Sunday, October 23, 2016

A Cinematic History of Horror for Hallowe'en On Roku - DAY 23: Nightmares, Re-Animator & The Fly (1983-1986)





Welcome back, Boils & Ghouls...



... to 'Day Twenty-Three' of "A Cinematic History of Horror for Hallowe'en On Roku" in which I'll bring you my next batch of fright flicks from the enormous back-catalogue of macabre movies that have been thrilling cinema-goers for more than a century and can now be streamed to your television sets via the magic of Roku player - so, let's dim those lights... and enjoy some more frights! :-O


If you read my special hallowe'en blogathon preview - FOUND HERE - which I published at the end of September, then you'll know that I plan to post one Hallowe'en / Horror related article each day, throughout the month of October, and to feature one horror movie per year from cinematic history, starting in 1895 and ending in 2016. This should average out at about four films per day, so you'll have plenty of choice for your macabre movie viewing as we count down the days to Hallowe'en! ;-)


To get things started, in the first week of this blogathon, we went all the way back to the end of the 19th century for some of the earliest horror cinema ever recorded. The movies on day one were from 1895 - 1898 (inclusive) and featured beheadings, vampires, skeletons and nightmarish dreams. For my second article on day two of this series, I shared four films (one for each year) from 1899 - 1902 (inclusive) and those featured ghostly apparitions, aliens and selenites, plus a visit from the devil to a convent. In my next post on day three, I shared four films (again, one for each year) from 1903 - 1906 (inclusive) and those featured impish devils, demons and ghost brides, plus a man who practices entomology being pinned to a cork like an insect. For my fourth article on day four in this series of posts, I shared four more films (one for each year) from 1907 - 1910 (inclusive) which featured evil spectres, haunted houses, plus the first filmed version of the story of Frankenstein's monster. Following that post, on day five, I shared four films (again, one per year) from 1911 - 1914 (inclusive) and those were all based on works of literature by either Dante Alighieri, Robert Louis Stevenson or Edgar Allan Poe. Next up, on day six, four more films were shared (one for each year) from 1915 - 1918 (inclusive) and those included one about a spooky portrait, another about the victim of a kidnapping, plus a Faustian tale told from a female perspective and another about an artificial creature produced by a mad scientist. For my next post, on day seven, I (again) shared four more films (one for each year) from 1919 - 1922 (inclusive) and those featured an epic account of the horrors of war, plus tales of vampires and phantom carriages, as well as a hypnotist who used a somnambulist to commit acts of murder!


To kick-off the second week of my month-long blogathon, on day eight of this series, I shared another four films (again, one per year) from 1923 - 1926 (inclusive) and those included tales of hunchbacks, phantoms, and a pact with the devil plus a pianist whose hands were replaced by those of a murderer (following a train accident) after which he discovered they had a will of their own! Then for my next post, on day nine, I shared four films (one for each year) from 1927 - 1930 (inclusive) and those included a truly stunning "mood piece" based on the work of Edgar Allen Poe, along with the story of a master criminal who terrorized the occupants of an isolated country mansion, plus the creepiest, spookiest, mystery melodrama ever produced, with an early animated horror short thrown in for good measure. After that, on day ten, I shared four more films (again, one for each year) from 1931 - 1934 (inclusive) and those told various tales of terror, including: two American honeymooners trapped in the home of a Satan-worshipping priest, a colossal gorilla hitting the heights in New York with a movie starlet, a tale of love between a siren, a giant and a dwarf from a circus sideshow, plus the story of the strangest passion the world has ever known! Following on from there, on day eleven, I shared four more films (one per year, as before) from 1935 - 1938 (inclusive) and those featured the story of an escaped convict who used miniaturized humans to wreak vengeance on those that framed him, more tales of the horrors of war, and a Chinese ghost story (of sorts) plus the film which, when first released, was billed as the super shocker of the twentieth century! In the subsequent post, which I made on day twelve, four more films were shared (one per year) from 1939 - 1942 (inclusive) featuring strange creatures such as Werewolves, Cat People and The Hound of the Baskervilles, as well as some light-hearted comic relief (of the horror variety) courtesy of Bob Hope! Yesterday... the four films that I shared, on day thirteen, were from 1943 - 1946 (inclusive) and there was (again) one film per year - as there has been for each of my previous posts from this series. That batch of macabre movies included films about ghosts, zombies, and severed hands, plus what is widely believed to be the forerunner of all the horror anthology films that would follow it - a British film, from Ealing Studios! Yesterday, on day fourteen, I shared four more films spanning the years from 1947 to 1950 (inclusive) with one movie per year (as previously) Those included faceless killers, hidden secrets and a tale of human avarice, plus further light-hearted comedy (of the 'tongue-in-cheek' horror variety) courtesy of Bud Abbott and Lou Costello!


