Se Morrisson 2022

Last week, we looked at the Texas Chainsaw Massacre. This week, we go to an extremely well-known example of psychological/suspense horror, the 1980 movie The Shining. Based on a novel from Stephen King, this film was directed by Stanley Kubrick and stars Jack Nicholson and Shelley Duvall as the main couple Jack and Wendy Torrence, as well as Scatman Crothers and Danny Lloyd. The Torrence family (including their young son) travel to a remote hotel for the winter, where Jack will act as caretaker while simultaneously working on a novel. The family soon experiences a variety of threats, both from supernatural forces and from Jack himself.

One important aspect of this film’s production involves Kubrick’s famously abusive treatment of Shelley Duvall during filming. He reportedly offered her the role before even having the movie’s script, but this favoritism didn’t continue on set; his mistreatment of the actress has been well-documented, and discussed long after the movie was released. Kubrick’s constant “perfectionism” resulted in constantly repeating takes, with many of them taking at least 35 repeats before he was satisfied. Scenes could take up to 3 weeks to complete, which was particularly harmful to Duvall due to the sheer amount of emotional trauma responses required throughout the movie. Stephen King criticized Kubrick’s take on the character as being misogynist; though she was written as an intelligent and fleshed-out character, the director cut out much of her dialogue, reducing her to someone there “to scream and be stupid.” Duvall was kept isolated and often not warned about frightening scenes, such as Torrence breaking a door with an ax– in the film, her scream of fear is a legitimate reaction of surprise. The famous baseball bat confrontation scene took a record breaking 127 takes, which resulted in dehydration, physical injury (from screaming and gripping the bat), and emotional exhaustion. Though she now defends his actions in interviews, many have used this film as an example of historical trends of actresses being mistreated by directors (note this similar event in The Birds).

On a slightly less depressing note, one of the things that made The Shining such a popular movie was its use of newly developed Steadicam technology. It allowed the camera to be stabilized while moving, and was only invented 5 years before the movie came out, making it a relatively new and unseen innovation. One of the most famous uses of this rig occurs in Danny’s tricycle scene, establishing the creepy setting by following him as he rides through the halls of the hotel. Unfortunately, not all of the practical effects were as efficient; since copy-and-paste wasn’t exactly available on a typewriter, Kubrick had his secretary type out the phrase “all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy” over a thousand times in order to create Torrence’s “manuscript,” which took multiple months.

In the decades after its release, The Shining has experienced a new wave of popularity, particularly among critics and analysts studying potential messages hidden in its plot and settings. A surprising number of conspiracy theories have arisen regarding Kubrick’s intention with the film; particularly popular theories state that the movie is a metaphor for genocide of indigenous peoples, that it acts as Kubrick’s confirmation of the Apollo 11 moon landing being faked (yes, this is a real theory), that it is meant to represent the tragedy of the Holocaust, or that it is a modern retelling of the tale of Theseus and the Minotaur. Despite these outlandish claims, analyses of The Shining are so extensive and popular that a documentary, called Room 237, was made to summarize and explain them.

As a whole– in a rating that I’m sure would make most horror fans gasp– I would give The Shining a 4/10. Though it’s an incredibly famous movie, and has been the subject of hundreds of deep analyses and studies, I honestly just can’t get into it as much as I’d like. I’ve never considered it particularly scary in any sense, especially compared to other classic horror films like The Thing, and Nicholson’s tendency to over-act definitely ruins the atmosphere of the film for me. However, I would actually still recommend that everyone watches this movie; it may not be my favorite, but its sheer impact on popular culture and psychological horror cannot be understated!

Last time, we looked at the classic Child’s Play. This week, we move to rural Texas and look at the grimy but iconic film Texas Chainsaw Massacre, directed in 1974 by Tobe Hooper. This film stars Marilyn Burns as protagonist Sally Hardesty and Gunnar Hansen as Leatherface. This movie follows a group of southern teenagers that, during a road trip, find and explore an old abandoned house. They soon discover, however, that the house isn’t abandoned– it instead belongs to a family of cannibals, including the massive, silent, skin mask-wearing Leatherface. This movie was the start of a massive franchise consisting of 9 total movies, and made Leatherface an icon in horror culture. Note that this blog will talk about some pretty gross things (real serial killers, dead animals, etc.) so feel free to skip this one if you’d like!

