Celebrating My 50th With 50 Favorites - Part 5 - THE TOP TEN

 Finally, my top ten have arrived.  Are any of these in your list of favorites too??

10. Frankenstein (1931)

My favorite Universal monster film.  There, I've said it. There's not much I can say about a film so revered that hasn't already been said.  But the reason I love it so much is that I can identify with the monster. Everyone probably can in their own way.  Pushed to be something that he wasn't, so much expected of him, yet misguided and anxious only for people to accept him the way he was, despite knowing he was an abomination.  Boris Karloff as the monster said so much just with his eyes and mannerisms, he didn't even need to speak to convey that message. The fact that Mary Shelley wrote the book when she was a mere 19 years old just blows my mind - so far ahead of her time! It's a beautiful film, too...the gorgeous sets, including Dr Frankenstein's laboratory, are a sight to behold particularly for such an early time in film.  And Colin Clive as the unhinged but brilliant scientist who steals bodies from their graves with his hunchback assistant Fritz (Dwight Frye) brings to mind many an evil man who desires more than he should, and really should just leave well enough alone.  But the fact that he proceeds with his experiments despite the immoral and corrupt ramifications just goes to show that greed and the desire for fame and/or fortune always brings out the worst in mankind, often times with irreparable results - and it's still happening today, nearly 90 years later.

9. The Living Dead at the Manchester Morgue (aka Let Sleeping Corpses Lie, 1974)

It's only in the last several years that I have come to really love this film.  It's my favorite "zombie" film. George (Ray Lovelock) is off for the weekend on his Norton motorcycle when he stops to gas up and Edna (Cristina Galbó) rams his bike with her car, unintentionally but puts it out of commission nonetheless.  To make up for it, she tells him they can ride together and he can use her car while his bike is being fixed.  Traveling through the English countryside they stop to seek out directions and George sees some men using some kind of equipment that uses ultrasonic radiation to kill insects on crops.  Obviously that sounds like an awful idea and of course it is, as soon the dead are rising and George and Edna are smack in the middle of it.  The dialogue is campy, the blood is too red and film is somewhat dated but quite honestly it does raise the question as to what we are doing to the world with all our chemicals and treatments and what might happen if things go awry.  George and Edna are likeable leads and the gore factor is ratcheted up as the film goes on and the zombies get hungrier.  Just a damn fun film!!

8. Ghost Story (1981)

'Four old men and a secret' should be the alternate name for this chiller.  From Peter Straub's amazing novel comes the story of John, Ricky, Sears and Edward....a quartet of college pals that meet an enigmatic beauty and spend a summer charming her. Until something awful happens. The repercussions of the tragedy that unfolds are so malevolent, so vengeful that words can't quite do it.  The novel is very much my favorite book, and the movie, while not completely faithful, still packs a frightening punch with loads of disturbing imagery! And that house!!! So much love! Starring some of Hollywood's finest older leading men - Fred Astaire, Melvyn Douglas, John Houseman and Douglas Fairbanks Jr.  Alice Krige as Eva/Alma still haunts my dreams.

7. The Changeling (1980)

Years have not aged this fantastic ghost story starring George C. Scott as John Russell, a man grappling with the tragic death of his wife and daughter in a horrific accident. A famous composer, John moves across the country in order to take a teaching job and try to resume some semblance of a life  He rents an old mansion from the local historical society, makes friends with Claire (played by Scott's wife, Trish Van Devere) and gets to work on finishing a composition he's been working on. Soon though, hes awakened by loud banging noises during the night, which escalate to the point that a seance is held in which they discover a young boy was killed in the house.  Everything about The Changeling is stellar - the acting, the musical score, the house itself...it's just that good!  Scott's portrayal of a desperate man's agonizing mourning for his family is heart-breaking.  And though this one has every haunted house gimmick known to man, they make it work  - it's never cheesy and always legitimately frightening.  Loud, inexplicable noises, pianos playing by themselves, disembodied voices, a creepy attic with a child-size wheelchair - all these things combine to bring fear into your very soul.  This one just got a fantastic BluRay release so if you haven't seen it yet, now's the time.  Truly one of the best of its kind.

6. The Thing (1982)

You know how I feel about remakes, I've made it abundantly clear several times.  But when they are done right and it's time for one, I'm on board.  A remake of 1951's The Thing From Another World, John Carpenter's The Thing is in my opinion perhaps the best of his work.  With top-notch practical special effects by genius Rob Bottin and a stellar cast, it's a harrowing showcase of fear.  Frequent Carpenter collaborator Kurt Russell as MacReady is just the icing on the cake, with his snide remarks yet excellent leadership skills when everything starts falling apart.  As researchers literally at the end of the earth, the Antarctic team finds themselves fighting the unknown...an organism that literally has the capability to attack unsuspecting victims and morph into an exact replica of them, so the question remains....who is the thing?  Everything about this film is terrifying - the isolation...the fear of the unknown...the thought that someone might not be who they say they are...it's an action-packed, straight-up thrill ride, one I've taken over and over again!

