My Top 10: Favorite Posts from Year 1

Today is the first anniversary of the creation of my blog. My traffic has steadily increased over time, so I consider it a success. I've really enjoyed having this outlet to discuss what matters to me in pop culture and I hope to make it another year and beyond. In honor of my blog's first birthday, I thought I'd list my favorite posts since its inception. Some I spent a very long time on, some I loved writing, and others I just think turned out really well (in my humble opinion). But first, I thought I'd also point out which posts got the most love from readers.

Readers' Top 5:

5. My Top 10: Fictional Eateries I want to visit
4. My Top 10: TV Boyfriends
3. "Lie to Me" - a procedural worth watching
2. My Top 10: Phrases in TV/Movies that should be banned
1. Remakes Galore: "Being Human" - the UK original vs. the US remake

I never thought my "Being Human" post would take off quite like it did, but I'm thrilled considering it actually took me a while to write. I'm also glad my top 10 lists are popular because, let's face it, they're more fun to write and more fun to read.

My Top 5:

5. In Theaters: "Toy Story 3" and "Inception"
4. My Favorite Things of 2010
3. In Defense of "Cougar Town" - Why It's Not the Show You Think It Is
2. "Inception" - All you need to know is that you should see it
1. My Halloween Movie Viewing Guide

Of all my posts, I probably spent the most time working on my Halloween movie guide. It took a while, but I worked hard and got it out in time for Halloween weekend and I'm incredibly proud of it. I'm also very proud of my "Inception" preview post. It had a superb cast and crew behind it and it has become one of my favorite movies of all time. I kind of hate this time of year because studios generally refuse to release any movies of quality until summer, which means I don't get to write about movies in theaters as much as I'd like to. I'm also very happy with my first "Cougar Town" post, as almost a year later the show is better than ever and absolutely not about cougars. If nothing else, I've tried to use this blog to dispel myths about this great little sitcom.

Let's hope we get plenty of great movies this year as well as a better fall season of TV. Because barring any unfortunate life events or "Final Destination"-esque death, I'll be here to blog all about it for another year.

Movie Night: "Jennifer's Body"

The hottest girl in high school gets possessed by a demon and goes on an all-male killing spree. This idea could have been turned into B-movie gold or, in the right hands, a seriously scary statement on feminism in some way. Instead, it's one of the worst movies I've ever seen.
It's kind of sad when you think about how good this movie could have been. But the movie it was turned into didn't take advantage of the promising concept in any way for even a second. At an hour and 42 minutes, it somehow felt 30 minutes long. I guess that says something remotely positive, considering it's incredibly boring as well as bad. They bring on the demonic nastiness really early on and not a whole lot happens. You know the short plot synopsis, you know exactly what's going to happen. Hell, any ambiguity about the ending is spoiled by the opening scene.

Character development? Forget about it. No one was going to this movie for the characters anyway. Maybe some came to hear the words of "Juno" writer Diablo Cody, but the only ones I can imagine liking it in any way are the ones who came to look at Megan Fox for two hours. She looks hot, but she doesn't get much help from the script that thinks sexiness is walking in slow-mo down the hall of a high school in tight clothing. Not that the movie would have been much better with a good script - Megan Fox absolutely cannot act. The whole time she has a 'James Franco-at-the-Oscars' kind of expressionless boredom. Amanda Seyfried, while an actual actress, can't do much to salvage the crappy material she's given. Her character's name is Needy, which should tell you just how subtle this movie is. We know she's the ugly girl because she's wearing glasses and has frizzy hair. Adam Brody, as the indie rocker who sacrifices the titular body to Satan, is the only one who can manage to put some life into things. He's the only one who looks like he's having fun, but unfortunately he isn't in much of the film.

I'm a person who really enjoyed "Juno," in spite of its hipster identity. But Diablo Cody might have peaked there, because "Jennifer's Body" sounds like it was written by a teenage shut-in trying to imitate her style. Forget about the way the characters talk, no one acts like a normal human would. There was hardly a moment while watching that I didn't have multiple questions running through my head wondering "why did she do that?" and "who would react like that?" The dialogue isn't as slang heavy as "Juno" but rather quirky and synthetically hip. Slang heavy or no, the synthetic hip worked in "Juno" - it does not work here. What's hilarious is the hipster identity is countered with a very commercial setting as every bedroom is covered in poster's of actual, famous modern alternative bands. The soundtrack, while largely indie in style, is completely out of tone with the rest of the movie. But then, the movie never quite makes up its mind what it wants to be. A horror-comedy? A cheesy indulgence? A girl-on-girl guilty pleasure? A tongue-in-cheek comment on high school sexuality? At its core it seems to want to be a horror movie before anything else, but I've seen scarier movies on Lifetime around Halloween. It can't even handle horror, as I found out at its utterly ridiculous ending. It's like they realized they spoiled the real ending of the movie and decided to tack on a bizarre plot twist that would make any horror fan recoil with stunned laughter.

I watch so many movies it would be exhausting to write reviews of all of them, but I haven't seen a movie that elicited such a completely negative reaction from me since "Crash." Not that I completely loathed that one; I mainly took issue with the critics fawning over it like it actually said something new and smart about race relations. But as for "Jennifer's Body," I truly did hate it. It was two hours poorly spent and I would not recommend it to a soul, even if your intentions are shallow. If all you want from this movie is Megan Fox, I feel I should point out that the R rating is definitely not for nudity.

My grade: F

"The Walking Dead" - about as fresh as a zombie

So I finally got around to watching the rest of "The Walking Dead," and I have to say I was kind of...underwhelmed. For all the hype and critical love, it didn't wow me like I was hoping it would. All October and Halloween weekend I've been revisiting tons and tons of horror movies, among them lots of zombie movies. So when I got to watching a zombie TV show, I was really hoping for something different. But what I got was a well-done example of zombie cinema, drawn out longer, but basically the expected elements were all there.

We open, after the credits, on the protagonist, Rick, and his partner Shane talking about women in a police car. It ends with the required set-up - Rick's wife asked him if he even cares about them at all, right in front of their child. Now we've established Rick's quest. Prove your love. Find your wife and son. Reconcile. Then the zombie apocalypse won't matter because you all have each other. A shootout occurs, and 28 days later (or so I like to say), Rick wakes up in the hospital after he ended up getting shot. And, oh my god, total zombie apocalypse! He walks around for a while finding bodies and some zombies, er, excuse me, walkers, before running into another survivor and his son. They give the necessary exposition about what causes you to turn and they bring up a "safe haven" in Atlanta, since that's where the CDC is located and the military can protect you. They eventually split ways. For some reason, the other survivor doesn't want to bother traveling to Atlanta, because he and his son are doing so well where they are? So by all means, shack up in a little house and engage in some target practice to draw in all the zombies in the surrounding area after you kept emphasizing that gunshots attract them.

Rick radios ahead to try to find any other survivors, and would you believe it? His partner Shane hears the broadcast but isn't able to respond. Also, apparently the woman there is Lori, Rick's wife, but for some reason I missed that the first time around. Probably because I was losing interest. That must be why Shane and Lori kissing didn't shock me like it should have. How long has it been since the apocalypse happened? Because if it hasn't been that long, Lori sure moved on quickly. Or maybe she and Shane just resorted to some good old fashioned crisis sex. Oh, and for some strange reason, no one recognizes Rick's voice on the radio. When Rick can't find gas for his car, he makes like a good cowboy and ropes himself a horse to ride into Atlanta. He wanders through the city and spots a helicopter in flight (the survivors from the original "Dawn of the Dead?") only to turn the corner to find tons of zombies waiting for him. The horse gets eaten, which is incredibly sad, and Rick gets trapped in a tank. As hope looks lost, a voice calls into the tank's radio, calling out to Rick aka the "dumbass in the tank."

• First thing I'm missing - did they ever explain what caused the zombie apocalypse? Did Rick ever bother to ask what caused all the insanity?
• Second thing I'm missing - why is no one saying the word 'zombie?' Okay, I know, that's Zombie Movie Rules 101, that you don't say that word, but 'walkers?' Really? A lot of times you really do have to follow the law that pop culture takes place in a void where there is no pop culture, at least as we know it.
  
