Psycho (1960)
HELLABRATION DELUXE! Thirty-One Days of SHOCKTOBER: Day Ten – 10/10/18
10/10 – 1996: SCREAM/FROM DUSK TILL DAWN
1996…It was a draw for me; too tough to narrow down the list of all the great flicks I had to choose from. I finally managed to whittle it down to two: SCREAM, and FROM DUSK TILL DAWN, and even then, I just couldn’t bring myself to choose between them. Both are as important and influential to the genre during this time, yet both are certainly unique: one redefined what fans had thought of the teen slasher genre, while the other took vampire lore to a whole new place unconsidered up to that point.
Legendary director WES CRAVEN had always been an innovator of modern horror, re-establishing himself in several sub-genres over the course of many decades. With LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT, THE HILLS HAVE EYES, A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET and THE SERPENT AND THE RAINBOW, he’d done things that most directors in the field never achieve over the course of their entire careers. So when he was looking for the next big thing, he wasn’t even considering sticking with horror, when he crossed paths with a brilliantly subversive script by DAWSON’S CREEK scribe KEVIN WILLIAMSON; a nicely-nasty little number called “SCARY MOVIE”, which was soon to beretitled…SCREAM.
Snarky, self-reverential, almost to the point of being a bit too “nudge-winky” at times, nevertheless, SCREAM never once forgot to bring the laughs, the scares AND the gore in ample supply. A slasher of teens begins to decimate the youth population of the little bedroom community of Woodsboro, but if that wasn’t bad enough, said killer seems to be every bit as smart as the “Scooby Gang wanna-be” group of horror-loving kids, who soon realize that their stalker not only knows the ‘rules of horror’ as well as – if not better than they do, and he’s not only using the playbook to take them out one-by-one, but he (or she?) is even bending and changing the rules! Much like Williamson’s TV creation, the cast couldn’t have been more suited as an
ensemble, even though the standout was DREW BARRYMORE, if only for the mere fact that she pulls a “Janet-Leigh-in-PSYCHO” on the audience in the first few moments of the film – a shock that has since become legendary, even though people still remember where the idea came from!
NEVE CAMPBELL, SKEET ULRICH, ROSE MCGOWAN, JAMIE KENNEDY, MATTHEW LILLARD, W. EARL BROWN, LIEV SCHREIBER, COURTNEY COX and DAVID ARQUETTE (who married and divorced over the course of the franchise); JOSEPH WHIPP (who could’ve been playing the same character from A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET – and probably was!), plus unexpected cameos from LINDA BLAIR and HENRY WINKLER going way out-of-typecasting as an asshole of a principal…It didn’t get any better than this! Plus Craven’s direction, with tongue firmly-in-cheek the entire time, could have you rolling your eyes and chuckling one minute, and yes, SCREAMING the next! This film helped usher in a new age, where the movie and the characters were as smart – if not smarter than the audience that eagerly made SCREAM a box office smash!
Meanwhile, thanks to buddy and sometime collaborator QUENTIN TARANTINO, cinematic ‘one-man-band’ ROBERT RODRIGUEZ was having fun playing “Dr. Frankenstein”, by smashing two unexpected sub-genres together, if not three: serial killers, true crime…and vampires. FROM DUSK TILL DAWN is the kind of film you never expect…until it bops you upside the head from seemingly out of nowhere!
The notorious Gecko brothers, handsome and sarcastic Seth (GEORGE CLOONEY) and ‘quiet, reserved’ Richard (no less than TARANTINO himself) are cutting a swath of robbery, assault and murder across the Southwest. The “murder” part of their spree is owed mostly to Richard, who just can’t curb his impulses to kill and rape people. Well, to be a bit more specific, he kills and rapes women – not the men, let’s be clear on that (as Richard would probably say himself.)
Their antics – but especially Richard’s body count – has made it necessary to hotfoot it South of the Border, and maybe lay low somewhere in Mexico, until things die down…If they do. Along the way, as they change vehicles, they hijack an RV and the vacationing family inside it and skip town.
