What better introduction, indeed

Introductions are a hell of a thing. Trying to communicate, in a single post, why exactly my film blog is worth adding to an ever-expanding list of mostly-irrelevant ones.

It isn't, so you'll have to make do with a Hallowe'en holiday quiz courtesy of Dennis Cozzalio over at Sergio Leone and the Infield Fly Rule, dealing with my favourite genre and that which is likely to dominate most of the posts here, horror.

1) Favorite Vincent Price/American International Pictures release.


I wasn't quite prepared to reveal the degree of my sheer jackassery this early on, but here it goes:


The Raven, by virtue of being the only AIP film I've seen. Certainly a genuinely enjoyable film but not, as far as I can see, particularly indicative of the Price/AIP films in general.

2) What horror classic (or non-classic) that has not yet been remade would you like to see upgraded for modern audiences?


A couple of years ago I would have said The Last House on the Left, but lo! A remake materialised shortly thereafter and was, as far as I'm concerned, largely successful.


I suppose a version of Jeepers Creepers that didn't piss away all of its genuinely frightening first act would be rather nice, but said first act is so damn close to perfect that you'd basically have to remake it shot-for-shot for a good third of the film.

3) Jonathan Frid or Thayer David?


Possibly owing to further jackassery on my part, I haven't seen any of Dark Shadows.

4) Name the one horror movie you need to see that has so far eluded you.


In case it's not already clear, there are a lot of gaps I need to plug. Anything that predates colour, more or less*, as well as a goodly number of foreign films. Bava's Bay of Blood/Twitch of the Death Nerve/Reazione a Catena has been on my mind a lot lately, in particular.

5) Favorite film director most closely associated with the horror genre.


Every fibre of my being wants to say Wes Craven, a man who has a hand in a great many of my favourite horror movies of all time, but he has been directly responsible for so many more atrocities in the face of cinema that the scales only barely tip in his favour. Many would argue they don't, a sentiment that I can't in good faith begrudge them.


Instead I'll nominate George A. Romero, who puts out masterpieces at roughly the same rate as Craven without anywhere near as much irrelevant drivel (but not none, unfortunately - particularly of late) in-between.

6) Ingrid Pitt or Barbara Steele?


Barbara Steele.

7) Favorite 50’s sci-fi/horror creature.


I'm not going to look very good by the end of this thing, am I.

8) Favorite/best sequel to an established horror classic.


Wes Craven's New Nightmare. The first and best 'meta' horror, and an incredible, genuinely menacing last run for a once-great villain before being mothballed for good.

9) Name a sequel in a horror series which clearly signaled that the once-vital franchise had run out of gas.


The trick here is to name a franchise that was vital past its first instalment at all. I'm gonna go with the most polarising franchise of the last twenty years and say that the Scream series was dealt an unrecoverable blow by future Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen scribe Ehren Kruger in Scream 3.

10) John Carradine or Lon Chaney Jr.?


Carradine, although I enjoy the little I've seen of both.

11) What was the last horror movie you saw in a theater? On DVD or Blu-ray?


In a theatre: The Thing, and wasn't that a rollicking hundred minutes of having everything you love about the genre pissed on. On DVD: Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist, which I rather liked, all things considered.

12) Best foreign-language fiend/monster.


There can be only one.

13) Favorite Mario Bava movie.


Goddammit.

14) Favorite horror actor and actress.


Actor: Kane Hodder. The only good thing to come of the wretched F13 franchise. 


Actress: The irreplaceable Jamie Lee Curtis.

15) Name a great horror director’s least effective movie.

Anything with Argento's name on it post-Opera.

16) Grayson Hall or Joan Bennett?


Haven't seen Dark Shadows between now and the last question.

17) When did you realize that you were a fan of the horror genre? And if you’re not, when did you realize you weren’t?


At the tender age of fifteen, that being the age that my parents deemed it appropriate for me to watch such things. Perhaps it was just the thrill of the once-forbidden being laid before me, but I was in love from the moment I saw my first R-rated movie.

18) Favorite Bert I. Gordon (B.I.G.) movie.


God damn it.

19) Name an obscure horror favorite that you wish more people knew about.

Absolutely no-one is allowed to praise Black Swan in my presence until they've seen Perfect Blue.

20) The Human Centipede-- yes or no?


No. I didn't cut Lars von Trier any slack for his shitstirring Antichrist and I shan't here.

21) And while we’re in the neighborhood, is there a horror film you can think of that you felt “went too far”?

I can't think of any conceptually, but I really wish the Italians could have worked their magic without quite so many furry casualties along the way.

22) Name a film that is technically outside the horror genre that you might still feel comfortable describing as a horror film.


Is Videodrome considered a sci-fi thriller or body-horror?

23) Lara Parker or Kathryn Leigh Scott?


I'm starting to feel bad about the whole Dark Shadows oversight right about now.

24) If you’re a horror fan, at some point in your past your dad, grandmother, teacher or some other disgusted figure of authority probably wagged her/his finger at you and said, “Why do you insist on reading/watching all this morbid monster/horror junk?” How did you reply? And if that reply fell short somehow, how would you have liked to have replied?


Usually the classic 'horror movies provide a healthy way for people to externalise, confront and discuss their fears', or, if I feel like opening the genre-film-as-art can of worms 'what is art if it doesn't reflect every aspect of human life?'

25) Name the critic or Web site you most enjoy reading on the subject of the horror genre.

Unquestionably Tim Brayton over at Antagony & Ecstasy. If there is a blog on this Earth that better combines film history lessons, scathing humour and genuine insight in an easily-readable, profanity-laden
format I have yet to see it.

26) Most frightening image you’ve ever taken away from a horror movie.

If you've seen The Strangers, you know exactly the scene in my head right at this moment.

27) Your favorite memory associated with watching a horror movie.

The night three friends and I stayed up and watched all three then-released Final Destination films back-to-back. In fact it's probably one of my favourite memories in general.

28) What would you say is the most important/significant horror movie of the past 20 years (1992-2012)? Why?

Because the real answer is either Scream or Saw, I'm going to cheat and say it should have been The Descent.

29) Favorite Dr. Phibes curse (from either film).

Dammit.

30) You are programming an all-night Halloween horror-thon for your favorite old movie palace. What five movies make up your schedule? 

Night of the Living Dead, The Evil Dead, Suspiria, The Hills Have Eyes and then Halloween as a holiday-appropriate palate cleanser.

*Not because I have any real misgivings about watching a film in black and white, simply because they're harder to get. Life in a country without the Criterion Collection can be hard.