Horror (2002)

Title: Horror (2002)

Director: Dante Tomaselli

Cast: Danny Lopes, Christie Sanford, Lizzy Mahon, Vincent Lamberti, The Amazing Kreskin, Felissa Rose

Review:

Horror is director Dante Tomaselli’s second feature film, his first one being Desecration (1999) a film about a kid who accidentally kills a nun, unleashing a series of supernatural events that lead him to the gates of hell. He is also haunted by this creepy evil nun through out the whole movie. Desecration is the kind of film that makes you feel like you are in a dream like state all the time, hovering somewhere between reality and nightmare. It’s extremely hallucinatory; we are constantly being bombarded with nightmares and horrifying visions. For his second film, Dante obviously wanted to go deeper into this dreamlike/nightmarish state, adding a little bit of drug induced paranoia to the mix.

In Horror we follow a group of druggies who escape a drug rehab clinic. Their escape plan includes going to the home of a priest named ‘Reverend Salo Jr.’ who visited the clinic a couple of days earlier preaching about the end of the world being near. Thing is this preacher doesn’t just talk about the end of the world; he also hands out bags filled with drugs to whoever is willing to take them! These being kids who are trying to rehabilitate from the drug addiction, they are more than happy to accept the drugs and chow down on all the mushrooms and pills contained inside. Not only that, they start smoking weed as well. Basically, these guys are buying the ticket and taking the ride, they don’t care about the consequences, they just want to be as high as they possibly can. Which of course isn’t a good thing when you are driving into the house of an evil preacher from hell!

There are a couple of things you should know before going into a film like Horror. First of all, it’s an independent horror film; it was made for a budget of 250,000 which is of course an extremely low budget to make any film. But if you are a crafty, creative director, and if you pull in a dedicated crew of demented individuals willing to follow you diligently, you can make a decent horror film. Secondly, Dante Tomaselli was aiming to make the kind of film where nothing feels right, where more questions are made than answered, where nothing is explained and things feel a little ‘off’ all the time. Is this a dream? Is this reality? Are we in some kind of Twilight Zone? So you should go in to this movie expecting that kind of time displacement feeling. In this film, no rules are set, time and space move at the beat of Dante Tomaselli’s drum. This is precisely why I enjoy this movie.

Felissa Rose of 'Sleepaway Camp' fame cameos in 'Horror'

 A Dante Tomaselli film will always have a couple of things at its core: one of them is a family in pain. Every single one of his films has been about a dysfunctional family unit. On Horror we meet the Salo family, a truly messed up family to say the least. The father is a preacher, but he isn’t a good one. By that I mean that he keeps his daughter in a drug induced state all the time, it is hinted that he sexually abuses her, and he keeps her locked up in her room all the time. He preaches the word of God but is really serving the devil. One creepy scene has Grace, the evil reverends daughter, looking down at her father from her bedroom window. He is preaching away and supposedly healing the sick when suddenly he realizes that she is looking at him from her room. Then while looking at her he does an inverted sign of the cross…which causes her to faint! To me, this evil preacher was the creepiest of all the characters in the film. The way religious characters are always depicted in Dante Tomaselli’s films show us one thing: Tomaselli films always criticize religion somehow. They always talk about the psychological pain that comes from Christian guilt and the façade put on by preachers and nuns. On this one we have an evil preacher who hands out hallucinatory drugs to kids! On Desecration we have a demonic nun who tortures a child! Tomaselli loves to exploit the horror elements that come from Christianity.

Dante Tomaselli and The Amazing Kreskin on the set of 'Horror' 

One of the things I love the most about Horror is the feeling of dread. That deadly serious vibe that it has going for it. It reminds me of the kind of vibe one would get from supernatural horror films of the 70’s. There is not a single smile, or positive vibe in this film. Horror is an onslaught of nightmarish atmosphere and psychological terror. Situations that happen in this film seem to have no explanation whatsoever; they are there simply to creep you out. This film kind of reminded me of a David Lynch film in that sense, there is always some symbolism involved with the imagery, but it won’t be easily explained to you. This is definitely the kind of film you have to watch more than once to get. I have seen it a couple of times and understand it a whole lot better now, but upon my first viewing of Horror I was left asking myself what the hell I had just seen. So it’s that kind of a movie where questions are made, but not easily answered. It isn’t the kind of horror film you can easily digest. It’s doesn’t spell things out for you. It is also a very circular film; you have to watch it all the way to the end to fully comprehend it. I loved how it actually kind of connects to Dante’s first film Desecration (1999) when it comes to ‘Luck’ the character played by Danny Lopes. Both films are about his character going into ‘hell’.

