Category Archives: Horror

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

Posted on 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 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 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 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!

Music Video of the Day: The Garden by Guns N’ Roses (1993, directed by Del James)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

This was one of the few Guns N’ Roses’s videos to not get heavy play on MTV, perhaps because all of the members of the band appear to be either depressed or under the influence.  Black-and-white shots of the sleaziest parts of New York are mixed with color footage of strippers.  The video makes 1993 New York look so dangerous that it could almost be a Rudy Guiliani campaign commercial.

(Of course, we all know that it wasn’t New Yorkers fear of crime that elected Guiliani.  It was their anger over Yogurt that falsely claimed to be low fat.)

Alice Cooper and the late Shannon Hoon can be heard providing background vocals on this song.

Enjoy!

AMV of the Day: Sunako Nakahara (You’re So Creepy)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

As another week comes to a close, it’s time for another AMV of the Day!

Anime: The Wallflower

Song: You’re So Creepy (by Ghost Town)

Creator: Venny (please subscribe to this creator’s channel)

Past AMVs of the Day

Horror on TV: Circle of Fear 1.22 “The Phantom of Herald Square” (dir by James H. Brown)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Tonight, on Circle of Fear, Sheila Larken plays Holly Brown, a young artist who meets and falls madly in love with James Barlow (David Soul).  Unfortunately, this leads to her being harassed by a frightening old man (Victor Jory) and it turns out that James has got a terrible secret of his own.

This melancholy story was the final episode of Circle of Fear, which was cancelled after its first and only season.  This episode makes for a good note for the show to go out on.  It originally aired on March 30th, 1973.

Circle of Fear may be over but Horrorthon continues!  We’ll be back with more televised horror tomorrow!

TSL’s Horror Grindhouse: Queen of Blood (dir by Curtis Harrington)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Queen of Blood (1966, dir by Curtis Harrington, DP: Vilis Lapenieks)

Here’s a question: what happens when Roger Corman buys the rights to two Russian science fiction films, decides to jettison basically everything but the special effects footage, and then hires experimental filmmaker Curtis Harrington to shoot an entirely new film around that footage?

You end up with the 1966 film, Queen of Blood!

Not that that’s a bad thing, mind you. Queen of Blood is actually pretty good and director Harrington manages to smoothly integrate the Russian footage with the new footage. Basically, it works out so that you’ll see a Russian shot of the spaceship taking off or landing and then you’ll see a shot of John Saxon, Dennis Hopper, or Basil Rathbone sitting on a set and pretending like they’re in space.

The film opens with Dr. Faraday (Basil Rathbone) discovering that aliens have been transmitting a message to Earth. They’re sending an ambassador to meet with the Earthlings but the aliens’ spaceship ends up crash landing on Mars! Faraday arranges for an Earth spaceship, the Oceano, to go to Mars and rescue the ambassador.

Aboard the Oceano is a cast made up of a few familiar faces. John Saxon plays Allan, who is the de facto leader of the expedition and also engaged to marry Dr. Faraday’s assistant, Laura (Judi Meredith). A young-looking Dennis Hopper is Paul Grant, an astronaut. Don’t get too excited about Hopper being in the cast. Queen of Blood was made when Hopper was still trying to pursue mainstream film stardom so he gives a rather bland performance here. There’s a few scenes where you can tells that Hopper is on the verge of smirking at some of his dialogue but, for the most part, he plays the role extremely straight. Rounding out the crew is Anders (Robert Boon) and Tony (Don Eitner), neither one of whom would go on to star in Easy Rider, Blue Velvet, or Nightmare on Elm Street.

It’s a difficult journey. The Oceano keeps running into Russian-filmed turbulence on the way to Mars. When they do land, they discover that the ambassador (Florence Marly) is waiting for them to rescue her. She doesn’t talk much nor does she have any interest in eating Earth food. She does seem to like every member of the crew except for Laura. Of course, the ambassador’s defining trait is that she likes to drink blood….

All things considered, Queen of Blood works pretty well. While none of the performances are particularly memorable (though Basil Rathbone does bring some old school class to what is essentially a cameo role), Curtis Harrington does a great job creating and maintaining a properly ominous atmosphere. It takes a while for the crew to finally find the Queen of Blood but, when they do, Harrington gets every bit of creepiness that he can out of the character. The film even ends on an appropriately dark note, suggesting that the human race may be just too stupid to survive.

Queen of Blood is an entertaining B-movie. Watch it the next time you’re in the mood for some intergalactic blood-sucking fun!

Horror Scenes I Love: The Church Scene from 28 Days Later

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

In a film full of disturbing and frightening moments, this is the one that always gets to me.  I think it’s a combination of how apologetic the clueless Jim is and also just the way those heads pop up when he says, “Hello?”

From Danny Boyle’s 28 Days Later: