Tagarchief: Horror

The Faculty

Posted on by Jeppe Kleijngeld

Director: Robert Rodriguez
Written by: Kevin Williamson, Bruce Kimmel, David Wechter
Cast: Jordana Brewster, Clea DuVall, Josh Hartnett, Elijah Wood

Year / Country: 1998, USA
Running Time: 104 mins.

If aliens want to take over the world, would they come blasting Independence Day-style or sneak in the backdoor? In The Faculty they obviously choose for the second strategy. At a high school in Ohio, Casey Connor (Elijah Wood) finds a small mysterious organism on the football field that seems to love water. Simultaneously, the school’s staff is starting to act increasingly weird.

Within a day, the entire faculty is taken over by the parasites. Then they start to take over the entire school. A small group of mostly outcast students discover the conspiracy. They decide to strike back before the entire world is taken over. In theory, they should be able to stop the threat if they find and destroy the mother alien. The question is, who did the mother choose as a host? Could it be the school’s principal? Or is it the crazed football coach?

The Faculty is an enjoyable homage to the Body Snatchers-legacy. The screenplay by Kevin Willamson (Scream) contains all his trademark qualities; postmodern movie references; humor; and a surprising twist at the end. It also has camp value, supported by a killer cast including Salma Hayek, Famke Janssen and Robert Patrick.

Rodriguez is doing a fine job directing. This sort of Carpenter / Stephen King material suits him well. He gets decent performances out of his stellar cast. Mostly, he is a brilliant editor; plot, action and tension are combined in a dynamic mix that moves just fast enough to entertain throughout its duration. Robert Patrick steals the show as the possessed football coach. He effectively portrays an alien-host, using creepy and hilarious body language to perfection. The Faculty never received the appreciation of similar modern sci-fi horrors. Unjustly so. Its ‘problems’ are far outweighed by its strong points. Therefore, I must conclude that this is an underrated flick that definitely deserves to be re-evaluated.

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Biography: Robert Rodriguez (1988, Texas) saw John Carpenter’s Escape From New York in 1981 and proclaimed “I am going to make movies”. Ten years later, Rodriguez made his feature debut with El Mariachi, an almost single handedly made action film that cost him only 7.000 dollars. It made Rodriguez a legend of independent, ultra-low budget filmmaking. His further career is a sign for young filmmakers that even the wildest dreams may come true if you are brave enough to follow your own path. He has directed many movies since, often collaborating with Quentin Tarantino. Besides directing, he frequently acts as cinematographer like he did on El Mariachi.

Filmography (a selection): Bedhead (1991, short) / El Mariachi (1992), Roadracers (1994, TV), Desperado (1995), Four Rooms (1996, segment ‘The Misbehavors’), From Dusk Till Dawn (1996), The Faculty (1998), Spy Kids (2001), Spy Kids 2: Island of Lost Dreams (2002), Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over (2003), Once Upon a Time in Mexico (2003), Sin City (2005), The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl 3-D (2005), Grindhouse (2007, segment ‘Planet Terror’), Machete (2010), Machete Kills (2013), Sin City: A Dame to Kill For (2014), Alita: Battle Angel (2019), The Mandalorian (2020, TV episode)

Planet Terror

Posted on by Jeppe Kleijngeld

Director: Robert Rodriguez
Written by: Robert Rodriguez
Cast: Rose McGowan, Freddy Rodriguez, Josh Brolin, Marley Shelton

Year / Country: 2007, USA
Running Time: 105 mins.

After an experimental bio-weapon is released, thousands of civilians are turned into zombie-like creatures. It is up to a small group of survivors to stop the infected and those behind its release. The group of survivors includes go-go dancer Cherry Darling and her ex-boyfriend, the mysterious El Wray. Cherry is searching for ways to put her ‘useless talents’ to good use. The zombie threat might give her a great opportunity for this.

Planet Terror is Rodriguez’ contribution to the double-bill Grindhouse. It is also a tribute to the zombie genre. Opinions differ on whether Planet Terror or Tarantino’s Death Proof is the best part of Grindhouse. I personally prefer Tarantino’s production. Since the idea behind Grindhouse was to replicate the experience of viewing exploitation films in a ‘grindhouse’ theatre, it is probably not the best idea to make a high budget too apparent. With Death Proof this is the case. Planet Terror on the other hand has so many explosions and spectacular action scenes a la Desperado that it is obviously a movie shot on a major budget. The casting of Hollywood icon Bruce Willis also doesn’t contribute to the exploitation feel. It is however successful in delivering entertainment without any pretensions. There is no film that has a cooler way of showing zombies getting blown to bits.

