Jackie Brown

Finally I watched this movie and holy fuck is it fucking awesome!

I wasn't expecting that really, I mean Tarantino makes really good movies, but this one is definitely underrated, the pacing, the photography, the dialog, the timeline, fucking everything in this movie works! The soundtrack is genius as always.

Sid Haig is briefly in this, that guy just hangs out with the right crowd, he's awesome, so awesome that one name on the tenant list for Melanie's apartment building is "S. Haig".

If you haven't seen this little jewel, be sure to check it out, bet you'll fall for Jackie too. Pam Grier is just all around bad ass.



P.S. Sylvester 'Sly" Stallone originally wanted to play Louis, while John Travolta was the first choice to play Ray Nicollete. When Robert De Niro first got a hold of the script he wanted to play the role of Max Cherry. Tarantino wanted to work with De Niro but had his heart set on Robert Forster as Cherry, so he gave the role of Louis to De Niro. Poor Sly.

Drive

Hurm... this movie.. I don't know about this movie, it was very quiet a lot of times, the loud then more quietness. The photography was very good, but I didn't buy the whole 'Ryan Gosling is a badass', the dialog was kinda meh and I was sitting there just waiting for Christina Hendricks to pop out, she was there just for like 5 minutes.

This doesn't mean it's a bad movie, but it certainly wasn't for me. Ron Pearlman is awesome as always, he's the real badass. I don't know maybe I was expecting more from this film.




P.S. I've heard that this film was initially for Hugh Jackman to be the driving dude, but got replaced by this other dude, and honestly, you could put almost any other guy in that role, and throw on the 'Vegas granny' jacket, and would still not look badass.

First Blood

This movie is just great, the pacing is great, it's beautifully shot, the story is quite engaging, and it's all around genius.

It always gets me, the way John J. Rambo is just minding his own business and the town sheriff goes on just being an asshole, it's the ultimate 'fuck da police' movie.

Also I think it's a great way to deal with the stress of being a veteran and trying to adjust back at the 'normal' life. How he has to bow down to authority just because of the smelly uniform.

Also, the final speech always brings tears to my eyes, yes, tears. Sounds weird but it really hits me in the heart.



P.S. The large piece of rotten canvas that Rambo finds in the woods and cuts into a shitty coat, was in fact a real piece of rotten canvas found by the film crew during the movie's production. Since there was only one piece, Sly joked about how the canvas became a treasure on the set. After filming ended, Stallone kept the rotten canvas and still has it to this very day.

Long before Stallone was hired to play Rambo, other actors were being considered for the role such as Clint Eastwood, Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Paul Newman, Steve McQueen, Nick Nolte, John Travolta, Dustin Hoffman, James Garner, Kris Kristofferson and Michael Douglas.

Also, I've always loved the cheesy exploitation-like narration of the trailer.

TMNT

Oh mighty Thor this movie blew my expectations.

I have always loved the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and to me the first live action movie was the best thing to ever happened to them, it was dark and funny and compeling and they looked real and they fought and alksjdlaks!

I have seen a few of the newer animated shows and they are okay, a little futuristic and stuff but still good. I wasn't expecting this movie to be as good as it was.

The dynamic between the turtles has changed but they are still  themselves, they act more like teenagers and I love how we at first catch a glimpse of what are they doing on their own.

The best part of this movie by far was finally watching Leo and Raphael fighting against each other. That scene alone I could watch a million times.

Jonah Hex

This movie was really bad, I can't quite put my finger on what was exactly what went wrong here, but it's just bad.

The animated part looks really cheap and lazy and just shitty, some of the effects are pretty cool but that doesn't save the movie.

John Malkovich is in this, and truth be told I could not believe his henchmen would follow a guy like Malcovich, he just doesn't fit in the western genre, but oh well.

If we're talking Steampunk/Western/Fantasy I would recommend Wild Wild West or just saving your time and money on this one.



I love how Megan Fox has like 5 lines in the whole movie and they are all delivered like "I'm so sexy I cant talk straight."

The Dark Half, 1993 / Trick r’ Treat, 2007 / Dracula, 1931

31. The Dark Half, 1993 /  Trick r’ Treat, 2007 / Dracula, 1931

Alright Halloween night, watching horror movies and drinking and eating chips with -mo, and I wish we had candy corn and more things, but I’m so buying candy November 1st!
Lets start!

