Welcome to the 259th Edition of my series. This is the last week of the
Horror Marathon. Next week is the FIVE-YEAR ANNIVERSARY of this blog. I
know, I can't believe it either. I am intending to do something totally
different to the norm which I think will be enjoyed so stay tuned.
The
Cincinnati Kid (1965): I start the week out with this classic poker
film which stars Steve McQueen as the title character. This movie takes
place in '30s New Orleans where McQueen plays a young poker player who
comes to New Orleans to take on poker legend Lancey Howard, played by
Edward G. Robinson. There is a lot of really good footage of the two
taking each other. Ann-Margret, Karl Malden, Tuesday Weld, and a rare
acting appearance from Cab Calloway all co-star. It is a really
realistic film of the times and a darker side of New Orleans. There is
also a good, jazzy music score and the theme song by Ray Charles.
Norman Jewison directed the film.
Casper (1995): Our favorite
friendly ghost get the live-action treatment. It starts out with the
usual part to the cartoons where Casper just wants friends but other
just fear the unknown and get scared. Cathy Moriarty and Eric Idle play
a couple who wants to burn the house down after being scared away by
the ghosts. They then hire afterlife therapist Dr. James Harvey, played
by Bill Pullman, who moves in hopes to get rid of the ghosts. Christina
Ricci stars as his daughter Kat who is tired of constant moving but
then meets Casper who she sees is very friendly unlike his uncles who
are pretty mean and want them out of the house. This would be more of a
family-friendly film which I did not find bad and even gave Casper a
bit of a back story. Look for many cameos.
Poetry of Nature
(1939): This is my short film for the week which is one of the Pete
Smith specialties and some of my favorite from that era. This takes a
look at many wildlife situations and adds humorous contents voicing the
animals that he shows. This is the common formula for many of his short
films. I have seen better than this one but they are all pretty
enjoyable to me so check out some Pete Smith shorts if you get a chance.
Ernest
Scared Stupid (1991): I think this is the first time that Ernest P.
Worrell has graced this blog. Jim Varney created this iconic character
in the 80s who is very likable but very inept. In this film, he plays
the trash man who accidentally helps some evil trolls escape from their
graves who then begin wreaking havoc on the town but most notably on
the children who the adults do not believe. Ernest must then team up
with his youth friends to put a stop to these trolls. Eartha Kitt
co-stars as a strange, older lady who knows a lot about these trolls.
This is a pretty good one to watch with the kids starting about late
elementary age. If looking for a great plot, this is not it but if you
want to revisit the Ernest films I'm sure you have not seen in years,
this is the time. I believe the last time I saw this was with my dad
when it was in theaters.
King of the Zombies (1941): During
WWII, a plane must land on an island mansion. Mantan Moreland plays
Jeff Jackson who is the servant on the plane and begins to see zombies
which the other guys do not believe. He continues to see strange things
and finds Dr. Sangre doing experiments on how the zombies are made.
Moreland was great in is part and this could be considered a bit racist
by politically correct standards but he was an underrated black actor
with some good comic timing. This is a fun classic horror to watch for
the season which was found on Comcast On-Demand.
Shutter Island
(2010): This is my psychological thriller of the week which was
directed by Martin Scorsese. The title is an island which is a hospital
for the criminally insane. Leonardo DiCaprio plays U.S. Marshall Teddy
Daniels who is investigating the disappearance of a patient who
escaped. I went to see this with Lisa when it was in theaters and I
thought it flowed quite well. In this kind of film we can almost always
expect to see some "twist" and I thought Scorsese did pretty good with
that in a no-win situation sometimes. Mark Ruffalo, DAWSON'S CREEK alum
Michelle Williams, Ben Kingsley, Patricia Clarkson, and many others
co-star. DiCaprio was pretty good in his part. I won't get too much
into the plot so that you don't start predicting very early. Good entry
for Scorsese.
The Mummy (1959): This is my Hammer Films entry
for the week which is a remake of the 1932 classic starring Christopher
Lee as the title character and Peter Cushing and the expert trying to
put a stop to the Mummy. Hammer director Terrence Fisher directed this
one and as I have said before I tend to favor classic horror from
Hammer over the Universal classics. The Hammer films still remain a bit
chilling unlike Universal and make no mistake, I still enjoy Universal.
Lee did some pretty good work as the Mummy as well as Cushing.
Christopher Lee became the first actor to play Dracula, the Creature of
Frankenstein and the Mummy.
What Lies Beneath (2000): This is my
other ghost feature for the week which stars Michelle Pfeiffer as Clare
who is adjusting to a new life after sending her daughter to college.
Things get even stranger when she witnesses eerie events thinking her
home may be haunted. Harrison Ford plays Norman who is a successful
research scientist who does not believe her wife is seeing reality. The
more Clare investigates however, the more her life begins to change
leading to a pretty violent climax. Robert Zemeckis directed this more
creepy ghost story than the other ghost story that I featured. I want
you all to see this for yourself rather than me go too much further
into the plot.
