31 Days of Horror Day 30: The Blackest Eyes The Devils Blog.

Halloween 1978:
"I owe my entire career to William Shatner" - John Carpenter.
Now most people don't know that the infamous Michael Myers mask is actually a William Shatner mask spray painted white. Most people just see it as one of the most recognizable masks in cinematic horror and the George Washington of the Mount Rushmore of horror.
The story of Halloween is truly a simple story of a crazy man stalking babysitters on Halloween night. This is a very simple plot and yet it set the bar and started a generation of terror and imitators who tried to come at the king but none seem to equal the original.
Halloween follows a six year old boy named Michael Myers who murders his sister on Halloween and is committed to a mental asylum. Fifteen years later Michael escapes from the asylum to return to his home town to continue killing young women on Halloween night. He finds his targets in three ladies particularly the quiet smart one Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis). All the while this is happening Myers doctor  Samuel Loomis (Donald Pleasence) is tracking him trying to reach him in time to stop him from spilling more innocent blood. The film builds tension until it becomes a showdown between Michael and Laurie to see who will be left standing on Halloween night.
Halloween is a movie that scares the hell out of you and does not have any overly gory moments or horrifying imagery. Most of the terror from this film is taken place in the confines of our minds with the tension that is built by director, actors and the all too famous score.
John Carpenter is an amazing director who really is not only a great horror director but also a great filmmaker as well. Carpenter could be given several silly elements and told to scare us and he would be able to do it without breaking a sweat. The man is great at not only knowing how to scare you with visuals but ratchet up the tension with a score all his own that will be left like a bug in your brain for days and days.
The two lead actors Curtis and Pleasence are both amazing in this and are both at very different times in their careers. Curtis being at the very beginning of her career shows amazing promise of being not only a leading lady but being the first ever final girl to appear in a movie. The term final girl means the final woman to survive a horror movie. Curtis not only makes you care about her in the film but causes you to root for her but also want to protect her as the films leading good girl. Halloween would be the start of a long career for Curtis who among doing several great work including Trading Places, True Lies, and recently the show Scream Queens. That being said Curtis has never forgotten where she started. After doing Halloween Curtis would appear in four more of the series and seemed to enjoying doing it. Unlike a lot of people who made their fame off of their first scary movie Curtis embraces it and manages to show us that she can still make it work nearly forty years later.
Pleasence on the other hand was in some of the peak years of his career a little more then a decade before coming off of the Bond film that would make him a house hold name. Pleasence is doing some great work here by playing the man who has tried for a decade and a half to understand and contain evil and is now tasked with keeping it contained. He gives a few rousing speeches throuhout the film and acts as a sort of narrator to the film.
This film is a bench mark in horror and should be watched by anyone who hasn't seen it.
So we leave the sleepy town of Halloween and we are on the final day leaving the question what is the last film in the series of movies. Well I guess we will have to come up with some THING to discuss. For High Weirdness I'm Benjamin Kolton reminding you "It's Only a Movie." "It's Only a Movie."

31 Days of Horror Day 29: What an excellent day for a blog post.

The Exorcist 1973:
Sometimes a movie comes along that scares a generation of movie goers beyond expectations. Then you have a movie like the Exorcist which will put people into therapy and cause people to not sleep for several weeks at a time. The Exorcist is one of the scariest and most well respected films of the all time. It not only challenges your views on terror but also on the subject of faith.
The film follows a young girl named Regan (Linda Blair) who becomes somehow ill with something doctors cannot diagnose. It slowly becomes clear that what Regan has might be beyond science or rational understanding. We start to understand that it might be something beyond our worldly understanding. Regan grows worse and worse and finally we start to realize the little girl has been replaced with something else. Regan's mother Christine (Ellen Burstyn) starts to look for outside help and eventually looks to a young priest named Karras (Jason Miller) for guidance. It becomes clear that the two need to find a solution to the problem and it comes down to the question of if the process of preforming an Exorcism is the right answer to curing Regan. The two eventually turn to one of the few men who have performed the act, Father Merrin (Max Von Sydow). It all comes down to good vs evil in one of the most intense showdowns of all time.
Director William Friedkin is a master filmmaker of his time. He is a man who knows how to slow down a film to a pace that not only takes it time but makes the audience uncomfortable because of the time it takes to get to events in the film. This being said does not make it a bad thing. The transformation of Regan from a happy little girl to the bile spewing demon at the end of the film. He is also a guy who waits to scare you and does it in a way that keeps you scared way past the films conclusion. The other reason this film works is because Friedkin took actors who looked like real people and didn't try to pretty it up with stars. All of the people in the film looks like they are real not just actors and play their parts like they are.
This film not only boasts amazing direction but the acting is on par with it as well especially Sydow and Blair as dueling forces. Blair is absolutely astounding as a little girl being tortured by some other worldly force and caught between heaven and hell. Her performance in the film is amazing not just as an actress but also as physical performance as well. She completely changes her look thanks to makeup but also the way she moves and reacts. It is a true pleasure for her to be a character we hate but also want to save all at the same time. Sydow who for some reason continues to get better with age is amazing for only being in the film a very limited amount of time. He has this feel of man who has failed and with this task he has been set to perform can redeem himself by getting it right.
This film is remarkable for so many reasons but overall it is something that just needs to be watched and re watched to let the terror creep into your brain.
So we are out of the bedroom and now we are headed to the big screen where I will be watching the mac daddy of all Halloween films and we discuss the night HE came home. For High Weirdness I'm Benjamin Kolton reminding you "It's Only a Movie." "It's Only a Movie."

31 Days of Horror Day 28: 12 rooms 12 blogs

Psycho 1960:
It could be argued that without psycho we may never have gotten some of the great slasher movies of the modern era. It could also be argued that eventually someone would have cracked the code and it would have come to the for front. Either way with the way things turned out we all know that every movie about a man with a blade in some small way owes a debt to the original gangster none other than Psycho.
This masterful film follows Marion Crane (Janet Leigh) who absconds with  forty thousand dollars and is on the run from her boss and the authorities who are chasing her. She is driving to meet her boyfriend when she stops at the Bates Motel during a rainstorm to stay the night. She checks in meets the nice owner Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins) and retires early to get a jump start on the morning driving. Before heading to bed she decides to take a shower.
Now this film is over fifty five years old and if you don't know what is going to happen next I not only envy you but also hope that this amazing second act of the film does not get spoiled. So we will leave the summary of the film here and just let you watch at your own time of choosing.
Alfred Hitchcock will certainly be remembered as one of the greatest living directors of all time. The man earned the title the master of suspense with several films including Rope, Rear Window, Vertigo and North by Northwest. However in 1960 he had seen several problems with several films not garnering commercial success or being overlooked by critics. It was only the success of his television show that was keeping him afloat. He was desperately looking for his next big hit when he came across the Robert Bloch novel Psycho. Hitchcock fell in love with the book and optioned it for a film. It was a this point he did two things that helped him make the film. He bought every copy of the book so no one could spoil the ending of it. Two he used all of the sets from his TV show to shoot on so he could cut costs. Hitchcock was playing the odds on this one. He knew that if the film didn't work it might be one of the last times he worked. Hitchcock guessed correctly as the film success and it opened to massive appeal and huge praise as one of the best he had ever done. Once the film had opened Hitchcock implemented the third part of his brilliant plan. He made a very clear deceleration to all movie goers that they would not be allowed to see the film once it had started. If you arrived late you had to wait for the next show time. This had a two pronged affect on the film. One it kept anyone who would dare show up late from being massively confused between first and second act. It also added a kind of marketing saying that this movie was worth being early and on time to. It created a frenzy to see it which paid off.
Hitchcock was not only an amazing filmmaker but he was also a guy who knew how to treat an audience and keep them dancing to the tune he would play at any given moment. He can set the tone of a scene and make you feel uncomfortable or nervous at the drop of a hat. The opening credits of this film alone are scary as all get out.
I encourage you to watch Psycho and try to tell me it does not scare the hell out of you. So we are out of the shower and now we are headed to look at the scariest movie involving faith. For High Weirdness I'm Benjamin Kolton reminding you "It's Only a Movie." "It's Only a Movie."

