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Movie Reviews, Movies

Home Invasion Horror Movies

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Don’t Breathe hit theaters over the weekend, and it seems to have struck a chord with moviegoers.  It has impressed critics and topped the box office, so it got me thinking; what else can I and other horror movie fans do to satisfy our home invasion horror movie craving?

Never fear, because there are quite a few horror movies out there involving home invasions.  Here are my faves:

The Collector (2009)

This movie is pretty gruesome.  A man doing helping with maintenance at a family’s home is revealed in the beginning to actually be (SPOILER ALERT) casing the residence to break in while the family is away on vacation.   He follows through with his plan, but after he’s inside, he finds himself in a house rigged with Saw-like booby traps and the family being tortured.  It’s pretty crazy, but if you can’t take so-called  “torture porn,” you might want to watch this one with your finger on the fast forward button.

The Strangers (2008)

This movie gets a lot of flack for the poor decisions made by the lead characters played by Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman, but I still love this movie.  An on-the-rocks couple is spending some time at an isolated house, and terror comes knocking on their door in the form of a skinny, young lady looking for “Tamara.”  She ain’t, and soon the lady and a few other masked creeps begin to freak the hell out of the couple and (SPOILER ALERT) ultimately kill them in a “gut-wrenching” way.

That was a pun I just made.

Silent House (2011)

Elizabeth Olson is helping her father and uncle renovate a cabin to get ready for its sale and soon becomes isolated from them.  She gets trapped inside with intruders and has to try out a few hiding places in the house.  I don’t want to give anything else away, so just watch it.  This one is creepy and filled with some great twists and turns.

The Purge (2013)

The Purge movies have become pretty popular, and although I like Anarchy and Election Year better than the first, it’s still a pretty great example of home invasion horror.  Even a super-rich family with all sorts of security measures protecting their home isn’t safe from annual purgers after their son lets in a man trying to escape being murdered.

High Tension (2003)

This is one of my favorite French horror movies, and I love the craziness of it all.  A woman travels to her family’s country home to visit and brings along her friend.  They’re brutally attacked, and the thrill ride that follows is so stressful and insane.  I love it.

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That’s only a small portion of home invasion horror movies out there.  If you run through those, you can try The Last House on the Left, The People Under the Stairs, or the French movies Martyrs or Inside.  I haven’t seen Inside yet, but I plan on remedying that within the next week or so.

And I only recommend Martyrs if you’re ready to be messed up for a little while.  That movie, man.  It’s rough.

List, Movies, Top Horror Lists

A Nightmare on Elm Street: TFO’s 5 Scariest Scenes

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A Nightmare on Elm Street is one of my all-time favorite horror movies.  The original movie had Freddy Krueger in all his terrifying glory, before he became a murderous comedian in later sequels.  I love psychotic, funny Freddy just as much as the next person, but scary Freddy is my favorite.  Well, as much as a burned-to-death child molester can be.

These are my top 5 scariest scenes of A Nightmare on Elm Street:

5.  The Takedown

Nancy was the original Kevin McAllister, Home-Alone-ing the bad guy way before little Kevin even knew the word ‘booby-trap.’  She comes up with a plan to intentionally fall asleep and set an alarm to wake herself up so that she can grab Freddy to bring him to her world.  At first, it seems like her plan didn’t work, but Freddy pops up behind her in jump-scare fashion and then chases her through her booby-trapped home.

4.  Nancy’s School Dream

Nancy falls asleep in school while a classmate recites a scene from Hamlet.  This nightmare starts off slowly but so creepily as the classmate quotes in a whisper, “O God, I could be bounded in a nutshell and count myself a king of infinite space, were it not that I have bad dreams.”  Nancy walks outside and sees Tina’s bloody corpse wrapped in a sheet and being dragged down the hallway.

3.  Bathtub Hand

Yeesh!  Nancy falls asleep in her bathtub while reciting the famous Nightmare rhyme, and of course, Freddy makes an appearance.  Knees spread to either side of the tub, Nancy passes out, and Freddy’s knife hand slowly emerges.  The sight of those sharp fingers close to such a tender area always made me cringe.  And it still does.

2.  Glen’s Death

Poor, poor Glen.  Cute, baby-faced Johnny Depp.  He just didn’t take this whole thing seriously enough.  I don’t know what exactly happened to him when he was pulled into and under his bed, but it certainly wasn’t pretty and it left his parents with a hell of a mess to clean up in his room.  Even when I just have this movie playing in the background while I’m doing something else, I always take a second to watch this scene.  His mother just walks in to a fountain of blood exploding from her son’s bed.  So much blood, so much gore.  Always a fan.

