Halloween 40th Anniversary - 13 Nerdy Nights of Horror (After Halloween Specials)

As we reach the end of another one of these Halloween movie reviews (which took me until Christmas to finish), I figured now would be the appropriate time to talk about one of the movies that’s been a staple with the holiday, for the past forty years; I’m of course talking about, John Carpenter’s Halloween. With the release of the new film to celebrate the franchise’s 40th anniversary, it only seemed fitting to finally give out my two cents on the film.

The origins trace back to the early 70’s, with the release of Bob Clark’s horror film, Black Christmas; the movie was about a mass murderer hiding out in a sorority house, and the film is watching these women slowly be tormented by him, mentally and physically. I bring this up, because John Carpenter had actually asked about where he would have gone next, and Clark admitted he would have had the killer return on Halloween, but those plans never came to be. After working on Assault on Precinct 13, Carpenter and his then-girlfriend/producer, Debra Hill, were called upon to direct a slasher film in the same vein, but only if Carpenter had full creative control; the script took 10 days to 3 weeks to finish, but soon went into production in May of ‘78.

Halloween takes place in the fictional town of Haddonfield, Illinois; a deranged killer escapes from prison and returns to town, hunting down babysitters all while being hunted by the doctor who wants to finish the job.

Most of the film is through the perspective of Laurie Strode, our main protagonist and the “surviving virgin” character trope; she’s the character the audience identifies with, trying to be the responsible one, while the rest of her friends are party animals. Growing up, you definitely find a lot more to sympathize with Laurie on, especially when it comes to being stuck babysitting without friends who promised; but even then, she still tries to be as capable and reliable as much as she can, given her unprepared circumstances; along with a performance by Jamie Lee Curtis, daughter of Janet Leigh from Psycho, she proves she’s more than capable of handling the mantle of “scream queen.”

Donald Pleasence is downright brilliant as Dr. Sam Loomis; even if he does come off to people as a bit over exaggerated, you learn as to why this particular patient he was keeping in was so dangerous to begin with. And while Michael Myers may have become the example for slasher villains (the silent masked killer who walks), its the backstory we have for him that makes him the most unsettling. The intro plays it out like a kid just did the worst thing imaginable, but as you learn from Dr. Loomis, there’s more to him than what we originally were thinking; that speech about looking after a child with nothing but pure evil in his eyes, may seem cliche, but considering how today we have mass shootings that have been reported since (hell, this year alone), a situation like this doesn't as unlikely as it used to be, unfortunately. And while there are some questions about how certain kills are handled, what matters is how effective they’re handled, delivering on both suspense and tension.

The music has also been an iconic staple of the horror genre now; Carpenter is known for being the composer on most films he writes/directs, and this is no exception. It’s simple, but chilling at the same time, and whenever it does creep up, it lets you know that somewhere outside, Michael Myers is around the corner just waiting to strike.

I will admit though, while it is a revolutionary film in the horror genre, there are some parts where it hasn’t aged well, mostly in the writing; we all know Lynda’s obsession with the word “totally,” but that could have just been Carpenter’s interpretation of teenagers of that era. Aside from that, there are other plot points like Michael learning to drive despite being incarcerated, how he snuck into Annie’s car and fogged it up in time, and a few others that fans have pointed out over the years; but I think that’s also something that comes from true dedication, that we can observe a film so many times that we notice flaws that may have gone unnoticed when it was first released.

The original Halloween may be flawed, but it has cemented its status in film history as a true classic. Even with every mistake that's pointed out, something that adds onto the charm of what a film for the Halloween season may need. A great lead, a menacing killer, a desperate savior, and a scenario that would later on be copied by the 1980’s. It may not be one of my personal favorites, but it’s one that I just as much understand and respect the appeal behind.

Rating: B+ (personally), A (for its legacy)

Since we’re on the topic, might as well talk about the rest of the franchise; with the exception of Halloween III: Season of the Witch and the latest one they had, I personally don’t like the other films in this series (don’t get me started on the remake). I liked how Season of the Witch tried to bring the series to a more Twilight Zone direction, I just wished the public at the time did as well.

