Category Archives: Horrorthon

Horror Film Review: Population 436 (dir by Michelle McLaren)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Hi, and welcome to the 100th remake of The Wicker Man.

In this version from 2006, our victim is played by Jeremy Sisto.  He’s a good actor but he’s no Nicolas Cage.  He played Steve Kady, who works for the U.S. Census Bureau so let’s all take a moment to boo the federal government.  Booooo!  Steve has been sent to the small town of Rockwell Falls, North Dakota so that he can count the citizenry and I guess help to determine whether North Dakota should get a second congressional district.

Anyway, Steve arrives in town and he quickly meets Deputy Bobby Caine, who is played by Fred Durst.  A town where Fred Durst is responsible for maintaining law and order?  It’s a madhouse!  Actually, it’s a bit of a exaggeration to call the town a madhouse but there’s definitely something a little bit off about it.  The people seem to be old-fashioned and very religious. Could it be that they’re Mennonites?  If so, Steve’s gotten lucky because we’ve got a lot of Mennonites in Texas and, for the most part, they’re the nicest people you could hope to meet.

Anyway, Steve does some research and he discovers that the town has a long history of losing people to a mysterious fever and that somehow the town has never had more nor less than 436 citizens.  It’s almost as if something’s being done to specifically make sure that the town’s population always remains at 436.  The people who live there can’t leave without falling victim to any number of mysterious accidents.  The people who show up — like folks from the Census Bureau, for instance — are expected to stay.  Is it a supernatural thing or is it just an amazing religious-based coincidence?

Steve is going to have to figure it out because he’s falling in love with Courtney Lovett (Charlotte Sullivan) and she apparently doesn’t want to spend the rest of her life in a small town in North Dakota.  Also, it turns out that Bobby Caine is also in love with Courtney and he’s not happy about losing her to someone who works for the Census Bureau.  I don’t blame him.  I guess this where I would insert a joke about some song written by Limp Bizkit but, to be honest, I haven’t thought about Limp Bizkit in nearly twenty years and I’m not going to start now.

Anyway, this is kind of a padded review because there’s really not a lot to say about Population 436.  It’s an okay horror movie but it’s not a particularly interesting one.  By this point, we’ve seen so many messed up little towns and so many weirdly old-fashioned people with strange religious beliefs that it’s hard to be shocked by any of it anymore.  Even the movie’s “shock” ending feels predictable.  On the plus side, the film does make good use of the inherent creepiness of living in a state that’s defined by wide open spaces.  The town of Rockwell Falls does look convincingly creepy.  On the negative side, the film is a bit superficial and never bothers to really explore any of the issues that it raises.  It’s content to just say, “Religious people are crazy,” and while many will agree with that sentiment, it’s hardly as subversive a statement as Population 436 seems to think that it is.

Of course, if Population 436 encourages just one viewer to be paranoid about census takers and government bureaucracy, it will have all been worth it.

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 106 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!

AMV Of The Day: Blood In The Water (Castlevania)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

It’s been a while since we last shared an AMV of the Day here on the Shattered Lens.  So, let’s change that right now with this AMV inspired by Castlevania!

Anime: Castlevania

Song: Blood//Water by grandson

Creator: MrSyltastic

(As always, please consider subscribing to this creator’s YouTube channel!)

Past AMVs of the Day

Horror On TV: Baywatch Nights 2.10 “Space Spore” (dir by Richard Freidman)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

The 2nd season of Baywatch Nights was pretty clearly designed to duplicate the success of The X-Files and that’s certainly true of tonight’s episode, which finds David Hasselhoff, Eddie Cibrian, and Angie Harmon dealing with “space dust.”  It turns out that, in its way, space dust is almost as dangerous as regular dust!

Enjoy!

