Honorable mentions (part 2)

Yesterday, we had part 1, go see that if you missed it, and today, part 2.
Actually, got part 1 in just under the wire...phew.

My ass was dragging, and it kinda shows...but...the results are fucking funny, so I'll leave it how it is.

Anyway, on to 2...

Hmm, looking at the lineup, more fun stuff, and flat out comedies this time...
Anyhoo...


Fright Night

The film-

Classic, love it.

80's fun like 976-Evil, but done way better.

Yeah, they fuckin' remade this one too.
Although, lotta folks are saying it's actually good.
I do love in the ads how they openly attack "Twilight".
I'll wait 'til some people I know and trust see it.

Hey yeah...Susan and Chris Sarandon have both been sexy vampires in cult classics.
Well, ain't that somethin?

The history-

I think this might have been my first gory horror movie that I was both allowed to see, and was able to withstand without vomiting, or having nightmares.

Yep...debatable as to whether it was this, or Swamp Thing that popped my horror cherry.

I gotta go with this one.
Swamp Thing is more on the border of superhero action.

If you wanna pass your horror fandom on to your kids, I'd still recommend that one as the crossover to ease 'em in.


Return Of The Living Dead

The film-

Oh, hells yes!!

Yeah, some Romero elitists are like "eeew, that one's not serious, it's a campy parody".

Yeah, so what?
Ya like "Creepshow", doncha?
And that was by Romero.
Loosen the fuck up.

And besides, it's the sequels to this that blow, the first one is great.

And it's got Linnea Quigley titty! (mentioned before here)
Y'know, Dan O'Bannon in the commentary swears she was shy, and didn't like doing those scenes..but man, she must have really gotten over that, because well...look at the rest of her career!

Oh, connections time.

Linnea Quigley is in this, and was a pair of stunt breasts in the souls coming out of Freddy scene in "Nighmare 4".

Clu Gulager was in it, and he was Jesse's dad in "Nightmare 2".

James Karen was in it, and he was the guy who didn't move the bodies, and got screamed at for not doing so in "Poltergeist".

Dan O' Bannon wrote and directed this, and he broke through in the business by writing "Alien".
He also wrote "Lifeforce", and two segments of "Heavy Metal".

So, it's got a good pedigree, and is another one that has that "class reunion", feel to it.

The history-

Saw the ads for it on premium cable the exact same day I saw "Hellraiser", over my grandmother's.

I always saw it on the shelves at Nicely's, but...never rented it for some reason...

Finally, saw a good review of it at Cinemassacre, and caved in, and got it, and was not disappointed.
I'd put it right next to "Creepshow", for beloved-ness.


Vampire Hunter D (and Bloodlust)

The film-

Wow, way back here in the 80's this originally came out, huh?

Good little anime, second one has massively better animation but...I dunno, I like the characters a little better in the first one.
Particularly Magnus Lee.
Both do a good job of establishing that gothic atmosphere.

I personally think probably better than a lot of Dracula adaptations.

Y'know, when you think about it....I think the Castlevania games came out of this.
Very similar henchman monsters, Doris has a whip like Simon, Rei throws a flying blade much like the cross boomerang in Castlevanias 1,3, and 4.

To you gamer fanboys out there that always wanted a Castlevania movie,...just watch these. *shrug*

The history-

Saw this in the 90's on the same "Saturday anime", dealie I first saw "Tenchi Muyo in love".

Told Hyla about it, he bought it, watched it 60 times, got sick of it, and gave me the tape.

Wow...I still have to repay that somehow.

Nothing fancy about getting the new one, heard about it on the net, got it.
It's fucking gorgeous though.
I hear some folks calling it a "remake", bullshit, it's a totally different story, it's a sequel if anything.
Both are self-contained, is all.

Only gripe,...the audio mix is off on the DVD, could be because I'm playing it on a shitty TV, but for me, it's one of those ones where the people talk too quietly, and you have to crank it, then explosions and shit start up, and it tears your ears off.

Your mileage may vary.


Critters

The film-

Maybe I oughtta do the sequels to this next year...
This, and Ghoulies.
And Leprechaun.
And Puppetmaster.
If I'd planned ahead sooner, I coulda worked a lot more in, but the day of the Jason post was when this all randomly popped into my head to do.

Back to the film, the best parts that stick out, the melty-heads transformations, and the Critter that sees the other one blow up, and goes "FUCK!", in subtitles.

Y'know, if Pac-Man were a biological lifeform, a thing molded and sculpted by the engines of DNA, he'd probaby have to look like a Critter/Crite.

I don't know what to do with that observation, so I simply pass it along.

The history-

This, I remember seeing with school friends.
Can't remember if it was a birthday, or a random sleepover, or what...


House

The film-

No, not the grouchy gimpy atheist doctor played by George from Blackadder.
You can imagine the bitch it is getting Google to cough up stuff on this thanks to him.

Another great horror comedy from back in the day.
This one I double feature with "Fright Night", every time for some reason.

Probably because they have similar tones, and looks, are from the same period, and HBO played them both to death, and I watched them every single time, never getting sick of them.

