The Most Dangerous Game (1932), dir. Irving Pichel, Ernest B. Shoedsack; starring Joel McCrea, Fay Wray, Leslie Banks
Based on the story of the same title by Richard Connell -- often anthologized, and recently in The Big Book of Reel Murders ed. by Otto Penzler. I remember reading the story in grade school and really enjoying the adventure of it, then finally finding the film on TV one night. That was many, many years ago. It was enjoyable to find it holds up. McCrea, even without his horse and six-shooter, was a steady, heroic sort, Wray gets to scream and faint a bit, and Banks is one of the more likably dislikable villains in '30s cinema.
Us (2019) dir. Jordan Peele; starring Lupita Nyong'o, Winston Duke, Elizabeth Moss
Look sharp in the early minutes and you'll see a video cover for C.H.U.D. and I think there's a nod to a zombie film, too, both hinting at where this goes, but not at all at how creepy this story of doppelgangers is. It takes on some of the look and feel of a zombie movie, but there's a somewhat apocalyptic feel that most zombie movies I've seen point at but don't really get you to feel, probably because this is acute psychologically in ways most horror movies are not. A final panning scene is extremely effective.
Randy M.
Based on the story of the same title by Richard Connell -- often anthologized, and recently in The Big Book of Reel Murders ed. by Otto Penzler. I remember reading the story in grade school and really enjoying the adventure of it, then finally finding the film on TV one night. That was many, many years ago. It was enjoyable to find it holds up. McCrea, even without his horse and six-shooter, was a steady, heroic sort, Wray gets to scream and faint a bit, and Banks is one of the more likably dislikable villains in '30s cinema.
Us (2019) dir. Jordan Peele; starring Lupita Nyong'o, Winston Duke, Elizabeth Moss
Look sharp in the early minutes and you'll see a video cover for C.H.U.D. and I think there's a nod to a zombie film, too, both hinting at where this goes, but not at all at how creepy this story of doppelgangers is. It takes on some of the look and feel of a zombie movie, but there's a somewhat apocalyptic feel that most zombie movies I've seen point at but don't really get you to feel, probably because this is acute psychologically in ways most horror movies are not. A final panning scene is extremely effective.
Randy M.