Celebrating My 50th With 50 Favorites - Part 2

Some really great films in this set, folks.

40. Zombi 2 (aka Zombie) (1979)

When Lucio Fulci makes a film, you just have to watch - because he's going to do something bonkers every time.  In Zombi 2, that would be the famous shark vs. zombie underwater scene.  Folks, that is something you are not going to see every day, I guarantee it. And with Fulci, you're bound to see some serious eye gore, and this film is no exception. The story evolves around a woman's search for her missing father which takes her to a mysterious Carribean island that is cursed by voodoo and has a scientist bound and determined to figure out why the island's residents are rising from the dead.  With a riveting score from Fulci fave Fabio Frizzi, Zombi 2 is a rollicking good time.

39. Carnival of Souls (1962)

This fantastic film was way ahead of its time.  Starring Candace Hilligoss as Mary, a young woman who is the sole survivor of a horrific car crash that changes the course of her destiny.  After the accident, Mary drives to Utah, where she has accepted a position as a church organist. On the way, she is stalked by a malicious ghoul who seems to coincide with her passing a large abandoned pavillion.  In her new town, she can't seem to escape the ghoul, who shows up unexpectedly over and over again. She also is having trouble relating to those around her - it seems no one even notices her at times.  With a chilling organ soundtrack and a surreal, mesmerizing atmosphere, Carnival of Souls is a shudder-inducing thrill ride.

38. The Innocents (1960)

Deborah Kerr shines in this wonderfully spooky adaption of Henry James' classic story, The Turn of the Screw.  It's a classic British ghost story with all the twists and turns you'd expect.  Kerr stars as Miss Giddons, a woman tasked with being the governess to two children, Flora and Miles.  At first, all seems fine, but as time goes on, Miss Giddons begins to notice something is a little "off" with the children - they are acting just a little too mature for their own good. This, along with dark hallways, apparitions and hearing strange noises, the house is giving all the signs of a classic haunting..but just who is haunting the house and why is the reason this film stands far and above other ghost stories.  The lullaby that Flora sings over and over again, Oh Willow Waly, is as haunting as the film itself.  The Innocents is not to be missed.

37. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)

A gritty and fearless film shot on location, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is not the gory exploitation film that many make it out to be.  There is very little blood or gore and actually relies on realism and shock to scare the pants off its audience.  Sally Hardesty (Marilyn Burns), her crippled brother Franklin, and a few other friends travel to the family cemetery to check on the plots after hearing of grave robbing going on.  What they run into is the demented Sawyer family with our pal, Leatherface (Gunnar Hansen).  I've always loved the audacious way in which the Sawyers are portrayed.  They make me think twice before stopping in any small, podunk town with no stoplights and no claim to fame.  Wait.....I think I already live there....

36. Suspiria (1977)

Dario Argento has a way with color and design in a film that for me, cannot be replicated.  With a new take on this classic coming this year, it's time to be reverent to the original, one of my favorite Argento films.
Susie Bannion (Jessica Harper) is an American studying ballet abroad at a famous German Dance school. She has a rocky start, and doesn't seem to be making friends too quickly.  Worse yet, there appears to be something mysterious going on - rooms they are not allowed to enter, students disappearing, maggots falling from the ceiling, fainting spells she cannot explain...and did someone mention the word "witch"?  Suspiria is an exercise in restrained terror.  And the technicolor production makes it one of the most gorgeous films I've ever seen.  How great that it's scary too!

35. Halloween (1978)

What can be said about Halloween that hasn't already been said?  It's just pure classic John Carpenter, and I love it.  So do millions of other horror fans - and even folks who only watch scary movies at the end of October are familiar with this one, so mentioning the plot seems like a moot point. Michael Myers kills his sister, goes to a mental hospital, then escapes and returns to the scene of the crime to wreak havoc on the town and its unsuspecting teenage residents, including Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis).  For a very long time, this was my favorite horror film.  I still love it, but perhaps I just wore it out.  I'm anxious to check out the new 2018 sequel, it looks like loads of fun.  Halloween is impeccably shot, has unparalleled suspense, and is the model for which all films in the slasher genre should be modeled.  It's flat-out perfect.

