking: movies that require very little production value, but can be remarkably effective. Certainly supernatural horror can be terrifying, but it seems so distant and often requires more resources to produce. A murdering psychopath next door? The proximity is terrifying as well as economical. I think that’s why Halloween was so striking to me upon my first viewing at the age of 12. I could hardly sleep that night, afraid to peek out from the covers and see the Shape lurking over me. Haddonfield, Illinois could have been any small town or city.

The story, the use of the steady-cam, the simplicity, the ingenuity, the creepy mask, the creativeness…all of these things make Halloween a low-budget masterpiece, as well as making it my favorite film of all time. From a technical perspective, I’ve seen better films, but I can’t imagine anything else replacing my beloved Halloween as a personal favorite. It’s the film that impacted my life the most. And those are some tough shoes to fill.

Loving Bugs

A couple of notes before I head into todays review. In case you haven't noticed, I updated the list of theaters that will carry the Afterdark Horrorfest 4. It is just over a week away, so be on the look out. The post should still be on the main page here, just scroll down a little ways. I plan on going, but I will be calling the theater ahead of time to make sure they will actually be showing them. Also, the good people at Top Horror Movies Club have been playing around with their web site. They are trying to make it better, but because of the changes, my link that I provided here no longer updates whenever I publish a review there. I will do a better job of providing a link in a post to let everyone know which movies I review over there. Speaking of which, I recently made it to the theater to see Daybreakers. Follow the link if you would like to find out just how surprised I was by it.

For today I picked out the movie Sick Girl (2006) from the first season of Masters Of Horror. This one is about Ida (Angel Bettis), who has a love for all things bugs. At the start of the story, Ida gets a breakup call from her girlfriend because she has had enough of the bugs. As her best friend, Max (Jesse Hlubik) says, either pick girls or bugs, because they rarely go together. With her love life on the ropes, Max encourages Ida to try talking to a woman that Ida sees everyday on her way into work. Ida isn't so sure, but does at least try. Things don't go off as well as Ida hoped they would, but well enough that Ida decides she will ask Misty (Erin Brown, a.k.a. Misty Mundae), out for dinner. Around this time, Ida gets a package from South America which has a bug in it that she has never come across before. The person that sent it has a plan, but that plan backfires just a bit.

Sick Girl was directed by Lucky McKee. He is also sort of a co-writer as well, because he changed some of the elements of the story around. I was excited to watch this one. I loved his movie May, which I will probably use as one of my 50 posts one of these days. I have one of his other films in my Netflix queue, which I should take out because I have it here at home somewhere. Anyway, May was the only film of his I had watched up until this point. As much as I loved May, I didn't get the same feeling from Sick Girl. In fact, I was rather disappointed by it. McKee likes to call Sick Girl a romantic comedy. I get the romance part of it, and it did make me laugh at times. I didn't find it to be a comedy though. I laughed because of the way the two women were acting towards each other once they started to explore their feelings. I guess this is what McKee is talking about, since he did call it a romantic comedy. Watching the budding romance between the two characters was fine, but it takes way too long for anything horrible to happen. When things take a turn towards horror, it isn't until the last 10-15 minutes, so it feels rushed.

The effects are few, but very good at the same time. We get an infected ear that can look pretty nasty when shown. Only one really bloody scene in this movie though. If you scroll down past my rating, you will see a new feature that I will try to add in for every movie. As long as I remember to do so anyway. The only other major effect is a part bug, part human thing. It looked pretty cool I thought. I have never really considered Erin Brown a great actress, but I have always enjoyed the movies I have come across with her in them. She isn't what I would call a bad actress though. She does a great job here in Sick Girl, even if Angela and Erin go a bit over the top at times. I have always enjoyed Erin, and the view she likes to give us. Angela Bettis, who was also the main lead in May, annoyed me at times with the way she would change her voice. I thought she was best in the scenes where Angela and Erin are together. A special shout out to Chandra Berg who plays the Lady Bug. She has a small roll, but I really liked her character.

I guess it bothered me a lot that this episode was more about a love interest instead of horror. The relationship works, and works well. When the relationship begins to change, I didn't know if it was the way she actually was, or if it had more to do with her infected ear. But at the same time, I didn't much care anymore. It wasn't that the story was a bad one, but it just wasn't scary in the least to me. It was just a somewhat funny romance. I guess I just expected more out of a Masters Of Horror episode. If this was longer than an hour, and the horror part of it more played out, I would probably be more forgiving of it. A lot of people seemed to have liked this one, but I guess I'm just not one of them. With Sick Girl down, this leaves me with one more Hammer movie, and one more Masters Of Horror. Maybe I will get this challenge done in a year's time, just not in a calendar year.

