#DORK 74: Best Horror Franchise

#DORK Episode VI: Scream

Keefe and Billy Lanni discuss the Scream TV series and horror movie franchise, as well as some other summer TV shows.

Is the Scream TV Show going to be good?

It starts tonight. I, of course, will watch it, but my expectations are LOW. It will be interesting to see what kind of connection the characters have, if any, with those from the terrific enjoyable series. If it's Scream, it's for me. We shall see.

Top 10 Tuesday: Horror Movie Franchises

With it being October 1st why not get it going with some Horror Movie stuff?  Not sure what the definition of a movie "franchise" is but let's say it has to have at least 3 movies.  That works.  So this list takes in to account every movie in the series, keep that in mind as you enjoy it.  For example Silence of the Lambs is a terrific movie, but the rest in the batch, no so much. (I also don't include Alien or Jaws as Horror)

Honorable Mention: Child's Play, Candyman, Feast, Wrong Turn, Final Destination 

10. Texas Chainsaw Massacre

9. Friday The 13th

8. Silence of the Lambs

7. Psycho

6.A Nightmare on Elm St.

5. Saw

4. Night of the Living Dead

3. Evil Dead

2. Scream

1. Halloween

Rich Reviews: Scream 4

"What's your favorite scary movie?"

Well mine is probably Scream. (The original Halloween and Devil's Rejects are up there.) There is a lot I liked about the first installment, particularly the way it revitalized the horror genre. The characters in Scream were self aware, they watched movies and openly discussed them. The "what if you were in a horror movie" angle. As a bit of a film dork myself, I enjoyed all the tip-of-the-caps to previous movies, specifically legendary horror classics.

Say what you want about the original, but it was very smart. It is easy to make fun of it now, and trust me all of my friends do for liking it so much, however I think it still holds up today, 15 years after it came out. The story is solid, the characters are well developed, and most importantly for a horror movie, it's both scary and entertaining.

What about the sequels? Well at least all of the references to movies were still there. They even made a point to say in Scream 2 that sequels suck, and "by definition alone they are inferior films." I thought 2 had it's moments, some good ideas, I enjoyed it.

Scream 3 did not have the same writer (Kevin Williamson) as the first two, but it acted as the finale of a trilogy. Again, like the second film referencing other sequels, they devoted some time in 3 to describe trilogies, different rules, rare in the horror field, etc. Again, it had it's moments, but clearly the films go, A, B, C (if you're grading at home).

Alright enough about the first 3 films of the franchise, I just wanted to point out that I am a huge fan, it's my favorite franchise of horror films (beating out Halloween and Saw). So needless to say I was pumped when I heard they were making a 4th (with director Wes Craven, writer Kevin Williamson, and stars Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, and David Arquette).



I was busy opening weekend, if not I would have gone, seriously. Anyway, the girlfriend and I were 2 of I'd say 10-12 people in the audience for a Wednesday night showing at 7:30pm. That's not surprising as it made only 18.7 million in its opening weekend. Not what they were looking for. (Scream 2 made 33 million opening weekend, while Scream 3 drew 33.4.)



Scream 4 takes place 10 years after the end of Scream 3. Gail Weathers (Cox) is now Gail Riley and is married to Sheriff Dewey Riley (Arquette) in Woodsboro (the original town). Sidney Prescott (Campbell) comes back to town to promote a book she wrote, and next thing you know people start getting stabbed. They introduce a bunch of new characters, lots of high school kids, some new cops, and you got yourself a cast, where not only can anyone die, but anyone can be the killer.



It's a classic "who done it/ who is doing it." I tried figuring out who did it for probably a full hour, I won't spoil anything here.

But was it good? In a word, eh. I didn't hate it, that might be the big Scream fan in me talking. For a movie that was 10 years in the making, it was a let down. You got to think, if Kevin Williamson spent 10 years on this it was going to be really good. I wonder if he spent 10 hours on it.

The first movie was so different and so smart, this movie tries to hard and comes up short. There was to much of the, "well that was how it worked then, so now it is like this, so we need to expect that, and everything is different while being the same." What? And they should have spent more time developing a true story instead of just upping the kill count and trying to fool you on who the killer(s) is/are.

In the end, it's no where near the as good as the first one, and doesn't even rival the second. I'd have to watch it again before I say for sure it's worse than 3, but I feel like I could do a solid debate on either side of 3 & 4 for which is better. If you happen to be a big fan of the series, it's worth a watch, but go in with low expectations. If you don't like these movie, you didn't read this far anyway.

