The Lucky 13 Returns! Week Five: Hanukkah

Mel Brooks gave us Jews in Space, but this week in The Vault of Horror--as well as Brutal as Hell--we're giving you Jews in horror! That's right, it's Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights! And this time around in The Lucky 13 series, we're casting our oil lamps on Jewish horror directors. Specifically, I've chosen to write about my very favorite horror film by a Jewish director, and my dear colleague Ms. BJ-C of The Vault's sister blog Day of the Woman has taken an even broader approach, spotlighting three of her very favorite horror directors among the Chosen People.

So put down that dreidel, stop giving your poor mother so much shpilkes with all your meshugass, grab a bissel cake and read on...

B-Sol on The Exorcist

It may seem a tad silly selecting this film, since it could very easily top the list of most people's favorite horror movies, period--let alone horror movies from Jewish directors alone. Nevertheless, since The Exorcist went mysteriously absent from the original Lucky 13 series (Not even in the Devil & Demons category?? Come on, people!), this is my chance to right that heinous wrong.

What can possibly be said about this classic to extol its greatness that hasn't already been said? It was nominated for the Oscar for Best Picture, and remains the highest-grossing horror movie ever made. And although it has its detractors--as all great films do--there can be little doubt that The Exorcist is one of the all-time triumphs of American cinema, a crown jewel from an era that gave us so many.

With stellar performances from Ellen Burstyn, Max Von Sydow, Linda Blair and especially Jason Miller in particular as the beleaguered Father Damian Karras, this is a film of great depth and weight, finished in a way in which few horror films are finished, with the deft touch of a master auteur. It's unfortunate that Friedkin never quite equaled the heights he achieved with The Exorcist, his masterpiece, but it nevertheless remains as what it has been for much of the past four decades--not just a great horror film, but the great horror film.

BJ-C of Day of the Woman on David Cronenberg, Eli Roth & Sam Raimi

Cronenberg:
Okay, so I'm sort of splitting hairs on this one, considering Cronenberg has denounced his Jewish faith and identifies himself as an atheist. Regardless, he was raised in a Jewish household and that's good enough for me. Cronenberg is easily the king of venereal horror films. No one can make a film as gruesomely intelligent as Cronenberg. His films often times explored the fear factors humans possess when it comes to infection and bodily transformations. For me, someone with an uncontrollable fear of being diagnosed with leprosy, he hits the nail on the head every. single. time. A small little tidbit is that Cronenberg was considered to be the director for Return of the Jedi, and I can honestly say that the world wouldn't have been able to handle that much awesome in one film, and the results would have been the equivalent to dividing by zero... So I guess it's a good thing he didn't pick up that job. But Cronenberg will forever be the king of body horror.

Eli Roth:
Oh, Eli Roth, you sexy sexy bear Jew, you. As much as the world is fully aware of how much of a douchebag you are in real life, I can't take away the fact that you directed some of the most highly thought-of horror films of the last decade. Personally, I disliked Hostel, but I'd be a fool if I denied the fact that his films have developed an almost cult-like following. Roth definitely has a fiery passion for the genre and for that, he has my respect. As for his actions on Twitter towards other horror journalists... he's on the fence ;)

Sam Raimi:
Alright, Sam Raimi is the God of my world. He gave me our savior, Bruce Campbell, and his Necronomicon Ex Mortis serves as my Holy Word. There is absolutely nothing that this man touches that didn't turn to perfection. I'm including Spider-Man 3. There, I said it.

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Join us next wee for an edition of the Lucky 13 that will be very near and dear to my heart... as we commemorate Frank Sinatra's birthday weekend with a look at our favorite musical horror films! Ring-a-ding-ding, baby!

