Tag Archives: Horrorthon

Horror Scenes That I Love: The Clock Ghosts From Insidious

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

After all of the sequels and the rip-offs, it’s easy to forget just how scary Insidious was when it was first released, way back in 2011.

Believe it or not, it’s still pretty scary.  Take the scene below, for instance.  I screamed the first time I saw it and then I screamed again rewatching it on YouTube.

The reason this scenes works is because, from the start, you know that those two ghosts are going to show up.  You just don’t know when.  With each click, you know you’re getting closer and closer to something bad appearing in that hallway.  And then when they do finally show up and the movie’s soundtrack goes “BOOOOM!” and then you see the smiles on their face — AGCK!  Seriously, this is one of the best jump scares of the past decade.

 

Book Review: Italian Horror By Jim Harper

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

As our long time readers know, I absolutely love Italian horror.  I was very lucky to discover the greatness of Italian horror when I was a teenager (it was a double feature of Suspiria and Blade In the Dark that did it for me) and I’ve been lucky enough to be able to spend the last few years studying everything that made the Italian horror films of the 80s and early 90s so memorable.

However, I do realize that not everyone has spent the past few years watching the films of Dario Argento, Lucio Fulci, Lamberto Bava, Michele Soavi, and Joe D’Amato.  For those who are just starting to learn about the history of Italian horror cinema, I highly suggest Italian Horror by Jim Harper, a short but highly readable overview of the genre.  Covering the years of 1979 through 1994, Italian Horror contains insightful reviews of films both famous (The Beyond, Dellamorte Dellamore) and infamous (Zombi 3 and so many others).  Even better, there are reviews of several of the more obscure Italian horror films, the ones that actually take some effort to track down.  For instance, I never would have seen Ratman if I hadn’t come across it in Harper’s book.  And I know that you’re probably saying, “Would it be that a bad thing if you had never see Ratman?”  Listen, Italian horror fans understand.

If you’re trying to start your studies of Italian horror off on the right foot, this is definitely a good book to start with.  Read it and prepare to have a hundred new movies to watch afterwards.

International Horror Film Review: Beyond the Darkness (dir by Aristide Massaccesi, a.k.a. Joe D’Amato)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

An odd film, this one is.

Now, me, I absolutely love Beyond the Darkness.  However, this 1979 Italian film is definitely not for everyone and I’m always very careful about recommending it.  At it’s heart, it’s a story about a man named Frank Wyler (Kieran Canter) who is so in love with Anna Volkl (Cinzia Monreale, who Italian horror fans will immediately recognize from her iconic role as Emily in Lucio Fulci’s The Beyond) that he won’t even allow death to keep them apart.  At the same time, the film contains scenes of cannibalism, gore, and nudity (poor Cinzia Monreale had to spent the majority of the movie naked and pretending not to breathe) that were so graphic that the film was actually banned in several countries.  Did I mention that Frank’s a taxidermist?  If you’ve ever wanted to see a film about how messy taxidermy can be, I guess this would be the one to go with.

Frank is a young man who has inherited a villa in the country.  He lives there with Iris (Franca Stoppi), the servant who has literally raised him from his birth.  Frank is a handsome but strange man, one who spends most his time locked away in his garage and stuffing dead animals.  (Before anyone panics, there’s no animal cruelty to be witnessed in this film.  Though there is a bit of human cruelty….)  Frank is in love with Anna but Anna has recently been taken ill.  She’s in the hospital, where the doctor’s simply cannot figure out what’s wrong with her.  Could it have something to do with the voodoo curse that the jealous Irish has placed on her?

When Anna finally dies, Iris is convinced that she’ll have Frank to herself but Frank has other ideas.  After the funeral, Frank promptly digs Anna back up and then takes her body back to his garage.  Unfortunately, along the way, an obnoxious hitchhiker (played by Lucia D’Elia) decides that Frank’s going to give her a ride.  The hitchhiker ends up passing out in Frank’s van.

So, here Frank is.  All he wants to do is stuff his dead girlfriend.  But he’s got this obnoxious hitchhiker running around the garage and knocking over buckets of intestines!  Frank kills the hitchhiker and Iris, despite being disgusted by the fact that Frank has insisted on bringing Anna home, helps him dispose of the hitchhiker’s body.  The problem’s solved, except for the fact that Frank is now becoming obsessed with cannibalism….

Okay, it’s a weird film and it only gets weirder from there.  As I said, it’s definitely not a film for everyone and there’s certain scenes that would be incredibly offensive if not for the fact that the film is so well-directed and Canter, Monreale, and Stoppi are all so well-cast and give such sincere performances that you can’t help but get caught up in the film’s storyline.  Frank may be a spoiled, cannibalistic murderer and Anna might be dead but their love for each other is so sincere that you can’t help but feel for both of them.  Director Aristide Massaccesi (who was usually credited under the name Joe D’Amato) creates an ominous and gothic atmosphere while Goblin provides a pulsating and moody score that perfectly mirror Frank’s descent into madness  (Admittedly, Frank doesn’t have far to descend.)  Massaccesi often said that he only made the film to gross people out but an accidental success is a success nonetheless.

