Surgeons of Horror

Retrospective: Scream 4 (2010)

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Retrospective: The Last House On The Left (1972) 50th anniversary

30 Tuesday Aug 2022

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david hess, fred lincoln, jeramie rain, marc sheffler, sandra peabody, sean cunningham, steve miner, the last house on the left, Wes Craven

Fifty years ago, horror history was made as an integral part of the genre came to fruition. The Last House On The Left would see the creative combination of Wes Craven as Director for his first feature length film, and Sean Cunningham as producer. Cunningham would of course go on to spearhead Friday the 13th and Craven would herald notable works such as A Nightmare on Elm Street and the Scream series to name but a few. Amongst the crew would be another essential creative, serving as production assistant and an uncredited cameo to boot.

It is not just about the crew, all of whom were on the cusp of greatness, but the steps taken to produce a gritty and hard hitting tale of revenge.

TLHOTL was born out of the basis of The Virgin Spring by Ingmar Bergman, and a response to how the bloody realism that Western movies were being depicted by at the time. Craven seeking to distil the glamour attached to such violence and to provide a much more realistic depiction would strike a chord in the popular mainstream. The fact that the vengeance is carried out by the parents would also flip the switch on everyday Americans pushed to the limit of despair, and take on justice of their own proceedings; much like Craven would review again in his follow up feature, The Hills Have Eyes.

Where most movies would look to have the next generation or youths providing the answer to lifes’ torment and with it the hope for humanity, here would see them as either the threat or the victim. It is the parents who take on the role of judgement and through their misguided understanding of their children, seek retribution.

Pivotal to the graphic nature depicted on screen is the portrayal of the antagonists, Krug Stillo (David Hess, who would also provide the soundtrack to the film); Fred Podowski (Fred Lincoln); Sadie (Jeramie Rain); and Junior (Marc Sheffler), who all sink their teeth into their respective roles and ground the violence and despair with disturbing realism. This is further strengthened by the innocent carefree Mari (Sandra Peabody) who falls headlong into a world which she has no control over, and has everything ripped away from her. It should also be noted that some scenes were questionably pushed beyond the limits of decency; a sign of creative freedom at the risk of the players involved. Furthermore, keen observers will recognise familiarity in the lead protagonist Krug’s name, extended to Kruger to take on an alternative threat in the realms of horror in A Nightmare on Elm Street.

Its initial release would spark protests due to its content, but the film would gain business at the Drive-In theatres alongside the double billing of Mario Bava’s Twitch of the Death Nerve. Plus a decent hook tagline of “Repeat. It’s only a movie… It’s only a movie” to draw punters in.

Looking back at it now, TLHOTL has its obvious flaws, namely through some of the performances and the comical tones from the flappable police force. One of whom cinephiles will notice is Martin Kove who would go on to play sensei John Kreese from The Karate Kid franchise. What it does hold is the brutality and uncomfortable scenes that make you shift and squirm in your seat. These moments still are difficult to view even with a modern lens, and this is why it stands strong half a century later.

Saul Muerte

Retrospective: Scream 4 (2010)

12 Saturday Mar 2022

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courtney cox, David Arquette, emma roberts, gail weathers, ghostface, hayden panatierre, marley shelton, mary mcdonnell, Neve Campbell, rory culkin, scream, sidney prescott, Wes Craven

Wes Craven: The Scream Years Part 8 – Scream (2010)

As I rounded out the final retrospective, looking back on Wes Craven’s latter movies, which I have dubbed ‘The Scream Years’, I had a moment where I thought that I had criminally missed out on watching what was then the last instalment of the Scream franchise, Scream 4.

I admitted as much to a friend online, as the film unfolded, only to realise that I had seen it, and my recollection came flooding back.
So why this absence of memory, regarding the movie?

Was it so bad that I had blocked it from my mind?

Or had the franchise run the gauntlet and exhausted any further possibilities to keep Ghostface and his multiple personalities to haunt Sidney Prescott and those who survived the original Woodsboro Murders?

The recent outing Scream (2022) would suggest otherwise.

For Scream 4, Craven would once again reunite with writer Kevin Williamson, suggesting that the old formula was still ripe for the making. Set fifteen years after the initial murders, the premise was to look at the impact that this had on the wider circle of friends and family, including Sidney’s cousin Jill (Emma Roberts). When a double murder occurs once more involving high school students in Woodsboro, Sidney becomes prime suspect (laughably) as a way to promote her new book. She is forced to stay until the murders are solved, but when Jill gets a threatening phone call from Ol’ Ghostface himself, things start to heat up again and the body count starts to pile up.

