Twisted Terror Con, Conventions, and Silence

By William Pattison aka Eric Morse
For Horror Bob's Blog

I just had some asshole tell me I have to shut my mouth about what Twisted Terror Convention did to me because the politics behind the scenes is something the public shouldn't know. I believe the opposite is true; all this crap needs to be made public and these assholes need to be held accountable. Sitting in silence only allows the black listings, abuse and petty politics to continue. Conventions were once like county fairs. People went to be entertained and to learn things. Now they are petty popularity contests that cater pretty much too only those who kiss the organizers asses or who are their drinking buddies. The people who lose are the fans who get far less than they deserve. Artists, don't let these assholes get away with pissing on you. You aren't trash you are all artists and deserve respect and consideration. Aaron Dodge and Dorine Hartnett didn't respect me or give me consideration in the least. People keep saying I'm bashing these "wonderful" convention organizers.  How the fuck are they wonderful. I've told you the truth. They told me in February that they were not going to let petty politics run their convention. These hypocrites sat there and said they had gone to conventions and were appalled by the politics and the way artists were treated. They guaranteed me a table and a place in the convention. Then they tossed me like a used piece of toilet paper because Jessica Cameron, Brandon Slagle, and Nikolas Gabowsky said they didn't personally like me. Excuse me? If that was a good excuse for kicking someone out of a convention 90% of the horror industry would be kicked out of them. So, here is the thing, people, I see you gushing about how "wonderful" Aaron Dodge and Dorine Hartnett is or how fantastic Twisted Terror Convention is be prepared to get a reality check from me. I'm not a basher or a troll, I'm a victim. By calling me a basher you are trying to make out that I’m the wrong doer and these assholes have done nothing wrong and deserve support. That is a complete twisting of the truth. They wronged me and by doing this they are not worthy of the trust of the public or any artists in horror. The only reason you say these things is because of your own petty self interest and a like of heart and compassion. Heart and compassion is one of the greatest gifts that civilization has given to us and it is sad and disheartening to see such a lack of it in the horror community. So, get this straight assholes, I'm not going to be silent. Silence is what caused all of this.

What is a Horror Social?

By William Pattison, aka Eric Morse
For Horror Bob's Blog

A lot of my denouncers keep posting about what I mean by the term horror socials. Some of them actually ramble on about how they are not horror socials and how horror socials don’t really exist. Just today one of the horror socials on her blog asked “What the fuck is a horror social anyway?” So, I felt it is time to educate people on exactly who the horror socials are and why I say they are one of the major causes of horror, both the genre and the community, going down the tubes. Hey the question was asked after all.

One of the main characteristics of horror socials is that they are unbelievable ego cases. These people think that they are so far above the common horror fan, filmmaker, journalist,…you name it that they are a class all their own and are allowed to do the most horrendous things to others while maintaining their false PR image. You see these people on Facebook, conventions, and film festivals. They are the ones (I’m not talking Kan Hodder, Robert Englund, or any of the other real stars of horror…) that think they are “fucking fabulous” and that everyone must love and worship them. They are the ones that post up to eight hundred pictures of themselves at San Diego ComiCon. That is right. They took over eight hundred pictures, and everyone one of them with them as the center piece. Also they are the people who always take pictures of themselves at “The Wall”. You know about the wall. Every scummy convention or film festival puts this up to make it look like The Cannes Film Festival or some huge high profile star studded event. This is the wall with all the sponsor names all over it and has the fake ten foot piece of red carpet in from of them. Horror Socials stand in front of this and act like they’re at the Oscars. But this is because they delusionally think they are “fucking fabulous.” and so above all those other little people in the horror community. If they are female they fill their Facebook profiles, yes they always have more than one, with their “modeling” pictures. Most of these are skanky pics of them just to draw in horny male and lesbian horror fans. I recall one horror social who offered horny horror fans an autographed picture of her in a wet T-shirt just to get people to get VIP tickets for a convention she was a part of. I recall some other supposed “genius” filmmakers that on the extras section of their DVD that they did a walk through of the sets of their film naked. Finally, I recall that a horror social (a director/actor) told a friend of mine that he found if funny that after he got “famous” that those people (meaning horror fans and people outside his clique) think they have the right to criticize his films. He told my friend that the only people whose opinions count are other filmmakers he knows and his friends (meaning his clique).

