Tag Archives: Horror

Horror on the Lens: The Little Shop of Horrors (dir by Roger Corman)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Hi!  Welcome to Horrorthon!  It’s a tradition around these parts that we offer up a classic (or not-so-classic) horror film for our readers to watch every day in October.  As we have just lost the great Roger Corman, it seems appropriate to start things off with one of his best films.

And so, without further ado….

Enter singing.

Little Shop…Little Shop of Horrors…Little Shop…Little Shop of Terrors…

For the 2024 Horrorthon’s first plunge into the world of public domain horror films, I’d like to present you with a true classic.  From 1960, it’s the original Little Shop of Horrors!

When I was 19 years old, I was in a community theater production of the musical Little Shop of Horrors.  Though I think I would have made the perfect Audrey, everybody always snickered whenever I sang so I ended up as a part of “the ensemble.”  Being in the ensemble basically meant that I spent a lot of time dancing and showing off lots of cleavage.  And you know what?  The girl who did play Audrey was screechy, off-key, and annoying and after every show, all the old people in the audience always came back stage and ignored her and went straight over to me.  So there.

Anyway, during rehearsals, our director thought it would be so funny if we all watched the original film.  Now, I’m sorry to say, much like just about everyone else in the cast, this was my first exposure to the original and I even had to be told that the masochistic dentist patient was being played by Jack Nicholson.  However, I’m also very proud to say that — out of that entire cast — I’m the only one who understood that the zero-budget film I was watching was actually better than the big spectacle we were attempting to perform on stage.  Certainly, I understood the film better than that screechy little thing that was playing Audrey.

The first Little Shop of Horrors certainly isn’t scary and there’s nobody singing about somewhere that’s green (I always tear up when I hear that song, by the way).  However, it is a very, very funny film with the just the right amount of a dark streak to make it perfect Halloween viewing.

So, if you have 72 minutes to kill, check out the original and the best Little Shop of Horrors…

6 Trailers In Memory of Roger Corman

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Today, for the first day of Horrorthon, we pay tribute to the legacy of the legendary Roger Corman with a special edition of Lisa Marie’s Favorite Grindhouse and Exploitation Film Trailers.

1. The Day The World Ended (1955)

Though Corman worked in almost every type of film genre imaginable, he’s probably best remembered for his science fiction and horror films.  This was one of the first of them.

2. Bucket of Blood (1959)

In Bucket of Blood, Roger Corman gave Dick Miller a starring role and also mixed comedy and horror in a way that influence many future horror directors.

3. Little Shop of Horrors (1960)

Roger Corman famously shot Little Shop of Horrors in just two days.  The end result was a mix of comedy and horror that continues to be influential to this day.  The musical is very good but I still prefer the cheerful low-budget aesthetic of the Corman original.

4. The Terror (1963)

Corman was famous for his ability to spot new talent.  His 1963 film The Terror starred a then unknown actor named Jack Nicholson.

5. The Masque of the Red Death (1964)

In the 60s, Corman was also well-known for his Edgar Allan Poe adaptations, the majority of which starred Vincent Price.  With these colorful and flamboyant films, Corman showed himself to be a pop artist at heart.

6. Frankenstein Unbound (1990)

In the 1970s, Corman retired from directing and instead focused on producing and distributing movies.  In 1990, he briefly came out of retirement and gave us his final directorial effort, Frankenstein Unbound.

6 Things To Which I Am Looking Forward In October

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Welcome to October!  October is a big month here at the Shattered Lens.  It’s the month when we devote the majority of our time to the horror genre.  It’s time for our annual Horrorthon!  Last year, we had a record number of Horrorthon posts.  I’d love to that record this year but mostly. I just want this year’s Horrothon for both our writers and our readers!

Here’s what I’m looking forward to in October!

