The Cardboard Dog Halloween Movie List Part 2: Us v Them Movies

Stranger danger. We can't help but make snap judgements of people; it's how we stereotype and compartmentalise and ultimately, how we decide what kind of person is "safe" for us to approach. If a person is too different from us, should we be wary of them? In this section, the movies listed all play on that; those unknown or rarely visited corners of society and the dangers we think might wait there for us. If we believed these movies, we might never leave our houses again...

Top 5 Us v Them

5. Straw Dogs (1971)

Straw Dogs is up there along with A Clockwork Orange and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre in that it has the dubious honour of having been banned on video in the UK from its original cinematic release. Many argue that the ban was appropriate as the level of violence (and in particular sexual violence) at the time was plain shocking. The ban surely couldn't have been a huge surprise as the movie was directed by Sam Peckinpah, who had a flair for the brutal and the bloody. All that to one side, simply put, the story is about an academic (dweeby) David Sumner (Dustin Hoffman) who moves to rural England with his new wife to renovate their new cottage. It's genuinely unnerving as the local bumpkins bully Hoffman's character and the menace starts to build – inevitably pushing Hoffman's placid character to defend himself in the violent finale.

4. Deliverance (1972)

Another early 70's piece here. A film which will no doubt be getting remade at some point, this tells the story of four city boys (like City Slickers except there's no Billy Crystal) who aim to travel down a section of Cahulawassee River, in the good ol' southern states of USA before developers obliterate the land entirely. From the start, when the boys stop by a decrepit gas station, the director, John Boorman, sets the scene for what our heroes are up against. It's banjo playing, bad-teeth having, cross-eyed inbreds. It's ugly and hostile but the tone has now been set. This is the movie with the banjo duel, the one where Ned Beatty squeals like a pig and the one where even macho Burt Reynolds turns into a whimpering mess.

3. The Hills Have Eyes

Instead of teens or a group of friends setting themselves up to be slaughtered one-by-one, this time we have the family unit, travelling through the desert to get to California. As you can probably assume, this turns out to be a horrible idea. The family end up getting stranded and of course, picked off by a group of savage cannibals. The mayhem is orchestrated by Wes Craven (A Nightmare on Elm Street, Scream) who demonstrates a talent for creating truly creepy villains; even the way the savages speak is enough to send chills down the spine; while pillaging through the family's trailer, one of the creeps growls, “Baby's fat. You fat. Fat an' juicy!”. Some scenes are quite dark and shocking for the time (how Big Bob Carter goes, for example), and even though there's not a ton of gore, its still an uncompromising horror flick. It's allure was enough to grant it a remake back in 2007 but the update just didn't have the same menace that a 70's horror film seems to have.

2. The Wicker Man (1973)

Lets be clear, this is NOT the Nicolas Cage version. Wow. Anyway, this is the original with Edward Woodward as the clean living Sergeant Howie, tasked with travelling to the remote Scottish island of Summerisle to find missing girl Rowan Morrison. Slowly, Howie finds that there must be a conspiracy at work – worse still the girl is likely being prepared for a pagan sacrifice. Trying to uncover the truth before it's too late, Howie butts heads with Lord Summerisle himself (Christopher Lee). There is much symbolism and macabre activity on the island and the locals are detached enough to generate a creepy what-the-hell-is-going-on vibe. It could also be considered a musical as theres plenty of folk tunes played throughout which will only serve to imprint Summerisle on you. The finale isn't as shocking as it once was but it's still got plenty of pathos as the fate of the unfortunate Howie is revealed. And no bees involved.

1. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)

As with Straw Dogs, this was banned from a video release in the UK. Upon watching it though, you'll realise that there's not a lot of gore in it. The horror comes from the insane, cannibalistic family the unlucky teens cross paths with. The family's first introduction is when the teenage fools stop to pick up a hitch-hiker (Edwin Neal). Neal plays the part so superbly that a bit of you believes he is a genuine psycho who happened to turn up during filming. From there it gets better, Jim Siedow as the father figure is disgusting - especially when he tries to comfort one of his victims as they're tied in a sack, there's Grandpa- whose skills with a mallet aren't what they used to be, and finally there's Leatherface – the brute with the eponymous chainsaw.

