RANTS & RAVINGS ABOUT HORROR - "HOW I CELEBRATED 31 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN 2020!"

 

“HOW I CELEBRATED 31 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN 2020!”

So, Halloween 2020 is over now and I’ve had a month to reflect on all the films and TV series viewed during my 31 Days of Halloween – 2020 version!  I tried my best to view something new each day but when I didn’t, it was always spurred on by family (like on October 10^th when the family wanted to do a double feature of The Addams Family (1991) and Addams Family Values (1993) after having seen both numerous times).  This year was a mixed bag of both films I had repeatedly overlooked (Cargo, Death Note, Gerald’s Game, and The Invitation) and films that I watched on a whim (A.M.I., House of the Witch, Train of the Dead, The Dybbuk) but what I most enjoyed about this year’s viewing list is the amount of foreign films I decided to view (Betaal, The Ghoul, The Doll 2, Sabrina, The 3^rd Eye 1&2, Train of the Dead, etc.).  This month was definitely a month for me to explore lots of different films both fiction and non-fiction.

 

First up I’d like to list the films and TV shows on the bottom of my list.  Most of these are barely watchable but you’re more than welcome to seek them out for yourself but don’t say I didn’t give you a head’s up.

 

WORST FILMS & TV SHOWS:

Train of the Dead (2007)

Jinn (2019) Season 1

The 3^rd Eye (2017)

The 3^rd Eye 2 (2019)

Alien Vs. Ninja (2010)

Betaal (2020) Season 1

 

In terms of animation I did view several great films of which I recommend which include:

Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters (2017)

Godzilla: City on the Edge of Battle (2018)

Godzilla: The Planet Eater (2018)

Hotel Transylvania 2 (2015)

Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation (2018)

 

What I was really surprised was the list of non-fiction films and series I managed to squeeze into my watch list this year.  I normally stick to films that are mostly fiction but this year I took a chance that paid off:

 

NON-FICTION FILMS & TV SHOWS:

The Boulet Brothers’ Dragula: Search for the World’s Next Drag SuperMonster Season 2

Haunters: The Art of the Scare (2017)

Scream, Queen! My Nightmare on Elm Street (2019)

Rewind This! (2013)

American Murder: The Family Next Door (2020)

Dream/Killer (2015)

Scare Tactics Season 5

 

In addition to having to rewatch The Addams Family and Addams Family Values I also had the chance to rewatch the amazing films of Dick Maas with The Lift (1983), Amsterdamned (1988), and Down (2001).  Amsterdamned is one of my favorite films of the ‘80s and my favorite of Maas’ films.  The Lift still holds up extremely well but Down actually feels dated having been an American remake of The Lift.  I was able to see all three on Blue Underground’s amazing Blu-Rays which present the films the best that I’ve ever seen them.  The upgraded purchases were definitely worth it (especially The Lift which I had a poor bootleg of).  If you’ve never experienced the amazing films of Maas, these three are worth seeking out.

 

This now brings me to the best films and TV shows I viewed during this year’s 31 Days of Halloween!  This year was actually probably the best in terms of diversity and quality.  I’m not going to go into each of the films individually but I will put them in a list of Top 10.  These are all films I would recommend others seek out!

 

BEST FILMS & TV SHOWS:

1. Apostle (2018)

2. No One Lives (2012)

3. Rewind This (2013) – Non-Fiction

4. Gerald’s Game (2017)

5. Cargo (2017)

6. The Invitation (2015)

7. #Alive (2020)

8. Would You Rather (2012)

9. Scream, Queen! My Nightmare on Elm Street (2019) – Non-Fiction

10. The Golem (2018)

 

Now comes the films that were neither great nor horrible but lie somewhere in the middle.  Seek them out based on your own taste and interest:

 

The Dybbuk (1960)

The Car: Road to Revenge (2019)

Death Note (2017)

1BR (2019)

Still (2010)

Truth or Dare (2017)

Tremors: Shrieker Island (2020)

House of the Witch (2017)

 

With this ends my 2020, 31 Days of Halloween viewing list!  I’m already looking forward to 2021 but I know that next year will be just as interesting and diverse as this year due to the fact that there are still so many international films and TV shows that I still need to view.  I hope you had a get October 2020 and feel free to let me know what you watched and what you would recommend.

