Suck (2009)

Tis the holiday season still! Time to say thanks and give.

I'd like to say thank you, personal music collection, for being so bad ass. In honor of being so bad ass, I'm going to make a mixed CD and give it as gifts to all my loved ones. Sharing my bad ass music collection makes me feel good because my loved ones love the CDs and I enjoy knowing I have such a bad ass collection.

Which brings me to tonight's movie.

If you love music - and I mean good music not crap - the really sexy cool music, like everything in my collection, then you'll love this movie.

Netflix has been yelling at me to watch this film for a long time and for some reason it has taken me a very long time to warm up to it. It takes me a while to warm up to vampire flicks period. Perhaps I'm a little burned out, or perhaps they are a little over played, but ultimately I feel vampire movies seem a fang too easy to make for me to find instantly intriguing.

NOT SUCK, as it turns out.

Partly because the music is awesome. If you enjoy music by Catherine Wheel, Jesus and Mary Chain, My Bloody Valentine, and Swervedriver then you know what I'm talking about here.

I almost threw this one into the Happy Horror category but decided against it because the undertone of the film is no laughing matter. Sure sure, this comedy vampire movie is about a band trying to make it and ultimately do because they become cool: with their addiction. 

It's their addiction that grabbed me pretty hard. Although it's about blood in the film, the undertones parallel anyone, especially band members who, as they become more popular, are increasingly exposed to a dark and seedy world of drugs, etc. That stuff is not funny, but Suck sure made a fine dark comedy about it.

Which makes the music stars that appear in the film all that more intriguing. For instance, Iggy Pop (my birthday buddy), who is surprising alright after his decades of abuse is actually the words of wisdom for the band and tries to get them to kick their habit. While Alice Cooper, a staunch anti drug and alcohol advocate in real life, is the pusher man in this film.

This is a fun film and a good one for those that don't like Ultimate Horror films. It's smart, pretty, sexy, and fun. A great Saturday night flick. I'm adding to the favorites list because of the music and creativity.

Suggested pairing. Red wine and your favorite play list.

Santa Sangre (1989)

Happy Holidays everyone! In honor of this festive season I've decided to watch a horror movie with the word 'Santa' in the title!

Actually - it's taken me about three years to get through Santa Sangre.

I'd start it and then six to eight months later I'd watch a little more but have to stop because all of the crazy - brain could not take all of the crazy - then pick it up again only to be defeated by the crazy for another six to eight months.

Santa Sangre is completely and totally insane. 

Like, if Carrie's mother and Norman's mother got together for a three month binge on PCP all the while their children were their disguised dealers insane.

This film is very disturbing, but it takes a while to realize how disturbing it is because the film moves so erratically and over-the-top. There is blood and feathers everywhere,  including an elephant with blood shooting out of it's trunk. Circus performers EVERYWHERE (note, there are many clowns....many many clowns). I'm going to just give you a moment to soak up this visual so far.

....

Okay, moving on. Religions, sex, prostitution, child abuse, and infidelity play a huge role too. And it gets worse! Once you realize what's going on, for instance when you realize how connected the son is to his neurotic mother, your skin crawls and you just want the ride to stop. This is why it took me so long to get through this epic film. It was too dark, insane, and disturbing for me to watch in one seating.

That said, I'm glad I finally got through it. This is an incredible film and deserves the praise it has received. I don't think I'll watch it again though. Once is enough.

Now, to top this whole experience off, read this IMDB Message Board post titled: "NOT A FILM ABOUT SANTA!!". To quote the user:

 "I took my kids to see this film last night as they are still young enough to believe in Santa Claus. I didn't get it though; this film has got nothing to do with Santa? I demanded my money back but didn't get it because we had sat there for too long (waiting). My kids were really upset. I can't believe someone would want to mislead us like that! It makes me really angry."

 Ohhhhh hooo hoo, ahhh HA HAHAHAHA. Ah. Thank you, erlendsp. Thank you for that, I really needed some dark comic relief after watching and writing about Santa Sangre. Going to cry as I laugh now.

