Music Box Massacre 7

I’m rather late on reporting this but this past weekend (October 15 till the 16^th) was the yearly Music Box Massacre at Chicago’s own Music Box Theater. This year, unlike the past two years that I went, was different for me because I slept through half of the 24-hour marathon. I have no idea why I was suddenly tired all of a sudden but I missed out on some movies that I’ve wanted to see for a long time. Regardless, I was fortunate to experience three films on 35mm print one of which is a must for the Halloween season. So, without further ado, I’ll give you a short rundown and musings of the films I was able to catch.

The marathon started off with the silent film…

Waxworks (1924)

This fantasy film is considered horror but I’m not sure why. I feel it’s more action adventure than anything although I guess it’s because there are some elements of horror that must have been shocking for people back when it was first released. Personally, I felt it was a little boring but what I have to applaud was the live organ player who had to sit there the entire time.

Burn Witch Burn (1962)

After his wife confesses to being a witch, a college professor must find out whether or not she was telling the truth but time is running out because dark forces are descending upon him and the only way to stop them is by sacrifice. Also known as Night of the Eagle for some reason. This was a fun movie and a perfect candidate for MST3K or any other type of Riffing. Hammy acting, sexist dialogue and some really cheap but strangely effective special effects laden this film. I personally loved the part when you hear something howling, screaming and bellowing outside the door but never end up seeing it.

Hour of the Wolf (1968)

I slept through this movie.

The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971)

I loved this movie but calling it horror is a bit much even if the final revealing of Phibes is shocking, then again I guess it could be considered a Slasher movie. Oh whatever, either way I liked it a lot. Price plays yet another interesting, stylish and charismatic killer that sort of reminded me of Theater of Blood. This time he plays Dr. Phibes, a doctor of music, who seeks murderous revenge on all the doctors who were unable to save his wife from a tragic accident. Dark British humor and the 12 plagues of Egypt make this movie work seeing and it’s even funnier watching it with a live audience.

Wizard of Gore

With special guest Herschell Gordon Lewis

I broke away for dinner.

Halloween (1978)

No party that takes place during October is complete without a 35mm screening of Carpenter’s infamous slasher movie. The print we saw was reddening, scratch and dust filled with horrendous jump cuts… everything I wanted to see to give me that authentic “grindhouse” feel. This time around, because I saw the movie so damn much, I began to notice the small things that gave away the film’s actual location of California. Not just the ridiculous foothills but also the palm trees in the background and the cactus looking plants in some people’s yard. If only Illinois had palm trees.

Poltergeist (1982)

Upon watching this for the first time in years, I was suddenly reminded just how much I love this film. It’s such a touching and sad story of how the parents of a little girl are willing to travel to another plane of existence to save their daughter. Unfortunately, in reality, Heather O’Rourke died young and went towards the bright light anyway. The subtle humor, the nods to childhood fears and the chilling yet uplifting score by the famous Jerry Goldsmith gave me this warm feeling as I sat in those uncomfortable chairs.

Pumpkinhead (1988)

After releasing an ancient demon to seek revenge on the youths that accidentally killed his little boy, a farmer must stop what he unleashed before it ends up killing him as well. I saw this movie only once before and I hated it. Upon watching it again, I enjoyed it and I loved the special effects (of course I would because it was directed by Stan Winston) but I feel that it was a little unjustified to release such a horrid monster after the teens apologized for the fatal accident. The climax is anticlimactic but then again we are talking about the 80’s.

Gates of Hell

I broke away to grab a quick snack.

The Vampire Lovers

I fell asleep to.

Children Shouldn’t Play With Dead Things

I drifted in and out of sleep to. I was awoken by the excruciatingly loud ending.

The Sentinel (1977)

“What do you do for a living?” “We fondle each other.” Indeed, The Sentinel is one of those 70’s movies too fucked up to describe but very simple when you get right down to it. Basically it’s about a haunted apartment complex that’s being investigated by one of the new tenants who claims to have been invited to an birthday party by the tenants. However, there are no tenants in the apartment except for a reclusive priest. Now the young woman must find out why the apartment is being haunted, why is she being plagued with unsettling visions and what is the priest guarding on the third floor. Naked fat women eating people’s brains, a cat in a hat, loud noises, non sequitur scenes and an ending that’s reminiscent of Browning’s Freaks makes this film a worthwhile acid trip.

From Dusk Till Dawn (1996)

What a perfect movie to end a noon-to-noon, 24-hour horror marathon. I’ve always loved this movie and it’s a roller-coaster ride to see it with sleep deprived horror fanatics. Whoever thought that vampires would evolve from charismatic, caped villains (Lugosi) to ancient Mexican strippers (Hayek)?

