The Ripper (1985) He Who Smelt It, Filmed It

When someone says that a title went straight to DVD, it conjures up images in my mind of Transmorfers, I Am Omega, and other knockoff titles of the same ilk. However, when someone says that something went straight to video, I see that in an entirely different light. Then visions of 3'D box art and Full Moon Productions dominate my mind. The original VHS boom in the '80s' meant that the market was flooded with titles, but only a precious few of them were original material intended solely for the home video market. The first of such films made was 1985's Blood Cult, filmed over nine consecutive days by first time director Christopher Lewis, half-nephew of Ricardo Montalban. Shooting his first film in under a week and a half just wasn't enough for Lewis to accomplish in '85. He went for two. The second, while lacking the infamy of the first direct to video title, made a name for itself in an entirely different way. It starred special effects guru Tom Savini as the titular character, The Ripper, and they do mean that in a "Jack the-" sense.

In 1888, Jack the Ripper terrorized London's White Chapel district. (For more sketchy cimematic info see From Hell that historical maven Jess Franco's Jack the Ripper. In 1985, obviously not wanting to be predictable and wait until the 100th anniversary, Ripper style killings begin to pop up all over L.A. Meanwhile, Professor Richard Harwell (Tom Schreier)  is just beginning the new semester of his class Famous Crimes in Cinema, covering the St. Valentine's Day Massacre, Bluebeard's Murders, and of course, the famous killings of Jack the Ripper. As chance would have it, Harwell comes across a ring he feels strangely drawn to in a antique store. After having contact with it, he begins to have visions of The Ripper committing his crimes, and soon he has to make it his own. The ring begins to affect the professor's demeanor, film nerd student Steve (Wade Tower), begins to suspect that his favorite teacher might just be the killer stalking the City of Angels. 

Seeing as the main draw here is Tom "Sex Machine" Savini, then let's start off talking about The Ripper by talking about the splatter master. Savini is best known for his make-up work, but for the entire run of his career, he has made a point of inhabiting both sides of the camera. From his first appearance in Romero's Martin to Maniac, Knightriders, Two Evil Eyes, Zombigeddon, From Dusk Til Dawn, and Zack and Miri Make a Porno, Savini has fostered a cult of personality as strong around himself as a performer that easily rivals that of his behind the scenes work. For further proof, just check out his IMDB photo which looks much more like a Congressman's Craiglist ad more than one of the most revered icons of horror cinema (Not to say that he deserves it, from all accounts I've been given from convention goers, he's a real piece of work.) however, Savini cultists will be sorely disappointed here. While Tom plays the titular character, he really doesn't show up until the last 10 minutes for an unconditionally hammy appearance, diabolical mustache twirling included.  

Not only was The Ripper an early direct to video offering, it was also shot on video as well. This cost cutting technique might be de rigueur for today's indie filmmaker, but anyone who remembers the 900 lb camcorders from back in the day, knows exactly how they looked and sounded. The entire film has the production value of an early MTV video, and no expense was spared when it came to smoke machines and bad lighting. (Though some of the lighting was clearly to disguise the fact that Savini doesn't appear in all The Ripper's scenes.) The Ripper also missteps when it comes to its scenes of gore. The Godfather of Gore's name above the title leads to an expectation of some real grisly grue in your near future. Unfortunately, the gutting scenes look straight out of a butcher shop waste-bin. I kept waiting around for a big payoff, but it never came.

While there's not too much else to talk about when it comes to The Ripper, I do want to mention a few of the actors. Lead actress Mona Van Pernis looked like a cross between a female Slim Goodbody and '70's porn star Sharon Mitchell, but as far as the level of acting in the film went, she was the standout of the lot. However more interesting was the relationship between Professor Harwell (Schreier) and  Steve (Wade Tower). While in the beginning of the  movie it seems like a fairly typical student-teacher relationship, although one brought together through mutual love of old horror films, as the film progresses, Steve's interest in his teacher seems more and more fraught with sexual tension. Though Steve and Harwell are both seen making out with their respective girlfriends, there's so many quiet long looks passed between the two of them to only chalk up to bad line delivery. While it adds nothing to the film, it is interesting to wonder how much of this allusion to a sexual desire was intentional and what is merely easily imposed by the viewer. 

