Salem´s Lot

I believe that most horror fans all over the world can agree that author Stephen King have written some of the most classic horror books ever. If you woud ask fans of his books which one is your personal favourite i guarantee you will get a lot of different answers. One of my personal favourite Stephen King novels is known as Misery ( and i really love the film adaptation with legendary actors James Caan and Kathy Bates ) and i usually don´t read the same novel more than one time. When it comes to Misery i have actually read that novel three times and that does barely ever happen. Over the years i have read a couple of Stephen King novels although i know i have plenty of them that i have not read yet. It´s the same thing with me everytime i start reading a book, i only read a certain amount of pages and then it can take weeks before i continue. However i am planning to read more of his noves closer to my retirement ( i have at least 20 years left to work, so always good to have something on the bucket list ). Since we are talking about the novels of legendary author Stephen King let´s dive into one of his books known as Salem´s Lot released in 1975. I have not personally read this book so far ( but it´s going on my bucket list i promise ) but i have seen the legendary TV mini series released in 1979. Now, if you are a fan of vampire horror films in general i have a feeling you will enjoy this TV mini series ( 3 hours long ). The story takes place in th small town of Salem´s Lot where author Ben Mears ( David Soul ) return to his hometown to write a book regarding a very mysterious house known as the Marsten House. The owner of the house Richard Straker ( James Mason ) is a local antique shop owner in Salem´s Lot and Ben is suspicious about what is happening in the Marsten House after people suddenly disappear. They later return but in the shape of a vampire. Salem´s Lot is a very well made horror TV mini series and have some really good vampire make up effects as well as a solid story considering running for 3 hours. Great acting as well especially from legendary actor James Mason ( who Alfred Hitchcock fans remember from the classic North by Northwest ). A sequel came out in 1987 called A Return To Salem´s Lot and to be honest it´s not good. A TV mini series remake of Salem´s Lot came out in 2004 with a great cast such as Rob Lowe, Donald Sutherland and Rutger Hauer. I enjoy this remake even though i prefer the 1979 version. So, after many years and much buzz regarding a new film adaptation of Salem´t Lot it have finally been released on MAX. A new film adaptation of the classic novel, is this latest version better than i expected or is this not what fans of Stephen King film adaptations asked for at all?

Writer Ben Mears ( Lewis Pullman ) returns to his hometown of Jerusalem´s Lot to write a book about his childhood. He befriends and starts a romantic relationship with Susan Norton ( Mackenzie Leigh ), a local who has an overbearing mother and dreams of leaving town. In this town a strange European man called Richard Straker ( Pilou Asbaek ) opens up an antique store and moves into the long-abandoned Marsten House. When children and other people in town suddenly vanish Ben starts to investigate more what is going on, and it seems that the Marsten House is connected to this mystery.

I think we should be fair and say that taking on a new film adaptation of such a beloved book such as Salem´s Lot is not easy to do. You have to respect the fans of the book as well as try and tell a story that feels like something similar to the original story and still be able to make some changes. When it comes to this laterst version i will say this, first of all i think the film crew did a great job capturing the time perion of the 70´s. Everything from the costume design to hair styles and especially the town itself looks like it is during the 1970´s and to me that shows they actually made an attempt to make the time period look correctly. The sountrack does include songs from the 1970´s and one song that really fit in well is Gordon Lightfoot´s classic 1974 song Sundown ( a perfect choice for a vampire movie right? ). I am impressed by the children actors in this film and they reminded me a bit of the chemistry the children had in the 2017 horror film IT ( not as good acting wise as the children in that film, but still surprised me ). Lead actor Lewis Pullman ( who you have to see in the lovely film Bad Times At The El Royale ) as author Ben Mears delivers a solid performance and it´s nice to see him return to the horror genre. The vampire design looks alright i suppose but it is the vampire lord Kurt Barlow ( played by actor Alexander Ward ) who steals the show. I do like the performance from actor Bill Camp as the teacher Matthew, a small town rebel who don´t like bully´s. If i have to say something negative it might be that it takes a while before the film really finds it´s rightful place. That doesn´t mean this makes the film bad in any way, maybe i just wished that the horror atmosphere would have been more creepy regarding the vampires. I also feel certain details are left out sinc this is over an hour shorter than the TV mini series. Either way i have to say for a remake i enjoy this film and i am actually surprised how well they pulled this film off. It does have some flaws but if you are a vampire fan and prefer old school films in this genre i think you might actually appreciate that they tried to make this film feel like vampire films of the past. Director Gary Dauberman ( who directed Annabelle Comes Home as well ) have done a great job with this remake and in my opinion this is better than Annabelle Comes Home, a film i was disappointed in back in 2019. His version of Salem´s Lot manage to stand on it´s own and still pay respect to the 1979 TV mini series. If you love vampires you should watch this film on MAX for sure, nice to see someone trying to bring back this genre back on it´s feet.

