Not Reviews Necessarily: Gateways Into Horror - Personal Favorites from the Genre

There's no one-single answer to the question, "what's your favorite horror movie." Actually, there's no one answer to "What's your favorite movie in general."
I picked out some horror I consider favorites for a variety of reasons. There are too many favorites to include. These one's stand out above the rest. As I base a movie on how much I was entertained (that's the purpose of a movie, after all) these stand above others for a different reasons whether they tell a fantastic story, I find their imagery memorable, or most importantly, they scared me. 

In the Mouth Of Madness (1994) - I first laid eyes on this movie sometime around the mid-nineties when visiting some cousins. They had this movie on, and I caught a few scenes which stayed in mind for years after. This was back in the laser disc era. This tells a dark tale unlike other movies I've seen. Original, with an essence of Stephen King-ness, though he had nothing to do with the movie. Scary, unsettling scenes, with a satisfying, and unsettling ending- just the way a movie should conclude...that things haven't really been resolved the way the audience expected, or hoped for. It's a horror movie after all. Why walk away with a happy ending? 

Freaks (1932) - This is a movie ahead of its time. Directed by Tod Browning, who also directed Bela Lugosi in Dracula, this movie still fits in today's social climate. It tells the story of performers, especially one in particular, in a circus freak show (played by actual freak show performers) who face humiliation by a "normal" performer for the mere fact that they're paraded for their physical differences and abnormalities. The message is simple, yet impactful - people who are different are still people. And a person with evil in their heart will soon turn out to be the real freak. This is a movie that shouldn't become forgotten.

It (2017) - Not too many horror films present their monsters in the daylight. This one did, and it was fantastic. Respectful of the source material. Plus, I really had to include at least one Stephen King film adaptation in this list. Obviously, it's not my only favorite King film - The Shining, The Mist to name a few more. Portraying a clown that's the epitome of all things scary doesn't sound like an easy task. This movie pulled it off well. I wasn't sure what to expect when I saw this. But the imagery, the scares, and the acting were great. Not a perfect film, but still very satisfying. And Pennywise the Dancing Clown has officially taken in place among other legendary movie monsters thanks to Director Andy Muschietti and actor Bill Skarsgard.

The Conjuring 2 (2016) - Out of the two Conjuring movies, and those in the
same lineage (The Nun, Annabelle, etc) this sequel film is the one that did it for me in scares and intrigued. I found the imagery memorable and scary, and the story line entertaining. The movie is based on an allegedly true case of supposed poltergeist activity in Enfield, England, also known as the "Enfield Poltergeist." I recommend watching the behind the scenes footage of this movie when it comes to the "crooked man." That actor - WOW!

Frankenstein (1931) - Of all the Universal monster movies, this one is the most captivating for me. It tells a story surrounding the failure behind man playing God. And the one who suffers for that is the creation itself. Frankenstein's creature has always been referred to as his "monster." But, perhaps, the scientist is the real monster. On top of that, it spawned a well known, and successful sequel.  

Nightmare on Elm Street 3 (1987) - As long as a sequel is good, it doesn't have to be "as good as the first."
For a third installment in a series, this movie is good in story, scenes, scares and ending. If only New Line Cinema had stopped there. It was at part four where things really rolled down hill for the Nightmare franchise. This was even better than part two. And it has the most memorable scenes and lines in all the Nightmare movies.






Cujo (1983) - What makes this Stephen King story stand out is both it's originality, and the fact that it's a horror story that could really happen. The story surrounds a mother and son trapped in a stalled car as a rabid St. Bernard keeps them trapped inside. There's a lot of realism in the scenario. That's what makes it terrifying.
It's a story I wish I had thought of. It's a movie that has definitely left it's mark in cinematic pop culture. I wish the people at Funko would hurry up and turn this rabid St. Bernard into a Pop Vinyl figure.

Invasion of Astro Monster (1965) - Sometimes called Godzilla vs. Monster Zero, this is one of my favorite Godzilla movies. It's the sixth film in the Godzilla movie line-up, and has a much more sci-fi twist in the plot than other Godzilla movies.
Aliens come from Planet X to seek the help of Godzilla and Rodan in their battle against "Monster Zero." And who do we discover Monster Zero is none other that Ghidrah (aka King Ghidora) the three-headed monster.
But those same aliens end up playing some mind shenanigans on Godzilla and the crew, and they start their attacks on earth. Aliens! You just can't trust them. For a crazy story line, this movie is very entertaining, and has a smooth flow. It stands out as being the 

17) Mercy (2014) - Obscure Stephen King flick #3

"Even the darkest things in life can be a blessing."

