Horror Roundtable - Week Forty-Eight
Name a horror movie that you liked but everyone else seemed to despise.
Jeff O’Brien
Ummm… Insecticidal?
I’m going to go with The Horror of Party Beach (1964), which rests comfortably in the IMDB bottom 100, mostly thanks to its lambasting on Mystery Science Theatre 3000. Now don’t get me wrong, I enjoy MST3K as much as the next guy, but there seems to be some generally accepted assumption that the concept of “camp” wasn’t invented until the 1970s, and that every early horror movie was made with grim-faced seriousness no matter how ludicrous the monster or effects were. Well, The Horror of Party Beach is a straight-up blast, perhaps the ultimate teen drive-in movie with bikers, bikini babes, romance, fist fights, a garage rock soundtrack, and a slumber party. Sure the monster has floppy teeth and the sodium attack at the end is laughable–but they were supposed to be! I don’t know how anyone could hate such a fun, lighthearted film.
Dave - Rue Morgue’s The Abbatoir
Two films spring to mind. The first is more of one that splits genre fans in general but I pretty much the only one at Rue Morgue that likes it, and I like it a lot: The Dawn of the Dead remake. I think that film’s exactly what it should be, an action-horror flick taking Romero’s basic premise without pointlessly trying to duplicate his socio-political themes. Fast, fun and gory, plus the opening credits are wicked cool.
As far as one that’s more sort-of universally disliked, I’d have to go Jaume Balagueró’s Darkness, which, at least in the cut that made it theatres, is not a great film by any means, but better than it gets credit for. He’s one of those directors who should should stick to making films in his native tongue, as he did with The Nameless, which is creepy as hell, because he’s not so hot with dialogue. Anyhow, despite the Darkness’ flaws, there’s something genuinely transcendent about it. I feel the same way about The Ninth Gate, in that both films seem to have a genuinely tense, evil feeling about them, as if they’re scratching at a hell just off-screen, a madness beyond the celluloid. I saw a DVD of the director’s cut of Darkness at a convention one time, and I’m kicking myself for not snagging it, as I’m dying to see if it fares better. If anyone has a line on it…
I wouldn’t say everyone despised it, but I’ve found myself in the position of having to defend the merits of Hostel too often… to the point, really, where I’ve begun to wonder if I’m sick in the head for finding any merit within the film. Same goes for Wolf Creek or Audition… and I’ve just listed off three of what I consider to be the finest horror films of the past ten years.
But the whole notion of “torture porn” as the in-vogue catch-all critique, along with the success and subsequent ripping off and franchising of much lesser films (cough Saw cough - yes, two weeks dissing Saw in a row!) means the head of the horror snake is probably about to swallow its own tail again and we’ll be finding something else scary soon. Perhaps “evil bagels from outer space” will satisfy those who don’t want to be disturbed by their horror films.
I’m gonna mention three movies, one recent, one from the bad times of horror (mid 90’s, early 00’s) and one from the early 90’s – also a bad time for horror.
This one sprung to mind first, Blair Witch 2: Books of Shadows (00). This movie was panned by the critics, ignored by crowds, and sunk the Blair Witch franchise, canceling plans for the third movie. Well, I don’t think people wanted a Blair Witch franchise to begin with. That movie was a one trick pony with a lot of hype.
Thank God Blair Witch 2 is not a camcorder follow-up. I swear it makes fun of the original movie and Blair Witch mania. Very funny and scary too, though the scares are no doubt dated now. The movie poster and video box suck, unfortunately.
Recent times, House of Wax (2005), great special FX and I was totally into the wax-town/fantasy world created in this movie. Dismissed by many for being from Dark Castle Entertainment and of course for its inclusion of a certain actress.
1990, this one is topical as it was directed by William Friedkin (The Exorcist) who has a new horror movie coming out today, Bug. I’m talking about the Guardian, where a nanny is sacrificing babies to a killer tree in the suburban Southern California woods. I guess that was a little hard to swallow for mainstream audiences. Yeah, it’s funny, but really well done with awesome effects and beautiful lighting.
WOLFMAN NEVER SLEEPS aka FURY OF THE WOLFMAN. Even hardcore Naschy fans don’t give this much respect, but it’s the first of his werewolf movies I’ve seen, and I love it to this day!
David Z. - Tomb It May Concern
I’m a huge fan of Maniac Killer, the 1987 film from Eurocine-our crazy pals in France that cranked out more wonderfully demented films than I can find good copies of. I’m still trying though. Maniac Killer is a weirdy even for them, with cults and unbelievably bad shoot outs. Hey, it stars Bo Svenson, Robert Ginty, Chuck Connors, Stanley Kapoul (best known as the goofy bald dude from Golden Temple Amazons) and Olivier Mathot. Even though it is directed by Andrea Bianchi of Burial Ground infamy, it isn’t gory…but manages to be more bizarre than that classic.