Rating: DDD

Lore

I still remember one specific camping trip to Norway back in 1989. I was 12 years old at that time and we travelled with our school class to hang out with Norwegian children our age over a couple of days. The idea was we were supposed to learn about survival in nature and they had prepared different tasks that we were meant to do together with our new Norwegian friends. I remember we built tents out of trees and other material such as spruce twigs instead of the ordinary tent material.  We had plenty of canned food and water but we were also supposed to learn what mushrooms we could eat. During one of these days we were told that today we would fish and if we got enough fish for everyone we will barbcue it over an open fire. I remember that we at least managed to get enough fish so we could share meals and 2 of the children walked through the woods with a teacher to find firewood. This was a good week right before the real autumn started and it was probably the biggest camping trip i have done in my life so far. I also remember at this trip during the evening i would take out my portable Sony Walkman cassette player listening to Johnny Hates Jazz abum Turn Back The Time. Even until these days i do go to lake trips sometimes and just take a whole day there enjoying food over an open fire, swimming, doing some reading in the sun. Speaking of camping there are loads and loads of horror films where the story is connected to a camping vacation or a camping story. I have seen plenty of horror films in this category since the 80´s and even in more modern times we do get camping horror films released. One film i can recommend is the 2016 Australian horror thriller film Killing Ground from director Damien Power. It may not be a very original film but as a camping horror thriller i feel that Killing Ground have enough powerful nature scenes to please fans of this specific genre plus most of the acting is really good. I should probably say that the film jumps around in the timeline but i still enjoy it. You can probably find it cheap on DVD or blu ray if you want to check this film out. Speaking of horror films with camping one film i have been wanting to see for a while is the horror anthology film known as Lore. I remember seeing the movie poster of this film and it looked quite interesting. Since i am a big fan of the genre known as anthology horror i decided to give this film a chance. Is Lore one of the most interesting films in this genre this year or is this a total disaster from start to finish?

Four hikers gather for an "immersive" experience in the wilds who is set up by mystical Darwin ( Richard Brake ). During their first night together Darwin suggests that each one who joined on this experience will throw a totum ( a sacred piece of wood ) into the fire and tell their story for everyone. Each story will not only bring chaos and terror but also learn these hikers a lesson.

