Barrys horror haven

Braindead / dead alive.
1992

Long before peter jackson hit the big time with the lord of the rings trilogy , he directed some low budget horror comedies . His directorial debut being 1987s bad taste but then came this .
A sumatran rat monkey from skull island ( im sure you get the movie nod here ) finds its way to the us and bites our protagonists mother from there on out it becomes a zombie flick
Brain dead is a horror comedy that doesnt take itself seriously at all , its full of gross out moments and is as gory as hell , in fact upon its release in 92 it was probably the goriest english language film in history while the gore is very ott its probably not for the squeamish
Its a movie that blends laughs and horror to near perfection , we get zombies having s*x , a kung fu priest a dog being eaten and youll probably never look at a lawnmower the same way again after seeing the climax of this movie .
As low budget hortor comedy goes the movie is a real triumph and its quite easy to see how this movie has amassed the cult following it has.
Its just a fun, humourous ride that ll please all the gorehounds out there

Black christmas 1974

Seeing as were etching towards Christmas i thought its only fitting to review this film from bob clark
4 years before Halloween a little movie called black Christmas was released and while it didnt acheive the huge commercial success that Halloween acheived , the movie has gone on to amass a cult following and is now widely recognised as being a horror classic and deservedly so.
Needless to say its set during the christmas period , a group of girls in a sorority house are being stalked and killed one by one by an unseen killer.
What really makes this movie work imo is the air of mystery to it , very little is seen of the killer. There are many pov shots which soon became a huge staple of the slasher genre, we only get small glimpses of the killer. Theres s a great sense of atmosphere to the movie and its emphasis is very much more on suspense as opposed to gore.
The telephone calls that the killer makes to the girls are pretty disturbing and theres a real sense of menace , the killer in this movie i do find scary for simply how deranged they are.
Despite the movies dark tone there are some small injections of wry humour throughout but it never at any point dampens the tone of the movie and all of its actors play their roles well , olivia Hussey makes for a great " final girl " and Margot kidder is certainly a standout as foul mouthed barb. Also the movies ending which i wont spoil, is i think a great ending to this movie and one that doesnt quite get enough appreciation.
Overall i think black christmas is one of the very best movies of its sub genre and even 45 years later it proves to be an effectively scary movie. Oh and i love the movies tagline which is on the poster.also less said about the 2006 remake the better!

Killer klowns from outer space 1988

Killer klowns is a film that i looove for the sheer wackiness of it , not a strict horror per se.
Its a sci fi/ comedy/ horror.
Aliens disguised as clowns are taking over the earth ,what more do you need to know.
Killer klowns as silly as it may seem actually puts a unique spin on the tired old formula of alien invasion movies,it brings a lot of fresh and innovative ideas to the table.
Without divulging in spoilers theres moments and scenes in this movie that youll not see in any other film,it really does stand out from the crowd of movies of its genre.
This isnt a movie you watch for the good performances although im always happy seeing john vernon on screen ,after all its a b movie from.top to bottom
and needless to say it s a film that doesnt take itself too seriously amd just has a lot of fun with the ideas it presents, despite it having a pretty small budget ive got to say its practical effects are very good! Anyone that knows me knows im a sucker for great practical effects.
While its not an out and out horror movie anyone thats coulrophobic may find it scary i guess snd theres 2 particular scenes in the movie that i think would be a coulrophobics absolute nightmare. Occasionally the film will veer into slightly darker terrority albeit in a subtle manner.
Also i must note i love the films theme song, its so cheesy but by god ots catchy!
Its a film that has garnered a loyal cult following over the years and deservedly so. Probably my fave b movie of all time .

An American werewolf in london 1981

Another horror flick that i feel needs no real introduction, ive always had a love for werewolves ever since watching the grand daddy of werewolf movies - 1941s the wolf man with lon chaney jr and the legendary bela lugosi
An American werewolf in london is a film that stands at the front of the pack.
The story - 2 americans backpacking in england cross the moors and are attacked by a werewolf , one is killed snd the other well i think you know where this going ....
What john landis does so well in this film is masterfully blend humour and horror, its a film that manages to be quite scary but also injects humour into the proceedings.
Davids frequented visits by his dead friend warning him of whats to come snd that he has to take his own life is one of my favourite aspects of the movie.
The movie boasts tremendous practical effects for which rick baker deservedly won an oscar and they still hold up pretty darn well now , the initial transformation scene is just phenomenal.

Also i love the movies use of music , all of the songs having an allude to the moon ,the songs complement the movie perfectly.
Its a movie that at its core is an old fashioned monster movie but directed in such a way that theres a degree of freshnness to it. Its hard to successfully blend horror with humour but landis deftly does it as werewolf movies go i believe its one of the very best if not arguably the best!
It must be noted there was a movie called an American werewolf in Paris ,released in 97 but less said about that mess the better!! :)

Goodnight boils and ghouls!

