Halloween Countdown (Day 6: Living Dead Girl)

I hate alcohol. You wouldn't think I did considering how many times I partake in drinking it. But I sometimes wonder why I allow myself to take a substance that in excess plays havoc on my mind and my insides. As for the morning after, I ask myself why I do it to myself, with the full knowledge that I'll do it all over again.

Looking at my previous blog entry, I got the feeling that I didn't convey the message that I really liked "Saw 2". I would say that it is my favourite of the sequels, in terms of plot, character (Jigsaw naturally) and setting the scene for the other movies that followed. But again, I blame that due to being hungover. And now I find myself in that same shitty state, I felt it would be wise to leave "Saw 3" till tomorrow. Or later on this evening if my condition improves.

Coming up with ideas for this blog entry, I thought back to where I bought "Dark Floors" and then it hit me. Last year I saw a movie onsale that immediately caught my eye. The name itself was so absurd that I had to buy it, even if the movie was a load of crap. Just the fact that I owned a movie with such a laughable title was worth the tenner alone. Which makes sense, since I've only gotten around to watching it now.

One glance at the cover below, and I'm sure you'll figure out why this caught my attention. Oh yes, there will be spoilers.....even though it will be difficult to write about what actually happens in this movie.

Well, so much for not wanting to come across as a pervert on this blog.

73 minutes later.....

Head. Melted. Damn the Japanese are a weird bunch.

"Big Tits Zombie".....jeez, even typing the words make me feel dirty, so I'll just shorten it to BTZ. Anyways, BTZ is one of those cheaply made Japanese horror movies that are cartoonish in their violence, very poor special effects, and are quite honestly batshit crazy to look at. I've only seen a handful of these types of films, so I can only remember the title of one that is of the same genre; Vampire Girl vs Frankenstein Girl. Watch that movie, and you'll get a fair idea what BTZ is like.

While the title did grab my attention, apparently it's not the actual title. On IMDB it's listed as "The Big Tits Dragon", on Wikipedia it has the title "Hot Spring Zombie vs Stripper 5" (which was misinterpreted by myself as I think the "5" was in reference to the number of strippers, and not a sequel to four previous films). Hell, even the title in the actual film is different.

a.k.a. Big Tits Zombie (actual English subtitle on the disc)

Considering the fact that this opening sequence is portrayed in the style of a Grindhouse flick (grainy, fading colour, jumping frames.....think "Planet Terror", which I'm sure BTZ ripped off), I think it was done in the style of a foreign movie that was rebranded with a different title for an American audience once it went overseas.....or maybe it was just to catch the attention of sexually frustrated males who like their movies gratuitous in violence and sexual content.....oh no, not me of course. I'm a cultured sort of fellow who watches foreign movies with subtitles while drinking brandy, clad in a snazzy smoking jacket.

Why yes Reginald, I do believe this needs more cowbell.

The film itself is a mish mash of different genres such as the aforementioned grindhouse, spaghetti westerns, zombie flicks, comedy, "Carry On..." style antics, and.....well, weird Japanese stuff. According to its Wikipedia entry, "the film is said to be an ironic take on Japanese pop culture". I guess I have no choice but to take its word on that, as I've seen enough weird Japanese clips on YouTube to know that I will never understand its culture. I guess it would be the same for them if they watched "Grabbers" or "Boy Eats Girl", and wouldn't have a clue how to interpret the Irishness (sic?) of them.

It's hard to say whether the film is good or not, since I think these films go beyond any conventional means of critiquing them. It's Japanese, low budget, in the horror genre, and just insane. It's the type of film you watch with a group of like-minded friends, whether it be having a few drinks, or want a good laugh. Besides, it's a movie where scantily clad women fighting zombies with swords and chainsaws.

Hell, the name of the film speaks for itself.....wait a minute, no it doesn't. The majority of the zombies are male, and granted half of the strippers did turn (I say half, since one of them, Ginko, was bitten towards the end, but I'm not sure if she turned or not). But wouldn't the title BTZ refer to one zombie? Wouldn't it have made sense if they just put the word "Hunters" at the end of that title? But again, trying to find sense in a movie called BTZ is a pointless task.

Hell, even this title makes sense, but I suppose it's not as catchy as BTZ.

The film starts off with a bang; bodies dismembered, blood splattered all over the place, and we are introduced to our main character Lena, who through flashbacks tell the story of the events that lead to the rise of the zombie apocalypse.

