The Halloween Five

Satan In Disguise -
Michael Shinafelt

"Happy, Happy Halloween, Halloween, Halloween. Happy, Happy Halloween, Silver Shamrock!"

Halloween III: Season of the Witch is a quite underrated movie. John Carpenter and Debra Hill were approached by Universal to do a third Halloween film after the studio picked up the sequel to the indie smash Halloween.

Their plan? To do a franchise under the Halloween banner every year, with a different theme. Turns out the public demanded and only had love for Michael Myers. Gotta give those two credit though for trying to be innovative and fun!

Which brings me to the theme of this year's Season of the Witch post. I am going to give you five of my favorite fright films, in no particular order, with the exception of number one. I bet you already know what that is...

Halloween
Always Number 1!

1) Halloween - This is my one and only when it comes to sheer horror. I can not count how many times I have seen it and how much I love it! It was the first horror film my Father took me to, and it scared the shit out of me. It is still under my skin to this day, even though I know what's coming. Jamie Lee Curtis rules!

2) Excision - Teen angst, domineering mothers, delusional aspirations of being a world class surgeon.
This psychological gore fest is a brilliant feature debut from Director/Writer Richard Bates, Jr. It also features two great performances from AnnaLynne McCord and Traci Lords.

3) Psycho - Like mother like daughter. Janet Leigh shocked the world of cinema by appearing in Alfred Hithcock's then explicit and never seen nothing like it thriller Psycho. Janet as you may or may not know was the mother of future Scream Queen and Halloween star, Jamie Lee Curtis. This movie still holds up today as a master class in film making and what an intelligent slasher film could and should be.

4) The Hunger - was anything sexier than Catherine Deneuve and David Bowie slashing their prey's throats with an ankh and drinking their blood at the height of orgasm? Well, one more thing in this awesome vampire flick was, the sex scene between Deneuve turning Susan Sarandon into her latest immortal fling. Tony Scott's best.

5) Cat People - No, not the original in 1942. That one I never saw the big deal about. But the re-imagining of it by auteur Paul Schrader. While the film is more of an erotic fantasy. It is peppered with enough horror elements and violence to really set it above the cut. With Malcom McDowell at his freaky best and Nastassja Kinski doing what she does best...meow, sex kitten.

While these are not the only Holiday Flicks I love, they are the cream of the crop to me. With John Carpenter's Halloween always remaining #1 in my blackened heart.

Happy Halloween! Until next year...

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The Python - Lawrence v Kinski, Who Wore It Best?

Nastassja Kinski's Iconic Photo: Richard Avedon

A photo of one of my favorite contemporary actresses, Jennifer Lawrence paying homage to another one of my favorite actresses Nastassja Kinski iconic photo by Richard Avedon of her with a python recently surfaced in the Vanity Fair Hollywood Issue.

Nastasja starred in a lot of great films in the late 70's to mid 80's such as Roman Polanski's Tess, Frances Ford Coppola's One From The Heart and three of my favorite movies ever Tony Richardson's The Hotel New Hampshire, Wim Wender's Paris Texas & Paul Scrader's Cat People.

She was the Jennifer Lawrence of her time, working with prolific filmmakers of her time and doing some amazing work. BTW Kinski was Oscar nominated for Tess even though she has never won the statue.

Jennifer Lawrence's Homage Photo: Patrick Dermarchelier

Cut to the now. Ms. Jennifer Lawrence a wonderful Academy Award winning actress who has an amazing accessibility about her. From her breakthrough role in Debra Granik's Winter's Bone (her first Oscar nomination) to Oscar win for David O. Russell's Silver Linings Playbook. OK and I guess if I must mention it, The Hunger Games series.

It seems only fitting that Ms. Lawrence would end up wearing a python in a photo by Patrick Dermarchelier in a homage to Kinski.

So who wore the python best?

For this writer it's a toss up, your thoughts?

Jennifer on IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2225369/?ref_=tt_cl_t2
Nastassja on IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/find?ref_=nv_sr_fn&q=nastassja+kinski&s=nm

Coming Soon: The Canyons

It's been a while since Lindsay Lohan looked like a bona fide movie star, seeing the trailer for her latest "The Canyons" is the first time that has happened on film in a while (she looked like one a few times at her numerous court appearances, but those do not count).

Ms. Lohan seems to have found the perfect role to match the public perception of her. In the film she plays the way over everything, translation beyond jaded,"Tara" whose opening dialogue in the trailer nails the character: "When's the last time you went to see a movie in the theater?" Tara says of movies at the trailer's outset. "I don't know. You know, I guess maybe it's just not my thing anymore." 

She co-stars with Porn Star James Deen as "Christian" - the actual storyline is not revealed in the teaser (tease being the operative word) but what one can gather is it involves a love triangle, drugs, homemade porn and is an ode to a world where nobody has a private life anymore.

This being stated it is also from the mind of Bret Easton Ellis, who is responsible for two of my favorite books/movies "American Psycho" & "Less Than Zero". So you know what you are going to be in for something sordid and dark.

Also along for the ride is renowned master of the underbelly of society Paul Schrader who is responsible for "Taxi Driver" and "Hardcore" and a personal favorite the remake of the 1942 horror film "Cat People" with Malcolm McDowell & Nastassja Kinski - which re-imagined the legend of the Cat People as an erotic fantasy. 

Of course people are now pronouncing Lohan's career one step away from porn, uh this is utter hogwash. "Yes" she is starring in an extremely edgy indie project and yes it will be fairly explicit, but so were the films I mentioned above and you did not hear anyone saying that about the actors involved in those projects. I would rather see her in something looking like her own movie star and connecting with a character that she understands than doing a poor imitation of one, who she obviously understands, but can't hold a candle to, "Liz & Dick" anyone? Yeah, I thought not.

Also, yes I have seen the latest release of the publicity generating NSFW photos showing Deen's penis (no one's ever seen that before) and Lohan's breasts, again what would you expect from the combining of this writer/director team? This is their area of expertise and the type of film they know how to deliver.

I for one can't wait to take a trip to "The Canyons"!

                                                           "The Canyons" Trailer

Take a trip into "The Canyons" 

Video On Demand: August 2nd

Select Theatres: August 9th

Visit "The Canyons" at: https://www.facebook.com/TheCanyonsFilm?fref=ts