Over 20 Years Later, The X-Files Intro Is Still The Creepiest Thing On TV

The X-Files, a science fiction/horror television show that ran from 1993 to 2002, was a pop culture hit that focused on all things paranormal and conspiratorial. A strong focus was given to wide-spanning government conspiracies and aliens, though its strength came from the episodes featuring various monsters, legends, and creatures. The series spawned two full-length films, spin-offs, comic books, toys, and countless parodies. Just this year, a six-episode tenth season was released (don’t spoil it for those that haven’t seen it yet). This announcement piqued my interest in the series and, probably like a lot of people, inspired me to watch the series from the beginning.

It’s interesting going back to watch something that initially scared me as a child. As an adult, I can now appreciate the drama and suspense of the show’s fine pacing, the subtle humor, the strong elements of horror, and the great music in each episode. I like to call this switch from childhood fear to mature enjoyment the “Freddy Krueger Effect”. When you’re young, monsters seem very real. They can hide in your closet, under your bed, down in the basement, anywhere that is unknown. For a kid, Freddy Krueger is terrifying. He’s scary-looking, has sharp knives on his fingers, and can get you where you parents can’t protect you. When you hit a certain age, though, he’s no longer scary and can actually be morbidly funny. The Freddy Krueger Effect works for Tales From The Crypt and can certainly be applied to The X-Files. An individual episode may give you the “willies”, but time and age seems to have muted the unsettling nature of the show. Except for the theme song.

As far as theme songs go, The X-Files theme may be one of the most iconic of the modern television era. So popular was the theme that it actually reached #2 on the UK singles chart. It’s worth noting that The X-Files debuted the same year as The Nanny, Blossom, and Class of ’96. Shows still had lyrics tailored specifically for the show. The X-Files theme was different. Composed by Mark Snow, who also created music for shows like Smallville, Millennium, and La Femme Nikita, the theme is an instrumental that borders on the ethereal. The alien whistling, a combination of a sample from a synth called “Whistling Joe” and Snow’s wife Glynn, effect conveys a sense of otherworldly uneasiness in the viewer while the echoing keyboard serves to focus and prolong feelings of dread. Its sparseness allows the whistling and echoes to breathe, boring deep within the listener’s mind. On its own, the X-Files theme may not seem so powerful. When the music is combined with the original footage from the show’s intro, though, it does.

The X-Files introduction was so effective because it always had a great set-up. Rather than starting the show with the intro, the episode itself would begin with a 1-2 minute setup. The set-up would almost always end with a traumatic experience, usually an unexplained occurrence or violence. Before the show is even technically introduced, the audience is thrust into the violent unknown world of the X-Files. We are not just told, but shown that monsters do exist and they are dangerous.

After the title screen, we are introduced to a photograph of a human pointing at a saucer-like object in the sky. Though partially obscured, we see that the photo is from the FBI and is dated. Nowadays, photo manipulation can be done convincingly in any home around the world. In the early 90’s it was less common. The photo does look real, accentuated by the person in the left corner pointing at the flying saucer. It’s a candid shot that lends the show a sense of credibility.

 

 The next few shots focus in on the unidentified flying object. The viewer is drawn in to the unknown ship as it gets closer and closer until it practically takes up the entire screen. This makes the “unknown” unavoidable, forcing the viewer to directly confront their fears.

 

Following the space ship careening into the living room, we see an arm pointing towards some sort of graph or notes. The arm is cloaked in darkness, belonging to a shadowy figure that we will never know. What the arm is pointing at is not clear. Is it a scientific formula? The notes of a madman? Is it even of this planet or this dimension? It is too much for the average mind to grasp, but someone out there knows, and that may be the scariest thing of all.

 

Now we have a floating orb with electric beams rotating in all directions. Admittedly, this looks like something you’d get at Spencer’s Gifts in the mall.

 

After seeing the strobe light from your friend’s basement, the audience is then subjected to the image of a face twisting and distorting in agony. We don’t know who this is or why they are being subjected to such obvious pain. It can be a physical or metaphysical pain. That’s left up to the viewer which, once again, allows the mind to fill-in the blanks with all types of horrible ideas. This quick scene is a brief glimpse into the effect that the X-Files world has on humans. The show’s opening scene is usually one of great violence or drama and now we have this helpless, contorting face. All of this before we even see the credits for the two main actors.

 

The next few seconds, though, are possibly the most interesting and disturbing moments of the show’s introduction. We see what can only be described as two mirroring alien eggs. Something emerges from both at the same time as the words “Paranormal Activity” flashes across the screen. While the previous scenes let the viewer’s mind do the work of instilling confusing and uneasiness, these shots are legitimately confusing. What unspeakable horrors are being born? Where is it from and where is it going? What does it want? Can we stop it?

For years, I had no idea what was going on with this shot and only recently discovered that it was a mirrored seed germinating. It’s interesting that something so simple and normal that occurs all over the world every day can seem so unnatural.

 

Next we have a ghost-like figure shambling down a hallway. Is it a ghost or perhaps someone trapped between dimensions, appearing only as a shadow of a human being? It’s a little unnerving on its own, but when the words “GOVERNMENT DENIES KNOWLEDGE” appear on screen, a new world of paranoia is opened to the viewer. “They” know what this is and “they” will not tell us. What us do “they” know? It’s a collision of conspiracy and supernatural and we have no good answers to assuage our fear.

 

We then see the show’s protagonists, Agents Mulder and Scully (both David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson receive credit earlier in the intro) burst into a room with their weapons drawn. Before the scene fades away, we see looks of shock and horror on their faces. What could possibly be in that room to two hardened veterans of the paranormal and the unexplained to react in such a way? Do we, the audience, even want to know?

 

One of the final scene’s from the X-Files intro is also the one open to the most interpretation. We have a small, featureless all-white being falling toward an enormous blue hand with one small red section on its finger. Is the figure human or is the hand? Are neither? Should this be seen as more of a psychological despair than a physical concern? Why red, white, and blue? Is this a commentary on the show’s conspiratorial views of the government? Is it to show man slipping through the fingers of God and falling into some unknown abyss? This is all pretty deep for a television show.

 

After a shot of a giant eye and credit to show creator Chris Carter, we have the iconic shot of a quickly moving storm over mountains with the slogan “THE TRUTH IS OUT THERE”. The tagline did occasionally change throughout the show’s run for particular episodes saying things such as “TRUST NO ONE” AND “DENY EVERYTHING”. It is this final image that leaves the most impact. The truth is out there, implying that we do not currently know the truth. We have been and continue to be deceived. The only way to find the truth is to go into the unknown and find it ourselves. The onus is on us (and Mulder and Scully, the avatars for the audience) to find the truth.

