The Deep Focus

One film, two perspectives

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Fantastic Fest Favorites

With Fantastic Fest 2013 right around the corner (September 19-26), we wanted to take a moment to recommend some of our favorite films from last year's festival. All of the following are now available via Netflix streaming or VOD. Click on the images for all the gory details and then add them to your must-see list.

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31 Days of Horror: Top Five

We had a great time watching movies each night during the month of October. While we will continue to post here it will be a little less frequently. Stay tuned!

Top Five from 31 Days of Horror

Them Rating: ★★★★★ Santa Sangre Rating: ★★★★★ Freaks Rating: ★★★★1/2 Re-Animator Rating: ★★★★ Horror of Dracula Rating: ★★★★

-E

Santa Sangre Rating: ★★★★★ Them Rating: ★★★★ 1/2 Re-Animator Rating: ★★★★ Session 9 Rating: ★★★★ The American Scream Rating: ★★★★

-R

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31 Days of Horror, #31: E’s Film Pick - The American Scream

This fun documentary follows three different "home haunters" on their quest to create the perfect Halloween attraction in their own yard. Their dedication and love for this holiday, which is my favorite as well, was a joy to watch. Any kid, or Halloween enthusiast, would be thrilled to have these elaborate houses to visit in their neighborhood. I enjoyed seeing all the heart and hard work that goes into these homes every year. A must see for anyone who loves Halloween! 

 Rating: ★★★★

-E

This charming documentary by Michael Stephenson (Best Worst Movie), follows three families in Fairhaven, MA as they prepare for their annual Halloween “haunts”. They, to varying degrees, construct elaborate haunted houses in their own yards and garages, for their communities. The film explores some of the stress and burdens that their dedication places on their families. It is heartfelt and explores the passion these people have for Halloween and how it can bring a community together.

Rating: ★★★★

-R

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31 Days of Horror, #30: R’s Film Pick - Santa Sangre

R has been trying to get me to sit down and watch Santa Sangre for a very long time now and I'm so glad he finally succeeded. Visually and artistically this movie is phenomenal. Beyond that, it is unique and completely original.

The narrative follows the life of "Fenix" from his boyhood in the circus to his troubled adulthood. The viewer, while being bombarded with the unusual and disturbing scenarios "Fenix" finds himself in, is always hopeful that he will find happiness in the end. Too often I can predict the twists and turns of a plot, but this one never went the way I expected and I thoroughly enjoyed going along for the ride.

Rating: ★★★★★

-E

I love this movie by Alejandro Jodorowsky. There is more to this movie than horror. It has surrealism, dark comedy, psychological drama, tragedy, pity, circus performers, mariachi bands, and so much more.

I love it when a film shows me something I've never seen before, it's one reason, for me, that cinema can be so mesmerizing. Jodorowsky's Santa Sangre does just this. Classic, unique, a little bizarre, and entirely captivating.

Rating: ★★★★★

-R

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31 Days of Horror, #29: E’s Film Pick - Razorback

Our buddy amazingwonderryan let us borrow this little gem. I think he expected us both to hate it, but I think he may have overestimated the quality of some of the movies we thoroughly enjoy. This one had some great laughs, but what it didn't have, sadly, was enough Razorback. Oh well, I guess you can't really go wrong with a giant killer boar, no matter how little screen time it gets.

Rating: ★★1/2

-E

Quite possibly the greatest Australian movie about a giant razorback boar that terrorizes the outback that I have ever seen.

Rating: ★★★★

-R

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31 Days of Horror, #28: R’s Film Pick - Prince of Darkness

Typically when a movie begins with a mysterious box containing a mysterious key I know I'm in for something good. I've enjoyed many of John Carpenter's films and now I can add one more to the list. There are many characters to follow throughout this movie as they try to survive the evil among them. I really liked that none of the characters felt like throwaways, which makes the audience feel more invested in what's happening to them. And if none of that piques your interest then I have two words for you: Alice Cooper.

Rating: ★★★ 1/2

-E

Prince of Darkness is the middle movie in Carpenter's “Apocalypse” trilogy, which includes The Thing and In the Mouth of Madness. While these movies aren't directly related, they all deal with world ending themes.

Prince of Darkness follows a research team into the bowels of a church, where a priest has found a very old cylinder full of a swirling green liquid, that could be the embodiment of pure evil. It's hard to rank this up with Carpenter's other classics, but it's a solid film that I really liked. Carpenter's awesome score really drove the film and defined the tone all the way through.

Rating: ★★★ 1/2

-R

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31 Days of Horror, #27: E's Film Pick - Session 9

I was a bit bored the first half hour or so; lots of set-up and little action in this one. I felt like there were some missed opportunities with the story especially relating to the end result. Overall it was enjoyable while predictable.

