Recently, I had the pleasure of attending a screening
of William Malone’s latest horror fairy tale,
PARASOMNIA (READ MY REVIEW
HERE). It was fantastic to see such an original film in the midst of the
remake frenzy going on in Hollywood as of late. But it was also quite a
pleasure to get a chance to talk with such legendary horror icons as the
ones who joined Mr. Malone at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood. From A
NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET to TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE and of course RE-ANIMATOR,
I found myself face to face with some of the most important filmmakers that
have shaped the horror genre.
Tobe Hooper and I talked about the lasting impression
of his masterpiece TCM and Stuart Gordon talked about why HOUSE OF
RE-ANIMATOR will not be coming soon. Aside from those two, I spoke to Mick
Garris who had very serious thoughts on what is wrong with the remake craze
and I even got to check in with the very talented and extremely funny Daniel
Schweiger (a favorite genre actor of mine). All this came before a
fascinating Q & A where Hooper, Gordon, Malone, Garris and Wes Craven talked
about the influence of art in their films.
Parasomnia is very much a film that pours “art” from
it’s very soul with a visual style inspired by Zdzislaw Beksinski. It is a
very interesting choice as the dreamscape world inside the film is
beautifully realized as if one of Mr. Beksinski’s paintings came to life.
So the directors’ spoke about their own inspirations when it came to the
look of some of their films. It was an interesting way to revisit some of
these classic movies and hear about how important art is on so many levels,
especially hearing it from these icons of horror.
And it goes without saying that the subject of remakes
came up with Wes proudly mentioning the upcoming release of LAST HOUSE ON
THE LEFT. The original he made back in 1972 with Sean S. Cunningham is a
disturbing, cult classic. The latest version is produced by Craven and
directed by Dennis Iliadis. Yet each of these talented men gave their
thoughts as the audience of hard core movie buffs seemed incensed at this
latest trend. Although one can hope that with every remake that enters into
pop culture status, the original will find a brand new audience with a
“special edition” DVD re-release. But this particular night thankfully was
about a fresh and original idea that was presented to us in the form of
Parasomnia.
I have a deep respect for each one of these filmmakers
and to get a chance to listen to them talk seriously about their work was a
real treat. It was a great thrill to share with Tobe Hooper how much I
loved his very underrated flick THE FUNHOUSE. It is one film that he seemed
to be pretty proud of… and for good reason. So with that said, here are a
few highlights from an evening of art and the horror it inspires.
Let me know what you think. Send questions and/or
comments to JimmyO@JoBlo.com
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