THE DANMAN CAN

Even in the new director's cut, Clive Barker ’s  Nightbreed  (1990) is a hodgepodge. The pacing is a mess, the acting is inconsistent, the tone is all over the place, the Danny Elfman  score feels out of place (and sounds a bit too much like most of his other scores), and the backstory never really feels fully fleshed out. That said, the makeup jobs are fun, there's some great imagery, and it's inventive. I need to re-read the 1988 novella that it's based on, ' Cabal '.

For the fifth annual Movie Matters Halloween special, podcast founders and regular hosts Lee Howard and Michael Mackenzie cede control of the ghoulish proceedings to Demented Danman, a.k.a.  Daniel Sardella .   In keeping with tradition, the three partners-in-crime cast a leering eye over three ghastly horror treats: Robert Wise 's 1963 chiller THE HAUNTING, Sean Byrne 's 2009 EVIL DEAD -inspired horror-comedy THE LOVED ONES , and Richard Bates Jr. 's 2012 Cronenbergian body shocker EXCISION . In addition, they also discuss some of 2014's horror-themed highlights, both in cinemas and on Blu-ray. The music in this episode is sampled from HALLOWEEN III: SEASON OF THE WITCH by John Carpenter and Alan Howarth , THE LOVED ONES by Kasey Chambers , HALLOWEEN H20: TWENTY YEARS LATER by John Ottman , EXCISION by Nina Nastasia , UNDER THE SKIN by Mica Levi , and HALLOWEEN II by The Chordettes . Created by Lee Howard & Michael Mackenzie Edited by Michael Mackenzi

Focus On Film   Episode 22  is up! Download the MP3  HERE . In this episode: January 2015  Criterion Collection   Titles Announcement Best/Worst Of The Month  –  THE LIMITS OF CONTROL   (2009), ANNABELLE   (2014), THE EXORCIST III  (1990), GONE GIRL   (2014) "Criterion Most Wanted" "Focus On Film Theme"  & commercial music:  Daniel Sardella

 

Excision   (2012) is a truly unique film that I enjoy more each time I see it.