3 Forgotten Films That Make My Skin Crawl

1. Night of the Hunter (1955) D. Charles Laughton - This is no horror film, but its villain and visually striking features certainly give me the chills. Harry Powell, played by the fantastic Robert Mitchum, is probably one of the most frightening characters on screen (in my opinion, anyway). He plays a "preacher" who goes to extreme measures with ease to get his hands on a load of money that is hidden somewhere on his ex-jail mate's property. His evil tendencies masked with the nick name "preacher" sends shivers down my spine. 
2. Eyes Without a Face (1960) D. Georges Franju - It has been a while since I've seen this film, but I specifically remember the beginning started with distinct, frantic music that immediately freaked me out. This film is about a doctor who surgically removes the faces off of women to try and give his daughter a normal face back after a tragic accident. There's nothing creepier than seeing a figure with a white prosthetic mask gliding down the dark hallways. Check out the intro of Eyes Without a Face above. 
3. Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962) D. Robert Aldric - I wouldn't consider this a horror film either, but more of a thriller. What DID happen to Baby Jane? She became a grotesque psycho, that's what. She was once a child star, but as her stardom faded, she grew more and more desperate and bitter.. not to mention envious of her sister, Blanche. It's definitely unsettling to watch the sistersinside the big house filled with the past. 

Revolutionary Road (2008) D. Sam Mendes

On the outside, Frank and April Wheeler are the perfect couple. They have the American dream: a nice house that sits in a slanted hill on Revolutionary Road, two beautiful children, and friends. Frank commutes to the city every morning just like every other suburban husband in the 1950s and goes to sit at his desk trying to sell computers. April stays at home playing housewife. Life is good, right?

Wrong. On the inside, Frank and April Wheeler are suffocating. The once happy, adventurous couple is now full of emptiness and regret. They regret the path they have taken. What path? The getting married, having children, and moving to the suburbs path. They love their children, yes, but what is missing here? Contentment of lifestyle choice. The lingering feeling that things could have been different tears each of them up inside in their own way. Frank (played by Leonardo DiCaprio) followed in his fathers footsteps of selling computers, something he promised himself he would never do. April (played by Kate Winslet) sits at home every day thinking about how things used to be, and what else is out there besides playing housewife. They're desperate for something else besides what they have.

April decides that she wants something different so she brings the idea up to Frank about moving to Paris. He is hesitant at first responding to it condescendingly. But he yearns for what's out there just as she does. So they plan to move to Paris. But what happens? A promotion. Something Frank doesn't want to pass up something that April wants him to. This creates more tension, more fights, and more hatred.

The performances are more than phenomenal. Leo and Kate have a certain chemistry (as we've seen in Titanic) that draws us in and makes us forget we're even watching a movie. It's stripped down to raw conversation that makes your hair stand up. I was surprised they weren't nominated for any academy awards considering their solid acting. However, Michael Shannon who plays a man named John Givings was nominated for best supporting actor. He was in two scenes out of the whole movie. He's the one person who isn't afraid to say the truth in front of everyone. He sees behind all of the fake smiles and polite conversation. John is a key part of the movie, you will see.

This movie is based off of the book by Richard Yates. I think Sam Mendes wanted to viewers to see that there are things behind clichés and suburbia. There is something more to it than just what it seems like. He wanted you to see marriage stripped down to the core when a couple isn't content with their life. Things are hard. It's about how you handle a situation, and the choices that you make that shape your life. I love that it isn't sugar coated. Something about realistic movies draws me in closer. You see and feel everything that the characters are. You can always relate to realistic movies because the characters seem real.

I expected an intense movie about marriage and suburbia. I've seen this movie twice. This is the kind of movie where I almost don't want to watch it again because of how unsettling and devastating it is, but I can't help it. I love this movie. I love it because it doesn't hide anything.

This film is about hidden suburban desperation. You think you're going to get Jack and Rose on land? Not quite. You're in for something entirely different.