The Dark Half, was all kinds of boring! I wish I had the Stephen King Movie Adaptation Drinking Game at hand, we were just drinking like random and then we ran out of booze before we were half done with the movie. But yeah, the special effects were dated and the dialog was so forgettable I don’t remember anything BUT the police enforcement of that movie was particularly shitty and stupid. I can’t believe this was a Stephens King story AND directed by George A. Romero.

P.S. The story is about a writer (of course), and he’s confronted to sign a book with his pen-name, the photo on the back of the book is Stephen King himself.

Moving on!

Trick r’ Treat was FUCKING AWESOME, entertaining and fun and stuff.

The scares were fun and the story was creative and while it was at sometimes predictable, it was still very amusing and cool and I know I’m not making a lot of sense right now but it was fucking great, it reminded me a lot of Creepshow (a well done King/Romero project), the same feeling of good fun horror.

If you haven’t seen it, give it a watch, Halloween is the perfect time to watch this film. You can also go for it on Dia de Muertos on November 2nd.

P.S. Most of the Jack O’ Lanterns were made out of either foam or ceramic. An on-set joke was that no pumpkins were harmed during the making of this movie.

Last one (of the month)!

Dracula! Fuck yes Bela Lugosi kicks so much ass. It is now a tradition of mine to watch this movie every year in October, and I always watch the original version, two years ago I watched it on VHS, last year I watched it with Cinemassacre’s commentary on DVD, and this year I watched the one with the Philip Glass soundtrack.

I love this movie a lot, every time I watch it I notice something new and feels different with each ‘version’ I watch.

There is not a lot I am going to say about this movie, other than, if you haven’t seen it, be sure to check it out.


P.S. I know a bunch of trivia about this movie and I don’t know what to say!
Let’s see… Here’s something, Lugosi wasn’t the first choice to play the part of Dracula, Lon Chaney was considered for the title role, but he died of throat cancer, then there were a bunch of other actors such as John Wray, Conrad Veidt, among others, Lugosi fought for the role he had mastered on stage, so he agreed to a contract paying him $500 per week for a seven week shooting. This was a small amount even during the days of the Depression. But still, he is Dracula and will always be.

Frankenhooker

30. Frankenhooker, 1990

Oh mighty Thor… If I thought Toxic Avenger was schlocky, boy was I in for a real fest of schlockyness and grade A baloney.

I heard about this movie a bunch of times on Rue Morgue, and thought it would be funny and entertaining, also I knew it wasn’t Academy Award material, but I never imagined how shitty it would be. Lucky for me, I enjoy shitty movies (my limits are somewhere between the Tommy Wisseau movies, so you get the idea).

Anyhow, this movie is fucking weird and pointless and if I thought I had to shut my brain to watch Jennifer’s Body, I would have to drill my brain (the main dude in the movie does that like a habit).

SO, to sum it up: If you like shitty movies watch it, other wise stay away.




P.S. Writer/director Frank Henenlotter improvised the basic story at a pitch meeting. After getting the okay to make the picture, he then wrote the script for the movie. Needless to say, it shows. Also, I was going to watch My Name is Bruce, but I got mentally tired with this.

Jennifer’s Body

29. Jennifer’s Body, 2009

What can I say about this movie? Is it good? no, but it’s not bad either…

I think it is an entertaining movie, has it’s moments of good special effects but overall I thought the story was kind of dumb. Maybe that’s what they were going for, I don’t know.

The acting is okay, and some of the lines of dialog are really funny, again, I am not sure if that was the intention but I think it works fine.

I think is the kind of movie you put on and turn your brain off. If you like Diablo Cody’s stuff be sure to check it out. Otherwise watch it when you are really bored.



P.S. The title is from the song “Jennifer’s Body” by Courtney Love’s band Hole. Also I heard that Diablo Cody was the bartender I am not sure tho.

Scre4m, 2011 / Nosferatu: the Vampyre, 1979

28. Scre4m, 2011 / Nosferatu: the Vampyre, 1979

So, yeah, Scre4m, pretty good damn good. Wes Craven proves why he kicks so much ass. The tribute to the previous installments was classy and entertaining.

The pacing was great and the tension held up nicely, I love how it felt like it was made in the late 90s. I am not a big fan of the new CG blood and knife, but it looks okay I guess.

There were not a lot of scares and the killings were not as creative as some other times, the horror movie trivia was great and debatable (maybe because I am a big geek).

