LATEST OBSSESSIONS (1)


LET THE RIGHT ONE IN (2008)
(Swedish: Låt den rätte komma in)

Oskar is a 12-year-old-boy who is being bullied at school. He lives with his mother, who is loving and with whom he initially seems to have a good connection. His father is an alcoholic who lives out in the countryside. Oskar seems intelligent, has morbid interests including crime and forensics and keeps a scrap book filled with newspaper cuttings about murders. He befriends who he thinks is a new girl who moved in next door - Eli. Eli lives with an older man Håkan, a former teacher who was fired and became a homeless vagrant when he was discovered to be a paedophile. Eli is revealed to be a vampire, but the two children develop a close relationship and Eli helps Oskar fight back against his tormentors. Throughout the book their relationship gradually becomes closer and they reveal more of themselves and in particular Eli's lengthy history.

Håkan serves Eli, whom he loves, by procuring blood from the living, fighting against his conscience and choosing victims who he can physically trap, but who are not too young. Eli gives him money for doing this, though Håkan makes it clear he would do it for nothing if Eli allowed them to be physically intimate. Eli keeps the money in several boxes, along with a variety of different puzzles. These, apart from a few items of clothing and food, are all that fill the apartment. After several failures to acquire enough blood for Eli, Håkan offers to go out one last time if they can spend the night together. With the caveat that he may only touch Eli, they agree, but it is stipulated that Håkan must get the blood first.

Håkan's attempt to get blood from the last victim fails, and he disfigures himself on purpose with acid to avoid the police tracing Eli through him. When Eli finds Håkan in the hospital, he offers his own blood and is drunk dry while sitting on the window ledge. A guard interrupts them and Eli fails to kill him (so that he will not end up becoming a vampire such as Eli) before Håkan throws himself out of the window, bursting upon the ground below. The fall kills him, but he is later resurrected as a vampire himself, though one that is mindless and seeks only to find Eli. Eli is trapped briefly in a basement, but manages to escape. Håkan is later beaten to death. Meanwhile Lacke suspects a child is responsible for the murder of his best friend, Jocke (whom Eli murdered for blood before snapping his neck). Later, he sees Eli as a small, shapeless creature who lunges from the trees at his sometimes girlfriend, Virginia. Eli attempts to drink her blood, but is interrupted by Lacke's interference. Virginia succumbs to vampirism, but does not realize her "infection" until after she attempts to prolong her life by drinking her own blood and avoiding the sun, which turns her skin into boils upon exposure. In the hospital Virginia deliberately exposes herself to daylight and bursts into flames...

Let Me In (2010). An English language film adaptation is scheduled to be released on October 1, 2010. The main characters names have been changed to Owen and Abby in order to make the film more American.

Director: Tomas Alfredson
Producer: Carl Molinder, John Nordling
Writter: John Ajvide Lindqvist
Starring: Kåre Hedebrant, Lina Leandersson, Per Ragnar
Running Time: 114min

Rating: 9/10
REC (2007)

REC follows a television reporter, Ángela Vidal, and her cameraman, Pablo, who cover the night shift in one of Barcelona's local fire stations for the fictional documentary television series While You're Asleep. The firehouse receives a call about a woman who is trapped in her apartment. When they arrive, Ángela and Pablo film the police breaking down the door. The woman becomes extraordinarily aggressive and bites one of the policemen. Meanwhile, the terrified residents gather in the entrance hall and look on as the police and military seal off the building. A firefighter who remained in the old woman's apartment is bitten and plummets through the stairwell to the lobby floor. The camera crew, remaining police officer and the second firefighter go up again and are attacked. The officer shoots the old woman. The camera crew remains trapped inside the building with the residents and continue recording in spite of police pressure. Ángela interviews a little girl named Jennifer who lives in the building. Jennifer is ill with what her mother claims is tonsillitis. She says her dog, Max, is at the veterinarian because he appeared to be sick as well.

A health inspector wearing a hazmat suit arrives and attempts to treat the injured, who become suddenly and fiercely violent despite their critical injuries. The health inspector explains that the time frame in which the disease takes effect varies by blood type. The health inspector also reveals that sometime during the previous day, a dog with the illness was taken to the veterinarian; the dog became violent and attacked and killed other pets at the clinic. The dog was euthanized, and was traced back to the apartment building. Jennifer, the girl who owned the dog, then suddenly attacks her mother. The inspector tells the distraught residents that this unknown but virulent disease is infecting people, causing them to turn into bloodthirsty savages. More and more people in the building become infected, and Ángela and Pablo are forced to fight them off. Eventually they learn that there is a key to a door in the apartment building workshop, which leads to an exit via the sewer system. However, the key is located on the third floor in the manager's apartment.

