3 posts tagged “john carpenter”
I go walking with a co-worker/friend of mine after work sometimes, and it can get really dark in some of the areas of the neighborhood we walk through. I always start bringing up horror movies when we are walking because my active imagination makes me think a crazed killer is about to jump out of the bushes.
Anyway, here are some horror movies discussed during a recent walk ...
I think I have actually seen this movie, but I am not sure. There is something about it that seems so familiar. It looks pretty cheesy and great at the same time. My friend told me about this movie.
I remember watching this movie when I was pretty young. The gas mask (is that what you call it?) that the killer wears is pretty creepy. I remember this movie actually being OK.
Fright Night (1985)
Most people have seen "Fright Night" (if you haven't, then you cannot consider yourself a true horror fan ... or at least a true cheesy horror fan), but my walking friend had not seen it so I had to explain to her the pop culture significance of this movie. Amanda Bearse played Marcy D'Arcy, the annoying neighbor on "Married With Children". She plays a "teenager" in "Fright Night" who is seduced by Chris Sarandon (who was married to Susan Sarandon in the 70s), the head vampire. The great part of this movie is the transformation of Amanda Bearse from a geeky high school girl into a sexy "half-vampire" with a huge set of teeth. I didn't find a clip of the scene, but it's very funny to see how large her mouth has grown at the end of the movie.
In the Mouth of Madness (1995)
John Carpenter, who directed tons of great movies like Halloween, did this movie, starring Sam Neil. I have not seen the movie, but my friend told me there is some scene where a couple keeps passing a boy on a bike with a playing card or something like that. She brought it up because while we were walking, we kept seeing the same guy pop up ahead of us ... as if out of nowhere.
Grandma's House
Another friend of mine told me about "Grandma's House" a long time ago. I have never heard of it from anyone or anywhere else so I did a Google search on it and found it on IMDB.com, too. There was a not a YouTube video of the trailer, but there was a trailer at this videodetective.com site. It doesn't look that scary, but I feel like it would be scary to watch as a little kid maybe like my friend had.
Halloween II (1981)
Halloween is probably one of the best known horror movies. It was even featured in the movie, "Scream", which was like a class on horror movies. However, it is amazing how many people haven't seen Halloween because they are scared to watch horror movies. It's also surprising how many people have only seen part one and not part two of Halloween. Part two finishes off the night that part one began. What's funny about the movie is that it is a direct continuation of the last scene in part one, yet it was filmed a couple of years later.
Anyway, I am always surprised that people are too scared to watch horror movies. I just look at horror movies as adrenaline rushes like roller coasters. I am not talking about the gore fest horror movies that are out there ... I am talking about the person being chased by a killer movies ... where the victim actually has a good chance of getting away, but they usually do something stupid. I think people should watch horror movies purely for the cathartic aspect of the movie.
I am guilty of singing every song in a commercial. Mattress Firm commercials will come on, and I will sing along with "Mattress Firm ... where it's easy to get a great night sleep." Anyway, there are two commercials that have been coming on in the last couple of months or more that feature songs that are good on their own. The first one is a commercial, titled "Sweater", from Old Navy that features the catchy song, "The Way I Am", by Ingrid Michaelson.
Here is the Old Navy Commercial ("Sweater") ...
Here is the full song from the commercial ...
Ingrid Michaelson - "The Way I Am"
Here is a woman named Chrissy Sandman singing "The Way I Am" on YouTube. I actually thought it was Ingrid Michaelson when I first saw the video because they look a lot alike, and Sandman's cover sounds really good.
Chan Marshall or Cat Power (whatever you want to call her) is actually getting some flack for letting a commercial for diamonds use one of her songs (well, her cover of a Cat Stevens song) because the diamond industry is so controversial. However, I really don't mind when artists let companies pay them to use their songs in commercials or movies or whatever. I mean, the artists need to get exposure and money so they can continue putting out albums. I remember when M.I.A.'s fans got mad at her for letting Honda use her song, "Galang", in a Honda Civic commercial. That is just stupid. I love Hondas! They are way more environment-friendly than other cars, and they are fun to drive. The commercial was kind of fun, too.
Honda Civic Si commercial with M.I.A.'s song, "Galang"
In other news, John Carpenter's "The Fog" (the 1980 version ... not the lame remake, which I refuse to watch ... unless it comes on TV) was on AMC today as part of their Monster Fest. I watched "The Fog" when I was very young, and I always liked it. It features Psycho's Janet Leigh with her daughter, Jamie Lee Curtis (who did the Halloween movies with John Carpenter, of course). The guy who plays Jamie Lee Curtis' boyfriend in the movie, Tom Atkins, was the star of Halloween III: Season of the Witch (one of the many Halloween movies Jamie Lee Curtis is not in). The woman that rides around with Janet Leigh is played by Nancy Kyes, who played "Annie" in the original Halloween. John Carpenter also did the soundtrack for "The Fog" like he did for many of his movies.
Theme from "The Fog"
The Fog - The Fog Rolls In
No, I am not talking about this cheesy 1981 movie ...
but I am talking about the day after Friday the 13th. I feel like posting some scary music in honor of Friday the 13th, even if I am a day late.
Friday the 13th - Main Theme (composed by Harry Manfredini)
A Nightmare On Elm Street - main theme - by Charles Bernstein (I had a version where Freddy would say "Tina", but I can't find that one)
Laurie's Theme from Halloween by John Carpenter (my favorite movie, my favorite soundtrack) ...
edit ... ok, it sounds like something is wrong with this version of Laurie's Theme(I can't find the good one I had before). Therefore, here are two more versions ... one is #9 from the Halloween Soundtrack called "Laurie Knows" and the other one is "Laurie's Theme" from Halloween II (where she is in the hospital the whole time).
Halloween - Laurie Knows
Halloween II - Laurie's Theme
