Creepy Cinema 2012 | Week 5

It's finally here, the final week of Creepy Cinema 2012. I never thought I would ever reach this day. I've learned a lot of new things after spending the month of October devoted to scary movies. I realized that anything scares me. It doesn't matter if it's just a cat running across the screen, a few scary notes or an actual monster, I'm frightened. Also, I learned that my actual scream is scarier than the films themselves. Markus told me many times that I get scared too easily, and when I yell, it scares him more than the actual movie.

1. Grabbers (2012)
This is meant to be a horror comedy in the same vain as Shaun of the Dead. I was sorely disappointed with Grabbers.  It was neither funny nor scary. There were a few funny lines and a few scary bits, but nothing too extraordinary. Once they showed us the creature, which was early on, it took away the mystery of the unknown. I think that's what's great about movies like Alien and The Thing. They both have this terrible monster, but they slowly reveal it to you, and they keep you in suspense which adds to the terror that you feel. When movies show the monster right away, you feel less invested and just want to get to the conclusion.

Grabbers is an Irish film and was produced by the Irish Film Board and I think that they had a huge part in the look of the film. There were so many sweeping shots of beautiful Irish landscapes, which was the best part of the movie by the way. Ireland is absolutely stunning and gorgeous, and the only feeling I had at the end of the film was an extreme desire to visit Ireland.

2. Let Me In (2010)
I'm so glad that we waited to watch this the last week of Creepy Cinema 2012. Let Me In is an innocent and moving film with a beautifully written story. It was such a well crafted story that really resonated with me. The main character, Owen, is a young boy, who is living each day as it comes. He's awkward, he's bullied and he's lonely. He's searching for someone to understand him, to accept him and this is something that everyone can relate to. 

There is a darkness to this story but it is peppered with sweetness and innocence. The two lead actors are so believable, and really made me feel for their characters. Chloe Moretz is such a great actress and she's so young. She really captured the emotion of a young girl that is caught between being a child but also a terrible monster. Even when she was doing terrible things, I still couldn't help but pity her. I felt as though it truly wasn't her fault for being what she was, and that she had no choice. This film really humanized the "monster," and made me feel nothing but empathy. 

3. Devil's Backbone (2001)
This is a Spanish film that was directed by Guillermo del Toro. Usually, I like his films, they aren't my favorites, but he they're always enjoyable. They always have a certain look to them. They're always chock full of fantastical creatures and curious oddities. Visually, his movies are always stunning and unlike anything out there.

Devil's Backbone didn't have the stunning visuals that I'm accustom to in a Guillermo del Toro film, but it still had that touch of the supernatural and creepy. It's set during the Spanish Civil War in a boy's orphanage. The orphanage is haunted by one of the previous orphans who passed away through unknown causes. The story itself is quite interesting and a bit of a mystery. It didn't take long to figure it all out and after about an hour, the movie drags. I think if the running time was cut by 30-45 minutes, this could've been an amazingly tight and touching film. Instead, it's a Spanish ghost story that runs on too long and gets a bit boring for my taste

Well, that completes Creepy Cinema 2012. I surprised myself because I genuinely enjoyed this month. I liked a lot of the movies we watched and found some new favorites. It was exciting to be able to see how my other half lives. Now, I understand why Markus enjoys these kinds of movies and I might be more open to watching more films like these apart from Creepy Cinema month. Although, currently I don't know how much more my nerves can take.  

Introduction, Week 1, Week 2, Week 3, Week 4, Hotties of Creepy Cinema

Creepy Cinema 2012 | Week 4

I really enjoyed this week of Creepy Cinema, almost every movie was a winner. There were a few duds, but the other movies were so good, I almost forgot about the bad ones. We watched some old favorites and saw two of the scariest movies I've seen thus far.

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

Creepy Cinema 2012 | Week 3

I was right, Markus saved the scary movies for the end of this month. This week, I saw quite possibly one of the best movies I've ever seen and some of the scariest. It was definitely a week of ups and downs, but still exciting nonetheless.

1. The House on Haunted Hill (1959)
When I was in high school, I went to see the remake of this movie. I don't know what I was thinking, I must've been mad. I think it was because some of the popular girls asked me to go with them and I wanted to look cool. The stupid things we do to impress people. So, I distinctly remember going, watching the opening and freaking out. I was horrified. The remake took place in an insane asylum and was scary as heck. I was so freaked out that I pretended that my mom called me to come home and left 20 minutes into the movie. I just couldn't handle it. 