It was at this point that the movie started to drag on at a snails pace, which is not a good sign since it barely even begun. It's filled with the usual establishing scenes of each of the characters (the promiscuous drunk, the ex convict, the weird one, the one who's money obsessed, and the old one), going about their business, complaining about being broke, how demeaning their life can be.....and of course a cat fight where two women rip their tops off in the process.

Who wins? Well, the male viewers I guess.

And so with the end of the fight, and their tops back to covering their modesty, the plot kicks in where they find a cursed well, the weird one reads from the Book Of The Dead (whenever she isn't throwing in quotes from the likes of Shakespeare, just to show how "smart" she is), and thus sets off a chain of events where they fight poorly costumed zombies, and amongst themselves in the process.....and of course a zombie ripping off those two women's tops whilst in battle. But it's okay, because they magically reappear on them in the next scene.

I don't want to give too much away for those who've never seen it. And even if you have no intention of watching it, you can always look up the plot online. What I got out of this movie was a collection of very strange and laughable scenes, ranging from stupid and hilarious, to confusing and bizarre. Especially a subplot which involves the murder of Ginko's sister, which I guess was supposed to give her more character depth, but it comes off as strangely coincidental, given the circumstances.

I hate to use the sentence "you have to see it to understand", but I don't think I can do them justice by typing them here. So I'll just list a few short words and phrases related to scenes that made this film memorable.....well, apart from the gratuitous gore and nudity.

• Lollipop
• Sushi
• Old man vs Car
• Soaked in blood
• Tentacles.....seriously, what is it with the Japanese and tentacles?
• A department store
• Fire crotch

That last one especially. Words simply cannot describe that scene. Trust me.

Oh, and the movie can also be viewed in "3D", complete with old school red & green 3D glasses wth BTZ on the side.

And on a final note.....

Speaking of chainsaw wielding, scantily clad females fighting zombies, I must have a proper go at "Lollipop Chainsaw". Only played it once since I bought it. Seems a lot more fun to play than "Saw 2".

Halloween Countdown (Day 5: Hangover Horror)

I was hoping I'd be able to catch up on these posts this weekend, but I'm still suffering from a heavy night of drinking yesterday, so I'm very delicate at this time, and not really looking forward to going back into town. It's hard enough as it is to concentrate on writing at this point. So while recuperating and attempting to feel somewhat normal, I got around to watching the second entry to the SAW series, which gives considerable screen time to the "Jigsaw Killer" John Kramer. Oh yes, there will be spoilers.

Not that Kramer, but it does give me an idea where the cast of Seinfeld are
put through a SAW scenario .....no it's not a movie, I just don't like Seinfeld.

Back then.....

*fifteen movies into the movie* They caught him. Erm, okay.....
*the final twist* Oh my god, what the HELL?????

And today.....

This movie is the starting point to when and how the public became sick of the series, depending on which sequel they despised the most. I guess when any movie is successful, there will be attempts to make a sequel to cash in on its success. When it works, it works. And when it doesn't, it will end up tarnishing the memory of the first movie (from what I heard, "Taken 2" is already heading that way).

When I first watched it, I didn't know how this film was going to follow the first SAW film. It's like someone making a sequel to Reservoir Dogs. I'm sure it can be done, but it would have to be creative in its ideas. So I was taken aback by the arrest of Jigsaw early on in the film. However my heart sank a little with the introduction of the house and its hostages. Big Brother was still huge at the time, so I thought it was going to be a tacky horror version of that.

Speaking of which, if you never seen the mini series "Dead Set", you should check it out.

I never looked at Davina McCall the same way afterwards.

Anyways, back to "Saw 2". Over the course of the movie, I got into it, not just with the interaction between the victims and the traps laid out for them, but because of Jigsaw himself. I couldn't help but keep my eyes on him whenever he was onscreen. I found myself fascinated by his calm demeanor and his philosophy in regards to what he does and his reasons for doing so. You see this person as someone who is intelligent and educated, but methodical and intense, despite his ailing health.

The SAW franchise is known for its gruesome scenes, but this movie has one particular scene that, despite the amount of times I've watched the film over the years, and the extreme nature of the series' graphical content, I can never bring myself to watch it. I am referring to the "needle in a haystack" scene. Because of my fear of needles, which is not helped by the fact my health issues require me to go through blood tests every couple of months, I still become queasy when this scene comes up. Even listening to what's going on with my hands over my eyes is enough to disturb me.

