Fright Night Review by Corbin Bond

        What if you found out that right next door to you was something that was not human? This is the horrific case in the 1980's cult classic Fright Night; however, this is more than just any Horror film. Very similar to Scream in the mid 1990's, Fright Night, has a very powerful comic touch to it as we are given a rather funny and scary commentary on the Horror genre, specifically vampire films. With a very impressive cast of lovable characters and one liners along with some even more impressive special effects, Fright Night is one night that will entertain, amuse, and frighten all together.

          The story for the film is quite simple. High schooler, Charlie Brewster, is an average 80's Horror movie nerd with a special place in his heart for vampire films starring the classic "vampire killer," Peter Vincent. Meanwhile, Charlie is dealing with teenage issues in terms of his intimacy with his loving girlfriend, Amy, along with trying to pass High School trigonometry. Meanwhile, Charlie also shows himself as the average 80's High schooler in that he seems to be part of a clichéd friend trio - Amy, himself, and the hilarious "Evil" Ed. However, Charlie's normal life takes a swift turn to the horrific as a mysterious new neighbor moves in right next door. We come to find out that this neighbor is the suave and debonair Jerry Dandridge - played excellently by Chris Sarandon. Jerry has a gruesome secret. Behind his seductive appearance, he is a vicious vampire who isn't afraid to raise some hell in the neighborhood by killing anyone who threatens him. Charlie, of course, finds out and thus seeks the help of the famous Peter Vincent, and from then on it is up to these two to save the neighborhood from this creature of the night.

          This is, of course, a very short summary of this masterpiece because many sudden obstacles come between Charlie and stopping Jerry. Jerry is on a whole new level of vampire in this decade defined by mostly slasher films. He is conniving, brutal, and malicious in his attacks on Charlie and those he cares about. One particular scene in a night club near the film's climax proves this monster's brutal capabilities. Meanwhile, we are given comic relief especially in the brilliant "Evil" Ed, who is filled with one-liners and cocky phrases that just make you wanna bust out laughing at times. Meanwhile, Amy plays the damsel in distress who doesn't believe Charlie about the existence about vampires until it's too late. Finally, Charlie is the clear hero followed by his awesome British partner, Peter Vincent - who is portrayed as a modern day mock of Van Helsing by Roddy McDowell.

         Overall, this is definitely one of the greatest vampire films, as well as one of the most impressive Horror films ever made not just because of its social commentary and comedy, but also because of its Horror elements. This has to be noted as a film with some absolutely amazing effects, especially in makeup. Jerry Dandrige's transformation into a vicious vampire is terrifying because he completely changes into a pure blood thirsty animal with some of the most frightening fangs ever. Meanwhile, he is also developed true to the original vampire mythos as he is able to change into a bat, fog, and even a wolf. The original vampire weaknesses also apply; however, Jerry is a very good villain in that he will not go out with a brutal fight.

        When discussing the effects, one cannot ignore some of the gory effects as well. The film, though not incredibly bloody, has some very interesting gory moments. Some of which seem very reminiscent to The Evil Dead. The cinematography also is fantastic as we are given shots that are very eerie as well as disorienting. Furthermore, I have to say, without spoilers, that this film has one of the most awesome endings in terms of effects in a vampire movie. It really ends with an awesome bang.

        Another thing to take into account with this film is that it doesn't take itself seriously and plays with that brilliantly. It plays on the fact that some Horror involves cheesy qualities; however, the film utilizes these cheesy qualities to its advantage because it makes it stand out, like Scream would 11 years later. The film commentates on the loss of acknowledgment that even some of the most classic horror films, though cheesy, were in fact better than the focus and popularity of slashing maniacs hacking up young virgins. The film cleverly criticizes this love of slasher films by giving us the anti slasher film focused entirely on the classic supernatural horror of vampires and the world beyond the grave. Moreover, in the end we are given one of the best Horror films of all time that would develop fast cult classic status. Meanwhile, the film would spawn the reemergence of even more impressive vampire films, such as 1987's amazing film, The Lost Boys. In conclusion, Fright Night is definitely a night to be remembered again and again and again.