Some casting choices have also turned out well. Rose McGowan proves to be, especially in the go-go dance-opening scene, to be one of the sexiest actresses around. She gets good support from Rodriguez (no relation), who positions himself well as an action star. As a proper zombie tribute requires, Tom Savini is present for a bit part. Many of the other cast members have worked with Rodriguez before. All in all, Planet Terror is not exactly a masterpiece, not in general nor in its kind. But…there are definitely fun bits. Some extremely gory hospital scenes come to mind.

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Biography: Robert Rodriguez (1988, Texas) saw John Carpenter’s Escape From New York in 1981 and proclaimed “I am going to make movies”. Ten years later, Rodriguez made his feature debut with El Mariachi, an almost single handedly made action film that cost him only 7.000 dollars. It made Rodriguez a legend of independent, ultra-low budget filmmaking. His further career is a sign for young filmmakers that even the wildest dreams may come true if you are brave enough to follow your own path. He has directed many movies since, often collaborating with Quentin Tarantino. Besides directing, he frequently acts as cinematographer like he did on El Mariachi.

Filmography (a selection): Bedhead (1991, short), El Mariachi (1992), Roadracers (1994, TV), Desperado (1995), Four Rooms (1996, segment ‘The Misbehavors’), From Dusk Till Dawn (1996), The Faculty (1998), Spy Kids (2001), Spy Kids 2: Island of Lost Dreams (2002), Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over (2003), Once Upon a Time in Mexico (2003), Sin City (2005), The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl 3-D (2005), Grindhouse (2007, segment ‘Planet Terror’), Machete (2010), Machete Kills (2013), Sin City: A Dame to Kill For (2014), Alita: Battle Angel (2019), The Mandalorian (2020, TV episode)

Horror of Dracula

Posted on by Jeppe Kleijngeld

Director: Terence Fisher
Written by: Bram Stoker (novel), Jimmy Sangster
Cast: Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, Michael Gough, Melissa Stribling

Year / Country: 1958, UK
Running Time: 82 mins.

With The Curse of Frankenstein in 1957, Hammer Studios began the revival of early Gothic horror films. The team behind it consisted of director Terence Fisher, screenwriter Jimmy Sangster, and actors Peter Cushing as Victor Frankenstein and Christopher Lee as the creature. It became a considerable classic. After Mary Shelley, it was now time for a retelling of Bram Stoker’s ‘Dracula’. The cast and crew remained largely the same.

The story is well known: a librarian named Jonathan Harker arrives at Dracula’s castle and quickly notices that no birds are singing. He is supposedly there to index Count Dracula’s books, but secretly intends to destroy the count and end his reign of terror. His mission fails. Not long afterward, Doctor Van Helsing arrives with the same purpose as his former friend and colleague. A deadly game ensues between the demonic Dracula and the cunning Van Helsing.

Unlike Tod Browning’s original Dracula, the Hammer version has not aged nearly as noticeably. As a result, this is the version that can still be enjoyed by generations to come. Fisher’s vision is compelling; he reportedly refused to watch Browning’s film so that it would not influence him and he hit a home run. Horror of Dracula proved universally popular and is commonly regarded as both Fisher’s and Hammer’s finest work. Despite the typical Hammer gore, Dracula has seldom appeared as majestic as he does here.

The cast is a joy as well. Lee’s first performance as the Lord of the Undead is strikingly pure and memorable, not yet diluted by the countless unnecessary sequels that would follow. Peter Cushing may be even better as Van Helsing. He takes the material seriously and knows how to involve the audience in his sacred mission, while still managing to throw in touches of humor here and there.

For the ultimate Dracula classic, look no further than this version. It’s absolutely spellbinding. Classic horror was seldom better.

