For the 41st week of 2018 as part of Wandering Through the Shelves' Thursday Movie Picks series hosted by Wanderer. It’s the second week of the 2018 Halloween edition as the theme is the dark/night. It’s the moment where the freaks come out at night and it’s not safe at the dark. It’s the moment to be afraid of the dark and at night. Here are my three picks all from the mind of John Carpenter:
1. Halloween
The film that would launch a popular horror subgenre in the slasher films. It is about a man who escapes from a mental hospital and decides to terrorize people on Halloween night. It’s the film that would set standards of what to do and what not to do at night as the killer named Michael Myers just kills whoever the fuck he wants to kill and no one is safe. While the film would launch a franchise with a few having involvement from Carpenter including the upcoming film by David Gordon Green with music by Carpenter.
2. The Fog
It’s the centennial of a famous shipwreck in a small coastal town in California as a fog emerge where the ghosts of this shipwreck would come to terrorize everyone. It’s a film with a simple premise yet it’s the ensemble cast that include Jamie Lee Curtis, Hal Holbrook, Janet Leigh, Adrienne Barbeau, Tom Atkins, and Nancy Keyes that help the film sell this premise of a town dealing with this strange phenomenon.
3. Vampires
While it’s considered a minor film from Carpenter, it is still an entertaining film about vampire hunters roaming around the American Southwest as they deal a powerful vampire trying to find a sacred cross for an upcoming ritual. Though there’s scenes set in the day, it is still a film of the night in terms of what these vampire hunters deal with as they work for the Vatican. It’s got some flaws but James Woods’ performance is so fun to watch.
© thevoid99 2018
A theme within the theme!! You're the first one who went with a horror theme that I've seen more than a single one of the films! I've seen the first two.
ReplyDeleteI saw Halloween in the theatre in what I guess could be considered a near perfect environment for that particular movie. It was sleeting outside so even though we were close it was a trial getting to the theatre because the roads were slick. Then the heating was on the fritz in the actual theatre so despite it being crowded we already had the chills. When it was over I thought it was worth going through one of those travails to see it but not both, it was scary and well directed but I've never seen why it became so popular or so slavishly copied.
I didn't find The Fog scary in the least though in parts it had a sense of dread. Terrifically eclectic cast.
Vampires didn't look like my thing when it came out and with the crazy hate filled loon that James Woods has devolved into I avoid anything he does nowadays. A shame there was a lot of talent there and I try and separate an artist and their work but some are just beyond the pale and he's one.
Not being a horror person I went for films set after dark to fit into the theme.
Night on Earth (1991)-Quintet of narrative tales set in cities around the world as a taxi driver in each city picks up a fare at the exact same moment and we share their lives and stories during the rides. A fable directed by Jim Jarmusch populated with quite a cast including Winona Ryder, Gena Rowlands, Rosie Perez and Armin Mueller-Stahl.
The Night Before (1988)-Nerdy high school senior Winston Connelly (Keanu Reeves) regains consciousness late at night in an alley dressed in a tux. Problem is he has no idea how he ended up there, where exactly in L.A. he is nor where his car, wallet or more importantly his date (Lori Loughlin) are either! As he stumbles around he recalls getting sidetracked on the way to the prom and that now Tito the pimp is trying to kill him. It sounds like a drama but is played for comedy, goofy but harmless.
After Hours (1985)-Oddity of poor snook Paul Hackett (Griffin Dunne), a button down computer processor who through a series of crossed wires and misunderstanding spends one surreal night in downtown Manhattan in a seemingly futile attempt to get back uptown. Dunne is perfect in the lead surrounded by a bunch of zany characters enacted by among others Teri Garr, Rosanna Arquette, Linda Fiorentino, Catherine O’Hara and Cheech & Chong. Nominated for the Palm d’Or with Martin Scorsese winning the Cannes director prize.
Great pick in Halloween. I mean, that's a no-brainer, right? I have to see the other two in their entirety as I have seen parts of them.
ReplyDeleteI love Halloween! I haven't seen your other two picks but I've seen a few parts here and there of The Fog.
ReplyDeleteI haven't seen any of these but I'm interested in watching The Fog: I hated the remake with Tom Welling but I've heard the original is great.
ReplyDeleteI love Halloween and The Fog, John Carpenter at his finest.
ReplyDeleteI have seen Halloween which is better than I thought it would be. I just watched the making of on A & E which was very interesting. I have not seen The Fog which looked very scary to me. I know I have seen Vampires when it first came out but I don’t remember much about it.
ReplyDelete@joel65913-I've seen all of those picks as they're awesome. The Night Before is an awesome gem that features a cameo from George Clinton and P-Funk.
ReplyDelete@Wendell-Well then, you got some catching up to do.
@Brittani-See the whole thing. It's an awesome film.
@Sonia-I haven't seen the remake and why would I bother?
@vinnie-You damn right.
@Birgit-Vampires is minor Carpenter but it's still a lot of fun. It's a shame James Woods has become a wacko as he's going to get killed for the shit he says now.