When Markus told me he put this movie on the list, I was terrified to watch it because of the remake. The star of the original version is Vincent Price, who is quite amazing. Thankfully this 1959 classic was a lot less frightening than the remake, and actually quite good. The sets were really beautiful, the acting was fantastic and I loved the vintage feel of it. I screamed at a lot of the jump scares of a creepy old hag, but there were also a lot of laughs at some of the cheap special effects. My favorite bit was the walking skeleton. I mean how many times do you see that?

2. Psycho(1960)
There are so many reasons why I love Psycho. It's such an iconic movie and it's impossible to be oblivious to the ending. Going into this movie, I literally knew everything there was to know. I knew all the major plot points, I knew the twist, but it did not stop me from loving it. Alfred Hitchcock was a fantastic filmmaker. I love many of his other films like North by Northwest and To Catch a Thief. It's no wonder that he's known as one of the best filmmakers in Hollywood history.

Psycho is my favorite film we've watched so far. It wasn't what I was expecting and I think that made me love it even more. This film is beautiful and well made. The sets and costumes are so iconic of the 60s. All the actors in this film were superb, and really made me feel for their characters. The lack of distinction between good and bad among the protagonists delivers a fantastic humanizing effect that makes you sympathize with all of them. Anthony Perkins, who plays Norman Bates, surprised me the most. Who knew that behind the innocent face of Norman Bates lay one of the greatest "monsters" in cinema history? It was the last thing I expected and made the film even more amazing. I expected to be bored and hate the film, but the complete opposite happened. Psycho is probably one of my favorite films of all time. 

3. Jaws (1975)
As I stated before, when we watched The Creature from the Black Lagoon, I have a huge fear of water. That being said I never thought that I would have something in common with Chief Brody, the main protagonist of Jaws. His water phobia, exactly like mine, stems from a traumatic childhood experience of almost drowning. As the years have gone by, I've gotten over it, but I still don't like large bodies of water. They freak me out. I thought watching the girl swim in the lagoon was bad, but this was much worse.

Everyone knows the deep, menacing notes of the Jaws theme. It practically evokes images of a bloody shark attack, and being attacked by a shark is another one of my biggest fears. So as soon as the first two notes of this theme sounded, I lost it. I really didn't enjoy this movie as much as I thought I would, and I think it just had a lot to do with my phobias. Also the pacing was slow, and I couldn't understand 80% of what Quinn, the boat captain, was saying. Maybe it's just me, but this just didn't float my boat.

4. Monster Squad (1987) 
I've never heard of this movie before, and I'm kinda sad I never watched it as a kid. It's a mix of The Goonies and all the classic Universal Monster Films. I'm surprised at how much these 80s movies got away with. The Witches had some terrifying makeup, but this movie had actual monsters being killed, and the kids did the killing. I guess that's why it's a cult classic.

There's a lot to like about this movie. It had everything that you could ask for in an 80s movie: an interesting, kid-friendly plot, a rag tag group of misfits that cause a lot of trouble, an awesome montage that doesn't make much sense and a sweet rap theme song. It reminded me of my childhood, when adventure could happen right in your own neighborhood. It was like stepping into a time machine and reliving the good ol' days.

5. Alien (1979)
This freaking movie. Of all the movies we've watched so far, this iconic sci-fi horror was the scariest. I spent half of the movie screaming, even when nothing scary was happening. Just knowing that something horrible could happen put my nerves on end. I kept screaming even when people were just running onto screen. Not cool, Alien. Not cool at all. 

This was my first taste of the Alien franchise. This is another movie where it is impossible to avoid knowing plot points. I've never seen any of the movies in this quadrilogy, and my limited knowledge all came from popular culture. Despite this, it still managed to scare the heck out of me. This summer I watched Prometheus and even though, it's not an official prequel, it was the perfect set-up for Alien. There were so many connections, and I could finally see the consequences of people's actions in Prometheus.  I think Alien was a great scary movie. I don't ever want to watch it again, and it's not my favorite movie, but it gets the job done. Markus best described it when he said, "It's basically a haunted house in space." He's absolutely correct, and Alien was terrifying.

6. Sleepy Hollow (1999) 
As I've said before, I'm a fan of many of Tim Burton's films and I love Sleepy Hollow. I do feel like this film is Tim Burton at his best. There's enough macabre and gore, but the story is also tightly written and keeps you guessing til the end. Often, I've re-watched this film over the years and even though I know the story and how it ends, it always sucks me in. I always stop whatever I'm doing and watch it in it's entirety. Not many films do that for me.

The look of the film is amazing and is to be expected of Tim Burton. No matter how horrible the story or plot line, you can be guaranteed the movie will look completely stylized and eerie. The acting in this film is also great. I forgot how awesome Johnny Depp is in this movie. Lately, he's been cast in some mediocre movies, but in Sleepy Hollow he's so fantastic. He's uptight, pragmatic, romantic, and silly. I'm glad I was able to talk Markus into putting this on the list, because after Alien, I needed a bit of Johnny Depp in my life.

