Halloween Countdown Day 7: JAWS

It’s Halloween, and Geoff is getting into the spirit by snuggling up on the couch and watching a scary movie every day until the trick-or-treaters arrive.

If you haven’t seen these movies, you should. You really, REALLY should. 

Miss any of the countdown? 

                  Day 1: My Bloody Valentine (1981)     Day 2: In the Mouth of Madness (1995)     

                  Day 3: The Walking Dead / Dead Set  Day 4: Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon (2006) 
                  Day 5: Let Me In (2010)                       Day 5: Psycho (1960) 

Day 7: JAWS (1975)

I've said it for years: Richard Kiel has DESERVED his own spin-off!"

This is it, the last of the countdown.  Glad you stuck with us! 

We've laughed we've cried, and now it's time for the pièce de résistance: JAWS. There are some out there who don't classify the 1975 classic as a horror film, and while you could argue that there is a certain "action/adventure" vibe to it, the film is by far scarier than many of the so-called "horror" films out there. 

Jaws began the era of the modern Hollywood blockbuster, taking a B-movie horror flick and transforming it into one of the most critically acclaimed films of all time.

It is hard to find a film that scared SO MANY people, and its legacy is still felt today.

OM NOM NOM NOM NOM!

The Plot in 140 characters:"Mr. Mayor can I close the beaches?" "What! Why?" "Well a shark seems to be eating everyone." "NO! I WON'T STAND FOR IT!" Shark: OM NOM NOM!

The Actual Plot: Amity police chief Martin Brody desperately wants to close the beaches after a big ol' shark decides to make the small New England town his Thanksgiving dinner. 

But the tourist town depends on the beaches for its well-being, and the town-government won't let him. So Brody, along with Richard Dreyfussand a crazy fisherman  decide they have to kill the shark themselves. 

Of course, that's easier said than done, when the 3,000 pound murderer decides that normal beach goers aren't as tasty as Brody, and Richard Dreyfuss.

Trying to make the best of a bad situation, the town's "Come see the Shark!" promotional posters turned out to be a major money maker.

Why I Love It: Jaws is one of the single scariest films of all time. To me, this movie is just a frightening as The Exorcist, and in many ways, it's better. 

Jaws brings the terror in a different way that the traiditonal horror film. Like The Birds, the scares come from the elemental forces of nature. 


Sharks, after all, are out there right now They were 79 shark attacks in America in 2000. 

When you think about it, sharks really are everything a monster should be. They attack randomly, without remorse, and operate in almost total mystery. Little is known about sharks, and the fact that they attack from the water (which, in itself, the subject of many primal fears) make them an even more terrifying force.

Terror never looked so cuddly.

Jaws sparked America's love/hate relationship with sharks, single handedly creating events like Shark Week on the Discovery Channel, as well as any number of rip-off films like Deep Blue Sea and Megalaladon.

The movie works so well because of the suspense that it builds early on. There is little seen of the shark for much of the film, allowing the audience to construct the monster in their mind before they see it. 

And when you do see the shark, it is everything that you could have imagined and more.

Using real-life shark footage, as well as the famous "Bruce" animatronic puppets, the shark is one of the single most recognizable characters in all of film, and is still one of the most frightening, even after all of these years.

Jaws is a movie that sticks with you. Compared to some of the movies we've talked about this year, it might not be a movie that terrifies you outright, but go swimming in the ocean and tell me that one small part of you isn't just a little bit afraid. 

After all, most shark attacks take place in 3 feet of water, within 10 feet from shore.

Remember that, next time you head to the beach.

That's It! Our Halloween wrap-up is over! I've already got ideas for next year, so if you'd like to contribute and suggest a movie, I'm all ears!

Oh, Henry.

I have taken up a new hobby... knitting.

Yes, yes, I know. How old am I?

Pretty old, apparently.

I wanted to introduce you to my first project, though.

His name is Henry.

Meet Henry the monster chunk. He is terrifying! and by terrifying I mean adorable!

You better be careful this Halloween though, Henry will be keeping an eye out! Halloween is his favorite time of year (it should be, he's  made out of a yarn called Zombie BBQ).

Normally, Henry sits on my desk at work, but Henry has taken some time off from watching my desk to make sure the trick or treaters stay in line and no one eats too much candy. 

He has assured me that come Tuesday he will be back at my desk guarding my candy bowl.

I caught him watching me from the corner of the couch today, you never know where he is going to pop up!

Happy Halloween everyone!

Halloween Countdown Day 6: Psycho

It’s Halloween, and Geoff is getting into the spirit by snuggling up on the couch and watching a scary movie every day until the trick-or-treaters arrive.

