"Rants & Ravings About Horror" - Week 19: “My Hate-Hate Relationship with The Rocky Horror Picture Show”

Week 19: “My Hate-Hate Relationship with The Rocky Horror Picture Show”

Anyone who has read some of my previous articles will know that I’m not a huge fan of musicals.  Other than Mary Poppins (1964) and The Muppets growing up I pretty much stayed clear away from them.  Even as an adult I’ve experienced and explored ever genre of film except really the musical for the simple fact that (for the most part) I can’t stand watching a great film that suddenly busts out into song for no apparent reason other than because it is a musical.

Now I will not deny that over the last decade I’ve come closer to appreciating the musical.  I’ve seen Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007) and The Phantom of the Opera (2004) and I actually enjoyed Repo! The Genetic Opera (2008) and The Devil’s Carnival (2012) but those are all more modern day musicals.  These films appeal more to my darker sensibilities and are made for the horror fan.  This in no way has allowed me to understand or like anything that was made before the year 2000.  Then there is the number one cult musical in history which is The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) which is based on the original stage show The Rocky Horror Show.  This is probably the worst film I’ve ever seen.

Let me rephrase that – for my entire life I’ve been under the notion that this is the worst horror musical I’ve ever seen.  This was a film I hated the first time I saw it as a child.  I didn’t understand the film and it was a musical so that’s two strikes against it.  The only problem is that it was a favorite film of my younger sister so I heard the music (but never really saw it again) a billion times especially growing up in the days of the VHS boom the fact that the film was constantly on repeat on cable stations.  Now that I’m older I’m not afraid to admit that the film was just weird and I didn’t understand it.  Putting aside the fact that I hate musicals (for the moment), The Rocky Horror Picture Show was an amalgam of cross dressing aliens, cheesy one-liners, crazy costumes and spectacularly over the top performances, so, in other words it blew my mind (as a child) to the point of a nuclear meltdown.  This being said, I never could appreciate the film like so many other people could.

The film seemed to have a life of its own to me.

Every woman I dated loved the movie and my sister constantly reminded me that I should give it another chance because I was a filmmaker and that I should be open to all genres of film.  When I went to college the musical was still the only genre I could not come to appreciate.  When I studied the films of James Whale I finally saw Show Boat (1936) and that made me want to at least start watching the films that are considered classics.   Needless to say, I FINALLY gave the musical a chance…but I still couldn’t stand The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

There was just something about this film that I just couldn’t grasp.  Oddball characters.   The oddball situation.  It had Susan Sarandon and Tim Curry as Frank-n-Furter which should have sold it to me right there.   I’m a huge fan of Curry’s but I still wasn’t a fan of this film.  The Rocky Horror Picture Show was a film that just eluded me at every turn.   The merchandising was everywhere.  Every theatre person I knew was a huge fan who had at some point been in the show.  Every Halloween (my favorite holiday of the year) some friend of mine would dress up like a character from the film.  What was the crazy allure of this weird film that just went WAY over my head?

And then it hit me.  I had never seen the film LIVE.  I had only seen it on the small screen with one other person and never more than that.  Never in a group setting.

It was a friend of mine that told me that every weekend at an art house theater in downtown Atlanta a Midnight Screening of The Rocky Horror Picture Show with live actors performed the film to audiences.  My friend was a huge fan of the film and she was dying to see the live performance so for her birthday I took her.  For one, I thought it was a great way to try and understand why this film had affected so many people and for another my date was so obsessed with the film that she dressed up like Magenta from the film (which I must say was a huge turn on).  I was the only one not in on the joke as when we arrived at the theater most of the audience was dressed up.  The theater was a mixture of people who were dressed up and those not, of all genders and all races, and of all ages.  This was a film that had crossed generations and was still being enjoyed by new audiences every day.

When we took our seats a Waitress (dressed for the part) walked through the aisles greeting everyone and informing them about what they were going to see (for the new comers).  Those who had seen the performance before already knew what was coming.  Everyone was excited and couldn’t wait for the lights to go down and the film to start.  That is when things got even weirder.  We weren’t just watching the original film on the big screen and we weren’t watching the stage version of The Rocky Horror Show, we were watching live actors perform the parts of the film as the film was playing and commenting and reacting to everything going on during the film.  It was an interactive 4-D movie going experience like I had never seen before.  It was as if the characters from the film jumped off the screen and started interacting with themselves and the audience at the same time.