When it comes to horror anthology films i always have a specific rule if you are going to make me enjoy your film. You have to have some interesting stories to tell, at least most of the stories have to capture my attention. Because if you don´t make an attempt to make most of the stories interesting then the idea behind a horror anthology film falls to the ground pretty quickly. In the case of Lore i can at least say that this is not a bad film in this specific genre. There are certain details that help Lore function well as a horror film so let us begin with what i enjoy most about this film. I would say that there is not one bad story in these segments, each one brings something to the table. Are there segments better than others? Of course, i believe this is a personal taste since each story is very different from each other and i appreciate the diversity. This makes the anthology horror idea surrounding this film more enjoyable to watch. Let´s get into what i feel works best with Lore and i have to say legendary actor Richard Brake ( who is definetely worth seeing in th 2008 horror film Outpost, worth picking up on DVD ) as the character Darwin. I have to say he is the best casting choice for this film as the camping leader. The way he tells stories and capture the audience with his magical screen presence fits very well with his character. There are so many characters in this film in all the segments but let´s talk about my two favourite segments of Lore. And that is the very first story called Shadows from director James Bushe. A simple story that may look like criminals fighting but have an unexpected twist. The second favourite segment is the religious cult story Cross Your Heart from director Greig Johnson, that´s actually pretty brutal and fun. To the negative i would probably say that the segment The Hidden Woman had an interesting idea but lacks of lazy story telling. I also feel that certain characters in the segment The Campire felt quite boring to listen to. Other than that i do feel Lore have anough to offer fans of this specific genre and i do think the film looks good from a technical perspective. Each director of Lore proves that you can make a quality anthology horror film on a limited budget. Definetely worth a watch if you love camping stories and practical effects as well combined, Lore hits the right spot with me for sure.

Rating: DDD

The Train Of Death

Travelling can be quite rough if you have to drive for many hours. Sure, you can stop and rest along the highway but if your journey takes about 12 hours it´s not like you are excited about driving that long. I rather travel by an airplane, bus or on a train if i am travelling a long journey. Of course you will travel with a lot of strangers but i don´t mind, if i feel like being alone i can just listen to a podcast or watch a movie on my computer. Even though i enjoy flying to other countries the most comfortable way to travel has to be travelling on a train. You can move much easier than on an airplane or a bus and they even have a restaurant you can visit if you need a snack or a lunch. Even though i have travelled many times on trains here in Sweden i have also tried travelling on a train in both Scotland and Spain. There were some differences and i would say that the Spanish trains were a bit more modern than the train i travelled with in Scotland. Nothing wrong with the train journey itself in Scotland but they didn´t have any real restaurant on board the train just a breakfast wagon. I would like to try another train trip in Europe in the future, perhaps in Italy or France would be nice? Speaking of trains there are a lot of movies taking place on a train. You have action star Steven Seagal fighting terrorists on board a train in Under Siege 2 - Dark Territory and you also have horror movies such as the zombie film Train To Busan. I would highly recommend the South Korean horror film Train To Busan because it is really intense and very well made from director Sang-Ho Yeon. Not only are the zombies creepy but the atmosphere surrounding this zombie invasion is really intensive. Watch this film on streaming if you want a fun horor night. Speaking of horror films on trains i have heard about an Indonesian train horror film known as The Train Of Death, a title that sounds exactly what i would call if i travelled on a train with Meghan Markle. I have seen several good Indoniesian horror fims so i was quite curious about this one. Is this a must watch before Christmas arrives or is The Train Of Death just as terrible as Prince Harry´s novel Spare?

A brand new railway line is about to take off to Sangkara Resort, a tourist complex located in the middle of the forest. What most of the passengers don´t know is that during the building of this railway line a lot of railway workers myseriously disappeared for unknown reasons. On this trip they are about to face some of these workers spirits on board this train.

