Lazario's Contemporary Horror Digest - Volume 1

[Lazario]

I never saw suspiria... is it good?

That's why I featured it here. I should take a second to clarify this Topic - these are, in my non-humble and always cinematically-correct opinion, the greatest contemporary horror films ever made. Is it good? It's okay...

It's excellent. It comes with nothing but my sincerely glowing recommendation. And if you like horror, and haven't seen it - see it immediately. Whenever you can. One of the most stylish and original films ever made. Blockbuster, if they carry enough DVD's of older horror films, should have a copy of this. Mine might, they always had it on VHS when they had more VHS's than DVD's. But mine has Halloween, Evil Dead, Friday the 13th, and Killer Klowns from Outer Space on DVD, they might have this too. (But then, I don't really know too many people who rent anymore)


The films covered on the first page:

Rosemary's Baby (1968)
Twitch of the Death Nerve (1971)
The Exorcist (1973)
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)
Carrie (1976)
Suspiria (1977)

[Lazario]

<center>7 (of 23) :
Halloween

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Sub-genres: Slasher, Teen, Serial Killer
Director: John Carpenter
Screenwriter: John Carpenter, Debra Hill
Cast: Jamie Lee Curtis (Laurie Strode), Donald Pleasence (Dr. Sam Loomis), Brian Andrews (Tommy Doyle), Nancy Loomis / Kyes (Annie), Nick Castle (Michael Myers), P.J. Soles (Lynda), Charles Cyphers (Sheriff Brackett), Kyle Richards (Lindsey Wallace), John Michael Graham (Bob), Nancy Stephens (Marion Chambers), Will Sandin (face of Michael Myers, 6), Tony Moran (face of Michael Myers, 23)
Producers: Debra Hill, John Carpenter
Executive Producers: Moustapha Akkad, Irwin Yablans
Associate Producer: Kool Lusby
Music Composers: John Carpenter
Cinematographer/Director of Photography: Dean Cundey
Film Editors: Charles Bornstein, Tommy Lee Wallace
Production Designer: Tommy Lee Wallace
Set Decorator: Craig Stearns
Special Effects: Conrad Rothmann
Estimated Budget: $325,000
Gross: $47,000,000
Filming Location(s): 1000 Mission Street, South Pasadena, California (Myers' family home); 1115 Oxley Street, South Pasadena, California (Strode home); 1530 Orange Grove Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California (The Doyle home); 1537 Orange Grove Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California (The Wallace home); Alhambra, California; North Hollywood, Los Angeles; Pasadena, California; Rosemead, California; Sierra Madre, California; South Pasadena High School, South Pasadena
Filming Months: March 1978 - May 1978
U.S. Theatrical Release Date(s): October 25, 1978
Advertisting / Promotional Tagline(s): (1) The Night HE Came Home! / (2) The One... The Only... The Classic : HALLOWEEN / (3) The Trick Is To Stay Alive! / (4) Everyone is entitled to one good scare / (5) HE came home for HALLOWEEN / (6) Happy Halloween! / (7) Trick or treat... or die / (8 ) Let's celebrate the horror
Filmed in: Widescreen / Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Region 1 DVD first released: November 12, 1997 (4 releases to date) / Screen Format: Widescreen, Languages: English 5.1 Surround & Mono, Subtitles: none / Scene Chapters: 26 / Special Features: Audio Commentary (25th Anniversary Edition exclusive), Documentary (25th Anniversary Edition exclusive), Featurettes, Theatrical Trailers, TV Spots, Radio Spots, Photo Galleries, Cast & Crew Profiles, Collectible Booklet


Notable Facts / Trivia
1. The film has produced 7 sequels to date, with a possible remake in the future, and an 8th in the works for either 2006 or 2007, from Rob Zombie, director of succesful low budgeters House of 1,000 Corpses and The Devil's Rejects
2. When the script was being written, the original title was "The Babysitter Murders"
3. Anne Lockhart was director John Carpenter's first choice for the role of Laurie Strode
4. Halloween was the highest-grossing independent movie ever made for it's time
5. Half of the film's budget was spent on the Panavison cameras so the film would have a 2:35:1 scope
6. Yul Brynner's robot character from Westworld (1973) was the inspiration for the character of Michael Myers
7. John Carpenter approached classic horror icons Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee to play the Sam Loomis role but both turned him down. Cushing brushed the film off as being too "little", Lee later admitted to Carpenter that he feels turning down the part was a huge mistake
8. None of the big studios at the time was interested in distributing the movie, so executive producer Irwin Yablans decided to distribute the film via his own company, Compass International. The film was so successful, that Universal made a deal to produce and distribute the film's first two sequels
9. The song that is playing on the radio during the 2nd sequence of Laurie and Annie riding in the car is "Don't Fear The Reaper" by Blue Öyster Cult
10. John Carpenter provides the voice of Annie's boyfriend, Paul, whom we hear on the phone talking to Annie
11. Inside Laurie's bedroom there is a poster of a painting by James Ensor (1860-1949). Ensor was a Belgian expressionist painter who used to portray human figures wearing grotesque masks
12. Due to its shoestring budget, the prop department had to use the cheapest mask that they could find in the costume store: a Captain Kirk (William Shatner) mask. They later spray-painted the face white, teased out the hair, and reshaped the eye holes
13. Since the movie was actually shot in spring, the crew had to buy paper leaves from a decorator and paint them in the desired autumn colors, then scatter them in the filming locations. To save money, after a scene was filmed, the leaves were collected and reused
14. All of the actors wore their own clothes, since there was no money for a costume department. Jamie Lee Curtis went to J.C. Penney for Laurie Strode's wardrobe. She spent less than a hundred dollars for the entire set. She shot the film while on hiatus from the sitcom Operation Petticoat (1977)
15. During the "Dr. Dementia Horrorthon" scenes, the kids are watching the opening of The Thing From Another World (1951) on TV. Director Carpenter would later re-make this film himself in 1982 as The Thing (1982)
16. Tommy Doyle's Halloween costume is an Alphan uniform from "Space: 1999" (1975)
17. According to screenwriter/producer Debra Hill, the character of Laurie Strode was named after John Carpenter's first girlfriend
18. The film takes place primarily in Haddonfield, Illinois. Haddonfield, NJ is the home town of screenwriter Debra Hill
19. The cinematography for the Halloween sequence in Meet Me in St. Louis (1944) was the inspiration for the look of Carpenter's color scheme
20. The initial murder was also an homage to Psycho (1960) in which the viewer never actually sees the knife penetrate skin
21. The character of Tommy Doyle's name was taken from Alfred Hitchcock's film Rear Window (1954) and Sam Loomis' name is from Psycho (1960)
22. One of the characters is named "Marion Chambers". Marion was the first name of the female protagonist of Psycho (1960), and Chambers was the last name of the sheriff in that movie
23. Kyle Richards, who plays Lindsey Wallace, is the sister of Kim Richards, who appeared in John Carpenter's previous film, Assault on Precinct 13 (1976). Kyle is also a dear friend of Paris and Nicole Hilton and has known them since they were young children
24. Laurie remarks that she would rather go out with unseen character "Ben Tramer". The name came from Bennett Tramer, an old college friend of director John Carpenter. The real Bennett Tramer has also had a career in the motion picture industry as a writer and producer
25. The character of Michael Myers was named after the European distributor of Carpenter's previous film, Assault on Precinct 13 (1976) as a kind of weird "thank you" for the film's overseas success
26. The opening shot appears to be a single, tracking, point of view shot, but there are actually three cuts. The first when the mask goes on, the second and third after the murder has taken place and the shape is exiting the room, this was done to make the point of view appear to move faster
27. Aside from dialogue, the script cites Michael Myers by name only twice. In the opening scene, he is called a POV until he is revealed at age. From the rest of the script on out he is referred to as a "shape" until Laurie rips his mask off in the final scene (which he never reapplies in the script). "The Shape", as credited in the film, refers to when his face is masked or obscured
28. P.J. Soles was dating Dennis Quaid at the time of filming, so John Carpenter and Debra Hill wanted to cast him in the role of Bob. Unfortunately, Quaid was busy working on another project and John Michael Graham was cast in the role instead
29. When they were shooting the scenes for the start of the film (all the ones seen from Michael's P.O.V.) they couldn't get the 6-year old child actor until the last day, so the movie's producer, Debra Hill, volunteered to be Michael for any scenes where his hands come into view. This is why the nails on young Michael's hands look so well manicured and varnished
30. When Dr. Loomis is talking to the doctors in the empty classroom, Dr. Loomis is sitting in seat #31 (the day of Halloween) - this scene was shot strictly for the television version
31. Originally the script had Dr. Loomis having a surprised reaction to the disappearance of Michael Myers's body from the lawn at the end of the film. Donald Pleasence suggested his character's reaction should instead be an "I knew this would happen" look on his face. They shot it both ways and ended up using Pleasance's idea


Disney Connection :
Kyle Richards, who plays Lindsey Wallace, is the sister of Kim Richards, who appeared in Disney's Escape to Witch Mountain and Return from Witch Mountain


What the Critics Have to Say:

Roger Ebert - "4 (out of 4) stars" "Halloween is an absolutely merciless thriller, a movie so violent and scary that, yes, I would compare it to Psycho. It's a terrifying and creepy film", "a visceral experience -- we aren't seeing the movie, we're having it happen to us. It's frightening"

Leonard Maltin - "3 (out of 4) stars"

Austin Chronicle, Mike Emery - "Halloween remains an original that continues to inspire a genre and probe middle America's fears about what's really lurking in the laundry room after midnight"

DVD Verdict, Sean Fitzgibbons - "Not to sound like a tagline or anything, but John Carpenter truly did change the face of Halloween forever with his release of Halloween", "nothing but a frightening joy"

DVD Verdict, Patrick Naugle - "Halloween may be the #1 horror film in the past 25 years ((review written in 2003))", "The damn thing is scary", "If you want to see the one that started it all, Halloween is your only ticket to ride"

The Video Graveyard - "3 and a half (out of 4) stars" "none of (the slasher movies of the '80s were) able to capture the magic of this", "Director John Carpenter and co-writer Debra Hill have crafted a horror flick that just oozes suspense, has one of the greatest musical scores/themes in history (being that its so simple, yet so damn effective), adds plenty of "look out!" thrills by having the killer constantly lurking in the background and one tense as Hell finale", "(Michael) Myers' mask is creepy", "the whole thing is done with conviction", "the best slasher film ever made"

The Cavalcade of Schlock, Brian J. Wright - "everything about it that is good is so blindingly obvious that it seems like it doesn't even need to be written. It's right there on screen, you don't have to dig for it. Halloween isn't just great, it's just so OBVIOUSLY great. There's not much to find by reading between the lines here", "it's just so magnificently pulled off, that nothing feels standard in the end", "Nah, it ain't the plot, dialogue, or character that hooks you in this movie. It's pure, stark, blood-freezing terror, a combination of atmospheric and shocker elements that come together as well here as in any movie I've ever seen", "Carpenter weaves a true nightmare landscape, a stark, lonely place where a murderous villain isn't even really needed to bring the place a certain kind of horror", "(Michael) Myers is a terrific villain", "stunningly executed", "a knockout", "an inspirer of pure terror. One thing Halloween's always pulled off is making me feel like a scared kid", "expertly taps into childhood fears and anxieties", "the cold, grasping reality of the nightmare Carpenter creates is impossible to ignore or escape"

Zombie Keeper - "4 (out of 4)" "it assaults your senses", "guarantee(s) quite a few jolts and jumps, and you and your date will have finger-shaped bruises on your forearms for days afterwards. It's that good, and that unforgettably intense", "This movie has wit, style, and class to burn", "The music by Carpenter himself deserves special praise here as well. It is, like some of (Dario) Argento's scores, a deceptively simple synthesized score but Carpenter is more subtle and masterfully builds the suspense in each scene by starting with a simple rhythmic pattern and almost imperceptibly building upon it until your nerves are ready to shatter", "This film is truly one of a kind and one of horror cinema's true artistic triumphs. Rent or buy this one to watch over and over again, and use it to show your friends what true quality horror is", "a groundbreaking masterwork"

SF, Fantasy, and Horror - "4 and a half (out of 5) stars"

The Terror Trap - "If the criteria for a horror classic includes how well the film holds up after repeated viewings, the scare factor, the acting, the effectiveness of the score, its directorial style and photography, etc., then this baby has it all", "as good as it gets. Carpenter's direction and score created a suitably eerie atmosphere", "the atmosphere evok(es) memories of sleepy Midwest towns, this is and will remain one of (the best) 'progenitor' horror films, the kind of rare creation that spawns a whole new subgenre", "simple and masterful! Countlessly imitated in the years following, none can compare to this one"

Horror DVD's - "a trend setting horror film that is still being copied to this day. Although not the first of it's kind, Halloween definitely set a standard for the slasher sub genre", "Halloween is arguably the best slasher film ever made and is a beloved favorite by horror and John Carpenter fans. The film pretty much wrote the book on slashers", "where others failed, John Carpenter succeeded in creating an excellent horror film with interesting characters, great suspense, a fantastic score, and brilliant cinematography by Dean Cundey. An excellent point for the film is the characters. They're not the two dimensional cardboard characters that you find in many other slasher films, but rather interesting well acted ones you care about", "Halloween has some fine acting", "mesmerizing", "extremely effective", "the score to Halloween is one of the most memorable and intricate parts of the film and it would not be as effective a film without it"

Stomp Tokyo - "5 (out of 5)" "Halloween packs an impressive punch today", "a powerful experience", "Halloween is the first of its kind", "made with careful craft", "With Halloween, the slasher movie had been done. And no one has done it better to this day"

<center>Photo Gallery
(All the widescreen ones are enlargeable- just click)


Director John Carpenter








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[Loomis]

Ah, Halloween. One look at my forum name and you'll probably guess I have a soft-spot for this cinematic masterpiece.

