The Bite #67

Happy MIDSOMMAR, an Ode to THE FRIGHTENERS, and More!

July 16, 2019

In this Issue:

Horror History: An Ode to The Frighteners
Image of the Week: Brains!
Tiny Bites – This Week’s Best Horror Headlines
Things We Love: “Welcome, and Happy Midsommar. Skål!”
Hey, That’s Us! – Shudder in the News

HORROR HISTORY: AN ODE TO THE FRIGHTENERS

The mid-90s were a weird time for cinema, and horror was not exempt from the madness. The studios had lost track of what audiences wanted and were throwing whatever they could at the wall to see what would stick. Supernatural slasher films had run their course and become little more than a parody of themselves, giving way to self-aware, post-modern, super slick teen horror. Indie films were all the rage, with studios just writing checks for whatever weirdness the likes of Rodriguez, Linklater, Tarantino, and the Coens could come up with. It was from this craziness that a gross-out, super low-budget genre filmmaker from New Zealand emerged.

Already a cult hero for his trio of low budget films that pushed the very boundaries of taste – Dead Alive(1992, AKA Braindead), Meet The Feebles (1989), and the aptly named Bad Taste (1987) – Peter Jackson seemed an unlikely choice for a big-budget throwback movie. While it’s hard to imagine now, The Frightenerswas simply not the type of four-quadrant film the studios were making any more. It was a fun, zany, special effects-driven film that felt more at home in ’86 than ’96, complete with 80s Amblin staples Michael J. Fox and Dee Wallace Stone. But Jackson brought a dark comedic edge to it that made for one hell of a fun family popcorn movie and set him up to become one of Hollywood’s most sought after directors.

Released just two weeks after the monster smashIndependence Day, there wasn’t a lot of oxygen left in the room to support a weird little film like The Frighteners, though it would, eventually find its audience. The film is a rocket on rails that creates a whole new set of rules for how ghosts work – allowing for the very strange idea that ghosts can kill other ghosts.

When an executed serial killer (played by a delightfully over-the-top Jake Busey) returns from the grave to continue his killing spree, an architect-turned-psychic investigator (Fox) must team up with some of his undead cohorts to stop him before he kills again. Jackson and co-writer Walsh (who would follow this up with the Lord of the Rings trilogy) take every opportunity to play around with the film’s premise, coming up with dozens of brilliant set pieces exploring the its rules and world. The result is a super fun roller coaster ride, populated by a sea of great character actors, that doesn’t waste a second of time jumping from crazy moment to crazy moment. Though some of the effects, as one would expect, are dated, others – particularly the ghost effects – hold up amazingly well, delivering a film that still feels fresh almost two and a half decades later.

C. Robert Cargill is an author, screenwriter, and former film journalist. He has written four books including a collection of horror short fiction and is a co-writer of Sinister, Sinister 2, and Marvel’s Doctor Strange.

IMAGE OF THE WEEK

Brains!

This past July 3rd marked The Return Of The Living Dead day, AKA the day all hell broke loose in Louisville, Kentucky back in 1984. Here’s a wicked behind-the-scenes still of actor Don Calfa, producer Tom Fox, and a young Tony Gardner on his first independent FX job holding his creation. Hopefully it helps with the pain of being dead the workweek.

TINY BITES

STRANGER THINGS, PET SEMATARY AND MORE

Birth.Movies.Death. reflected on the surprising lack of politically-charged horror movies of late, despite our current climate.

Since its release, there have been dozens of think pieces on Midsommar. But have you heard the one about The Texas Chainsaw Massacre? You’ll be stunned by the connections.

Speaking of which, if you’re into the cult subgenre, you’ll want to check this list of 10 great folk horror novels.

If you’ve already seen season 3 of Stranger Things, it’s safe to start talking about all those easter eggspeppered in the show, including some Haddonfield love.

Take a trip to Maine this week for the home video release of Pet Sematary. Sometimes, you just want to get away from that hustle and bustle, and as this promo suggests, Maine is better!

The Blair Witch Project may not have been the first found footage film, but it put the subgenre on the map. As we celebrate its 20th anniversary, take a look at another 16 amazing found footage films born out of Blair Witch’s success.

If you’re in or around Toronto, Ontario, and you love horror posters, head over to the Royal Ontario Museum’s exclusive exhibit It’s Alive! Classic Horror and Sci-Fi Art from the Kirk Hammett Collection. (Yes, the Metallica guitarist.)

IMDb’s getting into the original programming game with their first scripted series, You’re Not A Monster. The animated show is about how the only thing worse than being undead is being unloved, with some of our favorite movie monsters going to therapy. Kelsey Grammar’s onboard as a retired therapist-turned vampire.

Indie Wire’s weekly critics’ survey tackled the 18 best horror performances of all time. It’s a tall order, but they came up with some stellar picks. We’re still waiting for that Toni Collette love for Hereditary, though.

Horror film lovers are likely familiar with the Midnight Movie model where theaters screen “challenging films” at midnight. That started with a screening of El Topo at a little theatre in Chelsea in 1970, and it was all thanks to Ben Barenholtz. He passed away earlier this month at the age of 83.

THINGS WE LOVE: “WELCOME, AND HAPPY MIDSOMMAR. SKÅL!”

Sofia Ajram is a fine jewellery maker from Montreal whose brand, Sofia Zakia, was founded in 2016. Since then she’s created stunning pieces with rich symbolism. But it’s her latest addition, a Midsommar-inspired postcard from Hälsingland saying “Wish you were here!”, that we’re coveting.