Paranormal Activity (2007)

As I mentioned in my review of [REC] a while back, I'm a huge fan of the faux documentary style horror movies. The forced acceptance of what you see as evidence of actual happenings, the candid yet simple performances, and the simplicity of story all add up to a terrifying experience when all of these elements mesh well.

As for Paranormal Activity..... Holy shit....

The movie follows the harrowing trial of a young couple, Kate and Michah (Kate Featherstone and Michah Sloat), as they struggle to understand and combat the demonic force that threatens their happiness.

The action picks up on a day when Michah buys a video camera in order to document the strange goings on. We find out that this is no ordinary haunting, as the paranormal activity has occurred off and on since Kate was a child and seems to be focused on her.

No matter where she goes, the weirdness follows.

At first, Michah acts out of a mixture of intrigue and amusement. Kate, on the other hand, is absolutely terrified. Out of desperation, Kate contacts a psychic (Mark Frederichs) to ask him to divine the truth of what's going on in the house. The plot then takes an obvious shift towards the sinister when the psychic informs Kate and Michah that what they are experiencing is no mere haunting; it is demonic activity.

Over the next few nights, the malevolent spirit makes its presence felt in a gradual wave of building tension and the mental and physical effects on the hapless couple is downright devastating.

I was pleased to see that the production staff and the director had done their Occult 101 homework, as it is common in folklore (see also Drag Me To Hell) for an incubus (a nocturnal demonic being) to repeatedly visit its victim and wear him or her down in order to make them more vulnerable to its influence.

When the final moments hit, they will smash your nerves like a ton of bricks.

The subtle effects, the honest performances of the cast, and attention to small detail all work to make Paranormal Activity a blood chilling affair that is worth your cash this Halloween season.

I don't think it is quite the instant classic that the hype makes it out to be, but it follows in the admirable spirit of The Haunting and [REC] by doing more with less and making your senses pay for it

Vampire Circus (1972)

Quite a few scholars of the filmography of the vampire give credit to Universal Film's 1931 monster epic, Dracula, as the movie that made vampires sexy.

Personally, I give sole credit to Hammer Films for not only successfully linking eroticism with the vampire legend, but also turning the vampire into one of the most reliable marketing vehicles in the history of motion pictures.

Between 1958 and 1974, Hammer produced no less than eight feature length films featuring Dracula as the primary nemesis as portrayed by the legendary Christopher Lee. However, two Hammer films arguably did more to give shape to the vampire as sex symbol than any other.

One is Vampire Circus from 1972.

In the early seventies, Hammer Films experienced the proverbial sea change old guard Hammer executives slowly left the business and were replaced by a crop new producers who not only had a finger on the pulse of new audiences, but also were eager to take daring risks if it resulted in more profitable films.

Vampire Circus really is the blueprint of the 1970's Hammer horror movie. It tried its best to break every convention possible not only with the traditional trappings of vampire folklore, but it additionally charged the material with a sense of sexuality rarely seen in the medium before now.

And it does this in the first twenty minutes of the film.

In the opening scenes we discover that a remote village sometime in 17th century Austria serves as the hunting ground for a sadistic, undead scourge named Count Mittenhaus (Robert Tayman). Mittenhaus's dashing good looks and supernatural charisma have allowed him to make a thrall of the wife of the local school teacher.

Anna Miller (Domini Blythe) then serves her count by luring women and young girls alike to Mittenhaus's castle, where he then feasts on the blood of his prey.

Eventually, the villagers led by Anna's husband, Professor Albert Miller (Laurence Payne) catch onto Mittenhaus's plot and band together to put an end to the count. They manage to put a stake through his heart and then burn down the castle, but not until after Mittenhaus swears to eventually take his vengeance.

The action then picks up a few years later and we see that the village has been isolated due to a growing epidemic that most of the townsfolk blame on Mittenhaus's dying curse.

Shortly thereafter, a wandering band of gypsies arrive to entertain and ease the suffering of the locals with song and acts of acrobatic excellence, but unbeknownst to them, the seemingly benevolent troupe of performers is in actuality a group of vampires led by the undead cousin of Count Mittenhaus; the dangerous and enigmatic, Emil (a very young Anthony Higgins performing under the name, Anthony Corlan).

Their mission? To bring Count Mittenhaus back to life so that he may avenge himself against the people that dared to defy him.

As I mentioned before, Vampire Circus does a lot of things differently than previous Hammer vampire films.

For starters, it abandons almost all of the usual vampire folklore as Emil and his fellow vampire conspirators can function in sunlight so long as they are in a different form. In Emil's case, he takes the rather odd form of a black panther during the daytime and hides in plain sight with the other jungle cats kept by the traveling circus.

Vampire Circus also retains the Hammer introduced concept of blood serving as a catalyst to reincarnate a vampire that hasn't been utterly destroyed by sunlight. This plot device served Hammer Films well in subsequent films in the Dracula catalogue.

Secondly was the erotically combustable screenplay. There is no better way to show just how seductive a vampire is than to have some nubile young thing stare at him with that vacant, come hither look on her face while peeling off every stitch of clothing that she has on. If vampires and attractive naked women are your things then fella, this is the movie for you.

Thirdly is the fact that for a vampire movie, Vampire Circus is a lot gorier than you'd expect it to be. In some scenes Emil rips people to shreds while in panther form, while in the climactic scene where Mittenhaus pays the price for his evil, his demise occurs in a not so tidy manner.

The final thing is that this movie accomplishes all of this with a list of relative unknowns, as a whopping zero members of the usual Hammer standards have a presence in this movie. Some may recognize Anthony Higgins from his later portrayals of both Sherlock Holmes and Professor Moriarty and of course, David Prowse aka the body behind Darth Vader is cast in the role of the circus's silent strongman. It is very odd to see a Hammer vampire movie with no mention of Peter Cushing or Christopher Lee, but here it is and it is a damn fine piece of work.

In line with Hammer tradition, director Robert Young does everything in his power to make Emil and the other vampires as alluring as possible, while also making sure that the audience remembers that they are evil incarnate and not creatures to be sympathized with. The vampires in Hammer films use their seductive wiles on humans the way scorpions use their stingers: it is the mechanism by which a hunter secures his meal.

Although I found it somewhat uncomfortable to watch, Young continually reinforces the malevolently predatory nature of his vampires by having them prey on the younger villagers, especially the children. Watching the powerful and statuesque Count Mittenhaus gaze longingly in hunger on the pale throat of a small, defenseless girl and knowing that his only desire is to take her life to sustain his own really does bring Young's concept to terrifying clarity.

These creatures are far different than the Ricean versions we find in cinema or literature today; individuals bordering on emo that are "misunderstood" and view their condition as both blessing and curse. Although these "vampires are people, too" works such as Twilight kinda bother me phillosophically, they do serve the noble purpose of preserving the vampire for future generations.

Suffice to say that if you're looking for a retrospective feel to your Halloween movie viewing this season, then track this movie down with the swiftness.