Another characteristic of a horror social is they lack the class of a real star. The thing is when someone comments in a negative way against them or their work, which is usually lack luster; they gather their forces and attack in mass. You see a real star wouldn’t do this. They would handle it mono-e-mono, without calling in their minions or cult-like fans or drinking buddies. Horror Socials can’t do this. They have to have a show of force to show how superior they are and play up to the friends. Another thing they do in these attacks is perpetrate ad hominem attacks. They will make statements like the person who does not agree with them and the other horror socials superiority somehow has a mental disorder or that they are creepy, or even a stalker (I think Adrienne King or Heather Langencamp would take issue with this). Also these people make disgusting or questionable posts. I recently saw a post where a known thug and horror social posted the very classless post that she and two other horror socials were going throw tampons at people at Texas Frightmare. Also, a group of these ego cases posted that they were part of the Arian sisterhood. They considered this sarcastic humor, because supposedly this along with posting swastikas and pictures of Hitler were against an actress who posted concentration camp pictures on one of their walls. Well, two wrongs don’t make a right and posting Nazi images is not funny in the least. I think a few thousand murdered German Jewish people would take issue with that kind of belly laugh. But, for ego case horror socials good taste and class are beneath them because they are so above the rest of us and have the right to do whatever they want, no matter how disgusting and fucked up to the rest of us.

Another characteristic is that these people believe that they run horror, and the horror community, and only they and their friends deserve to be able to finance their projects, promote themselves, do interviews, have articles done on them, and be part of conventions. Don’t you love the fact that the decision as to if or if not you get donations for your Indie GoGo campaign depends of who hung out and got drunk with who at ComiCon or the RIP Film Festival?  This is the part that royally hits me personally. The thing is in the world of the horror social it isn’t what you’ve done for horror or your body of work, or even who you are. In their world the only thing that matters is who you know, who you associate with, who are your drinking buddies, or whose butt you are kissing at the moment? This is a sad truth of the horror community. In their world this is what determines if you get articles or interviews in Fangoria or the other horror mags, or even most horror websites. I learned this the hard way when I emailed Rebekah McKendry at Fangoria (she gave me her card at Days of the Dead Indianapolis 2011 and said for me to contact her if I wanted an interview) and asked if I could get an interview to talk about my Camp Crystal Lake Novels and what I’ve been doing the last few years. She gave me the following reply, “I’ll give your bio to my editors and see if they give a shit about your work.” Excuse me?  I’m a six time published author who has written screenplays for four films that have been distributed, yet I’m treated like a beggar with a bowl while The Twisted Twins and their buddies have only to ask and they instantly get the red carpet treatment. This because Jen and Sylvia are part of the horror socials clique. I also recall contacting The Horror Society podcast (the supposed voice of the independent scene) and asking them about doing an interview about Psychotic State, both the film and the book I’m writing. This was months ago and they never even gave me the consideration of a fuck you, just silence as an answer. And, something even more telling was recently when my co-host Derek Young was invited to do a podcast. The host of the podcast told him that her “sponsors”, an organization made up of the horror social clique, informed her that they didn’t want her to interview Derek and she couldn’t have on Eric Morse at all either. Well, this host showed some strength and went against the horror socials and  not only had Derek on her podcast but also yours truly. But this is the rarity. I’ve heard over and over from podcasts that they aren’t allowed to have me on because their “sponsors” don’t like me. Also, smaller podcasts that have had me on or planned to have been barraged with threats and hate mail from horror socials and their friends. And, now we come to conventions. I will mention the recent incident of me being kicked out of the convention Twisted Terror Convention because three horror socials on their guest list (two independent actors/filmmakers and actually an author/publisher who was added to the guest list after I was kicked out) said they wanted me out because they didn’t personally like me and my participation conflicted with them. The fact is I also heard from a convention organizer a year earlier that because I wanted to be a part of her convention she was barraged with hate mail from horror socials and their buddies telling her not to have me. Also, last year my podcast put up a Indie Go Go to help finance our season so we could afford to do two hour shows. Well, a number of my friends in the horror community informed me that they were actually threatened by members of the horror socials clique not to donate. So these actions make it clear that the hallmark of horror socials is that they use gangster style intimidation tactics to manipulate decisions in the horror community. How do you like them so far folks?