1.  Tina’s Death (and Long-Armed Freddy)

Poor Tina. You just had to do it with your boyfriend, didn’t you?  Don’t you know that’s forbidden in a horror movie?

After she and Rod have some (unnecessarily loud) sex in her mother’s bedroom, Tina falls asleep and has one of the creepiest nightmares of the whole series in my humble opinion.  I don’t know what it is about Freddy with his long-ass arms scraping down the alleyway, but it’s the scene that has stuck with me ever since I was a little kid.  Creepy. As. Hell.

Tina’s death is also arguably one of the most iconic scenes of the series when she’s dragged screaming and bloody from her post-coital bed, up the wall, and across the ceiling.

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Bonus Scary Scene:  The End. What was up with that damn mommy mannequin?

What about you?  What do you think was the scariest scene?

Dark Comedy, Holiday Horror, Movies, Scary Stories

International Clown Week: Laughs & Scares

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We’re at the tail-end of International Clown Week, and there’s no way I can just ignore a whole week that celebrates those creepy bastards.  After all, one of my favorite horror characters is a clown.

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Not him, but he’ll do.

So I present to you (drumroll):

7 Fun and Creepy Clown Facts

1.  The fear of clowns is called coulrophobia.  Scientists say this widespread fear is due to the “uncanny valley” effect in which something looks almost human but not quite, creating an unsettling feeling.

2.  Serial killer John Wayne Gacy used to perform as a clown for children’s parties, fundraising events, and parades.  His performing name was Pogo the Clown.

3. Johnny Depp is terrified of clowns.  He’s stated they “have a potential for real evil.”

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Him? Nah…

 

4. American Horror Story’s Twisty the Clown caused an uproar in the clowning community because the character was so scary.  Many professional clowns are against the scary clown trope because it promotes coulrophobia.  Their anger is understandable because that has got to be bad for business.

5. Masks from Killer Klowns from Outer Space were used to make some of the trolls in the movie Ernest Scared Stupid.

6.  Actors from the TV miniseries of Stephen King’s IT stated that they avoided Tim Curry on set because his portrayal of Pennywise the Dancing Clown was too damn frightening.

7.  Two separate budding filmmakers frightened residents of their respective towns by dressing up as clowns and appearing creepily in places.  The incidents occurred in 2013 in Northampton and in 2014 in Staten Island, and both kept their identities a secret for a while, increasing the mystery and fear.

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If you feel like celebrating clowns and all the fear they incite, you still have time.  Why not watch some scary clown-related movies like Stephen King’s It, Carnival of Souls, or Poltergeist (murderous clown doll, anyone?)?

Or maybe just dress up as a clown and pop up in random places around your home town.  You know.  Just to get the word out.

Movie Reviews, Movies

Lights Out: Movie Review

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If you’re a reader of my blog, you know that I was super excited for the movie Lights Out.

I was not disappointed.

The movie is directed by David F. Sandberg, the director of the short film of the same name, and although he hasn’t directed a feature-length film before this, he did a fantastic job setting a creepy tone and not relying too much on jump scares to captivate the audience.  And others in the industry must have thought so, too, because he’s been hired to direct the sequel to Annabelle.

The movie opens with a very scary scene with Billy Burke and the star of the short film, Lotta Losten.  (Side note: Since she doesn’t have any speaking lines in the short film, I never realized Losten wasn’t American.  I was pleasantly surprised by her accent.)  I’m not going to give anything big away.  I just want to say that the film’s monster/ghost/supernatural being is very well done, and the opening put everyone on edge.

I believe I heard more than a few screams and jumps within the first 10 minutes.

After the opening, Teresa Palmer stars as Rebecca, the daughter of Sophie, a bipolar woman played by Maria Bello.  Sophie’s mental issues interfere with the raising of Rebecca’s little brother, and Rebecca must get involved to help her brother get out of the sad situation.  Of course, this is a horror movie, so we know this situation involves an evil entity.  And if you’ve seen the trailers, you know the entity causes some problems in their family life.

I don’t want to spoil the movie, so I don’t want to go further into detail.  I will say that the effects, music, and acting make this one a must-watch.

Movie Reviews, Movies

The Babadook: 5 Scariest Moments

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My husband and I just finished binge-watching season 6 of Game of Thrones.  Don’t worry.  No spoilers here if you haven’t seen it, but let me just say –

IT. WAS. AWESOME.

So where does the post title come in?  Well, this season had a new recurring character played by Australian actress, Essie Davis.

Ms. Davis stars in The Babadook as Amelia, an exhausted mother to a – let’s just say – very special child named Samuel.  After seeing her in Game of Thrones, I just really wanted to watch the movie again.  So that’s exactly what I did yesterday morning.

