tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17247138194116768852024-03-13T07:05:48.058-07:00Gorehound Mikes Weird CinemaGorehound Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16973855037717993579noreply@blogger.comBlogger184125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1724713819411676885.post-64194375528121042762016-01-02T15:34:00.000-08:002016-01-02T15:34:57.380-08:00<span style="background-color: black; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15.36px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: red;">End of the Year Notes (2015 edition)
By Jules Brudek, STICKY BOXES
This year turned out the gory goods with a ton of great horror film offerings. As a horror fan, I couldn’t have been more pleasantly frightened. Horror film audiences saw the shift from “Found Footage” Indies and haunted Blumhouses to genre-bending, genre-expanding, films like BONE TOMAHAWK and IT FOLLOWS. The unprecedented variety of horror movies that graced the big and small screens this year was impressive. I enjoyed nearly every horror film in some way because I looked for the silver lining in each film. What can I say? Horror is my passion. Critics and moviegoers alike encouraged the value of the comedy horror FINAL GIRLS or cursed the screen after a late showing of KNOCK KNOCK, “Where’s the blood, Eli?” What a triumphant year in the life of a horror film addict and staunch supporter. PG-13? Bring it on! Sequels? Sure, why not! Every time a horror film goes to the screen, regardless of the pitfalls, it is time indeed to celebrate! Look how far we’ve come!
Looking back at such an imaginative year, I had trouble narrowing my list down to five horror films. The following list of horror films defined the genre or pushed the genre into courageous, new territory, making it possible for horrific future explorations. Enjoy!
5. KRAMPUS
Michael Dougherty, the writer and director of Trick ‘r Treat (2007), co-wrote and directed this holiday horror. Now, as a lover of all things Christmas evil, I have to admit I loved the film before I even saw it. Of course, die-hard fans of the authentic Austrian/ Germanic folklore will be disappointed because Krampus (2015) fails to adhere to the mythological figure’s pre-Christian origins. However, if you can overlook that misstep, you are in for some twisted holiday cheer because Krampus delivers a fun satire about our greedy, judgmental culture. Also, it’s a family adventure and nothing says family like the holidays. Let’s be honest. If your family contained as many different personalities as mine, it would be outrageous for everyone to get along. Krampus reminds us that tolerance is the only way to love.
Final thoughts: KRAMPUS equals NO BABES. Yeah, that’s one way to get your film a PG-13 rating - get rid of the only sexually active female in the first ten minutes and save yourself from having to objectify her sexually. This is family fun and sadly, that means: no hotties in this horror.
4. MAGGIE
Although this was the perfect drama, horror fans are likely the only ones that will truly understand Maggie. Admittedly, the brooding contemplative drama about familial responsibility disguised as a zombie flick isn’t for everyone. Unexpectedly, I found it to be an authentic piece of art with an enriching message. Critics have characterized Maggie as too slow and/ or boring. Tonally, it does appear slow moving, but only as an artistic choice to build tension skillfully until the climatic final act. I guess some folks can’t be bothered.
Final thoughts: True, I was skeptical about Arnold playing a stoic farmer, but he pulled it off. I just melted with this softer, gentler Arnie.
3. THE GREEN INFERNO
Say all you will about cannibal films but we need them. I need them. Welcome back. Thank you Eli Roth! See this after a big dinner!
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<span style="background-color: black; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15.36px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: red;">Final thoughts: I could have done without the silly pot scene. As someone who has smoked a lot of bud, I find it hard to believe the entire tribe got high enough for mental impairment on that tiny supply. And who gets high the first time anyway? Dumb.
2. GOODNIGHT MOMMY
Foreign films are great because they dance a razor’s edge of the mysteriously unfilmable. Visuals can be felt and sounds can be tasted. Foreign films ask, “What are you feeling?” as opposed to, “What are you thinking?” You’d know exactly what I mean if you saw Goodnight Mommy, an Austria film that knows how vaulerable we feel when we can’t see someone’s face.
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<span style="background-color: black; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15.36px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: red;">Final Thoughts: If I fell asleep tonight and dreamt about The Twilight Zone’s episode “The eye of the beholder” and Brian </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15.36px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: red;">De Palma’s Sisters, the mash-up would explode into Goodnight Mommy. And that’s an amazing thing! Disturbingly brilliant!</span></span><br />
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1. IT FOLLOWS
Everyone has an opinion on this film. When I describe to people I relate it to a bad case of HIPSTER HERPES. Honestly, I hope I don’t catch it.
Final Thoughts: The pool scene alone will make you lose your shit!
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<span style="background-color: black; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15.36px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: red;">Thoughts on Tarantino:Hateful Eight
Retitled: It’s DECAF
A long, boring film about Coffee.
If I had written it, Damergue would have fought Marquis to the finish with no talk of Blow Jobs. She would claim victory, but only by a hair. Once she escapes the cabin into the blizzard, (The need for 70mm would be apparent with this sequence, trust me) she comes face to face with a wounded, near dead, John Ruth. Their fight scene would result in her death, finally. John Ruth would die clutching the “Lincoln letter” and he’d die knowing it wasn’t a forgery, after all.
Worst horror films of the year:
THE VISIT
If you are going to enter the world of found footage, your story’s premise must be (at least) believable. So many story elements hinge on our belief that what we are seeing is, in fact, real. If the filmmaker fails to set up a realistic premise in the first act, the film derails. Now, I can believe a lot of stuff. I can buy a lot of bullshit. BUT a mother letting her kids go to her estranged parents home without speaking to them ONCE, I cannot do it. No way! She never got them all on Skype? She didn’t make sure? Yeah right! M. Night, you must not be a parent.
SINISTER 2
I wanted to love this film so badly because I loved the concept and the execution of the first film. I was pulling for the goofy cop and the family he’s protecting but I just couldn’t fully get onboard because the story was all over the place. It was like a Lifetime movie about child abuse fused with the sadistic killings from SAW. I think only Clive Barker could have pulled it off properly. Yikes!</span></span>Gorehound Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16973855037717993579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1724713819411676885.post-70864954818519101482015-12-24T07:41:00.001-08:002015-12-24T07:41:50.538-08:00Poltergeist review by Vincent Daemon<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 18.6667px; font-weight: 700; line-height: 1.2; white-space: pre-wrap;">Before we get into the review I want to wish all the loyal readers a Happy Holidays and a special shout out to blog writers Vincent Daemon, Jules Brudek and William O'Donnell whose constant support makes this blog possible with their </span><b><span style="font-size: 18.6667px; line-height: 22.4px; white-space: pre-wrap;">unique cinematic points of view. And a big announcement coming soon. With that enjoy the review!</span></b></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">POLTERGEIST</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: red; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Year:</span><span style="background-color: black; color: red; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> 2015</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Director:</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Gil Keenan </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: red;">Review by: Vincent Daemon</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">By all rights, I knew what I was getting myself into. And I knew it wasn’t going to be any good. But this bad? In fact, bad isn’t even the right word. Atrocious. Yes, that fits perfectly. However, it was one of those dullard post-Holiday nights where there is nothing but fucking sports on the tube, nothing to do, and no money to go get a lil altered. Nope, stuck in the house, couldn’t decide what to watch, then curiosity finally struck the cat. And the after effects left me indeed feeling like a special part of my childhood had been ripped out of me and set aflame before my very eyes, killing that same curious cat. Shit, when the best thing about a movie is the poorly done cover of a classic punk song </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">*(“T.V. Set,” originally by </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">THE CRAMPS</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, I have no clue who did this version, and don’t care)</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, that rolls through a portion of the credits, it just makes you sick that they </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">couldn’t even use the original song. </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Why’s it </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">ALL</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> gotta be bad rehash? </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">*(I wonder if this is how all the </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">STAR WARS </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">fanatics felt toward the last 3 films, and will most likely feel over the next 3 as well.)</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What we get is a 101 minute rehash of the original </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">*(and aspects of </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">POLTERGEIST 2</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> thrown in for no reason whatsoever)</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> that would make a five year old laugh. The original is one of my favorite films, to this day retaining certain elements that still keep it creepy to me on a nostalgic level. </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sam Rockwell</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">*(a man who admittedly loathes children)</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> plays the father, and the family has just moved into some kind of dream home, yet suffering some kind of rich person financial strife. The house itself has none of the strange ambience it had, even in the daylight shots, of the original. </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Craig T. Nelson</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> originally played the father, convincingly and of the times. </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sam Rockwell’s</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> portrayal comes off as, well, </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">a man who loathes his children</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. Horribly miscast, he just kind of funny-faces his way through the film. </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The whole storm scene, with the grabby tree, is rendered not only </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">entirely </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">neutered of the tenderness of the </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">*(absent from </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">this </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">film) </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“lightning count scene,” but also the sheer terror of the monstrous oak tree attack - - - here it’s the world’s softest fern tree attacking the children and whisping against the house. Oh, and the children - - - yeah, all their names have been changed. </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">WTF?</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> That’s just as offensive as changing the </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE’S</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Leatherface”/Bubba’s</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> name into </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Thomas Hewlett</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> for </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">that </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">shitheap reboot - - - and makes about as much sense. “Carol Ann” is supposed to be “Carol Ann,” damnit, not “Madison” - - - </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">who the fukk is “Madison”?</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> And the boy, “Clifford”? They couldn’t have made the family more dislikeable if they tried. </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And in the first ten minutes they </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">are </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">aware of the fact the housing development is built on top of a “removed” cemetery - - - and have </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">no problem</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> with this! The teenage daughter, named “Kendra” keeps fukking around with her computer, taking the film momentarily into that “First Person” niche of current filmmaking. The paranormal idiots that show up to try and fix everything the first time are completely inept - - - and of all scenes, what they did with my personal favorite from the original - - - the maggot-steak and subsequent hallucinated face-tearing - - - are nowhere to be found, replaced by a lame drill gag that never pays off. And instead of bringing in some kind of oh, say, creepy-ish </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">ZELDA RUBINSTEIN-esque </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">*(though she’s truly irreplaceable)</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> medium, they bring in some </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“John Edwards/Edgar Cayce”</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> type late-night paranormal internet show host - - - who happens to be the lead scientists ex, which ends the film on a seriously angering, neck-hackle raising note. After the terrible cover, of corpse.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And that’s pretty much what we’re looking at here, a film that makes constant allusions </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">*(sometimes for no reason whatsoever, like </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sam Rockwell’s</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> sudden vomiting of a slithering leech thing into the sink, seen for merely seconds, as opposed to </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Craig T. Nelson’s</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> tequila-worm nightmare from </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">POLTERGEIST 2</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, again no payoff, unlike that forever branded series of nightmare inducing visuals </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Craig T.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> endured)</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> to the first film/series, with nary a moment of originality nor fright, nor even fun, to be had, Which is not unexpected. </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hollywood’s been pulling the wool over our eyes since celluloids inception in various ways. We’re at that point where it’s all superheroes, remakes, and reboots, ever since </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Abbot & Costello met Dracula</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> and the </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">HOUSE OF FRANKENSTEIN </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">*(both of which I love, incidentally)</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> collapsed in on themselves in a fiery tumult of retrospective embarrassment, unfortunately, the real gems being found only after sifting through the piles of shit and half-realized nostalgia out there to find the real gold </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">*(fukk, I’d be happy with bronze half the time). </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The film in general seems forced, and far overindulged in all the wrong aspects </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">*(do we really need not one insipid looking clown, but the whole fukking brigade as well?)</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> - - - and the end is just a blithering, blathering mess that I’m not going to even bother going into. I’ll tell you this, however, I never want to hear the words “This House Is Clean” uttered again for as long as I live. Avoid the curiosity, save your feline self a life, and avoid this insulting remake altogether. </span></span></span></div>
Gorehound Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16973855037717993579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1724713819411676885.post-45754800584393139042015-12-20T13:29:00.000-08:002015-12-20T13:29:46.489-08:00Goodnight Mommy: Innocent fun and games? Spoiler Free.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Title: Goodnight Mommy (Ich seh,Ich seh)<br />
Year:2015<br />
Directed By:<br />
Written By:<br />
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**As always this review is Spoiler Free***<br />
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Creepy children in horror is a long standing tradition not only in America but all over the world. There is something in those angelic faces that can often be misleading. I put hype aside and went into this film knowing virtually nothing about it.<br />
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After a horrible accident a mother undergoes cosmetic surgery and must take care of her identical twins Lukas and Elisa while recovering from the psychical and mental strain. She is also going through a separation from her husband. To make matters worse her appearance is rather shocking as her face is wrapped in bandages. As the children try and coup their behavior becomes increasingly more strange.<br />
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Getting tired of horror movies about bratty annoying teenagers in painfully predictable situations, only to die but who cares because they are terrible anyways? Well your in luck because "Goodnight Mommy" is a refreshingly new take on the old "creepy kid" troupes. Like Takashi Miike brilliant 1999 film "Audition"it is a film that slowly builds during which time it explores real characters and character development all the while ratcheting up the tension until its almost unbearable.I was impressed by the writing and how only little by little do you find out whats going on, even throwing a Hitchcockian Macguffin in for good measure. This is a nice change of pace from the typical smash you over the head with exposition and serves to keep the audience both guessing and in suspense. It also has some interesting symbolism and subtext that makes the film a must in repeat viewings. One theme the film explores is the idea of doubles. Besides the obvious one of the twin boys there are numerous times when pairs of things come into play and use of reflection shots. <br />
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Another things that serves this film well is the inventive camera work and wonderfully moody cinematography which at times is beautiful and other times dark and foreboding. A lack of a soundtrack gives the film a more stark reality and its a bold choice. Speaking of reality the film is grounded in it but also playfully sways into the realm of the surreal without going to over the board. But you might be asking yourself, is it gory? After a nice slow tension filled build up fans of gritty violence do get what they`ve come for, sort of. Its not ultra gory however I feel it works in the films favor. What is so effective about the gore is its not done in a cartoonish way but is kept unflinchingly real, to the point of being hard to watch.<br />
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Unlike other movies the splatter isn't used to justify the movie and that may disappoint "gore fans" And dont get me wrong i love a good mindless gut fest but the movies that actually get under my skin are the more psychologically driven. Seriously why is this film hated by some? Not only is it ballsy with its pacing and harrowing subject matter, its also fresh, original and creepy as hell. I kept the plot short for a reason, its good to go into this movie totally blank and avoid the jaded "horror buffs". Easily in my best top films of 2015.<br />
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<br />Gorehound Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16973855037717993579noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1724713819411676885.post-16908399799765494612015-12-16T08:10:00.000-08:002015-12-16T11:54:42.795-08:00Sticky Boxes Xmas Edition by Jules Brudek <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Sticky Boxes: XMAS EDITION
By Jules Brudek<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
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<div style="text-align: center;">
A column about cult and horror movies ONLY available on VHS<br />
I named the column “Sticky Boxes” because that's what I
touched everyday working at a video store in the nineties. </div>
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Sweaty handed customers returned their rental tapes
encased in gooey grime. Habitually, I would check them
back in, wipe them off and re-stock. Humorous note: The
bigger the babe's boobs on the cover art, the stickier the
VHS box upon return.