Week 1: Halloween
Week 2: Man vs. Nature
Week 3: Veteran's Day
Week 4: Thanksgiving

GROOVY

For anyone out there in blogland having a rough night, here's something that's bound to bring a smile... 'Night, all--evil dreams! ;-)

RETRO REVIEW: The Evil Dead

Well Greetings to you Vault Dwellers, it's BJ-C here from this here blog's babysister blog Day of the Woman. Yesterday B-Sol cranked out one of the most... well... graphic installments of my Woman of the Week feature on his dearly beloved Linnea Quigley. So, I figured it would only be fair that my installment of his Retro Review contained MY dearly beloved....one Mr. Bruce (don't call me Ash) Campbell. As the second volume of the trilogy is by far my favorite, it was of course the absolutely mind-blowing original that brought me to not only a love of the Chin Wonder, but showed me that a low budget does NOT mean a low grade film.

The central idea of the Evil Dead sees five vacationing college students (GO SPARTANS!) who rent out an isolated (and might I add incredibly shady) cabin in the middle of the Tennessee woods. There, they uncover research carried out by the cabin’s former occupants into the "Book of the Dead", aka the Naturon Demonto (It wasn't the Necronomicon Ex-Mortis until the sequels). This book is not only gruesomely bound in human flesh and written in blood; but also possesses the power to raise evil spirits that then possess the living, thus creating The Evil Dead. However, the existence of the book itself isn't what brings the demons about, it is the recitation of the passages. As the kids inspect the house and drift to the basement of the cabin, Ash and the gang find (and stupidly play) a tape recording of demonic incantations from the book, unwittingly resurrecting the slumbering demons that thirst for takeover.

The obvious place to bring praise is to the performance of Bruce Campbell as the iconic Ashley J. Williams. The character of Ash has been now iconisized as the chainsaw armed, wit-talking, demon battling, blood inducing, heart-throbbing, sawed-off shotgun wielding, S-Mart working, bad ass. However in the first installment of the Evil Dead, we see Ash as sort of a wimp. Raimi allowed him to have this god awful fluff hair-do, and make some not-so-bad ass choices. Most of the film we see Ash running around from the unseen demons (aka rushing camera) and being drenched in blood that never stains his shirts. What makes Ash such a fabulous character though, is the fact he actually has emotion. Could you imagine how difficult it must have been for him to watch not only his sister, but his girlfriend, and two best friends turn into these demonic creatures? I would have just offed myself right then and there. However Ash uses not only his wits, but his passions to keep himself alive and to destroy the Evil Dead....and to be dead sexy.

The first Evil Dead film, is more of a showcase of the women than it is of Bruce Campbell. The most famous scenes from The Evil Dead all include the women. The raping trees, the pencil in the ankle, Linda's ridiculous laugh, the biting off the arm, THE CELLAR, the JOIN US, all of it, LADIES OF THE EVIL DEAD. This movie is so infamous because of their performances. The thing I love most about these ladies, is the fact that this film was put together so informally. Betsy Baker (Linda) really DID meet Sam, Rob, and Bruce in a Detroit area restaurant. Ellen Sandweiss (Cheryl) had been friends with Sam, Bruce, and countless others since they were in the 10th grade. She appeared in Sam & Bruce's Super8 Films so she had previously worked with them before. Sarah York/Theresa Tilly (Shelly) was spotted at on 0ff-off-off-off broadway venue of suburban Detroit. When you really look at it, these girls were basically "nobodies" before this film.

This is also the film that introduced us to what I like to call the "Raimi" style of filming. He brought us his distinctive camera shot where the camera follows a moving object (such as an arrow or a projectile weapon) at high speeds creating a first-person point of view from the object itself. The most apparent use of this technique is the "demons" of the film. Whenever a person is about to be possessed the camera seems to chase after the character and in some instances, knocks down doors and really does chase you down. He also does a rapid dolly zoom to bring a far-off object suddenly into the center of the shot or to pull back from the main focal object to show what is happening around the perimeter. IE: a lot of the raping tree scene. He's also got a ton of montage sequences with overlapping close-up shots to establish a set of similar actions over elapsing time. IE: when you see what the kids are doing around the house it jumps around to the same time frame just in a different room of the house.

