Ravings of an Unrepentant Cinephile

Caveat Lector

Caveat Lector - "Reader Beware"

This blog assumes readers love movies and will probably have already seen those discussed, or are looking for a reason to watch them. Therefore, assume spoilers in all posts. In other words, don't whine if I "ruin" the ending. You've been warned. *laughs maniacally*

Top Halloween Picks: A List For Just About Everyone [EDIT]



I've always sort of...shunned horror movies. Many of the plots carry the curse of formulaic contrivance. Rather than approaching things from a deeper psychological standpoint, too many focus on the two horror tropes I dislike most (Unnecessary Blood & Gore and the Jump Scare). On top of that, people are so stupid in these movies, that I find myself rooting for the monsters and serial killers. And what is up with the obsession with rape scenes? No, thank you. Worst of all, these movies still scare the bejesus out of me, no matter how crappy and unbelievable they are. And that means I suffer on multiple levels. [Je suis pas venue ici pour souffrir, ok?]

In fact, for the majority of my life, I could sum up my feelings about horror movies with this Eddie Murphy skit:



So I set out to do an alternative Halloween movie list, something for the non-horror movie fans like myself. But as I researched the movies I like, discuss, and would recommend at this time of year, I began to realize something: there are a lot of scary movies I do like. They may not be classified "horror," but they is most certainly an element of fear to them. More than that, I realized how connected to my fascination with darkness they are, and how my appreciation for them as an art form had grown since my younger years (you know, the ones where hiding under the covers with the tiny opening for air was still considered socially acceptable). The list kept getting larger, like some kind of blob monster. I had fallen down the ole rabbit hole, and this piece became one part sociological and historical treatise, one part incomplete "faves" list, one part anecdotal rambling...and one part referential metaphors.

...Which is pretty much how I talk, so... At any rate, I thought I'd warn you... like so many horror movies do right before everything goes terribly terribly wrong. Enjoy!


Fear: The Original Monster


Like for so many others, Halloween is my favorite holiday. That makes October my favorite month. Aside from All Hallows' Eve, October marks the true beginning of Autumn for the Northern Hemisphere. Leaves begin to turn in earnest. We go from the late summer heat of August & September to a crisp coolness and begin preparations for the long sleep of Winter. In short, the earth prepares for death.

For millennia, humans have celebrated the cycles of life on all sides of the planet. Autumn marks the final harvest and, while animals prepare for the long slumber of hibernation, plants enter their final stage of life. However, death is not the end. After the long sleep of winter, we have rebirth with the emergence of spring and a new breeding season. Early humans were aware of this and held rites to mark the various stages throughout the seasons. They celebrated and paid respects to the gods, ancestors, and plants and creatures that were a part of their very survival. Mostly, though, they told stories. These stories had everything: adventure, love, origins of the universe, heroes doing great deeds and making sacrifices, life and death....and fear.

Humans have known fear our entire existence, having inherited it from our animal ancestors. Moreover, despite the resourcefulness of our big brains, humans are aware (albeit only peripherally), how fragile a species we are. It doesn't take much to cut us open or squish us. We have decidedly poor immune systems compared to other members of the animal kingdom. We can't take extreme weather, and have dangly, tender bits that are just waiting to be hacked off or gouged out. Perhaps, also, watching that which did come back to life after death (trees and other plants that bloom after harsh winters) would have made us more keenly aware of our own inability to do so. As sentient beings, we are hyper aware of our own mortality. As a species, it is perhaps our greatest insecurity. We told stories about fear and overcoming fear so we could make it through the night, to find the strength to go on surviving in a world full of brutality.
"When your kind first huddled around the fire, I was the thing in the dark."
~Alpha Vampire, Supernatural Season 6, Ep. 7 "Family Matters"
With this awareness of our own fragility, we were of course aware of that which could cause our demise. Predators were constantly waiting to eat us, bugs devour our remains and assert their evolutionary dominance, and with the plethora of poisonous flora, it would seem the plant kingdom was even out to get us. It is no wonder we invented greater monsters to subvert our fear of that which surrounded us literally every hour of every day. After all, we did the same thing with our invention of gods to answer our most fearful question: Why? Why are we here, why do we die...just, why?

