Classic Movie Picks: December 2014

by Lani

Each month, I scour the Turner Classic Movies schedule for upcoming films that I can't miss. The highlights are posted here for your reading and viewing pleasure! (All listed times are Eastern Standard, check your local listings or TCM.com for actual air times in your area. Each day's schedule begins at 6:00 a.m.; if a film airs between midnight and 6 a.m. it is listed on the previous day's programming schedule.)

While looking through this month's TCM schedule, I was drawn to several films from the mid-70s and later. This got me wondering -- how old is "old enough" to be considered a classic? 10 years? 20 years? I know there are some purists who define the "classic era" as films made before 1970 (give or take a few years). I'm not so rigid about when a film was made; I prefer to focus on quality. However, I'll admit it's a bit jarring to see a movie from 2008 on the TCM schedule. It's a bit like when "oldies" radio stations started playing Madonna songs: depending on when you were born it might seem completely out of place or perfectly normal (or if you were born in the 80s, it might make you contemplate your mortality).

I've been writing these blogs for a few years now, and I try to keep it fresh by not picking the same films over and over again. So this month, I've decided to pick "new classics" which interest me, the oldest film being from 1976. If you're in the mood for something of a less recent vintage, you might enjoy Star of the Month Cary Grant on Monday nights. You really can't go wrong with The Awful Truth and My Favorite Wife, two slices of perfection with a side of Irene Dunne. Also, check the schedule for this month's Friday Night Spotlight which shines on Charles Walters, a choreographer and director whose name I didn't recognize, but whose films I've enjoyed for years. His speciality seems to be delightful musicals like Summer Stock, High Society, and The Belle of New York. And, of course, TCM will be showing holiday-themed films throughout the month. 

12/17: Nastassja Kinski Double Feature

10:45 PM - Paris, Texas (1984)
1:15 AM - Tess (1980)
Actress Nastassja Kinski had quite a good run in the late 70s and early 80s, working with several critically-acclaimed directors and making some very unique films such as Cat People, One From the Heart, and tonight's two films. Paris, Texas (a pick from guest programmer, actor Jason Lee), directed by Wim Wenders and written by Sam Shepard, won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival. Harry Dean Stanton stars as a mysterious drifter who attempts to reconnect with the young son and wife (Kinski) he lost years before. The film is notable for Stanton's mostly mute performance and striking visuals of the American Southwest. 
Tess is an adaptation of Thomas Hardy's novel Tess of the D'Urbervilles directed by Roman Polanski. I was moved by Hardy's book back when it was required reading in high school, and I even like the TV movie from 1998, so I'm interested in seeing how Polanski's version, which is still probably the most high-profile film version, compares. Kinski plays Tess, a naive farm girl in Victorian-era England who attempts to move up in the world and receives mistreatment at the hands of the men who control her fate. The film received Academy Awards for cinematography, art direction, and costumes. 

12/25: Mel Brooks Film Parodies
8 PM - High Anxiety (1977)
10 PM - Silent Movie (1976)
This Christmas, TCM offers a prime time line up of Mel Brooks films. I've recommended Brook's films before, and while the humor can be hit-and-miss, I couldn't resist this pair of movie parodies. In High Anxiety, a spoof of suspense thrillers, Brooks plays a psychiatrist who takes over a mental institute after the mysterious death of its director. Fans of Hitchcock should recognize the story which combines plot elements from Spellbound and Vertigo, among other Hitchcock classics. For a slight change of pace from the high volume of High Anxiety, see Silent Movie, a parody of...well, take a guess. While technically a "sound" film, Silent Movie has only one line of dialogue; Brooks uses visual gags, music, and sound effects to get laughs in this story of three filmmakers (Brooks, Dom DeLuise, and Marty Feldman) attempting to make the first silent picture in 40 years. 

12/30: Is it "classic" yet?
2:15 AM - Good Will Hunting (1997)
4:30 AM - Doubt (2008)
I was surprised to see Doubt and Good Will Hunting on the TCM schedule, not because they aren't good films, but because they are so recent. It's what got me thinking about how much we factor in the age of a film when declaring it a "classic." I think that in a few decades time, both of these films could easily wear the classic label; though, it feels a bit soon to be seeing them in regular rotation on TCM. However, tonight's programming is a special tribute to notable actors, actresses, and filmmakers we lost in 2014. Good Will Hunting features Robin Williams in his Oscar-winning role as the therapist who helps Matt Damon's Will reach his full potential. It was my favorite film of 1997 and, I think, one of Williams's best roles. Doubt features Philip Seymour Hoffman as a priest who is suspected of abusing a student at the Catholic school overseen by an imposing nun played by Meryl Streep. Writer/director John Patrick Shanley adapted the story from his own play and the strength of this film lies in the strength of the story (it's not as clear cut as you might think) and the performances of Hoffman and Streep, as well as Amy Adams and Viola Davis in smaller roles. 




