CARRIE (1976)

Monster Chiller Horror Month (Film 9 of 12)

Carrie

Brian DePalma’s version of the Stephen King story of a telekinetic girl who takes revenge on her tormenters at the school prom is interesting in that if she didn’t have these powers, the movie could have lapsed into what may have amounted to one of those dreary romances like Ice Castles.* But one does have to get through the buildup of the story in the first half to get to the payoff of the prom scene where everything goes…let’s just say not as planned.

And I still can’t picture anyone but Sissy Spacek as Carrie.

Stephen King’s still great euphemism for breasts: “dirty pillows”

Battle of the great 70’s hairstyles: Nancy Allen vs. William Katt. I'll give it to Mr. Katt just because his hair is justso damn humongous! Howvever, as far as the locker room scene goes, Ms. Allen has no competition.

P. J. Soles: And I must acknowledge the first in a series of important screen appearances of my former girlfriend Ms. P. J. Soles.**

*I haven’t actually seen Ice Castles, I do know it’s about some blind ice skater who trains for the Olympics and they find out she’s blind or something and…no, that’s not right. She's deaf, dumb and blind and wants to join the Jamaican bobsleding team...no that's not right either. Anyway, my wife keeps telling me I should see it. She also pointed out the similarity of the scores from Ice Castles and Carrie for which she gets a point, though I’m subtracting a point because she didn’t know who Marvin Hamlish was.

*I’ve just got a cease and desist order from Ms. Soles attorney for me to quit calling her my ex-girl friend on this blog...Some people just have no sense of whimsy.

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TARGETS (1968), EDWARD SCISSORHANDS (1990)

(Monster Chiller Horror Month films 6 & 7 of 14)

Targets & Edward Scissorhands

Fond farewells

Targets-Targets is really two movies in one. The story one thread includes a lone gunman whose shooting rampage ends at a drive-in theater. The story two thread features Boris Karloff (essentially playing himself as an aging horror star) reluctantly promoting his latest movie. This was Peter Bogdanavich’s first film and was certainly one of the best things he ever did. A real favorite of mine.

Part of the film's appeal is that it is the movie swan song of Boris Karloff. He was best known as the Frankenstein monster in Frankenstein and the Bride of Frankenstein. He also had many memorable roles in other horror films such as Tower of London and The Body Snatcher. He also popped up in supporting roles in such diverse films as Scarface, The Lost Patrol or even as an American Indian in Cecil B. DeMilles’ Unconquered. And who could forget his unforgettable voice in the animatated The Grinch That Stole Christmas?

Targets seemed such an appropriate final film for Karloff, and he is most perfect playing a man who considered himself a boogeyman antique compared to the horrors that plague us in the all too real world.

Would you recommend Targets? Certainly.

Edward Scissorhands-The Tim Burton/Johnny Depp film Edward Scissorhands is the final screen appearance of another horror legend, Vincent Price. His very small role is as the doctor who creates Edward, but dies before he gets the opportunity to finish his hands. Price’s look before he dies in the film is something to see. It is at once menacing and at the same time very tragic.

Price through the years showed up everywhere in movies and television. He had many non-horror parts that were notable (such as in Laura), but may be best know for his series of American International films based on Poe stories such as: The Masque of the Red Death, The Conqueror Worm and The Pit and the Pendulum. Another personal favorite of mine with Price is Theater of Blood, in which Vincent plays a hammy actor who takes extreme measures of revenge of his critics.

One thing about Price, he never seemed to find anything that he wouldn’t do. His title role as Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine and its sequel Dr. Goldfoot and the Girl Bombs were typical of his never met a script I didn’t like policy. He was also a regular in his later years on Hollywood Squares and let’s not forget his role as the villain Egg Head on the Batman television series.

Like Karloff, Price may be known to some fans chiefly for his voice-over narration. In this case, his narration of the Michael Jackson Thriller video.

Would you recommend Edward Scissorhands? Yes. Did I mention it was the last screen appearance of Vincent Price?

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LET THE RIGHT ONE IN (2009, SWEDEN)

(Monster Chiller Horror Month film 5 of 14)

Let the Right One In

Previous viewings: None

This is my first viewing of a film dealing with teenage (preteen?) Swedish vampires. The relationship between a bullied boy and his befriending of a girl who is really a creature of the night does have its moments. I think the best moment in the film is the final scene in the swimming pool where certain characters get their comeuppance.

Would you recommend? I recommend no teenage vampire movies, unless they are Swedish. So since this is Swedish, it's a go.

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VAMPYR (1932, GERMANY)

(Monster Chiller Horror Month film 4 of 14)

Vampyr

One's affection for Carl Dreyer's Vampyr depends entirely on the degree of how much the vivid images of the film effect you.

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ROSEMARY'S BABY (1968)

(Monster Chiller Horror Month film 3 of 14)

Rosemary's Baby

Previous viewings: One, I think.

