1.  It doesn’t get much cuter than this kawaii egg nog dog toy! (PetCo, $6.99)

2.  This dog stocking has a place for your pooch’s picture and it’s the perfect way to present your dog’s Christmas treats! (PetSmart, $9.99)

3.  A peanut butter-flavored rawhide candy cane will keep your furry friend busy and out of the way while your family opens their haul on Christmas morning!  (PetSmart, $12.99)

4.  Pet owners are very familiar with what happens when their pets eat too quickly.  The Slo-Bowl helps avoid these issues by making hungry dogs work for their food.  The bowl can hold up to two cups of food and is top rack dishwasher safe! (ThinkGeek, $24.99)

5.  Keep your puppy happy on cold nights with the electric pet pad from Sunbeam!  It warms to the veterinary-recommended temperature of 102.5° and is perfect for smaller dogs who are more severely affected by cold weather.  (PetSmart, $49.99)

1.  These catnip stuffed mice are dressed like elves and will give your cat hours of holiday fun. (Petco, $4.99)

2.  This ingenious idea combines two of your cats favorite items – cantip and bags! (ThinkGeek, $5.99 for 4 bags)!

3.  More catnip toys – this time in the form of Santa Claus and a gift.  (PetSmart, $5.99)

4.  Fill this adorable stocking with all kinds of goodies for your feline friend. (PetSmart, $14.99)

5.  Your kitty can relax and scratch in style with this deluxe cat tree! (Petco, $539.99)

Chances are, you’ll probably be attending at least one holiday party in the coming weeks.  It’s always good manners to bring your host or hostess a gift, and this list is a good start for ideas.

1.  Anthropologie’s famous Initial Mugs get a limited edition gilded look.  Fill them with her favorite candy and wrap with festive cellophane! (Anthropologie, $10.00)

2.  These informative kitchen towels show the best pairings of wine and food, making them attractive cheat sheets for frequent entertainers.  (Uncommon Goods, $28.00)

3.  Nothing says Christmas like the Peanuts gang, and this snowglobe commemorates their famous rendition of the traditional carol “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing”! (Hallmark, $29.95)

4.  Bring cookies on a fabulous snowflake platter.  This gift doubles as a party treat and a thank you to your wonderful hostess. (Crate & Barrel, $49.95)

5.  Same idea, different format!  Present your hostess with this retro Santa cookie jar – full of goodies! (Pottery Barn, $59.50)

One of my favorite family traditions is receiving a new ornament each year.  There’s a memory attached to each one and I love unpacking and hanging them on the tree – it’s like wave of nostalgia.  Part of my gift giving incorporates buying that perfect ornament for each person.  Here’s a list of ornaments that will delight any recipient!

1.  These festive mini-mittens will give your tree a traditional coziness. (Pottery Barn, $6.50)

2.  It’s a tradition to visit St. Nick’s in Littleton, and this adorable snowman snowglobe will definitely be on my tree this year.  Even if you’re not local, you can get it for yours by buying online! (St. Nicks, $13.95)

3.  Hallmark is my favorite place to buy ornaments because they have something for everyone.  They’re better known for their cute tree trimmings, but this gorgeous winterscape is a perfect choice for an elegant hostess gift.  (Hallmark, $14.95)

4.  Jim Shore’s carved wooden ornaments reflect the woodsy, old-fashioned decor that’s becoming increasingly popular.  This intricate snowflake reveals a hidden surprise! (Jim Shore, $15.00)

5.  Celebrate your loved ones by decorating these simple silhouette ornaments.  Single or overlapping faces are a great way to show off your children, or surprise your sweetheart with the facing couple ornament.  (Le Papier Studio, $34 plus $10 per custom silhouette)

Trick ‘r Treat (2007)
Rated R (for horror violence, some sexuality/nudity and language)

Directed by Michael Dougherty

Starring:
Dylan Baker
Anna Paquin
Rochelle Aytes
Brian Cox

Based on Michael Dougherty’s short “Season’s Greetings”, Trick ‘r Treat is a return to anthology horror that has prompted several similar films, including The ABCs of Death and V/H/S.  Set on Halloween night, it explores four different tales that turn Halloween traditions and horror tropes on their heads.

Opening

The movie begins with married couple Henry and Emma returning from Halloween night festivities.  While Henry loves celebrating the holiday, Emma hates it and blows out their Jack O’Lantern, despite Henry’s warnings.

The Principal

Principal Steve Wilkins (Baker) gets vicious, bloody revenge on a student who dares to steal candy from the family’s trick or treat bowl.

