A Month of Horror
Like the genre we are here to celebrate, a sequel is always around
the corner. Horror Movies are full of sequels - from the established
classics of the '80s, to today's annual cash-grab installments of the
cheap and easy series. Due to the popularity of last year's Horror
Movie-A-Day, I have decided to present 31 all new (or old) horror movies
for your enjoyment...
October 5: Frozen (2010)
Adam Green burst onto the horror scene with Hatchet, a throwback to eighties slasher films like Halloween, Friday the 13th, and the texas Chainsaw Massacre staples. While the Hatchet series is an often over-the-top gore fest (featuring many acting staples from the movies it is paying tribute to), Frozen is a very different film.
One of humanity's biggest fears is isolation and what better way to reinforce that isolation than by setting almost an entire movie on a ski hill at night. Better still, take it one step further by isolating what essentially amounts to a cast of three in a chair lift high above the slopes long after the ski hill has closed for the weekend.
Shawn Ashmore, Emma Bell, and Kevin Zegers play three college students who weasel their way onto the hill for one last ride. Things quickly slip out of control and the three are left stranded high above the ground in increasingly degrading conditions.
While not a horror movie in the classic sense, Frozen does a great job of building tension and creating a palpable sense of dread as the three friends first have to deal with their personal issues, and then have to face the fact that their survival will likely depend on extreme measures being taken.
There are three classic paradigms of struggle in literature: man versus man, man versus nature, and man versus self. This movie contains all three in varying degrees, part has a particular focus on man versus nature and man versus self.
The small contained set, and reliance on just three actors to carry the bulk of the running time makes this a unique and captivating study of how far we might be willing to go to survive the harshest of conditions.
While Hatchet was a fun romp through the gory tropes of the slasher genre, Frozen is a much smaller, yet equally intense study in horror. With both, it is our underlying will to survive that propels the characters forward, but somehow, the more realistic and grounded approach to Frozen makes for a much more harrowing experience.
Tomorrow, it's sequel time in the season of the witch...
Saturday, October 5, 2013
Friday, October 4, 2013
Day 4: Sinister (2012)
A Month of Horror
Like the genre we are here to celebrate, a sequel is always around the corner. Horror Movies are full of sequels - from the established classics of the '80s, to today's annual cash-grab installments of the cheap and easy series. Due to the popularity of last year's Horror Movie-A-Day, I have decided to present 31 all new (or old) horror movies for your enjoyment...
October 4: Sinister (2012)
There are many common themes in horror movies and Sinister blends three of them to good effect: the haunted writer (in this case Ethan Hawke's true-crime author struggling to recapture his past successes), the new home that proves to be less than ideal (in this case rightfully so as it was the site of the mass murder that Hawke is writing about), and the mysterious found footage (in this case, an old box of Super 8 films - and a projector - that hint at a bigger story than Hawke's character had originally imagined).
Sinister (yes, from the makers of Paranormal Activity) is a decently creepy yarn of impending madness and evil presences threatening to cross over into the realm of reality. it is also a story of a man haunted not so much by the ghosts or demons that surround him now, but by the fleeting success he once enjoyed.
Hawke does a good job as the struggling writer, something he could very well have real world experience with, and it really is his story. He moves his family into a house that was recently hom to a massacre and quickly settles into to his research, only to be sidetracked by a mysterious box of Super 8 films.
While the film does maintain many of the tropes of the above listed genres, it also manages to deliver some truly effective scares and genuinely eerie moments. There is a looming "ghoul" figure that makes random appearances, but the most eerie moments are when Hawke's Ellison Oswalt sits in his study quietly watching the Super 8 videos projected on a white sheet in his darkened study.
As the movies progress, the films get more and more disturbing. Some of the more standard scares (mysterious critters showing up) do nothing to further the plot, but the increasing horror in the videos, and the dawning realization that things are only going to get worse makes for an increasingly tense tale.
Yes, it is a little familiar but that is what makes horror movies so great. It's like meeting up with an old friend and realizing that while it seems like nothing ever changes, things are in fact just different enough to keep things fresh.
Tomorrow, things are going to get a little chilly...
Like the genre we are here to celebrate, a sequel is always around the corner. Horror Movies are full of sequels - from the established classics of the '80s, to today's annual cash-grab installments of the cheap and easy series. Due to the popularity of last year's Horror Movie-A-Day, I have decided to present 31 all new (or old) horror movies for your enjoyment...