If you haven’t seen these movies, you should. You really, REALLY should. 

Miss any of the countdown? 

           Day 1: My Bloody Valentine (1981)     Day 2: In the Mouth of Madness (1995)     

           Day 3: The Walking Dead / Dead Set  Day 4: Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon (2006) 
           Day 5: Let Me In (2010)

Day 6: Psycho (1960)

There's just no way of getting around it, Alfred Hitchcock is simply the coolest of the cool. I remember exactly where I was when I first saw Psycho, and I remember the effect that it had on me. This movie alone is what made me afraid of a) roadside motels, b) showers and c) people's mothers.

And it's not just this film. Hitchcock movies are gold, as we briefly discussed last year. 

Hitchcock is, and always will be, the master of suspense and Psycho is still, after more than 50 years, one of the best horror films of all time.

 The Plot in 140 characters: Marion has had one hell of a day. After all, stealing from work really takes it out of you. Now, it's time to relax with a nice warm shower.

The Actual Plot: Janet Leigh steals $40,000 from her work and runs off to start fresh. But when she makes a stop at the reasonably priced Bates Motel, she meets a charming young innkeeper.

On Janet's trail are the police, and her family, wanting to get their hands on her for running off with all the cash.

"Have you seen this boy?"

That charming innkeeper, Norman Bates, is not a psycho-killer, if that's what you're asking. He's just a nice boy who wants to stuff animals and hang out with his mother.

His, mother, by the way, doesn't take kindly to the sexy Leigh invading her son's hotel. 

Doesn't take kindly at all.

Why I Love It: What can you say about one of the most celebrated movies of all time?

Everyone, and I mean EVERYONE knows what happens in Psycho. It doesn't matter if you are 8 years old or 80, the second anyone says "Psycho" you think of Janet Leigh being butchered in a shower, while the famous shreiking violens play the film's famous theme.

"Oh my, I should probably stop reading this."

Psycho has embedded itself firmly into the American psyche, more so than any other Hitchcock film ever has.

Norman Bates, specifically, is one of the single greatest villians of all time. He is a character that is tragic, horrible and at he same time perfectly likeable.

See? Look at that face! How could you be scared of that!?!

Psycho is one of those movies that has so invaded American consciousness that we don't even realize it. It effectively kick-started the horror genre, and broke almost every rule in the Hollywood book. 

The film plays with our expectations, and features the mother of all twist endings (no pun intended, sorry) that set the bar for people like M. Night Shyamalan decades later.   

"Shyamawhat? I'm scared, Sam!"

There has never been a film that shocked as much as Psycho. It pushed the strong censorship rules of the day and made bold decisions for its time. After all, it starred women in their underwear, featured gruesome death scenes, and had the audacity to show a TOILET!?! (Seriously, Psycho was the first American film to feature a flushing toilet).

It also features a fairly large amount of FACE.

What is best about it, is how the films destroys our expectations. The first half of the film plays like a standard Hithcock thriller: Woman steals thousands from her boss and the cops are on her trail, but the second that shower door opens the film changes completely into one of the most terrifying films of all time.

Psycho is a bit tame by today's standards, but it stays as one of the best horror films of all time.

Tomorrow: We're almost there, so let's change things up a little bit. What's the scariest creature in the world? Grizzly bear? Cobra? Nope, you'd be wrong.

The real answer, the ONLY answer has got to be a creature known simply as BRUCE.

No, not that Bruce. THIS Bruce.

That's right. We're talking 'bout JAWS.

Halloween Countdown Day 5: Let The Right One In

It’s Halloween, and Geoff is getting into the spirit by snuggling up on the couch and watching a scary movie every day until the trick-or-treaters arrive.

If you haven’t seen these movies, you should. You really, REALLY should. 

Miss any of the countdown? 

           Day 1: My Bloody Valentine (1981)     Day 2: In the Mouth of Madness (1995)     

           Day 3: The Walking Dead / Dead Set   Day 4: Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon (2006)

Day 5: Let Me In (2010)

Yes, I know, I should be reviewing Let the Right One In, the original Swedish version. I shouldn't be plugging another shameless “Americanized” remake, but I’ll be damned if Let Me In isn’t as good (and in some cases better) than the original. And you have no idea how much I loved the original.

The Plot in 140 characters: A little boy who totally isn't mentally disturbed at all gets a new neighbor. And did I mention he isn't disturbed at all? Because he's not.

Yep. Perfectly normal kid here.

The Actual Plot: Owen (or Oskar, if you watch the original Swedish version) is an extremely disturbed 12-year-old boy. He’s picked on every day and imagines killing his bullies with a knife.