Rating: ★★★

-E

I really enjoyed Session 9. It has the best kind of slow burn to it, gradually reaching critical mass. David Caruso and Peter Mullan are the leads in this film about an asbestos cleaning crew that is sent into a shutdown asylum. It's refreshing when a film tries and succeeds at doing something a little smarter and expecting a little more from the viewers. Highly recommended.

As an aside, Mullan is amazing in Paddy Considine's 2011 film Tyrannosaur.

Rating: ★★★★

-R

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31 Days of Horror, #26: R’s Film Pick - Rifftrax Live: Birdemic: Shock and Terror

We've been to quite a few of the Rifftrax events and they never fail to make me laugh out loud. Birdemic: Shock and Terror is a horrible movie, but that's the whole point. While it wasn't my favorite from the guys, this riff had some hilarious moments and the film itself is laughably entertaining.

Rating: ★★1/2

-E

One can debate the quality of James Nguyen's Birdemic: Shock and Terror, but the fact is, I was smiling and entertained the whole time. That's, probably, in no small part, due to the expert movie riffing of Bill Corbett, Kevin Murphy, and Mike Nelson.

There is so much ridiculousness in this film that one doesn't know where to start in describing it. It really has to be seen to be believed.

Rating: ★★★

-R

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31 Days of Horror, #25: R’s Film Pick - Excision

AnnaLynne McCord's "Pauline" dreams of becoming a surgeon while in reality she is viewed as little more than the weird girl with major mommy issues. Her character is unapologetic and does not seem to care what others think of her, which is a refreshing change to the typical formula. I wouldn't necessarily label this film as horror. While it has some bloody moments, they are few and typically represented as dreams or hallucinations. The dream sequences become a little tiresome and cliche, which causes the story to fall a little flat. However, the supporting cast is great and it was interesting to see AnnaLynne McCord play the polar opposite of her character on 90210. And it is a character you won't soon forget.

Rating: ★★★

-E

Excision tells the story of a odd young woman named Pauline, who doesn't quite fit in and is fixated on becoming a surgeon. AnnaLynne McCord plays Pauline, and generally does a good job of creating this very awkward character. While I enjoyed the main story, there were some inbetween dream sequences that felt jammed into the film for shock factor. The shock and creepiness we get from the film works and I didn't feel like all of the extra dream sequences were necessary.

Some genuinely gross moments in this one, and some nice cameos.

Rating: ★★★

-R

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31 Days of Horror, #24: E’s Film Pick - Jeepers Creepers

This one was fun and entertaining. I'm a fan of the bogeyman concept in horror movies and "The Creeper" doesn't disappoint. I enjoyed the first half more with the brother and sister being stalked on the road by a mysterious stranger. The buildup is always more exciting to me than the big reveal, but this movie has some decent creepy moments.   

Rating: ★★★

-E

Jeepers Creepers was somehow missed by me when it came out in 2001. Lots of people rave over this series, and, while I had fun with it, I didn't love it. I liked that it seemed to be trying to establish a new horror villian, but I felt like maybe it should've shown us a bit more about what or who the Creeper was. I guess I need to watch Jeepers Creepers 2 if I want the answers to these questions.

Rating: ★★★

-R

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31 Days of Horror, #23: R’s Film Pick - Absentia

The acting was a little rough in this one, but I enjoyed it overall. It switches gears about halfway through and I enjoyed the first half more than the second. I appreciated the originality of the story. Definitely worth checking out. 

Rating: ★★★

-E

I didn't know much of anything about Absentia prior to watching it. Turns out, it got some of its funding from Kickstarter back in 2010, and recently did the festival circuit and got some buzz from it. It's very much an independent feature, but I think they pulled off some impressive things.

This is one that is hard to talk about, because there's a big reveal partway through the film, and giving that away wouldn't be any fun for future viewers. I really appreciated that they were trying something different and really dug this conceptually. I'd recommend this if you want to see something that tries things a little differently.

Rating: ★★★ 1/2

-R

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31 Days of Horror, #22: R’s Film Pick - Cabin Fever

This wasn't as bad as Hostel.

Rating: ★★1/2

-E

Cabin Fever was a fun little movie about some teenagers who catch a bit of a nasty virus while on vacation in the middle of nowhere. Some of the gore in this was good, and while the pacing felt a bit off at times, I enjoyed it.

Rating: ★★★

-R

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31 Days of Horror, #21: E’s Film Pick - Horror of Dracula

Loosely based on Bram Stoker's novel, this adaptation has a stellar cast and gorgeous sets. Dracula's castle, while usually portrayed as rundown and covered in dust and cobwebs, is immaculate and almost cheerful in this film. Peter Cushing steals every scene as Dr. Van Helsing. The incomparable Christopher Lee, who actually has very little screen-time, plays the vampire in perhaps a less menacing way than his predecessors, yet he is no less effective in the role. The fight between Dracula and Van Helsing in the end was my favorite part and the effects, although dated, are still fantastic. When I realized halfway through that Arthur was portrayed by the late great Michael Gough I couldn't help but shout out "Aww, it's Alfred!"

