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.
It’s time.
4 Shots From 4 George Romero Films
The Crazies (1973, dir by George Romero)
Dawn of the Dead (1978, dir by George Romero)
Martin (1978, dir by George Romero)
Land of the Dead (2005, dir by George Romero)
For our next horror scene that I love, we have one of the greatest horror endings of all time.
As Lucio Fulci’s 1979 masterpiece, Zombi 2, comes to a close, Ian McCulloch and Tisa Farrow are on a boat. They’ve managed to escape from an island that been overrun by zombies. However, as they listen to a New York radio station, they discover that the zombie outbreak is not over. In fact, it’s just begun!
And then you get the final scene, in which hundreds of zombies are seen stumbling into New York!
Enjoy the end of the world!
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.
It’s simply not the Halloween season without a little tribute to Bela Lugosi!
4 Shots From 4 Bela Lugosi Films
Island of Lost Souls (1932, dir by Erle C. Kenton)
The Black Cat (1934, dir by Edgar G. Ulmer)
The Invisible Ray (1936, dir by Lambert Hillyer)
The Return of the Vampire (1943, dir by Lew Landers)
(It’s tradition here at the Lens that, every October, we watch the original Little Shop of Horrors. And always, I start things off by telling this story…)
Enter singing.
Little Shop…Little Shop of Horrors…Little Shop…Little Shop of Terrors…
Hi! Good morning and Happy October the 30th! For today’s 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…
Who doesn’t love a good ghost story?
From John Carpenter’s 1980 film, The Fog….
(That’s John Houseman telling the story, by the way)
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, we pay homage to one of the most important horror directors of all time with….
4 Shots From 4 John Carpenter Films
The Fog (1980, dir by John Carpenter)
The Thing (1982, dir by John Carpenter)
In The Mouth of Madness (1994, dir by John Carpenter)
The Ward (2010, dir by John Carpenter)
From 1973’s The Wicker Man.
Christopher Lee always cited Lord Summerisle as being his favorite of all the “horror” roles that he played. Interestingly enough, Lord Summerisle is not a vampire or a mummy or in any way a member of the undead. He’s just an extremely pragmatic pagan, doing what he has to do preserve his power.
In this scene, Lord Summerisle meets and speaks with Sgt. Howie (Edward Woodward), who is not at all happy with Summerisle’s style of leadership.
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, we pay tribute to another great British film star with….
4 Shots From 4 Christopher Lee Films
Curse of the Crimson Altar (1968, dir by Vernon Sewell)
The Wicker Man (1973, dir by Robin Hardy)
To The Devil, A Daughter (1976, dir by Peter Sykes)
End of the World (1977, dir by John Hayes)
In this 1953 satire, a philosophy professor named Kerry West (Hans Conried) buys a television. (Remember, this was a time when televisions were still a relatively new phenomena.) Imagine Kerry’s surprise when he discovers that his television can walk, talk, light his cigarettes, clean the house, and make money materialize out of nowhere!
Sounds great, right?
The only problem is that this TV is not only a bit possessive but it also uses its powers to brainwash people and rob them of their individuality!
Technically, The Twonky is more a comedy than a horror movie. In fact, it’s really not scary at all. But it is a lot of fun and it’s interesting to see how a filmmaker in the 50s dealt with television’s growing role in American society.
Enjoy!
Through the Shattered Lens 