Category Archives: Comedy-Horror Films
BEDAZZLED
BEDAZZLED-United States/Germany-2000
Brendan Fraser as Elliot Richards/Jefe/Mary
Elizabeth Hurley as The Devil
Frances O’Connor as Alison Gardner/Nicole Delarusso
Directed by Harold Ramis
Screenplay by Larry Gelbart, Harold Ramis and Peter Tolan
Based on a 1967 story and screenplay by Peter Cook and Dudley Moore
I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking, “John, have you lost your ever-loving, modestly intelligent mind?”
Nope.
“But Bedazzled is a comedy!”
Yep.
“So why are you reviewing it? You write a horror film blog.”
Because I want to, because it has the devil in it; and that kind of sort of if you grade on the curve sort of way puts it into my territory. But there is one other main reason I wanted to write about this movie; besides the fact I got to see Elizabeth Hurley in all those fantasy inducing outfits. Hmm, scratch the ‘one other main reason’ part and make it ‘two other main reasons’. The other, other main reason is simply that I love this movie.
Hey, I know; it’s as stupid and ridiculous a movie as you’re ever going to see and I could care less. I’ve watched Bedazzled countless times and I laugh out loud (lol) every time. I personally think this is the best movie Brendan Fraser has ever done. His chance to portray so many characters with so many different characteristics is essentially the cherry on the whipped cream of his career. As for Elizabeth Hurley as the Devil; all I can say is that my reactions changed with each new outfit she wore.
Red Dress: Reowwwwrrrr!!!
Black Bikini (while walking Doberman Pinschers on the beach): Arf! Arf! Down boy!!
Cheerleader: Nice Pom Poms!!!
Traffic Cop: So, tell me officer, do those handcuffs come in fuzzy style?
School Teacher: I have been so bad, Miss Hurley. I really think I need to stay after school.
Nurse: I got a boo boo. Kiss it and make it better.
*Sigh* Huh, what? Oh, sorry. I got drool all over my keyboard.
Anyway, the plot of Bedazzled is this. Brendan Fraser (George of the Jungle, Encino Man) is Elliot Richards, a nerd, dweeb, and loser; just pick one because they all apply. Elliot is in love with Allison (Frances O’Connor, A.I. Artificial Intelligence, and Timeline); a girl who barely even knows that he exists. When Elliot says aloud that he would do anything to be with Alison he sparks the interest of Old Scratch, Beelzebub, Lucifer (well, “Lucy”-fer); you know, the Devil (Hurley, Serving Sara, Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery). Appearing to Elliot in the various aforementioned fantasy inducing ensembles, the Devil grants him 7 wishes in exchange for-you guessed it-his soul. Now, of course, with the Devil and wishing with every wish there comes a curse and Elliot soon finds himself getting a lot less than he bargained for out of this agreement.
If you take Bedazzled seriously as a piece of cinematic art then there is really something wrong with you. The only way that you can take this movie and get any sort of enjoyment out of it is to see it for what it is: good, sexy, dumb as bricks fun.
TRIVIA
The Devil’s dogs in the beach scene are named Dudley and Peter, a reference to the writers and stars of the original Bedazzled, Dudley Moore and Peter Cook.
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JENNIFER’S BODY
JENNIFER’S BODY
Megan Fox as Jennifer
Amanda Seyfried as Needy
Johnny Simmons as Chip
J.K. Simmons as Mr. Wroblewski
Amy Sedaris as Needy’s Mom
Adam Brody as Nikolai
Directed by Karyn Kusama
Written by Diablo Cody
I’m not one of those people that seek out the hidden messages in movies. I usually just watch the movie; think about what I liked and what I didn’t like and then write about it. This system has worked okay for me so far. “Jennifer’s Body” is no exception. But I guess if I had to find some kind of hidden message in the movie it would be that average looking girls should never have good looking girls for BFF’s (Best Friends Forever) or else they will steal all the boys away from them. The second message is that if the hot chick is possessed by a demon and becomes a hideous succubus she will not only steal the boy, she will eat him as well.