Rating: ★★★★

-E

Horror of Dracula is an adaptation of Bram Stoker's novel, from Hammer Films. Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee star opposite each other, with Lee in his oft played role of Dracula. The film is beautifully shot in color, and had surprisingly more blood than I expected.

I've seen so few Hammer films, and to find out that Cushing and Lee starred together in a good many of them, makes me look forward to seeing more.

Rating: ★★★★

-R

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31 Days of Horror, #20: R’s Film Pick - The Final

The anti-bullying message this film attempts to convey gets lost somewhere in the long-winded, overly preachy approach it takes. In the beginning you actually can't wait to see the popular bullies get what's coming to them, but by the end you just can't wait for everyone involved to shut the hell up and get on with it. I appreciate that they were attempting to flip-flop the roles of the victims and make the audience feel sorry for both sides. However, in doing so they only managed to make all the characters in their movie unlikable, leaving the audience with no one to root for.

Rating: ★★

-E

The Final is a film about a group of bullied kids who decide to exact their revenge on the popular kids in school by throwing a party and murdering them. It sets itself up for you to really side with the bullied kids – some of the popular kids are straight up racist assholes. But when the murder party finally starts, this film completely fell apart for me. I was expecting it to turn into some sort of horror comedy, goofball gorefest, but what we got was lots and lots of exposition from the “leader” of the bullied kids. This keeps going on and on, as he quite seriously explained how they were all here for retribution for years of bullying. Any sympathy I had for the bullied kids was long gone at this point.

There were a few funny moments, but ultimately The Final isn't sure what it wants to be or what it wants to say.

Rating: ★

-R

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31 Days of Horror, #19: E’s Film Pick - Freaks

I've often heard about this film and have always been curious about it. I specifically remember a reference to it in one of my favorite films, The Dreamers, and have often heard the chants of "One of us, one of us!" I'm always drawn to stories that highlight the struggles and misfortunes of those considered to be different, or outsiders. I was also completely charmed by the performances by, and the love story between, Harry and Daisy Earles as "Hans" and "Frieda" in the film. I'm glad I finally got around to discovering this sweetly freaky little film.

Rating: ★★★★1/2

-E

Freaks (1932), was directed by Tod Browning, who directed Lugosi in Dracula a year earlier. Browning was a member of a traveling circus when he was younger, and cast actual sideshow “freaks” in his film. While one can see the exploitative nature of his casting choices, I appreciate that the sideshow performers were mostly the victims of the story and not necessarily the villains.

Rating: ★★★

-R

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31 Days of Horror, #18: R’s Film Pick - The Mummy

Boris Karloff is captivating in this 1932 version of The Mummy. The sets and costumes are lovely, and while it's not particularly frightening by today's standards, I appreciated the Gothic romanticism and the subtle effects that were used to create an unsettling atmosphere. A classic Universal monster movie.  

Rating: ★★★1/2

-E

Boris Karloff stars as the mummified Imhotep in this classic Universal monster movie from 1932. This is one that I hadn't seen the entirety of and was mostly just familiar with the iconic Karloff images from it. Which, as it turns out, is really only a few minutes of the film. We find him in less makeup and donning a fez for most of his screen time. Classic movie with many memorable moments.

Rating: ★★★★

-R

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31 Days of Horror, #17: E’s Film Pick -The Pit and the Pendulum

Just when I was starting to think Stuart Gordon could do no wrong... This 1991 take on Edgar Allan Poe's classic tale failed to grab my attention. I'll admit I was tired and I was distracted by my knitting (shuddup), but this one was slow and a bit awkward. It has a great cast, and while there seemed to be an attempt at a Princess Bride sort of vibe, it just didn't work for me.

Rating: ★★

-E

Our 31 Days of Horror this year has featured a lot of work from Stuart Gordon's filmography. His 1991 adaptation of Poe's The Pit and the Pendulum starred many of his regular actors: Jeffrey Combs, Carolyn Purdy-Gordon, and Stephen Lee. Lance Henriksen also starred, as the inquisitor Torquemada.

For me, this movie fell a little flat. There were some moments that were good, but we were mostly stuck watching the actors run around a Spanish prison. Of the Gordon films we've watched recently – Re-Animator, Dolls, & From Beyond - The Pit and the Pendulum was my least favorite. The most exciting moment for me was recognizing the torturer as Mark Margolis, who starred as Tio Salamanca in Breaking Bad.

Rating: ★★ 1/2

-R