Titles are hard

Released: 1944

Overall Grade: B

Starring: Cary Grant, Edward Everett Horton, Peter Lorre

It’s difficult for a movie based on a play to be good, especially one that so strictly follows the play. This one, however, follows the play very faithfully but is fantastic. Frank Capra directs this story of Mortimer Brewster (Grant), a drama critic who discovers a dark secret about his sweet and loving aunts; they’re killing drifters so that they’ll be happier. At the same time he discovers this secret, his brother, also a murderer and criminal, returns home with a dead body of his own to hide. Hilarity ensues as Mortimer tries to get everything sorted out and get back to his new wife safely.

Most play-based movies suffer a little from their cinematography due to the play being based mostly in one room. This one does a good job of changing the angle enough so that even though 98% of the movie takes places in the main room, the scenework doesn’t feel static or boring.

Cary Grant does a great job being energetic and a little crazy, making the character of Mortimer Brewster very enjoyable to watch. His antics at the discovery of his aunts’ indiscretions are a joy to watch, creating a large part of the comedy of the film. Raymond Massey plays Mortimer’s brother, Jonathan, a criminally insane Boris Karloff look-alike. Karloff actually played the part on Broadway, but due to commitments with the Broadway show, was unable to reprise the role in the movie. I would be very interested to see what this would have been like with Karloff in the role; Massey seems intent on doing a Karloff impersonation throughout.

There’s one scene in the movie that is done mostly in the dark; I assume the stage version is done entirely so. Unfortunately the scene comes off as awkward and clumsy, as well as slightly confusing. That’s one of my few complaints about the movie, along with a bit of a dragged-out plot in the middle and taking just a bit too long.

The script-writing is great, and is brought to life well with good fast-paced acting and dialogue. Each character has their own style of comedy that they bring to the table, creating a very versatile comedy that appeals to many audiences.

Arsenic and Old Lace is a great October staple, as a brilliant dark comedy that has the whole package. It’s a fantastic movie that can be enjoyed by all ages, and should be!

Body Count: 0

My Rating: 87

Released: 2004

Overall Grade: A

Starring: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Kate Ashfield, Dylan Moran

Shaun Of The Dead is the first installment of the Blood and Ice Cream trilogy (with the next being Hot Fuzz and the third being the upcoming The World’s End), a brilliant collaboration between Edgar Wright (Scott Pilgrim vs. The World) and Simon Pegg (Spaced). It details Shaun (Pegg), a 20-something loser who is struggling to save his failing relationship with his girlfriend. As he’s doing this, the zombie apocalypse hits London and he has to also save the lives of his friends. It’s an incredibly enjoyable zombie comedy.

One of the most enjoyable aspects of the film is the incredible writing. The back and forth of the dialogue, witty one-liners, and great callbacks combine to make the movie extremely entertaining. There are lines we hear in the first act that then get repeated verbatim but with a completely different meaning, to very impressive effect. Be it either comical or meaningful, it’s done a few times and is well done each time.

It’s also a really great zombie action movie, mixing comedy and action with drama and meaningful moments. It has some absolutely incredible moments of tense and suspenseful action, subdued by comic relief at the right moments. The performances are all very good, coming from a cast that works really well together.

In terms of gripes about the movie, there’s really just a few that I have. Believability beyond the average suspension of disbelief is sacrificed in a few places, with extreme coincidence and happenstance rearing their heads to a bit of a disappointing level for a movie that, for the rest of it, is a very realistic portrayal.

The last 20 to 30 minutes of the movie are a fairly intense ride, without stopping for a lot of time to process what’s going on. It seems a very realistic presentation of what things would be like if a Zombpocalypse really broke out. All in all, this movie is a ton of fun, and should be a part of any horror OR comedy collection.

Body Count: 47

Zombie Bodies: 41

My Rating: 91

Released: 2010

Overall Grade: B

Starring: Tyler Labine, Alan Tudyk, Katrina Bowden

The genre of horror/comedy is a genre that has recently seen a large blossoming, with Shaun of the Dead, Zombieland, and Thankskilling, to name a few. One of the stand outs of the genre is this movie. Tucker & Dale vs. Evil is a brilliant comedy about miscommunication. Tucker (Tudyk) and Dale (Labine) are two hillbillies who have just purchased a vacation home out in the woods. A group of college kids go camping nearby, and through a series of poorly-chosen words and very unfortunate events, they believe that Tucker and Dale are hunting them.

