DAWN OF THE DEAD was released April 20th, 1979 and it changed horror cinema forever. George Romero hit it out of the park yet again, creating a socially relevant horror epic that people still hold near and dear. I know that it was in constant rotation in my teen years as my friends and I rented and re-rented the movie to watch during weekend late night horror movie marathons.
As I became older, I saw how significant the film was for horror and the zombie genre. From the story points to the makeup effects, DAWN was a groundbreaking horror film that people will never forget.
But, are we done with zombie films now? Is the current zombie cycle over? These things are cyclical, moving from zombies to vampires to aliens, usually. (Sadly, werewolves seems to miss the horror cycle rotation...not sure why...).
I still love a good zombie film. I have several that I think are well worth a viddy. Check out my list and let me know what you think!
Dawn of the Dead remake https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j69OPw9nFHw
I thought I was going to HATE this remake, but...nope....I friggin loved it. I was turned around by the opening scene and was giddy with joy all the way through. I know some people still shun this film, but....aside from a few trope issues of the 2000s, the film is a super solid horror vehicle that took the brilliance of Romero's DAWN and made some interesting changes to make it work for modern audiences.
WILD ZERO!!!!!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQ_D9OjDoQ0
ROCK AND ROLL ZOMBIE MADNESS FROM JAPAN THAT NEEDS TO BE IN ALL CAPS WITH LOTS OF EXCLAMATION MARKS!!!!!!!!!! SO GOOD!!!!!!!!!!
Train to Busan https://horrorsho.blogspot.com/2016/09/train-to-busan-i-love-you.html
I think we've all heard of this film by now. TRAIN TO BUSAN is one of the best zombie films to be released in the past 20 years. While it may be hard for some to "get" some of the Asian cinema elements of high drama, it's a ride that not only shocking, but also heartfelt.
The REC Series of films
REC3 - https://horrorsho.blogspot.com/2013/03/rec3.html
A fantastic series of zombie films with a twist. [REC] 1 and 2 are fantastic and, while the series tends to take a dip after that, they are still highly entertaining films.
Undead https://youtu.be/Ok8J-xyS4H0
Another cool Aussie zombie offering that has a lot of fun with the genre. Strange comedy elements abound as well.
Sugar Hill https://horrorsho.blogspot.com/2012/11/sugar-hill.html
A classic "blacksploitation" zombie film that is a must see. For the longest time, I thought it was just a black crime film from the 70s, but it's actually a super cool, voodoo zombie extravaganza!
Doghouse https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8rsPuFN8wg
Silly and fun UK zombie romp that explores the "battle of the sexes" with a zombie twist. A goofy zombie comedy and is highly entertaining.
One Cut of the Dead https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4wBImbHqhFk
Went into this cold and wasn't disappointed. I don't want to say much about this for fear of ruining it, but it had an amazing story and some wild shots.
The Dead https://horrorsho.blogspot.com/2012/02/dead.html
Bringing the slow moving zombie back to the screen, THE DEAD takes place in Africa and has some grand scenes of high tension as a man makes his way through the treacherous African landscape made even more dangerous due to a zombie outbreak.
Cemetery Man https://horrorsho.blogspot.com/2010/09/cemetery-man.html
Stylish 90s film with zombie elements. In this non-traditional zombie film, Francesco Dellamorte takes his job at the cemetery very seriously...because he needs to re-kill the people who are buried there a little while after they are put in the ground. Beautifully shot with a comic inspired esthetic, Cemetery Man is a super cool and strange horror classic.
Hope this gives you something to do while you Shelter In Place! :)
I did a re-watch of the film Resolution recently and really enjoyed it. I was giving it a mulling over and realized that I love films where this sometimes sad little reality of ours is turned on its ear and shaken a bit. The day to day horrors replaced by severe changes that no one expected. While I wouldn't want this to happen to me, I love the idea that there might be something more - something drastically different in the world.
Ghosts, paranormal happenings, UFOs....they all get me happy.
So, for this round of lists, I'm going with my favorite reality manipulation films. Films where things start off one way and get...strange.
(All synopsis texts are from IMDB)
Blood Punch - I love where this went A young man is lured into a dangerous love triangle that begins to take a series of shocking and grisly supernatural turns.
Cabin in the Woods - Some fantastic writing and a fun idea Five friends go for a break at a remote cabin, where they get more than they bargained for, discovering the truth behind the cabin in the woods.
Resolution - Pairs nicely with CABIN IN THE WOODS. Something strange is going on
A man imprisons his estranged junkie friend in an isolated cabin in the boonies San Diego to force him through a week of sobriety, but the events of that week are being mysteriously manipulated.
