Category Archives: Scenes I Love

Horror Scenes That I Love: Michael Ironside vs Stephen Lack in Scanners

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Scanners (1981, dir by David Cronenberg)

Be warned! Today’s scene that I love is a messy one!

Actually, I should call this a scene that we love because TSL founder Arleigh Sandoc is a fan of it too. He shared this scene a few years ago. Unfortunately, the YouTube video that he embedded in the post was later taken down. (Hate it when that happens!) So, I’m happy to share it a second time on behalf of both of us!

From David Cronenberg’s Scanners, here is the video of a scene that we love, the final battle between Stephen Lack an Michael Ironside….

Oh my God! It’s age restricted! Well, that’s probably for the best because these guy like set each other on fire and rip their skin off their flesh. I mean, it’s intense but it’s brilliant and it perfectly captures just how powerful the Scanners really are! It’s also a perfect visual representation of the extreme body horror that has always been a Cronenberg trademark. So, click on the video below and go watch it on YouTube if you’re old enough.

Horror Scenes That I Love: The Leader Explains Things To Eros From Plan 9 From Outer Space

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

I know that some people claim that the alien’s plot in Ed Wood’s Plan 9 From Outer Space makes no sense.  How, they ask, would bringing the dead back to life prevent the creation of the Solarnite Bomb?

Well, here to explain things, is the alien leader himself.

From Plan From Outer Space, here’s a scene that I love:

Horror Scenes I Love: The Arrival At Allerdale Hall in Crimson Peak

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Since today is Guillermo del Toro’s birthday, it only seems appropriate that today’s scene that I love comes from my favorite del Toro film.

In this scene from Crimson Peak, Thomas bring Edith to Allerdale Hall for the first time and it’s both hauntingly beautiful and rather frightening at the same time.  The same thing can be said for this film itself and perhaps all of del Toro’s work.  I just love the gothic atmosphere of the location.  Edith is determined to see the positive.  Thomas’s personality is already starting to change as the weight of returning to Allerdale starts to push in on him.  The mansion has already started to sink back into the Earth.  It’s just a wonderfully put-together scene, one that sets the mood for the rest of this sadly underrated film.

Scenes That I Love: Adam Driver Has Read The Script in The Dead Don’t Die

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Jim Jarmusch’s The Dead Don’t Die is a film that has definitely grown on me. When I first watched it, I thought it was intriguing but perhaps a bit too cutesy and enamored with itself. However, I’ve subsequently come to realize that, actually, Jarmusch finds just the perfect tone for his look at our zombie-saturated culture.

In the scenes below, Bill Murray, Chloe Sevigny, and the wonderful Adam Driver all deal with the inevitability of doom that comes with being a character in a zombie film.

 

Scenes That I Love: The Magician From The Funhouse

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

The Funhouse (1981, dir by Tobe Hooper)

Earlier today, I shared four scenes from four Tobe Hooper films.

Now that it’s time to share a scene that I love, I figure why not continue to pay tribute to Tobe Hooper? The scene below is from Hooper’s unjustly neglected 1981 film, The Funhouse. It doesn’t really advance the plot in any way but it’s still a scene that I really enjoy. It shows Hooper being a bit more playful than usual and it does introduce one the film’s key themes: not everything at the carnival is what it seems. Later on in the film, the same people who made fun of this magician will discover that the magician is not the only person at the carnival who is more clever than they thought.

From 1981’s The Funhouse:

Scenes that I Love: John Grant Meet Doc Tydon in Wake In Fright

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

102 years ago today, the great actor Donald Pleasence was born.

Pleasence is, of course, best-known for playing Dr. Loomis in Halloween. He’s so identified with that franchise that it’s always seemed appropriate that he celebrated his birthday in October. And usually, to celebrate his birthday, we would share a scene of Dr. Loomis yelling at or shooting Michael Myers.

This year, though, I’m going to do something a little different and share a scene from a different type of horror movie, 1971’s Wake in Fright. In this Australian film, Donald Pleasence plays Doc Tydon, an alcoholic doctor who lives in the Australian outback and who befriends John Grant (Gary Bond), a naïve school teacher who has become stranded in a town full of people who don’t have much respect for Grant’s intellectual pursuits. Actually, befriends is perhaps the wrong word. Tydon allows Grant to stay with him but it soon become apparent that Tydon, like almost everyone else in this movie, might have a less-than-friendly agenda of his own.

