Cinema Narcs

MOVIE – “Evil Dead” (2013)
DIRECTOR – Fede Alvarez
WRITER – Fede Alvarez, Rodo Sayagues, Sam Raimi, Diablo Cody

SIX DEGREES OF CAST & CREW
- Actor Shiloh Fernandez can be seen in 2008′s “Red”, along with king character actor Richard Riehle. This man can then be seen in the impending “The Movie” (2013), along with Fernandez’ “Evil Dead” co-star Lou Taylor Pucci! Also in “Red” is Olivia Thirlby, who can be found in the 2012 film “Nobody Walks”, along with… “Evil Dead” star Jane Levy!

- Original “The Evil Dead” (1981) actress Ellen Sandweiss returns to provide some voice acting. One of her 1981 co-stars was Theresa Tilly, who can be seen in the impending “Old Days (2013), along with Morena Baccarin, formerly of the 2009-’11 sci-fi series, “V”. Seek ye also in that show Scott Hylands, who can then be found in a Trailer Snitch film I will mention at the onset of the review below!

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Filed under: Demons, Horror
Tags: 2013, 3.5/5, demons, Diablo Cody, elizabeth blackmore, evil dead, evil dead 2013, evil dead remake, evil dead review, Fede Alvarez, horror movies, horror remakes, jane levy, lou taylor pucci, remakes, Rodo Sayagues, Sam Raimi, shiloh fernandez

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Not pictured: boss hardstock slipcase

At 30 years old, I have never, until yesterday, watched any of films in the original Indiana Jones trilogy in their entirety, and if I have, I have not done so since childhood. I certainly remember seeing the action sequences of “Temple of Doom” many many many many many many many times with my best friend of the time, as he had the films, and to a lesser extent “Last Crusade” as well. I don’t recall ever even trying to watch “Raiders of the Lost Ark” more than a few times. Needless to say, while “Temple” is most certainly a possibility, I feel certain that I’ve never sat through the films from start to finish.

It’s something that’s weighed on my mind for the past few years, perhaps purely out of nostalgia. And being the VHS junkie that I am, a little voice kept whispering, “You keep seeing box sets of the trilogy in thrift stores for super-cheap… why not a marathon?”

And so, with this being a week off from school, I did so, just yesterday.

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Filed under: Action, Fantasy
Tags: action movies, adventure, adventure movies, george lucas, harrison ford, indiana jones, indiana jones and the last crusade, indiana jones and the temple of doom, indiana jones marathon, marathons, movie marathons, raiders of the lost ark, steven spielberg

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The following is a brief e-mail I sent to fellow NARC Ron Hogan earlier this evening, after I watched the new, also-red-band trailer for the 2013 remake of “Evil Dead”…

Man… I just watched the new red-band trailer for the Evil Dead remake. I just… fuck me, man. This awkward, stilted wording I’m using here is exactly how I’m feeling right now. The excited-yet-disturbed feeling I got from the first trailer has shifted heavily towards disturbed. Like, borderline nauseous. It’s… fuck. It’s a combination of feelings: the nausea I felt watching “Neighbor”, the depressive fear I felt watching the opening sequence of “28 Days Later” for the first time, and the apprehension I feel towards watching the fierce, merciless inventiveness of Carpenter’s “The Thing”. That is to say, I’m almost feeling apprehensive towards watching “Evil Dead”.

Which is not to say that I won’t watch it at all. I’m just distinctly recalling how horrible the above movies made me feel. “The Thing” is unique in that as many times as I’ve watched it in the past, I have spent the past three years (around Halloween-time) unsuccessfully trying to re-watch it, because I know how fiercely horrific an experience it is. Lord knows I’m feeling that with “Evil Dead”, and I haven’t even seen it once!

Edited by Ron 1:12 PM

I just watched the red-band trailer he’s talking to, and… yeah, it’s disturbing and exciting and sickening and really, really, REALLY brutal.  People seem to forget that the original “Evil Dead” wasn’t a comedy, or even a horror comedy, it was straight-up horror (only made comic by the hairstyles and clothes of the period).  This movie looks like it’s going to be great, and if you don’t believe me, just watch the trailer below.

