182: The Silence of the Lambs

The Silence of the Lambs (R) - 1991 - Runtime: 118 minutes
Starring: Anthony Hopkins, Jodi Foster
Director: Jonathan Demme

The only thing I remember about this movie - and it's not really a memory about the movie, but a reference from another one. In the Cable Guy, Jim Carrey and Matthew Brokerick are at the Medieval place and Carrey puts chicken skin over his face and says in a very bad impression of Hannibal Lecter, "Silence....of the Laambs." Ahh, I love that movie, but I never understood the reference until now. I can't believe I missed out on this movie because it's just so good. I don't particularly seek out serial killer thrillers, but this one is almost perfect.

Clarice Starling is an up and coming star FBI agent who's been assigned to find the serial killer known as Buffalo Bill - a man who kills and then skins the women he abducts. The best lead on the case is locked up in glass chamber, deep underground. A known serial killer, cannibal and once renowned psychologist, Hannibal Lecter might be the only link to stopping Buffalo Bill. I was not expecting this movie to be good, but it's better than that. This movie gets under you skin. And I'm not talking about Hannibal Lecter. For some reason, I thought he was mildly humorous and definitely not threatening. Well, at least throughout most of the movie. But he's a villain you're almost glad he's out and about running around, eating people up (with fava beans!). Like he said in the movie, the world's more interesting with him in it. At least, that world, certainly not my own! Not to say that he didn't deserve the Oscar for this role, he most definitely does, but he's not the most horrifying person in the movie. In my opinion, that goes to Buffalo Bill. Namely because he's out in the real world throughout the movie and you don't really see him for most of it, either. Which is terrifying because when you can't put a face to the killer, that makes him more menacing.

Jodi Foster is great, too. She plays the rookie agent well and she has her own horrors to deal with that Lecter exposes. The movie is a great thrill ride and I thought Lecter and Starling's scenes were show-stealing. There is such a tension in the air during those scenes, but they are working together. It's very complex relationship and I think the movie nailed it. I'm glad there wasn't any twists at the end of the movie - it would have been too distracting. Instead, you get completely immersed into Starling's terror.

A great movie and a most perfect thriller. The performances are great and the horror is frighteningly real. I loved the movie and it never got dull or slow. But as a last note, this has to win the award for most bizarre title. It makes sense after you see the movie, but who knew that people would actually go to see this in theaters with such an effed up title? Seriously!

Rating: Rent It!

182: The Shining

The Shining (R) - 1980 - Runtime: 142 minutes
Starring: Jack Nicholson, Shelly Duvall
Director: Stanley Kubrick

It's amazing how little I've seen of such iconic movies as this one. I guess this is one of the main reasons I struck up this project. I've had people shake their heads in bafflement when I tell them I haven't seen this particular movie. But now I have! And while not the greatest horror movie ever made, I did enjoy, even though it has its share of flaws and god damn it is a long movie!

Jack Nicholson stars as Jack Torrence, a writer who recently got hired to look after a hotel/resort in Colorado. The hotel shuts down during the winter months because of its remote location and inaccessibility. Of course, there's more sinister machinations at work that subsequently drives him bonkers enough to go after his family. I have to admit that the slow build up was quite maddening itself. I appreciate the setting up of tensions and slow scares, but I just wanted to get to the insane parts because that's where the fun really is. And it doesn't disappoint! Nicholson is perfect as a maniac, but he's so iconic in this role that it's hard to disattach the movie star from the character. I really don't see Jack Torrence, but just Nicholson himself. It's still very much a powerful performance, but his celebrity status overshadows this role after so many years.

I'm also beginning to appreciate Kubrick as a filmmaker. I truly loved how this movie was shot. From the start of the movie with those beautiful tracking shots alongside the mountains where a minuscule car is seen winding around on the road to the vast openness of the hotel at the beginning and to the last scenes in the claustrophobic hedge maze. One can write a lengthy essay on the visuals in this movie - they're quite powerful and probably the best thing about it. I really loved how Kubrick thought of the space in the movie and the simple geometry of the set. There's a lot of ninety degree angles and corners in the movie. I don't exactly know what it might all mean, but it's a movie worth seeing over again to think about. The tracking shots behind the kid on his tricycle are simple awesome and I loved those parts. There's a lot of tracking shots, in fact, as you follow him around the maze, too.

