Scary Movie Mania

Written and or Posted by the "MonsterMan"


By Kristian Draper

We watch movies in order to experience a roller-coaster ride of emotional responses. Horror movies aim to evoke fear, whose family of tertiary emotions consist of shock, alarm, mortification, panic, hysteria, horror, terror and fright. Whether or not a horror movie is good or bad is subjective. This short article explores those movies which are commonly regarded as the top horror movies; the movies that - for one reason or another - most potently engaged our fears.

Psycho (1960)

Originally a book by Robert Bloch, later adapted for the screen by Joseph Stefano, and famously directed by the late, great Alfred Hitchcock, this is the seminal slasher movie that shocked America and set the fear-formula for many future horror movies. We have a serial killer who dresses in drag to imitate his Mother; we have a beautiful heroine who, shockingly, dies a third of the way in; we see a bloody bathroom scene that was all the more jarring for earlier audiences, who were unused to seeing toilets on cinema screens. But none of this captures what really terrifies us about Psycho, for psycho is an exploration into madness, a place where - God forbid - anyone of us might one day journey.

Night Of The Living Dead (1968)

A group of people hold up in a farmhouse and must fight off the hungry advances of an approaching zombie army. Written by John A Russo and George A Romero, and directed by Romero in 1968, this is the original zombie flick that even today ranks as one of the top horror movies ever put on film. What makes it so scary? Honestly, I think it's the simplicity. We have a lonely farmhouse besieged by the undead and no explanation as to why the dead are rising, other than the haunting line "when there is no more room in hell, the dead shall walk the earth". We have zombies obsessed with one thing: eating the living; and the living obsessed with one goal: avoiding becoming a zombie-dinner! Even the film stock is simple: grainy black and white. At times, perhaps when the camera jolts and the sound crackles, as we watch brain dead zombies tear apart and chew on their freshly dead neighbors, we get the distinct impression of documentary filmmaking. Simplicity can be terrifying.

Bride of Frankenstein (1935)

The movie that proves sequels can surpass their originals. Boris Karloff reprises the role that made him famous, that of The Monster and, likewise, James Whale returns to direct another sinister masterpiece. The primary theme in both Frankenstein movies is man should not play God because there will be horrible consequences; indeed, even The Monster is aware that his existence is an abomination. What makes Bride better than Frankenstein? I'd say both Whale and Karloff use their experience of the original to enhance their performances.

Halloween (1978)

In Halloween we see a deranged murderer escape a mental asylum and return to his home town where he slays the local teenagers. The movie opens with a scene from the point-of-view of Michael, a young boy who proceeds to massacre his sister with a kitchen knife. This sets a shocking and unpredictable tone for the rest of the movie. Yet again simplicity in horror proves to be the terrifying ingredient, easily making this one of the top horror movies ever made. Michael is a simple, yet efficient killing machine, much like the shark in Jaws. What we find so chilling about him is his God-like ability to remain alive, but - as they say - you cannot kill the bogeyman!

The Exorcist (1973)

The best word to describe The Exorcist? Shocking. A girl who becomes possessed by an evil entity and her mother enlists the help of two priests to save her. Watching this movie you get the distinct impression that what you see is real. Audiences are compelled to believe both the Devil and his demons exist. But what truly shocks are the taboos: a weak, alcoholic priest; intense use of blasphemy; a young girl who urinates, curses, blasphemes and implores a priest to sexually gratify her. The Exorcist leaves you with a persistent uneasy feeling, wherein you find yourself believing more so in the devil, a creature whose evil is definitely unquantifiable.

There are many more top horror movies but you'll find the five listed above to be those commonly regarded as the scariest.

If you want horror movie trailers, news and reviews of upcoming [http://www.upcoming-horror-movies.com/]horror movies, visit Kristian's site: [http://www.upcoming-horror-movies.com/]Upcoming Horror Movies.

