Tag Archives: Horrorthon

We Watched The Twilight Saga: New Moon (2009, Dir. by Chris Weitz)

Posted on by Dazzling Erin

Today, Lis and I continued to rewatch the Twilight movies on Netflix.

New Moon was the second part of the Twilight Saga. Because people in town are starting to notice that he hasn’t aged in ten years, Carlisle (Peter Facinelli) decides that the Cullens need to move to a new location. Edward explains to Bella that the worst thing a vampire can do is allow humans to discover that they exist. Edward also says that Bella can’t come with the Cullens because it would raise suspicion and it would also put Bella in danger, since even the members of his family are tempted to drink her blood. Bella says, “Change me!” and Edward says not unless they’re married.

The Cullens leave and Bella has a breakdown, and even her father wants to send her back to Florida to live with her mother. Finally, Bella starts hanging out with Jacob (Taylor Lautner), a member of the Quileute Tribe who is also revealed to be a werewolf. Werewolves and vampires hate each other, but the Forks werewolves had arranged a truce with the Cullens where they wouldn’t attack them as long as the Cullens didn’t bite any humans. If Edward had changed Bella, the truce would have been canceled and the werewolves would have had to attack Bella.

When Alice (Ashley Greene) misinterprets a vision of the future and thinks that Bella is dead, Edward leaves wherever it is he’s living and goes to Italy to ask the ruling vampire council to destroy him. Even though Jacob’s in love with her, Bella goes to Italy to try to save Edward’s life.

I remember really liking New Moon when I saw it because I was in a long-distance relationship and I could relate to what Bella was going through. When we rewatched it, I had forgotten how long the movie was and how little actually happens until Bella goes to Italy, which doesn’t even happen until the movie’s nearly over. The other thing I forgot about this one was that they really overdid the vampire makeup on Robert Pattinson at the start of the movie. He was so pale and wearing so much lipstick that everyone should have been able to figure out that he was a vampire just by looking at him.

When this movie came out, everyone was either Team Jacob or Team Edward. I was Team Edward because, again, I was in a long-distance relationship. But rewatching it, I realized that I should have been Team Jacob because he really was nicer to Bella and he wasn’t constantly sulking about everything like Edward. Jacob came with a lot less baggage and he was part of that tribe where you’re apparently not allowed to wear a shirt. No one in the tribe wore a shirt and they all looked like models. They probably all were models. This movie knew what we wanted to see.

I still enjoyed rewatching the movie. The men were all sexy and brooding. Anna Kendrick was funny. Dakota Fanning had red eyes and sent psychic pain waves. Bella said, “Change me,” and Edward looked tortured. It wasn’t as good as I remembered and it probably could have been cut down to 30 minutes without really losing much of the plot but it’s Twilight. If you know, you know.

Now, we’re moving on to Eclipse.

Brad reviews BELL, BOOK AND CANDLE (1958), starring James Stewart & Kim Novak!

Posted on by Bradley Crain

I love Jimmy Stewart. He’s one of my favorite actors. If Charles Bronson had never existed, there’s a chance he could be my all-time favorite. I watch IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE (and cry) every holiday season, and I believe his series of westerns with Anthony Mann in the 1950s are some of the best ever made. And then there’s his work with Alfred Hitchcock. REAR WINDOW and VERTIGO are movies I discovered as a young and impressionable movie lover. They helped cement Stewart, and Hitchcock, as legends in my mind. In 1958, the same year that he made VERTIGO, Stewart starred in BELL, BOOK AND CANDLE with his VERTIGO co-star Kim Novak. I’ve owned the movie on DVD for years, but I’ve never sat down and watched it before. That changed today!

In this supernatural, romantic comedy, Stewart stars as Shep Henderson, an engaged publisher in New York City who finds himself falling for his beautiful neighbor, Gillian Holroyd (Kim Novak). The problem is that Gillian just happens to be a witch, and she has a bad past with Shep’s fiancé, Merle (Janice Rule). What starts as a ruse to get back at an old rival eventually turns into true love and Gillian doesn’t know how to handle these new feelings. Is she willing to confess what she’s done and give up her powers for a chance at love? I guess you’ll just have to watch and see! 

Stewart makes almost anything enjoyable just by being himself. That amazing voice, combined with his natural humor and charm, gives me something I can latch ahold of, and I always pull for his characters. Kim Novak is just so beautiful, and downright sexy, as Gillian. This character has spent her life operating by one set of rules and all of a sudden, she’s trying to figure out how to deal with feelings she hasn’t dealt with before. Her ability to cast spells and work magic takes on a different meaning when the hearts of people she loves are at stake, and Gillian soon has a crisis of conscience. Stewart and Novak have incredible chemistry, which goes a long way in helping this complicated romance work.

And then there’s the movie’s setting. I came in October for a romantic story involving witches and warlocks, but I ended up with characters falling in love in New York City at Christmastime. I could see this as a movie I watch every year over the holidays moving forward, especially since Stewart is the star. I know my mom will love it!! 

The film also features an incredible supporting cast that includes Jack Lemmon, Ernie Kovacs, Hermione Gingold, Howard McNear and Elsa Lanchester, who’s especially effective as Gillian’s Aunt Queenie. If you leave the movie feeling like you want to go back and watch the old show BEWITCHED, starring Elizabeth Montgomery, I’ll just let you know that makes perfect sense. This movie was actually an acknowledged inspiration for that classic series.

BELL, BOOK AND CANDLE may feature a witch as a main character, but this story doesn’t feature any scares. It’s a fun romance with a charming premise and a great cast. Even a witch has a chance for love, and when that chance is with someone played by Jimmy Stewart, that’s about as magical as it gets! 