The intent was to just keep on going until they reached their objective, but all that changes when they make a fateful detour to a truck stop on the way. But not just ANY truck stop: The “TITTY TWISTER.” A blood-and-guts dive that definitely lives up to its name…in more ways than one. And its hours of operation are…well, you know the title.
The bar has some of the most gorgeous dancing girls you ever saw, but they’re all woofers compared to the luscious, insanely beautiful main attraction, a hypnotic dancer who goes by the name of ‘SANTANICO PANDEMONIUM’. No one into women could possibly resist her, and all men should, as Seth and Richard quickly discover, along with the rest of the hapless ‘Twister’ patrons, when the girls, the bouncers, the bartenders, everyone who ‘works’ there, finally reveal their true faces. They’re all flesh-and-blood hungry vamps, and less the TWILIGHT variety than the FRIGHT NIGHT kind.
Rodriguez knew exactly what the fans wanted from Quentin’s script, and together, they sure gave it to us…stylish, sensual, sexy and soaked in red. And the Tarantino/Rodriguez combo attracted a cast that was instant boxoffice catnip, right down to the cameos: HARVEY KEITEL, JULIETTE LEWIS, FRED WILLIAMSON, TOM SAVINI; the stunning SALMA HAYEK as “SANTANICO”; everybody’s favorite badass, DANNY TREJO, plus CHEECH MARIN, MICHAEL PARKS, JOHN SAXON, KELLY PRESTON, MARC LAWRENCE; even a special appearance by Robert’s favorite “Hell House band”, TITO AND TARANTULA…Hell, you just knew that if he wasn’t already starring in it, Quentin would have probably directed this one, too!
The “Titty Twister” sequences – especially the gore-soaked fight scenes – are now a thing of legend, (check out Savini’s “special weapon” and the reason why his character’s nickname is “Sex Machine”!) and the closing shot is as breathtaking as any iconic final scene from the best and most unforgettable horror films, (I’d compare it for impact to the last shot of THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT; in fact, DAWN’S final shot is probably a tad better.)
But for thrills, chills and maximum blood spills, whether you’ve seen these movies a hundred times or not even once…you can’t go wrong with these choices for a monumentally successful Halloween Night of Frights!
Top Five Films to Watch in October (Part 10)
HISTORY OF HORROR: JUNE
By John Roisland & Woofer McWooferson
Join House of Tortured Souls as we celebrate significant dates in the history of horror in June.
June 1 – 7
06/01/1979
Phantasm released theatrically
06/04/1982
Poltergeist released theatrically
06/06/1949
Robert Englund (A Nightmare on Elm Street actor) born
06/06/2006
The Omen (remake) released theatrically
June 8 – 14
06/08/2007
Eli Roth’s Hostel Part II released
theatrically
06/09/1978
Damien: Omen II
released theatrically
06/10/1988
Poltergeist III released theatrically
06/10/1989
Tales from the Crypt premiers on TV
06/12/1968
Roman Polanski’s Rosemary’s Baby released theatrically
06/13/1946
Fictional mass
murderer
Jason Voorhees is born
June 15 – 21
06/15/1929
Herschell Gordon Lewis (Blood Feast, The Wizard of Gore) actor, filmmaker, and Godfather of Gore born
06/15/1948
Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein released theatrically
06/15/1990
Gremlins 2: The New Batch released theatrically
06/16/1960
Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho released theatrically
06/16/1978
Jaws 2 released theatrically
06/17/1927
Lucio Fulci
(The Beyond,
City of the Living Dead
writer, director) born
06/17/1977
Exorcist II: The Heretic released
theatrically
06/18/1971
Willard released
theatrically
06/18/2003
Haute Tension
released theatrically in France
06/19/1950
Daria Nicolodi (Dario Argento’s Opera actress) born
06/19/1964
The Twilight Zone original TV series ends its run
06/20/1975
Jaws released theatrically
06/21/1972
Frenzy released
theatrically
06/21/1985
Lifeforce released theatrically
June 22 – 28
06/22/1958
Bruce Campbell (The Evil Dead (1981), Army of Darkness actor) born
06/23/2001
Elvira’s Haunted Hills released
theatrically
06/24/2005
George A. Romero’s Land of the Dead released theatrically
06/25/1976
The Omen released theatrically
06/25/1982
John Carpenter’s The Thing released theatrically
06/26/1904
Peter Lorre (The Comedy of Terrors
actor) born
06/27/1966
Dark Shadows premiers on TV
06/28/2006
Blade: The Series premiers on TV
June 29 – 30
06/29/2005
War of the Worlds released theatrically
06/30/1959
Vincent D’Onofrio (The Cell actor) born
Keep it Evil
Geena Davis cast in small screen adaptation of classic The Exorcist
REMAKES: The Never Ending Battle
By John Roisland
For a few years now, more and more recently a huge topic has been a large debate amongst horror fans new and old, REMAKES! Now, I’m not hear to end any arguments, nor do I have the power to do so. But I am here to try to discuss this never ending battle between good and bad!