This was a mind altering and mind blowing experience.  Never before had I had such an “excellent” experience.  The actors sang the songs and the audience members who knew the songs sang with them (and I realized my date knew every song in the film) and it was an exhilarating way to enjoy a musical.  Needless to say, I finally got why the film’s popularity has endured for so long.

I had heard of Midnight Movies before.  Lucio Fulci’s The Beyond (1981) and Zombie (1979), The Blues Brothers (1980),  and El Topo (1970), to name a few, but there is no other film that can rival the popularity of The Rocky Horror Picture Show.  And now I know why.

I must admit that once you’ve seen the film performed live you probably can’t ever enjoy it as much.  I not only can now appreciate the film for its contributions to the horror musical and to the Midnight Movie but I can honestly say that it’s not a half bad film.  I even managed to seek out the sequel Shock Treatment (1981) and even though it doesn’t have the charm of Rocky Horror (nor Tim Curry) it’s not an altogether forgettable film.  I can say that I can now appreciate the place that musicals play in the history and future of film and I’ve even found a way to enjoy them more because of this film.  I’m a huge fan of Repo! The Genetic Opera and see that as a companion film and I probably would’ve never given this film a chance had I not finally come around to liking Rocky Horror.

For those of you lucky enough to live somewhere where The Rocky Horror Picture Show is a Midnight Movie success I recommend you checking it out and for those of you unlucky saps out there who don’t…well, you can always start your own because I’m sure there’s enough people out there who love the film enough to give you a hand.

"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 17: “Talking About Werewolf Films”

Week 17: “Talking About Werewolf Films”

I’m a huge fan of the werewolf film.  I always have been since I first saw The Howling (1981).  Sorry for those of you that prefer An American Werewolf in London (1981) but that film has nothing over this one.  For the most part, the traditional werewolf film played with theme of man’s primal urges come to the surface in our most animal form.  Uncontrollable.   Unknowable.  Unpredictable.  That’s what made the werewolf such a formidable foe especially in films where an innocent person is turned into the werewolf and s/he must spend the rest of the film in a battle against themselves.

I’d first like to take a look at the original werewolf in which a man (or woman) is cursed and must spend the rest of the film grappling with their inner demons.  The original Universal film The Wolf Man (1941) without a doubt is one of the best.  It’s 2010 remake The Wolfman (with Benicio Del Toro) was an impressive update on the story but relied too much on CGI.  The Curse of the Werewolf (1961) is one of my favorite Hammer Studios films and it’s a shame that a sequel was never made.  Wolf (1994) is one of the more prestigious werewolf films because of its amazing cast and direction and it never disappoints.  Ginger Snaps (2000) is probably one of the most famous in recent memory not only because it features horror-loving females as the main characters but it was smart and intelligent and something audiences had never seen before.  It was so popular that they produced two equally impressive sequels Ginger Snaps 2: Unleashed (2004) and Ginger Snaps Back (2004) which took the same theme and applied it in new and different ways.  On a lesser note is the Wes Craven directed fiasco Cursed (2005) and the less said about that film the better.  I would like to mention the infamous An American Werewolf in Paris (1997) which is a personal guilty pleasure which I’m sure would’ve been better received if not for the early CGI werewolf transformations which are less than satisfactory but actors Julie Delpy and Tom Everett Scott do a marvelous job balancing the comedy with the action and horror.  I’m also a big fan of director Anthony Waller whose big budget break buried his career.

When it comes to werewolf films a lot of the times the main character is dropped into the world of the werewolf without knowing what is truly going on.  Dog Soldiers (2002) is probably one of the more recent popular ones but I’m also a fan Silver Bullitt (1985), Bad Moon (1996) and Wild Country (2005).  Many of The Howling films also delve into this like The Howling III: The Marsupials (1987) and The Howling V: The Rebirth (1989) and The Howling VI: The Freaks (1991).

Sometimes werewolves are not even werewolves but just plain old wolves such as Wolfen (1981) which is one of my all-time favorites so if you haven’t seen this film then I suggest you check it out.  There is also the tamer Ladyhawke (1985), Red Riding Hood (2011) and Blood & Chocolate (2007), the latter of which stars the always enjoyable Agnes Bruckner.  There are also the infamous Twilight Saga franchise of films which feature the larger than life wolves.  I may not enjoy the films but I have to admit that the CGI wolves got better with each subsequent films.

