Midnight Matinee (1989)

Originally created for a Canadian cable channel, Midnight Matinee is every ounce as terrible as a made-for-tv-movie could be.

It's like every bit of this movie was stolen from other movies in the 80's. If it were a better movie with wittier writing, I'd think it was supposed to be a satire. Turns out though, it's just a bad rip-off. That turned into a great rip-off (Popcorn, one of my very favorite underrated horror flicks).

The Plot In A Nutshell:
A horror movie festival ends in an actual murder. 2 years later, the wild youth of the town wants to - get this - have another festival. SHOCKING!

Where They Stole It From:
If you think you've heard this story before that's because it's basically the plot for My Bloody Valentine (1981), both of which were made in Canada. Coincidence?... I think not.

Or perhaps you're a big fan of Italian horror and have seen Demons a few times where the things playing out in the movie the characters are watching start happening to them, too. How very meta.

The Very First Death In The Movie:
A teenage boy lies alone in a bunk bed after having pre-marital sex with his girlfriend. A hand come from under the bed and clamps down, covering his mouth. Then, the tip of a knife pokes up through his throat, killing him.

Where They Stole It From:
If you don't know this one, I revoke your horror fan card. It's how Jason's mom dispatched Kevin Bacon's character in Friday The 13th (1980).

If you're still in doubt (for some reason) when they show the marquee for the horror festival, the first movie is called "Camp Blood".

The Second Movie You See:
Teenage vampires and their other-worldly yet completely predictable high school politics.

Where They Stole It From:
The Lost Boys (1987), of course.

The Third Movie:
Features a floppy, homemade, sack-style mask-wearing killer that wields a chainsaw.

Where They Stole It From:
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974).

What is strange about this movie is the collection of actors who actually became famous after appearing in this lackluster piece of work: William Davis (The Smoking Man from The X-Files), Don Davis (Twin Peaks, Stargate SG1, 21 Jump Street, and also an X-Files alum), and Gillian Barber (also a Stargate and X-Files alum).

The Wrap Up:
If you're craving a life imitates art imitating art movie, skip this one. You're welcome.

Comments

Rebuttal: 17 Disturbing Horror Movies You Will Never Watch Again

When I'm not watching movies, I'm reading about movies. I stumble across all kinds of articles, blog posts, book excerpts, etc. in my quest to absorb as much movie knowledge as possible. Now, I'm snotty and loud-mouthed and opinionated but I'd never begrudge another human their opinion. Seriously. You're absolutely welcome to have any opinion about any thing you want. However, I must warn you, if I think your opinion is stupid, I'm absolutely going to say so. I've recently stumbled on an article completely brimming with so many idiotic opinions that I'm actually compelled to craft a response. Here's the gist of the original article: there are some horror movies out there that are so disturbing , you'll only ever want to watch them once. I've have taken her original list and refuted her claims without pulling her entire article over. You can read the original article here . Let's start at the beginning, with her opening statement

Escape From Tomorrow

I love creative people who are willing to take risks with their art. I appreciate the refusal to do things by the rules. I'm also terribly impatient with mediocrity. Enter Escape From Tomorrow . Created by a team of rogue filmmakers, the movie was shot in the video mode of high-end still cameras. Actors shared scripts and shooting locations across their smartphones. Shot on location at Disney World, the parks were completely unaware this was all going on right under their mouse ears. I wanted to love Escape From Tomorrow. More than that, I wanted to be completely taken with its ingenuity and creativity and - oh yes - its originality. And there is really a simple brilliance to their covert plan; all families are roaming around the parks, taking videos and chatting on their phones. Just blend the fuck in, act like you belong, and you won't get caught. Too bad the movie can be summed up as: ambitious but Rubbish. As you can imagine (or possibly know), there was a ton of con

The Witch (2015)

You know the drill - there's ALWAYS spoilers. Don't want the movie ruined for you, come back after you've seen it. Also - I'm still without an editor - typos and bad grammar await you! I keep hoping that the cultural obsession with zombies will end; literally every other damn movie that comes 'round seems to feature some sort of shambling, undead being bent on devouring the weak flesh of regular humans. Once upon a time, zombies have have been used as a metaphor for the blind consumerism created by our capitalist society, or the perceived depletion of resources by immigrants, or even the ravages of time and disease on our frail bodies. Now it seems that the deeper social commentary has been lost as audiences mindlessly consume "zombie fiction" in an attempt to keep up with trends. ( How very meta - a film buddy of mine commented on this assessment! ) All of this is just a sideways rant, leading up to my actual point: it seems that zombie may actually

i'm kael's ghost

Search This Blog