31 Nights of Halloween: Withorwithout

Withorwithout (2018)

Starring: Milla Jovovich, Carsten Nordgaard, and Parcels

Director: Benjamin Howdeshell

Rating: Ten of Ten Stars

This, ladies and gentlemen, THIS is how you make a music video AND a horror short film. Every piece of tonight's selection work together, with the film supporting the song and the song supporting the film--both as a soundtrack and as a foreshadowing of what's to come. (I can't say too much more without spoiling the twists to the story, but I assure you that you'll love it! And it's even better for the fact that we get to watch Milla Jovovich give a great performance!)

Saturday Scream Queen: Milla Jovovich

Milla Jovovich got her start in show business as a child model in the mid-1980s (she was 11), landed her first acting roles during the late 1980s (at the age of 13), and she's been going strong in both fields every since. She survived the tricky transition form child/teen performer to adult with ease and even branched out into fashion design, music, and raised a family (three children so far, with her current husband, film director Paul W.S. Anderson) along the way.

Over the years, Jovovich has been in everything from small budget, intimate indie drams and comedies, thrillers and mysteries, explosion-laded action films, blood-spattered horror and monster flicks, and special effects-driven, big-budget science fiction blockbusters. She's been a favorite around here since we first saw in in "The Fifth Element", and while not every project she's been part of has been good, she's often been the best part of them. This is especially true when it comes to the "Resident Evil" film series.

Perhaps not surprisingly, given her Most Favored Status, Jovovich has also been a mainstay of the Terror Titans and Shades of Gray blogs. She's been featured as a Saturday Scream Queen more than other actress (including every single Saturday during the 2012 31 Nights of Halloween celebration), and the Milla Jovovich Quarterly has been going at Shades of Gray since 2011.

Jovovich turns 45 this year, and she is still going strong on the acting and modeling fronts. We looking forward to seeing her in many more roles as we all travel into the future. 

Of the things featuring Jovovich in the near future, we're particularly looking forward to the fantasy/horror flick "Monster Hunters" (2021) and the big-screen adaptation of "Corto Maltese" (no projected release date as of yet). 

31 Nights of Halloween: Observer

Observer (2017)

Starring: Marcella Raya

Director: Azron Shai

Rating: Six of Ten Stars

A young fashion designer (Raya) is bedeviled by a haunted rocking chair.

"Observer" is more of a vignette than an actual short film. In fact, if you go to its YouTube page instead of just watching it from this post, you will find that writer/director Azron Shai explains the haunted chair's back story and how it ended up in ... none of which is evident from anything you'll see on screen. 

It's an interesting back story, and it would have earned the film a higher rating if it had actually made it into the film. Everything about this is very well done--the framing of the scenes and the cinematography in general, the lighting, the sound design are all top notch--and to see just a little bit of story on the screen would have made this an excellent little film. (I could quibble with Zara's reaction when she is awakened in the middle of the night, but I'm just as happy watching Marcella Raya walk around in her underwear while seeming troubled.)

All jokes aside, this is a well-crafted, spooky film that's worth watching. 

The Fear-filled Phantasms of Richard Sala

Every Friday in October, we're presenting a selection of art by the late Richard Sala. We call this part of the exhibit "The Cat Burglars' Halloween".

Some music to go with today's selections...

31 Nights of Halloween: Near Sight

I have several quibbles with tonight's mini-fright film, but they are little more than nitpicks when it comes right down to it. Take a few minutes, check it out, and remember to keep a pair of glasses near at hand if you're near sighted. You never know if that blur might be more than just a shadow... especially during the Halloween Season.

Near Sight (2019)

Starring: Mali MacConnell

Director: Stephen Parkhurst

Rating: Six of Ten Stars

31 Nights of Halloween: Make Me a Sandwich

Tonight's tidbit of terror is all-too-grounded in a sad reality faced by many women. That said, you're going to chuckle as it unfolds, then be startled... and then the twist ending hits! Check it out, and feel that Halloween spirit grow within you!

Make Me a Sandwich (2020)

Starring: Anne Shepherd and Peter Hodgins

Directors: Denman Hatch & Matt Hamilton

Rating: Nine of Ten Stars

31 Nights of Halloween: Fear Filter

One of the fascinating aspect of horror stories in general, and horror films in particular, is the way they keep up with the development of technology. You can always expect some someone to turn even the most harmless technological innovation into something to scare us.

Take, for example, tonight's feature. Can anything be more harmless than goofy SnapChat filters? Well... check out this great little horror morsel and see.

Fear Filter (2019)

Starring: Lou Lou Safran

Director: Tracy Kleeman

Rating: Eight of Ten Stars

(And THAT is why I am sticking with my flip-phone until I have no choice but to join the 21st Century...)