The Massacre survivors (12:00pm)

Try and spot me in this picture. Here’s a clue: I’m the one who is holding the brown pillow. Also, I was smart to bring a pillow and blanket to this.

Thus concludes yet another Music Box Massacre and although I didn’t meet anybody there like I would have, probably because this year seemed more packed then usual, I had a blast with all the films. I will close out this piece with one of my favorite quotes of the night (aside from Sentinel).

“Psychos do not explode when sunlight hits them! I don’t give a fuck how crazy they are!”

Pictures courtesy of WGON Helicopter, Kindertrauma, The Vault of Horror and Hey! Look Behind You.

Sci-Fi Spectacular 5 Coverage

Well, this past Saturday concluded what was a great edition to the Sci-Fi Spectacular event that’s held at the Music Box. Though I ran into a few buddies, I sort of did a ‘lone wolf’ thing this year… I’m not sure why but I guess it’s partly due to the fact that I had had a severe headache that morning. I almost didn’t make it but luckily I came in just as they were showing the first movie. I had to attend for two reasons, director Mick Garris was suppose to be there… the man who brought me the emotionally charged adaptation of The Stand. The other person who was going to be there was Chuck Russell who single-handedly gave me insomnia for a good 5 years of my life. I couldn’t miss out on an opportunity to meet both of them.

Day the World Ended (1955)

This was incorrectly titled It Conquered the World on the roster. I fell asleep halfway into the film because of a bad headache but I saw a majority of the film and I enjoyed it. It’s really cheesy and the audience knew it; the dialogue, the effects and the plot were all just really bad but what do you expect from Corman? I think that this movie could fare well as a remake because it could give the film a chance to really show the characters and how they cope with the end of the world. It could take the film somewhere where the 50s version couldn’t have gone.

Krull (1983)

Ah yes, for years this movie avoided me and now that I finally saw it on the big screen I can honestly say that it was okay. It’s very cheesy and the dialogue and performances are ridiculously tacky. However, despite all this… what made me enjoy it were the practical effects and set design. It’s a movie that really puts the whole idea of physical special effects being better than CGI. There were two kids (to my surprise) that sat behind me almost the entire time and apparently they think that Krull is one of the best movies of all time. I guess it’s the action that won them over but for me it was the special effects. Look for Liam Neeson in this because it might be one of his first movies.

Critters 2 (1988)

I forgot how much I love the Critters franchise and I had only seen Critters 2 about twice, ironically enough, up until recently. Our library has it but it’s so badly damaged that it’s virtually unplayable so it was a treat for me to watch a movie I use to rent out on VHS. What sold me was the Crite ball and how absurdly funny it was. Though, as I watched it I couldn’t help but notice the similarities the Crites had with the Gremlins and I think it would be really fun to explore that eventually. However, you know what made this experience even better? Mick Garris was there in person to answer a few Q&A’s about the film and his career.

He mainly elaborated on how it was like to shoot on one of the coldest days in California and how the girl, who played the model, had to walk around half-naked in icy temperatures. He told us how he had a truck pull the Critter ball down the road and how you could see, for a split second, the legs of the effects people rolling the Critter ball down the street. It was really fun to listen to him talk about Stephen King and his relationship with him and he discussed how he created Masters of Horror and how he opted for total directorial control over the series.

I obviously couldn’t pass up an opportunity for him to sign my copy of The Stand, which is still one of my all-time favorite King adaptations. Like a total nerd, I had him sign it by saying, “M-O-O-N, that spells Mick Garris.” He had a good laugh.

Side note: Is it just me or does Garris sort of have that younger James Cameron face? I think it might be the hair that makes me think this.

Naked Lunch (1991)

After the Mick Garris encounter I had a late lunch while the rest of the patrons watched Naked Lunch. I heard about it but never really saw it so you can understand how surprising it was to walk into the theater, while it was almost over, and see somebody sucking on the head-tentacles of some type of alien. Now, I must do whatever it takes to hunt this movie down because I can’t believe I had never seen it… especially since it was David Cronenberg.

Rubber (2010)

This was the Midwest theatrical premiere of the (probably) soon to-be cult classic about a car tire that goes around exploding people’s heads by means of telepathy. Yeah, and if that’s not strange and random enough… there are a group of spectators watching the whole thing night and day as though they were a live audience. It was so random that the comedy was hit or miss. I initially didn’t like it because I didn’t understand it, but as it progressed I realized that it was meant to be random and stupid and I slowly warmed up to it. Viewers beware, leave your brain at the door wit this one and if you don’t like randomness, don’t see it. I fear that many people would not like it and I’m surprise that I didn’t.