2 out of 5 Kissing other girls is fun

Best gory moment:

Birthday Guest Blogging Part Six

When it comes to naming one thing as my favorite, I often can't do it. I can't name off a favorite movie because there are simply too many great movies out there to limit it to just one. Same can be said for a favorite book. I have a new favorite song sometimes weekly. But if someone were to force me to name just one blog as my favorite, the choice would be an easy one. This is nothing negative against the blogs that have already been highlighted here, or will be. All these blogs are considered my favorite blogs, which is something I won't say lightly. But when it comes to And Now The Screaming Starts, it has been at the top of that list, and probably always will be.

CRwM, the man behind And Now The Screaming Starts, probably doesn't know it, but he gave me the idea for these guest posts. For the start of his fourth year for his blog, CRwM asked other bloggers if they would review his favorite type of horror films, the silent kind. With that in mind, I twisted it around and asked people to give me a post about one of their favorite movies instead. But what is it that makes his blog number one on my list? What has always impressed me the most is his writing. It has always been very smart writing, which more times than not has made me wish I could write that well. Unlike me, where I limit myself to mostly movie reviews, CRwM covers all kinds of things. He will throw in a movie now and then, but you will mostly see music, books, and just every day things you may, or may not, have known about.

On top of being a terrific writer, I can also honestly say that as far as other bloggers go, I consider CRwM my best friend. He has been one of my earliest supporters, and I'm proud I can say the same for his own blog. Even though we don't comment on each others blogs all that much, I know he is always reading mine, as I am his blog. I was very excited that he asked me to do a guest post for his blog, and in turn was very excited when he sent me his guest post for this series of posts. I haven't bugged CRwM much for guest posts, but when I try to involve other blogs with something I am doing, CRwM is always the first person that comes to mind. Now that I have gushed all about him, I will turn this post over to CRwM so he can tell us about one of his all time favorite movies.


The Creature is, unabashedly, my favorite of all the old Universal monsters. This is why I've never actually written a review my favorite horror film, The Creature from the Black Lagoon, before. And, honestly, I don't think I can do it now. You can't review something you love. That would be like giving a clear-eyed critique of your lover's sexual chops while you're both still in the afterglow. (If you think that's a good idea, try it and see.) So this is less a review than a tribute - which is appropriate since this whole shebang is a tribute to another horror-centric amphibian: Mermaid Heather. So, with her kind permission and your patience, let's talk Creature.

Of all the classic marquee-grade monsters in Universal stable, two of them are notable in that they never receive a name. Though he's often erroneously called by his creator's name, Frankenstein's tormented creation is never named. The other nameless horror is the man fish creature at the center of the Black Lagoon franchise. Unlike Dracula or Larry Talbot or Imhotep, these two characters remain "the Monster" and "the Creature."

Curiously, these also happen to be the two monsters whose backstories are scientific rather than supernatural. Though there's a notable distinction between the two. The Monster, of course, is a product of Frankenstein's mad science. He's a freakish thing, an affront the natural order, a rip in the sense of the world brought into being through an act of supreme will and profound hubris. In this, Frankenstein's monster most resembles a work of art. He's a unique imposition of man's will onto the raw material of nature that, once created, takes on a life of its own.

The Creature, on the other hand, is unique in the Universal pantheon in that he (and everybody assumes the Creature is a he) is not a freak of nature. Richard Carlson, doing his heroic-square bit in the role of Dr. David Reed, repeatedly mentions that the Creature is a logical result of evolution. The isolated, Edenic lagoon of the title is, the good doctor tells us, "its natural habitat." When skeptical Dr. Thompson and the jovial, yet curiously sinister, guide Lucas express doubt as to the existence of the Creature - even after two other doctors on the expedition claim to have seen it - the nay-sayers are given a lecture by Kay, the expedition’s resident hottie and fashion plate, on the amazing diversity of amphibious life. The impossible, Kay suggests, is just the real we haven't discovered yet. The Creature is, in an odd way, the anti-uncanny. Instead of "what should never be," the strange and mysterious Creature is: He's as he should be, in his natural home.

Interestingly, I think it is this total denial of the uncanny that gives the figure of the Creature its power. From a story-telling standpoint, the evocation of the supernatural sooner or later crumbles under a paradox: What exists exists. Everything that exists must therefore follow the general rules of existence. We can posit that we understand only a small segment of these general rules, so our observations of the real have the appearance of violating the laws of nature; but we also must admit then that this is a product of our ignorance and not a sign of the supernatural. (We're strictly discussing fiction here, so I don't need all y'all flooding Heather's comment section with God talk. Save it for Sunday.) The illusion of the supernatural can only be sustained by carefully quarantining sections of the story and surrendering them non-causality, which is to say from our ability to think in any meaningfully rational way about them. Why can't vampires go out during the day? Well, it can't be that they're harmed by sunlight. The light from the moon is just reflected sunlight and all the stars are just distant suns. If it's just a matter of degrees, and they can stand indirect sunlight, why don't they just cover-up and walk around at all hours? Perhaps it isn't related to sunlight, really, but simply a time issue: They are magically unable to operate during the day. But then would a vampire traveling against the direction of the planet's rotation actually gain operational hours? If not, then what arbitrary cut off point would the vamp hit even though the sun never set on him? And let's not get started about the possibility of a vampire on the International Space Station. The real reason vampires can't go out during the day is because the story-teller said so. The reasoning is structural, not rational. The story demands these details, so they're there. Talented story-tellers can entertain us in such a compelling way that we fail to notice the forced fit; but in the hands of hacks, the audience's attention is drawn to every fumbled justification, every logical gap that the creator couldn't finesse. But, talented or not, is the same trick.

