Going To Pieces: The Rise and Fall of the Slasher Film (2006)

Tonight we watched this excellent horror documentary about the origins of the slasher film. It was fantastic! Very thorough & filled with insightful interviews from horror greats like John Carpenter (Halloween), Wes Craven (A Nightmare On Elm Street), Sean Cunningham (Friday the 13th) & Paul Lynch (Prom Night). I particularly enjoyed the bits with Tom Savini, who takes joy in his job & described his effects with the blood-lusty delight that I love seeing in a true horror fan. The doc spanned the films made between the late 70s & mid 80s, but did touch upon 1960s horror & current horror gurus - like Rob Zombie (who is also in the doc, making sexy & astute observations) & Eli Roth.

I have such nostalgia lately for my early days of horror love. Last year I was all about current horror & discovered some true gems that were made over the past 10 years, but right now I just want to immerse myself in all the horror that shaped my depravity, this documentary really kicked the nostalgia into high-gear, if you're a fan of 1980s horror it'll do the same for you.

Fellowshippy!

Guess who has two thumbs, speaks limited Elvish & saw the extended edition of Fellowship in the theatre tonight? This Im! SB & I were walking home from a Aglar* day at the beach & she noticed that the EE of Fellowship was playing at a theatre we were strolling by. Not only was it exactly a half-hour before it was due to begin, but it was cheap-ticket-Tuesday so we made the best impromptu decision of our lives since the last time we made the impromptu decision to see ROTK in the theatre, and for 12 bucks! The usher was super excited for us. "Come in," he encouraged, "it's 3 hours and 44 minutes long!" Don't mind if I do, enthusiastic usher!

Best of all, the theatre was nearly deserted, we ended up sharing the room with only 5 other people - and they were all alone! One guy, who is our god, by the way & who I kind of hope is reading this, excitedly answered a trivia question during the "pre-show" where the multiple choice options were: Tobey Maguire, Jake Gyllenhaal or James Franco. "Franco," he responded with confidence. And he was correct. Then he laughed at an Axe Body Spray commercial, continually wrinkled a bag of what I can only imagine was a jumbo sized sack of potato chips, laughed at a sincere moment in the movie & just thoroughly enjoyed himself. Usually people like him upset me in a movie theatre, but I think someone who can bring awkward to a LOTR Tuesday Night Viewing deserves recognition. Bravo, good sir. Plus his antics encouraged us to choose a closer seat farther away from him & it ended up causing the film to absorb us completely. I'm pretty sure we were in the movie.

And I totally cried when Boromir died. Big fat tears of loss. I was also super into Aragorn & Boromir's relationship - their love was raw & pure. To the fanfic archives!

* That's Elvish for glorious, nerds.

cross-posted to That Obscure Object

Please Don't Hit Me, Mom (1981)

This is an epic installment in retro ABC family entertainment. It stars a young Sean Astin in his first movie role, his real-life Mom Patty Duke & Nancy McKeon (Jo from Facts Of Life). In the movie, which was originally filmed as a part of the ABC After-School Special program, but was so awesome that it aired in prime-time, is about a young boy’s babysitter discovering that his Mom is abusing him. What an astounding straight-forward title for the film, what a kitsch choice to have baby-Sean play the son to his camp superstar of a mother. I’m getting shivers of delight just recalling it!

Oh how I loved Sean in the 80s & 90s. His ruddy cheeks & wide earnest eyes drove me wild. Of course I watched my tape of The Goonies until it barely performed, but I also watched Encino Man like, 500 times solely for Astin. I watched Toy Soldiers & was positive Sean was going to be my first. I wept at Rudy because my heart was made 10 times bigger simply by watching Sean cry.

Further important Astin/Duke family facts: John Astin, Sean’s adopted father, played Gomez Addams on the original Addams Family TV series. Mackenzie Astin, Sean’s brother, isn’t his biological relation, but they still totally sort of look alike. Once an Astin, always an Astin! I wish I was an Astin.

cross-posted to That Obscure Object

In Defense of Rob Zombie

I love Rob Zombie’s Halloween remakes. I know it’s an unpopular opinion among horror fans & that the only acceptable opinion is, “Fuck the Halloween remakes” or “Well, the first remake wasn’t terrible, but fuck the second remake & the original is far superior”, but I like to form my own visceral opinion when I watch a horror movie & not let the popular opinion guide me.

Like most people, I am wary when the classics are remade, but I remember reading in an interview that Rob Zombie said it’s nearly impossible to get an original script made into a film nowadays, that the studios want remakes. I found it both brave & creative of Zombie to take a classic & make it his own; to not mimic something that’s already been done, but tell the same story in a different way, that’s what makes a remake worthy of our time, otherwise we’re just watching something dull & lifeless, something wholly unnecessary because it has literally already been done. If I’m going to watch a remake, I want to see something unique & whether you enjoyed Zombie’s interpretation or not, it can’t be argued: it is nothing like the original. We’re presented with two vastly different versions of the same story & that is how you do a remake.

If offered both sets of films with the understanding that I am aware of the merits of both, I’m going to choose the remakes. In fact, I dislike the original Halloween 2 & thought Rob Zombie’s idea for a Halloween sequel was way more inspired. I watched it during a really emotional time in my life, so maybe I was just trying to connect with something, but both Suicideblonde & I loved it.

I do like the original Halloween. It’s a great spooky story, Jamie Lee Curtis is outstanding & the score fills me with a delicious dread. I grew up with the movie so, for nostalgia’s sake, I enjoy a re-watch, especially in the autumn. However, if I want to be truly frightened & watch a really meaty set of horror movies that are going to excite me, I’m going with Zombie.

 cross-posted to That Obscure Object