Needy (Amanda Seyfried, “Gone”, “Red Riding Hood”) and Jennifer (Megan Fox “Transformers”, “Jonah Hex”) have been friends since the days when they played in the sandbox together. Needy is your Plain Jane mousy type and Jennifer is her vivacious and beautiful friend through which she vicariously lives her life. But after Jennifer is sacrificed by an eyeliner wearing faux Fall Out Boy band and comes back as the town succubus, it’s up to Needy to figure out why her friend is spewing black goo and why all the boys in the town are turning up partially eaten. It’s what she’s always wanted; something to do on a Saturday night.
There’s not much I can really say about the movie. I will say that I was pleasantly surprised at Megan Fox and her portrayal of Jennifer. I have often gone on record as saying that I think she’s a horrible actress who gets by on her looks; but even horrible actresses have a good day every now and then. Amanda Seyfried was good as Needy and I felt that the movie moved along at a steady pace. All told, I liked the movie, but I find myself feeling guilty for liking it. It’s like I spent nearly two hours looking through a peep hole in the girl’s locker room. It was a fun thing to do at the time, but now I feel all dirty.
TRIVIA
The title is from the song “Jennifer’s Body” by Courtney Love’s band Hole.
To prepare for her role as a possessed living-dead teenager, Megan Fox lost around 15 lbs, bringing her weight down to a near-frail 97 lbs, and stayed out of the sun.
The demon who possesses Jennifer Check (Megan Fox’s character) closely resembles a succubus (plural succubi), from Jewish, Christian, and Sumerian mythology/theology. It is said that succubi seduce men, and fornicate with them until they are “drained” (in the movie, getting “drained” could mean getting drained of blood instead of semen). Some possible examples of succubi are Lilitu (from Sumerian mythology), Lilin, and Lilith (both from Jewish theology).
Jennifer’s surname ‘Check’ was initially intended only to be a place holder name. It comes from writer Diablo Cody using the phrase ‘check’ to express the filling of the various required roles, e.g “Jennifer – check, Needy – check” and so on. The name was never changed and features in the final film.
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SLITHER
SLITHER-Canada?United States-2006
Nathan Fillion as Bill Pardy
Elizabeth Banks as Starla Grant
Gregg Henry as Jack MacReady
Michael Rooker as Grant Grant
Written and Directed by James Gunn
The great thing about “Slither” has nothing to do with the plot of the film. We’ve seen it a million times before. Aliens take over the minds of humans and a small group of the uninfected rise up to save the day. The infected include Michael Rooker (“The Walking Dead”), who spends more than half the movie looking like a cross between H.P. Lovecraft’s Cthulhu and a double slice of extra cheese pizza. The uninfected are represented by Nathan Fillion (“Serenity”, “Super”) and Elizabeth Banks (“The Hunger Games”, “Zack and Miri Make a Porno“). Toss in Gregg Henry for unexpected comic relief and enough body popping special effects to make a fanboy blast off in his britches and you’ve got yourself a nice little slice of sci-fi/horror pie with comedy ice cream on top.
But like I said before, that has nothing to do with why this movie is so cool. “Slither” is cool because director James Gunn has not forgotten the movies that paved the way for him. There are references to “From Beyond”, “The Thing”, George Romero‘s zombie flicks, “The Evil Dead”, “Night of the Creeps”, “Basket Case” and “Rosemary’s Baby”. Hell, there are probably a dozen more films that Gunn has paid tribute to with “Slither” that I might have missed. Gunn never takes “Slither” too seriously. If he did there would be no way that it would be as fun as it is.
So, pop “Slither” into your DVD player and see how many movies you can spot. Oh, and be prepared to say ‘what the fuck?’ a lot. It sort of comes with the territory.
TRIVIA
Haig Sutherland was the first person to be cast. Elizabeth Banks was the second. Gregg Henry was the last actor to be seen for the part (out of more than 100 actors from Los Angeles and Vancouver) and nailed his audition. Nathan Fillion was the last actor to be cast, about a week before shooting began. Shooting lasted 47 days.
Dangled above the street at the beginning of the film and on stage later at the Deer Cheer celebration you can see “Henenlotter’s Saddle Lodge presents Deer Cheer” signage, a clear reference to cult horror writer/director Frank Henenlotter, famed creator of Basket Case and Brain Damage.
Rob Zombie: voice of Dr. Karl, talking to Starla on the phone.
