On October 30th, 1938, Orson Welles and the Mercury Theater On The Air broadcast an adaptation of H.G. Wells’s War of the Worlds and, legend has it, they scared the ever-loving heck out of America.
Actually, there’s some debate as to just how panicked America got when they heard the Mercury Theater On The Air’s adaptation of War of the Worlds. There was definitely some panic but there are differing reports on just how wide spread it was. For our purposes, let’s assume that the entire country was terrified at the same time and that everyone was loading up a shotgun and planning to go out and look for aliens. With his adaptation of War of the Worlds, Orson Welles managed to invent the whole found footage genre that would later come to dominate horror cinema in the late 90s and the aughts. Every found footage horror film owes a debt to what Orson Welles accomplished with War of the Worlds. Ultimately, it’s just another example of how far ahead of his time Orson Welles was.
H.G. Wells, the original author of War of the Worlds, and Orson Welles only met once, while they were both in San Antonio, Texas in 1940. (Orson Welles and H.G. Wells hanging out in San Antonio? To be honest, that sounds like it would make a good movie.) They were interviewed for a local radio station. H.G. Wells expressed some skepticism about the reports of Americans panicking while Welles compared the radio broadcast to someone dressing up like a ghost and shouting “Boo!” during Halloween. Both Wells and Welles then encouraged Americans to worry less about Martians and more about the growing threat of Hitler and the war in Europe.
I’ve shared this before but this just seems like the time to share it again. Here, for Halloween Eve, is the 1938 Mercury Theater On The Air production of The War of the Worlds!
It’s the rain season in Texas and there’s a chance that it might rain on Halloween night. We usually don’t have many trick-or-treaters in this neighborhood. In fact, our neighbors have barely decorated for Halloween. Lisa says it’s because the socialists are trying to kill any holidays that aren’t about celebrating the government. I think it’s because we don’t have many kids around. Even thought we usually don’t have many people coming by to ask for candy, I still feel bad whenever it does rain on Halloween night, and I hope that, if it happens this year, the parents take the precaution of buying backup candy.
A few years ago, as fall approached (and I’d love to say it was on Halloween, but I can’t remember the exact date), it started to rain while I was driving, and I had to keep pulling over to the side of the road because, even with the windshield wipers going, I couldn’t see where I was going and I knew that was probably true for a lot of other people on the road. Fortunately, I was never without a camera.
I hope everyone has a safe and relatively dry Halloween!
The dead are coming back to life! When her brother, Johnny (Bill Moseley), is killed by a zombie at the cemetery, Barbara (Patricia Tallman) flees and makes her way to an isolated farmhouse. It’s there that she’s joined by Ben (Tony Todd), a traveling salesman who is also fleeing from the zombies. Also hiding out at the farmhouse are young lovers Tom (William Butler) and Judy (Katie Finneran) and Harry (Tom Towles), his wife (McKee Anderson), and daughter (Heather Mazur). While the living dead lay siege to the house, Ben and Harry argue over whether it would be better to hide in the basement or to stay upstairs. Even in the face of an unimaginable crisis, the living just can’t stop bickering.
If the plot sounds familiar, it should. Unfortunately, this is not George Romero’s original Night of the Living Dead. This is a remake that came out in 1990. Apparently, when the original film was made, Romero forgot to include a copyright notice on the film and that, combined with a long court battle over the film’s profits, meant that he made next to no money off of its subsequent popularity. (In Romero’s defense, no one originally suspected that his low-budget zombie movie would go on to become a cultural phenomenon.) In the late 80s, when Romero heard that Menahem Golan was considering doing a remake, Romero contacted him and signed on to write the script and serve as an executive producer. Romero’s plan was to establish his copyright over the material while heading off a potentially terrible remake. And, of course, Romero hoped to finally make some money off of the whole thing. Tom Savini was originally brought in to do the special effects but Romero subsequently persuaded him to direct the film. Savini later said that directing the film was a nightmare. While Romero was supportive of Savini’s ideas for the film, the other producers were not and Savini estimated that only 40% of the film was his vision. Once filming was finished, Savini was contractually obligated to cut some of the film’s most gory moments to get an R rating.
