** no (major) spoilers to fear **
Eric Hoffer famously said, "Mass movements can rise and spread without belief in a God, but never without belief in a devil." In parallel, Halloween has expanded in significance: we'd celebrate monthly, given a way around the cognitive dissonance.
Six low-budget films for observance:
Body Parts (1992) is one, like Starship Troopers and Con Air, best enjoyed as self-spoof. Despite financial modesty (top-billing Jeff Fahey of Lost), Body Parts is equally wicked as it rolls the chestnut about transplant recipient possessed by not-quite-dead criminal donor. Eric Red directed (after writing The Hitcher and Near Dark), aiming for the cult celebrity of The Evil Dead and Re-Animator.
Frailty (2001) is a solid horror-drama (and an early credit for Matthew McConaughey). The late Bill Paxton directed and stars as a dad with his own ideas: raising sons to be homicidal. The plot holds some unusual twists, if not to the end. Paxton had planned to re-team with screenwriter Brent Hanley to adapt Joe R. Lansdale's The Bottoms.
Also from the shadows of 2001, Session 9 is set at the amazingly creepy (since demolished) Danvers State Hospital, the reported inspiration for Arkham asylum in the Lovecraft (and Batman) mythos. David Caruso is the only "name" in an asbestos-removal crew discovering their site, a shuttered mental hospital, is not empty like the work-order says. It's a slow burn, but truly frightening. Directed and co-written by Brad Anderson, who's since made The Machinist and Vanishing on 7th Street.
At one time, the American cowboy was sacred, such that a horror-Western was almost unthinkable, excepting self-sabotaged junk like Billy the Kid Versus Dracula. Westerns are fewer today, but a high percentage have horror elements: The Missing, Jonah Hex. The Burrowers (2008) is the Old West equivalent of Pitch Black or The Descent, as white settlers and natives discover a common enemy.
You're Next (2011) is a slasher film that asks if anyone deserves to survive, as an entitled/dysfunctional American clan reunites to celebrate the parental anniversary. Adam Wingard and Simon Barrett announce their presence with this shuffle of thrills, humor and social criticism. Part of a cycle in which the suburbs are hell, including A Horrible Way to Die (also Wingard and Barrett), Martha Marcy May Marlene and We Need to Speak About Kevin.
The latter's Karyn Kusama directed The Invitation (2015): slow-building and dark, it leaves a mark. While the mainstream offers crime films about horror-down-the-(L.A.)-street (Training Day, Crash, Lakeview Terrace), The Invitation bypasses righteousness for the disenchantment of Right at Your Door and Sound of My Voice. To say more would spoil the party.
Eric Hoffer famously said, "Mass movements can rise and spread without belief in a God, but never without belief in a devil." In parallel, Halloween has expanded in significance: we'd celebrate monthly, given a way around the cognitive dissonance.
Six low-budget films for observance:
 |
| consulting a physician, Body Parts |
Frailty (2001) is a solid horror-drama (and an early credit for Matthew McConaughey). The late Bill Paxton directed and stars as a dad with his own ideas: raising sons to be homicidal. The plot holds some unusual twists, if not to the end. Paxton had planned to re-team with screenwriter Brent Hanley to adapt Joe R. Lansdale's The Bottoms.
 |
| Danvers State Hospital (Mass.), 1893 |
At one time, the American cowboy was sacred, such that a horror-Western was almost unthinkable, excepting self-sabotaged junk like Billy the Kid Versus Dracula. Westerns are fewer today, but a high percentage have horror elements: The Missing, Jonah Hex. The Burrowers (2008) is the Old West equivalent of Pitch Black or The Descent, as white settlers and natives discover a common enemy.
You're Next (2011) is a slasher film that asks if anyone deserves to survive, as an entitled/dysfunctional American clan reunites to celebrate the parental anniversary. Adam Wingard and Simon Barrett announce their presence with this shuffle of thrills, humor and social criticism. Part of a cycle in which the suburbs are hell, including A Horrible Way to Die (also Wingard and Barrett), Martha Marcy May Marlene and We Need to Speak About Kevin.
The latter's Karyn Kusama directed The Invitation (2015): slow-building and dark, it leaves a mark. While the mainstream offers crime films about horror-down-the-(L.A.)-street (Training Day, Crash, Lakeview Terrace), The Invitation bypasses righteousness for the disenchantment of Right at Your Door and Sound of My Voice. To say more would spoil the party.