Hollywood Movie Stills Is A World Of Beauty And Fashion

Hollywood Movie must be the most exciting movies in the world, and Hollywood stars are also the most beautiful and famous persons in the world. So Hollywood Movie Stills is something of a rarity in that it ably serves two completely disparate functions simultaneously, acting as both an academically useful historical study and an easily-perusable coffee table book. As a historical text, Finler offers a surprisingly thorough examination of the stills photographer's various roles within the studio system of Hollywood from 1910 to the 1950s. As a coffee table book, Finler has packed the book with hundreds of rare and unusual movie stills, the majority of which reside in his personal collection.

In his detailed survey of the stills photographer's history, Finler reveals that the perception of the stills photographer in Hollywood as merely the person who stages celebrity portraits or captures scene stills for promotional use is severely limiting to our understanding of these individuals and their artistry. For their role in Hollywood extended well beyond the studio as they might be expected to do fashion shoots, produce collages, generate poster art, or venture to stars' homes to capture some candid photographs.

Finler's examination of the role of these underappreciated artists within film history focuses on a handful of both American and English photographers, as well as the directors and stars with whom they worked closely. And through the chronicling of their efforts behind the scenes of the film industry, Finler impresses upon the reader the notion that stills photographers were among the hardest working folks in Hollywood not to be recognized for their efforts.

Originally published in 1995, this new edition of Hollywood Movie Stills, now available from Titan Books, includes an expanded reference bibliography as well as some additions/corrections to the original text, including an expanded list of stills photographers employed by the studios. But more importantly, the book now features 30 additional pages of photographs and captions, with many additional stills provided by collector Martin Matheter.

The variety of stills collected herein range from the most glamorous portraits of stars such as Cary Grant, Greta Garbo, Marlene Dietrich and Carole Lombard to behind-the-scenes stills, including one capturing the filming of the iconic MGM lion, to the gaudiest of publicity materials, exemplified by the image of Sophia Loren that introduces this article. Each still collected here is accompanied by a rather thorough capture that not only explains the contents of the image, but often identifies the photographer who captured it as well. The caption of one unusual photograph that struck me in particular identifies the image as a scene still from an alternate ending of Woody Allen's Bananas (1971). In it, Allen appears in blackface after supposedly being caught in a bomb blast!

A Whole Host Of Hitherto Unimagined Threats From Flaming Cars, Rogue Ceiling

There will come a time in the not-too-distant future when the appeal of 3D will fade, when the time-honoured values of story, dialogue and character will once again be prized above giant pointy objects zooming perilously into the delighted faces of a screaming audience. But until that day arrives there’s absolutely no reason not to enjoy ‘The Final Destination’, a film which doesn’t just pride itself on the spikiest, shiniest collection of audience-intimidating implements yet seen (nails, knives, scissors, screwdrivers) but adds a whole host of hitherto unimagined threats from flaming cars, rogue ceiling fans and even a killer car wash.

Occasionally, life throws up situations which defy all logical explanation: premonitions, feelings or simple gut instincts which warn us of impending doom and spookily turn out to be true after the fact.

In Final Destination, Alex (Devon Sawa) is sitting on Flight 180, awaiting take-off with the rest of his high school French class, when he is blinded by a terrifying vision of the aircraft exploding in mid-air. Gripped with terror, Alex flips out and begs everyone to leave the plane.

Following a struggle, Alex and six other people are ejected from the flight including his teacher Ms Lewton (Kristen Cloke), who tries to sweet-talk the airline staff, but to no avail.

Before the group has time to rue the lost opportunity to visit Paris, Alex's vision proves tragically correct, and the plane explodes a couple of miles from the airport. The other six survivors struggle to understand how the boy could have predicted such a terrible event, returning to their sleepy backwater town and a so-called normal life.

When one of the septet meets a grisly end and Alex turns up soon after at the scene of the crime claiming to have foreseen the tragedy, alarm bells start ringing once more, and gradually Alex realises that the group's ordeal is only just beginning. The angel of death which was meant to have taken their lives on Flight 180 has followed them back home and is trying finish the job. Banding together, the fugitives of fate attempt to understand how they can once again cheat death, this time for good.

Eat your heart out, James Cameron. The "final destination" horror series, written by Eric Bress, is back for a fifth movie. This time it's showing in 3D in many cinemas, but there's no sign of Cameron's haughty credo about the modern generation of 3D being subtle.

This one is very much about scary things flying out of the screen straight atcha! As ever, a bunch of male and female babes have a premonition of a terrible bloodbath - this time at a motor-racing stadium - and get the heck out of there pronto, along with one or two others. But the Angel of Death, cheated of his bounty, wants to kill them in freak accidents. So carelessly tipped-over gasoline cans start glugging out their lethal contents and nail-guns teeter on unsafe shelves. Witty, ingenious, horrible entertainment.

"The Rite" Would Likely Be One Of The Dullest Stories About The Devil Ever Told

If The Rite is proof of anything, it’s that the often odd and mysterious nature of real life doesn’t always translate into the best movie. While this familiar tale of faith and skepticism isn’t the disaster some might expect, it is, at best, a mundane entry in the exorcism sub-genre.
In fact, if not for the presence of Anthony Hopkins, who often is the only spark keeping the heart of this film beating, The Rite would likely be one of the dullest stories about the devil ever told.

Based on the book The Rite: The Making of a Modern Exorcist by journalist Matt Baglio, the film follows young priest-in-training Michael Kovak (Colin O’Donoghue), who flees a depressing life working at home in his father’s (Rutger Hauer) mortuary business by enrolling in seminary school. However, Michael is not the stalwart man of faith his priest collar would suggest: events of his past have put him at odds with his beliefs, and his theological training has done little to resolve that conflict.

After one seemingly fated moment of divine intervention, Father Matthew (Toby Jones) comes to believe in Michael’s potential to serve God, and so he sends his student off to Rome to enter a new program on exorcism at a school attached to the Vatican. There, Michael’s petulance and doubt about the authenticity of exorcism cause the teacher of the course (Ciarán Hinds) to send the young priest-in-training to the home of Father Lucas Trevant (Hopkins), a priest with a long resume of successful exorcisms conducted in very unorthodox ways.

However, even after seeing the frightening evidence of the eccentric Father Lucas’ work, Matthew still struggles with his beliefs – that is until strange and ominous occurrences force the young skeptic to consider the possibility that The Devil is indeed real…and may have his eyes on him.

The Rite was directed by Mikael Håfström, best known for helming the adaptation of the Stephen King story 1408, and the Clive Owen / Jennifer Aniston mystery thriller, Derailed. People tend to know both those films more for the performances of their stars, and The Rite will likely be no different. Håfström is a competent enough director, who works from a slightly dull and bleak visual palette, but I can’t say that any of his films really stick out in terms of their craftsmanship. If anything, Håfström has become accomplished at telling slightly odd or off-kilter stories in a sensible, economical way, from start to finish. And that’s exactly what The Rite feels like: a sensible, by-the-numbers films  that knows the limit of its own potential.

Baglio’s book was one of deep probing questions about the reality of exorcism vs. the image of it presented by cinema, but the script for this movie version only clears room for the more familiar and superficial tropes. The script was written by Michael Petroni, best known for condensing other literary works like Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader, Anne Rice’s Queen of the Damned and The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys into easily digestible cinematic narratives. With The Rite, Petroni sticks to thoroughly-mined themes of the exorcism sub-genre (atheism vs. faith, “possession” vs. mental illness) – though it must be acknowledged that the film does ease us into the story at a surprisingly relaxed and purposed pace. More time is spent establishing the character of Michael Kovak and his backstory than you might expect from by-the-numbers genre film, and what is established at the start works well at making the climax – and all its implications about the nature of god and faith – resonate in the end, if only slightly.

As for the acting: Colin O’Donoghue is a somewhat boring protagonist as Kovak, all brooding and seriousness, his only wit seemingly found in the witty lines he’s called upon to deliver. He falls on the wrong side of the line between stoicism and stiffness throughout most of the film – a distinction made all the more apparent by the over-the-top (hammy?) performance of Anthony Hopkins.

The Rite requires Hopkins to bring a drastic bit of range to his role, and what we basically get it is re-heated Hannibal Lecter schtick clothed in priest’s robes. I bring up Hopkins’ most famous performance because like Lecter, father Lucas presents a mix of piercing intelligence and wild savagery, tied together by that screen-filing charisma that is now Hopkins’ trademark. Every gesture and movement the man makes, every line (no matter how bad) he delivers, and every twitch of his face is interesting to watch – which is good thing, because as I stated before, Hopkins is pretty much the only interesting thing to watch at many times during this film.

Oh, by the way, Alice Braga (Predators) is also in the movie, playing Kovak’s journalist friend and fellow skeptic, Angeline. Angeline is basically the onscreen version of Matt Baglio converted into a female role (for his book, Baglio followed the real-life inspirations for Father Lucas and Kovak around Italy), and there’s little reason for Braga’s presence here, other than to fulfill the obligatory role of a romantic interest. Braga is a solid actress, and I do often wish she was given better roles to work with – but this is certainly not one of them. Cut her character out and the film would essentially remain unchanged.