Each week, I will review a forgotten cult or horror video
never released on DVD or Blu-ray.</div>
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I will review two from 1972. Please enjoy tonight’s
“Christmas” Sticky Boxes:<br />
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<b>Home for the Holidays (1972) </b></div>
November 28th, 1972 ABC “Movie of the Week”
Starring Sally Field, Julie Harris & Jessica Walter
Directed by John Llewellyn Moxey<br />
Produced by Aaron Spelling<br />
Available on VHS from Starmaker Entertainment <br />
Never officially released on DVD or Blu-ray<br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>"Shut the door. That woman has ears that can hear
sunshine.“ </i><br />
<br />
If Clue, the board game, was played with four unstable
sisters and an anti-social stepmother you’d be half way to
describing the soap opera Christmas horror movie, Home for
the Holidays. Not to be confused with the dramedy, Home
for the Holidays (1995), starring Holly Hunter, this film
won’t make you projectile vomit your egg nog into your
VCR.<br />
<br />
It begins, when Alex Morgan, the eldest and codependent
daughter of a dying millionaire, summons her three
estranged sisters to their father's estate on Christmas
Eve. Their father, Benjiman Morgan, Oscar award winning
character actor, Walter Brennan, has a special message for
his four daughters. From his bed, he tells them to kill
his impassive second wife, played by Julie Harris, because
she is slowly poisoning him to death. The bedside meeting
is adjourned and the four sisters deliberate in hysteria.<br />
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A campy hoot that John Waters would die to revamp!<br />
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The guileless, youngest daughter, Christine Morgan, played
by Sally Field, fights to restore balance by keeping her
sisters from considering murder. But then, people start
dying and Christine must stay alive to discover the real
identity of the killer. As the bodies pile up, Christine
takes to the woods and comes within inches of being killed
by a mysterious rain slicker-clad stalker. Is it really
her unassuming stepmother? Is there any truth behind her
father’s accusation? What can Sally Field do in a “Movie
of the Week?” Why didn’t anyone eat their scrumptious
looking Christmas dinner? To find out all the juicy
answers and to see why this film deserves a reboot from a
director that could truly milk those disingenuous
sentimental moments for comic gold, please get a copy of
Home for the Holidays on VHS or watch it now on youtube.<br />
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If you think Friday the 13th (1980) was the first horror
film to use a maniacal woman murderer in a yellow rain
slicker hunting down young adults in the woods? Try again.
Eight years before Friday the 13th (1980) and To All a
Good Night (1980), ABC's “Movie of the Week,” Home for the
Holidays, began the slasher tradition of women brutalizing
their victims in the woods with complete abandon.
Sadly, this made for TV movie has little blood shed to
offer however, the clashing personalities, corny 70s
dialogue and the audacious twists will make up for it!<br />
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<b>I give this movie and its VHS presentation: Four sticky
gloops out of five.</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
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<b> Dead of Night: The Exorcism (1972)</b> </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
AKA Night Of the Exorcist<br />
TV Movie for BBC2
Starring Anna Cropper and Edward Petherbridge
Directed by Don Taylor<br />
Available on PAL VHS from Cougar Video<br />
Also available on Region 2 DVD (UK) </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
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<i>“It takes twenty minutes for a hanged man to die.” </i><br />
<br />
Here’s a cruel idea: Put on a seemingly harmless TV Movie
and scare your unwitting family to death during the
holidays.<br />
<br />
Here’s how.
This glum, British, made for TV Movie, haunts me to this
day. Rarely, does a horror film resonate so deeply that it
scares me into better behavior. And that is exactly how it
got under this jaded horror fan’s skin. Ultimately, all
good Christmas movies should put the fear of God in you.
Right? Hmmm. Hopefully, I can explain.<br />
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<i>Deceptively scary as hell! </i><br />
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The story begins almost like a one act play or chamber
piece. A sparse one room set, four friends and a Christmas
dinner about to begin. A year ago, a wife, Rachel, played
by Anna Cropper and her wealthy husband, Edmund, played by
Edward Petherbridge, purchased an abandoned cottage in the
countryside with plans for renovating it. Now, a year has
passed and the cottage is refurbished with all the updated
goodies a vacation home needs. Later, they invite another
swanky couple to share in a relaxing Christmas holiday
vacation. <i>(Brits say, “Holiday,” Yanks say, “Vacation,” so
I put the two together. Voilà) </i><br />
<br />
After being lured into a false sense of simplicity, the
film changes tone. Suddenly, while both couples ready
dinner, meanwhile, sport debating politics and philosophy,
the power goes out. As the dinner transitions from
slightly eerie to macabre, each person experiences a
different sensory disturbance. Rachel is affected first.
Sitting down at the piano, she begins playing a strange
tune unknown to her. Edmund tastes blood in his otherwise normal wine glass. At first, the other couple thinks they
are being pranked with a sadistic joke, then, they too,
experience some of their own frights.<br />
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The film culminates with Rachel’s body being possessed by
the spirit of a woman who starved to death many years ago
in the same cottage. The woman uses Rachel to communicate
her plans to avenge those who wronged her and her family.
She seeks justice for her husband’s wrongful execution
which led her family to starvation. Without food or the
means to make money, she watched her children die
helplessly while the wealthy families responsible for her
husband’s death enjoyed a festive and abundant Christmas.
Her unbearable wails continue: <i>“Whilst my husband laid
dead and my children were crying for food, I thought this
can never be forgiven. No circumstance, no degree of self
interest, not even ignorance could excuse this feasting
and dancing whilst on the same planet, in the same
village, people are starving!” </i><br />
<br />
As the film hunches somberly to its finale, another
shocking horror is revealed. The ending is worth the wait!
Watch for yourself and you will understand why it
penetrated my soul.<br />
<br />
Merry Christmas United Kingdom! I guess us Americans never
had the guts to make Christmas “bloody” devastating!<br />
<br />
<b> I give this movie and its VHS presentation: Four sticky
gloops out of five.</b>Gorehound Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16973855037717993579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1724713819411676885.post-63507559109366863172015-11-11T09:48:00.000-08:002015-11-12T15:03:22.278-08:00Burt Pages: The Mommie Dearest Dairy Written By Rutanya Alda: Carol Ann's Final Word<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gejKF4gHWNo/VkN--SkcxFI/AAAAAAAADxA/x7T_ToUOYe4/s1600/mommi1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gejKF4gHWNo/VkN--SkcxFI/AAAAAAAADxA/x7T_ToUOYe4/s1600/mommi1.jpg" /></a>I`ve always been mesmerized by the film "Mommie Dearest". While everyone was traced by Joan Crawford in all her movie star monster greatness it was the character Carol Ann who I found the most compelling. She is the anchor for Joans extreme maniac highs and lows. She's also her loyal best friend, someone who will take care of you when your passed out drunk or when you need a deadly weapon to do a little midnight gardening.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EfSa3zWC4Ic/VkN-GlRLN8I/AAAAAAAADw4/-GksrFTgLBY/s1600/MV5BMTc5MzQ5MzE4M15BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwNzY3NjIzMQ%2540%2540._V1_UY317_CR6%252C0%252C214%252C317_AL_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EfSa3zWC4Ic/VkN-GlRLN8I/AAAAAAAADw4/-GksrFTgLBY/s1600/MV5BMTc5MzQ5MzE4M15BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwNzY3NjIzMQ%2540%2540._V1_UY317_CR6%252C0%252C214%252C317_AL_.jpg" /></a> Bringing her to life is the lovely and talented Rutanya Alda.<br />
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In the final gripping scene the adult Christina Crawford (Diane Scarwid) is comforted with the fact that Joan left her and her brother nothing in the will. Her brother Christopher says with a sad smirk "As usual, she has the last word" to which she replies "Does she?" which foreshadows the writing of "Mommie Dearest" a book that was the first of its kind, blowing the lid off of a huge movie star and pealing back the "perfect" Hollywood image. Later Bettie Davis's daughter followed suite with a equally shocking tell all book. The film based on the book was notoriously troubled with being over budget and its star Faye Dunaway being difficult to work with, causing many hurt feelings and in one case leave the production totally. Ironically the last line of the film can be applied to Faye's co-star Rutanya Alda who played the thankless Carol Ann, Joan's assistant. Like the real Christine Crawford she gets the final word in her wonderfully delicious book which is a diary she kept during production. The first chapter introduces us to Rutanya Alda as a person, telling her story of coming to America as a child, the horrible abuse she suffered and how she uses this pain to create wonderfully real and deep characters. Alda pulls no punches and tells many colorful details about her start in films as well as off screen flings. I found this part of the book interesting, humorous and at times heartbreaking. The second section is the diary itself. Everything you wanted to know behind the scenes of this cult classic is detailed. It explores the diva star Faye as well as director Frank Perry and co-stars Diane and Mara (Young and adult Christina) You also get a peak into her troubles with husband Richard Bright (The Godfather) who struggled with substance abuse until his passing. She provides the daily record of her life at the time of filming with updated antidotes. As a fan of both her work and the movie I found it a enjoyable read. Finally after the diary ends we get an update on life for Rutanya post Mommie Dearest, including how she discovered its major fan base due to its unintentional camp value. Through out the book Rutanya does not come off as bitter or mean about her time as Carol Ann but remains objective and truthful about her experience making a now cult classic movie. My only complaint is when I was finished I wanted to read more. I would love to read another book about all her amazing experiences. After all this is the woman that was in such classics as "The Deer Hunter" and genre favorites like "Christmas Evil" "When a Strange Calls" and "Amityville Horror II", "The Stuff" etc I mean how cool would it be to have a book choked full of amazing antidotes and stories of such great films. Fingers crossed. One thing is sure, this book is a lot of fun and any film buff will find it a must read. As with the real life Joan Crawford this book peaks in perfection and should be on any movie lovers shelf, but plus dont put it on a wire hanger... You know what`ll happen.<br />
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<br />Gorehound Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16973855037717993579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1724713819411676885.post-87399546497980239372015-11-09T07:16:00.000-08:002015-11-09T07:18:37.227-08:00Gunnar Hansen: The Passing of a Horror Icon. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Every generation has their iconic movie monsters, for kids in the 1940s 1950s and 1960s they had Bela Lugosi, Boris Karloff and Vincent Price. We had Gunnar Hansen.<br />
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The year was 1974 and the America was going through many social changes and political upheaval. People would pick up the paper and read about Watergate,Patty Hearst and and a gas shortage. It was also the year "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" was unleashed on movie goers. Audiences were shocked at the presents of this towering man wearing human flesh as a mask and jumped when they heard the mighty roar of a power tool he wielded. In the films final frames, as Leatherface does his chainsaw dance in the glow of the setting sun few film patrons knew they had just witnessed the birth of the first modern horror icon. Under that frightening mask of skin (Or in this case rubber) was Mr. Gunnar Hansen who stood an imposing 6 feet four inches.<br />
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<b>The Man Behind the Mask: </b><br />
Gunnar Hansen was born March 4th 1947 in Reykjavik, Iceland which is the Capital, known for its mountains, sweeping landscapes and booming nightlife. At age five his family had moved to the United States, settling in Maine. Hansen was a bright student with high marks in both Mathematics and English and would later attended the University of Texas. Fresh out of college his first job was in the computer field but his true passion was writing. He had been published in several magazines and tried his hand at screen writing. Fate it seems would have something totally different in store for the hulking actor. Gunnar had met Tobe Hooper a bright young man looking to make his mark in cinema and he was looking for his villain, a leather skin wearing brute who has a fetish for killing and power tools. After a successful interview he would don the now iconic leather mask and apron and the film would roll on "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" Though he utters no actual dialogue he along with Hooper created a language all his own and helped add layers to the character. It was a hot and grueling shoot but nobody could predict that they were going to make film history and literally change the face of horror films forever.<br />
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<b>Life after "Chainsaw" </b><br />
Work was few and far between after filming wrapped.Later that year he starred in "The Demon Lover" in 1977 and only one film in the 80s, the now cult film "Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers" However it was the late 80s he would see a resurgence in popularity and worked steady in the 90s and continuing for the rest of his career. One thing about Gunnar was despite playing big bad brutes he was in reality a very kind and thoughtful man who very much enjoyed meeting and talking to his fans at various conventions such as Chiller, Monster Mania, Cinema Wasteland etc. Film maker Jeff Burr was in pre production on the third Leatherface Texas Chainsaw Massacre III for New Line. He wanted Gunnar to reprise the role that made him famous. Earlier this year I had the pleasure of interviewing Mr.Burr and he had this say regarding Gunnar<br />
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: red;"><i>"B<b style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">asically in a sense I felt obligated to Gunnar. I had met him and he had not been in number two and I felt I should offer it to him. So I offered it to Gunnar and I thought it would increase awareness of this movie and I thought since the title was Leather and having the quote unquote real Leatherface would be a perfect marriage. But unfortunately he wanted more money than what New Line was willing to pay and what he wanted wasn't out of line as all it was absolutely a fair figure. So once Gunnar was out of the picture" </b></i></span></span><br />
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Strangely enough in 2003 he was asked to make a cameo in the remake of "Texas Chainsaw" but declined because he felt it was a classic not to be remade. In 2007 he starred in "Brutal Massacre: A Comedy" and he got to show off his skills in breaking people up, this time not with a chainsaw but with his comedic timing. He dove into the role with much madcap gusto and steals every scene hes in. If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it. Ironically one of his finale film roles was in "Texas Chainsaw 3d" in 2013. It seems that his career had come full circle.<br />
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I woke up yesterday morning and was shocked to read on my news feed that Gunnar Hansen has passed away at only 68 years old. To many fans it was not just merely an actor who died but a larger than life iconic movie monster, there Karloff or Lugosi. Not long after his agent confirmed the tragic news an out pour from fans flooded social media, sharing stories and pictures. It is just further proof of how this man touched so many lives. Truly its a huge lose, not only was he a talented guy but was very generous with his fans, something that is sadly becoming rare these days. I`d like to share my own experience.<br />
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Meeting Gunnar: Like so many other horror fans this movie made such a huge impression on me and I knew what I saw was something very special. Over a decade ago I had the extreme pleasure of attending "Cinema Wastelands Chainsaw 30th Reunion" It was the first time coming face to face with the very imposing Gunnar. Being fairly new to conventions and a long time fan I`m not ashamed to admit i was a little bit nervous. I had in my hands a poster (replica because I was a poor High School Student) and my 18" Leatherface figure (McFarland) which was a Christmas present from my parents (and the coolest gift I`ve ever received) I approached him and to my delight he had a huge smile and said "Hello" As a dork I said how much I loved him in Texas Chainsaw which was something he heard all day i`m sure, but he was very humble and said Thanks and he enjoyed seeing the figure and told some behind the scene stories. Later on I got to meet Paul Partin, Robert A Burns, Marilyn Burns who all sadly passed away untimely. Looking back it remains bitter sweet but out of all the conventions I would later attend it remains my favorite.<br />
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<b><span style="color: red;">Famed horror artist Jason Edmiston whose art can be seen on posters, blu releases and Neca toys gave Gorehound Mike's </span><span style="color: red;">blog this exclusive quote:</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="color: red;">Senior Writer at Blumhouse.com Gregory Burkart had this to say to Gorehound Mike's</span></b><br />
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<i><span style="background-color: black; color: red;"><b>I've had the honor of sharing Gunnar's company a few times over the past 20 years, and each time I learned something amazing. My favorite was a Weekend of Horrors back in the mid-'90s -- he was very tired and I didn't want to take up his time, but we got to talking about Viking history, and you could see him light up with enthusiasm. That's my lasting image of him, as a wise and sharing person.</b></span></i></div>
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Before Michael Myers stalked babysitters in Haddonfield and Jason donned his famous hockey mask, the gentle giant Gunnar terrified millions of people and made a huge impression on many including this humble film journalist. Gunnar Hansen may be gone but his legacy he left us will live on in celluloid form. Also he will remain alive in the treasured memories of the people he worked with and the many fans that was lucky enough to meet the man behind the mask.<br />
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R.I.P March 4th 1947- November 7th-2015<br />
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<b><span style="color: red;">A Special Thank you to Jason and Gregory for taking time to share your thoughts with us. </span></b><br />
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<br />Gorehound Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16973855037717993579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1724713819411676885.post-75428018930188800922015-11-03T10:41:00.001-08:002015-11-03T10:41:34.507-08:00Blood Splattered Blood: Army of Darkness: One Blu to rule them all?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Title: Army of Darkness<br />
Release Date: 10/27/15<br />
Company: Shout Factory (Scream Factory)<br />
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Most fans were really really excited when Scream Factory announced they were going to do a deluxe edition of the cult horror favorite "Army of Darkness" It also comes hot on the heals of the new series "Ash Vs the Evil Dead" on Starz. Some fans however were less than thrilled, wondering if this blu would be the one edition to own. Seeing how I held off on buying a blu of AOD i was more than just alittle happy when I received my copy. I`m going to break down all three discs.<br />
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*Please note* Not going to list the differences in footage however this website breaks it down nicely.<br />
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http://www.bookofthedead.ws/website/army_of_darkness_different_versions.html<br />
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Disc One: Theatrical Cut : 81 Minutes<br />
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Picture:Aside from a slight issue with a 2 or 3 seconds of footage missing (followed by a slight syn problem. SF already addressed this and is issuing replacement discs this month) the picture is amazing. Done using a 4k scan the picture is crisp and clear with faces looking natural and thankfully not looking either too dark or washed out. Its also an vast improvement from the previous "Screwhead Edition"<br />
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Sound: Theatrical Cut features a 2.0 and a wonderful 5.1 track. With a movie that has so many great sound effects (swords clashing, bones breaking etc) the 5.1 mix really brings the movie alive. It also greatly enhances the wonderful score.<br />
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Special Features: The real gem on disc one (indeed the entire boxset) is Medieval Times: The Making of Army of Darkness a feature length documentary produced for this set. The interviewees are lively with great stories and of course there is a loads of material such as behind the scenes footage,stills and story boards. Sadly Sam Raimi was missing but his brother Ted was on hand instead. Its wonderfully made and a must watch. Also included is the alternative ending and deleted scenes not featured in this or the directors cut which includes commentary. Rounding out this disc is trailers, tv spots and U.S video promos.<br />
