Vitamin Burger

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

The Horror Movie Image Experiment:1980

I decided to do a fun little experiment, and post it to the blog. We all know that you can get some crazy results when you do image searches on Yahoo. So I decided that I would do this for every year of the 80's(the best decade for Horror, IMO). I type in Horror movie images and the year, and I use the first one that pops up, even if it didn't technically come out that year, and say something about it. I'm sure there will be some that I am ecstatic about, and want to ramble endlessly about, and some that I loathe, and might say two sentences about. So let's see how this turns out.........
1980:

Prom Night is definitely not one of my favorite Horror films, and I would have never chose to write about it otherwise, so this might be cool. A lot of my friends, and people on the message boards that I frequent, absolutely LOVE this film! I have never been able to understand all of the hype on this bloodless slasher film. It opens great, and I absolutely love the scene with the kids playing the game, and the little girl falling out of the window. If the film had kept up this pace, it definitely would be one of my favorites. I actually like several of the characters as well, although Jamie Leigh is very wooden in this one. I guess my complaints are, like I said, it is bloodless, there is absolutely no gore in this film, if released today, it would definitely qualify for a PG-13. It's really more of a murder-mystery than a Slasher, which is fine, if it hadn't been promoted all over as a Slasher film. Another reason, is that it is a very dark film(no, I am not talking about tone/content), it's actually very hard to see what's going on. But, I will say that I don't absolutely hate the film, even though I have listed a ton of negative aspects about it. It's OK for a time waster, and I watch it every 5 years or so. Also, it spawned some very cheezy, but fun sequels(which have nothing at all to do with the original film), that are great fun to watch if you can find them. Lastly, I am sure all of you have seen this film, so I won't worry about spoilers*, the kid that plays Alex, the killer, is so horrible, and I think most of my negativity towards this film, lies in his hands. C'mon fans, leave some comments, and convince me otherwise. I would love to hear your thoughts on the film, pro or con, and also on this experiment. If it is fun, I might do the 70's and the 90's as well.

Saturday, March 10, 2012

Cloud Nothings-Attack On Memory(2012)

"Attack On Memory" is the last kind of record that I could foresee on my end of the year Top 10, but that is exactly where I am sure it will be. We are now embroiled in a major 90's nostalgia music swing. In the past year there has been some really good bands that have came out of this movement, like The Vaccines and Yuck. But there are too many bad ones to name, and most of the offenders were still in their diapers when Kurt & Courtney were all over the papers! Cloud Nothings are embracing a very interesting part of the 90's, and one that I am sure will not become a trend. They have lots of elements in their sound, without ever sounding derivative of anyone or just the Naughties, per se. I can hear elements of Drive Like Jehu, Unwound, Tar, Seam, or just about anyone that was on Touch & Go or Amphetamine Reptile in their heyday. Also, remember for a short period in the 90's when Sonic Youth seemed that they were gonna be a household name? A lot of labels(majors included) were signing unknown noisy bands, in hopes of having the next Sonic Youth on their roster. Bands like Magic Dirt, Blinker The Star, Smile, and Boss Hog, were signed and then discarded when their records didn't sell more than 2,000 copies. Cloud Nothings could have easily came from that period. But none of this is a diss against their sound, as I really love this record. There are the noisy type songs, and then there are very catchy, almost jangle-pop, type songs. It really is a record that was created to be played on College Rock radio(remember when that existed?), and every song on the record, could find a home on any of those stations. The songs have tons of hooks, and you will find them going round and round through your head, even after the first time listening. I actually downloaded the record the week that it came out, just because of the pre-buzz and hype that was being thrown around for it. After listening to it 2 times, I was so enamored with it, that I purchased it on vinyl.....and that hardly ever happens with me, with an unknown band! So don't let the hype turn you off about this band, which is something that I always do, because in this case, it is totally worth it!! If you want a record that reminds you of the rocking days in College, when there was some noisy but really catchy good records coming out every week? Then totally throw down the bones and check out the Cloud Nothings, I truly don't think that you will be disappointed.

