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flippyshark · 10-17-2007, 11:23 PM

The movie in your avatar, GC, is pretty hard to beat!

Some of my favorite spookfests:

Black Sunday (il maschera del demonio) and any number of other films from Italian master Mario Bava. (Especially; Black Sabbath, Kill Baby Kill, Shock, Twitch of the Death Nerve - all beautiful to look at, though style sometimes trumps sense.)

Flesh For Frankenstein - AKA Andy Warhol's Frankenstein - Okay, it's a campy, ridiculous gorefest, but I keep coming back to it again and again. (I even got to show it in 3D at a little theater in Santa Fe many years ago.) This is the most curious sort of comedy, delivered with a straight face, via a dizzying array of dialects. ("To know death, Otto, you must f**k life in the gall bladder.") The onscreen nudity, gore and sicko absurdia is accompanied by one of the most achingly beautiful musical scores ever, courtesy of never-heard-from since composer Claudio Gizzi. A must double feature with its companion film Blood For Dracula. (Same cast, crew and composer.)

The Wicker Man - Not the 2006 version (please!), but the original. It's a musical (sort of), a mystery (though not an especially tricky one) and a grand march to a pretty much inevitable conclusion, but I relish every second of it. I can't think of any other movie that makes paganism look so interesting, alluring even, though these amiable folk end up being less than trustworthy.

The Henry Farrell Horror Hag Trilogy - Whatever Happened To Baby Jane?, Hush, Hush Sweet Charlotte, What's The Matter With Helen? - The same author lies behind these three titles, which gave Bette Davis, Joan Crawford, Olivia De Haviland and other aging stars a chance to chew the scenery with gusto in a series of clever, chilling melodramas. Of these, my nostalgia favorite is "Helen," with Debbie Reynolds and Shelley Winters, an overlooked gem - it threw me into terrified conniptions at age 6, now it's just a fun hoot, though the ending still gives me chills.

The Shining - Kubrick's hypnotic excursion into madness is one I can't take my eyes off of. (I know plenty of folks who can't stand it, though.)

Audition - Takeshi Miike's notorious piece of artful cruelty held me captive, and carried a suprising emotional weight. No mere torture/atrocity show, though it is strong stuff. (By the way, I have given the Hostel/Saw torture porn genre several chances, and I'm just not buying it - I'm not outraged by it or anything, just bored and unimpressed.)

Dance of the Vampires AKA Fearless Vampire Killers - Roman Polanski's imperfect but delightful vampire comedy is gorgeous to look at, fitfully hilarious, and memorably creepy around the edges.

I gotta give The Haunting (Robert Wise version) my most sterling recommendation. While I'm at it - The Innocents (based on Henry James' Turn of the Screw) with Deborah Kerr is similarly worthwhile.

Those are the titles that come to mind at the moment, but I have too many faves in this genre to ever hope for a complete list. These are the ones I'm likely to give a watch over the next couple weeks.

10-17-2007, 11:23 PM	#5
flippyshark Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Orlando, FL Posts: 2,852	The movie in your avatar, GC, is pretty hard to beat! Some of my favorite spookfests: Black Sunday (il maschera del demonio) and any number of other films from Italian master Mario Bava. (Especially; Black Sabbath, Kill Baby Kill, Shock, Twitch of the Death Nerve - all beautiful to look at, though style sometimes trumps sense.) Flesh For Frankenstein - AKA Andy Warhol's Frankenstein - Okay, it's a campy, ridiculous gorefest, but I keep coming back to it again and again. (I even got to show it in 3D at a little theater in Santa Fe many years ago.) This is the most curious sort of comedy, delivered with a straight face, via a dizzying array of dialects. ("To know death, Otto, you must f**k life in the gall bladder.") The onscreen nudity, gore and sicko absurdia is accompanied by one of the most achingly beautiful musical scores ever, courtesy of never-heard-from since composer Claudio Gizzi. A must double feature with its companion film Blood For Dracula. (Same cast, crew and composer.) The Wicker Man - Not the 2006 version (please!), but the original. It's a musical (sort of), a mystery (though not an especially tricky one) and a grand march to a pretty much inevitable conclusion, but I relish every second of it. I can't think of any other movie that makes paganism look so interesting, alluring even, though these amiable folk end up being less than trustworthy. The Henry Farrell Horror Hag Trilogy - Whatever Happened To Baby Jane?, Hush, Hush Sweet Charlotte, What's The Matter With Helen? - The same author lies behind these three titles, which gave Bette Davis, Joan Crawford, Olivia De Haviland and other aging stars a chance to chew the scenery with gusto in a series of clever, chilling melodramas. Of these, my nostalgia favorite is "Helen," with Debbie Reynolds and Shelley Winters, an overlooked gem - it threw me into terrified conniptions at age 6, now it's just a fun hoot, though the ending still gives me chills. The Shining - Kubrick's hypnotic excursion into madness is one I can't take my eyes off of. (I know plenty of folks who can't stand it, though.) Audition - Takeshi Miike's notorious piece of artful cruelty held me captive, and carried a suprising emotional weight. No mere torture/atrocity show, though it is strong stuff. (By the way, I have given the Hostel/Saw torture porn genre several chances, and I'm just not buying it - I'm not outraged by it or anything, just bored and unimpressed.) Dance of the Vampires AKA Fearless Vampire Killers - Roman Polanski's imperfect but delightful vampire comedy is gorgeous to look at, fitfully hilarious, and memorably creepy around the edges. I gotta give The Haunting (Robert Wise version) my most sterling recommendation. While I'm at it - The Innocents (based on Henry James' Turn of the Screw) with Deborah Kerr is similarly worthwhile. Those are the titles that come to mind at the moment, but I have too many faves in this genre to ever hope for a complete list. These are the ones I'm likely to give a watch over the next couple weeks.
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