Most Popular Horror Movies By State? I Don't Know . . .

Kill the Cable Bill has compiled a list it has determined to be the most popular horror movies by state (United States only, as you can imagine). Accurate? I'm not so sure. Interesting? You bet. The concept is sound, too. The article's writer, William Parker, described his methodology, which I'm not sure I agree with, but it is a good jumping off point if you want to do your own study. So what is the most popular horror movie in your state? Find out here, and then prepare to argue it.

My 100 Favorite Films of All Time #81: Hereditary

There are so few films out there that cause my jaw to drop. If you have seen Hereditary, you know the moment I am referencing. It is not that it comes out of nowhere. It is because even though viewers have been set up for it, your mind does not even register it as a possibility because you believe the character is too vital to the film to have such a thing happen. When that moment came, my mouth opened in surprise. The man in the row behind me was so startled he yelled, "Jesus!" His phone also hit the floor of the theatre and broke.

That is an effective horror movie.

For much of Ari Aster's film viewers are kept in the dark. Are we watching a family drama about mental illness, or is something much more sinister going on? The answer to both is yes, and the person who really sells this is Toni Collette. She is so good in this film that most people forget that Gabriel Byrne acts opposite her. Collette's performance transcends what is normally in a horror movie . . . or any other film for that matter. You believe in what she is going through, and there is a scene set at the dinner table where she confronts her son that is as gut wrenching as they come.

People who do not like horror movies will watch this and say, "Horror movies shouldn't be this smart." But they are wrong. They should be this way. The just often are not. This requires thinking, belief suspension, and the ability to come out of a film knowing all your questions may not be answered on the first viewing. I know there are a large group of people who absolutely hate this film. They think it is slow moving, arty, and boring. I cannot use any of those words to accurately it, and I wonder just what they are seeing. Have their viewing habits become so warped that unless there is a scare or blood every two minutes they get bored? That must be the case, because Hereditary is simply incredible and needs to be seen not only by horror fans, but film fans everywhere. I don't know if there was a better movie to have come out in 2018.

Sinful Cinema

I'm back after a break of a few years. I will be tackling the top 100 list again, but I wanted to fill you film fans in on something I have been working on. It's called the Sinful Cinema Series, and right now it is up to four books covering obscure films. So far I've written about The Abductors, Crypt of the Living Dead, Destruction Kings, and Laure.

The first volume covers The Abductors. It's an insane read mainly because of all the information I've gathered on the film. It has in it a future porn king, a future terrorist, and it was written and directed by a man who would go on to produce one of Disney's biggest franchises. It's all about sexual slavery, and it is a sleazy classic. Did I mention I also interviewed Jeramie Rain (The Last House on the Left) for it? Yep, I did.

The second volume covers the little-known vampire film Crypt of the Living Dead. It's actually a pretty tame film with one of the creepiest endings I've seen in any movie. If you read the book you'll learn how one of the stars was a suspect in a "murder" where the victim had ties to the JFK assassination.

The third volume delves into Low Budget Pictures' Destruction Kings, which was heavily inspired by The Monster Squad and Bad Boys. This comedy drove the director to have panic attacks, and I interview several people associated with the film, including Ariana Albright, scream queen and all around great lady.

The fourth volume examines Laure. Laure is an incredibly interesting film. It was written and directed by the "writer" of the Emmanuelle book, and features the real Emmanuelle. If you know why I used "writer" in quotes, you know why this film gets weird. It turns out the writer was really a man who was a French diplomat, and he used this film to try and push his sexual philosophy, which seemed to include children. It's also notable for originally starring porn actress Linda Lovelace, who left the film after refusing to do nude scenes.

Currently I'm working on the fifth volume, which will be yet another obscure film. When it is done I'll announce it here and on my FB page for the book series. Stop by and follow if you want to keep up on film news and engage in some lively discussions.

Infliction Coming Soon!

Jack Thomas Smith (Disorder) has a new film coming out this Spring.  Infliction will be out in select theatres and POV and VOD, with a DVD release to follow, naturally.  There are also a few screenings of it at the Anthology Film Archives in New York City on 4/5/14 at 5 pm and at Roberts Chatham Cinema in Chatham, New Jersey on 4/10/14 at 7 pm.  If you attend one of these screenings, I'd love to hear what you think of it.

I'm a sucker for found footage movies, so I am looking forward to this one.

My 100 Favorite Films of All Time #92: The Gates of Hell

The first Lucio Fulci film I saw was 1980's The Gates of Hell (a.k.a City of the Living Dead).  I had read about it in Fangoria, so I thought I knew what to expect.  I was, as I sometimes am, wrong.

As with any Fulci film, The Gates of Hell’s plot is a bit … abstract.  What you need to know is that a priest in Dunwich (Lovecraft, anyone?) hangs himself and opens up the Gates of Hell with his suicide.  Zombies with some pretty strange powers are then let loose upon the town.  Later, a reporter who is investigating what is happening in Dunwich, finds out that this is all part of a prophecy, and he and a psychic then try to put an end to the horror.

The film was banned in Germany and was cut in England due to scenes such as a head getting drilled and a woman throwing up her intestines.  The intestines, it should be noted, weren’t fake.  They were really sheep intestines that she had in her mouth and had to actually vomit forth, though a fake head was used for close-ups.  And they say DeNiro gets in character.  I don’t think he ever puked up animal guts.  Live maggots were used for a rain scene, as well, but that hardly matters after putting sheep parts in one’s mouth.

