Category Archives: Horror

International Horror Film Review: The Killer Snakes (dir by Chih-Hung Kuei)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Given my long-standing fear of snakes, you may be wondering why I would even own a copy of this 1974 film in the first place.  The best excuse I can give you is that I believe in confronting my fears.  Add to that, the back of the DVD claims that this this film is “infamous” and that it has been banned and censored in many countries.  Back in 2010, that was pretty much all I needed to read to convince me to purchase something.

Anyway, The Killer Snakes is a grim and sleazy film from Hong Kong and if you weren’t scared of snakes before watching the film, you’ll definitely be scared of them afterwards.  This isn’t like Snakes on a Plane, where there’s comedy and Samuel L. Jackson dropping classic lines.  This is a brutal and rather nihilistic film, one where the good and the bad alike are destroyed for their sins.  Everyone in this film took a bite from the fruit of the tree of knowledge and now the serpents are going to get revenge.

The film tells the story of Chen (Kwok-Leung Gan), who is the neighborhood weirdo.  After being traumatized by an awful childhood, Chen is now obsessed with bondage and voyeurism.  Being more than a bit creepy, he’s a natural target for every neighborhood bully.  He’s grown obsessed with Hsiu Chuan (Lin-Lin Li), a shopgirl who appears to be the only nice person living in the neighborhood.  Unfortunately, her boyfriend is not only one of the people who regularly bullies Chen but he’s also a pimp as well.

Chen’s only friends are the snakes that he’s been rescuing from the local restaurant.  At the restaurant, the snake’s gall bladders are removed and they’re tossed out into the ally to die  Chen has been collecting the restaurant’s snakes and all of the other local abused snakes and nursing them back to health.  Soon, Chen has an entire army of snakes which he then unleashes on everyone who he feels has mistreated him.  (Of course, what Chen doesn’t consider is that the snakes are seeking revenge less for him and more for their own personal reasons.)

Chen is so bullied that you might be tempted to have some sympathy for him but, whenever you start to feel sorry for him, he always manages to remind you that he may be a victim but he’s also a major creep.  He’s a grimy little voyeur with an obsession with revenge and bondage.  Whatever sympathy you may have for him will disappear as soon as one of his trained snakes attacks a bound prostitute.  (If you have a morbid fear of a snake slithering into your vagina, this is not the film to watch because …. AGCK!)  Actually, everyone in the film is terrible.  There’s literally not a single truly likable person to be found in the entire film.  Even the snakes are ultimately jerks.

The Killer Snakes is one of those films that seems to take place in a world that’s so sleazy and so covered in grime and lost hope that, after watching it, you’ll feel the need to take a shower to wash it all away.  Of course, in doing so, you’ll be running the risk of getting attacked by a snake.  That’s the type of film that The Killer Snakes is.  It’s unpleasant, it’s grimy, it’s sleazy, but it will still definitely have you checking under the covers for snakes.  It’s an effectively icky film.  These snakes don’t have to get on a plane to freak you out.

Icarus File No. 5: mother! (dir by Darren Aronofsky)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

You have to admire the courage of a filmmaker like Darren Aronofsky.  After receiving some overdue Oscar love for Black Swan, Aronofsky probably could have settled into the type of career that Tim Burton currently has: i.e., the self-styled quirky director who makes safe studio films.  Instead, Aronofsky has continued to chart his own course as an artist by following up Black Swan with two films that seemed specifically designed to challenge audiences and annoy the complacent.

With Noah, Aronofsky dared to suggest that God’s mistake with the Great Flood was to allow anyone to survive at all.  Then, he followed up Noah with 2017’s mother!, which was a film that practically dared confused and alienated audience members to stand up and walk out.  And walk out they did.  mother! was one of the few films to score an F on Cinemascore.  I mean, typically, a bad movie will at least get a C.  You have to really piss off the audience to get that F rating.  Watching mother!, it’s obvious that pissing off the audience was a part of the film’s design.

Paramount Picture advertised mother! as being a horror film and, to a certain extent, it is.  Jennifer Lawrence plays the Mother.  She lives in a beautiful house with a poet named Him (Javier Bardem).  Him spends a lot of time talking about how much he loves the Mother but it quickly becomes apparent that he’s rather self-absorbed.  People are constantly showing up at the house to speak to and eventually worship Him and he continually lets them, regardless of how difficult it makes things for the Mother.  The Mother is reduced to begging people not to make a mess but no one listens to her.  As the crows gets bigger, fights break out.  There are sounds of war and explosions rock the Mother’s meticulously cared-for home..  Him can only smile and shrug while his visitors trash the house.  The more the Mother complains, the more cruelly she’s treated by the crowds.

