Lick Ness Monster
Dennis Stamp
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Post by Lick Ness Monster on Feb 15, 2010 11:20:51 GMT -5
Previous threads: Part 1: officialfan.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=ot2009&action=display&thread=207628Part 2: officialfan.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=ot2009&action=display&thread=217107Part 3: officialfan.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=ot2009&action=display&thread=232414Part 4: officialfan.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=ot2009&action=display&thread=242434Part 5: officialfan.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=ot2009&action=display&thread=254150Part 6: officialfan.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=offtopic&action=display&thread=230860Part 7: officialfan.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=offtopic&action=display&thread=240105For perhaps the first time in this series of threads’ brief history, making the hall of fame picks was incredibly easy. This, however, wasn’t a joyous occasion, since the end of last thread occurred during the bastard year of 2009, when a great number of people that we cared about dropped off the face of the Earth. The world of horror was no different, and two of these inductions serve as posthumous achievements for two people who weren’t exactly genre heavyweights, but nonetheless important to the history of the horror film. As for the thread itself, I don’t know if it will happen in this go-round, but sooner or later the Nightmare on Elm Street remake is going to sneak up on us. My hope is that we can be just as passionate, vitriolic, and, above all else, cheerfully civil in our discussion as we were in thread #5, when Zombie’s Halloween 2 dropped and this thread, with our small but loyal poster base, actually kept pace with the movie fans at large in the official Halloween 2 thread. On with the ceremony! Previous inductees: Alfred Hitchcock Clive Barker Sam Neill Stephen King Tony Todd Thomas Harris Takako Fuji Dario Argento Goblin (the band Robert Englund Takashi Miike Lucio Fulci Joe Bob Briggs Brad Dourif John Carpenter Paul Naschy Fred Gwynne Tobin Bell INDUCTEE #19 “Some of these films don’t bear the scrutiny I give them, but I do it anyway.” CHARLES “CHAS” BALUN We at the WC horror community appreciate cheerleaders for the horror genre, as one of the most requested inductions of all time is #10, Joe Bob Briggs. Chas. Balun fits that description, as well – an unapologetic horror and gore aficionado since birth, he has been a writer, a critic, a contributor to Fangoria and Gorezone magazines, and a virtual megaphone for the horror world. On his official website, zombiebloodbath.com, it’s written that from the outside, Chas. Balun’s home in Westminster, California looked just like every other house in the surrounding neighborhood. But entering into his home was like entering into a wholly (and unholy, for that matter) different universe. The horror genre has fans who are so dedicated that we proudly fill up our walls with posters, memorabilia, masks, and any other assorted horror-related knickknack we can get our hands on. Balun boasted perhaps the most impressive memorabilia and prop collection of any of us sad-sack horror fans, with countless props from the horror films of yesteryear taking the place of the end tables and light switches that dot most ordinary homes. More than anything else, however, Balun is notable for writing serious criticisms of horror films. The Chas. Balun horror review is something to behold – serious criticisms that go beyond the surface of the film in question, and rate on a scale of one to three hatchets. One of his nonfiction books, The Connoisseur’s Guide to Contemporary Horror Films, is nothing less than a total deconstruction of the horror film, from editing to directing to special effects to acting, as well as its extensive history and genealogy. While a small percentage of horror fans are dedicated enough to seek out magazines and books, The Connoisseur’s Guide has sold thousands of copies, along with Balun’s other book, The Gore Score. Sadly, Balun was taken from us late last year, passing away on December 18th at the age of 61, the victim of a long battle with cancer. He lives on through his criticism, his influence, the scope of Fangoria and Gorezone magazines, and every horror fan willing to drop untold amounts of dollars to dot their living landscape with movie posters and film props. |
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Lick Ness Monster
Dennis Stamp
From the eerie, eerie depths of Lake Okabena