But this isn’t a perfect horror film, it does have its flaws. Some of the situations and dialog don’t come off as real at all. Take for instance the teens who break out of the drug clinic. They kill the security guard with a shot to the head, steal a van, and walk away as easy as one two three, nobody chases, no cops, no nothing. And then, to top things off, they decide to take all these drugs that a creepy preacher gave them, and they just gobble down all these mushrooms and on top of that they smoke weed and take pills all while on their way to the preachers’ house! With that many drugs in their system, they wouldn’t be able to even breath, much less drive a van. I mean would anyone use that many drugs with such reckless abandon? I guess we could chalk it all up to the nightmarish dream logic of the film. Acting wise some of the actors don’t do so good, especially The Amazing Kreskin, who in my opinion isn’t much of an actor. I mean a great illusionist sure, but an actor? Not so much. Tomaselli probably chose him because of his illusions and abilities in hypnotism, which he uses on more than one occasion in the film and that’s all cool, but his character doesn’t come off as evil to me, and it should have. Kreskin is too much of a nice guy in real life to play a truly evil character. This is where actor Vincent Lamberto as the evil Reverend Salo Jr. did so well, he truly came off as evil. And so did Christie Sanford an actress that Tomaselli has used on all his films since day one, she comes off as a twisted demented mother, I liked her. These actors to me where the two highpoints in the film.  

All in all, this is a film that I like for its nightmarish qualities and dreadful atmosphere and it’s my favorite Tomaselli film to date. It is also a film that I feel could have been better had it had a bigger budget. Tomaselli is an imaginative director who needs to get his hands on more money to make his movies. Working on a limited budget can sometimes help the creative process, especially when it comes to not having producers breathing down your neck asking you to make your movie in a certain way, I mean having artistic freedom is a priceless thing and I can definitely understand that. But sometimes working with a limited budget can also hinder a project; especially when your story is an ambitious one and I know that Tomaselli has some ambitious stories to tell up his sleeves. Still, I think Tomaselli got away with making a decent horror film that proves he has the talent and ambition to make more horror films in the future. Actually, Tomaselli is currently putting the final touches on his next film Torture Chamber which I’m looking forward to seeing soon. I’m looking forward to seeing his growth as a director. Horror isn’t a film for everyone. If you don’t like Indie horror films or films that are more inclined towards the artistic, non-linear, surrealistic side of things, then don’t bother. But if you are open to the kinds of films that are more free form with their storytelling techniques, then by all means indulge.

Rating: 3 ½ out of 5 

21 Haunted House Flicks

Title: The Amityville Horror (1979)

The Amityville Horror is one of my favorite of all haunted house films. This one has a real evil vibe to it, and just so you know it was one of those films that scared the crap out of me when I was a kid. My dear old dad (gotta love that dude!) took me to see this in theaters when I was about 4 or 5 years old. This one has that “reality” vibe going for it because it’s based on a book that allegedly speaks of the real life experiences that the Lutz family had while living in 112 Ocean Avenue Amityville, New York. You see, according to the real life Lutz’s, a short while after they bought this house, supernatural events began to take place to them.  The book talks about (amongst other things) bleeding walls, spooky voices from beyond and red eyes looking at them in the basement. Was it all true? Doubtful; but when we really get down to it, its just a story the family told. They could very well have made it all up to try and capitalize on the story behind the house they bought. This was after all the same house in which a mass murder occurred just a year before they bought it. The murdered attributed his acts to demons. Ultimately, no matter if you choose to believe the stories or not, both the story and the film are pretty damn spooky.    

Haunted For Sure Sequence: When a priest goes to the house to bless it with holy water he begins to suffocate! Then, out of nowhere, thousands of flies begin to attack him! Think it could have something to do with Satan being “The Lord of the Flies”?

Title: Amityville II: The Possession (1982)

This is the one that tells the story behind the first film, it’s not really a sequel as the title implies, but a prequel. In real life, one year before the horrors that befell the Lutz family, the De Feo family lived in the house located on 112 Ocean Avenue in Amityville, New York. The De Feo’s were a highly dysfunctional family, everybody hated everybody. One day, while listening to heavy metal on his walkman, the teenage boy in the family ‘Ronald De Feo Jr.’ supposedly became possessed by the spirit of a Native American Indian Chief called ‘Rolling Thunder’ and murdered his whole damn family (mom, dad and two sisters) with a shotgun. According to a paranormal investigator, supposedly the house was built on top of an ancient Indian burial ground! Sounds kind of like the plot for Poltergeist don’t it? I guess more than one film was influenced by this story. This prequel was based on the book called ‘Murder in Amityville’ written by a paranormal researcher called Hans Holzer. Of course, they changed the names around, for example the families name is now Montelli instead of the DeFeo’s, but it all stems from the real life story; creepy aint it?

Haunted For Sure Sequence: While listening to heavy metal, Sonny Montelli (the teenager in the family) begins to hear a spooky voice through his headphones that tells him “Why didn’t you pull the trigger? Why didn’t you shoot that pig?”

Title: The Poltergeist Franchise (1982)(1986)(1988)

My favorite haunted house movies have always been the Poltergeist films. Why? Because at the root of it all, what pulls the freaky Freelings together is the love they have for each other. But aside from that, the whole series is a great showcase of spooky moments and great special effects. The first and second films are a real showcase of awesome special effects! In this film ghosts really mess with your mind! Creepy clown dolls come to life!  Spooky looking trees come to life and try to eat you! Skeletons of dead Indians come out of their graves! Portals to ‘the other side’ will be opened! And that’s just the first film. The sequel Poltergeist II: The Other Side goes even further, actually taking us to the other side, where ghosts dwell! The third film is an interesting one; it kind of distanced itself from the visual effects avalanches that were the first and second films. For this third entry, director Jim Sheridan tried pulling off all the effects practically, and on camera, and he succeeded! I wonder why they haven’t made anymore sequels to these highly successful series of films? Could it be the supposed curse that hangs over these films?

