Category: Love Fest

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William Malone Love Fest – The Fair Haired Child

The Fair Haired Child

Malone Strikes Gold Again.  Once again, the director, cast, and crew all put in an excellent effort.

A brief synopsis, then I’ll just shovel some praise.

Based on a story by Matt Greenberg.  A socially awkward girl is kidnapped on her way home from her prep school.  She is cast into the basement of her kidnappers.  There she finds both Johnny and many warnings to beware the Fair Haired Child.

Now the praise.

Lindsay Pulsipher is about as perfect of a teenage heroine as any horror film could hope for.  Her performance as “Tar” brings back a glory day in horror, when teenagers actually looked like teenagers.  Awkward, less than glamorous, and charming as all hell.  I hope the right people have seen this episode, and it leads to more work.

Jesse Haddock performs brilliantly with all of the same grace.  “Johnny” is awkward, wide-eyed, and again looks like an honest teenager.  I’d like to hope the right people for Jesse are watching this, too.

Horror fans are almost as starved for teenagers portrayed by teenagers as they are for good horror.  Even the extras in Tara’s classroom look like they are still young enough to be in a classroom.

The longer these two characters remain in the dirt, the dirtier they get.  Both of the younger actors endure this very well.  As the story unfolds and becomes more intense, their performances make that transition from awkward to desperate with fluid precision.

Lori Petty practically pulls double duty as the “before” and “after” mother.  The transformation is violent, sudden, and final.  William Samples portrays the cowardly father Anton with terrific grace and honesty.  The dream sequence style of Anton’s memories were so well put together that they truly do resonate more fright into the rest of the story.

This set is absolutely amazing.  The various props and decorations are no doubt even more of a treat to anyone who ever lugged their band equipment to and from school several times a week.

William Malone mainstays that are welcome in the Fair Haired Child:

Camera Tricks.  Yes, yes, and yes.  These movies are proof that although there is a time and place for the computer to do the heavy lifting, there is still very much a time and a place to let the camera do it as well.

Piano Quartet in G Minor, Opus 25, Movement IV, composed by Johannes Brahms.  First heard in House on Haunted Hill, the same tune finds a bigger role in Fair-Haired Child.  Despite this one excerpt lending itself so well to creepy moments in horror, the entire piece is very soothing.  Crying kids, angry co-workers, even your own road rage.  Everyone needs this on their mp3 player.

Gore where it’s needed.  Not excessive.  Not cowardly.  Logically, fifty gallons of blood don’t spray out of a violently attacked corpse.  Neither do five milliliters.  The Fair-Haired Child gets it just right.

Evil Nurses.  I don’t know what any nurse ever did to this man, but I suspect she did it (if indeed there was a she to have done it, and if the it in question was truly done) some time between 1985 and 1999.

Sound.  Our eyes are not our only sense.  Everything from the monster breathing to the tense score is spot-on.

I’m honestly trying to think of any complaints.  I honestly can not.

One final note, to segue naturally into the next review.  William Malone has stated that the inspiration for Parasomnia struck him while working on the Fair Haired Child.  Some of the art for Parasomnia was also developed in this period.

Up next:  Parasomnia.

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William Malone Love Fest – FearDotCom

Alright, let’s jump in with both fists.

The girl ghost in the white dress who seeks revenge through technology was already kind of a genre of its own by the time the film came out.  The casual horror observer said “Oh, the Ring.”  The more interested horror fan raised his nose at the casual observer and said, “No, Ringu!”  The seasoned horror fan was too busy shouting curse words followed by, “Not another angry ghost in a white dress!”

Let’s face it.  What Lies Beneath was pretty much the same kind of movie, but without anything to make it genuinely frightening or even interesting.

Me, being off in my own world, grinned.  “Yes!  That’s the guy who did House on Haunted Hill!”  Then, with that kind of silly anticipation you can only get when about to pay someone with real currency to scare you senseless, I talked the woman who eventually became my wife into going to see FearDotCom together.

Malone comes back with his visual style as well.  The film is built around nightmarish hallucinations, which is visual style Malone seems to sincerely enjoy working with.