Meanwhile, Dewey (David Arquette), who is now the town sheriff tries to restore order, but struggles to contain his wife Gail Weathers (Courtney Cox) from doing her usual undercover sleuthing.

There are the typical traits that we had now become accustomed to from the franchise with film geeks, Charlie (Rory Culkin) and Robbie (Erik Knudsen) who annually throw the Stabathon festival in Woodsboro; the ex-boyfriend of Jill, Trevor (Nico Tortorella); the snooty, highly opinionated character, Rebecca (Alison Brie) as Sidney’s publicist; and the best friend Kirby (Hayden Panettiere); and that’s not to mention some of the early cameos from the Stab movie series snippets including Anna Paquin and Kristen Bell among them.

As the sands sift through Sidney’s serial turmoil, and the audience weaves their way between numerous whodunnit style investigations, we’re left with a film that boasts some sharp dialogue and humour to match, plus some pretty decent kills that are delivered by the hands of a highly experienced craftsman in Craven. What it lacks though is any satisfactory scares as we’re swallowed up by some typical horror tropes; a surprise considering Craven had once re-invented the genre with the original movie. The final reveal also feels tired and weak considering the twists and turns we take to get there. Having said that, there are some elements that the impact of social media can have on people, which shows just how cutting edge and forward thinking Craven could be in his film-making; a testament to how fundamental and important he was for the horror genre.

Saul Muerte

Retrospective: Cursed (2005)

Retrospective: Red Eye (2005)

Retrospective: My Soul To Take (2010)

04 Friday Mar 2022

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Wes Craven: The Scream Years Part 7 – My Soul To Take (2010)

Wes Craven’s penultimate movie before his untimely passing would be the first time directing, producing, and writing a feature since A New Nightmare.

Where A New Nightmare would be leagues ahead of its time, setting up a metaverse (no, not the Zuckerberg kind) that still stands up today, My Soul To Take struggled with what was essentially a weighty vision from the horror auteur.

The title taken from the prayer, Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep, once spoken with eerie effect by Nancy Loomis in the Nightmare franchise.

So, looking to repeat the success with a new world as his playing field, Craven had to first set up the rules from which to create within. Here is where the problem arises. The playing field in question is one that Craven likes to explore in as suggested by his previous films and his love for the psychological state of the human mind.

The subject in question is a little hard to connect with in the first place (no pun intended), as it deals with a man who has Dissociative Identity Disorder. We then witness said man discover that he is the Riverton Ripper and responsible for the murders of several people. In his unhinged state, he murders his pregnant wife and his psychiatrist before being gunned down.

But on the way to the hospital, he then goes on the rampage once more killing the paramedic (Danai Gurira), but is final killed when the ambulance crashes and explodes into a gulf of fire.

All of that is just the prologue to the film, setting up the narrative years later, a significant anniversary since the Riverton Rippers death. We then meet the Riverton seven, a group of teenagers who were all born on the same day; a group of stereotypical misfits, harbouring different personalities that will in turn form the resurrection of the Riverton Ripper once their souls are taken. But which if them has the soul of the serial killer possessed to slowly kill off their number one by one.

The prime suspect is Bug (Max Thierot – Bates Motel), a shy and timid person who often finds himself on the outskirts of the social scene because of his nature. The only exception is his best friend and loser, Alex (John Magaro). The fact that Bug keeps having these episodes and visions, throws him further into suspicion even from the audience’s perspective as we journey to the climax.

It’s a decent enough concept but a convoluted one, as with seven personalities, it’s hard to attach ourselves to any within the timeframe, especially once the exposition is delivered.

The pace of the movie is also slow which adds to our detachment. Perhaps the screenplay needed more work to flesh out these flaws but the final product, leaves us waning from its core. This is understandably why it didn’t resonate with its audience and has fairly low Rotten Tomatoes score.

Saul Muerte

Retrospective: Cursed (2005)

Retrospective: Red Eye (2010)

Retrospective: Red Eye (2005)

22 Tuesday Feb 2022

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brian cox, cillian murphy, rachel mcadams, red eye, Wes Craven

Wes Craven: The Scream Years Part 6 – Red Eye (2005)

Released in the same year as Cursed due to that movie’s troubled production schedule, Red Eye would prove to be a definitive shift into the positive from Wes Craven and is possibly one of my favourite movies of his towards the latter end of his career.
The plot itself was a simple one and Craven utilised his expertise to create a psychological thriller that would keep the audience on the edge of their seat and rest on the brilliant performances from its leads Rachel McAdams and Cillian Murphy, who have the lions’ share of screen time between them.

