Creepy Cinema: Cult Camp | Week Two

The second week of Creepy Cinema: Cult Camp was both good and bad. It was good because I saw some really scary and terrifying movies but I really liked them. I think I saw what will probably be my favorite film this year! I also saw probably the worst movie on the list as well. Overall, it was a pretty well rounded week and I can't wait to see more!


1. Evil Dead (1981)  
This is one of the few movies on the list that I knew. I’ve actually seen Evil Dead 2 and Army of Darkness. I enjoyed both those films and was excited to see the movie that started it all. Evil Dead is about a group of friends that drive to a cabin in the woods and inadvertently end up releasing demons in the process. This is the sort of movie that I avoid.

Way back when I saw the other Evil Dead movies, Markus intentionally left out this one, because he knew it would be too much for me. I have to admit that I loved this movie. It was terrifying and I enjoyed every minute. Evil Dead is a low budget film and it honestly looks like a student project. Despite all this, the film really delivers. I think of all the films that we’ve seen so far, this one was my favorite. It has everything that you could want in a horror flick. I spent the entire movie screaming at every little thing and watching with my hands over my eyes. It was perfection. 

2.  Killer Klowns from Outer Space (1988)
If there is one thing that creeps me out, it’s clowns. They’re always smiling and hiding their real faces. I think it has a lot to do with accidentally seeing clips of Stephen King’s “It” when I was a kid. Since then, I’ve always had a fear of clowns. Killer Klowns from Outer Space is about alien clowns that come to earth and start attacking and harvesting humans for food.

I was expecting to be super creeped out by this movie and I really wasn’t. There were a few moments that were scary, but overall, it’s an 80s movie about clowns from outer space. How scary can it really be? The designs for the clowns were really amazing and jarring when I first saw them. I also enjoyed the super sweet and cheesy theme song. It was perfectly 80’s sounding for a cult classic.


3. Re-Animator (1985)
I was really excited to see this movie. I knew that it was very popular and beloved among its fans. The film is based on an HP Lovecraft story titled, “Herbert West-Reanimator”. It follows West and his quest to unlock the power of reanimating the dead, hence the title. This film is known for being able to combine gore with comedy.

I think the driving force for all the love is Jeffrey Combs, who plays Herbert West.
West is an amazing character, he’s so strange and creepy, however you can’t help but root for him. It’s strange because he’s such an anti-hero. Combs is an incredible actor and was also the lead in From Beyond, viewed in last year’s Creepy Cinema. I really enjoyed this film and I think a large part of that is because of Combs’ incredible acting. 

 4. Mad Monster Party (1967)
Words cannot express how much I adore this movie. It was a lot of fun to watch.  It’s a stop motion comedy film that features all the classic monsters we all know and love. The film is about the gathering of said characters and the lure of total destruction. I’m a huge fan of old movies and this one didn’t fail to deliver that same sense of nostalgia. 

I really enjoyed this movie and there was so much to love. It has that style of the 60s that anyone can appreciate. It’s campy and kitschy. All of the characters are incredibly designed. My favorite character was Felix, the only human in the entire film. He’s adorable and sounds a bit like Jimmy Stewart, who I adore. Although the love story with Francesca felt really forced. One minute she hates him and then he slaps her and she’s instantly in love. I don’t get it, but I guess that’s how women fell in love back then. 

 5.  The ABC’s of Death (2012)
I thought that The Toxic Avenger was the worst movie this year, but I was sadly mistaken. Little did I know that the worse was yet to come. When Markus and I read the synopsis for this film, we thought that it would be a nice addition to the list. The film is a horror anthology directed by 26 different directors and spans the alphabet, exploring different words associated with death. According to the Internet, it was toted as a cult classic “in the making.” 