12/31, 5 AM - The Total Balalaika Show (1994)
This hour-long concert film by Finnish director Aki Kaurismaki caps off a New Year's Eve line-up of classic rock films (including one of my personal favorites of any genre, A Hard Day's Night featuring The Beatles). Kaurismaki is known as one of the most interesting filmmakers working today, so his name on the film got my attention. Plus, the film's description intrigues me: "The Leningrad Cowboys, the self-proclaimed World's Worst Rock n' Roll Band, perform with the Red Army Chorus before an audience of 70,000 in Helsinki's Senate Square." Could be a fun way to welcome the new year!

BONUS PICK: Treasures from the Disney Vault, 12/21
TCM and Disney have created a new partnership to show classics from the fabled Disney Vault including animated shorts and features, live action films, nature documentaries, and TV shows. Of course, I love the cartoons, but I also really enjoy the old TV shows like Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color. The TCM website says that they'll be showing these several times a year, so I'm looking forward to the next installment in 2015.
8 PM - Santa's Workshop (1932)
On Ice (1935)
Chip An' Dale (1947)
8:30 PM - The Disneyland Story (1954)
9:30 PM - the Reluctant Dragon (1941)
11 PM - Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier (1955)
12:45 AM - The Vanishing Prairie (1954)
2 AM - Third Man on the Mountain (1959)
4 AM - Perilous Assignment (1959)

Classic Movie Picks: November 2014

by Lani

Each month, I scour the Turner Classic Movies schedule for upcoming films that I can't miss. The highlights are posted here for your reading and viewing pleasure! (All listed times are Eastern Standard, check your local listings or TCM.com for actual air times in your area. Each day's schedule begins at 6:00 a.m.; if a film airs between midnight and 6 a.m. it is listed on the previous day's programming schedule.)

11/17, 8 PM - The Last Command (1928)
TCM's November Star of the Month is technically many stars -- the notable names of the silent film era. Emil Jannings, the star of my pick for tonight, was a popular silent film actor and even won the first Academy Award for Best Actor in 1928. However, his thick German accent made the transition to talkies problematic and his Hollywood career ended soon after the advent of sound. Starring alongside Jannings in The Last Command is an actor who was not held back by the change over to sound, and would become a huge star in the decades to come: William Powell. Jannings plays a former Russian Imperial general who, 10 years after the Russian revolution, is scraping by a living in Los Angeles as a movie extra. Powell is a famous film director, and former Russian revolutionary, who recognizes Jannings as a bully from the old country and casts him in a film as an act of revenge.


11/21, 8 PM - Duel (1971)
This month, TCM's Friday Night Spotlight features "Road Trip" movies hosted by comedian Bill Hader. The featured movies run the gamut from romantic comedy (It Happened One Night) to crime drama (Detour). I'm especially interested in this thriller starring Dennis Weaver as a lone motorist menaced by a mysterious truck driver. Though it was originally made for television, an extended version of Duel was released in theaters overseas, making it director Steven Spielberg's first major motion picture. I've always heard that it's a fun and suspenseful film which marked Spielberg's debut as a filmmaker to watch, so I'm looking forward to finally seeing Duel!

11/23, 8 PM - Plymouth Adventure (1952)
MGM gave the epic treatment to the Pilgrims' journey from England to America with this film centering on the captain of the Mayflower, played by Spencer Tracy. The Captain must deal with sea storms and a forbidden romance with Dorothy Bradford (Gene Tierney), wife of the Pilgrim's leader William Bradford. The film won an Oscar for its special effects, but ultimately was not a big hit. There aren't many movies with a Thanksgiving theme (granted, this one doesn't even really about the first Thanksgiving, just the Pilgrims), so I'm willing to give this one a try for the sake of getting in the holiday spirit.
If you are looking for some movie picks to build up your appetite in anticipation of the turkey dinner, check out my previous blog "A Filmable Feast."


11/25, 8 PM & 11:15 PM - A Night at the Movies: George Lucas and the World of Fantasy Cinema (2014)
9:15 PM - The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (1947)
This installment of TCM's "classic film 101" documentary series, A Night at the Movies, looks at the broad category of fantasy film, featuring an interview with filmmaker George Lucas and clips of films through the decades, from King Kong and The Wizard of Oz in the 30s to Back to the Future and Labyrinth in the 80s, and of course a discussion of Lucas' Star Wars series.
The evening's (and next day's) line-up includes notable films from the fantasy genre, starting off with a favorite of mine, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty starring Danny Kaye as an average man with a better than average imagination.


