Fright Fest: Night of the Living Dead (1990)
What? Were you expecting a Friday the 13th Jason Voorhees review? Keeping with tradition, with Part 3 playing in the background, I’ll do my best and not yarn too much over the movie I give credit as starting my entire fascination with not just horror, but zombies too. No, not Friday the 13th Part 3, come on people, stick with the program. I’m talking Night of the Living Dead. Imagine, if you will, that you’re a twelve year old boy and you have a big sister who by all accounts ought to be hanging out with her much more mature friends but instead decides to watch movies with you. That was me. And while not every Friday (because my sister did have a life), but on most Friday nights we would have a Friday Movie Night. I’m talking pizza, popcorn, soda, candy, and whatever other junk we decided to indulge ourselves with. We’d order Pizza Hut and drive down to the local video store (Blockbuster) and rent whatever we wanted. While I cannot recall every movie night, I certainly recall the night my sister rented Night of the Living Dead. Continue Reading
Fright Fest: Night of the Living Dead (1968)
Though zombie is never said in Night of the Living Dead, this 1968 horror film set the standard for all following zombie films: radiation raises the ghouls (as they’re called in the film) to life (though, as of this film, radiation as a cause is only speculation), they move in a slow, plodding manner, they eat the flesh of the living, and the people they kill turn into zombies.
What makes George A. Romero’s Dead films so important, though, isn’t the thrills and chills they provide, as generous as that providing assuredly is. It’s the social and political commentary, hidden beneath the piles of corpses, that distinguishes him from his imitators. The following is my interpretation of that commentary, a theme of mindless, pitiless killing, and a killing not limited to what the zombies commit, by the way. Continue Reading
Fright Fest: The Return of the Living Dead (1985)
Kicking off Fright Fest 2016, we’ve got a fresh review for you to chew on. Creeping from the grave we’re going to talk a bit about Dan O’Bannon’s Return of the Living Dead. Now, it is important for us to distinguish who the director of the film is, versus who it had been and the writers involved with the project as well. Believe it or not, Return of Living Dead has a sort of complicated history. What started out as a sequel to Night of the Living Dead by legendary George A. Romero co-creator John Russo, when Russo and Romero parted ways after 1968 , according to the documentary provided in the newly released Shout! Factory Return of The Living Dead [Blu-Ray], Russo was able to retain the rights to use “Living Dead,” while Romero was free to work on his sequels to the original film.
However, when slotted director Tobe Hooper backed out to work on Lifeforce, producers brought on Dan “The Man” O’Bannon to not only polish the script but also to assume the directorial seat. O’Bannon agreed to the job under the condition he could radically alter the original Russo script. I’m not sure what Russo’s script was exactly, but given that he had written the story coming off of Night of the Living Dead, it was probably more serious in tone and akin to the work of George A. Romero. When O’Bannon took the reins, he did not want to produce something that resembled anything Romero had done or was working on. Understandable considering Romero’s zombie trilogy (Night, Dawn, Day) was all released before Return hit theaters in August 1985. He wanted something his own and completely unique. While Russo remained credited, I do not think much of his original story remained in the final product. Hense all the “Dan O’Bannon’s Return of the Living Dead” bit. This film was very much his own, written and directed and a living legacy to the late great director.
Before we continue with this review. How about a synopsis?
When foreman Frank (James Karen) shows new employee Freddy (Thom Mathews) a secret military experiment in a supply warehouse, the two klutzes accidentally release a gas that reanimates corpses into flesh-eating zombies. Frank and Freddy seek the help of their boss (Clu Gulager) and a mysterious mortician (Don Calfa) to dispose of the remains of a still twitching cadaver. When the smoke from the crematoria rolls over the nearby cemetery, the undead wake and mayhem ensues and a group of punk rocker friends hanging out in the graveyard for their buddy Freddy must fight to survive the growing shambling horde of undead fiends.