5. Alien (1979)

I mentioned previously that sci-fi isn't my favorite--(even though The X-Files is my favorite TV show- I prefer the stand alone horror episodes.) That said, I LOVE ALIEN.  To me, it's just the finest sci-fi horror film in existence. Sure, there are some who say Aliens is the better movie, but they'd be wrong. Ridley Scott's effective and brutal Alien, starring Sigourney Weaver as fierce heroine Ripley, is full of suspense and laden with terror. The Xenomorph creature is an astounding work of art conceived by H.R. Giger and the story by Dan O'Bannon is what nightmares are made of. Immediately claustrophobic due to the whole of the film taking place in space, mostly on the commercial towing ship Nostromo, the sense of helplessness permeates the whole two hour running time. There's nowhere to run when you're stuck in space.  Ripley is an excellent character, a welcome female presence in a mostly masculine crew. She's got guts and runs on pure adrenaline by the film's end. She's a role model and a formidable adversary for the relentless alien. For pure shock factor, Alien is bar none, particularly in that famous chest-burster scene. 

The last thirty minutes are a edge of your seat uncomfortable fright-fest in which you'll believe every word of the tagline: In space, no one can hear you scream. 

4. Friday the 13th (1980)

Oh Friday the 13th, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways.  Warning: SPOILERS! 

I love your campiness (pun intended). I love your heroine, Alice and her mad drawing skills. I love Crazy Ralph and the fact that you all actually ARE, in fact, doomed. I love that you play strip monopoly. I love that Bing Crosby's son is a hottie and can play a mean guitar. I love that sexy Brenda wears a granny gown. I love that Jack and Marcie have sex with Dead Ned above them. I love that poor Annie doesn't like to call children kids because it sounds like little goats. I love that when Mrs Voorhees finally gets a chance to kill Alice she slaps her up and pushes her face in the dirt instead. I love that Steve's Jeep won't pull that tiny trailer and that he only leaves Sally a 75 cent tip at the diner, even though she flirts with him like crazy. I love that Marcie has dreams about little bloody rivers and can fix a faulty faucet. I love that Jack puts it all out there in his Speedo at the docks. I love that Alice and Bill don't run for their lives after they find the bloody ax in the bed. I love that Mrs Voorhees hands still clench their fingers after she loses her head. 

What I don't love? The fact that they killed that snake. 😐

3. The Woman in Black (1989)

I've been championing this film for 25 years or longer.  I can't remember the first time I saw it but as soon as I did, I knew I had to own it. I had it on VHS first, and when DVD's began taking the world by storm, I purchased a bootleg copy from overseas and I'm not afraid to admit it. The novella by Susan Hill that it is adapted from is the best ghost story I may have ever read, and the only one that gave me legit chills when I read it. The story adapted for film changes a few minor details but involves Arthur Kidd (Adrian Rawlins), a lawyer who is assigned the task of closing the estate of one Mrs. Drablow, an eccentric old woman who lives on an isolated piece of land across a causeway that floods during high tide. Kidd attends the funeral of his client and notices a woman in black at the back of the church and later in the cemetery. Townsfolk seem terrified when he mentions it, and later he comes to know why after spending the night at the spooky Drablow house. By investigating the decedent's personal belongings, he learns of a horrific accident involving the mysterious woman in black and her relationship with the old woman. Vengeance is a great motivator, apparently even after death. This film is hard to come by, out of print for many years. It is available on YouTube, and though not a stellar copy it's still worth seeking out! 

2. Psycho (1960)

As previously mentioned, Psycho is very special to me, right up there with Jaws as far as movies I've seen the most. I can quote every line, I know every scene. I love Norman Bates, in all his quirky, psychotic glory.  John Gavin...be still my heart! And the sheer brilliance of killing off your marquee name in the first act of the film, well....that's brave....hats off to Hitchcock. Robert Bloch may have created the character of Norman, but Hitchcock perfected it and Anthony Perkins embodied it. Even people not familiar with the horror genre as a whole know Psycho. The shower scene....the fruit cellar...Mother and Norman's "close" relationship, there's so much to appreciate. It's one of my desert island films, because I'll never tire of it. And if you're sitting there thinking I'm nuts then we just can't be friends. 

