Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Halloween Clip-O-Rama 2007

Last year I did a series of posts over the week leading up to October 31st called the Halloween Clip-O-Rama. Each day I posted a new clip, unceremoniously embedded courtesy of YouTube, from one of my favourite horror films of all time. Since I always had intended it to be a yearly sort of occurrence, and since I haven't posted a single thing in the last week that resembles a Clip-O-Rama, I'm going to squeeze the whole bunch into one post and try and keep my comments to a minimum.

First up for '07 is a movie which many, many, many people loathe but I found oddly satisfying. Silent Hill is a visually stunning film that features good performances from its nearly all-female cast and, in my opinion, a pretty good story to boot. I've liked Radha Mitchell since Pitch Black so it was nice to see her here. Likewise with Laurie Holden who I miss since her days on The X-Files. Anyway, here's the clip if you're not already familiar with the movie:



Next up is my latest buzz film, 30 Days of Night. I'm going to post an official review of this movie so I'm not going to talk too much about it, but let's just say that this is one of those simple, high-concept pictures that is executed beautifully and stands up to repeated viewings. Here's the trailer and a scene from about half-way through the movie:



The Descent is another film that fires on all cylinders. Originally I was going to ignore it, thinking it was just another flick in a long line of torture porn movies, but when Joss Whedon gave it props I figured I'd try it out. Hell, it was from the same guy what did Dog Soldiers and that made the list last year...



I recently watched The Legend of Hell House and enjoyed it quite a bit. It's basically The Haunting a la Richard Matheson but holds its own fairly well. The movie does show its age in certain areas, but the storyand mood of the picture quickly smooth over any of the rough edges the film may have. If you like an old fashioned haunting, check this one out.



Pay heed Johnny Depp fans! A Nightmare on Elm Street was supposed to make last years list but missed out for some reason (there may not have been a satisfactory clip to pull, I don't know for sure). I'd be remiss if I left it off another year running so here's the first 10 minutes of the movie in all of its glory.



Not much needs to be said about Saw other than the fact that I'm a little surprised to be adding it. I'm not a fan of the series but I did 'enjoy' the first installment for having fresh take on the genre, some decent performances and a great twist ending. It's unlikely that I'll watch the second third or fourth Saw movies, but I do own and like having the first. There, I said it. Here's the clip:



It took me a while to track down The Devil's Backbone so it holds a special place in my DVD collection. It also helps that it's a great ghost story by the inimitable Guillermo del Toro with everything one comes to expect from his Spanish language films. Strong characters, rich themes, nice imagery, and an ending that you may, or may not, see coming. Here's the trailer:



Welp, that's seven films for seven days worth of Clip-O-Rama posts. I apologise for condensing it all like this but I guess in the long run it doesn't really make a difference. That's the beauty of the internet. Everything you view or do is in your own timeframe.

As always, I'd love to hear comments if you have them. Which movies would make up your Clip-O-Rama?

Onwards and upwards!

mike

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