Grace from Film Overload takes a look at our Saturday evening feature screening of VIDEODROME. Watch this genre defining horror/sci-fi classic at this years festival on 31 October 2020 at 19.00pm. (some spoilers ahead!)
‘Cronenberg’s artistic vision of visceral sensuality, body horror and alluring conspiracies – brings a genre defining classic’
David Cronenberg’s legacy as a genre defining director began when his incredibly influential film Videodrome was released in 1983. Cinema of the 1980s still remains iconic to this day, with Videodrome solidifying its status due to Cronenberg’s artistic vision of visceral sensuality, body horror and alluring conspiracies.
We follow the sordid channel operator Max Renn (James Woods) who specialises in the adult entertainment industry. With audience expectations becoming harder to meet, he searches for something never seen before. Fortunately he stumbles across a seedy show broadcasting extreme torture and violence. However, his new-found show ‘Videodrome’ brings about horrid consequences.
The film also features Debbie Harry, or as some may know her, Blondie. Harry plays the masochistic Nikki Brand who sensationally thrusts Renn’s life into a chaotic oblivion. As with most of Cronenberg’s work Videodrome is not shy to venture into eccentric and surreal topics. The film works as a metaphorical standpoint, alongside the utilisation of horror iconography to create a transcendent experience.
From Cronenberg’s visual perspective we are manically treated to a spontaneous eruption of visceral images exhibiting fleshy horror. As aforementioned body horror is a keen contributor to the film, with blood, guts and gore heavily making an appearance. But it’s the treatment of the body within the film that fashions such a complex visual composition; the themes of violence that come from the channel Videodrome are not afraid to cross the line, with one particular scene exhibiting a human torso being ripped open, graphically exposing each vein and tendon.
Despite the brutal exposure of torture and violence, the film is yet to fall into the satirical gory horror of the eighties. Instead, the act of violence is a simulation to further the film’s powerful allegorical notion.
The film plays its message out via a morbid and torturous atmosphere that has no fear in pushing audiences limitations. At the time television was seen by many as the enemy, the ruthless manipulator causing havoc amongst the young. With the early eighties seemingly dooming the horror market by the video nasty scandal and an influx of graphic and violent horrors being imported across the world, it’s no surprise that the media spread fear. Although from today’s perspective the idea of TV haunting viewers is radically nonsensical, it was once a real ‘emergency’.
Cronenberg utilises and exploits this fear through directly mocking people’s responses to the media. Within Videodrome, this channel that Renn stumbles upon is powerful enough to cause hallucinations and psychically harm. The show is a weapon that can literally cause mass tumours, with the intention that anyone who would want to consume the snuff-like material coming from the channel deserves a fatal end.
Videodrome is a testing film, the characters are not necessarily likeable and the entire play-through is gloomy. Yet, it’s an unforgettable experience that uses its speculative nature and bitter eccentricity to coerce and distort the viewers expectations, making it a must see for all horror fans.
Grace from Film Overload takes a look at our Saturday local feature screening of CHESTERSBERG, made right here in Yorkshire. Watch this horror comedy gem at this years festival on 31 October 2020 at 17.00pm. (some spoilers ahead!)
‘Hilariously gruesome mockumentary with one of the most unique plots to come out of this year’
Bearing tonal resemblance to Edgar Wright’s Hot Fuzz (2007) and the bloodiness of gory slasher flicks, comes a brilliant tale from Jamie McKellar. We are introduced to the enigmatic Chester Mapleforth (Andy Love), who after procuring a hefty fortune forms the village Chestersberg. But the quaint Yorkshire cul-de-sac holds something quite dark within its territory; murder is entirely justified and legal within the lands’ threshold.
McKellar brings us a hilarious but gruesome mockumentary, with one of the most unique plots to come out of this year. It’s not often that mockumentary cinema works without constant twists and turns, but Chestersberg has a certain simplistic charm that doesn’t confuse and run off topic, with a steady comedic pace and macabre motives that delivers exactly what it says.
Chestersberg brings the best of dark British humour to its forefront, even the most heinous scenes are brought to life with perfectly timed jokes and hilariously surreal characters. In fact this aspect of surrealism is a running theme throughout. The plot is crafted in such a realistic fashion that we almost forget this is entirely satire, plenty of familiar circumstances are strewn out such as town hall meetings and debates about outsiders invading the community. But of course with it being set in Chestersberg, beheading’s, mutilation and gouging constantly comes into play.
McKellar combines the two typically polar opposites of village conundrums with murder to create a hard to fathom surreal environment, yet you can’ stop watching due to its cleverly crafted story.
Chestersbergs distinctive mockumentary disposition works perfectly with the unparalleled distorted reality that plays across the whole run-time. The deliberately exaggerated tone captured in a documentary fashion forms a purposefully raw quality that enhances the aforementioned realistic atmosphere. One of the more prominent aspects that the documentary composition highlights is the wonderfully gross kills and violence.
Within the first introductory minutes we are a witness to a bloody beaten man with one of his eyeballs loosely dangling, nevertheless the humour taps in when Chester interrupts his suffering with the offering of a battenburg slice and a lecture about the importance of sleeping bag togs. Despite the hilariousness seeping in each scene, the impressive special effectsstill remain quite potent.
Now, with quite a rambunctious story comes natural questions ‘how would a town like this actually work?’ Fortunately McKeller soothes our intrigue, with scoping out further than the village boundaries to introduce our secondary group of characters – the law. DI Matthews (Alexander King) plays a rageful officer, disgruntled at the legal loopholes that Chestersberg has played. However, due to the consistent character development and their charismatic personas we somehow are completely on their side. It’s these brief interludes of seemingly more ‘normal characters’ that prevent the film from dragging and keep the absurdity of Chestersberg fresh and charming.