So what is it that makes this so good? The "Killercam" prowling the victims, Donald Pleasence, Jamie Lee Curtis, or the sheer cinematic quality that it - dare I use the cliche - Hitchcockian? How about all of them? Started a whole new genre.

Lovely stuff.

[Isidour]

A classic you just need to habe if you love horror movies n_n

[Lazario]

<center>8 (of 23) :
Dawn of the Dead

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Sub-genres: Zombie, Horror-Comedy, Drama, Action, War / Military
Director: George A. Romero
Screenwriter: George A. Romero
Cast: Ken Foree (Peter), Gaylen Ross (Fran), David Emge (Stephen), Scott H. Reiniger (Roger), Tom Savini (Blades / truck window-breaking zombie), David Crawford (Dr. Foster), David Early (Mr. Berman), Richard France (Dr. Milliard Rausch), Howard Smith (TV Commentator), Daniel Dietrich (Givens), Fred Baker (Police Commander), James (A.) Baffico (Wooley), Jesse Del Gre (Old Priest), George A. Romero (TV Studio Director / Santa Claus biker), Christine Forrest-Romero (TV Studio Director's assistant)
Producers: Dario Argento, Richard P. Rubinstein
Associate Producers: Claudio Argento, Alfredo Cuomo
Music Composers: Goblin, Cliff Twemlow / P. Reno, H. Chappell, S. Park
Cinematographer/Director of Photography: Michael Gornick
Film Editor: George A. Romero
Set Decorators: Josie Caruso, Barbara Lifsher
Costume Designer: Josie Caruso
Special Effects: Tom Savini, Gary Zeller
Estimated Budget: $500,000
Gross: $55,000,000
Filming Location(s): Harold W. Brown Memorial Field - 3926 Logans Farm Road, Monroeville, Pennsylvania (airport); Monroeville Mall - Business Route 22, Monroeville, Pennsylvania; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Filming Dates: September 30, 1977 - March 8, 1978
U.S. Theatrical Release Date(s): April 20, 1979; May 11, 1979; May 24, 1979
Advertisting / Promotional Tagline(s): (1) When there's no more room in hell, the dead will walk the earth / (2) In 1968, George Romero brought us, "Night of the Living Dead." It became the classic horror film of its time. Now, George Romero brings us the most intensely shocking motion picture experience for all time!
Filmed in: Widescreen / Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Region 1 DVD first released: October 28, 1997 (5 releases to date) / Screen Format: Widescreen, Languages: English 5.1 Surround, Subtitles: none / Scene Chapters: 24 / Special Features: 3 Audio Commentaries (Ultimate Edition exclusive), All-New Documentary (Ultimate Edition exclusive), Original Documentary (Ultimate Edition exclusive), New Featurette, New Retrospective Footage, Original Location Commercial, Anecdotes (Hidden features), Theatrical Trailers, TV Spots, Radio Spots, Photo Galleries, Cast & Crew Text Profiles, Comic Book


Notable Facts / Trivia
1. There is great dispute over the film's alternate ending, where Peter shoots himself in the head and Fran commits suicide by sticking her head up into the blades of the copter. Some, such as makeup artists Tom Savini and Taso N. Stavrakis maintain that the scene was filmed, while director George A. Romero used to be adamant that it wasn't. However, in the documentary Document of the Dead by Roy Funkes that was filmed during the making of Dawn of the Dead (and is included on some DVD copies), George Romero clearly states to Roy Funkes, as they walk around the mall set, that they did indeed film the alternative ending, although he never filmed the effects shot. Gaylen Ross had had a head mold made for the effects scene, and Tom Savini did not want to see it go to waste, so he dressed the head up as a bearded African-American man, and that is the head that explodes from a shotgun blast at the beginning of the film. To create the exploding head effect, Tom Savini cleared the set and had the head shot at with an actual shotgun
2. The MPAA had threatened to impose the X rating if George A. Romero didn't make cuts. Romero did not want to cut the film, and he was adamant against an X rating, due to its stigma of hard-core pornography. In the end, Romero was able to persuade his distributors to release the film with no rating, although on all advertising and trailers, there was a disclaimer that in effect read that while there was no explicit sex in the film, the movie was of such a violent nature that no one under 17 would be admitted
3. Gaylen Ross refused to scream during the film. She felt that Fran was a strong female character, and if she screamed, the strength would be lost. She told this to Romero once, when he told her to scream, he never asked her again. Furthermore, she also refused to play Fran as someone who would not fight the zombies on her own
4. Real cow intestines were used towards the end of the movie in the scene where Sledge gets his guts ripped out. Tom Savini has stated that he lived near a slaughterhouse and that's how he got the idea to do the effect
5. Many effects were thought of on the spot. Tom Savini created many effects (such as the arm in the blood pressure tester) with no preparations whatsoever
6. Much of the fake blood used in the blood packets was a mixture of food coloring, peanut butter and cane sugar syrup
7. The voice of Christine Forrest (George A. Romero's wife) can be heard on a pre-recorded announcement in the mall ("Attention all shoppers...")
8. Tom Savini used the same dummy throughout the course of filming. During that time it was blown up, burnt, shot, and beaten, among other things
9. In the Extended Edition, the music that is heard when Peter and Stephen are closing the gates of the mall in an effort to keep the bikers out is taken directly from the opening credits of Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)
10. Filming at the Monroeville Mall took place during the winter of 1976-77, beginning each day around 10 PM, shortly after the mall closed, and finished at 6 AM. The mall didn't open until 9, but at 6 the Muzak came on and no one knew how to turn it off
11. Shooting at the mall was suspended over the Christmas season because it would have been too costly to nightly remove and then later re-hang all the seasonal decorations
12. Extras who appeared in this film were reportedly given $20 in cash, a box lunch, and a Dawn of the Dead t-shirt
13. Zombie actors took photographs of themselves dressed up in full zombie makeup inside a photo booth on the second floor. They then replaced the sample pictures on the front of the booth with the ghoulish ones
14. Some of the zombies (notably one in the tenement scene) were actual amputees
15. Much of the stock music used in this film was licensed from the Music De Wolfe Library, a much-used resource of stock music for motion pictures
16. Tom Savini, head of makeup effects, was unhappy with how the blood mix (produced by 3M) photographed; it looked fluorescent. Director George A. Romero felt it was perfect for the film's comic book style
17. When the film was first released, the shooting budget was reported to be $1.5 million
18. The outdoor scene where hunters, emergency crew and soldiers are shooting at zombies was done through local volunteers. Several local hunters arrived on-scene with their own weapons, the local National Guard division showed up in full gear, and local emergency crew (police, fire and ambulance) were present, all voluntarily
19. There was originally a scene during the biker raid involving a cross bow. It was shot but never featured in the final cut
20. The skating rink shown in the film was part of the Monroeville Mall. It has since been replaced by a food court
21. While writing the script for Night of the Living Dead, George A. Romero and John A. Russo contemplated how they should have the zombies destroyed. Co-star and makeup artist Marilyn Eastman joked that they could throw pies into their faces. This is the basis for the pie fight scene
22. The weapons store featured in the film was never a part of the Monroeville Mall. George A. Romero shot those scenes in a gun shop in downtown Pittsburgh and edited the footage in to make it look like it was a shop in the mall
23. The living quarters where the four heroes shacked up in wasn't located in the mall. It was a set built at George A. Romero's then production company The Latent Image located in Pittsburgh. The elevator shaft was located there as well
24. The bit in the movie where Roger slides down between the escalators was Scott H. Reiniger's idea
25. Both parents of Christine Forrest-Romero make cameo appearances as zombies in the film
26. Joseph Pilato auditioned for the role of Stephen. He didn't get the part, but he appears in the film as a policeman at the boat dock, and also played Captain Rhodes in Romero's third film in this series, Day of the Dead (1985)
27. Some of the actors playing zombies in the movie would frequently get drunk at a late-night bar called the Brown Derby, which was in the Monroeville Mall. One night they stole a golf cart and crashed into a marble pillar, causing $7,000 worth of damage
28. The alarm company is named BIG BRUISER
29. Gaylen Ross said that the brief scene where she is skating in the ice rink was a near-disaster. She had stated on her resume that she could ice skate, but hadn't done so in nearly 20 years. She admitted in an interview that she was being shouted instructions on how to skate by the rink manager (who was out of camera shot) and stayed on her feet barely long enough to complete a single loop


What the Critics Have to Say:

Roger Ebert - "4 (out of 4) stars" "Dawn of the Dead is one of the best horror films ever made -- and, as an inescapable result, one of the most horrifying. It is gruesome, sickening, disgusting, violent, brutal and appalling. It is also brilliantly crafted, funny, droll, and savagely merciless in its satiric view of the American consumer society", "graphic (and) shocking", "exquisitely sly", "I praise it (the film)", "(it has) a certain nobility at times, and a sense of humor, and loneliness and dread"

Leonard Maltin - "3 and a half (out of 4) stars."

DVD Verdict, Patrick Naugle - "Romero does it again", "Dawn Of The Dead is a great film", "I'm a big fan", "The performances in the film are good", "Romero keeps the pace of the film moving nicely, reaching to high points of tension", "One of the most impressive factors of the film are the make-up effects employed by Tom Savini. At the time, this film set a standard for realism for gore effects and the way horror was shown"

DVD Verdict, Patrick Bromley - "one of the best horror films ever made", "effective", "a perfect example of skill", "this is Romero at the absolute top of his game", "the themes that Romero is working with and his execution of these themes are still extremely relevant—the movie is timeless. Tom Savini's gore effects, while somewhat primitive, are just as effective now as they were in 1978 - they're about raw, visceral impact. Even the zombie makeup holds up surprisingly well. It's meant to be purely functional", "Dawn of the Dead is not simply a film you see—it is a film you experience. It stays with you in a way that very few horror films do. Whereas most horror films give up all of their secrets after one viewing, Dawn of the Dead becomes richer with each viewing. It's just a great, great film"

DVD Verdict, Mark Van Hook - "(a) perennial zombie splatter classic", "still rocks as hard as ever", "(has) some of the best gore effects ever put on film and the balls to treat its subject matter with both real satiric humor and actual human introspection", "The characters are strong, and the plot points are handled effectively", "groundbreaking", "gleefully energetic", "The gore is part of the fun, and boy oh boy, is it ever still fun", "the film's overt satirical themes still play just as well today as they probably ever did", "revolutionary", "(is a) total entertainment package", "when it comes to zombies, nobody's ever done it better"

Slant Magazine - "4 (out of 4) stars"

The Video Graveyard - "4 (out of 4) stars" "(a) horror classic. I dare say that Dawn Of The Dead is one of the very best movies our beloved genre has ever birthed", "Dawn is a story masterfully told, combining dynamite thrills with a contemporary message", "What makes Dawn such a great movie is that it works perfectly both as a horror movie and as a condemnation of consumer culture. The two elements combine to form a superior movie, a horror movie that feels that much more real because what it’s saying is actually true", "People watch movies to be entertained, and on that front, Dawn triumphs", "very compelling", "believable", "Special effects-wise Dawn is impressive for its time, with satisfying Savini gore and action that leaves nothing desired", "For any horror fan that has not yet seen Dawn and is still reading this I have only one thing to say, and that is: GO! Go out immediately and buy (trust me) or rent Dawn Of The Dead and watch it. If this movie doesn’t move you or make you excited to be a horror fan then it'll probably dawn on you that you are dead, dead to one of the crowning jewels of horror filmmaking"

The Cavalcade of Schlock, Brian J. Wright - "it not only sucker-punched a 1979 audience that was getting a little too complacent with the then-shocking graphic horror of Night Of The Living Dead, but turned a twisted funhouse mirror at the voracious consumer society that is not yet in its ebb twenty years later", "Dawn of the Dead delivers its goods - both in terms of zombie action and Romero's nightmare vision - in style", "is shown grandly and with harrowing, unblinking realism"

Zombie Keeper - "4 (out of 4)" "The direction of George A. Romero and the make-up effects of Tom Savini are second to none", "To this day it stands out as being one of the best zombie films ever"

Mondo Digital - "it has some pretty amazing Tom Savini effects"