McAdams plays a hotel manager, Lisa, who will be the unsuspecting pawn at the hands of Jackson Rippner (Murphy), a terrorist with his eyes on manipulating her with aim of assasinating US Deputy Secretary of Home Security.

Rippner initially lures Lisa in with his charming demeanour as they have a ‘chance’ encounter before boarding the red eye flight from Dallas to Miami. This appeal soon turns to revolt when his intentions come true, along with the threat on the life of Lisa’s father (Brian Cox).

From here on in, Craven puts us through the wringer as Lisa and Rippner attempt to swing the pendulum of power in their favour. Not an easy feat when the first half of the movie takes place in the small confines of an aeroplane cabin.

This is a testament to Craven’s ability as a director to keep the plot on point, whilst wrenching up the tension with timely poise, lifting the script off the page and onto the screen seamlessly. The focus of the movie is to keep the pace moving, and to entertain for good measure and despite some critics stating that the movie takes a drastic fall towards the climax, I personally feel that it plays out well and could easily revisit the movie again and still find that same joy.

Saul Muerte

Retrospective: Cursed (2005)

18 Friday Feb 2022

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christina ricci, jesse eisenberg, joshua jackson, judy greer, Kevin Williamson, lycanthrope, shannon elizabeth, Werewolf, Wes Craven

Wes Craven: The Scream years part 5 – Cursed (2005)

What should have been a dream project for Wes Craven outside of his involvement in the Scream franchise, combining once again with his writing partner Kevin Williamson would end up being something of a nightmare by the time of its theatrical release.

Boosting its potential recipe for success was a high-hitting young talent to draw in the crowds, with Christina Ricci and Jesse Eisenberg playing the siblings and our lead protagonists, ably supported by Joshua Jackson and Judy Greer.

Chief among the downfall of this werewolf flick was a case of the producers muddying the waters of creativity by insisting on making numerous changes to the script and the production, including ditching creature feature effects by the hands of the late great Rick Baker, and implanting computer generated imagery into the fold. I might be biased in this category, as I’m a huge fan of make-up prosthetics and man-made creature effects, but the CGI here is incredibly dated and looks woefully bad looking back 17 years after it had initially hit screens.

The dialogue is incredibly clunky now and it’s evident upon viewing that a lot of changes have been made to the script as it jars in several places, throwing the viewer out of the picture.

There were reshoots upon reshoots upon reshoots, as the powerhouse company kept demanding changes, proving to be one colossal headache for Craven. Supposedly these original cut versions still exist but whether they will see the light of day or be subjected to the darkness remains to be seen.

For now the version we got sees siblings Ellie (Ricci) and Jimmy (Eisenberg) at odds with one another, their relationship stifled growing up together under the cloud of their parents death. Their bond becomes stronger though when they are involved in a car accident when they are attacked by a creature. The creature we learn later is a lycanthrope, and Ellie and Jimmy go about their separate ways to uncover the truth behind the attack with a whodunnit style approach to their amatuer sleuthing before we reach the reveal and the climax of the movie.

Cursed suffers under the weight of mis-managed production but there is still life in the movie, not to be completely dismissed or left for dead. The film contains flickers of a pulse (ironic as the American remake of Pulse was initially going to be a Craven project, before he was pulled into making this movie instead) and there are moments where the Williamson humour is allowed to surface. It would have been so cool to have seen Craven’s initial vision, but unfortunately it would suffer a similar fate to A Vampire in Brooklyn, where the trust in Craven is quashed. Maybe he should have steered clear of the Gothic-style inspirations and kept carving out his own macabre musings, but when the wind forces you in one direction, you have no choice but to bow. A great shame.