Haunted For Sure Sequence: When a paranormal investigator decides to spend a couple of nights inside of the Freeling Home, one night he decides to look at himself in the mirror only to see his own face melting and rotting away before his very eyes!   

Titles: House (1986) and House 2: The Second Story (1987)

This one is a fun one. If you ever wanna see what a purely 80’s horror movie feels like House is the way to go! I mean, I’m sure when screenwriter Fred Dekker (the director behind Night of the Creeps and Monster Squad) decided to start writing this one, he was aiming to make a non stop roller coaster ride of spooky jolts and fun thrills. He achieved it if you ask me. House tells the story of Roger Cobb a man looking for some quiet time to write his memoirs of the Vietnam War in. Unfortunately, he chose to write his novel at his dead aunts’ house, and the house is super haunted! This one plays out like a more commercial version of Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead in the sense that it’s a jolt a minute type of movie. It never stops, some crazy ghost or monster pops up every five seconds. Of course this being the Hollywood version of an Evil Dead film, it’s not as gory or graphic, but it’s still filled with lots of monsters, zombies, flying skulls with bat wings attached, dead zombie hands, fat witches, demon kids, you name it and its in there! We even got portals to other dimensions on this one! Don’t miss it if you’re in the mood for a spooky fun time. If you want to keep the ball rolling and have an innocent good time, then watch the sequel. The sequel isn’t really a scary movie, it has some elements of a horror film, like for example a zombie cowboy (the films main villain), it also has creatures, and zombies, and pterodactyl’s, but for the most part, the second House film is less horrifying (a lot less than the first one) and has more of an adventurous light hearted vibe going for it.

Haunted For Sure Sequence: When Roger Cobb, the first films protagonist jumps into the backyard pool to save his drowning son, he ends up traveling back in time to the Vietnam War!

Title: The Shining (1980)

More than a haunted house, this one is actually a haunted hotel. And this isnt just any old horror movie, this one was directed by legendary filmmaker Stanley Kubrick. That’s right my friends, this one was made by the man behind 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) and A Clockwork Orange (1971) so it’s special in that way. Not only that, it is based on a novel by the one and only master of horror Stephen King. So it’s a double whammy in that way. Story is all about Jack, a man also looking for some peace and quiet to write his masterpiece. So when the opportunity presents itself to watch over a gigantic secluded hotel that will be closed down over the winter, he takes it. Unfortunately, said hotel is crawling with ghosts! Will Jack be able to handle the ghost situation and control his own inner demons? A superbly directed haunted house flick, if you ever wanted to see a good one, this is it.   

Haunted For Sure Sequence: When Jack encounters a naked lady in the bathroom, her back is revealed to be horribly rotten and scarred.

Title: The Haunting (1963) and The Haunting (1999)

The original The Haunting is is the granddaddy of all haunted house films! It takes place inside of Hill House, according to the story, one of the most haunted houses to ever exist. Dr. John Markway invites three distinguished guests to Hill House in order to hopefully experience and document supernatural events. One is an incurable skeptic, one is a psychic, and the other has had experiences with the supernatural. Will they witness something truly out of this world? Or will their imaginations play tricks with all of them? Is something truly evil roaming the halls of Hill House? Was this houses “born evil”? The coolest thing for me about this movie is how Robert Wise directed this film without ever showing us anything! We get spooked, but it’s our minds that bring home the scares! The Haunting is a brilliant horror film in my book. Robert Wise directed a film that was way ahead of it’s time, the camera angles and storytelling techniques have been imitated by many directors, including Sam Raimi in The Evil Dead series (1981). A remake was directed by Jan De Bont, but with that one De Bont went in a completely opposite direction than Robert Wise’s film by making turning this remake into a special fx fest. In my opinion, De Bont’s remake is a good haunted house film in my book, but for entirely different reasons. It shows you everything as opposed to Wise’s, which delights in not.  

Haunted For Sure Sequence: Eleanor thinks someone is holding her hand in the night, and she thinks its Theo, her new best friend. Bur when the lights go on, she realizes Theo isn’t next to her! So who was holding her hand so tightly all the time?

Titles: Evil Dead I (1981) and Evil Dead II: Dead By Dawn (1987)

These two films are about a group of friends who decide to venture into a lonely cabin in the woods, for a night of fun and frolics. To their surprise, they find a tape recorder that has demon resurrection passages taped on it, when they play the recording, and the magical words are spoken, suddenly ghosts and demons begin to torment them! Will they ever send the demons back to where they came from? These films were Sam Raimi’s training wheals as a director, and in many ways, these two films remain his best films ever. Well, at least in this horror lovers heart they are. The Evil Dead is more of a straight forward onslaught of horror, while the second film Evil Dead II: Dead By Dawn is more of a non stop rollercoaster ride of effects and a bit of humor infused into the whole ordeal. Evil Dead II was extremely influenced by Robert Wise’s The Haunting (1963). Raimi even lifted entire sequences directly from Wise’s horror masterpiece. Raimi injected a bit of his own Three Stooges madness into these films, as a result, we get two extremely fast paced, gory, spooky and absolutely horrifying haunted house flicks. I didn’t include the third, because it’s not a straight forward haunted house flick, and plus, the film plays more like an episode of Hercules or Xena, but with the undead. Still, Army of Darkness (1993) is an extremely watchable and fun horror/adventure flick. 