Making a horror film on board a train is actually a good idea as long as you have an intresting story and horror scenes that function as well. In the case of The Train Of Death this is a ghostly horror film in many ways and there is especially one thing that happens in each tunnel the train passes a tunnel, one wagon at a time is disconncted that the ghosts themselves manage to do. This makes the whole train journey far more complicated of course. In the past i have seen some impressive Indonesian horror films and i would probably say that The Train Of Death lands somewhere in the middle between the Indonesian horror films that i remember, i would call this pretty serviceable horror film. The best part of The Train Of Death is without a doubt to see the demonic ghosts attacking passengers and especially when it gets reallly bloody and gory. There is also a nice friendship story between the sister characters Purnama and Kembang, both payed well by actors Hana Masalan and Zara Leola, where one of the sisters is dying from a terminal disease. I do think the practical make up effects on the demonic ghosts looks good and especially one of them look creepier than i expected. Ok so we might as well dig into something i felt could have been better with this film. It takes a whole hour until something really starts to happen. We do get glimpses of the demonic ghosts but they don´t really attack until the film have crossed the 1 hour mark. This means there is a lot of dialogue scenes and in some scenes you really don´t care about certain characters on this journey. On the plus side i do think this film is well acted for the most part and looks good. I believe that if you love horror films in general i think this film could be worth checking out if you want a different take on a ghost story. Director Rizal Mantovani have made a horror film that actually feels like an old school idea while adding some more modern ingredients into the mix and manage to give us a film that´s completely fine. The Train Of Death may inspire you to travel by trains more often and i have to see that as a positive sign for this enjoyable horror film.

Rating: DDD

Alien: Romulus

Everyone have a favourite film that they can rewatch over and over again. A film that have a very special meaning for you, doesn´t matter what the reason is but you simply love that specific film. Some people love old classics such as the 1972 drama known as The Godfather from Francis Ford Coppola while others love more violent classics such as the 1976 masterpiece known as Taxi Driver from legendary director Martin Scorsese. Now i will admit that Taxi Driver is one of my absolute favourite films of all time and i can´t remember how many times i have seen it. I do remember the first time i saw this film and i must have been 12 years old at that time in 1989. My school friend Nicklas ( who collected all of Clint Eastwoods films on VHS mostly ) bought Taxi Driver on VHS so i borrowed it from him. It´s one of those rare films that have a very powerful story and absoutely fantastic characters. Not only that but this film have some brilliant acting performances as well included, especially Robert De Niro as the insane taxi driver Travis Bickle. If you for some reason have not seen Taxi Driver i highly recommend this film no matter if you watch it on streaming or physical media. One of my other favourite films of all time is the 1986 sci fi horror action film Aliens from director James Cameron. This is honestly one of the films i never get tired of and watch it every year. I really do enjoy the original film from 1979 but to me Aliens is the best film in this franchise. This film have spectacular action scenes, the alien costume design looks fantastic, so many great characters that get screen time and of course Ripley ( played by Sigourney Weaver ) is one of the greatest female characters of all time. I have seen every single Alien film so far in this franchise and most of them i enjoy, while Alien 3 was honestly disappointing. Director Ridley Scott returned to the Alien franchise with 2 films Prometheus and Alien: Covenant. Even though i enjoy these films for different reasons it felt like the Alien franchise needed a different director to give us a different look into this legendary sci fi horror universe. So here we are with the latest film in the franchise known as Alien: Romulus who this time is directed by Fede Álvarez ( director of the really good Evil Dead remake from 2013, a must see ). Since i am always curious  what a new film in this franchise would give the audience of course i had to give Alien: Romulus a chance. Is this a surprisingly good sequel or does this film prove that it is time to stop making more film in this franchise and do something more creative instead?

In 2142, a Weyland-Yutani prob recovers a large cocoon from the wreckage of the USCSS Nostromo. Months later, at the rundown Jackson´s Star colony on the perpeturally dark LV -410. orphaned colonist Rain Carradine ( Cailee Spaeny ) learns that her work has been forcibly extended by Weyland-Yutani. Determined to escape, she joins a plan with her brother Andy ( David Jonsson ) - a malfunctioning android reprogrammed by her father - her ex boyfriend Tyler Harrison ( Archie Renaux ) with a group of other young people. The group commandeers the hauler Corbean IV to reach Renaissance, a Weyland-Yutani  split into the modules Romulus and Remus to steal cryostais equipment. Once they go onboard the Renaissance they will soon find out this station is not abandoned.

