04 Sunday Sep 2016
Posted in Uncategorized
JOIN THE Surgeons of Horror team in our first ‘reaction’ podcast, dissecting the recent Blake Lively vehicle, The Shallows.
Get our gut reaction and comments and of its entry into the killer shark universe.
Will it prove to be out of its depth, try to stay afloat and attempt to tread water, or prove to be a bombora pioneer?
Check out our thoughts and views in the podcast below.
LINKS:
04 Sunday Sep 2016
Posted in John Carpenter, Uncategorized
Tags
classic horror, Horror film, Horror movie, Killer shark, Richard Dreyfus, Robert Shaw, Roy Scheider, Steven Spielberg, Summer blockbuster
WHERE DO YOU begin when attempting to dissect Jaws and the franchise that it spawned?
It is so iconic, so embedded in the psyche of fans of film and the culture that it hails from.
Hell, it pretty much gave birth to the modern film and created what is now known as the summer blockbuster.
To say that it’s huge is a gross understatement.
Director, Steven Spielberg was only 26 when he made this movie and from the success of this went on to become one of the most successful directors in the industry.
But the final product could have been very different.
Its troubled production has been well reported upon from its lack of script, last-minute casting, and a mechanical shark that didn’t work.
It should have taken 55 days to film but it went on to take 159 days to complete running significantly over the production schedule.
So why and how did this film become so successful?
Its success would inevitably lead to similar themed movies and inspirations; chief amongst these was Joe Dante’s Piranha. A film that doesn’t shy away from the fact that it was a blatant rip off.
The Surgeons of Podcast team had a tough assignment before them in order to tackle such a subject as this.
One could say that we’re gonna need a bigger podcast session in order to carry this thing out. [Sorry, I couldn’t resist]
Either way, the team gathered our thoughts and opinions and tried to suppress them into the below discussion, hopefully for your hearing pleasure.
Take some time to listen to 3 individuals crammed into ‘The Cabin” in order to convey the impact that this movie had on us as individuals and the bragging rights over who was the most affected by it.
Have fun.
Links:
01 Thursday Sep 2016
Posted in movie of the week
CATAPULTING ITS WAY to the top of 2016’s best horror list is this movie by director Fede Alvarez (Evil Dead) who appears to be making all the right moves in the genre.
But why are people raving about this film so much?
Well, it appears to be for good reason as Don’t Breathe not only enters the genre with a new twist to home invasion but in doing so breathes fresh new life into this world with a unique approach to horror.
Ask any of my fellow Surgeons about my thoughts on the trailer when it was released and they’ll tell you that I wasn’t exactly glowing with high expectations.
Well, I had egg well and truly on my face when I finally watched the movie, as it was gripping and tense with all the emotions to keep you hooked and on the edge of your seat as the drama unfolded.
Centred on the story of a trio of thieves who usually only take on a heist when they are 100% sure of victory.
There are doubts but the thought of robbing a blind man of a vast fortune pulls them in with disastrous results.
Hats go off to the cast, with particular nods to Jane Levy as Rocky, the woman hoping that this robbery will be her ticket out of hell, as she goes into the bowels of hell to get that reward.
And also Stephen Lang as the blind man who is not as susceptible as he seems and makes one of the best villains seen in recent years.
All of the ingredients work so well and you can’t but look forward to whatever Alvarez serves up next, which from all accounts could well be this films sequel.
I for one will be waiting with baited breathe to see how and when it will transpire, especially if Alvarez keeps up the pace of his recent outings.
23 Tuesday Aug 2016
Posted in John Carpenter
Tags
austin stoker, Darwin Joston, Horror film, Horror movie, Horror movies, John Carpenter, Rio Bravo
JOHN CARPENTER’S SOPHOMORE feature and realistically his first in the ‘professional’ circuit (as his debut, Dark Star, was a University project that received success beyond his wildest dreams) would catapult the film auteur into one of the best successes in the film industry with countless movies resonating with a wide audience.
