Archive for the ‘horror’ Category

Hail to The King, baby

Don Coscarelli, the director who brought us The Beastmaster (1982) and Phantasm (1979) is not a name that would immediately leap to mind should someone mention ‘cult classic’. Phantasm, while original and oddly engaging in its time, was hardly a cult classic. Popular, yes – and certainly better than a lot of the dross around at the end of the 70s – but I wonder how many fans of the original Phantasm have watched what is probably, nay, certainly Coscarelli’s best feature to date?

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The horror, the horror…

Missed me? Been away for a little while, thought it was only fair to allow Picturenose’s other fair contributors (well, Colin) to have a sojourn in the spotlight. Anyway, Colin’s recent excellent post, 10 Great Final Bows, put me in mind of a list of my own that I have been meaning to do for some time. Regular visitors to this site will be aware that horror is my favourite kind of film and, I hope, will also know that I have, after many, many years of subjecting myself to numerous examples of what passes for the genre, developed a certain sophistication in my appreciation of things that slither by moonlight. So, in reverse order, and to set the record straight once and for all (or, of course, until another example comes along that will neccesitate a rejig), here are the ten films that for me define what horror should be all about – your disagreements, hurrahs and personal favourites that are not on the list are of course more than welcome.

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Boxing clever

From the mind of one of the most influential sci-fi/horror authors of our time, Richard Matheson (Duel, I Am Legend, Hell House) comes The Box (2009), adapted by Richard Kelly (Donnie Darko (2001)) from Matheson’s short story, Button, Button.

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‘Is that what you love? Death?’

John Fowles’s debut novel, released in 1963, raised more than a few eyebrows and, for this reviewer, William Wyler’s 1965 film is simply one of the very best movie adaptations ever made, to be spoken of in the same breath as Rosemary’s Baby (1968) or Schindler’s List (1993), with central performances from Terence Stamp and Samantha Eggar that are nothing short of mesmerizing.

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Paradise lost

An initially inventive but ultimately disappointing ‘end-of-the-world’ fable. Picture the scene – it’s the run-up to Christmas on the outskirts of Las Vegas, and a motley crew is gathered in the Paradise Falls desert diner, owned by Bob Hanson (Dennis Quaid). First of all, there’s his son Jeep (Lucas Black), who has, against his dad’s wishes, devoted himself to eight-month pregnant Charlie (Adrianne Palicki). The kid’s not his, but he’s in love, and Hanson Senior doesn’t want to see his son get trapped into a dead-end existence, as he was.

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Just wrong, said Fred

Freddy Krueger – remember him?

As originally played by Robert Englund, Freddy was perhaps the most iconic figure of the last great horror boom, during the 1980s – first appearing in Wes Craven’s reasonably effective original (sorry, but it was hugely overrated and hasn’t actually aged well at all) A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), the vengeful child abuser and killer stalked teens’ dreams in seven (count ‘em) sequels, namely: A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 2: Freddy’s Revenge (1985) (the slightly gay one), A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987) (the not-too-bad one), A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master (1988) (the really dull one), A Nightmare on Elm Street: The Dream Child (1989) (the appalling one), Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare (1991) (it wasn’t, but it was the 3D one), Wes Craven’s New Nightmare (1994) (the one where Wes Craven returns as director and gets all ‘meta’) and, the series’ nadir (until now, that is), Freddy Vs Jason (2003) (yes, the one where our ‘hero’ goes head to head with Jason Voorhees of Friday the 13th (1980) and all its sequels fame).

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No trouble with Harry

When the chance for a chat with one of Belgium’s finest directors, Harry Kümel, presented itself during the Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival (BIFFF) 2010, you can be sure that Picturenose’s James Drew (JD) didn’t miss his opportunity to meet the man behind two of the most acclaimed cult horror/sci-fi/fantasy features ever made, Les lèvres rouges (Daughters of Darkness) (1971) and Malpertuis (The Legend of Doom House) (1971).

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Gods and monsters

Picturenose had the pleasure of meeting renowned Antwerp-born director Harry Kümel during BIFFF 2010 - a little background then on Malpertuis (The Legend of Doom House) (1971), a film which, along with Kümel’s Les lèvres rouges (Daughters of Darkness) (1971), resulted in the director quickly being labelled a master of fantasy and horror.

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‘Mother is…not quite herself today’

Yes, yes, it’s me, banging on again about yet another film you’ve almost certainly seen at least 50 times already, and explaining why you really should fork out some hard-earned to watch it again at the picture house.

But ladies and gentlemen, this is Psycho (1960) we’re talking about here – do I have to try that hard to convince you?

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Stripped to the bone

I’ve been off sick for a few days, so have had the pleasure of coughing a bit and having a small bell to ring so The Divine P can bring me food and cool towels. Well, the coughing part is certainly true. I have, however, had the opportunity to whittle down the huge pile of unseen DVDs to a more manageable size, and in the process, have finally got around to seeing Zombie Strippers! (2008). Zombies and strippers? Surely this is a film to beat all films? Well, it is a film, and no mistake.

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