The Rite does try to offer some philosophical food for thought – but they’re really just appetizers. We’ve seen stories of faith questioned and faith tested many, many times before, and had them presented to us in far more interesting ways than this. The Rite is only recommended for those viewers who prefer the shallow end of theological quandary, or those who get goosebumps from the standard silly bag of PG-13 scares. If you don’t fit either of those descriptions, you may want to wait until this little devil hits home video.

"Priest" Is An Especially Lousy Action Movie With Very Little Compelling Action

Priest, the 2011 film that reteams director Scott Stewart with Paul Bettany (the pair directed and starred in Legion, respectively), is an adaptation of the Korean comic series of the same name by Hyung Min-woo. However, the Priest of Korean print tells a very different story than that of its Hollywood movie counterpart. Instead of battling fallen angels, the American Priest fights beastly vampires – who sleep in coffins and keep humans as pets.

That said, plenty of comic book-turned-movie adaptations have benefited from creative liberties here and there. While Stewart’s Priest has certainly taken more liberties than most – it’s still possible that the final film is better for the alterations, right?

Unfortunately, Priest joins other lackluster films (such as My Soul to Take) that were delayed upon completion and retrofitted with post-converted 3D to help attract audiences to a film that otherwise has very little going for it – aside from a few slow-motion-heavy action set pieces. The alteration to the core Priest storyline (originally about an undead pilgrim who is reborn after merging with a supernatural force) creates one of the weirdest narrative mishmashes in recent memory.

One of the most disappointing aspects of Priest is the shameless lack of world-building. In case you’re unfamiliar, the film takes place in a (potentially) fascinating alternate world where humans and beastly vampires have warred for centuries (The Crusades, World War II, etc) – though the film never takes advantage of this foundation. To turn the tide, the Church unleashes “the Priests,” humans with super-human-like reflexes, who drive the vampires into exile.

Humanity takes shelter in large fortified Church-run cities, and instead of eradicating the vampires altogether, the creatures of the night are quarantined in concentration camp-like facilities, while the Priests are forced to live in obscurity, since the church fears the warriors might rebel against the aging religious regime. This status quo is sustained until a vampire attack on a farming community sends Bettany’s Priest on a journey of revenge which opposes the will of the church leaders, who (predictably) have become vain and subsequently brand Priest a trouble-maker, electing to ignore the vampire threat and attack the  noble warrior instead.

As mentioned, the film never really takes advantage of anything more than the most basic settings and story beats – never really touching on the vampire strata (i.e., that there’s more than one kind), the day-to-day lives of the surviving humans, or what could be an interesting juxtaposition in the character of Priest (a man of faith who enjoys killing). Instead, the film focuses on the cliché story of a “true” man of faith who must do God’s work – in spite of a vacuous and incompetent church organization. Even though the basic plot isn’t particularly fresh, Priest still had room to capitalize on its less-conventional aspects, given the film’s dystopian Western setting and intriguing mix of modern/traditional vampire tropes. Unfortunately, the movie is too one-note to take advantage of anything but a linear race to the final Priest-on-vampire battle.

While the phrase “Priest-on-vampire battle” might sound epic and exciting, the film manages to underwhelm even in the one area that many action fans were looking forward to –the action. Sadly, there are really only about three action set-pieces in the film and the first one is (by far) the best; after that strong start, the film never manages to regain momentum. Despite a couple of isolated fight sequences during the climax, the whole thing mostly goes out in a non-sensical whimper (especially if you’re Cam Gigandet’s character, Hicks).

While it might sound like brow-beating, the problems with the story and action sequences are largely predicated on the film’s ability to make even a character as (theoretically) badass and (potentially) interesting as Priest into a complete bore. Similarly, Karl Urban’s “Black Hat” is kept in the shadows so long that, by the time he’s fully revealed, it has already become clear that there’s very little substance to the character – or his backstory. Gigandet (best known as James from Twilight) plays a Western Lawman (the aforementioned Hicks) who provides a few entertaining moments, but mostly serves as a foil for Priest, and an excuse for Bettany to deliver heavy exposition about the in-and-outs of vampire hunting.

Even the more successful character moments are undermined by some of the most clichéd and heavy-handed dialogue in recent memory. Priest just mutters generalities under his breath; Black Hat spouts the Greatest Hits of essential villainous platitudes –  “You’ve done well” and “I’m counting on it”; Maggie Q (who plays her usual contemplative female warrior role) has the only heartfelt and (almost) charismatic dialogue in the film. Sadly though, the lack of execution with the rest of the project makes even the moments between Priest and Q’s Priestess come across as overly-melodramatic.

Similar to the film’s twist (which has very little bearing on the emotional complexity of the story), the 3D in Priest is entirely unnecessary and is one of the more egregious attempts at selling audiences on a mess of a film by slapping post-converted 3D on it. The 3D itself doesn’t fail as bad as the infamous Clash of the Titans post-conversion but it’s still entirely unnecessary and only succeeds in not making the film any worse than it would be – except for the higher ticket price.

Inevitably, some action fans will read this review and say something along the lines of, “It’s just an action movie – it doesn’t need character development or competent dialogue.” and I somewhat agree. In some cases, it’s fair to overlook whether a movie is technically good, in favor of it being immensely entertaining (Fast Five is a good example). However, Priest is an especially lousy action movie with very little compelling action, boring characters, and a convoluted plot, all put together by a group of filmmakers who failed entirely at capitalizing on the more compelling aspects of the core concept. And given that they had an extra year to get the film into theaters (it was originally set for an August 27th 2010 release), it’s only more disappointing that most that was done to try to salvage the wreckage was tempting audiences with a post-conversion 3D gimmick.

"Drag Me To Hell" Provides Plenty Of Very Effective Jump Scares

Sam Raimi's long-awaited return to the horror genre, Drag Me to Hell, is a fun, frightening blend of terrified screams and disgusted, gut-wrench laughter that aims to recapture the genre-bending spirit of Raimi's pre-Spider-Man cult favorites like Evil Dead II. So if you're a member of the hardcore Raimi elite, rest assured that this is the film you've been waiting nearly a decade for. But despite its wild entertainment value, the film also begs a few important, if somewhat controversial, questions. At what point in a celebrated director's career do audiences simply become too forgiving? Is having a particular cinematic style or point-of-view, no matter how dynamic, sufficient to excuse a few notable shortcomings? And does it matter how something makes you scream or laugh, so much as that it made you react at all?

But before we tackle some of the bigger issues associated with Drag Me to Hell, we should say from the outset that this film is absolute, undiluted Raimi -- his love-letter to those fans who've waited patiently for a departure from the mainstream and a return to his kinetic, tongue-through-cheek brand of horror-comedy. The film is simultaneously loud, fast, brutal, hilarious, disgusting, dark and whimsical, combining legitimate scares with gruesome, almost slapstick gags to great and bloody effect. Drag Me to Hell is, without a doubt, the kind of film where, if you're pre-disposed to love it, you absolutely will.

For those less familiar with the film, Drag Me to Hell is the story of a young woman named Christine (Alison Lohman), who in an effort to get promoted at the bank where she works denies the pleas of an old gypsy woman (Lorna Raver) to extend the loan on her family home. After a violent, and distinctly Raimi-esque, attack in the bank's garage later that evening, the gypsy places a curse on Christine, calling down the demonic Lamia to plague her for three terrifying days before finally coming to drag Christine, quite literally, to Hell. This is explained to Christine by a palm-reader at the objection of Christine's more level-headed boyfriend, Clay Dalton (Justin Long).

From this point, the script written by Raimi and his brother Ivan, becomes a rollercoaster of emotion for Christine who seeks out the help of a psychic, Rham Jas (Dileep Rao) who breaks the bad news to her. Needless to say, hilarity does not ensue – but plenty of really, really bad things happen over and over.
Are there scenes in the film where the main character does something ridiculous and implausible? Plenty. Does she take an awful lot of punishment without showing any signs of wear? Absolutely. Do you jump out of your seat even when you can feel that Raimi is trying to scare you? Every time!

The genius of the script is that sometimes in films, bad things happen to random people without provocation. But he takes us through Christine’s psyche and moral center as we explore how she extricates herself from awful predicament.

While some of Raimi’s scenes are tremendously suspenseful, the director makes sure to balance the story out with plenty of humorous moments designed to take just a little bit of edge off of the story. Int the process, the film can be an enjoyable experience, especially if viewed with a group of friends. Reminiscent of classic 1970s horror films that were best experienced if one speaks to the screen, “Drag Me To Hell” may be one of the most entertaining horror films made in quite awhile.

