RANTS & RAVINGS ABOUT HORROR – “HOW MONSTER FILMS DEFINED MY LIFE”

RANTS & RAVINGS ABOUT HORROR – “HOW MONSTER FILMS DEFINED MY LIFE”

Early this year during the 2017 Something Wicked Film Festival (www.somethingwickedfilmfestival.com), Festival Panel Moderator Jim Adams created a panel discussion that would forever define the future of panel discussions for the event (especially since I’m the Festival Director and I just hired him to be the Official Festival Panel Moderator.  One of Mr. Adams’ first duties were to come up with some original ideas for new panel discussions and thus “How Monster Films Defined My Life” was born. 

Now I know part of the reason why Mr. Adams decided on this topic for a panel discussion is because he has the podcast “Monster Attacks!” where he has spoken at length about his love for monster films.  For many people, monster films from the Universal horrors of Dracula and The Wolfman to Hammer Studios’ Frankenstein and The Mummy were defining characters of fear from childhood.  For more modern audiences there is Leatherface and that dream demon Freddy not to mention the likes of Ghostface Killer and The Jigsaw Killer.  No matter which decade, audiences have their own nightmare monster that haunts them or fascinates them to no end.

I was one of the film-makers on this panel discussion and one of the films that defined my childhood was the Joe Dante film Gremlins (1984).  I saw this in the theater in ’84 at the early age of 8 and it left an undeniable impression on me.  The monsters were both cute and cuddly and dangerous and fun at the same time.  It was like watching a bunch of unruly children at play able to do whatever they wanted.  It also had an amazing soundtrack by Jerry Goldsmith (who became my all-time favorite music composer).  The film was dark and horrifying as well as funny and entertaining.  It had the perfect mixture of comedy and horror and part of that is due to the very dark photography of the film and the fluid cinematography.  It truly became one of my all-time favorite films for which my love for other monsters would grow.

 

I didn’t grow up with the black & white Universal monsters nor had I seen many of the bloody Hammer Studio films until I became a big horror fan in my teenage and college years.  The next monster I gravitated to was that of the Good-Guy doll Chucky.  When I saw Child’s Play (1988) I had never seen anything like it before.  A serial killer uses Voodoo to possess a doll and to continue his killing spree.  Even though this film played straight into horror (unlike the more comedic sequels) it still was quite fun and entertaining.  By ’88 when this film was released and I was eleven years old I had already become a horror fan but nothing had defined my true love of the genre just yet until this film.  I got the poster for the film from the nearby Video Store (how I miss these establishments) and I placed it lovingly on my bedroom wall (where it was later joined by posters of the second and third films).  It was the first poster I ever put on my wall but it would not be the last.

I followed the continuing exploits of Chucky to cinema with Child’s Play 2 (1990) and Child’s Play 3 (1991) which I had to beg my Father to take me to since I was too young for the R-Rated horror.  At this point I did come to realize how much I loved horror films but more importantly – monster films.

At this point you could say I went looking for monsters as I learned to love all monsters big or small.

It wasn’t until Clive Barker’s Nightbreed (1990) that I wished I was one of the amazing monsters that populated our magnificent world.  Barker crafted a story where the monsters were the good guys while man was the bad guy.  This film defined the idea of what a monster could truly become.  The monsters in Barker’s film were deformed and misunderstood as well as dangerous and fascinating.

It was after this that I became a true and everlasting monster fan.  From the films featuring Godzilla and his rogue’s gallery to the Cenobites of the world of Hellraiser I loved monsters both other-worldly and those more human.  My favorites were monsters not easily described or defined like those in Christine (1983), The Thing (1982), Puppet Master (1994), Critters (1986), and especially Killer Clowns From Outer Space (1988), to name but a small few.

I most certainly enjoyed the exploits of Michael Myers and Leatherface (and family) and even those Freddy films but it was with these non-human monsters that I enjoyed more and would later define my love and appreciation of horror.  For me, monsters aren’t defined as either good nor evil but in most films, they are simply just trying to survive and do what comes naturally.  This is the defining trait of King Kong and Godzilla as well as many other timeless monster films.

Serial killers and mass murders are interesting but monsters are something from the imagination where anything that can be dreamed can become a reality.  Therefore, they’ve had such a profound effect on me as not only a film maker but a storyteller and a film lover.  If nothing else, I implore others to seek out monster movies not just for pure entertainment and enjoyment but to understand oneself and the world in which we live (and the one created for the monsters to live in).  It’s never too late to enjoy a good monster film.

To view the entire “How Monster Movies Defined My Life” panel discussion go here - https://vimeo.com/238990857

"Rants & Ravings About Horror - Week 10: “Watching Bad Horror Films”

Week 10: “Watching Bad Horror Films”

If you’re like me then you’re a horror fan who has seen your fair share of bad horror films.  Now, I’m not talking about bad horror films that entertain you and you watch because they’re “so bad they’re good” (i.e. Plan 9 From Outer Space).  And I’m not talking about films you thought were going to be good because the trailer was good but turned out bad (i.e. The Pyramid).  No, I’m talking about watching the trailer for a film or reading about a film and knowing beforehand that it was always going to be bad no matter what.  I’m talking about a film like C.H.U.D. 2: Bud the Chud (1989) or The Lawnmower Man 2: Job’s War (1996) or House of the Dead 2 (2005) or The Return of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1994) (yes, I use the original theatrical release title because that’s how I originally saw the film).  These are films with trailers so bad and a synopsis so bad that they shouldn’t have even been made much less watched.  But they are were and some even have a small cult following.

Having reviewed many horror films over the years I’ve watched more bad films than good ones at this point and many of them I’ve never seen a trailer so I’ve had to rely on poster images and synopsis to go by.  Films with titles like Airplane Vs. Volcano (2014) and Blood Valley: Seed’s Revenge (2014) and The Bell Witch Haunting (2013) and Paranormal Asylum (2013) and Don’t Go in the Woods (2010) and 13/13/13 (2013) you know going in that they’re going to be pretty bad and if not bad then completely ludicrous.  I mean, you can’t really (honestly) have high hopes for a film called Sharknado (2013), but we watch these films anyways regardless of how bad we know they’re going to be.

I enjoy bad horror films.  I actually enjoyed some parts of Airplane Vs. Volcano and I chuckle at Sharknado.  I’ve probably even seen Plan 9 From Outer Space more times than I should have but it’s a great movie to just have playing in the background when you just want to chill out, drink a beer, and relax.  I don’t think I can relax at home drinking a beer and watching Martyrs (2008).  It just isn’t happening.  Have you ever tried a night with your significant other and asking him/her to sit down and watch Hostel (2005)?  I’m sure it never goes over well, but if you said let’s watch Sharknado 2: The Second One (2014), they probably replied with they’ll get the popcorn and candy. 

When you want to watch to good comedy horror you pull out Shaun of the Dead (2004) not Day of the Dead 2: Contagium (2005) (which is funny for all the wrong reasons) but if you want stupid comedy you always pull out Army of Darkness (1992), which has many drinking games associated with it.  Why do some people love the horrendous Jason X (2001), when there is a Jason Takes Manhattan (1989) and a Jason Goes to Hell (1993) right before it?  Does anyone even remember Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare (1991) over A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge (1985)?  Both are considered the worst of the series but we’ve all probably seen them more times than we’d like to admit.  How about any one of the Hellraiser sequels after Part 3 or the Jaws sequels after the first one?  We’ve all seen them and we all consider them bad despite having seen them more than several times. 

Sometimes bad films have good moments which is why we watch them and continue to go back to them from time to time to not only remind us how bad they were but how awesome that one moment in each of them can out shine all the other bad parts contained within.  I don’t know about you but I liked Super Freddy in Freddy’s Dead and Jason knocking a man’s head off with one punch in Jason Takes Manhattan was worth a film that’s all on a boat in a water way that’s somehow connected to New York City.  Sharknado 2 is well worth watching Tara Reid get her hand bitten off and replaced by a buzz saw as is watching Ian Ziering getting swallowed by a shark and surviving.  Jason beating some female campers trapped in a sleeping bag against a tree and not dying (you have to see it to believe it) is one of the funniest moments in the film as is watching director David Cronenberg die in the opening of Jason X.  Watching Gerrit Graham in C.H.U.D. 2 is like watching him reprise his Beef character from Phantom of the Paradise (1974), only dead.  And in terms of the Jaws sequels – I just like watching people get eaten by a great white shark and not realize that they should’ve closed the beach before it was too late plus Michael Cain does ham it up pretty good in Jaws: The Revenge (1987)

There is no denying that all these films are bad films.  They’re even worse horror films as they don’t even try to horrify, terrorize, or even bother with a coherent story (most of the time) and are mainly played for laughs anyways.  Most of the time they know they’re bad and are in on the joke (i.e. Jason X and Sharknado).