Now come the guilty pleasure werewolf films and films in which the werewolf doesn’t play a huge part.  I love the films where the werewolf doesn’t play a huge part like in The Monster Squad (1987) which has all the classic monsters of which the Wolf Man is just one.  This goes the same for Van Helsing (2004) in which only the Wolf Man and Frankenstein’s Monster were the only interesting characters.  I’m also a huge fan of the Underworld franchise but for the most part the werewolves were sidelined to the vampire characters, but this doesn’t mean you shouldn’t seek them out if you haven’t already seen them (there are currently four films in the franchise).  There is also the original Teen Wolf (1985), which was a ‘80s version of the Wolf Man as portrayed by Michael J. Fox in his prime as an actor.  It’s one not to miss.  The anthology film Trick ‘R Treat (2007) also had some amazing werewolves in it as does the entertainingly fun Waxwork (1988).  A film I wasn’t too fond of the werewolves but enjoy for entertainment value is Skinwalkers (2006).

There are tons of other werewolf films (and sequels) that I’ve not mentioned here mostly because I haven’t seen them all.  The more I come across, the more I realize I’ve yet to see so my list of films to watch continues to grow.  I hope that this list has a few gems you’ve not seen as well.  Werewolf films are not as glamorous as the vampire and zombie films so there will never be as many of those films but it is a genre that should be looked at from time to time.

"Rants & Ravings About Horror" - Week 16: “Giving a Little Love to the Anthology Film”

Week 16: “Giving a Little Love to the Anthology Film”

Like many horror fans we all have a love-hate relationship with the anthology film.  Films which are made up of shorter films which are sometimes interconnected but for the most part are unrelated and can stand on their own.  Since I generally like the genre I wanted to take a few moments to speak about them especially since they’ve come back in style with the popularity of the V/H/S and ABCs of Death franchises.

A lot of the times anthology films are a showcase for several directors to tackle short material as is the case with Tales From the Darkside: The Movie (1990), Two Evil Eyes (1991), Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983) and more recently V/H/S 2 (2013).  I love the idea of letting directors of all walks of life contribute to a disturbing vision of horror.  Three…Extremes (2004) had three directors from all over the world contribute or the massive undertaking of The ABCs of Death (2013) which is probably the largest collaboration of directors from all over the world assembled with 26 in all.  It was not always like this though.

Anthology films were originally a way for established directors to be able to tell multiple stories like George A. Romero’s collaboration with Stephen King in Creepshow (1982).  The name Stephen King is also associated with the anthology Cat’s Eye (1985) and Creepshow 2 (1987) and even Quicksilver Highway (1997), which included a short story from Clive Barker.  Mario Bava’s Black Sabbath (1963) is a gothic classic that showcases some of the director’s best work as is Freddie Francis’ Tales from the Crypt (1972) and Roy Ward Baker’s Vault of Horror (1973).

Many times you just can’t beat a good anthology film that just wants to have fun like Grindhouse (2007),  Nightmares (1983)and 4bia (2008).  I love a great fun anthology which is why I’m a huge fan on Dan Curtis’ Trilogy of Terror (1975) and its sequel Trilogy of Terror II (1996) which were both made for TV films but transcended its meager TV trappings.  The same can be said for John Carpenter’s Body Bags (1993) and Terror Tract (2000).  These may not have been given the luxury of being able to go to the extremes (a hindrance of broadcast cable standards) but they make up for it with strong storytelling and great performances.

Sequels also play a hand with anthology films.  It’s a rare occurrence when an anthology gets a sequel but it does happen.  Creepshow 3 (2006) is an in name only infamous sequel to the popular King-Romero collaborations but there is also 3 Extremes II (2002), ABCs of Death 2 (2014), and V/H/S: Viral (2014) in addition to the ones previously mentioned.

For the independent filmmakers there are the two George A. Romero presents Deadtime Stories films (part 1 in 2009 and part 2 in 2011) in addition to Hi-8 (Horror Independent 8) (2013), in addition to a plethora more.  I love the spirit of the independent film maker and there are a lot of short film collections out there that help get the word out on rising talents (so be on the lookout for them).

I have a lot of guilty pleasure anthology films that not only include Grindhouse and V/H/S 2 but also Tales from the Hood (1995), Torture Garden (1967), Grim Prairie Tales (1990) and The Offspring (1987).  There are also those films I think are classics like Dead of Night (1945), Kwaidan (1964) and most recently the surprise hit Trick ‘r Treat (2008).

Anthology horror films are not an easy thing to succeed at.  There are more unsuccessful films then there are successful ones and unfortunately there are more that succeed on a small level  (meaning that maybe one out of all the other stories are any good) than on the whole.  We should not forget the contributions that this genre has in the horror genre and that without it we may not have had those few amazing displays of genius.  I’ve mentioned a lot of different films and hopefully there are a few that will have you searching them out.