Director
Peter Cornwell

Cast
Shirley Knight - Mercy
Chandler Riggs - George
Frances O'Connor - Rebecca
Joel Courtney - Buddy
Dylan McDermott - Jim Swann

Leave it to Stephen King to take those things we hold precious, such as the family Saint Bernard, or the privacy we treasure despite the vulnerability we endure when going to the bathroom (i.e. King's Dreamcatcher) and turn them into something frightening which may linger in our memory forever. King has a fair number of tropes he's turned into his own proverbial shower scene from Psycho.
In the case of the 2014 movie Mercy, (who's heard of it?) it's the relationship between a grandmother and a grandson.
This is taken from King's short story Gramma found in his anthology book Skeleton Crew. 
I found this title when searching for an episode of The Twilight Zone reboot series that ran from 1985 to 1986. There was an episode titled Gramma from the first season also adapted from King's short story. The episode featured Barret Oliver (Bastian from The Neverending Story) as the main character, George. I had planned to review the episode.
For an obscure title, Mercy is not without some big names - Chandler Riggs (Walking Dead) as the main character, George, and Shirley Knight (As Good as it Gets) as his grandmother, Mercy. It also stars Dylan McDermott and Frances O'Connor.
The movie starts off fairly strong in intrigue and shock - an opening shot of a young woman having a baby inside her home as her husband does himself in with an ax to the head - but it's mixed with what sounds like lighthearted narration from George. It doesn't fit together well.
He has a strong relationship with his grandmother, Mercy. When she becomes sick, Mercy has to live in an old folk's home.
However, after some time passes, the nursing home informs the family they don't want to care for her anymore. She's become to strange for their staff. And Mercy has to come back home. Her daughter, Rebecca (Frances O'Conner) who's a single mom, and her sons, George and Buddy (Joel Courtney) come to live with her as her caregivers.
Despite just how much grandma isn't herself, George tries to really be there for her. The worse her health goes, the darker things become. The situation finally boils over as evil secrets begin to emerge, revealing Mercy's demons, her sinister past, and the hell that's behind her decline.
Riggs portrays his 13-year old (give or take) character taking care of his declining grandma as best he can. His performance is fairly solid. He had a big part to play, and pulled it off well enough. The effort is there. The other performances come across as forced and lacking enthusiasm, especially from grandma herself. 
The tension and turmoil within the family was a well done detail to the story. As evil influences have been at work with grandma for years, the devil's footprints (figuratively speaking) have trekked through the family since their beginnings starting with Mercy, and it shows. It was a small detail that may or may not have been intentional, but it was portrayed and it made sense. Mercy's secrets are slowly revealed at just enough pace to have kept me interested.
But as the final act commences, things became confusing, with elements strung together. George runs around too much in and out of the house. Small plot points come up with little or no explanation as to their purpose in the story.
Throughout the story, George converses with the "girl next door," a young girl roughly the same age, to help him think out his difficult situations. We learn right away she's someone only he can see and hear. At first it seems like a coping mechanism, but the ending reveals who she is, and it leaves a lot of unanswered questions.
Needless, to say, the movie ended on a lackluster note - unsatisfying.
If it just had better writing, it could have been a true hidden gem of a Stephen King movie. It entertained me overall until the end where, sadly, just like grandma, it just gasped its last and fizzled out.
It's laughable that the Twilight Zone episode had a darker ending than the movie, which changed the ending of King's original story altogether. Perhaps if it kept King's original ending, Mercy would have been a better film.

The Twilight Zone season 1 episode 18

Barret Oliver as George in the 1985 Twilight Zone episode Gramma 

Ambiguous King

16) Chopping Mall (1986)

"Absolutely nothing can go wrong."

Director
Jim Wynorski

Cast
Kelli Moroney - Alison Parks
Tony O'Dell - Ferdy Meisel
Russell Todd - Rick Stanton
Karrie Emerson - Linda Stanton
Barbara Crampton - Suzie Lynn
Nick Segal - Greg Williams
Dick Miller -Walter Paisley 

The shopping mall! It was the Facebook for teens of the 1980s and 1990s. Some malls are still alive today. Many others are dying, or dead. And speaking of "dying and dead," this movie is about teenagers dying inside a mall.
Evidently, the script for Chopping Mall took 24-hours to write. With all respect to producer Julie Corman (wife to horror director icon Roger Corman), the story line seems like something a 5th grader would have written during an in-class writing assignment. Somehow, this makes the film a little more fun.

Despite the gore, and exploding heads, and all but innocent teenagers taking over a mattress and furniture store to do their deeds on products that are going to be sold to the public the next day, there is an innocence to the story which adds to the horror of it all.

