4 Shots From 4 Films: Special Tobe Hooper Edition


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!

Today, on what would have been his 81st birthday, the Shattered Lens pays tribute to Texas’s own, Tobe Hooper!

The Austin hippie who redefined horror and left thousands of yankees terrified of driving through South Texas, Tobe Hooper often struggled to duplicate both the critical and the box office success of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.  It’s only been in the years since his death that many critics and viewers have come to truly appreciate his unique and subversive vision.

Down here, in Texas, we always believed in him.

It’s time for….

4 Shots From 4 Tobe Hooper Films

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974, dir by Tobe Hooper, DP: Daniel Pearl)

The Funhouse (1981, dir by Tobe Hooper. DP: Andrew Laszlo)

Poltergeist (1982, dir by Tobe Hooper, DP: Matthew F. Leonetti)

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (1986, dir by Tobe Hooper. DP: Richard Kooris)

4 Shots From 4 Films: Special New Year’s Edition


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.

Happy New Year’s Day!  Did you have as wonderful a celebration as the characters featured in today’s special edition of 4 Shots From 4 Films?

4 Shots From 4 Films

The Poseidon Adventure (1972, dir by Ronald Neame, DP: Harold E. Stine)

The Godfather Part II (1974, dir by Francis Ford Coppola, DP: Gordon Willis)

New Year’s Evil (1980, dir by Emmett Alston, DP: Edward Thomas)

Strange Days (1995, dir by Kathryn Bigelow, DP: Matthew F. Leonetti)

6 Shots From 6 Horror Films: 2002 — 2004


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!

This October, I’m going to be doing something a little bit different with my contribution to 4 (or more) Shots From 4 (or more) Films.  I’m going to be taking a little chronological tour of the history of horror cinema, moving from decade to decade.

Today, we take a look at 2002, 2003, and 2004!

6 Shots From 6 Horror Films: 2002 — 2004

28 Days Later (2002, dir by Danny Boyle, DP: Anthony Dod Mantle)

The Ring (2002, dir by Gore Verbinski, DP: Bojan Bazelli)

Bubba Ho-Tep (2002, dir by Don Coscarelli, DP: Adam Janeiro)

House of 1,000 Corpses (2003, dir by Rob Zombie, DP: Alex Poppas, Tom Richmond)

Underworld (2003, dir by Len Wiseman, DP: Tony Pierce-Roberts)

Dawn of the Dead (2004, dir by Zack Snyder, DP; Matthew F. Leonetti)

10 Shots From 10 Horror Films: 1981 — 1983


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!

This October, I’m going to be doing something a little bit different with my contribution to 4 (or more) Shots From 4 (or more) Films.  I’m going to be taking a little chronological tour of the history of horror cinema, moving from decade to decade.

Today, we take a look at 1981, 1982, and 1983!

10 Shots From 10 Horror Films: 1981 — 1983

The Funhouse (1981, dir by Tobe Hooper. DP: Andrew Laszlo)

The Beyond (1981, dir by Lucio Fulci, DP: Sergio Salvati)

The House By The Cemetery (1981, dir by Lucio Fulci, DP: Sergio Salvati)

The Evil Dead (1981, dir by Sam Raimi, DP: Tim Philo)

Creepshow (1982, dir by George Romero, written by Stephen King, DP: Michael Gornick)

Tenebrae (1982, dir by Dario Argento, DP: Luciano Tovoli)

Poltergeist (1982, dir by Tobe Hooper, DP: Matthew F. Leonetti)

The Dead Zone (1983, dir by David Cronenberg, DP: Mark Irwin)

Christine (1983, dir. John Carpenter, DP: Donald M. Morgan)

Halloween III: Season of the Witch (dir by Tommy Lee Wallace, DP: Dean Cundey)

4 Shots From 4 Films: Special Zack Snyder Edition


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!

As I already mentioned, today is Zack Snyder’s birthday!  It’s taken a while but critics are finally starting to appreciate Zack Snyder.  All it took was seeing the Joss Whedon version of Justice League for some viewers to realize that, whether you always agree with his directorial choices or not, Zack Snyder is one of the most consistently interesting filmmakers working today.

Personally, so as not to be a hypocrite about this, I will admit that I’ve been pretty critical of Snyder’s DC films.  I make no apologies for that.  I’ll continue to make jokes about the excessive destruction of Metropolis and the “Why did you say Martha?” scene.  That said, Watchmen was a well-done film that continues to be influential.  People are finally starting to admit that Sucker Punch was pretty damn good.  Dawn of the Dead is one of the few horror remakes that pay homage to its source material while also establishing a worthwhile identity of its own.  And, even if I haven’t worked up the courage to sit through all four hours of it, Zack Snyder’s Justice League has inspired an enthusiasm that I rarely see amongst film fans.  “Release the Snyder Cut!” was one of the few twitter campaigns to actually get results.  Even the Snyder films that I dislike are unlike any other film.  Snyder has a unique artistic vision and that’s what we need more of.

So, in honor of the man’s birthday, here are….

4 Shots From 4 Zack Snyder Films

Dawn of the Dead (2004, dir by Zack Snyder, DP; Matthew F. Leonetti)

Watchmen (2009, dir by Zack Snyder, DP: Larry Fong)

Sucker Punch (2011, dir by Zack Snyder, DP; Larry Fong)

Army of the Dead (2021, dir by Zack Snyder, DP: Zack Snyder)