Admittedly, growing up, I was very much a Romero-purist. My first horror love was Night of the Living Dead which my older sister introduced me to during one of our customary Friday night movie binges. I think I recall hearing about Return of the Living Dead, but never really gave it much interest in watching. I did watch Return of the Living Dead III back in the 90s when I was working at Blockbuster and rented the sucker on VHS. I was not impressed with that one in the least and assumed at that point that all Returns were just as dumb. I’m not one to shy away admitting when I’m wrong. And I was certainly wrong about the original Return of the Living Dead (1985). For the life of me, I cannot remember when I first watchedReturn of the Living Dead…but it had to have been within the last few years. Regardless, I was wrong. You heard it here first, folks. I WAS WRONG.
Despite the horror-comedy hijinks versus the very serious undertones of Romero’s work, Return of the Living Dead was a wonderfully fangtastic flick. While Romero may have the social commentary in the bag with his films, we cannot discredit the cultural significance of Return. The movie is bleak and ironic on a massive scale. The most obvious moment, of course, is the end (SPOILERS). Those characters fight and struggle and deal with so much bullshit and so much death to finally contact the Army for help and then get nuked only to see the same contaminated smoke rolling over new graves is laughably nihilistic.
In the end, we’re left to ask, “What was the point?” Much as what any decent horror does, it doesn’t answer questions to how we should go about doing things or solving difficult problems. Good horror movies force us to face our deepest darkest questions about ourselves. And that it what Return of the Living Dead precisely did, though not in the serious way most people are used to, but in an over-the-top parody of itself. My favorite scene, though, in the entire movie was when Frank, realizes that he’s about to go, full zombie, decides to sneak past his friends and climb inside the crematoria, immolating himself. Rumor us, James Karen didn’t want to join the other zombies outside in the cold ass prop-rain and asked if he could “go out” this way instead. Whatever really happened as to the reason, the addition of that scene adds to the wonderful bleakness of the movie.
Since the film’s original August 16, 1985, release, Return of the Living Dead has spread into a huuuuuge cult following. Most of the zombie-culture today gives thanks to this film over Romero’s work. Whenever you hear someone moan, “Braiiiinnnsss,” it’s thanks to this horror-comedy flick. There’s even a Simpson’s TreeHouse of Horror episode dedicated to Return of the Living Dead, the parody being when the zombies are hunting for brains, they pass over Homer Simpson. And domestically, the evidence is clear on which film audiences preferred. Releasing just a month or so ahead, Romero’s Day of the Dead grossed around $5.8 million, while Return of the Living Dead grossed around $14 million. And don’t get me started on the soundtrack. As far as movie soundtracks go, Return has one of the more memorable and fun lists of bands to jive to while trick-or-treaters are ringing your bell. If you haven’t seen this movie yet, you need to. If not for the cultural significance, then for the fun, over-the-top zombie gags and punker hilariousness.
My Rating: 5/5
Thomas S. Flowers has a passion to create character-driven stories of dark fiction ranging from Shakespearean gore feasts to paranormal thrillers. Residing in the swamps of Houston, Texas, with his wife and daughter, his debut novel, Reinheit, was published with Shadow Work Publishing, along with The Incredible Zilch Von Whitstein, Apocalypse Meow, Lanmò, The Hobbsburg Horror, and FEAST. His veteran focused paranormal thriller series, The Subdue Series, including Dwelling, Emerging, Conceiving, and Converging, are published with Limitless Publishing, LLC. In 2008, he was honorably discharged from the U.S. Army where he served three tours in Operation Iraqi Freedom. In 2014, Thomas graduated from University of Houston-Clear Lake with a Bachelors in History. He blogs at machinemean[dot]org, where he reviews movies and books and hosts a gambit of guest writers who discuss a wide range of strange yet oddly related topics. You can follow Thomas at a safe distance by joining his author newsletter at http://goo.gl/2CozdE.
Revenge is a dish best served with BBQ!
Night of the Living Dead: celebrating 47 years
RELEASED this day in 1968, George A. Romero’s epic, groundbreaking classic, NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD hits theaters, recounting the tale of a group of disparate individuals who take refuge in an abandoned house when corpses begin to walk in search of fresh human bodies to devour. The pragmatic Ben (Duane Jones) does his best to control the situation, but when the reanimated bodies surround the house, the other survivors begin to panic. As any semblance of order within the group begins to dissipate, the zombies start to find ways inside — and one by one, the living humans become the prey of the deceased ones.