The series does introduce a slew of characters that will end up being used in the other sequels, so it does serve as a good introduction to them. And it was nice to see Dina Meyer make a return appearance, as her appearance in the first movie was very brief. It was also the first time I've seen Donnie Wahlberg in a movie, who is the opposite of his brother Mark in terms of acting ability. Don't get me started on their contributions to music though. As for the people in the house of horrors, they are memorable with the exception of the actress who used to be in 7th Heaven. Funny how the most recognisable of the housemates is the one with the least amount of character development, with the exception of the guy who gets his head shot off at the beginning of the movie.

I have this idea where the cast of 7th Heaven are put through a.....
oh wait, I already used that joke.....

As for the twist at the end, I have to say I was very surprised, as I didn't see it coming. The fact there is now someone who helps Jigsaw with his games, and is the one to carry on his "legacy" when he dies, does leave the series open to at least one more sequel. If you left the series at this point, it would still be an effective ending. But you can't help but feel intrigued to see more of what Amanda is capable of, especially as she was one of Jigsaw's original test subjects in the first film. So a sequel was inevitable, and of course, I was down with that.

And on a final note.....

I still feel like crap. I'm surprised I actually had the energy to write this. I'm sure its not perfect, but given my current state, I could care less. Anyway, onto the closing YouTube clip.

I was in HMV the other day looking through the horror film section, looking for Bride Of Chucky, Halloween 2 (Rob Zombie version), and Wes Craven's New Nightmare. I found neither of these movies, but while browsing this section, one movie on display that caught my attention was.....Waterworld. Really HMV? Sure I'd be terrified if I had to watch that again, but not in that way.

Halloween Countdown (Day 4: Oh Lordi!)

I'm beginning to think I suck at keeping with a theme for blog ideas. Instead of talking about Michael Jackson's "Ghosts" on Day 1, I decided to keep it for another day. While I had my excuses for skipping Saw 2 yesterday, I was about to delay that review tonight by watching "House At The End Of The Street" in the cinema, as it was the last day of its run in theatres, and I thought I'd review a current movie. But even THAT got pushed aside when I found this film onsale in town.

Oh yes, there will be spoilers.....just thought I'd get that out of the way.....

I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw it. There was an actual horror movie that not only starred the members of the rock band Lordi, but was also written by mainman Mr. Lordi. Now, to those who live outside Europe, Lordi may seem like they are ripping off Gwar, another band that uses elaborate costumes onstage. But to those in Europe, they are better known as the winners of the annual Eurovision Song Contest in 2006.

In a show that is predominantly filled with embarrassing acts ranging from novelty acts, performers that are only established in their homeland, and contestants from various reality based karaoke/performing monkey shows, the inclusion of this band from Finland not only took everyone by surprise, but also got their attention. "Hard Rock Hallelujah" was actually a decent song, but even of the song sucked, the image alone was sure to guarantee victory.

Coming from a country that has won the Eurovision seven times (eight if you include Norway's entry, featuring a Celtic sound and an Irish singer), it was the first time I had actually celebrated the winning entry to the competition since "Rock N' Roll Kids" in 1994. Of course, nobody remembers this as this was the same show that introduced Riverdance to the world.

I actually like their music, their stage show is very entertaining (and the first time I saw an audience member walk away, due to being shocked at a somewhat gruesome part of the show, looking like she was about to faint or get sick), so I was surprised that I never heard of this film. It was onsale for 4 euro, so I had to buy it. Even if the movie turned out to be crap, at least I got my money's worth for curiousity alone. For all I knew, this could have been along the same lines as "Cradle Of Fear", starring Dani Filth from the band Cradle Of Filth.

Screenshot from Cradle Of Fear.....Well it was either a gratuitous nudity shot, or an image of Dani Filth.

81 minutes later.....

I didn't know what to expect going into this movie, but my expectations were low from the very beginning. I thought that with the inclusion of the band members, I took a guess that the film was going to be cheesy, laughable, and probably contain cartoon style violence and gore, all to the soundtrack of a couple of their songs. The band are entertaining enough with their music videos, which did have a fair bit of production value to them, instead of going the tacky route.

To my surprise, the film was actually a well made, atmospheric, and somewhat decent horror flick. Granted the characters are your run of the mill horror movie cliches (the average guy slash hero, the black security guard, the annoying yuppie, the creepy little girl, the crazy old man, the woman.....who's only sense of identity is her gender), and the acting is average at the best of times. But again, expectations were low from the get go, so I wasn't expecting character depth or even originality.