However what I find to be most magical about the film is the makeup and special effects. It seems that in this day and age, we're all way too CGI happy. Blood doesn't look real, floating people look green-screened, and makeup has lost its touch of reality in order to look extravagant. The effects and ESPECIALLY the makeup in The Evil Dead is some of the best I have ever seen. I will tell you right here and now that Cheryl Williams is by far the SCARIEST demon/monster/what have you, I have EVER seen. It doesn't matter that she's bickering about being let out of the cellar, she's extremely frightening and definitely haunted my nightmares when I was younger. I've never seen a finer use of corn syrup and latex in my entire life.

To put it simply, The Evil Dead is fabulous. It completely embodies everything a cult classic film should posess. It's creepy, it's funny, it's over the top, and yet it holds a place near and dear to our hearts.

DRAG ME TO HELL

Written by Ivan Raimi and Sam Raimi
Directed by Sam Raimi
Starring Alison Lohman, Justin Long and Lorna Raver


I just recently left a job at a bank and after seeing DRAG ME TO HELL, I sure am glad I did. This lovely, young woman, Christine Brown (Alison Lohman), tries so hard. She goes to work every day and does her best to impress her boss so she can get that promotion. She bakes family cake recipes from scratch to bring with her when she meets her boyfriend’s parents for the first time. She’s just trying to carve out a little spot for herself in the world. And then one day, in order to show her boss that she can make the hard decisions necessary in these trying economic times, she refuses to give an ill, elderly lady a third extension on her mortgage payments. Christine chooses personal career growth over human compassion and subsequently, Christine must go straight to hell.


The elderly lady is a Mrs. Ganush (Lorna Raver, who is absolutely repulsive and terrifying at all times). She comes from gypsies and she will have none of this behaviour. She knows that Christine could have done right by her had she really wanted to and so decides that Christine no longer deserves to live. In a turn that isn’t nearly taken as often as it should these days, Mrs. Ganush places a curse on Christine. The curse, as it is explained to Christine by a psychic she stumbles upon named Rham Jas (Dileep Rao), will find her tormented by a demon called the Lamia for three days. After these three days, the Lamia will return to take her soul to hell. It seems to me that Christine’s life already resembled hell but I guess it can always be worse. (You would be agreeing with me too if you saw what it was like for Christine to have Justin Long for a boyfriend – what a boring sap he is).


It sounds as though I’m poking fun but that’s only because DRAG ME TO HELL is a lot of unexpected fun. Raimi doesn’t cheap out on jump out of your seat scares that are usually accompanied by involuntary screeches but he does so a knowing admiration for classical horror conventions. Raimi may have been swinging along for years in the SPIDER-MAN franchise but he goes back to his roots with this one. He plays with sounds that are so intensely jarring, they would scare the deaf. He plays with shadows because he knows that what we cannot see is so much more frightening than what we can. Raimi plays, period. He knows, as well as his brother, Ivan, who co-wrote the screenplay, that scaring people is supposed to be fun. How else can one explain how something as simple as a handkerchief can become one of the most menacing devices I have ever seen? DRAG ME TO HELL is disgusting to watch and will gross you out but you’ll delight in every fright and desperately want the next to come. I don’t recall ever having as much going to hell.



FUN FACT: This was supposed to be Ellen Page's first post-JUNO role but she had to drop out due to scheduling conflicts.

Drag Me to Hell Took Me to Heaven

Thank you Sam Raimi, for saving us from sequels, remakes and adolescent garbage. Welcome back, sir. Hail to the king, baby.

In an age when so much unimaginative crap is being pumped out there for horror fans to deal with, Mr. Raimi has returned to the horror genre for the first time since the Evil Dead trilogy, and given us a truly fresh, original piece of horror cinema that is bound to become one of the all-time favorites of a great many fans--including this one.


Many reviewers are hesitant to come off so enthusiastically, but I'm going to simply come out and state that I have nothing negative whatsoever to say about Raimi's Drag Me to Hell. It is a rollicking, non-stop rollercoaster of terrifying fun from beginning to end, and I plan on revisiting it often. I have not thoroughly enjoyed the hell out of a horror flick this much in a long time. The unabashedly geeky glee that this film has inspired in me is truly formidable.