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RUBBER
RUBBER-France/Angola-2010
Stephen Spinella as Lieutenant Chad
Roxane Mesquida as Sheila
Jack Plotnick as Accountant
Wings Hauser as Man in Wheelchair
Robert as Himself
Written and Directed by Quentin Dupieux
At the beginning of Quentin Dupieux’s “Rubber” a man (Jack Plotnick, “Meet the Fockers“, “Gods and Monsters”) in a shirt and tie stands in the middle of the desert holding several pairs of binoculars. A car approaches and another man (Stephen Spinella, “Milk”, and “Ravenous”) climbs out of the trunk and begins asking a series of random questions of which he provides his own answers; “In the excellent Chain Saw Massacre by Tobe Hooper, why don’t we ever see the characters go to the bathroom or wash their hands like people do in real life? Absolutely no reason. Worse, in The Pianist by Polanski, how come this guy has to hide and live like a bum when he plays the piano so well? Once again the answer is, no reason.” This continues for a few minutes and the man climbs back into the trunk and is driven away. The accountant then hands out the binoculars to a group of spectators who then proceed to watch a tire as it comes to life and cause various animals and people’s heads to explode through the power of telepathy. The tire becomes infatuated with a pretty girl (Roxane Mesquida, “Fat Girl“) and becomes the subject of a police manhunt after murdering two people at a motel. Eventually it leads an exodus of tires as makes its way to the foot of the famous HOLLYWOOD sign, where it seemingly was headed all along.
Why am I telling you the entire plot of “Rubber”? No reason. But if I did have a reason it would be that I needed to tell you the plot in order to tell you what the filmmakers are trying to say and that is that the majority of the people who make up the movie-going public are sheep. They will watch anything you put in front of them as long as it has a recognizable star (you can’t get much more recognizable than a tire) and a plot that is linear and easy to follow. “Hey, let’s go see this movie about that INSERT GENERIC PLOT HERE that stars INSERT GENERIC ACTOR HERE.” The sheep go to their pen aka the multiplex, they get their favorite snacks from the trough–oops—snack bar, and they sit for two hours or more watching their favorite GENERIC MOVIE with their favorite GENERIC ACTOR. Their minds saturated with images, they are helpless as Hollywood takes their hard earned money.
But, there is light at the end of the tunnel. There is the minority. This time it is represented by Man in Wheelchair (Wings Hauser, “The Insider”). He likes what he sees, but he doesn’t necessarily want to go along with the whole shebang. He wants something a little different. He’s not completely satisfied with all these instantly recognizable GENERIC STARS. He doesn’t fall for the tricks. He’s not going to drink the Kool-Aid just because everyone else is doing it.
So, tell me this; why do you think that I would attack the very thing that I love, watching movies? Why do I insult the very thing that I spend hours doing and more hours writing about for no profit whatsoever? It’s probably for the same reasons that Quentin Dupieux (“Wrong”) made this movie.
No reason.
TRIVIA
One of the Spectators is played by Daniel Quinn, who starred in Scanner Cop as a man who could make people’s heads explode with his mind, just as the tire does in this film.
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TUCKER & DALE VS. EVIL
TUCKER & DALE VS. EVIL-United States-2010
Alan Tudyk as Tucker
Tyler Labine as Dale
Katrina Bowden as Allison
Jesse Moss as Chad
Directed by Eli Craig
Written by Eli Craig and Morgan Jurgenson
Tucker & Dale vs. Evil is a funny, gory horror-comedy that, while uneven at times, is a hilarious tribute to all those redneck hillbilly horror films that have come our way over the years. Films like Wrong Turn, Friday the 13th, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and every other horror film whose main setting has been the backwoods is paid homage to in this uproarious comedy of errors and misunderstandings.
When Tucker (Alan Tudyk) and Dale (Tyler Labine) rescue college kid Allison (Katrina Bowden) from drowning, they set off a series of events between the two of them and Allison’s preppy friends that is nothing short of insane. The preppies think Tucker and Dale want to torture and kill Allison. Led by Chad (there’s always a preppy named Chad) the popped-collar frat boy leader, they mount an attack against the two hillbillies. Tucker and Dale think that the preppies are off their medication and can’t understand why they will not stop killing themselves right there at their ‘vacation’ home in the beautiful Virginia woods. Hell, one college kid just dives right into a working wood chipper and another one impales himself on a homemade spear. What are two totally misunderstood hillbillies to do?
