Southbound (2015) #452

I love a well made horror anthology and “Southbound” was a delightful joyride. The strength of this film is how graceful the five segments are connected and flow from one to the next. Running at 89 minutes, the five separate segments don’t feel rushed and are given enough space to develop narratively. 

Each of the five segments had their own director and cast. I honestly couldn’t tell the difference in direction styles between the segments because it really did flow that smoothly. The director collective Radio Silence helmed “The Way Out” and “The Way In”. Roxanne Benjamin, best known for “V/H/S” directed “The Siren”, while fellow “V/H/S” director David Bruckner helmed “The Accident”. Patrick Horvath, who directed the segment “Jailbreak”, is the only director I who I was not previously familiar with.

 

I did enjoy one or two more than the others but I felt that was due to the story than any other factor. Each story is cleverly crafted to carry on from the previous segment and then transition into the next. This is impressive because each segment is also written by a different writer. There’s not much to say about the actors because the performances were all well throughout. Makeup was the main form of effects throughout “Southbound” although other practical effects as well as CGI were utilized. There isn’t too much outright gore or violence but this fact doesn’t water down the horror in the film.

“Southbound” could refer to travelling south as the stories are all interwoven by their shared theme of horror and terror on the open road of a desert highway. Or it could refer to the various characters entering their own personal hell, as in south of heaven. You, as the viewer, get to decide….

Trick r' Treat (2007)

Happy Halloween! What better film to review on such a holiday other than “Trick r’ Treat”!? This film is perhaps the best anthology ever made, rivaling even the original “Creepshow”. This movie blends the various story arcs in and out of each other with ample ease and grace, and it takes several viewings of this movie to catch all of the subtle details. Each story arc is solid and entertaining, a rare thing to find in an anthology; this might be because the writer and director are the same person, Michael Dougherty, instead of having a writer and possible director for each story. A sequel was recently announced!

One storyline is about a couple returning from various Halloween festivities. They are seen all around town throughout the other stories. Emma hates the holiday and is ready to be done with it while Henry loves it. While Henry is getting ready for bed and sexy-time, Emma is outside taking down decorations. While doing so, she is attacked and killed and when she doesn’t come back in, Henry goes out and finds her mutilated corpse hanging from a scarecrow.

The next story is about a Principal Wilkins who teaches a troubling making child to follow the rules of Halloween. This story has a brief introduction of Principal Wilkins neighbor, Mr. Kreeg.

The third storyline is about a group of teens who gather carved jack-o-lanterns and bring them to an old rock quarry. Here, local legend has it that a bus driver was bribed to drive eight troubled special-needs children off the cliff, but no one knows for sure whatever happened to the bus driver. While there, a prank gets goes terribly wrong and the teens must pay the price.

The fourth storyline is about Laurie, a 22 year old virgin who is being pressured by her older sister and her friends to find someone for the night. While the other girls are having fun at a party, Laurie meets a killer dressed as a vampire, but little does he know….

The final story arc is about Principal Wilkins neighbor, the hermit-like Mr. Kreeg. He hates everything, including Halloween, so when the spirit of the holiday arrives in the embodiment of Sam, the two go head to head. If only Mr. Kreeg knew the rules of the holiday as well as his neighbor!

V/H/S 2 (2013)

“V/H/S 2” is a vastly superior film when compared to the first anthology. This movie isn’t perfect but it was enjoyable and had a stronger connecting story. A typical problem with P.O.V films are the moments when the person filming the violent, intense events instead of running for their lives…or at least dropping the camera so they can actually get away. This happens more than once in this collection but there are some moments in the stories where it makes perfect sense!

The connecting story is about a couple of private investigators who are hired to find out what happened to a missing college student. They go to his house and find a room with a laptop and various VHS tapes. The girlfriend stays and watches clips from the laptop which shows the missing boy as well as a couple of the tapes while her boyfriend searches the rest of the house (sounds familiar, right???). It turns out that the missing student wants to star in his own VHS tape and has plans for the two investigators.

The first story line is about a man who suffered a horrible eye accident and has his eye replaced. As a part of a clinical study, the artificial eye is recording everything that he sees. But now he starts to see ghosts and soon a girl who had her hearing fixed by the same clinic goes to his house and explains that she can hear the ghosts. She wants to help him but ends up dying and the more he sees, the more aggressive the visions become.