Hell, even bigger budget movies such as "Devil" use some of these stock characters.

I was taken back by the production quality of the movie, and if I didn't know any better, and knew nothing about Lordi's inclusion, or even their existence, I would have thought it was your standard horror movie from the States. The film does a good job of using its pacing, sound, score, and even the execution of its scares, without relying on cheap thrills, jumpy false alarms, or proper songs shoved in to justify its appearance on a soundtrack album. The latter especially, as its main villains are in an actual  band. Hell, even the cover says "The Lordi Motion Picture".

However, there are two issues I had with the film that, I wouldn't say ruined the movie, but made it trip over itself in a way. The first one, as stupid as it sounds but I'll try to explain, is the fact that the monsters themselves are the actual band members of Lordi in full costume. When the first monster appears onscreen, I had two conflicting feelings come to mind. The first was the feeling of amusement that a band member was terrorizing the characters onscreen, but the other was the way the monster was portrayed where, if it was any other monster or costume, it would have been actually credible.

On reflection, it was because of my low expectations that I was expecting the appearance of the band members to come off as corny, without any knowledge of the style and tone of the movie. When the second monster came about, and I was becoming more and more invested into what was happening onscreen, I began to question whether the novelty of their appearance bring down whatever credibility the movie may have been going for.

It was around the halfway mark that I dismissed whatever questions I had about the inclusion of Lordi. After all, I had, for want of a better term, judged the movie by its cover, and so far it has taken me by surprise. But if it didn't have the inclusion of Lordi, the film would be average at best, but will more than likely be forgettable and have even less of an audience. People can be critical of the portrayal of movie monsters, whether it be CGI or someone in a rubber suit, so maybe it's a neat touch to include a band that wear these really impressive costumes onstage, yet still look halfway menacing onscreen.

.....I'd still hit that.

The second issue I had, which is the most important in every movie, no matter what budget or genre, is the story itself. The concept of a haunted hospital mixed in with time travel and parallel universes is an interesting one with a well written script. While the hospital setting does at times look like they're filming behind the same corridors and rooms over and over again (and they probably did for budget reasons), it does illustrate the confusion of going through time and space.

Unfortunately the plot collapsed onto itself by its own ambition. I haven't looked up any plot summaries or viewers' explanations after watching the movie, so whether there is a clever narrative throughout the movie (think Christopher Nolan) or if it's just scenes that range from strange and unsettling to unexplained and confusing in the name of art (think David Lynch), I don't know at time of writing, maybe it will make more sense the second time around.

It does ruin a movie experience where you feel like you need to have a hint sheet by your side just so you can understand what's going on, which as a result makes you feel like an idiot, despite the fact that the average person could have figured it out (think Monkey Island games). In the case of "Dark Floors", I'm still surprised I ended up watching this type of movie, instead of a horror version of "Kiss Meets The Phantom Of The Park".

At least Lordi weren't given any lines to highlight their lack of acting skills.

And on a final note.....

I have been meaning to check out "Cradle Of Fear" again, as I did have fun watching it while drunk, even when I wasn't paying attention towards the end. Sure it was filmed on a budget that's the equivalent of a Chinese take out, with amateur acting and cheap sets, but what do you expect from a movie that seems to cater more to the average Cradle Of Filth fan?

The answer is boobs, by the way.

Halloween Countdown (Day 3: Self Torture)

Okay, I'll have to rethink about the concept of posting a blog entry on time this month. I was planning to watch Saw 2 and write up my thoughts on it, but I had to visit the folks and spend quality time, coupled with writing another short story for my writing class tomorrow. I have done two, and while neither of them are particularly good, I haven't found the time to go through second or third drafts. If I did, then I wouldn't find the time to talk to my parents, nor sit down and watch a movie with my mother. Going with the horror theme, the film I chose isn't a horror movie per se, but it does include stock characters from the genre.

So the next film I have chosen to watch and write about it is: Van Helsing. Oh yes, there will be spoilers.

Okay, WHY did you pick this movie?

This film has always been a byword of what I think of my parents' taste in films. This is not an attack on them, as there are times where we all agree on the quality of a movie, whether it's good ("Warrior" being the most recent one) or bad (the day we sat down to watch "A.I." is forever etched in our minds as a taxing experience). 

