Title: Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 Director: Joe Berlinger Writer: Dick Beebe, Joe Berlinger Cast: Tristine Skyler, Stephen Baker Turner, Erica Leerhsen, Kim Director, Lanny Flaherty, Jeffery Donovan Min: 90 Year: 2000
Following the cultural phenomena of the original The Blair Witch Project, a crew of young people decide to take a tour of the movie location ran by Jeffery (Jeffery Donovan) in Burkittsville, Maryland. The next morning they wake up, after having passed out, and their papers and cameras are rip and trashed. They don't remember anything that happened. The tapes remained intact, though, hidden under rocks. But, what happened during their lost time, and what is up with the increasingly weird shit they are seeing? Are they haunted by their delusions or the witch, herself?
Released a year after the first film this is the much maligned sequel to one of the most successful indie movies of all time. Of course, a sequel was to be made, it's an unwritten rule in cinema, maybe more so in the horror world. But, this movie took fans for different all together ride, and that in their eyes, at least, partially hurt the movie. It is certainly flawed, but it doesn't deserve all the hate it gets.
One of the major saving graces is the fact that it had the balls to go against the grain. This could have easily been another found footage, shakey cam, kill some young folk in the woods affair. Instead, co-writer/ director Joe Berlinger went for a meta/ psychological horror flick. Berlinger who made the excellent Paradise Lost docus about kids wrongfully accused of murder for being metal, in particular Metallica, fans, could have given us a faux-docu style turd. Then he have just collected a pay check, and called it a day. Instead, he thought of outside the box.
Studio interference occurred though, and as is often the case, it hurt the movie. They made him shoot unneeded gore which really is out of place and does the movie no good. They also reordered and cut more crap in (IE the gore). A lot of the ambiguity that he was going for is totally lost. Shit, they even switched his music choices adding Marilyn Manson to the opening title scene. The director admits to loving Manson, but that is not what he is going for (if you wanna learn more listen to his excellent DVD's running commentary).
Still, the ideas presented are really smart. Perception vs. reality, media influence, mass delusions, etc. all play a role in the film's plot. It's fairly well paced, except when the random gore inserts are sliced in and make the movie feel uneven and wholly stick out. Still, it actually leads to a fairly well handled climax. The ending itself is not bad, but I can easily see where fans might be like, "That's it?!"
The acting is really good. The cast are mostly unknowns but deliver performances far beyond the usual cash grab sequel, shit. The characters, themselves, serve as archetypes of the audience that the original movie caught the interest and obsession of. Most of the said characters, other than Jeffery, who is admit ably a dick, are pretty likable. All this thought of characters, again goes against the horror sequel mentality.
My two favorite actors and characters come from two very lovely ladies. Kim Director as Kim (all the cast played characters which had the same first name as theirs) is the gorgeous, voluptuous, blue-eyed goth girl of our dreams. She has a little bit of a kick ass attitude and is believable and likable. Erica Leerhsen (who would go on to play a victim in the underwhelming The Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake) is great as the Wiccan pissed at the way the first movie represented witches in the first. She also appears almost topless and has an amazing body. Worth mentioning is an all too brief kiss between both these goddesses.
I recall all the hate Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 got when it came it out. Yet, I recall it not being that bad. I hadn't watched it since it was in the movies, until last night. And, it really is not that bad. Most of the issues are studio related, like calling it Book of Shadows. I mean there is no fucking book in this movie, so what the fuck were they thinking?! But, it still remains a bold, interesting, well acted movie. It is not great, and won't please everyone, but I have noticed some nice write-ups and videos pop-up. Is perception changing? I don't know, maybe, those who liked it are finally becoming more vocal. Like me, for example. With Blair Witch, the third installment which will serve as a direct sequel to the classic, coming out this weekend, now is the perfect time to revisit this movie.
Title: The House of Seven Corpses Director: Paul Harrison Writer: Paul Harrison, Thomas J. Kelly Cast: John Ireland, Faith Domergue, John Carradine, Carole Wells, Charles Macaulay, Jerry Strickler Min: 90 Year: 1974 Director Eric Hartman (John Ireland) is shooting a Satanic horror flick in an old house where seven occult related deaths occurred. The old caretaker, Edgar Price (John Carradine), warns him to stop and also tells him know the actual facts of the gruesome deaths that occurred in the house. The graves of the seven bodies are buried in the grounds of said house (hence the title!). They find some old occult books and begin to read passages from one of them during and outside of the filming of the movie. This unknowingly leads to the murderous awakening one of the corpses...