The characterization of the two good ole boys balances a thin line between genius and stereotypical. In other words Tucker and Dale are like every other redneck hillbilly horror film character; dumb as hell and oblivious to the happenings of the outside world. However, Tudyk and Labine play their parts so well you’d think they went to backwoods redneck hillbilly training camp. Tucker is the smarter of the two and therefore the straight man, of sorts, to Dale and his bumbling antics.
Tucker & Dale vs. Evil works not only as a parody of redneck hillbilly horror films, but also as a love letter to the genre. It’s a smartly written horror-comedy that laughs with the genre instead of at it. You’ll find yourself giggling at the funny parts and laughing out loud at the gory stuff. Hell, Tucker and Dale vs. Evil is so funny it might just make you slap your mama. That, my dear friends, is fucking funny.
TRIVIA
A rough cut of the film was leaked which revealed various moments when lines are dubbed and when post-production effects are used.
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GREMLINS
GREMLINS-United States-1984
Zach Galligan as Billy Peltzer
Phoebe Cates as Kate Beringer
Hoyt Axton as Randall Peltzer
It had been a long, long time since I sat down to watch Gremlins. But, as I was watching it again after all those years I got the nagging suspicion that I had seen this all happen before in real life. No, I don’t mean that I saw cute little Mogwais and scaly, slimy little gremlins fighting it out for the fate of a small town straight out of ’It’s a Wonderful Life on Crack’. I just mean the way they were behaving. Then it hit me and I knew exactly what this movie reminded me of: Black Friday.
Think about it. Have you ever been at a mall or a department store on the first shopping day after Thanksgiving? Think about how the people in the store were acting. They knock each other down, grab things out of other people’s hands, tempers flare, fights break out, grown men cry and on and on and on. Now, think about the scene in Gremlins where Stripe and all his scaly Gremlin buddies are in the movie theater. If that doesn’t remind you of the crowds on Black Friday I don’t know what will.
Another defense of my belief in this is the whole thing about don’t feed them after midnight. Everybody knows that most department stores and malls start their Black Friday sales in the wee small hours of the morning. So before that time most people are sweet, calm, cool and collected. In other words they’re like Gizmo, a Mogwai. But lo and behold, a transformation comes over them as soon as those doors open and those sales begin. They turn into Stripes, evil Gremlins all!!
So, it should go without saying that Gremlins is the perfect holiday movie. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have shopping to do. Online.
TRIVIA
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ZOMBIELAND
Jesse Eisenberg as Columbus
Woody Harrelson as Tallahassee
Emma Stone as Wichita
Abigail Breslin as Little Rock
Now here is an example of four totally different people, from totally different parts of the good old USA, with totally different ways of looking at things all coming together for the common good of mankind. Take Columbus, for example; here is a guy that is just so scared of his own shadow that he’s made a list of rules for how to survive in the world. Then there’s Tallahassee; this guy isn’t scared of anything. Well, he may be scared of eating that final Twinkie and finding out it’s the last one left in the world. He enjoys the little things in life. That brings us around to the two sisters, Wichita and Little Rock, a pair of conniving con artists if there ever was one. But even conniving con artists have to have a little fun; so they’re headed, along with Columbus and Tallahassee, to Pacific Playland Amusement Park, a completely (supposedly) zombie free fun park.
Oh, that’s right, I forgot; these four folks are trying to survive in a world overrun by zombies. I’m not sure how I forgot to tell you that. It must have just slipped my mind. Did I also forget to mention to you that they run into Bill Murray on their way to the park? They do. In fact, these four have about as much fun killing zombies as any four people in this world could possibly have. Will Columbus nut up or shut up? Will Tallahassee find the last Twinkie? Will Wichita and Little Rock find Pacific Playland? Will Brad tell Erica he’s in love with Stepha…oops, sorry, soap opera flashback. Will these four lovely people survive the horror that is Zombieland?
I had fun watching this movie. It’s a light-hearted romp in the tradition of Shaun of the Dead that pokes fun at its subject matter without looking down its nose at it. Eisenberg, Harrelson, Stone and Breslin are all excellent in their roles and the zombie kills and makeup are gruesome without going over the top. Hell, you know what? I even had fun writing about it. After all, you got to enjoy the little things in life.
TRIVIA
Tallahassee painted a 3 on his cars as a reference to Dale Earnhardt. Both cars that Tallahassee drove were based on the color schemes of Earnhardt’s cars.