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Post by Lick Ness Monster on Feb 15, 2010 11:22:03 GMT -5
INDUCTION #20 “Just what you see, pal…” “You gotta watch out for them foreigners because they place Gremlins in their machinery!” “Somebody call tech support?”… And many others DICK MILLER More than just being a great character actor, Miller has a knack for finding roles that get him remembered by the movie-going public. The quotes listed above are taken from three different sources, and I was able to think of each one just by association with the face of Dick Miller. One of the greatest “that guy” actors in the history of cinema, he’s seen as someone who can vanish within a role. In addition, he has several horror credits to his listing, and for this reason he joins the WrestleCrap Horror Hall of Fame. With as long of a career history as Miller has (his first role is listed as the 1955 film Apache Woman), Miller has quote the extensive history of roles, with 169 credits to his name. Most notably, he was a frequent collaborator with director Roger Corman, and later on, appeared in every single film that Joe Dante has directed (yet). This sort of loyalty is not an accident, as Miller is known as an actor’s actor, ready and willing to do any and everything that is asked of him. Miller also has a couple very distinguishing trademarks. For starters, he has played a character named Walter Paisley on no less than five occasions. The first use of this moniker came in the 1959 Corman thriller A Bucket of Blood, which DSR reviewed in the last thread. In the film, Miller plays an artist of sorts who kills his victims and covers them in clay. The name would again pop up in the Corman-produced Hollywood Boulevard, his first film with Dante at the helm. In 1981, Dante directed the classic werewolf thriller The Howling – this time, Paisley shows up as the owner of an occult bookstore. 1983 saw the release of Twilight Zone: The Movie, an anthology film inspired by the classic TV series. In Dante’s segment – a remake of “It’s the Good Life,” one of the most beloved TZ episodes of all time – Miller pops up as diner owner Walter Paisley. The final appearance of Paisley came in the 1986 shockfest Chopping Mall, a favorite of DSR, myself, and several other horror fans here in the board. Miller’s best known role is that of Murray Futterman in Dante’s 1984 blockbuster Gremlins, and its sequel, Gremlins 2: The New Batch. While the Gremlins films boast several memorable characters and performances, Futterman truly stands out, a World War II veteran paranoid at the very real existence of gremlins. The character serves a key purpose in both films; along with the gremlins themselves, the character is the first thing that many people think of when the film Gremlins gets brought up. It is this way with many of Miller’s performances; his tough, steely, gruff portrayals in these films really serve to make movies in which he makes an appearance stand out. Now semi-retired from acting (Miller’s last credit is the 2007 film Trail of the Screaming Forehead), Dick Miller, despite his status as someone whose name rarely appeared first in the film’s credits, is a character actor who will be remembered for as long as his films survive. And with bona-fide classics Gremlins, The Howling and Bucket of Blood to his name, the answer to this conundrum is forever. |
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Lick Ness Monster
Dennis Stamp
From the eerie, eerie depths of Lake Okabena
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Post by Lick Ness Monster on Feb 15, 2010 11:23:55 GMT -5
INDUCTEE #21 Mother: “The ship will automatically self-destruct in T-minus five minutes.” Ripley: “You bitch!” DAN O’BANNON Sadly, we must now go back to the sadder tone of the first induction of this thread. The day before Chas. Balun passed away, the horror genre lost Dan O’Bannon, the creator of one of the most beloved horror/science-fiction franchises in the history of cinema, as well as the driving force behind a very lucrative zombie franchise. O’Bannon is a multi-talented creative force – producer, director, screenwriter and occasional actor, primarily in the genres of horror and science fiction, although he has dabbled in action films. His contributions to horror, specifically, have been very noteworthy, and as a screenwriter O’Bannon has showed great ability to make you (a) care about characters and (b) jump without the aid of a loud noise stinger. O’Bannon was born in St. Louis in 1946. While at USC, he met future film-maker John Carpenter. The two collaborated on a short film called Dark Star, which O’Bannon would later flesh out to a feature-length film in 1974 with a budget of $60,000. Showing his early versatility, O’Bannon served as the writer and editor on the film, as well as portraying one of the lead roles. The low-budget film would later win the Golden Scroll (the early equivalent of the Saturn Awards) for Best Special Effects. After a short stint as a computer animator on George Lucas’ Star Wars, O’Bannon hit hard times, finding himself homeless and with no money. Together with Ronald Shusett, he came up with a tense, suspenseful story about a group of astronauts trapped in space with a malevolent, violent alien being. In the background of the script, the theme of reproduction and motherhood shines throughout, and the threat of the singular heat-seeking alien hangs over the threatened characters like the proverbial Grim Reaper. This script, of course, would become Alien, a hugely successful and critically acclaimed film that would spawn three sequels and eventually be included in the Library of Congress National Film Registry. Along with Ridley Scott, the film’s director, O’Bannon is seen today as the primary creative force behind Alien. Lieutenant Ellen Ripley, played by Sigourney Weaver in the film, and the aliens themselves are legitimate icons in the horror/science-fiction world. Following the massive success of Alien, O’Bannon would once again find a more difficult road as the ‘80s dawned. His next big-budget outing was John Badaham’s film Blue Thunder; today, the film has its fans, but it is primarily seen as a box office flop with missed potential. Next came Tobe Hooper’s 1985 film Lifeforce, which meanders in topics from aliens to vampirism to apocalyptic implications. Following the two less-than-stellar projects, O’Bannon once again found his groove. Determined to return to success, he took the director’s chair for the first time with Return of the Living Dead, a frenetic horror-comedy blend and one of the most refreshing zombie films of all time. The film was a financial success, and has become a cult classic, noted for its goofy characters and comedic tone. Not unlike Alien, it also spawned a franchise. In 1990, O’Bannon and Shusett would again re-team on the mammoth Arnold Schwarzenegger-Paul Verhoeven blockbuster Total Recall. At times, the film is confusing, but the movie is undeniably creative and fun to watch. O’Bannon returned to the director’s chair for the 1992 low-budget horror effort The Resurrected, which focused on a family’s ancient rituals which awaken the dead. His final horror offering is the 1995 film Screamers, for which he received a co-writing credit. On December 17th, 2009, O’Bannon passed away after a battle with Crohn’s disease. With two legitimate film franchises to his credit (one of them being a seminal, universally-recognized science fiction juggernaut), his name will be survived through his work as long as people fear what lurks in the outer reaches of space. |
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Post by Welfare Willis on Feb 15, 2010 12:25:01 GMT -5
Man, three great inductees that I never expected. I'm sad to say with these three men I'm not as familiar with their work as I should be.
I love Dan O'Bannon but that comes from his work on Aliens, Total Recall, and ROTLD. I owe to him and myself to seek out some of his other work.
Dick Miller is a face I recognize, but cannot place. A great character actor whose been in hundreds of stuff I more then likely seen, but have never been able to link the face with a name.
Sadly, this is the first time I've heard of Chas Balun. I'd love to read that guide and need to visit his website tonight.
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Post by DSR on Feb 15, 2010 14:03:22 GMT -5
As always, great job on the inductions, TR. I'm probably most familiar with Dick Miller's work (since I watch a lot of Corman, obviously). Perhaps his best "that guy" moment was his appearance in THE TERMINATOR, when T-800 goes to a gun shop, gets his hands on a gun, and "pays" the owner by blowing him away. That gun shop owner was Dick Miller.
As I've said before, I picked up Chas. Balun's "More Gore Score" at a used bookstore and loved every page of that book. That book, and the guy who wrote it, really helped in forging my love for the works of Lucio Fulci.
And I really enjoyed LIFEFORCE. Yeah, the focus tends to meander, as has been said, but each individual "segment" of the picture works really well. I also enjoy the horrific segment of HEAVY METAL that O'Bannon wrote, "B-17" about a WW2 bomber full of zombies.
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Lick Ness Monster
Dennis Stamp
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Post by Lick Ness Monster on Feb 15, 2010 18:17:41 GMT -5
As always, great job on the inductions, TR. I'm probably most familiar with Dick Miller's work (since I watch a lot of Corman, obviously). Perhaps his best "that guy" moment was his appearance in THE TERMINATOR, when T-800 goes to a gun shop, gets his hands on a gun, and "pays" the owner by blowing him away. That gun shop owner was Dick Miller. Yeah, I love his role in The Terminator. The "just what you see, pal!" line from the induction quotes is from the scene you speak of - it's what he says to Arnold after he tries to casually place an order for a plasma rifle (with a 40-watt range - man, I'm a nerd). With the induction of Miller, I suppose that's as good of a place as any to start this thread's conversation - the horror movie character actor. The non leading-man/lady types may not get all the glory when it comes to having your name placed high on the marquee, but they serve just as vital of a role to the enjoyment of said films as those marquee names. Or at least as marquee as you can be acting in some of the films of this nature. There's Miller, perhaps my all-time favorite "that guy" actor, but there's also fellow WC Hall of Fame inductee Fred Gwynne. Indeed, it speaks volumes about some of these guys and gals' talent and commitment that they became the STARS of their respective series, a la Robert Englund, Tony Todd and Tobin Bell. There's also these two personal favorites of mine:  Keith David, best known for his awesome work in John Carpenter's The Thing and They Live, as well as Pitch Black and The Puppet Masters, along with...  Veronica Cartwright, who lent her considerable talents to Alien, The Birds, the 1978 definitive version of Invasion of the Body Snatchers as well as the recent redo The Invasion, Quicksilver Highway and Candyman II. So send a quick shout-out to your favorite supporting, quirky, memorable actor or actress in horror films. |
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Post by YellowJacketY2J on Feb 16, 2010 10:34:48 GMT -5
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Post by DSR on Feb 16, 2010 13:01:43 GMT -5
Fun reviews, Yellowjacket. I've seen SLAUGHTERHOUSE on sale on Amazon a few times, and considered buying it, but never did. I may have to check it out, though. Sounds fun. So send a quick shout-out to your favorite supporting, quirky, memorable actor or actress in horror films. I'll simply point out a handful of character actor performances, since these guys have headlined a few movies in their day: Oskar Homolka in MR. SARDONICUS - We've discussed the film a few times in prior threads, but I really dig Homolka as Baron Sardonicus's servant Krull. "He says 'Krull, do this thing." And I do the thing... whatever it may be..." Jeffrey Combs - We're all familiar with the unhinged Dr. Herbert West, but Combs turns in a number of "minimal screentime, maximum impact" performances: Milton Dammers in Peter Jackson's THE FRIGHTENERS, a character known simply as "the Geek" in the WIZARD OF GORE remake, and a murderous ghostly doctor in HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL and RETURN TO HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL. He also had a role in I STILL KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER; I remember him acting really creepy, but the rest of the movie was so stupid, I can't exactly remember what happened. *shrug* Andrew Robinson in HELLRAISER - Yeah, he gets top billing in the film, but the overall story focuses more on Julia trying to bring Frank back to life. And Robinson's character doesn't recur in any of the sequels. At any rate, Robinson has the most memorable line in the whole movie, with only two words: "Jesus wept." |
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Lick Ness Monster
Dennis Stamp
From the eerie, eerie depths of Lake Okabena
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Post by Lick Ness Monster on Feb 17, 2010 12:30:43 GMT -5
Heh, this thread is off to just an auspicious of a start as the inaugural horror thread.
At any rate, I'm also a big fan of those three actors, DSR.
I left a comment on your Rocktober Blood review, Y2J, but I'll repeat some of it here (and I'm sure others agree): I miss having a video store around that carried all of these films. We're down to all of ONE video store in my hometown, and it's stock is sucky beyond compare. Anything in the double-digit age bracket is routinely thrown out in favor of more copies of the "hottest new releases," most of which I couldn't care less about.
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Post by DSR on Feb 17, 2010 13:46:16 GMT -5
TR, I also recall the days of many video stores. We're now down to one, and they've sold off or gotten rid of any obscure VHS tapes they once had. There's still a fair handful of obscure/classic movies in their DVD inventory, but obviously they're well-buried by tons of stuff released in the last 10 years. I rarely even go to that video store anymore.
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Post by SsnakeBite, the No1 Frenchman on Feb 17, 2010 14:16:42 GMT -5
Hey guys, sorry to disturb you, but I figured this would be the best place to ask where I can find the latest Monster Crap? I missed it and I need to catch up with it.  |
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Post by DSR on Feb 18, 2010 1:04:14 GMT -5
Sorry, can't help ya, man. But I did want to let everybody know that I intend to see THE WOLFMAN tomorrow. I may post thoughts afterwards.  |
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Post by YellowJacketY2J on Feb 18, 2010 5:06:48 GMT -5
Heh, this thread is off to just an auspicious of a start as the inaugural horror thread. At any rate, I'm also a big fan of those three actors, DSR. I left a comment on your Rocktober Blood review, Y2J, but I'll repeat some of it here (and I'm sure others agree): I miss having a video store around that carried all of these films. We're down to all of ONE video store in my hometown, and it's stock is sucky beyond compare. Anything in the double-digit age bracket is routinely thrown out in favor of more copies of the "hottest new releases," most of which I couldn't care less about. I too miss that. When I first starting getting into horror, there was a local Mom N' Pop store that was still open. They had a ton of old horror VHS's, a good portion of which have yet to be released on DVD. Sadly, they closed down a few months after I started getting into horror. I missed out on some hidden gems since I was busy catching up on the classics. As for today, I either wait until a movie finally gets released on DVD or search sites such as Amazon to buy VHS copies. Hey guys, sorry to disturb you, but I figured this would be the best place to ask where I can find the latest Monster Crap? I missed it and I need to catch up with it. Here's the site: monster-crap.blogspot.com/ |
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Post by SsnakeBite, the No1 Frenchman on Feb 18, 2010 5:19:33 GMT -5
Thanks a lot, man! |
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Post by DSR on Feb 19, 2010 1:40:13 GMT -5
Okay, so I saw THE WOLFMAN. I'm not gonna go into a full review right now, just hit some stuff.
I really, really enjoyed the movie. Cinematography and set design were absolutely beautiful. Loved Benicio Del Toro, Anthony Hopkins, and Hugo Weaving, though the entire cast was fantastic. The CGI wasn't the greatest ever, but it certainly served its purpose. The story was really good, too: reverent for the original flick, but expanding on the story in addition to updating it, and still having its own voice rather than merely echoing the older film.
I've probably made this apparent previously, but I love comic books as much as I love horror movies, so I wanted to see this to see if Joe Johnston was a good director (since he's doing the CAPTAIN AMERICA movie). Well, after the movie ended, I joked with my buddy (who also enjoyed it, though he's not fond of gore) that maybe Nick Fury was gonna show up after the credits. Really though, I felt like THE WOLFMAN had the same cinematic sensibility of a higher-end comic book movie. And I mean that positively, I'm now looking forward to CAPTAIN AMERICA more than I was before.
I give THE WOLFMAN 4.2 stars out of 5. Check it out!
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Lick Ness Monster
Dennis Stamp
From the eerie, eerie depths of Lake Okabena
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Post by Lick Ness Monster on Feb 19, 2010 13:48:11 GMT -5
That's very good to hear, DSR. Indeed, it seems like what Rorschach said in the last thread is the case - the flick's been getting a very strong response from the average joe's, but the critics, for whatever reason, are savaging it to holy hell. Who knows why, but I also found the movie to be very enjoyable. Well done!
Also, I wrote the full-length (read: mind-numbingly boring) review of Jason Takes Manhattan for my blog, but for some reason Google is being really stupid right now and not letting me post the accompanying image. Rest assured, sometime today it will be up!
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Post by andrew8798 on Feb 20, 2010 0:20:22 GMT -5
An LA Times Blog on Wes Craven mentions -
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Post by Welfare Willis on Feb 20, 2010 13:40:10 GMT -5
I know I'm late to party fellas, but yesterday I decided to watch Silent Night Deadly Night 4.
You know after watching the film and reading Yellowjacket's review I think we can safety show the difference between a bad movie and a baaaaaaaaaaaad movie.
That is a bad movie is like SNDN 2. Incompetent, bad, and insults the viewer's intelligence yet by some camp value it can be enjoyed in ways more likely then not originally intented.
a baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaad movie is more like SNDN 4. Which has all the terrible characteristics of 2, but there isn't any of the camp value. The film isn't really that redeemable and commits the cardinal sin of sequels by having nothing to do with the original films. Yellowjacket isn't kidding in his review. It really has NOTHING to do with the the other films in the series. You could have move the plot to any other time besides Christmas and still be the exact damn plot.
It's just an odd film and I'm left with several questions after watching it. I'm still trying to figure out why exactly Clint Howard's role needed to be in the film or why every male character was a gigantic douchebag.
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Post by DSR on Feb 20, 2010 22:57:44 GMT -5
I'm just gonna throw a review at you guys. Deal with it:
EYEBALL (1975) - Written and directed by Umberto Lenzi, this giallo takes place in Spain. It's focus is on a group of strangers taking a bus tour of the country, and someone starts killing off the women on this tour and removing one eyeball from each victim. For some reason, the tour continues despite this (Spain looks nice and all, but instead of taking this tour, wouldn't you rather, I dunno, live?!).
Then again, the cops on the case insist that none of the tourists can leave the country until the case is solved, so what else is there to do? The list of suspects includes: an off-putting priest who carries around a picture of his recently deceased daughter (the film never explains how he's both a father and a Father); an interracial lesbian couple, both members of which get incredibly jealous at their significant other's wandering eyes; and the tour guide who takes pleasure in playing unfunny pranks on the female tourists (particularly a pair of American teenagers).
Though the clues seem to point to someone who isn't even taking the tour, the head of a PR firm (or something like that) whose secretary (also his mistress) is taking the tour. It is strange how he keeps crossing paths with the tour, disappearing and reappearing whenever its convenient for him. He insists, however, that the killer is actually his wife, enraged by his cheating (flashbacks show a previous incident where this man finds his wife passed out in their lawn, holding a bloody knife, indicating this wouldn't be her first murder). The problem is a.) getting the cops to believe his stories (especially after covering up the first murder all those years ago) and b.) he may not even be right!
I've only seen one other Umberto Lenzi picture, the insane zombie epic NIGHTMARE CITY. While that film is spell-binding in its ineptitude, EYEBALL is just kinda stupid. Lenzi shows very little sense of directorial style here, and the story is just meh. I thought it was kinda funny that, as soon as the cops get any clue, someone in the tour group immediately has an explanation for how its not a clue. It's like the entire tour group just accidentally created a series of red herrings while they trek through Spain. But aside from that, and a handful (no pun intended) of gratuitous topless scenes, this movie doesn't have a whole lot going for it.
2 stars out of 5. A dull, dumb picture, that only occasionally gets dumb in ways that are entertaining.
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Post by Rorschach on Feb 21, 2010 3:02:02 GMT -5
I'm just gonna throw a review at you guys. Deal with it: EYEBALL (1975) - Written and directed by Umberto Lenzi, this giallo takes place in Spain. It's focus is on a group of strangers taking a bus tour of the country, and someone starts killing off the women on this tour and removing one eyeball from each victim. For some reason, the tour continues despite this (Spain looks nice and all, but instead of taking this tour, wouldn't you rather, I dunno, live?!). Then again, the cops on the case insist that none of the tourists can leave the country until the case is solved, so what else is there to do? The list of suspects includes: an off-putting priest who carries around a picture of his recently deceased daughter (the film never explains how he's both a father and a Father); an interracial lesbian couple, both members of which get incredibly jealous at their significant other's wandering eyes; and the tour guide who takes pleasure in playing unfunny pranks on the female tourists (particularly a pair of American teenagers). Though the clues seem to point to someone who isn't even taking the tour, the head of a PR firm (or something like that) whose secretary (also his mistress) is taking the tour. It is strange how he keeps crossing paths with the tour, disappearing and reappearing whenever its convenient for him. He insists, however, that the killer is actually his wife, enraged by his cheating (flashbacks show a previous incident where this man finds his wife passed out in their lawn, holding a bloody knife, indicating this wouldn't be her first murder). The problem is a.) getting the cops to believe his stories (especially after covering up the first murder all those years ago) and b.) he may not even be right! I've only seen one other Umberto Lenzi picture, the insane zombie epic NIGHTMARE CITY. While that film is spell-binding in its ineptitude, EYEBALL is just kinda stupid. Lenzi shows very little sense of directorial style here, and the story is just meh. I thought it was kinda funny that, as soon as the cops get any clue, someone in the tour group immediately has an explanation for how its not a clue. It's like the entire tour group just accidentally created a series of red herrings while they trek through Spain. But aside from that, and a handful (no pun intended) of gratuitous topless scenes, this movie doesn't have a whole lot going for it. 2 stars out of 5. A dull, dumb picture, that only occasionally gets dumb in ways that are entertaining. Great review, and let me just say that I love that last line of yours. I have a set old cheesy B-movies that I just bought (they're drive-in flicks from the 60's) and I think that line ("Dull dumb picture that occasionally gets dumb in ways that are entertaining") sums up a LOT of those films. I mean, WOW. Seems like, with a lot of those pictures, the people who made them KNEW they were destined for the drive in, and thus would probably not end up being paid a whole lot of attention to, if you get my drift. ;D The trade off is, if you DO sit down and try and watch one of those damn things....it becomes an exercise in tedium. I tried to watch "The Pick Up" the other day....and damn it all, I ended up paying more attention to a couple of hummingbirds outside my window than to the movie. Then I just got up and turned the damn thing off and went for a walk. There's only so much hippy jabberjawing that I can take before I reach my limit. Seriously, that movie was like two hippy couples filmed each other laying in the grass and daydreaming. I'm fairly sure it fascinated them....but it bored me to tears. As for the WOLF MAN....yeah. Color me puzzled. The average movie goer is in love with this movie, but the press seems to enjoy eviscerating it for not simultaneously revering the original, and being a whole new take on it to boot. Where was this hostility when Zombie was crapping all over HALLOWEEN? Or for that matter, when P. Dunesy was pissing on the Legacy of Leatherface? Oh that's right. Those movies aren't ICONIC Hollywood royalty like the Wolf Man is. Gotcha. Even though most reviewers couldn't pick Lon Chaney Jr out of a lineup if their lives depended on it, they love to sit there and moan about how his great legacy is now besmirched by this needless remake...yadda yadda yadda. It gets a bit confusing, this double standard. So let me ask the thread at large this question: What horror film do you think could MOST use a remake/update? Be it due to advances in FX, or what have you...what films do you think could use updating? One of my choices would be the long rumored Creature from the Black Lagoon. I think if you get Tyler Mane in the "Creature" suit (I mean come on...think about how badass a 'roided up version of Abe Sapien would look) and let him kick some ass and eat some invading scientists all while chasing Scarlett Johansson or Naomi Watts (come on, they were both BORN to play the old 1940's bombshell in peril) you'd have a legit summer smash on your hands. Maybe put Nathan Fillion in there as the dashing leading man/hero, and you've got a hell of a cast. Get on your knees and BEG Guillermo Del Toro to direct it, and you cannot miss. ;D |
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