The House of Seven Corpses is a classy, if low budget old-school style zombie/ occult flick. Admit ably it isn't great and has it's fair share of flaws, but nonetheless it is quite enjoyable and easy to like. Plus, as a bonus, if you were pissed off that House of 1000 Corpses, didn't deliver on that promise (shit, I don't even think we get 20 corpses in that house!), you'll be happy to know that this one does keep it's title's promise! See, we are already starting off well!
The film's biggest draw is the strong cast. You have three legends here in John Ireland, Faith Domergue, and John Carradine, and as you would expect them to be, are great! Ireland is quite apt at playing a director who, quite frankly, is kind of a dick. Faith Domergue, who previously starred in cult classic This Island Earth is great as well as somewhat bitchy and spoiled lead actress Gayle Dorian. She also happened to still look stunning at approximately 50 years old! Her opening scene were she is performing a devil summoning ceremony is a movie highlight. Some might be disappointed when it is immediately revealed to be a scene within a scene, as the director is filming it for his movie. But I must admit that I wasn't. It's cool and adds a really fun little moment to the proceedings.
Of course, classic horror fans will be most happy with the presence of Carradine. He is suitably creepy and fun to watch as the old caretaker. In some ways his character of Price is my favorite in the movie. The rest of the cast is fairly adequate enough, I suppose. Though, for the most part, none of them are quite as memorable as the three leads. Although, blonde beauty Carole Wells does add some nice eye-candy to it all, even if her performance, itself, is kind of just there.
The movie looks like and feels like a made for TV, but there is also a very welcomed old-school horror feel to it. There are a couple of nice shots, all of which benefit from the large, old house location. Quite frankly, it's all rather silly at times and doesn't always make the most amount of sense. The twist ending is never explained and, quite honestly, the more you think about it the less fucking logical it is! However, I found myself liking the ending so much that I quite frankly didn't give flying fuck about it being nonsensical.
The pacing is admit ably on the slower side. While some supernatural things occur here and there, it isn't until the climax of the film that things really pick up. Despite that, some of the most fun moments come from the film within a film being shot. The slow pace, admit ably, fits the classic, and for the most part classy, feel of the movie.
Sure it's a el-cheapo production (other than the cast that is), but The House of Seven Corpses is a classy el-cheapo. It is legitimately lovable in a crazy 70s cult cinema sort of way. If the idea of a Satanic/ occult, zombie, John Carradine movie sounds like a great thing, and, quite frankly, it should, then you definitely have to make time to visit this house.
Severin Films released a blu-ray of it a few years back. While the picture isn't great, it is quite good and better than any print this movie has ever had; also the mono sound is quite good. Extras included an old interview with Carradine, in which he seems to be taken aback by all the horror questions he gets asked in it, as well as a super entertaining commentary with associate producer Gary Kent moderated by Lars Nilsen. It was recently announced that this title, along with some others, are going out of print. So, if this review convinced you that need to own this one (and I am kinda hoping that it did!), be sure to hurry up and buy it!
Musician: Neurogenic Album Title: Ouroboric Stagnation Genre/ Subgenre: Brutal Death Metal Label: Comatose Music Release Date: Sept. 2, 2016
Neurogenic are a truly brutal Russian/ US/ Italian death metal machine. Oruboric Stagnation is their debut album, and it is an uncompromising and truly vicious slab of extreme music. There guys are gonna be a force to be reckoned with in the underground scene! The songs are fast, brutal, and angry, averaging about 2 minutes and half, more or less, each. They are an all out assault of speed with blast beats, by amazing US drummer Marco (Six Feet Under) Pitruzzella, throughout. It sounds like machine gun fire accompanied by riffs that only slow down to crunch and pummel. Each song is a savage attack from opening to finish accompanied by guttural and inhuman growling from Italy's Matteo (Indecent Excision) Bazzanella. "Immersion" begins with a discordant intro that goes into a Rambo rapid-fire attack. "Endless Outrage" speeds and crunches forward with pummeling ferocity. The shortest song on the album, clocking in at 1:31, "Vortex of Creation" is a crunching instrumental that actually ranks as one of my utmost favorite tracks. By the time the album closes with with "Eternal Path of Enslaved" you will have experienced one of the most savage and unrelenting debuts of the year. Filled with speed, ferocious technical talent, and unbridled savagery Neurogenic's Ouroboric Stagnation is definitely one that fans of truly brutal and extreme death metal will want to own.
