Friday the 13th: Uncut

Friday the 13th:  Uncut (1980)
R
DVD

Friday the 13th is an iconic 80's horror movie about a killer in the shadows, killing of camp counselors one by one as they try to get the camp ready for its reopening.

This movie is 36 years old, so it is far beyond the "spoiler" warning territory.  At this point, anyone who would see the movie has either already seen it or they know enough about it to know what happens.  If you know absolutely nothing about Friday the 13th, then chances are pretty good that you don't really have much interest in seeing it.  But, be that as it may, spoilers below...

Much like A Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th is a movie with a legacy that has far surpassed the actual movie.  Jason Voorhees would probably make the top 10 list of most recognizable movie monsters, and EVERYONE knows that Jason is from Friday the 13th.  But, he's not the killer in the first movie and is barely even in it at all.  He is certainly not seen in his iconic hockey mask and machete.  But somehow, that is the character that is forever tied to the series...just like how Freddy Krueger is barely in A Nightmare on Elm Street, but is a monster that continues to instill terror.

Friday the 13th and A Nightmare on Elm Street are both iconic horror movies and two movies that are frequently compared to each other (to the point where Freddy vs. Jason was made) and they should both be on the must-watch list of any horror fan.  While horror fans might debate at length on which movie is better and/or scarier, I believe that it really comes down to when you first saw the movie.  If you were a kid the first time that you saw these movies, then the scarier one is obviously the one that gave you worse nightmares as a kid...and nothing is going to change your opinion.  However, if you are only just recently watching these movies, then I believe that Friday holds up better than Nightmare.

As much as I love horror movies, it has only been within the last few years that I have seen these two movies for the first time.  When I first watched Nightmare, I understood why it had such an impact on the horror genre, but the actual movie did not really give me any scares.  However, when I first watched Friday the 13th (even knowing who the killer really was and how things ended before even seeing the movie), I still found myself getting caught up in the suspense at times.  I think that one of the biggest reasons for this is that the killer was just a person, rather than some sort of supernatural being (just talking about the first movie...not any of the sequels).  If you don't believe that something can kill you in your dreams, then you probably are not going to be very scared by Freddy.  But, it is very believable that a deranged person could kill you while you are isolated in the woods.  You don't have to believe that serial killers exist...because it's just a fact that they do.

One of the other things that has helped Friday the 13th become such an iconic horror movie, and part of why I believe that it has held up as well as it has, is that it plays on so many fundamental fears:  something jumping out of the shadows, isolated and/or unable to contact help, mental illness, the loss of a child, the consequences of immorality (the reason that the mother went "crazy" and started killing people was because two of the camp counselors were having sex rather than keeping an eye on Jason).  A Nightmare on Elm Street played on many of those fundamental fears as well.  But, again, there is a more tangible fear with having a real, physical person doing the killing rather than a supernatural being.

On a side note, even though I think that the use of mental illness in horror movies is part of what perpetuates the negative stigma of the mentally ill and the false belief that all people with mental illnesses are dangerous, I do like how Friday the 13th does a sort of "reverse psycho" when you find out that the mother has started killing because of the loss of her son.

Recommendation:  If you are not a fan of horror, then this movie is obviously not for you.  However, if you are a fan of horror, this is definitely a must see.  It's an iconic 80's horror.  It's just one of those movies that, if you are a fan of horror, you need to see the cinematic roots that have brought horror movies to where they are today.  The horror plays on fundamental horrors, there are some good jump scares, the music draws on influences from several other iconic horror movies (which somehow makes it simultaneously memorable and easily mistaken), there is good use of shadow (rather than showing too much to the audience), a few genuinely creepy moments, and an ending that has you questioning whether Jason really came out of the water to grab Alice from the boat or if it was a hallucination from the trauma that she had just experienced.



If you enjoy movies, conventions, comics, games, cartoons, Star Wars, or just about anything geeky...be sure to check back soon for all things geekery!!  In the meantime, follow me here, on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube.