31 Days of Horror Day 27: I have always blogged here just as you have always been here.

The Shining 1980:
Usually I don't like to give Rob Zombie credit because most of the time he is either making grossly violent garbage or just bad music but he could not have more perfectly stated this sentiment in documentary about horror movies.  "Most critics will say I don't like horror movies but they all love the Shining." Zombie could not be more right when it comes to this amazing film from one of the greatest of all time Stanley Kubrick.
The Shining is a example of what happens when two people with two separate visions try to reach the same ending.  Stephen King has said on several occasions that his book and the film are very difference and he is right but this does not make the film that Kubrick made a bad one. However in 1980 it was not as well received as it is today. At the time it garnered two Razzie nominations including worst director for Kubrick. I feel this is one of those films that took some time for people to realize its brilliance of it.
The Torrance family is staying at the Overlook hotel for the winter and watching the place while its off season as the new caretakers. It's your typical family father Jack (Jack Nicholson) mother Wendy (Shelly Duvall) and little boy Danny (Danny Lloyd). It seems like a great place for a kid to hang around and a mom to raise him while dear old Dad finds some time to complete his new book. Everything seems to be going fine that is until winter sets in and the hotel begins to take on a life of its own Danny shows signs of psychic powers and the three learn they are not alone.
Kubrick is a master of taking you into a world that he holds all the keys too and makes you feel ridiculously comfortable with the fact that you don't know where the ride will take you next. Before the Shining Kubrick had never touched the subject of horror and after this would never again. In one short film he managed to reinvent the genre and completely change the way we view it. He uses things to scare you on one level but uses other elements to get under your skin making you think about his film for days at a time. His pacing in the movie is also another master stroke. Most horror movies can't wait to get to the scares but with the shining he takes his time letting you feel the way the characters do like this has been going on for quite some time. He keeps people guessing at all times and when he finally lets the other shoe drop you are floored by the results of what has taken place. I use the Mount Rushmore a lot as a comparison but Kubrick would be one of the faces on it for directing. Even with a limited 13 feature films under his belt before he passed in 1999 he is still a huge influence and managed to never repeat himself both in genre or in overall tone of a film. The man is a legitimate genius and one day down the road when I start doing a regular top five or top ten you best believe I will tackle his filmography in a deeper way.
In 1980 Nicholson was at the top of his acting game and had already one an Oscar while being nominated five times over. In the Shining Nicholson shows us a performance that only Kubrick could bring from him. Nicholson has played menacing before but always in a controlled way. In this he shows us a dangerous and all together unhinged monster that from minute one you are not trusting of  and feel very nervous around at all times.
The Shining is a marvelous film with several scenes that are now iconic either by everyone knowing them or some form of parody has taken place. This is one if you are doing a Halloween movie marathon not to leave off your list.
Well we are out of the world of isolation and claustrophobia and now we are into the final four days of October so its time to break out the big guns. The Next four days will be some of the biggest and the best in the genre. Coming up tomorrow we pay homage to the movie that all other slasher movies call daddy or maybe mommy? For High Weirdness I'm Benjamin Kolton reminding you "It's Only a Movie." "It's Only a Movie.""

31 Days of Horror Day 26: See you blog there

The Descent 2005:
I started working at the theater in 2005 and one of the first movies i saw for free was this brilliant little foray into terror and claustrophobia. The Descent is a movie that once you have seen it you will never want to go outside again.
Six Women go cave diving on what should be a normal vacation. They are all long friends and have done this before they go into a deep cave not on the map and begin to realize the challenges of navigating it are more then just a tight squeeze here or there. The Women soon discover that they are anything but alone and we soon discover that going on this vacation might have been a huge mistake.
Neil Marshall is a director who will go down as being responsible for some decent movies and two of the best episodes of Game of Thrones but this movie is his shining achievement when it comes to direction. Marshall is amazing at never letting you know when the real world is around you and when you are still in the belly of the beast. He is a great one for messing with you and keeping the movie going at a pace that never lets you fully get comfortable. He never really lets you feel like the grip on reality is yours to control. The limited budget also gives them less of an option for big budget thrills and forces both cast and crew are forced to use other methods to scare you.
 Not since Ripley in Aliens has a woman let alone set of women been so strongly represented in horror. The woman in this film kick ass and aside from one guy in the film briefly this is almost the female equivalent of the film The Thing. these woman must ban together against a foreign enemy and stop it at all costs. The relationships are tested friendships fail and it comes down to one thing and one thing only survival. Its a remarkable little movie that manages to not only scare you but make you feel visibly uncomfortable because of the claustrophobia it sets into your mind. I don't have much to say on this one because the concept is so simple all I can say is to watch and enjoy just how creepy it gets from start to finish.
Well we step out of the caves and we head to the mountains for a vacation get away at the overlook Hotel. For High Weirdness I'm Benjamin Kolton reminding you "It's Only a Movie." "It's Only a Movie."

31 Days of Horror Day 25: Whoever wins we Blog.

AVP: Alien vs Predator 2010:
Sometimes two franchises will subtly hint that they are in the same universe with one another like Freddy vs Jason did. Other times they will smack you in the face with it until fans of both are begging for a crossover to the point where it all comes together in one big explosive over the top melee of violence and action. This second example fits Alien vs Predator. Although not as good of quality as Freddy vs Jason AVP as it came to be known has its moments of wowing major fans of the two franchises.
The film is set in Antarctica where a group of archeologists find a huge pyramid burried deep beneath the earth. Lead by archeologist Alexa (Sanaa Lathan) and funded by billionaire Charles Weyland (Lance Hendrickson). Upon entering the pyramid the group slowly starts to realize that other factors are at play in the temple. We start to realize that this is not a temple but a hunting ground known for the predator where they track the most deadly game which is the Xenomorph.
Now most of the time I am a huge fan of both of these science fiction horror icons however in this one they miss the mark just a little bit. I have always seen the predator as a sleek lean hunter almost like the perfect athlete in this one they are built like 90's WWE superstars and are way to big. I mean I believe they are supposed to be stealthy and nothing that huge is sneaking up on anyone. The Xenomorph is another example of how to screw up a good thing. What Works about the monster in all the movies is the costume is real however in this one there is way to much CGI.
Some of the redeeming parts to the film is that while paying respect to the original material they also add to the mythology. The film is not all bad it does give you nice nods to the two previous franchises and makes you smile with some nice touches here and there. I do enjoy that they did follow through on a sequel which surprisingly managed to meet and exceed the expectations of the first. AVP isn't a bad movie it just doesn't reach the heights of other cross overs that came before it.
So we are out of the crossover's and it is time for the new type of terror. The terror of isolation and being stranded. For High Weirdness I'm Benjamin Kolton reminding you "It's Only a Movie." "It's Only a Movie."