Aside from Nicholson, Duvall holds her own, although she doesn't quite have the material to really perform. She's simply the straight foil to Jack. But she delivers her own sense of dread quite well, especially as she's climbing backwards up the stairs away from Jack. It's a funny and scary scene all at the same time. I loved it.

My main complaint about the movie, (and with most Stephen King movies and books, really) is that there's never a really solid explanation of how and why things happen. I can get behind supernatural elements at play, but it seemed like in this story particularly that it's too ambiguous at the end to really understand what went wrong. Is it the hotel itself? Or the evil that seems to linger on from the past? Is Jack a reincarnation of a lost soul? These questions never really get answered and I don't mind that, but it's just that there's so many questions, especially because the movie tries to explain a little bit at the end, but it ended up adding more questions than answering them. It was a bit frustrating to have all these ideas in my head floating around, but I wouldn't say I hated the movie for it.

I really would love to see this movie again, but the running time is so long, so it's hard to put yourself in the mood to watch this one. I did really like this one and I think it's something that's worth watching a few times!

Rating: Rent It!

182: The Wolfman

The Wolfman (R) - 2010 - Runtime: 103 minutes
Starring: Benicio Del Toro, Anthony Hopkins, Emily Blunt
Director: Joe Johnston

I really was super psyched to catch this movie because I love movies like this - period pieces that deal with the supernatural (Sleepy Hollow, Sherlock Holmes, etc.). They're just entertaining and The Wolfman is no exception. It's a fun movie and I think I was won over because I didn't expect this to be so good. But it was!

Del Toro plays Lawrence Talbot an actor who reluctantly comes back to London from America after hearing news about his brother's death. But his death isn't normal - there's a beast on the prowl who seems to be taking out all their aggression on the local townsfolk. Talbot suspects something afoul and he eventually encounters the werewolf himself, getting bitten in the process. There's a big reveal that's supposedly a twist but you see this coming from the beginning of the movie. So it's really not about the plot, but the relationships in the movie and the HOLY HELL DECAPITATION! I guess I should have realized this before I popped in the movie but it's rated R. And there's a good reason for that - the violence is utterly astounding and awesome! I guess it took me by surprise because I was expecting a mild PG-13 level of violence, but this movie went to the next level in my opinion and for the better.

Del Toro obviously was meant all his life to play this role and he does it well. Anthony Hopkins is suitable, but he lays on such a thick air of entitlement and serious acting that it ends up being a bit silly. Emily Blunt is okay, but she's more just hey we need a chick in this movie to please the ladies that will be forcibly dragged to go see this! But despite that, I really liked the father-son relationship that evolves throughout the movie and the weird, pseudo-romantic entanglement Del Toro has with Blunt is not great, but sufficient. Like I said, the movie is fun and well worth a rental!

Rating: Rent It!

182: The Exorcist

The Exorcist (PG) - 1975 - Runtime: 132 minutes
Starring: Ellen Burstyn, Max von Sydow, Linda Blair
Director: William Friedkin

Ah, The Exorcist. Considered by many to be the best horror movie ever, I just had to see it. Most of the movie's famous scenes have been parodied over and over to such an extent that I feel like I know the movie quite well. But there's a lot more to this fantastically plotted and acted thriller other than Linda Blair's portrayal of demonic possession.

The movie's plot centers on an actress and her daughter. After some disturbing changes, Chris starts to realize that her daughter, Regan, must need some form of divine intervention, because nothing else will do. Enter Father Karras, a man struggling to come to terms with his mother's death and battling his own doubts about his faith. He's there to help perform an exorcism, along with Father Merrin (played by the always awesome Max von Sydow) on Regan to rid her of her demon. The movie builds upon the tension until the final scenes of the exorcism itself. This is the one flaw I found in the movie and I did find myself straying a bit. The movie slowly builds up the tension, and I mean slowly. But what kept it interesting was the absolute obscenity of Regan and her possession. There's some crazy shit happening in this movie and every time something crazy happened, I was immediately hooked back in. But that exorcism sure took forever to get there (the movie's over two hours long!).

