http://www.classichorrormovie.net en-us Tue, 06 Jan 2009 15:24:37 -0500 http://www.classichorrormovie.net/a-nightmare-on-elm-street/ A Nightmare on Elm Street is an American horror franchise that consists of eight slasher films, a television show, novels, and comic books initially developed by Wes Craven, with a variety of other individuals taking over those jobs for each sequel. The franchise is based on the fictional character of Freddy Krueger, who stalks and kills teenagers in their dreams when they are sleeping; if Freddy kills the teenager in the dream world then they are ultimatley killed in the real world. His motives were to seek revenge on their parents, who had burned him alive years before the events of the first Nightmare film. The original film was written and directed by Craven, who returned to co-script the second sequel, A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987), and to write and direct New Nightmare (1994).

The original film was released in 1984, and following its success a series of sequels was produced by the independent film company New Line Cinema. New Line often attributes the growth of their company to the success of the Nightmare franchise. The film series as a whole has received mixed reviews by critics, but has been a financial success at the box office. When comparing the United States box office grosses of other American horror film series, A Nightmare on Elm Street is the third highest grossing franchise in adjusted US dollars.

In 1988, a television series were produced with Freddy as the host. The pilot episode concentrated on the night Freddy was burned alive by the angry parents of the children he had killed, though the rest of the series featured episodes with independent plots. Eight novels and a long-running comic book series were published featuring Freddy Krueger.

The original film, written and directed by Wes Craven and titled A Nightmare on Elm Street, was released in 1984. The story focuses on Freddy Krueger attacking Nancy Thompson (Heather Langenkamp) and her friends in their dreams, successfully killing all but Nancy. Krueger’s back-story is revealed by Nancy’s mother, who explains he was a child murderer whom the parents of Springwood killed after Krueger was acquitted of police charges on a technicality. Nancy defeats Freddy by pulling him from the dream world, into the real world, and strips him of his powers when she stops being afraid of him.[4] Freddy returns to attack the new family living in Nancy Thompson's house, the Walshs, in 1985's A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge. Freddy possesses the body of Jesse Walsh (Mark Patton), using him to kill. Jesse is saved by his girlfriend Lisa (Kim Myers), who helps Jesse fight, and break free from Krueger's spirit.

Wes Craven returned to give Freddy life for a third time in A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors, released in 1987. In the second sequel, Freddy is systematically killing the last of the Elm Street children. The few remaining children have been placed in Westin Hills Mental Institution, for reasons of "attempted suicide". Nancy Thompson arrives at Westin Hills as a new intern, and realizes the children are being killed by Freddy. With the help of Dr. Neil Gordon (Craig Wasson), Nancy helps Kristen (Patricia Arquette), Joey (Rodney Eastman), Taryn (Jennifer Rubin), Kincaid (Ken Sagoes), and Will (Ira Heiden) find their dream powers, so they can kill Freddy once and for all. Neil, unknowingly until the end, meets the spirit of Freddy’s mother, Amanda Krueger (Nan Martin), who instructs him to bury Freddy’s remains in hallowed ground in order to stop him for good. Neil completes his task, but not before Freddy kills Nancy. The story of Kristen Parker would continue with 1988's A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master. This time, Kristen (Tuesday Knight) unwittingly releases Freddy, who immediately kills Kincaid and Joey. Before Freddy can kill Kristen, she transfers her dream powers to Alice (Lisa Wilcox), a friend from school. Alice begins inadvertently providing victims for Freddy when she begins pulling people into her dreams while she sleeps. Alice, who begins taking on traits of the friends who were murdered, confronts Freddy. She uses the power of the Dream Master to release all the souls Freddy has taken; afterward they rip themselves from Freddy’s body, killing him in the process. Picking up shortly after the events of The Dream Master, A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child involves Freddy using Alice’s unborn child, Jacob (Whitby Hertford), to resurrect himself and find new victims. The spirit of Amanda Krueger (Beatrice Boepple) returns, revealing that Freddy was conceived when she, a nun working in a mental asylum, was accidentally locked in a room with "100 maniacs" and raped "hundreds of times". Amanda Krueger convinces Jacob to use the powers he was given by Freddy against him, which gives her the chance to subdue Freddy long enough for Alice and Jacob to escape the dream world.

