FAN Horror Thread: The Cheap Flea Market Edition

So, should all my posts have Korean subtitles that can't be removed, and horrible pan-and-scan cropping out have of everything?

Seriously, though, I've found a lot of great flicks at flea markets.
*thumbs up*

Could it be?

There ain't no ponies in this thread!!

You know, it STILL amazes me that this series of threads has managed to last as long as it has - 2.5 years of horror franchise-esque dominance. In fact, if you go back further, these threads actually have their roots to the days when this guy * makes douchebag thumb-pointing-to-self gesture * did horror franchise reviews. And man, did those reviews suck. Nevertheless, here we are now, at unlucky FAN/WC Horror Thread #13.

For the uninitiated, every (well, most every, anyway) thread begins with this: the Horror Hall of Fame inductions. This is a semi-democratic process, with the selections largely made up of people who, at some point or another, a decent percentage of us have expressed admiration for during the previous threads.

This class is a varied one - one well-known character-acting luminary, one ultimate scream queen, and perhaps the patron saint of all things horror.

ON WITH THE INDUCTIONS!!

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
Charles "Chas"� Balun
Dick Miller
Dan O'Bannon
Roger Corman
William Castle
Hideo Nakata
Frank Darabont
Joe Dante
Christopher Lee
Lloyd Kaufman
Charles Band
Tom Atkins

INDUCTION #31



LANCE HENRIKSEN

"He was probably on PCP. Broke every bone in his hand and wouldn't feel a thing for hours."

Yet another luminary in the "unappreciated character actor wing" of the FAN's HHOF, Lance Henriksen is a guy that you're no doubt familiar with. He's a favorite of director James Cameron, which pretty much insures that he has enough money to buy his own solid gold island through residuals alone due to the series that he is connected with. More importantly, the guy is just money on the screen.

A far cry from the many, many second generation stars of today, Henriksen spent his childhood in trouble at various schools, dropping out of formal education at the age of 12. Amazingly enough, the man known for his commanding voice and scholarly air didn't learn to read until he turned 30, teaching himself by reading film scripts.

Performing was an aptitude that Henriksen found himself a natural at, graduating from the prestigious Actors' Studio soon after learning how to read and appearing in the bona fide classic Close Encounters of the Third Kind as well as Damien: Omen II before a high-profile role as astronaut Walter Schirra in The Right Stuff.

1984 saw the release of the movie that launched the career of James Cameron, The Terminator. Initially, Cameron intended for Henriksen himself to play the title role before Arnold Schwarzeneggar was cast in the role that launched him into the stratosphere. The character actor returned to his character actor ways, playing a minor Detective who finds himself caught up in the time travel-man/machine mayhem. Two years later, Cameron wouldn't forget his friend, casting Henriksen as the android Bishop in the blockbuster sequel to Ridley Scott's Alien, a role that he is widely remembered for to this day. 1988 brought us Pumpkinhead, a rare starring vehicle for Henriksen as a farmer whose son is accidentally killed, prompting the lead character to seek out a witch who raises an unstoppable creature to exact vengeance. It's a way better movie than this makes it sound, believe me - definitely one of the better "proto-slasher" movies of the '80s, and it started a series.

After other memorable roles (including playing the villain in the Van Damme-John Woo collaboration Hard Target, perhaps the best movie in the JCVD catalogue), he would return to the horror genre with Millennium, a dark, moody television series from the creator of The X-Files. In it, Henriksen portrayed retired FBI agent Frank Black, an uncanny FBI profiler who becomes convinced that the Biblical end times are fast approaching. The role garnered Henriksen much acclaim from both critics and horror fans - and lo and behold, the Millennium storyline would actually come full circle post-cancellation on an X-Files episode.

An accomplished human being, a talented voice actor and an unmistakable screen presence, Lance Henriksen is certainly known for many things. He has returned to the Alien series twice more (in Alien3 and Alien vs. Predator), made a cameo appearance in Jennifer's Body, and overall has just crafted a filmography that will ensure immortality. At least as long as we fear 7' aliens with acidic blood.

INDUCTION #33



"I don't play monsters. I play men besieged by fate and out for revenge."

VINCENT PRICE

There's some stiff competition for the title of "Greatest horror movie actor of all time." Sam "The Man" Neill was inducted in the inaugural class of the FAN HHOF, while Anthony Hopkins, Tony Todd, Kane Hodder and, of course, Robert Englund have all left a significant imprint on iconic characters in the horror genre. While all of those esteemed gentlemen are definitely deserving of just such an honor, it's really hard to beat the king. And that man would be Vincent Price.

Like many actors from the wayback era, Price has a filmography that is amazingly long and varied, but to horror fans, he will forever be the king of creepy. First things first, however - Price is a Yale-educated scholar and a polished theater veteran who appeared in many stage plays before making his feature film debut in 1938. The following year, Price made his first horror performance in The Invisible Man Returns, beginning a trend that would define the rest of his career.

Blessed with both an unmistakable charisma and an ungodly ability to get into the soul of almost any character he chose to partake, Price's mere presence in the horror cinema of the 1950s automatically made any film he appeared in a must-see. 1953's House of Wax was a gigantic box office hit, a success that he followed with The Mad Magician, The Fly, House on Haunted Hill and The Tingler. As the '50s crossed over into the '60s, Price began perhaps his most celebrated partnership - with director Roger Corman, who helmed several movies based on Edgar Allan Poe's stories. Many of these movies featured Price in a starring role, and one of them - House of Usher - is even recognized as part of the Library of Congress' National Film Registry as being "historically and culturally significant." You can't get much more "legitimate" than that, stuffy mainstream film critic!

In 1964, Price put forth what this reporter considers his absolute best film performance in The Last Man on Earth, best described as the Will Smith movie I Am Legend - only with a low budget, and actually, you know, GOOD. DSR has stated that it takes a hell of an actor to be the ONLY person on screen for the vast majority of a film's running time and pull it off, and to put it bluntly, Price absolutely owns this role in this certified classic.

Around 1975, Price began radically reducing his film work, although this period also introduced him to an entirely new generation as the voice heard in the coda of Michael Jackson's "Thriller." A lifelong smoker, he suffered with emphysema throughout much of his latter life, and he was sadly taken from us in 1993 due to complications from lung cancer. His legacy lives on every time we see a cunning, diabolical villain on screen.



DSR...I've actually had this Vincent Price induction written for the better part of a year now, but much like the buildup to Sting-Hogan at Starrcade '97, was waiting for JUST the right time to bust it out. Can't get much better than a 100-year birthday, which took me off guard. Just glad somebody knew this factoid.

Secondly, nice job on that review of Auntie Roo in the previous thread. I've grown into a big fan of Hammer and Hammer-style horror films, and I've got this one in the Amazon shopping cart.

Lance in the Alien films is such a weird case, how many people have been in 3 movies of a franchise and played 3 different people who happen to look the same?

I wish I could read TR's new inductions, if something didn't happen to his computer apparently. I can barely read half of it.

Another three great inductions!

You may get your wish...albeit an edited one. Rumors are running around that the extras are...

• Alternate Ending
• Deleted Scenes (Most likely the footage from the TV version)
• Terror In the Aisles Documentary
• BD-Live
• My Scenes
• Pocket BLU App

The whole "edited" thing is pretty much because Universal couldn't secure some of the rights to the footage used. What they may do instead is replace the footage with Universal library stuff. We'll have to see.

Plus, there's also word that Halloween 3: Season of the Witch IS coming to Blu-Ray, according to the link I posted in the last thread. Must've skipped my head. We'll have to wait and see.

I found a copy at my F.Y.E. years ago for $5. I can't remember if I sold it or not. I'll have to scour through my DVD collection. All I know is that it was a bad film.