Categories
Movies music This Just In

“13th Sign” – WORLD PREMIERE – Friday, 18th @ Filmore, Detroit

THIS FRIDAY – November 18th, 2011 – is the red carpet world premiere of “The 13th Sign” downtown Detroit at the Filmore. The film stars members of Cleveland-based dark industrial musicians Mushroomhead. The band will also be playing at the premiere. Come on out and support Midwestern horror.

A couple things appeal to us about “The 13th Sign.” First of all, I can’t say that I’ve ever attended a movie premiere in Detroit before, let alone for a horror film. May their numbers increase. I wanna see fright flicks premiere everywhere across the Midwest, in decrepit movie palaces and sleazy bars, in run-down urban centers and suburban malls and even at classy places like the Filmore. Let there be MORE Midwestern horror.

Furthermore, “The 13th Sign” looks like a serious horror movie. Not to disrespect purveyors of comedy-horror or camp but we at the Dailynightmare just have to tip the top hat to folks trying to make sincerely scary material. It’s so hard to do. The story seems to be occult-flavored torture which isn’t everyone’s cup of brew, admittedly, but for crying out loud, at least it’s not another zombie movie.

Here’s the teaser trailer (and here are links to other video bits)

And one of my favorite Mushroomhead videos (“Solitaire Unraveling”)

Categories
Movies

Three Corpse Circus – Second Annual Horror Film Festival


The second annual Three Corpse Circus shambled its way into the historic Michigan Theatre in Ann Arbor last Friday night for another evening chock full of exceptional short horror films.

And I mean shambled quite literally. The event this year kicked off with a Zombie Walk. Yes, yes, I’ve spoken out against the zombie menace before and it certainly takes a lot for me to warm to the chilled flesh of the reanimated. But, really, there is something wonderfully theatrical about having a stream of undead patrons dragging themselves up the street and then into the movie house. Like a stamp of approval: horror movies that monsters like. Plus rotting remains got cheaper tickets. Think of it as a senior discount taken one step beyond. The Three Corpses also arranged another clever tie-in, this one with the American Red Cross – Dig the cool graphic they designed for this alliance. Donate a pint of blood, get cheaper tickets. Such pro-social team-ups can’t help but raise the reputation of horror fandom in the wider community.

The scope of the festival grew to be three full sets this year, three rings of the circus if you will. To cope with a presentation that long, attendees need to be prepared to step out for refreshment, smuggle in sustenance or push fleshly needs aside and revel in the sheer gluttony of film. An unrepentant glutton was I.

What rocked my world?

I am once again a little embarrassed for my county to note that most of the truly exceptional horror films originated outside of the US. We Yanks didn’t disappoint entirely though, and I think the “Backwater Gospel” stood at the top of the class for domestic product. This tale of fear and religious intolerance was told with crisp, presumably digital animation. Maybe not the most probing and insightful story but the design of the characters was tight and the sense of stylization was consistent. Well done.

The award for Most Deeply and Profoundly Disturbing (and well done) goes to “Lipstick,” directed by and starring Shannon Lark. I have oft found myself being labeled as a politically correct drone just because I want to see culture made by a wider variety of folks than is available currently. “Lipstick” is exactly the kind of deeply sick, deliciously twisted piece that a straight white guy would likely never come up with. No paraphrase could do it justice, I think. It’s a fresh and different kind of disturbing and frankly aren’t we getting a little bored with the same old kinds of revulsion? The Three Corpses got several of their offerings this year from the Viscera Film festival which celebrates largely female driven horror. These — well dare I call them “sick chick flicks?” — were quite inspiring because of the new vision they promise.

Another domestic shout out has to go to Daywalt Fear Factory, not primarily for any specific piece but for the generally high quality of their many entries. Daywalt Fear Factory had over a half dozen short films sprinkled throughout the festival. To be honest, some succeeded better than others but most of them had some spark of originality and accomplishment, from the makeup prosthetics of “The Many Doors of Albert Whale” to the presumably digital effects of “Bedfellows” to the narrative restraint of “Five Minutes Earlier.” Keep an eye out for Daywalt Fear Factory.

My flat out favorite of the festival was the British film”Don’t Lose Heart” and, like the Danish Opstandelsen last year, it made me set aside my seething hatred of zombie movies. The first thing I loved about it was the main character, an elderly woman who kept focused, kept motivated and well, never lost heart even as the post-apocalypse dragged on. Camera work was tight. Editing was especially good in the economical montage sequence that first showed the highlights of her day then suggested how those days stretch on and on. The sequence not only wasn’t repetitive, it effectively built tension. The filmmakers cleverly resolved the problem of “dialogue” in a one-person piece by having her listen over and over to a zombie preparedness loop played on a hand-cranked audio player. The only thing I can say against it was that it was a zombie picture. I just hate those things.

