Great Moments In Television History #26: Siskel & Ebert Discuss Horror

Posted on October 23, 2022 by Jedadiah Leland

This may not actually be a great moment in television history but it is an important one because it framed not only how horror films were discussed by many critics but it also is a big reason why many horror fans were not fans of this iconic duo. Despite Roger Ebert being one of the only critics to defend Wes Craven’s Last House On The Left when it was initially released, both he and Gene Siskel had a reputation for being anti-Horror. That reputation is largely due to a 1980 episode of Sneak Previews, in which they condemned what they called the “Women in Danger” horror films.

This originally aired on September 18th, 1980.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbtUnOHAX3E

In Siskel & Ebert’s defense, they’re problem is more with slasher films than horror films. Do you agree with them? Siskel & Ebert criticized the way that audiences reacted to the films but is that the fault of the films or of the audience? Is it really fair to compare films like Don’t Answer The Phone and I Spit On Your Grave to films like Friday the 13th or When A Stranger Calls? It’s interesting to note that they defend Halloween as being an exception to the trend but Halloween was also a film that popularized showing scenes from the POV of the killer.

For a counter-point to this episode, check out a later episode in which Gene and Roger recommended horror films that they felt had been overlooked.

Previous Moments In Television History:

Horror Game Review: Zombie Blast 2023 (2022, Sam Ursu)

Posted on October 23, 2022 by Jedadiah Leland

The year is 2023 and the zombie apocalypse has begun. First, you parents were killed. Then, your spouse was killed. All you have left is your baby and you are going to do whatever you need to do to protect the last remaining member of your family.

Zombie Blast 2023 starts out simply enough. You are in a house with four room. The baby is in one of the rooms. (The room changes each time that you play.) You have an axe. You have a shotgun that carries a limited amount of shells. You have a limited amount of energy and, if you don’t stop to rest occasionally, you’ll weaken and maybe even find yourself incapable of moving. You also have to find time to eat. Your number one objective is to protect the baby from the zombie horde that is approaching the house. Whenever a zombie gets in the house, you have to kill it before it reaches the baby’s room. As the game progresses, you can level up and become a better zombie killer but, at the same time, the number of zombies will also increase.

Zombie Blast 2023 is an addictive work of interactive fiction. I played it several times, trying out different strategies and seeing how long I could last before I was “overwhelmed.” As you level up and as the zombies become more aggressive it becomes a real challenge to try to make sure that you’re in the right place to kill them before they manage to get into whichever room the baby is in. Can you make it through to the morning? It’s not as easy you might think.

Play Zombie Blast 2023.

Horror Game Review: A Shift In The Night (2022, Muulk)

Posted on October 23, 2022 by Jedadiah Leland

You have a job working the graveyard shift at a gas station in the desert. Because you have been hearing things coming from the backroom, you go to see a doctor. He tells you that hallucinations are an occupational hazzard for people who work overnight. He gives you some pills to control them. He says that you must take them every hour.

Feeling better about things, you go to work and discover that you left your pills at home. Can you survive the night?

A Shift In the Night is a work simulator where you attempt to get through your shift without dying. It’s not just the weird buzzing coming from the stockroom that’s a threat. There are also customers to deal with. Some of them are harmless. Some of them are crazy. One of them is definitely very dangerous. Good luck guessing which is which.

You would think that surviving an 8-hour night shift wouldn’t be that difficult but I have so far managed to die in four different ways while playing A Shift In The Night and absolutely none of those deaths were pleasant. The game uses graphics and sound effects to put you right in that gas station. When I was 18 and fresh out of high school, I worked nights part-time to help pay my college tuition and this game captures the atmosphere of the night shift. I always enjoyed the freedom of not having to deal with salaried management but I also knew that I had a greater chance of getting shot at night than during the day. This game brought back memories.

Play A Shift In The Night.

Retro Television Review: Summer of Fear (dir by Wes Craven)

Posted on October 23, 2022 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Welcome to Retro Television Reviews, a feature where we review some of our favorite and least favorite shows of the past! On Sundays, I will be reviewing the made-for-television movies that used to be a primetime mainstay. Today’s film is 1978’s Summer of Fear. It can be viewed on YouTube!

In this made-for-TV movie from 1978, Linda Blair (fresh from the first two Exorcist films) plays Rachel. Rachel is a teenager who lives on a ranch in California. She loves horses and she loves her boyfriend and she’s especially happy that her cousin, Julia (Lee Purcell) is coming to live with her. Julia recently lost both of her parents in a tragic auto accident. Though neither Rachel nor her parents have ever met Julia before, they’re all planning on welcoming her into their very nice home.

The only problem is that, once Julia arrives, she seems to be a little bit strange. She speaks with a strange accent that no one on the ranch has ever heard before. The horses all seems to be terrified of her. After Rachel discovers that Julia has stolen minor personal possessions from her new family, Rachel starts to suspect that Julia might be witch and that she might be casting spells! Of course, by this point, Julia is no longer as shy and awkward as she seemed when she first showed up. Instead, she’s now glamorous and every man who meets her becomes intrigued, including Rachel’s boyfriend!

