As I anxiously await all the little "beggars" (doesn't anyone actually trick-or-treat on Halloween anymore), I am sad that October is coming to an end. I have enjoyed sharing, and debating, my horror picks with you all this month. This week includes my favorites that haven't had a place elsewhere this month. Enjoy and HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!
Television: American Gothic
How many of you actually watched this show? More importantly, how many of you have actually heard of this show? I can think of only a couple, if that. I loved this series, short-lived though it was. The show aired in 1995-96 for a whopping 22 episodes and starred Gary Cole as Lucas Buck and Sarah Paulson (who went on to do Deadwood and Studio 60) as Merlyn. Think of them as the devil and an angel, quite literally. Lucas runs the small town of Trinity, NC and kills Merlyn in the very first episode. Merlyn's brother, Caleb (Lucas Black), who is also Lucas's son, brings her back to the town. It's very complex but quite engaging. It should be considering Sam Raimi was an exec producer. I had completely forgotten about how much I liked this show until the Chill channel ran an all-day marathon last Sunday. I sat and watched for six hours straight. If it runs again, catch it. It's everything good that gothic should be.
Film: Thirteen Ghosts
There are few horror films that I love to watch over and over and over again. This is one of them. Released in 2001, this film had some acting chops - Tony Shalhoub and Matthew Lillard (who always looks like he's having a blast) - at least for a horror film. What I like about it, however, is the effects. Somehow, Director Steve Beck manages to make some super-creepy ghosts. Normally I agree with Stephen King who believes that horror works only until we see the monster and, subsequently, the zipper running up the monster's back. In Thirteen Ghosts, that zipper does not exists. Some of the ghosts still make me shudder. If you're looking for a good, solid, scary movie for Halloween night, go with this one. You'll have a good time.
Literature: The Haunting of Hill House
Shirley Jackson's work has influenced some of the most prolific, contemporary writers and well it should. This is her masterpiece. It is one woman's slow slide into paranoid schizophrenia. The problem is, she may just have been pushed by a truly villainous being: a house. Jackson showed the world the potential in an evil object. There are no real ghosts in Hill House, just an inexplicable bad place. As you read, you will certainly see parallels between it and King's The Shining. He makes no bones about the fact that Jackson is one of his biggest influences and even refers to the novel towards the end of his own. I would not suggest reading this book alone at night. Even though it was published in 1959, the tale still has a bite. Just remember, whatever walks in Hill House walks alone.
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Sunday, October 21, 2007
The Vamps
It had to come at some point this month. I could not let four weeks go by without paying homage to the most important of the horror archetypes. More interesting than Frankenstein's Monster and more symbolic than the werewolf, vampires have been around forever. They began their mythological ride as zombies - yep, they simply rose from the dead and ate people - and now - thanks in no small part to Hammer Horror and Christopher Lee - they are the coolest, suavest, sexiest of the archetypes.
Television: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
DUH! Buffy wasn't the first vampire show nor was it the last. But it did something no other vampire show did: it was Emmy-worthy, even if the stupid Emmys never gave it the recognition it deserved. Television critics for all of the major entertainment players sang Buffy's praises and right they should have (and still do). Joss Whedon gave the world a blonde, ditsy monster hunter who revolutionized vampire fiction and women's roles on the telly. He put the traditional victim of the slasher film into the role of the slasher. And along the way he threw in more pop culture references than even I could get. The stories were interesting (Okay, we'll ignore Season 5 when the show jumped the shark) and the effects were pretty cool for the fledgling WB and UPN budgets. In addition, the character development was fantastic with minor characters (Anya, Andrew) coming back for their own story arcs. And even the spin-off, Angel, is worthy of notice. (Can anyone name what rhymes with "refulgent"?) Naysayers out there be shamed! If you haven't ever given this show its due, now is the time. Rent Season 1 and I guarantee you'll be hooked!!
