Hello folks. Tomorrow begins the Halloween Top 13: The Devil Made Me Do It spotlighting thirteen devilish, demonic movies that possess me. (And you can too, click above or to the right to find out how!) I can't wait to get that started, but before we begin, let's take a look at where we've been. This year will be my fourth Halloween countdown, and I thought that today we might look back over the selections I've picked over the last three years. There's no better place to start than the beginning so let's flash back to the often duplicated, never replicated Halloween Top 13!
And that brings us up to date. Join me back here tomorrow for #13 on this year's countdown and each day for another until Halloween day. Don't forget you can be a part as well, click here to find out how!
Happy Halloween to all you moon men and ladies out there. As the night of terror is upon us, may things move though the night. Ghosts and goblins, ghouls and witches, vile monsters who long to leave your bodies in ditches, but don't you worry because you've been invited to a Halloween party. A party thrown by that evil moon despot and sinister move reviewer, The Lightning Bug. As you are magically transported to the party you arrive just in time to hear the band begin to play.
Hey, Hey, Moonies. It's the Lightning Bug. Yeah hardly recognized me in my new costume, right? Yeah I got a million of 'em. But look at you I mean that's great you're..... ahh yeah, right that's so cool. Well, I'm thrilled so many of you could join us. This here is strictly a B.Y.O.B. party because some of our guests, well, they never drink... wine. I've got a full evening planned for us with lots of Halloween activities. We're going to have some music from some children of the night, and what sweet music they are going to make. We're going to have some tricks and treats, and we're going to have tonight's number one film on the countdown.
There was never a shade of doubt in my mind when I started this list. There was no other movie that had so affected my being as a movie goer and fan, but so impacted the Holiday, the genre, and the culture. It took the amalgamation of a virtually unknown foreigner, a silent film director, and raving madman to make this film a classic. I am pleased to bring to you my all time favorite Halloween movie.
Dracula(1931) starring Bela Lugosi, Dwight Frye, Helen Chandler, Edward Van Sloan. Directed by Tod Browning.
Synopsis
Renfield, who is this weaselly little real estate man, travels to Transylvania to enter into a business partnership with an obscure count named Dracula. Once there Dracula starts feeding off the poor schmoe like he was a five hour energy drink. Long story short, the Count buys himself an abandoned abbey. After a quick boat ride to England, Dracula is off making a new home, and Renfield is off to Seward’s sanitarium. Dracula makes himself known to Dr. Seward, and meets the Doctors daughter, Mina, her fiancee, John Harker, and Mina's friend Lucy. The trampier of the two girls, Lucy, immediately falls for the Count. Dracula goes to her in her bed that night and drains her dry.
After feasting off her friend, Dracula's sights are firmly on Mina now. However when a visiting scientist, Van Helsing, analyzes the crazed Renfield's blood, he starts to suspect there is a vampire in their midst. It's soon proved to him that Dracula is the vampire in question, and it's up to John and Van Helsing to stop the Count before they lose Mina to eternity.
Film Facts
--There was a Spanish language version shot at the same time as Dracula using the same sets, only at night. The Spanish version, Drácula, is both seen as more deftly made as far as from a a technical standpoint. I do admire both films, but the only place the Spanish version really gets me is in Eva, their version of Mina, who was played by the super hot Lupita Tovar.
--Bela Lugosi did not learn his lines for Dracula phonetically as has been reported. By the time the Dracula movie was made, Bela had lived in the states for about 10 years.
--Karl Freund, the cinematographer on Dracula, was responsible for lighting Lugosi's eyes with two pin-lights to show off the vampire's stare. Freund went on to direct yesterday's Fran Goria Top 5 Pick, Mad Love with Peter Lorre.
--Lugosi only portrayed the Count one other time in Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstien.
--There is no blood, no fangs, and no bite marks to be found anywhere in this vampire flick.
Why Do I Love It?
There are so many reasons I love this film, but before I get into them, I just want to say that I do love this Dracula movie more than all others. However, I am a sucker for a Dracula movie. So I may take a moment to talk about some of the fine men you see on the picture up there. First things are first though.