SF, Fantasy, and Horror - "4 (out of 5) stars"

The Terror Trap - "a Wild Bunch of the terror genre, Dawn similarly revolutionized the way on-screen violence was presented", "over-the-top and comic book special effects by Tom Savini", "a masterpiece", "A scary premise, terrific make-up and special effects, and a literate, dark humored script", "a must-see", "The carnage is breathtaking", "grisly", "it only gets better after repeated viewings", "An epic undead playground", "Among its many strengths are an articulate and thoughtful script, 4 good actors, awesome special effects, and at its core, a harrowing foundation for its story", "is absolutely spellbinding to watch. The action is quick, unsettling and superb, spiced with bits of humor which work perfectly in this one because of its well-thought premise. One of the few, justifiable zombie classics"

Horror DVD's - "Dawn is a mix of action, adventure, drama, comedy and horror; Romero balances the mix of each just right. The character development is superb", "realistic" "Besides having great acting and a good story, Dawn also has great special effects", "You're bound to love it; is sure to please any horror fan"

Horror DVD's (2nd review) - "more than just (a) great horror film. Filled with irony, gore, satire and social commentary, his trilogy exists almost outside of genre", "Dawn of the Dead has become legend", "the film is a masterpiece", "the stars seem to align and (there is) very little flaw", "it feels like a perfect film", "can be studied and ripped off, but never fully duplicated. That is the essence of a masterpiece, the inexplicable quality that makes it endure", "there are few horror films in the history of cinema that weigh up with the epic magnitude of Dawn", "Not only does the film feel like a masterpiece, it has the substance to back that up. The ripe social commentary and progressive black and female roles still all stand up as qualities that few films have matched", "progressive", "socially conscious", "on the pulse of America, and is a deep attempt at social commentary. It is with the social commentary and the overall epic pacing of the film that combine to make the film Romero’s largest and most substantial horror effort", "Dawn has an expansiveness to it that few horror films have", "remains as prophetic and influential as ever, and stands as one of the genre's undisputed masterpieces"


<center><center>New Photos










Old Photos


Director George A. Romero




New Photos
(Updated: June 3rd, 2009)



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[Isidour]

Excelent film, and a real good part of this collection if I´m allowed to say

[Lazario]

Excelent film, and a real good part of this collection if I´m allowed to say

You sure are.


<center>9 (of 23) :
Alien

<img src="http://image.allmusic.com/00/adg/cov200 ... "></center>

Sub-genres: Sci-Fi / Alien, Monster / Robot, Haunted House, Action-Thriller, Drama
Director: Ridley Scott
Screenwriter: Dan O'Bannon
Cast: Sigourney Weaver (Ripley), Tom Skerritt (Dallas), Yaphet Kotto (Parker), Veronica Cartwright (Lambert), Ian Holm (Ash), John Hurt (Kane), Harry Dean Stanton (Brett), Bolaji Badejo (Alien), Eddie Powell (Alien, to what extent- unknown), Helen Horton (voice of Mother)
Producers: Gordon Carroll, David Giler, Walter Hill
Executive Producer: Ronald Shusett
Associate Producer: Ivor Powell
Music Composer: Jerry Goldsmith, Howard Hanson, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Cinematographer/Director of Photography: Derek Vanlint
Film Editors: Terry Rawlings, Peter Weatherly, David Crowther
Production Designers: Michael Seymour, Roger Christian
Art Directors: Roger Christian, Les(lie) Dilley
Set Decorator: Ian Whittaker
Costume Designer: John Mollo
Special Effects: Anton Furst
Special Effects Supervisors: Nick Allder, Brian Johnson
Alien Effects Coordinator: Clinton Cavers
Alien Designer: H.R. Giger
Estimated Budget: $11,000,000
Gross: $60,150,933
Filming Location(s): Shepperton Studios, Shepperton, Surrey, England; Bray Studios, Down Place, Oakley Green, Berkshire, England
Filming Dates: July 5, 1978 - December ??, 1978
Production / Distribution Studio: 20th Century Fox
U.S. Theatrical Release Date(s): May 25, 1979; October 9, 2003; October 29, 2003
Advertisting / Promotional Tagline(s): (1) In space, no one can hear you scream / (2) A word of warning... / (3) The 8th passenger / (4) Just one can kill seven / (5) This Halloween in theatres, everyone will hear you scream / (6) The Scariest Movie Ever Made... just got scarier! Experience it only on the big screen
Filmed in: Widescreen / Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Major Awards Won: 1980 Best Visual Effects Oscar - H.R. Giger, Carlo Rambaldi, Brian Johnson, Nick Allder, Denys Ayling; 1980 Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, USA - Saturn Award - Best Science Fiction Film, Best Director : Ridley Scott, Best Supporting Actress : Veronica Cartwright; 1979 San Sebastián International Film Festival - Silver Seashell - Best Cinematography, Best Special Effects
Region 1 DVD first released: June 1, 1999 (3 releases to date) / Screen Format: Widescreen, Languages: English & Spanish 5.1 Surround, Subtitles: English & Spanish / Scene Chapters: 32; 20; 40 / Special Features: Audio Commentary, All-New Featurettes (Documentary sub-parts), Deleted Scenes, Multi-Angle Scenes, Screen Test, Introduction by Ridley Scott, Photo Galleries, Theatrical Trailers (Quadrilogy Boxset exclusive)


Notable Facts / Trivia
1. The original title was "Star Beast"
2. The original cut of the film ran 3 hours and 12 minutes
3. An early draft of the script had a male Ripley. The script by O'Bannon and Shusett also had a clause indicating that all of the characters are "unisex", meaning they could be cast with male or female actors. However, Shusett and O'Bannon never thought of casting Ripley as a female character
4. Walter Hill was originally slated to direct, but he pulled out and the job went to Ridley Scott. Other potential directors included: Robert Aldrich, Peter Yates, Jack Clayton, and writer Dan O'Bannon, who later directed 1985's Return of the Living Dead
5. Veronica Cartwright was originally to play Ripley, but producers opted for Sigourney Weaver
6. Ridley Scott is reportedly quoted as saying that originally he wanted a much darker ending. He planned on having the alien bite off Ripley's head in the escape shuttle, sit in her chair, and then start speaking with her voice in a message to Earth. Apparently, 20th Century Fox wasn't too pleased with such a dark ending
7. The character of Ash did not appear in Dan O'Bannon's original script
8. 20th Century Fox doubled the budget from $4.2 million to $8.4 million on the strength of seeing Ridley Scott's storyboards
9. Mother's two 30-second countdowns take 36 and 37 seconds respectively
10. A sex scene between Dallas and Ripley was in the script, but was not filmed
11. The decal on the door of the Nostromo is a "checkerboard square", the symbol on Purina's pet food label; it designated Alien-Chow
12. Much of the dialogue was developed through improvisation
13. The front (face) part of the alien costume's head is made from a cast of a real human skull
14. During production an attempt was made to make the alien character transparent or at least translucent
15. To get Jones the cat to react fearfully, a German Shepherd was placed in front of him
16. Jerry Goldsmith was most aggrieved by the changes that Ridley Scott and his editor Terry Rawlings wrought upon his score. Scott felt that Goldsmith's first attempt at the score was far too lush and needed to be a bit more minimalist. Goldsmith harbored a grudge against the two right up to his death in 2004
17. The shriek that the alien baby makes when it first bursts out of John Hurt's chest was a combination of a viper, a pig's squeal and a baby's cry
18. The original design for the Alien by H.R. Giger had eyes, which were eliminated to make the creature look even more menacing
19. Originally, no film companies wanted to make this film, 20th Century-Fox had even passed on it. They stated various reasons, most being that it was too bloody. The only producer who wanted to make the film was Roger Corman, and it was not until Walter Hill came on board that it all changed. 20th Century-Fox agreed to make the film as long as the violence was toned down; even after that they still rejected the first cut for being "too bloody"
20. The rumor that the cast, except for John Hurt, did not know what would happen during the "chestburster" scene is partly true. The scene had been explained for them, but they did not know specifics. For example, Veronica Cartwright did not expect to be sprayed with blood
21. Copywriter Barbara Gips came up with the famed tagline: "In space, no one can hear you scream"
22. Many producers have professional "readers" that read and summarize scripts for them. The reader in this case summarized it as "It's like Jaws (1975), but in space"
23. The Nostromo's computer is named "Mother". The incubation of the alien has also been interpreted as a metaphor for pregnancy
24. Ridley Scott's 2003 director's cut largely came about when over 100 boxes of footage of his 1979 original were discovered in a London vault
25. The genesis of the film arose out of Dan O'Bannon's dissatisfaction with his first feature, Dark Star (1974) which John Carpenter directed in 1974. Because of that film's severe low budget, the alien was quite patently a beach ball. For his second attempt, O'Bannon wanted to craft an altogether more convincing specimen. The goofiness of Dark Star (1974) also led him in the direction of an intense horror movie
26. Ridley Scott cites three films as the shaping influences on his movie: Star Wars (1977) and 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) for their depiction of outer space, and Tobe Hooper's The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) for its treatment of horror
27. Many of the interior features of the Nostromo came from airplane graveyards
28. Walter Hill and David Giler's contribution to the script was to make Ash a robot
29. H.R. Giger's initial designs for the face-hugger were held by US Customs who were alarmed at what they saw. Writer Dan O'Bannon had to go to LAX to explain to them that they were designs for a horror movie
30. For the chestburster sequence, John Hurt was linked up with a mechanical torso that was packed with compressed air and lots of animal guts. The rest of the cast were not told that real guts were being used so as to provoke genuine reactions of shock and disgust
31. When casting the role of Ripley, Ridley Scott invited several women from the production office to watch screen tests, and thus gain a female perspective. The women were unanimously impressed with then-unknown actress Sigourney Weaver, whose screen presence they compared to Jane Fonda's
32. According to a quote from Veronica Cartwright in a film magazine, in the scene where the alien's tail wraps around her legs, they are actually Harry Dean Stanton's legs, in a shot originally filmed for another scene entirely
33. At the start of production, Ridley Scott had to contend with 9 producers being onset at all times, querying the length of time he was taking over each shot
34. The producers of the 1950s potboiler It! The Terror from Beyond Space (1958) considered suing for plagiarism but didn't
35. Veronica Cartwright only found out that she wasn't playing the part of Ripley when she was first called in to do some costume tests for the character of Lambert
36. After the first week of shooting, Dan O'Bannon asked if he could attend the viewing of the dailies, but Gordon Carroll refused him. To get past that ban, Dan O'Bannon viewed the dailies by standing beside the projectionist whilst he screened them for everyone else
37. Ash's blood is colored water. Milk was not used as it would have gotten very smelly very quickly under the hot studio lights. Milk was used though for the close-up of his innards, along with pasta and glass marbles
38. For Parker's death, a fiberglass cast of Yaphet Kotto's head was made, and then filled with pigs' brains. The forehead was made of wax so that the alien's teeth could penetrate it easily. Indeed barbed hooks were fastened to the end of the teeth to make sure it broke the wax surface effectively
39. The face hugger carcass that Ash autopsies was made using fresh shellfish, four oysters and a sheep kidney to recreate the internal organs
40. The inside of the "eggs" as seen by Kane was composed of real organic material. Director Ridley Scott used cattle hearts and stomachs. The tail of the "face hugger" was sheep intestine
41. The grid-like flooring on the Nostromo was achieved using upturned milk crates, painted over
42. Extra scenes filmed but not included, due to pacing problems: (1) Ripley finds Dallas and Brett cocooned. Dallas is covered in maggots and begs Ripley to kill him. She does so with a flame thrower. (2) Ripley and Lambert discuss whether Ash has sex or not. (3) Alternative death scene for Brett: Ripley and Parker come across an alive Brett being lifted from the ground


What the Critics Have to Say:

Roger Ebert - "(Rating:) Great Movie ((his highest rating))", "is a great original", "One of the great strengths of Alien is its pacing. It takes its time. It waits. It allows silences (the majestic opening shots are underscored by Jerry Goldsmith with scarcely audible, far-off metallic chatterings)", "keep(s) the alien fresh throughout the movie", "both frightening and delightful", "cerebral", "a film that absorbs us in a mission before it involves us in an adventure, and that consistently engages the alien with curiosity and logic, instead of simply firing at it", "elegant, intelligent, visionary, epic", "Alien has been called the most influential of modern action pictures, and so it is", "ambitious and serious", "vibrates with a dark and frightening intensity"

Leonard Maltin - "3 and a half (out of 4) stars ((2003 re-release))"

San Francisco Chronicle, Peter Hartlaub (The 2003 Director's Cut) - "sensational", "feels like a streamlined improvement on the original", "When it came out in 1979, Alien made an impact on both science fiction and horror filmmaking - a classic in both genres", "eerie", "subtle", "coherent", "the majority of the 24-year-old movie holds up well. The production design in Alien was always among the movie's strongest points, and the bulky details seem more industrial than quaint", Alien endures as a superior piece of filmmaking, with a pace that's like watching an art film when compared to the over-the-top space operas in recent years"

