Mr. Scary

I've been thinking about what movies I have found the scariest in all my years of horror fandom. There are tons of films with frightening scenes, and it would take ages to recall and list all of those. But as for motion pictures in their entirety, I find it really hard to decide which ones are really that scary throughout. Off the top of my head, I can name a handful that have really gotten under my skin:

The Conjuring

The Exorcist

The Woman in Black

The Haunting

The Changeling
The Innocents
Alien

These are more or less in order of fright factor, but I would probably re-order these and even change some of my choices months from now. In fact, I've learned from experience that a re-watch is the true test of a film's ranking on the horror scale. 

For example, I watched The Conjuring (2013) for the second time last night. The first time I saw it (at night, sitting alone at home in a pitch black room), I had a terrible time afterward getting to sleep and staying asleep, waking often and thinking of scenes from the movie, and when I did sleep, nightmares filled my head... and I hadn't experienced those since I was a kid. So, you see how much The Conjuring affected me. That was many months ago. Last night, I figured "Ah, I know how this goes... this won't even be scary this time". I was wrong. The movie still freaked me out, so much so that I had to watch something much lighter (The Muppets) to take my mind off of unseen evil and creepy dolls. That worked up to a point, but once I lay my head down to sleep, it was tough keeping images from The Conjuring out of my mind. I finally slept, and actually made it through the night in one piece. Whew!

The Conjuring is a rare example of a truly effective modern horror movie. Most of the films  (well, all of them, to some degree) these days rely heavily on tropes of the genre, and transcend only with some originality and better than average execution. As you can see on my list, only two other movies were released in the 1980's or later. Re-hashing ideas is common across the board in the film business, and that of course leads to a glut of average and poor productions. The ones that rise to the top of the heap owe their success to something special, and that is usually in the story and acting departments. Plenty of horror flicks look great, but the scares may be few or cheap, so we don't really remember them for the right reasons. 

The Exorcist was a movie that I was actually afraid to watch for many years. As a youngster, I'd heard friends describing its weird, disturbing, and violent scenes. I'd also heard about people fainting and running out of the first theatrical showings. I sort of filed that away as a warning that this was too much to handle. When I first watched The Exorcist on video rental sometime back in the 90's, it left an impression seared upon my psyche. There aren't a lot of truly terrifying bits in there, but the unearthly, disturbing atmosphere burrows into you, and in my case, I felt chills down my spine over and over again as I watched. The Exorcist pulled out all the stops in its graphic depiction of demonic possession and exorcism. At the time of its debut in 1973, this stuff was shocking, more than movie-goers had ever seen in a theatre before. Of course, this doozy inspired and influenced scads of cinematic horrors (including Exorcist sequels) since then. And we've seen how pretty much everything else pales in comparison. 

A quaint spot for a B-and-B.... not!

(The Haunting - 1963)

I place The Woman in Black (1989), The Haunting (1963), The Changeling (1980), and The Innocents (1961) in their own category. They are all ghost stories and they are all similarly low-key with only a handful of startling and frightening scenes. What sets them apart from their demonic counterparts is that more is implied, through tension and suspense built through music or lack of it, sound design, sets and locations, and camera techniques. You can find these elements in good demon possession movies, too, but you'll also find a whole lot more noise, gore, and over-the-top thrills and scares. These four ghost stories are my favourites not just because they are frequently ranked as among the best of their kind, but because they all achieved their goal to send me away with my spine still tingling. And the main reason these are foremost in the genre is the superior stories they tell, three of the four based on recognized works of literature. The Changeling was based on an alleged real experience.

The sense of quiet unease is the backbone of each of these films. The stereotypical gothic mansion serves as the setting for all four stories, each of which unfolds gradually, revealing a mystery upon which the subsequent events are built. For me, there are moments of terror sprinkled conservatively throughout these films. There are sudden frights, and there are also measured appearances of spine-chilling visuals. No monstrous bloody fangs here. Instead, we've got the carefully orchestrated manipulation of our deepest fears. And I do indeed shift to edge of my seat, pull my arms and legs in close, and lean forward in anxiety and dread.

This is called fun!

