Horror Movie Month Week #3
We are here in Week 3 of horror movie month with a mixed bag of films from newcomers and bonafide classics from the masters of the genre. It's almost unfair to put Cronenberg and De Palma on the same list as some of these newer directors, but in the case of Mike Flanagan (the subject of this week's double feature), he mostly holds his own. This week is slightly lighter on the gore but doubles down on the tension. All of these films are worth exploring in their own right and make for yet another fun week of Spooktober viewings. Let's dig in.
Girl On The Third Floor (2019)
Directed by Travis Stevens
By no means was Girl On The Third Floor a "bad movie" (it was actually quite scary at times) but, this one was not one of my favorites of this month so far. The main reason for this is the very unlikeable protagonist. The story goes that Don Koch and his pregnant wife purchase an old Victorian house in a quiet neighborhood after Don ran out of their former city for swindling his business partners. He has elected to move in early, as the house is in dire need of many renovations, but it's clear early on that he doesn't particularly like his wife. Don is on his "best behavior" when speaking on the phone with his wife while at the same time hiding his relapse with alcohol. The renovations on this old house are taking a long time, and his inexperience is making matters worse. After being tempted by a strange, seductive girl from the neighborhood, Don falls to her charms and begins an affair which he attempts to conceal from his wife, while eerie happenings begin escalating inside the house.
Without ruining any surprises, this movie gets pretty gross, and the practical effects are pretty spectacular. Once the yarn of this mysterious house and mysterious girl fully unravel, the film gets pretty wild and is actually pretty fun. If you are a true horror enthusiast like me, I would recommend watching this movie. The director, in particular, shows a ton of promise, and while the acting isn't top tier by any means, it's competent and watchable. It's not "so bad it's good" or anything like that; it's a fine movie. But if you're just now joining the horror festivities this month, I'd maybe start somewhere else. If you're anything like me, you'll no doubt find your way to this movie at some point regardless. I think that the Don character is unlikeable as to take a turn as sort of a "villain" later, but for me, I don't know if I want to sit through a whole movie where I'm supposed to root for this guy. Your mileage may vary, but I've enjoyed much worse movies than this.
Phantom of the Paradise (1974)
Directed by Brian De Palma
I don't even know what to say about Brian De Palma's Phantom of the Paradise other than that I loved every minute of it. If you enjoy The Rocky Horror Picture Show and wish there were more movies like it, this film is your Holy Grail. I am a bit confounded as to why Rocky Horror has such a huge cult following, and this one does not. De Palma's direction is superb, the music is fantastic, the performances are wildly entertaining, the set pieces are incredible, and the characters are every bit as fun and imaginative as Tim Curry's Dr. Frank-N-Furter. The only reason I can think that this movie didn't find its way to quite as many people is that it doesn't have as many great songs as Rocky Horror, and that is not disparaging how awesome the music is in Phantom. It's almost silly to compare the two because we do have both, after all. But I can't help but wonder why these two films haven't been sharing a double bill in every midnight theatre for the last 40 years.
The movie is a rock-opera/musical based on Gaston Leroux's The Phantom of the Opera, Oscar Wilde's A Picture of Dorian Gray, and most notably, Faust by Kit Marlowe. It wears its literary influences on its sleeve while skewering the record industry of the 70s. You'll notice throughout the film that there are "drawings" superimposed on the film to cover up the fictitious "Swan Song" label throughout the movie. The reason for this is Led Zeppelin's real record label, Swan Song, took legal action against De Palma and the other filmmakers for using the name/logo, and rather than a lengthy court battle, De Palma elected to edit the offending images in post. It's a subtle reminder throughout the film as to why these filmmakers wanted to make fun of the rock music scene at the time in the first place. The narrative of the movie follows the Phantom of the Opera story relatively closely, but it manages to exceed this satirization and become something special and unique all its own. I implore you to seek this one out; it is so much fun. I can almost guarantee that I will watch this one a dozen more times before my curtain has drawn.
The Wolf Man (1941)
Directed by George Waggner
This one was another classic Universal Monster movie. I'm thrilled to be exploring these films, as they are the bedrock of what all other horror filmmaking rests on. The Wolf Man is the quintessential telling of the Warewolf mythos, and I even learned a few things from this film about that particular beast that I wasn't aware of. The five-sided Pentagram is a mark of the Warewolf, and those afflicted with lycanthropy will see this five-sided star displayed on their next victim. Without doing any research on this, I can't exactly tell if this is a detail added by this film or if this an aspect that's glossed over in other depictions of Werewolves but its fun nonetheless. The Wolf Man has spooky graveyards, traversing foggy forests by lanternlight, and plenty of howling at the moon (my new puppy loved that stuff). The makeup and effects are fantastic, and the Universal backlot sets add to the Old Hollywood feel of the film. What's not to like? It's The Wolf Man! It's practically begging you to pop some popcorn and enjoy it.