Having watched this again recently for the first time since its release in 2013 i definitely think this film is somewhat underrated. As haunted mirror movies go its quite a gem! :)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GY1oeoVD_zI&feature=share

Surely one of the scariest trailers of all time.
Fats = creepiest dummy ever commited to celluloid:)

Magic - 1978 Trailer Magic - 1978 Trailer

Night of the living dead 1968

A horror movie that i feel needs no real introduction, its very much the grandaddy of zombie movies and in this one movie george a romero set the template for zombie movies to follow ,establishing conventions that practically every zombie movie would utilise , ie if bitten youll become a zombie snd shooting them in the head will kill them.
It starts with a brother and sister visiting a cemetery, one of the living dead is encountered and what soon follows is a night of survival against the living dead .
Notld i think is another of them shining examples that you can make an effective movie on the smallest of budgets , shot in black and white which only adds to the films creepiness, theres a definite almost twilight zone esque aesthetic to it ,the sense of claustrophobia that the movie generates, its in these situations that you and above all the zombies are scary, i mean this was 1968 and there was little money to work with so they wont look as scary as modern dsy zombies were used to seeing today most notably in things like the walking dead but the idea of the dead coming back to life was a very scary one and interestingly the looks of the zombies were inspired by the ghouls from another 60s horror classic carnival of souls.
I think even to this day notld is an effectivly scary movie and is certainly one of the most influential horror movies of all time that deserves its cult status, romero essientlly created the zombie genre with this movie and while its a horror film i do feel it makes some social commentry too. And without divulging in spoilers, to me it has one of the most menorable endings in the history of horror . A true classic of the genre.
It must be noted that its 1990 remake directed by sfx guru tom savini is most certainly worth a watch too .

The tenant 1976

Not a horror movie per se , more a psychological thriller that certainly does contain some horror elements to it .
Polanskis third and final movie in his " apartment trilogy" the first 2 being repulsion and rosemary's baby is another movie that probes into the deepest recesses of a characters mind , the plot follows a young , quiet man that moves into an apartment to find out the former tenant commited su***de and he soon becomes convinced that all the other occupants of the building are trying to drive him crazy and get him to do the same.
Much like the aforementioned movies the tenant is a film that blurs the lines between fantasy and reality , a mans mind gradually becoming distorted, is he crazy or is there something sinister afoot. theres a great sense of claustrophobia to it, and it manages to create a real sense of unease ,which is helped tremendously by its underlying score.The movie does require some deciphering, things aren't spelt out to the audience. Polanksi does fine in the lead role and with directing duties, interestingly though he didnt credit himsekf for the lead role .
While its not considered to be the classic that rosemary's baby is , if your a fan of slow burning psychological horror movies that likes a film that relies heavily upon its tone cannot recommend it enough . I feel its somewhat under appreciated and over shadowed by polanskis earlier movies. Ive always loved and found horror movies that have a very psychological component to them, scarier and this is very much one of them movies.

Trick r treat 2007

Now anyone that knows me well , knows i have a profound love for anthologies both in tv and movie format. So when i heard of this little halloween themed anthology movie called trick r treat was coming out which had brian singer attached to it i was excited to say the least and by god it delivered more than i even expected
The movie is ( obviously) set on halloween night and each of its 4 stories are so cleverly interwoven with each other , its this structure that makes this movie stand out from the crowd from the vast majority of anthology movies , you'll almost certainly notice things on a second viewing that you didnt see first time round , its more layered than you first realise!
The movie manages to be funny , i particularly love dylan bakers character and provides a lot of classic horror tropes that will keep genre fans happy ,
The movie does an excellent job of capturing the very essence and spirit of halloween, its like a love letter to the classic anthologies of yesteryear also ,the ec horror comics of the 1950s being a big source of inspiration i believe. It pays homage but also has its very own identity and keeps things fresh , theyll be things you sure as hell dont see coming!
Special mention has to be made for sam , its titular character which i firmly believe has all the makings to be a horror icon if this was to go beyond one movie
Trick r treat i think is a real treat for horror fans especially ones that like / love anthologies, this isnt a movie that received much attention upon intial release for one amazingly it wasnt released theatrically but it has amassed quite the cult following since and deservedly so .
Although halloween is a horror classic this may actually be my fave halloween centred movie! Its just so much fun! And id be all for a sequel! Which may possibly happen.

