Scary films (only marginally Kate-related)

[violet@slip.net]

Excuse the late response, but I'm behind in reading L-H.

Chris wrote:
>  A couple of Kate's other favorite frightening films:
>
>   The Haunting (the door bulging in was a major image for _Get Out Of My
>       House_).

And don't forget The Shining as inspiration for this song, too.  Although
it's not a terribly great film, some of the images were truly amazing, like
the blood flooding the corridors.

A movie I suggest everyone see is The Uninvited (1944), which is often said
to be the "greatest ghost-haunted house film ever made."  I've been
watching horror films my whole life and I don't get scared by any very
easily, but this one makes me afraid to walk down the hall to the bedroom
afterwards.

If anyone wants to see a little known, but excellent vampire movie, check
out "Martin" by George Romero.  It's a realistic portrayal of a vampire as
opposed to the mythological version that people are used to, and it's not
so much "scary" as it is disturbing, althought there IS a lot of tension.
The ending always upsets me very much.  This film is so good that I
actually ordered a copy to buy and I highly recommend it.  (I'm sort of
known to all my friends as the total film freak who can usually tell you
what it was, when it was made, and who was in it on a moment's notice, and
I LOVE to recommend things for people to watch. :> )

If Werner Herzog's version of Nosferatu starring Klaus Kinski comes on TV
in your area, watch it, if only for the chorus that was duplicated in
"Hello, Earth."  Many of the visuals are eerie and haunting.
Unfortunately, this isn't available on video (at least it still wasn't as
of last year).

If you haven't seen it, watch "The Fearless Vampire Killers."  It's a very
black comedy and, well,...you just HAVE to see it.  You will know from the
second the music starts that you've never seen anything like it.  Even
though parts of it are tongue in cheek, the atmosphere is the closest thing
to resembling the look of a nightmare dreamscape that I've ever seen.  The
colors are surreal, and you'll not soon forget the white of the snow and
the red of the blood and the blue of the night.  I think if it's possible
to be haunted by the atmosphere of a film, this is it.  You also get a
chance to see Sharon Tate in one of her few roles (this one having been a
sort of grim premonition of the real horror that was to come for her).

And then there are all the Hammer films, which I just adore.  One of my
favorites is one from the Carmilla trilogy titled "The Vampire Lovers."
But there aren't many Hammer's that I don't like (just one or two from the
70's).

There's one that I used to watch, also on the Carmilla theme, but I can't
find it on video, although it has been released.  I'm pretty sure the title
was "Blood and Roses," and the visuals were overhwhelming.  I remember
scenes where the female vampire floated into the room of the couple in the
story and just floated above the bed looking down.  It showed the view from
the bed looking up, and it looked like the vampire was just floating in
water.  There were also scenes of her floating languidly in blood, her skin
very white in contrast, and it looked like she was in the middle of a giant
rose.  Far from being gory, it was very erotic and sensual.  I want to see
it again so badly!  My film guide says it's a turkey, but I don't agree.

Watch "The Company of Wolves" for a psycho-sexual fairytale gone very
wrong.  I especially tell all women they must see it, if only to be able to
see the "wolves" when they are upon you. ;>  The sets for this are pretty
eerie, too, and this haunts me as much as Fearless Vampire Killers.  These
are two movies I find myself going back to again and again.

And let's not forget the fabulous "Wicker Man," which has none other than
Mr. Moving himself, Lindsay Kemp, in the smallish role of the tavernkeeper.

More fantasy than horror is "Paperhouse," which  you should try to see if
it kills you.  This British film seems to start off a bit slow and you
think maybe nothing spectacular is really going to come of it all, but once
you begin to realise what's going on, you are hooked.  This is a film I
ALWAYS show to new friends (and they always thank me ;> ).  You'll be so
sorry when it's over, but you'll be laughing and crying and have a huge
lump in your throat.  While I originally saw and taped it on HBO or
Showtime, it is available on video, so hopefully your local store will have
it.  It's not very well-known, and this is a crime.  Oh, and while it is
fantasy, much of it is nightmarish, and I always laugh nervously every time
something happens and sends my friends through the roof!  There are
definitely parts that will make you jump.

I could go on all day about this stuff, so I'd better shut up now.  If any
of you like horror films, write and let me know your favorites.

Violet
xoxox