Tag Archives: Scenes I Love

Horror Scenes I Love: The Beyond

Posted on by Arleigh

The good thing about AMC’s The Walking Dead is that it puts zombies on the forefront of the public’s cultural consciousness. They’ve become the monster that still remains scary. The show has also allowed for new fans of the genre to seek out other classic zombie films and stories that they wouldn’t have bothered to check out if it hadn’t been for this show. One such classic zombie film would be another of Lucio Fulci’s gorefests from the early 80’s. It is a film which also has my latest “Scenes I Love” and one that continues this month’s horror theme.

Lucio Fulci’s The Beyond (aka Seven Doors of Death) has one of my favorite scenes in horror. It wouldn’t be too much of a stretch to say that I love pretty much everything Fulci has done and each of those films always have several memorable scenes that would imprint themselves on fans. My favorite scene from The Beyond has to be when the film’s two protagonists (played by regular Fulci actors in Catriona McColl and David Warbeck) find themselves under siege by zombies in a hospital. Warbeck’s character tries to fend them off with his trusty six-shooter, but seems to have forgotten to read the memo about shooting them in the head.

Every miss lessens their chance and when the creepy little red-haired girl suddenly makes her appearance as she attacks McColl’s Liza then the payoff in the scene finally happens. It looks like Warbeck’s character suddenly remembered what will kill them undead and decides to test it out on the little red-haired girl. To say that this scene was shocking when seen by a 9 year-old boy would be an understatement. I think even now that soon to turn 38 years of age young boy would still react with utter shock at this scene.

Horror Scenes I Love: Alien

Posted on by Arleigh

Lisa Marie Bowman had chosen her favorite scene from Dario Argento’s Suspiria as her latest “Scenes I Love” post and it’s quite the scene. I will match her choice with a horror scene which remains one of my favorite scenes in film history. It is also a scene from one of the best scifi-horror films ever made and, I would dare to even say, one of the best films ever created. The scene I speak of comes from Ridley Scott’s classic and iconic film Alien.

Anyone who has ever watched this classic scifi-horror will always gravitate towards talking about one particular scene. The scene is the first time the crew of the space tug Nostromo gets together to a meal as a group after the crisis which saw one of their own crew members attacked by an alien creature. This scene started off quite normal. Professionals enjoying food and good company. It’s through Ridley Scott’s direction and the exceptional performances of all involved which elevates the scene to one of the greatest. Through the scene’s depiction of normalcy we start to get a sense that something may not be right even before Kane begins to cough and have convulsions. For me it was a prolonged shot of crew member Ash during the banter around the table. His expression is all subdued smile then for just a split second we see him glance at Kane eating and being merry but he knows something is wrong and about to happen.

Even if people didn’t pick up that moment from Ash it still created a subconscious effect on the audience so that when Kane did begin to cough and convulse uncontrollably the audience was already on the razor’s edge. When the climactic event which punctuates this scene finally occurs the surprise on all the actors, especially that of actress Veronica Cartwright, has gone done as in film history as a classic. It helped that their reactions were quite genuine. Even knowing that the chestburster alien would pop out it was not being told that fake blood would squirt out that made their reaction of surprise and disgust so real. The extended version of this scene even had Cartwright slipping and falling as she screamed in horror at all the blood which had splashed on her.

One last thing which made this scene one I love and also one which I think makes it one of the greatest scenes in film history is that it was done in one take and that single take came out perfectly. This is a scene that has influenced many filmmakers since but its effect has never been fully replicated.

 

Horror Scenes I Love: Suspiria

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

As I’ve mentioned before, Dario Argento’s Suspiria is one of my favorite horror films and any quick search around the Internet will reveal that I’m hardly alone in that.  There’s a lot of reasons why Suspiria remains so popular: there’s Goblin’s iconic score, Jessica Harper’s performance in the lead role, and Dario Argento at the peak of his powers.