The images and messages occur in less than a minute, but they last long after the show itself is over. There have been other show intros with scary music or disturbing imagery that stick with the viewer. Unsolved Mysteries and The Outer Limits come to mind. Modern horror shows may be gorier and have better special effects, but they don’t have the same staying power of the X-Files introduction for the simple fact that they do not use the most powerful fear creator in the world: the mind. A zombie eats someone on a show and that’s it. A ghost is torturing a poor family and that’s it. There is little else to work with beyond the initial jump scare or shock of seeing something violent. The X-files intro allowed things to by implied and inferred, leaving the viewer to try and fill in the blanks. All while an unearthly song plays in the background.

Day 362: End Of Days

End Of Days

Schwarzenegger should never be sad. He should always be punching something.

Arnold Schwarzenegger fights Satan on the eve of the new millennium. That plot sounds like it was written on the back of a high school notebook next to “Metallica Rulez” and doodles of pirates battling ninjas. While it sounds like a wacky idea it also sounds like a fun one. Schwarzenegger is not exactly known for his work in horror and the supernatural so the idea of him battling the forces of evil is at least different. Even in the late 90's, Arnold was still a draw as an action hero and slightly more believable battling the devil than, say, Jean-Claude Van Damme or Steven Seagal. Add in a well-rounded cast and some fun special effects and you can't go wrong, right?

End Of Days is a 1999 supernatural horror/action movie starring Arnold Schwarzenegger (The Running Man, Total Recall) as retired cop Jericho Cane and Gabriel Byrne (Stigmata, The Usual Suspects) as Satan. In 1979, newborn Christine York is chosen to bear Satan's child 20 year's later on the eve of the new millennium. The Pope sends out priests all over the glove to find the child and protect her from Satan. Twenty years later, Satan comes to Earth and possesses a Wall Street Banker, leaving death and destruction in his wake. Jericho Cane is assigned to protect the banker, unaware of his true nature, and saves him from an assassin. The would-be killer is revealed to be a priest named Thomas Aquinas (Derrick O'Connor, Dardevil, Deep Rising) who was sent to protect Christine. Jericho and his partner Bobby Chicago (Kevin Pollack, Wayne's World, Canadian Bacon) discover Aquinas's hideout and eventually find a now-adult Christine York (Robin Tunney, The Craft, Empire Records). She is attacked by the Vatican Knights, a group of Catholics that believe the only way to prevent the End of Days is by killing her. Jericho saves her, but Bobby is killed by Satan in an explosion. As Jericho and Christine escape, they first stopped by Christine's adoptive mother and fellow police officer Marge (CCH Pounder, Warehouse 13, Avatar), both who are in league with Satan. Satan visits Jericho in his apartment and tries to tempt him, offering to reunite him with his murdered wife and daughter. He refuses and shoots Satan to no avail. Eventually, Christine is captured by Satan and taken to a secret location in order to fulfill his evil mission. With New Years fast approaching, how will Jericho be able to save Christine and defeat the devil himself?

Don't leave the Prince of Darkness hanging

On the surface, the basic premise of End Of Days doesn't sound that bad. Sure, it's been done before and is fairly cliché, but it's not a terrible idea. Throwing in a mega star like Arnold Schwarzenegger, even at a price tag of $25 million, sounds even better. Unfortunately, that's where the good ideas end. The movie is a poor patchwork of various other Satanic horror movies and the final product is a confused mess that is high on explosions, but low on logic. It's never really clear why Satan chose the body that he did or why he chose to stay in it for so long. If he can control people, why does he have so much trouble finding and keeping Christine? Why is Jericho able to resist his control? Why does he need protection at the beginning of the movie in the first place? And if both the Vatican and Satan's minions have been planning for this event for two decades, why are they both completely inept? If the movie went at a quick pace, maybe some of these gaping plot hole. Instead we get a movie over two hours long full of extended fight scenes. I like fights and explosions as much as the next person, but it really kills any horror and suspense that the movie may have had. Another thing in the movie that I really didn't like was the hyper-sexual nature of the story. The entire plot is based on Satan raping a girl and along the way, he molests a few other women. There is even one scene involving incest. Implying these things would have been bad enough, but they are up front and in your face. It made me quite uncomfortable and took my focus away from the rest of the movie.

When you think of a depressed, suicidal cop from New York, do you think of Arnold Schwarzenegger? Of course not, which makes his casting in the role of Jericho Cane (nice name) a little strange. He does his best to show emotion and range, but really, it's just Arnold Schwarzenegger. He runs, he jumps, he shoots. He gets a lot of help from a pretty good cast that includes Kevin Pollack, CCH Pounder, Rod Steiger, and Udo Kier. Gabriel Byrne is out of place in his role since Satan is strangely portrayed not as evil, but mischievous. There was one funny scene where Satan told a skateboarder that he liked his “Satan Rules” shirt. The movie's soundtrack is also notable as it is a snapshot of what was popular at the time. Songs from bands like Korn, Limp Bizkit, Rob Zombie, Eminem and a new song from Guns N' Roses find their way into the movie at random intervals. The movie uses a lot of special effects, some good while others look dated through modern eyes. Thanks to international numbers and DVD sales, the movie did fairly well, but not as well as studios were expecting. Maybe the world just wasn't ready for a depressed Arnold and a goofy Satan.

Look at that emotion!

End Of Days sounds decent on paper. It has a big-name star, a good supporting cast, lots of violence, special effects, and a hip soundtrack. Unfortunately, the movie's story is all over the place, leaving huge plot holes and focusing more on action than horror. There aren't many scares to be had and certain overly-sexual scenes will make just about everyone reach for the remote. Both Arnold Schwarzenegger and Gabriel Byrne look out of place in the movie. No one wants to see a depressed Arnold trying to show emotion and no one wants a boring Satan. End Of Days is good for a nostalgia trip and for an explosion fix. That's about it.

4.5/10

Day 358: Dead Alive

Dead Alive

Peek-a-bleechh

“Horror movies are nothing but violence and blood.” Horror may be one of the most maligned genres in all of cinema. There are those who want to blame scary movies for all of society's failings and those who regard them as nothing more than filth. We know that this is not true. Horror movies can be beautiful, poetic pieces of entertainment that can make us laugh, cry, scream, and yell. The same can't be said for some other genres. The point is that despite the blood and gore horror movies are not just splatterfests, dumping gallons of blood and guts in front of the screen to the delight of weirdos and neerdowells. Unless of course, that's the entire point of the movie.