Today on Horror Crushes I am going with one of Freddy Kruger's prettiest victims, the blonde and beautiful Brooke Theiss! While, I mentioned her in an all blonde edition of Horror Crushes, it is time to make it official and induct her in by herself.
Thesis was born on Oct. 23, 1969 (making her 46) in Palos Verdes, California. Her first role was in 1988's Little Nikita, but I know her from her breakthrough role in A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 4: The Dream Master released the same year. In that sequel, Freddy kills part 3's Kristen (pretty Tuesday Knight replacing Patricia Arquette). He uses her friend Alice (the gorgeous Lisa Wilcox), who Kristen has passed her dream powers to, to enter the dreams of her friends. He needs her as those kids aren't the original Elm Street teens (IE the kids of the parents who immolated him), and he can't enter their dreams without using her. Theiss plays tough 80s babe, Deb.
Deb is a total 80s hottie with big hair and studded accessories. That right there sealed the deal for me as a little kid, since I have always liked rocker girls. Deb is into working out and has a fear of bugs. So naturally Freddy kills her in a manner that combines both things. As she is working out, Freddy breaks her arms by pushing the weights down on her. Roach legs comes out and replace her forearms, which fall to the floor. Eventually, she is turned into a complete roach that is stuck in a roach motel. Freddy then crushes it resulting in goop pouring out. It all amounts to the movie's most spectacular, gruesome, and memorable death. It is a fan favorite and years later would even get it's own figure (left).
Following the amazing third installment, Dream Warriors, which is the finest slasher sequel, ever, Dream Master is a solid, though not as great flick. Fun and imaginative it made more than $49.3 million in the US at the time of its' release. It remained the highest grossing film in the franchise till Freddy Vs. Jason came out years later. Thesis was a huge crush of mine back then, along with the beautiful and aformentioned Lisa Wilcox (you can see both beauties below), who played final girl Alice, making this one pretty special for me growing up. Thesis is quite good and likable in her role. It's one of the things ANOES had over Fridaythe 13th sequels: better and more likable characters, in my opinion, anyways.
While, not horror, in any way, shape, or form sitcom Just the 10 of Us, debuted the same year and had her star opposite of another ANOES alumni, the original and Dream Warriors star Heather "Nancy" Lagenkamp. I had a crush on both, and despite my still remaining hatred of sitcoms, this is one I had to watch! I don't remember anything about it, though, other than the girls were hotties.
Theiss returned to horror and the Freddy franchise by appearing in the superlative 2010 documentary Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy, where she talked about her role as Deb in part 4. And, she looked gorgeous!!!! She does horror conventions looking more beautiful than ever (the first pic all the way at the top of this article is a recent pic that I found online), though, sadly, I have yet to meet her, as she hasn't done one that I frequent. Brooke, please, do Chiller or Monstermania, please!
Blonde, tall, and blue-eyed, Brooke Thesis may not have done a lot of horror flicks, but her inclusion in the Nightmare franchise is one of the most memorable in the series and one of my biggest crushes growing up. So it is with great pleasure that I officially add Brooke Thesis to this site's Horror Crushes!
Musician: Sarcofago Album Title: Rotting Genre/ Subgenre: Black/Thrash/Death Metal Label: Greyhaze Records Release Date: Sept. 2, 2016
This is a reissue of Brazilian extreme metallers Sarcofago's 1989 classic album Rotting. It features a gorgeous new layout and comes with a bonus live DVD of a performance from their 1991tour with Morbid Angel (who where supporting Altars of Madness, at the time).
If you've heard this influential album, then you know that is incredibly technical proficient and impossibly fast. If you haven't, then unholy shit do you ever need to! There are only six songs on this EP and everyone of them are truly fucking killer. With the exception of the 29 second long intro track "The Lust", which consists of samples of a girl's orgasm sounds and monstrous shrieking, and the almost punkish "Sex, Drinks, & Metal", which clocks in at 3:27, the other four songs are long. They range from the lightning fast 6:03 "Alcoholic Coma" and the epic 8:53 "Tracy". The music showcases technical superiority and complexity. It firmly puts the music in a death metal category and exemplifies just how influential they were in the extreme metal world. Lyrically the band may talk a little bit about boozing, but they mostly lean towards dark and evil subject matter like killing and fucking one's dead, lying girlfriend, anti-Christianity, and hell. In other words, good, wholesome, and tender fun!
Making this even more of a most own is the excellent, quality in sound in this reissue. Sure it sounds dirty and rough, but it's also clear and full. Combine everything I just said and you have an absolute most own for fans of early death and black metal, and those who love to learn about the history of extreme metal.