For one thing, Raimi has proven that provided you hold off on too much blood, you can pretty much get away with anything and still squeak under the PG-13 radar. This movie contains so much that is truly revolting (in a good way) and disturbing that it amazes me the MPAA did not slap it with an R--we're talking vomiting maggots, corpses spewing embalming fluid, rulers shoved down people's throats, eyelids stapled shut, and that's only what I can think of off the top of my head. If you think Raimi's gone soft with the rating, think again my friend.

Alison Lohman is wonderful as the heroine of the film, almost coming across as a more evocative and effective version of Kirsten Dunst's Mary-Jane Watson from Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy. Her signature scene in the graveyard--don't even get me started. Pure, iconic Raimi, and the girl pulls it off beautifully.

If I could compare this flick to anything Raimi's done in the past, I'd say it most resembled Evil Dead II, meshing gut-wrenching horror and genuinely funny gallows humor in equal measure. I'll be honest--I didn't expect this to be as much of a comedy as it was, but I was very pleasantly surprised. Because as with all the great horror comedies, it is as frightening as it is funny. Much of the splatstick is pure Evil Dead, and there is a seance scene in particular which will have fans of Raimi's classic horror trilogy squealing with glee. Talk about throwing a bone to the diehard fans! Fantastic.

Much of Raimi's signature camera work and splatstick sensibility is in full effect, if a bit more polished than in his earlier work. Also, the strings-driven score of the picture will give fans Evil Dead flashbacks as well. But make no mistake--this is no slavish nostalgia piece. Drag Me to Hell is a voraciously original and inventive piece of filmmaking, which can be enjoyed even by those who wouldn't know their Ash from their elbow.

The sense of horror-driven fun that pervades this film is infectious. This is the kind of film-going experience we fans long to achieve, but so rarely ever seem to. Raimi hits joyously on every brand of terror--the easy jump scares, the deep genuine dread, and of course, the gratuitous gross-outs. It's all here in a veritable cornucopia of shocker goodness.

My friends, Drag Me to Hell embodies what makes being a fan of horror cinema such a joy. See it immediately, and often.

And for a completely different yet equally enthusiastic look at Raimi's latest, proceed directly to Day of the Woman, forthwith!

Will Spider-Man Be Doing Battle with a Vampire?

If you're a comic book geek like myself, then it's more than likely that Spider-Man 3 left all kinds of bad taste in your mouth. Chances are you're hoping for something to turn the franchise around in the inevitable fourth flick, and break the dreaded "three-movie curse" that seems to dog superhero series. In that case, an interview posted today on CHUD, courtesy of FearNET, might be just what the mortician ordered.

We all know that Sam Raimi is an old-school (read: pre-Venom) Spidey fan, and has a particular affinity for the villains of the '60s and '70s. Well, earlier this year he sparked some interest by declaring his love of the classic '70s baddie known as Morbius, the Living Vampire. Since then, there has been much speculation that Marvel's own undead heavy would be showing up in the next movie.

Doing press for Drag Me to Hell, Raimi was questioned on the topic by FearNET, and the response is interesting, if not particularly enlightening. The Evil Dead director sarcastically feigns ignorance of the rumors, then goes on to kind of sidestep the question and launch into a whole diatribe on why he loves vampires so much. That, plus his whole "deer in the headlights" look indicates to me that there might be a solid chance we'll see Spidey tangling with a nosferatu come 2011. I mean, why would Raimi go on and on about the appeal of vampires, anyway? If that's not a good sign, I don't know what is.

To check out video of the interview, and the awkward response, head over to CHUD. I'll be keeping my fingers crossed that Sony can right the course of the once-mighty Webhead franchise. Morbius would be quite sweet, indeed. But to tell you the truth, anything would be better than watching Topher Grace defile the reputation of the greatest comic book villain of the past 25 years...

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On a completely unrelated note, I'd just like to point out for all you classic horror fans out there that Hank Azaria does an awe-inspiring imitation of Boris Karloff in the new Night at the Museum sequel. He plays an ancient Egyptian villain in the vein of Imhotep, and the homage was enough to turn my frown upside-down after being coerced into going to see the family flick in the first place.