I have to say that there is especially three details that we really should appreciate with Alien: Romulus. First of all the set design of all the futuristic buildings. I get the feeling that director Fede Álvarez might have been inspired by the 1982 sci fi classic Blade Runner in some ways, while you can tell he is clearly inspired by James Cameron´s Aliens rather than the original Alien film. The futuristic look of certain locations match well with the story that Alien: Romulus is trying to tell us. I think if you are going to make a film such as this then this is exactly one of the details you should think about, make the spaceship look cool as well as the futuristic buildings. The chemistry between the main characters Rain ( played by actress Cailee Spaeny ) and Andy ( played by actor David Jonsson ) is surprisingly good. Their scenes together give these characters some charming scenes while they also go through rough times together like family members. I especially think David Jonsson manage to act quite well as an adroid. The space scenes are really beautiful and capture the right environment surrounding this spaceshift crew in a very stylish way. Ok so i have to mention some negative details specifically one character i did not like at all. And that is the annoying character known as Bjorn ( played by actor Spike Fearn ), I understand he attacks Andy because his mother was killed by an Android in the past, but the way this character deliver dialouge and show off his personality just don´t work for me. Every time he showed up i just felt annoyed and wished he wasn´t in the crew. I also feel that the story is very similar to other Alien films in the past and i kind of wished they would try something more original with this film like an unexpected twist. With that said this is a great looking action horror film and the practical effects is of course something i really appreciate. The alien design is quite effective as well and reminds me more of the 80´s design. I would probably say that Alien: Romulus is one of the better sequels compared to Alien 3 and Alien: Covenant considering there is a lot of details to appreciate about this film, especially if you love the 1986 film Aliens. Director Fede Álvarez shows once more he knows how to make great horror films and he definetely proves he have passion for this specific genre. If you are a true fan of Alien in general i think you will have a good time with Alien: Romulus.

Rating: DDD

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice

Whenever i hear a young generation of people discuss films in today´s society i can clearly see that they have no idea what the 1980´s brought the whole world when it comes to iconic films. I remember specifically sitting at a café downtown where a young woman in her early 20´s who works in health care just like myself talked about what films she thought might inspire others such as herself. Her example was that she brought up the original Twilight film from 2008 and she thought that maybe my generation from the 80´s appreciated this film as well. I laughed in her face without being disrespectful and said:- Oh dear, you clearly have not seen The Thing, Big Trouble In Little China or They Live from director John Carpenter. She looked at me and said:- John Carpenter, i have neve heard that name before. When she said that i knew it was up to me to help her learn very important knowledge of film history, after all we all need to experience these classics no matter what age we are. So while we had coffee i showed her pictures of the posters of all of these 3 films and she actually became curious. She had not seen any films from the 80´s that she could remember so i was in one way her guide into the magical time of the 80´s. As we were going through a list of 80´s films we came across a posters of 80´s film she noticed a poster of the film Beetlejuice. She asked me about this film and i told her what the film was about and specifically told her about the director of this film Tim Burton. I don´t know if she saw Beetlejuice but i personally have seen this film several times. It is truly one of the all time classics from director Tim Burton and the film does have a very unique style from start to finish. Not many horror comedies that talks about death in such a way as the film Beetlejuice does and of course the character Betelgeuse ( played by Michael Keaton ) turned out to be very charming. Since this film came out in 1988 it has a very big cult following worldwide for over 30 years and a lot of horror fans consider this to be one of their favourite Tim Burton films. Who would have known that they would actually make a real sequel but here we are in 2024 with the film Beetlejuice Beetlejuice from legendary director Tim Burton. I actually never thought they would make a sequel so of course i simply had to see if this film would be any good. Considering what at classic the original film is, does this sequel manage to capture the magic of the original film or is this just a desperate cash grab just to sell tickets?