Owen isn’t exactly what you’d call “well adjusted.” He collects newspaper clippings of serial killers. But just before he completely snaps and shoots up his school he gets a new neighbor. A sweet girl who soon becomes his only friend. 

The only problem is that she’s not exactly what you’d call “human.”

Why I Love It: I don’t understand the point of an “Americanizing” great movies. I don't understand the idea that Americans are incapable of reading subtitles, or appreciating any film that wasn’t made in Hollywood.

Especially a movie as good as Let the Right One In

Movies like Scent of a Woman, The Ring and The Magnificant Seven, are some of the better examples of the “so good we have to re-make it in English” category, but more often than not the films end up fizzeling (can you say Godzilla?)

Let the Right One In is one of the single best horror films of the last decade, hands down. So when word came that American studios were remaking it for American audiences I was, needless to say, skeptical.

The vampire version of Rear Window left a bit to be desired.

Thankfully, I was wrong. Let Me In is good. In fact, it is just as good as the original, and that is high marks. 

Not only that, but Let Me In stands on its own from the original.

Let Me In is directed by the man who previously brought us Cloverfield (which I hated) and stars Kick-Ass’s Chloë Moretz (who I like). 

Mortez does a nice job in the film, and unlike Kick-Ass she she conveys the tragic nature of Abby The Vampire perfectly.

And it stars the great Richard Jenkins in a darkly sinister role that I absolutely adore.

Both films, I should say, are based on the novel of the same name by Sweedish author John Lindqvist, and both follow the basic plots of the book, although they (I think smartly) are not as overt about the pedophalic overtones of the vampire-REnfield relationship. (The Sweedish version epecially). 

"I don't care what anyone says, Peter Kriss is the best KISS member."

The highest praise that I can give the remake is that there are several scenes that I think genuinely improve on the original. If you are a fan of the original I can safely recommend the film to you with the same passion that I can to someone who has never heard of Sweeden at all.

The film is a smart combination of horror and coming-of-age innocence. The film focuses primarily away from the gory vampire cliches (those there’s certainly a bit of gore in it for us fans) and instead on the relationship between Abby and Owen. 

It's sort of the Lois and Clark of vampire stories.

But don’t think that this is some Twilight knockoff. The film is dark, and smart and (frankly) it is exactly what Twilight should have been. If you want a story about love, vampires and alegories about never being able to truly be together, but aside your Stephanie Meyer and pick up this. 

The film is nicely blends the two genres and hits on all the emotional buttons. It’s tragic and sad, it’s sweet and innocent, it’s violent and bloody.

In short, this this (and Let the Right One In) would make excellent Halloween Night fodder, and if you are in the mood of OG (which true film lovers are) pleae pick up Let the Right One In, but if you want a quick fix please watch Let Me In.

TOMORROW: The single greatest horror film of all time. PSYCHO. 

Halloween Countdown Day 4: Behind the Mask

It’s Halloween, and Geoff is getting into the spirit by snuggling up on the couch and watching a scary movie every day until the trick-or-treaters arrive.

If you haven’t seen these movies, you should. You really, REALLY should. 

Miss any of the countdown? 

Day 1: My Bloody Valentine (1981)     Day 2: In the Mouth of Madness (1995)     Day 3: The Walking Dead / Dead Set

Day 4: Behind the Mask: 

The Rise of Leslie Vernon (2006)

Ever since The Blair Witch Project blasted into theaters in 1999, there have been no shortage of fake “found footage” horror films out there (movies like Rec, Paranormal Activity, Cloverfield, Diary of the Dead, and so many more) . 

Most of these types of films aren’t worth watching and the found footage subgenre itself has become almost too annoying for me to stomach, but every so often somebody like Leslie Vernon comes along and makes the whole thing worthwhile.

This is Leslie, and he's new face of terror.

The Plot in 140 characters: There is a lot more work that goes into a psychotic co-ed murder spree than you might have first realized. There is so much cardio involved.

The Actual Plot: Leslie Vernon is an aspiring serial killer who is planning his first big job: The murder of a group of co-eds at an old farm house.

He wants to be like his heroes Freddy Krueger and Jason Voorhees and when he is approached by a group of grad students wanting to make a documentary about his preparations leading up to the big day, Leslie agrees to give the crew the inside scoop on just how much work and effort goes into planning the perfect murder.  

And he is super excited about it.

Why I Love It: As I said, “found footage” horror films often annoy me. When I watch a movie like Diary of the Dead or Cloverfield I find myself unable to suspend my disbelief enough to really accept it.