31 Days of Horror Day 24: Warn the Blogs Warn Everyone

Freddy vs Jason 2003:
A lot of movies have titles that sometimes makes you feel like they didn't deliver on the film. This however cannot be said about the film Freddy vs Jason. In fact Freddy does vs Jason and it finally answers the question what happens when the unstoppable force of terror meets the immovable object of destruction.
Nearly a quarter of a century after the first movie debuted the people and the teens of Elm street have forgotten about Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund and this has put him away into the nether. Krueger devises a plan to resurrect Jason Voorhees from the grave and have him go on a killing spree making it look like Krueger is doing it to bring back the memory of him. In typical Jason fashion he goes over kill and forces a panic in the town making adults re-envoke the name of Krueger and having kids asking who he was. While this is going on a girl named Lori (Monica Keena) is plagued by visions of Jason as a child and starts to piece together the plot of Krueger. It all eventually leads to Camp Crystal Lake where it becomes a knock down drag out fight to see who will win and who will die.
This is not the greatest film in the world in terms of overall film making but dam if it isn't the most fitting end to two of the biggest juggernauts  of the genre.
Unlike Englund who has been Krueger in every movie accept one. The iconic Hockey Mask has been worn by almost a different person every time a film has been made. In some ways its not surprising you don't need to have as much range as Freddy you just need to be huge. This is why this pairing works if you had Michael Myers vs Jason nothing would have been accomplished the two would have just breathed at each other. It is because of Freddy's taunts that Jason and him square off in such epic fashion.
This film was not only satisfying as a fan of it but if you are a fan of the two series that came before it. the filmmakers treat both origins with care and make both characters matter without overshadowing the other. Its almost like they are treating it like a proper send off to both these characters. The way they promoted this film was brilliantly done as well. It was previewed as the ultimate showdown the trailers even had a character saying place your bets. They even went so far in the marketing as to have an official weigh in at Las Vegas. The amount of gimmickry in this films marketing is genius and will never been seen again.
Its also a movie that is chock a block full of things that almost happend during the process of making it. At one point it was going to be Freddy vs Jason vs Ash from Evil Dead. However no one could reach a conclusion where all three franchises were happy with the end. It was also a movie that Peter Jackson almost ended up directing.
The movie is great for anyone who has seen both franchises and want to cheer their favorite on in a battle to the end.
Well we leave the two legends behind and we now head to space and then back to earth where we find out no matter who wins we lose. For High Weirdness I'm Benjamin Kolton reminding you "It's Only a Movie." "It's Only a Movie."

31 Days of Horror Day 23: Camp Crystal Blog IN SPACE!!!

Jason X 2001:
Now when you pitch the idea of a big silent psycho in a Hockey Mask with a large machete hunting camp counselors down over the course of the film a producer would say "Sold bring it in under budget and lets move on after this." Now to tell that producer that you are going to do it nine more times that producer would look at you and say "The killer doesn't talk and conceivably has been killed nine times previously how in the hell are you going to do this ten times and keep it interesting." For that producer i would respond with the idea that they had in 2001 we send him into the future and we send him into space.
Well not all of them can be a smash but if you have a good one every other time then you can keep on keeping on. The one I'm bringing up today is not wildly considered to to be a good one but I will say I have a weird soft spot for it and I'm not quite sure why. The franchise picks up with Jason wreaking havoc on earth when he is all of a sudden frozen along with a woman and the two are flung head long into the 25th century and are awoken by a group of explorers who unfreeze both of them and find out that the oversized Popsicle is not the happiest camper in the morning. Jason goes on a killing spree and eventually gets a 25th century upgrade. He becomes a killer for the modern times without losing that oh so sweet crazy that makes us love him. Eventually the 25th century teens have to band together and stop him or become just more victims in his quest to kill teens who only want to drink get high and fornicate.
Now I don't know if its because I'm overly tired or its because I can't remember any of the other Friday the 13th films as well but this one is just so much dam fun. For one it doesn't have take itself seriously and you get this awesome kind of What if scenario of if Jason had been sent to the future. Its a great idea and I almost wish it was something more iconic characters would get to do.
Jason as I have said before would also be on the Mount Rushmore of horror no questions asked. He has the track record. He has the ability to stand the test of time and keep people coming back to what is the same film almost every time. Now it won't gel with all of you but if I had to make a comparison for Jason it would be this. Jason is like Kane from WWE. He is a giant hulking presence who despite not always putting on a decent match has stayed around because we are so fascinated with a monster. Not unlike Kane Jason has the best backstory in horror a franchises. He is a kid who drowned because his counselors were not watching him and now he seeks revenge on any character who fits that description. Also like Kane he may be put down for a time but it is a forgone conclusion that he will return and greater then before. Jason is a character that can regenerate and keep coming. Not only does everything about his personality fit him but his weapon of choice does as well. when you say Jason you think Hockey mask and Machete. The weapon is big intimidating and powerful like him. It feels like it can't be stopped and if it does its only for a little bit. Jason is another face for the Mountain and I defy you to tell me who should replace him.
Well get ready to head home from the lake and get ready for the best thing since sliced bread which is the crossover. For High Weirdness I'm Benjamin Kolton reminding you "It's Only a Movie." "It's Only a Movie."

31 Days of Horror Day 22: This is Blog.

A Nightmare on Elm Street 1984:
If there was a Mount Rushmore to horror movie slashers Freddy Krueger would be one of the four faces no questions asked. He is not only one of the most frightening and has one of the best back stories but unlike other killers who play the strong silent type he is a regular Deadpool. He spans over seven stand alone movies one crossover and one remake which makes him a grand total of nine all together spanning nearly 3 decades. The genius behind Krueger is that he is terrifying when you are young and he becomes cool when you get older. He has the most life span when it comes to watch ability. As the films go on he keeps people coming back to see what crazy ways he will kill and what he will say before he does it.
While most of the movies in the Nightmare on Elm Street series are packed with laughs throughout the one we are talking about today is not funny in the least. The first film which was written and directed by the master Wes Craven stars Robert Englund as Krueger and Heather Langenkamp as protagonist Nancy. The first installment of the film is a look into the creation of Freddy and how he went from child molester / murderer to killer and master of dreams. The film follows a group of kids who one by one are being killed in their dreams and if not are escaping just barely to tell the tale of a man in a dirty sweater with razor fingers slashing at them. We find out over the course of the film that this man was once a horrible child molester who was burned by the parents of Elm street who took justice into their own hands. Years later he has come back to exact revenge on them by attacking their children in the one place they aren't say their dreams.
England is going to leave this world being the definitive Krueger. It's not just because he was the first to play him its also because he made the character his own. He is a gifted actor who despite wearing all sorts of prosthetics and in some films is forced to ham it up manages to bring the terror and actually performance through the makeup to the audience. He has this way of presenting menace without really being that physically intimidating. What makes Krueger the worthy opponent is that he has imagination and in a dream that is the greatest weapon.
It seems hard to believe after all the success this film had and that New Line Cinema is called the house that Freddy built, that this film was passed over by nearly every studio in Hollywood. Craven who had commercial success with the controversial "Last House on the Left" and the wildly out there "The Hills Have Eyes" was shopping this around for the better part of three years with numerous rejections and reasons for rejecting it. Studios called it stupid, boring or just plain too gory. It is a hard sell especially when added up there is less then 7 minutes of Krueger on screen for the entire film. Its interesting to note that the film is some what based in reality. Not the dream killer aspect but more so the idea of kids attempting not to sleep for fear of dying before waking up. It is a powerful ideas to sell to someone. The film is remarkable and boasts some of the scariest moments for its time and set the standards for any killer who was going to open their mouth for the rest of time. Oh and did we mention this was Johnny Depp's first film.
Well its time to wake up and get on your trunks because we are headed to camp and we are going to go meet the next big heavy hitter on the Mount Rushmore of slashers.
For High Weirdness I'm Benjamin Kolton reminding you "It's Only a Movie" "It's Only a Movie"

31 Days of Horror Day 21: Black Blog

Black Swan 2010:
 Sometimes a movie isn't billed or presented in the trailer as scary but once you get into it you find out how truly terrifying it is. Darren Arnofsky presented us with this and showed us just how terrifying obsession can be. Black Swan was the first time you saw terror and the bending of reality brought to an award winning level.
Darren Arnofsky is a director who has managed to tackle a new subject every film and still manage to entrance us with his work. He has also managed to show us the dark side of humanity.
The film follows a young ballerina (Natalie Portman) who is chosen to be the lead in the New York ballets rendition of Swan Lake. She has the ability and the talent but it seems like something is missing. She has no problem playing the white swan but when it comes to playing the black swan she can't seem to take the extra step. She is constantly berated by her mother (Barbara Hershey) and pushed by her teacher (Vincent Cassel). Throughout the film she is tested not only physically but also mentally. She strikes up an uneasy friendship with another dancer in the company Lily (Mila Kunis). she is also taken to the mental limit by the former star of the company (Winnona Ryder).
In 2010  Portman was at the height of her acting prowess and she would prove it with this look into terror and obsession with help from Arnofsky in the 2010 by winning the best actress award. Portman is an amazing actress when given the right material. She has been good since first showing up in The Professional.She just understands how to keep people interested and rooting for her character even if she is doing something horrible.
This movie is amazing but also incredibly hard to talk about without giving away some major things so I will only say to just watch and enjoy.
So we wrap up award season and for the next two days we are going to look at two of the heavy weights in the horror genre. For High Weirdness I'm Benjamin Kolton reminding you "It's Only a Movie." "It's Only a Movie."

