Tag Archives: Horror

The Count

5 February 2025 By in Movies Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror: In this 1922 silent film Count Orlok wishes to establish a new outpost in Germany and become acquainted with his real estate agent’s wife. He finds her neck lovely. The film is a fairly close adaptation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, but due to objections from the author’s family, the names and places were changed to avoid copyright infringement.

In modern times, this film might seem like a curiosity, but it remains essential viewing for true movie buffs. It stands in the pantheon of early film creators, possibly second only to Georges Méliès’ 1902 classic, Le Voyage dans la Lune (the rocket in the eye of the moon movie).

Both movies pioneered special effects, compelling storytelling, and other cinematic techniques that have been refined through the ages, creating a viewing experience still admired and appreciated today. Nosferatu shocks, sexualizes, and instills suspense to great effect. While it wasn’t the first horror movie (that honor likely goes to The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, released in 1920), it certainly captured the imaginations of viewers back in the roaring ’20s.

Trivia: The word “Nosferatu” originally comes from the Greek nosophoros, meaning “plague carrier.” Old Slavic languages retained this meaning, and it morphed into being synonymous with the undead or vampires in archaic Romanian. In Chapter 18 of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Professor Van Helsing states, “The Nosferatu do not die like the bee when he stings once.”

Genre: Horror

Directed by: F.W. Murnau

Screenplay by: Henrik Galeen

Music by: Hans Erdmann

Cast: Max Schreck, Gustav von Wangenheim, Greta Schroder

Film Location: Baltic Sea, Germany, Slovakia

ElsBob: 8.0/10

IMDb: 7.8/10

Rotten Tomatoes Critics: 97%

Rotten Tomatoes Popcornmeter: 87%

Metacritic Metascore: 79%

Metacritic User Score: 7.4/10

Theaters: 4 March 1922

Runtime: 65-94 minutes        

Budget: $

Box Office: $

Source: Rotten Tomatoes, IMDb, Metacritic. Graphic: Count Orlok, Film Poster, Public Domain. Nosferatu Trailer.

No Art–No Merit

6 November 2024 By in Movies, Uncategorized Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

The Substance: Elisabeth Sparkle (Demi Moore), an ageing actor seeking to revive her career and her looks, along with reclaiming her fans, chooses poorly. Excessive gore and asininities ensue.

The movie explores themes of lost youth, the loneliness of fan forgetfulness, and mortality. The film attempts to find something new to say in re-imaging the 1992 movie: ‘Death Becomes Her’ starring Goldie Hawn, Meryl Streep, and Bruce Willis; but comes up with naught—nothing approaching sense or sensibility—just blood and guts substituting for substance.

Genre: Black Humor–Horror

Directed by: Corallie Fargeat

Screenplay by: Corallie Fargeat

Music by: Raffertie

Cast: Demi Moore, Margaret Qualley, Dennis Quaid

Film Location: France

ElsBob: 3.0/10

IMDb: 7.5/10

Rotten Tomatoes Critics: 90%

Rotten Tomatoes Popcornmeter: 74%

Metacritic Metascore: 78%

Metacritic User Score: 7.4/10

Theaters: 20 September 2024

Runtime: 141 minutes

Budget: $17.5 million

Box Office: $43.3 million

Source: Rotten Tomatoes, IMDb, Metacritic.Graphic: The Substance Movie Poster, copyright Mubi.

A Twisted and Twisty Tale:

30 October 2024 By in Movies Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Strange Darling: A film portraying a one-night stand of innocent fun and desire in the same bloody vein as craving a joyride in a van full of Stephen King clowns. Misdirection, mayhem, and murder—oh my.

The movie’s story unravels in a non-linear manner, much the same as Tarantino’s ‘The Hateful Eight’, creating mystery and suspense by concealing the true nature of the characters and the plot until later in the film.

It has been noted that the Coen’s ‘No Country for Old Men’ came the closest to featuring the personality of a true psychopath: the irredeemable Anton Chigurh as played by Javier Badem. The antagonist in ‘Strange Darling’ easily moves Chigurh to a distant second place.

Trivia: The opening credits and Mollner hint, during interviews, that the movie may be based on actual events but there are no known serial killer incidents to support this. Mollner also comments that “…to me, it’s all real—inside my head and inside my heart.” Yikes.

