It's a Horror to Know You: Jay from Hallowaltz blog!
Hey guys. Happy 5th birthday! Keep up the great work.
1. What is the first film that ever scared you?
Definitely Cujo. There was a time when I was a kid when I wanted to see every movie based on a Stephen King book. I was too young to read his books and understand what they were about, and honestly I didn't even really understand who Stephen King was.. just that movies that had his name in them were cool. My dad had a bunch taped off tv and as long as he was around I was able to watch them with him. Of course there were some like The Shining or Dead Zone that had to wait til I was older to understand, but for the most part I had sat through almost all the late 70s and 80s King flicks. I actually loved Maximum Overdrive so much that I had my dad paint red spots on the front of my Matchbox trucks. I loved the troll from Cat's Eye, the werewolf in Silver Bullet, everything in Creepshow, Running Man, Firestarter, hell even Mr. Barlow and the Glick boys in Salem's Lot didn't scare me (and they do now).. and then we watched Cujo. I made it about halfway through and then the dog goes apeshit crazy. I had never seen anything so scary in a movie before.. a filthy, drooling, blood covered, rabid, insane, St. Bernard who barks at telephones, slams its head into a car, and attacks a mother and her son. I think it was the scene when Dee Wallace gets bit in the leg when my dad had to turn it off.. at that point I had run out of the room. For a long time.. probably til I saw Texas Chainsaw Massacre, it was the scariest movie I had ever seen.
There were two other random scenes of childhood trauma that I thought were worth mentioning. First was the coat room scene in Lady in White where the boy sees the murder of the little girl ghost.. that creeped me out. The second came to me when I was thinking of what to write about.. I remember being really freaked out from a scene in The Funhouse. its when the kid brother is headed to the fair and some random guy in a van pulls up, asks the kid if he wants a ride, and then pulls a gun out on him and starts laughing. I think at the time that tapped into that childhood fear of "strangers" and that there are people out there that are going to kidnap you and kill you.
2. What is the last film that scared you?
Inland Empire and The Poughkeepsie Tapes definitely disturbed me, but Paranormal Activity 2 left me feeling spooked.. enough that it was still in my head when I went to bed. Open Water was another one in recent years that scared me good.. for whatever reason I was nervous to walk to my local bar after watching it.. and I don't even live anywhere near water.
3. Name three horror movies that you believe are underrated.
Eaten Alive – I love this movie.. everything.. the lighting, the insane characters, the insane music, the hotel set.. and that bleak, strange feeling of madness that I get while watching it. I watch it once a year and it never grows old. I'll never understand why some fans of Texas Chainsaw Massacre don't enjoy this movie.
Deranged – Probably the most accurate in the retelling of the Ed Gein murders. Roberts Blossom is fantastic in this one.
Pigs (AKA Daddy's Deadly Darling) – A strange movie about a woman who escapes a mental institution and begins killing men that remind her of her father who raped her. She takes refuge at a farm where a man feeds her victims to his pigs. The only dvd I've seen is from Troma.. and the print they transferred it from is really rough.. but Grindhouse Releasing is working on giving it a solid release.
Some underrated Halloween flicks..
Lightning Bug – Since its October I wanted to try to include some Halloween themed movies.. this one is a must see. I'm surprised it really doesn't get mentioned much.. and I've never seen it on a Halloween movie list. Buy, rent, or download this movie this October. You will not be disappointed.. Laura Prepon's character "Angevin" is a horror nerd's wet dream.
The Roost – Ti West's killer bat/zombie flick. Sure its no House of the Devil, but if you can manage the slower pace I think this one delivers the goods. Love the grainy film and creepy atmosphere.
Rob Zombie's Halloween and Halloween 2 – Not necessarily underrated as much as they are both hated. John Carpenter's Halloween is my favorite movie, and Rob's two are right up there with it. Love em both.
Murder Party – A funny, weird, horror/comedy flick about a guy who goes to the wrong party on Halloween.
4. Name three horror movies that you enjoy against your better judgment.
Halloween 5 – It sucks.. it sucks bad, but it always manages to find its way into my dvd player ever October.
Frogs – I'm not ashamed of this one.. always takes me back to being a kid and thinking reptiles and amphibians were the shit.. and they still are.. especially when they're killing people.
Any Herschell Gordon Lewis gore film – Blood, guts, blood and more blood. Story or plot? Who cares?
5. Send us to five places on the Internet!
VHS Wasteland – Always fun looking at old worn vhs cover scans.
Countdown to Halloween – Starts every October 1st with links to tons of Halloween related blogs.
Hallowaltz – My blog of Halloween pictures that I've taken
Pumpkinrot – Daily updated blog of all things Halloween. And he makes some amazing creations.
Judith – A short fan film shot at the Myers House In North Carolina.. and you can watch it for free!
Happy October!
Still can't seem to understand why people that love John Carpenter's can even tolerate Rob Zombie's bastardization. I really need to write my own blog to point out everything that is ridiculous about the remake.
Hey thanks for posting my answers guys! For the record I just watched V/H/S this past Friday and that has taken the throne for most recent film that has scared me. Definitely worth watching.. might be a good idea to drink some Dramamine first though.