31 Days of Horror Day 20: Wait was she a great big Blog?

The Silence of the Lambs 1991:
Sometimes Hollywood gets it very wrong when it comes to handing out awards at their biggest night of the year. For example Bill Murray-Lost in Translation, Pulp Fiction-Picture, Citizen Kane-Picture, Raging Bull-Director Kubrick never winning an Oscar for direction. Then there are the time where Oscar gets it so right. No Country for Old Men-Picture, Daniel Day Lewis-Actor, The Departed-Direction and of course the big reason we are here today 1991 Silence of the Lambs. Silence of the Lambs is the only movie to this day that swept the Oscars and was even close to the genre of horror. It won the major four categories of picture, director, actor, and actress.
This film is the perfect example of what happens when you follow the source material. When I was in 8th grade I wanted to rent Silence of the Lambs because i was at the beginning of my love for film and I had heard that if there was one movie that you needed to see it was Silence of the Lambs. My parents being the good people they were told me if I wanted to see the film I needed to read the book first. So I went down to my library and rented silence of the lambs. After about three weeks I finished and we put in the VHS and I came to the realization for the first time that you can take source material and do it justice to where almost nothing needs to be sacrificed. This film is a masterpiece which still holds up today as one of the best choices for best picture.
A young FBI trainee Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster) is tasked by her boss to interview an imprisoned serial killer to track another one. Starling is sent to a mental hospital where she comes face to face with Hannibal "The Cannibal" Lecter (Anthony Hopkins). The two strike up an uneasy alliance and eventally start to exchange information which leads Starling closer and closer to tracking down the man know as Buffalo Bill. At the same time we see Buffalo Bill (Ted Levine) preparing and executing his next attack on a young lady in order to make a suit from her skin. Twists and turns happen as both killer and agent circle until finally clashing all the time with Lecter in the background slowly pulling strings.
It was 1991and foster had already been nominated twice and won once for acting, the first being at the age of 14 for Taxi Driver. She had won in 1989 for the accused but in 1991 she would walk away with her second statue for Silence of the Lambs. Foster is an amazing director who truly was a staple of her time. Even though she has taken time and not done as much the woman truly is missed and it is always a pleasure to see her on screen. She commits to the roles she takes and keeps you rooting for her character no matter what. You love to see her in any role and it keeps you coming back for more.
This was also the year that Hopkins would prove you only need to be on screen for 16 minutes in order to garner a nomination and a win for best actor. Hopkins portrayal of Lecter is nothing short of mesmerizing as the psychologist turned serial killer. Hopkins took home his first Oscar for the performance and it was well deserved. Hopkins has this uncanny ability to make you feel like he is in control anytime he is on screen even if he is in a cell or in a straight jacket. He makes you feel like all the actions are by his design and he is just biding his time till he can be free. Its all in the way he watches you with his eyes. His cold dead eyes which make you feel like he never blinks. The man is a genius in all that he does and it never feels like the menace is being forced on you rather more like you want to be around this madness.
The film was directed by Johnathan Demme who although this is his biggest film has done some other remarkable films including Philadelphia, Rachel Getting Married and Neil Young Heart of Gold. Demme is perfect for this he knows how to blend drama and terror perfectly together without losing one or the other. I love the way this plays like a by the numbers cop drama and also a psychological thriller. He makes all characters shine in different ways. If we need to point to a better example of something cleanly sweeping the Oscars I don't think there is a better example of it then Silence of the Lambs.
Well tomorrow we take a look at another Oscar winner that showed us just how scary being on stage can be. For High Weirdness I'm Benjamin Kolton reminding you "It's Only a Movie" "It's Only a Movie"

31 Days of Horror Day 19: Hurdy Gurdy Blog.

Zodiac 2007:
Most directors usually stay in the same genre or never touch the same subject matter twice. This is a sign of someone who has found their talent or someone who is looking to challenge themselves with something new. David Fincher in 1995 made Se7en a movie about a serial killer. In 2007 he would re visit the genre of serial killers with the true story of Zodiac and make one of the best films of the year. Zodiac is a fine example of what a director in the finest year of his career can do with subject matte worthy of him.
Since finishing Se7en Fincher had directed a few hits including The Game, Fight Club and Panic Room. Even with the lesser success of Panic Room audiences were looking to see what Fincher would bring to challenge his audience next. When Zodiac hit the screen in March of 2007 audiences were treated to a movie that was nearly three hours long but unlike most movies of its length managed  to hold your attention like nothing you had seen before.
The true to life story follows cartoonist Robert Graysmith (Jake Gyllenhaal) who became obsessed with the series of murders in the 70's. Along with fellow newspaper man Paul Avery (Robert Downey Jr.) the two attempt to navigate the twisted world of Zodiac in attempts to discover his identity and try to put a stop to him. At the same time once the murders begin to occur inspector David Toschi (Mark Ruffalo) is looking into the murders and it becomes just a matter of time for when the Zodiac will strike again.
This film boasts three great talents in acting and all stand on their own but it is Gyllenhaal who is leading the group. We are going to years from now look back at Gyllenhaal and realize what an amazingly underrated actor he was. Movies like Zodiac, Prisoners and Nightcrawler will be viewed as something special and his work keeps getting better with time. He truly understands how to take hold of a character and not let go. He also doesn't rest on his success he is constantly putting out something every year that is new and challenging.
Downey Jr. in 2007 had not yet had the come back of come backs with Iron Man and Tropic Thunder. This would take place in 2008 at this point he was still someone that people in Hollywood viewed as a risk. It was hard to trust if Downey would show up or a problem would. However in this he is doing some of his best work and we see why he is so dam likeable in films even when he is playing an arrogant ass. His comic timing and ability to steal scenes lightens the darkest moments in this film.
Now if we are talking about a comic book movie changing your life for Downey in 2008. It would be another 5 years for Ruffalo to step into that spotlight. Ruffalo has always been the strong foundation that you could build a movie around. He is incredible at not only establishing himself in a movie but also giving other people a chance to shine. Ruffalo and all three of these actors fall under the rule of perhaps being in something less then great but not being the cause of making it less then great.
What makes this film so terrifying is that Zodiac was never caught and no true answer was ever brought to America to put us at ease. The film doesn't give you a definitive answer at the end but it is so incredibly well crafted that you don't even care because the film kept you interested the entire time. It is so hard to pick a favorite Fincher film because all of them are incredible and have such powerful moments. Fight Club has a incredible ending the murders in Se7en are amazing well made. For Zodiac it has to be its opening and closing that pack the biggest punch. I am a huge fan when a director can take a piece of music and use it as effectively as Fincher does in his films. With Zodiac he uses the 1968 hit from Donovan Hurdy Gurdy Man. It is with this simple bit of music that he sets the mood for the entire film and at the very end manages to send one last bit of terror down your spine as he closes the film. The music is great because it is just as uncertain as the events surrounding the case itself.
Zodiac is a movie ahead of its time and needs to be watched and re-watched  just to absorb how brilliant it is.
Well we have closed our file on serial killers and now it is time for us to dust off our tuxes and take a look at some Oscar winning terror. For High Weirdness I'm Benjamin Kolton reminding you "It's Only a Movie" "It's Only a Movie" 

