Movies
In Memoriam: 8 Defining Films to Remember Roger Corman
From westerns to gladiator exploitation films to post-apocalyptic action movies (and of course, plenty of horror), Corman didn’t just make off-the-wall genre films, he made them viable and rarely lost a dime on them. And above all else, he made them fun, and he gave them a spirit of enjoyability that was contagious. So, to honor Roger Corman, we here at Horror Press have compiled a list of 8 films that best embody his indelible influence on horror and science fiction.
As many Horror Press readers already know, we lost genre film legend Roger Corman last Thursday, May 9th. One of the all-time greats in Hollywood, he was known for spinning straw budgets into gold pictures, and Corman’s influence is embedded into modern filmmaking thanks to the hundreds and hundreds of films he worked on.
Starting as a production assistant turned story analyst at the bottom rungs of 20th Century Fox, Corman became the face of independent filmmaking in Hollywood from the 1950s on. With an innate vision for what gets people engaged with film, Corman was a mentalist at reading audiences and producing films that got watchers going. Corman knew what you wanted to see, sometimes before you even knew it; he wasn’t part of the genre film zeitgeist. He was the zeitgeist outright.
8 Roger Corman Movies Every Horror Fan Should Watch
From westerns to gladiator exploitation films to post-apocalyptic action movies (and of course, plenty of horror), Corman didn’t just make off-the-wall genre films, he made them viable and rarely lost a dime on them. And above all else, he made them fun, and he gave them a spirit of enjoyability that was contagious. So, to honor Roger Corman, we here at Horror Press have compiled a list of 8 films that best embody his indelible influence on horror and science fiction.
SHARKTOPUS VS PTERACUDA (2014)
It seems fair to visit one of Corman’s later works in life, since it’s a very good example of how he had the juice to make great b-movies long after he had made himself a household name. Before The Asylum and its cohorts were a gleam in the eye of the SyFy channel, Roger Corman had paved the way for them perfectly, and eventually joined them in the sharksploitation resurrection of the 2000s and 2010s.
I remember seeing Sharktopus on SyFy semi-regularly when I was younger, but its sequel is a strictly better version, with two apex predators seeing which celebrity cameos they can eat faster (Conan O’Brien gets annihilated in this one!). Vs. Pteracuda is, in a weird way, also a step up in terms of effects, even if the CGI looks rougher than sandpaper. Beyond that, it’s one of those rare gems that can laugh at itself and manages to walk the intentionally so-bad-its-good tightrope without falling into a pit of forced self-awareness.
ATTACK OF THE CRAB MONSTERS (1957) & IT CONQUERED THE WORLD (1956)
Okay, I know. I cheated, technically this makes 9 films. But I just couldn’t deny a double header of quintessential “goofy-looking monster movies”. Some of Corman’s earliest horror contributions are drive-thru shlock through and through. And that’s quite alright with me because we get giant telepathic crabs out of it!
These two feel like the best example of Corman’s ability to challenge bigger studios with smaller production values; they’re on par with contemporaries like Creature From The Black Lagoon and The Monster that Challenged the World, and every bit as enjoyable. It Conquered the World boasts one of my favorite monster designs with its strange demonic traffic cone aesthetic. It was also one of the earlier collaborations between Corman and famed character actor Dick Miller, who would reappear three years later in…
A BUCKET OF BLOOD (1959)
If there’s one way to get logged into the annals of horror history, making one of the first really solid original horror comedies is it. The film follows schmuck Walter Paisley (one of many as the name became a regular Corman movie easter egg), who struggles to find friends while surrounded by hipster artists, but discovers he excels at sculpting— but only when the clay is being molded and shaped around dead people.
Entrenched in the film’s dark humor is a solid satire about American countercultural movements, poking fun at beatniks and small, insular art scenes in a way that feels evergreen decades later. It’s a charming film about desperately seeking approval, something that Corman clearly enjoyed poking fun at given he often had to go against the grain to get his films made, and never let himself get chained up in hunting for recognition.
GALAXY OF TERROR (1981)
When we talk about Roger Corman giving life to Hollywood and creating other film legends, the example everyone will undoubtedly remember is Corman’s relationship with James Cameron. Cameron got his start as a miniatures artist while working on two films for Corman in particular: Battle Beyond the Stars, and the much more well-known Galaxy of Terror.