Berberian Sound Studio - A very Alice in Wonderland journey into madness
A sound engineer's work for an Italian horror studio becomes a terrifying case of life imitating art.
Coherence - Dude...just...whoa...
Strange things begin to happen when a group of friends gather for a dinner party on an evening when a comet is passing overhead.
Timecrimes - A fun offering from overseas. A great story
A man accidentally gets into a time machine and travels back in time nearly an hour. Finding himself will be the first of a series of disasters of unforeseeable consequences.
John Dies at the End - A really fun and imaginative ride!
A new street drug that sends its users across time and dimensions has one drawback: some people return no longer human. Can two college drop-outs save humanity from this silent, otherworldly invasion?
Time Lapse - Stick with it. It's a slow burn, but was worth the trip
Three friends discover a mysterious machine that takes pictures twenty-four hours into the future, and conspire to use it for personal gain, until disturbing and dangerous images begin to develop.
Identity - Just yes.
Stranded at a desolate Nevada motel during a nasty rain-storm, ten strangers become acquainted with each other when they realize that they're being killed off one by one.
Plus One - Doppelgänger goodness Three college friends hit the biggest party of the year, where a mysterious phenomenon disrupts the night, quickly descending into a chaos that challenges their friendships - and whether they can stay alive.
Triangle
Amazing WTF-ness!!! I loved this one!
Have others that should be on this list? Let me know! I'd love to see them. Maybe I missed one I've seen before.
A list of fun movies dealing with time and the passing thereof. :)
DETENTION - A favorite of mine. So wacky, quick, and smart.
http://horrorsho.blogspot.com/2016/11/detention-rewatch-and-spoilers.html
MINE GAMES - This was a fun watch. I popped it on thinking it was going to be a yawner, but ended up riveted by the 30 minute mark.
http://horrorsho.blogspot.com/2014/10/mine-games.html
LAST SHIFT - Another fun sleeper hit. twisted and highly entertaining.
http://horrorsho.blogspot.com/2015/11/last-shift.html
TRIANGLE - this had me shouting at the screen as i watched. "Wait...WHAT?! HOLY CRAP!" A must see.
http://horrorsho.blogspot.com/2010/04/movie-triangle.html
PLUS ONE - Another one I thought I'd sleepwalk through tat turned out to be highly engaging!
http://horrorsho.blogspot.com/2014/10/plus-one.html
Time Crimes - I really dug TIME CRIMES. It had that WTF?! quality I love with a complex little story that had me super happy by the end of it. The time loops and story twists are super entertaining and very interesting. I can't really explain the story without giving it away. Suffice it to say that there's a mystery that the rather plain Héctor stumbles into is something he just might have to kill for.
Time Lapse -
IMDB describes it well: Three friends discover a mysterious machine that takes pictures 24hrs into the future and conspire to use it for personal gain, until disturbing and dangerous images begin to develop.
This one starts out slow, but it really starts to build to a fantastic climax. It has a downward spiral that works like watching a train wreck in slow motion. It's fantastic to watch the horrors of the ending unfold. hhehehe
I watched the FANTASTIC documentary CRYSTAL LAKE MEMORIES and thought, "Hey, I should watch all the FRIDAY THE 13TH movies!" I thought it might be a fun idea. I proved myself wrong.
CRYSTAL LAKE MEMORIES (2013)
Six hours and forty minutes of awesome interviews and footage! I have to say that this is one of the best horror documentaries I've seen. Someone said it was too long and I say, "No." :) They covered things expertly and I loved every hour of what was presented. The behind the scenes footage and stories were priceless. Awesome stuff.
Firstly...I love any of the intro title sequences that feature the logo exploding. HA! BOOM! WHY?! heheheheh
NOTE: I'm watching these, then writing a quickie blurb about each to capture my general thoughts. The blurs will most likely contain spoiler points for the films.
FRIDAY THE 13th
By far one of the strongest offerings. It's a tight, fun WHO DUNNIT story with some grand gags and fun edits. The film presents a cast of characters that - while at times rather wooden - provide people that you actually care about to a certain extent.
I particularly like the blinding fade up to white after each kill. I remember it being SUPER intense when I saw it in the theater when it first came out. Everyone was blind for a moment. I was surprised to see how the cuts (...so to speak :::grin::...) came so rapidly after the kills here. There were no lingering moments over the bloody scene. We also have the famous JACK-IN-THE-BOX corpses as well - falling and slipping into view RIGHT when people go by! heh A tradition carried over in PART II. One of the best FRIDAYs.
