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 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.
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.
This weeks horror news round up comes from Grace at Film Overload!
Overview: Arrow Video’s Frightfest 2020
This year’s Frightfest reigns different to the past, with it taking place virtually. The online festival line-up included 25 films (seven world premieres and 16 UK premieres). As usual the menu of films included a selection of soon to be top hits such as Ivo van Art’s well received The Columnist and The Swerve (Dean Kapsalis, 2018).
The collection of films was entirely varied with stories from Canada, Australia, UK, Netherlands and Brazil, allowing for a broad range of films to emerge, particularly the hilarious hidden gem of the season Two Heads Creek (Jesse O’Brien, 2019). Frightfest’s usual energetic brigade of guest appearances, Q&A’s and film showcases were not left out, despite the fact that the event was held online; in fact the comfort of watching from home was not overlooked.
New uncut trailer for Cronenberg’s Possessor lands
Possessor is a sci-fi horror film directed by Brandon Cronenberg, if the surname sounds familiar it’s because the infamous David Cronenberg is Brandon’s father and his influence is not ignored, with intense body horror and brutality exhibited throughout. Possessor follows a secret agent who inhabits other people’s bodies via brain-implantation to perform assassinations for her clients.
The film explores loss of identity and control over one’s own actions. The set up has been praised due to its originality and stand out performances by the impressive cast including Andrea Riseborough (“Mandy”) and Christopher Abbot (“Piercing”). The trailer definitely highlights the startling enigmatic atmosphere Cronenberg has established, with a background of stylishly choreographed violence and gore all lit with a sense of dystopian reality.
The New Mutants fails to live up to long awaited expectations
Josh Boone’sThe New Mutants has not been dealt an easy hand, with a repetitive delayed schedule constantly pushing its release date back. This may have edged up the hype surrounding the film for a while, but the anticipated release has been considered a let down by many. The reviews are not all negative, yet many audiences feel the horror potential it had was overshadowed by its origins within the X-Men franchise.
The New Mutants was marketed as a horror take on the saturated supervillain genre (similar to last year’s Brightburn), however the scare tactics have little hold over the exaggerated action sequences and overt Marvel cliches that have grown tiresome.
The reaction is not entirely surprising as one of the reasons for the delay was due to the studio (20th Century Fox) requiring the film to be almost completely reshot after such negative responses. Unfortunately a lot more than a reshoot needed to be completed to save The New Mutants.
First teaser for Blumhouse Productions Amazon Prime horror films coming this Halloween
Blumhouse Productions seem to appear in many of the latest horror releases for years, with their investments creating hits such as The Invisible Man (Leigh Whannell, 2020) and Halloween (David Gordon Green, 2018). Blumhouse will release a total of eight filmsdirectly to Amazon Prime. The series of films is aptly titled ‘Welcome to Blumhouse’ and from the first look that was released this week horror fans will be in for a treat.
The teaser trailer promises an unsettling journey into fear, with a glimpse into each film’s chilling disposition. The four films coming soon are ‘The Lie’ (Veena Sud) which starts Joey King as an impulsive killer, ‘Black Box’ (Emmanuel Osei-Kuffour Jr.) which explores the temptation of reversing history, ‘Evil Eye’ (Elan Dassani and Rajeev Dassani) which is produced by Priyanka Chopra and deals with the consequences of parental suspicions and ‘Nocturne’ (Zu Quirke) which explores a musician’s Faustian pact to supersede her talented sister.
The first four will be released on October 6th just in time for Halloween, with the other four films premiering in 2021.
This weeks article comes via Grace from Film Overload, you can check out more of her work here.
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.
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.
The found footage genre is infamous for exploding onto the market, with innovative films that use new technology to present chilling and realistic narratives. Although still effective, it is a heavily saturated sub-genre that can at times present stale ideas that have been executed multiple times before. However, something that has arisen from found footage and given it a new lease of life is desktop horror.
Desktop horror ensues entirely on a computer screen. The method seeks to emulate how society is both psychically immersed with technology, but also how our emotions and fears are charged via our online life. These films create a sense of present time and space with much of the action literally unravelling before our eyes; with desktop horror we are glued to the screen, following the cursors every move, noting every message that pops-up and observing every letter typed.
It’s a relatively unexplored topic, with few lists detailing the best picks for you to watch. With this being said here are 5 engaging films that are worth adding to your watchlist.
5. Ratter (Branden Kramer, 2015)
Ratter follows Emma (Ashley Benson), an independent grad student who recently moved to New York after a recent break up. Emma’s penchant for her laptop soon results in her own demise as it’s hacked. Now her every move is being watched by a sadistic stranger.
The film toys with societal fears of intrusion and exploiting one’s personal privacy. The hacker has access to Emma’s everyday life with her intimate moments and personal conversations being accessible for anyone to witness.