Galaxy of Terror is often referred to as a rip-off of Alien, mainly for its body horror and some insectoid alien motifs its got going on. But what it actually ends up being is a weird, heady, high-concept space fantasy of death that tortures its cast of characters more brutally than a xenomorph could. It’s also got some strange, nasty creature effects, and an even stranger ending. While it certainly started as an attempt to seize the popularity of Ridley Scott’s seminal sci-fi horror, Galaxy of Terror evolved into an indescribable touchstone in Corman’s filmography.
CHOPPING MALL (1986)
Another film that has Dick Miller, albeit this time in a smaller role, Chopping Mall was produced by Roger’s wife, Julie Corman. Still, his spirit is very much in this one with all the camp it has to offer. The premise? An enterprising mall tries to move into the 21st century early and employs a series of cutting-edge security robots to keep it clear. They, of course, promptly short-circuit during a thunderstorm and begin to murder teenage stragglers who stayed in the mall after hours.
B-movie juggernaut Jim Wynorski directed this one and actually got his start as a publicist for Corman before moving up in the film world of the 1980s and 90s. Wynorski once said that Corman “taught [him] all the lessons on how to make a film and how to make it look expensive when you don’t have a lot of money”, which is as good a praise as any filmmaker can get.
SLUMBER PARTY MASSACRE II (1987)
When Deborah Brock approached Roger Corman with a proposal for a Slumber Party Massacre follow-up, he recognized the need to get a sequel off the ground after the first film’s success. What he financed was a fun rock-and-roll slasher film and a cult classic that’s easy to fall in love with.
This time around, the dead killer from part 1 has reincarnated into a greaser ghost with a giant drill guitar, prone to giving his victim’s hallucinations. Some crazy visuals like being attacked by a raw undead chicken, the world’s nastiest pimple effect, and the movie pausing to do an honest-to-God, full-on music video starring the killer are only a few of the delightful samplings the film has to share. It’s an off-kilter slasher that demands to be seen, and one of those ventures that had his distinct brand of equal parts sleaze and spirit ingrained in it.
THE RAVEN (1963)
Among Corman’s many horror endeavors, his Edgar Allan Poe adaptations with American International Pictures left some of the biggest impacts. Among them, The Raven holds a special place in my heart. Corman “extrapolates” Poe’s poem to tell a story about dueling wizards in a gothic castle, complete with dinky rotoscoped spell effects and hilarious dialogue. It also has ace performances from Boris Karloff and Peter Lorre, the latter being a mainstay of the producer’s films.
The Raven also stands as a testament to Corman’s uncanny ability to “thin the paint” as he phrased it, spreading resources between movies; it was one of three films that were all shot on the same set, and all within the same month according to Jack Nicholson, alongside The Terror and The Haunted Palace.
MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH (1964)
That being said, there is only one choice for his ACTUAL best Poe adaptation, and for that matter what I would qualify is his best film on a technical level. Masque of the Red Death is undoubtedly the most visually striking film he’s ever directed. It’s a colorful, evocative piece that perfectly captures the nature of the original short story it’s based on, in which a mysterious guest terrorizes medieval nobles trying to weather a plague as peasants suffer outside the castle walls.
Unfortunately for the lecherous Prince Prospero, death comes for everyone, and Corman makes it look incredible (especially when he’s terrorizing Hazel Court as the villainous Juliana). All of the cinematography here comes together to make the perfect storm of gothic atmosphere you need to pull off this story: the lighting, the costuming, and the set design, in particular, are off the charts, and that’s all capped off by the performance of a prime Vincent Price. Keep an eye out for repertory screenings of the film as we move into late May and June, because theatres ought to be playing Masque to pay homage. It’s wholly worth the price of admission, even 60 years after the fact.
***
Rest in peace, Roger Corman. Thanks for making the world a more campy, more silly, more fun, and when you really wanted to, more beautiful place. You will be missed, by friends and fans the world across. And, as always, happy watching horror fans.
Movies
What Your Favorite Slasher Franchise Says About You
Longtime readers may recall that, once upon a time, I wrote an article about what your favorite Halloween movie says about you. I know we all learned a lot about ourselves in the process, but were we maybe being too granular? It’s time to expand that scope out a little more and find out what our favorite slasher franchise, in general, says about us.
Longtime readers may recall that, once upon a time, I wrote an article about what your favorite Halloween movie says about you. I know we all learned a lot about ourselves in the process, but were we maybe being too granular? It’s time to expand that scope out a little more and find out what our favorite slasher franchise, in general, says about us.
Now, I had to be quite choosy about how to define a “slasher franchise,” because this article should probably be shorter than War and Peace. My major criterion that I decided upon was that the franchise in question should have at least four installments, without including any remakes or legacy sequels. The only exception here is Terrifier, which is new enough to be exempt and at any rate does have a fourth film in the works (presuming the cast and director are still speaking to each other).
