Right, first on the menu. When it comes to the plethora of horror characters none is hungrier than the zombie. All they do is shuffle around looking for some brain to slurp. And though one of my mates has a point in saying, "there's no redemption in a zombie film," I beg to differ.
Of course the Romero films are the classics, my favourite is Dawn of the Dead. It's just cool to have it set in a shopping mall and it's got one of my favourite lines, "when there's no more room in hell, the dead will walk the earth." And does anyone remember Pet Semetary? I remember being freaked out by the zombie cat- or perhaps I was at an impressionable age. In recent times, a good zombie rollick is Tarantino's Planet Terror, lots of stylistic gore and McGowan with a machine gun leg. Outlandish and camp, it's definitely more fun than Kill Bill.
But if I was to choose one, my favourite Zom-romp is 28 Days Later, mainly because I was never into the whole zombie genre in the first place. I think it's all that groaning and shuffling. You're not sure whether to run away or shove them a wheelchair. 28 Days gave them speed and there's a lot of cool themes going on. The iconic empty London streets, the one man against crazy army guy. What's left for you when all there's left is just rage? Plenty of redemption here.
How do you outrun something dead?
On to the thirstiest of the lot- my favourite genre,
vampires... Although I have to say recent movies have been rather namby-pamby, focusing on the more romantic slant of vampires (blame Twilight and True Blood although I am a huge fan of the later). I can't honestly say I can remember the last time I watched a truly horrifying vampire movie. Lost Boys was more of a teen fad, Interview started the whole beautiful tortured vampire genre and 30 Days of Night (I had high hopes of that due to the killer comic) just didn't deliver the goods.
In saying that one of the best vampire flicks I've seen in a while was
Let the Right One In. True it's not that scary but the little girl in the movie is superb and there is something a little disconcerting watching her hold a casual conversation in Swedish with blood trails all over her face.
I miss eating candy
From Dusk till Dawn is a good romp if you in a mood for something with attitude and Bram Stoker's Dracula was lavish (one of my favourite
bulu roma naik scenes is when Gary Oldman licks the blade with blood on it and shivers) but the only one I can think of that used to creep me was Salem's Lot. Remember that? The brother floating outside the window in the mist and knocking on the glass asking to be let in. That burned in my head for quite a long time. I used to just stare at my window hoping that nothing knocks on it.
Next up...
red meat films. Black comedy like Delicatessan and The Cook, the Thief, his Wife and her Lover brings cannibalism to an almost art form. Recently I enjoyed Midnight Meat Train based on Clive Barker's short story. And the only reason this is in is that within the whole slaying, thumping, skinning and chopping of meat was one pivotal diner scene. The cook grills up a fat, succulent steak. That image combined with the abundance of blood made me hanker for a steak after the movie. It sounds sick but I dare you to watch it and not want a steak afterwards.
"In popular horror culture, zombies are probably the hungriest of the lot"
My pick here is Texas Chainsaw Massacre (the original one) for a scream of a watch. Leatherface was one of the most iconic images of 70's horror. So you got the butchering but the actress (and I have no idea what else she has been in since) has the most outstanding pair of lungs. It's that long chase scene and her screaming really puts you on the edge.
Mmm... human, the other white meat...
Superb rainy night fodder. If not Jaws is my top pick for animal-eats-human movie. Please put that DVD of Ananconda down.
Going a little off tangent, one of my favourite picks for dark and dank night watching is
Pan's Labyrinth. It's got two of the best monsters I've seen in a while. One, the truly amazing Pale Man. He's a combination of horror and fascination, the kind of being that eats little children. It's everything from the eyeballs in its palms, to the mouth full of jagged teeth, the pale hanging skin like a fat man that has lost too much weight too fast.
Peekaboo! I see you!
And that appetite, eating with a hunger and dread. You can't believe it when Ofelia eats the grapes and then awakens this damnation. The other monster is of course her stepfather. His casual cruelty, cold eyes and morbid fascination of watching the slow stitching up of a Joker's smile on his face. Which goes to show that sometimes the most horrifying manifestations on earth are humans.
Finally, I would like to go into
Asian Horror- a genre that manages to creep me out most of all. Maybe because it's a little too close to home. Although I really am a little tired of the woman with long inky black hair appearing everywhere- at the bottom of my bed, from the air-conditioning unit, in my sink there are some pretty good stuff out there.
And I suppose on the subject of food, we have Hungry Ghosts. Setting out food for the deceased to come back and eat. The Eye had a scene where a mother and child come back to her husband's char siew shop and with long, purple tongues lick the hanging meats. The whole food and superstition thing is intertwined deeply in Asian culture.
Be careful what you put in your flesh, woman!
So the fifth film as an antidote to gore and baring teeth is
Dumplings, a horror food movie about wanting to stay young. It's a beautifully shot film especially when the dumplings are being made, close up shots of flour and dough and yet there's something off kilter about the whole scene. Later we find out what's truly in the dumplings...
P/S: if you are up in arms that I didn't put classics like Exorcist or Shutter or The Ring... remember it's horror and food...
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