The powers that be at Park Plaza Mall have bolstered their night time security with robots. These robots are state-of-the-art. And when one of the developers utters the infamous line never be spoken in a horror movie, "nothing can go wrong," the audience knows everything possible will go so, like, totally wrong!

These three robots are equipped with tranquilizer guns, lasers, and other deadly weaponry for the sake of apprehending thieves and whatever riff-raff attempt to lurk the mall after lights out.

Meanwhile, eight teenagers are going to have a party at the furniture store where some of them work. All but two - Alison and Ferdy - have their night of sex, booze, and sex. Little do they know that lightening outside hits to mall, causing damage to the computer that controls the robots. This sends them into kill mode, and the mayhem begins.

First, they kill the technicians, and then they kill a janitor named Walter Paisley, played by the late Dick Miller.

Miller, by the way, passed away over a week ago as I write this. He is well known for playing Murray Futterman in the movie Gremlins which was released two years before Chopping Mall.
He also starred in Roger Corman's famous movie Little Shop of Horrors (1960) so it's no surprise to see him in a cameo as Chopping Mall was produced by Corman's wife. Miller also made appearances in Terminator, The Burbs, and The Howling.

It's worth noting that this isn't the first time Miller played the character Walter Paisley. He did so in other horror/ thriller movies such as the The Twilight Zone: The Movie in the segment It's a Good Life. In the same year as Chopping Mall, Miller was Walter Paisley in Night of the Creeps. And before that, Miller was Walter Paisley, the bookstore owner, in The Howling. He was also Walter Paisley in Gremlins Director Joe Dante's 1976 movie Hollywood Boulevard. And even before all that, he was Paisley in A Bucket of Blood (1959)... SURPRISE! - A Roger Corman flick!

And though Paisley meets his demise (death by robot) in this movie, Miller later played "Officer Paisley" in the 1994 made-for-TV remake Shake, Rattle, and Roll. Paisley had many lives. And he died a lot, too. He should be remembered for one reason above all the rest - he was played by the legendary Dick Miller. Horror fans will surely miss seeing him pop up in the movies.

Back in the mall, one couple (Mike and Leslie) leave the store, and encounter the robots. Mike gets killed, and Leslie tries to outrun it, but can't outrun its laser. Her screams get the attention of her friends in the store, and they all witness her head blow off. Nasty!

Everyone separates after witnessing her demise, and go their own ways. It's them against laser-shooting killer robots. Who will survive?

As I've mentioned in previous posts, the primary purpose of a movie is to entertain. The dialogue in this movie can be silly at times. The acting is below par. And the story line is comedic, and over the top. But this isn't the movie people watch for award winning acting. It's pure, imaginative fun - just what horror/ slasher audiences settle in for with a tub of popcorn.

Barbara Crampton, who starred in the horror film Re-Animator in 1985, plays Suzie. Paul Bartel also has a role in the movie. He's no stranger to the inner-circle working here. Bartel had a role in Joe Dante's movies Gremlins 2: The New Batch, Piranha, and Hollywood Boulevard. He might be more well known for his role in the 1982 black comedy Eating Raoul.

The movie initially had me rolling my eyes. I mean, robots shoot lasers to protect a shopping mall. But I quickly grew into it. Watching these robots chase people around in a mall of all places kept me in suspense. Chopping Mall, with its cast and story line, is like a small, underrated, loving ode to the horror genre.

Maybe there's a lesson to be learned in a story about eight teenagers running through a dark, empty mall, trying to escape doom! Otherwise, it's a great piece of nostalgia. It hits the horror movie spot.

 

  

15) Riding the Bullet (2004) - Obscure Stephen King flick #2

"Fun is fun, and done is done."

Director
Mick Garris

Cast
Jonathan Jackson - Alan Parker
David Arquette - George Staub
Barbara Hershey - Jean Parker
Erika Christensen - Jessica Hadley


I've seen this movie twice before, and still couldn't remember much about it, especially the plot. The third time wasn't the charm I hoped it would be.
Though the story line that deals with death is fairly good, perhaps slightly reminiscent of King's story The Body which went on to become Stand By Me, this movie relies unnecessarily, and way too much, on jump scares-some of them laughable.
This one is based on the novella of the same name. What was also laughable was just how hard this Stephen King movie tried to be a Stephen King movie.