Runner-up, if I have the guts to admit it, I think was the French language film “Fantasy” by Izabel Grondin, a kinky tale of non-standard desires and practices. Pacing was great and the look was careful and precise. It successfully built a sense of extreme discomfort for the most part visually; the polite banter was nicely efficient (if the subtitles be trusted) but the images were what made the piece powerful.

Given enough time, I sure I’d have something to say about all the films. “Elsa L.” my date for the evening particularly liked “The Ghost and Us.” The situation and the script were quite well done with characters having an emotional depth not usually found in horror movies of any length. “Igor” my horror buddy lauded “Together” which was, I agree, another gem of the night, a beautiful euro-horror piece that didn’t explain too much. Even though I could go on and on, the take-away lesson has to be the same as last year: If you’re into Horror and you’re in Michigan, get to the Three Corpse Circus. Get there early and maybe tuck a snack in your pocket.

Categories
Art Movies Other Haunts

Movies: Three Corpse Circus (review)

Three Corpse Circus took over the historic Michigan Theatre in Ann Arbor, MI last night, Devil’s Night and presented four hours of short horror movies. Yup, four whole hours of films, contests and costumed tomfoolery. If you weren’t there, you done goofed up bad. I spoke briefly with one of the organizers Jonathan Barkan who says they hope the Circus will grow to be more than just a film festival, that Three Corpse Circus might become a rallying point for the horror community in Michigan. Last night was a excellent start.

The films were better than I’d feared, a notch above the mixed bag you’d expect from a college town. A couple were real gems. Others were arty and experimental. Some cute and amusing. And to be frank, some were unspeakable, trite, poorly shot, not acted at all… dumb. Bad even for Youtube. But what I saw last night were movies I never would have seen elsewhere. Most of the pieces had some aspect that was pretty interesting. Their failures were mostly in consistency. Technically, I suppose many of the movies were “mediocre” but I mean a kind of expectant and exciting mediocrity. They left me with a sense of anticipation, that I’m really interested in seeing the NEXT movie by these film makers.

A great example of this category is “The Lair.” (http://www.thelair-movie.com/) The acting was more than good enough, much better than many commercial horror movies. There was evidence of actual script composition and, egad, character development, again a relative rarity in short horror. Competent editing built actual suspense and didn’t rely on cheap jump scares, well, not excessively. OK so the setting was the tried and true deserted campground and, granted, the premise wasn’t the most original. But the piece was generally effective. If I had to be a dick – and critics are supposed to be dicks, right? – the footage shot at night was too grainy. But where else would I have had the opportunity to see this film except at a film festival like Three Corpse Circus?

A gem of the evening was “Connected,” one two offerings from Denmark. (http://www.ov43.com/) Clocking in at barely 8 minutes, “Connected” gets in, does the job and gets out and it does so ENTIRELY WORDLESSLY. Great futuristic costumes, a convincing post apocalyptic backdrop and a clear situation, conflict and bleak resolution. It was probably dark science fiction more than straight out horror but, damn, it was a joy to watch. And again, I never would have even heard of it if I hadn’t attended the Three Corpse Circus.

The true highlight of the evening for me was the other Danish film Opstandelsen (“Ressurection”) which was as good a zombie movie as I’ve ever seen – and this is coming from someone who doesn’t find zombies particularly compelling. The movie is shot in and around an old austere church and incidentally, they shot the HELL out of this location. There are scenes in the sanctuary, the basement, UNDERNEATH the basement, the bell tower… I’ve whined in the past how easy access to fantastic ancient locations can make even crappy European movies into something watch-worthy, but the makers of Opstandelsen squeeze every bit of ambience from this place. It’s not just a cheap and easy backdrop. The prosthetics were first rate and relatively understated. The blood and gore was believable and I think the tone of its color grew progressively darker until the blood was nearly black by the end. The make up especially on the female survivor was exceptional. By the end of the movie, she was basically wearing corpse paint – her skin so pale as to be nearly white with drippy spatters of dark blood around her eyes. Lovely! The script showed off nice characterization with juicy familial strife. All three of the primary survivors had character arcs that led to satisfying conclusions. Damn, it’s hard to find something to complain about but, perhaps the range of the acting was a bit constrained – one character always stuck on high, another on low with the coke-snorting protagonist being a nice blend. I’d have to see it again before I said it was perfect but since it’s a 50 minute movie, a length too short to distribute commercially and too long for the internet, there is likely NO chance I would have been able to see it at all except at a film festival like Three Corpse Circus.