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Biography: Terence Fisher (1904, London – 1980, London) was a very active British filmmaker who directed no less than sixty movies in his career. He entered the film business as a clapper and made it to editor quite soon. When he made his directorial debut he was already quite old, but swiftly made up for it in quantity. His big break came in 1956 when, at the age of 52, he directed the Hammer Studios’ remake of Frankenstein. The Curse of Frankenstein became a cinema hit. Fisher continued to make films for the Hammer Studios, making many remakes of Universal monster classics. He directed Peter Cushing fourteen and Christopher Lee twelve times. He kept making horror movies till the end of his career in 1974. He died in 1980, aged 76.

Filmography (a selection): Portrait from Life (1948), A Song for Tomorrow (1948), Colonel Bogey (1948, short), The Astonished Heart (1950), Home to Danger (1951), Distant Trumpet (1952), Mantrap (1953), Spaceways (1953), Face the Music (1954), Final Appointment (1954), Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. Presents (1953-55, TV episodes), The Flaw (1955), The Last Man to Hang? (1956), The Curse of Frankenstein (1957), The Adventures of Robin Hood (1956/57, TV episodes), Horror of Dracula (1958), The Revenge of Frankenstein (1958), Dial 999 (1959, TV episodes), The Hound of the Baskervilles (1959), The Mummy (1959), The Brides of Dracula (1960), Sherlock Holmes and the Deadly Necklace (1962), The Gorgon (1964), Dracula: Prince of Darkness (1966), Island of Terror (1966), Frankenstein Created Woman (1967), Night of the Big Heat (1967), The Devil Rides Out (1968), Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed (1969), Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell (1974)

Videodrome

Posted on by Jeppe Kleijngeld

Director: David Cronenberg
Written by: David Cronenberg
Cast: James Woods, Sonja Smits, Deborah Harry, Peter Dvorsky

Year / Country: 1983, Canada
Running Time: 84 mins.

In David Cronenberg’s Videodrome, shabby network TV-producer Max Renn (James Woods) is searching for the ultimate shock-TV experience to serve his buccaneers. When his tech-man Harlan breaks into a secret cult-network show called ‘Videodrome’ he finds what he is looking for. A series of snuff videos that are very grotesque, realistic and brutal. Not meant for public consumption. But, as Max puts it, his channel is too small to be considered public.

Max justifies his occupation with economics. His network is small and can only survive by giving the audience something they can’t get anywhere else, hence his interest in Videodrome. When Max participates in a television debate about the ethics of his work, he meets the girl Nicki with whom he hooks up afterwards. She turns out to be pretty much a masochist, who wants to audition for Videodrome herself. Then Max finds out that the show – that is all about torture, mutilation and murder – is real.

When Max goes to speak to television guru Brian O’Blivion, he starts having hallucinations. And very soon the lines between reality and video begin to fade. It goes deep. What we learn along with Max is that reality is pure perception. According to O’Blivion, Videodrome will eventually evolve the human brain so that it will be able to control hallucinations and change the human reality entirely.

Master of body horror David Cronenberg sets up this creepy movie perfectly. The prospect of an unleashed hallucination machine is pretty much terrifying, especially after seeing what Max sees. Max has to watch his own body mutate when a videocassette inserter appears in his belly. This can be used by the creators of Videodrome to insert hallucinations in the form of pulsating VHS-cassettes. The flesh transformations are made very gruesomely by FX-wizard Rick Baker. A frightening exploration of the mind of those who like extreme stuff. A movie that was ahead of its time and is still powerful today in both style and message.

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Biography: David Cronenberg (1943, Toronto), also known as the King of Venereal Horror or the Baron of Blood, grew up in Toronto. His father was a journalist and his mother a piano player. Cronenberg graduated from the University of Toronto with a degree in literature after switching from the science department. He then turned to filmmaking and reached a cult status with a few early horror features including Shivers and Rabid. He rapidly became a very popular genre filmmaker and eventually a true auteur, making profound statements on modern humanity and ever-changing society.

Filmography (a selection): Transfer (1966, short) / Stereo (1969) / Shivers (1975) / Rabid (1977) / Fast Company (1979) / The Brood (1979) / Scanners (1981) / The Dead Zone (1983) / The Fly (1986) / Dead Ringers (1988) / Naked Lunch (1991) / Crash (1996) / eXistenZ (1999) / Spider (2002) / A History of Violence (2005) / Eastern Promises (2007) / A Dangerous Method (2011) / Cosmopolis (2012) / Crimes of the Future (2022)