In 2024, Lydia Deetz ( Winona Ryder ) hosts the supernatural TV talk show Ghost House. While taping an episode, Lydia halllucinates seeing Betlegeuse, the demon who tried to marry her 36 years earlier, in the audience. Shortly afterwards, Lydia´s stepmother, Delia Deetz ( Catherine O´Hara, informs Lydia that her father Charles, had been eaten by a shark. Since Lydia is no longer close to her daughter Astrid Deetz ( Jenna Ortega ), the loss of Astrid´s father will of course not make the situation any better. They all travel Winter River, Connecticut, for Charles funeral. Lydia finds the attic where the previous owner built a scale model of the town. She also finds a flyer of Betlegeuse ( Michael Keaton ) when Lydia enter to prevent Astrid from saying his name three times. However, things get complicated when a ghost named Jeremy Frazier ( Arthur Conti ) tries to trick Lydia into the Afterlife to use her as a sacrifice to bring himself back into the real world. Lydia have to stop him and have no other option, she have to bring Belegeuse back to save her daughter from being trapped in the underworld.

There is always some big risks to take when you make a sequel to a beloved film from the 80´s and this film could have been a completely disaster ( just look at the sequel to Coming To America known as Coming 2 America, a film that failed completely ). The good news is that Beetlejuice Beetlejuice manage to bring back both some nostalgic feelings while adding some nice surprises, especially in two new characters. So let us talk about what works with this sequel and i have to say the Afterlife world bring some charming scenes in this film and to be honest i actually had more fun here than in the ordinary world. In the Afterlife world there are especially two characters known as Delores ( played by actress Monica Belluci ) and Wolf Jackson ( played by legendary actor Willem Dafoe ) who especially bring out some of the most enjoyable moments of this sequel. Im not saying Michael Keaton is bad in this film as Betelgeuse, he does deliver some great scenes. But the mystery and powers of the character Delores is without a doubt one of my personal highlights of this film. When it comes to other characters we do get to see Lydia back here ( of course played by Winona Ryder ) and we also get to see actress Catherine O´ Hara return as Delia who you remember from the first film. Both of them are just fine in this film but i have to say young actress Jenna Ortega gives this a different approach with her character Astrid. It comes to no surprise that director Tim Burton knows how to do horror and there are some funny scenes here that feels like they belong among dead people in the Afterlife. There is also other throwbacks to the original film while adding some new details as well. So is this film just as funny as the original film? Honestly no, at least not for me personally. I feel that this was a missed oppurtinity since the original film did have some really funny scenes. To be honest i don´t think this film will be as nostalgic as the original film, it´s almost impossible to reach the same level as the 1988 classic. Overall i will say i still had a good time with Beetlejuice Beetlejuice thanks to great characters and the entertaining scenes in the Afterlife. Director Tim Burton knows how to combine horror and comedy and proves this again with his latest film. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is a film for true fans of Tim Burton and the original film as well, just don´t expect too much or you might be disappointed.

Rating: DDD

A Halloween Special: Girls Nite Out ( 1982 )

A lot of people worldwide celebrate Halloween weekend in many different ways. Some love to dress up as their favoutite horror characters such as Leatherface, Jason Voorhees or Senator Ted Cruz ( i should warn you, anyone coming close to Ted Cruz might be so scared that they actually run in fear ). And then you have people who carve pumpkins or loves to go trick or treating across the street hoping to get some candy. I personally have one favourite way to celebrate Halloween weekend and i dress up as congress woman Marjorie Taylor Greene and sit with a sign that says:- Im stopping climate change by sitting on this wall. I personally feel that this is the most brilliant Halloween celebration anyone have ever done in history and i am pretty sure no one have ever done this before. I do enjoy to have coffee spiced with pumpkin flavor while watching a horror film, because everyone knows this is the big horror weekend of the whole year. Over my 47 years living on this planet i have seen so many horror films im trying to remember as many as possible. Luckily i do have several recommendations for Halloween weekend and for example i would recommend 3 horror films from the specific year of 2007 and they are known as Dead Silence, 30 Days Of Night and the antholohy Halloween horror film known as Trick ´r Treat. If you manage to watch these 3 films on streaming or on physical media during Halloween weekend i guarantee you will have a lovely time. If you would rather watch something older from let´s say the 1980´s then i would highly recommend director Tom Holland´s classic vampire horror film Fright Night from 1985. It is one of those vampire classics that definetly holds a very special place in the hearts of horror fans worldwide. Not that long ago i was asked to do a special Halloween movie review of a horror film that one of my readers picked. As you all know i am always grateful to be asked to write about any film they would like to see me review. The film that was chosen is the 1982 horror film known as Girls Nite Out, a film i have not seen before. Is this a perfect film to enjoy during Halloween weekend or is Girls Nite Out not the fun experience i was hoping it would be?