Dracula. Bela Lugosi. They are synonymous. Even kids that don't know the name know the image. The pale faced man with a black cape, a tuxedo, slicked back hair, and a big honkin' medallion. I can't count the number of times I went out for Halloween dressed as a vampire. When I said a vampire, my mother knew exactly who I meant. You see Bela Lugosi was my gateway drug.
I had already had a fascination with old movies practically as long as anyone can remember. Before the era of the VCR when my birthday was coming up or something, I could get my Dad to fire up the old Super 8 projector. We would get Chaplin films or Buster Keeton, but before too long Dad brought home a digest version on Dracula. I was enraptured. When a few years passed and video came in, I finally got my first chance to put a voice to the strange countenance of Dracula. I was sold. I scoured bookstores for biographies of Lugosi, and as Goodtimes began producing their cheap-o videos in the eighties, I would buy anything with the Lugosi name on it. Through that one film, I found the Universal catalog and a world of genre film awaited me. I've watched films all my life that I can honestly say were all because of Dracula.
The film itself honestly has it's up and downs. The beginning third of the film set in the Count's castle manages to be moody and atmospheric, but once the Count reaches England he disappears for most of the second act. This would be a travesty in most films, but in this case it gave the other star of the film time to shine. Dwight Frye a.k.a The Man with the Thousand Watt Stare takes over the film in Lugosi's absence. He manages to portray madness and pathos in a simple character who's main drive seems to be to eat a ton of rats. Renfield is both an absolute basket case and the most hilarious thing on the screen. Unlike other Universal horror features where the comedy feels shoehorned in (i.e. the sassy maid in Frankenstien), Frye manages to do it in the blend of his performance. I think this is a crucial element to the success of the film.
The other real star of the film is Tod Browning. For all that has been made of the involvement of German cinematographer Karl Freund, I find it hard to believe that Browning did not have his hand in there. Tod had waited for years to get this movie made. In fact originally it was slated to be a silent picture and star Lon Chaney Jr. However time and Chaney's own heath did not allow this to happen. Instead Browning made this early talkie with the unease of a man in unfamiliar waters, but with the grace of an auteur able to express so much without words. The long shots of Dracula coming down his steps to greet Renfield, the fog rolling through windows and enveloping Dracula's bride, the big finale with Renfield's unhappy ending. Those scenes show more than they tell, and that is what Browning gave to Dracula.
The story of Dracula of course lends itself to remakes. By 1958 Hammer was releasing The Horror of Dracula. Christopher Lee slipped into the cape and became the first Count to draw blood, even if it was that certain shade of orange. Lee proved to be a very different kind of Count. Where Lugosi would raise a brow or make crazy hand gestures, Lee's Dracula was bounding over tables and tossing folks around. In 1972 the Count got funky in Blackula with Charles Macaulay and proved that Dracula wasn't just a sucker. Drac received a duel sucker-punch in 1979 with the release of Dracula with Frank Langella and Love at First Bite with George Hamilton. While the ubertanned Count holds some appeal, Langella is the George Lazenby of the Dracula family. Much loved, much loathed, and at the end of the day probably crap. It was twelve more years before another major Dracula production. This time in 1992 the story was tackled by Francis Ford Coppola in his Bram Stoker's Dracula. Gary Oldman, the modern man of a thousand faces, plays the Count as an ancient, animalistic, dapper, and completely depressed being. While I find Oldman engaging the rest of the cast is lacking; that is with the exception of Anthony Hopkins at the top of his game as the madcap Van Helsing.
So why did I tell you folks all of this? Why do I love Dracula? There are the sentimental reasons that I've already touched on. There is the pure joy of the acting and film making involved in the process. The rich history and permeation into the culture of an icon. Lugosi played the Count 1.5 times (I can only count the Abbott and Costello movie as a half) and became him, and that is what every Dracula movie is going to be up against for the rest of time. I love Dracula because it got me here, and I love you folks because you made it here with me. You made it to the end of the Top 13, and I thank everyone who stuck with me. I've still got more to share with you tonight. Still got a special Top Five List and a few goodies for you to feast your eyes on. First things First....