1) Jaws (1975)

My favorite. The I-Ching of films for me. The be-all-end-all.  I don't think I've seen any movie as many times as Jaws.  I own multiple copies over many formats and yet if it is on television with commercials every five minutes I'm still unable to turn it off. As with Psycho, the book is good, the movie is superior.  All the characters, Brody (Roy Scheider ), Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss) and Quint (Robert Shaw) are strong and engaging in their own ways. John Williams' score is just legendary, the most recognizable two notes in music. Spielberg's direction jump-started a visionary, critically acclaimed career and with good reason! We're not just talking summer blockbuster here, we are talking about a film beloved by fans and critics alike. The simple plot of man vs. shark made millions of people afraid to go in the ocean. An impressive feat to be sure. Let's just say, if I could marry a film, this would be the one. My only one!

Happy Birthday To My Favorite Ocean Menace!

  
 I couldn't let the day go by without saying a happy birthday to my most treasured film: Jaws.

 It was 38 years ago today that those two notes permeated the deep blue sea and brought us an ocean of blood and a lifetime of thrills.  So thank you to director Steven Spielberg for adapting Peter Benchley's novel into a film I still watch on a ridiculously regular basis and will forever consider my favorite film. I know the lines by heart, hum the soundtrack throughout my day, and own the Blu-Ray without even owning a Blu-Ray player yet!

  As I said on Facebook:  Happy 38th Birthday Big Guy! You'll always be my #1.  Love you!!

CLICK HERE FOR THE MANY LINKS TO JAWS ON FASCINATION WITH FEAR

OCTOBER 8: EIGHT GREAT BOOKS

THE SEANCE ~BY JOHN HARWOOD (2008) - Christine has called me and old soul and it is really true when it comes to books. I can't get enough of the classic gothic tale, and this modern novel mimics a Victorian ghost story so well you'll have to check the publication date twice.

The book is told by several different characters in several different time periods but they are all connected, whether they know it or not. What binds them is the massive, dark and infamous Wraxford Hall where time is held still by a terrifying legend.

The characters are crafted beautifully, nothing is unnecessary and the imagery is just drool-worthy. Although Harwood may be exploring old tropes, he upholds the glorious gothic setting and the theme of entrapment that we as horror fans have learned to love. ~MR

INTO THE SHADOWS ~BY TROY TAYLOR -  Originally published in 2002 but refurbished by Fall River Press in 2007, this tome of mysterious American legends and dark historical events is like a treasure trove of interesting tidbits and stories.  It is broken down into five chapters: One: History's Mysteries (in which you get things like Haunted Tunnels, Relics & Altars, The Lost Colony of Roanoke, and The Disappearance of the Anasazi); Chapter Two: Without a Trace (Jimmy Hoffa, Missing in Vermont's Green Mountains, and John Wilkes Booth); Chapter Three: Among the Spirits (Unsolved Mysteries from the Other Side, Houdini & the Other Side); Chapter Four: Bloody Murder (The Whitechapel Killer, The Black Dahlia, The Unsolved Puzzle of Edgar Allan Poe); and Chapter Five: Beyond the Unknown (It's raining cats, dogs & frogs, What Lies Beneath, The Mystery of the Glowing Lights) - it's just a compendium of interesting facts & mysteries. ~CH

GRAVEMINDER ~BY MELISSA MARR (2011)
Marr is well known for her YA (that's Young Adult...keep up, would you?) novels that have sold millions, but here she brings us her first book for grown-ups, and let it be known - Melissa Marr can obviously write anything.  With Graveminder, she creates a world quite similar to our own, but adds a little bit of quirk and a whole lot of creepy.  The heroine, Rebekkah Barrow, has just returned to her hometown of Claysville to bury her beloved grandmother.  Claysville is not your ordinary town though - there are secrets that lie deep within, and rituals that must be performed upon the death of one of its own.  Rebekkah's grandmother Maylene has always taken care of these profoundly important yet mysterious rituals, along with the father of Rebekkah's former love, Byron - who is the town undertaker.  When these two lost loves get round to discussing that not only they are truly meant to be together, but that something isn't quite right about the way Maylene died, they have to do everything they can to prevent hell (or something like it) from breaking loose.
I don't think it's too much to reveal that this is a book about zombies.  Surprised?  I was. I don't generally read a lot of zombie books, but this one rocks.  You know it's going to be good just by the tag-line: "Sleep well, and stay where I put you."  (But let's be clear - that doesn't always work...)~CH