October 4: Sinister (2012)
There are many common themes in horror movies and Sinister blends three of them to good effect: the haunted writer (in this case Ethan Hawke's true-crime author struggling to recapture his past successes), the new home that proves to be less than ideal (in this case rightfully so as it was the site of the mass murder that Hawke is writing about), and the mysterious found footage (in this case, an old box of Super 8 films - and a projector - that hint at a bigger story than Hawke's character had originally imagined).
Sinister (yes, from the makers of Paranormal Activity) is a decently creepy yarn of impending madness and evil presences threatening to cross over into the realm of reality. it is also a story of a man haunted not so much by the ghosts or demons that surround him now, but by the fleeting success he once enjoyed.
Hawke does a good job as the struggling writer, something he could very well have real world experience with, and it really is his story. He moves his family into a house that was recently hom to a massacre and quickly settles into to his research, only to be sidetracked by a mysterious box of Super 8 films.
While the film does maintain many of the tropes of the above listed genres, it also manages to deliver some truly effective scares and genuinely eerie moments. There is a looming "ghoul" figure that makes random appearances, but the most eerie moments are when Hawke's Ellison Oswalt sits in his study quietly watching the Super 8 videos projected on a white sheet in his darkened study.
As the movies progress, the films get more and more disturbing. Some of the more standard scares (mysterious critters showing up) do nothing to further the plot, but the increasing horror in the videos, and the dawning realization that things are only going to get worse makes for an increasingly tense tale.
Yes, it is a little familiar but that is what makes horror movies so great. It's like meeting up with an old friend and realizing that while it seems like nothing ever changes, things are in fact just different enough to keep things fresh.
Tomorrow, things are going to get a little chilly...
Thursday, October 3, 2013
Day 3: The Bay (2012)
A Month of Horror
Like the genre we are here to celebrate, a sequel is always around the corner. Horror Movies are full of sequels - from the established classics of the '80s, to today's annual cash-grab installments of the cheap and easy series. Due to the popularity of last year's Horror Movie-A-Day, I have decided to present 31 all new (or old) horror movies for your enjoyment...
October 3: The Bay (2012)
The name Barry Levinson is a big one in Hollywood, and rightfully so. He has directed some fantastic movies over the years, eveything from Sleepers and Wag the Dog, to Good Morning Vietnam. His name is not exactly one that screams found footage horror film, and yet, there it is attached to today's movie, The Bay.
Found footage films are the new cheap and dirty, and unfortunately for every REC and Blair Witch Project, there are at least three dozen variations that don't really understand the permutations of what makes an effective found footage film. REC got it right because there was a reporter on the scene providing a plausible reason for why everything was being filmed. Blair Witch nailed the concept by insinuating that the found footage was in fact handed over by the authorities to the film makers to have it processed and edited in a way that they would be able to make sense ofthe disappearance of the three film students.
The Bay is a little different. The horror is more grounded in a reality and when you know that the entire concept for the film actually started off as a documentary about the negative environmental impacts of chicken farm run off into Chesepeake Bay, it is no surprise that the resulting film is so taught and impactful.
This could happen. This could actually be happening. It is impossible to shake those thoughts as you watch a small coastal town succomb to a mysterious plague and suffer a complete collapse. You believe it, because the entire narrative has its roots in reality and the stretched truths still maintain a level of horrifying potential.
In the behind the scenes interviews, Levinson explains that his reason for switching from a documentary format to the final result was that he feared people would just view the documentary as another green propaganda piece and that the impact would be lost.
By taking the approach he did, and showing the "what ifs" that could result in an entire bay being pumped full of hormone and steroid infused chicken crap. What would happen to the bacteria in the water? What would happen to the people who were exposed to that water (and that bacteria)? The Bay poses some pretty heavy questions and delivers a very effective horror film at the same time, and one of the best found footage films of recent memory.
Tomorrow we will learn that sinister things lurk in the shadows...
Like the genre we are here to celebrate, a sequel is always around the corner. Horror Movies are full of sequels - from the established classics of the '80s, to today's annual cash-grab installments of the cheap and easy series. Due to the popularity of last year's Horror Movie-A-Day, I have decided to present 31 all new (or old) horror movies for your enjoyment...
October 3: The Bay (2012)
The name Barry Levinson is a big one in Hollywood, and rightfully so. He has directed some fantastic movies over the years, eveything from Sleepers and Wag the Dog, to Good Morning Vietnam. His name is not exactly one that screams found footage horror film, and yet, there it is attached to today's movie, The Bay.
Found footage films are the new cheap and dirty, and unfortunately for every REC and Blair Witch Project, there are at least three dozen variations that don't really understand the permutations of what makes an effective found footage film. REC got it right because there was a reporter on the scene providing a plausible reason for why everything was being filmed. Blair Witch nailed the concept by insinuating that the found footage was in fact handed over by the authorities to the film makers to have it processed and edited in a way that they would be able to make sense ofthe disappearance of the three film students.
