09 Monday Mar 2020
Posted in podcast episode
Tags
a nightmare on elm street, bob shaye, freddy kreuger, heather langenkamp, john saxon, new nightmare, robert englund, Wes Craven
They said he was dead, but Freddy returned although not as we may have expected him.
Wes Craven resurrected the beloved villain in a bold new enterprise back in 1994. Did it pay off? Does it still stand true today? The Surgeons team dissect and discuss this film to find out some of these answers.
Listen to the episode below:
11 Monday Nov 2019
Posted in podcast episode
Tags
a nightmare on elm street, amanda wyss, freddy kreuger, heather langenkamp, john saxon, johnny depp, robert englund, slasher films, Wes Craven
The Surgeons team return to the late great Wes Craven’s work through the middle years of his career that we have dubbed The Nightmare Years, beginning with A Nightmare On Elm Street.
Check out the episode below:
06 Wednesday Sep 2017
Posted in News article
Tags
Abbot and Costello, Andy Muschietti, Andy Warol, Bela Lugosi, Bram Stoker, Dracula, Frank Langella, FW Murnau, Gerard Butler, Hugh Jackman, It, Max Shreck, Nosferatu, Pennywise, roman polanski, Salem's Lot, Stephen King, Universal, Werner Herzog, Wes Craven, Willem Defoe
Ever since Max Schreck transformed into Count Orlock in the now infamous silent film, Nosferatu, directed by F.W.Murnau in 1922, the subject of Bram Stoker’s Dracula has graced the screens across the ages.
Like the titular character from one of Gothic literature’s finest creations, Dracula seems to be eternal, forever gracing the celluloid art form, whist adapting and transitioning across the years.
With the latest news coming from geek tyrant that It director, Andy Muschietti and Bram Stoker’s Great Grand Nephew teaming up for a project involving the prince of darkness as a prequel, entitled Dracul, I thought I’d take a quick snapshot of this enigmatic character and what draws us to him year-on-year.
Notably, it would be Universal who would elevate Stoker’s creation into the limelight with Tod Browning’s Dracula on 1931.
Starring Bela Lugosi, who’s interpretation would be the catapult for the look and feel that his character would bring to the screen and would initiate a further four sequels before Abbott and Costello turned his image into a comical adaptation.
It would take a further 10 years before a production company would bring Count Dracula back into the darkness with Hammer Films 1958 version starring Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing.
Hammer would use their new-found success and blood red recipe to push the Dracula series into a total of 9 films, with the afore-mentioned Lee appearing in 7 of these movies. Interestingly Dracula wouldn’t appear in their first sequel, Brides of Dracula directed by Terence Fisher.
During this time, numerous other production companies would try their hand at the subject matter, including Blood of Dracula, an attempt from producer Herman Cohen to repeat the success of I Was A Teenage Werewolf, the latter would appear in the It Mini Series made in 1990 as it was the height of pop culture Stateside during the 50’s and would see the Loser’s Club watch it at the cinema.
As the Hammer recipe grew stale, Roman Polanski would inject some much-needed zest with The Fearless Vampire Killers in 1967 and a blatant parody of the British film company’s vision.
Following this Jesus Franco would add some Spanish flavour with Count Dracula in 1970, starring Christopher Lee again in the titular role, before Blaxploitation movement would see an African prince lured into the land of the dead in Blacula and Scream Blacula Scream before Andy Warhol would dabble as well introducing his own visual style with Blood for Dracula in 1974.
Five years later, Universal would try to re-invent the fable and bring some much-needed sex appeal and casting Frank Langella as Dracula.
This also coincided with another version of Nosferatu coming to the screen, directed by the enigmatic Klaus Kinski entitled, Nosferatu: Phantom der Nacht, and has its own cult following as a result.
A brief interlude in the comedy realm would see Duncan Regehr take on Dracula in The Monster Squad, which comes across as a haunted version of The Goonies.
And then, he would pretty much stay dormant until, he would be moulded once more for Francis Ford Coppola in Bram Stoker’s Dracula, starring Gary Oldman, Winona Ryder, Keanu Reeves, and Anthony Hopkins, in the early 90’s.
Mel Brooks would craft his comedic touch with Dracula, Dead and Loving It by 1995 and starring Leslie Nielsen, before the shouldn’t be comical, but tragically is, Dracula 2000, presented by Wes Craven and starring Gerard Butler.
