MetaFilter posts tagged with horror

More than 50 years of the big red blobby thing

filthy light thief — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 09:46:20 -0800

What's 51 years old and made of silicone with red food dye? The Blob, best known for it's work in The Blob, an independent film released in 1958, with Steve McQueen's second movie role (following Never Love a Stranger, which was released earlier that same year). The movie has been considered the definitive '50s film about a town that won't listen to the kids until it's too late (as noted in a review for the Criterion laserdisc release), with a super-catchy theme song (extended single version and b-side Saturday Night in Tiajuana) that was Burt Bacharach's third US hit song. (See more: theatrical trailer, full film on Veoh, full film as YouTube playlist) Times change, and so do monsters, and things got a bit wacky in the 1970s, with Beware! The Blob (aka Son of Blob; wiki, trailer, full film). The sequel played more to the slapstick comedy than the sci-fi/horror spectrum of things. Thirty years after the original, The Blob was remade in 1988 (wiki, trailer, full film), and is supposedly being re-created by Rob Zombie, though his statement about reviving The Blob without "the big red blobby thing" has people asking, then why remake The Blob? (previous blobby goodness) The Blob was not intended to be about Communism, according to the film's producer, Jack Harris, when he was interviewed at BlobFest VIII in 2007. BlobFest started as a fundraiser in 1999 to restore The Colonial Theater, a prominent feature of the original film. Since the first fundraiser, the event has become an annual celebration of All Things The Blob, including a scream competition, run-out re-enactment, Shorty Film Contest, and more. For gobs more on (classic version of) The Blob, see TheBlobSite.

The Lurking Fear

Artw — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 00:13:44 -0800

Lovecraft 101: Get To Know The Master of Scifi-Horror. For more detailed insights into each of Lovecraft's tales in publication order you might want to follow the H.P.Lovecraft Literary Podcast. For another story-by-story guide to Lovecraft you might want to check out Kenneth Hite's Tour De Lovecraft (also available in expanded form as a book). China Mieville on Lovecraft and racism and a lecture at Treadwells by Archaeologist James Holloway which delves deep into Lovecraft and identity. The making of the Call of Cthulhu RPG. The making of Cthulhu (Hipsters! Ego! Madness!). Happy Halloween with H.P. Lovecraft!

David Lynch's "Rabbits"

Iridic — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 09:59:04 -0800

In a nameless city deluged by a continuous rain, three rabbits live with a fearful mystery... [Rabbits - David Lynch, 2002.]

DO NOT FUCK AROUND WITH THE MUMMY

mediareport — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 22:03:37 -0800

A Hierarchy of Classic Horror Monsters: Regular vampires are shit. They can only beat Zombies, Witches, assorted Poltergeists, and Mr. Hyde. That is BARELY BETTER THAN A REGULAR PERSON. Shut the fuck up about vampires. ...Over at io9, they’re doing another one of those “who would win?” voting contests, this time between classic horror monsters. This is, obviously, madness – the general population is ignorant as to the nature and danger of assorted monsters, and consequently their opinions on the potency of those monsters is suspect. This is evidenced by the very first competition: ”Zombie versus Mummy,” in which Zombies won by about 30%. This is nonsense, and it needs to be rectified.

Respectfully yours

amelioration — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 11:45:22 -0800

Respect Your Pet has launched with a mission of tracking down those individuals who mistreat and humiliate their pets with such tools as creative grooming and silly photography. Their "about" page hints at one reason this is such an important cause for the couple that started the site. The site may seem like it must be a joke, but one founder swears "my website is not a joke."

Damn, there's too much static.

flatluigi — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 09:03:58 -0800

No Signal - A montage of cellphones in horror movies. _{(link via waxy, who has an archive of more montages like these here)}

Long live The New flesh!

Artw — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 09:41:10 -0800

"All of which is a long way of saying that, to construct a new church of anatomical horror and to do so out of stone, as Al-Mehdari seems to be suggesting, is a fascinating idea. " - Body Baroque

On the concept of horror and the horror of concepts.

Bookhouse — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 14:59:29 -0800

Collapse IV , "Concept Horror." The fourth issue of Urbanomic's "journal of philosophical research and development," Collapse, focuses on the relationship between modern philosophy and horror fiction and features essays by and about authors such as Thomas Ligotti, China Miéville and Michael Houellebecq and of course H.P. Lovecraft. Having sold out its print edition, Urbanomic has made the issue available for download as a 200 + page PDF. Some disturbing images (and ideas) within the download.

Aaaaaaaaawooooooooooooooooooooooo!

Artw — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 23:33:21 -0800

Stray, The Unfamiliar, Let Sleeping Dogs Lie - Three stories of a group of dogs, and a cat, battling the supernatural courtesy of Evan Dorkin, Jill Thompson and Dark Horse Comics, released for free as a teaser for the forthcoming Beasts of Burden. (via)

"I wish Phil Spector were here..."