Trivia II: The song ‘Love Hurts’ by Bryant and Bryant, is prominently played in the movie and was also featured in Rob Zombie’s remake of ‘Halloween’ and ‘Halloween II’.

Genre: Horror—Mystery–Suspense–Thriller

Directed by: JT Mollner

Screenplay by: JT Mollner

Music by: Craig DeLeon

Cast: Willa Fitzgerald, Kyle Gallner

Film Locations: Oregon, USA

ElsBob: 7.0/10

IMDb: 7.2/10

Rotten Tomatoes Critics: 95%

Rotten Tomatoes Popcornmeter: 85%

Metacritic Metascore: 80%

Metacritic User Score: 6.9/10

Theaters: 23 August 2024

Runtime: 96 minutes  

Budget: $4-10 million

Box Office: $3.8 million

Source: Rotten Tomatoes, IMDb, Metacritic. Graphic: ‘Strange Darling’ Poster and Trailer, Miramax

Stasis and Change

23 October 2024 By in Movies, Uncategorized Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Alien Romulus: A group of young adults indentured for life on the cloud-shrouded mining planet of Yvaga discovers a derelict spacecraft orbiting above. They plan to rendezvous with the craft and steal the ship’s cryostasis suits to travel to another planet. Once inside the spacecraft they soon detect they are not alone.

Romulus enters the Alien franchise as the seventh film, situated between Alien and Aliens, attempting to walk the path between Ridley Scott and James Cameron-two giants that Alvarez fails to surpass with this entry.

The story plays homage to its predecessors in the first acts, delivering plenty of frights and gore, enhanced by great graphics, visuals, and adequate acting. However, it then drifts off course into territory best left unexplored. But I guess that’s called setting up the sequel or more likely a spin-off.

Genre:  Horror—Sci-Fi–Suspense–Thriller

Directed by: Fede Alvarez

Screenplay by: Fede Alvarez Rodo Sayagues

Music by: Benjamin Wallfisch

Cast: Cailee Spaeny, David Jonsson, Archie Renaux

Film Locations: Budapest, Hungry and Various Studios

ElsBob: 6.5/10

IMDb: 7.2/10

Rotten Tomatoes Critics: 80%

Rotten Tomatoes Popcornmeter: 85%

Metacritic Metascore: 64%

Metacritic User Score: 7.1%

Theaters: 16 August 2024

Runtime: 119 minutes

Source: Rotten Tomatoes, IMDb, Metacritic. Graphic: Alien Romulus Poster and Trailer, 20 Century Studios

Caged

18 September 2024 By in Movies Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Longlegs: Lee Harker (Maika Monroe), mildly clairvoyant, rookie FBI agent, tackles a satanic serial-killer case with the enthusiasm of a vampire seeking high noon.

The movie possesses a few good, creepy scares molded around a very predictable plot with characters needing the IQ of twigs to make the story work.

Nicholas Cage elevates the movie to watchable while simultaneously establishing a serious deficiency in talent for the remainder of the cast that chose to perform in front of the camera.   Unfortunately, his acting is not enough to salvage this flick.

Trivia: Three songs by Marc Bolan’s band, T-Rex are woven into the Longlegs’ plot: Get It On, Jewel, and Planet Queen. All three songs provide a creepy, lyrical cadence to the horror that is Longlegs.

More Trivia: Zilgi who is credited with the music score is Osgood Perkins brother, Elvis Perkins, both of whom are the sons of the late actor and director Anthony Perkins.

Genre:  Crime–Horror—Mystery—Suspense–Thriller

Directed by: Osgood Perkins

Screenplay by: Osgood Perkins

Music by:  Zilgi

Cast: Nicolas Cage, Maika Monroe, Blair Underwood, Alicia Witt

Film Locations:  Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Els: 5.0/10

IMDb:  6.8/10

Rotten Tomatoes Critics:  85

Rotten Tomatoes Audience:  60

Metacritic Metascore: 77

Metacritic User Score:  6.3/10

Theaters: 12 July 2024

Runtime: 101 minutes

Budget:  <$10 million

Worldwide Box Office:  $104.1 million

Source: IMDb. Rotten Tomatoes. Metacritic. Graphic: Movie trailer, copyright Neon.