Of course these aspects come to life quite frequently throughout, they even form a large part of the build-up within the film; although a successful job is done at making Chestersberg seem slightly conceivable in a mad sense, it is when the other British murder towns enter the picture does the bloodshed and carnage really come to life. Who would have thought that the inner politics of killing towns would be so interesting?
McKellar delivers an overall exciting watch, with equal amounts of tomfoolery and bloody gags to both disrupt audience expectations, slightly disgust and to more importantly entertain.
Watch CHESTERSBERG at this years festival on 31 October 2020 at 17.00pm.
Grace from Film Overload takes a look at our Saturday international feature screening of Danni and the Vampire, available to watch at this years festival on 31 October 2020 at 13.30pm.
‘Endearing indie vampire flick breathes new life in to saturated genre’
Danni and the Vampire tackles the saturated vampire genre, with a fresh perspective on horror comedy. To mix habitually alternate genres is a brave decision. However, it’s one that writer and director, Max Werkmeister handles with a clear sense of direction. In a film drenched with a neon glow and warm characters comes a unique tale of acceptance told through a morbidly charming lens.
We follow Danni (Alexandra Landau), a seemingly heroic creature-catcher who can’t escape her legacy as the famous Jersey Devil slayer. However, behind her bold persona lies a much deeper want for confirmation and steadiness. Her true unravelling identity is discovered when her past catches up with her when she meets two cryptic organisations hunting down the bloodthirsty vampire Remy (Henry Kiely).
From the offset a satirically macabre sense of humour is established, with purposefully exaggerated characters that quickly leave the audiences hooked from the very beginning. The comedy is not overtly theatrical, but instead well timed and appropriately dark. With this being said, Werkmeister steadily transitions the narrative to not solely focus on the horror comedy aspect, with a gradual thematic shift that focuses on the blossoming dynamics between Danni and Remy.
Vampire films pair perfectly with human relationships, however after years of tiresome ‘immortal versus mortal’ bonding stories, the whole aspect of vampiric enamour has worn dry. Yet, the bond between Danni and ‘the vampire’ runs deeper than the bloodlust tales of the past, with their dynamics remaining unexploited and somewhat wholesome. Dripped in a neon light, we see this unlikely relationship grow into something that we actually care about, our compassion lies within their understanding of each other’s inner intentions, not just their tough exteriors. Danni and Remy’s obvious chemistry is significantly transparent throughout.
With the performances from Kiely and Landau coming across so fluidly; we truly connect and root for them, rather than simply watch their actions unfold. Combined alongside their like-ability is their endearing self-discovering journey, that is portrayed as authentic, rather than overtly cliche. In fact this avoidance of familiarity and typicality is something that runs across the entire film, with the audience constantly left unaware of what’s around each corner.
All these boundless subplots could be easily distracting and overzealous, yet Werkmeister cannily holds our attention via the visually engaging imagery, with vibrant neon lit atmospheric tones and impressive effects that successfully reel the viewer in. Despite the bright exterior, there are still lingering moments of suspense that balances out the sporadic humour, all the whilst keeping in time with the zesty aesthetic. It’s this quick paced fun vibe of the film that not only adds to its rewatching power, but also it’s memorability for being an obscure comedic take on the classic vampire tale.
Grace from Film Overload takes a look at our final feature screening of the 2020 festival Ten Minutes to Midnight, available to watch at this years festival on 1 November 2020 at 21.45pm.
Blood, thrills and carnage wrapped up in a kaleidoscopic fever dream
Erik Bloomquist and his brother Carson Bloomquist bring us Ten Minutes to Midnight, a hardcore bloody film that delves deep into the rattling psychosis of a feisty late night radio host as she battles through her tumultuous last shift before being savagely replaced by an entitled young women straight out of college.
This is not a film for the faint-hearted, with the shock value tuned to the highest frequency. Blood, thrills and carnage make Ten Minutes to Midnight unmissable, but what Bloomquist undoubtedly achieves is a gripping adventure into an unravelling breakdown surrounding the loss of personal identity and not knowing your own existence without the foundations that bind it together.
Unfortunately films that combine both electrifying visuals and emotive narratives typically fails, with one aspect always outshining the other; however, our protagonist Amy Marlowe played by the talented Caroline Williams delivers a heartfelt performance as an experienced radio DJ being harshly forced out of the career that defined her. Williams portrayal of Amy is irrefutably enthralling as she not only hits every mark, but also brings such a convincing representation of a person on the edge.
It’s no surprise that Williams’ acting raises the stakes as she has an iconic scream queen reputation from playing the fan favourite ‘Stretch’ from the infamous 1986 film The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (Tobe Hooper). Despite the notable filmic accolade that Williams claims, she does not craft her performance around her previous roles, with the character of Amy presenting a fresh take on a delusional individual. Horror fans may also notice that the eccentric security guard Ernie is played by the late Nicholas Tucci who famously played Felix in the outstanding home invasion film You’re Next (Adam Wingard, 2011).
The at times over the top aesthetics such as the sporadic shift in discourse is purposefully adapted to cloud the viewers sense of judgement throughout. Each act of the film serves to amplify the building atmospheric tension, with an utter sense of dread being conjured in each scene. The first portion of the film plays out as a catalyst for the madness we are set to witness, with Amy being bitten by a rabid bat which sets the pieces in place for a crazy night which can only end in madness.