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The Cardboard Dog Halloween Movie List

Good tidings traveller, I greet you warmly and invite you to spend a while from the bitter midnight chill at this ramshackle and vaguely threatening tavern as I recount tales of the best movies that you could be watching this All Hallows Eve. In other words, there's a countdown list on the way.

At this time of year, you won't be able to burn a witch without coming across a top ten horror movies list; some of them are well worth considering, especially this one over at The Guardian. The problem with these? Ten movies just aren't enough! There are just too many great horror films out there to fit onto a list of ten, and why should you miss out?! So that's why I've singled out the five best movies from the most popular horror sub-genres in order to give your options more....bite? Sorry.

These lists will be posted on the blog over the next week in anticipation of the big night itself, and hopefully they'll give you a few ideas of what to watch to get in the mood.

To kick off, I've started with a sub-genre that's all about telling a good, creepy tale – the anthology...

Top 5 Horror Anthologies

5. The House That Dripped Blood (1971)

Although Hammer may have owned the 60's and 70's horror movie scene, Amicus gave them a decent run for their money and this Amicus produced film is not the only one on these lists. The cast sheet of The House That Dripped Blood is like The Expendables of horror and sci-fi; you've not just got Cushing and Lee but Jon Pertwee, Ingrid Pitt and Geoffrey Bayldon. As well as the cast, the movie has a great kitsch vibe (as you'll discover as soon as the movie starts) and stories macabre enough to get the Halloween juices flowing. The best one? Vampire tale, The Cloak, about pompous actor Paul Henderson (Pertwee) who, in order to look convincing in his latest role as a vampire, makes a purchase of a mysterious cloak that literally transforms his performance...

4. V/H/S (2012)

V/H/S has got a great retro feel to it. Not only does it tell its stories through old VHS tapes (which means it has that shaky, how-the-hell-am-I-supposed-to-autotrack-this-on-my-bluray-player) look, but the fact that the stories are told in the anthology style is in itself a throwback. There are no “stars” in this one but this only serves the film as you have no pre-conceptions about who the villains are and who will possibly meet their grisly demise. The film also works as a “found footage” piece as the movies are, as you'd expect, filmed by the characters themselves as the events happen. The best story for me is Amateur Night, where the first person POV works well to craft a moral tale of how you should be careful who you decide to pick up in a bar.

3. Asylum (1972)

Another entry from the Amicus canon, featuring Jesus of Nazereth and The Crowman (or Robert Powell and Geoffrey Bayldon). Again, suitably macabre from the start the plot here is about young Dr. Martin (Powell) who is tasked with interviewing four patients from a mental asylum as part of a job interview. If, after hearing their stories, he correctly uncovers which of the patients is the recently-gone-insane Dr. Starr – he gets the job. The stories from the unfortunate individuals are even crazier than The House That Dripped Blood, from bloodthirsty bio-mechanical robot toys to severed body parts teaming up to take revenge on the hallion responsible for separating them.

2. Creepshow (1982)

A popular title that had the strength to bear two sequels, this is more fun that fearful. Leslie Nielsen is in it for a start... Guided by an on-form Romero (who would eventually peak a few years later with Day of the Dead) and with a screenplay by Stephen King, how could this NOT hit the mark. The best story is Something to Tide You Over which features the aforementioned Nielsen and Ted Danson. Danson's character (Harry Wentworth) has been poking away at Nielsen's (Richard Vickers) wife. With the mantra “Danson Must Die” ringing over and over in his head, Leslie decides to kill the pair of them in an elaborate buried-up-to-the-neck, TV watching fashion. It plays out like an episode of Columbo until the newlydeads resurface to wreak their vengeance Romero style.