The Creature begs for you to ponder the rules of its existence. If you posit that the "monster" is a completely natural phenomenon, then all of its behavior becomes meaningful. Take, for example, the Creature's aversion to fire. This is not some mystical weakness, like the werewolf's well known, but not very meaningful, allergic reaction to silver. We've watched the Creature learn to fear fire throughout his interactions with humans. The first time the Creature and humans interact, the poor beast gets a lit kerosene lamp tossed on his face. Notably, it isn't even clear if the Creature intended to do any harm to the humans during this first encounter or if it was merely investigating these new animals in its territory and unwittingly frightened the humans into attacking. This actually makes its aggression against the humans another learned behavior: It reacts violently to humans because they have proven themselves a threat.

Just because something is meaningful does not mean that it is necessarily understandable. The materialist ethos of The Creature of the Black Lagoon pays the most dividends when it gives us puzzles that the film does not intend to solve. Why does the Creature live alone? In a supernatural film, the uniqueness of a beast is a product of its magical nature. That there's a single Cthulhu makes sense only because we're told it does. But, for the Creature, the issue of his uniqueness is not only available for consideration, but makes a difference in how you interpret the film. One could, for example, argue that the Creature is not unique. That the scientists encountered a single specimen of the beast is no proof that they've encountered the sole specimen. Perhaps the fish men are solitary predators with a fairly large range. That would make the lagoon the hunting grounds of a single fish man. The more common interpretation, however, is that the Creature is the last of his kind. This interpretation is actually a harder sell for me. The idea that this group of scientists managed to encounter (and kill) the only one of its kind seems unlikely. Furthermore, there's no evidence of other modern, members of his species, which suggests that they died off so long ago that all the evidence is now gone (making the man fish ancient) or that he's since migrated away from their former group habitat. Though this may seem like a roundabout exercise in overthinking - but that's what so great about the Creature: It rewards overthinking. What you choose to believe is the answer to the puzzle of the Creature's apparently solitary existence partially determines the mood of the film's strangely abrupt ending. If you believe, as many do, that the Creature was the last of some ancient breed, then the sight of his presumably dead body floating to the bottom of the lagoon is sincerely tragic.

That sense of tragedy is the final punch of the film's anti-uncanny aesthetic. The concept of the supernatural acts like a dramatic cordon sanitaire that cleanly severs the monsters from the normals. In Creature, the viewer is invited to understand that we live in a world of monsters. The world around us is driven by complex, amoral, dispassionate forces to create monsters. We seem driven to seek them out and destroy them, but their disappearance leaves the world worse for the loss. It suggests that our conclusion of our final story - which may well still end up being a tragedy rather than a comedy - will hinge in some obscure way on whether or not we can come to live with monsters. Though he ultimately fails the test in the film, it is worth noting that the heroic Dr. Reed's vision for the future of humanity is one in which we've evolved beyond human. Creature is one of those rare films that seems hopeful about the fact that, to save ourselves, we might have to become monsters.

Frankenstein Meets Hammer

When I got home last night, I put in The Curse Of Frankenstein (1957) right away. My intent was to watch it, and then write up a review before heading for bed. Before I put the movie in though, I took time long enough to pop some cold pills. The pressure in my head was much better yesterday, but my cold was playing havoc with my voice. I never had a cold that messed with my voice before. It is only slightly better today. Anyway, after watching the movie, and reading up on it some, I found myself barely able to stay awake. So I decided to write it tonight instead. Before you go on with this review though, you should check out my review for The Children that I did for Top Horror Movies Club.

When Hammer Studios decided they wanted to do a Frankenstein movie, they originally went after Boris Karloff to play the part of Dr. Frankenstein. They had also made plans to film the movie in black and white. When Universal caught wind of this though, they threatened to sue if the Hammer film copied their own film in any way. With this hanging over their heads, Hammer had their script redone, and decided to film in color. Since Hammer was using the same source material, the basic story of Baron Frankenstein putting together a man in order to give him life remained the same. What has changed though is Peter Cushing playing the part of Victor Frankenstein. Cushing plays the part so that Victor knows what he is doing is wrong, but simply doesn't care at all. Christopher Lee pairs up with Cushing yet again playing the part of the monster. Out is the lab assistant Fritz, but he is replaced with Paul (Robert Urquhart), who is basically Victor's mentor.