The Ripper probably wouldn't appear on any list of top slasher films, but on a list of Jack the Ripper flicks, it may belong at the bottom of the list however, it still belongs. It feels like with a script polish and a descent budget there could have been something to this movie. just as Robert England brought the Victorian Phantom of the Opera back to the cinema a few years later (successively in my opinion), Jack seems like he could have been a ripe subject for an '80's slasher to cover. As it stands, The Ripper is no more than a curiosity for fans of slasher horror films and Tom Savini. While Christopher Lewis is the granddaddy of direct to video titles, he also was the father of the first line of duds to bear that appellation. So thank him for the many wonderful direct to video titles that would line the store shelves, but if you see The Ripper, you'll truly understand how he kicked off the long tradition. 

Bugg Rating

Halloween Top 13: The Remake- #9- Night of the Living Dead (1990)

Before I say anything else. Before I utter a single other word about the 1990 Tom Savini version of Night of the Living Dead, I must say this. Tony Todd is a badass, plain and simple. Ok, now that we’ve got that out of the way. Let me welcome you to number nine on countdown. By the time I saw Savini’s version, sometime in the early nineties after it had hit VHS, Romero’s classic was firmly engrained in my memory. Yet here was this film that’s seemed so familiar, after all the script was by Romero based on the original script by Romero and Russo from 1968, but everything was amplified, the ending was different, and the characters were not quite the same. I watched it off and on throughout the years, but it wasn’t until a couple of years ago when I really started to appreciate what Romero and Savini had done with this remake.

I can’t see as there is much of a reason to include a synopsis of the film with this review. The plot points in the film that diverge from the original happen primarily in the last third, and I am hesitant to talk about specifics since it is a pretty major change. What I will say is this. Romero has stated that the ending was more in line with what he wanted for the original film. I think that might be Romero trying to do a little ret-conning on his franchise. If you take the 1990 remake and then watch Romero's Dawn of the Dead and Day of the Dead, they seem remarkably seamless. The 1968 film leaves off in a much different feeling place than Savini’s version, and the remake sets up many of the themes that Romero explored in those films (and the ‘Dead’ movies that followed) in the final, radically different moments.

While the remake will never surpass the original in terms of importance or prominence, I don’t see why so many people dismiss Night of the Living Dead (1990) and then readily accept Sam Rami’s Evil Dead 1 & 2. They, like the two Night of the Living Dead films, are essentially the same movie. In some places shots are different, dialog is different, and ideas are taken to new places unreachable in the original version, but the bare bones of the film is the same. While the ‘68 version feels the characters feel archetypal and the movie plays out almost like a stage production, Savini’s characters are more complex, more colored in shades of grey than the original film. In fact there are a few major character changes, and these changes not only spoke to the era in which the remake was produced, but also to Romero’s new vision of the ‘Dead’ world.

The biggest difference comes from the character of Barbara. They may still be coming to get her, but there’s a good chance that she’ll just plant a bullet right in their forehead if they try. Gone is the blubbering mess that Judith O’Day portrayed, and in her place Patricia Tallman (Army of Darkness, Babylon 5) created a Barbara that was a forceful, strong, and thoroughly modern woman. She also had great chemistry with the badass Tony Todd who was absolutely brilliant in the role of Ben. While I love Todd in movies like Candyman where he gets to play the heavy, he really brought the thunder here especially as the film wound down. There were also a couple of shaky performances bringing the average down. While William Butler (Texas Chainsaw Massacre 3, Ghoulies 2) is average at best as Tom, first time actress Katie Finnegan (Wonderfalls, You’ve Got Mail) was truly grating as his girlfriend Judy Rose. I also didn’t get anything out of Tom Towles (Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer) turn as Harry Cooper. While all the other actors seemed to bring something new to the role, Towles played the same sweaty schmuck that I had already seen in the 1968 film. I would also like to mention the brief cameo by horror legend (and Horrorhound Weekend Cinni guest) Bill Mosley who did a wonderful job in the tiny part of Barbara's brother Johnny.