Artw — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 23:30:04 -0800

Zombies Vs Beatles (slyt)

Harmony Korine's Trash

philip-random — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 01:02:33 -0800

Trash Humpers A film unearthed from the buried landscape of the American nightmare, TRASH HUMPERS follows a small group of elderly Peeping Toms through the shadows and margins of an unfamiliar world. Crudely documented by the participants themselves, we follow the debased and shocking actions of a group of true sociopaths the likes of which have never been seen before. Inhabiting a world of broken dreams and beyond the limits of morality they crash against a torn and frayed America. Bordering on an ode to vandalism,it is a new type of horror; palpable and raw.

Watch the skies!

Artw — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 13:02:30 -0800

Who Goes There - the John W. Campbell short story which inspired the movies The Thing from Another World and, closer to the original, The Thing (which, apparently, was horribly critically mauled upon release but has since become as much as a classic as the 50s film). The story is now being reprinted alongside a treatment by Logan's Run author William F. Nolan for an unmade 1978 screen version.

D-don't you l-like my new look?

Askiba — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 22:01:54 -0800

"That was one of the most memorable scenes for me. Namely because his expression made it look like he wasn’t terrified of the fact he was hanging, but what was watching him hang." System Shock 2, the highly influential sci-fi horror game, was released 10 years ago today. It's been 10 years, and the game's effects can still be seen. System Shock 2 was one of the few games that created a (good) hybrid of both first person shooter and role playing game, with heavy emphasis on each. It is also one of the very few games to use audio logs. The effect of the logs is chilling. The biggest legacy of the game is largely in its story. A science fiction slash horror story, you awake onboard the Von Braun to find the space ship overtaken by a hideous infestation, and the memories start there. Most personal stories go to the effect of "scariest game ever"; even Penny Arcade had its own comments. Most credit the game's terrifying sound effects... but don't forget SHODAN! SHODAN came to be known as one of the most frightening robotic villains in games; her damaged, robotic voice recalls a very, very bitter GLADoS. She's probably one of the game's most recognizable icons, and a large part of the scares. The game also has another small legacy- the door code found in the beginning of the game, "45100", has shown up in later games involving System Shock 2 dev members, including Bioshock. Rock Paper Shotgun has an excellent article on the development of the game. One of the developers also did a three page write up on the successes and failures of the dev team back in December 1999. Bioshock is known as being a "spiritual successor" to System Shock 2. System Shock's rights eventually went over to EA, and rumors of a sequel quickly surfaced, but no news of any progress has appeared in recent months. A dedicated fan community quickly sprung up around the game. Due to a strange programming error, the graphics were low quality even for the time of release. Fan projects such as SHTUP and Rebirth improved the game's graphics, and a patch was created by Irrational Studios, the developer, to balance the game and add a multiplayer mode. A patch was also released to allow support for more modern operating systems. Of course, due to the game's age, the community is less active then in recent years, with a year between recent postings on one of the game's more active fan sites. Sadly, the game did poorly. While receiving critical acclaim from reviewers around the globe, it failed to sell well (in comparison to the recently released Half Life) Any interesting tales to share from the halls of the Von Braun, fellow Marines/Navy Cadets/OSA Recruits? Quick personal anecdote: the Sgt. Bronson death log probably freaked me out the most in the game, no question. Also, the Tommy Saurez and Siddons love plot was also really compelling, especially its overall large effect on the story. (Bonus: You can listen to all the audio logs (for all the nostalgia it will surely bring) on this webpage, but warning: SPOILERS, and music plays when you enter (can be turned off near the top))

"That would not kill Dracula!"

Artw — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 13:23:59 -0800

Vampires are over, argues Neil Gaiman. (Via the Guardian, who rather oddly suggest the similarly over-exposed zombies as a replacement)

God damn trees!

fearfulsymmetry — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 14:33:39 -0800

From the guys that brought you Hobo With A Shogun comes award-winning short, Treevenge (NSFW)

The Necronomicon Files

Artw — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 16:15:03 -0800

"Necronomicons: The Scariest Book in the World" - A talk given by Daniel Harms, author of the Encyclopedia Cthulhiana, on the history of the Necronomicon(s) - taking in Abdul Alhazred, John Dee, assorted aquaintences of HP Lovecraft, some rather dodgy sounding occultists from the 70s and a man known only as Simon. Previously.

Shoot 'em in the head

fearfulsymmetry — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 02:39:39 -0800

The American Nightmare (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8) Documentary on US horror films of the 60s and 70s and how their themes reflected the society of the time. Includes contributions from John Carpenter, Wes Craven, David Cronenberg, Tobe Hooper, John Landis, George R. Romero and Tom Savini. NSFW - horror gore plus extreme reportage.

Klaatu. . .verada. . .

EarBucket — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 08:42:02 -0800

It's Friday! Enjoy Necronomicon, a fun little flash-based card game inspired by the works of H.P. Lovecraft.