At a remote Ohio college, a killer dressed in the school´s bear mascot suit stalks several  young women participating in an all-night scavenger hunt.

If you remember college movies of the 80´s where sex and acohol was a big part of that period i can tell you that Girls Nite Out makes sure we have both of these ingredients included. I would imagine that if a Swedish Feminist would see this film in today´s society she would definetely not be happy, but luckily i am happy instead. You see i happen to enjoy this light hearted sense of humour where everything is not meant to be taken seriously. The 80´s was a time filled with lots of nudity, sex and alcohol so why would Girls Nite Out try to do anything differently? If you can accept all of this i think you might actually have some fun with this film. There are some really wacky characters in this film that would probably be thrown out a party if things would get too wild. For example the characters Charlie Keiser ( played by actor Larry Mintz from the 1986 classic Tough Guys ) and Ralph Bostwick ( played by actor John Didrischen ) are exactly what we need at a college party where limits does not exist and you just live for the moment. Wonderful to see legendary actor Hal Holbrook from classic anthology horror film Creepshow in this film as well as the character Jim MacVey. When this film changes direction later on and become a traditional slasher film we do get some blood and violence included. I wouldn´t say that the slasher scenes are very frightening but maybe it´s because i have seen so many horror films that it takes quite a lot to affect me personally. One thing i do feel Girls Nite Out manage to do quite well is combine college comedy with slasher horror scenes. The plot isn´t anything you will remember much of and that´s completely fine, not all slasher films need a complicated story to function. So anything negative to say? To be honest this is not a film that we are supposed to think too much about and just have fun with it. Director Robert Deubel deliver a college horror film that knows what audience it was made for and give us a simple but fun time for fans of the slasher genre. Girls Nite Out is a pure nightmare for Swedish feminists and that´s good enough for me to recommend this film. Party on people im going for another whiskey.

Rating: DDD

A Halloween Special: Bram Stoker´s Dracula ( 1992 )

If you go back and read about horror stories from the past you will find out that people used to believe in a lot of things. For example in Scandinavia people believed that trolls actually existed while in countries like Austria they believed that the Christmas demon known as Krampus was in fact real. But then we have historical horror stories that actually happened in real life such as The Villisca Axe Murder House in Villisca, Iowa, USA. In the year of 1912 at this house there were six children and two adults brutally murdered by having their skulls completely crushed by an unknown perpetrator with an axe. You can actually stay at this house if you dare, where they say people have heard screams from children. Let us move forward to a completly different country and let´s talk about a very special author who grew up in Ireland. We are of course talking about author Bram Stoker who in the year of 1897 released his world famous gothic horror novel Dracula. If you talk to horror fans worldwide about horror novels regarding their favourite books in this genre, there is a big chance that this classic novel will be in the top ten of that list. I have read this book myself right after the millenium in the year 2000 when i bought myself a copy. This is an excellent novel that you should read if you love horror in general. It may be very old but it still very effective and very well written by author Bram Stoker. It was this novel that inspired the character known as Dracula to become a horror icon in cinema for many years and i have seen the 1931 horror film Dracula with legendary actor Bela Lugosi, a film that basically gave this character a franchise for many generations ahead. In my opinion the really good Dracula film that got me hooked up on this character was the 1958 horror film Dracula with legendary actor Christopher Lee as Count Dracula. There were plenty of sequels made with Christopher Lee as Dracula, some were ok while others were not as good as i was hoping they would be. Since then the Dracula franchise continued on in many different versions but it was in 1992 when director Francis Ford Coppola ( director of classic films such as The Godfather and Apocalypse Now ) really wanted to bring the novel of Dracula to life with his adaptation of the novel called Bram Stoker´s Dracula. I saw this film in cinema in early 1993 and fell in love with the film. It´s been quite some time since i revisited this film so decided to do a special review of Bram Stoker´s Dracula for the upcoming Halloween weekend. Is this still a very solid horror film or have this film aged more than i expected and lost some of the magic it once had?