• The show is based on a graphic novel. Is it just me, or is there some sort of flawed expectation that any show or movie based on a graphic novel should be a huge hit? The nerd population is not as big as execs thing, despite the impressive turn-out at ComicCon.
• I also had to check the facts of the original graphic novel and if it was really set in the South. I have this creeping fear that any show that doesn't take place in New York or California automatically ends up in the South. Not that I have anything against Southerners, but I feel like the "flyover state" mentality causes TV execs to forget about the entire Midwest. Not everyone in a "flyover state" talks with an accent. Just FYI.
  
• I feel like this show wanted to show off its big budget. The lingering shots of zombie killing, zombie feasting, zombified people, etc. Nothing wrong with being well funded, but it always makes me nervous when a show has a huge budget and lots of hype.
  
• I'm eager to know what the drop-off will be in the second week. Will people be up for a zombie show every week after October? Will horror fans forgive the show's utter predictability?
• I'm wondering how on earth they are going to sustain this as a TV series when we've all seen zombie movies. What I need to know is what is this show doing different? What is going to be on this show that I haven't already seen before? You can predict from here that there is going to be some human on human violence, themes of man's inhumanity to man under crisis, echoes of "Lord of the Flies," etc.

Sorry if I sound bitter or if I'm not taking the show seriously enough. But every other professional critic is treating it so seriously, I just wanted to be honest. This show is very well acted and well done, but it's also very predictable at this point and it's nothing you haven't seen before if you don't live under a rock.

My Halloween Movie Viewing Guide

Halloween is my absolute favorite holiday. It's kind of a bummer that it's on Sunday this year, but really, the whole weekend can be used to celebrate. It's one holiday you can enjoy at all ages. So in the spirit of the season, I made a viewing guide complete with my recommendations on Halloween films. I categorized them neatly in case you're planning a marathon or viewing party, or just have a certain creepy love of horror movies featuring serial killers. Many of these movies could overlap in multiple categories, but I'm going to list each one once in the category it fits with the best. Also warning: possible spoilers. (If I leave off any vital movies, do tell, since I'm limited to the movies I've actually seen.)

What to watch if you're in the mood for...

...a zombie apocalypse

• "Dawn of the Dead" - original or the remake is fine. If you love zombies, you can't go wrong with George Romero.
  
• "Night of the Living Dead" - Same applies here. But this one has an extra helping of creepy because it's black and white from 1968. And it has one of the best creepy scenes ever in the beginning..."they're coming to get you Barbara!"
• "28 Days Later" - Probably the most truly scary modern zombie movie. And yes, I am counting it as a zombie movie. It's a smart, excellent film that puts a spin on the classic zombie flicks by isolating you and making you fear even the places you thought were safe. ("28 Weeks Later" is optional. While scary, it's much stupider than the first movie. And it follows the disaster movie formula of Saving the Important Children.)
  
• "Resident Evil" movies - lots of eye candy and ass kicking here. I don't care what you're into, Milla Jovovich is smoking hot and these movies are pure guilty pleasure.
  
• "Planet Terror"- Robert Rodriguez's contribution to "Grindhouse." Unlike 98% of "Death Proof," this one is actually enjoyable even if you don't know much about the good ol' days of grindhouses. Pure B-movie through and through, this isn't one for the faint of heart. The ick factor is high. (Bonus points if you can find the fake trailers, especially for "Don't.")

....creepy children

• "The Ring" - the one movie that scares the living daylights out of me. While it has moments that make you jump, they're not cheap thrills like you find in "Paranormal Activity" where a door slams and twenty sorority girls in the theater wet their pants. This movie has disturbing images, a disturbing premise, a disturbing evil child, and a disturbing ending. If you want the full effect, watch this at night with all the lights out. If you watch it with someone else and you want to be an asshole, turn their TV back on in the middle of the night playing nothing but static.
• "The Shining" - a great horror movie that deserves its status as a classic and holds up well today. The lack of gore means less camp when viewed years later as well as a more eerie feel to the events. I don't know what they used for fake blood in the old days, but it was too light red and looked like tomato soup. It's hard to take Romero's old movies seriously when zombies tear off flesh like its rubber and Monty Python-esque blood comes spurting out. But "The Shining" avoids this mostly and instead goes for the cerebral scares. And you're left in the end still wondering as the plot isn't neatly explained and wrapped up for you...which makes this film that much scarier. And even though the Blood in the Elevator sequence is pointless, it looks insanely awesome. Emphasis on 'insane,' of course. (Bonus points for finding "The Simpsons" parody called "The Shinning," which I contend is their best Treehouse of Horror parody.)
• "The Exorcist" - still shocking, although you'll get the most scares out of this one if you're deeply religious.
  