Like I said earlier, the movie's well acted and I bought every minute of Jason Miller's (who?) performance as the doubtful priest. The movie ends in such a profound way that it stayed with me long after I was done watching it. I thought Blair was truly unique and even though some of her character was not all Blair's acting, I found it nevertheless chilling.

As for a horror movie? I don't know - it's intense and scary in a more subtle way. There's no "gotcha!" moments in the movie - rather it's all about playing on people's fears with demons and religion. And I think that's why it hits home with most people - this movie doesn't seem too far out of the ordinary and that's scary to some. And while I did find myself thinking about this movie afterwards, it wasn't dreadful. I did not have awful nightmares like I did when I watched Nightmare on Elm Street when I was a kid (that still takes top honors to me as the scariest movie I've ever seen). But that doesn't stop me from recommending this one - it's a great movie and fun to watch. It will get under your skin and perhaps even scare the hell out of you and that's probably the best compliment you can give to this kind of movie!

Rating: Rent It!

182: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (R) - 1974 - Runtime: 83 minutes
Starring: Marilyn Burns, Gunnar Hansen
Director: Tobe Hooper

This movie still gives me chills thinking about it. I actually was hesitant to watch this knowing full well that it might seep into my brain and stay there until I have awful nightmares. But I boldly stepped up and decided to watch this, albeit on a sunny afternoon before I went to work so that I could be distracted afterwards. To my surprise, this was one of the scariest, deeply scarring horror movies that I've seen in a long time.

Don't be fooled by the posters, this movie is not based on any real events. That doesn't detract from the horror that ensues, but makes me feel at little bit better about the human race. Because the movie depicts a whole family dedicated to serial killing and cannibalism. The story is simple, as most horror stories go: a bunch of students in Texas decide to tour some old family haunts. They stumble upon an abandoned house and farmland that one of the students recalls as his family's homestead. Of course, it's not all abandoned, as a family of killers lives there, making sure that any unwanted trespassers get a decidedly gruesome end. I really am at a loss for words at how to describe the utter cover-your-eyes moments in this movie. It's a pretty brutal movie - it's not shy about showing the gore and killing. The main chainsaw-wielding maniac is shocking in his own right - wearing what seems to be a mask made of human skin. But he pales to the true horror of the rest of the family. They're all demented, but have created a pretty solid foundation for what they do, even if it's truly horrific.

While not exactly a great movie, it delivers the scares. There's a few minor quibbles, like the night chase scene where Leatherface is chasing down the lone survivor of the group (the beautiful, but clumsy blonde, who else?). It's just a long scene and is more confusing than tense, because I couldn't exactly tell where they were, nor how far apart they were from each other. But despite that, the movie is short and gets right to the point after a very, very slow start.

I've only watched a few modern horror films and nothing compares to this one. It's just so awful that you have to look away some times. It's not really gory, but the terror kind of seeps out of the TV and into your bones. It truly is bone-chilling and I was surprised by this. If you're at all in the mood for something truly scary, you cannot go wrong watching this one. Especially if you pop this in late at night with all the lights down low. I'm still terrified of that family, hopefully I can get to bed tonight.

Rating: Rent It!

182: Carrie

Carrie (R) - 1976 - Runtime: 98 minutes
Starring: Sissy Spacek, Piper Laurie, John Travolta
Director: Brian De Palma

I've never really been a fan of horror movies. It's partly because they are scary (yes, I'm a pansy) and partly because most of the horror movies in the past 10 years are not really interesting save for a few. Like Hostel and many others, the modern horror movie tends to shock, rather than terrify. That's not to say I've neglected the genre: The Descent and 28 Days Later are two of my favorite movies. So this is why I've decided to watch horror movies - I've actually never seen most of the classics and what better way than Brian De Palma's adaptation of Stephen King's popular novel?

As with most horror movies, the story is simple, but the underlying themes and metaphors are much more complex. The movie starts off as probably a high school girl's worst nightmare: she has her first period in the girl's locker room and doesn't know what it means. Her mother is a complete religious nutjob who thinks that a woman's period is proof of sinning. The girls mock and taunt her all the while throwing tampons in her face. It's truly disgusting, but it's effective at conveying Carrie's emotional collapse. I was completely horrified by the opening sequence - a juxtaposition between the naked, playful girls in the locker room against the eventual nastiness of their mockery. Of course, this moment triggers Carrie's possibly uncontrollable psychic abilities. She continues to get tormented, leading up the climax of the movie where she unleashes hell's own version of prom night.