When To Watch It Scale


The WTWIS is broken down to the following 4 categories...

-Theater
-Netflix
-TV
-Don't Bother

Although I was a bit disappointed, I will go with "Netflix" for Scream 4. (The TV version, unless on HBO will be edited pretty bad I imagine.)

Alright, there you have it. Hope this helps. If you saw it feel free to leave a comment and let me know what you thought or e-mail me at sportsbrief@gmail.com

-Keefe

Scream 4 Trailer

You know who loves the Scream movie franchise? This guy. The original is in my Top 3 horror films of all-time, and the 2nd and 3rd ones didn't suck. Ok they weren't great, but I own them, and don't hide the fact. It's been 15 years since the first Scream was released. Because it's Wes Craven (director of all of them) back on board, so am I. Bring on 4-15-2011! Here is the latest trailer on what should be a sick flick...




-Keefe

13 Scariest Movies of All-Time

You won't find Friday the 13th on this list, but what you will find is the 13 scariest horror movies ever made. (That I have seen). One week left until Halloween, why not break out this list of horror classics. We here at The Sports Brief are no strangers to horror movie lists, just search "horror" in the upper left and check out our achieves dedicated to scary stuff. Enjoy the list. Boo.

13. Psycho (1960)


12. Rosemary's Baby (1968)

11. Saw (2004)

10. Candyman (1992)


9. Scream (1996)

8. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)


7. The Others (2001)



6. It (1990)


5. Halloween (1978)


4. Silence of the Lambs (1991)

3. The Exorcist (1973)

2. The Ring (2002)

1. The Shining (1980)

Happy Halloween!

-Keefe

Keefe's Pick 3 for Week 8/ Halloween

Ravens (-3) over Broncos

Texans (-3.5) over Bills

Colts (-13) over 49ers

Last week: 2-1

Overall: 7-11

Halloween Pick 3:

Movies:

1. Halloween (1978)

2. Scream

3. The Shining

Villians:

1. Michael Myers

2. Catherine Tramell (Basic Instinct)

3. Dracula

Candy:

1. 3 Musketeers

2. Snickers

3. Reese's

Happy Halloween from all of us at The Sports Brief!

-Keefe

100 Scariest Movie Moments

Five years ago Bravo came up with their 100 Scariest Movie Moments and turned it into a mini series. They got interviews from a ton of actors, actresses, directors, writers, and horror "experts." I thought it was really good. They did not show it last year and I can't find any listings for it this year. If you like Horror movies I think you'll enjoy this list. With Halloween just over a week away I figured I'd put something up. Check out my 31 Days of Horror from last year... http://sportsbrief.blogspot.com/2008/10/31-nights-of-horror.html

I've seen the one's in bold. Feel free to comment below with some of your favorites whether they are on the list or not.

100.28 Days Later
99. Creepshow
98. Zombie
97. Cat People (1982)
96. The Birds
95. Jurassic Park
94. Child's Play
93. Pacific Heights
92. Village of the Damned
91. Shallow Grave
90. Night of the Hunter
89. Alice Sweet Alice
88. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)
87. Black Christmas (1974)
86. Wizard of Oz
85. Blood & Black Lace
84. Blue Velvet
83. The Others
82. Terminator
81. The Howling
80. Poltergeist
79. Dracula (1992)
78. The Brood
77. Signs
76. Evil Dead
75. Candyman
74. Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory
73. Blood Simple
72. Them!
71. The Sixth Sense
70. The Stepfather
69. Re-Animator
68. The Black Cat
67. Duel
66. The Tenant
65. Marathon Man
64. Near Dark
63. Deliverance
62. The Wolf Man
61. The Devil's Backbone
60. The Beyond
59. Fatal Attraction
58. Cujo
57. House of Wax (1953)
56. Single White Female
55. The Vanishing (1993)
54. The Changeling
53. Demons
52. The Phantom of the Opera
51. The Dead Zone
50. The Last House on the Left (1972)
49. Diabolique
48. The Thing (1982)
47. Nosferatu (1929)
46. The Sentinel
45. The Wicker Man (1975)
44. The Game
43. It's Alive!
42. An American Werewolf in London
41. The Hills Have Eyes (1977)
40. Black Sunday
39. Dawn of the Dead (1978)
38. Peeping Tom
37. House on Haunted Hill (1959)
36. Cape Fear (1962)
35. Aliens
34. The Hitcher (1986)
33. The Fly (1986)
32. Pet Sematary
31. Friday the 13th
30. Blair Witch Project
29. Serpent and the Rainbow
28. When a Stranger Calls (1979)
27. Frankenstein (1931)
26. Seven
25. Phantasm
24. Suspiria
23. Rosemary's Baby
22. Don't Look Now
21. Jacob's Ladder
20. The Ring (2002)
19. Hellraiser
18. The Haunting (1963)
17. A Nightmare on Elm Street
16. The Omen (1976)
15. Freaks
14. Halloween (1978)
13. Scream
12. Misery
11. Audition
10. Wait Until Dark
9. Night of the Living Dead
8. Carrie (1976)
7. Silence of the Lambs
6. Shining
5. Texas Chainsaw Massacre
4. Psycho (1960)
3. Exorcist
2. Alien
1. Jaws

