Only appropriate that on the day after George Romero’s 70th birthday, we look at the most awesomest scary movies of the past 10 years… especially since zombies seem to have dominated the list of great horror flicks during this decade.
Over the weekend, I’ll be posting spotlights of two great Philly bands that embrace the theatrical side of the horror genre, a fun and entertaining look at The Young Werewolves and a nostalgia piece of watching Mercury Radio Theater through the years. Check back on this snow filled weekend to read, comment, and enjoy!
Without further ado, in Letterman 10-to-1 style, here are my 10 favorite scary movies of the 2000s:
Honorable Mention: House of Wax (Creepy flick and Paris gets a spear through her head), 28 Weeks Later (A decent sequel to a great movie), Land of the Dead (Another great Romero flick in his tradition, except these zombies are getting much smarter), Diary of the Dead (One of the mockumentary style horror flicks that became popular again this decade, the only one worth a damn), House of 1000 Corpses (I like sequel even more, but consider it more of a road movie than a horror flick… both are quite chilling though), The Skeleton Key (Kate Hudson and creepy voodoo people in the South), and Silent Hill (Very scary and gory movie).
10. 13 Ghosts
Watch the trailer above... it's a fun, creepy remake of the 1961 cult classic. Matthew Lillard is quite convincing as a nerdy scientist on the verge of insanity. The guy from monk plays a good hero. The ghosts are quite creepy. Overall, a solid horror movie.
9. District 9
The reason this isn’t higher up is because it’s not truly a horror movie, but more of a Sci-Fi movie. That said, Wikus’s transformation into an alien is quite comparable to Goldblum’s in The Fly. That and lots of blood make the scary moments in this film quite horrifying.
Check out the original short film that the movie is based on:
8. Session 9
So, I’m not exactly sure why the number 9 is creepy, but it is apparently… ya know what else is scary? Listening to tapes of schizophrenics that turn out to be possessed by demons. Yeah.
7. Drag Me to Hell
Why should I write about this again? Go read my review and stop being lazy. Reading is fundamental.
6. The Ring
What’s scarier than a creepy dead girl crawling out of a TV?
5. 28 Days Later
The sense of impending doom that is always present in Romero zombie flicks gets worsened when the zombies no longer walk, but are inhumanly fast and strong. Scary scary scary… and since we all know that zombies will be coming one day, we should just pray that they are the George Romero kind and not these crazy brain-eaters!
Perhaps the best movie on this list as far as artistic quality, but not quite the scariest, in fact, there are 4 more that scare me much more.
4. Exorcism of Emily Rose
This picture says it all. This movie is absolutely terrifying:
This movie is really well done, the only one on here that rivals 28 Days in it’s overall quality as a feature film. It is part A Time to Kill, part The Exorcist, but better than either dreamed of being.
3. May
Not a big budget film or even very well known, but it has a killer soundtrack and takes the classic Frankenstein type story in a different direction. A modern day movie with a story that harkens to the storytelling of classic horror authors like Edgar Allan Poe. A must watch movie for fans of dark and twisted movies with laughs, screams, and lots of blood.
2. Repo! the Genetic Opera
A horror opera full of industrial music that kicks ass and a post-apocalyptic world to send chills up the spine of even the least squeamish among us. Paris Hilton, the dude who played Giles on the Buffy TV show, and King Capulet from the 1990’s Romeo and Juliet are among the talented cast. I think it’s still streaming on Netflix, so do yourself a favor and watch it while you are snowed in this weekend.
1. Planet Terror
You’ve likely seen the movie if you’ve spent the time to read this list. If not, you need to see this Robert Rodriguez gem. A star studded cast led heroic Rose McGowan and Freddie Rodriguez star in this intentionally poor quality B-Movie that does everything right. It’s scary, cheesy, funny, and bloody in all the right doses. Do yourself a favor if you haven’t seen it… avoid the other half of the Grindhouse feature, because it sucked.
Before you go, check out this extended scene below:
As I’m sure you can tell, it’s HORROR WEEK on TPM this week. The inspiration: Mob Zombie. The Mob is a hip hop collective of the living dead. They entertain while eating brains. They make you tap you toe and bounce your head, all the while scaring the life out of you… ok, maybe not exactly. But they do rock, in fact they know it, with references to being more rock than hip hop… chucks, Mohawks, and all that rock ISH.
Before I go on, I’d like to offer my theory on the cause of zombie-ism, at least the theory that I believe to have learned from The Mob: WEED. Apparently, smokin’ lots of weed can make you a zombie (which leads me to believe that my buddy keen and my cousin are likely zombies, as well). While this is never stated outright, I believe I’m not the only one who would come to this conclusion when rockin’ Join the Mob.
Ok, so I think based on what has been said so far, you can guess what the lyrical content of Join the Mob focuses on… if you haven’t caught on, the key points are zombies, brains, and marijuana. Marijuana is secondary to the zombie stuff, which is good since that’s what drew me to Mob Zombie to begin with. My hopes and dreams for this CD are fulfilled for sure… as much brains, eating flesh, and walking dead folks as one can ask for.
