Phil's Horror Watch, Day 8: Phil watches HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME (1981)-October 8, 2011

Hello everybody and welcome back to day eight of my horror movie marathon! So I decided that I'd return to the land known as the 1980's and get back to my slasher/horror roots. As a result of this decision, I decided to view HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME. I had forgotten just how great this film was and I after the film was over, I was so damn impressed with it.

Theatrical Movie Poster (1981)

The film's about Virginia "Ginny" Wainwright (Melissa Sue Anderson) and the aftermath of a car accident that she was involved, which also caused her mother's death. Due to the car accident, she had undergone extensive brain surgery, which causes her to suffer from frequent blackouts. Also Ginny isn't very popular and doesn't have any friends. Once at the Crawford Academy, she finally started getting along with the popular kids. But just before Ginny's 18th birthday, one by one all her friends start to be killed off. Who is the killer, and are Ginny's blackouts related to this murders?

 The film was produced by the same people who did MY BLOODY VALENTINE, and was filmed up in Canada. Anderson was mostly recognized for her portrayal of Mary Ingalls on on the television show LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE. Anderson wanted to find a role that was against type, and she sure pulled it off in the film. The film was directed by J. Lee Thompson, who made such legendary films like THE GUNS OF NAVARONE, CAPE FEAR, and KINGS OF THE SUN. Columbia Pictures released the film to theaters on May 15, 1981.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME is such a great little slasher film and it contains a sharp, clever script, top notch acting, great directing, and some awesome gore and killings! One of my favorite slasher films of all time! Definitely worth checking out, especially during this festive holiday season!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME is currently available on DVD and can be purchased at local retailers or at Amazon. Visit their website at www.amazon.com

Thanks for reading, and enjoy the show!

Phil's Horror Watch, Day 7: Phil attends the MIDNIGHTS FOR MANIACS: MONSTERS IN YOUR OWN BACKYARD triple feature with Joe Dante in person-October 7, 2011

The Castro Theatre marquee

Hello everybody and welcome back to day seven of my horror movie marathon! Tonight's cinematic adventure took me back to the Castro Theatre in San Francisco for the Midnites for Maniacs triple feature. Tonight's theme was "Monsters in Your Own Backyard" and on hand was director Joe Dante himself, who was premiering his shelved teen horror 3D film as well as participating in a Q&A session! So tonight I saw three amazing films that offered me adventure, excitement, and, of course, some chills and thrills. Continuing the ten year anniversary of the series, creator and host Jesse Hawthorne Ficks pulled out all the stops for tonight.

As soon as I walked in I saw Ficks and greeted him. To my surprise, standing right next to him was Joe Dante! I introduced myself to him and told him how much I am looking forward to seeing his films tonight. I then asked him for an autograph, so I pulled out my Blu-Ray copy of PIRANHA and had him sign it for me! What a way to start off the night!!

Theatrical Movie Poster (1985)

Ficks came out and did his famous introductions and also thanks the audience for coming out to the show! The first film of the night was THE GOONIES. Long before SUPER 8 and THE MONSTER SQUAD, the film boasts an amazing cast of young stars that many went on to have successful acting careers. Starring Sean Astin, Josh Brolin, Jeff Cohen, Cory Feldman, Martha Plimpton, Kerri Green, Joe Pantollano, Anne Ramsey, and Jonathan Ke Quan, the film's about a group of kids (calling themselves the Goonies) that find a real treasure map that once belonged to the infamous pirate "One Eye" Willy. They set off to find the treasure, but hot on their heels are the Fratelli crime family. Their only hope lies in their new friend named Sloth! A true kid's film classic, it was released into theaters on June 7, 1985. The film was preceded by trailers of WEIRD SCIENCE, HOME ALONE, CAREER OPPORTUNITY (all three films will be shown at the December tribute show to John Hughes), FERNGULLY and PAPER HOUSE.

Theatrical Movie Poster (2009)

After the film was over, Ficks introduced Joe Dante up to the stage. The topic of the interview was about the second film of the night: the US theatrical premiere of his most recent film THE HOLE IN 3D! The film won the Venice Film festival Best 3D film award in 2009, and the distributor Bold Films were going to release it into theaters, but because the film didn't have any big names stars, and at that time theaters were being flooded with 3D film from the major studios, Bold decided to shelved the film! To me, this is a crime because the film was fantastic! The film's about brothers Dane (Chris Massoglia) and Lucas (Nathan Gamble) and their next door neighbor Julie (Haley Bennett) discover a hole in their basement that brings their fears and nightmares to reality. With genuine scares and great performance, the film truely deserves to be released theatrically, but according to Joe Dante, the distributor has no plans for it to be shown anywhere! It was a miracle that Jesse was able to get the film shown tonight! So thank you Jesse and Joe for bringing the film to the Castro!!

