Horror Show

[RivkahChaya]

I think that he means that the vampire has been sanitized.

Then say sanitized. Don't use "Mormon" as a synonym, because it isn't. There are a lot of reasons to be alarmed about the Mormons, like the fact that they pretty much own the Boy Scouts of America, and have for the last 15 years or so, which is why you still can't be gay and a scout master, and the BSA requires scouts (scouts themselves, not just the scout masters) to state that they believe in a deity. I'm not exactly sure what they have to state, and whether they discriminate against non-Christians (I'm pretty sure they are OK with Jews, but I'm not sure about Muslims, or polytheists, like Hindus, and I'm fairly sure non-deity centered faith systems, like Buddhism would be out), but it is definitely not OK to be atheist, and they have formally expelled scouts who, or whose families, espoused atheism.

I would rather let the Mormons be alarming for the reasons they actually are alarming, then for made up reasons like "They're ruining the vampire movies." It gives them an "It's just a strawman" argument against attacks. When someone is being attacked for both real and imagined wrongs, they sometimes get sympathy as the victims of the imagined attacks, which lets them ride out the attacks that have a good reason.

[Scorpio]

As a companion to vampires, how about werewolves? They're one of my very favorite movie monsters. Which films does everyone think has done them the most justice?

Lon Cheney Jr.'s "The Wolf Man" was a classic, and I enjoyed it but I thought it was odd that though he had sharp teeth and claws he tended to not use them and just strangled his victims instead. The recent remake with Benicio Del Toro did not have such scruples and was soaked in blood and gore. I liked that very much too. Del Toro was very similar to Cheney, dark haired and a big burly guy who could easily embody the monster. Solid performances by Anthony Hopkins as a surprise second werewolf and Emily Blunt as an absolutely heartbreaking damsel who ends up having to fire a fateful silver bullet.

Other favorites-

"An American Werewolf in London." What a blending of elements! Drama, comedy, horror, music. The use of locations around London was fascinating. I visited the London Zoo in 2004. Had to pull up the movie when I got back to see if the scene where the central character wakes up there after his first night as a werewolf was really filmed there. It was. There is an exhibit of American bears there with the bears climbing across an artificial cliff face that is seen in the movie. The climax shot in Picadilly Circus is also a treat. The werewolf is on four legs, as they tended to be in folklore, not a bipedal "Wolf Man."

Then there was "The Howling," which produced several very bad sequels. But the first one, involving a pack of werewolves living in a secret society, was the very last time I ever allowed a movie to scare the hell out of me to the point of real primal fear. It was this film, along with American in London, that brought werewolf transformation special effects into the modern age. These wolves were something new- they were bipedal, but they looked like giant regular wolves standing up on their hind legs, seven feet tall and hideously frightening.

Then there was the tv show "Werewolf" on the FOX network when it first premiered. Veteran actor Chuck Connors played the villain werewolf, and sorry but I don't remember the clean-cut pretty boy's name who played the hero werewolf. I remember enjoying it very much and I'm sure there were some cheesy elements to it but overall I think it was very well done. These wolves were ambidextrous- they could go about on all fours or stand upright, and were quite well designed by FX master Stan Winston if I recall correctly. As the villain, Connors pulled off something never seen before- when he transformed he would open his mouth, pull back the skin of his face, and his wolf self would emerge from out of his mouth. Yikes!

I like 'The company of Wolves '. It is to easy to make a bad werewolf movie because Werewolves are more obviously monsters than Vampires are. A human who loses his humanity and becomes dominated by the id is a scary concept to many people but very attractive to others. To teenage boys who are suddenly expected to have wealth,status, good looks or social skills but do not have any of theses things, the werewolf with the power to satisfy their frustrations with such simplicity must seem a desirable thing.

[kensei]

I like 'The company of Wolves '. It is to easy to make a bad werewolf movie because Werewolves are more obviously monsters than Vampires are. A human who loses his humanity and becomes dominated by the id is a scary concept to many people but very attractive to others. To teenage boys who are suddenly expected to have wealth,status, good looks or social skills but do not have any of theses things, the werewolf with the power to satisfy their frustrations with such simplicity must seem a desirable thing.