The Bay is a little different. The horror is more grounded in a reality and when you know that the entire concept for the film actually started off as a documentary about the negative environmental impacts of chicken farm run off into Chesepeake Bay, it is no surprise that the resulting film is so taught and impactful.
This could happen. This could actually be happening. It is impossible to shake those thoughts as you watch a small coastal town succomb to a mysterious plague and suffer a complete collapse. You believe it, because the entire narrative has its roots in reality and the stretched truths still maintain a level of horrifying potential.
In the behind the scenes interviews, Levinson explains that his reason for switching from a documentary format to the final result was that he feared people would just view the documentary as another green propaganda piece and that the impact would be lost.
By taking the approach he did, and showing the "what ifs" that could result in an entire bay being pumped full of hormone and steroid infused chicken crap. What would happen to the bacteria in the water? What would happen to the people who were exposed to that water (and that bacteria)? The Bay poses some pretty heavy questions and delivers a very effective horror film at the same time, and one of the best found footage films of recent memory.
Tomorrow we will learn that sinister things lurk in the shadows...
Wednesday, October 2, 2013
Day 2: Insidious (2010)
A Month of Horror
Like the genre we are here to celebrate, a sequel is always around the corner. Horror Movies are full of sequels - from the established classics of the '80s, to today's annual cash-grab installments of the cheap and easy series. Due to the popularity of last year's Horror Movie-A-Day, I have decided to present 31 all new (or old) horror movies for your enjoyment...
October 2: Insidious (2010)
The haunted house/possession genre is a popular one, almost as popular as the familar tag "From the makers of Paranormal Activity and Saw" that seems to adorn so many DVD covers these days. Some are better than others.
Insidious actually delivers a relatively familiar tale, but does so in a way that seeks out a few new twists and turns as it unfolds the familiar trappings of a family who moves into a new dream home only to discover that it is more of a nightmare than a dream come true.
Patrick Wilson and Rose Byrne play the loving parents to young Dalton, a curious boy who explores their new home and seeks out the things that go bump in the night. It is quite similar to Poltergeist in the early going as we soon realize that not everything is as it seems in the new house.
There are the requisite bumps in the night, the mysterious figures that appear and disappear in the background of scenes, and the introduction of a group of paranormal investigators including a medium who wears a gasmask and her two Ghost Hunter assistants.
Where Insidious grows different, is the direction the film takes after the familiar tropes have been established. There are some surprising directions, some unique new topics, and a number of effective jump scares that make this a decent watch on a cold October night.
Tomorrow, we will take a little dip into the murky waters of Chesepeake Bay...
Like the genre we are here to celebrate, a sequel is always around the corner. Horror Movies are full of sequels - from the established classics of the '80s, to today's annual cash-grab installments of the cheap and easy series. Due to the popularity of last year's Horror Movie-A-Day, I have decided to present 31 all new (or old) horror movies for your enjoyment...
October 2: Insidious (2010)
The haunted house/possession genre is a popular one, almost as popular as the familar tag "From the makers of Paranormal Activity and Saw" that seems to adorn so many DVD covers these days. Some are better than others.
Insidious actually delivers a relatively familiar tale, but does so in a way that seeks out a few new twists and turns as it unfolds the familiar trappings of a family who moves into a new dream home only to discover that it is more of a nightmare than a dream come true.
Patrick Wilson and Rose Byrne play the loving parents to young Dalton, a curious boy who explores their new home and seeks out the things that go bump in the night. It is quite similar to Poltergeist in the early going as we soon realize that not everything is as it seems in the new house.
There are the requisite bumps in the night, the mysterious figures that appear and disappear in the background of scenes, and the introduction of a group of paranormal investigators including a medium who wears a gasmask and her two Ghost Hunter assistants.
Where Insidious grows different, is the direction the film takes after the familiar tropes have been established. There are some surprising directions, some unique new topics, and a number of effective jump scares that make this a decent watch on a cold October night.
Tomorrow, we will take a little dip into the murky waters of Chesepeake Bay...
Tuesday, October 1, 2013
Day 1: The Funhouse (1981)
A Month of Horror
Like the genre we are here to celebrate, a sequel is always around the corner. Horror Movies are full of sequels - from the established classics of the '80s, to today's annual cash-grab installments of the cheap and easy series. Due to the popularity of last year's Horror Movie-A-Day, I have decided to present 31 all new (or old) horror movies for your enjoyment...