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Posted by Sidney R. Shannon at 7:43 AM | 0 comments    

Posted by the "MonsterMan"

Coming to theaters Sept. 18, 2009

Directed by: Karyn Kusama Synopsis: When a gorgeous cheerleader is possessed by a demon and starts feeding off the boys in a small Minnesota farming town, her "plain Jane" best friend must kill her, then escape from a correctional facility to go after the Satan-worshipping rock band responsible for the horrible transformation.

Posted by Sidney R. Shannon at 7:05 AM | 0 comments    
Labels: jennifer's body movie trailer, jennifers body trailer, movie trailer

Written and or Posted by the "MonsterMan"

By Nicky Jones

Horror movies are like kids in a way. Most are normal, but then there are a few that are just off the wall and insane. Er go, it's only natural that the genre would have a few wacky ideas here and there. So in this article, we will explore those insane, utterly hilarious, and downright head scratching genre films. Films born from the most unexpected and out of left field concepts imaginable. Where else could we start, but with the 1992 horror movie "Leprechaun". This isn't the first movie of it's kind, by that I mean little people running amok on the lives of innocent people. We've had "Troll", "Dolly Dearest", and the infamous "Childs Play".

However,"Leprechaun" was the first ever movie where a mythical creature which represents good luck, and through pop culture, is shown in a kind spirited light, has been turned into a bloodthirsty, maniacal on screen villain. Then theres the fact that it's a leprechaun. One of the wee irish people, who no one would suspect of possibly harming anyone on purpose. Another thing about the film which was the total opposite of the pop culture view of a leprechaun, was that this particular leprechaun had rotted teeth, and sharp claws. Not to mention that he was as greedy as can be. I think it's safe to say, had this leprechaun been in any Lucky Charms commercials, things might have turned out a bit differently for those pesky kids.

Warwick Davises spot in horror movie history is forever rooted based solely on this movie. "Leprechaun" is the figurehead for out of left field ideas, that made for quite an entertaining film, atleast IMO. The idea that a leprechaun would be the Freddy or Michael Myers type character in a horror movie never crossed anyones mind I'm sure in the early 70s or early 80s. It just goes to show how the genre has evolved. Amidst all of this though, is the downside. Which is that the first film spawned 5 sequels. Taking the character from the suburbs, to Vegas, to Space, and then to 'The Hood'...twice. While the first film showed a nice flash of creativity, this goes to show how an odd idea can be taken way too far. The series should've ended at 2, and a character like this should never be taken into space.

Warwick Davises character has now become the on screen/horror genre version of "Wheres Waldo?". Lets just hope they don't get any ideas of taking the leprechaun to Antartica of the Carribbean anytime soon. Another film from the files of the strange and odd was a DTV film called "Pinnocchios Revenge". With a title like this, one has to ask the question, revenge for what? The film itself played out in typical killer marrionette fashion, but did show some signs of creativity and intrigue by throwing the viewer for one hell of a loop at the end. Sadly though, this film still doesn't make the grade. Granted the idea was certainly weird, odd, and unique. But the film itself was lacking in many areas. Basically this film was doomed from the start. I'm sure they had ideas of taking it to theatres, but when a film about Pinnocchio slaughtering people gets made, how much red tape would possibly prevent it from ever hitting theaters? A whole damn lot most likely.

Another film along these lines, and that stole from "Leprechaun" a bit, was "Rumplestiltskin". This film involved an evil old troll like creature challenging a single mother for her child. Like "Pinnocchios Revenge", it barely saw the light of day, went DTV, and didn't make any noise at all. The fact that it wasn't scary also was a problem. A slew of other films have come out along the same lines, and seemingly trying to out do each other. We've had "Killer Tongue", about a woman whos tongue gets taken over by aliens, "Killer Condom" (don't ask), and "Killer Eye". And Just when you thought things couldn't get any more insane, a film in the mid 90s was released called "Jack Frost". The Jack Frost everyone sings about, has never been seen before, so the idea of making a Jack Frost horror movie was kind of puzzling. So they decided to do the only rational thing, turn Jack Frost, into a killer snowman! and Then to top it all off, have him say witty one liners which relate to the winter season whenever he kills someone, shoot ice cicles out of his hands, and be able to melt himself at will. The DTV film developed a tiny cult following surprisingly. People actually liked it despite it's cheesey, absurd, and totally unrealistic villain.

