Jan 24th Horror Trivia Screening List

To all those who came here from the event or Storm Crow's FB page, welcome! I am Jay, one half of the horror trivia quizmasters and this is my humble blog. Here's the selected list of titles mentioned at the last event. Click on the titles to be redirected to their Imdb listing.

Horror Trivia Night happens at Storm Crow Manor in Toronto. If you're in the area, come on down! Register here. If you're not local, we do occasionally stream the event on @ruemorguemag Instagram.

The Last Voyage of the Demeter (2023)

Abigail (2024)

Pieces (1982)

Spree (2020)

The Last Broadcast (1998)

Cannibal Girls (1973)

Fall (2022)

Becky (2020)

Hellworld (2005)

Rabid (1977)

Tusk (2014)

Idle Hands (1999)

The Last House on the Left (1972)

The Bird with the Crystal Plumage (1970)
The Cat o' Nine Tails (1971)

The Hills Have Eyes (1977)

Short of the Week #55: Undress Me

One of the more memorable shorts that ran the circuit in 2017 was Amelia Moses' Undress Me. It was a really strong year for female voices, as titles like Julia Ducournau's Raw and Coralie Fargeat's Revenge were tearing things up around that time.

This short film has stuck with me not only for its intense depictions of body horror, but also the filmmaker's commitment to rooting things in reality. Moses continues to work in the industry so I'm sure a follow-up cannot be far off.

She Came From Within.

Carrying over the Montreal locale, this week’s VHS is David Cronenberg’s 1977 effort, Rabid.

After undergoing experimental surgery, Rose (Marilyn Chambers) acquires a taste for human blood for which her victims subsequently become violent zombies.

Rabid is one of those films that so much time has passed from when I would have first seen it that I can’t remember if I actually watched it, or just manufactured an idea of it from seeing the coverbox so much as a kid. Considering I recalled almost nothing, I wager the latter is true. Though Rabid is one of Cronenberg’s least talked about works, I think it’s still a solid piece of work.

Obviously, the main talking point was the casting of porn star Marilyn Chambers (apparently a suggestion by Ivan Reitman after the studio balked at their first choice in Texan Sissy Spacek) that I think was as bold as it was perfect. I felt she had real screen presence in this film, switching back and forth between innocent and predatory with ease. Her comfort level with the nudity was to be expected I suppose, but I also got the sense she really trusted her director. I mean, can you imagine her reading the script, “soooo I have a parasite that comes out my armpit???” 

Marilyn Chambers as Rose in Rabid.

After watching Strange Shadows last week, I was surprised by how different Montreal looked even though both these movies were filmed around the same time. Granted, a lot of Rabid was shot at night, but I definitely felt there was more grittiness to this one. As with most of Cronenberg joints, this had so many recognizable locations. If there’s ever a Montreal edition of Horror Express, I hope that at least the mall and apartment complex are on the list.

Also while watching Rabid, I couldn’t help but draw parallels to George A. Romero’s The Crazies released a few years earlier. Not that there was any intentional aping going on, but they did share similarities in both pathology and escalation. It’s also clear the pair shared the nihilistic streak that was so common during that decade, it was almost a badge of honour.

I mentioned Rabid wasn’t as popular as some of the Baron of Body Horror's other efforts, but that’s not to say it doesn’t have its moments. It played to me as an extension of Shivers, moving beyond the confined space of Starliner Island and sweeping into the entire city of Montreal where truck drivers, pervy moviegoers and mall Santas were all caught in the crossfire. Not to fear though, as Cronenberg’s version of squeegee kids were there to clean up the mess.

All Fired Up.

With the passing of Tobe Hooper last week, it seemed fitting to showcase one of his lesser known titles, the 1990 Brad Dourif vehicle, Spontaneous Combustion. And it just so happens that I picked up the VHS at this year's Shock Stock so I was all ready to go.

The child of parents who underwent nuclear experimentation thirty years earlier, Sam (Dourif) begins to experience some fantastical side effects.

Man, this one is a strange beast. The transition from the eighties to nineties brought about a shift in horror from the outward monsters and the supernatural to the inward and the more psychological oeuvre spearheaded by Adrien Lyne's Jacob's Ladder in 1990. Hooper's Spontaneous Combustion almost seems to want to inhabit both spaces. On the back of some nuclear hysteria, the first act portrays a very human story. Then Brad Dourif starts shooting fire out of his arm!