Bug Rating
Now for some Treats, first off a Castle Films 16mm Digest version of Dracula. >
Now then here's a short film I found that I thought you folks might like, Here's Betty Boop meets Dracula starring Bela Lugosi.
And finally before the Top 5 List The Halloween Favorite. That all time happy funtime party band, Bauhaus.
Tonight's final Halloween Top 5 List for the Official The Lightning Bug's Lair Halloween Top 13 Showcase and Cavalcade of Stars is brought to you by the lovely the talented, the perpetually confused and dangerously cute Miss Directed. For those of you who don't know Miss Directed is my lovely wife. (Before you ask why she isn't Mrs. Directed or, cough, Mrs. Bug, it's because even for the queen of the moon going to the social security office is no fun.) The lovely Miss Directed is my constant joy, and she is actually the one who carved the LBL Pumpkin you see up top there. She's a great gal, and of course she loves her genre flicks. So I'm very happy to give you Miss Directed's Top 5:
5. Army of Darkness-For serious somebody just burn that book.
4. Nightmare on Elm Street- Red Bull and No Doz for Everyone.
3. Night of the Living Dead- We're Not unreasonable, I mean no one's going to eat your eyes.
2. Carrie- That there religious right sure knows how to raise some kids.
1. Rocky Horror Picture Show- Aww, transvestites are sweet.
That's my girl. I knew there was a reason I married that woman. Well, apart for the whole love thing. Thanks for the list, babe.
So that just about brings our party to a close. It's been a great 13 days and I hope everyone gets a huge sack of candy tonight. I know me, Miss Directed, and Fran are hitting the town, and anything that says Fun Size on it is in jeopardy. So thanks to all you folks that read these posts. Thanks to everyone who commented, submitted a list, linked this somewhere, told someone about it, read my goofy captions, you folks are great. Visits to the site have doubled here in the last month and I hope some of you folks that came for Halloween stick around. I've got more stuff coming up in November with Turkey Days, The Dollar Deals, and Men of Action Days. More on that coming up soon so check back.
Happy All Hallow Eve Eve to you fine folks. Tonight as you rush around to carve your pumpkins, make those last minute changes on your costume, or making sure you have enough candy or booze to make it, it's time to kick back and watch a rarity in horror, the epic hero. Ashley J Williams, better known as Ash, had already survived the events of Evil Dead 1 &2, or just 2 perhaps. Needless to say he's been having a bad time of it. Having crossed the Necronomicon Ex Mortis, he lost his girl. Then when his hand went bad, he had to cut it off. Now the book has sucked him into the past. To the land of kings and monsters, where it's up to Ash to face the....
Army of Darkness (1992) starring Bruce Campbell, Embeth Davidtz, and Ted Rami tends to show up a lot. Directed by Sam Rami.
Synopsis
In the 1300's, Ash has already been making enemies. After being captured as one of King Henry's men, he is taken to the castle of none other but Arthur. After they attempt to sacrifice Ash to a ghoul, he escapes and with his trusty chainsaw and his boomstick in hand. Ash is eager to get back home, but he must first retrieve the Necronomicon. He prepares himself for his mission by building himself a new robotic hand and romancing a local wench by the name of Sheila. Soon Ash must leave on his quest. As an unseen force peruses Ash though a haunted woods, he takes refuge in a windmill. Once there his problems multiply in the form dozens of tiny mischievous Ash's. They attack him like Gulliver's ugly brother, and once they get Ash to swallow one of them, Evil Ash begins to split off of his shoulder. The two face off, and their fight ends when Ash shoots his evil counterpart in the face and says, "Good, Bad, I'm the guy with the gun." Ash then hacks the body apart and buries it throwing dirt in the grave even as the mangled head curses him.
