A madman escapes from an asylum. A group of female friends have a slumber party. Join the dots. Mary Holden Jones brings to the screen a screenplay by Rita Mae Brown. This was supposed to be a 'feminist' slasher movie in what is considered to be a deeply misogynistic genre. Hence we have young women …
Continue reading Day 20- 31 Days of Halloween- Slumber Party Massacre (1982)
When I learnt that there was a documentary all about Heather Langenkamp (Nancy from the first Nightmare on Elm Street film) and the whole fan phenomenon that surrounded the film and specifically her character I thought it sounded a very interesting concept. But, alas, the reality is very different. Theres a reason I don't go …
Continue reading Day 19- 31 Days of Halloween- I Am Nancy (2010)
Two couples decide to go camping in the woods. Arriving separately (darn that wonky radiator!), they soon realise that the woods aren't as peaceful and reinvigorating as they first thought. It is in fact a killing ground for a father who mudered his philandering wife, went mad and took his two young children to live …
Continue reading Day 18- 31 Days of Halloween- The Forest (1982)
Duane books into the sleazy flophouse Hotel Broslin with a large basket. It's contents consist of his deformed twin brother who he used to be conjoined with. Both Duane and his twin are hellbent on enacting revenge on the surgeons who separated them against their wishes. Basket Case will always occupy a special place in …
Continue reading Day 17- 31 Days of Halloween- Basket Case (1982)
A boat sails into New York containing what appears to be innocuous boxes of coffee. However they actually contain alien eggs that cause people to explode when a change in heat cause the eggs to emit their contents. Yes, this is a cheap Italian Alien rip-off but it's darn entertaining nonetheless. There might be considerable …
Continue reading Day 16- 31 Days of Halloween- Contamination (1980)
Three women are travelling to a music festival but crash their car. They awake in the isolated mansion of an elderly matriarch and her daughter. I love this film and not just because I found it in Poundland of all places. This is a chiller that keeps you guessing until the shocking and completely nutty …
Continue reading Day 15- 31 Days of Halloween- Unhinged (1982)
A young man travels from Rome to New York to investigate his sister's disappearance after she was living in the same apartment building where an ancient witch resided. This was Argento's second instalment of his much lauded 'Three Mothers' trilogy. All of the Giallo elements are here as are Argento's striking visuals as a backdrop …
Continue reading Day 14- 31 Days of Halloween- Inferno (1980)
Peter Proud is having such vivid dreams about swimming in a lake but then being killed by a woman in a boat that he seeks help regarding this. His girlfriend says that whilst he's having this recurring nightmare he even starts talking in his sleep but in another man's voice! He even screams the name …
Continue reading Day 13- 31 Days of Halloween- The Reincarnation of Peter Proud (1975)
This entry into the taboo 'killer kid' horror sub-genre involves 9 year old Mikey. The first scene shows him slaughtering his entire adoptive family (yes, really) in one fell swoop. Whats more, hes videotaped the whole thing for his later entertainment. Mikey is found hiding in a closet by the police officers investigating who could …
Donny is a very damaged person. After an incident at work sees one of his colleagues set himself on fire, we see Danny freeze with terror at the incident. This is explained through flashbacks. We see that as a boy his mother used to punish him by burning his forearms. When he returns home from …
Continue reading Day 11- 31 Days of Halloween- Don’t Go In The House (1979)
Meathook Cinema 