The real travesty is those horror films trying to be good but fall flat on their ass.  For one reason or another they just don’t click with an audience and, unfortunately, are easily forgotten.  Child’s Play 3 (1991) and Friday the 13^th Part V: A New Beginning (1985) and Hellraiser: Bloodline (1996) and The Thing (2011) and Pulse (2006) and One Missed Call (2008) and They (2002) and Carnival of Souls (1998) and The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1962) and An American Werewolf in Paris (1997) and Prom Night (2008) and way to many more to mention but you get the picture.

Now personally I enjoyed some of these films that I just mentioned but for the most part the majority of horror fans (and audiences in general) has either ignored these films or forgot they even existed.  There is nothing bad about watching bad horror movies or even liking them.  I for one need the bad films for all my drinking parties because watching a good horror film is just not the same and if I want to enjoy a horror film with my girl it most certainly won’t be The Descent (2005) because she hates horror films but will more likely be Army of Darkness (because she loves Bruce Campbell but then again who doesn’t) or the latest Sharknado (which is how I originally watched the first two).

Don’t be afraid of bad horror films.  Embrace them just like the Syfy Channel does!

“Rants & Ravings About Horror” - Week 3

Week 3: “The Horror Franchise”

There is no other genre that relies as heavily on the franchise and/or sequel like horror films do.  The history of the genre is littered with franchises such as Universal Studios original Dracula, The Wolfman, and The Mummy.   Sequels carried on the studio’s legacy with the characters and gave audiences more adventures and stories of their favorite monsters.  When Hammer Studios took up the mantle in the ‘60s and ‘70s they crafted new and colorful stories with these same monsters whetting the appetites of eager horror fans.  Then of course all bets were off in the ‘80s and ‘90s as the slasher boom became the poster-child for franchise as numerous horror franchises were born and transformed the way in which studios marketed and sold horror films which continues (unfortunately) to this day.

I mention this because the horror franchise is one of the reasons most of us love horror or were first introduced to it.  One of my earliest obsessions was the Halloween franchise.  I was a huge Michael Myers fan from the beginning and growing up I watched all the films religiously every year (which is one of the reasons why I can no longer watch the films).  My other favorite was the Child’s Play films, which I still watch to this day.  It’s been wenty-five years and the franchise is still going strong mainly because writer (and now director) Don Mancini has been there since the beginning allowing the franchise to change and evolve with each new generation.   

Other more important franchises include A Nightmare on Elm Street, Resident Evil, Friday the 13^th, Hellraiser, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Scream, the Hannibal Lector films, Saw, The Evil Dead, Final Destination, Aliens, Predator, Paranormal Activity, Jaws, Poltergeist, The Amityville Horror, The Omen, The Exorcist, Puppet Masters, Ginger Snaps, Subspecies, Cube, Hatchet, Feast, The Grudge, Psycho, Phantasm, V/H/S, Candyman, The Prophecy, and Return of the Living Dead, to name a small few.  The less important or more cult franchises include Basket Case, Prom Night, The Howling, Critters, Ghoulies, The Re-Animator, House, Creepshow, Pumpkinhead, The Crow, The Mangler, Children of the Corn, Watchers, Mirror, Mirror, The Stepford Wives, Hostel, Cabin Fever,  Leprechaun, and Silent Night, Deadly Night, to name a few (too).  In addition to these, there are the failed franchises which only made it to a second film such as C.H.U.D., 976-Evil, 30 Days of Night, The Gate, Alligator, the first remake of King Kong films, The Gate, Demons, The Collector/The Collection, Pet Semetary, Salem’s Lot, Trilogy of Terror, The Last Exorcism, Piranha, Mirrors, Willard/Ben, An American Werewolf in London/Paris, The Descent, Witchboard,  Night of the Demons, Fright Night (both original and remakes), American Psycho, Rosemary’s Baby, The Blair Witch Project, The Ring (although a new sequel is in pre-pre-production), and Carrie, to name a few.