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Disc Two: Directors Cut Runtime 96 minutes<br />
I had first seen the directors cut from "Anchor Bay" VHS which featured alternative artwork in a clamshell box. This was my early collecting days and the packaging and the idea of seeing a totally new cut of the film was pretty exciting.The release was flawed however with the new footage looking terrible. I also learned this edition omits one scene (Bad Ash ripping off Shelia's dress) totally.<br />
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Picture: The additional scenes are nicely restored and fits in perfectly with the rest of the footage, and as much as I love Anchor Bay (mainly oldschool AB) its a huge improvement over there release.<br />
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Sound: As in the first disc the 5.1 audio track is very nice with crisp clear dialogue and effects.<br />
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Special Features: This cut of the film is the only one with a feature length audio commentary. Fans hoping for a new commentary will be disappointed as its from a previous release. I`m perfectly ok with that because its such a well done commentary with wonderful back and forth with star Bruce Campbell and director Sam Raimi as well as brother Ivan. In fact i`d even go as far as to say this is in my top commentary tracks period. Rounding out this disc is some behind the scenes footage (some seen in the documentary) as well as vintage featurette. Sadly nothing new on this disc.<br />
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Disc Three: International Cut and TV Cut<br />
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Picture: As with the first two discs the International cut looks great,using a 4k scan. Its great to finally have this rarely seen cut of the film and in my opinion the real gem in this release. The TV cut is presented in its standard pan and scan tv format.<br />
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Sound: As with the first two discs the film sounds great in a newly mixed 5.1 track.<br />
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Special Features: The third and final disc features more tv spots as well as some great rarely seen stills. I was disappointed with the lack of content but as i said above just having this cut of the film is great.<br />
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Overall: Army of Darkness fans get out your boomsticks and celebrate because this release is the one you`ve been waiting for. Not only is there a wealth of material it features four different cuts, newly restored. Its great to have them in one sweet package. Complaints are lack of any new content aside from the documentary. A cast commentary would have been nice. Even a new interview with Sam R. Picture and Audio across the board are great with only some minor flaws. Is it the one blu to rule them all? I`d say without a doubt yes. So shop smart, dont be a primitive screw head and buy this release. Its most certainly going to make my best blu release of 2015.<br />
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<br />Gorehound Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16973855037717993579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1724713819411676885.post-63445932393693375262015-10-20T11:05:00.000-07:002015-10-20T11:05:49.873-07:00Blood Splattered Blu: Burnt Offerings<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Just in time for Halloween comes "Burnt Offerings" a delightful twist on the haunted house horror troupe. If you haven't seen it this post is Spoiler Free however I urge you to get a copy! Its only 12.50 on Amazon (guessing a limited Halloween sale price!) and as you will hear from my review well worth it. Also dont be put off by the PG rating, its incredibly effective in being smart and creepy.<br />
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Title: Burnt Offerings<br />
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Company: Kino Lorber<br />
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Release: 10/6/15<br />
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Picture: 1:85:1 Kinos blu is a nice upgrade to the previous MGM DVD. Thankfully the brightness is not over blown and colors are facial are natural looking. Blacks are deep with very little distortion. Kino always does a wonderful job at restoring films and this is no exception. The new print really enhances the dream like feeling that coats the film.<br />
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Sound: Mono 2.0: Audio is crisp and actors come across clear. It also really makes the films score really pop.<br />
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Special Features: Kino proves that they can hang with the other big Blu companies like "Scream Factory (Shout Factory) Synapse etc, with these frightfully fun extras. Returning from the previous MGM DVD release is the wonderful audio commentary with Dan Curtis and Karen Black. Its almost bitter sweet as now both are sadly no longer with us. Its a great joy to hear Curtis and Black gab about the film and the memories of making it. I`m thrilled they carried it over to the blu.A brand new commentary by Film Historian Richard Harland Smith (Video Watchdog) also accompanies it. Smith obviously knows his stuff and the commentary is jammed packed with juicy trivia and background information. Hes great however my one complaint is he comes off a tad bit dry and it could use some fun personality (David Del Valle me thinks) Sadly most of the stunning cast is departed but the few remaining ones are interviewed. Highlights is Lee Montgomery who plays the Ben. His stories are so entertaining and make for a fun watch. Also interviewed is character actor Anthony James. It was nice they got him however he only touched upon the film briefly. The best interview is famed author (Logans Run) and co-writer William F. Nolan who shares his memories of this film. Rounding out features is a trailer, a trailer from Trailers from Hell and an animated montage of film stills.<br />
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Overall: Lovers of this film will be very pleased with this release which looks great and is loaded with interviews commentaries etc. As Halloween releases go this is a must own. I know i`m happy to have this in my blu collection. And as stated above Amazon has it for a price that wont scare you.<br />
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<br />Gorehound Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16973855037717993579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1724713819411676885.post-82958566366443284212015-10-12T15:54:00.000-07:002015-10-12T15:54:45.477-07:00Top Ten: Special Edition:Best Halloween movies...that dont take place on Halloween. <span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: red;">First off a note to my few but loyal readers: I know I havent updated as much as i`d like but i`m working on a important project that will hopefully pan out. But dont lose the faith and keep following me on FB and Twitter @<span class="u-linkComplex-target" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: #0084b4; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; outline: 0px; padding-right: 5px;"><a class="DashboardProfileCard-screennameLink u-linkComplex u-linkClean" href="https://twitter.com/GorehndMikeBlog" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0084b4; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; outline: 0px; padding-right: 5px;">GorehndMikeBlog</a> </span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: red;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 16px;">And to my readers thanks for sticking with this blog and look for more regular posts in the future. Please show your support by simply sharing the blog on your wall and Twitter accounts, every little bit helps a </span></span><span style="line-height: 16px;">independent</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 16px;"> writer.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 16px;">Best Halloween Movies...that dont take place on Halloween:</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: red; line-height: 16px;">Like most horror fans Oct. is my favorite month. The cool weather, the pretty fall leaves and of course lots of horror movies and specials on tv. While I have my old standbys like Halloween (1978) and so bad there good films like "Hack O Lantern" there are some great movies that capture the "spirit" of of the holiday without actually taking place/or about the holiday all the ghouls love the most. Here are 10 films that I make it a point to re-visit throughout the month, unlike the other top ten's this is in no particular order as they are all equally brilliant. </span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 16px;">10: Carnival of Souls (1962)</span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="line-height: 16px;">Filled to the brim with creepy and thick dread. It also inspired the landmark film</span><span style="line-height: 16px;"> "Night of the Living Dead" Along with that film and Psycho its the most important horror film of the nineteen sixties</span><span style="line-height: 16px;">. A perfect classic moody horror film to rise your spirits. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 16px;">9: House on Haunted Hill (1959) Not to be confused with the terrible remake. The original is an enjoyable spook ride starring the master of horror himself Mr.Vincent Price. Not gory like the new one, but what it lacks in blood it makes up for in sheer fun and intentional tongue in cheek humor. It also features some great supporting actors like Carol Ohmart (Spider Baby) and cult star Elisha Cook Jr (The Big sleep, The Killing, Rosemarys Baby) Fans of classic Price horror will find this a must while carving pumpkins.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 16px;">8: The Innocents (1963) Loosely based on the play "Turn of the Screws" this film like Carnival of Souls is a wonderfully shot creepy film that builds and builds into a shocking and delightfully bleak ending. The film hits every note just perfectly from the brilliant direction to its screenplay some of which was written by the legendary Truman Capote. As far as moody, well written Gothic films go this is the best-period.. The infamous kiss scene still remains as shocking and chilling as ever.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 16px;">7: The Haunting (1963) Released in the same year as the Innocents and in my opinion the only film that could hold a candle to it in terms of stark beauty and less is more film making. Based on the novel "The haunting of hill house" this film does so much with simply camera tricks, lighting and sound does that is praised by many horror industry people including effects wizard Tom Savini. </span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: red; line-height: 16px;">It is also a early movie to explore lesbianism (though its left ambiguous) Great film and is hailed as a classic and perfect for your Halloween movie thon.</span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 16px;">6: The Cabin in the Woods (2012) I love horror and splatter like the next fan, but i like brainnnns behind it and Cabin in the Woods delivers a smart self aware look at the genre that pokes fun of the troupes without getting into full blown parody like "Scary Movie" Choked full of gore gags, and great insider references, its endlessly watchable and a lot of fun around Halloween.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 16px;">5: </span><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.4px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Les yeux sans visage aka</span><i style="font-family: sans-serif; font-weight: bold;"> </i></span><span style="line-height: 16px;">Eyes Without a Face (1960) The French have always made really interesting films especially in the horror and fantasy genre. Eyes without a Face is a wonderfully dark, strange film that is oddly comical in tone. Like Haunting and Innocents it has a stunning visual style and is way ahead of its time in terms of disturbing themes. If you want to really mix it up and add some international flavor to your viewing this is certainly a master work. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 16px;">4: House of the Devil (2009) Ti West seems to really divide some fans. And while I think his work is sometimes hit or miss I do love his break out film House of the Devil. West is obviously a fan of 80s horror and this is his stylish homage to them. Visually its great and has a John Carpenter feel to it. Not very blood but there is a splatter effect that will please any hardcore fan. It also has a wonderful cast of new comers as well as genre favorites. All treats and no tricks with this one. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 16px;">3: Tourist Trap (1979) Do dolls, vent figures and mannequins creep you out? Than this film will certain play upon those fears. It even has been praised by Stephen King for its eerie and spookshow quality. It remains a classic in terms of strange set pieces and wonderfully macabre deaths. Look for Tanya Roberts (Charlies Angels, That 70s Show) in a early film role. Simply put its a great shocking thrill ride. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 16px;">2: The Conjuring (2013) This film is without a doubt the best horror film I`ve seen in a long time and perfect for any Halloween party or movie thon. Its non stop scares that has all the makings of a future classic. Seen it in the theaters and still watch it every Oct. And...yah i`d skip Annabell the horrible quick cash in.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 16px;">1: Bride of Frankenstein (1935) How could you dont watch this classic horror film on or around Halloween? Its really hard to add anything to a film that has been written back, reviewed an studied for decades. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black; color: red; line-height: 16px;">Honorable Mentions: White Zombie, Insidious, Freaks, Munsters Go Home, Alien,The Inn Keepers, Sleep Tight, </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 16px;"><br /></span></span>Gorehound Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16973855037717993579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1724713819411676885.post-67069742634069342822015-10-06T14:56:00.002-07:002015-10-06T14:56:47.969-07:00THANATOMORPHOSE Review by Vincent Daemon<div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="background-color: black; color: red;"><b><span style="font-size: 22pt;">THANATOMORPHOSE</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 8.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: red;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span style="font-size: 12.5pt;">Year:</span></b></span><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: 12.5pt;"> 2012 </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 8.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: red;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span style="font-size: 12.5pt;">Director/Writer:</span></b></span><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: 12.5pt;"> Eric
Falardeau</span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 8.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: red;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span style="font-size: 12.5pt;">Review
by: Vincent Daemon</span></b></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 8.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: red;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: 12.5pt;">A tricky film to review, as not much actually happens on a visual level </span><b><i>*(well, it does, but not in any standard sense)</i></b>. <b>THANATOMORPHOSE</b> is an Hellenic word meaning the visible signs of
a once healthy and living things decay, the cause of which is death. And the film delivers death in spades. In fact, nothing but.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11.3333px;"> </span></span></span><span style="background-color: black; color: red; font-size: 12.5pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">However, </span><span style="background-color: black; color: red; font-size: 12.5pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">this is not for your casual viewer. Essentially an arthouse menagerie of visual </span><span style="background-color: black; color: red; font-size: 12.5pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">grotesquerie, this is also an horrific, near-brilliant trip down existential </span><span style="background-color: black; color: red; font-size: 12.5pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">nightmare lane. Though we also get to see her uterus sluice out, too. </span><span style="background-color: black; color: red; font-size: 12.5pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">It </span><span style="background-color: black; color: red; font-size: 12.5pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">begins with an hallucinogenic mashup of sight and sound </span><b style="background-color: black; color: red; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>*(used to great effect throughout the course of the film)</i></b><span style="background-color: black; color: red; white-space: pre-wrap;"> of a man and woman having sex. After that, the film becomes grey and dark in tone, as the female lead cleans the blood from her wretched, abusive boyfriends foot after he </span><span style="color: red;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">steps</span></span><span style="background-color: black; color: red;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> on a loose nail. He storms out and she is left alone, awake, and terribly unfulfilled. Being an artist, she seems to have run into a block with her latest sculpture, as well. <b><i>*(I found sculpture a nice choice of artistic form as it is all about the malleability of the clay-made-flesh, and speaks volumes metaphorically)</i></b>. Then, she notices the odd scab on her shoulder.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11.3333px;"> </span></span></span><span style="background-color: black; color: red; font-size: 12.5pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Her </span><span style="background-color: black; color: red; font-size: 12.5pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">apartment is insanely claustrophobically small, and the entirety of the film in </span><span style="background-color: black; color: red; font-size: 12.5pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">fact takes place in that sole location, to what I feel is a fairly decent </span><span style="background-color: black; color: red; font-size: 12.5pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">effect. She has a party, which ends in a display of public verbal and physical </span><span style="background-color: black; color: red; font-size: 12.5pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">humiliation by her boyfriend, and an abrupt end to said party. But not until </span><span style="background-color: black; color: red; font-size: 12.5pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">after her best friend questions as to why she stays with him. Her answer is </span><span style="background-color: black; color: red; font-size: 12.5pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">stumbly and full of holes </span><b style="background-color: black; color: red; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>*(as </i></b><b style="background-color: black; color: red; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>most are from people caught in those situations)</i></b><span style="background-color: black; color: red; white-space: pre-wrap;">, but she swears she loves him, etc. She confronts </span><span style="background-color: black; color: red;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">him after the party clears out, only to more abuse, then cold, mechanical sex. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11.3333px;"> </span></span></span><span style="background-color: black; color: red; font-size: 12.5pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">The </span><span style="background-color: black; color: red; font-size: 12.5pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">next day her skin pallor has changed significantly, and her basic cognitive </span><span style="background-color: black; color: red; font-size: 12.5pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">skills are on the fritz. Essentially, the rest of the film plays out much this </span><span style="background-color: black; color: red; font-size: 12.5pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">way, with her sitting completely alone, in dead silence, slowly necrotizing </span><span style="background-color: black; color: red; font-size: 12.5pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">into nothingness from the inside out. The process is slow, and agonizing to </span><span style="background-color: black; color: red; font-size: 12.5pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">watch. This bizarre STD condition also has her incredibly, violently horny most </span><span style="background-color: black; color: red;"><span style="font-size: 12.5pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">all the time as well, and brings strange, surreal nightmares of sex, monstrosity, and violence, when she can actually sleep. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11.3333px;"> </span></span></span><span style="background-color: black; color: red; font-size: 12.5pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Eventually </span><span style="background-color: black; color: red; font-size: 12.5pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">she kills her boyfriend, leaving his corpse to rot. The next day she awakes, </span><span style="background-color: black; color: red; font-size: 12.5pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">and flies can be heard buzzing amongst the rotting detritus, and her, as she </span><span style="background-color: black; color: red; font-size: 12.5pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">stumbles completely alone, rapidly decaying, and quite confused, around her apartment - - - when not staring blankly at a wall and trying to stitch herself back together. Her best friend stops by, sees her condition, and tries to get her to a hospital, which she refuses, giving him a blowjob instead, which he accepts with a series of mixed feelings and a bit of concern, but accepts </span><span style="background-color: black; color: red;"><span style="font-size: 12.5pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">nonetheless. He then leaves.