October 1: The Funhouse (1981)
The Funhouse is definitely a product of its time. Produced in 1981, and directed by genre stalwart Tobe Hooper (of Texas Chainsaw Massacre fame), it is a simple story designed to cash-in on the slasher-craze of the ealry eighties.
The story is simple: a group of twenty to thirty-something teenagers sneak out for a night of fun at the local fair. In their infinite wisdom, they decide to spend the night in the titular Funhouse, an obvious set-up. The earlier scenes do a decent job of setting up the characters, including the younger brother of the "last girl" who also sneaks out to check out the excitement.
What none of the characters realize, is that the funhouse is actually home to a deranged albino freak with a face that is split in two, almost like it was once cleaved in two and then stitched back together as two three-quarter faces. The makeup effects are actually quite effective, which is no surprise as they are the work of Rob Bottin.
While this could easily be passed off as a cash-grab slasher movie, it is actually a fairly effective film, although clearly a product of its time. It is interesting to note that Tobe Hooper reportedly passed on shooting E.T. the Extra Terrestrial to work on this movie. Also of note for fans of horror-literature, the film was adapted into a full-length novel by none-other than Dean Koontz, originally under the pseudonym Owen West.
Tomorrow, a man must travel further than he would have imagined to save the soul of his young son.
Like the genre we are here to celebrate, a sequel is always around the corner. Horror Movies are full of sequels - from the established classics of the '80s, to today's annual cash-grab installments of the cheap and easy series. Due to the popularity of last year's Horror Movie-A-Day, I have decided to present 31 all new (or old) horror movies for your enjoyment...
October 1: The Funhouse (1981)
The Funhouse is definitely a product of its time. Produced in 1981, and directed by genre stalwart Tobe Hooper (of Texas Chainsaw Massacre fame), it is a simple story designed to cash-in on the slasher-craze of the ealry eighties.
The story is simple: a group of twenty to thirty-something teenagers sneak out for a night of fun at the local fair. In their infinite wisdom, they decide to spend the night in the titular Funhouse, an obvious set-up. The earlier scenes do a decent job of setting up the characters, including the younger brother of the "last girl" who also sneaks out to check out the excitement.
What none of the characters realize, is that the funhouse is actually home to a deranged albino freak with a face that is split in two, almost like it was once cleaved in two and then stitched back together as two three-quarter faces. The makeup effects are actually quite effective, which is no surprise as they are the work of Rob Bottin.
While this could easily be passed off as a cash-grab slasher movie, it is actually a fairly effective film, although clearly a product of its time. It is interesting to note that Tobe Hooper reportedly passed on shooting E.T. the Extra Terrestrial to work on this movie. Also of note for fans of horror-literature, the film was adapted into a full-length novel by none-other than Dean Koontz, originally under the pseudonym Owen West.
Tomorrow, a man must travel further than he would have imagined to save the soul of his young son.
Friday, March 1, 2013
STIATF February 28, 2013
Seven Things I Am Thankful For: March 1, 2013
EDITOR'S NOTE: This is not a motivational diatribe... If you are looking for purpose in your own life, I would look elsewhere (ideally inward, or around you).
1. My Father
My father is a kind, generous and hardworking man. He is also a big inspiration to me. As an English teacher, and the son of of English teacher, he (and my mother) also bestowed a reverence for reading and the written word in me from a very early age. I am very lucky to have such a solid and steadfast motivator and inspirer providing me with a constant impetus for consistently striving to better myself as both a writer, and a person in general. My dad also grows a little older today - Happy Birthday Dad!
2. Jim O'Heir as Jerry Gergich
Parks and Recreation is a great show. It is easy to focus on the breakout performances of Aubrey Plaza, Chris Pratt, and especially Nick Offerman's Ron Swanson, but it is Jim O'Heir's Jerry that is the unsung hero in my mind. Tonight's replay of this year's Halloween episode provided a great example of just how relevant the perpetual underdog was to me: when he had a (SPOILERS) heart attack punctuated by excessive flatulence, I laughed - and quickly grew worried. Speaking of which...
3. Halloween
There is no better "holiday" and no better "season" in my mind, than the inherent spookiness of Halloween, and the dry decay of late autumns in Northern Ontario. Halloween is the only day I can think of that emanates throughout the work of my favourite auteurs. John Carpenter's film is one of my favourite (and most watched) movies of all time - and while Rob Zombie has always embraced the basis, he also missed the point. To me, Halloween is a state of mind, and a seasonal presence that is more evocative than Christmas itself!
