Pictured: The winners of last year's Halloween Costume Contest: Headless Harry Potter and Iron Man
The air is turning crisper, the leaves have fallen from the trees, and all the good little goblins and ghosts are preparing to trick 'r treat their way through the night. But before you head off with the kiddies intent on filling up bags with sweet goodies, and before you get down and party with all your friends, be sure to enter our annual Halloween Costume Contest!
Once again, we have two terrific prize packages, one for kids under 18 and one for adults over 18. All costumes must be movie-related; submissions are open through Wednesday, November 3. Check out the prize packages right here, where you can also find all the information you need to enter the contest. If you're still waffling about your costume, Moviefone came up with a host of ideas to get you started; you can also take another look at our contest winners from last year. Or maybe you can come up with a costume based on 'Let Me In,' 'The Social Network,' or 'Paranormal Activity 2.' (OK, those might be stretching it.) Even better: surprise us! Just don't forget to enter. Good luck, everybody, and drive safely and slowly on Sunday for Halloween.
No Halloween feels complete without honoring one of horror cinema's favorite gentleman -- the great Vincent Price. The Gothic god's iconic voice, pitch black humor and near elastic, melodramatic expressions served him well through a colorful career not only as one of horror's leading men, but also as an art and antique collector, gourmet cook, quiz show enthusiast, author and ghoulishly delightful raconteur.
The elegant and eccentric Price made a career for himself in theater throughout the 1930s before arriving on the big screen in the 1938 romantic screwball comedy, 'Service de Luxe.' It was his second role, however, that caught the attention of filmgoers -- the part of idle playboy Shelby Carpenter in the 1944 noir classic 'Laura.' There's sometimes confusion amongst fans as to what Price's first horror role was. He starred alongside fellow genre mavens Boris Karloff and Basil Rathbone in 1939's 'Tower of London,' which plays out more like a Grand Guignol costume drama than the true blue horror classics we've come to associate the actor with. 'The Invisible Man Returns' is usually cited as Price's first horror film role, even though he only appears in the movie for a minute or so -- relying instead on his speaking talents for the disembodied voice of the wrongly accused Sir Geoffrey Radcliffe.
The '50s saw Price in a series of character roles in films like 'The Ten Commandments' and 'Son of Sinbad,' but he found his home as a horror star in 1953's 'House of Wax' (one of Hollywood's first 3-D endeavors and a film Price almost turned down for another turn on Broadway in Jose Ferrer's 'My Three Angels'), 'The Fly' (1958), 'The Bat' (1959) and his first feature with gimmick-maestro William Castle in 'House on Haunted Hill' (1959). After the success of the movie, the Castle/Price combo continued in 1959's 'The Tingler,' after which Price was dubbed the "Master of Menace" for his highly entertaining LSD trip as Dr. Warren Chapin.
Price began a special relationship with King of the B's Roger Corman when he signed on for a series of American International Pictures chillers in the early '60s, based on the works of Edgar Allen Poe. The actor's cultured stylings and signature delivery helped elevate films like 'House of Usher,''Pit and the Pendulum,''The Raven,' and 'The Masque of the Red Death' to something far more nuanced than their B-movie origins might first suggest. Corman's atmospheric and giallo-esque saturated palette provided the perfect backdrop for the larger-than-life actor. A few months ago, I had the opportunity to speak with Corman about Price's work in the Poe cycle:
" ... He was great. When I did 'House of Usher' I had Vincent in mind from the beginning to play Roderick Usher. He was a highly intelligent, educated, cultivated, sensitive man. I found that Vincent embodied all those qualities -- he was my first choice right from the beginning while we were working from the idea through to the script. When it was finished, I contacted him through his agent, sent the script over with an offer -- he read the script and liked it, and suggested we have lunch. We had lunch and discussed it -- we got along very well, and it led to five or six pictures I did with Vincent."
The actor's later career is something of a mixed bag. The title character in the camp classic 'The Abominable Dr. Phibes' (1971) remains one of Price's most memorable characters. 'Theater of Blood' (1973) ranks as one of the performer's best roles and gave him the opportunity to do something he'd always wanted -- Shakespeare -- but couldn't because he'd become so typecast. In the film he skillfully plays a hammy actor (Lionheart) -- a hard combination to pull off, but he makes it work. After this, Price remained active in movies and television -- often spoofing his macabre image. He made the most of his distinctive voice in radio work and voice-over roles, which included Alice Cooper's 'Welcome to My Nightmare' and Michael Jackson's 'Thriller.' Price made an appearance as the inventor in Tim Burton's 'Edward Scissorhands' -- his final significant role.
Despite his proclivities toward the horror genre and his refined image, Price never took himself too seriously and has been described as a gentle and compassionate soul by those who knew him well. Horror lost a legend when the actor passed away from lung cancer in 1993 at the age of 82, but this man of many talents continues to be discovered by a whole new generation of fans in the films he helped make legendary.
