Category: horror
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Horror Cinema — Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation
Movie review
Kim Henkel’s Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation
One of my all-time favourite horror movies is Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation. I picked it up off the shelf because it starred Matthew McConaughey. I was not expecting it to be very good, but its simple storyline of lost teens in the woods combined with McConaughey’s insane character and gratuitous gore satisfied what I love in a horror movie. My favourite scene is when McConnaughey’s character sets another character on fire — it is the most insane moment! Love it!
This installment in the Texas Chainsaw Massacre franchise was the first I saw — and it sold me on consuming every other movie in the series. In general, most of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre sequels are pretty terrible. I have one other favourite in the series, but I will save that for another blog post. Nothing compares to the original.Henkel, Kim. Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation, Columbia Pictures/New Line Cinema, 1994.
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Necropants
Yesterday, I went to visit an exhibit about Vikings with a couple of good friends. As we toured the exhibit, one of my friends asked me, “Have you heard of necropants?”
And here are a pair — well, a replica of a pair.
Necropants are part of Icelandic magic folklore from the 17th century. Wearing these pants are meant to guarantee your wealth, but getting a pair involves finding a living man willing to donate his skin to you after he dies, and a coin from a widow (in one account, I read that the widow had to be of the guy whose legs you are about to wear) during a Christmas or Easter. You place the coin in the scrotum of the pants to ensure your wealth. What is worse, I think, is that you are supposed to wear them from that point on and then make sure to get them off before you die.
The following video does a good job of explaining the zany rules around making the necropants work.
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Horror Cinema: Late Phases
Movie review
Adrián García Bogliano’s Late PhasesLate Phases features a blind hero who battles werewolves. Being blind, his sense of smell and hearing are heightened, like the werewolves. This makes for a really interesting take on the werewolf story. The story was well told and the werewolf attacks were appropriately gruesome.
Adrián García Bogliano. Late Phases, Dark Sky Films, 2014.
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Horror Gore
Searching online for good horror make-up, I found this list from Dread Central of the 10 Modern Horror Films With Awesome Practical Effects:
- The Evil Dead (remake)
- Late Phases
- 30 Days of Night
- Slither
- Exists
- Turistas
- Jeepers Creepers
- Hell Fire
- John Dies at the End
- Altered
I have not seen many of these movies, which is good because it means I have got a bunch of horror movies to watch! I am going to start with Slither.
Still from Gunn, James. Slither, Universal Pictures, 2006. -
Haunted UK: Roman Soldier Ghosts
With it being the month named after Mars, I decided to look up ghost stories about Roman soldiers. I found the story of a sighting of Roman soldier ghosts in York, Britain. The mix of history and storytelling in the story is fascinating.
Here, a tour guide tells the story of the ghost sighting, which happened back in 1953:
For those who prefer reading, here is a print version of the story:
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Elvira Blooper Reel
This video’s got it all: Elvira, a blooper reel from one of her movies, a short history of American horror cinema and a trip to Transylvania. Check it out!