The final characteristic of the horror socials is they are just plain fakes and liars. These people try to push on the horror community that they love all of them, that they care so much for the horror genre, and that all they do is give back to the horror community. This is all PR bullshit with not a lick of truth to it. The truth is all they see the fans as are meal tickets and a way to stroke their own bloated egos. They will go to conventions and spout at the fans their love yet behind their backs they’ll talk shit about some of them and use them. I recall a letter I got from a horror social actress a couple years ago. She stated, which was uncommonly honest for a horror social, that she had no respect for her fans or the people on her Facebook page; that they were only for her to use to make money and promote herself.  Also, if that wasn’t amusing enough, I had a friend who said he was at  a few conventions and saw horror socials talking shit about fans. He even told me they got blatantly insulting once the fan was outside hearing range. Also, these people say they care so much about the genre yet they don’t even know enough about the genre to be able to make competent films. The truth is most horror socials only know the popular films from the 80’s to present. According to them the old films that are not slasher films, body modification, splatter porn, or other new genre favorites are not  important because all they need to cater to is these limited subgenres to make money in horror. And of course finally there is that whole giving back the horror community. Most of the time what these charitable acts are are chances for photo opportunities and to get to say how “fucking fabulous” they are. If you see a horror social promoting anything it is usually for another horror social and only if there is something in doing it that if for their advantage. I have never seen or been given a break or help from any of the horror socials (this stated because the podcaster who let me on her show I’ve never considered a horror social, she is a victim of circmstances…). As I’ve said none of these assholes would ever lift a finger to help me, because I’m not in their “social circle” (clique). I’ve mentioned till I’m blue in the face about the two horror social filmmakers I asked to be on my birthday show (and no R it was not that they were supposed to call me on my birthday. You get that wrong just to be a fucking bitch asshole. A typical horror social trick.) for my podcast. These horror socials even went so far as to be total asshats and not only not be on my show, but went on three other podcasts to rub salt into my wounds (in typical horror social fashion). And to add a cherry to the wound said, “We did these podcasts because they are our friends and we’ll do anything for our friends.” (Yeah, you even do their podcasts and say this crap when you told me the studio dictated what podcasts you could do and you had no choice on the ones you could do….Another example of a horror social  bullshit lie…) The truth is these people would never think of helping someone unless it could benefit them and make them look good in the public eye (unlike me to the thousandth place).

So there you have it. Here is the answer to the question. The above is a description in detail of who and what the horror socials are. Not a very pretty picture, but the truth. That is something you can rely on from me I will never lie to you, on the other hand all you can expect from a horror social is lies, fakery, and manipulation. And of course you will see them making post about this blog denouncing it as lies and slander and that I’m slamming hard working artists, because I’m such a sad loser. Say it to someone who believes you bullshit. Sorry, this is the truth and it is burning you assholes because you are all nothing but vampires sucking the life out of horror. So, you have a good night and remember to look deeply in that mirror in the morning. Do you like what you see?

Women in Horror Month Announcement: A Turn A Round or More Bullshit?

By William Pattison, aka Eric Morse
For Horror Bob's Blog

Well, horror fans, I was amused to find the following post on Facebook this morning:

Women In Horror Recognition Month

Options for this story

Announcement #2: Women In Horror Recognition Month will ***no longer be requiring a seal***. Even though it was never our intention we found it created a barrier. This year we hope you will email us, tweet us, message us, so we know what you are doing and we can promote it. If you are holding an event, a blog series, making a PSA, etc we want to feature it on all our social pages & blog but we can't do it if we don't know about it. That was one advantage of our old "seal request form" mostly a way to know what was happening. Sometimes people have thought we were snubbing them- really we just didn't know what you were up to. So we totally want to hear from you! ;P
The only thing we will not promote is anything that doesn't fit with the WiHM mission or anything that is blatant self promotion. We want you to highlight other people and create spaces in your communities to showcase art and films by women you dig and that inspire your work. This is a great way to network and meet other amazing people working in the industry you may never have otherwise. Stay tuned for more information as we get closer to Feb! xox & even though it goes without saying: WiHM is for everyone regardless of gender! Let's have fun!!