I didn’t think that I would dislike this movie so much, but I did. It was so blasé that I had to stop watching in the middle. I think the main problem with this anthology film is that there were a few good shorts immersed in a sea of horrible ones.  I just really didn’t like most of them, and I think the crux of the problem is that there were 26 shorts.  That’s way too many. Most horror anthologies boast four or even 6 shorts, which is more than enough to deliver quality stories and great characters.  I think The ABC’s of Death would have been better suited for an online horror short competition, not a full film. 

 6.  C.H.U.D (1984)
This movie is one of those movies that you’ve heard of but have no idea what it’s about. Sometimes, it’s best to go into these movies not knowing anything because you don’t have preconceived notions. There were so many famous people in this movie and it was kind of surprising! This film is about strange, mutated, underground dwellers that eat and kill humans.

I thought C.H.U.D. was good, but it was really slow. The story is really interesting and the parts that were meant to be scary were just that. It just took forever to get to the point. I think that’s the thing about 80s movies. They really take their time explaining. The creatures themselves were really gross and I screamed a bit. Not as much as I did during Evil Dead, but it still had its moments. 

 7. Splinter (2008)
Again, Splinter is the kind of movie that I try avoid. It’s the epitome of a horror movie, and evokes so much anxiety. It doesn’t employ jump scares; the entire movie is just terrifying and really scares the junk out of you. This movie was a little known film that has become popular over the years on DVD and streaming. Splinter is your basic bottle movie that has a small cast and focuses on the paranoia and terror of something infecting and killing anyone in the vicinity...in a very horrific way of course.

When the movie starts, it hits the ground running, and it feels like it’s never going to stop. I spent the entire movie cringing and screaming. There were several moments when I had to close my eyes and plug my ears. I think this is the scariest movie we’ve seen in this year’s Creepy Cinema. It’s the kind of movie that traps it’s characters in a small space and pokes at them in horrible ways. I really enjoyed watching it, especially with friends, but I don’t think I could ever watch it again.

Creepy Cinema: Cult Camp | Week One

I'm so excited to finally share my thoughts on this year's list of cult classics. The first week of Creepy Cinema was a nice mix of films and for the most part I enjoyed most of them. Although, it's possible that I saw the worst film I've ever seen. It was pretty awful. Anyway, I hope you enjoy my reviews and let me know what you think in the comments below!
 
1.   Nosferatu (1922)
This film is the oldest on this year’s list, and since I didn’t want to jump in head first, I dipped in slowly by watching this one first. Nosferatu is probably one of the most iconic horror films of all time. It has such a cult following that they even made a movie about the filming of Nosferatu, called Shadow of the Bat.  The film is such an obvious rip off of Dracula, but that’s what makes it great. The makers of Nosferatu couldn’t obtain the rights to make a movie adaptation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, so they told their own version, which was just as good in its own right.

I actually wanted to watch this movie last year, but Markus wanted to save it for this year. The movie itself is pretty good, but it isn’t my favorite “Dracula” film or vampire movie. The cinematography is amazing and there are so many iconic shots. I absolutely love the look and feel, but it did lag a bit. I know it has a lot to do with the time period in which it was made, but it was still too slow for my taste. Also, I know the Dracula story really well, so there was no mystery to keep me going.

 
2.     The Toxic Avenger (1985) 
If there ever was a movie that I could un-see it would be The Toxic Avenger. I don’t even know what possessed me to allow this on the list. What kills me is that in earlier versions of this year’s list, this movie wasn’t even in the running. If I could turn back time…

I don’t think there is anything good about this movie. I wrote notes for all the other films, but I only wrote one sentence for this movie: “ This movie is so gross.” Markus was telling me that all the movies made by Troma Films (the creators of The Toxic Avenger) are like this. It’s just gratuitously disgusting. They basically take every extreme and nasty thing you could think of and intensify it. I will never ever watch another Troma Film movie again.


3.     Atom Age Vampire (1960)
Markus and I saw this movie on Hulu and decided to add it to the list. This was a huge mistake. There probably is a good reason why I’ve never heard of it. The basic premise is that a beautiful woman is scarred in an accident and a scientist cures her, but at a high cost.