The second story line, directed by Eduardo Sanchez (director of “The Blair Witch Project”), is about a man who loves to ride his bike through a large local park. One day while riding, he comes across a girl who is acting strangely. She’s strange because she’s a zombie and she bites him. He tries to ride away but soon the infection takes over and he falls to the ground. Soon two other bicyclists come and find him on the ground just as he fully turns into a zombie. He injures them and they turn. The three of them, along with other zombies in the park, walk upon a family birthday party in progress. The zombies attack, the children scream as parents are torn asunder or try to drive away with the kids. Some party people have guns and begin fighting back. The bike rider sees himself in a mirror as well as gets a phone call from his wife. With the last bits of humanity left within, he shoots himself in the head. The event was recorded by a camera that was strapped to his bike helmet.

The third story is about a documentary team filming a suicide cult in Indonesia who claims that it’s time to be reborn. The film crew goes to the cult’s compound and witnesses all sorts of disturbing behavior. The crew becomes split up right when the “moment of truth” occurs and they watch or suffer the results.

The fourth and final story line is also the weakest and least interesting in the anthology, which is about a group of kids at a sleep over and an older sister and her boyfriend who become targets of an alien abduction.

"Phase 1 Clinical Trials"

 "A Ride in the Park"

"Safe Haven"

"Slumber Party Alien Abduction"

Creepshow (1982)

“Creepshow” may be one of the better horror anthologies around. It might not be the best but it’s pretty damn good! It was directed by George A Romero and written by Stephen King, this collection of short horror stories offers interesting story arcs, screenshots that resemble old time horror comic book panels, and acting that is purposely over the top so that it feels like a comic book. The cast is packed full of famous actors of the time and they all give great performances. This one of the earliest horror movies that I saw from beginning to end and it remains one of films that I have the fondest memories of, that is why I thrilled to have this movie featured as my 200^th review!

The first story, “Father’s Day”, is about a rich patriarch who acquired his wealth through unsavory deeds, who is then killed by his aged daughter who was left to take care of him on Father’s Day. On the anniversary of the murder, the surviving relatives gather to “pay respects’ but are killed off one by one by his reanimated, revenge filled corpse.

“The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill” stars Stephen King as Jordy, a down on his luck farmer who has a meteorite crash into his barren corn field. Jordy touches the meteorite cracks and is immediately burned by it and is now infected by a fast growing plant “virus”. His dreams of wealth and fame are dashed when the meteorite cracks. He goes into his house and laments his loss as the infection slowly overtakes him. He only makes matters worse when he takes a bath, dooming the transformation.

The third story, “Something to Tide You Over”, is about a wealthy man named Richard who finds out that his wife Becky is cheating on him with a man named Harry. Richard coerces Harry into joining him on a drive to the beach where Richard forces Harry to dig a hole in the sand and bury himself. Richard leaves a TV set on the beach that shows that Becky is also buried up to her head on the beach and is about to be drowned by the incoming tide. Both Harry and Becky die, only to come back and have their revenge on their happy-go-lucky killer.

The fourth story, “The Crate”, is the most in depth piece of the anthology, focusing on both a mysterious crate found in the basement of a university and the vicious beast that’s trapped inside…for over 148 years, and the dysfunctional relationship with a meek professor and his overbearing wife.

The fifth story, “They’re Creeping Up on You” is the most memorable piece, about a wealthy, ruthless business man with a fear of germs who lives in a secluded New York penthouse. He watches as the city is suffering from a massive black out, as well as receiving threatening phone calls from those who he has wrong. Over the course of the story, cockroaches, one by one, begin invading his sealed environment. When the power goes out in his building, the bugs begin to take over until they drive the miser to his death.

The overlapping storyline is about a boy who loves reading horror comics but is yelled and at slapped by his disapproving father. The boy gets his revenge by ordering a voodoo doll and sticking it with a pin over and over again….

Father's Day Cake!

Poor Jordy

Sea-Zombie Becky and Harry

The Yeti from the Crate!!

 Voodoo doll

V/H/S (2012)

I was really excited to see “V.H.S” and I am still unable to express how disappointed I was after I saw it. I was bored and uninterested during most of the movie and this feeling grew as the movie dragged on and on. I was only amused by two of the six shorts and they happened to have been at the beginning of the film. Overall the scripts were weak and the acting was even weaker. The effects were fine and I was thrilled to see some of the clever uses of the devices that gave a P.O.V perspective but there was one story that wasn’t even from the point of view of a video recorder of any kind?!? This was a great concept that just didn’t pan out.

The first and wrap around connecting story is about a group of punks who are hired to burglarize a house and return with a specific VHS tape. They go to the house and find a messy room with stacks of tapes and an old dead man. One of the kids stays and begins watching different tapes while the others searched the other rooms. The old man turns out to be in a zombie-like state and kills the intruders.