Since I had already reviewed Frankenstein Created Women, by request, I almost passed on watching this movie for the challenge. I decided though because The Curse Of Frankenstein was the first in the series, I would go ahead and include it. I did end up watching two of the Dracula films after all. The Curse Of Frankenstein starts off differently. We first see Victor in jail telling his story to a priest. It then goes back in time to when Victor was a young boy (played by Melvyn Hayes). Victor has just inherited everything from his family. He has hired Paul to teach Victor everything he knows about science. When we eventually see a much older Victor, Paul and Victor are experimenting with a dead puppy. They manage to bring the puppy back to life, much to their delight. Paul is happy with what happened, and wants to share it with the world. Victor has bigger, and grander, plans though.

The direction that Hammer took is an interesting one. It doesn't have the same feel as the Universal film. Victor is played more as a mad scientist in the Universal film, but is more the evil doctor in the Hammer film. In this version, Victor bribes people for the body parts he wants. While his wife to be (Hazel Court) is downstairs talking to Paul about how much she loves Victor, Victor is upstairs making out with the maid (Valerie Gaunt). The monster is also played differently. The makeup effects are different, which was to be expected. The makeup felt a bit more realistic this time out. I didn't feel that Lee played the monster as menacing, or as human, as Karloff managed to do though. To be fair though, Lee wasn't in as many scenes as Karloff was.

There were many things that I liked about The Curse Of Frankenstein. The acting was up to par with the original Universal I thought. Picking between the two Victor's is a tough call, and one I will leave to someone else. I liked both well enough. I liked the small background story for Victor, and I also liked that the monster is brought to life more by accident instead of design. I thought it was a nice touch to show that Victor is so evil that he will even go as far as murder to further his plans. What I didn't like was the way the monster was used. There is only one scene where he comes off as more human than monster, and it wasn't done all that well I didn't think. I have to go with the Universal film over the Hammer one in this case. Even though I did like The Curse Of Frankenstein, I didn't like it as much as the Universal version. Karloff is still the monster in my book.
3 out of 5 Wondering what the monster did with the maid

Birthday Guest Blogging Part Five

My fifth guest post comes from Emily over at The Deadly Doll's House Of Horror Nonsense. Emily's blog is another one that I found thanks to Final Girl. I was reading Stacie's review on a film for her club that I didn't work on. When I got to the list of other blogs that added their own reviews, The Deadly Doll's House Of Horror Nonsense stuck out to me. Why? Because it is such a cool name for a blog!

After reading just the one post, I was already hooked. Emily has found her voice and style very quickly. Most of what she does is movie reviews, but I always find them very entertaining. The first review I read by her was one of those times I had to think: Why didn't I think of this style? Emily breaks down each of her reviews with a quick plot, points out things she clearly liked and didn't like. Sometimes she will also throw in things that she learned from the movie, and winning lines that stick out to her. She has come up with a simple rating system as well: buy, rent, or bury. When I asked Emily if she would write a guest post for me, I told her that her blog had quickly become one of my favorites. That remains true today. It wasn't so much the way Emily breaks down each review. Instead it is because every post I have read is witty, and often times very funny.

I started leaving a few comments on her blog, and I guess that made her decide to check out my blog as well. I started to see comments by Emily on my blog after a little while. I haven't commented on her reviews much since then, but don't worry Emily, I am still reading every post! I will turn things over to Emily now so she can tell us about one of her favorite movies.


For most birthday celebrators, I usually do my best to sing an off-key standard and make a little toy out of a straw wrapper. Sadly the Internet doesn’t really allow that kind of gift giving, so instead, I present this terrific and refreshingly enthusiastic blogger with, as requested, a little bit about one of my favorite films of all time. Or at least it started that way, but somehow turned instead into an explanation for where my biggest fear was born and how the movies made it grow.

Whatever you call it, here’s my anniversary present to everybody’s favorite horror-loving mermaid:

Few things are better to hug than a stuffed animal. Soft, warm, and typically well-worn by constant cuddling, those big-eyed piles of stuffing and fabric might be prone to carrying germs and losing color in the laundry, but never look at their mini masters and mistresses with anything less than undying devotion.

Then there's dolls. Cold, hard, breakable and stiff. Throw one of those at your little brother and watch his nose bleed. Try to hold it close and get the chills. Sleep with it under your arm and observe the crick you now feel. They are not your friends.