The writing in this movie is so clever. As one of the people watching the movie with me commented, a lot of movies based off of poor communication or an ill-made choice of words are very unbelievable or stretches. The confusion in the movie is based off of phrasing and situations that are realistic and plausible.

Another thing I love about this movie is that once the premise of the movie has been established, you can see a lot of the jokes coming, and yet they are still hilarious. They show things like a wood-chipper and a chainsaw and know how things will get misconstrued, but the ways they bring them about are phenomenal.

Tudyk and Labine are a fantastic pair. Tudyk’s exuberant and more energetic style matches very well with Labine’s more subdued but still very strong comedic presence. The college kids, moreover Jesse Morris as Chad (the loudest voice of the college kids) and Katrina Bowden as Allison, are also very entertaining. Bowden plays the part of the attractive female lead and romantic interest for Dale who tries to help mitigate the situation. Morris plays the crazy leader of the group, who assumes the worst of Tucker and Dale and convinces the college kids that they need to go on the offensive.

Another impressive aspect is that usually a movie of this type will get old pretty quickly, and drag a bit as they continue to try to further on the comedic premise of it, but this one didn’t. It kept the main idea going as long as it needed to before shifting it, making sure that they didn’t overdo the premise of each act. They keep the film entertaining throughout until the climax, which draws itself out a bit longer than necessary, but only minorly so. It has a very tense denouement, mixing comedy with good action, and with a satisfying conclusion.

Tucker and Dale is an absolutely fantastic movie, keeping the audience entertained and laughing. The performances are strong, and the writing is so well done that it’s a fun experience, and is a must-see for the fans of the horror comedy genre.

Body Count: 11*

My Rating: 88

Released: 2011

Overall Grade: A

Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Kristen Connolly, Anna Hutchinson

This movie is incredibly difficult to review. It’s a movie that everyone should go in to with as little knowledge about it as possible. It has some of the most original writing I’ve seen in years, and is an incredibly fresh take on the genre, while at the same time acknowledging the movies that paved the way for its creation.

It tells two stories, the story of a group of young adults enjoying a vacation in their cabin, and of a couple of mysterious men working with an intriguing shadow organization who are inexplicably involved with the vacationers.

I can’t recommend this movie enough. Seriously. It’s a fun ride throughout and a really great watch.

Body Count: 45

My Rating: 92

Released: 1984, 1985, 1987, 1988

Overall Grades: C, F, F, F

Starring:Robert Englund, Heather Langenkamp, Johnny Depp

Easily my least favorite of the Big 3 slasher franchises, The Nightmare On Elm Street series is probably that way just because it never ventures in to realism. A killer who can only stalk you in your dreams? Not anything to really be afraid of. It’s still a very enjoyable group of movies!

The first installmentfollows a group of children who have all had nightmares about the same creepy guy (Fred Krueger). They start dying one by one and have to work together to figure out just what is going on.

While the idea is a solid one, I feel like it was enacted very poorly. There are a couple of great scenes that have some strong tension to them, but most of the scenes that are supposed to be funny just fall flat. This movie is a time capsule, clearly stuck right in the middle of the 80s. The music, the big hair, how every element is played big…unfortunately, that fact goes against the scare factor, making a lot of things that are clearly intended for fright come off as comical instead. There are some incredible ideas in the dream world, with Freddy’s control over it, but they’re rarely capitalized on to realize even a portion of their full potential.

The script as well is just incredibly forced and awkward. The back and forth dialogue is static, the acting is poorly done, and the storyline drags on for too long. Upon re-watching the movie, as I’ve only seen it the once before, I find myself even more disappointed than before. They try to make everything super dramatic, and in doing so lessen the sting of the actual scarier moments of the film.

Nightmare On Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revengewas released a year after the first, capitalizing on its predecessor’s success at the box office. Not helmed by Wes Craven at all, it was taken over by David Chaskin for the writing.

It tells the story of a boy who dreams of Krueger and is slowly possessed by him, attempting to get more murders under his belt without having to wait for those pesky kids to fall asleep first.

If you thought the line between dream world and real world was blurred in the first movie, it’s just non-existent in this one. The scenes are so jumbled and confusing that I’m not convinced Chaskin knew exactly what he was writing as he was writing it. There are so many random scenes, either completely unnecessary as a whole or just shotgunning scene after scene so that you have a hard time grasping what’s going on, as there’s little explanation at any time.

