In this retrospective I pay homage to the girls who made the formative years of a fledgling horror fan so utterly memorable and while not all get a mention, they are so numerous; you can bet they all passed through my mind as I wrote (one of them even follows me on Twitter and you can’t begin to imagine how excited that made me!) Here then, in no particular order, are the girls...
As a forty-six year old English fan of all things horror, I was obviously raised on a diet of Hammer films. What makes Hammer so special? (See my previous article, Hammer – A History of Brilliance) Undoubtedly the period costumes, gothic settings and, of course, the ultimate horror icons Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee, made the films so memorable for a period of over thirty years. But one equally important ingredient defined those films too; the Hammer glamour. A whole host of girls, some talented actresses, some not, but all of them stunning, contributed to the enduring popularity of Hammer. In this retrospective I pay homage to the girls who made the formative years of a fledgling horror fan so utterly memorable and while not all get a mention, they are so numerous; you can bet they all passed through my mind as I wrote (one of them even follows me on Twitter and you can’t begin to imagine how excited that made me!) Here then, in no particular order, are the girls... 1. INGRID PITT Ingrid was born in Poland on 21st November 1937 and as a child during WWII was interned in a Nazi concentration camp. Surviving this she eventually grew up in East Berlin from where she escaped in 1962 by swimming across the River Spree. Initially appearing in low-budget films in Spain, Ingrid was cast in 1968 in Where Eagles Dare alongside Richard Burton and Clint Eastwood. Despite only appearing in two Hammer films during its ‘Golden Era’ (The Vampire Lovers and Countess Dracula) Ingrid is felt by many fans to be THE Hammer girl. Post-Hammer, Ingrid appeared in The Wicker Man and then worked as a writer. She died on 23rd November 2010 after suffering from a heart condition for several years.
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First... Let me state that only film/TV adaptations of King’s horror stories are considered for this list (this is Horror Central after all). Obviously if all of his work was under consideration then The Shawshank Redemption, Stand By Me, The Running Man, Hearts in Atlantis among many others, would almost undoubtedly be on the list. As a MASSIVE Stephen King fan, it was tough enough just pruning his horror work alone down to ten, never mind everything else. Second... Let me repeat, I am a massive fan and avid reader of all of Stephen King’s writing. So, if your favorite isn’t here, or is lower on the list than you feel it should be, don’t worry. I still love it but felt that by disciplining myself to a list of only ten would force me to think more deeply, do more research and study the evidence harder. Without further ado...My personal top ten Stephen King adaptations for cinema and television. 1.CARRIE (1976) Primarily this is my favorite because of the stunning performance by Sissy Spacek as the gawky, awkward Carrie White. Stephen King himself, in his non-fictional On Writing (the absolute Bible for any budding writer, of any genre) states that he never liked Carrie White as a character, something I find astounding to this day. In my view it is impossible not to like her and feel for her; downtrodden and picked on at school and with no respite at home either. I can let you in on a secret here, I haven’t seen the 2013 version of Carrie yet! You see, I’m a bit of a stick in the mud for re-makes and Spacek’s acting in this film was of such a high quality, that I feel anything, and anyone, will detract from it (there are just some films that can never be remade). I will see it eventually but, for now, Carrie will always mean Sissy Spacek’s phenomenal performance to me.
I'm sure there are plenty of Trekkies out there who would scoff at the notion or claim to have noticed all of these actors in their resume building roles on various adaptions of the Gene Roddenberry classic... I'd be willing to bet they didn't. Although some of the following actors grew a career from their small and often forgettable characters on their respective Star Trek series', some already had substantial fame and outside of a way to make ends meet, had no real purpose on the television series beyond another check on the bucket list or a one off joke.
Prepare to be mind blown. The following 11 Horror Movie facts are enough to send a horror fanatic into a NERDGASM! 11. ALL WORK AND NO PLAY MAKES WOODY A DULL TOY The iconic carpet design used in The Shining (1980) was used in Sid's house in the Toy Story (1995). Although the colors are different, the design is intentionally an homage to Kubrick's classic. Toy Story Director Lee Unkrich was asked about this coincidence and reason behind the subtle nods to the cult film, he stated..
"I saw it when I was 12, in 1980, for no particular reason other than that it was a new film in theaters. My mom took me to see it. She’d taken me to see a few bad horror films that had affected me really deeply in terms of having chronic nightmares. But still, that didn’t stop her from taking me to see this one. And it turned out to be the best move she ever made — because it began this 32-year love affair with the film. It was the film that inspired me to become a filmmaker myself." Horror Central is known for many things. We inspire, educate, entertain, and occasionally OFFEND! 10. THE BIEBER INCIDENT Simon Pegg's expressions can be attributed to any number of real world issues, and in the case of this image posted to the Horror Central Facebook page... It was the events that transpired after images circulated of Justin Bieber smoking pot and young girls cutting themselves in response. Don't ask why this got on so many people's nerves. To be honest, I don't really care.
Birthed from some of the film industry's most gifted minds, horror movie creatures come in all shapes, sizes, and levels of sheer stupidity. The line walked between ridiculously terrifying and just simply ridiculous is very narrow. The following video brought to you by Horror Central and Watchmojo.com celebrates those creatures which walk the side of humorous rather than horrific.
10. STORMTROOPER HEADACHE Star Wars (1977)
Opposite of missing most everything they shoot at and having an exceptionally hard time finding the droids they're looking for, Stormtroopers have many of their own real world problems. As do ridiculously tall movie extras. |