As the film progresses, we see Amy recklessly ruin what’s left of her career. To further the ensuing chaos is the complete kaleidoscope fever-dream that the film becomes. Just like Amy we do not trust what is fiction and what is the truth, everything is sporadic and disjointed, with grotesquely violent visuals flooding the screen in the best way possible.
To complement the intentional dismissiveness of reality is the outstanding special effects that startle the audience. Graphic burns and peeling skin are only some of the viscerally rich imagery that certainly magnifies the horror. But what really serves to dramatize the film’s message even more is the narrative compositional flow that directly pushes the limits on the necrotizing reality that can be quite contentious throughout.
Underneath the impressive visuals are an obvious penchant Bloomquist has for the genre. One of the aspects that make any horror film stand out is the setting, for Ten Minutes to Midnight a radio station is where all chaos ensues. Bloomquist utilises some of the best genre tropes such as after-hour timeframes and dark hallways to alert the viewer to the claustrophobic environment.
Different meanings can be easily reached as Amy’s spiralling is presented in such a dream-like way. However, whatever you take away from the film, one thing is certain, underneath the blood-splatter is a brutally raw film that crawls between subjective and objective to create a memorable experiencelike no other.
Grace from Film Overload takes a look at our first feature screening of the 2020 festival I Scream on the Beach!, available to watch at this years festival on 30 October 2020 at 13.30pm.
Homage to 80’s slashers brings blood soaked nostalgia to Southend-on-sea
Alexander Churchyard and Michael Holiday bring back eighties nostalgia in their latest film, I Scream on the Beach! Filmed at the infamous Essex seaside Southend-on-Sea we are introduced to the fictional sleepy town of Mellow Coast, where Emily (Hannah Paterson) is still grieving the mysterious loss of her father years prior. Unfortunately, for Emily her friends and rather cruel mother dismiss her suspicions surrounding the cryptic circumstances that her father ‘disappeared’ under.
It’s no secret that eighties culture has become somewhat of a surging trend recently, with films commonly replicating those vintage aesthetics. I Scream on the Beach! utilises this quality to manifest a magnificently rambunctious tale set over thirty years in the past in 1980s Britain. Churchyard and Holiday capture the nostalgia both technically and narratively, with ensuring the mention of video nasties and the moral crusader Mary Whitehouse. With this being said the film could be described as a homage to the once controversial VHS tapes that ‘plagued’ the nation, with the film embracing gore and purposefully featuring the grainy and distracting qualities that came with said tapes.
The recreation of VHS trademarks is cleverly executed and surprisingly challenging. Throughout the film the visuals are constantly washed with the classic worn down visual characteristics that were common with used tapes, alongside this is the out of sync dubbing that’s a token to nearly every eighties film. Although these techniques may weigh heavy on some, it’s what gives I Scream on the Beach! its overall thematic vibe.
In keeping with the reminiscent tone the horror legend Lloyd Kaufman makes an appearance as the enigmatic Dr. Lloyd. Kaufman’s cameo helps harness onto the eighties sensationalism, with him famously co-directing alongside Michael Herz the absolute horror classic, The Toxic Avenger (1984). Kaufman’s appearance is one of the many features that keenly highlights the passion project elements that this film fruitfully adapts.
Whilst the technical aspects draw the viewer in, what also keeps the audience guessing is the likeable nature of the lead characters (which can be pretty rare within horror). First we have the playful ‘Bants (Ross Howard) and the film aficionado Jeremy (Jamie Evans), followed by Bants girlfriend and Emily’s friend Claudine (Rosie Kingston) as a group the friendship dynamic comes across as realistic, with no awkward flow. But the true chemistry between characters comes from Emily and her budding romance with newcomer Dave (Reis Daniel).
To accompany the feasible bonds is the decent acting that is consistent throughout. Another aspect that I Scream on the Beach! effectively lands is the steady humour that hits on every beat. The warm character’s inner banter is genuinely comedic and quite familiar to many audiences. Yet, the amusing tone doesn’t distract from the terror, but compliments the tone instead.
To solely rely on classic horror and not create an original and expressive narrative to coincide with the theme is regrettably quite common within similar films. However the film works entirely as a standalone concept besides the vintage aesthetics. It’s this element that makes it stand out from the rest and succeed within the genre.
The entire story is not only effective within its portrayal of horror, but also relatively unique, with not many films being able to pull off the sort of twists and turns that Churchyard and Holiday achieve. This is what makes I Scream on the Beach! so entertaining, it’s the fact that it carefully balances humour and horror.
This weeks horror news round up comes from Grace at Film Overload!
Netflix Halloween line up revealed
Many horror fans will be counting down the days until Halloween and what better to accompany these crisp Autumn nights then a spooky selection of great horror films coming to Netflix this October. Some genre familiars such as The Conjuring (James Wan, 2013) and Paranormal Activity 4 (Ariel Schulman and Henry Joost, 2012) will be greeting our screens at the beginning of October.
Alongside this we’ll be introduced to a handful of new films such as the chilling Norweigan flick Cadaver (Jarand Herdal, 2020) which follows a family attending a nuclear aftermath charity event that soon takes a dark turn. Also we have His House (Remi Weekes, 2020) where we are introduced to a refugee couple escaping South Sudan, only to discover the quaint English village they stop in has an evil presence lying beneath them. Netflix are sure to release a more detailed list brimming with Halloween favourites so be sure to keep checking our weekly news round-up for further information.
Team behind The Ritual gets the green light for the book adaption of No One Gets Out Alive
2017’s The Ritual (David Bruckner) soon cemented its place as a modern British folk horror dealing with traditional folklore and mythology. The film came from the brilliant horror author Adam Nevill’s original novel, so it’s no surprise his other hit book No One Gets Out Alive (2014) is being adapted by Netflix.