• "The Omen" - The creepy child to end all other creepy children. This is another one that combines lots of basic fears into one great movie. Best viewed by new parents. Make sure the babysitter stays away from the roof. "It's all for you, Damien!"
  
• "Poltergeist" - okay, I've never seen this one. But it's considered a classic so I thought I'd include it. I didn't want to leave off a famous horror film just because I haven't been able to see it yet.
• "Children of the Corn" - it combines the creepiness of the country with the creepiness of children. Genius.

...the lighter side of horror

• "Shaun of the Dead" - One of the best movies ever made, and certainly the best horror comedy. Bonus points if you can spot all the references to classic zombie/horror movies.
• "Slither" - it's a horror comedy that's horrifying and comedic. It has some great gross-out scenes and a perfect cast. It's B-movie perfection. Kind of like "Planet Terror" is the serious B-movie homage, this one is the tongue-in-cheek B-movie homage.
• "Scream" - a must-see for any horror movie fan. It plays with the genre conventions and it's an utter delight. Plus, you get Skeet Ulrich looking like a young, more expressive version of Johnny Depp. And it has one of my favorite lines in a horror comedy: "Movies don't create psychos, movies make psychos more creative!"
  
• "Scary Movie" - yes, it's crude and silly. But it's also a great parody of "I Know What You Did Last Summer" and "Scream." The sequels are unnecessary - the first movie is the best. And it has one of my next favorite lines, which parodies the aforementioned "Scream" quote: "Watching TV shows doesn't create psycho killers! Canceling TV shows does!"
  
• "Zombieland" - not as smart as "Shaun," the characters make some really stupid decisions, and it gets a little too serious in the end, but it's still a good ZomCom. Woody Harrelson is so much fun in this I wish they had never gone to the dark place they go to with him, but then you get the Bill Murray cameo and it sorta makes up for it.
  
• "Ghostbusters" - speaking of Bill Murray, this one is a classic. If you've never seen it, get up right now and find it and watch it. You haven't lived if you haven't seen the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man attack New York. Plus, the prick EPA guy is the same prick reporter from the first two "Die Hard" movies. Pissing off John McClane and the Ghostbusters is so not a good idea.
  
• "Freddy vs. Jason" - the definition of a camp classic. Freddy Krueger fights Jason Voorhees. Oh, and if you're like me and you've given up on "The Event" but really liked Jason Ritter, he's in this movie. It's so ridiculous it's great.
  

...found footage type films (warning: may be made of crap)

• "The Blair Witch Project" - never seen this one, but I hear it's basically the next movie, just set in the forest, only instead of spending it in a bedroom with an annoying couple you spend it up someone's nose.
  
• "Paranormal Activity" - I've never watched such a boring excuse for a horror movie, but lots of other people seem to like this one so I'll include it. If you get it on DVD, you can fast forward through all the time they spend just sleeping or the girl spends just standing over the bed.
• "Cloverfield" - okay, not technically a horror movie, but it's sort of scary and if you like these types of movies, you're probably the kind of person who went to see this one too. But come to think of it, none of these movies have happy endings, so don't watch any of these if you have a problem with that. But then again, most everyone in these movies is so annoying anyway that you'll probably cheer when they meet their inevitable unfortunate end.
  

...serial killer and slasher flicks (warning: contains 80s and 90s time capsules)

• "Friday the 13th" - lots of kids get killed at a camp. Oh, and kikikikiki hahahahaha. That's my best approximation of the background music, but trust me, you know that sound. And there's a pre-"Footloose" Kevin Bacon looking very nice. Although this movie started me wondering why the guys wore tighter pants than the girls back then.
  