1. Trick 'r Treat (2007)

A great movie for getting into Halloween. Set on the ghoulish night itself, Trick 'r Treat revolves around the fate of several residents of “small town America”, the sort of place you'd reckon Michael Myers calls home. There's plenty of familiar faces in it, including True Blood's Anna Paquin and the awesome Brain Cox (not the TV brainiac). The film is lush with Halloween atmosphere and colourful characters ranging from werewolves to crazy psycho-killers. All the good stuff, y'know. What sets this apart from the others is the structure of the storytelling. Some tales are set up gradually, while others are going on, and the timeline isn't linear – think Pulp Fiction and you'll be closer. Best story is that of Laurie (Pacquin) as she settles on finding the right guy for her first time...

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Watched: Pacific Rim (spoilers)

Pacific Rim (2013)
Dir: Guillermo Del Toro
Cert PG-13 / Running time 131 mins

So I finally got around to watching pacific Rim. A few friends whose radar is excellent for good sci-fi films recommended that I see this movie. The fact that its premise can be boiled down into the simple terms of "Giant Robots vs Giant Monsters" didn't put me off. There's nothing like leaving your brain at the door and sitting down to a magnificently produced piece of nonsense. After having seen the movie? Its magnificently produced alright and its is definitely nonsense but there wasn't too much that was engaging about it (sorry aforementioned pals).

OK, heres my case; the acting. In a movie like this, nobody expects the performances to take an audience on the emotional journey of a Warrior or an In Bruges but we do expect something more than Suburban Commando. There's more passion in the showers in Maghaberry jail than there was from guys who are without a doubt, great actors. The exception lay with Charlie Day and Burn Gorman as brainiacs Geiszler and Gottlieb, who played it right on the nose. If there was any more ham flying around it would've been mistaken for one of Brick Top's pig-farms.

Then there were other things that I tried to dismiss but still bugged me; like whose idea was it to connect the pilot's pain receptors to align with the damage taken by the Jaegers?! When major damage was taken by Becket's Jaeger in the first battle - wouldn't he have been less compromised if he didn't replicate the robot's damage? Then, skipping along to the finale, we learn that the only way to deploy the bomb successfully is to pass through the breach - the only way to do that is to have Kaiju DNA (or bring it along with you). Fine for the first trip through but then how do you explain both Mako's and Becket's life rafts passing back through to safety?

Also, the plagiarism was somewhat distracting, for example; the human / alien mind-meld where Geiszler discovers in a Bill Pullman type way that the aliens completely consume the resources of one planet before moving on to the next... Becket and Hansen's "Maverick and Iceman" complex... even Battlefield Earth doesn't get away with it as that's what I was reminded of when Becket popped into the alien world just long enough to deposit a bomb before rejoining the regular Earthly dimension.

"Dude, if you tell me I look like Rick Moranis in Ghostbusters one more time..."

And of course, there's the complete and utter destruction of any major city once a Jaeger engages with a Kaiju. When one of these immense machines "defends" a population centre you can only imagine the complete devastation; city blocks flattened, livelihoods eradicated, total infrastructure failure. Yeah, thanks for the "help" there. Still, got to remember that even that wasn't as much damage as Superman and Zod caused in Man of Steel...

That said - I loved the spectacle of it, that can't be denied. The VFX and style was all there and those guys should be commended. For the times when the dialogue or action lulled, there was plenty to appreciate in the pure design of the movie. Gold-tipped winkle-pickers.

Is this a franchise? For me, I think I've seen enough and wouldn't feel compelled to sit through another 2 hours of the same thing - unless Del Toro takes the fight to the Kaiju's backyard. And lets David Mamet have a stab at the screenplay.