TRUE BLOOD: EATS, DRINKS AND BITES FROM BON TEMPS ~BY GIANNA SOBOL (2012)
When a popular movie or television show tries to capitalize on their popularity by putting out a tie-in of any kind, it only works some of the time.  Most times it just seems like a pathetic attempt to make a few bucks.  That is not the case with this splendid cookbook featuring True Blood characters and their choices for some rockin' good recipes.  It is filled with instructions for such dishes as 'Candied Sweet Jesus Potatoes', 'Wipe Away My Red-Eye Gravy over Ham Steak', and 'Stuck in my Crawfish Critters'. Desserts? Hell yeah, hookah! They've got 'Seeing Red Bundt Cake', 'Confederate Ambrosia', and 'Last Rites Pecan Pie'. And don't forget the bloody beverages! (No seriously, try The Necromancer or the Tequila Moonrise!)  Don't worry, there is no recipe for AIDS burgers - though there is one for 'Cryin' in my Hamburger Deluxe'.  Seriously though, the book has loads of southern favorites, little tidbits written by the 'characters' themselves as a forward to the recipes, and just tons of pics from the last four seasons of the show.  In short, any fan of True Blood and eating should pick this one up. ~CH

THE WICKED ~BY JAMES NEWMAN (2012) - I've already rambled on and on about this novel (here), but think it's worth a second mention.  This day and age, it's so hard to find a decent horror novel.  I mean the kind you used to be able to find back in the eighties - one with a rockin' gruesome cover and the insides are equally as fantastic.
The Wicked tells the story of The Littles, a family who moves to a small town in North Carolina to start a new life and instead end up dealing with a whole lot of awful. Seems a children's home burned to the ground and in doing so, unleashed an unspeakable horror that besieges the Littles and the rest of the residents of the otherwise idyllic Morganville.
With its fair share of gore, sexual perversion, and simply horrific happenings, The Wicked would be the perfect compliment on a stormy night in October while you read by candlelight! Alternatively, stick it on your Kindle and a read it whilst you cook up some supper on a random Tuesday afternoon.  Either way, it comes highly recommended! (And the "beat-up", 80's pulp horror cover is awwwe-some!) ~CH

THE JAWS LOG: EXPANDED EDITION ~BY CARL GOTTLIEB (2012) - As a colossal Jaws fan, when I saw that they had re-released this tell-all, non-fiction book is a fantastic and informative look at the making a mega-hit and the first summer blockbuster we all know and love.  Author Gottlieb had a bit part in the film and a screenwriting credit for it as well.  He documents here an honest account of the year-long adventure that was the making of Jaws.

Any fan of the film will thoroughly enjoy the funny antecdotes, troubles on set, and the camaraderie of all those involved.  The film shoot was not without its issues though - everything you've heard about Bruce the mechanical shark not cooperating is true, and there were difficulties during production that made their lives a living hell.  But the end result - a critically acclaimed block-buster (quite an unusual combination, even today) - was worth all their toils and troubles.  Most of which are written about here. ~CH

THE THIRTEENTH SACRIFICE ~BY DEBBIE VIGUIE (2012)
Salem, Massachusetts is one of my all-time favorite places.  It reeks atmosphere and when I was there I seriously never wanted to leave.  So when I found this novel centered around Salem and (of course) witches, I had to take a peek.  I'm so glad I did.  I flew through this book at top speed, and was elated to discover it was book one of a new 'Witch Hunt' series.  What we have here is Samantha Ryan, a Boston detective who has a secret past rife with ritual sacrifice and dark magick.  She is the last in a line of witches who nearly destroyed not only their own coven, but everyone around them with their evil inclinations.  Sam has been trying to get her past behind her, but when a new series of "witch-related" crimes starts popping up, she is called upon to go deep undercover and try to infiltrate the new coven before they become too powerful and the past repeats itself.  As if that isn't enough, some of her co-workers are becoming suspicious as to her past, and the rift between religion and justice starts to amp-up. Samantha, now a Christian who has left the witchcraft of her youth behind, is forced to participate in some horrific rituals in order to appear "one of them", and if she's not careful, may not make it out alive.  This new series has a strong female lead and interesting characters to even things out - it is a must read and full of the darkness and hysteria that witchcraft usually brings to the table. ~CH

THE DARKEST PART OF THE WOODS ~BY RAMSEY CAMPBELL (2003) - They tell you not to judge a book by its cover but I was instantly drawn to this book by the cover art. The image you see on the front is that of a mysterious entity that lurks in Goodmanswood--a sinister but seductive version of the Green Man.

The novel revolves around the Price family and nearly centrally around eldest sister Heather. Her father has been in the asylum on the outskirts of the wood ever since he came to town to research a fungus that was causing people to hallucinate, and then fell victim to it himself. Now he mumbles of creatures in the woods, repeating the word, "selcouth"... If the whole town is too frightened to even enter the woods, then why does the entire Price family find themselves drawn to it?
I can't say enough about this book, so I'll keep it short, it's elegant, brilliant, and spooky as all get-out. Pick it up! ~MR

31 days, 31 faves: JAWS

Jaws is my favorite film. A bold statement but there it is.