There are few movies out there that represent the feelings of the era in which the film was made as honestly and brutal as Night of the Living Dead. 1968 America was very chaotic, with the deaths of charismatic leaders such as MLK and JFK, post Tet, and the furious antiwar protesters took over in colleges across the nation, including Columbia University in New York. And of lest no forget, Tricky Dick’s infamous call for the GREAT SILENT MAJORITY to stand up and be recognized. Night of the ?Living Dead was very much an subversive answer to the late Presidents speech. And was interesting invoked one of the greatest Civil Rights speeches made, when Dave Dennis stood up in front of those mourning the loss of James Earl Chaney from Meridian, Mississippi, and Andrew Goodman and Michael “Mickey” Schwerner from New York City, when he said, “I’m not here to do the traditional things most of us do at such a gathering…what I want to talk about right now is the living dead that we have right among our midst, not only in the state of Mississippi but throughout the nation. Those are the people who don’t care, those who do care but don’t have the guts enough to stand up for it, and those people who are busy up in Washington and in other places using my freedom and my life to play politics with…”
Not only does Night of the Living Dead hold historical clout, but also became the predecessor to an entire sub-genre in horror. Think about it. Before Romero, zombies were still in the realm of voodoo witch-doctors and crazed plantation owners, space alien mind control, or even atomic aged ghouls. Not saying those sub-genres aren’t good in their own right, cause anyone whose seen The Serpent and the Rainbow can attest that voodoo zombies are still scary. But Romero created something new, a new monster in the lineup of Frankenstein’s, Vampires, Werewolf’s, Mummy’s, fish people, and the like. Without Romero we wouldn’t have The Walking Dead, Fear the Walking Dead, Dawn of the Dead, Day of the Dead, Resident Evil, Zombi3, The Beyond, and a laundry list of films that benefited from George’s take on walking flesh eating ghouls.
And besides all this, Night of the Living Dead is a damn fine horror movie. Low budget and gorilla in nature. The story was plausible and the characters felt real: we know these people; they’re us, we’re them. Romero’s take on zombies is fundamentally about the people who are trying to survive and how they react given certain situations. How we ultimately take sides and are not quick to listen to the ideas of others. Our fight or flight response forces us into making poor decisions, instead of working together as a group. And then in the end, much how Ben met his fate, we needlessly die.
One of the best reviews I read on Night of the Living Dead wasn’t really a review, but rather a review on the audience during a screening in 1969. The unknown reviewer noted the following:
“The kids in the audience were stunned. There was almost complete silence. The movie had stopped being delightfully scary about halfway through, and had become unexpectedly terrifying. There was a little girl across the aisle from me, maybe nine years old, who was sitting very still in her seat and crying. I don’t think the younger kids really knew what hit them. They were used to going to movies, sure, and they’d seen some horror movies before, sure, but this was something else. This was ghouls eating people up — and you could actually see what they were eating. This was little girls killing their mothers. This was being set on fire. Worst of all, even the hero got killed. It’s hard to remember what sort of effect this movie might have had on you when you were six or seven. But try to remember. At that age, kids take the events on the screen seriously, and they identify fiercely with the hero. When the hero is killed, that’s not an unhappy ending but a tragic one: Nobody got out alive. It’s just over, that’s all. I felt real terror in that neighborhood theater last Saturday afternoon. I saw kids who had no resources they could draw upon to protect themselves from the dread and fear they felt.”
Z Nation: A Post-Apocalyptic Netflix Review
So, guess what new SyFy television show I found while slumming through Netflix last night? That’s right right, folks, Z-oh-my-god-I-can’t-believe-i’m-watching-this-Nation has been recently released on Netflix in all its bludgeoning macabre exploits of “who’s going to die next?” or “why can’t I get a decent radio signal?” or “why is that chick dressed like a hooker?” or (for better or worse) “ZOMBIE BABY!!!” Have you seen this new zombie wasteland? If you haven’t, fair warning. There could be spoilers ahead. Or meth-heads selling fabricated zombie weaponry.