Did the movie deliver?  At its best, absolutely.

Continue reading “William Malone Love Fest – FearDotCom”

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William Malone Love Fest – House on Haunted Hill (1999)

House on Haunted Hill

1999. The end of a terrible decade for horror. Scream had inspired an endless legion of copycats and pale copies of the copycat movies. “Horror” had been primarily reduced to PG-13 movies that inexplicably ended with a female floating ethereally in a white dress, or to R-rated comedies with a rare spray of blood. Clive Barker had a couple of great movies early in the decade, when I was too young to see them in a theater. Wes Craven managed about 5 good minutes in Wishmaster. The rest was pure, unadulterated garbage.

Enter William Malone.

One can only guess that after 15 years between movies, Malone had something to prove.

Point proven.

I had to leave the theater during the Saturation Chamber scene. I tried to close my eyes, but the sounds just made the movie even scarier. I had to take a break. Ten years of garbage – I wasn’t expecting anything at the theater to ever be scary again.

I remember buying a large Mountain Dew. I preached to the bored girl behind the counter that there was finally a truly scary film playing, right under her nose. She had blond hair like a straight-A cheerleader. Not the big poof. The conservative blond cheerleader. She looked at me like I was an idiot. I paced for a couple more minutes, sipped on the watered-down three dollar Mountain Dew, then went back inside. Then I found a seat way in the back where I could close my eyes a little easier.

All of us walked out of the theater making a slight laughing sound that you only ever hear from people who have just gotten off of a really good thrill ride, or cheated death in a fiery plane crash without a scratch.

It was at the Kraft 8 in Port Huron, Michigan.

It has been over ten years, and I remember all of these details with absurd clarity. I didn’t know the name William Malone. I didn’t even know anyone who was in the movie except for Lisa Loeb, and I was glad she did not sing. She is really talented when not being fashionably sad.

I bought the dvd the day it was released. I now have the movie nearly memorized, and can usually watch the saturation chamber scene without turning away. There really isn’t any point of “thoughts as I watch” as I have done with his earlier films.

I also took this chance to re-acquaint myself with the director’s commentary.

Everyone pulled it together to make House on Haunted Hill a great horror film.

Geoffrey Rush puts in a wonderful job as a central character. His character “Stephen Price” sets up the movie for exactly what it is: a terrifying thrill ride. This is a man who is used to being in control, to the point that he can snatch it right out from under anyone or any twist of fate. Of course, he loses it all by the end of this film.

Famke Jannsen – Lord of Illusions, House on Haunted Hill, three X-Men movies. Here she plays a woman who has elevated herself to nearly being a Queen by pure force of will. Stephen Price takes swift control – Evelyn demands it. The two performances play off each other with absolute synergy. Famke herself has a considerable deal of range and undeniable grace – both of which serve her performance.

Chris Kattan – If you would have told me that anyone from Saturday Night Live could do comedy right in any horror movie, especially back in 1999, I would not have believed it. I was thus shocked to find his roots on that show. The character of Watson Pritchett should be held up high as the right way to put comedy in a horror film. Kattan’s comedy serves to add nervous tension to the film – not degrade the movie for a quick laugh.

Jeffrey Combs looks extremely natural as the movie’s primary villain, even beneath Malone’s experiments with the camera. Or perhaps, especially being a part of those experiments.

Ali Larter, Taye Diggs and Peter Gallagher had all been making impressive names for themselves, and would all three go on to have roles in some of the most notable television shows of this last decade (Heroes, Ally McBeal, and The O.C., respectively).

Even the apparently forgotten Bridgette Wilson played her part as an over-enthusiastic personality with wonderfully shameless exuberance.

Don Davis, probably most well known for the Matrix movies, gave the film a wonderful score. The theme – if not the whole cd – makes my annual Halloween mix without fail every year. The organ music in that theme is as iconic to me as Freddy Krueger’s theme.