Even then, not every applicable franchise is contained in this article. But most of them are. All I’m saying here is that you shouldn’t expect me to tell you what you’re like if your favorite slasher franchise is the two Death Nurse movies. And if that is the case, you probably already know most everything you need to know about yourself anyway.
What Your Favorite Slasher Franchise Says About You
Psycho
You’re a little bit classy, but you’ve also got a kooky side. You’re not afraid to dive into a black-and-white movie, but you have also embraced the many ways that the slasher genre has changed since it first began. You sometimes have weird dreams about Jeff Fahey and lamps.
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
You’re truly up for anything. Whatever curveballs life throws at you, you’re ready to embrace the chaos and make the best of what you’ve got.
Halloween
You’re the baseball fan of the horror world. You have genuine love for many or all of the movies, but your truest love is building your life around stats, data, fun facts, and the like. You can break down every continuity path of the franchise at will, and are itching to debate anyone, anytime, anywhere. If I ask, “Should John Tate have been in DGG’s Halloween?” you not only know exactly what I’m talking about without a moment’s thought, and you’re already planning your talking points in your head.
Prom Night
You’re the Cubs fan of the horror world. You love an underdog, and you’re disappointed that nobody ever seems to agree that Prom Night IV: Deliver Us from Evil is underrated. Trust me, friend, I’ve been there.
Friday the 13th
You like consistency. You like to know exactly what you’re getting every single time, and the feeling of that thing being delivered well is a welcome balm. (Well, at least for the first eight movies or so.) You’re probably the type who eats at McDonald’s while on vacation rather than an untested local restaurant. No shade, we all need some McNuggets now and again.
A Nightmare on Elm Street
You’re a maximalist. Your living space is probably full of color and a little cluttered. You have a vivid imagination, and you’re not afraid to use it to make creative projects that are sometimes off-putting to others.
Silent Night, Deadly Night
You don’t exist. Somebody cooked you up, Tyler Durden style, and talks to you when they’re dissociating. Just kidding, just kidding. I do like quite a few of these movies, myself. But if the overall Silent Night, Deadly Night franchise is your favorite bar none, you simply love Christmas. You’re all about themed viewings for every holiday, but the Christmas creep starts early in your household. Just after Halloween, in fact.
Child’s Play
Well, first things first, you’re probably gay. On the pride flag, the red stripe stands for Chucky’s hair. But sometimes straight people have good taste too, as weird as that may seem. So, in a more general sense, if what floats your boat is the Child’s Play franchise (also known as the Chucky movies, if you’re nasty), continuity is king. You like to watch a story filled with beloved characters play out over multiple movies and a canceled-too-soon TV series. Additionally, you’re a hell of a lot of fun, and you’re always down for a spontaneous adventure.
Scream
OK, you’re probably gay too. But in the unfortunate event that you are not, liking the Scream franchise says plenty of other things about you. Just like with Child’s Play, continuity is also key here. That continuity love comes with the added wrinkle that you probably love binge-watching a good 1990s teen drama. You’re also a trivia buff who is having more and more complicated thoughts about feeling so represented by Randy when you first watched it. And you’re a bit of a softie. As much as you might complain about them never really killing off main characters, you don’t actually want them to.
Final Destination
You’re a little more ethereal than the average slasher fan. There’s probably a crystal, a deck of tarot cards, or a star chart somewhere within 20 feet of you. Barring that, you love a puzzle, and there’s nothing better than watching all the pieces that have laid out in front of you coming together.
Hatchet
You love gore, baby! And you’re deep in the paint on the horror genre in general. You become that “Leo pointing at the screen” meme from Once Upon a Time in Hollywood every time one of those cameoing horror icons makes an appearance.
Terrifier
You love gore, baby! But maybe you’re a little more embarrassed about it than a Hatchet fan. You like to point to the visual metaphors and the world-building and say you read Terrifier for the articles. But we know why you’re here. It’s OK. Embrace your blood-soaked truth.
Movies
Revisiting This Obscure Black Exorcist Film 50 Years Later
After the success of Freidkin’s exorcism film, other studios, and filmmakers were eager to ride the wave of the emerging subgenre of religious horror. The Exorcist’s impact on the genre changed the way audiences viewed the horror genre, seeing the genre films as insightful narratives that they could connect with. The film went on to receive ten Academy Award nominations, which had not yet been done by any other horror film. Even today, the impact of The Exorcist can still be seen across genres. And William Girdler decided to capitalize on that trend.
