Tag Archives: Scenes That I Love

Horror Scenes I Love: Kane Hodder in Friday the 13th Part VII: A New Blood

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Kane Hodder was a veteran stuntman when he first played Jason Voorhees in 1988’s Friday the 13th Part 7: The New Blood.  He would go on to play Jason three more times.  He also played Leatherface in Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III and, when Freddy Krueger’s gloved hand appeared at the end of Jason Goes To Hell, that was Kane Hodder’s hand grabbing the famous Jason mask and taking it to Hell.

Sadly, when Freddy vs. Jason went into production, Hodder was replaced by another stuntman.  (Ironically, Hodder had been considered for the role of Freddy in the original Nightmare on Elm Street.)  Still, for Friday the 13th fans, Kane Hodder will always be Jason Voorhees.

In the scene from Friday the 13th Part 7, Hodder shows off the physicality that made him the ideal zombie Jason.

Horror Scenes That I Love: Sid Haig in House of 1000 Corpses

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Rob Zombie’s 2003 directorial debut, House of 1000 Corpses, is a film for which I have somewhat mixed feelings but I do think it deserves some credit for reintroducing the character actor Sid Haig to audiences.

Haig started acting when he was in high school and attended the Pasadena Playhouse, the same acting school where Robert Preston, Gene Hackman, and Dustin Hoffman had trained.  He moved to Hollywood with his former roommate, actor Stuart Margolin, and Haig soon found himself being cast as criminals and occasionally revolutionaries.  Haig grew tired of playing simple-minded thugs and actually retired from acting in 1992 and worked as a hypnotherapist.  Quentin Tarantino tracked Haig down to offer him the role of Marcellus Wallace in Pulp Fiction.  Haig turned him down but then regretted his decision when he saw the film.  When Tarantino subsequently offered him a cameo in Jackie Brown, Haig accepted the role and returned to the big screen.

That said, it was his performance as the nightmarish clown, Captain Spaulding, in Rob Zombie’s House of 1000 Corpses and The Devil’s Rejects that definitely put Haig back on the pop cultural radar.  In this scene from House of 1000 Corpses, Haig shows that even a clown can defend himself.

Horror Scenes That I Love: Godzilla in Godzilla vs. Megalon

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

For today’s Horror Scene That I Love, let’s take a minute or two to show some respect to one of the world’s greatest (and longest-lived) film stars, Godzilla!  Whether he’s attacking humanity as the literal representation of atomic age anxiety or if he’s saving Earth from a bunch of aliens, Godzilla has always been a superstar.

In this scene from 1973’s Godzilla vs. Megalon, Godzilla shows just how much of a star he is by taking a stand against bullying and saving his friend, Jet Jaguar.  In this scene, Godzilla shows that he was an anti-bullying activist even before it was cool.  Megalon and his friend thought they could just taunt poor old Jet Jaguar.  Not as long as Godzilla’s around!

Horror Scenes I Love: Robert Englund in A Nightmare on Elm Street

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Ah, Robert Englund.

By most accounts, Robert Englund is one of the most affable men in Hollywood, someone who is so talkative and friendly that people are often stunned to remember that he’s best known for playing Freddy Krueger.  Indeed, in his pre-Nightmare on Elm Street films, Englund was usually cast as quirky and often shy characters.  It was rare to see him play a villain.

That all changed when he was played Freddy Krueger in 1984’s A Nightmare on Elm Street.  (Interestingly enough, director Wes Craven wrote the role with David Warner in mind.)  In the role of Freddy, Englund became a horror icon.  Freddy himself became such a quip machine in the later films that it’s easy to forget just how terrifying a figure he was in the first film.

In this scene, we see just how scary Robert Englund’s performance truly was in A Nightmare on Elm Street.

Horror Scenes That I Love: Andrew Divoff in Wishmaster

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Andrew Divoff is a talented character actor who has been making films since 1986.  He’s been played a countless number of different characters, some of whom are villainous and some of whom are sympathetic.  On Lost, he was the most menacing of the Others.  That said, for a certain generation of horror fans, Andrew Divoff will always be known for starring as the tricky Djinn in the Wishmaster films.

In this scene, from 1997’s Wishmaster, The Djinn finally confronts Alexandra (Tammy Lauren) and grants her wish to see the Djinn as he truly is.  In the hands of Andrew Divoff, the Djinn becomes a truly classic horror movie villain.  Who can ever forget the gleam in his eye when he asks, “Is this something that might interest you?”

Horror Scenes That I Love: Peter Cushing in Horror of Dracula

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Peter Cushing was a horror mainstay who played both heroes and villains, often appearing opposite Christopher Lee.  By most accounts, Cushing was a kind and old-fashioned British gentleman, one who was beloved by both his colleagues and his fans.  Christopher Lee described him as being his best friend and reportedly, never fully recovered from his sadness over Cushing’s death in 1994.

