Carrie has always been a film, and a book, close to my heart. I was bullied mercilessly throughout elementary and middle school, so I can really relate to and sympathize with the main character of Carrie White as she struggles with it herself in school as well as when she finally snaps when she's been pushed too far. With such a personal investment in the material, it's no wonder I liked Brian DePalma's 1976 adaptation so much.
One day after Gym class, Carrie White (played by Sissy Spacek) is showering when she gets her first period. Since her ultra-religious mother, Margaret (played by Piper Laurie), never her told her about sex or female human anatomy, Carrie is terrified and thinks she's dying. She runs to her classmates for help, who in turn mock her mercilessly and start throwing tampons and pads at her, chanting "plug it up!" until the gym teacher, Miss Collins (played by Betty Buckley), puts a stop to it. Horrified, Miss Collins gives all the girls a weeklong detention to be served on the athletic fields, and if they don't cooperate they are suspended and can't go to prom. One girl, Chris Hargenson (played by Nancy Allen) doesn't think it's fair and bails, vowing to get even with her boyfriend, Billy Nolan (played by John Travolta). Another of the girls, Sue Snell (played by Amy Irving) feels guilty over what happens and convinces her boyfriend, Tommy Ross (played by William Katt), to take Carrie to the prom in her place. When Chris learns of Sue's plans, she begins to plot the ultimate revenge on Carrie with Billy, unwittingly setting up the entire prom for disaster for Carrie White has a secret. She has telekinetic powers, the ability to move objects with her mind, and those powers are only getting stronger.
While Carrie has probably not aged well over the years, wearing it's mid-70's era on it's sleeve, if you can get past that part, the film remains just as potent, frightening and even surprisingly tender as ever. The performances are great in the film and it has a strong cast as well. Sissy Spacek is great as Carrie, portraying the vulnerability of Carrie who over the course of the film finds her inner strength and starts to come out of her shell. Piper Laurie is intense and frightening as Carrie's extremely religious mother in a performance that would seem over the top to me if I didn't already know there were people like that in the world. Nancy Allen is memorably nasty as mean girl Chris, with John Travolta being equally nasty as her boyfriend Billy.
Brian DePalma directed the film with a lot of his signature styles he would use time and time again with usage of deep focus, filters, unique camera angles and even some great use of split screen to memorable effect. He also makes great use of slow motion leading up to the climactic moment when the prom goes terribly, terribly wrong, first for Carrie and then for everyone else. It's not really a spoiler since DePalma gives takes the audience through every step leading up to the Prom so we know exactly what is going to happen and the entire film is built around this moment anyway. We all know it's coming and DePalma is slowly ratcheting up the tension every step of the way.
Overall, Carrie remains a classic of the horror genre on the strength of both it's story and it's performances. It's a film, and book, that resonated with me when I say it when I was in middle school and remains to be one for me today. It may be a little dated in some respects, but in others it remains as relevant as ever.
I first became acquainted with The Rocky Horror Picture Show during my high school years during my time working in the theatre department, as it should be in retrospect. I've been to the midnight shows a few times but I also just genuinely love the film. With the new version airing on the Fox network, I figured it was time to revisit the iconic original film.
Newly engaged Brad (played by Barry Bostwick) and Janet (played by Susan Sarandon) are on their way to announce their engagement to the man they feel is responsible for them meeting in the first place, Dr. Everett Scott (played by Jonathan Adams). On the way to meet him, one of their tires blows out, stranding them in the storming weather. They go looking for a phone at a nearby castle. There they are greeted by the handyman, Riff-Raff (played by Richard O'Brien) and house maid Magenta (played by Patricia Quinn). Soon after, they meet other house members and guests before meeting the master of the house, Dr. Frank N. Furter (played by Tim Curry), a cross dressing, pansexual mad scientist. Frank invites Brad and Janet to stay for the party, a celebration for his latest creation. Not unlike Frankenstein, Frank has made himself a man. But instead of a crudely stitched together monstrosity, Frank has made a blonde haired, blue eyed hunk named Rocky (played by Peter Hinwood). What follow is a bizarre and strange night that will both horrify and then slowly break down the inhibitions of the square Brad and Janet, leaving them very different people in the morning.