1991's Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare followed the exploits of "John Doe" (Shon Greenblatt), an amnesiac teenager from Springwood, who was sent out to find Freddy's daughter Maggie (Lisa Zane), whom he requires to leave Springwood. Freddy's objective is to invent a new "Elm Streets", and begin a new killing spree after having killed all of the children in Springwood. Maggie, utilizing new dream techniques, uncovers Krueger’s past, which include: being taunted by schoolmates for being the "son of 100 maniacs", being cruel to animals, beaten by his stepfather, the murder of his own wife when she discovers he has been killing children, and the moment when the Dream Demons arrive in his boiler room to make him the offer of eternal life. Finally, Maggie pulls Freddy out of the dream world, and uses a pipe bomb to blow him up. Wes Craven returned to the Nightmare series a third time with New Nightmare in 1994. This film concentrates on a fictional "reality", where Craven, Langenkamp, and Englund all play themselves, and where the character of Freddy Krueger is really an evil entity that has been trapped in the realm of fiction by all the movies that have been made. Since the movies have stopped, the entity, which likes being Freddy Krueger, is trying to escape into the real world. The only person in its way is Heather Langenkamp, whom the entity sees as "Nancy" — the first person who defeated him. Craven makes clear to Langenkamp the only way to keep the entity contained is for her to "play Nancy one last time". Langenkamp pursues "Krueger", who has kidnapped her son, into the dream world as "Nancy". There, she and her son trap Krueger in a furnace until he is finally destroyed. In 2003, New Line pitted Friday the 13th's Jason Voorhees against Freddy Krueger. The film clarifies that Freddy Krueger has grown weak as people in Springwood, his home, have suppressed their fear of him. Freddy, who is impersonating Pamela Voorhees, the mother of Jason Voorhees, sends Jason (Ken Kirzinger) to Springwood to cause panic and fear. Jason accomplishes this, but refuses to stop killing. A battle ensues in both the dream world and Crystal Lake between the two villians. The winner is left ambiguous, as Jason surfaces from the lake holding Freddy's severed head, which winks and laughs. ]]> Thu, 22 May 2008 07:00:17 -0400 http://www.classichorrormovie.net/a-nightmare-on-elm-street/ http://www.classichorrormovie.net/frankenstein/ The classic and definitive horror film of all time, director James Whale's Frankenstein (1931) is the screen version of Mary Shelley's Gothic 1818 nightmarish novel of the same name (Frankenstein; Or, The Modern Prometheus). The film, with Victorian undertones, was produced by Carl Laemmle Jr. for Universal Pictures, the same year that Dracula (1931), another classic horror film, was produced within the same studio - both films helped to save the beleaguered studio.

The film's name originated from the mad, obsessed scientist, Dr. Henry Frankenstein (Colin Clive), who experimentally creates an artificial life - an Unnamed Monster (Boris Karloff), that ultimately terrorizes the Bavarian countryside after being mistreated by his maker's assistant Fritz and society as a whole. The film's most famous scene is the one in which Frankenstein befriends a young girl named Maria at a lake's edge, and mistakenly throws her into the water (and drowns her) along with other flowers.

In addition to this film, lots of other adaptations have been made of the Frankenstein horror story (and lots of other variations such as Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948), Frankenstein Meets the Space Monster (1965), Mel Brooks' Young Frankenstein (1974) (shot in the same castle and with the same props and lab equipment as the original film), and Frankenhooker (1990)).