19 minutes ago

Now don’t get down on me. I’m not going to go all critical on this and call it complete bullshit. On the contrary I fully agree with this move. I never thought the seal bullshit was a good idea, that is why Artists in Horror month doesn’t have a “Seal” of approval. Actually we don’t need one. One other thing I’m hope they will keep to the section of their announcement about blatant self promotion. The last couple of years that has been all we have seen from Women in Horror Month is blatant self promotion from their “board” members and “ambassadors”. According to their mission they are supposed to be given recognition to those women in horror who are neglected. So, I’m hoping this means that they won’t be flooding Facebook and their page with endless photos of  The Twisted Twins mugging for photos at their blood drive. I never understood how a blood drive hosted by Jen and Sylvia Soska , board members of Women in Horror Month, in anyway gives recognition to women in horror that are not being recognized or brings a spotlight on why they are not being recognized. I guess I'm missing something, or not. To me it looks more like Jen and Sylvia mugging and saying “Look at us! Aren’t we so FUCKING cool!”, which in the end gets into that pesky self promotion promise WIHM has made in this announcement. I look forward to hearing about the film festivals that are not just playing and promoting films by only WIHM members and their friends. I also look forward the blog profiles that will be written about little known female artists in horror that have been ignored over the over hyped vampires that have dominated and taken over the female horror scene.

I have to say that it is my hope and prayer that WIHM does a complete turn around from how things have been the last couple of years, because they have strayed from those they have said they’ve wanted to help and have become something they should have avoided.

With the following said, and simply as a suggestion to help WIHM return to an organization that all women can be proud of, I suggest that they need to adopt a standards of behavior for representatives of this non-profit organization representing women in horror and their issues. May I suggest the following as a start:

1. Representatives, aka “Ambassadors” should not use the following terms in describing others when they are involved in anything remotely involving WIHM or feminism: Misogynist, mental case, stalker, creep, pervert. That is unless they feel secure that they can back up these assertions in a court of law. Remember slander and libel are criminal acts. Name calling and insulting  also does nothing to show your organization in a positive light.
2. Representatives, aka “Ambassadors” will not use negative political or racist symbols in postings remotely related to WIHM or feminism….such as, for example, calling themselves feminazies and posting Hitler pictures and swastikas, unless they are truly members of the Arian Sisterhood. This definitely doesn’t help your image.
3. Finally, that no representatives, aka “Ambassadors” will participate in trolling or bullying other women or other people period. A bully is just a representative of other bullies and doesn't help your cause at all.

Now these are just suggestions, but they are pretty good ones since you are putting yourselves as “Ambassadors” for women’s rights and recognition. It doesn’t make your organization look good if its representatives slander and libel others as well as promote negative political and racist attitudes. Also, bullying does nothing to help your mission, especially if you are bullying other women.

So, if you are truly set on getting back on track and doing what you say I applaud you, but you still have other issues you need to deal with before you will earn my respect. Remember that. I’ll be watching and seeing if this is bullshit or not.

Keep on Creepin', Horror Bob!

Exclusive: Interview: Dr Blood

In the world of internet movie reviews there are none more infamous than Dr. Blood. The master of the Blogger review site Dr Blood’s Video Vault, Dr Blood is known for being a hard reviewer that does not let recent trends alter his opinion.

Also, the host of the podcast The Bloody Podcast, Dr Blood goes no holds barred in his opinions on films and the horror community.

Next to Eric Morse, Dr Blood is known as a harsh critic of the horror community, the cliques, political groups, and everything that has brought horror to the point where it gets less respect in entertainment than porno.