I was 6 years old when Child's Play premiered in the theaters, myself already a fan of horror who'd seen my share of zombie action and slasher fare. But when my brother’s Fangoria issue featured a pull-out poster of a scarred and bloodied doll clutching a knife I wouldn't normally be allowed to touch, even the brave and spunky first grader in me knew this was not a film for my eyes. Putting aside the R-Rating (something that thankfully had little meaning in my household), the fact remained: I feared dolls.

Quick flashback to two years earlier, when my grandparents presented me with a beautiful old fashioned toy shop style baby doll for Easter. She wore a pretty purple dress and came complete with a feeding kit. Best of all were her big brown eyes, two finely lashed marbles that matched my own. That entire Sunday was filled with future visions of this new friend being my lifelong companion, accompanying me on all life's adventures with loyalty and love.

That didn't happen.

About two hours after unwrapping my new best friend, my older brother, Tim, asked if he could fix her breakfast. Hesitant, but kind enough and wanting to impress the mysterious Easter Bunny for future endeavors, I gave in.

To start, let me say that I have never been more thankful that my brother, two years my senior, was close enough in age to me that he was never given any sort of babysitting duties. His method of "feeding" the doll was to jam the hard plastic bottle into her eye. Not surprisingly, the pretty brown orb fell into her rubbery head, rendering this former beauty a haunting cyclops that terrified me from that day forward. This was only made worse by the fact that my older sister later confiscated the nameless half-blind castaway for her own, covering it in fake blood and chasing me around the house when our parents were nowhere to be found. Even the most hardened kid will develop a mild phobia when countless hours are spent hearing a toy with the appearance of having dug her way out of a dumpster grave threatening your life.

You may now have a good idea of why dolls weren’t my cup of milk. Alas, when September of 1988 rolled around and my brother--yes, the eye popper outer--asked to go to the movies for his eighth birthday, my fate was sealed.

Despite its title, Child’s Play ain’t no kids’ film. The star may be six years old and his foil under three feet high, but Chucky’s first foray into mass homicide is, was, and will forever be a genuinely scary film. The very fact that its main target is an innocent kindergardener (wonderfully played by a very natural Alex Vincent) makes all the stalking that much more horrifying. Chucky manipulates the fatherless Andy, exploiting his loneliness in the guise of unbridled friendship only to then invest all his battery-free energy into stealing the kid’s soul. It’s one thing to hunt a pretty babysitter or sharp grad student; it’s pure evil to stalk a cute little boy.

Needless to say, this is one of the very few films I’ve ever sat through to produce any sort of nightmare (the others are limited to the occasional epic zombie scenario, playful and elaborate Killer Klowns From Outer Space sequel scenarios, and Pet Sematary, mainly because my subconscious paired Gage with Chucky for a tagteam hunt...of me). Actually, multiple nightmares. For months. I don’t quite remember how I overcame the fear that Chucky, the doll tucked way too safely inside my sister’s closet, and the one-armed My Buddy hiding under my brother’s bed were all joining forces to slaughter me in my sleep, but by Christmas of 1989, a VHS copy of Child’s Play was under my tree and I was happier than a peddler in a burned down toy store.

I rewatch Child’s Play about once a year, and while it doesn’t quite unnerve me the way it did 20 years back, it still produces plenty of moments that grab my breathe. I jump every time Chucky’s head spins around in the hands of Catherine Hicks and rank the moment he truly comes to life (“You stupid bitch! You dirty slut! I’ll teach ya to fuck with me”) as one of my favorite moments not only in potty-mouthed doll insults, but more importantly, cinema history. The elevator scene, where a sleep-mode Chucky is judged by a nice old couple, always gets my chuckle, and Dr. Ardmore‘s deep fried death scene never fails to make me wince.

Best movie of all time? Not unless you’re made of plastic sociopathy. My personal favorite? It still has to wait in line between zombie shoppers, nudist pagans, and two lonely robots. But for pure fear factor birthed in childhood and nursed through life, Child’s Play remains powerful, potent, and purely wonderful.

Birthday Guest Blogging Part Four

For my fourth guest post, we get to hear from Stacie over at Final Girl. I can't really say that Final Girl was the first blog I ever came across, but it was certainly the one that stuck with me after seeing it the first time. When I came across it, I was looking for an idea as to what to make my own blog about. I had changed my mind about what to write about, swimming, so I suppose I could have just deleted the blog name, and come up with a new one once Stacie inspired me to give horror movie reviews a shot. Instead though, I just ran with what I had. When I came across Final Girl, I was first impressed that I had found another woman that loved horror movies as much as I did. That is what made me stick around at first. It took a few days before I decided I would give reviews a shot. I guess seeing another woman talking about horror movies, it didn't seem so impossible to me.