At the other end of the spectrum is Alien (1979), which I don't really rank last on my list, but just wanted to sort of set it apart from the others. It is a different beast. This very first entry in the film series is best described as a good old-fashioned haunted house movie, this time with a physical antagonist that voraciously eliminates its prey. Except in Alien, the "haunted house" is a spaceship, and the antagonist is not merely an Earthly monster, but an intelligent and aggressive extraterrestrial. Early scenes lead us through the daily lives of the ship's crew, and to their descent to an unknown planet to answer a distress call. Yeah, big mistake. As you, dear reader, may or may not already know, that creature stows away on the humans' craft and methodically takes out the crew members one by one. At turns quiet and spooky, then frightening and gory, Alien establishes an atmosphere of isolation, all cold corridors, mostly silent but for tiny machine clinks and clicks and drips. You've got your jump-scares, both real and false, but there are the more weird and creepy scenes, too, to satisfy your sense of wonder and imagination. A classic of both horror and sci-fi, though I feel this is more of a horror film in a sci-fi setting, less the other way around. 

Lovely chap, that Larry Talbot. Needs a shave, though.

Tonight is Halloween! I haven't participated in All Hallows' Eve in decades, at least not candy or costume-wise, but as I'm a long-time huge horror movie fan, I have always slapped some freaky seasonal flicks in the video player. Actually, for about the last month and a half, I have sporadically had little runs of consecutive nights of both classic and modern fright films. Last night was The Conjuring, which suitably unnerved me... a second time. Tonight I'll first watch It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown as a gentle cartoon warm-up, then the main feature will be Let the Right One In, a modern Swedish vampire gem that I love. After that, if I am so inclined, I may put on the original The Wolf Man, from 1941. The Wolf Man is my favourite horror movie of all time, one that I've watched just about every single year ever since I first bought it on home video back in the late 90's. 

I Got A Rock

It's that spooky time of year again, and I am dipping into the Halloween-ish delights just a little at a time. In fact, I must confess that I haven't been in a very scary mood this October. No idea why, though I did have a premature horror movie craving (and fix) in September. Netflix provided a handful of decent flicks to tide me over... stuff like Orphan, Don't Be Afraid of the Dark, and The Hole. 

Given my early satiation in the macabre department, I haven't felt much like reading any dark-themed stories lately. I did dig out a few of my old compilations of creepy tales, but have not yet delved into them. One of the more ghastly book covers appears below:

A ghoulish looking selection of tales of terror

that I hope to peruse this Halloween season

Whenever this month of All Hallows' Eve rolls around, I am reminded of trick-or-treating as a youngster. As a little kid, I dressed up as characters as wide-ranging as a robot, a rabbit, and a Mexican bandito, replete with curly mustache, sombrero, and poncho - all with the help of my mother. When I was a bit older, I worked on my own get-ups to re-create myself as Dracula, Mr. Hyde (Dr. Jekyll's alter-ego), and a Star Trek science officer (not Spock, since I didn't have naturally pointy ears). As a Trek dude, I sported a "real" embroidered uniform insignia (from the fan club store) and funky replicas of the phaser, communicator and tricorder (assembled from my 1970's Aurora model kit). 

My old pair of vampire fangs from Halloweens of yore

This year I will make at least some effort to get into the mood for the arrival of the Great Pumpkin. I feel as though I should re-watch the classic Charlie Brown Halloween special, since I haven't seen that in quite a while. Of all the Peanuts cartoons, that one is my favourite. I love Snoopy's World War I adventure, battling the infamous Red Baron aboard his soaring Sopwith Camel doghouse, then sneaking spy-like across the atmospheric countryside in search of sustenance and entertainment with the Allies. Maybe I need to add that old gem to my video collection.

"There are three things I have learned never to discuss with people: religion, politics, and the Great Pumpkin". Wise words from Linus.

I recently picked up some movies to watch on or near Halloween: finally, I grabbed an inexpensive Blu-ray copy of Let the Right One In, the best modern day vampire film. 30 Days of Night, Shadow of the Vampire, and Only Lovers Left Alive were cool in their own ways, but none quite captured the same eerie mood of the stark Swedish realm in which Let the Right One In resides. I think the last truly great vamp flick prior to this was Bram Stoker's Dracula (by good ol' Francis Ford Coppola). 

I also paid a pittance for a poorly packaged set of Howling sequels (numbers 3, 5, and 6 in the series). They are all full-screen and all jammed onto one disc, which maddens me, but for less than ten bucks, I figure it's a good way to revisit one of the films and see the other two for the first time. If they stink, then no big deal. If I really like any of them, I can always upgrade to Blu-ray sometime, and give this cheapie away. Bring on the werewolves!