Unfortunately, the remake doesn’t really work. Shooting the film in color robs the film of the harsh atmosphere and the almost documentary-style realism that made the first film such a nightmare-inducing success. What was once subtext is made explicit by the film’s script. As opposed to ending with a series of increasingly grainy still shots that bring to mind the records of real-life war atrocities, this film features Barbara watching a trigger-happy posse and literally saying that the living are just like the dead.
The biggest update is that Barbara no longer spends the entire movie in a state of shock. Instead, she grabs a rifle and turns out to be the best shot in the movie. Of course, after spending 90 minutes watching her shoot zombies in the head, it’s a bit hard to take seriously the idea that she would be offended by the sight of the posse. The remake tries to make Barbara a stronger character but then they cast someone who gave an absolutely terrible, one-note performance in the role, which kind of negates the whole thing. In the original film, Ben shoots Harry and it’s a sad moment because it shows that people cannot work together. In the remake, Barbara shoots Ben and we’re supposed to cheer because it’s a 90s film. Beyond that, though, one of the reasons why the first Night of the Living Dead was so effective is because Barbara had the reaction that we all secretly suspect we would have. I may not be happy to admit it but if the dead did come back to life, I’d probably be catatonic as well. Most people would. Not everyone is going to turn into an action hero whenever a crisis breaks out. I would be totally worthless in the face of a zombie apocalypse and so would you. The original Night of the Living Dead had the courage to admit that. The remake does not and that’s why the remake is ultimately just another zombie film.
(Of course, one could argue that by taking the original and spelling out its subtext and making Barbra into a stereotype, this film actually predicted everything from American Horror Story to Mike Flanagan’s Carrie.)
When it comes to the Dead, stick with the Romero originals.
A woman hears a noise so she checks out her attic. Then, she finds a mysterious box with a VHS tape inside. Okay lady, that’s enough. Go away from the cursed box and cursed VHS tape. Are you literally the only person who didn’t see “The Ring”. Enough! Stop! Put those evil things away and get a normal hobby. She lacks all survival skills.
She starts watching the film and it has creepy background music. She starts playing peek-a-boo with the girl in the film who did warn her not to cheat. Did she cheat? Yes. Did the girl become an evil ghost? Yes! I have no sympathy for her- at all.
It’s hard for me to watch movies where decent, hardworking people are mercilessly crushed by the system. But that’s exactly where we find ourselves in THE HOUSEMAID, a slow burning South Korean film from director Im Sang-soo that’s not really a thriller or a horror film, but it’s disturbing as hell for anyone looking for something a little different.
Eun-yi (Jeon Do-yeon) takes a job as a housemaid for a wealthy family. Her responsibilities include caring for the family’s young daughter, Nami (Ahn Seo-hyun), and helping look after her pregnant mother, Hae-ra (Seo Woo). The household is overseen by the experienced housekeeper Byeong-sik (Youn Yuh-jung), who knows all too well how things work in this home. The head of the family is Hoon (Lee Jung-jae), a wealthy businessman who seems to always get whatever he wants. In this case, he wants a sexual relationship with Eun-yi, setting in motion a chain of events that will show just how ugly preserving wealth and privilege can be.
One of the hardest things to watch in the film is how the family reacts when they find out that Eun-yi is pregnant with Hoon’s child. Nobody confronts Hoon or asks him to take responsibility for his actions. They actually do the opposite by concealing it from him. First, they try to kill her by setting up a household “accident.” When she survives that, they offer her money to get an abortion and just go away. When she won’t take the money, they poison her. They just want the problem to disappear, by any means necessary. Hae-ra’s mother, Mi-hee (Park Ji-young), is a particularly nasty villainess who’s determined to protect the family’s reputation and lifestyle, even if it means taking another woman’s life. Who needs a serial killer or Michael Myers when you can simply destroy someone, and without an ounce of remorse?!!
Jeon Do-yeon gives a good performance as Eun-yi, a woman whose initially cheerful and kind personality makes her increasingly difficult circumstances all the more heartbreaking to watch. Lee Jung-jae is smooth and self-assured as Hoon, a man who believes that his wealth and position mean that he doesn’t have to play by the normal rules of society. And Youn Yuh-jung is excellent as Byeong-sik, whose years of service have taught her to recognize the cruelty behind the family’s polished facade. She understands the system she works within, and she protects it “almost” to the bitter end. Interestingly, Youn would win an Oscar for her outstanding performance in the film MINARI back in 2020. She’s an incredible actress and I’m glad she got the international recognition she deserves.
