horror reviews

Number 15 of My Top 31 Horror Movies : A group of camp counselors are stalked by an unknown killer while trying to reopen a summer camp which was the site of a child’s drowning and a grisly double murder years before : Originally titled A Long Night at Camp Blood Sean S. Cunningham’s FRIDAY THE 13TH was shot for a measly $500,000 and was released in 1980, becoming a box office success and spawning numerous sequels : from Harry Manfredini scary Hitchcockian score that screams Psycho, the film’s inventive and cruel kills created by the special effect guru Tom Savini, especially Marcie’s axe to the head and Jack’s arrow through the neck are grizzly & quite realistic, the beautiful cast including Jeannine Taylor, Adrienne King, Harry Crosby, Laurie Bartram & Kevin Bacon and their colorful raincoats to the late Barry Abrams atmospheric, close up camera work that creeps around the lake & captures each scream, each kill with chilling gratification : I know the movie inside out & love everything about it, from the iconic Camp Crystal Lake sign to the wonderful yet brief role of Annie Phillips, the cute & bubbly councelor who hitchhikes to the camp at the start of the movie but there’s no doubt my favorite moment in Friday the 13th comes in the last 20mins where Alice played by Adrienne King uncovers the killers identity and then a showdown takes place as she battles to stay alive : being a huge fan of the slasher genre and especially the “golden age” from around the mid-70s onwards Friday the 13th is one of the most iconic horror movies of the last 50 years, we not only get to witness the origin story of one of the most terrifying villains of all time but also get to meet his creator : two words HORROR CLASSIC ★★★★★

Number 18 of My Top 31 Horror Movies : A real estate developer and his young family are haunted by a demonic presence that has taken residence in their family home : “They’re Here…” : Being scared of Tobe Hooper’s 1982 movie POLTERGEIST is so easy, the film is an absolute screaming riot, a classic that still makes me drool with unquenchable excitement : the film has the trappings of Spielberg’s typical family ideals along with Hooper’s energy fused horror : I love the scenes of chairs moving across the floor, ghostly portals opening from the cealing, an ancient tree coming to life, a creepy clown sat at the foot of a childs bed and the haunting sound of Carol Anne’s voice whilst inside the other world, you can tell this is a story from the maestro Spielberg, it just drips with his imagination : Poltergeist starts it’s first half in grand supernatural style and then Hooper turn’s up the pace, ending with a pulse racing, squeamish finale : along with the iconic performance of Zelda Rubinstein’s Tangina Barrons a spiritual medium who comes to the aid of the Freeling’s some of my favorite moments in the movie has to be Marty’s face turning into a melting skeleton in front of the bathroom mirror as he picks away at the decaying flesh, the boy being dragged under the bed by the possessed clown and of course those last 20mins of the movie which belong to Jobeth Williams, firstly being thrown around her bedroom whilst her kids are being terrorised by some demonic evil creature, then battling corpses that are emerging from the unfinished muddy pool and finally saving the day & her family from the hell monster and getting outa of dodge : Poltergeist is a glorious, nightmarish & intense 80s horror that’s packed with nostalgia and so much fun to revisit ★★★★★