I even have to admit I found this movie entertaining. It had gruesome kills which are always a plus, and it also made horror movie history for having the first ever carrot-rape scene. The film was then followed up by a sequel, which you could tell even more than you could in part 1, that it was made on a shoestring budget. The sequel added more comedy, but took the word unrealistic to frightening new heights. People being stabbed with salad tongues, crushed by snow anvils, and eaten alive by killer baby snowballs are just a few of the outlandish killings the film included. and Of course to top their infamous carrot rape scene in part 1, our killer snowman friend actually sheds a frozen tear in one scene. With all of these left field horrors that have been released, the question remains, how much more crazy can filmmakers get? Well, on the way soon, theres a film entitled "Zombeak", about a chicken which gets posessed by satans essence, and goes on a killing spree. I think that should answer your question. Maybe they'll toss in a cheesy tagline like "Fowl Play is amidst" or "You've fried your last chicken", or "Bawk Bawk is the last thing you'll ever hear", or maybe even "Human...it's whats for dinner".

To answer the big money question, "How'd ideas like this make it so far"? To spawn sequels, or keep being produced? Well, I guess as long as theres an audience out there for the extremely weird, off the wall, odd, and more than usually abnormal horror movie, there'll always be people and filmmakers around to keep cranking them out.

Mr. HoRrOr Horror Movies&stuff.com http://www.hms.notlong.com

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Posted by Sidney R. Shannon at 2:59 AM | 0 comments    

Written by the "Monster Man"

We enjoy seeing people run for their lives. Unfortunately some people have a real sick predilection to see blood, human blood and seemingly the more the better. As sick and twisted as it is this is one of the realities of our movie going experience. Others enjoy seeing people loose their heads, pun intended. As long as ours remain intact, all is well in the world.

The Bad Guys

Where would the horror movie genre be without one of the craziest guys to ever don a hockey mask such as Jason Voorhees or better still, if John Carpenter hadn’t given birth to such a Jacko’ (Sorry) I mean wacko like Michael Myers? Or even the masterfully written and intriguing Jig Saw in the Saw series who happens to be one of my favorite “boogie men”. Or how about Jack Nicholson’s horrifying performance in Steven Kings “The Shining”. But if I had to throw a monster in that mix, and grant it this next selection is female, I would have to say that the “highly over protective” alien from the movie Aliens deserves to be in the conversation. The movie and its villainous Alien is certainly one of the chief reasons the movie remains a favorite of most lovers of the genre. It’s certainly pretty high on my list.

But…

Wait don’t go in the closet

Something that most moviegoers will never understand is why so many times the heroine in a horror movie whenever hearing some kind of strange noise coming from maybe her downstairs of her home or from her closet she always has to investigate. In real life, the average person wouldn’t hesitate getting out the house if they thought there might be someone in their home. But truthfully, if it weren’t for this obvious character flaw we the moviegoer wouldn’t enjoy the same level of interaction with the movie’s characters. And as long as the characters in the horror movies continue to do really stupid things we the moviegoer will continue to enjoy telling them about it.

So…

Would you like some cheese with that sir?

Filmmakers have collaborated for years in making some of the best horror movies you can think of, many of which if I mentioned you would have probably seen and undoubtedly enjoyed. But over the course of that same period many lousy or what some would like to term “cheesy” horror movie have also been made. Movies like Motel Hell, Hellraiser or The Exorcist Part 2 just to name a few. I’m sure if you were to name some of the cheesiest horror movies you’ve seen I wouldn’t be too surprised at some of your selections either.

