31 Days of Horror 2: American Psycho

October 5, 2009: American Psycho
Before Christian Bale was Batman he was something much darker – an American Psycho.
Bale plays Patrick Bateman, a broker in the 1980’s junk-bond boom, who seems to be the perfect yuppie, which also makes him the perfect serial killer. That’s the running joke throughout the movie.
Bateman takes pride in everything, from his Huey Lewis CD collection to his business cards to plotting his next victim’s death. Batman is a sick, twisted and really a loser who you follow through his very grim and disturbing life.
This film will make you laugh uncomfortably and when you walk away from it you’re going to feel dirty. There are some really gory scenes and also very disturbing scenes that will turn some people off and some people might not be able to watch The Dark Knight the same way again.
But when watching the film you need to remember, besides having horror elements it’s really a satire on the dark side of yuppie culture. My favorite part of this is Bateman’s demented lecture on Huey Lewis, if you’ve seen it you know what I mean.
American Psycho is not scary; it’s disturbing. This film will definitely make you cringe but it will also make you laugh at the most awkward moments.

31 Days of Horror 2: Prom Night

October 4, 2009: Prom Night
NO! I’m not talking about the 2008 remake that was so bad that it should just be forgotten about. I’m talking about the 1980 classic with Scream Queen herself – Jamie Lee Curtis.
The movie is about Kim Hammond (Jamie Lee Curtis) and her group of friends, who have been keeping a very dark secret. Six years before their prom, the kids antagonized another child, which resulted into her untimely death.
Now with their prom approaching Kim and her friends have been getting threatening phone calls from someone who witnessed the incident years ago. The killer then strikes on Prom Night and no one is safe.
Now Prom Night is not a great movie, but it’s still a classic in my eyes. Yes, it’s not as exciting or fun as other Slasher films and some might even find it boring, but the movie should still be viewed. If you just want to watch a horror movie that is light on the scares, has some gory scenes but all and all you can have fun with and laugh at then look no further.
I will not recommend the remake though; I mean what was Hollywood thinking when they decided to make that? They should have at least given Jamie Lee Curtis a cameo.

31 Days of Horror 2: The Hills Have Eyes (1977)

October 3, 2009: The Hills Have Eyes (1977)

Moving away from modern times, we head all the way back to 1977. This was the year people were introduced to a cannibalistic family living in the desert in - The Hills Have Eyes.

The movie is about a family heading out to California that meets their fate when they decide to take a detour off the main road, in hopes to find the silver mine that Big Bob Carter (Russ Grieve) and Brenda Carter (Susan Lanier) received as an anniversary present.

Soon after they leave the main road their camper breaks down and the family is now not only stranded but is also being stalked by a group of people that have a taste for human flesh.

This film was directed by Wes Craven (A Nightmare on Elm Street) and it is genuinely creepy but also extremely disturbing and twisted. The movie isn’t for everybody, I really want to stress that, but if you’re a horror movie fanatic this is definitely one you need to watch.

This was Craven’s second film after his really disturbing debut, The Last House on the Left, and it doesn’t disappoint. This movie sends people on a very intense journey that is not really for the faint of heart and really shows people what a horror movie can be.

The movie was remade in 2006 and it’s not a bad remake but a very rough one. The remake is good and it has all the elements of the original and amplifies them to extreme brutality. If you want to watch the remake I suggest you watch the original first, see if you can handle it, if you can watch the remake.