Such classic and iconic horror films have been remade:
Maniac, Psycho, The Omen, The Evil Dead, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Thing, Mother’s Day, The Last House On the Left, Halloween, A Nightmare On Elm Street, Fright Night, Carrie, Dawn of the Dead, I Spit On Your Grave, The Hills Have Eyes, The Fly, The Town That Dreaded Sundown, My Bloody Valentine, The Fog and the list goes on, and on and on, not to mention foreign films that are becoming bastardized by American film makers with Old Boy, The Ring, and coming soon Martyrs (which has been label by many as the best horror film ever!
All these films listed above, are pretty much all house hold horror names, which is why everyone kept asking the same one worded question: WHY!?
Some argue that some remakes are better than the originals. Maybe some of them are…I personally don’t think so, although there are those that with newer technology, and possibly a larger budget, that are presented as a better film. But my issue is wheres the artistic value in remaking something that someone else has already put their name on.
Some directors claim they love the original film and wanted to share their vision of how they saw it. Case in point is Rob Zombie’s remake of John Carpenter’s classic Halloween; of which Zombie said he wouldn’t make the film without Carpenter’s blessing. Well he got it, and the film made boo-coo bucks at the box office, and has seemingly made its own new Halloween franchise. Some it seems to jump on to a known franchise just to make a few dollars off of a sure thing. Others sadly seem to be to afraid to show the world their own original visions of horror to the big screen, so they hide behind someone else’s work, and do a remake.
My own personal favorite The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, done and redone…supposedly done again. I’ve actually lost track of what was called a remake, and what was called a continuation. But some I’ve enjoyed…others I was ashamed and almost embarrassed to say it was part of the franchise. But that’s only my opinion.
I can’t say I welcome a remake with open arms, as I would much rather watch something original but some I have enjoyed and have appreciated their views and their concepts. A few I have thought were actually good enough to have stood as its own film, if not having been a remake. Which is a shame, because imagine what it could have been if it was an original. Others fall far from even crossing the finish line.
A few remakes I have enjoyed and I have almost been ridiculed for some, such as A Nightmare On Elm Street. When the remake came out in 2010, I enjoyed a more serious approach to the film, and loved Jackie Earle Haley’s portrayal as Freddy Krueger, not saying anything bad against Robert Englund, Just thought Haley’s approach to the role was scarier and less comedic. Something I enjoyed…but again, that’s just my opinion, and I suffered greatly for it.
While with others, some have agreed with me. 2013 Evil Dead remake, while the original is a true cult classic, many have felt that the remake was an incredible horror film, one that could have been its own, and was also a huge success at the box office.
This is a discussion that will carry on for years. It’s like figuring out who has the better pizza: New York or Chicago. It will never end, and those who are putting their artistic vision in a remake… don’t. We want your original thoughts, your dreams, your NIGHTMARES!
A remake, to me, is just about the money. No matter how many, and how big the names are that you get to star in them, it’s still a remake, its still someone else’s original work. It can be good or it can be bad, but the horror community is a very close, very tight knit family and are very loyal…make a bad movie, they will respect you more, because its yours!
…But this is just one guy’s opinion.
Keep it Evil…