Halloween Movie Month - 2014: Final Post

2nd place costume competition

Another October has come and gone, and with it, Halloween has now passed.  If you've been following me for the past few weeks, you know that I've been trying to post a review of a Halloween movie every night for the month of October.  Even though I wasn't actually able to post every night, I did pretty well with posting about every other night for most of the month.  But, as Halloween drew closer and closer, I started finding myself being busier and busier working on costumes, prepping my beard for the beard competition at work, and getting ready for CONjuration Con with New Monster Project.

1st place beard competition

Hagrid at CONjuration Con

I had plans to end out the month with something a little bigger - maybe 5 movies that I give a rating of at least a 4.5.  Two of the movies that I watched and started reviews for were Night of the Living Dead and The Shining.  Along with those two movies, I was also going to review corresponding documentaries.  With Night of the Living Dead was Birth of the Living Dead and with The Shining was Room 237.

I know it is a little late to watch them now to watch them in preparation for Halloween.  But, there is no reason why you can't watch them to help close out the Halloween season on a horror high note before prepping for Thanksgiving and Christmas.  Rather than providing a full review right now, let me just say that Night of the Living Dead and The Shining are absolutely must-see!  In fact, I'm going to go ahead and say that they are a buy.  Birth of the Living Dead was incredibly interesting and I highly recommend adding it to your Netflix queue.  Room 237 was interesting, but it was just other people's speculations about The Shining - none of the people involved in the movie were actually a part of the documentary.  Room 237 was interesting enough to see, but I would put it much lower on the queue.  I will post full reviews at a later date (possibly a much later date), but for now, go watch The Shining and Night of the Living Dead!  If you have extra time, watch the corresponding documentaries.

Until next year, I hope you've had an amazing October and enjoyed Halloween Movie Month!!


Be sure to check back soon for more reviews!  In the meantime, leave comments on this (or any other) post, follow me here and on twitter (@GargyleReviews), and let me know what movies you'd like for me to review!



- The Gargyle

Halloween Movie Month: Nightmares in Red, White, and Blue

Nightmares in Red, White, and Blue:  The Evolution of the American Horror Film (2009)
Netflix instant

This documentary is exactly what the title says - the evolution of the American horror film.  Starting with Thomas Edison's adaptation of Frankenstein and going all the way up to modern (as of when the documentary was made) horror, Nightmares in Red, White, and Blue discusses the implications of horror and how it mirrors the fears of society.

I really enjoyed this documentary. It pretty much encapsulates why I love horror. Not for the blood and the gore, but for the societal and psychological commentaries. Sure, there are plenty of people out there who love horror movies for just the sex and gore. And there are people out there who love horror because of twisted pleasures. But, there are also plenty of people out there like me. They enjoy the message. Some people might argue “well, if it's just the message you like, then why do you have to watch horror?” And I think that it's because horror films let you get away with showing more of the gritty side of humanity. There are some dramas that get into the dark side of humanity, but when it comes to movies that are marketed for more of a mainstream audience, they are not able to go as deep into the concepts and into the meanings. There are plenty of other independent films (not horror) that accomplish this as well. But, still, there is just something about horror movies. They play on the Jungian archetypes and collective nightmares. Since my background is in psychology, I am continually fascinated by what it means to be human - the good and the bad.

I recently had a conversation about the difference between horror, gore, and startle.  Some people will talk about how scary a movie was, but all that really means is that there were some startling scenes.  Other people will talk about how scary a movie was, but it really just means that there was a lot of blood and gore.  But when it comes to horror (true horror) - that is something that will stay with you for a while.  True horror plays on real fears.  It shines a light on the horrors of mankind.  One of the quotes from the documentary talks about these horrors, saying "ordinary men (are) turned outwardly monstrous by cruel fate and turned inwardly monstrous by the cruelty of men."  The concept was described another way as two different types of ghost stories told around a fire:  one where the warning is about the evil "out there" and the other is where the warning is about the evil within yourself.   I think that when it comes to horror versus gore and startle, it is the evil within that has the biggest impact on creating true horror.  While it might not always be easy to kill the monsters in horror movies, it is even more difficult to confront and slay our own internal struggles.

