29.3.11

Worth Watching - The Aughts (2000-2009)


00
Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2
Ginger Snaps
Scream 3
Final Destination
Shadow of The Vampire

01
Brotherhood of The Wolf 
The Bunker
Jeepers Creepers
Session 9
Wendigo
Trouble Every Day

02
Cabin Fever
May
28 Days Later

03

Dead End
Freddy Vs. Jason
Haute Tension
House of 1,000 Corpses
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (remake)
Underworld
Undead
Villmark
Wrong Turn

04
The Butterfly Effect
Calvaire
Naboer
Cube Zero
Dawn of The Dead (remake)
Night Watch
Saw
Shaun of The Dead
Taking Lives
Three... Extremes

05
Antikorper (Antibodies)
Cache
The Cave
Cry_Wolf
Cursed
The Descent
The Devil's Rejects
Dominion: Prequel to The Exorcist
Feast
Hostel
House of Wax
Land of The Dead
Saw II
Sheitan
Wolf Creek

06
The Abandoned
Behind The Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon
Bug
Fritt Vilt (Cold Prey)
Day Watch (sequel to 2004 film Night Watch)
The Devil's Chair
Grimm Love
The Hills Have Eyes (remake)
The Host
Mulberry Street
Saw III
Silent Hill
Slither
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning
Ils (Them)
The Tripper
The Woods

07
28 Weeks Later
1408
Borderland
Catacombs
Frontiere(s)
Grindhouse
Halloween (remake)
Hannibal Rising
Hostel Part II
A L'interieur (Inside)
The Mother of Tears
El Orfantano
The Poughkeepsie Tapes
[Rec]
Saw IV
Shrooms
The Signal
Teeth
Vacancy
Whisper
Wind Chill
Wrong Turn 2: Dead End
Zodiac

08
Acolytes
The Burrowers
Fritt Vilt II
The Children
Cloverfield
The Cottage
Deadgirl
Diary of The Dead
Eden Lake
Home Movie
The Horseman
Lake Mungo
Let The Right One In
Rovdyr
The Ruins
Saw V
Splinter
The Strangers
The Wild Man of The Navidad

09
Antichrist
Blood Creek (any horror movie with Nazis is pretty gnarly)
Carriers
Case 39
The Collector
Doghouse
The Final
Halloween II (remake)
The Hills Run Red
The House of The Devil
Hush
Laid To Rest
The Loved Ones
Mutants
Long Weekend (remake)
The Objective
Orphan
Perkins' 14
Rampage
Saw VI
Splice
Survival of The Dead
The Thaw
Thirst
Tormented
The Triangle
Trick R' Treat
The Wild Hunt (not a true horror but close to the end it gets creepier and more unsettling towards the horror genre)

My Personal Favourites...
- The Wild Hunt
- Perkins' 14
- The OBjective
- The Loved Ones
- The Hills Run Red
- House of The Devil
- Carriers
- The Final
- Rovdyr
- Splinter
- Ils (Them)
- Brotherhood of The Wolf
- Session 9 (one of my all-time favourites)
- Wendigo
- Trouble Every Day (genius)
- Haute Tension
- House of 1,000 Corpses
- Villmark
- Naboer
- Calvaire
- Antikorper
- Cache
- The Cave
- May
- 28 Days Later/28 Weeks Later
- Bug
- Fritt Vilt I & II
- Day Watch/Night Watch
- The Woods
- Grimm Love
- The Abandoned
- The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning

Worth Watching - The 1990s


90

Buried Alive
Jacob's Ladder
The Exorcist III
Flatliners
Stephen King's It
Misery
Nightbreed
Tremors

91
Begotten
Ernest Scared Stupid (it was a childhood favourite- ease up)
The People Under The Stairs

92
Alien 3
Bram Stoker's Dracula
Candyman
Dust Devil
Man Bites Dog

93

Army of Darkness
Cronos
The Dark Half
Leprechaun
Schramm

94
Dellamorte Dellamore
Nattevagten (Nightwatch)
Nadja
Needful Things
Wes Craven's New Nightmare

95
Candyman: Farewell To The Flesh
Copycat
Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers
The Prophecy

96
The Craft
From Dusk 'Til Dawn
Scream
Thinner

97
Event Horizon
Nightwatch (remake)
The Relc
Cube
Scream 2
The Ugly
Wishmaster

98
Fallen
The Last Broadcast
Ringu
Urban Legend

99
Audition
The Blair Witch Project
Los Sin Nombre
The Ninth Gate
Ravenous
Resurrection
Sleepy Hollow
Stir of Echoes

My Personal Favourites...
- Jacob's Ladder
- Flatliners (Julia Roberts is my wife she just doesn't know)
- Candyman
- In The Mouth of Madness
- Nadja
- Copycat
- The Prophecy
- The Craft
- From Dusk 'Til Dawn
- Scream
- Event Horizon
- Nattevagten
- Cube
- The Ugly
- The Last Broadcast (until the final 15 minutes of the film that ruined everything)
- Fallen
- Audition
- The Ninth Gate
- Ravenous (possibly my favourite horror of all-time)
- Resurrection

Worth Watching - The 1970s


70

And Soon The Darkness
The Wizard of Gore
Mark of The Devil

71

Let's Scare Jessica To Death
Tombs of The Blind Dead (zombie Templar Knights- cool as fuck!)
Twitch of The Death Nerve

72

Death Line (also known as Raw Meat)
The Last House on The Left

73

The Crazies
Torso
The Wicker Man
Ganja & Hess
The Legend of Hell House

74

Black Christmas
Deranged
Devil Times Five
Let Sleeping Corpses Lie
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre

75

Jaws
Race With The Devil
The Rocky Horror Picture Show
Shivers
Ilsa: She Wolf of The SS

76

Alice, Sweet Alice (also known as Communion)
Burnt Offerings
Ilsa: Harem Keeper of The Oil Sheiks
The Omen
Salo, or 120 Days of Sodom
Who Can Kill A Child?

77

The Hills Have Eyes
Last Cannibal World
Orca The Killer Whale
Rabid
Suspiria

78

Damien: Omen II
Dawn of The Dead
Halloween
I Spit On Your Grave
Jaws 2
Invasion of The Body Snatchers
The Toolbox Murders

79

Alien
The Amityville Horror
The Brood
Buio Omega
Phantasm
Nosferatu: Phantom Der Nacht
Tourist Trap
Zombi 2 (you know a movie is bad ass when it's not a sequel but still has the number 2 after it)
When A Stranger Calls

My Personal Favourites....

- And Soon The Darkness
- Tombs of The Blind Dead
- The Last House on The Left
- Torso
- The Wicker Man
- The Legend of Hell House
- Black Christmas
- The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
- Shivers
- Ilsa: She Wolf of The SS
- Alice, Sweet Alice
- Burnt Offerings
- The Omen
- Who Can Kill A Child?
- The Hills Have Eyes
- Dawn of the Dead
- Halloween
- Invasion of The Body Snatchers
- Alien
- The Amityville horror
- The Brood
- Buio Omega
- When A Stranger Calls

Worth Watching - The 1960s

Significantly less titles came out of the 60s than most of the other decades, but these are the films I felt were excellent from that era...


60
Le Masque Du Demon
Eyes Without A Face

61
The Innocents
The Pit and The Pendulum

62
Carnival of Souls

63
The Birds
The Haunting
Blood Feast

64
2,000 Maniacs
The Last Man on Earth (the good version of the story used for I Am Legend & Omega Man)

65
Color Me Blood Red

66
Hour of The Wolf
Night of The Living Dead
Rosemary's Baby

My Personal Favourites...

- Eyes Without A Face
- The Innocents
- The Haunting
- 2,000 Maniacs
- The Last Man on Earth
- Night of the Living Dead
- Hour of The Wolf

Worth Watching - The 1980s

1980

Anthropophagus (The Beast)
The Fog
Friday the 13th
Cannibal Holocaust
He Knows You're Alone
Maniac
The Shining
Don't Go In The House

1981

The Burning
The Entity
Evil Dead
Friday the 13th Part II
Halloween II
The Howling
Just Before Dawn
My Bloody Valentine
The Omen III: The Final Conflict
Possession
The Prowler
Scanners

1982

Pieces
Poltergeist
The Thing
Visiting Hours
Unhinged

1983

The House on Sorority Row
The Keep
Psycho II
Sleepaway Camp
Videodrome

1984

Children of the Corn
Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter
Gremlins
A Nightmare on Elm Street
Silent Night, Deadly Night

1985

Combat Shock
Day of the Dead
Friday the 13th: A New Beginning
A Nightmare on Elm Street II: Freddy's Revenge
Re-Animator

1986

Aliens
Blue Velvet
The Fly
Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives
Henry: Portrait of A Serial Killer
The Hitcher
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2

1987

Evil Dead 2
Hellraiser
Near Dark
A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors
Predator
Prince of Darkness
The Stepfather

1988

Child's Play
Dead Ringers
Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood
Hellbound: Hellraiser II
Maniac Cop
A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master
Phantasm II
Pumpkinhead
The Serpent & The Rainbow

1989

Clownhouse
Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers
Leviathan
A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child
Pet Sematary
Scarecrows

My Personal Favourites:

- The Fog
- Don't Go In The House
- The Entity
- Friday the 13th Part II
- Halloween II
- Just Before Dawn
- My Bloody Valentine
- Possession
- The Prowler
- Pieces
- The Thing
- Visiting Hours
- The Keep
- A Nightmare on Elm Street
- Day of the Dead
- A Nightmare on Elm Street II: Freddy's Revenge
- Blue Velvet
- Henry: A Portrait of A Serial Killer
- The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2
- Hellraiser
- Near Dark
- Prince of Darkness
- Dead Ringers
- The Serpent and The Rainbow
- Clownhouse
- Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers

Enjoy!

6.3.11

Fritt Vilt III (Cold Prey 3)

Directed by Mikkel Braenne Sandemose
Written by Peder Fuglerud & Lars Gudmestad
Starring: Ida Marie Bakkerud
              Kim S. Falck-Jorgensen
              Pal Stokka
              Julie Rusti
              Arthur Berning
              Sturla Rui
              Nils Johnson

**** (4/5 stars)

              First off, I'll be reviewing the other two installments of this franchise soon but I wanted to do this one while still fresh in my mind.  I waited a long time to finally see this, and just finished watching it earlier.  I love prequels and Fritt Vilt III gives us a glimpse back at the traumatic childhood of a killer; the mountain man from the previous films in the series is given a much more elaborate backstory than what we had seen in the first and second Fritt Vilt.  Just to give you an idea, the story basically revolves around a boy who ran away from home at a secluded mountain hotel into the Norwegian wilderness and was never found.  After that there starts a wave of disappearances in the mountains around the hotel, the first two films involve current events but here in the third installment we get the real story about how his stepfather hated him because of his deformity (a large type of birthmark over the left eye and side of his face) and basically drove him from the hotel; later, the boy returns to kill the stepfather as well as his mother who seemingly stood by and let the abuse happen.  Then we jump ahead 12 years as we watch a group of young people head out into the forest near the hotel, looking to find the abandoned place and search around  for something interesting.  We also get a glimpse of the boy's creepy uncle who inhabits the woods in a cabin out of the way, and the police officer who went searching for the boy 12 years ago but found nothing.

       The one thing that surprised me was the backstory- in the other films, we get the impression that the boy simply ran off or got lost in the wilderness somewhere but this one gives us a look at the abusive past and what drove him to run.  It's not long but we see enough to understand (not justify) why he went crazy and started killing.  The uncle was a good addition because that gave us a feasible explanation for how the boy survived instead of freezing to death like you would imagine might happen to a young kid all alone.  We get a big creep factor early on from the uncle and that adds to the somber tone of the film.

       One of the things I love about this series in particular is that, like Michael Myers and Jason Voorhees, the killer is extremely, brutishly strong.  A scene that really shows this is near the end when the uncle is fed up with him and points a shotgun in his direction- the killer grabs the shotgun so quick and hard that the uncle has no time to squeeze the trigger.  It happens so fast that the viewer is all of a sudden in the room, shocked by the force of the mountain man.  Another instance is the first kill, which I won't give away.
       The killer is also calculating and intelligent, despite what you may think.  One of the characters takes out his gun partway through, before they realize they're being hunted down, and loads it up- shortly after, as soon as the killer starts mowing through the rest of these people he takes out the guy with the gun first.  This dashes all hopes in the viewer's mind that they might make it out of this easily- not likely. In a later scene after he disarms his uncle of the shotgun, the remaining two survivors run down into the basement and instead of just shooting where they were (if you notice, most movies are like that) he aims into the wall where they're running down the stairs and tries to blow them away through the hardwood.  To me, these little things are what improve a movie killer's persona.

       Something about this film I enjoyed thoroughly was that it changed up the scenery from the first two, instead of being snowbound this time we get a lot of good cinematography in the forests of Norway.  Lots of green and brown, flourishing fauna, all sorts of beautiful imagery.  This is one factor I think that makes all three films contrast well with the murder and mayhem that's going on inside it- we get these beautiful, serene looking locations and then atop all that there are people being murdered and beaten to death all around us.  The locations here are wonderfully shot and it adds another level to this film.

       The whole trilogy of Fritt Vilt is built upon strong female characters.  In the first film it's a woman who is the survivor, battling him seemingly to death at the hands of a crevasse in the Norwegian tundras.  The second picks right up after the first when the woman is hospitalized and the body of the killer is excavated from the pit he fell into, along with the victims he was dumping there- but then he wakes up in the hospital and she has to fight him all over again, with the help of a few reluctant individuals.  The prequel is no different: the ones who are fighting the hardest to survive are the female characters.  The men either end up dead or wounded severely.  Of course we know it's a prequel so obviously the killer doesn't die, right?  Well we still get that strong female character coming out on top but with a devastating twist at the end.  The finale could have been very typical but it took a turn I really didn't expect and I was very pleased with that.

       In all, there are some really creepy scenes that just chilled me to the bone and there are lots of great kills that you'd expect in a horror film.  Lots of people don't think that the original film was a very good one but as a horror fanatic I found it amazing.  The same people think that this was terrible but I think that it's a great prequel for an even greater series; this is a new age for slasher films.  We need to constantly broaden the horizons of what constitutes a slasher film (and horror films in general) because we need more new ground for people to step on and experiment with.  Norway has a few really great horror films that I've become an outrageous fan of- I wouldn't even mind seeing another one of these installments in the series, but who knows where that would take us.  Either way, I hope more films like this start to come out.

19.2.11

My Top 5 Scariest Scenes

                I have seen copious amounts of horror over the years, but I sat down recently and tried to come up with my top 5 scariest scenes.  Now what you need to really think about is how would you really feel, how would you really act in the position of these unsuspecting victims?  We know we're watching a horror film, but when you try to put yourself in the characters shoes it becomes different.  It's all about atmosphere.  Sit down in the dark, by yourself, throw on any of these movies and see if you don't get at least one good scare.

5) Hostel gives me the creeps just thinking about it, I don't care what anybody says- that movie is incredible.  Nearing the end when all is revealed, Paxton is brought to the factory where it all goes down (and we get a sweet Takashi Miike cameo: "Be careful- you could spend all your money in that place").  What ensues is some of the creepiest stuff I've ever seen.





4) Forever will The Shining frighten the life out of me.  Any scene in this film could be on the list really, but it's mainly the point where Jack snaps and is following Wendy around and up the stairs.  I once memorized that monologue that he does for a drama class.  It amazes me to watch Jack Nicholson act, and Shelley Duvall was perfectly terrified.  Another especially creepy moment is when the person dressed as the dog is giving a man on the bed a blowjob- weird.


3) The ice skating scene from Curtains.  The killer in this little known Canadian film is one of the scariest I've ever seen because of the mask.  It's like an old man with long, woman's hair.  Add that to the fact that the killer then skates after one of the victims and you've got a few really creepy moments leading up to a kill.


2) The mine scenes in My Bloody Valentine.  Breaking the lights as he stalks down the narrow mine hallways after his victims, coming out of the darkness in the tunnels.  The beginning scenes of Harry Warden being trapped in the mine and all that business, also creepy.  When they find him as the sole survivor, he almost looks like one of the zombies from Dawn of the Dead.


1) Leatherface's debut in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre- there is absolutely nothing scarier.  A huge maniac covered in human skin, wielding a chainsaw and screaming?  You tell me you've got the balls not to piss your pants after that and I'll show you a bullshitter.