Fright Night!

Since I was about 6 years old, I have absolutely loved horror movies. After catching my first scary flick, Friday The 13th, I have been enthralled with having the crap scared out of me. Now, the genre is stuffed to the gills with some really, really horrible movies. I have sat through countless hours of shite trying to get a good scare (side note: hands down, worst "horror" movie I ever sat through was The Human Centipede. I wanted to break things after that piece of crap). This week I watched 1 really superb horror movie, and 2 pretty decent ones, so I thought I'd pass them along.

First up, is The Cabin in the Woods. I know I am just one of thousands of people who are jumping on this movie's bandwagon, but the movie is really that damn good. Joss Whedon nailed the genre here, and while it is not over the top scary, The Cabin in the Woods has its moments, and is fucking hilarious to boot. See it in the theaters, and I guarantee you will not be disappointed.

"Whedon described the film as an attempt to revitalize the horror genre which he, along with director/co-writer Goddard, felt had "devolved" with the introduction of  "torture porn" (Saw, Hostel). He called it a "loving hate letter" to the genre, continuing:

On another level it's a serious critique of what we love and what we don't about horror movies. I love being scared. I love that mixture of thrill, of horror, that objectification/identification thing of wanting definitely for the people to be alright but at the same time hoping they’ll go somewhere dark and face something awful. The things that I don't like are kids acting like idiots, the devolution of the horror movie into torture porn and into a long series of sadistic comeuppances. Drew and I both felt that the pendulum had swung a little too far in that direction^{." - wikipedia}

 Watch The Cabin in the Woods streaming online

Now, my favorite type of horror movies are ones that deal with demonic possession. Maybe I'm intrigued by the idea of Satan taking over a person because my butt spent too much time in a church pew when I was younger? Regardless, they're my favorite go-to in the genre. The Exorcist is still the best in the bunch, and one of my favorite movies of all time. Possession movies have seen an uptick in the past few years (The Rite, The Last Exorcism, The Possession of Emily Rose, etc) and most are decent. While panned by critics as absolutely horrible, I did enjoy 2012's The Devil Inside. Available now on dvd after a very short theatrical release in January, The Devil Inside is in the vein of "found footage documentaries" that have been making the rounds since The Blair Witch Project and Paranormal Activity. Th story deals with a young woman who goes to Rome's Exorcism College (which really exists by the way) to find out more about exorcisms after her mother kills 3 clergy members during a botched exorcism. Cast with unknowns, and shot mostly on location in Rome, the movie has it shares of really intense chills. While the ending left a bit to be desired, I still think this deserves a watch.

Watch The Devil Inside streaming online.


Sequels are usually the bane of any horror movie enthusiast, and by the time a studio has gotten to the 3rd, 4th, or 5th movie in a series, they are usually a hot, schlocky mess. I tend to shy away from sequels, but I decided to take a chance on Paramount's Paranormal Activity 3. I enjoyed the first two entries of this series, but i do have to say that I believe Paranormal Activity 3 is far superior to its predecessors. PA3 tells the story of the sisters from the first movies, and how the "entity" that has plagued them came into their early lives. I think I enjoy this entry better than the others because watching young children get harassed by an evil spirit is way more frightening than watching adults make stupid decisions. Shot once again using "fond footage" of home movies and video surveillance, PA3 is worth a watch.

 Watch Paranormal Activity 3 streaming online