Let There Be Fright: The "(31) Days Later" 2!!

Monday, October 12, 2009

The "(31) Days Later" 2!!

More of last years reviews, again from MySpace (gotta cut and paste the web addresses on IMBD). Enjoy!

Alright all you little drooling, "ipod-people," readers of mine! Here comes this weeks (whatever.) muscle-tensing, blood vessel-blowing, "What the Shit!?"-filled entry of confusion and terror!

7th - Monster Dog - 1984. Ok. Alice Cooper in a horror film. An idea straight from heaven, right? Well, more likely from hell (and not in a "RAWK!" kind of way), this was hard to watch. It opens up with a tasty, Alice music vid, but goes down hill fast. There's way too much going on, (80's slasher, spaghetti western, Scooby-Doo episode, new-wave music video, even a few very brief shouts to older, better films.) and it's jumbled. The bad over-dub (not even Alice's voice!?!) and crappy effects don't help this fucking mess, not to mention the fact that I've seen better acting on episodes of The New Mickey Mouse Club. Verdict: Uhmmm.. , Nah. Stick to Alice's radio show. If you're stoned (Highly recommended [get it? sorry.]) and it's on TV, go 'head but if you're renting, get something else. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087616/

8th - The Terror - 1963. Corman! and Karloff! and Jack! Oh My! This is a gem. Right off the bat, the artistic little animated opening gives it that old "Saturday afternoon serial" appeal. Then it 1-ups with the young Jack Nicholson and the classic Boris Karloff. Together they bridge the generation gap, effectively preserving classic movie monster cinema while ushering it into 60's, where Jack will eventually stake his claim. As usual, Nicholson's delivery is de-lish, as he turns simple dialogue into something of his own (but listen for a quirky, now funny, "village inn" line). Plus, dude, Dick Miller From Gremlins! An original score rounds this flick out to a classic "The End" finish you can smile at. Oh, yeah, and Coppola did some of the directing. Anyway, Watch it! http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0057569/

9th - Horror Express - 1972.
CL - "Yo, Peetah, with the 9-millimeetah! Sup' dawg!"
PC - "Lil' Chris! My nyuckle. What it- do!?"
CL - "Nahht-in', Jis-chillin.' Choo gon' do today?"
PC - "Pshhh! Ahh ow-know. Sup witchoo?"
CL - "Wanna kill some mark-ass rebels an' Jedi n' shit?"
PC - "Naw, plenty a time to do dem shits later. What else?"
CL - "Well, how 'bout we fuck around on this old-ass sleeper train with some hottie n' gang'a wacky-ass cats. That big bald, dum-dum eatin' bast'ad swiggin' vodka with a buncha ruskies an' a crazy-ass red-eyed monster runnin' 'round n' shit. Grips of ping-pong eyed muh-fuckas popin' up like colla's all ovah the place an' all that ol' bullshit! It'll be like that movie Clue, only all FFFuckt-up! Kid!"
PC - "OH Snap?! Yeah wooord. That sounds Dope!"
CL - "Woooooord, son."

CG - "Maaan, ya'll 'r on that darkside bullshit." http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0068713/

10th - Scream and Scream Again - 1970. Well. The first half sets up 3 or 4 separate plot lines and proceeds to tangle them thoroughly. Luckily, there're some cool London club scenes, complete with a band that sings the title track, to keep us interested. The second half uses a swingin' soundtrack, some pretty birds, a car chase and Vincent Price to tie it all together and set up a twist ending that makes it all worth it. Have fun, watch with a roommate and joke about the whole movie, and enjoy Christopher Lee and Price, their screen time is rationed. This one's a take it or leave it.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0064949/

11th - The Blob - 1958. Well gosh mister, this movie is "keen!" Lots of fun to watch, with unexpectedly good writing, dialogue and acting. The bubble-gum sock-hop theme (by Burt Eff-ing Bacharach!), sets the "Nick at Night" mood. And the Blob!, Aagh! The Blob looks great! The effects are really, . . well, effective! Holding water today, I can only imagine how sweet they must have looked in '58. But even all of that "stuff" isn't the best part of this classic. One thing that makes a classic a Classic is it's influence and while watching, I was noticing references left and right (just ask, my e-mail is listed below). When Rebel Without a Cause was released 3 years prior to this, it re-wrote the norm, and so it's the most dominant influence here, but that's what's great about Horror, it's an easier-to-swallow zietgeist (wiki it). Plus, (Spoiler Alert! but I gotta throw this in,) dig this ending: "They're flying it to the Arctic. It's not dead is it? No, it's not. Just frozen. I don't think it can be killed, but at least we've got it stopped. Yeah, as long as the Arctic stays cold." Ok, first google "zietgeist," then, watch this!
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0051418/

More to come! . .