I don't think I actually started talking to Stacie though until she came up with the idea of her Final Girl Film Club. I jumped at the chance to be part of the club. I went on a good streak there for a while with the movies that she picked out. Sadly though, either the date would clash with something that I had planned for my own blog, or as more likely happened, I simply forgot. Still though, even though I kind of, sort of, took Stacie's idea of reviewing movies, she has always been very nice when talking to me, and very supportive. I know she doesn't have the market cornered on reviewing movies, but I wasn't out to copy anyone. Despite the fact that Final Girl was the first blog I became interested in, that isn't why it has become a favorite blog of mine. Stacie is always finding ways to make her blog fresh and more interesting. It has been fun to see Stacie take her love of the horror genre to new levels, even going as far as directing her own horror movie! It isn't so much her blog that has made it a favorite of mine, but Stacie herself. She has a style of writing that won't ever be matched. That is the main reason that Final Girl is still a favorite of mine.

Before I turn this over to Stacie, when she emailed me her write up, she had something to say that I just couldn't pass up commenting about. She had this to say about doing the write up: "Every frickin' day I'd write "Mermaid Heather" on my to do list (well, you know what I mean)...." Yes Stacie, I do know what you mean, but I have to say it anyway: Yes! Stacie is going to do me! Now that I got that out of the way, here is Stacie to talk about one of her favorite movies.

Anyone who's ever been a kid, had a kid, or seen a kid knows that there's no accounting for the taste of kids (to clarify: I mean that in a "what kids like" kind of way, not a cannibal way). While occasionally they like something that just so happens to be good, for the most part they wear weird clothes, they listen to horrible music, and take it from me- they like some really, really bad horror movies. I don't mean this as an insult in any way- rather, their lack of taste is one of the coolest things about children.

Why am I going on and on about children? Well, aside from the fact that I believe they are our future, let me explain. When Heather kindly asked me to write up a piece for her blogaversary about "a movie that's important to me", I had a bit of trouble choosing one. Should I talk about Friday the 13th Part 2 for the billionth time? Maybe the illicit feeling that accompanied my first viewing of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre? Perhaps I could discuss the first movie I reviewed on my blog…meh. It's all stuff I've talked about in one way or another (or another and another) already. Finally, I settled on Track of the Moonbeast (1976), a film that had a strangely profound effect on me when I was but a wee bonny lass.

For those who are unfamiliar with the movie (which may be most of you), it's about a dude who gets a piece of moon rock lodged in his brain when a meteor comes crashing down to Earth. As anyone who's ever taken a science class would expect, the moon rock causes the dude to occasionally turn into a rampaging lizard man. He kills some people, we get a big musical interlude ("California Lady" by Frank Larrabee- worth a Google), the lizard dude must die, the end.

Because I saw it when I was a child and because, as I said, children have no taste, I thought this movie was the shit. The title was amazing to me, and I found the entire affair rather terrifying. One scene in particular burned itself into my brain so hard that I'll be able to instantly recall it, I'm sure, until the day I die: a trashy woman has locked her trashy drunk husband out of the house. He's pleading with her to let him in, she's telling him to go to hell. The lizard man (or, I suppose, the titular Moon Beast) arrives and swipes at the trashy man; the man screams and, one assumes, dies. The trashy woman goes over to her front door to investigate, only to find a large puddle of blood oozing in under the door. She screams.

That scene killed me. KILLED ME. The reaction it evoked in me was as strong as those I've gotten since from movies like The Exorcist and yes, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. So why isn't Track of the Moon Beast ever mentioned as part of the pantheon of horror's best offerings…or ever mentioned at all? Well, because it's a terrible film! Haven't you been paying attention? Kids have no taste, and I was no exception.

I revisited Track of the Moon Beast decades after it gave me nightmares thanks to the advent of DVD, and I'll admit, I was pretty excited about it. While I was sure it wouldn't hold up, I was anxious to see THAT SCENE, to see if it was at all as I remembered it, and if it would have any effect on me as an adult. I'm sorry to say that even my low expectations were too high. The movie is almost unwatchable, boring to the point of coma-inducing, and not frightening in any way, shape, or form. And what of my scene, my special scene? It happens exactly as I remembered it, but I can't say it elicited much more than a giggle out of me. Track of the Moon Beast may have a certain cheesy MSTK drive-in charm, but that's about all it's got. Well, that and "California Lady", of course.

I'm not embarrassed to say that this movie was the be all, end all when I was a kid. If anything, I'm jealous of Little Stacie, that her face could be so very rocked off by such a piece of crap…because that's the feeling I'm still looking for when I watch horror movies. I want scenes to burn into my brain and keep me up at night. I want the next movie I watch to be the scariest I've ever seen- until it's usurped by the one I watch after it. It's why I try to dissuade myself from ever becoming too cynical about these things. If I can maintain that childlike attitude, that willingness to get swept up in the events unfolding onscreen (no matter how silly they may be), I'll be a happier horror fan. Sure, you'll all laugh at me, but that's probably going to happen anyway- even though I'm an adult, I still wear weird clothes.