And I will likely try to squeeze in at least one, if not a few, of my all-time favourite horror movies. My substantial video collection often taunts me and turns me away empty-handed, but I think I could re-watch some of my dearest masterpieces of the genre. Perhaps the original Phantom of the Opera (1925), An American Werewolf in London (not Paris!), and The Wolf Man (1941). If I'm feeling really ambitious, I may even put on the 1956 original version of the chilling Invasion of the Body Snatchers which still gives me the shivers in its beautiful depiction of terror, suspense, and paranoia. Great fun for this fan of the frightening!

One of the very first movies I ever bought

(on VHS in the 90's) to start my horror collection

OK Blue Jays - Let's Re-Wind

Now that the Toronto Blue Jays (my team) are battling the Kansas City Royals in the American League Championship Series, I think back to when these two teams last met in post-season play - 1985. 

As of today - October 18, 2015, the Royals have won the first two games of the current series. But the Jays did claw their way out of the hole in the divisional series to win it. So they aren't out of this yet.

But this is not a sports blog, so I won't go any further than that. What I will talk about today is the music that was popular at the time of the Jays-Royals playoff series in '85. I was all of twenty-one years old then, slugging it out in art college by day, and headbanging in the clubs by night. 

The music scene was vibrant in '85, though there were very divisive genres establishing themselves. What was once New Wave wasn't quite so new anymore, sort of mainstreaming and melding itself into other styles, maybe not quite so easily defined by this point. For example, CFNY, a Toronto alternative radio station, ran a top ten album list that included artists such as New Order, The Cure, Kate Bush, Tears for Fears, and Simple Minds. Absolutely none of that interested me back then. Having said that, nowadays I can appreciate some of that music.

The Billboard chart for that year showed top artists like Madonna, Wham!, Prince, R.E.M., The Smiths, and Phil Collins. Again, no interest. This stuff was simply too lightweight for my tastes. I was a rocker, favouring harder, heavier, louder music. 

My radio was tuned to T.O. stations Q107 (about 98% of the time) and CHUM-FM (the rest of the time). Hard rock, heavy metal, and what would later be termed "classic rock" were the main course on these stations, with the odd appearance by Talking Heads, The Police, and some of the other slightly more rock-oriented modern artists. I dialed up CFNY occasionally just to see what was going on out there on Mars, but I rarely heard anything I liked. 

While MuchMusic (Canada's answer to MTV) brought Savatage, Loudness, Motley Crue, and Twisted Sister into my living room, I wasn't a big fan of those particular '85 metal chart-toppers. Granted, a few years later, I'd learn to love Savatage. I did like bands like The Cult, Accept, Malmsteen, Ratt, and Dio, all of whom released notable albums and videos that year. 

I remember hearing some of the more underground hardcore on late-night metal radio shows. That was tough for me to swallow at the time... not nearly as "melodic" as what I was used to. I was slightly intrigued by, but not willing to bow to, bands Exodus, Celtic Frost, WASP, Slayer, S.O.D., and their ilk. This sounded more dangerous and subversive than the Scorpions and Iron Maiden that I held dear to my heart. Again, some years later, I did develop a liking for a bit of that stuff.

Successful and popular heavy bands of '85 like Anthrax, Fates Warning, Dokken, and Megadeth did fall under my radar a year or two later, but at the time, I was immersed in my older-school metal... Sabbath, Priest, Scorpions, Maiden, AC/DC, and Leppard, and slightly less heavy bands like Triumph, Rush, Coney Hatch, Kim Mitchell, and April Wine (all Canadian, that last bunch). 

I did enjoy lighter rock such as Dire Straights' Brothers in Arms smash hit LP, Heart's 1985 release, Sting's first solo album, blues-rock ace Stevie Ray Vaughan, a bit of Bryan Adams (but not much), Bryan Ferry, and John Fogerty's Centerfield. And I mustn't forget David Lee Roth's goofy but fun little EP Crazy From the Heat. 

AC/DC, ZZ Top, U2, Tom Petty, Supertramp, Cheap Trick, and Saga all produced what I felt were substandard albums that year. All artists who I've liked, even loved (some to this day), but '85 must have simply been an off year for them.

Oh, and half-way between heavy and light fell my fave band Rush's Power Windows, which knocked my socks off with its blend of big power chords, chiming arpeggios, complex passages within simpler song structures, and a brighter, more optimistic vibe than their last album (the excellent but downer Grace Under Pressure). Power Windows was my personal Number One Album of the Year. 

OK, Jays... "hit the ball and touch 'em all, a moment in the sun"!