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History

I have a serious VHS library that I continue to grow and nurture. And, where videos are rarely more than 2 dollars nowadays and often times free, I collect them faster than I watch them. So, I created this annual marathon to get some of these lovely films watched. The event has turned out to be something to look forward to and I usually hold out on watching horror movies throughout the year, eagerly waiting for October. Once October hits I’m excited to watch all the movies I’ve saved up all year and I end up watching some amazing films in the most appropriate month. I look forward to it every year and I always have something to do on Halloween.

The first year I attempted the feat was 2007. I’d just moved to Austin and needed cheap entertainment. But, I’d set a few rules about the marathon that year, and along with trying to keep up a blog of reviews of the movies I was watching (back then, it was on my MySpace account), I didn’t make it to 31. On Halloween I had 7 movies to watch, but I had a great time. Some of the reviews from the first year are in the archives, below.

In 2008, I decided to give up on the reviews all together (though, because I’m always jotting something down, there are probably notes on the movies, in a notebook somewhere) and to hold only 1 rule: the movie had to be from my own collection. This made for regular outings to all the local second-hand shops throughout the month. Again, I didn’t reach 31 but I watched some great movies.

In 2009, I had a new apartment, a new tiny bedroom and a new reason to hole up and stay up late and watch scary movies all month long. In an attempt to reach that 31st viewing by Halloween, I ditched the idea of rules all together, meaning I could go to the theater, rent or watch my own videos, so long as they were thematic and within the month of October. I did do a little blogging and those reviews are listed by title, in the archives. Another important part of this year’s marathon is that my boss let me use the theater in the back of the coffeeshop I worked at, to close my marathon on the big screen with a handful of friends. The last movie I watched was the German film Dod sno (“Dead Snow”: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1278340/ )

2010 found me in my own apartment, living with no roommates, for the first time in my life. (I highly recommend this to anyone.) Rap records at 4am, minimal clothing, a self-structured cleaning schedule, and . . . horror movies at anytime, in any condition (especially all October long). It also marked the year that my boss let me go a step farther and host a 12 hour VHS marathon in the back theater, open and free to the public, as part of my own month-long marathon. It was a blast, a lot of people saw some amazing films and at the end I was invited to interview for a documentary called “Rewind This” by some local Austin film-makers. (You can view a trailer and donate to the effort here: http://www.rewindthismovie.com/ ) Alas, I only made it to 23 movies. I did jot some notes, but only ended up making a list to post in my notes on my Facebook account, Which I’ve posted. Anyway, something to reach for next year, no?

2011. Okay. This is the 5th year I’ve run this lovely gauntlet. Let’s get serious. No rules, notes only ticky-tacked in my phone, I’m gonna make it this year. So, despite leaving to Chicago for 4 days in the middle, I hit the ground running (I was able to kick off with a 4-movie Zombie-thon at the coffeeshop, complete with silk-screened fliers done by a friend, on her coffee table), doubled up on many days to give some breathing room, and . . . on Halloween, I watched The Texas Chainsaw Massacre as the sun came up, the 31st movie I watched this year. I made it. 31 movies in 31 days.

2012 finds me ready and willing. Thankful that this lovely month is upon us. While I can nitpick about details over last year, the goal this year is to see if I can post a few words about each film, regularly as I watch. Time will tell. Regardless, this event is now dear to my heart, and I hope you make the most of any of it as well, be it watching along, or just reading the rants and opinions of my ever-increasing palate for scary movies, adding your own 2 cents at will. Thanks for reading and Happy October! Now. . . .

Let there be fright!

Let There Be Fright

Monday, October 12, 2009

The "(31) Days Later" 2!!

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