Hot Girl of Horror #18: Katharine Isabelle

Besides the Ginger Snaps trilogy (pretty damn good), you've got Freddy vs. Jason, which I loved despite its flaws, and then a whole ton of other horror movies: the 2002 Carrie TV movie with Angela Bettis, Snoop Dogg's Bones, Ogre, Hard Ride to Hell (cool title but the rating on IMDb is pretty low), 30 Days of Night: Dark Days, etc. So she isn't afraid of the genre, which is definitely good news for us. Most recently, you can see her in American Mary. I really want to check that out, but I haven't had a chance yet. Of course, if you haven't seen the Ginger Snaps films, you should. They're a different take on your typical male-werewolf movie, and they're quite good.

Killer Clown Museum

I'm sure I'm missing some, but I think I got quite a few. My favorites would have to be Pennywise (especially with half his face melted) and Killer Klowns from Outer Space.

Sinister is perfect until...

(spoilers throughout so don't read any of this if you haven't seen the movie yet)

... the ghost kids start running around in slow motion. That is ridiculous. Actually, the first one is a little shocking, but then they go overboard and show them everywhere with Ethan Hawke searching the hallway. It's beyond stupid. You don't have to explain why there are sounds all over the house. It's scarier when we don't know. It's a shame too, because I love the look of Mr. Boogie (that name sounds so stupid when you type it, but it makes sense in the film since a kid came up with it) and the home movies aka the murder tapes are extremely well done with some great sound design (I love the lawn mower bit). But for me, it all falls apart at the end. The reveal of the kids doing the actual killings is silly. Mr. Boogie is far more frightening than the children. The Exorcist is the only movie that made me afraid of a kid, and Regan didn't look or sound like a child anymore. I hate it when they try to make a little boy or girl scary. It's more phony and absurd than anything. Of course, if it was real life, it'd be completely different, but almost always in a film, it looks dumb like they're trying way too hard. I've read some other reviews where people complain about the setup (author recklessly moves his family into a home where people were murdered in the backyard), but I can buy that if he's really, really desperate. Plus, his wife said he did something similar before. I just hate the ending. I'd still recommend it since a lot of the movie is excellent with some great tension and atmosphere, the performances are good, the cinematography is outstanding, etc. But as soon as they show the ghost kids everywhere, it started to lose me, and then it just got worse and worse from there.

The Raid Blu-ray Giveaway!

Here it is! The most badass action movie in decades! And here's your chance to get a copy of it for free! Yes, I fuckin love this movie. It really puts American action films to shame. No shaky cam or PG-13 stupid shit. Just floor after floor of bone-crunching, skull-splitting awesomeness. If you haven't seen it, you really owe it to yourself to check it out.

PLEASE FOLLOW THESE STEPS TO ENTER THE CONTEST:

1. If you're not already, become a FOLLOWER of this blog. Click the JOIN THIS SITE button under the "Somebody Actually Likes This Crappy Blog?" section on the right hand side.

2. Leave a comment on this post with your NAME and EMAIL ADDRESS so I can contact you for your shipping info if you are the winner (if a valid email address is not given, the prize will be forfeited). For an extra entry, share the link to the contest on your Facebook page, blog, or Twitter and tell me the URL where you posted it.

3. Only one comment per person.

4. Contest is scheduled to end on July 30th, 2013. Comments must be left by the end of the day on 7/30 in order to count.

5. Contest winner will be chosen at random and must agree to let me post their name in a separate post stating who won the prize.

6. Contestants must have a mailing address in the US. Sorry I'll do more international giveaways in the future!

Good luck guys!!!!

Hot Girl of Horror #17: Drew Barrymore

Scream is what I immediately think of. Not a huge part but definitely one you remember, and her performance couldn't have been better. There's also Doppelganger and Waxwork II. I haven't seen either. Seems like the former is mostly famous for her nudity. I don't know if Donnie Darko is horror or not, but it's damn good (not the director's cut though), has some creepy moments, and they watch Evil Dead in it so what the hell I'll include it. Of course, she also did a couple horror films as a kid: Cat's Eye, which kinda freaked me out with that troll thing, and Firestarter. Something cool about Donnie Darko. Raimi actually let them use that Evil Dead footage for free.

Japanese Movie Posters

Whatever happened to good poster art?

Ok, so the Predator 2 one isn't that good, and The Terminator looks like the US poster except with a bunch of other crap thrown on top. I still love 'em especially For a Few Dollars More.

I actually never saw A Better Tomorrow III since John Woo didn't direct it, and I heard it sucked. The first two were too perfect to be disappointed by another, but regardless, that poster is pretty badass.

How is Wrong Turn 2 so good?

I didn't care much for the first film. I was excited to see it because of Stan Winston's involvement (producer and FX studio), but I ended up very disappointed. Didn't care for the characters or story, the cannibals weren't scary or well designed, etc. It was easily forgettable so when it came to the sequel, I had no interest. Then I saw a clip online of the opening scene, and I was impressed. After I watched the whole film, I couldn't believe it. Not only did I like it, I loved it. The premise sounds so stupid. Like Halloween: Resurrection, it's about a reality show, but unlike that awful exercise in pain, Wrong Turn 2 is smart, well-directed, and unpredictable. Right near the beginning, you get one of the leads wearing a Battle Royale shirt. That's your first sign (aside from the excellent opening), that you're in good hands.

Spoilers. Usually, in a film like this, Mara is your final girl. She is set up as your typical lead: sympathetic and innocent (cheated on by her boyfriend), shy at first but with an inner strength, etc. So when she gets brutally fuckin killed by ax to the head 39 min in, it's quite a shock. The filmmakers knew what they were doing. They even have the cannibals tie Mara's body to the hood of their truck to rub it in. Next up, Dale Murphy played perfectly by Henry Hollins. Again, this movie toys with your expectations. An awesome character like Dale would usually be butchered early on, leaving with you a bunch of dimwit annoying teenagers you couldn't care less about. Just when you think that is about to happen here, Dale escapes and blows away a cannibal with a shotgun. It's a badass scene and one the audience can cheer at. Plus, only a few minutes in, you get Dale berating an idiot about not stereotyping all the people who grew up in that area since Dale was raised two counties from there. Obviously, the filmmakers know how dumb a film like this can be (they even mock how all reality shows are the same), but they use that to their advantage, making something incredibly fun and exciting out of it. Even the opening that has your typical moron not paying attention and hitting someone with their car is done exceptionally well. The actual part where she looks down at her phone and then hits the pedestrian is all one continuous shot so it's a lot more effective than if they just had a ton of cuts. Then you don't know the guy she hit is a cannibal, and they don't reveal that until he attacks her. Joe Lynch really did a phenomenal job directing this. I love how they tie in the paper mill, showing something like this isn't entirely impossible, and you actually meet the cannibal family's normal-looking father. And the black guy actually lives! End spoilers.

They really made an outstanding horror movie with great characters, intelligent writing, a lot of fantastic practical gore FX (only one shot of CGI I remember), and you even get some nudity. It's a million times better than the original, and I'm sure it blows away the fifty other sequels that have followed (stop already... seriously). Even if you hate the first Wrong Turn, you should really see this.