Every person I’ve shown this masterwork too has not enjoyed it.
Strange.
Not so much a horror flick, but a post apocalyptic alternate future… I absolutely love The Postman, even if it did star Kevin Costner. With the mix of life after nuke, the rebuilding of society, and the way the various towns built up around pockets of survivors, I eat it up every time I watch it.
After last week’s responses, I’m a little afraid to admit that I…uh…*scuffs shoe on ground, bows head*…kinda sorta…umm…liked High Tension.
I knew about the much-lamented ending ahead of time; I wonder if I would’ve liked the film if I DIDN’T know. But as it was, I thought the twist was clunky but ultimately interesting. I put on my Analyzing is Fun! t-shirt and went to town on that movie, y’all!
The second time I saw it I didn’t like it nearly as much and I think I’m pretty much done with it, but I quite liked it the first time around.
Sean T. Collins - Attentiondeficitdisorderly Too Flat
If it’s not too late to add, my choice would be Jeepers Creepers, all though “everyone else” and “despise” are probably too strong–I do know a goodly number of people who liked it. But for me, the radical shifts in the “what kind of horror movie is this?” department are exactly what made the film interesting and scary, while for many others they ruined it.
Call me crazy, but I like John Boorman’s Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977). Lots of people seem to hate this film and the critics bashed it when it was originally released, but I actually enjoy it. I think it has some really good stuff in it and I like Richard Burton’s performance as the crazy priest. I think all the bug/insect stuff in the film is well done and it has lots of creative camera work. The score Ennio Morricone composed for the movie isn’t half bad either.
Now you know better than to trust these peoples’ opinions on anything ever again. Take advantage of the comments to rassle with this week’s contributors and their choices, or take the time to let us know of a movie you love that everyone else seems to hate. And make sure you check out the various blogs and such of the assorted riff-raff seen above. Excelsior!
May 26th, 2007 at 12:44 am
It should come as a surprise to few, if any, that I, like Warren, have a soft spot in my heart, and head, for The Guardian. Some day I will watch Blair Witch 2, I swear it.
May 26th, 2007 at 1:11 am
I really REALLY like the Dawn of the Dead remake, I thought Blair Witch 2 was surprisingly good, and I was shocked to find myself LOVING the House of Wax remake. It was fun!
May 26th, 2007 at 2:15 am
My reaction to the Dawn of the Dead remake is, well, I liked it a lot as I watched it… except the zombie baby and cheap second ending… but liked it less and less when I thought about it. Maybe the thinking part was the mistake.
Frankly, I liked House of Wax a lot more than I ought to have. It took too long to get started, as it went. It was trying to be good and establish characters, which I respected, but it’s characters didn’t have enough substance to justify the time. Once it got going, though, it was quite an amusing and creepy little ride.
May 26th, 2007 at 8:41 pm
Wow. I’m in agreement with almost everyone on something with this topic.
Although the ending just KILLS the movie for most people apparently, I’ve must have a more forgiving nature than most because I really quite like HAUTE TENSION a lot. As well as WOLF CREEK. Which is, not only a suspenseful as fuck film , but also a beautifully shot film too IMHO. There’s genuine beauty in some of it’s scenes.
BOS: BLAIR WITCH 2?
VERY underrated film if you ask me. Though the vast majority of the original movies fans hated the sequel ( along with just about everyone who DIDN’T like BWP as well … ), I quite enjoyed it. Despite a couple of simply awful, over the top performances & a few nonsensical scenes scattered about it’s running length.
DARKNESS?
LOVED it. Horribly overlooked & misjudged IMO. Not the classic that Jaime’s THE NAMELESS was/is, but still a worthy follow up film in my eyes. I can’t wait to finally see the director’s two subsequent films as soon as they become available here in The States.
DAWN OF THE DEAD ( 2004 )?
I liked in a lot when I first saw in during it’s theatrical run a couple of years ago & have come to LOVE it, after three subsequent viewings. Two of the DVD that I bought & then, a recent viewing of it in HD on either an HBO, Showtime or STARZ late night showing.
Blasphemy perhaps, but, to me anyhow, it’s become equal to the Romero original, which I also adore.
May 26th, 2007 at 8:49 pm
Oh shit, I rambled on so long about my agreeing with other folk’s choices that I forgot to mention one of my own. Which is an older film that, while not HATED by the masses, is certainly dismissed by most. And that would be Hammer’s one attempt at replicating the old Universal style of monster movie, THE EVIL OF FRANKENSTEIN. A film that I have much love for.