While most critics and fans always cite the film’s infamous “window scene” as its most effective set piece, I happen to think that the scene below is actually a bit more effective.  While it’s certainly more low-key than some of the film’s other death scenes, this scene is the one that still leaves me uneasy no matter how many times I see it.  Maybe it’s the way that Argento isolates the blind pianist in the middle of the square or perhaps it’s the way that he positions the camera in order to keep the audience uncertain of where exactly the true threat is coming from.

Then again, it could just be because I’m scared of dogs in general…

 

Scenes I Love: Up

Posted on by Arleigh

The passing of Steve Jobs has brought out condolences and praise for one of the most innovative and creative forces in technology, entertainment and how the world interacted in the digital age. One of the many things he has created and fostered was the animation studio we’ve grown to love and call Pixar. It’s difficult to fathom of anyone who doesn’t have at least one fond memory from watching a Pixar film. I have my favorite from several Pixar releases, but one that I really have enjoyed reliving over and over (sometimes with my brother who also loves the film) is the film Up from 2009. It’s from this cg animated film that I’ve chosen the latest “Scenes I Love” in honor of Steve Job.

I’m sure there’s many scenes other people love from this film. Whether it’s the great opening sequence that will bring the most cynical person to tears or scenes between crotchety, old Mr. Fredrickson and Wildlife Explorer Russell. I’m also sure that many would choose scenes involving their talking furry companion Dug. It’s the scene where Dug first meets up with Russell and Mr. Fredrickson which I love the best.

I would try and describe why I love this scene but I think watching it would be the best explanation why I love it so. The one below is a bonus and just shows why Dug is a favorite.

 

Scenes I Love: Zombie

Posted on by Arleigh

Lisa Marie picked her favorite scene from Lucio Fulci’s classic Zombie (aka Zombi, Zombie Flesh Eaters) and now I counter with my own favorite scene from this film.

This scene has a simple set-up. The wife of the doctor researching zombification on the island of Matool gets herself in a sort of a pickle. Zombies have laid siege to her island home and most of her servants have either fled into the night or have become zombie chow. She’s barricaded herself in a room as zombie begin to batter down doors to get to her. It’s in the sequence where she has thought herself safe as she’s barricaded the door to her room when the hand and arm of a zombie breaks through the door (for some reason quite flimsy and prone to splintering) and grabs her by the hair and begins to pull her out through the splintered hole in the door.

I could continue to describe the scene, but I think it’s better for people to see why this scene is the one I love from Lucio Fulci’s Zombie.

Scenes I Love: Zombie Vs. Shark

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Okay, so I realize that this is a pretty familiar scene.  Along with being one of the highpoints of Lucio Fulci’s seminal Zombi 2, it was also used — out of context — in a television commercial a few years ago.  I can’t remember what the commercial was for but I do remember being ticked off whenever I was on twitter and I saw people who had probably never even heard of Lucio Fulci going, “Awww!  I love the Shark/Zombie makeout commercial!” 

(Oh!  Wait, I do remember — it was one of those “Windows So-and-So was my idea!” commercials.  God, I hated that advertising campaign.)

Anyway, here’s a scene I truly love, shown in its proper context — the Zombie/Shark fight from Lucio Fulci’s 1979 masterpiece Zombi 2.  One thing I always wondered was whether or not that the shark came back as a zombie shark.

I kinda hope it did.

Scenes I Love: Jim James Sings Goin’ To Acapulco in I’m Not There

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

When I’m Not There was first released in 2007, most critics gave most of their praise and attention to Cate Blanchett’s performance as one of the film’s six different representations of Bob Dylan.  In fact, Blanchett was even nominated for Best Supporting  Actress for grabbing her crotch and wearing a painfully fake mustache.  When I first saw I’m Not There, I thought that Blanchett’s performance was overrated.  Having recently rewatched it on DVD, I’ve changed my opinion slightly.  I now think that her performance as “Jude Quinn” is probably the worst performance she’s ever given.  Once you get over the fact that Cate Blanchett’s playing a man, the quicker it becomes obvious that she’s not a very convincing man. 

