The Lovely Bones

The Lovely Bones:

A Story Of Family, Devotion, and The Evil That Men Do..

More times then should in this world, the movie industry tosses around terms like "life changing", "awe inspiring", "Masterpiece" and the like, but of all those times, often, its misleading and untrue, more then likely the movie will be flat, and uninteresting and be swept under the red carpet until awards season, where we will all marvel at how it even came to garner so many awards. Thankfully, in the case of The Lovely Bones, this isn't the case at all, it is well deserving of all the praise and adulation that comes its way, long time readers will tell you thats not exactly a statement I toss around lightly, or much at all honestly. Peter Jackson, the man behind such films as the modern adaption of Lord Of The Rings, as well as last year's awe inspiring epic District 9, once again steps to the plate and hits a home run, proving more then ever his flopsterpiece 2005's King Kong was nothing more then a fluke. Jackson carefully and as faithfully as possible to the book on which this film is based, takes us into a beautifully tragic and surreal world, where we see not only life in the world we know, but shows of what the hear after is like, both are done in beautiful detail, you find the other world just incredibly surreal and breathtaking, and you truly feel that the real world cira 1973, really is a small town in Pennsylvania in 1973, which I personally love, if something looks out of place it totally takes me out of the story, and I just can't find myself getting back into it at all, but thankfully, thats not the case here.

The Lovely Bones is the story of Suzie Salmon, like the fish, its the story of her life, the story of her death, and the story of her watching those who she left behind, how she never forgets them, how they never forget her, the love that bonds them all, but it is also the story of vengeance for Suzie's death, and how she doesn't feel she can leave until that has happened. The film starts with us meeting young Suzie, she narrates an early scene in her life, then fast forwards to her current age, 14, its 1973, before children were put on milk containers and before people canvased the neighborhood looking at the neighbors when a child goes missing, Suzie tells you of her life, her love of photography, her dreams to be a famous wild life photographer, her love of her family, her special relationship with her grandmother, and her love for a young man named Ray Singh. You find yourself drawn into Suzie's life, her warm loving family, her younger sister, her younger brother, and all the funny they are, you also find of her love of her father, who teaches her how to build ships in a bottle, just like his grandparents and parents taught him, a family tradition as it were, and though you find yourself loving Suzie's life, and smiling and laughing at it, Suzie then tells you of what happened on December 6th, 1973, the day she was raped and murdered, by a man that no one expected, because back then, no one expected the strange creepy man who lives near by.

On the day that Suzie died, she was running home late from school, she had joined a film club so she could be closer to Ray Singh, a british boy whom she liked, and who liked her, after Ray asks her on her very first date, and almost gives her, her very first kiss, she rushes home, cutting through a field where she crosses paths with Ruth Conners, a girl who lives alone near an old farm with a sinkhole that everyone drops old broken things into, its said that Ruth can see things that others can not, in that field Suzie also encounters her murderer, George Harvey a dollhouse maker who lives near her and her family, he convinces her to have a look at what he calls "a clubhouse" he built underground for the children of the neighhorhood, so they "could have a place that was just their own". Suzie goes down underground with him, but she never comes out alive. George murders Suzie down there, underground he cuts her throat with an old shaving razor, she dies down there, where no one ever hears her scream, George then caves in the underground structure, one week later all they find of evidence is Suzie's hat and alot of blood, this revelation, with out any idea of who her murderer is, her family starts to fall apart, her parents drift apart, her younger brother and sister both talk about how they can see her, her younger brother Buckley, taking on an almost Sixth Sense like role, stating many times "Suzie is in the in-between" and talking of her coming and kissing him before he sleeps, her younger sister Lindsey saying similar things but to a lesser extent, at this point Suzie's father starts to obsess over her death, investigating on his own feeling the police are not doing enough, this causes Suzie's mother, who hasn't delt with her death at all, to leave for awhile.

From limbo, which is referred to as "the in-between", "the blue horizon" and "her own personal heaven", Suzie watches as her family falls apart, and feels sad, sad because she misses them all, and sad because she's powerless to stop what is happening to them. At this point Suzie meets a young asian girl calling herself Holly Golightly which she states is "a borrowed name", after Holly tells Suzie they are dead, and that they need to go to heaven, Suzie says she can't yet, that she's not ready, there are things she needs to do first, Holly decides to stay with her in the in-between, where they become best friends, and are happy together, even though Suzie constantly watches her family, and she also watches Ray Singh, who sits at the spot in The Mall that she and him were to meet, hoping that maybe she would appear and it would all be just a dream, this is where Suzie watches as Ruth meets Ray, handing him the poem he'd tucked into Suzie's book, stating she found it, and believed it belonged to him. She then tells him that she can see Suzie, that she doesn't understand how, or why, but she can see her, feel her, hear her, Ray and Ruth grow close as the film goes on, bonded in their grief over Suzie, Ray always carries a picture of her with him which he takes out and looks at often, talking to it, wishing she was there.

As the film progresses you watch as Suzie watches her loved ones grow up and change, but you also see that she watches George Harvey, the man who killed her, as he thinks he's gotten away with his crime, she watches as he torments himself and ponders what he'd done, almost as if in his own twisted way savoring it. She watches as the police interview George, and how he basically confesses what he's done, even though the police don't notice, you find yourself yelling at the screen how his words are giving away the fact he's telling them, in a sense, putting you in Suzie's place as she watches this all going down. As the film goes on, you go more and more into George's mind, and how demented it is, as the film progresses, you see that Suzie's sister, and then later her father, start to suspect George, leading to her sister getting the information that proves he killed her, and discovering that George had plans to kill her as well. Before this, it leads to Suzie's father first accusing George who panics and runs into his house, causing her dad to leave a large hole in his door, and then later a scene where Suzie, from the other side, wills her father to seek out vengeance for her death, shadowing and then following George into a cornfield where he watches teenagers go to have sex, its implied that he plans on killing two of them as well as Suzie's sister.

Once George is found out, he panics, and runs, and all the peaces come together, Suzie finally is able to face the house that its said she can't go to heaven with out walking through, which happens to be George's house, she discovers he's murdered many others, two adults, but mostly teenage girls, the only exception being a 6 year old girl, she discovers that her friend Hanna was the girl George had killed before her. With knowing the truth, and knowing her family was going to find peace and justice for her murder, she can finally go to heaven, where she is greeted by all of George's other victims, who embrace her for finally making their killer known. As they're about to go, Suzie stops, she looks to Hanna and says "I have one last thing to do.." she then descends to earth, taking over Ruth's body, she says her good bye to Ray, who tells her he still loves her, she tells him she loves him, and she finally gets the first magical kiss that every girl her age dreams of getting. The film ends with George at a roadside all night cafe trying to lure another woman for him to kill, who promptly tells him to go to hell, as he yells that he was just trying to be a nice guy, a large icecle falls down his back, and as he tries to get it by shaking his shirt and moving around, he falls off the edge of the parking lot into a creekbed, hitting alot of rocks breaking his body the whole way down, George's body lies frozen down there, in the bottom of the creekbed, and Suzie does the final beautiful but bittersweet narration as you see how her family has grown up and gotten older and stronger and still miss and love her, and how she finally decided it was time for her to leave for heaven, though she still watches over everyone from where she is.

The cast is just amazing, Mark Walberg plays Suzie's father Jack Salmon, the obsessive accountant who will not give up on his daughter is just incredible, Rachel Weisz as her mother Abby Salmon really feels natural and real, you feel her greif most of all, Susan Sarandon's job as Lynn, Suzie's grandmother is just incredible and funny in so many ways, but the stand outs in this are definitely the great Stanley Tucci as demented child killer George Harvey, you start to find yourself believing he is capable of actually murdering someone and keeping their body as he does, but even above that is mostly unknown Saoirse Ronan as Suzie Salmon herself, she is just amazingly good as the dead girl who everyone doesn't want to be dead, you truly believe she is in the in-between, not ready to go to heaven and not ready to let go of her life and loved ones.

There are many differences from the book, there is no mention of the brutal rape that George does on Suzie before he kills her underground, just that he killed her, there is also no mention of his rape of the others he killed, just that he killed them, I personally find that a good move, if you sell George as a child rapist as well as a murderer, it just makes the character over the top in this film, he is a horrible enough person, which fits the role just fine. The final scene with Suzie and Ray where Suzie takes over Ruth's body is different in the book as well, they have sex after they kiss in the book, where in the movie they just kiss and embrace one final time. There are other differences too, the disposal of the body is different in the book and the film, and afew other things that really aren't overly important, so they won't really ruin the film for you if you've read the book. The film is, itself, an all around great film with the makings of a cult hit. So if you haven't see it yet, please do, you will not regret your choice.