Among those who show up are the Man (Ed Harris) and the Woman (Michelle Pfeiffer).  They have two teenage sons who have developed a dangerous rivalry.  Him seems to be very concerned with them but the Mother just wants them all to leave.  Once they finally do leave, Him is inspired to write his greatest work which, of course, just leads to more people showing up.  It’s a dangerous cycle….

I could actually relate to what the Mother was going through.  I tend to be a little bit on the neat side, which is a polite way of saying that I’m obsessed with keeping the house clean and tidy.  Nothing annoys me more than when a stranger comes in and drags dirt or leaves or whatever across a freshly vacuumed carpet.  When Jennifer Lawrence was reduced to begging people to just make the most basic effort towards not messing up the house, I totally sympathized with her.  Jennifer Lawrence yells so much in this movie that she actually starts to lose her voice in a few scenes.  I could relate.

Of course, Jennifer Lawrence is not just playing a homeowner who doesn’t want her house to get trashed.  And Bardem isn’t just playing a poet.  As you probably already guessed, Bardem is God and Jennifer Lawrence is the Earth and Ed Harris and Michelle Pfieffer are a surprisingly old version of Adam and Eve.  The entire film is a biblical allegory and it all gets a bit heavy-handed.  Aronofsky has said that the film was a result of “anger and anguish” but it’s obvious that all of that anger and anguish prevented him from considering that mother! would have worked better as a 15-minute short film than a two-hour epic.  It doesn’t take long to figure out what’s going on and the film occasionally gets almost embarrassingly obvious in its attempt to push it metaphor.  Aronofsky, at times, seems to think that his film is more enigmatic than it actually is.

Still, despite the fact that the film goes on for way too long and is never quite as much of a mindscrew as Aronofsky seems to think that it is, you have to admire not only the courage of Aaronofsky but also the dedication of Jennifer Lawrence.  This film was not the first high profile Jennifer Lawrence film to not be a hit with audiences (Passengers wasn’t exactly beloved) but it is the one that’s most often cited whenever anyone writes an article about why Jennifer Lawrence’s star is a bit dimmer today than it was back in the days of The Hunger Games.  Undoubtedly, some people did go to the film expecting to see a “typical” Jennifer Lawrence film, just to suddenly be confronted with Javier Bardem ripping her heart out of her chest.  But, at the same time, you have to appreciate a star who is willing to take a chance and that’s what Lawrence did her, lending her star power to a project that was thoroughly out of the mainstream.  Both Aronofsky and Jennifer Lawrence took a chance with mother! and, even if the film is not quite the triumph that some viewers may want it to be, you still respect them for having done so.

Previous Icarus Files:

  1. Cloud Atlas
  2. Maximum Overdrive
  3. Glass
  4. Captive State

 

4 Shots From 4 Dario Argento Films: Deep Red, Suspiria, Inferno, The Phantom of the Opera

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

4 Shots From 4 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, we’ve been using 4 Shots from 4 Films to pay tribute to some of our favorite horror filmmakers!  Today, we honor the one and only Dario Argento!

4 Shots From 4 Dario Argento Films

Deep Red (1975, dir by Dario Argento)

Suspiria (1977, dir by Dario Argento)

Inferno (1980, dir by Dario Argento)

The Phantom of the Opera (1998, dir by Dario Argento)

Horror Film Review: Squirm (dir by Jeff Lieberman)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Worms are creepy and you don’t want to get them in your hair.

I think that, more than anything, explains the continuing appeal of this lightly satirical Southern shocker from 1976.  The film’s plot is a simple one, as the plots of the best horror films often are.  There’s a storm.  The power lines over Fly Creek, Georgia get knocked down.  The power line lands in the mud and soon, you’ve got thousands of electrified worms crawling all over the place.  These worms are angry and noisy and they like to eat people’s faces and take control of their bodies.  Of course, since the power lines are all down, you’re can/t exactly call for help and even worse, you’re thrown into darkness once the sun goes down.  Squirm gets at some very basic fears.

Squirm has a welcome sense of humor, as any film about killer worms should.  It’s obvious that Lieberman knew that the audience would be demanding that the worms get revenge on at least a few fisherman and those scenes are tossed in there.  The film’s nominal hero is Mick (Don Scardino), a visitor from New York City, and he’s so out-of-place in rural Georgia that it becomes funny watching him try to do simple things like order food or have a simple conversation.  Even when he tries to warn people about the worms, you can tell they’re thinking, “He might be right but do I want to listen to a yankee?”  As we say down here in Texas, you can always spot the yankee because they’re the ones sweating profusely and talking about killer worms.  The scenes of Mick trying to order something at the local diner reminded me of the great “We don’t got no goddamn trout” scene from Hell or High Water.

