Horror Movie Locations I'd Like to Visit

Last November, I took a fantastical trip to New York City, where about 9 million movies have been shot. Only being there for a few days, I made it to just one famous filming location...

... the firehouse in Tribeca that served as the exterior location for the Ghostbusters firehouse. I also saw The Dakota, the apartment building made (in)famous for being not only the location of the murder of John Lennon, but also was yet another exterior location for the apartment building in Rosemary's Baby (didn't get a picture though... dangit).

Anyway, it turns out that there are a bunch of cool places in the US and abroad that horror fans can visit and relive some of the classic scenes from their favorite films. Here are some places that I personally would like to go to - even though I'll probably never get to see any of them!

The Night of the Living Dead Cemetery

(Evans City Cemetery, Evans City, Pennsylvania)

Thanks to Christine from Fascination with Fear, whose picture of her next to that monument in the middle got me thinking about this post to begin with! On the outside, I'm sure this cemetery is not that much different than many others, but to this zombie film fan, going to the place where modern zombie movies were born would be like going to heaven.

The Poltergeist House

(4267 Roxbury Street, Simi Valley, California)

Well, duh! Of course I want to go here! And how weird is it that the house looks kinda exactly the same as it did in 1982? 

The Orphanage House

(Llanes, Asturias, Spain)

This is just a still from the movie but here's a link to Flickr where a guy took a picture of the actual house: http://www.flickr.com/photos/francesco_pics/5055639398/. I don't know how to describe this house other than a monstrosity of beauty. It immediately got my attention when I first saw the movie and has stayed in my future-home-owner dreams ever since. It's in Spain, though, so that sucks.

The House on Haunted Hill

(a.k.a Ennis House, Los Angeles, California)

Okay, not only was this house (designed by Frank Lloyd Wright) used as the exterior for the famous House on Haunted Hill in the Vincent Price B-movie of the same name, it was also used for the exteriors of the mansion in which Angel, Spike, and Drusilla dwelled in the second season of Buffy, the Vampire Slayer. Poof! Two awesome locations for the price of one!

The Omen Church

(All Saints Church, Fulham, London, England)

Oh, the fun I would have taking pictures here. I would gladly go out and find my own metal spike or lightening rod to reenact the spectacular death of Father Brennan in The Omen. I'm pretty sure they would just kick me out and tell me that I'm going to hell or something.

The Amityville House

(112 Ocean Avenue, Long Island, New York)

Yes, I know the owners are probably sick of people gawking over their house, but they should have known what they were signing up for. And while I'm not the biggest fan of the original movie, I guess I can't deny that this is one of the most famous movie locations in the US. 

The Stanley Hotel

(Estes Park, Colorado)

Though not the actual hotel that is in the movie The Shining (that's the Timberline Lodge in Mount Hood, Oregon), this is the place where Stephen King stayed way back in '73 and which inspired him to write the famous novel. While briefly living in Colorado two years ago, I seriously thought out taking a trip to see it, but Estes Park was way too far away and I never had time.

The Exorcist Steps

(M street, Georgetown, Washington, D.C.)

So I didn't even know that this very steep set of stairs that Father Karras fell down was a famous location to visit until I watched a feature on the Hot Fuzz DVD where Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg, and Nick Frost go there and play around for a while. Forget the Washington Monument or the White House - if I'm ever in DC, The  Exorcist steps will be the first thing I want to do!

I know that some of these are kind of obvious ones, but whatever! That's all I got for now. So what say you? Any horror movie locations on your radar?

Movie Review: Spider Baby (1968)

A cult classic that boasts the subtitle "The Maddest Story Ever Told," Spider Baby is a fantastic dark comedy that must have freaked out audiences in the 60s.

Get caught in the web: Cared for by the family chauffeur Bruno, the three Merrye children - Virginia, Elizabeth, and Ralph - live an isolated existence in their home because they suffer from a degenerative age-regression brain disease. When other members of the family come by one day with their greedy lawyer and his assistant to sue them for the family fortune, they are caught up in the Merrye's twisted web of madness.

This film is incredibly charming and lovable despite the mostly macabre subject matter. The reason for this is that the craziness is dealt with in a delightfully humorous way and it will have you chuckling to yourself in the moments were you would normally be creeped out. Spider Baby was apparently a labor of love for filmmaker Jack Hill and thank goodness he was determined to get it out there (it was made in '64, I believe, but lived in limbo before being released in '68) because I think this just became a new favorite of mine.