This film was marketed as being based on true events, but this is only vaguely accurate– a majority of the movie, including all characters and events therein, is entirely fictional. The main villain was based on a real serial killer named Ed Gein (also called the “butcher of Plainfield”) who, in the 50s and 60s, was known for mutilating the corpses of his victims and wearing a human face as a mask. It was also partially inspired by Elmer Wayne Henley, who was the serial killer responsible for the Houston Mass Murders of the early 70s, which claimed almost 30 lives. Finally, the actions of Charles Whitman– who shot a total of 45 people at the University of Texas, killing 14– had some (reported by Hooper himself) influence on the director’s interest in horror films, as he was on the campus at the time of the shooting.

Despite its gruesome origins, Texas Chainsaw Massacre is the origin of many popular slasher tropes, including the use of power tools as murder weapons (with the chainsaw), hulking faceless killers, and the trope of a cannibal family, which was used in other later franchises like the Wrong Turn series. It possibly inspired aspects of the classic Silence of the Lambs, such as the serial killer’s tendency to wear human skin.

The creation of Texas Chainsaw Massacre was extremely low budget, and this is reflected in the actual filming of the movie, which involved long days in the intense Texas summer heat. As part of the “atmosphere,” the general set included fetid cheese and dead animal parts, which– combined with the costumes of the actors, which weren’t washed for weeks at a time to give more continuity– created such an intolerable smell that several crew members were made violently ill. Though the film is relatively low on gore, Marilyn Burns unfortunately received the brunt of the violence on set; there were multiple mishaps when it came to filming violent scenes, which resulted in her finger being cut open and her passing out after being repeatedly struck by one of the cannibal actors. Production designer Robert Burns (no relation to the main actress) made sculptures of bone and fake skin, as well as hanging several real animal bone decorations around the cannibals’ house to provide atmosphere; though gross, his contributions are truly impressive, and definitely stick out in a low-budget film like this one.

The film follows the “final girl” trope that many similar movies feature, in which one girl out of a group is the only survivor (often due to her ability to outsmart the killer), which one can observe in movies like Halloween. However, unlike Halloween, Texas Chainsaw’s Sally escapes more out of dumb luck than wit, and is significantly more injured and chased than Laurie; because of this, many people have criticized the latter film for being misogynist and taking advantage of female suffering, as opposed to Laurie’s status as a feminist figure. Whether Texas Chainsaw can truly be seen as misogynist is certainly up for debate, especially amid scores of other “final girl” movies, but is an important debate to have.

Though generally nasty, for lack of a better word, in both its origins and actual creation, Texas Chainsaw Massacre is an extremely significant film in the horror genre. It’s definitely grimy, but it really gives a sense of realism to the scares, and the lack of blood and gore in the movie actually contributes to the sense of suspense and overall unique tone. I’d give it a 6/10 and definitely suggest a watch, if only because of the movie’s cultural impact!

Last week, we looked at The Thing and its remarkable practical effects to demonstrate the horrors of an alien monster. This week, we take a step away from the dramatically supernatural and instead follow a basic Chicago family’s life in the 1988 film Child’s Play, directed by Tom Holland (no, not that Tom Holland) and starring Brad Dourif. The film revolves around the young Andy Barclay, a child who receives a gift of a doll named Chucky from his mother; however, she is unaware that the doll is possessed by the spirit of one Charles Lee Ray, a serial killer who plans to continue his work in his new plastic body.

