Not Quite Horror: “Blood Simple” (1984)

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Not Quite Horror contains reviews of films not traditionally considered horror films. By analyzing them as horror films (identifying the monster, discussing the shared worry for the audience and the main characters, and understanding the depth of horror available to the viewer), who knows? There’s more than one way to watch a movie.

Blood Simple (1984)

In the month of October, I am celebrating the films of Not Quite Horror legends Joel and Ethan Coen.

The Monster: The Coen Brothers debut film is filled with monsters, but private detective Loren Visser (M. Emmet Walsh) is a killer who bites harder than he barks. Visser is hired to catch a cheating wife, and before long the secret lovers, the husband, and the private eye are all scheming to stay alive while eliminating anyone standing in their way.

Visser may be a killer, but he’s hard to hate. He’s likeable and philosophical until he acts. When he does strike, he does so like a Great White shark with its eyes rolled up in its head.

The Horror: Blood Simple’s sense of humor stands a few steps further up the gallows than the rest of the Coen Brothers’ films. The awkward goofiness of later films (for example, Raising Arizona) is replaced with a smirk before death. None of the actors in Blood Simple seem like they really believe they’ll escape with their lives, and yet they struggle on.

The Shared Fate: As their first feature, Blood Simple is the grit that polished the Coen Brothers’ future career style. Later films attempt to cut their nihilism with wacky humor, but this film does not skimp on darkness – from the lighting to the ending and everything else.

Blood Simple is a movie with a moral – you’re going to lose. And when you lose, it will be unpleasant. You won’t see it coming, either.

— I am indebted to Noel Carroll’s The Philosophy of Horror for his ideas on defining horror, as well as John Skipp and Craig Spector’s article “Death’s Rich Pageantry, or Skipp & Spector’s Handy-Dandy Splatterpunk Guide to the Horrors of Non-horror Film” in Cut! Horror Writers on Horror Film for a similar idea.–

–Axel Kohagen

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31 Days of Horror: Day 23: “Dr. Giggles” (1992)

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I’ve always been a big fan of 90’s horror and Dr. Giggles did not disappoint. For whatever reason, I have been putting off watching this 1992 movie for a few years now, but finally, the slasher stars aligned and Dr. Giggles was all mine. I found myself very curious as to how this movie would play out for a few reasons. Would this middle aged villain keep my attention? Would the very 90’s characters be likable or would I be dying to see their demise. And always a huge turning point for me, would the production value and camera work be able to rival the blockbuster films of its generation?

Dr. Giggles was played by Larry Drake and I found myself loving him more and more as the story progressed. Turns out, his father was a crazy old murdering doctor himself. We fast-forward 3 decades later and after years locked up in the mental ward, Dr. Giggles escapes to terrorize and kill. Needless to say, he needs to work on his bedside manner as a group of classic horny teens begin to fall one-by-one. The doctors bag, white coat, and inventive deaths help create a memorable killer in Giggles. I loved how he incorporates medical tools with each brutal kill. Many are cut-away deaths, but the way they were shot and the creative ways they happened made for some great visuals and may even force some people cover their eyes…but not me of course…

As a whole, the teen characters were fairly likable. The slutty girls were fun, and although nobody in the group was amazing and unforgettable, they all seemed to be able to play the part that they needed to play. The comedy, when it worked, was a nice change of pace every now and then. I enjoyed the condom-in-the-toilet scene and the little brother playing Dr. Mario was pure perfection.

As far as the production value goes, this held up to most of the rival slashers of its time. There wasn’t anything that put it over the top, but just all around nice work by the entire crew. The camera work was typical, but a dutch shot here and there was a nice added bonus. So, take the doctors orders and add this to your own must-see-list if you haven’t already. Don’t be afraid, Dr. Giggles will take good care of you!