Literature: Laurell K. Hamilton
Nope, Laurell K. Hamilton is not the name of a book; it's actually the name of the author for the Anita Blake: Vampire Killer series. At last count, there were 22 books in all. I've read the first three but I'm already totally hooked. Whenever I want a nice break from heavier fiction, I go on half.com and buy two or three installments of this candy-for-the-brain series. Anita is a necromancer in St. Louis, MO. Yep, she raises the dead for profit. She also happens to be very good at it and, in the second book, finds herself to be a very powerful one indeed. It just so happens that St. Louis also has a vampire problems. Occasionally these vamps break the law and Anita is hired to kill them. She is a very powerful entity and that is why the head vamp is in love with her. And so is a werewolf. And it just gets crazier from there. I'm not saying this is the best vampire series on the planet, or even that it is great literature, but the series is a lot of fun and I strongly suggest it for an all-day, thunderstorm-outside, read-a-thon.
Film: The Hunger (1983)
This one was really, really, really, really difficult! I have seen so many vampire films that it's hard to narrow to just one. I mean, there is Horror of Dracula, Interview with the Vampire, The Lost Boys, Blacula. How do you choose just one? I went with the film that forever changed my idea of vampires. In this film you have Mariam (Catherine Deneuve), an ancient vampire, who is just trying to find eternal love. See, in The Hunger you actually have to be born a vampire to have eternal youth. Ah, and there is the problem. What is eternal life without eternal youth? Unfortunately, Mariam has a collection of past lovers in trunks in her attic. Did I mention they're all still alive? It's not until she meets Dr. Sarah Roberts (Susan Sarandon) that she finds a possible lover and eternal mate. But then things get problematic as they always do. This is an arthouse film that appeals to the masses. That said, it's not for the young. Mariam and John (David Bowie) have some pretty explicit sex scenes at the film's beginning. If you haven't seen this film and still consider yourself a vampire film junkie, you really aren't one quite yet.
Next week ends the Halloween fun. To wrap up the month, I'll be doing a "Best of the Rest" blog.
Television: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
DUH! Buffy wasn't the first vampire show nor was it the last. But it did something no other vampire show did: it was Emmy-worthy, even if the stupid Emmys never gave it the recognition it deserved. Television critics for all of the major entertainment players sang Buffy's praises and right they should have (and still do). Joss Whedon gave the world a blonde, ditsy monster hunter who revolutionized vampire fiction and women's roles on the telly. He put the traditional victim of the slasher film into the role of the slasher. And along the way he threw in more pop culture references than even I could get. The stories were interesting (Okay, we'll ignore Season 5 when the show jumped the shark) and the effects were pretty cool for the fledgling WB and UPN budgets. In addition, the character development was fantastic with minor characters (Anya, Andrew) coming back for their own story arcs. And even the spin-off, Angel, is worthy of notice. (Can anyone name what rhymes with "refulgent"?) Naysayers out there be shamed! If you haven't ever given this show its due, now is the time. Rent Season 1 and I guarantee you'll be hooked!!
Literature: Laurell K. Hamilton
Nope, Laurell K. Hamilton is not the name of a book; it's actually the name of the author for the Anita Blake: Vampire Killer series. At last count, there were 22 books in all. I've read the first three but I'm already totally hooked. Whenever I want a nice break from heavier fiction, I go on half.com and buy two or three installments of this candy-for-the-brain series. Anita is a necromancer in St. Louis, MO. Yep, she raises the dead for profit. She also happens to be very good at it and, in the second book, finds herself to be a very powerful one indeed. It just so happens that St. Louis also has a vampire problems. Occasionally these vamps break the law and Anita is hired to kill them. She is a very powerful entity and that is why the head vamp is in love with her. And so is a werewolf. And it just gets crazier from there. I'm not saying this is the best vampire series on the planet, or even that it is great literature, but the series is a lot of fun and I strongly suggest it for an all-day, thunderstorm-outside, read-a-thon.