Theatrical Movie Poster (1990)

The third and final film of the night was Joe Dante's other masterpiece GREMLINS 2: THE NEW BATCH.Before the film, Ficks brought back up Joe Dante and a surprise guest, the screenwriter of the film Charles Haas! They both talked abut making the film and how the studio gave him "complete creative control" to make the movie that he wanted to make. The end results is a madcap, Loony Tunes inspired, French New Wave influenced, social satire, movie referencing film that showcased Joe Dante's sense of humor! The film is an under appreciated sequel classic, and still holds up to this very day. Starring Zach Galligan, Phoebe Cates, Christopher Lee, John Glover, Robert Picardo, and Dick Miller, Warner Brothers released the film on June 15, 1990. The film received lukewarm responses and to this day still hasn't made its money back on its $50 million budget (it's grossed $41, 482, 207 thus far). However, despite this somewhat setback, Joe Dante was able to make the film on his terms, which is a rare feat to have in Hollywood. Before the screening, Ficks presented a present to Joe Dante by showing every trailer to every one of his film. From HOLLYWOOD BOULEVARD to LOONY TUNES: BACK IN ACTION, it was the best present ever!!

Joe Dante, Jesse Hawthorn Ficks, & Charles Haas

Tonight's show was awesome!! With each month comes new surprises and new discoveries for me as well as for everyone else attends this series. Celebrating ten years of Midnites for Maniacs, I encourage everyone out there who hasn't attended the show yet, you should! The next show is at the Roxie Theater in San Francisco on Saturday, October the 29th, where Ficks will be having a "20th Anniversary Tribute to Twin Peaks." Then on Friday, November 11th, the show returns to the Castro Theatre for its next triple feature. So make plans to attend these next shows. Also, to learn more about Midnites for Maniacs, visit their website at www.midnitesformaniacs.com. To view the Castro Theatre movie schedule, visit their website at ww.castrotheatre.com.

Thanks for reading, and enjoy the show!

Phil's Horror Watch, Day 6: Phil watches DRACULA (1931)-October 6, 2011

Welcome back to day six of my horror movie marathon! Tonight's film is ranked as one of the most important horror films of all time. When the film was released in 1931, it caused a sensation at the boxoffice, and thus launched the Universal Horror film series. Directed by the legendary Todd Browning and starring the great Bela Lugosi, DRACULA is the quintessential vampire movie, a movie that is still talked about to this very day.

Theatrical Movie Poster (1931)

This film cemented the look, the mannerism, and the voice of the vampire. Lugosi is the personification of Dracula, and to this day whenever someone dresses up like a vampire, or says a line from the film, it is in Lugosi's voice. But believe it or not, Lugosi wasn't going to be cast as the famed creature of the night.

Silent film actor Lon Chaney, star of THE HUTCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME, THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, and LONDON AFTER MIDNIGHT had made a series of films with famed cult director Todd Browning for Universal Pictures. Browning's next project for studio was DRACULA and he was going to cast his friend for the lead role. However, on August 26, 1930, Chaney died from a throat hemorrhage.

Lugosi created the role of Dracula on the Broadway stage and became a sensation. However, Universal originally didn't want Lugosi to portray the Count, but the studio gave him a test screening and eventually he was cast in the lead. The film was released on Valentine's Day in 1931.The rest, as they say, is cinematic history.

If you have never seen this film, then you must go watch it now. This film launched the Universal Horror Movie cycle, to which a plethora of classic horror films were made, including FRANKENSTEIN, THE MUMMY, THE WEREWOLF, and THE CREATURE OF THE BLACK LAGOON. Also with the recent vampire trend that is currently taking place, none of it would exist if not for the success of DRACULA. And thanks to Lugosi and Browning, Universal became the House of Horror.

DRACULA is currently available on DVD and can be purchased at the Amazon website. Visit their website at http://www.amazon.com

Thanks for reading, and enjoy the show!

Phil's Horror Watch, Day 5: Phil watches THE INITIATION (1984)-October 5, 2011

Welcome back to day five of my horror movie marathon! So I decided to keep the 1980s theme going for another night, and here's a long lost and overlooked horror film that should be more recognized. The film was released to theaters during the first wave of the slasher films. Combining the fundamentals of a crime thriller and the requirements of the slasher criteria, the horror film THE INITIATION is a real treat to watch.