One of the major changes between the two films that I have to mention is the effects. Savini originally signed on to do the effects work and ended up in the director’s chair. That’s not to say that he didn’t go all out on the effects. The zombies, excuse me, living dead that wander through the film look awesome, the headshots (a Savini specialty) are spot on, and there seems to be a stunning amount of detail and thought put into every shot. As a first time director, directing the remake of Night of the Living Dead could have been disastrous even for a seasoned professional like Tom Savini. Instead, he handled the film perfectly and it earned him and the film one of the coveted spots on the Halloween Top 13: The Remake.

Bugg Rating 

Today’s guest list comes from one of my favorite bloggers, and he should be one of your favorites too. I love some movies with musicians in it, and that’s all Billy Goode talks about over at his site Gonna Put Me in the Movies. I sometimes can’t believe the stuff that he digs up, and he always brings great reviews packed with information, and hips me to lots of films that I’ve never heard of. Now that I’ve done the pleasantries let’s see what Mr. Goode picked for his remake list…..

My top five horror remakes in no particular order:

1. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978) - I don't think it's better than the original, but I do think it's just as good.

2. Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003) - see explanation above

3. The Fly (1986) - I think this one is better than the original

4. Little Shop of Horrors (1986) - The musical remake is a little more entertaining than the original, but I have to deduct points for including Steve Martin in the cast

5. Psycho (1998) - I think I'm one of the few people who actually like this movie. Of course it's no match for the original, but Vince Vaughn is just as creepy to me in this remake as Anthony Perkins was in the original

Thanks for taking part in the countdown, Billy Good, and you folks go visit him over at Gonna Put Me in the Movies where right now he's got a post up about a favorite of mine, Motorama. At least one of the films Mr. Good has on his list is still too come on the countdown but with eight more re-imagined, remade, and  rebooted films to go, there’s no telling which one it might be.

Halloween Top 13: The Sequel #6- Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (1986)

Great sequels sometime follow up the previous film with more of the same, but sometimes they get inventive with the story line and taking it in a new, unexpected direction. Tonight’s film takes the latter route. Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) was a dark, twisted film filmed with a grainy, almost documentary style. It introduced us to the family of cannibals as they harvested fresh meat from a vanload of teens. While it was not a bloody affair, it featured some disturbing moments that make it one of the legendary horror films. It was twelve years later in 1986 that Tobe Hooper returned to the series to give it a second installment. This time they amped up the blood, turned on the black comedy, and even got Dennis Hopper along for the ride.

After a scrolling text opening reminds us of the events of the first film, we’re introduced to a couple of teenage yuppies who keep calling into “Stretch” Brock’s (Carolina Williams) radio show and bothering her. After they play chicken with a pickup truck, it follows them and Leatherface (Bill Johnson) appears in the truck bed menacing them with a chainsaw. Eventually, Leatherface cuts the top of the driver’s head off and they crash. “Stretch” hears all of it over the phone. The next day with a newspaper reports on “Lefty” Enright (Dennis Hopper), former Texas Ranger and Uncle to some of the kids killed in the original massacre, who is seeking the cannibal family. “Stretch” takes the tape of the preppies being killed to “Lefty” who asks her to play it on her show. She does and the family comes to pay her a visit dragging her engineer L.G. (Lou Perryman) away to make some of their prize winning BBQ. “Stretch” escapes from the station only to fall into the family’s clutches again. Her only hope is “Lefty” now wielding two chainsaws and tearing down the run down theme park where the family lives.