Rating: B+

As for the new Halloween, directed by David Gordon Green, I thought it was alright for what it gave; I didn’t really think the original Halloween II, where it was revealed that Laurie is Michael’s sister, led to a lot of the problems that the sequels were plagued with from the beginning, so I’m glad that got scrapped. Some of the meta humor can be distracting, since it isn’t that funny in some places, and the pacing in some scenes can drag, but the return of Laurie as a “Sarah Connor survivor” was a logical decision to go with. Other than that, I thought the film was another Halloween movie, but an alright one. If they do decide to bring this series back, I would love to see them try that anthology series idea again, especially with the popularity of Cloverfield and Black Mirror in the mainstream.

Rating: B -

The Predator - 13 Nerdy Nights of Horror Day 12 (After Halloween Specials)

At the peak of 80’s action movies, one that truly stands the test of time would have to be Predator. The film starred Arnold Schwarzenegger as Dutch, a military commando sent to lead out a rescue mission in a Central American jungle, only for him and his team to encounter an alien hunter that engages them in a game of survival. What John McTiernan was able to deliver is something he would repeat with Die Hard a year later, and that’s bring the vulnerability to our badass heroes. This was one of the first times we got to see Arnold in a role where it truly felt like he had met his match, and it was with a creature out of this world; he was far from home, he’s cornered, and he’s constantly being hunted by a creature beyond this world. Not only that, but it gave some of the most memorable one-liners a film could ask for, delivered by a cast of heavy set stars that were pretty big at the time; Jesse Ventura, Carl Weathers, Bill Duke, Sonny Landham, and the late-great Kevin Peter Hall as the titular monster itself, accompanied by the effects and costume works of Stan Winston.

Follow-ups to this movie have been tried, with Predator 2 and the Robert Rodriguez produced Predators sort of working as their own thing, but neither came anywhere close to how vicious and impactful the first movie was, nor find the same level of appeal. Hell, not even crossing over with the Alien franchise could help save it from the first film’s shadow. News of a new film hadn’t really popped up, until one of the first film’s original cast members, Shane Black, announced in 2014 that he would be directing and co-writing a new installment; he was already a ghost-writer for the first movie and has since made a name for himself behind the camera with Iron Man 3 and The Nice Guys, so it seemed like he was the ideal candidate to bring this franchise back to glory, even getting his friend, Fred Dekker (The Monster Squad) to co-write with him.

However, this movie had to go through some serious production hell, especially with all the news about it coming out since the year began. Much like with Justice League and Dark Phoenix, massive reshoots for the third act were called for just a few months before the film’s release and due to negative test screenings; around that time, actress Olivia Munn had called out executives on the film to cut Steve Wilder from the film, after discovering he was a cyber pedophile, causing ANOTHER re-cut to happen. It also had one of the most confusing advertising campaigns I had seen, because each trailer was advertised like it was almost a completely different movie. Then, of course, there’s the infamous moment in which Arnold talked about how he turned down the offer to return as Dutch, because he hated the script so much...that should have been taken into account.

The Predator is an example of a film that not only pissed me off, but actually personally insulted me as a human being. While the first ten minutes do set you up for something exciting, that’s when everything starts to turn into this muddled confusing mess of a story that feels like all the bad parts of previous films put into one. I mean, that whole thing about the two Predators is thrown out the window as soon as it starts, because the big guy comes out of nowhere, and kills off the first one almost instantly. Even the action scenes look like ass; just because it’s R rated and has crappy CG blood, doesn’t make it nearly as effective as...pretty much most action films. Considering how many different cuts this movie had to go through, it’s no wonder that it fee

The acting is just weak, and this is coming from what is a very talented cast: Boyd Holdbrook, Trevante Rhodes, Jacob Trembly, Yvonne Strahovski, Sterling K. Brown, Keegan-Michael Key, Alfie Allen, Thomas Jane, and even Jake Busey, playing the son of the character his dad, Gary Busey, played in Predator 2. All of them are either giving performances of not-really-trying to completely detestable people. Most of them are there just to spew one-liners and be red-shirts, but they don’t even make them entertaining in the slightest.