The School Bus Massacre Revisited

Five children decide to hang out at the local rock quarry, where the ringleader tells the town legend of a bus full of mentally challenged students who drowned when the bus crashed into a lake.  A cruel prank forces the children to confront the truth of the legend.

Macy and the others marvel at Rhonda’s yard full of intricately carved pumpkins.

Surprise Party

Laurie (Paquin) prepares for a Halloween party with her sister Danielle and their friends Maria and Janet.  Teased about being a virgin, Laurie is apprehensive about going, a fear that’s not helped when she’s attacked by a man dressed as a vampire.  The girls will get the last laugh, however, when their true nature is revealed.

Laurie (Paquin) is on her way to an eventful Halloween party.

Sam

Sam, short of Samhain, is the spirit of Halloween and spends the holiday killing those who don’t honor the holiday correctly.

Horror anthology movies and TV shows were a huge part of my childhood, and while it’s a small reemerging trend, I’m excited to see it come back.  Trick ‘r Treat has been my favorite so far, because it’s funny as well as scary (in tone, it most closely resembles “Tales From the Crypt”).  It’s stylishly made and all of the previous stories are cleverly connected in the closing, which makes the film feel cohesive despite being broken up into four sections.  It subtlety references other horror films, particularly John Carpenter’s original Halloween, which makes it even more fun for genre fans.

Sam, the spirit of Halloween, watches trick or treaters to ensure the holiday’s traditions are being honored correctly.

The performances are very good, particularly Cox and Baker.  Cox has always brought an ominous vibe to all his roles and Baker’s character has an awesome creepy twist on his usual prototypical nerdy normal guy.  Trick ‘r Treat is an excellent choice for Halloween night viewing between scarier fare.

Fright Rating: 2 1/2 gasps out of 5

There’s some gory parts, but most of the scares are done with plenty of black humor.  If you like George Romero’s Creepshow or “Tales From the Crypt”, this is the perfect movie for you!

Chronicle (2012)
Rated PG-13 (for for intense action and violence, thematic material, some language, sexual content and teen drinking)

Directed by Josh Trank

Starring:
Dane DeHaan
Alex Russell
Michael B. Jordan
Michael Kelly

Friends Max Landis (son of famed director John Landis) and Josh Trank cowrote the script for Chronicle, inspired by Akira, Carrie, and The Fury.  Capitalizing on the found footage genre, their goal was to create a new kind of superhero origin story that reflected society’s obsession with reality TV and filming everyday life.

Andrew Detmer (DeHaan), a socially awkward outsider who deals with his abusive alcoholic father (Kelly) and bullies on a daily basis, decides to start filming his life.  At first it’s to document his stepfather’s abuse, but he finds he enjoys filming as the camera puts a barrier between himself and others.  Andrew attends a party with his cousin Matt (Russell) and is asked by the most popular guy in school, Steven (Jordan), to film a strange discovery he and Matt have made.  The boys investigate a crater and find a glowing, pulsating green light at the bottom.  As a direct result of the encounter with the green light, they find that they are developing telekinetic powers.  At first, they have fun playing pranks and moving things around, but Andrew begins to take things too far as his powers grow exponentially stronger.

Steven (Jordan), Andrew (DeHaan), and Matt (Russell) celebrate their new powers.

Chronicle is truly a found footage film.  There is nothing included in the film that isn’t seen through a hand held camera, much of it coming from Andrew’s camera.  Likewise, there is no score other than ambient music from iPods, radios, etc.  Because of the nature of the boys’ powers, Trank is still able to get crane and panning shots without destroying the movie’s chief conceit.  The special effects are excellent and look practical for the most part, rather than CGI.  Landis and Trank were adamant about using stuntmen, wires, and green screen for the film’s several flying shots.

Andrew crushes a car to demonstrate his power.

The boys’ relationship is what sells the film on an emotional level.  Although Steven and Matt are seen as popular, Andrew is on the outside until the experience at the crater creates a bond between the three.  They connect over their newfound abilities; the close friendships and his powers give Andrew a confidence he’s never experienced before and he is happy for the first time in his life.  This makes the ending that much more tragic when Andrew realizes that power cannot make him truly happy and he begins lashing out at others.  All three actors play their parts very well.  DeHaan is extremely sympathetic through the first two-thirds of the film and Jordan’s charisma makes him completely believable as the popular politician poised to win the school presidency.  Russell balances them out as the nice guy voice of reason.

