Daybreakers 2010...

I have always felt there are not enough really good vampire movies out there. I'm hoping that all the vampire overload from Twilight doesn't make the general public sick of vampire movies. It happens so many times, especially with music that when you hear a song on the radio over and over again, you grow tired of it... even if it is a great song. It happened to Hootie and the Blowfish with their CD Cracked Rear View Mirror. So many songs on that CD were played to death by radio that it actually hurt the band on their following CD's... any one even remember any of their other CD'S? That's the point. If you visit this site often, you know my love for vampire movies. I'm not a fan of campy horror, but interesting vampire movies with good acting and a good story line are hard to find. Bela Lugosi's Dracula set the bar very high for the genre. I love traditional vampires, but I do appreciate writers and directors who are willing to explore the genre and bring us new and exciting twist to their vampires... as long as it is within reason. For one thing, there must be a way to kill the vampire... good must overcome the evil. That's why movies like From Dusk To Dawn, Blade, Underworld are such good movies to me. I've enjoyed both John Carpenter's Vampire movies, 30 Days of Night was great in my mind, and Bram Stocker's Dracula with Gary Oldham was a good remake of the original. However, there are so many out there in the vampire genre that are not quality. This leads me to Daybreakers...

This movie has some really quality actors in it with Sam Neill, Willem Defoe, and Ethan Hawke supporting a decent looking movie... at least from the trailer. A virus causes most of the general population to become vampires and that would cause there to be a shortage of human blood in that case. There seems to be battles raging between different vampire clams with the Sam Neill character being the "ruler" of a one of the clans. The trailer looks very promising. The movie comes to theaters Jan. 8th, 2010 and I plan to see it then. Check out the trailer as well as the link to the movies website... I think you will really find this trailer very interesting!

A malicious plague has befallen the human race, transforming the majority of the Earth's population into vampires and draining the world of an increasingly precious resource: blood. Now, it's up to two brothers (Ethan Hawke and Willem Dafoe) to decide what happens next. As the human population nears zero, will the vampires be forced to feast on the few men and women who remain? Or could science hold the key to a less destructive solution?

http://www.daybreakersmovie.com/

Director:
Michael Spierig
Peter Spierig

Cast:
Willem Dafoe
Isabel Lucas
Sam Neill
Vince Colosimo
Jay Laga'aia
Claudia Karvan
Christopher Kirby
Renai Caruso
Ethan Hawke
Mungo McKay
Robyn Moore

Picture From Daybreakers...













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Dark Shadows 1967...

I guess I need to wrap up my favorite horror movies with a TV show from the late 60's and early 70's. I remember running home from elementary school so that I would not miss an episode of my favorite "soap opera" of all time... Dark Shadows. The Dan Curtis production was NOT your typical soap opera. After all, it had vampires, ghosts, werewolves, and witches. The most popular character without a doubt was Barnabas Collins, played by Jonathan Frid. Barnabas was a very interesting character. He was conflicted with his immortality. He was a vampire through and though, but he longed to be back in the sunlight. He wanted nothing more than to be human again. However, he was cursed. He was a reluctant vampire. He could be very evil, but he mostly wanted his privacy. If left alone, he would not trouble you... but if threatened, he would kill. There were so many twist and great story lines to this show that you were always waiting with high anticipation for the next half hour show. The weekends were a pain because on Friday you were left with a cliffhanger and had to wait till Monday to see what happened! Thanks to Netflix, I have seen over 85 hours of the show. I began with the introduction to Barnabas... in the video below. It has been a great journey down memory lane for me to see the old shows with all its flaws (it was taped live with NO edits!). Starting with the old black and white shows and the introduction of color to TV. Man, I'm old! This show was unique in so many ways and it was a first for its time. That's the great thing about old shows... they were original, interesting, and the story was everything. Nothing like the 200 channels of crap that is on today. Give the video a watch and check out the collection of Dark Shadows on DVD... it is so worth it!

Jonathan Frid AKA, Barnabas Collins!

Filled with Gothic mystery and supernatural intrigue, the daytime series "Dark Shadows" became wildly popular after its 1966 premiere on ABC and has earned a reputation as one of the most unusual and enduring programs in TV history. The show revolves around Barnabas Collins (Jonathan Frid), a guilt-ridden 175-year-old vampire who longs to be human again and returns to his estate after being chained inside a coffin for nearly 200 years.




Director:
Lela Swift
John Sedwick

Cast:
Jonathan Frid
Joan Bennett
Alexandra Isles
Kathryn Leigh Scott
Nancy Barrett
John Karlen
Mitch Ryan
David Henesy
Dana Elcar
David Ford
Louis Edmonds
Joel Crothers
Clarice Blackburn
Robert Gerringer
Dennis Patrick







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My Favorite Horror Movies Part 3...