As we continued to try and conquer fear, we evolved a little...a very little, but enough to refine our stories, perhaps our greatest achievement. We moved from oral tradition to writing things down, but never lost our impressive imagination. We brought our stories to life through every creative medium, sometimes inventing new ones solely for telling a story just so. Novels, epic poems, and plays, have served us well, but it's possible that no other medium has quite captivated our collective hearts as film. As we move, further away from the written word and more towards the moving picture, that seems unlikely to change.

That doesn't mean we don't remember the written word. In fact, if you look at the whole of film-making, you will generally find more movies adapted from written stories or based on real life than completely invented for the screen.

And that is where our list begins.


Silver Screen Legends


Early on in film, silent movies reigned supreme. These soundless moving pictures were supposed to be a gimmick, but exploded in the first few years of the 20th century. People couldn't get enough. So, when we moved on from simple exhibitions of what this new medium could do, we turned to what we do best: stories. It is no surprise that we pulled from the many that already existed, especially horror. There are two in particular that had captured the hearts of readers in the previous century: Bram Stoker's Dracula and Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. I wonder if they could have conceived of the world their works would inspire.

Nosferatu

Often considered the "original" horror movie by many, this silent film, based loosely on Stoker's novel, terrified everyone, and with good reason. This vamp didn't sparkle, didn't drive a Beemer, and was unlikely to woo anyone. Still, this monster was compelling.

It went on from there, as horror went from silent screams to very vocal ones with the invention of sound for film. It brought about the likes of Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, Lon Chaney, and Claude Rains, bringing to life Frankenstein's monster, The Mummy, The Phantom of the Opera (before the singing), Dracula, The Wolf Man, and The Hunchback of Notre Dame (also before the singing). These have become the gold standard of horror, and filmmakers today still try to emulate various aspects of these early movies.


Hitchcock and the Nuclear Age


By the end of World War II, humanity had one more thing to be deathly afraid of: nuclear holocaust. And as we moved into the age of space travel and the scandals of the '60s and '70s, a deep-seated paranoia settled into our bones. Old world creatures became old hat as spectres that came from space, were born of radiation, or even lurked right next door began to permeate our consciousness.

Invasion of the Body Snatchers

So disturbing was this movie for so many, that "pod person" has come to have its own meaning in our greater culture, usually one who pretends to be something they aren't. This concept of being taken over, whether it be the internal (mind, personality, body), or the external (country, earth), brought an ancient fear to modern times.

Godzilla and Radiation

For many, Godzilla was just a guy in a rubber suit stepping on scale models of cities. For others, yet another CGI fail coupled with what I like to call "stupid human tricks" (you know, running down to the creepy basement in your teddy without a flashlight or a weapon because you "heard a noise"). But there is actually deeper meaning to this odd little franchise, and it has everything to do with WWII.

When the bomb dropped on Hiroshima, it was total devastation. Worse, the lingering radiation poison would prove to be as terrible as the initial blast wave of the mushroom cloud. Yes, there was the loss of life, land, and resources, but it took something deeper from the Japanese people. A piece of the soul of these people was ripped away from them. They were in utter shock. It would take decades to rebuild huge portions of the country, as well as its people. As time went on, the country needed to find ways to heal from the damage. The idea of great and terrible creatures growing from the effects of radiation to wreak havoc on entire countrysides came along, and it became symbolic for more than the Japanese people. The creation of Godzilla was a direct result of the necessary catharsis from nuclear holocaust (though not its only one). Furthermore, it was a wake-up call that the U.S. and other countries who were conducting nuclear tests should have already received, and it served to vent some of our collective anxiety. All that from a rubber suit.

