The Hills Have Eyes (1977)

Dir: Wes Craven
Cast: Susan Lanier, Robert Houston, Martin Spear, Dee Wallace, James Whitworth, Michael Berryman
In the early 1400s the Beane Family, a feral clan roamed the highlands of Scotland. They murdered and ate transients until eventually caught and executed on the order of King James without a trial. This would serve as the inspiration for the grim cult classic The Hill Have Eyes. The controversial followup film to Craven’s controversial The Last House on the Left. Not a sequel just his second film, though they do have their similarities. Both pit group of innocents against violent, unsympathetic, people… If you can call them people.

This violent gang of cannibals is lead by the monstrous Papa Jupiter (Bill Drago), Mama (Cordy Clark) and includes their four children; Mars (Lance Gordon), Mercury (Pete Locke), Ruby (Janus Blythe) and Pluto (Michael Berryman, the creep guy on the poster.) Together they stalk a family passing through the desert in an RV and make their lives a living hell.

There’s not much to it really, just a bunch of violent confrontations that always leave you uneasy. If there’s anything that really stands out it’s Michael Berryman, the film’s breakout character. He gives a menacing performance that’s only enhanced by Berryman’s unusual appearance. You see Berryman was born with Hypohidrotic Ectodermal Dysplasia, a condition which prevents one from developing hair, fingernails, or sweat glands (not really ideal for a movie filmed in the desert.) He was also supposedly born with 26 birth defects and yet he’s made a great career for himself. I’ll always remember him for his appearance on the X-Files and he continues to pop up from time to time. Word has he’s a really intelligent and nice guy, surprising when you watch his monstrous performance in this.

Well I got a little off topic but I write what I feel. So that knocks out another Craven film and another one which has been remade. What Craven film will be remade next Swamp Thing? I rarely say this but that actually could benefit from a remake.

Suspiria (1977)

Director: Dario Argento
Cast: Jessica Harper, Udo Kier, Joan Bennett, Alida Valli
Suspiria: Beautiful, atmospheric, awful… “Wait Suspiria? Perhaps the most notable Italian horror movie ever made and you’re telling me it’s bad? Whatchu talkin’ bout Willis?” That would probably be the reaction from most horror movie purists. Suspiria has draw dropping cinematography, an intensely chilling score, but have you ever actually tried to follow this thing? It makes absolutely no sense, it’s a terrible story and yet it’s still an influential work. Considered the crowning achievement of Horror Legend Dario Argento, let me tell you why this film despite it’s incoherent plot is a cult classic.

In the most basic explanation Suspiria is about a young American ballet dancer named Susy Banyon who’s come to Germany to study dance at a renowned academy. Though as soon as she arrives students are murdered and something seems a bit off about the faculty. Sounds like an accessible slasher setup but this film is always taking a back seat to it’s visuals, so much that the plot suffers. So the big surprise is the faculty is like a coven of witches but their motivations are never clear. The story is littered with plot holes and unexplained occurrences, almost as if it was written around certain violent set pieces rather than an actual narrative. So why should anyone care about Suspiria? Because this film looks like no other.

One of the last films to use the Technicolor Three-Strip process Suspiria vividly captures a vast color spectrum and combined with creative camerawork creates a breathtaking nightmare. I wouldn’t be surprised if some of these visuals inspired many horror filmmakers and that’s what has kept it’s legacy alive. Though you can’t overlook the satanic synth soundtrack from prog rock group Goblin. Most famous for their score to Dawn of the Dead, this is another one of their best works (needed to throw that in somewhere.)

So is it a good movie? In my opinion no, but it is an important one that is worth recognizing, just don’t try to make any sense of it. Word on the street is that filmmaker David Gordon Green has been aching to do a remake for awhile now, I wonder if he could make it coherent?