The Scene: Regan MacNeil (Linda Blair) is a young girl living in Georgetown with her actress mother. When her behavior shifts dramatically, doctors and psychiatrists try to figure out why. When science fails, it's up to Fathers Merrin (Max von Sydow) and Karras (Jason Miller) to save her through the rite of exorcism. The resulting ritual is a terrifying and dangerous ordeal that puts all three parties in grave danger. Karras and Merrin risk the most, and some of the things they see and hear would test anyone's faith. During the battle between good and evil, the demon inside Regan shows its power by twisting the child's head in a complete 360. When Karras catches the demon in a lie, its response is to projectile vomit pea soup on the Priest. The holy men are undaunted by these events and continue in their quest to save the little girl's soul.
Movie Videos & Movie Scenes at MOVIECLIPS.com
Why It's Iconic: The reasons why these two parts of 'The Exorcist' have become ingrained in the collective consciousness are pretty easy to figure out. Even today, nearly 40 years after Friedkin's film took the world by storm, the exorcism conducted in the film is shocking. Seeing a child twist her head completely around is a very cool -- and very scary -- piece of special effects work, but the scenes are memorable not so much for their technical achievements, but instead for the way they shock an audience. Regan's rantings are blasphemous and her actions intensely disturbing (like the crucifix masturbation scene...). Friedkin plays for keeps in this film, clearly wanting to upset his audience, and he goes all out in achieving that goal.
Attributing the appeal of the scene solely to shock value isn't fair, though. 'The Exorcist' has become iconic because it plays to our deeper fears --both religious and physical. Audiences look at Regan in these scenes and see a child possessed by a great evil, something that could, in theory, befall anyone. Then to see the physical manifestations of this evil, reflected uncomfortably in the innocent girl's actions and appearance, is enough to shake even the most jaded viewers. Friedkin doesn't flinch from the ugliness of evil in this sequence, and that's what makes it so memorable.
Imitators/Flatterers: Interestingly enough, these scenes from 'The Exorcist' have been imitated, but mostly in spoof comedies. 'Scary Movie 2' and others have paid homage to Friedkin's classic scenes, playing them for laughs instead of screams. This seems to indicate that a lot of horror filmmakers feel as though the pea soup and head spin are so good that they can't be made scarier. Linda Blair took another stab at them in the comedy 'Repossessed,' but most of the pure horror homages have emanated from other countries. Turkey made one of the most infamous remakes with 'Seytan,' a shot-for-shot retelling that was very much like Friedkin's version -- only with Turkish actors and a fraction of the budget. Spanish horror icon Paul Naschy also paid homage with 'Exorcismo,' which features a climactic exorcism sequence that borrows quite liberally from the American film. Naschy always claimed he'd written his script before seeing 'The Exorcist,' but I'm guessing he read Blatty's novel at some point. Needless to say, while homages are cool, nothing tops the original.
Welcome to Where Everyone Has Gone Before, the column in which I continue my film education before your very eyes by seeking out and watching all of the movies we all know I should have seen by now. I will first judge the movie before I've watched it, based entirely on its reputation (and my potentially misguided thoughts). Then I will give the movie a fair chance and actually watch it. You will laugh at me, you may condemn me, but you will never say I didn't try!
The Film: 'Bride of Frankenstein' (1935), Dir. James Whale
Starring: Boris "?????" Karloff, Colin "It's Alive!" Clive, Ernest Thesiger and Valerie Hobson.
Why I Haven't Seen It Until Now: When I was but a fresh-faced youth with his whole life still in front of him, a certain cable channel that shall not be named would run marathons of old horror movies every Halloween. The classic Universal monster movies were always in the mix and this was where my love of horror cinema was allowed to grow. I saw 'Frankenstein,' 'Dracula,' 'The Wolfman,' 'The Creature From the Black Lagoon,' 'The Invisible Man' and most of the other classics by the time I was twelve. Somehow, every year, I managed to miss 'Bride of Frankenstein.' Every year, I vowed to track it down and never did. And here we are. Happy Halloween.
Pre-Viewing Assumptions (Before I've watched the film): 'Bride of Frankenstein' is one of the greatest horror films of all time and one of the best sequels ever made, taking what worked about the first film and amplifying it ten-fold. Like its predecessor, it's a film simply crying out for a musical score, but the work from an ensemble of old pros and James Whale's gothic direction provides atmosphere in spades. Maybe an effective musical score would have made this movie too good, too perfect of an example of the greatness of the original Universal monster movies.
The story picks up some time after the original, loosely borrowing elements from Mary Shelley's original novel that were not plundered for the first adventure of Dr. Frankenstein and his man 'o many parts. Like its predecessor, 'Bride of Frankenstein' will never win any awards for sticking to the events of its source material, but you're only allowed to complain about that when a movie is a failure. Anyway, the movie captures the spirit of Shelley's work if not the exact text and considering how strange and bold the original novel was (and still is), that's all the film needs.