Dead Alive (also known as Braindead) is a 1992 New Zealand zombie movie written and directed by Peter Jackson (Lord Of The Rings, The Hobbit). The film stars Timothy Balme (The Tattooist, Mercy Peak) as Lionel Cosgrove and Diana Penalver (El comisario, Mediterraneo) as Pauita Maria Sanchez. An explorer visits Skull Island and captures the legendary Sumatran Rat-Monkey, a hideous creature who, legend has it, came about when large rats infested the island and raped all the monkeys. Natives try to stop him from leaving with the monkey, but he evades them only to be bitten in the hand by the monkey. His assistants chop off his hand to prevent the effects from spreading, but upon seeing scratches on his head, they are forced to kill him. The rat-monkey is then shipped to the Wellington Zoo in New Zealand to be put on display. Lionel Cosgrove, a Wellington resident, lives with his domineering mother Vera (Elizabeth Moody, The Lord Of The Rings, The Scarecrow) and has very little in the way of a personal life. He meets Paquita at a local shop who quickly falls in love with him after he fulfills a prophecy given to her by her grandmother. They go on a date to the Wellington Zoo where Vera follows them. She gets too close to the Rat-Monkey and is bitten on the arm. Lionel takes her home to care for her, but her condition quickly deteriorates. He calls a nurse to check on her, but Vera, now a ravenous zombie, kills the nurse, turning her as well. He keeps them sedated in his basement, but Vera escapes into the general population. She is hit by a trolly and Lionel is forced to tranquilize her during the funeral. That night, he returns to the graveyard to tranquilize her again, only to be attacked by hoodlums. Vera rises from the grave and turns the gang into zombies. Father Jon McGruder (Stuart Devenie, The Frighteners, Jack Of All Traders) uses kung-fu to fight off the zombies, proclaiming, “I kick ass for the Lord!” Unfortunately, Father McGruder is also turned into a zombie and Lionel is forced to keep him in his basement. Lionel's uncle Les (Ian Watkin, Charlotte's Web, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys) pays him a visit and discovers the zombies. He blackmails Lionel into giving up the house and inheritance in exchange for keeping quite. Lionel poisons and buries the zombies while Les throws a party at the house. The zombies awaken and start attacking the partygoers. Will Lionel and Paquita be able to stop the zombies before they spread throughout the country?

At least his jacket is still in one piece

Dead Alive is possibly one of the goriest films ever made. When someone describes a movie as being too gory, just point to Dead Alive and say “Is it gorier than this?” The movie has gallons of spraying blood, dismemberment, slashing, and flesh-eating all in the name of fun. If that sounds too tame, there movie is famous for a scene where Lionel uses an upturned lawn mower to shred a horde of zombies in what can only be described as the blood version of Old Faithful. The film is loaded with obscene violence, but presented in such a way that you can't help but laugh. Whether is a priest using martial arts or Lionel trying to feed zombies, the movie is full of legitimately funny scenes. Granted, there are some things in the movie that don't work, like the pile of guts chasing after Lionel or just about anything involving the zombie baby the shows up later in the film. Things progress at a quick pace which helps keep the movie going since the plot is fairly simple. 

Red Skull, is that you?

To the fans of The Lord Of The Rings and The Hobbit, it may come as a shock that Peter Jackson was involved in such a crazy movie. If you can get past the shock of such intense violence, you can see Jackson's creativity and keen eye. He includes lots of odd angles and plenty of closeups to really capture the emotion and overall strangeness of the movie. The movie has a good balance of action, comedy, and horror which should appeal to fans from different genres. There is also a nice little romance between Lionel and Paquita. Towards the end of the movie, the story is pushed to the side for the extended zombie fighting. It's a fun culmination, but there is no real progression until Vera reappears at the end. The acting is good by everyone involved which is impressive considering the movie traverses various different genres. The special effects, makeup, and prosthetics used in the movie are truly impressive and far better than any computer could do. The film quality is a bit dated, making the movie appear to be from the early 80's rather than the 90's. 

He'll need a lot of club soda to get that out

Dead Alive is a wild, gore-filled horror movie that has almost as many laughs as it does horrible acts of violence. Squeamish types may want to stay away because the movie is filled with more blood and guts than some medical school text books. Throughout all of this, though, the movie retains it's sense of humor with a mixture of slapstick, physical comedy, and clever lines. Director Peter Jackson captures the horror as well as the laughs while including a bit of romance and action. The special effects look great and are the real star of the movie. Without that effort and skill, the movie wouldn't be as good as it is. If you can, seek out the original version of the film under the Braindead title as it has extended scenes and even more gory violence. Dead Alive is a fun horror movie with an absurd amount of violence and is highly recommended.

8.5/10

Day 355: Event Horizon

Event Horizon

Infinite terror comes with your choice of toppings

Space: The Final Frontier. It's cliché, I know, but when it comes to horror, it's true. Despite us knowing more about space than the ocean, the audience has a general idea of what something from the sea will look like. When it comes to outer space, anything and everything is possible. There are no rules which frees up writers and directors to create the movie they want to make. Sometimes it leads to great results like Alien and sometimes it leads to brain-crushing stupidity like Jason X. Either way, you never know what to expect.

Event Horizon is a 1997 science fiction horror movie starring Lawrence Fishburne (The Matrix, Mission Impossible III) as Captain Miller and Sam Neill (Jurassic Park, In The Mouth Of Madness) as Dr. William Weir. In the year 2040, the spaceship Event Horizon disappeared on it's maiden voyage to another star system. Seven years later, a distress signal is received from the Event Horizon. The rescue vessel Lewis and Clark is sent to the rescue the ship which is floating near Neptune. The ship is captained by Miller whose crew includes Lt. Starck (Joely Richardson, The Tudors, Nip/Tuck), pilot Smith (Sean Pertwee, Dog Soldiers, Soldier), engineer Justin (Jack Noseworthy, There's Something About Mary, The Fifth Element), doctor D.J. (Jason Isaacs, The Patriot, Armageddon), medical technician Peters (Kathleen Quinlan, I Never Promised You A Rose Garden, Apollo 13), and rescue technician Cooper (Richard T. Jones, Kiss The Girls, The Wood). The ship's creator, Dr. Weir, joins the mission, revealing that the ship was built to test an experimental form of space travel that generates an artificial black hole. When they enter the ship, they see the remnants of a bloody massacre. As they search for clues as to what happened, the ship's gravity drive starts on it's own, dragging Justin into a portal. When he is released, he is left in a catatonic state. The gravity drive damages the Lewis And Clark, forcing the entire crew onto the Event Horizon. They begin to experience terrifying hallucinations, all surrounding fears and regrets, especially towards lost love ones. Justin wakes from his catatonic state and tries to kill himself, saying that he has seen horrible things inside the portal. Dr. Weir begins to see visions of his wife, who committed suicide, urging him to “join” her. The crew is able to decipher the ship's log, revealing that the crew went insane and horrifically mutilated each other. Miller and DJ believe that the ship's original portal jump led them to another dimension, one of complete chaos and evil. In fact, they believe that the ship has in fact been to Hell. Now, that evil lives on the ship and has taken over Dr. Weir. Weir begins to sadistically murder the crew members while the ship itself causes more hallucinations. Will Miller be able to stop Weir and get back home before it's too late?