Then, as we entered week three of this month-long blogathon... on day fifteen, I shared another four films (again, one for each year) from 1951 - 1954 (inclusive) and those featured a dinosaur-like beast out to destroy the world, an artist (out for revenge) who created wax sculptures from human cadavers, a woman who visited her local shaman and was turned into a white reindeer vampire, plus... the tale of the thing that turns your blood ice-cold, as it creeps and crawls, then strikes without warning! For my next post, on day sixteen, I shared four more (one film per year) from 1955 - 1958 (inclusive) and those included the tale of of a sadistic boarding school headmaster whose wife & mistress plotted to kill him, another about a doctor with a demonic curse put upon him by a devil cult leader, and one from Hammer Films involving Count Dracula, plus the extraordinary tale of the most awesome fate that ever happened to earth people... with the invasion of the body snatchers from another world! For the next post, on day seventeen, I shared another four films (one for each year) from 1959 - 1962 (inclusive) and those featured a "Haunted House" party where the guests had to spend their night with ghosts, murderers, and other terrors, and; the tale of a woman, caught in a storm while driving, who got off the highway and pulled into a remote motel managed by a quiet young man who seemed to be dominated by his mother, and; another based on a ghost story written by Henry James, wherein a woman experiencing apparitions had to confront the evil spirits & exorcise the demons head onplus one more story... "so unusual, it will burn itself into your mind"! After that, on day eighteen, I shared four more films (again, one per year) from 1963 - 1966 (inclusive) and those included tales of ravens, repulsion, The Red Death and a Gothic horror from Mario Bava! Following on from there... for my next post, on day nineteen, I shared four films (one for each year) from 1967 - 1970 (inclusive) which featured a tale about a group of people beset by flesh-eating zombies, as well as the second part of the "Coffin Joe" trilogy - featuring more possessed corpses and sadistic practices, and another about a demented cremator who enjoys reading the Tibetan book of the dead, plus a surreal tale in which love, fear, sex and religion merge into one fantastic world! The next post in this series, on day twenty, featured four more films (one per year) from 1971 - 1974 (inclusive) and those included a film which is widely considered to be the "grandfather" of the modern slasher, as well as a mystery surrounding a series of child killings in a remote southern Italian town, and the story of a teenage girl possessed by a mysterious entity, whose mother sought the help of two priests in order to save her, plus the tale of some youngsters who had the misfortune to meet a family of cannibalistic psychopaths! After that... on day twenty-one, came four more films (again, one for each year) from 1975 - 1978 (inclusive) and those included the tale of a high school senior who unleashed the full extent of her telekinetic powers on the classmates that humiliated her, as well as an account of a series of grisly murders at a ballet academy involving a coven of witches, and the tale of a psycho-killer who, having been in a mental hospital for 15 years (after stabbing his sister to death), broke-out and returned to his home town, just in time for Halloween... plus a story about a Great White shark, menacing the small community of Amity Island, which attacked people as they enjoyed the water at the beach!


