Nordling here,
I guess some of you really wanted that bong, huh?
I was expecting to get some responses to THE CABIN IN THE WOODS Swag Contest, but not nearly as much as I got. I received over 300+ emails from horror fans picking their favorite horror movie. Some of them were just a couple of lines, and some of them were practically novellas, but everyone espoused a love for the genre and the hope that THE CABIN IN THE WOODS breathes new life into it.
I got so many great responses that I decided to turn it into an article - Ain't It Cool Readers Sound Off! This seems like a lot of fun, and something worth repeating in the future if another contest like this comes down the pipe. Or, just something fun to do for the site, because believe it or not, we do care about our readership. It's hard to judge by Talkback, but just from judging the many emails I received, people seemed to be really happy sharing their love of movies. Sometimes cynicism can be overwhelming, and I really appreciated the breath of fresh air from these many emails.
Hands down, the winner movie from the majority of the emails I received was John Carpenter's THE THING, with HALLOWEEN coming in a very close second. Judging from the emails alone, it seems Carpenter is still very much everyone's favorite horror filmmaker, and many of you waxed rhapsodic about his films. The winner of the contest was very much a John Carpenter fan, but you'll see that soon enough.
First, let's hear from Natalie from Brooklyn, New York, writing about Quint's favorite movie:
To me, the greatest-best-most-everything horror film is (don't roll your eyes) Jaws. It was the first "scary" movie I ever saw, and it's one of those movies that, if it's on TV, no matter where in the story, I sit down and watch to the bloody end. For me personally, it was my introduction to monster movies, which are still my favorite in the horror genre, from Black Lagoon to The Host. I think of Jaws as the pinnacle. It was the first movie to give me nightmares, and the first movie to actually make me think, "This could really happen." There's nothing scarier than that, I think. It killed a dog and a little kid. In the same scene!
As far as the film industry goes, Jaws was more than a little influential. It was one of the first summer blockbusters. It perfected the whole 'don't show your hand right away'- that awesome opening scene where we never see the shark. It had that iconic score, and hey- we probably wouldn't have Shark Week or "Mega Shark Vs. Giant Octopus" if it wasn't for this movie. It played up people's fear of darkness and the unknown, the open water where you can't see anything below you, isolation on a tiny tiny boat in a big big ocean, and being stuck on said tiny boat with Richard Dreyfuss (his voice? also scary). Also, it's a giant monster that wants to eat people. When isn't that horrifying?
And now, Alex from New York City, going old school with some Ealing horror:
Okay, here goes: my favorite horror film is the 1945 Ealing Studios horror film Dead of Night. This film, in my opinion, laid the blueprints for much of the following half-century of horror. First, the anthology nature of the film allowed it to traverse a half-dozen different tropes of horror, each in its own creepily unsettling way. Second, the heart of the film, linking each story through the narrative of a psychoanalyst interpreting each one as a way of explaining our fears, and yet HE turns out the be the insane one at the end, is SO ahead of its time in terms of anticipating the postmodern twist of horror that the Scream franchise popularized in the nineties - by almost 50 years! Third, director Charles Crichton (A Fish Called Wanda) - 'nuff said. Fourth, it's incredibly smart, sharp writing - it stands out in a genre not exactly famous for its screenplays. And lastly, the most important aspect of all - it's still SCARY, the most important quality of any horror film. Any film whose scares hold up sixty-five years later deserves our acclaim, no?
Shawn from Pensacola, Florida, loves SHAUN OF THE DEAD (no wonder!):
I love good zombie movies, which are pretty few and far between. I try to avoid the campy gore-fests that are devoid of any story or interesting characters. Those movies are good for a laugh, but zombies are a lot better when they're used in a metaphorical way, you know? Anyway, long story short, my favorite zombie movie is Shaun of the Dead because it's the zombie movie that made me realize how much I loved zombies. I know that it's about half comedy and half horror, but the horror is pretty damn good; and I'm pretty sure that Cabin in the Woods is going to be a mix of comedy and horror too, seeing as how Joss Whedon's behind the wheel.