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11.3333px;"> </span></span></span><span style="background-color: black; color: red; font-size: 12.5pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Alone </span><span style="background-color: black; color: red; font-size: 12.5pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">again, her condition worsens by the second, the final act of the film being </span><span style="background-color: black; color: red; font-size: 12.5pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">truly grotesque and for the hardest of hardcore alone. Several days later, as </span><span style="background-color: black; color: red; font-size: 12.5pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">most of her extremities have quite graphically fallen off </span><b style="background-color: black; color: red; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>*(and she starts keeping them in jars, Brundle-fly style)</i></b><span style="background-color: black; color: red; white-space: pre-wrap;">. Several days later, her friend comes back again, finds her a fully rotten, maggot filled sack of living death, and tries to get her to a hospital, as she begs to be fukked. She </span><span style="background-color: black; color: red; white-space: pre-wrap;">then flips, saying he won’t fukk her because she is too gross, but good enough</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: red;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">for a blowjob. She then kills him <b><i>*(heh, women)</i></b>. </span></span><span style="background-color: black; color: red; font-size: 12.5pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Finally, </span><span style="background-color: black; color: red; font-size: 12.5pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">she just lays in her deathbed, compulsively masturbating </span><b style="background-color: black; color: red; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>*(which she’s been doing the entire film anyway, </i></b><b style="background-color: black; color: red; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>vile fluids eventually drizzling from her vag)</i></b><span style="background-color: black; color: red; white-space: pre-wrap;">, as all parts of her begin to decay, mucous over, </span><span style="background-color: black; color: red; white-space: pre-wrap;">and when she finally leaves the bed in the final scene, sluice right off, as </span><span style="background-color: black; color: red; white-space: pre-wrap;">her flesh has now become that of liquified slippage. As this happens and her </span><span style="background-color: black; color: red; white-space: pre-wrap;">maggot filled death-sex corpse of poisoned madness reaches its full and final</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: red;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">stages of decay, her mouth opens wide as she lets out a primordial scream of unbearable agony, ripping at the last of the gristle clinging to her maggot-filled skeleton - - - until her jawbone falls off, and her fleshless corpse falls into the fetid puddle of its own oneness as tragic and alone as it
was during the disorienting and cold display of sex in the opening shots. </span></span><span style="background-color: black; color: red; font-size: 12.5pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">This is </span><span style="background-color: black; color: red; font-size: 12.5pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">not for everyone. The vileness of what we witness can only be seen to be </span><span style="background-color: black; color: red; font-size: 12.5pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">properly explained and appreciated, and the fx work put into her external decay </span><span style="background-color: black; color: red; font-size: 12.5pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">top notch, and sickeningly effective. But the film is cold-molasses slow, I </span><span style="background-color: black; color: red; font-size: 12.5pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">believe deliberately, mimicking the loneliness and impending doom of her</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: red;"><span style="font-size: 12.5pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">terminal condition. It’s like being on death row, in a sense. But it actually works within the limited confines and dialogue of this particular film. However, for the patient and more read between the line types, this is a sick trip worth taking. It’s existentially frightening, her external conditions really being nothing more than a physical affectation of her spiritual/mental/emotional ones. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11.3333px;"> </span></span></span><span style="background-color: black; color: red; font-size: 12.5pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">At its </span><span style="background-color: black; color: red; font-size: 12.5pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">larvae-slithering heart, </span><b style="background-color: black; color: red; white-space: pre-wrap;">THANATOMORPHOSE</b><span style="background-color: black; color: red; white-space: pre-wrap;"> is about the truly unbearable darkness of being, </span><span style="background-color: black; color: red; white-space: pre-wrap;">of the psychological effects of lack/loss of sense of self, of the inability to</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: red;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">find real love in a world growing evermore cold and claustrophobic, and it's
biblically catastrophic effects on the psyche. It’s a metaphor for the lonely-lost, the incessant pain and life altering damage that can result from lack of love, of touch, and about the desperation it causes as well as isolation that births it. There’s a depth here not found in many films that goes deep, and the ever-increasing visual grotesqueries only serve to actually tell the
tale through the decay. It’s unique, and it takes patience, but comes with my highest recommendations. And there’s a definite <b>NEKROMANTIC</b> vibe here, only in the reverse. And it is disgusting. <b>This is the new body horror, along with other
films that do what classic body horror should: induce thought - - - and I like
it. </b></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 8.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="background-color: black;"><span style="font-size: 12.5pt;">Consequently,
there was another film that was made just after this, </span><b>CONTRACTED</b>, that treads similar territory in its own unique fashion, though is not as nearly existential in its terror. I believe there’s even a <b>CONTRACTED 2 </b>now, which I’m curious to see. <b><i>*(In fact I believe I may have reviewed the original in the Vault somewhere)</i></b>. But <b>THANATOMORPHOSE</b> is definitely worth the time of the patient, deep-thought leaning</span><span style="background-color: white;">
horror fan. </span></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 8.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Gorehound Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16973855037717993579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1724713819411676885.post-86565029360559416072015-10-03T09:33:00.000-07:002015-10-03T09:33:13.208-07:00Top Ten: Worst Horror sequels to good films.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Since Top Ten is fairly new i`ve solely focused on top ten best...But whats the fun in that...Lets talk about the worst for this weeks Top Ten..Only films that were great when they started but got bad with each sequel.<br />
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Because these are the worst the reviews aren't overly long because honestly these films are not worth very long reviews.<br />
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Top Ten: Worst Horror Sequels to Good films.<br />
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10. Psycho 3 (1986)<br />
Following up the far better Psycho 1 and 2 the third and worst entry in the series. Despite some interesting camera work and a few decent actors this film is a total mess. The Catholic melodrama is totally out of place really and really tries the audiences patients. If your expecting maybe a fun 80s slasher it fails there as well. It also "borrows" heavily from the original classic in not so subtle ways, quoting classic lines and stealing shots. Perkins directed this and he seems to have no restraint over himself. His acting is hammy in the Shatner level.Its really sad when compared to the amazing 1960 film and the enjoyable sequel. A cold shower on a once hot franchise.<br />
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9.Hellraiser III; Hell on Earth (1992)<br />
What happens when a major studio buys a original and fresh franchise, Hell on Earth happens. Not the worst in the series however it makes the list because it marks the end of any good Hellraiser film. Not an original idea in sight just a rehashes of ideas done much better in the first two films. You also wont find any poetic horror here, just big loud dumb action, bad acting and Pinhead spouting lines that are again recycled from the first two films only not nearly as good.<br />
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8.Fright Night 2<br />
While this one has its moments and some decent special effects it lacked the spirit of the first film. Its hard to live up to how awesome the original one was. But I think we can all agree its not as bad as the reboot or the direct to dvd sequel that followed.<br />
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7: The Birds II: Lands End (1994)<br />
Do you hear that? Its Hitchcock rolling around in his grave after this crap fest. You know when your in trouble the director omits his name on the film, using the Alan Smithee. This made for cable mess has 0 of the master craftsmanship of the original Hitchcock film. Its painfully slow and worst yet the flock of birds is far less impressive this time around. Its also raft with horrible cliche's such as the Major wanting to ignore the problem worrying about pocket lining than the public's safety. There is a reason why there has never been even a DVD release. Nobody would want it.<br />
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6:Halloween 5 (1989)<br />
This is my pick for worst entry in the Halloween series..Even though 4 wasn't the greatest it did have an interesting story and a great twist ending. Halloween 5 is riddled with plot holes and annoying characters, not to mention killing off Rachel from part 4. Painfully predictable with any a few decent kills. It also nearly derailed the series, it would be six years before another film would be released. No treats only tricks here.<br />
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5. Jason Goes to Hell (1993)<br />
Even hardcore Friday the 13th fans would agree the series is hit or miss. But the worst of the series would have to be Jason Goes to Hell. The fact that Jason is only on screen for a about ten minutes is not the worst thing about this steaming pile. Bad acting horribly laughable goofs and maybe one of the creepiest character in Friday the 13th history, that being the bounty hunter.<br />
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4. The Exorcist II:The Heretic (1977)<br />
How do you follow up a cinematic masterpiece like The Exorcist? Well certainly not with this mess of a movie. Considered not only a bad movie but maybe the worst sequel of all time, it does have some good concepts but gets lost in goofiness. Also how did they get Oscar winning actress Louis Fletcher and James Earl Jones to be in this?<br />
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3.Creepshow 3 (2006)<br />
After decades of waiting for the next Creepshow fans were in for a horrible surprise with this limp entry which nobody wanted. There is no hint of the clever writing and top notch acting that the first film and to a degree the second film had. Also to makes matters worse the creative forces that made one and two so great is no where in sight. What hurts this film the most is they ditched the element of old school horror comics which is central to the fun spirit of the film, which leaves me to wonder if the point was only to cash in on the name, rather than give fans something worth waiting for.<br />
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2.Silent Night Deadly Night 2 (1987)<br />
Yes the infamous and and unwatchable Silent Night Dead 2. This makes the number two spot for the sheer lack of creativity as 60% of the film is footage from the first film....umm yeah. The new footage is features some of the worst acting, lame kills with cheesy one liners. It also makes me mad that the producers had to balls to use the bulk of Selliers film and marketed it to fans hoping for an actual sequel. Some say this is so bad its good, well its not...Its just bad. Its like expecting a Ipad and getting socks...<br />
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1.An American Werewolf in Paris (1997)<br />
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Its hard to think anyone could follow up John Landis's watershed horror film "An American Werewolf in London" and Anthony Wallers sequel proved that you cant teach an old wolf new tricks with this stink burger of a film. None of the humor, charm and slick satire of the previous film and maybe worst of all - CGI werewolves..Yep, foregone is the amazing practical effects of award winning artist Rick Baker for very badly done computer graphics. Its more laughable than hair rising. </div>
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<br />Gorehound Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16973855037717993579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1724713819411676885.post-74545617199524282562015-09-24T13:49:00.000-07:002015-09-24T13:49:27.554-07:00Bad Movies And the Fiends that Love Them<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Topic: Bad Movies And the Fiends that Love Them<br />
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By: Gorehound Mike Vaughn<br />
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With the already worn out third film in the "Sharknado" series It got me thinking about the nature of bad movies and why they some find a hardcore fan base.<br />
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While pondering the subject one film "mistaker" leaps to mind. Edward D. Wood Jr. Years before Tim Burton made "Ed Wood" the Oscar winning bio pic,the cross dressing film maker had already achieved a huge cult following and even his stock players gained some measure of pseudo celebrity.I had the pleasure of meeting Conrad Brooks the last surviving member of Woods stock players, he is quiet a character. But why do fans flock over his badly made epics. There is even a official religion for Ed Wood (seriously...I wish I were making this up.)<br />
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<b>So Bad there Good</b>: Ed Wood would fall into this category. Obviously Wood had not the money or the skill to make it in main stream Hollywood but the irony here is that his films are more well known today than a lot of so called "main stream" films made by big studios. At the time Ed Wood was making his opuses a lot of money was spent to fulfill the booming Drive In market in the 1950s. What set these apart from Woods movies was his love of making films. He never saw them as trash but as cinematic treasures. I think it comes a crossed and honestly I`d rather watch "Plan Nine From Outer space" over a Michael Bay film any day. I know a lot of people that refuse to think of Ed Wood movies as being bad and indeed while they have glaring problems they have a certain broken down charm with subjects that are interesting and in some cases even ahead of there time. <b>But yes they are bad... </b><br />
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I confess I am a huge fan of "The Room" one of the greatest bad movies that could even give Wood a run for his money. Film maker and self confessed vampire Tommy Wiseau wrote directed produced and starred in this epic disaster piece and like Ed Wood put a lot of effort (misguided it may be) and love into what he considered a serious drama. However its a massively insane and funny film and through word of mouth has gained a following- there is even a "making of" film starring James Franco as Wiseau in the works. If you haven't seen "The Room" its pure insane fun and will leave you and your friends in stitches. Also like Wood you can feel a sincerity in his work and even when it fails (and boy does it) it doesn't feel like were watching some cooperation selling merchandise or a director bending over for Hollywood.<br />
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<b>Camp And Counter Culture: </b>Another reason why Wood and other films like "The Brain that Wouldn't Die" is the sheer camp factor. I mean we can't help but be entertained by shitty editing, goofy lines and acting as wooden as the cheap sets. The height of the hippie counter culture embraced these films and saw something in them (while mostly high) and like lore of days gone by passed them on to a new audience.With the sleeper success of "Rocky Horror Picture Show" Paramount tried to turn "Mommie Dearest" into a midnight film and it failed. Roger Corman The King of the B's once said (and i`m paraphrasing) "you cant make a cult film the audience has to make it one." So genuine love of film making isn't enough, its up to you, yes you the audience to resurrect a film or leave it in cinema no mans land.<br />
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<b>Cashing in on Bad</b>: SyFy Channel seems to have caught on that there cheesy orgy of bad acting, goofy CGI and predictable plots were gaining attention for all the wrong reason. "Light Bulb" The birth of the SyFy shit fest that include "Sharknado" and "Sharkopus" among others. These films are purely made bad because of the "so bad its good" factor. And unlike the films of Wood or Wiseau they are simply soulless cash grabs instead of film makers that poured there hearts and souls not to mention risked a lot in the goal of telling what they thought was a good and entertaining way to tell a story.<br />
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<b>Final Thoughts</b>: As per the above statement it leaves me wondering the following: Will these films that are cashing in on the "so bad its good" trend be remembered like say "Bride of the Monster" or "The Room"? Again that's impossible to predict as its up to the audience to either embrace a film or leave it to cinematic no mans land.<br />
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Bad Movie Lovers: Here is a small list of Trashertenment *Warning may cause blindness, madness and seat wetting.<br />
The Ghastly Ones (Or ANYTHING Andy Milligan, seriously its like Ed Wood/John Waters H.G Lewis Hybrid.)<br />
Glen or Glenda<br />
Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things<br />
Bare Behind Bars<br />
The Sinful Dwarf<br />
<br />Gorehound Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16973855037717993579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1724713819411676885.post-6715436090367443692015-09-17T13:44:00.001-07:002015-09-17T13:44:04.271-07:00Top Ten: Most Underrated Horror films of the 1990's <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Top Ten: Most Underrated Horror films Of the: 1990's<br />
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Last week I had the top films of the 90's. Now for the most underrated of this decade. The ones that were on the fringe and obscure.<br />
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10.The Ugly (1997)<br />
This artful film puts a nice twist on the normal serial killer sub genre. Coming out of New Zealand it never got the kind of love in the U.S. Sadly after "Scream" made huge waves the previous year it got pushed aside for more trendier teen slasher fests. Has its flaws but it still worthy of the number ten spot.<br />
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9.Body Bags (1993)<br />
Originally met to be a series for Showtime this little known horror anthology features John Carpenter ghoul make up playing host in the framing segments. While the stories themselves are hit and miss you cant help but love the overall film. It also has a host of amazing cameos such as Roger Corman, Tom Arnold and even Wes Craven and Sam Raimi etc. A lot of fun and highly over looked.<br />
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8.Frankenhooker (1990)<br />
Like "Street Trash" and "Bad Taste" Frankhooker was the last of the far out, loud splatter fests that made trolling your mom and pop video store such a grisly treat. Full of great gross out gags and genuinely funny writing its a amazingly fresh take on the stitched up Frankenstein mythos. I cant say enough great things and if you haven't seen it yet do yourself a favor and stomp your way to your local store or online retailer and pick it up! Perfect for the Halloween season!<br />
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7.Hardware (1990)<br />
Richard Stanley was (and still is) a breath of fresh air in the world of shoveled out recycled studio bullshit. Critics at the time panned his 1990 film "Hardware" but in later years legions of cult fans have discovered the genius of this film. Stylish inventive and a fresh take on robotic horrors. Any true fans of cutting edge art should consider this a must see.<br />
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6 .A Cat in The Brain (1990)<br />
Most people credit Craven for doing the first meta horror film with "Wes Cravens New Nightmare" and while no disrespect to the recently departed director but Fulci did it first with "A Cat in The Brain" Fulci fans will find a lot of mad cap fun and inside jokes as the legendary splatter director plays himself. An underrated 90s horror film and an underrated film in the directors cannon. Sadly this was one of his last films (Door to Silence a year later being his last) but it seems like a rather fitting swan song. I urge fans of his film to see this, its the cats meoooouch!!<br />
