Campfire Tales (1997)

Horror anthologies are one of my favorite sub-genre of horror movies.  Campfire Tales is a movie that tends to get lost in the shuffle.

Released in 1997 it features a cast that would go on to much bigger things.  Check out this cast list and imagine the budget needed to get them all together today,

Christopher Masterson,Ron Livingston, James Marsden, Amy Smart, Jacinda Barrett, Christine Taylor and Jay R. Ferguson.

The film opens with the pretty standard hook handed killer on lovers lane urban legend,  After that it focuses on a group of college students who have a car wreck,  While waiting to picked up they pass the time by sharing scary stories.

All three stories are well acted and have great atmosphere, but the second one is the one that everyone will remember.

The second story revolves around a young girl (Alex McKenna) who is left alone while her parents go out.  She has a friend online that is not quite what she seems, when the friend finds out she's alone, things get very weird.  The story is also based on a urban legend and it has some of the creepiest images you will ever see,

Campfire Tales is out of print on DVD, and has no Blu-Ray at this time.  I actually had to get a VHS to watch it again.

Hopefully somewhere will pick this up and give it a decent release.  I would love to see this get the Scream Factory treatment.

The Monster

Sometimes there are good reasons the road is less traveled.  

I finally had a chance to watch this and I loved it.  Writer/director Bryan Bertino (who also gave us The Strangers) does an amazing job on this film.  The Monster tells the story of a mother and daughter who are traveling on a deserted road when they have an accident.  It doesn't take them long to figure out they aren't alone on the road.

Never touch the roadkill 

The movie does an excellent job of being both a great family drama and an effective horror movie. You truly care about the characters, they aren't just stereotypes waiting to be killed.

The creature effects are top notch, the titular monster is very unique looking.  Also amazing is that it was done with practical effects and no CGI.  This makes the monster feel more real and menacing.

My only complaint is that I found myself screaming at the screen when the characters did certain less than intelligent things.  Although I guess that just shows how invested in the movie I really was.

Horror Board Games

A while back a good friend of mine gave me a Friday the 13th/Nightmare on Elm Street trivia game.  Since it's something that I hadn't seen before I thought I would share some photos of it.

Front of box 

More photos inside!

Underrated Horror

From time to time horror movies come along and they don't get the respect they deserve.  Sometimes this get remedied years later, but a few always take longer.  Here are two that I think deserve a second look from the horror community.

House of Wax.  Released in 2005 and although it shares a title with the 1953 Vincent Price film, that's all they have in common.  The biggest reason this movie got a bad rap was one of its stars.  Paris Hilton, while widely hated at the time, did a good job in the movie.  The films plot was actually more reminiscent of another underrated film Tourist Trap. While the movie doesn't really break any new ground, it's a well made and an effective horror film. 

 Dead Silence Under studio pressure to produce another horror film after SAW, James Wan and Leigh Whannell delivered this film.  This movie has several very creepy scenes. 

"Soon you'll be in more successful things"

Let's be honest, it's hard not to make a ventriloquist dummy creepy.  Not everything in it makes 100% sense, but it still works.  The ending is definitely a memorable one!

So take a second look at these and have an open mind when you do.  I think you'll be surprised.  

Digging up the Marrow

In the past you could be surprised by a movie, hard to believe I know.  There are whole websites devoted to nothing but movie spoilers now.  Even if you don't look at those sites the information filters down to you through Facebook or other social media sites. 

I went into "Digging Up The Marrow" knowing as little as possible.  Writer/director Adam Green has kept most of the details about the movie secret, and that's a good thing.  I could have dug around on the net and found out more, but I chose not to. It was the right choice.

The absolute best way to see this movie is to go in blind.  Just start watching and slowly get dragged into the world. 

I'm not going to give any more details here, just watch it. 

Ray Wise really knocks it out of the park in this movie.  He's always an actor you can count on to deliver a great performance, and he's at he top of his game here. 

I only have one real complaint about the movie.  The weird jazzy soundtrack at the beginning seemed out of place. 

Poltergeist Remake

It actually looks pretty good.

The Town That Dreaded Sundown (2014)

This is how you do a remake.

This is one of the best examples I've ever seen of how to remake a movie. Inside of doing a standard remake, this movie took a different route.  It acknowledges the events of the first movie and even that there was a movie made about the events. It builds on the events of the original and makes its own mythology. 

The movie has an interesting style where it cuts in shots from the original film, and it's very different from the standard slasher fare. The actors all look age appropriate too. One of my biggest pet peeves about horror movies is when they have a 35 year old playing a teenager. 

