Thursday, October 01, 2009

BitchBuzz: Mistress of Horror

My latest column gives some recommendations if you want to give a really good fright movie fest this month. Ah, the spooky season!

October! The season of the witch and all things creepy crawly. Sure, you're probably thinking about that big Halloween fright fest and chattering eagerly to your friends. But, what's this? They're rolling their eyes. Why?

Your films are lame.

What you need is to class up your offerings with some truly memorable films. God knows there are people willing to pay to see umpteen iterations of Saw, but you don't have to be one of them. Your friends will thank you.

For the early part of the evening, while the jelly-mould brain is setting up and the Real Lady Fingers are cooling, start out with atmospheric classics. You can't go wrong with the artsy Teutonic stylings of The Cabinet of Dr Caligari and Nosferatu. If your guests continue to gab through the screening, not to worry. Silent films create a stylish ambience and you will rise a few notches in the estimation of the connoisseurs.


Read the rest over at BB (though most of the readers of this blog will probably not need the recommendations).

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

The ShouldBeDoingMARCRecordsZone queekly asks:

"Curse of the Werewolf" for 'ham'? Surely *THOU* do not impugn The Great *Ollie*! ;D

Also: "Dead Alive"--best served w/

wait4it

custard ;P

Dana Fredsti said...

Dead Alive best srved with custard... oh dear. BAD Anonymous!

Off to read the rest of the column!

C. Margery Kempe said...

LOL -- Joey, you are sooooo right. I had to leave out a LOT of course. I pitched this toward the newbies, for whom any of these would be a step up.

I love ham! Even better, BACON!

Dana, I know you're a connoisseur; let me know what you think of the choices.

Anonymous said...

The JustStoppedBack2Check Zone posits:

"Curse/Night of The Demon"
"The Black Cat" (Karloff/Lugosi by Ulmer)
"Mr. Sardonicus"

...all 3 lived up to/surpassed hype after years of not seeing. All are B&W too...hmmm...

C. Margery Kempe said...

I *still* haven't seen Mr Sardonicus (I'm pretty sure). Holes to remedy.

C. Margery Kempe said...

And on the Horror List, Todd suggested the far superior source of Last House, Bergman's The Virgin Spring (I've written about the two of them and the medieval ballad that inspired the story), which is also a good choice. So many I had to leave off the list, including what might be my all time favourite, The Haunting (1961! not the horrid remake) and The Innocents which I first saw as a double feature at the Beverly Cinema in Los Angeles.

Todd Mason said...

And, if you want to blow the casual viewer's mind, the relevant Bergman comedy THE DEVIL'S EYE.

It is a fine list as presented...did they fix the (origianl, again) CAT PEOPLE citation for you yet? I can see devastated newbie plunking in THE WILD WORLD OF CATWOMAN and saying..."Is this what she meant? I've been wombattered!"

C. Margery Kempe said...

It has not yet been corrected, but I have made the mea culpas in the comments section. Hate to have anyone think they've been wombattered!

Anonymous said...

The WildWorldOfFriday Zone counters:

Todd! WWoBW is so.LIVE ACTION.PRE-"Ghost World".Daniel Clowes(Lloyd Llewellyn)

IOW...i own.(vhs copy with totally misleading YET AWESOME painted cover) LOVE.

for entirely all the wrong reasons al.be.IT but

admit it: Katherine Victor rocks our world! ;D

["Then again HE loves SHE-FREAK too--ay yi yi....O_0"--ever sufferin' Spouse]

CL said...

Yes, I wouldn't go by Joey's tastes...he likes "She-Freak."
Bleh!

Personally, as big a horror fan I am (I LOVE werewolves)...I like to start the season with my fave..."The Nightmare Before Xmas!"

"Boys and girls of every age,
Wouldn't you like to see something strange?
Come with us and you will see,
This our town of Halloween!"

C. Margery Kempe said...

That's a great one, too, Cranky. We're all aware of Joey's... tastes ;-)