 

4 Shots From 4 Films: Alien, Beyond The Darkness, Fascination, Zombi 2

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’re using 4 Shots From 4 Films to look at some of the best years that horror has to offer!

4 Shots From 4 1979 Horror Films:

Alien (1979, dir by Ridley Scott)

Beyond the Darkness (1979, dir by Joe D’Amato)

Fascination (1979, dir by Jean Rollin)

Zombi 2 (1979, dir. Lucio Fulci)

Horror Film Review: The Fourth Kind (dir by Olatunde Osunsanmi)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

“I’m actress Milla Jovovich, and I will be portraying Dr. Abigail Tyler in The Fourth Kind. This film is a dramatization of events that occurred October 1st through the 9th of 2000, in the Northern Alaskan town of Nome. To better explain the events of this story, the director has included actual archived footage throughout the film. This footage was acquired from Nome psychologist Dr. Abigail Tyler, who has personally documented over 65 hours of video and audio materials during the time of the incidents. To better protect their privacy, we have changed the names and professions of many of the people involved. Every dramatized scene in this movie is supported by either archived audio, video or as it was related by Dr. Tyler during extensive interviews with the director. In the end, what you believe is yours to decide. Please be advised, that some of what you’re about to see is extremely disturbing.”

And so began the 2009 film, The Fourth Kind!  Milla Jovovich plays Dr. Abbey Tyler, who is still emotionally devastated by the murder of her husband and who finds herself interviewing a lot of potential UFO abductees in Nome, Alaska.  You may remember that, when this film came out, there was a lot of online debate over whether or not it was based on a true story.  That’s because the film was advertised as containing actual “documentary footage” of Dr. Tyler talking to hypnotized alien abductees.  Often times, during the film, a split screen was used so you could watch the “original” Dr. Tyler interviewing a patient while, at the same time, Milla Jovovich and an actor “recreated” the scene for the film.

Of course, the really interesting question here isn’t whether or not the documentary footage was real.  Instead, to me, the real mystery of the film is why, if you had all of this amazing footage of real people freaking out under hypnosis, would you then make a movie starring Milla Jovovich, Will Patton, and Elias Koteas?  It seems like a better idea would be to just make a documentary and save a lot of money on paying the cast.

Anyway, as you probably already guesses, the documentary footage was faked as well and there is no Dr. Abigail Tyler.  Still, you have to admire the amount of effort that director Olatunde Osunsanmi put into trying to convince us that we were watching something based on a true story.  I mean, he went far beyond just using the whole shaky cam stuff that most found footage horror movies fall back on.  Wisely, Onsunsanmi made sure that none of the actors in the found footage were more attractive than the actors in the movie that was supposedly based upon it.  Anyone who has seen enough “based on a true story” movies knows that the real people never look as good as the people hired to play them.  I mean, honestly, this is a gimmick that Orson Welles would probably have appreciated.  That said, Welles probably would have gotten better performances out of the actors in his fake documentary.  When Milla Jovovovich is more convincing as a psychologist than the woman who were told actually is a psychologist, it’s a problem.

As for the film itself, it has a few effective jump scares.  There’s a lot of people yelling in strange voices and, when Abbey’s daughter vanishes, Milla Jovovich does a good enough job communicating the anguish that any mother would feel if her child was abducted by aliens.  Dependable actors like Will Patton and Elias Koteas show up and do what they can with underwritten roles.  The Fourth Kind isn’t a bad movie but its storyline and characters are never as interesting as its gimmick.  It’s the type of horror film that might make you jump while you’re watching but, a week later, all you’ll remember is Milla Jovovich introducing herself.

 

Horror on the Lens: The Creeping Terror (dir by Vic Savage)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Watching The Creeping Terror is an October tradition here at the Shattered Lens.  How could anyone resist a film about a killer carpet, especially one that features a random dance party?

Read my review here.

Read Patrick’s review here.

And enjoy the film!

Music Video of the Day: Come To Daddy by Aphex Twin (1997, dir by Chris Cunningham)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

If this video doesn’t give you nightmares, nothing will.

When the video starts, it seems like it’s a simple lesson in dog ownership.  If you’re going to walk your dog, don’t lead him around a post-apocalyptic hellsite and don’t allow him to urinate on an old TV.  Because, if you do, the TV will apparently come to life and start yelling at you.

But then the kids show up and …. oh my God.  I mean, children are creepy to begin with but when they all show up with an adult’s face — AGCK!

Anyway, stay away from those deserted warehouses, people.  They may be aesthetically pleasing but something bad always seem to happen to people who wander too close.

Enjoy!

Horror on TV: Degrassi: The Next Generation 9.17 “Innocent When You Dream” (dir by Eleanore Lindo)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

The world of Degrassi is like our own but not quite.