The novel has a haunting story following a young woman who is strapped for cash reluctantly moving into a cheap flat, however the seemingly harmless strange occurrences soon rapidly manifest into something much more sinister. If The Ritual is anything to go by, No One Gets Out Alive will be a hit success.
Trailer for Bloody Hell is released, promising audiences a dark ride into Hell
The old saying of “it could be worse” certainly comes to life in Alister Grierson’s latest contribution to the genre. In what appears to be a hellish life, Rex (Ben O’Toole) is desperate to escape to some sort of normality, however his planned trip to the seemingly peaceful Helsinki lands him in the home of a psychotic family hellbent on making his life a nightmare. Not much has been released about the film just yet, but from the looks of the fast paced trailer the audience are in for a gruesomely fun ride.
The Walking Dead announces its final series, however a fan favourite spin-off is announced
The Walking Dead has been on our screens for ten years now, with it seeming to be one of the most infamous horror tv shows. With this being said the official Walking Dead Twitter account announced that the 11th season concluding in 2022 with a total of 24 episodes will be its last ever season. The last stretch of episodes are set to be an epic showdown where the longstanding Negan’s (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) fate is finally revealed.
However for upset fans the news of the series coming to an end is not all bad news, with series favorites Carol (Melissa McBride) and Daryl (Norman Reedus) set to get their own spin-off show. News has been kept under wraps regarding whether the show will feature an insight into their lives prior to the ‘walkers’ or if it continues with their journey after the series. But at least fans will be able to see Daryl Dixon rocking his famous crossbow once again.
Mike Flangan’s proposed plans for adapting Stephen King’s The Dark Tower
Horror adaptations are not easy projects to tackle, with Stephen King’s original series The Dark Tower seeming to prove the point. This book had a decent stab taken at it in 2017 with Nikolaj Arcel attempting to bring a complicated story to the big screen. Despite the star-studded cast including Idris Elba and Matthew McConaughey, the film suffered from a lacklustre critical consensus.
The ever innovative Mike Flanagan (Oculus, Doctor Sleep, Hush) has reported at Fantasia International Film Festival that he would be up for adapting King’s novel. And it seems that Flanagan could be the person for the job, with two King adaptations behind his belt already. Both Gerald’s Game (2017) and The Shining sequel Doctor Sleep (2019) earned both an almighty box office and critical success. For horror fans this news rings a possible third collaboration between King and Flanagan.
Paranormal Activity franchise plans to add a seventh film to the series
Whether you love it or hate it, Paranormal Activity’s sheer success and marketing of the films has been seriously impressive; in fact, the first film earned its place as one of the highest profiting films of all time as it earned back its budget over 30 times.
2015 saw the supposed end of the series with Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension (Gregory Plotkin), however Blumhouse Productions and Paramount Pictures confirmed the found footage ghost films will continue as a seventh entry has been confirmed, with an expected release date for 2022. What’s even more exciting is the fact that previous Paranormal Activity alumni Christopher Landon is putting in his contribution into the film.
The Strangers director Bryan Bertino comes back with a bang with The Dark and The Wicked
Bryan Bertino shocked audiences with his 2008 home invasion horror The Strangers. This time he is back with another chilling film that plays out as a daunting slow-burner. The Dark and The Wicked stars Marin Ireland (The Umbrella Academy) and Michael Abbot Jr. as two siblings who travel to a rural town to be with their dying father.
Evil elements soon start to take over, leaving them in a waking nightmare. The rural setting combined with a slow pace provides a harrowing aesthetic quality similar to that of Bertino’s previous works. The film certainly builds up an atmospheric dread that will stay with audiences long after watching.
Mass Hysteria brings an equal measure of comedy and horror this October
Horror comedies can sometimes miss the mark, with films not balancing the two juxtaposed sub-genres. However, Mass Hysteria (Arielle Cimino and Jeff Ryan) seems to juggle both with ease. The film follows a group of Salem Witch Trial reenactors being hunted down by an angry mob to avenge the death of a tourist on All Hallow’s Eve. The film will be released via VOD and has an expected release date for the beginning of October.
Syfy’s new Chucky series has its production delayed
Due to the current times we live in many release dates and scheduled productions have been slightly pushed back. One of these being the highly anticipated series based on one of horror’s favourite dolls, Chucky. The series was set to air on Syfy, with the first episode premiering this Autumn, however this has now been moved to 2021.
The series will bring back the roots of Chucky as not only will Brad Dourif (the original Child’s Play voiceover) be voicing the role, but Jennifer Tilly will also be joining the line-up. What’s even more exciting is that fans of the franchise will be potentially offered a true origin story of how Chucky came to be the evil creature he truly is.
Zack Snyder’s Army of the Dead set to release a surrounding prequel and anime series
Snyder is no stranger to zombie films, with him tackling George A. Romero’s Dead-series in 2004 with the remake of Dawn of the Dead. So who better to further the zombie legacy than Snyder. His latest film Army of the Dead acts as a rough sequel to its predecessor and follows a troop of mercenaries as they orchestrate a heist on a casino during a zombie apocalypse.
Even though the film hasn’t been released yet, the green light has been given for a prequel and an anime series. Little has been released about the prequel and series, but we do know that Army of the Dead’s lead character Scott Ward (Dave Bautista) will reprise his role in the anime series.