For me it is just leaps and bounds above all others in my DVD library simply because I love it so much. Funny thing is, it's a PG rated movie, which by today's standards usually means some mediocre thrills. But in this case however, Jaws has struck a chord with audiences world wide and made nearly everyone with a brain in their head think twice about ever getting into the water.

Called the 'father of the summer blockbuster', everything about Jaws is perfect, in particular the flawless, unequaled score by John Williams. I'm a true movie score enthusiast - I won't embarrass myself telling how many I own, it's ridiculous - but I've never found a more definitive score than this one. In a word, brilliant. And probably the most recognizable piece of music set to film ever. Everyone and their mother knows the da-dum, da-dum of Jaws!

What you don't see in Jaws is possibly more frightening than what you do. Williams' score generally permeated the scenes prior to the shark attacking someone, so you had a pretty good idea when ol' Bruce was heading your way. But in a key scene - the first in which we actually see that big bastard, the two note indicator was left out - so that the element of surprise was unforgiving. And damn, it works!

There are so many classic lines in the movie that it would be impossible to list them all. Obviously the "We're gonna need a bigger boat" line, as well as the "Smile you son of a ...." were no doubt the most famous. But the ones like "That's some bad hat, Harry" and "Here's to swimmin' with bow-legged women" are pretty damn cool as well.

I also love the human emotion of Jaws. The bit when Martin and his youngest son sit at the dinner table and play a little game of monkey-see monkey do is just so touching, breaking up the violence at hand with a little bit of family time as Ellen Brody looks on. The hard edge of Alex Kintner's mother after her son's death are viable and warranted, and leave a burn on the screen as Brody feels his guilt overwhelm him. Equally as resolute are the feelings of the three men on the Orca as they bond over the story of the Indianapolis and later as they face their greatest fears and imminent death at each other's sides.

So what else on earth can I say about Jaws that hasn't already been said? Nothing. So onward ho with the obligatory recap. And quite obviously, spoilers are forthcoming.

The lovely Chrissie (doesn't help matters that she has the same name as me, but I can tell you only two people in my entire life dared call me Chrissy and they are both dead. True story.)

Moving on, Chrissie is with a gathering of friends having a bit of a party on the beach when she decides to grab up the nearest male and go skinny dipping. Unfortunately, he's not much for swimming while plastered. Hence her solitary dive into the ocean and her unlucky run-in with our title character.

The opening ten minutes of Jaws are just legendary, aren't they? They suck you in and terrify you right down to your very soul. I'm sure I was entirely too young to be watching Jaws the first time I saw it, but it stuck in my head like glue. I don't live near the ocean but I love it - I travel 12 hours south to swim in the waters near Cape Hatteras every year for god's sake. But swim is more of a generalized term. I don't actually swim. I walk in the water at the edge, maybe let a few waves come up to perhaps my knees... but there will be NO swimming.

Besides all the disgusting other things in the ocean -like seaweed wrapping around your feet, those skate creatures, jellyfish, slimy things I don't know the name of, and the urine of the people around me (don't tell me that doesn't happen, I know better) - there are sharks. Big effing sharks. Who am I kidding - little sharks suck too. Now it's not that I am petrified of them like André over at The Horror Digest or anything, but I have a modicum of common sense, and I'm sorry but the ocean isn't ours, folks. Not by a long shot.

So after the gulping, thrashing, screaming death of Chrissie, we meet brand new police chief Martin Brody (Roy Scheider), who has taken a job tending to the seafaring citizens on one Amity Island ("It's only an island if you look at it from the water") in New England.
Martin is utterly terrified of the water which, all things considered, is rather ironic. Setting out on the beach to look for the reported missing girl, the men search up and down the coast until his deputy, Lenny (Jeffery Kramer) finds the oogie remains of the presumed missing girl.

Immediately labeling the death a shark attack, Brody and the medical examiner are forced to change their tune when pressured by the mayor (Murray Hamilton, in a lovely polyester suit boasting embroidered anchors! So rad!), who doesn't want a panic in the area because they depend on tourism to keep the town afloat. The M.E. renames the attack a boating accident and they move on, Brody still reluctant to allow citizens in the water.

Soon the young Alex Kintner is killed in a brutal shark attack in front of a beach-full of people, including Brody. (And no, I don't want to relive the fact that a black lab was frolicking in the water and disappeared just prior!)

A town meeting is called in which it is announced by Brody that the beaches are going to be closed. An public outcry occurs, with everyone in agreement that closing the beaches puts their livelihoods at risk. The fourth of July being right around the corner, they cannot afford not to have their businesses open. But Brody won't relent.