Alien Review By Erik Haley

         In space, no one can hear you scream. Thus reads the tag-line of one of the most impressive horror sci-fi movies ever made. While it's concept may seem simple, it is one of the greatest horror films because it preys on several human fears: creatures that are far more powerful than us, the dangers of technology and betrayal by people we consider friends and comrades. Directed by Ridley Scott, Alien is one of the horror films that keeps its viewers in suspense of what will happen next, while still using a restricted amount of gore at just the right time.
         The film starts off with the crew of the spaceship Nostromo being woken up from hibernation to answer a mysterious distress call from a ship on a nearby planet. When they arrive on the ship, an alien attaches to a crew member's face and becomes impossible to move. However, the alien eventually falls off and everything seems to be back to normal; until an alien bursts out of the man's chest at breakfast. The alien quickly escapes and the crew try to kill it in case it damages the ship. Unfortunately, there are three problems with this plan. One, the alien has acidic blood, so killing with anything other than fire will cause the ship's hull to be eaten away. Two, the alien is growing, And three, the company who finances the mission has decided that the alien might be more valuable alive rather than dead. It's a game of cat and mouse in a rather cramped maze, and the humans are now the mice.
         The two main characters of the film are instrumental in understanding the appeal of the film. The alien is one of the most realistic special effects in film; it seems like the demon we see in nightmares. The creature knows nothing except for hostility for the crew and devouring them. It cannot be reasoned with and it cannot be killed due to its resistant body. It is a monster that humanity prays to never encounter.The other main characters is Ellen Ripley, the person who takes charge of the Nostromo shortly after the alien appears. She is not hesitant about disregarding the ship in order to make a successful escape; the lives of the crew come before anything else. She is one of the strongest females in horror for good reason; she is more than willing to do anything to take out the creature.
         In addition, the film has a nice criticism of businesses. The profits that can be made from making the alien a weapon are more important to the company than the cargo of the ship or the lives of the crew. The setting on a spaceship makes the entire premise very effective; it is probably the greatest draw to the film. Unlike some other slashers where it would be plausible for the victims to runaway from the killer, there is no where for the characters to run in this film. The main characters are trapped with a monster; they have no hope of survival without drastic measures. This is what makes the film so great, and is unfortunately lost in the sequels. While the second film in the series was a good film, it still does not make as noticeable an impression. The rest of the series is better off forgotten. All in all, the film is one of the most powerful horror films ever made.

Don't Be Afraid of the Dark Review by Corbin Bond

Tonight I got the amazing chance to see the world premiere of Guillermo del Toro’s newest film, Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark. The film is a very dark interpretation on old folklore del Toro actually came across in research. Furthermore, it is also greatly influenced by a 70’s made for television film by the same name. The story is of a young girl named Sally, played by Bailee Madison, who is sent by her mother to stay with her father, played by Guy Pearce, and his new girlfriend named Kim, played by Katie Holmes. The father and Kim are currently renovating the old Blackwood mansion so that they can start a successful architecture business. While staying in the house, Sally starts to experience very strange occurrences starting with whispering voices calling out to her. Following some very disturbing events in the newly found basement of the Blackwood mansion, including a violent attack on one of the groundskeepers, Sally comes to discover that the mansion is overrun by demonic creatures that can only reveal themselves in the darkness. It is up to Sally and Kim, who comes to believe her later, to stop these terrifying creatures from destroying the family and taking their desired sacrifice.

The one thing I absolutely love about Guillermo del Toro’s storytelling is how he produces imagery that is directly out of Gothic horror. The entire film is like a very dark and disturbing Grimm’s Fairy Tale with Sally being the young innocent girl, who is brought into this very dark and evil world. Meanwhile, we are given adults who either refuse to believe or just have a hard time relating to Sally’s pleas for help. Furthermore, what really made this movie even more effective was the tension that built in this film. The music was very beautiful, but at the right moments, it had the capability of putting many members of the audience at the edge of their seats. The film also played with the power silence has on an audience waiting for a creature to jump out at the screen. Another strong point was that the story had its funny one-liners that brought relief when needed. The atmosphere was very similar to that of Poe and especially H.P. Lovecraft in that it was very fantastical yet creepy and ominous simultaneously.

Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark also has a very awesome amount of suspense involved. There are many moments that made many in the audience jump. Even certain normal sounds, like thunder, had the capability to make some jump. However, the creatures are clearly the spotlight of providing this suspense. For example, at one point in the film, Sally wakes up after her nightlight falls off of her night stand to find that the creatures are in her bedroom and crawling up under the covers. She grabs a flashlight and goes under. As she crawls under, she suddenly comes across one of the creatures that screams directly at the screen causing the entire theater to echo in a chorus of screams. There are many other moments like this in the film, including a scene involving Sally in the bath tub, and each one produced some form of nightmarish moment sending the audience into shivers, cringes, jumps, or covering their eyes.