Even though the conversations themselves are clean (I do not remember much, if any, swearing), there is a lot of footage shown from various horror movies - and that footage does not shy away from the nudity and gore that is found in many horror movies.  So, even though the discussions are appropriate for people who might not be fans of horror, the footage that is shown might still be upsetting to them.

The biggest complaint that I have is that this documentary does give away some of the endings of some of the movies. While there are some movies that knowing the end will not spoil the experience of watching the film, there are some movies where the ending is the most important part.  That being said...the majority of endings that are discussed are from movies that are at least a decade old.  So, yes, there are some spoilers.  But, they are on movies that you most likely already have some level of familiarity, or movies that you have already decided that you will never watch.

Rating/Recommendation:  4/5.  Definitely add this one to your Netflix queue.  This documentary was intellectual, educational, entertaining, and thought provoking.  If you watch it with anyone who is a fan of movies, or anyone who enjoys philosophical conversations about the nature of humanity, you are almost guaranteed to have an engaging conversation after the movie.

As I have mentioned in previous posts, I love talking about movies. And when it comes to horror movies, the conversations that I enjoy having are the ones about the meanings. I generally do not enjoy conversations about “did you see all that blood???” because I have found that those conversations generally do not go anywhere and get really boring really quick. So, as we go through the rest of Halloween Movie Month, share with me how the movies I review play on your fears and societal views. Or, just enjoy them for a good scream.

Be sure to check back soon for more reviews in Halloween Movie Month!  In the meantime, leave comments on this (or any other) review, follow me here and on twitter (@GargyleReviews), and let me know what movies you'd like for me to review for Halloween Movie Month!

-The Gargyle

Halloween Movie Month: Carrie

Carrie (1976)
Netflix instant

Even though I love movies, there are a bunch of classics that I am embarrassed to say that I have never seen before.  Carrie is one of those movies.  Carrie is also one of those movies that everyone knows the plot to.  I seriously cannot remember a time when I did not know what happens at the end of Carrie.  While that does take away some of the surprise of what happens, I still enjoy seeing the how of what happens - what leads up to the dramatic end.  Also, I really want to see the remake because it looks like it is awesome!...and I wanted to see the original before the remake.

Even though everyone knows the plot of Carrie and it is almost 40 years old, let me go ahead and say that there will be some spoilers below.  If you have never seen Carrie and have somehow managed to go 40 years without any hearing any spoilers, scroll to the bottom of the page to see my rating and recommendation.  Otherwise, continue reading.

One of the things that struck me was that Carrie's mother, who played a large part in Carrie's developmental delays, was a religious zealot.  I don't like the fact that the only two characters who show any sense of religion are Carrie and her zealot mother.  It plays on the stereotype that Christians are wackos and not to be trusted.  Unfortunately, there are some people out there who do live up to that stereotype.  But, there are also plenty of people out there who are good examples of what Christians are supposed to be (since I am just focusing on the movie right now, I will not be addressing the theological and philosophical perspectives that go into what actually makes a good Christian).  I wish that Carrie had at least one other character to present some sort of balance.  But, the imbalance and extremism are also literary and filmatic techniques to emphasize dichotomies.  In Carrie, that dichotomy is between the innocent and naive Carrie and the pure evil of Chris Hargensen. The character of Chris might seem like just a bully at the beginning, but the scene where John Travolta's character kills a pig to get the blood they will later dump on Carrie - she seems to get a very sick sense of satisfaction from the brutality.

My biggest complaint is that it felt like more of the movie focused on the plot of what the other girls were planning to do to Carrie, rather than on Carrie's actual story.  Sissy Spacek does a great job, but I would have loved to have seen more of her progression and character development.  To go from abused and tormented under the stairs and living in fear, to standing up to her mother - there was a huge amount of character development that goes largely unseen.

I also have a few smaller complaints.  The music is almost too descriptive.  It's either very clearly calm, psychotic, or confusion, but I don't really hear many themes running through the different pieces of music.  I wish that there had been a more unifying theme throughout all of the music.  Also, the detention scene didn't really seem to fit the tone of the movie.  It felt like the humor was a little too forced in this scene.  I think that it would have been a better fit for movies like Revenge of the Nerds or Porky's.