Hooper had a solid track record of mixing horror and sci-fi elements – Invaders From Mars and Lifeforce being the two most obvious – and it continued here. I feel like he was always contemplating how to best meter out the humour in his films. He often talked about how the humour in Texas Chainsaw was so black it took several years for most audiences to realize it was even there. That was why he ratcheted it up to eleven in the sequel.

In Spontaneous Combustion, I feel again Hooper did not want to choose. The things that were happening onscreen were so bat-shit bonkers, yet everyone involved was playing it straight. Dourif was the only one who seemed to be increasingly distressed at his predicament. And I must ask, has there ever been a better angry screamer in cinematic history? This was just one of several really meaty roles he'd have that year (Exorcist III & Hidden Agenda were two other standouts) and he gave one-hundred-and-ten-per cent. It felt like the wheels were going to come off the cart at several points during this movie and he just soldiered on.

This movie's many flourishes were not lost on me. John Landis' cameo was good for a laugh and holy Lisa's (Cynthia Bain) neon phone made me very envious. You know, it also struck me that considering how many doctors were in this movie it was amazing that none of them seem to know how to give an injection. And while the pyrotechnics may not have been as dazzling as say the ones in Firestarter, I thought they did some ridiculously awesome things with them.

You're doing it wrong!

So while Spontaneous Combustion may not stand up against Hooper's best works, like the Chainsaws and Salem's Lot or have as much personality as some of his others like The Mangler and Lifeforce, it was still a hoot and an opportunity to see Dourif front and center for a change.   

Only Skin Deep.

Fantasia continued with a screening of Norbert Keil's body horror piece, Replace.

When Kira's (Rebecca Forsythe) skin starts to inexplicably decay and flake off, she discovers she can replenish it with that of other women.

I wasn't crazy about this movie, but I'll start with the positive. I was really impressed with the look of this movie and how it visually represented Toronto. Kira's apartment had this really strange layout that could only exist in a movie and I kind of dug that. Odd at first was the relationship between Kira & her neighbour Sophia (Lucie Aron), actually reminding me of those awkward dubbed conversations you see in old gialli, but even that kind of grew on me after a while. It could also be that Aron reminded me of Asia Argento.

The Big Smoke.

I think scene to scene, Replace just felt uneven to me. I was slightly confused in that it seemed to exist out of time. Kira rocked an ancient flip phone, yet Sophia busted out a futuristic projection screen. As soon as the movie started escalating, it didn't really flow together as well as it should have. A few revelations toward the end helped to alleviate some of my grievances, but not all. I would wager that the more surrealist qualities of the movie were perhaps the contribution of co-writer Richard Stanley, but I was lukewarm on how that mixed with the science here.

Due to these distractions, I didn't feel nearly as connected to the characters as I was supposed to. That's a problem because body horror is all about its visceral nature and response. The special effects were solid, but even with those I often experienced a strange disconnect. Barbara Crampton showed up and gave the project some gravitas, but not enough to anchor the movie down once it started meandering in the middle.

Rebecca Forsythe (left) & Barbara Crampton in Replace

Visually I thought Replace was a success, but I just wish the other elements came together as well.

DKTM 318

Good afternoon everyone. I'm posting to you now from under a pile of blankets, as it appears that the sickness I've been dodging for over a month has now finally caught up with me. Rats.

The Void Awaits.

I was super happy to hear this week that Steve Kostanski & Jeremy Gillespie's dark vision The Void has just secured US distribution. 

Screen Media has procured the title and intend to release it in early next year. As I said in my review last month, The Void is perfect for not only fans of practical effects and cosmic horror, but those who enjoy straight up tales of the macabre. Be sure to answer the call of The Void when it beckons in 2017.

Squish.

Bloody Disgusting just brought my attention to the gooey exploits of an artist named Jonathan Payne. He is responsible of all manners of weird sculptrures, but the ones that caught my eye were the Fleshettes.

A weird marriage of Cronenberg, Carpenter and Morgan, these things just ooze an unsettling aura.

