Category: 31 Days of Horror

Each October, I watch and review 31 horror movies during 31 Days of Horror Cinema at the expense of my mental well being.

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31 Days of Horror Cinema

Deep Rising: 31 Days of Horror

Deep Rising

#1. Deep Rising (1998)

deep rising posterNature of Shame:
Unseen Treat Williams? Is that a thing? How about unseen Famke Janssen?

Hoop-tober Challenge Checklist:
Decade: 1990’s
Anniversary Film (’98)
Aquatic Menace

This rose from the depths of my Netflix queue to satisfy multiple categories this Hooptober. You’ve got to start Hooptober strong because sooner or later, you’re just going to toss in that new box set of Invisible Man movies and have a go — but that won’t satisfy any of those requirements. You don’t want to put yourself in a pickle on October 31st.

Deep Rising was released the January of my Freshman year at college, so I wasn’t exactly on top of the new box office releases. Plus, look at that poster art. Just dreadful. You have no idea what’s going on there. Still, it doesn’t hold a candle to the suckage that is the next attempt at selling Deep Rising.

deep rising poster

What the fresh hell is that? A movie about undersea tentacle creatures on a cruise ship and you get Treat Williams riding a jet ski with a barely visible Famke Janssen on his back. “They’ve Seized The World’s Richest Ship… But No One’s Onboard!”

I’ll make my point brief. I’m going to tell you why nobody went to see your movie. If you want to sell a movie about undersea tentacle creatures don’t give me Treat Williams on a jet ski and no sight of said tentacle creatures. As far as I know this is time traveling Treat Williams escaping the Titanic. And guess what? This came out immediately after Titanic.

Deep Rising Elevator Pitch

Evil hijackers hijack Han Treat Solo Williams and his Millennium Catamaran and board a luxury ocean liner in the South Pacific because they smelled cash. Except it wasn’t cash but a collection of massive, tentacled man-hungry Sea-Gee-I monsters. Seeeee what I did there?? Sea-Gee-I??

Deep Rising

Did You Say Monsters?

I’m ahead of myself. You shouldn’t get to see monsters right away. Let’s rewind to these folks — your Deep Rising stars, a veritable who’s who of 90’s budgetary casting because we spent all the money on soon-to-be-dated, but not ineffective special effects.

deep rising 1998

Stephen Sommers has a knack of marshaling CGI nonsense into some brand of imaginative matinee entertainment. Hrmmm… that didn’t sound quite right. Let me rephrase that a bit. Stephen Sommers, during a brief two-year period in the late 90’s, marshaled a bunch of CGI nonsense into two particularly entertaining monster movies called Deep Rising and The Mummy.

Waterlogged

Before The Mummy‘s blockbuster success spawned a franchise and a spinoff, Deep Rising grossed $11million on a $45million budget. Ouch. Deep Rising‘s biggest faux pas was blending in with the other gaggle of undersea creature features such as Deep Blue Sea and some other stuff I’ve surely forgotten because they all seem like the same movie. Undersea monster movies have a look.

deep rising 1998

Deep Rising holds up better than most. Some might call it atmosphere. Some might call it claustrophobia. I’ll just call it awareness. It’s aware of its own limitations and for the most part plays to its strengths. Treat Williams doing a Han Solo impersonation works. Famke Janssen in a tight red dress — fun for the whole family. Engaging cast of familiar players in supporting roles. And a smattering of gory practical effects to enhance the monstrous binary code.

deep rising 1998

Sidenote: I’d be remiss, however, if I didn’t take a moment to direct you to watch Below (2002), David Twohy’s under-sea(n) masterpiece about strange happenings on a WWII submarine. I’m sorry. I couldn’t help myself even though that’s a massive reach for another water-based pun. That said, Deep Rising and Below are also connected by supporting actor Jason Flemyng — a good “that guy” with 120+ credits to his name.

Jason Flemyng in Below (2002)

Monster Mash

It’s easy to dismiss Deep Rising as just another Alien clone — because really aren’t all of these creature-infestation sci-fi horror films based on the Alien DNA? It’s unavoidable, but because we’re so well versed in the genre we know when these films strike a sour note. The downside is that because we’re so familiar with the formula, it’s easier to look beyond a movie that gets it (mostly) right.

Some of those one-liners definitely caused me pause, but it’s the 90’s — what are you going to do? Sacrifice Famke Janssen for a few more bits of choice dialogue? I hardly think so.

Famke Janssen should have been a bigger deal.

The monsters become the best and biggest problem with Deep Rising’s premise. They seem like a kitchen-sink beast filled with anything and everything available. As George Lucas demonstrated in the Star Wars prequels, CGI’s permissiveness when it comes to scope and scale can ultimately be a detriment. The octopus/shark/xenomorph things mingle and menace according to the needs of the scene.  As computer generated creatures, that lack of weakness or definite shape becomes a limitation and only calls attention to their weightlessness. Forced creature creativity and a greater use of practical effects would have gone a long way towards making this more than a silly (but fun) creature feature.

