The Devil's Muse

Category: movie

  • Horror Cinema: Haunting of the Queen Mary

    I watched a trailer for Haunting of the Queen Mary with my Dad, and although he was not interested in seeing a horror movie, he was keen to note that my grandfather rode the Queen Mary during World War Two. The boat is now docked and is a museum that he had visited.

    On my own time, I watched the movie, looking forward to seeing if my historical connection to the ship would come up in the story. It didn’t.

    I can’t say that I disliked the movie, but I found it unnecessarily weird in parts, and it told multiple narratives that made it frantic at times. In addition to the ghosts and the spirit of the ship, which could have been done more fully, like including a storyline about being a naval ship, there were storylines about a boy’s soul getting stolen and the parents getting caught up in a chase from a murderer overnight on the ship. The jump from the paranormal to fantasy and murder was odd.

    Aside from the movie’s issue with its mix of genres, it did do a good job of moving back and forth from a historical narrative to the ghosts in the modern narrative, and I would recommend it for that portion of the film. I would also recommend it for its beautiful historical sets.

    Shore, Gary. Haunting of the Queen Mary, Vertigo Films, 2023.

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  • Horror Junior: Return to Oz

    I was a child of the 1980s, and I first saw Return to Oz on a Sunday night as the weekly Disney family movie. I was excited to see it as a sequel to The Wizard of Oz, but I was not expecting it to be so scary. The witch with the replaceable heads was freaky and surreal, and I loved it. I had never seen anything like it.

    I rewatched the film this past week for nostalgia, not thinking it would be as intense as I remembered. Oh, no. It was intense. The movie began with poor little Dorothy narrowly escaping electro-shock therapy to discourage her imagination. It was terrifying.

    The other frightening scenes were equally as scary today. I liked the story of this movie more than The Wizard of Oz, both then and now. Also, as an adult, I have read L. Frank Baum books from the Oz series, and I better appreciate how Return to Oz captured the threatening and sinister tone of his storytelling.

    Murch, Walter. Return to Oz, Buena Vista Distribution, 1985.

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  • Horror Cinema: The Bye Bye Man

    The premise of The Bye Bye Man is similar to Candy Man, where saying a villain’s name makes him appear. For this reason, I went into the movie with low expectations. I was happily surprised to discover a movie with spooky ghost scares and dramatic mental instability between characters that was shocking at times.

    One scene in particular that had a lasting impression was when the protagonist defiantly drove headlong into what he thought was an illusion. I was really rooting for him to overcome the insane hallucinations caused by the villain, but the result turned out to make me feel awful in a way that I want a horror movie to make me feel.

    Image from Basement Rejects

    The movie had a great sorority-slasher feel mixed with ghostly jump scares. The narrative kept me captivated, and I was impressed by this gem.

    Title, Stacy. The Bye Bye Man, STX Entertainment, 2017.

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  • Horror Cinema: Terrifier 2

    While I am a fan of gore, I found Terrifier 2 intense. Its saving grace and what kept me watching it through the most shocking scenes was its campiness. The clown villain’s playfulness and silliness during gross moments made the violence comical, like life is a sick joke, which I can relate to. I enjoyed Terrifier, and I found its sequel to be a great addition to the franchise. It not only brought the senseless gore that made the first movie good, but it went further with a creepy new character and scenes of purely senseless gore — scenes that were only added to the narrative to show the wildest kills. Not a horror movie for a weak stomach!

    Leone, Damien. Terrifier 2, Bloody Disgusting, 2022.

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  • Horror Cinema: Our House

    Ghost stories are my favorite, and I was excited to discover Our House, a full-on supernatural, ghost-story movie. While I love ghost stories, a good one is difficult to find, and I was impressed by this one. The incorporation of the ghosts into the narrative was natural and sympathetic at first, and their slow growth into sinister forces was suspenseful and interesting. A solid take on a ghost story and a good movie!

    Scott Burns, Anthony. Our House, IFC Midnight / Elevation Pictures, 2018.

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  • Horror Cinema Trivia: Night of the Living Dead (1968)

    The original idea for George A. Romero’s Night of the Living Dead was for an alien comedy.

    In early 1967, Romero, along with writer John A. Russo and actor Rudy Ricci, were working together at the Latent Image, their Pittsburgh-based commercial film company, when they decided it was time to try their hand at making a feature film. Though the effort eventually produced Night of the Living Dead, early concepts were very different. Russo initially thought of making a horror comedy about “hot-rodding” alien teens who would visit Earth, meet up with human teenagers, and generally cause mischief with the help of a cosmic pet called “The Mess.” The group’s budgetary constraints made this concept impossible, so Russo instead dreamed up an idea about a boy who runs away from home, only to discover a field of corpses under glass, which were rotting to the liking of alien creatures who would eventually consume them. Russo presented this idea to Romero, who latched on to the flesh-eating angle.

    Find more insights on Romero’s zombie classic at 10 Facts About George A. Romero’s Night of the Living Dead on Mental Floss.

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  • Horror Cinema: There’s Something Wrong With the Children / The Ruins

    There’s Something Wrong With the Children succeeds in creepy, unsettling moments. The story, however, fails to satisfy, and I left the movie with more questions than answers. Throughout the movie, I kept thinking about a much better film that had what felt like a similar premise of nature as the villain, The Ruins (2008). I’m not sure, though, if nature was the villain in There’s Something Wrong With the Children, or if it was supernatural. If the story had provided more background on the mysteries it introduced, I think the whole would have been better.

    Benjamin, Roxanne. There’s Something Wrong With the Children, Paramount Home Entertainment, 2023.

    If you have not yet seen The Ruins, I highly recommend it. The horror is a slow build, but, once it hits its peak, you will be in for a gore show that you could never imagine.

    Smith, Carter. The Ruins, Dreamworks / Paramount Distribution, 2008.

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  • Horror Cinema Trivia: Friday the 13th

    Did you know that, originally, Friday the 13th was intended to be an anthology series? Each movie would have taken place, presumably, on Friday the 13th.

    From 10 Jason Voorhees Facts You Never Knew Until Now

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  • Horror Cinema: Jigoku (1960)

    Jigoku is a truly unique movie. The narrative loosely follows a series of deaths and murders that all happen in the protagonist’s life as if he is cursed, and the final scenes of the movie follow the dead characters and the protagonist in hell. The addition of the afterlife journey gives more depth to the characters.

    My favorite part of the movie was the brutal death scenes. They were bold, like bodies falling off a rope bridge, and gruesome. As a bonus, the final hell scenes went full throttle on the gore, and it was great!

    Nakagawa, Nobuo. Jigoku, Shintoho, 1960.

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  • Horror Cinema: Onibaba (1964)

    The 1964 Japanese horror movie Onibaba is a slow burn. Much of its horror centers around the crimes and abuses caused by a war, particularly against women. Set in the past in a rural area, it evokes the discomfort of a very difficult era in history. From the start of the movie, death is ever present, and you know you are watching a horror movie.

    The slow burn was worth it, for me. The struggles of the relationships between a small group of people transformed throughout the narrative, ending with a final paranormal twist that was believably built into the story.

    Shindo, Kaneto. Onibaba, Toho, 1964.

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