There is a story told throughout the CD, partially through the tracks filled with hot beats and B-Movie lyrics, but also through the news radio bits scattered throughout the CD. As with all good zombie stories, the dead run amuck; in this story, several major US cities are overrun and quarantined. The story is quite well done.
As far as the actual songs go, I have a few favorites. Hands down, my favorite track is “Zombies vs. Humans”. The backbeat is folky acoustic guitar with a phat drum beat. The chorus includes folk vocals that set a backdrop to this battle between the living and the dead.
Other standout tracks include “Mary’s Brains” (an R&B love song focusing on a different part of the body than what Al Green and Isaac Hayes were focusing on), “They Were Diggin’” (a track with one of my favorite verses on the album, “Hip hop sucks, that’s why I wear chucks”), “The Underground Funk”, and “I’m a Zombie”.
With hip hop that rocks like this, I may be willfully joining the mob sometime soon. I wonder if zombies can blog…
Ok, so I’ve been a slacker… nearly a week after the scheduled date of last Tuesday, I still haven’t had my final sitdown with Shael of the Rileys, but I will soon. Promise! Here’s what else is in store for my loyal TPM readers.
-I am sending the remixes to Cook tonight or tomorrow. Both he and I will give each a score of 1 to 10 (1-5 points for uniqueness and 1-5 points for sheer awesomeness), then we’ll choose the win by adding up the two scores and seeing who fares best. Tiebreakers will go to Uno Mas for final decision, even though I haven’t asked him yet. Winner unveiled on Monday, for this month’s mixtape!
-In addition to the winner of this contest, there is still some room on next month’s Monthly Mixtape which drops on Mixtape Monday (first Monday of each month). Holla!
-I have a few upcoming reviews: Weatherbox, Sebastien Grainger, and the85bears (for Decapolis. Perhaps, movie reviews of District 9 and Nerdcore Rising, as well. Read ‘em, love ‘em, live ‘em.
-I found this at Walmart today: PURE AWESOMENESS. Here’s what Mary Ellen Quinn has to say on Amazon.
This may be the most wacky by-product of the busy Jane Austen fan-fiction industry—at least among the spin-offs and pastiches that have made it into print. In what’s described as an “expanded edition” of Pride and Prejudice, 85 percent of the original text has been preserved but fused with “ultraviolent zombie mayhem.” For more than 50 years, we learn, England has been overrun by zombies, prompting people like the Bennets to send their daughters away to China for training in the art of deadly combat, and prompting others, like Lady Catherine de Bourgh, to employ armies of ninjas. Added to the familiar plot turns that bring Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy together is the fact that both are highly skilled killers, gleefully slaying zombies on the way to their happy ending. Is nothing sacred? Well, no, and mash-ups using literary classics that are freely available on the Web may become a whole new genre. What’s next? Wuthering Heights and Werewolves?
-Here’s a last minute shot at free music… if you go sign up for Hellogoodbye’s mailing list right now, you will get a free EP in your email tomorrow. I did it, so why don’t you?
-And… last, but certainly not least, there seems to be TONS going on at indie label Saddle Creek.. look back here later this week for some updates, including free tracks from great Saddle Creek bands!
While I had promised a weekend beerfest on TPM, I must apologize in saying that it will be postponed until Tuesday. Unfortunately, a busy schedule has postponed both some writing and some drinking, disallowing everything to be ready… however, Monday will bring you a review of The Rural Alberta Advantage and then TPM Beerfest will begin.
Tuesday through Saturday, all beer, all week. Same beers promised, plus a surprise third review, a 10 in 10 for next Friday, and a something a bit different on Saturday. Thanks for waiting, you won’t be sorry.
Later on today is the start of the TPM Beerfest weekend, beginning today with a 10 in 10 post focusing on warm weather beers. Tomorrow, we’ll explore the latest offering by Troeg’s and Sunday’s beer with be Labatt’s Honey Lager. Stay tuned to get your fill of some good beer!
Are you “Hungry Like the Wolf” for some great fast paced, toe tapping, sing along, punk influenced garage rock? Fan of bands like The Hives? Then The Young Werewolves are for you. This Philadelphia trio’s most recent LP, Cheat the Devil, is chock full of monster movie lyrics, catchy tunes, and gang vocals that make it impossible not to sing along.
The album is comprised of 13 album tracks and a special surprise 14th track. From the opening drums of “Hollywood”, it is evident that this, if nothing else, is a fun album. With a yell reminiscent of Howlin’ Pelle Almqvist, the track is full of piss and vinegar with lyrics about the Young Wolves taking over Hollywood and leaving it in a pile of rubble.
Other tracks follow a similar formula of driving rhythms, sing along choruses, and horror show lyrics, except for a few exceptions. Notably, the third track, “Devil Dancer Girl”, is more of a swing/rockabilly tune, but it still features the same overall quality. “Guns, Guns, Guns” is another track in this vein. An while these tracks are slower paced than others on the album, they aren’t slow at all, as the entire album is extremely upbeat, fun, and danceable.
