This is hard to be objective with, as despite not having seen it unedited in quite awhile, i've probably seen this one a good 10-15 times.
The story is interesting in that the whole movie is just a set up to the sequels, of course the audiences didn't know that at the time.
Of course there's a lot about it that's dated, but what worked to scare the fuck out of people in 1980 still works to scare the fuck out of people today, and if anything the old school look of the movie helps it even more in rewatching it now. It's just such an eerie visual.
The acting struck me as surprisingly competent. The dialog was cheesy of course, but it is 25 years old. Some of the kill edits were a bit bumbly, but from a technical stand point the movie generally hit it out of the park. The music still is some of the best horror music ever, the breathing sound effects still make the hair on my neck stand up. The camera work is also pretty damn awesome. Shocking reveals and excellent set ups really raised the bar for movies of this ilk. When Alice is hiding in the closet and we get the awesome shots of Mrs Palmer moving around the room, only able to see a scant bit through the paneled door, and then unbeknownst to Alice, but know to us, the door knob starts to move, it's just magnificent.
There's a good amount of skin and the chicks are attractive.
The last 20 minutes or so did drag for me but it's possible that comes from familiarity more than anything else. The final scene though is still pretty damn iconic with Jason making his first on screen appearance to drag Alice into the water while the music goes from gentle and relaxed, into the frightening dirge.
If you've never seen it I would suggest giving it a viewing more to see the way filmmakers technically raised the bar for this sort of movie. The camp setting, the music cues, the general color tone of the movie and the excellent way they build the suspense for the kills.
It certainly hadn't all come together yet. Hell, the movie isn't even really about Jason, but it is a solid first chapter in the story that lays the foundation for what would follow over the next five years and scare the shit of America.
Monday, June 17, 2013
2010 Horror Fest: Dark House: 21 Out Of 100 Stars
Man, I'm reaching the end of my rope here. At least a few years ago when I started doing this there were plenty of low budget but inspired efforts out there that at least had a sense of joy in what they were trying to do. Maybe it's that technology has evolved to the point that it's hard not to a make a visualy competent film at this point, but for the love of god i'm growing weary of these souless films.
Dark House is about a girl who stumbles upon a crime scene at a foster home. All the children are dead and the mother is putting her hands in the garbage disposal as it seems something is possessing her.
Flash forward to present day where that little girl is a messed up drama major in constant therapy, and on and off meds because she's trying to cope with what she saw that day, even though she doesn't remember most of it. Her therapist implores her to return to the house and face her demons, so to speak.
In an awesome coincidence, a world famous horror dude wants to use the house to put on a fright show of epic proportions and hires all the actors in the girls drama class to work at his haunted show.
This is where it takes a turn for the rather stupid. The haunted house is filled with holograms. You see, this dude hired a computer expert and together they revolutionized the world of holographic images. He explains that there are thousand of lasers hidden through out the house. Of course the believability of all this is about zero but it's what the movie is going with so whatever.
Anyway, it's not hard to to guess that people start getting killed when something possesses the holograms. There is a ton of overacting and reactions that would fit better in a war drama than a horror movie. Close ups of people screaming in despair for extended periods and what not. A couple of the kills are fairly cool but you're so detached from them that they don't have much effect at all.
The lead is not striking, and not all that great an actor, hell nobody in the movie is really all that good to be honest.
There are some twists that add nothing.
This Dark House should of stayed dark, it probably views better that way.
Dark House is about a girl who stumbles upon a crime scene at a foster home. All the children are dead and the mother is putting her hands in the garbage disposal as it seems something is possessing her.
Flash forward to present day where that little girl is a messed up drama major in constant therapy, and on and off meds because she's trying to cope with what she saw that day, even though she doesn't remember most of it. Her therapist implores her to return to the house and face her demons, so to speak.
In an awesome coincidence, a world famous horror dude wants to use the house to put on a fright show of epic proportions and hires all the actors in the girls drama class to work at his haunted show.
This is where it takes a turn for the rather stupid. The haunted house is filled with holograms. You see, this dude hired a computer expert and together they revolutionized the world of holographic images. He explains that there are thousand of lasers hidden through out the house. Of course the believability of all this is about zero but it's what the movie is going with so whatever.
Anyway, it's not hard to to guess that people start getting killed when something possesses the holograms. There is a ton of overacting and reactions that would fit better in a war drama than a horror movie. Close ups of people screaming in despair for extended periods and what not. A couple of the kills are fairly cool but you're so detached from them that they don't have much effect at all.
The lead is not striking, and not all that great an actor, hell nobody in the movie is really all that good to be honest.
There are some twists that add nothing.
This Dark House should of stayed dark, it probably views better that way.
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