The Sixth Sense (1999 – Rated PG-13 in the US for a freaky kid, wine dringing Bruce Willis and seing dead people)

Summary (from IMDB):

Malcolm Crowe is a child psychologist who receives an award on the same night that he is visited by a very unhappy ex-patient. After this encounter, Crowe takes on the task of curing a young boy with the same ills as the ex-patient. This boy “sees dead people”. Crowe spends a lot of time with the boy (Cole) much to the dismay of his wife. Cole’s mom is at her wit’s end with what to do about her son’s increasing problems. Crowe is the boy’s only hope.

RB Wood’s Rating (out of 5): 4 ghosts

Okay, it’s looking more and more like M. Night Shyamalan is a one hit wonder, and this is his one hit. Haley Joel Osment is brilliant in his first real role as Cole Sear, a child with a special gift.  Bruce willis plays Malcolm Crowe, an man who survives an attack in his home by his expatient.  His next client, Cole Sear, has the same issues as the man who tried to kill the psychologist, so Willis’ character redoubles his efforts to try and cure the troubled child.

Osment’s portrayal of the young boy who sees the dead…not only sees them but is like a beacon for them to visit, is brilliant.  The creep factor is enhanced by Willis trying to hold his life together while his marriage falls apart.  His wife seemingly won’t speak to him after the attack.  The chilling scenes with the ghosts Osment sees are well done and are still scary even upon multiple viewings.  The twist, of course (SPOILER) is that Willis’ Crowe never survived the attack in the beginning of the movie.  While trying to help Osment, he ends up being helped by the child in turn.  While Osment can finally admit his problem to his mother, Crowe’s unfinished business rectifying his failure to understand his attacker is finally complete. Recalling Cole’s advice, Crowe speaks to his sleeping wife and fulfills the second reason he returned, saying she was “never second,” and that he loves her. Releasing her to move on with her own life, he is free to leave behind the world of the living.

The direction and soundtrack are spot on and the acting all around is well worth it this holiday season.  Trust me, you’ll see dead people.

Tomorrow: “Look at me, Damien! It’s all for you!”

Peace

Ghostbusters (1984 – Rated PG in the US for spookiness, wackiness and the stay puft marshmallow man)

Summary (from IMDB):

Three odd-ball scientists get kicked out of their cushy positions at a university in New York City where they studied the occult. They decide to set up shop in an old firehouse and become Ghostbusters, trapping pesky ghosts, spirits, haunts, and poltergeists for money. They wise-crack their way through the city, and stumble upon a gateway to another dimension, one which will release untold evil upon the city. The Ghostbusters are called on to save the Big Apple.

RB Wood’s rating (out of 5) 4.5 doogs and cats living together

No movie on this list will have more quotable lines than this flick.  No so much a horror flick, but a horror spoof.  Sure there are wonderful scary moments like when Dana Barrett (Sigourney Weaver) is yanked into her fridge by the key master and the gate keeper, but this film is just a boat load of fun.  Three scientist of the paranormal studies department of NYU, Dr. Peter Venkman (Bill Murry), Dr. Raymond Stantz (Dan Aykroyd) and Dr. Egon Spengler (Harold Ramis) are tossed out of their cushy tenured positions for being frauds. Venkman certainly sees his career as a dodge, but Stanz and Spengler are serious scientists who have developed a series of inventions to help– not only to prove the existance of ghosts, but to capture and contain them.  With a third mortgage on Stanz’s family home, they fund a business to rid New York City of ghosts–the Ghostbusters.

Evil is afoot in the Big Apple, when an occultist designed tower in the city (where Barret and Rick Moranis’ Louis Tully reside) opens up a portale to another world allowing the dead to float around the city causing mayhem.

This is comedic genius written by Aykroyd, Ramis and the uncredited Moranis.  Although the effects are a bit dated, the story works and is an absolute riot from Venkman’s experiment to pick up a hot co-ed in the beginning to the attack of the stay puft marshmallow man at the end.  I still laugh out loud at the many one liners and site gags ever present in this movie and the cast plays their parts perfectly.  I still, to this day, see people dressed as the Ghostbusters for Halloween and I encourage you to give it a viewing this season.  And I’ll bet real money that Ray Parker Jr.’s famous didy popped into your head while reading this.

Tomorrow: I see dead people

Peace 

Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978 – Rated PG in the US for body invading aliens and spooky shit)

Summary (from IMDB):

The first remake of the paranoid infiltration classic moves the setting for the invasion from a small town to the city of San Fransisco and starts as Matthew Bennell notices that several of his friends are complaining that their close relatives are in some way different. When questioned later they themselves seem changed as they deny everything or make lame excuses. As the invaders increase in number they become more open and Bennell, who has by now witnessed an attempted “replacement” realises that he and his friends must escape or suffer the same fate. But who can he trust to help him and who has already been snatched?

RB Wood’s Rating (out of 5): 4 pods

Yes, this is a remake.  But it’s the first version I saw and I was happy to revisit it last night.  Director Philip Kaufman does a wonderful job building the low to high level paranoia and suspense through-out this nail-bitting film.  What I liked most about this most recent viewing is the almost total lack of gore and violence, yet the fear factor is on par with some of the more fightiening films on my 31 films of Halloween list.  I’ve since seen the 1956 original based on Jack Finney’s classic novel, and I was of two minds whether to review the original or this remake.  But this 1978 version is better–much better–for all around acting, story-telling and the creep factor which is critical for this most spooky of seasons.

Matthew Bennell (Donald Sutherland) is a field investigator for the Department of Public Health, and when Elizabeth Driscoll (Brooke Adams) tells him that her boyfriend is not the same person he was, Matthew suggests that Elizabeth visit Dr. David Kibner (Leonard Nimoy) for emotional counseling.  More people seem to be having the same issue, and when Matthew’s friends (Nancy (Veronica Cartwright) and Jack Bellicec (Jeff Goldblum)) find a clone of Jack in their medical business, the four investigate only to find emotionless clones of others replaced by plants who attack at night.

All in all, a great scary movie for the family (as long as the kids are 13 and older).  Brilliant casting and the cameos by Don Siegel and Kevin McCarthy (from the original) is a nice touch.

Tomorrow: Let’s have a little fun. And when someone asks if you’re a god, you say YES.

Peace 

Psycho (1960 Rated PGish in the US for suspence and Hitchcock camera angles)

Summary (from IMDB):

Phoenix officeworker Marion Crane is fed up with the way life has treated her. She has to meet her lover Sam in lunch breaks and they cannot get married because Sam has to give most of his money away in alimony. One Friday Marion is trusted to bank $40,000 by her employer. Seeing the opportunity to take the money and start a new life, Marion leaves town and heads towards Sam’s California store. Tired after the long drive and caught in a storm, she gets off the main highway and pulls into The Bates Motel. The motel is managed by a quiet young man called Norman who seems to be dominated by his mother.

RB Wood’s Rating (out of 5): 4.5 Knife wielding wig wearers

The Bates motel.  Scenic location of pure terror. The image of Janet Leigh in the shower is one of the most masterful scenes ever filmed in a horror movie.  The shear sexuality and horror of the scene is so well done that to this day people swear they saw Janet Leigh completely naked.  Norman Bates (played to perfection by Anthony Perkins) is an introverted, mother dominated soul who runs the hotel that bares the family name.  This film isn’t the gore-fest of movies that followed.  Often cited, repeatedly parodied this classic of classics is the movie that broke holiwood away from the horror=monster genre.  Although Norman is his own monster, isn’t he?

It’s not just the imfamous shower scene that makes this film a classic.  It’s all the little touches and scenes that builds to the final plot twist.  A few examples:

• The depiction of 1950’s/1960’s America in the begining
• The scene with Marion (Leigh) and the cop
• Conversations between Norman and Marion/Norman and Arbogast (Martin Balsam)

And so many others.  If you haven’t scene this before, you owe it to yourself to rent/stream a copy.  It’s Hitchcock at his best.

Tomorrow: Check the basement for pods

Peace

A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984 – Rated R in the US for Gore, Violence, sexual humor and a bad Wolverine impression)

Summary (from IMDB):

On Elm Street, Nancy Thompson and a group of her friends including Tina Gray, Rod Lane and Glen Lantz are being tormented by a clawed killer in their dreams named Freddy Krueger. Nancy must think quickly, as Freddy tries to pick off his victims one by one. When he has you in your sleep, who is there to save you?

RB Wood’s Rating (Out of 5): 3.5 metal fingers

Ah, Freddie Krueger.  Before the character so brilliantly premiered and played by Robert Englund became a parody of itself, there was this original which is bloody, violent and scary as hell.  But upon watching this for the first time since 1984, I find the movie much diminished due to the obscene number of sequels and remakes.  I took a full star off for that, as scenes in this original that were once scary now seem a bit laughable.

I say this because this film (along with the original Halloween and Friday the 13th) brought back the suspense thriller in horror form.  A throw back to the old Hitchcock films of yesteryear. The film opens with a child molester being burned to death by the parents of the children he abused (Krueger).  Years later, the monster reappears in the nightmares of the ‘modern day’ teenagers living on Elm Street.  Believe it or not, the idea for this Wes Craven tale was inspired by real-life stories of people dying in their sleep.

Unfortunately, this is Nancy’s (Heather Langenkamp) story.  I say unfortunately because her acting in this us sub-par.  Even Johnny Depp (who in his movie debut plays Glen Lantz) is wooden.  It’s a fun little flick for the season, just don’t pick up the sequels.

Tomorrow: “Mother!”

Peace

The Shining (1980 Rated R in the US for strong Violent Content including disturbing Images, terror, Language and brief graphic nudity. Oh, and Jack Nicholson’s evil smile)

Summary (from IMDB):

A man, his son and wife become the winter caretakers of an isolated hotel where Danny, the son, sees disturbing visions of the hotel’s past using a telepathic gift known as “The Shining”. The father, Jack Torrance, is underway in a writing project when he slowly slips into insanity as a result of cabin fever and former guests of the hotel’s ghosts. After being convinced by a waiter’s ghost to “correct” the family, Jack goes completely insane. The only thing that can save Danny and his mother is “The Shining”.

RB Wood’s rating (out of 5): 4 and a half ax wielding Jacks

By far, this is my favorite movie adaptation of a Stephen King story.  Stanley Kubrick does a fantastic job with the visuals and setting the tone for suspense and horror.  I took 1/2 a star off because upon last night’s viewing I really did want Jack Torrance (Nicholson) to kill Shelley Duvall (Wendy Torrance). I also feel that Scatman Crothers was wasted in this…his character is way more developed in the book.  However, these things aside, The Shining is one of the scariest pictures in this months list.  From the subtile, yet terrifying soundtrack by Wendy Carlos and Rachel Elkind to the stylistic camera angles that are a staple of any Kubrick film, I found myself at the edge of my seat from the very beginning.  Jack Torrance is an abusive, recovering alcholic father and writer, looking for a place of solitude to write.  He finds it in a Colorado job posting for a winter-long caretake of the creepy, isolated Overlook Hotel. The son, Danny, played well by Danny Lloyd, has visions of the horror that awaits the family–provided to him by his imaginary friend Tony.  The Shining, is of course the power that Danny possesses (and Crother’s character as well).

The isolation and paranoia of King’s book is captured perfectly between Kubrick and Nicholson and if you don’t sleep with the lights on for at least one night after watching this, you weren’t paying attention.  All in all a perfect piece for the Halloween season.

Tomorrow: Don’t fall asleep.

Peace

Slither (2006 Rated R in the US for strong horror violence, gore, language and some really funny shit)

Summary (from IMDB):

In this blend of the B movie classic The Blob (1958) and some Romero’s zombies film, a meteorite collides in a small town. Grant finds it, and is infected by a parasite worm, which installs in his brain and causes him a creepy transformation into a monster. Starla, his wife, and Bill, a policeman, will try to stop him and the plague of worms generated by the creature.

RB Wood’s rating (out of 5): 4 Squids

This completes the trifecta of comedy zombie flicks for the Halloween season–the other two being Zombieland and Shaun of the Dead.  In some ways (like plot), this is the weakest entry, but the laughs are out loud and the violence is intense. This is a complete throw back flick–from the opening meteor strike where the aliens com to earth (see The Blob, The Thing and countless others) to the Dawn of the Dead references (and actually the script writer for this–James Gunn–wrote the script for the DotD remake). 

The Token Town Rich Guy, Grant Grant, (yes, that is his name and he’s played by Michael Rooker, from Henry: portrait of a Serial Killer) is a bit hard up despite being married to Starla (The 40-Year Old Virgin‘s Elizabeth Banks) so off the aging stud-wannabe stomps to the local watering hole where he runs into Brenda Gutierrez (Brenda James), a fresh young beauty who’s had a thing for Grant Grant she was ten. 

In the woods outside Wheelsy, the two are in the midst of a drunken tryst when Grant is distracted by two things: guilt because of Starla, and something that looks like it could’ve crawled out of a stray meteorite that fell in the woods–probably because it did. Of course when he sees the strange sort of creature in the woods, he does what any genius would–he pokes it with a stick. 

And that’s how the fun starts.  Nathan Fillion is fantastic as sheriff Bill Pardy and the rest of the cast plays “dealing with the unknown in a small town” quite well.  This isn’t the best movie of the genre, but it’s really worth a look.  You’ll find yourself quoting some of the more memorable lines for a week or so afterwards.

Tomorrow: “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy”

Peace

Shaun of the Dead (2004 – Rated R in the US for zombie violence/gore, language and the willful destruction of some classic vinyl records)

Summary (from IMDB):

A man decides to turn his moribund life around by winning back his ex-girlfriend, reconciling his relationship with his mother, and dealing with an entire community that has returned from the dead to eat the living.

RB Wood’s Rating (out of 5): 4 cricket bats

Let’s just start with the fact that I adore Simon Pegg (Shaun).  I think he’s an absolute hoot.  And the fact he has a writing credit as well as plays the titular character means that the dialog is going to be witty, sarcastic and just good fun.  When we are introduced to Shaun, he’s a complete loser.  A deadend job, just lost his girl friend his life is drudgery.  The film as loads of digs at other movies in this genre and it’s fun to spot them through out the movie.  But make no mistake, this is a horror film.  The violence is hardcore, but is the humor is mixed in and is never over done.  You’ll be laughing at the same time the ‘splatter’ occurs.  I knocked a star off for the limited use the movie puts Martin Freeman and Dylan Moran to, but you’ll love this little flick.

When the famous George Romero say this is one of his favorite zombie flicks, you know you have a winner.

Tomorrow: “That’s some fucked up shit”

Peace

Jaws (1975 Rated PG in the US for Blood, a misbehaving shark and perfection)

Summary (from IMDB):

It’s a hot summer on Amity Island, a small community whose main business is its beaches. When new Sheriff Martin Brody discovers the remains of a shark attack victim, his first inclination is to close the beaches to swimmers. This doesn’t sit well with Mayor Larry Vaughn and several of the local businessmen. Brody backs down to his regret as that weekend a young boy is killed by the predator. The dead boy’s mother puts out a bounty on the shark and Amity is soon swamped with amateur hunters and fisherman hoping to cash in on the reward. A local fisherman with much experience hunting sharks, Quint, offers to hunt down the creature for a hefty fee. Soon Quint, Brody and Matt Hooper from the Oceanographic Institute are at sea hunting the Great White shark. As Brody succinctly surmises after their first encounter with the creature, they’re going to need a bigger boat.

RB Wood’s Rating (Out of 5): All the stars.  All of them.  Not just 5.

There are five movies in the world that I will sit and watch over and over again:  Casablanca (1942), The Godfather (1972), Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975), Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)…

And Jaws.

This is the Steven Spielberg of old.  A yound director trying to prove himself.  And it’s absolutely brilliant. The late Roy Scheider is marvelous as Martin Brody, the new Sheriff in the sleepy fictional Cape Cod community of Amity.  He, Richard Dreyfuss as rich-kid oceanographer Matt Hooper and Quint (Robert Shaw) are the leads, but by no means the only shinning stars of this horror classic.  However, when our three intrepid shark hunters are out on Quint’s boat, the Orca, the acting, the writing and the dirction are perfection.  From Quint’s storry about the Indianapolis, to his ultimate demise as he slowly slides into the maw of the beast.  Cinematic history.

The suspense is built brilliantly, as we never see the Shark until Scheider’s Brody is chumming the water…uttering the famous “We’re gonna need a bigger boat.”  Not your slasher/splatter horror, this is suspense, and terror built slowly, masterfully until the audience is as frightened as the Amity Island populace.

See this movie.  But be warned, it took me two years to go back into the water after my first viewing.

Tomorrow: “Come and get it! It’s a running buffet!”

Peace

The Fly (1986 – Rated R in the US for Disturbing Content including Grotesque Images, Sci-Fi Violence/Gore, Strong Sexuality, Nudity and for Language. Basically, a 2 hour party with an inside-out Baboon and watching Brundle-fly eat)

Summary (From IMDB):

Seth Brundle, a brilliant but eccentric scientist attempts to woo investigative journalist Veronica Quaife by offering her a scoop on his latest research in the field of matter transportation, which against all the expectations of the scientific establishment have proved successful. Up to a point. Brundle thinks he has ironed out the last problem when he successfully transports a living creature, but when he attempts to teleport himself a fly enters one of the transmission booths, and Brundle finds he is a changed man.

RB Wood’s Rating (out of 5): 3.5 maggot-invested babies

Jeff Goldblum is one of my favority wacky actors.  I was introduced to him during the short-lived series Ten Speed and Brown Shoe (with Ben Vereen) back in 1980– although I saw Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978) years later. He was perfect as the eccentric Seth Brundle, scientist who invents the teleporter, only to inadvertantly splice his genes with a fly when he tests his invention on himself.  This is a remake of the 1958 classic with David Hedison and Vincent Price, but it’s more than that.  This is a horror story, no doubt.  But it’s a tragic love story at its core, and Geena Davis as Veronica Quaife is fabulous in this role.

In watching this years later, my only issue is with David Cronenberg’s direction. I’ve never been a fan of his work, to be honest.  But some of the angle and lighting choices kinda took me out of the story a bit.  But Goldblum always brought me back into it.  Worth it just to watch him act.

Tomorrow: You’ll need a bigger boat

Peace

Alien (Rated R in the US for sci-fi violence/gore and language.  Oh…and those thoughts I have in the dead of night about Sigourney Weaver.  Except those are NC-17)

Summary (from IMDB):

The crew of the deep space towing vessel Nostromo are awaken from hypersleep to investigate a strange signal from a nearby planet. While investigating the signal, they discover it was intended as a warning, and not an SOS.

I was 15 when I snuck into the theater to see this movie.  After the Star Wars experience and the lackluster Star Trek: The [lack of] Motion Picture, what a refreshing viewing this was! Ridley Scott tells the story with a perfectly synchronized blend of visuals and sounds.  These ragtag ‘Company’ men and women aren’t heroes.  They are in this for the pay.  And from the stunning Sigourney (Ripley) to Tom Skerritt’s Dallas and Ian Holm’s Ash…all of them really (Hell, when I saw John Hurt as Ollivander in the Harry Potter series I half expected to see a ‘chest burster.’ Expecto Patronum THAT Potter) portray their individual characters as real people thrown into a horror-filled situation.  Despite the size of the refinery ship Nostromo, the crew section is cramped and dark which adds to the entire claustrophobia feel of the film.  The now iconic alien isn’t seen in all its glory until near the end and the unknown is mixed perfectly with the terror. Topped off with the most excellent score by Jerry Goldsmith and you have the PERFECT flick.  I know many people love Aliens more, but in my opinion this is best of the series by far.

Tomorrow: There was an old lady who swallowed a fly, perhaps she’ll die.

Peace

The Thing (1982 – Rated R in the US for strong graphic sci-fi/horror violence and gore, grisly images, language and some drug content.  Sounds like college)

Summary (from IMDB):

An American scientific expedition to the frozen wastes of the Antarctic is interrupted by a group of seemingly mad Norwegians pursuing and shooting a dog. The helicopter pursuing the dog explodes, eventually leaving no explanation for the chase. During the night, the dog mutates and attacks other dogs in the cage and members of the team that investigate. The team soon realizes that an alien life-form with the ability to take over other bodies is on the loose and they don’t know who may already have been taken over.

RB Wood’s rating (out of 5): 4 Wilford’s

This is a remake of the 1951 classic The Thing From Another World and John Carpenter does a superb job…probably his best in the genre in my opinion.  While staying true to the original, Carpenter also uses the paranoia rampent in John W. Campbell Jr.s short story which all interations of this movie draw from.  This is the movie that moved Kurt Russell from a ‘Disney Darling’ into mainstream acting and it really shows his range (many people will say it was Escape from New York, but I believe this movie is the one that made him).  The suspense generated in this film–from the opening scene with the husky being chased down by a helicopter to the final, most fitting, ending is fantastic and still works thirty years later.

What made this movie suffer at the box office was its proximity release near Spielberg’s ET.  Many critics complained about the gore and violence in this flick as compared to the family friendly alien movie.  But, make no mistake.  This is a masterpiece.  The script, lighting and camera work are superb and the acting draws you into the confining quarters and desolute setting of Antarctica. Don’t miss this one for the Halloween season and don’t use it as a date night flick–trust me.

Tomorrow: In space, no one can hear you scream

Peace