Movie Roundup: Visiting Hours (1982), Machete Kills (2013), and Stage Fright (2014)

Visiting Hours (1982)
Michael Ironside is one of the most recognizable and most fun actors working today, I think. Many might not know his name, but they've definitely seen his distinctive face here and there over the past few decades. I think he's great, so I was very excited to see Visiting Hours - and he more than delivered for me! Visiting Hours is a strange, Lifetime-esque kind of movie wherein an obsessed creep (Ironside) stalks a feminist news reporter, Deborah, first in her home, then in the local hospital. Rather than being a rather banal hack 'n' slash movie where lots of innocents are butchered as Ironside makes his way to his target, the movie is actually a quite tense thriller/drama. I liked the scenes with Ironside that explored his psychopathy, and also liked the stuff with the nurse that Deborah befriends. Her character also adds to the strange woman-power theme of the movie, as she is a single working mother. I'm guessing this theme has something to do with what happened to Ironside's character as a kid - where his mother killed (?) his father. But even this is a little convoluted because the father seemed like the initial abuser and she was just defending herself. Why would this lead to the character's hatred of women? Whatever, I'm no psychologist. Visiting Hours is a good movie, especially for fans of Ironside. Definitely recommended.

Oh yeah, and William Shatner is in the movie too. Awesome.

Machete Kills (2013)

I watched Machete Kills right after Visiting Hours, in the hopes of ending the night on more of a fun note. Oh, I could not have picked a more perfect movie to achieve that goal! Just like its predecessor, Machete Kills is nothing more than a straight-up crazy flick with hot women, hilarious acting, and outrageous violence. Even if you think the gore and violence starts out amazingly in the beginning with Machete literally slicing through a bunch of cartel guys - trust me, it gets about 100 times better. Sometimes there's a bit of a lull while some crazy backstory or side story is explained, but they more than make up for it with face-changing killers, multiple helicopter kills, boob and penis guns, and one deliciously brilliant little device that turns the human body inside out instantaneously. Really, it's just glorious. Danny "Machete" Trejo and the rest of the outrageous and somewhat oddball cast (Sophia Vergara, Mel Gibson, Alexa Vega, Amber Heard, Michelle Rodriguez, Charlie Sheen) are just as awesome as you think they are going to be. I was surprised to find out that these other characters actually managed to outshine Trejo at times! Blasphemy! But the man takes it in stride, and knows that he is the only MACHETE. Okay, now I'm getting weird. Machete Kills kicks serious booty. Watch it.

And dear goodness, they had fucking better make Machete Kills Again In Space because I will be all over that.

Stage Fright (2014)
All I can say to myself is, "I told you so." I told you, self, that you probably will not like the musical/comedy/horror thing called Stage Fright - Meatloaf or no Meatloaf. I'm not generally a big fan of musicals - though there are definitely some that I love - but I thought one that tried to combine itself with the  horror genre was at least worth a look. The problem with Stage Fright, though, is that it is not really that great at any of the genres that it tries to employ. Maybe I'm not the best judge, but it's a pretty crappy musical and an even worse comedy. The first musical number is slightly amusing because it's not what you expect, but after that it's just a weird mish-mash of genres and tones, at which you don't know whether to laugh or cry. The killer is ridiculously easy to figure out, as are his motives, so in the end you don't care because you know how it's going to end. Meh, don't really have anything else to say. Didn't dig this one.

Halloween Rules Review: Halloween (2007)

 

It always looks to me like there's a huge dichotomy amongst horror fans when it comes to Rob Zombie. Maybe some of the dissenters were okay with him when he was doing his own stuff with House of 1000 Corpses and The Devil's Rejects; but when he took on the remake of one of the biggest horror classics of all time? Understandably, there was much scrutiny involved. As a general fan of Zombie's feature work, my opinion of the Halloween remake has always been favorable, with only the tiniest bit of nitpicks.

Zombie's movie follows the basic storyline that Carpenter's gave us, with the young Michael Myers murdering his sister on Halloween night and being sent to an institution under the care of Dr. Loomis. He escapes many years later, again on Halloween, in pursuit of his now teenaged sister Laurie and her friends.

What Zombie adds to the story is an attempt at an explanation for Michael's actions, mostly stemming the possibility that he was a just a born sociopath, exacerbated by a dysfunctional home life and his time at Smith's Grove. The audience is given a look at just what this life was like with a stripper mother, a bitchy older sister, and a disgusting stepfather. This is the part where Zombie loses me just a little bit - I'm not particularly fond of the overly crude language in the first scenes of the film. And I don't mean that in a snooty or prudish way, either. The original Halloween has retained a certain level of respect and dignity over the years, and what Zombie did to the story is admittedly quite jarring at first. Eventually, you learn to get used to it and accept it - really, you have to, because it doesn't go away for the rest of the movie.

