Stephen King
Carrie is the first film based on a Stephen King novel, and it was based on his first novel. At some point in life I caught some glimpses of it on TV and decided it was not for me. It's a classic though, so I thought I'd give it a chance, and I was blown away! I've watched a lot of De Palma since I started this project a year, ago, and this one may just take the cake.
Misery is a 1990 film directed by Rob Reiner starring Kathy Bates and James Caan, and based on a Stephen King book. It's pretty good. Richard Farnsworth's rural sheriff is delightful. I have a few other notes: Bates overacts, Caan can't act at all, and King is such a narcissist.
John Carpenter
Halloween is a classic in the slasher genre but I found it a bit hokey.
In the Mouth of Madness is a pulpty Stephen King-esque delight starring Sam Neill with a mind-bending story and super fun special effects. It has so much fun exploring horror, without really being scary.
Modern horror
Get Out is a horror film by Jordan Peele that I've heard nothing but praise for, so I gave it a shot. I think it does a lot, and I think everything it's doing works—the tension, the humor, the way it and its performances evolve over time—great. Its ingenious. It's from 2017, and that's 9 years ago, but still "modern" to me.
The Substance is an unhinged and incredibly entertaining body horror starring Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley. It's amazing to look at and full of ponderous ideas about sex, age, identity, and culture. It made me think of several other films, and I think that's intentional. It's horrifying in ways that had me physically squirming. It's even funny. Big recommend for horror fans.
Sinners is a lot of things, and I'm not sure they coalesce as well as I'd like, but I couldn't take my eyes off it.
Universal Monsters
Last year I watched a few classic Universal monsters movies, and I wanted to follow up this season.
There's a reason Dracula is a classic. The marquee feature here is Bela Lugosi's iconic performance as Count Dracula, but the other characters are great, and the sets and eerie atmosphere are notable too. This film is great fun.
In The Mummy Boris Karloff spooks as the titular monster. I loved the sets and the atmosphere in this one, as well as the creature design, but I didn't find it as compelling as Dracula.
Other classic Horror I missed
I wanted to cover some notable titles this month; I needed to amend not having seen such cultural touchstones as Dracula, Carrie, and Halloween. But each of those fell into another category for this post, leaving just a couple of classic horror films to fall into this miscellaneous classics category.
Rosemary's Baby is a brilliantly crafted film. My usual policy is to give as little information as possible about media because I consider the journey of discovery to be paramount to my own enjoyment. So I want to say nothing more than that this is a must-watch horror film.
Poltergeist was written and produced by Steven Spielberg, and at times it feels like it was directed by him. I liked this one. It's warm, and funny, and good spooky fun.
Lewton and Tourneur
Following the success of Universal's monster movies, RKO paid producer Val Lewton to create low budget horror movies corresponding to whatever titles they fed him. Literally, they were like "Make a movie we can call 'Cat People', because we think it sounds good." He worked with director Jacques Tourneur on both of the following films.
Cat People is a strange horror picture about an immigrant woman who fears she is cursed to transform into a predatory cat if she gives in to passion, which is not great for her considering she is in love. It's kooky and great to look at, but left me wanting.
I Walked with a Zombie is odd too. It's hard to imagine how the studio thought these films would fit in the same niche as Frankenstein or Dracula. It does features some striking imagery and music.
Misc horror
Tucker and Dale vs. Evil is an unexpectedly canny horror comedy. I can see myself rewatching it in a few years for a silly time. And I'd like to find more horror comedy films. I need more silly times.
Altered States is a trippy metaphysical horror. It has its strengths, for sure, but I always think I'm going to like a movie like this, and then often I'm underwelmed.
Dead Ringers is a David Cronenberg film with a great double-performance by Jeremy Irons. A weird movie that kept me hooked.
Kill Baby, Kill is a gothic horror by Mario Bava. I've been curious about his other films since seeing Blood and Black Lace last year as a part of my introduction to giallo. Like that film, this one features rich color and dynamic compositions. Both films are a little hard to understand.
This month the Criterion Channel put up a collection called "Scary Sexy: 6 Films by Jean Rollin". I'd never heard of the filmmaker but it sounded fun so I started with Requiem for a Vampire. I could tell from the first shot of the movie that it would have low production value. In time it revealed itself to be a supernatural sexploitation film. Not what I was expecting, and ultimately not for me, but I can say there are some striking images and music in it. Recommended for lonely men with nothing left to lose but their dignity.
Rewatches
Silent Hill is a rewatch. I probably last saw it 15 years ago. It scratches some kind of itch for me. The horror that the hellish fantasy of one's nightmares is as real and potent as our own world, biding time until it can consume us. This was the only movie I watched for this project that gave me chills.
I have a freshly-minted thirteen year-old, and I treat each birthday as an opportunity for opening more of the canon. The Matrix was at the top of the list for this milestone for some reason. It's not horror, so it doesn't fit this month's theme. But the milestone was right. The movie does exactly what I love: throws you in the deep end and gives you a lot of exciting things to look at as you progress toward understanding. The visual effects still impress today.
Psycho, for me, is one of the most classic of classic movies. It's the first Hitchcock I've shown my son, which was a special milestone!
The Descent is one of my favorite horror movies. It scares on multiple levels, from the setting, to the overt horror, to the psychological. It keeps the viewer engaged by doing some things through inference and allowing for interpretation. It looks great and it's tightly written and edited. I got the feeling that nothing I've shared with my teen has scared him, so I decided to run this one past him. Didn't seem to phase him except for the jump scares.
The Mummy (1999) is an action adventure movie starring the charismatic Brendan Fraser. It also stars Rachel Weisz, and as a kid, this film was responsible for my crush on her. It loosely remakes the original Mummy film, which I can now see, having just viewed it this month! It's a silly, fun, popcorn movie which I shared with my kids.
Misc
M is a crime thriller directed by Fritz Lang and starring Peter Lorre. It's about a serial killing, but isn't really a horror film. Still, I thought it appropriate for this month's project. I'm often surprised at the high level that filmmakers were working already in the 30s, and this film was no exception. I recommend it for your 30s movies education!
Topper is a Cary Grant picture in the vein of Blithe Spirit or I Married A Witch. The meddling of some ghosts makes the titular character's life worse, but better? Constance Bennett is bewitching in this.
Triangle of Sadness is a striking and stylish 2022 black comedy. It evolves in such unexpected ways. Wild ride.
I enjoyed season two of Dan Da Dan, but not nearly as much as I did the first season.
