Scream Greats, Vol. 1: Tom Savini, Master of Horror Effects (1986)

Posted on October 8, 2015 by Felix Vasquez

For folks that want to learn everything and anything about Tom Savini, “Scream Greats” is the crème de la crème of horror documentaries. Savini-philes will love the anecdotes and insight pulled from “Scream Greats,” all the while savoring much of what the man and his company have produced for American horror cinema, from guts, gore, and basic prosthetics. “Scream Greats” is infamous for me, mainly because it’s one of those documentaries that revels in zombie cinema made famous by Savini. And anyone who knows me knows I was absolutely petrified of zombies for most of my childhood.

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Tom Savini: Horror Effects (1989)

Posted on October 8, 2015 by Felix Vasquez

I would suggest “Horror Effects” only to the most ardent hardcore Tom Savini fans, as “Horror Effects” is mostly about, well, horror effects. Truly, “Horror Effects” focuses mainly on a small portion of Savini’s creative work, as he spends most of his time recollecting working on other films that don’t involve George Romero. Is it perhaps because John Russo is the host of this special? Aw, who knows, really? But there’s a surprising lack of talk about his zombie movies in favor of stuff that Savini has done with his company and what they’ve done on the outside of the US, including a slapstick comedy involving facial prosthetics.

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ICYMI: Diora Baird: Queen Scream Queen

Posted on October 6, 2015 by Felix Vasquez

In celebration of Women in Horror Month (now defunct unfortunately) Fatally Yours ran a series of articles focusing on the women of horror from guest contributors. Articles ran the gamut from spotlighting women authors, women filmmakers, female characters in horror films, scream queens, horrific artists and more and ran every Friday in February 2011. This was my contribution and dedication to horror bombshell Diora Baird. This article prompted a response by the Queen herself on Twitter thanking me.

John Lennon and Yoko Ono once presented a performance art routine that was most unorthodox. What they did was completely cover themselves from head to toe with a white amorphous body cover, and explained that the cover is meant to explore how human beings have biases whether they know it or not. Hearing a person talk without indication of their physical appearance is a much more interesting way of getting to know someone, especially when youâ€™re not noticing blemishes, body language, and race. If we could listen instead of judge, weâ€™d be able to learn so much more.

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Crystal Lake Memories: The Complete History of Friday the 13th (2013) [Blu-Ray]

Posted on October 5, 2015 by Felix Vasquez

If you’re like me, you left “Never Sleep Again” completely sure about your love for all things Krueger, and then wondered if Jason would ever get his turn. Thankfully, the folks at 1428 Films have indulged Jason Voorhees fan boys with an utterly extensive and incredibly detailed chronicle of the “Friday the 13th” series. At an intimidating six hours, director Daniel Farrands pays homage to the series that influenced dozens of copycats and wannabes in the eighties. Narrated by series star Corey Feldman, “Crystal Lake Memories” is another of the classic horror documentaries from 1428 that doesn’t just chronicle the rise of a pop icon, but also pays tribute to independent film.

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The Death of Superman Lives – What Happened? (2015)

Posted on July 13, 2015 by Felix Vasquez

It’s funny to think that in an alternate reality so many radical ideas were likely able to flourish. In some reality Jodorowsky made his version of “Dune,” and in an alternate reality perhaps we had “Superman Lives.” I wasn’t keen on exploring the story of the lost production of “Superman Lives,” the failed reboot of the Superman movie franchise initially. But the documentary proves that the enduring fascination with its potentially disastrous development is just, and very much a worthwhile exploration of too many cooks in the kitchen. There was a time where superhero movies weren’t a common place in cinema, and those that were in theaters were low tier barely marketable characters that almost always guaranteed to flop.

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Birdman: Or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (2014)

Posted on December 23, 2014 by Felix Vasquez

“Birdman” is by no means a subtle dissection of the life that Michael Keaton has led after his role as the iconic Batman on film. Once a very respected and comedy actor, his role as the dark knight kind of stifled his developing film career, and he unleashes his obvious bitterness and resentment toward the art of acting and the rise of fame over talent with “Birdman.” Alejandro González Iñárritu’s experimental drama is brilliant and absolutely mind blowing In the way it both mocks the superhero movie craze, while also conveying a sense of resentment toward its success. Keaton’s character Riggan Thomson sits in his dressing room before a play he’s gone nearly broke to fund, hearing on the news about Robert Downey Jr garnering millions to play a superhero. There with his own thoughts, Riggan dwells on how ahead of his time he was and how he may never be able to reclaim the ears thanks to his age.

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Terror in the Aisles (1984)

Posted on October 21, 2014 by Felix Vasquez

If there’s one film I’d suggest to blossoming horror fans that need a primer course for the genre, I’d suggest “Terror in the Aisles.” It’s not a horror movie, so much as a compilation of some of the most interesting thrillers and horror movies from the seventies and eighties, and it touches on the idea of horror’s role in our everyday lives. Why do people love to be scared? What keeps us coming back to horror movies? Why do so many people frighten by horror cinema when there are valid threats in reality? One of the more interesting ideas behind “Terror In the Aisles” is the exploration of movie going as a communal experience.

Once upon a time we could sit in a large dark room with a bunch of strangers and soak in a horrific experience together. We’d laugh, flinch, scream, and feel some sense of camaraderie, in the end. That’s become something of an antiquated habit with the advent of home entertainment. I won’t be seeing “Terror in the DVD Player” any time soon. The gorgeous Nancy Allen and Donald Pleasance host what is a pretty well put together montage that examines fear and how we use it as a means of excitement and exhilaration, even when we’re sitting in the comfort of a movie theater. Allen and Pleasance’s hosting is fantastic as they indulge the audience with charismatic introductions of key moments in some great horror films.

They’re fitted to topics like sex, natural terrors, the occult, and despicable villains. One of the reasons why the documentary is still so resonant is because there are moments during the compilation where we’re given a glimpse at movie goers watching and reacting to horror movies. Scripted as they may be, director Andrew J. Kuehn captures the thrill of the movie theater and losing yourself in frights accurately, and they result in some fun and funny slices of life. I’m still a bit taken aback that there are no clips to “Dawn of the Dead” or “The Exorcist.” You figure two films with such impact on the horror medium, including the latter title would be the centerpiece of the documentary.

Despite that glaring omission, there are still a myriad iconic moments from great films like “Scanners,” “Strangers on a Train,” and “Carrie.” Kuehn’s documentary is a thrilling and excellent celebration of horror and the movie theater community, and is a must see to this day.