Movie Magic

I recently had the good fortune to stumble upon an episode of Discovery's Movie Magic. Aired in 1994 and, apparently, not available on DVD this was quite a find. Even after almost two decades since airing, this behind the scenes look at character creation through makeup and appliances is fascinating. Here is episode 1 but be sure to check out all of TylerHaslett's videos to see more in the Movie Magic series along with other wonderful FX videos.

Haunt on!

High Spirits

Remember this one? Rented it with the kiddos last night and I'm happy to report that they quite enjoyed it!

Haunt on!

Usher It Right Out The Door - Trust Me On This

Friday was an ugly day. It was one of those kind of days. You know, the ones that creep up every once in a while where nothing goes well and everything you touch goes to hell in a hand-basket. Yep, one of THOSE kinds of days.

By 9:30 I had had enough of Friday, opted for a long hot bath, followed by a movie.

I went through the DVD collection and picked out three that I had purchased from a Hollywood Video that had gone out of business. Horror/scary genre, of course, and none of which I had seen before.

I decided on The House Of Usher (2006). After all, it was an adaptation of Poe's Fall Of The House Of Usher. Surely it would have some redeeming properties?

I should have cashed it all in within the first 5 minutes.

The movie began and here is our main character Jill (Izabella Miko) in what I believe to be present day. Next second the scene changes and we see Jill again in another setting. Then back to where we came from. Then again we jump somewhere else. Then I think we went back again. Within 5 minutes I wasn't sure if we had flashed forward, backward or sideways.

Then the opening credits began to roll.

Let me boil this whole thing down for you...

Jill can't get back into the dating game because she still has feelings for Rick Usher (Austin Nichols).

Rick and his twin sister Maddy (Danielle McCarthy) were best friends with Jill in college but abruptly left with no explanation.

Three years later (present day) Rick calls Jill to tell her Maddy has died and asks her to come for the funeral.

Jill goes to funeral which is held at the Usher mansion family plot.

Rick explains to Jill that Maddy died of the dreaded family disease and that he is also ill.

Scary caretaker Mrs. Thatcher (Beth Grant) expresses her dislike of Jill and tells her to leave.

Rick and Jill fall back into love. (Ahhhhhhhhh - isn't that precious?!)

They swap spit badly. (Honestly that has to be some of the worst on screen kissing that I've ever seen.)

Mrs. Thatcher oversees Ricks medication.

Jill runs around in her underwear a lot.

You catch glimpses (barely) of someone else hanging around.

Jill finally decides she should leave, for no particular reason.

Rick begs her stay. All of the sudden he is dying and he needs her. (Men!)

Jill finds herself with child. (Well surprise, surprise!)

Now this is almost the entire film. The next part I should probably list as Spoiler Alert but the only thing spoiled is my brain after watching this film.

Now, where was I? Ahhhh, yes, the last 20 minutes...

It happened in the library - because she didn't use birth control. (Apparently there is a moral here somewhere.)

Jill notices the family pictures and this tree does not fork.

The parents give birth to twins who mate and give birth to twins. (Rinse, repeat....)

Now the ending....

Mrs. Thatcher, who's been with the family 30 years, finally decides to make her move and end this abomination by attempting to kill Rick. She fails but sticks around long enough to see Jill find that Maddy is not actually dead. (Gasp!) Maddy has been sent up to the attic because she refused to play the family mating game and has gone mad.

Mrs. Thatcher throws herself out a window and dies.

Maddy and Rick die in each others arms.

Flash forward to Jill getting a sonogram and we see twin fetus' kissing in the womb.
 
Sweet Molly in a manger!
 
I've never seen so much bad acting coupled with bad editing/directing/writing. Next time my day is going to hell I will not pick out a movie without first checking the reviews.
 
BTW - does anyone want a copy of The House Of Usher? I've got one that I'm willing to part with.
 
Haunt on!

The Diary of Mary Shelley

My favorite classic horror monster of all time is Frankenstein's monster. Which would explain why I'm obsessed with keeping up with Frankensteinia: The Frankenstein Blog. This is an amazing blog loaded with...well...

Everything Frankenstein! It is divine!

I think we all know the story behind the conception of Frankenstein...Mary Shelley and friends write ghosts stories, etc. What I didn't know was that Shelley first made mention of Frankenstein in her diary on June 24, 1831. One hundred and eighty years ago today. [Credit to Frankensteinia: Genesis of Frankenstein]

I'm also currently reading Mary Shelley a biography by Muriel Spark. Actually I've been reading it for some time and I keep getting interrupted. If you are interested in the author I highly recommend it.

And I can't leave this post without at least one movie reference. This was a tough one but I've chosen to take this opportunity to defend Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1994). I realize that this may make me unpopular as it seems you either love it or hate it - and it does take some cinematic liberties with the original story.

Personally I found that I could really feel the passion of Victor's character (masterfully portrayed by Kenneth Branagh). His obsession to create life, be damned his moral responsibilities, and his desperate attempt to stop the inevitable destruction of everything that he loved, kept me glued to the screen. While all along you know how the story will end, one gets emotionally involved. First in the hopes of a successful regeneration and then praying that he will stop before it's too late.

I have to admit that when I heard that the Monster would be played by Robert DeNiro I just couldn't imagine that it would work. I was wrong. DeNiro's portrayal was one of the best screen representations I've seen that shows the complexity of the character. I really felt that he was the victim. Shunned by society and abandoned by his own "father", I felt sorry for him. So much so that I could even rationalize his violence.