The Grapes of Roth

Yeah, that title came out wrong. Sorry.

What I really want to say is that on this day back in 1954, one David Lee Roth entered this world. Some people will roll their eyes at hearing that fact, but some of us think that despite (or because of) his issues over the years, he was one cool cat during his Van Halen and early solo career years.

"Crazy from the heat" long before his 1985 EP bearing the same title, Roth injected fledgling rockers Van Halen with a sense of flair and attitude that became their calling card whenever they brought their show to town. He fronted the powerful band from 1974 until 1985. But hold on... let's go back to the beginning:

Dave was born in Bloomington, Indiana. His father, a renowned eye surgeon, was rolling in the money, which must have helped along the way. His uncle owned a popular NYC cafe/nightclub during the 60's, and it was there that a very young David Lee was first exposed to show business. Hendrix and Dylan were a couple of the cafe's star attractions back then. Cool, huh?

After the Roth family lived for a time in Massachusets, they moved on to balmy Pasadena, California, where the adolescent David had some problems. He bounced from school to school and was sent to a psychiatrist, and even ended up at a ranch for troubled teens. It was at college that Dave met two brothers with an interest in music. 

Those brothers were Alex and Eddie Van Halen. They had a band called Mammoth at the time, doing a lot of gigging around the area. Roth joined Mammoth shortly before the group changed their name. Apparently, the name was already taken. 

Under the new name Van Halen, which simply sounds so perfectly rock'n'roll, the boys gained local success. In 1977, Van Halen was discovered by Warner Bros' Ted Templeton, who heard them play at one of their steady gigs at the Starwood Club. A year later, the band's eponymous first album hit the streets. And the rest, as they say, was history. 

Van Halen became as famous for their non-stop booze-and-babes activity as for their rollicking music. David dressed in outlandish outfits for concerts... not with the intention to shock... that was just his style. He promoted the band's wild image and helped take them to the top. With a little help from guitar genius Eddie writing dozens of best-selling songs. 

Roth was a crucial component to Van Halen's success, bringing his colourful and charismatic personality to live shows, belting out songs with raunch and sensuality. He was also the main lyricist for their songs. 

Roth and the boys recorded and performed until 1985. Their stellar 1984 album sat at number two spot on Billboard chart, behind Michael Jackson's Thriller (Eddie played the guitar solo on hit Beat It), a tough act to beat, with its even broader international appeal. Still. Nearly half of the songs off 1984 became huge hits on radio and MTV. 

Despite the fame and fortune that came their way, there was conflict in the band, mainly between David and Eddie. Dave favoured light-hearted, guitar-oriented rock, while Eddie, primo instrumentalist that he was, wanted to take their music in another direction - with more keyboards and a pop sensibility. For seven years, the two factions made things work (very well!), but Roth hit the road on his own in '85.

Roth pursued his own career with zest, pumping out music almost as popular as that of Van Halen, at least for a little while. His Crazy From the Heat EP took off like a shot with its quirky, fun covers of standards and their accompanying videos. Then the LP Eat 'Em and Smile roared into the picture. For this, Dave recruited the industry's top musicians to help put him on the map as a solo artist - guys like Billy Sheehan on bass, Steve Vai on guitar, and drummer Gregg Bissonette. The album hit number four on Billboard, telling those guys in Van Halen to "watch out!". I loved EEAS, playing the tape endlessly on my Walkman during my commute to and from work. 

A couple of years later, Skyscraper continued Roth's party music ethic, though with a little experimentation to jazz things up. I think that Just Like Paradise stands as one of Dave's best songs, full of fun and optimism. A fitting way to see out the 80's. 

Next came A Little Ain't Enough, a troubled production almost right from the start, when new guitarist Jason Becker was diagnosed with rapidly debilitating ALS. Becker barely finished the album with Roth, but could not stay on for touring. A decent rock album, but Roth's popularity was waning and sales of his albums were on the decline. Even with yet another guitarist, their tour was a mess and they broke up. 

A strange story about Roth unknowingly buying "Jamaican bunk reefer" from a police officer hit the headlines in the early 90's. A minor offence but it kept the guy in the public eye. 

1994's Your Dirty Little Mouth got mixed reviews, suffering, some said, from lack of focus. Roth did too much genre-hopping on the album for some folks. By this time, I'd lost interest in poor Dave, perhaps unfairly. I'll give the disc a spin sometime soon to see if there might be something of worth all these years later. 

