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Articles
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| Halloween horror night at the movies |
VOICE writes, "By Beth Lambdin
Halloween, originally a Pagan festival celebrated by the Celts of Ireland and Great Britain, was not observed in America until the 19th century. Puritan traditions restricted its observance, but the transatlantic migration of nearly 2,000,000 Irish following the Potato Famine in the mid-1800s brought the holiday to America.
Americans loved it; Halloween is now the sixth most profitable holiday in the United States. Despite the commercialism, traditional Halloween activities endure, including watching horror films.
Check out what’s bubbling and boiling in this year’s strange brew. "
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1408 (2007, PG-13)
This “metaphysical mindbender,” adapted from yet another Stephen King short story, while infinitely watchable, ultimately left me scratching my head. John Cusack plays Mike Enslin, a cynical writer who has long abandoned his love for the craft to write moneymakers debunking haunted locales. He cavalierly states, “Ghoulies and ghosties and long-legged beasties don’t exist.”
Well, they might in Room 1408 (you add up the digits) at the Dolphin Hotel, the next stop on his itinerary. Despite dire warnings from the hotel manager (Samuel L. Jackson), Enslin insists on spending the night in the room, the site of 56 gruesome deaths. Shortly after checking in, the spooky shenanigans begin: turbulent seascapes come alive, chocolates shift from their pillow placement, the clock radio shrieks, “We’ve Only Just Begun” (that’d drive anyone around the bend) and Enslin slowly, but surely unravels. His demons threaten to consume him.
Will Enslin be the first survivor of evil Room 1408? While Cusack is incapable of giving a bad performance, the hotel room couldn’t sustain its supporting role.
Close Your Eyes (2002, R)
“Three murders … no clues … until now. One man must use his gift to open our minds.” I don’t remember that promo in 2002, included in the DVD Special Features, but I do remember Ebert and Roeper giving the film a thumbs up.
In this nifty thriller, hunky Goran Visnjic (from “ER”) plays Dr. Michael Strother, a hypnotherapist living in exile in London with his family. Dark shadows frame his gorgeous peepers, often a movie signal of torment, but they only enhance Strother’s good looks – still we know his waters are troubled.
These days, he limits his practice to helping clients quit cigarettes, but still something odd happens during his sessions; he receives psychic information of the most disturbing kind (talk about transference).
One day he treats a maverick cop, Janet Losey (Shirley Henderson), who “convinces” Strother to help her treat Heather (Sophie Stuckey), a little girl rendered mute by trauma. Heather has recently escaped the clutches of the serial “tattoo murderer.” What traumatized her (besides the kidnapping and attempted murder)? That’s where the fun begins, if you’re intrigued by the occult and willing to believe in movie black magic. This is a dark tale of cultists gone bad, but who can resist a shot at immortality?
28 Days Later (2002, R)
My zombie movie background is paltry, so I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from Director Danny Boyle (“Trainspotting”). He delivers an atmospheric and gruesome post-apocalyptic thriller set 28 days after a primate-based virus has devastated the earth’s population. The film stars a racially diverse mix of blood-vomiting zombies consumed with rage who roam the English countryside preying on the few uninfected survivors.
The film follows one rag-tag group: a bike courier (Cillian Murphy), a feisty, emotionally repressed woman (Naomie Harris) and a father and daughter (Brendan Gleeson and Megan Burns). They bond out of necessity, but soon become family and we root for their survival.
But, they have more than zombies to worry about. Civilization is crumbling around them and military “safe” houses may not provide sanctuary.
A real sense of menace permeates the film, and while mutated monkey viruses may not create raging zombies, Boyle’s vision of being stuck in a “permanent, appalling state of aggression” may be more prescience than fantasy.
The Craft (1996, R)
Like 1987’s “The Lost Boys,” with Keifer Sutherland as a teenage vampire, the fun in this film is spotting the “talent” in their early careers.
Sarah (Robin Tunney) is the new girl in town and as we’ve seen countless times before, finding your niche in high school can be hell.
Sarah falls in with the “Bitches of Eastwick,” an outsider clique (Neve Campbell, Rachel True and Fairuza Balk) of nubile young things who practice witchcraft when they’re not hitting the books. These budding Wiccans, representing the four elements of earth, wind, fire and water, practice earth-centered rituals and incantations to right the wrongs in their lives.
Now, with Sarah who has inherited natural witchy tendencies from her dearly departed mother, the power of the group exponentially increases.
But, the unleashed power corrupts them and the girls suffer the consequences of visiting the dark side without adult supervision. Be sure to watch for one strange phenomenon: as the girls’ powers heighten, their skirts inexplicably shorten. The film is rarely scary, but it’s an amusing early foray into girl power that paved the way for a host of magic-themed TV shows.
Agree? Disagree? Let Beth know what you think at beth@bethlambdin.com.
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Posted on Dec 20, 2007 20:57pm.
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