7. Trick 'r Treat (2008)
I didn't expect to like this movie at all, but I did. I'd never even heard about it before this month, and knew nothing about it. Markus explained that it's basically an anthology of creepy Halloween stories. The film takes place on Halloween night in a small American town, where we follow 4 different plot lines. I thought they would be cute little tongue in cheek stories, nothing too scary or gory. I was wrong.

This movie was surprisingly suspenseful and quite bloody. Markus and I also thought the stories would be told in succession, but all the stories were told at once, intertwining into one another. I think this was a great way to make it feel like a movie and not a bunch of self-contained short stories. Also, the stories were very interesting and unpredictable. Every single story had a bit of a twist and didn't end exactly the way you would think. It was great finally watching a movie that I couldn't predict. 

Introduction, Week 1, Week 2, Week 4, Week 5, Hotties of Creepy Cinema

Wandering Wednesdays│Prague, Czech Republic 2007 | 2 of 2

There was so much to see in Prague and after 13 days, we felt more like locals than tourists. As I said before, our Prague trip was unlike any trips we've been on before or since. We became like residents of the city. I don't even know how many times we walked across Charles Bridge, it must have been over 20 times. During the day it's beautiful and full of people, but at night it can be a bit creepy. There are 30 statues that line the bridge and at night, it's like a ghost town, not a soul in sight. Seeing the silhouettes of the statues is really eerie.

Prague is such a hauntingly beautiful city and while I was doing research, I read that it's also one of the most haunted cities in Europe. This definitely excited Markus, but freaked me out a bit. If you're a reader of my blog, you know I can't handle scary things, so the thought of being in a city full of ghosts for 13 days was not my ideal trip, but I deep down I was a bit excited. I didn't want to spend our trip looking for ghosts, but I did want to give Markus the opportunity to have one night. We decided to go on a ghost walk and tour through Old Town. 

We picked the tour that we liked the most and read online that we had to meet at night in Old Town Square near the Astronomical clock. I remember that it was really cold that night. We went in November so it was almost winter. Markus and I waited for about an hour and no one ever showed up. Words can't even describe how disappointed we felt. It was one of our last nights, so we never had the opportunity to go again. I felt really bad for Markus, all he wanted was to see some ghosts and I couldn't make that happen. We had to settle for walking down Charles Bridge late at night, which for me was scary enough.

Prague 1 of 2

Creepy Cinema 2012 | Week 1

For the first week of Creepy Cinema 2012, Markus and I tried to watch mildly scary movies only to build up to the scariest ones later in the month. It was a mixture of horror classics, cult classics and modern horror. Surprisingly, I enjoyed most of the movies and wasn't as scared as I thought I would be. I guess Markus is just holding back to really scare me later.

 
1. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920)
This was the first film we watched and I think it was best to get it out of the way early. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari is an extremely old movie and my first real silent movie. 

Dr. Caligari was interesting but the pacing was very slow. I had to throw out my current cinema standards and try to appreciate the movie for it's time period. The story kept the movie going, but I guessed the surprise twist within 20 minutes of watching. Despite this, the movie is quite eerie and visually stunning. I've never seen anything like it. It's as if the entire movie was filmed in the mind of a psychotic person. The hallways and doors are at weird angles and have weird shapes. Since the movie is from the 1920s it already has a creepy effect. Everything seems a bit disjointed, like parts of the film were taped together and resulted in weird skipping. This effect added to the overall creepiness and held my attention entire the time.

2. Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954)
I usually love movies from this time period. Growing up, I watched a lot of Turner Classic Movies with my mom, so I can appreciate old movies.

I really liked this movie. It actually wasn't scary at all. I expected a bit more, but I still enjoyed watching this classic monster movie. The setting was oddly familiar, it looked like the swamps of the Everglades in Florida. The lead actress had amazing clothes and I found myself lusting after all her outfits. Her trademark white bathing suit was beautiful. The relationship between the leads did feel a bit forced and out of place and sometimes felt more like a romance movie than a monster movie. Also, why must all women in these movies make stupid decisions? Yes, I'll go swimming in a lagoon with a Creature, while all the men are inside the boat.

The Creature's costume was incredible. I can't believe the actor wore the costume and swam underwater for long periods of time. His odd swimming style added to the creature's creepiness. Personally, I tend to freak out when I'm in any body of water. I always think that there is something swimming beneath me. This movie only further proved that I'm right. I have a reason to fear the water.

