Peeping Tom

This man was much more than a peeping tom!!! 
Peeping Tom is a nickname commonly given to voyeurs, particularly males. It originated with the legend of Lady Godiva, when a man named Tom watched her during her nude ride and was struck blind or dead.

The film was heavily cut by the BBFC before release and consequently many scenes still have a ragged feel to them. The murders of Vivian and Dora were toned down, shots of nudity were deleted (including photos of nude girls in the album), the suicide of the killer was shortened, and scenes featuring the spike were also edited. Some dialogue was also cut (which explains the abrupt ending to the conversation between the policemen in the car). Although some cuts were restored in later video and DVD releases much of the edited footage is now considered lost forever.

The above were some stuff I found online.

 

I thought the movie was overal pretty good, Mark was freaky, but it kind of dragged at parts. I found a lot of interesting and funny goofs and other facts on IMDb about the movie. It was certainly ahead of it's time.

Rosemary's Baby

I was always distrubed by the movie. I hadn't seen it in several years, but now this distrubes me even more. But I disgress.....

First, I realized for the first time that the building this was filmed in was The Dakota in NYC. The movie was filmed here long before it became truly famous as the place were John Lennon was shot and killed. How ironic that a horror film and the Oko Ono were  based in the same place. Her singing was more horrible that anything the devil could have cooked up,

Second, Mia Farrow. Now I must admit a certain kinship with sweet Mia...just love her haircut in the second half of the movie. But when this movie was made, Mia Farrow was only a TV star on Peyton Place. Additionally, she was married to Frank Sintara. In the commentary it was stated that Mia wanted to quit the picture to be with Frank, but Roman Polanski showed her some of the dailies and convinced her to stay with notions of possible an academy award nomination.

Third, Roman Polanski.....forget about his politics, the rumors, all that BS, this guy knows how to scare you without any gore or special effects. The way its filmed is truly errie.

And finally, my synopsis....The movie starts out think a Mary Tyler Moore movie...a soap opera. This, I can only imagine, was done on purpose to lull you into this world, only to be shocked when you discover all is not what it seems. I finally figured out why this film distrubs me so much. The way the film is shot, you don't know if everything that is happening to sweet Rosemary is in her mind, or real. Could it be all pre/post-natal syndrome making her believe all of this is happening?

Then finally, will Rosemary turn to over to the darkside of Satan to be the mother? The ending is ambiguous. You never quite get any confirmation on what it real and what isn't. That's what so distrubing.

Female vampires

This movie was an interesting variance to the vampire tale. These vampires are all female. The Countess, played fabulously by Delphine Seyrig, was the elder "leader of the pack" as it were. Her young protege, played by Andrea Rau, was the Countess' lover and helpmate. This lesbian vampire pair attached themselves to a young couple, played by Danielle Oiumet and John Karlen (who, in his later years, played the husband of Lacey in the tv show Cagney and Lacey). The acting from these two was particularly bad and the only redeeming feature was the performance by Seyrig. Back to the plot, the lesbians looking for new blood insinuated themselves into the life of the couple and the way for the Countess to get to the newly married woman was to show her how terrible men are. So the protege sleeps with the man, dies in the process, is discovered by the wife and now the Countess needs a new protege. A pretty, young, disillusioned, blonde fits the bill quite well. Lowlife husband dies, Countess and her new lover whisk away to another town only to crash in an accident and the Countess is speared through the heart as she is thrown from the vehicle. Now, the blonde lives on and is seen carrying on the bloodsucking life of the Countess.
The vampire as seducer takes on a new life when the vampire is a woman, but interestingly enough, the females are STILL the victims.

CONTEMPORARY HORRORS

These films are all streamable on Netflix and are well worth a watch.

The Horde (2009) – A ruff-tuff zombie fest from France that pulls no punches.

Mimic (1997) – Genetically engineered horror from Guillermo del Toro.

Trick ‘r Treat (2007) – An anthology style assortment of Halloween horrors.

Severance (2006) – A British-German co-production about corporate cut-backs, the kind done with sharp instruments.

Let the Right One In (2008) – From Sweden, an instant vampire classic.

Thirst  (2009) – Another great and unusual vampire film, this one from South Korea.

The Host (2006) – From South Korea, the best monster movie of the new century.

                 Monsters (2010) – The second best monster movie of the new century.

Kill Baby Kill - Bava

I think ‘Kill Baby Kill” is worth a watch. This is an Italian made, Mario Bava film that is super creepy! I really like the feel of the movie and the subject. According to the back of the movie box, Bava, “skillfully interweaves elements of the ‘giallo’ thriller formula with a creepy Gothic ghost story.” Wikipedia says that “Giallo” movies have certain characteristic: “Extended murder sequences featuring excessive bloodletting, stylish camerawork and unusual musical arrangements. The literary whodunit element is retained, but combined with modern slasher horror, while being filtered through Italy’s longstanding tradition of opera and stage drama.”