There are two wonderful known actors here with some incredible unknowns in the leads. Lon Chaney Jr. is the kind-hearted Bruno who vows to protect the Merrye children as much as he can despite their murderous tendencies. Sid Haig plays a mostly silent role as Ralph, who is probably the oldest of the children and therefore the most afflicted by the disease that plagues them. Jill Banner portrays Virginia in her film debut, and was my favorite character in the whole thing, especially when she's "playing spider" with people. Beverly Washburn as Elizabeth is actually not as enjoyable, as she just stands there with wide eyes and says her creepy lines in a high voice.

There is also Carol Ohmart, recognizable as Vincent Price's wife from the original House on Haunted Hill. She has a few lovely moments in the film, and not just when she is running around in sexy black lingerie (with straps!). As the greedy cousin Emily, she seems determined to believe that they are only acting crazy to scare them away. The dinner scene is amazing and hilarious. Virginia and Elizabeth serve everybody a nutritious meal of mushrooms (and she made sure to only pick the non-poisonous ones, thank goodness), spiders, bugs, and what looks like dried grass or straw for salad. Ohmart's character tries to remain unfazed, while the other cousin, Peter, hilariously compliments them on their dishes and seems way too nice and cooperative to be real. He keeps trying to win over both groups of people, and even Elizabeth and Virginia take a liking to him, although apparently not enough to make them spare him so he won't "tell anybody." It's okay, though, he survives.

The violence in the film is real, and these nutjobs really do kill people in it but it is subdued and not at all gory or bloody. Virginia seems the most likely to murder, as we see in the beginning how she likes to play like a spider (and in a few instances, she likes to eat real ones as well - naaaaaasty) by catching and tying people up and "biting" them with two long butcher knives.

The score for the film is quite trippy and bubbly at times and fits the tone of the film so well; a tone that is introduced during the opening credit sequence. Lon Chaney reads some kind of weird poem about the movie, often doing a hearty laugh to pinpoint the craziness he is talking about.

The film is bookended with an older Peter at first reading from a book of Rare and Peculiar Diseases, highlighting the Merrye Syndrome and saying that it was extinguished forever 10 years ago, when the film takes place. However, since then, Peter has married the lawyer's assistant and had a daughter who is about 10 years old... which we learned in the beginning is when the Merrye Syndrome first afflicts the victim. Then the film ends with Peter's daughter playing outside and being fascinated by a spider. Ha, get it? She's got the disease! And then to really put a dollop of delicious icing on this cupcake of a movie, we get an end title card that says "The End," which then changes to "The End ? ". Love it. Love it to pieces.

As an obvious inspiration for so many other "crazy killer family" movies out there (it's so obvious I don't think I need to mention them), Spider Baby is a you-totally-have-to-watch-this-movie movie for any fan of horror. It is an unexpected joy that is so much fun to watch.

Similarly Titled Films: The Haunting and House on Haunted Hill

Wait, what? Those films don't have similar titles!

Okay, I'm cheating a little here. But here's my defense: The Haunting is a shortened title for the book that the movie is based on, The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson, which is obviously very similar to the title, House on Haunted Hill. Ha! I win.

But wait again. Are we talking about the original Haunting or the crappy remake? Is this the Vincent Price awesome House on Haunted Hill or the equally awesome Geoffrey Rush gorefest remake of House on Haunted Hill? I say, what the hell. Let's do 'em all!

First up, a William Castle chiller classic and its relatively faithful remake which completely upped the production design and gore to crazy levels. I give you:

    

Yes, evil does love to party. And both of these parties were quite an experience, were they not? I had been in love with the remake of House on Haunted Hill for a while before I caught the original (included in a DVD 2-pack with The Last Man on Earth). Vincent Price kind of rules, so I figured this movie would be good, but not at all scary or shocking. I grew up on the gory slashers of the 80s. They're more my style. Anyway, this was also my first and so far only foray into William Castle films, so I was totally unaware of his style and reputation for sort of campy, over-the-top chillers. But I was a little shocked at some of the scenes from this early horror film - House on Haunted Hill has some amazing scenes that totally inspired the remake and is what helped make that movie as special as it was.

Some random comments:

1) The bedroom scene with Vincent Price and his wife was kind of FANTASTIC. I think they pulled off the hatred/amusement towards each other much better than Geoffrey Rush and Famke Janssen in the remake. 

