CARRY ON SCREAMING (Horror)

Member Name: marandina

Product:	Horror
Date:	07/07/03 (140 review reads)
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*Oh bum, wrong cat, I'll get it moved shortly!*

I suppose I'd have to admit that my favourite movie genre has to be horror. Despite the proliferation of sci-fi movies in my all time top 10 list the other day, the films I look forward to the most tend to be those that look deep into one's most basic fears and take the viewer on a white knuckle roller coaster ride that sparks similar emotions to those experienced at the height of ecstasy (?). Alternatively, I just like seeing folks get bumped off.

So...in no particular order:

Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)

Wes Craven has something of a vivid imagination. Often centred around dreams and the blurred boundary between what is real and what isn't, he managed to isolate most people's primary fear of a boogie man that will get you whilst you're asleep. In this particular ditty, Heather Langencamp stared at the oft chased Nancy with Johnny Depp picking up an early teen role in his career. Needless to say, Robert Englund stole the show as Freddie Kruger, he of the red hooped jumper and razor fingered mit. NOES went on to generate numerous sequels whereby the audience was made to believe that the evil Freddy would get his comeuppance. He always managed to bounce back somehow making the studios even more spondoolicks in the meantime.

Hellraiser (1987)

I know I mentioned this in my previous op but it simply has to go into any top 10 horror flick op. Based on the macabre mind of Clive Barker, Hellraiser takes the viewer into the deepest depths of depravity helped along the way by the ghoulish recreation of Uncle Frank (brought back to life by the blood of several murder victims) and his ongoing battle with the Cenobites. These are a trio of creatures from hell, headed by Pinhead who typify the wonderfully gothic imagination of the inspiration behind this movie. For me, Clare Higgins steals the show as the irrepressible Julia who lures her victims back to
a house straight out of the Fred West mould only to murder them in a number of different ways to
fuel the restoration of her lover, Frank (Sean Chapman)

The Exorcist (1973)

Banned in Britain for many years, mainly for it's effect on impressionable teenage girls, apparently, The Exorcist is the screen adaptation of William Blatty's amazing book. Linda Blair achieved notoriety in the lead role as the little girl, Regan who becomes possessed by an evil demon. Max Von Sydow spends most of the movie trying to cast the demon out whilst confronted by a string of abuse including the innocent girl vomiting all over him, watching her head turn 360 degrees and watching her do unmentionable things with a crucifix. The effects in the movie stand up well today although the deleted scenes are just as fascinating as the actual frames that made the final cut.

Braindead (1992)

Peter Jackson is more renowned for his work with the Middle Earth trilogy but he did make a rather curious piece back in '92 called Brain Dead. This takes horror to a new, bizarre over the top level that will leave audiences repulsed and laughing at the same time. Based on the notion that an infectious bite from a certain monkey will leave the recipient brain dead but still alive, this movie utilises a small budget to engage the craziest of special effects.

When Timothy Balme's mother gets bit, the most lunatic of scenarios ensure with her turning into a helpless zombie whilst her son tries to cover up her affliction by carrying on as normal. Friends call only to be engaged around the dinner table with the now decaying mother making little sense and parts of her falling off regularly and into the guest's meals.

The most enduring image I have of Braindead is the lead character's totally ridiculous apocalyptic assault on an army of zombies with, amongst other things, a lawnmower!

This is not a movie for the squeamish but
it's so mad it's funny and well worth a watch.


Dracula (1992)

Dracula is one of the most famous of gothic horror creatures spawned from many a local gypsy tale. Most famously portrayed in Stoker's classic book, Gary Oldman was charged with bringing the mythical vampire to life in Ford Coppola's epic tale of love and betrayal. I seem to recall this film got a lot of criticism on its release and it does have it's flaws (notably the seemingly rushed closing frames). However, an all-star cast including Winona Ryder, Anthony Hopkins, Keanu Reeves and Richard E Grant do stay reasonably faithful to the book with lavish sets and more than a dash of romance making the film an enjoyable affair coated in Hollywood gloss.

Bad Taste (1987)

In a similar vein to Braindead, Bad taste is another low budget zombie romp made a few years earlier Peter Jackson. There is more than a hint of tongue in cheek as once again, New Zealand is the setting for a farcical yarn that will leave it's audience laughing if you get the joke.

Based on the story of four dim-witted men from the National Air and Space Defence League arrive in a small New Zealand fishing town to investigate a report of landing UFO's. There they encounter and take on an army of aliens who have massacred the town's population as part of their plans to use humans as part of their main ingredient for their intergalactic fast-food chain.

This movie is complete madness with a totally ridiculous finale but well worth a spare 91 minutes and I'm sure it will leave you smiling.

Night of the Living Dead (1968)

George A Romero made his name with zombie films and the inception of this grand institution took place in 1968 with Night of the Living Dead

Originally black and white with a suitable low budget, Romero conjures the daft notion of the dead coming back to life and eating the living. Several people barricade
themselves inside a rural house in an attempt to survive the night. Outside are hordes of relentless, shambling zombies who can only be killed by a blow to the head.

NOTLD inevitably went on to spawn several Zombie epics including Dawn of the Dead but, here again, the director utilises a tongue in cheek as the cannon fodder of zombies moving conveniently slowly so as to give them plenty of time to be shot, hacked, blown up or whatever it takes to rub them out. The zombie genre played on the idea of one of these monsters turning up just when you weren't expecting it, hence, making the viewer jump and this is now a classic of it's kind and well worth watching as a homage.

Dawn of the Dead (1978)

This is a totally enjoyable voyage into the crazy world of zombies. 10 years after the original, this is the story of four people's escape from an urban nightmare to a suburban one. The main characters barricade themselves in a shopping mall only to find that their new world is full of marauding zombies and malicious bikers. Shot mainly outside Pittsburgh, this movie is a lot of fun with a comical finale.

The Evil Dead (1981)

Another movie banned for many years, the Evil Dead saw Sam Raimi and a low budget string together one of the most notorious of horror movies. Bruce Campbell became synonymous with the movie and it's inevitable sequels.

Basically, the plot revolves around Five friends going up to a cabin in the woods where they find unspeakable evil lurking in the forest. They find the Necronomicon and the taped translation of the text. Once the tape is played, the evil is released. One by one, the teens become deadly zombies. With only one remaining, it is up to him to survive the night and battle the evil dead.

Infamous for the scene where a tree root indecently assaults one of the characters, Evil Dead has become part of movie folk lore although it's not that great a movie. A lot of t r>he scenes were ground breaking with the director physically pushing the came
ra through a wood set to make it look as though an evil spirit was heading for the cabin. This technique was employed mainly because of the low budget but is one of the most striking features of the film.

Halloween (1978)

It would be difficult to miss off the John Carpenter classic - Halloween. Starring the Queen of scream, Jamie Lee Curtis, Halloween tells the morbid tale of the insane Michael Myers. Having killed his family a number of years before, he escapes a mental institute, hotly pursued by Donald Pleasance, with the intention of murdering his sister on the anniversary of his previous atrocities.

Made famous by the musical score, Halloween was the archetypal stalk and slash film with the evil Myers only ever found wearing his fashionable ski-mask. Yet again, numerous sequels came as a result of the original along with the Jason saga just in case anybody couldn't get enough of teenagers being systematically murdered by stalk and slash psychos.

Oh well, I've droned on for long enough again. All of these movies are on video, DVD etc if you fancy a watch. Alternatively, Carry On Screaming's quite cool.

Marandina