Filed under: Coming Attractions, Demons
Tags: 2013, cult classics, evil dead 2013, evil dead 2013 second trailer, evil dead 2013 trailer, evil dead remake, horror, movie trailers, red band trailer, redband trailer, remakes, second trailer for evil dead, the evil dead, trailer snitch, trailers

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MOVIE – “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey”

DIRECTOR – Peter Jackson

WRITERS – Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, Peter Jackson, and Guillermo Del Toro

SIX DEGREES OF CAST & CREW

–Christopher Lee is like living movie history. After all, he’s probably the second most famous Dracula ever after Bela Lugosi, and he’s a staple in both the Tolkien and Star Wars universes, in addition to his work with Hammer. He’s worked with Andy Serkis a lot, but he got to act alongside the actor’s legitimate face when Serkis played William Hare (alongside Simon Pegg) in Burke and Hare. Lee played Old Joseph in that movie.

–One of the footmen in Burke and Hare was Stephen Merchant, who wrote the British version of The Office. The Office‘s breakout star was none other than Martin Freeman. Freeman stars with the awesomely-named Benedict Cumberbatch in the BBC’s Sherlock; Freeman is Bilbo Baggins and Benedict Cumberbatch is the villainous Necromancer. (He also was one of the color police officers in Hot Fuzz, alongside The Hobbit director Peter Jackson who played a thief dressed like Santa, Cate “Galadriel” Blanchett who plays Janine the CSI, and Merchant again.) Freeman also plays Declan in the bizarro survivor group led by Yvonne in Shaun of the Dead. He’s essentially the male Liz to Jessica Stevenson’s female Shaun.

–Andy Serkis also did a voice along with Ian McKellen in Flushed Away, but that’s not as interesting. In a 2008 production of King Lear, Ian McKellen played the eponymous King Lear alongside Sylvester McCoy as The Fool. McKellen plays Gandalf while McCoy plays the eccentric Radagast the Brown. Speaking of eccentric, McCoy made his bones in sci-fi circles by playing the very last Doctor Who of the show’s original run. As the first Doctor Who I watched, he’s officially my Doctor and my favorite Doctor.

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Filed under: Fantasy
Tags: 2012, 5/5, an unexpected journey, bilbo baggins, christopher lee, fantasy movies, Fran Walsh, Guillermo Del Toro, ian mckellen, jrr tolkien, lord of the rings, martin freeman, Peter Jackson, Philippa Boyens, sylvester mccoy, the hobbit, the hobbit an unexpected journey, the hobbit review, the hobbit trilogy

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Like most males of my generation, in my teen years I was pretty hype over Sam Raimi’s “Evil Dead” trilogy (“Evil Dead”, “Evil Dead 2″, “Army of Darkness”), starring the much-quotable Bruce Campbell as “Ash”, the everyman perpetually fending off ancient demons.

In a rare move for someone as immature as I am… I grew out of the movies. After the turn of the century, I’d occasionally look back at them, and just not feel the same rush of “This is awesome!” as I had just a few years prior.

That being said, when I did enjoy them, I considered “Evil Dead 2″ to be my favorite, if only because it was the most fun, the most well-done. “Army of Darkness” has its moments, but always felt a little over-produced, not as funny, and just generally lacking something.

Those aside, I considered the original, “Evil Dead”, to be the best of the three, story wise. Or rather, horror wise. It’s the only film in the trilogy that doesn’t opt for campy humor, and supremely-low budget gore effects notwithstanding, succeeds in rather exemplary moments of legit horror. Once the supernatural psychosis takes over, the film carries a tremendous sense of “anything can happen and be extremely disturbing in the process”. And lord knows things get randomly freaky.

In the subsequent 30 years after the release of 1981′s “Evil Dead”, speculation has run rampant as to whether or not Sam Raimi would himself, or allow someone else to, produce a remake of the film, with a far more substantial budget. A hair over three decades later, with Raimi and many original “Deadite” crew in co-productive tow instead of directorial, a new “Evil Dead” is on the way for next year.

And I don’t recall the last time I’ve been both excited and nauseated by a movie trailer.