Philadelphia City Paper - "brilliantly calculated", "frightening", "what a complex character Sigourney Weaver's Ripley is", "gruesome but apropos", "what's amazing about Alien is how quiet it is, a strategy no large budget American movie would dare to apply today. The box-office blockbuster of 24 years ago looks like the art film of today"

Chicago Tribune, Michael Wilmington - "3 and a half (out of 4) stars" ""Alien is an old nightmare, made shiny new. It's a scream from another era that still echoes around us", "a movie that can still give you the shakes, even though most of its surprises have long since passed into popular legend", "Few science-fiction movies are as cold, as full of cavernous space, angst and horrific beings. The original Alien is a work of popular entertainment and movie art in which the makers took the "art' as seriously as the entertainment", "sophisticated", "(has) images of stunning austerity or wild imagination. This imagery elevates the story", "great, goopy horror", "nerve-rending", "horrifying", "high-grade actors and magnificent sets", "a classy picture with classy people but it was also gruesome, awful", "The look of Alien remains fabulous", "The sets are dazzling and macabre. The characters are both archetypal and cipherlike. Being trapped on those sets, with those people, still imparts a creepy chill", "compelling"

DVD Verdict, Sean McGinnis - "suspenseful, scary, dramatic", "Ridley Scott takes us on one of the wildest and scariest rides of all time", "It is a masterpiece"

DVD Verdict, Dan Mancini - "mind-blowing", "dark, dangerous, and cynical", "explosive", "clever", "terrifying", "fresh", "transcends the monster-movie script", "effective", "competent", "ground-breaking", "Ridley Scott thought he was making a B-movie on an A-movie budget, but his meticulous sense of style and the gender twist he wove so cleverly into the movie's soul have made it one of the most significant and influential genre movies of the 1970s"

Slant Magazine - "3 (out of 4) stars"

The Video Graveyard - "inventive"

The Cavalcade of Schlock, Brian J. Wright - "Very likely, the best horror flick ever", "This is what movies do at their best - they create a reality within themselves that viewers couldn't extract themselves from even if they wanted to", "the movie convinces YOU its reality", "The movie's strength lies in both the harrowing terror that it instills, and in the inescapable reality of what's shown onscreen", "Jerry Goldsmith's incredibly frightening score tightens even more screws; even listening to it without the movie itself is scary as hell", "the actors all make a convincing lot, and they come across beautifully as an ensemble", "unique", "I've never seen a perfect movie, but Alien is just about as close as I can imagine"

Zombie Keeper - "3 and a half (out of 4)" "deceptively simple yet rife with detail", "credit goes to screenwriter Dan O'Bannon for creating such rich characters" "a good suspense flick - it builds and builds, suspense mounting exponentially until finally it pays off, and it pays off big time", "This is what horror is all about", "Ridley Scott's direction is masterful, the set design is incredibly detailed and still impresses to this day. All the actors do their jobs exceedingly well, particularly Weaver, as Ripley, and Holm", "Jerry Goldsmith's score is just as impressive as anything else in the film and evokes that much more dread", "The Alien design is the stuff of genius", "starkly original", "a high fright factor", "scary as hell", "(an) intelligently written screenplay", "very intelligent and competent", "Alien well deserves to be called a horror film, and a damned fine one at that. The film being set in space is incidental, as Alien has the claustrophobic and undeniable feeling of a haunted house/monster-on-the-loose flick. One of Ridley Scott's best films, Alien is taut, suspenseful and a classic scare show"

Mondo Digital - "(Ridley) Scott's immense visual gifts and cinematic storytelling skill produced a classic. The excellent ensemble cast, Dan O'Bannon's primal, terrifying narrative, and Jerry Goldsmith's ferocious score managed to give (the movie) class", still scares the bejeezus out of many viewers. Scott wisely drops most of the cliches associated with earlier science fiction films (weak secondary women, cutesy romantic subplots, etc.) in favor of a ruthless haunted house thrill ride approach that gives the film a timeless appeal", "remains amazingly modern in its attitude and appearance and will likely remain so for several decades"

SF, Fantasy, and Horror - "5 (out of 5) stars"

Attack of the 50 Foot DVD, Amy Morrison - "dark and claustrophobic", "a fun movie"

The Terror Trap - "tremendous", "The suspense he created and the work he got from the cast are outstanding", "Veronica Cartwright is terrific", "Subtle, lyrical, and effectively scary", "I was on the edge of my seat the entire time"

Horror DVD's - "It's one of the greatest Science Fiction-Horror films of all time and the original is still the best", "Alien is the perfect melding of science fiction and thriller elements creating a pulse pounding film that keeps you on the edge of your seat the whole last 60 minutes of the film. Together with Jerry Goldsmith's score the drama builds during the first half of the film establishing the extremely well written characters and the time and place they live in. The acting is excellent and a well-written script no doubt helps this", "Alien is loaded with special effects and designs that truly bring life to this strange universe. Most amazing is how these effects and designs have stood the test of time", "H.R Giger's designs, especially the alien, are ingenious. The alien is probably one of the most memorable, non-Universal monsters ever conceived. Ridley Scott's direction is impeccable", "If you're looking for a great Sci-Fi/Horror film they don't get much better than Alien"

<center>Photo Gallery
(All the widescreen ones are enlargeable- just click)


Director Ridley Scott








</center>

[dvdjunkie]

I was a little aprehensive at the start of this, but, you have totally amazed me in your choices of films so far. I agree 100% with all that you have said and your choices, so far. It will be interesting to see if there are any that we disagree with.

I have to go and re-watch "Rosemary's Baby", "Carrie", and "Dawn of the Dead" because of your reviews. Thanks for the refresher course, it was well-needed.

[Isidour]

An excelent movie,just a classic.

now I know that they really didn´t entirely knew what would happen at the baby alien scene

[Lazario]

I was a little aprehensive at the start of this, but, you have totally amazed me in your choices of films so far. I agree 100% with all that you have said and your choices, so far. It will be interesting to see if there are any that we disagree with. I have to go and re-watch "Rosemary's Baby", "Carrie", and "Dawn of the Dead" because of your reviews. Thanks for the refresher course, it was well-needed.

Well I think at the start of this, you were probably one of the only people who knew right off the bat what Contemporary was going to entail. Generally, speaking, time-frame oriented.

Anyway, a lot of people disagree with my choices as they progress. But I've spent a great deal of time with all of these movies, except for again, the ill-fated Twitch. But again - it was the first true slasher film and has garnered not just cult success but international critical acclaim and has been more positively influencial than a string of certain killer-in-the-woods themed slasher "flicks" (which of course, I absolutely adore). And Mario Bava was one of the first true horror auteurs, while his only American counterparts were most schlockmeisters William Castle, Roger Corman, and Hershell Gordon Lewis, and Castle and Corman have been remembered much more as famous producers rather than directors. All of them of course had their defining moments (well, maybe not Lewis) and special projects which turned out to be legends of low budget films. And this all, still long before the Argento's, Carpenter's, Romero's, Craven's, Hooper's, Cohen's, Dante's, Fulci's, Henenlotter's, and etc., were the masters of the 70's, 80's, and 90's. These decades of course, generally equalling what I consider to be Contemporary. But starting with Rosemary because it's color and actually has a slightly more '60s feel than Night of the Living Dead (which I just watched again 2 days ago).

And of all Bava's films, the one that shows up on the Contemporary side is basically just Twitch. He was busier in the '60s than he was in the '70s.

Anyway, I think you'd be quite hard pressed to find someone with higher standards than mine. Actually... I mean more. Not necessarily higher. Actually, not necessarily higher in most people's eyes. But I have a huge amount of standards.

[Lazario]

<center>10 (of 23) :
The Evil Dead

<img src="http://image.allmusic.com/00/adg/cov200 ... "></center>

Sub-genres: Zombie / Demon, Splatter, Demonic Possession, Curse / Occult, Horror-Comedy
Director: Sam Raimi
Screenwriter: Sam Raimi
Cast: Bruce Campbell (Ash), Ellen Sandweiss (Cheryl), Betsy Baker (Linda), Hal Delrich / Richard DeManincor (Scott), Sarah York / Theresa Tilly (Shelley), Bob Dorian (Voice on Recorder), Ted Raimi (Fake Shemp), Scott Spiegel (Fake Shemp)
Producer: Rob Tapert
Executive Producers: Bruce Campbell, Sam Raimi, Rob Tapert
Assistant Producer: Gary Holt
Music Composer: Joseph LoDuca
Cinematographer/Director of Photography: Tim Philo
Film Editor: Edna Ruth Paul
Special Makeup Effects: Tom Sullivan
Estimated Budget: $350,000
Gross: $9,800,000
Filming Location(s): Detroit, Michigan; Knoxville, Tennessee; Marshall, Michigan; Morristown, Tennessee
Filming Dates (not verified): Fall 1979 - Spring 1980
U.S. Theatrical Release Date(s): October 15, 1981; March ??, 1982; April 15, 1983
Advertisting / Promotional Tagline(s): The Ultimate Experience In Grueling Terror
Filmed in: Widescreen / Aspect Ratio: 1.37:1
Major Awards Won: 1983 Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, USA - Saturn Award - Best Low Budget Film
Region 1 DVD first released: January 19, 1999 (3 releases to date) / Screen Format: Widescreen, Languages: English & French 5.1 Surround, Subtitles: none / Scene Chapters: 25; 16 / Special Features: 2 Audio Commentaries, New Featurette, New Documentary (not pertaining directly to the film), Behind the Scenes Footage, Anchor Bay 2001 Egyptian Theater Panel Discussion Footage (Hidden feature), Special Effects Make-Up Video Tests (Hidden feature), Original Theatrical Trailer, TV Spots, Photo Gallery, Collectible (Interview) Booklet: Ladies of the Evil Dead (Only with single-disc special edition), Cast & Crew Text Profiles


Notable Facts / Trivia
1. Sam Raimi originally wanted to title this film "Book of the Dead," but producer Irvin Shapiro changed the title to "The Evil Dead" for fear that kids would be turned off going to a movie with a literary reference in it's title
2. After completing principal photography, most of the main actors left the production. However, there was still much of the film to be completed. Most of the second half of the film features Bruce Campbell and various extras and local hires as stand-ins, credited as "fake shemps" in the cast list, to replace the actors who left. Fake Shemp is a reference to Three Stooges shorts filmed after the death of the actor who played Shemp, in which other actors would play him with their faces obscured so as to make viewers think they were Shemp
3. There is a poster of Wes Craven's 1977 film, The Hills Have Eyes, in the first scene in the cellar with Ash and Scott, which is ripped to the point of only 1 corner being visible. This is a reference to The Hills Have Eyes, which features a moment in the mobile home massacre scene where we see a poster of Jaws on the back wall, which is torn up. Director Raimi and Producer Tapert took this to mean that Craven was saying Jaws was "kiddie horror" compared to The Hills Have Eyes. Raimi and Tapert figured, since Hills had quite an impact when audiences saw it in '77, that sending the same message to Craven via making the film even more horrifying than Hills couldn't hurt their film. After viewing The Evil Dead, Wes Craven good-naturedly decided to answer back to Raimi and Tapert, by showing a clip of The Evil Dead in a sequence in 1984's A Nightmare on Elm Street, where the main character, Nancy, starts watching the film but hastily turns it off during all the scary scenes, because in the plot of Nightmare, she avoids anything that makes her feel sleepy. To this date, I don't believe Raimi or Tapert have decided to repeat their choice in Evil Dead, or otherwise cinematically answer back to Craven
4. The film was shot in a real-life abandoned cabin, located in Morristown, Tennessee. In Bruce Campbell's biography he says that it was later burned down. No one knows for sure how it happened (Raimi at one point said that he burnt it down himself after filming)
5. The voice of the professor on the tape recording is that of American Movie Classics host Bob Dorian
6. The white liquid that often emits from the possessed after injured or maimed is 2% milk that Sam Raimi chose to incorporate, not to show how these aren't normal beings, but also to mix it up so the MPAA wouldn't give it an X rating. The MPAA decided to consider the milk as blood all the same, and in accordance with their strict policy, they ordered all spurting liquids cut from scenes, or they would continue to brandish the film with an X
7. This was one of the first films to be labeled as a "Video Nasty" in the UK. Other films in the UK in the Video Nasty sweep include, but are not limited to: Cannibal Holocaust (1979), The Burning (1981), Make Them Die Slowly (aka- Cannibal Ferox) (1981), The Driller Killer (1979), The Toolbox Murders (1978), Mardi Gras Massacre (1978), Bloody Moon (1981), and Love Camp 7 (1969) ((or it could have been Love Camp 27 (1977), both are banned in the U.K.))
8. The scene where Cheryl is sexually violated by the possessed weeds was banned in some countries, forcing it to be cut from the film entirely in some versions
9. In Germany the movie was released to the theaters and on video the same day to avoid problems with the censorship boards. It was banned shortly afterward but dominated the top ten in the few weeks of its release. The movie is still banned theatrically in Germany
10. The blood in the film is a combination of Karo syrup, non-dairy creamer, and red food coloring
11. One of the sketches featured in the Book of the Dead comes from William Blake's painting "The Great Red Dragon And The Woman Clothed With The Sun"
12. Creamed corn was dyed green and used as zombie guts
13. Director Sam Raimi and star Bruce Campbell were friends from high school, where they made many super-8 films together. They would often collaborate with Sam's brother Ted Raimi. Campbell became the "actor" of the group, as, in his words, "he was the one that girls wanted to look at"
14. One of director Raimi's cinematic trademarks is staging gags in his films that reference episodes of The Three Stooges television program. Some of these gags appear in Evil Dead
15. Bruce Campbell twisted his ankle on a root while running down a steep hill, which is responsible for Ash's limp in some scenes. While shooting scenes of Campbell limping, Raimi and Tapert would poke his injured ankle with sticks. Bruce says to this day that it caused him a lot of agony. We can only assume he didn't do anything about it because the camera was still rolling
16. While making the film, a friend of Bruce Campbell and Sam Raimi, Andy Grainger, gave them the advice: "Fellas, no matter what you do, you gotta keep the blood running down the screen." This gave them an idea for a scene in the film which Raimi decided to shoot with red dyed liquid running down the camera lens, tainting the shot as though it were shot through a red lens. And it became a tribute to Grainger
17. On the tape, in which the demon resurrection passages are read aloud, the first words spoken in Latin sound like - "Sam and Rob, Das ist Hikers Dan dee Roadsa." In English, this translates to : "Sam and Rob are the Hikers on the road." This is a reference to their onscreen cameo as the fisherman we see on the side of the road waving as the character of Scott yells out his window, "Ah- go to hell, I'm not honkin' at you!"
18. The cabin the film shot in didn't actually have a cellar. Most of the cellar scenes were filmed in the stone cellar of a farmhouse owned by producer Robert G. Tapert's family in Marshall, Michigan. The last room of the cellar was actually Raimi's garage. The gourds and bones we see hanging from the ceiling, as well as in the shed, are a tribute to The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. For the scene where the students descend into the cellar, a hole was cut into the floor, a shallow hole was dug, and a ladder was placed into the pit
19. In the shot of the car driving up to the cabin at the beginning of the movie, instead of actress Theresa Tilly (billed as Sarah York), director Sam Raimi is sitting in her seat
20. Ash's last name is never mentioned throughout the entire Evil Dead trilogy because he was never given one in any of the scripts
21. The original script called for all the characters to be smoking marijuana in the scene when they are first listening to the tape. The actors decided to try this for real, and the entire scene had to be re-shot due to their uncontrollable behavior
22. During the scene where the possessed Linda attempts to stab Ash with the dagger, Betsy Baker actually had no idea where he was. With her heavy, white contact lenses preventing her from seeing Bruce Campbell, he was literally battling a blind actress