31 Days of Horror Day 18: John Doe has the upper Blog.

Se7en 1995:
Sometimes a directors first film is not always the dream project he hopes it to be. Sometimes the studio interferes or a star pulls some crazy requests or they take your finished product and chop it all to hell. It is sometimes the first film that is used to prove to studios and big wigs that you are ready to handle other projects. This was the case when David Fincher had come off of 1992 Alien 3 and was next given what would go down as the first true success in a long career of amazing films. 1995's Se7en was the perfect melding of talents writer and director coming together and elevating what could have been a by the numbers serial killer film and turned it into one of the most discussed and analyzed of the genre to this day.
The plot follows rookie detective Mills (Brad Pitt) and veteran Somerset (Morgan Freeman) who are forced into being partners after a series of gruesome murders binds them together. The murders are not only horrifying but they seem to follow the teachings of the seven deadly sins. The film leads the two detectives into the seedy belly of the underworld trying to keep up with the killer before his next murder is set into motion. The two eventually work through nearly all of the sins when something completely unexpected turns the game of cat and mouse on its ear leaving you asking who is really playing who.
The film is one of Fincher's best works to date and is a strong sophomore film that shows if given the right people and freedom to do his thing he will give you gold. Fincher is a director who doesn't put out something every year and the reason is because he takes his time on making quality not quantity. The film is directed so well knowing just when to push what buttons to illicit a reaction from the audience without making it feel cheap or forced. His moments during the crime scenes of Se7en are nothing short of brilliant. They are directed like something out of a nightmare. It is a perfect pairing of subject matter and filmmaker.
This would be the first but certainly not last pairing of Pitt and Fincher but would not be the last they would collaborate on two other projects including Fight Club in 1999. This was the perfect movie for Pitt at this time in his career. He had shown that he could play handsome in Legends of the Fall. He had shown range and ability to play crazy with Twelve monkeys and Kalifornia. This was the perfect project to showcase him in a leading man role. Pitt plays the brash arrogant Mills perfectly and shows a building of a character not often seen in other films by him. We see a true journey with this character and feel like we want to root for him and those he loves.
Freeman is the other cop and he is at his best playing the old cop who is ready to get away from this life and never look back. He is perfect as mentor to Pitt who is always the shoot first where Somerset is a man who takes his time to figure things out. The two blend perfectly and play off each other as well keeping both tension and friendship going all the way through.
This film is nearly perfect with an ending that will leave your mouth a gape along with a surprise appearance by an actor who if you didn't know was in this will show you why he is one of the finest actors of today.
Well we are out of the realm of fiction and tomorrow we will find ourselves in the real world with another Fincher film set in 1970 with one of the most infamous serial killers of all time. For High Weirdness I'm Benjamin Kolton reminding you "It's Only a Movie." "It's Only a Movie."

31 Days of Horror Day 17: Santa's little blogger

Krampus 2015:
Some holiday movies are cross over genres like Die Hard or the aforementioned Gremlins. Krampus also falls under that and has in short order cemented itself among the greats genre horror. The film is not only terrifying it is also one of the funniest scary films in recent memory. All of the scares are mixed well with laughs keeping you not only jumping but also laughing through and through.
The story concerns a typical modern American family during the holiday season just trying to survive all the problems that come with it. However a unforeseen problem arises when the son Max (Emjay Anthony) rips up his letter and denounces Christmas. Things begin to take a turn for the supernatural when it seems that the weather outside has turned frightful and forces beyond human understanding begin to come out of the woodwork. It becomes clear very soon that a creature is coming to punish the family for being overly greedy and not recognizing the true spirit of the season. We eventually find out the creature is the ancient spirit Krampus. Krampus is the evil helper of Santa who punishes bad children by putting them in his sack. However the family is not going down without a fight and everyone arms up to take on the  beast and his hoard of minions. Max along with dad Tom (Adam Scott) and mom Sarah (Toni Collette) and the rest of the family do everything to stop this horror holiday from being unwrapped.
The film does something not seen in modern horror films and that is using practical effects. Not to say that there isn't some CGI but when it comes to Krampus it is a throwback costume which increases the fear because it makes it feel that much more real. Something computer generated isn't scary but something physical that you can touch now that is horrifying.
It is a great little cast including David Koechner, Allison Tolman and Conchata Ferrell. Sure not names that jump to mind immediately but this film did the write thing and hired people who could play the parts they were given. The genius of the film is it never pretends to be anything more then it is and that is why it works
Well that takes us out of the holiday season so for tomorrow we will be delving into the mystical world of serial killers. So for tomorrow we will see what is the magic number. For High Weirdness I'm Benjamin Kolton reminding you "It's Only a Movie." "It's Only a Movie."

31 Days of Horror Day 16: Do you blog what I blog?

Gremlins 1984:
Holiday horror is a very specific sub genre of the horror section and it can be tricky to keep both the elements of horror and holiday melded together evenly. This is a hard if you are a first time director or someone who doesn't know how to handle two genres. Luckily Joe Dante is an amazing director who already had a massive horror hit under his belt with The Hollowing. However in 1984 Dante would step up to deliver us one of the most terrifying films set during the holiday season. Oh and did I mention it is also only PG. It is a great little mash up film that you don't see today of course we are talking about Gremlins.
The film begins with a great Noir like opening with a guy talking about being a salesman. We soon find our salesman in a old junk shop in china town. He is looking for a gift for his son for Christmas. We soon see him discover a small creature in the shop known as a Mogwai. He is cute and adorable and would make the perfect gift for any kid. however the shop owner won't sell him the creature. Through some shady transactions the man gets the creature and is told that he must follow three rules.
Never get him wet. Never feed him after midnight. Never put him in direct sunlight. So he is taken home to the small town Kingston Falls to the mans son Billy (Zach Galligan). He names the little creature Gizmo and it looks like everything is going to be great for Christmas.Of course in typical horror movie fashion one of those rules is broken and the result is several other furry creatures are brought to life from it. Now they look the same but there is something different about them from the original one.
Now I love a good creature feature and I think so does executive producer Steven Spielberg. This is what I like to call the era where Spielberg was getting a lot of good films made not only behind the camera but also on the financial side as well. This is the second in what I would like to call his quasi 80's horror kid adventure films. It began with Poltergeist and the continued with Gremlins then finished with The Goonies. Now I love all these movies and each has their own strengths but when it comes to the one that mixes horror and comedy together as Gremlins.
The beauty of the movie is the slow build to showing us the Gremlins and when we finally do we are not in disappointment. Also it is to be noted that this is not a CGI fest. It is all practical effects which makes them that much more real and scary. I would argue also this is a film with one of the most spooky uses of music. Right before we see the gremlins the song "Do you see what I see?" is playing and it is dam well unnerving. It is also great because unlike Goonies and Poltergiest the kids are a bit older and have to take up arms to save the town.
This is an instant Holiday and well as Halloween classic no matter which time of year you are watching it.
So we are nearly halfway through the month of October and I want all of you to know that I am loving everything about this blog. I hope you guys are reading and more importantly you are listing to the podcast. Tomorrow we look at a much creepier version of the man in the big red suit.
For High Weirdness I'm Benjamin Kolton reminding you "It's Only a Movie". "It's Only a Movie"

