Okay, that’s kind of a goofy title I admit, but with the release of the new horror film Mirrors, I have been moved to put up a few recent movies for those of you who enjoyed it and want to see something similar, or for those of you who don’t want to waste your money at the movies but still want to see something similar. I’m always down to check out a good psychological thriller, so feel free to make any suggestions if you think I missed any…
THE EXORCISM OF EMILY ROSE (2004), R, Crime/Drama/Horror, 119 mins.
Quite possibly the most genuinely scary movie I’ve ever seen. At first glance it seems like a rip-off of The Exorcist, but The Exorcism of Emily Rose is very much its own movie. It’s a courtroom legal thriller about a death resulting from an exorcism, and it would make John Grisham proud. Laura Linney plays the attorney assigned to investigate the man who conducted the exorcism, and we join her as she searches for the truth about what really happened.
It’s an epic battle between science and religion in the courtroom, which I can’t say that I’ve ever seen before. Laura Linney delivers an outstanding performance as the ambitious lawyer, but the real standout is Jennifer Carpenter as Emily Rose. She gives such a brilliant horror performance that they almost don’t need any effects or music. See this one.
THE HAUNTING (1999), Horror/Thriller/Mystery, PG-13, 113 mins.
A remake of the 1963 classic (which in turn in an adaptation of Shirley Jackson’s incredibly eerie 1959 novel “The Haunting of Hill House”), the 1999 version of Jackson’s story features one of the more peculiar premises that I’ve seen in a horror movie. A group of people are brought together and whisked away to a cavernous, allegedly haunted mansion in the middle of the empty woods in order to conduct research about sleeping disorders.
Now, I’m no psychologist, but wouldn’t such a location just introduce all kinds of bizarre variables into the experiment? Soon the experiment turns out to be something other than what they were all told, and ultimately all of the characters find themselves trying to escape for their lives from this haunted mansion.
Starring: Liam Neeson, Catherine Zeta Jones, Owen Wilson
Director: Jan de Bont
Written by: David Self, based on the novel by Shirley Jackson
THE HAUNTING (1963), Horror/Thriller, rated G (!!), 112 mins.
Despite a prohibitively tame rating, this is a much creepier film than you might think. They say the original is always better, and this is no exception. Black and white photography allow for more disconnection between yourself and the characters, but somehow make the tense atmosphere more effective. This time, a Dr. Markway is doing research into the existence of ghosts, so he concentrates his investigation on Hill House, which has a frightening history of violence and insanity.
With him are a young skeptic named Luke, a clairvoyant Theodora, and the insecure Eleanor who happesns to have psychic abilities that give her a special ability so sense anything supernatural going on in the mansion. Soon the house begins to manifest itself in horrific and deadly ways…
Starring: Julie Harris, Claire Bloom, Richard Johnson, Russ Tamblyn, Lois Maxwell, Fay Compton
Director: Robert Wise
Written by: Nelson Gidding
HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL (1999), Horror/Thriller, R, 99 mins.
Despite the harder rating, this one wasn’t much better than the fairly disappointing The Haunting, released the same year. This time we are made to wonder what we would do for a million dollars, as an eccentric billionaire offers a group of people a million bucks each to spend the night in a haunted mansion with a murderous past. They walk into the deal confident that it’s all just a made-up story, and they’re not about to fall for it.
The setting of a former mental institution is far cooler than the former department store in Mirrors, and Geoffrey Rush is wonderfully creepy as Stephen Price, who came up with the devilish plan. The opening scene of the movie shows us how he got rich in a wonderfully scary ride on the new amusement park ride that he has just designed.
Before long, the house automatically seals itself shut and the attitudes of the people inside change radically. There is some chillingly effective imagery brought back from past psychological experiments that were conducted in the hospital, but also plenty of disappointing CGI. Also don’t miss the 1959 original, which stars the great Vincent Price in the lead role…
Starring: Geoffrey Rush, Famke Janssen, Peter Gallagher, Taye Diggs, Ali Larter, Chris Kattan, Bridgette Wilson
Director: William Malone
Screenplay: Dick Beebe
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IN DREAMS (1999), Psychological Thriller, R, 100 mins.
One of my favorite horror thrillers of the 1990s, In Dreams tells the story of Claire Cooper, a middle-aged mother who begins suffering from disturbing recurring dreams. She dreams of a little girl in her neighborhood being kidnapped, and then her own daughter in kidnapped shortly thereafter, triggering the beginnings of the unravelling of Claire’s sanity. She becomes convinced that her mind and the kidnapper’s mind are connected, but is unable to convince anyone else. A suicide attempt lands her in a padded cell, where she begins having dreams of her husband’s murder.