Based on a best-selling novel, Summer of Fear originally aired on NBC. If it were made today, it would probably air on something like Lifetime and it would have a title like, “Deadly Spell” or “Dangerous Seductress.” Seen today, it’s a bit of a slow movie and Linda Blair occasionally seems to be trying too hard to come across as being wide-eyed and innocent in her role but it’s entertaining as long as Lee Purcell is giving people strange looks and chewing up the scenery. The more out-of-control Pucell becomes, the more entertaining the film. Summer of Fear does build to a satisfying conclusion but it’s still hard not to wish that the story itself had moved just a bit quicker. Jaded audiences in 2022 are no longer as shocked at the idea of witch coming to visit as audiences in 1978 may have been. In the end, probably the most interesting thing about Summer of Fear is that it was an early credit for horror master, Wes Craven. This was his third film and his first “major” production, one that he made in order to show that, after directing two independent films, he could be trusted with a mainstream, studio production. As such, you can argue that, without this film, Craven never would have gone on to do Nightmare on Elm Street and Scream. Modern horror would be very different without Summer of Fear.

Ultimately. the film’s a bit too slowly paced to really be successful but if you’re a fan of Wes Craven’s or even Linda Blair’s, you’ll probably want to watch it at least once.

Horror Scenes that I Love: Rabbits From Inland Empire

Posted on October 23, 2022 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Today’s scene is from David Lynch’s Inland Empire.

I’m not even going to try to explain what’s going on here.

International Horror Film: The Deep House (dir by Alexandre Bustillo and Julien Maury)

Posted on October 23, 2022 by Lisa Marie Bowman

The 2021 French film, The Deep House, tells the story of Tina (Camilla Rowe) and Ben (James Jagger). Originally from New York, Tina and James are driving across Europe and filming themselves as they explore haunted houses. They have recently learned of a submerged house in France. With the help of a local guide named Pierre (Eric Savin), they track down the lake that Pierre claims is the location of the house. Tina and James put on their diving gear and jump into the water. Pierre, on the other hand, stays on dry land. In fact, Pierre seems like he might have an agenda of his own.

Tina and James find the underwater house and they continue to film themselves as they explore it. (In fact, with their eagerness to go travel the world and film themselves disrupting their surroundings, you might be tempted to think that this film has something on its mind about American interventionism.) Interestingly enough, the house is in surprisingly good shape despite having been underwater for a few decades. In fact, the house is full of posters, photographs, and graffiti, all of which one would expect to be destroyed by exposure to water. Why, there’s even a fake clown head just kind of sitting there. However, Tina and James are a bit more concerned about why their equipment suddenly seems to be malfunctioning. And then, of course, there’s the two dead bodies that are chained to the walls inside the house.

Now, you may be wondering why Tina and James don’t just leave the house. Believe it or not, they try to leave as soon as they come across the bodies. (Most of my friends would probably immediately try to leave as soon as they saw that clown. You have to feel bad for all the misunderstood and misjudged clowns of the world.) But suddenly, the window that they previously swam through has been blocked by a brick wall. In fact, the house seems to be constantly changing and rebuilding itself, all to keep Tina and James from finding a way out. With their air supply running out, Tina and James try to figure out how to escape the house and, even more importantly, how to escape the zombie that has suddenly shown up.

Oh, did I forget the mention the zombies? Well …. there’s a zombie.

Well-directed by Julien Maury and Alexandre Bustillo, The Deep House is an atmospheric horror film, one that doesn’t waste any time launching into its story. While there have been plenty of horror films about people exploring haunted houses and accidentally filming their own demise, The Deep House adds a new wrinkle by having almost all of the action occur underwater. Even if Tina and James manages to escape the house and the zombies, you still have to wonder if they’ll have enough air left to make it to the surface. Maury and Bustillo do a good job of generating suspense and the film has more than enough jump scares to keep most horror fans happy. The Deep House is worth the dive.

4 Shots From 4 Horror Films: 2005 — 2007

Posted on October 23, 2022 by Lisa Marie Bowman

4 Or More Shots From 4 Or More Films is just what it says it is, 4 shots from 4 of our favorite films. As opposed to the reviews and recaps that we usually post, 4 Shots From 4 Films lets the visuals do the talking!

This October, I’m going to be doing something a little bit different with my contribution to 4 (or more) Shots From 4 (or more) Films. I’m going to be taking a little chronological tour of the history of horror cinema, moving from decade to decade.

Today, we take a look at 2005, 2006, and 2007!

4 Shots From 4 Horror Films: 2005 — 2007

Land of the Dead (2005, dir by George Romeo, DP: Mirosław Baszak)

The Descent (2005, dir by Neil Marshall, DP: Sam McCurdy)

Inland Empire (2006, dir by David Lynch, DP: David Lynch)

Halloween (2007, dir by Rob Zombie, DP: Phil Parmet)

Horror Film Review: 47 Meters Down: Uncaged (dir by Johannes Roberts)

Posted on October 23, 2022 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Let us take a moment or two to give some thought to the poor, misunderstood shark.