Z Nation feels like how “Return of the Dead” is for “Night of the Living Dead.” Its campy. Goofy. B-rated production value with a few lower listed or no listed actors and actresses. In fact, I’m certain I’ve seen a few of these people in other cheesy-b’s, like Sharknado or Sharktopus or Mega Piranha or Deep Blue Sea (sorry Sam L.). Basically, nothing at all like its predecessor The Walking Dead. However, with that being said, while Z Nation is most certainly more outlandish and cartoonish than the famed Ricktatorship, I seriously doubt SyFy intended it for anything less. Z Nation is meant to be…well…dumb. But dumb and entertaining. Watch “Puppies and Kittens,” the season opener, the proverbial handshake to the world of horror and zombie fanatics and tell me otherwise.
The idea is credible. Finding a cure being a priority. And seeing the apocalypse in a larger world view instead of the isolated given Walking Dead story. My hat goes to SyFy for even attempting a new zombie show. And I think that’s probably the reason why they went for overthetop action sequences and spoofs. With plotholes the size Wyoming, its not a story that’s meant to carry much depth. Nor are we to feel anything for the protagonist, except for maybe the “survivor” guy, he seems cool and assholish (which is pretty bad close to reality — sad, but true). The comparison between The Walking Dead and Z Nation isn’t exactly fair either. They are two different takes on the same horror sub-genre. Its like comparing a delicious craft beer, like Saint Arnold or New Belgium, with an industry beer, like Coors or Miller. Yeah, they’re both beers and will eventually get you drunk, but they taste differently going down (interestingly though, they all taste the same coming back up. This is perhaps an interlude to the pretentious “work well with others or you’ll die” attitude most zombie shows and movies adopt). And besides, its got DJ Qualls in it! The last good thing DJ was in was those few guest appearances on Supernatural.
So there you go. Yes, Z Nation is not The Walking Dead…duh! Its running, gunning mayhem. Entertaining and shallow. But delicious all the same. Nothing wrong with a Coors every now and then. Sometimes the pretentiousness gets a little overwhelming and we need to just relax with some good ole fashion American violence.
Cheers!
There is Something About Bub
“Hello! Is anyone there?” There are no better words for an opening scene in a zombie movie!!! This particular verse comes from George A. Romero’s third “dead” installment, Day of the Dead (1985). In the scene, as Dr. Sarah Bowman and Pvt. Salazar call out from their nearby helicopter, searching for other survivors, the camera pans out, revealing a ravaged and empty tomb of a city slowly echoing with the hungry cries of the undead. This scene is one of the first images shown in Day of the Dead; with it we’re given a very chilling and unforgettable moment in horror, the feeling of desperation.
How desperate have things become? Following Night of the Living Dead, where folks were simply trying to survive the night, and following Dawn of the Dead as folks were escaping the cities, abandoning attempted containment zones and searching for safe havens, Day of the Dead shows us a group of survivors after the flood, the last ditch effect of a collapsing government desperately looking for a cure, while also searching for other survivors near the area of their underground complex. How desperate have things become? In the words of Nick Furry, “very desperate,” and they might not like the outcome their kind of “situation” tends to bring out in people.
Day of the Dead is a highly regarded zombie movie, though, typically, fans of the series will rate Dawn of the Dead as the better “dead” flick within Romero’s trilogy, if only marginally. To be honest, this holds true for me as well; Dawn was simply a better movie. The things Dawn said about society and people resonated with me better than with Day; however, this doesn’t mean Day didn’t have something valuable to teach us regarding said society. If anything, Day of the Dead told the tale of desperation and how people react when cornered better than the other two movies combined.
There was also something about Bub that wasn’t told in the other movies…not until Land of the Dead at least. Bub was a very unique character; a zombie interacting with peoples both positively and negatively. With Doctor Logan, aka Dr. Frankenstein (who by the way reminded me of an aged Herbert West), Bub was rather nonviolent and friendly, but with Captain Rhodes, while Bub started out friendly, he turned violent in response to Rhodes aggressive attitude. Though Rhodes was a total jerk and was constantly boarding a nervous breakdown, it was hard not agreeing with him. How were they supposed to “train” millions of undead? While Logan was looking towards domestication, Rhodes was hoping for some kind of WMD. Logan was obviously mad, but we can’t ignore Bub as proof that some form of domestication was possible…or maybe Bub was just the next evolutionary stage for the zombie within the Romero universe.