34. The House That Dripped Blood (1971)

From the house of Amicus, this British anthology film stars horror heavyweights Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee, which should be all I need say at this point.  However.., four segments tell the tales of a writer plagued by visions of his character, a murderer who is driving him mad; a waxwork museum holds secrets that two old friends may regret finding out; a governess/teacher feels the father of her student is cold and distant from his child...for good reason; and a washed up actor finds a cape in an antique store that looks perfect for his current vampire role.  All these stories relate due to the house they were all residents of at one time or another....the house that dripped blood!! Mwauh ha ha!!

33. April Fool's Day (1986)

A fun and surprising entry into the never ending 80's slasher genre, April Fool's Day is just a delight! Deborah Foreman plays Muffy, a rich-bitch college student hosting a weekend of fun at her parent's lake house. Her friends are a diverse group of unassuming tricksters that either love or loathe the April Fool's themed party unfolding at the house.  The finale of this one is what separates it from all the other 80's clones.  Amy Steel as Kit is the icing on this cake, as she always elevates a movie no matter what the subject matter. But in truth, casting is good all the way around and you really feel like these people could be your friends.  Which is why you get upset when they start getting picked off one by one.

32. Lake Mungo (2008)

At once unsettling, Lake Mungo is an Australian low-budget film I discovered purely by accident and now am championing to anyone that will listen.  Shot in mockumentary style, we hear the story of Alice Palmer and her family, who are mourning her disappearance and supposed drowning at a family picnic at the lake. As the family grieves and tells their story, it becomes apparent that there is more going on than meets the eye.  Is Alice haunting the family home?  Is she still alive?  I can only say that this movie scared the shit out of me the first time I saw it, and the second time I watched it I saw SO MUCH MORE.  I have been haunted by this one ever since.  It's affecting, creepy and just downright unnerving.  I don't think I need say more.  Just watch it.

31. My Bloody Valentine (1981)

One of my most beloved slasher films, MBV is a joy to behold in all its campiness.  Though it is extremely dated, it's still relatively effective and has the superb setting of an underground mine. Now what could be scarier than that, I ask you?  Years ago, Harry Warden was the sole survivor of a mine explosion due to methane gas levels not being checked because the bosses were at a Valentines party. Harry was stuck underground for weeks, resorting to cannibalism to survive and going insane in the process.  Institutionalized for twenty years, he of course escapes and comes back to take his revenge on the town and their Valentine's day party.  It has some good scares, some decent gore, and horrible acting.  And it's another of the famous "holiday" horrors.  You know you love it, just like I do.

WiHM: Final Girl Week, Day 7

For our last day of Final Girls, we've chosen two most excellent examples.  The first is an all-time classic and probably one of the most famous final girls in film.  The second is another formidable final girl who won't back down, even when facing hell on earth.
So here you have it: our "final" Final Girls.

Marie's pick:

LAURIE STRODE (Halloween series)

This one is an obvious necessity, as Jamie Lee Curtis is the Scream Queen. She’s been the Final Girl in a slew of films, but I am going to highlight her perfomance in John Carpenter’s 1978 classic slasher, Halloween, as that is what started it all.

Jamie plays Laurie, a kind, responsible, bibliophile who has little interest in boys, unlike her two friends. On Halloween night she lands the babysitting gig from Hell as she is originally supposed to look after one little tyke, but ends up looking after two and covering everyone’s ass while they go get laid. 

What these poor teenagers don’t know is that there is a psychopath on the loose, the infamous Michael Myers, who has just escaped from being institutionalized since he was a child from murdering his sister on, oh yes, Halloween.

Jamie Lee Curtis stole all of our horror hearts as Laurie Strode; she is so likeable, charming, and real. While you might not have cared so much what happened to her amorous friends (you might have even laughed, you sick bastard) you were definitely rooting for Laurie.