I saw Shaun of the Dead six times when it was still in theaters. At first it was because I kept seeing things that I missed before, like how Ed basically breaks the movie down point for point at the Winchester when he's trying to cheer up Shaun. Around the fifth or sixth time, I was going to see it for the zombies. It took me a while to realize why I was so fascinated by them: it's because the zombies represent everyday problems. They're easy to deal with one at a time, but people don't handle their problems that way. They ignore them until they begin to pile up, and before too long they're completely overwhelmed. George Romero frequently used his zombies as a metaphor, and I like his movies too (the ones before Diary and Survival, anyway), but Shaun of the Dead really drives the point home by juxtaposing them with everything that's going wrong in Shaun's life. He manages to save his relationship with Liz, but at a cost.
Anyway, that's the short version of why I love Shaun of the Dead so much.
Here's Heath from Ocala, Florida, with a film that knocked me on my ass when I first saw it:
My favorite horror movie is Lucky McKee's MAY. I don't think there's another horror I love to show to groups of people more than MAY. The way that it slowly builds with every minute getting more and more out of control with May about to shatter and completely lose it is masterful. You feel so sorry for this socially awkward, but yet cute girl. The whole time you feel something creeping up under the surface. You know that it's going to eventually get bad, but when? And when it does? It's nothing like what you would have imagined.I've shown it over half a dozen times to groups of friends over the years. Most recently just two weeks ago to two unsuspecting girls. MAY has never failed to surprise people and have them freak out in the best of ways. I love to watch their faces. The bewilderment, the confusion, and finally the shock of that final scene always pays off. Often times they'll tell me they didn't like the movie, but sometimes even years later those same people will say, "Remember when you showed us that movie MAY? I STILL think about that." I think that speaks volumes for the movie and also what those friends of mine really think. Because just like May, they have much more going on below the surface that they don't let out.
Here's Daniel from Savannah, Georgia about Carpenter's masterpiece, THE THING:
John Carpenter's The Thing, is how I define a horror film. It's a film that succeeds on so many levels that it's few failings are immediately forgiven. The special effects are just that, special. Much like the work ILM did on Jurassic Park, the effects from The Thing still hold up and are just as terrifying today as they were thirty years ago. The effects remain special because they truly involve the viewer in the film, it all unfolds in real time and is seamless. Almost like refusing to cut a scene to make sure the audience is engaged, this form of special effects achieves a very similar goal, a goal that was also achieved in an equally loved horror comedy film An American Werewolf in London.Beyond just the special effects though, this film is truly horrifying for what you don't see. As often as Carpenter is keen on showing the viewer just what horrifying nasty he and his production team can conjure up next, his tight atmospheric cinematography also leaves much to the imagination. Which person is the dog visiting after their initial confrontation, when did each man come into contact with the thing, what happened to the doctor and where is he now, where did Childs go to before showing up again at the end, and what happens to Childs and McReady after the films fades to black? Most of this is handled with deft camera work that leaves the audience caught in the suspense and doesn't question until after the film is concluded.Speaking of camera work, another reason why this film succeeds is due to that claustrophobic camera style that Carpenter perfected in this film. In a story about questioning ones sanity and reality what better way to infuse even more dramatic tension than by filming everything in such tight confined spaces, in contrast to the vast white wilderness surrounding the team. This camera styling works as such a brilliant metaphor for being free yet being isolated and trapped as well as feeling ones surroundings closing in and beginning to question what is real.Horror movies rarely ever succeed for me as successful films because it's hard to go on the journey with characters that I don't care about or can't feel invseted in. Sometimes that's the acting, sometimes it's because the characters are paper thing archetypes that have little appeal to me. However, in spite of very little overall character development, especially on the fringes of the group, I truly felt for these men and their plight. It had an almost Luis and Clark feel to their struggle which was pulled off exceedingly well by a talented group of actors.There are many other reasons I can go into, but for me The Thing is my favorite horror film for not only giving me wonderful creature design and gore, but also being artful in it's film language and convincing with it's characters.
It seems that the difficulty of the question broke Matt from Boulder, Colorado:
Perfect atmosphere and no flaws make THE SHINING my favorite horror movie. Perfct atmphere and no flaws make THE SHINIG my favorite horror movie. Perfect atmosphre and no flaws make HE SHINI the my favoritehorror moviPerfect atmosphere and no flaws make THE SHININ.G my forite movie.PPerfect atmosphere and no flaws ake THE SHINING my favorite horror movie. PerFect atmosssphere and no flaws make THE SHININGmy favorite horror movie.