Now we're going to take a look at two of my favorite genres in the horror genre... Werewolves and Vampires. It is no surprise to those that visit my blog often, that I love vampires. After all, I've been writing a vampire book for the past six years. I think vampires are creatures that we all secretly would be... power, strength, abilities beyond belief, and a world of darkness. I love traditional vampires, but I can appreciate movies that allow their vampires a little more freedom... Blade for instance. However, as in all the evil creatures of horror, there has to be a way to kill them. Someone has to survive, good overcomes evil, and there must be a slim chance of hope. In Underworld we have the best of both worlds... vampires and werewolves. A battle that has been hundreds of years in the making is played out between the two rivals right before our eyes. This is a great movie. I have seen all three and have to say that I love the first and third ones... the second one was good, but doesn't live up to the other two. I think Bill Nighy plays the king vampire, Victor perfectly. He is brilliant in all three, but in The Rise Of The Lycans, he is GREAT! There are many interesting stories within the story of Underworld. We do get to see how vampires truly want to be private individuals which I contribute to their vulnerability during the daylight hours. It's a war that has been raging for hundreds of years and it is played out so well in the first Underworld. It is a great movie and I recommend seeing all three! Check out the trailer below!

Underworld
(2003) R
Vampires and werewolves have waged a nocturnal war against each other for centuries. But all bets are off when a female vampire warrior named Selene (Kate Beckinsale), who's famous for her strength and werewolf-hunting prowess, becomes smitten with a peace-loving male werewolf, Michael (Scott Speedman), who wants to end the war. Think Romeo and Juliet with a big hickey!


Dog Soldiers is my favorite werewolf movie of all time. I have seen it probably four or five times. I was on an Irish/British movie kick for a while and saw the actor Sean Pertwee in a few other movies... Wilderness and Seven Days To Live, and became a fan. He leads of group of soldiers on a training mission, only to learn that it is not training... it's a battle to survive. There is so much action and attitude in this movie. Several twist that keep the movie fresh and interesting. The werewolves look similar to the ones in Underworld, but are actually more believable in my mind. The struggles to believe what is actually happening to these soldiers is key to how this movie works and as soldiers, once they realize the danger, they go to work to "fix" the problem. Trapped in a house with a young woman they don't know, leads to the fight of their lives against a monster outside and inside the house... I love this movie! Check out the trailer below and give this movie a watch!
Dog Soldiers
(2002) R
In Neil Marshal's directorial debut, a squad of soldiers is sent out on what should have been a routine military exercise in the wilds of Scotland. But the excursion turns into a waking nightmare when Sgt. Harry Wells (Sean Pertwee) and his men discover the bloody corpses of Capt. Richard Ryan's (Liam Cunningham) battalion. As the sun goes down, the soldiers are tracked by a pack of werewolves determined to feast on their flesh.






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My Favorite Horror Characters...

Re-posting this... Few characters in the horror genre have been as evil as Pinhead. The whole concept of his character makes him the total package. Enjoy and comment if you like!

I have to say without hesitation that Pinhead is the greatest horror character ever created. He is the embodiment of what Hell must be like. Thriving off the fear and pain that he creates, Pinhead stands alone as pure evil, with a touch of sarcasm that punctuates what little regard he has for human life. Clive Barker's creation of Pinhead set in motion some of the most unique and evil creatures in the horror genre. Pinhead was their leader... he was the king of pain! I have seen all 8 Hellraiser movies. Only the first 2 or 3 were quality movies, the rest have been attempts to make money off the Hellraiser name. Granted, they weren't terrible movies, but they all could have been much better if Clive Barker had been directing them. Either way, I watch because of my love of horror and my respect for the character of Pinhead. My only complaint about any of the Hellraiser movies is that Pinhead doesn't have enough screen time in any of them. This is one of my favorite scenes from any of the Hellraiser movies... to me, it shows the total disrespect that Pinhead has for God and anything defined as "Holy". This is a great clip and you really ought to check it out!



Another one of my favorites is The Wishmaster. The Wes Craven film was one that really grabbed my attention with the whole concept of granting wishes in trade for your soul. The Djinn were evil and the wishes they granted were never intended to hake the person receiving them happy. Definitely a be careful what you wish for scenario. Andrew Divoff played the evil Djinn perfectly. It should be obvious by now that I love my horror characters to be somewhat sarcastic, and Divoff's character was. The Djinn needed souls in order to bring his realm to this world to destroy and conquer it. The movie has all the elements in it that make horror a great genre... fear, greed, death, gore, tension, and good verses evil. This is an interesting look at the greed that makes us want something for nothing. Ask for a million dollars and the Djinn will comply... but at what cost? The first two were good, but 3 and 4 didn't have Divoff as the Djinn and were so inferior to the first two. I love these two horror characters, Pinhead and the Wishmaster. I find them to be so much more interesting than a Michael Myers or Jason for that matter... check out the trailer below!