There was also this nice little interview with the star of the movie… the tire. Which is black, and my not have a specific brand. I wasn’t really paying attention to it that much because my camera cramped up on me after I took the picture.

The Blob (1988)

This is what it all boiled down to. For those of you who don’t know me, this version of The Blob is a childhood favorite because when I was 7 I saw this for the first time and it gave me nightmares subsequently for 5 years. (I thought I was macho enough to get through it but I turned the video off when the Blob began eating Paul in the office). So you can see why it was one of the best experiences I had watching it on the big screen on an actual film print. It had the grain, the scratches and the occasional audio blip that made this a very nostalgia moment for me. I still can’t believe how good the effects are and how the CGI today can’t even compare to the gritty realism that Russell and his effects team brought to the movie. But you want to know the real treat for me was? This…

Good ‘ol Chuck Russell was there answering a few Q&A’s. He was a really nice but overly excited guy. I don’t blame him, really. He elaborated on how much of a pain it was to make sure all the special effects worked and how nail biting it was since they initially thought it wouldn’t be so difficult. He talked about his relationship with Darabont and how Kevin Dillon’s performance in Platoon influenced Russell’s decision to cast him as Flagg. He talked about how he was very interested in see what Zombie would have done if they did the remake of The Blob and how he was sort of sad at the similarities between Inception and Dreamscape.

I had to have him sign it by saying one of the creepiest quotes in a horror film, “Remember Rick, the Lord will give us a sign. – Chuck Russell.” He was a good sport about it. If you want, you could read my interview I had with one of the special effects guys for the movie, right here.

Event Horizon (1997)

This was another one that always seemed to have eluded me mainly because at first I thought it looked dumb but as I begin to hear more and more about it, my interested began raising. I really enjoyed it and this was a movie that came from Paul W.S. Anderson too. I really enjoyed the set design and the idea of a haunted house in space. It was really unique in that regard because it seems like space-horror always needs an alien but this movie says, “hey, we can make a horror movie in space and have something more complex” and it succeeded.

Overall, I thought it was a great night. I saw my second favorite horror movie of all time on the big screen, I saw my Chicago horror buddies and I met two kids who have an appreciation for classic horror. I can’t wait to see what they have lined up for next time. I can cross my fingers in hopes that it would be The Thing.

Music Box Massacre 6

Well folks, another year went by and another Music Box Massacre is under the belt. This time around the thing that intrigued me the most was seeing Psycho, Fright Night and Killer Klowns From Outer Space on 35mm print. This was my attention getter. The rest of the movies I wasn’t really hell-bent on seeing although some of them I wanted to see again because I hardly remember them like Pet Semetary and Theater of Blood. I was happy to meet a lot of my Twitter/Chicago horror friends from Horror Society and the blogosphere. Most notably, I was pleased to see my high school A/V Tech teacher there as well (He hosts the podcast The Harvey and Bob Show).

Like all the Music Box Massacres it starts off with a little thing called trailer trash, however before that they had a DJ playing. This year’s trailer trash had the following movies… all of which were either wonderfully campy or have amassed a massive cult following:

Godzilla
Night of the Living Dead
The Raven
Blood of the Vampire
Black Zoo
Konga
Curse of the Werewolf
Devil’s Partner
Black Sunday
Terror in the Haunted House

The Massacre kicked off with a great Universal classic and didn’t let up, except maybe once but here are my short takes on the films that I was able to see. (I slept through one and I ate dinner during the other). Remember, Music Box Massacre is 24 hours of straight horror movies starting at noon on Saturday and ends at noon on Sunday.

Phantom of the Opera

It has been far too long since I’ve seen this movie and this time I paid attention to the details in the costuming and the set design; all of which were breathtaking for that time. Also, up until the end, I felt really bad for the Erik.

The Raven (1935)

Ah this was a fantastic movie. Though it is plagued with some ham-handed lines, cheesy acting and a few cheap shots… Lugosi and Karloff were the power of this film. The chemistry they had in the film was electrifying. Honestly, it was such a treat to see two of the greatest movie monsters playing incarnations of their trademark roles.

The Wolf Man

My friend and I stepped out to eat lunch since we had already seen it twice last year. Besides, we were going to see it during our mini movie marathon.

Hungry Wives: Season of the Witch

Not the John Carpenter film but the one by George A. Romero. This one started off as a strange and haunting experimental and then swan dove into a trippy drama. It’s a feminist movie that said more about aging and living in the suburbs than about witches. Half way into the movie I fell asleep from boredom and woke up still wondering what was happening. Hardly any witches too.