Despite my historical reluctance to embrace these visual theme rides, “Drag Me To Hell” may not be the perfect scary movie but one thing for sure is that Raimi has a handle on his material from start to finish and while the story may go off the rails every now and then by the time it pulls back in the station you will enjoy the ride!

"Stake Land" Is An Indie Vampire Movie That Is Actually Worth A Watch

Stake Land is an indie vampire movie that is actually worth a watch – and that’s saying something, considering how flooded the vampire sub-genre has become in recent years.

The movie is an ultra low-budget flick featuring some hammy performances, but it also manages to weave an interesting (if not slightly cliched) story and present us with some interesting characters worth following. It also features some great imagery, captured along the backroads of the American countryside.

The premise is this: Vampires have overrun America and the human population has been severely dwindled, with “civilization” reduced to clusters of Wild West-style towns. Enter Martin (Connor Paolo), a young teenage boy whose family is attacked by a bloodsucker the night they were set to leave their home to escape the oncoming vampire onslaught. Martin of course survives, aided by the mysterious vampire hunter known only as “Mister” (Nick Damici). Mister takes the orphaned Martin under his wing, trains him, and eventually the two set out on the road, traveling from The South up North toward the prophesied safe haven across the boarder in Canada (insert Canada vs. America jokes here).

Along the way Mister and Martin encounter other travelers, such as a Nun (Top Gun star Kelly McGillis), a pregnant Bar Maid (Halloween star Danielle Harris) and an ex-Marine (Sean Nelson). They also encounter threats at every turn, including the various bloodsuckers roaming the night, bandits, rapists, cannibals, and worst of all, a fanatical militant sect known at The Brethren, led by a maniacal extremist named Jebedia Loven (Micahel Cerveris, a.k.a. The Observer on Fringe).

Stake Land is basically a mashup between your standard vampire horror film and your standard road trip movie, but somehow this movie manages to avoid being so standard that it crosses into boredom. What keeps this indie film treading water is pretty much a combination of some smart direction by Jim Mickle, and a great cast of solid (if not well-known) actors who work well as an ensemble.

Veteran actor Nick Damici portrays “Mister” as a classic Clint Eastwood gunslinger – a hard man of no name and few words who kicks ass at the drop of a hat. While Mister is the most dynamic character to watch, Martin is really our window into this story, and Connor Paolo (who played the young version of Kevin Bacon’s character in Mystic River) succeeds at his only real task: keeping Martin from coming off as annoying. As a boy forced to mature before he’s ready, Martin has the same morbid curiosity about the crumbling world around him as we do. Martin’s development over the course of the film – having to face serious ugliness and pain in a savage world – is also interesting to watch, thanks in large part to Paolo’s competent handling of his role as leading man.

The supporting cast is also strong. I almost didn’t recognize Kelly McGillis as the woman who stole Maverick’s heart in Top Gun, but here she’s just as effective, playing a Nun trying to hold on to her faith in the face of such unholiness. Her character comes and goes throughout the film, but commands real attention in the scenes that she’s in. Danielle Harris is something of an icon on the indie horror circuit, and here she plays her usual spitfire character, this time complicated by the fact that she’s also extremely vulnerable as a pregnant girl about to pop. Longtime character actor Sean Nelson gets little to work with, but is solid in the bits he does get.

Michael Cerveris gets to flaunt his Tony Award-winning theatrics, hamming it up as the maniacal Jebedia. For my part, I thought that Cerveris’ character was the only aspect of the story that caused Stake Land to drag somewhat, mainly because Jebedia is a flat caricature that we’ve seen so many times before. He mainly distracted from the stronger plotline involving the Martin, Mister and their makeshift family, and the story ultimately reduces the character to being little more than cheap Deus ex Machina.

Unlike so many big-budget dystopian films these days, director Jim Mickle doesn’t need CGI-rendered images of destroyed Metropolises to really invoke the bleak world he’s trying to create. If nothing else, Stake Land‘s greatest accomplishment may be the landscapes and natural images shot in (I believe) the woodland areas of upstate New York, which Mickle uses to create his dystopian backdrop. Barren agriculture (naked trees) or old rusted infrastructure – bridges, abandoned factories, etc. – are the primary stages for the film’s outdoor scenes, while small working-class towns serve as the last metropolises in this half-dead world. No matter what he’s filming, Mickle is great about how he composes his shots, incorporating the architecture and agriculture at his disposal in a surprisingly artful way that gives the film greater levels of meaning. A good example of this is when Martin and Mister stop to camp in the hollowed bowels of an (actual) abandoned factory in the countryside; the image of the pair circled by the fire in the shadow of what was once mankind’s symbol of prosperity is haunting and relevant. Mickle maximizes these sorts of naturally occurring resources, which is tenacity worthy of commendation.

The script for Stake Land was written by Mickle and Damici, but thankfully there’s more doing than talking in the film. You won’t find a lot of scenes where characters are reflecting on the profundity of their dystopian circumstances, and when there are “dramatic” moments that require more dialogue and/or exposition (Martin’s voiceover narration or scenes with Jebediah) the movie isn’t nearly as strong. But, as stated, thankfully there is less talking and more doing in this film.

Finally, we couldn’t review a vampire movie without discussing the look of the vampires, right? In Stake Land the bloodsuckers are your classic breed – no sunlight, stake through the heart, etc. – though the film tries to twist the formula a bit by creating vamp sub-categories with their own strengths and weaknesses, which Mister teaches Martin about over the course of the movie. The makeup work is pretty much on the level with any episode of Buffy The Vampire Slayer, but the film mostly employs quick shots of creatures tackling victims, combined with screams and chomping sounds to convey carnage. A helicopter in one scene is basically a light in the sky, wind effects and chopper rotor sound effects; it’s a small-scale operation but it works for the most part.

In the end, Stake Land isn’t the best indie vampire flick ever made – it doesn’t do anything really new or revolutionary – but it’s far from being the worst. Fans of the genre will likely enjoy this entry – though I doubt that many moviegoers beyond that limited circle will have interest in what Stake Land has to offer.

'Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark'-An Actual Scary Movie

When seeing a scary movie in a theater, you always run the risk of encountering that obnoxious audience member – the one who loudly criticizes the characters onscreen as if they can hear him, or laughs at every scary moment, or generally complains how stupid the movie is. Typically, encountering such a person makes for a frustrating viewing experience; in the case of Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark, however, you’ll probably find yourself agreeing with him.

The other issue with the creatures is that, since they are ostensibly small CGI animals, the actors (who are not exactly convincing to begin with) don’t react in ways that coincide with the movements and actions of the creatures. This often involves characters glancing the wrong way, or appearing deaf to sounds the creatures are making – especially young Bailee Madison, who spends the most time alone onscreen and just isn’t equipped to make something convincing out of so much fantasy.

All in all, it’s impossible to recommend Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark to anyone but those who enjoy laughing at horror films which are totally stupid and cheesy. Anyone who wants an actual scary movie experience, or even just some mindless escapism, won’t find either of those things in this house.

 Haunted house films are back in full force. In April we got the beautifully modest and wildly enjoyable Insidious from James Wan and now Guillermo del Toro and Co. are giving the subgenre a go with Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark. While the two are rooted in entirely different core concepts, they do have quite a bit in common, namely child stars vs. evil entities, eerily warm yet threatening tones, fantastic visuals and the fact that they’re both incredibly frightening, exhilarating and entertaining all in one. Haunted house films are officially two for two in 2011.

Have you ever misplaced something and had someone tell you, ‘Well, it couldn’t have just wandered off on its own?’ Well, Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark is somewhat connected to that concept and offers a creepy explanation for bumps in the night, vanishing personal belongings and just about anything else you can’t attribute to normal human behavior in your home. It’s this all-too-relatable scenario that lets the film really get inside your head.

From there, co-writers del Toro and Matthew Robbins expand the basic premise to a point that practically creates a sort of subculture, almost along the lines of vampires and werewolves. No, it’s not quite as extensive or relatable, as the creatures in Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark aren’t humanized or glorified in the least, but even without getting inside their heads, the film offers a firm sense of their history and what they want. The very first scene takes place in the Blackwood Manor on the very day Emerson vanishes. While the moment does offer a significant amount of information in terms of what Emerson was battling, the situation is presented in a vague enough fashion so that we don’t quite know what we’re dealing with, making the next few scenes all the more terrifying.

Plus, talk about dramatic irony. Director Troy Nixey uses the standard horror set-up, delivering an especially disturbing opening scene, making it even more nerve-wracking to see little Sally walk right into this house of horrors. Not only is Madison quite adorable, but the character herself snags all of your sympathy from the moment she steps on screen. She’s a seemingly sad kid being bounced between her divorced parents; how can you not feel for her? Rubbing it in even further is Madison herself as at just 9-years-old during production, she’s as talented as they come. As she’s the center of this story, without a stellar Sally, this supernatural tale wouldn’t have been believable in the least. However, Nixey found a young actress capable of selling it big time, making the experience unnervingly authentic.

