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.

[REC] (2007)
Rated R (for bloody horror violence and language)

Directed Jaume Balagueró and Paco Plaza

Starring:
Manuela Velasco
Ferran Terraza
Pablo Rosso
David Vert

Filmed on location in Spain, the success of [REC] spawned an American remake (Quarantine) and a slew of “found footage” films from all over the world.  Balagueró and Plaza, famous for their documentary OT: la película, kept actors on their toes by not telling them of their characters’ fates until the day the crew filmed the death scenes and shooting the ending scenes in complete darkness with an infra-red camera.  They also encouraged the actors to improvise to keep the scenes feeling natural and real.

Ángela Vidal (Velasco), a reporter for a late night local color show “While You’re Asleep”, shadows a group of firefighters with her cameraman, Pablo (Rosso).  The firefighters are called about an elderly woman trapped in her apartment and when they break down her door, the woman attacks one of the policemen who’ve also responded.  The military swoops in, forcing the camera crew, the remaining first responders, and the apartment residents to stay in the building until they give the all clear.  A young girl in the apartment building is ill and it becomes clear that a virus is sweeping through the area, making those affected become violently aggressive.

Angela begins her night filming the normal goings on at a local firehouse.

Confession time: I’m not normally a fan of found footage films.  Even so, I really enjoyed [REC].  At 115 minutes, it’s fast-paced with very little fluff and it’s extremely scary.  The audience is lulled into complacency with the introductory scenes of Ángela and Pablo casually filming everyday life at the firehouse.  Ángela complains that she is bored and hopes for an emergency to liven up the night and even when the firefighters are called out, they don’t bother turning on the siren because it’s “not an emergency”.  The panic begins to build almost immediately as the emergency responders enter the elderly woman’s apartment and doesn’t ease until the end credits.  Horror fans will recognize early on that a zombie-like virus is spreading throughout the building, but rather than spoiling the scares, that knowledge heightens the tension as a medical intern works on the bitten victims and a sick girl interacts with the film crew and the apartment’s residents.  The explanation of the virus’s origin is the only thing that falls flat in the film, but it definitely doesn’t detract from the scares.  The found footage style filming helps heighten the suspense as the audience can only see what the cameraman sees, and Balagueró and Paco use the full dark and night vision scenes sparingly and to great effect.

Angela is terrified as the lights go out.

The directors purposely chose unknown actors to preserve the “reality” of the film.  Velasco carries much of the film on screen, while Rosso is the audience’s conduit, allowing us to see what’s going on through his eyes (and the camera) and responding to what he sees.  Up until the point where all hell breaks loose, Velasco is the stereotypical journalist – her focus is almost entirely on getting the “story”, and she spends most of the movie insisting that everything be filmed, despite the danger around them.  None of the characters are very fleshed out – the apartment residents include a bickering elderly couple, an effeminate (and bigoted) man who preens for the camera even in the midst of disaster, and a neurotic, nagging upper middle class mother. The slim characterization doesn’t matter, however, as we know they will all eventually be fodder for the increasing infected. The subtle make up effects of the infected are realistic, but horrifying, particularly the infected children.

A small girl joins the ranks of the infected.

I recommend [REC] highly, even for those who dislike found footage films.  As a horror film, it’s extremely effective without being overly gory and the “shaky cam” scenes are kept to a minimum, usually as the characters are running away from the infected.  If you’re looking for pure jump scares, [REC] is a great choice, and even more frightening to watch in the dark.

Fright Rating: 4 gasps out of 5

This is one of the scarier movies I’ve seen in a long time.  I was physically backing away from my screen whenever the infected attacked, and the film definitely kept me on my toes.  As a zombie fan, I’d put this up with 28 Days Later in the great “almost zombie” flicks.

Snowtown (2011)
Unrated

Directed by Justin Kurzel

Starring:
Lucas Pittaway
Bob Adriaens
Daniel Henshall
Louise Harris

Based on a real series of murders committed in South Australia, Snowtown (also called The Snowtown Murders) is a gritty, unflinching look at the crimes of John Bunting and his accomplices.  First time feature director Justin Kurzel grew up in the area where the murders occurred and became fascinated with the story of savage manipulation surrounding the crimes.

