Oh, The Horror! #58: Horror of Tim Burton

I'm a huge nut for Tim Burton as he's the reason as to why I'm currently a film major and lover. Since I'm so all over the place with a busy schedule then I've ever been, decided to at least do an easy update posting trailers of Burton's horror films. Now, some of these films weren't horror per se, but the man has a knack for incorporating his love for horror and Gothic art in various of his movies, for one getting various actors from the old black and white horror days to appear in his film, legends like Michael Gough to Christopher Lee.

One of my absolute favorites was in PeeWee Herman's Big Adventure. Everyone knows this scene, the Large Marge scene. I can't post an embedded version, but here's the link. It's a lot of fan's favorite scene in this movie and I remember how much it scared me as a kid watching this for the first time. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzolCu-QLw0&feature=related

Next up is the great Beetlejuice, starring Michael Keaton, Geena Davis, Alec Baldwin, and Winona Ryder. A horror comedy which never gets old. A ton of charm and hilarious moments with some fun, zany special effects.



Nightmare Before Christmas. A lot of people mistake this as a Burton directed film, but he was the originator of the story and the producer. It still essential counts as a Burton film as it has all his staple and style. This is a movie that also never gets old, especially for the Christmas season. Great music by Danny Elfman. Jack, the Pumpkin King of Halloween, wishes to take over Christmas from Santa Claus. Next to Edward Scissorhands, Jack has always been my favorite of Burton's outsider characters. He's just so damn relate-able.



Sleepy Hollow, perhaps Burton's most straight forward horror movie. Adapted from Washington Irving's classic tale about the Headless Horseman, Burton does a fantastic job with Andrew Kevin Walker's script with the help of his number one man, Johnny Depp as Icabod Crane.



Corpse Bride. I truly cannot understand the aversion for this movie. I've noticed quite a few people don't like it but I find it to be a truly brilliant and haunting movie. The characters were all very done in a sympathetic way and you can tell Burton had all types of fun with this. I do think a problem people have with this movie is that they can't help but compare this to Nightmare Before Christmas. I had that problem initially when I first saw this movie and was disappointed. But watch it as it's own and I find it to be bliss. A romance horror movie about a shy and timid man who accidentally marries a corpse. Has win written all over it. And it has the awesome track, Remains of the Day. Heck, even my mom loved this movie and she's not into animated films.



Remains of the Day! It even has Ray Charles!

"Die, die, we all pass away! But don't wear a frown 'cause it's really okay! You might try and hide and you might try and pray, but we all end up the remains of the day!"

"At last! My arm is complete again!" Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street. Love love love love this movie. Love horror, love musicals, and Burton does a beautiful job which I honestly can't help but see this as a bit of a masterpiece. I feel a lot of his previous films have all been practice to make this one movie. Although very critically acclaimed, I do know from non-critics it seems to get a mix reaction, but that's due to them having terrible taste! Depp once again and the great Helena Bonham Carter as Mrs. Lovett.



Although not really a horror movie, Edward Scissorhands is my favorite film and incorporates a lot of horror elements, from the gothic atmosphere and setup, a Frankenstein influence plot and imagery, some truly dark moments, and horror scream king Vincent Price!!! The soundtrack from Danny Elfman is also a favorite of mine and always cheers me up whenever I'm in a down mood.



Last, I'll post Tim Burton's Vincent, his homage to the great Vincent Price, an actor I truly adore. He's one reason as to why I wouldn't have too much of a problem if I end up getting typecast as a horror actor. Him and Boris Karloff. We need more horror actors of their caliber in status.



That'll be all for now. Thanks for checking this out. I think I may do more of these type of posts/updates if I can't churn a review out here and there.

Oh, The Horror! #13: Sleepy Hollow

Man, it's been darn long, hasn't it?!? Now that school is over just for a month, hopefully I can bring this back on track. I've missed doing this. But yes, without further ado... SLEEPY HOLLOW!



Another one of my absolute favorite movies and another directed by my favorite film maker, Tim Burton. I've seen this movie quite a lot of times. When I had gotten the VHS, I've watched it so many darn times and hardly ever missed when it came on TV. A few weeks ago was the first time I've seen it after maybe 2-3 years and I still have a great time watching it. The imagery, the characters, Johnny Depp as Crane, the music, special effects, everything is an absolute blast to watch. Watching this movie always made me wonder what happened to horror. Why don't we ever get more horror movies like this? Now its all slasher this, etc. How come we never get any real solid story-telling with supernatural forces scary the daylights out of us? I want to see more movies like this and really showcase just how great horror film is rather than what;s clouding people's mind of what horror is. I don't mind what people proclaim as "torture porn" or whatever, but it's not the only type of horror in the genre. C'mon, now!

But anywho, if you've never seen this movie, you just HAVE to. The direction is absolutely amazing with a story that never lets go of you. All the characters play wonderful parts and just fascinates you into this mystery of the Horse man. If you're a fan of the classic tale by Washington Irving, I think you'll have a blast watching this interpretation besides quite a few liberties being taken, such as Crane being a constable instead of a teacher, and although still a bit of a coward he has the brass balls to stand and fight against the Horseman himself! And c'mon, who doesn't love Christopher Walken who plays the Hessian, the man who ends up becoming the head chopper. Although we know who the killer is, there is a mystery conspiracy plot throughout the movie as we wonder just how people are connected in this strange town of Sleepy Hollow and just why the Horseman is going after certain folks and why he lets certain people live. The special effects are magnificient. It's not a man wearing a cloak over his shoulders, but an actually man... headless! And he see him chopping off people's necks and cutting a man in half. The effects are just simply amazing and adds to the creepiness and chills of the movie. And Danny Elfman's music... ah man is it ever so nice to hear him with Burton adding more creepiness to this film. And to top it off, you get a wonderful performance by Miranda Richardson who I have to say really steals the show along with horror alumnis Michael Gough and Christopher Lee with small parts.

There is one thing that I do find weird about this movie and that's the flashbacks and dreams we see of Crane's character. Those scenes I have to say are probably the most beautiful scenes in the movie, but I don't quite understand why they're in the movie. They seem to not play much of any roles besides to look awesome. Like the scene when his mother is dancing in the forest and begins to float and finding out that his mother is a witch and his father was actually a man of faith, a minister. In one specific dream, when his father walks past a young Crane, the man turns into the headless horseman. Huh?

Heh, but anyway. Fantastic movie. Definitely a top of Burton's best.