Film School Rejects » 31 Days of Horror

31 Days of Horror: Splinter

Robert Fure — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 12:00:17 +0000

Splinter (2008)

Synopsis: A young couple crosses paths with an on-the-run criminal and the three of them end up stuck inside a gas station, hunted by a voracious and ever changing parasitic creature. The three have to work together if they have any chance of surviving this night from hell.

Killer Scene: I love this film from start to finish, but if I had to pick a single scene, it would revolve around the parasitic hand that infiltrates the gas station and sets about making their night even worse. A hand may not sound threatening, but this scene is awesome and conjures up fond memories of the demonic digits of Evil Dead II.

KillSheet

Violence: There is a fair amount of blood spilled here, with broken bones and cuts, an excellent arm amputation scene, and an infected raccoon going Captain Insane-o on a gas station attendant. Not overly violent (there are only like 6 characters in the whole film, so your options are limited) but it satisfies my red desires.

Sex: No sex to speak of, but there certainly is some sex appeal in star Jill Wagner (who you might recognize from Blade: The Series). She remains fully clothed but is totally hot, so that’s a plus.

Scares: You get your standard jump scares here and there, but hardened horror vets won’t have a problem sleeping when it’s over. Unless of course you end up stranded in the middle of nowhere at a gas station. The way the creature moves and builds itself up with body parts is freaky and could cause some unpleasant night thoughts in those subject to them. A creepy and atmospheric movie like The Thing or Alien provides enough scares to keep you curled up, but nothing to cause your bladder to empty.

Final Thoughts: This was my favorite horror movie released in 2008 and I knew right then and there it would make the 31 Days of Horror list this year. While this list has no real order to it, I do try to save some of the better films for the end of the month and place a sort-of winner on Halloween, and this year I wanted it to be Splinter. If you haven’t seen this film, definitely check it out. It was made on a limited budget with limited locations, yet manages to pack in good scares and kills with a totally awesome creature. Shea Whigham turns in an excellent performance, though I’d say the star is definitely the creepy crawling creature. From scene one this movie kicks ass and doesn’t let up until the credits roll. It definitely has a bit of a retro feel, and by that it I mean it ignores all the contemporary bullshit tropes of twist endings, teenage cast, and goofy self-awareness.

31 Days of Horror: Poltergeist

Neil Miller — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 12:00:11 +0000

Poltergeist (1982)

Synopsis: A young family are visited by ghosts in their home. At first the ghosts appear friendly, moving objects around the house to the amusement of everyone, then they turn nasty and start to terrorize the family before they “kidnap” the youngest daughter. Left with no other options, the family invites various experts to their home to try and retrieve their daughter and get away from their not-so-safe abode.

Killer Scene: As I observed upon watching this film for the first time in a long time (see below for the rest of the story), it is one of the few truly great and terrifying horror films in which no one actually dies. At least, not during the runtime of the film. It involves plenty of dead people, all of whom died a long time ago, but no one actually dies (spoiler alert, straight from the early 80s). However, there is one badass scene in which the son (played by Oliver Robbins) is nearly swallowed whole by a tree. If that ain’t killer, I don’t know what is.

KillSheet

Violence: As I mentioned above, I was surprised to re-learn the fact that no one actually dies in this film. There’s plenty of violence, including the aforementioned tree eating scene, as well as the implied violence of the giant whateverthefuck demon head that almost eats Craig T. Nelson whole during the big final rescue of little Carol Anne. Creepy, creepy.

Sex: There’s no sex to speak of, but mom and dad (Jobeth Williams and Craig T. Nelson, respectively) do smoke a little of god’s green and make out. As well, there’s a hint that their daughter Dana (Dominique Dunne) has some intimate knowledge of the Holiday Inn. Also, mom gets naked and hits the bath tub at the most inopportune time. Nothing shown, but I’ll be damned if Jobeth Williams wasn’t one fine 80s babe.

Scares: Plenty of scares to go around in Poltergeist, even though its the Steven Spielberg version of a haunted house story. It has all of the classic family elements and even earned its PG rating back in the day by only letting by one “shit” and zero nudity, but that didn’t stop it from scaring the living daylights out of many kids of the 80s. I still shiver at the sound of Zelda Rubinstein’s voice to this very day.

Final Thoughts:

This year’s 31 Days of Horror feature has been a blast, if you ask me. And even though Robert Fure will deliver one more great horror title tomorrow to finish us off, I am glad that I got a chance to round out my own selection with a horror flick that has been very impactful on my life. At age 7, I watched Poltergeist for the first time and it shook me to my core. So much so that I was paralyzed in my horror genre watching for almost 12 years. I was accosted by friends because I wouldn’t go see any of the Nightmare on Elm Street films, or the Halloween series and The Exorcist until my late teen years. Even as recently as my dawn in the profession of movie blogging, I’ve long been labeled as a big pansy by my peers. The guy who can’t take a good scare and avoids horror films like the plague. Luckily, guys like Robert Fure and Rob Hunter have come along and taken up the genre torch here at FSR, otherwise this site would probably have suffered over the years.