I find myself shouting at the screen when I watch a movie like Paranormal Activity, because I usually find them just so implausible, or wondering why people are filming something in the first place. (In Cloverfield, for example, one of the characters is filming a going-away party and then just decides to keep shooting as he climbs one handed up a building to rescue a woman?) Pfft.

I guess I’m just weird to think that when monsters are chasing 
me the last thing I want to do is set up for a wide shot.

But Behind the Mask is different. It's smart and knows what its doing. And it plays with the formula, taking chances that just plain rock.

The film is really two movies in one: The first is a standard mockumentary where the majority of the film takes place. Leslie is a psycho-killer a la Michael Myers, and he’s showing a merry band of film students the finer points of preparing for a mass murder.

But every so often the film will cut away from the found footage style into a traditional slasher film, complete with spooky lighting, music, and all the slasher film ideas that Leslie clearly loves and appreciates so much.

Probably Behind the Mask’s best comparison would be the Scream series, but in many ways I prefer Leslie Vernon to Ghostface. Where Scream pokes fun at slasher films' stupid conventions, Behind the Mask embraces them, it is those same conventions that make the film work, because Leslie is able to turn them on their head and present old ideas in a new a refreshing way.

Where Scream just states the rules Leslie is able to have fun with them.

"Why don't you have a seat, Mr. Vernon.
Why don't you have a seat right over there."

But by far what makes the film work is Leslie Vernon himself. Played by Nathan Baesel, he’s a ruthless killer, but he is also the kind of guy you wouldn’t mind grabbing a beer with.

He’s an all-around fun guy, until he puts on his mask and becomes a silent predator. Through the charm and the laughs there is a definite sense of darkness about Leslie that makes him even more captivating to watch because you know sooner or later the Leslie Vernon time bomb is going to go off.

And when he does, watch out.

No, seriously. Watch out.

The film also has its share of cameos, including small roles for Robert Englund and the late Zelda Rubinstein in her final film performance.

"He's right behind me, isn't he?"

This film delivers in every way. It's almost a shame that it hasn't become a bigger hit. There are enough inside jokes to keep the horror fan in me smiling, and the film is believable enough to set it apart both as a slasher film and as a contemporary mockumentary.

By far the best moments in the film are the transitions from documentary to slasher film. It’s an idea that could have backfired, but the film is so convincing that it works. At the end of the film you realize that you would gladly have paid to watch either the slasher-film version, or the documentary.

Thankfully, in Behind the Mask, you get both.

TOMORROW: Ain't no sparkly vampires here. We're talking about the Let The Right One In American remake known as Let Me In.

Warning in advance: This is a remake. And it's WORTH watching.

Halloween Countdown Day 3: Walking Dead/Dead Set

It’s Halloween, and Geoff is getting into the spirit by snuggling up on the couch and watching a scary movie every day until the trick-or-treaters arrive.

If you haven’t seen these movies, you should. You really, REALLY should. 

Miss any of the countdown? 

Day 1: My Bloody Valentine (1981)     Day 2: In the Mouth of Madness (1995)

Day 6: Let's Talk Television

As much as Halloween is about trick-or-treaters and candy, to me it has always been about movies.

I can still remember watching the final scene from Alien with my dad one Halloween night, and the peeking out from behind a blanket while the alien is stalks Dallas in the airlock. That film is still as terrifying to me now as it was when I was 9.

But there has never been, in my opinion, a great long-form horror series on television. Shows like The X-Files were good in a pinch, but I always wanted something more than that “monster of the week” format. I wanted something lasting. I wanted a show that could stand on its own against the likes of Jaws and Nightmare on Elm Street.

It took years, but finally, I can say that a show exists. Two shows, in fact, and they are both about zombies:

Let’s start with the one you’re probably most familiar with:

The Walking Dead (2010)

The solution is in the title: A brisk jog is all you need to escape from most zombie attacks.

The Plot in 140 characters: You know in 28 Days Later when that guy is like "Hey guys, I was just in a coma, how's it all go---HOLY CRAP, ZOMBIES!!" It's basically that.

The Actual Plot: The story revolves around Rick, a Kentucky sheriff who is shot and wakes up in the hospital to find that (spoilers) zombies have taken over. Rick has to find his family and a safe place to escape from the undead.

Note to self: This place? Probably not safe.

Why you should watch it: The Walking Dead premiered on Halloween 2010 to absolutely fantastic ratings. For anyone who hasn’t seen the 6-episode first season I suggest you give it a try, although I have to admit that despite my initial excitement for the series, Walking Dead's first season was (at best) a bit anti-climactic for me.