So, story in a nutshell: Dr. Frankenstein's all like "Man, I'm so glad my monster died in that windmill fire" and then the monster shows up and is all like "Nah, man! I'm still alive and I learned to talk and now I want you to make me a lady friend or I'm going to kill your entire family!" and Frankenstein's all like "Oh no! Here we go again!" and he goes about reanimating another corpse so his creation can get his groove on.
Karloff is amazing. Clive is amazing. Without modern make-up or reliance on blood and guts, Whale manages to craft a tone that evokes horror and dread like nothing before or since. This is classic horror at its finest. This is real cinema.
Movie Videos & Movie Scenes at MOVIECLIPS.com Post-Viewing Reaction (After I've watched the film): As you can tell, I had really, really high expectations for 'Bride of Frankenstein.' And why shouldn't I? It's often bandied about as being the best of the original Universal monster movies, always touted as James Whale's masterpiece and more than several scenes have simply become iconic, familiar to people the world over, even those like me, who hadn't actually watched the film until about a half hour before writing this sentence.
Disappointment is an unfair, simplified and nearly vulgar term for the more complicated reaction I had to 'Bride of Frankenstein,' but it's the one that instantly springs to mind, inaccurate though it may be. I was ready for something transcendent, the Great Classic Horror Movie to end all Great Classic Horror Movies and the funny, weird, intelligent and endlessly creepy movie I ended up watching is indisputably a wonderful, important film, but it just can't quite fill its own iconoclasm, which has grown far bigger than the film itself.
'Bride of Frankenstein' is one of the classiest, most beautifully shot and most entertaining B-horror movies of all time. It doesn't transcend it's Universal monster movie roots, but it has no desire to. It is what it is and doesn't care what you think. It operates in a niche arena and has no desire to be seen elsewhere. It only wants to be the best of its kind and has no delusions of grandeur. Nowadays, it's rare to find a horror movie this smart that doesn't have at least some air of pretension around it, but 'Bride of Frankenstein' is from another era, cloaking its dark humor and acidic wit with creepy lighting, endearingly hammy acting and even a shocking moment or two.
And this time there's an actual musical score and Oh My, does it help.
After a slightly baffling intro featuring Mary Shelley recapping the last film for Lord Byron and her husband, we're off and running, picking up straight where the last film left off. Henry Frankenstein (Colin Clive), having barely survived his ordeal, returns home to his bride-to-be and the Monster (Boris Karloff), very much not-burnt-alive, offs a few pesky townsfolk and is soon on the run from a lot of torch and pitchfork-wielding peasants. Soon enough, Frankenstein is visited by Dr. Pretorius (Ernest Thesiger), who wants to start a collaboration and continue the whole creating-a-being-out-of-corpses-and-bringing-them-to-life thing. At first Frankenstein refuses, but-
Nah, I'll stop there. What transpires is actually more surprising than you'd think, especially how and when the Monster re-enters the picture. Suffice to say that it's a busy 75 minutes.
Will there ever be a more memorable movie monster than Boris Karloff's Monster? The answer is no. Although he actually gets a chance to talk in this one (the monster picks up rudimentary speech as well as liking of cigars and booze), this is a role defined by his physicality. It's not just the famous make-up...it's his walk, his posture and how he carries himself. At no point does the monster move like a normal human being. How could it? It never had a childhood, never had a chance to develop like a human being. It's a walking example of science gone horribly awry. There is just as much care put into this performance as there is in a "serious" Oscar performance. The level of physical control on display is on the same level as The Three Stooges, The Marx Bros., Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin, but unlike those performers, who used extreme physicality to get a laugh, Karloff uses his body to vanish into this character. You are never watching Karloff; you are only watching a walking amalgamation of body parts brought to life with lightning.
More important than all of the shambling and grunting though, is the soul of the Monster. Like King Kong, the Monster is misunderstood and frightened, abandoned by the only man who could have taught him how to be a human, how to have a conscience and how to understand the world around him. The scene with the blind musician, the first person to treat the Monster with any dignity at all (brilliantly parodied in Mel Brooks' 'Young Frankenstein') is heartbreaking. We watch a creature with the mentality of a child, a creature who has only known cruelty and pitchforks and flaming windmills, learn that decency actually exists. His final scene in the film (and Karloff's brutal final line) showcases how this monster isn't evil bur rather has absorbed the evil of the world around him. In the final minutes of the film, the Monster understands this and takes what he deems as appropriate action.
While Karloff provides the pathos, Clive and Thesiger provide the wit and the ham, chewing on their brilliant dialogue just as much as they chew on the scenery. Clive may be the other iconic figure from these films, with his "IT'S ALIVE!" proclamation having entered everyone's vernacular, but its Thesiger's Dr. Pretorius who feels more vital and who's definitely had the longer impact. You can see shades of Pretorius in every other movie mad scientist since, from the 1950s B-movie loonies who grow giant radioactive ants to Christopher Lloyd's Doc Brown in 'Back to the Future.' With his wild gray hair and the disturbing glee he takes in his work, he may be an archetype that's still being copied and pasted today, but the years of creative theft have done nothing to dull the character. They can steal the image, but they cannot replicate its power: Dr. Pretorius may be the greatest mad scientist in film history.