• "Halloween" - Jamie Lee Curtis gets stalked by a killer. Don't worry, she doesn't have sex, so you can guess what happens from here.
  
• "Prom Night" - Jamie Lee Curtis gets stalker by a different killer. And the music is amazing. The actual prom dance sequence is better than the rest of this movie.
• "Psycho" - the classic reason to avoid motels. And showers. Hitchcock is one of the masters of horror, but I'm more inclined to recommend his other great horror film...
• "The Birds" - ...as birds suddenly deciding to attack us is so simple it's brilliantly terrifying.
• "A Nightmare on Elm Street" - One, two, Freddy's coming for you...in your dreams. Campy for sure, but it's my favorite of all those 80s slasher flicks. The premise is more fun and the villain is more entertaining than Michael Meyers or Jason Voorhees.
  
• "I Know What You Did Last Summer" - I found this to be an exceedingly dull horror movie despite having the 90s cast of all time. Sarah Michelle Gellar, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Freddie Prinze Jr, and Ryan Phillippe star. I'm convinced the cast was the reason this movie made any money, but is you just love the 90s, you'll enjoy this time capsule of 90s stardom.
• "Urban Legend" - a lesser known, yet still entertaining little movie. Especially if you love classic urban legends as much as I do.
  
• The "Final Destination" movies - if you're exhausted with all the unstoppable superhuman villains of the previous slasher flicks, a "Final Destination" movie could be just the cure. The villain is Death, so you're not left scratching your head at how Michael Meyers won't die, and the characters get really creative death scenes, so you're not bored by campers getting simply impaled or stabbed one by one.
  

...lessons why you should avoid isolated country

• "Vacancy" - another reason to avoid motels. But instead of Norman Bates, you get sadistic hicks and a smarter-than-the-average-movie-couple plot. Nothing new here, but if it's on and you have an hour or so, it's worth it.
  
• "Jeepers Creepers" - utterly terrifying premise and the first half of this movie is fantastic. Everyone knows that feeling of isolation you get just driving on country highways and it uses this to great effect.
  
• "Wrong Turn" - don't get lost in the woods. Just don't. Because you know your car will break down, and your phone won't work, and there will be redneck cannibals, and the sun will set, and you'll have no one to blame but yourself for your stupidity for driving through isolated country!
  
• "The Descent" - don't go spelunking either unless the trail is charted by the officials. This movie, like "Jeepers Creepers," shows their monsters a lot towards the end, but the monsters are still scary as ever when attacking in the dark. Absolutely not for the claustrophobic moviegoer.
  
• "Cabin Fever" - once you're in the country, and you realize you can't stay at a motel, don't stay at a cabin either. Because those cabins are absolutely filthy. Forget about influenza and stray bodily fluids, they're filled to the brim with flesh-eating viruses. And stray 90s sitcom stars.

...something deliciously dirty

• "Rocky Horror Picture Show" - an absolutely insane movie that is definitely a group event. But if the whole interactive event isn't for you, it's still incredibly entertaining on your own.
  

...demons and devils

• "Rosemary's Baby" - the two scariest things about this movie are the dream sequence and Mia Farrow's haircut. There's still a great eeriness that permeates the film. Besides, it's another classic, so why not give it a try?
  
• "The Exorcism of Emily Rose" - Jennifer Carpenter is scary good in this one as a possessed girl. Part exorcist story, part courtroom drama, it's not your run-of-the-mill horror movie.
  
• "Constantine" - not as good as it could have been, but it's still pretty good if you're into religion-based horror. Not to mention that the visuals are fantastic for a movie about heaven and hell, angels and demons.
  
• "Devil" - Lol, just kidding. There's only one M. Night movie on this list worth watching and it ain't this one.
• "Suspiria" - yes, this is about witches and not demons/devils, but I didn't feel like giving it its own category. Besides, most old-school witch mythology is intertwined with the devil/demons endowing them with their powers. But to step back from my mini history lesson, Dario Argento's surreal movie is pretty disturbing, even if it does have 70s tomato soup blood.
  