In 1462, Vlad Dracula ( Gary Oldman ) returns from a victory in his campaign against the Ottoman Empire to find his beloved wife Elisabeta ( Winona Ryder ) has commited suicide after his enemies falsely reported his death. A priest of the Romanian Orthodox Church tells him that his wife´s soul is damned to hell for commiting suicide. Enraged, Vlad desecrates the chapel and renounces the Christian God, declaring he will rise from the grave to avenge Elisabeta with all the powers of darkness. He drives his sword into the chapel´s stone and drinks the blood that pours from it, becoming a vampire. In 1897, solocitor Jonathan Harker ( Keanu Reeves ) takes the Transylvanian Count Dracula as a client from his colleague R.M. Renfield ( Tom Waits ), who have gone insane and is now an inmate at Dr. Jack Seward´s ( Richard E. Grant ). Jonathan travels to Transylvania to arrange Dracula´s real estate acquisitions in London. There, he meets Dracula, who finds a picture of Jonathan´s  fiancée Mina Murray ( Winona Ryder ) and believes she is the reincarnation of Elisabeta. He leaves Jonathan trapped at his castle with some female vampires while he travels to London to make Mina his Elisabeta.

It doesn´t take very long until we see that Bram Stoker´s Dracula have a very erotic tone in this film. Especially where the almost completely naked vampire women show their bodies and manage to set the right tone for this film, where lust and passion becomes one with these creatures of the night while they feed on fresh human blood. I do think this gives the film strength daring to cross over some of the typical Dracula ingredients we have seen in much older film adaptations, where nudity feels like a much welcome detail that matches really well with darkness. There are so many different details that i appreciate with this film adaptation based on Bram Stoker´s classic book. For example the costume design in this film is really well designed, you can tell they really made a big effort to try and capture the right look for each of the most important characters we meet in this film. I also feel that the background story of  Count Dracula is told very well with some fascinating details regarding his life as a human in the past, as well as we get a sense of how hes struggling being the monster he is transformed. We have to talk about the acting in this film and i have to say, Gary Oldman as Count Dracula is not only one of the best acting performances i have seen Gary Oldman do in his career but i also feel that his portrait of Count Dracula is extremely powerful, emotional and very effective. Especially in the scenes where he show himself as a vampire beast, the make up effects are absolutely brilliant to his incredible performance. Legendary actor Anthony Hopkins as Van Helsing doesn´t need any introduction, right from his first scenes as this character you feel his presence by his powerful dialogue. Cary Elwes is here as well and it comes to no surprise he´s just as good as you would expect him to be. What about the horror influences, do they match well with this film? I would say for a vampire film this may be one of the best looking films in this specific horror genre. There is no doubt in my mind, this is definetely the best film adaptation of Dracula we have so far and it may be the greatest we will ever have. Director Francis Ford Coppola really proved with this film that it is possible to make a very powerful vampire film with all the right ingredients. A must see if you want to see a true horror vampire classic, Bram Stoker´s Dracula hits all the right notes.

Rating: DDDD