*SPOILER ALERT*

So you want to know what the objective of the Predator is? Okay, strap in…*ahem*: They’re trying to steal autism to further their evolution, before climate change kills off humanity...wow, this is the first time I had a film insult both my politics and mental health at once, and I thought it was bad enough sitting behind a drunk guy and his hooker of a date running their yaps throughout the film, causing me to rewatch this crap again. Although, considering this film was also making fun of tourettes, I shouldn’t be too surprised.

As of right now, The Predator is now a major contender for the worst movie I have seen this year, and I’m really starting to consider putting it at number 1. The action is sloppy, the writing hurts me, the characters all suck and was unable to like a single one of them, and the fact that it tries to sequel bait is laughable; Fox, you deserve to get swallowed by Disney!

Rating: F -

Hereditary - 13 Nerdy Nights of Horror Day 11 (After Halloween Specials)

A24 has been gained some strong grounds both in the awards circle and in horror, especially; it’s like the rival twin competitor with BlumHouse Productions. The variety that they use with this genre, while has hit or miss chances, ends up becoming a film that has something about it worth talking about; from body horrors like Tusk to intense period dramas like The Witch, they can work with just about anything. And with the rise in critical popularity with horror films today, with movies like Get Out opening the door for award seasons, discussions have been brought up on Indiwire and Collider for Hereditary to be the next big thing.

Hereditary is the story of the Graham family, who after losing their grandmother, end up with hauntings and occurrences that slowly takes them one by one; the mother, Annie, tries to figure out what the main cause is, all while she and the rest of her family try to cope with each passing tragedy. That’s all the info I can give without going into spoilers, because the marketing team behind this were at least kind enough to keep spoilers to a minimum.

This has become one of those films like The Witch or The Babadook, where people are kind of disinterested in high praised horror films that critics swallow at festivals every year. Sometimes, you’re either upset that it wasn’t what the marketing promised, or it’s a matter of having too high of expectation to really give it fair assessment. And from my point of view, Hereditary is not a fantastic horror film, but it is easily one of the scariest films I have seen this decade. The experience I had watching this movie reminded me a lot of how I felt watching The Babadook, especially when it tackles mental illness; throughout most of the movie, the horror comes from witnessing the family fall apart and seeing whatever hope suddenly fade away. You can also notice things in the frame that you may not catch until your eyes wonder the frame a bit and you realize there’s something worse there. And by the end, you start to realize just how horrifically wrong everything can go.

For a film that’s advertised more for the horror aspect, Aster makes the decision to put more emphasis on the family drama, and luckily this cast delivers that perfect. Toni Collette as the mom gives the best performance I’ve seen this year, and one worthy of an Oscar nod. You realize just how messed up her life has been with her mother, and as the film carries on at the halfway point, you see just how badly her desperation for normality has driven her down to a similar road. With her, and Emily Blunt’s performance in A Quiet Place, horror films have definitely been getting the best from female leads as of late. Milly Sharpio, for her film debut, gives a creepy performance; when you start to pick up on her trait of tongue clicking, that sound is going to haunt your dreams. Despite the film heavily advertising her in the posters, the film does quite a 180 with her character that I was not expecting it to go. Gabriel Byrne and Alex Wolff as the rest of the family are also spectacular, with Byrne being the dad trying to help keep some form of sanity, and Wolff being chilled and haunted with guilt through the whole runtime.

Ann Dowd is also deeply chilling, playing a character connected with the grandmother and who is introduced at a support group meet; you definitely get that unsettling feeling of whether or not to trust this person, even if they have a history with a recently passed family member.