Disney Connection : The closet door in Scott & Shelley's room opens to reveal a T-shirt with the word "Tamakwa" printed on it. Director Sam Raimi went to camp Tamakwa as a child. After The Evil Dead, Raimi appeared as one of the supporting cast members (with substancial screen time) in a Touchstone-made film based on the same exact camp, called Indian Summer (1993)


What the Critics Have to Say:

Leonard Maltin - "Wildly stylish", "it provides a deliriously imaginative roller coaster ride for those with strong stomachs"

DVD Verdict, Patrick Naugle - "one of the coolest horror movies ever made", "The best thing about The Evil Dead is its freshness", "Hyper and exhausting, The Evil Dead is a movie that entertains from the first to the very last reel. Sam Raimi fashioned an instant classic with some of the most amazing camera work ever pulled off in movies", "Just see it", "if you're in the mood for something wildly original and exciting, then rest assured that The Evil Dead will perfectly fit that bill!"

Slant Magazine - "3 and a half (out of 4) stars"

The Video Graveyard - "3 (out of 4) stars" "Innovative", "this is a fun ride", "contains some good shock moments, the effective use of a flowing camera and sound effects, and an outrageous finale that trots out all sorts of grue", "this is an entertaining time", "above average"

The Cavalcade of Schlock, Brian J. Wright - "it scared the crap out of me", "it remains a killer movie, and hard not to delight in", "Writer/director Sam Raimi was obviously eager to impress here, trying to make his movie just about everything except forgettable. His camera swoops up and down, over and under, over the hills and through...ah, you know what I mean", "a fun, fast-paced, amusing, atmospheric, extremely gory, and occasionally frightening little wonder of cinema", "His direction (Sam Raimi's) is fluid and energetic", "I enthusiastically recommend The Evil Dead", "fresh", "Watch it"

Zombie Keeper - "4 (out of 4)" "fun", "there's scene after scene of non-stop bloody action", "What makes this movie work is great atmosphere, sound, music, and make-up effects", "frightening", "scary", "The movie is in a class by itself and is one of those special films you rarely see any more"

Mondo Digital - "Evil Dead is a pure, gutwrenching horror experience, an unrelenting roller coaster ride, peppered with laughs at its outrageousness", "Some of the finest seat-jumping moments ever put on film are here, not to mention enough gore to stand up respectably next to later blood-drenched epics like Dead Alive and Re-Animator. On top of that, this is one great-looking movie which uses its paltry budget to spin out an eye-popping series of beautiful, startling images accompanied by a great, disorienting soundtrack. A modern classic among classics that just gets better with age", "Raimi's restless camera zooms, swoops, and glides in a series of virtuoso scenes", "Simply put: without this film, there would be Coen Brothers and, most likely, no Hong Kong fantasy films, and its influence continues to shine today"

SF, Fantasy, and Horror - "4 (out of 5) stars"

The Terror Trap - "one of the most creative and enduring horror films", "(a) lively cast", "This is a real treat for horror fans. Sam Raimi pulled out all the stops, "extraordinary", "the effects are surprisingly well done and the production is top notch", "The woods setting complements this one perfectly", "watch this classic by your fireplace and prepare to be righteously grossed out!"

Horror DVD's - "The Evil Dead (is) an excellent example of low budget horror filmmaking (is) done right", "simply a fun horror film", "One of the things I think really gives The Evil Dead its flare is Sam Raimi's energetic, creative camera work", "The film is filled with inventive scenes and camera angles", "impressive", "magnificent", "very cool", "effective", "I believe it succeeds"


<center>Photo Gallery
(All the photos in the block are enlargeable- just click)


Director Sam Raimi






</center>

[Lazario]

<center>11 (of 23) :
An American Werewolf in London

<img src="http://image.allmusic.com/00/adg/cov200 ... "></center>

Sub-genres: Werewolf / Monster, Horror-Comedy, Zombie / Living Dead
Director: John Landis
Screenwriter: John Landis
Cast: David Naughton (David Kessler), Jenny Agutter (Alex Price), Griffin Dunne (Jack Goodman), John Woodvine (Dr. Hirsch), Brian Glover (Chess Player), Lila Kaye (Barmaid), David Schofield (Dart Player), Don McKillop (Inspector Villiers), Paul Kember (Sergeant McManus), Albert Moses (Hospital Porter)
Producer: George Folsey Jr.
Executive Producers: Peter Guber, Jon Peters
Music Composers: Elmer Bernstein
Cinematographer/Director of Photography: Robert Paynter
Film Editor: Malcolm Campbell
Art Director: Leslie Dilley
Costume Designer: Deborah Nadoolman
Special Makeup Effects: Rick Baker
Estimated Budget: $10,000,000
Gross: $30,565,292
Filming Location(s): Abergwesyn, Powys, Wales (East Proctor); Brecon Beacons, Powys, Wales; Clink Street, Southwark, London, England; Crickadarn, Powys, Wales (East Proctor); Hampstead Heath, Hampstead, London; Hampstead, London; London Zoo, Regent's Park, London; Near Tower Bridge, London; Piccadilly Circus, Piccadilly, London; Redcliffe Square, Earl's Court, London; The Black Swan, Effingham, Surrey, England; Tottenham Court Road Underground Station, Tottenham Court Road, Bloomsbury, London; Trafalgar Square, St James's, London; Windsor Great Park, Windsor, Berkshire, England
Filming Months: February 1981 - March 1981
Production / Distribution Studio: Universal Studios
U.S. Theatrical Release Date(s): August 21, 1981
Advertisting / Promotional Tagline(s): (1) A Different Kind of Animal / (2) Twenty Years Later, The Moon Rises Again...
Filmed in: Widescreen / Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Major Awards Won: 1982 Oscar - Best Make Up: Rick Baker; 1982 Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, USA - Saturn Award - Best Horror Film, Best Make-Up: Rick Baker
Region 1 DVD first released: December 10, 1997 (2 releases to date) / Screen Format: Widescreen, Languages: English 5.1 Surround, French, & Spanish Stereo/Mono, Subtitles: English & Spanish / Scene Chapters: 20; 24 / Special Features: Audio Commentary, New Featurettes, Original "Making-of" Documentary, Behind the Scenes Footage, Bloopers, Animated Photo Gallery, Storyboard to Film Comparisons, Original Theatrical Teaser Trailer (Only on Out-of-Print Artisan DVD), Cast & Crew Text Profiles, Production Notes, Web Links, Recommendations, Original Theatrical Trailer for The Wolf Man


Notable Facts / Trivia
1. All the songs the play in the film have "moon" in the title
2. The screenplay was written in 1969 by director John Landis, then 19 years old
3. At the close of the credits is a congratulatory message for the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana
4. John Landis originally wanted two other songs to add to the soundtrack, Cat Stevens's "Moonshadow" and Bob Dylan's version of "Blue Moon", but they both declined. The Warren Zevon song, "Werewolves of London" had been a hit before this film was made, but for some reason no one, including the cast, know why it wasn't seriously considered for the film
5. David Naughton was reportedly cast because John Landis had seen him in a television commercial for Dr. Pepper
6. The location filming of the front of Alex's flat and surroundings was filmed on or around Lupus Street in Pimlico, London ('Lupus' is the Latin for 'wolf')
7. The porno film showing when David meets Jack (and his zombie friends) is titled, See You Next Wednesday - this is a trademark that appears in nearly all John Landis's films. A poster for the film also appears in the London Underground when the man is killed
8. The wolves used in the London Zoo scene were kept privately by Roger Palmer in the UK and appeared in several TV programmes and in adverts. Roger went on to found the UK Wolf Conservation Trust which keeps wolves to this day
9. In an interview with Mick Garris on Take One, John Landis stated that in a preview, he included a scene in which you saw more of how the three bums in the junkyard were killed. People reacted so strongly, and loudly for the rest of the preview, that he was afraid that people would miss some of the key plot points following this scene. Afterward, he added that doing this was a mistake because other audiences have since missed out on this great shock moment
10. The legal disclaimer in the closing credits reads, "Any resemblance to any persons living, dead, or undead is coincidental". This was also placed at the end of the John Landis directed "Thriller" music video for Michael Jackson, which was reportedly inspired by (and held several allusions to) this film
11. Because of this film, makeup and industry technological contributions became recognized by the Academy Awards. A category for Best Makeup Effects was created in 1981 as a result
12. Studio executives for Universal hoped John Landis would cast Dan Aykroyd in the role of David and John Belushi as Jack ((I'm not kidding)). John Landis refused
13. David Naughton reported that the "hospital bed in the forest" scene was the most difficult/painful one. Back then, they used primited glass contact lenses, called scaleros (spelling?)
14. In 1997, the movie was re-recorded as a Radio drama by Audio Movies Limited for BBC Radio 1 in England. It was broadcast during Halloween that year, in short snippets throughout the day. Brian Glover, John Woodvine and Jenny Agutter reprised their roles from the movie
15. John Landis has a cameo in the film. He appears briefly near the end of the film as the bearded man who gets hit by a car and thrown through the plate glass window in Piccadilly Circus
16. Humphrey Bogart can be seen in two posters in Alex's apartment. There is one for Casablanca (1942) on the front wall in the living room, and there's a black-and-white solo shot of Humphrey Bogart in the kitchen
17. When trying to call home, the telephone number that David Kessler gives the operator (516-472-3402) contains a Long Island, New York area code. It is extremely unusual for an actual telephone number to be used in popular movies, TV, or music, and this remains one of the only instances where it has been done without substancial lawsuits being filed
18. John Landis got the idea for the film while working on Kelly's Heroes (1970) as a production assistant in Yugoslavia. While watching a gypsy funeral (where they lace the coffin with garlic so the corpse doesn't come back to haunt everyone) he wondered how a western culture would react to being visited by a dead friend. He also wrote the screenplay while here on location
19. The final look of the werewolf beast was based on make-up creator Rick Baker's dog Bosko


Disney Connection : An episode of "The Muppet Show" (1976) plays on TV during David's nightmare sequence. Also, the actor who does the voice of Miss Piggy (who is in the clip we see), Frank Oz, has a role as David's American consolate. The characters of Miss Piggy and Kermit are also credited in the film, even though they are completely contained within the show clip


What the Critics Have to Say:

Roger Ebert - "spectacular set pieces", "The movie has sequences that are spellbinding", "genuinely funny moments", "Rick Baker, the young makeup genius('s) work is impressive", "good special effects", "The best moments in American Werewolf belong to (Griffin) Dunne"

Leonard Maltin - "3 (out of 4) stars"

The Austin Chronicle, Sarah Hepola - "self-referential and genre-savvy", "Startling", "fun", "genuinely scary", "Most enjoyable is the goofy fun Landis and company are having playing against audience expectations"

The Video Graveyard - "3 (out of 4) stars" "(a) classic werewolf flick" "this is a great mixture of horror and comedy with a self-conscious script by director John Landis that works more on character development, in-jokes for horror fans and decent humor for the first two thirds before the mayhem packed finale", "It has a great "moon" themed soundtrack (and) above average transformation/creature effects by Rick Baker", "Solid entertainment and highly recommended"

The Cavalcade of Schlock, Brian J. Wright - "a good horror-comedy", "The effects are great", "inspired", "lively", "a charmer"

Zombie Keeper - "4 (out of 4)" "I don't think there are enough GOOD werewolf movies out there (and) An American Werewolf in London is one of the best", "this movie is a funny, gruesome, scary, and intelligent piece of work", "The werewolf transformation scene is a stunner", "(Rick Baker's work) exceeds today's more modern CGI effects. His gore effects are also top-notch", "Landis has provided us with one of the great modern day classics"

The Terror Trap - "An American Werewolf in London is one of the few instances in which a horror film's sharp comedy does not interfere with its story", Released the same year as two other "wolf" films, The Howling and Wolfen, this one was the best. It featured superb make-up effects by Rick Baker and a fun soundtrack", "tense", "frightening", "creative and realistic", "spellbinding", "masterful special effects - the creature in this movie looks amazing!"