Tuneful Tuesday: The Song of the Cat People

Baby Snakes is a hard-rocking band from Norway, and they've done a fabulous metalish cover of the immortal "Cat People" song from 1982. The video isn't great--just concert and behind-the-music clips--but it's a great cover version!

31 Nights of Hallowen: Catcalls

Horror stories in the gothic tradition are part (or wholly) morality tales. Tonight's tidbit of terror marries modern sensibilities with great and time-honored horror traditions.

"Catcalls" is a superb short film that creates and keeps suspense equally from its technical execution, the performances of the actors, and an excellent attention to details in all things. For example, there is a wide shot early on where something small and seemingly random happens off to one side, but it turns out to actually be a neat bit of foreshadowing.


Catcalls (2017)
Starring: Martin O'Sullivan, Edel Murphy, and Sarah Kinlin
Director: Kate Dolan
Rating: Nine of Ten Stars


And remember, especially if you're prone to being boorish or are a pervert: The cat people are on the prowl... moreso than any other time of the year than during the 31 Nights of Halloween!

--

In celebration of the Cat People, every Tuesday for the rest of October, you'll find a cover of the excellent Georgio Moroder/David Bowie song theme song from the 1982 remake of "Cat People", "Cat People (Putting Out Fire)", here at Terror Titans. As a preview, and to establish the very high baseline the covers are aspiring to rise above, we're presenting the original today.

 

31 Nights of Halloween: The Snapshot

Tonight's offering explores territory that's been covered in movies, television series, and fiction from "The Twilight Zone" through Stephen King... and it does so quite effectively. Although the music soundtrack is overblown (and tends to undermine the spookiness of the film than enhance it, and the ending is weakened by an unneeded "jump-scare", this 8-minute flight to fear is one you should take.

The Snapshot (2020)

Starring: Miroslav Radovic and Dubravka Vilovic

Director: Dario Radusin

Rating: Seven of Ten Stars

31 Nights of Halloween: Not Alone in Here

Since last being featured during the 31 Nights of Halloween in 2016, David F. Sandberg has gone onto become a big deal in Hollywood--something we take full credit for here.

But! Despite having found fame and fortune and comic book movie success, he's still making short horror films about the world's unluckiest woman when it comes to encounters with the supernatural! I'm delighted to have Mr. Sandberg and Lotte Losten back for another couple of visits this year!

Tonight's offering shows that  Sandberg still makes great terror tidbits... and that Losten's streak of bad luck with the supernatural continues. It's a perfect tale to get that Halloween Spirit jump-started--and I think it's the most chilling film from Sandberg and Losten yet! (It's also a fabulous  from a technical standpoint... the use of sound underscores both the humor and the horror here.)

Not Alone in Here (2020)

Starring: Lotta Losten

Director: David F. Sandberg

Rating: Ten of Ten Stars

Saturday Scream Queen: Lotta Losten

Once-upon-a-time, Saturday Scream Queens were crowned each and every week here at Terror Titans. From 2009 until April of 2013, mini-bios and photos of roughly 170 different actresses featured, with some favorites being honored more than once.

Since then, Saturday Scream Queens have made irregular appearances as part of the 31 Nights of Halloween festival. They return this year... and we're going to feature five profiles this time out! So... now you can say something good came out of this year!

The first Saturday Scream Queen of 2020 is Lotta Losten. Born in 1981, this Swedish actress has been featured in half a dozen short films over the past few Octobers, and she'll be making an appearance in one later today. Lotta may not be the traditionally sexy Scream Queen we usually feature, but every time she appears on screen, we know that spooky fun, or creepy horror, is about to unfold. 

Losten has also appeared on the big screen, feature-length horror films, such "Light Out" (2016) and "Annabelle: The Creation" (2017). She is married to director David F. Sandberg.

31 Nights of Halloween: Safe 'til Sunset

It's the second of the 31 Nights of Halloween, and here's another treat to awaken the Spirit of the Season within you!


Safe Til Sunset (2020)
Starring: Dominic Cancelliere, Emily Bishop-Bosu, Gavin Ryan Farley, and Crissy Kolarik
Director: James Williams
Rating: Six of Ten Stars


After their mark (Farley) turns the tables on them, a pair of con artists (Cancelliere and Bishop Bosu) find themselves sealed in a room with a vampire (Kolarik).

"Safe 'til Sunset" is a fun little chiller that suffers from wooden acting, as well as a shaky opening that can be attributed to its gimmicky origins. According to the producers, it was a contest entry where filmmakers were given the first page of a script and were required to develop a short film from it. So, even though the first minute doesn't quite connect to what follows, the film ultimately ends up in a place that inspired a grim chuckle from me... and I think it will do the same for you. (I could almost hear the Crypt Keeper cackling in the distance.)