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5. Innocent Blood (1992)<br />
Innocent Blood got an honorable mention on my alternative Vampire films however it firmly belongs on the top five spot. Ambition in its story telling and highly funny and erotic Innocent Blood is a win on so many levels. Its also a joy to see Don Rickles getting himself into some rather sticky situations. John Landis may have better known films but this certainly deserves your time.<br />
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4,Cemetery Man (1994)<br />
Life love death and the very meaning of life is all wrapped up in this bonkers 90's film. This film along with "Dead-Alive" prove that the decade could still pack a punch and give us throttle splatter fests that were also highly smart. Full of stunning imagery and moments that are should to make even the most jaded horror fans shake there head in disbelief. A film I personally have viewed many times and always notice something new. Not to be missed by anyone.<br />
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3.Cronos (1993)<br />
Sprung from the genius mind of whose visual blend of dark beauty and mechanics is like steampunk without the annoying cosplayers. Like "The Hunger" his take on the vampire lore is anything but traditional, having a Spanish flavor. I also like that its told almost like a modern grim fairy tale, a theme that would be carried over to what I consider his finest work "Pans Labyrinth (2006)" Its not hard to see by his first feature that he was a force in the industry.<br />
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2.Lost Highway (1997)<br />
In this humble writers opinion nobody does nightmare logic and sheer insanity quiet like David Lynch. Its hard for me to pick a favor but this might be it. Lost Highway works like one long fever dream and the sheer fact that Robert Blake is in it, who would later be found guilty of murder makes it all the creeper. If your not use to Lynch's story telling viewers might be blindsided by all the twists and turns and well logic being thrown out the window. With Mlld. Drive.getting a Criterion blu soon i`m hoping this one does as well. Dont try and make sense out of it, you`ll just give yourself a headache. Just go along for the long winding and cool ride into hell. ...<br />
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1,Audition(1999)<br />
Taking the top spot is Audition by Takashi Miike . This film is a slow burn leading up to a tension filled finale that still manages to give me the creeps. Once it gets towards the end its almost painful to watch the carnage that ensues. Its also smart and touches on themes that are firmly rooted in the human experience. Themes such as loneliness,faithfulness and revenge. After seeing Audition I was a life long fan of Miike and have sought out many of his other works. As a said its pacey but it is well worth the build up.<br />
<br />Gorehound Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16973855037717993579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1724713819411676885.post-36185603434793982692015-09-15T14:57:00.000-07:002015-09-15T14:57:10.673-07:00Lucky Bastard (2014) by Vincent Daemon<div dir="ltr" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: black; color: red;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He sure isn’t: </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">LUCKY BASTARD (2014)</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: red;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Starring:</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Jay Paulson, Betsy Rue, Don McManus, Katherine Annette</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: red;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Written by:</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Lukas Kendall, Robert Nathan</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: red;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Directed by:</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Robert Nathan</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: red;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Review by:</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Vincent Daemon</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: red;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">2014’s </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">LUCKY BASTARD</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> is a low-budget, highly entertaining </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">*(and much deeper than what it seems on the surface)</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> film from 2014, that until about a week ago I’d never heard of. It’s an incredibly simple premise, as well as all-too plausible </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">*(some seriously unpleasant real-life incidents have been borne on stressed and highly insensitive porn shoots)</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. It’s also presented in a first-person mockumentary format, which in this particular case is used to it’s highest potential in their making of a fairly accurate point. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: red;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We all know </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">*(well, most of us) </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">how “gonzo” extremetiy and rough pornography have become fairly mainstreamed since their turn of the century-era inception, into what they are now. The next logical step for porn to go was to sites like - - - </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">*(probably best not to mention)</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> - - - that are essentially glorified consensual-rape </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">*(written into the confusing contracts that naive newbie actresses rarely read, also touched on in the film - - - and no, I’m not referring to </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Insex</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, that was something entirely different, covered in it’s own fascinating documentary from 2009, called </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Graphic Sexual Horror</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">)</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, scary, abusive, racist, and really just plain ugly to the point that it’s no longer porn - - - the obvious psychological (as well as physical) suffering of some of these girls is akin to almost a psyche-snuff, it all coming off </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">*(there’s some choice wording)</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> like a sadosexual </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Traces Of Death</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">*(Hmmm, there’s an idea.)</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> It’s often an horrific misogynistic power play bait-and-switch, performed by long-time and ill-reputed professional swindlers in the business. And this is a good deal of standard, mainstream hardcore now. And yeah, I’ve watched which may make me a terrible human being, but whatever, it’s not really your business anyway. </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">*(Keep in mind that porn and a good deal of hyper low-budgeted indie horror aren’t too far unrelated - - - </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Bill Z. Bub</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> type fare I’m mostly speaking of, incidentally, and often involve the same directors and crew - - - under different names, of corpse, lest it be a porn actress in a starring role.)</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Before I digress any further, this film happens to touch on a bit of all of the above mentioned. Howsabout I just get to that.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: red;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">LUCKY BASTARD</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> is about a streaming hardcore-porn reality series, called Lucky Bastard, itself about porn actresses being “cajoled” into sex with a random male participant who applied through their online forms. The particular Bastard in this case is Dave G. (played to an astonishing perfection by Jay Paulson). Dave is a regular schmoe off the streets, a fan and follower of the show, very socially awkward (perhaps to an Aspie degree), and supposedly a war vet. He’s tall and gawky and lank and a ginger, seeming like he has really not much going on in the way of a “life” </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">*(who does - - - that shit only happens in John Hughes’ films)</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, wherein this leaves plenty of room for his natural awkwardness and just being himself to be crudely down spoken to and incessantly picked upon like carrion by show owner/producer/host/vulture Mike (Don McManus), a character who seriously bears a resemblance to porn-lifer </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">*(particularly of that over-rough variety aforementioned) </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Alex Sanders</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, and comes off like the infamous producer/director/faceless host-figure </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">*(and living monster) </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Khan Tusion.”</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> McManus did a hell of a job in this role, pulling off </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">*(more choice wording) </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Mike in perfect fashion. The character is so rooted in “what’s more extreme” and absolute self-centered obsessive-compulsive narcissism, that he is completely oblivious to what exactly </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">is</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> going on around him, and repeatedly throwing kerosene on a slow-ignition fire that realistically could have been avoided. But the sheer recklessness of the idea of the show - - - and there are and have been similar, like </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="aBn" data-term="goog_168328446" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">MIDNITE</span></span> BLUE</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> from the 1980’s - - - and Mike’s greed and lack of radar, all work together to keep him too busy to notice. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: red;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">However, actress superstar Ashley Saint </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">*(portrayed as what a good deal of industry actresses are: a woman doing what she has to, while she can as porn is a time-limited business of sorts, to support her children and ensure them a stable future - - - it’s a tricky role that actress </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Betsy Rue</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> performs as though she were the real deal)</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, Mike’s ex-wife and star of the episode, picks up on Dave G.’s awkwardness and bizarre behavioral affectations from the get-go almost immediately. Slowly, the rest of the crew do as well, and offer suggestion after suggestion to Mike as to how to get rid of him. But Dave G. is the “Lucky Bastard,” he signed the contract - - - it’s not so easy. And though odd, Dave is far from stupid. In fact, he’s paid </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">very</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> close attention to everything that they said and did, and has a memory like a fukking elephant. However, he too is naive, and suffers a severe inability to distinguish real life from the fantasy/escape that porn sells and offers its viewers. Ashley refuses to do it, and Dave G. is essentially fired on camera, and knows all of this will be on the website, as he tells them that </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">he </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">is their clientele,</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> he</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> watches their videos, and is full well aware the “Lucky Bastard” is usually some loser mocked to infinity. He </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">knows</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> what they do.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: red;">Needless to say, Dave G. is not happy about this. The stunningly attractive Catherine Annette plays Mike’s newbie girlfriend Casey, and she offers to do the scene, as well as a host of other ideas that may have led to a different outcome, but is incessantly belittled and shutout by Mike and his ego-id run rampant. Catherine Annette has been acting for years in strange films and b-fare, and her beauty never ceases to fascinate me. And she uses that to a full affect here, trying to help but being of no real anything, due to Mike, so she storms off.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: red;">Mike calls for a regular pro guy to come work with Ashley (so that the money spent renting the fully cameraed “Big Brother”-style house built exclusively for reality shows isn’t wasted). It’s the guy seen very graphically fukking a bound and shrieking Catherine Annette in the opening frames of the film. The pro shows up, and begins to do his this while Dave G. gets a ride back to some Los Angeles bus station, very much against his wishes. So he solves the problem, bashing the drivers skull in and taking the car back to the house. From there Dave G. goes on a slow-burn rampage of terror, humiliation, murder and obsession as he inadvertently ends up having to dispose of everyone but Ashley, whom he get’s to finally get his 42 second, three-pump-chump rocks off with, despite her verbal lashing, then a twist showing just how intelligent and clever she really was. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: red;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Questions and curiosities we all wonder about the adult industry are raised and in some ways answered, others not, merely for the fact there are no answers. Dave’s confrontation of Josh (the replacement stud), as Josh is cowering with a gun in his face and asked if he’s ever done gay porn </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">*(questioning the old rumor of most male porn stars being bi or gay)</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, if he could, or if he could even crank one out with a gun in his face, to which he does, much to Dave’s disgust, which gets him killed anyway. Dave’s plans for and doings to Mike are vile, and actually kind of funny as they </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">are</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> ghastly. A lot of the crew he needs to dispose of merely due to ensure his own safety once he realizes he himself has gone too far. </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">is too far? </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> has a line of no return been crossed, within the confines of life? </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Who</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> you have to be, or become, to keep a family fed or even yourself, for that matter? Does the profession </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">define</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> the person? Has a notoriously heartless industry that sells holes-n-poles become as </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">dead-eyed</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> as half its participants? Is it really </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">just</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> sex?</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: red;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The film is incredibly light on gore, most of it coming from the various bludgeonings and gunshot wounds that splatter about, and while the violence is fairly vicious, it never seems gratuitous or too over the top. In fact the film could’ve used a bit of that in my opinion. The kills could’ve been more camera-centric, as opposed to just of screen and some blood-spatter back. But otherwise, while not fantastic, it makes for an interesting think piece of a film, is entertaining, and not something entirely unlikely to make a national front page headline. Currently on both Hulu (the free part) and On Demand, it’s pretty easy to find, and if you’re curious to step outside the usual box of standard horror and give this slow celluloid </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">*(yeah, I know it was shot digital, whatever)</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> porno-based pot-boiler of how inability to distinguish fantasy/reality and sex, in certain situations, the effect of constant degradation, especially to one as outcast, confused, and alone as Dave G., can drive them to madness, and an industry that thrives on sucking dicks and souls, giving not a fukk about it’s actors/actresses, or even aficionados - - - as they/we are merely just objects and money.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: red;">I enjoyed it, an interesting concept done well, and a definite think piece. Not the worst way to kill 90 minutes, and not for everybody. I’d probably just be cranking one out to some wretched violent porn anyway.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: red;">Thanks for reading,</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 18.6667px; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: red;">Vincent Daemon</span></span></div>
Gorehound Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16973855037717993579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1724713819411676885.post-32956344128144607672015-09-14T09:04:00.000-07:002015-09-14T09:04:06.250-07:00Indie Filmmaker Spotlight: Jarret Blinkhorn<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Gorehound Mike Presents: Indie Spotlight<br />
Jarret Blinkhorn<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Ybh7ty-Nc0U/VfbpSZz4SEI/AAAAAAAADt0/14qY06o98A0/s1600/11997035_961824837210178_1009453222_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Ybh7ty-Nc0U/VfbpSZz4SEI/AAAAAAAADt0/14qY06o98A0/s1600/11997035_961824837210178_1009453222_n.jpg" /></a>Part of my job as a good horror journalist is to treasure the films and film makers of the past yet always keep my eyes on whats current and new. When you discover someone with raw talent its quiet thrilling. Such is the case with the Jarret Blinkhorn who I got to know purely by happen stance and when I saw this work my instinct as a horror fan told me this is someone who could do great things if given the support and attention. Below is reviews from three short films as well as a bio. <br />
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Shorts:<br />
They're Closing In<br />
A husband and wife are trapped inside their home while a group of unknown figures are "closing in" This is the short that brought Jarret to my attention and its very effective in its simplicity and skill. I love the concept behind this short.Using the"trapped in the relationship" metaphor in the context of creatures outside is very clever. On the technical side Jarret knows his stuff take for example his use of medium shots that really help create a sense of claustrophobia and it heightens the tension to an almost unbearable level. There is a perfect marriage of music and lighting that gives you a John Carpenter vibe but he makes it his own. Both actors are very good and its clear that Blinkhorn can handle drama as well as horror and blend the two perfectly. Tight and effective it shows he has a lot of promise.<br />
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Tis the Season<br />
Something was stalking in Blinkhorn holiday short. Mayhem ensues when a mysterious figure in a hoodie brings down bloody havoc on a couple in there home. First off I love the choice to do this in first person. It really gives you the feeling that you are this character. Like "They're Closing In" he uses lighting and skilled camera work to racket up the tension.<br />
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Even the horror tropes like the thunder and the usage of the flash light in the dark are brilliantly effective. Sound design and special effects are perfectly in sync to create a amazing cinematic experience of horror. Its also a great movie using nontraditional music, though the warped Christmas music is damn chilling. I can honestly say i`ve not seen a better more professional short. Down right scary! A gift for horror fans.<br />
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Sick at Heart:<br />
A husband and wife sit down and have a heart to heart over a nice meal and wine. Seems normal until you take in account that wifey has her throat slit. While not as good as the aforementioned shorts, it still shows a lot of budding talent. The detached way Blinkhorn approaches the subject adds depth to something that could have been silly.<br />
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More about the Film maker in his own words:<br />
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<i><span style="background-color: black; color: red;"> <span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 13.9636px; white-space: pre-wrap;">I was first turned onto horror films at a very young age. My father owned a black box and would show me whatever slasher came on pay per view, as well as constantly renting tapes from the mom and pop shop down the street. My house was always filled with blood, boobs and carnage. Names like Tom Savini and John Carpenter were household names, and I could never understand why the kids at my elementary school didn't know who Robert Englund was. </span></span></i><br />
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As I grew older so did my horror taste, going from surface slasher to body horror I rediscovered Cronenberg and learned about David Lynch, but the old school slashers have never left. My father said when I was really young... "Horror movies are like pizza, even the bad ones are still good", and that explains why he would show me Suspiria and then next night show me Killer Klowns From Outer Space.