Here's Thomas from Medford, Massachusetts with a little bit longer (and coherent!) look at THE SHINING:
And here's a bit about my favorite horror movie:Normally, I'm a bit of a hipster when it comes to my favorite things. For example, if you were to ask me who my favorite musician is, I would tell you that it is Sage Francis, a relatively obscure rapper. I love listening to more popular bands and artists, but Sage Francis is my favorite. If you were to ask me what my favorite book is, I would tell you that it is Airborn, even though I'm also a huge Harry Potter fan. But the world of horror flicks is a different story for me. Sure, my friends and I have enjoyed some lesser-known scary movies like Kill Theory (a thoroughly enjoyable movie even if the acting was somewhat lackluster) and Audition (I think this Japanese film is pretty well known among horror buffs, but I don't know many others who have seen it). However, if I had to choose my very favorite horror movie, I would have to go with one that is considered a classic, one that I assume the majority of Americans have either seen or heard of. I would pick what I consider a masterpiece of the genre, Stanley Kubrick's take on Stephen King's novel The Shining.My main reason for choosing The Shining is Jack Nicholson's acting for the character of Jack Torrance. For me, the character of Jack Torrance is the best in the entire genre, except for maybe the character of Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs, played by Anthony Hopkins. Jack Torrance is a role that I believe Nicholson--with his eccentric and somewhat insane tendencies--was born to play. Throughout the beginning of the film, he masterfully characterizes the buildup to Jack's (the character) breaking point. His obvious stress, combined with the audience's knowledge of Jack's past history of violence with his son Danny, creates an extremely eerie feel for the viewer. And when he threatens his wife, Wendy, after she discovers that the only thing he has written for months is "all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy," Nicholson's acting is absolutely terrifying. But the most horrifying--and most famous--part of The Shining occurs after Jack is allowed out of the kitchen, when he goes after his son and wife. The moment when he takes an axe to the door of his family's room is one of the most memorable from the early years of my affinity for the horror genre, but only two words are necessary to describe the terror that the audience feels during the scene: "Here's Johnny!"Jack Torrance, however, is not the only thing about The Shining that makes it my favorite. The very setting of the film makes it terrifying. The movie takes place at a very large hotel in Colorado in the dead of winter, where massive amounts of snow is typical. The setting of a would-be winter wonderland is a staple of horror movies; another of my favorites is Misery (another movie based on a Stephen King book), whose plot depends on the blizzard-happy setting of the mountains of Colorado. But it is not just the snow and the cold that makes the setting so important to The Shining. In the hotel, Kubrick has created a place that the audience cannot help but be afraid of. One of the feelings in horror movies that forces the viewer to be frightened is claustrophobia. Several movies use the feeling of being trapped in order to scare the audience--The Descent, Saw, and The Night of the Living Dead, to name a few. In The Shining, the claustrophobic feeling comes from Wendy and Danny being trapped in the hotel after Jack has disabled both the hotel's radio and its snowcat. But even though it is impossible for them to leave, the massiveness of the hotel also proves to be frightening. The hotel offers countless huge rooms in which the characters encounter various ghosts or spirits of dead hotel workers or guests. The audience is afraid of the inability to leave the hotel, but we are also scared of the seemingly infinite crooks and crannies inside the hotel. I think that Kubrick has created one of the most terrifying buildings possible in the Overlook Hotel.Next I come to the hedge maze scene near the end of the movie. The scene itself is not particularly long, but it is filled with terror. Jack has already killed Scatman Crothers's character and now he is after his family. For most of the movie, the audience has been kept scared psychologically, trapped in the hotel and seeing disturbing scenes like the one with the twin girls who want to play with Danny. But now, we have reached a point in the movie that is much more cathartic, much more exciting, and absolutely terrifying. The protagonists are on the run now, making this part of The Shining more of a flee thriller rather than a psychological horror. By combining the slow-moving first part of the movie with the heart-pounding ending, Kubrick has created a film that uses techniques from the whole spectrum of the genre. And he has created something scary, which is mostly what we want out of a horror movie. But we also want a good movie. I can count the number of good horror movies on one or two hands, but I would need one or two more to count the number of horror movies that scared me. In The Shining, the audience gets to see a movie that is both scary and great. And that is what makes it my favorite.I hope you enjoyed reading what I have to say, even if you don't agree with my pick. And I can't wait to go see The Cabin in the Woods!