Thanks for the IAHTKY Jay! I think you are so very on the money about EATEN ALIVE. It's in a world all its own and I love the surreal sets and the crazy lighting and probably everything that most people don't like about it. It's just the type of movie I can totally get lost in & I wouldn't be surprised if it had a big influence on RZ's esthetic as well.( I'm a big fan of his Halloweens too. ) Thanks for the extra halloween picks & this time of year is perfect for mentioning LADY IN WHITE too. And nice job pointing out that FUNHOUSE scene. I forgot what a good scare that was when I first saw it.
Looks like RoG beat me to it:
http://www.i-mockery.com/blabber/2007/09/03/my-thoughts-on-rob-zombies-halloween/
I'm really not trying to crap on anyone's parade, especially those who frequent this site, be it the creators or fans, but I just hate Hate HATE RZ's Halloween with a passion and just can't fathom how fans of the original could be on board for that train wreck. Just me, personally. No one else has to hate the film, but I'm always glad when I find someone else who does.
EE, You don't have to look too far to find a negative RZ Halloween review. Something tells me I know everything that review is going to say without even reading it. I get where you're coming from though- you sound like me talking about "Paranormal Activity"! Try as I might, I just don't get it. The one thing I tried to do with the IAHTKY questions is open up the conversation so that we're talking about movies other than the usual top ten titles over and over and over again. Personally, I honestly love both of RZ's Halloween films and I find him to be a really interesting director in general. I can't go by what other horror fans think – they would have steered me away from EATEN ALIVE too.
The best review I can give is that I'll be watching both of RZs Halloweens again very soon but here are 2 previous posts on H2 in case you are interested…
https://www.kindertrauma.com/?p=7828
https://www.kindertrauma.com/?p=10619
I'm another who has enjoyed most all of Mr. Zombie's films so far… and I must confess, I'm not a big fan of the original Halloween. It's not that I dislike it, I'm just indifferent. If it weren't for H3 I'd probably give the whole series a miss. Same goes for Friday The 13th… I just don't feel the love.
I guess I should turn in my Horror Geek credentials and just hang my head in shame.
To actually talk about something OTHER than Zombie's movies here, I am SO SO SO happy to see some love for Cujo. I absolutely love that movie (and overal story really, coked out of his mind or not, I think it's some of King's best work), and it really needs to be seen by more people. I will never stop being fascinated by the scene where we seem to be sneaking up on the mother via Cujo's POV shot, only for it to pop up at the window IN FRONT. That was so crazy well done.
Knob,
As far as I'm concerned, as long as you like H3 you get a free pass to dislike everything else!
Eshbaal,
CUJO kicked my ass and somehow I still feel sorry that poor dog. It's all that rabid bat's fault!
Also: How did Dee Wallace not get an Oscar nomination for that?
Eshbaal, ALSO: I just noticed that same camera move in Trick r' Treat! The camera runs up on the guy like a POV shot and then the hand comes from under the bed instead- love that.
True story: YEARS ago my aunt & uncle got a female Shih Tzu. They were going to go with the name "Gizmo" after the character from the "Gremlins" movies as she had black and white colors. Well, one night my uncle was sitting in front of the TV and he was watching "Cujo". Right after the movie was over he told my aunt that their cute little dog would be named after that rabid killer dog!
I wanted to name our golden retriever Cujo too, but we settled on Special Agent Dale Cooper instead. 🙂
Also in 8th grade I finally got around to buying a copy of Cujo on VHS.. only to find out it was edited. ??? I didn't even know this was possible.. it wasn't even advertised on the box or anything. After years of being terrified to watch it.. when I finally got the balls to buy it and sit through it again.. I end up with an edited version.
Random thought.. anybody ever see When a Stranger Calls Back? That is a great underrated movie.. forgot to mention it. Definitely my pick for the scariest made for tv film ever made.
That's a good one bats!
I remember we got a NTT for that once upon a time…
https://www.kindertrauma.com/?p=15228
Awesome! Man just seeing those pictures from that post is getting me all creeped out.. definitely gonna have to watch that one again this month!
All these Cujo stories. More love for that movie! WHenever I get a dog of my own you can bet his name will be Cujo too.
And oh yeah, I remember the same trick beingd one in Trick 'r Treat now, too. It's such an excellent way to fuck with your audience, really. I so need to try something similar to it sometime in one of my movies, assuming I get a chance to do another one anytime soon.
If it makes you guys feel any better, words cannot describe how much I loathe RZ's Halloween…but I'll try: I am a huge Halloween fan, 1-3 are 3 of my fav films, I even really like parts 4 and 5, they were all childhood favourites. Well, after the remake, I never went to see RZ's Halloween II and still have never seen it to this day. To be honest I do not even consider the Halloween remake to be a film.
I LOVE CUJO! Why do people hate this film? This is also another favourite film. I don't think I'm reaching here to guess the strong dislike is due to the set up of the story and the situations being too realistic. Especially for kids of today, who are used to movies beginning like Scream and The Ring. Dee Wallace and Danny Pintauro should have Oscars for this.