1 More Day 'Til Samhain

Last night I watched the movie “Hannibal”. While it was certainly better overall than the previous film in the series, that is not saying a lot. Yes, yes, I have the to utter gall to hate that movie which I will not name other than to say it involves quiet and sheep. Only redeeming thing in that first one is Ted Levine as Buffalo Bill. Yes, yes, I even have the gall to think Hopkins could have done better. Thankfully he was indeed better in Hannibal. I liked the rich guy better though. This is the first I've seen the movie yet there was still that great sense of deja vu as if I have seen parts of it before, though not as bad as the previous quiet one where I could predict everything half a minute in advance nearly. Tonight, unless the usual botch up of Canadian signal broadcasting bashes me, I expect to watch Red Dragon on TV. Too bad it couldn't be on the same channel as Hannibal last night.

Now it is time to slap down some great titles on the blog, maybe you can have the great luck of being able to rent them tomorrow. Carrying on from yesterday I must, Must, MUST, suggest the movie “The Howling”. This is a piece of cinema. Forget the other werewolf movie with Americans in London. I've never been a fan of it, and people who like The Howling tend to stand by it, meanwhile people who standby the Londoner generally dismiss The Howling. Pick a side! Now!

Now I have a pairing of films. One of the two is sure to satisfy. They are “Waxwork” and “Waxwork II: Lost in Time”. Both are directed by Anthony Hickox and star Zach Galligan. The first is a straight-up horror film. The second is part horror, part action-adventure, and full of horror spoofs. Some of the sequel is just downright hilarious. I especially love the spoof of The Haunting and not just because it has Bruce Campbell in it. The first has some nice moments and one of the creepiest has to be the least horror based, the one with the Marquis.

Going back to the earlier style suggestions, I have another science fiction horror I want to point out to you called “Event Horizon”. I've kind of, in the past, described it as Clive Barker does sci-fi. The first attempt to fold space leads to the ship disappearing only to mysteriously return seven years later. A salvage ship crew along with the designer of the fold drive are sent to check out the ship and try to find out what happened. This is a great horror and apparently pretty scientific film, fiction aside. You know, the physics are more realistic than most movies, they made stuff up only to fill in gaps and drive the story, rather than say when coming up with questions that have real answers going ahead and fudging it anyway.

Now for another series, but I'm going to suggest a specific one above the others. There's Freddy, there's Jason, there's Michael, there's Chucky, names that bring us, in their movies, horror. They're just common names that can now lead to chills. How about a name that's just downright silly? Can that be scary? It might if the name is Pinhead. It might if the franchise is “Hellraiser”. My suggestion may at first seem odd, but I'm suggesting that people see the fifth one, “Hellraiser: Inferno”. Not since the first one has the feel and the essential qualities of the novella been brought to life. I will warn you though this one has very little of Pinhead himself in it. What it does have are cenobites that I felt were immensely closer to as they were in The Hellbound Heart novella, even much more than the first film, which is funny since Barker directed the first and Inferno is directed by Scott Derrickson. This is a disturbing one.

Tomorrow is the big day!

Mood: expectant
Music: Americans are Behind by Bruce Dickinson and Afterglow of Your Love by Quiet Riot