I graduated high school and after years of playing loud music and partying a lot it was time to find something else to occupy my time. My high school buddies were constantly filming horror shorts, so I partnered up with them and acted, held the camera, whatever I needed to do. Then they left for LA and I stayed around, so I bought a camera and continued watching as many films as possible and shooting whatever I can. After a few shorts about autoerotic asphyxiation and child sacrifice (starring my then 2 week old daughter) and shooting weddings to make extra money, I invested in a better camera and started taking my shorts more seriously. My latest short premiered at Film4FrightFest and will make its U.S. Premiere at BeyondFest in LA.
I currently live in Providence Rhode Island with my wife and daughter "Vera" (named after the mom from Dead Alive), 2 dogs, a cat and a shit ton on VHS tapes.</span></i></span><br />
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Big thanks to Jarret Blinkhorn. Plus check out his short Tis the Season: <a data-reactid=".y.1:$mid=11441907728409=2421b43d7cfb5ffe969.2:0.0.0.0.0.0.$range0/=10" href="https://vimeo.com/115135214" rel="nofollow" style="background-color: #f6f7f8; color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 13.9636px; white-space: pre-wrap;" target="_blank">https://vimeo.com/115135214</a><br />
<br />Gorehound Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16973855037717993579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1724713819411676885.post-39827510788489800872015-09-08T11:51:00.000-07:002015-09-08T11:51:26.844-07:00Hollywood Monster: Alex Essoe Interview: She talks about her role in Starry Eyes and what shes working on next!<br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The horror market is flooded with mindless crap marketed to casual "horror fans" But even with the piles of reboots and remakes there has been a resurgence of independent film makers with unique visions. Films like "What we Do in the Shadows" "A Girl Walks Home Alone at Midnight" and "Babadook" are clear evidence that some very interesting original ideas still indeed have a place with audiences. "Starry Eyes" is certainly apart of this wave of smart horror. Not since "American Mary" and "May" has a horror film blew me away and really left me this impressed. I`m not going to review this as staff writer Vincent Deamon covered this brilliantly in a past blog. I recommend you read it if you haven't. Also this blog is Spoiler Free but I urge you to see the film if you haven't. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The star of "Starry Eyes" Alex Essoe gives a powerhouse performance, she is not only extremely talented but film savoy. Gorehound Mike's was lucky enough to chat with her about her role in this classic and what she has in the works. Enjoy. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">GM: What was your first impression of the Starry Eyes script? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">AE: Love at first read. It read like a movie I would love to
see, and the character of Sarah just lit me up. She came right off the page for
me immediately. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">GM: Are you a horror genre fan?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">AE: Yup, horror of all styles and categories. Anything from a
foreign art house piece like Calvaireor Hour of the Wolf, to an awesome sci-fi
slasher like Alien or Event Horizon, to a literal nightmare mind fuck like
Inland Empire or Beyond the Black Rainbow or Irreversible; there’s honestly too
many to name, I love them all.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">GM: Everyone who see’s you in this is blown away by the intensity
you bring to Sarah, what was your process to get you to that place? Also was it
hard to turn it off at the end of the shooting day?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">AE: I don't usually feel
compelled to discuss process, unless it’s in a general sense if I had to
learn a specific skill, mostly because I think it sort of ruins the fantasy. Although
I will say that my process was different depending upon which scene we were
doing, and breathing and relaxation are tantamount no matter what. There was something
about playing Sarah that I found cathartic, so it wasn't very difficult to let
it go at the end of the day. We also had such long days with so many intense or
physically demanding scenes that I wouldn't have had the energy to take it home
with me, anyway.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">GM: Your Father was disturbed by the Audition scene when he visited the set. Did they (your parents) see the finished film? If so what was there response to it?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">AE: <span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">My mom
actually flew to LA from Toronto to see a screening of it at the Egyptian .She told
me she was proud of me and that I need to work on my posture. Moms. My Dad said
he was impressed but I also told him to just watch the first 40 minutes (up to
the pool scene). I'm a total Daddy's girl and I know the rest of the movie
would freak him out. I'll always be 9 years old to him, no need to subject him
to a naked lesbian make out/death scene (laugh)</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">GM: </span>Your Mother is a theater actor; did she give you advice on
this role?<br />
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AE: For this role, no, but I also didn't ask her for any. That
being said, she has been instrumental in my early development as an actor. Apart
from growing up watching her on stage, and apart from attending the drama classes
for kids and teens she taught, the techniques, books, films and plays she exposed
me to and recommended to me have been hugely influential in how I approach
acting.<br />
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GM: I`ve read that you enjoyed the makeup process, do you feel
it helped enhance your performance?<br />
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AE: 100%. The makeup was so masterful and believable; it did so much
to inform the role, especially the physicality. Even little things like the
long nails or the chapped lips really aided me in getting lost in my
circumstances.<br />
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GM: Was there anything in the script that was changed due to your
input?<br />
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AE: Oh gosh, apart from maybe a line here or there I did what
was written. Unless I feel that something makes absolutely no sense or is
completely unjustified, I consider it my job to honor the writer's work, which
was so easy with Dennis and Kevin.<br />
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GM: How true does this film ring in terms of the struggles of
any artist to make it in this business?<br />
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AE: Quite true, indeed. I think anyone pursuing success in the arts,
especially on a mainstream level, is beset on all sides. You need focus and drive
as much as talent and a thick skin without becoming bitter. There are as many people
who desire your downfall as are rooting for you, maybe even more. There’s
instability, insecurity, rejection and doubt, but if you're prepared for this,
and have a solid sense of who you are and what you want, I'm confident you can
avoid a fate like Sarah's.<br />
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GM: Any strange or surreal real auditions you`ve been on?<br />
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AE: Honestly, no. Especially with the union, people generally
play by the rules in this industry, at least nowadays.<br />
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GM: Since the film have you had much feedback from your peers in
terms them being able to relate to aspects of your character’s strife?<br />
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AE: Oh totally, specifically in the beginning. Most actors I've spoken
with know an Erin or a Danny, and PLENTY of them have wanted to pull their hair
out after an audition .I also feel that most actors are lone wolves by nature and
have an innate sense of feeling separate from healthy ,civilized society but
maybe I'm just projecting...<br />
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GM: What are you currently working on?<br />
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AE: <span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">I'm
about to go to Vancouver to do a feature. It's has an Antichrist meets Vinyon
or Under the Skin feel to it so I'm really excited for that. I also have a
movie coming out called Tales of Halloween that hits </span><span style="font-size: 14.6666669845581px; line-height: 16.8666667938232px;">theaters</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;"> on October 16th!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span>GM: Finally any advice for our readers who want to became an
actor in film?<br />
<br />
AE: Train. Try all the techniques you can but make sure you research
the school or teacher before you sign up for anything or give anyone your
money. A lot of classes, even at "reputable" schools are rackets that
will suck aspiring actors dry without giving them safe or effective training.
Ask questions all the time. Try different things; the more varied and diverse
your training is the more tools you'll have, making it easier to develop your
own process. If you're just starting out, audition for and work on whatever you
can- shorts, student films, commercials, background-the training is for nothing
if you don't leave the classroom and apply what you've learned. Which brings me
to another trap: teacher worship.You need to put your trust in your instructor
but you also need to trust yourself. The purpose of class is to prepare you for
work in the real world, not to be the class star, and a good teacher will teach
you how to be self-reliant. There's a difference between a mentor and a guru.
Know when to leave the nest. Do theater! Do it. Theater gives you a skill set
that you won’t get with on-camera acting. It’s a workout for your voice, body
and storytelling ability in a very different way than film. I find my theater experience
has been invaluable in strengthening my acting muscle.<br />
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I want to again thank our special guest Alex Essoe for taking the time to chat about her amazing role and we all look forward to the amazing things you`ve got in the works.<br />
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Gorehound Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16973855037717993579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1724713819411676885.post-30034932019488137922015-09-07T12:34:00.000-07:002015-09-07T12:34:22.494-07:00Burnt Pages: Horror/Cult film Book Reviews: Pumpkin Cinema by Nathaniel Tolle<br />
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New Segment! I welcome you to a brand new feature on the blog. Burnt Pages will explore Film books, Guides and Bios. With a wealth of great film books out there its hard to know which are worth your hard earned dollars. Hopefully in a small way this will help. Since next month is Oct I thought of this book as a nice one to kick it off.<br />
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Book: Pumpkin Cinema<br />
Author: Nathaniel Tolle<br />
Rating: 3 1/2 burnt pages out of 5<br />
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Its not a stretch to say that every horror fans favorite howl-iday is Halloween. I mean horror movies, candy and its the only time of the year its perfectly acceptable to gross out your friends, family and co-workers. The book we are talking about is "Pumpkin Cinema" a guide for the perfect films to watch this season. I`m going to be breaking the review down into chapters.<br />
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Before I get into the meat of the book I like to start out by saying the presentation is well done. From the wonderful cover to the lay out, everything is eye catching and inviting. The book is started by a beautifully written introduction that really helps set the tone for the the preceding chapters. You can tell that he has a true passion for the holiday. After the intro we get into the main book, which is reviews of horror films.<br />
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Feature Length Flicks: Two things are clear from reading Tolle's reviews. Hes a talented writer and he knows his cinema. You can also tell that hes having fun with it and it comes through in the writing. From mainstream to weirder horror gems there is something new for every fan to discover. I was very impressed when things like "Blood for Dracula" "Haus" aka "House" (1977) were included. Without the more obscure titles it would be less exciting for the more advanced horror fan. In later editions i`m sure other horror and Halloween themed movies can be added. "Hour of the Wolf" and "Basket Case" would make nice additions.<br />
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Next chapter: Fun Sized Films and Creepy Crawly Compilations: This part of the book is perfect for those of you throwing a party and wanting something to play on mute while your ghoulish guests mingle around the graveyard. Its also great because it has selections for those horror fans who also happen to have pint sized monsters of there own.<br />
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Halloween on the Small Screen: The real gem in this book is the TV Halloween specials. From Simpsons Treehouse of Horrors to more obscure things like The Paul Lynn Halloween Special its a great guide to tricks and treats on the small screen. Is it totally complete, no. But this being his first edition i`m willing to over look that because its a very good start and misses none of the major stuff.<br />
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"Attack of the Top Fives" is a fun list of top five films in different categories.Even if you dont agree with his placements it still is a neat addition to the book and also helps if your looking for 5 films to do a movie thon.<br />
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The book ends with a nice outro which like the beginning is well done.<br />
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Overall: While its not a totally complete guide, it is a hell of a good read and is very useful when planning a haunted bash or just a get together with some zombie pals. Or can tell the author is a fellow horror fan and his love for the material really shows. Even hardcore fans can find a lot of stranger little gems within. Masks off to Nathaniel Tolle for capturing the fun spirit of the holiday in this well packaged and written book. Get it!<br />
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Here is the link, also please review as well.<br />
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http://www.amazon.com/Pumpkin-Cinema-Best-Movies-Halloween/dp/0764347233/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1440617261&sr=8-1&keywords=pumpkin+cinemaGorehound Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16973855037717993579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1724713819411676885.post-61075485641439137092015-09-04T12:22:00.000-07:002015-09-04T12:22:07.846-07:00Top Ten: Best 90's Horror film<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Top Ten: Best Horror of the 1990s.</div>
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Everyone says the 80s was the greatest decade for horror. And while that might be true, the 90s had a lot of great films. Here are my top ten. </div>
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PLEASE Note: If you Dont see something on the list i`m also working on a Top Ten Most Underrated Horror Films which will be listed on next weeks Top Ten. </div>
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10. Misery (1990)</div>
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Kicking off the list and oddly enough the decade is "Misery" based on the best selling book by Stephen King. Kings book is a master work and the film for the most part stays true to the original source material. Director Rob Reiner (Princess Bride, Spinal Tap) pulls all the stops to ratchet up the suspense and even manages to make you feel sorry for the Wilkes character,even if just alittle. Speaking of Anne its hard to think of any other actress playing the role. It also has one the most painful looking acts in mainstream cinema, i`m talking of course about the hobbling scene, which James Conn really sells. A list actors, a director at his peek and amazing source material makes for a perfect tense horror film. Just leave the sledge at home you dirty birdie.</div>
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9. The Faculty (1998)</div>
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After 1996's Scream proved that the horror genre was anything but dead a slew of horror films were rushed out, some great some not. However "The Faculty" was one the great films to come out of them. School is tough and it seems like the teachers are out to get you. But in The Faculty they really are. Horror and comedy blends perfectly with a healthy dose of science fiction, along with a fresh young cast including Elijah Wood, Josh Hartnet etc.We also have veteran talents like three time Oscar nominator Piper Laurie. Fun hip and scary, a must see. </div>
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8. Interview with the Vampire (1994)</div>
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Long before Twilight spawned the vampire craze it was Anne Rice who wrote the book on brooding blood suckers. 1994's big screen adaptation is a sprawling masterpiece for horror and non horror fans alike. In its rich detail and well written screenplay Neil Jordons film is worthy of the written word it was based upon. Its also fun to see Kirsten Dunst in a early screen appearance as a pint sized but deadly vampire. No sparkling bitches here, these vampires bite. </div>
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7. Bram Stokers Dracula (1992)</div>
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At the 7th spot is another vampire based on a book. Frances Ford Coppola (The Godfather need I say more?) directed this wildly entertaining film which for the most part stays truthful to the book. It also deserves a spot on the list for re-surging the interest in Universal Monsters and spawning a couple copy cats (Wolf, Mary Shelleys Frankenstein) While the casting of Reeves as Jonathan Harker was a major what was he thinking, it still has a great script, inventive camera work and some amazing practical effects work. The Dracula bat is pretty bad ass. It remains one of my Must See around Halloween time. Sink you teeth into it. </div>
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6.Candy Man (1992)</div>
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Ok,as a child I must admit I too tried the Candy Man in the mirror but I could never make it to three times (give me a break I was 7 when the movie came out) Horror icon Candy Man may have never reached the heights of say Jason or Freddy it remains near and dear to many horror fans. Clive Baker's film is a modern horror fairy tale and his signature blend of poetry and grisly horror makes this film the classic. So if your brave call him...I didn't think so. :) </div>
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5.The Sixth Sense (1999)</div>
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Let me take you back, back to a time when a young director M.Night was said to be the next Stephen Spielberg. That was not in the cards though as recent years he had a series of horrible flops. This movie remains his best movie by far. It was also a watershed in pop culture cinema. "I see dead people" is a line that is still quoted to this day. You could see a real craft and eye for cinema not to mention the "twist" that would become Nights signature. I can still remember seeing this is the theater and hearing people scream and jump out of their chairs. Its card to believe the same director of "Lady in the Water" did this modern horror classic. Maybe that was the biggest twist of all?</div>
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4.The Blair Witch Project (1999)</div>
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Love it or hate it, BWP was a real game changer in horror and deserves a place in the top five. What I respect most is its a film that relies heavily on the principle of less is more. Never actually seeing the witch was a stroke of pure genius. It was also ground breaking in the way it used the internet to advertise the film, a concept WAY ahead of its time. Remember people this was pre-Facebook, Twitter etc. This one seems to divide fans but its legacy is proof its not just camp. </div>
