Sin City: A Dame to Kill For

Sin City: A Dame to Kill For
Robert Rodriguez & Frank Miller // 2014 // 102 mins

The Place Beyond the Pines

x
The Place Beyond the Pines
Derek Cianfrance // 2013 // 140 mins

Prisoners

x

American Hustle

American Hustle

David O. Russell // 2013 // 138 mins

The Counsellor

The Counsellor
Ridley Scott // 2013 // 117 mins

30 Days of Horror | Day 24

An Effective Jump Scare
Wait Until Dark

There were no other choices for this post.

I'm going to be awkward now and write this post without actually giving anything away about the jump scare in question. That is simply down to the fact that it is, without a doubt, the best example of the jump scare that I have ever seen in a film, and as a jump scare is only as effective as its unknowing viewer I don't want to spoil it for anyone.

Wait Until Dark was advertised as more of horror film than it actually is, the film is a crime thriller in which a newly blinded Audrey Hepburn unknowingly homes a doll that contains a large amount of heroin. Dealer and general bad guy Harry Roat (Alan Arkin) plans to regain the doll and its contents by invading Hepburn's home with the help of two small-time con artists. The film is based upon a stage play of the same name and builds suspense through the consistent terrorisation of Hepburn's helpless protagonist. Both Hepburn and Arkin are fantastic in their respective roles, and the film works so well because of the strong characters they have helped build throughout the narrative.

When the film was first released cinema owners were given strict instructions that for the last eight minutes of the film lighting in the cinema would be reduced as low as it was legally allowed so as to heighten the experience. This is certainly a film that requires you be sat alone in a dark room with a big screen and the volume up in order to get the maximum effect. When I first saw this film I knew that it featured a fairly notorious jump scare but I was completely in the dark (sorry) as to when it would occur, and it got me good.

I'm a sucker for jump scares and no matter how badly executed they are they will quite often get the desired response from me, but this really is one of those truly brilliant scares that deserves it's reputation.  If you watch this film for nothing else, watch it for this scene.

30 Days of Horror | Day 19

A Horror Movie That Gives You Nightmares
The Silence of the Lambs

My job caught up with me this last weekend and so today will become a blogging marathon, with four posts to back date.

I struggled with choosing a film for this post as I really can't recall many films that have left me with nightmares after watching them. As I've said previously in this series I grew up watching a great deal of films that youngsters probably shouldn't be exposed too, but the earliest film that I remember really disturbing me was The Silence of the Lambs.

As I've gotten older and have seen the film more I have come to appreciate it as a brilliant crime thriller, but when I first watched this film I was at an age where my attention span was not too great. The disturbing relationship that develops between Clarice Starling and Dr Hannibal Lecter has turned Anthony Hopkins character into one of the most iconic characters of 90s cinema, but when I was younger it was Ted Levine's more obvious performance as Buffalo Bill that had the strongest effect on me.

American murderer Ed Gein has been the inspiration for three of cinema's most memorable and terrifying killers in Buffalo Bill, Leatherface and Norman Bates, and while Leatherface still scares me the most I can clearly recall how frightening I found the scenes in which Levine's character mocks and tortures his captor. The scene that I most vividly remember creeping me out was the final night-vision confrontation between Clarice and Bill in which he stalks her through the darkness, although 'It rubs the lotion on It's skin' still makes me squirm every time I hear it.

The Call

The Call
Brad Anderson // 2013 // 94 mins

The Dark Knight Rises

Seven years ago Christopher Nolan unleashed a film that was to be the start of a new Batman franchise. Batman Begins wowed viewers and took them back to the dark, gritty roots of the character that had been defiled by the gaudy neon paint of the characters previous outing, Batman & Robin. Four years ago Nolan followed up his origins story by pitting the hero against his ultimate long-standing enemy, The Joker. An immaculate performance and brilliant storytelling propelled The Dark Knight to comic-movie history, securing the franchise as the creme-de-la-creme of superhero films. Nineteen hours ago I sat in my seat at my local Odeon and watched the trailers roll before the third and final film in Nolan's trilogy began, The Dark Knight Rises.

*WARNING* May contain mild spoilers.