Hitchcock Changes Filmmaking Forever

To highlight this newfound paranoia, we have the films of Alfred Hitchcock. Actually, it might be more accurate to say these films are an undertone of the time, a low-level buzz of anxiety that threatens at any moment to turn into full-blown panic. Hitchcock created works of such poise and elegance, that you barely noticed they were suspense-filled thrillers and horror movies. While his entire oeuvre could be said to be worthy of a viewing, here are some of my favorites:
  • Rear Window
  • Vertigo
  • The Birds
  • Psycho

Holding Up a Mirror to Society by Way of the Psyche

The greatest compliment I can pay horror movies is that their themes do merit discussion. A common theme is the horror film as social commentary. In many ways, horror is more effective in illuminating aspects of our shared characteristics and foibles than other types of movies, because (for the most part) they don't beat you over the head with their message, and they certainly don't shy away from it. Horror movies give you fear, a thing that we all share, but instead of eschewing this natural aspect of our psyche, it allows you to work through it. As the characters fight their very real demons, we get to fight our own metaphorical ones. These metaphors seep into our subconscious, asking and processing big questions in the dark recesses of our minds.

These movies reflect the times we live in as much as the deep psychological and evolutionary roots of our fear. As we move from Old World fear through the Nuclear Age, the changing cultural landscape begins to yield domestic issues through the '60s, '70s, and '80s: race & civil rights, gender & the sexual revolution, disease, and serial killers. These issues move seamlessly into horror, and allow us to dig deeper into our shared fears and how they affect our society.

Take the virgin ideal, for example. This trope has become prominent since slasher flicks came about. The lone virgin female survives the attacks of the monster, while her sexually promiscuous counterpart is killed off. This carries many layers. There is simple Puritan-esque misogyny, requiring women to horde their virginity for others' pleasure and control. There is also the blooming AIDS epidemic. The resulting call for abstinence was a rebuttal to the sexual revolution of the '60s, and later feminist movement's assertion that women should be in charge of their own bodies.

But let's look deeper. Sexuality, as a natural aspect of our humanity, becomes evil and shameful. The monster comes and purges that evil before it is purged itself by the ultimate good (the virgin). But would there be the necessity for this monster if there was no shame attached to something so natural? Does it not seem likely that we do this to ourselves? In our need to vilify natural aspects of our nature, such as sexuality and the unconventional, do we not create monsters?


The Era of Schlock


Nowhere is this more apparent, I feel, than in the emergence of schlock horror in the '70s and '80s. This era starts (for me) with the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre, a true classic (although the remake isn't bad) based loosely on the exploits of creepy, early serial killer Ed Gein. The timing is apropos...after all this is merely a couple decades since Gein turned women into furniture and clothes, Manson brainwashed a cult of women into killing for him, and serial killers such as the Son of Sam began to invade our television and newspaper headlines. Many of these killers clearly had deep-seated issues. It is too easy to say that they are simply evil, or psychotic, because humans do seem to love slapping those labels on anything they consider different, or not "normal". Yet it would be indefensible, even repugnant, to say that these individuals were simply expressing some aspect of their natural self. The questions get harder to answer, to silence, much like the antagonists of these pieces who just won't die. It is no wonder, then, that the slasher style continues to influence modern films.

The Horror Franchise Triumvirate:

Halloween
Friday the 13th
Nightmare on Elm Street
These movies are perhaps the most popular horror franchises of all time. Even though I didn't watch them when they came out (I was, like, eight. Gremlins scared me.), I knew exactly who Michael Myers, Jason Voorhees, and Freddy Krueger were. Everyone did. ...and I will never forget how much the cover for Halloween creeped me out as it sat on the shelf where my dad worked. No, I can't say I was much of a fan...that is, until I saw Wes Craven's New Nightmare.

Do I hear a collective groan from the audience? Yes, I understand. This is right during the time when the franchises were going downhill, and many disliked this one. However, the new twist was what drew me in. The idea of a story come to life, of a story that needed to continue being told to keep the world in balance...well, that's good stuff.

