Yet another All Hallow’s Eve has come and gone. I hope you enjoyed this year’s run of diabolical dread and devilish distress. This year we revisited some old favorites, conjured up some new scares, and assailed our ears with terrifying…
Genre deconstruction has become quite chic in the years following Wes Craven’s reflexive horror classic, Scream. It gave a boost to the horror genre, which was then immediately slogged with cheap spoofs, high-profile remakes and at least two new sub-genres: found footage and the unfortunate and aptly-named torture porn.
The Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull of Scream movies. The one that really shouldn’t have been made. It’s a pity because the story is ripe for parody after eleven years of audiences being fed warmed-up leftovers as fresh meat. It’s a remake that skewers remakes, which isn’t as ironic as the filmmakers intended.
Unfairly derided by critics, this film may lack the suspense of the first film, but with its tongue delicately planted in its cheek, it manages to poke fun not only at horror films but at the process of turning a real-life tragedy into tawdry terror. The series is completely through the looking glass now, told in parallel with the production of the latest movie-within-a-movie, Stab 3
As clever as its predecessor, with an opening sequence every bit as horrifying. The self-aware references to sequels carry the film throughout and the scares are genuinely frightening and, in the case of the prologue, downright disturbing.
Following on the heels of his very-meta New Nightmare, horror veteran Wes Craven serves up a reflexive revival of the diluted and nigh-dead slasher subgenre. With Scream, he reinvigorated the conventions of horror even as he simultaneously skewered and savored them.
Wrap-up It’s been a fantastic Halloween month. I hope you enjoyed the daily selection of films chosen for this years fright film fest. Below is a listing of all the films highlighted this year. I hope you had a Happy…
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