31 Days of Horror Day 15: In Space no one can here you blog.

Alien 1979:
before 1979 several movies had shown the idea of a monster in a house and someone trying to get away always with the audience asking the question, why don't you just run out the front door. In 1979 that same concept was presented in a whole new light with director Ridley Scott taking the house and putting it in space and making it impossible to run away from the monster in the house. Alien is a movie that earns the title of game changer. The film completely flipped the format of the science fiction on its ear and showed us that space is not a clean futuristic place all the time. Instead he showed us it can be dirty and grimy with people not fighting wars or going on adventures. Sometimes its just people at a job who get caught in a precarious situation.
We open on the ship the Nostromo flying through space coming back from a huge mission. They are going about routine life when they hear a distress call from the planet LV421 and go down to check it out. they find an abandoned ship and what appear to be eggs in the ship. a creature comes out of one and attaches itself too crew member Kane (John Hurt). The crew bring him back to the ship and attempt to remove the creature only to see that doing it would kill him. It becomes apparent that the creature is keeping him alive while feeding off him slowly. A bit later on the creature detaches itself and dies off. Everything seems fine until the crew sits down to dinner.
If you haven't seen Alien then i will stop the description of the film here because this is where it takes a turn from science fiction film to hardcore horror film. Very few films can flip genre halfway through and not make it feel awkward or clunky in transition. It is an interesting trick that Scott pulls off masterfully. I can only imagine being in one of the first shows of Alien in theaters and having that moment happens where you realize the movie you thought you were in is much different then the one you are in. I can only hope if you haven't seen this film then the twist hasn't been ruined for you.
The other thing that Scott does so well in this film is hiding the hero or in this case heroine from you and making you think its going to be someone else. Sigourney Weaver is an amazing actress who has managed to transcend the genre of science fiction and do other things but we will all remember her as Ellen Ripley for all time. The movie does this trick of making you think she is going to be the one to be saved when in actuality it is her who saves herself. She is an amazing character for women not only in science fiction but also in cinema all together.
Now to talk about the star of the film who it is named after. The Alien is nothing short of nightmarish. It is so simple in design and yet every time you see it you feel like its the first time. I am very interested to see if a movie can do what this did for a genre ever again.
Well we are closing out the day on the blog. Join us tomorrow when we take a look at a jolly time of the year and just how dam scary it can be.
For High Weirdness I'm Benjamin Kolton reminding you "Its Only a Movie." "It's Only a Moive."

31 Days of Horror Day 14: He has his father's Blog.

Rosemary's Baby 1968:

A lot of people view Roman Polanski as a man who made some horrible choices in his life and fled the country to avoid persecution back in 1978. I myself acknowledge that he did these things and it is a despicable thing. That being said one must be able to separate the art from the person. He has brought us some of the most visually and emotionally compelling movies over the past 50 years. So that being said a decade before any of these horrible things took place Polanski would set out to make one of the most brilliant horror movies and all around films of all time.
I have said this several times with movies like Jaws and Pulp Fiction that if I was stuck on a island and had the ability to bring five movies with me Rosemary's Baby would be on that list. A good movie is a good movie. A great movie keeps you seeing new points of view and new things every time you pop it in. Rosemary's Baby not only has you seeing new things but also keeps you genuinely unnerved the entire way every time you watch it.
The film follows Guy (John Cassavetes) and Rosemary (Mia Farrow) Woodhouse, newly weds who are looking for a place to start a family. They come across a apartment in an old building known as the Bramford and everything seems like its going perfect. The couple move in and everything is on track. They start to meet different people in the apartment including an older couple Mini (Ruth Gordon) and Roman (Sidney Blackner) Castevet. They seem perfectly friendly and invite the couple over for dinner. During all this the Rosemary and Guy are trying to get pregnant. After returning home from dinner the two attempt to conceive and a strange occurrence takes place that Rosemary chalks up to a bad dream mixed with being overly tired. She wakes up the next day with the memory of having sex but still troubled by the weird dream. The two soon discover that they are pregnant and the movie begins to creep towards the joyous day of birth. Or so Rosemary would like to believe.
We get a real treat with Rosemary's Baby in the sense that you are never quite sure if you are watching someone being paranoid or if it is you the viewer feeling the paranoia. Farrow does such an amazing job playing a woman who feels like she is going crazy and never can tell who is out to get her and who has her real best interest.
The supporting cast to Farrow is incredible especially Gordon who won an Oscar for best supporting actress. She has the perfect levels of menace and comedy mixed in so you are never quite sure if you can trust her up to the very end.
The film plays like a dream in someways and always has you trying to hold on to reality with as much effort as humanly possible.
It is the perfectly blending of time and film making. This film could not be pulled off today with modern technology and works so well in the time period it is set in.
All in all there is too much good stuff to say about Rosemary's Baby without telling you to go watch it. Word of advice don't watch if you are pregnant and a little prone to paranoia
So we got through the extensive labor of today's blog join us tomorrow when we ask that immortal question of are we truly alone in the universe? For High Weirdness I'm Benjamin Kolton reminding you "It's Only a Movie." "It's Only a Movie."

31 Days of Horror Day 13: Go Now and Heaven Help Blog.

The Wolf Man 1941

Yesterday I mentioned how Dracula was the scariest out of the three old monster movies I had. The Wolf Man was a close second because unlike Dracula who possessed intelligence and could have easily found another way to not hurt people but still survive. The Wolf Man had no choice and was purely driven by nature to fulfill his animal needs.
This film came out in 1941 ten years after Dracula had started the whole monster craze at Universal. This time the studio approached a young second generation actor to don the hairy make up and scare people in a whole new way. Lon Chaney Jr. was a man who had very big shoes to fill after his father had terrified the world nearly 20 years before in the silent film The Phantom of the Opera. Chaney Senior was a master of making himself disappear into a character not only physically with makeup but with the genius of acting. His son was no slouch either when it came to separating man from monster.
The movie follows a Larry Talbot (Chaney Jr.) who has returned home to his home country when he is attacked and bitten by a great wolf. He thinks nothing of it until a fortune teller (Maria Ouspenskaya) tells him that he will change into a beast and kill with no regard for human life. Talbot ignores this until the first full moon when he is changed into the beast and goes on a mad killing spree. The towns folk in typical old horror movie fashion set out to hunt him down and it becomes a race against time for Talbot to find a cure for the disease.
Unlike modern werewolf movies of today this film had no fancy CGI or other modern technology to rely on when it came to making the monster. All it had to rely on was some make up and an amazing performance from Chaney Jr. The transformation is very simple and is just a progression of time as more hair and animal features are added to the man. The movie is also quite ahead of its time in the way we see how people react to something they don't understand. Monster movies for generations would copy and try to recapture this magic. For being such a scary movie of its time now it is quite funny to watch especially the way the Wolf Man murders his prey by strangling them instead of biting or eating them. The movie is a remarkable achievement in horror for its day.
Well that closes the book on the classic monster segment for the month. Join us tomorrow when we delve into the fairer sex of horror and the miracle of birth. For High Weirdness I"m Benjamin Kolton reminding you "It's Only a Movie." "It's Only a Movie."

31 Days of Horror Day 12: I Want to Suck Your Blogs!

Dracula 1931

In 1931 it was not a time where horror movies were at the height of popularity. People were not going out looking for the boogeyman and wanting to be scared at the cinema. It was the perfect time for Universal studios to release the classic monsters onto the silver screen to terrify a generation of fans around the world. The first to be released was the classic tale of terror by Bram Stoker about a man from a foreign land who is more then he appears to be.
Dracula was released in February of 1931 and starred Hungarian actor Bela Lugosi who had originated the role on Broadway in the hit play. When Tod Browning was asked to adapt it into a movie and Lugosi signed on the rest was history.
 The story follows a young accountant Renfield (Dwight Frye) on his way to close an account in Transylvania involving some land purchased in London. Harker soon arrives at a castle and meets Count Dracula (Lugosi). He is eventually tricked by Dracula's harem and is sent back to London with the count in his coffin to wreak mayhem on the unsuspecting people of London. Upon arriving he meets several people including a young lady named Mina (Helen Chandler) who he falls for. It becomes clear that he wishes to turn her to a vampire so she may join him for all eternity. It is up to her fiancee Johnathan Harker (David Manners) and Professor Abraham Van Helsing (Edward Van Sloan) to stop the foul beast before he can complete his task.
The reason that this movie has held up for 85 years is because people are still fascinated by the myth of Dracula and even more so vampires themselves. Even though if we found out vampires were real we would most likely do everything in our power to make sure they were destroyed we are still very much interested in all that they stand for and all the mystery that is behind them. It also can be said that Lugosi is giving the performance of his career in this film and has the character down so well that one would almost believe that Dracula was on set. It is a remarkable movie of its time that does not rely on a lot of special effects but more so atmosphere to deliver its scares. I remember when I was little and my parents bought me The Wolf Man, Frankenstein, and Dracula on VHS. I never had a problem with the first two but Dracula always scared the hell out of me. I think the reason is that you couldn't reason with the other two and it wasn't there fault. With Dracula he was highly intelligent and charming and did it because it was fun. This film is almost a hundred years old and I think will still scare people a hundred years from the day it came out.
Well we have closed the casket on Dracula join us tomorrow when we travel to 1941 and see what happens when the moon is full. For High Weirdness I'm Benjamin Kolton reminding you "It's Only a Movie" "It's Only a Movie"