As we began week four of this month-long blogathon, on day twenty-two, I shared four more films (one for each year) from 1979 - 1982 (inclusive) and those included stories of mysterious alien life-forms, and evil spirits causing mid-winter havoc for the caretaker-manager & his family in an isolated hotel, as well as five friends who must fight for their lives when flesh-possessing demons are unleashed upon them, as they vacation in a remote cabin, plus the crew of an isolated U.S. research station in Antarctica, who must endure the ultimate in alien terror! All of which brings us rather nicely to this post, in which I plan to share another four films with you (again, one per year) from 1983-1986 (inclusive). These are set to feature a sleazy cable-TV programmer who begins to see his life spin out of control in a very unusual fashion when he acquires a new kind of programming for his station, as well as a group of friends being hunted by a serial killer who murders his victims in their dreams, and a dedicated student at a medical college who becomes involved in bizarre experiments to re-animate dead tissue when an odd new student arrives on campus, plus the tale of a brilliant but eccentric scientist who begins to transform into a man / fly hybrid after one of his experiments takes an unexpected turn! As with other movies shared thus far (bearing in mind the time period in which they were made) some may look a little bit dated now, but they are none the less watchable for it, as examples of early movies whose influence can still be seen in some of the more recent horror films.




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First up today... is a feature-length film from Canada, that was directed by David Cronenberg, and first released in 1983 under the title of "Videodrome"... based on an original story written by the director, himself... which, in my experience, is (usually) a good sign! This movie tells the story of Max Renn (James Woods) a sleazy cable-TV programmer, who runs his own TV channel and who, while looking for new material to show, discovers "Videodrome" - a new kind of programming. His girlfriend, Nicki Brand (Debbie Harry), goes to audition for the show and, before too long, Max Renn begins to see his life (and the future of media) spin out of control in a very unusual fashion... as he finds himself drawn into the underlying plot, using the show as the front for a global conspiracy!






Debbie Harry and James Woods in Videodrome (1983)
PHOTO CREDIT: imdb.com






Videodrome (1983) [British Quad Poster]
PHOTO CREDIT: filmonpaper.com






Videodrome (1983) [USA Movie Poster]
PHOTO CREDIT: pinterest.com




As with "Alien", shared yesterday, I was unable to find a decent copy of "Videodrome" that was both free-to-stream and compatible with the requirements for playback on Roku devices. Again, there were rough copies out there... either with reduced aspect ratios, heavily cropped images, or shrunk to less than one quarter screen-size - not to mention those with foreign language audio dubs and/or subtitles... plus a few more, whose sound and/or picture quality left a lot to be desired. Please feel free to do your own search for those, if you wish. For my part, I'm recommending you go with the best option I found for streaming "Videodrome" (1983) on Roku devices, and that's 'Amazon Video'.






If you have yet to install this Roku channel, you will find it under "Film & TV" in the "Official" Roku UK Channel Store that is built-in to your Roku streaming media player(s). Those of you who are Amazon Prime members are out of luck once more, however, as there is no option whereby you can watch this film for free via your Amazon Prime membership. The only available options are to rent the video from Amazon Video UK for £2.49 (SD) or £3.49 (HD)... or, if you prefer, there is also the option to buy the film through Amazon Video UK for £6.99 in 'SD' or £7.99 for the 'HD' version - plus, whatever you decide, it can either be watched via the Amazon Video channel on your Roku player(s)... or, any other compatible device. Confirmation of these options is provided in the screenshot (below), taken from the Amazon UK website, and there is a link provided beneath the screenshot image which takes you to the webpage where you can buy the film:-






HINT: Please CLICK on the above image TO ENLARGE IT for easier viewing !!



AMAZON UK WEBSITE LINK:- Videodrome (1983) [via Amazon Video UK]



While 'Amazon Video' does provide the cheapest options for buying this film, it's really because you're only getting a 'digital' copy to stream. However, for those who are considering a purchase in the 'HD' format, I'd recommend using 'Sky Store' instead... since, included in your £7.99 purchase price, you get a DVD of the film posted to you - in addition to the digital copy, which (like Amazon) is available to stream immediately after payment has been made. Again, you will find their channel under "Film & TV" in the "Official" Roku UK Channel Store that is built-in to your Roku streaming media player(s). If you have yet to add it to your channel selection, here is the icon to look out for when you're scrolling through the channel store:-






If this is your first experience of using 'Sky Store', you will need to set-up an account with them... but, if you already have a Sky ID or NowTV Login, you can use the same username and password to get registered more quickly & easily. Speaking of which... here's a direct link to "Videodrome" from the 'Sky Store' website, so that (once registered) you can access the film details more easily, too!