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Laz

*note: If you click on the images, they are all insanely beautiful super hi-rez photos that just look so very stunning when viewed on their own.

The Misfits

The Misfits: Not Your Average Teenagers With Attitude

"Misfits is indeed silly — sillier, even than it sounds — but it's also brilliant: sharp, funny, dark and, in places, quite chilling. Both the writing and the performances ensure that everything but the preposterous central premise remains entirely believable." - From The Series Review in The Guardian, 2009

When I first read about this series, I found it abit hard to put my head around, I found myself reading and re-reading it to make sure I was understanding it correctly, a group of juvenile delinquents stuck together on community service probation detail are hit with a bolt of lightening that goes through them all and gives them each super powers, and tells the story of how they band together and become a team, it seems abit off doesn't it? But as often is the case with television programs, the description they give us isn't always 100% what we get, Fringe and Being Human both had similarly unappealing sounding write ups in the promo material, but anyone thats seen either program knows they are so very far from that. The Misfits is in that same vain, programs that at first look seem uninteresting and forgettable, but once you sit and watch them, you can't stop. I love a good sleeper hit, I really do.

The Misfits follows five teenagers on community service who get struck by lightning and are given special powers. Kelly (Lauren Socha) becomes telepathic, Curtis (Nathan Stewart Jarrett) can rewind time, Alisha (Antonia Thomas) can send people into a sexual frenzy when they touch her skin, Simon (Iwan Rheon) can make himself invisible. Seemingly left unaffected is annoying and abrasive Nathan (Robert Sheehan), although he is revealed to possess the power of Immortality in the sixth episode, the final episode of series one, and most current episode. The storm seems to have gone what we call "the fantastic four route", meaning each power enhances something about the character's personality, Kelly wishing she could know what everyone is thinking, Alisha's desire to have every man and woman in the world lust and crave her, Simon's feeling he doesn't belong and doesn't fit in believing the world would be a better place if he just disappeared, Curtis' need to turn back time and fix mistakes in his life, and though he never says it outright, Nathan's fear of life itself which he hides behind his sarcastic and rude exterior, which has been countered by giving him the power to survive anything by having immortality.

As the show starts, you meet the cast and their probation officer Tony, who is sent to watch over them. Tony is abit of a jerk honestly, and this leads to the discovering that the storm that made the kids empowered, turned Tony into a rampaging rage filled beast that wanted nothing more then to kill them all, he is able to kill one kid, Gary, who wasn't with the others when the lightening bolt hit them, and was thus not given a power. though no one knows this until the next day when Tony has written that he will kill them all in his blood all over the outside of the community center they meet at, Tony spends the next day trying to kill them all, and through accidental circumstance and afew of them's powers manifesting, they manage to kill Tony, after discovering Gary's body in the locker room shower. They agree to hide the bodies and keep what has happened a secret among themselves, which becomes problematic with Sally, their new probation officer and we find out later the woman Tony was going to marry, trying to discover evidence they killed him, first using scare tactics, and then later going so far as to manipulate Simon, whom she feels is the weakest and least connected of them, which leads to the most creepy and dark moments of the series in general, which is great, a nice mix of comedy, sci fi and horror all in one show about chavs with powers. As the show goes on, though you see Sally trying to get them to confess, you also discover others tha the storm gave powers too, and how the group deals with them, no matter how strange or downright odd the power is, their only thing remotely close to a "super villian" at this point being a woman named Rachel Leyton, an uptight repressive girl in her 20s who founded an organization called "Virtue", she possessed the power of suggestion, able to influence others to essentially become 'perfect' teenagers - dressing in conservative clothing and disdaining sex, drugs and alcohol. She influenced the change by speaking the words, "You don't have to behave like this; you can be so much better.", at one point she gains power over everyone except for Nathan and Simon, who end up stopping her, after she uses her power over a live television broadcast to effect countless others.

The characters are very deep, though at first glance they don't see it, though backstories and just natural character progression, you discover that it seems fate brought them all together, with each of them first being at the same club on the same night, and through the course of that night, each of them doing what got them sent to community service detail that very night at one point or another. You find yourself getting inside each of the cahracter's head, and into their lives, and you start to feel things for them, you see that they all are missing something in their lives away from each other, each alone in their own way, Curtis with his regrets, Alisha with her using her body to get through life, Kelly with her antisocial behavior, Nathan with his pushing everyone that cares about him away with his insecurity, selfishness and rudeness, and Simon with his darkness, depression and isolationism.

Many of the show's dark moments are provided by Simon using his power, he is the one who's mastered his power the best and uses it the most efficiently, it is downright scary at times honestly how well he uses his power. In contrast the show's funniest moments are provided by Nathan with his constant joking and saying the most hilariously rude things, his rants about what his power could be and his oneliners are often highlights of hilarity through out the program, the best being "hey, get up, you can't sleep naked in my carpark, who do you think you are? George Micheal? He can get away with it because he was in WHAM! You weren't..". The rest of the cast brings in a great show, dedicated to the point they all flood the online viral presence, posting in character video clips, blogs, tweets and the like, with Simon's facebook and youtube pages being the most detailed and full of large amounts of video and pictures the shy video film maker who can disappear has felt the need to share with the world, many of which involve the mysterious "Super-Hoodie" whom you see through out the series on posters, or spraypainted on walls, he makes his official in show debut in episode 6, where he helps Nathan out, leading into his story in the second series, which I'm assuming will answer many questions as well as introduce us to more people who were altered by the storm.

So if you're up for something thats slightly out of the normal, and is a great mix of hilarity and spooky, as well as an INCREDIBLE soundtrack, then give The Misfits a shot, you probably will be glad you did, i know I was.

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Laz

New Doctor Who Series Trailer

Trailer for Matt Smith's first run as The Doctor



I still don't know about this guy, I don't, I mean sure, alot of it is because I'm a huge David Tennant fan, I mean like to the point alot of people i know say the character's personality and mine were almost identical, but still, I just don't know about this guy. Maybe its because I can't really find any of his work out there to compare to really, or, because I am just not ready to see the guy who has tied John Pertwee as my favorite actor to ever play the ironic role of The Doctor leave the show, I don't honestly know for sure. But there is just something I don't really get about this guy just yet, but to be fair, I was the same way when Tennant began, and sure, he was Jarvis Cooker in space with hot welsh and british girls, but still, he was awesome and beloved, and stepping into the shoes left by a man that the fans cried out to stay, really isn't gonna be easy. So I'm gonna give Matt a chance, I don't expect a brilliant thunderous cheer of joy and adulation, but, one never does know.

As for the trailer itself, it looks rather good, we know River Song will be back, and I guess someone on the writing staff felt the need to take the piss on the idea of the fans saying Matt Smith looks to much like Rob Paterson from Twilight, specially when paired with new sidekick Amy Pond who has a striking almost resemblance to Bella from Twilight as well, because there is a vampire episode, personally I find that hilarious that they'd poke fun at the fans with that, apparently there are more Daleks, but its Doctor Who, there has to be Daleks or it just doesn't work. Odd though, no sign of Jenny, The Doctor's Daughter (based losely on the character of Miranda Who, the character that Rose Tyler is also losely based on), I figured she'd show up next series, maybe do some traveling with her father, but I guess they don't wanna give everything away just yet, so there is hope still! But other then that, the trailer looks pretty alright, obviously there will be some fan nitpicking, but thats normal, so, really who knows what the future does hold? Maybe i'll be wrong about Matt not doing the role well.

But you know, i'll tell you this.. even if i don't love this series and Matt as The Doctor, I've been a fan sense i was 7 years old and wanted to be The Doctor just as long, so i'm gonna watch it no matter what. And I hope alot of the long time viewers will as well.


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Laz

What I Have Learned From Movies Pt. 1

As I'm sure you're all aware, I have watched alot of movies in my lifetime, and as you would expect, I've learned a great deal from the myriad of film viewing I have done, some good, some bad, some completely strange, and I felt for the run of it, i would share with you all, some of the many nuggets of wisdom I have garnered, in hopes that maybe it can teach all of you somethings you didn't know, and thus, spreading my knowledge unto the world... So with out any more delay, here we go...

What I have Learned From A Lifetime Of Watching Movies Pt. 1:

The Ravings Of A Mind Raised On Cinema. 

1. If you travel back in time in a 1981 Delorean to get away from rocket launcher packing Libyans in a VW Bus, that negates the butterfly effect rule of time travel, and you can do anything, even take your mom's virginity and it doesn't effect anything.

