Tag: horror movie

31 Scary Movies: ‘Shadow of the Vampire’

Jeff Mitchell

“Shadow of the Vampire” (2000) – Director E. Elias Merhige’s movie is about a filmmaker (John Malkovich) making a movie with an eccentric star (Willem Dafoe).  Sounds simple enough and not out of the ordinary, because what movie actor or actress isn’t at least a little eccentric? Well, not so simple. Merhige’s eye-popping fantasy-biopic doubles as a horror film, because Malkovich plays director FW Murnau who attempts to make 1922’s “Nosferatu”, and Dafoe is actor Max Schreck who plays the chalky-white, long-nailed Count Orlok.  The rub?  Murnau claims that Schreck…

31 Scary Movies: ‘Audition’

Jeff Mitchell

“Audition” (1999) – The dating world isn’t easy in 2018.  Just ask anyone who has tried to meet their significant other on Match.com.  Hey, it may work out for a few lucky souls, but more often than not, it is a minefield. Well, back in 1999, dating apps were not invented yet, and Shigehiko Aoyama (Ryo Ishibashi), a widower for seven years, cannot seem to connect anyone.  His friend Yasuhisa Yoshikawa (Jun Kunimura) suggests an unusual and fraudulent approach to meet plenty of young women and perhaps his soulmate.  Well, it…

31 Scary Movies: ‘The Vanishing’

Jeff Mitchell

“The Vanishing” (1988) – An attractive Dutch couple Rex (Gene Bervoets) and Saskia (Johanna ter Steege) are taking a holiday and traveling to France.  With a pair of bikes on the roof and plenty of snacks in the back seat, this loving pair seem to have plenty of bright years ahead of them.  Their trip and lives, however, become ripped apart, when Saskia suddenly vanishes into thin air during a random gas station stop. This is the ghastly premise for director George Sluizer’s thriller “The Vanishing”, and he weaves his camera…