SKY STORE WEBSITE LINK:- Videodrome (1983) [via Sky Store]




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Our next movie in today's post, is a feature-length film from the USA, directed by Wes Craven, and first released in 1984 under the title of "A Nightmare on Elm Street"... which, just like "Videodrome" above, was based on an original story written by the director, himself... and, like I said before, it is usually (though, not always) a good sign when the author of the story also happens to be involved with the direction of any subsequent film based on their written word. Anyway, this movie tells the story of Nancy Thompson (Heather Langenkamp) and her friends Tina Gray (Amanda Wyss), Rod Lane (Jsu Garcia) [as Nick Corri] and Glen Lantz (Johnny Depp), all of whom are being tormented (in their dreams) by a cruel serial killer named Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund). To avoid being killed as they sleep, Nancy and her friends must think quickly, as Freddy tries to pick off his victims one by one and, while the survivors try to find the reason why people get chosen, the murderer won't lose any chance to kill them as soon as they fall asleep... because, in their dreams, no-one is safe!





Robert Englund in A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
PHOTO CREDIT: imdb.com






A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) [British Quad Poster]
PHOTO CREDIT: movieboozer.com






A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) [USA Movie Poster]
PHOTO CREDIT: cinemasterpieces.com



Just like "Videodrome" above, I was unable to find a decent copy of "A Nightmare on Elm Street" that was both free-to-stream and compatible with the requirements for playback on Roku devices. Again, there were rough copies out there... which, for the reasons outlined previously, I am not going to bother sharing with you here. That said, please feel free to do your own search for those, if you wish - but, in my experience, it was a complete waste of time... so, I thought I'd mention it to save you the trouble. For my part, I'm (once again) recommending you go with the best option(s) I found for streaming "A Nightmare on Elm Street" (1984) on Roku devices... and that's 'Amazon Video'.


For those who have yet to install 'Amazon Video' on their Roku device(s)... please follow the same steps (as outlined previously) for "Videodrome" to add it to your channel selection. Likewise, the only available options for streaming "A Nightmare on Elm Street" via Amazon Video UK are to rent the video from Amazon UK for £2.49 (SD) or £3.49 (HD)... or, buy the film so that it's yours to keep and watch as you please. Again, you can make the purchase through Amazon UK for £6.99 in 'SD' or £7.99 for the 'HD' version - plus, whatever you decide, it can be watched via 'Amazon Video' on your Roku player(s)... or, for that matter, any other compatible device. You'll find confirmation of all your buying options in the screenshot below (taken from the Amazon UK website) and there is a link beneath the screenshot image which takes you directly to the webpage where you can buy the film:-






HINT: Please CLICK on the above image TO ENLARGE IT for easier viewing !!



AMAZON UK WEBLINK:- A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) [via Amazon Video UK]



As with "Videodrome", while 'Amazon Video' also provides the cheapest options for buying this film, it's because you're only getting a 'digital' copy to stream. So, for those considering a purchase in the 'HD' format, I'd (again) recommend using 'Sky Store'... since, included in your £7.99 purchase price, you get a DVD of the film posted to you. Once more, you can follow the steps (outlined previously) for "Videodrome" to add  'Sky Store' to your channel selection. If this is your first experience of using 'Sky Store', you need to set-up an account with them... but, if you have a Sky ID or NowTV Login, you can use the same username and password to get registered more quickly & easily. Once you're all sorted... here is a direct link to "A Nightmare on Elm Street" from the 'Sky Store' website, so you can access the film details more easily, and you can even make your purchase there too, if you'd like! ;-)



