Françoise Pascal as the mesmerized "Girl" in Jean Rollin's THE IRON ROSE.

Friday night’s installment of Underground marks the TCM debut of French filmmaker Jean Rollin, known among horror movie cultists as a master of the lyrical, erotic, supernatural film.  Yet he remains a director with whom the general American moviegoing public is not well acquainted.           READ MORE

I really wanted to contribute something to this Halloween blogfest, so I offer a little nonsensical coda about a movie I’m sure a lot of us have seen many times and probably enjoy.  Funny + spooky has been a movie tradition forever, and nobody did it quite as well as the limber-limbed and rubber-faced actor/comedian Don Knotts in his 1966 feature film The Ghost and Mr. Chicken. 

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I have the unenviable task of wrapping up the Morlocks’ week-long blogathon devoted to horror. Actually, most of us jumped the gun and wrote on horror movies or related subjects even before the blogathon began. I wish I were clever enough to offer an insightful summary or, at least, a show-stopping list of terrific horror movies, but I don’t think I can surpass the articles and lists already posted. Looking back over the blog topics for October, we covered everything from Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein to non-horror movies that are horrific to specific films that touched us for personal reasons, such as Voices and the The Hypnotic Eye. Along the way, we speculated on the meaning of monsters, questioned standard interpretations of classics, and drew attention to sound as a technique of terror. Our observations and interpretations speak volumes about the depth and breadth of horror, and I tip my hat to my fellow Morlocks for their insightful explorations of the genre. I conclude our blogathon by offering some thoughts on a genre that cinephiles tend to embrace, though mainstream movie-goers seldom take it seriously.

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It’s no great surprise that the two movie genres that gripped me so thoroughly when I was a little kid and which continue to dominate my love of cinema to this day (as I careen towards geezerdom) are horror and comedy.  They are much closer than they might superficially appear.  I’ve been to plenty of comedy films that induced in audiences gasps of awe and terror, and horror films that provoked in audiences nervous laughter.  Drawing a line between the two involves splitting hairs and other forms of killjoy pedantry.

And so, in honor of Halloween, I’d like to tip my hat to one of the most venerable tropes of classic gothic horror, which also happens to be a slapstick mainstay: the old dark house!

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During the month of October I’m often asked to recommend my favorite horror films. But recommending scary movies can be a tricky business. What frightens me might make you merely shrug your shoulders and laugh out loud. And if you’re a serious horror fan there’s a high probability that you’ve seen a lot of well-regarded classic films such as THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA (1925), FRANKENSTEIN (1931), PSYCHO (1960) and Val Lewton’s various movies as well as Halloween standards like THE SHINING (1980), CARRIE (1976), NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD (1968) and HALLOWEEN (1978) so recommending movies can become rather redundant. Instead of simply suggesting some of my favorite horror films for you to watch I thought I’d share some of my favorite scary moments from films that have left a deep impression on me over the years. So pull up a chair and make yourself comfortable while I share something REALLY scary.

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Yesterday, I joined my friends from the Chicago Film Discussion Group for our monthly brunch at the tragically hip Holiday Club. Each month, we meet to discuss a designated topic, exchange suggestions for movies, and catch up on what everyone has seen. In tune with the season, the topic of discussion yesterday was horror films. Facilitated by our intrepid co-organizer, Brad Strauss, we spent three fun hours discussing subtle versus explicit horror, debating the merits of 1970s grindhouse movies, pondering whether women  see the conventions and themes of horror movies differently than men, and speculating on what makes a film frightening. New member Robert Dennis mentioned the importance of sound in making a film scary, prompting us to recall our favorite examples.

“Men trust their ears less than their eyes,” according to Ancient Greek historian Herodotus, and I think that applies to most movie-goers, who  are more aware of visual style in films than sound design. The exception may be the horror genre, which offers ample opportunity to explore the artistry of sound, because sound effects and music are such an important part of the texture of terror.

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Last week the manager, cashier, and projectionist at the film venue I program confronted me about the music I’d selected to play before the shows. I like to mix it up with classical, jazz, soul, but also contemporary indie rock – this last category being the one to get me in hot water. My staff let me know that several customers had complained, one even going so far as to suggest that whoever had assembled the music must be a blood thirsty deviant or pedophile. I was shocked, asked for the CD, and took it home so that I might hear it with new ears.  READ MORE

We begin with a warning:

FRANKENSTEIN-warning

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This vaguely threatening yet ironically tongue-in-cheek admonition would influence generations of horror filmmakers to come. And I don’t just refer to all the times that savvy exploitationists would post nurses in the lobby to relieve the fainthearted, or take out insurance policies in cases audience members died of fright. Those are stories for another day. What matters to me today is that bit where Edward Van Sloan worries that Frankenstein did what he did “without reckoning on God.”

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We live in the age of remakes and prequels. Every month Hollywood rolls out an easily recognizable title that’s been repackaged and recast with a plot that’s all too familiar. The horror and science fiction genre has been hit the hardest by these reimagined movies that all too often fall extremely short of the original film they’re trying to ape. But that’s not always the case. Once in a very rare while a talented director such as John Carpenter (THE THING; 1982),  Philip Kaufman (INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS; 1978) or David Cronenberg (THE FLY; 1986) comes along and remakes a film that’s as compelling as the original. Notice I didn’t say “better” than the original because I don’t think that’s always the case but a good remake or reimagining can bring something unique to the work that allows us to see the original film with new eyes. A good remake should also be distinct enough to stand on its own as a gripping piece of filmmaking. Today too many directors rely on nostalgia and familiarity to bring in audiences. Their work seems to suffer from a lack of purpose and has no distinct vision.

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