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31 Days of Terror: Day 22: “Poltergeist III” (1988)

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“Poltergeist III” is, by all means, a film that I should hate. It’s a sequel with only two returning characters (Carol Ann and the ever reliable Tangina), it’s PG-13, and it’s supernatural. By all means, this should be on my worst list of horror sequels. Hell, that’s where most other horror fans would put it. But it’s a good film damnit and it’s a film that I will defend until the day I die. To be honest, I just don’t understand the hate for this film. The mirror effects are surprisingly effective and the film attempts to bring closure to the story (even though there are only two returning cast members, it is surprisingly faithful to the original two films). The film is just plain fun from beginning to end and what the film lacks in logic it more than makes up for in inventive special effects. Sadly, this is young Heather O’Rourke’s (Carol Anne) last film as she would pass away shortly after filming would commence. Sure they may say Carol Ann about a hundred times too many but it really just adds to the fun of the film. Have a few drinks and do a toast to Miss O’Rourke, one of the genre’s youngest scream queens that was taken far too soon.

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Horror Movie Challenge: Day 22: Best Horror Movie Book (Jaws)

Slasher Studios*Horror Movie Challenge (30 Days)

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The 1975 film, Jaws, was based on the book of the same name written by, Peter Benchley. Benchley was brought in to co-write the script for Jaws and was lucky enough to have a few other of his novels made into movies as well. Directed by
Steven Spielberg, this film scared many viewers to the point of never wanting to go in the water again.

It’s widely known that Spielberg was having trouble getting the mechanical shark, Bruce, to work properly. He had wanted too show much more of the shark, but due to all the technical difficulties, he had to limit the shots on the shark. Who knows what the final version of the film would have looked like of how the tone would have felt, but limiting the time the camera spent on Bruce, really helped maintain the suspense and scare factor.

The all around production value found within Jaws is what has helped make it such a huge success. The cinematography is picture perfect and has the classic Spielberg techniques. The acting was well done and the score played a giant part in the films marketing campaign as well as setting the audience up for what was to come.

At the time, Jaws had become the highest grossing film to date. With a budget of just $9 million, the shark tale reeled in over $470 million at the box office and has continued to sell copies on DVD and Blu-Ray yet today.

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Horror Movie Challenge: Day 21: Worst Twist Ending (High Tension)

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I love just about everything about High Tension. Strong final girl, superb gore, interesting character, fantastic cinematography, it is nearly the perfect slasher until the final act when the film commits a terrible cinematic crime. That crime is a twist for the sake of a twist. A twist ending that makes no sense that, as Roger Ebert put it, “you could drive a truck through…literally.” It nearly completely ruins everything this film had going for it. I won’t give away the ending but was ANYONE a fan of it?

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31 Days of Horror: Day 21: “The Campground” (2013)

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We here at Slasher Studios have a weakness for 80’s slashers and a soft place in our heart for campground locations. If you are like most slasher lovers, then make sure to check out The Campground. Studio 605 and Sydso Media combine forces to create terror with director, Roman Jossart. On a modest budget of $3,000, the story follows a group of old friends that get together for a birthday party at an old campground. After friends begin to go missing one by one, the living try to piece together the horrific events and do what they can to stay alive.

Jossart had his hands full as director and actor. He was actually the standout, playing the character Brandon and delivering lines with a nice flow and natural charisma that it’d be great to see him take on another slasher. The cast consisted of an array of acting levels and approach to their characters, but featured a number big breasted girls for added viewing pleasure. The camera work was at it’s best during the moving shots and helped add to the production value. The opening shots were a great addition as the audience is taken across the wide open lake surrounded by the beautiful lake-front environment.

This film has a quick running time of 54 minutes and that is really all the time needed to tell this story. Adding additional scenes or dialogue would have done nothing but bog this film down. There are also some great horror movie references found throughout the film and that adds a nice wink to the real slasher fans out there (look out for Slasher Studios’ very own Don’t Go to the Reunion). The music choices in this film were fitting and helped add suspense. You can also find some nice blood-effect work on this small budget film. There is a certain weapon that is used a few times and I am glad that the filmmakers stuck with this for most of the deaths. It really adds to how brutal some of these deaths are.