This is a must watch if you like slasher films and new twists on old classics.


P.S. The Scream franchise is one of the only horror franchises to have its main characters return for all its sequels.

Moving on!

Now, Nosferatu: the Vampyre. HOLY SHIT does this movie kicks ass!

This is one of those remakes that give you a breath of fresh air when it comes to retelling an already beloved story. The elements it brings to the mix are beyond any expectations, the camera movements, the photography, the music.

The real show stealer for me is the human and vulnerable side of the monster, he is so much tragic in this incarnation than the 1922 film, he really seems like he want’s to die but can’t put himself to it.
I love also the strength of the female lead, Lucy, she shows a lot more determination than any of the other films i have seen.Van Helsing here is kind of an asshole, he doesn’t to a lot throughout the film, but in the end he comes around.

This movie has a different feeling than any other vampire film, it’s really awkward and uncomfortable and creepy at some points, then again there are moments filled with excitement and strong feelings.

This is a work of art and if you ever find it by chance (like I did), buy it and watch it and then try watching it alone at night while everyone else sleeps. I DARE YOU!


P.S. Klaus Kinski had to spend approximately four hours per day in make-up. Fresh latex ear pieces had to be poured for each day of shooting because they were destroyed at removal. Kinski, notorious for his violent daily temper-tantrums, had a very good relationship to Japanese make-up artist Reiko Kruk and was exceedingly patient and well-behaved during make-up.

Candyman

27. Candyman, 1992

“I heard you lookin for Candyman bitch”

Candyman, say it five time staring at the mirror and prepare from some freaky dicky shit. This movie was all the fuzz when I was growing up, the kids at my school were always making up stories about flipping Candyman and that is why I didn’t watch this piece of gold when I was a kid myself.

Also, when I got older and I started enjoying the horror genre I thought it was so weird and laughable. A dude wearing a pimp coat who happens to have a hook by hand an bunch of bees in his fake looking rib cage.

Anyway, I was right, this movie is one of those movies that are so bad they’re good, funny as hell, there are some interesting scenes and effects, but the dialog is shitty and a lot of the events are just plain weird. My favorite scene is when the main white lady gets beaten and then has to recognize the criminal. It made me laugh a lot.

If you like urban legend folklore and pimp coats, give it a watch.



P.S. Eddy Murphy was considered to play the part of Candyman, which I think would have been even more hilarious. Also, Sandra Bullock was considered for Helen, the white lady.

Toxic Avenger Part 2

26. Toxic Avenger Part 2, 1989

Welp… I decided to continue with this series, but I guess these movies get dumber with each sequel…
The story seems to have been pulled straight out of a cartoon, the movie is self aware of it’s suckiness apparently. The jokes are even less funny than the last movie, over the top acting, bad acting, dumb acting.

Some of the gore scenes are good, others are really shitty. There is a lot of unnecessary nudity also. I guess is a Troma tradition.

In this film Toxie (yeah they call him Toxie in this one) goes to Tokyo to look for his father, I think it was just an excuse for the filmmakers to go to Japan, a lot of the scenes make it seem like they just started walking around japan without any idea of what they were going to do.

There are a lot of racial stereotypes, Japanese, Jewish, Latino, Afro American… oh and seems like it’s a running gag to have a dude dressed in drag fighting the Toxic Avenger. In the last movie there was this one guy but he got killed off (of course), in this movie there are two, an American and a Japanese.

I am really rethinking if I am ever gonna watch the other 2 movies.



P.S. Toxie can now move his popping eye.

The Blair Witch Project

25. The Blair Witch Project, 1999

Long long looooong ago, I started watching this movie and it bored the shit out of me, and now that I forced myself to re-watch it, it still bored me a loooot.

Maybe I’m all Dwight Schrute or Bear Grillis or shit, but I have always thought if I was in that situation I coulda get the hell out of there the first day, second day tops. I hate camping so I would be pretty quick in trying to get back to the city. On that note, the setting is great, and I like the fact that the dudes where not famous at the time of it’s release.

It wasn’t the first POV found footage/documentary style movie, but it was the one that put the sub-genre on the mainstream. If you don’t get dizzy to easily, enjoy home made videos and people screaming in the woods, give it a watch.

P.S. The three actors believed the Blair Witch was a real legend during filming, though of course they knew the film was going to be fake. Only after the film’s release did they discover that the entire mythology was made up by the film’s creators.

