31 Horror Movies in 31 Days: Chillerama

Chillerama (2011)

Directed by Adam Rifkin, Tim Sullivan, Adam Green, Joe Lynch

Starring Adam Rifkin, Sarah Mutch, Ray Wise, Eric Roberts, Sean Paul Lockhart, Anton Troy, Gabby West, Adam Robitel, Lin Shaye, Ron Jeremy, Tim Sullivan, Joel David Moore, Kristina Klebe, Kane Hodder, & Richard Riehle

On the last night of operation, a drive in theater is having a final blow out. Four of the rarest, most vile B movies ever made will be shown for all in attendance. First, there’s the atomic terror of a man’s libido gone monstrous in Wadzilla. Next is the beach blanket bingo musical about our changing bodies and sexual metamorphosis; I Was a Teenage Werebear. Third, the unspeakable account of the Nazi’s secret weapon in The Diary of Anne Frankenstein. Finally, the last film is the offensive classic Deathication. But, one of the theater workers is sick with something highly contagious. The last night of this drive in theater might be the last night on earth as everyone is forced to survive a zombie apocalypse.

You’ve got to be in a very specific mindset to watch Chillerama. The film is what would happen when you combine Creepshow with the sensibilities of Troma. There are four parts of this movie including the wrap around story, with a different writer-director for each one. It’s raunchy, disgusting, and goes for the broadest of humor. Every segment of Chillerama is centered around a rather risqué twist of a familiar horror style and then pushed well past the furthest reaches of your imagination and personal taste. If you’re up for watching a group of neon blue oozing zombies hump a guy to death or for seeing a monstrous sperm get it on with the Statue of Liberty, than this movie delivers.

The first segment is Wadzilla, the 1950’monster movie parody from Adam Rifkin (Detroit Rock City). Rifkin himself stars in the story, with great supporting performances from Ray Wise and Eric Roberts. The giant sperm of the title is a stop motion creation that looks kitschy and cool. The Chiodo Brothers of Killer Klowns from Outer Space fame did the special effects and they have a certain vintage cool to them. The segment is tasteless but a lot of fun.

The second story is Tim Sullivan’s (2001 Maniacs, 2001 Maniacs: Field of Screams) beach-blanket-bingo/sexual awakening/werewolf musical, I Was a Teenage Werebear. Of all the segments in the movie, this one feels the most out of place. That’s not a slight against it; this story is the most ambitious part of Chillerama. The musical elements work well enough and the werebear makeup is intentionally cheesy. These creatures have the classic greasepaint face of old werewolf films and the leather chaps of actual bears (Google it). The main male actors are gay porn stars trying their hands at more mainstream film work, so their acting and singing isn’t quite where it should be. But overall the music, campy tone, and sheer audacity it took to make this carry you through. In fact, this segment might work better as a feature with a full budget.

Next is Adam Green’s (Hatchet series, Frozen) old school monster horror spoof The Diary of Anne Frankenstein. It’s crass, absurd, and so very funny. What could be a terrible offense is a work of awesome absurdist humor thanks to the cast. Joel Moore plays Hitler as a cartoony buffoon in the mold of Daffy Duck. In a cast that speaks fluent German, Moore’s take speaks absolute gibberish for every line. Couple that with the hilarious homages to low budget monster movies of the 40’s and the off the wall humor of the script and this segment is easily the most entertaining of the four.

The last segment is the wrap around story that frames the film, Joe Lynch’s Zom-B-Movie. Lynch had the hard job of writing and directing the segment that framed everything else and he mostly succeeds. It’s hard to keep an audience interested in characters you see every 20 minutes or so, but the script does a decent job distilling everyone down to the essence of their characters. The special effects are quite good, giving every zombie oozing orifices filled with bright blue goo. It’s an impressive accomplishment to pull off the look of this stuff. Richard Riehle steels the show as the drive in owner dealing with the last night of his business and passion. His performance encapsulates the love of the drive in experience that these filmmakers clearly have.

If you like crass humor, gross out gore and turning taboo subjects into silly horror stories than this is a fine movie. Even if you don’t like those, give Chillerama a try. This was clearly a movie made by guys who really love anthologies and had a specific voice in mind. If anything, in what other movie can you see Hitler get beaten to death with his own arm?

