Nightmares

Well, the first week of school is over. And I am exhausted. Not due to school. But rather, what I think are self-induced nightmares. While getting back to school and asking for back to school horror films to watch...I found what I forgot is one of my favorites. I appreciate the suggestions, Christine and Ginger Snaps- both wonderful films. But I forgot A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge.

While A Nightmare on Elm Street may be a franchise riddled with comical cheese...nightmare 2 was the one that got me. When I was in the seventh grade and my family lived in a small, two-bedroom apartment...my brother had a friend over. My brother and his friend were four years older than me and my parents were out of town. He was supposed to be watching me. But he and his friend watched A Nightmare on Elm Street 2. And they let me watch.

I was spooked. I was scared to death. But kept watching. And here I am twenty years later blogging about it. So, when I brainstormed back to school horror movies, I remembered Elm Street 2. The bus scene.

This week I watched Elm Street, over two or three nights, in bed....as I always do to fall asleep with a horror movie. Normally I watch a movie, about twenty minutes worth, then drift into sleep. for some reason, the stars aligned this week and when I watched Elm Street 2...i never fell asleep much afterwards. I have probably only slept max, about three hours a night this week. Granted, it may be due to stress...back to school...whatever. But I think it is the film. Nightmare 2 is one sequel that i think....and I know I'm on a limb here...is better than the original. That buss scene creeps me out. The pool scene...where Freddy proclaims "you are all my children now..." are classic.

I didn't have nightmares this week. I just couldn't sleep. I am tired. But like it. Horror films can scare us, spook us, make us think, or just make us restless. that is why they are so powerful. The good ones affect people. A Nightmare on Elm Street 2 is a good one.

Monster Slayer Saturday

While there may be debates over vampires and werewolves, zombies and the infected; but when it comes to 80's horror make-ups, nothing was better than the GHOUL. The monster, one-eyed-man, drooling lunatic. The 80's didn't just bring hair metal and Reaganomics- they also gave us some of the best ghouls and monster hunters around.

One great monster movies of the decade is Blood Beach. Hearkens back to the days when an old weathered VHS box could provide real artistic scenes and tag lines. "Just when you thought it was safe to..."
Now, a list of great 80's horror film could take up pages. Some of my favorites were the anthologies, the Creepshows, Tales From the Darkside and Body Bags. But recently, some horror directors that also grew up on this feast of flesh have gone retro. They've gone back with the make-up, the prosthetics, the blood and slime. This is much appreciated by fans who long for the reality spook that non-CGI materials make. The stuff you could SEE falling off the actors faces and living and ghouling with them. I look forward to the nostalgia and campiness of the up coming film Jack Brook's Monster Slayer. While it may not retain the same coziness of the 80's films, it certainly waves a bloody paw at the masters of the genre. Long live make-ups! RIP Stan Winston- an original ghoul maker of the field.

There will be blood...at some point...

Call us behind the times, but Wendy and I finally got around to watching There Will Be Blood. Could not pass up all the critical acclaim, let alone one of the best tittles in awhile. I agree that Daniel Day Lewis' acting was top notch. He really worked the role well. This said, I thought the film was incredibly long and without purpose. The music was cool at times, but at other times, the music seemed to be trying to hard. You know when a film score is too over the top...that they are trying to make the film sound more dramatic than it is. Come on, the films about oil. Four to five hours of oil. I think I fell asleep for a few hours, woke up, watched a few hours and they were still in the same scene they were when I fell asleep. I was disappointed for the shear fact that I was waiting for the film to end. I was not engaged. i was not tricked by the clever music and scenery. After admiring Daniel's acting, I felt like I had nothing else to do the rest of the nine gazillion hours of film. I will wait with baited breath for the sequel....The Blood Will Scab Over...uncut directors edition. Oh boy.