I don't want to be the guy who goes on and on about how they just don't make 'em like they used to, but it's true. They don't make 'em like they used to. Not that this necessarily a bad thing. Times change. People change. Audiences change. Tastes change. However, what James Whale does with 'Bride of Frankenstein' is unique compared to most modern horror films. Yes, it has its fair share of horror moments (although time has definitely dulled their total impact), but it's also funny and sad and strange and exciting. It's a complete package of just about everything you could want out of movie. Old Universal horror movies may feel quaint to many modern moviegoers, but these classy, well-made films have stood the test of time. I would say that I hope they never get forgotten, but they won't. They're not in any danger. They're here to stay.
The Scene: Marion Crane is our main character. She's knee-deep in a low-end but dicey embezzlement scheme and we're all curious to see where she's headed next. We know Hitchcock by now. It's 1960 by this point. She's about to step into the shower at a roadside motel, and we're about to be entertained by a thrilling little crime st ... DEAR LORD WHAT THE HELL JUST HAPPENED?!?
Why It's Iconic: Because it changed all the rules, quite simply. It's almost as if Mr. Hitchcock was starting to bore himself, so he cooked up a new way to keep his scares fresh. To say he succeeded would be a stunning example of understatement. As a stand-alone horror scene, it's diabolically effective. (Especially when you consider the year in which it was produced.) As the fulcrum for one of the creepiest horror films ever made, it's an undeniable classic. It shocks us to our core, it sends us off into a completely different film, and it shows us that we better watch out, because in horror films created by dark, clever people -- anything can happen.
Call it a resoundingly influential sequence, a masterfully crafted one, or just a plain ol' scary moment, but this one rewrote the rule book for an entire genre, which is why we proudly list it as the #1 Most Iconic Horror Scene of All Time. (And Happy Halloween!)
But don't just take my word (and 50 years worth of effusive praise) for it. Here are some thoughts from some of our "Iconic Scenes" team:
Visceral without being gory, powerful because of its implied menace -- the shower scene is a masterful sequence that continues to be the subject of speculation and genre fan obsession to this day. There's not much more that can be said about the scene, other than thank you Mr. Hitchcock for setting the bar so high. -- Alison Nastasi
So elegant with its black-and-white photography, so deceptively simple with its framing and editing, it's hard to think of a more perfect horror film moment than the shower scene in Hitchcock's 'Psycho.' An exercise in visual and aural tension, it convinces the viewer they've seen more than they really have. The blade of the knife, the screeching of Bernard Herrmann's classic score, and Janet Leigh's screams all merge beautifully to create a scene for the ages. So much has been written about the brilliance of Hitchcock's sequence that it's hard to find anything new to add. For me, two things have always stood out: the foley work (which is excellent - the hiss of running water is complemented perfectly by the wicked sound of the knife plunging repeatedly into Leigh's vulnerable flesh) and the Leigh's last moments of life. As the actress sits dying, she tugs the shower curtain down on top of her. It's a simple action and shot, but the implications are brutal. The devil is in the details, they say, and those details are what makes the shower scene in 'Psycho' so enduring. -- Mike Bracken
Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the shower! This seminal scene is the culmination of Hitchcock's ultimate cinematic practical joke. The moment it happens, especially upon your first viewing, you don't really believe it's happening because Janet Leigh is the star of the film and there is no way the final girl gets iced in the middle of the movie right? Wrong! Hitch plays with expectation as much as he does camera angles to create a secondary signature all his own. -- Brian Salisbury
This scene still packs such a punch now, that it's hard to imagine what it must have been like to see it upon its initial release. The scene itself is not unlike a symphony, beautifully edited and underscored by the piercing, pulsing music, escalating the tension to a crescendo-like fever pitch. Destined to be oft-imitated but never matched, the shower scene showcases a master at the top of his game. -- Luke Mullen
All of Hitchcock's style aside, most audiences still can't explain how he gets away with killing his lead halfway through the film. But he does. The Bernard Hermann score certainly doesn't hurt. It's not only one of the most iconic horror scenes, but one of the most iconic scenes in cinema as a whole. -- Jason Murphy
Imitators/Flatterers: Need proof of precisely how iconic this sequence is? Look no further than this wonderful montage below.
All this month, we at Moviefone are revealing our list of 20 Most Iconic Horror Scenes -- a list we worked really hard on and argued over a lot.
Of course, not everyone is going to agree with our choices, least of all hard-core horror geeks. And so we'll admit, we were a little nervous when cult horror experts Zack Carlson and Lars Nilsen, of the famed Alamo Drafthouse in Austin, Texas, offered to weigh in on our list. Would they love it? Hate it? Praise its genius? Rip it to shreds?