When the film ended, I felt like I was watching the film that people expected Darren Aronofsky’s mother! (2017) to be, especially with the similarities to Rosemary’s Baby (1968); I don’t want to go into spoilers on this one, but needless to say, it ends up being a lot more messed up than I was expecting it, but not as chaotic as mother!

Hereditary is the kind of horror film that has its scares come more from the family drama; while it does carry supernatural elements, everything else from the atmosphere, paranoia, and guilt, consuming our characters that makes it one of the most memorable debuts I’ve seen. It’s one of my favorites this year, and I’m proud to call it a true horror classic.

Rating: A+

Rosemary's Baby 50th Anniversary - 13 Nerdy Nights of Horror Day 10 (After Halloween Specials)

With every October since I’ve been doing these, I’ve always made it a standard to try and include at least one older that’s celebrating its milestone anniversary. And this year, I wanted to discuss a film that’s been on my mind for the past summer, after seeing Hereditary; thinking back on that film, along with last year’s mother!, I felt since both those films shared such similar themes, I figured I might as well talk about the film that most people draw back to on: Rosemary’s Baby.

Based on the novel by Ira Levin, we follow the lives of Rosemary (Mia Farrow) and Guy (John Cassavetes) Woodhouse, who move into a new apartment building in New York, hoping to start a family. While there, Rosemary becomes quite wary of her neighbors, especially when they and Guy start becoming more demanding of her pregnancy. Throughout the story, death and pain follow Rosemary, whether it’s through mentally attacking her or seeing the people she trusts left slowly slip away, and you feel that something isn’t right about this baby.

The producer of this film, William Castle, is often known for implementing gimmicks into his films, with the most common examples being The Tingler, 13 Ghosts, and House on Haunted Hill; he was always fixed on giving the audience the experience that really put them in the movie, such as 3D, joy buzzers in the seats, and getting theatre cast members to interact with the audience. Castle was discovering this method wasn’t going to last, and so he put a lot on the line with adapting Levin’s story, even mortgaging his house to claim film rights. However, he was unable to direct the film himself, thus the job was handed over to Roman Polanski, both as writer and director, and the result is the film we’ve had since 1968.

Being one of the earliest American films he’s done, Polanski creates this spiritual like atmosphere that feels faint to breathe, and it becomes even more evident after the (implied) rape scene; even in the beginning, you feel like the world around you that’s supposed to be normal, doesn’t exactly feel right. Accompanied by the score of Krzysztof Komeda, you really do feel yourself in a tumble into insanity. I also love the camera work by Will Fraker; the close ups he gives, especially during the climax as we follow Rosemary from behind, as well as the iconic shot of her seeing the child is iconic. The piercing eyes of Satan in this movie, portrayed by the late Clay Tanner, will stay stuck in everybody’s nightmares.

Mia Farrow is remarkable in the role, as she embodies the same reactions the audience would have, never letting it drop for a second. You really become sympathetic to her and her husband throughout this hell, and you truly feel the claustrophobia start to settle in as her husband slowly starts to leave her reach and take control of her baby; despite all the hell that went on with her behind the scenes (including sacrificing her marriage to Frank Sinatra), she truly gave her best performance, and it’s a shame she never got the Oscar nomination she had hoped for.

Ruth Gordon and Sidney Blackmer play the next door neighbors, the Castevets, who really bring this creepy, but humble presence that I haven’t really seen matched in a horror film until Get Out. Gordon especially comes off as truly the most memorable of the supporting cast, and well earning of her Academy Award. The rest of the supporting cast play the usual creepy neighborhood cults, and they all do a great job; William Castle also makes a cameo at the phone booth scene, and even Tony Curtis makes a vocal cameo.

Ever since it’s release, this movie is nightmare fuel for just about anybody who’s a parent or expecting parent, because you can never be truly prepared for what comes at you. With performances that are striking to the eyes, direction and camera work that leaves you breathless, it truly is a horror classic that has stood the test of time. And with a film with such themes as these, no film has come close to matching it...except for maybe one.

Rating: A+

Next Time: Hereditary