There are so many good, solid scary movies out there and I thought I’d write about a few favorites in the genre…modern classics as it were…that I have watched this week to celebrate the spirit of October.
The Others is one of my favorite films in the horror genre. My preferred scary movies are slow, deliberate, and dripping with atmosphere and The Others is one of the most well done modern examples of the way horror films used to be made. I have my own thoughts and theories about ghosts and hauntings and, whether you believe in them or not, isn’t there a part of you that wants them to exist? A little part that gets thrilled at the possibility of haunted houses? Okay, maybe it is just me. Anyway, The Others is a terrific haunted house film. The isolated setting, the small cast, the color palette, the claustraphobic feel of the house, the way the pace of the film pulls you in..slowly…eerily…hinting at what is going on and yet not completely giving it away…all these things combine to make an excellent film.
Alejandro Amenábar has to be included with the best of the best in regards to movie making. His films have won him critical acclaim and proven his incredible talent. Amenábar writes, directs, produces and composes the scores for his films. He exhibits his genius in all areas of film making. The music in The Others is wonderful and sets the mood so perfectly from the very opening note of the film. The way he lights the scenes is terrific. The costumes are subtle and suited to the time period and, especially in regards to Nicole Kidman, are beautiful. Speaking of Nicole Kidman, hers is one of the many terrific performances in this film and no doubt adds to my attachment to this film. The small ensemble of actors/actresses is perfectly cast.
The house is enormous and has an ominous presence of its own throughout the film. The following screen capture is from one of my favorite visual images in the film. This entire seen, silent save for the music, speaks volumes and is so symbolic of what is going on at this point in the film.
The Others has become a regular yearly tradition during this season. For me it represents the best elements of classic horror. If you are not a fan of blood and gore horror then this is the film for you.
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If adventure horror films are more to your liking I recommend Underworld. Underworld is a highly entertaining film set in the modern era, chronicling the most recent efforts of the vampires to rid their world of the lycans…werewolves. It is all darkness and guns and black leather and loud music and biting and fighting. Being fanatically devoted to the image of the vampire envisioned by Bram Stoker in Dracula (post forthcoming) I am not usually attracted to the various incarnations of vampires in film. I like this one however. Kate Beckinsale makes a great butt-kicking vampire heroine chick. I enjoyed Scott Speedman as the love interest, Michael Sheen as Lucian and Bill Nighy as Viktor. For the type of movie it is meant to be it is very fun and very well done. Great action scenes. I’m really looking forward to the sequel.
Underworld: Evolution is scheduled to arrive in theatres January 20th, 2006.
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And finally:
On cue as far as seasonal appropriateness goes, Batman Begins came out on DVD this past Tuesday. I wasted no time rushing out to pick up the 2 disk set and just finished enjoying this excellent film (see my review here if you haven’t already read it). Not quite horror per se but this was indeed a dark and somewhat horrific imagining of the Dark Knight and if you have not seen it do not delay. It is arguably the best of the Batman films and is one of the best comic adaptations to ever come to film.
In the coming days I’ll review some old timey horror classics that make for great Halloween viewing.
We watched Batman Begins tonight. I had forgotten how much I liked it! I love the way all the characters are explained or developed.
Three really enjoyable films there Carl. I know that Underworld wasn’t that well thought of, but I loved it. Looked great. Am hoping for good things from the sequel.
And that flower-drug-thing in Batman Begins could have been the star of a different film.
loved The Others.. and tho i guess it could be considered horror, i don’t really think of it as such.. i think it’d more of a “thriller.” a lot of built up suspense, but nothing that would really make you scream. lol
i hate typical horror movies, but loved this one.. great mystery surrounding the story.
as for Underworld, you know i love that one.. wrote a review of it about a year ago.. and had to buy the special edition dvd set. loved the original novel that came out as a precursor, and am REALLY looking forward to the sequel!
and of course, had to buy the SE dvd set of Batman Begins on Amazon.. am waiting impatiently for it.. but hey, it was cheaper than in the stores & free shipping…
I just watched the special edition of Underworld for the first time this week…I’ve had it forever and finally watched it. I noticed the extra stuff and thought it was fine. Didn’t necessarily add to or take away from the film but I guess I prefer this one better.
I’m looking forward to checking out the extras on the Batman Begins DVD. I don’t blame you for using Amazon. I do that alot myself because they really can offer up great bargains!
The Others was GREAT fun to watch, as well as Batman Begins.We need to watch them both again. I haven’t seen Underworld. I don’t really like vampire stuff that much. I wonder if James has seen it…
I think James saw it with me in the theatre. If you liked Matrix and those style movies you’d probably like this. There isn’t a tone of vampish stuff in it. More like the Matrix with Vampires and Werewolves. Its interesting, I think you might enjoy it. I obviously can loan all 3 of these movies to you guys if you want them.
and the male lead is a hunk, Jules. lol
the blond from Felicity, if you ever watched that.
I assume you’re referring to Scott Speedman. What I like about him is that I can see how he is attractive to the ladies and yet he isn’t a pretty boy model type. He makes a good, gritty leading man.
lol Angela!! In that case maybe I should reconsider!
I don’t like pretty boys. Yuck!
I’ll ask James what he thinks. He knows my quirky ways when it comes to tv/movies!
I haven’t seen any of these 3 films yet, but I am going to see The Fog tonight!
Good list, C-man. The Others was fantastic. How about The Devil’s Backbone? Another great one, and by a Spanish director too.
Did you ever see Session 9 yet? I’m telling you, it’s right up there with The Others.
Underworld was so much fun. Forget Scott Speedfreak, gimme Kate anyday! Yowza.
The Devil’s Backbone was great. No, I still haven’t seen Session 9. I’m a bad person. I’ll move it to the top of my Netflix list now.
I’m there with you on the Kate front!
I’ll be interested to see what you think of The Fog Janet. I watched the original last year and found it a bit cheesy.
The original is very cheesy but I saw it when I was a wee lass! Oh and how bout The Hand? Ever see that? That creeped me out for a year, taught me not to stick my hand out the window!
Janet and I are venturing out for three extremes this for some spookey seasonal fun. I’ll let you know how it is!
http://www.threeextremes.com/enter.html
Wow, that looks super creepy! Definitely come back and tell us about it!
I also enjoyed all three films reviewed above. I’m really looking forward to the Underworld sequel as well.
Janet, I’m also curious what you think of The Fog. I hope you let us know.
Looks like I need to add The Devil’s Backbone to my list of movies to watch. Didn’t the gentlemen who directed Hellboy direct that, too?
Based on Carl’s and others recommendations I also picked up The Thirteenth Floor tonight. Now I hope to get a chance to watch it this weekend. 🙂
Guillermo del Toro did indeed direct both, Jeff. Devil’s Backbone is a great one.
Looking forward to your thoughts on Thirteenth Floor, hope you enjoy it.
I loved The Others. I get creeped out by some ghosty movies, but this one worked for me! Fantastic!
Carl, The Fog was wicked cheesy as well. While it wasn’t the worst movie I ever saw (Mothman Prophecies might hold that title for me), it certainly was just a by-the-books scary movie…ok if you’re 14 but for those of us that have seen our share of these movies, everything was predictable. The leading man was cute, tho and the actress who played his girlfriend is the spoiled brat chick from Lost, the one whose brother was killed.
Did you make it to 3 Extremes?
Thats Friday night, I spend more time on dates with Janet than my own boyfriend!
I thought you were doing that this past weekend for some reason. Looking forward to hearing about it.