October is horror month and to help celebrate a few of us have decided to sit down each week and discuss our favorite horror films. This week we drunkenly touch on the second half of our discussion on films from the 1980s.
Don: Last week, we sat down and talked about some of the biggest horror movies to come out of the 80s. During the span of a two-hour chat, we hit a lot of big names but still missed quite a few according to Jeff. I still don’t know what’s on that list, but I did watched half of The Re-Animator the other night, a classic tale from H.P. Lovecraft. So I thought I would live dangerous and see if you guys had watched this one.
Jeff: Re-Animator was on my list. I’ve always love that flick. It’s a perfect mix of comedy and horror on a low budget. Its inclusion as a reference in American Beauty made me love that film even more. No 80s horror fan should miss it.
Chris: I’m pretty sure I’ve seen The Re-Animator but its not one that has left a lasting impression on me. I’m drawing a blank.
Jeff: You don’t remember the dude walking down the hallway with his dicky hanging out?
Chris: I feel I’ve tried to block that from my memory.
Don: Hahaha. Well, Chris, had I not of caught what I had on Netflix the other night, I would have sided with you on this one. But the more I watched it, while trying to play a game no-less, the more I was drawn into it. I watched it years and years ago, and just brushed it off. I’m glad I started it the other night. The story is actually really good for such a low budget film, but then again, it is a movie version of a classic short story.
Chris: Oh, I’m not knocking it. I just don’t fully remember it.
Jeff: If I remember correctly, there is a naked corpse carrying his own head down a hallway, and you get to see his pee-pee.
Chris: I’m glad that is the lasting image everyone has of that film. It really makes me want to go back and see it again.
Jeff: Maybe it’s just my lasting impression… Anyway…
Don: I haven’t gotten that far in my re-viewing. But there was a wild man naked, attacking an older man. I either looked away or blacked the image of his penis from my brain, but there was just a lot of naked man-ass. He wasn’t carrying his head, so Jeff may be fantasizing about a part later from the movie..
Jeff: Basically, Re-Animator leaves scars.
Chris: Do we maybe have a film that isn’t trying to scar my retinas to discuss?
Jeff: I’m pretty sure all my films will scar your retina, at the very least. When we brought up the topic of 80s films, two remakes that outshine their originals sprung to mind. The Blob and The Fly.
Chris: The Fly is a creepy ass movie. Jeff Goldblum is fantastic and I think the visuals still hold up pretty well today.
Jeff: The special effects were practical, which means they’re still actually effective. It is a very gory film that mostly involves self-mutilation, but there is one scene that made me love it as a kid, and that’s when Goldblum goes to a bar and decides to partake in some arm-wrestling. He breaks that dude’s bone out of his arm!!!
Don: The Fly is one of those movies I watched most of at an early age, and never returned. Sorry to disappoint so early.
Jeff: WHAT THE FUCK, DON?
Chris: It’s OK. I mean it is one of those films that if you see as a kid, you probably have one of two reactions to it. You are disgusted and terrified or you become a gore hound like Jeff. 🙂
Don: Haha, no, I was just indifferent. I think I saw the cable version, or parts of it anyways, a few times, and it just never clicked. So I’m sure the gore was pretty much non-existent.
Chris: I remember seeing a lot of horror films on regular television and thinking, these things aren’t very scary, never realising that they were heavily edited. I was in for a shock later on down the line with a lot of things.
Jeff: My parents let me get away with murder. Figuratively. I used to go to my grandma’s a lot as a kid, and her my aunt (my mom’s younger sister) showed me Halloween, and I was hooked for life. I still remember my parents letting me watch Nightmare on Elm Street to scare me away from horror movies. I was six at the time. Didn’t work.
Chris: I grew up not having cable until I was in high school, and even then it was only in the main family room, so I had to make due early on with what I could get. Which ultimately meant, a lot of dubbed VHS tapes. I felt like I was some sort of bootlegger, sneaking horror films around.
Jeff: I used to record so much shit off of TV. Horror flicks, USA Up All Night, MTV’s Top 100 Music Videos of All Time, scrambled Playboy, you name it.