The adult characters suffer the slightest bit as Madison steals the show. Both Pearce and Holmes, make for endearing parental figures, Pearce the inexperienced father and Holmes the fill-in desperately seeking Sally’s approval. Between their intimate relationship, their work partnership and this ill-structured family they’re trying to create, their connection is far more unique than with most on-screen couples. While Pearce fades into the background at a point, putting one foot in the trap of the guy who continually denies Sally’s claims regardless of the fact that there’s so much proof, Holmes steps up big time, considering Sally’s accusations and building an intriguing relationship with her in the process. Sure, Kim tiptoes around exposing the truth a bit longer than necessary, but it does give the film the chance to build additional suspense before the grand finale.

From a technical standpoint, the standout elements of Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark are the evil creatures. Nixey takes his sweet time exposing them and when we finally get a good look at what’s been whispering to Sally, the visuals are surprisingly satisfying. They’re frightening, but come with a hint of vulnerability, making them all the more believable. In terms of other scare tactics, Nixey sticks to the book using tracking shots and eerie reveals to create a powerfully ominous tone. Sure you always know danger is on the horizon, but Nixey manages to conceal the threat just enough that when it finally comes, despite having your guard up, it still makes you jump.

Overall, Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark is an excellent blend of sheer terror and frightening fun. You might feel the need to check under the covers before getting in bed after seeing this one, but ultimately, it doesn’t stick with you on a disturbing level, rather simply because it’s a blast to watch.

"Wolvesbayne"-A Werewolf Hero Takes On A Vampire Cult

Wolvesbayne won't win any awards for originality, but as I've said in the past, if you aren't going to bring anything fresh to the table you better make sure to retread familiar territory in an entertaining fashion. This is exactly what director Griff Furst and company manages to do until the overwritten script begins to collapse in on itself during the second half. The breezy pace and enthusiastic cast is almost enough to make you overlook a most annoying turn the story takes.

One thing I do suspect viewers of this fast-paced action horror flick will have a hard time overlooking is how little screen time werewolves get despite ostensibly being billed as a werewolf movie. You can watch and tell every penny of the film’s limited budget is on the screen; maybe with a few more pennies they could have afforded to give the werewolves more face time.

Jeremy London ("Party of 5", "7th Heaven"), showing more personality than usual, stars as greedy real estate developer Russel Bane; a chance roadside encounter with a werewolf leads to him inheriting its curse. After going through the usual newly cursed werewolf motions, the arrogant businessman goes seeking the assistance of the pretty proprietor of an occult shop (Christy Carlson Romano, the voice of Disney's "Kim Possible") he had been scheming to acquire the deed to. She has her own lycanthrope secret and takes the reluctant Bane under her wing to train him in the ways of the werewolf.

Bane’s werewolf problem quickly turns into a vampire problem when he garners the attention of a clan of vamps led by Marc Dacascos as Von Griem, a debonair bloodsucker fed up with his kind having to hide in the shadows.

That the vamps have splintered off into various factions that cannot seem to get along with each other complicates matters. Von Griem resurrects uber vampire Lilith (Yancy Butler, vamping and camping it up all at once, a vampire queen by way of "Mommy Dearest" Joan Crawford) hoping that she can help bring unity to their legion and lead them into a new era of fanged glory. Doing so will require them to acquire a series of amulets that will fully return Lilith's god-like power.

With the exception of a sexy vampire assassin (Stephanie Honore, soon to be seen in Final Destination 3D) these vampires don't do a whole heck of a lot that could be construed as vampiric. More of the World of Darkness "Vampire: The Masquerade" variety, which means excessive amounts of vampire politicking and an overemphasis on talking about what they're plotting rather than actually doing what they're plotting.

Bane gets roped into working with a team of vampire hunters, the leader of which, Jacob Van Helsing, played by former Asylum regular Rhett Giles, demonstrates a take-no-prisoners attitude that doesn’t sit well with Bane.

In fact, all of these vampire hunters are straight out of an Asylum film: Bram Stoker's Dracula's Curse, to be exact. Screenwriter Leigh Scott wrote and directed that film back in his days working for The Asylum and brings a few of those characters back to life in this non-Asylum film. Though these vampire hunters are a colorful lot and Rhett Giles is an underrated actor who makes for a credible vampire slayer, the introduction of this clan of vampire hunters where the Wolvesbayne begins to derail.

Russel Bane's progression from selfish jerk to reluctant werewolf superhero gets put on the back burner, along with his potential were-girl love interest, going from title character to second, maybe even third fiddle as the returning characters from Dracula's Curse waltz in around the 50-minute mark and completely takeover the movie. I figured if nothing else it was all setting up Bane’s big moment during the final battle when he’d use his werewolfism to save the day, but, and this really is hard to believe, that's not exactly how it goes. His big moment doesn't even involve the use of his wolfman powers and Lilith's downfall is almost entirely Van Helsing's doing.

Imagine you're watching the Wolverine origin movie. Two-thirds into the film the X-Men show up; recruit him, and from that point on he just becomes another face in the crowd while Professor X, Cyclops, and Storm dominate the proceedings and lead the charge against the bad guys. Then the final battle hardly involves Wolverine; he barely brandishes his claws and is just kind of there while other X-Men vanquish the villains. People watching a Wolverine movie probably want to watch Wolverine rip the bad guys to shreds, not smiling politely off to the side while Cyclops blasts the main supervillain into oblivion.

When Wolvesbayne was over I kind of had the feeling I'd just spent 90-minutes watching the superhero origin movie for a minor supporting sidekick. Even then the film is not half bad, but I can't help but come away feeling a bit soured by the lack of werewolf action in what's being billed primarily as a werewolf movie and then having that werewolf character we’re emotionally invested in all but sidelined by a group of secondary characters that dominate the entire third act.

"A Nightmare On Elm Street"-Considered Across The Board A Classic

A Nightmare On Elm Street, the original Wes Craven film is widely considered across the board a classic. Praised by almost all horror fans myself included , it spawned seven sequels including the slasher team up Freddy Vs Jason. It's fair to say that Freddy Kreuger is a horror icon, so much so, you would think his loyal fan base would be ecstatic to hear he's returning to the big screen after a seven year absence. However, this was not the case. Why, Because they re-cast the comedian serial killer previously portrayed by Robert Englund, for none other then Academy Award Nominated actor Jackie Earle Haley. How dare they, I know.

What was the result? It wasn't an absolutely mind blowing performance from Haley, but still easily the best on screen incarnation of Freddy Krueger to date. He's not so much funny anymore, as he is clever and sadistic.

A group of teenagers living on Elm Street in the small town of Springwood Ohio, all friends, are having the same nightmare. They’re being terrorized by a man, who’s horribly burned , wearing a tattered red and green sweater, a beaten up brown fedora, and a glove with razor sharp knives at the finger tips.

One by one he stalks them in their dreams, where he controls the rules, and the only way out is to wake up. When one of them dies a violent gruesome death, they soon realize that what happens in their dreams happens in reality, and the only way to stay alive is to stay awake. Turning to each other, the survivors try to uncover how they all became part of this same nightmare.

The opening sequence in the film is amazing, the re-introduction to Freddy Krueger was not at all what I was expecting. The trailers really don't give much away, and in a lot ways really don't do it justice.

We're introduced to all of the main characters within the first five minutes, they're attending a friends funeral, and don't worry I'm not spoiling anything. From here we follow Kris (Katie Cassidy) for the first portion of the film, and where it stands apart from the original, is she has little actual involvement with Nancy (Rooney Mara), aside from talking to her briefly at the funeral. At first it almost feels like Nancy has been replaced with Kris as the main character, as we see very little of her to begin with.

The jail scenes from the original are successfully updated, only hardly taken advantage of. Much like before, this ends fairly quickly.

Nancy then joins forces with Quintin (Kyle Gallner)to help one another stay awake, and find the connection between her friends, and Freddy Krueger the man from all of their nightmares. She knows her mom is hiding something, so convenient dialogue and plot leads to her soon finding out how she really knows Freddy, and how long her friends and her have actually known one another.

The story moves along fairly quickly altogether, but unlike the original it has far less plot holes. They attempt to give Freddy somewhat of a back story in the form of a few brief flashbacks about half way through, but decided to cram all this into only 102 minutes running time, as opposed to making it a full two hours and fully developing the back story.

The most important aspect, the portrayal of the icon himself Freddy Krueger, is done extremely well by Jackie Earle Haley. The new Freddy is no longer comedic, nor is he fun. He's creepy, weird and disgusting as shit, his face is absolutely nasty. The only real downfall for Freddy is every time we see him, he has a different voice and a new clever quip, sometimes perverted, and others very angry or sadistic. There is no doubt in my mind, Haley is a huge step up from what we were getting with Englund in the past, and I say this as life long fan of the franchise.

Said and done, Haley brings his A-Game for us, where as Englund brought only his charisma and shitty make up.