Theatrical Movie Poster (1984)

Kelly Fairchild (a young Daphne Zungia) is a college student going through initiation to become a member of the Delta Ro Kai sorority. Recently, she has been suffering terrible nightmares of a burning man. She befriends an assistant professor who helps her analyze with memory regression, but when he discovers what her dreams mean, Kelly and her pledge sisters are spending the night in her father's mall, which also contains an escaped mental patient who also holds the key to Kelly's past and her identity. The film also boasts one of the best, original, out-of-left field endings ever seen in slasher history.

Again, like CHEERLEADER CAMP, the film has been largely overlooked, and it's a real shame. The film contains some fine acting from Zungia (she would latter appear in films like A SURE THING, SPACEBALLS, and the TV show MELROSE PLACE), Vera Miles (PSYCHO), CLU GULAGER (RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD), and James Read (LEGALLY BLONDE). The mall where the film was filmed at was the Dallas International Market, and the crew had to film at night between 7pm and 7am. So the cast and crew had to work all night and work fast. The death scenes in the film are great and are not too graphic, but there are a couple that are just painfully brutal. And the story is top notch, with a great twist ending that I did not see coming at all, and it's the ending which took the film to another level. Really, it's that damn good! The film was originally released to theaters in December of 1984.

THE INITIATION is one helluva slasher film that you really must see! You won't find this lost gem on any horror film list, because some folks might have forgotten about it, or may have never seen it, or never seen it. So do yourself a favor, after watching this film, go tell your friends, and have them tell there friends, because the more people know, the more well known this film will become. And just in time for Halloween!

THE INITIATION is currently available on DVD, and can be purchased on the Amazon website. Pick one up at their website at http://www.amazon.com

Thanks for reading, and enjoy the show!

Phil's Horror Watch, Day 4: Phil watches CHEERLEADER CAMP (1988)-October 4, 2011

Welcome back to day four of my horror movie marathon! Tonight's film was originally released at the end of the slasher craze, which began in 1980 with FRIDAY THE 13TH. Originally titled BLOODY POM POMS, the film has been largely overlooked, but now CHEERLEADER CAMP has gained a cult following for its cast of stars and horror.

Theatrical Movie Poster (1988)

 Allison (Betsy Russell), her boyfriend Brent (Leif Garrett), and their friends head off to a remote cheerleader training camp with other limber and nubile cheerleaders. But as soon as they arrive, Allison begins to have nightmares of her friends being killed. Unfortunately her nightmares begin to turn into reality, and Allison begins to think that she may have a split-personality and therefore, she believes she's the killer. That is until the real killer comes after poor Allison.

This film contains what I love about 80s horror films: cheesy dialogue, buckets of blood, creepy caretakers, snobby cheerleaders, and gratuitous nudity and sex; all captured on 35mm film stock! Some highlights for me are Garrett's performance as Brent, who plays the jerk boyfriend role perfectly, the sexy Terri Weigel as bitch cheerleader, boyfriend stealing Pamela (Weigel was Playboy's Playmate of the Month for April 1986, and then in 1991 became a pornstar), Travis McKenna's Timmy is the lovable, overweight lover who likes to videotape half naked sunbathing cheerleaders. Also appearing in the film is Lucinda Dickey who plays Corey the mascot. Dickey is famous for playing Kelly in the films BREAKIN' and BREAKIN' 2: ELECTRIC BOOGALOO. And let's not forget Betsy Russell, who gives it her all in the film, and does a great job of portraying the mentally disturbed Allison as she fights for her life as well as her sanity.

This was the directorial film debut from John Quinn, who would later direct other B-movies such as TOTAL EXPOSURE, FALLEN ANGEL as well as television shows like PASSION COVE and SIN CITY DIARIES. Russell appeared in other B-movies and horror flicks like PRIVATE SCHOOL, AVENGING ANGEL, TOMBOY, but is now more well known for portraying Jigsaw's ex-wife Jill Tuck in the SAW series. The film itself was released to theaters in 1988, and again on VHS in 1990.

CHEERLEADER CAMP is great B-movie fun for the whole family! On cold, rainy nights like tonight, it's the perfect film to gather your friends, order a pizza, and relive those great 80s horror moments! So go out and check this film out, and let the horror fun begin!

CHEERLEADER CAMP is available on DVD and can be purchased at http://www.amazon.com

Thanks for reading, and enjoy the show!