This film was a major success, kicking off a huge franchise that involved 6 sequel films, one reboot (also called Child’s Play) in 2019, and a TV show in 2021. It was partially inspired by the popularity of the Cabbage Patch Kids at the time, as well as the 1975 film Trilogy of Terror (in which a woman is attacked by a living doll), The Twilight Zone, Gremlins, the novel The Dollhouse Murders, and more. The character of Chucky, and his particular method of speech– crude, filthy, but humorous in its own right– was also partially influenced by the dark humor in films like Nightmare on Elm Street, which had come out a few years prior. It was also possibly inspired by Robert the Doll, originally owned by painter Robert Eugene Otto in 1903; according to legend, the doll was capable of movement, and Otto referred to himself solely as “Eugene,” allowing the name “Robert” to be solely possessed by the doll. As the toy has moved from owner to owner, the stories of its ability to move have grown in popularity, and it is currently placed in a museum for curious onlookers– and believers in the supernatural– to observe.

In the original script for the movie, the doll isn’t possessed by anything; instead, it is meant to simply represent Andy’s suppressed anger and emotions, and comes to life when the boy mixes his own blood with the doll’s fake blood. In this version of the film, Chucky was part of a group of dolls that had fragile skin and were filled with blood, forcing owners to be gentle and avoid “hurting” them– the title of the film was, appropriately, Blood Buddy. However, they decided that the character of Andy should become more involved in the movie in order to be more sympathetic to audiences, and after a few tweaks, the current Child’s Play was born, with the doll housing the spirit of Charles Lee Ray (an amalgamation of Charles Manson, Lee Harvey Oswald and James Earl Ray).

One potential issue that arose during filming was how to make a doll a believable antagonist. Kevin Yagher and a group of other practical effects specialists worked to create different versions of Chucky, using animatronics as well as puppets for more detailed movements. There were a few issues with the animatronic, regarding speed, eye movement, and wear on the body parts, and therefore actor Ed Gale was hired as a “stunt double” of sorts. Gale was a little over 3 feet tall, and forced perspective shots as well as mechanical movements enabled him to take on the role of Chucky for fire stunts and certain movements that weren’t possible with puppetry. They also used young children as stunt doubles in some scenes, as well as building the entire set several feet above the actual floor to allow puppeteers to work below the floor during filming.

Child’s Play was the focus of its fair share of controversy when it came out; many parents feared that it would inspire violence among children who watched it, and some groups even came out to protest the film’s first screening. However, this didn’t become as prevalent an issue until its later sequel Child’s Play 3; the public explicitly linked the movie to two murders in 1992-3, specifically those of Suzanne Capper and James Bulger. Capper’s murderer had reportedly repeated Chucky’s catchphrase “I’m Chucky, wanna play?” before killing her, and Bulger’s death was supposedly meant to resemble the “death” of the antagonist in the film. Despite this, police ruled out any actual connection between the films and the crimes, and these concerns have been relatively overlooked as the franchise continued.

I would give this movie a solid 7/10! Though the crude humor from Chucky doesn’t always work, it provides the character with more personality, which makes it a more effective antagonist than a silent or emotionless doll. The concept of a doll coming to life certainly plays off of ideas I had as a kid, where I was convinced that my toys came to life when I wasn’t looking at them; twisting that idea into horror makes for a truly spooky movie, that often had me on the edge of my seat. I would highly recommend a watch– though maybe avoid this one if your family owns any dolls!

Note: the graphite drawing included was the original design for Chucky– all of the puppets were created based on this sketch by producer David Kirschner!

Last week, we looked at the 1978 movie Halloween, directed by John Carpenter. This week, we look at another one of Carpenter’s classics from a few years prior: The Thing, which came out in 1982. It stars Kurt Russell among an incredibly talented cast, and though it was met with incredibly negative reviews at first, with time the movie became a cult classic and internationally famed for its suspenseful script and incredible practical effects. It inspired the creation of a prequel (also called The Thing) in 2011, and, along with merchandise and horror attractions, was turned into a video game in 2002. The film follows a group of scientists who, while staying in a research station in Antarctica, come across a terrifying alien with the ability to change its form to mimic any living creature– including the scientists themselves.