Growing up in the disadvantaged town of Salisbury North, Jamie (Pittaway) and his brothers live with their mother, Elizabeth (Harris).  Elizabeth collects unemployment, gambles frequently, brings a string of boyfriends in and out of the home.  A neighbor, Jeffrey, is asked to watch the younger boys and takes inappropriate pictures of them, but police are hesitant to intervene when Elizabeth attempts to report him.  She is introduced to John (Henshall), a extremely homophobic man who also reviles pedophiles.  John torments Jeffrey until he leaves town and then assumes the role of the family’s protector and father figure.  Jamie, distressed by sexual abuse at the hands of Jeffrey and his older brother Troy, begins to adopt John’s homophobic attitudes and emulate his violent nature, while John uses his charismatic personality to influence others in the neighborhood.  John’s control over Jamie becomes strong enough to convince him to assist in the murders of those he knows and loves.

Jamie (Pittaway) is an easy target for serial killer John Bunting.

The majority of the film is told from Jamie’s perspective and centers on his twisted father/son-like relationship with John Bunting.  Kurzel was determined to make the movie in a realistic way that didn’t sensationalize or glamorize the crimes.  It was filmed in the area where the murders were committed, using real homes in the town as sets.  As a result, the film is stark and brutal, and Kurzel depicts the events surrounding the murders in a head on, matter-of-fact way.  The entire movie is uncomfortable to watch, not just the violent scenes, because it feels completely real.  After doing some research on the actual case, it’s clear that Kurzel could have gone a lot further with the violence, and despite the depiction of brutality, it’s actually a very restrained film.

John (Henshall) gets Jamie’s and his brother’s admiration by showing them affection and defending them against their abuser.

Jamie is portrayed as sympathetic – an extremely disadvantaged adolescent boy who is manipulated by the first male role model who seems to genuinely care about him.  John’s crimes sweep him along like a tidal wave, and he feels both powerless to stop them and a desperate need for John’s approval.  Because the film is so unrelenting, his obvious struggle with the impact of his complicity and the need for John’s acceptance and affection becomes the audience’s only emotional connection to what is happening on screen.

When things get out of hand, Jamie is unable to stop the juggernaut of John’s rage.

Part of the authenticity comes from the casting.  Other than Henshall and one other actor, the rest of the cast was made up of locals from Kurzel’s childhood neighborhood of Davoren Park, a suburb close to where the murders took place.  They all do a wonderful job, and Pittaway’s nearly silent performance as Jamie, in particular, is very affecting.  Much of the cast had never acted before, including Pittaway, and they turned in raw, natural performances that made the movie feel more like a documentary than a drama.  Henshall plays Bunting as vicious, charismatic, and cunning – a big fish in a very small pond, who uses his influence over the naive, impressionable people around him to get rid of anyone he deems to be lesser than himself.

Snowtown is both the least traditional horror film on this year’s list and arguably the scariest.  It is frightening because it centers on real events and portrays them in a realistic way.  It’s a very difficult watch and definitely not for casual filmgoers, but it is a compelling film and highly recommended to those interested in movies based on real events.

Fright Rating: 3 gasps out of 5

There are some realistic violent scenes (with several potential triggers) that make this movie a hard sell for mainstream viewers.  This is a good choice for (non-squeamish) independent film nerds who are looking for stark realism.  Snowtown is available on Netflix Instant under the alternate title The Snowtown Murders.

The Vanishing (1988)
Unrated

Directed by George Sluizer

Starring:
Bernard-Pierre Donnadieu
Gene Bervoets
Johanna ter Steege
Gwen Eckhaus

Based on Tim Krabbe’s novel The Golden Egg, The Vanishing is based on the same urban legend that inspired Alfred Hitchcock’s The Lady Vanishes, So Long at the Fair, And Soon the Darkness, and Dying Room Only.  In the urban legend, a young woman checks into a hotel with her mother while on vacation.  The daughter leaves (sometimes to fetch medicine for her ill mother), and when she returns, she is told by the hotel staff that she checked in alone.