It’s only saving grace during this timeframe is the simply brilliant, Shadow of the Vampire, a quirky portrayal of the making of Nosferatu that would depict actor Max Shreck as a real-life vampire, awesomely played by Willem Defoe.
By the mid-2000’s Count Dracula would find himself morphed into the Stephen Sommers universe with Van Helsing starring Hugh Jackman, a movie, which in my mind is probably best forgotten.
Another film director auteur would try his hand at the subject in 2013, when Dario Argento would provide us with Dracula 3D, but would be pale in comparison to his earlier work.
The last time, we saw Dracula grace our screens would be in the under-whelming Dracula: Untold starring Luke Evans, which left us wondering if there was life still in this age-old tale?
This may all disappear in the coming years, if Muschietti and Dacre Stoker’s project sees the light of day.
Dacre Stoker has delved into the world of his lineage before with his novel, Dracula, the Un-dead, so he is no stranger to the subject, and one can already see comparisons with Stephen King’s creation Pennywise. A character that feeds on the fear of the innocence.
Stephen King would also seek inspiration from the Count in his own tale, Salem’s Lot, so it certainly bodes well with the announcement of this latest pairing.
I for one can’t wait to see how they re-vamp Dracula for a modern audience that will horrify and delight the masses.
Bring it on.
24 Friday Mar 2017
Posted in Wes Craven
ONE YEAR AFTER Alexandre Aja’s remake of Wes Craven’s The Hills Have Eyes received (quite rightfully) positive reviews, it was almost inevitable that the films creators would start looking toward creating a franchise.
It’s main drive would come from the films’ original creator, Craven and his son, Jonathan.
And on face value, the initial premise that was laid out ignited a sense of passion in me. “I’d like to fucking see that!”, I proclaimed, until that is that on closer scrutiny, it was just a rehash of “Aliens” but instead of xenomorphs that an army faces up to, it’s a group of mutants out in New Mexico that need to be annihilated.
Wait, maybe that does sound awesome. Craven apparently even planned to have the surviving daughter, Brenda enlist in the army to overcome her demons only to go all “Ripley-esque” when called upon to go back into the wilderness to physically face them head to head, as she is the only person who knows their lay of the land.
Only problem was that Emile de Ravin, who played Brenda in the remake was committed to TV series, Lost at the time the film was due to go into production.
That’s okay, we’ll just create a new protagonist in Amber, who will walk the same path as had been intended for Brenda. Job done, yes?
So why then did the movie fall short and not launch this franchise into stronger territory?
Ironically enough, The Hills Have Eyes 2 would suffer the same fate as the original remake, The Hills Have Eyes Part 2 did.
Both films completely ignored the concept of a family pitted in terror against an unknown assailant that was both brutal and destructive, stripped down to the very essence of what it is to be human.
In a raw, animalistic approach to survival, the family has no option but to resort to drastic measures in order to live through the torment.
It is that rage that is buried within us all that rises to the surface when we have nothing else to fall back on and nothing left to lose.
That’s why the original movie resonated so strongly in societies ethos.
It cut out all the bullshit and crap that comes with our social make up and shone a mirror to our flaws and pretentiousness to convey who we all are underneath.
It’s why Aja’s version was so well received, because it managed to carry that same message and deliver tenfold on the anarchy.
By ignoring the very premise and notion or hunger for survival, you tear away all the drama and beauty that encapsulated the original movie and from there you will always fall short.
Yes, you should probably commend Craven for trying to push the story in a new direction.
Hell, they even teamed up with Fox Atomic comics to produce a stand alone comic called The Hills Have Eyes: The Beginning, which also treads along the path of the army vs the mutants theme, but in this instance it creates and additional pet peeve of mine, in trying to humanise the mutants.
In doing so, it destroys not only the mystery behind them, but also the threat that they once posed in the original is destroyed in the process.
So, whilst it does strive to explore the universe further, in doing so, the essence of what made the world so great, just crumbles and withers away.
It’s a shame, because I feel there is still merit in exploring that world once more.
And there’s a lot of political commentary that is ripe for the picking if they chose that journey wisely, but it remains to be seen if the film industry will choose to go back into the hills once more.