I personally love horror movies so much and have been watching them since I was a small child that I have more of a tolerance for a bad or “cheesy” horror movie then most. Movies like “The Trilogy of Terror”, I think I was about twelve or thirteen when first seeing this “cheesy” movie but many years later it still resonates with me as one of the movies that I would enjoy seeing over and over again.

One of the reasons I think for this tolerance is because I understand that the “horror genre” unlike some others, lends itself more to real bad stories and even worse acting. If you were to take stock of many of the movies you’ve seen over the years and just briefly thought about what percentage of those movies were bad and of those how many were horror movies, I think you would prove my point perfectly.

I think as a lover of horror movies you understand that going in that there is a huge possibility that despite the movie’s title and the appeal of its trailer that after the curtain opens a hour and half to two hours later you could leave out of the theater feeling not so good about how you just spent your time.

True lovers of the genre are just happy they had another chance to take part in the entire experience, such as it is.

Posted by Sidney R. Shannon at 7:50 PM | 1 comments    

Written and or Posted by the "MonsterMan"

Why These Classic Horror Movies Should Be Remade Today
By Rob Mead

About a year and a half ago, director Rob Zombie was finishing up editing "The Devil's Rejects" when he got a call from his agent wondering if Rob would like to do a re-tooling of the once-great franchise "Halloween". The only response he got back from Mr. Zombie was "Sign me up!" A week or two later, the final contracts were drawn up, filming began, and now "Halloween" will be in theaters once again on August 31st, 2007. The reason the project was given a greenlight with Rob Zombie attached so fast was the fact that the "Halloween" series of films have been really bad lately. Steve Miner directed the last atrocity, "Halloween: H20", with absolutely no credibility and no charisma at all.

"Halloween" needed a fresh transfusion of blood for it to continue, and the producers had to find a damn good director to re-imagine the series in a more modern context. Rob Zombie was recommended to the producer's by many people who had seen Zombie's previous two horror flix, the aforementioned "Devil's Reject's", and the under-rated "House of 1000 Corpses".

I believe there are many more classic and semi-classic horror movies that could really use a boost from a talented director out there. "Dr. Jeckyl and Mr. Hyde" springs to mind as a perfect vehicle for the great director David Cronenberg, who started out by directing pure horror films like "Scanners" and "The Brood". He really could attack a good script written by somebody who really gets the horror and nuance of the great book written by Robert Louis Stevenson about a good doctor who turns into a horrible monster after drinking a concoction he mixed up in his lab one night. The makeup transformation alone would be worth the price of admission! I see an actor like Daniel Craig or Heath Ledger in the role of Dr. Jeckyl. Jessica Biel or Scarlet Johannsen would make a really sexy and interesting Mary Reilly, who falls in love with the diabolical doctor.

The last time anybody took a really creative stab at "Dracula', it resulted in the brilliant "Bram Stoker's Dracula", directed by Francis Ford Coppola. Movies that were made afterwards, like the laughable "Dracula's Curse", starring Gerald Butler playing a Euro-trash Dracula, never should have been made in the first place. Butler now has huge success after playing King Leonidas in "The 300", but he really was one of the worst Dracula's in the history of cinema. Brian DePalma would be a perfect candidate for the director's helm, and a real movie actor like Willem Dafoe or Colin Firth would be an excellent choice to bring the pain and gravitas of Bram Stoker's great villain to life. Also, a really great script by David Mamet would help, but I don't know if he wants to make his hands bloody by writing a violent screenplay. Some great writer who needs a change from the seriousness of "Syriana", like Steve Gaghan, would be another ideal candidate.