Yes, the new make up does actually look really good. Once you see it in action, you'll forget how shitty it looked in almost all those trailers you saw. The same can almost be said for his voice as well, its definitely a lot better then what you've heard yet, but it does change through out the course of the entire film for no apparent reason.

The kills, I would say are a huge step up from "most" everything we saw in the original franchise. Except for the throw backs to the original, the bathtub scene was changed entirely, and the jail "suicide" was very "meh", and not so much of a suicide anymore either.

The dream scenes are done extremely well, Samuel Bayer has brought a whole new take of this aspect to the nightmare franchise. The differentiating between the dreams and reality isn't always seamless like it was in the original, but the dreams themselves are done much better in the remake. Bayer, seems to really capture the feeling of what its like to be sleeping and inside an actual living nightmare.

I think that new fans to the franchise will easily consider Haley to be the definitive Krueger, as he did do a great job, but returning die hard fans of the original may not like the way Freddy looks or sounds, and I'll expect to hear as much from them.

I'll admit that in some ways I went into this with a slightly biased opinion, because I've grown up loving the original franchise for years. But I think that Platinum Dunes and Samuel Bayer have put together a great Nightmare film. I was worried I'd have my expectations set too high and end up disappointed, but I really liked what they did. They have officially succeeded in making Freddy Krueger scary again!

"Rebel Without A Cause"-Make Sure To Keep An Open Mind Though

Proof that trouble in teenage-land has been around for a long time, Rebel Without A Cause is an early teenage tragedy, an examination of the seemingly insurmountable agony faced by young people in the face of clueless parents. It is also a gripping film, tightly directed by Nicholas Ray, who extracts enthralling, haunting, and career-defining performances from James Dean, Natalie Wood and Sal Mineo.

Jim (Dean), Judy (Wood), and John, nicknamed Plato (Mineo) are deeply troubled Los Angeles teenagers: all three are suffering from severe conflicts with their parents. Jim's Dad is spineless, and his mother domineering. Judy is getting no affection and a lot of verbal abuse from her father, and she is hanging out with "the kids", the local bully gang and their leader Buzz. Plato's parents are simply not there: he does not really know anything about his father, and his mother recently abandoned him, leaving him in the care of housekeeper.

After an evening when their lives cross at the local police juvenile office, Plato befriends Jim and sees in him a replacement father figure. Jim is attracted to Judy, but she pretends to be more interested in fitting in with the kids while flirting with Buzz. Jim is soon on the wrong side of the kids and agrees to challenge Buzz in a chicken run: an illegal car race towards a sheer cliff, with the first to bail labelled a chicken. As Judy, Plato, and the rest of the local teenagers watch, Buzz is accidentally trapped in his car and killed in the race. Judy and Jim warm up to each other, but the the bully boys want to silence Jim before he talks to the police about the illegal race.

Plato, Jim and Judy get no help from their families, and eventually escape to an abandoned mansion, where Buzz's buddies catch up with them, followed by the police. Plato by now is completely unhinged, and drags Jim and Judy, and everyone else into a chase that will end in tragedy.

Rebel Without A Cause features a memorable and dominant James Dean performance. Showing remarkable vulnerability and anguish, his portrayal of Jim Stark as a tormented teenager crying out for guidance is riveting. The movie piles the pressure on Jim: he get no help from his Dad; the local bullies turn against him; all of a sudden Jim is thrust into the role of Plato's surrogate Dad; and his first, seemingly innocuous mis-step as a father figure results in a calamity. The film at least offers some hope that with a woman believing in him, things could get better.

James Dean at 24 years old, Natalie Wood at 17 and Sal Mineo at 16 dominate Rebel Without A Cause, and enshrine their screen personas: Dean as the cool but troubled soul; Wood as the innocent but dangerous girl, and Mineo as the mis-fit. Their performances shine through the film, and into legend.

In one of movie history's most cruel twists, all three suffered unexpected and cruel deaths. Dean perished in a head-on car crash later in 1955, the same year that Rebel was released, and just three films into his career. Mineo was murdered in a 1976 random stabbing. Wood accidentally drowned in 1981, after falling overboard from a yacht.

Rebel Without A Cause draws a straight, bold line between failed parenting, specifically failed fatherhood, and troubled teenagers. The film is not subtle about Jim's emancipated Dad utterly failing to provide any guidance about becoming a man. Judy's Dad appears unable to deal with her as a woman rather than a child. And the void created by the absence of a Dad in Plato's life is the core of his journey into darkness. The title may claim a lack of cause; the content says otherwise: the cause of rebellion is easy to spot for those willing to confront it.

Rosemary's Baby Offered The Great Scenery Spot

Rosemary's Baby is a 1967 best-selling horror novel by Ira Levin, his second published book. Just outside of the Dakota, a landmark apartment building on Manhattan's Upper West Side, John Lennon was shot, this is the building Rosmary was living at in the film. The Dakota Building on Manhattan's Upper West Side was renamed The Bramford for the film.

It centers on Rosemary Woodhouse, a young mother-to-be, who begins to suspect her elderly neighbors are not the kindly souls they appear to be. She soon discovers they are the leaders of a coven of witches and her husband, a struggling actor, allowed the devil to impregnate her in exchange for a successful career, but she is unable to convince anyone to believe her.

Interestingly, themes explored in "Rosemary's Baby" also appear in Levin's The Stepford Wives; both books involve women who sense something wrong is happening, but no one believes them. And in both books, the plot is set in motion by their husbands' goals (for a successful acting career in "Rosemary's Baby" or a perfect wife in "Stepford Wives.")

The movie was filmed partially on location at the the Dakota, off Central Park West in New York City. The Dakota apartment building has had a series of ghost sightings and strange happenings. A little girl, appearing in 19th century clothes, said "today is my birthday," to a workman and the next day a co-worker was killed, Patterson recounted. He also noted bad luck that befell some of the people involved in the film Rosemary's Baby which was partially filmed at the Dakota, such as producer William Castle who received death threats. Interestingly, a scene in the movie that depicts where a woman jumped from a balcony, is the same part of the sidewalk where John Lennon was shot, notes Author R. Gary Patter.
Levin published a sequel to the novel, titled Son of Rosemary in 1997. Levin dedicated it to Mia Farrow. The TV movie, "Look What's Happened to Rosemary's Baby" was made in 1976, but was not connected to the novel.

Roman Polanski's 1968 film told the story of a young Manhattan woman whose husband trades their unborn child in a Faustian pact with a group of devil worshippers. A year after its release, Polanski's own wife, the actress Sharon Tate, was murdered by the Manson Family. Tate was pregnant with the couple's first child when she died.

It was on the set of this film that Mia Farrow received divorce papers from then-husband Frank Sinatra.

There was a popular belief that Alfred Hitchcock was originally offered the chance to direct this movie. This has been deemed false. The director was never approached.

There is a popular rumor that Church of Satan founder Anton LaVey gave technical advice and portrayed Satan in the impregnation scene. This is false - LaVey had no involvement with the film.

Directed by Roman Polanski, whose pregnant wife actress Sharon Tate was murdered in 1969 by Charles Manson and his followers, who titled their death spree "Helter Skelter" after the 1968 song by The Beatles, one of whose members, 'John Lennon,' would one day live (and in 1980 be murdered) in the Manhattan apartment building called The Dakota - where Rosemary's Baby had been filmed.

There is a heatedly disputed rumor that Sharon Tate appears unbilled at the party Rosemary gives for her "young" friends.

Mia Farrow does the vocals on the title-sequence lullaby.
This was Roman Polanski's very first adaptation, and it is very faithful to the novel. Pieces of dialog, color schemes and clothes are taken verbatim.

William Castle acquired the movie rights to the novel. Robert Evans of Paramount agreed to green-light the project if Castle did not direct. This was due to Castle's fame and reputation as a director of low budget horror films. Castle was allowed to make a prominent cameo appearance.

According to Mia Farrow, the scenes where Rosemary walks in front of traffic were spontaneous and genuine. Roman Polanski is reported to have told her that "nobody will hit a pregnant woman."

This film, along with Repulsion (1965) and Locataire, Le (1976), forms a loose trilogy by Roman Polanski about the horrors of apartment/city dwelling.
This was Roman Polanski's first American film. His first American film was going to be Downhill Racer (1969), but Robert Evans of Paramount decided that "Rosemary's Baby" would be more suited to Polanski.

Casting for Rosemary's Baby presented its own problems: Polanski at first saw Rosemary as an "All-American Girl" and sought Tuesday Weld for the lead, but she passed on the role. Jane Fonda was then approached, but turned down the offer so she could make _Barbarella (1968)_ in Europe with then- husband Roger Vadim. According to his memoirs, Polanski for a while had the idea of having his future wife Sharon Tate on the part of Rosemary, yet he desisted, thinking it would have been unethical. Other actresses considered for the part were Julie Christie, Elizabeth Hartman and Joanna Pettet. Robert Evans suggested Mia Farrow based on her TV work and her media appeal (at the time she was Mrs. Frank Sinatra).