Saul Muerte

24 Monday Jan 2022

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courtney cox, David Arquette, Emily Mortimer, ghostface, jamie kennedy, Kevin Williamson, Lance Henriksen, liev schrieber, Neve Campbell, parker posey, scream, Wes Craven

Wes Craven: The Scream years part 4 – Scream 3 (2000)

There would have been a three year hiatus for Ghostface to reappear again on screens following the successful sequel. This time around Wes Craven returning as director without his writing collaborator Kevin Williamson, (those duties now fell to relative newcomer Ehren Kruger who had previously worked on Arlington Road) would thrust Sidney Prescott further down the rabbithole and dreamland to create his slasher trilogy. And what better place to set their playground in, than the place where ‘dreams are made’, Hollywood. It’s a great choice and plays nicely into the metaverse that was initially set up in the original and its sequel with the Hollywood version of the Woodsboro murders film series, Stab.

Once again the film hits hard by writing off a previous character, Cotton Weary (Liev Schrieber) still capitalising on his fifteen minutes of fame and about to cameo in the next feature in the Stab series before succumbing to the return of Ghostface’s killing frenzy.

Here we are introduced to a new character in Detective Kincaid (Patrick Dempsey) who calls on Gail Weathers (Courtney Cox) to aid him in his query into the murder and its possible relation to the previous murders. When Gail arrives on set, she discovers that Dewey (David Arquette) has been working on the film as an advisor and once again their on/off relationship sparks off. It’s not until another Stab 3 cast member is killed that they realise that a possible serial copycat killer is in their midst. Time to call on Sidney Prescott once more, who has become a recluse since we last saw her and helping abused women via a phone helpline, turning the instrument that fuelled her trauma into something good.

The charm of this movie is through the way Craven and Kruger play with the hollywood versions of the Scream characters and the way that their larger than life selves search for their own gain in the midst of the killings. It is inevitable that they will meet their maker at some point along the way. The casting of these characters is also on point, notably Parker Posey as the fictional Gail and Emily Mortimer as the fictional Sidney. A mention should also go to Lance Henriksen as the Director of the movie John Milton, who is always stoic in his performance.

Along with this was the return from the grave of fan favourite Randy Meeks, albeit by the genius of a home movie, from which he spits the lores of film trilogies to the survivors. Sorry to wax lyrical about Randy. What can I say? I guess for some reason, I identify with the guy 😛

Once more though, it is in the final act and the reveal that things get a little lost on me with the reveal of a characters’ plan that they were behind the whole thing from the very beginning. A little far-fetched, yes, but the fun is in the journey, the number of kills, Dewey getting brutally wiped out and left for dead again, and both Sidney and Gail kicking ass along the way.

The third instalment may not have been as well received compared with its predecessors, falling victim to the last instalment curse, but it still reaped its fair share at the box office, hinting that Ghostface wasn’t down and out yet. In fact, it would be a decade before the masked killer would rise again, bringing with him the director that launched his profile for what would be the last time for Craven.

Saul Muerte

24 Monday Jan 2022

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courtney cox, David Arquette, ghostface, jamie kennedy, Kevin Williamson, liev schrieber, Neve Campbell, scream, Wes Craven

Wes Craven: The Scream years part 3 – Scream 2 (1997)

The original Scream released one year prior would prove to be a financial success, capturing $85 million at the Box Office, and prove to be a critical success for Wes Craven and Dimension Films so that it was inevitable that a follow up would be in the making.

Part of its lure in attaining Craven back into the director’s chair would be the offer of a three picture deal. Two of the pictures would be the proposed sequel and a possible third film of the Scream franchise (dependent on success, of course), but for Craven it would be the the movie sandwiched between the two slasher films, and a step away from the genre that was the dangling carrot. That film would turn out to be Music From The Heart, starring Meryl Streep.

Writer Kevin Williamson would also be enticed back into the fold for his penmanship with a lucrative seven figure deal, along with returning actors Neve Campbell, Courtney Cox, David Arquette, Jamie Kennedy, and Liev Schrieber in their respective roles. The former trio in this group would be given some decent chances to flesh out their characters with a strong continuous arc that would serve well throughout the entire franchise.
Supposedly the actors would only find out who the killer/s would be in the final two weeks of filming when they were provided the last 20 pages of the script.

Despite being so closely guarded though, the production team would have to suffer under the wake of the internet when the first 40 pages of the script were leaked online, albeit just the first draft. This would tighten security on set, and raise both intrigue and the profile of the movie ahead of its release.