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Escape From Lough Erne - teaser poster exclusive

Everyone knows by now that Barack Obama is here to begin filming on John Carpenter's big budget comeback "Escape From Lough Erne". Funded through Invest NI, NI Screen and Kickstarter the project's location was heavily lobbied by the team at NI Screen and confirmation of filming was given just days ago. Hot off the press, we have an exclusive preview of the first teaser poster (seen above).

Speaking earlier today, President Obama said "I cannot wait to begin this movie. Hopefully, all this G8 bullshit won't take up too much of my time and I can get my teeth into the role and put boots to ass ASAP!"

The movie is due for release in summer 2014.

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The coolest alt movie posters we know right now...

They say you shouldn't judge a book by its cover. But everybody knows that's bullshit. We do judge based on appearance - it helps us decide whether something is worth investing time in or not, we can't help doing it. So you can imagine how important the one-sheet is for a movie. The poster, the single image that sells the movie. I'm sure you have some favourites - or even remember a poster that was better than the movie itself...

The impression a great movie poster leaves on you is no small thing. What we've herded together right here are 10 of the coolest alternative movie posters created by artists who don't just have and obvious skill and talent but a real affection for the movies themselves. We like that.

Some of the pieces create a new vibe, some enhance the feeling you had when you remember the film, but all  of them are quite fetching really.

10. The Fly - by Strong Stuff
Considering the messy chaos of David Cronenberg's movie - the poster for this movie is remarkably clean and ordered. The macabre motif of the human / fly mash up is a nice reference to the horror within...

9. Scream - by Alex Pardee
The idea for this poster is so simple it kicks ass. Its genius! The iconic Scream mask is created by referencing Drew Barrymore's demise in the first installment; the intestines of the unfortunate girl are recreated here in a bloody heap rather splendily!

8. Reservoir Dogs - by Edgar Ascensao
Like the poster above, this one references scenes and props from the movie to really cool effect. The mixture of nik-naks and items all come together nicely to form a visceral image that sets the tone for the movie.

7. Face/Off - by Sam Gilbey
This one is like a diagram for the few people struggling with the concept of Face/Off. It also has doves. John Woo likes doves.

6. Tootsie - by Wieslaw Walkuski

Tootsie is a great movie. It works as a comedy of the sexes, as slapstick, as an essay on how women fought their way through sleazy sexist male environments in day-to-day work and it also shows how much of a truly gruesome woman Dustin Hoffman is. This piece is quite grungy compared to the original which featured a beaming Dustin Hoffman as the eponymous "lady". We prefer this one. *shudder

5. Batman Begins - by Nicolas Alejandro Barbera

Of course there's gonna be bats on this poster BUT its all in the delivery. The theme and iconography of bats ran strong in Batman Begins and that energy is transferred into this piece. The colours are a little untraditional for a Batman movie, but then again, Batman Begins was a little untraditional for a Batman movie.

4. The Mist - by Daniel Danger
The Mist is one of the best horror movies in years and its the powerful ending of that movie that this poster references here with Lovecraftian monsters on the loose. Its simple, un-gimmicky and just damn creepy.

3. Iron Man 3 - by Paul Shipper

This is one of those pieces that has so much craft and detail, it keeps you looking and looking. Its a marvel (geddit?) Apart from the technical quality, it really captures the tone of the movie: a beleagured Tony Stark inside a vulnerable Iron Man, saying a lot while remaining understated.

2. First Blood - by Ken Taylor
This is a throwback to the classic poster style of the much loved and revered Drew Struzan. You have the main character and framing him are memorable elements of the film itself. Like Paul Shipper's poster above, theres so much to look at and admire.

1. The Thing - by Randy Ortiz
OK, so this poster is somewhat fantastic. Its a piece that begins to describe how horrific the actual film is, and the artist uses a pivotal scene in the movie (the makeshift bloodtest) as a platform. The grotesque creature fits well with the vibe of the film and the artist deserves lots of credit for making the brave choice of recreating his version of the "thing" in high detail.

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Are Metallica the Kings of the Rockumentary?