This film was also very violent at times in which the creatures attack innocent people in the home. However, one particular moment in the film, that still sends chills down my spine, has to be the opening scene. This scene is like a prologue in that we learn of the Blackwood history. We are shown a grisly act of Mr. Blackwood bashing out the teeth of his maid with a hammer and chisel. Following this murder he takes her teeth in a saucer and carries them to an ash pit only to brutally attacked and dragged down the pit by the creatures in habiting the pit. The whole time we can hear his bones snapping and crunching as he is dragged down into this unknown abyss, which could possibly be interpreted as being dragged to Hell. Later we are given other moments of violence performed by the creature that also caused multiple cringes and repulsion.

Another factor of the film that I enjoyed was its usage of fairy tale folklore. I won’t reveal any spoilers on the creatures themselves, but one can easily notice references to other known childhood folk tales, which is Guillermo del Toro’s literal calling card. It plays very much so on the classic childhood fears that we all faced while growing up, especially our feeling of being alone in the darkness with no one to believe that you are in danger or even help you. This presents the theme of isolation very intelligently in that as children we are believed to have wild imaginations that adults cannot or will not believe. This caused audiences to feel a lot of pity for Sally, as she was constantly tormented viciously by these creatures. Furthermore, with this child in peril, the film provided a much more disturbing tone. One can also get a sense of childhood fancy with some other forms of imagery Guillermo del Toro uses, like the gorgeous garden of the Blackwood estate that seems very reminiscent of Tim Burton’s Sleepy Hollow and Edward Scissorhands. The beauty of the land paired with the dark and ominous atmosphere provided a very interesting and fascinating contrast.

The creatures themselves were all computer generated. When I first heard about this, I was a little discouraged; however, after seeing the film, I have to say that those little bastards were freaky. Their overall appearance was absolutely twisted and disturbing. I still can’t believe that some people in the audience actually brought children to see it. True, they were very small creatures; however, don’t let that fool you. They are brutal in what they can and will do to get their “hunger” settled. What got to me the most was that they were very deceptive with whispers, and once they were finally up close they were feral and terrifying. Furthermore, whenever they did get caught in light they would deliver a shrill scream that can easily be called worse than nails on a chalk board. In my opinion, these are the scariest little demons I have seen since Joe Dante’s Gremlins.

Overall, I was very pleased with this film, and Guillermo del Toro should be proud because he has provided audiences with a traditional horror film that goes back to the roots of horror’s true traits. It’s scary, shocking, funny, and entertaining all at once. Furthermore, the acting was terrific. I was very impressed with Katie Holmes performance because she really portrayed Kim’s role in a way that really made the audience feel for her as well. I believe she showed much improvement with her performance in this film. Meanwhile, Bailee Madison was the perfect image of a sweet innocent little Sally, and she really pulled off the role well especially as she learns to fight back later in the film. Guy Pearce did a good job as well portraying the father as a skeptic who we begin to feel sympathy for as he later believes his daughter. The film itself is a very awesome and fun horror film that is absolutely perfect to watch in a pitch black room with a bucket of popcorn and friends. However, I must say prepare to scream.

Repulsion Review by Erik Haley

Predating Rosemary's Baby by three years, Roman Polanski's Repulsion is one of the quintessential horror films of the 60s. Shot in black and white, the film still manages to combine disturbing images with a sound track to disturb the audience. Besides the horror aspect of the work, the film also provides an analysis of the sexual revolution in Britain in the 60s.In addition, the film has an interesting analysis of the idea of claustrophobia and isolation; the same themes showed up later in Rosemary’s Baby. The film, while it may seem dated today, is easily some of Polanski’s scariest work.

The plot seems fairly straightforward on first glance. Carole Ledoux is living in London in the 1960s, where the sexual revolution is in full swing. She lives with her sister, who enjoys the sexual freedom of the times. Carole, however, is extremely timid and refuses to take part in any event. Even Colin, a gentleman who wants to have a serious relationship, repulses her to a degree. When her sister leaves for a vacation to hang out with her boyfriend, however, Carole slowly falls apart. Her fears overwhelm her and she slowly falls into madness. The ending of the movie is bleak and Polanski does not pull any punches. WARNING: SPOILERS (Completely mad, she kills Colin when he tries to check and see if she is ok, fearing he may try to rape her. When her sister comes back, she is almost catatonic and is taken to a mental hospital; there is little hope that she will recover.) Only at the end of the film to we get even the slightest hint into what was the catalyst for Carole’s madness. It’s not pretty.

The true genius of the movie is that the horror is the slow descent into madness. There are plenty of hints and symbols to show her gradually losing her mind; the most famous example in the film is the rabbit that was left out and never cooked. Also, her hallucinations grow worse over time; while she first imagines cracks on the walls, she later has visions where arms emerge from the wall in an attempt to rape her in what may be the film’s most famous sequence. WARNING: SPOILERS Another well done sequence is when she kills Colin with a candlestick. The ferocity in her eyes is not acting in this scene. To get her sufficiently angry enough, Polanski forced her to redo the scene dozens of times until her anger at Polanski was channeled into the scene. Carole’s hatred for Colin is really Catherine’s anger at Polanski.

