Horror Heights

naturalbornkaos and sarahofthedead came over last night for a horror movie marathon. I put my burgeoning estate agent skills into practice by showing them the view of the flat and telling them about the area.  They were originally thinking of finding a place out of London, but I'm now slowly seducing them into the idea of moving into my tower block!  They are coming over again in a few weeks time, during the day, so I can show them the neighbourhood and cement the deal.  New Year resolution: get as many LJ friends as possible to move into my tower block, then start a community on Livejournal where we bitch about the housing association that manages it.

Once the pizzas were baked and the Coca-cola bottles opened, we settled down for some horror film de-construction. First up was Catacombs, a film set in the labyrinth underneath Paris, starring Pink in her first major film role. I don't remember the last time I saw something as excrutiatingly bad and boring. We spent the whole time taking the piss out of it, imagining Nicholas Cage's presence in every shot, wishing the main protagonist would die on the hands of the serial killer.  Nobody involved knew what they were doing, and I'll be surprised if this doesn't go straight to video when released in Britain.

After a short break, we gave Satan's Little Helper a try.  Although the budget was much lower than Catacombs, it had its moments of creepiness and some originality.  Sadly, it all got lost when things took a turn for the extremely silly.  One of the things I hate the most in films is when common sense completely deserts people, and they act out of character.  If a serial killer just stuck a knife in your father's gut, pulled out his intestines and made a knot of it on a dining room table chair, you are not going to sit down and hyperventilate, are you?  I sometimes wonder if film directors wish to genuinely irritate their viewers.  The final film we watched was Black Sheep, a piece of horror comedy from New Zealand that was perfectly executed, with just the right notes of  humour and grossness.  Genetically engineered sheep become zombies and cause havoc.  It was Arachnophobia meets Jurassic Park, Braindead and An American Werewolf in London.

I want more horror movie nights.  Today doesn't deserve to be so sunny and bright.