My Favorite Movies -- The Shining (1980)

If you haven't figured it out by now... I love horror... and I love a good slow burn of a movie. I read The Shining back in 1979 and was very excited to see the movie version. Many were disappointed in the take that Kubruck had on King's work. I thought it improved on the book.

Kubrick took the essence of the book... evil in a place, madness, solitude, murder and just ran with it. The Shining is nothing if not a mood piece.

First you have the brooding presence of the Overlook Hotel (exteriors are the Timberline Hotel in my backyard of Mt. Hood Oregon.... horror loves the Northwest).


You have the history of the tragedy of the former caretaker who killed his family. I love the big wheel scene where Danny is tracked as he runs from carpet to hardwood to carpet to hardwood then turns the corner only to see... http://youtube.com/watch?v=Rmn6FRgYwBQ

and

I also quite like the scene where we discover what Jack the writer has been writing... http://youtube.com/watch?v=qb_Iult5k38


And, what is a haunted hotel without an elevator full of blood...


The music in the movie is classical, yet evocative and creepy. Much of the music is by Penderecki. Trivia...PTA was listening to Penderecki while writing the script for There Will Be Blood. No surprise, the music sounds alot like Penderecki.

The acting is over-the-top at times, but memorably so. The sets are gigantic and echoing with the solitude and madness. I never get tired of this one.

My Favorite Movies - Repulsion (1965)

Both Chinatown and Rosemary's Baby are better movies, but I keep returning to this earlier work by Roman Polanski. There is a stark simplicity to Repulsion that I love. Essentially, it's just the story of Catherine Deneuve's character's descent into homicidal madness. What sets this movie apart from the other Psycho clones of the era is the way it is so claustrophobic and internalized. We spend almost the entire movie with Deneuve in a small apartment.


Half of the time we, like her, are not sure if what we are seeing is really happening or just the world from her broken point of view....

a rabbit carcass rots on the countertop to mark the passage of time, a strange man enters her room nightly to presumably rape her, large cracks form in the plaster walls, and hands emerge from the hallway to grasp at her. Highly symbolic and with nods to surrealism and earlier works (Les Daiboliques) Repulsion is definitely an acquired taste.

a scene from the end of repulsion http://youtube.com/watch?v=TTLAlBnoRlA

My Favorite Movies -- The Haunting (1963)

Robert Wise's The Haunting is often touted as the best haunted house movie ever. I am not one to defy that opinion. A case could certainly be made that it's a bit dated now... a bit slow... a bit too much "bump in the night." I don't care... no other movie is more responsible for my love of horror than The Haunting. I saw this movie the first time on tv when I was 5 and promptly had a nightmares for weeks. The opening sequence listing the many tragedies to befall the residents of Hill House is just great storytelling.

The possible madness and lesbian tension of the main character is well-known, but for me the whole reason this movie works is Hill House itself. Hill House is crazy spooky.... and Wise gives it center stage... often using highly skewed angles, wide angle shots, and extreme depth of focus.

The cinematography is fantastic... the acting is fevered yet appropriate... the story is a slow creepy burn... the sound design is stellar. If you enjoy horror...you should see this. If you have only seen the horrible remake... you REALLY should see this.

First few minutes of the movie: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iAo6WwpV3jk&feature=related

My Favorite Movies -- Psycho (1960)

I quite enjoy other Hitchcock movies and must admit the pacing of Psycho is uneven, but the good bits are sooooo soooo good. Of course everyone knows about the famous trick of killing off the famous heroine and how shocking that was at the time. It was also considered quite racy (the toilet is shown as is semi-nudity) and violent (mostly not shown and the blood was chocolate syrup). So, why does it resonate for me? What scenes do I keep coming back to.

A. The end of the shower scene. I love the slow pull-back shot from Janet's dead eye. It is amazing and mesmerizing. I always think it's a still shot... but then you see the water dripping and realize it's not. Beautiful.

shower scene http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOC-zvyhrCU

B. The clean up. For some reason I find Norman's cleanup of the body more interesting and surprising than the actual killing. And the scene ends with the fantastic scene of Norman sinking Janet's car in the swamp... and it stops mid-way....he looks worried... then it sinks the rest of the way. Wonderful.

C. Norman eats a sandwich. I love the scene where Norman is being questioned about the guestbook while he is eating a sandwich...strange low-angle shot... just weird acting and creepy.