Enjoy the Horror Movie Season again this year!

-Keefe

31 Nights of Horror

October is here, and that means its international scary movie month. I’ll give you 31+ Horror movies to watch from now until Halloween. What does this have to do with sports? Absolutely nothing. I’m a fan of all these movies, and recommend you do your best to watch as many as you can this month. Of course it’s basically impossible to watch that many films in a given month, not even mentioning the fact that there’s playoff baseball, NFL, college football, and even the start of the NBA season. Well do what you can. (Each number corresponds with the appropriate day of the month.)

1. A Nightmare on Elm St. (1984)

We’ll kick off the movie marathon with a timeless classic. The emergence of Freddy Kruger, and he’s been putting the scare in kids for 24 years and counting. Also the film debut of one Johnny Depp.

2. Feast (2005)
This is one that you’ve probably never seen, but you’ll be glad you did. It was the winner of that Project Greenlight or whatever with Affleck and Damon a few years back. Bunch of people stuck in a bar in the middle of the desert when crazy creatures show up. Can’t miss.

3. Cape Fear (1991)
One of the few remakes that may actually be better than the original. Robert De Niro has a fantastic performance as Max Cady.

4. Psycho (1960)
It’s in black and white, but it’s a classic. Norman Bates is an absolute creep show, one of the best Horror movies of all time.

5. Urban Legend (1998)
Say what you want about Urban Legend, but I liked it. Takes place in a fictional school in NH and stars one Rebecca Gayheart.

6. Evil Dead II (1987) The Evil Dead (1981)
The Evil Dead’s are both horror classics. Bruce Campbell began his reign as a horror icon in these films. Watch them both if you want, if you had to only see one, I’d lean towards II. They’re pretty similar with II done just a bit better in my opinion.

7. Army of Darkness (1992)
The third installment of the Evil Dead trilogy is Army of Darkness. More blood, more gore, more action, more one liners. My personal favorite of the three. “First you wanna kill me, now you wanna kiss me. Blow.” -Ash

8. House of 1000 Corpses (2003)
Rob Zombie’s first feature film. There’s a lot going on here, and it’s pretty crazy, but give it a chance. You’ll be glad you did particularly when watching the film that comes next.

9. The Devil’s Reject’s (2005)
The sequel to House of 1000 Corpses, The Devil’s Rejects drops some of the wild fantastical story lines from the first, and focuses more on the Firefly’s, a serial killing family. This is in my top 5 all-time Horror movies. You don’t have to watch Corpses to understand what’s going on, but it adds to the characters.

10. Friday the 13th (1980)
Its Friday the 10th this month, really the best we can do. Part of that slasher triumvirate that has produced countless and mostly terrible sequels along with the Nightmare and Halloween franchises. This again, is the original, look for a young Kevin Bacon as one of the councilors at Camp Crystal Lake.

11. Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981)
This is actually the debut of hockey mask wearing killer Jason Voorhees, therefore it has to be on the countdown and on its own night.

12. Grindhouse (2007)
Not even sure if this qualifies as a horror movie. Grindhouse is the double feature that includes Robert Rodriguez’s Planet Terror and Quentin Tarantino’s Death Proof. If you only have time for one go with Planet Terror. Rose McGowen is great as is the story and ensemble.