May 27th, 2007 at 11:39 pm
I’m on the Blair Witch 2 boat. It wasn’t half bad and who needed a franchise, anyway?
Exorcist 2 was astoundingly awful and totally missed the boat on what made the original frightening, but it’s an original work and at least didnt’ really imitate itself, unlike all the copycat child horror that came after it in the 70’s…
Howzabout a topic like: Am I missing something? Critically acclaimed cult horror that you feel guilty for not also liking. Apologies if that already been covered. I’m thinking of Lemora, which I bought after the Rue Morgue cover piece but still hasn’t made it past the 20 minute mark in my DVD player…
May 28th, 2007 at 12:36 am
I guess my suggestion falls pretty darn close to last week’s topic. Insert picture of me licking my own nostril here.
May 28th, 2007 at 11:12 am
I’ve absolutely loathed everything Dark Castle has done, but House of Wax ain’t half bad. The pile of road kill scene, the snipped finger and the guy who’s still alive but cased in wax are three reasons to watch this one. Too bad the casting was so dismal.
Wolf Creek is also a fine film. An unusually mature approach to the subgenre. I didn’t mind the wait for the pay-off.
Lemora’s definitely an acquired taste — horror as a very perverse fairytale. I’ve never seen a film like it and it has a nice surreal ’70s quality to it, as well. Try sticking it out.
Glad there are other Darkness fans out there. I’ve seen the director’s latest, Fragile, and while it suffers from some cheese dialogue, a super-cheese ending and, well, Calista Flockhart, it’s worth a watch. It’s beautifully shot, full of tension and the climax is fucking scary, particularly the malevolent entity, which is the stuff of nightmares.
Maybe it’s time to revisit Blair Witch 2 and re-examine my hatred for that flick.
May 28th, 2007 at 2:15 pm
I’m with Stacy on Haute Tension. I thought it was one of the more entertaining horror films in recent years (I think France in general is making better horror flick than the US right now) and I can’t really understand why a lot of people hated it so much. If I saw it again though I may not like it as much since I know the outcome.
May 28th, 2007 at 8:34 pm
Hey, I was really tempted to add EXORCIST II: THE HERETIC into my previous posts but forgot to. However, now that John’s so kindly reminded me of it, I’ll ruminate on it just a bit. Infact, while in the process, I’ll touch on last week’s subject matter as well.
See, I’m one of those weird Harolds that actually LIKES the pretty much nonsensical initial sequel. Not only that, but, * GASP! * I actually enjoy it more than I do EXORCIST III ( which I actually consisder to be overrated ).
Not that I believe that II is a good film ( I’m not THAT crazy ), nope, I just find it to be beautifully shot & far more enjoyable to see on the screen that III is. And, other than two or three nice scare scenes & a wee bit of atmosphere, I just don’t find Blatty’s film is all that good.
While on the subject of said franchise, I think I’m also one of the few who actually prefers Renny Harlin’s take on the last EXORSIST film to Paul Schrader’s.
May 29th, 2007 at 11:09 am
Agreed on House of Wax and Wolf Creek. And while I wouldn’t clasify Blair Witch 2 as “good”, it was on tv late one night and I sat down to watch it and it passed the time reasonably well. I’d take that over Saw/Hostel anyday.
May 29th, 2007 at 7:48 pm
THE HILLS HAVE EYES 2. I will defend the awesomeness of that flick until the day I die.
I’d also do the same for SEE NO EVIL, by the way.
May 30th, 2007 at 1:14 pm
[…] — I am always right - see how at last Friday’s Horror Roundtable. […]
May 30th, 2007 at 4:10 pm
“THE HILLS HAVE EYES 2. I will defend the awesomeness of that flick until the day I die.”
“I’d also do the same for SEE NO EVIL, by the way.”
Even the “cute” and helpful kid-mutant who we know is innocent and childlike because he, y’know, wears a striped shirt and has big eyes? I dunno if he warrants defending.
You’re a brave man, Fowler, a brave man.
June 16th, 2007 at 7:12 pm
Not that anyone’ll see this 3 weeks after the fact, but y’all seem to be confused by the ferocity of the BWP2 backlash, and I can explicate that, yo.
They got master documentarian Joe Berlinger to direct it, so everybody figured it’d be within the established subgenre but bumped up to some serious next-level shit, but then Berlinger made a straight-up, standard-narrative teensploitation flick.
I’ve seen it twice and I can’t remember anything except the hot redhead, so I suspect I don’t like it on its own merits, but regardless of quality, I just can’t get past the waste of potential.
Hope that helps, bunch of people who’ll never read this.
June 18th, 2007 at 1:30 am
I’ve read it.
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