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My Favorite Horror Movies...

Everyone seems to have a list of their favorite movies, so I thought I would put up my own list. The movies listed below are in no particular order, however, I will tell you up front that The Shining is my favorite "horror" movie of all time. I was reading a post on The Vault Of Horror the other day that dealt with this movie and found the post to be very well done. Brian made some very good points as to why the movie is such a classic even though Stephen King and many fans of the book don't like the movie because it deviates from the book. I find that "book readers" tend to be a very passionate group when it comes to books they love. When a movie is made from that book, they come out of the woodwork and scream about how much the movie is so inferior to the book. My opinion has always been that they are two vastly different mediums and cannot be compared. I find it a little arrogant on the part of "bookies" to be so judgemental. You should check out the post on The Vault Of Horror blog. Copy and paste this link: http://thevaultofhorror.blogspot.com/

Back to the list... The list has one TV show as well as a movie that is really a psychological thriller in Identity. The John Cusack and Ray Liotta movie has so many elements that keep you on the edge of your seat and guessing throughout the movie. EVERYONE should watch this movie... it is so good!



The TV show is Dark Shadows. As a kid, I would run home from school so that I wouldn't miss my favorite vampire Barnabas Collins. This show had it all... vampires, werewolves, ghosts, and witches. All wrapped up in a stylish Gothic set. A horror soap opera... what a brilliant idea! I loved the show as a kid and thanks to Netflix, I have watched over 84 hours of the show on DVD. Great stuff!!!


This Movie is in the thriller/sci-fi genre, but it is awesome! The Predator is one of the best "horrorish" creatures I've ever seen on film. When he takes his helmet off and opens up those claws... it is frigging cool! The whole concept of a predator, alien hunter makes for a very interesting story line. The fact that Arnold is in it and fits his role well is a bonus. Carl Weathers, Jesse Ventura, Bill Duke, and Sonny Landham pull this whole "special forces" against an alien that only hunts/kills those that are armed idea together to make one butt kickin' movie. It's a competition for "him" and he keeps parts of the bodies as a trophy. I have seen this movie so many times and enjoy it every time.

I will discuss more about my list tomorrow!

Wishmaster (1999)
Underworld (2003)
The Shining (1980)
Saw II
The Ring (2002)
Predator (1987)
Identity (2003)
House on Haunted Hill (1999)
The Hitcher (2007)
Hellbound: Hellraiser II (1988)
Hellraiser (1987)
Dog Soldiers (2002)
Dark Shadows: Collection (1967)







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Vacancy 2: The First Cut (2008)

I had seen the trailer for this movie several months ago and thought it looked very interesting. I like prequels... I want to know why certain things happened in a movie or how it all got started. This movie really could stand alone and doesn't necessarily deal with the first movie. The thing I liked about the movie most was the conflict between the "killers" that ran the motel. The way they began their journey from selling porn secretly filmed in the motel to the selling of murder and torture. Nothing seems to good smoothly for the criminals early on and more people die than actually had to. There were some growing pains... literally for this bunch. Once the main characters arrive at the motel the pace of the movie moves quickly. Because there are three friends (one sneaks in so he won't have to pay), this complicates the murders plan. The chase scenes where the friends are fleeing for their lives is tension filled. I felt the movie over all was entertaining and did a good job with the story line. It was good, but not great. The filming was often at night and many of the scenes were too dark. I know that adds to the creepiness, but you really need to be able to see fully what is going on. The acting was fine for a bunch of no name actors. Runs a long the same lines as Rest Stop and all the others where some one is running for their lives. Not bad... worth a watch in my book. Check out the trailer below!

After checking into a dingy room at the remote Meadow View Inn, a newly engaged couple (Trevor Wright and Agnes Bruckner) and their mutual best friend (Arjay Smith) begin to suspect they're being watched. Little do they know they're also being hunted -- and their deaths will be caught on camera. Scott G. Anderson reprises his role as the murderous Mr. Smith in this grisly prequel to Nimród Antal's original thriller.

R For strong violence and terror, language and some sexual content.
Length:
86 minutes
Director:
Eric Bross

Cast:
Trevor Wright
David Moscow
Agnes Bruckner
Gwendoline Yeo
Beau Billingslea Gwendoline Yeo
Gwendoline Yeo
Arjay Smith
Christopher Allen Nelson
Angel Oquendo
Lola Davidson
Scott G. Anderson







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