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3.Scream (1996)<br />
At this point in the 90's the horror genre was going through a difficult period. This all changed after "Scream" changed the face of horror. Lets face it, before the Ghost Face mask became over satirized (and later parodied) it was damn scary. It was also fun in its self aware meta factor that was ahead of its time. Clever in its wit and masterfully directed by Wes Craven this film deserves its status as horror classic.<br />
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2.Seven (1995)<br />
While not David Finchers first feature film (Alien 3) it is one of his best. Fincher uses his signature visual style to tell a story that will grip you from first frame to finish.Andrew Kevin Walker pens an amazingly woven psychological thriller that pulls no punches. Its also helped by its A-list cast including Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman. With lots of twists and turns that builds to one of the most exciting endings which has yet to be matched. This film really proves that Fincher is a master film maker. So whats in the box? Whhhhhhats in the boxxxx?!<br />
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1. The Silence of the Lambs (1991)<br />
The character of Hannibal has become a permanent icon in American culture, and while this was not the first film to feature the flesh eating anti-hero it is the movie that made him world famous. Many quotes have also been a fixture in our lexicon and its been the source of spoofs over the decade. Its hard to add anything new to a film that's been reviewed and studied many many times over,but I couldn't think of a better 90s horror film. I`ll just say that this is a film that deserves every bit of praise it gets and more. Look for cameos from George A.Romeo (Night of the Living Dead etc) and Roger Corman (Legendary King of the B's) Please pass the fava beans...<br />
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As always we cant mention everyone so here are films every bit worthy of your time.<br />
Honorable Mentions: The Craft, Sleepwalkers, Psycho IV: The Beginning, The AdditionGorehound Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16973855037717993579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1724713819411676885.post-23140190174485827602015-09-03T12:51:00.001-07:002015-09-03T12:51:41.263-07:00Blood Splattered Blu: Nightmare Castle (1965)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Title: Nightmare Castle<br />
Label: Severin<br />
Release Date:8/18/15<br />
Picture: 1080p HD<br />
Sound: English 2.0<br />
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Shes worked with Fellini, Corman Cronenberg and so many others. The pale skinned beauty with fiery seductive eye cheek bones that could kill, Barbara Steele rose from a time when men dominated the horror landscape. With hard work and talent she has rightly taken her place among horror icons like Price, Cushing, Lee etc.To honor her legacy of terror Severin has released not one but three classic Barbara Steele movies on blu. But how do they stack up and are they worth adding to your haunted collection?<br />
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The Film: I had never seen "Nightmare Castle prior to this release so I wasn't quiet sure what to expect. Even with lots of plot holes and some needlessly long scenes, it still manages to be campy fun. Its also really helped by some beautiful cinematography, great surreal moments and violence ahead of its time. It also boosts a score by the legendary Ennio Morricone who of course would go on to do great work for Sergio Leone and Serigo Corbucci Dario Argento among others. Non fans of this type of horror might not be into this but fans of classic Gothic horror will find this a tasty treat, flaws and all.<br />
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Picture: Nightmare Castle is presented in a 1080p HD res. I was totally blown away by how great Nightmare Castle looks. At fifty years old this year I can say its probably never looked better. I`m not sure but i`d go out on a limb and say this was a 2k scan from the negatives. Its stunning. There are a few flaws later in the movie but I have a feeling it was something that couldn't help. It really doesn't detract or take away anything. Severin out did themselves in terms of picture.<br />
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Sound All films are present in a 2.0 soundtrack. Nightmare Castle sounds great. Little noise reduction and characters sound crisp and clear. The upgrade benefits greatly with Morricone's wonderful score.<br />
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Extras: A nice featurette "Barbara Steele In Conversation" is a great 30 minute over view of Steele talking about her very interesting film career. Its very candid and she has some wonderful stories to tell. The crown jewel in the features is the commentary with Barbara Steele and David Del Valle. It is wildly entertaining. Del Valle is armed with wit,fun trivia and well researched facts and you can tell they are having a good time recording it. There are also a some cool features for Castle of Blood and Terror Creatures from the Grave. We have deleted scenes from Terror Creature and a featurette "Vengeance from Beyond" and "A Dance of Ghosts" featurette. Rounding out the features are trailers for all three films as well as US and UK trailer for Nightmare Castle. I was most impressed that they included features for the other two films as well, which shows just how they went above and beyond for fright fans.<br />
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Overall: Severin has really out did themselves with this release. We get treated to not one but THREE great films starring the dark diva looking beautiful in HD, along with a host of great new features including rare insights by Ms.Steele herself in both interview and commentary form. But they dont stop there, they include several features for the bonus films as well. I would put this on my short list for best blu release of 2015. A highly recommend bringing these classics into your haunted castle and adding them to your film library.Gorehound Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16973855037717993579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1724713819411676885.post-50674297123659294352015-09-02T12:28:00.000-07:002015-09-02T12:28:45.706-07:00Films in the Attic: Parents 1989<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Title: Parents<br />
Year: 1989<br />
Directed by: Bob Balaban<br />
Written by: Christopher Hawthorne<br />
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Randy Quaid ... With his media antics we learned that he is one insane guy, but in 1989s black comedy "Parents" he plays one too..Maybe he wasn't acting?<br />
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Parents is a film that seldom gets written or talked about which makes it perfect for Films in the Attic.<br />
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Plot: The year is 1954 and Nick (Randy Quaid) and Lily Laemle (Mary Beth Hurt) move themselves and there ten year old son Michael (Bryan Madorsky) to there own little slice of suburban paradise. Things aren't so blissful for Michael who is introverted and seems to live in a world totally of his own. He has no friends expect for Shelia (Juno Mills-Cockell) a girl who is also odd. His strange behavior in school leads him to see a social worker Millie Dew (Sandy Dennis) who is a kind, free spirited type. Michael becoming more convinced something is rotten with his parents and the "left overs" they serve every night, which is never explained. Is it all in his active imagination or is something more sinister cooking?<br />
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I can see where "Parents" would have a hard time finding an audience. Tone wise its all over the place. Keeping with the theme of the movie, one can look at it like movie stew. Take one parts dark comedy, season with 1950s food satire, mix in some art house flavor and finally a dash of tried and true horror show. The end result is one very dizzying movie experience but still its odd enough to keep you glued, even if the direction is all over the place.<br />
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Part of what pulls this movie stew is together is the amazing cast. As stated above Randy Quaid is just totally creepy as hell as Michael's father Nick. The things he can do with a simple look, coupled with some great mood lighting really gives you the shivers. Counter balancing this is Lily played by Mary Beth Hurt. Like Quaid she gives a performance that is subtle but you still get the sense there is something not quiet right with her. They really work well as a film couple. Character actor Sandy Dennis who is best known for "Whos Afraid of Virginia Wolfe?" plays the social worker. Like the above mentioned her performance is layered and we get a real sense of who she is as a person without saying alot. There is some very funny bits with her and her smoking and she also seems to be a very free formed person by her clothes and big clunky bag. Its little touches that makes this film somehow work. The supporting cast is also very good. Bryan Madorsky who plays young Michael is good even with limited lines. Deborah Rush who you might know from the cult tv show "Strangers with Candy" and more recently "Orange in the New Black" plays a minor but funny role.<br />
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What works in the films favor are very basic even primal themes explored such as family, food, sex and death. Also the link between food and death which has been explored in many different films including Hitchcocks "Frenzy" I could go on and on more in depth but I think you get the picture. The surreal images is something out of a David Lynch film , both sexual and sick. A perfect example is an early scene of Michael's nightmare. The boy is running, jumps on his bed and is engulfed in a sea of blood. When he tells his his Mother she asks if he took of his pj bottoms, because that's when he has nightmares..Its a perfect blending of the horror and sexual. I think my one complaint about this film is the sub plot between Michael and his little girlfriend Shelia. It really doesn't move the plot along or give us a deeper look in Michael and his inner workings. It would have been better to remove her and focus on him and his family.<br />
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Fans of the film "Society" (oddly enough released that same year) will find a rare gem here. In fact I would even say they would make a perfect double feature. Parents explores the idea that the rose colored glasses of the 50's family life might be deeply rotten at its core.While it may never get the kind of following as other horror films of that decade its a must see. With its psycho-sexual surreal nature it manages to be humorous as well as deeply disturbing. If your looking for a break from the usual slasher fare your in for a real tasty treat. You might even come back for seconds.....<br />
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<br />Gorehound Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16973855037717993579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1724713819411676885.post-40295183731132693772015-09-01T15:20:00.000-07:002015-09-01T15:20:01.657-07:00Face Offs Ricky Vitus Interview! <br />
Gorehound Mike caught up make up artist and Face Off contestant Ricky Vitus who tells us about his passion for his art and what its like being on the hit reality show.<br />
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GM: Was there one film in particular that made you want to go into a career in make up?<br />
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RV: Honestly its hard to pick one film in particular, I had a blanket of films I watched as a kid. Most of them were the Universal Monster films and I really liked the Wolf Man and werewolves. I think "An American Werewolf In London" was a big one for me as far as creating monsters go because I wanted that one when I was alittle bit older not by much probably a little to young to watch it, probably about seven or eight years old. It really triggered in my head when I saw the creature that somebody created it and I really wanted to be the one to create it.<br />
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GM: What do your parents feel about your chosen profession?<br />
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RV: My Mother loves it. Shes a very free spirited, shes not an artist herself but she respects the arts. She is just wildly out of control happy that i`ve been perusing this as a career. Granite not that she was happy about this but at a certain point I started playing with paint and then moved on to couch cushions, cutting ears off and making them into creatures through the werewolf kits after watching special features on how one of the monsters were fabricated, so she wasn't quiet happy about that but I can guarantee shes happy now.<br />
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GM: What was your first professional job and how did that come about?<br />
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RV: My first professional job I did was a film while I was at "The Tom Savini Makeup Academy" Outside of the school I worked on a independent film called "Alive and Unburied" an amazing short by Sean Perry, a great guy. It was one of my first professional gigs and I also while I was in school I did a commercial with Steve Johnson which was alot of fun, I did a wolf man for that and acouple other people did a nosterftue and Frankenstein, it was a lot of fun working with Steve Johnson.<br />
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GM: Lets talk about "Face Off" now. How true is the show in terms of reality<br />
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RV: Unlike alot of reality show what you see is truly what is happening. There is very little that I could say is fabricated. Every thing we make on there is by us. Truly what your seeing is what actually happened. Obviously everything is condensed into an hour so some things aren't shown but thats just the real reality of editing. Generally true indeed.<br />
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GM: You made a lot of friends with the other constants?<br />
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RV: Yeah I`m not sure how the other casts work together but our cast ours really hit it off. When your staying, living and working with the same people everyday usually there is a lot of tension but I think we did really good about it. We were all very high into each other. Like we would go home and play games together (laugh) which relives the tension of the day. We never did actually play hide and seek but we wanted too. We played a lot of board games, card games and i`m still talking to a lot of them to this day. Definitely made some great friends.<br />
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GM: In between shooting did you have any interaction with the Westmores?<br />
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RV: When the Westmores would come in we have a lot of interaction with them. They were only able to show a mi nute amount of it. However they would stay with us in groups or if we were doing a solo challenge. Up to about ten minutes when we would just I don't wanna say shoot the shit, but we sort of did (laugh) But yeah we got to interact with them a lot. The Westmores are great people.<br />
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GM:There must be a lot of pressure on the show, do you feel like you thrive on that?<br />
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RV: As far as the pressure goes on the show obviously there, there is going to be a lot of it. But on movies there is a lot of pressure especially if your working on a horror film that has shorter budgets. Granite we don't have the whole night on Face Off. We have a time limit (laugh) the clock is a real thing. I would say that they was a lot of pressure and I feel like I do good under it.<br />
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GM: What types of make ups pose the biggest challenge to you?<br />
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RV: As far as challenges that pose the biggest challenge I`d have to say group challenge because you have to make sure partners are on board with the designs but every team I was on we seem to mash really well but I think keeping to make sure were on the same track sculptural wise. <br />
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GM: Who do you think is your biggest competitor, like whose the one to beat?<br />
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RV: Everybody (laugh) Everyone this season I truly believe is talented. Mainly every season I watched and I hate to say but you can pin point who is going to be going home. But this season is everyone is so talented. I feel even the most talented people that are there had a fire under there butt. When they got there. we were all thinking we got this we got this and when you get there and saw everyone's skill set we were like Oh shit maybe we don't get this (laugh) So I feel my biggest competitor is everybody. <br />
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GM: So what do you have in the works?<br />
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RV: Right now i`m working at "Gateway Haunted Playhouse" Its a haunted house in Long Island, rated the best in Long Island. This is my second season here and we open in a month so we got a lot of work. The theme this year is a summer camp over run by inbred hill people, its very "Hills Have Eyes" Basically what happens is the inbred people take over the camp but they try and stay in role of the camp. Because they take over counselor positions, they imprison the children and i`m currently working on whole lotta hill bred people (laugh) and we also have a midway that is alittle bit detached from the haunt, its like a weird haunted carnival. I feel that if a haunted house is a strong strong midway that's not necessary a terrifying but more funny or spooky. So I have a lot of things in the works<br />
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Gorehound Mike would like to again thank Ricky Vitus for taking the time to chat with us. Watch Face Off 9pm Eastern Standard Time and root for him!<br />
<br />Gorehound Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16973855037717993579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1724713819411676885.post-32753041065041201162015-08-31T05:58:00.000-07:002015-08-31T05:58:19.118-07:00WES CRAVEN R.I.PAs i`m sure most of you know horror master Wes Craven died yesterday. I had a blog planned for today but I felt I wanted to in my small way honor him by posting it tomorrow and today just reflect on the man and his work. Oddly enough Sat I had done a special Films in the Attic on his film Deadly Blessing. So if you haven't read it please do.<br />
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Mr Craven you will be missed.<br />
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Aug 2 1939-Aug 30th 2015</div>
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Gorehound Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16973855037717993579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1724713819411676885.post-42795690384462937822015-08-29T12:52:00.000-07:002015-08-29T12:54:36.797-07:00Films in the Attic Special Edition: Deadly Blessings with Exclusive Quote from star Jeff East and writer Glenn M Benest<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b><span style="color: red;">Welcome to a very Special Edition of Films in the Attic.</span></b></div>
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Title: Deadly Blessing<br />
Year:1981<br />
Directed by: Wes Craven<br />
Written By: Glenn M. Benest, Matt Barr and Wes Craven<br />
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Recently Quentin Tarantino publicly came out as shall we say not a fan of "Scream" the 90's film that re-sparked the horror genre. While I am a QT fan I gotta disagree here.<br />
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However It got me to thinking about Wes Craven and his body of work. Maybe the most underrated is 1981's Deadly Blessing. Its gotten alot of criticism over the years but in this review i`ll hopefully help you see that its a classic just begging to be re-discovered.<br />
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Growing up in the country and living close to Lancaster Pa I can tell you this, the country is a beautiful place and is the closest thing to getting back to a time before the internet, phones and the countless things that distract us in our fast paced every day life. But it can also give you a feeling that underneath the surface of the picturesque landscape lurks something evil and even unholy. "Deadly Blessing" really taps into this.<br />