My only real complaint about this film, which goes for many of these old Universal Monster films, is I want more. Gimme the goods Universal. I want more Wolfman, I want more Mummies, I want more of Dracula draining his victim's blood. Maybe this is too modern a perspective for films from the 1930s, as I am merely an impatient millennial who wants everything all the time. But my desire for more monster action from these films is not an indictment of their quality but more a testament to how effective and incredible these movie monsters are. These movies always leave the viewer wanting more, and what better response could you ask for as a filmmaker? It's what has made these movies so indelible and integral to our culture for nearly 100 years now. If you like The Invisible Man, you will love this one. The Wolf Man is a classic for a reason; give it a watch.
Black Christmas (1974)
Directed by Bob Clark
Don't be fooled by the title of this poster Black Christmas was shortly renamed Silent Night Evil Night for a short while after it's release before being changed back. Call it whatever you want, but Black Christmas is an incredibly scary movie and easily one of my favorites of the month so far. The film is about a Sorority House that begins receiving disturbing and demented phone calls. When a little girl goes missing, and Sorority Sisters start disappearing, the walls start closing in on the remaining members of the house. Black Christmas is one of the earliest "slasher" films and became the template for John Carpenter's Halloween and all the knockoffs that came after it. The movie is loosely based on a series of murders that happened in Montreal and has an almost documentary feel to it, seldom seen in most horror films. The cast is excellent, featuring Margo Kidder, Keir Dullea, and Olivia Hussey, giving fantastic depth to these characters.
This film is also surprisingly progressive and very feminist, though it's unclear how much of that was intentional on the filmmaker's part. There is an exchange towards the middle of the film between Hussey and Dullea's characters about abortion that is remarkably prescient given the current Supreme Court Confirmation Hearings for Amy Coney Barrett. Most early 70s horror films expect nothing more than screaming and boobs from their female characters, so going into Black Christmas, my expectations were low. But this film gives agency to Hussey's character; she refuses to let her boyfriend control her or dominate her future. It was a refreshing exchange, given how low the bar can be for some of these movies. The actors insist that the scene was included just as "something for the characters to talk about" between all the murders, but I'd like to give the filmmakers more credit than that.
Black Christmas is creepy, tense, well written, and easily one of the scariest movies I've seen in a while. The Shout Factory release of this movie is fantastic, and I urge you to seek it out if you can. Black Christmas is easily a new favorite of mine and I already can't wait to watch it again.
Dead Ringers (1988)
Directed by David Cronenberg
Dead Ringers is yet another masterpiece in a long line of masterpieces by David Cronenberg. It's a disturbing and cerebral take on a true story about twin gynecologists found dead in their New York apartment in the 1970s. Jeremy Irons masterfully plays dual lead roles as both twins in this adaptation, bringing key but subtle distinction between the brothers. Irons' performance is easily one of the more impressive feats of acting prowess I've seen in a long time, and the technical wizardry involved to have him act against himself in multiple scenes across the film is remarkable. Cronenberg does not disappoint in bringing his unique brand of body horror to this film, in what could easily be every woman's worst nightmare. The story is about highly successful twin gynecologists living together and sharing every experience (patients, women, and increasingly drugs). One, named Beverly, is predominantly a researcher, shy and sweet, while the other, Elliot, is primarily a surgeon more of the Patrick Batemen ilk. Elliot is more outwardly sociopathic, but both only have fragments of a conscience when it comes to dealing with other people. During their meteoric rise in their field, the brothers get entangled in an affair with an actress who quickly discovers their schemes, and the fallout causes Beverly to descend into drug abuse and madness while his brother Elliot desperately tries to keep Bev going for the sake of their careers and lives.