Haunted For Sure Sequence: When Ash is sitting on a rocking chair, trying to compose himself after all the madness he has just witnessed his dead girlfriends decapitated head falls on his lap and begins to laugh maniacally!

Title: The Others (2001)

This one tells the story of Grace Stewart, a woman who lives a reclusive life in her mansion. Her son and daughter are extremely sensitive to light, and so they must live a life in darkness, hiding away from the sunlight. I love this film because it’s so symbolic, and touches upon deep, important themes. Rooted within this films themes is a truthful commentary on religion. Should we be kept in the darkness as to the truth of it all? Or should we venture out into the light of the truth, however harmful the exposure to these truth maybe? But aside from the films themes, this is an extremely atmospheric and downright spooky film. This one cooks its scares in low fire…yet they crawl under your skin and stay in your mind long after you’ve seen the film. Highly recommend this one for Halloween night! Spooky to the max!

Haunted for Sure Sequence: When Grace sees a little girl playing in a room wearing a veil over her face, she thinks it’s her daughter beneath the veil, but when she lifts it, it’s the face of a decaying ghost!

Title: Insidious (2010)

Insidious surprised me because it’s a horror film that plays the current Hollywood game of ‘playing it safe’ with horror movies. By this I mean that modern horror films have gotten their nuts cut off and are currently a watered down bunch of sorry excuses for horror films. No blood, no guts, no glory. But Insidious is interesting because it plays by these new rules yet manages to create a very dreadful and frightening mood with its visuals and story. So kudos go out to director James Wan for making a horror film that scares without a drop of blood in display. The story revolves around a little kid who has an out of body experience, and his spirit stays wandering through the after life. Since his body is left unattended, evil spirits are looking for a way to posses his body and take over it so they can live again! A very spooky film, that’s a compilation of films like The Amityville Horror and Poltergeist. It’s not as original as its filmmakers would like you to believe, but it’s still an extremely spooky ordeal.

Haunted For Sure Sequence: When Elise, the medium is talking to the spirit of the kid, the kid tells her he isnt speaking anymore because if they hear him, they'll hurt him. And when she asks who will hurt him he replies: "The man, with fire on his face"

Title: The Sentinel (1977)

The Sentinel is all about a young lady who is trying to live an independent lifestyle, trying to make it on her own in the big bad world. So she goes out and finds her own place to live in. After some searching, she finds a beautifully furnished apartment in Brooklyn, New York. According to the land lady, she along with a blind priest on the top floor are the only tenants in the building. Or are they? It’s not long before Allison begins hearing strange noises in the night, having strange surreal dreams and getting ghostly visitations in the middle of the night! Of course, her apartment ends up being a gateway to a very special place, but I’ll let you find that out when you watch the movie. Not a bad piece of haunted house cinema. The film was directed by Michael Winner, the director behind the original Death Wish! It’s a very eerie film that exploits Christian beliefs about heaven and hell…and demons! 

Haunted For Sure Sequence: Allison is supposed to be the only tenant living in her building, so why is the chandelier above her bed swinging left and right as if being moved by some ungodly invisible force? 

Title: Paranormal Activity (2009) and Paranormal Activity 2 (2010)

Paranormal Activity is this generations Poltergeist franchise. It does a lot of the same things that the Poltergeist films did. It places the typical American family at the mercy of ghosts and demons. It puts the family unit in supernatural danger. What it does differently than Poltergeist is the way in which it tells it’s story. For example, the first film is told from the point of view of a series of videos that one of the characters decides to shoot in order to prove to his wife that they are not being harassed by demons, and that it’s all in her imagination. Too bad for him, the demons turn out to be real! And he catches them on film! Pretty interesting premise, the second film goes a bit back into this families story and shows us what happened before the first film. The sequel is told from the point of view of the security cameras that are spread around the house. Paranormal Activity 3 should be hitting theaters this Halloween, and I look forward to checking it out. So far, this series of films hasn’t disappointed me. The re-watchability factor is extremely low on this one so try and enjoy it as much as you can the first time you see it. Sit on your living room couch, put that Ouija board next to you, turn off the lights, light a couple of candles and watch the spook factor drive you nuts! Enjoy! 

Haunted For Sure Sequence: The husband tries to contact spirits through a Ouija board, something his wife is deeply against. They have a squabble and leave the house. Unfortunately they also leave the Ouija Board on top of their living room table. Unbeknownst to them the Ouija board moves! And catches fire!

 

Title: Burnt Offerings (1976)

Burnt Offerings is a slow burner of a ghost movie, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a good one! In this film we meet the Rolf family while they are on their way to enjoy their summer vacation in a mansion they are going to rent out in the country. Everythings cool until weird things start to happen that brings the family apart. Suddenly it’s son against father, daughter in law vs. mother in law and then everybody hates each other! Could the house have something to do with it? Is their some supernatural force at work here? And why is the mother obsessing over this old house so much? This film comes to us from Dan Curtis, a old school genre director who made many contributions to the horror genre. This is a horror film which focuses on characterization and mood over special effects, so be ready for that. It has a star studded cast! Oliver Reed! Karen Black! Better Davis! And it was filmed in the same mansion they used for Phantasm! Oh and it has a hell of an ending.  