David Cronenberg's remake of THE FLY keeps fighting it out with other horror films as my favorite. Spain from Los Angeles feels much like I do:
I am super stoked to see Cabin in the Woods this Friday night, gonna be a fun ride.Those goodies are amazing - thanks for reading - I'm crossing my fingers (and not letting go) until the winners are announced! :)Seeing "The Fly" as a kid was both amazing and horrifying. My interest in make-up and horror film went thru the roof and has never subsided since. I love this film and will always cherish it.The Fly like many of Cronenbergs other films deals with the changing of the body, technophobia and of course, insects. We see the like of his body horror genre in films like “Shivers,” “Rabid” and “The Brood.” Fear of Technology in “Videodrome,” “Existenz” and “Scanners.” And finally Insect horror in this film and mainly in his twisted version of William S. Burroughs “Naked Lunch.” Cronenberg uses these elements in his work often but never tells the same story twice. You can really start to see the director evolve from his 70’s low-budget tax shelter days to his more defined films from this decade. “Dead Ringers” and “Spider” are in some ways similar because they take more of a dramatic approach to psychological horrors. Another reason Cronenbergs films work so well is because he works with the same general crew with all his features. This is especially true with his score partner, Howard Shore. Shore’s score here in “The Fly” is some of his best work—majestic and profound when the scene calls for it, yet quiet and subversive at other times. Each piece fits the mood of the scene it’s used in perfectly—never overwhelming the visuals or the actors, but always helping to establish the mood.Then there’s his style of directing. Cronenberg likes to really get close with his actors and make them feel as comfortable as possible, especially when there’s lots of effects and make-up to be applied. Sometimes it took Goldblum five hours to get on the Brundlefly make-up, so you want to keep your actors as calm and collective as possible. This film is definitely one of his most personal to date (The Brood is the film that captured his darkest true life experiences) because it mainly focuses on the relationship at hand and not fully on the issue of disease and decay. The performance from the actors is also some of the best you’ll see in any of the director’s work. The strength of “The Fly”, however, lies in its essential honesty. Disease, particularly a fatal disease, is horrible, messy, and unpleasant.So, in the end, Cronenberg stays positive about one of his most tragic films. We see Brundle try to escape the fact that one small mess-up caused him love and death. He sees that the true monster is not what he slowly became, but what he was before. Technology is a sketchy game to play with, and sometimes great new products have deadly consequences. (i.e. Atom Bomb) At least Veronica accepts Brundle for who he is on the inside, and not the repugnant, vomit spewing insect he is turning into. I still watch this film at least once a year and I can remember the first time I watched it as an 7 year old when it first came to vhs in 1987. I remember being a bit scared and grossed out but too captivated to turn away. Maybe that was the moment in my life when I knew one day I too would make the same sort of dark sci-fi horror films like those of Cronenberg. My love of horror and twisted gory films has stayed strong ever since thanks to the inspiration of David Cronenberg and many other directors like David Lynch, Frank Henenlotter and John Carpenter. Truly one of the best films in its genre. I am now directing horror themed comedies because of the inspiration and it all started with THE FLY!