Sharks have a reputation for being the most dangerous predators in the ocean but, for the most part, sharks just swim around and eat whatever is in front of them. They are certainly not harmless but they’re also not the clever, calculating monsters that they’ve been made out to be. As opposed to what all the sequels to Jaws have told us, sharks do not stalk people. They do not seek revenge. They do not look at certain humans and think, “That is my mortal enemy.” A shark will not follow you from New England to the Caribbean just because you’re the widow of the man who killed its cousin. Sharks look scary and, certainly, you should stay out of the water if one of them is swimming nearby. But, for the most part, the only thing that one needs to have to avoid being attacked by a shark is common sense.

Unfortunately, none of the characters in the 2019 film, 47 Meters Down Uncaged, have any common sense. The film tells the tale of Mia (Sophie Nelisse) and her stepsister, Sasha (Corrine Fox). Mia and Sasha are both students at a new school in Mexico. Their father, Grant (John Corbett), has been exploring a submerged Mayan city. Along with their two friends, Alexa (Brianne Tju) and Nicole (Sistine Stallone), Mia and Sasha decide to spend the weekend scuba diving and exploring the ancient city. The girls have a good time looking at all of the mummies and the sacrificial chamber. Unfortunately, a great white shark shows up to ruin their fun. The simplest solution would probably be too leave the city but, because the girls keep screaming and accidentally knocking stuff over, they soon find themselves trapped in the newly collapsed city. Not only have they upset a shark but they’ve managed to destroy a bunch of valuable historical artifacts. Way to go!

47 Meters Down: Uncaged was sold as being a sequel to 47 Meters Down, the Mandy Moore/shark film that came out in 2017. However, other than having the same director, the only thing that the two films have in common is that they both spend a lot of time underwater and they both feature a shark. In fact, I’m not even sure if they get down to the 47 meters in Uncaged but that’s just because, as an American, I find the metric system to be extremely confusing. The original 47 Meters Down also had a slightly interesting premise and a good performance from Mandy Moore. 47 Meters Down: Uncaged, on the other hand, is just about four girls who did something incredibly stupid and then did something else incredibly stupid and then just kept on doing every stupid thing that came to mind. Most people will be cheering for the shark.

That said, it should be noted that Johannes Roberts definitely uses that shark for all that its worth. The film’s characters may be stupid but the shark itself is scary and generates its share of effective jump scares. This is one of those diabolically clever sharks that knows how to hide behind corners until someone swims by. As I mentioned at the start of this review, that’s not exactly realistic shark behavior but it’s definitely effective movie behavior. The scenes where the shark suddenly emerged from the darkness definitely made jump. The scene where one of the girls attempted to climb out of the cave and then fell into the water in super slow motion made me laugh. There’s something to be said for a film that can make you both jump and laugh.

One final note: the sharks lived in that submerged Mayan city for over a hundred years without damaging anything. Mia, Sasha, and their friends visit the city for less than an hour and manage to destroy the place. Remember that the next time anyone says anything against the sharks.

Horror On The Lens: The Student of Prague (dir by Stellan Rye and Paul Wegener)

Posted on October 23, 2022 by Lisa Marie Bowman

For today’s horror on the lens, we have a film from 1913! A German adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe’s William Wilson, The Student of Prague is often considered to be the first feature-length horror film. Featuring Paul Wegener (who also co-directed the film) in the lead role, this is the story of what happens when the popular but poor Balduin attempts to get rich by dealing with the dark arts. These things never work out well, as Balduin discovers once his reflection steps out of a mirror and goes out of its way to make Balduin’s life difficult.

Of course, to watch the film today, audiences have to adjust both their expectations and the way that they take in and process cinematic storytelling. As of this writing, The Student of Prague is 109 years old and it’s definitely a film of its time. The camera largely remains stationary and, from a modern perspective, the film is rather slow-paced. And yet, the film’s story remains rather intriguing. Despite the static camera work, the film manages to create and maintain a properly ominous atmosphere and a scene in which Balduin and Margit attempt to meet in a cemetery is effectively creepy. Paul Wegener’s performance holds up well. Largely eschewing the overly theatrical acting style that we usually tend to associate with silent cinema, Wegener gives a nuanced and effectively subtle performance as both Balduin and his doppelganger. When he’s acting opposite of himself, you don’t think about the fact that you’re witnessing an early camera trick. Instead, Wegener creates two separate but believable versions of the same character. The doppelganger represents all of Balduin’s undesirable impulses and everything that has kept Balduin from achieving happiness. By the end of the film, Balduin can’t live with his doppelganger but he can’t live without him as well.

The Student of Prague is an interesting piece of history and one that every true student of horror should watch and learn from at least once.

And here’s your chance!

Enjoy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdyufz5ApRk