Davis is amazing in this movie, and although little Samuel really annoys the living crap out of me in the first half, I’ve got to say that Noah Wiseman does really well in his role, too.  Mr. Babadook himself is a remarkably scary figure, bringing to life childhood fears of the boogeyman and making this one of the scariest movies in recent memory.

So let’s count down the 5 scariest moments of The Babadook:

5)  The First Reading

Samuel chooses this book for his mother to read to him one night, and we’re first introduced to the incredibly creepy titular Babadook.  Although this scene doesn’t happen very far into the movie, you’re already well aware that the little guy has some problems, so when Amelia starts to read the story, the tension is heightened because you know this isn’t going to end well.  And it sure doesn’t, leaving Samuel a crying mess and Amelia yet again beaten down by life.

4)  The Second Reading

The book shows up at their house after Amelia has shredded it and put it in the trash bin.  When Amelia reads through it again, there are new pages added to show the probably fate of Amelia, Samuel, and Bugsy, their adorable little dog.  And then the phone rings.  When Amelia answers, all she hears is the word “Babadook” spoken in a creaky, creepy voice.

3)  The Chase

Amelia has been possessed by the Babadook after letting him in and chases Samuel about the house after killing Bugsy.  Her eyes are crazed, and her hands are out to her sides and curved into claws, mimicking the Babadook’s stance.  When she yells at Sam, her voice morphs from her soft-spoken tone to a deep, menacing one.

2)  The Bedroom Battle

Just when you think everything’s okay, little Samuel reminds us that you can’t get rid of the Babadook right before he’s pulled upstairs by an invisible force.  Amelia runs after him and faces her fears by screaming at the Babadook, materializing in the dark side of her bedroom, to leave them alone.

1)  The Fireplace

My favorite scene of this movie is when Amelia is running from the Babadook and ends up in a heap by the fireplace.  The Babadook’s hat falls from the chimney, and Amelia lurches away from the fireplace.  Her terrifying, slow crawl creates such tension in the scene.  Gets me every time.

 

Movie Reviews, Movies

Independence Day Trilogy: A Patriotic Tribute to Horror

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Happy 4th of July! We Americans are celebrating our independence hard today with hamburgers, ice cream, and fireworks, and if you’re like me, you’ll want to add a little fright to the mix.

Unfortunately, there aren’t too many Independence Day-themed horror movies out there, but there are at least enough to add a little horror to your holiday.  So if you were wondering what kinds of horror movies to watch on the 4th of July, wonder no more.

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I recommend starting with the horror-comedy Uncle Sam (1996), because I think it’s always best to start off light and end fierce with make-your-own trilogies.  There’s a science to it, people.

This movie is about a Desert Storm veteran who returns from the grave on Independence Day to punish the unpatriotic citizens of his hometown.  And he does it with a super-cool Uncle Sam mask.  Full of blood and gore and absurdity, this is a great flick to start off on.

Next up in the unofficial 4th of July Horror Movie Trilogy is I Know What You Did Last Summer (1998).  Jennifer Love Hewitt shows off her “talents” in this movie about a group of friends who runs over a stranger after an Independence Day celebration and covers it up by dumping the body. Of course, said stranger comes back to terrorize them resulting in madness and mayhem for them and fun for you.

Finally, let’s wrap this thing up with the always classic Jaws (1975).  You can’t very well have a 4th of July Horror Movie Trilogy without it.  I’m not even going to go into details with this one.  It’s Jaws, for god’s sake.

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Well, there you have it.  The Official Unofficial 4th of July Horror Movie Trilogy.  I’m feeling pretty good about this one.

And for a little extra credit: if you’re just way too pumped after your hella patriotic firework display, you can throw a little of The Purge (2013) or The Purge: Anarchy (2014) into the mix. Sure, they don’t have anything to do with the 4th, but you have to admit that the new founding fathers from these movies have created a super-patriotic holiday, sans fireworks.

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I hope everyone has a fun and safe holiday!  Let me know what you think of the trilogy in the comments.

Movies

Father Knows Best: What Horror Movie Dads Have Taught Us

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Happy Father’s Day!

My post for Mother’s Day was about the many valuable lessons horror movie mothers have passed on to us throughout the years.  They’ve taught us quite a bit, but what about good ole dad? Horror movie fathers have loads of wisdom to pass down, too, so let’s look at just a little bit of what they’ve taught us.

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Lesson: Keep a classic suit in your wardrobe. It’ll come in handy more often than you think.