We also hear Brahms’s Piano Quartet in G Minor, Op. 25 for the first time. Malone would use it once more in a different project. If done right, this could make a really amazing Director’s Trade Mark. Malone may be only one more use of the piece away from such an honor.

Ah yes, back to Malone. Someone had to be at the center of this movie, pulling the strings and making it all happen. Not only that, but he was fighting the flu through several weeks of the ten week shoot. An interesting note in the commentary was that Geoffrey Rush took great enjoyment in helping Malone issue commands.

Even the effects crew did amazing work. Many of the visual effects were added afterward to footage that was constantly in motion, which took a lot more work to accomplish eleven years ago.

I can’t call this the best overall horror movie I have ever seen. There are classics that pushed the limits of the genre to make movies such as House on Haunted Hill possible.

This IS the best experience I have ever had watching a modern horror movie, and the best experience seeing a horror film at the movie theater. I say this having watched Freddy vs Jason in the same audience as Robert Englund himself. That still pales next to having a movie deliver on this level.

Well, my word processor is just now ending page two, and I haven’t even touched on the movie.

House on Haunted Hill is one of the few gems of the 90s, ranking with Lord of Illusions and Candyman in intensity. The true beauty of House on Haunted Hill is twofold:

The movie works as a horror movie. The characters are well defined adults with their own goals and ambitions. These goals and ambitions go far beyond intoxication and cheap sex. Claustrophobia is used nearly to its fullest effect. The basement sets all depict a place that no sane person would want to enter willingly. And the sound.. that blessed, beautiful sound.  I can not think of any movie that has ever utilized sound with such expertise.

The movie works as a thrill ride. With so many elements of a great horror movie in place, the filmmakers remembered to entertain their audience in the process. Most adult horror feels compelled to trap itself as an ambient piece dependent on mood plus or more little kids in trouble. There was no time for such tropes in this flick.

House on Haunted Hill is a movie that is seeing more appreciation as time goes on. It certainly wasn’t a game-changer, but that may be to the determent of the horror genre. With any luck, more horror fans will give this movie a second look – along with all of its cast and crew.

Everyone did a wonderful job.

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William Malone Lovefest – Interlude

My first experience with William Malone’s work was almost certainly among the three episodes of Freddy’s Nightmares that he directed.   Tales From the Crypt was also a much beloved show, when HBO was made available to my brother and I through our parents.

Although the Internet Movie Database and my own research show no full length motion pictures between Creature (1985) and House on Haunted Hill (1999), the significant leap in quality suggest that he was learning his craft very well.

I can’t prove it, but would be willing to bet money that my folks chewed me out for staying up too late on another Saturday to watch Freddy’s Nightmares.  I did it every week.  It is also a near certainty that it was worth it to me on a weekly basis to endure the lectures.  It was worth it every week.

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William Malone Love Fest – Creature

Synopsis:

An interstellar vessel on a mission to claim resources before a rival corporation can lay claim crash lands on an alien planet.  The meager crew is then toyed with and hunted by an extraterrestrial terror.

In any given twenty minute stretch there is probably something to really like about this movie.  Unfortunately there seemed to be no cohesive whole to make one entertaining motion picture.  William Malone would go on to do television for over a decade after this, and he thankfully got better over time.

Creature begins fairly well.  Scenes are shot with attention to mood and color in a way that few low budget or horror films ever seem to even think of.

Once the ship reaches its destination, we are treated to talking.  A lot of talking.  William Malone can typically direct a really fun character driven movie.  Creature, sadly, was not one of them.

Some fan service arrives.  Nudity.  Gore.  Amazing gore.  Some of it outright memorable.

Finally, the conclusion draws itself out with the same pacing problems that really crushed the rest of the feature.

Thoughts while watching:

Blood and gore effects are light years beyond Scared to Death.  It takes some time for the horror element to kick in, but it’s fun once it does.

On the subject of time:  The first 20-25 minutes had some beautiful work with colors and lights.  Everything between that and the 50 minute mark is really generic science fiction.   A number of these characters resemble each other in almost every way.  They fill the logical and different roles as the ship’s crew, and provide a greater body count.