  1. Anora — Sean Baker’s latest film may not be a horror film but it’s still the October film to which I’m most looking forward to.  A hit on the festival circuit, the early word is that Anora is going to be one of this year’s major Oscar contenders.
  2. The Horror Movies On TCM — TCM never lets me down in October.  I can’t wait to binge all of the classic horror that will be aired this month.
  3. Joker: Folie a Deux — This film is one of the big question marks on the upcoming calendar.  When I first heard that the sequel to Joker would be a musical, I thought it sounded like a disastrous idea.  But the early word has been that Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga both give excellent performance and that the sequel is worthy follow-up to first film.  We’ll find out in just a few more days!
  4. Terrifier 3 — Art the Clown is one of the scariest villains around.  Terrifier gave me nightmares.  Terrifier 2 was overlong but well-made.  I’ll be interested to see what happens with the third film.  If nothing else, I appreciate that the Terrifier films are unapologetic about being the type of films that they are.  It takes courage to fully embrace a genre that hasn’t always been accepted by the mainstream.
  5. Conclave — This is another film that’s expected to be an Oscar contender.  Based on what I’ve heard about the film’s plot, I’m not as enthusiastic about this film as some people are.  But I do always look forward to seeing a good Ralph Fiennes performance and the word is that he’s excellent in this film.
  6. Halloween — It’s my favorite holiday!  I can’t wait to see all the decorations, all the parties, and all the costumes!

October’s going to be a great month and those of us at TSL can’t wait to celebrate it with you!  What are you looking forward to in October?

“Purr-Normal” Dir.: Noah Randle, Short Film Review, by Case Wright

Posted on by casewright

Happy Horrorthon! This could be a rough start. I would normally be really rough with a short like this, BUT he’s got <500 subs and he’s definitely young. So, I’m gonna play nice.

Noah hear me, I get that you have a love for film, especially weird esoteric film. Here is your MAIN PROBLEM: there is no real story here that is identifiable outside of your own description. A short film needs a beginning, middle, and an end. What makes short-films a special artform is that they create: story, character, and suspense in an instant. They can make you laugh, jump, or cry- if they are done with intentional care.
Other than the make up, there is no character here. It is unclear the lady’s motivation, fear, hope, or even psychosis. The cat is a stranger in the film and it just gets gory for its own sake at the end. I hope you cleaned up after filming and thanked your amazingly patient and lovely parents for letting you do this.

There is NO STORY here. You need a story. You need character. You need for us to care about your protagonist or this is just you messing around with a camera. It is good to have an interest in film, but it’s like you’re trying to fly an airplane before you’ve learned how to walk. Come up with a SIMPLE STORY and get it right; then, go all weird, but even then, you still need a story and character or NO ONE will care about your characters or what happens. I am not doing a plot summary for this because there isn’t one.

I don’t want to be too hard on Noah here, but he’s missing the point of this art. There’s short films on YouTube that are barely a minute long that establish: Story, Character, and Stakes. This is not that, but Noah MIGHT be able to get there if he tries again and starts EXTREMELY small and tells a small story well.

Music Video of the Day: Ashes to Ashes by David Bowie (1980, directed by David Bowie and David Mallet)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

David Bowie was one of the first artists to truly understand the potential power of a good music video and, as can be seen in this video for Ashes to Ashes, he was an early pioneer of the form.  At a time when most music videos were just performance clips, Bowie put together a narrative that offered an artistic interpretation of the song’s lyrics and themes and which invited viewers to interpret the song on their own.

The video was largely shot on two beaches in the UK, at Beachy Head and Hastings.  Interior scenes were filmed on the set of the Kenny Everett Show.  Bowie’s followers were played by the Blitz kids, who were known for frequenting the Blitz nightclub in Covent Garden.

Bowie said that the video was meant to combine the past and the future, which is why Bowie not only appears as an astronaut but also as an Edwardian clown.  The scenes with Bowie as an astronaut are, as the lyrics make clear, a reference to Major Tom.  The look of the scenes was heavily influenced by H.R. Giger’s work on Alien.