Mrs. Kintner puts a bounty on the shark and the townsfolk go apeshit, each fisherman anxious to make some extra dough and get his name in the paper. Also in the mix and offering up his services is Quint, a salty old dog who knows his way around the ocean and says he can catch and kill the shark for ten grand. The town officials don't bite though (no pun intended) and the rest of the men discuss hunting the shark amongst themselves.

As hoards of men leave the harbor in overflowing fishing boats, we meet Matt Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss), an ichthyologist sent from the Oceanographic Institute to investigate the claim of a shark attack. He asks to see the body of the first victim, and when he does he incredulously points out that it was not a boating accident that killed Chrissie Watkins, it was most definitely a shark.

When the locals return from their hunt with a large tiger shark, Hooper does a few quick calculations and informs Brody that the shark they caught was most likely not the one who killed Chrissie, and probably not the Kintner boy either. When Kintner's mother (looking very much like she could actually be his grandmother) finds out the town officials knew there had been a shark attack and they still allowed people in the water, she has a justified hissy fit and slaps Brody.


Hooper convinces Brody to allow him to cut open the tiger shark and check for the little boy's remains. When all they come up with is some tin cans, a few fish, and a Louisiana license plate, Hooper regretfully fills in the blanks for Brody. The tiger shark is not their culprit, and the shark that is can only be one kind: the Carcharodon carcharias. For those of you not in the know (and really, who are those people?), that would be the Great White shark. A nasty hunk of fish that doesn't, in reality, prefer humans as food at all. That being said, if someone swims into its way or attracts it somehow, well - dare I say you're fish food? Also of note is that once a shark has developed a feeding ground - that is, when food is offered up like a buffet - they will stay in that area and feed until the source of food is gone. Not exactly a pleasant thing for a crowded beach town.

Hooper drags Martin out onto the water to scout around the area where the big fish has been feeding. When Hooper scuba dives into the water to check aboard an abandoned boat belonging to one of the local fishermen, he finds a huge shark tooth embedded in the boat. Alas, he loses the tooth when the fisherman's disembodied head floats into his field of vision.

Unable to prove that the shark is a Great White or even exists in the first place, the beaches are reopened on the fourth of July and a huge crowd arrives. Martin watches as his children head into an isolated estuary to swim with a bunch of others. In the ocean, two boys pull a prank involving a fake shark fin and a panic ensues, with everyone getting out of the water. Meanwhile, a young woman points to the estuary and starts to yell 'Shark!" After what seems like forever, people finally take notice - but not before a man paddling a small boat gets taken under and killed. Brody's eldest son escapes near death but goes into shock after witnessing the gruesome attack.

Obviously, it's time to do something. Enter Quint.
Brody convinces the mayor to hire Quint to kill the shark and Brody and Hooper board Quint's boat, the Orca, to head out on a shark hunt.
Quint is your typical life-long fisherman, a sometimes hilarious combination of arrogance and experience.

When Brody is delegated to throw out the chum line, he finally comes face to face with the immense Great White in question, all twenty-five feet of him. Nearly too stunned and terrified to react, he simply walks up to Quint and utters the famous line, "You're gonna need a bigger boat." Quint and Hooper join him in staring out at the ocean at the giant predator coming near them. The first time you see him glide past the boat is such a thrilling scare. Your adrenalin spikes and you get a lump in your throat - it's really such an incredible moment. Put it this way, you can feel your heart beating. Loudly.

The three men valiantly struggle in an attempt to get near enough to the big oaf to harpoon a line onto it so the attached flotation barrel will keep the shark afloat to track it, and are eventually able to secure one barrel. The Orca sets off in pursuit as the men all take a short breather. Just when they think they've got it made, the shark is able to take the barrel under the water and disappears.

That evening, as the men sit around below deck and tell tales of love lost and scarring bodily harm, Quint shocks Hooper and Brody by relaying the story of the USS Indianapolis - the WWII era vessel that went down after a direct hit from a German sub. As if that isn't awful enough, the men were surrounded by sharks, who picked them off one by one. Obviously Quint has a bit more experience than the others, who are rattled by the history lesson. It's a sobering moment, and as they try to relieve themselves of some of the melancholy drifting over them, they begin to sing 'Show me the way to go home'. As they get louder, the shark is seen reappearing outside the boat, and it starts to literally attack the Orca. After wreaking a bit of havoc and damaging the hull, the shark disappears yet again.

In the morning they attempt to make repairs on the Orca when the shark emerges yet again. The men are able to secure yet another barrel but Brody, in a panic, decides to call the Coast Guard. Quint, in the heat of the moment, slams the radio with a baseball bat when Brody tries to call for help, rendering them relatively helpless out on the open sea.