2. Hitting mentally challenged bald men with lead pipes do not cause them any harm at all.

3. Growing mysterious venus flytrap looking plants that magically appear during total eclipse of the sun or thunderstorms always leads to trouble.

4. Every detective in the 1970s ended a case by sitting alone in a hot tub with 10 superfly 1970s style honeys, two of which will always have a giant afro, there is no exceptions to this rule.

5. Killer Whales are smart enough to understand the concepts of vengeance, revenge, and that if you take out the supports of a dock, you will kill more humans in less time.

6. If you drop toxic waist in their habitat, frogs will turn against humans and try and kill us all.

7. only the nerdy virgin and the uptight hot girl survive summer camp rampages, they then fall in love after having bonded over running for their lives as they left their friends to die at the hands of a hockey mask wearing mental case.

8. Snowmen have DNA

9. You can build a complicated computer powered time machine out of a steam powered locomotive using 1885 tech and parts.

10. Coco Cola fixes everything. EVERYTHING.

11. If you are stuck in a Zombie Epidemic, the strong, protective and kind member of your group will be the first one of you to fall to the zombie horde.

12. If a woman grows to 50 Feet tall, all she will want is sex

13. There are Teenagers on Uranus, and at any time, they will come to earth looking for hep cats and groovy chicks to teach them how to swing like they do on earth.

14. If a man gets turned into Raquel Welch, he must go completely insane, and forcefully rape a male doctor while laughing evilly.

15. Godzilla is both man's greatest line of defense, and its worst threat to life

16. The best way to deal with a high school bully is to bring a gun to school and start to slaughter his followers with out remorse or quarter.

17. Somewhere out in space, is a giant transforming planet that eats other planets and has a mouth that looks alot like an anus.

18. flying around a sun and slingshotting around the back of it at warp 9.9 will allow you to travel back in time to the very year and date you wanted with out any careful calibration or thought on the matter.

19. Greek gods have nothing better to do with their time then to come to earth and use their powers to help create roller discos 5 years after the roller disco craze ended.

20. Never piss off Mieko Kaji, she will kill you in very horrible ways.

21. Wizards are jerks.

22. David Bowie's package is the scariest thing known to creation.

23. If you haven't seen Dennis Hopper clearly drugged out of his mind, waving around two long chainsaws and screaming bible verses, then you haven't truly lived.

24. Apparently, Christopher Lee is Dracula

25. Every movie made before 1940 was about a prostitute or a mobster or a prostitute mobster.

26. Never, ever, under any circumstances, get off the boat.

27. The entire US Marine Corps is made up of clones of John Wayne, R. Lee Ermy and Steve McQueen.

28. The 1968 Ford Mustang Fastback has 14 hubcaps.

29. Patrick Stewart really is Professor Charles Xavier.

30. In 1980 summer camp trips consisted of the following activities; having teenage sex, drinking and then having teenage sex, getting high on pot then having teenage sex, drinking, getting high on pot and having teenage sex, running for your life from the large undead man with the machete who wants to kill you for no real reason other then to kill you, then having teenage sex. And if you were the nerdiest of the nerd kids, you ended up having teenage sex with either the hottest girl at camp, the hottest female councilor at camp, or both.

31. the only way to kill a zombie is to blast its motherf---ing head off.... baby.

32. Steve Martin is not funny.

33. Will Smith can play a convincing white man in Men in Black, but Nick Cage plays a horrible black man in World Trade Center.

34. Very unsettling things happened in british movie theaters in the late 1960s.

35. Apparently, Ray Leota can cast magic.

36. putting a banana in the tailpipe of a car will foil drug smugglers.

37. Every villain monologues just before the hero kicks their ass.

38. Rabbits live complicated lives.

39. If a robotic war mech is hit with lightening, it will gain self awareness and then discover a wise cracking sarcastic personality, which will then end Steve Gotenberg's career, what little there was of that to begin with.

40. if you're going to die in a gunfight, atleast look cool as you do it.

41. You can beat Dracula with the power of lucha libre style wrestling

well thats it for part one, i'll come up with more later... enjoy!


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Laz

Quentin Tarantino's Top 20 Grindhouse Films

Found this on the net, figured i'd post it...


Quentin Tarantino's Top 20 Grindhouse Films

1. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre


2. Dawn of the Dead


3. Night of the Living Dead


4. Halloween


5. Coffy


6. Rolling Thunder


7. Five Fingers of Death


8. The Mack


9. The Girl From Starship Venus


10. The Last House On The Left


11. Master of the Flying Guillotine


12. Wipeout


13. The Streetfighter movies ("You just have to kinda consider all three of them together." - QT)


14. The Psychic


15. The Lady in Red


16. Thriller: A Cruel Picture


17. Suspiria


18. Hammer of the Gods


19. The Savage Seven


20. The Pom Pom Girls

Hmm.. I don't know, I do agree with some of these, but not all honestly,  Im surprised afew are missing, Doleomite, Enter The Dragon and Shaft given how influential those films were and their place in pop culture. I'm surprised And Soon The Darkness isn't there, nor is The Klansman, or the Female Prisoner Scorpion films, or even The Pyx, which is very under rated, sure its not worthy of #1, but it should rank somewhere in the teens. I also don't agree with Last House or Thriller being so low on the list, and really? no Baby Love? Honestly? I would have figured that would be right up The Q's alley... very suprising indeed.

Anyway, thats my thoughts, what are yours?

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Laz

30 Greatest Horror Movies of All Time

I figure for the fun of it, i would do a list of what i saw as the greatest horror movies of all time, mostly because i like to do lists, and also because i felt this is the right time of year to do it. Plus, the horror film is a staple of the grindhouse era of cinema, there isn't a person over the age of 30 that doesn't remember either going out to a drive in and being scared senseless, or huddled into an inner city grindhouse to watch some mindless weapon of destruction go around destroying people to the delight of the crowd at least once. Its a tradition as old as cinema itself, and once a year, we sit down in crowded living rooms, or old dark revival theaters, or modern ones, to be collectively scared out of our wits, so with that said, lets get into this shall we? Here is my list of the 30 Greatest Horror movies of all time...

30. 'Eyes Without a Face' (1960)
Not to be confused with Billy Idol's ballad of the same name, George Franju's Eyes Without Face crafts a terrifying tale of scientific depravity with this black and white thriller about a doctor who kidnaps young women in order to perfect a surgical procedure that may restore his daughter's tarnished beauty. Written by the same scribes who carved out such classics as Vertigo and Diabolique, the film is heavy on atmosphere and simultaneously on almost clinical creepiness; made in 1958, the film's surgery scenes are among the most realistic ever filmed, and are further enhanced by the dreamlike imagery of Franju's direction. This list's glass of champagne to wash down 24 bottles of beer, Eyes Without a Face offers elegant thrills for horror fans who prefer a little ambience with their amputations.

29. 'Carrie' (1976)
It has a deceptively humble premise (shy girl with a crazy mom and supernatural powers just wants to fit in), but even in a pre-Columbine world, Brian De Palma's take on a Stephen King novel was enough to give teens and their parents nightmares. And in today's climate, it simply resonates with horror. Plus, ofcourse it gave the world the greatest random line of all, ... ahem... "They're all gonna laugh at you!"

28. 'Rosemary's Baby' (1968)
Roman Polanski's deliciously paced thriller is part satanic horror, part paranoid delusion. We know something's not right with hubby (John Cassavetes), but isn't pregnant Rosemary (Mia Farrow) letting hormones get the best of her, suspecting everyone she meets? Nope, she's right. Never mind.

27. 'The Haunting' (1963)
Multi-genre master Robert Wise ('Sound of Music,' 'The Set-Up') wasn't afraid of no ghosts, and he sure spooked the nation with this still-scary flick. The most definitive haunted house movie of them all, 'The Haunting' spawned 'Poltergeist,' 'Amityville' and, of course, countless episodes of 'Scooby-Doo.' Oh well two of those three things aren't a bad thing.

26. 'The Stranglers of Bombay' (1960)
The British East India Company is disturbed by a number of unexplained disappearances of travelers in India and sends military officer Connaught-Smith to investigate. Captain Lewis is dismayed that the relatively inexperienced Connaught-Smith has been assigned to the case and when his servant goes missing, Lewis carries out his own investigation and discovers a cult of murderous Thuggees. Plus, this is the first of the Hammer Studios classics on this list, cuz I do love my Hammer Horror.

