Welcome to the new home of Creepercast.com. Where we let the fear creep in with all things horror genre. News, Reviews, and more! STAFF:
J.P.: Editor (EIC - Editor in Cheif), Writer (CC - Content Contributor);
Joel Kenyon: Editor (AE - Assistant Editor), Writer (CC - Content Contributor); William S Mayfield: Writer (CC - Content Contributor)
On this day in horror history.... the man who'll "Tear your soul apart.", Doug Bradley is born. Portraying the legendary horror villain, Pinhead' in the majority of the 'Hellraiser' series, Doug has had a long career in fright films. Able to encapsulate the passion and pain, Doug is not merely a one note actor. He may be known for his most famous role, but the man is so much more. Happy Birthday, my bald brother!
On this day in horror history.... Lon Chaney brought one of his most memorable characters to life, as 'The Phantom of the Opera' is unleashed on the world. Featuring one of the most iconic reveals in cinema history, the world watched in horror as the mask came off, showing what true horror could be. Featuring some incredibly original make up and far ahead of its time, this film still holds up today as a masterpiece in our genre.
As with all of my reviews of films for The Creepercast, I fully recommend that you check each and every one of them out. I am one man and this is my opinion. I've seen plenty of movies that received reviews that were the complete opposite of how I saw the film. These writers, directors, producers and actors all put a lot of time and love into these projects. They deserve to be seen and appreciated for what they are. Everyone has a dream and I fully support the people that take the time to make theirs a reality. With that being said....
Netflix has been rather hit and miss with their original content, according to a lot of online bloggers and armchair reviewers (like myself). However, they keep pulling bigger names for their stable of directors, writers and actors. They've been continually pumping out more and more content and, for the most part, it's been good. The two most recent films available to stream, I'll be reviewing back to back, for my fellow Creeps. The first is Eli Craig's 'Little Evil'. If you don't remember Eli, he's the mad genius behind 'Tucker and Dale vs Evil'. The dark comedy, that came out of nowhere and threw us all into the wood chipper of love. Once again, for his new project, he's brought Tyler Labine along to enjoy the ride. Also starring Adam Scott, Evangeline Lilly, Sally Field and Clancy Brown, this automatically smells like a recipe for success. Drawing from a plethora of horror history's most iconic characters and scenes, Eli has put together a love letter to Creeps, like ourselves, as well as to disillusioned stepparents everywhere. What could have been a simple exercise in horror comedy stereotypes, instead he's turned into something more. A metaphor on the realities of coming into a family, already in progress. Using a Damien like character as a plot device, the viewer is taken into a reality that is far more real than we would initially think. Now, the reviews so far have been very polarizing. Many people feel as though this film hasn't lived up to the expectations they had from Mr. Craig. However, with any follow up to an instant cult classic.... if you're not doing more of the same, then you're not doing things right. This is where I have to politely disagree with my peers, but we'll get to that momentarily.
'Little Evil' tells the story of a man who has recently gotten married to a single mom. This mother, already has a son named Lucas. For some reason, she had kept the boy from meeting his soon to be stepfather, but the man took that at face value and was so in love with the mom, that it didn't matter. Upon starting their new life, he quickly realizes that Lucas is more than he bargained for. One horrible thing after another starts to happen and everyone but Lucas' mother can see that the boy is evil. Before long, we find out that Lucas was born of a ritual, that cased his mother to be impregnated with him at a very young age. In an effort to change the course of their relationship, the stepdad joins a group for newly minted stepparents. Things go from bad to worse, as he realizes that Lucas may be Satan, who is hell bent on taking over the planet and bringing an end to life as we know. As if parenting wasn't hard enough, now he's got pure evil to overcome as well.
So, maybe Eli hasn't created a film that is as inventive as 'Tucker and Dale vs Evil', but that's a hard feat to overcome. That film was unique among almost all other horror comedies out there. I've yet to see another film like it, to be honest. 'Little Evil' is very much in the same vein, in terms of tone and storytelling, but it's a bit more straightforward, if that's possible for a movie like this. With that being said though, they both share one thing in common: heart. Both films took very dark subject matters and mixed in some blood, guts, gore and icky stuff to tell the stories of very likable and caring individuals. People with love to give, who just got put into some bad situations. In this film, we see the worst fears of every new parent who is thrust into a situation where they have to become the mother or father, to a child who isn't their own. Granted, some people may feel like the kid(s) are the spawn of the devil himself, but in this film it is. Borrowing heavily from outside sources, we the viewer, get various Easter eggs throughout the movie. 'The Shining', 'Poltergeist' and most notably 'The Omen'. All of this is done with love and faith in the movie watchers knowledge of scary kids that have come before. I found very little to dislike about this film.
At the end of the day, this film is a bit lighter than 'TaDvE' was, but that's not a bad thing. I found myself laughing, cringing and having several moments of emotional response during this movie. Adam Scott and Evangeline Lilly do a great job of playing newlyweds, navigating the pitfalls of a new life together. All of the supporting cast is on point with their performances and add a lot of great moments to the story. One of the biggest stand outs is Owen Atlas, who's portrayal of Lucas is rather understated and fun. You can actually see his character have an arc. From the twisted little devil child, who may or may not be Satan incarnate, to a loving little boy who just wants to have a family to call his own. You genuinely end up liking this kid. I can see, why some people may take issue with the film, but I think that you almost have to watch it, as though 'TaDvE' wasn't made by the same guy. As a stand alone film, it's really well done and very fun to watch. I felt that it's a 4 out of 5 star film and one that proves Eli Craig has a lot of great things to come. If he can continue to tell unique stories that break away from the norms that we've all come to expect in this genre, then we've got a lot more things to look forward to in the future. There may be a few bumps in the road, along this journey he's taken us on. But if you hang on tight and bring along your friends, then I think you'll find the destination satisfying and worth the wait.