8 out of 10

31 Horror Movies in 31 Days: H.P. Lovecraft's: Necronomicon

H.P. Lovecraft's: Necronomicon (1993)

Directed by Brian Yuzna, Christophe Gans and Shusuke Kaneko

Starring Bruce Payne, Richard Lynch, Jeffrey Combs, Belinda Bauer, David Warner, Maria Ford

Horror author H.P. Lovecraft is visiting a rare monastery that houses a copy of the fabled Necronomicon. He reads the text, only to find it’s filled with stories that have yet to happen and some that already have. As Lovecraft delves further into the text, the monks begin to suspect he knows too much. Machinations start coming into place to keep Lovecraft from ever passing on the Necronomicon’s knowledge.

The framing device is H.P. Lovecraft’s efforts to research the Necronomicon, a book featured heavily in the mythology of his work. Three full segments are very loosely based on Lovecraft stories, but with more added sex and eroticism that would have made the author extraordinarily uncomfortable. The best segments of the four are “The Drowned” by Christophe Gans and the Lovecraft wrap around by Brian Yuzna. Gans (Brotherhood of the Wolf, Silent Hill) is a very capable director and he pulls together a great segment inspired by “The Rats in the Walls”. Bruce Payne does well as a recently widowed man visiting his family’s old coastal hotel, only to discover what killed his ancestor many years ago. The segment uses both action and tone to build tension until the explosive finale.

Brian Yuzna’s framing story segment is a lot of fun for one reason: Jeffrey Combs. Combs finally gets to play the man who is partially responsible for his career. As Lovecraft, Combs chooses to play him more inquisitive and adventurous than the real deal. But his performance is the reason you keep watching the segment as it sets up the other stories. No matter the faults with the wrap around, Combs is always worth it.

The other segments aren’t bad; it’s just that they have their own particular problems. Yuzna’s other segment, based on “The Whisperer in Darkness”, is genuinely disturbing. Its ending is very dark and rather vicious to a pregnant woman, but that’s not the problem. The special effects, both cheap and now old, look awful. Creature puppets are rubbery and prosthetic makeup falls short of the images it’s supposed to represent. Shusuke Kaneko’s segment is based on “Cool Air’ and it’s good. The story just doesn’t have the same sick fun of the others. It does, however, have a fine performance by the always game David Warner.

Necronomicon is a decent anthology and a lot of fun if you’re a Jeffrey Combs fan. As long as you can deal with the segments not being completely faithful to Lovecraft’s originals and as long as you don’t mind early 90’s budget special effects, the movie is an entertaining collaborative effort.

7 out of 10

31 Horror Movies in 31 Days: The Vault of Horror

The Vault of Horror (1973)

Directed by Roy Ward Baker

Starring Terry-Thomas, Curd Jürgens, Tom Baker, Dawn Addams, Denholm Elliott, Michael Craig

Five men exit an elevator and enter a mirrored room they didn’t intend to visit. The strangers see no way out and the elevator will not open, so they decide to relax and tell stories. Each man has had vivid nightmares that they recount, each tale filled with twists and terror. As the men finish each story, they get the unease feeling that they’re all in this room for a terrible reason.

The Vault of Horror is a sequel to Amicus’s 1972 EC Comics adaptation Tales from the Crypt. It has that same steady, if not deliberate pace and good script. All the actors involved are good and perfectly game for every improbable terror to come their way. The only minor difference is the stories. Each segment of this movie is very well done, but Amicus picked stories that aren’t the same caliber of the stories in Tales. There are two that are absolutely great. The first is a story with Daniel Massey as a murderous brother who learns to late about his sister’s strange little town. The other segment has famous fourth Doctor Tom Baker as a troubled painter who seeks supernatural comeuppance for those who profited off his work.

But the remaining stories just don’t have the same impact or tension of the last batch. While entertaining, a story about an abusive neat freak isn’t as memorable as the story about a murderous wife fending off a serial killer Santa on Christmas. The Vault of Horror is not a bad movie, it just could have been better. Or at least, it could have had better stories. The filmmaking is still wonderful craftsmanship and definitely worth watching. Give The Vault of Horror a view sometime, preferably in a double feature with Amicus’s Tales from the Crypt.

8 out of 10

31 Horror Movies in 31 Days: Trick 'r Treat

Trick ‘r Treat (2007)

Directed by Michael Dougherty

Starring Dylan Baker, Rochelle Aytes, Anna Paquin, and Brain Cox

            In a small town, during a large Halloween celebration, something is watching.  It looks for those who are breaking the rules of Halloween and punishes those who dare to.  This menacing force of autumnal fury is Sam, spirit of Halloween and keeper of its traditions.  Sam looks like a child in a rather low budget scarecrow costume, wondering through the stories of a few people on Halloween night.  There is a couple coming home from a long night of partying, with the wife making a grave mistake concerning jack-o-lanterns.  The local Principal is having a hard time covering up his child-murdering hobby.  Some kids go to an abandon quarry of local legend to scare a girl.  A young woman looks for a date to a party while being pursued by a masked killer.  Finally, an old man with a hatred of Halloween and a dark secret faces off with Sam.  Not everyone will make it to the morning. 