The onset of the current red-band trailer gives an air of this being “just another haunted house movie” akin to the dozens we’ve seen in recent years. But instead of opting for found-footage and creepy-childrens-morphing-demonic-face mini-scares, 2013′s “Evil Dead” looks to opt for disturbing levels of possession and self-mutilating gore. More importantly, the film looks to keep to the original’s basic plot: Group of college-ish kids show up at a haunted cabin, one of them accidentally unleashes powerful demons, and things get progressively worse for everyone. No apologies, no beating around the bush, just HORROR in the purest and scariest sense of the word. Earlier I alluded to the appeal of remaking “Evil Dead” partially lying in the upping of its effects budget. To say the least, it appears they’ve taken that ball and ran with it… straight into the haunted woods. And I’m not far behind.

Some may lament the absence of a Bruce Campbell-feuled quote-machine of a black-humor hero. But before anybody starts whining over why Zack Galifianakis wasn’t cast as the new “Ash”, they should remember that it was the sequels to “Evil Dead” that went the comedic route. The original film was straight horror, and I couldn’t be more pleased to see that the remake is following suit.

Blood-soaked, demonic suit.

Filed under: Coming Attractions, Demons, Horror
Tags: 2013, cult classics, demons, evil dead, evil dead 2013, evil dead 2013 trailer, evil dead remake, evil dead trailer, horror, remakes, trailer snitch

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MOVIE - “Paranormal Activity 4”

DIRECTOR – Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman

WRITER – Christopher Landon (screenplay), Chad Feehan (story)

SIX DEGREES OF CAST & CREW

–The amazing career of Katie Featherston continues unabated. This is technically her fourth Paranormal Activity appearance, and the Paranormal Activity series is the bulk of her acting resume on the IMDB. Her other major exposure was on the show The River which was produced by Paranormal Activity mastermind Oren Peli. Speaking of steady employment, screenwriter Christopher Landon has been involved in Paranormals 2, 3, and 4, and will be involved in the upcoming Paranormal Activity 5 AND its Latino‑centric variant. Christopher Landon is the son of Michael Landon, which is mind-blowing.

–There’s an interesting connection between Stephen Dunham (who plays Doug the father) and Matt Shively (who plays mop‑headed teen love interest Ben). Both were on the Nickelodeon show True Jackson, VP; Dunham was Chad Brackett (awesome name) and Shively was Ryan Laserbeam (possibly the best name ever). Dunham is also married to Alexondra Lee, who plays Holly (the mother) in PA4. That’s right, a real-life married couple plays a married couple in PA4.

–If you want to talk about a movie punching above its weight class, that would be the Paranormal Activity movies. Despite the disappointment in the fourth version’s opening weekend (only $30 million on a budget of $5 million), the series has raked in massive amounts of money every outing. Thus far, the four Paranormal Activity films have made over $576 million versus a combined filming budget of $8 million. That would explain why they pack the cast with TV actors I don’t recognize.

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Filed under: Demons, Horror
Tags: 2012, 3/5, aiden lovekamp, alexondra lee, Ariel Schulman, brady allen, chad feehan, christopher landon, demons, found footage, Henry Joost, horror movies, kathryn newton, katie featherston, matt shively, oren peli, pa4, paranormal activity, paranormal activity 4, paranormal activity 4 review, stephen dunham, supernatural horror

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MOVIE - “Sinister”

DIRECTOR – Scott Derrickson

WRITER – Scott Derrickson (screenplay), C. Robert Cargill

SIX DEGREES OF CAST & CREW

–One of the degrees of separation between child actors Michael Hall D’Addario and Clare Foley is Paul Giamatti.  D’Addario played young Charles Adams in Giamatti’s John Adams miniseries, and Foley played Abby, the daughter of Giamatti’s Mike Flaherty in Win Win.  Foley was also on Girls as Lola Lavoyt with Lena Dunham, who did the operator’s voice in House of the Devil.