I use this movie as an example as to how bad I think their taste in films can be, while at the same time, they still blame me for introducing them to "The Blair Witch Project", which they hated (as most people do, except me). When we mention these two movies to each other, it's more to do with lighthearted slagging than it is a critical attack on our preferences in cinema.

On the way to my parents house, I was trying to remember how long it was since I last saw "Van Helsing", as I'm pretty sure I never gave it a second viewing after I exchanged money for a cinema ticket to actually sit down and watch this pile of rubbish. But I decided to give it another go, and actually suggested to my mother that we watch it again. I had two reasons for doing so:

1. It will give me something to write about for this blog. And I felt my mum's choice of "The Da Vinci Code" would not only fit my planned writing exploits, but was too long to boot.

2. I thought the movie was around 90 minutes long, so I thought watching it would be relatively short and sweet.

Dammit, wrong Van Helsing.....

And now.....

Yep, the movie is still crap. Is it as bad as I remember it? Well.....yeah, pretty much. While my hatred for this film is not as strong as it was when I first watched it, it's still a very poor, really boring, and annoyingly stupid movie.

I guess I never bought into the whole atmosphere of the movie, and while it may seem redundant, considering that the movie features many classic characters from the fictional world of horror stories, the movie is not very original. It just seems to borrow elements from other movie franchises (such as James Bond, Batman, Indiana Jones).

The story, while competent enough for a blockbuster movie, is cliched to the point where they even rehash the worst things about brainless Hollywood action movies (only one person in a group of people that possesses silver bullets when hunting a werewolf, the strong female character who somehow gets easily captured towards the end, the convenient appearances of supporting characters during action sequences, and an underdeveloped McGuffin saving our heroes from an encounter with many vampires).

There were times throughout the movie where my mind wandered off, only to snap myself from whatever daydream I was having, and go back to concentrating on whatever rubbish that was onscreen. Towards the end, I was finding it hard to concentrate, and even my mum was falling asleep, but that was more to do with the fact that it was almost midnight, and we both didn't expect the movie to go for that long.

This scene caught my attention because of.....erm, the dialogue. Yyyeeeaaahhh let's go with that.....

Speaking of the ending, the action sequences during this part of the movie dragged on for far too long. I guess they were going for something epic, which would work if it was in a movie on a par with the Lord Of The Rings trilogy (that only came to mind because the guy who played Faramir was in it). But this film couldn't be interpreted as anything other than a no-brainer action flick, hoping to get a toy franchise out of it. I'm all for epic action sequences, but they were very boring, and riddled with the aforementioned cliches and all too convenient assists.

As for the characters, I like Hugh Jackman and he did a fairly good job in the title role, but it wasn't enough to make me actually care about the character. Nothing about him made me feel invested in him at any time, whether it be fighting vampires, opens his mouth, or questions about his "mysterious" past. He was just there. That's more of a criticism of the material he had to work with than his actual performance, even though his accent did switch between American, English and Australian. And he still looks like Vampire Hunter D.

Speaking of acting skills, watching this movie reminded me why I hate Kate Beckinsale as an actress. While I had seen her previously in Underworld and Shooting Fish (not sure if I saw Serendipity before then, and I didn't see Pearl Harbour until years later), it was her "performance" in Van Helsing which cemented my belief that this person can't act for shit, which still holds true to this day, especially in that godawful Total Recall rehash. She is very pretty to look at, which was probably why I tolerated her in Underworld, and her cold emotionless style of acting may work while playing the undead. But in Van Helsing, the other undead CGI characters had more emotion and range onscreen than her.

As for the rest of the supporting cast, there's not much to say about them. Faramir the monk (sorry, friar, according to the unfunny running joke) was a very annoying sidekick, and Dracula was a camp, but uninteresting villain. Frankenstein's monster was, well, meh, and the Wolfman was underdeveloped and easily forgettable. The only character that I found somewhat interesting to watch was.....this excuse for posting another picture.

Aleera (played by Elena Anaya)

And on a final note.....

While trying to find a suitable YouTube clip to post at the end of this article, I typed in Elena Anaya out of curiosity, just to see what results I get. And so this came up and.....ahem, yeah. Probably should give a NSFW warning.....and not come across as a pervert in future.

Halloween Countdown (Day 2: Catching Up)

Okay, now that I've gotten the first one out of the way, and watched the first proper film for these series of blogs (despite still being a day behind), let's start of with the first film in the SAW series.....erm, Saw. Oh yes, there will be spoilers.