This week, as part of a therapeutic journey through my own movie-watching youth, I sat down with some close friends here at Reject HQ to watch Poltergeist for the first time in almost two decades. And what I found is that I really had nothing to fear all along. Tobe Hooper’s movie is scary at times, but its classic paranormal fun — a calling card for a decade of horror and sci-fi films that hasn’t been matched since. I enjoyed it thoroughly, and plan to watch it again next year in the run up to Halloween. No longer will I be scared of the jump scared that Hollywood has in store for me, as I’ve conquered my own demons thanks to 31 Days of Horror.

That said, I will forever be looking up the history of anywhere I choose to live so that I’m certain it wasn’t built where there was once a cemetery…

31 Days of Horror: Martyrs

Kevin Carr — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 16:25:40 +0000

Martyrs (2008)

Synopsis: Lucie is a pre-teen girl that has recently escaped a horrific ordeal of torture at the hands of mysterious captors. She is brought to an orphanage to be treated and befriends Anna, yet she is still haunted by an apparition that reminds her of her captivity. Fifteen years later, Lucie is convinced that she has found her captors and attacks the family. Anna tries to keep her sane and safe, but things soon spiral out of hand, and Anna learns the true horror behind Lucie’s imprisonment.

Killer Scene: Like Inside, an earlier French horror film covered in the 31 Days of Horror, Martyrs comes with more than its fair of shocking moments. However, the one that hits home most is when Lucie first confronts the family she believes is responsible for her childhood ordeal. It’s not unpredictable, but it is a powerful moment of revenge.

KillSheet

Violence: While it would hardly fall into the category of “torture porn,” Martyrs is filled with scenes of human suffering. There are several bloody and explosive on-screen kills, committed with guns and knives. There’s also lingering scenes of abuse and torture. The human body is put through a lot in this film, and it gets more intense as the movie plays out. There’s a lot of blood on the hands, feet, face and floor, though surprisingly necessary to tell the story. And we are asked: how important is skin really?.

Sex: There’s no sex per se, though there is quite a lot of female nudity. The problem from the sexual arousal angle is this nudity comes in the form of psychotic apparitions and victims of abuse and torture. It’s not a turn on (at least for most members of the audience), though it does technically contribute to this category.

Scares: At the beginning of the DVD, director Pascal Laugier apologizes to the audience for watching his film. This is classy and hilarious – and totally necessary. Martyrs is not the most shocking movie I’ve seen by far, but it does get under your skin with its disturbing nature. It’s not a movie that has the overt scare moments (i.e., you won’t jump when a black cat leaps out of the shadows or anything). Most of the unease you’ll feel in this film will be more psychologically disturbing… a certain degree of wondering if what happens in the film is possible.

Final Thoughts: After seeing films like Inside, Irréversible and now Martyrs, I’m convinced that the French are some screwed up people. In this decade, this country has delivered some of the more thought-provoking and viscerally disturbing films. Part of Laugier’s intent when making this film was to turn the horror genre on its ear and keep the audience guessing. I’ll give him credit in that Martyrs kept me guessing. It was refreshing to see a film that changed its tone and focus effectively throughout. It wasn’t as disturbing as I was led to believe it would be, but Martyrs is a powerful thriller that is fantastically unique.

31 Days of Horror: The Children

Robert Fure — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 12:00:22 +0000

The Children (2008)

Synopsis: Two families celebrating Christmas together find that not all is jolly when a mysterious agent (bacterial or viral) begins affecting their children, turning them against their parents in a bloody Holiday mess.

Killer Scene: There is one kid in particular you’ll grow to hate. This little blonde whiny kid. He does a good job of terrorizing the adults who are trapped inside a glass filled shed. He chases after teenage Casey, threatening her with a stabbing. Things end poorly after the kid is shoved and finds the unpleasant side of a shattered glass pane.

KillSheet

Violence: The film cuts away from the violence a lot of the time. We see a good bit and what we see is indeed powerful, but the actual gore quotient is low. We do get some scratches, some blood, a partially scalped skull, scissor slices, a broken leg, a stomach cut open and a doll inserted, the glass shard to the back, and someone gets ran over, smashed into another car and a big blood smear goes down the window. And since most of this violence is directed at kids, it’s awesome.

Sex: There are a couple of MILFs in the film and teenager Casey is cute, in her angsty short skirt. But we don’t get any nudity and your pants will stay firmly loosely in place.

Scares: There are a few scenes that can hit you with the jump scare. A couple of the scenes in the film are tense, but not out right frightening. If you’ve always mistrusted children and worried that one day they would turn on you, this film might put the shivers in you. As a man who always assumed I could beat up approximately 37 nine-year olds, even if they were armed, this film gave me pause as to how easily these kids manage to put some serious hurt on some adults. Unfortunately for these kids, I’ve got no qualms about child smashing, so I’d like to see them try this bullshit at my Christmas party. I’ve only got one present under the tree – pain.