There is something about The Rocky Horror Picture Show that has always been irresistible to me. Much of the credit has to go to Richard O'Brien who wrote the original stage show the film is based on and co-wrote the film with Jim Sharman. The film is a loving tribute to the 50's Sci-Fi and Horror B-movies while also being as outrageous and strange as it possibly can be. But yet, underneath all the outrageousness, there is the rather empowering message of "Don't Dream it, Be It," as Dr. Frank sings during the climactic Floor Show musical number. The fact that Dr. Frank lives so openly and so freely and the impact he has on his new guests is part of why the film has endured for the last 41 years. The music is really catchy too, with such standouts as "The Time Warp," "Sweet Transvestite," and "Hot Patootie" among them. Honestly, I love all of the songs and know all of them by heart.
The film has a strong cast as well, led by Tim Curry as Dr. Frank N. Furter in such an iconic performance that it's hard to separate the two. He just completely owns the role and gives such a spirited performance in the film. Barry Bostwick and Susan Sarandon do well as Brad and Janet who start the film as two very conservative squares and through the film loosen up more and more as they become more exposed to Frank's decadent life. Meat Loaf shows up as motorcycle riding Eddie for one song, Hot Patootie, before being murdered by a jealous, ice axe wielding Frank, but it's a hell of a song. Richard O'Brien is the definitive Riff Raff and his performance of not only "The Time Warp" but the opening song, "Science Fiction/Double Feature" are perfection.
After all these years, I still genuinely love The Rocky Horror Picture Show. There has never been a movie quite like it that has quite reached the public the way it has. It continues to show in theatres across the country in midnight shows where the audience has call backs they shout back at the movie, a shadow cast that acts out the movie themselves in front of the screen as the audience uses various props during corresponding scenes in the film. It's a film going experience unlike any other that really has become a rite of passage for many. Some will pass it off, saying that they're just having fun with a bad movie. In several interviews, people will bring up Rocky Horror with Susan Sarandon, expecting her to brush it off or say something negative, but each time she's praised it, saying she loves it. Me too, Susan.
I've always had a soft spot for Little Shop of Horrors. Based on an ultra-cheap Roger Corman B-movie and an off-Broadway Musical inspired by said film, this film is a unique blend of musical, dark humor and horror. With a winning and catchy Musical score by Howard Ashman and Alan Menken and a fantastic cast, this has always been a favorite for me.
Down on his luck Seymour Krelborn (played by Rick Moranis) works at a Flower Shop in a slum neighborhood known as Skid Row owned by Mr. Mushnik (played by Vincent Gardenia). Also working in the store is Audrey (played by Ellen Greene), who is in a relationship with her abusive boyfriend Orin Scrivello (played by Steve Martin) and also Seymour's crush. With sales down at the store and not a single customer, Mushnik threatens to close the store. Audrey is able to talk him out of it by suggesting Seymour display a strange plant he found in the shop window. It is a strange little plant, named Audrey II by Seymour, a sort of Venus Fly Trap. Almost immediately, new customers flood the store with new business. But the plant starts to wither and while trying to nurse it back, Seymour learns his exotic new plant feeds on human blood. Initially, Seymour feeds the plant some of his blood to get it to grow, but as the plant grows bigger, so does its appetite.
