Favorite "Final Girls"

Final Girl: The final girl is a horror film (particularly slasher film) trope that specifically refers to the last woman or girl alive to confront the killer, ostensibly the one left to tell the story (wikipedia).

With Halloween almost upon us, I thought it would be a good idea to share a list with some of my favorite "final girls".

Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) from "Halloween" (1978)

Ginny Field (Amy Steel) from "Friday the 13th Part 2" (1981)

Sally Hardesty (Marilyn Burns) from "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" (1974)

Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) from "Scream" (1996)

Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) from "Alien" (1979)

Nancy Thompson (Heather Langenkamp) from "A Nightmare on Elm Street" (1984)

Kirsty Cotton (Ashley Laurence) from "Hellraiser" (1987)

Stretch (Caroline Williams) from "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2" (1986)

I know I'm forgetting several more, but these were the ones that I thought of off the top of my head. I would add more, but it's getting late and I'm tired. I might make a second list later, though.

Do you have a favorite "final girl"?

Blu-Ray/DVD Releases I'm Looking Forward To...October Edition

"Piranha 3D" (2010) - January 11, 2011

Plot: Spring Break at Lake Victoria takes a turn for the worse when an underwater tremor causes the release of prehistoric piranha, who are looking to feed on the suspecting spring breakers.

  

Cast: Elisabeth Shue, Ving Rhames, Steven R. McQueen, Jessica Szohr, Jerry O'Connell, Adam Scott, Christopher Lloyd, Kelly Brook and Richard Dreyfuss.

Saw this opening weekend and it was a blast! Definitely recommended if one is looking for gore, blood, nudity or anything else involved with B-horror. Sit back, relax and enjoy...I did.

"The Expendables" (2010) - November 23, 2010

Plot: A team of mercenaries, led by Barney Ross (Sylvester Stallone), make their way to South America to overthrow a dictator.

Cast: Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Terry Crews, Randy Couture, Mickey Rourke, Eric Roberts and Steve Austin.

If you like the sound of the cast, then you should (hopefully) enjoy this movie that features great, over the top action scenes and more explosions than one can count.

"Machete" (2010) - Release date TBA, but it can be pre-ordered at Amazon.

Plot: Machete (Danny Trejo) is hired to assassinate a politician, but it turns out to be a set up. He manages to escape and makes a vow to get revenge.

Cast: Danny Trejo, Michelle Rodriguez, Jessica Alba, Robert DeNiro, Steven Seagal, Don Johnson, Jeff Fahey and Cheech Marin.

I'll admit that this film is probably not for everyone, but I thought it was great. If one enjoys Robert Rodriguez and/or his films, especially "Grindhouse" (2007), then I'd say give it a shot.

"Zoolander 2" in 2012?

That's what Justin Theroux, co-writer of the sequel with Ben Stiller, thinks as he has announced that the script for the sequel is complete.

It's been about 10 years since the release of "Zoolander", so what would Derek Zoolander (played Stiller) and Hansel (played by Owen Wilson) be up to? Well, according to Theroux at Comic-Con, "[W]e start off with them in a pretty bad place. They're about to ring 40's bell. They have to claw their way back into the fashion industry in some way or another."

Of course, there will be a villain or two. For Will Ferrell fans out there, Mugatu has been written into the script, so there is hope that Ferrell will sign on to reprise his role. Another villain has been added, which was inspired by Jonah Hill ("Forgetting Sarah Marshall" and "Superbad"), so he has a part waiting for him. I feel that both will sign on, but I could be wrong.

"Zoolander" seems to be a movie that people either love or hate. I'm on the love side as I found it to be hilarious. Plus, I tend to enjoy the movies of both Stiller and Ferrell, so I got to admit that I'm kind of looking forward to the sequel. However, note that I did say "kind of" because I'll have to wait and hear some more information/news about it as time goes on to see how things are shaping up. Only time will tell.

Movies to Watch This Halloween Part 2

"Trick 'r Treat" (2008)
A fun and creepy flick that involves four interwoven tales that take place on Halloween night. It's a shame that this movie never got a proper theatrical release.

"The Slumber Party Massacre" (1982) or "Slumber Party Massacre II" (1987)
The cult classic and it's two sequels (I haven't seen the third one, yet) were released together on DVD on October 5th, which I made sure to buy. What started out as a simple slumber party, turns into a nightmare for a group of girls when they're stalked by a escaped mental patient who wields a large drill. Enjoy this 80's cheesy goodness.