In the interest of fairness, "A Nightmare on Elm Street" is also on 'Google Play Movies & TV' as a £2.49 (SD) rental purchase... as well as being available to buy & keep for £7.99 (SD) but, as it offers no advantage, other than personal preference over user interface (UI) and whether (or not) you have an account set-up already... I felt 'Amazon Video' and 'Sky Store' were the best options available. :-)



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Our third film today is another feature-length movie from the USA... but, this time, it was directed by Stuart Gordon. First released in 1985 under the title of "Re-Animator"... it was based on the story, "Herbert West, Re-Animator", written by H. P. Lovecraft. Once again, the film's director had a hand in writing the screenplay - together with Dennis Paoli and William J. Norris - so, with H.P. Lovecraft and the director both contributing (in their own way) to the movie, you know you're onto a winner! ;-) This adaptation tells the story of how a dedicated student in medical college & his girlfriend become involved in a series of bizarre experiments (centered around the re-animation of dead tissue) when an odd new student arrives on campus as a housemate. With the emphasis on humour, you could say this was just a send-up of the original H.P. Lovecraft story but, once they have injected some life into the corpses (if you'll pardon my film-based pun), there is plenty of gore to add some horror credentials!





Al Berry as Dr. Gruber in Re-Animator (1985)
PHOTO CREDIT: cinematicautopsy.com






Re-Animator (1985) [British Quad Poster]
PHOTO CREDIT: liveauctioneers.com






Re-Animator (1985) [USA Movie Poster]
PHOTO CREDIT: Falling From Vertigo





Re-Animator (1985) [Alternative Poster #1]
PHOTO CREDIT: Demon's Resumé






Re-Animator (1985) [Alternative Poster #2]
PHOTO CREDIT: comingsoon.net






Re-Animator (1985) [Thai Poster]
PHOTO CREDIT: Foreign Movie Posters






Re-Animator (1985) [Contemporary Poster Art]
PHOTO CREDIT: Christopher Jones






Re-Animator (1985) [Special Screening Poster]
PHOTO CREDIT: Written In Blood




Fortunately for us, unlike "Videodrome" and "A Nightmare on Elm Street" (above), this time I was able to find a FREE-TO-STREAM copy of this movie online. Having almost given up on my usual web video streaming sources (YouTube, Vimeo, Dailymotion, etc.) on the internet, due to my having not had much success in finding the films for my most recent posts, I was pleasantly surprised to see this eighties horror classic available on 'YouTube' so that I was able to share it with you today. Again, please feel free to watch this movie online, or else just use the link to cast it from the 'YouTube' app (via your Roku player) and watch on the big screen for maximum enjoyment! Either way, here it is...



YOUTUBE LINK:- Re-Animator (1985) [IMDB Rating: 7.2]




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Our last film for today is another collaborative effort between the UK and USA. Just like the film "Videodrome", shared at the beginning of this post, it was (once again) directed by David Cronenberg but this time released in 1986 under the title of "The Fly" - although, in actual fact, it was a remake of the original film (by the same name) from 1958 - and tells the story of Seth Brundle (Jeff Goldblum), a brilliant but somewhat eccentric scientist, who tries to woo investigative journalist, Veronica Quaife (Geena Davis) by offering her a scoop on his latest research in the field of matter transportation. His experiments, contrary to the expectations of the scientific establishment, had proven to be successful. Up to a point. After a while... the scientist comes to believe he has ironed out the last problem, when he successfully transports a living creature - but, when he attempts to teleport himself, a fly enters one of the transmission booths and, when Brundle emerges, he discovers that he is a changed man!


WITH THANKS TO: Mark Thompson for his contribution to the storyline.