You’ve picked up on my take-home message by now. If you’re into horror and you’re in Michigan, get to the next Three Corpse Circus. It was well worth while this year and every indication is that it’s just going to continue to get better.

Categories
Movies

Movies: “Of Dolls and Murder”

Dolls are creepy. Dollhouses are creepy. And when dollhouses are the setting for crime scene re-creations – correction, MURDER scene re-creations, well, that’s creepy-delicious. To add the perfect touch, the narrator is John Waters. (No, he’s NOT the ex-singer for Pink Floyd.)

Categories
Halloween Movies

Bird Masquerade

If you’re still thinking about your Hallowe’en costume, might I suggest a bird-magician?

Categories
Comics Movies

Credit Sequence (Fan-Made) for “Walking Dead” adaptation

I’m not that a true-fan of zombies as a mega-genre but this credit sequence has enough crack-snapple-and-bop to get me interested in seeing the actual adaptation of the long-running comic “Walking Dead.”

Walking Dead Credits

And of course, here’s the actual trailer:

Walking Dead Trailer1

http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid83327935001?bctid=59356961100

Categories
Movies

Movies – “House” (1977 – Japanese)

House, a 1977 Japanese horror-fantasy-comedy came to the midnight movies in town and I’m still trying to figure out if I just dreamed the whole thing.

Categories
Movies Other Haunts

Other Haunts – Crotch Rocket to the After World

I’ve often wondered if my 1990 Electra Glide will take me to the grave but didn’t think it might be the actual vessel used. Shows how little imagination I sometimes have.

This youngun’ – shot dead while young enough to leave a beautiful corpse – was allegedly embalmed and mounted on his favorite motorcycle to lie in state. Even if this is a hoax, it’s a pretty fun one, eh?

Categories
Movies

Creature Feature: Gruesome Twosome (1967)


“…Gruesome Twosome is a joyously campy diversion only slightly above a home movie that manages to achieve some remarkable moments, absolutely NONE of which are the least bit “scary” in the traditional sense…”

Categories
Movies Other Haunts

Movie – Buffy and Edward

As a footnote to the post from yesterday about how vampires suck, er, that is, how they don’t seem to suck anymore, here’s the obvious video clip. I know you’ve already seen this clip but I still crack up when I watch it.

Categories
Movies Poe

Movie – “Web of the Spider” (1971)

Spend a night in a haunted castle; win a hundred pounds. Familiar set up for a ghost story but this one has a few nice touches mixed in with various bits of silliness.

Like many horror films of its era, Web of the Spider was released with wildly different names in different countries, ranging from And Comes the Dawn… But Colored Red to Dracula in the Castle of Terror – though Dracula does not appear and there is only the slightest reference to vampirism – to several titles involving spiders – though, again, no actual spiders appear in the movie. Its origin is Italian and it is supposedly a remake of a 1964 movie Danza Macabra (aka Castle of Blood in the US and UK.) There’s a restored version of that movie available so I’m going to scare it up.

Poeposter

The version of the movie I saw was hardly restored and in fact, it presented a collection of faults from various source media. There were scratches from film stock and several passages of chromatic aberration likely from video tape transfers. And a maddening pan-and-scan attempt to collapse the widescreen composition to a TV. I feel like an idiot mentioning these problems, like a book reviewer who comments on the margins. The overall feel of the movie is a psychedelic mishmash. The costumes don’t match in period; the colors are wondrously lurid; the soundtrack is distortion and harpsichord; the audio felt like it was dubbed in later. In other words, a pleasant enough way to spend a summer afternoon.

This movie appeared on my Netflix queue because it features Klaus Kinski playing Edgar Allen Poe and because it is supposedly based on a story by Poe. Like many of the Corman Poe movies, the resemblance to anything actually written by dear E.A.P. is mostly one of suggestion and mood. Given Poe’s insistence on mood as the primary effect of literature, this isn’t as damning as it might be of other adaptations. Kinski is only on screen for 10 or so minutes in the framing story but his performance is everything I expected, a deranged, drunken, brooding Poe who insists that his writing is journalism, that everything he has described he has actually observed. There is a particularly nice P.O.V. shot of Kinski smashes open a coffin lid, filmed from inside the coffin.

