Wes Craven- A Tribute Part 2

So, we left off with the Scream franchise. Now for the movies that I enjoyed but didn't love. I did enjoy Deadly Blessing, a 1981 horror movie directed by Craven and starring Michael Berryman and Sharon Stone. It is set in an Amish like community and there is a killer on the loose. Stone and two pals are staying at a house near the community and there are all sorts of weird things happening such as creepy spiders being dropped into Stone's mouth and people being killed by tractors! It is an entertaining horror movie though and with time, I have began to appreciate it more.Deadly Friend is another entertaining movie brought out in 1986 starring Kristy Swanson. It is about a girl who dies and is brought back to life by her friends, but she has changed! I liked it. There is a great scene with a basketball in it!!

The People Under The Stairs is a 1991 horror/comedy movie directed by the man himself and it stars Wendy Robie and Everett McGill as husband and wife who have people locked up in their house. They were also together in the TV show Twin Peaks. They worked really well in this film and I enjoyed it. It was different from some of Craven's other films, but in a good way. It is forgotten sometimes and that is a shame as it is a good movie and one to watch if you are a horror fan. Red Eye was out in 2005 and was more of a thriller than a horror movie. Cillian Murphy was very good in it as a guy who sits next to a woman played by Rachel McAdams. He is not all that he seems. He kidnaps her on the plane and tells her that she has to help him to assassinate someone or he will kill her family. I enjoyed it. It was very good.

In 1988 Craven directed The Serpent and the Rainbow which starred Bill Pullman and centred around voodoo. I liked it, but I wouldn't call it one of my favourites. Shocker falls into the same category. in 1978 Craven directed a TV movie called Summer of Fear. It stars Linda Blair as a young woman whose cousin moves in with her family. She begins to suspect that her cousin is a witch! It is pretty tame, but I liked it. It was on TV one day and I decided to watch it. I found that it was good fun and entertaining. He directed a few more TV movies, but this one I liked. Cursed was released in 2005 and it was a werewolf themed movie starring Christina Ricci and Joshua Jackson. I saw this and I wasn't really too pushed about it. I liked bits of it, but it just wasn't great in my opinion. I found the same thing with the 2010 offering My Soul To Take. I just didn't like it very much.

Well, I will leave it at that. I know that there are more movies and TV shows that Craven was involved in, but I don't want to ramble on too long. Let me just say that he was a fine director and an innovator in the horror genre. He created some of the best horror movies that I have ever seen and he will be remembered for those...

Wes Craven- A Tribute Part 1

We here at Jigsaw's Lair were deeply saddened to hear of the death of the horror master Wes Craven.
I am a huge fan of his movies and that is why this tribute will come in two pieces. His name is so synonymous with horror movies and everyone knows who Freddy Krueger is(everyone should anyway).
I know that he did other types of movies and other stuff in his lifetime, but I will just concentrate of my favourite movies...

Let me start with my favourite Wes Craven film- The Hills Have Eyes.I have come to appreciate this movie over the years. It is very simple in some ways, but well made and very effective with the creepy baddies.
It was made in 1977 so it is the same age as I am! The first time that I watched it, it scared me, especially Michael Berryman! I was a lot younger so it was very unsettling to me.The people in the camper van seem doomed as they are stuck in a hot desert with no help in sight. There is a sense of doom as you realise that they are not alone. I love the way that you don't see the baddies straight away. When you do, it is a surprise as they seem like some sort of weird tribe who eat people they meet. This movie is brutal and violent with some eerie scenes such as the dad being crucified and the rape of the daughter.I will say that it is a real classic in my eyes and it is hard to beat it for a perfect horror movie. There was a sequel made by Craven in 1985 which I loved, but I don't think anyone else did!!!

 The next movie that I like is A Nightmare on Elm Street(1984). What can I say about this film? It changed horror and brought us a horror icon- Freddy Krueger. He is a nasty child killer who was tried but found not guilty of the killings. The parents of his victims found him and burned him alive in a boiler room. His face is disfigured as a result. He has a glove with blades on it and he comes to teens in their dreams/nightmares.
The first time that I saw him, he scared the life out of me, but again, I was a lot younger! He is a predator who gets to people in their dreams and he kills teens this way. He killed Johnny Depp in the original movie by sucking him into the bed! The movie spawned so many sequels that I have lost count and a silly remake. The original film is the best and it deserves to be called a horror classic.