I saw "The Company of Wolves" once, long ago. I know I enjoyed it but what I most remember about it was that it was a very "artsy" film. I think I would disagree somewhat about how werewolves are more obviously monsters than vampires because if a vampire movie was ever made that depicted them the way they were in folklore they would be pretty obviously monstrous, whereas a werewolf when in human form can pass for normal.

Bad werewolf movies. Hmmm... Well, all of the "Howling" sequels would certainly qualify. There was a CGI-fest called "Cursed" a decade or so ago starring Christina Ricci, who is an actress I like but the fact that I don't remember much about the movie must mean it was fairly forgettable. Then there was "Bad Moon" (I think it was called), starring Marielle Hemmingway, from the 90s. The hero of the piece is a German Shepherd, the only character who can tell there's something not right about the guy who is the werewolf, who in turn can tell he's been made and schemes to get the dog sent to the pound. Critics hated it and tore it to shreds. But I don't know, I found it quite exciting when the final battle took place and dog and werewolf were ripping the crap out of each other. Finally, the werewolf episode of tv's "The Night Stalker," which took place aboard a cruise ship, was fairly silly, though it is a chance to see Eric Braeden of the soap opera "The Young and the Restless" and John Jacob Astor in "Titanic" as a young man playing the werewolf.

The concept of the werewolf as a source of power- yes, that would be very appealing in cases where someone disenfranchised was able to harness that power and use it at will, transforming only when he wanted to, and there are stories like that. But in the ones where the change comes on when IT wants to, completely against the person's will, and he doesn't want it-- I can't imagine a more horrible existence. Any semblance of a normal life would be completely destroyed.

[Scorpio]

I saw "The Company of Wolves" once, long ago. I know I enjoyed it but what I most remember about it was that it was a very "artsy" film. I think I would disagree somewhat about how werewolves are more obviously monsters than vampires because if a vampire movie was ever made that depicted them the way they were in folklore they would be pretty obviously monstrous, whereas a werewolf when in human form can pass for normal.

Bad werewolf movies. Hmmm... Well, all of the "Howling" sequels would certainly qualify. There was a CGI-fest called "Cursed" a decade or so ago starring Christina Ricci, who is an actress I like but the fact that I don't remember much about the movie must mean it was fairly forgettable. Then there was "Bad Moon" (I think it was called), starring Marielle Hemmingway, from the 90s. The hero of the piece is a German Shepherd, the only character who can tell there's something not right about the guy who is the werewolf, who in turn can tell he's been made and schemes to get the dog sent to the pound. Critics hated it and tore it to shreds. But I don't know, I found it quite exciting when the final battle took place and dog and werewolf were ripping the crap out of each other. Finally, the werewolf episode of tv's "The Night Stalker," which took place aboard a cruise ship, was fairly silly, though it is a chance to see Eric Braeden of the soap opera "The Young and the Restless" and John Jacob Astor in "Titanic" as a young man playing the werewolf.

The concept of the werewolf as a source of power- yes, that would be very appealing in cases where someone disenfranchised was able to harness that power and use it at will, transforming only when he wanted to, and there are stories like that. But in the ones where the change comes on when IT wants to, completely against the person's will, and he doesn't want it-- I can't imagine a more horrible existence. Any semblance of a normal life would be completely destroyed.

I think that the Werewolf as a source of power would make a decent horror B movie script: Put-upon nerd dables in the Occult, learns how to transform, and goes on revenge kill rampage against his exploiters.
Its probably already been done.

[kensei]

I think that the Werewolf as a source of power would make a decent horror B movie script: Put-upon nerd dables in the Occult, learns how to transform, and goes on revenge kill rampage against his exploiters.
Its probably already been done.

It was. There was "Friday the 13th- The television series," about an antique shop that was cursed and was trying to track down and reclaim various items they'd sold that were spreading the curse to others. They had an episode about a cursed home movie camera that a nerdy kid in a film class used to turn himself into the Wolf Man. As I recall, in the end he was strangled to death with a reel of film because the film had silver in it.