25. 'The Bride of Frankenstein' (1935)
The monster takes a wife -- and horror fans were invited to the reception. James Whale's compelling classic is the perfect marriage of poignant romance and creature discomforts. And as for the unholy union, turns out the couple was catastrophically mismatched. Fun fact; James Whale not only made The Frankenstein films, but is celibrated as one of the best pre-code hollywood directors of all time, if you are able to find it, watch his 1931 masterwork "Waterloo Bridge", brilliant film that actually got him the job directing Frankenstein.

24. 'The Damned' (1963)
In Weymouth, American Simon Wells is attacked by a gang of local thugs led by the brutal King, who resents Wells flirting with his sister Joanie. When King and his gang later try to attack Wells again, he and Joanie fall from a cliff and are rescued by a group of children who emerge from a nearby research facility run by scientist Bernard. The children are the radioactive subjects of experiments being run by Bernard, the offspring of women exposed to high levels of radiation to produce children capable of surviving a nuclear war.

23. 'The Shining' (1980)
On the one hand, Stanley Kubrick's film is a drama of a father driven mad by inadequacy (Jack Nicholson, a little TOO good at playing crazy); on the other, it's a nightmarish landscape of dead twins, a possessed little boy and a naked woman who turns into a corpse. Either way, it'll scare the crap out of you. Neat fact, the doors that were used for the ironic axe through the door scene, where Jack says "heres johnny!", are all still in the Stanley Hotel where the movie was filmed, they're stored in a room under the hotel, they are not sure which door was the one that was actually used on screen in the final cut, so they aren't able to know which one to send to the Smithsonian, who have requested it for their film and television wing.

22. 'Psycho' (1960)
The shriek of violins, the flash of a knife, Janet Leigh's horrified face: The shower scene in 'Psycho' is perhaps the most terrifying scene in movie history, but Hitchcock's classic unnerves in countless other ways, from Norman Bates' creepy (yet oddly sympathetic) mama's boy to the film's final, shocking twist. Plus, its made almost 50 years worth of people double check a bathroom before they get into a shower, thats something pretty impressive.

21. 'Jaws' (1975)
The film that has made all of two generations scared to get in the ocean, and is seen as the very first blockbuster film ever made, Jaws continues to thrill, delight and terrify people even 34 days after its release. It scares us because of the unknown aspect, there is no unyielding monster who only wishes to kill, or a mental case with a chainsaw, or some unknown alien bent on eating humans beings because of how tasty we are, or wishing to enslave us, or any of that stuff, this is simply the story of a great white shark who seems to have a thing for swimmers, what scares us about this one is that you hardly ever see the shark, only when he's about to attack, that unknown factor, thats what scares us all still.

20. 'Straight On Till Morning' (1972)
Shy Brenda Thompson writes naive children's stories to amuse herself. Stifled and desperate for a man of her own, she leaves Liverpool, telling her mom she's pregnant, and gets a job in a boutique in London. She moves in with the promiscuous but good-hearted Caroline but the mod set shuns her for her plain looks. Then she kidnaps a strange young man's dog, so as to perhaps get to know him while returning it. The young man turns out to be Peter, a psychopath with a predilection for killing beautiful things. He renames Brenda Wendy, and they start a hopeful, if strange, relationship. It might have a chance, if it weren't for Peter's murderous secrets. This is one of those many forgotten gems of the Hammer Horror Catalog, its a thriller thats got very few contemporaries for both its time and of all time. Brilliant and terrifying film..

19. 'Halloween' (1978)
Oft-emulated but never equaled, John Carpenter's moody masterpiece is as terrifying today as it was 29 years ago. Vacant-eyed Michael Myers is soulless evil personified, the score bone-chilling, the cinematography eerily sublime and the overall impression unshakeable. Put simply, it is horror perfection. I should mention that I had issues deciding if I should give the spot I allotted for Halloween for the original, or the equally brilliant remake done by Rob Zombie, and though I love Zombie's take on the film, giving Myers a tragically identifiable human side to him that makes us care for a psychopathic mass murderer, I decided in the end to go with the traditionalist in me, and take the original, I think I made the right choice, its actually the choice I had to make for afew films on here, but you'll see what I mean as we go on.

18. 'Demons Of The Mind' (1972)
Baron Zorn keeps his teenaged children locked up and drugged, fearing that his insane wife passed along a congenital curse to them before her own suicidal death. Elizabeth escapes for a brief tryst with a local before being recaptured and subjected to a bleeding process to 'draw out the bad blood.' Emil keeps trying to escape, but is thwarted time and again by his aunt Hilda who runs the house like a prison. One reason the siblings have to be kept apart, is their incestuous attraction to each other. Local wenches are being murdered in the woods, and the superstitious peasants think demons are responsible. A wandering Priest dedicates himself to root out the evil, but isn't taken seriously. Arriving at the castle are two more interested parties: Mountebank scientist-huckster Falkenberg stands to make a small fortune if his strange apparatus can cure the children of their inherited evil. Young Carl simply wants to rescue Elizabeth. As more murders mount, Falkenberg enlists village lass Inge to play the dead mother in a psychodrama that he hopes will shock the children from their morbid state; but Baron Zorn's symptoms of derangement soon make it obvious that the doctor is treating the wrong patient. This is one of those great screwed up films that you don't think will amount to much, but in the end you find yourself watching in a clambered state of terror, fear and excitement on how its gonna all end, this is another of those great forgotten gems.

17. 'Frankenstein' (1931)
Based on the Mary Shelley novel about a mad scientist who reanimates dead tissue, this is a lasting film that helped to define the horror genre early on. Featuring Boris Karloff as Frankenstein's monster, it is a masterpiece of mood. The characterization of the monster makes him utterly human, making for a rare sympathetic character in horror cinema. Who can forget the famous line "It's alive!" or the monster throwing a young girl into the pond when he runs out of flower petals? This is such a great film by the great and forgotten James Whale, sure it differs ALOT from the book of which its based on, and normally that would annoy me, but I think it makes its own distinctively different masterwork out of the story, driving home the impact that regardless of intent, if we were to ever conquior death, and bring give life back to the dead, we would fear and wish to destroy it, its just our nature, as much as we don't wish to admit it.

16. 'Leftbank' (2008)
Called 'Linkeroever' in its native Belgium, and directed by the up and coming in the international market Pieter Van Hees, Leftbank tells the story of two lovers who discover that their home in a mysterious apartment building on the fashionable and trendy left bank of Antwerp Belgium. With out giving to much of it away, this tells the story of their decent into madness and tests their true human nature, as they try and figure out the mysterious reason of which bad things happen to them, and why its connected to their building and their apartment, its a mental mindscrew at its best really, the unknown danger, the unknowing evil, the unable to prevent it from happening aspect, it gets in your head and won't get out. I should also state this is the newest of the films on my list, its not that i don't enjoy modern horror, some of its really good, its just as the grindhouse specialist, I feel alot of films are not given their due given being outshined by other more iconic or better known films, that I don't think are that great, I had to really decide between this one or the Swedish film "let the right one in" for my list though, had i though of allowing for ties, i'd have them both, but, this won the coin toss.

15. 'The Pyx' (1973)
A motorist witnesses a woman falling or jumping from a tenement building. Police arrive on the scene and find a crucifix and a small metal container (a pyx). As the investigation continues, it is revealed that the dead woman is Elizabeth Lucy, a prostitute and heroin addict. Suspects in Elizabeth's death are soon murdered one by one, and evidence of occult ritual begins to surface, leading to a confrontation with a cult leader who may be possessed by Satan himself. Whats interesting about this film is that the scenes of the cult, and how they work and worship is specially scary, it makes you feel very unsettled that such people could live in the same world as you, and I have always loved that The Pyx is told in after Elizabeth's death/before Elizabeth's death sequence which alternates until the film's climax. Thats always great when its done right.

14. 'Nightmare' (1964)
Schoolgirl Janet is so traumatised by witnessing her mother murdering her father that she starts to have visions that she will end up a killer herself and will end up in a psychiatric institution. Driven to distraction by a series of strange happenings, Janet stabs to death Helen Baxter, the wife of her guardian, Henry. With the help of a sympathetic teacher, Janet starts to uncover a cruel conspiracy against her... This is another of those classics of Hammer's thriller department that not everyone is aware was ever made, and when you finally see it, you feel kind of like you'd been missing out on being able to tell your friends of this brilliant chiller all these years because you're sure none of them actually have seen it either. Or maybe its just that I love psychological thrillers because I see a movie that messes with your mind is a better scare then waving fake blood at a screen. who knows.