The beginning started out really good. I liked the opening sequence and I thought it was the start of a hidden gem. I was definitely wrong. There are some good things about the film, but the woman’s overacting is just too much. She spent most of the movie crying, weeping and screaming. I mean, I get that women tend to be emotional, but this was too much. Also, what is it with men always choosing women that are all wrong for them? I don’t understand why the antagonist in this movie goes crazy for this woman. She doesn’t even feel an attraction to him. Her kindness to him is solely based on her gratitude for having her beauty returned to her.


4.     Plan 9 from Outer Space (1959)
This film has been heralded as the “worst movie of all time”, but I may have to disagree. I’ve definitely seen worse films. Plan 9 was created by Ed Wood, which also happens to be the subject of one of my favorite Tim Burton films. Since I know a little about Wood, I was excited to see this film. He’s known for making a slew of really low budget movies ranging from sci-fi to westerns.

I have to admit that this isn’t a well-done movie, it’s actually really bad. There isn’t any care to continuity and the sets look like they were made by middle-schoolers. Despite all of this, I really liked this movie. Since I knew it was the “worst movie of all time”, I expected it to be badly made, but I think the terrible acting, poor shots and juvenile sets are what made the movie worthwhile and enjoyable.



5.     Children of the Corn (1984)
This is one of those movies that you know about, but haven’t watched because it’s too creepy. I think that Stephen King is quite brilliant and always delivers, but I have a confession to make. Before Children of the Corn, I’ve never seen a Stephen King film or read any of his books. I know, it’s so strange. When I told Markus, I think he was really perplexed.

Children of the Corn was quite good and I enjoyed watching it.  It’s such a creepy movie, and it wasn’t at all what I was expecting. I didn’t know much about it and I honestly thought it was about kids who really liked corn. Or maybe they liked to terrorize people with corn. Or they were actually children made of corn. Either way, the movie will make me think twice before wandering into any fields of corn.



6.     Carrie (1976)
I watched this right after Children of the Corn. I guess after 29 years of a Stephen King-less life I had to catch up. Carrie is one of those movies that you know about without having to watch. That’s the thing about pop culture; you can “know everything” about a film without ever seeing it.

Watching Carrie was a lot like watching Psycho last year. I thought I knew the whole story and I would be bored, but it was the complete opposite. Even though I knew exactly what was going to happen, there was so much more that I didn’t know. Actually seeing the relationship with her mother explains a lot of what motivates Carrie. Every time her mother came on screen, I was instantly irritated. I probably would’ve gone crazy too if I were Carrie and had to deal with an overbearing mother like that.

7.     Pumpkinhead (1988)
Like many movies this year, I’ve never heard of Pumpkinhead. I try not to read anything about the movies before I watch them. It definitely adds more mystery and suspense. The main premise of this movie is revenge and the endless cycle of hate that it perpetuates. It’s set in a small backwater country town where a lot of weird voodoo and occult stuff is present.

Pumpkinhead wasn’t too scary and was easy to watch. It’s got all the fixings of a cult horror: a small budget, great practical effects, staple characters like an old crone, creepy hillbillies and a menacing humanoid creature. When the creature is finally revealed, I thought it looked a lot like the alien from Alien. The story is pretty good and it has it flaws, but like most 80s movie I don’t expect the script to be airtight. I was able to predict the outcome of the story way before it even happened. Nevertheless, it’s still enjoyable and definitely a hidden gem. I can see why this film has a cult following.

Adventures in Camping | Part 2


Last week, I posted about our first camping experience. It was definitley a whirlwind and it only gets better. I can't wait to share the rest of the story with all of you! In case you missed my Korean camping misadventure, you can read part one here.