I say I saw this once, but it was so long ago and it would have had to be on TV, so that I’d almost be better off saying I’d never seen it before. However, I always recognized (probably thanks to MAD magazine) pop culture references to Rosemary’s Baby, usually dealing with something within a mysterious baby carriage or just a reference to Mia Farrow’s extremely short haircut.

The Exorcist factor: I do remember quite vividly when The Exorcist came out (1973) and though I may have been a bit too impressionable to see it at the time, I nevertheless did see it and it left quite the impression on me.

The audience reaction to Rosemary’s Baby was a probably similar to that of The Exorcist after its release, though too a lesser degree. Of course, at the time of Rosemary's Baby's release in 1968 I was basically just watching Disney movies, stories about otters or dubbed Swedish versions of Hansel and Gretel.

Elisha Cook Jr.-I did have to mention this film marks the last appearance on a 1001 film from character actor specialist Elisha Cook Jr. He doesn’t really have much of a part here, but Elisha does what he does best: supplies the exposition for the main characters. He is in the very first scene, showing John Cassavetes and Mia Farrow around their apartment. He tells them about the place and questions why the previous tenant left her large dresser in front of her closet. We know that issue will come up later. Elisha hath put forth the question and the film shall eventually answer it.

Suspense: I do like the way the film builds suspense by its slow unraveling of plot threads. It is also not really very graphic when it comes right down to it, that is unless you count the dreamlike scenes with witches, which are admittedly pretty disturbing.

I do remember a television movie from the late 70’s called Whatever Happened to Rosemary’s Baby? More accurately, I remember watching it. I remember little to nothing about it. It probably was made too late. Horror fans became more interested in what happened to the kid in The Omen than what happened to Rosemary’s offspring by then.

But would I recommend it? Would it be in my book?

Yes. Definitely a high ranking in both the suspense and horror genre.

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THE HILLS HAVE EYES (1977)

(Monster Chiller Horror Month film 2 of 14)

The Hills Have Eyes

Previous viewings: None

This was a late seventies midnight movie that I never got around to seeing during the days when I went to see midnight movies.

Wes Craven’s low-budget story of a white bread family traveling out West that gets terrorized by a family of cannibals is not for all tastes, but it certainly is not without its charms (for lack of a better word).

Torn poster: There is a scene after the initial altercation between the two groups in which we see a torn poster of Jaws on the wall, which is later echoed in the film The Evil Dead, which has a scene with a torn poster of The Hills Have Eyes. I hoped to get to the meaning of the torn poster of Jaws from Wes Craven’s audio commentary. Wes’s comment on the scene was, “There’s the torn poster of Jaws.” Hmmm. I guess the meaning will have to be deciphered by future scholars.

It’s not as graphic as The Evil Dead (few films are) but it does have its share of gruesomeness, so those that aren’t satisfied until a certain level of gore is obtained should probably get their fill.

The CB factor: Ah, the days before cell phones-when drama could unfold without the crutch of texting. Yes, this family in need used a CB radio in its time of crisis. I could almost hear the C. W. McCall song Convoy playing in the background. The cannibal family also had to make use of walkie talkies! Walkie Talkies! How cool is that?

But overall, would I recommend The Hills Have Eyes? Would it be in my book?

I’m not so sure, though any movie whose cast includes the unique look of Michael Berryman (above) certainly has at least that going for it.

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KING KONG (1933)

(Monster Chiller Horror* Month film 1 of 14)

King Kong

Previous viewings: about 4

There is only one King Kong.

I’m not talking about the recent (definition of recent: last ten years) Peter Jackson version. And I’m not talking about the infamous Dino De Laurentis version from the Seventies (When the monkey die, people gonna cry!). Nor am I talking about the Japanese King Kong vs. Godzilla, which I saw as kid (I don’t remember who won). Nor any King Kong cartoon like the 60's The King Kong Show, that I admit I use to love. No there is really only one. That, of course, is the 1933 RKO original.

I know the special effects reminds me a lot of the special effects from some of the Rankin Bass Christmas specials (King Kong vs. the Abominable Snow monster?) but I still find them effective. And there are some lapses in logic. I mean there are living dinosaurs on the island of King Kong! Living prehistoric dinosaurs! Yes, Kong is amazing, but why doesn’t anyone seem interested in getting hold of some of those dinosaurs in addition to Kong?

And the character of Carl Denham, the movie director, whose team brings Kong back to the states. It is his greed in trying to capture Kong that leads to the death of most of his ship’s crew, many natives on Kong’s Island as well as many in New York after Kong escapes there. Why doesn’t anyone want to punish this guy? He even gets the films famous last line, “Twas Beauty killed the beast.” The last line of the movie should have been, “Karl Denhman you’re under arrest!”

But these are small quibbles. It’s still great to see Kong fighting the dinosaurs, attacking a trolley or just being obsessed with that beautiful angel, Fay Wray.
And is there a more iconic scene in movies than Kong battling the airplanes from the top of the Empire State Building?

Certainly any movie fan should visit Kong at least once in their lifetime.

*Phrase courtesy of my favorite ficitional late night horror host from SCTV, Count Floyd.

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