Monday, August 17, 2009
Sunday, August 16, 2009
A Quarter-Century of Krueger: The All-American, Bullet-Headed, Saxon Mother's Son
John Saxon is better than you. Let's just get that out of the way right now. My favorite of all the Elm Street actors (besides Robert Englund, of course), the great John Saxon is a legend of genre and exploitation cinema. And as far I'm concerned, a hero. To this day, this swarthy gentleman remains one of my favorite B-movie actors of all time.One look at John Saxon would reveal to anyone with a couple of brain cells to rub together that his name is not really John Saxon. No, he was born Carmine Orrico, and in my very own neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York. In fact, there was an old lady on my block growing up who constantly claimed to have babysat him frequently when he was just a kid. Pretty cool, if you ask me.
Oddly enough, my first exposure to the greatness of Saxon was thanks to his recurring role on the '80s prime time soap Falcon Crest, one of my mom's favorites. It was a bit later that I discovered he was also Nancy's father in A Nightmare on Elm Street. But the story goes back way further than that...Saxon originally left Brooklyn in the early 1950s to become a model. It was in this capacity, appearing on the cover of True Romance magazine, that he was spotted by a Hollywood agent. In those days of studio control and contract players, matinee idol looks were prized even more than they are today--in fact an actor could get away with average ability if he looked the way Saxon looked. Not to say that he was a hack or anything, but I don't think anyone would confuse him with Paul Newman or Marlon Brando...
He started out with a few walk-on parts, including a blink-and-you-miss-it appearance in A Star Is Born (1954). In 1958, he captured a Golden Globe for "Most Promising Newcomer", an award he shared with James Garner.But the coming decade brought change to the American movie industry. The studio system was collapsing, and the age of the auteur was coming in. It became more difficult for an actor to trade mainly on his looks. However, this led to some interesting detours in Saxon's career path. Firstly, he began finding work in his ancestral homeland of Italy, where looks were still as prized in leading men and women as they were in Hollywood's heyday.
After a decidedly mainstream turn in the acclaimed western The Appaloosa alongside Brando, for which he was nominated for a Golden Globe in 1967, the second interesting twist in Saxon's career began to occur. The burgeoning world of underground, grindhouse and exploitation cinema that rose following the vacuum left by the demise of the studios, embraced him with open arms.The true highlight here would have to be Enter the Dragon (1973), which put Saxon on the map as a grindhouse icon. A real-life black belt, he had no trouble at all playing the token American, Roper, in this classic Bruce Lee vehicle. From there, he became a bankable name within a certain realm of moviemaking. His fans remember him from films like the original Black Christmas (1974), as well as other low-budget horror cult faves like The Bees (1978), Beyond Evil (1980) and Battle Beyond the Stars (1980).
Combining his horror experience with his longtime connection to Italian cinema, Saxon was brought on board in 1982 to be a part of Dario Argento's Tenebre, arguably the director's finest giallo effort. Saxon plays Bullmer, the hat-obsessed literary agent to Anthony Franciosa's main character Peter Neal. Aside from NOES, this is without doubt his highest profile horror appearance--and one of the reasons Robert Rodriguez remembered him some 14 years later when casting for From Dusk Till Dawn.
It was in 1984, however, that Saxon appeared in the movie for which he is most likely best remembered to this day, particularly by horror fans. As Nancy's dad, the unflappable Lt. Donald Thompson, Saxon plays a commanding supporting role. While in part your typical "ineffectual grown-up authority figure" trope so common in slasher flicks, Saxon's impressive screen presence took it to another level, and made Thompson an especially memorable character.
I don't know about you, but I shed a little tear every time I watch him get killed by the skeletal Freddy in A Nightmare on Elm Street 3, the sequel in which he reprised the role three years later. He also holds the distinction of being one of the only non-teenagers killed by Freddy in the series.Saxon continued to work regularly in Italy, on American TV, and in low-budget horror throughout the 1980s, 1990s, and right up to the present day. This year alone, he starred in the comedy Old Dogs, the Sci-Fi Channel original War Wolves with Adrienne Barbeau, and the yet-to-be-released comic mystery City of Shoulders and Noses alongside the likes of Lou Ferrigno, David Proval, Sybil Danning, Ruth Buzzi and Nick Turturro.
After just turning 74 earlier this month, John Saxon continues to go strong, making regular convention appearances to meet fans of NOES and his many other films. For someone who's tangled with both Bruce Lee and Freddy Krueger, that's not bad at all...
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Amazing GRACE
Where to begin?
I had been made aware of the New York engagement of Grace--one of only two in the country--by Johnny Boots of Freddy in Space. Unfortunately, Johnny and his betrothed were unable to attend the screening as we had originally planned. But boy, am I glad I went anyway. And special kudos go out to Mrs. B-Sol, who was a good enough sport to tag along with me. Reminded me of the college days when she would follow me to the city in search of Godzilla Trendmaster figures without so much as a peep.
We arrived at the Village East Cinema in the heart of the East Village, the neighborhood formerly known as the Lower East Side, where a century ago, my great-grandparents settled down to make a new life for themselves. But that's not what tonight was all about. Tonight was about a journey into mind-wrenching horror--and we certainly got what we came for.
Going in, I had imagined Grace would be this year's Inside, and I wasn't far off the mark. After it was over, I found myself trying to figure out which movie was sicker, and came to the conclusion that it was pretty much a dead heat. As a pure horror film, I think Inside works just a bit better. But as a film, period, I would say that Grace is a better all-around picture.
What I found particularly interesting was the manner in which motherhood and the female identity are explored in relation to one another. The movie is populated by female characters who, in one way or another, wind up defining themselves by the nature of their maternal actions and instincts. This is the debut film of writer/directer Paul Solet, and good Lord is this going to be a tough act to follow. Solet received college degrees in both film and psychology, and both of those areas of expertise are on full display here.
