Hello children!
It's Halloween soon, which traditionally means there will be lots of horror films on tv. Now, I want to offer you some alternatives to Saw 28 and Paranormal Activity 13. Most of the films I mention are fairly old and a little 'different' - read on to see what I mean by that. If you click the title it will link you to the IMDB (Internet Movie DataBase) page of that film, which has lots of info on everything (the trivia section especially is my favourite part of the site). I'll be lazy and won't give a synopsis of the film, I'll just shortly talk about why I like it.
If I can get even just one of you to rent one or netflix or whatever it is you kids do to see a film nowadays, then I'll consider this a big success. If not, thanks for reading I guess. Jerk.
The Birds (1963)
I saw it again recently, maybe my third or fourth time, and I still love it. It has a slow start but overall it's very interesting...it's like a "what if?" scenario, without worrying about the why and how. It has a few great scenes, like the talk with the ornithologist in the café, the school attack and the very last scene - there's something very apocalyptic about the end of the film.
It's one of my favourite Hitchcock films (and for other fans: my favourite is Rear Window, what's yours?), also one of the first I saw by him. Of course the film is really really old and the effects look so fake, kids nowadays would probably consider it a comedy! But I say it has its charm. Even if you've already seen it, definitely worth watching again.
Yes it's almost 50 years old and horribly slow, and 'nothing happens', and it's boring compared to modern horror films. Yes. But, that atmosphere of isolation, paranoia, depression, occultism... it's so good. It's also one of those films that remains ambiguous - was Rosemary just hallucinating and paranoid about things, or were there really very strange things going on? I guess it's only a horror film if you believe the latter, otherwise it's more a psychological drama. In any case, it's a film on a lot of "best horror films ever" lists. I say it's worthy of the hype and praise my fellow weirdos bestow on it.
Together with The Wicker Man, quite possibly my favourite horror film ever. It's the reason why I don't think I'll ever go to Venice again heh. Like a lot of films on this list, the horror isn't some terrible monster or serial killer (well...), but one's own imagination and paranoia. There's a lot of symbolism and forewarnings - you know it will end badly in some way or another... The atmosphere, an important part of any film regardless of genre in my opinion, is something you only come across in 70s films for some reason. Like most of the films of this list, an acquired taste, seems like quite a few people don't 'get it'. I get it.
Random fact: Time Out magazine actually had it on number 1 in a "best British films ever" list. If I made a list like that, it would be in my top 5, but number 1 would be Trainspotting or Get Carter I think.
Random fact: Time Out magazine actually had it on number 1 in a "best British films ever" list. If I made a list like that, it would be in my top 5, but number 1 would be Trainspotting or Get Carter I think.
Like I said above, this is easily one of my favourite horror films ever. You can argue about the fact if it's a horror film or not - I admit it's really more of a mystery drama of sorts, but the atmosphere (and outcome) is definitely that of a horror film. Just like Don't look now it's more creepy and unsettling rather than truly terrifying, and again like Don't look now it has a "curiousity killed the cat" theme - which I like in practically every film I see. The film is just so creepy and alienating, even though the main character is a conservative jerk you still sympathise with him because it feels like he's entered an entirely different world, with rules he can't even begin to understand. The first scene with Summerisle - including the virgins jumping over a fire to get pregnant - is one of the highlights in that regard.
(Oh, and I did see the remake with Nic Cage - not as awful as people told me, but still very much a mess of a movie. Avoid.)
Random fact: Both Willow (Britt Ekland) and Summerisle (Christopher Lee) went on to play in a Bond film the year after this: The Man with the Golden Gun.
Yes, I'm cheating, it's not really a horror film BUT it has horror in the name so it counts hehe. And it's one of my favourite films ever. Lost count how many times I've seen it, and a few years ago I bought the soundtrack and I still sing along to it regularly while having a shower. Obviously 'Touch-a touch-a touch me' is one of my favourite songs (it's about finding out how great and addicting sex and sensuality can be). I also do a good Frank impression when singing Sweet transvestite :D But don't tell anyone! >:(
Anyway, it does have some horror elements, and it has a pretty gruesome scene involving Meat Loaf (oh! the irony of what happens to him hahaha), and besides, the entire film is stuff of nightmares for conservative people!! Though I find the ending very depressing - I always tell a friend of mine (who also loves the film) that to me the story ends in the swimming pool...they all make love to each other for all eternity, the end :)
This is actually the film that inspired me to do this update, I saw it again a couple of days ago, wondering if I still loved it as much as I did when I first saw it many many years ago. And yep. It's still one of my favourite horror films. The whole paranoid atmosphere throughout the film is incredible, very oppressive, and the ending is basically the only logical conclusion. If you are fighting against such an overwhelming force, isn't it better to just give up? Give in? It's easier than to fight, right? It's not so bad, you don't have to fight. Give in. Obey. (also see They Live later in this entry)
Random fact: it has Leonard Nimoy (Spock!) as a psychologist.