This film was based off of the 1938 novel Who Goes There? by John Campbell, which tells the story of a group of individuals who become trapped in an Antarctic research station with a murderous, shapeshifting alien. Though there was another film made based off of the book– this one called The Thing from Another World, produced in 1951– it took several creative liberties with the plot, changing the style of the alien and the general theme of the story. Carpenter intended to make a movie that was almost exactly true to the plot of the original novel, and therefore The Thing was born.

Perhaps one of the most notable aspects of The Thing’s creation involves the practical effects, courtesy of special effects artist Rob Bottin. Creating a monster that can shapeshift into anything– and, in Bottin’s vision, has no one “true” form– was an extremely difficult undertaking, but Carpenter was determined to create a movie in which the monster wasn’t just “a guy in a suit.” Bottin worked for extensive periods of time in order to create different concepts for the monster’s appearance, as well as planning out some of the more difficult practical effects for scenes that are still remarkable today. In one famous scene, Dr. Cooper attempts to use a defibrillator on “Norris” (truly the Thing), whose chest breaks open into a mouth and rips off the doctor’s arms. In this scene, Carpenter hired a double amputee to sub in for the doctor, and attached arms– made of wax, gelatin and rubber to simulate bones, flesh and veins– that would then be torn off. Bottin created a fake torso, a prosthetic mask for the stunt actor, and hydraulic jaws for the Norris-Thing, altogether creating a truly unforgettable (and horrifying upon first watch) moment in the film. Unfortunately, his efforts did come with a price; though he allowed some puppets and prosthetics to be made by artists like Stan Winston, Bottin took on most of the workload alone, which resulted in him being hospitalized for exhaustion, pneumonia, and ulcers due to overextending himself. He even chose to live on set for extended periods of time, sleeping in locker rooms or on the film stage. However, despite this toll, his sheer determination to bring life to his vision resulted in incredible practical effects that are still recognized today for their horrifying ingenuity!

This film is absolutely fantastic, and I would give it a 10/10! The practical effects, though unbelievable at times from a modern lens, are truly remarkable for their time, and are what makes this movie really great. I’m also personally a huge fan of the suspense and paranoia that builds throughout the film; the concept of a monster that can look like and almost perfectly imitate anyone is an idea with massive potential, and Carpenter did a fantastic job bringing that concept to life in his film. I highly recommend a watch!

Last week, we looked at older Hitchcock classic The Birds, which inspired the creation of many other horror movies in the years following its release. This week, we skip to the 70s and look at possibly one of the most famous slashers of its time. One cannot look at classic horror movies– particularly in the slasher genre– without acknowledging the 1978 movie Halloween, the movie that brought mass popularity to the genre. Directed by John Carpenter, it stars Jamie Lee Curtis as protagonist Laurie Strode in her first-ever film debut, as well as Nick Castle playing the iconic villain Michael Myers. In the film, Myers– fifteen years after murdering his sister/babysitter as a child– escapes a sanitarium and returns to his hometown to terrorize the local residents. Strode, a babysitter as well, is forced to try to escape his grasp and fight off the villain, defending both herself and her friends from his attacks.

Halloween’s origin is not particularly unique; in an interview, Irwin Yablans admitted that he had come up with the idea in a dream. He got in contact with writer John Carpenter and agreed to finance him– with a meager budget of 300,000 dollars– to write and produce the film. However, what is truly special about this movie is how much of an impact it had on the genre. Despite its low budget and relative lack of famous names in the cast, it became the most profitable independent film of all time, and retained the title until 1999. It is also regularly seen as the movie that brought the slasher genre into prominence, and brought main actor Jamie Lee Curtis into the limelight as a Hollywood star. It resulted in the creation of 12 other movies– 8 of which brought Curtis back to reprise her role as Laurie Strode– and 1 other that will come out in 2022.