Blair witch project 1999

One of THE most divisive horror movies of all time
And here we have the movie that essientlly kickstarted the whole found footage genre although it was cannibal holocaust 20 years earlier that was very much the first of its kind, it was the huge success of Blair witch project that showed such films can make big money at the box office. Its easy to see why the genre has become so over saturated now , such movies are cheap to make and are almost guaranteed some degree of profit.
The concepts a simple one , 3 teens go deep into the woods to make a documentary about the supposed Blair witch , needless to say things start going awry.
What i really like about the Blair witch is its level of authenticity, it feels what were watching is real people in a real situation. Nothing feels scripted! Few found footage films since Blair witch i feel have conveyed the same level of realism.
Its very much a psychological horror movie , relying heavily on ones own imagination, there are literally no special effects or jump scares. In fact theres not even a glimpse of the " blair witch "
Much of the movie is really the interactions between the teens and the growing tensions and paranoia that develops ,
Personally i really liked the movie and felt it was a breath of fresh air within the horror genre but i fully understand as to why someone would hate it! It is certainly one of THE most divisive horror movies of all time! Admittedly i feel some of the films power has been lost since its release due to the fact we know its not real but back in 99 this movie was marketed in such a clever way that many people who watched it felt what they were watching was in fact genuine. Obviously the film was a huge success and it was the profitable movie of all time that is until the arrival of paranormsl activity.
Blair witch i feel is by no means a classic but its a film that brought the found footage film to the masses and its one of the very best of its kind.

Scream 1996

In 1996 the slasher genre was pretty much on its last legs , then along came scream! Which essentially revived and reinvented the subgenre.
In a small town a killer is taking their love of horror movies one step too far and preying upon the locals ,
A big slice of postmodern horror that celebrates the movies of yesteryear whilst at the same time wryly mocks them, its a movie that plays on the conventions that weve all come to know and love
Its very much a loveletter to the genre and its clear to see that its writer kevin williamson has a true passion for the genre, with its plethora of references and easter eggs to appease us horror fans.
Its script by williamson is nothing short of great and it deftly blends humour and horror , which isnt the easiest of things to do .
The entire cast do a fantastic job of bringing the script to life this includes roger l jacksons suitably menacing voice as the voice of " ghostface" and with wes craven at the helm the movie has all the right ingredients and its easy to see why this movie was a success and was in fact the highest grossing slasher movie of all time for a long time!
The ghostface costume is nothing short of iconic and although the costume has been donned by many a person now its almost as if ghostface has become a character in his own right.
Scream i think is an intelligent movie that pokes some fun at the genre while paying so much homage to it , its a fun and intense ride that manages to be both funny and thrilling and as a whodunnit it works marvelously well . I for one did not see that killer reveal coming!!
It breathed some new life into the genre which is why we soon got i kno what you did last summer , urban legend etc all attempting to capitalise on the success of scream but none of these movies could match what scream had going for it
A modern horror classic

Jason or michael , whos your fave?

An under rated movie :) for anyone that loves the slasher genre and enjoys all its conventions i highly recommend

81 was an incredibly busy year for the slasher genre, the subgenre became saturated very quickly but heres some of the best from 81. Excluding franchise slashers of course like Friday the 13th and halloween . The burning( another camp site slasher flick following in the footsteps of friday the 13th) and prowler both feature some top notch gore effects from tom savini! And well my bloody valentine probably needs no real introduction :)

Halloween 1978.

now where to start on this classic horror flick . This is the movie that essentially gave birth to the slasher genre , while there were movies with similar concepts that predate it ( most notably 1974s black christmas ) theres no denying it was the commercial success of halloween that opened the floodgates for countless imitators to follow.
The concept is a simple one , young 6 year old michael myers stabs his sister to death on halloween night , hes institutionalised and escapes 15 years later and proceeds to make his way back home and wreak havoc on halloween night again .
Its a film that has such a simple premise but its power is in its ex*****on, its directed with much finesse by john carpenter. The movies emphasis is very much on suspense, michael spends the vast majority of the movie stalking his victims and you get a real sense of him being the boogeyman! you never quite know where michael is gonna come from next . Carpenter makes great use of its wide angles and steadicam and the score ( composed by carpenter himself) cannot be praised enough , it complements the movie perfectly! And is without a doubt one of the most iconic scores in the history of horror cinema
Halloween is a movie thats emphasis is on suspense, the film has a low body count and theres practically no blood on show , Michael myers is an iconic horror figure and its pretty easy to see why , the mask ( originally a william shatner mask ) ,is scary and theres an almost supernatural element to him .
Starring established actor Donald pleasance and giving Jamie lee curtis her breakout role and although john carpenter had directed 2 movies prior , its with halloween that he truly cemented himself a place on the horror map.
All in all i think halloween is a movie that played an important part in the history of horror and if we didnt have it we d probably not have the likes of Friday the 13th( which became the first slasher movie to be backed by a major studio), my bloody valentine, terror train etc. Few slasher movies have come close to what halloween was able to achieve, another movie that joins the ranks with texas chainsaw , night of the living dead etc that you dont need much money to make a good movie! A classic .