There's Only One Thing That I Really Need

A HORROR MOVIE-A-DAY-A-THON KEEPS THE DOCTOR AWAY-A-THON

Tuesday, October 9th-The Evil Dead (1981) Written & Directed by Sam Raimi
Stars Bruce Campbell, Sarah York, Hal Delrich, Ellen Sandweiss, Betsy Baker

A group of college students vacationing in an isolated cabin in the woods read a passage from the Necronomicon Ex Mortis (Book of the Dead) and summon an ancient evil that seeks to consume their mortal souls.

Each installment of the Evil Dead trilogy has served to do something different, I think. The first film is a genuinely terrifying horror experience with just a little bit of comedy thrown in, but overall...man, is the first one creepy. Particularly the fucked up animations during the end sequence that make most Tool videos look normal in comparison. The pacing could be a bit better, but other than a pretty solid horror flick. FINAL GRADE:B

Wednesday, October 10th-Evil Dead II (1987) Written by Sam Raimi & Scott Spiegel, Directed by Sam Raimi
Stars Bruce Campbell, Sarah Berry, Dan Hicks, Kassie Wesley, Denise Bixler

Bruce Campbell returns as Ash in the sequel to the horrifying Evil Dead. Trapped in the woods, Ash must try to survive through the night against a demonic force that has been unwittingly released again.

The sequel is probably my favorite out of the trilogy, primarily because I think it has the right mix of comedy, horror and Ash finally beginning to look like something more of the hero with the well defined chin. The scene in which Ash's hand turns evil and he is forced to fight himself alone is worth the price of admission. Groovy. FINAL GRADE: A

Thursday, October 11th-Army of Darkness (1992) Written by Sam & Ivan Raimi Directed by Sam Raimi
Stars Bruce Campbell, Embeth Davidtz, Marcus Gilbert

Picking up where Evil Dead II left off, Ash arrives in medieval times where he must quest for the Book of the Dead before an army of Deadites can be unleashed upon the world.

Army really steps the series up in terms of the action and comedy aspect, but the horror seems to take a backseat this time out. Some of Raimi's technical innovations are still present and while the movie might not be as horrifying as the first in the trilogy, it certainly stands on its own as each installment in the trilogy has done. Also, this is where Ash finally becomes a walking catch-phrase factory. FINAL GRADE: B+

Friday, October 12th-From Dusk Till Dawn (1996) Written by Robert Kurtzman & Quentin Tarantino Directed by Robert Rodriguez
Stars George Clooney, Quentin Tarantino, Harvey Keitel, Juliette Lewis

Brothers Seth and Richie Gecko, on the run from the law, kidnap a family and cross the border into Mexico. Upon reaching their destination, a seedy Mexican bar, they quickly learn that the bar's regulars are not what they seem.

Easily one of my favorite horror movies, because if you know nothing about this movie going in then you definitely don't expect it to turn into a vampire movie halfway in. It seems like a typical heist vehicle with an amazing Clooney behind the wheel, and then all of a sudden there are fucking vampires. Unlike Tarantino's other screenplays, there is little in the way of lengthy pop culture diatribes save for brief mentions of The Wild Bunch and Peter Cushing in Hammer horror films, and I don't mind one bit. Probably my only real gripe with the movie is that it's really amazing, right up until about the last five minutes. I don't know what could be different about it to change that, but once the credits start to roll I feel very slightly let down. Either way, still an enjoyable flick. FINAL GRADE: B+

Saturday, October 13th-28 Days Later (2002) Written by Alex Garland Directed by Danny Boyle
Stars Cillian Murphy, Naomie Harris, Brendan Gleeson, Megan Burns, Christopher Eccleston

A hospitalized man wakes up in England to discover that a violent outbreak of the Rage virus has turned most of the population into violent, zombie-like creatures and left few survivors.

Scariest zombie film ever? If not, it's definitely pretty close to it. While not a standard zombie film per se, it's certainly an important film within the genre, even if its zombies are anything but the standard fare. The social commentary within that has become a staple of any zombie text worth a damn is definitely present, and the zombies themselves are scary as all get out. If you want a movie that'll make you piss your pants, 28 Days Later is your best bet. FINAL GRADE: A+

Sunday, October 14th-Silver Bullet (1985) Written by Stephen King Directed by Daniel Attias
Stars Corey Haim, Gary Busey, Everett McGill

A small town is terrorized by a series of brutal murders, and a kid in a wheelchair thinks it's a werewolf.

I regrettably admit that I've not seen nearly as many werewolf films as I would like to in my life, and truthfully the only one that I can say I've seen which is worth a damn is An American Werewolf in London. Based on Stephen King's novella, Cycle of the Werewolf, Silver Bullet starts out strong as a horror film with everything done right to build tension and suspense along the way. In particular, the scene where a town mob sets out into the fog covered woods to track the killer is a great scene, and truly one of the better moments in this film. The story gets a bit too "family values" at points, and that detracts from the film overall. There is some very unnecessary and confusing narration from the main character's older sister throughout the film, and it makes me wonder if I'm watching a coming of age film or a fucking movie about killer werewolves on the rampage. The werewolf of the film (the town's priest) is on a mission from God, and uses his judgment as a holy man to determine the victims he will take when the moon is full. I like this plot element A LOT. But then there's more stuff about family and blah blah blah, and it kind of neuters the film a bit in the long run. If this were a forty minute short with the bullshit cut out, it'd be perfect. FINAL GRADE: C

In other news, Sarah (the lady, for those of you who don't know) is amazing and I'm going down to OU for Halloween next week. I'm pretty excited about that. 'Til then, later days Bromfield Faces.