Post
by Lillith » Sun Oct 02, 2011 11:31 am
Ginger Snaps (2000)
Director: John Fawcett; Starring Emily Perkins, Katharine Isabelle
For a horror sub-genre that is given scant attention, my list has two solid werewolf movies, both released in the past three years. However, whereas Dog Soldiers is an action packed werewolf gorefest, Ginger Snaps is a movie that is driven by characters and story. Two sisters, Brigitte and Ginger, are approaching puberty together. As best friends, the two often lament on their lives and talk about killing themselves together. When Ginger is bitten by a werewolf, their relationship begins to change. Ginger develops an animal-like lust, and gets a boyfriend. The two sisters spend less and less time together. However, as the full moon approaches, Ginger’s behavior becomes even more erratic – and dangerous. If you can imagine combining a teenage-angst comedy with a werewolf horror film, that is what you have in Ginger Snaps. The movie does a good job of addressing the change into adulthood from a female perspective (not that I know anything about that, personally) and has plenty of comedy sprinkled in along with the horror. This is a great example of how to make a good movie on a low budget.
Honogurai Mizu No Soko Kara (2002)
Director: Hideo Nakata; Starring: Hitomi Kuroki, Rio Kanno
One of the most recent movies by director Hideo Nakata, Honogurai… is an atmospheric horror film done in the same style as Nakata’s more famous film, The Ring. After her divorce, Yoshima Matsubara and her 5 year-old daughter move into a new apartment to begin anew. Almost immediately, strange things begin happening. Water drips from the ceiling of the apartment, despite attempts to fix it. Yoshima finds her daughter carrying a small red bag with another child’s name on it, even after she throws the bag away. Her daughter creates an imaginary friend that eerily has the same name as a missing child from the area. Nakata tells a classic ghost story here, and does so masterfully. Similar to The Ring, Honogurai… relies on the slow building of atmosphere before hitting us with a shocking climax. Though this movie might be too slow for some, it has many frightening moments and has a truly creepy atmosphere throughout. Sadly, this is one that has not been released in the U.S. I have seen it listed under the alternative title of Dark Water, which makes me think it was released in English somewhere. I have not seen such a version, however.
The Entity (1981): The Entity stars Barbara Hershey as Carla Moran, a woman who is attacked, beaten and raped by an unseen force. She struggles to figure out what is happening to her. She seeks the help of a psychiatrist, and later, a parapsychologist, in an attempt to put an end to the attacks. Is she going mad? Is all of this really happening? The movie is supposedly based on a true story. The movie is great, chilling, disturbing and very good! I love Barbara Hershey in this role. She is remarkable!
(From Google)
Skin all bone-china white
O you were a vampire
And I may never see the light