During Tobe Hooper’s twelve year break from the Chainsaw films, he made seven movies including the 1979 TV movie Salem’s Lot, the 1985 space vampire classic Lifeforce, and, though it has been much debated what kind of influence he had over it, 1982’s Poltergeist. Returning to the film that made his name, Hooper enlisted Texas based screenwriter L.M Kit Carson, who had written the screenplay for Wim Winders’ film Paris, Texas. Carson’s inspiration hit him while shopping for Christmas presents in a Dallas mall, and he decided to put yuppies in the sites of Leatherface and the gang. This inspiration coupled with the idea to have Leatherface romance “an eighties woman who doesn’t scream” formed the basis for what would become TCM 2. From there the chainsaw wielding ex-lawman, the showdown in the Texas themed amusement park, and the chili cook-off, all fell into place to form a darkly comic version of the original film’s world. Hooper was quoted as saying that people missed the humor in the first film. I’ve seen that flick a lot, and I’m still missing it.

Unfortunately for Hooper, he only landed one of the original cast for the film when Jim Siedow retuned as The Cook. Siedow’s unique look and performance was irreplaceable, and his presence in TCM 2 gives the necessary thread needed to carry over from the first. Plus, Siedow is a great actor. He only had six roles before his untimely death (two were TCM films and one an episode of Amazing Stories directed by Hooper), and it’s a shame that more people didn’t use him as a character actor. Siedow credits his performances to Hooper’s specific direction, "I spent hours trying to figure out what I was going to do. How was I going to play this crazed cook? I didn't know what kind of director Tobe Hooper was. Fortunately, he was a very fine director -- he knows what he wants and he gets it out of you. I would've played it altogether differently if he hadn't told me what he wanted and it wouldn't have been as good."

One of the big losses of the film was that the original Leatherface, Gunner Hanson, was not sure if he wanted to return to play the chainsaw loving brute. He now lived in Maine, and while he was taking too long to decide, they had to move on and replace him with Bill Johnson, an actor from Texas. Johnson’s Leatherface is still plenty creepy, but the exploration of the gentler, comedic side of the character really makes Johnson’s turn behind the mask singular among the men who’ve played the part. Leatherface provides many of the funniest scenes in the film, and I could not control my laughter when he swung around an electric kitchen knife in minute parody of the chainsaw dance from the end of the first TCM. That’s not to say that he doesn’t bring the chills either. When Leatherface is rubbing “Stretch” with his chainsaw in a bit of over the top phallic symbolism, it’s pretty damn eerie if you ask me. Johnson also takes part in the best chainsaw duel of all time, but more on that when I get to Mr. Hopper.

First, I have to talk about Bill Mosley. In the first film, Edwin Neal played the manic, crazy Hitchhiker who got the kids roped into becoming a family meal. That character was killed at the end of the first film, while his brother, Chop-top, was off seeing action in Vietnam. This time, Chop-top is back complete with steel plate in his head and quotable lines like “Dog will hunt!” No one could have brought this maniac to the screen quite like Bill Mosley, and he does it with such crazy eyed brilliance that you can’t help but watch him anytime he’s onscreen. This was his first starring role, but Mosley would become a fixture in horror films including the 1990 remake of Night of the Living Dead, Army of Darkness, and another film that will remain nameless until it appears on the countdown.

Now I have to get into the other stars of the film. Dennis Hopper should need no introduction. If you don’t know who he is, then I don’t know where you’ve been for the past 40+ years. Hopper is listed as the star of the film, and he is the biggest name, but he really has limited screen time in this film. For the last half of the picture he’s relegated to chain sawing apart the family’s decimated amusement park until he finally stumbles into a confrontation with Leatherface. This leads to the chainsaw duel that I mentioned earlier. If you haven’t seen Dennis Hopper duel wielding chainsaws while battling an overweight, cannibal in a suit and mask of human flesh, well, then you really haven’t lived. For all the good stuff that TCM 2 has to offer, this is my favorite moment. If for no other reason, this scene would land this film on my shortlist of sequels every time.

