Argentinian Horror

I recently watched a foreign horror film called, Aparecidos a.k.a.The Appeared.  Its about a brother and sister on a road trip to visit their terminally in father.  The sister is older and remembers her father as a strict and distant parent .  The younger brother really did not know his father since their parents divorced when he was young and they did not have much contact.  What he seems to remember is a person that he greatly admired. Along the way, the siblings find an old diary in a dumpy hotel.  As soon as the brother starts to read it, strange things begin to happen.  The diary is that of a young woman who was a prisoner of war during a time of political unrest.  In it she describes her husband and daughter's deaths by torture.  Soon, parts of the diary seem to come to life, and the siblings are thrust into these terrible scenes.  I hate to leave you there, but I also hate to give the ending away in the hopes that you will watch it, too.  The movie has some really chilling scenes and an interesting twist.  It is considered both a horror and political movie.  It's not on my top list of favorites, but interesting in its own right.

Foreign Frights from Vietnam

   Before I bore people with my stroll down memory lane, I want to share with you a foreign horror movie that I watched recently,   Muoi: The Legend of a portrait

I really liked this movie.  It tells the story of a Korean journalist who travels to Vietnam in search of the truth behind the legend of painting of a girl named Muoi.  While traveling to Vietnam, the journalist visits and old friend that she betrayed years before.  Right from the beginning the audience gets a sense that there is something off about the friend.  During this time, there are also flashbacks of what may have been Muoi's life and whether or not the legend is based on fact.  I enjoyed this movie because it's just plain spooky.  You don't really know what is going on with the friend until the very end.  Then it all comes together in sort of an AH HA moment.

This movie is considered to be the first horror film produced in Vietnam.  There was some controversy due to the fact that it was mostly filmed in Korea and it had and "under-16" ban due to some graphic images.  Check it out and tell me what you think.     

A girl walks into a video store...

Actually that really doesn't happen anymore does it?  Gone are the days of perusing the horror section of the local video store to find that one gem.  You know the one, the case is battered and torn and there always seems to be some Cthulhu-like creature on the cover about to tear apart some scantily clad coed.  Oh, and there is a dilapidated house in the background, too.  Hmmm, am I thinking of one movie in particular?  YES!!  The Unnamable.  Of course on the cover of this movie, the creature is the one who's scantily clad...go figure.  Anyways, this is one of my all time favorite movies!  It's actually called H.P. Lovecraft's The Unnamable and is based on one of his short stories.  The movie came out in 1988 and I believe that I first spotted it at Curtis Mathis Video in Orleans, MA.  My brother Ian should remember that place, too!  The movie had almost everything: good story, including haunted house & creepy H.P. Lovecraft creature.  What it doesn't have is good acting and a decent ending.  HOWEVER, there was a sequel made in 1992 that picks up right where the first one leaves off. It kind of goes in a stupid direction, but it does have John Rhys Davies.  Here are a few other movies that fit the bill, interestingly enough, they were all done in the 80's...discuss...
Q the Winged Serpent
Frankenhooker
Trick or Treat   yeah, it's got Ozzie Osbourne & Gene Simmons
Witchboard
For now, I think I will stop there...

In the Beginning...

      I am obsessed with horror movies and am constantly on the lookout for that one movie that has it all: an intriguing story, good acting, plenty of "cover your eyes" scares and a satisfying end.   This has been a lifelong search for me and I think that it is safe to say, especially after watching a number of stink bomb movies that my journey is not over. 
     It all started when I was a very young child living a somewhat idyllic life on Cape Cod.  I think that the first horror movie that I can remember and remember being afraid of was Jaws.  I was afraid to sit in a bathtub let alone go to the beach.  But, I also loved the fear .  I thought I was tempting fate by sticking my toes in the water to see what would happen.  Would the shark jump out of the water to gobble me up? Or would it sneak up on me when I wasn't looking.  Believe it or not, I think this is where the line between fear and curiosity started to thin and blend.  The next movie that comes to mind also has a beach theme, Blood Beach.  I am not sure at all where I would have seen this movie.  It came out in 1981, so I would have been 8 years old.  Would you let an 8 year old watch a movie about a sand dwelling creature that sucked people down through the sand and then spewed up gallons upon gallons of blood?  Not sure I would, but somebody did.  Thanks, Mom and Dad.  This is also why every time I went to the beach, I tiptoed through the sand thinking that at any moment I would get sucked down.  This is also when I started to walk through the grass in the dunes to outsmart the creature that I KNEW was there somewhere.
     It is going to take me a while to go through and try to remember every horror movie that I have ever seen, while also watching and critiquing current movies, especially foreign ones.  My ultimate goal is to create a database that people can refer to when they are looking for either specific movies or just a good old-fashioned horror movie.  Here I go!!