Category: movie
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Horror Comedy Trivia: Gremlins (1984)
Did you know that there are many connections to executive producer Steven Spielberg’s popular movie, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) in Gremlins?
One of the Gremlins says “phone home,” there is a stuffed E.T., and, at the beginning, one of the movies on the marquee is “A Boy’s Life,” which was the fake name under which E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial was shipped to theaters.
More facts about Gremlins at IMDb Trivia: Gremlins (1984).
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Horror Cinema: Sea Fever
The overall feeling that Sea Fever left me with was of humans as prey, and the film did a great job of telling a captivating story of a small group of people facing the challenge of a deep-sea predator. Throughout the movie, I was convinced by the science and the characters’ slow realization of what was happening to them, which made the story believable and more frightening. Add the element of body horror to that with how the creature found its way into the bodies of the crew, and you’ve got a great creepy movie!
My favorite aspect of the narrative was the superstition of the sailors, which provided ominous foreshadowing as the story unfolded. I also loved the deep-sea creature and how it was shown. It certainly put the limited power of the humans into perspective.
Hardiman, Neasa. Sea Fever, Signature Entertainment, 2019.
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Mrs. Doubtfire, Horror Edition
“An unemployed actor undergoes a drastic transformation in a twisted attempt to regain the trust of his estranged family.”
This is amazing! By Peter Javidpour — via YouTube.
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Horror Cinema Trivia: Dracula (1931)
Among the living creatures seen in Dracula’s castle in Transylvania are opossums, armadillos, and an insect known as a Jerusalem cricket (Stenopalmatus Fuscus).
Opposum in Dracula’s castle. The Jerusalem cricket was common in Southern California, which may explain its cameo in the film.
Jerusalem cricket in Dracula’s castle. The inclusion of armadillos was due to the fact that armadillos had occasionally been seen digging in graveyards, which led to the mistaken belief that they would dig their way into coffins and eat the cadavers.
Armadillos in Dracula’s castle. Learn more about 1931’s Dracula at IMDb Trivia: Dracula (1931).
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Horror Cinema: The Snake Girl and the Silver-Haired Witch (1968)
I came across The Snake Girl and the Silver-Haired Witch while browsing for a horror movie to stream on Apple TV. The image of the little girl with the snake face in the trailer had me interested. When I started it, I had low expectations because it reminded me of Obayashi’s House, which was a major disappointment for me.
The Snake Girl and the Silver-Haired Witch turned out to be excellent, and I highly recommend it. The supernatural aspects throughout the movie were clever plays on the protagonist’s childish imagination, and the movie’s narrative was captivating and rewarding in the end.
Yuasa, Noriaki. The Snake Girl and the Silver-Haired Witch, Daiei, 1968.
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Horror Cinema Trivia: Nosferatu (1922)
The concept in popular culture that sunlight is lethal to vampires is based on 1922’s Nosferatu, which depicted such a death for the very first time in film history.
Find out more at IMDb Trivia: Nosferatu (1922).
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Horror Cinema Trivia: Elvira—Mistress of the Dark
Elvira: Mistress of the Dark was produced by NBC, which set up a distribution deal with New World Pictures. Just as the film was slated to hit theaters, New World filed for bankruptcy. The marketing campaign was abruptly halted and the release was scaled back from thousands of theaters to just a few hundred. Critics were brutal and, without promotion to entice potential viewers, the film bombed at the box office, though it later became a best-seller on video and one of the highest-rated programs of the year when NBC aired it in 1990.
As today is National Coming Out Day, I thought it would be appropriate to feature Elvira.
A kid of the 80s, I adored Elvira and this movie. Learn more behind-the-scenes facts at IMDb Trivia: Elvira—Mistress of the Dark (1988).
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Horror Cinema: The Conjuring 3 — The Devil Made Me Do It
The latest installment of The Conjuring provides lots of jump scares and spooky characters, which I love about this franchise. I also like how these movies are inspired by the real life paranormal cases of Ed and Lorraine Warren without becoming docu-dramas.
The Conjuring 3 focuses on a murder case where the Warrens argued that the defendant was possessed by a demon. In the real case, the judge of the trial rejected the defense plea of not guilty by demonic possession stating that such a defense would be impossible to prove, also stating it would be “irrelative and unscientific” to allow testimony in support of the possession defense .
The jury were not legally allowed to consider the demonic possession defense and the defendant’s lawyer then instead argued self defense. The defendant was found guilty of first degree manslaughter on November 24, 1981. He was sentenced to 10 to 20 years in jail, but only served 5 due to good behavior.
The court case does not make a major appearance in the movie, which, instead, focuses on the Warrens tracking down the demon itself … among other guilty parties — I’ll leave it at that to prevent spoiling it for you.
When I embark on a sequel, I am usually nervous about what to expect. But, The Conjuring sequels have proven so far to be great!
Find more behind-the-scenes facts about The Conjuring 3 at IMDb Trivia.
Chaves, Michael. The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, Warner Bros. Pictures, 2021.
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Slaughterhouse Texas
Texas Chainsaw Blacklight Poster available at Onemanriet.com
The Devil's Muse 