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If you're a horror fan you don't have to limit yourself to traditional Christmas flicks this season. You can treat youself to a creepy Christmas with these...
Hello again, fright fans! It’s been awhile—a year, in fact—since I last visited the hallowed halls of horror-wood and left a little of myself behind. All I have to say about my absence is this: It’s good to be back! Renfield has asked me to come up with a cornucopia of fear-fraught features for your Christmas carousing (sorry, been reading a lot of Robert Bloch lately!), in case you, like most of us horror fans, think nothing’s better than curling up with a few fright flicks on Christmas Eve. Here are my recommendations for a night of roasting chestnuts on an open fire. In England, some faint echoes of
the pagan still linger in Lots of fans of the book screamed in agony at the liberties taken with the novel, but the film stands on its own as a moody, atmospheric and genuinely scary tip of the hat to the gothic novel. The visual style is reminiscent of those grand old AIP Poe melodramas and The TV series Dark Shadows, while keeping some visual edge with a bit of modern gore. In 1981, this mixture of traditional gothic and modern shock had not been done to death yet, and works quite well. The cast is first-rate, with a bravura performance from John Houseman. Of course, you can’t get through the holiday season without checking out one of the literally hundred filmed versions of the classic Christmas ghost story, A Christmas Carol. This is one of my favorite stories of all time; in fact, I love it so much I joined Renfield in a little game of "bash the classic" in this very magazine last year this time! (See "A Universal Horror Christmas Carol" article here.) This year, I’ll just give you my pick of the bunch: the 1984 version directed by Clive Donner and starring George C. Scott as Scrooge. Scott gives depth and breadth to the character that’s missing from most of the other film versions, and the whole film’s worth seeing just to hear him say "there’s more gravy than grave to you!" The final nightmarish scene, in which Scrooge confronts the reality of his own loveless death, is atmospheric and thought-provoking.
I love the story mostly due to its boldly and rather unapologetically flying the flag for being nice to people, something I still advocate even after 36 years of life on a planet full of selfishness, thoughtlessness and cruelty. There’s my Christmas sermon to you: if you can see nothing else in common with the guy next to you, at least recognize the common humanity. Treat people no worse than you expect to be treated yourself. It even works sometimes … Right. Before you despair at my naked preaching, let’s launch ourselves into the sillier end of the spectrum with a couple of schlock gems. It’s not really fair to throw these in with real horror films like Ghost Story, since these films aren’t even capable of scaring up any real interest. These are the kind of films I watch with the remote close at hand, ready to fast-forward through the slow parts. Depending on your bent, you could say Santa Claus Conquers the Martians is all slow parts. It’s pretty turgid all the way through, and totally unbelievable … but folks, it’s a movie for kids, and if you can’t let the kid out at Christmas, when can you? This big dumb movie has been shredded with surgical precision on Mystery Science Theater 3000, and if you can find a copy of that version, so much the better. If you can’t, I’m sure you can think of your own little quips and comments; the thing fairly begs to be sneered at. Fun if you’re not too serious about how you entertain yourself on Christmas Eve. (See my and Renfield's slow-roasting of this anti-classic here.)
Another great schlocker for this particular holiday is Silent Night, Deadly Night. If you forget about the four sequels (I strongly suggest you do), this Christmas slasher stands alone. The story, about a boy who witnesses the murder of his parents by a thief dressed as Santa Claus, is sufficiently bizarre to make for interesting viewing, despite the passionless and routine "creative" methods of slice-and-dice.
You want real scares? Check out The Changeling, also starring George C. Scott. There’s no Christmas theme, but it’ll scare the hell out of you. An excellent companion for viewing with Ghost Story.
Next up is The Grither, which is not a feature film at all but an episode of Tales from the Darkside, available on videocassette. The tape featuring this episode has several other cool episodes of the show, including an adaptation of Stephen King’s short story "Word Processor of the Gods." But The Grither wins hands down as the best episode of this anthology, and makes for a great scary short between flicks or before the main feature (you could pair this with the Disney cartoon Mickey’s Christmas Carol and all you’d be missing is a newsreel to recreate a day at the movies, ‘30’s style!) Starring E.G. Marshall, The Grither is a bit of a caution against making up scary monster stories to tell your kids so they’ll get in bed early on Christmas Eve. It’s a dangerous thing, telling kids stories … because they believe. In this case, a little belief is all the Grither needs. Well, that should give you something to do while waiting for old Saint Nick to make his way down your chimney. Until next time, fright fans! God bless us, every one!
Thanks, Dave, and welcome back! Good to see you can still pick the holiday flicks that "slay belles"! Cheers! Article copyright Dave Duggins |
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celebration of the winter festival
that is now Christmas but was once in recognition of the winter solstice; it’s an old
English tradition to tell ghost stories on Christmas Eve. In honor of that grand tradition
of ghost stories that take place in cold, wintry locales, my first pick is the 1981 film
adaptation of Peter Straub’s Ghost Story, directed by John Irvin (Raw Deal,
Hamburger Hill) from a script by Lawrence D. Cohen (Carrie, It, The Tommyknockers).