There is a lot of love about Little Shop of Horrors. First off, it's a fantastic musical, with great lyrics and music written by Howard Ashman and Alan Menken crafting some very catchy and memorable songs. The film makes a successful transition from the Broadway stage to the big screen by director Frank Oz, who does a great job of opening up the film and keeping it from feeling too stagey. The actors do a great job, especially Rick Moranis and Ellen Greene, who created two characters so lovable the filmmakers had to change the ending (more on that later). Levi Stubbs (of The Four Tops) provided the voice of the plant Audrey II and does a phenomenal job as well, giving that plant so much personality. There is also our Greek chorus of sorts that work their way through the film, known as Crystal (played by Tichina Arnold), Ronette (played by Michelle Weeks), and Chiffon (played by Tisha Campbell), and named after famed 50's/60's girls groups, The Crystals, the Ronettes and The Chiffons.
I also have to give props to the Special Effects team who brought Audrey II to life so convincingly. Played by several puppets at various stages of growth through the film, the way they made it work in the later stages to look so natural is an impressive feat of practical effects work. What they did was film the puppet at a slower speed and then when played back at normal speed would appear to be talking at a natural speed. Of course, this meant anytime an actor, usually Moranis, was in the same shot as the talking plant, they had to act out the scene in slow motion or mouth singing in slow motion. The fact that it looks all so seamless on screen is a testament to both the effects department and Moranis for pulling it off so well.
The other big thing with the movie is the issue of it's ending. Now, if you don't want to know how it ends, you should leave now. Everyone who doesn't want spoilers gone? Good. Now, initially the movie ended just like the stage show. Audrey II eats everyone and the plant, as well as the plant's off spring, grow to monster size and take over the world in an extravaganza of model effects that still look impressive today. However, test audiences recoiled at an ending that saw their beloved Seymour and Audrey getting devoured by the plant and the film in turn received dismal scores. Realizing the stage show ending wasn't going to work, they re-shot the ending with Seymour triumphing over Audrey II and having his happy ending with Audrey. But, now with the wonders of Blu-Ray, we can have it both ways with the theatrical cut or the restored Director's Cut with the fully restored original ending. As for which one I prefer, it can vary. I enjoy the happy ending, but also the effects work on the original ending is genuinely impressive, if also a bit horrifying.
Little Shop of Horrors never quite reached the cult film levels of say Rocky Horror Picture Show, but remains a fun musical all in it's own with some great performances and some genuinely catchy music that has actually been stuck in my head since I watched the movie.
I'm such a sucker for movies like Howl. Take a group of strangers, stick them in a dire situation and force them to band together in order to survive. In the case of this film, it's a group of people stranded on a broken down commuter train forced to band together to fend off a pack of vicious werewolves. Sounds like my kind of movie.
Joe (played by Ed Speleers) is a guard (or conductor, as we know them in America) for a line of commuter trains servicing the London area to the various suburbs. He's about to get off a long shift when he discovers that 1. He has been turned down for the Supervisor position he applied for and 2. Since someone else called in sick, he has to do one more run, a red-eye train headed for Edinburgh. The passenger list is a light one with only a handful of people on board, but things look up when it turns out a girl he has a crush on, Ellen (played by Holly Weston), is manning the tea trolley. Things take a dark turn when the train has to make an emergency stop after hitting a deer and the driver, Tony (played by Sean Pertwee), goes to investigate and clear the carcass, when he's attacked and dragged away into the woods, leaving the passengers stranded. As the group becomes aware of the situation outside when an attempt to hike to the nearest station goes south, the hastily return to the train and wait for rescue. As the events wear on, a power struggle erupts between Joe and one of the passengers, Adrian (played by Elliot Cowan), as Joe tries to keep order and the passengers safe from the threat outside until help can arrive.
The survival horror genre, which Howl falls neatly into, has a fairly well worn set of tropes which this film includes. But what made the film work for me were how well drawn the characters were as a whole and that made me want to root for them to survive. Ed Speleers makes for a great and unlikely hero as his character of Joe is put through the ringer over the course of the night and quickly grows into an assertive leader of the group. It also had a unique setting of a commuter train, something mundane and everyday, turned into a nightmare scenario. It's also easy for me to get into movies like this because it always gets me thinking of what I would do in this scenario. For the most part, the characters don't really make any bad decisions as the film goes along, which always helps. The film is well directed by Peter Hyett from a script by Mark Huckerby and Nick Ostler. The film wastes no time in getting started and keeps a brisk pace all the way through to the end, which in this type of film always helps. The effects are strong as well, with some really interesting creature design on the werewolves, which can always make or break a creature feature like this.