A L’interieur (Inside)

24. A L’interieur (Inside), 2007

This movie was another from CineClub, and I had my doubts to whether watch it or not, but yeah in the end I thought: alright, lets do this!

So anyway, it was okay I guess, the special effects made with like plastic props and stuff like that were pretty good, the CGI things however were pointless and dumb and dated and did I said dumb already?

The story was okay, but I pictured a lot different than it was, I had read something about the movie previously  and my mind made a fucking sick and twisted movie, but that’s the thing about imagination right? So because of that it wasn’t that impressive when I saw the actual film.

There is this one scene that totally screwed up the movie for me, it doesn’t make sense to the tone of the movie or the events or pretty much anything, it just happens and then the movie is ruined, but whatever, I don’t want to spoil it in case you might want to watch it.



P.S. The number of the house where the main girl lives is 666, it doesn’t adds anything to the story or anything, but it’s there.

MONTH OF HORROR break

So… yeah. Month Of Horror is over, and I didn’t post all of the monthly reviews and where is why (in case anyone cares).
So, I stopped posting the reviews at day 20 because I got in a kind of blank state of mind and a little… I don’t wanna say depressed but something along the lines…
Some people like get strength from watching horror movies, but I just couldn’t put myself to the task, so yeah, I failed at watching one movie a day. I gave myself 3 days off.
21. Nope.
22. None.
23. Still nothing.
After that, I kept watching and writing but I felt shitty still, so I didn’t post anything, and I don’t think it was missed. So anyway, now it’s time to post the rest of my reviews. Brace yourselves for review spam. Thank you and I’m sorry.

The Fly

20. The Fly, 1986

First let’s talk about the original, because I love the 1958 film, it is classy and sophisticated, most people dismiss it thinking it’s just a cheesy b movie, but that would be the sequel, with the piñata head and shit.

The original Fly is great at building suspense and it doesn’t rely on cliches, the scientist doesn’t just becomes a monster, he’s still himself, he doesn’t get instantly mad or anything, it depicts a struggle and… yeah you get the idea, beside I have to talk about the 1986 version.

This one is a gross out special effects fest that goes straight for shock value. It has a great pacing and the take on the subject is waaay different than the original, the main guy (Jeff Goldblum) starts out after the teleportation thinking he has become some kind of a superhero, pure and focused and sharp and shit, like, in his mind he became the greatest human being ever, but to his love interest (played by Geena Davis) he’s simply gone nuts.

It’s still a pretty tragic movie, but I don’t think it delivers the same feeling than the original, like I said, this oe is more about the ‘ahh flesh’, so if you want to enjoy a gory and shocking movie, be sure to give it a watch.



P.S. Originally this was a project for Tim Burton to direct which makes sense because Michael Keaton was offered the role of Seth Brundle, but he declined. So instead we got David Cronenberg, Goldblum as Brundlefly and his girlfriend at the time Geena Davis as… well his girlfriend.

The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror Collection

BONUS! The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror Collection

So I have been watching this for a while now, and I gotta say, the first Halloween Specials were the funniest, the animation improved over time but I think the humor went down gradually. Or maybe it’s just me and my nostalgia for the olden days of The Simpsons.

I saw from the first to special XX, a lot of good horror movie references and amusing opening gags.
 If you want to have a few laughs instead of scares, be sure to give it a watch.


P.S. On a little personal note, the first The Simpsons episode I saw in my whole life was The Simpsons Halloween Special V which came out Ocotber 30th 1994. Good memories.

Fright Night

19. Fright Night, 1985

Boy is this a fun movie! The story is interesting and entertaining, the characters are likeable and the special effects kick ass.

This is a pretty solid movie, it honors the classic vampire films, there are a bunch of Universal posters in the background and a few scenes of the Hammer classics, as well as the myths of the vampires and the ways a vampire can be killed. Remember: a cross is not good unless you have faith.

I love the idea of a horror fan catching a vampire in the act, there are some things that may seem a little cliche by today’s standards but it still holds up.

Over all it’s a fun movie and I think any horror fan should give it a watch.

P.S. A puppet that was created for another Columbia Pictures production, Ghost Busters, makes his debut in Fright Night. If you watch the movie it becomes pretty obvious which one.