FRIDAY THE 13th Part II
Another strong showing for sure. They upped the production, but kept the fun and inventive deaths up. The actors are, again, pretty good for a slasher film. It became clear that I would have been fine if parts one, two, and three were the only FRIDAY THE 13TH films that were made.
The characters were really likeable in here. They had substance and you cared about their well being for the most part. There was a constant sense of menace as well which really added to the tension. The writing is solid. I really enjoyed this one as well.
Rolling right along.....
FRIDAY THE 13th Part III I thought the series took a major drop here. The film was in 3D and it seemed like they were more concerned about getting their money's worth out of the 3D camera than making an effort on the story or character development. I didn't like the look of Jason more in this one than part two, however. He was larger and more menacing than part two's bag headed hillbilly.
FRIDAY THE 13th Part IV: The Final Chapter
Here we pick up right after part three. Like within a few hours at most. As if they heard what I was mumbling while watching part III, they pack this one with character development. And, yes, it's too much. :) However, when things actually get rolling, it's a lot of fun. We get to see twins, more awesome Jason body hanging skills, Chrispin Glover dancing up a storm, and SO MANY THINGS going through WINDOWS!!!
And of course, it's "the final chapter", so Jason dies and that's that. heh Corey Feldman's character Tommy shaves his head to confuse Jason - making him think it just may be himself as a child? Ok...sure...Jason supernatural slasher monster man is who we're talking about here. Why not? He thinks Corey Feldman is himself as a child. Sure. Tommy wacks Jason in the skull with a machete, then proceeds to do what ANYONE in their right mind would do if they had Jason down for the count in front of them after surviving his assault - he takes the machete to him over and over again screaming "DIE!" The only part of this film that actually made a TON of sense.
FRIDAY THE 13th: A New Beginning - SPOILERS, remember?!
I'm sorry - this was fucking awful. HA!
Grown up Tommy is struggling in a halfway house for people with mental issues. Ok...points for trying, I guess. A cast of flat, cardboard stereotypes parade around until "Jason" starts killing them off. THE WORST Friday Final Girl and a child have to face off against "Jason". Then, hey....Tommy is back and he helps to fight "Jason", too. And....they WIN! Oh..no..."Jason" is STILL ALIVE! OH! NO! THEY WIN AGAIN! Whew! "Jason" falls to his death. But...WOW! Shocking! It's not really Jason! It's an ambulance driver who saw his estranged, murdered son at the half way house.
You know. The same ambulance driver that kept giving ultra-strange looks when "a crazy murderer" was mentioned.
You're supposed to think Jason here is Tommy because Tommy is straight up nuts in this movie as well. But, you never really think that because the writing and acting are so comically wonky most of the time that you never really make those sorts of connections. heh
Thennnn....at the end end end...Tommy pulls out a mask...hears someone walking down the hall. Awful Friday Final Girl (Melanie Kinnaman) hears a window break in Tommy's room and rushes in to see...a broken window. She mutters, "Oh no...", then Tommy slips up behind her in the mask holding a massive knife...and we have a slow push into the blank eyes behind the mask. Lame.
Not sure where any of that shit came from, either. Do you think they would let that shite stay in the hospital room where a survivor of a fake Jason attack and a REAL Jason attack was being held?
Melanie Kinnaman was by far the most bitter and pissed off of all the people in the CRYSTAL LAKE MEMORIES documentary. She was complaining and pissy and generally unpleasant during her part. When I saw it, I thought she was just an awful person, but after seeing this piece of crap, I'm sure she was just angry that the film sucked so bad.
At least they came a bit closer on ethnic casting here - four actors of color. Sadly, one is a pleather clad dude that lives in his van. :::sigh:::
THOUGHT BREAK:
It's interesting to watch these films in a row like this. You start seeing the same things over and over again. You see where they might be trying to do something different, but you also see where they have failed to do so and how the series kept slipping deeper and deeper into a pit of, "Man...FRIDAY THE 13th parts one and two were really good. :::sigh::: I miss those good ones."
My head hurts, but I'm moving on....
FRIDAY THE 13th Part VI: Jason Lives
Well, it seems that they decided to just skip the events of PART V with this one. Tommy didn't kill the last final girl? Did he just...say..."BOO! Naw...it's just me, Tommy. Not Jason. Or a crazy ambulance driver.
PART VI starts SUPER strong! Tommy heads to Jason's grave with a mental patient buddy to get some grave disturbing therapy in. He's going to dig up Jason...and send him to hell. Presumably by...dumping gasoline all over the body and burning it to ashes...in a rain storm. He digs Jason up and goes a bit crazier after seeing the rotten body - taking a broken bit of fencing and stabbing Jason's corpse with it over and over as he hears the events of PART VI echo in his head.