It is with great pride that we turn our picks over to Zack and Lars, who will be commenting on our list (five picks at a time) and then, after the big reveal on October 31, offering their own ranked lists of Most Iconic Horror Scenes. Whom will you agree with more -- them or us? Stay tuned and find out.
Our last collection flops directly from the feverish mind of Sir Lars Nilsen...
Lars Nilsen is more excited, obsessive and knowledgeable about underappreciated movies than any other Nordic man. He's the programmer for Austin's Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, and the programmer/host of Weird Wednesday, the world's single greatest weekly 35mm exploitation film series. He has so many movie reference books that the shelves bend like upside-down wooden rainbows. He collects out-of-print VHS tapes and music by non-caucasians. He almost beat up a guy for locking a dog in a hot car with the windows up. Don't do that.
5. 'Halloween' Opening Sequence
Lars: This wasn't the first Point Of View Kill, Bob Clark's 'Black Christmas' was before this and D.W. Griffith did it in 1919 ('Face Stabbers of Musket Alley', now lost), but this is the one that most people saw first and it's pretty damn good. Carpenter's strategy of confusing audience identification is set up here and continues throughout. While hundreds of films aped the style of 'Halloween', few of them understood that under the suspense and murder there is an underlying subtextual core of role and gender reversal that powers Carpenter's film. A significant portion of Carol Clover's essential book "Men, Women & Chainsaws" is devoted to 'Halloween' and is required reading for anyone genuinely interested in horror films.
4. 'The Shining': "Heeere's Johnny!"
Lars: Little known fact: until the master filmmaker's death, every year on the anniversary of the release 'The Shining's release, Jack Nicholson sent a card to Stanley Kubrick's home that read, "Thank you for turning me into a grotesque Jack In The Box simulacrum and ruining my ability to ever be perceived as anything but a total fucking lunatic." This movie is undeniably effective but Nicholson seems like a barely-contained maniac even before he loses it and starts chopping the place up.
3. 'Alien': Chestburster
Lars: One of the most visceral shocks in movie history is the scene where John Hurt's chest bursts open and a razor-toothed alien creature that looks like something you'd see hanging in a Korean seafood market flies out of his thorax. Though only moderately more disgusting than actual childbirth, the carnage is completely unexpected and the excellent cast does a great job of selling the scene.
2. 'The Exorcist': Pea Soup & Head Spins
Lars: This movie probably got more people on the Jesus train than Billy Graham and the Insane Clown Posse combined. It's so expertly done in all ways that even the most sophisticated cinephiles can still get caught up in the illusion. And even if you think the idea of demonic possession is just a sack of old underpants, this scene will play Chopsticks on your spinal column.
1. 'Psycho': Shower Scene
Lars: In this classic scene, Hitchcock plays on the audience's knowledge of how movies work. In 1960, when audiences saw the silhouette of "Mrs." Bates through the shower curtain they reassured themselves that nothing would happen to the top-billed star of the film, Janet Leigh. But it does, and in a manner far more frenetic and violent than anything seen in a mainstream film. Bates slices through the curtain and so does Hitchcock, again and again and again. Both Bates and Hitchcock lose themselves in a frenzy of cutting. If the impact is muted now (and let's just admit that it is), it's only because the scene has been aped and parodied thousands of times since.
(And Happy Halloween from everyone at the Drafthouse!)
The Alamo Drafthouse, called the #1 theater in America by Entertainment Weekly and one-upped by The Guardian which called it "the best cinemas in the world," is known for its one-of-a-kind film programming. Zack Carlson, programmer for the Alamo Drafthouse and Fantastic Fest, and Lars Nilsen, creative director for the theater, have helped build the theater's esteemed reputation with regular cinematic trips into the horrific and weird with their weekly Terror Tuesday & Weird Wednesday midnight shows.
'Goosebumps' creator and author of hundreds of scary stories R.L. Stine is famous for his fictional spooky tales.
But what does he have to say about his own TRUE Halloween stories?
We asked him to tell us a few cute stories about today's holiday from his childhood -- as well as one gross out tale from the Canadian set of the 'Goosebumps' TV show.
Brace yourself for the story behind the "haunted mask," why fuzzy-tail duck costumes might not be so bad and one young actresses complete dedication to eating...well, we won't ruin your dinner for you.
Check out the video below and leave us your real Halloween stories in the comments! (Any fellow ducks out there?)
The fantastic 'Sound of Music' box set and soundtrack arrives in stores today but we're giving you the chance to save big!
All you have to do is watch our exclusive DVD clip (after the jump), and then head over to this site to tell us how many frames there are in 'The Sound of Music.'
Among the great things you'll see in this clip: A digital restoration artist shows how he corrected dirty lenses and other flaws to "restore" the film to its original mastery. The artistry behind the musical's impressive cinematography is also discussed in depth.
If you can solve a problem like Maria (or in other words, if you get the trivia question right), you could earn a sweet discount!