There’s one last person I have to mention and that’s Caroline Williams and her role as the DJ “Stretch”. If I was asked to describe what a female TV in Texas in the 80’s at a rock station would look like, I would probably say she’d be thin, wear cutoffs, probably a ZZ Top t-shirt, and more than likely be surrounded by tons of empty Shiner Bock beer bottles. That perfectly sums up what you get with “Stretch”. Her performance in the scenes where the character uses her feminine wiles to come on to Leatherface is nothing short of perfectly executed. By the time she gets to her final showdown with Chop-top, this poor girl had been through the ringer and Williams’ definitely plays that to the hilt. The last image of her, a reflection of Leatherface at the end of the first film, is haunting and a bit funny at the same time, kind of like the whole film.

Apart from choosing great performances, Hooper made a wise decision to enlist Tom Savini for the effects this time around. Savini had already proved many times over that he knew his way around the blood, guts, and corpses that the movie would require, and since the whole experience was TCM turned up to eleven, the gore needed to match. The version I have is unfortunately not the special “Gruesome Edition” that came out some time back so I have never seen the gore shots that were cut to get an ‘R’ rating. I can only imagine that the other shots would measure up to the same degree of bloody excellence that the film and Savini were striving for.

Many people don’t like TCM 2 because it doesn’t retain the same dark feeling of the first film, the grit is gone replaced by the slick camera work of a Hollywood film, and the family played for laughs even though they are out doing dastardly deeds. To me they’re related films, but separated by time and place. Hooper had gone “Hollywood” in a big way, and times had changes so that a film like TCM could not have been made with the same macabre vision. This was now the eighties, and TCM 2 brought the more humanized versions of the creeps from the first film into the next decade. The Chainsaw franchise would never see another worthwhile sequel, and don’t even get me started on the recent series of remakes. Yet with these two films, Tobe Hooper cemented his vision of redneck horror into the canon of the horror film. As a person who lives in the South, I see someone who looks like The Cook or Chop-top fairly often, and if they’re serving Barbeque, I just lost my appetite.

Bugg Rating

Today’s sequels list comes to us from the lady behind two popular features here at the Lair, Ladies Night and For the Love of Price. Of course, I’m talking about my good friend Fran Goria. She’s a lady of few words, but she knows what she likes. Take it away, Fran.

1- The Evil Dead 2

2- The Devil's Rejects

3- Blood Feast 2

4- Feast 2 & 3

5- Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2

Hey, what a coincidence that TCM 2 would have been on that list. Fran keeps harping on me to catch up with the Feast films, but I haven’t made it around to those yet. Maybe someday soon, but before I catch up with anything, I have to finish counting down films. With only five to go, you know I’ve got some good stuff in store for you folks. So stay tuned, and I’ll be back tomorrow with another selection.

The Burning (1981) or Camping with George, Tom, and Harvey

I never went to summer camp, and the reason is simple. I don’t like the outdoors, outdoor sports, bugs, snakes, swimming in lakes, archery, making leather wallets, or getting gruesomely killed by a vengeful psycho. OK, perhaps the latter didn’t come into the equation when I was a lad, but it sure as hell would now. After all, you have to look out for Jason, his mom, Angela, and even Cropsy. That’s right, Cropsy. Not familiar with that one? I wasn’t either until I got a chance to pick up a copy of the 1981 slasher The Burning. While it was the film that launched Miramax, Cropsy didn’t take off like the other slasher characters that made their debut in the early ‘80’s. Bob Weinstein scripted this film before the release of the iconic summer camp film, Friday the 13th, but it was released after and suffered from comparisons. Who is to say that if it didn’t hit the market first that kids wouldn’t be running around in Cropsy masks and wielding plastic garden shears.

