- Horror Movie - Horror Homeroom

Posted on September 29, 2015

The Green Inferno (2015) Review

Gwen

THE GREEN INFERNO: Eli Roth’s Green Inferno makes horror oh, so beautiful.

Let’s start this review with what you want to know about this film. The Green Inferno is about a group of slightly self-righteous college activists who aim to save an indigenous tribe of Peruvians from destruction in the name of finding natural gas. Along the way, the misguided advocates go down in a plane only to be consumed by the jungle and perhaps its inhabitants. Those of you who have not lived in a vacuum for the past decade know that Eli Roth is most recognized for his torture-porn style and extreme gore. I know that Mr. Roth has been quoted saying that he considers it a good thing if his audience has to run screaming from the theater. He wants to evoke a visceral reaction from his audience even if it means they only see the film in pieces as they peek through their fingers, but that’s not quite the case here.

Posted on September 28, 2015

White God (2014): Dogs Fight Back

Dawn Keetley

Summary of White God: Thirteen-year old Lili (Zsófia Psotta) moves in with her father who proves unwilling to pay the fees incumbent on the owners of mongrel dogs. He thus forces Lili to abandon her beloved Hagen on the streets of Budapest. The film follows the dual paths of Lili and Hagen as they, finally, find their way back to each other.

I loved White God (I’ll get that out up front), which premiered at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival and recently become widely available in the US (on DVD and streaming on Netflix). White God is a particularly interesting intervention in the horror genre in that it is the only film I can think of in which the animal (Hagen) becomes the protagonist rather than the antagonist. In all the other natural horror films I’ve seen recently, animals (wolves, sharks, crocodiles, bears) threaten more-or-less sympathetic humans. White God stands alone in showing how profoundly humans threaten animals.

Posted on September 25, 2015

Titicut Follies (1967) Review: When Horror is Real

Elizabeth Erwin

Note: I have opted not to include images in this review because of their potentially exploitative nature. Upon the film’s release, there was considerable debate as to the ethics of filming individuals incapable of giving their consent. It is a question worth considering and, as such, I will only be using the official film poster.

Unrated | 1967 | 84 min | (USA) | Frederick Wiseman

Grade: A

Given my penchant for slasher horror, it isn’t often that I find myself cinematically provoked to squeamishness. But a recent viewing of Frederick Wiseman’s unflinching 1967 documentary Titicut Follies left me feeling downright nauseous. Much of that reaction is owed to the human indignities suffered by those shown in the film. Not for the faint of heart, this documentary examines life inside an American mental institution and lays bare the harsh realities that face mentally ill inhabitants of state funded facilities. With so many horror films being inspired by real life horror, I think an exploration of this documentary is useful in understanding why horror films can be so triggering.

Posted on September 23, 2015

Why EVERYTHING Works in FOX’s Scream Queens

Gwen

The two hour premier of Scream Queens was everything I had hoped for and more. Where do I begin? It does what MTV’s Scream couldn’t, it takes it where A&E’s Bates Motel doesn’t, and it revitalized all that FX’s American Horror Story started with. This show has all the makings of greatness. Below are a few off the top things that the show has going for it.

The PLOT

This horror comedy makes the best of both the horror and the comedy. The pacing, the suspense, the one liners (Pissy Spacek), self-reflexivity (not running upstairs), and deaths are awe inspiring. I instantly was able to dive into the characters as if I was taken back to the days of watching Swan’s Crossing. This show is a slick blend of Mean Girls, House Bunny, Black Christmas, and But I’m A Cheerleader. Sorority Girls from Kappa Kappa Tau are being knocked off one by one by a demonically dressed killer. The story is dripping with campiness and political incorrectness. The season premier definitely leaves you craving the next installment in order to figure out who is thinning the crowd.

Posted on September 20, 2015

AMC’S FEAR THE WALKING DEAD, “The Dog”: The Sad Fate of Animals in the Zombie Apocalypse

Dawn Keetley

AMC’s Fear the Walking Dead has aired three (of six) episodes so far and I’m happy to say it’s getting better. (See my less than positive review of the pilot episode.)

Basically, the show’s improved because the characters are coming to grips with the apocalypse and, as a result, are doing much less lounging around and whining about trivial things. We’re starting to see that fundamental divide opening up between those who can handle what’s happening and those who are living in denial—the divide, in other words, between the strong and the weak, between survivors and potential zombie food. Madison (Kim Dickens) is emerging as a leader, someone who can kill a walker when she has to. As is the enigmatic Daniel Salazar (Rubén Blades), a refugee from El Salvador who projects an uncanny sense of “Been there, done that.” He gets to deliver the last, inscrutable, line of the episode. Looking out the window at the soldiers putting an X on the house across from him, he declares, for reasons that aren’t entirely clear: “It’s already too late.” Madison’s partner Travis (Cliff Curtis), on the other hand, seems unable to kill the undead (claiming they’re only sick) and, in contrast to Salazar, his last words are: “Cavalry’s arrived. It’s gonna get better now.” We know which one of them is right.