Night of the Demons 1988

I have "Fangoria" to thank for my recent viewing of Night of the Demons from 1988. They did an article about the recent remake. The remake looks pretty terrible, but the original I had to see for the lipstick scene alone. I won't spoil it, but if let me just tell you it involves a possessed Linnea Quigley, some pink lipstick, and her boob. It is really the most bizarro thing I have seen in a while. It pretty much saves what is otherwise a pretty boring moving. 10 friends hold a Halloween party in the haunted "Hull House." These people are the most unappealing group of assholes I have ever seen on screen. No doubt they were such douche bags that they didn't get invited to any other Halloween parties. Anyway, they hold a seance, as you do, and then start to turn into Demons. I was literally rooting for everyone to die.

The Crazies

The Crazies has a "been there, done that" feel to it (duh, it's a remake.) Confession: I have never seen the Romero original. I know, bad horror geek. It's on the list, really.


This version (produced by Romero) stars Timothy Olyphant and Radha Mitchell (love her) as David and Judy Dutton, Sheriff and Doc of small town Ogden Marsh, Iowa. During a baseball game, Sheriff Dutton kills a local who walked unto the field with a shotgun. Thinking the local was drunk, Dutton moves on, until another local kills his wife and son by setting their house on fire. Later, Dutton and his Deputy (Joe Anderson, who I have never heard of but is really good here) discover the wreckage of a plane in a local bog. It doesn't take long for them to put two and two together when all the locals begin to go bat-shit crazy and the military moves in to "secure" the town.

The characters are likable and there are a few good scares here. The scene in the car wash is a memorable one. The townsfolk, once they turn "crazy," don't become Zombies per Se, but they do like killin'. The disease has a 48 hour incubation period, so you just know one of the main characters is going to get it and probably die heroically to save the others. This isn't a spoiler. You can see this coming a mile a way.

Not a Zombie.

If you have some time to kill and enough money for a matinee, you could do a whole lot worse than The Crazies. But it's really a "see it and forget about it" type of film. Except, next time you are in a car wash.

The House of the Devil

The House of the Devil, directed by Cabin Fever 2 auteur Ti West is an old school, slow burn suspense/horror hybrid that is sure to appeal to genre fans. I loved it because it is evident that West has a deep love and respect for the genre, and rather than being some Scream type tongue-in-cheek flick, House is a loving tribute AND a damn good stand-alone horror film.

Although a date is never given, it is obvious by the feathered hair and Walkmans that this film is set in the 80's. A young college student, Samantha, is desperate to move into an apartment of her own. She finds one that is perfect (the landlady is Dee Wallace!) but she cannot afford the down payment. Desperate, she takes a "babysitting" job in a spooky, isolated house. The "parents," the Ulmans, played by Tom Noonan and Mary Woronov, offer Samantha a ridiculous amount of money to watch "mother" for the evening. Samantha accepts, and as you would expect, things go downhill from there.

If you like your horror films action packed and fast paced, House of the Devil is not for you. West builds up the suspense slowly. Very, very slowly. But it is worth it. Smartly, he gives you a shocking jolt near the beginning of the film, a hint of the horrors to come. Jocelin Donahue is great as the girl in peril/final girl/Laurie Strode hero/victim. Tom Noonan nails his role as Mr. Ulman. He is slightly charming but socially awkward, like many a Stanford Professor round my parts. Watching his performance I couldn't help thinking, "God, I've met this guy. I bet he is a member of the Hoover Institute." Yes, he is that scary.

I am looking forward to Ti West's next film. I haven't seen Cabin Fever 2 yet, but it is on my list. And I think Tom Noonan should just be in every film.

On an unrelated note, I was very happy that the Oscars played "tribute" to the horror genre last night (the inclusion of The Twilight films and Edward Scissorhands notwithstanding). The best part was Martin and Baldwin's Paranormal Activity parody. I can't find a good version on the net, but it is worth checking out. And congratulations to Katherine "Near Dark" Bigelow! Not only are you the first woman to win best director, you also beat your ex-husband! That has got to feel good!

The results are in....

The results for the 2nd annual Cyber-Horror awards are in! Check them out at: http://thevaultofhorror.blogspot.com/2010/03/vault-of-horror-presents-2nd-annual.html
and:
http://cyberhorrorawards.blogspot.com/
Thanks to B-Sol at The Vault of Horror for putting this together. Trick or Treat was a film I bought without seeing it first on the advice of the Horror Blogging community..it turned out to be one of my favorite films of the year: a love story, so to speak, to Halloween and all things that go bump in the night. Check it out if you haven't already.

The Edge of Horror: Rashomon 1950

I find it very hard to write about the films of Akira Kurosawa. Words do not do justice. The first film of his that I saw was Dreams, which was one of his last. Dreams was a film that I thought was beautiful when I first saw it, but I really didn't understand it until I was much older. Watching it as an adult I find the film terrifying (the majority of the dreams have an element of horror in them), melancholy, visually dazzling and strangely hopeful. Many of the same things can be said about his 1950 masterpiece, Rashomon.

The plot of Rashomon is well known (and much copied). A rape and murder take place in the woods, and 4 witnesses (including the dead mean speaking through a Medium) tell their conflicting stories about what really happened. Each version contains an element of truth, but that truth is twisted to satisfy the teller's needs. A Priest, a Woodcutter, and a Commoner debate the accounts under the gate to the city of Rashomon. Each man draws his own conclusions about human nature from the tales. The film ends on a sad but hopeful note.

Much has been written about the incredible cinematography by Kazuo Miyagawa. It was not until I saw Rashomon on the big screen that I was really able to appreciate and marvel at what Kurosawa and Miyagawa had done. The natural light, filtered through the trees of the forest, create a surreal setting for the horrific events that take place in the grove. The light, the breeze, the dazzling sun puts you in the grove with the participants. You feel the wind brush past you, and you squint with the characters as they look up into the sky. May God strike me down for saying this, but in a way it reminded me of the scenes in the woods during Last House on the Left. So familiar yet so horrifying. You can easily imagine yourself there.

As a final thought, haunting my dreams tonight will be the Medium, seen above, who conveys the dead man's tale. Through body language and tone of voice alone she conveys the wrath and rage of the wronged Samurai. If I were the Priest and the Woodcutter sitting behind her I would have hightailed it out of there the minute she let out her first scream.

If you can, see Rashomon, or any Kurosawa film, on the big screen. And if you haven't seen one in years, I recommend watching some again. I find new things in his films with every viewing.

Sorry Mr. Kinski, my next obsession is....

Going to see Rashomon at the Stanford Theater tonight. Whenever I see a Kurosawa film starring Toshiro Mifune I become a little obsessed. This could be a regular segment on "Zombies are Magic": Dead guys I love. Here is a partial list:

• Klaus Kinski (duh)
• Toshiro Mifune
• Colin Clive
• Joseph Cotton
• Gregory Peck
• Bogart
• Karloff
• Lon Chaney (Sr and Jr)
• David Naughton (he's still alive!! I saw him last night on Big Love!)
• Ivor Novello

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