Phil's Horror Watch, Day 3: Phil watches THE HOUSE OF THE DEVIL (2009)-October 3, 2011

Welcome back to day three of my horror film marathon! As I stated in my two previous blogs, I'll be watching one horror film each day until Halloween! Tonight's film is a love letter to early 80's horror films, and it was one of my Top 10 Horror Films of 2009. Director Ti West created a truly underrated horror film that you, my faithful followers, must see! So let me just say that THE HOUSE OF THE DEVIL is one of my favorite horror films and it demands to be seen!

Theatrical Movie Poster (2009)

Set in the early 1980's, young sophomore college student Samantha Hughes (Jocelin Donahue) takes a job babysitting so she can raise money for her rent. Her best friend Megan (Greta Gerwig) drives her out to a remote home belonging to Mr. and Mrs. Ulman (Tom Noonan and Mary Woronov). Mr. Ulman informs Samantha that she will actually be watching over his mother, who is up in a second floor room. To compensate his deciet, he'll pay Samantha $400. But there is something amiss in the house, and soon she discovers a horrifying secret that could cost her her life.

West does an extraordinary job of recreating the look and feel of the early 80's. From wardrobe to technology (look at the size of Samantha's walkman), West doesn't overlook any details. Pay phones and rotary phones abound, zooming in and out scenes instead of using a dolly, the classic freeze frames during the opening credits and the awesome 80's Casio keyboard soundtrack brings it all together. After viewing the film, you'd swear that it's 1984 and you're in the middle of watching a video that you got from Blockbuster! Donahue does a great a job of acting in the film, and her look and mannerism is 80's perfection. Woronov is amazing as always, and Noonan is equally creepy as well. The whole film works on your suspension of disbelief, but once the opening scenes start, you'll already be transported back in time when video horror films were inspiring future filmmakers like West, Eli Roth, James Wan and others. The film had a limited release in select theaters on October 30, 2009, and was issued on Blu-Ray and DVD on February 2, 2010.

THE HOUSE OF THE DEVIL is a perfect example of 80's horror nostalgia done right! From beginning to end, you won't find a better horror film that takes place in the 1980's, that is unless it is a horror film from the 1980's. Even then, it's hard to tell the which is real and which is recreated. Thanks to director Ti West, you'll have to find that one out on your own.

THE HOUSE OF THE DEVIL is currently available on Blu-Ray and DVD (no VHS, sorry) from Dark Sky Films. To purchase a copy, visit their website at http://www.darkskyfilms.com/

Thanks for reading, and enjoy the show!

Phil's Horror Watch, Day 2: Phil watches BLOOD FEAST (1963)-October 2, 2011

Welcome back to my month long screening of horror films for this hellish month called October! So continuing my horror film escapade, I decided to watch a true classic of the genre that without it, horror films would not look like they do today. Infusing violence and gratuitous gore, director Herschell Gordon Lewis and produce David F. Friedman unleashed upon the world BLOOD FEAST, and the face of horror would never look the same again!

Theatrical Movie Poster (1963)

The film's about an Egyptian caterer named Fuad Ramses (Mal Arnold) who kills a series of women to use their dismembered body parts to revive the dormant Egyptian goddess Ishtar. Hot on his heels is Police Detective Pete Thornton (William Kerwin) who plans on capturing Ramses before he sacrifices his love Suzette Fremont (Connie Mason) to Ishtar.

By 1963, Lewis and Friedman, having made several "nudie cutie" films together, decided to try to do something different. Sex was still forbidden to see on the big screen, so the two decided to go in the complete opposite direction. On a five day shoot with a budget of $25,000 (Lewis and Friedman were the ENTIRE crew), the duo forever changed the landscape of cinema, and decorated the screen with blood red gore. The film went on to gross over $3 million dollars, and two other films followed shortly. TWO THOUSAND MANIACS and COLOR ME BLOOD RED continued with the gore and these films are now known as The Blood Trilogy. These films were also recently released on Blu-Ray by Something Weird Video (which its name was taken from a Lewis film). After the trilogy, both Lewis and Friedman went their separate ways, but Lewis went to to direct other classics such as THE WIZARD OF GORE, A TASTE OF BLOOD, and THE GORE GORE GIRLS.

In 2002, Lewis returned to the world of filmmaking (along with Friendman back as producer) to direct the sequel BLOOD FEAST 2: ALL YOU CAN EAT. He has just recently directed the film THE UH-OH SHOW, which was made back in 2009. Currently, most of Lewis' films are available on DVD and can be purchased on the Something Weird Video website at http://www.somethingweird.com/

Thanks for reading, and enjoy the show!