Amanda Norman
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Review of The Funhouse 1981
Watching Funhouse was like stepping back in time and remembering what it was like to have a sleepover with your friends while watching a horror movie to scare yourself silly.
The Funhouse, directed by Tobe Hooper, who I immediately associate with Salem’s Lot, is one of those typical 80’s horror movies about two teenage couples who dare to do something totally stupid, and you know that only one of them will survive. Yes you guessed it! They spend the night in a funhouse and once they realise that they’re in danger, they find themselves locked in.
I think I really liked this film due to the memories I have as a teenager watching such movies. Of course it’s not on a level with the likes of Halloween or The Exorcist, but there’s something amusing about it. I always find carnivals creepy and you don’t really know what lurks amongst those wagons in the dead of the night. In fact, I’d love to visit one at night with my camera to catch the creepy atmosphere of it, but I wouldn’t do it alone. Hell no!
What was even better about this film was the fact that Luke and I had the wonderful and funny company of Mr HorrorExtreme himself, Steve. He told us such a funny story, that I will remember Funhouse for all the wrong reasons.
It’s worth watching, but don’t expect to be scared and why was that little boy in the movie?
Finally, if any of you have read Richard Laymon’s book titled ‘Funhouse’, the book wins big time and this film isn’t based on the book.
The Last Exorcism Review by Amanda Norman
It freaked me out!
The last time I was freaked out after watching a horror movie was when I was about 12 years old and I was introduced to Mr Barlow from Salem’s Lot. If you’re a regular reader of my blog, you will know by now that I have a bit of an obsession about him. I begged my sisters and my mother to sleep in their bed with them after seeing him and I cried when they told me to grow up.
27 years later and I watched The Last Exorcism the other night and thankfully I wasn’t alone otherwise I would have totally freaked out.
Horror films that have a theme of blood, gore and torture don’t do it for me. In fact, the tension and horror is too much that I have to turn them off. I can’t stand them and I wonder what future generations will be like when they don’t have horror movies that rely on your imagination to terrify.
The Last Exorcism has had mixed reviews and I think that it’s one of those films that either you love or hate. Personally, I enjoyed it, though at first I did have doubts with the shaky camera and documentary style of the phony priest telling us why exorcisms are mostly scams, why he scammed people and the offer of showing us all how easy it is to con people in distress.
The priest, Cotton Marcus is played by Patrick Fabian and funnily enough he reminds me of a real life individual who I won’t name. He’s so cheesy and such a con artist that you sit there waiting for him to get what’s coming to him. The more involved he gets with his final exorcism, the more you find yourself beginning to feel sorry for him and then you find yourself wishing he would just leave. Then he leaves, but he makes the mistake in turning around and heading back. This is such good character writing!
The whole idea of being possessed by a demon scares me, because I don’t want to find out if it’s true. The only way I would find out for sure is if I experienced it and quite frankly, you can forget that! I don’t want my head to spin and be in the flames of Hell while a demon makes my body bend in unimaginable ways and makes my throat bulge to the point of almost bursting.
There’s one scene in the film where the demon starts breaking the girls fingers, one by one. Oh God NO!
Yes, I’m such a mard arse, but it’s films like these that I really enjoy. Films that play on your mind, allowing the viewer to scare themselves or as much as their imagination will allow. The scenes of being hacked to death in the film, you don’t need to see the evidence of being hacked do you? Let your imagination do that.
Some say that the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre was so good due to the psychological element of it. Ask yourself a question, do you actually see the chainsaw cutting into the bodies? Tobe Hooper the director was skilled in allowing the viewer to imagine that.
Actress Ashley Bell who plays the possessed teenager Nell Sweetzer is astonishingly scary. Her eyes and evil expression unnerved me to the point where I did almost chicken out and switch off the film. She’s a brilliant actress and I reckon there’s more to come from her. I wonder if she scared herself playing the role of a possessed teenager?