Congratulations to diretor Alfonso Gomez-Rejon and writers Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, & Earl E. Smith for delivering a great horror film. 

Digging up the Marrow

This looks good.  I know that Adam Green will be touring with the movie and I hope to catch one of the shows. 

Waxwork/Waxwork II: Lost in Time

I decided to revisit these after I came across a DVD double feature with them at Movie Gallery.  It's been years since I had seen either.  The first time I watched part one it was actually on Beta-Max, because that was the only way the unrated version was available. 

Both films are written/directed by Anthony Hickox

I always thought this movie could have worked much better as anthology film. The stories that occur inside each of the Waxwork exhibits could have been expanded slightly and made a more interesting film.

Vampire supper

The film as it is suffers from a script that doesn't let the characters develop much before they are killed off. The worst character is Sarah who is said to be a prudish virgin, suddenly develops a love for BDSM when she gets one look at the Marquis De Sade display. Another thing I found annoying is that the characters are said to be in college, yet their "college" has lockers in the hallway. I've never been to a college that did that. 

 

From never been kissed to whipped for pleasure.

The make-up effects are good, but some of the visuals at the end are laughable even by 1988 standards. The ending sets up the sequel that would follow four years later.

The sequel dropped the horror and played up the comedy angle.  It really tried hard to be like "The Evil Dead II", but it went way to far with the slapstick.  It did have a great cast though with Bruce Campbell, Marinia Sirtis, Michael Des Barres, and David Carradine. 

It's just a flesh wound.

The movies are worth seeing for a few scenes, but overall they are not that memorable. 

The babadook

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It's a rare movie that lives up to all the hype, but "The Babadook" does. Writer/director Jennifer Kent delivers one of the best horror films I've seen in a while, and certainly the best one this year. 

The story revolves around widowed mother Amelia and her son Samuel.  Samuel has the kind of behavioral problems that make me glad I don't have kids. One night before bed Samuel asks Amelia to read him a book he found on his shelf.  Once Amelia begins reading from "Mister Babadook" the problems begin.

The film is very claustrophobic with most of the action taking place in the family's house.  The look of the house and art direction in general are amazing.  The effects are refreshingly not CG, and it helps the feel of the film.

Jennifer Kent delivered a great movie and I can't wait to see more from her. 

Ouija

 I went to see this last night and I was pleasantly surprised.  "Ouija" is a definite throwback to the days when they produced horror movies that had actual budgets.  Over the last few years we've been inundated with found footage and similar low budget fare.  A low budget horror movie used to be one that was under $10 million.  Now $10 million is considered a high budget one. 

"Ouija" also reminds me of the horror films of the 1980's.  There is some actual character development and the characters generally avoid doing stupid things.  The script even manages to throw in a twist, although it won't be a shock to most horror fans. 

In general this is a very solid "B" movie that deserves more praise than it's getting. 

Dracula Untold

It's a shame when so many things are done right in a movie, that they missed the most important one,the script. 

This movie looks amazing.  The effects are top notch, the sets and costumes look great.  While Luke Evans wouldn't have been my choice for Dracula, he does a good job showing the warrior side of Dracula. 

The problem is that there are far to many plot holes for the movie to be effective.  The way that Dracula becomes a vampire makes little sense, and without spoiling it, brings up more questions later.  The death of one character who is thrown from a 1,000 foot high cliff only to land perfectly on their back and with no blood is laughable.  Another issue is that you could have made this same movie and left out the Dracula name, and it wouldn't have changed it that much. 

As the first major studio Dracula movie since Dracula 2000, I was hoping for better. 

AMC Fear Fest 2014

The schedule is up for the first week AMC's Fear Fest and it looks great!!
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Friday, October 17, 2014

• 9:00am – Graveyard Shift
• 11:00am – Silver Bullet
• 1:00pm – Thinner
• 3:00pm – Cujo
• 5:00pm – Dreamcatcher
• 8:00pm – Firestarter
• 10:30pm – Children of the Corn (1984)

Saturday, October 18, 2014

• 12:30am – Riding the Bullet
• 4:00am – Cujo
• 6:00am - Children of the Corn (1984)
• 8:00am – Tremors
• 10:00am – Tremors 2: Aftershocks
• 12:15pm – Tremors 3: Back to Perfection
• 2:45pm – Tremors 4: The Legend Begins
• 5:15pm – Tremors
• 7:15pm – Tremors 2: Aftershocks
• 9:30pm – Tremors 3: Back to Perfection

