Ahh, the haunted house film — a terrifying cinematic cornerstone where suburban structures come alive to wreck havok upon their owners, renters, or any poor landscaper that dares go near them. The tropes of the genre are well known; madness is a recurring theme, often resulting in one member of the house going batty and probably violent on his or her oblivious relatives. Secrets are another big piece of the thematic puzzle, since they are often the things that fuel the madness or the tortured souls that are left behind to relate their tale (sorrowfully or otherwise) to the new tenants. And of course, atmosphere is a huge part of the equation as well. From the early days of Robert Wise’s The Haunting to the new school of Jaume Balagueró’s Darkness or last year’s The Orphanage, the slow, brooding nature of the films needs to be conveyed to the audience in style and skillful pacing. Modern remakes have often tried to inject more grime into the material to muck it up, but nothing compares to the spooks presented by those who stay true to the genre. Thus, in celebration of candles going out by themselves and various bumps in the night, here is a hand-picked roundup of some of the best haunted house trailers throughout time (leaving most of the remakes and sequels for another post). So turn your desk lamp off and get that Netflix cue ready, because a-haunting-we-will-go!

Read the rest of this entry »

The latest addition to a motley club consisting of several angry Romanian villagers, an offended etiquette teacher, two misguided frat boys (and a partridge in a pear tree) is none other than acclaimed director and alleged ruiner of fun, Steven Spielberg. Unlike his company, Spielberg isn’t interested in suing Sacha Baron Cohen, but his actions may lead to the end of Borat all the same. The director has signed a $6 million dollar deal with Cohen, who has reportedly agreed to play the role of Abbie Hoffman in The Trial of the Chicago Seven. Though the film, which follows the events leading up to a violent anti-Vietnam protest, has the potential to make polite society uncomfortable, it’s a far cry from letting chickens loose on a New York subway train and stirring up trouble in a traditional American rodeo. Will we see Borat wreak havoc throughout the U S and A while rocking a mean mustache after reaching legitimate actorhood? Only time will tell.