Dutch couple Rex (Bervoets) and Saskia (ter Steege) are on a romantic vacation in France when they run out of gas in a tunnel.  After fighting and quickly making up, they stop at a gas station to fill up the car where they are observed and followed by Raymond (Donnadieu). Saskia describes a recurring nightmare in which she floats in a golden egg that appears to be on a collision course with another golden egg. She makes Rex promise to never abandon her and the couple buries two coins under a tree as a symbol of their love and fidelity.  Before they continue on their trip, she offers to buy drinks for them both and disappears inside a nearby gas station.  She does not return, and Rex frantically searches for her.    Over the years, Rex continues to search for Saskia.  When given the opportunity to learn what happened to his beloved girlfriend, he takes it, compelled to finally know the truth.

Saskia and Rex share a romantic moment beside a tree before her disappearance.

The Vanishing is a visually beautiful film.  The sun-dappled landscapes contrast with the dark paranoia felt by Rex and Raymond.  Sluzier allows the audience to know who was responsible for Saskia’s disappearance, but the viewer discovers along with Rex the horrifying details of what actually happened to her.  In the mean time, the audience is also shown Raymond’s intense double life.  His outward appearance is that of a regular family man, but when alone, he practices approaching and abducting women.  He is shown using a fake cast (just as real serial killer  Ted Bundy did) and preparing a handkerchief with chloroform, as well as monitoring his pulse following interactions with women.  The tragic flashback to his encounter with Saskia is both suspenseful and heart wrenching, as we know the outcome.  Similarly, his interaction with Rex is extremely tense, as Raymond preys on his obsession with what happened to Saskia.  The ending is brutal in its finality and although the audience, and Rex, finally know the truth, it is neither satisfying nor comforting.

Raymond uses a fake cast to lure women into his car.

Bervoets and Donnadieu carry much of the film.  Bervoets portrays the increasingly desperate Rex brilliantly, and it is easy to believe that he would go to extreme lengths to learn what happen to Saskia.  Donnadieu’s performance was wonderful and very real; much of his methodical preparation reminded me of what I’ve read about real life serial killers.  ver Teege is extremely likable and sympathetic as Saskia.  She has good chemistry with Bervoets and they feel like a genuine couple, both when they are fighting and being romantic.

The tunnel where Rex and Saskia run out of gas reappears several times throughout the film as a metaphor for Rex’s loss.

The Vanishing is an excellent film for those that enjoy Hitchcockian thrillers.  Although, Sluzier later directed an American remake starring Keifer Sutherland and Sandra Bullock, the original is the best version, both because it stays true to the source material and it is a tight, cohesive example of filmmaking.

Fright Rating: 2 gasps out of five

All of the violence happens off screen, so the true scares come from the tension built as Rex and Raymond interact.

Shallow Grave (1994)
Rated R (for scenes of strong grisly violence, and for some language and nudity)

Directed by Danny Boyle

Starring:
Ewan McGregor
Christopher Eccleston
Kerry Fox
Ken Stott

The first of famed director Danny Boyle’s films (and his personal favorite), Shallow Grave is a clinical, almost Hitchcockian look at how greed can divide friends and tear down morals.  In addition to starting Boyle’s varied and celebrated career, the film made stars of Ewan McGregor and Christopher Eccleston.

Friends and roommates David (Eccleston), Juliet (Fox), and Alex (McGregor) audition for a fourth roommate, taking great delight in cruelly rejecting their many less than ideal applicants.  They eventually settle on Hugo, his sketchy employment status and vague application answers outweighed by the fact that he’s willing to pay his rent in cold hard cash.  After a short time of living with Hugo, the three friends realize they haven’t seen their tenant in several days and decide to break into his room.  They find Hugo’s body, dead of a drug overdose, and a briefcase full of money.  David wants to call the police, but Alex and Juliet eventually talk him into hiding the body and keeping the death a secret, allowing the three to split the money amongst themselves.  Their new found wealth -and their shared secret – starts to eat away at their friendship, however, and their collective greed threatens to destroy them all.