2) What the fuck was up with that floating crazy man-woman in the basement? Of course the truth is revealed later, but you have to admit that that dude (chick?) made you say WTF, mates? Abnormally floating across the room on a skateboard, this woman (seriously, I know it's supposed to be a woman, but one could argue either way on this) scares the bejeesus out of poor Nora not once, but twice. Why can't they leave her alone?                        

3) Why was there no ginormous vat of acid in the remake? That would have made a freaking incredible death scene. Losers. Instead they go for a lame scare with a vat of blood that almost swallows Ali Larter. Ho hum.

4) Related to No. 3, the skeleton that came out of the vat of acid, as ridiculous and funny as it is now, actually freaked me a little when I first saw it. The way it dangles across the room... simply wonderful!

5) Love the little coffins with guns in them, although the set up is much better pulled off in the remake.

Now, the remake is plain and simple a wonderfully gory good time. Same basic set up, only the ghosts are much, much nastier in this film - perhaps because there were no real ghosts in the original (oops). Haunted insane asylum? Pretty much the scariest thing in the world.  The only downside to me, though, is the ending. With the huge ghost-manifestation-of-all-the people-it's-killed thing absorbing Geoffrey Rush. "We're all here. All the ones who've died." It just seemed a little too fantastical and over-the-top.

Everything else, though, the blood and guts and weird spinning contraption and supposed death by electro-shock all make for a great remake to a great film. The mood is very different in both - the remake is genuinely frightening because people might actually DIE, while all the haunting stuff in the original was just a set up by Vincent Price and his wife because they wanted to kill each other - however, they are both fun movies with a great cast of characters. The remake totally owns in the setting department. I mean, hello! Look at this:

                                        

You just can't beat that location. Shall I say, splendid?

Next up, we're talking about:

                

The Haunting remake sucks. And that concludes my review. 

Elaboration? Okay, I love my Liam Neeson and Lili Taylor but even they couldn't save this bad CG infested, ridiculous mess with not even a hint of scare moment anywhere. The big finale at the end? More like a big yawn... and even more bad CG. It felt like the shit we saw in The Frighteners - CG ghosts not meant to be scary, but funny. 

(Don't read that last sentence the wrong way, I loooove The Frighteners.)

Now, The Haunting original I just watched again after many years and while it still did not scare me in the least, it has a much more eerie feeling. Eleanor is our main character and narrator for the film, but she's a bit of an unreliable narrator. Unstable after the death of her mother and no idea who she is or what she's going to do now, Eleanor is immediately drawn to Hill House and the feeling of belonging she gets from it. Everyone else could really care less about the house, especially Luke, but Eleanor comes from nowhere and has nowhere to go, so the house focuses on her and she on it. This original is more a character study than a haunted house story, while the remake seemed to focus solely on the haunting.

The Haunting original has chilling music, an elaborately decorated house, subtle whispers, and the inner monologue rants of a fantasizing woman. The remake doesn't come close to any of that, but seems to be rather a farce of the original. Character study? Pfft! What we need are some freaking ghosts! Bring on Hugh Crain! What a laugh. Bad movie. Bad, bad movie.

If you're a Shirley Jackson fan (*raises hand*) then The Haunting will mos def be your cup of tea (I prefer We Have Always Lived in the Castle), and you will spit on the remake as most horror fans do. I don't know of a remake that is more hated - The Wicker Man, perhaps (shame on me, I actually kind of like that one)? Actually, I can't really elaborate more on the remake because I haven't seen it but one or two times a long while ago. Obviously haven't watched it again because it sucks. 

The original is a classic, and I appreciate it... but I don't necessarily like it that much. It's not something you can watch over and over again because you pretty much get it right from the first viewing. It's fairly simple to analyze and there's not much that you have go back over and watch again. It's frankly just not my kind of haunted house movie. If you learn anything about me from reading my stuff, you should learn that I freaking love supernatural movies. But I'm talking Poltergeist-like supernatural, or even GD Paranormal Activity freaked me out at least one part ("I can feel it breathing on me" - and then her hair moves - GAAAHHHHH!!!). Not just some banging on the walls and retarded cold spots. My ghosts need to move shit around, or do anything that resembles an Asian ghost story to really scare the fuck out of me. Nice try, Haunting, but I was never in the least bit scared of Hill House.

Sidenote: If anybody has any other similarly titled films in mind that I could include in my series, please let me know. I've got one more in my arsenal, but then I'm kind of tapped. Help!