Raimi, You Sly Devil...

The House on Haunted Hill (1959) . . . Drag Me to Hell (2009)

Nicely done, sir. Nicely done.

Groovy! Sam Raimi to Start Work on Evil Dead IV

Yes, the nuggets of Comic-Con goodness just keep rolling in.

It's all in the super-preliminary stages right now, but Sam Raimi made some very interesting comments last night at the panel for his upcoming project, Drag Me to Hell, with regards to the future of his most beloved franchise. And if you think I'm talking about Spider-Man, then you're reading the wrong blog, pally.

According to the Geeks of Doom, Raimi stated that he planned to begin work on the script for a fourth Evil Dead film next week, along with his brother Ivan (who collaborated on the previous three pictures.) He also said he'd love to work with Bruce Campbell again, which sounds like he hasn't officially got him on board yet. But, come on now, how could you do an Evil Dead movie without him? I mean, it's not like he hasn't appeared in every single movie Raimi has ever made, anyway.

That said, Raimi is also involved with Spider-Man 4, although it's not known yet if he will direct. Should that happen, Evil Dead IV will no doubt slip down the list of priorities. Also, where does this leave the announced Evil Dead remake that Raimi is producing?

I'd be tempted to think the director was simply waxing nostalgic, but his comment about starting work next week seems awfully specific and premeditated. Let's hope he really is returning to his roots. Then we can start praying for Peter Jackson to get to work on Dead Alive II...

Juno Goes to Hell

Horror fans know her best as the screen's most twisted "Little Red Riding Hood" in 2005's Hard Candy, and now the Oscar-nominated Ellen Page will be returning to the genre along with a director doing the very same thing.
Variety has reported that Page, recently nominated for her star-making performance in the indy sleeper hit Juno, will be starring in Sam Raimi's Drag Me to Hell, playing the part of a young woman afflicted with a supernatural curse. This is Raimi's first horror pic since Army of Darkness (1992), the last installment in the Evil Dead trilogy. Page also played Kitty Pryde in X-Men: The Last Stand.
Filming on the new project, to be produced by Raimi's Ghost House Pictures, will begin next month.

Raimi Returns to His Roots

After helming three mega-huge Spider-Man movies in a row, Sam Raimi will officially be going back to the genre that first put him on the map. That's right, Variety reported yesterday that Mr. Raimi's next project will be a low-budget flick called Drag Me to Hell (IMdb still lists Jeffrey Lynch as the director), to be financed via his Ghost House production company.
Sam and his brother Ivan penned the screenplay shortly after collaborating on 1993's Army of Darkness, the last of the famed Evil Dead trilogy that made Raimi a god to horror fans. Drag Me to Hell is reported to be a "morality tale about the unwitting recipient of a supernatural curse."
Raimi has produced several horror films in recent years through Ghost House, including The Grudge, Boogeyman, The Messengers and 30 Days of Night. Ghost House will also be producing a remake of Raimi's seminal 1981 masterpiece, The Evil Dead.

The Evil Dead Get the Anchor Bay Treatment

Anchor Bay Entertainment, which has gained a reputation for putting out spiffy deluxe editions of modern horror classics, has announced a special 3-disc set, The Evil Dead: Ultimate Edition--to be released December 18.
Sam Raimi's 1981 groundbreaker has been released on DVD a couple times before, but never in this elaborate a form. Reportedly, disc 1 will contain a widescreen version (which I find hard to understand, since I thought the movie wasn't even filmed in widescreen.) Disc 2 contains the full-screen version. Disc 3 boasts such special features as a making-of documentary, deleted scenes, and a special featurette on the "Ladies of the Evil Dead"--a.k.a. the film's three female leads, who now make a living working the convetion circuit.
As for me, I'll stick with my limited-edition clamshell box VHS release (one of only 35,000, dammit!) But for those interested, the new set (cover art above, courtesy of dvdactive) will retail for $34.97.