David (Eccleston), Alex (McGregor), and Juliet (Fox) interview their hapless applicants.

Boyle’s shoestring budget was helped immensely by his inventive camera work and a chilling score by Simon Boswell (he also composed the music for Hackers and has worked with artists like Blur, Orbital, and Echo and the Bunnymen).  From the beginning, Boyle sets up the dichotomy of the roommates’ crime and their banal home and work lives. Set to techno music (and clearly the precursor to the opening of Boyle’s next film, Trainspotting), the opening juxtaposes a camera moving quickly through a city and slow pans through a still forest, which we later learn is Hugo’s burial site.  Repeated shots of the corpse, wrapped in a red blanket, are intercut with scenes of the three going about their regular daily lives. Likewise, the audience sees the wide-reaching effects of the crime as Hugo’s associates systematically torture and brutally kill his friends as they search for him and, presumably, the money, while Alex and Juliet celebrate by blowing their ill-gotten gains on expensive electronics, clothing, and jewelry.

The crime is the movie’s MacGuffin; at its core, the film is a collection of character studies of the three main characters.  All three are typical successful early 90s yuppies (think “Friends” or “Thirtysomething”) and wildly unlikeable, but only Alex and Juliet are true sociopaths.  The cold and callous nature of the three makes it hard for an audience to identify or connect with any of the protagonists, a main bone of contention for critics, but that’s just how Boyle intended it.  To even entertain the idea of keeping Hugo’s death a secret for pure financial gain, they would have to be selfish and self-serving from the beginning.

David is the closest thing we have to a likable character.  He is consistently the odd man out and desperately wants to look cool, both to win Alex’s friendship and admiration and for Juliet to return his as of yet unrequited affections.  It’s this approval-seeking that keeps him from calling the police after they find Hugo’s body, despite his assertion that concealing the death and keeping the money is “immoral”.  Only when he’s reminded of his “boring” existence as a chartered accountant (by his boss, no less), does he agree to get rid of the deceased Hugo and keep his portion of the money.  As the three roommates sit around the open briefcase filled with money, Alex and Juliet have blissful looks on their faces.  David is hunched over and clearly distressed.  He is most affected by the grisly disposal of the corpse and the most concerned about the aftermath.  Eccleston plays his part with the kind of intensity he’s now known for, but he also portrays David as vulnerable, insecure, and eventually paranoid under the thin, false layer of icy, intellectual composure.

Alex, David, and Juliet consider the money.

McGregor is pitch perfect as the charming-but-amoral Alex and it’s easy to see how he became a star based on this performance.  Of the three, Alex seems the most callous and should be the most unlikeable, but McGregor manages to make him extremely charismatic, while still completely shallow.  Fox is also good as the cooly manipulative Juliet.

Visually, the film is very good, especially considering it was Boyle’s first.  The apartment (the film’s main setting) is inspired by the palette of Edward Hopper’s “Hotel Lobby”, featuring a combination of rich and muted greens and blues with occasional hints of red.  Repeated shots, especially those of the apartment building’s spiral staircase and bookending close-ups of David’s vacant face, help to give the film a tight, consistent feel.  As with Trainspotting, the movie begins and ends with voiceovers from McGregor outlining the overarching theme of the film.  Shallow Grave has hints of Hitchcock, Edgar Allan Poe, and even Heathers, and Boyle manages to give what could have been a formulaic plot a fresh feel with stylish directing and a carefully chosen cast.

Fright Rating: 2 gasps out of 5

Shallow Grave is more about suspense than violence.  Most of the violence takes place off screen, or just out of sight, and the R rating is mostly due to a few scenes of brief nudity and strong language, rather than gore.  It’s a great independent thriller and an often forgotten film that’s well worth a watch.