And will he join the Ghostbusters?

Writer Philip Eisner (The Mutant Chronicles, Firestarter 2) originally pitched Event Horizon as “The Shining in space” with no actual story planned. Well that may sound like a funny thing to do, Alien was pitched as “Jaws in space” so it's not without merit. It's a pretty apt description of how Event Horizon is laid out, both in story and action. Initially, the audience has an inkling that something bad might happen, but the true horror slowly unfolds, enveloping the characters as well as the audience. The ship has an evil presence, much like the Overlook Hotel in The Shining, coupled with the mental breakdown of one of the main characters. Event Horizon uses the same combination of isolation, depression, and despair to twist characters as well as test the audience. All that being said, Event Horizon isn't on the same level as The Shining. This movie focuses much more on physical action and violence rather than the psychological horror of The Shining. Full of explosions and fight scenes, this movie is made more to frighten you up front rather than terrify within. The hallucinations may make you jump, but they're not on the same level as say, an elevator full of blood rushing towards you. Speaking of blood and gore, this movie has a lot of it. More than lots of slashers, actually. Test audiences and the studio found the original cut to be too gory and scenes were cut, which is a shame. The movie does have religious imagery, like a window shaped like a cross, but it's not overly religious like an exorcism movie would be.

Another major difference is the quality of story. Event Horizon uses an interesting idea and a creative setting to get started, but when it comes down to details and specifics, the movie tends to gloss over them in an effort to get to more visually exciting scenes. It's never entirely clear if the ship actually went to Hell or just a scary dimension. How did the ship create hallucinations? Was the ship alive or did everyone just go nuts? Why are people smoking inside a spaceship? The movie is entertaining enough where you can mostly overlook plot holes, though they may stick with you when the movie is over. The cast is really strong in this movie with everyone playing their part very well. Sam Neill is really good as a villain and should play one more often. Two funny things I noticed while watching the movie. At the beginning, they say that the first colony on the moon started in 2015. Looks like that's not happening. I always get a kick out of things like this in movies that predict something in the not too distant future and get it wrong. I love Escape From New York, but always laugh when they say the year is 1997. Just pick something like 100 years in the future so if you get it wrong, no one will really care by then. The second thing was the crew communicating with each other using what looks like iPads. I think someone should sue Apple for that. Director Paul W.S. Anderson (Resident Evil, Mortal Kombat) captures both the violence and fear well enough to please action fans and horror fans equally. 

You got a little something on...eh, never mind

Event Horizon is an enjoyable science fiction horror movie with a decent amount of scares and some interesting ideas. It's easy to see how the story parallels The Shining, always a good movie to emulate. There is a true sense of isolation and claustrophobia throughout the movie that makes the audience feel what the characters are experiencing. The movie has a lot of blood and gore which may make some people squeamish. The movie uses a large amount of special effects, some good and some clearly from the 1990's. Direct Paul W.S. Anderson does a solid job and the cast manages to make the movie, which could have been silly in the wrong hands, believable and entertaining. There are some issues with the plot as details tend to be rushed or completely ignored, but there's enough going on to keep you entertained. While it didn't do well when it was first released, Event Horizon has gained a cult status among horror and sci-fi fans. It's fun, scary, and different. A winning combination.

8/10

Day 352: Jacob's Ladder

Jacob's Ladder

"Uh, Mr. Robbins. Could you not be so blurry for just a second?"

War is Hell. Everything about war is Hell. The build up, the politics, the violence, the stress, the heartbreak, and the aftermath are all terrible and scarring. I've reviewed a few war-based horror movies, but the subgenre isn't particularly popular. There are plenty of war movies, some of the best ever made. Same with horror. But for whatever reason, the two rarely meet and when they do it's rather disappointing. Maybe horror movies don't have the proper budget to make a full-blown war movie. Maybe by injecting things like supernatural elements into the story take away from the horrors of war. Either way, most war-based horror movies leave a lot to be desired. Most, but not this one.

Jacob's Ladder is a 1990 psychological horror movie starring Tim Robbins as Vietnam veteran Jacob Singer. Jacob suffers a flashback from the war after falling asleep on the subway. When he gets off at his stop, he realizes he is on the wrong side of the platform and has to cross over the tracks. He is almost hit by a subway and when he looks into the last car, a faceless monster is looking back at him. He tries to ignore the incident and go about his life as a mailman, living in a small apartment in Brooklyn with his girlfriend Jezzie (Elizabeth Pena, batteries not included, Rush Hour). Jacob's ex-wife Sarah sent over a bunch of his old pictures, including one of his son Gabe (Macaulay Culkin, Home Alone, My Girl), who died in an accident. His chiropractor Louie (Danny Aiello, Do The Right Thing, The Godfather Part II) gives him some advice about death and acceptance. He says that “if you've made your peace, then the devils are really angels, freeing you from the earth.” As the days go by, Jacob's hallucinations begin to intensify as hideous monsters begin to appear. During a party, he sees Jezzie dancing and appears to turn into a monster herself. He contracts a fever and has hallucinations of his ex wife and kids. As the halluciations become more bizarre and terrifying, Jacob's old army buddy Paul (Pruitt Taylor Vince, Identity, Constantine) asks to meet with him. Paul has also been suffering from hallucinations and is convinced that he is being followed. When they part ways, Paul's car blows up. Jacob is saved by a man in glasses whom he has repeatedly seen in recent days. At Paul's funeral, Jacob meets with the rest of his Army friends (Ving Rhames, Eriq La Salle, Anthony Alessandro) who confirm his suspicions: they all suffer from hallucinations and the army may be the cause of them. The reach out to a lawyer named Geary (Jason Alexander, Seinfeld, Pretty Woman) to see if they have a case, but the rest of the soldiers are threatened into backing out. Jacob is grabbed by men in a car and threatened to stay quite, but he manages to escape. After more hallucinations, he meets with the man with glasses, a former army chemist named Michael Newman (Matt Craven, Crimson Tide, Disturbia). Newman tells Jacob that he developed a chemical called “The Ladder” that would increase aggression in soldiers. Jacob and his group were administered the drug, turning them into vicious killers, but also leaving them with horrible side effects. With the hallucinations becoming unbearable, will Jacob be able to find stop The Ladder from destroying his mind?