Jeff Goldblum in The Fly (1986)
PHOTO CREDIT: imdb.com






The Fly (1986) [British Quad Poster]
PHOTO CREDIT: filmquadposters.co.uk






The Fly (1986) [Movie Poster]
PHOTO CREDIT: mutantville.com






The Fly (1986) [Alternative Poster]
PHOTO CREDIT: horrormovies.gr






The Fly (1986) [French Poster]
PHOTO CREDIT: imdb.com






The Fly (1986) [German Poster]
PHOTO CREDIT: filmstarts.de






The Fly (1986) [Spanish Poster]
PHOTO CREDIT: quotesgram.com






The Fly (1986) [Turkish Poster]
PHOTO CREDIT: Foreign Movie Posters






The Fly (1986) [Hungarian Poster]
PHOTO CREDIT: filmonpaper.com






The Fly (1986) [Contemporary Poster]
PHOTO CREDIT: imdb.com




As with "Videodrome" and "A Nightmare on Elm Street" which I shared earlier in this post, I was unable to locate a decent copy of "The Fly" that was both free-to-stream and compatible with the requirements for playback on Roku devices. Just like the two other movies, there were rough copies out there... which, for the reasons outlined previously, I am not going to bother sharing with you here. That said, please feel free to do your own search for those, if you really must. For my part, I'm going to (once again) recommend that you go with the best option I found for streaming "The Fly" (1986) on Roku devices... and, in case you hadn't guessed it already... that was 'Amazon Video' yet again!






For those who have yet to install 'Amazon Video' on their Roku device(s)... please follow the same steps (as outlined above) for "Videodrome" to add it to your channel selection. Likewise, the only available options for streaming "The Fly" via Amazon Video UK are to rent the video from Amazon Video UK for £2.49 (SD) or £3.49 (HD) although, if you prefer, there is (again) the option to buy the film through Amazon Video UK - only, this time, it's £6.99 in either 'SD' or 'HD'... so, no prizes for guessing which one I'd go for! Whatever you decide, it can either be watched via the Amazon Video channel on your Roku player(s) or any other compatible device. Confirmation of these options is provided in the screenshot (below), taken from the Amazon UK website, and there is a link provided beneath the screenshot image which takes you to the webpage where you can buy the film:-





HINT: Please CLICK on the above image TO ENLARGE IT for easier viewing !!



AMAZON UK WEBSITE LINK:- The Fly (1986) [via Amazon Video UK]



As with "Videodrome", while 'Amazon Video' also provides the cheapest options for buying this film, like I said before, it's (essentially) because you're only getting a 'digital' copy. For those considering a purchase in the 'HD' format, I'd (again) suggest using 'Sky Store' instead... since, included as part of your £7.99 purchase price, you get a DVD of the film posted to you as well. As mentioned before, you can follow the steps (outlined previously) for "Videodrome" to add  'Sky Store' to your channel selection. Once you're all sorted... there is a direct link (below) to "The Fly" from the 'Sky Store' site, so you can access the film details more easily, and also make your purchase there, if you'd like! ;-)



SKY STORE WEBSITE LINK:- The Fly (1986) [via Sky Store]



In the interest of fairness, "The Fly" is also on 'Google Play Movies & TV' as a £2.49 (SD) rental purchase... as well as being available to buy & keep for £6.99 (HD) but, as it offers no advantage, other than personal preference over user interface (UI) and whether (or not) you have an account set-up already... I (once again) feel 'Amazon Video' and 'Sky Store' are the best options to go with. :-)




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Anyhow, that's all I've got time for today... but do remember to come back again tomorrow, for more macabre movies from the history of horror cinema, when I serve-up another batch of four films on 'Day Twenty-Four' of "A Cinematic History of Horror for Hallowe'en On Roku" right here on this blog. Meanwhile... please be sure to visit the Countdown To Hallowe'en website and show your support for this annual online Hallowe'en extravaganza... PLUS don't forget to use the links you find there and check out all the other 'Cryptkeepers' taking part this year. I know they'll appreciate it if you visit their blogs & share your thoughts on the contribution(s) they've made.



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BEFORE I GO: Don't forget that, aside from all the Hallowe'en / Horror-themed ghastliness going on around these parts for the next month, you can always keep up with all the UK Roku action (as it happens) by following the companion Twitter Feed: @ukrokuchannels where you will find up-to-the-minute info on all things Roku is posted on a daily basis (well, almost).



Until the next time, then...



That's all folks !!





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