It is Horror Bob’s Blog’s pleasure to present this no hold barred interview with the man himself, Dr Blood.

Horror Bob: Where did you get your pen name, Dr Blood?

Dr Blood: From the British horror movie “Doctor Blood's Coffin” (1961). I'd never seen it at the time and assumed that it was a vampire movie. It turned out to be Frankenstein subgenre movie, but I kept the name anyway because it's British like me.

Horror Bob: What inspired you to start Dr Blood’s Video Vault?

Dr Blood: The facetious answer would be “horror movies”. If I hadn't watched so many, I wouldn't have started writing about them. Seriously though, it was the lure of money, sex and fame.

Horror Bob: When did you start reviewing films? Where?

Dr Blood: In the very early '90s while I was still at University. I was one of the lucky few who had my own computer (an Amstrad 1512 PC), so just for my own benefit, I started making a database of horror movies that I'd seen. In 1994, I was offered my own column in a vampire fanzine.

Horror Bob: Tell us a little bit about your time at Horrornews.Net.

Dr Blood: I wrote half a dozen movie reviews for them and then moved on. They used to have some crazy rule about a having a minimum word count of 650 words, and most of the movies I review can be summed up in one or two expletives.

Horror Bob: Who was your favorite writer at Horrornews.Net?

Dr Blood: I don't remember his name, but I'm sure it had “Necro” and “666” in it. I didn't read anything on there regularly though.

Horror Bob: What is your favorite era in horror?

Dr Blood: The 1970s.  To be more precise the period from 1968-1981 contains 99% of my favourite horror movies ever.

Horror Bob: Which do you prefer the Universal monsters or the Hammer films version of them?

Dr Blood: Hammer. Universal's movies are too tame and dated due to the censorship by the Hays board or whatever it was called. I also prefer my movies in colour.

Horror Bob: What is your theory of why the Universal monsters died out?

Dr Blood: World War 2 happened. After people encountered the horrors of war and had their loved ones returned to them in boxes or with bits missing, a bunch of former stage actors in silly costumes wouldn't be very scary. Also, Universal had sequelled those characters to death and people were bored with them.

Horror Bob: Which version of Dracula by Universal do you find better the English version or Spanish that was shot at the same time?

Dr Blood: The Spanish one. I can't stand Bela Lugosi anyway, and Lupita Tovar makes Helen Chandler look very plain.

Horror Bob: Of all the Japanese giant monster films which is your personal favorite?

Dr Blood: The only ones I've ever seen are the Godzilla movies where it's two guys dressed in costumes fighting each other. I don't have a favourite because I don't like any of them.

Horror Bob: What is your favorite ghost film? Why?

Dr Blood: It used to be “The Haunting” (1963) but the Nell character irritates me. Having only watched “Spectre” (2006) fairly recently, it's now a tie between that or “The Orphanage” (2007) because I fancy Natalia Millan and Belen Rueda equally.

Horror Bob: What is your favorite exorcism film? Why?

Dr Blood: “Constantine” (2005). It's just so good! Lots of action, Keanu Reeves is so damned cool, and Tilda Swinton is outstanding.

Horror Bob: Is there a “found footage” film you find tolerable? Why?

Dr Blood: “[Rec]” (2007), because it's Spanish, has a nice looking girl in it and it's kind of different. Basically, it's “Demons 2” (1986) with handycams, but it's acceptable and it it doesn't make me want to throw-up from motion sickness.

Horror Bob: Ulli Lommell, genius or disgrace? Why?

Dr Blood: Disgrace. I've only seen his two “Boogeyman” movies and I hated both of them. I can't imagine that he's done anything better.

Horror Bob: Who is your favorite horror director? And why?

Dr Blood: Robert Wise, because he wasn't only a horror director and he brought his skills learned in other genres with him.

Horror Bob: Who is your favorite horror author?

Dr Blood: The late James Herbert. I read everything he wrote as soon as it was published apart from the very early novels which I read 4 years later. I started reading his books when I was 8 years old.