"Aw, jeez. Did I drink Peppermint Schnapps again?"

I can't remember the last time I saw a good reality-warping horror movie like Jacob's Ladder. Like most movies that blur the lines of reality, Jacob's Ladder constantly makes you question what you are seeing. Did that person not have a face? Is that a giant tail? Did what just happen really happen or is what's happening now really happening. This happens quite frequently throughout the movie and it's a lot to wrap your head around. Why there is an element of confusion and deflection, this all adds to the overall sense of horror and terror which grows as the movie progresses. The hallucinations start off relatively small and build thanks to some truly scary looking monsters. In fact, they're are so scary, they were actually the inspiration for the monsters in the Silent Hill video game series. I felt that the various featureless monsters were the scariest. There was something primal and unnatural to them that just makes the audience feel uncomfortable.

There is a strong sense of mystery and suspense in the movie, which compels the audience to push onward, much like Jacob in search of the truth. We never quite not what is real or not, and even when the answers are finally revealed, the audience still not 100% convinced. Director Adrian Layne (Fatal Attraction, Indecent Proposal) manages to impress, especially since Jacob's Ladder is so different from everything else he worked on. Tim Robbins is very good as Jacob, serving as a good avatar for the audience. We are just as lost as he is and are searching for the truth. The movie has an impressive supporting cast featuring many well known actors. The list includes Danny Aiello, Ving Rhames, Jason Alexander, Eriq La Salle, a young Macaulay Culkin, and even a young Lewis Black in a “blink and you'll miss it” moment. There is a good amount of action and violence throughout the movie, keeping people interested when the hallucinations get to be too confusing. There is a good balance between quite scenes and harsh ones. The scenes during the Vietnam War look good, almost worthy of being in a movie like Hamburger Hill or even Platoon.

Your eyes are a beautiful shade of...uh...flesh

Jacob's Ladder is an intensive thrill ride that has plenty of action and even more scares. The monsters are quite unsettling while never being too “in your face” about scaring you. We are never sure what is real and what is not, making the movie that much more suspenseful. There is a good mystery throughout which keeps the audience interested. Both Tim Robbins and Elizabeth Pena are very good and it's fun to see who pops up in the supporting cast. There is some social commentary in the movie, questioning the government and dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder, but there are no massive revelations. Jacob's Ladder is a good movie if you're in need of a strange mystery and a seriously good freakout.

8.5/10

Day 349: Trollhunter

Trollhunter

Trolleo and Juliet

The scariest villains and monsters come from our oldest stories. They have been passed down over the decades and centuries through word of mouth and stories. Even from a young age, we know about vampires, werewolves, and the boogeyman. These characters are so ingrained in our cultural that they're almost on the same level as George Washington and Babe Ruth. One monster that has been around for hundreds of years, but never received a lot of attention from the horror world is the troll. I don't know why they don't get a lot of attention. They're big, they're mean, they're scary, and they eat cute animals. And no, Troll and Troll 2 don't really count. It took a film Norway, land of the trolls, to bring them into the spotlight.

Trollhunter is a 2010 Norwegian monster movie shot in a found footage documentary style. The movie stars Glenn Erland Tosterud as Thomas and Otto Jespersen as Hans. Thomas is college student working on a documentary about a bear poacher with cameraman Kalle (Tomas Alf Larsen) and soundwoman Johanna (Morck). Bear poaching is a serious crime in Norway and Thomas is determined to capture the culprit on film. They interview local hunters as well as Finn Haugen (Hans Morten Hansen), the head of the Norwegian Wildlife Board. Despite certain bear tracks looking odd, Finn dismissed the idea that it could be anything but a bear. Their investigation leads them to a secretive man named Hans who is known to disappear into the woods every night. The film crew follow him into the woods only to be surprised by Hans running up to them and yelling “Troll!” Thomas is attacked by an unseen animal, sustaining a wound on his shoulder. When they make it back to their car, they find it completely destroyed. Hans takes the crew back, admitting that he is actually a troll hunter. Tired of all the bureaucracy and hunting, Hans allows them to film his work, no longer concerned with keeping trolls a secret. The next night, Hans takes them to find a troll that has left it's usual area. He asks the crew if any of them are Christian or believe in Jesus and they all claim not to. The troll, smelling Christian blood, finds them and gives chase. Hans hits it with UV light, turning it into stone, and then smashes the stone. Finn comes to the sight and has a crew bring in a bear carcass to cover up what really happened. It is revealed that many trolls have been leaving their usual areas and attacks on humans are increasing. Will Hans and the film crew be able to find out why and stop it before the world learns that trolls really do exist?

 Oh, kopulere!

I have to say that I am very tired of found footage horror movies. Trollhunter is made on a relatively small budget, so having the movie done in the found footage style makes sense. If you loved all the yelling and running through the woods of The Blair Witch Project, you'll really enjoy Trollhunter. There is a lot of the shaky camerawork during the action scenes which tended to make me nauseous. It's good for cheap thrills and excitement, but gets tiresome. Combine that with the cliché nightvision and the movie tends to feel amateurish in look. What saves the film from looking completely unprofessional is the quality special effects used for the trolls. The trolls have a lot of variety in terms of look, height, weight, and even names. It's fun hearing Hans go through the different types of trolls, explaining what they eat and how they live. The movie includes a fair amount of Norwegian folklore, which is interesting, though I probably missed a lot of nuances. The scenic beauty of Norway is on full display, ranging from the fjords to the wilderness to the frozen tundra.

I hesitate to call Trollhunter a “mockumentary” only because I don't see a clear mocking in the movie's story. The movie is fairly light-hearted for a horror film which I feel hurt the movie overall. When Thomas was injured from a troll, I was expecting him to eventually turn into a troll. Sadly this doesn't happen and takes a lot of suspense away from the movie. It's essentially a dead-end plot point. The action is good when the camera isn't shaking all around and there are some genuinely funny scenes sprinkled throughout. Pacing is a bit of an issue in the film as the character go from troll to troll almost like checkpoints in a video game leading up to the big boss battle at the end. When they're not dealing with trolls, I felt boredom creeping in. There aren't many scares in the film, though there are some intense moments. The acting is good with Otto Jespersen putting in the best performance. He exudes a quite, veteran confidence that makes the movie far more believable than one would expect. 

"Go to hell, paparazzi! You make me sick, you parasite!"