 And like a true Final Girl she not only survives the first installment in the franchise, she’s back for the second one, cameos (voice only) in Halloween III, stars in H20, and reappears in Halloween: Resurrection.

*A few other slashers you can see her doin’ her thing in are Prom Night, Terror Train, and John Carpenter’s The Fog.

Christine's pick:

KIRSTY COTTON (Hellraiser series)

Clive Barker's Hellraiser is such an excellent film, so emphatically different than any other horror movie of its (or any) time, and its main protagonist - Kirsty Cotton - is as strong-willed and determined as a final girl can be.  She stands down demons from the far side of hell, as well as the ones in her own family.

When Kirsty goes to visit her dad and step-mother after they move into an old family home, she senses something is amiss.  She'd be right, as she soon discovers her step-mother Julia is bringing strange men to the house when her father is out.

Thinking Julia is cheating on her dad, she sets out to catch her in the act.  What she witnesses instead is Julia murdering the unsuspecting house guest and giving the body to Kirsty's estranged uncle, who has been spending time in an alternate plane ruled by the Cenobites, a group of demons (or angels, as they say) who dabble in hedonistic pleasure combined with excruciating pain. Somehow Frank escaped their clutches, and isn't anxious to go back.

But when Kristy gets her hand on the infamous puzzle box and summons the demons, they want her instead. She bargains with their leader, Pinhead, who in turn allows her to live after she negotiates to exchange her freedom for the return of Frank to the Cenobites.

What is most impressive about Kirsty is that she is dealing with uncharted territory here.  This is not your average killer chasing kids movie, and she adapts well - able to figure out the mysteries of the puzzle box and determine how to best defeat the hideous demons. She doesn't whimper and skulk away. She plays with the puzzle box until she learns how to do it, and until she learns how to send the Cenobites back to their own world.

Really original, thought provoking (and often disturbing), Hellraiser has, in Kirsty, one of the most bad-ass, won't-turn-back final girls in horror!        

PJ Soles Blogathon: I TOTALLY had to take part!

When I heard that BJ-C of Day of the Woman was having a P.J. Soles Blogathon, I knew I had to get in on that. 
Soles' role as Lynda van der Klok in one of my favorite films, Halloween (1978), is so iconic - I had to give it some due.  Likewise, her bitchy Norma Watson in 1976's Carrie really trips my hate-o-meter. 
Soles, while having acted in dozens of other films, graciously seems to embrace her cult status in these two horror classics by attending conventions and making her legions of fans happy. 

You know the sign of a great actor?  When they can make you love and hate them on equal grounds. While I love her over-sexed, cheerleading obnoxiousness in Halloween, I have equal amounts of hate for her catty, bullying tomboy character in Carrie.  For an actress to gain my eternal respect they have to show layers of talent, and be able to both piss me off and make me laugh.  P.J. absolutely does this.

*Lynda is such an airheaded floozy in Halloween.  Why is she a great character?  I'll tell you:

1) She's more concerned with getting into the boy's locker room than into college. 

2) Her mind is filled with nothing but thoughts of getting drunk and finding a place to have copious amounts of sex with her bespectacled boyfriend Bob. 

3) She doesn't think anything of getting laid in the bedroom of her best friend's babysitter's house.

4) She's a typical bad friend, not giving two shits that Laurie doesn't have a date to the dance. She's too worried about getting her hair done! I like a girl with principles.

5) She has three new cheers to learn by morning!  Ah, the woes of being a popular cheerleader.  My heart bleeds.

6) She orders Bob around like a drill sargeant.  Don't rip my blouse! Bring me a beer!  You go get it! You idiot! Being in charge is sexy!

7) She has no need for school books.  She never brings homework home.  (Apparently she's too busy learning the lyrics to Don't Fear the Reaper and buying rubbers. No wait...she makes BOB get the condoms.)

8) She's a typical tease.  "See anything you like?"  But at that point she'd already delivered the goods, so the teasing is kind of a moot point.