The Burning starts off with a summer prank gone wrong. Cropsy is just an asshole caretaker who gives all the campers a good time. So what better way to scare him than putting a skull with candles in it in his room while he’s sleeping? Well, sure there are probably many better ways. Especially if you forget to take any flammable chemicals away before he jumps from bed, knocks everything over, and gets set on fire from head to toe. Somehow old Cropsy survives and lands in the hospital for five years. All efforts to help him fail, and he is released hideously scarred from the accident. So he does what any hideously scarred vengeful summer camp caretaker would do upon getting out. He gets a hooker….. And then kills the hell out of her. Oh, yeah, then he goes back to the camp.

I doubt I have to spell out what happens next. It’s almost the end of camp, and the kids go on a rafting trip that ends up with bodies piling up. What makes the kids fascinating is who they are. There’s Brian Backer, who is perhaps best known as Rat from Fast Times at Ridgemont High, as the nerdy creep called Alfred, Larry Joshua (Sea of Love, Dances with Wolves, Romeo is Bleeding) plays the thick necked bully Glazer, and a barely recognizable Holly Hunter shows up in a blink and you miss her role. However, the most intriguing person in the cast has to be Jason Alexander. Yep, that Jason Alexander a.k.a. George from Seinfeld. His character Dave is a clownish guy full of bravado and, more importantly, a full head of hair. Regardless of the fact that the “teenage” Alexander was 22 at the time, he turns out such a memorable part that I kind of wish the movie had been more about him.

While the story is pretty much exactly what you would expect from a summer camp slasher, The Burning is spiced up by the effects work of Tom Savini. Tom actually passed on working on Friday the 13th Part 2 to take part in this film, and he has said many times that he considers this film some of his best work. I can see why, and I guess the Brits could too because this one ended up on the Video Nasties list. The film is chock full of some really gruesome killings that never really cross the line into gore for gore’s sake. Instead, we are treated to some very realistic murders. I was especially impressed by the seamlessness of the stabbings included in the film, and while I never would have considered garden shears a very threatening instrument of death, I can assure you that I wouldn’t want to see a pair coming my way.

While Savini’s effects enhance the film, there’s a couple of things that take away from it quite a bit. The first is the soundtrack that is chock full of noodling keyboard riffs that got on my last nerve. After being irritated by the soundtrack during the film, I was not all that surprised to find out that it was written by Rick Wakeman, the keyboardist for Yes. Now I can get down with some prog rock, don’t get me wrong, but Yes gets a big ‘No’ from me and the soundtrack to The Burning is no exception. Secondly, the POV shots of the killer stalking his prey. While it worked quite well in Black Christmas, it just bugged me here.

This wasn’t an unseen mystery killer. The audience knows who Cropsy is, and the shots with the edges of the lens smeared with Vaseline just don’t have the effect that I think was intended. Instead they detract from the look of the rest of the film which cinematographer Harvey Harrison (who would go on to lens Cheech & Chong’s Corsican Brothers and Still Smokin’) competently shot.

In the end, The Burning was not the neglected slasher gem that I hoped it would be. Instead it was a by the numbers affair. Sure it came out early in the genre’s history and perhaps made the numbers, but the same kind of film has been made dozens of times and often much better. If you’ve seen all the slasher films and this one has escaped you somehow, then check it out. Otherwise, if you want terror at summer camp then a visit to Crystal Lake or a stopover at Sleepaway Camp will probably be a better way to spend a summer day.

Bugg Rating

Bah, no trailer, so instead check out Savini's work in the raft massacre scene.