Final Thoughts: This movie has been given a lot of coverage and a lot of love. Surprisingly, it lives up to all the hype around it. It’s not overflowing with violence and blood, but rather makes very good use of it’s limited kill count (six). Personally I couldn’t wait for the kids to start being killed, mostly because their shrill shrieks and their cacophonic cries had me clutching the volume control. The Children is a tense, thrilling ride perfect for either Halloween or Christmas, whatever Holiday you want to ruin for grandma.

31 Days of Horror: Mad Monster Party

Robert Fure — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 12:00:31 +0000

Mad Monster Party (1967)

Synopsis: When famed mad scientist Dr. Frankenstein decides it’s time to retire, he hosts one final party for all his creations and monsters where he’ll announce his successor. When word leaks that the new leader of the Monster Council will be his human nephew, many of the other monsters begin plotting the young man’s demise so that they can take control of all of Frankenstein’s research – including a potion that can destroy entire islands.

Killer Scene: If you ever wondered what would happen if you filled a room full of monsters, including the Werewolf, Dracula, Frankenstein’s Monster and his bride, the Creature, and a host of zombies, this movie gives you the answer. First, they get drunk on wine and begin a food fight, where the violence quickly escalates. Now that’s a party!

KillSheet

Violence: Basically all of the violence is kid approved, but the puppets have a good time knocking each other around. One guy keeps getting his head knocked off, there is a big explosion, and some monsters are caught up in the big boom.

Sex: For a puppet, Francesca is totally hot. She’s got red hair, green eyes, and gigantic boobs. At one point she’s in a cat fight and gets her dress torn off and she does some sweet making out. Nice.

Scares: For an adult, nothing here is scary, but for kids, maybe. There are some ghouls, some heads getting knocked around, thrown knives, all that good stuff. It’s definitely a kids movie from 1967, before we started treating children like infants.

Final Thoughts: Halloween for many is a family event and it can be hard to find some good, quality family films. This film isn’t great, but it should hit the spot for children. There are plenty of jokes mixed in here that only adults will get, so you won’t be too bored. At the end, the film really goes for it and gives you an ending that is somewhat questionable for kids. Boom. Then, there is also this line at the end that can completely shatter your world (no joke) in terms of who’s who and what’s what in the movie, but most kids probably won’t get it. So for anyone who ever wondered why Halloween didn’t have a Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer esque holiday movie, you just didn’t know Mad Monster Party was it.

31 Days of Horror: Uzumaki (aka Spiral)

Rob Hunter — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 17:23:54 +0000

Uzumaki aka Spiral (2000)

Synopsis: A man obsessed with spiral imagery takes his own life, and soon the rest of the town becomes equally enamored by the mysterious designs. More deaths happen as the obsession grows, but the mystery deepens when people start changing physically including a student who’s always late to class who grows a snail shell on his back , and a girl whose sole concern in life is being noticed who finds her hair growing into a massive set of spirals the size of a Toyota Prius. A tsunami builds out at sea, a storm cloud appears above, and the town descends further into weirdness, physical manipulation, and madness.

Killer Scene: There’s no actual death in this scene and like the rest of the film it’s far from traditional horror, but it gives a good idea of the film as a whole. A local news report about the strange occurrences in the town opens with a graphic stating “Giant Snails Invade Local High School” before cutting to footage of human/snail hybrids climbing the outside of the school. You can hear the students moaning and combined with the amateurish shaky cam makes for a very unsettling little scene.

KillSheet

Violence: A guy falls/jumps to his death… smack dab onto the middle of a spiral floor design! A man climbs into a washing machine and dies… by spinning and stretching into a fleshy spiral! A woman cuts off the tips of her fingers with a pair of scissors… because her finger-prints are shaped like spirals! A guy is struck by a car and killed… and ends up wrapped around the tire in a bloody spiral! The car’s driver slams his head into the windshield… causing the glass to crack in a spiral design with his detached eyeball at the center of it! A giant millipede eats it’s way into a woman’s ear… and err, they form a spiral when they curl into a protective ball! A woman stabs the side of her own head with a broken vase shard… because the dead man under her bed told her there’s a spiral deep in her ear! A guy’s body contorts uncontrollably breaking bones and tissue along the way… and ends up looking like an unbaked spiral breadstick!

Sex: Sadly, the film is utterly lacking in the sex department. That’s unfortunate for any film, but it should never be allowed to happen in Japanese movies. The lead heroine does spend almost the entire film in her schoolgirl outfit, so that’s something. Oh, and the girls gym class doing splits over the pommel horse is pretty good too.

Scares: There are several jump-scares that come mostly courtesy of a character named Yamaguchi who likes to pop out and surprise the girls, and others that involve quick flashes of spiral imagery and odd physical effects. The rest of the film relies more on it’s uber-creepiness for the scares and succeeds pretty well.