“Kill Baby Kill” is a literal titled. Needless to say, if you were uber-creeped out by the little girls in the hallway in the movie “The Shining,” then don’t watch this movie. The music is superb in places, and the scenery is perfect. I think someone went crazy with the spray-on cob webs, though. I’ll be bringing this DVD back to class tonight. 

Them!

Despite the kind of goofy title, and a somewhat ridiculous premise, this movie is actually really good, and I recommend it for anyone looking for an example of a 1950s horror/sci-fi crossover.  The story, acting, and even the special effects still hold up pretty well.  The ants themselves are fairly primitive compared to today's effects standards, but they are handled in a way that isn't too cheesy, and there are actually a few good scares.  The plot is structured more like a detective story than a simple man vs. monsters battle, which is pretty interesting.  It does suffer a little bit from the pacing issues that seem to be present in almost all the movies we've watched, where it's pretty tense for the first twenty minutes, meanders for a while, and then rushes to wrap everything up in the last two minutes.  Also, like many 50s sci-fi films, the ants were created by nuclear radiation, and the underlying theme is sort of an allegory/warning against the fears of the atomic bomb and the Cold War.

Peeping Tom

All that I can say is'WoW'. The Cinema Graphics were way ahead of it's time in the early 60's. The colors were enriched with intensity of depths and hues. At first it took me awhile to grasp the storyline do to the stupidity of some of the actresses.(Example, the first call girl who asked no questions and just took him to her residence) But later on, we see a mentally torched adult (Mark) who tries hard to function in  mainstream society only to get caught up in his late father's research on the definition and true face of fear. 'Do we take the blue or red pill to embark down the Twisted Rabbit's Hole' This era was not big on gore ,so I was amaze at the final climatic moment to see blood spilling out of Mark's mouth as he met his death with fear and acceptance.The movie I believe ,could have had more of a realistic quality if the victims, tried to elude their fates instead of watching it happen to them in slow motion.Outside of that the movie will be rated a B on the Darling Review.  

Jaws - Horror or Thriller

Jaws is running on Cinemax now

For the first time in twenty years, or more, my husband and I sat and watched “Jaws” from start to finish. I was so excited to blog about how, as we had talked about in class last week, the swimming scenes with the shark and the victim were very similar to the creature, in “Creature from the Black Lagoon,” and his victim. I went out on the internet to search for some fun facts and found that “Jaws” is classified as a “thriller” – not “horror.” I wonder how a creature film, like “Creature from the Black Lagoon,” can be classified as horror, and “Jaws” as a thriller. Just for the record, I think “Jaws” is a horror film. What am I missing here?

Fave line: “We’re going to need a bigger boat.”  

Masque of the Red Death

The "doors" in the movie open into small rooms that represent stages in life.

I have to say – I did not like this movie as much as I had hoped to. I looked up the E.A. Poe story on Spark Notes and found that the heart of the story is an allegory about “life, death, and the powerlessness of humans to evade the grip of death.” Furthermore, the fact that Prospero is a prince shows that there is no amount of money or arrogance that can fend off death. (www.sparknotes.com/lit/poestories/section 10.rhtml). I think the story is great, but the grating screaming laughter, the cow towing to Prospero by his guests, and the child with the woman’s voice was just too irritating for me - not very antagonizing, just annoying. I wondered why the little person came to the “child’s” room – that was creepy. I usually like anything Vincent Price is in, and he was excellent in this film, but I just couldn’t get past the guest’s hysterical screaming, which reminded me of characters from an Ingmar Bergman movie – ugh!

I did like the color saturation and the interesting wide-angle shot from the top of the steps down into the castle’s main room. That shot was distorted on the edges (not really sure what to call that) and gave a spooky feel to the movie. Of course, I loved Vincent Price. I saw an interview with him on British TV where he says that he is a huge Anglophile, so it’s easy to see how he could embrace a British aristocratic demeanor. The look on his face (spoiler alert) when he reveals the face under the mask as his own, is perfect. His expression says more than any words could convey. When I think of Poe and movies, I think of Price.

Scientifically horrible

Sci-fi  for short. Tarantula - playing god gone bad. Some nut thinks using Y3 injections to affect pituitary glands - i.e., growth is a good idea. Giant gerbils, and yes tarantula gets loose and requires napalm bombs to kill it.

Mole people - now here's an Asian albino race of people who live underground and refuse to believe the humans exist, but agree that if they do, they are sent by God. This is a take-off on Plato's allegory of the Cave; those who leave must go down and try to teach, only to be scoffed at and ridiculed. The beauty who rescues the captive humans is a less than popular citizen who bears the long lost trait of humans - the dark eyes. She is rescued to above ground, only to die.

Least but not last, Monolith Monster. Meteorites seeking silica grow with water; sucking life from humans and turning them to stone and growing at massively fast rates as tall as buildings to fall and kill and destroy everything in it's path. This of course, was caused by negative cleavage in the rock. Thank goodness there was a male scientist to find this cleavage. The lesson here, "In science there are no guarantees."

Disc one of three - I'll be returning these for your viewing pleasure.

The Fly

Guess where the fly is?

http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi2809267993/ - here's the trailer for the original movie ....