Jaws (1975)

Dir: Steven Spielberg
Cast: Roy Scheider, Richard Dreyfuss, Robert Shaw
Dun nun, duh nuh, duh nuh… Gives me chills just thinking about it. I’ve never been sure whether or not you could really classify Jaws as a “Horror” movie. I’ve always thought of it as an action/adventure more like Jurassic Park, but I figure it’s scared enough people to earn a spot on this list, I mean it’s one of my favorite movies PERIOD.

The movie that made everyone afraid to go in the water is just as exciting as ever. I could weigh this down with a plot synopsis but who hasn’t seen this? What’s to explain really? “A Shark kills people, so some people got to kill the shark.” That’s basically it in it’s crudest form, but it’s so simple that there’s so much to build upon. The characters are all excellently crafted, compelling and humorous in their own ways. Richard Dreyfuss fills the kind of obnoxious scientist role, Robert Shaw is the rough-around-the-edges, monologue spewing mariner and Roy Scheider is the relatable, level headed, police chief, they’re all brilliant.

Dialogue comes to mind as another standout element. Little snippets like “That’s a real bad hat harry” or the infamous “Were gonna need a bigger boat.” Or how about the legendary USS Indianapolis story? Tell me you don’t get chills when Quint tells that chilling yarn. Peter Benchley (Also the author of the book) and Carl Gottlieb (Who would co-write The Jerk) penned one of my all time favorite scripts without a wasted breath.

Let’s see… Oh yes, how could I talk about Jaws without mentioning the music? Got to be up there with John Williams top three scores along with Star Wars and Indiana Jones hmm, though there’s also Superman? Damn he’s prolific! Sometimes I wonder what this movie would of been like without that theme. In a way the music basically is the shark as we seldom see it. I think most are aware that this movie was hell putting together, with basically everything going wrong that could go wrong.

I’m not positive but this has to be the biggest blockbuster out of all my Shocktober selections, after all it was the first blockbuster. Jaws is one of those rare films that changed the shape of cinema… You could even say it turned the tides? In that it changed how so many studios produced and marketed action/thrillers. This is one of those movies I could talk about forever, so I’m gonna stop now.

Black Christmas (1974)

Dir: Bob Clark
Cast: Olivia Hussey, Keir Dullea, Margot Kidder, John Saxon, Marian Waldman, Andrea Martin
What better time for mayhem than during the jolliest time of the year? It’s no surprise that the emerging slasher genre would work it’s way through all the holidays, but wait a second… This film predates John Carpenter’s Halloween? “Are you telling me there was a holiday themed slasher flick made a whole four years before Halloween?” I guess in that respect Black Christmas was ahead of the curve, from the concept to even the techniques used in the film.

“A homicidal maniac attacks a sorority house during the Christmas Season.” Could you come up with a more basic premise for a slasher flick? Do we know why he does it? No, do we know who he is or do we find out? Nope, you don’t even see him and it’s this vague approach that makes it work so well. All of the killer’s scenes are from his P.O.V, so we don’t even know what he looks like and you gotta admire that kind of boldness in filmmaking. This movie strives to keep you in the dark, decreasing your comfort level with every scene and every kill. As we’ve all heard, “Sometimes the scariest thing is what you don’t see.”

Black Christmas doesn’t often get the recognition I think it deserves but it’s built up a strong cult following. The film even featured some future actors before they were famous including; Nick Mancuso, Margot Kidder and Andrea Martin. Though probably weirdest of all is the director Bob Clark went on to do A Christmas Story . Wow, the most beloved Christmas film and the darkest with the same man behind the camera, makes you think.

It’s Alive (1974)

Dir: Larry Cohen
Cast: John P. Ryan, Sharon Farrell, William Wellman Jr, James Dixon, Daniel Hozman
It’s Alive is a movie about a mother who gives birth to a mutant baby who goes on a killing spree. That’s what the movie is actually about. What a stupid premise, must be a dud, right? Actually, it’s Kind of great. I’m not saying this monster-baby movie is a milestone, but it’s incredibly well executed for such a silly concept. Writer/Director Larry Cohen is a cult hero in Horror and Action and is well known in those circles for making e A-quality pictures out of B-Movie ideas. Therefore I felt his contributions were worth noting in this week’s review of It’s Alive.