Final Thoughts: This is one weird ass movie. Not only is the horror at the heart of it all an innocuous spiral design, but director Higuchinsky messes with the viewer in plenty of other ways too. A character is introduced with the screen flipped upside down then sideways. A conversation between a couple cuts away to a throwaway shot of someone walking but played in reverse. Two girls conversing while walking down a hallway seem oblivious to the silent students lined up against the walls around them with their heads down. A man starts rolling his eyes and soon they bulge and spin faster and faster in opposite directions. And that’s just a very small sampling of the visual liberties taken here. The film ends with a series of still shots shown bit by bit that make for one of the creepier endings I’ve seen in quite some time. Folks who need everything to make sense should probably avoid Uzumaki, but fans of atmosphere, creativity, and multiple WTF moments should definitely check it out.

31 Days of Horror Contest! Win Real Life Stories of Ghosts

Robert Fure — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 17:39:34 +0000

So maybe you consider yourself a tough guy. Maybe you’ve watched every movie on our list with a malcontent sigh and a bored roll of the eyes. After all, movies are just movies. Well then if that’s your deal buddy, try relaxing. At least, while you can, because The History Channel has agreed to hook us up with three ultra-sweet give-aways that focus on the real life side of ghosts, monsters, and things that go bump in the night.

First up, we have a special themed release of Monsterquest containing 4 episodes surrounding “Movie Monsters.” They are Jaws in Illinois (JAWS), Swamp Stalker (Bigfoot esque), American Werewolf (duh!), and Vampires in America (also duh!). Sounds righteous.

Second up, we have a 5 DVD set of Haunted Histories: America’s Most Haunted Places if you’re the kind of nutjob who thinks it might be a good idea to track down some horrifically haunted areas and see just how long you can hold out before some ghost-witch tears out your hair and makes you kid speak Latin.

And finally, the grand prize, an awesome, awesome, super Mega-Set of Haunted Histories. This set comes complete with 20, count them or just trust me, 20 DVDs featuring real life stories of zombies, vampires, and hauntings. Most (if not all) of America’s Most Haunted Places are included in this set, so you’re really going to get your money’s worth (considering you’re not paying) with this set. There are more than 18 hours of spine-tingling real life accounts to keep your momma busy washing your urine soaked sheets.

How can you win one of this fantastic prizes? Simple, tell us your best ghost story below. Or any true life haunted happening that you were a part of. Make us shiver with fear or throw-up with bulimia fright and you’ll walk away with some true-life horror discs. Winners will be chosen and contacted on October 31st!

31 Days of Horror: Grace

Robert Fure — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 12:00:54 +0000

Grace (2009)

Synopsis: Vegan and overall out-there alternative health Madeline loses her unborn baby in a car accident, but chooses to carry to term anyways. Things go wrong when she seemingly wills baby Grace back to life, though with an unnatural taste for human blood and a penchant for attracting flies.

Killer Scene: The scene for me that had the most impact was at the very end of the film where we discover that Grace has begun teething, with very unsexy results.

KillSheet

Violence: The film isn’t overly violent. There are three kills in the film, one in a car accident, one clubbing, and a throat injury. The film does pack in some bloody and gross moments though, such as a bloody miscarriage, a bleeding boob, blood vomit, wasted meat (horrifying!), and about fourteen gallons of vaginal blood. GAH.

Sex: For a movie about a bay, we don’t really get to see much boob. We do see an old lady expose her boob and get frisky with an old man. Then at the end we see possibly the grossest boob ever. UNSEXY.

Scares: Nothing in the movie is meant to scare you in that traditional horror movie way. Nothing jumps out at you. Rather, it’s more of a dread film. You’re going to dread what’s going to happen next. You know whatever is coming down the road is bad. It’s more of an uncomfortable film, than a scary one.

Final Thoughts: Grace is another film that has a ton of on-line support behind it that left me a little bit flatter than I expected. If we didn’t have a Children’s theme going on this year, I’m not entirely sure I would personally recommend it, though perhaps some other staffers would have. What I would recommend, however, is the score. It went miles in improving each scene and was fantastic. Also, I recommend meat. If you’re a vegan, your baby will be the devil. If you give your cat SoyMoo, he will kill animals. If you want to ride along our kid-theme with us or you find slow-burning, dreadful movies that deal with mothers and babies, this movie will definitely do it for you. If you want to feel uneasy this Halloween, or perhaps convince your girlfriend you’re not ready for kids, pop this in.

31 Days of Horror: Hatchet

Rob Hunter — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 19:00:08 +0000

Hatchet (2006)

Synopsis: A group of New Orleans tourists tire of the breasts and urine-filled streets of the city and head out of town for a haunted swamp tour. The disparate group soon finds themselves trapped and on the run from a disfigured maniac interested in seeing their insides up close and personal. Will any of them survive the night and the legend of Victor Crowley?

