Author Archives: surgeons of horror

Podcast: The Exorcist (1973)

29 Tuesday Nov 2016

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OFTEN VOTED best Horror film on some fan bases, The Exorcist has become a fixed entry in the genre and yet it’s makers and stars would taut the movie as a theological thriller, not a horror as it is perceived.

So why is it classified as such?

It’s certainly a film that resonates after viewing and stands firm today in part due to its strong direction and performances to match.

Along with it comes a crew that were dedicated to capturing a believable scenario, in the days when CGI wasn’t around as a device.

Hard to imagine these days, when it has become so intrinsic to the art form.

There are images that have inspired.

There are lines that are all too readily quoted by those swain by the material.

There were talks of a curse that had fallen upon those involved in the making.

And there have been numerous conversations on the lengths that director, William Friedkin would push his performers in order to achieve the results he desired.

All of which have kept The Exorcist in the limelight.

So how does it fair under closer scrutiny?

Check out The Surgeons of Horror podcast below as we take it under the knife and dissect the movie.

– Paul Farrell

Podcast: The Halloween franchise: The Return of Laurie Strode

21 Monday Nov 2016

Posted by in Halloween franchise, John Carpenter

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OUR PENULTIMATE PODCAST in the Halloween franchise discussions combines both Halloween H20: 20 Years Later and Halloween: Resurrection.

The former picks up the story 20 years after Michael’s killing spree in Haddonfield, 1978.
Laurie is now the head mistress of Hillcrest Academy, a boarding school where her son, John resides.

We learn that she faked her own death in a car accident, a knowing nod to comments made in Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers.

However, despite the original story treatment involving mention of Laurie’s daughter, Jamie, the writers removed any mention of her in the final treatment, thus rendering parts 4, 5, and 6 as obsolete and not part of the official canon.

A move that would scorn the wrath of certain hardcore fans of the franchise. Apparently this was to allow more room for Laurie’s character to breathe on screen.

The majority of the movie takes place in said school as Myers goes in search of his blood-kind, killing off a couple of teenagers along the way.

Resurrection became something of a mess, which not only sore the demise of a much-loved character, but arguably saw the destruction of the franchise too.

Looking at the film at its lack of success, one can’t but feel inclined to look a the director, Rick Rosenthal, whose film credits seem a little lacklustre, but is he solely to blame?

Another musician would step into the fray for Resurrection to try and draw some interest from the youth, Busta Rhymes and and an unforgettable cast alongside him, Bianca Kajilich, Sean Patrick Thomas (Save The Last Dance, Cruel Intentions, and Dracula 2000), Thomas Ian Nicholas (Kevin Myers in American Pie, and child star in Rookie of the Year) and notably Katee Sackhoff (Starbuck in the new Battlestar Gallactica, Longmire, and Occulus)

So, what do the Surgeons make of the these instalments to the franchise?
Click on the podcast below to find out.

Podcast: Halloween: The Jamie Lloyd movies

14 Monday Nov 2016

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THERE’S A SLIGHT change in this week’s surgery podcast as not one, but three movies go under the knife.

Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers, Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers, and Halloween 6: The Curse of Michael Myers.

The reason for combining these three movies from the Halloween franchise together is due to the shift in focus for the movies.

The bold attempt to turn the franchise away from the Michael Myers storyline and launch it into an anthology series would prove to be way ahead of its time.

Halloween lll: Season of the Witch may have its core fans but ultimately it would fall foul of dumping its much-loved villain.

The people spoke and the producers listened.
Bringing Myers back was the easiest part in resurrecting the franchise.

The tricky part was to encourage its writers John Carpenter and Debra Hill back into production. A task that would be too great as no amount of persuasion could encourage them to do so.

Not only that but their lead protagonist, Laurie Strode aka Jamie Lee Curtis turned down the chance to return, citing other commitments.

Laurie would be written out (at this stage), killed in a car crash.
So what is an antagonist without its protagonist to hunt down and kill?

The writers would have to come up with something fast if the game of cat and mouse was to mount to anything on screen.

The answer was to bring in another Myers relative to continue the bloodline in the form of Laurie Strode’s daughter, Jamie Lloyd played in the next two installments by 8 year old, Danielle Harris.

The only trouble was that being a kid, Jamie Lloyd was no match for Myers.

So another nemesis would be brought back from the ashes, Dr Sam Loomis (Donald Pleasance once again taking on the role) to outwit Michael.
The series owes a lot to Pleasance’s gravitas on screen – a legend in his time.

Throw in a cult and Paul Rudd and you have a mixture of twisted storylines to keep the beating heart of the Halloween franchise going.

But what do the Surgeons of Horror make of this round of movies in the franchise.

Does it take too many twists and turns on its journey?