11/26: Art Thefts
8 PM - Arsene Lupin (1932)
9:30 PM - Gambit (1966)
11:30 PM - The Fake (1953)
1 AM - The Happy Thieves (1962)
2:45 AM - The Light Touch (1952)
4:30 AM - Crack Up (1946)
I'm glad that this line-up of films about art thefts comes the night before Thanksgiving -- since I'm not going to work the next day, I'm free to stay up all night and watch movies! As a former art student and lover of a good heist, these films are right up my alley. Gambit, starring Michael Caine and Shirley MacLaine, is a favorite of mine which takes a fresh approach to the story of a meticulously planned heist; however, the other films are new to me. The line-up features stars John Barrymore, Rex Harrison, Rita Hayworth, Stewart Granger, George Sanders, and Claire Trevor (just to name a few) and the stories include stolen sculptures, forgery rings, fake daVincis, and even murder - should be an exciting evening!

13 Nights of Shocktober: Matinee

by A. J.

Happy Halloween! The countdown is over and Halloween is finally upon us. Tonight, hopefully, you'll be relaxing, eating some candy, and watching a scary, or not-so-scary, movie. There are a lot of options for tonight and I hope I've been of some help. Here is my final recommendation to help bring an end to Shocktober:

Night 13: Matinee
Theater Manager: “The country is on red alert. People are already scared.”

Lawrence Woolsey: “Exactly! What a perfect time to open a new horror movie.”

Matinee, directed by Joe Dante begins with real images of actual horrors: stock footage of nuclear blasts annihilating a house, bending and breaking trees. This is what was on the minds of Americans in October of 1962 during the Cuban missile crisis, especially those in Key West, Florida where Matinee takes place. Film producer and showman Lawrence Woolsey comes into town to test screen his latest movie, MANT, a cheesy B-horror movie about a man turning into a radioactive ant monster. Woolsey thinks the atmosphere of nuclear hysteria that the town is feeling is perfect for the premiere of his film. He needs it to be a big success to impress a big time theater owner and get nationwide bookings. Luckily, Woolsey has a few tricks up his sleeve.

The other main character is a young teenager named Gene Loomis. His family just moved to Key West because his father is in the Navy and is serving on one of ships surrounding Cuba. Gene and his little brother, Dennis, spend their free time at the local movie theater watching low budget horror movies. When another boy that lives on naval base asks if they want to shoot frogs with an air gun, Dennis is excited until Gene politely tells the boy no and whispers to Dennis, “that’s disgusting.” Dennis immediately agrees. These boys only like horror and death when it is fake and on a screen.

The boys are both big fans of Woolsey and get to meet him outside of the movie theater when Woolsey shows up to address some men protesting his upcoming movie. Gene recognizes one of the protesters from Woolsey’s previous movie and realizes the protest is staged. When he brings it up to Woolsey in a later scene, Woolsey is impressed and befriends Gene. As they walk around town Woolsey talks to Gene about the appeal of horror and monster movies. He tells him that people that put their hands over their eyes for the scary parts aren’t getting the full experience of the movie. When the scare is over you feel safe and alive, you know you are alive. That’s what horror movies are all about.

Matinee is inspired by horror movie producer/director/promoter William Castle and the kitschy, but loveable, movies he made in the 1950s and 60s. John Goodman is great as the kid-at-heart Lawrence Woolsey, who is based directly on Castle. The first time we see Woolsey is in a trailer for his upcoming movie. He is in a pose recreating William Castle's famous silhouette (the second most famous silhouette in movies): sitting in a director’s chair with a cigar and looking up. Castle’s films succeeded largely because of the gimmicks he used to enhance the viewing experience and scare the audience. Perhaps his most famous gimmick is from The Tingler starring Vincent Price. Certain theater seats were rigged with buzzers to give the moviegoers in those seats a jolt, at just the right moment, and scare them out of their seats. Woolsey uses the same effect for MANT, along with a few others. He also hires someone to run out into the audience in an ant suit during certain scenes and requires everyone seeing MANT to sign a waiver in case they are scared to death (another gimmick Castle used for one of his movies).

The screening for MANT is the climax of Matinee and is over the top, to say the least. It’s the kind of showing that William Castle would’ve dreamed of having. However, the real heart of the climax is what is happening between Gene, his friend Stan, and their respective dates. Matinee does a great job of showing us the romanticized version of life in the early 1960s, but also the real fears and dangers of the era. The kids are just as worried about nuclear war as the adults, but they also have average teenage worries that keep them from slipping into hysteria.

Matinee is not just a movie about movies, a genre I happen to love, it is about moviegoers and storytellers. It is about how movies can be a type of catharsis and help us escape from reality, even if that reality is impending nuclear war. It is a rare love letter to horror movies and why we go to them, even bad ones. It does its best to try to show us the intangible experience of going to the movies. William Castle did his best to give his audiences a true and memorable experience and Matinee is a fitting and loving tribute to him and his movies.

 

13 Nights of Shocktober: Tales from the Hood

by A. J.

