Horror films go back as far as the onset of films themselves, over a 100 years ago. From our earliest days, we use our vivid imaginations to see ghosts in shadowy shapes, to be emotionally connected to the unknown and to fear things that are improbable. Watching a horror film gives an opening into that scary world, into an outlet for the essence of fear itself, without actually being in danger. Weird as it sounds, there's a very real thrill and fun factor in being scared or watching disturbing, horrific images.

Horror films, when done well and with less reliance on horrifying special effects, can be extremely potent film forms, tapping into our dream states and the horror of the irrational and unknown, and the horror within man himself. (The best horror films only imply or suggest the horror in subtle ways, rather than blatantly displaying it, i.e., Val Lewton's horror films.) In horror films, the irrational forces of chaos or horror invariably need to be defeated, and often these films end with a return to normalcy and victory over the monstrous.

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Soon-to-be-famous actors and prominent real-life heroes were also featured in serials. Bela Lugosi starred as the supernatural-powered mystic/magician Chandu in the 12-chapter The Return of Chandu (1934) and Chandu on the Magic Island (1934) (the feature version of The Return of Chandu, based on chapters 5-12 of the serial). And Lugosi appeared as evil Dr. Zorka in the 12-episode serial The Phantom Creeps (1939).

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The adventures of 16 year-old, quick-witted sleuth Nancy Drew, adapted from the series of mass-produced books from Edward Stratemeyer and his daughter Harriet S. Adams (with nom de plume Carolyn Keene), became the subject of four Warner Bros. films in the late 1930s, starring teenaged actress Bonita Granville:

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The undisputed queen of the women's melodramas, playing a wide range of tarnished females (a Southern belle, a long-suffering secret mother, a terminally-ill socialite, a spoiled seductive rich girl, a tawdry Cockney waitress, a calculating murderous wife, a repressed ugly duckling spinster who is transformed, a trampy housewife, and more) was independent-minded star Bette Davis in such classic, four-hanky films as:

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W. C. Fields is known for his recognizable raspy voice, pool cue, oversized bulbous nose and nasal drawl, stove-pipe hat, flask of 100-proof whiskey and love of drink, caustic verbal wit and wisecracks, and irritable disdain for small children, animals, upper-class snobs and bullying wives. The vaudeville star was an inspired comedian, a master of visual gags, double-takes, casual asides and pantomime. His film debut was in the silent one-reel comedy short Pool Sharks (1915), in which he showed off his pool-playing ability, and his first sound feature film was Warners' (and First National's) pre-code musical comedy Her Majesty, Love (1931).

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The Big Parade (1925) is director/producer King Vidor's most famous, precedent-setting war film from the silent era. It was the first realistic war drama and has served ever since as an archetypal model for all other war films. It was the first big box-office success of the newly-formed MGM Studios - and possibly the most profitable silent film of all time - it helped bring back the popularity of war films in the late 20s. Vidor, often compared to the end of the century's director Steven Spielberg, brought his own epic, sweeping style to his intimate yet massive work about love and war.

Screenwriter Harry Behn based his script on a story by author Laurence Stallings, who based his writing on his own gritty wartime experiences as a Marine serving in N. France. Made only seven years after the Great War's Armistice, the film captures the impact of the conflict on an ordinary GI. It was the first war film of its kind to tell its story from the viewpoint of the GI. Handsome matinee silent screen idol John Gilbert gave his greatest acting performance in a star-making role as one of three Americans who enlisted and was swept into the war in France.

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Starring Jessica Lowndes
Julianna Guill
Ryan Donowho
Landon Liboiron
Jake Weary
Mike Dopud
Chelah Horsdal

Review:

When five friends decide to take a trip out of town to see a concert, rookie pilot Sara (Lowndes) offers to fly them there in a rented plane. However a few minutes into their ill-fated flight a mechanical failure results in the plane stuck in a steady, unstoppable climb, a climb that sees the plane headed into a massive storm. With their fuel rapidly running out and emotional tensions inside the aircraft beginning to rise it seems nothing else can go wrong. But the problems in the plane prove to be the least of their worries. Outside, hidden in the ominous storm clouds, a mysterious supernatural force is lurking, a force which seems intent on destroying the plane and its passengers…

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Starring Rebecca De Mornay
Jaime King
Briana Evigan
Patrick Flueger
Deborah Ann Woll
Alexa Vega
Kandyse McClure

Review:

Being a huge fan of Charles Kaufman's classic film Mother's Day, the prospect of a remake had me a little on the worried side. Simply put, the flick is so lovably "out there" that trying to duplicate its special brand of insanity could just never work. Director Darren Lynn Bousman realized this as well, and as a result his re-imagining of the 1980 shocker is an altogether different beast, but rest assured its fangs are still razor sharp!

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Cast
James Cosmo as Laird
James Nesbitt as Cathal
Ian Whyte as The Beast
Niall Bruton as Fergal
Karen Gillan as Ally
Kate Dickie as Mary
Ciarán McMenamin as Liam
Christine Tremarco as Housing Officer
Christopher Downie as Police Officer #1
Therese Bradley as Jitta
Josh Whitelaw as Tomatsk
Hanna Stanbridge as Petronella
Claire Catterson as Susan
Daniel Porter as Paul
Andrew Martin as James
Sean McCarthy as Old Hands

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Starring Simon Pegg
Andy Serkis
Isla Fisher
Tom Wilkinson
Jessica Hynes
Bill Bailey
Tim Curry


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