The Lost Weekend (1945 D. Billy Wilder)

The Lost Weekend gets as close as you can to the effects of alcoholism. Don Birnam, a writer who is left alone for the weekend by deceiving his girlfriend and his brother, does anything he can to get liquor in his system. Billy Wilder goes so deep into the pit that you personally feel the desperation that Don Birnam does as he downfalls.

The film doesn't start in the beginning of the story, but the middle. Birnam is already an alcoholic, but you have yet to see the worst of it. It draws you in because you know something terrible has already happened to the protagonist, yet you know there's a whole movie still to watch.

Birnam is surrounded by help and support by his girl and his brother but he fails to grasp that love and shuts them out. However, the enemy gets the best of him during this extremely long weekend and it eats away at him to the point where he feels like he can't go on any longer.

The Lost Weekend is a great drama filled with phenomenal acting and directing. It reels you in to get a look at what desperation really feels like when you get the the very bottom and don't know how to come back up from it. It is one of the most painfully honest films I have ever seen. I highly recommend it to everyone.

Moon (2009 D. Duncan Jones)

"I hope life on Earth is everything you remember it to be."

What does it really mean to be a human? This film had me really thinking about that question. Moon taps into the meaning of life, and the human emotion.

In this futuristic sci-fi film, Sam Bell (played by Sam Rockwell) is finishing up a 3 year contract on the moon. What is his job? He works for a company called Lunar Industries. Sam harvests and sends fuel that is used on earth.

Now, 3 years is a long time, wouldn't you agree? Sam would definitely agree with you. It has begun to get under his skin as he goes day-to-day feeling nothing but isolation. His only form of communication is a computer named GERTY (voice of Kevin Spacey). GERTY has become his friend in a way as he assists him with his needs and daily tasks. But even GERTY can't fill the hole of loneliness. Sam has a wife and a little girl waiting at home for him and he is itching to get to them. He misses that human interaction, that feeling of closeness that he may have took for granted in the past. Unfortunately for Sam, there is no live feed to and from Earth, so he only receives recorded video messages from his wife.

Just when he is only a few days away from his trip home, something happens. And, I'm sorry to say that if I said anything else, I'd be ruining the movie! If you watched the trailer, you may have an idea. Lets just say he has somewhat of a.. personal interaction.

Sam Rockwell did an amazing job with this film. The script was made specifically for him, so he did a really good job following through with it. He's really the only character you get to know, and so it takes a lot to keep the audience interested when they are constantly looking at one actor in one location. But, you really begin to relate to him, and connect deeply with his conflict and emotions.

This really is a thought provoking film. It taps into your brain as you begin to question if you are taking your life for granted, if you really appreciate that relationship with your sibling, or your lover. What do we see when we look deep into ourselves? Imagine how much time Sam had to think about his life, and himself.

I think most of us forget the fact that human life is so precious, and we should be grateful for everything that we have.

Villains I Fell in Love With

By dictionary definition, a villain is a wicked or evil person; someone who does evil deliberately. Read below to check out 5 villains that I consider to be profoundly well developed.

Annie Wilkes played by Kathy Bates in Misery
(1990 D. Rob Reiner) 

"God came to me last night and told me your purpose for being here. I am going to help you write a new book." You'd probably think in this photo to the left is about a nice woman doing a poor man the favor of shaving him because he's injured. Well, if you thought that, you're wrong. That is Annie Wilkes being a psycho crazy stalker who's obsessed with writer Paul Sheldon (James Caan). He got into a car accident and she saved his life. Little did he know she's his biggest fan and thrives off of his book series about a woman named Misery Chastain. His number one fan wants to nurse him back to health, but things get a little out of hand. I tend to be drawn to villains who have a little humor to them. Annie treats Paul like she has known him forever. She played obsessed so well that she won an academy award for her role. She is just the creepiest of creepers. 

Watch this clip. Notice how she goes from being extremely polite to full of rage in a matter of seconds.. it's perfect.