31 Days of Horror 2: Cabin Fever

October 2, 2009: Cabin Fever
Here is Cabin Fever, the movie that got Eli Roth (Director of Hostel) started in his horror film career and it’s also the only movie that I’ve liked out of his so far.
The movie is about five college friends, Jeff (Joey Kern), Karen (Jordan Ladd), Paul (Rider Strong), Marcy (Cerina Vincent) and Bert (James DeBello), heading off for a weekend of partying at a cabin in the woods. Things start to go wrong when a blood-soaked hermit finds his way to their campfire one night, who is clearly infected with some sort of flesh-eating virus. This virus soon spreads to the five friends, causing them to slowly be eaten away and hostility to grow between them.
If you thought that was bad, once the locals learn about the infected college kids they pose another danger to the group.
Yes, I liked Cabin Fever and I liked it because it plays homage to the classic ’70’s and ‘80’s horror movies. It does this by playing on the genre’s conventions; it doesn’t reinvent any of these, which isn’t a bad thing and is what caused me to like it.
The movie is light on the scares but heavy on the gore, which I usually hate but it works well for the specific subject matter this movie is exploring (flesh eating virus).
Cabin Fever becomes more of a black comedy in the end with a showcase of gory scenes, which made some people not like it. Yet, in my opinion the mixture of gore and laughs really makes for a decent horror film that succeeds on taking from the old and making it new again.
This movie is much better, in my opinion, than Roth’s Hostel and Hostel part II (I just don’t get into the torture horror films). I wish he would make another movie similar to this one, it could be great.
If you haven’t seen Cabin Fever I will warn you now that it does have some parts they might make you cringe. There is a specific scene in a bathroom, which I thought was the movie’s best and most disturbing scene and I guarantee it will creep you out.
Everyone who is a fan of horror movies or just wants to watch a scary movie should give this one a try.

31 Days of Horror 2: The Descent

October 1, 2009: The Descent
It’s really rare to find a decent horror movie nowadays but back in 2005 ‘The Descent’ hit theaters and it was a genuine creepy movie.
The movie centers on Sarah (Shauna Macdonald) who suffers a tragic accident in which she looses her husband and daughter. A year after the accident her five friends put together a pleasure caving trip, led by the thrill seeking Juno (Natalie Mendoza). Juno leads them into an unknown cave where they become trapped underneath the earth. With their oxygen becoming limited they start to panic and to make matters worse they’re being stalked by creatures that dwell deep inside the cave, and these creatures are out for human flesh.
The Descent accomplishes a lot, the feeling of claustrophobia you get when watching these characters slide through small cracks of rock miles underneath the ground will make you feel very uncomfortable.
Another great thing about the movie is how it has a story that mingles with morality, vengeances and the dark depths we will go for our own survival.
The only complaint I have about the film is the over use of the creatures towards the end. They do provide the movie with some really gory and creepy moments, but if we saw less of them, leaving more to our imagination, that would have been creepier.
All and all the movie has a plausible plot which really drives it forward. It’s a sadistic film that will satisfy any horror fan and if your not a horror fan but want a good scare I would definitely recommend picking this one up.

31 Days of Horror 2: The Descent

October 1, 2009: The Descent
It’s really rare to find a decent horror movie nowadays but back in 2005 ‘The Descent’ hit theaters and it was a genuine creepy movie.
The movie centers on Sarah (Shauna Macdonald) who suffers a tragic accident in which she looses her husband and daughter. A year after the accident her five friends put together a pleasure caving trip, led by the thrill seeking Juno (Natalie Mendoza). Juno leads them into an unknown cave where they become trapped underneath the earth. With their oxygen becoming limited they start to panic and to make matters worse they’re being stalked by creatures that dwell deep inside the cave, and these creatures are out for human flesh.
The Descent accomplishes a lot, but first is the feeling of claustrophobia you get when watching these characters slide through small cracks of rock miles underneath the ground, it's very uncomfortable.
Another great thing about the movie is how it has a story that mingles with morality, vengeances and the dark depths we will go for our own survival.
The only complaint I have about the film is the over use of the creatures towards the end. They do provide the movie with some really gory and creepy moments, but if we saw less of them, leaving more to our imagination, that would have been creepier.
All and all the movie has a plausible plot which really drives it forward. It’s a sadistic film that will satisfy any horror fan and if your not a horror fan but want a good scare I would definitely recommend picking this one up.

31 Days of Horror 2 ... Starting October 1st!

Starting October 1st, we count them down one by one.