Stephen King:

I'm a big fan of Stephen King. His books are the only horror I read, but his movies have mostly been lackluster over the years. That's because King's true horror is what happens in people's minds, a theory with which I agree. That's hard to convey on film, and many have failed in the attempt. Still, there are some decent selections to check out:
  • The Shining
  • Christine
  • Cujo
  • Carrie
  • It (Clown...need I say more?)
  • Cat's Eye (creepy, creepy, creepy! This movie is so creepy! Just watch it...and kiss proper sleep goodbye)

Other notables from this era:

  • John Carpenter's The Thing
  • The Evil Dead
  • The Fly (Cronenberg or the original)
  • Poltergeist 
  • House 
  • The Lost Boys


The Modern Era of Horror:


Horror Goes Meta

I count Scream as the start of the new era of horror. This movie is all meta, paying homage, both in the story and the creation of the film, to previous masters of schlock. It was new and fresh...sort of. But in a genre and style that had gone a little stale by this point (the Triumvirate kept cranking out sequels) it got people excited for horror all over again.

Japanese Horror

I refuse to watch the original Japanese versions of The Ring (Ringu) and The Grudge (Ju-on) because the Americanized versions were scary enough, thank you very much. These movies add a decided bleak hopelessness as you never are actually able to get rid of the Big Bad.

Other notables from this era:
  • Blair Witch Project - This movie gets a lot of flack, and for good reason. But shaky cam aside, this movie scared the ever-loving shit out of me. Creepy sounds in the middle of some nowhere forest at night? So much for camping.
  • Saw - In true franchise fashion, a refreshing horror film does well, and won't shut up. I liked the first one, but the one or two I saw after that did nothing for me. Oh well. 
  • Låt den rätte komma in ("Let the Right One In") - This is a fantastic mood piece as well as a great horror story. You might even feel a bit of warm fuzzy at the end. I love this movie.
  • Bram Stoker's Dracula - Though it came out in '92, this movie is more cinematic than schlock. Gary Oldman stars in this remake of the adaptation from the book (yikes), and he is no less compelling as the ancient count-turned-monster that started the vampire craze, Vlad Tepes. The movie is scary, sexy, and even makes you feel sadness for this classic foe. With a deliciously dark motion picture score by Wojciech Kilar (The Pianist), and great costumes, this is a gothic feast.
  • M. Night Shyamalan's movies - Once hailed as the next Hitchcock, M's street cred has taken such a dive that one can't hear his name mentioned without a scornful groan. Still, I've always been a fan, and many of his movies are so good (Unbreakable is my favorite super hero origin story), that I'm willing to forgive him a few things here and there... Though we do not speak of the debacle that was the live action version of one of my all time favorite cartoons. Moving on...


And Let's Not Forget...


Zombies:

Can I say that I am obsessed with zombies? I think everyone is a little. You can't have a discussion of horror without Romero's offspring. Fear of germs, fear of the apocalypse...there are too many layers here to get into right now. I'll do a separate post on zombies at a later time. Still, here are some of my favorites:
  • Night of the Living Dead
  • The Walking Dead
  • 28 Days Later
  • Dawn of the Dead
  • iZombie
  • Shaun of the Dead

Comedies:

Ah, levity. I mean, how much screaming can you take before you want to shoot the television? Apparently, a lot, as evidenced from this list. But not me. I need the lights turned on and some cartoons every once in a while, you know? As such, it's not surprising that the horror movies I find most enjoyable are comedies.
  • Beetlejuice
  • Ghostbusters
  • Young Frankenstein (a true classic. Mel Brooks and Gene Wilder at their finest)
  • Tremors
  • Gremlins
  • Scary movie
  • Transylvania 6-5000

The Mindfuck:

To me, truly good horror should mess with your mind and not only your senses. Our psyches are far more terrifying than fake blood and gore on screen, and I've heard it said that all monsters are human. If you feel the same, then these might do it for you:
  • Donnie Darko
  • American Psycho
  • Anything by David Lynch - seriously
  • One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
  • The Butterfly Effect (make sure to see the Director's Cut; it's got a much darker and more satisfying ending)
  • The Cell (Vincent D'Onofrio at his most terrifying)
  • Black Swan
  • Old Boy (this movie is brilliant; bring your hammer)
  • Being John Malkovich (while I can't say I loved this movie, it definitely fits this category)
  • Shutter Island
  • Se7en
  • Soylent Green
  • Dark City
  • Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas

Kid-Friendly:

Kids get to have fun, too. I mean, even though Gremlins scared the crap out of me at the tender age of seven, I still enjoyed it. (I still maintain that cute, fuzzy, friendly things shouldn't turn into creepy, pointy, mean things. I don't care what damn time of day it is.) Here's some kid-friendly movies to share with your kids:
  • The Nightmare Before Christmas (though I consider this more of a Christmas movie, I would be remiss if I didn't add this one in)
  • It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown
  • The Witches 
  • Bedknobs & Broomsticks

Dark Horses:

There are some pieces that don't necessarily fit your typical horror mold, but I feel merit some recognition nonetheless:
  • Alien - Because in space, no one can hear you scream.
  • The Mummy (1999) - More action than fear, this fun romantic remake of the classic nevertheless has some moments reminiscent of classic oldies. Brandon Fraser and Rachel Weisz have great chemistry.
  • Stir of Echoes - A surprising suspense horror, this movie centered around a father's deteriorating mental state as he is haunted by a spirit seeking justice. Plus, it's Kevin Bacon.
  • Pan's Labyrinth - This oft-forgotten fantasy by Guillermo del Toro is part creepy, part whimsical; it has to make the list.
  • The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari Massive Attack - Like the Dark Side of Oz, take one classic movie, add a brilliant psychedelic modern album, hit play and enjoy.
  • Idiocracy - This movie is terrifying. If you don't think so, you're not paying attention.

Television Shows:

Perhaps you're looking to dive into a world of darkness, death, and magic long-term. For monster-of-the-week, and epic story-lines, you can check out some of the following:
  • Supernatural
  • American Horror Story
  • Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel
  • Stranger Things
  • X-Files
  • True Blood
  • Dark Shadows
  • Kolchak: the Night Stalker
  • Tales from the Dark Side
  • Spielberg's Amazing Stories
  • Twilight Zone
  • The Outer Limits
  • Once Upon a Time


The Week of the Dead


At this point, you may be asking yourself, "Okay, that's quite the list, but where do I start? Halloween is upon us." It's true, even if you started a marathon at the beginning of October and did nothing but eat (because you definitely wouldn't be sleeping), you could never make it through the list of existing horror movies. As such, I have put together my own must-see list.

Again, this won't be your typical list. I, like those of old, celebrate this time of year for many days. I have a sort of "basic framework" rather than a playlist for my Week of the Dead revelry. I start the week out with specific choices as I celebrate with everyone else (Devil's Night and Halloween). I then spend my "Days of the Dead" contemplating and planning for a new year. I finish it off with Guy Fawkes Day, where, as a Burner, bonfire as a celebration of said new year is perfectly reasonable....also because we like fire.

Devil's Night (October 30th)

The Crow

This is my required viewing for Devil's Night (October 30th). Brandon Lee's final movie serves as a huge inspiration for the goth-punk movement. The piece is dark, totemic/mythic, has great action scenes, and an excellent soundtrack. With a ghost bent on righteous revenge, this creates a haunting and sad tale. This movie embodies Halloween in a way that is wholly separate from slasher flicks. The gang boss that he is hell-bent on destroying has kept the city in a state of fear, corruption, and stagnancy. Catharsis, therefore, is reached in this story not only for the Crow spirit but also the world he inhabits....a perfect metaphor for death/rebirth of the pagan new year. But if that's not scary enough, the knowledge that Lee died from injuries on set while filming this - in much the same fashion as his iconic father, Bruce Lee, decades before - and had to be digitally added, ghost-like, to a number of scenes in post-production, should up the creep factor for you.

