Creepy Cinema: Cult Camp | Week Two

October 16, 2013 P. Noelle Cruz

The second week of Creepy Cinema: Cult Camp was both good and bad. It was good because I saw some really scary and terrifying movies but I really liked them. I think I saw what will probably be my favorite film this year! I also saw probably the worst movie on the list as well. Overall, it was a pretty well rounded week and I can't wait to see more!

1. Evil Dead (1981)

This is one of the few movies on the list that I knew. I’ve actually seen Evil Dead 2 and Army of Darkness. I enjoyed both those films and was excited to see the movie that started it all. Evil Dead is about a group of friends that drive to a cabin in the woods and inadvertently end up releasing demons in the process. This is the sort of movie that I avoid.

Way back when I saw the other Evil Dead movies, Markus intentionally left out this one, because he knew it would be too much for me. I have to admit that I loved this movie. It was terrifying and I enjoyed every minute. Evil Dead is a low budget film and it honestly looks like a student project. Despite all this, the film really delivers. I think of all the films that we’ve seen so far, this one was my favorite. It has everything that you could want in a horror flick. I spent the entire movie screaming at every little thing and watching with my hands over my eyes. It was perfection.

2. Killer Klowns from Outer Space (1988)

If there is one thing that creeps me out, it’s clowns. They’re always smiling and hiding their real faces. I think it has a lot to do with accidentally seeing clips of Stephen King’s “It” when I was a kid. Since then, I’ve always had a fear of clowns. Killer Klowns from Outer Space is about alien clowns that come to earth and start attacking and harvesting humans for food.

I was expecting to be super creeped out by this movie and I really wasn’t. There were a few moments that were scary, but overall, it’s an 80s movie about clowns from outer space. How scary can it really be? The designs for the clowns were really amazing and jarring when I first saw them. I also enjoyed the super sweet and cheesy theme song. It was perfectly 80’s sounding for a cult classic.

3. Re-Animator (1985)

I was really excited to see this movie. I knew that it was very popular and beloved among its fans. The film is based on an HP Lovecraft story titled, “Herbert West-Reanimator”. It follows West and his quest to unlock the power of reanimating the dead, hence the title. This film is known for being able to combine gore with comedy.

I think the driving force for all the love is Jeffrey Combs, who plays Herbert West.
West is an amazing character, he’s so strange and creepy, however you can’t help but root for him. It’s strange because he’s such an anti-hero. Combs is an incredible actor and was also the lead in From Beyond, viewed in last year’s Creepy Cinema. I really enjoyed this film and I think a large part of that is because of Combs’ incredible acting.

4. Mad Monster Party (1967)
Words cannot express how much I adore this movie. It was a lot of fun to watch. It’s a stop motion comedy film that features all the classic monsters we all know and love. The film is about the gathering of said characters and the lure of total destruction. I’m a huge fan of old movies and this one didn’t fail to deliver that same sense of nostalgia.

I really enjoyed this movie and there was so much to love. It has that style of the 60s that anyone can appreciate. It’s campy and kitschy. All of the characters are incredibly designed. My favorite character was Felix, the only human in the entire film. He’s adorable and sounds a bit like Jimmy Stewart, who I adore. Although the love story with Francesca felt really forced. One minute she hates him and then he slaps her and she’s instantly in love. I don’t get it, but I guess that’s how women fell in love back then.

5. The ABC’s of Death (2012)

I thought that The Toxic Avenger was the worst movie this year, but I was sadly mistaken. Little did I know that the worse was yet to come. When Markus and I read the synopsis for this film, we thought that it would be a nice addition to the list. The film is a horror anthology directed by 26 different directors and spans the alphabet, exploring different words associated with death. According to the Internet, it was toted as a cult classic “in the making.”

I didn’t think that I would dislike this movie so much, but I did. It was so blasé that I had to stop watching in the middle. I think the main problem with this anthology film is that there were a few good shorts immersed in a sea of horrible ones. I just really didn’t like most of them, and I think the crux of the problem is that there were 26 shorts. That’s way too many. Most horror anthologies boast four or even 6 shorts, which is more than enough to deliver quality stories and great characters. I think The ABC’s of Death would have been better suited for an online horror short competition, not a full film.

6. C.H.U.D (1984)

This movie is one of those movies that you’ve heard of but have no idea what it’s about. Sometimes, it’s best to go into these movies not knowing anything because you don’t have preconceived notions. There were so many famous people in this movie and it was kind of surprising! This film is about strange, mutated, underground dwellers that eat and kill humans.

I thought C.H.U.D. was good, but it was really slow. The story is really interesting and the parts that were meant to be scary were just that. It just took forever to get to the point. I think that’s the thing about 80s movies. They really take their time explaining. The creatures themselves were really gross and I screamed a bit. Not as much as I did during Evil Dead, but it still had its moments.

7. Splinter (2008)

Again, Splinter is the kind of movie that I try avoid. It’s the epitome of a horror movie, and evokes so much anxiety. It doesn’t employ jump scares; the entire movie is just terrifying and really scares the junk out of you. This movie was a little known film that has become popular over the years on DVD and streaming. Splinter is your basic bottle movie that has a small cast and focuses on the paranoia and terror of something infecting and killing anyone in the vicinity...in a very horrific way of course.

When the movie starts, it hits the ground running, and it feels like it’s never going to stop. I spent the entire movie cringing and screaming. There were several moments when I had to close my eyes and plug my ears. I think this is the scariest movie we’ve seen in this year’s Creepy Cinema. It’s the kind of movie that traps it’s characters in a small space and pokes at them in horrible ways. I really enjoyed watching it, especially with friends, but I don’t think I could ever watch it again.