Horror Movies

With Monster Mania coming up this weekend, I was reflecting on the previous (and only) MM event I went to a few years ago.  This should have been written up on my blog ages ago and I dont know why I hadnt thought to write anything about it sooner!  I was only intending to write up the event in general terms of what I observed/remembered. As I was dissecting the details of the event though, I realized that the Stacey Nelkin autograph experience alone was worthy of a few paragraphs.

Stacey Nelkin isnt that well known and was never on my radar as far as my faves. She really hasnt done a whole lot besides appearing as the female lead role in Halloween III. With that movie being one of my horror faves though, having the chance to meet her (or anyone involved with that movie) is huuuuuge!

Nelkin was part of the “Women of Horror” collection presented at MM that year. I really dont know how the event works and if they always have themes like this. The women of horror were in a room separate from a lot of the other actors, i.e. Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Anthony Michael Hall, The Walking Dead crew, etc. In fact I almost walked out of there without ever seeing them. Upon entering  their corridor, I noticed significantly less traffic than in the rest of the event.  When I saw her table, I got super excited and thought about how many times I have seen Halloween III. How surreal it was to have a living, breathing part of the movie right in front of me. No one was at Stacey’s table. She looked good for her age, but completely different than in the movie….must have had some work done. She was laughing and talking to her neighbor. As I approached she suddenly sat straight up and got really serious-looking as I got closer. The kind of reaction a guilty grade-school student has as a teacher catches them in the act. As obsessed as I was about Halloween III as a kid, you’d think I would have thought of better questions than “uhhhh…..hows traffic been”? She asked if I would be interested in her autograph (for $20). Of course I was, but I was empty-handed with nothing to sign. She had a stack of still shots from movies, and I picked out a familiar scene from H3 which showed her and Tom Atkins staring at some Halloween masks (see below for the picture complete with autograph)! She then asked what movie quote I would like her to sign on the picture. Hmmm….another complete blank. She then suggested a sexual quote from the movie–“Where would you like me to sleep Dr Challis?”,  and like a jackass I lit up and said Oh yeaah! Thats a good one! While it WAS a good one, it was probably the same “good one” which had already been beat to death by other guys who came prepared with that line, or spoon-fed to guys like me with nothing to say. I hate being un-original, but hey…..you cant be on the ball every minute of the day, right? Besides, I actually took away more from this than the average autograph-seeker. I guess I was so surprised that no one was at her table, I just went the casual conversation route.  My co-worker and I both observed event-goers getting their picture taken with several of the actors. Not wanting to miss out on the fun, my coworker stood a distance back as he got us both in the picture. Then he suggested she come out in front of her table so we could get a shot together (see below). Not bad! Had there been crowds of people there, I never could have gotten a picture like that. Finally we walked out of there, satisfied that we spent enough money on admission prices and autograph prices. As we walked towards the exit, my buddy said to me: “You know….you really should have asked her out”. I thought that was kind of ridiculous given the volume of people that comes through these places and she must get those kinds of requests all the time.  With some more convincing, and consideration of how down to earth she was, I figured I would give it a shot. I kind of dicked around for about half an hour, until meandering back to the women of horror room. I slowly walked in and tried to project the appearance of doing a final lap around the place to make sure I didn’t miss anything. Once again, there was no one at her table, and she appeared to be looking at her phone. I got a little closer, and as our eyes met, I predictably announced that I was taking one last walk around to make sure I didn’t miss anything. I then asked how long she was in town for. She replied that she wouldn’t be there much longer either because she had to make her way back to NY. I told her that’s too bad because had she been around longer I would have invited her out for a drink. She then awkwardly smiled a little bit and seemed to pause, and replied, “yeah…Ill be heading out of here”.  Feeling like I had exhausted the experience with the women of terror, and having seen enough, I wrapped it up and told her to have a great trip back…..and that I’ll see her again next time I watch Halloween 3……and that hotel room scene.

Friday the 13th is here! What a gloomy rainy day it is too….just as it was set during the original movie. To properly acknowledge the arrival of the film’s namesake date, I am posting a review of possibly the most influential entry (and also the last to not feature a catchy tagline such as Final Chapter, Jason Lives, etc) of the whole series….Part 3.

Part 3 basically made Jason the way we all know him today for one single obvious reason; the hockey mask. In a previous post I mentioned that the series would not have lasted anywhere near as long as it had if he continued to wear the wheat sack over his head. It was menacing for one movie, but that image would not have sustained the endless onslaught of sequels that were churned out. As with other movies of its kind, the mask wasn’t intended or written in the script. I believe some kind of mask was needed, and some crew member just happened to be a hockey player with his gear on hand at the set. Its remarkable actually to think that if you were just to show a picture of a hockey mask to a non-hockey fan…..the first thing they would probably think of is Jason. Even hockey enthusiasts might actually think of Jason first.

Back in 1982 when this was released, I didn’t even know that movies like this existed. At 8 years old, my parents were taking me to movies like E.T. or whatever Disney release was out that year. That was really all I knew.  Speaking of E.T., this was the first film to bump that lovable alien out of the number one spot during its run.

The other obvious distinction of Part 3 (as with so many “part 3” movies in the early 80’s), of course is the 3D feature. I cant recall whether that made the admission ticket more expensive back then as it does with today’s 3D movies. The quality was no where near what 3D is today and I guess for that reason, movie goers grew weary of the gimmick quickly. Beyond the early 80s, I cant think of any examples which featured 3D, whereas more recently it seems there has been a much longer run since ’09 or ’10 Im guessing. Somewhere I have this movie on dvd or blu ray complete with 2 pairs of cheap cardboard glasses.

As with the other Friday posts, I referenced the characters. They are even more flamboyant than ever, and possibly more than any other F13. They range from nerdy, druggie, badass and sexy of course. It was kind of all over the place with characters…..even introducing a 3-man biker gang to be killed off.

Lastly, besides the film introducing Jason’s iconic hockey mask, it also features possibly the most iconic scene in the whole series: Jason falling out of a barn with a rope around his neck. We see flashbacks to this in later entries.

Happy Friday the 13th everyone!

Friday the 13th week continues!

It starts getting interesting now. Mommy lost her head in the original movie, and now Jason has assumed the role of terrorizing Crystal Lake.

The movie opens with a flashback to the end of part One. In an effort to fully showcase the decapitation of Jason’s mom, we are treated to a replay of Alice Hardy (Adrienne King) giving a mighty machete whack to the neck of Mrs Voorhees. Jason’s motivation for murder is now doubled up as he needs to avenge not only his own supposed death, but also that of his mother. He wastes no time getting to work as he stealthily sneaks in to Alice’s apartment and scares the shit out of her by planting his mom’s head inside her refrigerator. Jason is no doubt devastated by the death of his mom….but he is not above using her head as a prop to get a cheap scare out of someone. What’s also interesting here is the fact that Jason acquired the skills to break into an apartment after leaving the comforts of his shack at Crystal Lake. Sure, Jason smashing his way through a door is absolutely believable…..its his lock-picking finesse, and hiding undetected in a small apartment which is a bit of a stretch.

The characters in this movie show a little more personality than in the first one. Not necessarily in a good way.  One very annoying character is tall and lanky, dresses up in old skins and carries a spear. He spends most of the movie lurking in the shadows and scaring people…..which no doubt causes unsuspecting first time viewers to expect Jason as opposed to this dope. The first time I watched this, I couldn’t wait for him and Jason to cross paths…..only to see him safely leave the premises with a few other counselors for a night on the town, not even knowing the danger he escaped. I have to admit though….after what is probably my 40th time watching this movie he has grown on me a little. Today as I have acquired emotional intelligence and matured into adulthood (haha), I suppose I dont mind the fact that Jason never gets him. Make no mistake…..just because the characters do show more personality, doesn’t mean the acting is any better.

One of the criticisms that ALWAYS comes up with this series is that you never get to know enough about the characters to become connected to (or care about them), hence the viewer does not, or should not care that they systematically get disposed of by Jason. I disagree entirely with this assessment. After watching these movies as many times as I have, any character will start feeling like a friend to you. How can you not feel bad for the skinny dipping babe who treats you to a show? What about the guy in a wheelchair who took a hatchet to the face and got pushed down a long flight of stairs? What about the cute brunette who’s only crime was preparing herself for a night of lovemaking with the wheelchair guy, and Jason sabotaged the whole thing with knives and blunt objects? What cold-hearted s.o.b. movie critic would not feel bad for these two?

What’s also different for part II is the counselors also show a little more skin…..we are treated to a very attractive young woman skinny dipping alone in the moonlight. Did I say treated? I meant “subjected to”. This sort of thing has no place in quality films like this. Just terrible.

Finally, I think its worth commenting on the sack with eyeholes compared to the hockey mask. I do think there is a very real element of fear regarding the sack. Its rudimentary in nature, and chilling to look at. On the other hand, I think it makes Jason look kind of dopey. Its perhaps too simple and I think the series would have only lasted maybe half as many movies if he had to keep looking at him with the bag over his head. I think the bag served this one movie well, but there was  nothing as truly terrorizing as the hockey mask. One look at that, and you just knew the shit was gonna hit the fan.

Friday the 13th is coming this Friday, May 13! With only one of these dates in 2016, (I think there were three last year), its time to dust off the old dvds, tapes, blu rays, or whatever you use and settle in for some Voorhees-style mayhem. This is actually a great time of year to watch (besides on Halloween) because its about the time of year camp counselors would be settling in to prepare for the summer. If I were to guess which month these all take place in, it probably IS May 13th. If you really want to feel connected to the films, then this is probably the best time of year to watch.

Friday the 13th (1980)

Featuring:

*The debut of Kevin Bacon

*A lakeside decapitation

*Arrow through a neck

We all know this movie is essentially a rip-off of Halloween, but it probably rips-off better than any copycat of its kind. In fact….I believe the high body count and high gore quotient of Halloween II was more a competition with the original F13, rather than sticking with the suspenseful formula which made the original Halloween so successful.

Its hard to say why this movie became so popular when there were so many other slasher movies which were all essentially the same. Whatever they did, they set themselves up for a long string of successful sequels. In fact, Sean S. Cunningham, the movie’s director, actually took out an ad in the N.Y. Times declaring this the “scariest movie ever made” BEFORE it was even made. Genius marketing. To think that Jason didnt even acquire his trademark hockey mask until halfway through part three is a further evidence that the series pushed all the right buttons to hold fans’ interest through many sequels.

Some horror fans have since grown tired of the original. I guess it is a little tough to go back again after countless viewings to watch a movie which didn’t feature the iconic Jason in action. While its not my favorite in the series, I think it still does serve as an adequate appetizer to set up the sequels which do feature Jason front and center.  Despite its reputation for relying on shock value, it does have its suspenseful moments….especially the very end, featuring a long continuous shot of our female hero in the boat. Seconds feel like minutes as an ostensibly serene image with melodic music feels just a little too peaceful.

The acting is decent. The characters are believable and not as cartoon-ish as some slasher movies which seem to portray each character in an absurd light. While you dont really get connected to anyone in F13, the characters are all just ordinary people, and I think this does add a sense of realism to the story. If you haven’t seen it in a while, now is the time.

For some movies, there is really no point in reviewing. Seriously…..what insight can I provide on this movie that hasn’t been said thousands of times elsewhere already in the online world and for that matter, the print world? For that reason, Im not going to get into the plot synopsis or bother to tell you how good it is.

When someone asks me what my favorite horror movie is, I usually defer to this one. It was a well-done, simple plot and concept which far exceeded expectations both critically and financially. I like the fact that this was created without a big budget, yet became so successful. I first learned of this movie sometime in the mid-80’s when I was about 12 years old. Back then, I would aimlessly wander video store corridors spending an hour just in the horror section alone, obsessively picking up movie boxes and reading the description. It was a long time until I would be able to watch many of these films due to my young age and inability to pay for the rental. The span of a few years at such a young age can feel like a really long time. I feel that some of the horror movies I desperately wanted to watch when I was younger got built up to larger than life expectations in my mind. This movie was one of them, but its still hard to think of anything else that beats it.

For a film with a name like Halloween….you would think there would be a little more substance to the plot, and a connection to the holiday than simply an escaped mental patient tries to kill a babysitter. Maybe this is just a bigger deal to me because of my long-time fascination with the holiday itself. John Carpenter actually got lucky with the availability of the title. I remember watching a documentary where he mentions the fact that they couldn’t believe it had never been used for a movie. The thing is though, there’s really not much to do with Halloween other than it was the day Myers picked to escape. Yes, I know the idiotic sequels babble some nonsense about the connection, but they are merely sequels to a movie which never should have had sequels (at least not involving Myers). In fact, Im one of the few who thought John Carpenter had it right by wanting to do Halloween “themed” films after the original. The problem was that after the original’s major success, the producers practically tripped over themselves to get a sequel made. I guess “why mess with success” came into play and we got another Myers film faster than you could blink. I was happy with Halloween 2 actually. It definitely ruined any chance of public embracement of the “theme” movies, but Im not unhappy that it was made. I watch it practically every October and it was a fun thrill-ride.

Although the anthology idea wasn’t fully implemented as originally planned, I am glad they were able to at least get one out there. Sadly, the success of the first two, and the resistance of child-like minds to try anything new, doomed the series to never stray from Michael movies again. It would have been interesting to see what would have happened if the series had started with Halloween 3, then continued with Myers starting in part 2. Part three was actually the first one I watched in the series. It gave me an appreciation of that film unlike the majority of Halloween fans who were introduced to the series via Myers.

It was years until I would be old enough to see the original Halloween, and I admit there was a little bit of a letdown. I previously covered my annoyance at the fact that the plot has little to do with the holiday. I also mentioned that expectations grew impossibly high each year until I was old enough to see it. Despite the movie not possibly being able to live up to my expectations I still consider it one of the best out there of its kind. At times I feel like the original “Nightmare on Elm Street” should take first place. That movie scared me more than anything else because I saw it long before I was allowed to watch these types of films. I was very young, and although it really is a well-done movie, I think it freaked me out mainly because I had never seen anything like it. The problem with Freddy is that the absurd sequels absolutely destroyed his reputation as a frightening killer and turned him into a ridiculous parody of himself with more one-liners than Andrew Dice Clay. Where the Halloween series kept portraying Michael Myers with the same, steady chilling consistency (despite the plots crumbling around him), Freddy was turned into an absolute clown, and to me this damaged the reputation of the original.

A lot of horror movies are fun to watch, but not necessarily good. Halloween is both enjoyable to watch and well-made. For younger people used to fast-paced, action and shocks, this nearly 40-year old movie might be a tad slow. For those who can appreciate skillful direction and suspense, it doesn’t get any better in the horror arena.