This is my favorite time of year, second only to Christmas. Autumn has arrived, the weather is cooling down, and October becomes the month-long celebration of scary movies called Shocktober. There are a lot of horror movies out there, but as a genre, horror is still looked down upon by some mainstream critics and moviegoers. It doesn’t help that, admittedly, there are so few quality horror movies made but, like comedy, it’s a very difficult and subjective genre. So, in the days leading up Halloween I’ll be posting some recommendations for scary movies to help you celebrate Shocktober.

Night 12: Nightmares and reality meet on the street: Tales from the Hood

Since I could not find an acceptable werewolf movie this Shocktober, I’ve decided to include a second horror anthology movie. At first, I was reluctant to do so until I saw the ridiculously entertaining and spooky Tales from the Hood, written and directed by Rusty Cundieff. This horror anthology from 1995 presents four stories all dealing with African-American characters or issues. This film may not be directly related to the HBO series Tales from the Crypt, but it is certainly influenced by the EC Comics, on which Tales from the Crypt was based, and anthology horror films of the 1960s and 70s. Tales from the Hood takes its title from the 1972 Tales from the Crypt film.

The film begins with three young criminals entering a funeral home where they expect to buy some high quality drugs from the mortician. The mortician, Mr. Simms, played with wonderful subtle eccentricity by Clarence Williams III, is supposed to have very “good shit.” As he takes them to where “the shit” is, they tour the funeral home and Mr. Simms tells them stories about his previous “customers.” In the first story, “Rogue Cop Revelation,” a respectable black community leader is murdered by corrupt police officers who later face the consequences of their reprehensible actions when the murdered man comes back from the grave. It is probably the weakest of the four stories, but by no means bad. It is a good place for the film to start.

The second story, “Boys Do Get Bruised,” is by far the best and would be an outstanding short film on its own. It is about a shy, quiet boy named Walter that reluctantly confesses to his teacher that the bruises he has are not just from the school bully, but from the “monster” in his house. His teacher sees drawings Walter made of the school bully and the monster; Walter draws the monster as a horned beast with glowing eyes. Later the school bully is sent to the hospital for unexplainable, spontaneous injuries. Walter’s drawings might be the key to stopping the monster. David Alan Grier, known best for his comedic work, has a role in this story that is far from light. His character is cruel and severe, and Grier plays it so well that you’re amazed by his performance, while also being shocked and scared by his character. The whole film is worth watching just for this chilling story alone.

In “KKK Comeuppance” Corbin Bernsen plays Duke, a former, but unreformed, Ku Klux Klan member running for political office despite protests from black and Jewish community groups. To make matters worse, he has moved into a former plantation that was the site of a slave massacre. There is a painting in the house of Miss Cobbs, a voodoo priestess, surrounded by dolls, each one representing a victim of the massacre. Strange things begin to happen as dolls disappear from the painting. This story is the most ridiculous, but also the most fun. 

The final story Mr. Simms tells is a chilling psychological freak-out. “Hard Core Convert” is about a violent gang member named Crazy K who survives being shot only to end up in prison. Once there, he is transferred to a facility deep underground where he is subjected to radical experimental rehabilitation treatment inspired by A Clockwork Orange. In the next cell is a white supremacist who says he likes Crazy K because they both like killing the same kind of people: black people. The final phase of Crazy K’s treatment involves being put in a sensory deprivation chamber where he is confronted by the ghosts of his horrible, reckless actions. The film ends back in the funeral home with Mr. Simms and the drug seekers. The final scene might not be a big surprise, but it is a perfect fit and ends the movie with a bang. 

There is a lot of blood and gore and monsters in Tales from the Hood. For the most part the special effects hold up well and are extremely effective, except for the ones that are wholly CGI; however, those dated images only last for a moment and don’t diminish the rest of the movie. Tales from the Hood succeeds at what The Twilight Zone managed to do so well: delivering scares and chills while also giving us heavy social commentary. The moral messages do not hinder entertainment value, they enhance it along with our overall enjoyment. This movie finds the right balance between spooky fun ("Rogue Cop Revelation" and "KKK Comeuppance") and real horrors with a supernatural twist ("Boys Do Get Broken" and "Hard Core Convert"). The ultimate result is a movie that is loads of fun, incredibly entertaining, and just the kind of movie you want to see come Halloween time.

13 Nights of Shocktober: Suspiria

by A. J.

This is my favorite time of year, second only to Christmas. Autumn has arrived, the weather is cooling down, and October becomes the month-long celebration of scary movies called Shocktober. There are a lot of horror movies out there, but as a genre, horror is still looked down upon by some mainstream critics and moviegoers. It doesn’t help that, admittedly, there are so few quality horror movies made but, like comedy, it’s a very difficult and subjective genre. So, in the days leading up Halloween I’ll be posting some recommendations for scary movies to help you celebrate Shocktober.

Night 11: The iris is the flower that will be the end of you! Suspiria

Suspiria, released in 1977, is considered by many to be Italian director Dario Argento’s masterpiece. It is certainly his most well-known film. Up to this point in his career, Argento had worked mostly in “giallo” film genre, which were usually violent pulp murder mystery stories. The level of violence had been increasing in his previous films and Deep Red, the film he made before Suspiria, dealt with some supernatural elements. Suspiria is his first full bore supernatural horror movie and it is a great one.