In the mid-1970s, a horror movie was released that terrified audiences by featuring the demonic possession of an innocent young woman. If you assumed that this fits the description of The Exorcist (1973), you’d be right. But there was another film that many may not know about that was sued and banned from theaters because of its similarities.
After the success of Freidkin’s exorcism film, other studios, and filmmakers were eager to ride the wave of the emerging subgenre of religious horror. The Exorcist’s impact on the genre changed the way audiences viewed the horror genre, seeing the genre films as insightful narratives that they could connect with. The film went on to receive ten Academy Award nominations, which had not yet been done by any other horror film. Even today, the impact of The Exorcist can still be seen across genres. And William Girdler decided to capitalize on that trend.
The Post-Exorcist Rise of Religious Horror
Girdler’s sophomore film, Abby, was released on December 25, 1974– almost exactly one year after the December 26th release of The Exorcist. In the Blaxploitation horror film, Dr. Williams (William Marshall) finds an ancient relic while digging in a Nigerian cave. Dr. Williams mistakenly releases Eshu, a Yoruba sex demon. Eshu then travels across the world, attaching itself to Dr. Williams’ daughter-in-law, Abby (Carol Speed). As the film progresses, so does Abby’s possession. Abby’s husband and family are at a loss for her extreme change in behavior. A minister’s wife and a lead in her church choir, is now seducing men at random bars. Dr. Williams returns home, focused on ridding Abby of this demonic entity that makes her a sex-crazed housewife.
Girdler’s exorcism film is heavily influenced by Black and African culture, fashion, and music. Much like other Blaxploitation horror films of that time (Blacula, Ganja & Hess), Abby explored a scary scenario told through a Black lens. But let’s not shy away from the fact that Girdler was a white man. Looking back, it’s clear that the film’s writing is problematic in some ways. The only way for Abby to be deemed worthy of saving is for her to be a God-fearing minister’s wife. Her sexual desires are evil and demonic. Her body is not her own. Sound familiar (i.e., slavery)? In the documentary Horror Noire, Tananarive Due says Abby is “a really good example of both fear of Black women in general but fear of Black women’s sexuality in particular.” One thing that Girdler does differently in Abby is using a male voice for the demon, which drives home even more that Abby is controlled by men. It’s not until she is exorcised by her father-in-law, along with her husband and brother in tow, that she is freed from the monster that she had become.
Audience Impact and Cultural Resonance
When asked what it was like to see this film in 1974, @motomweusi836 responded with: “Me and some friends just had to sneak in and check this out. Worst mistake of my young life! This movie messed all of us up for months. We couldn’t sleep and were constantly thinking folks in the house were possessed. Needless to say our parents had no problems getting us to go to church after that.” And that’s relevant to the impact of this film. Seeing a Black woman being possessed on screen was fresh and scary as hell to Black audiences. And the box office reflected that impact.
Abby was in theaters for one month and was able to scare up $4 million, more than enough to recoup its $100,000 budget. But why was it only in theaters for a month? Because the film was so similar to The Exorcist that Warner Bros. contacted their lawyers to sue. It was even marketed as “The Black Exorcist”. The court sided with Warner Bros., and the film was pulled from theaters. Girdler admitted that Friedkin’s adaptation inspired his film, but it wasn’t a blatant ripoff. It isn’t clear from my research, but it is said that Warner Bros. not only had the film’s theatrical run halted, but they also seized the original reel to ensure that it wouldn’t be distributed.
A Lasting Legacy in Blaxploitation and Horror
Even fifty years later, the ownership of the original film is still a mystery. You may be able to find some not-so-stellar versions on YouTube and Plex. Despite not having any good quality versions out there, Abby has still become an underground Blaxploitation classic. I asked YouTube creator and director/screenwriter, Tyrone Williams what he believes the lasting legacy of Abby is in the context of both Blaxploitation and horror cinema. He responded, “When it comes to Blaxploitation and horror cinema, Abby leaves behind a legacy of pushing to the forefront a Black woman in a subgenre that they still, to this day, are barely represented in. Her possessed self being the exact opposite of a model housewife in the ’70s is the icing on this supernatural-filled cake.” I couldn’t agree more that there is a significance to Abby that continues to resonate with audiences.
Abby is a Blaxploitation horror gem that remains an underrated classic in cinema history. While it has a controversial legacy, Abby stands as an artifact of its time, pushing boundaries in ways that still spark discussion. Fifty years later, it remains a dynamic, provocative film that deserves more recognition and an appreciation within the context of horror and Blaxploitation cinema.
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