Last I left you, we finished setting up camp and realized that we didn't have any food. Before setting up our tents, we drove from Busan to Pohang and from there to Gyeong-ju. Basically, we spent most of the day in the car and were pretty exhausted. Despite our feelings, we needed to fill our empty stomachs, so we all jumped in the car and searched for a place that would satisfy all our shopping needs.

We had many issues on this trip as I stated before. Our main problem was our location. We were far into the countryside and we missed our chance to go to a mart. On the way to Gyeong-ju, Gwang-jin missed the exit for Costco and instead of turning around, he decided to keep going. After driving for another 45 minutes we finally found a Mega Mart in Eonyang and we were able to get all the food we needed. We happily stocked up on all the essentials and headed back to Gyeong-ju..


Once we finally made it back to the campsite, we realized that we didn't have a table, seats or even a way to cook the food. By this point, I was beyond frustrated and just went with it. Thankfully, they found an old table and rented a grill. We didn't have any seats so we just found big rocks and sat on them. The boys also realized that they didn't have any way to start the fire. A nice Korean dad at the tent next to us came over and started the fire for us. I think he took one look at our "beggar" style camping and decided to help. I'm pretty sure we wouldn't have been able to eat if it wasn't for him.

Even though we all had a long frustrating day, the minute we started cooking, all our worries disappeared. We were all a bit annoyed with Junnie, but we know he meant well. He kept saying that he wanted to give Markus and I an unforgettable experience. How could I be mad at someone so sweet and sincere? We spent the rest of the evening stuffing our faces full of delicious barbecued meats and playing games. It was actually a fun night and it was like the stressful day didn't even happen. Around 11pm it started raining, so we all went inside our tents. We played a few more games and then around 1am we called it a night.


I would like to say that we slept through the night and woke up the next morning and made breakfast.  You would think that after all the stress we already went through that the camping gods were done toying us, but you would be wrong. Oh so very wrong.  It rained through the night and at 3am Markus and I were startled awake by something cold and wet. We sat up and realized that our whole tent was flooded with water. We woke up the boys and they told us to go sleep in the car. I slept for about 30 minutes but then woke up to metal hitting metal. When I looked outside, the boys had taken down both tents. They decided that we would either find a motel or go sleep at Junnie's grandmother's house in Pohang. Markus and I didn't want to stay at his grandmother's house so we decided on a motel. Although, we still had to go to Pohang to drop off the tents. After dropping them off, the boys again decided that we would skip the motel and drive the extra hour and half to Busan. At this point, all I could think about was my warm and dry bed. So, I readily agreed. When they finally dropped us off at our apartment, I looked at the clock and realized that it was 6am. We didn't even camp for 24 hours. We were out for only 22 hours! We waved goodbye to our friends and sought solace in our warm beds.

So this concludes, my first camping adventure. I know it was a crazy and unbelievable experience. Just writing about it, brought it all back. It's funny though. When I think back on it, I don't remember how annoyed or frustrated I was. I remember how much fun I had. I remember all our inside jokes and getting to know one another. It's one of those stories that I'll tell my kids when I tell them about my time in Korea. It'll be the time that mom and dad went camping in Korea and had the time of their lives.

Creepy Cinema 2013: Cult Camp


October has finally arrived, and in the Cruz household that means one thing, Creepy Cinema! Last year, Markus and I began this tradition because I couldn't watch scary movies at all. He would always ask me to watch them with him, but I always refused. I felt bad for him, so finally I gave in and said that he could have the entire month of October...and thus Creepy Cinema was born. However I 'd like to think that after last year's Creepy Cinema I've graduated to a higher level of courage. I have Markus to thank for all of this. He's seen almost every scary movie out there, and he's been a great guide.

This year, we decided on a theme, Cult Camp. We're basically watching 31 movies that are considered cult horror classics. A movie is deemed a cult classic when it has a a huge fan base but failed in the box office. From this list of 31 films, I've only seen two. There is such a wide variety this year and I'm really excited to get started. There's bound to be something that I'll love!

Source: Skeleton Couple/Vintage Feedsacks