For most of its runtime, THE HOUSEMAID is a psychological thriller with elements of erotic melodrama and social satire. The tension comes from watching the characters maneuver against one another and wondering just how much more abuse Eun-yi can endure before something finally gives. But as the film moves toward its final act, it becomes clear that being discarded as less than human has taken its toll, and she’s going to do something about that. The question is what can she do about it, and the answer is quite disturbing and will probably stick with me for a while.
THE HOUSEMAID is an unsettling film about privilege, exploitation, and the lengths people will go to protect their own interests. It’s not a horror film, but its story does prove that real people are likely to be far more frightening than a masked killer.
Ever since the early days of the pulp era, artists have been imagining what it will be like when aliens eventually invade and conquer our planet. Here’s a few illustration for the day the pulp conquered the world.
Two of my all-time favorite movies, SENSE AND SENSIBILITY and NOTTING HILL, star Hugh Grant. I just think he’s incredible, and in those films in particular. I know he can be a real cad, like in BRIDGET JONES’S DIARY, but I’ve never imagined what he’d be like in the role of a completely amoral, evil man. Tonight, I was able to experience that when I watched HERETIC.
HERETIC follows two young Mormon missionaries, Sister Barnes (Sophie Thatcher) and Sister Paxton (Chloe East), who knock on the door of a seemingly harmless man named Mr. Reed (Grant). He’s friendly, intelligent and more than happy to discuss religion with them. Unfortunately, their decision to accept his invitation inside turns into a nightmare when they discover that there’s much more to this man than meets the eye. What follows is a game of psychological manipulation in which Mr. Reed challenges the women’s religious beliefs while also demonstrating that he’s in complete control of their situation. He seems articulate and reasonable, but the more we learn about him, the more uncomfortable things become.
The movie takes an interesting approach to horror by spending a lot of time exploring questions about faith, organized religion, and the ways in which people use belief systems to influence others. These conversations may seem a little deep for a horror film, but they’re among its most interesting elements. Reed isn’t simply interested in frightening these women. He wants to get inside their heads, challenge everything they believe, and eventually convince them that they know nothing.
And Hugh Grant… what the hell?!! I’ve seen this man aw-shucks his way through romantic misunderstandings, charm his way through countless relationships, and generally make a career out of being the likable Englishman. Seeing him in a role like this is quite an experience. The filmmakers use him perfectly, as the man we initially meet seems a lot like the Grant we’ve seen in the past, just maybe a little quieter. But there’s still that familiar charm and conversational delivery that will make Mr. Reed much more frightening when it’s turned off. It’s an excellent performance that I will NOT be forgetting about anytime soon.
Beyond Hugh Grant’s casting, though, the film continues to subvert our expectations with our Mormon missionaries. The film opens with the young ladies in mid-conversation on topics you wouldn’t necessarily expect to hear them discussing, in this case, condom size and pornography. We do move quickly into more traditional activities as they go about their day interacting with potential converts, but that discussion lingers as we move forward. The story gradually reveals real depth in each of their characters. Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East are very good, with their contrasting personalities and abilities adding another layer to the proceedings. They do a nice job conveying the fear and desperation of women who suddenly find themselves in a horrific situation they cannot control. Thatcher’s Sister Barnes hasn’t been as sheltered growing up, so she brings some street smarts and toughness to the proceedings. I found East to be particularly appealing as she’s able to show real intelligence and bravery behind Sister Paxton’s seemingly naïve façade.
HERETIC isn’t a movie that’s going to appeal to everyone. If you’re not willing to spend some time discussing religion and philosophy, this is probably not the movie for you. I appreciate that directors Scott Beck and Bryan Woods were willing to take a different approach to the horror genre. Their focus on exposing unchallenged, narcissistic beliefs and how they ultimately lead to horrific actions is much more effective than simply relying on jump scares and other familiar tricks. Just know that the movie’s going to operate on a sense of impending dread for quite a while before jumping into real horror.
I found HERETIC to be a genuinely creepy thriller that benefits enormously from Hugh Grant’s presence. While I’ll always love his performances from the past, it won’t be easy to shake the evil he presents here. Who knew that the guy from LOVE ACTUALLY could be this disturbing!
Years before man even landed on the Moon, the pulps told the world all that it needed to know about spaceships, aliens, and what lies beyond the Milky Way. Here are a few intergalactic covers from the pulps!
