Mocking Halloween: Evil Dead

What isn’t there to like about Sam Raimi’s monster cult hit Evil Dead? It’s a perfect blend of horror, camp and comedy all rolled into one ‘cabin in the woods’ movie. The story follows a group of friends to travel to a cabin… in the woods… so that they can have a great time drinking and partying. Little do they know that there are demons lurking in the woods after the person who lived there before unwillingly summoned them from Hell. One might be asking, what can I possibly complain about Evil Dead. Well, I’ll tell you exactly that.

From what I know about the movie, this was supposed to be an actual horror movie and nowhere near a horror comedy or maybe it would have less comedy but more horror. It wasn’t until the sequel when Raimi decided to have fun with the genre. However, in the case of Evil Dead there are so many things that happen that just turn out to be hysterical than scary! Take for example, when Linda gets possessed she becomes insane and she laughs, giggles and pretty much stays in the same spot for a majority of some of the scenes. Perhaps it was intentional for it to be sort of silly but for a movie that has a huge reputation, it certainly didn’t live up to it. I don’t want to see demons laughing and giggling… I want to see them kill.

Even the infamous tree rape scene comes off as being really tacky and sort of out of place in the overall movie. When it happened all I could do was lean back and ask, “why a tree? Why couldn’t it have been something else?” Again, going back to the reputation this movie has… I want demons, not killer trees! I understand that there are demons in the movie, but still... raping trees? Perhaps this is one case where it isn’t the movie’s fault for being so ham-handed but rather the rabid cult fans of the film that make the movie seem as though it’s the greatest horror movie ever made… ever.

terror in the Aisles 2, Part 2

I know it’s been a while since I even talked about Terror In the Aisles 2 but I thought that I should go over what I accomplished while I was there. I was very happy because I finally got to meet so many different people there from all sorts of websites as well as different celebrities. I met Stuart Conover from BuyZombie and Mitch Wells and his wife Jessica from The Horror Society and I also met Tom Holland who was the special effects guy for Evil Dead, George Mihalka who dircted My Bloody Valentine and Mike Dougherty who directed Trick ‘r Treat.

I got these cards that were advertising the Trick ‘r Treat website and how they were giving away these Sam figurines to promote the movie. I took one and I turned it around for Tom and George to sign it. The top (in black) is Tom’s signature. The bottom (in red) is George, who wished me to ‘set over’ the fact that My Bloody Valentine scared the shit out of me when I was younger.

From Conventions

It’s also funny to note that I was in the washroom taking a piss and some guy came next to me and said ‘Goddamn it, these things are always so fucking smelly.” I turned around and it was George.

This is the card that Dougherty signed for me.

From Conventions

This is some free comic book they were giving out. I never heard of it though.

From Conventions

Those are just some of the things that I got from this convention. When my friend finally gives me the pictures I will upload them to this site so you can see me with my horror crew. 

Terror in the Aisles 2, Part I

Today is the Terror in the Aisles 2 at the Portage Theater in Chicago where they will be featuring the movies The Evil Dead and My Bloody Valentine with an extra bonus movie… the one… the only… Trick r’ Treat. I am really excited to be going and I will be meeting so many horror bloggers and website owners there as well such as BuyZombie.com and ZombiesHappen.com. From what I understand there will be other short films as I mentioned in a later post as well as competitions and, from what I understand, some gambling tables. The director of My Bloody Valentine will be attending and so will the special effects artist for The Evil Dead.

I will have a in depth review for Trick r’ Treat up on this site as well as The Horror Press… although that will be that abridged version of the review. In the mean time I will be heading up to Reckless Records to see if they have any horror movie discounts. So, tune in later tonight to see the reviews. 

Terror in the Aisles

From Blogger Pictures

As you may already know, I have been waiting for the much anticipated movie  "Trick r' Treat" and when I found out that it was getting a straight-to-DVD release I was mortified. HOWEVER, when a friend and I were walking around a video store in upper Chicago we came across an event that was taking place right in our own city known as The Terror in the Aisles 2 and they would be playing a few short movies, "The Evil Dead," "My Bloody Valentine" and..... "Trick r' Treat." I almost cried and we bought tickets and I am so excited to finally get to see this movie on the big screen. 

Below is the information:

August 15th, 2009 - 7pm

Portage Theater

4050 N. Milwaukee Ave

Chicago, IL

Fee = $12

Films:

Trick R' Treat (2009)

The Evil Dead 

My Bloody Valentine 

Shorts:

Gay By Dawn

Hellcat and Tala

Vintage trailers, dealer tables, prizes, surprises, and live charity auction for Vital Bridges and guest appearances. 

Tickets: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/74045

I am way beyond excited to see these movies and I hope to see several of my Chicagoan brethren while I am there so give me a shout out if you see me. 

Review - Drag Me To Hell (2009)

After a huge disappointment we had with the apartment Frank, Joe and I decided to go see the new movie “Drag Me To Hell.” They had seen it before me but they were willing to see it again… they apparently liked it. Here is what I thought:

For a Sam and Ivan Raimi flick, it was pretty cool!!!! I was very surprised to see that there were so many great ‘jump-out’ scary scenes for a PG-13 and there were some great make-up effects too. There were points where the movie scared the shit out of me and I would jump back or scream out obscenities.

For those who know the Raimi bros and their unique style of horror, you’d know that there would be some pretty funny moments in any of their horror movies. This movie isn’t an exception. There were several subtle humor points throughout the movie and I really enjoyed the scene with the goat (It’s not that kind of scene) and the scene where the old lady attacks the young woman both alive and dead. There were some points where it was so sick and gross that it was funny.  Overall it was pretty scary and pretty funny at the same time.

I am not going to go into a full movie review; it would be way too long to read. What I also found out is that Raimi is making a 4^th “Evil Dead” movie as well as an “Evil Dead” remake. Word around the camp fir is that “Drag Me To Hell” is going to be connected with the 4^th “Evil Dead” installment. Justin Long’s character, after the end scene, would go to the cabin that he was talking about and there would start the next “ED” movie. Plus, there were several nods to “Evil Dead” in this movie like ancient demons, the fast tracking camera work, the opening credits that were over a book that resembled the Book of the Dead.

What I can’t understand is, poor Bruce Campbell is getting old and I don’t know if he would be able to do another “Evil Dead” movie by 2012. Although he has proven that he is still kicking with his new movie and TV show.