This may be a lot of horror franchises but this is still just a small sampling.  The reason why so many sequels were produced (many more ill-conceived) is because horror films have always been big business for studios - low cost and big profits.  Even though many of the sequels went straight to video (video was booming in the ‘80s and ‘90s and also contributed to the proliferation of the horror franchise) there were always franchises that remained on the big screen and endured because audiences couldn’t get enough of them no matter how mundane and repetitive the sequels got.  

Films that killed franchises or “jumped the shark” were plentiful and took the franchise into ludicrous territory alienating even die-hard fans.  Films like Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday, Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare, Return of Texas Chainsaw Massacre (aka Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation), C.H.U.D. 2: Bud for C.H.U.D., The Stepford Husbands, Hellraiser: Revelations, Jaws: The Revenge, Candyman: Day of the Dead, The Rage: Carrie 2, Look What Happened to Rosemary’s Baby, Piranha 3DD, King Kong Lives, Critters 4: In Space, Leprechaun: Back 2 the Hood, American Psycho 2, and Blair Witch 2: Book of Shadows, to name a few.

The horror film and most importantly the horror fan relish the continuing adventures of their favorite monsters.  It is rare that a franchise hinges on a heroine.  The names Pinhead, Chucky, Michael Myers, Jason Voorhees, Candyman, Norman Bates, Hannibal Lector, Leatherface, Jigsaw, The Tall Man, Herbert West, Damian, Fred Kruger, and Ghostface are what draw audiences in from one film to the next regardless of the quality of each subsequent film.  I love the Child’s Play films because I’m a fan of Chucky (and I’ve even read the novelizations and comics as well).  I watch the Alien films because I love the aliens and how they change from film to film (and likewise I’ve read many of the books and comics as well).   The villains are the draw for these films as any fan can attest. 

Franchises are an important way for us fans to continue to enjoy some of our most (in)famous icons.  As long as we continue to watch and support these films then studios will continue to produce then.  This is not always a great thing as we’ve come to realize as sequels usually lose their punch and become more sanitized.  Not every film in a franchise can be gold.  Sometimes we have to settle for bronze but isn’t that better than having nothing at all?

Film Review: ALLIGATOR X (2010)

Mad scientist who create mutated killer animals is nothing new which is exactly what’s wrong with the film ALLIGATOR X (also known as XTINCTION: PREDATOR X).  Locals in the swamp lands are mysteriously disappearing and a local Sheriff Tim Richards (Locklyn Munro) and his old flame Laura (Elena Lyons) soon discover that there is a new predator on the loose that has made their homes its stomping grounds.  After a short investigation it is revealed that Laura’s ex-husband may have something to do with resurrecting a long extinct dinosaur and is trying to find a suitable place to allow it to breed and multiply.

I wish I could say there was more to the film but there really isn’t.  As written by Cameron Larson (with story credit going to Larson, George Kostuch, Caleb Michaelson, and Claire Sanchez) and directed by Amir Valinia this film is an uninspired and unoriginal mess.  You’d think that with five people behind the story of the film that you would at least get something original or at least entertaining but this film is neither.  The film is a knock-off of the hundreds of mad scientist films that came before it and the direction is pedestrian at best.  The film lacks any suspense and the story drags on even with this type of film.   Performances are abysmal even for Munro, who has proven his talents in such films as DRACULA 2000 and FREDDY VS JASON.  He’s playing the by-the-numbers sheriff (a role he’s been pigeonholed in).

I appreciate the occasional mad scientist creating killer monster film (SPLICE (2009) is an excellent example of this) but this story has been done to death and that’s “bad” death at that.  The SFX are not at all passable and what little humor there is disappears due to all the bad character stereotypes.  It’s not a very competent film and if it was at least entertaining I might forgive the many other problems.