The movie is not what I’d call a “great” film, but it is a fun one full of Fulci moments of head scratching madness.   It nearly left me in a state of awe, as it was so obvious this was not the product of an American mind.  It was horror that could only come from some sort of deranged foreign maestro.  Would George Romero think of using teleporting zombies?  No, and that is what makes this film so crazy.  The unthinkable is thought and done. 

The Gates of Hell, as it was released in America and how I fondly remember it as, is a work of flawed genius, but I guarantee you haven’t seen anything quite like it.


Mandatory FTC Disclaimer: I did not receive this film to review, and clicking on a link may earn me some dough.

My 100 Favorite Films of All Time #95: Zombie

Zombi 2 was released as Zombie in America.  The 1979 film is not, however, a sequel to Zombi, which was the overseas title for Dawn of the Dead.  It also went by Island of the Living Dead, Zombie Island, Woodoo, and Zombie Flesh-Eaters.  Confused yet?  Don’t be.   Lucio Fulci’s film is a classic of zombie cinema and it is so over the top that it has inspired bands and has had scenes used in commercials.  What would expect from a movie whose tagline is “We Are Going to Eat You”?

The movie opens with an apparently abandoned yacht showing up in a New York harbor.  There’s really a zombie aboard, however, and it kills a cop.  Soon after the attack, the daughter of the yacht’s owner and a reporter are on their way to an island to find out just how all this happened.  It turns out that the island’s dead are zombies and after surviving their onslaught, the two take a zombie back to New York to prove their story.  It’s a little too late, however.  The cop who was attacked has turned into a zombie himself and the undead are taking a chunk out of the Big Apple.

The film has two really memorable scenes.  The first is an underwater piece where a zombie fights a shark.  No.  You didn’t read that wrong.  It’s a pretty cool moment in zombie cinema history.  The other scene involves a woman who is attacked by zombies who are beating their way through a door to get at her.  One zombie grabs the back of her head through a hole in the door and slowly starts to pull her toward him.  The problem?  There’s a massive splinter pointed right at her eye.  The ensuing eyeball violence is as disgusting as it is tension filled.

Fulci is no stranger to horror films, and this is Fulci at the peak of his game.  From the opening shots of the zombie on the yacht to the hordes of undead in New York, this movie does almost everything right.  Yeah, it is corny in places and the acting is what you’d expect from a Fulci film, but he is considered a master for a reason.  If you are a zombie fan (and these days it is the in thing to be – like eating organic and being bisexual), and you haven’t seen this … well, you aren’t really a zombie fan.

Mandatory FTC Disclaimer: I did not receive this film to review, and if you click on a link I may earn a commission.

A Real Penis-Chomping Good Time

Jenifer is something of an acquired taste.  It is part of the Masters of Horror series, and it is directed by the always wonderful Dario Argento, but it is not a typical Argento film.  Some may say that is a good thing.  Regardless of one’s feelings about one of the undisputed masters of horror, the film deserves some respect. 

The story is fairly simple and straightforward.  It’s all about a cop (Steven Weber) who takes in a woman with an “incredible” body and a hideously deformed face.  She’s a purely sexual being, and she likes to screw and eat cats and children.  Somehow men become obsessed with her, and then the horror begins.  Obviously, it’s not Opera, but it is worth watching.

Admittedly, Argento was what attracted me to this film.  I find the Masters of Horror stuff to be kind of hit-or-miss, but even bad Argento is so much better than a lot of stuff out there, so it was really a win-win for me.  Granted, this felt like his most American film, but as it began I started to find myself forgetting Argento was involved in it and instead became fascinated with Weber.

Weber is perhaps best known for his Brian Hackett character on Wings.  While he was fine on that show, it was the mini-series The Shining that got me to take notice of him.  Going into this film, I really did not know what to expect of him, though, but when I realized that he not only starred in it, but also wrote it (adapting it from a Bruce Jones/Bernie Wrightson story in Creepy), well, I took notice.  From there I listened to him on the DVD and realized:  He’s one of us.  “Us” being the horror film/comic book/Argento-fascinated fandom out there.  He gets it.  He understands it.  He makes the role, and he wrote a pretty good screenplay to be directed by a film legend.  Really, how cool is that?  Very. How daunting is it?  I imagine very, as well.

There are always limits to what you can do in a film and even more so for something that will originally air on television.  Considering the confines of the medium, Argento and Weber did a competent job of making something that enthralls and sickens.  Weber was better on The Shining, and Argento has done far better, but this film has a lot of heart of in it, and one can tell that everyone was fairly excited to be working with the Italian master.  To have Weber outshine Argento is something I wouldn’t have predicted, but his grasp of the material was personal and completely understood.  Witness Weber’s character transformation throughout the film to know what I mean.  Argento may have directed this, but it was Weber’s film.

Jenifer won’t keep you awake at night, and it won’t make you an Argento fan if you aren’t already there, but it will make you take notice of Weber.  Oh, and Carrie Anne Fleming as Jenifer?  Not bad … if you can forget the face … and those teeth that can (and do) easily tear a penis to shreds.   

Mandatory FTC Disclaimer:  I did not receive this film to review.  If, however, you click on a link you may earn me some cash.  Danke.

A Must See

A friend lent me this DVD. I've wanted to see it for a while. Saw it. Loved it. If you liked the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre ...



Thank God for the French. That country is producing some of the best horror movies to be seen in years. Fuck the Saw series. Fuck endless remakes. Long live the French.