For instance, on Degrassi, Kid Rock was named Kid Eldrick.  When Darcy started posting racy pictures of herself, she posted them not on MySpace but instead on MyRoom.  A few seasons later, when Alli created the infamous I Hate Holly J group, she did so not on Facebook but instead on Facerange.  Oddly enough, I think Degrassi‘s Twitter was called Twitter as well, which just proves that Twitter is the one social media network that you can’t escape.

Finally, in the world of Degrassi, students did not read Twilight and then fantasize about being a vampire’s lover.  Instead, they read a series of YA books called …. Fortnight.  Of course, this was before Fortnite itself became a thing but still, it’s always somewhat amusing to hear Degrassi students talk about how romantic they find Fortnight to be.

In tonight’s episode of Degrassi, it turns out that Clare Edwards (Aislinn Paul) is not only obsessed with Fortnight but she’s also having dreams about her classmate, Declan (Landon Liboiron).  It kind of makes sense because Declan is totally a vampire name.  The first problem is that Declan is dating the seemingly-evil-but-not-really-that-bad Holly J (Charlotte Arnold).  The second problem is that Clare might be turning into a vampire herself.

In this episode’s subplot, Sav (Raymond Ablack) directs a music video and Degrassi‘s house band, Studz, performs House Arrest for the thousandth time.  Even though Spinner (Shane Kippel) graduated several seasons ago, he’s still Studz’s drummer.  It’s all so Sav can try to win back Anya (Samantha Munro), which was a storyline that just went on and on.

This episode first aired on May 7th, 2010.

The TSL’s Horror Grindhouse: The Ghastly Ones (dir by Andy Milligan)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

A young couple — both of whom are dressed in clothes that appear to come from the 1890s — enjoys a romantic and sunny excursion to an isolated island.  Unfortunately, their day is ruined when they’re discovered by a buck-toothed hunchback named Colin (played by Hal Borske).  Death and dismemberment follows.

Somewhere in New York, three sisters are informed that their father has died but that neither they nor their husbands can receive a cent of their inheritance until they fulfill one very specific requirement.  According to their father’s impossibly elderly attorney (played by Neil Flanagan, who is made up to look like an old witch from a community theater production of MacBeth), the sisters and their husbands must spend three nights in their father’s mansion.  Of course, the sisters agree.

Upon arriving at the mansion, they discover that the mansion is being looked after by two maids and a hunchbacked, buck-toothed handyman named …. COLIN!  Within a few minutes of meeting everyone, Colin eats a live rabbit while everyone watches.  Later the remains of the rabbit shows up in one of the sister’s bed, along with a note that reads, “Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit!”

Speaking for myself, I would probably leave as soon as I saw the handyman eating a live rabbit.  I mean, none of the sisters appear to be struggling financially but then again, greed is a powerful force.  Instead, everyone settles in for their three-night stay, which leads to 1968-style sex scenes and a lot of footage of people sitting around and talking about nothing.  For a low-budget grindhouse film, this is an extremely talky movie.

Anyway, eventually people start dying.  Someone gets pitchforked.  Another person is found hanging by his ankles.  There’s a rather bloody disembowelment and someone else loses their head.  Bloody X’es are left on doorways.  Who is doing the killing?  Hmmm …. well, Colin is the obvious suspect since we already saw him kill two people for absolutely no reason.  But, it turns out that Colin has a little help.  That’s right!  The Ghastly Ones comes with a twist ending that you’ll see from miles away.

So, what exactly is The Ghastly Ones?  It’s an extremely low-budget film, full of unlikable people dying in various grotesque ways.  It’s an oddly moralistic film, with everyone dying because their greed prevents them from doing the sensible thing and leaving the house.  It’s also apparently a period piece, with everyone dressed like they belong in the 1890s even though you can clearly hear the sound of cars in the background of a few scenes.

In short, this is another Andy Milligan film!  Filmed on Staten Island and featuring a largely amateur cast (though one of the husbands is played by Richard Romanus, who went on to appear in Martin Scorsese’s Mean Streets and has since had a respectable career as a character actor), The Ghastly Ones is just as bad and weirdly hypnotic as you would expect any Andy Milligan film to be.  Milligan even makes a cameo of sorts in the film.  Listen closely and you can occasionally hear him off-camera, feeding the actors their lines and, at one point, telling one of the sisters to “roll over.”

It’s a terrible movie and yet, it’s also strangely fascinating.  I think that’s because Milligan’s ineptness was matched only by his anger and that anger (along with a lot of pressimism) courses through the entire film.  Every frame of the film drips with Milligan’s sincere disdain for the greedy and selfish characters who appear throughout the movie and, as you watch, it becomes obvious that Milligan had more sympathy for Colin than for any of his victims.  (Of course, two of Colin’s victims were just two innocent people in love who were trying to have a nice picnic so perhaps it’s for the best not to dwell too much on what that might mean.)  Milligan directs this story with an intensity that doesn’t quite make up for the lack of talent involved but, at the very least, it does keep things vaguely interesting.  “Who are the Ghastly Ones?”  Andy Milligan seems to be asking.  “We all are.”

By the way, between this and Guru, The Mad Monk, I have now watched two Andy Milligan films in one week.  Pray for me.