Matt tries to shield Andrew from advancing police.

Chronicle works both as a found footage film and a superhero/villain origin story because, much like M. Night Shymalan’s Unbreakable, it brings the superhero trope into the real world.  It’s an excellent example of the found footage genre as the majority of the movie feels organic, rather than forced.

Fright Rating: 2 gasps out of 5

There’s nothing inherently frightening in Chronicle, but like the films it was inspired by, it tells the story of a regular kid who becomes corrupted by his growing powers.  It’s a good choice for those looking for horror with a sci-fi twist.

The Strangers (2008)
Rated R (for violence/terror and language)

Directed by Bryan Bertino

Starring:
Liv Tyler
Scott Speedman
Glenn Howerton
Gemma Ward

Reportedly inspired by a series of break-ins in his childhood neighborhood and details culled from the Manson Family trial, many have also compared The Strangers to the real life 1981 Keddie “cabin murders”.

After attending a mutual friend’s wedding Kristen (Tyler) and James (Speedman) return to James’s parents’ cabin.  After a rejected marriage proposal, the couple’s relationship is strained and James arranges for a friend to pick him up in the morning.  In the dead of night, a young woman knocks on the door asking for “Tamara”, but leaves when she is told there is no one there by that name.  James leaves to get cigarettes, and the young woman returns, pounding heavily on the door.  From that point, Kristen and James are terrorized by a trio of masked figures, and they will have to work together if they want to get out alive.

Kristen (Tyler) calls her boyfriend James when she hears strange noises outside.

Shot in chronological order and almost entirely with hand-held cameras or steady cams, Bertino creates a claustrophobic thriller by steadily building dread.  Like in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, the “inspired by true events” warning creates a sense of realism around the film that makes it more frightening.  Although we learn little more about Kristen and James other than that their relationship is on the verge of ending, we are shown enough to make us identify and sympathize with them.  They clearly care about each other and the tension between them in the beginning sets the audience on edge well before their attackers make an appearance.  The entire scene with the young girl asking for “Tamara” is a really nice touch – her face is entirely cloaked in shadow and her closing, “See you later” seems offhand at first, but once the three masked figures arrive, it becomes clear what she meant. Bertino knows when to incorporate his excellent soundtrack and and when to accentuate the horror with silence.  This tends to be a delicate balance in the horror genre, as most filmmakers rely on loud audio cues and music to enhance scares.  

One of the attackers, Doll Face, stands creepily outside watching the house.

The attackers are ultimately frightening because of what they do not do.  They do not speak until the end of the film and while they do remove their masks, Bertino never allows us to see their faces.  Similarly to Michael Myers’s mask in Halloween, each of the masks are near blank canvases that the audience can project their greatest fears onto.  The masks of the two women are just human-like enough to be familiar, but still creepy.

Kristen and James are terrified when the attackers try to hack through the door with an axe.

The Strangers is a wonderful example of the “home invasion” trend that continues to pop up in theaters, seen most recently with films like The Purge and You’re Next.  As opposed to slasher or supernatural flicks, home invasion movies feel more realistic and the scares originate from that realism.  It received mixed reception from critics, but The Strangers is generally viewed by genre fans as among the best in the new wave of home invasion thrillers.

Fright Rating: 4 gasps out of 5

I find this film particularly scary because it feels like it could happen.  There are some violent scenes, but Bertino does not show gore, preferring to cut away at the last possible moment or focus on something else in the shot.  Most of the scares come from the building tension.

House of 1000 Corpses (2003)
Rated R (for strong sadistic violence/gore, sexuality and language)

Directed by Rob Zombie

Starring:
Karen Black
Sid Haig
Sheri Moon Zombie
Bill Moseley

Inspired by the ’70s exploitation films and 1930s monster movies he loved as a kid, rocker Rob Zombie wrote the script that would become House of 1000 Corpses.  Zombie had some experience directing music videos for his band White Zombie and brought that same kinetic filmmaking style to his first feature length film.

Two couples on a road trip the night before Halloween decided to stop at a backwoods roadside attraction in the hopes of including it in a book featuring similar kitschy places.  They learn about the legend of Dr. Satan from the attraction’s outspoken owner Captain Spaulding (Haig) and decide to take a detour to the tree where Dr. Satan was hanged.  Along the way, they pick up an attractive hitchhiker, Baby (Moon Zombie), and offer to take her to her nearby home.  A flat tire forces them to make small talk with the strange Firefly family until hulking brother Rufus can fix the vehicle, but they soon start to realize that they may not get away from the Fireflys alive.

Captain Spaulding (Haig) takes the doomed kids through his gas station “Murder Ride”.

House of 1000 Corpses is very reminiscent of the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and Zombie crafted the film to reflect his obvious affection for the macabre, including references to old school horror hosts, classic films like The Wolfman, and real life killers Albert Fish and Lizzie Borden.  In post production, he filmed several sequences inspired by home movies made by the Manson Family, as well as asides with Otis (Moseley) torturing his victims.  With his special effects team, he created elaborate and detailed set dressings for existing sets on the Universal backlot.  (The Firefly house, for instance, was the set for The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas.)  The quick cuts, garish lighting, and hard hitting soundtrack give it a definite music video vibe.  Not all the sequences land, but they help keep the film from just being a rip off of Tobe Hooper’s TCM.  The film is at its most interesting and effective when showing the interaction between the young couples and the Firefly family, so the latter third of the film starts to skid off the rails a bit, but it’s never boring visually.

Baby (Moon Zombie) and Mother Firefly (Black) aim to entertain their guests with a bizarre vaudeville show.

The cast and the soundtrack are the two standouts of this film.  Zombie loves casting genre-friendly character actors in his films, which means we get great performances from people like Haig, Black, Moseley, Dennis Fimple, Irwin Keyes, and Tom Towles.  Haig, Black, and Moseley, in particular, are really fun to watch chew scenery.  Plagued by studio troubles and a small budget, Zombie was still working out his filmmaking kinks, but the serial killer family members are the rotting carnival-colored centerpiece of an imperfect movie and save it from B-movie obscurity.

The Firefly family celebrates Halloween their way.

House of 1000 Corpses is a good example of the exploitation revival that began cropping up in the 2000s, because it borrows heavily from the originals that inspired it while maintaining a veneer of slickness that prevents it from feeling genuinely exploitative the way movies like Last House on the Left or The Texas Chainsaw Massacre did when they were released in the 1970s.  Like many of these new wave exploitation flicks, Zombie’s film is weighted more heavily in style over substance and although not nearly as gory as it was originally rumored to be, it’s violent and has a certain unpleasantness that appeals to a very select group of people.  Purely as a horror fan, it’s always a treat to watch something created by someone who obviously appreciates and reveres the genre, and half the fun is picking out the references.  On a visual level, this film never disappoints in that respect.

Fright Rating: 3 gasps out of 5 (mostly for violence)

While The Devil’s Rejects is a better film technically, I found the campy, over the top performances in House of 1000 Corpses more fun to watch.  It’s a violent, vulgar film, so it’s definitely not for the easily offended (although the title should have given that away immediately).

*House of 1000 Corpses alternate poster by Chad S. Trutt

House (1977)
Unrated

Directed by Nobuhiko Ôbayashi

Starring:
Kimiko Ikegami
Saho Sasazawa
Haruko Wanibuchi
Yōko Minamida

When Japanese film company Toho approached Nobuhiko Obayashi about making a Jaws-like horror film, he collaborated with his daughter, Chigumi,  to create a story.  Instead of a Jaws rip-off, the father and daughter created a surreal, fantasy-horror story based on Chigumi’s darkest fears.  Toho refused to make the film for two years, until they finally allowed Obayashi to direct it himself and, despite receiving negative reviews from critics, it became an audience favorite and an international cult classic.

School girl Gorgeous (Ikegami) has plans to spend summer vacation with her composer father (Sasazawa), but when he brings home his new wife, Ryoko (Wanibuchi) as a surprise, Gorgeous decides to travel to her aunt’s home with six friends instead.  The girls are excited, until they are confronted with surreal supernatural events that begin killing them off one by one.

The girls listen to Gorgeous describe her aunt’s tragic love story.

House is a genre defying film and its influences range from the nearly neon 70s era Italian horror, Grimm’s fairytales, and children’s television.  The first half hour of the movie reminded me of a live action anime – Gorgeous’s friends are named according to their defining interest (the smart one with glasses is “Prof”, the athletic tomboy is “Kung Fu”, the one who loves music is “Melody”, the dreamer is “Fantasy”, the shy one is “Sweet”, and the chubby girl is “Mac”) and they spend the entire trip giggling and mugging for the camera.  There’s a lot of soft focus, slow motion wind machine shots, animated sequences, and musical montages.  It’s not until they get to the aunt’s house that things start to go awry.  But even as the girls are picked off slasher-style by the house, there’s campy moments played for laughs and a surprisingly upbeat folky soundtrack.  There’s also plenty of weirdness that makes the last two thirds of the movie feel like a bit like a Hieronymus Bosch painting come to life intercut with a Japanese version of “Scooby Doo”.  The colors and lighting reminded me of the vividness of Dario Argento’s Suspiria, another film from 1977 that has a very fairytale-esque feel.

Fantasy finds Mac’s animated head at the bottom of a well.

The film does feel like a young girl’s version of a very dark Hansel and Gretel-type tale.  There’s a tragic romantic back story, but all the characters feel very one note and archetypal which makes it seem a bit childlike.  The pleasure in watching House comes from its arresting visuals and its intrinsic weirdness, not in complex characterization or layered plot.  It’s kind of what I would expect Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory to be if the entire movie took place in the weird boat tunnel.

Sucked into the supernatural world her aunt’s house inhabits, Gorgeous terrorizes her friends as a giant.

Fright Rating: 2 gasps out of 5

I would definitely recommend this film to my anime fan friends and fellow film nerds looking for something completely different and undefinable.  House is very weird, but it’s not scary or realistically gory, so even non-horror fans can enjoy it.  It is currently available on Hulu Plus.

Les Diaboliques (1995)
Unrated

Directed by Henri-Georges Clouzot

Starring:
Simone Signoret
Vera Clouzot
Paul Meurisse
Charles Vanel

Based on She Who Was No More, the novel by Pierre Boileau and Thomas Narcjac, the script for Les Diaboliques was being eyed by suspense master Alfred Hitchcock when the rights were bought by Clouzot.  Later, inspired by the film, Robert Bloch wrote Pyscho, which would become Hitchcock’s most popular film.  Les Diaboliques was included in Time’s 2007 list of the Top 25 Horror Films.

Although Christina Delassalle (Clouzot) owns a middle class boarding school, it is her harsh, tyrannical husband Michel (Meurisse) that runs it with an iron fist.  Christina is chronically ill and despises her husband’s abusive nature.  In turn, he carries on a torrid affair with a teacher at the school, Nicole (Signoret), and flaunts it in front of his disgusted wife.  He abuses Nicole as well, however, and their shared experience creates a bond between the two women.  Christina and Nicole begin to conspire to kill Michael, but the stress of carrying out the plan may lead them to turn on each other.

Christina (Vera Clouzot) and Nicole (Signoret) are united by their mutual hatred for the same man, despite their obvious differences.

Many claimed that Clouzot had “out-Hitchcocked Hitchcock” with this film and it is easy to see why the two directors were vying to buy the rights.  Clouzot creates a tightly wrought thriller that continues to shock audiences to this day.  It is stylish and spare, with an intensity that builds steadily as the movie reaches its thrilling climax.  Clouzot paints Christina and Nicole as two very different women united by their hatred of the same man.  Groundbreaking for its frank handling of taboo subjects like divorce, adultery, and domestic abuse, Les Diaboliques still feels timeless and relevant, despite being over 50 years old.  Clouzot creates tension with moody lighting and a nearly silent soundtrack, and the final 15 minutes of the movie is among the best and most suspenseful filmmaking of all time.

The murder goes seemingly to plan, but will Christina be able to stay quiet about their dark deed?

The movie hinges on the odd relationship between the two female leads.  Although they should hate each other, they hate Michel more, which transcends their differences.  Clouzot cleverly makes the women sympathetic by painting Michel in the worst possible light.  He’s openly abusive and torments Christina with his affair, not caring that she and Nicole are friends.  The women are diametrically opposed – Christina is demure and unassuming, while Nicole is tough and assertive.  Vera Clouzot’s wide-eyed performance and girlish wardrobe help sell her as the frail Christina, while Signoret plays the tough-but-sexy Nicole to a tee, sporting short, slim skirts, a trendy short hairstyle, and large boxy sunglasses.  While Nicole shows no guilt over planning her lover’s murder, Christina is mired in her paranoia.  Their strongest traits, Nicole’s overconfidence and Christina’s anxiety, will be their ultimate downfalls.

In this iconic image from the film, Christina is terrified by the appearance of someone from her past.

Les Diaboliques is an excellent example of the gorgeous thrillers French filmmakers have become known for.  For suspense fans, it’s a must watch and a vital part of any film nerd’s collection.

Fright Rating: 3 gasps out of 5

The terror in this film comes from the slowly built suspense, as well as the chilling climax.  It’s an effective, scary piece of classic horror, perfect for those who prefer subtle suspense over gore.