(Cushing’s long screen collaboration actually first started in 1948’s Hamlet, in which Cushing played Osric and Christopher Lee had an uncredited role as a spear carrier.)

Though Hammer Films often cast Cushing as the mad Baron Van Frankenstein, I preferred his work as the stern but kindly Dr. Van Helsing.  This scene from 1958’s Horror of Dracula, in which Van Helsing drives a stake through Lucy and ends her eternal suffering, features Cushing at his best.  In this scene, we see both Van Helsing’s determination and also some hints of the kindness that Cushing brought to the role.

Horror Scenes I Love: Jamie Lee Curtis In Prom Night

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

The great Jamie Lee Curtis is, of course, beloved by horror fans for starring as Laurie Strode in the original Halloween.  Myself, I’ve always felt that her best horror performance was actually in 1980’s Prom Night.

Just watch her, during the film’s final minutes, when she discovers that the killer who has spent the entire day killing all of her friends is someone from her own family.  This is great acting and one can see why the Canadians gave her a Genie nomination for Best Foreign Actress.  Let’s hope David Gordon Green never decides or gets the chance to mess this one up.

Horror Scenes I Love: Lon Chaney, Jr. in The Wolf Man

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Ah, Lon Chaney, Jr.

He was the son of a famous man and, like many sons of famous men, he often struggled to escape his father’s shadow.  While he would never be mistaken for a man of a thousand faces, Lon Chaney, Jr. did make a name for himself as Larry Talbot, the unfortunate man who found himself cursed to turn into the Wolf Man whenever the man was full.  Chaney spent the majority of his career appearing in horror films and, later, westerns.  Not only did he play The Wolf Man but he was also one of the many actors to take a shot at playing both Frankenstein’s Monster and Dracula.  Later, he would appear in a series of low budget horror films that, quality-wise, were often a far cry from his best-known films.  That said, he was also a favorite of producer/director Stanley Kramer, who cast him in both High Noon and The Defiant Ones and who once said that Chaney was one of the finest character actors in Hollywood.

In today’s scene that I love, Larry Talbot learns the facts about being a werewolf.  From 1941’s The Wolf Man, here is Lon Chaney, Jr in his signature role.

Horror Scenes I Love: John Carradine in Vampire Hookers

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

It’s been said that John Carradine didn’t really like movies that much.

This, despite the fact that Carradine appeared in over 300 movies over the course of a career that spanned nearly a century.  Born in 1906, Carradine made his film debut in 1930 and worked steadily until his death in 1988.  He was so prolific that films featuring him were still being released for years after his passing.  Carradine was a favorite of directors like Cecil B. DeMille and John Ford.  He played key roles in such Ford films as Stagecoach, The Grapes of Wrath and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance.

And yet, for many people, John Carradine’s career has been defined by the astounding number of low-budget horror and sci-fi films in which he appeared.  Sometimes, he was the star.  More often, he would just make a quick cameo appearance.  But whatever the size of the role, he always made an impression.  Carradine, however, always said that his true loves were Shakespeare and the theater and that the films were just something he did so he could afford to work on stage.

1978’s Vampire Hookers features Carradine in a role that was typical of some of his later horror roles.  In this scene, he plays a courtly vampire who wonders if anyone understands poetry anymore.

Horror Scenes I Love: Bruce Campbell in Army of Darkness

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

A true American success story, Bruce Campbell first met and befriended Sam Raimi when the two of them were high school students in Michigan.  Campbell first gained attention in Raimi’s Evil Dead films and he’s been a mainstay in Raimi’s films ever since.  He’s also been a favorite of the Coen Brothers, Don Coscarelli, William Lustig, and scores of other director.  Few actors can balance both drama and comedy with the adroitness of Bruce Campbell.

Campbell, of course, is best-known for his performance as Ash Williams, the S-Mart store clerk who lost his hand while spending the weekend at a cabin, spent some time in the past, and later earned the right to tell us all to say “hail to the king, baby.”  Campbell’s ability to do often violent slapstick comedy, along with his ability to deliver the most absurd of dialogue with a straight face, came together to make him into a true pop cultural icon.  Though Campbell has since announced his retirement from playing Ash (saying that, at his age, he can no longer physically spends hours a day getting beaten up), he remains a beloved actor to horror fans everywhere.

Today’s scene that I love comes from 1992’s Army of Darkness and it features Bruce Campbell at his best.  All Ash has to do is remember three simple words and say them before taking the Necronomicon from its place.  Of course, Ash being Ash, things don’t quite work out that simply….