Haunted For Sure Sequence: When Oliver Reed tries to run away from the house cause he is sure that the place is freaking evil, he drives his car at full speed, but suddenly, a tree falls on his path and doesn’t let him leave! When he gets out of the car to try and clear the path, plants come to life and grab him by his legs and pull him away!

Titles: The Gate (1987) and The Gate II (1990)

The Gate is one of the coolest little horror movies out there. It’s all about these kids who open up a portal into hell right in their backyard by listening to heavy metal records backwards, amongst other necessary rituals. What makes this one special are the special effects which were pretty freaking cool for their day. We have demons coming out of hell, we have zombies, we have these long demon hands coming out from under the bed, it shows us the kind of things we’d be afraid of when we were kids. Aside from that, the story kicks ass as well, I mean, it’s not every day you have demons pouring straight out of hell and into your living room. The film has a very eerie vibe going for it, it all feels like one big spooky dream, and it actually gets kind of apocalyptic towards the end. Sadly, this awesome movie was followed by an ultra crappy sequel. The reason why the sequel is so bad is that even though it has the same director, and one cast member returns, the film went down in the quality of the special effects. While the stop motion animation on the first film was awesome, the same cant be said for the stop motion animation on the second one. Plus, the story is generic as hell. This sequel always makes me ask myself how the same director can make one truly awesome film, and then go and make a shitty sequel like this one. But if you want to have a spooky good time, the first film is the way to go.

Haunted For Sure Sequence: When the kids try and use their phone to get some help because demons are crawling all over the house trying to kill them, the phone explodes and melts away right on the wall!

Title: Thir13en Ghosts (2001)

This film is a remake of the old William Castle flick of the same name. This flick is the king of flashy editing films. Films with flashy editing are films in which the filmmakers love to fast forward images and edit sequences with lots of quick cuts and flashes of light; some refer to this as ‘MTV style’ editing because it makes the film look like a music video at times, but whatever you want to call it, this film is the king of that. They do it all the time, every time a ghost appears. Thir13en Ghosts tells the story of a family that inherits a mansion that looks like the lament configuration from the Hellraiser movies. Basically, the house is one giant portal into hell! You see the homes last owner wanted to own “the eye of hell”, an artifact that makes you ultra powerful, unfortunately, you have to go to hell to get it. In order to open the door to hell, you need the energy from 13 Ghosts! And of course, this new family that inherits this hellish home knows nothing about its past, they just think it is a cool looking house. The art direction on this film is top notch, the house looks beautiful. The slickness of the production is not surprising since it was produced by Joel Silver and Robert Zemeckis. It consists of a series of glass doors and windows, with magical words written on them to keep the ghosts trapped. The film stars Tony Shalhoub as the father of the family, and major hottie Shannon Elizabeth as his daughter. Matthew Lillard plays a psychic with a special affinity for communicating and seeing ghosts, some find his performance the most annoying thing about the film. But to compensate for the that we also get F. Murray Abraham playing the villain. But it’s the make up effects works that really stands out in this picture, you see, the ghosts are a series of macabre looking creatures created by the guys at KNB effects. This is a fast paced ghost movie, with lots of screaming, quick editing and loud noises. The story is beyond simple, but this films main interest is in keeping things fast and entertaining and it achieves it for the most part. Not the most memorable ghost film ever made, but still quite fun.

Haunted For Sure Sequence: When Kathy decides to check out the ultra modern bathroom of the house and opens up the water in the bathtub, blood starts coming out of it instead of water!

And before I leave you guys, I'd like to remind my dear readers (that's you) that this coming friday the 28th will be a special event here at The Film Connoisseur! Thats right my friends, on this day I will be posting a gigantic MONSTER BLOG POST centered around 20 films dealing with the supernatural! This mega blog post will include films chosen by four amazing bloggers: Neil Fulwood of The Agitation of the Mind, Shaun Anderson from The Celluloid Highway and Brian Bankston from Cool Ass Cinema! And of course, I your faithful narrator, Franco from The Film Connoisseur will be joining in on the fun, so dont miss it! It's going to be a gas! 

Trilogy of Terror (1975)

Title: Trilogy of Terror (1975)

Director: Dan Curtis

Cast: Karen Black, Karen Black, Karen Black, Karen Black and Robert Burton

Review:

Dan Curtis was the kind of director who loved haunted houses, and vampires and ghosts. He was best at making movies that employed old horror movie tropes like haunted houses, stormy nights, cobwebs, cold spots, cemeteries, thunder and lightning, black cats, the wind howling in the middle of the night…you know, all the horror clichés. I’ve seen a couple of his films and they all have these elements in one form of another. Something else that distinguishes a Dan Curtis film is his love for working on television. Though he did manage to make some theatrically released films, the bulk of his work was for television. But let me tell you, the guy pushed the envelope as far as horror television went. He was responsible for the Dark Shadows television show, plus a couple of Anthology television films like the film I’ll be reviewing today: Trilogy of Terror.