As of this writing we are only two episodes into the second season, and it is already much better.

There is a lot to like about the series. Just the fact that AMC was willing to give the film the production value needed to make the story believable is wonderful.

But aside from the "I've never seen stuff like this on TV before" factor, I don't know that The Walking Dead has done much for the genre.  Truth be told, the series' first season falls for many of the same cliches that zombie films have always fallen for, but it gets a pass for the most part because it is doing it on American television for the first time.

It also stars one of the most angular faces of all time.

My biggest problem with Walking Dead's first season, though, is its inconsistency. In a 6 episode season there's no room for filler. Every minute needs to advance the plot, and tragically half of The Walking Dead's episodes are pointless. If you do watch the first season you can pretty much skip episodes 3, 4 and the season finale. And that's a shame.

Thankfully, season two is much more promising, and so far its worst episode is better than half of the last season.

My problems with the flow of the series aside, there is no denying that the first episode "Days Gone By" might be one of the finest 90 minutes of television produced.

This scene, particularly, was enough to make this entire episode a winner for me

Episode one is exactly what the whole season should have been. There’s little dialogue, there’s little music, it’s just Rick trying to survive after waking up in the hospital. And it is a great way to start off a series.

That along with the accompanying episode 2, "Guts" would make the perfect Halloween evening. The rest of the season doesn’t hold a candle to those two episodes.

But what I really want to talk about is a show that you have probably not heard of as much. The British zombie tour de force that is...

Dead Set (2008)

The Plot in 140 characters: The undead are attacking! Good news: We've found a perfect place to hide. Bad news: It's on the set of Big Brother. And it's eviction night.

The Actual Plot: The reality television series Big Brother is all the rage in the UK, and it is during a live broadcast of the show that a bunch of angry zombies decide to get their bite on. Soon the only people left alive are the people inside the reality show, and they will have to leave the safety of the set if they want to survive the outbreak.

Why you should watch it: Dead Set isn’t a show that got much traction here in America, which is a huge shame. It was broadcast over five nights leading up to Halloween 2008 on England’s Channel 4. The show was a critical success there, winning tons of awards for  being awesome (awards it greatly deserved).

The series is as close to a perfect zombie film as I can find. Yes, the zombies in Dead Set are the fast kind, which I normally can't stand, but the show makes it work, and if there were ever a movie that were to sway me from slow zombies to fast ones, it would be this one.

Toby's reign as pudding eating champion of West Sussex lasted 
for a full fortnight before being overtaken.

What I like best about the series is how different it is. It takes chances (even in its basic premise: an entire zombie film contained within the confines of a movie studio) and pulls the rug out form under you with just how real the series feels. 

Walking Dead does a good job of making the zombies look realistic for the most part (anyone who remembers the bicycle woman from the first episode can attest to that) but that series is nothing to the gore that is Dead Set. The blood in Walking Dead is often times digitally added later (or at least it looks that way) but here it seems organic, giving the whole thing an unsettlingly realistic feel.

That true-to-life feel comes from more than the blood and gore, but also from the sets. The crew used actual Big Brother sets and actors (including host Davina McCall) to give the show the perfect sense of credibility.

You are about to be eaten by Davina live on Channel 4. Please do not swear.

Where The Walking Dead characters often go on these often bloated speeches (“I’m just a man looking for his wife and son. Anyone who gets in the way is going to lose” as Rick says in one of the first episodes) the characters here seem more plausible. Their dialogue is realistic and frankly many of the characters in Dead Set are genuinely unlikeable, even the main protagonist.

And like the best of the zombie genre, Dead Set is, at its core, a metaphor. Like Dawn of the Dead before it, the film nudges at ideas of popular culture and society without letting it get in the way of the action and the gore.

SYMBOLISM!

 That’s all there if you want it, but if you don’t there still a darn fine horror film in there.

And that’s what Dead Set is, in the end, a horror film. It’s not made to entertain, it is made to frighten, and I would be lying if I said I walked away from this one unscathed.

Dead Set’s five episodes back to back make for a nice 140 minutes of carnage, and there is not a single moment in the series feels like a cheap television program. It might well be one of the best zombie films since Dawn was released 30 years earlier.

Boyakasha.

Unfortunately, Dead Set has never been released in America, so finding it on Netflix or Blockbuster is probably out of the question, but never fear, it's easily found online (in fact, you can watch all of them by clicking on this link right here (if the link fails let me know).

TOMORROW: What do you get when you cross a solid gold slasher flick with a totally awesome documentary about a serial murderer? A little film called  Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon.