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“I don't know how much movies should entertain. To me I'm always interested in movies that scar. The thing I love about Jaws is the fact that I've never gone swimming in the ocean again.” --- David Fincher ::::::::::::: MY CRITERIA FOR DISCUSSION ENCOMPASSES THE HORROR GENRE AND BEYOND, SO I USE THE TERM "NIGHTMARE MOVIES". SPOILERS CAN OCCUR WITH OR WITHOUT WARNING. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK.

set-pieces - Horrorphile

HORRORPHILE'S FEARSOME FOURTH BIRTHDAY

August 14th 2010 02:20
Skull birthday cake
It’s been four years, huh? Orble’s changed quite a bit since I wrote my first post referring to the horror genre as the black sheep of cinema. Not too many veteran Orble bloggers left. It takes commitment and dedication applied to your passion to keep writing on a daily basis without any proper remuneration for your efforts. I started Horrorphile – Pleasure of Nightmares because of my deep affinity with the Darkness and a desire to spread my knowledge and opinions to other like-minded freaks and geeks.

Back in October 2006 (two months after I’d started blogging) I was ranked 61 out of 691 Orble blogs. I had 249 hits a day, of which 79 were individual readers, and 48 were click or link readers (the ones that actually move and loiter around your site). The #1 blog was Music Times and Cibbuano’s 20/20 Filmsight was the only movie blog in the top twenty (#6).

Jump forward to Horrorphile’s 4th birthday, and my daily hit count is 10325, individual readers are 5002, and link readers are 4476. I have 517 followers and 464 email subscribers. In terms of popularity I’m ranked the #1 Orble blog, but #3 overall out of 11330 Orble blogs in terms of individual daily readers (behind ZCars and Funny Photos).

Stats are not too shabby. It feels good to have my nightmare movie site at the top. But it’s taken four years of churning out (mostly) movie reviews four or five days a week. It’s a labour of love spilling blood. And there’s much work still to do, especially in the revenue department. I’ve got dozens of cult classic movies still to review and more than enough vitriol to fill a spittoon. Hey, that’s what makes Horrorphile - Pleasure of Nightmares what it is; calling a spade a spade, championing the essential nightmare fare, and spouting forth the odd diatribe about the troublesome state of modern horror.

But I love modern horror. I truly do. It’s the only genre that possesses its audience, makes the viewer feel alive as they twitch in a cold sweat, let’s them grapple with the fragility of human existence within the safety net of cinema. No other movie genre is as potent or powerful.

So I thank you, my True Believers, for joining me, following me, and clinging to my side. I couldn't have got where I am without your support. My realm of the phantasmogorical and the transgressive will continue to beckon as you slide down the razor-blade of reality, clambering at the dangerous allure of the escapade on the screen, letting the Darkness engulf you, as your eyes glint and gleam in the night.

Horrorphiles of the world unite!
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BRING BACK THE GRINDHOUSE DOUBLE-FEATURES!

July 15th 2010 05:15
Plaza cinema Wellington NZ
I miss the Valhalla in Leichhardt, Sydney. The cinema is still there, but the wonderful and wicked repertory programmes are long gone. The cinema closed its doors to the public back in 2005. Back in the day there used to be a calendar poster showcasing up to six months worth of movie programming. While I worked for a cinema in Wellington, NZ, called The Paramount, during the 90s they produced a similar calendar modeled directly from the Valhalla version. It was an impressive display which utilised a movie’s original artwork, taglines, and critics’ praise neatly compacted. The movies screened were a mix of contemporary arthouse releases and cult classics.
Majestic theatre Wellington NZ
Wellington's majestic Majestic theatre a long time ago
Blood Beach movie poster
When I was much younger going into my teens there was a plethora of cinemas around Wellington; Plaza, Majestic, Lido, Roxy, Kings, Cinerama, Embassy, St. James, Regent, Penthouse, Paramount, to name a few. Most of those are gone now. The Plaza used to play double-feature horror movies on the weekend, usually B-movies, but often gems, especially to budding horrorphiles like myself. I remember those screenings fondly, as for most of them I was underage (I was around 13 or 14 and the movies were R16s, and very occasionally R18), so the “adult” factor greatly enhanced the experience.

Galaxy of Terror movie poster
Some of the double-features I remember were; Dead & Buried (1981) with Blood Beach (1981), Galaxy of Terror (1981) with Inseminoid (1981), Hell Night (1981) with Superstition (1981), and Xtro (1982) with The Beast Within (1981). A wealth of schlocky, cheesy nightmare material, and I bet none of those prints exist anymore. What a shame. They’d be perfect for the recently opened Randwick Drive-In here in Sydney, but nope, the disappointing program is made-up almost entirely of current commercial attractions, and tedious ones at that! Boring!! Bring back the grindhouse experience, I say! Well, to Sydney, anyway. I’m sure there are plenty of grindhouse cinema experiences still happening regularly in the States and Europe. I’m green with envy.

Here’s my own thematically-linked grindhouse-style double-feature mini-festival.

A Taste for Blood
… cinema of darkness
A program of high art and deep trash nightmare movies

undead unleashed
Daughters of Darkness DVD cover art
Daughters of Darkness (1971)
followed by
Salem's Lot movie poster
Salem’s Lot (1979)


zombie apocalypse
Messiah of Evil movie poster
Messiah of Evil (1973)
followed by
Let Sleeping Corpses Lie DVD cover art
Let Sleeping Corpses Lie (1974)


sicko psycho
Torso movie poster
Torso (1973)
followed by
Deep Red movie poster
Deep Red (1975)


alien infiltration
Phantasm soundtrack artwork
Phantasm (1978)
followed by
Possession movie poster
Possession (1981)


urban madness
Bad Lieutenant DVD cover art
Bad Lieutenant (1992)
followed by
Man Bites Dog DVD cover art
Man Bites Dog (1993)
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HALL OF INFAMY - REMEMBER TO VOTE!!!

June 28th 2010 07:49
Horror scream

Just a wee reminder to vote in the 3rd Annual Horrorphile Hall of Infamy ...

The poll closes Wednesday June 30th at midnight.

That's two days and counting ...

Five categories: All-Time Greatest Modern Horror Movie, Horror pre-1968, Remake, Comedy, and SFX Make-Up Artist.

Don't be timid, make your voice heard in the Darkness!!!
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SNIP

June 25th 2010 00:45
Snip movie poster
I am proud as a hardened horrorphile - and unashamed gorehound – to present to you the astonishing and deeply disturbing 12-minute short film, Snip (2008), written and directed by Julien Zenier, a Spaniard. I first saw Snip at the 3rd Annual A Night of Horror International Film Festival (2009) and was suitably astounded, not to mention visibly shaken. Few movies have made me wince (and almost cover my eyes) due to their convincingly graphic ferocity. I applaud Zenier for his audacity and his talent as a filmmaker, and to Quimera FX for their work on the special effects.

Snip operates as a very dark social commentary that uses extreme self-mutilation as a metaphor for the destructive power of popular culture projected from the distorted, exaggerated, but mostly sanitized medium of television. It also captures the fragility of the human psyche, and the vulnerability of the human body. The horror, the horror


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FRANKENSTEIN (1910) MOVIE and RUMAH DARA TRAILER

June 21st 2010 00:16
Frankenstein
It’s dreary day in Sydney, and I’m on my weekend, so nothing better to do than hole up and watch a few movies. I've got a few to catch up on. In the meantime here’s a couple of finds; the earliest version of Frankenstein - made in 1910 - put to film, only twelve minutes long and some startling special effects, considering when it was made.


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ANIMAL KINGDOM DOUBLE-PASS GIVEAWAYS!

June 15th 2010 02:39
Animal Kingdom original movie poster
The lovely folk at Madman Entertainment in conjunction with Contagious Communications have allowed me to giveaway five in-season double passes to the brilliant new Australian crime drama Animal Kingdom (2010). The movie is currently enjoying its nationwide theatrical season and overseas where it won the prestigious world cinema award at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. It is also receiving very high praise indeed from local film critics, and is one of my favourite Aussie dramas of the past twenty years.

To win one of these double-passes just name your favourite gangster movie and in 25 words or less why you like it so damn much.
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A NIGHT OF HORROR WAS A DARK AND BLOODY TREAT!

April 27th 2010 05:21
The Children Hannah Tointon
The blood has been shed and the guts have been spilled for another year, and now I want to make a short gush to thank the Sydney organisers and local and overseas participants in this year’s A Night Of Horror International Film Festival; co-directors Dean Bertram and Lisa Mitchell, programmer Shane K., the esteemed judges for the film and screenplay competitions, and to all the filmmakers and horrorphiles who supported the festival! It was both a delight and an inspiration, and a drunken hoot (the pub crawl following the awards ceremony on closing night).
The Revenant David Anders
The Horseman
Although I didn’t get to see all the movies I did see some great stuff, and will hopefully catch up with the ones I missed further down the track. My three favourites of the festival were the atmospheric 70s-esque UK shocker The Children (2008), the black-as-a-putrid-corpse undead buddy comedy, The Revenant (2009) from the States - which won best international feature and director - and the uber-brutal Aussie revenge flick The Horseman (2009) - which took out best Australian feature and director. I also thoroughly enjoyed Triangle (2009) and The Haunting in Connecticut (2009), both at the commercial end, but very well made and highly effective.