Wake In Fright features what may be Pleasence’s best performance. In the scene below, Tydon and Grant meet for the first time and Pleasence shows that he was capable of far more than just playing Blofeld and Dr. Loomis.

Horror Scene That I Love: Carolyn Returns In House of Dark Shadows

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Since I paid tribute to Dan Curtis with our latest 4 Shots From 4 Films entry earlier today, it only seems appropriate that today’s horror scene that I love should come from one of his films as well!

In this scene from the 1970 film House of Dark Shadows, young David Collins explores around the old pool on the Collins estate and runs into his cousin, Carolyn. The only problem, of course, is that Carolyn died a few days ago so why is she now wandering around the estate? Could she be a …. VAMPIRE!?

There’s a lot of atmosphere in this scene. That dilapidated pool is frightening on its own. Add a vampire and …. AGCK! In the role of Carolyn, Nancy Barrett does a great job of portraying her new vampiric nature. Run, David, run!

Of course, back in the dining hall, no one believes him. A refusal to believe is a vampire’s best friend. (Personally, I don’t believe in vampires so I’ll probably be in trouble if I ever meet one.)

From House of Dark Shadows:

Horror Scenes That I Love: The Dog Speaks From Summer of Sam

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Every film about the Son of Sam and his reign of terror in New York City inevitably faces one huge question.

What to do about the dog?

Before he started blaming Satanists, David Berkowitz claimed that a dog told him to kill. Most people who have made films about the Son of Sam have been content to just have a dog barking in the distance. Spike Lee, however, had the guts to actually have a dog trot into Berkowtiz’s apartment and start yelling at him.

From 1999’s Summer of Sam:

The dog is voiced by John Turturro. I have to say that, for such an evil creature, it really is a cute dog.

Horror Scenes That I Love: A Trip to the General Store from Troll 2

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Since today is Claudio Fragasso’s birthday, my first instinct was to select the famous “OH MY GAAAAAAAWWWD!” scene from Troll 2 as today’s horror scene that I love. However, I then remembered that I’ve already shared that scene a few times on this site.

So, instead, here’s a different scene from Troll 2. In this scene, Drew visits the town of Niblog and stops by the general store, where he’s pressured into drinking the poisonous Niblog milk. The milk will eventually turn Drew into a plant so that he can then be eaten by the town’s goblins. The goblins are all vegetarians but apparently, it’s okay to eat meat that’s been transformed by evil magic. It’s kind of weird. Personally, I think the Goblins are kind of hypocritical. They remind me of this girl I went college with who we’ll call Bree. Bree was vegan and would never hesitate to tell you that she was better than you. And yet, she still wore leather shoes. So, screw her, screw her pathetic attempts to steal everyone’s boyfriend, and screw the goblins.

Anyway, there’s two ways of looking at this scene. On the one hand, it’s an oddly acted and oddly paced scene in a film that was full of odd performances and odd directorial choices. On the other hand, it’s so strange and off-center that it contributes to the film’s dream-like atmosphere. Since today is Fragasso’s birthday and I tend to always assume the most positive explanation to be the correct one, I’m going to go with the second possibility.

Enjoy this scene from 1990’s Troll 2:

Horror Scenes That I Love: “Oh No! Not Like This!” from Sharktopus

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Today’s horror scene that I love (and the inaugural entry in this year’s collection of Horrothon scenes) comes from the 2010 film, Sharktopus!  And here it is:

A lot of people have made fun of this scene over the years but put yourself in the shoes of this unfortunate painter.  Here you are.  You’re just doing your job.  You’re painting the side of a boat.  It’s not glamorous work.  It probably doesn’t pay very well.  But you’re doing your best and you’re collecting a paycheck and you’re taking care of your family.  It hasn’t always been easy.  When you first got out of prison, you never thought you’d be able to find a job.  Everyone wanted to do a background check.  Your parole officer kept busting your ass.  You were tempted to go back into a life of crime.  You kept thinking about the old crew and wondering if they were still hanging out on the street corners, murking and doing time.  But then the boat painting people said, “We know you’ve had some problems.  But you’re damn good with a paint brush.”

And then suddenly, this happens.  You wanted to die surrounded by your family.  You want your last words to be, “I did okay, didn’t I?”  Instead, you’re getting grabbed by an shark/octopus hybrid.  Who wants to die that way?  “Oh no!  Not like this!” is one of the most honest lines in the history of horror cinema.  It perfectly captures the existential dread that one undoubtedly feels while being pulled into the ocean by a sharktopus.

Bravo, Sharktopus.  Bravo.