David Arquette is something of a love-him-or-hate-him actor: given his penchant for energetic, eccentric performances, reactions to his work vary wildly between passionate enjoyment and just as passionate exasperation. In his latest project, 'The Legend of Hallowdega,' Arquette seems to have found his soul mate in director Terry Gilliam, a filmmaker who is himself no stranger to odd material and even odder execution. A short about (in Arquette's words) a "redneck scientist who's trying to discover why Talladega is such a dangerous racetrack," the film went live online over the weekend, and the actor's collaboration with Gilliam seems as likely to polarize audiences as anything else they've done, albeit this time in a format some may find mercifully short while other say it's not long enough.
Cinematical spoke to Arquette last week via telephone to discuss his starring role in 'The Legend of Hallowdega.' In addition to discussing the evolution of his collaboration with Terry Gilliam, he offered a few insights into how he found the character, and talked at length about the way even a short film provides real and significant challenges for actors - even when they're as endlessly energetic as he is.
Cinematical: When Terry Gilliam called you and asked you to be in 'Hallowdega,' what did he say about the project?
David Arquette: I got this call from my agent saying "hey, do you want to do this Terry Gilliam short?" I was like, are you f*cking kidding me? He's one of my favorite directors of all time - I saw 'Time Bandits' like 25 times - and I was like, yes, I can't wait to work with him. And then I had a phone call with him and he just has such a great sense of humor, and he's such a light, loving artist. He's just so amazing, and I was thrilled. He told me about the story, and he said I'm playing this sort of redneck scientist who's trying to discover the legend of Talladega - why's it such a dangerous track? It was amazing, because Amp Energy Juice came up with the concept of bringing Terry Gilliam, myself, Justin Kirk and Dale Earnhardt Jr. together in this NASCAR setting with this really sort of offbeat story. So I just loved the idea of a redneck scientist - it's just so funny to me (laughs). And the way Terry directs, he's really supportive and he's got a great sense of humor and he really lets you fly with it and he tries different things.
One example is that when I was in the wardrobe fitting, there was a guy who was doing a fake tattoo on me, and he was a real tattoo artist, but he's got these punk-rock pants on with all of these punk-rock patches all over them and fuzzy animal skin and all of this weird sh*t. He says, "I want you to wear his pants." I was like, dude, do you mind if I wear your pants? The guy was like, yeah - go for it, man! So I wore his pants, and then [Terry] gave me this vest and he says, "okay, I want you to take this vest, and here are some markers, and go research Robert Flood and alchemy, and then draw anything you want on it. So I took it home and just drew all over the vest and there were a bunch of the crew back at the hotel and I had them draw all over the vest and write their names and do whatever, but it's just an example of how his brain works. He cast some of the supporting parts with people from the community and grips and electric and the art directors, and it's just a different process. It's so relaxing and creative, and it was just a blast.
Cinematical: You're known as a performer for your energy and passion. When you're working with Terry, how easy was it to fall into a good creative rhythm with one another?
Arquette: The first day, we shot just a few things, and I was kind of on the fence about how my performance was. I was feeling like I was maybe being a little over-the-top, and I didn't know if it was going to come off as realistic, so the second day I decided to try to walk to Talladega. It was a 20 minute drive, so I started walking, and then I got a couple of rides and I hitchhiked a little, but at the end I got to the freeway and I walked for about a half-hour down this road that leads to Talladega - just because I thought this character would probably have done that a thousand times. I picked up all of these knick knacks on the side road and I put them in my tent. But one problem was that I didn't study my monologue as much as I should have, and I didn't have it down quite so well, and Terry was really cool about working me through it and letting me put pieces of paper in certain places so I could jar my memory. He just went with the flow; he was like, "don't even worry about it." But it also brought this energy of like me scrambling for my lines, and it brought a craziness out of the character that was so inherent and just character-driven that it really helped me.
Cinematical: With a short film, do you feel like it's more important to know your character inside and out when you go to shoot, or is it the same as a feature or TV show where you have more freedom to explore and discover during shooting?
Arquette: Doing a short film has definite benefits, and drawbacks. But one of the benefits - or drawbacks - is that you only have a finite amount of time to define your character and to get your message across. You kind of have to jump in really wholeheartedly and just believe in it, commit to your choices, and it makes it a really quick process. But it makes it a lot of fun, because it's like Terry usually does these epic films that are so complex, but on something like this he was able to sort of sit back and have some fun with it and no one was taking it too seriously. It was fun to really sort of be thrown into his crazy, artistic world.
Cinematical: Was there anything that surprised you when you were working with Terry Gilliam, given your prior familiarity with his material?
Arquette: Not really, but what surprised me was that he is incredibly humorous. I mean, I knew that about him anyway from his directing, but you know when he likes something when he's laughing uncontrollably. He just comes up and he's like a kid in candy store with all of these tools that he knows so well, and he knows the camera and the art direction really well, so it just kind of made it really easy. Just having him come up and laugh, he's just got such a childlike air about him that certainly helped us really quickly kind of connect together.