Director: Jaume Balagueró, Paco Plaza
Producer:  Julio Fernández
Writter:  Jaume Balagueró, Luis A. Berdejo, Paco Plaza
Starring: Manuela Velasco, Javier Botet, Manuel Bronchud, Martha Carbonell, Claudia Font, Vicente Gil
Running Time: 75min.

Rating: 8/10
MARTYRS (2008)

The film begins with a young girl, Lucie, as she escapes from a disused abattoir where she has been imprisoned and physically abused for a lengthy period of time. She is then placed in an orphanage, where she is befriended by a young girl named Anna. Anna soon discovers that Lucie is constantly being attacked by a ghoulish "creature."

Fifteen years later, Lucie bursts into a seemingly normal family's home and kills them all, claiming that the two adults of the family were the ones responsible for her childhood trauma. She is periodically attacked by the "creature."

Lucie calls Anna, who comes to the house to help her bury the bodies. Anna discovers the mother is still alive and tries to help her escape, but is discovered by Lucie who kills the woman. Having realized her vengeance, the "creature" - in actuality, a psychological manifestation of Lucie's guilt over not being able to save another girl who was also imprisoned and tortured with her all those years ago - drives Lucie to kill herself. As Anna is cleaning up the house, she discovers a secret underground chamber and imprisoned within is a horribly tortured woman. While Anna attempts to care for her, strangers arrive and shoot the woman dead.

Director: Pascal Laugier
Writter: Pascal Laugier
Starring: Morjana Alaoui, Mylène Jampanoï
Running Time: 100min.

Rating: 8.5/10

JOHN CARPENTER

The B-Movie hero
John Howard Carpenter (born January 16, 1948) is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, editor, composer, and occasional actor. Although Carpenter has worked in numerous film genres, his name is most commonly associated with horror and science fiction.Carpenter was born in Carthage, New York, the son of Milton Jean (née Carter) and Howard Ralph Carpenter, a music professor. He and his family moved to Bowling Green, Kentucky in 1953. He was captivated by movies from an early age, particularly the westerns of Howard Hawks and John Ford, as well as 1950s low budget horror and science fiction films, such as Forbidden Planet and The Thing from Another World and began filming horror shorts on 8 mm film even before entering high school. He attended Western Kentucky University where his father chaired the music department, then transferred to theUniversity of Southern California's School of Cinematic Arts in 1968 and graduated in 1971.

SELECTED FILMOGRAPHY

HALLOWEEN (1978)
Producer: Debra Hill, John Carpenter, Kool Lusby, Irwin Yablans, Moustapha Akkad
Writter: John Carpenter, Debra Hill
Starring: Donald Pleasence, Jamie Lee Curtis, P.J. Soles, Nancy Loomis
Running time: 91 min. (Theatrical), 101 min. (Extended)

Rating: 9,5/10

THE FOG (1980)
Producer: Charles B. Bloch, Debra Hill, Barry Bernardi, Pegi Brotman
Writter: John Carpenter, Debra Hill
Starring: Adrienne Barbeau, Jamie Lee Curtis, John Houseman, Janet Leigh, Hal Holbrook
Running time: 89 min.

Rating: 8,5/10

THE THING (1982)
Producer: David Foster, Lawrence Turman(Producers), Wilbur Stark (Executive Producer), Stuart Cohen (Co-Producer)
Writter: Novella: John W. Campbell, Jr., Screenplay: Bill Lancaster
Starring: Kurt Russell, Wilford Brimley, Keith David, Charles Hallahan, Donald Moffat, Richard Dysart, David Clennon, Richard Masur, T. K. Carter, Joel Polis, Thomas G. Waites
Running time: 109 min.

Rating: 9/10

CHRISTINE (1983)
Producer: Richard Kobritz, Larry J. Franco
Writter: Novel: Stephen King, Screenplay: Bill Phillips
Starring: Keith Gordon, John Stockwell, Alexandra Paul
Running time: 110 min.

Rating: 8/10

PRINCE OF DARKNESS (1987)
Producer: Larry J. Franco
Writter: Martin Quatermass
Starring: Donald Pleasence, Jameson Parker, Victor Wong
Running time: 102 min.