House of the Dead

18. House of the Dead, 2003

Back when this movie was in theaters, I had some shit to do and I didn’t went with my friends to watch it. I had always been a big fan of the video game series so I was pretty excited when this came out, after my friends went to see it I asked them: how cool was it? They said it was shit and that’s all they said. I always liked the poster and the premise of the arcade game, so tonight I decided to watch it.

Well my friends were right, this movie is a big pile of doodie. Production value is beyond dull, characters are uninteresting, dialog is dumb, the inter cuts with images from the game are unnecessary to say the least, the action scenes are fucking loooong, and it’s just the same, exactly NONE of the zombie killings are creative, it just sucks.

It’s one of those movies you just laugh at, I honestly don’t know who were they trying to appeal to, it sure as hell wasn’t fans of the game because this just spits on the whole franchise, and if it was to draw new audience they made a shitty job, I don’t know it’s just shitty.

If you don’t have anything better to watch or if you enjoy really bad dumb laughable movies, be sure to check it out.

P.S. Dear movie, I hate you even more for the George A. Romero reference. You suck movie.

La Casa Muda (The Silent House)

17. La Casa Muda (The Silent House), 2010

Well, I went to watch this with a friend, they’re doing this thing called CineClub at the University and they’re having a French Horror Film Cycle, but they could not get Calvaire (which was today’s film) so instead they played this Uruguayan film.

The good things about this movie are: it was made with an amazingly low budget and it shows, looks gritty and shitty and awesome because of that, it was shot in one continuous 78 take, with no cuts, with a Canon EOS 5D camera, it is the first Latin-American feature film and the second film in the world to be shot entirely with a professional photo camera. The high tension moments are great, my friend actually jumped at some point.

The bad thing is, the second half of the movie, the first half is great, it sets you right where the desperation and horror is, but then comes the second half and it’s where the story starts going down and down, it wasn’t a very solid story and it lefts a bunch of nonsensical questions and plot points unanswered.




P.S. For a movie with the ‘real time’ gimmick, and a great story watch Alfred Hitchcock’s ‘Rope’, from 1948.

Attack of the 50 Foot Woman

16. Attack of the 50 Foot Woman, 1958

I have always loved this movie poster, it is so iconic and beautifully done, it was listed as #8 of “The 25 Best Movie Posters Ever” by Premiere.
The movie is entertaining enough, not spectacular or anything, but it’s okay. The special effects show how inexpensive it was, but I guess they were OK by the standards of that era, anyway, the film was made for around $88,000.

A lot of the scenes with the giant look weird, well actually whatever seems to be big looks kind of transparent on the edges, and the huge hand is always laughable, the proportions between the dummies and the actors are always waay off.

However, it grossed a good amount of money and there were plans for a sequel and a few years later a remake, but for some reason they didn’t go through with it.

It was finally remade in a 1993 HBO movie, Attack of the 50 Ft. Woman. The film, directed by Christopher Guest starred Daryl Hannah (Elle Driver in Kill Bill) in the title role.



Overall, if you are into old school sci fi, and cult films, be sure to check it out. If you are more about flashy effects and shock value, this movie won’t do a lot for you.

Leatherface: Texas Chainsaw Massacre III

15. Leatherface: Texas Chainsaw Massacre III, 1990

Well, after part 2 was a weird comedy/horror thing, part 3 decided to ignore it completely, wanting to make a more serious film. SO basically they rehashed the original but added a bit of Hollywood to the mix… and by that I mean: like the original only flashier and with a considerably bigger budget.
The photography is pretty decent, also the main theme, which is something I never gave any attention up to this point, but hey I can’t just talk shit about this movie (yes I can).

Leatherface looks like he’s a member of Slipknot, but bigger, and wears a leg thingy (maybe referencing the first movie’s final scene when he cuts his own leg with the chainsaw… or maybe I’m giving them too much credit).

Anyhow… Viggo Mortensen is in this movie, fuck LOTR this is the highlight of his career. Ken Foree is also in this and he’s a bad ass, he plays basically himself in every movie I’ve seen him, and he’s great at it, just give him a gun and have him say ‘motherfucker’.
I just wish I had seen the Director’s cut, supposedly it has more gore and the ending is different, but maybe next time. Speaking of directorial duties, Tom Savini was offered the job of directing this film. (yeah, I wasn’t gonna miss the chance of talking about that dude).