Attaching yet a third barrel to our finned friend, they turn the boat and follow the shark as best they can with a compromised engine. Unbelievably, even as they try to drag the shark to shore to beach it, the shark counters, able to still submerge with three barrels. At this point Quint has just about trashed the engine, running it too hard.

Quint, headed to shore and utterly pissed off, taxes the engine to the point that it quits before they can get back to Amity. Stranded, Hooper brings up the idea of using the shark-proof cage he brought along to attempt to get close enough to the shark to use a poison spear to kill it. He gears up, gets in the cage, and though obviously paralyzed with fear, submerges.

Under the water, he waits for the shark to come to him, and when he does it is an inspired piece of film making as the shark comes straight at him (seriously fucking scary!!) and attacks the cage for all its worth. He wrestles with the cage, seemingly pretty darn pissed off. Hooper drops the spear in the fray but is able to slip through the cage and sneak off to hide as the shark obliterates the cage. Realizing the ruckus below, Brody and Quint heave the cage up and fear the worst after taking one look at it.

But the Great White isn't finished. In truly the most horrifying part of the movie, the shark immediately just flat-out blitzes the boat, causing both men to fall to the slick deck and Quint to slide right into the jaws (!) of the beast.

This film would never, ever have gotten a PG rating if it were released today, if only on the merit of this one scene. Quint's death is a sickening, nightmare-inducing misfortune of the worst kind. Spurting blood when the shark bites down, Quint loses the ultimate battle at last. Brody watches, too shocked and overwhelmed to do anything but fight for his own survival at this point. He slams shut the door of the cabin but the shark, apparently not sated, comes back to finish the job.

This is one bad ass shark, dammit. As unstoppable as Michael Myers on his best day! With the ship sinking quickly, it slams into the side of the cabin, nearly reaching Brody, who in turn grabs one of the pressurized tanks floating nearby and throws it into shark's open mouth. The shark backs away, unsure of what he has been given and leaving Brody enough time to grab a rifle and climb the mast to the highest point.

In hot pursuit and chomping away on the air tank in its mouth the shark comes after Brody, who begins shooting at the pressurized tank. After several unsuccessful shots, he finally has direct aim and utters the second most famous line in the film, "Smile you sonofabitch!"

Hitting his target, Brody screams in excitement as the shark explodes, falling in chunks and pieces into the deep blue (now blood-soaked) sea. We hear what sounds like one last guttural roar from the Great White, and it is over.

Hooper, aware of the shark's demise, surfaces and finds Brody clutching to the last remains of the Orca. They laugh for a moment about their luck, commiserate over Quint, then tie a few barrels together and rig up a makeshift raft to paddle to shore with.

Again, I don't know how to reiterate any stronger my love for this film. Anyone who hasn't seen it is missing out on what I consider to be Steven Spielberg's finest work (yes, even above Schindler's List, at least for me) and Williams' Oscar-winning score sets the mood and pacing like no other composer could.

So at the risk of getting too sentimental, I'll just leave you with a quote. "It's all psychological. You yell barracuda, everybody says, "Huh? What?" You yell shark, we've got a panic on our hands on the Fourth of July."

Sunday Bloody Sunday: JAWS edition

In honor of the 35 anniversary of Jaws, various pics from the movie series (original thru part 4)...

"Here's to swimmin' with bow-legged women!": Sharkathalon fever catches on!

So, I had to get in on the SHARKATHALON!!




Over at Radiation-Scarred Reviews, they are having loads of fun with their shark week, aptly named SHARKATHALON! (which I simply had to say again because I like the way it rolls off my tongue!).... and though I didn't write anything new, I thought I'd put a link up for my little JAWS discussion that I did last fall.

You see, Jaws is my favorite horror movie, and I just can't help myself.
So check out my thoughts on 'serving up the citizens of Amity as a smörgåsbord!' HERE...



...and enjoy all the sharky entertainment over at RSR!!

Oh, and you ARE gonna need a bigger boat, by the way!

Not just another fish in the sea...

What's my favorite horror movie?

If I'm being honest, Halloween (1978) is the movie I always blurt out when someone asks my favorite movie. Regardless of the genre.

However, after careful consideration recently, I have determined that another movie most likely is the one I could watch over and over (and do). A perfect example of exemplary movie-making.

And that movie is JAWS.

I've always felt the need to capitalize the title because, let's face it, that was one BIG-ass shark.

I first read the book way back in (cough cough - I'm sorry, I can't manage to say the year...) well, a long time ago. I was too young to be allowed to see the movie when it released or even several years afterward (there, I feel somewhat better...) but they couldn't keep the written word away from me. I'd already read Carrie and The Shining at that point, so what was the use in keeping Jaws out of reach?