"Troll 2" (1990)

The 20th Anniversary Nilbog Edition Blu-Ray/DVD combo and DVD was released on October 5th, so it was an easy buy for me because it truly is one of the best awesomely bad movies out there. For one, it's called "Troll 2", but there are no trolls, just goblins. Second, everything about this movie is hilariously bad: the acting, costumes, dialogue, etc. Basically, the movie is a huge epic failure, but that's what's so good about it.

On a side note, on November 16th, the documentary Best Worst Movie will be released on DVD. It's directed by Michael Stephenson, who played Joshua, and gives us a look into what it was like working on the movie and how/why it is considered the worst movie of all time. 

"Black Sabbath" (1963)

Mario Bava's film that features three tales, "The Telephone", "The Wurdalak" and "A Drop of Water". The last tale is my favorite, but they're all worth checking out. The film drips with atmosphere and has genuine scares. 

"A Nightmare on Elm Street" (1984)

This is another one of the earliest horror movies that I can remember watching and it scared me back then, so that's why I'm recommending it here. It also features one of my favorite deaths of the series, Tina's death.

Movies to Watch This Halloween Part 1

Anyone who knows me, knows that I love horror movies, so I've decided to throw out some movie recommendations to check out during the month of October and especially on Halloween.

*Note: This list is in no specific order.

"Halloween" (1978)
For me, not only is this movie a must see on Halloween night, but it's one of the greatest horror movies of all time.

"Friday the 13th" (1980), "Friday the 13th Part 2" (1981), "Friday the 13th Part 3" (1982) or "Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter" (1984)
Seeing as these movies were some of the first horror movies I remember seeing, I'm a sucker for them and proudly own the entire series on DVD. The first four are my favorites, though, which is why they're recommended.

"Freaks" (1932)

A cult classic that was deemed controversial when released due to Tod Browning casting actual sideshow "freaks", which caused the film to be banned in several countries. Definitely check it out if you haven't already. This film features some genuinely creepy moments, but also makes one think.

"Tombs of the Blind Dead" (1971)

A Spanish horror film that is the first of the Blind Dead series by director Amando de Ossorio. This film just oozes atmosphere, especially when the Templar Knights are shown rising from their graves and when they're on horseback.

"The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" (1974)

Just like "Halloween", this movie is a Halloween night essential and one of the greatest horror movies of all time.

*Look for Movies to Watch This Halloween Part 2 sometime next week.

"Scared Stupid" by Dave White...I Add My Own Pick

Dave White, a TodayShow.com contributor, wrote an article titled, "Scared stupid: dumbest horror movie plots ever". This article was in response to a new horror movies called "Chain Mail", which features a killer who stalks and kills teens who refuse to forward chain e-mails. Yeah, sounds pretty stupid and lame. You can read White's full article: http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/39386825/ns/today-entertainment/

Anyways, he continues the article with a list of horror movies that feature, you guessed it, stupid plots. His list features some good choices, but I feel that he left out a movie that features one of the stupidest horror plots out there, but at the same time, it's so bad, it's good/hilarious: "The Gingerdead Man" (2005) and "The Gingerdead Man 2: The Passion of the Crust" (2008). That's right, the movie was so awesomely bad that it spawned a sequel!

This horror/comedy is about a killer, Millard Findlemeyer, who is sentenced to die in the electric chair after a young lady, Sarah Leigh (get it?!?), testifies against him while he was on trial for killing her family. He wants his revenge, so after he electrocuted, his body his cremated and his ashes are sent to his mother. Well, she just happens to be a witch, so she mixes his ashes in a batch of gingerbread spice mix and sends it to the Leigh family bakery. Sarah and another employee, Brick, take the mix and start to make the dough, but in the process, Brick cuts himself and some of his blood drips into the dough, which can't be a good thing. Brick leaves, so Sarah continues alone and makes a big gingerbread man with the cursed dough. After putting it in the oven, Sarah witnesses Lorna trying to sabotage the bakery and a confrontation ensues, which causes a switch to be hit and a big surge of electricity brings the Gingerdead Man to life. Killing and hilarity ensues!

Watch the trailer and see for yourself: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UiWyiA77qzg

I should mention one more thing: Gary Busey plays Findlemeyer and voices the Gingerdead Man. That makes the movie that much more awesome!

Wait! I spoke too soon because there is another thing I need to mention. Apparently, there is going to be a third installment called "Gingerdead Man 3D: Saturday Night Cleaver". It's set for release sometime in 2011. I'll watch it and I'm a little ashamed to admit that.