...ghosts

• "The Haunting in Connecticut" - a more recent haunted house story, it's nothing mind-blowing but it's a solid addition to the genre.
  
• "The Others" - if you know the big twist going in, it's not nearly as entertaining, but if you don't, it'll be a blast. Nicole Kidman and her kids discover their house is haunted. The twist is unexpected and refreshing.
• "Ghost" - okay, not technically a Halloween movie per se, but it has ghosts in it so I'm counting it. It's funny, scary, and romantic. You'll never hear "Unchained Melody" ever again without bursting into tears. Or wanting to make some pottery.
• "Beetlejuice" - a Tim Burton classic, and one of only two Tim Burton movies I love. You're treated to very a young Geena Davis, Alec Baldwin, and Winona Ryder. It also has one of the best movie themes of all time.
  

...something nasty that probably qualifies as "torture porn"

• The "Saw" movies - the sequels are pure torture porn, but people forget that the first "Saw" was actually pretty good. Watch and add it to the list of reasons why you should appreciate your life.
• The "Hostel" movies - lots and lots of torture and sadism. Watch and add it to the list of reasons why you should avoid hostels.
  
• "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" - watch this one and add it to the list of reasons why you should avoid Texas.
  

...something for the intellectual horror fan

• "The Sixth Sense" - unlike "The Others," this one is still very entertaining even if you know the big twist. And really, who doesn't at this point?
• "Zodiac" - this is another one that isn't technically a Halloween movie, but it's about a serial killer who actually existed and it's got a great spooky atmosphere and a top-notch cast.
  
• "Seven" - like the previous movie, it's another David Fincher film, and it's darn good. Yes, it's not really horror, but a crime film. But who cares? It's scarier than a lot of other horror movies, especially the ones out these days. Torture porn is all about grossing you out and shocking your system, but movies like this one are well written, directed, and acted, and absolutely earn their scares. And trust me, there are scares.
  
• "Silence of the Lambs" - I think crime/horror movies are just fantastic. Why don't they make more of these?

...some horror-related TV instead (warning: also contains vampires. May or may not be authentic)

• "Being Human" - a vampire, a ghost, and a werewolf live together in England. It's not campy like you might expect, but rather a first rate dramedy that lives up to its dark premise.
• "Dexter" - it's a show about a serial killer! And I never turn up a chance to recommend this show to anyone I can.
  
• "Supernatural" - two brothers fighting monsters and the evil that lurks in the dark. The recent seasons are more mythology heavy, but tune in to great episodes in season one based on urban legends, like "Hook Man," "Bloody Mary," and "Asylum."
  
• "Blood Ties" - a short-lived vampire show on Lifetime that came a few years too early to catch on. But it's better than you might expect from Lifetime, and they still managed to cast a lead vampire hotter than Robert Pattinson.
  
• "True Blood" - I've never watched this one, but it's wildly popular and it has vampires. If you can get past the painful southern accents, it should be worth some of your time.
  
• "Vampire Diaries" - the CW show about vampires. More romantic teen drama, it's like a WB small town drama injected with all things supernatural. Also better than you'd expect from the network it airs on.
  
• "The Twilight Zone" - according the the SciFi channel, this is more of a New Years show, but some Rod Serling is perfect for Halloween night.
• "The Walking Dead" - the new AMC zombie show. The critics have gone gaga and the promotion has been ubiquitous, so why not give it a try? AMC is a network you can trust most of the time these days to provide quality programming.

Haven't I seen this before? - "The Last Exorcism"

I've been seeing commercials for a new movie called "The Last Exorcism" lately and, as one would guess, it looks like a mishmash of plenty of other horror flicks. That's really nothing new as most horror movies draw largely from the ones that came before it. However, "The Last Exorcism" looks exactly like "The Exorcism of Emily Rose" in every commercial I see for it. The former movie seems to focus more on the actual exorcism in the style of "The Exorcist," whereas the latter film is more of a courtroom drama. They each try to grasp for some realism with the audience, "The Last Exorcism" presented as "found footage" or documentary style (not surprising, after the reception for "Paranormal Activity"), and "Emily Rose" presented as based on a true story. "The Last Exorcism" looks like "Emily Rose" minus the courtroom drama aspect. Aside from that? I'm not sure what new ground this new movie is breaking. I suppose these types of movies have built-in audiences and a built-in group of people who will always be terrified by exorcism-themed movies because of the basis in religion. I personally enjoyed the melding of courtroom drama and supernatural forces in "Emily Rose," but I don't know if I feel like seeing the same movie again. I also have a hard time imagining the lead's performance in "The Last Exorcism" could be nearly as strong and disturbing as Jennifer Carpenter's performance in "Emily Rose."

Movie Night: "The Descent" and "Slither"

Around August last year, I started watching two movies every Saturday night. I'm able to rent movies for free from our campus library, so I decided to get through as many as I could. The selection isn't fantastic, but I've managed to find worthwhile rentals. This weekend, I was going to rent "Breaking Away" and "Hoosiers" in honor of the Little 500 weekend here at Indiana University, but "Breaking Away" was already rented out and I didn't actually want to watch a sports movie anyway, so I opted for two horror movies I've been meaning to see for some time instead.

"The Descent"

Directed by Neil Marshall, "The Descent" is a British horror film about several women who go caving in North Carolina and (shocker!) get trapped underground. What I liked about this movie is that the first part of the film takes time to establish at least some character development, so that by the time the women are in peril, it's not like they're killing off "Sorority girl #4" and "the annoying prick who had it coming." Okay, so there is one slightly annoying, reckless, seeming lesbian who had to encounter her fate early. You can pretty much always tell who is going to get killed off first in a horror movie. But what's different here is that the group is entirely female, and they're pretty hardcore. For the first part of the movie, all the tension comes from the women just getting lost in an uncharted cave system and having to find their way out. Then creepy cave-dwelling monsters show up, who look like Gollum's cousins. The monsters here, called the Crawlers, are decently frightening. For being underground in the darkness, you actually see a whole lot of them. Any horror fan can write the ending from here, women get separated and killed off in nasty ways like being eaten alive while hopelessly searching for a way out. But because of some care in characterization, there's some interesting morality questions raised when some dark secrets are revealed regarding one woman's late husband's indiscretions. The women aren't sure they can trust each other anymore and we all know the saying, "live together, die alone." Apparently the film was aired in the US with a slightly altered ending, but I watched the original ending on the DVD. I don't like where the US version left off, because it leads you to believe that maybe one woman did survive but will be haunted by hallucinations of the woman she abandoned. The original ending is much more depressing but also much more satisfying as an ending. It also makes more sense, in my opinion.

Grade: A- (Plenty of scares, disturbing monsters, non-cliche characters, could have benefited from a little more character drama and a little less slasher flick chasing and killing. I love that the DVD includes outtakes, which clashes so perfectly with the tone of the film)

"Slither" Starring Nathan Fillion and Elizabeth Banks, this is one of the better horror-comedies I've seen. It's an homage to B-movies; it's like something you'd watch on Syfy channel at 2 in the afternoon on a Sunday. But that's not a bad thing, as the movie is intentionally funny and gross at the same time. It plays like a zombie movie, but it's really an alien invasion film. Extraterrestrial worms come to Earth and begin crawling their way into people's brains, taking over a small Southern town. Fillion is great as the sheriff who has to be a hero when he's one of the last uninfected people around. I never understood how he didn't become a bigger star than he is. He's got leading man appeal and is also a great comedic actor. Banks is a fun presence as well. This movie actually does have "the annoying prick who had it coming" in Gregg Henry, the town mayor, who plays sleazy dirtbags really well (To me, he'll always be that smug Mitchum Huntzberger from "Gilmore Girls.") After the misery of "The Descent," this movie was a delightful surprise. I was afraid it would devolve into a "Snakes on a Plane" scenario, where the entire movie is just a slideshow of all the gross, painful ways someone could be killed off by slithering creatures. But, thankfully, it doesn't get lost that way and you end up with an entertaining movie that would be perfect for a Halloween movie night.

Grade: A (Genuinely gross, genuinely funny, and genuinely scary at times, it's got all you could ask for in a horror-comedy. Don't go in expecting "Shaun of the Dead," but don't take it too seriously and you'll enjoy yourself)