Another week of gore and guts and gratuitous violence for you as part of my participation in the annual Hoop-Tober horror marathon. Small independents like Splinter show how you can be effective without extensive CGI or locations, while Sisters highlight that even back in the day Brian De Palma was locked into the obsessions he would explore in his later and greater work. The Lure is a bright and gruesome fairy tale that got its hooks in fast and deep, a worthy addition to the Criterion Collection. Death Line may not have much, but it DOES have the single greatest acting performance in the history of mankind. And while many folks think the gritty 70s schlock feel Rob Zombie seems to shoot for in all his pictures is heavily inspired by the original, I go to bat and say it’s The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 that is the real influence for him and others.
Not convinced? The let’s dive in…
Just when you thought the whole “severed hand” gag was going away, along comes Splinter to not only make it work, but surrounds it with a great practical FX-laden bottle horror film. Unique creature, good acting, and streamlined to within an inch of its life? This is how I like my horror films. (full review here)
Brian De Palma illustrates all his obsessions and fascinations in Sisters, which has some wicked fun moments and a game cast but I was left ultimately with the feeling it could (and should) have been even weirder. As a blueprint for what he would eventually master in films like Dressed to Kill and Blow Out, it works. (full review here)
Imagine the love child of Lynch and del Toro grew up in 1980s Poland and loved musicals. That’s THE LURE, and if that doesn’t make you want to immediately check out this gem of a movie, I don’t know how to feel it to you: synth pop and mermaids? (full review here)
“MIND THE DOORS!” is the big quote from DEATH LINE, also known as RAW MEAT and taken out of context is just as confounding as the film itself…there’s little sense to be made here in Gary Sherman’s cannibal murder schlock, and that’s certainly not intentional. But like a lot of the lower-budget films of the 70s it has its odd charms and squeamish moments that refuse to leave my mind and continue to draw me to it so many years after first seeing it. (full review here)
Look, I’m not going to pretend THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE is a good film. It’s not, and looking at the screwed up production history, not to mention this is a Golan/Globus production should clue you in to that. BUT…hear me out because there is a some good good fun to be had in this film, enough that you see its marks on a LOT of other films, especially if those films are directed by Rob Zombie. (full review here)
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Another week down, and with a little over two weeks until Halloween we have just 11 more films to go in this thing. Next week we hit two stone cold classics, some Hammer horror, a Phantasm sequel, and a recommendation I know nothing about.
Until then, keep it Blood Red.
-Chris
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