Rating: 7,5/10

THEY LIVE (1988)
Producer: Larry J. Franco
Writter: Short story: Ray Nelson, Screenplay: John Carpenter
Starring: Roddy Piper, Keith David, Meg Foster, Raymond St. Jacques, Peter Jason, Sy Richardson, George 'Buck' Flower
Running time: 93 min.

Rating: 6,5/10

IN THE MOUTH OF MADNESS (1995)
Producer: Sandy King
Writter: Michael De Luca
Starring: Sam Neill, Julie Carmen, Jürgen Prochnow, David Warner, John Glover, Bernie Casey, Charlton Heston, Frances Bay, Wilhelm von Homburg
Running time: 95 min.

Rating: 9/10

VILLAGE OF THE DAMNED (1995)
Producer: Michael Preger, Sandy King
Writter: Screenplay: David Himmelstein, Novel: John Wyndham
Starring: Christopher Reeve, Kirstie Alley, Thomas Dekker, Mark Hamill, Linda Kozlowski, Michael Paré
Running time: 99 min.

Rating: 7/10

VAMPIRES (1998)
Producer: Sandy King
Writter: Screenplay: Don Jakoby, Novel: John SteakleyStarring: James Woods, Daniel Baldwin, Sheryl Lee, Thomas Ian Griffith, Maximilian Schell
Running time: 108 min. 

Rating: 8/10

DAVID CRONENBERG

Bio-horror Mastermind

Cronenberg was born in Toronto (15/3/1943), Ontario, where he currently lives. He is the son of Esther, a musician, and Milton Cronenberg, a writer and editor. He was raised in a middle-class progressive Jewish family. Cronenberg attended Harbord Collegiate Institute, later graduating from University College, University of Toronto with a degree in literature, having switched from science. He has cited William S. Burroughs and Vladimir Nabokov as influences. He remains an atheist and does not believe in an afterlife.

SELECTED FILMOGRAPHY

SHIVERS (1975)
Shivers filmed as Orgy of the Blood Parasites. Alternate titles: The Parasite Murders, They Came from Within, and Frissons for the French Canadian distribution
Producer: Ivan Reitman
Writter: David Cronenberg
Starring: Paul Hampton, Barbara Steele, Lynn Lowry, Joe Silver, Ronald Mlodzik, Fred Doederlin, Allan Migicovsky
Running time: 87min.

Rating: 7/10

RABID (1977)
Producer: John Dunning, Ivan Reitman
Writter: David Cronenberg
Starring: Marilyn Chambers, Frank Moore, Joe Silver, Howard Ryshpan, Patricia Gage, Susan Roman
Running time: 91min.

Rating: 7,5/10

THE BROOD (1979)
Producer: Claude Heroux
Writter: David Cronenberg
Starring: Oliver Reed, Samantha Eggar, Art Hindle, Harry Beckman
Running time: 92min.

Rating: 8,5/10

SCANNERS (1981)
Producer: Claude Héroux
Writter: David Cronenberg
Starring: Stephen Lack, Jennifer O'Neill, Michael Ironside, Patrick McGoohan
Running time: 103min.

Rating: 8/10

VIDEODROME (1983)
Producer: Claude Héroux
Writter: David Cronenberg
Starring: James Woods, Deborah Harry, Sonja Smits, Peter Dvorsky, Leslie Carlson, Jack Creley
Running time: 89min.

Rating: 9,5/10

THE DEAD ZONE (1983)
Producer: Debra Hill
Writter: Novel: Stephen King, Screenplay: Jeffrey Boam
Starring: Christopher Walken, Brooke Adams, Tom Skerritt, Martin Sheen
Running time: 103min.

Rating: 9/10

THE FLY (1986)
Producer: Stuart Cornfield, Mel Brooks (uncredited)
Writter: Short story: George Langelaan, Screenplay: Charles Edward Pogue, David Cronenberg
Starring: Jeff Goldblum, Geena Davis, John Getz
Running time: 95min.

Rating: 10/10

DEAD RINGERS (1988)
Producer: Marc Boyman, David Cronenberg
Writter: Novel: Bari Wood, Jack Geasland, Screenplay: David Cronenberg, Norman Snider
Starring: Jeremy Irons, Geneviève Bujold
Running time: 116min.

Rating: 8.5/10