As if I didn't get enough teeth from Candle Cove :o

Short Cuts.

When I can, I like to showcase short films that have made an impression on me. The first one is Steve Desmond's Monsters. Anchored by a strong performance from young lead Caitlin Carmichael, this short that has torn up the festival circuit has just arrived online. 

Second, here is a short that was brought to my attention just recently. Commissioned for Dutch television and directed by Maarten Groen, I think this short, entitled Arrêt Pipi, should have more eyes on it.

Shorts After Dark 2016

Toronto After Dark's mandate has always included showcasing short films from Canada and around the globe, and this year was no different. Here below were some of my favourites.

After his powerhouse of a short Point Of View last year, Justin Harding has followed it up with another winner. Kookie, anchored by a comically adept young lead in Ava Jamieson and the scariest cookie jar you've ever seen, delivers both the laughs and scares. Harding is killing it right now.

I was also glad that TAD played Greg Jeffs' It's All In Your Head. We programmed this at Fright Night Theatre last month and its wonderful turnabout is the precisely the reason I love watching short films.

The action short Olga from Quebec featuring veteran stuntwoman Naomi Frenette was easy for me to get behind. She absolutely kicked ass in this and I hope to see her in more projects soon.

Naomi Frenette in Olga.

The shorts programmers Peter Kuplowsky & Shannon Hanmer also served up heavy helpings of absurdity with the likes of Boy Toys, Astron 6's newest Divorced Dad and batshit wacko Greener Grass.

For me, the most visually resonant short that played this year was Tim Egan's Curve. Immediately putting the viewer in peril, it's a short that makes you feel physically uncomfortable.

And speaking of uncomfortable, there was also Anthony Cousins' When Susurris Stirs, but for a very different reason. If this one doesn't make you cringe, then you are made of stone. Also back this year, was Brit Oliver Park with his new chiller Still. He is another filmmaker who is mining gold from the home invasion subgenre boom.

Lastly, there was Dianne Bellino's beautiful stop-motion animation short The Itching. I don't think I've ever seen the plight of social anxiety better represented than it was here.

The Itching.

It was not only a strong year for shorts at TAD this year, but there was also a wide range of stories, themes and tone that hit us with a little bit of everything. Well done, guys!

Sibling Rivalry

My Toronto After Dark experience began this year with Black Fawn’s newest venture, Let Her Out.

After a biking accident, Helen (Alanna LeVierge) starts having nightmares and black-outs that leads her to believe there is someone else inside her head – and they want out!

I felt, decidedly somewhat ironically, that this was a movie of two halves. I had a few uh-oh moments during the first act when an unnecessarily chaotic opening was followed by some pretty stiff exposition. However, once all of the clumsy stuff was out of the way, Let Her Out seemed to do just that and kick into another gear. It was then I started enjoying myself.

As one might expect, the paramount reason this movie worked at all was due to its lead, Alanna LeVierge. She brought an incredible physicality to the role that almost comes out of nowhere when taking into account the severe escalation of her affliction. It was one of those dual performances that made me question if it was indeed the same actress at times. Obviously, make-up was a factor, but not enough to take away from LeVierge's significant acting chops.

Alanna LeVierge as Helen in Let Her Out.

Speaking of the make-up effects, they were rock solid here. Effects artist Shaun Hunter has so vastly improved over what he has doing just a year or two ago that I think his work here stacks up against anything we’ve seen recently. In addition to the bloody climax, there was also a fantastic little set piece on a subway platform. It was the perfect example of effects, camerawork and performance coming together to create something really bad-ass.

Lastly, I just wanted to mention that I appreciated how Toronto was represented. Let Her Out was set here, and made no bones about it, as evidenced by the ample shots of the city’s skyline. Granted, Niagara Falls and Guelph were also utilized, but Toronto is pretty unmistakable when you see it. We need more filmmakers (Denis Villeneuve’s Enemy is perhaps the greatest recent example) using this city as a backdrop for their darker tales. We have our demons too.

Cast & crew of Let Her Out.

So despite Let Her Out’s shaky start, I think it redeemed itself by the end. While it’s true we’ve seen these themes played out before, there was a cold, dark and yet colourful coat of paint on this that made it it’s own beast.