Title: 31 Writer/ Director: Rob Zombie Cast: Malcolm McDowell, Richard Brake, Jeff Daniel Phillips, Elizabeth Daily, Sheri Moon Zombie, Meg Foster Year: 2016 Min: 102
On Halloween 1976, a group of friends road trip. As they drive down the road at night, their path is blocked by a row of scarecrows. A group of them get out of their van to move them out of the way. But, they are ambushed, and some of them are killed. Those that are left to live are kidnapped and wake up tied and hung. A trio of eccentric old, rich folk (led by Malcolm McDowell) tell them that they have the night to survive a game where a group of psychotic clowns will try to kill them. Each of them has a set of odds as to their survival, which changes as they do better or worse.
Rob Zombie's latest ran into some problems with the MPAA, over it's intense violence. But, what is the actual film like? Well, it certainly has it's fair share of problems, itself. But, it also has it's merits. I should first and foremost say that if you hate Rob Zombie movies, you will not like this one at all. Now that we have that out of the way, all others continue reading, please.
Let me begin with the bad and get that out of the way:
One of my major problems with this movie is how it really feels like a rehash of the first two Zombie movies, House of 1000 Corpses and The Devil's Rejects, but is never as good as those two. Scenarios and characters are heavily borrowed from them. It made me think that Zombie cannot write original characters and is revisiting his own well too many times. For example, the lovely Sheri Moon Zombie is good in her role. She's a likeable enough lead, but, essentially it feels like what would happen if Baby, from 1000 Corpses and TDR was from an alternate reality where she is a good girl as opposed to bad.
Zombie remains obsessed with curse happy rednecks. Hey, I have a dirty fucking mouth, and anyone who follows this blog or knows me in real fucking life knows this. However, I think the fact that this movie revisits many of his tropes really brings this point, too much into light. His style in this movie is also a bit of determent. I am quite a fan of the almost music video like style coupled with gritty 70s cinema that Zombie has. However, here the fast editing and cuts hurts the gore and intended brutality of the movie.
The male protagonists aren't very interesting, especially Jeff Daniel Phillips. This isn't too say their acting is bad, no, just their characters are kinda just there. Also, I saw the ending coming a mile away, but kept hoping it wouldn't go that route. When it did, I wasn't as much pissed off as I was hoping that something more could have happened. Perhaps, the fact that I knew it was coming lessened the disappointment to some degree, anyways.
But, like I said there are things to be liked. And, here they are:
I said the male protagonists weren't that interesting, but the women are a little different. Like I mentioned before Sheri revisits elements of Baby, but she still is quite good in her role. I liked seeing her kick ass. I also liked looking at her body, which looks slamming in this movie (then, when doesn't it?). Genre favorite Meg Foster has her best role in years. She is a serious badass, here!
The villains are also pretty cool. E.G. Daily is pretty fuckin sexy as Sex-Head. The real scene stealer, though, is Richard Bake as Doom-Head. He is seriously fucking creepy and menacing. The opening monologue is chilling as he looks at the camera, while he talks about killing "you". I would love to see more of this character! Pancho Molar is fucking hilarious as the Nazi, Latino, psycho, clown-midget (yes you read that right!)! Dude, had me laughing my fucking ass off!
That's another thing that I liked, the jet-black humor the movie has. Yes, Zombie has an obsession with foul mouthed people, but I would be lying if I didn't admit that it makes me crack-up. This is a reason why I can't fully damn this this practice.
While, the editing style keeps the gore feeling kind of short handed, the movie has a feeling of violence throughout. It also moves really fast, so it is certainly never boring. There is, at least, a good deal of fun to be had. Adding to this fun is seeing Malcolm McDowell as the head baddie, but I did kind of want more of him. An absolutely fantastic cameo by childhood crush Ginger Lynn Allen is also wonderfully appreciated. It does harken back to her cameo in TDR, but she is naked and just so much fun here, that I won't fucking complain.
31 is not a bad movie, by any means. Unfortunately, it is marred by being an inferior revisiting of Zombie's first two movies. I kind of liked it, but wish I could've enjoyed it more. Still, unlike some recent movies that I have sat through this year (Batman v Superman and Suicide Squad), I didn't dislike it more the more I thought of it. Honestly, I just came out having killed some time and being at least entertained without that many feelings of pissed-offness. As even its' failings are not horribly infuriating. Overall, it's a decent, little movie, that could have been much more has Zombie strayed away from his own tropes. All this being said, I say check it out when it comes if you are a fan of his or of this type of horror flick.
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