31 Days of Horror Day 11: what's your favorite scary blog?

Scream 1996:
Cabin in the Woods is one of the latest examples of pointing out the tropes in horror films in an original way. In 1996 horror fans were asking the very serious question is horror dead? We hadn't seen a strong new contribution to the genre in some time. Most of the classic 80's boogeymen had become tired or almost a parody of themselves. It had been quite a long time since something had taken America by storm. 
However in December of 1996 we were treated to the re-birth of the horror genre and a new take on how to scare a modern audience. Director Wes Craven who if their were a Mount Rushmore to horror directors would be on it without any question had been trying to move away from the genre when he was approached by brothers Bob and Harvey Weinstein to direct a thriller from first time writer Kevin Williamson. The clever Weinstein boys didn't stop there by putting a fabulous script with a first rate director. Next they then went out and spent the money on a group of actors who were not only well known but could also shockingly act. This combination of things would later be used and copied in other movies such as The Ring and The Conjuring films. The finished product is one of the best horror films of the 90's that spawned three sequels up until 2011. All of them were directed by Craven the fourth being his last film in 2011. We of course are talking about the game changing 1996 classic Scream.
It would have been a great script regardless but it doesn't hurt that Craven turned it into a phenomenal movie. Craven is a genius when it comes to the horror genre. The man invented Freddy Krueger for god sake. He is the modern day Hitchcock of horror and showed us that he was not out of ways to scare us when it came to Scream. He was a fantastic choice and everyone shines because of the direction he gave to them. He knows how to pace a movie and keep the scares coming but not over saturate them to where you feel numb to the terror.
The film is not just a horror movie but it is a film about horror movies. It takes place in a small town and opens with Casey Becker (Drew Barrymore) getting ready to watch a movie when the phone rings and she is slowly talked into a deadly game of survival with an unknown caller who tells her she has to play a game if she wants to survive. After torturing her over the phone the killer finally strikes revealing himself to be a man in a black cloak with a mask very similar to the scream painting. Casey is eventually chased down and killed and the movie goes to our true main character Sidney Presscott (Neve Campbell).
The genius of this film is that before you got into the theater before you saw one frame, the marketing, and the poster had you believing that Barrymore would play a major role in the film. She was the first person on the poster and the biggest name at the time. It was a huge shock to the audience when she was killed within ten minutes. This clever device put the audience in the position of never being able to tell who was safe in the film. It also made it near impossible to guess who was the murderer was. This film was the first to not make every male a dumb jock or nerd and not make every girl a whore or a uptight virgin. Instead Williamson flipped the script and made them very aware of their surroundings and give them prior knowledge of past horror movies. The film is a cornucopia of pop culture references to other horror films.
It was also the first movie to use technology to terrify people. A cellphone had never been used in a film as a tool to work terror into a scene. It gave the killer a sense of power like he could be anywhere at any time.This film still holds up and makes you love the genre in a way that no other horror film can. Truly a film where everyone including Craven are at their best.
So that wraps up our film for today. Tomorrow we will step deep into the past and discuss the children of the night and what music they make. For High Weirdness I'm Benjamin Kolton reminding you "It's Only a Movie/" "It's Only a Movie."

31 Days of Horror Day 10: Giant Evil Blogs.

 Cabin the Woods 2012
 Sometimes a little fourth wall breaking or someone in a movie winking to audience is just what you need to make a movie that much better. Movies that are self aware and play between that idea of fantasy and reality are wonderful. The Cabin in the Woods is one of those movies that pushes the boundaries of winking into the camera to the 10th degree. Now while no one is aware they are in a movie it is still a film that examines the horror genre to such an extensive degree.
The story follows five friends heading up to a cabin for a relaxing weekend. Sound familiar to anyone? We have the jock (Chris Hemsworth), the scholar (Jesse Williams), The blonde (Anna Hutchison), the stoner (Fran Kranz) and the virgin (Kristen Connolly). It's the perfect group of people to be heading up for a fun filled weekend. At the same time we are shown a group of people working in some government facility with a deadline that they are all trying to meet. The government group is lead by two men Sitterson (Richard Jenkins) and Hadley (Bradley Whitford). The gang finally reaches the cabin and it seems like a normal fun time until they discover the cellar of the basement. Sound familiar to anyone. down in the cellar is a slew of items that seems to be there and should not be disturbed. One of the group opens up one of the items and it seems to cause a chain reaction letting loose an unspeakable horror. We soon discover that the people at the government facility have placed the items in the cabin in order to set off a chain of events that will lead to all of the groups death in order to serve a higher purpose. The group gets picked off one by one until  Kranz and Connolly are left and discover the Cabin and the people who run the government facility are closer then we think.
I am trying to not say too much about this film because it will spoil the over all surprise at the end. I can say that when I saw a movie called Cabin in the Woods my first thought was oh great the horror genre has lost all credibility when we are not even trying to be clever about the films title anymore. I was completely wrong and the title is one of the most brilliant parts of this film. The entire film is a twisted look at the idea that maybe every horror movie we have ever seen is a scenario like the one in this film. Nothing is off the table when it comes to doing a clever twisted look at the horror genre. It is a very smart and new take on an old subject. It takes on tropes of horror movies both old and new keeping you guessing the entire time.
The casting of the film is great as well. Outside of a few people who were famous a little later on this cast feels like a group of unknowns which makes it feel all the more real at times. Even though Hemsworth was in Thor a year earlier this film was made way before he became the god of Thunder. He is still the charismatic good looking guy but when this was shot he was a relatively unknown actor. It is hard to say if this film was a reason that he had got the lead in Thor because Joss Whedon who oversaw the first phase of the Marvel Universe co wrote Cabin in the Woods. It is very much a Whedon film with clever writing and amazing characters. At the same time all the credit can not go to Whedon. Director and co-writer Drew Goddard keeps his half of the script going with great use of mythology and wonderful pacing in a very well timed 95 minutes.
All in all we see a wonderful film with tons of amazing performances and a tight script. This is one to watch with a group of friends and get a drinking game going of how many tropes you can spot.
Well its time to leave the woods after four long days and head back to civilization with a film tomorrow that will truly make you shriek, or some other word similar to it. For High Weirdness I"m Benjamin Kolton reminding you "It's Only a Movie." "It's Only a Movie."

31 Days of Horror Day 9: Good. Bad. I’m the guy with the Blog.

Army of Darkness 1992

So part three of a trilogy is a tricky thing. It takes a lot of things to make it work you need to have a compelling finish to your overall story line. You need to keep everyone invested in the characters that have come and gone over the past two movies while also still adding layers to them. You need to reference the past two movies while also making this third film stand on its own two feet.  Most importantly it needs to have a strong finish that solidifies the entire trilogy.  Usually when you hit part three of something it runs a bit long or doesn’t finish as strong as it should. Most times it’s just an unnecessary grab for cash because the first spawned the second and so on and so forth. Luckily for all of us fans of “The Evil Dead” series the third film in this franchise did more than meets the expectations.

The third film picks up where Evil Dead II left off Ash (Bruce Campbell) is in the Middle Ages and is being led in chains to a castle with other prisoners. We soon discover that too warring castles are fighting because both believe that the other has brought the evil of the Deadites to the land. Ash is mistaken for one of Duke Henry’s (Richard Grove) men. He is thrown into a pit in the castle of Lord Arthur (Marcus Gilbert) and is forced to fight a beast to the death. Armed with only his wits and a chainsaw Ash hands the beast a beating and climbs out of the pit announcing to the world that he is running the show. Amongst the members of the castle is a wise man who tells that Ash is the prophesized one who will end the evil in the land. It is said that he will quest for the book of the dead and speak the magic words to end the evil. Ash agrees on the terms that if he gets the book the wise man will send Ash back to his own time. He sets off on the quest and horror and hilarity ensue. Ash finds himself facing all sorts of foes including mini versions of him and eventually an evil full grown version. He reaches the book and in typical Ash fashion screws up saying the words and awakes the army of the dead.