9) Her ponytails are totally rad.

10) She dies well.  The telephone cord?  Classic, iconic kill.  Totally!

*And why do I hate Norma Watson in Carrie?

1) She's the BFF of Chris Hargenson, and that chick is a royal effing bitch. 

2) She wears that goddamned baseball cap everywhere.

3) Her pigtail braids are wildly annoying.

4) She wears sneakers (and that fucking ball cap) to the prom!

5) She's the one who rigs the prom king and queen voting, making sure Carrie is bound to have a blood bath.

6) Though she's supposedly Chris's best friend, she doesn't support her by walking out of gym/detention with her.  She doesn't want to miss THE PROM!

7) She's a snide, hateful girl who nearly rivals Chris, in particular when throwing tampons.

8) Norma is one of the very first people to laugh at Carrie when dumped with blood at prom.

9) She got clocked with the wrath of the wildly spraying fire hose which, while preventing her escape, didn't seem like a violent enough death for the little snot.

10) Bib overhalls.  Really???

*As this is a horror blog, I've showcased my two favorite P.J. Soles horror roles.  But let it be known that I am an overwhelming fan of her work in Stripes as MP Stella. 

That's some funny stuff there!

31 days, 31 faves: Halloween

You knew it would find its way to this list eventually, right? My last three movies are going to be rather unsurprising for anyone who knows me at all. Meaning, one could probably guess the final three. I mentioned at the beginning of the month that there was no specific order to this list, and for the most part that's true. Consequently, I've been watching these films each night to get a better grip on writing the reviews. Thus I knew which films I wanted my last few to be so that I could watch them closer to Halloween because indeed, they are my favorites, capish?

For many long years, I considered Halloween (1978) to be my favorite horror movie. Hell, my favorite movie in any genre! Even now, after I have a few more films that I like marginally better, I still come back to Haddonfield again and again for a trip down memory lane.

And let's just get this out there right now. Putting aside my one true love (Norman Bates of course) for the moment, I will say outright and proudly that I am a Michael Myers kind of gal. Much as I like the first few Friday the 13th movies and appreciate A Nightmare on Elm Street and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, I will always be a Michael fan first and foremost. He's a force of nature - a man on a mission. I love his undying simplicity too. No getting up in my business or making wise cracks. No wielding a chainsaw either -he's just a machine. No emotion, no moral compass, no reasoning, no conscience. What's scarier than that, dammit?

In my life, I've seen my share of horror, without a doubt - but there is something about this film that still gives me a slight case of the willies. Michael, lumbering along with only one thing on his mind (for once, a man without sex as a top priority!), has always got my ghost, so to speak.
The film is just such a classic. Itself influenced by Psycho, it has been one of the most powerful inspirations to a whole generation of horror. One of the original "slasher" films (some say Black Christmas was the first, some - including yours truly - even claim Psycho as the basis), it has introduced an undeniable boatload of people to what horror is all about.

The idea of having the point of view of the killer is just simply awesome. It's really done best here, with an almost giallo-like mentality... the audience feels what it's like to be the killer, to see what he sees, to go where he goes. And it works, largely in part to its clever director, John Carpenter. He and partner Debra Hill wrote a straightforward film about a man in a mask terrorizing babysitters. Doesn't seem like it would be a ground-breaking film, does it? But oh how it was. And the fact that Carpenter wrote the eerie score - well, that just proves his brilliance. A few simple notes (akin to Jaws in that respect) make up the main theme, which is recognizable by even non-horror fans.

Subtle scares and little gore are key here, with only a few mild scenes with actual blood in them. It's so much more what you don't see here that scares the pants off of you. The very first time I saw it, I remember closing my eyes and seeing Michael Myers, his white mask burning into my brain. When we see Michael's face pop out from various locations, like behind the clothesline or the hedgerow on the sidewalk, it's moments like that that make this film what it is. Scary.

But really, what do we have to worry about?
After all, it's just a man in a white William Shatner mask, right?