There is one thing about this movie that really bugged me is something that I've seen in a lot of movies and something I've grown really tired of is the bumbling, wimpy fat guy trope. There is a character in this movie that is one of the worst examples of this character type, constantly eating or in the bathroom and exists only to be really pathetic and eventually werewolf chow. Completely useless and really has no point in the movie except to be more cannon fodder. One more death scene. As an overweight person, but also a strong, competent, tough and smart person constantly seeing this image projected back at me as somehow overweight equals weak and pathetic is starting to really bug me. It's a small nitpick in an otherwise satisfying monster movie, but a nitpick nonetheless.
Aside from that though, Howl is a fun monster movie with plenty of suspense and thrills. If you're into this sort of thing, it'd be one worth checking out for sure. It's currently available for streaming on Hulu.
"Do you like puzzles?"
There are movies that will grab my attention just on the basis of their trailer and The Accountant was definitely one of them. With a intriguing plot and a unique and intriguing main character, I knew it was one I had to see. I certainly was not disappointed either.
Christian Wolff (played by Ben Affleck) is a highly sought after accountant who had secretly worked with some of the biggest criminal organizations in the world to help them uncook their books and find out where the embezzlement occurred in their organization and who was responsible. When he's not working with higher profile clients, he works in his accounting office in an unassuming strip mall in suburban Illinois. He helps down on their luck people with their taxes, such as one couple who in repayment for his services they let him target practice with his rifles on their farm. Because, you see, when you work for dangerous people, there may come a time where they decide you'd be better off dead and Christian is well prepared for that possibility. Meanwhile, Treasury Director Ray King (played by J.K Simmons) has started to piece together that Christian has helped different criminal organizations and wants to find him. He assigns the case to Marybeth Medina (played by Cynthia Addai-Robinson) to track down Christian for him, letting her know she is only to report directly to him regarding it.
Christian takes a new job with a local robotics company run by Lamar Black (played by John Lithgow), who have hired him to go over their books after a large discrepancy was found by another accountant, Dana Cummings (played by Anna Kendrick). Christian sets to working the records of the company and finds the source after working the numbers over the course of one night. Shortly after sharing their findings with the heads of the company, they find themselves targeted by several assassins, including the mysterious and charismatic Braxton (played by Jon Bernthal), forcing Christian and Dana to go on the run together and try to figure who wants them dead and why.
While the plot of the film may seem routine thriller plotting, the execution is what makes the difference. A big part of what made the film work for me was the character of Christian. Ben Affleck turns in a fantastic performance playing an autistic and brilliant man who has a unique talent for both math and numbers. At the same time, Christian had a father who was career military and as they traveled around, he wanted to ensure no one took advantage of Christian, teaching him what he knew and finding others in whatever country they were stationed in to teach him further self defense skills. This results in a unique character who is brilliant, not very social, but if the need arises can be very lethal. It's a unique movie hero and Affleck's performance makes the character very intriguing and compelling. The other actors turn in good performances as well. I liked the interactions between Kendrick and Affleck's characters and am glad that they didn't try to force any sort of romance between the two. But still, the characters bonded and those scenes were great as well with small scenes such as the one where Affleck explained he took them to an expensive hotel rather than the Holiday Inn Express to hide out at because the towels were softer (also because he thought she would like it). I just love little character details like that.