This film is so brilliant because like Evil Dead I and II it brings you something new while also respecting the previous films. We see Campbell play a guy fighting off a few demons to a hero leading an army against an onslaught of demons. It is also in this film where we see what might be Campbell’s best performance as a leading man. He also gets to flex his romantic side as he woos the beautiful lady Sheila (Embeth Davidtz). Campbell is stealing every scene this movie and makes it a point to give it everything he’s got. The film is also drastically different then the first two in that we see much more in the way of sets and characters. We also get more of a backstory on the book of the dead itself.

This movie is a great finish to a classic trilogy of terror and laughs and I think is the strongest of the three. It is the strongest for all the reasons above and because of the fact that I watched it first not knowing it was a trilogy and had no problem following it at all. Raimi as a director manages to catch you up on two whole films with a brief montage at the beginning and doesn’t make it feel like you had to see the other two films before. He would later use this filmmaking trick in the Spider-man trilogy at the beginning of each movie. If the first movie is a classic piece of music and the second film is 60’s rock song then Army of darkness is a Hard rock 80’s ballad.

We have finished The Evil Dead trilogy now it’s on to a new cabin in the woods, however tomorrow will be a little more self-aware. For high weirdness I’m Ben Kolton reminding you “It’s Only a Movie.” “It’s Only a Moive.”

31 Days of Horror Day 8: Someone's in my fruit cellar! Someone with a fresh Blooooggg!

Evil Dead II: Dead by Dawn 1987

 

The Old expression is if it isn’t broke don’t fix it. That is very true for the film we are going to talk about today which is the sequel to yesterday’s film Evil Dead. It could be said that this is just a remake to the original with a bigger budget and more of a humorous approach. This is not true when it came to showing a recap from the first film scenes could not be obtained. So the beginning was remade to explain how Ash got to the cabin. Evil Dead II is a movie that stands on its own and in my opinion does what most sequels only dream of doing which is being better than the original.

Instead of five people going up to the cabin this time it’s only Ash (Bruce Campbell) and his lovely lady Linda (Denise Bixler) headed up for a romantic time in the woods. When reaching the cabin the two decide to get comfortable until Ash finds a tape recorder. He begins to play it and the voice Professor Raymond Knowby (John Peakes) who tells of his amazing discovery of Necronomicon Ex-Mortis AKA the book of the dead. Once a passage is read from the book something evil is released in the woods and takes Linda. Ash has no choice but to carve her up and fight off the other Evil Spirits dark forces and his own hand. At the same time a plane is landing and the daughter of professor Knowby (Sarah Berry) is getting off a plane to come to the cabin with some important papers. Along the way she picks up a few people and the four run into Ash who has gone all but mad after cutting off his possessed hand with a chainsaw. The four are soon realize they are not alone and that something is down in the cellar waiting to be released. The two eventually stop the evil and send it and Ash back to where it came from.

This is a movie that had its fair share of problems especially in the financial department. The film had a tough time getting funding but when horror author Stephen King heard Raimi was having trouble King asked famous producer Dino De Laurentiss to help finance the film. It can also be said that problems during shoot took place as well the demon in the cellar that is played by Raimi’s brother Ted was forced to wear tons of makeup and prosthetics including a giant rubber suit. It would get so hot they would have to ring out the suit every day after shooting. It is rumored that the effects team somehow used the collected sweat in a horrible prank on Ted Raimi at the end of shooting.

This is a much more humorous take on the Evil Dead film. Campbell is allowed to not only stretch is comedy chops in this one but we also start to see the origins of what I like to call “King Ash.” This is also where we get to here one of Ash’s signature catch phrases for the first time “Groovy”.  The transition from the first film of a guy just trying to survive to the second where he take up the hero mantel is quite impressive. This movie is sheer joy because it does not take itself seriously but at the same time manages to scare you a few times with some jump scares worthy of Raimi’s horror prowess. It also improves upon the film by not only giving you the same great stuff from last time but adding to the mythology of the book of the dead. We get backstory and set up for things to come. It is a remarkable second part of a trilogy.

Until tomorrow when we all gather around and examine when Ash took the leap from horror movie protagonist to straight up legend. For High Weirdness I’m Benjamin Kolton reminding you “It’s Only a Movie.” “It’s Only a Movie.”

31 Days of Horror: Day 7 I'll Swallow Your Blog!

The Evil Dead 1981

Sometimes a film comes along and completely takes you by surprise not just in directing, acting and overall film making but the excitement it instills in you. It’s the type of feeling where you want to ask everyone have you seen this movie. You hope that they haven't because you want to be the one to show it to them and in some small way want to recapture the magic of the first time you saw it. It's also important to state that when you see a movie for the first time by a first time filmmaker it sets the bar for how your cinematic relationship will go for the rest of time. What your parents told you is true you never get a second chance to make a first impression.

In the case of Sam Raimi nothing could be closer to the truth. Raimi is the guy who is responsible for bringing us the first three Spider-man films, yes even Spider-man 3 don't turn on him yet. He has done a lot of other good with such hits as "A Simple Plan”, "The Gift", and "Drag Me to Hell". However none of his films shocked or stated to the world “I'm here and I have something to say!”  More so then his first film he directed wrote and produced The Evil Dead. Now most people see that title and think what kind of paint by number horror movie bullshit is this. To those people you can quietly get out and not come back. This film is the bench mark by which horror standards are set. This is the original cabin in the woods movie that so many others have tried to surpass but none have been able to. Raimi is an amazing magician of a film maker who not only knows how to make a film on the cheap but also knows how to make it look good. He keeps everything moving at a breakneck pace with very few things being sacrificed for this speed. He almost reminds me of a part filmmaker part mad scientist when it comes to pulling off his filmmaking. Another thing that sets this film aside from the rest is his use of camera work. The camera becomes another character by moving like some evil presence through the woods. It can’t be stated how many times this has been reworked and stolen in other horror movies.

The story follows five friends who are taking a weekend in a cabin to hang out and party. Upon reaching the cabin and going down into the basement the group discovers an ancient book that when opened and read from can release flesh possessing demons from hell itself. The five are one by one picked off until it is down Ash Williams (Bruce Campbell) to step up with shotgun in hand and take the demons down a peg.

Now outside of having one of the greatest chins that God himself has ever molded Campbell is B movie royalty. If you were to go to a comic book convention with George Clooney and Campbell most people would be mobbing Campbell and asking who the guy with him is? Campbell has built a career of showing up in movies of a B level and making them all his own. If there was a Mount Rushmore of Horror I would say he might be the only non masked or deformed face to grace it. Him and director Raimi have been friends for a long time and this I s the reason why Raimi put him in the staring role. It also doesn’t hurt that Campbell is a naturally gifted actor with the ability to play all range of emotions. He not only can do drama but also can be the funniest and most charming man in the room. In The Evil Dead he is mostly playing a boy who eventually has to step up and become a man to save the day. Not a lot of laughs in the film particularly because this is the darkest out of the trilogy.

Evil Dead sets the standard for great horror not just for being the first cabin in the woods movie. It also sets a standard because of the sheer amount of gore and how it’s used in several different ways. You have your gallons of fake blood. Which when I say gallons I do mean outside of Japanese Samurai movies no one uses blood the way Raimi does. He also uses stop motion to bring his gore to the forefront. It is quite an unpleasant film at times to watch which causes fans of horror to want to re-watch again and again. 

There is not enough praise one could heap on Evil Dead so I will just tell you to watch it and enjoy laughing screaming and also being very uncomfortable at one moment. You have been warned.

See you all tomorrow when we take a look at what that handsome devil Campbell would do if he decided he wanted to go back to that cabin in the woods for another groovy time. For High Weirdness I’m Ben Kolton reminding you “It’s Only a Movie.” “It’s Only a Movie.”