October 17, 2009
Day Nine - How to be a Serial Killer (2008)
This is basically an Americanized version of the cult classic Man Bites Dog. It's a faux-documentary about a charming serial killer mentoring a young video store clerk. What this movie has going for it is the lead actors who are oddly likable and very natural in their roles. What works against this film is that it's just not particularly funny or shocking, both of which abound in Man Bites Dog. It's never too horrifically violent, so that disappoints the gorehound in me, and it's never laugh out loud hilarious which just plain disappoints me. Overall, however, this is an enjoyable film that would be more enjoyable if there weren't better films of its ilk out there.
Posted by Tucker Battrell.
October 17, 2009
Day Eight - Drag Me To Hell (2009)
Sam Raimi returns to his roots with this funny and disgusting horror comedy. This is also the first film in the fest that I can say I actually love. Tis the story of a young loan officer who, for various reasons, desperately wants to get the assistant manager job at the bank. She wants it so badly that she turns down a grotesque gypsy woman's loan extention. The old lady puts a curse on her and we're off. They have an incredible fight scene in her car wher... Continue reading...
Posted by Tucker Battrell.
October 12, 2009
Day Seven - Friday the 13th (2009)
There are very few things in this world that I love as much as Jason Voorhees. He's the perfect horror villain. He's brutal, unthinking, and merciless. So it was with a certain amount of skepticism that I entered into the remake of Friday the 13th. Good news! It might as well have been a sequel. It minimally messes with the legend and tries to make it more real-world without any supernatural elements, but all that bullshit is beside the point. What you have ... Continue reading...
Posted by Tucker Battrell.
October 10, 2009
Day Six - Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde (1912)
It's only eight minutes long, but I have some catching up to do. It's already the tenth and I've only watched five movies. In my defense I started late. Not much of a horrific element to this silent short of the classic story, but as with most movies of the era, it's pretty entertaining. Since it doesn't have a long running time that's not much of a feat, but that's pretty much the most I can say for this movie. If, for some reason, you want to hear mor... Continue reading...
Posted by Tucker Battrell.
October 10, 2009
Day Five - Village of the Damned (1960)
This is the first traditional horror film I've watched in the festival this year. It's the first time I've ever seen Village of the Damned. I have seen John Carpenter's 1995 remake, but this is my first experience with the original. The film centers on a small English village where all the inhabitants lose consciousness at the same time. When they wake, all the women able to bear children are pregnant. The babies grow at a remarkable speed and soon... Continue reading...
Posted by Tucker Battrell.
October 10, 2009
Day Four - The Haunted World of El Superbeasto
I was never a fan of Rob Zombie's music, but I have been an enthusiastic champion of his film work even when it has been less than ideal. House of 1000 Corpses was a flawed but fun mash-up of influences that left many cold. I defended House and eagerly awaited his next effort. The wait was worth it. In 2005 Zombie unspooled The Devil's Rejects, a sequel to House that stands on its own as the film that most captures the mood of seventies mi... Continue reading...
Posted by Tucker Battrell.
October 10, 2009
Day Three - Demon Lover Diary
Not a horror movie per se, but Demon Lover Diary is a fascinating documentary chronicling the making of an independent horror film in the 1970s. The film follows a young filmmaker hired by his friend to direct a low-budget horror film in Michigan, but the clash of ego and power over the process trumps talent and know-how shutting the picture down. The movie being filmed is a splatter movie called Demon Lover which, to my knowledge, was never finished, but wa... Continue reading...
Posted by Tucker Battrell.
October 9, 2009
Day Two - Bad Biology
Day two of my Halloween horror fest finds me treading on familiar territory considering my recent viewing of Lars von Trier's sadistic genital mutilation drama. Cult filmmaker Frank Henenlotter (Basket Case, Frankenhooker) returns after a sixteen year absence with a tale of insatiable sexuality and monstrous genitalia. Bad Biology follows a woman with seven clits who can't get enough dick. She fucks, kills and immediately gives birth to a baby which she leaves whe... Continue reading...
Posted by Tucker Battrell.
October 8, 2009
I'm starting a little behind, but I am determined to watch 31 horror films in the month of October culminating in a huge celebration at the end of the month in honor of the Vanilla Ice's birthday. So I started things off right with the new spectacle from Danish filmmaker Lars von Trier who previously divided audiences with films like Dancer in the Dark, Dogville, and Manderlay. His latest, Antichrist, is indeed his most divisive film to date. Centering around She and He whose son falls to... Continue reading...
Posted by Tucker Battrell.
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