The gorgeous Jordan Ladd, a veteran of horrors like Cabin Fever and Hostel II, as well as Shanna from Death Proof, is stunning in the lead role of Madeline Matheson, an uber-green vegan mom who must reach within herself and confront that which revolts her the most when she discovers that her newborn baby, believed to have been dead in the womb, is born not only alive, but with an insatiable need for human blood.
But hands down, the film's most disturbing performance comes from Canadian actress Gabrielle Rose as Madeline's mother-in-law from hell, Vivian Matheson. Her character is utterly depraved, a single-mindedly obsessed control freak who will stop at nothing to seperate Madeline from her baby. A clinging, obsessive mother who yearns for the sense of meaning that motherhood once provided, Vivian is chilling in every scene she inhabits. There is one scene, in particular, in which Vivian coaxes her unwitting husband into sucking her nipple just so she can be reminded of what it felt like to breastfeed, that is more upsetting than any moment of gore or violence in the entire movie.
But speaking of gore and violence, there is no shortage of it here. Now I'm going to confess something. I have a bit of a problem with blood. Yes, you read that right. B-Sol of The Vault of Horror gets queasy at the sight of blood. Ripping flesh I can handle, buckets of guts are no problem. But once that crimson starts to flow, I get weak in the knees and lose the ability to make a fist. And my delicate sensibilities were put to the test here, for sure. This film is dripping with blood--and not the bright red, comic book, Hammer kind, either; but rather some of the most realistic-looking blood and blood-letting I've ever seen on screen.Desperate to provide her baby with the plasma she needs to live, Madeline first gives her own--but when she can no longer do so without killing herself, she finds herself doing the unthinkable. And yet, the moral question isn't an easy one--after all, what would you do if your baby required as steady diet of blood, or it would die? As we viewed the film's most gore-iffic scene, in which Madeline literally taps a body for blood like an animal in an abattoir, I turned to my wife and asked non-chalantly, half-jokingly, if she would be able to do something like that for our kids. And without missing a beat, she responded in the unflinching affirmative. Mothers and their babies, people--don't mess with it.
Interestingly, this is a film in which the male characters are more or less forgettable accessories. Vivian's husband is an ineffectual doormat, reduced to a submissive stub by decades of marriage to a sociopathically controlling wife. Madeline's own husband, Grace's father, is killed in the car accident that her unborn baby was initially presumed to have been killed in as well. Not only does Madeline show zero sorrow or sense of loss for the remainder of the picture, but the only character we see mourning in any way is his insane mother Vivian, who expresses her grief in the most unhealthy ways possible.We are almost led to believe that Madeline's husband was only there to create the baby she so wanted in her life. In fact, it seems that Madeline may not even be heterosexual at all, as we later learn that her midwife is actually a former love interest, for whom she shows far greater affection than we ever see directed toward her husband. There are complex issues of womanhood, motherhood, and femininity in general at work here, and I fear I cannot fully do them justice after just a single viewing.
We've all heard the stories of audiences being left in absolute shock by this film, and while I often view such reports as having more than a little PR spin to them, I can see how there could also be some truth to them in this case. Clearly, although many in our screening were horror fans, there were also those who also were not fully aware of what they were in for--as could be attested to by the occasional gasps of disbelief. This movie was made last year, but it took forever until any distributor would go near it. Thankfully, Anchor Bay finally stepped in, and kudos to them for having the nerve and the faith to do so.
After an hour and a half of difficult film viewing, capped off by a deeply twisted final moment that will stay with you long after you've left the theater, I sat there in utter silence, as did everyone else. In fact, I can honestly say this is the only time I can recall an entire theater of people sitting silently in their seats through an entire closing credits sequence. And then, just as the final credits rolled, a dedication fills the entire screen: "For Mom." The entire audience bursts into nervous laughter. Bless you Paul Solet, you sick bastard.
It's also ironic that horror superstar director Adam Green is one of the producers, as Grace shows more depth, nuance and substance than anything Green has yet to create himself. This is the kind of a film that begs for post-viewing discussion, which Mrs. B-Sol and myself were compelled to engage in as we walked the streets of Manhattan back to our car. On the way, we stopped into Veniero's historic bakery on East 11th and 2nd Avenue, where 80 years ago, my adolescent great-uncle once worked as a delivery boy, losing his life after suffering a fatal concussion on a subway platform while carrying a box of Italian pastries to their destination. Walking away with a pound of delicious pignoli cookies and lemon drops, I couldn't help but be reminded again of that bizarre, unavoidable connection between life and death.
Friday, August 14, 2009
VAULT VLOG: My Precious Horror Heirloom
P.S. Just so you can't say I never went out of my way for all of you, I want to inform you that the dust aroused by simply handling this musty old book set off a nasty allergy attack as soon as I shut off the cam. So I hope you all enjoy the results of my sacrifice, people!
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
The Real Ghostbusters... No, Not the Cartoon. The Actual Real Ghostbusters...
[As promised, this evening I bring you something just a little different for the Vault. It's a report from a real-life Ghost Hunter. In this case, the person in question is my old high school buddy Jay Stroming, who now has one of the coolest side gigs in the world. I'll let him explain...]
Ok, first, a quick disclaimer: this blog entry will not be about the horror genre. But it will definitely be related. You see, I’m a ghost hunter. Like those guys on TV (sorry, hard not to make a “Ghostbusters” joke here). If you’ve ever seen “Ghost Hunters” on the SyFy Channel, or any of the other similar shows on other networks, then you know what I do, in a nutshell. Brian is an old friend of mine going back to high school days, and I was honored that he asked me to do a post on my ghost hunting activities for The Vault of Horror. The impetus for his invitation was a recent investigation we conducted at a fire house here on Staten Island, New York, just two weeks ago.