The Halloween Top 13: Number 13: Friday the 13th Part 1

Welcome to The Lightning Bug's Halloween Top 13. I'm very happy to be counting down my personal favorite horror flicks to watch over the season. I want to state right off that these might not all be the best made films or even ones that spring to mind instantly when people think about Halloween, but they are what I love. They may well not be what you folks out there love. That's why I'm proud to include with each of the 13 posts a top 5 list submitted from my readers and friends. So make sure you scroll down and check them out after the trailer. Now on with the show.

Friday the 13th Part 1 (1980) starring Betsy Palmer, Adrienne King, and Kevin Bacon. Directed by Sean Cunningham. Special Effects by Tom Savini.

Synopsis

Before the mask, before Manhattan, Hell, and Space, and well before he met Freddy, Jason was just a dead kid in a lake, and Camp Crystal Lake was just a run down camp that fueled local legend. Back in 1958, two counselors snuck away from singing campfire songs to have some more private fun, and ended up getting killed before they could even get into heavy petting. Fast forward to the present day of 1980, and the camp is looking to open back up again. Kids from all over are coming to the camp to take jobs as counselors.



Annie, the camp's cook, is hitch hiking her way there, and she stops in a small town to ask directions. She's greeted by many a strange look, and even the local nutter, Ralph, comes along to let her know that "You're all doomed" at "Camp Blood". One of the townsfolk, Enos, gives her a ride out closer to the camp site and fills her in on the tales of a drowned kid, the murders, and mysterious fires that plagued the camp before its closing. Enos drops Annie off and she accepts a ride from a driver in a jeep who's face we never see. The driver speeds past the camp, and Annie leaps from the moving vehicle. She runs into the woods only to be tracked down and summarily stabbed to death.



Ned, Jack Marci, Brenda, and Alice, the other campers, know nothing of Annie's death. So when the head of the camp, Steve, goes into town to get some supplies, they have no idea that they are being hunted. As each of them gets isolated, they meet their grisly ends. They get killed with a variety of implements including a very nice axe to the head and Kevin Bacon's Jack gets an arrow through his throat. The campers are whittled down until only Alice is left, and she barricades herself in the main cabin. That is until she is saved by the kindly Mrs. Voorhees.

Film Facts

--The script was written by Victor Miller who's other credits mostly include writing for the soap opera's All My Children and Another World. Strangely no one's mom showed up to cut apart a group of teens in either of those series.

--Our Lord, Tom Savini, was the first person approached about joining the film crew as the producers had loved his makeup effects for Dawn of the Dead. Savini was personally responsible for the gushing and bubbling of blood from Kevin Bacon's neck. When the original plan for the effect fell though, Savini got under the bed and blew the blood through the tubing himself.

-- The "Ki Ki Ki Ma Ma Ma" sound heard throughout all the Friday The 13th films is the brainchild of composer Henry Manfredini. It was intended to evoke the sound of Jason in Mrs. Voorhees' head urging her to "Kill Kill Kill, Mom Mom Mom." As to why it continues to crop up the Jason based sequels is anybody's guess.

Why Do I Love It?

Well when I was a kid and just getting into the gorier slasher fare, I started all the series at the beginning. At the time I was not aware that the legendary hockey mask wearing madman did not appear until the second installment (and the mask even later). However I thoroughly enjoyed the film, and I think I hold it in a special place because of when I saw it. After all you never forget your first.

It might well be that Betsy Palmer seemed utterly scary as Mrs Voorhees because she seemed so much like she could be any one of my friend's moms. In her cable knit sweater and her short cropped mom hair, she seemed completely realistic in my young mind. Unlike what her son would become or his friends Michael and Freddy, there was no otherworldly nature to her. She was just a lady gone totally batshit crazy. Between that and the now classic (and a bit cheesy) jump scare that ends the film, it cemented itself as a Halloween classic that I go back to time and time again.

Bug Rating

And now for the first Top 5 List. This one comes to us courtesy of Bradd from the Web-comic Gloomy Roomies.