Listen to the podcast to catch our thoughts and opinions.

Podcast: Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1983)

07 Monday Nov 2016

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ALTOGETHER

“Happy, happy Halloween, Halloween, Halloween.
Happy, happy Halloween, Silver Shamrock!”

And so the ad goes throughout the movie to promote Silver Shamrock Halloween costumes.

But this tune may be the only thing that truly haunts throughout the movie as it struggles to make its mark.

Let’s get the elephant out of the room straight away shall we?

Yes this is a Halloween film, and no, it doesn’t have Michael Myers in it.

Some of you not familiar with the journey that the Halloween franchise took, may be scratching your heads and wonder how that can possibly be.

Can you imagine a Nightmare On Elm Street movie without Freddy Krueger?

Well, apparently writers John Carpenter and Debra Hill wanted to shift the format away from the slasher genre that the franchise had been so closely associated with.
In their mind, the world of Michael Myers had been explored and tried.

So their intention was to turn the franchise into an anthology series, taking on a different theme with each movie.
This has been both its strength and its Achilles heel.

Many fans of the series so this change of direction as a big let down in their expectations, but others have found a new love of the movie and in some cases has been described as a cult and much more appreciated in more recent years.

So, does the movie tarnish the franchise?
Can it really be described as a cult movie?
The Surgeons of Horror team takes on the challenge to answer these questions in our latest podcast, which you can listen to below.

– Saul Muerte

https://player.whooshkaa.com/episode?id=150666

Podcast: Halloween franchise: Halloween II (1981)

31 Monday Oct 2016

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Just three years after the original hit our screens, Michael Myers would return to Haddonfield, transporting him from Horror icon to legendary status.
Along with it, the Halloween franchise was born.

John Carpenter would vacate the director’s chair for Rick Rosenthal, but would still play an active role in the screenwriting and production of the movie, alongside Debra Hill.

Also returning to the franchise would be Donald Pleasance as Dr Sam Loomis and Jamie Lee Curtis as the ever-troubled Laurie Strode.

Interestingly set over the course of the same Hallows Eve of the previous movie as Myers continues on his killing spree.
But does Halloween II fall under the curse of movie sequels, doomed to live in the shadows of its successful predecessor?
Or does it stand out in its own right, a successful addition to the Halloween series?

The team at Surgeons of Horror dissects the movie in question to try and answer these questions and more.

Listen below to our thoughts and opinions in the first of our Halloween franchise discussions.

  • Saul Muerte
https://player.whooshkaa.com/episode?id=150555

Movie review: Neon Demon (2016)

18 Tuesday Oct 2016

Posted by in movie of the week

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neon-demon
LOOKING AT THIS decade alone, Nicolas Winding Refn is carving an interesting film career.

Making his name since The Pusher Trilogy, he has developed something of a love him / hate him approach to his movies.

From a personal perspective, Drive was one of the best films released that year, but Only God Forgives left me trying.

So I went into Neon Demon not knowing which side of the fence I’d fall.

As usual the cinematography was stunning, as you’re treated to a spectacular visual journey into the beautiful, yet vacant world of fashion.

This in part is what Winding Refn has been criticised for, both highly and poorly.

In this case it kind of works in his favour as it shines the light on the vacuous nature that the fashion industry can bring.

Elle Fanning plays the doe-eyed sixteen year old Jesse aspiring to break through as a model.

Innocence is something that Fanning has been typecast of late but it’s a note that she plays well and Neon Demon allows her to be seduced by a dark, intoxicating world.

Among the supporting roles are Jena Malone (an often cruelly overlooked actress) and she deserves due nod here as make up artist, Ruby.

As Jesse falls further into this world, entranced by its beauty. Like is the viewer we fall fowl to this facade, but the deeper you go, the darker and uglier the world around you becomes.

As a side note and a slight spoiler, the movie reminded me of Countess Dracula, a modern interpretation of the Hammer horror film that was released as a novel scribed by Guy Adams.

It’s probably loosely based on Countess Bathory, a notorious serial killer of historical infamy.

In conclusion, it may not be to everyone’s taste, but I found this movie intoxicating and enjoyable all the same, despite the fact that it didn’t necessarily anything new. The journey was a beautiful one and one that I think is worth a visit or two.

– Paul Farrell

Escape From New York (1981)

04 Tuesday Oct 2016

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THIS DYSOPTIAN VIEW of a troubled America, where crime rate has risen to 400% is the setting of our sixth instalment of the John Carpenter Early Years discussions on Surgeons of Horror.

It would mark a massive turning point in Carpenter’s career where he would stride onto iconic movies such as The Thing, They Live, and Big Trouble in Little China.

It would also prove fruitful for its lead star, Kurt Russell taking on Snake Plissken, a character that has stamped itself into film legend, such is the power of his presence on screen.

