kindertrauma

Name That Trauma: Devil Bob on Skeletal Remains

Posted on By unkle lancifer

Hi.

I'm searching for a movie I watched as a little child by accident.

It was hard gore stuff and very unusual to be shown by a state sponsored
TV channel.

It was one scene I followed before freaking out and turning the
television off:

POV of an creature and/or animal in a forest. It follows an unaware guy.
Then it attacks, the guy is yelling and suffering. Then CUT TO: The guys
dead body, eaten till his bones from his neck on, head and face weren't
touched.

Anyone has a clue about the title following my description?

Best

Five (or Six) Underrated Thrillers By Ghastly1

Posted on By unkle lancifer

Anguish (1987)

Very hard to describe but this is one hell of a film and definitely shouldn't be missed. A film-within-a-film thriller about a group of people who are terrorized in a movie theater by a killer while watching a horror film about a murderous optometrist looking for eyeballs who stalks his victims in a movie theater. It's very intense and highly original, do yourself a favor and see it.

The Rosary Murders (1987)

Here is a film not to be missed. Detroit is plagued by a series of murders (what? I don't believe you) of priests and nuns, with each victim found holding a black rosary. The police cannot catch the serial killer and the Church can't protect its flock. When Father Robert Koesler (Donald Sutherland) hears a confession from the murderer, he isn't sure what to do (it's a toughie).  Can he respect the Seal of Confession even if it means putting more lives, perhaps even his own, in jeopardy? 

All American Murder (1991)

For all the giallo/whodunit fans out there, here is a film you should check out. An outcast with a past on the outs with his father and society in general gets transferred to a new college and falls in love with his dream girl; everything is looking to be on the upswing until she winds up getting torched and he takes the blame for it. Not wanting to fry himself -and with a little help from Christopher Walken- he sets out to clear his name, but it seems bodies keep piling up around him as the seamy underbelly of this seemingly perfect town and its inhabitants are exposed and the noose around his neck tightens. It's got funny, witty dialogue from likeable characters (as well as likeably hateable characters) and the atmosphere is taut but fun.

The Psycho Lover (1970)

A psychiatrist uses his position of influence and trust to induce a psychotic patient the police suspect of being a murdering rapist to off his wife. Things get fouled up when the wife finds out about his plan, cold bloodedly turns the tables and leaves his world shattered. Leaving aside a few gratingly crappy late 60's/early 70's pseudo folk songs and some campy scenes here and there, this is better than average for this type of film. All things considered it is entertaining throughout, with a definite sense of atmosphere, style and suspense.

Buried Alive (1989) and (1990)

The first of these films follows a young woman teaching at a spooky old girls’ school overrun by ants and staffed by some unusual types including Donald Pleasence. Spurred on by a series of horrific hallucinations, she begins to investigate the mysterious disappearances of several students. The second, A married woman and her lover plot to kill her husband to make off with the insurance money. However, their attempt to murder him using poisonous fish toxins backfires in surprising ways.

Five (Very) Underrated Thrillers By Ghastly1

Posted on By unkle lancifer

The Ghost Ship (1943)

An incredible film about a psycho sea captain which I can't recommend enough. This is a film way ahead of its time, containing all the elements of films made forty and fifty years later and it is made all the more striking in that it was practically a lost film for that entire time. I can only thank God that it was finally made available again.

Wise Blood (1979)

I think people forget Brad Dourif is a really good actor or that he had a career outside of Chucky. This film while perhaps not a conventional thriller or even a conventional film for that matter is as an extremely disturbing look at a deranged American mind as has ever been made.

Cry Terror! (1958)

Rod Steiger makes his first well deserved appearance on this list in this film. Now quite simply, Rod Steiger is one of the greatest bad guys in the history of cinema, here he plays an utterly ruthless mad bomber holding a family hostage and seeking to extort money in exchange for not blowing up airlines. It is pretty rough, especially considering the time it was made and if like me, you're a "low brow audience member that relies on cliches and cheap thrills because you don't like to use your head" as Bosley Crowther put it, you will love it. 

No Way to Treat a Lady (1968)

There are two reasons to see this and they are Rod Steiger and his accents/characters he plays. The story concerns an almost Woody Allen-esque nebbish jew New York City cop played by George Segal on the trail of an elusive thespian serial killer with a mommy complex playing a cat and mouse game with him. The film around him is fairly bland, but when Rod Steiger shows up and once again proves he was one of the greatest bad guys in the history of film, it is simply unforgettable as he slips in and out of various characters and displays moments of absolute unhinged apoplexy.