            A quick bit of history: Trick ‘r Treat never had a theatrical run.  It was made in 2007 and screened at various film festivals for the next two years until it was released direct to DVD in 2009.   This is a shame, because Trick ‘r Treat is the best Halloween movie since Halloween.  Also, it could very well be the movie to take up Creepshow’s mantle as the go-to anthology movie of horror fans.  This film is insanely good. 

I do not toss around the Creepshow comparison lightly, as Trick ‘r Treat uses the same EC Comics style to spin several tales of unfortunate souls.  Also, it has a truly pitch black humor that is absolutely hilarious.  It takes a dark delight in maiming and generally brutalizing everyone in it, children included.  It shows how a serial killer can be a loving father.  And its mascot is both adorable and ominous at the same time, more so when he is stabbing people with a lollipop.  Sam is bound to be the next big horror icon, as he is too good a character and design to not see some sequel action. 

The gore is satisfying and well done.  Skin tears off with a sickening elasticity, a kid vomits a fountain of blood, and someone becomes their own gnarly lawn decorations.  Even the spirit of Halloween has a moment were we see his impressive guts.  However, blood is not sprayed with reckless abandon.  Dougherty prefers to show less and leave the rest to you, indulging in a blood bath mostly to elicit some laughs.  But when those scenes happen, they make you cringe in a good way. 

           

            Those looking for something to play during All Hallows Eve have to find themselves a copy of this movie.  It is fun, frightening, and wonderfully made.  Forget whatever you planned on watching this Halloween: Trick ‘r Treat is what you should be watching. 

10 out of 10

31 Horror Movies in 31 Days: Creepshow

Creepshow (1982)

Directed by George Romero

Starring Hal Holbrook, Adrienne Barbeau, Fritz Weaver, Leslie Nielsen, Carrie Nye, E.G. Marshall, and Ted Danson

            A young boy is reading a spooky comic called Creepshow.  His father catches him and slaps him around for reading it.  The father throws the comic in the trash while the kid curses his father.  Just then, the kid hears a noise at the window and goes to see what it is.  The eerie apparition from the comic book is tapping at his window, segueing into the stories from the comic.  There is tale of a Father’s Day filled with bloody retribution.  There is the story of Jordy Verill, whose luck changed when he found a crashed meteor.  A creepy quarrel between a psychotic husband and his wife’s lover leaves both of them all wet.  A university Professor finds the answer to his home life in a forgotten, forbidden crate.  And finally, a wealthy and wicked businessman gets what is coming to him by a swarm of antagonistic cockroaches. 

            There is absolutely no reason to dislike this movie.  It is directed by George Romero at the top of his game, with a screenplay by none other than Stephen King.  The collaboration was not done to cash in on their pairing.  This movie came about because both Romero and King love the horror publications of EC Comics.  They have absorbed what made those books unique and managed to distill it into a movie better than any attempt before or since.  There is an undeniable feeling while watching Creepshow that this film is a labor of love. 

More so than any other movie inspired by EC Comics, Creepshow accurately captures the real feel of those comics.  It has that dark humor, the snark, and that patented twist ending that gets you every time.  To cement the connection even further, each segment ends with the comic-like transition.  The colors become vibrant, the background a swirl of action lines, and the frame turns into a comic panel.  It is fun and adds to the overall aesthetic nicely. 

            The acting is fantastic across all the stories.  Ted Danson and Leslie Nielsen play well off each other in their twisted game of Simon Says.  Hal Holbrook manages to convey weary defeat and morbid delight in equal measures.  Only Stephen King himself contributes a mediocre performance.  He plays Jordy as a caricature country bumpkin, which gets grating after a few minutes.  Luckily, it does not hamper the quality of that segment and it is over fairly quickly. 

            The makeup and special FX hold up well.  The makeup runs the gamut from drowned zombies to a man infested with alien flora.  The details are excellent: you can see the extent of a corpse’s rot and so much more.  And the creature animatronics are outstanding.  The beast in the crate looks authentic and has a very interesting design.  The whole movie is a visual treat.

            If you love the work of either Romero or King, you need to see Creepshow.  If you yearn for a nasty little piece of work to satisfy your sick tastes, you need to see Creepshow.  No matter how you boil it down, you need to see Creepshow. 

10 out of 10