In many ways, Assault On Precinct 13 reflects the very kernel of his following movies, with themes and compositions that steered Carpenter on his cinematic journey.
A self-confessed lover of Westerns, this movie would serve as a massive nod to Rio Bravo, the John Wayne feature that inspired Carpenter to create that storyline in a modern, urban world, taking the core ingredients of a siege mentality to drive the plot line of this action thriller.
Much of the tension is lost these days however, such is the changing landscape in storytelling on the celluloid canvas, but at its heart is a story that still resonates and pulls at the nostalgia strings for those with their heart still bent towards classic plot lines, memorable characters and cheesy one-liners…
”You Got A Smoke?”
The premise of the movie injects our protagonist in a volatile situation when he is called upon to look after a now defunct police station that is in the last stages of closing down.
All appears well until a father on the run from a group of vigilantes seeks refuge. The officer has to rely on his wits, minimal arsenal, a secretary and a couple of convicts to aid his survival through the night.
As I said, it’s classic storytelling at its best and would be the start of a fantastic career for Carpenter, and would be only a couple of years away from producing one of cinema’s classic slasher horrors, Halloween.
For more thoughts and observations on Assault On Precinct 13, click on the audio podcast below.
16 Tuesday Aug 2016
Posted in John Carpenter
AFTER DEDICATING OUR last podcast season to the early works of the late great Wes Craven, we now switch our attention to another horror film auteur in John Carpenter.
Much like in our last season our method is to look back at his early work and to dissect these movies with great analysis and with a bit a friendly banter along the way.
The first subject to ho under the knife is Carpenter’s first feature, Dark Star, a university / pet project in which he would team up with Dan O’Bannon (Alien) to write, produce, and direct a movie that would gain significant attention from like-minded students and wind up as a classic among sci-fi fans.
Whilst this doesn’t fit among the canon of work that Carpenter would go on to direct, Dark Star certainly has its elements that lift the movie above many of its counterparts.
It must be said though, that this movie plants itself well and truly in comedy territory despite this not being its original intent.
Certainly not worthy of close scrutiny but Carpenter delivers a fun, light-hearted movie all the same.
For more thoughts and opinions head over to our podcast discussion below.
EXTRAS:
DARK STAR OST
14 Thursday Jul 2016
Posted in movie of the week
Tags
Elizabeth Mitchell, Frank Grillo, Horror movies, James DeMonaco, The Purge, The Purge: Election Year
AND SO IT would come to pass that director James DeMonaco would delve into another Purge movie where the streets of America are filled with anarchy, marking this the third entry in the series and a fitting as US Presidential Election would also take place in 2016.
The result of which is potentially a lot more scary and hazardous than this film depicts.
For those not familiar with the Purge series, it essentially follows the ratification of the 28th Amendment to the U.S Constitution.
This amendment establishes a 12-hour event known as “The Purge” which would take place on from 7:00 in the evening ofMarch 21 to 7:00 in the morning of March 22, wherein all crime including murder becomes legal.
Election Year would pick up in the year 2040, following a lawyer turned senator, Charlie Roan, who is now running for President with the aim of stopping ‘The Purge’ once and for all.
This gets the New Founding Fathers in a knot, so they decide to change the rules and make a Government Official with a rating of 10 or above no longer immune to the game.
This in effect it to make Charlie a target and eliminate her from the running.
But Charlie is a survivor, as evidenced in the opening scene of the movie as she gets through an ordeal back in the original Purge, whilst a masked purger torments and tortures her family.
The movie then takes place as part survival movie and part action movie as Charlie teams up with a group of underground vigilantes and overthrow the corrupt government.
There’s plenty here to keep you salivated and by now DeMonaco has immersed himself so much into the Purge universe, he’s able to spread his wings a little and focus on the impact that these rules have placed on society that little bit more.
Elizabeth Mitchell cuts a fine display as Charlie Roan, a woman who is scared but still has a lot of heart and willing to see the compassion in humanity and restore faith once more.