And be careful if you’re in this movie; there’s a good chance you’ll burst in to flame. Not just people…birds, plates, any THING in this movie is susceptible to unexplained spontaneous combustion.

The film isn’t held back by a poor script, or cheesy 80s effects, or even a really absurd plot. It didn’t allow any of these things to stop it from being awful, pointless, confusing, and a total waste of time.

Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriorsis the next chapter, co-written by Wes Craven. In my mind, he was devastated by what Chaskin did to his character, and demanded he have a bit of a say in the next film.

This one follows a group of people at a mental hospital who are all experiencing the Krueger dreams. The girl from the first one has returned as a doctor on dreams, aiding those in the hospital in the fight against Krueger.

It seems they decided to take the idea from the first movie and combine it with Dreamscape, jumping in to other people’s dreams and fighting the common enemy. The plot is more cohesive than in Freddy’s Revenge, but is still a bit flat. It keeps the same large blurry line between dreamworld and reality. Realism and believability (past the expected suspension of disbelief) is shot to hell, seeing both overreactions and no reactions from people in situations that are totally unjustified.

There’s a scene where they group dream, and discuss all the things that they can do in their dreams. It’s an incredible scene for its cheesiness, and is unintentionally hilarious. We see a number of hysterical scenes that were meant for either fear or triumph, that all are so full of 80s awfulness that they’re funny rather than their intended effect. This movie had a hard time keeping my attentions…I’m preparing for my Halloween party tonight and keep thinking of better things I can do. Not doing them, but the fact that I’m thinking of them doesn’t speak well of the movie.

The big final confrontation with Freddy gets absurd. Everybody with their dream skills, and Freddy with his constant one-liners with each kill…it gets painful. The script is so poorly written that the incessant jokes and attempts at comic relief just get in the way of what could have been an entertaining conclusion.

While it’s stronger than the second, it still falls sharply in comparison and is by no means good. It feels so much longer than it needs to be, and is just plain boring.

Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Warriorwas released a year later. It starts off in a dream, where we see three characters from the end of the last movie group dreaming to confirm Freddy’s death.

A number of absurd things happen, and Freddy gets brought back to life in the dream world (by the fire-urine from a dog?), and starts to wreak havoc among the final children of the gang that murdered him all those years ago. With her new friends, Kristen helps the fight against him by passing her power for bringing others in on her dreams along to her friend Alice.

This movie has very weak characters. I feel the writers just jotted down a couple descriptors of the characters and never expanded on them, with the basic idea of the plot they had in mind. The plot itself is a bit trite, having done it to death in the other movies, and never really built on the story they’d created.

The climax of the film makes absolutely no sense, and is just inane. The budget was clearly spent more on the effects for it rather than working up a sensible plot or a base idea that isn’t just re-hashed or full of holes (if he just had to see a reflection, why didn’t he die in the hall of mirrors at the end of 3?).

All-in-all, the franchise is the weakest of the big 3, none of them really cresting into being scary or having a great plot…as is the case with all big franchises, the first one is the strongest, but even this one falls short of entertaining.

Body Count: 4, 10, 6, 6

My Rating: 63, 10, 35, 24

Released: 2009

Overall Grade:A

Starring: Jeppe Laursen, Charlotte Frogner, Jenny Skavlan

This Norwegian contribution to the zombie annals of history is fantastic. A whole bunch of fun, it was written and directed by Tommy Wirkola, the writer and director of the upcoming Jeremy Renner vehicle “Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters”.

Dead Snow tells the cliche story of a group of friends going up to a cabin and getting more than they bargained for. By playing with gold they find in a box, they awaken a troop of ubermensch Nazi zombies who hunt them down. Even though it’s a fair done-to-death plot, it’s actually a very enjoyable take on it, and who doesn’t want to see Nazi zombies?

The lighting is one of the things that makes this movie. While some may complain that it’s too dark, I feel like it’s very dramatic lighting, highlighting the expressions of characters more than their faces, and creating a lot of shapes we just barely see. It heightens the tension of each scene quite a bit, in my opinion. There are a couple of scenes where we watch the characters looking for the source of the noise, but we don’t see what they’re seeing, which raises the suspense of those scenes even more.

The body count piles up pretty well in the movie, spaced out fairly evenly until the climax of the movie. While it hits some pretty standard horror movie cliches, it avoids overdoing them or calling too much attention to them, and just powering through the story like it’s the first time it’s been told. 