Horror DVD's - "(a) terrific film", "The storyline is great and it has a unique twist of humor to it that you won't see in any other werewolf movies. The acting is top notch with superb performances by David Naughton, Jenny Agutter, and Griffin Dunne", "The effects certainly rival (those) from The Howling", "An American Werewolf in London allows you to see through the eyes of the werewolf", "effective", "simply incredible", "the effects are quite believable as well", "puts to shame recent werewolf movies that rely on CGI", "The music in the film is absolutely perfect; the music blended in so perfectly", "If you haven't seen this movie I strongly encourage you to", "sure to please all horror fans"

Arrow In the Head - "4 (out of 4)" "A simple story gets an eccentric approach... and aren't we all thankful?", "What makes Landis' werewolf classic stand out is the seemingly effortless blend of humor and scares. Both ingredients gel together so well", "Landis plays by his own rules and manages to make a love story, crazy dream sequences, a living dead friend, funny situations, an astounding werewolf transformation sequence (one of the most effective I've ever seen), violent werewolf attacks and a smashing car pile-up all stick together...wow! The dialogue is also very witty and rings true, the love story aspect is treated in an honest and non-manipulative fashion, the mood is at times very scary and funny at the same time, and sometimes just plain funny. How Landis pulled this off is beyond me", "American Werewolf In London is one of a kind and in my opinion, probably the best werewolf movie to ever hit the screen", "Landis delivers here, giving a haunting feel to the scary scenes, slapping in some fun wolf POV shots, and managing to always border the line of "camp" while never crossing it. A perfect blend of comedy and horror. Take a bow, big guy!", "manages to juggle comedy and scares without ever dropping a ball", "The script is tight, the gore plentiful, and the effects dead-on. It is to werewolf movies what "Halloween" is to slasher flicks: a vintage offering that only gets better with age"

<center>Photo Gallery
(All the widescreen ones are enlargeable- just click)


Director John Landis








</center>

[Lazario]

<center>12 (of 23) :
A Nightmare on Elm Street

<img src="http://image.allmusic.com/00/adg/cov200 ... "></center>

Sub-genres: Slasher, Surreal / Psychological, Teen, Living Dead / Ghost
Director: Wes Craven
Screenwriter: Wes Craven
Cast: Heather Langenkamp (Nancy Thompson), Ronee Blakely (Marge Thompson), Robert Englund (Freddy Krueger), John Saxon (Lt. Donald Thompson), Johnny Depp (Glen), Amanda Wyss (Tina), Nick Corri / Jsu Garcia (Rod Lane), Charles Fleischer (Dr. King), Leslie Hoffman (Hall Monitor)
Producer: Robert Shaye
Co-Producer: Sara Risher
Executive Producers: Stanley Dudelson, Joseph Wolf
Associate Producer: John Burrows
Music Composers: Charles Bernstein, Steve Karshner, Martin Kent, Michael Schurig
Cinematographer/Director of Photography: Jacques Haitkin
Film Editors: Rick Shaine, Pat(rick) McMahon
Production Designer: Greg(g) Fonseca
Set Decorator: Anne Huntley
Costume Designer: Dana Lyman
Special Effects Makeup: David Miller
Estimated Budget: $1,800,000
Gross: $25,504,513
Filming Location(s): 1428 N. Genesee Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California; North Hollywood, Los Angeles; Venice Beach, Venice, Los Angeles
Production / Distribution Studio: New Line Cinema
U.S. Theatrical Release Date(s): November 9, 1984; November 16, 1984
Advertisting / Promotional Tagline(s): (1) If Nancy Doesn't Wake Up Screaming She Won't Wake Up At All... / (2) Sleep Kills / (3) She is the only one who can't stop it... if she fails, no one will survive / (4) Whatever you do, don't fall asleep... or you'll meet the terrifying Freddy / (5) The scream that wakes you up, might be your own
Filmed in: Widescreen / Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Region 1 DVD first released: September 7, 1999 (2 releases to date) / Screen Format: Widescreen, Languages: English Stereo, Subtitles: English / Scene Chapters: 25 / Special Features: Audio Commentary, New Documentary (Boxset exclusive), Alternate Endings (Boxset exclusive), Theatrical Trailer, Cast & Crew Text Profiles, "Jump to a Nightmare" ((New Bonus Features Coming with the new 2-disc September 26th Release))


Notable Facts / Trivia
1. Director Wes Craven claims to have based the character of Freddy Krueger after a kid who bullied him in school and to have based his appearance on a disfigured hobo who scared him as a youth
2. Wes Craven wrote the script and presented it in 1981, but every executive who read it thought it wasn't scary. He said that "It just flew around" until New Line Cinema picked it up
3. This was the first real movie produced by New Line Cinema. Before that, they were just a distribution company for college films. The film was in turn, so successful, it saved the company from bankruptcy. New Line has since been nicknamed by many as, "the House That Freddy Built"
4. Over 500 gallons of fake blood were used during the making of the film
5. Freddy Kruger was designed by Wes Craven to be the typical "silent" serial killer such as Jason Voorhees or Michael Myers. It was only in the sequels that Freddy developed the cheeky persona that enabled him to be the black humored, wise-cracking villain that truly gained him the cult status he has today
6. Heather Langenkamp beat over 200 actresses for the role of Nancy Thompson, some of the other actresses who auditioned for the role of Nancy were Jennifer Grey, Demi Moore, Courteney Cox, and Tracey Gold
7. In an episode of the television series Just the Ten of Us (1988), Heather Langenkamp makes reference to a rusty knife stuck in a cutting board looking "like something from A Nightmare on Elm Street"
8. This movie was almost never made. About halfway through filming, New Line lost a vital deal with the distribution company. As a direct result, they couldn't pay the cast or crew for more than two whole weeks until they found another distribution company. During this time, not one crew member left production
9. Joseph Whipp, who plays the sidekick of John Saxon's Lt. Thompson in the film. Wes Craven later recast Whipp in this same cop role, though he's promoted to a sheriff, in Scream (1996). The idea loosely became that he was the same character as that from Nightmare, only having moved to California, thinking it would be more peaceful there
10. The only times you see the words "Elm Street" are during the opening and closing credits. The word "Elm Street" is not mentioned at all during the movie
11. Wes Craven has since been told that this was the first film to use a breakaway mirror effect
12. For the famous blood gushing bed sequence, the film makers used the same revolving room set that was used for Tina's death. They put the set so that it was upside down and attached the camera so that it looked like the room was right side up, then they poured gallons of red water into the room
13. Wes Craven choose the colors red and green for Freddy's sweater because he read that those two colors are the hardest for the eye to process together
14. Freddy's razor glove was intended to draw upon instinctive fears in people, instilled way back from primal times when it was a common situation for cave people to be hunted by bears, who would reach around rocks where people would hide and swipe at them with an outstretched claw. The glove is also designed to psychologically invoke the age-old fear of penetration. And of course, sharp objects are dangerous
15. Wes Craven claimed to have drawn inspiration for this movie from a series of news stories that involved a group of young Cambodians who died from a horrific nightmare. The story goes that first these young, otherwise healthy people would have a horrible nightmare, then refuse to sleep for as long as possible; when they finally fell asleep from sheer exhaustion they awoke with a scream, and died from a heart attack.
16. At least 4 different endings were prepared for the film. The script called for Nancy to get in the car and drive away safely with her friends, after appearing on the porch with her mother, who waves them goodbye just before the credits role. Bob Shaye, the head of New Line Cinema, wanted a scarier ending, and decided that Nancy should get on a school bus after which, the camera would reveal Freddy was the driver. Craven vehemently opposed this idea because he felt it took away Nancy's victory, and he felt it was an obvious tie-in for a sequel. The two argued about the ending, until Craven caved in to the idea of having Freddy return, but not via a school bus driver. Footage was shot for 2 basic endings, and edited into 3. The other alternate ending not featured in the film, shows Nancy actually getting into the normal car and driving away safely, but her mother still ultimately being killed by Freddy. Craven says he still doesn't agree with the ending for the film, the idea of Freddy as a bus driver was never filmed for Nightmare 1 but was actually shot in Nightmare on Elm Street 2, and the jump-roping girls (sort of acting as harbingers of doom) from the permanent ending and the introduction of the entire main teen cast appear in all of the endings for the film
17. Wes Craven's original concept for Freddy Krueger was considerably more gruesome, with teeth showing through the flesh over the jaw, puss running from the sores, and a part of the skull showing through the head. Make-up artist David B. Miller argued that an actor couldn't be convincingly made up that way and a puppet would be hard to film and wouldn't blend well with live actors, so these ideas were eventually abandoned
18. While shooting the blood-gushing bed scene, the spinning room turned incorrectly, a door to the room opened and caused a premature flood of fake blood to hit exposed wires. The people pouring the blood were viciously shocked and the room began to spin out of control. Wes Craven remarks that it was "like the Ferris Wheel from Hell." The power on the set went out and Craven said they were all in the dark and covered in blood. Englund and Langenkamp were onset when it happened and they managed to get to safety before anything serious happened. The footage of this sequence miraculously survived and some of it ended up in the film
19. In the scene in her room following the tub sequence, Nancy looks at herself in a mirror and says, "Oh God, I look 20 years old." Some audiences laughted at this line, which was meant to be serious in the script, because they thought actress Heather Langenkamp was 20
20. Wes Craven had helped Sean S. Cunningham by working on a few shots for Friday the 13th (1980). Near the end of the production of Nightmare, Cunningham directed a few shots when several units were working at once to get the film finished on time. Cunningham was the producer of Craven's first feature-length film, the controversial, The Last House on the Left (1972), and told Craven after reading the script for Nightmare - "nobody will be scared because they'll know it's a dream." After seeing the film, he admit he was wrong
21. In the scene of Nancy at the Sleep Institute, the young, short-haired blonde nurse was Craven's then-wife, Mimi
22. In the end scene, the top to the demonic convertible came down faster and harder than expected. The surprised and slightly alarmed expressions from the actors are real
23. In a deleted scene featured, we learn that Nancy and many of her friends from the neighborhood weren't always only-children, but had a brother or sister before they were killed by Freddy. This scene was to have taken place just before Nancy's mother reveals Freddy's past
24. When Freddy Krueger is chasing Nancy and she runs up the stairs only to find that it's all "goo," what she steps in is actually unknown. At one time, Wes Craven remembered it was oatmeal, while Jacques Haitkin thinks it could have been pancake batter. Many people still inquire into what it is but no one on the production has been able to positively identify it
25. This is Johnny Depp's first film. He was cast while accompanying a friend to auditions. When Craven asked him if he'd like to read for the part, his daughter gave him a glowing endorsement
26. In the scene where Freddy chases Tina down the street, Freddy's long arms were marrionetted
27. Freddy's original prop glove was also used for filming Nightmare 2 in 1985. Following the scenes shot with the glove, it went missing and turned up on the set of Evil Dead II: Dead by Dawn in 1986. Allegedly, no one knows where the glove is today
28. This film spawned 6 (and a half) sequels


What the Critics Have to Say:

Leonard Maltin - "Imaginative"