I’ve been with EPIC, the Eastern Paranormal Investigation Center, for a little over three years now, and in fact, I am one of the co-founders, with Arthur Matos. In that time we’ve added two additional members, James Bricks and Laura Pennace, who in addition to investigating, do a tremendous job at historical research, which is key to our group’s philosophy. We’re a very scientifically-minded group, meaning we don’t rely on psychics or mediums, but rather sophisticated electronic equipment, such as infra-red cameras, EMF meters, motion sensors, and so on. We are out to find recordable evidence of the paranormal, whether it be video, audio, readings captured on meters, or ideally, a combination of those things.
In these three years, we’ve investigated a number of locations, mostly residential homes, but we do get the occasional business or high-profile client who wants us to come in and validate what they may be experiencing. About a month ago, we were contacted by Richmond Engine Company No. 1, a volunteer fire house servicing historic Richmond Town and the surrounding areas, here on Staten Island. While we’ve been lucky to never have had to doubt the sincerity of any of our clients in the past, claims of the paranormal seem to carry extra weight when coming from cops or firefighters. These are pragmatic problem-solvers and rescuers who need to deal with tangible facts and deal with life or death decisions on a day to day basis. They are not usually the types to get scared by things that go bump in the night.
The firefighters at Engine Company No. 1, whose names have been withheld for perhaps obvious reasons, were very sincere in their claims of the paranormal. It is a volunteer house, with all the firefighters living nearby and on-call around the clock. They don’t all reside there, as in a traditional fire house, but there are many nights where one or more of them will spend the night. The house itself was built in 1905, in response to public outcry after a girl was killed in a fire because none of the other houses could respond quickly enough. Nobody is known to have died in the building, and only one firefighter in the house’s history has died on the job, and that was out on a call, not in the building itself. Still, firefighters here reported hearing lots of footsteps coming from upstairs when nobody else is in the building; voices being heard; doors being slammed or banged; feelings of being watched; and a dark, shadowy apparition that appears at the top of the stairs.
We conducted our investigation on July 24th, 2009. The investigation began with some quick interviews with the firefighters stationed at the house, followed by a tour of the building. It consisted of a large garage area, which housed the fire truck, a kitchen, and a conference room area with a small restroom and some closets. The second floor contained the stairway, a small hallway, and then the living quarters, which was essentially a large room with a dining room table, some couches and a recliner, a number of display cases with pictures and vintage equipment, and a TV. We then set up our equipment and prepared for a long evening of investigating. We usually set up a safe room, which is a room where we can monitor our equipment, and it is usually the room with the least amount of paranormal activity. In this case we used the conference room.
Throughout an investigation, we rotate in teams of two, with two team members investigating a room, and the other two back in the safe room monitoring the equipment. We conduct EMF sweeps, to see what the Electro-Magnetic Field readings of the room are, to get a baseline. We take lots of pictures, both digital and 35mm. We always have a camcorder running, to document our investigation for later review. And we conduct EVP sessions (electronic voice phenomenon), where we ask questions to the supposed entity in the location, and reviewing our audio recorders later to see if we captured any voices. Investigations generally run from 6-8 hours, starting our recorders at 9 or 10, and running until 3 or 4am. Once we’re done, we break down the equipment and go home. Evidence review can take up to two weeks. If we set up 8 video cameras, and run each one for 8 hours, that’s a total of 48 hours of video to look through. Not to mention hours and hours of audio to listen to.
For this investigation, we focused mainly on the upstairs living quarters and the stairway, as that’s where the bulk of the activity was reported. During the course of investigations, we sometimes have what we call personal experiences. These are things we can’t document, such as if we see something but a camera is not focused on it at the time. During this investigation, we didn’t really have any personal experiences. We did have a brief period of the feeling of being watched in the upstairs quarters, but it didn’t last. The room definitely had a spooky vibe at first, but it didn’t last. Again, it’s only a personal feeling, so we don’t consider it as evidence. Psychological or parapsychological, who knows? One of our EMF meters was reacting a bit strangely during our EVP session, almost as if in response to some of our questions, and we can’t explain why it did this. As I write this, there is perhaps an hour or two left of evidence that we need to review, but so far, we have found nothing out of the ordinary.
Many times when we think of ghosts and hauntings, we think of horror movies, and Hollywood special effects. “Poltergeist,” “The Exorcist,” and other movies like that tend to portray the paranormal in what I call the “all Hell breaking lose” way. Nothing is really subtle. Voices are loud. Big, heavy objects move on their own. Apparitions appear at will, scaring people left and right. The ghosts are powerful and in control and terrifying. In real life, ghost hunting is not that spectacular. Most times, we spend the entire night sitting in a dark room, sitting still and being quiet. Heaters or air conditioning units are turned off, so it’s often uncomfortable. We drink lots of coffee and eat lots of candy to stay awake. We don’t have proton packs, and we don’t need them. Usually, the most interesting things are found during evidence review, and even then, you are talking about perhaps hearing a spoken word, maybe two, that you can’t account for, in 12 or 16 hours of audio you must listen to, or a single odd light that doesn’t belong and only lasts for 3 seconds, in 48 hours of video review.
We don’t get paid a dime to do any of this, and in fact we spend lots of our own money in order to be able to do this. So it’s not like the movies, even though I love “Poltergeist” and “The Exorcist” and “The Haunting” (the original, not the awful Liam Neeson version). But it’s still a lot of fun, and when we do catch that little piece of evidence that we can’t find a rational explanation for, it’s as thrilling as any of the best horror movies you’ll ever see. A full report on our investigation will be up shortly on our website, www.epicparanormal.com
Ok, first, a quick disclaimer: this blog entry will not be about the horror genre. But it will definitely be related. You see, I’m a ghost hunter. Like those guys on TV (sorry, hard not to make a “Ghostbusters” joke here). If you’ve ever seen “Ghost Hunters” on the SyFy Channel, or any of the other similar shows on other networks, then you know what I do, in a nutshell. Brian is an old friend of mine going back to high school days, and I was honored that he asked me to do a post on my ghost hunting activities for The Vault of Horror. The impetus for his invitation was a recent investigation we conducted at a fire house here on Staten Island, New York, just two weeks ago.