Everything Frankenstein

marxchivist — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 17:06:18 -0800

Frankensteinia. Just about everything you can think of having to do with Victor Frankenstein and his monster is here. Everything from the actors who portrayed the doctor and the monster, toys, Nazi Frankensteins, illustrations, movie posters, and of course the story behind the book.

Bring back box office receipts. Priority One. All other priorities rescinded.

Artw — Sat, 30 May 2009 22:15:53 -0800

Tony Scott has confirmed that a prequel to Alien is in the works, with commercial director Carl Rinsch at the helm. Of course, his brother Ridley was no stranger to advertising. Meanwhile Dark Horse is celebrating 30 years of the franchise by releasing a new series of Aliens comics.

BLACK BELT against BLACK MAGIC

fearfulsymmetry — Fri, 29 May 2009 03:19:01 -0800

The Legend Of The 7 Golden Vampires combined the tail end of Hammer film's Dracula series with, the then, burgeoning martial arts craze to create "The First Kung Fu Horror Spectacular!" Trailer Posters The whole film on Google video The ending, "You must destroy her!", Chinese Disco (in Spanish) Comic adaptation. Poss NSFW... brief nudity

Andy Warhol's Frankenstein and Dracula: almost begs the gorge to rise

filthy light thief — Thu, 21 May 2009 13:22:39 -0800

Though film is not generally Andy Warhol's field of greatest fame, some see his long and storied history in film as "where Warhol's supreme achievement lies". And then there are the two horror films from 1973: Andy Warhol's Frankenstein (or Flesh for Frankenstein) and Andy Warhol's Dracula (or Blood for Dracula). The two films were filmed quickly and inexpensively in the Spring of 1973, using the Roger Corman method of filming two movies at one location using the same actors to decrease costs. Frankenstein was filmed first, using Space-Vision 3-D. But filming 3D footage was too expensive and time-consuming, so Dracula was shot in standard 35mm film. The films are a mix of tribute to and parody of Italian horror films. Both movies were shot in and around Rome, and edited at the Cinecittà studios,which were opened by Mussolini in April 1937, and later the location for Roman Holiday and Ben Hur, amongst others. Despite the pedigree of the location, the content of the films were not the of the same sort, with gory effects in Frankenstein including innards [that] resemble lobster salad, an evocation that stresses the obvious expense of this production (NYTimes.com Bugmenot) and Dracula receiving an X Rating from the MPAA due to its violent and sexual elements. Regardless, or because of this, Both films were commercial successes by Factory standards in the United States, Europe, and, for the first time, Japan. These films would be the last two Factory films that Paul Morrissey directed, and the last Factory films in which Joe Dallesandro starred. Morrissey first worked at The Factory in 1965, sweeping the floor, a year prior to the making of The Chelsea Girls. Morrissey went on to take over the directing, pushing Warhol's films in more commercial directions. After these films, Morrissey continued to direct movies, though he stopped when it became harder to finance independent films. Dallesandro, probably the guy(parts) on the cover of Rolling Stone's Sticky Fingers, continued to have acting roles, though he now manages a hotel in the heart of Hollywood, where he lives with his cat Booky. The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts has given these films to the Andy Warhol Museum. Dracula clips Movie teaser (1:29) Intro to the film (8:33), dubbed in Spanish Screen test (4:09), film director Paul Morrissey discusses his choices for cast members for the film Frankenstein clips German trailer (3:19), nudity and gore included US trailer (1:18), with minor spoilers Udo Kier (2:18), on censorship and Frankenstein ("It's a comedy, everyone knows the blood is syrup")

Ratus Norvegicus

fearfulsymmetry — Thu, 07 May 2009 05:27:51 -0800

For millions of years man and rats had been natural enemies. But now for the first time - suddenly, shockingly, horribly - the balance of power had shifted. The Rats by James Herbert. Celebrating James Herbert by Ingrid Pitt. How we met; James Herbert & Ingrid Pitt. How we met; James Herbert & Gordon Giltrap.

The Return of the Spook-A-Blast

Lacking Subtlety — Wed, 06 May 2009 10:11:16 -0800

Prepare for the Return of the Spook-A-Blast... After 17 years, Sam Raimi has returned to the genre that made him a cult legend with a new, low(ish) budget film; get ready for DRAG ME TO HELL In 1987, Sam Raimi took his old attempt attempt at a cabin in the woods horror film, and made, quite frankly, a bat-shit insane sequel. It has become a highly beloved film and mini-phenomenon. Raimi went on to have success in hollywood and also made some superhero films or something. But now in 2009, he admitted he had been itching to get back to the kinds of films he loved before, thus he has returned to his roots. In doing so he has coined a term for his style of of horror-comedies: "Spook-A-Blast" Note: he did produce a legit horror-comedy in that interim, the not-too-shabby Bubba Ho-Tep previous evil dead posts

Hey little sister what have you done

Artw — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 13:17:27 -0800

There's something in the sea... and it has a big drill for an arm.