In general, I’m not really a huge fan of science fiction. A lot of that is because I tend to get bored with the huge mythologies that come along with most science fiction franchises. I don’t care who the best Star Trek captain is. Some of the Star Wars films were enjoyable, but I roll my eyes whenever I meet people who are pedantic about referring to the first movie as A New Hope. My dislike of Avatar is well-known, though it’s actually softened a bit now that everyone else seems to dislike it as well. (I find much of the current dislike to be performative, whereas mine was sincere. I disliked Avatar before it became cool to do so.) Most of the science fiction films that I have enjoyed have either poked fun at the genre (like the Guardians of the Galaxy films), were directed by Ridley Scott (Alien, Blade Runner), have featured giant monsters that were created by radiation, or are Italian (like Starcrash).
That said, I absolutely love Forbidden Planet.
First released in 1956, Forbidden Planet stars a young, handsome, and stalwart Leslie Nielsen as John J. Adams, the commander of the starship C-57D. Adams and his crew are on a mission to investigate what happened to an expedition to the planet Altair IV. As C-57D approaches the planet, they get a message warning them not to land on the planet for safety reasons. Adams ignores the message. When the ship—which rather charmingly is made up to look like a classic flying saucer—lands, Adams and his crew are met by a robot named Robby who takes them to meet his creator, Dr. Edward Morbius (Walter Pidgeon). Morbius explains that he and his daughter Altaira (Anne Francis) are the only survivors of the expedition and that there is an unseen force on the planet that attacks anyone who lands on the surface… anyone other than Morbius and his daughter. Morbius politely suggests that Adams should go back to Earth. Adams says that he can’t do anything until he gets orders…
Despite all of the grim talk about an unseen presence, Forbidden Planet actually starts off as being almost a comedy. With the exception of Commander Adams, Doc (Warren Stevens), and Lt. Jerry Farman (Jack Kelly), the C-57D seems to be exclusively manned by goofy guys who can’t get over the fact that there’s a woman on the planet. (Adams mentions that the crew has been in space for nearly two years.) The Cook (Earl Holliman) wants some alcohol and Robby the Robot knows just how to make it. Fortunately, Leslie Nielsen didn’t have his trademark white hair when he appeared in this film. Otherwise, I don’t know if I’d be able to handle his deadpan, dramatic delivery.
Things change when the unseen attack turns out to be real and starts attacking the ship. A lot of those likably goofy characters end up dying. And when Adams discovers what is truly the source of the monster… well, let’s just say that I imagine the subtext was missed by a lot of the kids who probably made up the film’s initial audience. There’s no silliness to be found in the film’s final moments, with the monster burning away a door that was supposed to be impenetrable and Morbius finally confronting the truth of what really happened to the expedition.
I can’t really remember how old I was when I first saw Forbidden Planet. It came on television one October night and I watched it with my Dad. I thought Robby the Robot was adorable, but what truly stuck with me was the scene where the monster walks into an electrified force field and is suddenly visible.
The way the monster roars and swats at the crew of the ship has always stuck with me. And once we discover the true origins of the monster, the scenes take on an entirely new meaning.
(The monster is so terrifying that even Robby the Robot shuts down rather than face it. It’s an underrated moment of fright. If even Robby can’t battle the monster, what hope is there for anyone else on the planet?)
Leslie Nielsen is likable but a little boring as the male lead. Anne Francis overacts a bit as Altaira. It doesn’t matter. Walter Pidgeon’s intense performance is the one that you remember. Forbidden Planet is an intelligent and thought-provoking film, one that holds up even today. I may not like science fiction, but I will watch it every October.
The 1974 film Silent Night, Bloody Night is an oddity.
On the one hand, it’s pretty much a standard slasher film, complete with a menacing mansion, a horrible secret, a twist ending, and John Carradine playing a mute newspaper editor.
On the other hand, director Ted Gershuny directs like he’s making an underground art film and several of the supporting roles are played by actors who were best known for their association with Andy Warhol.
Personally, I like Silent Night, Bloody Night. It has a terrible reputation and the film’s star, Mary Woronov, has gone on record calling it a “terrible movie” but I like the surreal touches the Gershuny brought to the material and the sepia-toned flashbacks have a nightmarish intensity to them. The film makes no logical sense, which actually makes it all the more appealing to me. As the saying goes, your mileage may vary.