–Authority figures bookend this movie.  One is a sheriff (Fred Thompson) that both warns Ellison Oswalt (Ethan Hawke) to get out of town in the beginning and pulls him over near the end, and the other is Deputy So‑and‑So (James Ransone), who assists Oswalt in gathering inside information about his book idea.  Fred Thompson is a longtime Senator from Tennessee who was ran for the Republican nomination for President in 2004, was one of the lawyers involved in the Watergate hearings, and who is a fixture in the Law and Order Universe.  James Ransone did a few episodes of Law and Order, and he was in Inside Man with Denzel Washington. Washington was the scene‑stealer in Training Day with Ethan Hawke, who stars in this very movie!  Christopher Plummer played Arthur Case in Inside Man; Plummer’s daughter Amanda was in Ken Park with Ransone.

–Speaking of Ethan Hawke, he was in Brooklyn’s Finest with Vincent D’Onofrio.  D’Onofrio was on Law and Order:  Criminal Intent with Fred Thompson.  D’Onofrio was in Sinister as the uncredited Professor Jonas!

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Filed under: Demons, Horror
Tags: 2012, 3.5, bughuul, c. robert cargill, chris norr, christopher young, clare foley, demons, ethan hawke, fred thompson, horror, horror movies, james ransone, juliet rylance, michael hall d'addario, mr. boogie, scott derrickson, sinister, sinister review, supernatural horror, vincent d'onofrio

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MOVIE - “Argo”

DIRECTOR – Ben Affleck

WRITER – Chris Terrio (screenplay), Joshuah Bearman (article)

SIX DEGREES OF CAST & CREW

–Argo has a strong connection to the television show “Damages.”  Four of the cast of Argo, John Goodman (John Chambers), Tate Donovan (Bob Anders), Chris Messina (Malinov), and the awesomely named Zeljko Ivanek (Robert Pender) have all had major roles on the program.

–The fictional movie Argo is based off the Roger Zelazny book “Lord of Light.”  The man who did the storyboards for Lord of Light, and the man who did the storyboards for the fictional Argo, is Jack Kirby, who any comic book fan will know as the man who invented or co‑invented Captain America, The Fantastic Four, the X‑Men, Thor, The Hulk, Iron Man, Silver Surfer, The Avengers as a team, Black Panther, and pretty much the entire golden age of comic books.  In this film, he’s played by Michael Parks, who played Texas Ranger Earl McGraw in “From Dusk Till Dawn,” “Kill Bill,” and “Grindhouse.”  Meanwhile, the real‑life John Coleman is the special effects genius behind the original “Planet of the Apes” series and the man who created Spock’s pointy ears.  Producer Lester Siegel (as played by Alan Arkin) is fictional.

–Speaking of fictional, the man playing the Minotaur in Chambers’ special effects introduction is Scott Anthony Leet, a former professional football punter for the NFL’s St. Louis Rams and Dallas Cowboys.  The woman behind the makeup as Serksi the Gallactic Witch, aka Nina, is none other than genre legend Adrienne Barbeau, who worked with Clea DuVall (Cora Lijek) on the brilliant “Carnivale.”

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Filed under: Drama
Tags: 2012, 4.5/5, adrienne barbeau, alan arkin, argo, argo review, ben affleck, chris messina, chris terrio, clea duvall, drama, hostage movies, john goodman, michael parks, movie reviews, spy movies, tate donovan, thrillers, zeljko ivanek

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MOVIE - “American Scary”

DIRECTOR – John E. Hudgens

WRITER – Sandy Clark

SIX DEGREES OF CAST & CREW

–One of the horror hosts is Bill “Chilly Billy” Cardille, a Pittsburgh staple and host of the Chiller Theater on WPXI in the 60’s and 70’s.  Chilly Billy was a television reporter in both the original Night of the Living Dead and the 1990 remake.  His daughter, Lori Cardille, had a bigger role as the lead in Day of the Dead.  His granddaughter, Kate Rogal, has played bit parts in both the Jason Statham movie Safe and the Steve Carell/Tina Fey comedy Date Night.