I found Web of the Spider interesting as well as irritating. Some of my criticisms of the story could be directed at some ghost stories. I think the high brow academic description is the changing rhetorical position of the protagonist. Our hero, American journalist Alan Foster enters the house and spends most of the first act poking around, giving himself scares by seeing himself in mirrors, etc. Then he mistakes a portrait for a person and begins having auditory hallucinations (voices, music.) He plays a keyboard and thus joins the music/delusion and then is invited into a very physical interaction with Elizabeth, one of the ghosts. Nudge-nudge. Know what I mean. She is murdered by another ghost, then disappears. Then Alan happens upon a Dr. Carmus, a book of whose Alan has just been reading. Carmus is a metaphysical researcher and he lectures Alan somewhat tediously throughout the middle of the movie until Carmus leads Alan to a vantage point to observe a ghostly party. For a large portion of what I estimate is act two, the protagonist is even less than a passive observer. He is not depicted in the action and he does not interact with what he presumably is watching. He’s as good as taken the seat beside us in the theatre. After this segment ends, Alan is able to watch a previous attempt to spend the night in the now haunted castle, again as a pure spectator, and to see the tragedy repeat. However, this time, Alan appears in the frame of the action and actively tries to interact and prevent the tragedy. He cannot and the participants again dissolve. After that “play” has ended, poor Alan finds himself all too apparent to the ghosts, now who move in narratively convenient slow motion. They need his blood to live, evidently, though that metaphysical explanation didn’t seem to be adequately foreshadowed. All he needs to do is survive a few minutes more and to escape through the castle grounds. But he dies, crushed by the castle gates and in a voiceover Alan says he did it to spend eternity with Elizabeth, the ghost he was intimate with earlier. The various rhetorical placements of the protagonist with respect to the action could have been exploited better to be more effective. For instance, say Alan finds he is no longer able to carry a candelabra that he once was carrying around. There are moments shown when he is unable to move certain doors but the overall effect was to muddy the action rather to heighten the terror.

I am not a gore-hound but I really would have appreciated a bit more vivid depictions of the deaths. It was sometimes so understated (or censored?) that it wasn’t entirely clear who was being killed. Also, geesh, a little more sex too, or at least “chemistry,” that electric attraction between characters. I find it hard to believe that Alan would give up his life for such a passion-less one-night-stand. But then again, little is revealed about Alan’s character. Perhaps he was fated to land in this particular spider’s web… and I would have felt so much more satisfied if I had the slightest inclination that was the case. There was really nothing connecting the central character with the events of the story.

Quibbles all. As I mentioned earlier, I think the mood of the piece was Poe-esque and to be brutally honest, Poe’s own characters and plot-lines were often not the most interesting aspects of his stories. Web of the Spider was a good popcorn movie, not particularly scary though moderately intriguing. Think about screening it next January 19th (Poe’s Birthday)

Categories
Movies Poe

Movies – Trailer for “Poe”

Are we getting excited yet? The 200th anniversary of Edgar Allen Poe’s birth is coming up on the 19th. I suspect I’ll mark the occasion by relaxing with a nice Amantillado and perhaps page through some quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore. After of course I’ve entombed a love one or acquaintance beneath the floor boards.

Or I might track down the web premiere of this rather intriguing independent film “Poe: Last Days of the Raven.” Check out the trailer on Youtube:

Or check out the website for the film, Last Days of the Raven where they allege there will be a free web premiere of the film. Hope their servers can support the traffic.

Seriously, I really DO hope they pull this off because I really rather want to see this effort. The trailer looks nicely shot and for the most part tastefully assembled. Granted not all fan-produced features are as satisfying as their trailers… Ok no point being coy. I’ll come out and say it, the Call of Cthulu movie by the H.P.Lovecraft Historical Society was… well, rather embarrassing while the trailer was delightful. Sure the movie gets great credit for moxie and perseverance, heck even its art direction (those cultic statues are just SO COOL.) And probably it’s significant somehow in the history of low/no budget horror. But as a movie it’s only going to be intelligible let alone enjoyable to someone who’s already familiar with the story. It failed, I think, by being too reverent with the source material. Those nested flashbacks within flashbacks just did not work for me in the context of a relatively feature length movie. The trailer, however, remains a sparkling acheivement of mood and style. May their upcoming filmic projects better fulfill the promise of this little gem:

Categories
"What We Fear" Movies

Movies: Mist Monsters!