These aren’t your typical zombies. The whole…a bite and you’ll die and reanimate thing is never brought up. They aren’t out to eat you (much), they’re out to kill you and take back the gold you took from them. They’re also fast, intelligent, and coordinated. They know how best to kill you and will do it without blinking. One of them even talks. But there’s one epic fight scene that just takes the cake in terms of badassery, from both sides. It’s the most fun part of a very fun movie. There’s a lot of blood in this movie. A lot of intestines as well. But A WHOLE lot of blood.

The film has some good comedy elements to it, and some people call it a comedy, but make no mistakes; this is a horror movie. One of the scariest I’ve seen all month, it makes you jump, is incredibly tense, and has some pretty great moments in it that will make you rethink camping in the snowy mountains near Nazi zombies.

Body Count: 45

Zombie Bodies: 38

My Rating: 93

Released: 2006

Overall Grade: D

Starring: Carrie-Anne Moss, Billy Connolly, Kesun Loder

Fido is an original movie that presents zombies in a new light; domesticated pets that function more as servants than serving as frightening monsters. The style of the movie is that from the 50s, with a matching score and soundtrack. Fido follows a family who gets their first zombie servant and their reactions to ensuing issues.

This movie starts off with an ‘educational video’ that helps to explain the story a bit. Clearly a reference to Night Of The Living Dead, it discusses radioactive space dust (the cause of the zombies in Night) and takes place in Willard, the place everyone was planning on escaping to once they left the house.

The movie is supposed to be a bit tongue-in-cheek, I get that, but I was still fairly disappointed with this movie. I feel like it went over-the-top with a number of things, particularly the father being a bad guy and the overarching romance between the mother and the zombie, which I feel was fairly unnecessary to the main plot. It was easily the most distracting part of the movie, though the extremely unrealistic reactions of the characters was another strong separator. There are many points that a character dies and the living people around them barely blink or seem to mourn at all. I understand it’s trying to go for a stylized and thematic feel, but just misses the mark, in my opinion.

I feel like they really try to make the climax really meaningful and interesting, but honestly it was really hard to be that invested. I remember kinda liking this movie the first time I saw it; but the second viewing was a little bit of a let down.

Body Count: 20

Zombie Bodies: 14

My Rating: 52

Released: 1941

Overall Grade: C

Starring: Dick Purcell, Mantan Moreland, Joan Woodbury

I’m not usually a fan of zombie movies that involve voodoo zombies rather than ‘traditional’ zombies. They’re a much less intimidating or scary style of zombie, and aren’t even really dead. This movie tells the tale of a few men who survive a crash landing of their plane on a remote island, where they find a German doctor who is working to raise an army of zombies for a ‘European organization’. Having not seen this movie before, and only reading a basic description, I went in to it expecting voodoo zombies, but this one seems to be a mix of the styles we know.Using hypnotism on the dead somehow seems to be the genesis of these zombies.

From the beginning, the movie establishes a very interesting plot. The acting is very enjoyable, and the story stays interesting throughout the whole film, surprising for a voodoo zombie movie from the 40s. This is actually the only zombie movie to date that has been nominated for an Oscar, achieving the nomination for Best Original Score for a Dramatic Picture.

Holy crap, though, the racism in this movie is absurd. One of the survivors of the plane crash is a short and pudgy black man, who is clearly only there for comic relief. Played by Mantan Moreland, the same actor who portrayed Birmingham Brown in the old Charlie Chan movies. His character is very similar; a racist stereotype to provide comments at the most opportune time for humor. Nowadays, a very offensive style of comedy, but during his time, Mantan Moreland was one of the best comedians of his kind. His role is very important here, both providing the comic relief and advancing the storyline, by both giving the voice of ‘reason’ from the audience (critical and skeptical) and by finding out the important information about what is really going on on the island. The other black characters in the movie, either servants or zombies, are similarly storyline-advancing or just overtly caricatures, making this movie slightly uncomfortable to watch.

This movie has a surprisingly well done mix of suspense and ‘horror’ (for the forties) and comedy; truly it is one of the first zom-coms in history. It also provides as good bit of mystery in regards to what is actually going on with some aspects of the story, not explaining some elements while over-explaining others. It helps to keep the audience intrigued and entertained throughout the film.

The first death occurs about an hour in to the movie, and is my only real issue with the movie. The characters seem to have no real care for the death of their friend, learning of his death and reacting to it as if they had just been told of a good book the doctor had read. There’s no grief, no mourning. It seems oddly forced to add his death in to the movie. From there on, the movie gets a little cheap, feeling like a phoned-in ending to the set-up that had been crafted very well up until that point. It phenomenally damages the movie’s credibility.