I’ve been with EPIC, the Eastern Paranormal Investigation Center, for a little over three years now, and in fact, I am one of the co-founders, with Arthur Matos. In that time we’ve added two additional members, James Bricks and Laura Pennace, who in addition to investigating, do a tremendous job at historical research, which is key to our group’s philosophy. We’re a very scientifically-minded group, meaning we don’t rely on psychics or mediums, but rather sophisticated electronic equipment, such as infra-red cameras, EMF meters, motion sensors, and so on. We are out to find recordable evidence of the paranormal, whether it be video, audio, readings captured on meters, or ideally, a combination of those things.
In these three years, we’ve investigated a number of locations, mostly residential homes, but we do get the occasional business or high-profile client who wants us to come in and validate what they may be experiencing. About a month ago, we were contacted by Richmond Engine Company No. 1, a volunteer fire house servicing historic Richmond Town and the surrounding areas, here on Staten Island. While we’ve been lucky to never have had to doubt the sincerity of any of our clients in the past, claims of the paranormal seem to carry extra weight when coming from cops or firefighters. These are pragmatic problem-solvers and rescuers who need to deal with tangible facts and deal with life or death decisions on a day to day basis. They are not usually the types to get scared by things that go bump in the night.
The firefighters at Engine Company No. 1, whose names have been withheld for perhaps obvious reasons, were very sincere in their claims of the paranormal. It is a volunteer house, with all the firefighters living nearby and on-call around the clock. They don’t all reside there, as in a traditional fire house, but there are many nights where one or more of them will spend the night. The house itself was built in 1905, in response to public outcry after a girl was killed in a fire because none of the other houses could respond quickly enough. Nobody is known to have died in the building, and only one firefighter in the house’s history has died on the job, and that was out on a call, not in the building itself. Still, firefighters here reported hearing lots of footsteps coming from upstairs when nobody else is in the building; voices being heard; doors being slammed or banged; feelings of being watched; and a dark, shadowy apparition that appears at the top of the stairs.
We conducted our investigation on July 24th, 2009. The investigation began with some quick interviews with the firefighters stationed at the house, followed by a tour of the building. It consisted of a large garage area, which housed the fire truck, a kitchen, and a conference room area with a small restroom and some closets. The second floor contained the stairway, a small hallway, and then the living quarters, which was essentially a large room with a dining room table, some couches and a recliner, a number of display cases with pictures and vintage equipment, and a TV. We then set up our equipment and prepared for a long evening of investigating. We usually set up a safe room, which is a room where we can monitor our equipment, and it is usually the room with the least amount of paranormal activity. In this case we used the conference room.
Throughout an investigation, we rotate in teams of two, with two team members investigating a room, and the other two back in the safe room monitoring the equipment. We conduct EMF sweeps, to see what the Electro-Magnetic Field readings of the room are, to get a baseline. We take lots of pictures, both digital and 35mm. We always have a camcorder running, to document our investigation for later review. And we conduct EVP sessions (electronic voice phenomenon), where we ask questions to the supposed entity in the location, and reviewing our audio recorders later to see if we captured any voices. Investigations generally run from 6-8 hours, starting our recorders at 9 or 10, and running until 3 or 4am. Once we’re done, we break down the equipment and go home. Evidence review can take up to two weeks. If we set up 8 video cameras, and run each one for 8 hours, that’s a total of 48 hours of video to look through. Not to mention hours and hours of audio to listen to.
For this investigation, we focused mainly on the upstairs living quarters and the stairway, as that’s where the bulk of the activity was reported. During the course of investigations, we sometimes have what we call personal experiences. These are things we can’t document, such as if we see something but a camera is not focused on it at the time. During this investigation, we didn’t really have any personal experiences. We did have a brief period of the feeling of being watched in the upstairs quarters, but it didn’t last. The room definitely had a spooky vibe at first, but it didn’t last. Again, it’s only a personal feeling, so we don’t consider it as evidence. Psychological or parapsychological, who knows? One of our EMF meters was reacting a bit strangely during our EVP session, almost as if in response to some of our questions, and we can’t explain why it did this. As I write this, there is perhaps an hour or two left of evidence that we need to review, but so far, we have found nothing out of the ordinary.
Many times when we think of ghosts and hauntings, we think of horror movies, and Hollywood special effects. “Poltergeist,” “The Exorcist,” and other movies like that tend to portray the paranormal in what I call the “all Hell breaking lose” way. Nothing is really subtle. Voices are loud. Big, heavy objects move on their own. Apparitions appear at will, scaring people left and right. The ghosts are powerful and in control and terrifying. In real life, ghost hunting is not that spectacular. Most times, we spend the entire night sitting in a dark room, sitting still and being quiet. Heaters or air conditioning units are turned off, so it’s often uncomfortable. We drink lots of coffee and eat lots of candy to stay awake. We don’t have proton packs, and we don’t need them. Usually, the most interesting things are found during evidence review, and even then, you are talking about perhaps hearing a spoken word, maybe two, that you can’t account for, in 12 or 16 hours of audio you must listen to, or a single odd light that doesn’t belong and only lasts for 3 seconds, in 48 hours of video review.