Don: I expected to see that scrambled porn in there. Anyhow, The Blob….that’s a movie I got to watch at an early age, and I loved it. Strangely enough, it didn’t scare me away from my beloved Jell-O, but it was probably one of my first horror movies. I wasn’t scared at all, more mesmerized at the growing portion of gelatinous ooze eating everything. I also remember my grandma, who let me watch it, tell me how scared everyone was of that movie when it first came out. Of course, I’m talking about the original, and I think you had something else in mind Jeff.
Jeff: Grandmas always love an original.
Chris: Jeff, so why is The Blob on your list of classic 80s titles. Because I’ll tell you, monster movies like that have never done it for me.
Jeff: It just feels like a classic 80s movie, and it almost has some of the vibe of something like The Goonies. I also remember being impressed by the gore as a kid, as the blob ate away at people’s flesh.
Chris: I’d agree with that, there is a definite sense of adventure to the film and the gore does kind of stand out as a high point now that I think back about it.
Jeff: There are a couple movies that I’m not sure can be categorized as horror, but I feel they deserve mention: Ghostbusters, Gremlins, Monster Squad, and Critters.
Don: Man, I remember Critters, but not as much as I’d like to. I watched it half a dozen times as a kid, and man that movie creeped me out.
Chris: And I think there are definite aspects to Gremlins that work as horror. Sure, it is a bit goofy at points but I think it is more horror than anything else. Gremlins 2 on the other hand…
Don: I haven’t let my kids watch Gremlins yet because that whole transformation scene seems like a bit much, whereas most of the movie is probably acceptable for my kids. I am sure my oldest could handle it by this point, but my four year old….I dunno. That was a very creepy scene specifically. It didn’t give me nightmares, but I thought it was a scary as a kid.
Chris: I agree, I think Gremlins traumatized my younger brother. I probably didn’t help things by telling him I was going to pour water on the Gizmo stuffie we had.
Jeff: I used to have a Gizmo. I wonder what happened to him. Some asshole probably poured water on him!
Don: Gizmo was adorable though, I’m sure we can all agree about that. Slimer, in a weird way, was just as adorable, right?
Jeff: October is horror month and to help celebrate a few of us have decided to sit down each week and discuss our favorite horror films. This week we touch on the first half of our discussion on films from the 1980s. GIZMO CACA!
Chris: Slimer was kind of ugly. I never found him scary but I wouldn’t want to hug him either.
Jeff: He scared the fuck out of me in the library. I was four, but I swear that shit was scary!
Don: Oh, well, I’m the weirdo in the group that would hug Slimer. Awesome. Carry on.
Jeff: We’ve covered most of my list, the remaining of which include a couple big and small ones. I’m interested to see what movies I missed out on, as the 80s was a big, crazy horror decade. Remaining flicks on my list include: House, Silver Bullet, The Shining, and Return of the Living Dead.
Chris: Well those certainly deserve to be discussed but what about Poltergeist, Fright Night, The Lost Boys, and one that isn’t really horror but fits in with the previous bunch of films we talked about, Beetlejuice?
Jeff:…
Don: I remember being absolutely terrified of House, and I have no idea why. So there’s that.
Jeff: I remember the fish coming to life on the wall and being freaked out by it!
Chris: October is horror month and to help celebrate a few of us have decided to sit down each week and discuss our favorite horror films. This week we touch on the first half of our discussion on films from the 1980s. As a fan of horror novels, I enjoyed that the main character was a novelist and it seemed that his nightmares from Vietnam were coming to life in this funky ass house.
Jeff: What about Silver Bullet?
Don: Never even heard of it. 🙂
Jeff: Dead to me.
Chris: Who doesn’t love a good werewolf story. Especially one written by Stephen King?
Don: It might have something to do with not being into werewolves. Maybe because I am a cat person, I have no idea. Just never liked them for some reason.
Chris: It has Gary Busey and Cory Haim man! C’mon! It has a Corey!
