2nd Annual 31 Days of Horror kicks off next week...

Just a post to remind everyone that October is fast approaching and my 2nd annual 31 days of Horror will be kicking off. I will post a short review and or facts and trivia about one horror movie a day. Or at least try to. Last year I did like 20, so I was a little short. But this year one of my good friends and blogger extraordinaire Jennifer Cooper will be lending a hand. You guys may know Jennifer from her wickedly cool blog, Musings of a Morleysaurus. She loves horror films so I know her expertise and knowledge will be a big plus here on Hero Worship. Here's the link to her blog: musings of a morleysaurus. I don't know what films she will be doing but here is a list of all the films I will be covering:

FRIGHT NIGHT (1985)
PANIC ROOM
LAIR OF THE WHITE WORM
FINAL DESTINATION 2
SCREAM 2
DOG SOLDIERS
THE HOWLING
WHAT LIES BENEATH
PSYCHO 2
CREEPSHOW
FEAST
UNDERWORLD 2
HOUSE OF 1000 CORPSES
HALLOWEEN: H2O
CARRIE

AND BUFFY SEASON 1 (My Top 5 picks)

THE CRAZIES (2010) is a good old fashioned horror flick: bloody and gory

When a mysterious airplane crashes in the river of a small town in Iowa, the toxin onboard the plane contaminates the town's water supply and starts to drive the townsfolk crazy. And I don't mean singing your favorite show tune in the nude. I mean flat out crazy. Such as a man walking onto a baseball game with a shotgun or another man setting his house on fire with his wife and son still inside. Timothy Olyphant plays the town sheriff David and Radha Mitchell plays his wife Judy, a doctor. They soon become overwhemed with the craziness of people and even more so when the military show up to start to round up the infected and try to contain the virus.

Yeah we got a big fucking problem here...

Judy is marked as infected due to the fever she is running, but that's because she is pregnant. So David and his loyal deputy Russell (a cool performance by Joe Anderson) escape from custody to save his wife.

Just taking a little stroll through Crazytown.....

The Crazies is one wicked horror movie. I like the fact that it doesn't hold back on the gore and blood. This is how a horror flick should be. Not some watered down PG-13 crap, but a full on R rated splatterfest. And it's bolstered by great performances by the leads. Olyphant is terrific as the town sheriff and gets to talk tough and kick some ass. Mitchell gives a good performance as his wife, who just can't believe this is happening. And Anderson is great as Russell, who starts to lose his cool midway thru the film.

Get the hell out of my way....

Not for the squeamish though. And it features plenty of gruesome kills. The sheriff himself takes out a few crazies very graphically. The Crazies is one of the best modern horror films in awhile.
B+

David: Don't ask me why I can't leave without my wife and I won't ask you why you can.



Oh crap Bob! You scared the shit out of me!

Star of the Month Rose Byrne is terrific in the super creepy INSIDIOUS...

Star of the month Rose Bryne is terrific in the creepy thriller, Insidious. She and Patrick Wilson play husband and wife with three children who move into a new house. Once their eldest child goes into a coma and the doctors find nothing medically wrong with him, Renai (Rose's character) starts seeing things and think the house is possessed. So they move yet again but still can't shake these apparitions.
But when Josh (Patrick Wilson) mother shows up, they realize it isn't the house that is possessed, but their son. They call in Elise (played by Lin Shaye) who has had dealings with this short of thing as she and her two man crew attempt to bring the couple's son back from the dreamworld called The Further. It's a place where restless spirits dwell, and who will do anything to get back to the real world. And the young boy becomes a link from their world to the real world.

Renai and Josh looking suitably worried...

Insidious is one seriously twisted movie. And it is very creepy. The music alone will send shivers down your spine. The spirits are freaky looking and will scare you a few times. The cast is perfect especially Rose Byrne and Lin Shaye. Byrne is perfect as the distraught housewife who believes instantly about evil spirits and the Further. Her husband, not so much. And Lin Shaye is very effective as the spirit buster. This film really surprised me and it ends with a cliff-hanger. So I wouldn't be surprised if a sequel comes out very soon.
B
Elise: It's not the house that's haunted. It's your son!