There is nothing particularly brilliant or innovative about Trollhunter. It's fairly flat in terms of storytelling and devoid of much emotion. The main selling point is that it's from Norway and features a monster not commonly used in horror. The natural beauty of Norway is quite enjoyable to look at while the film crew drives around the winding mountain roads. Thankfully, the movie is in Norwegian with subtitles rather than a terrible dubbing, like in fellow Norwegian horror movie Dead Snow. The trolls actually look pretty good and have a lot of variety in their looks. I didn't care for the shaky found footage-style camera work and the multiple scenes of walking through the woods. If I never seen another night vision shot in a horror movie, it will be too soon. The acting is good enough to push the movie into a more believable light and the direction is fine. While it was nice to see a movie from a country not particularly known for it's horror and starring a monster not known for showing up in scary movies, I just wasn't particularly impressed with Trollhunter.

6/10

Day 346: Dracula: Dead And Loving It

Dracula: Dead And Loving It

His cape is bigger on the inside

I love to laugh and make people laugh. Nothing makes me happier than having a room full of people laugh at a smart, thoughtful, well-timed joke. Some of my favorite funny people include George Carlin, Lewis Black, Patton Oswalt, Demetri Martin, and good friend/former roommate Drew Mayer (follow him at @mayercomedy). My all-time most favorite funnyman, though, has to be Mel Brooks. He always manages to make me laugh, even if it's with a funny look or a goofy voice. His movies have greatly influenced my own sense of humor throughout the years. His combination for smart jokes, slapstick, and visual humor makes for a thoroughly enjoyable watch. You may be wondering why I'm heaping huge praise on a comedian when this is a horror review blog. Well, Mel Brooks is no stranger to horror. His movie Young Frankenstein has become immensely popular over the years and was even made into a Broadway musical. Everyone knows and loves that movie. I'd like to focus on a not-so-beloved Mel Brooks movie featuring another funny man, Leslie Nielsen.

Dracula: Dead And Loving It is a 1995 horror comedy starring Leslie Nielsen (The Naked Gun, Creepshow) as Dracula and Mel Brooks (Blazing Saddles, Robin Hood: Men In Tights) as Abraham van Helsing. The movie spoofs the classic 1931 Dracula film, following the story relatively closely. Solicitor Thomas Renfield (Peter MacNicol, Ghostbusters II, Ally McBeal) travels to Transylvania to meet with Count Dracula to finalize his purchase of Carfax Abbey in England. When he reaches a nearby village, the villagers (Anne Bancroft and Chuck McCann) warn Renfield that Count Dracula is actually a vampire and with the sun setting, they will not take him to the castle. Unconcerned and with a schedule (pronounced “shedule” by Renfield) to keep, Renfield proceeds on foot to Dracula's Castle. Dracula puts Renfield under a hypnotic spell, turning him into a slave that subsists only on bugs. They travel to England and when the boat docks, all the crew have vanished except for Renfield. He is committed to an insane asylum run by Doctor Seward (Harvey Korman, Blazing Saddles, High Anxiety). That night, Dracula visits the opera where he introduces himself to Dr. Seward who happens to be his new neighbor. He also meets Dr. Seward's daughter Mina (Amy Yasbeck, Robin Hood: Men In Tights, The Mask) and her friend Lucy (Lysette Anthony, Krull, The Advocate). That night, Dracula goes to Lucy's room and bites her. The next day, she is inexplicably exhausted and sick, so Dr. Seward calls on Dr. Abraham van Helsing, an expert on obscure diseases. Van Helsing explains that she has been bitten by a vampire and covers her room with garlic. That night, Dracula breaks Renfield out of his asylum to remove the garlic. He is captured and returned to the asylum while Dracula bites Lucy again and turns her into a vampire. Van Helsing and Mina's fiance Jonathan Harker (Steven Weber, Wings, Farm House) kill Lucy with a stake to the heart while Dracula eventually bites Mina. Will Jonathan and van Helsing be able to stop Dracula before it's too late?

I make the same face when I find out the deli is out of knishes

If this movie sounds just like the 1931 Dracula, it's not a coincidence. Other spoofs by Brooks, such as Young Frankenstein and Spaceballs, had managed to create their own stories while poking fun at the originals. Dracula: Dead And Loving It is more faithful to the source material with just a few little asides here and there. It's perfectly fine because the focus of the movie is more to make you laugh than to make you enjoy the story. For those that have seen Dracula, it may be slightly boring to have to sit through a story you already know. The jokes come quickly, with a mixture of physical comedy, word play, clever asides and all the other hallmarks of Mel Brooks' work. There's even the usual sprinkling of Jewish and Yiddish humor which no doubt will leave some gentiles scratching their heads. For those aware of that type of humor, it's highly enjoyable, as always. Still, the jokes are fairly “by the book”. Those accustomed to Brooks' wackiness in movies like History Of The World Part I and Silent Movie may be a little disappointed with Dracula: Dead And Loving It's straightforward nature.

While the story is nothing special and there's no scares to speak of, the performances from the cast help move the film along. Leslie Nielsen is fun and occasionally hammy, but in a good way. Fans of his Naked Gun movies will enjoy him immensely. Mel Brooks is his usual funny self while never hogging the spotlight. Amy Yasbeck is good as well, though I would have liked her to have a bigger role. She was great as Maid Marian, so it's not like she wasn't capable of having a larger role. The same could be said for Steven Weber as Jonathan Harker. Despite being a comedy, there is one scene that contains more blood than many horror movies. When Jonathan kills Lucy, blood literally explodes all over him multiple times. Other than that, there isn't much action of violence to speak of. There are some pratfalls and physical comedy thrown around for good measure just to keep the audience visually stimulated. The sets look OK, but tend to have a fakeness to them that takes away from the overall movie.

"Uhhhhh...she tripped!"

Dracula: Dead And Loving It may not be the best Mel Brooks movie, but it's still very funny. There are many negative reviews out there, but I feel that the movie has gotten better with age. The jokes are still capable of making people laugh which is more than what most new movies can do. I would take this movie over any of those Date Movie, Superhero Movie, Meet The Spartans crapfests. There isn't much story to speak of and if you've seen the 1931 Dracula, you already know what is going to happen. If you need something fun to watch, but still want a touch of traditional horror, Dracula: Dead And Loving It is worth your time.

7.5/10

Day 337: It

It

From the makers of "Is" and "A"

Coulrophobia is the fear of clowns. Thankfully I don't suffer from such a phobia. Clowns never bothered me. I remember looking forward to seeing them on a trip to the circus when I was little. I can understand, though, why someone would be terrified of a person in white makeup, brightly-colored baggy clothes, and a crazy grin. There's something slightly unnatural about their appearance and in-your-face approach to entertainment that doesn't sit right in people. It may also have to do with the fact that John Wayne Gacy was a clown. Whatever the reason may be, clowns have a tendency to show up in horror movies like House Of Fears, Masters Of Horror: We All Scream For Ice Cream, and Killer Klowns From Outer Space. But there's one movie where a clown is the epitome of fear.

