“House of a 1,000 Corpses” is a throwback and dedication to the old seventies horror films; a decade which is arguably the best decade to churn out some of the horror genre’s best. Zombie knows his material and uses it in this with the good ol’ tale of a group of teens who enter into the countryside to discover the land and end up getting more than they bargained for. This set up is tired and has been done to death, but do any of us really tired of watching teens get hacked, sliced, cut, tortured, tormented, stabbed, and tied? No! And that’s why I got such a kick out of this groovy horror homage.
Tag Archives: Suspense
Dawn of the Dead (2004)
In 1978, George A. Romero followed up his classic “Night of the Living Dead” with an even bigger horror hit known as “Dawn of the Dead” this time showing the world only weeks after the outbreak where society is now overrun by the undead and carnage ensues as people struggle to comprehend what is happening and how it happened. True, director Zack Snyder’s re-working of “Dawn” is a lot slicker than the original, but ultimately it lacks the truly sick and sometimes twisted satire and jabs at pop culture and the consumer era.
Long Time Dead (2002)
After a night of partying a group of friends decide to play with a Ouija board, maybe the CD player was broken, who knows? But once they begin playing, they accidentally unleash a mysterious demonic entity who is now stuck in our reality after someone breaks the link. Now, it’s up to the group to discover who out of them all is possessed by the demonic force before each and everyone in the group keeps being killed off. I said it once before, and I’ll say it again: Foreigners make the best horror films, now before you start calling me anti-American and begin dumping your French wine down your toilet, hear me out. Foreigners are rarely ever people who buy into hype and rely solely on something that Hollywood lost years ago… what’s that called? Ah, originality.
Das Experiment (The Experiment) (2001)
Based on a true story, the “Stanford Prison Experiment”, some of the scenes of which are featured are actually based on true events during the experiment, the German originated thriller “Das Experiment” gives a true glimpse into the human psyche. There’s this great Looney Tunes episode (aren’t they all?) in which a truck filled with hats falls off the back and scatters along the forest where Elmer Fudd happens to be chasing Bugs Bunny; while they’re in pursuit, the hats happen to fall onto their heads and they take on the characteristics of the hats (Ex: Cop hat: Policeman, Magician Hat: Magician); why I bring up such an obscure pop culture reference is that “Das Experiment” poses the question that that cartoon did, “If put in a particular role for a certain number of time will we act upon the role?”
The 25th Hour (2002)
“The 25th Hour” delves with the question of: If you only had one day left of freedom what would you do? Where would you go? Whom would you spend your last hours with. For Monty Brogan, it’s something he must face as he quickly looks out onto his seven year sentence in jail after being discovered by DEA agents for storing a kilo of drugs. But, as his last hour draws upon him he decides to tie up old wounds with his friends and family and discover who squealed on him to the DEA, what he inevitably discovers will shock him and make him question his life. From the opening scenes symbolic of New Yorkers and the events of 9/11 to the heart-wrenching finale, this thought provoking character study which dares to answer that question of what a man would do on his last days free. It’s also symbolic asking the audience watching, what would you do on your last day of freedom?
Antwone Fisher (2002)
Based on the true story of Antwone Fisher who rose to fame as an acclaimed writer from a life of hardship and directed by legendry Oscar-Winning actor Denzel Washington (Training Day, Glory), new comer Derek Luke takes the title role of Antwone Fisher, a young Navy seaman with a short temper who gets into many fights with different men in his regimen. He’s assigned a therapist Dr. Jerome Davenport, a militant but eager psychiatrist who attempts to break through to Fisher. He’s only given three sessions to see the soldiers and give an evaluation and recommendation regarding their fate with the military, but when Fisher refuses to talk, Davenport persists and week after week they meet until Fisher decides to start talking. Little does he know that not only is Fisher receiving the therapy, but Davenport as well who is having marital troubles with his wife whom are often estranged with each other emotionally. Davenport sees something in Fisher, something special, and he inevitably breaks him.
.com for Murder (2002)
“.Com for Murder” and director Nico fails in every aspect of what may have been a good horror film. This film is so laden with attempts at borrowing from other films, its original product is lost in the process. Heck even the high tech computer system the characters use in the film is called HAL which is another attempt at winking an eye at the super-computer from the masterpiece “2001: A Space Odyssey”, but the name is such a blatant reference it becomes distracting.