For today’s scene that I love, here’s Harold Lloyd in 1923’s Safety Last, climbing the side of a building and nearly getting killed by an untrustworthy clock. Lloyd performed all of his stunts in this scene so it wasn’t just the character holding on for dear life. It was also Lloyd himself.
Today, the Shattered Lens wishes a happy birthday to actress Toni Collette! This scene that I love comes from 1999’s The Sixth Sense and features Collette at her best!
We did not get many trick-or-treaters tonight but the ones that did show up were all wearing costumes and were all age-appropriate. When it comes to giving out candy, I follow the rules set out by Larry David on Curb Your Enthusiasm.
Remember: no costumes = no candy!
From the original and still the best Halloween.
“Was that the Boogeyman?”
Tonight’s horror scene that I love is from the underrated 1982 film, Halloween III: Season of the Witch.
In this scene, Conal Cochran (Dan O’Herlihy) explains not only the origins of Halloween but he also discusses how he’s going to make Halloween great again. This scene is probably the best in the film and it’s almost entirely due to O’Herlihy’s wonderfully menacing performance as Conal Cochran.
“….and happy Halloween.”
Since we’ve been talking a lot about the original Little Shop of Horrors today, it’s only appropriate to share a scene from the remake for today’s scene of the day.
From 1986’s Little Shop of Horrors, here is Steve Martin performing Dentist! Because there’s nothing scarier than going to the dentist, right?
The opening of Dario Argento’s 1977 masterpiece, Suspiria, is about as perfect an opening as one could hope for. American ballet student Suzy Banyon (Jessica Harper) arrives in Frieburg, Germany. Both Argento and Harper perfectly portray Suzy’s confusion as she makes her way through the airport and, as torrential rain drenches her, attempts to hail a taxi and get a ride to the dance academy. (What Suzy doesn’t know, of course, is that the dance academy is home to the ancient witch known as Our Mother of Sighs.) With this opening scene, Argento both immediately establishes the off-center, nightmarish atmosphere of Suspiria and establishes Suzy as a character who we, as the audience, relate to and care about. Suspiria is a great film and certainly one that didn’t need a pretentious remake. The greatness of the original Suspiria all begins with this brilliant opening.
Today’s horror scene that I love is from George Romero’s 1978 zombie masterpiece, Dawn of the Dead.
The first time I saw this film, I was so upset when Roger died. Not only was Roger my favorite character but I also knew that if Roger — who was so funny and so charismatic and so competent — couldn’t survive then that meant that no one was going to survive.
Today’s horror scene that I love comes from 1970’s The Wizard of Gore. Directed by Herschell Gordon Lewis, this uniquely acted scene should be familiar to anyone who has ever watched the montage that opens most of the Something Weird video releases.
It’s not usually described as being a horror film but this scene from David Lynch’s 2001 Mulholland Drive literally made me jump the first time I saw it.
Personally, I think this is the scariest moment that David Lynch ever directed.
Through the Shattered Lens 