4. Thom Yorke
I have long been a fan of Radiohead, and always realized that their quirky, droopy-eyed singer was a big part of the buy-in I experienced. I have seen Radiohead in concert multiple times and revere both their artistry, and their commitment to the obscure. I know people who were passionate fans of different "eras" of Radiohead music that can no longer tolerate the band's elasticity. It is that very elasticity that keeps me engaged with them - they are one of the only bands I can think of who constantly strive for musical evolution. I am listening to Thom Yorke's Atoms For Peace side project "AMOK" as I write this.
5. Finding Old Things
Today I found an old note from a man who was voted as "one of the most important people in the history of Canada" by Maclean's magazine. That note is featured in the photo at the head of this entry. That is an impressive title, and it was bestowed upon a man for whom I have a great deal of respect and reverence. I also hope to be working with him on a short film project in the coming months.
6. Producing Short Films
There are two reasons why I love producing short films. The first reason why I really love producing short films, is because I don't have time to produce full length ones. The second reason why I love producing short films is because it has provided me with the confidence to start working on my first feature length film. For me, film and life tend to be a juggling act.
7. Jane Espenson
Not only has she been a part of some of my favourite pieces of entertainment (seriously, look her up) but it was one of her frequent WRITING SPRINT challenges on Twitter that inspired me to post this tonight. It was that same kick in the butt that lead me to realize I have had a great deal of traffic to my blog despite the fact that my last post was on October 31 (Halloween) of 2012 (see #3). I need to increase my posts, and I will thanks to one of my favourite entertainers: Jane Espenson...
See you all again soon -
Mike
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Day 31: Trick R Treat (2007-2009)
A Month of Horror
I have always wanted to do a marathon of "HORROR" throughout the month of October, one where I would revisit a new horror movie every day from the first to the thirty-first. I will revisit the classics as well as new entries into the canon. There are many movies that define this time of year, and I hope to showcase 31 of them this month...
October 31: Trick R Treat (2007-2009)
The Halloween season is as much about the perception of fear, the cool nights, the anticipation of things that go bump in the night, as it is about the iconography. My first glimpse of a leaf-strewn sidewalk is usually enough to get me going for my favourite time of year: there is a crispness in the air, and slight whiff of decay as the vibrancy of summer slowly steps aside for the long, bleak months of winter. Without fail, once Halloween as passed, and sometimes while it is full regalia, the snow will fall.
The true beauty of Michael Dougherty's "Trick R Treat" is that it captures the true essence of the season, and not just the day. Virtually every frame of this fantastic film is filled with iconography of the season, and the most majestic day itself. It might be a scarecrow in a desolate filed of crops, or a hundred jack-o-lanterns, to a pile of razorblades strewn throughout a mound of spilled candy, but like no other movie before it, "Trick R Treat" oozes the essence of Halloween.
Originally scheduled for a theatrical release in 2007, this masterpiece of the season was eventually released straight-to-DVD with little fanfare in 2009. It was an injustice to the horror film community. This is a film that should be celebrated and revered for its pure love of the holiday that so many of us hold dear.
There are five many stories contained with "Trick R Treat", each one linked by the mysterious sack-headed "Sam" who we come to learn is the embodiment of the holiday, or Samhain (the originally Celtic holiday upon which much of our modern version of 'Halloween' is based).
After the introductory scene with Tahmoh Penikett and Leslie Bibb, we also encounter main stories headed by Dylan Baker, Anna Paquin, Britt McKillip and Brian Cox... This is not an anthology though.
Each separate story weaves around the others and together they form an incredible anthology of all that makes Halloween special. The stories are spooky, terrifying and overall brilliant, and that is why Warner Brothers studios failed. This could have easily become the yearly Halloween anthology that John Carpenter had hoped to create with "Halloween III", instead it was a one-off curiosity that went straight to DVD.
Imagine a cinematic landscape where each year, a new collection of Halloween related tales was released (instead we got "Saw IV", which this would have been up against and was DTV at best - and now we have the "Paranormal Activities", which continue to recycle the same concept year after year).
When we have the opportunity to support films such as "Trick R Treat", we need to embrace them and let them know that these are the movies we want to see. We need to make it clear that original and tantalizing visions are better than recycled nonsense ad nauseum, year after year.
"Trick R Treat" is something that could stay fresh every year because there is a abundance of material to choose from. Every film on this list so far provides inspiration (and many of them clearly did) for what makes a great "Halloween" story.
If you haven't yet seen "Trick R Treat", or any of the other movies on this list, I highly encourage you to get off this blog and onto your nearest media viewing platform of choice. After all, 'tis the season!
Trick R Treat everyone, and Happy Halloween to all!
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