13. 'Suspiria' (1977}
Although a far lesser known work than Halloween, Italian horror classic Suspiria released a year before and likely influenced Carpenter's film. Goblin's amazing score is among the best horror scores ever created. Along with a few other directors such as Mario Bava, Argento rejuvenated the Italian horror genre with his bloody, nightmarish work. More than just a gore-fest, his film is also deeply psychological and visually breathtaking. This is the first in the brilliant Argento's "Three Mothers" series, which recently ended with Mother Of Tears, and alot of people might look at it strangely today, but, you must see this, if you only wanna find one film off this list, you gotta see this one, its honestly a great film that still to this day scares the hell out of people.

12. 'Dawn Of The Dead' (2004)
Zack Snyder may have carried with him the inestimable pedigree of being a 'commercial director' when entering into this potentially disastrous remake of George Romero's classic zombie tome, but anyone who watches the film's first ten minutes is guaranteed to forget all of their objections and join the talented helmer for a raucous thrill ride unsurpassed by virtually any other horror movie made in the new millennium. Ving Rhames, Jake Weber and a game Sarah Polley hold together this ramshackle remake, which changes a few key elements of Romero's story for modern audiences (the zombies can run) and retains others (the careful character study) both for horror fans current and classic. While the subsequent slate of horror remakes failed to similarly raise pulses, Snyder's Dawn is satisfying – and scary – enough to sustain fans through a dozen more crash-and-burn creep-fests. This is the other film I stepped outside of my semi-rule about modern horror for, simply because, I felt this film represented the idea of Dawn of The Dead better, I take nothing from the great George A. Romero, I have great respect and love for him, but I just felt this one fit the concept better, George himself actually agrees with me on that.

11. 'Let's Scare Jessica to Death' (1971)
In the film Jessica, (Zohra Lampert), her husband (Barton Heyman), and a friend (Kevin O'Connor) retreat to a Victorian farmhouse in an isolated part of rural Connecticut, after Jessica's release from a mental institution, following a nervous breakdown. Once there, the trio encounter an enigmatic hippie named Emily (Mariclare Costello) who is living in the house, and almost immediately, Jessica's madness resumes - increasing evidence from Jessica's point of view mounts to the fact that Emily may be a ghost and/or vampire, and that all those inhabiting the island are as well -- though the viewer is never sure whether the subsequent turn of events are all in Jessica's mind, or whether something sinister is truly after her.

10. 'Dracula' (1931)
1931's Dracula not only launched the career of star Bela Lugosi (who previously starred as the Count in the Broadway version of the Bram Stoker novel) but also marked the start of a series of horror films in the 1930s, mainly from Universal (who would release Frankenstein just a few months later). The film's arguably strongest moments are in the beginning, as we're introduced to the incredibly creepy Count Dracula with some very eerie, atmospheric camerawork by cinematographer Karl Freund. Lugosi's delivery of several key lines, in his native Hungarian accent, stand as classics to this very day, including "Listen to them. Children of the night. What mu-u-u-sic they make." and "I never drink...wi-i-i-ne."

9. 'Invasion of the Body Snatchers' (1978)
Philip Kaufman's flick about aliens bent on repopulating Earth with emotionless "pod people" packs an even more terrifying punch than the '56 original. Its bleak ending featuring a bug-eyed, screaming Donald Sutherland is enough to give grown men nightmares. I find this one better then the original in the fact that its used as sort of a lampoon and satire the "Me Decade" matra of the 1970s, with the psychiatrist, Dr. David Kibner (Leonard Nimoy), a character who is a popular self-help guru who dismisses the other characters' fears until he is uncovered as a duplicate himself. If this was ment be true or not, i do not know, but it adds to the fear and the confusion of the film, that draws you in and won't let you out until the very end of it all. Sure you look at it now, and you laugh, like with most classic horror films, but you gotta look at the time period and then you'll understand why the idea of pod people getting their Stepford Wives on, is completely terrifying, hell even today its scary.

8. 'Nosferatu' (1922)
Perhaps one of the most notorious film productions of all time, director F.W. Murnau's film ranks as one of the great silent films and remains a classic staple of the horror genre. Somewhat ironically, the storyline and star Max Shreck's creepy appearance were created out of necessity when Murnau failed to secure the rights to Bram Stoker's Dracula novel. Murnau was determined to make his film anyway, and the silent went into a storied production that would later become the basis for the 2000 film Shadow of the Vampire. Shreck was notoriously reclusive on set, and the film took the mystery a step further, purposing that the actor was actually a real life vampire. Whatever your take, Shreck's Count Orlok is probably scarier than any Dracula ever portrayed since on screen. This is the grandfather of every single vampire movie thats even been made, and honestly, if you haven't seen this, you are not a horror person, its that simple.

7. 'Texas Chainsaw Massacre' (1974)
Filmed on a nightmarish set with a near-tortured cast, Texas Chainsaw Massacre stands as one of the most visceral, primal films set to celluloid. Loosely based on Ed Gein (who is from Wisconsin, not Texas), whose bizarre and macabre repurposing of human bodies made international headlines, it is a chilling account of a group of travelers taking a wrong turn that makes all the difference. Set predominantly in and around the creepiest house ever recorded by film, the film introduces us to Leatherface, an oaf of a man whose only pleasure is killing and skinning victims, only to use their body parts to form furniture and even his own mask. This happens to be one of the most iconic of all the horror films of all time, sure its silly when you look at it today, and many sight the remake in 2004 to be a much better film that fits the concept and idea better, but this is just such a beautifully horrific film, it will terrify you in a way that most movies won't, it really is pretty good as classic horror goes.

6. 'The Wicker Man' (1973)
Based on David Pinner's novel The Ritual, the story is about a Scottish police officer, Sergeant Neil Howie, visiting the isolated island of Summerisle to search for a missing girl whom the locals claim never existed. The inhabitants of Summerisle all celebrate a reconstructed form of Celtic paganism, which appalls the devoutly Christian Sergeant. The Wicker Man is generally well regarded by critics and film enthusiasts. Film magazine Cinefantastique described it as "The Citizen Kane of Horror Movies", and during 2004 the magazine Total Film named The Wicker Man the sixth greatest British film of all time. It also won the 1978 Saturn Award for Best Horror Film. A scene from this film was #45 on Bravo's 100 Scariest Movie Moments. The work was later allocated as the first film of The Wicker Man Trilogy, with a sequel entitled The Wicker Tree, based on the book Cowboys for Christ by Robin Hardy, currently in production. A third film, The Twilight of the Gods, is set for a later release. There is a remake from not to long ago, but its best to forget that film was ever made, its just, plain horrible, and shouldn't be remembered at all, not even Nick Cage could save it. Which in itself is scary.

5. 'Madhouse' (1974)
Based on a novel called Devilday (1969) by Angus Hall, the film is the last horror movie that Price made for American International Pictures, where he had worked consistently (mostly on Edgar Allan Poe adaptations) since 1960. Co-star Robert Quarry was being groomed to replace Price, but low-budget horror films fell out of fashion after the release of The Exorcist. Price plays Paul Toombes, a horror actor whose trademark role is 'Dr. Death'. Years after a scandal ends his film career (his fiancee is murdered and Toombes ends up in an asylum, suspected but never convicted of the crime), the embittered Toombes revives his character for a television series. Cast and crew begin to die in ways that suggest scenes from Toombes's films (which are represented here by clips of Price's AIP efforts), and they all point to Toombes. Now, Toombes must find and confront the real killer, before he becomes the killer's next victim. This is one of those great Price films that you just can't move away from after you've seen it start, sure its camp to many, but come on, this is Vincent Price, the master of horror, and ironically the dominate person in my top 10.

4. 'Friday the 13th' (1980)
Although many immediately associate the Friday the 13th movies with the character of Jason Vorhees, the original does not even introduce him until the very end (the hockey mask comes much later). Friday the 13th took the momentum created by John Carpenter's Halloween and accelerated it, leading to a slew of sequels and copycats throughout the '80s. Now on its tenth installment (and 11th if you count Freddy vs. Jason, Friday the 13th has risen above cult status and become a full-blown cultural phenomenon. The original is a great example of what makes slashers so scary and fun, and as a bonus, it serves as a great linking point when playing "Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon.". I put this one on here simply because it started what I see as the greatest of the "slasher" franchises, sure most Slasher fans will tell you that Jason Vorhees doesn't really appear as we know him until the second film, but, its always best to count a starting film when talking about a whole series.