Monday, January 9, 2012

100 Tears(2007)

As a rule, I usually hate SOV(Shot On Video) movies. They look like a Soap Opera, and the acting is usually bottom of the barrel dreck. And the gore, is usually nothing but fake blood poured all over the actors body. But every once in a while a SOV film will come along, and get these things right, and I will love it. 100 Tears is one of those films.
First of all, I HATE clowns, they scare the living shit out of me! It, Clownhouse, and Amusement have all petrified me with the use of some scary ass clowns!! The Clown Killer in 100 Tears isn't really as scary as the others mentioned, but the grue that he leaves behind is super gory! I have NEVER seen gore this good in a SOV film. In the beginning of the film, the clown takes out at least 15 people in less than 5 minutes....that has to be a record of some sort??
The clown has been killing people as the "teardrop killer" for the last 20 years. When someone else starts killing people by slitting throats and claiming that he is the teardrop killer, the clown comes out of the semi-retirement he is in. There is a pretty good back-story involved, as for the reason that the lovesick clown is indeed killing people, but I don't want to spoil it, in case a few of you want to check it out? There are a couple of journalists who write for an Enquirer-type paper, who are following the case, to try and break into serious journalism. These two are really good actors for this calibre of a film, and make it even more enjoyable to watch.
But as I said, the true star of the film, is the special effects guy!! The first killing in the halfway-house at the beginning of the film is so gory, I had to look away(and I never do that)!!It's not an Oscar winner by any means, but just a good, gory, fun, SOV slasher film. Do yourself a favor and check it out!!

Malevolence(2004)

If you can't tell by reading my reviews, aatmosphere is the most important element to me in a Horror/Slasher film. Many shortcomings such as bad acting, lack of gore, lack of character development, can all be made up for by superior atmosphere. By atmosphere, I also include a great set and/or shooting locale. Malevolence has a few of these shortcomings, not many really, but atmosphere oozes off of the screen in this little indie flick. The suspense is done so well, that in many(more than 5) scenes, I was so scared that I was tempted to turn the lights on!
The film starts out by explaining that in rural Pennsylvania, there have been children and young girls going missing for years now. In 1989, a young boy at the age of 6 is kidnapped by this killer, and is made to watch him kill these young girls. Cue to modern day, and we see a small band of criminals in the preparations of robbing a bank. One of the men doesn't want to rob the bank at all, but has a big debt owed to a loan shark, and his girlfriend convinces him this is the only way to get out of the debt. The girlfriend's brother is the one planning the robbery, and he has been in and out of prison, for more than half of his life. There is one more participant in the robbery as well. During the robbery, the brother is shot, and dies from the injury. The other man has the money from the robbery, and the couple must meet him at a house in the country to divide up the money. The man with the money has car trouble, and car-jacks a van, along with a little girl and her mother to take him to the house.
It doesn't take long after arriving to the house, that we see a hooded killer and he takes out the bandit with the money. The hood that he wears is one of the scariest disguises that I have seen in a Horror film. Even though it looks like the one that Jason wears in Part 2, and the one from The Town That Dreaded Sundown, it is a look that has not been done to death, and is very effective. The rest of the film is spent by the mother and daughter, and the reluctant criminal trying to escape the murderer. We are led to believe that this is the same killer that has been killing and kidnapping in this countryside for years, although there is a twist, but not one that comes out of left field. The rural countryside, and the houses and factories that the film were shot in, are fantastic. The production designer definitely did a fantastic job on this film. Also, many scenes of the hooded killer stalking through the foggy night are SO eerie. He is a silent stalker, and that makes it all the more effective. I have always thought so, don't you think?
This film is definitely an homage to all of the great Slasher films of the 80's, and I definitely can't understand the low rating(5.0) and the bad reviews on IMDB. But who really pays attention to the armchair critics on that site anyway? If you are a fan of atmosphere and ambiance in your Slasher films, I cannot recommend Malevolence enough! It is a little light on the bloodshed, but I don't think that the film would be bettered by making it more bloodier anyway. The original TCM is not a bloody film at all, but people still love it anyway, that's because of the atmosphere and the location! Please give Malevolence and shot, and let me know what you think?