Dracula Lives

30 June 2024 By in Novel, Uncategorized Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Irish author Bram Stoker wrote the quintessential horror story, Dracula during the early to mid-1890s, publishing it in 1897–except Stoker didn’t write it “as fiction but as a warning of a very real evil” according to J.D. Barker’s history of the book.

Many events in the book were not fiction. The ship Dmitri (Demeter in the book) did run aground in Whitby Harbor, and it was carrying crates of dirt that had originated from the European port of Varna. Mr. and Mrs. Jonathan Harker and Dr. Seward were friends of Stoker who supposedly supplied first person accounts of the tale to the author.

Stoker’s publisher, finding the book too frightening for the public, only agreed to publish the book if the first 101 pages were left out along with extensive revisions to the story which took a very clear story of vampires in our mist to one of fictional horror. In the 1980s the original manuscript showed up in rural Pennsylvania with the first 101 pages still missing and was purchased by Paul Allen of Microsoft fame.

Source: Dracula by Bram Stoker. J.D. Barker, Bram Stocker published by Time.com. Graphic: Bram Stoker, circa 1906, Public Domain.

Fear the Night

8 May 2024 By in Movies, Uncategorized Tags: , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Arcadians.

Theaters: 12 March 2024

Streaming: 1 May 2018

Runtime:  92 minutes

Genre:  Action – Horror

Els:  6.0/10

IMDB:  5.6/10

Rotten Tomatoes Critics:  83/100

Rotten Tomatoes Audience:  55/100

Metacritic Metascore:  60/100

Metacritic User Score:  5.6/10

Awards: —

Directed by: Ben Brewer

Music by:  Kristin Kontrol and Josh Martin

Cast: Nicholas Cage

Film Locations:  Ireland

Budget:  – $–

Worldwide Box Office:  $0.9 Million

In an apocalyptic world Paul (Cage) and his two sons live a normal farm life during daylight hours and lock themselves into their fortress home during the night, when fuzzy anorexic creatures with extreme dental abnormalities roam in the darkness to kill and feed on humans.

The acting is very good with excellent visuals, but the story is weak on details and inspiration. An OK movie dreaming of a sequel which will never happen.

The name of this movie intrigued me since it was never actually referenced unless I missed it. Arcadia is a district in the central Peloponnesian plane of ancient Greece, which meant refuge or an idyllic place. A place of refuge seems applicable for this movie but not a safe refuge. Or it could just be the city of Arcadia NE of Los Angeles.

Source: IMDb. Rotten Tomatoes. Metacritic. Wikipedia. Graphic: Movie poster for Arcadian.

Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus

21 March 2024 By in Books Fiction, Novel, Uncategorized Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

It was the year without summer. During the year 1816, temperatures in Europe were the coldest of any recorded between 1766 and 2000. Across the pond in New England frost occurred every month of the year and six inches of snow fell in June. Crops failed, food was scarce, and people died unpleasantly premature.

There was no summer that year because in 1815 the Indonesian volcano, Mount Tambora, had a fit and blew its top, more or less straight up into the stratosphere. The amount of material injected into the upper atmosphere blocked the sunlight and caused global cooling.

Meanwhile, not to let bad weather forestall important matters, Lord Bryon while vacationing in Geneva, challenged his two companions, Percy Shelly, and Mary Godwin, the soon to be Mary Shelly, to a contest of who could write the best ghost story. Lord Bryon and Percy soon abandoned the project, but Mary persevered and published her Frankenstein two years later, giving birth to the monster with no name, countless movies, myths, legends, and frightful nights for children everywhere.

In the tenth chapter of her epistolary novel, Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus, we finally meet her fictional monster to learn not only that it lives, but it also speaks grammatically correct King’s English. Shelly cast her monster as Lucifer from the pages of Milton’s Paradise Lost. The monster, addressing its creator, Victor Frankenstein, speaks of profound loneliness, “The fallen angel becomes a malignant devil. Yet even that enemy of God and man had friends and associates in his desolation; I am alone.”

In the end the monster wishes to die but the author leaves those matters in the reader’s hands.