Originally, the famed Dracula actor Bela Lugosi was cast as the Monster, and French director Robert Florey was assigned to direct. But after various screen tests, Lugosi refused the part, and Universal chose Britisher James Whale to direct. Significantly, this film then launched the career of unknown actor Boris Karloff, who is surprisingly uncredited in the opening credits of the film as the Monster. In the beginning credits titled "The Players," the Monster is listed fourth, with a question mark after its name. In the end credits, however, where the cast list is prefaced by - "a good cast is worth repeating...," the Monster is listed fourth with BORIS KARLOFF's name following. Karloff's performance is remarkable - his acting communicated a hint of the pitiful humanity of the grotesque Monster behind its hideous, stitched and bolted-together body.

The film plot
Dr. Henry Frankenstein (Colin Clive), an enthusiastic young scientist, and his assistant Fritz (Dwight Frye), a devoted hunch-back, piece together a human body, the parts of which have been secretly collected from various sources. Frankenstein's consuming desire is to create human life through various electrical devices which he has perfected.

Elizabeth (Mae Clarke), his fiancée, is worried to distraction over his peculiar actions. She cannot understand why he isolates himself in an abandoned watch tower, which he has equipped as a laboratory, and refuses to see anyone. She and her friend, Victor Moritz (John Boles), go to Dr. Waldman (Edward Van Sloan), his old medical professor, and ask Dr. Waldman's help in reclaiming the young scientist from his absorbing experiments. Elizabeth, intent on rescuing Frankenstein, arrives just as the eager young medico is making his final tests. They all watch Frankenstein and the hunchback as they raise the dead creature on an operating table, high into the room, toward an opening at the top of the laboratory. Then a terrific crash of thunder—the crackling of Frankenstein's electric machines—and the hand of Frankenstein's monster begins to move.

The manufactured monster (Boris Karloff), a strangely hideous, grotesque, inhuman form, is held in a dungeon in the watch tower. Through Fritz's error, a criminal brain was secured for Frankenstein's experiments which result in the monster knowing only hate, horror and murder. It has the strength of ten men. Suddenly, there is an unearthly, terrifying shriek from the dungeon. Frankenstein and Dr. Waldman rush in to find the monster has strangled Fritz. The monster makes a lunge at the two, but they escape. As the monster breaks through the door, Dr. Waldman injects a powerful drug into the monster's back and he sinks to the floor.

Dr. Waldman tries to destroy the unconscious creature which, however, awakens and strangles him. It escapes from the tower and wanders through the landscape. It then has a short encounter with a little farmer's daughter, Maria, who asks him to play a game with her where they would throw flowers into the lake so they appeared like little boats. As the monster takes much pleasure in the game and his playmate, it picks up the little girl and throws her into the lake in a playful sort of way and as he becomes aware of the consequences of his careless doing tries to get a hold of her, unsuccessfully. The creature then walks off troubled.

With preparations for the wedding completed, Frankenstein is once again himself and serenely happy with Elizabeth. They are to marry as soon as Dr. Waldman arrives. Suddenly, Victor rushes in, saying that the Doctor has been found strangled in his operating room. Frankenstein suspects the monster. A chilling scream convinces him that the fiend is in the house. The monster has gained access to Elizabeth's room. When the searchers arrive, they find her unconscious on the bed. The monster has escaped. He is only intent upon destroying Frankenstein.

Leading an enraged band of peasants, Frankenstein searches the surrounding country for the monster. He becomes separated from the band and is discovered by the monster, who springs at his prey and carries him off to the old mill. The peasants hear his cries and follow. Finally reaching the mill, they find the monster has climbed to the very top, dragging Frankenstein with him. Suddenly, in a burst of rage, he hurls the young scientist to the ground ( Frankenstein is actually trying to escape the monster, it is trying to pull him back over the railing but loses its grip). His fall, broken by the vanes of the windmill, saves him from instant death. Some of the villagers hurry him to his home while the others remain to burn the mill and destroy the entrapped monster.