Sunday, October 19, 2014

• 12:00am – Tremors 4: The Legend Begins
• 2:30am – Creation of the Humanoids
• 4:00am – Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh
• 6:00am – The Howling
• 8:00am – Pumpkinhead
• 10:00am – Child’s Play 2
• 12:00pm – Child’s Play 3
• 2:00pm – Bride of Chucky
• 4:00pm – Seed of Chucky

Monday, October 20, 2014

• 7:00am – Friday the 13th (1980)
• 9:00am – Friday the 13th, Part 2
• 11:00am – Friday the 13th – Part III
• 1:00pm – Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter
• 3:00pm – Friday the 13th (1980)
• 5:00pm – Friday the 13th, Part 2
• 7:00pm – Friday the 13th – Part III
• 9:00pm – Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter
• 11:00pm – Friday the 13th – A New Beginning

Tuesday, October 21, 2014

• 1:00am – Friday the 13th, Part VI: Jason Lives
• 3:00am – War of the Colossal Beast
• 7:00am – Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter
• 9:00am – Friday the 13th – A New Beginning
• 11:00am – Friday the 13th, Part VI: Jason Lives
• 1:00pm – Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan
• 3:15pm – Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday
• 5:15pm – Jazon X
• 7:15pm – Friday the 13th (2009)
• 9:15pm – Friday the 13th (1980)
• 11:15pm – Friday the 13th, Part 2

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

• 1:15am – Friday the 13th – Part III
• 3:15am – Violent Midnight
• 3:30am – Corridors of Blood
• 3:45am – Invasion of the Neptune Men
• 7:00am – Slaughter of the Vampires
• 7:15am – Invasion of the Neptune Men
• 7:30am – How to Make a Monster
• 7:45am – The Funhouse
• 10:00am – Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare
• 12:00pm – The Fog
• 2:00pm – Survival of the Dead
• 4:00pm – Land of the Dead
• 6:00pm – Lake Placid
• 8:00pm – House on Haunted Hill
• 10:00pm – Return to House on Haunted Hill
• 11:45pm – An American Werewolf in Paris

Thursday, October 23, 2014

• 2:00am – Puppet Master
• 7:00am – Eight Legged Freaks
• 9:30am – Lake Placid
• 11:30am – Cujo
• 1:30pm – I Know What You Did Last Summer
• 4:00pm – Thirteen Ghosts
• 6:00pm – A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010)
• 8:00pm – Ghost Ship
• 10:00pm – Scream

Friday, October 24, 2014

• 12:30am – Deep Blue Seas
• 7:00am – Scream 3
• 9:30am – Ghost Ship
• 11:30am – Firestarter
• 2:00pm – The Omen (1976)
• 4:30pm – Damien: Omen II
• 7:00pm – Omen III: The Final Conflict
• 11:30pm – Hide and Seek

Saturday, October 25, 2014

• 4:00am – Graveyard Shift
• 6:00am – Christine
• 8:00am – Friday the 13th (2009)
• 10:00am – A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010)
• 12:00pm – Child’s Play 2
• 2:00pm – Child’ Play 3
• 4:00pm – Bride of Chucky
• 6:00pm – Seed of Chucky
• 8:00pm – Child’s Play 2
• 10:00pm – Child’s Play 3

Doll Movies

With "Annabelle" coming out today I thought I would bring up some of my favorite "evil doll" movies.

Despite coming from James Wan and  Leigh Whannell this movie just didn't find an audience when it was released.  It's found a following now on video and deservedly so.  

If this doesn't haunt your dreams I don't know what will.

Space cop Brick Bardo (yes really) comes to earth and gets reduced to 13 inches.  Somehow he still finds a way  to fight crime.  This movie came out in the era when Tim Thomerson starred in almost every direct to video movie.  It's goofy fun and Thomerson takes it way more seriously than it deserves.

This is movie that was a staple of video stores in the 80's. This was one of the first movies I rented on my own.   It was a good film and I'm shocked it never got a sequel.  It was certainly a big enough hit.  

Tourist Trap

 For years I had searched for this movie, the only problem was that I didn't know it's name.  I remembered seeing it as kid while I was on vacation with my family.  I was 10 or 11 and I caught it late night while my parents were sleeping.  Years later I looked for it, but I had only vague memories of it and I couldn't remember who was in it.  This summer I was describing to a friend and she managed find the name, for that I thank you Jackie!  In a strange twist of fate I won a copy on Blu-Ray from Dread Central the very next week. 