Experiment in Terror (1962)

Blake Edwards crafted one of the greatest and most unsettling thrillers ever made, bar none. In San Francisco, a sadistic asthmatic killer sets his sights on a woman played by Lee Remick with plans to terrorize her into robbing the bank she works at by threatening her and her younger sister. While it too is an excellent film, let us also not forget that knowingly or not, Don Siegel ripped this film off in several respects for Dirty Harry (1971).

My Kindertrauma(s) By Author Matt Forgit

Posted on By unkle lancifer

Hello, awesome people of Kindertrauma!

As a lifelong horror fan, I have heard time and again that scary movies are bad for me, will keep me from sleeping, have no socially redeeming value, and turn ordinary, sweet people into savage murderers. Sound familiar? I would take the fictional creations that scared me as a child over the real-life frights of being an adult. Taxes, the news, the cost of groceries and rent, the education system, the general public, influencers, skinny jeans, ads in paid streaming services? Far scarier than Jason Voorhees, Leatherface, Killbots, Buffy St. John, or Creepozoids. The gruesome, grisly, ghastly images seen in my youth may have traumatized me or caused me fear, but I loved it. I still do.

We wouldn’t be here together on this page if we didn’t love to be scared. The following are some of the horrors that scarred me as a kid and served as inspiration for my latest novel, The Felicitous, a story about a woman who moves to a ghost town—one that may or may not be inhabited by a malicious, murderous cult.

Scooby-Doo: Vampire Bats and Scaredy Cats (1977).

Scooby-Doo was my gateway into grown-up horror. My favorite cartoon then and now, Channel 11 in my hometown played reruns early every weekday morning. I watched as I got ready for school, learning that the real monsters were people. Then I saw this episode, where Daphne’s friend Lisa would morph into a fanged, bloodthirsty vampire (complete with wild cougar growl sound effect). It started a deep childhood conviction that vampires were indeed real, and I was on their intended snack list. We had a walnut tree outside our house growing up. When the walnuts

would fall and crash down on the awnings, I would shudder and hide, because it was clearly the vampires coming for me. That made perfect sense to me at the time. We didn’t have sparkly, or friendly, vampires in those days—or Buffy to protect us.

The Haunted (1991).

This made-for-television movie took all of my fears and combined them. Ghosts, demons, things that go bump in the night, and some haggard looking monster that tried to hump the men in the house. I’d seen haunted house movies before, but this one had an extra, bonus terror—the beings in the house followed the family. Until then, I thought, “Hey, you could just move.” Oh, no. That was how I discovered that some spirits aren’t attached to the house, they’re attached to you. And they’ll follow you to the park and eat your picnic lunch before they take you to hell. Every noise in the house seemed twenty times louder and more sinister after I saw this movie. That shadow in the corner of my vision? Clearly, it was the Brunhilda-esque hump monster who would be throwing my Peanuts covers off of my bed at night and kissing my face with her rotted, black teeth.

Slaughter High (1986).

I rented this one on VHS from a Mom-and-Pop video store in town. Though it’s not particularly scary and I was too young at the time to understand how mean-spirited it is, I liked it…up to a point. But when Shirley’s death rolled around, a new fear was unlocked. Poor, dim Shirley, who decided the best idea during a killer’s revenge spree would be to take a bath in an abandoned school. I get it, Shirley, you’re covered in blood and guts. It’s gross. I’d hate it, too. But Shirley’s decision to leave the safety of her friends and get into the tub has stuck with me my entire life. The water in the tub turns to acid and fries, burns, and strips the flesh off of Shirley’s body in vivid, practical special effects detail. Does she get out of the tub quickly? No. Does she somehow have trouble simply stepping out of the bathtub to save herself? Yes. Shirley, you were not too bright, but your death has haunted me. If my shower makes a single noise, I’m convinced it’s the acid getting ready to burst through the pipes.

A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984).

I begged my dad to let me watch this on television when I was twelve. He relented and my little brain was blown away. Up until this point, I thought dreams couldn’t hurt you. Now I knew—they could kill you. Some creep in a dirty sweater with a clawed hand was coming and I couldn’t escape, no matter where I went. No one can escape their dreams. I was unsafe. My bed was a trap, a prison. Freddy would find me wherever I went and manipulate my dreams. I didn’t sleep for a week after I watched it. One night, my dad came into my room to ask what was wrong. I asked him where we go after we die and what happens to us. Dad shrugged and said, “Nothing. We just lie in blackness and don’t even know we’re dead. Forever.” Then, patting himself on the back and thinking he’d just given me gold-star comfort, he left me alone to envision being mauled by Freddy and descending into infinite blackness.