Film: The Hunger (1983)
This one was really, really, really, really difficult! I have seen so many vampire films that it's hard to narrow to just one. I mean, there is Horror of Dracula, Interview with the Vampire, The Lost Boys, Blacula. How do you choose just one? I went with the film that forever changed my idea of vampires. In this film you have Mariam (Catherine Deneuve), an ancient vampire, who is just trying to find eternal love. See, in The Hunger you actually have to be born a vampire to have eternal youth. Ah, and there is the problem. What is eternal life without eternal youth? Unfortunately, Mariam has a collection of past lovers in trunks in her attic. Did I mention they're all still alive? It's not until she meets Dr. Sarah Roberts (Susan Sarandon) that she finds a possible lover and eternal mate. But then things get problematic as they always do. This is an arthouse film that appeals to the masses. That said, it's not for the young. Mariam and John (David Bowie) have some pretty explicit sex scenes at the film's beginning. If you haven't seen this film and still consider yourself a vampire film junkie, you really aren't one quite yet.
Next week ends the Halloween fun. To wrap up the month, I'll be doing a "Best of the Rest" blog.
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Classic Gothic
Before I get to the good stuff I must begin with a brief literature lesson. Named after the infamous Goths of northern Europe - those dastardly barbarians who actually succeded in pillaging and plundering the Roman Empire - the gothic officially began as a genre when Horace Walpole published The Castle of Otranto in 1764. Other gothic novels followed, including Matthew Lewis's The Monk (1796), Ann Radcliffe's The Italian; or The Confession of the BlackPenitents (1797), and, of course, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1818). Simply put, the classic gothic employed a supernatural element to help move the story along. In the early works, the supernatural elements were almost always explained. The goal of the story was to scare the reader and then return the reader to the time's status quo. In other words, chaos reigned for all of 100+ pages and then was defeated and/or explained so that the reader's fear ended. In the mid-1800s, however, the supernatural elements became more and more extreme and less mundane. By the late 1800s, the gothic had evolved into a genre with inexplicable supernatural events, but the status quo remainded by the text's end. It was not until the 1950s (thank Robert Bloch and Alfred Hitchcock for a little novel/film called Psycho) that chaos reigned supreme at the end of the text. But I want to focus on the "best of the best" of the classic gothic, the stuff that came out before Psycho because, unfortunately, this is the stuff that is slowly being forgotten. (Okay, technically my television choice is after Psycho but the feel of the show places it firmly in classic gothic.)
Literature: The Fall of the House of Usher
I could have gone with so many texts so where do I begin? Why, the mac daddy of them all: Edgar Allan Poe. How could I possibly post a classic gothic blog without him? It would be blasphemy!!!! Why "Usher"? Well, this story still scares the beejezus out of me. I've read it about a dozen times and I still peer over my shoulder when Madeline appears. Eek! If you've never read "Usher," pick it up. You can find it online but I suggest you print it out to read. If you want to read about the decaying Usher family and their incestuous past, do it under a blanket with your back against the wall. For added spookiness, read it during a thunderstorm.
Film: Nosferatu (1922)
Again, which to choose? Both John Barrymoore's Jekyll and Hyde and Lon Chaney's Phantom of the Opera were options here. In the end, however, I went with the first film adaptation of Stoker's Dracula. (Although the close runner-up was The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. Those German Expressionists knew their gothic!) The effects won't surprise anyone today, nor will the story keep you on the edge of your seat. However, if you want to see what the early filmmakers did with a gothic text, this is the film to watch. Gothic was made for film and it didn't take long for filmmakers to realize it. Plus, since F. W. Murnau didn't have the rights to Stoker's novel, he played with the storyline. In this adaptation, Nina (Mina from the novel) is the true hero. She is the one who vanquishes the evil vampire, although I won't spoil the ending by telling you how. Oh, and after you've seen Nosferatu, rent Shadow of the Vampire (2000), a mock behind-the-scenes film that offers the possibilty Max Schreck (the vampire) was a true vampire.