Rating & recommendation:  3.5.  Carrie is a classic and is required viewing for any fan of horror.  To be such an iconic horror movie though, there isn't any actual horror for the majority of the movie.  If this was the first time that you had ever seen the movie and you had no idea about the iconic prom scene, then the ending of the movie would get seriously creepy pretty quick.  Also, even though there aren't too many deaths that are actually shown, there is the implication that so many high schoolers die a fiery death.  But, the blood and the gore is not why Carrie has become such a classic.  Like many of Stephen King's stories, it is the psychological aspects that really play up the horror.  It might seem like the end scene of Sue having a nightmare is unnecessary.  However, that does what so few horror movies do...it shows some of the psychological trauma that the victims suffer, long after the source of horror has been removed.

Side notes:

• The movie is definitely rated R.  The second scene in the movie is in the girls locker room with lots of full-frontal nudity.  That scene also makes it very clear that the movie is from the 70s.  
• I thought that two of the characters looked familiar - and I was right!  Tommy Ross looked like the Greatest American Hero and one of the background girls looked like the secretary from Ferris Beuler's Day Off - I was right on both accounts.

Be sure to check back soon for more reviews in Halloween Movie Month!  In the meantime, leave comments on this (or any other) review, follow me here and on twitter (@GargyleReviews), and let me know what movies you'd like for me to review for Halloween Movie Month!



-The Gargyle

Halloween Movie Month: House on Haunted Hill

House on Haunted Hill (1959)
Netflix instant

House on Haunted Hill is a classic, so most fans of horror are probably already familiar with the plot (even if they haven't actually seen it).  But, if you haven't seen it, it's about a millionaire that invites five guests to his haunted house.  Anyone who is able to make it through the night will receive $10,000.  Among the five people who were invited, one of them is allegedly the only person who had ever survived a night in the house.

I saw the remake with Geoffrey Rush several years ago, but this is the first time that I had ever seen the original.  It has been several years since I saw the remake, so I can't remember too much about the quality of the film.  I remember thinking that there were some good parts, but I don't remember being terribly impressed with it (if I get a chance to rewatch the remake, I will post my review).

Even though I don't remember the remake being terribly good, I really enjoyed the original.  There is something about classic horror movies that are just plain creepy!  Rather than relying on blood, gore, and cgi to provide the scares, classic movies rely on practical effects and play on more base-level fears that stick with you after the movie is over.  The first time there is a genuine scare in House on Haunted Hill...gaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh......it's creepy.  Even though some of the dialogue is presented in a somewhat cheesy manner sometimes, the stories about the ghosts are presented with a level of conviction that draws you into the story.

The biggest downside about this movie is the sound quality.  The dialogue is pretty quiet, so I kept turning up the volume.  But, anytime anyone would scream, it would almost be deafening.  I was constantly turning the volume up and down every few minutes.  It wouldn't have been much of a problem to leave the volume up, if it weren't for the fact that I didn't want my neighbors to get the wrong impression of what was happening in my place.

House on Haunted Hill started out a little slow, but as it goes along, Vincent Price's character becomes increasingly creepy.  His portrayal is one of the biggest factors that helps gives this movie it's scares.

Rating:  3.5/5

Recommendation:  This is a definite watch!  Whether you are just a casual fan of scary movies and only watch them during Halloween, or you are a hardcore horror fan, I think that House on Haunted Hill will help get you ready for Halloween.

Be sure to check back soon for more reviews in Halloween Movie Month!  In the meantime, leave comments on this (or any other) review, follow me here and on twitter (@GargyleReviews), and let me know what movies you'd like for me to review for Halloween Movie Month!