This was written by Ethan Wiley, who worked on the puppets in "Gremlins".

A lot of the films I dig have this "six degrees..", thing going on.

Forgot to mention, the stuntman who played Freddy set on fire in "Nightmare 1", was Stay Puft in "Ghostbusters".
See?

Anyway, what I love about this one, is how the hero, Roger Cobb, doesn't take any shit, he starts making plans, and comes right fucking at the monsters.

And he's a veteran, and a writer, so that's two layers of badass.

Hmm, this is post-Nancy, and pre-Ash, yeah, he's proto-Ash.
No, Roger Cobb is more winning-er than Ash.
Ash causes the problems.
Ash's superpower is simply the Bruce Campbell charm/smarm.

The history-

Already said about HBO, right? Okay.


The Fly

The film-

The transporter goes bad!
Fear science!
Heh.

The history-

My ability to see R rated films was pretty much in full swing at this point.

We rented this back in the day at this little shack of a video store in Gorham that's long since been torn down, and was where the expanded Hannaford parking lot is now.

This was before Nicely's came to town, see?
It was a pain in the ass to get tapes back then.
Geez...y'know...I think...we abandoned our HBO by then, cuz we were renting way more.

Oh, for those few of you who remember my long lost obliterated audio blogs, I do an impression of fully transformed Brundlefly *gurgle, gurgle*
That, and my Doctor Channard.


Henry: Portrait Of A Serial Killer

The film-

No fucking way, Ebert gave the thumbs up to this after pussing out like a bitch on "Clockwork Orange"?

Oh, right, because this shows Henry as a bad guy, and CO neglected to spoon-feed value judgments to the audience.

Not that Henry did, they just have different styles that achieve different effects.

That's always been Ebert's problem, he makes morality judgments about these films, when that's the last fucking thing in the world a critic should do.

That was his beef about the Freddys and Jasons back then too, was morality shit, but in that case, it was the whole "weehh, children will see it, they're targeting children!", routine.
So, you know he bought into that whole line of worthless jive.

Fuck off.
Fuckin' boomer liberals...

Didn't you stupid assholes learn anything from horror comics, and rock n' roll?
WTF?

Anyway, great film...if your nerves can get through it.

The history-

Oh, man, I saw this in the 90's on scrambled Cinemax, and it was the infamous family home invasion scene, (mentioned here) and it Fucked. Me. Up.

And there was no one I could really talk to about it, and it twisted around in my mind forever.

I've very recently re-watched it, and that scene is still rough, but it didn't hit me anywhere near as bad as back then, and that totally diffused it.
Just like that. *finger snap*

Now, I just see it as a well made film.
Wonderful.
Better than the Hannibals in its way, and you know I love those.

I recommend that for everybody, any time one of these films gets under your skin, give it a couple years, and take another crack at it.
That's always helped me.
Worked with "last house on the left", too.
Worked with how weirdly my folks acted about "raunchy Hulk".
Works with a lot of shit.

That's all it takes, not expensive fucking therapy, and this shit doesn't RUIN you, so all that liberal bed-wetting shit is noise.
Mental static.

That's why I don't buy into the whole "protect the children!", routine.
My life experiences have told me a whole different story, and they have ZILCH on their side for proof of their lame phony narrative.

Even when this stuff hurts you, it doesn't.
The cure is MORE exposure.

They're just movies, folks.
It's just music, folks.
It's just comics, folks.
And it's all fucking make-believe, folks.
Get ahold of your fucking selves.

No wonder they want the world geared towards children...THEY'RE children.
That's my conclusion.


The Monster Squad

The film-

You want one for kids? Here you go! *laughs*

They don't make kid movies like this anymore.
It's all dancing penguins, then they throw your preteen ass right into "Twilight".
Our culture is a fucking mess.

Anyway, this one?
Goonies with the Universal monsters.
If you like the one, you'll probably like the other, and vice versa.

Man, Dracula is a real motherfucker in this one.
"Give me the amulet, you BITCH!".
Well...as it should be, he IS a motherfucker.

Filmmakers had so much more balls in these days, man.
Not just to add an edge to their flicks in the first place, but to fight for them against the nanny-Nazis, and the chickenshit suits.

Now we have a whole generation that doesn't know what it means to be a rebel.
They think Mark Zuckerberg is a rebel.
No, Mark Zuckerberg is a smirking little shit whole stole his so-called "invention".

Mark Zuckerberg would take a bat beating from a real rebel.

*Sigh* dammital....fuckin' world...

The history-

Um...yeah pretty damned sure HBO was gone at this point, cuz I think I rented this.
Might've had Steve over.

Can't remember special backstories, just know this, Goonies, and Gremlins were all on my love list.


Night Of The Demons

The film-

Um...basically, an Evil Dead 1 rehash with titties.

Linnea titties!!

Mmm, damn but Linnea has some nice titties....

Anyway, it's actually pretty good.
Ignore the sequels.

The history-

Saw it on scrambled Cinemax, fell in love.