Final Deep Rising Thoughts

If you like your Alien with a side of corn, Deep Rising offers plenty of simple genre pleasures. If you weren’t a moviewatcher in the 1990’s these special effects might rip you out of the adventure — an adventure I might add that culminates with Treat Williams on a jet ski flying through the wreckage of a modern day Titanic.

Deep Rising Rating:

Availability:

deep rising kino blu-ray

Kino Studio Classics has released Deep Rising on a new Blu-ray with a far more effective cover than that old nonsense.

Buy Deep Rising on Blu-ray from Amazon.

 

 

 

 

2018 @CinemaShame / Hooptober Progress

#1. Deep Rising (1998)

James David Patrick is a writer. He’s written just about everything at some point or another. Add Deep Rising to that list. Follow his blog at www.thirtyhertzrumble.com and find him on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

Disclaimer: I earn rewards from DVD.Netflix.com, which has thousands of movies to choose from, many that you won’t find on streaming services. I do this because the availability of physical media is important. The popular streaming notion of “everything available all the time” is a myth. We are always our own best curators. #PhysicalMedia #DVDNation #ad

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31 Days of Horror Cinema

Hooptober / Cinema Shame 31 Days of Horror 2018

31 days of horror 2018

As the ions change and the leaves consider when to launch thousands of aimless country car rides to “view the foliage,” the Cinemonster (@ElCinemonster on the Twitters) is posting his directives for another round of Hooptober Horror Moviewatching.

Once again I will be participating in watching an unhealthy slate of horror movies in the name of personal growth, watchpile erosion and general FOMO. I tie this into my Cinema Shame project because I’ll do my best to watch 31+ movies I’ve never seen before. Not all of them will be “Shames” because, let’s be honest here, I’m not feeling any kind of remorse about not having watched The Dark (1979) — but it helps fill one of this year’s criteria and it’s unwatched and on my shelf.

You can listen to last year’s Cinema Shame episode in which The Cinemonster and I discuss the joys of Hooptober and I finally watch Friday the 13th. 

Hooptober / Cinema Shame 31 Days of Horror 2018 Ground Rules

Let’s lay down some quick rules for like-minded lunatics that want to play the home version of the Cinema Shame / Hooptober Challenge for 2018.

Pick 31+ never-before-seen (or unwatched DVD purchases) horror movies — “horror” is broadly defined as anything containing elements of the horror genre. So, for example, I’ve counted the Abbott & Costello monster films in the past because of the classic movie monsters. Watch as many as you can stomach during your “month” of October.

I’m air-quoting “month” because, as I mentioned earlier, I’m borrowing The Cinemonster’s notion that we’re busy goddamn people and 31 days is just not a reasonable duration for busy people to watch 31 horror movies. He’s beginning his “month” on September 15th. I plan to do the same.

I’m going to pluck as many movies as possible from my Watch Pile (any film I already own that hasn’t been watched). I’ve been making a more concerted effort to watch more movies than I buy. The worthy remain. The ones I don’t see myself watching again hit eBay. I’ll note the outcome of each disc in my blurb.

And speaking of blurbs… after each movie, I’ll toss up a mini-review and a 30Hz rating that will correspond to my review on Letterboxd.com. The review may or may not contain any actual insight. The reviews are the part of this project that will leave you a quivering pile of bloody goo. And now for the more specific 2018 Hooptober demonic hurdles, courtesy of The Cinemonster. Here’s the original post on Letterboxd.com.

  • 10 Anniversary Films (release years ending in an 8, excluding 2018)
  • 6 countries of origin
  • 6 decades of release
  • 6 films made before 1970
  • 6 films from the following directors: Romero, Cronenberg, Clive Barker, Terence Fischer, Sergio Martino, Bill Lustig (mix-and-match, or all one)
  • 2 flying things that kill you films
  • 1 silent film as a tribute to A Quiet Place
  • 1 aquatic menace film as a tribute to The Meg
  • 2 films directed by women
  • 1 inanimate-object-comes-alive film
  • 1 film featuring Barbara Crampton
  • 2 Tobe Hooper films (there must ALWAYS be a Hooper film)
  • ***Extra Credit: Watch Tales from the Hood and Tales from the Hood 2, which drops Oct. 2***

Clearly one film can satisfy multiple criteria. Viewing and reviewing will begin at 12:01am CST on Sept 15th.

31 Days of Horror 2018 Roster

I plan to call some audibles when spur-of-the-moment cravings strike, but here’s my blueprint for the 31 Days Of Horror 2018 CinemaShame/Hoop-Tober Watch Pile Shame-a-Thon.