With Metallica Through The Never being unleashed in cinemas from October this year, this becomes the band's third cinematic outing (in some form). It started with Metallica: Some Kind of Monster in 2004 then Mission To Lars in 2012, both of which were well received amongst both critics and audiences. It didn't matter if you liked your metal heavy of if you preferred your R with some B, the stories presented in both movies captivated all types of people - they enabled the band to transcend the perceptions so many people have of what a "rock and roll" band are.

Instead of drugs, fast cars and excess we saw...drugs, fast cars and excess BUT it came with many surprises including personal journies for the band who discovered genuine humility and enlightenment. Some Kind of Monster was intended to be yet another "making of" documentary but instead, it captured the band just as it fractured and imploded, then pulling themselves back from the abyss to become stonger and better. It was the rockumentary equivalent of a Rocky movie.

Mission to Lars is a fantastic, almost unbelieveable story of Tom Spicer, who suffers from Fragile X Syndrome - a form of autism - and who finds fascination in the drumming of Lars Ulrich. The fascination fuels a dream to one day meet Ulrich himself, a dream that Tom's brother and sister set about making come true through the movie. Like Some Kind of Monster before it, Mission To Lars' biggest surprise was it's ability to be dramatic and human; The Guardian's Kate Kellaway describes it as "a film that will make everyone who sees it want to champion it. It is original, funny and overwhelming".

Will Through The Never be as well received? There's little doubt that it'll make tons of money at the box office but will the critics use words like "moving" and "emotional" again? Unless theyre talking about the quality of the 3D and VFX, chances are slim because this is a departure from the band's previous appearances. Through The Never is a 3D movie with a fictional narrative mixed with actual concert footage and promises to be more of a "popcorn" event movie than anything. But hey, after delivering two critically acclaimed human dramas, theyve earned it! After all Nic Cage did the same thing with Con Air after Leaving Las Vegas...

So, are Metallica the Kings of the Rockumentary? Heres a rundown of the next best 5 out there...

5. Pearl Jam Twenty (2011) - directed by a certain Cameron Crowe this is everything a Pearl Jam fan could wish for, reliving their beginnings up to their present day triumphs

4. Foo Fighters: Back and Forth (2011) - a great piece on the rise, stumble, rise of one of the world's biggest bands. The lasting impression of this movie is how shrewd and driven Dave Grohl is (ask William Goldsmith).

3. Anvil: The Story Of Anvil (2008) - bittersweet tale about what it means to carry the passion for music, to forge ahead with a dream even though time to "make it happen" is running out.

2. The Filth and the Fury (2000) - this movie, like many other rockumentaries, shows the rise and subsequent disintegration of the band. Funny to see how prim the media was about a few swearwords back then too.

1. Jason Becker: Not Dead Yet (2012) - consider having a genuine skill. A skill that allows you to live doing what you love to do. Think about having the world at your feet - then for it to crumble away - irreversably. This is Jason Becker's story.

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Review: The Howling (1981) Spoilers...

The Howling (1981)
Dir: Joe Dante
Cert 18 / Running time 91 mins

1981 was a good year for some folks. Ronald Reagan became POTUS and Prince Charles married young Diana Spencer. OK, not so good for her I guess... That aside, it was also a good year for werewolf movies, the best in fact. Honestly, you wait for an iconic werewolf movie to come along and you get two at the same time!

The movies I'm referring to are of course John Landis' American Werewolf in London and Joe Dante's The Howling. The focus of this particular post is to honour the release of The Howling on Blu-Ray (albeit in USA and Canada) on June 18th.

