<<<-- Originally posted by Christopher C. Murphy :
Oh, also.....anyone see "Session 9" about the Danvers, MA mental hospital? If you haven't...rent it.

-->>>

I saw it and it didn't do anything for me.. The steadicam work was certainly quite competent though.

Session 9--first film released somewhat wide in theatres shot on the CineAlta. I forget the indie film that was the first to shoot with it in 2000 before Star Wars Ep. 2...

heath

Heath, I'm pretty sure the first theatrical release of an HD 24p film was "Jackpot". It was before SW...here is a link:

http://hd24.com/hd_feature_reviews.htm

I never saw it and I can't recall hearing it was very good.

I will look up a magazine from 2001 that talks about the first shot film on the F900. It's probably that one and probably they changed the name.

heath

<<<-- Originally posted by Robert Knecht Schmidt: I think you're talking about The Haunting (1963). My screenwriting teacher at USC wrote that movie. Huh. According to IMDb, he passed away last year. I hadn't heard. -->>>

If I hadn't found out last week, I would have found out tonight. Nelson Gidding had a slide in the "In Memoriam" presentation on the Oscars tonight. Gidding was himself a nominee for his screenplay I Want to Live (1958). Godspeed, doc.

Sorry to revive a very old thread... but my 6-year old son is WAY into the classic black and white Universal horror flicks... and who am I as an indulgent parent, to refuse, right?

Anyway, it's reintroduced me to some of these really early ones, and watching them now, with 40-year-old eyes, I can see why they're considered classics. Great cinematography and editing, but what really stands out to me is the straightforward way they spin a good yarn. Very refreshing when so many horror movies today seem to depend on a cool CGI monster and lots of gore to make up for a lousy script.

Here's a few my boy and I have really, really liked lately:

Bride of Frankenstein (1933): I realize now I knew this movie more through Mel Brooks' "Young Frankenstein," than the original. So, I was completely unprepared for how effecting this movie is, and how sorry I felt for Frankenstein's monster when his only hope for a friend psychotically hisses in his face.

Werewolf of London: Aside from the fact that this is the wimpiest werewolf of all time (he can't even handle one lone, middle-aged English gent), the storytelling is really strong. Nicely paced, decent thriller.

Invisible Man: Claude Rains is amazing in this one! Oozing psychotic menace! And the special effects are really ingenious. I enjoyed imagining the crew trying to figure out how to operate a pistol in mid-air, with no visible wires, and of course, no CGI/blue screen to make it easy.

Most of these, together with their campy, B-Movie sequels, have been reissued on DVD as parts of Universal Studios "Legacy Collection." Even if you don't watch all the feature films, check out the theatrical trailer collections.

Cat People was kind of cool when it came out on the big screen.

Memories
 

I recall fondly sitting with my dad on the stoop of our little tract house in Denver, a million years ago, as he told me the tales of the old Universal monster movies. They'd scared him as a boy, too.

I might have been six and was always terrified to hear of Van Helsing's stealthy creep through the catacombs beneath Dracula's castle, armed only with a hammer and stake; of the scene when the Monster first reappeared in Frankenstein's lab by entering backward, like a dumb machine; and of the horrible moment when the mask was ripped from Erik's face and his skull-like features were revealed deep under the Paris Opera House.

I'd sit there, transfixed, as the streetlights came on and fireflies twinkled over the evening lawns, and my dad (I now know) delighted in scaring the poo out of me. But he always escorted me back inside, where the warm kitchen glowed and my mom waited with dinner ready. Dad would very methodically lock the front door--to keep out the night, I thought, with all its ghoulies and ghosties.

All these miles down the road, I'm married with a house of my own to lock up at night. I know all too well about the real world and the horrors it can produce. I understand the popularity of celluloid Wolfmen and Vampires for a country just waking, in the 1930s and 40s, to the mass-murder that stormed across Europe.

Movies have changed, because the world has changed. But I prefer the cozy safety of those silvery old mellerdramas, with their half-tragic heroes. They feel like childhood and give me a thrill to this day.

JS

The Exorcist and Jaws scared me the most.

But a couple of tv-movies: Trilogy of Terror segment "Prey," about the Zuni fetish doll with the big teeth.

Burnt Offerings-same people made it--some really spooky stuff-especially the ending.

And the Dark Secret of Harvest Home. Havent seen it in forever but it spooked me badly back then.

Dark Night of the Scarecrow

and
back to theaters:

Race with the Devil

Kelley - those are some great movies.

I totally remember Karen Black chased by the Zuni doll.

If it's not earlier in the thread, get your umbrellas out for... The Devil's Rain!!

Ernest Borgnine is terrifying! Then they put the goat makeup on, he not so scary.

Has anyone brought up the Hammer production of 'The Devil Rides Out'? A lost Hammer classic, IMO.

Just saw the devil rides out last week, had to return the disc cause it was bad. Fun movie, listening to the commentary with christopher lee is cool. He's a virtual library of the paranormal!

sam raimi's......EVIL DEAD

Don't apologize, this is great! Horror films we don't want: any movie of ANY genre with Ashton Kutcher!

heath

Yeah, that zuni doll scene totally freaked me out. I don't know if any movie has ever scared me that much.

When I saw it again more recently I was particularly spooked by the very last shot with her sitting in the corner stabbing the floor with the knife. Scary!

Another tv movie--Night Gallery, was kinda spooky too-the Roddy McDowell episode with the ever changing painting. Pretty cheap effects but it sure worked for me.