We don’t get paid a dime to do any of this, and in fact we spend lots of our own money in order to be able to do this. So it’s not like the movies, even though I love “Poltergeist” and “The Exorcist” and “The Haunting” (the original, not the awful Liam Neeson version). But it’s still a lot of fun, and when we do catch that little piece of evidence that we can’t find a rational explanation for, it’s as thrilling as any of the best horror movies you’ll ever see. A full report on our investigation will be up shortly on our website, www.epicparanormal.com
Hump-Day Harangue: Forget Entertainment Weekly, Here's a REAL List
I'm going to keep this one short and simple. In case you've been living on Venus, Entertainment Weekly has dropped yet another horror movie list/nail-bomb on us, and the online horror community has once again risen in self-righteous indignation. I won't go into the details of how frustrating their list of the the Top 20 Horror Films of the Past 20 Years is. That's been done all over the web, and a lot better than I could--particularly by Brad "How Do You Pronounce This Guy's Name" McHargue over at I Love Horror, who wrote up a complete rebuttal to EW's wrong-headed amalgam.
Instead, what I will do, in the interest of over-inflating my own ego, is point you in the direction of a list you can be proud of, which puts EW's to shame. Some nine months ago, I polled the "Cyber-Horror Elite" and we came up with a list of the Top 25 Horror Films of the Modern Era (ie. since 1990), which for all intents and purposes is the same concept as EW went with. Except this one won't make you want to drive a railroad spike into your temple. So go here and, enjoy:
*The Top 25 Horror Films of the Modern Era*
* * * * * * * * * *
I also have a few random tidbits I'd like to touch on today...
Also in accordance with the rules, 10 honest things about myself:
There ya go. Winners are asked to do the same (if they feel like it), and to include the blog that bestowed the award in their own list.
Instead, what I will do, in the interest of over-inflating my own ego, is point you in the direction of a list you can be proud of, which puts EW's to shame. Some nine months ago, I polled the "Cyber-Horror Elite" and we came up with a list of the Top 25 Horror Films of the Modern Era (ie. since 1990), which for all intents and purposes is the same concept as EW went with. Except this one won't make you want to drive a railroad spike into your temple. So go here and, enjoy:
*The Top 25 Horror Films of the Modern Era*
* * * * * * * * * *
I also have a few random tidbits I'd like to touch on today...
- Day of the Woman's BJ-C and myself have another fine list to be enjoyed over at Bloody-Disgusting, so check that out when you have a chance. This time, we look at the Top 16 Oscar-Worthy Horror Performances.
Speaking of DotW, some congratulations are in order today. A couple months ago, I decided to take a chance and submit the Vault's sister blog to Rue Morgue magazine for inclusion in their Roadkill column (in which they spotlight websites of note). And wouldn't you know it--the online Mistress of the Macabre got her blog mentioned in issue #92, now on sale! Way to go, BJ-C :-)
- Consider this another reminder to keep those submissions coming in for the VoH's Cursed Mountain giveaway. I'm looking for a paragraph on the first horror film to hook you and make you a fan, and why. The winner gets their words published on the blog, as well as a copy of the brand new horror video game for the Wii. The deadline is next Thursday, August 20.
- Keep your greasy eyeballs locked on this page, because at some point later tonight, I plan on hitting you with something quite special. Namely, a first-hand account of real-life ghost-hunting from an old friend of mine who works as a paranormal investigator. Are you ready to believe him?
- Again, for the benefit of all you Venusians out there, AMC has optioned Robert Kirkman's The Walking Dead comic book series as a TV series to be directed by Frank Darabont. This is incredible news, which has been in the works for quite some time. It's been covered by far more high-profile sites than my own, but I do plan on giving my own unique take on the blockbuster news later in the week. The world, I'm sure, has been clamoring for that.
- As a heads-up, Mrs. B-Sol and myself shall be heading to NYC this Friday night to check out the controversial new flick Grace in its lone East Coast engagement. We shall be rendezvousing with Freddy in Space's Johnny Boots and the future Mrs. Johnny Boots, so expect fun and hilarity to ensue. Also expect a review of Grace next week!
And finally, I'd like to announce that The Vault of Horror has been given the prestigious (and vaguely explained) Honest Scrap Award by the excellent blog Planet of Terror. Not sure what it means exactly, but hey, it's an award--I'll take it! In accordance with the rules of the award, I shall now announce 10 deserving blogs to which I am, in turn, bestowing said award:
- Planet of Terror
- Freddy in Space
- McBeardo's Midnight Movies
- In It for the Kills
- Zombos' Closet of Horror
- I Love Horror
- John Kenneth Muir's Reflections on Film/TV
- Zeitgeist
- Chuck Norris Ate My Baby
- Love Train for the Tenebrous Empire
Also in accordance with the rules, 10 honest things about myself:
- I wrote my Master's thesis on the deposition scene of Shakespeare's Richard II.
- I was born on Friday the 13th.
- I can say the Hail Mary in both Latin and Italian.
- My earliest memory is of my dad taking me to see Star Wars in 1977.
- I spent a night in Manchester, England drinking champagne cocktails with Ric Flair.
- I had a lifelong crush on Jennifer Connelly which began with Labyrinth and ended when she became a Hollywood stick figure after A Beautiful Mind.
- My favorite horror film is George A. Romero's Dawn of the Dead.
- I will only get on escalators on the left side.
- My uncle was an extra fleeing from the Sta-Puft Marshmallow Man in Ghostbusters.
- I am afraid of manta rays.
There ya go. Winners are asked to do the same (if they feel like it), and to include the blog that bestowed the award in their own list.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Connecticut-Area Horror Hounds Prepare for Autumn Awesomeness!!
I don't usually like to do posts with only regional appeal, but this is just too cool not to plug. If you happen to be anywhere near the vicinity of Connecticut, in particular the city of Stamford in Fairfield County, then ye olde Avon Theatre has a few treats up its sleeve for you come this October. The Avon has been pleasing cinephiles with showings of great old flicks for years now, but this time they've outdone themselves in the horror department.
I just came back from checking out their newly announced fall lineup, which includes:
NEAR DARK - Thurs. Oct. 1, 9 p.m.
The Bill Paxton/Lance Henriksen cult vampire fave that was actually thought at one time to have no surviving film prints, despite being a mere 20 years old.