So Ash had had a pretty bad day once he gets to the books. That's right books. He must choose the right book or face consequences. After facing all the consequences, he finally finds the right book. However, in his preparation to retrieve the Necronomicon the local wizard had taught him special words to say. Not remembering what the last one was, Ash attempts to fake it. The dark spirits are not buying it, and they raise an army of the dead to get the book back. As the army lead by his newly back to unlife evil twin closes in on the castle, Ash must decide between leaving the primitive screwheads to fend for themselves or becoming their champion.
Film Facts
--The magic words Ash can't seem to recall are "Clatto Verata Nicto" - a reference to "Klaatu, Barada, Nikto", the words used to command the robot Gort in The Day the Earth stood Still.
--Ash's car actually is a car belonging to Sam Rami. When Ash goes into the trunk for supplies, you can spy a copy of Fangoria and a copy of a Dark Horse Presents comic which featured the first Sin City story by Frank Miller. None of the things in the trunk were put there. It's just what he happened to have in there.
--The movie has a couple of endings. The original Rip Van Winkle ending was thought to be too much of a downer by the studio. They called for reshoots and the S-Mart ending was filmed.
--Army of Darkness came out the same year that Bruce also appeared in Eddie Presley, Waxworks II: Lost in Time, and Mindwarp.
Why Do I Love It?
As we get to the top, this list has both been both a blessing and a curse. I've had a great time doing it, but I've agonized over every decision on this list. The number two film on this list has had several titles on it. Evil Dead 1 &2, Ghostbusters, Mulva:Zombie Asskicker, and the movie that became the number one title were all considered, but when it came time to make a choice, I thought about what would be the best good time movie to watch before the holiday. There was only one film that balanced the zany comedy and horrific elements so well, and that was of course Army of Darkness. Following Ash on what was probably his final journey is so full of laughs, monsters, fighting, and romance, they I find it hard to believe thre are people who don't like this movie.
Lets take a minute to talk about Bruce Campbell. His portrayal of Ash is what grounds the films. As the everyman buffoon, he is at once as comic and broadly played as if he was a fourth Stooge, but Ash has another side. It's the side that fights back against the forces of darkness and makes him at his most heroic transcend the madcap comedy and become the everyman hero. Ash gets the girl, although sometimes briefly, wins the day, see previous comment, and in the end always comes through with grit and determination. After all Ashley Williams is just a stooge at S-mart. He works a 9-5 and probably lives week to week on his meager income, but when given the chance, he can become the protector, however reluctantly, of all of mankind.
Sam Rami's directing really makes this film great as well. It's layered with trademark Rami cameras that whoosh along the ground. The kind of sweeping shots that would allow Sam to land the Spider Man franchise a few years later. In Army and the other Evil Dead movies, he proved himself adept at creating the underdog hero. So it is no surprise that Marvel would come calling. Sam used every means at his disposal for this film. From Harryhausen stop motion, to animatronic, to practical effects they are all used in the film to create a seemless world of fantasy for Ash and the dead army to inhabit. In another directors hands, the balance between fantasy, horror, and comedy, would have been mangled, but Rami guides each of the genres though it's paces and delivers on all fronts a crowd pleasing, pop corn munching, good time.
The movie itself is a thrill ride. The comedy bounces along so naturally, and is punctuated by the action and effects sequences. The laughs that can be derived from watching the skeletal army alone are worth the price of admission. Then there are the iconic lines: ""Boomstick", "Gimmie some sugar baby", "Come get some.", "You got real ugly.", and "Shop smart. Shop S-Mart.". There are lines that read like a selection from the geek version of Bartlett's. They and others from the film have creeped into the fanboy psyche to the extent where they are a measure of coolness to know them all. Army of Darkness is just the kind of film that is just fun. It's not trying too hard. It's not bashing you in the head with it. It's working in the kind of understated cool that Elvis exuded in his youth. This is the kind of film that Halloween is for, and with only one day left to wait all I have to ask is "Who wants some?"
Bug Rating
Today's Top Five comes to us from a special young lady. She's been a friend of mine for on to 11 years now. Since I've known her, she and I have explored the world of cult films together. We bring each other new titles, and we constantly show off our new purchases to each other. Out of everyone I've ever met, she has the only other film collection which I think rivals my own. So I must introduce my best pal, that zenith of zombie fanciers, that Vincent Price groupie herself... the one and the only Fran Goria!