*Spoilers ahead*

Haddonfield 1963. From outside, someone is watching a young couple getting their groove on in a quiet street in a normal neighborhood on Halloween evening. The lovers retreat upstairs to do the deed and the quiet observer watches as the lights go out in the upstairs bedroom. The peeping tom heads around the house and enters through the back door. Flipping on the kitchen lights (apparently not afraid of being discovered) a small hand reaches into a kitchen drawer and pulls out a Psycho-esque butcher knife, continuing to walk through the house. Waiting patiently, our mystery someone listens to the couple saying goodnight (after having the quickest bout of nookie known to man) and the satisfied boy leaves. The voyeur silently stalks up the stairs and enters the girl's bedroom as she's sitting nearly naked in front of her mirror brushing her hair. She turns, exclaims "Michael!" and ta-dah, Michael begins to stab her several times, with relentless determination. She falls to the floor, dead. The killer goes back downstairs just in time to meet his parents out in the front yard as they come home from where ever the hell they were. Dad also questions, "Michael?" and pulls off his mask. The camera then focuses on a young boy, somewhat catatonic and dressed as a clown, holding a bloody knife.

Could there be a more perfect opening for a horror film?

Dr. Samuel Loomis (Donald Pleasence) and Nurse Chambers (Nancy Stephens) are on their way to pick up a patient at the Smith's Grove Sanitarium on a dark, rainy night in late October. The infamous Michael Myers is being moved to another facility and Dr. Loomis has been his psychiatrist for the last fifteen years.

As they approach the hospital, it looks like a scene from Night of the Living Dead, with all the inpatients turned into outpatients - roaming around the rainy grounds in their white hospital gowns like demented homeless people.

The nurse stops the car so Dr. Loomis can check to see what the hell is going on and while gone, Michael jumps up onto the car and breaks the window, scaring the nurse into exiting the car. Michael steals the car and drives away. (And the age old question remains: how in the world was Michael able to drive a car?)

Alas, we return to Haddonfield, where Dr. Loomis is certain that Michael will return to. Turns out, he was right.

Laurie (Jamie Lee Curtis ) is our virginal heroine, and probably one of the most beloved (if not the most famous) scream queens in horror. She's on her way to school and meets up with Tommy Doyle (Brian Andrews), a young boy she frequently babysits. They have a run-down of the intended evening activities (pumpkin carving, popcorn, and monster movies) when Laurie stops at the now neglected and abandoned Myers house. Tommy warns her not to go near, that it's haunted- and Laurie brushes him off, running up the steps and leaving a key under the mat. Her dad is a real estate agent and is attempting to sell the old house. As Laurie stands on the porch, we realize Michael is standing right behind the door, his trademark heavy breathing (for all the wrong reasons) the only sound you hear. Well, until you hear John Carpenter's score break into the scene loudly.

At Smith's Grove, Dr. Loomis is having an absolute conniption with fellow doctor about the fact that Michael Myers has gotten loose and drove away from the hospital with no problem whatsoever. He swears up and down that Myers is headed for his old hometown, Haddonfield.
Naturally, that thought is met with disbelief and Loomis storms off.

During school, Laurie sees what looks like a man in a mask, standing near a station wagon outside the school when she is in English class. It unnerves her, but she puts it out of her mind.
A discussion of fate during class is ironic yet completely relevant.

After school, Laurie is walking home with her two friends, Lynda (P.J. Soles) and Annie (Nancy Kyes). The popular twosome are less than chaste friends who pretty much have only one thing on their minds: getting laid. On their way home from school they chat about things like school dances, cheerleading, and getting thrown in the boy's locker room. Laurie's social awkwardness comes to the forefront here, and she doesn't have much to add.

As they walk, a car speeds down the road past them and Annie yells out a derogatory comment. The car stops a moment but then takes off. As the audience, we know it is the car from the Smith's Grove Sanitarium, more than likely with Michael behind the wheel. Laurie recognizes it as the car outside the school window during class.