THE CALL OF CTHULHU - Wed. Oct. 7, 7 p.m.
Yes, I'm talking about the rare, silent film that is still the only screen adaptation of Lovecraft's most famous story. Plus, it will be hosted by the one and only horror critic extraordinaire, Maitland McDonagh. RayRay, you really need to come up to CT for this one, my man...
FRIDAY THE 13th - Thurs. Oct. 15, 8 p.m.
Needless to say, we're talking about the original here. And on-hand that night for a special Q&A? Everybody's favorite cable-knit sweater wearing momma, Ms. Betsy Palmer herself!
ZOMBIE & DEMONS - Thurs. Oct. 29, 9 p.m.
For Halloween--a double feature of Italian horror goodness. First Fulci, then Bava. Cose di pazze!
And it ain't all about horror, because the Avon also has scheduled showings of Full Metal Jacket (12/3), True Romance (11/12), Life of Brian (12/17), and Witness for the Prosecution (10/22, hosted by Gene frickin' Wilder!). Check out their website for more info. You better believe I'm going to be heading out to check out as many of these as Mrs. B-Sol--I mean, my schedule--will allow. Anybody else in the CT area (I'm lookin' at you, J-Rock and Maweanne), come down and join me, won't you?
I just came back from checking out their newly announced fall lineup, which includes:
NEAR DARK - Thurs. Oct. 1, 9 p.m.
The Bill Paxton/Lance Henriksen cult vampire fave that was actually thought at one time to have no surviving film prints, despite being a mere 20 years old.
THE CALL OF CTHULHU - Wed. Oct. 7, 7 p.m.Yes, I'm talking about the rare, silent film that is still the only screen adaptation of Lovecraft's most famous story. Plus, it will be hosted by the one and only horror critic extraordinaire, Maitland McDonagh. RayRay, you really need to come up to CT for this one, my man...
FRIDAY THE 13th - Thurs. Oct. 15, 8 p.m.
Needless to say, we're talking about the original here. And on-hand that night for a special Q&A? Everybody's favorite cable-knit sweater wearing momma, Ms. Betsy Palmer herself!
ZOMBIE & DEMONS - Thurs. Oct. 29, 9 p.m.
For Halloween--a double feature of Italian horror goodness. First Fulci, then Bava. Cose di pazze!
And it ain't all about horror, because the Avon also has scheduled showings of Full Metal Jacket (12/3), True Romance (11/12), Life of Brian (12/17), and Witness for the Prosecution (10/22, hosted by Gene frickin' Wilder!). Check out their website for more info. You better believe I'm going to be heading out to check out as many of these as Mrs. B-Sol--I mean, my schedule--will allow. Anybody else in the CT area (I'm lookin' at you, J-Rock and Maweanne), come down and join me, won't you?
In Defense of THE MIST
Far be it from a curmudgeon like me to say this, but I think it's entirely possible that we as horror fans run the risk of occasionally becoming a bit too cynical for our own good. Case in point: Why is it that a movie like Frank Darabont's The Mist, a solid, enjoyable horror flick, has been so roundly pummeled by the online horror community? This morning I'm taking a stand and saying it's damn fine little fright film.I had caught it a while back on cable and not given it my full attention, mainly due to all the mediocre feedback I had read about it on the web. The main thing that struck me then was Marcia Gay Harden's amazing performance, but other than that, I didn't really watch it closely enough to make an informed decision. But just last night, I had the pleasure of sitting down with my dad, my Obi-Wan Kenobi of horror, to watch it, since he had just purchased the double-disc deluxe edition.
Now, he may have been a horror fan since the days when Vincent Price was a hot new prospect, but even still, Dad and I haven't always agreed (his adoration of Wrong Turn 2, for example). So I was a little skeptical. But nearly two hours later, and I was scratching my head wondering why everyone had been so damn hard on this movie.I mean, look, it's not anything that's going to change your life. We're not talking something in a category with the likes of [REC], Inside, Drag Me to Hell or Let the Right One In here. But this movie deserves a lot more praise than it got. It's a well made, very well acted horror film, which I'd put on a par with something like 30 Days of Night, another highly enjoyable flick that I felt was far too strongly maligned.
You would think that with the endless barrage of mind-numbing remakes, sequels and garbage aimed at high school moviegoers, that we would be able to better appreciate a decent movie when we got one. Am I lowering my standards? I don't think so. Rather, I think everyone else's may be just a bit too high.Maybe we expect too much of our movie experiences sometimes, I don't know. Maybe it's the very low expectations I had going into this movie. Whatever the case, I had fun with it. As he has in the past, Darabont has a fine handle on Stephen King's material. Does it pack the emotional punch of something like The Shawshank Redemption or The Green Mile? Hell no, but that's a shortcoming of the vast majority of horror movies in general--they are so bound up in evoking fear that they don't have much left for stirring up other emotions (that's a subject for another post). This was Darabont's first crack at a King horror story, and I think he did a fine job.
Thomas Jane, one of the most underrated actors around, is terrific in the lead role, knowing just when to underplay it, and when to turn on the teeth-rattling emotion. I've already praised Harden, but I'll do it again. What's funny is I had just seen her 20 years younger (and infinitely hotter) in Miller's Crossing the night before, so I've kind of been discovering what a killer actress she is this week. There are also impressive supporting performances from Toby Jones (Karl Rove in W.) as a pistol-packing grocer, William "I can be a friend to you" Sadler as an unstable good ol' boy, Frances Sternhagen (a veteran of King's Misery and Golden Years) as a badass schoolmarm, and Brian Libby (a Darabont regular) as a biker with some of the best lines in the movie.