Oh well, as I write this I’m on my own and it’s dark. Wish me luck as I’m about to walk out into the long dark hallway…
ON MY OWN!
Please visit the films official website for lots more information http://www.thelastexorcism.com
Black Christmas (1974)
I finally got the chance to watch the 1974 movie Black Christmas and I really enjoyed it.
Although the film isn’t frightening, it sure is filled with tension that mounts and continues to mount right until the very end when you’re left with the thought of Olivia Hussey’s character Jess not surviving.
This film works because the viewer is kept in the dark about the killers identity and motive. You hear his mental and alarming ramblings on the phone to his potential victims who are unfortunately in the same house as him and you know exactly when the killer is on the prowl due to the creaking floorboards and the doors closing. I hate to think what the killer did to the body of his first female victim who we see throughout the film, sat at the attic window with a clear polythene bag covering her shocked expression and contorted face as she must have struggled for her last breath of air. Do the police and victims father ever find her body?
Watching this film reminded me of the Scream movies except this movie had more class and wasn’t a comedy.
I haven’t watched the 2006 version, but as with all remakes, I doubt they will keep the tension and suspense that this film delivers. In fact, I bet its just a blood fest for gore fans, but the question is, should I watch it to find out?
Dracula On Stage
If you’re visiting New York soon and you’re a fan of vampires and Dracula like me, you don’t want to miss out on this new adaptation for the stage. More information is included below in their official press release.
GET BITTEN & WIN A TRIP TO NEW YORK TO MEET THE COUNT!
The Dracula team are giving you the chance to win tickets to the show, merchandise and a trip to New York to meet Count Dracula. To enter the contest all you need to do is play the game titled ‘Get Bitten’ via Twitter by tweeting a message and/or liking them on Facebook, which will provide you with numerous entries into the contest.
For further information and your chance to win, please click here for the rules!
DRACULA PRESS RELEASE
By Hamilton Deane and John L. Balderston based on the world-famous novel by Bram Stoker
Starring Tony Award-winner George Hearn (“La Cage aux Folles”), Thora Birch (“Ghost World,” “American Beauty”), Timothy Jerome (“Tarzan,” “Me and My Girl”) Jake Silberman (“As the World Turns”), John Buffalo Mailer (“Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps”)
And introducing the American debut of Italian star Michel Altieri as Dracula
Limited Run! 13 Weeks Only!
December 14-March 13 at the Little Shubert Theatre, (442 West 42nd Street) New York.
Count Dracula, the world’s most famous vampire, returns to the New York stage this fall in DRACULA by Hamilton Deane and John L.Balderston, based on the eponymous novel by Bram Stoker. Previews begin on December 14, prior to its official press opening January 5 at the Little Shubert Theatre (442 West 42nd Street). Paul Alexander to direct.
Based on the world-famous novel by Bram Stoker, DRACULA is the classic Gothic drama about the power of seduction and the nature of true love. When the mysterious Count Dracula takes an interest in the beautiful, young Lucy who suffers from horrific dreams and a strange illness, he arouses the suspicions of her fiancé Jonathan Harker and Professor Abraham van Helsing. Following a series of grisly murders and unexplained occurrences, the men fear Dracula may be one of the undead that prowls the darkness and preys upon innocent souls.
Last seen on Broadway in WICKED, George Hearn who is best known for his Tony Award-winning performances in LA CAGE AUX FOLLES and SUNSET BOULEVARD as well as acclaimed work in SWEENEY TODD, WATCH ON THE RHINE, A DOLL’S LIFE, PUTTING IT TOGETHER, and THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK, leads the cast as Abraham Van Helsing.
Thora Birch, who gained international prominence playing Jane Burnham in Sam Mendes’ acclaimed film “American Beauty,” received a Golden Globe nomination for her work in “Ghost World” and an Emmy nomination for “Homeless to Harvard: The Liz Murray Story,” and whose film credits also include “The Hole,” “Hocus Pocus,” and “Dungeons & Dragons,” stars as Dracula’s love interest Lucy Seward.
Jake Silbermann, best known for his role as the popular character Noah Mayer on “As the World Turns,” is set to portray Jonathan Harker.
Recently seen in the film “Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps,” John Buffalo Mailer portrays Renfield.
In the role of Dr. Seward is Timothy Jerome, a Tony and Drama Desk Award nominee for ME AND MY GIRL. Mr. Jerome was last seen on Broadway as Professor Parker in Disney’s TARZAN.
Making his American stage debut, in the title role of Dracula, is Michel Altieri, a major star of the Italian stage who recently starred as the Beast in the Italian premiere of Disney’s BEAUTY AND THE BEAST and as Tom Collins in the Italian premiere of RENT, produced by Luciano Pavarotti, who handpicked the actor out of 5,000 hopefuls. Among his honors are an Italian Tony Award and a scholarship to study at the Strasberg Institute, awarded by Anna Strasberg and Dennis Hopper.
Also in the cast are Emily Bridges as Miss Wells and Rob O’Hare as Butterworth.
DRACULA features scenic design by Dana Kenn; lighting design by Tony Award-nominee Brian Nason (METAMORPHOSIS); costume design by Tony Award-winner Willa Kim (THE WILL ROGERS FOLLIES, SOPHISTICATED LADIES), sound design by Chris DelVecchio; and special effects by Greg Meeh.
Adapted by Hamilton Deane and John L. Balderston, DRACULA premiered in New York in 1927, starring Bela Lugosi. DRACULA was last seen on Broadway in 1977, starring Frank Langella. Winning two Tony Awards, including Best Revival, the production ran for more than 900 performances and inspired the 1979 film adaptation featuring Mr.Langella and Sir Laurence Olivier. Bram Stoker’s horror novel “Dracula,” which itself is based on European folklore, has been an international phenomenon since it was first published in 1897. The novel’s influence on the popularity of vampires has been singularly responsible for numerous stage, film and TV interpretations, including the modern-day vampires of Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles, Stephenie Meyer’s “Twilight” series, HBO’s “True Blood,” and L.J. Smith’s “The Vampire Diaries.”
Director Paul Alexander is the author of STRANGERS IN THE LAND OF CANAAN and EDGE, which he directed. Developed at The Actors Studio, EDGE, the critically acclaimed one-woman show about Sylvia Plath earned an Outer Critics Circle Award nomination and was performed more than 400 times in four countries. A major European tour starring Spanish actress Sofia Alves begins in February 2011.
DRACULA is produced by Bram Stoker’s Dracula LLC, Tony Travis, George and Dona Shipley, Ed Bankole, Megan Barnett, Leslie Evers and Michael Alden.
Performances of DRACULA run December 14-March 13 at the Little Shubert Theatre (442 West 42nd Street):
December 13-19: Monday (dark); Tuesday at 7pm; Wednesday at 7pm; Thursday at 7pm; Friday at 8pm; Saturday at 2:30pm and 8pm; Sunday 2:30pm and 7pm.
December 20-26: Monday (dark); Tuesday at 7pm; Wednesday at 2:30pm and 7pm; Thursday at 7pm; Christmas Eve (dark); Saturday at 8pm; Sunday at 2:30pm and 7pm.
December 27-January 2, 2011: Monday at 7pm; Tuesday at 7pm; Wednesday at 2:30pm and 7pm; Thursday at 2:30pm and 7pm; New Year’s Eve (dark); Saturday at 8pm; Sunday at 2:30pm and 7pm.
Regular performance schedule begins January 3, 2011: Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays at 7pm; Fridays at 8pm; Saturdays at 2:30pm and 8pm; Sundays at 2:30pm and 7pm. (With the following exception: Opening Wednesday, January 5 at 6:30pm). Tickets are $89.50. For reservations, call Telecharge (212) 239-6200 or visit Telecharge.com.
For more information about Bram Stoker’s DRACULA at the Little Shubert, visit www.draculaonstage.com