The second story, “Amateur Night”, is the strongest of the set. It’s seen through the eyes of a guy wearing a pair of Google Glasses which records everything that he sees. His friends are trying their best to hook him up with a girl for the night. While at a club, he meets a quiet girl who only says “I like you”. They take her and another girl back to a hotel room where they begin to have sex. One girl is drunk and passes out, leaving the quiet girl alone with the three guys. The two friends try to have sex with her while the main character watches; suddenly the quiet girl changes, developing scales and a weird face. The quiet girl is in a murderous mood and only wants the shy boy, repeating over and over “I like you”.

The third story, “Second Honeymoon”, is about Sam and Stephanie, a married couple travelling around a desert “Western” area. While they sleep, a stranger uses their video camera and films themselves going through their belongings. This happens a few times until things turn violent.

“Tuesday the 17^th” is an odd piece about a group of friends being killed off by a killer who is all blurry. This is the section that is not POV.

Yawn……

“The Sick Thing That Happened to Emily When She Was Younger” is a piece that is about a couple that is using Skype to talk to each other. The girl is having strange things happen at her apartment and has a weird bruise. The boyfriend pretends that he cares but he knows what’s really going on.

“10/31/98” is about a group of guys and their experience in a haunted house.

"I like you"

Tales from the Darkside: The Movie (1990)

“Tales From the Darkside: The Movie” is a fun anthology that has three great acts that are connected together with a cute “Hansel and Gretel” style story about a boy who is biding his time from the evil witch that wants to cook him as the main course for a dinner party. What’s noticeable about this film is that the cast consisted of some established actors as well as a few who were just cutting their teeth and have risen to stardom since then such as Steve Buscemi and Julianne Moore. The make-up and special effects are fine considering when this film was made although the gargoyles in the third act look too much like puppets to be effectively scary.

The first story arc is an adaption of Author Conan Doyle’s story “Lot 249” about a graduate student (Steve Buscemi) who uses a mummy to exact revenge against those who have wronged him.

The second story arc is an adaption of Stephen King’s short story “The Cat from Hell” about a hit man who is hired by an eccentric owner of a pharmaceutical company who is being terrorized by a black cat.

The third story arc is an adaption of an old Japanese ghost legend Yuki-Onna, about a painter who witnesses a gargoyle murdering a human. The gargoyle is about to kill the painter but spares his life, making him promise to never tell anyone about this moment; if he ever breaks the promise, the gargoyle will find him and kill him. The painter promises but how long can he keep this secret?

The witch and her dinner

The Gargoyle and the painter

Cat's Eye (1985)

“Cat’s Eye” is a collection of three stories that were written by Stephen King and includes a cat that’s eventually named General in the third act. General only makes brief appearances in the first two stories but when he is seen, there is usually a subtle reference to a previous Stephen King film; in one scene General is being chased by a St. Bernard and in another one he’s almost ran over by a car that is similar to Christine.

The first act is known as “Quitter’s Inc”, a company that resorts to unusual but effective methods of ensuring that their clients quit smoking. Starring James Woods as Dick, he becomes a client of the unique company. It’s only after he joins that he learns that his wife and daughter will be subjected to horrific punishments for his relapses.

The second act is known as “The Ledge”, Robert Hays plays Johnny, a professional tennis player who is sleeping with the wife of a mob boss. The boss finds out but instead of killing Johnny outright, he makes a bet with him. If Johnny can walk around the outside of the apartment, clinging to a narrow ledge, the crime boss will divorce his wife so the two can live happily together. If Johnny declines the bet, then the boss will have Johnny arrested and framed for possession of drugs, ruining his career. Leaving Johnny with very little choice, he begins to walk around the ledge….

The third and final act is called “General”, which about the cat who is taken in by Drew Barrymore who gives him his name. Her parents don’t like the cat but she convinces them to let her keep him. At night, a tiny troll sneaks into her room and tries to steal her breath. General stops him but is seen as the aggressor by her parents and thrown out. Without her protector, the troll tries again to kill the young girl. But General didn’t cross half the country to give up now…

 Smoking in not allowed!

The troll and his bloody knife!

Grrrr

Johnny and the mob boss

General attacking the troll

Author's Note - Anthologies

Some of my favorite horror moments come from short pieces that are collected in anthologies. Anthologies themselves can be very hit or miss and I prefer the ones that have an over-arching storyline to tie everything together; all of the movies I’m reviewing this week are of this nature except for “Trilogy of Terror”, which has one of the most memorable stories around. A proper anthology will showcase established directors and a star-studded cast; Stephen King and George A Romero were involved in one way or another in a few anthology projects that I have enjoyed.