As for the effects, much has been made of the supposedly unconvincing CGI creatures, and I've got to take a stand here as well. There's nothing that annoys me more than bad/lazy CGI. But this isn't it. Does it look 100% real? No. But when did we all become such special effects snobs? Granted, there are a lot of times in film when practical effects would be much more convincing than CGI. But creature effects in particular have always been tough to pull off, since the dawn of cinema.I mean, as much as we all drool over the work of Ray Harryhausen, Willis O'Brien and the like, are any of us going to say that their creations looked 100% real? Heck, no! Rather, it was their engaging, "pseudo-reality" that endeared them to us--their "cool factor", for lack of a better term. So why, all of a sudden, do we all demand 100% perfect reality from our special effects in this age of CGI? Why have our expectations changed? Maybe it's all the bad CGI out there that has soured us on the practice as a whole. For my money, the creature work in The Mist is highly effective and did NOT commit that one mortal sin of bad effects, which is to take me out of the movie.
The sense of dread is well-represented, as is the social breakdown that occurs within the group--in fact, that element reminded me in parts of Romero at his best. The gore is suitably shocking. And the ending, although different from King's novella, packs a hell of an emotional wallop, thanks largely to Jane. I'll go on the record as saying that the revised ending is one of the things that makes the movie, since so often King's downfall is that he doesn't know how to wrap things up. And although I wasn't a fan of the unnecessary explanation given for the creatures, I did enjoy the Lovecraftian nod, especially that gigantic Cthulhu-like thing that makes a brief cameo.In short, The Mist is an enjoyable monster movie. It's got Darabont's polish, and King's sinister world view. And considering the batting average of most horror films based on King's work, I think we all need to ease up on it just a bit. It may not be earthshattering or anything, but I could think of far worse ways to spend an average weeknight.
Monday, August 10, 2009
The "Cyber-Horror Elite" Present: THE HORROR CANON
Just when you thought the web was safe from horror snobbery, here I am back once again with another pontification from on high. Many of you, no doubt, remember how I gathered together a veritable "Justice League" of horror bloggers and writers on several occasions in the past and polled them on very relevant issues. The results included our "Top 50 Horror Films of All Time" and the first-ever Cyber Horror Awards, amongst other things.
This time around, I set out to do something unique, which I don't believe has ever been done before. As an English Lit. major, I was very familiar with the concept of a "canon"--specifically, an agreed-upon collection of "great works" that should be read by every student/scholar. And so, I decided, why not take this concept and apply it to horror movies?
My plan was to create a list of absolutely indispensable horror films that every fan needs to have seen in order to consider themselves a proper horror geek. This is not to be confused with "The Greatest of All Time". For example, Plan 9 from Outer Space would not be on my list of the greatest of all time, but I might very well consider it "must-see" viewing for any wannabe horror fanatic!
Think of it this way: If someone came to you and said, "I want to get into this whole horror thing, what movies do I need to see? " Which movies would you give them to watch? In another scenario, let's say aliens came down and asked you, "What's this horror movie business all about?", what movies would you give them to take up in their ship?
Each participant provided me with their essential ten, and I tallied up all the votes using my byzantine points system, resulting in the rock-solid list of 35 which you will find below. And so I give you, THE HORROR MOVIE CANON:
As was to be expected, there is a bit of overlap here between this and the "Top 50 of All Time" list. Specifically, the top two films are the same--guess there's just something about those two that seem to make just about everyone agree as to their greatness. However, I'm struck by the amount of contemporary films on this list of 35, much more than the Top 50. There are a total of five films (1/7th of the list) from the current decade, with the most recent of them being Orphan, still in theaters! That's promising for the future of the biz, if you ask me--maybe the Elite were in a little better mood than last year, who knows.
However, the fact remains that no film in the top 15 of this list was made in the past 20 years, so let's not break out the confetti just yet. I'm impressed with the showing of Dracula, which scored a lot higher here than it did in the top 50--I think people recognize it as somewhat inferior overall to Frankenstein, yet nevertheless an extremely important film for any horror fan to see. I'm also impressed by the amount of foreign films on the list--a total of eight, or just under one quarter of the entire rundown. Its nice to see our participants taking into account such cult films as Cannibal Holocaust (you sickos!) and A Tale of Two Sisters, easily the most unexpected of the bunch. It's not only about the obvious choices, folks.
Decades breakdown:
Iloc Zoc of Zombos' Closet of Horror
Wes Cavins of Horror Film Magazine
Max Cheney of The Drunken Severed Head, 2008 Rondo Runner-Up for Best Blog
Ryne Barber of The Moon Is a Dead World
The Lightning Bug of The Lightning Bug's Lair
Jeff Allard of Dinner with Max Jenke and Shock Till You Drop
Justin of Send More Cops
Pierre Fournier of Frankensteinia, Canadian Comic Book Creator Hall of Famer
BC of Horror-Movie-a-Day and Bloody-Disgusting
Unkle Lancifer of Kindertrauma
John Kenneth Muir, horror critic (Booklist Editor's Choice)
Pax Romano of Billy Loves Stu
Ms. Harker of Musings Across a Continuum
Marc Patterson of Brutal as Hell
Christine Hadden of Fascination with Fear
Monster Scholar of Monster Land
Soap Magic of The Beyond and Bloody-Disgusting
Cortez the Killer of Planet of Terror
Judd Clarke of Igloo of the Uncanny
RayRay, Vault of Horror contributing writer
Frank Godbey of TFAV...1630...Pure Horror!
Matthew House of Paracinema and Chuck Norris Ate My Baby
Johnny Boots of Freddy in Space
Corey Lafferty of Evil on Two Legs
James Zahn of Fangoria.com
Karl Hungus of KarlHungus.com
BJ-C of Day of the Woman and Bloody-Disgusting
Nate Yapp of Classic-Horror.com and Cinema Blend
Scott Weinberg of HorrorSquad, FEARnet.com and Cinematical
And yours truly, of course.
There you have it. Digest. Discuss. Debate. Distribute.