Jessica Harper plays Suzy, an American ballet student who arrives in Munich, Germany on a very stormy night to attend a prestigious ballet academy. When she tries to enter the front door of the academy another student runs out in a panicked state shouting to someone inside but the storm makes her words hard to hear. That student is murdered a short while later in one of the most lavish and gruesome first kills in a horror movie (it involves being hung and thrown through stained glass skylight). Suzy is questioned about her run-in with the murdered student, but can only remember the words “secret” and “iris.” Other violent, grisly deaths occur along with strange happenings, like maggots falling from every ceiling in the academy. The cause for all of the murders and the sinister nature of the ballet academy lies within what Suzy heard the night that she arrived -- but will she remember it?

Suspiria is heavy on style with its rich, vivid color palette and bold production design.  Several scenes are bathed in blue or red light. The death scenes are extravagant, but fit with the film’s aesthetic. The blood, which is bright red, sometimes almost orange-red, and gore are too stylized to be realistic, but realism is not the aim of Suspiria. The production design, visual effects, and cinematography combine to create a film that is visually pleasing even while being violent and scary. It’s an unusual, but interesting experience. The rock soundtrack by The Goblins is another important, and memorable, element in the spooky, surreal lavishness of the movie.

There are odd touches that make this a unique film. Argento originally wanted the girls attending the academy to be no older then 12 and wrote the script with preteen actresses in mind. When he was convinced that such a violent film starring children would likely be banned, he changed the age of he girls to 20, but did not change the script to reflect their age. This explains why the girls at the school seem extra naïve and sometimes act like children. Another unique touch is that like many Italian productions, the dialogue was recorded and added in after filming. Since the film had an international cast, the actors spoke their native languages while shooting even though their dialogue would be dubbed with English. The result is that not every character’s voice matches her lips and even the voices of actors actually speaking English don’t seem completely natural.

My favorite peculiar moment in Suspiria is an outdoor scene in which Suzy sits on a bench with a professor who explains the dark occult history of the academy. The wind gusts Jessica Harper’s hair over her face, nearly covering it completely, for almost the entire scene. It’s oddly the most realistic moment in the entire movie. You would not see that happen in a Hollywood movie.

This is one film that truly delivers on enveloping you in an experience. Jessica Harper, with her wide doe eyes, does well in the role of the new student trying to make sense of this strange school. Suspiria uses its stylistic elements to create the same creepy, mysterious, and disorienting feeling for the audience that Suzy is also experiencing. While not all of the effects hold up, Suspiria is not reliant on special effects for its mood and scares. This film walks a tightrope between art-house horror and schlock, and never misses a step.

13 Nights of Shocktober: Stoker

by. A. J.

This is my favorite time of year, second only to Christmas. Autumn has arrived, the weather is cooling down, and October becomes the month-long celebration of scary movies called Shocktober. There are a lot of horror movies out there, but as a genre, horror is still looked down upon by some mainstream critics and moviegoers. It doesn’t help that, admittedly, there are so few quality horror movies made but, like comedy, it’s a very difficult and subjective genre. So, in the days leading up Halloween I’ll be posting some recommendations for scary movies to help you celebrate Shocktober.

Night 10: Do Not Disturb the Family: Stoker

Stoker is a film with unlikely credentials. It is the only writing credit for actor Wentworth Miller, of the TV series Prison Break. It is the first English language film from Korean director Park Chan-Wook, famous for his ultra-violent revenge trilogy (Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, Oldboy, and Lady Vengeance). It borrows the premise of Alfred Hitchcock’s 1942 film Shadow of a Doubt: Uncle Charlie, equal parts menacing and alluring, enters and disrupts the idyllic home life of his teenage niece. But Stoker is not a remake of Hitchcock’s movie, it begins with that premise then takes off into a creepy family drama and psychological thriller.  

Matthew Goode plays Uncle Charlie Stoker, Nicole Kidman plays Evelyn Stoker, his brother’s wife, but the subtle star of this film is Mia Wasikowska as his niece, India Stoker. On India's 18th birthday, her father Richard (Dermot Mulroney) dies in a car accident. On the day of the funeral Uncle Charlie, whom India did not know existed, returns from traveling the world and moves in with her and her distant, unstable mother. While India remains cold to her Uncle Charlie, her mother warms up to him nicely, perhaps too nicely. For her 18th birthday she received a key. We wonder with her who it is from and what it unlocks.

