warlock Tagged Articles at Cinematical
Monday Night Poll: Silliest Horror Villains
Filed under: Horror », Fandom », Polls »
When it comes to making movies, few things are more subjective than horror. There's nothing that scares everyone, and even if your movie is about something that most people find frightening, that's no guarantee you'll depict it in a way that earns goosebumps. Meanwhile, plenty of good filmmakers have produced terror with things that audiences wouldn't have thought would scare them. (Before Psycho, was anyone ever afraid of showers?) So it's a crapshoot, basically.
Still, some horror films have had villains that they must have known -- or should have known -- wouldn't be scary, no matter how skilled the execution. (And the lousy execution of some of these didn't help.) The Child's Play films got intentionally goofy later in the series, but in the beginning Chucky the murderous doll was actually supposed to be scary, despite being 18 inches tall and weighing only a few pounds. Then there was the title character of Leprechaun, also diminutive and silly, AND he didn't even speak with an Irish accent! If I'm going to watch a movie about a leprechaun, that leprechaun had damn well better sound Irish. I'm just sayin'.
Or remember Darkness Falls, where the supernatural villain was the tooth fairy? Or the evil genie in the Wishmaster films, putting ironic, malevolent twists on people's wishes? Or Julian Sands' time-traveling he-witch in Warlock? The killer snowman in Jack Frost? What's your vote for the silliest horror villain? One of these, or someone else? Let us know in the comments.
The Scary Bits: Pieces, Timecrimes & Conjurers
Filed under: Horror », The Scary Bits »
Mega-sloppy cult mini-classic Pieces hits DVD this week, but my copy hasn't arrived yet, so check out BD's fine review by slasher-lover David Harley.
If you like Leprechaun, Warlock, and comic book adaptations, Shock has some good news for you. And Twitchfilm has a great little interview with the director of Tokyo Gore Police. And MTV talks Medusas and Krakens. Oooh, and Lionsgate is planning a My Bloody Valentine special edition DVD to tie in with their remake.
Anyone remember me (and the other horror nerds) raving about a Canadian horror flick called End of the Line? If so you'll be pleased to note that the DVD is now available in R1 -- but only from Canadian distributors. More info here.
UGO has an exclusive peek at the brand-new trailer for The Grudge 3 right here.
A few weeks back, director Clint Hutchison asked me if I could take a look at his horror flick Conjurer before the DVD went to press. Unfortunately I got busy with other stuff, so I'm a bit late with my comments: This is a rather fine little gothic thriller, in no way related to slasher flicks or "torture" stuff. It's actually a rather cool '70s-style slow-burn horror tale about a young couple, a new house, and a really creepy little cabin. Definitely not a "slam-bang" horror flick, but I thought it was well-shot, well-acted, and pretty engrossing for a fairly familiar story. (The DVD comes out on November 25.)
My pal Irv over at Movies Unlimited has a few recommendations from the new Hammer "Icons" Collection.
Lastly, Nacho Vigalondo's very nifty Timecrimes has a brand-new theatrical trailer that does a fine job of introducing the movie without spoiling any of the surprises. Here it is:
RIP: Reel Important People -- May 19, 2008
Filed under: Obits »
Rosario Prestopino (1950-2008) - Makeup Artist, Special Effects Artist. Worked on Italian horror filmmaker Lucio Fuci's Zombie, City of the Living Dead, The Black Cat, The New York Ripper and The New Gladiators, as well as Lamberto Bava's DemonsDemons 2, Dario Argento's Terror at the Opera, Michele Soavi's The Church, Philip Haas' Up at the Villa and Mario Girolami's Zombie Holocaust. He died of a heart attack May 13, in Rome. (IMDb)
- Danton Burroughs (1944-2008) - Chairman of Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc. Handled licensing of properties created by his grandfather, Edgar Rice Burroughs, to films, television and other media. We can probably thank him for such adaptations as Disney's animated Tarzan and the studio's upcoming John Carter of Mars. He died of heart failure May 1, in Tarzana, California. (Variety)
- Carlo Colombaioni (c.1933-2008) - Clown. A favorite of Federico Fellini's, he acted in and advised on circus sequences directed by the filmmaker. He contributed to Fellini's La Strada, The Clowns, Amarcord, Roma and Casanova. He also appears in Claude Goretta's The Wonderful Crook and Yvan Le Moine's The Red Dwarf. He died May 16 in France. (Telegraph)
- Warren Cowan (1921-2008) - Publicist. Legendary in Hollywood, he co-founded PR firm Rogers & Cowan and represented Kirk Douglas, Frank Sinatra, Tony Curtis, Lucille Ball, Judy Garland, Steve McQueen, Natalie Wood, Cary Grant, Audrey Hepburn and the Doors, among others. He also pioneered the idea of independent Oscar campaigns, beginning with the push for Joan Crawford's performance in Mildred Pierce, for which she ended up winning the Best Actress trophy. Recent films for which he's credited as unit publicist include The Secret Agent, Shade, Metroland and One Man's Hero. He died of cancer May 14, in Los Angeles. Read Valerie Van Galder's (President of Marketing at Sony) moving tribute to Cowan over at MCN. (LA Times)
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