There are a few standout tracks for me, “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” stands out because it has a killer spoken word intro by horror legend Sid Haig (who also happens to be the album’s producer). “Tattooed Aliens”, however, is my favorite album track. It’s got the classic horror punk sound, lyrics about weird aliens, and a great sing along chorus. Maybe I just love the track because of the fact I am also a tattooed freak, thepaintedman to be precise.
Lest us not forget that there is an awesome special track not listed in the liner notes to wrap up the entire album at track 14. I will reveal that it’s a cover song, but I’ve said too much about it already… you should experience it yourself.
Overall, a fun album that combines elements of rockabilly, surf, and a whole lot of horror punk to create a unique brand of garage rock comparable to the overall sound of The Hives, the monster lyrics of Blaster the Rocket Man, and the theatricality of another great Philly act, Mercury Radio Theater. A raucous, howl along album by a bad that the owww! in owwwtstanding.
The above picture is of my father’s day card from my son, Cash. It is a card by Jean Francis Bean that my wife got on Etsy. Etsy is awesome, it’s like the Amazon for awesome handmade and vintage stuff.
Anyway, here are some updates now that my incredible first Father’s Day is over.
To begin, let’s start with what’s coming up this week on TPM:
-My review of Lords of Chaos, a fantastic study of the Black Metal scene that I just re-read, should be up before I go to sleep tomorrow.
- The Young Werewolves most recent album Cheat the Devil is fantastic. A review will be up on Tuesday.
- A review of the self-titled EP by The Skylife will be posted on Wednesday.
- An interview with Art Wong and the Greenwood should be up on Thursday.
- Beginning this Friday, the 10 in 10 feature will become weekly-ish, hopefully as a Friday thing.
- I will also be getting a review up of Spin’s Purplish Rain FREE tribute to Prince. It comes out Tuesday… get it for on Spin’s website.
Here’s some other stuff coming up in the next few weeks or so:
- RAA and UUVVWWZ are on their way as I speak. Expect reviews of their stuff soon.
- For my metalhead readers, an interview with Culted of Relapse Records will be up in the coming weeks. Expect a review of their new album in early to mid July.
- Pioneer indie label Taang! is sending over new albums by Everybody Out! (featuring former Dropkick Murphys guitarist) and Evacuate. Expect reviews of both in the next few weeks.
-Expect a movie review or two thrown in this or next week. I did just watch Ultrachrist! this weekend. It will be hard to put it into words, but I’ll do my best.
Other cool stuff:
- I just started getting followed by a guy on Twitter in a group called Mob Zombie. How can hip-hop about zombies not be considered inexplicably rad? I hope to get in touch and get an interview and/or review hooked up soon.
Romero’s newest zombie flick follows suit in begging the viewer to contemplate some serious social questions while watching the type of decapitated zombie gore that only he can deliver.
I could review the plot, the effects, and/or any typical aspect a reviewer usually reviews… but why? You already know that Diary of the Dead was filmed in the same vein as Blair Witch and Cloverfield. You already know that Romero’s zombies are relatively slow moving and the effects in the past few years have been great in this genre. You already know Romero’s plots are mostly action driven, but woven with Dickens-eque exploration of social ills. So, I decided to talk more about what you don’t know about this film and what I, personally, took from it.
There were three main points I took from the film. The first two center around a phrase repeated throughout the movie, “This is too easy to use.” It is notably said about both a gun and a video camera. The first is a relatively self-explanatory advisory… as guns have become altogether too commonplace; it shouldn’t be easy to just pull the trigger when faced with life’s problems. But, the second is a more interesting theme to explore. The camera being “too easy to use” is just a small piece of a major theme in the movie, centering around the idea that atrocities life is much easier to digest when seen through a screen or a viewfinder.
Think about it, how desensitized do we become to murders, arsons, shootings, beatings, etc. when we watch them on TV? It is awfully easy to shrug it off after a few words or sympathy when we see the latest violent incident happening in our local city. We hide behind our sets, just living vicariously through movies, shows, and the news. None of it is real… but then again, it is. We are programmed to just let it all roll off and leave us unaffected. Whether behind the camera or watching the screen, life becomes easier to take when it’s entertainment rather than just life.
This segways nicely into the third of the three themes that struck me, the question in the title of this blog… “Is humanity worth saving?” (SPOILER ALERT) The final scene includes footage of two rednecks playing target practice with zombie carcasses. The ways in which they destroy and torture the bodies is more then questionable… it is completely inhuman. Defending oneself is one thing, using dead bodies for target practice and laughing about it is quite another. And what hits home about this scene is that we all know people who would have no qualms joining in this horrible activity. What’s more, I can identify people who have made comments about how they’d love to use convicts (people who are still alive, mind you) for their target practice. It wouldn’t be upsetting if I didn’t believe that they’d do it.
The third of these themes is what gets to me the most. There are many good people, but the evil in man always finds a way to rears its ugly face. Hope springs eternal, but not when it comes to Romero.