 

 

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 18: “What Type of Monster Are You?”

Week 18: “What Type of Monster Are You?”

Last week I wrote about werewolf films which got me thinking about monsters and why we love them so much.  I don’t know about you but I love monster films.  Although my least favorite is the vampire, I enjoy watching a good vampire film and in fact, last year’s Only Lover’s Left Alive (2013) was at the top of my list for one of the best horror films of the year.  I absolutely love the Godzilla films (neither American version holds a candle to the Japanese films) and I’m a huge fan of Frankenstein’s monster.  I usually gravitate towards the misunderstood monster of which Frankenstein’s monster is top of the list followed by (of course) King Kong.  I also love zombie films but a zombie is at the bottom of the list of what monster I would want to be unless it was King Zombie from the Deadworld comics.  Being a zombie would be the least fun of all the monsters.

I want to take this week’s rant and go through some of my favorite monster s and why I would or wouldn’t want to be them.  As much as I would love to join the ranks of Frankenstein’s monster, I would hate always being chased by angry villagers and never having a Bride of my own (who would probably misunderstand me as well as everyone else).

Being immortal would be interesting but it could also be as boring an existence as Adam (Tom Hiddleston) in Only Lover’s Left Alive.  I would like to have an existence closer to the suave Jerry Dandridge from Fright Night (1985) rather than the blood thirty savages of 30 Days of Night (2007) or the forever teenage twinklers of the Twilight Saga.  I’d also hate to be a shut in like that of Count Orlock in Nosferatu (1922) but I think I would enjoy life on the road like the vampires in Near Dark (1987) and if I was stuck as a teen forever I guess I could handle being part of the gang of The Lost Boys (1987).  I would hate to be a relative of Dracula as him and his kin has too many enemies and a family feud with Van Helsing and his clan.  There are just as many good things about being a vampire as there is bad.

Being a zombie is pretty much out if you ask me.  There aren’t any cool zombies other than King Zombie and even the zombies in Warm Bodies (2013) wanted their humanity back.  No, life as a zombie is short lived especially in the world of The Walking Dead and I would hate to be someone’s pet like in Fido (2006) or Shaun of the Dead (2004).  I’m sure I’m more in the unlucky category and would slowly watch myself decay like in I, Zombie: The Chronicles of Pain (1998) or Contracted (2013) or Zombie Honeymoon (2004).  Being a zombie should be at the bottom of everyone’s list.

Being a giant monster also doesn’t leave you much room either.  Godzilla rarely had a moment’s peace even when he was exiled on Monster Island and King Kong couldn’t catch a break from anyone.  Being a giant mutated insect would seem cool at first but then the government would just come after you and annihilate you (and your family) like in Them! (1954) or Tarantula (1955) or Eight Legged Freaks (2002) but then again I’m sure I’d have lots of fun as a giant human like in Attack of the 50 Foot Woman (1958) or Honey, I Blew Up the Kid (1992), but then we’re getting further and further away from horror and more into sci-fi and fantasy.

I would love to be a werewolf!  Not the whole cursed kind like in The Wolf Man (1941) or Cursed (2005) or even An American Werewolf in London (1981) but more in line with the those wolves with control over their transformations like in The Howling (1981) or the werewolves of Underworld (2003) and Dog Soldiers (2002).  I also wouldn’t mind the whole turning into a wolf kind of werewolf like in Wolf (1994) or Blood & Chocolate (2007) or Wolfen (1981); I think that would be cool as well.  There are just so many different ways in which being a wolf could be beneficial unless it comes at the time of puberty like in Teen Wolf (1985) or Ginger Snaps (2000) then I could see it being both a curse and a blessing.