Two parts of what made Halloween so thrilling were the soundtrack and the cinematography. The classic theme, written by John Carpenter, is extremely simplistic– mostly just a synth piano tune, played in a 10/8 signature– but is considered one of the most iconic horror themes; Carpenter stated that it was inspired by other horror classics Suspiria and The Exorcist, which may have contributed to the sense of dread that the tune inspires. The sudden occurrence of the score in the beginning of the movie makes the viewer jump, and its simple eeriness forces a feeling of suspense that continues throughout the film. The cinematography also contributes to this dread, particularly in the iconic opening scene. Filmed in first person, the audience watches from the view of a young Michael Myers in a nearly 4 minute unbroken shot, with his only sounds being heavy breathing before the discordant synth track takes over. We stare into a window, identifying his next victims, before he retrieves a knife and a mask– which distorts both his vision and the camera’s view– and murders his sister Judith. It is only until he has left the house and walked outside that the camera changes, revealing the murderer to be a young boy and giving us our first view (one of the only views) of Myers’ face.

One final but important aspect of Halloween to note is its arguably feminist or misogynistic stance. The film begins with the murder of Myers’ sister, which occurs after he sees her naked in her room; as the movie continues, he kills Strode’s two female friends, both after they are seen with or going to get their boyfriends. Some critics consider this to be problematic in its association of sexuality with death, which is often seen in later slashers, where more sexual female characters die early and the main female character, who is often an established virgin, is the only survivor. Carpenter explicitly expressed his disagreement with this analysis, arguing that he was not trying to make that association– or pass some kind of judgment on teenage sexuality– and instead was trying to depict more accurate and down-to-earth characters. Many other critics believe that this attempt was, in fact, successful; Halloween has been touted by some as a feminist film due to the position of Strode as a strong, clever, female protagonist. She survives Myers due to her quick thinking and protects several children while doing so, allowing her to become a fixture in other movies throughout the franchise. Even the other girls, though not survivors, are seen by these critics as a positive part of the movie: producer Debra Hill helped to write their dialogue, ensuring that the 3 teenage female leads were more authentic and relatable to the audience.

Regardless of its misogynist-feminist discourse, Halloween is truly an incredibly iconic horror movie, which sparked a massive boom in the popularity of slashers as well as being an early example of independent films reaching a wide audience. The score, cinematography, and characters are all fantastic and lead to a great sense of dread, and though some parts may be cheesy, this is a truly great film to watch if you’re a fan of the classics. I would rank this a 9/10, and highly recommend that you watch!

Last week we looked at the more recent classic A Nightmare on Elm Street. This week, however, we’ll be heading back a few decades and looking at the 1963 film The Birds, directed by world-famous producer Alfred Hitchcock. This movie stars Tippi Hedren and Rod Taylor as Melanie Daniels and Mitch Brenner, strangers who meet each other in the small town of Bodega Bay. As they get to know each other, they discover a strange and ominous new problem– the birds in the town are beginning to act strange, and soon transform into a terrifying threat to the lives of the townsfolk.

The Birds was partially inspired by Daphne du Maurier’s book The Apple Tree, a collection of short stories published in 1952. Within the collection is a story titled The Birds, which describes a seaside town suddenly being attacked by masses of crazed birds, who eventually spread to attack the entirety of Britain. However, Hitchcock was also influenced by real-life events; in 1961, residents of Capitola, California were besieged by gulls that not only attacked humans but also threw themselves into buildings. Eventually, it was determined that the gulls had been infected by a neurotoxin (domoic acid) via consumption of specific types of algae, which then resulted in their spastic actions. This recent event only increased the fear caused by The Birds, as it led more credence to the story’s otherwise fantastical plot.

Though it doesn’t hold up to today’s standards, the sheer effort put into the special effects of The Birds must be commended. In order to ensure the safety of the actors, the attacking birds and the reactions were filmed separately and then the two reels were combined via matte work. Technician Ub Iwerks and editor George Tomasini worked together, using the sodium vapor process to edit scenes together; in this technique, an actor acts in front of a white screen lit by sodium vapor lights, and is then compiled into another film reel. (I encourage you to read more about this technique if you’re interested– it was also used in the original Mary Poppins!) Though the editing isn’t always perfect, the directors were committed to using actual birds, and almost every scene in the film features real gulls or crows. The Birds also uses different filmmaking techniques– slow pacing and long, ominous silences– to build suspense throughout each scene.