The rest of the decade was a flurry of wacky activity for Dave. He played with a Las Vegas adult lounge act; he trained and worked as an Emergency Medical Technician; and he wrote his highly-praised memoir Crazy From the Heat. Then Diamond Dave released DLR Band, which many considered a success and return to form. 

David Lee Roth even briefly joined Van Halen in 1996 for a tour and to record a couple of new songs. But that dream didn't last. 

Since then, Dave's done all manner of special appearances and projects. His foray into radio with The David Lee Roth Show was short-lived, thanks to hassles with management. 

Roth rejoined Van Halen in 2007, and after working through some conflicts, became closer than ever with Eddie and the boys. They toured to massive crowds for several years, building up to...

In January of 2012, Van Halen - with Roth - played an intimate gig at the Cafe Wha?, the very spot that Roth's uncle Manny ran back in the 60's! That same day saw the premiere of Tattoo, the lead single off their upcoming album.

The disc, entitled A Different Kind of Truth, was Van Halen's first album with Roth since '84. It was a mix of new material and early demo songs given new life. Heavy and powerful and reasonably fun to listen to, this was another sort of return to form. The album debuted at number two on Billboard and saw a huge amount of success, especially after such a long wait since the last recording. I liked it a lot upon first buying the CD, but my feelings toward it have cooled a bit since. 

The Roth Show, a video webcast that's run since 2012, is Dave's forum on just about anything. I've only watched a few episodes and found it lacking in wackiness, one thing I thought Roth would provide in aces. Maybe ol' Diamond Dave has slowed down just enough that he's "mellowed" - as much as a dude like him can mellow. 

Cheers to a great party-hearty rock'n'roll singer! Or maybe I should I say, "Bottoms Up!"

--

(Browse the blog to see other Van Halen posts)

A Mars Bar a Day

The planet Mars is certainly in the public eye a lot these days. Whether it's about new scientific discoveries (like water) on the Red Planet, or the success of The Martian, both the novel and the new film, we've got the fever for that dusty globe just down the road from us.

I've long been a science fiction fan, and I've seen my fair share of movies about the "rusty" world. There were many oldies, some considered classics, that gave us a peek at how people imagined the planet and its alleged occupants at the time. A Trip to Mars (1910) is credited as the very first film to feature the Red Planet; and was created by none other than one Thomas Edison, inventor extraordinaire. 

"Take me to your leader."

Marvin the Martian was a Warner Bros.

cartoon creation, first appearing in 1948

There were a few lesser-known flicks during the next few decades, but then came the 1950's, a fertile period for space B-movies, including Mars ones. Hollywood produced gems like War of the Worlds (the original 1953 classic, which I adored as a youngster), Robinson Crusoe on Mars (with Adam West!), The Angry Red Planet, Flight to Mars, Invaders From Mars, Red Planet Mars, and It! the Terror From Beyond Space (inspiration for Alien, I'd say). Okay, so not all of those were great, but it's still fascinating to see how the movie folks envisioned the "science" and the invaders. Sometimes it was outright hilarious. 

The 1960's spewed less memorable films, like The Day Mars Invaded Earth, Santa Claus Conquers the Martians (considered one of the worst movies of all time), and Mars Needs Women (1967). As the years wore on, we got remakes of some of the oldies, some okay, some not, plus other wacky and weird depictions of alien invasions of our fair planet.

The Martian Chronicles, made-for-TV, was a fine adaptation of the Ray Bradbury story. I enjoyed Capricorn One (a faked Mars landing conspiracy) and Total Recall (the original rocked and the remake was good enough), but I don't have positive memories of Mars Attacks. I might have to revisit that crazy Tim Burton comedy someday to confirm my suspicions.

This poor little feller from Mars has got the sniffles

(War of the Worlds, 1953)

I confess I haven't seen any of the Mars sci-fi in recent decades, things like Ghosts of Mars, Red Planet, John Carter, and Last Days on Mars. I simply haven't heard good enough reviews of any of these movies to warrant seeing them. Maybe someday I'll take a chance on some of them. Or not.

Among my favourite Mars-related stories on film is the first episode of the revived 60's sci-fi series The Outer Limits. First aired in 1995, the episode was entitled "The Sandkings", a terrifying vision of intelligent alien life wreaking havoc on Earth. Based on a story by author George R. R. Martin, The Sandkings tells of a scientist who smuggles Martian sand from his workplace laboratory to his home in order to conduct personal experiments. Things get very interesting, then they go very, very wrong. Chilling!