Jan White was there in person too. I didn’t stay to hear the Q&A but when I saw her walking out she looked like a typical helpless old lady… who was packing a Glock.

Killer Klowns from Outer Space

Not much to be said here. If you haven’t already seen it, go do it now. It’s a wonderful, delightful and dark film about aliens that look like clowns that invade a small town. Cotton candy cocoons, popcorn eggs, laser guns and of course killer klowns makes this movie a fun watch.

The Chiodo Bros were actually there in person for a Q&A:

The Q&A was great. They talked about how the idea of clowns from another world came to be: essentially one of the brothers was driving and somebody sped up next to him and it turned out to be a clown. He thought if you got rid of the car and he was floating, it would have been frightening. Then voila. They also talked about incorporated as many circus motifs as they could and how they may have had something to do with the Ringling Brothers Clown Circus to get shut down. Afterwards, it was a photo op time. Pardon my geekiness here and I'm not trying to rub it anybody's faces. We skipped out on seeing Rabid because we wanted to meet the Chiodo’s so Cronenberg had to wait.

Me and the Chiodo Bros.

My high school teacher El’Ahrai and the Chiodo Bros.

Colleen Elizabeth Miller and the Chiodo Bros.

Henenlotter and the Grim Reaper looking guy.

Overall, they were just really nice folks. They really love their fans and they really seem to be down to Earth people. I was very fortunate to see them.

During Basket Case my buddy and I went out to get some pizza. I didn’t want to see it because I’ve seen it so many times. I, however, wanted to meet Kevin VanHentenryck and shake his hand:

Pet Sematary

This movie was always a film that I regarded as being terrible since I first watched it back when I was about 11 or 10 years old. It also seemed that most of my friends liked it so I decided that I would give it another go round during Massacre and here is my consensus: it was a deliciously, dark, compelling and often tacky horror movie that isn’t that bad. I enjoyed it.

The Funhouse

About 2 or so years ago I saw this for the first time. I thought it was great but as time went on I lost interest in it. It’s certainly not a bad film but it’s forgettable. I’d have to say that the most memorable thing about the film is the sound design. It’s loud, booming and very sudden.

House By The Cemetery

Here was a film that I fell asleep during the first half of the movie. When I woke up I was greeted with typical 70s camp. Over exaggerated soundtracks, bad voice dubbing, pointless facial expressions and a whole lot of over the top zooms. I loved it purely for it’s nostalgic factor.

Theater of Blood

Ah this was also a fantastic movie. Probably one of the more underrated slasher flicks out there. Vincent Price’s performance is dark, gritty, theatrical and very frightening especially with all the makeup. His methods of killing are brilliant, Saw-like and very original. Highly recommended.

Psycho

What can be said about this horror classic? However, I do have a small bone to pick with this film… full report coming soon.

Fright Night

A great movie to end a wild festival. I’ve stated numerous times that I love this movie so no need to further my thought of it.

Someone also got married as well.

6:00am, Sunday. Good to see the blue sky.

Overall, it was a fun time. Aside from the painful seats, the uncomfortably, the giant ant colony that was next to my chair and a few projector malfunctions… I had a great time. Partly due to those aforementioned things. It was a great time with my friends and I hope to go next year as well. Below are all of us that survived the Massacre. Try to find me it should be that hard.

Photo courtesy of Nicki.

The Thing Week: Ice from The X-Files

As many of you know I am a huge X-Files fan and well before I even started The Thing Week I went through all the seasons of the show and watched every episode. One episode I cam across in the first season stood out because it reminded me of The Thing and that episode is called ‘Ice.’ Low and behold, ‘Ice’ was a direct adaptation, of sorts, of The Thing as well as Who Goes There? The episode was very well-received by X-Files fans however, though I thought it was good… I don’t think it’s one of the best episodes of the season.

The basis of writing this episode came from Glen Morgan who read about a group of men in Greenland that dug up something in the ice that was about 200,000 plus years old. For Thing fans, it’s easy to see where the episode borrowed from The Thing and Who Goes there and Carter (Creator of The X-Files) himself stated that his biggest influence was The Thing. The basic concept of the episode is about Mulder, Skully, three scientists and a helicopter pilot trapped in an isolated research station with a parasitic alien worm that uses the human body as a host. The episode relies on trust and paranoia to make the audience feel uncomfortable and claustrophobic.

