October Horror Movie Challenge: Day 7

Today was the first day I've really felt like not watching things. Oops. I can't help it that I have things to do! Either way, I still worked through three films but it was not entirely pleasant. Ah well.

The first thing I watched was The Fog because I had no clue if I'd actually seen it before. I know I have seen one version, but was it the original or the remake? Unless the remake is a scene by scene copy then it was indeed the 1980 version that I'd already viewed. Well, it's not a big problem since it features Jamie Lee Curtis, who is always worth watching.

It was much creepier than I expected. Just something about staying out of the fog lest the weird ghost pirates would come and get you was really cool. They were creepy and the fog was glowy and moving unnaturally and it was a blast. I'm glad I saw it again as the first time it was not given the attention it deserved.

Then I watched two documentaries. The first was Zombie Girl. I think it's a fine doc but the girl was kind of pleasing as well as repulsive. I don't know. She was obviously just a happy kid but it was hard to feel glad about what she was doing when you could see her mother struggling to keep up with all these demands. It's one thing to tell a kid "you can do anything" but then to front the expensive costs to make it happen? You can help with giving them a camera, or letting them download a video program, or even maybe buying some books on the subject matter... but totally letting your child run wild with money for extras and props and whatever else? Seems a bit overwhelming.

After that I checked out American Scary. Nice documentary about television horror hosts. It made me wish there was more spoken about Vampira or Elvira. Honestly there should be documentaries about each of these women, if there aren't already. I've never searched so how would I know? Either way, it seems great and just totally worth learning more about. I unfortunately have seen very little of either although a local access channel here has their own take on an Elvira-like character.

Dressed to Kill

Year: 1980
Director: Brian De Palma
Writer: Brian De Palma
Genre: Thriller, Slasher

In a weird way I both highly enjoyed this movie and felt let down by it. No, I didn't go into Dressed to Kill with high expectations or any at all. I watched a few seconds of the trailer before feeling that it would reveal too much so I closed it. This was probably for the best, although I have a sneaking suspicion that the trailer wouldn't have actually revealed much of the content either.

It's kind of hard to write about the film without spoiling a major plot point as well, although I figure that probably most people were long since aware of it. I'm just really out of the circle of De Palma. As such, I'm going to discuss everything.

For the introductory part of the film we're set with our keen eyes on a seductress who is also a mother. She seems to navigate both these planes rather well, although her personal marriage suffers. She speaks to her therapist about such things before going off on another man hunt. Unfortunately for her, after her rendezvous she is killed by a woman in an elevator. It's not immediately at the start of the film and pulls the rug out from right under you. If you were ever surprised by the switch in Psycho, that's how I felt here.

It was all going very well too until the manner of the killer came to the table. The killer was a "transsexual" to use the terminology of the film. I say it this way because the term has mostly gone out of vogue to describe such conditions of body dysphoria. Either way, the transwoman character, Bobbi, is fingered as the one who committed the murder. As it goes on you do find this to be true.

At first I thought that it was going to be some sort of flip flop situation where the trans patient was actually the hero of the story. No such luck. However, there was still an interesting twist tot he matter which was that Bobbi was actually the alternate personality of the therapist himself. Or rather, whenever his masculine self was brought forth, Bobbi would come out to shove it back away. That was interesting enough but it didn't matter because it still disappointed me.

I'm tired of seeing movies where the killer is trans. While I think this was a bit more intersting use of the whole thing, it still reeked of the idea that transpeople are so mentally unstable that they just become psychotic killers. Of course, this is no more true of this segment of the population than anyone else out there. I'm sure a more clever killer could have been devised, and this was at least an attempt at something different. I also enjoyed that near the end the characters discuss some trans facts without getting all grossed out. Although, it was a shame to see that they still assumed that every person with this condition must undergo surgeries to feel complete. But this was the 80s so I'll cut them all some slack.

As a film, it was wholly watchable and captivating. I was a little disappointed overall with the murderer but really if you can get past that then this seems like another De Palma classic.