Now that I got that terrible visual pun out of the way.....

I'm going to review this movie, along with the future ones this month, in the style that I did in my Batman blog, as I won't go into detail as to the actual plot. I'll leave that up to you to watch it, or look it up on Wikipedia. I'll be making reference as to what I thought of it the first time I watched it, to what I think of it now.

Back then.....

*the last two minutes of the film* What.....the.....FUCK?????

And today.....

This film is still one of my favourite horror movies of all time. Even after yearly viewings when it gets to the stage where you question various parts of the movie, when in context to the rest of the series, and especially the part where Cary Elwes saws off his own foot. I mean, why didn't he just take off his shirt and use it to drag the phone over to him, instead of using it for his self dismemberment procedure.

Despite being bugged by these small flaws, these are just nitpicking on my part, and they do not take away the same feeling I had when I first watched it. It's a clever horror which adds elements of a thriller, mystery, hints of dark humour, and a claustrophobic atmosphere with minimal surroundings and onscreen cast. Its low budget style and strong script is reminiscent of "Reservoir Dogs", and its use of colour, especially during Jigsaw's "games", has become synonymous with the series itself, and has since been imitated (see "Punisher: War Zone" for example.....and if you never seen it, go see "Punisher: War Zone", it's awesome).

No no no, I mean the one that didn't have
John Travolta dancing, and Kevin "Diesel" Nash.

The characters are well portrayed, with the exception of Cary Elwes' wife in the movie, played by Monica Potter. I don't know if she ever had any plastic surgery, but her facial expression is non expressive, and it looks like she's always pissed off in whatever movie she's in. Over the years it's funny to see two actors in the movie that ended up on the TV series "Lost"; Benjamin Linus (don't know the actor's name off hand, but he played Zep) and that Asian actor who was also in X-Men: Last Stand (who I called "The Prick" as I never knew the mutant's name, only that he can spontaneously become a human hedgehog).

Another element of the film which has become a staple of the series throughout is, as you can tell from the "back then" section, is the plot twist. I rented this movie a few months before the release of the sequel, and viewed it with someone I used to be friends with. We both did the usual "I bet he's the killer" predictions at the beginning, and we did settle on Zep. But when Adam (Leigh Whannell) starts playing the tape recorder in Zep's pocket, I was suddenly confused, along with my (former) friend.

In those few seconds before the final reveal, I was racking my brain as to who was even left in the film. All the characters were ruled out, even those who were suspected at one time or another, and it couldn't possibly be any of the victims or hostages. As I watched the screen while trying to figure out who "Jigsaw" could be.....well, the revelation as to who was behind it was surreal in itself, which left a huge impact as soon as the words "Game Over" were uttered, along with the sound of screaming once the credits rolled. 

From that point on, the plot twist has become my favourite part of the sequels, more so than the elaborate traps. While the impact of the revelation will never be replicated on repeated viewings, I will always remember how I felt with each ending in the series. With that in mind, I tend to concentrate more on the other aspects of the movie, such as the subtle hints made by the villain throughout the movie, which are sampled during the end sequence, and certain scenes which link the movies as a whole.

On a sidenote, I am also a fan of Charlie Clouser's work on the soundtrack.

As with most movie franchises, the first one is usually the best. And with Saw, not only is it the best out of all the films in the series, it also works as a stand alone film. There are some people who say the sequels never lived up to the one that started it all, and I can see why people would have a problem with continuing the storyline, or the quality of the films that followed.

To me though, the SAW series is kind of a throwback to the classic 80s horror franchises such as Friday 13th, Halloween and ...Elm St., where the first movie is lauded by many, but anything else after that is hit and miss. Nowadays movie franchises never get as far as the third movie, whether it be a continuing storyline, or a series of prequels related to the original franchise. It seems that horror movie franchises are the only ones that dare to go past the third movie (even the Scary Movie franchise is going into its fifth installment, even though some of those films can be horrifying for the wrong reasons).

I'm sure people would argue with my choice as the best horror movie franchise, but I only got to see the likes of Elm St, Halloween, Friday 13th et al, when I was in my mid to late teens, and I heard so much about these movies from the likes of other kids in school when I was younger. I'm sure if I grew up watching them, either from being born a few years earlier, or managed to have an older sibling who owned the movies, I'd probably come up with a different point of view. But as it is, these movies came out when I was in my twenties, so I was old enough to watch them, and enjoyed them while they were still being released periodically.