Killer Scene: One of the film’s best kills involves an older couple who get chased and caught by the vagina-faced killer. The man drops to his knees and the killer brings a hatchet down into his shoulder over and over again… until he literally hacks his torso in two. The woman runs but Crowley catches her, grabs hold of her forehead and jaw, and then after one camera spin around the duo he rips her head in half. It’s an extremely cool shot and effect, especially as her tongue begins to wiggle in the open air, and the DVD’s special features include a revealing behind-the-scenes as to how they accomplished it all.

KillSheet

Violence: A cranky old man is killed and disemboweled off-screen, and his equally redneck son has an arm ripped off, his spine torn out, and the bottom half of his body separated from it’s top. An alligator chomps into a guys leg before he’s hacked in half by Crowley. A woman has her head ripped in half (as described above). Another guy’s head is twisted around until the flesh rips and blood splashes. Another woman gets a sander to her face before being impaled on a shovel handle. A guy gets his foot and head chopped off. A guy gets his arms both ripped off simultaneously. A certain maniacal madman is shot, stabbed, pummeled, burned, kicked, etc. Good stuff all around.

Sex: Lots of boobs. The movie is set partially in New Orleans after all… The opening shots are filled with women lifting their shirts for cheap, sweaty necklaces, and a couple of “actresses” go on the swamp tour as well.

Scares: Like any worthwhile slasher flick there are plenty of POV shots of the killer sneaking up on unsuspecting victims and popping up when/where he’s not expected. They’re not always scary, but they’re there. And that’s fine because the movie more than makes up for it with the effects and reactions of the victims-to-be…

Final Thoughts: The tagline for Hatchet is “Old School American Horror” and that’s actually under-selling it a bit. This is fun entertainment both as horror and comedy, and it manages to straddle the line between genres extremely well. The gore is plentiful and fantastically done, and the laughs are genuinely funny. Unlike most slasher pics, the acting in Hatchet is actually quite good across the board as well. Writer/director Adam Green has crafted one of the best ‘killer in the woods’ movies in quite some time, and if you haven’t seen it yet you’re in for a bloody ass treat. (And yes, I realize “ass treat” may sound unappealing to some of you… but give it a chance, you just might like it.)

31 Days of Horror: The Hills Run Red

Robert Fure — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 18:15:48 +0000

The Hills Run Red

Marketing plays a fun part in horror movies. I’m sure most everyone has seen some variation of the “Too Scary for Theaters” logo or something along those lines, then watched the movie and thought “more like too not good for theaters” in broken English and all. Sometimes this is the idea of the team behind the movie, other times its a ploy from a publicity company, or who knows what. With The Hills Run Red, came with a sticker that reads: Contains Graphic Violence, Sexual Content and Nudity; Not Suitable For Minors. It’s also written in a red font, so you know it’s serious. Is this a real warning from releasing company Warner Premiere? I’d say that’s hard to believe after seeing the film. Don’t get me wrong, as you’ll see the film does have some good violence and overall I’m positive about the movie and heck, I’m recommending you see it this Halloween season. But deserving of a special warning, in addition to its R-Rating? Well, judge for yourself.

The Hills Run Red follows, what else, a group of young adults who head off into a secluded, wooded area that they probably shouldn’t head off into. In this case, the team is lead by Tyler, a pretentious film nerd who is hunting for a film that’s been lost for 20 years, said to be too horrifying to show again, a film called “The Hills Run Red.” Along for the ride is his semi-whore girlfriend Serina, his semi-douchebag best friend Lalo, and stripper-whore daughter of the infamous director Alexa. Tyler is intent on making a documentary about his trip to find the film and, rather quickly, going into the woods seems like a bad idea.

Kills

It’s hard to get a firm count on the number of people we see killed. Some kills that are part of the movie-within-a-movie are shown more than once and some of those aren’t shown fully. I feel pretty confident stating you see at least 7 people get killed, though there may be a few more that were slipped in there and evaded my count.

Ills

In a pretty awesome opening, a young kid cuts off his own face, disfigures himself, and puts on the doll mask that makes him BabyFace. We see some cured bodies (smoked, salted, yum!), a slashed throat, then a pick axe to the head, back, and then an arm is broken. There is a shooting, we see some corpses, a body is ripped in half, someone is slashed a bunch with a razor. There is some torture, stabbings, plenty of blood, a whole barrel full of awful, fingers cut off, a hammer smashing a head, a shovel beating, and someone gets speared through. A good amount of violence here, though the sticker is still either marketing or overkill. One scene included CGI blood and effects.

Lust

We see a strip club plenty full of tits, some thong ass, and then some more boobs. Later we see Sophie Monk’s boobs (a couple of times), we see Tyler’s girlfriends boobs, we see some sex. All in all, there are plenty of boobs in this film. Also, a touch of incest to make you feel warm inside.

Learning

Don’t go into the strange, foreign woods searching for whackos.