Later, back at Frakenstein Castle, Frankenstein's father, Baron Frankenstein (Frederick Kerr) celebrates the wedding of his recovered son with a toast to a future grandchild. ]]> Fri, 18 Apr 2008 13:00:50 -0400 http://www.classichorrormovie.net/frankenstein/ http://www.classichorrormovie.net/halloween-film/ Halloween is a horror film saga created by John Carpenter in 1978, with the financially successful independent horror film Halloween released on October 25, 1978 — became one of the most profitable independent films ever made and considered an icon and pop culture phenomenon in the horror genre, and spawned a long line of slasher films, well into the 1980s and 1990s. It spawned eight more feature films, including a remake in 2007, and an extensive collection of comics, books, and other merchandise. It was rated the number one horror film of all time by Moviefone in October 2007. In February 2008 it was confirmed that there will be a sequel to the Rob Zombie remake; however, Rob Zombie will not be directing.

All films, with the exception of Halloween III, feature Michael Myers as the villain. Myers has become one of the most iconic horror film villains, and is known for his silent gestures, slow-pace movement, heavy breathing, emotionless mask and the large kitchen knife he usually uses as his weapon of choice.

Halloween.
First released in 1978, was produced on a budget of only $325,000 and grossed $56 million at the box office in the United States, becoming the highest-grossing independent movie of all time... until The Blair Witch Project. Many critics credit this film as the first in a long line of slasher films inspired by Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho (1960). The movie originated many of the clichés seen in low-budget horror films of the 1980s and 1990s, although first-time viewers of Halloween may be surprised by the fact that the film contains little actual graphic violence or gore.

Critics have suggested that Halloween and its slasher film successors may encourage sadism and misogyny. Others have suggested the film is a social critique of the immorality of young people in 1970s America, pointing out that many of Myers' victims are sexually promiscuous and substance abusers, while the lone heroine is depicted as chaste and innocent. While Carpenter dismisses these analyses, the perceived parallel between the characters' moral strengths and their likelihood of surviving to the film's conclusion has nevertheless become a standard slasher movie trope.

An odd side note on the mask worn by the character of Michael Myers' is that it was cast from the likeness of the renowned Canadian actor William Shatner. According to the Internet Movie Database "Due to its shoestring budget, the prop department had to use the cheapest mask that they could find in the costume store: a Captain Kirk (William Shatner) mask. They later spray-painted the face white, teased out the hair, and reshaped the eye holes."

Halloween II.
Halloween's major success led to a sequel. In 1981, Moustapha Akkad, executive producer of the original film, sold the film rights to maverick producer Dino De Laurentiis, though Akkad was still actively involved in production of any films that used those rights. Later that year, De Laurentiis released Halloween II in partnership with Universal Pictures. The film was written by John Carpenter, but this time directed by Rick Rosenthal; Carpenter was busy working on "The Fog." It was designed to pick up precisely where the 1978 original left off, in fact taking place on the same night the original movie ended. At the time, this sequel was intended to be the final chapter of the series.

Critics generally agreed it was not of the same caliber as its predecessor. Carpenter himself was extremely displeased with the end result, describing it as "about as scary as an episode of Quincy." Carpenter confirmed that he reshot many of the scenes, but refused on-screen credit as co-director because of his disappointment with the finished product.

The film's score was a variation of John Carpenter compositions from Halloween, particularly the main theme's familiar piano melody played in a 5/4 time rhythm. The score was performed on a synthesizer organ rather than a piano. One reviewer for the BBC described the revised score as having "a more gothic feel." The reviewer asserts that it "doesn’t sound quite as good as the original piece," but "it still remains a classic piece of music." Carpenter performed the score with the assistance of Alan Howarth, who had previously been involved in Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979) and would continue to work with Carpenter on projects such as Escape from New York (1981), The Thing (1982) and Christine (1983).