That said, if I was to recommend the SAW movies to anyone who never seen them, I would highly recommend that they watch the first one. As for the sequels, whether they want to continue on, or just leave it at the first movie, I wouldn't sway them eitherway. I'd let them "make their choice".

And on a final note.....

This video was also one of the extra features on the Saw DVD. Fear Factory are one of my favourite bands, and the album of which this song is from ("Archetype") is also a really good album. Great band, great album.....and hell, great movie.

Halloween Countdown (Day 1.....kinda)

I return to attempt at yet another spell on this blog. The only interesting tidbit about my everyday life is that I finally enrolled into a ten week creative writing class. Well, since I won't be leaving the country this year, I may as well take up a hobby. Who knows, maybe it will reignite my love of writing, and kickstart my aspirations to write fiction. In the meantime, I will (try to) write some horror movie themed blog entries in the lead up to Halloween.

Now if I can just spray paint his face white.....

Admittedly I took the idea off someone from Facebook, who plans on watching one or two horror movies everyday until Halloween. I altered it to also include a blog entry for each film I watch. Granted, the idea is not an original one, but hey, it's my blog, and I need some excuse to exercise my rarely used writing skills.

Now, as you can see from the post date, it's already 02/10/12, and along with my writing class (which includes small assignments), and the fact that I'll be going to the yearly horror movie festival in town during the bank holiday weekend, regular postings will be tricky.

Just to get the first one out of the way, I'm going to post two short movies that will be referenced in future blog posts. The first includes one of the first things to scare me as a child, and the second one was the starting point to my favourite horror movie franchise (flawed as it may be at times)

Michael Jackson's "Thriller"

What more can I say about this classic video? The music is fantastic, the visuals are incredible, and as one of the most expensive videos to be made at the time, you can see where the budget went, and it was money well spent. You don't have to be a Michael Jackson fan to appreciate this John Landis directed music video, but you have to appreciate the impact it had on the music video format itself, and its influence on OTT music videos that came afterwards (a few of them by MJ himself).

There are two reasons why I am mentioning this video:

1. The beginning of video scared the crap out of me as a child. It took me years to pluck up the courage to watch the werewolf transformation. It still disturbed me, but at whatever age I was at that time, I was becoming more aware of special effects, so I began to appreciate the work that went into making that scene. And it's still impressive, especially in this age of CGI.

Another film that utilised the man to wolf transformation was the John Landis directed "An American Werewolf In London", which came out two years previously to the "Thriller". The transformation in that video also scared the crap out of me as a kid. The weird thing is, I don't know how I ended up watching that as a child. I know I saw the "Thriller" video on a compilation tape my parents had of an Irish music show called "MT USA", where they were doing a "best videos of all time" countdown, which was the basis of my early musical education. And "Thriller" was number one, and as I mentioned before, I was a Wacko Jacko fan, so that made sense.

So how did I end up watching "An American Werewolf In London"? I must ask my parents.

2. Unfortunately due to the controversial nature of Michael Jackson, whether it be personality, child molestation accusations, or the over the top nature of everything he created, he is still open to ridicule. I was actually going to include the next clip into this article as a short comparision to the much lauded "Thriller" video. But after watching the near 40 minute duration of this short film, it deserves its own blog entry in the near future.

I'm still going to post the film anyway, because let's face it, nobody really watched it when it came out. And if I was to hazard a guess, I doubt people know of it's existence today.

Michael Jackson's "Ghosts"

Saw (2003 Short Film)

Halloween is a time where I look back to the past, and feel a little sad that I never got into the spirit of things as a child (pun not intended). It was only during my twenties that I realised how much fun it was to go around in a mask in a public place (well, a pub where everyone else was in costume, but you get my drift). It made me feel a little more comfortable that I was able to hide my face, but that was more to do with my low self esteem and awkward shyness at the time. I'm a bit better on both fronts, but if I had the choice to don a hockey mask in public, I would. Even if it did mean a trip to a rubber room. But I digress.

Since I never went trick or treating, dressed up, or went to bonfires and all those staples of Halloween, the only way I celebrate this faux holiday is through watching horror movies, whether it be a movie night at a friends place, or by attending the aforementioned horror film festival. But there's one series of films in particular that I have watched every year, before the next installment came to the big screen, and that is the SAW franchise.