Cinematical: Is there anything you did in Hallowdega that you're particularly eager to see how it came out?
Arquette: It was such a cool shoot and he's such a maniac of a character that I just want to see where the subtleties are within it. Because that's hard to sort of feel as an actor when you're playing such an over-the-top character; you want everything grounded and you try to do everything from a character-based, real place, but you never really know how it's going to come out. And then obviously Terry brings so much to the table in post, with the art direction and all of the scenes that he shot that I wasn't apart of, I just want to see it all come together and to see the sort of magic he puts into his films come to life.
Congratulations to @BekErgashev, the first winner in Moviefone's horror giveaway! He knew that the still photo above was taken from 'The Shining,' Stanley Kubrick's landmark 1980 adaptation of Stephen King's famed novel. Thanks to his fandom, @BekErgashev won a pair of free movie tickets -- and you can too! Follow Moviefone on Twitter for a chance to win free tickets every weekday in October as part of our #horrorgiveaway. Contest details here, but head over to Twitter to follow us for your chance to win!
The controversial 'Human Centipede II: Full Sequence' opening Friday in 18 select theaters around the country has already achieved a mountain of notorious hype. The sequel to 2010's shocker about a mad doctor obsessed with surgically connecting people mouth-to-anus promises to be even more disgusting and brutal -- and with reports that 'Human Centipede II' features even more graphic torture, bodily fluids and rape, it's no surprise that the movie is getting into trouble.
Back in June, the film was banned in the UK, but the British Board of Film Classification relented on Thurdsay and will allow the film to be screened.
This may seem like a whirlwind tale of a movie pushing the limits of decency farther than ever before, but compared to some other horror movies, it's child's play. If 'Human Centipede' wants to really become one of the most shocking films of all time, it will have to work extra hard to achieve the public outcry that these films caused. Moviefone takes a look at the most banned horror movies in history.
Audiences are expected to be massive for 'Paranormal Activity 3' this weekend, and if the film does its job, they'll potentially need to rush home soon afterward to change underwear. That's because fans of ghost stories have one easy-to-follow request: "give us a good scare!" While viewers wait for 'Paranormal Activity 3' to deliver on that promise, you can rattle your nerves right now with a look at some of the most memorable paranormal scenes in movie history. Warning: not for the faint of heart!
'The Haunting' (1963)
This British thriller -- set inside the dark and ominous Hill House -- has freaked audiences out for almost 50 years thanks to its "less is more" approach. Pitch-black shadows that creep over the room and eerie moans that reverberate through the walls reach a spine-tingling crescendo for poor Nell in this memorable scene.
'The Amityville Horror' (1979)
The supposedly true story of a family terrorized by evil spirits in their new home, where a series of grisly murders took place years before, features plenty of iconic scares (the flies, the eyes in the window, "Get out!"). But the most iconic -- and gruesome -- moment of the film belongs to this bloody paint job.
'The Shining' (1980)
Over the course of two-and-a-half hours, Stanley Kubrick's masterpiece completely disarms the audience with unsettling imagery -- and this interaction between little Danny and the ghostly twins kicks the movie into terrifying overdrive.
'Poltergeist' (1982)
If you thought moving into a nice, new suburban neighborhood would keep you safe, think again. This ghost story by way of Steven Spielberg (who produced) features incredible special effects, but all it needs is one little stuffed clown doll to haunt people's memories for thirty years.
'The Sixth Sense' (1999)
The Oscar-nominated sensation took pop culture by storm thanks to Haley Joel Osment's prodigious lead performance and a genuinely shocking twist ending; what makes this moment stand out is a simple "Boo!" Click Osment's face to watch the clip
'The Others' (2001)
Nicole Kidman stars in this post-World War II thriller as a widowed mother trying to raise two sickly children... oh, and also investigate the mysterious sounds heard in the middle of the night. The film's success owed a lot to the ad campaign which capitalized on this skin-crawling moment.
'The Orphanage' (2007)
The Spanish-language film -- about a woman on the search for her missing adopted son -- became an international hit because no matter what language you speak, we can all agree that a group of stone-faced, silent children are terrifying.
'Paranormal Activity' (2009)
The film that started the phenomenon took the classic haunted house formula and stripped it bare with an innovative home-video approach. The movie's final moments however pack the biggest punch.[SPOILER ALERT]
[Top Photo: Everett Collection]
Check out these 31 ghost-filled classics for the 31 days of October.
As Halloween draws closer, it's time to bust out the horror movies for a 24/7 marathon of scary cinema. If modern-day movies like 'Paranormal Activity 3' and 'The Thing' aren't your bag, though, you can go retro with a classic horror film from Hollywood's golden age: the Monsters of Universal Studios. From Frankenstein and Dracula to the Creature from the Black Lagoon, Universal has all your favorite creatures of the night, and you can get your fix with this incredible movie-inspired artwork.