The film featured the song "Mr. Sandman" performed by The Chordettes. Reviewers commented on the decision to include this song in the film, calling the selection "interesting" and "not a song you would associate with a film like this." The song worked well to "mimic Laurie’s situation (sleeping a lot), the once innocent sounding lyrics seem threatening in a horror film." Nonetheless, another critic saw the inclusion of the song as "inappropriate" and asked, "What was that about?"

The film, however, departs significantly from the original by incorporating more graphic violence and gore, making it imitate more closely other films in the emerging splatter film sub-genre. Still, Halloween II was not as successful as the original, grossing only $25.5 million at the box office in the United States despite its $2.5 million budget.

Halloween III: Season of the Witch.
The third film in the series, Halloween III: Season of the Witch, was released in 1982, also by Universal Pictures. It was directed by Tommy Lee Wallace, with John Carpenter only acting as producer. While the first sequel was a direct continuation to the original story, Halloween III is an entirely unrelated film, with the characters in the film watching Carpenter's Halloween on television. The plot focuses on the investigation into the activities of a mysterious owner of the Silver Shamrock Novelties company, in the week approaching Halloween night.

Besides wholly abandoning the Michael Myers plotline, Halloween III departs from the slasher film genre which the original Halloween spawned in 1978. The focus on a psychotic killer is replaced by a "mad scientist and witchcraft" theme. Moreover, the frequency of graphic violence and gore is less than that of Halloween II (1981), although scenes that depict the deaths of characters remain intense.

Produced on a budget of $2.5 million, Halloween III grossed $14.4 million at the box office in the United States, making it the poorest performing film in the Halloween series at the time. In addition to weak box office returns, most critics gave the film negative reviews. Where Halloween had broken new ground and was imitated by many genre films following in its wake, this third installment seemed hackneyed to many: one critic suggests that if Halloween III was not part of the Halloween series, then it would simply be "a fairly nondescript eighties horror flick, no worse and no better than many others." Cultural and film historians, on the other hand, have read significance into the film's plot, linking it to critiques of large corporations and American consumerism.

Post-Carpenter sequels. John Carpenter was not involved in the making of these films. In 1988, the tenth anniversary of the release of the original movie, Moustapha Akkad bought back the rights to the series from Dino De Laurentiis, and produced Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers. Directed by Dwight H. Little, the film stars Ellie Cornell as Rachel Carruthers, Donald Pleasence as Dr. Loomis, Danielle Harris as Jamie Lloyd, and George P. Wilbur as Michael Myers.
The film, which was released independently, brought both murderer Michael Myers and Dr. Loomis back from their graves. The success of this sequel inspired a follow-up the next year, Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers, also released independently. Michael's target in both films is his niece, Laurie's daughter Jamie Lloyd (Danielle Harris). It was directed by Dominique Othenin-Girard and starred Donald Pleasence, who again portrayed Dr. Sam Loomis. The original music score was composed by Alan Howarth. The film was marketed with the tagline "Michael lives. And this time they're ready!"

Halloween 6: The Curse of Michael Myers is a 1995 horror film and the sixth installment in the Halloween series. It stars Donald Pleasence (in his final film appearance as Dr. Sam Loomis) and Paul Rudd, who went on to mainstream success in such films as 1995's Clueless and 2004's The 40-Year-Old Virgin. The original music score was again composed by long-time Halloween contributor Alan Howarth and executive produced by the late Moustapha Akkad. The plot of the film largely involes the "Curse of Thorn", a mystical mark, which is the source of Michael Myers' believed evil."

The Curse of Michael Myers was the first of four Halloween films to be produced by Akkad and his son Malek under an exclusive production and distribution pact with Dimension Films. The film was marketed with the taglines: "Six Times the Terror... Six Times the Fear... Six Times the Thrills of the original Halloween" and "Terror Never Rests in Peace". ]]> Sun, 16 Mar 2008 14:13:59 -0400 http://www.classichorrormovie.net/halloween-film/