(trigger warning!) It is important while watching this movie to recognize the scandal surrounding it, particularly when it comes to acknowledging the actions of director Alfred Hitchcock throughout its creation. Lead actress Tippi Hedren described experiencing sexual harassment and assault repeatedly at the hands of the director during the creation of the movie. Along with this, one of the final scenes (in which Daniels is attacked in her bedroom by a sudden swarm of birds) was made in extremely dangerous conditions; despite promising to use mechanical birds in the scene, Hitchcock surprised Hedren with live birds, which were hurled at her and even tied to her during the multiple days required to film. Towards the end of this period, she was badly injured when a bird pecked a hole in her eyelid, and she suffered a nervous breakdown and was forced to take a week off to recover. This movie may be considered a classic in the genre, but the specifics of its creation were deplorable, and Hedren’s experiences cannot be overlooked while critiquing the film.

In summary, I would rank The Birds as a solid 6/10– it’s quite entertaining at times, but not nearly as frightening as it was at the time of its creation, due to the evolution of practical effects since the 60s. Despite this, the Hitchcock film certainly remains famous (if controversial), and remains a popular example of early horror movies! I would definitely recommend if you’re not a fan of particularly spooky movies.

In this set of blogs, we’ll be looking into some classic horror films that left an undeniable mark on the history of the genre, from The Birds (1963) to The Witch (2016). While not all of them remain the pinnacle of fright in today’s day and age– with some turning from terrifying to amusingly lackluster– they are all household names when it comes to horror, with influence in popular culture ranging from cameos in video games to the creation of massive and ongoing franchises.

The first film we’ll be looking at is A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), featuring the (literally) nightmarish murderer Freddy Krueger as he travels through dreams to choose and attack his victims. This film was directed by Wes Craven and features Robert Englund as the mass murderer, alongside Heather Langenkamp, an at-the-time new face who plays the classic “final girl” and heroine Nancy. Elm Street was immensely popular upon release, and has remained a horror classic, sparking the creation of 8 other sequels, prequels, and spinoffs– one of which also features Jason, from the iconic Friday the 13th franchise!

The concept of a murderer who kills through dreams was primarily inspired by a single incident. A young boy who had escaped the trauma of the Cambodian Genocide was reported to have started screaming in his sleep one night, but when his parents checked on him, he was already dead– the boy had died suddenly during his nightmare. Craven read a subsequent report about the death in the LA Times, and was fascinated by the concept of death during sleep. There is certainly something to be said about the inherent horror in the vulnerability of sleep, as can be seen in the numerous other horror films made on the subject of nightmares or sleep paralysis.

Though certain aspects of the practical effects in this movie are somewhat laughable by today’s standards, other scenes are remarkably ingenious. In one scene, Krueger’s victim is dragged across the walls and ceiling, held up by an invisible hand as she is murdered– the effect is made via the creation of a rotating room. In another, a separate victim– played by Johnny Depp, surprisingly– is pulled into his bed, which then gushes a truly impressive amount of blood straight into the air and onto the ceiling. Similarly, the film crew simply created an upside-down version of the room, created a large amount of fake blood, put a hole in the bed, and let loose the waterworks. Perhaps the most infamous example of practical effects, however, occurs as Krueger stalks Nancy in her sleep; the seemingly normal wall distorts, and he seems to try to push through it, leaning over his unaware victim as he infiltrates her dreams. Jim Doyle, the special effects designer, stretched flexible spandex across a hole and had Englund press against it. Sometimes the simplest solutions are the best ones– one of the main criticisms of Nightmare‘s 2010 remake was an overuse of CGI, instead of employing the practical effects that made the original so popular.

As a whole, I’d rate A Nightmare on Elm Street a solid 8/10. Though it’s listed as a horror movie, there is a significant amount of dark comedy in the film that lessens the frights but makes it no less enjoyable to watch. Craven chose to hire mostly new faces for his cast, and that’s what makes the incredible success of this movie so impressive; the figure of Freddy Krueger would go on to star in numerous movies, TV shows, and video games, appearing beside other lauded legends of the horror genre. I highly recommend a watch!