Frank Grillo also effectively grimaces and grunts his way through the movie as he revisits his character, Sgt Leo Barnes.
Action movies are such a staple of Grillo’s work that this feels like yet another day in the office where he hits each sequence note for note.
Yes Election Year isn’t going to set worlds on fire, but it is a bit of fun whilst still flicking the bird to the people with the power and authority.
Heck it’s even great to see Kyle Secor back on screen hamming it up as Presidential candidate Minister Edwidge Owens.
The films have seen a combined income of over $318 million, so DeMonaco must be doing something right.
With that kind of result you’d be forgiven for thinking about yet another addition to the franchise, but SPOILERS…..
At the conclusion of Election Year, Roan has successfully turned over the amendment and put a stop to The Purge each year.
Combine that with Frank Grillo stating that he won’t be back for another outing, the likelihood that a continuation from the on-screen events is unlikely to occur.
But rumours are that a fourth film is in the works and likely to be a prequel looking at how the New Founding Fathers were formed.
Whatever the outcome it was a fun ride and if you’ve not seen any of the series yet, then perhaps you should get your hands on the trilogy and treat yourself to a Purge.
08 Friday Jul 2016
Posted in Flashback Fridays, Wes Craven
BACK IN THE MID 90’s, a little known HBO movie was released with little fanfare or critical reaction.
It has also been known as The Hills Have Eyes Part 3 despite the fact that the only thing that connects this movie with the franchise is that Wes Craven is billed as producer and his son Jonathan is credited as writer.
Yes it is primarily set in some abandoned quarry in the middle of nowhere, which can loosely connect the films but rather than be a collection of mutants infected by radiation poisoning and reeking havoc on a family, here we have a character, THOR, who has been experimented upon via re-animation. In fact it is probably more closely aligned with Frankenstein, Re-Animator, or Universal Soldier with its subject matter.
The movie doesn’t exactly offer anything new, with it’s team of scientists holed up deep underground to perform their experiments only to have the tables turned on them when their test subject becomes a blood thirsty killer, hunting them one by one.
It does though have some prominent star-pulling power in Lance Henriksen (Aliens, The Terminator) and Giovanni Ribisi (Boiler Room, The Gift) as the dropout son who comes good. And they both stand out in the cast for what is essentially mediocre characters.
In some places the dialogue is clunky but at the end of the day, this movie was never going to win awards for its high brow conversation piece. It’s an action-based horror movie that struggled to find an identity, aiming for Aliens but ending up more like The Mimic.
It’s entertaining enough, but never finds its voice or is strong enough to mark on the horror celluloid mantle of greatness.
– Paul Farrell
05 Tuesday Jul 2016
Posted in Uncategorized, Wes Craven
The Seventh and Last Feature for our Wes Craven Season 1 discussion centres on his first sequel and with it a potential to start a franchise.
Needless to say, The Hills Have Eyes Part 2 would not live up to expectations and the franchise would end up dead in the water despite reaching a cult status. Subsequently there have been 2 recent film adaptations based on the original and a comic book to boot.
Wes Craven has distanced himself from the project, citing it as an unfinished piece when he handed it in to the producers to review. The producers, aka the money and finance would accept the film as its first draft and push this out into cinemas with the need to market swiftly. The result speaks for itself.
As for Craven, this was no passion project. It did however, provide funds for him to create horror cinema gold, A Nightmare On Elm Street, (More on this in an upcoming season) and along with it the iconic character of Freddie Kruger.
When sidled next to A Nightmare On Elm Street, The Hills Have Eyes Part 2 pales in comparison. The film picks up with survivor from the first film, Bobby, discussing the horrific events that unfolded and the devastating impact it had on him and his family.
Bobby now runs a bike racing outfit and endeavours to take them back out to the sticks for them to compete in a race, but this task appears to be too great an ordeal and he reluctantly chooses not to go.