31 days of horror 2017

Past #31DaysOfHorror Shame-a-thons: 2013 | 2014 | 2015 Part 1 | 2015 Part 2 | 2016 | 2017

*rewatch

The Fall of the House of Usher (1928)*
The Black Doll (1938)
Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948)*
Dracula (1958)
The Hound of the Baskervilles (1959)
Blood Bath (1966)
In the Castle of Bloody Desires (1968)
Death Laid an Egg (1968)*
Count Dracula (1970)
She Killed in Ecstacy (1971)
Torso (1973)
Messiah of Evil (1973)*
Hannah, Queen of the Vampires (1973)
Inquisition (1978)
The Bloodstained Shadow (1978)
The Swarm (1978)
The Dark (1979)
The Hearse (1980)
Alligator (1980)
Possession (1981)
Scanners (1981)
Chopping Mall (1986)
Invaders from Mars (1986)
Blood Diner (1987)
Brain Damage (1988)
Maniac Cop (1988)
Deadly Games (1989)
Nightbreed (1990)
Tales from the Hood (1995)*
Deep Rising (1998)
Medousa (1998)
The Mist (2007)
A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (2014)
Tales from the Hood 2 (2018)

What’s your list? What’s your plan for horror movie watching this year? If you’re keeping a list or participating in the Hooptober challenge, I’ll link you in the header for my posts. Just leave a note with a link in the comments. Together we shall overcome… or we’ll be the loser pumped off in the first act to establish indomitable menace. It’s more comforting to know you’re not doing this alone.

Categories
31 Days of Horror Cinema

Night Creatures: 31 Days of Horror

#29. Night Creatures (1962)

Nature of Shame:
Unseen Hammer Horror.

Hoop-tober Challenge Checklist:
Decade: 1960’s
Hammer Horror

I took a poll on Twitter to see which Hammer horror film I should consider to fill my Hooptober requirement. As I’d seen most every one of the suggestions, the conversation became a welcome reminder about how much I enjoy these movies. I really should fit more Hammer horror into my schedule.

I fell on Night Creatures because it was mentioned in that thread and I happened to have the recently released 8-film Hammer Blu-ray set featuring a bunch of movies I’d seen and Night Creatures!

The Story

In 18th-century England, the Royal Crown sends Royal Navy Captain Collier and his crew to investigate reports of illegal smuggling and bootlegging in a coastal town where locals believe in Marsh Phantoms.

night creatures aka captain clegg

Talking about Night Creatures (aka Captain Clegg) might be unfair to anyone that’s not seen the film. Detailing the film might remove the sense of discovery because any in-depth description might, in fact, cause a viewer to say “meh,” and move on to something more salacious. Directed by Peter Graham Scott, Night Creatures proceeds at a languid pace and without any legitimate “creature” payoff.

So instead of detailing specifics, I’ll tell you why you’re still going to watch Night Creatures.

#1. Peter Cushing as a priest with unspecified past transgressions.

#2. A restrained Oliver Reed with a pompadour coif.

#3. The titular “night creature” effects.

#4. Pirates. Angry pirates. Retired pirates. Pirate henchmen. You name the pirate variety, Night Creatures offers you pirates.

Final Night Creatures Thoughts:

This entry in the 31 Days of Horror marathon has been brought to by the words “brevity” and the phrase “about to eat Thanksgiving food.” I do encourage you to watch Night Creatures because it surprises and rewards through the offerings of two proper thespians and a nice little twist that may or may not see coming.

 

30Hz Movie Rating:

Availability:

hammer horror blu-ray

 

Hammer Horror 8-Film Collection is available at Amazon and wherever fine Hammer films are sold.

Buy Hammer Horror 8-Film Collection on Amazon.

 

 

2017 @CinemaShame / Hooptober Shame Statement
31+ Days of Horror. 33 Horror Movies. 33 Reviews.

#1. Caltiki The Immortal Monster (1959) / #2. The Devil Doll (1936) / #3. The Velvet Vampire (1971) / #4. Mill of the Stone Women (1960) / #5. The Initiation (1984) / #6. Poltergeist (1982) / #7. Night of the Lepus (1972) / #8. The Black Cat (1934) / #9. The Raven (1935) / #10. Friday the 13th (1980) / #11. Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981) / #12. Body Snatcher (1945) / #13. Dismembered (1962) / #14. From Hell It Came (1957) / #15. Symptoms (1974) / #16. Eating Raoul (1982) / #17. Spellcaster (1988) / #18. The Old Dark House (1932) / #19. House (1985) / #20. House II: The Second Story / #21. Christine (1983) / #22. Suspiria (1977) / #23. The Invisible Man (1933) / #24. Spider aka Zirneklis (1991) / #25. The Wife Killer (1976) / #26. Cannibal! The Musical (1993) / #27. The Wicker Man (1973) / #28. Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (1986) / #29. Night Creatures (1962) / #30. Nosferatu (1922) / #31. Wes Craven’s New Nightmare / #32. Day of the Dead (1985) / #33. Psycho II (1983) / #34. The Green Butchers (2003)