Synopsis: A couple of recently deceased ghosts contract the services of a “bio-exorcist” in order to remove the obnoxious new owners of their house.

Impressions:  I’ve seen this film multiple times as a kid and this was the first time in years that i got to see it as an adult, husband, and father.  It still has it’s wonderful charm even though the effects are a bit dated.  Keaton is great as the ghost with the most.

Social Message:  This is a film about families.  Adam and Barbra can’t have children which is why the realtor is trying to get them to downsize there living arrangements.  When they die and the Deetz move in, they do not get along with the family, except for Lydia, the deetz daughter.  When Lydia writes a suicide letter, she wants to because she wants to be with a family who sees and understands her.  The common enemy of Beetlejuice is what get’s both families to get along and Lydia gets to be with parents who are loving and cooperative when her biological parents.

Synopsis: A brilliant surgeon, Dr. Génessier, helped by his assistant Louise, kidnaps nice young women. He removes their faces and tries to graft them onto the head on his beloved

Impressions:  Such a shockingly beautiful film.  It was hard for me to appreciate the beauty and the horror that lies within.  If you ever question can art house and horror coexist, this movie will give you a definitive answer.

Social Message:  The mask that we wear are burdensome and troubling.  Eyes, is a film about trying to wear a mask to be presentable to others.  As the dr. tries to find a face for his daughter, whose face was severely disfigured, his daughter continues to do whatever it takes to wear the mask,  Why?  We like our maks because we can hide our true selves to others, trying to fit in others images or creating an illusion to be you but not be you, we end up feeling uncomfortable.  But we also feel uncomfortable being our true selves.  This is the paradoxical struggle we deal with for the rest of our lives until we succumb to the mask(s) we wear or we begin to feel comfortable in our own skin.

Synopsis:  A Shakespearean actor takes poetic revenge on the critics who denied him recognition.

Impressions:  This movie follows a similar formula as other Vincent Price movies (specifically Dr. Phibes), where a person takes revenge on a group of people and one by one die according to some roadmap (TOB uses shakespeare, Phibes uses the plagues of egypt.)  Since i enjoy the campy Price films, i though this was not only cleaver, but it really showed that Price was much more than a horror actor.

Social Message:  What is it about criticism that make us angry?  Even constructive criticism can make some people irritate.  When we give/take criticism we need to always think of it as not a degrading of our character and/or achievements but as a way to improve and better ourselves.

Synopsis:  A group of medical students discover a way to bring dead patients back to life.

Impressions:  I thought this movie was very interesting.  I liked how some actors who are known for their comedy take a more serious role in this film.  The concept is very frankenstein in away but puts a modern spin on the whole story.  However, the end ruined it for me leaving me feel cheated and turned off by this film.

Social Message:  In the frankenstein story we hit on the theme of man trying to play God.  This film hits on the same theme but really brings in the spiritual side of things.  When Zoe is brought back to life, she recalls a hellish scene.  Even Though she wore a cross, she still went to hell during her death.  It hits on an important aspect, that no matter what good we do, or how kind we are, that eventually we will have to face eternal judgement for our actions on earth.  For zoe, who identified with the christian religion, needed to have a relationship with Jesus Christ.  She could have went to church all her life, prayed, and been a good christian girl, but there is more to it then just being good.

Synopsis: In the Iranian ghost-town Bad City, a place that reeks of death and loneliness, the townspeople are unaware they are being stalked by a lonesome vampire.

Impressions:I liked this, the style reminded me of a jarmusch film.  The subtleness of the movement and the stark black and white picture is simply charming.  The acting and story is also to die for.

Social Message:  The film is very feministic in its approach to the vampire genre.  Most vampires are sexual, strong males, who are always in a state of seduction.  This vampire is different, the men in this film (except Arash) are vile in one way or another.  The vampire kills them because of their vile primal ways that are considered oppressive to women.  Arash is different. he is kind and loving and the times the vampire could have bit him, she doesn’t. which further shows her mission to suck the evil out of this community while preserving the good.