Review

I had heard and read a lot about The Hills Run Red before finally catching up to it, so I must say that I had high expectations. Talk of excessive gore, tons of boobies, and a generally awesome time that was agreeably self-aware. I can see where the talk comes from, but to be honest, I was expecting to be absolutely blown away by gore and kills and I wasn’t. It’s on the same level as some good gore, but it’s not groundbreaking. I’d say a Saw or a Hostel probably has more gore and something like The Children has more effective gore. But that said, it was still fun. There were some good kills and some humorous moments that were self-aware.

BabyFace is a pretty badass killer to boot. He’s got a completely messed up face and looks totally gross. There is a bit with him towards the end that I absolutely loved – it comes out of nowhere and is unexpected and awesome. I really wish they have done more with it. I don’t want to ruin for it anyone, but so people know what I’m talking about I’ll post it below in black text so that if you highlight it, it will show up on your screen. If you want to be taken by surprise, just skip over and keep reading.

Spoiler: At one point, Serina is singing a lullaby to BabyFace, trying to get him to let her go. BabyFace leans into her and then whispers, in a normal, educated voice “You can keep singing if it makes you feel better.” Brilliant. He’s not some slow, mongoloid redneck, which makes him so much scarier. He’s acting the entire time, and that makes him disturbing. I love this idea. Spoiler Over.

If I had a complaint (other than not living up to standards that were too high, which is no fault of the film, but rather the perception around it, which is an article for another day) it would be about the climax of the film. The very last little bit. It feels like it just ends. You’re waiting for this showdown, this little bit of something where we get a powerful ending one way or the other. But we just don’t. If you’re begging for a second complaint, sure – there is a twist in the film that’s pretty obvious. You could probably guess it without seeing the movie.

If it sounds like I’m being hard on the film, its because of love. I wanted to love this film instead of merely liking it. The premise is alright, though I’m not often sold on “movies within movies.” I’d like to see two things come of this – a prequel that is actually the original cut of “The Hills Run Red” that we see glimpses of in the movie, and a sequel that really expands on BabyFace. He’s a different kind of killer. He can be a classic, no doubt. Definitely the best part of the film. Oh, and I’d also like to see the Uncut version of the film – rumors suggest there may be as much as 10 minutes of footage missing. If there was just a bit more gore in this film, I’d probably achieve a boner. Even with the flaws I mentioned, the film is definitely still worth checking out.

31 Days of Horror: Baby Blues

Robert Fure — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 16:16:04 +0000

Baby Blues (2008)

Synopsis: A mother of four intends to become a mother of none after she suffers a psychotic break related to her post-partum depression. Triggered by the suspicion that her truck-driver husband is off cheating, her mind snaps sending her into a rage against her young children. Inspired by true events. (Or so they say)

Killer Scene: When it comes to kids in films, all too often they get a free pass, which is why the first time the mother kills one of her children, it’s shocking and unsuspecting. Sure, you knew she was trying to do it. But actually talking your child back to you only to beat and kill them? Killer and cold, indeed.

KillSheet

Violence: Much of the violence is just off-screen, but as its directed towards young children (infants, four year olds, nine year old) it’s rather off-putting. There’s child slapping, stabbings, pitch forks, knife slashes and cruelty towards animals.

Sex: “Mom” walks around in a nightgown the whole time, but there is nothing sexy in this movie. Except for the drawing of a naked lady on a match book, but getting a boner during this makes you a horrible person who will go to hell.

Scares: Not so much in the make you jump out of your seat kind of way, but in that “I’m dreading whats going to happen next” and “this could totally happen and maybe did” kind of way. You won’t be peeing yourself from fright, but you might just lose faith in humanity.

Final Thoughts: Baby Blue came highly recommended to me and it’s a pretty decent film . It’s well made and looks great, though the resolution to the battle at the end is “meh” and the final conversation between dad and son is so utterly unbelievable you can’t help but think this moron will get what he deserves later. But the film has a very serious tone and is down right disturbing. Cheering for children to be killed in a slasher flick is one thing, but watching it happen with the utmost seriousness and the utmost realism can be down right disturbing. Granted, as a hardened veteran of film (and someone who knows movies aren’t real) the film didn’t tear me up inside, but it has definitely created a stir in some people (like those who think anyone who watches it is a sick bastard) and can surely affect those not accustomed to this type of movie. In the end, there is a lack of gore but a proper amount of uncomfortable violence in a tense thriller that hits more than it misses.

31 Days of Horror: Near Dark

Rob Hunter — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 12:00:23 +0000

Near Dark (1987)

Synopsis: A cowboy (Adrian Pasdar) meets a pretty, young gal at the local saloon and discovers too late that her kiss includes a double-pronged love bite of vampiric proportions. Mae (Jenny Wright) and her blood-sucking vampire family (half the cast of Aliens) take Caleb for a ride in their Winnebago and try to make him one of them. But as any good cowboy would, Caleb fights his transformation and sets about rescuing the pale-skinned love of his life. The family isn’t too keen on that idea of course and soon the small Texas town is awash in blood, burning flesh, and bar fights.