I like the Meatloaf-ish credits song.
It was a good lullaby at midnight.
Titties, monster, then "doooowwn toooo the laaast maaan!", then, sleep.


Troll 2/ Best Worst Movie

The film/history-

Well, this is perfect, I just did an entry on this...

Best worst movie.


Candyman

The film-

Really good.

But, like the Hellraisers, it's the artsy-fartsy-ness that makes it good cinema art.

Pluck out Candyman, and put him in a shlock film, it doesn't work...as can be seen from the shit sequels.
Ignore them completely.

The history-

My school counselor actually recommended this to me.
*Laughs*
This, and "the people under the stairs".


The Nightmare Before Christmas

The film-

Makes a good companion to "Mad Monster Party".

Indeed, that one heavily influenced Tim Burton to do this one.

Halloween needed a puppetoon special.
Rudolph, and Frosty, and Mickey Roony Santa owned the holidays for far too long.

The history-

I didn't see this one for a helluva while for some reason.

But, I remember, the first trip to Hyla's house, he had the figures lined up along his wall.

I put a mental post it note on the inside of my skull that very moment that said "well...this should be interesting...".

And, it was. Long strange trip. Heh.


Cemetary Man (AKA Delamorte Delamore)

The film-

Evil Dead meets existentialism.

Gorgeous.

I think this has the best looking incarnation of The Grim Reaper ever.

A close second is the one in "The Adventures Of The Baron Munchausen".

It's too weird to describe, you just have to see it.

The history-

Saw this on Showtime, taped it, showed it to the gang.
I gotta get the DVD of this.


Ed Wood

The film-

Re-pasted from here....

I think I can safely say, this is the best Tim Burton movie ever.
Gotta be up there with the best Johnny Depp movies too.
A masterpiece.
If there were nothing else, this film alone would single-handedly save the 90's.
It's just great.
Its history is a bit fuzzy, but it can be forgiven.
Think of it as an Ed Wood movie about Ed Wood.
Martin Landau was simply magnificent as Bela Lugosi.
Well, he won an Oscar for it, didn't he?
Well, anything I could possibly say about it has been said a million times.
This one will live forever.
I love it. I could watch it every day.

The history-

Dunno what grapevine he heard it from, as there was no proper internet then, but Hyla told me this was coming.

"Tim Burton doing Ed Wood....that's...genius!", I said.

And it delivered.
Holy shit.

..ohh, I wanna watch it now, and I already did last week....I just can't get sick of it.


American Psycho

The film-

Your next new Batman, America!!
*Laugh* who knew?

Review pasted from here...

Saw this only very recently.
A delightful little film.
How did I miss out on this?
80's yuppies being chopped to pieces by another 80's yuppie?
Gorgeous.
And hey, Hewie Lewis in the soundtrack!
Yay!
Good as this is, the novel's better.
I was disturbed by it, and ain't that what you want from real horror?
Wussies pitched a fit over the book, so you know it's good.
Buy anything that gets angry reviews, and better still, pickets, and fatwas.
Especially pickets, and fatwas.
Go right out, and get it.

The history-

Was always faintly aware of it, saw clips of it in "Bravo's 100 Scariest Movie Moments", finally saw it, dug it, and was told the novel was even better, and...man, that novel, that gets under your skin more than ANY of the movies on any of these lists.

I own the film now.
Goes good as a contrast to "Henry".

Oh, and the film inspired this nifty little note perfect parody video.

This must be the place.

The song works on two levels, Patrick Batemen likes The Talking Heads, and this song was the credits song for "Wall Street", also about predatory yuppies.

And, can you believe there's a Patrick Bateman action figure?
Yep, there's a figure of everything.

Little items like that about our culture are what warm my heart.
How fucking subversive is that, huh?
Maybe rebels haven't died.


The Human Centipede

The film-

Re-pasted from here...

Loved it!
Okay, touched on it way back here.
Almost got scared away from it by Ebert's review here.
Posted the Tosh spoiler review here.
Finally worked up the nerve, saw it, was both spooked, and amused, and that, is good horror.
I own it now.
Dieter Laser is just excellent in this.
My favorite mad scientist on film thus far.
I hope he gets a lot more horror work.
The mad scientist is my favorite movie villain archetype, and there aren't enough of them period, but of those few, there aren't many good ones.
You gotta go back to Jeffrey Combs as Herbert West in the 80's, and even further back to Peter Cushing's Victor Frankenstein after that.
It's a pretty thin hall of fame...
Anyway, Tom Six has made me an instant fan of his work, and I anxiously await the Centipede sequel.

The history-

Learned about it all from internet buzz.

Can't believe the hubbub it caused.
I read on one board, a bunch of whiny people all like "eew, it's sick, it goes too far, I like my horror like this, and this, not like this..", like, a whole thread of this shit, and then this one kid chimes in with "I thought you people were all horror fans, what a bunch of fuckin' pussies!!".
*Happy sigh*
There is hope....:)


Aaaand, THERE, the end.

That's..if not all, a good damned chunk of my favorites.
Can't be many left.

I'll get 'em next year.

Up next, Sequel-itis, or, none of this is new....