Mick is in Georgia to visit his girlfriend, Geri (Patricia Pearcy).  Almost everyone who Mick meets seems like they could have come out of an overheated first draft of a Tennessee Williams play.  Once the worm attack starts in earnest, Geri’s mother sinks into a state of denial that would have impressed Blanche DuBois.  Meanwhile, Squirm has its own wannaba Stanley Kowalski in the form of Roger (R.A. Dow), who obviously can’t understand why Geri would want a boyfriend from New York when she could have him.  Roger is a creep but he’s a familiar creep.  Anyone who has ever lived in the country will immediately recognize Roger and know everything that they need to know about him.

That said, the worms are the real stars of Squirm and they certainly do manage to get everywhere.  On the one hand, it’s funny to see the worms emerging from a shower head but, on the other hand, it’s actually really terrifying because, when you’re standing naked in a shower, the last thing you want is to get about a thousand worms dumped on your head.  Seriously, that would freak me out even more than threat of getting killed by Norman Bates’s mother.  The film is also full of close-ups of the worms and, to be honest, worms are really freaky to look at.  The opening and closing of that little mouth is like pure nightmare fuel.

Squirm is a classic of Southern horror.  You’ll never look at a worm the same way again.

 

Horror On The Len: The Abominable Dr. Phibes (dir by Robert Fuest)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

For today’s horror on the lens, we have one of Vincent Price’s most popular films, 1971’s The Abominable Dr. Phibes!

This is Price at his considerable best.  Be sure to read Gary’ review.

And watch the film below!

Enjoy!

 

Lisa Reviews An Oscar Winner: One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest (dir by Milos Forman)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Technically, the 1975 film One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest is not a horror film.

Though it may take place in a creepy mental hospital, there are no ghosts or zombies.  There’s no masked killer wandering the halls.  The shadows do not leap off the walls and there are no ghostly voice in the night, unless you count the rarely heard voice of Will Sampson’s Chief Bromden.

Admittedly, the cast is full of horror and paranormal veterans.  Michael Berryman, of the original Hills Have Eyes, plays a patient.  Louise Fletcher, who won an Oscar for playing the role of Nurse Ratched, went on to play intimidating matriarchs in any number of low-budget horror movies.  Vincent Schiavelli, a patient in this film, played the angry subway ghost in Ghost.  Another patient, Sidney Lassick, played Carrie’s condescending English teacher in Carrie.  Brad Dourif, who received an Oscar nomination for playing the meek Billy Bibbit, has become a horror mainstay.  Will Sampson appeared in the Poltergeist sequel.  Both Scatman Crothers and Jack Nicholson would go on to appear in The Shining.

Nicholson plays Randle Patrick McMurphy, a career criminal who, hoping to get out of prison early, pretends to be mentally ill.  He ends up getting sent to an Oregon mental institution, where his rebellious ways upset the administrators while, at the same time, inspiring the patients to actually try to take some control over their lives.  The film is, in many ways, a celebration of personal freedom and rebellion.  The only catch here is that, in One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest, being a little bit too rebellious can lead to not only electroshock treatment but also a lobotomy.  Those in charge have a way of making you permanently compliant.

And really, to me, that’s what makes One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest a horror film.  It’s about the horror of conformity and bureaucracy.  The film may start out as something of a comedy and Nicholson brings a devil-may-care attitude to the role of McMurphy but then, eventually, you reach the scene where McMurphy is tied down and given electrical shocks to make him compliant.  You reach the scene where Ratched coldly informs Billy Bibbit that she will be telling his mother that Billy lost his virginity to a prostitute and Billy reacts by slicing open his wrists.  Finally, you reach the scene where McMurphy returns to the ward having had a bit of his brain removed.  In those scenes, One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest becomes a horror movie.  The monster is not a ghost or a demon or a serial killer.  Instead, it’s a system that is determined to squash out any bit of rebellion or free thought.

What makes Nurse Ratched such a great villain is the fact that, as opposed to being some sort of a maniacal force of evil, she’s really just someone doing her job and refusing to question her methods.  She’s the ultimate symbol of bland authoritarianism.  Her job is to keep the patients from getting out of control and, if that means lobotomizing them and driving one of them to suicide …. well, that’s what she’s going to do.  For all the time that Ratched spends talking about therapy, her concern is not “curing” the patients or even helping them reach a point where they can leave the hospital and go one with their lives.  Ratched’s concern is keeping everyone in their place.  As played by Fletcher, Ratched epitomizes the banality of evil.  (That’s one reason why it was so silly for Ryan Murphy to devote his most recent Netflix series to giving her an over-the-top origin story.  Ratched is a great villain because she doesn’t have any complex motivations.  She’s just doing whatever she has to do to keep control of the people are on her ward.  Part of keeping control is not to allow anyone to question her methods.  Everyone has had to deal with a Nurse Ratched at some point in the life.  With the elections coming up, we’re about to be introduced to whole new collection of Nurse Ratcheds.)