Killer Scene: Speaking of bar fights… Caleb’s introduction to the family’s unique hobby occurs in a sleazy bar almost halfway into the movie. After insulting the bartender and patrons (”shit-kicker heaven”), the blood-letting begins with a waitress getting her throat slit. More deaths follow including a broken neck, shotgun blast to the gut, throat slashing via boot spurs, gunshot to the back, and they’re all followed by a wee bit of blood slurping and chin wiping. All to the sounds of The Cramps’ cover of “Fever”…

KillSheet

Violence: The family splits up at one point to feed but most of their foul deeds take place off-screen. Mae killing a truck driver is the only exception. But then the bar scene ups the ante on as described above. There’s also a nice motel shootout with the vamps having to fight both the law and the sunlight. Blood flows and flesh smokes… More violence ensues when the fanged folks come after Caleb’s family resulting in explosions, a knife in the mouth, and little man immolation.

Sex: None, which is a shame as Wright is an attractive woman. Her and Pasdar kiss a lot, but that’s it. She does eat a sexy ice cream cone though.

Scares: Much like the sex factor, the scares run pretty dry here. Sure they’re vampires but they’re not interested in sneaking up on anybody.

Final Thoughts: Is Near Dark the only vampire film to never utter the word ‘vampire?’ I think so, and that’s just one of it’s many accomplishments. The cast is excellent (with the exception of my least favorite child actor ever, Joshua Miller) and includes a mini-reunion of actors from Aliens. Lance Henriksen plays the scarred Civil War veteran Jesse, Bill Paxton plays wild card Severen (and absolutely kills it in the bar scene), and Jenette Goldstein plays the wig-wearing Diamondback. Plus Tim Thomerson! Most of the effects are practical which is always preferable over CGI (although parts of the finale do include some less than impressive digital work). The flick is probably a little slow by today’s standards, but it’s still a damn fine film. And really, what other film in your DVD collection boasts a score by eighties synth band Tangerine Dream?

31 Days of Horror: [REC]

Bethany Perryman — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 12:00:37 +0000

[REC] (2007)

Synopsis: [REC] is another 2007 import (as was this week’s 31 Days feature Inside), but this time: 1) it’s from Spain, 2) it’s the mother-film of the 2008 American remake, Quarantine (which, for the record, I haven’t seen), and 3) it is straight-up terrifying. Television reporter Ángela Vidal and her cameraman, Pablo, get trapped in a Barcelona apartment building with its tenants, a cop, and some firemen. A woman that the firemen are there to help becomes aggressive, and awfully bite-y. Then, slowly but surely, almost everyone becomes a ravenous zombie. How and why the woman became a zombie in the first place is uncovered by the diminishing number of survivors, and it’s sufficiently creepy to turn this shakey-cam zombie-suspense film into a bona fide horror.

Killer Scene: Any one of several moments could go here, but I’m picking the last two scares of the movie. Everything is scarier in nightvision.

KillSheet

Violence: [REC] is not a violent movie, per se. There are spurts of violence, and it’s good, but this movie stakes its claim as a genre film by its suspense and terror. No copious buckets of blood, but the zombies are highly convincing. The gore is there, and balanced — exactly when and where you need it. And as an added bonus, the first-person perspective enhances the spectacle, because you’re thrust in the thick of it all. Or running the fuck away.

Sex: None. Sorry, nerds. You won’t miss it. Really.

Scares: The Barcelona building has a foyer, six units, and a penthouse. And everyone is stuck. The building is surrounded — quarantined. No way in or out without a SWAT team shooting you into tiny bits. The people are in a truly desparate and terrifying situation, and they’re smart. No dumb moves, and they are still in a brutal mess. Then there are the jump scares. I think I jumped a good two feet out of my chair, about 4 times. Mabe a few more. So: a handful of jumping, terrible situation, shakey-cam goodness, and an eerie building. Win, win, scary, win.

Final Thoughts: The movie is shot in Blair Witch Project and Cloverfield shakey-cam style, from the vantage point of an unseen Pablo. While this may sound cheap or amateur, I encourage you to give it a shot here. It makes the movie, as you’re absolutely caught up in the violence and sheer terror and confusion of what the hell is going on in and outside of this place. [REC] didn’t get a theatrical release in the US, but was released on DVD in 2009. Worth the buy if you’re a horror fan. Worth the rent if you’re a zombie fan. Also worth the rent if you’re just a movie fan.

OAM + 31 Days of Horror: Dead of Night

Jim Rohner — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 12:00:41 +0000

Dead of Night (1945)

Synopsis: A group of six friends gathers together one afternoon in a cottage in the English country side. Walter Craig (Mervyn Jones) shows up to consult with the owner about restoring the aging abode, but is taken about when he realizes he’s met all the guests before – in a recurring dream. He can’t recall details of the dream, but he feels a terrible foreboding that it ends in horror. His claims of clairvoyance spur a discussion amongst the group about the probability of the paranormal, with everyone, including the skeptical Dr. Van Straaten (Frederick Valk), recalling their own personal experiences with things they can’t explain.

Killer Scene: Seeing as Dead of Night is an anthology film made up of five separate stories within one larger framework, there are many memorable and sufficiently frightening images worth mentioning. However, the sequence that stands head and shoulders above the rest has to be the film’s climax in which Walter Craig, experiencing a pastiche nightmare involving images from all the previously told tales, finds himself face-to-face with Hugo, a ventriloquist dummy that opens its eyes, addresses Walter then rises to walk over and strangle Walter as a group of evil-looking onlookers cackle evilly.

KillSheet

Violence: The body count for the film tops out at two – one by strangulation and one by suicide by drowning – and there are a grand total of three physical blows, though one is a slap across the face of a dummy. None of them are gory – it was the 1940’s after all.

Sex: Though the young Sally O’Hara (Sally Ann Howes) is attractive in a girl nextdoor sort of way, this film is about as sexy as a Quaker meeting.

Scares: Completely devoid of jump scares, Dead of Night provides sufficiently creepiness through its ominous atmosphere and some truly frightening images.

Final Thoughts: Before Trick ‘r Treat, before Creepshow, before any other horror anthology you’ve probably ever seen, Dead of Night set the standard for how horror anthologies should properly play out. What allows it to work despite no blood, no sex and no jump scares is the skillful writing that builds the foreboding dread with its intelligent structure. The first tale, about a race car driver’s vision that allows him to avoid his own demise in bus accident, is a benevolent paranormal occurrence. But as they go along, the tales get more and more ill-fated and evil until the film’s self-prophecying and borderline nihilistic conclusion. Also, no matter how many times I see it, stories involving talking dummies never ceases to give me the heebie jeebies.

31 Days of Horror: Army of Darkness

Neil Miller — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 12:00:21 +0000

Army of Darkness (1992)

“This.. is my BOOM stick!”

This weekend, we are taking a break from the obscure, the low-budget and the Coroner. As in, I’m taking over for a few days and I’m going to turn the focus of this daily feature toward my favorite sub-genre: horror comedy. And while Robert Fure did write about the entire Evil Dead franchise in one post last year, I just cannot let such aggression stand. These movies deserve their own posts. So lets do this…

Synopsis: Ash (Bruce Campbell) has been through some serious shit. He’s had to fight off a demon that turned his girlfriend and several friends into Deadites in Evil Dead, then he had to do it again for another night, this time with 4 strangers in Evil Dead II, only to see all of his hard work get sucked through a dimensional portal, plopping him down in the middle ages. Now he’s at it again, with a chainsaw for a hand and a shotgun in the other, ready to get medieval on some undead asses in this hilarious, ridiculous and all-out explosion of awesome.

Killer Scene: Unlike the previous Evil Dead films, Army of Darkness isn’t quite as intimate with the kills and the gore. Instead, director Sam Raimi and crew decided to make an epic war film with constant injection of ‘the weird’ for good measure. That said, there is one particularly wicked set of kills at the hand (or spinning blades) of Ash’s modified 1973 Oldsmobile Delta 88. Yep, a steam-punk Olds with huge spinning blades on it. What more could you want?

KillSheet

Violence: From the hand-to-hand battle inside the pit of despair that leads off the film to the larger-than-life (and equally ridiculous) final battle sequence, there is plenty of violence. In contrast to its predecessors though, AoD often sacrifices the bloody violence for that which makes a better gag. But it works, as this movie isn’t just about violence, its about absurd violence.

Sex: Finally, after seeing tree-rape in the first film and almost nothing in the second film, Ash gets some action, courtesy of Embeth Davidtz. And even though the fine lady doesn’t show us all that she’s working with, she’s still easy on the eyes. As well, there is a moment when she is taken prisoner by the head Deadite (also played by Bruce Campbell), a line of naked women are dragged across the screen almost inexplicably. Except for the fact that they’re about to be raped by the Deadites. Hot.

Scares: Unlike the previous two Dead films, Army of Darkness is a lot softer in the scares department. It evokes the weird more often than the frightening, but it does manage to get a little creepy here and there. Overall, this film is the more comedy than horror, but achieves both in acceptable fashion.

Final Thoughts: Army of Darkness might not be the perfect horror movie, nor is it the perfect comedy, but it works pretty damn well as a horror-comedy. Bruce Campbell once again gives Ash the bravado and insanity that we’re used to, while adding a new level of snarkiness. His performance(s) are fun, and they drive the overall absurdity that Sam Raimi has built into this movie, absurdity that plays perfect fan service to the Evil Dead loyalists around the world. There’s a reason they call it a ‘cult classic,’ because after you see it once, you just can’t not see it again. So see it again, if you have already. If you haven’t… shame on you.

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