Synopsis: A small group of military officers and scientists dwell in an underground bunker as the world above is overrun by zombies.

Impressions: The third Dead film by Romero, is probably the weakest one i have seen.  I enjoied the plot, but i felt that the military characters were too cheesy and overacted.  However, it got a lot more gory than Night and Dawn films.

Social Message:  The idea of coexisting is interesting.  You have scientist who are trying to find ways to see if zombie and humans can coexist (or revert the dead back to life), then you have the military who just wants to kill them all.  Even with science proving that there can be some kind of coexistence between the two (humans & zombies) the military uses it’s power to shut down the research thus bringing doom to themselves.  As much as i see coexist stickers on cars around town, the reality is that it is not possible.  with to many groups who want power and/or have power they are never in the market to work together unless it is a quick fix.  anything beyond that breaks down and causes war, separation, hate, etc.

Synopsis:The murderous, backwoods Firefly family take to the road to escape a vengeful police force which is not afraid of being as ruthless as their target.

Impressions:I remember seeing Zombie’s House of a 1000 Corpses in theaters and walked away from it feeling cheated.  It had all the vibes of a exploitation horror film, but was too weak of a film.  I heard people tell me to watch this film, since it was better then Corpses.  They were right.  This film, still hits on the gritty 70s horror films in music, gore, film grain, etc.  But has a story that kept my interest.  Sure there were scenes that made me uncomfortable, but that was the point.  Overall The Devils Reject is Zombie’s best work.

Social Message:  There are two things i got from this film, Evil is infectious and evil eventually comes to an end.  The people that the Rejects come in contact with, have no choice but to be influenced by the evil.  Even the Sheriff, who would considered himself righteous, would do things that were ugly and vile.  The other thing is evil eventually comes to an end.  In film, literature, and religion there is always an end to the wicked.  So it is safe to assume that try not to be entangled by evil and know that eventually evil will have it’s final day.

Synopsis: Oskar, an overlooked and bullied boy, finds love and revenge through Eli, a beautiful but peculiar girl.

Impressions: Anything from a foreign country is going to be weird, gruesome, and some times confusing.  This film has all of these elements and build upon and interesting story based on friendship.  Its a movie that is charming as much as it is disturbing.

Social Message:  The saying goes that misery loves company.  In this film, it is the outcast that stay together slay together.  The unusual friendship between Oskar and Eli is a love story of two outcast who find love.  Eli in a way is Oskar’s guardian angel as he is constantly being abused in his life.  The really moral is for the abusers that justice will come for you eventually if you continue to abuse others.

Synopsis: The commercial vessel Nostromo receives a distress call from an unexplored planet. After searching for survivors, the crew heads home only to realize that a deadly bioform has joined them.

Impressions:  I have never seen this film, just bits and pieces of it.  For a first time viewer, it was a bit dated but it had some great things going for it.  The abset of music in some places made you feel on edge, the close ups of the alien, gave it a idea of a big, gruesome being, and the lighting gave it a great feel.  overall i enjoyed this film.

Social Message:  I couldn’t find a social commentary on this film, but i believe it was the first time a sci-fi/horror had a strong main female hero (jamie lee curtis might have been the first in halloween) with the two female on board, weaver’s character was the most bold and strong one.  Even Though there were a lot of males who would take leadership, they eventually all died leaving the strength and power to a female.

Synopsis:  A woman tries to exonerate her brother, who was convicted of murder, by proving that the crime was committed by a supernatural phenomenon.

Impressions:  This was recommended by a friend.  It was an interesting concept and would keep be guessing on what i was watching was the real situation, or a faux.  I loved the concept, and the story but there were spots in between that did not keep my interest.

Social Message:  It’s very interesting to look at this film through the eyes of the children from their perspectives as children and adults when looking at their parent’s marriage.  When you strip away the horror elements, you see the crumblings of a marriage from it’s flirtatious, loving beginning to it’s deadly conclusion.  When you look at failed marriages, it takes it toil on the kids.  Even when they grow-up to be adults, they tend to have a negative view of themselves, love, and marriage.