Both men wanted Robert Redford for the role of Guy Woodhouse, but negotiations broke down when Paramount's lawyers blundered by serving the actor with a subpoena over a contractual dispute regarding his pulling out of Silvio Narizzano's film Blue (1968). Other actors considered were Richard Chamberlain, Jack Nicholson and James Fox. Laurence Harvey begged to do it, Warren Beatty turned it down claiming "Hey! Can't I play Rosemary?", before the part was offered to John Cassavetes. For Minnie and Roman Castevet, William Castle suggested Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne, the famous Broadway acting duo. He even tried to convince Polanski to let him play the part of Dr. Sapirstein, a role eventually filled by Ralph Bellamy.

According to John Parker's recent biography of Jack Nicholson, Robert Evans suggested Nicholson to Polanski but, after their meeting, the director stated that "for all his talent, his slightly sinister appearance ruled him out".

The Actual Filming Rumors That "The Crow" Set Was Cursed

The Crow is a 1994 American film adaptation of the comic book of the same name by James O'Barr (who himself makes a cameo in the film). During the actual filming rumors that "The Crow" set was cursed, many accidents happened. A carpenter was severely burned after the crane in which he was riding struck high-power lines; then a disgruntled sculptor who had worked on the set drove his car through the studio's plaster shop, doing extensive damage. Later, another crew member slipped and drove a screwdriver through his hand and a lorry full of equipment mysteriously went on fire.

It was directed by Alex Proyas and starred Brandon Lee, and gained instant notoriety even before its release, when Lee was accidentally killed during filming. Despite this (or perhaps because of it), the film has gained a cult following over the years.

The streets of Detroit are rain-slickened and littered with filth, smoky fires burn in the distance, and daylight never seems to shine.

Detroit is where tough street waif Sarah (Rochelle Davis) lives, and where her two best friends, rock guitarist Eric Draven (Brandon Lee) and his angelic fiancee Shelley Webster (Sofia Shinas) are brutally murdered.
It is said that when a man dies wrongfully, a crow may bring him back to life to seek vengeance upon his killer.

A year after Draven and Shelley have been laid to rest, Draven returns from the grave, clawing his way up from the ground. He's met by a crow perched upon his headstone, his guide between the worlds of the living and the dead.

Draven, with his face painted, searches for the killers -- T-Bird (David Patrick Kelly), Skank (Angel David), Tin Tin (Laurence Mason), and Funboy (Michael Masse).

Draven kills them one by one. And it all leads Draven to Top Dollar (Michael Wincott), the crime boss who masterminded Draven and Shelley's murders. Top Dollar and his lover Myca (Bai Ling) seem to have some kind of stranglehold over the city.

Draven crosses paths with Sarah and good cop Albrecht (Ernie Hudson). Top Dollar kidnaps Sarah, and then Myca captures the crow and begins to sap Draven's supernatural powers.

They hole up in a gothic church, and Draven uses the last of his strength to rescue Sarah. When his mission is complete, and all those responsible for his and Shelley's murders are dead, Draven returns to the grave, his soul able to rest peacefully.

On March 31, 1993, there were eight days left before shooting of the film was to be completed. The scene being filmed involved Lee's character Eric Draven walking into his apartment and witnessing the brutal rape of his fiancée by thugs. Lee's character would then have been shot and killed along with his fiancée by the thugs. As the scene was being filmed, Brandon Lee was killed after Michael Massee (who played the villain Funboy) fired the gun at Lee as intended. The bullet unseated from a dummy round was lodged in the barrel of the handgun.

The bullet was not noticed and the gun was loaded with a blank cartridge. When the blank was fired, the bullet shot out and hit Lee in the abdomen. After Lee's death, a stunt double, Chad Stahelski replaced Lee in some scenes to complete the film. Special effects were used for digitally compositing Lee's face onto the double. Michael Masse, the actor who plays funboy, was not to blame. An unknown person in the production film, wanted the film to look real, but little did this person know that it would personally injure him.

A New Version-The Omen

The Omen is a 1976 suspense/horror film directed by Richard Donner and starring Gregory Peck, Lee Remick, David Warner, Harvey Stephens, Billie Whitelaw, Patrick Troughton, Martin Benson, and Leo McKern. It is the first film in The Omen series and it is based on a horror novel by David Seltzer.

Though part of a cycle of similarly-themed movies, The Omen has gained prestige over time for a number of reasons: its respectability (as a profitable major-studio film with renowned actors), its seriousness (it plays as a contemporary thriller, rather than with the knowing excesses of certain aspects of the horror genre), and the originality of the movie's Jerry Goldsmith score.

The movie followed a cycle of 'demonic child' movies, such as Rosemary's Baby, and most notably The Exorcist, and was itself followed by sequels (see below) and a number of copycat films such as the Italian-made Kirk Douglas movie Holocaust 2000.

A new version, The Omen, was released on June 6, 2006.

Set in Fulham, England; the premise of The Omen comes from the end times prophecies of Christianity. The story tells of the childhood of Damien Thorn, who was switched at birth with the murdered child of a wealthy American diplomat. Damien's family is unaware that he is actually the offspring of Satan and destined to become the Antichrist. His father, Robert Thorn, eventually begins to realize this with the help of a photographer named Keith Jennings, after numerous people connected to Damien begin dying in tragic accidents. After Damien's first nanny hangs herself at Damien's fifth birthday party, a new nanny, named Mrs. Baylock, arrives to tend to him. A priest who knows about Damien begins stalking Robert, and is eventually the one to first point out that Damien is the Antichrist, and that he intends to kill everyone in his way. The priest later dies in a bizarre accident, and Katherine Thorn, Damien's mother, suffers a fall after being knocked over a railing by Damien.

With Katherine in the hospital, Robert and Keith journey to Israel to find a man named Bugenhagen, an archaeologist who knows how to stop the Antichrist. While there, however, Katherine is killed by Mrs Baylock, who pushes her from the window in her hospital room. Robert learns that he has to stab his son with seven special daggers to prevent the end of the world. Horrified by this, he tosses the daggers aside, only for Keith to run and pick them back up, leading to his own untimely death. Robert returns to London with the daggers, intending to kill his son.

Returning to his mansion, Robert is attacked first by Mrs Baylocks guard dog. He manages to lock it in a room and then goes upstairs to check whether Damien has the "666" birthmark (as explained by Bugenhagen). Seeing it on Damien's scalp after cutting away some hair, Robert has no doubt about Damien's true identity.

It is at this moment that Damien's Satanic nanny attacks him from behind. After violently wrestling with her, Robert puts her out of play temporarily with a flying kick in the face. As he drags Damien downstairs, Damien kicks and screams at Robert. Bumping into a light fixture while descending the staircase, Robert and Damien tumble down the stairs, knocking Damien temporarily unconscious. As Robert prepares to exit the home, Mrs. Baylock re-appears and the two struggle in the kitchen before Robert finally kills her with a knife to the neck. Robert then exits, tosses a limp Damien into the front passenger seat of the car and proceeds to go to the church where he plans to kill Damien.

As he bursts through the gates of his mansion, his security is alerted and chases his car, followed by the police. Robert drags Damien to the church and, as he is about to stab him on an altar with one of the knives as directed by Bugenhagen, the police arrive and shoot Robert.

The movie ends with Robert's funeral where Damien is seen holding the president's hand. The camera lowers to Damien, who looks at the camera and gives an evil smile in one of the movie's most famous moments before the credits roll.

The Omen was characterized by the chillingly effective use of symbolism, such as the birthmark of the number 666 on Damien's scalp, the effective use of crosses and statuary for foreshadowing, and the wallpapering of a room with pages from a Bible to ward off evil spirits.

The Omen (also known as The Omen: 666) is a 2006 remake of the 1976 horror film The Omen. The film is directed by John Moore and is written by David Seltzer. Principal photography began on October 3, 2005 at Barrandov Studios in Prague, Czech Republic. The film is part of the Omen series.

The Omen was released on June 6, 2006 (6/6/06), at 06:06:06 in the morning. This symbolically represents the number 666, which, traditionally is regarded as the "Number of the Beast," according to the New Testament (this is disputed by several theologians, however).

The MPAA rated this film as R for disturbing violent content, graphic images, and disturbing sequences.
The Omen opened on a Tuesday in order to be released on June 6, and recorded the highest opening Tuesday box office gross in domestic box office history in the United States, by earning more than $12 million. The film earned $12,633,666 on its first day, with the last three digits ending in the number 666. However, Bruce Snyder, Fox's president of distribution, said, "We were having a little fun" when referring to his studio's manipulation of the box office number's last three digits.

The Amityville Horror - A True Story

The Amityville Horror is a 2005 horror film directed by Andrew Douglas for United Artists and Dimension Films. It is a remake of the original 1979 film version of The Amityville Horror, which was based on Jay Anson's 1977 novel of the same name. The film is ostensibly inspired by a real life murder case from November 1974 in Long Island, New York, in which Ronald DeFeo, Jr. shot dead six members of his family.