While looking up some information on Ice’s relation to The Thing I found a few interesting facts that Carter put in to make this 45 minute tribute complete. While looking through the credits of the episode I noticed a character named Campbell, which I initially thought was a tribute to John W. Campbell and my speculation was correct. Graeme Murray designed the complex in which the episode took place and coincidently he designed the entire complex in Carpenter’s The Thing. This next observation is not really backed up but is more of a personal observation; Dr. Hodge (played by Xander Berkeley) bares a striking resemblance to Palmer (played by David Clennon) in The Thing.

‘Ice’ does a great job showing the intense paranoia between all the people in the complex. It manages to keep that tension between people in such a short amount of time. The complex is also very claustrophobic and with the mentioning of the heat, it makes the audience member get psychologically hot as they are trying to figure out who is who. I absolutely enjoyed the characters and I was pretty depressed that Bear died because he seemed like the strong character in the beginning. Hell, the episode didn’t really have that much gore and still accomplished a surreal and nightmarish reality. I think the problem that I had was the pacing; it just seemed a little off and ultimately made the episode a little rushed.

Much like The Thing, The X-Files uses science to explain how things work with the parasitic worm and the explanation is so fascinating but the only difference is that the worm is a little less aware than the Thing. To me, like many other times, it’s very interesting to see the roots of The Thing as well as Who Goes There extend into other sci-fi and horror realms.

"Before anyone passes judgment, may I remind you, we are in the Arctic"
- Fox Mulder

Sci-Fi Spectacular 4 Coverage

As many of my Twitter followers know, I was fortunate enough to attend the Sci-Fi Spectacular screenings at the Music Box here in Chicago. I was unable to go with my friend however I met up with my old teacher/mentor and the producer of his podcast known as The Harvey and Bob Show. It was great to finally meet them after all these years and we had a blast watching all the movies they showed.

The lineup was as followed:
Them
Planet of the Vampires
Dark Star
Flash Gordon
Q: The Winged Serpent
Lifeforce
They Live

Larry Cohen was actually there too to present Q and then do a quick Q&A with the audience. He was a very straightforward and very wacky person. While filming Q he actually filmed at the top of the Chrysler building without any kind of permit, which he stated that it would never fly in today’s world. It was very entertaining to hear him talk about filming Q and Black Caesar.

Larry talking about his experience while filming Q

It was great seeing all those films on a 35mm print with the film scratches and the cigarette burns… it felt more realistic to me. Throughout the night the theater played old 70s, 80s and 90s sci-fi trailers ranging from Tank Girl to Clockwork Orange to Single Room Furnished. It made me feel like I was watching a true grindhouse movie or movies.

Now, I want to do a brief reflection on all of the films that I watched. I was unable to see Dark Star because I had dinner then.

Them

Seeing this on the big screen was a breathtaking. I always had an appreciation for the special effects but now I think I have a huge appreciation for the sound design. The sound the ants make with their antenna is so spine-shivering that it will get stuck in your head. For that time, it was truly revolutionary.

Planet of the Vampires

This was a really bad movie with really bad acting but what made this movie for me was the set design and the effects. The set design was wonderfully crafted and looked like something out of a Jules Verne novel. The effects were great, especially the laser gun… it sounded pretty good and overall it was really creative.

Flash Gordon

This was the first time I actually saw this movie. It was… okay. I think the only thing that it had going for it was the costuming and the set design, especially the costuming. Everything was glossy, over the top and ridiculous.

Q: The Winged Serpent

I thought this was a really good movie in terms of character and effects. The winged serpent is like a second hand character while the rest of the movie is like a crime drama. Although I liked the stop-motion effects more than I liked the story. Larry Cohen stated that it was a satire on the fact that everybody is suing everybody nowadays.

Lifeforce

Ever since I saw it on FearNet at one point I always wanted to see this movie and now I finally did. I thought it was a decent flick. I liked the pacing of the story but the effects really steal the show. They are some amazing puppetry and animation… oh and the sound design was great.

They Live
There is way too much to talk about when it comes to this film but what I will say is that it was really fun to see this on the big screen. Midway through the epic fight scene the film ran out and they had to change reels. Oh it was great, it made me feel like I was in the 80s watching this movie at an old movie theater.

Right: My teacher/mentor who influenced my horror hobby.

Other than that I had a blast. I met up with Nicki Nix who runs Hey Look Behind You and I met up with Mitch, Kristen and Bryan of Horror Society… haven’t seen them in ages. So it was a fun night.

**NOTE: These convention coverage posts are meant to be bragging about going to these events. Honestly, I had more fun talking to high school teacher than I did with the actual event so I hope that I don't piss anybody off.