It’s setting of the President of the USA (Donald Pleasance) being jettisoned onto Manhattan Island after Air Force One is hijacked, the island in question has been transformed into a giant prison, (Think Alcatraz but on a much larger scale) tips this adventure into an adrenaline-fuelled ride. Even more so, with Plissken’s life is on the line. If he doesn’t retrieve the President in time, the toxins in his system will be released, killing him in the process.

So many things went right for Carpenter in the making of this movie. The ensemble cast all look there having a breeze and produce some memorable characters,

And the film crew, most of whom had been working alongside Carpenter since Assault On Precinct 13 / Halloween have certainly found there stride at this point.

All of which made our podcasts discussions on Escape From New York, such a fun one to take part in.

Check out what we had to say below.

The Blair Witch franchise (1999-2016)

20 Tuesday Sep 2016

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WHAT DEFINES A successful modern day horror film?

Can The Blair Witch Project lay claim to this prestige or does the myth that surrounds it cloud our perception?

One things for sure, it was a landmark movie in not only the style in which the movie is delivered which effectively launched found footage horror to the forefront of the movie mainstream but also in the mode of establishing a new style of marketing that connected with audiences worldwide.

It had a pulse and substance to it that resonated on a massive scale and it was for this reason that USA Today went on record to state The Blair Witch Project was the first movie to go ‘viral’.

A trend was then set with numerous movies hoping to follow suit and creature a hit with a low budget feel.

What does that mean today though?

Does the movie still stand the test of time?

There have been books released, a rushed-to-production “unofficial” sequel released the following year in 2000 with Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2.

And just recently an “official” sequel has been released, Blair Witch, which all lend weight to the mythos of The Blair Witch legend for good or ill.

Join our discussions on The Blair Witch franchise in a Surgeons of Horror Special podcast below.

  • Paul Farrell

The Fog (1980)

20 Tuesday Sep 2016

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JOHN CARPENTER’S FOLLOW up to Halloween would come in the guise of The Fog.

Whilst it didn’t come close to success that Halloween would generate, it did generate enough of a following to push Carpenter’s career along and propel him further as a bankable director.

It would reunite him with co-star Jamie Lee Curtis albeit in a smaller role amongst a fairly strong ensemble cast.

Leading the way is Stevie Wayne played by the amazing and beautiful, Adrienne Barbeau pulling out a strong performance as the radio DJ ushering out the warning of the killer fog with those sultry tones……

Whilst on paper, this movie had a great premise and all the hallmarks of a classic horror,  with the classic ghost camp fire story brought to life of ghost pirates out to seek vengeance on a community that did them wrong 100 years ago.

The Surgeons of Horror podcast team pay close scrutiny to the movie and delve into our fifth subject of The John Carpenter early years sessions to find out by asking all the important questions.

Does it live up to its promise and deliver a classic ghost story?

Can fog actually be scary on film?

And more importantly. Are you weird?

Listen to the podcast below to find out our thoughts.

  • Paul Farrell

Halloween (1978)

13 Tuesday Sep 2016

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Four films into his career and John Carpenter hits one out of the park and creates the slasher horror genre in the process.

And yet it’s hard to recall from a personal perspective when exactly Halloween entered my consciousness.

Released the same year that I was born, one could argue that this movie and I were intrinsically connected, if you were that way inclined.

I for one have found myself constantly drawn to the dark arts of the silver screen and it only seems natural that a movie of this pedigree would enter my periphery at some stage in my life, coupled with my growing love of Carpenter’s movies that stayed with me throughout my childhood, a connection would be inevitable.

Looking back, it’s hard to see the world of horror movies without this as part of its canon.

It’s a movie that started a whole new genre of film (some may argue that 1974’s Black Christmas was the film that started it all, but it’s impact would never be as great) and it has been mimicked and repeated ever since.
Without it, Friday the 13th may never have existed. Victor Miller may have been guided be a completely different movie when coming up with the ‘horror movie template’ and the movie world would be a very different place indeed.

I think you get the point that I’m driving at, that this was a defining moment in cellular history and I’ve relished it ever since.

It’s the kind of movie that, when I first set up Surgeons of Horror, I knew that I wanted to discuss with my fellow surgeons and it was indeed the original impetus for putting together the podcast. Fate would have us steer down a completely different path however with Wes Craven’s untimely passing refocusing our directive for Season 1.

Now though, we are halfway through the John Carpenter: Early Years Sessions and finally at a point to talk about this much-heralded movie, but where does one begin?

Hopefully the following podcast will be of worthy listening, we certainly had fun discussing it. We hope that you do too.

– Saul Muerte

https://player.whooshkaa.com/episode?id=150388