1. Little Shop of Horrors (1986)
To be honest, I didn't remember much about this movie. I think as a kid, Audrey II freaked the crap out of me and I must have blocked a lot out. Who wants to remember a giant man eating plant with huge lips? I only remembered a few songs and a little bit of the plot. The main thing I remembered from this movie was when Audrey II repeatedly said, "Feed me Seymour". When we watched it this week, it was like watching it for the first time. There was so much that I missed as a kid and it was fantastic watching it as an adult.
Rick Moranis is adorable as Seymour, and played him with such innocence. I forgot that he could sing and it was a pleasant surprise when he sang his songs. Although, Steve Martin was not that great of a singer, it was nice seeing him play a character that was different from what he normally plays. I do remember that dentist song for some reason. Another great part of this film was the cameos, there were so many wonderful actors that popped in, Christopher Guest, John Candy, James Belushi and my favorite cameo, Bill Murray. His appearance in Little Shop of Horrors only added to my already existing love for this film.
2. Edward Scissorhands (1990)
This will always be one of my favorite movies. As I've said before, I was such a weird kid and I liked all sorts of odd things. I attribute a lot of this to my eldest brother who introduced me to comic books, fantasy books and magical stories when I was child. When I was younger, I used to watch this movie over and over again. There isn't much about it that I dislike. I love everything about it. Whenever I hear the score to Edward Scissorhands, it brings back that feeling of childhood wonder.
When I was about 7 yrs old, I was riding in the car with my brother, and we were going to visit his friends. They lived about 45 minutes away from us so I fell asleep in the car. After a while, my brother shook me and told me to wake up. When I looked out the window, I couldn't believe my eyes. There were all these tall bushes in different shapes in front of these pastel colored houses. I thought I had woken up in Wonderland. My face was pressed up to the car window and I was in awe of everything I saw. That's right my friends, my brother took me to the set of Edward Scissorhands. I think it was always meant to be, me and Edward. I guess it's our destiny.
3. Tremors (1990)
After we watched this movie, all I could think was, " that was really strange." Tremors is a typical 90s movie. It has an attractive male lead with something to prove. I was really surprised that Kevin Bacon was in this movie, although I shouldn't be, since he was the Nicholas Cage of the 80s and 90s. The story is pretty decent but nothing too spectacular. There are some really cheesy lines and lots of bad acting. I was surprised to see Reba McEntire in this film. I didn't know she was even acting in the 90s. A lot of things don't make sense, but that's how things usually go with these monster flicks.
This is a typical "bottle movie." There are a group of people trapped and contained in a small area, trying to escape a horrible monster. Tremors wasn't a horror movie, but more of an action adventure. The creature designs were quite good, but I wished that it was a teensy bit more scary. I know it's strange for me to say this considering that I don't like scary things. I just thought it would be a bit more, and it didn't really deliver. The movie isn't From Beyond awful, but it isn't a movie that I would want to watch again.
4. The Woman in Black (2012)
Finally, a scary movie that I adore. This movie was really great and I can see why it was a sleeper hit this year. My favorite thing about this movie was the cinematography. I could screen cap every scene, every shot was stunning. They really capture the eeriness of England in the 18th century. This was the most beautiful and captivating movie we've seen so far. It made me want to go back to England, despite the fact that this movie was quite scary.
Everything about this movie is subtle, there is never anything glaring or flashing, definitley no cheap shots. It's a slow build up to a grand climax, and that's more terrifying than things popping out at you. Watching and waiting for something horrible to happen is much worse because the anticipation eats away at me. The acting was quite good, which was unexpected. It's really strange seeing Daniel Radcliffe play a father to a four year old, but he was quite good. I can see that he's really matured as an actor and it was good to see him in something other than Harry Potter. It was the epitome of the perfect scary movie, and one that I would watch over and over.
5. Predator (1987)
Hands down the most testosterone filled movie we've watched so far. Predator is definitley a guy movie and not something that I would ever choose. Markus told me that when he was a kid he watched this movie dozens of times. So, I was intrigued.
Predator is not my kind of movie. It's the complete opposite of what I enjoy. I've never seen so many beefy guys in one movie, since The Expendables, which I found surprisingly similar to this film. Both films have a group of tough and rugged men on a mission where they weren't told all the facts. There is some kind of cover up or secret to their mission. Even though I'm not usually into this type of film, there were still some enjoyable aspects. I was quite impressed with the creature design of the Predator. He was hideous and creepy, always stalking the main characters and plotting their deaths. However towards the end, I started to feel the length of the movie and wished they would just get to the point. I'm not sure why I needed to see a shirtless montage of Schwarzenegger building crap. Predator was just okay for me, and one that I would rather not watch again.
6. The Thing (1982)
This movie was utterly terrifying. It was horrible and I freaked out for most of it. As soon as the opening credits were finished, I remembered a vlog Markus did about The Thing. By the way, check out his vlog. It's a great video about his experience watching this movie as a child. I quickly realized that Markus duped me into watching something really scary. I totally got Loki'd.
Watching The Thing was like watching your nightmares become reality. Everything that I dislike about scary movies was in this film: a dismal story, a horrifying creature and the terrible humanity of mortal men. I hate situations where you are helpless and no end or resolution in sight. Everything is completely hopeless in this movie and I can't handle it. I always like to know that there is some possibility of things ending nicely. When movies take this route, I know it's only a matter of time til the crap hits the fan and everyone is dead. I can't handle that kind of anticipation. The creature in this film has to be the freakiest and scariest thing I've ever seen. I'm going to have nightmares for the rest of my life. I can never look at a Husky the same way ever again. This film has definitely scarred me for life.
7. Ghostbusters (1984)
There are so many brilliant things about this movie. This was when movies were still original and not remakes. It made me long for the days when things were still entertaining and refreshing. I don't think there is a person out there that has seen Ghostbusters and said, "Yea, that movie sucked." It's an impossibility. This movie is absolutely and irrevocably brilliant! Watching it almost 20 years later, it's still holds up as a cinematic masterpiece.
The cast is talented, the story is interesting, the soundtrack is awesome and it's quite entertaining. It's amazing how this movie has genuinely scary parts, but also snappy dialogue that make you laugh til you're crying. Not many movies can do this. The only other film that I can compare it to is Shaun of the Dead, which I also adore. It's great seeing Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd at the height of their careers. I think Murray has made some really great films in the past 10 years, but nothing can compare to Murray when he's being both funny and a jerk. I'm so used to seeing him play the sort of stoic father figures, and it was great seeing him act like a bit of a perv. I was so glad that we watched this after The Thing, because I needed some respite from films that scar you for life.
Introduction, Week 1, Week 2, Week 3, Week 5, Hotties of Creepy Cinema