The film was directed by Gavin O'Connor from a script written by Bill Dubuque. The film is very well plotted, but is one that requires attention with scenes at the beginning of the film not paying off completely until almost the end of the film. That's part of what I loved about this film though. Much like the main character, the film is a puzzle and asks it's viewer to start piecing together all the parts of the film together. It all comes together wonderfully at the end as the pieces all come together, but it does depend on the viewer to remember what happened before and keep up with the narrative. It's a bit deeper than your usual action thriller and I enjoyed that about it. The narrative isn't overly dense of complicated, but if you're going to sit down and watch the movie, do that. That's why the theatre is ideal for a movie like this because it forces you to remain perfectly attentive without distractions. The plotting of the film also held some nice surprises and did not end quite like I thought it would, which is always nice when a movie can pleasantly surprise me like that.
Overall, I really enjoyed The Accountant. With a fantastic performance from Ben Affleck and a solid supporting cast and a great story as well as strong direction behind it, this was a fantastic film that I thoroughly enjoyed beginning to end.
I needed a bit of a palate cleanser after the vile High Tension and the simultaneously charming and frightening film Lady in White fit the bill quite nicely. With a genuinely thrilling and creepy story, this film is a fantastic ghost story in the traditional sense. It's one I first saw as a kid and is a film I remembered enjoying a lot. It was recently released on Blu-Ray by Scream Factory and I relished the chance to revisit it.
Frankie Scarlatti (played by Lucas Haas) lives in the small coastal town of Willowpoint Falls with his Dad, Angelo (played by Alex Rocco), older brother Geno (played by Jason Presson) and his grandparents. After school on Halloween, Frankie is locked in the cloakroom by two of the school bullies, Donald (played by Jared Rushton) and Louie (played by Gregory Levinson). Unable to get out, Frankie decides to wait until someone finds him. No one comes though and soon night falls. While there, Frankie witnesses the incredible sight of the ghost of a girl roughly his age, Melissa Ann Montgomery (played by Joelle Jacobi), who is dancing around and talking to another unseen person. Soon, the scene turns dark as she is attacked and strangled by the same unseen person. The unseen person then picks up Melissa's body and walks out with it. Just after that, in present day, a man walks into the cloakroom and starts trying to unscrew the grate cover to the vent in the room when he notices Frankie in the corner. The man attacks Frankie, strangling him to unconsciousness. When he's revived by his father and recovers, he realizes he's just witnessed the murder of the first of several kids that have haunted their small town over the past ten years. Indeed, Frankie just may be able to piece together who actually is responsible, with some help from his brother Geno and the ghost of Melissa herself, as well as how Melissa connects to the legendary ghost, The Lady in White as well as the mysterious woman (played by Katherine Helmond) haunting the cottage by the cliffs.
There is a lot to really love about Lady in White. Writer and Director Frank LaLoggia crafted a unique and memorable ghost story with a mixture of thrills, chills, mystery, humor and even a little magic. There is also a liberal dose of nostalgia, given the film's period setting of 1962, but LaLoggia manages to balance it all nicely and creates the film that is alternately putting a smile on my face or scaring the crap out of me. It's a unique mix, but it works. LaLoggia does a great job creating scares and thrilling scenes with style and mood rather than gore and I appreciated that. It's not an easy thing to do but he manages to pull it off. Part of what makes it work so well is that outside of the ghost story elements, the film is firmly planted in the everyday reality of the time period the story is set. The film even manages to work in the civil rights movement and racism into the story in a strong and poignant way when the Black school janitor is wrongfully accused of the killings and attacking Frankie. The characters in the film are also well drawn, especially Frankie and his family. There is a genuine love portrayed between them that really helps sell the story and the relationships between Frankie, Geno, and their father Angelo. Also, I really love the score for the film, composed by director Frank LaLoggia, and in fact I was listening to it while writing this review. It's filled with memorable themes that really add some extra flavor to the film.
Revisiting this film after so many years was a joy. There were scenes I remembered so clearly in my mind and to see them play out again and seeing how well I remembered them was a treat. Scream Factory did a fantastic job on the Blu-ray with three different cuts of the film included (Theatrical, Director's Cut, and extended Director's Cut). Along with a commentary track and assorted other features, it's the best this film has been presented. This will no doubt become a Halloween staple in my house in the years to come as I enjoyed it just as much now, as an adult, as I did as a kid if not more so. If you're in the mood for a stylish and spooky ghost story, this would be a good one to check out.