The "odd duck" on my list perhaps, together with The Shining, as I'm sure everyone has heard of this and most fans of scifi films will have certainly seen this at some point. Why do I still mention it? Well, I actually think it's an underrated film. When talking about the Alien(s) film series, everyone focuses on Aliens, which is sort of like the younger, louder and more in-your-face brother compared to Alien which is more desolate and claustrophobic...and really far more terrifying. Alien doesn't have any soldiers with fancy guns, just a towing crew terrified by this one little alien... and of course they get picked off one by one, as has been aped by a thousand scifi/horror films by now. And the last 15 minutes or so are some of the most intense and terrifying moments in cinema history.
So, do yourself a favour and see it again. Yes it's slow, but the build up is so good. Really worth seeing again. (though I'm one of the few people who seemed to quite like Prometheus (mostly because of 'David' though), so maybe you shouldn't trust my opinion!)
Yes you all know this one, and probably seen it before, but tell me: do you still remember what the title refers to? Do you still know who talks about the shining, and to whom? Actually, do you remember anything else other than the "here's Johnny!" scene?
For shame!! This is a brilliant (and brilliantly shot) film. Jack Nicholson gets the spotlight almost too much; he's both the best and worst thing about this film (let's be honest, Jack already looks naturally crazy, so playing a person that slowly goes insane isn't a big surprise - his overacting practically turns this into a comedy).
Kubrick is an artist, the cinematography here is stunning. And I know Stephen King should get the credit for the story, but Kubrick deserves a lot of credit for creating such a terrifying atmosphere through audio and video - while still leaving certain things up to the imagination.
Another 'alien invasion' film somewhat similar to Invasion of the Body Snatchers (ie alien invaders pretend to be humans), but this one is really somewhat of a black comedy as well. I quite like the underlying message, the main character finds, thanks to his special sunglasses, all sorts of hidden messages on tv and on billboards and stuff, all saying things like "obey", "no imagination", "consume". It's still quite relevant I think, you can watch a 1000 tv channels all filled with crap that doesn't involve any creativity on your part, you just sit back and watch. They do the thinking for you. You obey, conform and consume. That's what the government wants you to do, man!! They don't want any creativity or rebellious thoughts!!
(...I'm half joking but I'm also half serious in this, so if this is my last ever blog post, the aliens got me!!!!)
Random fact: the main character is played by "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, a famous wrestler.
Like 'They Live' also a John Carpenter film. And also not really a masterpiece, but very much worth watching in my opinion. Sam Neill is great in this. The story and atmosphere is very Lovecraftian, and with Lovecraft being my favourite horror writer it's hard not to enjoy this. I think madness in itself is the real horror: your imagination is your own worst enemy. As a viewer you can make up your own mind again: is he crazy or is everything really happening? Really love the ending, and I'm almost tempted to spoil it here... oh what the heck, I know you won't watch it anyway: the world is overrun by demons, anarchy everywhere, the main character ends up in the cinema, and sees... "In the Mouth of Madness", starring himself, and showing what's happened in this very film so far, exactly like you've seen it. He laughs, and laughs, and laughs. The end.
I mean, It's just...one of the best endings ever really.
I mean, It's just...one of the best endings ever really.
Well, I already mentioned 10 films which is more than enough really, but I figured I should mention at least one recent entry. The Descent is worthy of being on this list because it's terrifying. If you're even the least bit claustrophobic, you'll hate this film. Not because it's bad (well, opinions vary) but because it does such a good job of making you feel like you're in those caves. And you can't get out. And you're chased by bloodthirsty monsters. You're fucked.
Someone (maybe it was even me?) once called this "Alien in a cave", and it's very very true. It has that same feeling of dealing with an overwhelming force you can't possibly win against - the only option is escape, but the environment is against you.
Random fact: in the UK, this has a bad ending. In the US, it has a happy (sort of) ending. Bad ending is better of course, but the sequel (oh no!) departs from the happy ending. The sequel isn't that bad by the way, just more of the same.
Actually, I have quite a few more to mention: Let the right one in, for example, one of my favourite films ever, but doesn't really fit in with the others as it's more a coming of age film about bullying with some horror elements. I honestly can't express in words how much I love it - it's almost like the dark evil twin of Amélie hehe. El Orfanato is also worth mentioning as a good recent (and more traditional) horror film. I should probably also mention Pan's Labyrinth, more of a fantasy drama but definitely not something you want to show your kids. It also has that ambiguity I love so much (I say it was all in her head! Yes, I'm a pessimist). Lastly I should mention Jacob's Ladder, mostly psychological horror (which I love) with a lot of symbolism and 'read between the lines' stuff... but that and the weird structure/flow of the film works against it in a way (but it is rewarding if you 'get' it). Oh, one more then, The Thing, another John Carpenter directed film, with desolation, isolation and paranoia as key words. A classic among horror fans - from me it gets a solid 8/10.
Anyway, I've done enough talking I think. Feel free to recommend me some stuff, I think by now you'll have an idea of what kind of films I like. I'm especially looking for some non UK/US ones, and don't be afraid to recommend some 40's, 50's and 60's films!
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