[Scorpio]

I like the cursed film footage; it reminds me of Ring.

[kensei]

I would like to slightly alter something I said earlier regarding Dracula. I commented on how Francis Ford Coppola's "Bram Stoker's Dracula" was the film that stuck closest to the original novel more than any other film despite its many departures. I thought it was the only Dracula movie to feature the Texan Quincy Morris, and the gunfight with Dracula's gypsy guards. But I had forgotten something. Tonight I was digging through my large VHS collection and I came across something that had slipped my mind- a copy of the 1977 BBC adaptation "Count Dracula" starring Louis Jourdan as Dracula. I remember finding it in my local public library and making a copy of it a few years ago. It's absolutely amazing. It was made for television on videotape, yet despite that the effects are quite impressive and the adaptation of the novel is close to spot on. As with Coppola's version though, there are still differences. There is no Arthur Holmwood. Instead, Arthur and Quincy are combined into the character of "Quincy Holmwood." Lucy and Mina are both intact as characters, and Lucy's descent into vampirism and then destruction is absolutely cringe-inducing. When Dracula meets his end, he implodes into dust just as he does in the novel, though it's Van Helsing who stakes him rather than Quincy and Harker sharing that honor as they do in the book. Overall, I would say this film shares equal credit with Coppola's version for staying faithful to Stoker's novel.

[Abby Normal]

I saw "The Company of Wolves" once, long ago. I know I enjoyed it but what I most remember about it was that it was a very "artsy" film. I think I would disagree somewhat about how werewolves are more obviously monsters than vampires because if a vampire movie was ever made that depicted them the way they were in folklore they would be pretty obviously monstrous, whereas a werewolf when in human form can pass for normal.

Bad werewolf movies. Hmmm... Well, all of the "Howling" sequels would certainly qualify. There was a CGI-fest called "Cursed" a decade or so ago starring Christina Ricci, who is an actress I like but the fact that I don't remember much about the movie must mean it was fairly forgettable. Then there was "Bad Moon" (I think it was called), starring Marielle Hemmingway, from the 90s. The hero of the piece is a German Shepherd, the only character who can tell there's something not right about the guy who is the werewolf, who in turn can tell he's been made and schemes to get the dog sent to the pound. Critics hated it and tore it to shreds. But I don't know, I found it quite exciting when the final battle took place and dog and werewolf were ripping the crap out of each other. Finally, the werewolf episode of tv's "The Night Stalker," which took place aboard a cruise ship, was fairly silly, though it is a chance to see Eric Braeden of the soap opera "The Young and the Restless" and John Jacob Astor in "Titanic" as a young man playing the werewolf.

The concept of the werewolf as a source of power- yes, that would be very appealing in cases where someone disenfranchised was able to harness that power and use it at will, transforming only when he wanted to, and there are stories like that. But in the ones where the change comes on when IT wants to, completely against the person's will, and he doesn't want it-- I can't imagine a more horrible existence. Any semblance of a normal life would be completely destroyed.

Company of Wolves is a great movie-one of my favorites. I thought I was the only one who ever saw it beause everyone I talked to had never even heard of it. A very strange fever dream of a movie! And yes it is kind of artsy-in a hallucinagenic kind of way.

[Abby Normal]

My favorites:
King Kong (original)
The Invisable Man (original)
This Island Earth(the best 50s SF/horror movie of its Genre)
Dracula (coppolla)
The Blob (total B grade cheesey brilliance)
The Thing (Kurt Russel)
Jaws
American Werewolf in London(best comedy/horror of all time)
Company of Wolves(a litle known hallucenigetic fever dream of a werewolf movie that combines different folklore of the werewolf legend including little red riding hood.)
Amittyville Horror(the opening scene of the actual murder of the family just Fs me up every time.)
Alien
Sante Sangre
Angel Heart (a masterpiece and one of my favorite movies of all time. Micky Rourke deserved best actor)
Pans Labyrinth
Dead Again
I prefer Hannibal and the original Manhunter to Silence of the Lambs(which is also very good howver)
A nightmare on Elm Street
Videodrome
Gothic
Jacobs Ladder
The Other (not to be confused with Nicloe kidman movie the Others)

and of course.... FROM HELL

I was never a fan of Zombie or slasher flicks. I know Im gonna get nailed for this but I think Night of the living Dead and Halloween are two of the most overated movies of all time. I know they are considered classics but they just dont do anything for me-I find them neither scary nor even interesting. I have tried to watch them a million times and I swear to God I fall asleep every time.