The toxic or mutated monster isn’t something to joke around with.  Sure I think The Toxic Avenger (1984) is cool but then who would want to be a C.H.U.D. (1984)?  Would you want to be a toxic zombie/creature like in Nightmare City (1980) or a Septic Man (2013)?  How about something more akin to David Cronenberg’s The Fly (1986)?  Not really something to behold unless it’s in your genetic makeup like The Fly II (1989) or a science experiment mixed with nature like Swamp Thing (1982) but not to the extreme of Man-Thing (2005).  

This now brings us to the group of monsters which is just about everything else like those featured in Clive Barker’s Nightbreed (1990).  This is a menagerie of monsters of all types from all over the world who have gathered together as one big family.  You have immortals, shape-shifters, amalgamations of all types and even a few dead monsters and God-like deities mixed in and Berserkers.  Midian is where the monsters live whether it is within a hidden labyrinth under a graveyard or somewhere else.  This is a place where all monsters are equal and safe.

Now, this is a small sampling of the many monsters that inhabit our world of dreams and nightmares and I see all monsters great or small as equal (even King Kong and Godzilla).  After examining all the choices I would still stick with being a werewolf (or any were-creature for that matter).  Transforming into an animal, which represents our primal self, allows us to be closer to nature and be one with our true selves and having that ability is ultimately what we strive for in our daily lives.  The werewolf just gives us a more natural way of expressing it (as does I guess being a Swamp Thing).  Being a vampire may be more glamorous but who wants to live forever?

What type of monster are you?

"Rants & Ravings About Horror" - Week 15: “The World of Comic Books”

Week 15: “The World of Comic Books”

A friend of mine recently asked me why I dislike most of the Marvel Cinematic Universe films and I responded with the fact that most all of them are based on comic books I stopped reading almost fifteen years ago and the films are geared more towards people who currently read them rather than those who read them at the height of the comic book boom of the ‘90s (and the implosion of the ‘00s).  I still read comics, just not superhero comics and almost nothing from DC or Marvel comics who make their bread and butter from the genre.  Most of what I read will appeal more to this crowd so I decided to dedicate this week’s column to the comics that I read.

I love a good horror story and nothing gets better than George A. Romero’s return to the zombie genre with Empire of the Dead (from Marvel comics) which sees his undead ghouls inhabit the supernatural world of the vampires.  Despite having rarely ever played the video games I also love VIZ Media’s Resident Evil: The Marhawa Desire, which takes place before Resident Evil 6.  This is a guilty pleasure since I’m a huge fan of the films (both live action and animated).  Another great comic based on a previous licensed property is what IDW is doing with the Godzilla franchise.  A lot of limited series have come from the creative minds at IDW by a wide variety of creators and the results are mixed at best but I love a good monster destroying cities story whenever I can get one.  

Mike Mignola is one of the greatest comic book creators out there right now.  In addition to the Hellboy character who’s currently in Hellboy In Hell, there is the ongoing adventures of Abe Sapien, B.P.R.D.: Hell on Earth, Baltimore, Lobster Johnson, and Witchfinder.  He and his talented group of creators have crafted one of the greatest interconnected universes of characters that continue to defy expectations.  These comics meld horror, myth, legend, and the supernatural seamlessly.

Most of what I like to read is creator owned.  Tim Seeley (of Hack/Slash fame) has created one of the most original undead stories in Revival (Image Comics).  Next to Kirkman’s The Walking Dead, Seeley is one of the great creators out there because he writes for us horror fans (much like Mignola) and this is a title everyone should be reading.  Kirkman’s own Outcast (Image Comics) is slow coming but because I enjoy most all of his work I’m willing to stick it out.  Brian Wood’s The Massive (Dark Horse) is also one of my favorites.  It is one of the best reads out there and by far one of the most imaginative stories about a post-apocalyptic world. This goes double for Chuck Dixon’s return to the frozen apocalypse of WInterworld (IDW).  This is a welcomed return for Dixon as I’ve missed his own work away from the comic book majors.