George and Kathy Lutz (played by Ryan Reynolds and Melissa George), along with their three children, move into what they believe will be their dream home on Long Island, New York. The house had previously belonged to the DeFeo family, where Ronald DeFeo, Jr. had murdered his parents and siblings with a rifle a year earlier. DeFeo had claimed that he heard voices urging him to commit the crime.
Also see: AMITYVILLE THE MOST HAUNTED FAMOUS HOUSES IN AMERICA - Haunted ...Most haunted house in America, Amityville The House Of Horrors: Facts and Fictions,
The Lutz family soon start hearing ghostly voices and witnessing apparitions, including the ghost of Jodie DeFeo. George is the most affected, and he eventually becomes a danger to those around him. The local priest is called in to bless the house and he fails, warning Kathy to leave the house before it is too late. At the climax of the film, George Lutz tries to kill the other members of his family but is unsuccessful, and they all flee the house.

The best known of these films is the first version, which was released in July 1979. The film was made by the independent production company American International Pictures headed by Samuel Z. Arkoff, and directed by Stuart Rosenberg. It starred James Brolin and Margot Kidder as George and Kathy Lutz. The part of the priest who blesses the house was played by Rod Steiger, whose name in the film is Father Delaney. The 1979 version and its two sequels were filmed at a house in Toms River, New Jersey which had been converted to look like 112 Ocean Avenue after the authorities in Amityville denied permission for location filming.
The real life George Lutz denounced the 2005 version of the film as "drivel" and was suing the makers of the film at the time of his death in May 2006.

William Weber, the defense lawyer for Ronald DeFeo at his trial in 1975, has since claimed that the story that inspired the original book was a hoax concocted between himself and the Lutz family.

This was the last film marketed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer before its 2005 merger.
The house used as the Lutz home in the film was in Silver Lake, Wisconsin while other location work was shot in Antioch, Illinois.
 
In December 1975, George and Kathleen Lutz and their children moved into 112 Ocean Avenue, a large Dutch Colonial house in Amityville, a suburban neighborhood located on the south shore of Long Island, New York. Thirteen months before the Lutzes moved in, Ronald DeFeo, Jr. had shot dead six members of his family at the house. After 28 days the Lutzes left the house, claiming to have been terrorized by paranormal phenomena while living there.

Much of the controversy surrounding The Amityville Horror can be traced back to the way that it has been marketed over the years. The cover of the book shown on the right implies that it is based on verifiable events. A quote from a review in the Los Angeles Times displayed on the front cover states: "A FASCINATING, FRIGHTENING BOOK... THE SCARIEST TRUE STORY I HAVE READ IN YEARS", while the tagline at the bottom states: "MORE HIDEOUSLY FRIGHTENING THAN THE EXORCIST BECAUSE IT ACTUALLY HAPPENED!" The reference to The Exorcist is revealing, since the 1973 film had been a huge box office success and was one of the major cultural events of the 1970s. Many of the incidents in the book recall the style of The Exorcist, and this is one of the reasons why it has aroused suspicion.

In the afterword of The Amityville Horror Jay Anson states: "There is simply too much independent corroboration of their narrative to support the speculation that [the Lutzes] either imagined or fabricated these events", but some people remained unconvinced. Almost as soon as the book was published in September 1977, other writers and researchers began looking into the events at 112 Ocean Avenue, and the conclusions that they reached were often at odds with those that had appeared in Anson's book.

Poltergeist Seems Specifically Designed To Cause Nightmares

The Poltergeist movies are a trilogy of horror films produced in the 1980s. Steven Spielberg co-wrote and co-produced the first Poltergeist, with Tobe Hooper (The Texas Chain Saw Massacre) as the director. Brian Gibson directed Poltergeist II: The Other Side, while Poltergeist III was directed, co-written, co-produced and storyboarded by Gary Sherman.

Michael Grais and Mark Victor co-wrote the first film with Spielberg, wrote the second film on their own and also co-produced it. Brian Taggert and an uncredited Steve Feke co-wrote the third film.

Spielberg's long-time friends (and then-married couple) Frank Marshall and Kathleen Kennedy co-produced the first film. Freddie Fields and Lynn Arost co-produced the second film, and the third film was co-produced by Barry Bernardi.

The scores of the first two films were composed by Jerry Goldsmith. H.R. Giger did conceptual designs for the second film.

In the first and most successful film (released on June 4 1982), a group of seemingly benign ghosts begin communicating with five-year-old Carol Anne Freeling in her parents' suburban California home via static on the television. Eventually they use the TV as their path into the house itself. They kidnap Carol Anne, and most of the film involves the family's efforts to rescue her. Eventually they do, but then the spirits, led by a demon known only as The Beast, go on a rampage.
Poltergeist II: The Other Side (1986)

This sequel exists to explain in much greater detail why Carol Anne was targeted in the first film. As it turns out, the Freelings' house in the first movie was built over a massive underground cavern that was the final resting place of a utopian cult that died there in the early 1800s. This cavern was even below the graveyard that wasn't relocated in the first film. The cult was led by Rev. Henry Kane, and this man did not have the best intentions. He was power hungry, anxious to control the souls of his followers in both life and death. This film also elaborates that the females in the family have measures of psychic powers, making them a target for the spirits.

Apparently, between the second and third films, the Freeling family has had quite enough of all supernatural activity, and have decided to cut it off at the source: Carol Anne is now living with her aunt Pat (whom Carol Anne insists on calling Trish, a common nickname for Patricia; this is important later in the film as a way of identifying an impostor Carol Anne) and uncle Bruce Gardner in the John Hancock Center where Bruce also works in downtown Chicago.

Some of the stars in the movie, such as Dominique Dunne and Heather O'Rourke, died young. As a result, an urban legend has grown up asserting that the cast was cursed. See the Poltergeist curse.

The line "They're here!" was voted on AFI's 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes at number 69.

H.R. Giger was responsible for The Beast's creature design.

Of all the films in the series, the first is the only one not currently owned by MGM — it is currently owned by Warner Bros. via its acquisition of Turner Entertainment, which is in possession of the pre-1986 MGM library.
The Poltergeist curse is a rumour that a supposed curse is/was attached to the Poltergeist motion picture series and its stars.

The idea that the casts of the several movies in the series were in some way cursed is a superstition based on the fact that four of the cast members from the movies died in a relatively short span of the films' release, two of them dying at a young age (12 and 22). It is not clear that these particular films are atypical in the number or nature of the deaths of their actors.
In Poltergeist's case, those associated with the film who died prematurely include:
Dominique Dunne, 22-year-old actress who played the oldest sister Dana in the first movie, died after being choked by a jealous boyfriend in 1982. The boyfriend was later convicted and sentenced to six years in prison.

Heather O'Rourke, 12-year-old actress who played Carol Anne in the three Poltergeist movies, died in 1988 after what doctors initially described as an acute form of influenza but later changed to septic shock after bacterial toxins invaded her bloodstream.

Julian Beck, 60-year-old who played Kane in Poltergeist II: The Other Side, died of stomach cancer, with which he was diagnosed before he had accepted the role.
Will Sampson, 53 years old, who played Taylor the Medicine Man in Poltergeist II, died of post-operative kidney failure and pre-operative malnutrition problems.
Other rumours surrounding the film have pointed to a potential cause of the curse. The most widely blamed alleges that real human skeletal remains were used as props in the first film, causing the angry spirits of the deceased to wreak havoc. On this theory, also "survivor" actress JoBeth Williams has pointed out in television interviews (most notably the E! True Hollywood Story episode "The Curse of Poltergeist") that she was actually told that the skeletons used in the well-known swimming pool scene in the first Poltergeist film were real.

Other occurrences that have been attributed to the curse include:
The "Freeling" home in Southern California where the original film was partially shot was damaged by the Northridge earthquake in 1994.

JoBeth Williams, who played mother Diane Freeling, claims she returned home from the set each day to find pictures on her wall askew. She would straighten them, only to find them crooked again the next day.

Actor Will Sampson, a Creek Indian and actual shaman, performed an exorcism on the set of Poltergeist II to rid it of "alien spirits." A year after Poltergeist II was released, he died.

During a scene when Robbie Freeling (Oliver Robins) was choked by a clown in his room, something went wrong with the prop and Robins was actually being choked.
During a photography session for Poltergeist III, it was discovered that one shot of another "survivor" co-star Zelda Rubenstein had shining light obstructing the view of her face. Rubenstein claims the photo was taken at the moment her real-life mother died.

During the fight Dominique Dunne had with her boyfriend that ended up with her losing her life, Dominique's friend who was at the house turned up the Poltergeist soundtrack to drown out the noise of the two yelling outside.

During the making of Poltergeist III, a movie set of a parking garage was completely engulfed by fire during shooting of a fire scene, from which only one crew member escaped without a scratch.
 