The plot
It's 1969, and a young artist (who wasn't an artist in the sixties?) named Alan Parker (Jonathan Jackson) - a University of Maine student - has a fascination with death. (Who didn't have a strange obsession with death in the sixties?)
He also thinks his girlfriend, Jessica, is trying to breakup with him - a thought that doesn't seem to be based on anything except his paranoia.
While sitting in his bathtub the day before Halloween, smoking weed, Alan stares intently on a razor blade and plays with the idea of slicing his wrist. And who should walk in right at that moment as he caresses the blade against his skin, but the Grim Reaper himself.
Death encourages Alan to do the permanent deed, while the murals painted on his bathroom wall begin to chant, "cut, cut, cut."
Alan accidentally cuts himself just as his girlfriend and a group of his friends barge into the bathroom with a cake to surprise him on his birthday. (Who wasn't barging into bathrooms with cake in the sixties?)
Alan wakes up in the hospital where Jessica berates him for his attempted suicide. She also scored him tickets to see John Lennon and the Plastic Ono Band up in Toronto.
The day after he's released from the hospital, Jessica tells him he has a wall around him, and he again realizes she was going to leave him.
More "good news" comes when Alan gets a call letting him know his mother had a stroke. He has to forego the Lennon concert to visit his mom.
We see flashbacks via hallucinations of his childhood, and just what his relationship with her was like.
Alan starts hitchhiking to Lewiston, Maine. His trip starts off with a lift from a wannabe hippie/ Army deserter, who ends up crashing his VW.
Meanwhile, he sees a billboard advertising "The Bullet" roller coaster at an amusement park called "Thrill Village." He flashes back to a moment when he begged his mom to take him to ride the Bullet, only to chicken out thanks to the screams of the riders, just as they're next in line to get on. His mother slaps him on the head for being a wimp. This unfinished event consistently plays throughout Alan's trip to Lewiston to see his mom.
He then makes his way through a cemetery where finds a grave with the name George Staub. There's a picture George on the headstone.
Alan continues trying to hitch a ride, when someone almost immediately picks him up. He soon realizes that his new driver is actually George Staub (David Arquette) who's grave and picture he just encountered.
Though Alan realizes his driver is a dead guy, he tries hard not to let George catch on to this fact.
But George does know that Alan knows he's dead, because dead people always know everything, and their ride together ultimately boils down to an ultimatum for Alan. He must pick who will live and who will die. Alan, or his mother?

My thoughts
I've seen this movie twice before, and still couldn't recall much of the story line, or what events took place between the beginning and the end.
Mick Garris directed another, more obscure, Stephen King movie 12 years earlier - Sleepwalkers. I'll try to get to that one later. He also directed the Stephen King television movie Quicksilver Highway (1997) which stared Christopher Lloyd - get to that one, too! He's no stranger to comedic horror/ thriller. He was a writer for Disney's film, Hocus Pocus, which has gained a cult following lately. Riding the Bullet was lackluster.
The scary part, in a loose meaning of the word, don't come until Alan's ride with George, and the ultimatum he's left with. There's no way out of this one.
The movie relies on jump scares, and there's too many of them. Some of them occur within seconds of each other. I recall three consecutive jump scares in a row - the most I've seen in a single scene. It becomes a comedic gimmick before it just gets tiresome and stupid.
This movie has that coming of age motif found in a few Stephen King movies. This time around, it's a little saturated with the same flashback of Alan wimping out of riding the Bullet coaster when he was young. I understood that the Bullet was a sort-of premonition to the life or death decision Alan will have to make in the future. But the flashback popped up again and again in case I forgot the symbolism, or the title of the movie?
As he contemplates just how much his mother, who's on the brink of death, did for him growing up, in the midst of his ow fascination with death, he realizes death isn't as glamorous as his mind made it out to be. On top of that, Staub is making him pick a death - himself, or his mom.
This scenario is really a fascinating contemplation on death, and how it's viewed. It's compared to what death really is and how it affects other people. It's another story element King has used before in stories like Pet Sematary.
Alan does develop in this movie. Otherwise, the movie tries way too hard to be scary, doing a poor job of it.
I understand slapping Stephen King's name on the poster gives the audience an expectation to be frightening. But this movie made it comical, and that's not what it really intended to do. This was like watching a Hallmark version of a King movie. It was a good story line, a different take on the reality of death, but a dull and clunky presentation. I haven't read the story, but I would imagine, based on the movie, this must have been a depressed phase for Stephen King.
Watching Alan struggle with his ultimatum, as George Staub starts shouting for him to make a decision "now" or Alan and his mom are both goners, was the highlight of the movie
None of the acting really stands out. Jonathan Jackson doesn't play Alan with any personality, even when he's scared.
Too many cheap tricks and random thoughts distract from the real drama at hand. No wonder I forgot about this movie after watching it twice before.

Ambiguous King