The plot is a pretty standard, a group of friends gets stranded in the middle of nowhere and wind up in clutches of a killer.  What elevates this above other similar movies is it's atmosphere.  Robert Burns, who was the art director on "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre", handled both art direction and the majority of the special effects. He does an amazing job making the film look creepy and disturbing. 

Written and directed by David Schmoeller it was based on his student thesis film.  Schmoeller would later go on to write and direct "The Puppet Master" which spawned a whole franchise. 

Chuck Connors stars as Slausen the owner titular Tourist Trap

I don't want to spoil anymore of the plot, but it takes some interesting turns.  I guess the best way to describe the plot is a mixture of elements from "The Hills Have Eyes"and "Carrie".  This sounds odd, but it really works in the movie. 

Whatever he's selling, I'm not buying. 

Do yourself a favor this Halloween and check this forgotten gem out. 

As Above So Below

Good things rarely happen in tombs. 

I finally caught this film tonight and I was pleasantly surprised.  I'm not sure why it hasn't gotten better reviews, it's a very effective horror movie. 

The movie tells the story of a woman ( Perdita Weeks) who takes a group to the catacombs under Paris in search of the Philosopher's Stone.

Things start to go bad almost immediately, and then get even worse.  I won't spoil anything by saying what it is that they encounter, but it was very different than I expected.

The movie does a great job conveying the claustrophobic feelings of the group. There were a few scenes where you could almost feel the walls closing in on you. 

Some people have complained about the "found footage" angle of it.  I can honestly say this is one film where that didn't bother me.  By outfitting everyone in the group with a camera, we weren't limited to one POV.  Before anyone asks, yes there is a reason that all the footage is edited together. 

Check this movie out, and do it in the theater. This is a film that benefits from being seen with an audience.

Willow Creek

This reminds me of "In the Hills, the cities" by Clive Barker

Found footage, Bigfoot and Bobcat Goldthwait are an unlikely mix for a horror movie.  I went in to this not convinced it would work.  Bobcat is a talented filmmaker but I wasn't sure he could pull this off.  My doubts proved to unfounded however. 

A bad night for camping.

Alexie Gilmore and Bryce Johnson star as Kelly and Jim who go out to the woods to try and catch some footage of Bigfoot.  They wind up getting more than they bargained for. 

The first half of this movie is very bright, cheery and mostly played for laughs.  It was almost like a Christopher Guest film.  One night falls, the movie really ups the scares and tension level.  After watching this film it's safe to say I'll never go Bigfoot hunting, 

My only problem with the movie is that end is one of the most WTF things I've ever seen, and there's no real explanation.  I would have liked a few more minutes to wrap things up. 

Almost Human

In horror movies nothing good ever happens in the woods.

I first heard about this movie on The Movie Crypt last year.  It sounded interesting and once it was available on VOD, I decided to check it out.  

Writer/director Joe Begos does a great job of capturing the feel of an 80's horror movie.  This is the type of movie my friends I would rent when I was in high school.  It's gritty, tense and disturbing, all of which I mean in a good way.  

The most amazing thing about this movie is that the whole thing was made for $50,000.  Which is proof that story and talent are way more important that budget.  

The Blu-Ray will be released on June 17th and I'm anxious to hear the commentary and see the behind the scenes footage.

If you're looking for an old school VHS horror movie, this is it. 

Gateway Horror Film

I was just wondering what was the first movie you saw that got you interested in horror?  

Post your answers in the comments please.

The Sacrament

A fashion photographer is traveling to meet his sister at Eden Parish. Once there, his friends begin to film interviews with the Eden Parish inhabitants, all of whom speak of the commune in glowing terms. However, they soon discover that there is a sinister edge to the commune that belies the seemingly peaceful setting.-From IMDB

I'm generally not a fan of the found footage genre, it usually makes the movie seem low budget, and the shaky camera work annoys me.  The Sacrament rises far above the usual found footage fare.

L-R Gene Jones, AJ Bowen, Joe Swanberg

To begin with the concept makes sense within the story.  The characters are making a documentary, so having the film be shot POV makes sense.  Since the characters are professional journalists the movie is well lit and the camera work mostly stable. 

All the actors do a great job, but Gene Jones as "Father" steals the show. 

Nope, not creepy at all. 

Jones just exudes a dangerous calm.  He's the kind of guy who scares you without ever raising his voice. 

This is a horror where the only monster are the people who will do anything for their faith and their father.  The Sacrament gets under your skin and stays there.