Creepshow 2 (1987).

The segment entitled “The Raft” has never, ever left the dark recesses of my brain. Deke’s yellow bikini? That rapey jerk Randy, who got exactly what was coming to him? But more than any of those things, the brutal, drawn-out death of poor, sweet Rachel at the hands (tentacles?) of the slimy, oily, garbage bag thing floating in the water. When she screamed, “It hurts!”, my youthful brain was forever disturbed on a deep level. Water, especially murky water, is horrifying enough on its own, full of creatures and beasts ready to attack. “The Raft” is next-level gruesome tomfoolery. Whenever I am near any body of water, my eyes look for the black mass that eagerly waits to mindlessly dissolve and devour me. Not today, aquatic Glad trash bag. Not today!

Special mention goes to those hissing Sleestaks, Jaws (1975), 1988’s The Blob (especially when it traps lovable Fran in the phone booth), Michael Myers standing under the red light outside the hospital in 1981’s Halloween II, John Diehl in 1984’s Angel, Nickelodeon’s Into the Labyrinth, and that absolutely harrowing HBO short film where the film reels eat some unsuspecting guy. These have all remained in my subconscious for decades.

Thank you so much for reading! I will be signing copies of my books The Felicitous and You Better Watch Out at The Horror Depot’s Author Con at Rhode Island College’s Union Hall on Saturday, March 23rd, so if you’re around, come say hello to me and share your childhood traumas!

Name That Trauma:: Dom on a Skeletal Cheerleader

Posted on By unkle lancifer

Hey-o.  There was a film that scar(r)ed me as a kid.  It was on TV in the early 90's.  I only remember one image before I turned the channel.  A man approaches a cheerleader from behind (or some girl dressed like a cheerleader).  His hand touches her shoulder, she turns around, and her face is all spooky and bloody/skeletal.  It's not Cheerleader Camp.  Help!

Dom

UNK SEZ: Make sure to check out Dom's awesome blog HERE!

Five (More) Triple Features By Ghastly1

Posted on By unkle lancifer

Three films about killers in houses: FRIGHT (1971). THEY'RE PLAYING WITH FIRE (1984) and TORMENT (1986). Fright utilizes the babysitter-killer motif marvelously and is one of the best British horror films ever made. They're Playing with Fire is a highly entertaining film about a cougar seducing her student and utilizing his services in a murder scheme to gain an inheritance from her husband's mother and grandmother.

Torment follows a cop on the trail of a serial killer who finds up setting his sights on his girlfriend who is staying at his mother's house, this is a fantastic little film with a twist you probably won't see coming.

Three backwoods inbred horror films: NIGHT OF FEAR (1973), GEEK (1987) and LUTHER THE GEEK (1989). The first of which concerns a woman whose car breaks down on a lonely stretch of country road where she is attacked by a hick and his army of rats; very nasty and effective. Geek follows a couple who run afoul of an inbred, well…geek, after saving the life of his sister and being invited to the homestead of their grateful father. The standout of this film for me is the surprisingly poignant, nuanced performance by Dick Kreusser, as the father, Eben, whom you really feel for. Lastly, Luther the Geek is a straight up crazy film which revolves around a nutjob, sporting metal dentures, recently released from prison with a penchant for tearing out throats. 

Three films for those of us who need some horror with their sci-fi: LIQUID SKY ('82), THE HIDDEN ('87) and DARK ANGEL (aka I COME IN PEACE, 1990). Liquid Sky is a one-of-a-kind film about heroin junkie aliens who suck the phermones created in the brains of people who have just had sex because they find it gets them higher than their previous drug of choice. The Hidden is a David Lynchesque sci-fi film about a body hopping alien being pursued by a cop and an intergalatic detective impersonating an FBI agent.

Dark Angel, starring Dolph Lundgren is the sci-fi-action love child of the previous two films. Stop me if this sounds familiar; a cop with the help of an alien lawman is pursuing what he comes to find out is an alien drug dealer sucking people's brains for endorphins which junkies on his home planet use for their high.

Three Japanese horror films: BIOTHERAPY (1986), SWEET HOME (1989) and EVIL DEAD TRAP (1988). Biotherapy is a slasher film which concerns a group of scientists stalked and sushi-fied by a trenchcoat wearing alien. Sweet Home is a supernatural horror film about a TV production crew who are attacked by the ghost of a dead painters wife whom they are making a documentary about. Finally, Evil Dead Trap is a slasher film that feels quite a bit like a Dario Argento film, right down to the music. A TV crew investigate an old warehouse which was the sight of a snuff film they were sent and they pay for doing so.

Three films about people with supernatural abilities: INDESTRUCTIBLE MAN (1956), THE PSYCHOTRONIC MAN (1980) and STIGMA (1980). Indestructible Man stars Lon Chaney, Jr. as an executed criminal brought back to life and given supernatural powers through a scientific experiment and his attendant rampage through Los Angeles. The Psychotronic Man is a fairly creepy film about a guy who has bizarre experiences and develops telekinetic powers he uses to kill with. Despite its low budget, it manages to be unnerving and hypnotic. Stigma is another Jose Ramon Larraz film and another particular favorite of mine that deals with past lives, incest, telekinetic phenomena and murder committed by one, Sebastian, a young man with the power to kill with his thoughts.

Three Triple Features By Ghastly1

Posted on By unkle lancifer

Three crime films with some pretty horrific tones to them: The Black Panther (1977) The Candy Snatchers (1973) and Man on a Swing (1974). The Black Panther is one of the great unsung British crime films and chronicles the real-life robbery, kidnapping and murder spree of Donald Neilson, who most notably kidnapped, entombed and subsequently killed Lesley Whittle in a drainage shaft while trying to collect a ransom. The film does a great job showing how unhinged this guy is; The Phantom Killer from The Town that Dreaded Sundown immediately comes to mind looking at this guy's get up. It also really imparts on the viewer the terror of being in the clutches of a madman.

The Candy Snatchers has a similar plot in which three criminals kidnap and bury a young girl alive in a bid for ransom from her family, unfortunately, her step father uses this as an opportunity to collect a multimillion-dollar inheritance. The film has several twists and turns like that and creates a tense and bleak atmosphere in which you hope for a sunny resolution but at the end of which you are simply left saying "Damn…". Man on a Swing follows a cop (Cliff Robertson) investigating a murder and becoming involved with a creepy, malevolent little clairvoyant, played by Joel Grey, whom he begins to suspect may be more involved in one way or another than at first he thought. 

Three films about houses of psychotic women: The Corruption of Chris Miller (1973), Symptoms (1974) and Singapore Sling (1990). In The Corruption of Chris Miller, when he takes up residence in the isolated country home of two reclusive, repressed misandrist women, a man who is wrongly thought to be a particularly vicious serial killer, suffers for it.  Jose Ramon Larraz is one of my favorite horror directors and with Symptoms he created a truly great and atmospheric film about madness which imparts a rain-soaked sense of dread. Singapore Sling is a bizarre mashup of noir, horror and art film which tells the story of a detective searching for his missing lover and who winds up in the clutches of her murderers, a profoundly insane and incestuous mother-daughter pair who hold him hostage and incorporate him into their sex activities. 

Three films about female revenge: Lipstick (1976), Remember My Name (1978) and Tattoo (1981). Lipstick is a rape-revenge film starring Chris Sarandon and the Hemingway sisters, Margaux and Mariel. A slimy rapist is acquitted after attacking a model and sets his sites on her younger sister for which she removes him from the earth. Remember My Name is a stunning film starring Geraldine Chaplin and Anthony Perkins about a murderess being released from jail and tracking down her former husband and ruining his newfound marital bliss in a bid to win him back. Tattoo tells the story of a model (Maud Adams) being kidnapped, held hostage and inked by a deranged tattoo artist (Bruce Dern) who seeks to realize his masterpiece on a living canvas.

5 Underrated Monster Movies (Part IV)

Posted on By unkle lancifer

THE FLY II (1989) comes nowhere near reaching the heights of its brilliant parent film but folks who dismiss it as an empty also-ran are missing out on a strangely effective monster flick. The previous film’s tortured lovers Seth Brundle and Ronnie Quaife are now deceased but their tormented offspring Martin (Eric Stolz) continues their angst-filled legacy. There’s much scientific mumbo jumbo to weed through here but amongst the chaff are scenes of true heartbreak (don’t get me started on that poor deformed dog) and a wildly impressive final hulking fly-beast proudly presented by special effects artist turned directer, Chris Walas. All ends unhappily ever after for sure and the film’s depressing dour vibe may be mostly responsible for its negative reception but I can’t help but respect its unflinching gravitation toward the unpleasant ugliness of true horror.