It’s a ‘meh’ kind of movie if you’ve seen the original, I mean it does have entertaining moments and the last 10 minutes are pretty goddamn awesome, but ‘meh’ still.
If you’re a fan of everything Texas Chainsaw (like me), be sure to check it out.



P.S. In this movie Leatherface has a daughter… go figure that one out.

Day of the Dead

14. Day of the Dead, 1985

George A. Romero is just a genius when it comes to zombie flicks.

It is his tradition to focus on the people rather than the actual zombies, the struggle of being confined to an underground bunker stuffed with a few military men and a trio of scientists. The development of the characters is great, my favorites were the guy who everyone called Dr. Frankenstein and Sarah (the main lady).

The opening scene is pretty damn impressive, takes by surprise and gets you right into the movie. The special effects and the gore once again are awesome (Savini, of course!), it doesn’t give you too much throughout the movie, but the final act is just a flesh eating fest.
I have always loved the idea of having the living dead remember things subconsciously, in this film that is major development in the plot. Here may be better handled the social satire and also takes a little touch into ethics and religion.

Unlike the two Romero films I talked about in the past days, I had not seen this movie before, so it got me pretty hooked from the beginning.

If you haven’t seen it be sure to check it out, if you don’t ‘Bub’ will get sad and lose his shit.

P.S. Gorillaz had a bit of this movie remixed in the song “M1 A1” from their 2001 album, also the song “Hip Albatross”, features a clip of John’s (Terry Alexander) dialogue.

The Toxic Avenger

13. The Toxic Avenger, 1984

This movie is weird. Just weird. I have no words.
Comedy horror, low-budget, campy, slapstick, tongue in cheek, and a cult classic.

It’s odd to think that this movie has generated not one but three sequels, a stage musical and a children’s tv cartoon called ‘The Toxic Crusaders’ complete with action figures and a comic book series (yes, I do own one of those comic books).

This movie has gore, shitty acting, nudity, over the top dialog, unsiched dubbing, kung fu, mop fu, granny punching fu, guts fu, and it’s all around bat shit crazy.

Four stars! If you have a chance and feel like getting on a bizarre movie ride, be sure to check it out.




P.S. I do have the rest of the sequels around here, I am still considering if I’ll watch them as well this month.

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2

12. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, 1986

The original Texas Chainsaw Massacre is a true masterpiece of horror, it looks gritty and outdated and that helps a lot, it gets you from the beginning and the tension just builds and builds until the final chase scene. The realistic low-budget tone gets on your nerves pretty quickly, its something you can imagine yourself seeing in real life, it makes you feel uncomfortable and almost dirty. I remember the first time I watched it, it was stuck in my mind for several days. So fucking awesome.

The sequel… is nothing like that. It’s surreal, over the top and just fucking weird.

Funny as hell but it doesn’t feel like it’s connected to the first film.
Leatherface just seems less threatening here, more stupid and just keeps dancing around with the chainsaw, doesn’t do much for me. Also the ‘good guy’ of the movie is as mentally unbalanced as the bad guys. It made me actually say out loud “what the fuck?!’ a couple of times. Bill Moseley is in this movie, and his character reminds me of David Cross, maybe that’s just me being weird, but yeah.

Not even the special effects ‘maestro del gore’ Tom Savini can help this movie…not even Goo Goo Muck by The Cramps.

If you look at it like a comedy and leave your brain out you’ll enjoy it a lot more than if you try to piece it together with the previous film.



P.S. Have you ever noticed that the poster is a spoof on The Breakfast Club?

Dawn of the Dead

11. Dawn of the Dead, 1978

So tonight I wanted to watch something a bit more gory than the last few movies I’ve been watching… well here’s the early work of effects man extraordinaire Tom Savini who also acts in the film.

This is a bloody fun film, the mall setting makes wonderful scenarios and tools for the zombie killings and the humor of the movie. The same setting may be interpreted as social satire comparing mall shopper to zombies, but to me it is just a fun horror/gore flick (I’m not that deep when it comes to horror, sorry).

I love how red the blood is! Supposedly, Savini was unhappy with how the blood photographed; to him it looked too bright and fluorescent. Romero felt it was perfect for the film’s comic book style and decided to keep it like that, the fake blood was a mixture of food coloring, peanut butter and cane sugar syrup.

If you haven’t seen it or if you just saw the remake, you’re missing out.