The strangest bit with Bub was when he discovered Logan’s dead body. Okay, so you can train Bub by showing him things he “remembers” from when he was alive. I can buy that, its not a huge leap of faith to see a zombie interacting with something it remembers from its past life. This was the theory in Dawn of the Dead for why the undead were coming to the mall. But when Bub finds Logan in the freezer, he reacts with emotion, Bub is sad and then becomes enraged. You can see on his face a desire for resolution. Bub is strange because he forces us to question the existence of the zombie. Are they not mindless beings? Do they feel? Do they cry? Obviously, in the movie world, these undead beings are a huge threat and very dangerous, but with Bub we have to question everything. However, in Day of the Dead, Bub is an anomaly, he’s the only zombie we see behaving with cognition, the rest simply follows the food. The lasting imagine with Bub is how Logan falsely thought he had domesticated him. Did bub stop seeing people as food? Sure, but that doesn’t mean he stopped seeing them as the enemy. In the case of Rhodes, Bub guns him down, pushing him into a horde of zombies to be pulled apart. The final scene with Bub shows him giving the disemboweled Capt Rhodes a mocking salute.
The great flaw Romero highlights in his stories are how incredibly messed up people are, the ones who react poorly in face of some earth shattering event. His movies show us the ugly truth: when folks are scared and desperate they make selfish decisions. But Romero doesn’t take away hope, he also shows us the smaller band that pulls together and survives. This smaller group of heroes goes back to the original play-on-words that spawned his zombie vision, Romero’s response to Richard Nixon’s call for the non-violent silent majority to stand up and be counted (1968), still lives on in Day of the Dead. However, now the silent majorities are no longer mindless zombies, but evolving, and perhaps not in the way Nixon had originally intended.
On September 17, 2013, the Collector’s Edition Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack for Day of the Dead releases nationwide. The cover art, conceived from the morbid mind of Nathan Thomas Milliner, is amazing and just how mama used to say, “First impressions are everything.” Some of the special features include, but are not limited to:
• New High-Definition Master
• Audio Commentary with Writer/Director George A. Romero, Special Make-Up Effects Artist Tom Savini, Production Designer Cletus Anderson and Actress Lori Cardille
• Behind the Scenes: 31 Minutes of Production Footage from Special Make-Up Effects Artist Tom Savini
• Audio Interview with Actor Richard Liberty
• Wampum Mine Promotional Video
• Photo Galleries
• Theatrical Trailers
• TV Spots
• And More…
You can pre-order your copy here with Amazon. Which, in my opinion, is worth the $20.96 cost, especially as this edition comes with both the blu-ray and DVD. And the Bottom Line? Good story, awesome traditional effects, what more could you ask for in a zombie movie? Was Day as good as Dawn? Not for me, but that doesn’t mean Day of the Dead wasn’t worth watching, it is; Day of the Dead is an amazing movie full of characters you’ll love and hate.
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- Bub takes aim
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- Salute you Capt Rhodes
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- A treat
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- Original movie poster
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- Bub being “trained”
Horrible Horror Siblings
The best part of being a horror nerd is watching protagonists make stupid decisions that normally end in the worst possible ways. We connoisseur’s of macabre, we horror fanatics can easily forecast who lives and who dies before the second act. Though, sometimes considered a terrible privilege, spotting who gets the ax isn’t as difficult a prediction to make. In fact, even those who don’t normally watch horror can feel in the deep places of their gut who will most unlikely survive past the ending credits. We all know the classic tropes, such as: the jock, the stoner, the cheerleader, the promiscuous teen, and each and every one are imminently endangered; while typically, the quite, mild mannered, morally chaste will live to see another sequel. However, these cliques can be broken if the character can exercise rational commonsense and avoid places like: rural rundown gas-stations, cemeteries, deserted hospitals, and any place with a single hanging light bulb. But then again, if everyone avoided the damp dank basement, there wouldn’t be much of a horror story, would there?