1. Mad Love (1935) :Peter Lorre, obsession, murder.... what more could a girl want?
2. House of Wax (1953) Vincent Price is my favorite, and this is a good one.
3. Thirteen Ghosts (2001) Mr Monk sees a ghost... or 13 of them.
4. The Changeling ( 1980) George C. Scott in the best little ghost story ever.
5. Hide and Creep (2004) Who knew zombies were afraid of the dark?
and an honorable mention to
Living Hell (2000): Those Japanese, sometimes they scare the crap out of me.
Thank ya, Frannie, and thank you folks for joining us for the penultimate night of the countdown. So Tomorrow night get yer costumes on, and bring out the bowls of candy, then join us back here for the big bad, the main man, the number one movie on the countdown. Until then this is the blue eyed Lightning Bug signing off and wishing "Sweet Dreams" to all you Moonies out there in moonland.
A country road with a lone car coming round a bend. A brother and sister going to put flowers on a grave. A strange figure moves in the distance. They're coming to get you Barbara. It's number 3 on the countdown and I'm sure you all know what tonight is it's....
The Night of the Living Dead (1968) starring Duane Jones, Judith O'Dea, Karl Hardman, Marilyn Eastman, Keith Wayne, and Judith Ridley. Directed by George Romero.
Synopsis
The Imdb page for the movie lists the plot synopsis succinctly as "A group of people hide from bloodthirsty zombies in a farmhouse." This is both the most eloquent summation and the grossest simplification of all time. From the moment that Ben (Jones) and Barbara (O'Dea) meet, the locked doors of the farmhouse become the boundaries of the world. All that exists outside its boundaries is the crush of the dead. Ben and Barbara are unaware they are not alone in their world. From the cellar, Harry and Helen Cooper (Hardman and Eastman) and teenage couple Tom and Judy (Wayne and Ridley) emerge, and the human horror begins. After Ben and Harry argue about how best to fortify themselves, it's time for the first zombie to die of a head shot. Harry retreats to the cellar with his wife and Karen, their daughter who has been bitten by one of the dead.
When a botched grab at an escape leads to failure, teenagers become zombie barbecue, Ben shows Harry the business end of a shotgun, and little Karen wakes up to have a midnight snack on her mom. Once Barbara slips away, Ben locks himself in the cellar and holds out for whatever morning brings.
Film Facts
--In this zombie movie classic the word zombie is never uttered.
--The Cooper family is played by real life family.
--When the living dead chow down on the burnt up teens, they are actually feasting on ham with chocolate sauce. I always thought people would taste like chicken. It's kind of a letdown to think we'd be nauseatingly bad ham.
--The main house actually had no basement. All the basement footage was shot in the editing studio's cellar.
--The music from the film had previously been used in Teenagers From Outer Space(1959), The Devil's Messenger (1961), and an episode of The Fugitive.
Why Do I Love It?
It would be far easier to answer, "what do I hate about it." There wouldn't be a thing to say.
The performances in this movie are transfixing. Jones and Hardman make for natural foils, and if it were not for the two men's performances the movie would not be able to hold so many
layers of subtext. Romero's directing was arguably never better. His play with light and shadow enhance the gruesomeness of the violence, and as shadow finally engulfs Ben in the basement, it has become a creature unto itself. . This is a film that shows the no holds barred violent nature of men, living or dead. This was 1968, and while the world was changing, the box office hit was Rosemary's Baby. Meanwhile on October of that year NotLDwas released in Pittsburgh to a standing ovation. While the world escaped what was happening around them, they flocked to a movie eager to blame the devil. It would take years for Romero's masterpiece to reach as many people, but it left an indelible mark on every horror film that came after it. It was an extension of years of horror genre and made the enemy ourselves, our loved ones, the whole world.