13. From Dusk til Dawn (1996)
Speaking of Rodriguez and Tarantino here is another collaborative effort from those two. Rodriguez directed the film that Tarantino wrote and co-stared in. Really two films in one as it starts out with George Clooney and Tarantino as bank-robbing/ killer brothers on the run that end up at a bar with their hostages that turns out to be a feeding ground for vampires. And it might even be better than it sounds. This starts off our string of Vampire films.

14. Dracula (1992)
You can’t have a horror movie list that doesn’t involve at least one Dracula film. I went with Bram Stoker’s Dracula starring Gary Oldman, Keanu Reeves, Winona Ryder, and Anthony Hopkins, and directed by Francis Ford Coppella. It’s the original story, and I figured you’d have a better chance of watching this one then the 1931 version starring Bela Lugosi.

15. Interview with the Vampire (1994)


In my mind probably the best performance by a child star as Kirsten Dunst, at 11 or 12, steals the show from Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt. A great film to wrap up the mini vampire marathon.

16. Sleepy Hollow (1999)
Who doesn’t enjoy the headless horseman? Anyone? Tim Burton directs this creepy tale that stars Johnny Depp and Christina Ricci. “Heads will roll.”

17. Scream (1996)
In the middle of the month, make it a complete Scream weekend. Can’t believe this movie has been out for 12 years now, but you know what, it’s still good. Some horror fans love it others think it’s a mockery, I fall in the former. This is one of my top-10 films all-time, any genre.

18. Scream 2 (1997)
Clearly not as good as the first, but horror and sequels go together like roller coasters and nausea.

19. Scream 3 (2000)
I’ll do it, I’ll put the 3rd one on the list. Follow the ghostface killer (not the guy from Wu-Tang) through these Wes Craven led works of art. I admit, they get worst as they go on, but still worth a watch this October.

20. Rosemary’s Baby (1968)
This movie is nuts. Crazy, creepy, scary, satanic, dark, you name it. You’ll feel for Rosemary, guaranteed.

21. Seven (1995)
Not sure if this is technically a horror movie. Seven does have some memorable gruesome images and a diabolical and unique serial killer, so I’m going to include it. Brad Pitt and the great Morgan Freeman try to track down John Doe who kills using the 7 deadly sins.

22. I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997)
Is it cheesy? Yeah, maybe a little bit. One of the countless slasher films that came out immediately following the success of Scream, but in my opinion it’s one of the best out of that group. Teens stars, brutal deaths, what more could you want?

23. Silence of the Lambs (1991)

Only horror movie to sweep the Oscars. Everyone has seen this movie, all you need to say is Hannibal Lector.

24. Candyman (1992)
Say his name 5 times in the mirror. You won’t.

25. Saw (2004) Saw II (2005)
I remember seeing the first one in the theater during college and being blown away. Then the second one, and the third one… haven’t seen the fourth yet, and the fifth is on the way. Wow. Even Nightmare, Friday the 13th, and Halloween took some time off while making all their sequels. No rest for the Saw people. Definitely watch the first one, they’re short, so maybe squeeze in another couple.

26. Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)
The film quality is crappy and you’ll wonder what the hell you’re watching, but it’s a classic. One of the most well renowned B-movie horrors of all-time. There’s been remakes recently, but this the debut of Leatherface.

27. The Ring (2002)

Top-5 scariest movie on this list. It just creeps the hell out of me. Let’s move on.

28. Night of the Living Dead (1968)
Another classic right here. You could swap it out with any George A. Romero zombie movie, but this is the first. I also really enjoyed the 2004 remake of Dawn of the Dead. Can’t go wrong with either.

29. The Shining (1980)
Talk about some crazy stuff going on. After you’ve seen it a couple of time, really look for things that you may have missed. Just weird. I never read the book, so I don’t know what that was like. Jack Nicholson is as scary as they come and his wife, played by Shelley Duvall is frightening just to look at.

30. The Exorcist (1973)
People passed out in the theaters when this movie was released in 1973. You combine the Devil with religious views and you’re just asking for trouble… or one of the highest grossing horror films of all time.

31. Halloween (1978) Halloween II (1981) Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988)
What else would you watch on Halloween. Make it an unprecedented triple-feature while you’re passing out candy this year. There’s I believe 9 films that carry the “Halloween” name, but these are the best 3 by far. The third one doesn’t even involve Michael Myers, so go original, II (which takes place literally right after the first ends), and then go 4. It’s the only way to cap off a ridiculous month of horror movies.

-Keefe