Television Show: The Twilight Zone
First, I need to tell you all that I mean the original. None of this remake crap! On holiday weekends The Sci Fi Channel runs Twilight Zone marathons. As a teenager, I was fascinated. I would watch as many episodes as I could get away with. You're going to get a wide variety from a marathon, anything from aliens to paranoia to the atomic bomb. Some are definitely better than others and not all of them are really gothic. The ones that are gothic - and have always creeped me out - are "The Passersby," "Deaths-Head Revisited," and "The Midnight Sun." It should come as no surprise that The Twilight Zone is the best gothic television has to offer; many of its authors are still considered classic gothic writers of the 1950s. You all may also be surprised to learn that many plot lines from Zone became popular stories in the hands of other writers, but I'll leave it up to you to figure out which ones. (Stephen King was a huge Zone fan, hint hint.)
Next week tune in for famous vampire tales...
Literature: The Fall of the House of Usher
I could have gone with so many texts so where do I begin? Why, the mac daddy of them all: Edgar Allan Poe. How could I possibly post a classic gothic blog without him? It would be blasphemy!!!! Why "Usher"? Well, this story still scares the beejezus out of me. I've read it about a dozen times and I still peer over my shoulder when Madeline appears. Eek! If you've never read "Usher," pick it up. You can find it online but I suggest you print it out to read. If you want to read about the decaying Usher family and their incestuous past, do it under a blanket with your back against the wall. For added spookiness, read it during a thunderstorm.
Film: Nosferatu (1922)
Again, which to choose? Both John Barrymoore's Jekyll and Hyde and Lon Chaney's Phantom of the Opera were options here. In the end, however, I went with the first film adaptation of Stoker's Dracula. (Although the close runner-up was The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. Those German Expressionists knew their gothic!) The effects won't surprise anyone today, nor will the story keep you on the edge of your seat. However, if you want to see what the early filmmakers did with a gothic text, this is the film to watch. Gothic was made for film and it didn't take long for filmmakers to realize it. Plus, since F. W. Murnau didn't have the rights to Stoker's novel, he played with the storyline. In this adaptation, Nina (Mina from the novel) is the true hero. She is the one who vanquishes the evil vampire, although I won't spoil the ending by telling you how. Oh, and after you've seen Nosferatu, rent Shadow of the Vampire (2000), a mock behind-the-scenes film that offers the possibilty Max Schreck (the vampire) was a true vampire.
Television Show: The Twilight Zone
First, I need to tell you all that I mean the original. None of this remake crap! On holiday weekends The Sci Fi Channel runs Twilight Zone marathons. As a teenager, I was fascinated. I would watch as many episodes as I could get away with. You're going to get a wide variety from a marathon, anything from aliens to paranoia to the atomic bomb. Some are definitely better than others and not all of them are really gothic. The ones that are gothic - and have always creeped me out - are "The Passersby," "Deaths-Head Revisited," and "The Midnight Sun." It should come as no surprise that The Twilight Zone is the best gothic television has to offer; many of its authors are still considered classic gothic writers of the 1950s. You all may also be surprised to learn that many plot lines from Zone became popular stories in the hands of other writers, but I'll leave it up to you to figure out which ones. (Stephen King was a huge Zone fan, hint hint.)
Next week tune in for famous vampire tales...
Sunday, October 7, 2007
The Countdown to Halloween
Now, you all know I can't let this month go by without talking horror. So, in honor of one of my most favorite of holidays, this week begins four weeks of horror on the Excellent Pop Culture Blog. To begin, we have the King of Horror: Stephen King himself. Today's blog is devoted to him.
Film: 1408
Just when you thought he was getting trite in his old age, Stephen King comes out with a wowser of a screenplay. I know, you're thinking it's The Shining in New York. Nope, totally not. First, the story is actually quite interesting. John Cusack is a father/writer struggling with the death of his child. He decides to debunk all haunted hotels in America and ends up in Room 1408 at the Dolphin Hotel. What happens there actually raised the hair on the back of my neck, and we all know that rarely happens. Second, John Cusack has moved into the next phase of his career: the father-figure. He's doing it very well. I totally bought him as a depressed father. Finally, Morgan Freeman's character will leave you wondering, "Was he in on it or was he completely in the dark?" Good stuff and I highly suggest it as a possible Halloween flick.
