Pieces (1982)

June 5, 2018

"You don't have to go to Texas for a chainsaw Massacre!"

Pieces is such a bizarre film. There are so many parts of the film that are really creative and well done... and so many parts of the film that are truly awful... The filmmakers, using a small $300,000 budget created some of the most brutal murder scenes in any movie up to that time. Unfortunately, it looks like the budget was entirely spent on those scenes with the sound dubbing being off, the acting being terrible and the script making very little sense. Filmed entirely in Spain, this spaghetti horror, when all is said and done, really is a fun slasher with some very memorable scenes.

The Return of the Living Dead (1985)

June 4, 2018

"Ever fantasized about being murdered?"

I feel this film is hands down the best non-Romero zombie film. I know that Fulci's Zombi 2 is a great film with a well-deserved cult following and the 28 Days Later films were box office smashes, but for my money, The Return of the Living Dead blows them all out of the water. This is the most fun of all the zombie movies and has the best soundtrack of possibly any horror movie ever made. It has some really horrific gory scenes, just the right amount of comedy, and a little nudity thrown in for good measure. Well acted with great practical special effects, this movie simply has everything anyone could ever want in a non-licensed Night of the Living Dead sequel.

Phantasm IV: Oblivion (1998)

June 3, 2018

"Where do you think you're going boy? Death is no escape from me." And so the saga of Mike and the Tall Man continues in this fourth installment of the Phantasm movie series. While the movie received mixed reviews from fans and critics, this was my favorite film aside from the original one (of course). This film, more than the previous sequels, has the closest feel to the original. There is a much bigger focus on illusionary and dreamlike scenes in the film that really made Phantasm such a unique and beloved movie. Also, while the second and especially the third movies were venturing hard into the action and comedy genres, Phantasm IV is much more inline with the scifi horror of the original. This movie was a back to basic approach to the film saga and it left a deep impression on me.

Halloween (1978)

June 2, 2018

I am embarrassed to say that this if my first time watching the original Halloween. I have seen Halloween 6, Halloween H20, and Rob Zombie's Halloween remake but never seen the original Halloween movie. What is even more embarrassing is that for some reason I thought Wes Craven did this movie and put a #WesCraven hashtag on twitter. For these sins I cannot apologize enough and after writing this will immediately begin my penance of saying 10 hail Snake Plisskens.

This is the movie that launched the slasher horror genre and with good reason, it is an incredibly well done movie. The movie refines many of the elements that will go on to define the slasher film: it begins with a murder that happens in the past, it has a masked or unknown killer, there are POV shots from the killer's perspective, sex and drug use, and of course teenagers being slashed to death. Most of this actually happens in the first five minutes.

Phantasm III: Lord of the Dead (1994)

July 2, 2018

"It's never over!" The Tall Man and his spheres are back to enslave the human race in Phantasm III: Lord of the Dead. This time writer/director Don Coscarelli had complete creative control over the production and we finally get back the original actors for Mike and Jody. Also, the film has a huge budget similar to the previous sequel so there is nothing creatively or budgetarily stopping Coscarelli from making the film he wants. The film continues immediately after the second movie with Reggie and Mike following the Tall Man to stop his evil plans for world enslavement. Along the way, Reggie and Mike get a few extra followers, Tim (a boy they meet whose family the Tall Man had killed), Rocky (a nunchuck wielding woman), and most importantly Jody (whose soul has been encased in one of the Tall Man's spheres). Together they battle zombies, spheres, and the Tall Man himself as he tries to destroy the world.

Night Watch (2004)

July 1, 2018

After the fall of the Soviet Union and subsequently the Soviet film industry, the world had been waiting for the first great post-Soviet blockbuster. In 2004, the world had to wait no longer. Night Watch was released to critical acclaim and gained huge international revenues. The film would be the highest grossing Russian film at the time and the highest grossing Russian horror/suspense of all time. The film would use its huge budget to create a beautifully crafted vampire movie with stunning visual effects. While the effects hold up, I felt the story was a bit convoluted and the characters flat.

Ils (Them) (2006)

June 30, 2018

I decided to choose a French film to celebrate France's victory over Argentina in the World Cup Final-16. There are three films that websites claim are responsible for introducing the world to French horror cinema: High Tension, Martyrs, and Them. I saw High Tension twelve or so years ago when a bunch of my friends and I were part of a horror club where we would meet monthly to watch horror movies and play games. I was blown away by the film especially the twist ending. With that thought in mind I decided on Them and I was not disappointed.