After Dark Horrorfest 4: Kill Theory

Los Angeles, CA (January 8, 2010) — KILL THEORY, the eighth and final pick for After Dark Films Horrorfest 4, was announced today by ADF CEO Courtney Solomon. The national film festival opens January 29, 2010 for one-week in 25 markets.

KILL THEORY was written by Kelly Palmer and directed by Chris Moore (Producer, Good Will Hunting and upcoming Adjustment Bureau). Starring roles are filled by Agnes Bruckner, Patrick Flueger, Taryn Manning, Teddy Dunn, Ryanne Duzich, Daniel Franzese, Theo Rossi, Steffi Wickens, and Kevin Gage. The film was produced by Dan Abrams, Julie Dangel and Amanda White. Adam Rosenfelt, Chris Bender, and Morris Bart also produced.

In KILL THEORY, a group of college friends visit a secluded vacation home to celebrate their impending graduation. The fun doesn’t last long, however. Forced to participate in a deadly experiment by a sadistic psychopath, each friend must kill in order to survive. As tension builds and friendships crack, these friends realize that only one can make it out alive. Loyalties are tested, tensions escalate and hope fades as each one struggles to survive.

Dana Lambert, VP of Acquisitions at After Dark, brokered the deal with Moore, Abrams, and Barry Littman.

States ADF producer Stephanie Caleb, “We have yet another disturbing addition to this year’s Horrorfest. Kill Theory really explores the limitations of friendship and asks the question, ‘What would you do to live another day?’”

Says Director Moore, “The idea in this movie scared the hell out of me. I was so excited to get to make this my directorial debut.” Adds Producer Abrams, “…the psychological grinder that these characters go through is what really grabbed me. It was a great pleasure to work with Chris Moore on his directorial debut and to see him and these fantastic actors tell such an intimately horrifying story.

SYNOPSIS:
Are you capable of the unthinkable? That’s the question seven college students face when they visit a secluded vacation home to celebrate graduation and are put to a horrific test by a mysterious killer. By 6 am the following morning, only one of them can remain alive. Whoever that person is will be allowed to walk away with his or her life.

However, if morning comes and more than one is still breathing, everyone dies. Trapped in a deadly game, they’re forced to kill one another in order to survive. Friends and couples must test their trust, and as the clock ticks away: alliances form, tension escalates, and hope begins to fade. Some will fight for love, some to survive, but all will change. Because deep down… we’re all killers.

CAST:
Don McManus
Ryanne Duzich
Teddy Dunn
Daniel Franzese
Agnes Brucker

DIRECTOR:
Chris Moore

After Dark Horrorfest 4

Here is the offical trailer for the After Dark Horrorfest 4. Once the cities that the films will show up in have been passed on to the rest of us, I will post them here as well. They are waiting for the last minute so no one can actually make plans to go see their films of course. After I said that I find a small list of theaters, figures. More to come, or so they claim.




THEATERS

Los Angeles
Kirkorian – Buena Park Metroplex 18 (Buena Park)
Kirkorian – Pico Rivera Village Walk 15 (Pico Rivera)
RAVE – Beverly Center Cinema

Spokane, WA
Magic Lantern Theater (Spokane)

Mobile, AL
Premiere Cinema – Eastern Shore Premiere Cinema 14 (Spanish Fort)

Detroit, MI
Arcangelo- Emagine Canton 18 (Canton)

New York
National Amusements – Farmingdale Multiplex (Farmingdale)
AMC – Village 7 (66 3rd Ave. New York, NY)

Boston
National Amusements Revere Cinemas (Revere)

Cleveland
Atlas Cinemas – Great Lakes Cinema 16 (Mentor)

Providence, RI
National Amusements – Showcase Warwick (Warwick)

Orlando FL
Cinemaworld – Melbourne 16 (4345 West New Haven Ave, (Rt.192)

Tampa, FL
Cobb – Grove 16 CineBistro (Wesley Chapel)

Philadelphia, PA
AMC – Plymouth Meeting (494 W Germantown Pike)

San Diego, CA
UltraStar Mission Market 13
431 College Blvd.
Oceanside, CA 92057

Phoenix, AZ
UltraStar Surprise Pointe 14
13649 North Litchfield Rd.
Surprise, AZ 85374

Houston, TX
Santikos – Silverado IMAX
24720 State Highway 249
Tomball, TX 77375

Grand Rapids, MI
Celebration! Cinema Rivertown, Grand Rapids
3728 Rivertown Parkway
Grandville, MI 49418
616-532-8902

Lansing, MI
Celebration! Cinema, Lansing
200 E. Edgewood Blvd.
Lansing, MI 48911
517-272-9289

Miami, FL
Muvico – Pompano 18
2315 North Federal Hwy
Pompano, FL 33062

Seattle
AMC – South Center 16 (Tukwila)