I could go on and on about this particular film but I'll leave it here and just wrap up with this...For 180 years this story of man's struggle with his own mortality has withstood the test of time and, actually, seems a possible reality by today's standards. The irony is that Mary Shelley's creation has taken on a life of it's own. I like to think she would be pleased.

Haunt on!

The Midnight Meat Train

I don't know what's going on in this area but whatever is blowing around has my allergies all riled up. For the better part of the day my right eye has felt like it's going to pop out of my head.

Finally giving up on doing anything constructive, I settled into my beloved recliner for some TV time. I caught a couple of hours of Criminal Minds but I've seen them all a hundred times so I surfed for something good to watch. Obviously TV execs think everyone is out on Friday nights as there was nothing of interest on. Off to FearNet!

After checking out the synopsis on the movie offerings I decided on The Midnight Meat Train. Based on the short story by Clive Barker the movie centers around Leon (Bradley Cooper), a photographer looking to make his way into the big time.

During his late night photo shoots, Leon begins photographing and following a rather ominous and suspicious character who turns out to be a butcher. The butcher (Vinnie Jones) doesn't limit his craft to beef and as Leon unravels the mystery he finds himself and his girlfriend (Leslie Bibb) on a subway train ride to hell.

As one would expect by the title this one is pretty bloody and graphic. I don't care much for gore so I had the fast forward button handy. It was quite suspenseful even though it didn't take me long to figure out where it was going to end.

All in all I'd give it about 3 out of 5 stars. Your mileage may vary.

Twisted

We love costumes! I will use any excuse I can muster up just to put one on. I have costumes out my ying-yang but my ultimate character is the vampiress. That might seem predictable but there's a zillion different ways to do this creature and I'm still working my way through all the options.

Our kids have always had original homemade costumes. Don't misunderstand - I don't love to sew (neither does Tracy) but I do love the creative process. Until I got in the Halloween retail business my sons had never had a store bought costume. Years ago when my youngest demanded to be Spiderman I gave in because I didn't really want to remake what was so readily available. He came around though and last year he insisted on an original wicked jester creation. (Mom wins!! He's the one on the right.)



I know I'm on a movie roll lately with this blog (and I apologize I will try to be more original with the next entry). But - I especially love movies that showcase characters in strange and wonderful costumes woven into a twisted tale. Just such a movie is on the horizon - Alice In Wonderland.



I never miss a Burton movie and a movie that features Burton, Depp and Bonham Carter?? Be still my heart! (Sorry for the ads in the vid - this one is hard to get as they keep shutting it down so watch it quick!)



The time is drawing near for the ultimate costume excuse of the year, Halloween! As a retailer who markets "off the rack" costumes I know this may sound strange but - be original. Take some time to dream up something unique and bring it to life. Perhaps take a cue from Burton - take a classic and create something twisted.

A Haunting We Will Go

Desperate times call for horror flicks.

Many years ago I read somewhere that when times get tough the horror industry comes alive. I guess taking a detour out of reality and watching teenagers get hacked to bits makes us feel better about our real life woes? Apparently these are really desperate times because there has been a slew of horror, haunting and dark movies recently and more are in the loop.

Last night I actually had a rare evening with nothing on the agenda. Hubby was going to settle in and watch the Chiefs (it's too early for football!) so I decided I'd hit RedBox and grab The Haunting In Connecticut.

"Based on true events" is the beginning caption. Actually, inspired by real events would have been a more accurate account. The movie is very loosely based on the real life supposed haunting of a rental house and it's tenants, the Snedeker family.

The Snedeker's moved into the rental to be closer to a Connecticut hospital when the drive from New York got to be too much for their son plagued with cancer. Unbeknownst to them the house's previous life was as a funeral home.

I remember this in the media in the late 80's and a book about the haunting titled In A Dark Place by Ray Garton was released in the early 90's. If you follow this kind of thing you are familiar with the controversy surrounding this story. Here's a brief rundown of some of the scuttlebutt...

First up is no one living in the house before or after the events had anything remotely strange happen.

The upstairs tennant at the time (not shown in the movie) never experienced any strange events.

It is rumored that the son with cancer had some drug problems and mental issues.

Everyone else in the town knew the house's history and the landlord claims the family knew as well.

The landlord heard no concerns of any kind until an eviction process for unpaid rent was put into motion.

Ray Garton, author of a book on the haunting, claims family member's stories were inconsistent. He was encourage by Ed and Lorraine Warren (well known demonologists involved in the case) to take what he could and make up the rest.

The family remained in the house for two years despite claims of being raped by demons.

Now before anyone jumps down my throat I'm not taking sides in the matter. I couldn't really say whether there is any truth to the story as I was not there. I can say that based on reports from the family, the author of the first book (a new one is coming out soon by the mother Carmen Reed Snedecker) and the Discovery Channel episode on this haunting that the movie is not remotely close to the original story. And, it wasn't supposed to be a factual account type movie so that's Hollywood for ya.

Actually the movie is pretty good if you like this kind of thing. I was especially impressed with the acting of Virgina Madson (the mom) and Elias Koteas (the son).

So if you haven't seen it you might want to give it a go but take that whole "based on true events" thing with a grain of salt.



P.S. If you are the curious sort like me and want to learn more about this haunting run a web search on Carmen Snedeker, Carmen Reed, Ed and Lorraine Warren or Ray Garton for starters. This is a hot topic among ghost hunters groups and there is quite a bit of interesting discussion out there.

The Vampire's Assistant

It's my youngest son's 10th birthday today so after cake and presents we hit the theater to see G.I. Joe. After ten minutes of commercials (ugggg) we got to the previews and I finally caught the trailer for Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant on the big screen. In case you haven't caught it online or otherwise consider this my gift to you. Mwahahahahaha