Horror by Harrison

  “They will say that I have shed innocent blood. What’s blood for if not for spilling?” My original plan for this week’s review was to cover Nia DaCosta’s Candyman as it was to be released over the weekend. However, that film’s release date has unfortunately (though understandably) pushed back to June of next year and with any luck I’ll be able to cover it then. In the meantime, I figured this was a perfect time to revisit the original. Candyman was written and directed by Bernard Rose ( Paperhouse, Immortal Beloved ) and based on the short story “The Forbidden” by Cliver Barker ( Hellraiser ) who served as a producer on the film. Candyman was made on a budget of roughly $8,000,000, made $5,404,320 upon opening, and went on to make $25,794,159 worldwide. Candyman was released to mostly positive reviews on October 16, 1992. Candyman follows Helen Lyle (Virginia Madsen, Dune ), a graduate student researching urban legends, as she investigates the “Candyman”  (Tony Todd...

  When Black Swan was released back in 2010, I was intrigued by the marketing for it. I wasn’t familiar with any of Aronofsky’s work, though I owned DVD copies of Pi and Requiem for a Dream which I’d not yet watched, but this film looked absolutely nuts in the best way. Plus I’d been a big fan of Natalie Portman’s since The Phantom Menace was released when I was 7. I was completely mesmerized in the theater and ended up seeing the film two more times during its theatrical run and bought the Blu-Ray as soon as it was released. In short, I really fucking love this movie. Black Swan was written by Mark Heyman ( The Skeleton Twins ), Andre Heinz ( Origin of the Species ), and John McLaughlin ( Hitchcock ) based on a story by Heinz. Black Swan was directed by Darren Aronofsky ( Requiem for a Dream, The Wrestler ) and was released on Dec. 3, 2010. Black Swan was made on a budget of $13,000,000, made $1,443,809 upon opening, and went on to make $329,398,046 worldwide. Black Swan receive...

  Watching this movie was… an experience. I’m familiar with David Lynch’s reputation, but until watching Eraserhead the only film of his that I’ve seen was Mulholland Drive (loved it, but it’s weird as shit). I chose this movie because, like White Zombie and Viy before it, it was a film I’d not seen before that appears in my 101 Horror Movies You Must Watch Before You Die book. While I can’t say I got it , I definitely enjoyed my experience watching the film. Eraserhead was written and directed by David Lynch and was released on March 19th, 1977. Eraserhead had a relatively small opening, earning an estimated $7,000,000 (against a budget I’m unsure of), and was largely ignored at the time of release. In the 43 years since it was released, however, the film has become a cult classic. Roughly an hour into my viewing Eraserhead I became curious about whether David Lynch had become a father around the creation of this film. My brief research determined that his first child (film...

  “Look at me, Damien! It’s all for you!” There are three really famous “demonic kids” movies from the 60s and 70s: Rosemary’s Baby , The Exorcist , and The Omen . Of this “trilogy” the former two are probably the more popular ( Rosemary’s Baby has a 92% on Rotten Tomatoes and a 4.2 on Letterboxd, The Exorcist an 83% and a 4.0, The Omen an 86% and a 3.6), but for my money The Omen is the strongest of the three. The Omen was written by David Seltzer ( The Other Side of the Mountain , Punchline ), directed by Richard Donner ( Superman , The Goonies ), and was released on June 6, 1976. The Omen was made with a reported budget of $2,800,000, earned $4,273,886 upon opening, and went on to earn $60,922,980 worldwide. Upon release the film received mixed reviews, with critics praising the cast and direction, but calling the story “silly”; however retrospective reviews in the intervening years have been more positive. The film was nominated for two Academy Awards, Best Original Score and B...