Father: Man (The People Under the Stairs)

Poor Mommy and Daddy just had so much to deal with: an insubordinate “daughter,” a basement full of mutilated “sons,” and then Fool came along to bring their world crashing down around them.  They dealt with it as well as they could have, and Daddy taught us a great lesson by showing us how handy a classic suit can be in a pinch.  His “organized” search for Fool and Alice in the walls of his house included an easily-cleaned, aerodynamic gimp suit that allowed him to freely move about the house without fear of getting messy or scratched or…whatever.

Lesson: Don’t let age slow you down.  You’re only as old as you feel.

Father: Grandfather (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre)

Wow.  We can learn so much from this old man.  He sets such a good example for his children.  Just because you’re old, dusty, wheelchair-bound, and look a little like a mummy, this doesn’t mean you’ve got to slow down.  Oh no.  Sally was on the menu, and Grandpa was going to serve her up.  Sure, his aim was off and he lacked any amount of strength, but that didn’t stop him.  Sally got away in the end, but I bet if Grandpa had given her head a few more whacks, things might have gone differently.

Lesson: Don’t give up on your dreams. (Bonus lesson: Always wear a jacket.)

Father: Jack Torrance (The Shining)

Jack Torrance was an aspiring author, and he was willing to go the distance to achieve his dreams.  Going the distance in this case was becoming the winter caretaker in an empty hotel and dragging his wife and son with him to enjoy the solitude and snow.  That’s pretty dedicated.  And yeah, it all went to hell pretty quickly, but if he hadn’t been targeted by some malevolent ghosts, by God he would’ve written that novel.

Also, after his – let’s just say – breakdown, he taught us the importance of wearing the appropriate attire to chase your son through a maze in the freezing cold.

Lesson: Look both ways before you cross the road.

Father: Louis Creed (Pet Sematary)

Lessons are often learned after a mistake, and boy, did Louis Creed make a big one by not passing on some crucial, basic rules to his son, Gage.  I guess you could really argue that Gage was actually the one to teach us the lesson, but Louis’s actions afterward kinda help to drive that one home.  So remember kids: look both ways before you cross the road, or you’ll get killed and your dad will have to bury you in cursed ground to bring you back and then you’ll go on a killing spree and kill everyone you know and love.

Lesson: If it seems too good to be true, it is.

Father: George Lutz (The Amityville Horror)

Step-dads are fathers, too, and George Lutz was a great one.  He tried his best to provide for his new family, including buying a lovely home in Long Island for all of them to enjoy.  He got it for a steal, too, and although they were told about the house’s history, it seemed like  it was a deal they couldn’t pass up.  Well, they really should have.  George sorta got possessed by the evil spirits haunting the house, and after finally breaking free of their hold on him, he was able to get him and his new family out of the house and away from it forever.

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There you have it – five excellent lessons we can all benefit from.  To all those horror movie fathers out there, based on real life and fictional, thank you for all you’ve taught us.

Movies, Top Horror Lists

10 Horror Movies to Get You Ready for Summer

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I don’t know about your neck of the woods, but it is hot as HELL outside.  The first day of summer is rapidly approaching, and if you want to know what horror movies to watch to get you in the mood, let’s count down the top 10 best horror movies to get you ready for summer.  Whether they take place at a summer camp, a beach, or just a dusty, hot locale, these movies will get you in the right mindset.

10. The Ruins (2008): A group of friends on a trek through Mexico happen upon some ruins that hold a terrifying secret.  You can practically feel the heat coming out of the television.

9. Sleepaway Camp (1983): This cult-favorite slasher takes place at a  summer camp.

8. I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997):  Recent graduates celebrating after the summer pageant victory of one of their own accidentally mow down an innocent pedestrian.

7. Piranha 3D (2010): Beachgoers are terrorized by bloodthirsty piranhas and try to survive.  Makes me want to go for a dip right now…

6. The Final Girls (2015): A girl and her friends are sucked into a crappy slasher movie and have to fight to survive.  This is another one that takes place (at least the movie within the movie) at a summer camp.  If you want to survive a horror movie, don’t go to a summer camp.

5. The Cabin in the Woods (2012): College friends on vacation are manipulated into playing out every horror movie ever made – ever.

4. The Hills Have Eyes (1977): A family gets stranded in the desert on summer vacation and get attacked by crazy, desert-dwelling mutants.  Summer fun?  Not so much.

3. Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974): A group of friends go on a summer road trip and get stuck in a nasty, dusty, hot town in Texas.  This one makes me sweat just watching it, and I’m not about from fear.

1.  Jaws (1975) and Friday the 13th (1980): Well, I just couldn’t decide between the two of these for the top position, so I let them share the title.  Beach vs. summer camp.  It’s really hard to pick.  And both are classics, so…yeah.  I’m not up for that kind of decision-making at the moment.