In fact, on subsequent viewings, I’ve come to realize that the only part of the film that really works for me is the final section.  This is the section where an aging Bob Dylan is played by (of all people) Richard Gere.  This is the section where Gere is known as Billy the Kid and he ends up wandering through a surrealistic frontier town while searching for his dog.  The town is full of people who look like they escape from an especially grim Fellini film and Bruce Greenwood pops up as Pat Garrett.  When I first saw I’m Not There, this final sequence seemed drawn out and rather silly.  However, on subsequent viewings, I’ve come to appreciate the fact that, with this end sequence, director Todd Haynes is at least finally being honest about being pretentious.

Another point in this sequence’s favor is that it features a haunting performance of Dylan’s Goin’ To Acapulco by Jim James and Calexico.  The contrast between the heartfelt delivery of the song, the intellectual pretensions of the entire film, and the inherent Hollywood slickness of Richard Gere all add up to create a scene that I truly love.

Scenes I Love: Children of Men

Posted on by Arleigh

SPOILERS

For the latest “Scenes I Love” I had to pick one of the most powerful scenes in cinema in the past ten years. I happened to catch this scene once again while channel surfing and came across it just exactly where the scene in the clip begins. I speak of the Miracle Cease Fire scene in Alfonso Cuaron’s 2006 sci-fi dystopian (though the film does offer a glimmer of hope in the end) film, Children of Men.

This scene must be given some basic ground work to be understood why it was so powerful. In Children of Men the world hasn’t had a single birth for almost 18 years. In this mix is the only birth which has become the contention between a resistance group calling themselves the “Fishes” who are opposed to the government’s fascists policies concerning immigrants. So, with this in mind this scene comes across as powerful indeed.

The looks of everyone from the refugees, the armed “Fishes” to the government troops when they heard the baby crying in the arms of Kee as Clive Owen’s character escorted them from the battle-scarred tenement building was the pay-off that the film was building towards from the very first seconds of the film. Both sides intent on destroying each other stopped fighting just to be able to allow something which hasn’t happened in 18 years to find a safe haven from the fighting.

Cuaron’s direction of this scene also made it one of my favorite scenes ever in how he doesn’t try to preach that love and peace conquers everything. Once the baby’s cries were far enough from those who listened to it the fighting resumed in earnest. This scene had both hope and joy balanced with despair and futility all occurring in the same scene. It’s a shame this film wasn’t seen by many when it first came out during the 2006 Christmas season.

Scenes I Love: The House On The Edge of the Park (dir. by Ruggero Deodato)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Don’t ask me why I love this scene from the 1980 grindhouse classic House on the Edge of the Park because I’ll go on and on.  I could say that I love dancing in general.  I could talk about how I own a red dress just like the one that Lorraine De Selle wears in this scene.  I could rave about how pretty Annie Bell and Christian Borromeo were when they made this movie or the time capsule appeal of David Hess’s canary yellow suit. 

But, in the end, I love this scene for two reasons:

1) The song playing in the background, composed by Riz Ortolani, is so bad yet so addictive and,

2) Giovanni Lombardo Radice is just so adorable doing his little dance.

Scenes I Love: Final Destination 2

Posted on by Arleigh

During the weekend it looks like several people saw Final Destination 5 to the tune of over $18million dollars. From what has been said about this fifth entry in the on-going series of Death playing with his food this one was actually quite good and enjoyable. I’ll probably end up seeing it this week, but until then I re-watched my favorite in the series to date: Final Destination 2.

It’s from this second entry in the series that I pick the latest “Scenes I Love” and this scene I still consider the best opening disaster-kill sequence in the series. It’s the opening highway car crash and pile-up which sees one of the best car crash sequence ever put on film since the days of George Miller and his Mad Max post-apocalyptic series. This scene had everything.

  • tree log vaporizes highway cop
  • motorcycle crushes it’s rider
  • stoner’s car get rammed and dies in explosion
  • mother and son crashes headlong into wreck and explodes
  • fratboy looking guy being burned alive before huge semi finishes him off
  • SUV full of spring break college kids rolls over before getting the smi truck treatment

This opening disaster-kill sequence beats out the plane crash from the first, the rollercoaster in the third and the NASCAR disaster in the fourth. I may change my mind once I see the bridge sequence in the 5th but it’ll take a lot for that to happen.