In No Particular Order:

Psycho (1960)

Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)

Young Frankenstein (1974)

The Bride of Frankenstein (1935)

Shaun of the Dead (2004)

Great List, Bradd, and thanks for contributing. All of those films almost made it on my list, and each and every one is a classic. Make sure you go check out Bradd's comic as I'm sure he has lots of Halloween fun in store, and make sure you're back here tomorrow for another installment in the most diabolical countdown you'll ever read. See you tomorrow, Moonies.

Only 3 Weeks Until Halloween So Get Ready with this Ghoulish Doc

The Last Day of the MonsterCon '08 Movie Roundup is here, and I've been holding on to this one. As the last days to Halloween count down, I always like to sit down and watch documentaries on Halloween type subjects. The History channel always comes though with one about Vlad the Impaler, Travel will air one of my guilty pleasures, Most Haunted Live, and MTV will surely repeat episodes of My Super Sweet Sixteen (I'm sorry, that shit is scary.) When I got a chance to meet with Chuck Williams at MonsterCon, he gave me a copy of his Halloween documentary, and I couldn't wait to watch it. Ladies and Gents, here comes....

Halloween:The Happy Haunting of America. (1997-2007) starring Daniel Robuck, Bob Burns, and a cast of Horror Movie Favorites. Directed by Chuck Williams.

I want to take a moment to talk about Director Chuck Williams. Chuck has been kicking about the horror industry for years. From his first as an uncredited part as a demon in Demon Wind, his role in Bubba Ho-Tep, and the monster in Dark Walker (the mask of his character was used in last years Knocked Up), Chuck has acted in many horror and cult films. He's also a producer and produced one of my favorite low budget gems, Eddie Presley, which I can promise you I will cover eventually. He's also served as Assistant Director of such films as Dudes and Near Dark, but the only film Chuck has directed is this labor of love documentary.

Halloween:THHoA is hosted by Daniel Robuck (an actor some might recognise from Dudes and The Devil's Rejects) along with Bob Burns. They cover a number of Haunted Houses around the country, such as the Horror Hotel and the Chamber of Chills, and a few other spooky attractions like The Witches Dungeon Classic Movie Museum. There were three parts that really stood out to me. The tour of Don Post Studios, with interviews from Don Post, Jr., was great. Don Post Studios is responsible for a large number of the Halloween masks you see including the Universal Monsters and the all time best selling mask, the Tor Johnson. I also found Henry Alverez's Wax Museum really facinating. Henry has worked on films such as Total Recall, Legend, and Pumpkinhead, and his wax sculptures were just marvelous. Bob Burns also does a retrospective on his own Halloween Extravaganzas which are a sight to see. His displays, built with friends like Rick Baker, the special effects genius, were the kind of dream every horror fan wishes they could turn their house into. His Jekyll and Hyde display complete with transformation was incredible, and the personal films and archival photos Bob shared were a real highlight. Check out Bob's site for pictures of some of his other Halloween opus'.

Another incredible thing about the doc is the interviews with horror greats on their Halloween memories. Angus Scrimm (The Tall Man from Phantasm), Doug Bradley(Hellraiser), and Our Lord Tom Savini all share their stories. The one story I will most take with me is Robert England detailing the year his mother sent him out as a "Little Fidel Castro". (Now what I want to see is a kid dressed as Lil' Hugo Chavez.)

The second disk in the set features the 10th Anniversary special of Halloween:THHoA which profiles several other Haunted Houses and attractions, but suffers from the lack of varied material and interviews that made the first so engaging. It also contains the pilot for Raw Talk, a round table discussion of horror, featuring Tony Todd of Candyman and John Gulager, the director of Feast.

As adults, many of us forget the simple pleasures of dressing up and going door to door for bags of sweet goodies, but Chuck Williams never forgot. This is one to check out, folks. (You can pick it up on their site here or on Amazon.com .) It's a great film for folks with kids to get ready for the holiday, and for those without to reminisce about their own Halloween memories.

Bug Rating