India wonders about things teens often ponder over. Are you in control of your nature or has it already been decided for you? The film opens with a narration by India telling us that she hears things other people don’t hear and sees things others don’t see. We hear exposition from characters whispering so that India won’t hear, but she still hears. Her watchful eyes and quiet nature allow her to spy on characters that think they’re hiding their actions, but India already knows what others are trying to hide. They just confirm her suspicions. She slowly warms up to Uncle Charlie as they learn each other’s secrets. We see them play the piano together in a creepy and uncomfortable duet.

Stoker has a distinct, effective sound design. The sound of hair being brushed turns into the rustling of tall, dry grass. The beautiful, bold production design and cinematography makes every scene feel like an uncanny painting. All of this emphasizes India’s heightened senses and gives the film an unreal, dreamlike tone. India’s home is upper class and impeccably kept but its aesthetic seems unlike an actual home. The other teenagers she goes to school with don’t act quite like average teenagers. The trees and the grass and flowers are idyllic like a pastoral dream. There is something disquieting about all of this that adds to the underlying and unspoken menace surrounding the characters

Stoker feels like it is an adaptation of a Gothic novel. It takes place in a seemingly normal environment that feels like a fantasy. This is a film that, like its main character, is quiet and does not directly tell us much. We learn about the characters and plot, like India, from listening and watching. There is a lot that Stoker does not show us forgoing the shock value other films seize upon with misguided eagerness. Stoker shows us static images of seemingly benign things that we know carry heavy implications. When violence finally happens it is striking, but underplayed. This is a film shot and staged with meticulous care and sharp skill. Stoker may be a slow burn thriller, but this character based story builds to a satisfying, but perhaps unsettling, ending.

13 Nights of Shocktober: Psycho II

by A. J.

This is my favorite time of year, second only to Christmas. Autumn has arrived, the weather is cooling down, and October becomes the month-long celebration of scary movies called Shocktober. There are a lot of horror movies out there, but as a genre, horror is still looked down upon by some mainstream critics and moviegoers. It doesn’t help that, admittedly, there are so few quality horror movies made but, like comedy, it’s a very difficult and subjective genre. So, in the days leading up Halloween I’ll be posting some recommendations for scary movies to help you celebrate Shocktober.

Night 9: Welcome home, Norman: Psycho II

How could anyone dare to make a sequel to one of the greatest films ever made by one of the greatest directors that ever lived? How could a sequel ever live up to the original Psycho, especially when it’s made 22 years later? Would it be just a schlocky 80s slasher embarrassment? Well, no. It’d be impossible for any film to live up to Alfred Hitchcock’s 1960 masterpiece, but when taken on its own Psycho II is a very good, solid, and satisfying movie. In the shadow of Psycho, Psycho II is a successful sequel.

Anthony Perkins reprises his role as Norman Bates. Norman has been found not guilty by reason of insanity of the murders in the first movie, and now, 22 years later, he has been declared sane and released into normal society. Vera Miles also returns as Lila Loomis, formerly Lila Crane, the sister of Marion Crane who was murdered so famously in the shower. Lila strongly objects Norman’s release, protesting in court that he is still a homicidal maniac.  However, Norman moves back home and takes a job as a cook at a local diner where he meets and awkwardly befriends Mary, played by Meg Tilly. When Norman finds out that she has nowhere to stay he offers her a room in his house; it’s as awkward as you might expect, but they become unlikely friends.

 

Anthony Perkins, who was so memorable in the first movie, is still great in the role of Norman, but this time he gets to play a different take on the character. This Norman is aware of his troubled past, that Mother was all in his head, and is doing his best to be a normal, regular citizen. However, it seems that no one else is ready to have Norman back, everyone still sees him as a psycho. Suspicious things start to happen almost as soon as he arrives back home. He receives mysterious notes and phone calls from “Mother.” Is he slipping back into insanity? Is someone playing a mean prank on him?

Norman finds out that while he was away a sleazy motel manager, played by Dennis Franz, turned the Bates Motel, which Norman still owns along with the house, into what he sheepishly refers to as “an adult motel.” He fires the manager who is murdered shortly thereafter by a mysterious figure.

Psycho II is a full blown slasher movie. There is a body count and a kills are graphic, but unlike other 80s slasher movies, there is more than just the kills to this movie. There is a real mystery and intriguing plot. A lot of care and thought went into this slasher sequel; which is a rare statement to make. Norman is the prime suspect as more bodies pile up and people go missing. Though she can’t account for where he was for every murder, Mary believes Norman is innocent. She also believes there is someone hiding in the house with her and Norman. We want to believe he's innocent too, not only because Mary trusts him, but because Anthony Perkins is such an amazing actor that we just cannot believe that shy, polite, sweet, meek Norman could ever hurt anyone (again).

Psycho II succeeds because of the smart script by Tom Holland and an extraordinary performance by Anthony Perkins. Perkins was so good in the first movie as Norman Bates that audiences couldn’t see him as anything else. Though he’s playing the same character, Perkins hits so many different notes perfectly as Norman that Psycho II feels like a showcase to remind you that he is a great actor. Psycho II plays with your assumptions about Norman and expectations, or lack thereof, for sequels to deliver a sequel that is a thrilling mystery with a twist (or two) of its own. There are many, many sequels that are uninspired rehashes of the original film, but Psycho II is one sequel that should not be underestimated.