This is a movie that would spawn two remakes (check out old Fred the Wolf's profile on those), two sequels, and remakes for the sequels. It made not only Romero a name revered by horror hounds, it changed the entire public perception of what a zombie is. Up until this point films like White Zombie or I Walked with a Zombie had popularized the Voodoo zombie. Those zombies are now mostly relegated to Bourbon Street t-shirt shops. Instead Romero gave a whole new zombie. It's origins were a mystery. Was it a government accident? Is it the end of the world? Or as one of the sequel's tag-lines says was there no more room in hell? In the end it doesn't matter. It was coming, it was unstoppable, it was us.
In '68 with the civil rights movement in swing, the war in Vietnam raging, America was reeling. Frankie Lymon, the singer of "Why do Fools Fall in Love?", was found dead of a heroin overdose. Only twelve years earlier he had been a picture of innocence. I know there were other deaths in that year, most more important, but Frankie Lymon was America then. He was a man high on the idea of another shot at glory, but he insisted on hurting himself to celebrate. By '69, Woodstock would try to prove that the masses could live peacefully, but by the end of the year the Altamont festival would shatter the Utopian ideal. Also by that time in 1969 Night of the Living Dead was number one in box office in Europe. The world was starting to take notice of a little film and to the changes it both heralded and prophesied. In the end, NoTLD spawned a whole new era in horror film making, and the world was changed by it and changed with it in the sequels as Romero went after more of society's faults via his legion of the undead horde.
Now that I've made this as heavy as possible. Let me say that the other side of the coin is that it's just plain fun. Zombies get burned, hands get smashed, and shotguns deliver head shots. This is a film that pleases everyone. So if you're having a Halloween party, sitting down to carve that Jack O Lantern, or ready for the kind of horror that sticks to your ribs, then what you want is Dead.
Bug Rating
Tonight's Top 5 List is double sized because today's list comes right from the top. From my parents, the Big Bug and Mama Bug, come their top 10 favorite Halloween picks.
1. Frankenstein - 1931
2. Dracula - 1931
3. The Invisible Man - 1933
4. Bride of Frankenstein - 1935
5. The Wolf Man - 1941
6. The Cat People - 1942
7. Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man - 1943
8. House of Frankenstein - 1944
9. Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein - 1948
10. House on Haunted Hill - 1959
This is the gospel folks. This is the type of horror flicks I was raised on, and The Bug family knew how to to throw down some Halloween movie nights. Thanks for sending in your list you two, and speaking of two. That's where we are tomorrow. As the last day before Halloween looms, what two ghoulish goodies made the cut?
Four-tunately, you've returned today just in time for a terrible pun, and tonight's film I hope. Tonight's film has a special relationship with the number four. It was Wes Craven's eighth film, and eight is totally divisible by four. Spooky, right. Alright then try his on for size it came out in 1984. Does that not blow your mind. OK, perhaps not. I was just warming you guys up. The movie revolves around a maniac coming to get four kids, and he's going to use his glove with four razors on it. Not only that bus there are almost four watchable films in this series. Convinced? Maybe I've just been awake too long because I just watched...
Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) starring Heather Langenkamp, John Sexton, Johnny Depp, Ronnie Blakley, and Robert England. Directed by Wes Craven.
Synopsis
After Nancy (Langenkamp) and her friends have a common dream about a razor blade gloved killer. It all seems like just a dream, but when Nancy's friend Tina gets cut wide open and tossed around her room, Nancy begins to suspect something seriously messed up is happening. She encounters the killer again in her dreams and starts to understand the nature of the dreamworld. Eventually Nancy learns of Fred Kruger, a child-killer who was burnt alive by the local chapter of the angry town mob, and more specifically Nancy's mother. As the last of her friends get killed. Nancy takes her last stand against the killer of her dreams.
Film Facts
--The movie Nancy watches in her room to stay awake is the trailer for The Evil Dead.
--This was Johnny Depp's first film. He had accompanied his friend Jackie Earle Haley to the audition. Depp may have got the role because the producer's daughter thought he was "dreamy".
--Freddy's sweater is red and green because those colors are the hardest to process.
--Wes Craven says he took Freddy's name from a childhood bully. he had almost used the name once before in Last House on the Left and the rapist Krug.