Ignore It (Dir. Sam Evenson), Short Film Review by Case Wright

Posted on by casewright

“Ignore It” hit home. For the uninitiated, it was a story about alcoholism, abuse, and the pathological need to ignore it. I know this because I lived it. I can spot an alcoholic miles away. I was so afraid of my father, who was a car guy, that even today, when I smell motor oil or a garage, an icy chill shoots down my spine. He was the beat the snot out of his son type and I ended up being the party guy or isolation varietal.

I watched the film and then confirmed it with the short story “You’re going to notice a woman in your home, you must ignore her” by Jeff Speziale that the story was about a different alcoholic than my dad. In this story, the alcoholic abuser was the mother. An alcoholic mom hits harder because she’s supposed to protect you from everyone. Women are the foundation of a civilized society and family that’s why when men are dying on the battlefield, they cry for their mothers. We see this evidenced in psychology because female psychopaths are underdiagnosed; it is too hard even for a mental health professional to admit that a woman could be an evil pathological liar. We could always accept evil men, but evil women were portrayed as lacking agency- they were possessed or a succubus. In other words, it either was not their fault or they weren’t really human in the first place. Denial, the absolute rejection of an obvious fact, rules the day. Alcoholism lives in denial because it the perfect form of secrecy.

In this short, the father explains to the son that the monster is back and it has to be ignored; so, I read this as mom is on a bender again -the monster is back. During dinner, the father tries to maintain order, but the mother finally gets up and goes to the kitchen because it is the favorite place of the hidden stash. There is also a moment where there is a monster hand on the daughter’s shoulder; it is not a claw. It is a caress, but still terrifying because a drunk mom is unpredictable like dynamite. When the daughter sees the monster and she lets a tear out; it is shame falling down her face, causing an immediate and violent reaction from the monster.

The narrator in the short story tells the reader to share the infection. The narrator’s request has two interpretations: a positive one and a real one. The positive one is that we need to out the disease and take power from it to stop it. The real one is that the pain is too great for him to experience alone; so, if you share it, you lessen his own burden.

Horror On The Lens: The House On Haunted Hill (dir by William Castle)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

 

Watching the original House on Haunted Hill is a bit of a Halloween tradition here at the Shattered Lens.

First released in 1959, The House on Haunted Hill features Vincent Price as a millionaire who invites five people to a party that he and his wife are throwing in a supposedly haunted house.  Price explains that anyone who can actually make it through the entire night will receive $10,000.  (That’s the equivalent of a $110,000 today.)   Is the house truly haunted?  The groundskeeper (Elisha Cook, Jr.) certainly seems to think so!

This is a classic haunted house movie, featuring Price at his best and a number of genuinely fun twists.  Even if you’ve seen it a hundred times, you need to watch it again.  Here is …. THE HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL!

 

Horror Song of the Day: Mater Tenebrarum by Keith Emerson

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Inferno (1980, dir by Dario Argento, DP: Romana Albano)

Today’s horror song of the day comes from Keith Emerson’s soundtrack of Dario Argento’s Inferno.  Emerson did not have an enviable task, having to follow up Goblin’s soundtrack for Suspiria.  But Emerson pulled it off, crafting a score that compliments Goblin’s earlier work while maintaining an identity of its own.

Horror Scenes That I Love: The Opening of House on Haunted Hill

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Today’s horror scene that I love comes from 1959’s House on Haunted Hill.  As the film opens, Vincent Price takes a moment to speak directly to the audience and introduce the characters who are coming to spend the night at the house.  Price, who is one of the patron saints of October, delivers his lines with such relish that it’s impossible not to stick around to see who survives the night.

4 Shots From 4 Horror Films: October 11th

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

4 Or More Shots From 4 Or More 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!

4 Shots From 4 Horror Films: October 11th

Phenomena (1985, dir by Dario Argento)

House (1985, dir by Steve Miner)

Demons (1985, dir by Lamberto Bava)

Re-Animator (1985, dir by Stuart Gordon)

Music Video of the Day: Spellbound by Siouxsie and the Banshees (1981, directed by Clive Richardson)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

Spellbound was the lead single off of Siouxsie and the Banshee’s fourth studio album, Juju.  In later interviews, Siouxsie would describe Juju as being an accidental concept album as all of the songs dealt with dark themes and subject manner.  Juju was a horror-themed album but the horror was psychological and not supernatural.  As a sign of that theme, Spellbound was named after an Alfred Hitchcock film about a man who is troubled by disturbing dreams.

Clive Richardson directed several videos from Siouxsie and the Banshees.  He also worked with Depeche Mode, Steve Winwood, Big Country, and Tears for Fears.

Enjoy!

Bonus Horror On Television: Final Curtain (dir by Edward D. Wood, Jr.)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

1957’s Final Curtain is a short, 22-minute film in which a mysterious man (Duke Moore) wanders around a creepy and seemingly abandoned theater.  While Dudley Manlove (who played Eros the Alien in Plan Nine From Outer Space) provides narration, the man sees many strange things in the theater.  What is real and what is merely a hallucination?  Watch to find out!

Final Curtain was envisioned, by director Edward D. Wood, as being the pilot for a horror anthology series.  Though none of the networks were interested in buying Wood’s proposed series, Wood considered Final Curtain to be his finest film and it certainly is a bit more atmospheric than the typical Wood film.  The role of the mysterious man was written for Bela Lugosi but, after Lugosi passed away, Duke Moore was cast in the role instead.

From 1957, here is Final Curtain.