-The Gargyle

Countdown recommendations

We are in the countdown of the last 8 days til Halloween.  I am certainly going to do my best to review a movie for each remaining day.  But in case I am not able to watch a movie everyday, I am going to go ahead and provide a list for my top movies to watch leading up to Halloween.  These will be the movies that I plan to watch and review in this final pre-Halloween week.  Even if I am not able to watch these movies this week, I have seen them enough times before to know that they are awesome! Every movie on this list is going to be a definite must rent.  Some of them will be must buy, and others will be worth buying if you find it at a good enough price.  So here are some of my favorite Halloween movies, in no particular order:


Young Frankenstein.  One of Mel Brooks's best films, this black-&-white horror/comedy pays homage to classic horror films, most notably Frankenstein (obviously).  It's not quite as "silly" as some of Mel Brooks's other films, but in my opinion it's one of the funniest.  The fact that the actors play the roles seriously helps to serve a contrast to some of the more amusing lines.  You should be able to find the DVD for around $5, and the Blue Ray for around $10.  Regardless of extras, the rewatchability alone makes this a must buy.





28 Days Later.  This is a good take on the zombie flick, because rather than being "undead," they are filled with the "rage virus."  Great soundtrack, good cinematography, great actors, and good horror/gore.  One of the things I really like about this one is the philosophical questions that arise from the "zombies" being living beings filled with a rage virus, rather than being undead monsters.  Are they still people?  Is there any still humanity left in them?  There is an alternate ending presented via storyboards and narration.  This ending was never filmed because they kind of back themselves into a corner that wouldn't have ended up working out.  But even just the narration and story boards still provide plenty of drama.  There is a 28 Days Later/28 Weeks Later combo pack, but I don't know if it has the extras.  I suggest you get the version that actually has the special features.  So double check before you buy.


Shaun of the Dead.  This movie is absolutely hilarious!  I love the use of running jokes, and this movie is full of them.  The more that I watch it, the more that I pick up on things that happen in the first half that are then repeated in the second half.  It's also a decent zombie flick, and not just "for a comedy."  Even watching it as a serious zombie film, it still holds up.







Psycho.  This is one of Hitchcock's greatests.  Everyone knows the iconic shower scene.  But if you've seen the movie, you know that there are several other great scenes with a lot of tension and a lot of suspense.  Even though this film has been around for over 50 years, I'll not spoil this one for those who haven't seen it.  There is no excuse for missing this one...go buy it right now!!

Nosferatu.  I already reviewed this one, so I won't be re-reviewing it this week.  But, it is definitely a must see.  The entirety of the movie might not be the most amazing, but Schreck's portrayal of Count Orlock is almost disturbingly creepy.  Check out my full review here.  









The Thing.  In case there is any doubt, I am talking about John Carpenter's original, not the prequel that was released a year or two ago.  John Carpenter's The Thing combined many classic horror themes, such as being trapped with no escape, not knowing who or what the creature is, and doing everything they can just to stay alive.  Some of the special effects look pretty bad in comparison to today's CGI (though, they also look better than a lot of bad CGI), but it's the performances of the actors that really drive this suspenseful thriller.  If you've seen The Thing before, check out the video below.  But if you've not seen the movie before, skip this video for now...you don't want to ruin the film for yourself.  Even though this is not a scene-for-scene recreation, it is still close enough to contain major spoilers for the movie:

















30 Days of Night.  These are not your dreamy, romantic vampires that have somehow invaded teen romance media.  These aren't even your charming, cultured Dracula-esque vampires.  These are the creepy, disturbing vampires that hunt without mercy.  Part of what makes this film so scary is that the characters must survive for 30 days (of night) without access to food or resources, and must remain almost completely quiet - unlike most horror movies where they "just have to survive the night."





Rocky Horror Picture Show.  This one isn't scary at all.  In fact, there are more scenes of whores than there are of horrors.  But, it is pretty funny and has catchy songs that get stuck in your head.  The main reason this one is on the list is because it has become a cult phenomenon, and it is almost impossible to go out on Halloween and not see at least one person dressed like one of the characters.







This is by no means a comprehensive list, and there are plenty of other movies that I would recommend for this week (Gojira, Devil's Rejects, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Halloween {the original, and Rob Zombie's remake}, Alien, Aliens).  But, those are the films that immediately come to mind when I think about what movies to watch leading up to Halloween.  I will post reviews for the ones that I am able to watch this week.  But even without reviews, I highly recommend them!

Be sure to check back soon for the next review in this last week of Halloween movie month.