THEY (2002) has approximately one diehard fan and I fear that may be yours truly. I can’t help it, it’s got an overall creepy waking-nightmare tone and it’s all about solemn adults digging up and dealing with the traumas of childhood (especially fears of the dark and of things that go bump in the night). Mia Farrow-esque Laura Reagan stars as psychology student Julia Lund who is endlessly trying her boyfriend Paul (Buffy’s Marc Lucas) Loomis’ patience due to her habit of spying grotesque gargoyle like creatures out of the corner of her eye and sometimes hallucinating an alternative dimension filled with such creatures. All involved believe she’s crazy but anyone who has seen the ABC 1973 made for television film DON’T BE AFRAID OF THE DARK knows she’s not. Directed by Robert Harmon who did the fantastic THE HITCHER (’86) and featuring solid performances (Ethan Emery as Julia’s childhood friend Sam is particularly good), the wrongly maligned THEY has much to offer for fans of the more psychological side of horror.

LEVIATHAN (’89) may have fared better if it was a little less stingy when it came to showing its central aquatic monster (designed by brilliant Stan Winston). No worries though, as intimidating as THE THING (’82)-leaning creature may be, the film’s most disturbing elements involve body horror and fear of contamination and disease. Part of the late eighties ALIEN (’79) underwater craze (see also THE ABYSS, DEEP STAR SIX, LORDS OF THE DEEP et. al.) LEVIATHAN separates itself from the fish school by not only having a likable cast (Peter Weller, Amanda Pays, Daniel Stern, Ernie Hudson, Richard Crenna, Hector Elizondo and Lisa Eilbacher) but also in my opinion, one of the greatest (and most punchable) villains in the frosty eyed Meg Foster as corporate ice-queen Ms. Martin. Written by David Webb Peoples (BLADE RUNNER) and Jeb Stuart (DIE HARD), directed by George P. Cosmatos (COBRA, TOMBSTONE), with a score by the phenomenal Jerry Goldsmith (THE OMEN, POLTERGEIST and the aforementioned ALIEN among sooo many others), LEVIATHAN has a pedigree that can’t be sneezed at. I’ll always wish there was a bit more of a solid, crystalizing view of the mutant baddie but this undervalued fish tale is a memorable thrill ride anyway.

SPOOKIES (’86) is more of a cinematic catalog of awesome eighties special make-up effects than an actual movie but you won’t hear me complaining. This crazy quilt of a movie has its reasons for being borderline incomprehensible (it was actually two different films that were joined together with the aid of some newly added tinker-toy connecting scenes) but who needs logic when you are dealing with an avalanche of the undead, farting mud monsters, witches, glowing-eyed grim reapers and even a giant web spewing spider lady? It’s even got one of those absolutely irresistible eighties synth scores! Sure, the characters are all slightly annoying but that only makes their inevitable demises that much more enjoyable. This is one true monster mash that has to be seen to be believed.

TerrorVision (’86) is a goofy, extremely eighties sci-fi/horror comedy about a destructive alien creature who looks like a mound of garbage that travels by way of television signals. Some say the only good cult films are those that are unintentional but this frothy, fun-time flick is as cult as they come and was surely built to be so. Surely the casting of Gerrit Graham (“Beef” from De Palma’s PHANTOM OF THE PARADISE) and cult Queen Mary Waranov (CHELSEA GIRLS, CHOPPING MALL, EATING RAOUL and countless more) as swinging parents sealed this film’s cult status fate from the get-go. Filling out the cast is the always excellent Diane Franklin (AMITYVILLE II: THE POSSESSION) portraying colorful new wave daughter Suzy, MONSTER SQUAD & FRIGHT NIGHT II’s Jon Gries as her punker boyfriend “O.D”, Chad Allen as the Rambo-obsessed youngest child and Bert Remsen as loony survivalist gramps. Directed by Ted Nicolaou of the SUBSPECIES series, produced, and co-written by the prolific Charles Band and featuring a score by Richard Band (RE-ANIMATOR, TROLL, FROM BEYOND etc.), TerrorVision is a non-stop barrage of enviable interior design, music video inspired sharp angles and fluorescent hues swirling around a gooey, bulging-eyed glob of a creature. What’s not to love?