Where Zombie gets the biggest points from me is his artistic style. I saw it and loved it in The Devil's Rejects and was glad that he brought it back for Halloween. I'm very fond of his handheld work, and the way he frames his shots - putting the camera in strange angles and often shooting through objects in the frame. He's not afraid of using close-ups, and lots of them, to bring the action and violence right to the audience's face. He has an eye for what looks beautiful and cinematic, not static and boring like some other films. The use of color is perfect for the fall setting, which gradually becomes darker and more bluish in tone as the film approaches its violent climax. Most appreciated is how Halloween's theme music is used at just the right spots throughout the film to keep the spirit alive.

Watching the film again, I always forget just how long it takes to move on to the main plot of the original Halloween. Laurie Strode and company do not show up until the 54 minute mark - at least in the director's cut version, which is the one I own and the one I know the best. But is too much time spent on Michael's backstory? Did fans really want a backstory in the first place? Would people have complained more if it was just another pointless shot-for-shot remake? The story works either way for me, even though I don't think the Michael that Carpenter created had the backstory that Zombie created. The little bits that Zombie did with how Michael requisitioned the mask, knife, and coveralls was different from the original but made more sense to me.

Of course there's a whole slew of cast members to talk about with Halloween - both from the two main sets of characters and several cameo or one-scene appearances. Some of them seem like they are only there because they were in previous Zombie films (Sid Haig and Ken Foree), but some of them are brilliant casting decisions. Malcolm McDowell taking on the role of Dr. Samuel Loomis was the best of these, as I think he has the same distinctive look, voice, and acting style that Donald Pleasance gave. Scout Taylor-Compton as Laurie Strode was an interesting choice because she was relatively unknown at the time, but she's great. While she plays the coy and innocent side of Laurie well, she also gave her more life and spunk so that she's not so dull and unrelatable.

The Laurie-Lynda-Annie friendship in the original always bothered me a bit, frankly because of how bitchy Annie and Lynda were towards Laurie. Compton, Kristina Klebe, and Danielle Harris play their respective versions of these characters more believably to me. They're all different people with distinctive personalities, but they could all easily be good friends also. I loved that Laurie's (adoptive) parents also made it into this story not only because I love Dee Wallace, but also because it added more heart and more sympathy to Laurie's character. Brad Dourif is always a good choice in my book for pretty much anything, and here he is just perfect as Sheriff Brackett.

The truth is, it's really hard for me to fault Zombie at all about Halloween because I know that it means just as much to him as it does to the fans. The references he has made in his music career have more than proven himself as a big fan of the horror genre, so he obviously meant no disrespect. Zombie just has his own style, and was even told by John Carpenter to "make it [his] own" movie. He did just that and more, combining and adding in some of the most important parts of the story into this one movie. I love it and support it... although I definitely cannot say the same for Halloween II.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN, HORROR FIENDS!

 



My Experience at TEXAS FRIGHTMARE WEEKEND 2013: Day Two

Back on Saturday for the biggest, most crowded day of the event! I still had one big meet and greet to do today because the guy wasn't there Friday night, but mostly it was a day of panels, a movie, looking at awesome artwork at the vendor tables, and taking more sneaky pictures of celebs.

I knew that the line for Jon Bernthal (Shane on "The Walking Dead") was going to be huge pretty much all day and there was so much more I wanted to do, so I had to brave the line right at the beginning of the day. They started lining us up and moving us around a little before 11:00 (when they opened for general admission). So we're waiting there... 11:00 rolls around, then 11:15, 11:30, 11:45 and the line hadn't even MOVED. What's going on? It was around the 11:45 mark that I look up toward the front of the line and Jon walks into the room! He wasn't even there the whole time we were waiting! Thank goodness, now the line can get moving.

Almost there!

Getting closer...

... and closer...

Finally it was my turn and I was surprised that I wasn't nervous at all, even though I flubbed my words a little bit when I was introducing myself. While he was signing my picture, I was finally able to say "I miss Shane so much!", told Jon what a fantastic job he did with the role, and wished him luck with his new show. Jon was such a nice dude (and yes, he looked damn good, too), especially when he stood up to take a picture with me. I had to ask for a hug - Jon just said "Come here, girl" and embraced me with his sexiness. Bliss! So freaking stoked that he was there and that I had such a great meeting with him. We need to do this again sometime, Jon.