The Last Man on Earth (1964): This is my Vincent
Price film of the week which would eventually get remade into the 1971
film THE OMEGA MAN and the 2007 film I AM LEGEND which is actually the
title of the novel this film is based upon. Vincent Price plays the
only survivor of a plague. However, there are still more of the
"undead" which are considered vampires. He then takes it upon himself
to destroy these people but then they get more and more angry. My
friend Doug and I once had a discussion which the 2007 remake came out
and how he favored that remake just because of the technology that we
have now and then myself explaining that better special effects does
not always mean for a better film. This was a pretty good chiller with
Price good in his title role. I admit I have not seen I AM LEGEND yet
and I am not saying I won't but we must give credit where credit is
due. I personally prefer to see Vincent Price in this kind of part than
Will Smith but that's just me.
The Cell (2000): I end the week
with this psychological thriller. Vincent D'Onofrio stars as serial
killer Carl who has been rendered comatose but is the only one to know
where his latest victim is being held. The FBI wants to find this
person before she dies. Jennifer Lopez stars as psychotherapist
Catherine Deane who agrees to a new, revolutionary technology where she
enters the mind of the comatose serial killer in hopes of finding the
victim. When in the mind, she then sees his childhood and tries to
connect with him to find the information. Vince Vaughn co-stars as an
FBI agent whose main objection is finding the victim. I actually quite
liked him in this movie where he is more serious than usual. The
fantasy sequences were also pretty good with a decent performance from
J-Lo. This is a great sci-fi entry with the rare element of a serial
killer.
Well that is it for this week. Please join me next week
for the five year anniversary of this blog. Keep on reading for the
last week of Horror Movie Madness.
HORROR MOVIE MADNESS: ODIOUS OOZES: WEEK 4
This
is the last week of the greatest contest ever. Whatever happens here,
I'm still the unofficial winner in variety and the King of the Loophole
and look forward next year.
ALIENS
1. War of the Worlds (1953): I think this should be counted for sci-fi horror on account of the murderous aliens. 666 1/2
BRUCE CAMPBELL
1.
The Ant Bully (2006): Ah, my Bruce Campbell loophole and one where I
request bonus points for the potion that Zoc makes to make Lucas
smaller. 666 (3 points)
2. Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs
(2009): I admit I had a bit of a hard time at first but hearing Bruce
Campbell and Mr. T made the movie worth it. 66 1/2 (2 points)
PETER CUSHING
1. The Mummy (1959): This is my Hammer selection for the week which included a mummy and Peter Cushing. 666 (2 points)
GHOSTS
1. Casper (1995): This is the ghost loophole for the full-length version of the friendliest ghost we know. 66 1/2 (2 points)
STEVE MCQUEEN
1.
The Cincinnati Kid (1965): This would be a loophole because of Mr.
McQueen where is is a hot-shot poker player. Sometimes when doing this
contest while Elizabeth calls me the "King of the Hoophole", I just
wonder what other contestants are thinking like how I disgrace this
Horror contest with the things I include on these contests but oh well.
I am who I am and I still must provide diversity on my own blog. 666 (2
points)
VINCENT PRICE
1. The Last Man on Earth
(1964): This is the vampire selection and it had Vincent Price so when
I saw it On-Demand I had to have it. 666 (2 points)
PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER
1. Shutter Island (2010): I actually had to ask the host if this would count and it got approved. 666 (2 points)
SAM RAIMI
1. The Gift (2000): This is another psychological thriller and directed by Sam Raimi. 666 (2 points)
SERIAL KILLERS AND SLASHERS
1. The Cell (2000): I feel this should count for the serial killer element. 666 (2 points)
2.
The People Under the Stairs (1991): My only Wes Craven entry for this
contest for this Urban horror film where we have a boy named fool who
along with a couple adults decide to rob the wrong house which is
inhibited by some pretty crazy people and children who have been
abducted and cannot escape. I want bonus points for the cannibalism
element. 66 (3 points)
SUPERNATURAL
1. Push (2009): I
admit I'm really doing what the title implies and pushing it. I'm
passing it off as teen supernatural horror but if it does not get
counted I will understand. We have a man with telekinetic powers and a
psychic girl. 66 1/2 (2 points)
TROLLS
1. Ernest
Scared Stupid (1991): I did not know how to classify this Halloween
comedy and Ernest's place in the contest but they did contend with some
trolls. I am asking for bonus points on this one for the way the trolls
just melt. 66 1/2 (3 points)
VIRUSES
1. The Crazies
(2010): This is the virus film for the week which is a remake of the
Romero classic. I have not seen that version but I did really like this
movie though. 666 (2 points)
WEREWOLVES
1. The Wolf Man
(2010): The remake of a classic which is a pretty big risk. Benicio Del
Toro plays Laurence Talbot which is a part that is just so hard to
imagine anybody else besides Lon Chaney Jr. and he just could not pull
it off for me. Also, I really didn't like the way they portrayed in as
a bit of a prick and even his father, played by Anthony Hopkins, was
rather villainous. There were some things that worked like the scenery
and Hugo Weaving and the officer investigating it. 66 1/2 (2 points)
ZOMBIES
1.
King of the Zombies (1941): This is the zombie film of the week which
could be considered racist by today's standards but still entertaining.
66 1/2 (2 points)
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