–For three years, Ernie Anderson played Ghoulardi on television in Cleveland, Ohio.  Before he was Ghoulardi, Ernie Anderson hosted a variety show on WJW called Ernie’s Place, and his head writer/frequent guest was a young man by the name of Tim Conway, who he collaborated while working in New York.  That’s right, Tim Conway from The Carol Burnett Show and Dorf videos and all kinds of other comedy stuff.  After Anderson ceased to be Ghoulardi and headed to Hollywood, he became the announcer for The Carol Burnett Show thanks to his Tim Conway connection; Anderson would serve as the official voice for ABC television for decades, providing the introduction for The Love Boat, every ABC News bumper, and even America’s Funniest Home Videos.  Oh yeah, Ernie Anderson’s son is Paul Thomas Anderson, the famous auteur director and writer behind Boogie Nights, Magnolia, Punch‑Drunk Love, There Will Be Blood, and The Master.  PT Anderson’s production company is named after Ghoulardi.

–Ghoulardi’s web extends past Hollywood.  He inspired a host of other Ohio-based horror hosts, including direct successor The Ghoul (Ron Sweed), who inspired Hoolihan (Bob Wells) and Big Chuck (Chuck Schodowski), which morphed into Big Chuck and Li’l John (John Rinaldi).  The Ghoul in turn inspired Akron host Son of Ghoul (Kevin Scarpino). Ohio is America’s largest native supply of horror hosts, apparently.

–For those too young to remember the glory days of local television, several syndicated favorites also make appearances:  Commander USA, Joel from Mystery Science Theater 3000, Elvira, Joe Bob Briggs, and Mr. Lobo, just to name a few.

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Filed under: Documentary, Television
Tags: 2006, 4/5, american scary, american scary review, bill cardille, chilly billy cardille, documentaries, ernie anderson, ghoulardi, horror documentaries, horror host documentary, horror hosts, horror television documentary, john e. hudgens, movie reviews, sandy clark, television documentary, vampira, zacherle

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MOVIE - “House of the Devil”

DIRECTOR – Ti West

WRITER – Ti West

SIX DEGREES OF CAST & CREW

‑At one point, Samantha (Jocelin Donahue) makes a panicking phone call to 911 only to be berated by the operator for making an unnecessary call.  The voice of that phone operator is Lena Dunham, the 26-year-old wunderkind writer/director/actress known for the film Tiny Furniture and the television series Girls, currently on HBO.  As for Donahue, she was in the 2008 underground worm monster movie The Burrowers with the brilliant Clancy Brown.

‑Speaking of brilliant, the supporting characters in this movie are pretty awesome.  Mr. and Mrs. Ulman are genre legends.  Mr. Ulman is Tom Noonan, who was Cain (the big‑bad in Robocop 2).  He was also Ferguson in The Wolfen, Frankenstein in The Monster Squad (!!!) and Francis Dollarhyde in Manhunter (reprised by Ralph Fiennes in Red Dragon).  Mrs. Ulman is Mary Woronov, who got her start in Andy Warhol’s performance art movies before becoming the designated lady weirdo of the 70’s and early 80’s in such films as Rock and Roll High School (as Miss Togar, who she would repirese in Alan Arkush’s Shake, Rattle and Roll alongside Renee Zellweger and Howie Mandell), Eating Raoul (as Mary Bland), and Calamity Jane in Death Race 2000.  As for the third major (non Greta Gerwig or AJ Bowen) player, it’s Dee Wallace, who you will know as the mother from Cujo, the mom from Critters, Karen in The Howling, Lynne from The Hills Have Eyes, AND the mom from E.T.  She’s played a lot of epic mothers, and is a very nice lady in real life.

‑House of the Devil is a throw-back all the way.  The movie is believed to be set in 1983, judging by the soundtrack’s use of the song “One Thing Leads To Another” by The Fixx.  The movie was shot on 16mm film, which accounts for the 80’s look, and was shot using techniques popularized in the 80’s, such as zooming in on characters rather than using a dolly shot.  The movie was “based on true events” in true 80’s fashion (it was completely made up), ties into the Satanic panic of the era, and even contains a nod to the Patrick Dempsey flick Loverboy.  House of the Dead was also deliberately released on VHS (in a big clamshell case) as a publicity stunt; the last major movie to be released on VHS for the home video market was 2005’s A History of Violence.

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Filed under: Horror
Tags: 2009, 3/5, 80's homages, AJ Bowen, Dee Wallace, Greta Gerwig, horror, horror movies, house of the devil, house of the devil review, Jocelin Donahue, lena dunham, Mary Qoronov, satanic panic, satanist, ti west, Tom Noonan

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