As her webcam has been permanently activated the audience takes on the perspective of the hacker. Yet we are paralysed behind the screen, unable to communicate and inept in rescuing. But the question that arises is ‘are we partnered alongside the hacker?’ acting as the voyeur.
Ratter is not necessarily the most admirable or acclaimed film, but Kramer utilises the situation to create a slow swelling build up of tension and eerie dread resulting in an engaging entry into desktop horror.
Ratter is currently available to rent on Amazon Prime
4. The Collingswood Story (Michael Costanza, 2006)
The Collingswood Story details Rebecca’s (Stephanie Dee) long distance relationship with her boyfriend Johnny (Johnny Burton) over webcam after she moves to Collingswood for University. Rebecca soon learns that the town of Collingswood was once the home of a deranged satanic cult.
The premise seems tiresome and repetitive but it’s execution is flawlessly formulated. The mid 2000s webcam situation of blurry quality and MSN style aesthetics does not dampen the film’s merit; in fact it accentuates the authenticity of the scenario.
The pacing of the film equates to a sense of terror and anxiety, with the believable dialogue only enhancing the compelling emotions manifested from such qualities. The sensations of fear are strengthened due to the time and space that desktop horror conjures. With the events literally unraveling in front of the viewer there is an impression of urgency created to bring back harmony and end the frightening occurrences.
The Collingswood Story is an entirely underrated film that deserves to be commended for its take on desktop horror.
3. Unfriended (Levan Gabriadze, 2014)
Unfriended follows a group of teenagers who find that an anonymous member in their Skype call brings about haunting occurrences with deadly consequences. Unfriended is possibly the most notorious film on this list with it becoming a filmic sensation. The film presents a realistic active laptop screen with open tabs, various social media accounts and cluttered files dispersed all over.
As the film progresses so does the paranormal activity, the group harbour a dark secret involving the suicide of their friend Laura (Heather Sossaman). The audience is persuaded to believe that the strange happenings are at the hands of Laura’s ghost. As with many desktop horrors, it’s not as simple as closing your screen and abandoning technology to solve the problem, as Laura’s apparition taunts the group by continually interjecting herself into their Skype session no matter how many times they attempt to log off.
Laura’s persistence for cathartic revenge leads to her suicide video ceaselessly playing on screen, leading to the implied notion that digitalised media is cemented online forever and inescapable. Desktop horror manipulates the internet’s natural accessibility and emulated factors to create an environment of unavoidable dread.
The Den (released as Hacked in some countries) follows Elizabeth (Melanie Papalia) who is given a grant to investigate video communication culture online. Elizabeth soon discovers the dark secrets inhibiting the web in the form of underground snuff films, little does she know her curiosity may lead to her own demise.
The Den’s exploration into dark web videos is familiar to audiences awareness of the dangerous doings below the surface of the internet. The threat of snuff films has been the talk of many horror stories both on screen and in reality. Thus when the film is said to take inspiration from ‘real life events’, we are told that these are not characters but real people faced with real consequences.
Donohue attempts to divide the borders between reality and fiction, with the self-contained barrier of fictitious circumstances flowing into real existence. E.g. part of Elizabeth’s research involves her interacting on Chatroulette-style websites communicating with random strangers and witnessing odd situations. As the parallel between screen and person is broken down, we feel as if we are just one of those strangers on Chatroulette, haplessly witnessing her doom.
1. Host (Rob Savage, 2020)
Host follows a group of young women on a Zoom meeting as they attempt to hold a seance to break their lockdown boredom. Host is the most recent film on the list and possibly the most relatable.
The film takes place during the current COVID-19 pandemic and features many familiar factors that people have contributed into their daily routine as part of surviving lockdown. Zoom sessions, group chats, drinking games, and plenty of time on your hands is something that much of society has had to endure since lockdown. Trapping us in own individual claustrophobic new worlds, where our only meaningful social interactions are through a screen.
I’m sure this will not be the only film surrounding Coronavirus but it is one of the first. What occurs during the film’s short run time of 57 minutes is a traditional creepy and ominous story of toying with spirits that should be left unknown. What should be a typical narrative is a refreshing take on a ghost story. Savage utilises the webcams capability of being all seeing and all knowing.
The Zoom meeting acts as a safety brace for these women and the paranormal events. It is implied that the screen is a means to survive, an essential guard against these events, posing the more wider reliance we as a society have on our devices.
I was absolutely gutted to have missed the first limited release of In Search of Darkness – 80’s horror doc when they released it to Blu-ray last year. Long story short; the week I intended on making my purchase, I fell ill with appendicitis and ended up out of action for 4 weeks!
Thankfully when a second run was announced this year, I had another opportunity to own this 4 hour nostalgia trip and encyclopedic look into 80’s Horror.
”If one horror film hits, everyone says, ‘Let’s go make a horror film.’ It’s the genre that never dies.” – George A. Romero
This comprehensive look into the golden era of Horror flicks, was made reality through a Kickstarter campaign and it really does feel like a treat for fans. David Weiner (former journalist and executive editor of Famous Monsters of Filmland from 2015 to 2016) directs an eclectic mix of interviews with filmmakers such as John Carpenter, special effects legend’s Greg Nicotero, and super fans like Slipknot’s Corey Taylor.