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Our sister site, ComicsAlliance, makes a habit of spotlighting particular artists and/or specific bodies of work, but there's just so much great work to see that they've initiated Best Art Ever (This Week), a weekly depository for just some of the virtually countless pieces of especially compelling artwork that they come across in their travels across the digital media landscape.
Some of it's new, some of it's old, some of it's created by working professionals, some of it's created by talented fans, and some of it's endearingly stupid. And all of it's awesome.
With the season of Halloween now upon us, you may want to celebrate with a horror movie or two. But who needs a movie when the real lives of Hollywood's brightest stars are just as freaky? Ghosts, killer cars with a mind of their own, and even the devil himself have been wrapped up with the most glamorous men and women of the silver screen. While the veracity of these legends maybe dubious, they certainly add a creepy (and entertaining) new dimension to stories of Hollywood past.
Already a critical hit thanks to its film festival runs, 'Martha Marcy May Marlene' is generating no shortage of buzz these days. The haunting indie drama stars Elizabeth Olsen as Martha, a young woman who struggles to reintegrate into normal life after escaping from a cult in the Catskills. But writer/director Sean Durkin's feature debut isn't the first movie to delve into the dangerous grasp cults can hold over their followers. And with 'Martha Marcy May Marlene' out now in theaters (try ordering that ticket five times fast), Moviefone thought it was time revisit some true "cult" classics; because if you're a little wary about why that new social club you signed up for keeps asking you to try the Kool-Aid, here are the top 10 ways to know you've joined a cult -- in the movies at least.
Had enough of torture porn? Sick of endless gory deaths that don't evoke any feeling or fear? Long for the days of real horror, when audiences were genuinely frightened by what was happening on screen instead of salivating for the next kill? Great! In honor of Halloween, Moviefone wants to help you find some of the scariest movies that have held up over the years. So, make some popcorn and hold that bowl tight -- if you're watching these flicks, it's liable to fly everywhere.
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[With files from Eric Larnick; Images Courtesy of Warner Bros., MGM and Paramount Pictures]
Still desperate for a Halloween costume? Well, you're in luck, thanks to the art of Jason Edmiston. The artist breathes new life into classic movie monsters, ranging from Freddy Krueger to Lord Voldemort, and his awesome artwork will give you a newfound wealth of Halloween-costume inspiration.
Check out his unique gallery of painted movie posters and horror magazine covers, and be blown away by his twisted depictions of Batman villains, flesh-eating zombies and the most beautiful looking Franken Berry & Count Chocula ever.
Our sister site, ComicsAlliance, makes a habit of spotlighting particular artists and/or specific bodies of work, but there's just so much great work to see that they've initiated Best Art Ever (This Week), a weekly depository for just some of the virtually countless pieces of especially compelling artwork that they come across in their travels across the digital media landscape.
Some of it's new, some of it's old, some of it's created by working professionals, some of it's created by talented fans, and some of it's endearingly stupid. And all of it's awesome.
To paraphrase the great Frank Sinatra: first comes Halloween, then comes Christmas. In honor of today's holiday (plus the freak October snowstorm that blanked much of the Northeast over the weekend), Moviefone asked director Joe Dante ('Gremlins') to compile his list of favorite scary movies, which -- thanks to the release of 'Rare Exports: A Christmase Tale,' now on DVD -- has a decidedly holiday-season feel. After you're done watching 'The Exorcist,' consider these eight fright flicks to get you in the mood for a haunted Christmas.
With the first week of November here, department stores can't get rid of their Halloween decorations fast enough to replace them with a 24/7 cornucopia of Christmas. This odd little moment of holiday commercialization actually had a profound effect on a young Tim Burton; watching the clash of Halloween and Christmas decorations inspired the director to create the world of 'Nightmare Before Christmas.'
Burton's animated fairy-tale has become a modern classic for the holiday season. To understand how big of an impact the movie has had on a generation of viewers, all you need to do is check out the scores of innovative arts and crafts made by fans of the film. You'll find everything from tattoos to shoes, and if you're a Jack Skellington fan -- you'll even find a way to bring the Pumpkin King into your wedding.
Our sister site, ComicsAlliance, makes a habit of spotlighting particular artists and/or specific bodies of work, but there's just so much great work to see that they've initiated Best Art Ever (This Week), a weekly depository for just some of the virtually countless pieces of especially compelling artwork that they come across in their travels across the digital media landscape.
Some of it's new, some of it's old, some of it's created by working professionals, some of it's created by talented fans, and some of it's endearingly stupid. And all of it's awesome.
Congratulations to the winner of our first Moviefone R.L. Stine Halloween story starter contest! 
Price began a special relationship with King of the B's 
e my film education before your very eyes by seeking out and watching all of the movies we all know I should have seen by now. I will first judge the movie before I've watched it, based entirely on its reputation (and my potentially misguided thoughts). Then I will give the movie a fair chance and actually watch it. You will laugh at me, you may condemn me, but you will never say I didn't try!
All this month, we at Moviefone are revealing our list of 
'Goosebumps'