Off to watch happy things for a while. Happy Holidays!

She-Wolf Of London (1946)

Nothing says a classic 1940's film better than crazy ladies. It doesn't matter if the characters are actually crazy or not, they are ladies and therefore, likely crazy (or fickle, or jealous, or stupid, or money hungry - but ultimately need a man to sort things out).

At least that's what I thought this whole movie was about at the beginning - and it is for a quite a bit of this one hour film - but the end surprised me, just a bit. She-Wolf of London actually took a rather quick, sudden and very short-lived turn into the dark and sinister.

This is a good film for those who love the not-so-creepy black and white classics, with their quirky story lines and smirk-inducing dated material. This is also a great film to wined the night down with, or take a little break in the middle of a Saturday afternoon. A fine fine film to talk to (at) with a group of your best fellow 1940's 'horror' movie fans.

Are You Afraid Of The Dark? (Television Show, 1990)

Back, once but long ago, my two youngest brothers and I would pop some popcorn, stop our fighting, and be sure to gather around the large television set  peaceably by 9:00 PM every Saturday night.

The reason? Nickelodeon's: Are You Afraid Of The Dark? A marvel of teen story telling and entertainment genius for the whole family. We had so much fun building the anticipation for the show as we did watching the show. If you were lucky enough to grow up in the early 1990s, with the parachute pants and hyper color shirts, then you'll likely know what I'm talking about here.

I'm pretty sure the three of us watched each 30 minute show mouth breathing in anticipation of how the story would actually end. Looking back that might just have been me, but I wouldn't be surprised if my bros were right there with me.

The wonderful little stories told during each episode have continued to haunt my memories. So much so that I tracked the first season down (finally found it for a reasonable price) and rejoiced like a delightful, spoiled, little child during Christmas, when the package arrived. Oh, how the memories came right back - and this time they were better than ever.

This is a great television show for the whole family or anyone who enjoys a good, cheeky, spooky tale. Highly recommend paring with popcorn, favorite soda, and some of your best people.

Happy Halloween! Rebecca (1940) and Donnie Darko (2001)

Say what you say? What do these two movies have in common to account for them both being in one post, you ask? Nothing, besides the fact that I couldn't decide which movie should be the last October Challenge Happy Halloween! post. So there you go. It's my blog, I do what I want.

So now that midnight is approaching, Halloween is reaching its creepiest time, and you're sitting at home wondering what to watch next. Well, I'm sure you want to watch something good, right? Something much admired and respected? Something that will spook you - but not too much because you still have to get some sleep before work in the morning? Well then I have two picks for you!

The first: Donnie Darko.

What a film! When I first watched it, I was still neck deep in my David Lynch movie marathon phase and I STILL just about jumped from my seat a couple times, cried a little, and finally about fell out of my chair by the end. I would like to call this one a philosophical horror movie. It could also be a drama buuuuut, no, I think it's more of a horror movie. The bunny costume alone will git ya good. Your mind will get a little twisted, your heart will break a bit, and you'll sit for a good long while afterwards wondering what in the world just happened.

I love this film. Love it. It's my feel good food. My warm bath with Epsom salts. My banned book from the high school library. It's my Donnie Darko. I've not seen anything quite like this film, and I don't expect to for a good long while.

The second: Rebecca.

Oh! Rebecca! The book is wonderful, I gobbled it up like ice cream - until it hurt my head and had to breath through my nose for a while. For those of you not exactly in the mood for horror or ghosts but desire something like that then this is the movie for you! It's a 1940s classic and Hitchcock directed it. That's all you really need to know.

This dark and spooky tale will take you down sordid paths and introduce you to some very spooky people. But I don't think it will give you nightmares, just the good old fashioned chills. And because I love you all so much - here is the entire movie. I present to you, Rebecca:

Happy Halloween, folks! See you all soon and sleep tight!