Then...two lightning strikes bring Jason's corpse back to life! Now this I love. In the CRYSTAL LAKE MEMORIES doc - which I'll now refer to as CLM, they mentioned wanting to go into a bit more gothic horror to bring Jason back into the mix. I love this idea. Why the hell not?! Make him mythical and monstrous! Very cool.
And, that's where the cool stops for me. As I watch these, I'm starting to see how I...don't really like them. heheheh
We have counselors and a new camp on the site of the old Crystal Lake, so that's SOMETHING related to the old movies. But the characters are canon fodder and are super basic and silly as usual. There's a seemingly endless loop of Tommy running into the town sheriff, his daughter, and his deputy. Tommy rants about Jason being alive. Then the sheriff deals with him by either trying to get him to leave town or locking him up. I wanna say it happens about 37 times. :::grin::: Meanwhile, a series of cardboard cutouts get killed by Jason. Children actually show up to the camp this time and the cardboard cutout counselors...kinda take care of them. When they aren't goofing around or playing cards.
And we get a car chase. Then another Tommy lockup. Sheriff guy is sure Tommy is the nutter killing people...until he and his men start getting dispatched by Jason. Then Tommy faces off against Jason and chains him to a boulder which gets dumped into the lake. Sheriff guy's daughter has to save Tommy and uses an outboard motor to fight Jason. The motor....in full throttle...doesn't actually GO anywhere. It just spins violently into Jason's face sending bits of gore and clouds of blood drifting through the water. BUT....do the spinning blades of doom shred Jason's head down to a neck nub? Nope! With numerous shots of the thing tearing into him, we're left with a floating Jason underwater...with no facial damage at all. Even the mask is still on. And we push into his eye...looking around....with water sounds....but the shot is clearly not underwater.
We also get some Alice Cooper originals that...are special.
Yeah...I think the series is kinda shit from here on out, but I'm intent on pushing through!
THOUGHT BREAK:
I know that in the Freddie Vs Jason film, there's something they do with Jason's fear being water. However, after watching these, you can see that Jason is clearly nonplussed by water - not giving shit one about it ever. He walks into it, attacks people in it, walks under it....
Anyway....
FRIDAY THE 13th Part VII: The New Blood
Ooooh boo-oy.....the one with the psychic girl. :::stares blankly:::
I just saw a cat jump scare like no other. The cat was inside a closed closet on a shelf.
Psychic girl. :::sighs:::
Another girl in a tshirt and underwear tossed out of a window.
Jason looks great. His bones are showing and he looks like a great big monster. He's doing his keeping up with people who are running, even though he's just slowly...stepping....ahead... But, that's fun in it's own right. But, yeah...the characters are cardboard as ever.
It's also SO clean. Maybe it's the version I'm watching on Amazon, but there are no actual moments of violence being shown, which is interesting. It's all quick edits around the act. The lead up, the sound effect, then a body dropping or being tossed.
Clearly, watching these back to back is completely souring me on the franchise beyond episode two. :::grin::: I do remember seeing this one in the theater with friends and having a blast. Especially when we were all waiting for THE SAW! A long pole with a circular saw blade on the end of it. When it made it's appearance, we all screamed, "THE SAW!!!!!" and the people around us cheered. Fun stuff. :)
Psychic girl. Attacks Jason...using her Father...who she killed with her powers...when she was a little girl. Yeah, it's been something like 20 years and the body is just a little dirty. And...WHY WOULD THE BODY STILL BE THERE?! heheheheh "My husband was drowned in an accident. Yes, right here at the end of the dock. The body? Naw...just leave it there." Shite writing. :)
"AHOY THERE!"
FRIDAY THE 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan
Okie dokie.....here we go with more love for the series. :)
Man...I hate this series right now.
Another crazy messenger? "Young Jason" menacing someone who's parents were MAYBE children with Jason drown? 20-somethings being High School kids. More cardboard characters. Two chaperones for a Senor Class Trip...on a boat....to New York?! And...I'm at the 36 minute mark and we're still not anywhere close to NYC. Scanning ahead, it looks like we hit around one hour, three minutes. So...about 33 minute of Jason in New York. Should be called JASON TAKES A BOAT RIDE.
The days of Tom Savini's F/X magic - long gone.
Jason just WARPS places now. He attacks a girl in a disco area of the ship and literally warps from one part of the room to another repeatedly before finally appearing right beside her.