Book: The Stand
I have read a lot of King and enjoyed most of it. None has ever frightened me the way The Stand has. I first read it as a sophomore in college. I have read it three times since. I still get goosebumps. In the long tradition of American gothic writers (think back to the great-grand-daddy of American gothic, Charles Brockden Brown), King makes the vast emptiness of this vast country truly terrifying. After a superbug wipes out most of the population, those still standing go to either Bolder, CO (the good guys) or Las Vegas (the bad guys). To get there, they have to travel great distances alone with no music or tv to keep them company. Just imagine! I get creeped out driving 50 at night across Ohio and I occasionally see other folks on the road. I couldn't begin to consider what it would be like to travel across a state and see no one. If you haven't already read this gem, King's fourth book, I strongly recommend it. Unlike 80s television shows, it stands the test of time.
Television: The Shining
Yes, I could have included USA's The Dead Zone here. I have watched it on and off over the years and it's okay. Instead, though, I wanted one of his miniseries. Kubrick did a great job with King's novel. Well, he did a good job using King's setting and characters in a slasher film. But what Kubrick did not convey King's intended message. To remedy the unsavory - by King's standards - adaptation, in 1997 ABC let King write a new screenplay for the miniseries. Stephen Weber (Wings) plays Jack and Rebecca de Mornay plays Wendy. The two really work well on screen and bring King's story of domestic violence to life. There are some cheesy moments, as there will be with any miniseries, but for the most part the film holds up. The inclusion of Melvin Van Peebles as Dick Halloran didn't hurt either.
Tune in next week for the "Classic Gothic" blog...
Film: 1408
Just when you thought he was getting trite in his old age, Stephen King comes out with a wowser of a screenplay. I know, you're thinking it's The Shining in New York. Nope, totally not. First, the story is actually quite interesting. John Cusack is a father/writer struggling with the death of his child. He decides to debunk all haunted hotels in America and ends up in Room 1408 at the Dolphin Hotel. What happens there actually raised the hair on the back of my neck, and we all know that rarely happens. Second, John Cusack has moved into the next phase of his career: the father-figure. He's doing it very well. I totally bought him as a depressed father. Finally, Morgan Freeman's character will leave you wondering, "Was he in on it or was he completely in the dark?" Good stuff and I highly suggest it as a possible Halloween flick.
Book: The Stand
I have read a lot of King and enjoyed most of it. None has ever frightened me the way The Stand has. I first read it as a sophomore in college. I have read it three times since. I still get goosebumps. In the long tradition of American gothic writers (think back to the great-grand-daddy of American gothic, Charles Brockden Brown), King makes the vast emptiness of this vast country truly terrifying. After a superbug wipes out most of the population, those still standing go to either Bolder, CO (the good guys) or Las Vegas (the bad guys). To get there, they have to travel great distances alone with no music or tv to keep them company. Just imagine! I get creeped out driving 50 at night across Ohio and I occasionally see other folks on the road. I couldn't begin to consider what it would be like to travel across a state and see no one. If you haven't already read this gem, King's fourth book, I strongly recommend it. Unlike 80s television shows, it stands the test of time.
Television: The Shining
Yes, I could have included USA's The Dead Zone here. I have watched it on and off over the years and it's okay. Instead, though, I wanted one of his miniseries. Kubrick did a great job with King's novel. Well, he did a good job using King's setting and characters in a slasher film. But what Kubrick did not convey King's intended message. To remedy the unsavory - by King's standards - adaptation, in 1997 ABC let King write a new screenplay for the miniseries. Stephen Weber (Wings) plays Jack and Rebecca de Mornay plays Wendy. The two really work well on screen and bring King's story of domestic violence to life. There are some cheesy moments, as there will be with any miniseries, but for the most part the film holds up. The inclusion of Melvin Van Peebles as Dick Halloran didn't hurt either.
Tune in next week for the "Classic Gothic" blog...
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