Bill Cutting aka “The Butcher” played by Daniel Day Lewis in Gangs of New York
 (2002 D. Martin Scorsese)

You don't mess with The Butcher

"You know how I stayed alive this long? All these years? Fear. The spectacle of fearsome acts. Somebody steals from me, I cut off his hands. He offends me, I cut out his tongue. He rises against me, I cut off his head, stick it on a pike, raise it high up so all on the streets can see. That's what preserves the order of things. Fear. "

Daniel Day Lewis is one of my favorite actors. He knows how to play his characters so well it seems flawless every time. He is absolutely fantastic. Anyway, Bill the Butcher is the feared one in the city, he is the respected one, the one who people want to like them and do what they can to get that accomplished. In Gangs of New York, Bill kills the father of Amsterdam Vallon played by Leonardo DiCaprio. it's about him coming to get his revenge once he's grown up and ready to plot his vengeance to try and restore peace to the Five Points of America. Why do I like this villain so much? One, because D-Day Lewis plays The Butcher so well. Two, because D-Day Lewis plays the Butcher so well. Maybe I'm just biased because I love Daniel Day Lewis. Regardless, the movie is worthwhile. Watch it if you haven't.

Anton Chigurh played by Javier Bardem in No Country for Old Men (2007 D. The Coen Brothers)

"So this is what I'll offer - you bring me the money and I'll let her go. Otherwise she's accountable, same as you. That's the best deal you're gonna get. I won't tell you you can save yourself, because you can't." This is Anton Chigurh. He is the most calm and collected psychotic villain I have ever seen on screen I almost think he's not evil because he masters his behavior so effortlessly, it made me believe that he was just doing it because it was his job.. his duty, or something along those lines. Point is, he makes evil look graceful. In No Country for Old Men, Anton Chigurh is after money. When some guy named Llewelyn Moss, played by the most wonderful Josh Brolin, gets a hold of it, and Chigurh obviously goes after him to get the money at any cost. This film won Best Picture, and Bardem snatched the Best Actor Award which was well deserved. Chigurh is a mesmerizing character. When I was watching this film, I love watching the scenes he's in the most because every move he makes is so smooth and yet, terrifyingly and perfectly psychotic. I remember the first time I watched this, me and my mom were counting how many people he was killing because he seemed to be doing it to anyway crossing his path. That is evil.

In the video below is a clip of Chigurh. He decides to randomly play a coin toss game with the clerk in the store. Little does the clerk know that his life depends on either heads or tails. Check out the way Chigurh talks and how collected his presence is.

 

George Harvey played by Stanely Tucci in The Lovely Bones
(2009 D. Peter Jackson)

I've got to be honest and say that the movie as a whole wasn't that great. I feel like you had to read the book by Alice Sebold to actually enjoy this movie. I think that it didn't fully develop the characters, and things weren't made clear enough. However, George Harvey was flawless. Flawlessly terrifying, that is. Stanley Tucci plays the neighbor who is actually a serial rapist and killer of little girls. There's nothing funny about this character, which is usually what I steer more towards when I fall in love with villains. George Harvey is straight up horrifying. He is one of the creepiest character's I've ever seen. I was really surprised when he received an Oscar nod for the role because he is extremely underrated and usually goes unnoticed. The reason this character is so fascinating to me is because I don't usually see Tucci as a psycopathic killer, and he does it so well. I was honestly horrified when he brought the main girl into an underground "play house." I felt like I was in there with them because I wanted to scream and run out of the room. You should watch this movie to see if you have the same reaction. You should watch the movie.. maybe you'll end up liking it! But you should watch it just to see how terrifying George Harvey really is. He's so terrifying that Stanley Tucci almost didn't take the role..


Colonel Hans Landa aka "The Jew Hunter" played by Christoph Waltz in Inglorious Basterds
(2009 D. Quentin Tarantino)

This is my favorite scene.

"What a tremendously hostile world that a rat must endure. Yet not only does he survive, he thrives. Because our little foe has an instinct for survival and preservation second to none... And that Monsieur is what a Jew shares with a rat" First thing I want to say is if you haven't already seen this movie, something is wrong with you and you need to go rent it right now. I fell in love with the Jew Hunter because of how natural his evil tendencies are. I love the way he goes about getting things done. He is witty, funny, and won't let anything get in the way of his goals. This movie is about.. basically, Nazi's. Tarantino puts a humourous twist on it, and you don't want to miss it. The Colonel appears in the very first scene, which is one of my favorites (not the one pictured to the left) because it sets the entire movie to a standard that it exceeds. It's one of the best first scenes I've seen.. seriously. How can you not love an evil villain who makes you want to be his friend?