Horror Bob: What is your opinion on torture Porn?

Dr Blood: I love it! I can't get enough of it! It still hasn't gone far enough to satisfy me, although I'm sure it's already gone way too far for the censors.

Horror Bob: What is your opinion on remakes?

Dr Blood: I like most of them, but I don't love them or anything. I prefer the remakes of all the Asian horror movies because I can't tell who is who in the originals. I don't care if that sounds racist, it's just the truth. I can't even get my head round their names. I also think that the “Night of the Demons” remake is the best remake ever! I hate the original movies but I love that one!

Horror Bob: What makes for a good horror film?

Dr Blood: Characterization, scares, boobs, and blood. A good story and characters you can empathize with are the most important parts otherwise there's no catharsis.

Horror Bob: Who is your all time favorite horror host? Why?

Dr Blood: Elvira. Being English, I've never actually seen her do her thing... but dem boobs!

Horror Bob: What is your opinion on fan films? Why?

Dr Blood: They're great, just so long as I never have to see any of them. Honestly, they are utter crap with no talent and no production values. Plus they are unoriginal, unimaginative, and best suited to someone's private home video collection rather than ever seeing the light of day.

Horror Bob: What is your opinion on fan fiction?

Dr Blood: Pretty much the same as my opinion of fan films. I have no interest in it.

Horror Bob: Are fan scripts really fan fiction? Why?

Dr Blood: They're the same, yes. Unless it's somebody writing out a movie that they've just seen in their own words. I'm not really sure what a fan script is. I assume they're all shit though.

Horror Bob: Is there an indie actress that you enjoy?

Dr Blood: No.

Horror Bob: What indie actor do you like?

Dr Blood: I can't think of one other than Bruce Campbell. I prefered him as Autolycus in “Xena: Warrior Princess” though. Does Tim Thomerson count? I like him too.

Horror Bob: What is your definition of “Scream Queen”?

Dr Blood: Fay Wray. Simple as that.

Horror Bob: What is you opinion of The Suicide Girls?

Dr Blood: Ugly, dirty, skanky, wannabes. Not for me.

Horror Bob: It is well known that you dislike Women in Horror and Comic Book Divas. What you’re your major reasons for this dislike?

Dr Blood: Their hypocritical use of feminism when it suits them really pisses me off. They throw out all the buzzwords, but you know they don't believe in any of it any more than anyone else. One minute they are playing the slut to sleaze their way into things which they don't have the talent for, the next, when they aren't getting their own way, they are playing the victim card to get attention. The truth is, women aren't an “oppressed and exploited minority” in the horror industry. It's probably the other way around in most cases. Men have a much more difficult time getting anywhere than these women do.

Horror Bob: The Twisted Twins, like or dislike? Talented or not?  Why?

Dr Blood: I'm indifferent to them. I don't think they are very talented except at playing the system, but they put so much effort into it that it also begs the question of whether or not they would get anywhere if they didn't. I don't think either of them would be successful based on innate talent so they've chosen to saturate social networks and conventions with their presence to get known. I really don't know much about them even so.

Horror Bob: What is your opinion of  horror conventions? Why?

Dr Blood: Overpriced, rip-off, indoor yard sales full of sweaty, overweight, basement-dwelling neckbeards, has-been actors selling their signatures, bootleg DVDs, and attention seeking cosplayers who want to be in the movies. Why? Because I've seen how conventions have changed since the days when they were really swapmeets for the fans by the fans. Conventions have become a money-making racket and are appropriately named as “cons”.

Horror Bob: What is it you think is bringing down the horror community? Why?

Dr Blood: Women in Horror Month. Also, the “hobby horror” crowd with their shitty no-budget camcorder movies have upset the applecart too.

Horror Bob: What do you think of the concept of horror unity?

Dr Blood: It's never going to happen. There are too many cliques., and there always have been. That's just human nature and it won't change.

Horror Bob: How many cheese burger sliders can you eat before passing out? An estimate.

Dr Blood: I don't know about passing out, but I can probably only get through 5 out of a pack of 6 before their blandness is more than I can tolerate. They're only little though. I could probably eat 87 or so if they tasted of anything.