Dead Ringers shot up as one of my favorite Cronenberg films as soon as it finished and is another film from this month that I am confident I will revisit many times in the future. Cronenberg has a way of penetrating deep beneath any viewer's pretense or expectation for what a movie experience should be, much in the same way David Lynch can. Like Lynch, his films operate on a kind of dream logic where the further into the narrative you get, the deeper into a nightmare you go. This film is so clearly based on our real life that when that descent begins, it's hard to shake off how horrifying it is. The film is a reminder that no matter how successful or wealthy one is, we are all just one bad day away from losing it completely. Sanity is like walking a tightrope, and if you don't have protections in place if you fall, it can be a horrifying thing to lose. Dead Ringers completely cemented Cronenberg as a master filmmaker for me. Watch it as soon as you can, but prepare yourself.
Ouija: Origin of Evil (2016)
Directed by Mike Flanagan
Mike Flanagan has emerged as one of my favorite horror directors of the last decade. Even when working with subpar material (like in the case of this film), he can still craft a movie that is paced well and delivers genuine scares. Ouija: Origin of Evil is a prequel to a film I am confident I will never watch, and even with my newfound love of Flanagan, I don't think I'll rewatch this one either. This film features a lot of actors from Flanagan's hit Netflix series The Haunting of Hill House, and they are all fantastic in this film. The real problem with this picture is the rushed ending and the shoehorned in story elements. Even in a movie I don't like Flanagan has a way of delivering scares like no one else can these days, but I can't help but feel like this entire film is a pale imitation of The Conjuring. The 60s setting, the family business built around the paranormal, the demon possession, etc. It's all a bit old hat already and reeks of a movie studio trying to cash in on a trend (and a toy company cashing in on a board game). In short, it's my least favorite kind of horror. These films are watered-down versions of The Exorcist that take advantage of horror's newfound cache with audiences. If you're looking for a cheap, jump-scare style spectacle to eat popcorn to, Ouija: Origin of Evil is the film for you. If you, like me, want to fully explore Flanagan's filmography, I will not tell you to skip it. If you like him, you'll like elements of this film, but Flanagan has done better.
Gerald’s Game (2017)
Directed by Mike Flanagan
On the complete, other end of the spectrum from Ouija is Gerald's Game. Based on the Stephen King hit and quietly arriving on Netflix a few years ago, Gerald's Game is tense, horrifying, and one of the most stress-inducing films I've watched in years. Gerald's Game is Mike Flanagan at his best and is one of the better Stephen King adaptations I've seen. The premise is simple; a couple, looking to spice up their relationship, take a vacation out to the middle of nowhere for a long weekend away. The husband brings along a pair of handcuffs for some bedroom (kink, and to enact a few dark fantasies he has about his wife. After being handcuffed to the bed, his wife (played by the wonderful Carla Gugino, another Flanagan regular) seizes up and does not want to participate in this activity anymore. An argument explodes between the couple, and the fight causes the husband to die of a heart attack while she's still handcuffed to the bed. Gugino is left to her own devices and mind as she spirals in and out of consciousness, locked in place. The film becomes part 127 Hours, part Misery, and 100% panic-inducing nightmare. Maybe it's just me, but I was borderline about to turn this movie off for the entire runtime, even at one point thinking I was about to vomit (seriously). That is not a condemnation, as I find it amazing that any movie that can elicit a response like that in me. I also have no plans to watch this again any time soon but for entirely the opposite reasons as Ouija. When he's bad, I don't want to revisit his films, and even when he's great, I still don't want to watch his films again. Sorry, Mike! This movie is shocking, surprising, expertly paced, taught, thrilling, insert any adjective you want. Just watch it. I promise it will annihilate any "tied to the bed" fantasies you might have and replace them with pure dread and anxiety.
Tigers Are Not Afraid (2017)
Directed by Issa López
Tigers Are Not Afraid was a bit disappointing as a horror fan. The film is great, the setting is beautiful, the young actors are more or less delivering great performances, but the horror elements feel a bit tacked on and even unnecessary at times. The film is horrifying enough just as a portrayal of what children wrapped up in the Drug Wars have to live with daily. Poverty, violence, hunger, and death are more than enough to keep this movie going. Adding in the supernatural elements as well kind of deters from the bigger picture of the story for me. The film gets genuinely creepy at times, but those moments are engulfed by the terrors brought by the situation these children find themselves in. This is by no means a "fun" horror movie, like many of the others on this list. It's a stark reminder of how awful this world can be and sticks out like a sore thumb on this list. I would recommend watching this film though. It's a well-directed fairy-tale, set in the real world ala Del Toro's Pans Labyrinth, which has a major influence on this film. Del Toro can weave the fantastical elements into his film much easier than Issa López can here though. I'd say give it a watch, but maybe in November.
Check in next week, we’ll be covering the next batch of horror movies on our calendar!
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