THE OCTOBER PROJECT Part 7

" The last sound you hear on your way to hell, is gonna be your guts snappin' like a bullwhip!"

NEAR DARK  (1987)

Directed by Kathryn Bigelow

The great American vampire film of the 1980's is not the cheesy, dated "The Lost Boys" or even the very entertaining "Fright Night", but rather this moody stylish genre bender from Kathryn Bigelow. A minor masterpiece of atmospheric storytelling, "Near Dark"s mixture of Gothic and western elements remains one of the coolest and most original takes on the vampire myth in film history. The entire cast is great but Lance Henriksen is particularly bad ass.
Crappy poster though.

THE OCTOBER PROJECT Part 6

"There is no fuckin' ice cream in your fuckin' future."

THE DEVIL'S REJECTS   (2005)

Directed by Rob Zombie

The murderous redneck fiends from "House of a 1000 Corpses escape a police raid and go on a sadistic killing spree. Fun for the whole family ensues.
If I had to describe this film in just one word it would be "skanky". It's crude, mean-spirited, visually grimy and just an all around unpleasant experience. So why is it here?
Frankly, it's kind of a blast.
The characters and dialogue are foul as can be, but also hilarious and over-the-top. This sort of hillbilly black humour is, for better or worse, rapidly becoming the signature of director Rob Zombie and if his intention was to capture the tone and texture of a gritty seventies exploitation film, then I have to say he accomplished this brilliantly. Clearly, many will be turned off by the film's mixture of extreme violence and low comedy but I couldn't help but me entertained by the obvious affection Zombie has for these ugly and extreme characters. Whether you like his work or not, Rob Zombie proved with this film, that he is a genuine filmmaker.

THE OCTOBER PROJECT Part 5

"Come. It is time to keep your appointment with the Wicker Man."

THE WICKER MAN  (1973)

Directed by Robin Hardy

A strange classic once referred to as the "Citizen Kane of horror films." Well, I wouldn't go that far, but this is definitely a unique piece of work. For most of it's running time the film maintains a tone of bright cheerfulness and absurd humor so when the shocking conclusion finally arrives, it's a devastating punch in the gut. Excellent performances from Edward Woodward and Christopher Lee and a witty, literate screenplay by Anthony Shaffer help make this a must see for fans of cult cinema.
 Incidentally, unless you have a fine-tuned sense of irony, do not watch the remake with Nicholas Cage, it is hilariously awful!

THE OCTOBER PROJECT Part 4

"You're going to be fine, both of you....."

THE HOUSE OF THE DEVIL   (2009)

Directed by Ti West

A wonderful throwback to the days of "slow burn" horror films and suspense thrillers. Director Ti West deliberately recreates the style of a low budget, slightly grungy 80's film, but not in an indulgent or fetishistic way. A fairly standard babysitter-in-peril scenario is treated with maximum subtlety and restraint, creating a minor masterpiece of incrementally growing dread. That is until the climax, which does not disappoint. Has a very good performance from Jocelin Donahue in the lead and an amazing, uber-creepy turn by the amazing, uber-creepy Tom Noonan as her employer. Good, under appreciated modern horror gem.
See it.

THE OCTOBER PROJECT Part 3

"We have such sights to show you!"

HELLRAISER  (1987)

Directed by Clive Barker

An unscrupulous adventurer opens a mysterious puzzle box only to release the Cenobites, demons devoted to the pursuit, and mingling of, ultimate pleasure and ultimate pain. With this film, director (and successful novelist) Clive Barker introduced a new universe of twisted sexuality and sadomasochistic kink to the mainstream horror genre. Some of the dialogue and acting is a bit hammy, but overall this a mature and powerful dark fantasy. Pinhead (pictured above) and his fellow Cenobites went on to become deserved icons for both horror fans and practitioners of "extreme" sexual practices. Quite a legacy for a first time filmmaker.

THE OCTOBER PROJECT Part 2

"Death, Death, Death, the whore."

CEMETERY MAN (DELLAMORTE DELLAMORE)  (1994)

Directed by Michele Soavi

The story of a sensitive young man living in a small Italian town who ponders important existential issues while searching in vain for true love. Also, he kills zombies.

This one-of-a-kind art-house horror comedy plays like the twisted offspring of George Romero and Fedrico Fellini and if that doesn't intrigue you I don't know what will. The lead performance by Rupert Everett is strong and Michel Soavi's direction is elegant and visually striking. Even if you're finding yourself growing weary of zombies, this is a real hidden gem.

THE OCTOBER PROJECT Part 1

31 HORROR FILMS IN 31 DAYS

Hey it's me, back from my extensive hiatus which included, starting a new job, a trip to the East Coast and the beginning of the school year. No excuse for 3 months of silence but there it is. Anyway, the fall is my favourite time of year, especially October, so I'm back just in time for a big month long Halloween celebration!

Over the next 31 days I'll be recommending a new horror film every day. Just a few sentences about each but hopefully enough to interest and intrigue you. To make it clear from the get go, this is not a "best" list. Not everything I include will be a classic but all will be of interest, that I promise you. To make it easier on myself I have included no films predating 1960 very few made before 1970. This is not because I don't appreciate the older horror films, on the contrary I love and cherish many of them, it's just that it's going to be hard enough to whittle the list down to 31 films released in the last 40 (!) years.

So, unfortunately no masterpieces of German Expressionism,  no Universal Monster Classics, none of the great Hammer Studios productions and none of the Roger Corman Poe films (personal favourites of mine). It pains me to not include these, but it's going to be tough enough without them. Also, let's face it, as great as many of these movies are, how scary are they really?

I just want to reiterate this is no meant to be in any way a comprehensive list of the greatest ever horror movies. It is a completely arbitrary collection of films, broadly categorized as "horror", that I like, or at least find interesting. You will be annoyed by my many omissions, and indeed it was annoying for me to make them, but 31 really isn't as large a number as you think.

So lets begin with a doozy:

"All that blood and violence! I thought you were supposed to be the love generation!"

LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT   (1972)

Directed by Wes Craven

Almost 40 years later this film is as transgressive and provocative as ever, even if it has lost much of it's shock value. I hesitate to actually "recommend" this movie as it's, to put it bluntly, crude, artless and exploitative. It's also unquestionably powerful. A primal story of rape, murder and revenge, audiences in 1972 must have been completely unprepared for it's unblinking portrayal of violent atrocity and it's uncompromising bleakness. All the fears and resentments of the Vietnam era, those between young and old,  the lower and middle classes and conservative and liberal are all fodder for the filmmakers. The horrors of war were being splashed across TV screens nightly so Craven and company wisely asked themselves, "What sort of film would we have to make to get through to a culture so inured to violence and cruelty". Well they came up with one.
I've always been personally ambiguous about the movie, so why am I even writing about it? It's simply one of the most important films of the genre, one that broke new ground in ways both good and bad. Director Craven went on to make a career in horror with slicker, more artful films but never one as brutally effective as this.