The doc kicks off by listing the all-star casts’ memorable flicks of the decade; The Shining, Pet Sematary, Halloween II-5, Nightmare on Elm Street, The Thing, Childs Play, Elvira, Xtro, Company of Wolves, Cujo, Jaws 3D, The Howling, The Hunger, Basket Case, Maniac, Lost Boys, Near Dark, Friday the 13th I & II, Evil Dead I & II, The return of the Living Dead, Day of the Dead, Poltergeist, American Werewolf in London, Monster Squad, The Fly, Hellraiser, The Changeling, Re-Animator, Sleepaway Camp, Pumkinhead – just scratching the surface of this epic decade of horror.
The doc then takes a walk chronologically from The Shining (1980) up to Friday The 13th Part VIII (1989) – It’s jammed packed full of anecdotes and amazing insights from how some of the bloodiest kills were made by the likes of Tom Savini to Joe Dante’s opinion on The Howling’s sequel.
In Search of Darkness left me yearning for those long gone video store years, every Friday night grabbing the goriest, scariest looking horror movie I could see in the bargain bin. The 4 hours 30 minutes runtime breezed by, and felt there could of easily of been hours more to dive into.
Excitingly David and the CreatorVC team clearly felt the same way as In Search of Darkness Part 2 is coming in October 2020 – Look out for an announcement next month for how we are celebrating its release at this years festival!
Our rating – 4.5/5
Written and Directed by – David A. Weiner
Produced by – Creator CV Studios
Starring – Cassandra Peterson, John Carpenter, Keith David, Heather Langenkamp, Joe Dante, Greg Nicotero and Barbara Crampton
In Search of Darkness is now avaliable to stream on Shudder
Here’s our first horror news round up, a couple of this weeks biggest stories and happenings in the genre!
Friday The 13th – Epic 16 disc franchise collection announced
Scream factory confirmed a leak on Monday 13 July (obviously), that a brand new franchise collection including all 12 films will be released on 13 October 2020. Rumours had been rumbling since March this year when a cast member of Jason Lives mentioned the new box set, and the collection had also been spotted on amazon briefly as unavailable. Fans will not be disappointed as there will be 4k restorations of the first four films and bloody bags full of new content from each film to wade through.
Fans lucky enough to get their hands on the 16 disc collection through Scream Factory will receive; an exclusive limited edition 36” x 24” lithograph featuring new artwork from artist Devon Whitehead and limited edition 24” x 36” Friday The 13th 40th anniversary poster with new artwork from Joel Robinson. The collaboration with Paramount Studios has already crashed the SF website so its fair to say you’ll need to get in there quick to bag a copy! (Link below)
Don Mancini creator of the the Child’s Play franchise shared a teaser (below) of a new series ‘‘Chucky’‘ coming to USA and Syfy in 2021. ”Chucky” has been described as a ”fresh take on the franchise” that’ll ”explore Chucky’s character with a depth that is uniquely afforded by the television series format”
“After a vintage Chucky doll turns up at a suburban yard sale, an idyllic American town is thrown into chaos as a series of horrifying murders begin to expose the town’s hypocrisies and secrets. Meanwhile, the arrival of enemies — and allies — from Chucky’s past threatens to expose the truth behind the killings, as well as the demon doll’s untold origins as a seemingly ordinary child who somehow became this notorious monster.”
Here at Dead Northern were beyond excited to see how this new series plays out!
https://www.instagram.com/p/CCt1V2eF4zl/
Shudder’s ”The Last Drive-In With Joe Bob Briggs” returning for a third season in August
Horror fans will be pleased to hear on Tuesday it was announced the Shudder series was being renewed for a third season and some additional specials due as soon as this August. Shudder announced a special ”summer sleepover” double feature pre-taped prior to lockdown that will feature a visit to the trailer park from horror filmmaker Adam Green along with other surprise guests. The special episode will premiere on Friday 14 August.
In Memoriam – Kelly Preston
Actress Kelly Preston has died aged 57 after a 2 year fight with breast cancer, it was announced by husband John Travolta on Monday 13 July. Travolta posted on Instagram: “My beautiful wife Kelly has lost her two-year battle with breast cancer. She fought a courageous fight with the love and support of so many.”
The couple had been married for nearly 29 years. Preston’s career included roles in Twins, From Dusk Till Dawn (pictured above), Jerry Maguire and The Cat in the Hat. She also collaborated with her husband on Battlefield Earth and Old Dogs. Tributes poured in for the brilliant actress from the likes of Russell Crowe and Alec Baldwin, both having worked with her described her as a ‘lovely person’, ‘funny’ and ‘kind’.
We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are dead happy with it.OkNo