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CHAS. BALUN (1948 - 2009) R.I.P

April 13th 2010 05:34
Horror Holocaust cover art
My apologies for the delay to any hardcore True Believers, but I only just caught the whiffy wind of the passing of legendary horrorphile, gorehound uber-enthusiast, and gonzo writer to boot, Charlie “Chas.” Balun. What a guy! I never actually met him, but I shared a very brief email correspondence with him a few years back when I was trying to track down issues of his hard-to-find guerrilla-style publication Deep Red, which he published himself. He came across as gruff, which in hindsight I put down to a cancer-induced mood of perpetual disgruntlement, perhaps. Poor bugger.

Chas. Balun
Chas. Balun (channelling Stephen King)
Chas., who lived in Hollywood, had his first book published in 1983, The Connoisseur’s Guide to the Contemporary Horror Film. In 1986 he started contributing to Fangoria magazine, and in 1989 he had his own column, “Piece of Mind”, in the short-lived Fangoria spin-off, Gorezone (not to be confused with the current UK publication of the same name). In 1987 he published a one-off severed-tongue-in-cheek magazine (only 30-odd pages) called The Gore Score, where he rated horror movies in relation to how much blood and guts were spilled; 1-10. He followed this with two more Gore Score publications (The Splatter Years and Brave New Works
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4th ANNUAL A NIGHT OF HORROR INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

April 6th 2010 05:57
A Night of Horror 2010
One of my favourite periods of the year returns to Sydney (and beyond) for its fourth season: A Night Of Horror, a nine-day film festival of features, shorts, Q&As, giveaways, and awards, a phantasmogorical shriek-fest, drenched in blood, streaked with gore, and guaranteed to send shivers up the most hardened spines!

Co-directors Dean Bertram and Lisa Mitchell and programmer Shane K. have put together a delightfully dark selection of horror humdingers and terror treats, many from Australian filmmakers, but also from horrorphile cineastes abroad, some of whom have traveled across the great divide to present their films and answer questions from enthusiasts


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HORRORPHILE IN THE LAND OF THE LONG WHITE CLOUD

March 5th 2010 09:20
Kane Gledhill, Midway Beach, Gisborne, New Zealand
My fellow True Believers, the horrorphiles, and those of you fresh to the Darkness, I’m slipping into the abyss for the rest of the month; visiting family and old friends across the ditch, and will not be posting during the time I’m away, which, unfortunately, results in you, my loyal subscribers, not receiving your regular fix. I trust you’ll survive, and when I return I will make it up to you with some filthy, wicked nightmare carnage! Heh heh!!

But hey, why not use the downtime to explore some of my blog you may not have yet seen


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VOTE FOR YOUR FAVOURITE ZOMBIE MOVIE - Poll closed

February 28th 2010 23:39
Dawn of the Dead movie poster art
Now that your favourite vampire movies have been selected it’s time to really peel back the undead flesh. Who are your favourite gut-munchers? Which putrid flesh excites you the most? What cinema evisceration exhilarates you the most? How revved up do you get when you hear the call of “Zomieeeeeeeeee!” ...?

Below is a list of many of the most influential and admired zombie movies ever made, including some considered so bad, they’re good. It’s funny how zombie movies command that kind of dodgy respect. I’ve included some zombie movies that don’t even use the word “zombie” in the entire movie, and some which feature an infection that doesn't create the undead, but turns the victim into a zombie-like flesh-eater; the lines of ghoulish distinction are pallid at best. Of late, both creatures of the undead – zombies and vampires - have made a return in fine form to the big screen and in your living rooms


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YOUR FAVOURITE VAMPIRE MOVIES

February 28th 2010 22:16
The results are in! My True Believin’ fellow horrorphiles have spoken! Your favourite vampire movies have been decided upon! And there are no big surprises either.

Two movies - eighty-five years apart – share the top spot


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A SEVERED-TONGUE-IN-CHEEK GUIDE TO SURVIVING (or not) A ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE

February 15th 2010 22:59
I got a severed-heads up on a couple of amusing piss-takes on zombie culture from the brilliant Canadian rag Rue Morgue. The first is a “public safety” 50s-styled news-reel (like the famous Duck and Cover from the Atomic Age) that gives a guide on dealing with zombie integration. The second is a "Dummies Guide"-styled flow-chart detailing how everything goes to hell when a zombie apocalypse erupts on society.

Have a mischievous chuckle … but remember to take note


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MERRY BLOODY XMAS!

December 23rd 2009 22:47
Treevenge poster art
It’s hotter than hell right now, and it’s not even 9.30am! I’ve got a fan blowing directly on me and I’m wearing next to nothing. The wicked will forever sweat it out.

Here’s my Christmas post: a short B-movie about sweet flora revenge against the wrath of non-conservationists and the greed of the wealthy middle classes. It’s a Yuletide vengeance is mine tale told from the point of view of the pine Christmas trees, infused with a coal black sense of humour, and sporting some inventive special effects


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THE DELICATE AND EXQUISITE ART OF TORTURE - revisited

December 23rd 2009 01:03
The medieval rack torture device
I did a post nearly three years ago about the art of torture and execution devices, but my blog colleague Natalina over at Extraordinary Intelligence has posted a more comprehensive, and most delectably heinous array of medieval torture contraptions and devices that will have even the most hardened sadists salivating and champing at the bit!

These wood and metal inventions are enough to fuel a thousand nightmares of cruelty and agony. Click here to view Natalina’s witty and informative post, and exquisite (read: appallingly inhumane) collection of medieval torture/execution devices


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FRIDAY THE THIRTEENTH, TWENTY-OH-NINE

November 12th 2009 23:50
Suspiria movie poster detail
What is the state of the modern horror movie? What is there to be thankful for? What is there to look forward to? Are we in a time of progression or recession? Will the Darkness always be there?

The genre of horror in the history of cinema began in Germany, during the Expressionist Movement, and arguably was heralded – and still championed - with the release of Robert Weine’s oneiric tale of a crazed doctor and his somnambulist killer, the feature The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1919


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Three DIABOLICAL SHORTS for HALLOWEEN

October 29th 2009 22:57
Spooky halloween
“If it’s Halloween, it must be Saw.” So goes the tagline to the endless series of increasingly mindless and gutless (both figuratively and literally) installments in the ongoing “puzzle” of serial killer John Kramer aka Jigsaw. Well, with Saw VI just released, I guess it must be Halloween then. Woo hoo!

I’ve already reviewed Saw VI, ‘nuff said. However I recently watched the original short, Saw, that director James Wan and writer and actor Leigh Whannell made in an effort to woo Hollywood financiers so that they could make a feature version. The rest is lamentable history. Okay, so the first Saw (2004) is alright, although I’ve never actually reviewed it, but the sequels are truly punishing (pun intended


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Horrorphile on STATESIDE SOJOURN

August 31st 2009 00:17
New York City
This is a quick Statement to my subscribers and casual readers.

I am on a holiday in America for three weeks from tomorrow, visiting San Francisco and New York City, and thus will not be posting during this sojourn. I trust you can hang out in the Darkness until I return, it’s not that long. It’s a little scary on your own, I know, but never fear for I’ll be back with a rip-roaring vengeance


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Girls and Corpses

July 17th 2009 00:30
Gilrs and Corpses issue 4 cover
The same dodgy mate of mine that unearthed the disgusting snake-cam worm business in that North Carolina sewer just sent me a link to this relatively new publication, Girls & Corpses. Oh dear me! We both agreed: This is so wrong on so many levels. I found myself clicking on link after link after link on the online site like it was some kind of horrendous train wreck and I couldn’t get enough of surveying the carnage.

Girls and Corpses featuring Dawna of the Dead
But seriously, let’s get down to brass tacks; this kind of combo does nothing for me. Really. Truly. Deeply. I was never a fan of that English claptrap magazine Loaded, nor any of the others that followed in its sullied wake; Maxim, Ralph, FHM. Sure, I’ve been known to enjoy the scantily-clad, buxom, wannabe porn stars, er women, that spread-eagle themselves across their pages, but as for the combo of sex and gross-out humour, of boys toys and drinking games, it just bores me. I find most of it puerile and adolescent (I know, kinda hypocritical of me as I’m an adolescent-at-heart in other areas


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GROTESQUE UNIDENTIFIED LIFE FORM FOUND IN SEWER!

July 2nd 2009 01:45
Okay, this has to be seen to be believed! Oh my God! I’m so grossed out, and yet, utterly fascinated. It looks very convincing, meaning I don’t think it’s a special effects makeup job. But then again, in this day and age, who knows?! I'd like to think it's fake ...

The video clip was brought to my attention by an old friend of mine who’s always had a penchant for digging up the weird and … um … weirder. Cheers mate! You’ve outdone yourself this time, and thanks to youtube for providing the platform to expose this kind of freakydeaky shit. "Shit" being the operative word, since this is a snake-cam in a North Carolina sewer, and what the hell is it?! These unknown organisms seem to be from another world entirely


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