All Hallows' Eve (October 31st)

The Great Pumpkin

A classic. I grew up on this and the myriad other Peanuts specials that peppered network television in the '70s and '80s. This piece of my childhood has become a mainstay in my Halloween rotation.

Practical Magic

What? A romantic comedy? Yeah, I feel you. I was surprised, too. This movie is not what you'd expect for a Halloween viewing. Unless you grew up like I did. Because it's all about the relationships in this movie...and the magic. Growing up among generations of women, I feel like I know these ladies. In so many ways that are deeply personal, this is my family. As for the magic, I've had people ask, "What about The Craft?" The Craft has its charms, but it gets so much wrong about magic, not the least being the imposition of a male-personified deity in what is a story of feminine empowerment in traditionally female-centered pagan traditions. But that's a rant for another day. The Craft was a product of its time, embodying the rebellion of gothic teen angst in the '90s. In that regard, it's a great movie. What Practical Magic does for me is normalize magic, to some degree, as a practice of everyday life during a time when there was still little known about it...albeit in an over-the-top sort of way. Still managing to tackle ignorance and hatred toward pagan traditions ("After 500 years, you'd think they'd come up with a better rhyme."), this hit home for me. All in all, a great soundtrack, dark humor, and a light-hearted example of what women have accomplished for centuries when they work together through love, makes this movie worthwhile. I love this movie.

Day(s) of the Dead (November 1st-4th)

If you've still got the itch for some death- or fear-themed films come November 1st, you need not fret. Death still holds sway in many parts of the world. In Mexico and other countries, Dia de Muertos (Day of the Dead) is as popular as Halloween and Mardi Gras put together...and it kind of looks like it. At some point, I plan a Halloween week in Mexico, so I can catch these beautiful revelries. In the meantime, the following movies will have to hold me:
  • Coco - Pixar rarely disappoints to bring the tears. This romp through the land of Land of the Dead is not only a feast for the eyes, but it will have you in the Land of Tears by the end.
  • The Village - Whatever you think of Shyamalan's style, check out the mood and color of this movie. It fits well with the feel of late autumn / early winter.
  • The Lady in the Water - This movie takes fear and story and entwines them into a fantastical allegory. A grownup bedtime story that makes me happy on so many levels.
  • Sleepy Hollow - Tim Burton, Johnny Depp and Christina Ricci bring the classic Wind in the Willows tale to live action? Why aren't we watching it right now?
  • The Addams Family - It's a bit on the nose to bring up the Charles Addam's royal family of macabre for Halloween, but this show is great all the way through Thanksgiving. Whether you are watching the original TV series or the two movies starring Anjelica Houston and Raul Julia, I promise fun, dark humor. The only reason these movies don't make my "top" list is that I prefer to watch them closer to Thanksgiving. (Wednesday's monologue on what the meeting of pilgrims and Native Americans would cause is so very enjoyable.) Watch it mid-November if you're feeling the need for a little Halloween refresher.

Guy Fawkes Day (November 5th)

V for Vendetta

"Remember, remember, the 5th of November, the gunpowder treason and plot." 
While not a horror movie, I do find dystopian societies creepy. They are our worst selves, so I enjoy any movie that tears that up. And if it happens to coincide with a holiday dedicated to burning effigies? Well, any excuse for a bonfire, says I.


That's it for now. When you've spent as much of your life watching movies as I have, then the idea of movies as part ritual for this time of year should come as no surprise. (You should see the music playlist.) So, doing this article has been...enlightening. I have a newfound appreciation for the horror genre and its influence. If you're anything like me, you'll be watching these movies well beyond November 1st. 

Happy Halloween!

~`~`~`~`~

Other references not linked above:

(2015, October 26). Waves of fear: A timeline of horror-film trends Retrieved from http://www.startribune.com/waves-of-fear-a-timeline-of-horror-film-trends/336310901/

(2016, August 22). Top 25 Horror Movies of All Time. Retrieved from  http://www.ign.com/articles/top-25-horror-movies-of-all-time?page=3

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