Trilogy of Terror tells three stories; each story is named after the female character that is the lead of the story. Interesting part about this film is that all the female leads in all three of the stories were played by Karen Black herself. The first story is called ‘Julie’ and this is the story of a university professor who suddenly finds herself dealing with a student that is head over heals attracted to her. And not just in a “gee your so cute” kind of way, this guy wants to go all the way! So he takes her out on a date and drugs her so he can do just that! How will Julie take all this? The second story is called Millicent and Therese and this one is about two sisters, one is a reserved religious type always trying to be in her best behavior; this is Millicent. And then we have Therese, the wild and obscene one. Who will win this battle of sibling rivalry? Finally, we have the last story called ‘Amelia’ and this is the story of a young girl who lives on her own, trying to be her own person and all that. One day she decides to buy a doll called a “Zuni Fetish Doll”. To her the doll is nothing more than an interesting little curiosity she bought. Along with the doll comes a scroll that warns buyers that the golden chain hanging on the doll entraps the spirit of a Zuni hunter, if the chain should fall, the spirit of the killer warrior will be released. Too bad for Amelia she accidently drops the golden chain from the doll! Is the warning on the chain nothing more than a silly superstition? Can Amelia survive fighting against a killer voodoo doll?

Made for television horror movies survive through time but only if they are good, and only if they are memorable. I’m talking about films like Salem’s Lot (1979), Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark (1973), Dead of Night (1977) and Someone’s Watching Me! (1978). These horror themed television movies proliferarted during the 70’s, today the mini-series is a lot more popular, but back in the 70’s, a lot of these made for television horror films were made; and Dan Curtis was king of making these made for television horror movies. And most of the time they were actually really good. Trilogy of Terror is his most recognized one, but he also did films like Curse of the Black Widow (1977) a couple of Dark Shadows television films (plus many episodes of the television show) and a science fiction film called Intruders (1992) which I’m dying to see. But his contributions to horror didn’t stop in the world of television, he also branched out into theatrical releases with films like Burnt Offerings (1976), House of Dark Shadows (1970) and Night of Dark Shadows (1971). I think it’s safe to say that Curtis was an important director within the horror genre, and one whose filmology I’ve enjoyed exploring. He also made films that had nothing to do with horror, but horror was definitely his main thing. He often times collaborated with horror legend Richard Matheson, the screenwriter behind most of Curtis’s films including Trilogy of Terror. Tim Burton is currently working on a film version of Dark Shadows; let’s hope that it’s a return to form for Tim Burton who has been slacking lately in the quality department.

Karen Black is an actress that Curtis loved working with; he used her in many of his films. But it was Trilogy of Terror that got the most recognition for her because she plays all the female roles in the film. Mrs. Black carried this film on her shoulders and did a fine job at it. One of the episodes has her playing twin sisters, one all mousy and conservative, the other all wild and sexy, she shows her range as an actress there. In all these anthology films there is always one story that grabs everyone’s attention and it’s usually the one that’s saved for last because as they say “all good things are saved for last”. In Trilogy of Terror that segment is the one entitled ‘Amelia’ in which Karen Black must do battle with an African Voodoo doll that is possessed by the spirit of a murderous warrior. I agree with everyone in saying that this is definitely the best segment of the film. It moves pretty fast and the camera work is kinetic. I couldn’t help feeling like this Zuni Fetish Doll was Chucky’s granddaddy. Seriously, the story is so freaking similar to Child’s Play (1988)! In fact, I’ll go down and say that when Don Mancini and Tom Holland sat down to write Child’s Play all they did was expand on the ideas presented in this little segment of Trilogy of Terror. Hell, even the ending is extremely similar. Watch this little segment and be the judge of that.

Still Trilogy of Terror has its own surprises in store, and like many of these anthology films, all three stories end with a twist and a shock, functioning in many ways like an old Tales from the Crypt comic book. Trilogy of Terror was a fun movie to watch. The dvd has some interesting special features, a very special feature is one in which they interview Richard Matheson. If you’re into horror history, then you should find listening to one of the greatest horror writers ever, fascinating to say the least. I strongly suggest checking out that interview. My exploration of Dan Curtis’s filmology continues next week when I will be reviewing Dead of Night (1977) another creepy anthology film from Curtis. Be on the look out for that!

Rating: 3 1/2 out of 5    

   

The Film Connoisseur and Direct to Video Connoisseur's Straight to DVD Horror Choices!

Well, hope you guys have been enjoying the supernatural themed reviews I’ve been posting this October, but things get better! I’ve got a couple of awesome MONSTER BLOG POSTS lined up for the next couple of days. So expect one of these MONSTER BLOG POSTS every Friday of October! For today The Film Connoisseur and Matt Poirier of Direct to Video Connoisseur have joined forces to bring you a couple of choice straight to dvd films for you to enjoy this Halloween Season. So you get two Film Connoisseur's for the price of one! Matt’s blog is awesome if you want to read about some of the most obscure straight to dvd films in the planet, from the truly awesome ones, to the truly crappy ones. Matt reviews them all, so be sure and check out his blog! It’s fun times!