John from Kansas City, Missouri talks about a movie that I've never heard of, but now will have to make an effort to find:
I've been sitting here thinking about what my favorite horror movie is for close to an hour now. My first thought was The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, but then I realized that if given the choice right now I'd probably watch TCM 2 instead. Then I thought "Duh! Jaws dummy!". But of course Jaws is more of an action/adventure no matter how badly it scarred me (bad). Evil Dead 2 maybe? Or Friday the 13th IV? Poltergeist? Return to Oz (because of the Wheelers and The Nome King)?I've come to the decision that I'm going to set the obvious classics aside and choose from what's left. And I choose...Hide and Creep.Hide and Creep. What a great movie. In case you've never heard of it, Hide and Creep is an ultra low budget zombie comedy that came out around the mid 00's. I remember my wife renting it from Blockbuster one night, ignoring my protests over how terrible it looked. I remember groaning and complaining as she put it in the DVD player. I remember making fun of how bad the make-up was when the first zombie came on screen. I remember realizing about 20 minutes in that despite the low budget (I'm guessing about $15), I was really enjoying this movie and by the time we finished it I knew that I had to add this to my collection. After a week of not being able to find it for sale anywhere I went back, rented it again and never returned it. The $17 dollars I had to pay next time I rented there was more than worth it. It really opened my eyes to what was possible even without a budget. It's extremely funny and clever, although it isn't above low brow humor either. I'm not going to go on about it because it's a pretty standard zombie story, but the humor and execution really make it greater than it would be with less talented people aboard. I'm picking it as my favorite because it rises above it's monetary constraints in a way that I wish more indie flicks could.Or maybe Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon?Thanks for reading and sorry for the long-windedness
I'm a Lovecraft man myself, and so's Charley from Arden, North Carolina:
So, Stuart Gordon's got a list of Lovecraft adaptations about the size of my leg, and they all have a lot going for them. Even his shorts for the "Masters of Horror" series are about as close a retelling of the stories as you can get without period attire, and thank God he doesn't try that. In Dagon particularly, the current setting means that all of the intellect and technology we have at our disposal is only one more set of infantile crap to throw at the film's truly villainous title monster before it makes you accept your impotence by simply being what it is: a creature of effectively infinite age, strength, brains and callousness. Normally my favorite horror films tend more along the line of things like "Aliens" or "The Zombie Diaries," wherein it's made clear that the things we fear--all the monsters out there of any shape, size or hunger--are scary in an inevitable sense, but their victims are getting off light when they're stabbed/eaten/worn as a dress/et cetera. Why are they getting off light? Because the alternative to dieing horribly at the hands of a monster(s) is remaining a person among people, who are far more frightening. The monsters out there are just acting how nature (or nurture in the case of Jason and the more humanoid slashers in the mix) made them, "but you don't see them fucking each other over for a God damn percentage."In Dagon...you get both the natural inclination of a terror to terrorize, even though it has reason and the ability to determine its own actions. The true grandeur of just how bad the situation is becomes clear in the end when you learn that the elder thing whose children have been assaulting a family lost on an island so close but so far from the civilized coast of Spain is just as intelligent and responsible for its actions as any human, if not more so...and it could really give a shit. It's not even out to survive on the misery it inflicts upon us, but to thrive, using its victims to make more abominations like itself. The subtlety (or lack thereof, if you want to quibble over it) of even having the characters invoke the name of God during what is easily the most memorable recitation of the Lord's prayer I've ever seen just drives the point home one more time before the end. There is nothing bigger or meaner than what comes next. There is no hope. THIS IS HAPPENING.Thanks for lending an ear man. Shame we can't have all of you down here at Actionfest this weekend, but I know you'll be dodging bullets in spirit.
Oh man, ActionFest. One of these days...
Finally, here are the winners... first, the Runner Up, from probably my favorite horror film of all time, ALIEN. Here's Kenny from Laguna Hills, California:
By far, the scariest movie - and fondest memory I have of seeing one! - was watching "Alien" at the Cinedome Theater in Orange, California in May of 1979. Not to sound like an old coot (although I DID turn 50 last month - yeesh), but with no internet/etc. to build up the movie, I'd heard the advertisement for "Alien" on "The Mighty Met - KMET," a local rock station in Southern California - at 11:30 at night, and it creeped the living hell out of me (long pause, scream sound build up, then: "In space, no one can hear you scream"). So, as a 17 year-old sci fi/horror nerd I HAD to be there the weekend it opened.So my best friend and I stood in line, got our ticket - and the place was PACKED (at that time the Cinedome was THE place to see a movie in Orange - it's where I saw "Star Wars," too!). The energy in the theater was unbelievable, and when the lights when down and the movie started the tension was almost unbearable. The claustrophobic ship, the space jockey, the eggs with something squiggling in them - the movie was relentless! I swear, the crowd was almost a hive mind, with every single person gasping, laughing, screeching and groaning together. All of that pressure building and building to one terrifying, and hilarious moment.As the movie unfolded I knew I was watching something really special - but the thing that's stuck with me all these years is this: remember when Dallas goes into the air ducts and they're tracking him on radar - and they see the alien moving towards him? When Dallas turned and the camera quick cuts to the alien, I literally jumped so far back in my seat I SAW MY CONVERSE TENNIS SHOES IN THE AIR IN FRONT OF ME. I kid you not! I almost kicked the guy sitting in front of me right in the head! The guy next to me (and his wife, I think) looked at me and started laughing like crazy, and I did too - and throughout the theater everyone laughed (not at me, but at themselves I'm sure) to release/relieve the tension of that moment.So here I am, 33 years, later, reliving that wonderful night. "Alien" scared the living crap out of me, but I loved every minute of it. It was also the best cinema experience I'd ever had - even better than "Star Wars," simply because of the amazing amount of tension created and released.