I just realized I dont have any classic ghost story type movies! If anyone could recommend any I would greatly appreciate it!

[Scorpio]

My favorites:
King Kong (original)
The Invisable Man (original)
This Island Earth(the best 50s SF/horror movie of its Genre)
Dracula (coppolla)
The Blob (total B grade cheesey brilliance)
The Thing (Kurt Russel)
Jaws
American Werewolf in London(best comedy/horror of all time)
Company of Wolves(a litle known hallucenigetic fever dream of a werewolf movie that combines different folklore of the werewolf legend including little red riding hood.)
Amittyville Horror(the opening scene of the actual murder of the family just Fs me up every time.)
Alien
Sante Sangre
Angel Heart (a masterpiece and one of my favorite movies of all time. Micky Rourke deserved best actor)
Pans Labyrinth
Dead Again
I prefer Hannibal and the original Manhunter to Silence of the Lambs(which is also very good howver)
A nightmare on Elm Street
Videodrome
Gothic
Jacobs Ladder
The Other (not to be confused with Nicloe kidman movie the Others)

and of course.... FROM HELL

I was never a fan of Zombie or slasher flicks. I know Im gonna get nailed for this but I think Night of the living Dead and Halloween are two of the most overated movies of all time. I know they are considered classics but they just dont do anything for me-I find them neither scary nor even interesting. I have tried to watch them a million times and I swear to God I fall asleep every time.

I just realized I dont have any classic ghost story type movies! If anyone could recommend any I would greatly appreciate it!

I am not a big fan of Halloween. John Carpenters The Thing and Assault on Precinct 13 are superior to me. I am a fan of the original Slasher movie Psycho, and the first half of A nightmare on Elm St did scare me when i watched it as a twelve year old.

[kensei]

I just realized I dont have any classic ghost story type movies! If anyone could recommend any I would greatly appreciate it!

In my opinion the best ghost movie of all time is "The Sixth Sense," though its greatest emotional impact is in its sad scenes rather than its scary ones.

If it's chills you want, less tends to be more- films in which the antagonist is invisible or for whatever other reason just never actually seen. Though they are much lampooned now, "The Blair Witch Project" and "Paranormal Activity" are terrifying if you've never seen them before.

[Abby Normal]

I am not a big fan of Halloween. John Carpenters The Thing and Assault on Precinct 13 are superior to me. I am a fan of the original Slasher movie Psycho, and the first half of A nightmare on Elm St did scare me when i watched it as a twelve year old.

I have never seen asualt on precinct 13. The thing to this day still scares the living crP out of me. I am afraid I am a victim of hype ough when it comes to psycho. I had heard so much about it, including from my parents that saw it when it first came out that when I finally saw it and still see it it is a bit of a let down although I still like it very much. My favorite Hitchcock horror is of course the birds. Maybe because I saw it when I was still young.

[kensei]

On slasher films-

I love John Carpenter's original "Halloween"! It is simplicity at its finest as far as I'm concerned, the classic "Escaped Mental Patient" theme from urban legend treated with just the right dose of dark storytelling. It's helped strongly by the talents of Donald Pleasance and Jaimie Leigh Curtiss. Pleasance has several moments where his words deliver dramatic pronouncements that just hang ominously in the air. "Michael Meyers is the most dangerous patient I have ever seen." "You've fooled them, haven't you Michael? But not me." And so on. And the fact that Curtiss' mother Janet Leigh was the shower victim in "Psycho" is kind of a fun in-joke, but hardly just a novelty. "Halloween" was her first film but she turned out to have real solid acting chops. Her exchange with Pleasance at the end of the film, after they've both done violent battle with Michael, is heart wrenching. She sobs, "It WAS the Boogie Man." And he nods, "As a matter of fact, it was." When he then goes to the balcony from which Michael has fallen after having taken six bullets and sees that the body is gone, I'm perfectly willing to see that as the end of the story. Let's just conclude that there really was something supernatural about the guy and that he vanished upon death. But no, a whole series of inevitable sequels followed. And they all sucked.

