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Showing posts from December, 2014

The Babadook (2014) - Jennifer Kent

The best horror movie of 2014 is definitely Jennifer Kent's  The Babadook. This movie is beyond creepy and crawly. It does such a great job of getting under your skin. It has a fantastically deep concept that is pulled off in a really well way. It is wonderfully acted and exceptionally written. I know it sounds like I am praising it a lot. But this is really a fantastic film in the genre.  This movie has layers. It's a depressing tale about a broken, widowed single mother that is raising the worst child in the world. Her life is horrible and her time is completely taken up by this hellion. A mysterious children's book shows up one day and begins to terrorize their little family. This book warns about the coming of a figure known as Mister Babadook.  A supernatural and psychological terror begins to unfold as we watch this mother deal with a possession. Deal with fighting this unknown antagonist and simultaneously taking care of her child. It shows the he

Tusk (2014) - Kevin Smith

Definitely the most original and outrageous horror movie of 2014 is Kevin Smith's Tusk . This film is the product of the Hollywood Babble-On Podcast that is hosted by Smith and Ralph Garmin. They had literally just tossed the idea around and then, poof! It was made into a movie starring Justin Long, Haley Joel Osment, and Michael Parks. I will admit that when I started watching Tusk I expected to see something in the same vein as The Human Centipede . I expected to sit cringing through the whole feature. However, the end product was a bit disappointing and highly confusing. This movie is about a podcaster, Wallace (Long), that travels to weird places and interviews weird people. He then, usually, returns to his best friend (Osment) and recants his entire trip while his friend laughs about it. The podcast is un-inspiringly called the Not See Party. Get it. Wallace heads to Canada to interview this Kill Bill kid that had cut his leg off. Only to find out that th

You'll Find Out (1940) - David Butler

I am kicking off 1940 with You'll Find Out from 1940. A hilarious forgotten released to promote Kay Kyser. A popular big band leader from the 30's and 40's. The film is filled with comedy bits and witty charm that carry the plot along nicely. The production is exquisite. You'll Find Out is definitely a movie to check out. It's a shame it has been forgotten for so long. The film is about Kay Kyser and his band after they are hired to play at a spooky mansion for a young heiress. The heiress had been invited to this mansion to celebrate her birthday party. She doesn't know who invited her. However, she is sure someone is trying to kill her. For some reason she still decides to go. The mansion is filled with creepy artifacts and crap lining the walls. It does a really good job of putting it's own spin on the Old Dark House motif. Not to mention it also has some very good cameos from Lugosi, Karloff, and Lorre. The film is a parody/homage to the horror f

The Face at the Window (1939) - George King

Tod Slaughter is such an awesome character actor. He really puts everything he can into his pictures. I loved watching him in Sweeney Todd . This movie was no exception. George King is one of Britain's greatest story-tellers and delivers another keeper. The Face at the Window takes the Old Dark House motif and turns it on its head.  The film takes place in 1880's France where someone has robbed the Brisson Bank in Paris. Chevalier Lucio del Gardo (Tod Slaughter) is the only one wealthy enough to help bail the bank out of trouble. Lucio del Gardo is horrible person that demands the love of the bank owners daughter. Not only is he horrible. He is a brutish creep. He stalks and harasses while seemingly getting away with it. Oh, I didn't even mention that he keeps some strange werewolf man thing as a tool in his repertoire for manipulation.  The film is more of a melodramatic thriller than a horror movie. However, it deals with werewolves and has some pretty tam

The Human Monster (1939) - Walter Summers

Bela Lugosi turns in a fantastic performance. It is right on par with the exact same films that had made him famous like Dracula . My personal favorite being The Black Cat . Like the latter, this film suffered from poor circulation and lack of advertisement. Either that or the public wasn't interested in seeing Lugosi in anything else other than his famous bloodsucker. This film has a broad and well acted plot that was rich with detail.  Lugosi has two sides in this picture. His well loved and compassionate side. The other is a strict, brutal lone shark that acts as a sinister villain to blind and handicapped people. He really brutalizes his victims. It's a macabre message to pay your bills.  The film is slow moving and plagued by the usual setbacks from its time. Most of the nation wasn't really that concerned with horror at the time. But studios knew that they would always have an audience. This film is a prime example of that. It's sad because it's