Body-swap meets horror in Vince Vaughn and Kathryn Newton’s new film ‘Freaky’
Christopher Landon gives us a highly entertaining horror with Freaky. The film follows the 17-year old wallflower Millie who ends up trapped in a maniacal serial killer’s body. To make matters worse she only has 24 hours to get herself back before the swap becomes permanent. The trailer promises a highly charged film, equipped with plenty of comic relief for those gnarly kill scenes.
Vince Vaughn plays the Blissfield Butcher who has been stalking the local town and brutally killing his victims. Vaughn seems to fit the role of a butch killer, but with a teenage girls personality, making it one of his most interesting roles yet. One particularly entertaining scene involves him convincing Millie’s friends that he is in fact her via re-enacting their school’s cheerleading dance motto.
Despite the amusing antics the film ensures a great deal of carnage, with the Butcher’s dusty layer adorning dead mutilated animals hanging by string. Alongside this the trailer gives a brief glimpse into his gratuitously violent murders. Landon seems to be somewhat of a genre reviver; his previous success Happy Death Day (2017) dealt with a Groundhog Day time loop continuation and now Freaky experiments with a Freaky Friday-esque body-swap film.
This weeks article comes via Grace from Film Overload, you can check out more of her work here.
Dead Northernpresents Harrogate’s only horror and fantasy film festival coming this Halloween.
Following the great success of last years event taking place in the atmospheric West Park Church, the team at Dead Northern are putting on a social-distanced horror and fantasy film festival in the haunted Victorian ball room of the Crown Hotel this Halloween.
The week long event will kick off with a series of mini fringe events at various venues throughout the town in the build up to the horror film festival.
Highlights include Harrogate’s only ghost walk which is exclusive to the festival, a rare opportunity to view a selection of independent short and feature films as chosen by the Dead Northern film committee, plus classic horror film showings such as The Poltergeist all in the haunted Crown hotel.
A Halloween celebration not to be missed on Saturday night: celebrate From Dusk till Dawn in true vampire biker style at a themed evening at the Old Empire Theatre (now Cardamom Black restaurant), including a live film showing of the Tarantino cult classic From Dusk till Dawn with dinner and live entertainment.
The entire film festival will be compliant with the government guidelines surrounding COVID-19 and pre booking is essential.
Tickets will be available to purchase very soon.
We are offering priority booking to our mailing list subscribers, so make sure you are signed up to be amongst the first to get your hands on tickets.
Horror has a habitual allowance for exhibiting the obscure and overall freakish nature of human behaviour. The genre can exaggerate and create controversial and unusual content. Due to this it’s often the case that some films may not obtain a wide release or gain critical acclaim. This is where the B-movie comes in.
Originally the B-movie was used to define the less publicised film from a double feature during the Golden Age of Hollywood. Soon double feature promotions died off, yet the term B-movie would still be used to describe lower budget independent films. In the horror genre B-movies can be prolific and eventually gain massive success, with many of these films becoming cult classics. The horror genre is rife with B-movies, with many of the best arising from the 1960’s to the 1980s and what makes them so unique is their amusing way of illustrating odd and at times unfathomable narratives.
B-movies have been criticised as lacking emotive and philosophical reasonings, with expectations for the films to be rotten with gore and violence. However the narrative structural composition for a select few films delves deeper than what arrives on the surface. In fact the B-movies of Horror have gone on to define and influence some of the greatest films of the genre.
With this being said, here is a list of gems emerging from the dark depths of horror that quintessentially explore alluring subject matters.
(SPOILERS AHEAD)
Spider Baby (Jack Hill, 1967)
Starring Lon Chaney Jr., Spider Baby follows the Merrye family who suffer from a genetic disorder causing them to exhibit feral cannibalistic tendencies. The three Merrye children Virgina (Jill Banner), Ralph (Sid Haig) and Elizabeth (Beverly Washburn) are cared for by the families chauffeur Bruno (Chaney) since their parents passed. However their concerning equilibrium is jeopardised when their distant family pay a visit to inherit the estate.
Spider Baby is a cunning film that preys on the narrative’s intrinsic terror to conjure a creepy and dark atmosphere. Although the film is equipped with the word ‘spider’ within the title the actual focus on the film is not insects, but instead Virgina, Ralphs and Elizabeth’s menacing movements and actions; Virgina acts like a spider with delicate movements before she kills her prey, Ralph is an animalistic young man who succumbs to his carnal desires and Elizabeth lunacy seems to be the least developed, with her frequently reprimanding Virginia’s behaviour.
The true beauty within Spider Baby is the cruel catharsis that Hill treats his characters with. The eerie setting of a broken down manor laden with cobwebs and dark crooked rooms is naturally haunting, yet the horror derives from the unexpected.
Bruno is sullen and softly mannered, but technically evilly motivated. Bruno has promised the Merrye children’s father that he would keep their secret and care for them. However by doing so he harbours the knowledge that the house holds a cannibalistic tribe beneath. Bruno is aware of the distant families fate, it’s the inevitable that they would fall into the children’s trap, but he allows them to carry on furthering the disorder.
Spider Baby is an underrated film of the 1960s possibly due to it being withheld from having a UK theatrical release until 2000. But let’s not forget the notorious cast, Lon Chaney Jr. is a horror legend within his own right and then we have Sid Haig who would later feature in several Rob Zombie pictures and become a horror icon.
The Hills Have Eyes (Wes Craven, 1977)
Wes Craven is known for both A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) and Scream (1996), but prior to this he focused more on exploitation horror, with both The Last House on the Left (1972) and The Hills Have Eyes becoming cult classics.
The Hills Have Eyes follows the middle class American family (the Carter’s) as they battle against an unfortunate group of cannibalistic mutants. On first look the film bleeds the traditional archetype of an innocent family being savaged by a rural mob. However beneath this is a devoted allegory for human depravity, with Craven paralleling the story between the Carter’s and the cannibals.