Of course, Catherine Denevue deserves a lot of praise. She is completely believable as the timid Carole slowly going mad. She pulls off the mad, violent Carole just as well as the shy Carole; not an easy thing to do. However, despite the horrible things she does after she loses her mind, the audience still remains sympathetic with her. Catherine is able to show Carole more as a frightened child than a crazy killer. The other cast members play their parts well but to be honest they seem more like side characters. The movie is really Catherine’s show.

Repulsion is a horror film without monsters, satanic rituals or mass murdering psychopaths. It is a film about how one week alone can be enough to drive someone insane. And it works spectacularly.

Black Swan Review By: Corbin Bond

Tonight I attended the opening night of the Virginia Film Festival and got the chance to see a premiere showing of the highly anticipated film by Darren Aronofsky, Black Swan. The film tells the tale of Nina a professional ballerina, played by Natalie Portman, who is extremely hard working in order to attain the lead role of her ballet company’s production of Swan Lake. The director of the production, played by Guy Pierce, is looking to create a new provocative form of the classic ballet by having the same dancer, performing as the Swan Queen, portray both the White Swan and her evil and seductive twin sister, the Black Swan. Nina, who is nothing but perfect for the White Swan, cannot produce the correct form of sensuality and eroticism that her director can accept for the Black Swan. However, with Nina’s lacking comes a new comer named Lily, played by Mila Kunis. Lily is a rival character to Nina’s goal in that she possesses the sexuality and eroticism that Nina lacks. Throughout the film, tension builds as Nina begins to see unnatural and disturbing visions that make the audience wonder if Lily is out to get her or another jealous character.

This film is all about tension and beauty paired with extremely disturbing images of sex and violence, including self mutilation. Furthermore, the film makes it very difficult to tell whether certain visions are real or simply illusions. What impressed me the most, was the film’s subtlety in terms of showing blood. Like John Carpenter’s masterpiece, Halloween, Aronofsky plays a similar hand in that Black Swan shows very little to no blood at all. However, even without the gore and bloodshed, this film still had the capability to make the entire audience cringe in pain. For example, one particular scene involved Nina pulling at what looked to be a piece of dangling flesh on her middle finger’s cuticle. She pulls and tugs at it, all while we hear the tearing and ripping of flesh. Then for a quick second we see her pull a long piece of torn flesh off of her finger. At moments like these, the audience, myself included, reacted by cringing and hissing in pain. While having mostly subtle images of blood, there are some rather grisly scenes in the film as well. I must say that Darren Aronofsky presented the violence beautifully in a way that seemed very reflexive of Dario Argento’s Suspiria.

Meanwhile, along with the violence and disturbing masochism, we also are given extremely sexual scenes and images. This film is extremely sexual in terms of body language, derogatory slurs, and even scenes of sex and masturbation. These scenes were intense, but revealed Nina as becoming more experienced. In the beginning, Portman portrays Nina as a very sweet and innocent character who develops herself into a much darker individual by the end. The story is of Nina’s metamorphosis into the one role she has obsessed over for years. Meanwhile, Lily seems to represent one of the sources of Nina’s corruption in how they are both complete opposites, and it seems to be Lily’s sexuality and attitude that attract Nina. Furthermore, we are given combinations of disturbing imagery with sex in specific scenes of the film. One scene, for example, involved Nina walking in on Lily having sex with what appears to be the director who is suddenly seen as a demonic visage with black wings. This ultimately provides the audience with a fusion of sex along with dark and disturbing imagery.

Overall, I must say, I was extremely impressed with the film. Having seen The Fountain, I have already been a fan of Aronofsky’s work, but Black Swan was absolutely the most beautiful, psychological, and disturbing film I have seen sinceShutter Island. I feel it is one of the best films of the year, and I couldn’t be happier that I got the chance to see it. Natalie Portman was truly exquisite, and this was her best performance ever. I definitely believe that she deserves the Oscar Nomination for Best Actress. She does a beautiful job in presenting a character that the audience can’t help but pity and, at times, even fear. Meanwhile, Mila Kunis, whom many know as the voice of Meg on Fox’s Family Guy, was also fantastic and also deserves an Oscar Nomination for Best Supporting Actress. Kunis presents Lily as the character the audience can love and hate simultaneously. Furthermore, Winona Ryder also makes a few appearances in the film as a jealous dancer, named Beth, who is forced to retire. She makes a very frightening and stunning return back to the screen in a very impressive way.