Some really fun horror begins after that 50 minute mark.  Malone’s work with visual and makeup effects is as much improved as the gore.  The monsters look like monsters.  The corpses look like corpses.  The things in between are a treat for the eyes.

The characters split up to explore a strange, labyrinthine space ship.  In House on Haunted Hill, the characters will split up to explore a strange, labyrinthine basement.  Never split up.  You’re stuck in the strange labyrinthine place, so there will be plenty of time to explore as a cohesive unit.

In closing

The alien acts like a compendium of all things great about alien movies.  From cold-war body snatchers to early 80s slime-covered monstrosities, this creature does it all.   The design and execution are a large and very welcome improvement over the Syngenor from Scared to Death.  What could have been a simple imitation of the H.R. Geiger Alien is given a lot of personality and a whole toolbox of evil tricks.  This is cool.   Blood looks like blood, and less like orange corn syrup.   There is so much going for this movie on the way in.

Sadly, the movie lacked good characters or rhythm.  Characters were either forgettably generic or wildly unbelievable.  The mission leader started as the unbelievable type and eventually became just another face.  Malone’s talents for characterization were squandered on useless characters.

If this movie would have found its rhythm, then even those faults could have been overlooked.  Enough heads are mangled, mutilated, or even blown up to make an excellent popcorn movie.  In fact, were I a character in that movie then I would want my last name legally changed to “Not In The Face.”  That way my name patch would be humorously juxtaposed against the most common cause of death in outer space.

Creature, in short, did not live up to its potential.  There are brief, wonderful glimpses of something great trying to break through.  For reasons I won’t speculate on, they never get that chance.

William Malone would go on to make very entertaining movies.  If not, then I would not be writing this.  I hate to write a “love fest” and write of my dislike for any of the works.  This is thankfully going to be the only down note of the entire project.

Before moving on to House on Haunted Hill, I want to briefly touch on the television work that Malone did.  It was a sincere surprise to look him up on IMDB and associate his name with some favorite television shows.  Whatever Malone learned in those times would also go on to bring about one of the best moviegoing experiences that I ever had.

There’s an up-note to end this love fest entry on after all.

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Scared to Death

Scared To Death

Directed by William Malone, Co-Written by William Malone.

Synopsis:
Ted Lonegran is a retired detective turned writer. Now seemingly carefree, he finds himself drawn into romance and ready to face the world again as an adult. His former partner, however, draws him into investigating a horrific string of murders. Even more terrifying is the true face of the murderer. How many more people will be scared to death by this creature?

Thoughts as I watch:

The movie is playing.  This is what I think of it as it happens.

William Malone’s first full length movie begins with a yellow road sign reading the solitary word “end.” Thankfully, this was only the beginning. By the 4 minute mark, we are treated to the best kind of gratuitous horror movie nudity: the elusive full frontal.

My inner 16 year old already loves this movie.

My inner 16 year old is also feeling nostalgic. Phones that didn’t leave the table. Big hair. Cigarettes everywhere. Brown paper bags. Component stereo systems and twelve inches of black vinyl love. Electric typewriters with no “undo” feature. I remember living like that! William Malone as “Alex Waverly” is just a fun treat, given the nature of this blogging project.

And a love scene. First half of the woman’s eyeshadow abruptly vanishes. Then, she looks more than a little bored right as the act commences. Or maybe she’s really in the zone.

That has to have been the most effective use of roller skates I have ever seen in a horror film. In all film, I doubt anything can match the roller skates at end of Rock & Rule.  This was cool enough to remind me of that.

Interesting choice of colors on this telephone conversation. Shades of blue on one end, shades of brown on the other. Each character’s shirt, phone, and backdrop all possessing a common hue. I would normally not think twice about this if not for having skimmed over Creature.

The blood effects get better as the movie goes on.

This woman looks like Velma from Scooby Doo with Joey Ramone’s hair. I find it extremely compelling, but can’t tell if it’s really hot or really unattractive.