The film is based on the book of the same name by Gary Bradner (which I finally read last year) and tells the story of a young couple who suffer a traumatic attack and are advised to duck out of the rat race for a while to enable them to get back on track. Unfortunately the location they hope will solve their problems ends up being somewhere that would test even Bear Grylls to his limit (I'd like to see his quick fix for fending off a pack of werewolves using only the blubber of a seal and some camel urine). As with many film adaptations, there are loads of differences between the book and the movie; in this instance Karen is a journalist instead of working in the hotel industry - if you want a truer reflection of the book, try the overlooked Howling IV

The movie wasn't that well received upon it's theatrical release. Much like John Carpenter's The Thing which was released shortly afterwards, The Howling was to simmer away for a few years before gaining a strong cult fanbase.

The two leads Christopher Stone and Dee Wallace, playing the aforementioned young couple, Karen and Bill were actually a real life couple; which may explain how they work so well in the movie. Wallace brings a vulnerability and sweetness to her performance which serves to enhance the tension as she tries to cope at her wits end and ultimately finds it in herself to deal with the unfolding horror. Stone is equally effective as the husband who gets led astray by Elisabeth Brooks, the local Jolie-esuqe nympho-lady-werewolf. The rest of the cast are well assembled and there's plenty of eye candy for geeks (Patrick Macnee of The Avengers, John Carridine of House of Dracula and much more similar fare, Kevin McCarthy of Invasion of the Bodysnatchers... it goes on). Macnee is spot on as the affable, paternal Dr. Waggner (another reference) the psychiatrist who is in charge of The Colony; the secluded retreat where he suggested Karen and Roy take their vacation. Waggner attempts to instill a new age philosophy amongst his "gifted" patients by bringing them to the Californian coast and subjecting them to group therapy sessions.

"Ah, theres the file I was looking for, couldn't lay my hands on it anywhere - cheers!"

Part of Karen's therapy involves regressing into the traumatic event she has tried to forget, while Bill hangs out with the menfolk, doing manly things. On the surface it all appears to be just what the couple needed but it's all underscored by the eponymous howling every night, which has the effect of freaking Karen out to the point where she suspects something's wrong. The howling itself is quite creepy and does a lot for the atmosphere of the film. Soon, Bill is bitten by a wolf (oh dear) prompting Karen's best pal Terry (Belinda Balaski) to rush to The Colony for moral support. Its a move Terry soon comes to regret as her investigative journalist instincts kick in; she discovers that Karen's original attacker lurks within the woods of the forest retreat. Her nosiness leads to one of the film's best / scariest scenes. The monster Terry is confronted with is formidable and would probably kick the ass of Naughton's American Werewolf. After that scene its strange to think that this is the same director who gave us kids movies like Gremlins, Explorers and Small Soldiers.

As with any werewolf movie the money shot is the transformation scene. The timing of the release of American Werewolf in London meant that everyone remembered Rick Baker's (still) stunning transformation scene - and rightly so. But a young Rob Bottin gave us a great scene, original, gross and still startling; the camera soaking up Eddie Quist's tortuous change.

The film's only real letdown is it's finale. After having escaped from The Colony (but not without being bitten by her newly lycanthropic husband), Karen decides to expose the hidden community of werewolves living among us by turning into one during a live news bulletin. Its a great idea and would've been fantastic - had she not actually turned into a care bear. She looks like one of Bungle's cousins. The whole house of cards would've fallen down right here had the rest of the film not been so good. Anyway...

Unlike it's counterpart, The Howling spawned many sequels, all steadily declining into obscurity - but its a testament to the idea which The Howling conceived; what if the werewolf isn't just one poor cursed soul looking for reprieve, but instead there was a pack out there, made up of those who looked at it not as a curse but a gift? That they imagined themselves the very top of the food chain and enjoyed the slaughter?

For better or worse, werewolves are enjoying a bit of a renaissance but it comes at a cost. In recent years, the image of the werewolf has been recast into a buff young teenager, while the monster itself is more akin to a force of nature to behold in awe instead of terror. Where's the horror? The wolfman needs rehab. Hooray for The Howling being released on Blu-Ray, as old as it is it feels refreshing these days.

Awesome new artwork - always helps

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