Night of the Living Dead

10. Night of the Living Dead, 1968

“They’re coming to get you Barbara”

Shot beautifully in black & white even when color was available. The movie starts right into action, they don’t explain anything in the first act, you just have to deal with it. It focuses a lot in the human relation of the people trying to work together to survive, also the zombie action is amazingly eerie and with the shitty independent look it just feels even more awesome. It may feel slow at times but if you just sit tight and wait a bit,you are in for a treat.

This movie is a big deal in the horror genre for many reasons: this was one of the first films to graphically depict violent murders on screen also the casting of the protagonist Duane Jones; a black man was not something you would see frequently. When this movie came out they didn’t had a restriction system, so I bet a bunch of kids would’ve shit their pants on the theater.

Supposedly Romero had a big deal but with the condition of changing the ending to be more upbeat and add a love story subplot, which of course he didn’t, he stuck to his guns and got a great independent film.

It is very interesting that the undead are never referred as zombies. The best description the media can come up with in the film is “ghouls”.

This movie is in public domain, so you can watch it pretty much anywhere, on Google video, on You Tube, Internet Archive, etc. I bought my copy for about a dollar.

The Invisible Man

9. The Invisible Man, 1933

The story is a bit weird, but it is great. The development of the character is amazing, from a tortured soul to a power crazed villain, he enjoys being bad just for the sake of being able to get away with it. One of the funniest of the Universal Monster movies. The screaming lady is annoying as hell, the incompetent cops and their laziness is hilarious and the suggestions of the towns people as the detective puts it: “some are good…and some are stupid”.

The special effects are great for its time, and I bet a lot of people in the movie theater were wondering how did they pulled it off.

Claude Rains was not the studio’s first choice to play the lead role in The Invisible Man. Boris Karloff was originally supposed to play the part, but withdrew after producer Carl Laemmle Jr. tried too many times to cut Karloff’s contractual salary.

The Black Cat & The Raven

A double feature starring two horror icons! Bela Lugosi & Boris Karloff!

I watched The Black Cat last night and The Raven Tonight, and I thought “well you can’t talk about one without talking about the other”.

7. The Black Cat, 1934

This film is awesome! This was the first that features both Karloff and Lugosi. Oddly enough, the black cat has little to do with the plot, but the idea of a a black cat representing pure evil sets the mood to the movie.

For it’s time it was pretty hardcore stuff, deals with death, satanism, necrophilia, murder and torture. Boris Karloff is just great, an all around badass here, he’s  the bad guy just for the sake of being evil. Lugosi’s character is a bit more complex, and his performance in this movie is just flawless.
Censors in Italy, Finland and Austria banned the movie outright, while others required cuts of the more gruesome sequences.



8. The Raven, 1935

This one was not as shocking as The Black Cat, but still it was pretty awesome, here the stories of Edgar Allan Poe have more to do with the plot.

The character Lugosi plays is obsessed by the Poe stories. Karloff has a lot less lines than Lugosi, but never the less he gives a great performance, you feel his emotion and at some point even sympathize with his character. Still, Lugosi is at his best in this movie, a lot of great deliveries.

Too strong for 1935 tastes, with its themes of torture, disfigurement and grisly revenge, the film did not do particularly well at the box office during its initial release, and indirectly led to a temporary ban on horror films in England.

King Kong

6. King Kong, 1933

This film in my opinion is the Citizen Kane of the monster movies. The movie is just beautifully shot, I love the stop motion, the different techniques for all the effects, the music, the acting is great, the scenes are just classic and iconic, this is just a true piece of art.

The story is entertaining and compelling: the beast that falls in love with the beauty and the humanity that fears the unknown.

This movie is simply great and I love it.

House on Haunted Hill

5. House on Haunted Hill, 1959

The legend Vincent Price delivers a great performance, the movie while short, keeps the tension and the mystery very well.

Vincent Price plays the eccentric millionaire Fredrick Loren. He and his wife, Annabelle, have invited five people to the house for a “Haunted House Party”. The guests have to stay in the house for the night to earn $10,000 each. As the night progresses, all the guests are trapped inside the house with ghosts, murderers and such terrors.

On its initial release, William Castle (director and producer), had a glow in the dark skeleton swing across the theater at the right time in the movie, later when people knew about it, kids would show up with sling shots and throw rocks at it.