Final Thoughts

The pacing was very interesting. Much of Scared to Death is relaxed, taking its time to let us know the characters before they meet the Syngenor. At times the relaxed pace borders on awkward, but it was really hard to launch a protest during that first drawn out nude scene.

You can definitely see that this movie came from a different time. All of that is nearly periphery. The focus on characters over the easier horror elements does a lot to make the technology less noticeable. The plot is almost ahead of its time, more resembling late 90s Japanese science fiction than late 70s creature features.

And the creature? Most of what we see is its face, which is a good thing. William Malone’s background is deeply rooted in monster effects, and it showed from the neck up. The biggest problem with the rest of the Syngenor is that none of its unique features were put to any use. Had it used those spikes for defense, offense, or simply its main purpose of eating, then the Syngenor itself would have appeared much scarier without a single change to its design.

The characters themselves are an eclectic mix of 1970s influence with 1980s buddy cop tones.

Overall, I can strongly see this movie mirrored against Parasomnia. Despite being a creature feature with Malone’s artwork at the purpose of the story, the focus is on the characters. This is what Malone does when he’s in charge: He draws us in with the lure of his artistic eye, and keeps us in with a story about his characters.

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William Malone Love Fest – Prologue

The last two comments on this blog have been kind of negative.  I really would prefer to keep things on a happier note.  And so I am beginning a project: The William Malone Lovefest.

William Malone is a writer and director.  His big moment to shine was the 1999 remake of House on Haunted Hill.  He has been directing (formally) since 1981’s Scared to Death.

My introduction to his work was no doubt his turn at the Director’s Chair on the television show Freddy’s Nightmares. Freddy’s Nightmares was a near religious experience that was worth staying up all hours of the night to watch.  So what if I was in sixth grade and the show didn’t come on until 2:30am?  I was a die-hard fan of the show, and can say with certainty that his work was enjoyed in the middle of the night on my brother’s 12″ black and white television set.

House on Haunted Hill was an oddity of the 1990s.  The movie was not a slasher, and not a comedy with some blood thrown in.  House on Haunted Hill was a roller coaster ride custom built for the big screen and for the large, loud speaker system playing along with it.   Nearly every aspect of the film was designed to scare the audience.  The house creaked and moaned constantly.  The set design featured the most deviant basement everyone never wanted to go into.  The ghosts lived in their own world of terror that bled into ours.  Finally, the movie did not shy away from gore.  I am by no means a gorehound.  Yet when neither shied away from or added gratuitously, a good deal of gore can turn an unsettling moment into a terrifying one.  (Also see Clive Barker’s Candyman for the excellent use of well-timed splatter.)

These are the reasons why House on Haunted Hill still remains the single most frightening movie experience I have had in a movie theater.  The 90s were a sinkhole of comedic horror films and unwatchable slashers.  Malone and Barker stood out as the only two directors to even frighten me in that entire decade.

A One Sheet Poster for Parasomnia signed by William Malone
A One Sheet Poster for Parasomnia signed by William Malone

So what brings me to this point is Malone’s newest film, Parasomnia.   I fell in love with the artwork on the site.  This is classic, beautiful, and a style all-but given up on by the current crop of horror movies.  This appreciation for both Malone’s prior work and the art for Parasomnia ultimately inspired a quest of sorts.  The quest has led to a poster for the film, signed by the writer / director himself.

Over the next couple of weeks, I will load up my laptop, put one of Malone’s movies in the DVD player, and review the movies.  House On Haunted Hill and FearDotCom enough times that those films will probably be enjoyed with the Director’s Commentary enabled.   As much as I wish a proper release was available for Freddy’s Nightmares, or that finances allowed the purchase of Tales from the Crypt Season 6 on a whim, this project will be committed to Malone’s longer works:

These movies will be reviewed in roughly chronological order.  There is a good chance that Creature will still be the first movie tackled.  Scared to Death is currently on its way from Amazon, and will be reviewed no later than second.

Parasomnia will be released on DVD in the United States on July 31, 2010 as of this writing.  It has already found European distribution, and I will have no problem paying for two different pressings of this movie.