It (also known as Stephen King's It) is a 1990 television movie based on the novel by Stephen King (Cujo, Misery). The two-part movie stars Tim Curry (Ritual, The Rocky Horror Picture Show) as Pennywise the Dancing Clown. In the small town of Derry, Maine a six-year old boy named Georgie Denbrough is playing with a toy boat when it was down into the sewer. A clown named Pennywise (referred by the characters as “It”) is down in the sewer and tempts Georgie to get closer. He grabs Georgie, tearing his arm off and killing him. Georgie's older brother Bill (Jonathan Bradis, Sidekicks, SeaQuest) blames himself for his brother's death and begins to stutter due to the trauma. Bill has a group of friends, Ben, Eddie, Beverly, Richie (Seth Green, Austin Powers, The Italian Job) and Stan who all encounter and are subsequently harassed by It. They are also bullied by Henry Bowers, a sadistic schoolmate who constantly threatens to kill them. Henry and his gang chase after Mike, an African American boy in their class, but Bill and his friends defend him. They vow to always stick together and protect each other. With their newfound courage, the group bands together to avenge the deaths of children killed by It. They discover his lair out in the woods and plan to kill him. Henry, who followed the group into the lair, sees his friend killed by It, causing his hair to turn white. After an intense fight, Beverly is able to hit It in the head with a piece of silver. The wound opens up, exposing light from his head before he escapes down a drain. A traumatized Henry confesses to It's murders and is institutionalized. Thirty years later, murders begin to happen again in Derry. An adult Mike (Tim Reid, Sister, Sister, WKRP In Cincinnati) calls everyone in the group, telling them that It has returned. A terrified Stan, unable to face the monster again, commits suicide. It begins to mentally torture the now-adult group of friends (Ben is played by John Ritter, Three's Company, and Richie is played by Harry Anderson, Night Court). He also frees Henry from the asylum who attacks Mike with a knife. Will the group be able to come together again and stop It for good?

I didn't know Pennywise was British

Despite only coming out twenty two years ago, it seems that It has managed to really become part of horror lore. It's surprisingly because, honestly, it's nothing particularly special. It's not bad, but it's not as good as one may be expecting. Part of the problem lies in the fact that the movie was made for television and not for the big screen. Being on TV handcuffs the movie in more ways then one. Obviously, the movie never reaches the proper amount of violence and true terror needed for the story. There are a few scares and eery moments, but it should have been much more. The television format also hurts the movie, fading to black multiple times for commercial breaks. When It first premiered, it was split over two days with a total run time of close to three hours. Stretching the movie out that long causes some unnecessary scenes and a lot of recapping and generalization. When watched straight through, it tends to wear on the audience. The story is just OK and the long, dawn-out scenes stretch it out way too far.

The biggest reason for It's breakthrough into notoriety is because of Tim Curry. He is utterly fantastic as the evil clown, mixing irreverent glee and general wackiness with utter terror. This is the man who was deemed “too scary” to voice the Joker in Batman: The Animated Series. By just using his voice, Curry manages to terrify and haunt multiple generations of horror fans. The first half of the movie focusing on the children is much better than the second half. The kids are all likable and it's fun to see a young Seth Green in action. When they become adults, the movie becomes a slow slog to the end. All of the characters are messed up and rightly so. The problem is that they're all incredibly fragile and no one character stands out. I also never quite understood why all the characters forgot about It. Didn't really make sense to me. When It's true form is revealed, stop-motion special effects and green screen are used, making the scene look like a reject from Jason and the Argonauts. When they get up close to the monster, it looks much better. The happy ending still manages to be depressing, which was unfortunate, but expected from King.

Clowning around

Over the past twenty years, It has managed to become a pop culture staple thanks largely to Tim Curry's turn as Pennywise. Without him, the movie wouldn't be nearly as good. His mixture of fun and evil is quite scary even for television in 1990. The story is decent, but is stretched far too thin. The movie has a long run time and lacks the necessary violence and fear to create a truly scary movie. The acting is good and there are some really fun scenes. The movie takes a long time to watch and some may come away disappointed, but It still manages to be entertaining.

6.5/10

Day 331: Wishmaster

Wishmaster

More like Pissmaster

What would you ask for if you were given three wishes? Besides infinity White Castle, I'd have to say I'm still mulling over my choices. Winning Mega Millions would be pretty nice also. But what if those wishes came with a price? The “evil genie” character appears more in literature than in the movies. Why is that? If anything, having a magical being in your movie allows for almost limitless potential. You can have all sorts of creatures and situations, giving you a freedom that many other horror movies would kill for. Of course, maybe the reason why there are more evil genie horror movies is because of Wishmaster.

Wishmaster is a 1997 supernatural horror movie from executive producer Wes Craven. The film stars Tammy Lauren (The Young And The Restless, Home Improvement) as appraiser Alexandra Amberson. In a prologue, we learn of creatures called the Djinn, creatures who lived in the void between worlds. When one wakes a djinn, they are granted three wishes. Once the third wish is granted, the djinn is freed. In 1127 AD Persia, a djinn (Andrew Divoff, Toy Soldiers, Air Force One) grants the wishes of the emperor, twisting his wishes into hideous monstrosities. The emperor's wizard traps the djinn inside a jewel which is then hidden inside a statue. In present day, collector Raymond Beaumont (Robert Englund, A Nightmare On Elm Street, Inkubus) is receiving the statue when a freak accident causes the statue to fall on his assistant (Ted Raimi, Midnight Meat Train, Spider-Man) and shatters. A worker steals the jewel containing the djinn and it ends up being appraised by Alexandra Amberson. She takes the jewel to her friend josh to analyze it and he unwittingly releases the djinn, who kills Josh by granting him a wish to “release his of his pain”. The djinn grows stronger by granting wishes and taking people's souls. Alexandra shares a connection with the djinn and is able to see his murders. He takes the form of a man, calling himself Nathaniel Demerest and continues his reign of terror until he finds Alexandra and forces her to ask for her three wishes. Will Alexandra be able to stop the all-powerful djinn and send him back to the void before he destroys the world?

"Somebody stop me!"

It's important to mention that Wishmaster is directed by Robert Krutzman, an award-winning make-up and effects artists. His work includes Cabin Fever, Vampires, Night Of The Creeps, and Army Of Darkness. That's an impressive group of movies without a doubt. The monsters and creatures in Wishmaster continue Krutzman's run of great makeup and traditional effects. There is a wide variety of creatures that keep the action interesting when the story fails to do so. One thing I found funny was that characters acted shocked when they saw the djinn's true form. Truthfully, he looked like Jim Carey from The Mask with a little more detail. Beyond the make-up, there is a myriad of special effects, some decent and some clearly steeped in mid-90's computerization.