Frank (John Ryan) and Lenore (Sharen Farrell) and their son Charley (Daniel Hozman) are the definitive portrait of a happy family and are readily awaiting kid #2. Except, this time Lenore has taken “Experimental Fertility Drugs.” Gotta watch out for those. What happens when she goes to the delivery room? The baby jumps out and kills everybody. From then on it becomes a heated pursuit of finding the murderous tot.

We only get glimpses of the baby here and there, but the design is good. Rick Baker (Star Wars, An American Werewolf in London) crafted the creature and it gets the scares. The trick is showing it just enough–not too much. Of course, the monster boy gets a little help from music by composer Bernard “F#@kin!” Herrmann. How Cohen sold Bernie on a movie like this I have no idea. I know the two were friends. In fact, the last thing Bernard Herrman did before he died was watch a rough cut of Cohen’s 1976 thriller God Told Me To (Herrman was going to score the film), ate dinner with Cohen, and then went to his hotel where he died from a heart attack in his sleep. A damn shame but as usual Herrman is at the top of his game for this one.

Story and music aside, what stands out to me is John P. Ryan’s performance as the monster’s grieving father. Ryan puts a lot of intensity into his performance. There’s one scene near the end where he actually finds the baby, scared and helpless and his pain as a conflicted father comes off as heartbreaking, who would’ve thunk it?

It’s Alive is not a great movie–and I’m sure it’s multiple sequels aren’t much to write home about–but it left a mark on the genre. Cohen has always had the ability to put his unique stamp on things and I always love watching him work.

P.S. I have to warn everyone that at the end of It’s Alive a detective reports another monster baby has been born in Seattle. So let’s be vigilant and be on the lookout for a 36-year-old homicidal mutant.

Don’t Look Now (1973)

Dir: Nicolas Roeg
Cast: Julie Christie, Donald Sutherland
Before he was a director Nicolas Roeg was a talented Cinematographer. His work included The Masque of the Red Death, Fahrenheit 451, portions of Doctor Zhivago and even some contributions to the visual look of Lawrence of Arabia as a second unit photographer. Then in the early 70s he became a director but you could still feel that same visual flare in his films and Don’t Look Now is a prime example.

Laura (Julie Christie) and John Baxter (Donald Sutherland) are a married couple who have recently lost their daughter. With their marriage on the rocks, the two decide to take a “working vacation” to Venice. Here John has been contracted to restore an old church while Laura befriends a pair of eccentric twin sisters who claim to have psychic powers! Laura becomes drawn in when one sister claims to have made contact without the couple’s daughter.

Meanwhile a series of grisly murders are taking place across the city. Why attention is drawn to this subplot is unclear, until the end and it’s a doozy. So John begins to catch glimpses of a childlike figure who resembles his daughter wandering the city, he follows it but is unsuccessful in ever catching it. From there on the film only descends into further madness as the character’s start to question their sanity, it’s a real trip to say the least.

Now Don’t Look Now isn’t the most exciting thriller. It can try your patience with some achingly slow moments but there’s other aspects to enjoy. Like I said it’s a beautifully photographed film, very picturesque locations and overall pleasing cinematography. Christie and Sutherland have an intense chemistry that’s almost unsettling, they share a surprisingly graphic love scene together.

Though there’s one big reason i still remember this movie and look back to it and that’s the end. It’s a twisty and disturbing finale of the finest caliber and it always freaks me out. Hell, I can’t go on without spilling the beans so here I go. (Spoiler Ahead!) So remember that child-like figure Donald Sutherland is chasing? Well it turns out it’s actually this creepy midget woman who just happens to be the murderer everyone’s looking for. So she stabs Sutherland with the only words he can say being “Wait… Wait…” Gives me chills just thinking about it.