Part of the sequels’ appeal would be the meta-infused dialogue that was so prominent in its predecessor, none more so than the killer opening scene; set in a cinema screening and introduction to the film with a film moment called Stab, where we witness Heather Graham taking on the Drew Barrymore role from Scream. The audience are placed in the shoes of a Black American couple played by Omar Epps and Jada Pinkett. They are quick to point out the foils of ‘White Americans’ and their actions whilst being pursued by Ghostface, only to be subject to a horror trope of their own, where the non-white person rarely survives the movie, in this case they only last for the pre-credit sequence. Pinketts role is particularly harrowing as she is stabbed in front of a full auditorium, many of whom wear the infamous ghostface mask, hiding her killer in plain sight, and with it, the notion that…

Everybody’s a suspect.

Forever banked in my memory though was the demise of the person who quoted that line, Randy Meeks. He was the horror film guru, and some of the fans favourite character, so his death was received with mixed opinions. What it did set out though, was a recurring theme for the franchise. That no one was safe, and just because you might know the rules, doesn’t mean that it would save you from meeting your maker by the film’s conclusion.

The other cool component was in giving Liev Schriieber a beefed up part as the wrongfully accused Cotton Weary from the original movie. Schrieber is a phenomenal actor and he shines here as a character wishing for his own 15 minutes of fame, stopping at nothing and in doing so, throwing him once more into the limelight as a potential suspect. Let’s not forget Jerry O’Connell too who plays Sidney Prescott’s love interest and also falls prey to suspect territory thanks to Sidney’s last boyfriend/killer scenario, Billy. Trust will always be an issue for our heroine.

If there is a let down here, it’s in the climax and ultimate reveal that proves to be something of a Scooby Doo moment and a half-baked attempt at revenge. This could also be a ramification for the fast turn around in getting this from page to screen.

Despite this, Scream 2 would bank over $172 million at the box office, more than double than the first film, and with it open the doors further to at the time a third and final instalment in the trilogy.

Saul Muerte

15 Saturday Jan 2022

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courtney cox, David Arquette, dimension films, ghostface, henry winkler, jamie kennedy, Kevin Williamson, matthew lillard, Neve Campbell, rose mcgowan, scream, Skeet Ulrich, Wes Craven

Wes Craven: The Scream years part 2 – Scream (1996)

It’s hard to no where to begin with what is arguably the last significant changer for slasher films, such is the iconic status that Wes Craven’s Scream brought to the sub-genre.
What is apparent is that the infamous director who had been the mastermind behind two previous horror franchises in The Hills Have Eyes and A Nightmare on Elm Street initially turned down the option to direct, having his eyes set on crafting a remake of The Haunting based on the Shirley Jackson novel.
History would tell a different story with that movie falling into the hands of Jan De Bont, starring Liam Neeson and Lily Taylor.
Craven would actually turn Scream down for a second time before being enticed into the directors’ chair. That light bulb moment to pull him in came through the notion of a dark and violent beginning that hadn’t been done before.
It’s still to this day one of the most harrowing and surprising starts to a film, doubled up by that cameo from Drew Barrymore.

That reawakening of a stale genre combined with my own deep immersion into horror as it fell into my late teens. The meta dialogue provided by Dawson Creek’s Kevin Williamson hooking the generation of the time with a delicate balance of D&Ms (deep and meaningfuls) with the lead characters and genuine scares infused with a whodunnit mystery. It was this latter element that Craven liked to play with on screen and in truth, despite being labelled as a horror director, his dalliance with the thriller component was where he played best.

It was also imperative to work with bright and upcoming talent to serve as the teen victims, who are strong enough to ground the movie in the own right, leading the charge was Neve Campbell (as this generations’ scream queen through the role of Sidney Prescott), who would go on to great success following the movie. Equally though her supporting cast of Skeet Ulrich, Matthew Lillard, Rose McGowan, and Jamie Kennedy more than bring their A-game.

That’s not to mention the other leads in David Arquette as deputy Dewey and bringing some star appeal with the success of Friends was Courtney Cox as the cold-hearted journalist, Gail Weathers. Part of the strength is that no one is painted as they first appear, adding to the intrigue and mystery on show.

It helps that the masked villain uses a cool guise in Ghostface, repeated on numerous occasions and parodied in the comical Scary Movie franchise, the name for which is borrowed from Scream’s working title.

The success though would speak volumes through the box office with $85 million in takings, marking Dimension Films with their first real win, opening the door for a sequel already being discussed 3 months after the films release.

Watching it back now, 25 years after it came out on the big screen, still triggers the nostalgia vibes, a significant indicator that it has resonance with its audience and with the recent Scream sequel hitting screens at the time of writing, will no doubt resurrect a whole new audience into the fold.

Saul Muerte