Some of these films had a short theatrical run and went to dvd superfast, some got the shaft from the studio and didn’t even get that, and some are a pure product of the straight to video market! Some people don’t give straight to video films the time of day and will only watch films that have been released theatrically. I guess the logic behind that is that some might think that it didn’t make it into theaters because it’s not good enough for theaters, but the truth is this is not always the case. Sometimes a film is plagued by production woes. Sometimes its studio execs that mess up a films chances to make it into theaters. Truth, there is a lot of straight to dvd crap out there (and Matt's included one of these in his choices, and let's face it these can make fun films to watch as well!) but sometimes hidden gems get lost in the shuffle. I like to watch straight to dvd films because of that chance. Sometimes a film wont make it into theaters because they are considered too horrifying or gory for theaters, this is the case with most Stuart Gordon’s films. They might be great (and they are!) but they never make it to theaters because of their gory/graphic nature, or for example with films like The Human Centipede (2010), where the idea behind the film might be considered too offensive or repulsive. Still, direct to video does not equal bad! This is why Matt and I have joined forces to bring you some cool films you might have missed! Without further ado, I leave you with our choices, enjoy!   

THE FILM CONNOISSEUR'S SUGGESTIONS

Title: Terrorvision (1986)

For years, Terrorvision has been my biggest guilty pleasure. Ever. This movie is cheap, it’s low budget, but it is also loads of fun, fun, fun! I always mention this one in my lists because I have such fun memories of watching this one and laughing at it with my brothers. It tells the story of a family who installs one of these big ass satellite dishes people used to have to put in their backyards in order to get cable television during the 80’s. Through their satellite dish an alien being arrives and wrecks havoc on their suburban home. Is this creature a cute little alien being like in E.T.? Or is it a hungry creature like the Critters (1986)? Strangest thing is that I would say the alien creature is a mixture between good an evil, actually, he is closer to a dog. Clumsy, always hungry and destructive if left unattended. Funniest part of this movie are the characters, a war crazy grandpa, a naïve teenager, a Madonna wannabe and her metal head boyfriend called O.D., these guys will have you laughing constantly. Add to that the gooey make up effects and creatures, and you got yourselves a winner my friends. Sadly, it’s not available on dvd yet, but you can see it on Netflix through their streaming service.   

Title: Midnight Meat Train (2008)

I never understood what problems the studio had with this film. It’s so stylish, and so well made. I’m sure it would have made some cash at the box office. But instead, for whatever the reason the head honcho at Lionsgate decided to give this one an extremely limited theatrical run, releasing it only in 102 theaters and dumping it on dvd a couple of months later. That’s really a sad story because it’s such a well shot horror flick. The director behind the flick (Ryuhei Kitamura) filled the movie with tons of gory and visually interesting gags. Midnight Meat Train seemed destined for success: It was based on Clive Barker’s “Books of Blood”, it was directed by a flashy Japanese director Ryuhei Kitamura known for films like Versus (2000) and Godzilla: Final Wars (2004) and it starred Bradley Cooper and Vinnie Jones. So what the hell happened? Why didn’t this one get the treatment it so very well deserved? Apparently, it was all due to a change in administration over at Lionsgate. New producer in, old producer out. So the new guy throws the old guys projects under the rug. The project that got the shaft was Midnight Meat Train. Still, don’t let that horror show of a story stop you from seeing this stylish and visually complex horror film. 

Title: Castle Freak (1995)

Stuart Gordon has always produced some of the goriest horror flicks out there. I mean, this is the guy responsible for Re-Animator and From Beyond, two awesomely gory and gooey horror films. Castle Freak is another one of Gordon’s demented creations, it is loosely based on H.P. Lovecraft’s ‘The Outsider’, a story about a horribly disfigured creature who’s lived all his life locked up in a dungeon by his family. This film is all about a family who inherits this huge castle, only to discover after they’ve moved in that the castle is inhabited by the murderous, mad creature. Ultimately, it’s a story about the redemption of a mans guilty soul. This film is a Re-Animator/From Beyond reunion of sorts. It reunites director Stuart Gordon with Jeffrey Combs and Barbara Crampton. It has some truly gruesome moments that should test your limits. It was shot for very little money, but thematically and story wise the film holds up. And it was shot in a real life castle in Italy, which by the way is owned by the president of Full Moon Pictures Charles Band! I guess making straight to dvd movies can bring in a pretty penny! 

   

Title: Trick R Treat (2007)

Trick R Treat is one of these purely halloweenish horror films, every single frame on this film screams Halloween! Sadly, this one got lost on its way to theaters. Studio execs were pissed off because Bryan Singer’s Superman Returns (2006) didn’t make as much money as they expected and since Synger produced Trick R’ Treat and Michael Dougherty (this films director) helped write Superman Returns as well, the studio decided to give their next film Trick R’ Treat, the cold shoulder. Studios are vengeful that way! You don’t make money for them, they give you the boot! This films an anthology film consisting of four Halloween related horror stories. One is about a murderous teacher, the other about werewolves and vampires, another one about an urban legend about these kids that were killed while by a bus driver, and finally one of them is like Charles Dicken’s A Christmas Carol, about an old scrooge who hates Halloween. But this old guy will be taught a lesson when he gets visited by the spirit of Halloween! This is a beautiful looking horror film, lots of care was taken in this films visual style and color palette. This whole film has a very fun vibe going for it, because it’s all about a night filled with murderers, ghosts, vampires, werewolves, hallowed pumpkins, pranksters, you name it, if it’s Halloween related, it’s on this movie! Originally, I didn’t like this movie so much, but after a couple of watches I feel like it’s grown on me. Now I think it’s the perfect film to watch on Halloween night.