The Exorcist Is The Thriller Film

The Exorcist is an Academy Award-winning 1973 American horror and thriller film, adapted from the 1971 novel of the same name by William Peter Blatty, dealing with the demonic possession of a young girl, and her mother’s desperate attempts to win back her daughter through an exorcism conducted by several priests. The film features Ellen Burstyn, Linda Blair, Max von Sydow, Kitty Winn, Lee J. Cobb and Jason Miller. Both the film and novel took inspirations from a documented exorcism in 1949, performed on a 12 year old boy.

 The film became one of the most profitable horror films of all time and has had significant impact on viewers, grossing $402,500,000 worldwide. The film earned ten Academy Award nominations—winning two, one for Best Sound and Best Adapted Screenplay. Considered the scariest movie of all time, "The Exorcist" won two Acadamy Awards after it's release in 1973.

Based on the 1971 novel by William Peter Blatty, The Exorcist marries three different scenarios into one plot.

The movie starts with Father Lankester Merrin (Max von Sydow) on an archaeological dig near Nineveh. He is then brought to a nearby hole where a small stone head is found, resembling some sort of creature. After talking to one of his supervisors, he then travels to a spot where a strange statue stands, specifically Pazuzu, with a head similar to the one he found earlier. He sees an ominous man up a bit away, and two dogs fight loudly nearby, setting the tone for the rest of the film.

A visiting actress, Chris McNeill (Ellen Burstyn) in Washington, D.C., notices dramatic and dangerous changes in the behavior and physical make-up of her 12-year-old daughter Regan McNeill (Linda Blair), first believing her rapid change physically and mentally are due to trauma from her recent break-up with Regan's biological father. During this time, several supernatural occurrences plague the household of the McNeill's along with the sudden change in her daughter, including violently shaking beds, strange noises and unexplained movement.

Meanwhile, Father Damian Karras, a young priest at nearby Georgetown University, begins to doubt his faith while dealing with his mother's terminal sickness. Regan exhibits strange, unnatural powers, including levitation and great strength. When all medical possibilities are exhausted, her mother is sent to a priest who is also a psychiatrist. He becomes convinced that Regan is possessed.

Father Merrin, who in addition to being an archeologist is also experienced in exorcism, is summoned to Washington. He and Father Karras try to drive the spirit from Regan before she dies. Regan, or rather the spirit, claims she is not possessed by a simple demon, but the Devil himself.

At the climax of the lengthy exorcism, Father Merrin dies of heart failure and Father Karras shouts at the demon to enter himself. After this, the priest immediately throws himself outside of Regan's bedroom window in order to stop the spirit from continuing its cycle in possession. Regan is restored to her normal self, and according to Chris, claims she does not remember any of the experience. The film ends as the McNeill mother and daughter move to a different city to move on from their ordeal.

CastJason Miller as Father Damien Karras
Ellen Burstyn as Chris MacNeil
Max von Sydow as Father Lankester Merrin
Lee J. Cobb as Detective Lieutenant William F. Kinderman
Linda Blair as Regan MacNeil
Kitty Winn as Sharon Spencer
Jack MacGowran as Burke Dennings
Mercedes McCambridge as Voice of 'the demon'
Rev. William O'Malley as Father Joe Dyer

The Vampire Diaries:A Little Bit Of History Repeating

There was a whole lot of backstory, a whole lot of myths, legends and curses, most of which turned out to be a pile of lies to find the doppelganger. Katherine was feisty, Damon was snarky, and Stefan tried to out noble everyone within a ten mile radius. Bonnie was apparently the most important person in Mystic Falls, Elijah was most definitely the coolest, and Klaus had an ego to rival Damon’s. People died, people survived, and death bed smoochies are now included in the werewolf bite deluxe package…

I feel like this beginning has slipped in from True Blood – it’s more that vibe than Vampire Diaries. Although who knew that Klaus could do a pretty yummy southern accent?...

“I promise I’m not a serial killer, I just want to use your phone.” Aw sweetie, face it head on, admitting your problem is the first step on the road to recovery…

I love that he tries to see if he can get in without compelling first. It’s all about the challenge with this guy.

I have to admit even I jumped a bit when she opens the door and sees broody Stefan waiting to catch the left overs. “I love it when they run.”

I also love that Klaus takes no part in the bloodshed. He’s enjoying Stefan’s problem and seeing how far he can push him until he completely snaps, because until he’s smirking and swaggering and relishing the blood shed, I don’t think he’s snapped.

Cue screams – welcome back VD, we’ve missed you.I love that this whole opening with Elena is so close to the opening we had in Season 1 when she was dealing with the death of her parents. These kids have been through so much. Why is no-one hugging them?!

(Although she’s managing the parenting Jeremy thing pretty well…)
Caroline! I missed you! And a party! Oh sweetie C’mere!!!!
Ric! Ha, I love that he’s not only crashing at the Gilbert’s, but he also can’t make the coffee machine work.

Oh god these two are so cute, Caroline and Tyler just light up like lightbulbs whenever they’re around each other. Drop the shopping and shirtless hug already!
I like the Ric/Elena dynamic they’ve got going on and how she’s immediately latched on to the idea that Ric is the nearest thing to an adult around her (Damon has the mentality of a teenage boy after all) and therefore the adult will move in, be a parent, and make everything be ok again. She probably should have given that memo to Ric at some point though…

Wow, Andie is still around? I’d almost forgotten her existence. And why are we trying to pretend that Damon and Andie have a meaningful relationship that isn’t based on her being his full working slave?... ‘Get your own champagne’ – really?
Although anything that gets Damon wandering around the house in nothing but soap suds is good.

I love the dynamic going on between Elena and Damon. I wasn’t sure how it would play out following that deathbed smush moment at the end of last season, but I like this antagonistic flirting. It makes me happy inside.

Damon has a cupboard full of maps and tip offs?! This guys needs a broom cupboard! And a typewriter! And a bottle of whiskey! And to never find pants again!
Hello Bonnie product placement cram in!

Um, when did Jeremy get buff?! Does waiting tables do that to you?...
Or maybe it’s the constant jumping over seeing your dead vampire girlfriends!
Oh Matt, someone else is in desperate need of shirtless hugs! Maybe Jeremy would oblige. I think they’d make a cute couple.

Oh dear god you have no idea how happy Tyler and Caroline are making me right now. The whole, people think we’re dating? That’s crazy! And insane! And why are you smiling like that?! I’m smiling because you’re smiling! Giggle, wink, nudge etc. I LOVE IT.
“I however, am something else. A different kind of monster.”

I love that Stefan’s compelled everyone in the bar, so it’s the horrific freakshow that no-one even bats an eye over. Shudders, but in a good way. I’m also so glad that Klaus is now a regular, because he is freaking awesome, and makes me swoon then cower in fright in a matter of seconds. The only thing that can possibly top this, is if they PULL THE DAGGER OUT and let my true love return. Yes Elijah baby I’m looking at you.

Damon and Ric are so cute together. Ric should so move in with him… I would pay good money to see a sitcom involving the two of them living together.
Oh good, blood, guts and carnage. And dead girls!

I love that Damon knows Stefan so well to know his kills, and I also love this explanation for his Ripper title.

“He feeds so much he blacks out, rips them apart. And then when he comes round he feels remorse. It’s the damndest thing – he puts the bodies back together again.”

Ew – yet at the same time, freaking awesome.

I LOVE THIS. The fact that Tyler is the voice of reason around here, and only because Caroline has been telling him things she shouldn’t have done.
“Just because I tell you things, doesn’t mean you’re allowed to know them.”
Hey! You’re horny, I’m horny, we have all this sexual tension together and you’re off to go have sex tonight! Caroline is so crying inside. And possibly visiting Ann Summers.

How does Ric do it? Walks across a room, accidentally finds the werewolf cellar of doom. If this guy fell over drunk he’d probably find gold…

Oh dear god, the torture on this show is inspired! I probably shouldn’t admit to being impressed by that! But chaining him to a dark board and throwing wolfsbane soaked darts at him?.... Stefan why are you wasting your brain in high school?!
Klaus, think this through. You ‘deal with’ Damon, you lose your hold on Stefan… And he seems so genuinely put out and hurt that Stefan isn’t having fun on his roadtrip of insanity!

“It’s your party you can cry if you want to!”
“I know I promised not to buy you anything…”
“You stole it?!”
It’s a logical leap…

And seriously, who does that?! Elena knows how Damon feels, she’s played on it before But asking him to put the necklace on her is such an obvious trick, it seems a little too… I don’t know… Mean?

Although I love their entrance together. Damon smug that he’s got the prettiest girl, and Elena enjoying being escorted in by easily the hottest guy in that house.

Oh Jeremy, why are you back on the drugs?... And why are you dragging Matt down with you?! Although seriously, the more I see of the two of them, the more I love them.

“You know I died right, and Bonnie used magic to bring me back to life?”
“Yeah, Elena told me.”