 

Witchcraft (1988, directed by Rob Spera)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

In this low-budget movie, Grace (Anat Topol), her husband John (Gary Sloan), and their newborn son, William, move in with John’s mother, Elizabeth (Mary Shelley).  It’s only supposed to be temporary but Grace soon comes to feel as if Elizabeth never wants her or her son to leave.  Even though John supposedly owns “half of Massachusetts,” he’s clearly not willing to stand up to his mother and, at times, it seems like he’s closer to her than he is to his own wife.

Meanwhile, Grace is haunted by visions of a puritan couple being burned at the stake.  When the local priest has a vision of his own and sees William’s crib surrounded by super-imposed flames and he tells Grace that William needs to be baptized as soon as possible, Grace suspects that something strange is happening.  When the priest ends up hanging from a tree in the backyard, Grace knows that witchcraft must be afoot.

Obviously influenced by both Rosemary’s Baby and The Amityville Horror, Witchcraft isn’t terrible but it’s not very good either.  For a low budget film, the acting is surprisingly adequate and Elizabeth’s creepy mansion is a good location for a cheesy horror movie.  The film’s plot, though, is predictable.  You will guess what’s going on long before Grace does.  What’s strange is that the film is full of references to things that supposedly happened but which we didn’t see.  For instance, Grace says that she had a vision of the priest hanging before she actually saw him.  That’s the way things usually happen in a film like this but how come we didn’t get to see that vision too?  How come Grace doesn’t mention it to anyone until after the priest is actually dead?  Did the movie run out of money before they could shoot the scene?  Did it just slip someone’s mind to include the scene in the film?  What’s going on?

The most amazing thing about Witchcraft is that this forgettable film was a big enough hit on video that it got a sequel.  And not just one sequel.  As of right now, there have been fifteen sequels to Witchcraft, each one of which is a direct sequel to the one that preceded it.  (There are 18 films in the Amityville franchise but few of those films share a direct connection beyond the use of the word “Amityville” in the title.)  Compared to the later films in the Witchcraft franchise, the first one is pretty tame.  Later installments would play up the sex to such an extent that they became notorious for it.  The first Witchcraft discreetly fades to black whenever Grace and John are in the mood.

Witchcraft is forgettable but, as the first entry in an apparently unkillable franchise, it’s an important landmark in direct-to-video history.

Horror Scenes That I Love: The U.S. Army Takes On The Flying Saucers in Plan 9 From Outer Space

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

I’m disappointed to say that, for whatever reason, YouTube has been yanking down all of the Plan 9 From Outer Space videos that used to be available on the site.  That’s just strange to me.  From what I’ve heard, it’s for copyright reasons.  The people who currently have the rights to Wood’s films are very aggressive about searching YouTube for any unauthorized videos.  Ed Wood’s films are financially much more lucrative today than they were when he was alive, which is kind of depressing when you consider that Wood basically drank himself to death and died in total poverty.

That said, there was no way I was going to let Mr. Wood’s birthday pass without sharing at least one scene from Plan 9 From Outer Space!  So, in this scene, the flying saucers face the might of a lot of a stock footage.  Meanwhile, Tom Keene plays the colonel who casually watches the battle.  The narration, of course, is provided by the amazing Criswell!

It’s amazing how close we came to getting conquered.

Enjoy!

4 Shots From 4 Ed Wood Films: Bride of the Monster, Plan 9 From Outer Space, Night of the Ghouls, The Sinister Urge

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 directors!  Today we recognize not only the talent of Edward D. Wood, Jr. but we also honor him on what would have been his birthday!

4 Shots From 4 Films

Bride of the Monster (1955, dir by Edward D. Wood, Jr.)

Plan 9 From Outer Space (1956, dir by Edward D. Wood, Jr)

Night of the Ghouls (1958, dir by Edward D. Wood, Jr)

The Sinister Urge (1960, dir by Edward D. Wood, Jr.)

Horror on the Lens: Nosferatu (dir by F.W. Murnau)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Today’s Horror on the Lens is a classic film that really needs no introduction!  Released in 1922, the German silent film Nosferatu remains one of the greatest vampire films ever made.  It’s a film that we share every October and I’m happy to do so again this year!

Enjoy!