Lovely work here. These are clips of a sea monster projected on water mist. Very, very effective even with Youtube video quality. Sony created the beast to promote the movie “Water Horse: Legend of the Deep” though honestly, to my eyes, the promotion looks WA-A-Y cooler than the movie. Am I the only one who things something like this should have been done for “Cloverfield?”

Mist Monster in Tokyo Harbor

Tokyo News Report on the Mist Monster

Categories
Halloween Movies

Movies: Slick Claymation Zombies

Stop motion animation of any kind is a labor of love. Sure, computers have made some aspects slightly less tedious but the technique still involves taking hundreds of pictures and moving figures thousands of times. So even on a merely technical level this short claymation video is impressive.

But also consider the sheer quantity of gore in this clip. It would be impossible or at least highly cost prohibitive in most other kinds of video. The storyline too is fine. The same producer made earlier pieces that are much rougher.

Part One

Part Two

Categories
Movies Other Haunts

Other Haunts – Zombie Squad

Occasionally, I’ll happen upon indications that the human species isn’t doomed. For instance, the bright minds behind the Zombie Squad are preparing for the zombie uprising *now* while there’s still time. For those who remain skeptical of the zombie menace, only because it hasn’t yet reached epidemic proportions, the Zombie Squad also performs acts of contemporary assistance, particularly disaster relief. I’m serious. They have canned food drives, donate blood (their own, presumably) in addition to having occasional movie nights. There are several chapters across the US and Ontario and it sounds like other chapters are forming.

Zombie Squad Public Service Announcement

Categories
Book Comics Movies

The “30 Days of Night” Franchise

(The Grim Gnome) I don’t like vampires, generally speaking. The whole rule-bound / old-world / invitation-only aspects make them about as scary as a supernatural Certified Public Accountant. Except for the ones in “30 Days of Night.” If you haven’t heard of this series you either have been moldering away in a casket or you’re metaphysically immune to the effects of horror-culture. A few years back, writer Steve Niles and artist Ben Templesmith wove together a freshly twisted premise with spattery exuberant artwork and pumped life back into the genre of the horror comic. The fresh twist on the vampire rules that gets “30 Days of Night” rolling is obvious from the title; if vampires hate sunlight, then what if they attacked a place that didn’t have much of it, say, a city located near the Arctic circle? What if a whole ragtag clan of vampires threw a party of sorts during the month of darkness and attacked the whole town. Add human hero. Stir well. Garnish with a nasty skewer at the end and, heck that’s what started the juggernaut. I really have to recommend it. Quite highly.




A sequel picked up the storyline and propelled it forward, again ending with a sickening little twist. And a third, completing a classical trilogy, right? If I understand the chronology correctly, the movie started development around this time and the comics kept coming. A collection of tales appeared, including a rather dumb one about vampires in space. Some of these feature artists other than Templesmith and honestly, I feel cheated with those issues, especially cheated when the artist is attempting to make work that sort of / kind of / almost resembles Templesmith’s art. So though I can’t highly recommend them all — one reason I can’t is because they’re STILL making new ones — I still have to confess I’ve bought and savored every one of them.

Niles’s other comics are nothing to ignore… but for the moment I WILL ignore them, or to be more exact I’ll postpone looking at them until another post. Who knew that comics would work so well for horror? I sure didn’t. I thought the EC’s Crypt Keeper was just weird and, OK, so I was afraid of “The Tomb of Dracula” but I was kid back then. I even thought “Dark Shadows” was scary.

And then there’s the “30 Days of Night” movie. I admit that I felt an actual quiver of excitement when I first heard Sam (“Army of Darkness”) Raimi’s name connected with the project. Alas, it was only as a producer. There are parts of the movie that are very good. For instance, some of the shots are very haunting, like an aerial tracking shot that shows the carnage of the initial attack. And throughout the movies human faces seem to have unusually de-saturated color which makes everyone look cold .. and then also makes the blood really pop out. And I really appreciated that at least a couple times when humans were standing outside in sub-zero temperatures that there were clouds of condensation when they breathed or spoke. As curmudgeonly northerner, I can’t STAND fake winters on screen. My comments don’t sound like a love-fest, though do they? Perhaps I’m grumpy for paying good money to see the movie in the theatre. I’m a stingy curmudgeon. But furthermore, I can’t help but thinking that the comic book was scarier. There was a LOT of back story in the comic book that was simply removed for the movie, so much that there doesn’t seem to be much possibility for a sequel. I was honestly pretty shocked that so much editing was required because I don’t usually consider comics to be that dense when it comes to story line.