3. 'The Abominable Dr. Phibes' (1971)
Anton Phibes, a famous organist with doctorates in Music and Theology was thought to have been killed in a car crash in 1921 while rushing to the side of his sick wife, Victoria. He in fact survived the crash but was horribly disfigured. He fashions himself a wig and lifelike mask to hide his injuries, and using his musical expertise creates a system whereby he can speak through a hose connecting his windpipe to a gramophone. When Phibes discovers that his wife had died on the operating table he is convinced that she was a victim of incompetent doctors, and spends several years planning a vendetta against those who operated on her, and begins killing them in 1925. Inspector Trout suspects Phibes, but finds little support from Scotland Yard. Trout is also hindered by the incompetence of his police force. Eventually Dr. Vesalius, head of the team of doctors that operated on Phibes's wife, begins to believe inspector Trout is right and aids him in the hunt for Phibes. Using various highly imaginative methods, Dr. Phibes kills seven doctors and a nurse with the help of his beautiful and silent female assistant Vulnavia (played by actress Virginia North). He has reserved the final punishment for Dr. Vesalius. He kidnaps the doctor's son and places him on a table on which a container full of acid is waiting to destroy the boy's face. A small key implanted near the boy's heart will free him, but Vesalius must perform the surgery within six minutes to get the key before the acid falls. The operation succeeds and the acid instead strikes Vulnavia. Convinced he has accomplished his vendetta, Phibes retreats to a stone sarcophagus beside the embalmed body of his wife. As he drains out his own blood and replaces it with embalming fluid the coffin's inlaid stone lid slides into place, concealing them both in darkness. Trout and the police arrive and discover that Phibes has mysteriously disappeared. Trout and Vesalius recall that the "final curse" was darkness and they speculate that they will encounter Phibes again. And they did in the second film in the series, but thats a film thats not exactly ready for a top 30 list.

2. 'And Soon the Darkness' (1970)
Jane (Pamela Franklin) and Cathy (Michele Dotrice) are two young nurses from London, taking a cycling holiday in rural France. When they stop at a busy cafe, Jane wants to plan their route, but Cathy is more interested in a handsome man (Sandor Elès), whom she spies drinking alone at the next table. Later, as Jane and Cathy make their way along a quiet country road, the man, who rides a moped, overtakes them, and they pass him a few minutes later, as he rests by a cemetery gate. Cathy becomes intrigued by him. Stopping for a rest, Cathy decides she wants to sunbathe for a while, but Jane wants to push on. Eventually they argue, and Jane decides to carry on alone. A short while later, at a lonely café, the owner tries to tell Jane, in poor English, that the area has a bad reputation. She begins to reconsider her decision, and heads back to the spot where she left Cathy earlier, unaware that something has already happened. Unable to find her friend, and increasingly concerned about the presence of the moped rider, Jane decides to look for the local police officer (John Nettleton). Jane becomes convinced that the moped driver, who is called Paul, and who says he is a plain-clothes detective, is in fact Cathy's attacker. She escapes from him and re-encounters the policeman, who is then revealed as Cathy's actual murderer. This is one of my ALL TIME favorite films of all time, and the second scariest film I've ever seen, this'll really blow your mind.

and finally...

1. 'The Last House On The Left' (1972)
Mari Collingwood (Sandra Cassel) plans to celebrate her 17th birthday by attending a concert with her friend, Phyllis Stone (Lucy Grantham). Her parents express concern both at the band and Mari's friendship with Phyllis, who is implied to be of a lower social class. They let her go, giving her a peace symbol necklace as a gift before she leaves. Phyllis and Mari go to the city for the concert. On the way, they hear a news report on the car radio of a recent prison escape, involving violent criminals by the names of Krug Stillo (David Hess), his son Junior (Marc Sheffler), Sadie (Jeramie Rain) and Fred "Weasel" Podowski (Fred J. Lincoln). After the concert which ends late at night, Mari and Phyllis stroll the streets, seeking someone who might sell marijuana. They find Junior, who leads them back to an apartment, where they are immediately trapped by the criminals. Phyllis, who resists, is punched in the stomach and raped. Meanwhile, Mari's unsuspecting parents prepare a surprise party for her. The next morning, the girls are locked in a car trunk and taken to the countryside as the gang intends to leave the state. The villains' vehicle malfunctions right in front of Mari's house while police are in her home talking to Mari's parents about her disappearance. Removed from the trunk, Phyllis is beaten after biting Krug's hand; meanwhile, Mari, bound and gagged, realizes that they are near her own home as she is dragged to the woods. In the woods, the girls are untied, and Phyllis is subjected to torment and sadistic humiliation by the gang. Afterwards, Mari and Phyllis are lying on the grass. Phyllis whispers to Mari she will try to run away to distract the kidnappers and offer Mari an opportunity to escape. Phyllis runs, chased by Sadie and Weasel, while Junior stays behind to guard Mari, who makes a desperate attempt to convince the troubled addict that he does not need to listen to his abusive father because Dr. Collingwood, her father, can help him instead. She also gives him her peace symbol necklace as a symbol of her trust. Meanwhile, Phyllis is eventually cornered, tortured with a knife, stabbed fatally, and disemboweled by Weasel and the gang. Mari eventually convinces Junior to let her go, but they are immediately halted by Krug. Sadie and Weasel present Phyllis' severed hand and Krug proceeds to carve his name into Mari's chest before violating her sexually. Soon after this act, Mari, sick from the shock of being raped, vomits and then walks into a nearby lake. Krug shoots at Mari and her body floats on the top of the lake. Krug, Sadie, and Weasel wash and change out of their bloody clothes. In their new attire, the gang go to the Collingwoods' home, masquerading as traveling salesmen. Mari's parents agree to let them stay overnight. Junior exposes their identity when his withdrawal symptoms cause him to vomit in the bathroom, where Mari's mother, Estelle, sees Mari's peace symbol necklace dangling around his neck. Later that night she listens in to the gang while they are spending the night in Mari's bedroom and finds blood-soaked clothing in their luggage. She and Dr. Collingwood rush out into the woods, where the couple finds Mari's body by the lake barely alive. Outside, Estelle dupes Weasel into a sex game, in which she performs fellatio on him then bites him in the groin area, apparently mutilating him. Inside the house, Dr. Collingwood carries his shotgun into his daughter's bedroom, where two of the criminals are sleeping. Krug escapes into the living room and overpowers the doctor, but the criminal is then confronted by his own son, who now brandishes a firearm. Junior threatens to kill his father. Krug psychologically manipulates the already troubled young man, and Junior commits suicide with the weapon. As soon as Krug notices that Dr. Collingwood is missing, the doctor attacks Krug with a chainsaw. The sheriff arrives and pleads with the doctor to let Krug go. Dr. Collingwood kills Krug with the chainsaw anyway. Sadie runs outside, where she trips and drops her weapon. Estelle tackles Sadie, and after a struggle, Sadie punches Estelle but trips once again and falls into the family's pool. Estelle catches up with Sadie and slits her throat. The couple reunites in their living room in their blood-spattered clothes. This is far the most shockingly scary film I have ever seen, its brutal beyond anything I've ever seen, its scary because its not with any evil monster, its not with any occult evil, nothing more then just pure unrivaled human brutality. And that is the scariest thing of all.

Films that just barely missed out: I Spit On Your Grave, The House On Haunted Hill (original), Orka, The Butcher, House of Dark Shadows, Night Of Dark Shadows, Blood on Satan's Claw, Hands of the Ripper, The House That Dripped Blood, Murders in the Rue Morgue, She Killed in Ecstasy, Dracula AD 1972, And Now the Screaming Starts, Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things, The Legend of Hell House, Carnival of Souls (literally lost out by one point on my list), Black Christmas (original), The Bloody Exorcism of Coffin Joe, The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires, The Omen (original), The Exorcist (original), The Car... and ok well alot more... but you get the idea.

Well thats my list, I hope you all enjoy it as much as i enjoyed making it.



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Laz

Why I Love Linda Hayden

I would once again do another rambley post of some obscure or forgotten film actress who I just love, sure its abit overly male of me, but hollywood and film the world over has been built on the backs of the concept of a "starlet", its an artform that I think has been pushed aside in favor of cookie cutter packaged women who look like they were built to fit a certain market instead of truly talented. The days of the starlet are gone, but not at all forgotten....

With that said, i would like to show you all Linda Hayden, most of you will not know who she is, and thats fine, because i'm gonna tell you!

Linda Hayden, like many who I've rambled on about started out in what we call "sexplotation" films, which aren't pornographic films, but rather films that feature either alot of nudity, or an overly adult plot, they are infact not much worse then our modern films that garner each country's version of the R-Rating. I first saw Linda in, what happens to be her first film, a shocking but brilliant late 1960s british sexplotition film called "Baby Love", which is of note because she was 15 years old at the filming of, the same age as her character, but given the overly sexual nature of the film, and what Linda's character of Lucy does through out the film, having an underage girl star and preform was unheard of, and still is. Its also illegal in many countries.