The video I posted below is just a quick little intro to the Jew Hunter, but to get the full idea, you really have to see the movie.. because he's not just in my top five favorite villains.. he's in the top three.

I'd like to add that some people think that Alex DeLarge from A Clockwork Orange and Travis Bickle from Taxi Driver are villains... but I don't agree with that, therefore they aren't on here. But.. they are some of my favorite characters. :)

Thanks for reading!

My top 5 favorite horror films

5. Repulsion (1965) D. Roman Polanski  

Starring: Catherine Deneuve                                                  This is in my top 5 because of how unique it is from other horror films. It has minimal dialogue, filmed in black and white, and it's one of the most disturbing films I have ever seen. It's a nightmare about the descent to madness and also about sexual repression. You feel claustrophobic watching this film because the main character is feeding that feeling off onto the audience as she stays alone at her sister's home while she's on vacation. It's truly frightening. I previously mentioned that this film isn't your typical horror film. Something that I mean by that is that there isn't a constant scare; it has a subtle build up to her madness. If you aren't interested in films that don't always keep you on the edge of your seat with your mouth wide open, this isn't for you. However, it will make your skin crawl. Enjoy.

                                                                                                                             

4. The Orphanage (2007) D. Juan Antonio Bayona

Starring: Belén RuedaThe Orphanage is also a build up film. It doesn't constantly make you jump, but this Spanish flick is horrific. The atmosphere  alone is freaky. It's about a woman named Laura who reopends her childhood orphanage in hopes of restoring it. However, on the first day of the opening her sick child goes missing... after that the story unravels. Seems like your typical mystery horror film? Not quite. This one involves "imaginary" friends and a deep, dark past that Laura must face in order to find her son. Trust me, you don't want to leave this one out. Plus, it's produced by Guillermo Del Toro.. so CLEARLY it's good. :) 

This is the trailer incase you want to get a feel for it:

3. [REC] - D. Jaume Balagueró and Paco Plaza

Starring: Manuela Velasco

Remember that horrible American film called Quarantine? Well, it copied off of this Spanish film. Did you think Quarantine was terrible? That's because it is. However, regardless of how similar they are, [REC] shows Quarantine who's boss. This film is about a reporter who's following firemen to see how their jobs work. They get call about something being not quite right so they go to this apartment building not really thinking anything of it.. and we find out there some sort of an infection spreading. Once the outside world finds out, they get sealed in and aren't allowed out because they don't want it to leave the building. This contagious infection is horrifying. This film uses a hand held camera to magnify the thrill, and it works. This movie did have me at the edge of my seat, biting my nails, and shaking my leg.

2. 28 Days Later (2002)- D. Danny Boyle

 Starring: Cillian Murphey

This is another film about infection. I know, I know, second one on this list. I don't care. Movies about infection are apparently awesome, and that's that. This one is a little different though. The infection has already spread outside when the movie starts. The main character, Jim, wakes up in a hospital abandoned. Eventually he figures out what's going on when people who are no longer themselves start attacking him. Like [REC] this infection spreads through saliva and blood.. so it's highly contagious. This apocalyptic film follows the characters as they try to survive and figure out if there are any other survivors, and hopefully, a cure. 

Here's an trailer someone created that I thought was pretty good:

 

1. The Shining (1989) D. Stanley Kubrick
Starring: Jack Nicholson and Shelley Duvall.

Maybe he's just sleep deprived..

What did you expect? This is a classic horror film, and an amazing one at that. Apparently I like horror films about madness, not just infection. This is about underlying hatred and a hotel that can turn you mad. A family stays at a huge hotel to look after it during the winter time so that writer, Jack Torrance can work on his novel. The novel doesn't really progress... but other things do. The hotel unravels its evil persuasions.. what are they? You'll have to see for yourself.


What's this room 237 business? I guess you'll have to watch it to find out! Mwahaha.