This movie was very entertaining, and surprisingly good. A sleeper in terms of early horror movies, sadly ruined by its ending.

Body Count: 1

Zombie Bodies: 0

My Rating: 76

Released: 1968

Overall Grade: A

Starring: Judith O’Dea, Karl Hardman, Duane Jones

The opening to this classic zombie movie is subtly upsetting. It shows a car driving to a graveyard, with a bizarre soundtrack playing over the scenes. It sets the tone for the chilling zombie tale, George Romero’s first movie.

The story is that of a band of people trying to survive a small zombie outbreak in rural…wherever. One of the creepy charms of the movie is that they don’t say where it’s taking place, giving that “It could happen to you” feel to the audience. From the first zombie attack, which happens minutes in to the film, this movie establishes itself as a now approach to zombies; not just your slow-hulking zombies who endlessly beat against doors, these zombie hustle after you and learn quickly, adapting to use tools and work together to accomplish their goal of EATING YOUR FACE.

Not only does Night of The Living Dead tell a great story of zombie attacks, it develops into a fascinating character study, analyzing what people are truly like when times are stressful and tough. Each person stuck inside the house has their own deep character, complete with flaws and successes (except for Barbra, who is pretty much all flaw), each brought out at different times. The choice to film the movie in black and white, largely made so that they could use chocolate syrup for blood (like Psycho), contributes to the off-putting atmosphere of the film, the stark contrast of the film highlighting everything.

Another thing I love about this movie is the realistic reactions from everybody. The characters are partially so strong, and the movie so frighteningly realistic, because each reaction to the Zombpocalypse and to everything that happens afterwards is so honest, so true to what would legitimately happen in such a situation, especially the haunting ending. There’s also the matter of the camera angles and movements. The angles are weird and distorted at times, and when they aren’t, the camera moves very slightly during scenes. As much as I’d like to say it’s an intentional choice to make it seem like you’re seeing it through a person’s eyes, I think it’s likely more just a filmmaker’s first movie with some small corrections being made for the shot.

There are small continuity errors here and there, but nothing that is so glaring that is distracts from the movie. The acting more than makes up for it, making the audience side with Ben, the man who seems to have all the right answers, and dislike Harry, the obstinate man who wants to have all the answers.

A long time staple of the zombie genre, this movie holds up over time as stronger than its remake and one of the strongest zombie movies of all time.

Body Count: 18

Zombie Bodies: 11

My Rating: 92

Released: 2009

Overall Grade: A

Starring: Woody Harrelson, Emma Stone, Jesse Eisenberg, Abigail Breslin

From the opening sequence, this movie establishes itself as both a brilliant zombie horror flick and a genius comedy at the same time. Zombieland capitalizes on the comedic aspects of a full on Zombpocalypse, brought to light by the incredibly successful Shaun Of The Dead.

The witty writing and strong characters really make the movie so strong; Jesse Eisenberg starts this movie as the poor man’s Michael Cera, but by the end of the movie, it’s the other way around. Emma Stone plays the scheming, protective sister to Abigail Breslin’s brilliant counterpart. And Woody Harrelson was born to play his role of bad-ass zombie killer extraordinaire (one might say he’s a natural born killer?).

The plot is very entertaining, telling the story of four individuals surviving through a post-apocalyptic zombie dystopia. We see their travels as they get to know each other and work together to live in their new and unfortunate surroundings. Proof of the strength of the characters is that we only really learn the name of one character throughout the movie, and the rest of the characters go by their destinations. It says a lot to the power of the characters when their names don’t really matter that much.

One of the more fun recurring themes of the movie is Columbus’s (Eisenberg) list of rules on how to survive. We see a number of the rules over and over again, adding some to the list as we go on, presented in a very funny manner, providing comic relief at good points.

There’s a cameo in the movie that is just incredible. I won’t reveal much about it, because that would ruin the overarching hilarity of it. But that whole scene just serves to make the movie that much better.

The climax of the movie promises lots of action, shots fired, tension, and a very satisfying resolution (as much as one can get in a realistic post-apocalyptic movie). This movie is so much fun, and delivers on every aspect, making it a must-see for any zombie-loving movie fan.

Body Count: 80

Zombie Bodies: 73

My Rating: 93