--Robert England has played Freddy for 8 consecutive times. The only other actor to play a horror character so many time is Doug Bradley with Pinhead.
-- David B. Miller, the makeup artist responsible for the Freddy look, also created some of the work for Swamp Thing
--Charles Fleisher who played the sleep clinic doctor would later go on to be the voice of Roger Rabbit.
Why Do I Love It?
Why? Well, for starters because there was no need for even the skimpy synopsis I wrote. This is a movie that has permeated culture and left an indelible mark. Myers might have been menacing, Jason might have been unstoppable, but Freddy was a personality. Now the best thing about the first Nightmare film is that the personality hasn't got out of control. Freddy was allowed to be scary and have snappy one liners, and the film strikes a balance that works.
A Special Note From the Bug
When I'm talking about the humor in this movie, I'm really only referring to the intended humor. So I wanted to stop here for a second to talk about my favorite laugh in the film.When Nancy pulls Freddy's hat off him and brings it back to the real world, it is her first clue to unraveling the mystery. Why is it a clue? Because she finds the name Fred Kruger written in it. Seriously, Freddy put his name on his hat? So it won't get confused with other dirty brown fedoras that smell of charred flesh? Did Jason's mom write his name in his hockey mask? I would say no, but that's because Jason's mom was busy putting his name in his underwear.
The movie itself really scores in Craven's ability to create mood. From the beginning dream sequence on, the movie moves freely between the real world and the dream state. The way everything was so subtly shot that the changes were both distinct and seamless. It created a world in which a girl could be dragged by an invisible force around her bedroom or a kid could get eaten by his bed and cause a blood geyser, and it was instantly believable. That was the fantastic trick Wes pulled in this movie. He took a far out, big concept, supernatural killer and made him real. It really is a feat that has seldom been done better.
Punctuating the macabre at the very right times with the familiar strains of the main title theme, the score is also a large part to the film. The near constant music in the film is what really let the scenes move the way they are needed. With just a few tones, the audience is often clued in on what to expect, and this is a film that delivers. How much does it deliver? Well in the scene where Glenn becomes a fountain of blood so much was used that it flooded the room and shorted out the electrics on the set. That is dedication my friends.
Nightmare is probably another one of those movies that I keep coming back to because of when I saw it, but each time I do watch it I am constantly amazed by the new layers of appreciation I can heap on it. Don't get me wrong ol' Wes makes more bad films than good ones, for every The Hills Have Eyes there's a Vampire in Brooklyn. This time Craven hit it right on the nose. He created a character every bit as iconic as any in genre, and by doing so, unleashed a monster of his own doing. After this film, Freddy was never the same. The jokes began to get bigger and bigger, and more and more Kruger stepped out of the shadows to take center stage. It's too bad that all the menace was taken away from the character so quickly, but we still have this masterpiece to enjoy. So this Halloween for straight slasher goodness the only address is on Elm Street.
Bug Rating
I had to include the Angry Video Game Nerds review of the Nightmare on Elm StreetNES game.
Today's Top 5 Lists Come from a couple of Ryans. First us is Ryan over at Blog of the Realm. Ryan write some hella' good posts about movies, books, and whatever else crosses his mind. He also is the owner of a particularly awesome Riddler costume which makes me green with envy. Ryan's Top 5 goes a little something like this...
1.Dracula/Horror of Dracula (Terence Fisher, 1958)
2.The Omen (Richard Donner, 1976)
3. The Haunting (Robert Wise, 1963)
4.The Bride of Frankenstein (James Whale, 1935)
5.Night of the Demon (Jacques Tourneur, 1957)
Ryan actually put together a pretty nice post explaining his Top 5 list over on his site. Check out his expanded coverage over here.
While you're checking stuff out. Head on over to The Dark of the Matinee to check out Ryan the Mad Hatter's list. Also our friends over at Lost Highway have counted down their Halloween favorites, and it's well worth a look at.
I'll see you folks tomorrow, and as All Hallows Eve approaches we get down to business. My top 3 favorite Halloween films in the next three day, and tomorrow is already coming to get you.
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