Silent Scream

Year: 1980
Director: Denny Harris
Writer: Ken Wheat, Jim Wheat
Genre: Horror: Slasher

With a name like Silent Scream, it's hard for a film to stand out. Although it feels more like a retro title than most, it also doesn't do much to distinguish itself. Either way, I've come to realize that name means absolutely nothing when going into a movie. All it does is possible make me go in expecting nothing and then come out with a positive opinion.

So what's the film all about? It starts us off with a college-aged gal who is looking for a place to rent out. Everywhere she looks doesn't work out though for one reason or another. SO when she finally comes across a nice house by the beach she snaps it up immediately. Of course her choice is probably the worst she could choose as there's some really messed up characters lurking in the home.

What follows is a pretty standard slasher in regards to young people, sex, and death. However, I found myself enjoying the whole movie quite a lot. It had a bit of intelligence with scares, and helped to build them up until there was finally a death. I like this method more than movies which will just do a brief build up and have the tension release immediately with a quick kill.

Something else that really stood out about this movie was simply the characters themselves. They're not particularly likeable, but they're good enough. They all seem to be real enough and have natural-sounding conversations and reactions to the events around them. I definitely always appreciate when characters don't sound like they're forced into a situation and seem removed from reality.

If you're a slasher film this seems like a simple classic with a lot of charm. It doesn't really go to any extremes and aside from a few elements is down to earth. I'd suggest watching it back to back with other under-appreciated slashers such as The House on Sorority Row.

New Year's Evil

Year: 1980
Director: Emmett Alston
Writer: Leonard Neubauer
Genre: Horror: Holiday

Normally I'm a big fan of holiday-related horror flicks but in this case it just didn't work out. New Year's Evil is a passable film which focuses on a rockin' party. A band is busy performing in a hotel when a call comes in from someone claiming that he will start killing people soon. Apparently, when it reaches midnight in each timezone he will kill someone. It's an interesting enough idea, I suppose.

As it turns out though you never end up caring much for any of the characters. They're mostly one-dimensional and while they act adequately, there's little to keep you involved in watching. There's nothing notable about the movie aside from perhaps being one of the very few New Year's-themed horror films.

There's really nothing else I can say about the movie. It might not have been as much of a total bore as other films I've sat through, but it ranks right up there. However, it could be just me not being able to jive with the film. Give it a watch yourself sometime and maybe you'll get more out of it.

Terror Train

Year: 1980
Director: Roger Spottiswoode
Writer: T.Y. Drake
Genre: Horror: Slasher

Jamie Lee Curtis was the best when she was just starting out. Between this, Halloween, and Prom Night there is probably no role that comes closer to perfection. Obviously my favorite role for her was in Halloween but this one is a close second.

In Terror Train the story is that a few years ago this fraternity decided to pull a stupid joke on one of the newbies. They led him to believe that a girl was interested in him, but instead scared him senseless with a cadaver. After that, the story fast forwards to today where the college kids are all about ready to graduate. They're celebrating their almost independence by having a party on a train as it drives on and on. Unfortunately it seems that the poor boy they teased back then has come back for revenge.

The movie is great because it takes place in an unusual location and uses that to its advantage. The enclosed cars are perfect and make you wonder how long it will be until bodies will be discovered. It's great fun and the characters are rather realistic, even if that means you'll end up hating some of them.

Really, if you've never seen Terror Train it's definitely worth watching. It's not a movie I've ever really heard mentioned before and that seems like a huge shame. I guess it got passed over alongside all other slashers coming out at the same time. The name isn't the most exciting thing out there so it probably didn't help attract viewers. Although I don't have much to say I'm absolutely smitten with the feature so please check it out.

Christmas Evil

Year: 1980
Director: Lewis Jackson
Writer: Lewis Jackson
Genre: Horror: Holiday

Also known as You Better Watch Out, Christmas Evil is an example of one of the best Christmas horror films.  Of course, the pedigree of most holiday-themed slashers isn't very high, but Christmas Evil is pretty exceptional.

