My older brother introduced me to David Cronenberg’s movies when we were teenagers in the 90s, and he recently encouraged me to watch Shivers again, which I did. What a wild movie! Nobody else can bring to cinema what Cronenberg brings, both intellectually and visually. Curious to learn more about Cronenberg’s horror classics, I watched the video below that ranks them. It led me to watch The Brood, which, to me, was not as good as I had expected. I prefer Cronenberg’s other horror gems like Dead Ringers and The Fly to that one.
Category: horror
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Horror Cinema Trivia: Wes Craven’s New Nightmare
The basic premise of Wes Craven’s New Nightmare—Freddy invading the real world and haunting the actors and crew responsible for the Nightmare on Elm Street films—was originally intended to be used for A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987), but the idea was rejected by the studio at the time.
In the movie’s ending credits, Freddy Krueger is credited as himself, even though Robert Englund reprises the role.
Read more interesting facts about the sixth installment of the Freddy franchise at IMDb: Wes Craven’s New Nightmare Trivia.
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Horror Cinema Trivia: Halloween (1978)
The original script for 1978’s Halloween was titled “The Babysitter Murders.” In it, the events took place over several days. The script was changed to have everything happen on the same day as a budgetary decision. It reduced the number of costume changes and locations required. It was decided that Halloween, the scariest night of the year, was the perfect night for this to happen.
Of the female leads (who were all supposed to be in high school), only Jamie Lee Curtis was actually a teenager at the time of shooting.
Discover more behind-the-scenes facts at IMDb: Halloween (1978) Trivia.
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Horror Junior Cinema Trivia: The Witches (1990)
After a test screening, The Witches author Roald Dahl angrily expressed to the producers how “appalled” he was at “the vulgarity, the bad taste” and “actual terror” in certain parts of the movie. He demanded that his name and his book’s title be removed from the film prior to release, but after receiving an apologetic, complimentary letter from Jim Henson, he grudgingly withdrew his threat.
Learn more behind-the-scenes trivia about this horror junior classic at IMDb: The Witches (1990) Trivia.
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Netflix Horror: Ratched
I was pleased to really enjoy Ryan Murphy’s Ratched on Netflix, with its cast of misfit characters, satisfying gore and engaging narrative. Sharon Stone was a particular delight. I loved her styling in the series. It was difficult not to think about season 2 of American Horror Story because the settings were so similar and Sarah Paulson’s character was a variation of the same theme, but it did not take away from the show’s appeal or success. I’m looking forward to another season!
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Poe’s “The Raven” Illustrations by Gustave Doré
Weeks before his death in January 1883, Gustave Doré completed a set of illustrations for Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven.” They were prepared for publication as a Christmas book gift available by October of that year. A copy of the book cost $10 at the time, which is equivalent to $244 today. It sold well and received critical praise. Following are some select images from the edition from the Graphic Arts Collection of the Fireside Library at Princeton University (see full post at https://graphicarts.princeton.edu/2018/03/29/gustave-dores-raven/).
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DYK? Tales From the Crypt: Demon Knight
Did you know that “Demon Knight” was a script that had been circulating in Hollywood for a number of years? Although it wasn’t adapted from E.C. Comics and lacked the standard morality play, the producers decided it had the right mixture of horror and humor to be produced as a Tales from the Crypt (1989) spin-off movie.
Read more behind-the-scenes facts about this movie at IMDB Trivia—Tales From the Crypt: Demon Knight.
