Features

February 7 2011

My Bloody Valentine: The Secret Mastermind Theory

Thomas Ellison Features MBV Week, My Bloody Valentine, Theme Coverage 4

***WARNING*** HEAVY SPOILERS AHEAD***

If you’ve never seen My Bloody Valentine then you might want to skip this post. If you’ve seen My Bloody Valentine more times than you can count (like me), then this post will offer up a way to view the film in a very different light. If you decide to re-watch My Bloody Valentine after reading this post, make sure it’s the uncut, letter-boxed edition released by Lionsgate. Some of the clues mentioned here are missing from the full screen version.

February 5 2011

How Did Jamie Lee Curtis Really Feel About Slasher Movies?

Christian Sellers Features Halloween, Prom Night, Scream Queens, Terror Train 7

Whilst they no doubt launched her career and horror fans may still consider them amongst the best work that she has done, when Jamie Lee Curtis first entered the movie industry with a string of low budget slasher films critics were less-than-enthusiastic about her performances, whilst Curtis herself expressed frustration at having to play the same role over and over again.

February 5 2011

Fangoria #300

Thomas Ellison Features Magazines 3

Fangoria has reached a major milestone with its 300th issue available now. Instead of the usual retrospectives common with special anniversary issues, editor Chris Alexander and friends compiled a list consisting of 300 major horror films. Alexander admits his “intention” is to “inspire great debate amongst our readers.” Slasher fans will be happy to find a few favorites (Halloween, Friday the 13th, Maniac, Deep Red, Black Christmas, Silent Scream) made the list, but several great slashers are missing (Where the hell is My Bloody Valentine, The Prowler, and The Burning?). The biggest surprise about this landmark issue is some of the reviews are written by famous folks in the movie biz. Werner Herzog offers up his thoughts on Freaks. Vincent D’Onofrio reveals High Tension inspired him to make his slasher musical Don’t Go in the Woods. Tom Holland offers up thoughts on Psycho. Some really good, obscure horror films get some respect in this issue so it’s worth picking up if you’re a die hard horror or Fango fan.

February 3 2011

Creating Tom Savini’s Death in Maniac

Christian Sellers Features Special Effects 6

Tom Savini seemed to have had an obsession earlier in his career with destroying heads. First, the scalp of a zombie was removed by a helicopter propeller in Dawn of the Dead, then Betsy Palmer was decapitated at the end of Friday the 13th, whilst Farley Granger would meet his demise at the end of a shotgun barrel in The Prowler soon after. Yet, perhaps his most memorable decimation of the head saw Savini playing the victim, as his face would explode from a shotgun blast whilst making out with a young woman in William Lustig’s grindhouse classic Maniac.

February 2 2011

When Slashers Turn Nasty pt.1

Christian Sellers Features Video Nasties 7

The 1980s was a dark time for artistic freedom, with both music and movies being heavily censored by those that simply did not understand and were out of touch with what younger audiences found entertaining. Whilst musicians in the United States became targets of Tipper Gore and the Parents Music Resource Center (ranging from Judas Priest to Cyndi Lauper), it was horror movies that would fall foul of the censors in the United Kingdom, in what would become known as the ‘video nasties.’

February 1 2011

Severin DVD’s Double Serving Of Slashery

Dusk Features Bloody Birthday, DVD, Nightmares 5

We’re playing catch-up with things in the new year so here is some overdue DVD news from Severin. You already knew Bloody Birthday was on the way, and you’ll be pleased to hear what the cover plans are. An unforgettable image for an unforgettable pint-sized slasher storyline. Also on tap from Severin is Nightmares (1980, aka Stage Fright) makes for a fine Australian apology for Houseboat Horror, mixing drama and horror – “A little girl named Cathy tries to keep her mother from making out with a man while driving one day, and she inadvertently causes her mother’s death in the car crash. 16 years later, Cathy has changed her name to Helen and has become a psychotic actress. Things are going fine until horrible things starts to happened with the cast of her new play.”

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January 29 2011

Wes Craven’s Dream Warriors

Christian Sellers Features A Nightmare on Elm Street 6

Although A Nightmare on Elm Street would become one of the most popular horror franchises of all time, even as production on the first movie came to an end during the summer of 1984, none of the principals involved had given any thought to the possibility of a sequel. Writer-director Wes Craven had forfeited his rights to the story and characters in order to finance the picture, whilst New Line Cinema had staked their entire company on the gamble that the movie would be a success. But as soon as the box office takings were counted, studio president Robert Shaye needed little convincing that a second film would be a sound investment. “I’ve been accused of fighting for movies that could have sequels but that wasn’t really the case. I just felt the ending to the movie didn’t send the audience out with any great excitement,” stated Shaye in the 2010 documentary Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy, regarding his decision to add a short epilogue that indicated the film’s antagonist, Freddy Krueger, had not been defeated.

January 27 2011

Slashers and Urban Legends: The Baby-Sitter and the Man Upstairs

Thomas Ellison Features 1

The Legend: After putting the children to bed for the night, a baby-sitter receives a strange phone call. “Have you checked the children?,” the caller asks. At first, the baby-sitter thinks the calls are from friends trying to scare her. The stranger calls back later but now he asks,”Why haven’t you checked the children?” Now the baby-sitter is really frightened so she calls the police who promise to trace the calls. The real horror sets in when the police call back. “Get out now,” yells the officer. “The calls are coming from the upstairs extension. The caller is in the house.” When the police arrive, they find the children murdered in their beds and the gore soaked killer hiding in the bedroom closet.

January 26 2011

Retro Slashers Invites You To My Bloody Valentine Uncut Theatrical Screening At Alamo Drafthouse

Dusk Features My Bloody Valentine 39

Retro Slashers is teaming up with Blood Thirsty Thursdays for a theatrical screening night of George Mihalka’s 1981 Canadian ode to pick-axes, My Bloody Valentine (Review). Best of all, the print is UNRATED & UNCUT! Venue will be Alam0 Westlakes, San Antonio TX at both 8pm and 10.30pm on Thursday, Feb 10th. Tickets will be available at the Drafthouse website. Check out the flyer…

January 25 2011

Misleading Slasher Trailers

Thomas Ellison Features Final Exam 3

Final Exam: If you’ve ever seen the trailer for Halloween, then you may remember it ends with the line “The night HE came home.” The trailer for Final Exam uses the phrase “HE’s come back!” twice in an attempt to trick movie audiences into thinking the two films are somehow linked. No serious slasher fan is going to mistake Final Exam with Halloween. This trailer is aimed more at the casual horror fan looking for something to watch at the drive-in on a Saturday night. Left out of the trailer is the fact we never find out who “HE” is or why “HE” is stalking college kids.