“30 Days of Night” – the movie – comes out on video this week. Though I don’t feel unusually COMPELLED to see the movie again when it comes out on video, if I’m honest with myself, I’m pretty sure I will. If for no other reason than it will remind me of how much I loved the original comic.

Categories
Movies

Movies – “Dark Place” (Episode 2)

(The Grim Gnome) A couple weeks ago I linked to the first episode of Garth Marenghi’s Dark Place, a delicious satire on horror TV. Here’s episode two.

Garth Marenghi’s “Dark Place” Episode 2

Categories
Movies

Movies – “Dark Place”

This week’s Friday Night Movie is a rib-tickling, er, I mean CHILLING series from across the pond, Garth Marenghi’s Dark Place. The set up is that a famous horror novelist Garth Marenghi, created a television series about a haunted hospital back in the 80’s that only now is getting aired. It’s an enjoyable, self-aware satire with all the trimmings: wooden acting, not-so-special effects, self-important narrator and a slew of humorous continuity errors. There are only a half dozen episodes and they were collected on DVD in 2006 but alas, that disc is in the European format PAL. Watch them now before they get yanked from Youtube.

And if they have already been yanked, as least check out the official Garth Marenghi website: http://www.garthmarenghi.com/

Or read about ALL the details on wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garth_Marenghi’s_Darkplace

Watch ’em while they’re there:
Episode One Part One

Episode One Part Two

Episode One Part Three

Categories
Double Feature Movies

Creature Double Feature: Whatever Happened to Baby Jane / Hush, Hush Sweet Charlotte

When I was a kid, before the birth of syndicated talk shows, one of the local networks ran something called “The 4:00 Movie.” A movie could be hacked to bits, pumped full of commercials and still get over in time for “The News.” Periodically, there would be a whole week of giant monster movies (Gamera and Mothra were my favorites.) And this meant that you could get home from school — if you didn’t fiddle around TOO much in the playground — in time to watch the “whole” movie. Two movies it seems like they were ALWAYS showing on the 4:00 Movie were “Whatever Happened to Baby Jane” and “Hush, Hush Sweet Charlotte.” My pre-teen estimation of them was “bo-o-oring.”

But I’ve just seen both of those movies again, uncut, as an adult, and I think they’d make a dandy “Creature Double Feature.”

“Sweet Charlotte” features just about every thing we white Yankees fear about the South — that it’s a place of decaying plantations, murder, hysteria and small-minded small-town-ers with bad accents. It was “A Rose for Emily” ground-up and mixed with a pastiche of Tennesee Williams. On top of that, I find the title virtually impossible to say out loud. But it’s delicious too. I cut Joseph Cotton so much slack not because he’s a great actor, which of course he was, but because he always looked so suave. He doesn’t even look like an ass while he’s lip-syncing the utterly vapid “theme song.” And it has a nice mood of decrepitude and a few good runs at, albeit slightly overwrought, suspense.

The ideal double feature for “Sweet Charlotte” is the far superior, “Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?” In addition to being in black and white, the obvious link between these movies is Bette Davis. I’m sure writers more observant than myself have remarked how intriguing the choices she made late in her career, when her beauty faded and allowed her acting abilities to come to the fore. It’s really gutsy to play parts where, well, where you KNOW folks are going to hate you. Forget the clunky prologue that really doesn’t explain much and the “surprise” ending; the meat of the movie is the tortured interplay between the two sisters, both of whom have had their time in the spotlight, a time long past. It’s a great set up full of nasty psychological torture and suspense, one that would even work as a stage play, I think, and Davis and Joan Crawford play it for all it’s worth.

Watch ’em together, perhaps while sipping a mint julep on the veranda.

Categories
Movies

Movies: Potato Head Psycho

This is just dumb-dumb-dumb but kind of fun anyway. True film-snobs will note that it’s only a paraphrase of the original and not a shot for shot remake which could be an interesting “finger exercise” for would-be filmmakers. Just imagine how many different ways this iconic scene could be re-envisioned while keeping the same editing pattern, possibly even the same soundtrack: an unsuspecting shrub that gets pruned, blissfully unaware mise-en-place that gets shredded into mire-poix, etc. Incidentally, if you actually try any of these variants, let me know and I’ll post them as well.

But now, on to this installment of Friday Night Movies: