Scary Movie Night
I want to have a scary movie night. I haven't seen one in awhile, and this time of year is always good for that. Problem is, I'm not free at all until next week since I'm going out of town for this work conference. Next week I think I'm limited to Thursday night the 25ht, since the weekend gets into actual Halloween party/events. Who's in?
Here are a few I'd like to see, based on recs from Richmond.com. I also want to see 1408. Is that on DVD yet?
"The Thing"
Maybe my favorite horror movie of all time. Yeah, it's a remake, but so what? "The Maltese Falcon" was a remake, and it was flipping awesome too. Besides, the original had a blood-thirsty carrot for a villain. Think about that for a second. It's even less scary on-screen. This one has a shape-shifter who rips things apart before absorbing them. This flick is great on so many levels. It's John Carpenter's best directed film. It's got the best practical makeup effects ever, courtesy of Rob Bottin. And if you're into subtext, then have no fear; it's rumored that the alien menace is symbolic of the (then) emerging AIDS crisis. Mostly, it's unrelenting and scary and bleak as night, and it never lets up for a minute in all its 109. If that wasn't enough, you get to see oatmeal and diabetes maven Wilford Brimley sprout tentacles and try to eat Kurt Russell. Top that, I say!
"Audition"
I hesitate to even recommend this movie. It's scary, but it's almost too scary. Maybe the most disturbing and frightening horror film I've ever seen. That's all I want to say here because if you are willing to take the risk and check this one out, the less you know, the more you'll pee yours pants with fear.
"Videodrome"
I'm a sucker for psychological terror and body horror. Just my luck - David Cronenberg specializes in the mixture of the two. This little gem focuses on cable TV operator Max Renn (James Woods) who becomes fixated on a show called Videodrome that appears to feature actual murder. A lesser movie might turn this into a simple mystery, where Renn has to navigate increasingly threatening situations in order to get to the bottom of Videodrome. Cronenberg scraps that idea to show us Renn experiencing increasingly bizarre and vivid hallucinations (doing the nasty with a TV, anybody?) and pulling out weapons from a newly grown hole in his stomach. Yes, you read that right. The cherry on top is Debbie Harry in her Blondie days as Renn's very young and very kinky girlfriend.
"What Lies Beneath"
Silence, Subtleties and Spooks. These three things are all this film needs to literally make the little hairs on your neck stand up and give you goose pimples. It's really the small things in the movie that give me the chills. The creaking of footsteps, a reflection in a mirror, knowing you closed the door behind you but looking back a minute later to see it wide open - those little things that make people feel uneasy. I love, love, love this movie.