In August and September 2010, the Film Forum in New York City had a revival of the film (along with several other Castle pictures) that included the original gimmick. This was the first time since the late 1980s Film Forum had done this.

The Amityville Horror

4. The Amityville Horror, 1979

Last year -mo and I watched the Ryan Reynolds remake, and tonight we watched this, we went all MST3K on it. Needless to say we enjoyed this version much more.

The setting is great, the pacing seems slow at times but when something happens, holy shit does it happen! Reminded me of the style Hammer Films used around the 70s. The casting is pretty damn good and so is the acting.

Admittedly both Margot Kidder and James Brolin hated the film and didn’t believe the Amityville story. They also went to the actual house as part of a publicity junket.

Also note worthy, the similarities between The Shinning and The Amityville Horror are quite interesting.

The Corpse Vanishes

3. The Corpse Vanishes,  1942

Starring the always great Bela Lugosi! I gotta say it: the rest of the cast was great as well. There are a couple of cheesy lines and some acting misdelivers, but they feel natural and almost as if they were left there on purpose.

The entire movie seemed to me like the plot to a Batman TAS episode, the audience finds out who the bad guy is and how is he doing his deed, but you keep rooting for Pat Hunter (Luana Walters) to catch Dr. Lorenz (Lugosi) in the act.

Over all, a good fun movie, it is now public domain so if you have some time on your hands and you like Bela Lugosi, don’t doubt to check it out here.

Creature From The Black Lagoon

Back in October I vowed to watch at least 1 horror movie for everyday, I called it MONTH OF HORROR. This is what came out:

1st was The Wicker Man, then:



2. Creature From The Black Lagoon, 1954

Beautiful cinematography, specially the underwater scenes. I love the music of this film whenever the Creature is close, it just sounds so powerful.
This movie was originally filmed and released in 3-D requiring polarized 3-D glasses. It was later reissued in the 1980s in the inferior anaglyph format for VHS. I would have loved to see this movie in the silver screen back in the 50s.

Nic Cage-a-thon

Back in September I watched a few Nic Cage movies and wrote short reviews, here's all of them together:

8mm directed by Joel Shumacher.

First time I’ve seen it, it was good. I liked the development of Nic’s character, reminded me of Rorschach from Watchmen.

Lord Of War directed by Andrew Niccol.

I like this movie a lot, the narration and the trivia about guns, the pacing, etc. Plus Jared Leto gets fucked up pretty badly, that's always nice. "NADIE SE VA A CHINGAR"- Nic Cage as Yuri Orlov

Vampire’s Kiss directed by Robert Bierman.

Strange, very strange, but I loved it. Has a bunch of Nic Cage losing his shit and the different reality of the things makes me think of American Psycho.

Also this:

Raising Arizona directed by The Coen Brothers

 
Non stop laughter and kind moments. Expressive Cage is expressive. Also, bonus points for the music and the hillbilly accent. Loved it!


The Weather Man directed by Gore Verbinski

The whole movie I was like ‘don’t be cry don’t be cry don’t be cry’. Of course there were funny moments and dialog, but I think it got me a low punch. Nic’s sweet side if you will.


Snake Eyes directed by Brian De Palma

This is one of my favorite Nic Cage movies and I still love it as much as the first time I saw it. The mystery builds up and when the plot is fully revealed it delivers very well. I love how much of a dick Nic’s character seems when he gets introduced, but over the movie you really start rooting for him. The supporting cast is also amazing!

The Wicker Man directed by Neil LaBute

Had to close on a great movie so I did. The last of the Nic Cage-a-thon (at least for now) and the first of October: Month Of Horror, there is not much to say about this movie other than:

“How’d it get burned? How’d it get burned? HOW’D IT GET BURNED, HOW’D IT GET BURNED?”

X-men First Class

It was entertaining, just that.

Being the huge nerd I am, of course I got pissy about the complete rearrangement of the story and names and characters but, I kind of got over it since they been doing that in every single X-men movie.

The cameos were… kind of cutie kind of annoying. It was like: LOOK LOOK we DO have something to do with the rest of the X-men movies!

But if we accept the premise that this was all happening in a single universe…

What year was it when Wolverine (X-men Origins: Wolverine) rescued Emma Frost and Scott Summers from the Weapon X facilities? Because they are greeted by Xavier walking down the Blackbird…

Okay okay I think I’m nitpicking now.

On a side note, the theater had the shittiest speakers ever!