If you like this kind of film, also check out: 'Burying the Ex', 'Tucker and Dale vs Evil' and 'Night of the Living Deb'
On this day in horror history.... one of the most recognizable voices, you've never realized who it was before, Werner Herzog is born. Writer, director and actor, Mr. Herzog also brought us the fascinating 'Nosferatu the Vampyre'.
A man who's career has spanned decades, he's done a little bit of everything and is still expanding his resume today. If you don't know Werner Herzog, the reality is that you probably do! Happy Birthday!
As with all of my reviews of films for The Creepercast, I fully recommend that you check each and every one of them out. I am one man and this is my opinion. I've seen plenty of movies that received reviews that were the complete opposite of how I saw the film. These writers, directors, producers and actors all put a lot of time and love into these projects. They deserve to be seen and appreciated for what they are. Everyone has a dream and I fully support the people that take the time to make theirs a reality. With that being said....
We recently lost another horror icon in director, Tobe Hooper. Granted, I've never been an overall fan of his body of work, but I can respect what he brought to the terror table. His most notable work, 'The Texas Chainsaw Massacre', has inspired countless film makers and consistently makes the top 10 lists of all time horror films ever made. That's not something that's to be taken lightly and I can't say that I disagree with any of the reviewers who place him on that pedestal. The man brought to life some of the most iconic characters in our beloved genre. Leatherface, alone, is enough to leave a mark, but when you factor in all of the members of his family too.... it's no wonder Tobe was looked at as one of the patriarchs of the modern era. In the course of his time making films, he also brought us 'Poltergeist' and 'Salem's Lot', not too mention so many others. One of his other well known films, was 'The Funhouse'. A film, that up until today, I'd never seen before. Wanting to honor his legacy and to indulge myself in another of his revered pieces of 80's slasher fare, I sat down and fired up this one to see what all the fuss was about.
Taking a different slant on the masked killer trope, Tobe instead opted for a masked killer that was more terrifying with it off, than when it was on. A mutated and deformed man child, who seemed to be more of a confused creature, than a murderous madman. He was being controlled by those around him, only occasionally pushing things to far and killing what he didn't understand. We first meet the creature known only as 'The Monster', while he's dressed up as Frankenstein's monster, helping push the carts into the Funhouse. Our 4 main characters, Buzz, Liz, Richie and Amy are enjoying a night at the carnival, when they decide it would be fun to stay there overnight. What they don't realize, is that they've been followed by Amy's little brother, Joey. He ends up following them and before long, is trapped inside the carnival too. When the friends witness The Monster killing another of the carnival workers, they realize it's time for them to get out quick, before they're his next victim. What they didn't know, until it was too late, was that Richie had stolen the money made from the carnival that night. Pursed by The Monster, they fight to stay alive and try to make it out in one piece.
I can't say that I overly enjoyed this film, but 'The Funhouse' is not without its 80's charm. However, it's severely lacking in regards to some major pacing issues and some incredibly bizarre make up decisions made by Rick Baker. Let's face it, The Monster is a mess. Granted, I get what he was going for, with the foreshadowing of the other freak show animals, having the split faces, but it just ends up looking like a cheap Halloween mask with goo coming out of the mouth. The Monster is also rather puny and not very intimidating. Like a Leatherface knock off, but without the pathos. There is also some heavy borrowing from the original 2 entries in 'The Texas Chainsaw Massacre', in regards to the family dynamic and horror hillbilly stereotype. It's almost as if Tobe was using the same playbook to craft this film, hoping no one would notice the similarities. Perhaps it was unintentional, but it ultimately became a distraction. There were plenty of great moments, like the ax to the head and the use of the animatronics to create jump scares. Sadly, the ending was telegraphed from a mile away and took so long to get to the payoff, that I was wondering why we were waiting for the inevitable to happen? In the end, I found myself not really caring about anyone in the story and was anxious for it to be over. I wish that I hadn't felt this way, considering how long I'd been putting off seeing this film, but it just wasn't one of Tobe's better outings.
Despite my lackluster opinion of 'The Funhouse', it still fares better than several other horror films that came out around the same time. Tobe had a knack for making a very simple and straightforward story line, interesting. There isn't a lot going on in this film, but you feel like there is. The reality of the story is: 4 kids go to a carnival, make a mistake, are chased by a monster and some of them die. The end. It's not an involved plot with giant character arcs or deeper motivations behind our protagonists and antagonists. Everybody is in this film to showcase the Funhouse and to try and scare the audience. I truly believe that with a different monster make up design and a bit longer run time, this could have been so much more than it ultimately was. Not just padded time to increase how long it was, but more flushing out of the characters and maybe even a bit of backstory behind The Monster himself. Perhaps I missed something, while watching it? My personal feelings on this one, is that it's a 2 out of 5 star movie. I'll give it an additional half of a star for the Funhouse design. That was the best part of the film. Tobe had greatness in him and we've seen it in his other works. Unfortunately, this was not one of those films.
If you want to see some other Tobe Hooper films, check out: 'The Texas Chainsaw Massacre' 1 and 2, 'Poltergeist' and 'Salem's Lot'
On this day in horror history.... your humble author of this 'Horror History' moment and fellow Creep, Joel is born. A lifelong horror nerd and a man who wishes this was his full time job. 43 years on this earth and counting and to celebrate, here's one of my favorite horror movie endings!
On this day in horror history.... 'The Hunchback of Notre Dame' (1923) is released. Starring Lon Chaney, "The Man of 1000 Faces", in one of his most notable roles. A classic in the early horror genre and one that helped establish the legendary career of the master of make up effects.