As an exception, I reccomend Rob Zombie's remake of the original. I thought it was fascinating. Whereas the original took five minutes to tell Michael's backstory, Zombie took close to half an hour to really explain the psychology of what turned this little kid into a monster. Brutal, frightening stuff. I haven't seen his "Halloween 2" remake yet but it's on my list.

And then, let's give honorable mention to our old friend Jason Voorhees of the many, many "Friday the 13th" films. Let's face it, they are B-movies that lack real quality or class, across the board. But you know, they were a fun part of my teenage years and I remember them fondly. Every time one of them would come out it was a big event for all my friends to go to, enjoying the screams in the theater as the hockey masked freak slashed his way through victim after victim and endured punishment after punishment- machete to the heart, ax to the head, electrocution, whatever it was. And then finally, the inevitable happened- "Freddie Vs. Jason," bringing together Friday the 13th and Nightmare on Elm Street. I think I read somewhere that it set a record for the most blood ever spilled in one movie. And it ended with Jason triumphant, carrying Freddie's severed head- but then the head winks at the camera as if Freddie's still in the game! Aaaah, schlock cinema.

[kensei]

On slasher films-

I love John Carpenter's original "Halloween"! It is simplicity at its finest as far as I'm concerned, the classic "Escaped Mental Patient" theme from urban legend treated with just the right dose of dark storytelling. It's helped strongly by the talents of Donald Pleasance and Jaimie Leigh Curtiss. Pleasance has several moments where his words deliver dramatic pronouncements that just hang ominously in the air. "Michael Meyers is the most dangerous patient I have ever seen." "You've fooled them, haven't you Michael? But not me." And so on. And the fact that Curtiss' mother Janet Leigh was the shower victim in "Psycho" is kind of a fun in-joke, but hardly just a novelty. "Halloween" was her first film but she turned out to have real solid acting chops. Her exchange with Pleasance at the end of the film, after they've both done violent battle with Michael, is heart wrenching. She sobs, "It WAS the Boogie Man." And he nods, "As a matter of fact, it was." When he then goes to the balcony from which Michael has fallen after having taken six bullets and sees that the body is gone, I'm perfectly willing to see that as the end of the story. Let's just conclude that there really was something supernatural about the guy and that he vanished upon death. But no, a whole series of inevitable sequels followed. And they all sucked.

As an exception, I reccomend Rob Zombie's remake of the original. I thought it was fascinating. Whereas the original took five minutes to tell Michael's backstory, Zombie took close to half an hour to really explain the psychology of what turned this little kid into a monster. Brutal, frightening stuff. I haven't seen his "Halloween 2" remake yet but it's on my list.

And then, let's give honorable mention to our old friend Jason Voorhees of the many, many "Friday the 13th" films. Let's face it, they are B-movies that lack real quality or class, across the board. But you know, they were a fun part of my teenage years and I remember them fondly. Every time one of them would come out it was a big event for all my friends to go to, enjoying the screams in the theater as the hockey masked freak slashed his way through victim after victim and endured punishment after punishment- machete to the heart, ax to the head, electrocution, whatever it was. And then finally, the inevitable happened- "Freddie Vs. Jason," bringing together Friday the 13th and Nightmare on Elm Street. I think I read somewhere that it set a record for the most blood ever spilled in one movie. And it ended with Jason triumphant, carrying Freddie's severed head- but then the head winks at the camera as if Freddie's still in the game! Aaaah, schlock cinema.

[kensei]

Dammit, isn't there a way of deleting a post when your computer does a backflip and ends up posting twice? Not that I can tell. Sorry about that.