Of course, the problem then lies with Krutzman's directing abilities and the story itself. The story is all over the place while still managing to go absolutely nowhere. The movie has a lot glaring plot holes that are hard to ignore. In the very beginning, we learn that there are more than one djinn. Shouldn't these things be popping up all over the place? And why can't they get someone to ask for three wishes? It shouldn't be that hard. Why did the djinn bother to take human form? It's not like he was having a problem getting people to wish for things before? The acting is absolutely horrendous and downright painful at times. Tammy Lauren is really miscast as she seems out of place in almost every scene. Andrew Divoff is hilariously over-the-top, practically gnawing on the scenery. It's nice to see Craven stalwarts like Robert Englund and Tony Todd in small roles, but if you're going to have them in your movie, give them more than just 2 or 3 scenes. For a horror movie, there is not a lot of atmosphere and almost no subtlety. 

"You love the 90's? No way! Me too!"

When I decided to watch Wishmaster, I was expecting something at least halfway decent. I knew there were a few sequels, so, like Hellraiser and Puppet Master, I figured the original movie would be great. How wrong I was. Other than some good make-up and a few scenes of violence, Wishmaster has very little going for it. The acting really stands out as being particularly horrendous. The story is pretty boring and the ending seems pretty obvious. I think I've decided on another wish; to erase watching Wishmaster from my memory.

2.5/10

Day 329: In the Mouth Of Madness

In The Mouth Of Madness

Give a hoot. Read a book.

What is reality? Is it what we think and feel or is it something tangible that we can touch and mold? I don't know, I'm not a psychology major. What I do know is that a lot of horror movies like to ask that question. It's mostly used as an excuse to shoot all sorts of crazy things and get away with it? Want the walls to melt? Question reality! Want your main character to rip his own face off? Question reality! Want to see another show staring the Kardashians? Punch yourself in the face AND question reality! Regardless of how you feel in regards to the esoteric questions of life and reality, you have to admit, it allows for some crazy things to happen in a movie.

In The Mouth Of Madness is a  1995 horror movie written by Michael De Luca (Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare, Judge Dredd) and directed by John Carpenter (The Thing, Prince Of Darkness). The movie stars Sam Neill (Jurassic Park, Event Horizon) as private investigator John Trent. Trent is committed to an insane asylum where he is visited by Dr. Wrenn (David Warner, Titanic, Tron) to recount his story of how he ended up there. After solving a case, Trent is attacked by an ax-wielding maniac who asks him if he reads horror author Sutter Cain's (Jurgen Prochnow, Das Boot, Beverly Hills Cop II) work before being shot by police. Trent was hired by Arcane Publishing director Jackson Harglow (Charlton Heston, Planet Of The Apes, The Ten Commandments) to track down the now-missing Cane. Cane's work is immensely popular, garnering a rabid fan-base. Fights and riots have broken out by people pre-ordering his latest book, In The Mouth Of Madness. Harglow assigns Cane's editor Linda Styles (Julie Carmen, True Women, Fright Night Part 2) to join Trent in his search. After reading Cane's books, Trent begins to experience very intense and very realistic nightmares of deformed monsters coming after him. Styles explains that Cane's work is known to cause hallucinations and paranoia among his more "unstable" readers. Trent discovers that the covers to Cane's work are actually a map of New Hampshire and show the way to Hobb's End, a supposedly fictional town. Trent and Styles somehow manage to find the town which is laid out exactly how Cane wrote it, complete with a strange black church to the east which Cane described as being the source of all evil. The briefly see Cane who sicks his dogs on angry townspeople who claim that Cane turned their children evil. Trent thinks this is all a publicity stunt and refuses to believe what is happening. Soon, even stranger events occur as people, including Styles, mutate into hideous monsters. Trent tries to escape, but is caught in an endless loop, always returning to Hobb's End. Cane finishes writing his new novel and after reading it, Styles goes insane. Cane gives his novel to Trent so he can distribute his mind-altering masterpiece to the world. What is reality and what is fiction and will Trent be able to stop Sutter Cane?

Taking the Elephant Walk to strange, new places

When movies decide to mess with reality and the audience's perception, they run the risk of being utterly confusing. In The Mouth Of Madness has enough action and scary looking monsters to hide the fact that the story is all over the place. It's essentially a story within a story within a story. Just writing that makes my head hurt. To make matters worse, the story is mostly told in flashback. The story is fairly entertaining, the parts you can follow anyway. The way the story bounces around and messes with the characters can be confusing and tiresome by the end. It's funny how the movie precedes the rabid fans of Harry Potter,Twilight, and now Fifty Shades Of Gray. It can best be described as "Lovecraftian" with it's focus on hideous creatures and man's helplessness to their whims. In The Mouth Of Madness is part of Carpenter's "Apocalypse Trilogy" and fans of The Thing and Prince Of Darkness will appreciate how good the monsters in the film look. They are a heaving mass of twisted and distorted flesh with realistic features and movements. The movie does have it's physical as well as psychological scary moments. The ending is fairly depressing, though the inexplicable rock music over the credits might have you believe otherwise. Carpenter does the music for the rest of the film, giving scenes the proper atmosphere they deserve.

I don't think I've seen a movie with such a big difference in acting quality from the lead to the main support. Sam Neill is great and that's no surprise. He's entertaining in just about everything he does. He gives John Trent the cool confidence needed in the beginning as he is the audience's "eyes" so to speak. We are just as skeptical as he is when he visits Hobb's End. His terror and slow descent into madness is both believable and unsettling. Though he's not in the movie a whole lot, Jurgen Prochnow is quite entertaining as the god-like Sutter Cane. The scene where he appears next to Trent on a bus, telling him his favorite color is blue is very well executed. The problem lies with Julie Carmen. Plain and simple, she is just not good. She just played her part all wrong and really brought down the quality of the film. John Carpenter brings his usual style to the film, capturing some great monster scenes and a lot of emotion.

Gimme a "T"!

Overall, In The Mouth Of Madness is a fun horror movies with some hard-to-ignore flaws. The story is all over the place and may be hard for people to focus on. That's what happens when you have a movie all about twisting reality. The monster look great and their are some genuinely scary scenes, but it's not really enough to get past the meandering story. Sam Neill and Jurgen Prochnow are both very good in their roles, but Julie Carmen is just terrible. If you enjoy John Carpenter's previous work or H.P. Lovecraft, you should be able to enjoy In The Mouth Of Madness for what it is: a mind-bending monster movie.

7/10