DVD Verdict, Mike Jackson - "they don't get much scarier than A Nightmare On Elm Street", "iconic, memorable, chilling", "effective", "Robert Englund—imbues him (Freddy) with menace and evil that seems to go beyond mere acting", "Heather Langenkamp was at the top of her form in A Nightmare On Elm Street", "it's the sort of movie you can watch over and over"

The Video Graveyard - "3 (out of 4) stars" "At a time where slasher movies glutted the horror market this was a breath of fresh air with an imaginative script, young lead actress who carries it fine and a villian who would quickly ascend to pop culture anti-hero status", "there's no denying the creativity shown in the nightmare sequences and the fact Craven was obviously onto something", "No horror fan can do without this"

The Cavalcade of Schlock, Brian J. Wright - "I recommend it", "fresh", "this movie is well-made and often frightening", "remarkable", "atmospheric and tense", "Wes Craven really pulls off making all the signifiers of teenage life into objects of menace. The phone, the walk home from school, the parents who mean well but think you're on crack, study hall, the ride in your friend's car", "Freddy is actually a fairly imposing villain here", "(the one-liners are) genuine attempts to scare", "effective", "scary", "there are a lot of cool ideas floating around in here - like the unexpected, unexplained passage of a sheep, stairs melting when you least want them to, you know, stuff like that", "really spectacularly done", "Good music from Charles Bernstein", "spooky", "Yeah, it's a good movie", "scared the living crap out of me as a fifteen-year-old, scared me so bad that I was actually afraid of how bad it'd scare me when I rented it a second time"

Zombie Keeper - "4 (out of 4)" "It's one of those rare movies that actually gets better with every viewing", "a masterpiece. From the acting to the story line to the music score, this film is truly worthy of that claim", "If you're even a casual fan of the horror genre, you should go rent this film today", "What makes this movie work is its originality", "terrifying"

Attack of the 50 Foot DVD, Lisa McInnis - "it scared the, um, dickens out of me", "still watchable and interesting", "Craven does a great job of almost skewering some of the usual conventions of horror films", "It's a good movie"

SF, Fantasy, and Horror - "4 (out of 5) stars"

Horror DVD's - "the savior to the slasher film", "a visionary in the field of horror", "(a) triumph", "ingenious", "original", "potent", "intense", "amazingly fresh and refined", "Craven's Elm Street dream world is frightening in that it takes ordinary surroundings and laces them with unsettling characteristics", "The creative visuals certainly add a new dimension to a tapered genre, but equally responsible for the change is the horrific Freddy Krueger character. Wes Craven introduces him to the audience right off the bat, and his identity is never hidden. Freddy wore his nametag right from the get-go. He wasn't afraid of the camera, and in a way that made him scarier. Robert Englund's performance as the gloved killer in this film is one of horror's scariest", "Freddy is a killer so confident and so horrifically disgusting that it sets up an unsettling contrast", (Freddy Krueger is) a truly bloodcurdling killer", "this film still emits an unparalleled level of freshness. After all the attempts at carbon copying, this still remains a unique and titillating viewing experience", "Nightmare on Elm Street manages to transcend the time in which it was made to become a timeless classic. The ultimate test of a film is to see how it holds up over the years, and Craven's film is as everlasting as the steel of Freddy's blades. A masterpiece", "one of the most important, and rightfully so, films of the 1980's, A Nightmare on Elm Street is responsible for changing the face of the slasher film and horror in general"

Arrow In the Head - "4 (out of 4)" "This movie left me with many sleepless nights", "set a new trend in horror", "a true nightmare", "is fascinating and very "avant garde" for its time. The line between the two is always blurred and that kept me on my toes the whole way", "watching it is like watching a nightmare captured on film. It’s dark, weird, unpredictable, and very out there", "creepy settings", "some nice surprises", "it works like a charm", "Let's stroll down Elm Street", "Heather Langenkamp has that special", "Amanda Wiss is very credible", "John Saxon is an actor you can't help but like", "Ronee Blakley is very spooky looking and it works for the part", "Nick Corri does the bad boy thang to a T and comes through in his emotional scene", "Robert Englund is creepy as the gloved wonder and his limited screen time makes him even scarier", "Craven does well. Great lighting, the film moves at a tight pace and Craven does everything he can to scare the shite out of the audience. It works", "Classic, eerie score by Charles Bernstein... chilling", "I put this flick right up there with Exorcist, Halloween or Texas Chainsaw Massacre. It's a staple in the genre that's still effective today", "check this classic out", "Elm Street is all about fear"

<center>Photo Gallery
(All the widescreen ones are enlargeable- just click)


Director Wes Craven








</center>

[Isidour]

that´s definitelly a classic too!

I mean, who wouldn´t remember that claw and of course that ugky outfit? But really, pretty nice movie

[dvdjunkie]

Lazario - The list keeps getting better and better. Wow, what choices. "The Evil Dead" is one of my total favorites, as is "American Werewolf in London". I can't believe that the studio wanted Dan Ackroyd and John Belushi in those roles, that would have ruined a really good movie.

Keep it up, I am counting down with you.

[Lazario]

<center>13 (of 23) :
Re-Animator

<img src="http://image.allmusic.com/00/adg/cov200 ... "></center>

Director: Stuart Gordon
Screenwriters: Dennis Paoli, William Norris, Stuart Gordon
Cast: Jeffrey Combs (Dr. Herbert West), Bruce Abbot (Dan Cain), Barbara Crampton (Megan Halsey), David Gale (Dr. Carl Hill), Robert Sampson (Dean Alan Halsey), Gerry Black (Mace), Carolyn Purdy-Gordon (Dr. Harrod), Peter Kent (Melvin the Re-Animated)
Producer: Brian Yuzna
Executive Producers: Michael Avery, Bruce William Curtis
Associate Producers: Bob Greenburg, Charles Donald Storey
Music Composer: Richard Band
Cinematographer/Director of Photography: Mac Ahlberg
Film Editor: Lee Purcy
Art Director: Robert A. Burns
Costume Designer: Robin Burton, Robin Lewis-West
Special Makeup Effects: Anthony Doublin, John Naulin
Estimated Budget: $900,000
Gross: $2,023,414
U.S. Theatrical Release Date(s): October 18, 1985
Advertisting / Promotional Tagline(s): (1) Herbert West Has a Very Good Head on His Shoulders... and Another One in a Dish on His Desk / (2) It will scare you to pieces / (3) Death is Just the Beginning
Filmed in: Widescreen / Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Major Awards Won: 1986 Fantafestival - Best Film, Best Special Effects: Anthony Doublin
Region 1 DVD first released: January 30, 2001 (2 releases to date)


Notable Facts / Trivia
1. James Cameron's father has a cameo, he plays the man sitting next to Meg with his jaw bandaged up
2. The first man who is re-animated at the morgue (who goes on to kill the dean) is Arnold Schwarzenegger's body double
3. A poster for the Talking Heads documentary film Stop Making Sense (1984) is visible above Dan's bed
4. The film is very loosely adapted from H.P. Lovecraft's "Herbert West - Re-Animator"
5. The special effects department went through 25 gallons of fake blood during the shoot
6. The "brains" in the severed head were made up of steer meat by-products, ground beef and fake blood and when they shot the scene in the autopsy room with the severed head being thrown out the door and then smashing onto the hallway wall, the crew were all behind the cameras with garbage bags over their clothes because no one knew just how much the brains would splatter
7. The bald bearded doctor at the foot of Megan's bed that gets shoved away as Dan tries to revive her is underground cartoonist Kim Deitch (The Boulevard of Broken Dreams), son legendary Jazz-era cartoonist Gene Deitch ("The Cat")
8. This film is dedicated to the memory of David Gale


What the Critics Have to Say:

Roger Ebert - "3 (out of 4) stars", "Stuart Gordon's Re-Animator is a pleasure, a frankly gory horror movie that finds a rhythm and a style that make it work in a cockeyed, offbeat sort of way. It's charged up by the tension between the director's desire to make a good movie, and his realization that few movies about mad scientists and dead body parts are ever likely to be very good", "a livid, bloody, deadpan exercise in the theater of the undead", "We have been assaulted by a lurid imagination, amazed by unspeakable sights, blind-sided by the movie's curiously dry sense of humor. I guess that's our money's worth"

Leonard Maltin - "3 (out of 4) stars" "Knockout horror thriller and black comedy", "Gordon goes entertainingly over the line"


<center>A Few Photos


Director Stuart Gordon

[Lazario]

<center>14 (of 23) :
The Fly

<img src="http://image.allmusic.com/00/adg/cov200 ... "></center>

Sub-genres: Sci Fi-Horror, Mutant / Monster, Psychological Drama
Director: David Cronenberg
Screenwriter: David Cronenberg, Charles Edward Pogue
Cast: Jeff Goldblum (Seth Brundle), Geena Davis (Veronica Quaife), John Getz (Stathis Borans), Joy Boushel (Tawny), Les(lie) Carlson (Dr. Brent Cheevers), George Chuvalo (Marky)
Producer: Stuart Cornfeld
Co-Producers: Marc Boyman, Kip Ohman
Music Composers: Howard Shore, Nile Rodgers
Cinematographer/Director of Photography: Mark Irwin
Film Editor: Ronald Sanders
Production Designer: Carol Spier
Art Director: Rolf Harvey
Set Decorator: Elinor Rose Galbraith
Costume Designer: Denise Cronenberg
Special Creature Effects: Chris Walas
Estimated Budget: $15,000,000
Gross: $37,585,252
Filming Location(s): John Anderson Charcoal Broiled Hamburgers, 5270 Yonge Street, Willowdale, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Kleinburg, Ontario; Toronto, Ontario
Filming Months: December 1985 - February 1986
Production / Distribution Studio: 20th Century Fox
U.S. Theatrical Release Date(s): August 15, 1986
Advertisting / Promotional Tagline(s): (1) Be Afraid. Be Very Afraid / (2) Something went wrong in the lab today... Something very wrong... / (3) Half Man, Half Insect ... TOTAL TERROR!
Filmed in: Widescreen / Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Major Awards Won: 1987 Oscar - Best Makeup: Chris Walas, Stephan Dupuis; 1987 Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, USA - Saturn Award - Best Horror Film, Best Actor: Jeff Goldblum, Best Makeup: Chris Walas
Region 1 DVD first released: September 5, 2000 (2 releases to date) / Screen Format: Widescreen, Languages: English 5.1 Surround, Subtitles: English / Scene Chapters: 36; 24 / Special Features: Audio Commentary, New Documentaries, New Featurettes, Original Making-of Featurette, Deleted Scenes, Alternate Ending, Effects Test Footage, Theatrical Trailers, Bonus Trailers, TV Spots, Storyboard to Script Comparisons, Photo Galleries, Original Screenplay, Original Stories, Magazine Articles


Notable Facts / Trivia
1. The film was originally going to be directed by Tim Burton
2. It took nearly five hours to apply the most extensive makeup stages to actor Jeff Goldblum
3. Michael Keaton was offered the role of Seth Brundle, but he passed
4. After watching some of his early films, director Martin Scorsese asked to meet David Cronenberg. After meeting him, Scorsese said he looked like a Beverly Hills plastic surgeon. That is why Cronenberg gives himself a cameo as a doctor in this film
5. Robert Bierman was also originally slated to direct, until he received news that his daughter had died. 20th Century Fox allowed him to take a surprising amount of time (several months) to seriously consider whether or not he would be up to directing the film. Ultimately, he decided he just plain didn't want to direct the movie anymore
6. The original producer of the film, Mel Brooks, who continued acting as producer on the film throughout production, didn't want to be credited because he thought people wouldn't take the film seriously if they knew he was involved. When people did find out, he decided to make the most of it by handing out deely-boppers at the premiere. Also, this wasn't the only horror film he was involved in producing for 20th Century Fox in the mid-80's
7. While working at Fox, it was Scott Rudin's suggestion to Stuart Cornfeld that they hire David Cronenberg as director. Cornfeld agreed and after Mel Brooks had written an eloquent letter to the bosses at Fox, they agreed. At which time, Cronenberg's asking salary was $750,000. Brooks, Cornfeld, and Fox paid him $1 million
8. Brundlefly's "vomit drop" was made from honey, eggs, and milk
9. Several sequences were filmed but cut from the final release. They include: a sequence where Brundle sends a cat and the surviving baboon through the telepods, resulting in a mutated creature he beats to death with a pipe; a scene where Brundle climbs the outside of his building as an insect limb emerges from his side; and an alternate ending in which Veronica has another dream of her unborn child, this time as a baby with beautiful butterfly wings
10. Scripted, but never filmed, was a segment meant to have followed the deleted monkey-cat scene: A homeless lady screams after interrupting Brundlefly as he feeds out of an open dumpster. Brundlefly seizes the bag lady and disintegrates her face with his vomit drop. Before he finishes feeding on the woman's corpse, Brundlefly's humanity emerges for a moment; just long enough to contemplate the horror of his sub-human existence
11. Originally, Cronenberg turned down the film because of a scheduling conflict with the shooting of Total Recall for Dino De Laurentis. So the producer hired Robert Bierman. At about the same time, Cronenberg realized that he and De Laurentis were not seeing eye to eye and backed out of the Total Recall production, leaving him free to direct this film. Total Recall was in development since the '70s and was inevitably released in 1990, with Cronenberg having nothing to do with the final version
12. The line, "I'm saying I'm an insect who dreamt he was a man and loved it, but now that dream is over and the insect is awake," is a reference to author Franz Kafka's 1912 story, "Metamorphisis," in which a man wakes from a nightmare to find himself transformed into a giant insect
13. The Chris Walas, Inc. designers studied graphic books on disease as a starting point for their "Brundlefly" makeup/creature designs. The final "Brundlefly" creature is horribly deformed and asymmetrical. This reflects director David Cronenberg's idea that the creature shouldn't be a giant fly, but rather a literal fusion of a man and an insect that embodies elements of both
14. When David Cronenberg was hired as director, it was contingent that he'd work with the same crew of filmmakers he's always worked with that included Editor Ronald Sanders, Production Designer Carol Spier, Director of Photography Mark Irwin and Composer Howard Shore
15. The inspiration for the design of the telepods came from the shape of the cylinder in director David Cronenberg's vintage Ducati motorcycle