The movie starts us off with a lovely family Christmas Eve. One young boy thinks he hears Santa so he descends down the stairs to check. Unfortunately, he comes across a mentally-scarring scene instead which haunts him for the rest of his life (well, into his 40s or so which is when the film takes place). Despite this scene etched into the back of his mind, he has come to love Christmas and even works for a toy company.

Our lead is so ultimately pitiful that's it kind of hard to feel for him. Still, it's fun to watch his antics and try to get an idea of what he's thinking. For a Christmas horror film it's not nearly as slasher-tastic as others tend to go (I'm looking at you Silent Night, Deadly Night). It's dark, sure, but in a more believable way than most. When watching it I was struck at the fact there was even a cohesive plot in it and not just an excuse to have a guy in a Santa suit slash up pedestrians.

It's rare to find a holiday horror film that's actually decent. I'm happy to have watched it and suggest maybe viewing Trick 'r Treat alongside it. I'd have said Black Christmas (1974) instead but that's not nearly as Christmas-related as this, nor as "friendly" a horror film.

The Apple

Year: 1980
Director: Menahem Golan
Writer: Menahem Golan
Genre: Musical: Romance

Usually I'm a fan of strange musicals and movies in general. Usually I will pop in movies with an aggregate 2 stars on IMDB and love them. Many times I have sat down to watch marathons of movies described as "so bad they're good". I chose to watch The Apple because it seemed to be perfectly golden and ridiculous for my tastes. I was completely wrong.

It is glamorous. In fact, it seems like the outfits for the Ballet 2000 team were touched up with more sparkles after filming. The movie attempts to be highly futuristic, at least in the outfits department. People are dressed up in gaudy, flamboyant fashion. The clothes aren't all together THAT outlandish though and mostly seem to rely on a future where everyone has really big shoulder pads.

The characters themselves aren't all that interesting. Even for a musical, things seem to happen much too quickly and the songs focus on mundane aspects of the story. All of this could be forgiven if at least the music was good. None of the songs really managed to catch my interest. It's really a shame because even in the worst musicals there's usually at least that one tune you'll be left humming later on. Some of the actors can't sing either, which doesn't help things.

Back to the story, it has the absolute worst ending anyone could ask for. It comes out of nowhere and is the funniest and most obvious example of deus ex machina I've ever seen on film. I'll admit the ending made me laugh but alongside the rest of the movie even it seemed out of place.

I was severely disappointed by The Apple. The best thing about it was that Catherine Mary Stewart had the lead female role (I loved her in Night of the Comet). Barring that though, there's really no reason to watch it. Go check out Showgirls instead for glitzy Hollywood film done so terribly it's a roller coaster of fun.

The Children

Year: 1980
Director: Max Kalmanowicz
Writer: Edward Terry, Carlton J. Albright
Genre: Horror: Sci-fi

Going into The Children I had no expectations. I'd never heard of the film before or anything but it was in the horror section, so I went for it. Occasionally blindly jumping into movies like that has yielded some real gems (Brutal Massacre). Of course, it has also yielded some real junk (Terror Toons, Don't Scream, Stupid Teenagers Must Die!). Anyways, I like to watch random movies in case they end up being my next favorite.

The Children is not my next favorite. It's pretty dry and predicable. You have a story that starts out with some charming kids on a school bus that drives through some weird mist and then they all disappear. As they show up later they seem very interested in hugging. Once someone gives them a hug the hugging party is burned/melted. It really makes no sense and apparently has to do with a nearby nuclear power plant. How a nuclear power plant makes children go insane and give them the ability to melt people I'll never know.

The effects for the dead people are pretty good. For the children themselves not so much. They basically just have darkness around their eyes and fingernails painted black. Wow! I got really bored about 3/4th in and the finale was weird. It kind of comes out of nowhere and although it's really predicable once you're there, it feels like they just had no way to complete the script. Oh well.