The Last House on The Left is another favourite of mine. This was Craven's first movie as a director and it is brutal and raw. It doesn't spare the viewer and you should be aware that it can be quite nasty in parts. It is the daddy of a lot of these torture porn movies around now. It was made in 1972 and it was so reviled by censors that it was chopped to bits as was the thing at the time. There is an uncut version on DVD now, so at least you can see it properly now.Two young girls meet a group of criminals and they are subjected to torture and rape before being murdered. The gang think that they have gotten away with it, but in a strange twist of fate, they end up at the house of one of the young girl's parents and the criminals are the victims as they are killed in revenge. There are no happy endings here. It is bloody and bleak and it can be hard on the viewer, but it is a great example of real horror.

Lastly in this segment is the Scream franchise. In 1996 Craven made another classic horror movie called Scream.It was another benchmark in horror and revitalised the genre. It is about a group of teens who are terrorised by 'ghostface', a killer who wears a ghost mask. It is tongue in cheek but with real horror thrown in. I loved the first movie. I thought that it was just great. I get the similarities to Halloween and Friday the 13th etc and I love all of the references to horror movies in it.
The sequels were good, but not as good as the first. It will always be my favorite in the series. It has earned the classic title as it is such a good movie and far ahead of all of the horror movies that came after it. 

I will be back with part two soon...

Edward Woodward 1930-2009

If you don't know who Edward Woodward is, then let me refresh your memory. Do you remember the classic horror movie called The Wicker Man(1973)? If you do, then you will also remember the great performance by Woodward. He played Sergeant Howie who was sent to a strange island to investigate the disappearance of a young girl. If you know the movie, then you can remember him being inside the Wicker Man, burning to death while screaming his head off!!! Woodward was an actor who was in loads of movies such as Callan(1974), The Appointment(1981) and Hot Fuzz(2007).


He was well-known for his television work. He was in The Saint, The Baron, Sherlock Holmes, Alfred Hitchcock Presents and of course, he was the star of the TV series The Equalizer. He played Robert McCall and the series ran from 1985 to 1989. He popped up in more films and TV more recently and he starred in The Bill and Eastenders. He will be missed as he was a very versatile actor and he was a real master of his craft. His performances in The Wicker Man and The Equalizer will stand the test of time and he will be missed. He had pancreatic cancer and he died at the age of 79 in Cornwall, England. He will be missed. Rest in Peace.

John Hughes R.I.P. 1950-2009

It is a sad day when a man who brought us the great classics of the 1980's has died of a heart attack aged 59. He was way too young. John Hughes brought us some of the best teen movies ever made and some of my favourites. To mention just a few- Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club, Pretty in Pink,Ferris Buellers Day Off and Planes Trains and Automobiles. He wrote and produced lots more such as the Home Alone Movies and Uncle Buck. Who hasn't seen a John Hughes movie???The man gave us some brilliant movies and he will be remembered fondly....We at Jigsaw's Lair will pay homage to him by watching some 80's Molly Ringwald tonight!!!

Michael Jackson - King of Pop (1958-2009) RIP

We at Jigsaws Lair are very sad to report that Michael Jackson has died today from a cardiac arrest. He was only 50 years of age and whether you loved or hated him, he is the undisputed king of pop and he had some great music. He was an eccentric guy but he had lots of talent. His albums were huge sellers and he was going to have a comeback tour this year. Jackson could sing and dance like nobody else and he is a huge loss to the world of pop.When I was young he played here in Cork where I am from and I remember everything shutting down with the sheer excitement of his concert and his arrival! I was too young to go to it at the time but everyone was talking about it and it makes you think about how one person can bring joy and happiness to so many people through his talent. He had plenty of hard times and controversies and people found him strange and odd, but now, that doesn't seem to matter. He will be missed and we hope he rests in peace. So put on any track of his that you like and we all definitely have great tracks to choose from and just listen to his talent.His music will be remembered forever.