What the Critics Have to Say:

Leonard Maltin - "Goldberg is just right", "Extremely intense, sharply written"

DVD Verdict, Mike Pinsky - "for all (its) complexity, The Fly works for an audience", "feels authentic", "complex", "character-driven horror", "The Fly stands as David Cronenberg's crowd pleaser, a film that satisfies his desire to explore the philosophical", "top-notch visual effects", "The Fly is the complete package, the best horror film of the 1980s", "scary, emotional, and intellectually rigorous", "Strong performances give this an emotional core that most horror films cannot match", "one film with perfect chemistry"

Slant Magazine - "4 (out of 4) stars"

The Video Graveyard - "Smart entertainment that's well made and acted while being pretty grotesque which just adds to its effectiveness. Intense finale is worth waiting for"

The Cavalcade of Schlock, Brian J. Wright - "Human, and moving", "this is one of Cronenberg's best films", "The actors are both excellent here", "Goldblum has never been better, giving his character equal doses of childlike wonder and mad-scientist monomania", "the results are played out very well", "Great creature FX and makeup", "The music by Howard Shore ain't bad", "it's quite heartrending, really", "hard-hitting", "highly recommended from me"

Zombie Keeper - "3 (out of 4)" "The Fly is a monstrously well-made and powerful film", "Hey, it worked!", "a very gruesome movie with psychological depth", "shocking, but all is built from a logical foundation once you accept the basic premise", "one of the most surprising, scary big-budget horror movies of the 1980s and is well deserving of the acclaim that it collected", "The performances on the whole range from sturdy and workmanlike to inspired", "Davis's role is justifiably star making in its honesty and sympathy", "an intelligent and complex array of characters and situations", "this movie breaks all of the rules – it's a remake, it's a modern special-effects blockbuster, it's a movie made by an idiosyncratic artist hampered by commercial restraints, and it's a thinking person's gore movie", "Cronenberg's Fly is that rarity of rarities: A deal with the devil that turns out to be a good deal for all concerned"

SF, Fantasy, and Horror - "4 (out of 5) stars"

Arrow In the Head - "3 and a half (out of 4)" "badass", "This little insect kicked my ass back then, and I'm happy to report that it still swatted my brains all over the windshield when I watched it today", "quite the tour de force", "(Jeff Goldblum's) best performance to date", "Special-effects wise, THEY ROCKED! Effect guru Chris Wallas went for the gold with this one", "Gore hounds will have a canoe trip with this one. They went all out and then some!", "The Fly wound up being a mucho solid movie all around, with strong characters, many standout moments, a dark sense of humor, a bleak aura, one hell of a gripping score and awesome sound effects to boot. To this day, I still remember the eerie noises the pod doors make when they shut. Brrr... now enter this pod and teleport to Goldblum Land! It's a great place to visit!", "GOOD SHITE!", "Cronenberg served the film well", "the images serve the story as opposed to having them drown it out. I call this mature filmmaking, kids!", " The beautiful, dark and poignant score by Howard Shore always makes me gulp", "a tight character-driven chiller that not only pierced my heart on a human level but it also gave me quite the eyeful when it came to things that go yuck in the night", "They certainly don't make films like this anymore! I recommend; it's a keeper!"


<center>Photo Gallery
(All the widescreen ones are enlargeable- just click)


Director David Cronenberg (on the set of Videodrome with James Woods)








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[Isidour]

I´ll have to re-watch reanimator because I don´t remember it.

The fly...well..it´s supposed to be an horror movie? It was lame for me and I watch it when I was 5

[Loomis]

Been offline for a few days, but I must say - the list has covered some of my favourites in my absence.

Re-Animator was one that I only discovered a few years ago, and the only thing that upset me was that I could have been watching it for years before. It is an almost perfect blend of black humour and gore, and while it isn't exactly Lovecraft, it is a damn fine example of the genre.

Having watched A Nightmare on Elm Street again recently, I'm not entirely sure that it has stood the test of time. However, when it first came out, the very IDEA of it terrified me as a child (I would have been about 6 when it was released, and a little bit older when someone told me about the plot. That alone kept me awake for weeks). When I finally saw it, I was struck by several iconic scenes. The whole idea of being attacked in your dreams is a base fear, and that is what makes it work so well. However, I think it all pulls together a bit better in the third Nightmare film, as there are too many bits that look a little 'hokey' now in the original to make it truly terrifying. I also think that by the third entry, Robert Englund had completely nailed the Freddy character. Still, undoubtedly one of my favourites.

Alien is still the standout of the series for me, simply because it IS a horror film. Alone in the dark and all that. Alien3 actually works quite well - because they are completely unarmed - but I still remember sitting up late one night and watching Alien for the first time. Scary the bejesus out of me.

Evil Dead is one that I appreciate more for what it spawned that what it is. While the second entry is technically better - and the trademark humour is introduced, and the third one is more "fun" - this is full of mindblowing camera work that is impressively achieved on a zero budget. I appreciate the craft, and there are still bits - such as the forest 'rape' - that are genuinely chilling. In my personal Top 10 horror film list.

The Fly, admittedly, is one that I never fully appreciated. I must try and watch it again, especially given it has a new DVD Special Edition.

Finally, Dawn of the Dead goes straight to the top for me. For the politics of the film alone, I have to applaud it. However, there are more iconic scenes in this one film than there are in the entire horror output of the United States in the last 10 years. I also think that the remake works incredibly well in its own right. Not as political, but certainly fun.

Terrific list, Lazario. Keep it up, mate!

[Lazario]

The fly...well..it´s supposed to be an horror movie?

Yes, of course. It's a combination of classic monster movie and special effects gore. It's every inch a horror movie.

It was lame for me and I watch it when I was 5

It wasn't lame. You were just 5 at the time.

Having watched A Nightmare on Elm Street again recently, I'm not entirely sure that it has stood the test of time.

I think in a way, it probably hasn't. But I don't believe the "test of time" diminishes it from being a good movie. It is still very creative and retains it's low budget ingenuity. In fact, the idea of the movie, the elemental premise - if you die in your dreams, you die for real - is genius. And this movie had the wearwithall (I haven't heard this word used too many times, forgive spelling if it's wrong) to add to that a really dynamic villain and had at it's core a great plot. And some unforgettable shock scenes, "jump"s. The movie chose to be '80s, to depict modern teens - but so did Halloween in the '70s. We have to just accept that and move on.

However, I think it all pulls together a bit better in the third Nightmare film

This series sort of changed drastically with every movie (except part 5, that tried to stay more inline with 4). And I think that's because we're dealing with dreams. To make that 'scary' or give us a reason to watch, they can't duplicate any of the former movies. That means they always have to start completely fresh. Which is a strength and a weakness of the series. I agree Dream Warriors was a stellar Nightmare film. But I don't judge the other series entries based on how good this film was. It's a whole different animal. Plus, bear in mind - different writers, different concepts, different ambitions.

there are too many bits that look a little 'hokey' now in the original to make it truly terrifying.

Uh-oh. I just realized where I am. I have been drilling something into peoples heads at another board and the thought of starting over with that is a little intimidating. But here it goes - horror is not always supposed to be scary. Scary is something else, entirely. Some people make horror movies with the intention to scare the audience, but also to tell a story. Nightmare was not just about - here's a pro and an antagonist and boo- we have some scary things happen. There was a real story at heart, and the movie did care about Nancy. But when comes to what is and isn't scary - scary is a luxury of horror. You can't depend on it. So I believe very strongly that you can't take points away from a horror movie just because it's not scary. I mean, once you've accepted that: 1) different things scare different people / 2) people don't find the same things scary now that they did back when - then you can finally understand what horror is really about, and the essence of it does change. Not just when the budget is different or the director / crew is different, but when it's shown to a different group of people. Sans - different generations deciding it's less of a great horror movie because it's not scary. Is there any way Nosferatu is going to scare anyone anymore? Maybe, but it's not really very likely. But we accept that it is a classic. No matter how many other versions of the film's classic villain we see or how many newer adaptations of the story are made.

This is exactly why I say, scary is nothing more than a luxury. It's an added bonus, at best. We can't really use it to judge horror movies anymore. Besides, what are we really afraid of now? As life progresses? I don't know about you, but while I still see the same thing that gave me chills as a child in Sleeping Beauty (yeah, Disney's version), the things that really scare me are violence and the thought of a loved one dying. I'm not going to wait until they release a horror movie where that happens and automatically say it's scary or not scary. Do you see where I'm going with this?

I also think that by the third entry, Robert Englund had completely nailed the Freddy character.

I won't say that Freddy changed in part 3, because we both saw the movie. Technically, nothing changes for Freddy basically except how his backstory is told. But what Freddy was required to do changes in each movie. His actions are sort of decided by the characters. One of part 3's strengths was it finally gave Freddy a real personality. And I'm talking about a real dynamic one, something to really, really stand him out from the crowd. Something to make him even more iconic and unforgettable. But he was still great in the first 2 movies. Try not to judge him too harshly because of what the characters were going through.

Evil Dead is one that I appreciate more for what it spawned that what it is. While the second entry is technically better

I don't agree - at all. And the reason is thus: The Evil Dead is a horror film. Evil Dead 2 is just a comedy with some horror elements in it. But the entire structure of the movie changed and turned it into a circus. Forget what I said about the Nightmare series before about how some of the movies were too different from each other, because Evil Dead 1 and 2 are not just different movies - they are from 2 completely different worlds. If we have to compare them as horror films, the first will always be superior. This opinion might change if I watch part 2 and it suddenly becomes a good movie (as it happens, I can't stand it!), but I've only seen it twice. I promise you, though, they were strong and memorable viewings, years apart from each other. Evil Dead 2 had some fun moments - but that's if you're looking for fun. There is no fright in Evil Dead 2. Nowhere to be found. It's so silly and campy and completely hokey. I think ED2 is a bad movie with some good things about it. Yes, the camerawork is still amazing. But the characters stink (except Ash, he transcends every entry in the series effortlessly). The recreation of the first movie's events is bad and pointless. The plot in relation to the characters is dumb. The movie's a big joke, so it's easy to discard it almost completely. The idea of Ash thinking he'll escape at the beginning is good, the scene where all the cabin laughs at Ash is good, and a few of the JUMPS in this movie are slightly better than in the original. But that's it.

the third one is more "fun"

I think Army of Darkness is both an improvement and a weak entry in the series. It's better than Evil Dead II. But it's not better than The Evil Dead. The characters and the plot are huge steps ahead of part II, but they still have their flaws. Probably the hardest thing to take in this movie is the Three Stooges middle. It just goes way too far into slapstick. As a horror film, that is. In comedy, it's low-brow, but of course it's classy compared to other indignities the genre suffered at the hands of Adam Sandler and Chris Farley. So as a comedy, I give it a passing grade. As a horror film, it's an utter failure. Because it's actually not a horror movie at all, even though it wants to use Universal horror imagery through the late beginning of the movie. It's a period-adventure-comedy. I don't much care for those. But of course, Bruce Campbell's onscreen persona is quite extraordinary and he gives everything he's in a touch of... genius, class, excellence, charisma - you name it.

The Fly, admittedly, is one that I never fully appreciated.

Once you understand what it is, you can begin to see it as a great horror film. Because yes, at first glance, it's very sad and gross and dark and depressing. Gross and dark we all know works well for horror, but people have trouble with horror-drama's. But this is a very cathartic experience as a film. And it's very beautiful, it's definitely the best horror movie that used the thematic element of seeing something ugly and accepting it as natural. This is separate from the story, of course. But it's just the great '80s monster movie. If you've only seen the movie on VHS, you really should see it on DVD. It does add a whole new perspective. Because the music is very beautiful - Howard Shore is one of the greatest score composers of all time. And the lighting is very important too. This is just one of those movies where all the little things add up and put the movie over the average mark. Watch it closely and you'll see all the craft involved. It's also just a great realization of effects and concepts.