October 5th

Humongous trailer (1982)
Halloween III: Season of the Witch trailer (1982)
The United Monster Talent Agency (2010)


Possession (1981) directed by Andrzej Zulawski

As Joe Spinell wanders around Cannes in The Last Horror Film, you can see the cool poster pictured to the right hanging around town.  What is this movie?  I'd never heard of it, but the poster sure is neat.  Well, tonight, Jack brought a copy over and I found out just what the film was.  Holy shit.

I can't say I would consider this a horror movie, unless you want to label it "mind horror" in the same way that early Cronenberg films were "body horror."  The movie's about as impenetrable as Eraserhead, but I think what this is a heightened and highly symbolic representation of a tumultuous marriage.

When Mark discovers that Anna has been cheating on him, their relationship explodes in fury and craziness and passion.  About 50% of the movie are these two characters yelling at each other and repeatedly trashing their apartment.  But, that description doesn't capture how weird the film is.  Mark and Anna are quite nuts, and often wander off into speeches that are extremely hard to follow.  They tend to act in strange ways, standing too close and stroking other people when they hold conversations with them, using meat grinders for no reason, stuffing corpses in clear garment bags.  I won't even spoil Anna's cronenbergian secret she hides in her other apartment.

In the end, I think Zulawski is saying that the craziness is the price you pay for the passion and that the alternative is to become an emotionless green-eyed pod-person.  But, I don't know.

Watched: bootleg DVD.

Nightbreed trailer (1990)
The Centerfold Girls trailer (1974)
Jack-Chop! (2009)


Hatchet (2006) directed by Adam Green

Like me, Adam Green loves slasher movies.  Better, he understands what makes them work. You need a cool monster with an interesting back story.  You need a good mix of characters, some we can't wait to see slaughtered and others we root for.  Finally, you need inventive kills and gory -- practical! -- special effects.  Hatchet delivers these things seemingly effortlessly, placing itself beside the classics of the '80s slasher boom.

Which all might be the film's biggest flaw.  I think the movie works only as well as your love and familiarity with '80s slashers take you.  If you see "Kane Hodder as Victor Crowley" in the beginning credits and don't smile or, worse, don't know who that is, this movie probably ain't going to work for you.  Hatchet is for people who wished there were more Friday the 13ths after part 4 featuring backwoods Jason.  As one of those people, I have no complaints about Hatchet: it's a big ol' ball of fun for a slasher geek like me.

Watched: blu-ray from Anchor Bay.