I’ve taken some chances with a few new titles like The Woods (Boom! Studios) and Pretty Deadly (Image) and Black Science (Image) which interested me just by reading the synopsis on the back cover.  The Woods reminds me of The Drifting Classroom manga, which is a great thing since I loved that story and The Woods has a very promising start (I’ve only read the first collected volume so far).   Black Science mixes horror and sci-fi in a very time jumping and action way and it never stops and it’s completely unpredictable which is why I love it.  There is no set up or narration, it just starts from the word go and never stops.  Another great science based story is The Manhattan Projects (Image) which will test your ability to follow one of the most complex and entertaining Lynchian comics out there.  It doesn’t get more weird yet fascinating than this one.  I also love Kevin Eastman’s re-imagined Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (IDW) which is heavy on action and science fiction with less of the fantasy that previous versions became filled with.

That’s pretty much the bulk of what I’m trying to keep up with right now.  There are plenty of other great stories out there in addition to these but I just don’t have time to get around to everything.  Maybe you don’t either which is why I’ve presented you with a few of my favorites but if you don’t read comics then this is has all probably been a waste of time.

“Rants & Ravings About Horror" - Week 1

"A New Year's Resolution"

It’s a New Year and a new season of horror.  Or, at least a new way of looking at all things horror which is what I will be doing here at 100 Favorite Horror Films.  In the past you’ve read many reviews on this site with the occasional personal rant from me.  I don’t particularly like to rant and rave about all things horror but I’ve decided that I should impart some of my long standing knowledge and experience with horror to you faithful readers out there.

I not only watch a lot of horror films but I also read and make films about horror.  I study the history of horror & horror films and film makers and therefore I would like to share some of that knowledge.  As part of my New Year’s Resolutions you will getting more bang for your buck here at the 100 Favorite Horror Films Blog as I try to write an article every week in association with these “Rants & Ravings About Horror.”

Unfortunately, the beginning of the year (and most importantly January) is the time in which Hollywood studios dump their horror films that they either don’t have faith in or don’t believe audiences really care about since they’re still watching films from the Holiday season.  This year’s first casualty of war is The Woman in Black 2: Angel of Death.  I loved the first film but didn’t think there was any need for a sequel but like the Hollywood machine when a film is successful, a sequel is inevitable (especially when it comes to horror).  None of the stars from the original return as this film takes place decades after the original.  This being the first sequel to the new Hammer Studios I am curious to what they concocted and hope that it is at least a successful film (financially) since the studio needs a few hits in order to continue to stay alive.

Instead, the first horror film I’ve seen this New Year is The Babadook (2014), which I absolutely loved.  2014 may have been one of the worst years for theatrical horror films.  The only major standout is Oculus despite the financial success of Ouija, Annabelle, Godzilla, and The Purge: Anarchy (among a few others).  What 2014 has had were a lot of low budget indie success stories that either had a limited theatrical release or skipped the theater all together (i.e. The Sacrament,  The Battery, Only Lovers Left Alive, Proxy, and several others).  More often than not 2014 was littered with forgotten films like As Above, So Below, The Quiet Ones, Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones, The Pyramid and Horns to name a few).

The one great thing about 2015 is that it can’t be as bad as 2014 was.  There is a lot to look forward to this year in terms of horror films with Insidious: Chapter 3, The Green Inferno (moved from 2014), Crimson Peak, Poltergeist (remake),  Jurassic World, Sinister 2, Goosebumps, Paranormal Activity: Ghost Dimension, and even a possible new Friday the 13^th!  This is only a small sampling of things to come as there is also video games, books, comics, and other media geared to us horror fans of which I hope to comment on over the next year.  I hope that this gives you a new outlook on what to expect from 100 Favorite Horror Films Blog and this column “Rants & Ravings About Horror.”

Enjoy and I look forward to next week!