The cannibal group originated from Jupiter (James Whitworth) who after being supposedly left for dead by his father started a family with a crazed prostitute aptly named Mama (Corey Clark). Jupiter and his family attack to survive, their feeding of human flesh is agreeably distasteful and macabre, but so is the Carter’s family’s revenge.
Yes, the cannibals are the vicious enemy and the Carter’s are simply retaliating from the heinous crimes, but when you strip back who’s right and who’s wrong what you have left is a tale of basic humanistic tendencies- revenge and attack. Craven also seems to tackle deeper meanings regarding Americanised government influence; the Carter’s road trip shortcut has brought them to a dessert area with off-limits military signs strewn across the land, with it being heavily implied that Jupiter and his families deformities are the result of radioactive testing via the US forces.
This metaphor is washed throughout the film through imagery reflecting the damage inflicted by treacherous conflicts. In sight with this it’s possibly not a coincidence that this film was made after the end of the Vietnam War. In effect the Carter family are on Jupiter’s turf, obstructing his being. Technically they are the intruders.
Despite the philosophical analogy there is of course a glorious amount of gore and violence that pours throughout the film, with Craven providing his fair share of burnings, stabbing and disembowelments. But lurking beneath the brutality is a conscious effort to depict war torn society.
Demons (Lamberto Bava, 1985)
It’s no surprise Lamberto Bava directed a cult hit with the infamous Mario Bava as a father. In tune with being raised surrounding cinema, Lamberto directed Demons with the intentions of it being an allegory for subjective films. The age old argument involving horror being the cause of real life inflictions is heavily implied within Demons.
The film follows a random group of people invited to a mysterious movie screening at an empty theatre, however it’s not long until they find themselves becoming trapped and possessed by demons.
At first glance the film rings rather typical of an 1980s gore-fest, but Bava uses heavy gore and impressive practical effects to further the metaphorical motive. After the chaos has ensued the survivors attempt to kick down the doors to the projection room believing that the film is a curse causing demon manifestations.
In fact the line “Now the movie can’t hurt us anymore”is uttered in response to the film being destroyed. However after another demon attack they reason that “It’s not the movie, it’s the theatre”. At the time the Video Nasty scandal only occurred one year prior to Demon’s release where many horror films were deemed unsafe for consumption. Perhaps Bava was commenting upon the idea that films were believed to have caused such wreckage that people urged for them to be destroyed.
Quite ironically in Demon’s after the film is destroyed no effect is taken with the monsters still running riot, just as the videos in the scandal did not prevent or change the course of destructive behaviour.
Sleepaway Camp (Robert Hiltzik, 1983)
Sleepaway Camp is ultimately an entertaining slasher that successfully utilises a summer camp setting to its best ability. The film follows Angela (Felissa Rose) as she accompanies her cousin Ricky (Johnathan Tiersten) to Camp Arawak. Angela’s family died in a tragic accident leaving her traumatised and quiet. This is something her fellow camp mates struggle with as they deem her shy demeanour weird.
To discuss Sleepaway Camp it’s necessary to spoil the ending, as much of the connotations derive from that particular scene. For anyone who has not seen it, Angela is revealed to be the killer who has been ferociously murdering her peers. The imagery that lingers during the reveal scene has gone down in horror history as being completely unexpected and shocking as it’s revealed that Angela is in fact a boy.
Angela has been forced by her aunt (who is now her guardian after her parents passed) to be a girl as she always wanted a little girl. In present time Angela is constantly bullied for not wanting to unrobe and swim in the lake like her peers, she also doesn’t overly express either feminine or masculine attitudes as she herself is lost and confused as to what she identifies as. This pent up frustration from bullying, teasing and misinformation builds up an inner rage that unleashes Angela’s uncontrollable internal beast.
Sleepaway Camp suggests that Angela’s loss of identity and harsh treatment from others causes her to snap and harm anyone who belittles her.
Dawn of the Dead (George A. Romero, 1978)
Dawn of the Dead is the second in George A. Romero’s Night of the Living Dead series. The film naturally takes inspiration from its predecessor through showing a group of people trapped in a location as they determine how they will survive the zombie outbreak.
Dawn of the Dead uses a shopping mall as it’s hideout, a familiar place to most people. A major theme throughout the film is consumerism, with the survivors still finding time to play dress up, donning expensive clothes and admiring priceless jewellery despite the threat of zombies looming.
“A zombie film is not fun without a bunch of stupid people running around and observing how they fail to handle the situation.” ― George A. Romero
The social commentary is explained via the human condition. The zombies are entirely devoid of emotion, they are only intrinsically wired to feast upon their prey, they lack empathy and have no regard for others. In return the living characters in the film are not necessarily too different in the sense that they are entirely out for their own well being and do not care about the survival of others. This is particularly prevalent during an end scene involving a wandering biker gang attempting to conquer the mall with zero regard to the remaining humans alive inside.
What this aims to expose is that the humanistic side of behaviour surrounding empathy and fairness ceases to exist, with the zombies acting as a representative figure illustrating humans to be walking aimlessly through life with only their own needs being lived for.
This weeks article comes via Grace from Film Overload, you can check out more of her work here.
Scream has consistently shown a critical concord of well received sequels, so why not throw a fifth one into the mix. Scream 5 has been confirmed, and what’s more important is so are directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, who brought us last year’s gem Ready or Not.
