Hooptober 8, Film #11
I absolutely loved this. The music, the story, the zombies, the close-up shots, and of course, all of the gore that makes this a signature Lucio Fulci work. I don't know how I've waited so long to watch what may now be my favorite Fulci film, though The Beyond does still hold a special place in my Italian horror film heart. The underwater scene here, though, is just amazing on so many levels and was a…
Hooptober 8, Film #10
Mario Bava's 1964 film really feels like it set the template for so many gialli to be released in the coming years, especially within the Italian horror genre. Even it may be anachronistic to say, Bava's work really does pave the way for the slasher genre, with its focus on excessive violence and stylized kills from an unknown, or in this case 'masked,' murderer. The Masked Killer himself has definitely been repeated as a stock villian…
Hooptober 8, Film #1
I mean, there are countless film adaptations of the Bram Stoker novel, though I was a definite fan of Fisher's. On top of there being masterful performances of the classic characters Count Dracula and Doctor Van Helsing, played respectively by Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing, the set designs, as kitsch as they are, were mesmerizing. Maybe I'm just a sucker for the extravagant but they really helped to build the whole Hammer vibe to a more-or-less traditional Dracula narrative. And the ending sequence. Not to spoil too much, but those late-1950s special effects. Charming!
Hooptober 8, Film #7
I'm a sucker for eerie horror films like Vampyr, so with Dreyer's excellent use of shadows, lighting, and camera work throughout, I was thoroughly impressed by this relic of early horror film. With haunting scenes juxtaposed with pages of German text, the film really immerses you within the vampire narrative's images and words. Best of all, Nicolas de Gunzburg does a fantastic job playing the role of Allan Gray, a traveler whose curiosity for the supernatural…