23 Thursday Mar 2017
Posted in Wes Craven
WES CRAVEN must have felt pretty proud of this adaptation from his original movie.
The Hills Have Eyes was the second movie that he made following on from Last House On The Left and was a huge success for the director, paving the way for a smashing career in the horror realm.
For the remake though, Craven would step aside from directorial duties, focusing solely on his Producer role and allow Alexandre Aja take the helm.
Aja already carved success in his own right in the genre with Furia and Haute Tension, both bloody brutal films. (The less said about Mirrors and Piranha 3D the better).
And the frenchman doesn’t shy away from the gore and mayhem in this movie, much to our delight.
After watching the screening at the Horror Movie Campout in Sydney, was reminded of how hard-wired, crazed, and fucked up this movie is.
Having dissected the original movie in a previous podcast, yo could clearly see the same paths being plotted out by our protagonists, but this version does allow for some more freedom and exploration when it comes to the ‘mutant’ family.
Craven had always ventured out to make a savage insight into the good and bad side of America by polarising families on the opposite side of the spectrum and pitted them against each other in a bloody war of survival.
Much of that is apparent in this version, but Aja takes that concept and ups the ante by throwing the Carter family into a world of carnage and disarray, where it is anyone’s guess who if anyone will survive.
That raw energy transcends well and it’s the perfect recipe for a thrill ride of massive proportions .
If there is a flaw, it’s that our Carter family seem a little too polished when held up against the mutant family.
There are often times when you wished that more time was spent on fleshing out the characters than actually ripping the flesh off them, but who am I kidding?
This movie is fun, all the same and provides enough shocks, all-out-gore, and ferocity that not only make it a worthy of the original, but dare I say it?
A rarity in that it adds something additional to the Craven’s vision and expands on it in a positive way.
A decent stab in the open, vast and deserted landscape.
12 Sunday Mar 2017
Posted in Australian Horror
Tags
Alexandre Aja, Ethan Hawke, Horror Movie Campout Sydney, Scott Derrickson, Sinister, The Hills Have Eyes, Wes Craven
WHEN I first heard about the Horror Movie Campout earlier this year, I instantly fell in love with this notion of a festival dedicated to like minded individuals all eager to have their appetite for all things blood and gore.
I had to be there and immerse myself amongst the horde and delight in the horror that lay before me.
So, I have to thank the organisers of this event for setting the stage for what was a truly awesome night ahead.
As you can see from the video below, I was pumped.
And then some.
There was plenty to keep the crowd satiated, from a death chamber, side entertainments such as magicians, eating contests, and of course the bar, food trucks, laser tag, and did we mention the bar?
The main attraction though, would be two features for the night that were selected for the night by the horde themselves from a selection chosen by the Horror Movie Campout committee.
Check out our responses in the video below.
So that concludes our assessment of the festival.
A special nod to all the horror fans and those that came dressed to suit the occasion.
Some great cosplay action going on including Freddy, Jason, and that dastardly Michael Myers.
Bring on the next one.
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
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
21 Tuesday Jun 2016
Posted in Wes Craven
AS WE CONTINUE WITH OUR SERIES – Wes Craven – The Early Years discussions, we now draw our attention to his fourth outing in the director’s chair.
Swamp Thing would be the first non-Batman or Superman related live-action movie for DC and it would fall on the shoulders of Craven to turn this around.
It would follow Richard Donner’s Superman movies, so there were a lot of expectations resting on the films success.
Once pointed out by film critic, Roger Ebert that Swamp Thing was a thing of beauty if you knew where to look, which I can’t help but feel that he may have been referring to a certain scene involving its leading lady, Adrienne Barbeau (Escape From New York, The Fog).
Joining Barbeau in the cast would be a number of other faces, namely Ray Wise (Twin Peaks) and Louis Jourdan (Octopussy) the film drew heavily on the comics of the time and would generate another comic book series and even a sequel to the movie.
Essentially though, this was a ‘paint by numbers’ job for Craven who would took on the project to show Hollywood that he could handle set pieces and action sequences.
Essentially, it boils down to a man in a monster suit movie, arcing back to the days of Universal Monsters.
For more thoughts and views on Swamp Thing, check out the surgeons of horror podcast below.
https://player.whooshkaa.com/player/episode/id/98478?visual=true
Also available in iTunes.
– Paul Farrell
