Christmas is just a few days away now and with that joyous occasion comes our final Holiday Monster of the Week. If there is one thing that can ruin your holiday festivities, it's knowing that there is always a threat lurking the snowy streets just outside your door. What's worse is the fact that you may never know exactly when you may run into this menace - it could be at anytime, at anywhere and the end result will never be very good for you.
This week's Holiday Monster of the Week is...
Scut Farkus!
Scut Farkus graced our lives in Bob Clark's 1983 holiday classic, A Christmas Story, which was based off the short stories and anecdotes of author Jean Shepherd. However, the character of Scut Farkus (Played by Zack Ward) was actually written specifically for the film, so the credit for this Monster could go to either Clark himself, or Leigh Brown who also partook in the films writing.
First off, when you spell the name Scott, Scut, you know you are dealing with a serious monster of grotesque proportions. The name Scut alone just sounds awful and seems like it would be a great description for a phlegmy open wound, or a skanky slut perhaps. Everything about him drips bad and just by looking at him, you know his path is not one that you should ever cross. He tucks his super blue jeans into his boots, wears fingerless gloves, he rocks a Davy Crockett cap and out from under that hideous dome piece he'll stare you down with his yellow eyes. He has yellow eyes! So, help me, God! Yellow eyes! I would liken "Scut" to road construction, something that while on your way to and from work or school, can cause quite the inconvenience, except this inconvenience can and probably will result in a bloody nose, or the repeated use of the word uncle.
1974's Black Christmas, while being noted by many as the first true Slasher film, is a movie that is slightly under appreciated by some, well, I more mean under appreciated by myself I guess. I often get "wrapped up" in the "normal" classic holiday films like, It's A Wonderful Life and (another Bob Clark film) A Christmas Story, etc...almost completely ignoring the Christmas Horror that there is to be had. Being a horror fan, that is a bit of a shame I might add. So to sit back and watch Black Christmas after many years was a nice holiday treat and one that would be perfectly enjoyed on cable, meaning, cable stations should run this film once in a while during the holiday season instead of only playing the usual happy holiday fare.
It's just before Christmas break at a sorority house, when it is discovered that one of the sisters has gone missing when her father comes to pick her up and she never shows. This event results in a search party where there is the discovery of a dead girl's body, but not the body of the missing girl that was the originally being searched for. With a missing woman, a dead body, and a series of menacing phone calls to the sorority house, the police try and figure out what is happening, while the remaining sorority sister vie to stay alive. Kinda.
Back Christmas has a great cast and most of the performances are exceptional, especially Margot Kidder, who plays one of the sorority sisters. She is a very obnoxious, brash, and outspoken - mixed with a copious amount of alcohol, her character is a hot mess and a lot of fun to watch. Olivia Hussey is the films main protagonist and while I think "Hussey is hot," her performance is the weakest of the bunch. Not terrible and it gets better as the film moves along, but at first, she is a bit annoying. Two welcome actors were Andrea Martin, who (looks EXACTLY like Screech Powers in this film) I know from watching SCTV when I was a wee lad, so it was nice to see her. The other appearance is from the sexiest man ever, John Saxon. Complete with funny hat and all, Saxon plays the role of detective, which isn't a stretch for him and he's as fantastic and charismatic as ever.
Being that this is one of the first Slasher films made, director Bob Clark nicely executed some of the inspirational genre staples that are still prevalent even to this very day. Black Christmas is a sort of whodunit to a small degree, but this does give you a few red herrings, something found in Slasher films and even more so, Gialli, which are just Italian Slashers anyways. There is also a stalk and slash element to this film and the advent of the final girl is even prevalent in a way.
Another Slasher aspect that is one of the standouts in this holiday horror is the use of POV. While this is mostly used in the films opening scene (which is the high point of the movie), the POV used is one of the genres best, with a slight fish eyed lens used and a somewhat erratic style created by cinematographer Albert J. Dunk. Dunk devised this awesome effect by rigging up a camera harness that would mount the camera on his shoulder as he walked about the house, stalking the sorority sisters.
Now, Black Christmas starts off with a bang, but quickly hits the skids and gets pretty slow for a good half an hour or so. I think the film picks up the pace a little when Saxon shows up and the calls to the sorority house become more and more disturbing and mean spirited, but even then, there are moments of almost boredom. I can personally deal with the slower pace of the film because I enjoyed some of the performances and the story was still entertaining to a degree, but you're not getting some balls out, err, I should say, "tits out" Slasher film here. This is a classy Slasher (!) and one that burns slowly.
What really keeps me engulfed in this film and the reason I love it most is the unbelievable look of the movie's setting and design. The 70's and Christmas aesthetic are so pleasing to my holiday loving eyes, that it is impossible for me not to swoon for Black Christmas. It's all done in beautiful Technicolor, with the magic of brightly lit Christmas jumping right out at you from the base colors of this era - from orange, yellow, and deep wood/brown colors, I was in love.
Clark has a keen eye for grabbing the essence of Christmas, which he shows in A Christmas Story and clearly here, with Black Christmas. Both with completely different styles and set in different decades, they are able to speak and give off a traditional holiday mood representative of their respective time periods. I am glad I came back to this film as I really appreciated it more than ever and if you like a nice, almost traditional horror film, then grag yourslef a glass of eggnog and warm up next to Black Christmas this holiday season.
There isn't much in terms of Thanksgiving themed horror and I know, cause I looked. One of the more well known (well, I guess) Thanksgiving horror films is 1972's Blood Freak, a "fowl" movie that I have never seen, but one I'm sure I would absolutely love. Dude is a total bawk-bawk-chicken-chicken-bawk-bawk-chicken head.
One I had never heard of, but sounds like it would scare the "stuffing" out of me, is 1981's Thanksgiving set Slasher, Home Sweet Home. It's about a homicidal maniac that shows how thankful he is by "carving" a family during their Thanksgiving festivities. I couldn't find a trailer, but this clip and Body by fucking Jake says it all...
I also discovered the 2006 low-budget film, ThanXgiving: Dead Harvest. Movie looks pretty weak and the only thing going for it is Ari Lehman is one of the stars. He is the same jive ass turkey that played Jason Voorhees for 17 seconds and somehow has been able to make a career out of it.
Probably the best known out of all these movies is the one that isn't even a movie, but a faux trailer. Of course, I'm talking about Eli Roth's brilliant entry in the 2007 film Grindhouse, Thanksgiving. It's crazy how one trailer can get it so right, it looks like it was hand "plucked" out of the 80's Slasher/holiday craze. Make this movie, please!
Last, but certainly not least, we have 2009's ThanksKilling! An incredibly low-budget film that is a welcome addition to the very small Thanksgiving horror fold. I had recently heard of ThanksKilling and only a few days later, learned that it was available on NetFlix instant watch. It's barely over an hour, super cheap, but incredibly funny in a very on purpose way. Well worth your time this Thanksgiving...horror fans will be "gobbling" this one up!
Not a lot, but there is some Thanksgiving horror fun to be had. Now if only these films would air on cable...now that would be gravy.
A lot of folks did a post in celebration of Friday the 13th, but I forgot it was Friday the 13th, so how about some love for the following day? It Gets bad on Friday the 13th, but it gets worse on Saturday the 14th!
Just when you thought it was safe to look at the calender again! Oh I get it...that's like a Jaws joke, funny.
What better way to encapsulate the month of mayhem known as Chucktober, than by watching classic Halloween themed horror movies?! Okay, maybe I'm stretching a little when I say classic, but 1995's monster mash masterpiece, Jack-O is a horror film, and it is set during Halloween...so I'm not that far off, right?
I can't help but love cheesy holiday and event themed Slasher films of the utmost ridiculous nature - whether it be celebrating Independence Day with Uncle Sam - giving the gift of three abducted Innocent women to Ma dukes for Mothers Day - getting your diploma on Graduation Day, or drinking a pint with a Leprechaun in honor of St. Patrick's Day. Christmas has this "sub genre" on straight lock down with a slew of awesomely wacky and out there holiday horror with movies like Santa's Slay, Jack Frost, and Silent Night Deadly Night 2 just to name a few.
I think most of these films are set out to achieve what they are, and that is entertaining B-movies that aren't to be taken too seriously, but instead are meant to be fun. You almost cannot judge this type of film with other more serious, or direct horror movies - they are schlock and are to be judged for how many times you can roll your eyes back in giddy disbelief, or how many times you can simply say, wow. This type of film may be looked down upon by some, and that seems to be a little unfair since they are not made to win awards, or to actually be scary, let alone be taken seriously. I wonder how many of those same people went all ape shit for Eli Roth's Thanksgiving segment in Grindhouse...which is the epitome of the films I am talking about here. Maybe Thanksgiving could be looked at as a kind of gateway drug to these "bad" movies in a way...I'm more than okay with that.
So, now that I have completely rambled on about movies that are of the lowest score on IMDB, I should get back to the reason why I am here in the first place. That reason is Jack-O, which I just so happened to write a review of over at Paracinema...The Blog. It fits in perfectly with the films that I am unintentionally ranting about, and should fill your Halloween horror needs if you are looking for something on the trashy side to watch...and it is on Netflix instant watch! I'll tell you one thing, Jack-O is a whole hell of a lot better than Automaton Transfusion.
Scut Farkus graced our lives in Bob Clark's 1983 holiday classic, A Christmas Story, which was based off the short stories and anecdotes of author Jean Shepherd. However, the character of Scut Farkus (Played by Zack Ward) was actually written specifically for the film, so the credit for this Monster could go to either Clark himself, or Leigh Brown who also partook in the films writing.
Clark has a keen eye for grabbing the essence of Christmas, which he shows in A Christmas Story and clearly here, with Black Christmas. Both with completely different styles and set in different decades, they are able to speak and give off a traditional holiday mood representative of their respective time periods. I am glad I came back to this film as I really appreciated it more than ever and if you like a nice, almost traditional horror film, then grag yourslef a glass of eggnog and warm up next to Black Christmas this holiday season.