Many familiar faces from Woodsboro are set to return, with the likes of Courteney Cox, David Arquette and Neve Campbell all reprising their roles as the renegade survivors of Ghostface. Scream 5 is sure to be a blast through the box office, with many hopeful fans anticipating the return of Craven’s subjective masterpiece.
Scream isn’t the only classic with a reboot in talks, with The Thing being brought back to life by the notorious Blumhouse Productions. John Carpenter’s 1982’s sci-fi horror has an infamous reputation, with a remake already penned in 2011 by Matthijs van Heijningen Jr.
Although the film is still in early development Carpenter himself has confirmed his involvement. It hasn’t yet been confirmed whether the film will be a remake, re-imagining or a sequel. With Carpenter’s contribution it’s sure to be an honourable mark within The Thing’s film series.
Netflix’s surreal horror – I’m Thinking of Ending Things arrives on the 4th September
Charlie Kaufman tackles Iain Reid’s debut novel following a young woman who accompanies her boyfriend on a road trip to meet his parents. However, after a snowstorm prevents them from leaving, she soon notices her perception of reality has been wildly hindered. The film has a talented cast including Toni Collette, Jessie Buckley, Jesse Plemons and David Thewlis, who all seemingly tackle their roles extremely convincingly enhancing the erratic unnerving atmosphere of the film.
From the first look this film is a surreal ride into a perplexing maze of events. The uneasy trailer presents us with a false verisimilitude that presents normal situations in a sinister tone. The film’s atmosphere is structured to appear ordinary from an outside perspective but with unstable undertones lurking beneath the surface, similar to both Get Out (Jordan Peele, 2017) and Hereditary (Ari Aster, 2018).
It’s best to watch I’m Thinking of Ending Things with little prior knowledge to fully experience and appreciate the disturbing events that unravel.
First Look: The creators of The Haunting of Hill House return with The Haunting of Bly Manor
In 2018 Mike Flanagan brought Shirley Jackson’s novel to life with the terrifying Haunting of Hill House. Now Flanagan and the talented cast return for an adaptation of Henry James’s novella The Turn of the Screw. New pictures were released this week showing us an insight into Bly Manor’s haunting aura, including dark hallways, nightmarish dolls and a grandeur setting.
The foundation of Bly Manor seems to coincide with Hill House’s mysterious surroundings, but this time round Flanagan has hinted at an evoking relationship between haunted people and a haunted space. Bly Manor is set to return this Autumn, perfectly synchronising with Halloween.
Host director and writer team up once again for new prison-based horror flick
Host soared to success as one of the first lockdown films, however the director Rob Savage’s success doesn’t stop there as he alongside Host writer Jed Shepherd are set to create an original horror film based on a group of female prisoners discovering the prison’s dark secrets lurking around the halls.
Little has been released about Host’s follow up, the story has been likened to an allegory for the reverse effects of lockdown; once afraid to stay in for prolonged periods now transforms into a fear of venturing into the outside. Savage’s talent was exhibited largely throughout Host and if that’s anything to work from this film will be a hit.
This weeks article comes via Grace from Film Overload, you can check out more of her work here.
Battle of the Evil’s: Can Evil Dead live up to the originals legacy?
The Evil Dead is inarguably a definitive film of the horror genre, with a long standing reputation for popularising the cabin in the woods trope. Stephen King himself commented that Raimi’s telling of demonic possession was “ferociously original”. The term ‘original’ unfortunately is not commonly used in describing the latest that horror cinema has to offer. Retellings and re-imaginations are terms used to describe the influx of remakes stemming from the last twenty years, with an attempt to reboot a franchise and resell recycled materials.
Remakes can grow sour, not only in their reputation but in their actual quality and potency. Despite this scarceness of originality there are a select few remakes that rise out from the depths of the monotonous barrage of clutter that the remake side of the horror genre has succumbed to.
Fede Alvarez’s 2013 vision of Raimi’s classic prominently succeeds at creating its own success with or without The Evil Dead’s backing. Alvarez’s Evil Dead encapsulates the original’s dark sensibility without Raimi’s lobbying of comically grotesque demonic entities. That being said, to determine what establishes both films as horror classics in their own right we break down each film discussing the overall aesthetics, narrative development, mise-en-scene and direction.
The Evil Dead (Sam Raimi, 1981)
The film centers around Ash (Bruce Campbell), his girlfriend Linda (Betsy Baker), his sister Cheryl (Ellen And their two friends Scott (Richard DeManincor) and Shelley (Theresa Tilly) as they travel to a remote cabin in rural Tennessee. Their trip is shortly met with disaster as evil spirits lure Ash and Scott down into the basement where evil breaks loose.
The Evil Dead is one of the most celebrated horror films of the 1980s with its legacy remaining influential within modern horror. The archetype of the giggling demon toying with its prey, an ancient Book of the Dead bound with hints to not read and the woodside cabin are all common tropes by today’s standards thanks to The Evil Dead.
These horror tropes naturally conjure an appeal that naturally lures in evil, allowing for sinister occurrences to ensue. It is these universal factors that contribute to the films look. The appearance and aesthetics of a horror film can be crucial in determining its effectiveness amongst the audience. The isolated cabin is situated in an enormous spread of open wilderness yet, the confinement and incapability of the situation create a juxtaposed sense of claustrophobia in a vastly unbarred environment.
Alongside this, we have the frightening warning signs that premonate evil happenings prior to the horrific events. When the group arrive they are met with numerous bad omens forewarning danger such as a near miss car accident, a bench swinging on its own and the beginning signs of possession within the first fifteen minutes. This is one of the primary motives as to what makes the original renowned within the genre; it’s the audience participation of witnessing the negative foreshadowings and knowing you’re going to have to sit through their wicked fate. This entertainment factor of engagement with the film is only furthered by Raimi’s revolutionary use of cinematography.