Well, what better way to start off this movie marathon by watching the SAW series all over again. Granted I've seen them over and over again, but if I'm still not bored of watching the same five Star Wars movies during Xmas (episode one doesn't exist, as far as I'm concerned), then I'll never be bored of the SAW movies.

One of the extras on the DVD of the first film is the 10 minute short film that was made by the creators of SAW, which was used to pitch the idea to movie studios, instead of talking about the concept, or showing them the script. It's a pretty neat way of getting your artistic vision across, and for those who are fans of the first movie, but never seen the video below, it's quite interesting to watch.

And on a final note.....

One of the films I'll be watching at the horror movie marathon later this month includes this little jingle. Come to think of it, this also freaked me out when I was young.

Six Songs of Moi

It's funny that, in the beginning I said I would try not to write anything about my personal life on here, yet for every entry I make, I give a brief story explaining my long absence from the last time I posted something. Well, there's not much I can say that is of any interest, other than that I have got a new laptop (hey, if I'm not going to leave the country this year, I may as well buy something with the money I have been saving). I will also be starting a 10 week writing class, in an attempt to acquire a hobby. All the more reason to buy a laptop with a built in wifi receiver (or whatever it's called), so I can type from the comfort of my own bed.

Today's blog entry will be music related (as opposed to film related or something original and worthy of an article). On the Guardian website, there are people picking six songs, one of each that links to a particular topic, and made by people who I've never heard of (for example, this article), hence why I don't really bother with their choices. But I liked the idea, so I thought I'd do my own list of songs that no-one else would care about. At least some of the songs are better than the ones I used to "sing" when I was in a band.

Back when I was a lead "singer" in 2007

My list of songs are here, and my reasons, thoughts, and opinions are written below. While picking my songs, I found the preset list to be very limited, and I'll explain why also.

What was the first song you ever bought?

"Do The Bartman" by The Simpsons

To be honest, I can't remember what was the first "single" I bought. When I was younger I normally got music cassettes and CDs from my parents, so I was picking one of the first CD singles I had. I was going to pick "Slam Jam" by WWF Superstars, which included The Undertaker, Bret Hart, Macho Man (RIP) and British Bulldog (RIP). But the six songs database didn't have that song, so I chose this instead.

What song always gets you dancing?

"Get Your Body Beat" by Combichrist

I can't dance. Full stop. And whenever I do, it is either at the request of a family member, trying to impress a member of the opposite sex, or I am absolutely plastered. But for whatever reason, whenever I hear this song being played, it always makes me want to move and dance, and most of the time, it succeeds.

What song takes you back to your childhood?

"Crazy Little Thing Called Love" by Queen

My mum used to play this to me and my brother when we were little, and the song had been ingrained in my psyche for so long, I thought this song was from the 101 Dalmatians. That was because we used to have Disney storybooks with cassettes that said the words aloud when we read them, and at the end of the cassettes, they played the songs from the film. I may be wrong, but I could swear my mum put this song at the end of the 101 Dalmatians cassette. Still, nice to know my mum was bringing me up on good music.

What is your perfect love song?

"Flames" by Vast

This song is my favourite song of all time. It is very simple yet evokes feelings of sadness, longing, and in this case, love. It's not well known, and people look at me funny when I tell them that this is my favourite song. If I ever go back to playing guitar, this would be one of the first songs I would learn the chords to.

What song would you want at your funeral?

"Mr Blobby Song" by Mr Blobby and The Smurfs

Again the six songs database is limited, and the closest I could get was the original "Mr Blobby" song. But this version is the one I want played at my funeral, just to annoy everyone, and remind people of my weird sense of humour, even after death. I'd also have a bouncy castle afterwards, and my epitaph would read "pecked to death by ducks". Hell, I'd even make my gravestone a urinal, so people can have the chance to piss on my grave.

Time for the encore. One last song that makes you, you?

"Everyday Is Exactly The Same" by Nine Inch Nails

I admit this is a depressing song to pick as the one that defines me. I could have lied and picked something funny and/or positive, but I am brutally honest. The lyrics are pretty much how I feel about life, and how I feel about myself. And the sad thing is, no matter how much I try to change my situation, or keep wishing for a light at the end of the tunnel, it will never be.

And on a final note.....

Just to lighten the move after that last paragraph, I am posting this, which a mate of mine showed me last night. I am definitely busting these dance moves next time Combichrist comes on in public.