SPIDER-MAN 3

Written by Sam Raimi and Ivan Raimi
Directed by Sam Raimi



Mary Jane Watson: Everybody needs help. Even Spiderman.

As far as I’m concerned, you can drown those pirates at sea and banish that ogre to a land even further away because there’s only one sequel that matters this summer. SPIDERMAN 3 has finally swung through oncoming traffic and in and around the tallest buildings to land in theatres as the flagship film to launch the box office into summer. Legions of Spidey enthusiasts have had their tickets for weeks while critics have been waiting to review the latest installment in one the most successful and well-received film franchises in history. With expectations this high, its hard to imagine how Spidey could possible satisfy anyone fully. Yet despite the increasingly loud whispers of disappointment waiting to welcome SPIDERMAN 3, this critic slash Spidey enthusiast had himself one heck of a web slingin’ time and he’s not afraid to say it.


In the third, and what is sadly not likely the last in the Spiderman series, your friendly neighborhood Spiderman (Tobey Maguire) finds himself on top of the world. New York loves him; Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst) loves him; and subsequently, Spidey ends up loving himself a little more than he should. High on his own ego, he decides to make everything perfect in his life and ask MJ to marry him. Simple enough a concept but things get a little sticky when he has to deal with his uncle’s killer escaped from jail, his best friend’s obsession with getting revenge on him for his father’s death, having to compete with a new photographer at the Daily Bugle and MJ’s increasingly disastrous acting career. Oh, wait. I forgot that he also has to deal with The Sandman (Thomas Haden Church) and Venom (Topher Grace), the newest enemies to emerge in New York City, a city where freaks apparently flock to. It’s a lot for one man to handle, let alone one man with super human powers. Ultimately, it proved to be too much for another super human to handle, namely returning director, Sam Raimi. Taking over script duty with his brother Ivan, found a lot of interesting themes like revenge and ego woven into the Spidey web but so much going on leaves so little to fully develop. Scenes that would seem pivotal, like when Venom and Sandman decide to team up, end up feeling rushed while scenes that are entirely disposable, like when Spidey’s alter ego, Peter Parker, finds his “Saturday Night Fever” groove strutting down the streets of NYC, seem to go on forever.


While the first SPIDERMAN film, written by David Koepp (rumoured to be returning for SPIDERMAN 4) brought me to tears more than once, there is plenty to enjoy in SPIDERMAN 3 that allows forgiveness for the script problems. People seem to have forgotten that Spidey is here to entertain us. Sure it would be nice to be affected by the words being spoken as well but when the action is as tight and the special effects as vast as in SPIDERMAN 3, it is a pleasure to tune out for a while and enjoy the ride. With three enemies to fight off at any given moment, Spidey finds himself constantly reevaluating his approach. With the New Goblin (James Franco), Spidey has to fend off a very aggressive attacker that he doesn’t truly want to hurt. The Sandman, who enters and exits in a flurrying sandstorm that is a visual kaleidoscope of grain, is at times an insurmountable force. The fact that Spidey can’t effectively hit him only further shows how much energy is wasted on revenge (as he was the man who actually killed his uncle in his pre-Sandman days). And Venom is just plain frightening. Being under the control of the tar-like substance that transforms cocky photographer, Eddie Brock (Grace), into this fanged fright, amplifies all of your aggressive, negative behavior. For Spidey, fighting Venom is like fighting all the parts of himself that he tries so hard to leave behind.


When SPIDERMAN hit theatres a few in 2002, its energy was infectious. Hopes were high and the goods were delivered. Genuine admiration was formed for the hero but like any hero, people eventually want to tear them down out of jealousy. How quickly we forget the love and allow our expectations to be set so high that no one, not even a man who glides gracefully through the sky, could surmount them. Better than the second, not as good the first, SPIDERMAN 3 is falling prey to the audience’s need to be constantly wowed with something bigger and better that eclipses accomplishments that are already awesome. Sure Raimi got himself tangled up in his own overcomplicated web but there is no one who can spin it like he can. And if Raimi, Maguire and Dunst don’t return for future installments, you’ll all be wishing you hadn’t squashed this spider so quickly.