Another way to increase your chances of survival would be to team up. Typically, the “lone wolf” method only works for the morally virtuous tropes. So, unless you’re name is Laurie Strode or Nancy Thompson, you had better find that other doomed soul (and if things go south, you can always shoot in the leg and let the zombies have ’em while you escape). In my opinion, the best and also the worst team ups in horror movies have always been siblings. Strangers are good, but you’re less obligated to keep them around, and vice versa. One of my favorite sibling teams were Lex and Timmy from Jurassic Park (1993). They were totally believable, constantly teasing and picking on each other, but when the island lost power and some very ticked off and hungry dinosaurs started making sweet-sweet mayhem around the park, the brother and sister duo united and cleverly outwitted the brainy velociraptors. With that being said, sometimes these sibling duos do not work out very well for both survivalists. Sometimes, sibling duos in horror go horrifyingly wrong. Sometimes it simply doesn’t pay to be a sibling in a horror movie. In no particular order are my best picks for horrible horror siblings.
1. Dane & Lucas Thompson
The Hole is a story about two brothers and the girl next door who find a mysterious “hole” in the basement of their new house. Soon after, weird and unusual things begin to happen. Though, The Hole was directed by legendary Joe Dante, the story fell apart for me in how terrible the older brother was to his much younger sibling. Sure, the bickering and fighting were very much normal and expected, but when there’s monsters afoot, you don’t leave your little bro alone at night to go chasing after some girl you just met. In the end (spoilers ahead), Dane does redeem himself by saving his brother from their imaginary ghost dad, but the moment he left him on the lawn to go chasing some skirt was the moment my trust had been severed. The fact that both of the brothers and the girl survived astounds me; though, it does testify to the movies PG-13 rating.
2. Deputy Dewey & Tatum Riley
Scream (1996) proved that even though the 80’s were long and over with, slasher flicks could still be good. As Wes Cravens 90’s masterpiece, Scream told the story of a sleepy town with some very twisted residents. Some of the best characters were also sadly some of the worst. For our intents and proposes, Deputy Dewey Riley, the nit-wit cop, and Tatum Riley, best friend of the main protagonist, Sidney Prescott, were the brother-sister duo that could have survived, had they not been so horrible to each other. Sure, we should expect some level of malevolence, but where was Dewey while his sister was getting her neck broke in the garage doggy door? Out macking on local reporter Gale Weathers. The guy swore to protect both his sister and Sid from Ghostface, yet he does his “security sweep” in the woods, far away from the party were we all know something bad will happen soon enough. However, we cannot be to hard on him. Dewey was one of the more innocent characters, which is why he survived the knife in his back. But we can’t say the same for Tatum…poor, poor squeezing through a small doggy door Tatum. How she thought she’d fit through that thing is beyond me, but it definitely served as one of the most interesting kills. (Yes, I know there is something wrong with me).
3. Johnny & Barbra
There is no way anyone could be disappointed with Night of the Living Dead. The 1968 black & white classic was the debut of the “Romero” styled zombie. Before Night of the Living Dead, the “undead” were typically voodooed victims, such as the classic Lugosi production, White Zombie, or (another Craven film) The Serpent and the Rainbow. George’s 60’s zombie flick was both shocking and created a lasting franchise. The story begins with a brother, sister duo and as expected, the older brother is giving his younger sister a hard time. The pair are visiting their fathers grave site and innocent Barb is a little more than weirded out at being at a cemetery. Johnny relentlessly teases her, “Their coming for you Barbra, their coming to get you.” However, when Barbra is attacked by an approaching zombie, Johnny jumps into action, pulling the”walker” off of her. Here, we really begin to root for the big brother, but unfortunately, his neck gets broke during the struggle…while his sister, who was standing idly by and could have helped, flees for the car. Laughably, for us anyhow, Johnny has the keys! As said before, there can be no disappointments with this movie. The only reason Johnny and Barb made the list is because they prove that during a zombie apocalypse, or any natural disaster, it is survival of the fittest.