St. Louis, MO
Wehrenberg – Ronnies
Wehrenberg – O’Fallon
Wehrenberg – Galaxy-Chesterfield
Wehrenberg – Arnold

Springfield, MO
Wehrenberg – Campbell

Bloomington, IL
Wehrenberg – Galaxy

Chicago, Ill
Muvico – Rosemont 18
9701 Bryn Mawr Avenue
Rosemont, Il 60018

Rochester, MN
Wehrenberg – Galaxy

Kansas City
Phoenix Theaters – Legends 14
1841 Village West Parkway
Kansas City , KS 66111

Evansville, Indiana
Showplace Cinemas – Showplace East

Las Cruces, NM
Allen Theatres- Telshor 12

Farmington, NM
Allen Theatres – Animas 10

Indianapolis, IN
GQT – Hamilton 16 Imax

Birthday Guest Blogging Part Three

My third guest post comes from my good friend Jay at The Horror Section. Like a few of the bloggers that will be doing these guest posts, I found The Horror Section while looking at other people's reviews for one of the Final Girl Film Club movie selections. While exploring his blog, I came across a post about one of James Herbert's books. This was the first time I had found someone else that was reading Herbert's books, so of course I had to leave a comment.

Since then we have exchanged comments here and there, and have talked over email. Jay is a real nice guy. Whenever I have asked for help, such as this guest post, Jay has always been very cool about it. On top of being such a nice guy, he always runs a great blog. James Herbert might have been what caught my eye about his blog to start with, but what I really like about it is his reports on all the awesome film festivals he goes to. Jay lives up in Canada, where they have some great festivals as well. At least Jay makes them sound that way. More than once he has made me jealous because of some of the films he has been able to watch at them. With movies like The Children (which I hope to watch soon since I bought it two weeks ago) and Rec 2, how could I not get jealous? Another cool part of his blog is the Don't Kill The Messenger posts. In these he fills us in on some upcoming movies. Very cool stuff all around. I will turn this post over to Jay now so he can talk about one of his favorite movies:

I can still remember the conversation with my next door neighbour circa 1990. He was telling me about this effed up movie he saw the day before about a criminal who goes through this rehabilitation procedure that involved his eyes being pried open and forced to watch all these violent films. Now, obviously I'd heard the name A Clockwork Orange and was familiar with the rather striking coverbox art, but my viewing habits were a lot less refined back then. My appreciation of Stanley Kubrick was limited only to his two eighties entries, The Shining & Full Metal Jacket. With my horror sensibilities now fully realized after the innumerable titles I had absorbed over the previous ten years, this Clockwork movie sounded quite intriguing. I had no idea then that this title would be the one that became my favourite movie of all time.

I sought it out and was immediately captivated. The wonderful opening pull out from Alex's face to reveal his droogs and the unforgettable set design of the Korova Milk Bar to be quickly followed by unrelentingly stylized violence. Horrible things were transpiring, yet beautiful classical music was playing in the background. I remember my VHS copy had a crack down the spine because a friend's girlfriend had once hurled it across the room because she was so disgusted by the “The Thieving Magpie scene”. I tried explaining to her that the violence was necessary to establish Alex's character, but she wasn't having any of it. There are many reasons why I think this movie is a masterpiece, but I'll just bring up two. The first is Stanley Kubrick's direction, or sometimes lack thereof. There are several anecdotes (some of which are explored in the fantastic documentary A Life In Pictures) about how Kubrick seemed to be often flying by the seat of his pants during production, clinging to a vision that existed only in his mind. The violence was sensational, the visual palette was unlike anything we had seen before and his decision to keep the 'nadsat' language from the Anthony Burgess novel he was adapting was incredibly bold. The second is the performance by Malcolm McDowell as the protagonist and humble narrator Alex De Large. Building off his role in Lindsay Anderson's 1968 film If...., McDowell created the most dangerous juvenile delinquent ever to be put onscreen. He's a character with no conscience or remorse. As the poster says he is a 'young man whose principal interests are rape, ultra-violence and Beethoven'.

So, after Kubrick has spent the first hour showing you a world that is black and white, a transition occurs. After Alex is administered the Ludovico technique - the scenes which so stuck with my neighbour and likely anyone else who has seen the film – he is thrust back out into society. Although, now not being able to perform any kind of violent activity, he is completely defenseless when he continually comes in contact with the people he wronged in the first act. Now, we could all look down our noses and say he deserves to suffer for his wrongs, but the fact remains – what right do we have to take away anyone's ability to CHOOSE? This question that the film raises is my favourite thing about this film and what I always point to when someone dismisses A Clockwork Orange as a violence-glorifying piece of tripe. These are likely people like my friend's girlfriend, who never got past the film's early ugliness.

A Clockwork Orange is my number one film of all-time and has been for quite sometime.