Turns out that I got my meeting with Bernthal just in time to catch the "Full Moon Rising" werewolf-themed panel with David Naughton. Dee Wallace was also supposed to be there to represent The Howling, but she opted out of doing it for some reason. I had a prime seat for this panel, and I loved hearing David talk all about his experience making An American Werewolf in London.

Naughton had great stories about working with Rick Baker and getting the prosthetics made; being around real wolves for the scene at the zoo; and shooting in Piccadilly Circus. I had a question I was itching to ask and finally went for it and raised my hand. I said that this movie had the best transformation scene of any werewolf movie (which got a smile and nod from the moderator) and asked David to talk about what it was like filming that particular scene. Can you believe it took six days to shoot it? Great panel!

Once the fun with David was over, I only had an hour until the next panel I wanted to go to, but I was able to fill that time quite nicely, as subsequent pictures will show.

I took a sneaky picture of Nick Gomez (Tomas from "The Walking Dead").

 I saw some killer artwork.

I also saw many a mutilated Barbie doll, like these...

... and these...

 ... and these.

If I hadn't been wondering how I would get it home safely,

I would have totally snagged this amazing poster for The Thing.

 Jason, Freddy, and Leatherface were all kind enough to 

take a picture with me (great costumes, guys!).

 Wish I could've talked to the artists in this corner (if they were

there) because this shit was fracking COOL.

Oh man, I love that Misery one. 

 Norman continued to haunt me.

 Leave the Barbies alone, people! This is just wrong!

But also totally funny.

 Goshdarnit, Norman, why do continue to break my heart?!

(He also tweeted a picture of this doll, so I was all "Holla!

I totally have a picture of that doll, too!")

 I didn't have time to get into Danny Trejo's ever-growing line,

so I settled for a few sneaky shots.

 Until he noticed me one time and flashed the peace sign at me.

Fuck yeah!

 Dude in a killer Umbrella Corp costume.

Now it was time for one of the most anticipated panels, the Alien reunion with Tom Skerritt (Captain Dallas in Dallas!) and Veronica Cartwright. Tom was a little hard to hear most of the time even though I was pretty close, but Veronica was so animated and funny. Again, lots of great stories from the set of this iconic movie. Tom didn't say as much, but when he did talk he had some really profound and interesting things to say. Veronica also talked about her experience working with Alfred Hitchcock on The Birds as a child. I told myself that I was going to try to make it to at least one panel and one movie while at TFW, and I ended up going to one movie and FIVE panels. This was only number two - three more amazing panels to go!

Tom and Veronica, for your viewing pleasure!

This is when they were signing this little plastic facehugger

that the moderator brought out.

And here I think I got the best picture ever!

The day was still not over! Not as much time for lollygagging now as Danny Trejo's panel (which was officially called "Danny Trejo is Loco") was next, and from the people waiting outside the door for almost an hour, I could tell this panel was going to be packed. Still, I did yet more wandering to get some more sneaky shots of celebs that I didn't personally meet. Celebs like...

 Gary Busey (which is as close to him as I wanted to get)...

 Tom Skerritt again (cute picture!)...

 Lou David...

 Nick Castle...

 ... and Ted White.

Time for Machete! It was indeed a packed house for Danny Trejo's panel, but it sure was a riot! Danny just talked about his life, his time in prison and how he got into movies. He promises that Machete Kills, the sequel, will be ten times more awesome than the first movie. Yes! Danny is in real life exactly how I expected him to be - easy going, funny, and just a guy out to have a good time. He made the audience laugh a lot ("Machete don't text!") and it was a joy just to sit there and listen to him. Love you, Danny!

Whew, what a day. After finally getting some food in me and relaxing for a bit, the day was winding down. I had to debate with myself for a long time whether or not I wanted to hang around until 8:00 to catch the screening of Maniac because I was so wiped out. I finally just said Eff it, and headed into the room, where the movie had already started (just a minute or two though). Packed house, no seats. So I and several other people just popped a squat on the floor along the wall, and they actually turned out to be pretty good seats. I gotta say that I dug the movie a lot (still haven't seen the original, though - doh!), but mostly I enjoyed finally watching a horror movie with real horror fans. Everybody laughed at the same places I laughed, and clapped and cheered every time there was a kill or a cool effect. Fun time, indeed!

More cool stories from DAY THREE coming soon, with more from Dee Wallace, Tom Savini, and me finally meeting Mary Lambert!

Read about DAY ONE here!

Finally, DAY THREE is here!