The Campground was filmed by obvious horror film lovers and it really does shine through. This may have been small on budget, but it was big on heart. The dedication and hard work will be very noticeable to fellow horror fans! For more info on the film, you can visit the link below.
http://thecampgroundfilm.com/

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Horror Movie Challenge: Day 20: Best Twist Ending (Sleepaway Camp)

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The slasher with the best twist ending in the history of umm..ever?! Campy, over-the-top, and lots of fun with a nice little mean streak. Finding out that Angela was the killer was no surprise but finding out that Angela was really Peter certainly was. There was already a boy in Aunt Martha’s house. No need for another one, right? This ending still gives people nightmares. Creepy as hell.

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31 Days of Horror: Day 20: “The Witches” (1988)

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The Witches comes to us from across the pond as director Nicolas Roeg displays his creativity in this fantasy film that is a great October treat. If you are gearing up for Halloween, but want to save the slashing and gore for another night, then The Witches may just the the lighter film to fit this niche. You will follow the little boy, Luke, and his grandmother, Helga, as they take off on an adventure with some less than desirable witches. The European shot film is one that should be watched for a few different reasons.

The effects and work by Jim Henson are amazing. This was sadly his final film, but his work will live on forever. The puppetry and make-up effects were out-of-this-world and adds a lot of production value to this film. The witches have a great look and I wold love to know more about the design process and how long it took to create these creatures. Along side these Jim Henson creations can be found some fun and quite memorable actors. The witch of all witches is played by the very talented Anjelica Houston. Her performance is top notch as always as she is the perfect fit for her character. We also have a Mr. Bean sighting with Rowan Atkinson playing the role of Mr. Stringer. I kept thinking of watching him on PBS playing his well know Bean character. I was definitely taken out of the film a few times with flashbacks, but overall I was just fine with him being featured in the film.

The cinematography is by far my favorite part. I am a huge fan of the shot selection and choices made by the filmmakers and could witch this over again just for inspiration. Although it was released in 1990, I enjoyed the zooms as it gave it more of a vintage feel. The dutch angles and just all-around odd camera positions helped give The Witches a distinct look. I would love to hear from seasoned DP’s on their thoughts on the cinematography. The shots used will not be for everyone, but I found them to be creative and fun.

So, as we near Oct. 31st, try out The Witches and enjoy some great visuals and have a fun time with it. Don’t expect blood and guts, save that for Michael and Jason to deliver.

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“Carrie” (2013) Remake Brings New Blood to Familiar Story

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In the remake of the original Brian De Palma film, and based off of the novel by Stephen King, Carrie tells the story of young Carrie White (Chloe Grace Moretz) who goes through life being tormented by classmates and teachers. The only person she feels close to is her religion-obsessed mother Margaret (Julianne Moore). After a cruel joke, one of the popular girls, Sue Snell (Gabriella Wilde) decides to provide an act of kindness to Carrie by allowing her boyfriend to ask her to prom. But along the way, Carrie starts to develop telekinetic abilities that could bring disastrous results if she’s pushed too far.

I believe that to compare this remake with the original and say which is better would be completely wrong and impossible. Both films have very strong aspects of their own that make them both able to stand on their own. But to discuss this version as a remake itself, I would definitely have to say it was VERY well-done. The film really gets into the emotional side of the story, we really get to know Carrie and get a sense of her loneliness. This in part is due to an excellent performance by Chloe Grace Moretz in what I really think is her best performance to date. She portrays the emotions of Carrie with such ease that you really feel for the character and think of her as a real person. But when it switches gears and her evil side appears, Moretz provides a very chilling performance. We are also given Julianne Moore as Carrie’s mother. From the start of the film and until the very end, Moore shows just how unhinged Margaret White is, and she does it perfectly. Her performances leaves the viewer really unsettled with her dead and haunting performance. As for the effects, unfortunately this remake is filled with a lot of CGI. Does it completely ruin the film? No. But it does take away a lot of the effect. The prom scene for example, while much more violent (which I was pleased about), the CGI was really noticeable. But despite this, some of the effects combined with amazing camera shots is very well-done. One example being when two characters are involved in a car crash, the impacts in the crash were very cool (and slightly disturbing) to watch.

So overall, Carrie is a very well-done and perfectly modernized remake that lets us get in touch emotionally with our lead, plenty of bloody moments, and most of all, amazing performances by Moretz and Moore.

–Cody Landman

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