This time around, I set out to do something unique, which I don't believe has ever been done before. As an English Lit. major, I was very familiar with the concept of a "canon"--specifically, an agreed-upon collection of "great works" that should be read by every student/scholar. And so, I decided, why not take this concept and apply it to horror movies?
My plan was to create a list of absolutely indispensable horror films that every fan needs to have seen in order to consider themselves a proper horror geek. This is not to be confused with "The Greatest of All Time". For example, Plan 9 from Outer Space would not be on my list of the greatest of all time, but I might very well consider it "must-see" viewing for any wannabe horror fanatic!
Think of it this way: If someone came to you and said, "I want to get into this whole horror thing, what movies do I need to see? " Which movies would you give them to watch? In another scenario, let's say aliens came down and asked you, "What's this horror movie business all about?", what movies would you give them to take up in their ship?
Each participant provided me with their essential ten, and I tallied up all the votes using my byzantine points system, resulting in the rock-solid list of 35 which you will find below. And so I give you, THE HORROR MOVIE CANON:
- Halloween (1978) dir: John Carpenter
- The Exorcist (1973) dir: William Friedkin
- Night of the Living Dead (1968) dir: George Romero
- Frankenstein (1931) dir: James Whale
- Dracula (1931) dir: Tod Browning
- Psycho (1960) dir: Alfred Hitchcock
- Alien (1979) dir: Ridley Scott
- The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) dir: Tobe Hooper
- Nosferatu (1922) dir: F.W. Murnau
- Bride of Frankenstein (1935) dir: James Whale
- Dawn of the Dead (1978) dir: George Romero
- The Shining (1980) dir: Stanley Kubrick
- The Thing (1982) dir: John Carpenter
- Evil Dead II (1987) dir: Sam Raimi
- A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) dir: Wes Craven
- Let the Right One In (2008) dir: Tomas Alfredson
- The Wolf Man (1941) dir: George Waggner
- Cannibal Holocaust (1980) dir: Ruggero Deodato
- Suspiria (1977) dir: Dario Argento
- Gojira (1954) dir: Ishiro Honda
- The Ring (2002) dir: Gore Verbinski
- Orphan (2009) dir: Jaume Collet-Serra
- Jaws (1975) dir: Steven Speilberg
- The Evil Dead (1981) dir: Sam Raimi
- The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920) dir: Robert Weine
- Hellraiser (1987) dir: Clive Barker
- House on Haunted Hill (1959) dir: William Castle
- Saw (2004) dir: James Wan
- The Haunting (1963) dir: Robert Wise
- Zombi 2 (1979) dir: Lucio Fulci
- The Phantom of the Opera (1925) dir: Rupert Julian
- The Omen (1976) dir: Richard Donner
- Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) dir: Don Siegel
- A Tale of Two Sisters (2003) dir: Ji-woon Kim
- The War of the Worlds (1953) dir: Byron Haskin
As was to be expected, there is a bit of overlap here between this and the "Top 50 of All Time" list. Specifically, the top two films are the same--guess there's just something about those two that seem to make just about everyone agree as to their greatness. However, I'm struck by the amount of contemporary films on this list of 35, much more than the Top 50. There are a total of five films (1/7th of the list) from the current decade, with the most recent of them being Orphan, still in theaters! That's promising for the future of the biz, if you ask me--maybe the Elite were in a little better mood than last year, who knows.
However, the fact remains that no film in the top 15 of this list was made in the past 20 years, so let's not break out the confetti just yet. I'm impressed with the showing of Dracula, which scored a lot higher here than it did in the top 50--I think people recognize it as somewhat inferior overall to Frankenstein, yet nevertheless an extremely important film for any horror fan to see. I'm also impressed by the amount of foreign films on the list--a total of eight, or just under one quarter of the entire rundown. Its nice to see our participants taking into account such cult films as Cannibal Holocaust (you sickos!) and A Tale of Two Sisters, easily the most unexpected of the bunch. It's not only about the obvious choices, folks.
Decades breakdown:
- 1920s: 3
- 1930s: 3
- 1940s: 1
- 1950s: 4
- 1960s: 3
- 1970s: 9
- 1980s: 7
- 1990s: 0 (!)
- 2000s: 5
Iloc Zoc of Zombos' Closet of Horror
Wes Cavins of Horror Film Magazine
Max Cheney of The Drunken Severed Head, 2008 Rondo Runner-Up for Best Blog
Ryne Barber of The Moon Is a Dead World
The Lightning Bug of The Lightning Bug's Lair
Jeff Allard of Dinner with Max Jenke and Shock Till You Drop
Justin of Send More Cops
Pierre Fournier of Frankensteinia, Canadian Comic Book Creator Hall of Famer
BC of Horror-Movie-a-Day and Bloody-Disgusting
Unkle Lancifer of Kindertrauma
John Kenneth Muir, horror critic (Booklist Editor's Choice)
Pax Romano of Billy Loves Stu
Ms. Harker of Musings Across a Continuum
Marc Patterson of Brutal as Hell
Christine Hadden of Fascination with Fear
Monster Scholar of Monster Land
Soap Magic of The Beyond and Bloody-Disgusting
Cortez the Killer of Planet of Terror
Judd Clarke of Igloo of the Uncanny
RayRay, Vault of Horror contributing writer
Frank Godbey of TFAV...1630...Pure Horror!
Matthew House of Paracinema and Chuck Norris Ate My Baby
Johnny Boots of Freddy in Space
Corey Lafferty of Evil on Two Legs
James Zahn of Fangoria.com
Karl Hungus of KarlHungus.com
BJ-C of Day of the Woman and Bloody-Disgusting
Nate Yapp of Classic-Horror.com and Cinema Blend
Scott Weinberg of HorrorSquad, FEARnet.com and Cinematical
And yours truly, of course.
There you have it. Digest. Discuss. Debate. Distribute.
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