It's basically the slang rule that if enough people use a word to refer to something, it is the definition. People have been referring to the monster as Frankenstein in popular media for over 2 centuries. The argument is kind of irrelevant after that.
It's just really lazy. I do love 'Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein', though, haha. It's a Halloween staple. "Junior. Junior." "Sandra. Sandra." "If I had two pair of shoes, I'd give you a pair. And I had two cigarettes, I'd give you one. And if I have two girls . . . well?" "Why don't you light that cigarette, put on those shoes and take a walk for yourself?" And they do say it's Frankenstein's monster, so I can forgive that. It's one of my favorite movies.
'Barbarian'. Bill Skarsgard kills it. I'm sure almost everyone who has checked into this thread has seen it. S-o-o-o-o good. The last time I was in an Airbnb up in Albany to visit my nephew, I hesitated by the front door, haha. Obviously not Detroit, but for two seconds I actually went, "Shit, that movie." This flick is so well done. I didn't know what to expect going in, because sometimes I ignore buzz both good and bad and go in blind. Holy Shit. Ya know, if women could just be believed sometimes? I hated Justin Long, which I was supposed to, but I didn't feel manipulated. EDIT: The Mother slightly resembles the demon from 'REC', but not nearly as directly ripped off as in 'Smile'. That bordered on plagiarism (already mentioned).
So let's dish about 'REC' (or 'Rec'), since i've already mentioned it twice. I love foreign horror. Yes, it's a found footage flick, in Spanish! As in Spain. An apt. complex gets shut down because of a "disease". It gets raided and everyone is quarantined. "Rabies" is spreading through the building, people are biting the shit out of each other, but is it really a disease? The last 3 minutes are terrifying, and make the entire movie worth it. Spoiler The Vatican is involved, and the Devil is hungry tonight. Fuck it. Spoiler
OMG!!! That brings back memories! I forgot all about that! I Spit On Your Grave Salem's Lot (this is my #1) Phantasm (That dude is about as perfect a scary dude as they get!)
I loved Salem's Lot when it was on TV as a kid, but I tried watching it 30 years later and it realllllly did not stand the test of time for me. Kind of like how I could probably draw better GI Joe and Transformers cartoons wearing a blindfold than what they had on TV in the 80s.
I saw 'Longlegs' right before 'Furiosa' last night. So much yes, yes, yes! The hype is real! Laugh all you want about Nicholas Cage (he produced the film and played the serial killer), but he is a huge horror flick fan, and also produced 'Shadow of the Vampire'. So as I'm sitting through this, I'm going I've been here before (there is some obvious homage to 'Silence of the Lambs' - homage is fine), dolls, zodiac killer vibes, it's always about the mother, etc. Right? Yes, but no! Does this movie ever take a left turn into fckd up island. Nicholas Cage is a plastic surgery nightmare and possibly failed glam rocker (?) who almost sounds like HIM from 'Powerpuff Girls', which is hilariously creepy to me. HIM was a tricked out drag Queen gay Devil, and Longlegs loves him some Satan! Maika Monroe was great. She is somewhat divorced from her feelings, can't connect all that much, is a touch beyond insightful (I'll leave it at that), and walks around in a haze of past trauma because of her . . . drumroll . . . mother. And what a mother she is. I guess her original intentions were maternal, lol. Longlegs in his creation space in the basement with a Marc Bolan (from T. Rex) drawing behind him was fantastic, and the credits roll with 'Bang a Gong (Get it On)', hahaha. I'm sure there will be some haters, but I enjoyed the living Hell out of this movie.
Interesting to note, the director, Osgood Perkins, is the son of Anthony Perkins, who lived his life in the closet (sort of). Family secrets, ya know, which is a little bit of a theme in the movie. Crazier still, his Mom was killed on 9/11 in one the planes that hit the Twin Towers.
'Ssssss', if you have a snake phobia, this is not for you. It's generally stupid, but as a 9 year old, I was freaked out. Usual trope, scientist's daughter supports her father's research, father is a madman, stupid boyfriend/love interest is the unwitting subject of madman's experiments, etc. And his name is Dr. Stoner, hahahahaha. What he turns into is borrowed from Tod Browning's glorious 'Freaks' (The Human Caterpillar). Damn them all for cutting that film to shreds. The original uncut version does not exist.
Freaks! Wow! "Gooble gobble, we accept her, one of us!" Saw that back in the early 70's in a double feature with Pink Flamingos. They don't make them like they used to!
I saw 'Freaks' for the first time when I was around 10, Saturday afternoon fare. I recall there was a minor dust up where WPIX got phonecalls with people complaining that it wasn't for children. It still causes controversy to this day, but is definitely now considered a work of art and goes through cycles of resurgence. That ending with the trapeze bitch the freaks mutilate where she's squawking, that did a number on a 10 year old me, haha. EDIT: Shout out to The Ramones for 'Pinhead'. Gabba gabba, we accept you, one of us. Gabba gabba hey. LMAO.
'Brooklyn 45'. I'm a big Larry Fessenden fan and he was fabulous in this. He's a native son (NYC). WWII vets hold a seance. Not a great idea????? Very atmospheric, and I Ioved how it was filmed. Claustrophobic, sickly green. I really liked it. Don't invite shit! Do not invite shit. Do not. Highly recommend. Edit: Some of the Manhattense/Brooklynese is great. I lapse into Manhattanese/Queensese when I'm exhausted, but for the record, I've never been a double negative poyson.
Roger Corman died! Where have I been? RIP to a schlock house legend. The guy grinded them out by the thousands on a shoe string budget. 'The Fall of The House of Usher', 'The Pit and the Pendulum', and 'The Masque of the Red Death' are Halloween faves. 98 years old, not too shabby.
The number of actors and directors who got their start working for him is crazy, not to mention all the foreign films he distributed in America. The first movies of his I saw were the MST3K ones. He definitely made some diamonds in the rough.
It's bananas! It's a pretty unrivaled legacy no matter how you slice it. I saw an ad for 'The Decameron' on Netflix and went, huh? A page book stolen from Corman's 'Masque of the Red Death'? Struck me as derivative just on looks alone, but not in a good way. It also looks like a boring COVID-19 screed??? Meh, I'll see.
'Brain Dead', with the two Bills (Pullman and Paxton). Good premise, low budget, kind of boring in parts, mostly laughable, but I love me all things brain related. There is no way that anyone could ever convince me that Ray Liotta's brain scene in 'Hannibal' wasn't borrowed from this movie. Enjoy!