I like One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest, even though it’s an undeniably dated film.  That said, it’s not as dated as the novel on which it’s based, nor is it as appallingly misogynistic.  Jack Nicholson’s rough but charismatic performance holds up wonderfully well.  (I don’t know if an actor has ever matched a character as perfectly as Nicholson does with McMurphy.)  Louise Fletcher brings a steely resolve to the role of Nurse Ratched.  Fans of spotting character actors in early roles will probably get a kick out of spotting both Danny DeVito and Christopher Lloyd as patients.  The movie skillfully combines drama with comedy and the ending manages to be both melancholy and hopeful.

When it comes to the 1975 Oscar race …. well, I don’t know if I would argue that One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest deserved to win Best Picture over Nashville, Dog Day Afternoon, or Barry Lyndon or Jaws.  Dog Day Afternoon and Nashville feel as if they were ahead of their time, with their examination of the media and politics.  Jaws set the template for almost every blockbuster that would follow and it’s certainly one of the most influential horror films ever made.  Barry Lyndon is a stunning technical achievement.  Compared to those films, One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest seems rather simplistic.  Watching it today, you’re very much aware of how much of the film’s power is due to Jack Nicholson’s magnetic screen presence.  Nicholson definitely deserved his Oscar but it’s debatable whether or not the same can be said of One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest as a whole.

So no, I wouldn’t necessary say that One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest was the best of the films nominated that year.  Still, it’s an entertaining film and a helluva ride.  It’s a great film to watch whenever you’re sick of faceless bureaucrats trying to tell you what to do.  And, in its own odd way, it’s a great film for Halloween season.

6 Trailers For The Thursday Before Halloween

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

It’s a holiday and you know what that means!

Or maybe you don’t.  Sometimes, I forget that not everyone can read my mind.  Anyway, I used to do a weekly post of my favorite grindhouse trailers.  Eventually, it went from being a weekly thing to being an occasional thing, largely due to the fact that there’s only so many trailers available on YouTube.  Now, Lisa Marie’s Favorite Grindhouse and Exploitation Film Trailers is something that I usually only bring out on a holiday.

Like today!

So, here are 6 trailers for the Thursday before Halloween!

  1. The Monster Squad (1987)

I swear, there are some people out there who really, really love this movie.  And good for them!  Love is what makes the world go round.  Personally, I’ve never watched it but it seems like everyday, someone on twitter makes a comment about the wolfman having nards.

2. Trick ‘R’ Treat (2007)

This is another movie that people around me seem to love.  Strangely, I haven’t seen it, though the trailer seems to suggest that it’s something that I would enjoy.  So, consider this my promise to you — next year, I will review Trick ‘R’ Treat for horrorthon!

3. Trick or Treat (1986)

“Rock and roll will never die!”  And neither will Halloween.

However, make no mistake about it …. horror is not just a Halloween thing.  It can infect any holiday….

4. New Year’s Evil (1980)

From director Garry Marshall comes an all-star film about the moments that make us who we are and the one night when everyone is celebrating…. oh wait.  Sorry, wrong movie.  This is actually a Canadian film that featured a killer who commits a murder in every time zone at the stroke of midnight.  I’m not sure why anyone would think that was a viable plan but it was the 80s and cocaine was everywhere.

So, to make clear …. Garry Marshall was in no way involved with this film.

5. Slaughterhouse Rock (1988)

New Year’s Evil was not the only slasher film to feature a soundtrack of rockin’ 80s music!  There was also Slaughterhouse Rock, which had a Devo soundtrack and which featured Toni Basil in a small but key supporting role!

Finally, let’s finish things off with one more horror musical spectacular.

6. Black Roses (1988)

OH MY GOD, LOOK AT THOSE DELOREANS!

Still, despite their really cool cars, this band is not a band to listen to.  There’s only way you can get your band to sound as bad as the one in this movie and that’s too make a deal with the the devil!  Losing your soul to sound terrible …. it’s just not worth it.

Though, admittedly, those car are pretty freaking cool….

Anyway, happy Eve of the Eve of Halloween!  Enjoy these trailer and be sure to enjoy some wonderful films as well!

Horror On TV: FreakyLinks 1.5 “Desert Squid! Myth or Legend?” (dir by Scott Lautanen)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

On tonight’s episode of FreakyLinks, Derek and the team head down to New Mexico to investigate reports of a tentacle-bearing desert creature!  If not for the tentacles, I would say it was probably a chupacabra. Seriously, if you ever see a chupacabra coming at you, run!

(A friend of mine in college was nicknamed Chupacabra, mostly because he was kind of …. odd.)

This episode originally aired on November 3rd, 2000!

Enjoy!