Though to be honest Linda does it as incredibly well, or as well as can be expected playing a teenage seductress who seduces an entire family in order to later tell each of them what she'd done and laugh at their reactions, the film is also of note for the fact its one of the first sexplotition films to show a scene where two women depicted in a sexual nature, and its also noted for having its much talked about "Movie Theater Scene", where in Lucy and an older gentleman who happens to be there engage in a lude act while watching a film, its of note as being one of the most erotic of the sexplotation age, as well as one of the most creepy to.

After her rather shocking role as Lucy, Linda garnered the eye of the visionaries of British film and creators of British Horror known as Hammer Studios, with who Linda would stay for many films, her first was Blood on Satan's Claw as well as the original version of the cult film Night Watch and equaly cult film Madhouse, Satan's Claw is somewhat forgotten joy of cheese horror that often gets lost in the Hammer catalog of awesome where as the others are ranked highly among the droves of Hammer Studio and Horror films in general, she also starred briefly in the forgotten british sitcom "Now Look Here", Linda also continued to do some racey films, among them the film "Expose" which is alot of times also called "The House On Straw Hill" and is seen in the same vain as "The Last House On The Left" its also the film which many see as more of shocking then her first role in Baby Love, and with good reason given the violence and sexual nature of it.

In her later years Linda took smaller roles, and traveled between america and england doing television, and focusing on theater work as well, trying to keep a low profile and let her early overly sexy years on the screen be forgotten or allowed to stand as what they are. Linda doesn't say she regrets her early years, she often says she's proud of what she could do, and what she'd done, saying any other young beautiful girl if given the chance would do what she did, she'll soon be paying homage to it by starring in the soon to be made remake of "Expose", which has an insane buzz around it, and from the script i've seen, i can't say i blame the buzz, it looks really good, and hopefully will be just as good, if not better...

Well thats it for now, I hope you've all enjoyed my post as much as i have... back soon...

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Laz

Afterlife

Afterlife:

Sometimes The Spirits Choose You

Not many people were aware of this fact, but, in 2005, Britain's ITV produced and aired what I see as possibly the greatest science fiction series ever made. Oh sure, people will argue over the whole "best sci fi show ever" thing, its one of those things that just comes down to personal opinion, but for me, this series "Afterlife", is the greatest, it tells a story of a sad woman, who lives a sad self induced lonely life, because she feels that others can't really understand why she feels she is different then them, you see, her name is Alison Mundy, and she can see the dead, not in her dreams, she sees them walking around, all among us, and alot of them, speak to her, wanting her help. It also tells the story of Dr Robert Bridge, a professor of psychology who is a devoted skeptic and disbeliever in people like Alison, claiming they are all fakes and cheats, Robert lost his young son Josh tragically not long before the show's first episode, his grief has caused a rift between him and his wife, whom he's separated from at the beginning of the series. Robert comes into contact with Alison by taking a class he's teaching on how to spot a fake psychic to a group reading she's doing. After the uncanny details she brings out, not only out of a student who later kills herself, but also about Robert himself, Robert becomes curious with her and asks to speak with her, taking her on as her therapist, he hopes to learn how she knew what she knew about him, and about that girl, the series follows their journeys together as she shows Robert that the world he knows, is not the world they live in. As the show goes on, Robert eventually writes a book about his travels with Alison, entitled "Afterlife: Sometimes The Spirits Choose You", from which the show takes its namesake and tag line.

The story is deeper then just a woman that can see ghosts and the doubtful but curious professor who's world of logic and order has been changed by her, and how they travel around the city of Bristol helping the spirits Alison sees find their rest, so they can go to where ever it is we go when we've died. Its really the story of two people who have been damaged beyond what most would believe to be repairable, and how they heal each other through their completely symbiotic relationship, where there is a deep emotional need for each other in their lives, Alison understand Robert's grief and sadness, and Robert understands Alison's feeling sheltered and withdrawn from the world who looks at her as if she's crazy, they are in a sense, the purest emotional bond, you could ever see. And though you find yourself wondering if there is more to their relationship then you see on the outside, at and times you find yourself wishing they would just love each other, it never does happen, its not ment to happen, they are ment to be exactly what they are, the closest emotionally that two people could ever become. It is their strength, and what drives them to pull each other out of their shells and into the world they share. You find yourself caring deeply for them both right up to the series' somber yet mindblowing end.

The main plot of the show is just as intense and important, some might call it formula given it follows the same basic idea as every other show about people that see ghosts, the spirit comes to Alison, who tries to dismiss it, until she can't any longer, she then tells Robert, who takes her to whoever she needs to go to, to help finish the spirit's business here on earth. And I can see how some might say thats the standard story for every show of this nature, and i guess thats true, but in reality, its the realistic way they do it, where you truly believe this is happening, that sets them apart, its not some "they come to me in my dreams" or "they call out to me till i find them" nonsense, the way they go about business, you truly do believe that there would be spirits walking around trying to find that one person who can see and hear and interact with them, its so realistic, and with afew swerves near the start, you find yourself wondering if its all in Alison's head and she's just getting lucky with these events, or if they're really there, by the end of the series though you realize, they are infact real, and its brought to undeniable proof at the end in a swerve you never see coming, and leaves you stunned and dazed.

The show in general is a joy to watch the casting is excellent, the lovely and very under rated Lesley Sharpe plays Alison as if she is really her, as if you are just walking into the daily life of a very unique and very special woman, who with out knowing her as we do, we find ourselves wondering if we'd even notice Alison if we were to see her on the street, and feeling really bad at how she feels she needs to recoil away from people and hide away. Andrew Lincoln plays Robert in a way that you feel as if any guy you know, could be him, you find yourself questioning yourself and your beliefs in everything through him, you truly believe he's recently lost his son and that its destroyed his life. Its just so well done and so much care taken into account, even the caliber of guest star is incredible, most noted is the brilliant David Threlfall of "Shameless" fame, who is just an insanely talented actor in his own right, its just amazing really. The writers are amazing and award winning as well, you truly get sucked into this series, and its all their fault.

Its hard to do a write up on a show of this nature really, its something that you can't start to talk about, because you won't stop till you've told someone the whole thing, and you don't wanna spoiler you want them to actually see it for themselves. Which is what i'd love you all to do... So if you haven't seen Afterlife just yet, then please, seek out this rare obscure gem of greatness and have a look, even if you aren't a ghost or sci fi fan, you will be sucked into this story, and just entraced by it.


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Laz

Durham County

As many of you are aware, I am a huge supporter of going out and exploring the world through its television programs, almost, or even more so then its movies or music. Now as alot of you know, I've been a long time detractor of the "American way" of approaching television shows, and I have long spoken out in favor of downloading or watching streaming versions of television from all over the globe, I believe there is good out there, you just need to find it, you just need to look for it. Now, I will be the first to admit, I have found my fair share of winners, but, as happens, even among the good, there will rise afew things that enter the realm of excellent, something that is just perfect, perfect story, perfect actors, perfect director, perfect cinematographer, every single bit of it is just flawless, so flawless it leaves my mouth open and my jaw on on the floor with shock and wonder. The Canadian psychodrama Durham County, stands worthy of praise among the very few excellent. From its perfectly cast actors, to its iconic and sublime imagery that just spills out through out every single scene in a fashion that would make David Lynch or Oliver Stone sit there with their mouths agape in awe, to its eerie backing music, and true to life dialog, none of that "forced to sound current" crap I hate so much, this show truly is a joy to watch, and a joy to go frame by frame on. Seriously, I could do a post on just the iconic still shots on each episode alone.

Durham County is the story of two life long friends, who though the same, are polar opposites, Mike Sweeney; a cop who has moved back to his childhood home of Durham County, Ontario, that though brutal and unyielding at his job, and though socially awkward, is in his heart a good man who cares for his family and those around him and wants nothing more then to protect them from the bad in the world, and the other, Ray Prager; on the surface has everything, a successful business, is beloved by the townsfolk, has a beautiful wife and a son with a bright and shining future ahead of him, but under that exterior, Ray is a serial killer with a violent streak and and a mind twisted beyond belief. The show tells the story of how their lives, regardless of how much Mike tries to keep them apart, are headed for, and then have a violent collision, and over the first two seasons, you find out just how connected these two really are, with Ray bitter and angry deep down for Mike not only causing him an injury that kept him out of the NHL, but also, for abandoning him when they were younger. Ray states many times that Mike was the closest thing to a brother he ever had, and in the final episode of the first season expresses that everything went wrong when Mike left.