Sources Frankenstein by Mary Shelly. First published in 1818. The 100 Greatest Literary Characters by Plath et al, published 2019. Cover from a 2012 edition of Frankenstein shown below.

Boo in the Night

2 October 2022 By in Books Fiction, Short Stories Tags: , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Ghosts: A Treasury of Chilling Tales Old and New

Edited By Marvin Kaye

Published by Borders Classics

Copyright: © 2005

A ghostly collection of 53 short stories of the supernatural by authors known and unknown, many memorable, a few best forgotten, the frightening mingled with the ridiculous, overall, a compilation worthy of nighttime reading and bedtime frights.

This selection of stories mainly spans from the 1850s through the 1980s, with the big gun authors of Dickens, Wilde, Irving, Asimov, and Collins providing the most entertaining accounts of ghosts and their distressed victims. Dickens supplies the best punch line ending – ever in the ‘The Tale of Bagman’s Uncle”. Wilde’s ‘The Canterville Ghost” keeps it on the light side with a ghost slowly losing his mojo. Washington Irving’s contribution is from one of his lesser known, but delicious tales: ‘The Tale of the German Student’, a cautionary story for the good Samaritan. ‘Legal Rites’ is a tongue in check, but altogether a very original story by the sci-fi master Isaac Asimov featuring a ghost deciding that an imaginative lawyer trumps a milquetoast haunting.

There is more in this book of short stories, much more with plenty of authors that you have known since your younger years and a few that will turn out to be new friends in the future. The tales are all fun and short enough to read to go to sleep by. Sweet dreams.

Beyond Comic

16 January 2018 By in Movies Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Beyond Skyline (Theaters-2017; Streaming-2017)  Rated: R  Runtime: 105-106 minutes

Genre:  Action-Adventure-Drama-Fantasy-Horror-Science Fiction-ThrillerM Skyline 2017

els – 4.5/10

IMDb – 5.4/10

Amazon – 3.3/5 stars

Rotten Tomatoes Critics – 5.9/10

Rotten Tomatoes Audience – 3.2/5

Metacritic Metascore – 46/100

Metacritic User Score – 5.6/10

Directed by:  Liam O’Donnell

Written by:  Liam O’Donnell

Music by:  Nathan Whitehead

Cast:  Frank Grillo, Bojana Novakovic, Jonny Weston

Film Locations:   Toronto, Canada; Batam and Yogyakarta, Indonesia; Los Angeles and Marina Del Rey, US

Budget:   ~$15,000,000

Worldwide Box Office:  ~$1,000,000

Mark (Grillo), a washed up LA cop picks up his troublesome and busted son from the police department and is taking him back home when the aliens, or is it alien, attack the city and suck everyone up into their spaceship via a blue light beaming down, and vacuuming up, from the crowded streets below.  The LA folks who are pulled into the spaceship have their brains removed, inserted into cyborg-like machines, and are reprogrammed to do the bidding of the alien(s), all with a blue twinkle in their eyes.  Mark and his son are eventually captured and brought into the craft but he escapes the brain transference process while his son doesn’t. Mark befriends another cyborg that doesn’t like the alien(s) and together they cause the spacecraft to crash into the drug infested jungles of Laos, actually Indonesia, where they seem to have been totally forgotten by the rest of humanity. At this point Mark joins forces with Laotian drug smugglers and they proceed to battle the alien(s) and cyborgs Kung Fu style, setting the stage for Skyline 3.

Beyond Skyline is an ambitious special effects movie hamstrung with a lousy script and even worse direction; both supplied by Liam O’Donnell. This is O’Donnell’s first shot at directing with the only positive being that he has to improve in his next movie, if there is one. The acting and the special effects are all serviceable but the story just loses all control of reality and veers off into an action soaked craze masquerading as a plot. Each scene seems designed to end the confusion from the previous scene, but fails, and you are left with just witnessing some fairly decent action but not really knowing why. In the end you would be forgiven to think that this flick was a comedy, non-stop slapstick if you will, except it wasn’t funny. Blue lights bad, red lights good.  Red light bombs turn blue lights red. In Skyline 3 we will likely to be informed what green lights are all about. Brains for cyborgs, tots for toys; good grief.  Keep your popcorn in the kernel and move along; nothing to see here.