So, it is down to fellow survivor, Ruby / Rachel (and the dog, Beast of course) to take our intrepid team of victims / youths to certain doom when they once again come face to face with the mutant family in horror poster icon, Michael Berryman reprising his role as Pluto and The Reaper (Papa Jupiter’s brother).
So much is inherently wrong with this movie. Bad characters, poor set up, and no plot. It’s a wonder that it got off the ground. Perhaps is it wasn’t resting on its stronger predecessor and Craven’s now recogniseable name attached to it, it probably wouldn’t have.
And with the already mentioned, A Nightmare On Elm Street, and its success, along with it cane a much longer lifespan for The Hills Have Eyes Part 2 would ordinarily have occurred.
Check out the surgeons of horror podcast below for more thoughts and views.
https://player.whooshkaa.com/player/episode/id/98518?visual=true
Also available in iTunes.
– Paul Farrell
01 Friday Jul 2016
Posted in Flashback Fridays, Uncategorized
Based on the short story by Edgar Allen Poe and directed by B-Movie legend Roger Corman, this macabre story centres around a prince who lords it up whilst sheltering from the plague-ridden scenes that envelop the town around him.
He’s more than happy to delve into his riches and ignore the plight of others.
In fact he relishes in it and goes to great strengths to terrorize the peasantry.
Playing the role of the villainous tyrant Prospero is another horror icon, Vincent Price who becomes embroiled in a satanic cult and despite being known for his hammy antics, in this role his very nature is well suited to the character and he appears to be incredibly comfortable in his skin.
Corman was also evidently a huge fan of Poe’s work, this movie being the seventh of eight series, which included The Pit and the Pendulum and The Raven. The Masque of the Red Death is definitely the stronger of these titles, with Corman hitting all the right notes and belying the negative image that has been depicted upon him by critics.
This movie has a great lead in Price and plays with the melodrama and nuances with great style and substance and is a fine example of a director at the height of his craft.
28 Tuesday Jun 2016
Posted in Wes Craven
Tags
barret oliver, Horror film, Horror movies, joanna cassidy, robert ulrich, soleil moon frye, susan lucci, Wes Craven
INVITATION TO HELL MARKS another entry into the TV movie world for Wes Craven.
With all due respect to Craven, this certainly feels like a TV movie too.
It often feels like a paint by numbers outing for Craven and this may well be the case as he was knee deep in writing what would become A Nightmare On Elm Street and doing last minute sound edits for The Hills Have Eyes Part 2 at the time.
There is a fine array of talent on display during this movie too, with Robert Ulrich taking the lead role of family patriarch, Matt Winslow.
When the Winslows move to a new neighbourhood and Matt takes up his new job when he soon discovers that there is something sinister going on beneath the surface and it seems to be centred on the prestigious club, Steaming Springs.
Anyone who is anyone is fighting for a spot at membership.
And soon enough the family bow to the trappings of materialism and are drawn to all that lies within this world.
Only Matt remains dubious and holds on to his principals, not wishing to conform or be seduced by Jessica Jones played by Susan ‘ Queen of daytime TV’, Lucci.
Notable performances also come from Joanna Cassidy, Soleil Moon Frye, and Barret Oliver.
Overall though, there is nothing that invokes any real emotion from the film. The sense of threat doesn’t hold true and the result of which is that Invitation to Hell becomes a standard movie-watching experience.
Sure the concept of hell is the stuff of nightmares but we have seen this story told before and with a better outcome too.
Craven himself would create a form of hell himself with A Nightmare On Elm Street with its satanesque demon, Freddy Kruger warping the minds of teenagers throughout the world both in dreams and in reality.
For now though, this film does feel like a stepping-stone for greater things to come for Craven and we should acquiesce to that notion.
Craven enthusiasts might be intrigued, but that’s about all there the movie has to offer.
Check out the surgeons of horror podcast below for more thoughts and views.
https://player.whooshkaa.com/player/episode/id/98482?visual=true
Also available on iTunes.
– Paul Farrell
Surgeons of Horror 