I must say, this movie is definitely Aronofsky’s masterpiece in that it produces the right amount of chills, thrills, and laughs. The camera work is phenomenal, and the art and set designs are gorgeous. Meanwhile, the artistry of the imagery of the film seems to beautifully reflect moments of Gothic literature. One could almost interpret it as a modern retelling of Swan Lake amalgamated with Edgar Allan Poe’s “A Tell-Tale Heart.” The plot is told at a very smooth pace, and by the ending the whole film flows together beautifully. I strongly recommend seeing this film. It’s dark, violent, disturbing, sexual, and absolutely beautiful and mesmerizing. It ultimately reveals Aronofsky’s artistry at its absolute finest.

The Crazies Review by Corbin Bond

We are always told to love thy neighbor, but what if your neighbor turned into a psychopathic monster. This is the premise of The Crazies, a remake of George A. Romero's 1970's original (and forgotten) film. I had never heard of The Crazies; however, this film made me realize that I didn't have to remember it at all because, like the Dawn of the Dead remake back in 2004, this film actually proved itself to be better than the original film.

The film tells the story of an Iowa farming community, called Ogden Marsh, that suffers a very strange epidemic after a U.S. military aircraft crashes into a local bog that happens to connect to the town's water supply. The scares occur immediately and build up throughout as a group of civilians, including the sheriff, his pregnant wife, his deputy, and a teenage girl, try to escape alive. However, they find that these infected town folk are not their only worries as the government steps in ordering a massacre on the town's infected and immune citizens. Thus we get the realization that we can no longer love thy neighbor, but fear him/her instead.

This film is very frightening and produces many successful jump scares, while building up tons of suspense and tension. One particular scene involved people strapped down on medical tables as an infected citizen carrying a pitchfork impales people continuously leading up to some of our leading characters. The whole time you can taste fear. It also brings about the idea that there is no safe place to go when you are being watched constantly by big brother.

The film is also very emotional as some very likeable characters are killed; however, this shows how the horror genre is unforgiving in certain situations. By the time viewers reach the finale, you think that the shocks have all ended, but believe me when I say that you haven't seen anything yet! This film has so much tension and atmosphere that by the end, you are completely blown away. I mean that quite literally!!! Check it out when you get the chance!

The House of the Devil Review by Corbin Bond

If you grew up in the 80's or even got a taste of late 70's/early 80's horror, then you should know that is a style of the horror genre that seems to have been thrown aside this day and age. However, Ti West has brilliantly resurrected this horror style with his latest American indie film, The House of the Devil.

This film, set in the glorious 1980's, tells the story of Samantha Hughes, a broke college student who needs to get $300 dollars to pay off the first month's down for her new apartment to escape the torment of her roommate. In her struggle to find money she comes across a flyer for babysitting. Samantha takes one of the slips from the flyer and calls the given phone number and gets the job that very night to sit for the Ulman family. This very odd family, reminiscent of the Adams family at times, surprisingly reveal that Sam is not to watch any children but take care of the family's old grandmother for the evening. Sam accepts the suspicious position for a whopping $400 dollars! However, she comes to find that the family she is sitting for have much more evil plans for her, for on this night of a lunar eclipse, all Hell will break loose (pun intended).

As the film begins, it feels like a huge retro trip with the opening credits reflecting Tarantino. Even the picture itself is grainy to match an early 80's style film. The music is very dark and atmospheric. Meanwhile, the actual background to the story adds to the creep factor.

The film is based on how in the early 80's nearly 70% of American adults believed in the existence of abusive satanic cults. That opening message presents viewers with a very chilling reality. Furthermore, it's brilliantly set in the 80's when cell phones, computers, facebook, etc. weren't even thought of yet. This gives one a classic feel of an old haunted house style story, where you are isolated and there is no where else to go. Though this film does give a very creepy atmosphere, it is very slow during the first 45 minutes. Some may get bored and decide to stop the movie; however, I must urge you to avoid that because the suspense and tension begin to heighten immensely as soon as Samantha enters the house. This tension is mainly built on the fear of what is going to pop out at you or suddenly happen to Samantha, even though nothing really happens but some very creepy noises and eerie silent moments. Finally, as the last few minutes of the film unfold, all of that fear and tension explodes into a climactic conclusion.

Not only does the story really work well, but it resembles a lot of old school horror films that didn't show off the true terror until the very end. This is the perfect film to sit and relax and watch during a cold fall night with all of the lights out. The suspense in this film is very effective and I highly recommend it to anyone who loves suspense.