Despite being in the horror section, the movie has more to do with high school and the agony associated with not fitting in. I really enjoyed the movie, although it's funny, I guess I'm used to blood and guts so when the queen bitch gets killed in a car crash because of Carrie, it seemed kind of anti-climactic. I wanted to see her decapitated or something truly gruesome. Oh well - the implications of what she does in the gym are truly horrific. No one is spared her wrath, save one girl who gets out in time (the only well-intentioned girl in the movie). There's a lot of scenes with her crazy mother, almost one too many scenes, actually and it got on my nerves, but I enjoyed the ending thoroughly. The movie does do a good job of mixing the cheese with the supernaturally scary, though.

If you haven't seen this classic, it's definitely worth checking out! Sissy Spacek and Piper Laurie are fantastic in their roles. I don't think we'll ever see a movie as graphic and bare about high school anxiety again like this one.

Rating: Rent It!

182: Sorority Row

Sorority Row (R) - 2009 - Runtime: 101 minutes
Starring: Rumer Willis, Carrie Fisher, Briana Evigan
Director: Stewart Hendler

This movie delivers exactly what it promises. This isn't made for the oscars, nor to please critics, but I had a lot of fun watching each sister get offed. It has it's fair share of suspense and the kills are actually pretty good - they're not too gory but they're not tame, either. And despite a few flaws, it's definitely worth seeing.

So the basic premise is that the sorority girls decide to pull a prank on a cheating boyfriend. And it goes horribly wrong because the douchebag boyfriend decides to actually kill her for no good reason. They decide to make a pact to not tell anyone - but at the end of the school year, someone decides to get revenge on all the girls. It's pretty cut and dry - but like I said, the best parts of the movie are the kills. I was mad they killed the most interesting sister first - because, well, she seemed like she had more depth than the other girls. Especially when the rest of them fill most stereotypical sorority sister roles: the ethnic, the dork, the cheerleader, the sporty one. But none of those cliches really matter because the movie is kind of winking back at the audience. And I will be honest, I really didn't know who the killer was until the reveal.

Despite all it's flaws, it's a good horror movie that will keep you in suspense (and you get to see some nudity! Hooray for boobies!) and you don't have to invest too much time or effort into watching it. Maggie and I enjoyed it for what it is and you should too!

Rating: Rent It!

182: Drag Me to Hell

Drag Me to Hell (PG-13) - 2009 - Runtime: 99 minutes
Starring: Alison Lohman, Justin Long
Director: Sam Raimi

Holy hell this movie was awesome! I'm not one for horror movies (duh!), but this one was perfect. I'm sick of the current trend in horror movies - lots of sex and blood and guts and torture scenes. I just don't understand the excitement and enjoyment that people get out of seeing such sickening stuff. I like a good scare and Raimi, getting back to his Evil Dead (and Michigan!) roots, definitely delivers on a fun, genuinely scary and sometimes goofy horror movie.

This is what horror movies should be, in my humble, if somewhat inexperienced, opinion. Alison Lohman plays Christine Brown, a loan officer looking to move up the corporate ladder, denies an old gypsy (isn't it always a gypsy?) an extension and basically evicts her out of her home. In doing so, the gypsy woman curses her to be sent to hell, where before the joyful descent, she gets tormented for three very long days by some crazy demon.

And while there is some real good scares in this movie, Raimi's not afraid to have a little fun. And if you are a cat lover, you might be offended, but I was laughing with disbelief as to where this film went. It's a good movie in that you do have to pay attention to every scene - no second was wasted that isn't integral to the story. There's such a good payoff at the end of the movie that although I knew was coming, was totally thrilled and shocked by how crazy it all ended. Great stuff - I can't wait for Raimi to do more stuff like this, but I'm also thrilled that he has (according to him) found new energy to bring to the Spider-Man franchise.

If you're looking for a good scare and some fun, this movie is perfect for a late night thrill. Now if we can only get that Evil Dead sequel going, the world would be complete.


Rating: Buy It!