3. Dracula (1931) 
I've always been a fan of vampires, ever since I read Dracula in middle school. Recently, I've strayed a bit from vampires because they've become a bit too cheesy in the past ten years. Buffy the Vampire Slayer used to be my favorite TV show in high school and that was the kind of cheesy I could handle, not this new breed of vampire. These days vampires are trying to be dark and mysterious and just coming off like tools. I'm looking at you, Edward Cullen.

It was nice to finally see this classic vampire film. I've never seen any film starring Bela Lugosi, I only saw a fictionalized version of him in Ed Wood. It was great seeing his portrayal of Count Dracula. The stares that he gave throughout the movie were so intense and menacing. He definitely looked like an ancient vampire, not a boy who looks constipated...again I'm looking at you Edward. Although Dwight Frye, the actor that plays Renfield, delivered a comparable performance to Lugosi's Dracula. He was the true creep, and his transformation from a gentleman to a psychopath was incredible. Again this movie wasn't that scary, but there was so much to love and I really enjoyed it.

4. The Changeling (1980)
This was our first ghost movie and  these are the kinds of movies that scare me the most. I can deal with monsters, but freaky, transparent, angry ghosts? Oh heck no. That's the stuff of nightmares. I know a few people that have had real experiences with ghosts and the fact that some weird creepy demonic stuff exists in this world freaks me out, and I was prepared to spend most of the movie under the covers.

So was The Changeling good? No. Was it scary? Not really. Did I get scared at times? Yes. Yes, I did. Could it have been better? Yes, a thousand times yes.

There were genuine moments when I covered my eyes with my hands and couldn't look, but after an hour or so, I realized that it wasn't scary, just a bit eerie. There were moments when the ghost terrorized the lead, but it was just a lot of smoke and mirrors. He didn't really terrorize him like I expected him to, just a lot of childish pranks. The most annoying part was the ghost child's constant whining. I didn't feel like I was watching a scary movie.  I felt like I was teaching a class of whiny students at the library. Which is surprisingly more scary than this movie.

5. Rosemary's Baby (1968)
Rosemary's Baby was the movie that I was expecting to be really scary. This movie is on so many top ten lists and has a 98% on Rotten Tomatoes. My expectations were high. About an hour into the film, I knew that I was going to be sorely disappointed. Not once did I cover my eyes or shrink in fear. Again, I guessed the plot quickly into the movie and we agreed to fast forward through the boring bits, which were frequent.

I think the director was trying to go for an artistic and creative way of telling a horror story. There weren't that many scary moments, not even creepy. Mia Farrow was amazing in the movie, she was the only saving grace, but the rest of the film was disappointing. I felt at 2 hours, the running time was too long and could've been cut down to at least an hour and half. The only bit that was a bit frightening happened in the last 20 minutes and by then, I was over Rosemary and her baby.

6. The Witches (1990)
I remember watching this movie when I was a kid and being absolutely terrified. This movie is based off of a novel by one of my favorite authors of all time, Roald Dahl. As I've gotten older, I've realized that movies that I watched as a child haven't really stood the test of time. There have been a few movies that I remember loving and then re-watch them as an adult and have a completely different experience. Only a few movies have withstood the test of time and are constant favorites, The Princess Bride and Edward Scissorhands, the latter we'll be watching later this month!

The Witches, I'm happy to say, was still a gem. It didn't drag and the Grand High Witch was still terrifying. I remember screaming so loudly as a child when they revealed what she really looked like. I was always on the look out for witches after seeing her transformation. The Jim Henson Company did an amazing job with the puppetry and make-up. I actually can't believe that the creators of this film got away with some of the costumes because they utterly terrifying. It was great reliving those feelings of when I was a child and knowing as an adult I had every reason to be scared.

7. The Frighteners (1996)
I've actually never heard of this movie before. Markus always talks about it and how its highly underrated. He loves Michael J. Fox and even more than him, he loves Peter Jackson. It seems like this movie is made for him. Of all the movies this week, I was most excited about this one. A movie with Michael J. Fox? It's Marty McFly. I can watch anything with him in it, even Doc Hollywood.

After watching The Frighteners, I could see why Markus loves it. It's a great movie. The story is very refreshing and there aren't many movies like it. The visuals are very good for when it was released. There were even a few moments that I squealed a bit, even though it's more of a horror comedy. I loved the look of this movie too. It had a bit of a vintage vibe to it. There were old houses and creepy old women. The acting was great. Michael J. Fox was, of course, amazing but so were the other actors. The antagonist was a major creep and totally believable as the villain. I'm so happy we ended the first week with this movie, because it was my favorite of all the films this week.

*Credits*
Skull graphic: The Graphics Fairy

Introduction, Week 2, Week 3, Week 4, Week 5, Hotties of Creepy Cinema