The rest of the cast are all equally intertwined as well, even if they don't realize it, Mike's wife Audrey Sweeney; who at the start of the series had only recently beaten what she thought was to be a fatal form of breast cancer, Audrey feels alienated and neglected, and has selfesteem issues from her cancer treatments, she isn't aware that Ray is being nice to her, even buying her some sexy lingerie, just to get into Mike's head and provoke him into reacting violently toward him, making Mike look like he's got it out for him over old unsettled scores. Mike's two daughters, Sadie and Mattie; Mattie is the younger daughter, and is abit strange, most of the first season she wears an mask that looks like an anime drawn face and talks about how she can smell the dead body of the man who died in their house before they bought it, in season two she no longer wears the mask, and has taken to being some what of a normal, even if weird 11 or 12 year old girl, her older sister Sadie, is more connected to her father, she wants to be a cop just like Mike, and is often seen making small dolls and restaging crime scenes in her old doll house to try and visualize and solve a crime, she is estranged from her mother who thinks she has issues with how sick she was, and in season two, do to the events at the end of season one, Sadie becomes the centerpoint of Ray's sick and twisted mental chess game, using her to not only drive her crazy, but to get at Mike by using old covered up events that happened after Mike had left to make Sadie doubt her father and wonder if he's really, as ray claims, just like him. The Sweeney family in general, though strong when needs be, are a family divided and detached from each other, given Audrey's illness, and Mike's overly protective though emotionally devoid personality, the family dynamic is completely fractured.

Tracy Prager, is Ray's wife, she is outgoing, friendly and fun to be around, she enjoys having parties and entertaining guests, she is a part time yoga teacher, and part time manager of the plumbing and bath store Ray owns, she enjoys her life of expensive things and high life parties, so much so she plays off when Ray does small things to hurt her, most noted in the series is in the pilot when Ray bumps her into a very hot metal grill and she burns herself, Tracy also loves her son Ray Jr. very much, and is very proud of him, she goes on often about how he was selected out of thousands of high school students to get a special writing scholarship, a thing that Ray seems jealous of and states repeatedly he doesn't want his son to go, that he should stay and learn the family business. Tracy disagrees, and after their arguments on the matter turn violent, she leaves Ray. Ray Prager Jr. is the son of Tracy and Ray Sr, he is the complete opposite of his father, he is kind, gentle, quiet and creative, he doesn't like to draw attention to himself or what he does, he is withdrawn and dismisses any attention or praise given to him for his writing, the only person he seems to deeply trust is Sadie, whom he expresses his deep love for by the end of season two. Ray Jr. kinds him conflicted though, torn between doing whats right, and protecting his father, the only shred of family he has left after his mom leaves, he wants to do what is right, but he also has trouble believing just how sick and twisted his father is, by the end of the second season he is forced to come face to face with just how sick his father is, and just what kind of a monster he is, and the fear that he doesn't want to ever end up just like his father, and that really the only ones who have ever looked out for him in his life are either dead, or trying to put his father way for life.

The entire first season of the series is the cat and mouse game between Mike and Ray, at the start of the first episode, Ray is in the woods outside of an old abandon farm he stayed at in his youth, he is hiding in the bushes watching a man and two teenage girls dressed in very short school girl style outfits as they engage in the starts of a sexual encounter, after using plastic ties to restrain both girls, the man then lays them face down, and bludgeons them both savagely in the head with a large rock, he then rapes them and leaves them for dead. Ray waits for him to leave, then comes out of his hiding place, to investigate, he then goes home, gets a picnic basket, and heads back out to the woods, where he rapes one of the bodies, then discovers that the other is still alive barely, he then has his way with her over and over over the course of afew days until her wounds get to much and she dies, Ray then cuts a lock of each of their hair, puts it in his basket and leaves. From this point on, Ray mimics the actions of that man he saw in the woods, his path crosses with him afew more times, once in a strip club, and another when he attempts to pick up Ray's wife Tracy, Ray exclaims that he knows what the man is, and what he's done, but that if he's read the news, Ray does it better then him. This is Ray's modus operandi, he is in a sense, a copycat serial killer, who the original has no idea is emulating him.

Its Ray's second victom, school teacher Nathalie Lacroix, a woman who has a deep connection to Mike, as well as the teacher who keeps pushing Ray Jr to be proud of his writing, saying he could be a great writer of he just stopped holding himself back. Ray kills her during a meeting she has with him about his son's future at a public park, when she starts to tell him of how good his son is as what he does, Ray gets enraged and starts to hit her, he beats her savagely and leaves her in a wooded area near some powerlines for dead, he then comes back to check on her later that night, he finds she's still alive, she puts up a bit of a fight but he grabs a large nearby rock and caves her skull in, but not before she stabs him with a pen leaving a deep gash in his arm, and blood and dna on her pen. After she's dead, Ray cuts her hair like he did the other two girls, and pushes her body into the lake and leaves her body there to float to shore. Mike is called in to investigate, he tells his partner that he recognizes her, and says she was a friend, Mike recognizes the cut of hair as a thing Ray and some of the others they hung out with as teenagers used to do to a girl they would sleep with, or bring to Ray's old farmhouse and brutally gang rape, you find out in the final episode of season one that there is a panel in the wall of the farmhouse that comes loose, and behind it, is a wall with the names of every one of the men Mike and Ray knew written on it, and each has some cuts of hair under it, Mike's name ofcourse is not found there, given that he said he never took part in that game of theirs.

From this point the first season is a race or sorts between Mike and Ray as Mike tries to prove that Ray killed Nathalie Lacroix, and the others he kills along the way, Mike has to fight uphill against Ray's large influence in Durham County, he's friends with many of the police and local political people and other members of social standing, all of which get in Mike's way of proving Ray's a murderer, and bringing him to justice. Ray finally snaps in the end of the first season and kidnaps Mike's daughter Sadie, taking her to the old farmhouse he does some rather unspeakable things to her, that if i explain will ruin the impact of when you hear them outloud at the end of the second season.

At the end of the first season, Ray is sent to jail for his crimes, and is awaiting trail, season two starts up a year later only afew weeks before Ray's trial, Mike has been promoted in the wake of all the inquiries and truth coming to light of some of the rather shady business that the other cops did to keep Mike from getting Ray in the first season, and you find out that the case against Ray is starting to unravel, as they loose one murder charge and witnesses start to back out. Season two plays out completely different then the first season, its more of a psychological drama leading up to Ray's trial, where you have Ray and new character Dr. Pen Verity (played by Michelle Forbes who some might remember from the series Homicide, as well as the character of Ensign Ro Laren on Star Trek The Next Generation, or most recently as Maryann Forrester on Tru Blood), both manipulate the cast to their own ends. Ray uses blackmail over never reported crimes to get various people in the police force and local business men to destroy the case against him, while manipulating his son and Sadie into not testifying against him. Pen is using Mike, and her job as a police psychologist to keep her son in a very bitter custody battle, which you find out is all of her own doing, Pen doesn't use blackmail to get what she wants, instead she uses her place as a person of trust to lie and manipulate people into seeing her as she wishes to be seen, not as she really is. Though a start contrast, the second season really is just as mindblowingly good at the first, afew people have said it was better actually, though i'm still on teh fence on that. Pen is a great main villain and she plays the black widow role well, and the scenes where her and Ray actually meet and interact are creepy beyond belief, but I'm not sure, I find myself at an impasse on which main villain was better, the black widow spider of a woman who's mind has completely snapped in two, or the twisted beyond all recognition everyman who only sees his own failures and repressive self hate which drives him to kill. Hard call really.

As great as the series is on the acting and writing side, its just as good on the filming side as well, the lighting, the flashbacks and looks into the minds of each character as they remember or imagine scenes, the ghosts that haunt them all appearing in certain places, the constant images of the powerlines, hinting that the electro magnetics of the powerlines are slowly driving everyone insane, just the whole thing is a huge iconic film noir style case study in how to shoot a film or a tv series to give it the very feel you want. Its just so brilliantly done it makes me almost slack jawed in complete and utter awe of its assault from all sides fo the creative spectrum at once. Truly a thing of wonder with no real equal.

They are airing the series here in the states on ION, where its being aired as one whole of 12 episodes instead of two six episodes seasons, though I would assume given the nature of that network and its target demographics, and run times, its been edited down, each episode has been chopped from about 60 minutes to just around 42 to fit your standardize american hour long timeslot, more then likely they toned down the violence and cut the nudity and sex scenes unless key to the story, and probably edited out the swears and harsh language. I would recommend if you could, either order the dvds or get your download on to find the show in its original untouched form, it has a bigger impact that way. But in any event, this is a must see series, it will leave you breathless, and cursing every day till next year when the third season airs.



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Laz