Welcome to a new feature which aims to keep film buffs aware of interesting and varied ways to treasure their hobby each weekend. Interesting festivals, compelling documentaries, film podcasts, movie-making / writing competitions and recommendations for films showing either at the cinema or on television. The Weekend Film Fan will attempt to cover these areas in order to make sure you get the most out of your passion and interest in the world cinema. As the
31 Days of Horror draws to a close over the Halloween weekend I thought it'd be quite fitting to reward this week's article with a special horror theme.
TRIP TO THE CINEMA?
This weekend sees the release of Snore eh I mean
Saw 3D in nationwide cinemas. If ever a film didn't need more defined visuals then it is this excessively bloody, gimmick laden franchise which has truly made a mockery out of the inventive and compelling original film. There are only
thirteen reviews on rotten tomatoes thus far but signs are not looking good with eleven negative reviews giving the film a poor early rating of 15% fresh. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nVQZIJr6z2g For those who haven't seen
Paranormal Activity 2 yet then
Tod Williams' film could be a better option for your frights. The film has a
62% approval rate on RT with positive reviews from the likes of the
Daily Telegraph and although there are a fair number of early skeptics who were more inclined to agree with the view of
OWF's Shaun Munro who described the film as lacking the visceral thrills of the original. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07XbSk7Rjt4
HORROR AT HOME
If you are a horror fan and neither of these two mainstream releases really take your fancy then the good news is that there is plenty of intriguing viewing to look forward to on your couch.
Sky Horror are broadcasting a special Halloweend weekend which is pretty much dedicated to Hannibal Lecter. Some of the key picks from Saturday include
The Faculty (17:50),
Manhunter (21:00) and
The Silence of the Lambs (23:10). That sounds like a good night in to me. On Halloween night itself you can look forward to
The Lost Boys (17:00),
Hannibal (21:00) and
Red Dragon (23:15). Tom Harris must be loving the syndication rights coming his way over the weekend!
Alternatively on Sunday night E4 are rebroadcasting their fun countdown of the
100 Greatest Scary Moments which is well presented by comedian Jimmy Carr. The input from the likes of
John Carpenter, Wes Craven and
William Friedkin is interesting and informative but the excessive amount of taking heads can get a bit repetitive especially when you start to recognise the usual crew of desperate and irritating celebrities. Nonetheless this is an entertaining special which features a range of clips from film, television, music videos and documentaries. Shame its not a fresh update but for horror fans its still always worth a watch.
ONLINE RECOMMENDATIONS
If you are in the mood for watching some older classics then you could do a lot worse than seeking out some unedited and copyright free horror films on offer at you tube Here are some links below to a few choice picks.
CARNIVAL OF SOULS A surreal, low budget horror which relies very much on subtle chills and clever use of sound and staging. It's an obscure film but definitely worth ones patience. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exUFpSFblaw
THE CABINET OF DOCTOR CALIGARI - A German horror classic which gave rise to the device of the unreliable narrator in quite brilliant fashion. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrg73BUxJLI
NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD - A low budget horror classic with an important undercurrent of racial and social statements. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BBc18J5cUcs
HOWLING ALL HORROR WRITERS!
For fellow horror writers out there you might be interested in entering a short story contest for a new magazine entitled
The Dark Moon Digest. The story can be related to any subject within the horror genre with a word count between 1500 and 4000 words. The pros and cons of this competition both appear to be the same in that whilst there is no entry fee to submit your work there is also no financial reward if your story is chosen. However the appeal of seeing your work in printed form probably makes this contest worthwhile if you feel that you have a scary story within you. If this sounds like something you might be interested in then please follow
this link for more details: Dark Moon Digest are also offering up more specific competitions for
the vampire genre and for a short story about
monsters. Both these competitions offer potential financial prizes but also cost a small amount to enter.
AUDIO!
Anyone who is a big fan of
The Fly will probably be reminiscent of a kid in a candy store with
Horror Etc's recent podcast which discusses the origins of the initial playboy story before going on to dissect the various film installments including the 1958 original (starring legendary horror icon
Vincent Price) and
David Cronenberg's 1986 revamp which is often referred to as one of the more impressive horror remakes. That's all for today's installment. Here's wishing you a happy Halloween weekend.