So what did I see? Hmmm... this is all I've got. I've posted trailers for some of them, but if you have any interest in seeing the movies I'd shy away. Trailers give away too much.
1) Best Horror Film - The Descent - Trailer -
A good horror film takes you to a place you don't want to go and shows you things you're not really in the mood to see. The Descent, a UK flick from 2006, starts with a woman losing her family and then works its way down -literally. Most of the action involves spelunking. There are some heavy themes, but it’s a nice change - they people don’t go crazy, they don’t break into rival factions, and they don’t split up to ‘investigate that noise’ one by one.
The focus of the movie is the main character and her attempts to recover. She’s trying to reconnect with her remaining friends. She’s hurting. She’s doing something she used to enjoy, but even that’s going wrong. It’s probably my favorite horror film because I care about these people.
2) Best Psychological Thriller - Bug
Ashely Judd is someone I often give crap to, so every once in a while -when I sober up - I remember how fearless she was in this film. Not every actress is willing to be photographed looking their worst, and it probably forgives her for every half baked movie she’s done. Michael Shannon, pre-Revolutionary Road, works wonders. He's a nobody, a drifter, a friend of her friend - but he's not creepy. They meet while partying and just stay up talking.
So they hang out again. They share secrets. They're people with problems, they're broken, but they connect. It's refreshing to see the front end of a meet-and-greet not cluttered with the obvious romance, or a thriller not about odd fetishes or privately stalking one another. There’s no twist ending. Everything builds.
You’ve really got to watch it in one sitting, uninterrupted. It start slow, but it needs to. That's how it goes when big things happen to normal people.
(pish-posh on that trailer, it keeps calling this film Horror)
3) Best Scary Soundtrack Score - Silent Hill / The Thing
I think an overly loud, pounding score takes away from what's scary. The new Friday the 13th remake had an amazing first twenty minutes. After the opening credits, it faltered. Every shock, scare, kill, and tease was punctuated by drums. It killed the suspense.
A good score should echo what’s on screen, and point out what I may not be seeing. If the killer’s running down a hall, then by all means use loud music. But until you break into a full on sprint, I want it to be a mystery about what’s going to happen. Both these scores have moments where nothing at all happens – I KNOW nothing is going to happen – and I still get scared.
The Thing (Theme)
4) Best Screen Slashing Villain – ‘The Masked Killer’ from Scream
Call me old fashion, but the ‘best’ screen slasher shouldn’t have supernatural powers. So that knocks my constant front runner Jason Vorhees off the list. He’s died and come back so many times it’s cheap, and it’s not fair to be pitted against a slasher unless you know they’re going to stay dead. Same goes for Freddy Krueger. He’s scary, but he’s not a slasher.
For me, it’s the first Scream movie. They lampoon an already tired genre, and it’s done well. The killer gives us creative deaths, playful dialogue, and gives us a proper mystery of whodunit proportions. Best of all, when it’s over the explanation is bullshit.
Slasher killers need to be crazy, and there’s no denying a proper lack of motivation in this one. Sure other films may offer better kills, but their killer is weighed down with motive: “Your forefathers killed my parents by kicking them off this land.” A slasher film killer should be the exact opposite of a well written character. It's technique alone that's appealing...
So that's all I got. How about you? Sound off below.
First of all, I want to reiterate how much I thoroughly enjoyed your thorough and enjoyable blog here Matt! You made my night, perhaps my week, maybe even my entire Halloween season in writing this piece! Second, I want you to know that "Scream" will always hold a special place in my heart up until the day it is SLICED AND DICED! Third, my tastes in movies are very mainstream as I am but a mere novice in the horror film category and have much to learn. I shall humbly try to follow in your footsteps, oh wise one, although I have much catching up to do.
ReplyDelete1. Best Horror Film - "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" of 2003. I was so terrified after seeing that movie in the theater that I couldn't move! Actually, that’s a lie because my body was physically reacting to showcase the fear that had surmounted in its every cell. I had goose bumps, I was shaking, I couldn't stay still! Plus, I had to keep making sure I had all my limbs, fingernails, and facial features in tact. And that no hunchbacked creature in a burlap sack was hiding in my meat locker.
2. Best Psychological Thriller - "The Silence of the Lambs." Again, the Leatherface story is told in a different version but this one is of sheer intellectual genius. Dr. Hannibal Lector not only holds my greatest fear but he earns my greatest respect and every time I watch this movie, I fall deeper and deeper in love with him for despite his inherent evil, he is a god of elegant sophistication, minus the fava beans and a nice cianti, fuh-fuh-fuh-fuh-fuh. Buffalo Bill's dance moves and front door questioning of "Uhh wait, was she a great big, fat person?" are among my favorite scenes of all-time. The entire script, plot, and character creation – OH it's no wonder why it won "Best Picture!" I would go on about it longer but.... I'm having an old friend for dinner...
3. Best Scary Soundtrack Score – One of the most enjoyable experiences in high school was rolling up to a party really slowly with the headlights off and blaring the "Halloween" theme BUT the award must go to "Psycho" because the symphonic masterpiece that is mistro'ed – from the crescendo coordinated via violins backgrounding the Bates Motel to the staccato of climax during the legendary shower stabbing scene and then to the rapidly reared rhythm of the fade-out blood down the drain to a dark silence – well, the entire piece made for far more than just a classical classic. Without even seeing the movie, one could witness the murder by just listening to that musical number.
4. Best Screen Slashing Villain – Joe Doe played by Kevin Spacey in "Seven." Here we have a very troubled, delusional, and ruthless serial killer on one hand, but conversely a conscience-driven prophet trying to deliver a message on the other hand. Detectives Mills and Somerset actually discuss this contradicting personality type in the movie and it causes you to wonder how similar the roots of good and the roots of evil might be, in fact are they intertwined? I don’t know but I like the way Joe Doe makes you think. Also, while I hate to complement a murder because I would hope I am far from an expert in this subject, the killings in “Seven” are so creative – turning the sinner's sins against the sinner. Plus, the finale in which the killer has himself killed for his sin - that was one of the most original plot twists to ever come out of a Hollywood horror.
And with that, I must go check my closet and under my bed for what will be the eightieth time this evening… AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! HAPPY HALLOWEEN!