13 Nights of Shocktober: The Loved Ones

by A. J.

This is my favorite time of year, second only to Christmas. Autumn has arrived, the weather is cooling down, and October becomes the month-long celebration of scary movies called Shocktober. There are a lot of horror movies out there, but as a genre, horror is still looked down upon by some mainstream critics and moviegoers. It doesn’t help that, admittedly, there are so few quality horror movies made but, like comedy, it’s a very difficult and subjective genre. So, in the days leading up Halloween I’ll be posting some recommendations for scary movies to help you celebrate Shocktober.

Night 8: "Will you go to the dance with me?" The Loved Ones

Released in 2009 from Australia, The Loved Ones is the best horror films I’ve seen in recent years. The story is simple: a psychotic teenage girl kidnaps the boy that turned down her invitation to the school dance. The execution by first time director Sean Byrne is excellent. It would be easy to describe The Loved Ones as a torture porn movie, but it would also be wrong. In the deplorable torture porn genre the sadistic acts of torture and the gruesome, gory effects are the main event, and everything else (characters, plot, and motivation) is superfluous. Spectacle becomes the focus instead of adding to the impact of the narrative. Torture happens just to show you gore and the result is not a movie, but a geek show, one with a hopeless feeling of dread. The Loved Ones has a sense of dread, but it never feels hopeless. It is a tense, disquieting horror film that is also brutally violent. 

This movie shows us two bad dates, one far more nightmarish than the other. Brent is a quiet, brooding teenager in a rural Australian town. He’s trying to come to terms with the death of his father who died in a car accident while Brent was driving. His mother is hesitant to let him go to the school dance because his girlfriend, Holly, will be driving. A shy looking girl named Lola asks Brent to the dance. He says no, politely, he’s already going with Holly. Brent’s extroverted friend Jamie, asks the pretty but intimidating Goth girl Mia to the dance; she says yes. Before Brent can even go the dance, however, he is abducted. He wakes up bound to a chair and what follows is the date from hell. He is tortured by Lola, now referred to only as Princess, and her Daddy. Yes, Princess Lola uses that power drill.

Robin McLeavy is superb and memorable as the cute, but psychotic and sadistic, Lola/Princess. She listens to the angst filled ballad Not Pretty Enough by Kasey Chambers like it is her anthem. That pop song juxtaposed with scenes of psychotic violence brings to mind Patrick Bateman butchering a victim to the Huey Lewis and the News song Hip to be a Square in American Psycho. John Brumpton as Lola’s subservient father, referred to only as Daddy, is at once equally meek and sadistic. The dinner scene with all of them around the table, including Bright Eyes (presumably Lola’s lobotomized mother), is heavily influenced by Texas Chainsaw Massacre in that the horror comes from the bizarre nature of this family.

Princess and Daddy are without a doubt the stars of this movie, but they are not the protagonists. We’re never rooting for them or for the next round of bizarre torture Brent must endure. We’re always with Brent looking for a method of escape, anxious about how and when Holly will figure out where he is being held, but The Loved Ones is not all torture and psychotic family members. It also has a sense of humor. We get unnerving humor in the scenes with Princess. We get awkward humor in scenes of Jaime on his much more traditional bad date with Mia. Jaime stumbles as he tries to be suave and doesn’t know how to handle his disinterested date, who gets so stoned she is staggering by the end of the night. Those scenes break up the tension of Brent’s storyline and give us a break from the violence and torture Princess is inflicting on him. Those scenes also expand the world of this film from a house of horrors to a real place populated by normal people.

The Loved Ones does take one very dark turn when Brent is thrown into the cellar which has a pile of bones amid other horrors. Even with the cellar scene and all of the blood and torture this movie is nowhere close to the gruesome gore of movies like Saw and Hostel. The Loved Ones transcends the trappings of psycho killer movies and gory spectacle to become a true horror film; one that unsettles, scares, and satisfies.

  

13 Nights of Shocktober: Diabolique

by A. J.

This is my favorite time of year, second only to Christmas. Autumn has arrived, the weather is cooling down, and October becomes the month-long celebration of scary movies called Shocktober. There are a lot of horror movies out there, but as a genre, horror is still looked down upon by some mainstream critics and moviegoers. It doesn’t help that, admittedly, there are so few quality horror movies made but, like comedy, it’s a very difficult and subjective genre. So, in the days leading up Halloween I’ll be posting some recommendations for scary movies to help you celebrate Shocktober.

