October 31, 2009
Day Nineteen - Paranormal Activity (2009)
I saw a screener of the early version of Paranormal Activity before the ending was changed, so I can't very well vouch for how terrifying the theatrical version is, but from what I hear of the new ending I'm glad I saw the version I did. The film is a "found footage" affair along the lines of The Blair Witch Project, but instead of witch-hunting this young couple is trying to capture an image of the demon they believe is haunting their house. The leads are believable for the most part and when it's daylight and they're going about their business the audience feels safe. It's when the lights go out and the camera is placed on a tripod in the bedroom that really pays off. Exceedingly creepy in these moments, the filmmaker builds dread as the counter in the corner of the screen speeds up and then suddenly starts ticking normally. It's then that we know some shit's about to happen, and our not knowing exactly what might take place is where this film gets all its power. From ghostly footprints to slamming doors to the female lead standing motionless beside the bed for hours, these moments are extremely tense.
As far as the original ending goes; it's quite effective. I won't spoil it for anyone who may see this version in the future, but it keeps things as believable as possible and does not involve anybody's face taking on demonic features. There's no jump out of your seat scare to cap it all off. It keeps things believable and mysterious which is what made the movie work up until that point. Now, I haven't seen the theatrical cut, but I have read a description just to compare and it sounds as if the new ending almost betrays the whole approach the movie was taking up until that moment. I'm glad I saw the original ending and I hope it's available in this version on the eventual DVD.
Posted by Tucker Battrell.
October 31, 2009
Day Eighteen - Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night II (1987)
I missed this little classic when I was a kid. I watched tons of horror movies growing up, but for some reason this one escaped me. And now that I know what I've been missing all these years I feel like I've wasted my life. This is a bad movie of the highest order. A trashy, stupid, unintentional laugh-filled classic. Mary Lou is a bitch who dies by fire at the prom and years later comes back to unleash her revenge on Michael Ironsides. ... Continue reading...
Posted by Tucker Battrell.
October 28, 2009
Day Seventeen - The Strangers (2008)
By far the most terrifying film of last year, The Strangers hits all the right notes when watched in a dark house late at night. The story of a young couple having a rough night after arriving home late from a party. He proposed, she rejected him. This soon turns out to be the least of their worries when they find themselves being terrorized and toyed with by three masked strangers. The killers and their apparent enjoyment of their little game are rem... Continue reading...
Posted by Tucker Battrell.
October 28, 2009
Day Sixteen - Snuff: A Documentary About Killing on Camera (2008)
While this is a documentary, the stories it chronicles and the footage of atrocities both cinematic and real qualify this as horrific. The envelope-pushing gore and animal cruelty on display from films like Cannibal Holocaust and Faces of Death are enough to turn off the casual viewer, but I suppose if you're watching a documentary on the snuff film, you're probably pretty well-versed in cinematic gore. What even the com... Continue reading...
Posted by Tucker Battrell.
October 28, 2009
Day Fifteen - Witch Bitch aka Death Spa (1988)
As far as I can tell this movie is about the spirit of a woman burned alive in a wheelchair who is possessing either the man who runs the health club with his computer, or possessing the computer itself. Either way, this movie is awesome. A man can increase the resistance on another person's seemingly normal stationary bike with a few strokes of his 1988 keyboard. Women are attacked by the shower and diving board amongst other things. Ken ... Continue reading...
Posted by Tucker Battrell.
October 23, 2009
Day Fourteen - Dark Night of the Scarecrow (1981)
Dark Night of the Scarecrow is a television movie starring Charles Durning as the world's biggest asshole postal worker who, along with some of his douchebag buddies, carries out some vigilante justice on a retarded man (Larry Drake) they suspect of killing a little girl. Unfortunately, the tard actually saved the little girl and then hid in the field disguised as a scarecrow where the bastards shot him in cold blood. What follows is a ne... Continue reading...
Posted by Tucker Battrell.
October 19, 2009
Day Thirteen - Children of the Corn (2009)
Okay, I admit that the original film adaptation of Stephen King's short story was not perfect. It may not even be a good movie, but as a kid the opening half hour were as scary as a movie could get. The opening massacre in the diner, the car hitting the kid in the road, Isaac's creepy face: a perfect storm of terror for pubescent me. Now I've heard some say that the Isaac of the original was not believable for some reason, but I must argue that the... Continue reading...
Posted by Tucker Battrell.
October 19, 2009
Day Twelve - Trick 'r Treat (2008)
Another eighties throwback that is being unfairly banished to the world of the straight-to-DVD release. This is a great, moody Halloween movie in the tradition of Creepshow. What makes this anthology film different from previous incarnations is that this one has no framing device to move from one story to another. Instead we have a free-flowing interwoven series of events which play out more like Short Cuts or Magnolia than any horror anthology. It's grea... Continue reading...
Posted by Tucker Battrell.
October 19, 2009
Day Eleven - The House of the Devil (2009) The last few years have seen a handful of what I call homage-films. Those that attempt through visual style, story-telling methods, and music to capture the feeling of an earlier era in cinema. Films like Grindhouse and The Devil's Rejects aim to recreate the 1970s exploitation genre. The House of the Devil is another example of this trend. This movie attempts to capture the effect of slow-burning horror films of the 70s and 80s, and one critic ... Continue reading...
Posted by Tucker Battrell.
October 17, 2009
Day Ten - The Damned Thing (2006)
Genre veteran Tobe Hooper directs this installment of the great, if short-lived, Showtime series Masters of Horror. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre director returns to the Lone Star State for this film which finds people overcome with rage and murdering others and themselves. Aside from a strange oil monster at the end, this is a pretty good little horror movie. The effects are pretty awesome with blood spurting and guts spilling, but the most shocking has to ... Continue reading...
Posted by Tucker Battrell.
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