-GR

Halloween movie month: The Descent

The Descent (2005)
Blu-ray
Rating:  3.5/5

Basic plot:  Six women go caving in the Appalachian mountains, and encounter a gruesome horror in the dark of the caves.

Most horror movies make use of the dark and the shadows to intensify the suspense.  And one of the things that makes The Descent so terrifying is definitely the dark.  This film does a very accurate job of showing how dark caves are without artificial light.  When you are completely underground, there is no ambient light.  So after they are completely underground and away from the opening they entered through, the only light they have is from their flashlights, flares, and glow-sticks.  And when they are just using their flashlights, you only see what the light is shining on.  This limited amount of light, surrounded by complete darkness definitely adds to the suspense.  Especially because it just about forces you to watch the movie in as dark a room as possible.  If there are lights on, or a glare on the tv, it will be difficult to see what is going on.  So, in order to have as clear a picture of the film as possible, it helps to watch it at night with all the lights off - which, in a way, helps to immerse you into the experience.

And it is going to be a pretty suspenseful experience.  For starters, caving is a dangerous activity, so there are plenty of dangers just in what they are doing.  They could get lost, stuck when going through the crawl-spaces, parts of the cave could collapse, and so on.  On top of all of the natural dangers, you also know that there is something lurking in the caves, and are on edge waiting for them to attack.  As they are hiking to the cave, one of the women talks about all of the things that could possibly happen in the dark, including hallucinations.  And one of the characters does have hallucinations earlier in the film, as a result of her earlier experiences.  So when you hear strange sounds in the background, or when you see something that isn't there when the character takes a second look, you find yourself wondering if those are actually the creatures, or if they are just hallucinating.

At times, this film does show things through the view of a camcorder.  But, unlike most found footage type films, the camcorder view actually really works with this movie.  For starters, it's not being treated as "found footage."  And when they use it for the infrared view...let's just say that it was definitely the right call.

Overall, this was a really good movie, but there were a few shortcomings.  Most notably was the character development.  Overall, the character development is pretty good, but there are a few actions from the characters that don't entirely make sense.  And even though the creatures are an unknown entity, there are a few aspects about them that are inconsistent.  But these are very minor complaints.  Sure, the character/creature development isn't perfect, but it is definitely good enough to care about the characters and be terrified by the creatures.

Recommendation:  this is a must see!  Good acting.  Pretty good character development.  Good cinematography.  Really scary.  Good mix of suspenseful terror waiting for the creatures, and action fighting the creatures.  I don't know if it was intentional, but I also like the fact that the title, The Descent, could be taken literally for their descent into the cave, or to describe one of the character's descent into madness.

I picked this Blu-ray up at Walmart for $7.88.  I really enjoyed it, and I will definitely watch it again, so I think that it was worth it.  This blu-ray had 5 versions of the film:  rated, unrated, commentary with director and cast, commentary with director and crew, and picture-in-picture video commentary/behind the scenes.  I only watched the rated version, so I don't know how much the alternate versions of the film add.  But I did watch the rest of the extras.  Except for one short interview with the director about the ending of the film and how the US version differs from the UK version (the UK version is definitely the better ending), the extras are kind of boring/pointless.  There are deleted/extended scenes, but they don't really add anything.  When deleted/extended scenes add a lot and seem vital, I wish that they had just included them into the movie.  But when they don't add anything at all, they are just kind of pointless.  There is some point of view footage of someone going through a cave, but there is no commentary or voice-over explaining anything - so, again, kind of pointless/boring.  There are storyboard to scene comparisons, but no commentary explaining the process.  There is a brief "blooper reel" that is set to music, so it feels like the kind of montage you would see on a comedy film during the credits.  I wish that the extras would have been more impressive, especially since they very easily could have been more enjoyable if they had just added some commentary/narration.  If you like watching alternate version, or versions with commentary, then I would say this is worth a buy if you find it somewhere for $8 or less.  But since the rest of the extra features are just kind of boring/pointless, there just isn't enough to make this a must buy.

Be sure to check back soon for the next review in Halloween movie month.

-GR