The film begins with an immediate haunting atmosphere catalysed by a discerning POV shot that acts as a continuing motif throughout the remainder of the film. The camera tracks wildly throughout the forest bouncing within the trees and flying over the lakes, placing the viewer within the positioning of paranormal forces. The innovative camera placing continues throughout, with Raimi creating a DIY steadicam due to budgetary constraints. The camera would be carefully bolted down on a plank of wood for two crew members to hold onto either side and navigate under Raimi’s direction. The cheap solution created rich effects, allowing for a shaky depth of field mirroring the uneasy and rambunctious nature of the narrative.
The discerning visuals and tone are only fractious as to what makes The Evil Dead honourable, it’s the film’s fantastically grotesque innards that are iconic. The generous gore and guts is a sensory overload that indulges in the excessively freakish visuals accustomed with eighties splatter films. This is overtly noticeable within the claymation finale, where exploding organs and melting faces are at play for the horror viewers sensationalised needs.
However a scene that steers away from being comical and focuses on pure shock and horror is the infamous tree scene. In what is one of the films most gruesome scenes Cheryl is assaulted by a possessed tree. The phallic tree branches slip around her limbs and restrain her, the result of this being that she too is now possessed. From this moment on the horror that is hinted up until this scene is transformed into a full forced nightmare.
The Evil Dead’s legacy remains entirely influential to this day, with the cabin in the woods aspect now becoming its own sub genre. Alongside this we have Ash who is a horror icon, with the character even having his own spin off TV show ‘Ash vs. Evil Dead’. Ash is a simple yet complex character who possesses the typical level of naivety and charm to make audiences warm to him, but with a dexterity for killing demons. Ash’s appeal, Raimi’s inventive techniques and the overall genre establishing narrative techniques allow for The Evil Dead to cement its cult status position.
The Evil Dead is deeply loved by horror fans, but is not perfect and does delicately suffer from being dated. So does the remake over 3 decades later tackle the faulted aspects and celebrate its finest moments?
Evil Dead (Fede Alvarez, 2013)
Horror remakes can slump onto the scene with the only impact being made occurring financially. With bigger budgets, better CGIand a massive reputation to live up to, the remake can receive rather lacklustre feedback. Whereas Evil Dead is a companion piece to the original that captures the true horror without the comic relief. It’s a viscerally brutal vision that thrives on the nastiness that the original toyed with.
Unlike the eighties, modern horror is saturated with young adults holidaying at a desolate cabin, yet this doesn’t affect Evil Dead as the purpose for the rural stay is not for a nonsensical reason but for an actual source of isolation. The premise of the film is nearly the same as the original with five young adults (with two being siblings) staying at a cabin where evil entities are awakened due to the group’s own curiosity.
However the female lead Mia (Jane Levy) has a crippling heroin addiction, meaning that the secluded stay is necessary to allow for an intervention and addiction withdrawal. Immediately the sensibility of struggle is lunged onto the characters allowing for the audience to somewhat connect and understand the protagonists rather than disavowal them as dispensable characters.
Evil Dead has a reputation as being one of the better remakes due to its sense of logic that the original lacks. In The Evil Dead there is little reason as to why these demons are here or even what their motives are besides killing, there is no sourced route of chaos or evil. What Alvarez succeeds in is not creating a meaning behind the demons but to position the characters in a more realistic light in such a situation.
Despite Ash’s survival skills there is a sense of misunderstanding and damping down in how serious Cheryl’s and Shelley’s possession is. Yes, the first film has satirical undertones, but there is no sense of emergency or rapidness, ultimately decreasing tension. Alternatively Alvarez sticks to the horror route with an excess of panic and dread accentuated throughout.
The grossly outrageous gore is gloriously exhibited in a grand fashion brimmed with squirish moments including amputation via carving knife, tongue splitting and scalding. The bloodshed is generous but not entirely unnecessary. The ultraviolence is a grim payoff, with the stimulating body horror encapsulating how different the original and remake are.
The final sequence of Raimi’s film is over the top gory yet humorous, instead Evil Dead offers no relief or break from pure carnage. To further the horrific imagery is the perfect pace of the film. As aforementioned within the first fifteen minutes of the original film demonic action has already presented itself. Evil Dead does not crawl along but it handles the quick pacing more effectively. E.g, within the same amount of time we are introduced to reputable characters as well as attain a creepy atmosphere, with the horrifying opening sequence establishing Alvarez’s motives as to what sort of film we are about to endure.
Another commemorable aspect within Evil Dead is its use of practical effects. CGI almost acts as its own characters in many modern films, the constant display of unrealistic gore due to heavily digitally altered scenes can lessen the affective qualities. To defy this Álvarez opted for makeup, illusions and practical effects to achieve a grueling visceral appearance for necessary scenes. The practical effects is not the only reference to the original, with slight homages being paid throughout; a broken necklace is found outside resting resembling a skull, similar to Ash finding a chain for it to only fall into the shape of a skull. Other subtle references to the Evil Dead franchise include Mia wielding a chainsaw and possessed hands capable of mutilation.
Evil Dead understands its position within the Dead series. It’s not a retelling, it’s a chapter in the Book of the Dead, it fleshes out more than the first without over shadowing its predecessor. Raimi focuses on youthful individuals tackling crazed demons whereas Alvarez eludes this same aspect but with a grungy tone harboured with a kinetic brutality that explores hellish grounds.
This weeks article comes via Grace from Film Overload, you can check out more of her work here.
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