Don: AND GIANT MANDOGS!
Chris: Right, you are making my point for me. Good job.
Don: It’s what I do! 🙂 Now, why is this movie so awesome though, besides having two famous people in it? Sell this movie to me, gents.
Chris: What? Garey Busey didn’t do it for you? Well it is a great throwback to classic creature features. It has some pretty solid make-up effects and well, King written story is pretty engaging as it has this small trio trying to protect their town from a werewolf.
Jeff: Yeah, for one, the makeup effects are awesome, and two, it has the best twist ever! As a kid, anyway, I was blown away that ____________ was the werewolf!!! OMG, guys!
Chris: But enough talk about men in rubber monster suits, let’s talk ghosts, specifically poltergeists.
Don: I’m going to go ahead and get this out of the way now..well, do I even have to finish this line?
Jeff: If he says something bad about Poltergeist…
Chris: How is that possible?
Don: For the readers, you couldn’t see it, but they typed those lines concurrently. I’m going to shamefully walk away now.
Jeff: Hold on, let’s back up. Was he really trying to say something negative about Poltergeist?
Don: No, no Jeff. I haven’t seen it…
Chris: I mean… Tobe Hooper, Steven Spielberg, creepy old ladies, a possessed television. This is one of the most iconic horror films of all time. Its up there with the greats. Don, you need to remedy this situation.
Jeff: Immediately. I feel like I don’t even know you now.
Don: Well, I did just watch the first three Indiana Jones movies for the first time earlier this year, so there is hope. Late, but better than never, right?
Jeff: The first three Indy flicks? HOW OLD ARE YOU????
Don: Don’t belittle me, Jeff! We’re both a little tipsy, I worry about what will happen later..
Chris: I know what will happen later, you’ll both end up walking down a hallway naked.
Jeff: With nothing but a head and a cock in our hands.
Don: ….. So, Poltergeist, eh?
Chris: Look, I’m not a fan of ghost stories generally but this one is top notch. It is effective in building tension and it delivers some great scares, all while telling a really engaging story.
Don: I guess I just assumed I didn’t get into The Exorcist, so I wouldn’t get into Poltergeist. I saw bits of it on cable a few times growing up, but never sat down to finish it.
Jeff: Don, this is a great 80s family horror film. It feels nothing like The Exorcist.
Chris: It comes from one of the best storytellers in all of film, Spielberg, and is directed by one of the masters of horror, Hooper. It is kind of a win-win situation all the way around.
Don: Reference for myself and possibly the readers, what else is Hooper known for?
Chris: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, among other things.
Don: Okay, okay. I will make it a point to watch this one, if nothing else.
Jeff: Dead. To. Me.
Chris: So what else do we have, let’s touch on just a few more. Don, do you have any?
Don: Sadly, I have to pass the torch to Jeff at this point. I’m sure there’s some others, but none stand out that we haven’t discussed.
Jeff: Killer Klowns from Outer Space.
Chris: I think you’ve tried to get me to watch this multiple times and I’ve only ever seen the beginning. Sell me on this film before we turn it in.
Don: JEFF I LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Chris, it has clowns, the scariest thing on Earth. And they kill things. AND THEY ARE FROM OUTER SPACE!!! No, but really, they turn people into cotton candy cocoons.
Jeff: Sold?
Chris: I mean, I do like cotton candy. And space. I could do without the clowns though.
Jeff: But they’re klowns, though. It’s all good.
Don: This is one of those movies I watched a dozen times. I actually watched it a few years ago, and laughed. It’s so corny, but it just oozes 80’s cheese. In a good way, though.
Jeff: The makeup effects on the clowns are great, and the film is surprisingly smarter and more violent than you might expect.
Chris: Alright, fine, I’ll watch it. Although it sounds dumb as fuck.
Don: It’s also on Netflix instant streaming. 🙂
Chris: Thank god for that. Anyway, I’ll watch Klowns, Don will watch Poltergeist and Jeff will have another beer. But next week we’ll be back with our favorite modern horror films.
About Author