A few minutes later, when Laurie looks up at the sidewalk in front of her, she sees someone in a white mask peeking out around the hedges. But when she tries to get her friends' attention, the shape (see what I did there?) is gone.

Visibly shaken, Laurie finally gets home and is in the comfort of her own room when she gets a phone call from Annie, who is babysitting at the house across the street from the Doyle's and is hoping to talk Laurie into taking her ward as well while she heads off to get lucky with her boyfriend Paul. Laurie reluctantly agrees and as she talks to Annie she looks out her window to see the same masked man behind the clothesline in the backyard. These are the subtle, effective moments that I am talking about.

Loomis, arriving in Haddonfield, heads to the cemetery where Judith Myers is buried. Not surprisingly to Loomis, the headstone for Judith is missing, making him more certain than ever that Michael has come home. That evening, he finds the sheriff (Annie's dad) and explains the situation to him but finds the local law enforcement less than eager to accept this assumption. Sheriff Brackett (Charles Cyphers), however, does accompany him to the Myers house, where they find evidence that Michael has been squatting there. Loomis goes over the details of Judith Myers death and Michael's situation and warns Brackett that his men should be on alert for Michael as they aren't sure just where he'll strike, or why. "Death has come to your little town, Sheriff."

Annie drives Laurie over to the Doyle's and Laurie and Tommy get down to carving a pumpkin, soon settling in with the 1951 version of The Thing (shades of things to come perhaps - pun intended).

Annie calls and asks to bring Lindsey Wallace (Kyle Richards) over so she can go pick up Paul. As she gets ready, Michael stands outside, biding his time until the right moment can come along. It does of course, and Annie gets strangled and stabbed to death in her car.

Meanwhile, the incessantly giggly Lynda (who I have always wanted to stab through the eye with a sharp object!) and her equally as annoying boyfriend Bob arrive at the Wallace's. When they realize Annie isn't there, they get down to business (in someone else's house for heaven's sake!) In an eerie moment, we see Michael standing in the doorway, watching. Even more creepy, he stands right by the bed doing the heavy breathing, which Lynda & Bob never hear because they are having some damn noisy sex.

Naturally, Michael is waiting nearby and when Bob goes down to get a beer, he kills him, impaling him on the wall (quite implausibly) with the knife. Michael then appears back in the bedroom wearing a bed sheet completed with Bob's glasses. When he doesn't answer Lynda, she gets pissed and picks up the phone to call Laurie, subsequently getting strangled with the phone cord. (*secret cheer*)



When Laurie doesn't hear from anyone in awhile, she makes a phone call which ends up being Michael doing his heavy breathing act. Nervous, she heads over to the Wallace house, where she finds not only the Myers tombstone, but the bodies of her three friends. Michael then attacks Laurie and she falls down the steps. Struggling, Laurie runs out the door and back over to the Doyles, screaming the entire time. (I do realize it's Halloween, and trick-or-treat time and all that jazz, but seriously - if someone was screaming 'help me' as loudly and as desperately as Laurie is, there's no way I wouldn't hear her and/or wouldn't think something pretty awful was happening!)

After finally waking Tommy up, she's able to get back in the house but Michael makes his way in as well. Surprising him with a knitting needle to the neck, she thinks she's killed him and runs upstairs to tell the kids to run and get help.

Just when she thinks she's safe, Michael appears again and chases her into a closet, where she ends up poking him in the eye with a coat hanger (love that part!). Once again falling prey to the age old first no-no of horror (never assume the killer is actually dead), she is shocked to discover Michael is indeed NOT dead, though poking him in the eye does make him drop his weapon. Laurie picks it up and stabs Mikey in the stomach, causing him to go down like a lead balloon.

Wandering the streets, Loomis sees the kids running wild on the street and makes his way to the Doyle house as well. He reaches Laurie just in time and shoots Michael six times, causing him to fall from an upper floor window outside to the ground below. Dr. Loomis comforts Laurie, but then upon looking out the window at the body, he discovers it's not there.

And that, my friends, is how it's done.