David Mallet would go on to become one of busiest directors of music videos of the 80s, directing videos for Queen, Iron Maiden, AC/DC, and others.  David Bowie would also go on to play a huge role in MTV’s history, due to both his videos and his willingness to call out that station’s initial refusal to feature videos from black artists.

Enjoy!

Live Tweet Alert: Join #ScarySocial for Sleepaway Camp!

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

As some of our regular readers undoubtedly know, I am involved in a few weekly live tweets on twitter.  I host #FridayNightFlix every Friday, I co-host #ScarySocial on Saturday, and I am one of the five hosts of #MondayActionMovie!  Every week, we get together.  We watch a movie.  We tweet our way through it.

Tonight, at 9 pm et, Deanna Dawn will be hosting #ScarySocial!  The movie?  1983’s Sleepaway Camp!

If you want to join us this Friday, just hop onto twitter, start the movie at 9 pm et, and use the #ScarySocial hashtag!  I’ll be there tweeting and I imagine some other members of the TSL Crew will be there as well.  It’s a friendly group and welcoming of newcomers so don’t be shy.

Sleepaway Camp is available on Prime and Tubi!

See you ther

Late Night Retro Television Review: Friday the 13th: The Series 2.11 “The Sweetest Sting”

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Welcome to Late Night Retro Television Reviews, a new feature where we review some of our favorite and least favorite shows of the past! On Fridays, I will be reviewing Friday the 13th: The Series, a show which ran in syndication from 1987 to 1990. The show can be found on YouTube!

Agck!  Bees!

Episode 2.11 “The Sweetest Sting”

(Dir by David Winning, originally aired on January 16th, 1989)

I have never been stung by a bee or a wasp.

I’m extremely lucky.  All of my sisters and all of my cousins have been stung once or twice.  My mom was stung multiple times when I was little.  But I have never once been stung.  I once had a wasp fly straight into my hair and I was able to shake it out without it stinging me.  I have had bees land on my bare arm and just sit there without stinging.  I once knocked a wasp nest off of a farm doorway and the wasps, while obviously angry, made no attempt to sting me in retaliation.  For whatever reasons, the wasps and the bees have decided not to mar my beautiful skin with any of their stingers and I appreciate them for that.

Of course, I’m also very scared that they might someday change their mind.  I have no idea what it feels like to be stung but I know it’s painful.  On a more serious note, I have no idea whether or not I’m allergic to bees or wasps.  I appreciate their kindness but I’m still terrified of their capriciousness.

That’s why this somewhat silly episode of Friday the 13th freaked me out.  I say silly because it was about McCabe (Art Hindle), a psycho beekeeper who kept all of his bees in a cursed hive.  Whenever he would unleash the bees, the cheap special effects were so bad that it would have made me laugh if not for the fact that I’m already scared enough of innocent bees.  Imagine how I feel about cursed ones!

The bees produced cursed honey that can be used to restore the youth of people who allow themselves to be stung by McCabe’s bees.  (Because they’re magic bees, they don’t die after stinging someone.  I always understood that stinging someone caused a bee to be ripped in half so I’m not sure how the magic works but whatever.  I actually kind of feel bad for bees now.)  However, the people who accept McCabe’s youth treatment have to have a constant supply of honey and McCabe needs a constant supply of dead bodies so that his clients can fake their own deaths.  So, McCabe orders his clients to kill if they want to remain young.

To be honest, the whole plot kind of feels like it was made up on the spot but the great Canadian character actor Art Hindle gives an amusingly over-the-top performance as McCabe.  McCabe is the type of villain who laughs whenever he’s thinking about doing something evil.  There’s nothing subtle about Hindle’s performance but it works in the contest of the episode’s overall absurdity.  The bees are obviously fake.  Art Hindle chews up every piece of scenery he can get his hands on.  The episode’s a lot of fun.