Night 7: "Don't be a devil. Don't ruin the interest your friends could have in this film. Don't tell them what you saw.'' Diabolique

Diabolique is a superb and masterful psychological thriller and mystery from France released in 1955. Almost right away you feel like you’re watching a top-shelf Alfred Hitchcock film. It has a deliberate style, skill, and humor that rival the best of Hitchcock’s work. In fact, legend has it that director Henri-Georges Clouzot secured the rights to the novel the film is based on only a half-hour before Hitchcock attempted to do the same.

The story is about Christina and Nicole, the equally abused wife and mistress of Michel, who plot the cruel man’s murder. The film is set largely at a boys' boarding school which Christina owns, but Michel runs poorly. He is rude to the staff and boys and saves money by buying cheap wine and spoiled fish. Christina is frail and reluctant to go along with Nicole’s plan to murder Michel. However, they drown him in a hotel and then dump his body in the school swimming pool. None of that is spoiler material because the movie really takes off once the body of Michel disappears. Then the game begins. Cryptic clues find their way to Christina and Nicole. Christina becomes remorseful and wants to turn herself in. Nicole won’t allow that.

To add to the stress Christina is feeling is the incredibly enjoyable character of retired police commissioner Fichet who, unasked, volunteers to take the case of finding the missing Michel. Fichet surely must be the blueprint for the rumpled, seemingly absentminded TV detective Columbo. Fichet seems to be more of a pest than a threat and comes off like a bored, old man playing detective, but if you pay close attention to the performance of actor Charles Vanel you know that Fichet is actually an excellent, but subtle detective.

Diabolique is not technically a horror movie, but it does have one of the most famous and most terrifying moments in film history. That scene is so notorious you might already know about it, but regardless of whether you know what is coming or not, it is still shocking to see with your own eyes. There is beautiful black and white cinematography and the scenes are staged with care for maximum suspense. There is a lot of humor in the movie, too. Nearly every minor character is comic relief, especially the boarding school staff and the boys with their gossip about Michel. This movie is a spooky mystery that will deliver that familiar unease and excitement you get from a great horror movie but without blood or monsters.

13 Nights of Shockotber: The Night Flier

by A. J.

This is my favorite time of year, second only to Christmas. Autumn has arrived, the weather is cooling down, and October becomes the month-long celebration of scary movies called Shocktober. There are a lot of horror movies out there, but as a genre, horror is still looked down upon by some mainstream critics and moviegoers. It doesn’t help that, admittedly, there are so few quality horror movies made but, like comedy, it’s a very difficult and subjective genre. So, in the days leading up Halloween I’ll be posting some recommendations for scary movies to help you celebrate Shocktober.

Night 6: Death From Above: The Night Flier

The Night Flier is a little seen adaptation of a Stephen King short story published in the collection Nightmares and Dreamscapes. It was shot for a theatrical release, but premiered on HBO in 1997, before receiving a short-lived run in theaters, giving it the stigma of a made-for-cable movie which in this case is undeserved. The Night Flier is a good, solid, and scary movie with a fresh take on the most classic of movie monsters: the vampire.

Miguel Ferrer plays Richard Dees, a cynical and bitter star reporter for a supermarket tabloid called Inside View. He’s made his name covering gruesome stories and getting equally gruesome photographs, which he likely fakes. He is assigned to investigate a series of vampire-like murders that are linked to a serial killer that flies into rural airports at night. Dees is also assigned by his editor to mentor a new reporter named Katherine who is helping him with the story, which he hates and resents to say the least. Dees is also a pilot so he flies into the same airports as the “Night Flier” to question the locals and get pictures of the corpses at the morgue. The neck wound on the victims is not the traditional two small red dots of other vampire movies. This wound is a large single hole, like a railroad spike stabbed into the neck.

Despite how harsh he is towards her, Katherine still want to help Dees track down the "Night Flier." She’s looking for her big break and sees this as an opportunity. Dees finds himself just a step behind the killer. He finds a mysterious black soil on the runway of an airport where the black airplane was recently seen. The movie shows us scenes of the mysterious caped pilot with victims he seems to have cast a spell over. The mystery element of this story is the big driving force behind the movie. Though Dees remains a mostly unsympathetic character we stay with him because we want to know the answer to the mystery of the "Night Flier." Horror is probably the only genre where you can spend so much time with an unlikeable character since a supernatural or ironic comeuppance is probably in order for them. It also helps that Miguel Ferrer is great in the role of Dees. He plays the character with a bitter contempt that feels real and never goes over the top.

The Night Flier is a movie that never quite does what you expect. When Dees finally tracks down the “Night Flier,” their confrontation is unexpectedly understated, but creepy and tense. The climax that follows is a chilling psychological freak-out. This movie plays with the cliché image of the vampire as a charismatic figure in a cape, then gives us the most grotesquely monstrous vampire ever put on film. There is a healthy amount of blood and gore, but it is not excessive, so this is a good movie for a squeamish person that wants to see how much they can stand. All of this makes The Night Flier an entertaining, under-the-radar horror film that can be hard to find but is definitely worth tracking down.