Well that is it for this interview. Horror Bob's Blog would like to thank Dr Blood for taking the time to answer our questions

As always, Keep on Creepin'

The Wolf Pack Podcast needs your help....

Gore and Scares Everybody...This is William Pattison, aka Eric Morse, and The Wolf Pack and I are coming to you, the fans. We want to bring you the best grindhouse internet radio show on the net. This season we are changing the name of our show to The Wolf Pack Podcast, but we want to do better than that. We want to give you two hour shows done to the best of our abilities. In order to do that we are going to need funding for this seasons show. Without funding we are only going to be able to bring you half hour shows with only three audio files. In order to do this we have decided that you, the fans should adopt the show. Check to the right for contribution levels and help us bring you the best Wolf Pack Podcast possible...

http://www.indiegogo.com/thewolfpackpodcast

Keep on Creepin' Horror Bob's Blog...

Press Release: SCARY STORIES TO TELL IN THE DARK

Happy Halloween! Darkstone Entertainment and John Johnson (Director of Plan 9) has released a new no profit web series today! SCARY STORIES TO TELL IN THE DARK! Based on the original stories of Alvin Schwartz, this is a fan based Youtube series launching for the fans of the scholastic book series.

The first episode “The Big Toe” is available now for review and released publicly here.
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VY5N0VfzMWc)


A special thanks to our Facebook friend, Angela Pritchett, for bringing this to our attention...

Keep on Creepin', Horror Bob's Blog.... 

Review: Christine

 Review: Christine

"The Ride of Your Life"

by Christopher Highland

For Horror Bob's Blog

Horror films have a negative reputation, and I believe I have figured out why.  With the MPAA coming into effect in 1968, controversial subject matters came into play, more than ever before, which were usually censored after 1934.  Though rated, boundaries were challenged and broken through as genres were handled with more maturity.  Horror rose again in a big way, through the 1970s and coming to a head in the 1980's, regarding frequency and intensity, and spilling over into recent years. Not just explictness, but over-explictness, has tended to be the standard a disproportionate amount of the time.  This usually left little room for other elements of what the horror film genre really is: competent acting, character development, depth, and suspense. Endless sequels, make-up, special effects, and icons have flooded the market, essentially alienating outside audiences. They became cinematic cognac if made a certain way, a roller coaster in its base elements.

Then there are horror films such as "Christine". 

"Christine", taking place in 1978, tells the story of Arnie Cunningham, played by Keith Gordon, who is introverted and an outcast, due to his appearance.  With his only friend, Dennis, they get into a fight at school with the bully, Buddy Repperton, and his friends. After Buddy pulls a knife, he gets expelled after being caught with it, but swears revenge.  Arnie and Dennis pass by an old car for sale on their way home: a 1958, Plymouth Fury, and red. Believing his can put new life into it, Arnie buys it, despite disapproval from Dennis, and Arnie's parents.  As he fixes it up with amazing speed and dedication, Arnie goes through a transformation, too. He dresses and acts differently, becomes more confidant, even winning the affection of the popular girl, Leigh, but obsessing about his car, named Christine. Never mind the fact that Buddy and his friends trash the car, or that revenge occurs soon after.  The real horror is how Arnie goes from a quiet, sympathetic character, to a mean, selfish, ultra-obsessive person.

Directed and scored by John Carpenter in 1983, "Christine" is well-crafted with a soundtrack mostly full of 1950s music.  During one scene, the song "Little Bitty Pretty One" plays on Christine's radio, which slowly builds tension, adding to the atmosphere.  Masterfully shot, each scene is as tight as the car itself. Though the car has a life of its own, being able to repair itself, it is integral to the story, and not a crutch.

Directors such as Alfred Hitchcock proved that with ingenuity and class, specific genres could be handled well enough to be inviting to those who are unaccustomed. Since John Carpenter was influenced by Hitchcock, the quality is evident in the film. Also, studies have shown that some of these films can be good for the heart rate.  Rarely do these films offer more than face value other than entertainment.  This has much more.

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