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Plot: Doting wife Martha (Maren Jenson) and Jim Schmidt (Doug Barr) are living the simple life on a farm and own a pretty house complete with white picket fence and a charming sign "Our Blessing" The dominate religion in these parts are the"Hittties" a strict religious sect "that makes the Amish look like swingers" Jim was once apart of this group until he broke away went to college and married Martha. The leader Isaiah (Ernest Borgnine) Schmidt and father of Jim shunned him for his actions. Now cut off from everyone in the community including brother John (Jeff East) he is known as the "Incubus" a devil. Faith (Lisa Hartman) a young girl and her mother Lousia (Lois Nettleton) are also thought to be such devils as they too are outsiders. In fact William Glunz (Michael Berryman) constantly harasses Faith and smashes up her painting (which are very strange and foretelling) It seems anyone who is not in the Hittites are thought to be evil. Shortly after the couple celebrate there one year wedding anniversary tragedy strikes when a farming "accident" claims the life of Jim, leaving Martha a widow and the house and property. Friends Lana Marcus (Sharon Stone in a early film role) Vicky Anderson (Susan Buckner) rush from the city to visit there grieving friend.<br />
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After William is found murdered by person(s) unknown the blame is cast on the outsiders of the community and Martha isn't so sure that her late husband simply died from an accident. Its also a fact that Leader Isasih wants to house and the land for his people which she refuses to sell. Is it the community trying to drive her away or is there really a supernatural force at work?<br />
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The voice over at the beginning of the film gives it a grim fairy tale ton and indeed the hyper surreal nature supports this.<br />
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The year "Deadly Blessing" came out a host of knife wielding psychos were unleashed on a ticket paying public. But while mostly all went onto become classics among die hard horror fans sadly this more unique film got shunned. What sets this film apart from the countless others is the seamless blend of horror and slasher with religious zealous overtones which was a trend decades ahead of its time. Craven seems to have learned alot from his previous films and is really in his element of fright. It amazes me that some of the most tense scenes takes place in the day time. For example the scene with Sharon Stones character getting locked in the barn and the way he uses simple tricks to really ratchets up the tension and fear ending with the discovering of Williams body. Its a master class in directing a great scene in a horror film. This film also gets a huge boost from its beautiful cinematography by Robert Jessup. He really captures the stark beauty contrasted with the eerie which I had mentioned in my introduction. Famed award winning composer James Horner (Avatar, Titanic etc) does the score and you can really see the roots of his genius and why James Camoron would later use him on numerous films.<br />
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Another way this film stands above the rest is the strong female characters that are portrayed. When Martha is attacked by a snake, she doesn't run and hide or worse yet get a man to take care of it, no she takes a fire poker and kills it. Another scene that highlights this is when the girls are teaching themselves how to fire a weapon. Now i`m not saying this is the first horror film to feature strong women however its a refreshing change from all the women victims in the other films of the decade.<br />
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But whats a good film without a good cast, and Deadly Blessing has a great one indeed. Ernest Borgnine, Sharon Stone, Jeff East and with character actors like Michael Berryman and Lois Nettleton. Critics have sighted Borgnine for his over the top acting style and I agree its abit much but on the other hand it adds to the hyper surreal grim fairy tale element. Jeff East (Pumpkinhead,Superman The Movie ) is also great, and perfectly cast as John the sweet and shy brother of Jim. This movie is also well known for being a early film of Sharon Stone who would of course go on to mega stardom. She has pretty good range here and really takes this material seriously. The scene with her and the spider is classic. Lois Nettleton also gives a over the top performance that really works in the films favor.<br />
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Craven along with the writers really give you a sense of thick dread and religious delirium that has gripped this community.The film spirals into a fast paced fright fest with some tasty surprising twists.<br />
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Even if you don't like this film I think you should at least respect it for the fact that its different than the slashers that dominated the horror landscape in the 80s. Featuring a refreshingly interesting story in a very real and spooky location and with females who were much more than just fodder for the killers knife. A perfect film to watch alone in the dark.....<br />
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Star Jeff East And co-writer Glenn M Benest were kind enough to take time and give us an exclusive quote about the film.<br />
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<span style="color: red; font-family: inherit;"><i style="background-color: black;"><b>Jeff East</b>: <b><span style="line-height: 13.9636354446411px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Best experience with three gorgeous women and terrific supporting actors.</span><span style="line-height: 13.9636354446411px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Susan Buckners a doll Sharon Stone is a cool lady! Loved working with all the actresses and Wes Craven is very kind</span></b></i></span><br />
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<span style="color: red; font-family: inherit;"><i style="background-color: black;">Co-Writer Glenn M Benest:</i></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; line-height: 13.9636354446411px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: red; font-family: inherit;"><i>"Deadly Blessing" was the first feature I wrote with my writing partner, Matt Barr. We went through a number of directors before we met Wes Craven, who directed a TV movie I adapted from a novel, "Summer of Fear." It was titled for NBC: "A Stranger In Our House." Once we hooked up with Wes everything went well. He wasn't well known at that time, but he was on the way up. Once he was attached, we got the film made. Wes is the great master of horror, along with John Carpenter. He taught me a lot about how to create scares. There is really no one better.</i></span></span></div>
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This blog is dedicated to James Horner who did the music for this and went on to do many other wonderful films. He passed away earlier this summer.<br />
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<br />Gorehound Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16973855037717993579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1724713819411676885.post-81184140768350136492015-08-26T11:29:00.002-07:002015-08-26T11:29:52.827-07:00Blood Splattered Blu: Cannibal Ferox <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Cannibal Ferox review by William O' Donnell<br />
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<b><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">Cannibal Ferox</span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">Company: Grindhouse Releasing</span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">Directed by:Umberto Lenzi<br />
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<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">(1981)
Director/Script - Umberto Lenzi, Starring Giovanni Lombardo Radice (as John
Morghen), Lorraine De Selle, Danilo Mattei (as Bryan Redford), Zora Kerova (as
Zora Kerowa), Walter Lucchini (as Walter Lloyd), Fiamma Maglione (as Meg
Fleming), Robert Kerman</span><br />
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<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">Here is
is, a classic of grindhouse sleaze, and who better but Grindhouse Releasing to
lovingly bring it to the horror collector. A classic of the Italian horror
subgenre of cannibal films, this movie works that template for all its worth,
after a New York City-set beginning in which we see mobsters looking for Mike
(Radice) and his friend Joe (Lucchini), who stiffed the mobsters and headed for
the Amazon River. The police (led by Robert Kerman) begin tracking down the
missing dealers. Intercut with the NYC scenes is the *ahem* meat of the story,
in which anthropology students, Gloria (De Selle), Rudy (Mattei), and Pat
(Kerova) have made a trip to the Amazon to prove Gloria's thesis that
cannibalism doesn't exist. From the moment in which a native eats grubs, it's
clear that the audience's sensibilities aren't safe by any means. Once the
anthropologists and the drug dealers meet, it doesn't take much time for the
gut-munching to begin, ratcheting up full-bore after Mike and Pat have sex, do
cocaine, and mess with the natives. Some excellent practical special makeup
effects displayed here thanks to Gino De Rossi, including a castration (yikes!)
and a woman's being hung by her breasts from hooks (well, at least the sexual
violence is equal opportunity!). Like its spiritual "cousin" Cannibal
Holocaust, this film features real-life animal cruelty, which is indefensible,
but blends almost seamlessly into the simulated carnage for a most disturbing
experience.</span><br />
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<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">The film
itself benefits from an absolutely eye-catching 2K transfer scanned from the
original film negative's aspect ratio of 1.85.1 at 1080 resolution to an aspect
ratio of 1.78.1. The 2.0 DTS-HD master audio mix will pop your ears with its
clarity.</span><br />
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<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">Extras
aplenty include interviews with principal cast and crew, as well as a highly
informative documentary Eaten Alive: The Rise and Fall of the Italian Cannibal
Film. A commentary track featuring Lenzi and Radice, a stills gallery, trailers
for current and upcoming Grindhouse Releases, a glossy 12-page booklet of liner
notes by Times Square grindhouse historian Bill Landis and horror filmmaker Eli
Roth. Included with the two Blu-Ray discs is a CD containing the full
soundtrack by Roberto Donati (Budy) and Fiamma Maglione, remastered in 24
bit/96 kHz sound from the original master tapes, which is still creepy and
atmospheric when listened to on its own.</span><br />
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<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">This
release is a more-than-worthwhile addition to any horror/grindhouse
connoisseur's Blu-Ray collection.</span><br />
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<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">--William
O'Donnell is an aging goth and horror enthusiast whose short fiction has been
published in the anthologies Bell, Book, and Beyond and Travel Guide to the
Haunted Mid-Atlantic Region, and whose music reviews appeared approximately
bzillion years ago on Gothic.net. He's also a vegetarian.</span></span></b></div>
Gorehound Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16973855037717993579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1724713819411676885.post-26429445092106046282015-08-25T08:28:00.000-07:002015-08-25T08:28:24.574-07:00Confessions of a Monster Kid: C.Courtney Joyner Interview Part 2 Class of 1999 and Beyond! <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Welcome to the second and final part of my interview with C.Courtney Joyner. Class of 1999 and beyond!<br />
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GM: Class of 1999 how did you get that job?<br />
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CJ: I got hired to do "Class of 1999" directly because of "Prison" Mark Lester actually went to a screening of Prison and of course he and Irwin are very good friends forever and Mark mentioned the project and he needed to hire somebody for it and so Irwin recommended it to me. I went in there and Mark was co-producing the movie with writer Stanley Mann. It was a long process on that. I wrote acouple of drafts and other writers came in and they wrote drafts and they were discarded, Mark came back to me and I worked again and I left (laughs) it was a back and forth a whole bunch but ultimately it came back to me and my old script but it was alittle frustrating but I think that's the way Vestron would do it. They had a long development process and than when we got back to Seattle I said Oh my gosh this really is my old script, it had been tinkered with and improved like some of the dialog but then I rewrote the final shooting draft when we were in Seattle and what was wonderful about that was when I was there we knew who our cast was. So I rewrote the teacher roles for Pam Grier etc. because they had been cast. It allowed me to reshape the roles for them. It took a long time for that movie to shape.<br />
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The biggest thing on that film that I regret was we had a great special effects man on that show named Eric Allard (Spider Man,MI:3) and of course the Burmans worked on it which was great because they worked on "The Offspring" (From a Whisper to a Scream) but I came up with this idea at the end, because I didn't want to do the terminator teacher thing, what I wanted to do was each one of the robot teachers had a specialized equipment, like Pam has the flame thrower Kirkpatrick has the rocket off his arm and originally what was going to happen was the individual pieces of there skeletons came together to create this new creature that was really more like an insect rather than humanoid. I`m sorry we couldn't do that they thought it would be to expensive and Mark said about possibly doing it with stop motion but it was beyond what Vestron wanted to spend and so they built that full scale robot, that was the real deal. It was suspended from a track on wires above it sort of like a extremely heavy complex puppet. It was a wonderful creation.<br />
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GM: Its a great movie that has a lot of fans.<br />
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CJ: The movies cult reputation has grown over the years, we had such a wonderful cast. I loved John P Ryan and Pam Grier they were so terrific and Malcolm and Stacy Keach that was cool, that was a wonderful experience once we got going. And of course Eric had done "The Blob" so when we wanted to do that thing with the kid being folded in half and being pulled into the wall that was a great gag and he did all that stuff, he was terrific. <br />
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GM: Any word on a blu release of this film?<br />
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CJ: Mark has talked to me a few times about doing a blu ray with it but I don't know if maybe "Scream Factory" (Shout Factory) decides to do it. For all I know the blu is coming out tomorrow (laugh)<br />
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GM: Speaking of blu, are you happy with how your films look on the format?<br />
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CJ:David DeCoteau and I did the commentary for Puppet Master 3 and I was stunned when we were recording that how great it looked, it was fantastic. One of the saddest things which Renny and I have discussed when we saw the blu of "Prison" and the fact that Mac Ahlberg hadn't lived long enough to see it because I think it looks just superb and he was an incredible DP. To me the great thing for us to re-discover your own work and you look at these things with fresh eyes because I don't sit and watch my own movies for hours on end then suddenly your seeing things brand new and its neat and when its in this great format and it looks so far beyond quality upgrade even when we made it (laugh)<br />
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GM: Lately you`ve done a lot of interviews for various documentaries, would you call yourself a film historian?<br />
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CJ: I`ve always done film journalism and before it was journalism it was just me being a pain in the ass to all these guys. When I was in High School I was writing letters to Don Siegl and all these guys. I have a letter from Don Siegl which is one of my great treasures and I got to know Don abit later on when I came to California. I had the unbelievable gull to write to him and ask for a summer job. His note was so great. He had just finished doing Telethon with Charles Bronson and he was getting ready to direct a movie called I.Horn starring Steve McQueen and I still have the letter, it says he's sorry he cant hire me because Steve McQueens entourage was so large (Laugh) OH MY GOD Steve McQueen is stopping Don Siegl from giving me a summer job and that is like the coolest thing of all time. But I was always doing that and I came to California to go to college and that's what I would do, the thing is back in those days, (laugh) well those days, not that long ago but I guess it is movie directors and guys like that did not consider themselves celebrities they were wealthy of course and well paid and they had there own degree of fame and cult status but they still considered themselves anonymous people. And if they got attention or met a fan they were flattered because they wanted to stay out of the spotlight and put guys like John Wayne in it. Times were very different and they were very open to fans like me who would come and bug them etc. I liked tracking down the Universal guys. I just loved that, tracking these guys down and hearing old Hollywood stories and what have you. Then when I started really applying myself with the film journalism that kind of took more of a shape with me with the Westerns and I got very involved with that and continue to be involved with that genre. That kind of up things especially when I got to know people like Sam Peckinpah Warren Oats and L.Q Jones and the whole gang and I was kind of there mascot and that lead me down a new path way.<br />
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GM: You just did an interview for the Empire documentary?<br />
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CJ: The Empire documentary is going to have a big big launch but I don't know when that will happen but again that Daniel Griffins work and holy smoke hes talked to everybody its going to be an incredible.<br />
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GM: I know you`ve done conventions in the past, is it humbling to meet fans of your work?<br />
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CJ: I haven't done one in a very long time, when I would do them a million years ago it was always in conjunction with Full Moon. Charles Band was very convention savoy and he was of course great with his promotions, when I started writing a bunch of Full Moon and directed a few times he always wanted to have a presents at the convention and he liked it to be the actors plus the behind the scenes people which was very nice. So that was really fun. I guess the wonderful thing about when you do that is you sometimes you don't realize the how much exposure the stuff actually gets. These are horror flicks there not the Godfather (laugh) so your not sure how many homes these things go into or what.<br />
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GM: Still hear from fans?<br />
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CJ: Oh gosh I still get stuff through the mail and that's always a great kick.<br />
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GM: So what projects do you currently have in the works?<br />
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CJ: I have the sequel my western Shotgun which comes out from Pinnacle like a year from now called Shotgun 2: Bleeding Ground. I started a new action/adventure series which I cant disclose. I`m writing a western shortly which i`m very excited about actually for a tv pilot also looks like i`m going to be doing some work in the UK for a Ileen Maisel who produced "The Golden Compass" and i`m writing a tv pilot for her company.<br />
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I want to extend my thanks to C.Courtney Joyner for taking the time to talk about his amazing career.Gorehound Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16973855037717993579noreply@blogger.com0