High Tension first caught my attention the same way many movies do, by having a really great trailer. This one was well done with no dialogue really and the whole thing being told through images with Sonic Youth's cover of "Superstar" playing over it (you can watch it here). It was evocative and memorable. I had to see it. When I did, I was really enjoying it until I got to the ending and then I saw the entire film fall apart for me before my eyes. Now, 13 years later, I've decided to give the movie a second chance to see if it really was as terrible of an ending as I remembered.
Marie (played by Cecile de France) is traveling with her friend Alex (played by Maiwenn) to Alex's parent's house in the French countryside for the weekend. Upon meeting her parents and little brother, everyone settles in for a quiet evening. Later that night, the doorbell rings and Alex's father answers it to find a stranger at the door. The stranger attacks Alex's Dad, killing him and makes his way into the house. Marie is the first one to be awoken by the chaos and tries to find a phone to call for help while avoiding detection by the killer. The killer (played by Phillipe Nahon), proceeds to murder Alex's mother and then her little brother. He takes Alex and chains her up in his rusty, old truck. While the killer checks out the house one more time, Marie jumps into the back of the truck to try and free her friend but winds up getting locked in the back with her by accident (the killer is unaware she is also back there). The killer departs with both ladies in the back and it's going to be up to Marie to use all her wits to find a way out of the situation and free both herself and her friend.
The film was directed by Alexandre Aja, who also co-wrote the script with Gregory Levasseur, and made a bit of a name for himself as a horror director with this grisly little horror flick and went on to move over to America to make several films over here, including the remake of The Hills Have Eyes, Mirrors, and Horns. This was sort of his breakthrough film though and for at least the first 3/4 of the film (we'll get to the ending later), it's easy to see why. High Tension is as advertised. It is a tense, suspenseful and uncompromising horror film. It's not hard to want to root for Marie and Alex to get out of their situation and hopefully turn the tables on their vile and despicable captor. I was particularly attached to Marie, who turns out to be one tough cookie, keeping her cool and working out how to get out of their predicament. She was a smart and capable heroine. I really liked her character and Cecile de France did a great job portraying her. And then we got to the ending. If you don't want to know how this film ends, you should turn back now because I'm going to spoil the hell out of it for you otherwise.
Everyone who doesn't want to be spoiled gone now? Ok, good. Here is the horribly misdirected twist the movie throws out for the last quarter of the film: Marie and the Killer are the same person. Marie has dissociative identity disorder and has kidnapped Alex because she is in love with her, or at least thinks she is. Now, there were lesbian undertones throughout the film between Marie and Alex, but somehow with this revelation that all becomes uglier and even distasteful. The ending felt like a betrayal to me as a viewer. I had spent three quarters of this movie fully invested in Marie and her attempts to rescue Alex. I cheered her on as she finally took out the killer, wailing on him with a fence post wrapped in barbed wire. But then this movie pulls out this asinine 180 on us that renders large portions of the movie completely pointless. The scene where Marie is trying to warn the cashier at the gas station about the killer and then subsequently trying to hide from him within the store? Completely pointless now. Nevermind trying to figure out what parts of the story were real and which parts were part of Marie's imagination. Suddenly, with this ill thought out twist, the entire movie becomes an aggravating and frustrating affair. If I could remake one movie, it would be this one. Dump the idiotic twist ending, make the lesbian subtext text (Alex is bringing Marie, her girlfriend, home to meet her parents), horror plot continues. The whole film would flow better and be much more rewarding in the end.
High Tension is 3/4 of an effective horror thriller with a terrible ending that not only wrecks the movie but somehow makes it uglier, repugnant and unpleasant. It really did ruin the movie for me, which is shame because for awhile it was going great. As it is though, it's a total mess. All because of that stupid ending.