And...this young Jason. They got is bad eye on the wrong side. I mean...come on, man.
Boat engine room explodes killing the remaining senors in the senor class - about 45 people, and three senors and two teachers escape via life raft. They make it to New York, get off the boat, and are immediately mugged by two caricature Latino gang members. Our lead woman is kidnapped and taken away to be drugged and raped.
Oh....and then we have to dramatically reveal that the FINAL GIRL's Uncle pushed her into Crystal Lake. THAT'S when Jason grabbed her a a kid and why she sees him all the time. Even though that Jason drowned in 1957 as a child. Thus, making this High School Senor Final Girl 42 or so.
Oops...we're on a subway now to escape Jason - the final two senors. Train full of people. Jason laser focused on the two and no one else. They use the third rail to fry him. He's up again. Time Square...still after those two. Jason break a radio of another "gang" and they threaten him. He lifts his mask and they flee comically, then he replaces the mask.
Fuck you, writers. hehehehehe
And we're out of New York topside and back into the sewers where are heroes are informed that...TOXIC WASTE! Whatever.
Final Girl tosses some into Jason's face and we get to see it. A nasty bit of business that was fun. Then as they try to escape, a toxic waste tsunami takes out Jason - melting him into fire mush as he remembers himself drowning in the lake...again. (OK! THAT IS CLEARLY NOT FUCKING WORKING! STOP IT!) Then the dog that was lost AGES back in the mugging ally finds the two heroes. Then I mutter, "What a piece of shit..." under my breath as the credits roll and a HORRID theme plays.
That's it, right? They finally saw the error of their ways and stopped making these here, right?
Nope. But this was the last film for Paramount Pictures. It went to NEW LINE after this. Still made over 14 million after spending 5 mill to make. Whew.
JASON GOES TO HELL: The Final Friday Sadly, I guess NEW LINE isn't part of Amazon's Prime streaming freebies, so you had to pay for this. So...yeah...I went to YouTube and augmented what I saw in CLM for this one because I wasn't wasting money on it. hehehehe In this one, they light Jason up with a SWAT team, then blow him to bits. His beating heart and the other parts are packed up. Then...the evil that is Jason possesses people.
:::sigh::::
"Not cool, guys. Not cool."
And there's Jason's sister. And....the evil is trying to bring Jason back...through the sister. Reborn? And....(much to Erin Gray's DIS-approval)...a evil creature spermy thing enters her dead body "EVIL DEAD STYLE" and Jason is reborn.... with his clothing and mask.....and all his injuries.....and then he gets stabbed by a magic knife or sword? And then he's dragged to hell by muppet hands. And then...Freddy's hand pops up and snags Jason's Mask and people go insane. 3 mill budget....and 15.9 mill intake. WHEW!
Eight years go by and fans are rewarded for their patience with JASON X...Jason in space. Robots, some creative deaths, and a SUPER JASON created via nano-tech. Only takes in around 6 mill instead of the last film's 12.9 mill win. Looked at as a bomb.
"MAKE IT STOOOOOOOP!"
And another I won't be revisiting - FREDDIE vs JASON. The 2003 mega-budget 30 mill movie that took in a whopping 114.9 million for a big 84.9 million intake. Freddy and Jason finally together and kicking each other's arses. How? Oh, they are both Hell Guys® and kill people, so they battle each other. How cares?! hehehehehe
And the remake? A massive bore. I'm that THAT much of a purist. It was worth a shot to re-do things. It might have been a great thing seeing how bad things got in the original run at one point. But, yeah...no. Re-make or not, it was just kind of a shite film. It was sad as well - in the doc, none of the actors really seemed to be too enthusiastic about their piece of the FRIDAY family. They knew it was a side note.
FINAL THOUGHTS:
All in all, it was fun revisiting the series via the wonders of AMAZON PRIME, but it really did sour me on the series as a whole. I remember the NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET series running off the rails here and there, but all in all it was still highly entertaining for the most part.
There is still no topping Part One and Part Two. They were fantastic and charming and interesting and FUN above all.
If you have not done a full rewatch of the series like this, give it a go. It might be eye opening for you. :)
THE GAME:
The FRIDAY THE 13th GAME looks interesting. The online experience allows you to be a counselor trying to hide away and not be found out or Jason looking for kills. There are all sorts of in-game nuggets like breath holding and warping Jason around, evidently.
![30 in 30: A MONTH OF HORROR. [REC] - Filmarket Hub - Medium](https://miro.medium.com/max/1011/0*8aDLnf5iCnUi94d3.jpg)
