TOP FIVE: HORROR MOVIES

1. THE SHINING (1980)

A classic, and for a good reason. This wins in terms of style, suspense and horror. Every shot looks like a beautifully macabre photograph.

2. TALES FROM THE CRYPT (1972)

I love a horror anthology, the British do it best, in my opinion. This one has some classic stories. The thing I love most about these stories are the fact that the bad guys always get their comeuppance. Other great horror anthologies include (because I couldn’t include them all… The Vault of Horror (1973), Asylum (1972), From Beyond the Grave(1974), and of course the more modern Creepshow (1982) and Tales from the Darkside: The Movie (1990)

3. THE BAD SEED (1956)

There’s nothing scarier than a ‘cute’ psychopathic little girl.

4. THE POUGHKEEPSIE TAPES (2007)

A whole set of video tapes are found in an abandoned house showing what appears to be the life’s work of a truly horrific serial killer. The mockumentary style just makes the whole thing scarier because you can image what you’re seeing is real.

5. SLEEPAWAY CAMP (1983)

This almost falls into the so bad it’s good category, The twist makes it even better.

FILM 1581: THE CONJURING 2 

TRIVIA: James Wan was offered a "life-altering" amount of money in order to direct Fast 8 (2017). However, he turned that opportunity down to direct The Conjuring 2 (2016) instead. "I feel rejuvenated to tell a scary story one more time," Wan wrote on Instagram.

The remaining members of the Hodgson family visited the set. Frances O'Connor, who portrays their late mother, refused to meet them, as she feared it would affect her performance.

Patrick Wilson did his own singing.

On the first day of shooting, a priest was brought in to bless the set.

One of the real-life allegations that didn't feature in the movie, was that the Hodgson children's toys were thrown around and were too hot to touch.

Some have claimed that the real Janet is a gifted ventriloquist or the power to manipulate voices and she admitted faking some events. She revealed that around two percent of the haunting was phony during an interview with The Telegraph.

The opening scene where the Warrens are seen partaking in a séance in the Amityville Horror House, Lorraine is seen wearing a trenchcoat and a skirt. Inspiration for this costume was taken from what the real Lorraine Warren wore during a séance in real life during the Amityville case. She wore a replica of the outfit right down to the styling of her hair.

The ghost boy that Lorraine sees when astral projecting is based on the infamous Amityville photo supposedly taken by Gene Campbell, a professional photographer who was part of the team who worked with paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren.

The Society of Psychical Research in England researched this case long before The Warrens, and it was determined it was Recurrent Spontaneous Psychokinesis. Grosse and Playfaire moved into the house at one point and investigated this case for over a year. The Warrens just showed up and stayed for a couple of days.

http://wellmedicated.com/100-illustrated-horror-film-posters-part-2/

FILM 1212: THE CONJURING

TRIVIA: When the movie was shown in the Philippines, some cinemas had to hire Catholic priests to bless the viewers before showing it. This is due to some viewers having reported a "Negative Presence" after watching the film. The priests also provided spiritual and psychological help to the viewers.

The film was given an R rating by the MPAA. The filmmakers had thought the final cut had a chance of getting the more-box office friendly PG-13 rating and asked the ratings board for clarification. The MPAA said simply that the film was so scary that there were no cuts or edits possible that would make it a viable PG-13 film; the filmmakers did not want to alter the film's tone and accepted the R-rating without any appeals.

Eight generations of families lived and died in the house before the Perrons moved in. Andrea Perron suggests that some of the spirits from the families never left. Deaths include two documented suicides, a poisoning death, the rape and murder of an 11-year old girl, two drownings, and the passing of four men who froze to death. Most deaths occurred within the Arnold family from which Bathsheba Sherman was descended.

Was shot in chronological order.

Lorraine Warren and Andrea Perron served as consultants to director James Wan and the screenwriters. They both claim the movie is accurate to the real story of what happened to the Perrons during the 10 years they lived in the farm house.

The real Annabelle doll was actually a used Raggedy Ann doll that was bought by Donna's mother at a hobby shop and was known for not only leaving notes on parchment when there was no parchment around but also attacked a friend named Lou by mysteriously leaving claw marks on his chest. The makers of the movie decided to make a more cynical looking porcelain doll for the movie.

Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga both traveled to Connecticut to meet with Lorraine Warren prior to filming.

Director James Wan modeled the film's cinematography and atmosphere after vintage 1970s horror films.

FILM 1101: BANSHEE CHAPTER

REVIEW: I’m really glad I didn’t look at the IMDB page before watching this otherwise I never would have watched it.  The poster and rating are awful but the film in places is genuinely scary and thought provoking.  In some places it doesn’t make sense and it doesn’t explain everything at the end but it was real enough to have me hiding behind my cat and I haven’t been scared by a film for a long time.  I would recommend it for the jumps alone.

http://www.theshortandthesweetofit.com

On This Day…

Tim Curry was born on this day in 1946.

Timothy James "Tim" Curry (born 19 April 1946) is an English actor, singer, composer and voice actor, known for his work in a diverse range of theatre, film and television productions, often portraying villainous roles or character parts. Curry first rose to prominence with his breakthrough portrayal of Dr. Frank-N-Furter in the 1975 cult film The Rocky Horror Picture Show, reprising the role he had originated in the 1973 London and 1974 Los Angeles stage productions of The Rocky Horror Show. After Rocky Horror, Curry garnered acclaim for his supporting roles; as Rooster in the 1982 film adaptation of Annie, as the Lord of Darkness in the 1985 film Legend, and as Wadsworth in the film of the same year Clue, as well as for his starring roles; as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in the 1980 Broadway production of Amadeus, as Pennywise the Clown in the 1990 horror miniseries It, and as King Arthur in the 2005 Broadway production of Spamalot.

Trivia: Provided the voice of "Sir" who welcomed visitors to the Alien Encounter attraction in Tomorrowland at Walt Disney World. The Alien Encounter ride was replaced after a few years.

A close friend of Carly Simon and sang backing vocals on her 1979 album "Spy".

Not only was he Tim Burton's second choice for the role of the Joker, he was the producers' first choice for the role in the animated television series. However, after recording four episodes, his take on the Joker was deemed as too scary for children, and thus the part was given to Mark Hamill.

Has a dog named Frank.

Auditioned for the role of Judge Doom in Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988), but was rejected at audition for being too terrifying. The role instead went to Christopher Lloyd.