Elise and Specs ready to do some spirit busting.....

A couple of spirits who look all innocent and nice...but are not

Freaky looking thing..ain't she?

Oh Elise don't mess around when it comes to dealing with evil spirits...IT'S ON!

Renai trying to explain that she has been seeing some weird things...

AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON: 30 Years Later and it's still the best werewolf movie I've ever seen

30 years ago a seminal film opened in movie theaters around the world. It was An American Werewolf In London and to this day, it is still the best werewolf movie I have ever seen. The story has two American tourists named David Kessler (relative newcomer David Naughton) and Jack Goodman (Griffin Dunne) in Britain who are attacked by a wild animal while walking on the moors one night. Said wild animal turns out to be a werewolf and after Jack is ripped to shreds and killed, David is bitten and will soon turn into a raging beast himself. 

Awesome transformation scene...


Damn Jack you really let yourself go...


He lucks up when at the hospital he is recovering from he meets Nurse Alex Price (the always beguiling Jenny Agutter (of Logan's Run and Walkabout fame) and the two immediately hit it off. Why aren't all nurses like Jenny Agutter, I swear.

David is soon having horrible nightmares and is visited by Jack's ghost, who every time you see him is decomposing worse and worse. He tells David that he must kill himself and be free of this curse or he will kill people. Of course David doesn't believe him. But once the first full moon happens, David changes into a werewolf and promptly goes on a rampage. The first werewolf transformation is a sight to behold. Done by master make up artist Rick Baker, that scene is realistic and painful. No CGI here folks, just good old makeup and prosthetics.

Ah sweet Jenny Agutter....I don't even notice David in this pic..at all


We are so screwed it's not even funny...

Soon David realizes he knows what has to be done but can't quite do it. So when he takes in a movie and changes one more time, he is on the loose in Piccadily Square. That scene is cool as hell, as the people of Britain are terrified and running for their lives from this savage beast. The climax has Alex rushing to David's side after he is cornered in an alley ready to be taken out by Britain's finest.

That's gotta hurt....

I loved this movie when it first came out and I love it still to this day. This is how you make a great horror movie with a lean and visceral feel that doesn't drag. The cast is top notch with solid direction by John Landis. Naughton and Dunne are perfect as the american tourists and Jenny Agutter is well Jenny Agutter. Nothing more needs to be said on that. She is awesome in every way. The music score is fantastic with some choice rocking tunes including Bad Moon Rising by Creedence Clearwater Revival. And like I said it is still the best werewolf  movie that I have seen. Mainly because its old fashioned makeup effects and not computer generated. And it also has a lot of inspired humor, helped being directed by Landis (Stripes, Ghostbusters, Trading Places). 

What was that noise?

An American Werewolf In London is how you do it. Stay away from that god awful sequel An American Werewolf in Paris. It's bad. London is the one to go with.
B+

Now this looks like a vampire movie...the new FRIGHT NIGHT (2011)

When I first heard they was re-making one of my most beloved films, Fright Night, I was very apprehensive. I mean the original Fright Night was very cool. It had the right balance of horror and humor.  It gave the vampire genre a serious injection of new blood, if you pardon the pun. It was cool seeing Roddy McDowall as Peter Vincent, the horror movie host asked to help take down a suave and sinister vampire (wonderfully played by Chris Sarandon). So when news came they were re-doing it, I was like here we go again. But guess what, after seeing the new trailer, this version of Fright Night looks bad ass. Colin Farrell is playing the vampire now, and while I have never been a huge fan of Colin, he looks perfect as the deadly vampire. Cast as the young teen who learns his secret is Anton Yelchin (fresh off paying Chekov in Star Trek and Kyle Reese in Terminator Salvation). And playing the updated Peter Vincent who is a magician now is former Doctor Who David Tennant. Throw in the wonderful actress Toni Collette as Yelchin's mom and Superbad's McLovin (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) as Yelchin's buddy Evil Ed and you have a super cast. So forget those Twilight movies, here comes the real deal with Fright Night. The film opens August 19th. I can't wait. If you haven't seen the trailer, check it out below.