Title: Flight of the Living Dead: Outbreak on a Plane (2007)

Now this is a really fun direct to dvd film that surprised me with how entertaining it was. My big question after seeing this one was why would they release a stinker like Snakes on a Plane (2006) theatrically, and not this one which is obviously a far superior horror film? Oh yeah, Samuel L. Jackson. But whatever, this movie was a cool zombie movie. Sure it’s concept and basic premise has been done a million times before, lock a bunch of people in a plane, put them in some sort of peril and watch the craziness that ensues, but it’s the sheer energy with which the story is told that counts. On this one a group of scientists are working on a biological weapon that could create soldiers that never die. But one of their team mates has gotten infected by the virus and they are transporting him to France in an attempt to cure him. Unfortunately, said virus also re-animates the dead! As you might expect, the virus breaks out on the plane and all hell begins to break loose! Lot's of gooey gory mayhem lies in store for you on this one. Highly recommend it if your in the mood for a fast paced fun zombie flick!  

    

Title: Dagon (2001)

Yeah, I know, another Stuart Gordon flick on my list, but what can I do? The guy directs some truly awesome direct to dvd films! On this one we meet a group of American tourists who are on their boat, sailing through Spain when suddenly a storm emerges out of nowhere and smashes their boat on some rocks! Thankfully, they have a raft that they use to get to the shore and get some help, unfortunately, the town they end up in is populated by a strange religious sect that worships an underwater god called Dagon. This movie is all sorts of creepy and gory, the weird cult that worships Dagon is enough to creep anybody out! The gore factor is pretty high on this one thanks to Stuart Gordon’s usual brand of gory moments. I call them Gory Gordon Moments. In my opinion, this is one of Stuart Gordon’s best horror films, right up there with Re-Animator and From Beyond, and same as these last two movies I just mentioned, Dago is also based on two of H.P. Lovecraft’s short stories: Dagon and The Shadow Over Innsmouth. This movies dreadful atmosphere is so all encompassing that every single frame in this movie is wet, dirty, and slimy! Gordon really maintained a certain type of mood for this one. Lovecraft fans will surely love this one.

DIRECT TO VIDEO CONNOISSEUR'S SUGGESTIONS

(Click on the film titles to go to Direct to Video Connoisseur's in depth review of the film on his own blog) 

Title: Hallettsville (2009)  

Hallettsville is a great low-budget indie flick shot entirely in Austin and the town for which the film is named.  It follows a group of teenagers, led by Tyler, who takes them to a family house out in the country.  When they start turning up dead, though, he realizes something isn't right.  This is a really fun film, for me what DTV is all about, finding movies I might not otherwise get a look at by earnest film makers with small budgets and big ideas.  It also stars Gary Busey as the local sheriff.  

Title: Lake Mungo (2008) 

Lake Mungo is told TV documentary style, and looks at a family dealing with the tragic drowning death of their teenage daughter.  Then strange things happen around their house.  Is this her spirit coming back to haunt them?  This is an exceptional piece of film making, DTV or otherwise.  It builds the tension in a very Hitchockian and Lynchian way, which isn't graphic, doesn't hit us over the head, but keeps us at the edge of our seat just the same.  And the TV documentary style is done so well, you'll have trouble believing this isn't a true story.

Title: The Ward (2010)

The Ward stars Amber Heard as a girl who is sent to a mental hospital after burning down a farm house.  Strange things start happening there though, which turn horrific as her fellow inmates are killed off one-by-one.  This is a John Carpenter flick, and though technically not DTV because it had a European theatrical release, it's DTV here in the States, which is crazy when you consider it was directed by a horror master.  I don't want to give too much away-- there's a movie that this is kind of close to, and if I tell you what it is, it'll give everything away (and this is better than that one too)-- but you can see here why Carpenter is as good as he is.  Everything is dripping with tension and creepiness, and when he needs to get brutal, he does that well too.

Title: Fragile (2005)

Fragile is about a children's hospital on the Isle of Wight that's about to be closed.  All that remains are some boxes and about ten kids, one of whom sees a mysterious Charlotte character.  Calista Flockhart joins the hospital after another nurse quits on short notice, and while she too doesn't believe the girl's stories at first, as stranger and stranger things happen, she realizes that something isn't right there.  I had some trouble with this, in part because I thought a ghost that breaks' kids legs is a bit too brutal, but also because this devolves into every other bad supernatural thriller we're used to in the theater.  Director Jaume Balaguero is solid, and Calista Flockhart was a revelation, but overall I'd put this some notches below the three films above that I've looked at so far.

Title: Soultaker (1990)

As much as I love really solid movies, usually at the Direct to Video Connoisseur I'm looking at films that leave quite a bit to be desired, and Soultaker is one of those (though it did win a Saturn award... wonders never cease).  Soultaker is about a group of kids who die in a car accident, but some of their souls are displaced and they can walk around and stuff.  Joe Estevez is a Soultaker, and it's his job to track them down, but when one of the girls reminds him of a lost love, he sees a chance to rekindle an ancient romance.  This is bad, very bad, but if you see the MST3K version, it can be very entertaining.  Either that, or watch it with you buddies and make your own MST3K night.  That's about all this is good for, but sometimes that's all you need.