Congratulations to Kenny for the Runner Up prize!
And here's the winner of the Grand Prize! Just so you all know, I read every letter I received. Some were very passionate, others very short, but this one, for some reason, really fascinated me. I appreciated this writer's ability to advocate for this lesser Carpenter work - and yeah, in comparison to movies like HALLOWEEN and THE THING, it is a lesser work - and I admired this writer's thinking. I admit, with some embarrassment, that I've only seen PRINCE OF DARKNESS once. I remember it disturbing the hell out of me at the time, and I've just never revisited it. This letter convinced me to remedy that, and quickly. Here's our winner, Stuart from Port St. Lucie, Florida:
Naming my favorite horror movie and why is like asking "What's your favorite food and why?". There are just so many variables and sub-categories. I like this one because it was my first or this one because it really stuck with me for days or this one because the effects were just so gross. But if I have to choose between my favorites, "Near Dark" and "John Carpenter's Prince of Darkness", I'm going to have to pick the latter and let me tell you why. Most people will pick other John Carpenter films as their favorite such as "The Thing" or "Halloween". Some will even go for modern classics such as "Scream", "Jeepers Creepers" or "Candyman". A few will even go for the genre classics that, for me, don't hold up to the test of time such as "Phantasm" or "He Knows You're Alone". But "Prince of Darkness" transcends all these trappings by succeeding as a film full of good scares and as a thinking man's horror film."Prince of Darkness", much like "The Omen", "The Exorcist" or "Raiders of the Lost Ark" (if you want to take this to a VERY broad interpretation), looks at the relationship between man and his Deity and ponders the "factual" basis for all the stories and legends that have been built around this belief system. "Who is God? Who was Jesus? Who or what is the devil?" "Prince of Darkness" then puts a scientific spin on these legends and not only provides you with a haunting religious "coming of the apocalypse" scenario but also "this could be freaking real" vibes. Carpenter's use of the dream images of the figure coming out of the church in silhouette keeps the audience engaged and invested in the outcome but he uses it so sparingly that the glimpses, while initially frustrating, keep you wanting to see more. Then Carpenter also employs the great "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" technique of having members of the party being possessed so that you can never quite be sure who is on your side or not. This also works as an homage to Agatha Christie's "Ten Little Indians" as the party dwindles down until we finally know who is going to be the "mother" of the anti-Christ. I have viewed "Prince of Darkness" many times since I saw it for the first time in college in the late 80's and every time it haunts me for days after. I think about the basis of religion. I think about the Mayans and crop circles and strange "landing strips" that you can only see from a certain altitude. Were the legends of the old world (Norse, Greek and Roman mythology) as well as those of Judeo-Christian faith based on some being so advanced that we saw their science as god-like? When a movie can bring about conversations that stimulate the mind as well as scare the bejeezus out of you then I put that at the top of my list. "John Carpenter's Prince of Darkness" will be that movie for me.
Thanks to everyone who sent in letters. They were great, and a great reminder of our common love of film and our passion for this crazy art form. Winners will be receiving their packages from Lionsgate in the next few weeks. Just don't go nuts on the bong!
And check out THE CABIN IN THE WOODS this weekend. We've been writing a lot about this movie for one reason - it's that freaking good. Thanks as always for reading.