Well, here's a thought - it was a freakin' terrifying book. Guess my folks hadn't really thought about it. Sharks don't just kill people, they rip them limb from limb and devour them. Yummy!

No wonder I vacation at the Outer Banks every year but still don't do any quality swimming in the ocean. (Case in point, someone got killed by a shark in a northern town on the Outer Banks just this year, people.)

JAWS, the movie (1975) - is a film I have seen too many times to count. It is on tv pretty much all the time in the summer, so has anyone actually not seen it? My husband actually starts to groan now when he sees me turning it on.
I own the VHS tape (oy! - it is such a long movie that there were two tapes!), the 30th anniversary DVD, and if I ever pony up the money for a Blu-Ray DVD player, JAWS will be my first purchase.

It is known as the "father of the summer blockbuster", being the first movie to blow the pants off the box office in such a way that people lined streets in front of theaters just to see it.

It was the first movie ever to gross over 100 million. And from what Wikipedia says, it has 'grossed more than $470 million worldwide ($1.9 billion in 2008 dollars)'.

But we're not really here to discuss performance, are we?

Why is it my favorite?

I just can't say enough about all the little things I love about it. So I think my regular stand-by of just listing a top ten favorite moments will be all I can do.

1) Love the scene where Brody, Hooper and Quint are heading out to sea to find the shark and the boat is seen leaving the dock through the jaw bones of an actual Great White.

Inspired.

2) We don't see the shark for a long time. Sure, we see fins, we see damage, we hear the da-dum, da-dum.... but Bruce hides in the depths till just the right moment. On the Orca, at sea for the shark hunt, Brody is bitching about being delegated to throwing chum into the water when he throws a bunch of bloody fish parts into the sea - only to be scared shitless when the shark finally emerges, mouth open, teeth bared. Such a great moment. Which leads directly to my number 3....

3) "You're gonna need a bigger boat." Classic.

4) When Brody has had one of the worst days imaginable as the chief of police - dead swimmers, pissed off townsfolk, the mayor breathing down his neck.... he settles at his kitchen table with his son and they play a little game of monkey see - monkey do. It's a great, soft moment - perfectly placed amongst all the violence. When his son asks why he wants a kiss, he simply says: "Cause I need it."

5) Is it just me, or does the mother of Alex (the boy killed on the raft just off shore) look like his grandmother? Could they not have gotten a younger woman to play her? Okay, my actual point? I was more upset when the labrador retriever (Pippit) got killed (thankfully off-screen). Could care less about little Alex. Kill a dog and I'm out for blood.

6) "Mayor of Shark City"... the Amity touristy bill board sign with the drawn on fin and the "Help, Shark!" balloon over the cartoon woman's head.

Exactly what would happen, folks. Exactly. When Hooper tries to explain that "those proportions are correct" - the mayor still demands the beaches be kept open. Dumb ass.

7) Ellen Brody: "Wanna get drunk and fool around?" Chief Brody: "Oh yeah."

8) Hooper in the shark cage.

Before he goes down he tries to prepare his glasses and he notes: "I ain't got no spit."Yeah, me neither at that point. The moment where the shark comes right at the cage is probably (besides perhaps Quint's gruesome death scene) the most horrifying few minutes in the film.

9) "Smile you son-of-a-bitch!" And did I really hear what sounded like the roar of the shark as it sunk to the depths in pieces? That was a funky sound effect. Like the T-Rex in Jurassic Park or something.Maybe it's a Spielberg trademark... did they do it in Schindler's List anywhere?

10) To me, the "quint"-essential moment of JAWS is the telling of the story of the sinking of the USS Indianapolis. Quint's quiet and un-nerving ramblings about how torpedoes hit their submarine during WWII on the way to deliver the A-bomb, and then the deaths of his friends as they waited - bobbing up and down, alone in an sea of sharks - for their turn for rescue, to me, is one of the finest moments in film. It is said that Robert Shaw ad-libbed some the scene, but it worked so well they kept it.And that scene also led the way to the final act of the film and the trio's desperate attempt to at first kill the shark - then to simply stay alive.

From what I've read, JAWS was a real menace to film. Animatronic shark woes, the problems with shooting in salt-water with expensive cameras, budget restraints, weather concerns, sinking boats...it seemed to be doomed. Spielberg is said to have had so many difficulties with Bruce (the mechanical shark) that alot of the scenes were shot without Bruce, only eluding to the shark's actual whereabouts.

But combined with John Williams' brilliant Oscar winning score, I think NOT seeing the shark was a real boon for the film's production. It's always much scarier to not see what's there, to wonder if something is indeed stalking about....and to not know when it's coming.

"Farewell and adieu, to you fair Spanish ladies..."