So what movies get you in the mood for summer?

Movies

Upcoming Horror Movies

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For this edition of Friday Night Frights and in honor of the release of The Conjuring 2, I thought I’d update the list of upcoming horror movies.  I initially made this list for my second blog post, but after going to see X-Men: Apocalypse last weekend and coming across a movie poster for Bye Bye Man, a movie I had not heard about until then, I thought it was time for an update.

So without further adieu, here it is:

MOVIE TITLERELEASE DATE
The Conjuring 2June 10
ClownJune 17
The ShallowsJune 24
The Neon DemonJune 24
The Purge: Election YearJuly 1
GhostbustersJuly 15
Lights OutJuly 22
Don't Breathe (AKA A Man in the Dark)August 26
Patient ZeroSeptember 2
Before I WakeSeptember 9
When the Bough BreaksSeptember 16
DeliriumSeptember 30
Underworld 5October 14
Ouija: Origin of EvilOctober 21
Boo! A Madea HalloweenOctober 21
RingsOctober 28
The Strangers 2December 2
Bye Bye ManDecember 9

It has grown considerably since I created it in April, and I bet I’ll have a few more to add or delete before the end of the year.  The movie I’m most ready for is Lights Out, and they’ve actually moved it up from its September release date.  *Happy dance, happy dance*

I’m thinking about expanding the list to go out a full year and adding it as a page at the top of the blog that I’ll update regularly.  I’ve been looking at the upcoming movies for 2017, and let’s just say that the words “remake” and “reboot” will be popping up aplenty.  Not that I’m complaining, but there have to be some original ideas left somewhere.  Right?

Well, now that the big part is finished, is anyone going to see The Conjuring 2 tonight?  I’m so excited.  I might have another happy dance left.  Let me check.

*Happy dance*

There it is.  Have a great weekend, everyone!

Movie Reviews, Movies

5 Things You Should Know Before You See The Conjuring 2

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The big week is here!  The Conjuring 2 comes out this Friday, and I couldn’t be more excited.  Seriously.  I’m doing a little happy dance right now (which actually makes typing this post a little difficult, so I’m going to stop).

But we do have a lot to be excited about.  The story is badass, it has some great actors, and it’s already getting great reviews.  Plus, James Wan came back to direct instead of lending his skills to Fast 8.  The guy knows his horror.  A lot of scary movies nowadays (easy now, grandma) don’t have the right tone or try too hard, so I’m glad Wan was able to put his touch on this one.

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All that being said, I highly recommend you go see this movie. And if you are being smart and planning on seeing it in theaters, here are a few pieces of trivia to make you seem cool in front of your friends:

1.  Ed and Lorraine Warren are real people who have investigated a number of famous, creepy cases.  They were involved in the investigation of the Amityville murders as well as the story at the heart of the 2009 movie, The Haunting in Connecticut. And, of course, there was Annabelle.

Ed passed away in 2006, but Lorraine is still around and even had a cameo in the classroom scene in The Conjuring.

2. Although the Warrens are the main protagonists of The Conjuring 2, they actually had very little to do with the Enfield Poltergeist case.  They were invited to the investigation, but so were a lot paranormal researchers and investigators.  But I think we all like Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson enough that we can let this one slide.

3.  Although the movie is based – however loosely- on true events, there are many who believe the whole thing was a hoax.  A series of pictures showing one of the daughters “levitating” are believed  by many (including myself) to just be her jumping off her bed.  Others claim to have seen the daughters bending spoons to use as evidence of a haunting, and one of the daughters even said the house wasn’t haunted in an interview before being told to shut up by her sister.

4. But those involved swear that although the children involved might have embellished some things, other creepy events were all too real, including moving furniture witnessed by a number of people and strange noises heard in the house.

5. Some Philippine viewers of the first movie claimed to have strange, creepy feelings after watching it, so Catholic priests were brought in to bless people before subsequent viewings.  The set of The Conjuring 2 was blessed by a priest before shooting began, so you should be okay.

Bonus trivia: If you’ve watched The Conjuring (and I have an inkling you have), you are already aware of the Warren’s famous case about Annabelle.  You probably also know there was a movie loosely based on the story.  What you might not know is that the actual Annabelle doll is far from the creepy-looking doll from hell depicted in the movie.  She’s just a Raggedy Ann doll that got a little frisky who now resides in a protected box in the museum Lorraine Warren manages in the back of her Connecticut home.

So who’s going this weekend?  Let me know what you think of the movie in the comments.  I’d love to hear your thoughts.