An Focal
17
2nd November 2011
Film
Are you afraid of the dark? James Bradshaw
Wolf Creek: Quentin Tarantino described it as the scariest film he’d ever seen.
King of Horror
Joe O’Brien STEPHEN King is the greatest horror story-teller of our time. In my opinion this is not even worthy of a debate. He is the undisputed horror king, and now that that’s said and done, I can move on to looking at his work. King retains the crown for being the author who has had the most film adaptations of his work. Naturally, the vast majority of these films are horrors, a reasonable number of which are considered horror classics. Falling under this category is his very first adaptation, the 1976 film Carrie. This high-school themed revenge tale put King on the radar, and did wonders for both director Brian DePalma and title actress Sissy Spacek’s careers. The film revolves around Carrie White, a confused young outcast who experiences a less than enjoyable time in school. But Carrie has a gift, the gift of telekinesis. And when the
The Shining: A patient but terrifying story of how family man Jack Torrance transforms into nothing less than a raving lunatic. time comes for her senior prom, she uses this gift to extract sweet revenge on her tormentors, in one of the most horrifying blood-soaked climaxes in horror history. A true classic, which I think has aged surprisingly well. This is perhaps due to the timeless morale: don’t bully the weird kid! Probably the best known adaptation is the 1980 Stanley Kubrick film The Shining. A film, which strangely enough, King has openly expressed distaste for. Kubrick, a man infamous for making changes from book to screen took a completely different approach to the story, but it paid off. Despite the endless spoofs and take offs (The Simpsons, anyone?) The Shining is considered by pretty much everyone as a classic. It’s a patient but terrifying story of how family man Jack Torrance transforms into nothing less than a raving lunatic, putting his wife
and boy in danger in the process. With Jack Nicholson in his bravest, best and most iconic performance of his career it is clear this one will be around forever. A less prolific but equally brilliant King adaptation is Rob Reiner’s Misery. Made in 1990, we find author Paul Sheldon (James Caan) imprisoned by super fan Annie Wilkes (Kathy Bates), and forced to write for his life. It’s a truly chilling film, made real and intense by Kathy Bates who gives, dare I say, the greatest female horror performance of all-time!? Misery is an often overlooked gem which deserves its place alongside the former two films. Watch them all this Halloween season to experience the “King of Horror” at his best, if you may be so bold and brave.
EVERY film genre has its heyday. Action heroes dominated the eighties and nineties, but Father Time has since caught up with Arnie, Bruce and Sly, and their successors have been unable to match those muscle-bound titans. Many would say the same about today’s horrors, which since the advent of the ‘teen slasher’ have increasingly begun to revolve around violence, sex and awful one-liners. While there is some truth to this, there also have been some real gems over the past few years, the likes of which could keep anyone awake at night. The Exorcism of Emily Rose, released in 2005, re-invigorates one of the most intriguing and terrifying stories of all; demonic-possession. Based on the true story of Anneliese Michel, the film revolves around the trial of a priest accused of negligence after the death of a young girl on whom he was performing an exorcism. His agnostic attorney slowly comes to realise that the deceased Emily was not suffering from mental illness, and in the process she is drawn uncomfortably close to the forces of darkness. Oren Peli’s Paranormal Activity follows a similar
course by examining another recurring theme in horror, that of the poltergeist phenomenon. Unlike so many other modern directors, Peli shows patience in his build up, keeping the viewer in suspense as the story of the young couple’s haunting experience slowly unfolds through the looking glass of Blair Witch Project style ‘found footage’. But there’s one stand-out in recent times for me, and that’s Wolf Creek. The mention of it sends shivers down my spine, and puts me off ever visiting Australia. I’ve never been more terrified by a film in my life, I was 18 when I saw it, and I freely admit I couldn’t sleep that night. Quentin Tarantino described it as the scariest film he’d ever seen, high praise indeed. I’ll say no more about it, but if someone who sounds like Steve Irwin offers you a lift in the middle of the night, run! Horror isn’t dead, far from it. As long as we wish to feel that sense of fear; haunted houses, mysterious ghouls and machete-wielding lunatics will continue to light up the screens before invading our nightmares.
Cinema listings for
Storm Cinemas - Castletroy Castletroy Shopping Centre, Limerick - 061 330036
Johnny English Reborn 1hr 41min - Rated PG - Comedy - English - Trailer. 15:10, 16:15, 18:00, 19:00, 20:50
Dolphin Tale 1hr 52min - Rated G - Drama - English - Trailer. 14:30
Footloose 1hr 53min - Rated NR - Comedy/Drama/Musical - English - Trailer. 15:25, 18:00, 20:40
The Three Musketeers 3D 1hr 50min - Rated 12A - Action/Adventure - English - Trailer. 15:00, 17:45, 20:15, 21:15
Real Steel 2hr 7min - Rated 12A - Action/Adventure/ Drama - English - Trailer. 14:20, 17:30, 21:00 The Lion King 3D 1hr 29min - Rated G - Animation - English. 14:10, 16:30, 18:50 Paranormal Activity 3 1hr 21min - Rated 15A - Horror - English - Trailer. 20:00, 21:20
The Three Musketeers 1hr 50min - Rated 12A Action/Adventure - English - Trailer. 16:00, 18:40 Drive 1hr 40min - Rated 18 - Action/Adventure/ Drama - English. 21:30