Robert Downey Jr., who has arguably the best role in Tropic Thunder, was highly underrated when this movie came out. He was having a lot of problems in his personal life, but he has a scene at the end of the movie involving a mirror that surpasses anything in the recently released Mirrors. I remember shouts of surprise throughout the theater when I saw it in 1999.
In Dreams is not for everyone. It has the rare distinction, I think, that there will be people who loved it, people who hated it, and people who just didn’t understand it, with probably not much in between. Unfortunately, it was much more effective on the big screen than on video, but with a healthy twist of the volume knob, it can be made to have virtually the same effect. Just don’t watch it alone if you live out in the woods!
Starring: Annette Bening, Aidan Quinn, Stephen Rea, Robert Downey Jr., Paul Guilfoyle
Director: Neil Jordan
Written by: Bruce Robinson and Neil Jordan, based on the novel “Doll’s Eyes” by Bari Wood
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HAUNTED (1995), Horror/Thriller/Drama, R, 108 mins.
In turn of the century England, a young boy named David loses his twin sister while playing by a lake. He feels responsible for his sister’s death, but he and his family move to the U.S., where they live for nearly the next quarter century before he returns to English to teach at Cambridge University. He’s now a teacher and an accomplished author who exposes false mediums and spiritualists.
After numerous requests, he accepts an invitation from a Miss Webb to investigate so bizarre goings on in her remote mansion, known as Edbrook, where she claims to be tormented by spirits. The movie stars Aidan Quinn and a young Kate Beckinsale. Low on the gore but surprisingly effective.
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SESSION 9 (2001), Horror/Thriller, R, 100 mins. “Fear is a place.”
Probably my favorite in this whole list, Session 9 is one of my favorite underrated horror movies to recommend (it’s lack of wide success may be attributed to the unfortunate fact that it was released three days after Sept. 11th). It’s sort of a character driven story about an asbestos cleaning crew working on cleaning an old insane asylum. Hardly an original setting, but it cleverly works together the conflicting personal lives of the characters with the increasingly strange and frightening surroundings that they find themselves in. Director Brad Anderson (who also directed Christian Bale in The Machinist), knows how to create and maintain tension, and there are more than a few scenes that will have you cringing in your chair. If you only watch one of these movies, this should be the one.
Starring: David Caruso, Stephen Gevedon, and Paul Guilfoyle
Written by: Brad Anderson and Stephen Gevedon
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MADHOUSE (2004), Horror/Thriller, R 91 mins. “Let the insanity begin.”
How could you go wrong with a byline like that? I saw Madhouse on the same day that I saw Session 9, and while this was definitely the less impressive of the two, it still has an interesting story and good tension, but it is also one of those movies that takes place in a mental hospital that is clearly a movie set. You know the type, everything is dark and wet with a greenish tint, and there are always distant, creepy sounds echoing down the hallways.
Lance Henriksen’s talent is wasted here as the hospital director who appears offended that some rookie psychologist intern would insinuate that his filthy, filthy hospital could use some renovation, and he is promptly brought upstairs to the level 5 ward, which of course is without electricity. Nice.
Fans of the genre are sure to have a good time and it’s an interesting installment in the psychological thriller genre, although not necessarily one of the best.
Starring: Joshua Leonard, Jordan Ladd, Natasha Lyonne, and Lance Henriksen
Director: William Butler
Written by: Willian Butler
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WHISPERING CORRIDORS (2005), Drama/Horror, R, 105 mins.
This Korean horror thriller borrows a lot from the horror films that have been pouring out of Japan lately and, while it doesn’t necessarily cover much new ground, it’s still a pretty entertaining thriller. Interestingly, I found that the best thing about the movie were the performances, some of which were outstanding. Acting prowess is generally not something you look for in horror films.
I expected Whispering Corridors to be scarier than it was, but I was still impressed with the consistently creepy mood that permeated the film.
It’s an interesting film that gives some insight into some of the surprising teaching methods practiced in Korea as well as a fairly interesting story. There’s nothing new about haunted schools, but the mixture of that foundational premise and the Korean schoolyard environment make for a pretty interesting combination.
Written, Directed by, and starring a lot of Korean people with Korean names. Just go watch the movie…