4. Lewis & Fuller Thomas
What should have been a romantic cross country getaway for Lewis and would-be girlfriend, Venna, quickly turns into the road trip from hell. The story is really about two brothers who couldn’t be less alike. Lewis plays the more reasonably sound and morally upright brother, that is until his “black sheep” older brother, Fuller, purchases a $40 CB radio and conveniences good boy Lewis to play a practical joke on the wrong trucker. But, despite making the list as one of horrors worst siblings (because its never a good decision to play jokes on truck drivers), the brothers stuck it out and kept each other alive throughout the story and both lived to see another day.
5. Henry, Mark, & Connie Evans
Nothing brought me more joy in the 90’s than watching “Home Alone” go psycho! The story surrounds Mark (played by Elijah Wood), moving to stay with his aunt and uncle and cousins up in good old Maine…because, as we all know, nothing ever bad happens in Maine, right? In the beginning, Henry and Mark quickly become friends; however, as days go by, Mark discovers the darker side of his cousin and how he might not be all that sane, Henry might have two birds over the cuckoo’s nest, might be rudrum-ing the bathroom mirror, yada, yada, yada. Here, as siblings, it doesn’t pay to be any member of the Evans family, as “bad son” Henry goes all Michael Myers on everyone.
6. Blanche & Baby Jane Hudson
This wouldn’t be much of a horrible horror siblings list without mentioning, Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? The story, as you might already know, is about two sisters who both happen to be actresses. While one flourished as a child star (Baby Jane), the other (Blanche) becomes even more famous with age. The delirious and jealous Baby Jane takes matters into her own hands and cripples her sister with their car, unbeknownst to Blanche. Entering their golden years, Blanche is constantly tormented by her sister and when she attempts to escape, she is impeded. Again, we see how it is not always beneficial to have a sibling in a horror movie, especially when the main antagonist happens to be said sibling.
7. Mia and David
This 2013 retake of the forever classic Evil Dead, surrounds the story of a group of friends and brother and sister pair, who venture out into a cabin in the woods to help Mia (the sister) kick a nasty drug addiction. A subplot in the story concerns Mia and her relationship with brother David and how he had abandoned her while their mother was dying of cancer. (PS: this is full of spoilers) Interesting enough, we discover that the only reason why Mia got hooked on drugs in the first place was as a way to cope with her brother leaving her with said dead mum. From the get go we get the picture that these two are not the pitch perfect brother and sister duo. And then things quickly go from bad to worse. Though, in the end, big bro proves his love by setting a fire in the cabin, because nothing says “sorry for leaving you alone with our ailing mother” like being burnt alive. In Evil Dead, it really doesn’t pay to be anyone in the story, but even more so than as a sibling.
8. Tina & Terri
What? You thought this list was going to end without mentioning a single Friday the 13th movie? Ha! A good example of poor silbingship could be found in part four, aka: the Final Chapter, as one of the more infamous Friday’s because of several noticeable reasons, such as: the introduction of then famous 80’s stars Corey Feldman and Crispin Glover (Back to the Future fame). The horrible siblings mention belongs to twin sisters Tina and Terri who join a rag-tag group of misfit teens in some drunken, pot filled debauchery near Crystal Lake. The beginning of the film picks up with the end of part 3, as the presumed corpse of Jason is being carted off to the local morgue. Unbeknownst to the hormone raged youngsters, but knowest to us, Jason is alive and well and making his way back home. As the party continues, more promiscuous sister Tina decides to hookup with nerdy Jimmy, forcing Terri to venture home alone…in the dark… during a thunderstorm, which doesn’t really work out for either of them. Had they stuck together… well, this is a Friday the 13th flick…they both probably would have died anyhow.
Sometimes having a sibling with you in a horror movie can be a good thing. You can team up and take down the monster. But, as some of the above mentioned films prove, that’s not always the case. When it comes to horror, typically these duo’s never work out for both parties. None know that story better than honorable mention for horrible horror siblings (for me at least) Trish and Darry Jenner from Jeepers Creepers. Here, curious George brother is the one who gets it in the end, instead of his more cautious sister. Jeepers Creepers teaches us, again, that commonsense trumps duos. Understandably, there could be more names listed in the pool of horrible horror siblings. What are some of your favorites?
Machine Mean 