Finally, "The Last House on the Left" was the movie that was a HUGE influence on today's "torture" movies like the "Saw" franchise and "Hostel 1 and 2". This is a little-seen horror flick that was directed by a young man called Wes Craven. You might know him by his later work directing two huge hits, "A Nightmare on Elm Street" and "Scream". "Lat House..." was a movie made in 1972 that featured some of the most horrific torture scenes ever put on celluloid at that time. It follows the story of 2 women who are abducted by 3 murderers and rapists, and challenges the viewer to stay in their seat as Craven directs the movie in close-up 35mm camera takes that really shows the viewer every violent act committed against these two women by their captors. If Eli Roth, the director of "Hostel", were to direct a remake, I think major box office would follow.

If any producers are out there reading this, please give me credit where credit is due, and enjoy the movies!

Rob Mead has written many articles about internet marketing and how to create and find great website content that will increase your web site's traffic overnight. Go to http://www.perfectwebcontent.com and you will be able to use all of the web site's resources and articles in your quest for internet success.

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Posted by Sidney R. Shannon at 11:50 PM | 0 comments    

New In Stores
More New Releases

Stephen King Goes to the Movies
Release Date: January 20th, 2009
Now available, the #1 bestselling author reflects on the filming of five of his most popular short stories. Those movies are The Shawshank Redemption, 1408, Children of the Corn, The Mangler, and Hearts in Atlantis.

Includes an introduction, his personal commentary, and behind-the-scenes insights by Stephen.

courtesy of http://stephenking.com

Posted by Sidney R. Shannon at 4:49 PM | 0 comments    

If you went to see this movie expecting to see a horror movie then that is exactly what you saw, a real horror movie. Hostel is horrific in the truest sense of the word. It isn’t just everything we love about horror movies; it is so much more, unfortunately for some people.

It is not for the squeamish or the faint of heart. If the sight of not just blood but also mutilation affects you, albeit unreal, then spending 90 minutes with this movie certainly would not be a wise decision.

Hostel was written and directed by Eli Roth the man Quentin Tarantino calls the future of horror. He also happened to be the co-writer of another pretty disturbing horror movie named Cabin Fever. And as disturbing movies go, Hostel hands down is arguably the most disturbing movie ever made, horror or otherwise. It’s certainly the most disturbing horror movie I’ve ever seen. And I’ve seen a lot of horror movies.

The movie is about three young college aged male friends, played by Derek Richardson, Jay Hernandez and Eythor Gudjonsson who decide to backpack through Europe in search of something most young men crave, instant gratification in the form of sex and drugs. And everything ‘s going exactly as planned as far as their carnal pursuits are concerned until they meet a young man at a Hostel they were crashing at who tells them about another place in Slovakia where they can get all the sex they want from some very hot women who love American men. Unfortunately for the three young men meeting the women there turns out to be undoubtedly the worse decision of their lives.

So after a few days at the Hostel in Slovakia the character Oli played by Eythor Gudjonsson mysteriously disappears. Initially his two friends were thinking he may have left to return to his own country, as he was someone they had met during their backpacking travels. It turns out that when the 2nd of the three friends disappear we learn that people who stay at that Hostel are being kidnapped and later sold to wealthy businessmen for the purposes of performing torturous acts on them.

Again as I previously mentioned, this movie is disturbing and in some ways very sick but if you’ve ever been exposed to the internet for any length of time then chances are you’ve heard of the “faces of death” series and were able to see at least one video clip. What happens to the people in Faces of death is absolutely incomprehensible. It’s unbelievable that soldiers from any country (human beings no less) would tie a man’s arms to two jeeps and then rip the man apart by driving in opposite directions. Or a man could murder a woman on video by blowing her head off because someone paid the individual to see the heinous crime committed on film. Based on what I saw in Faces of Death after having seen Hostel tells me that this movie is more about art imitating real life than most of us unfortunately realize or care to admit.

If you haven’t seen Hostel then maybe its best that you don’t unless you have a strong stomach and you feel you can handle the disturbing nature of the film.

Posted by Sidney R. Shannon at 7:16 AM | 0 comments    
Labels: horror, horror film, horror films, horror movie, horror movies, Hostel movie review, scariest horror movies ever, scary movies