Category: movie
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Death Revue
If you’re stuck at home during COVID-19 quarantine or if you’re working and need a break to help you put life into perspective, I recommend the list of movies and documentaries about death provided by the Order of the Good Death. The selection is great and made up of quality films.
My personal favourite was The Bridge, a documentary about the Golden Gate bridge as a popular landmark for suicides. My initial attraction to the movie was that I am in love with San Francisco and my main goal in life right now is to find a way to relocate there from Canada. I never realized that other people would go there for the express purpose of taking their own lives. To me, what made the documentary strong was that it never exploited people’s suffering or idealized suicide. In fact, it became about stories of resilience and helping people overcome suicide ideation. I warn you that the movie is graphic, showing people taking their lives as they jump off the bridge. But, that very stark look at suicide is what makes the movie so strong.
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Haunted USA: Zak Bagans’ The Haunted Museum, Las Vegas
Zak Bagans gives ET a tour of his Haunted Museum in Las Vegas, including artifacts from a demonic possession that inspired The Conjuring 3 and objects from Ghostbusters.
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Horror Cinema: I See You
I came across I See You on the streaming service Prime. I was mostly interested in it because of Helen Hunt, who I have been happy to see returning to television and movies (I recently watched the reboot of Mad About You and loved it). During the first third of the movie, I was suspicious of its dramatic moodiness: long shots of scenery or of the inside of the house where the story took place with spooky music reminiscent of Argento’s Suspiria or Kubrick’s The Shining.
I was pleasantly surprised when, halfway through, the story took an unexpected turn and the plot became enthralling right until the end. I appreciate when a story makes you see its characters in a new way, and this one did it in spades. I highly recommend it!
Randall, Adam. I See You, Saban Films, 2019.
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Horror Lit: Psycho
When I came across a copy of Robert Bloch’s Psycho at a Books-A-Million, I picked it up without hesitation. I had wanted to read it since I discovered in April 2018 that the movie was based on a book (see Horror Cinema: Psycho).
Reading it, I was surprised by its gore and violence, especially for a book written in the 1950s. I was expecting it to be more of a slow burn like its movie adaptation. Instead, right from the start, there was gore. Early on, Norman Bates was described as reading books about human sacrifices where drums were made out of human skin. The classic murder scene in the motel shower was more intense than I would have ever imagined.
As a horror writer myself, I aspire to write stories that combine a psychological thrill with true-crime violence, and Psycho turned out to be just that. It was written in a clear and concise style with engaging characters.
After reading the book, I re-watched Hitchcock’s movie version. While much tamer than the book—to be expected for the time it was made in—it was an impressive film adaptation. The biggest difference between the book and film was how Norman Bates looked. In the book, he is described as overweight with thinning hair and rimless glasses, nothing like the tall, slim brunette cast in the movie.
I highly recommend this book to any horror fan.
Book
Bloch, Robert. Psycho, The Overlook Press, Peter Mayer Publishers, Inc., 1959.Film
Hitchcock, Alfred. Psycho, Paramount Pictures, 1960. -
One of us, one of us
The early-Hollywood movie Freaks is a must-see for any horror-movie fan.
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DYK: Deaths on set of Twilight Zone: The Movie, 1982
Did you know that Vic Morrow and two child actors, Renee Shinn Chen and Myca Dinh Le, were killed in an accident involving a helicopter during filming on the California set of Twilight Zone: The Movie. Morrow, age 53, and the children, ages 6 and 7, were shooting a Vietnam War battle scene in which they were supposed to be running from a pursuing helicopter. Special-effects explosions on the set caused the pilot of the low-flying craft to lose control and crash into the three victims. The accident took place on the film’s last scheduled day of shooting.
Read more about the tragedy at History.com.
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Candyman Trailer
I am looking forward to the new Candyman coming out soon!
The Devil's Muse 