(MONSTROUS QUESTION OF THE MONTH provided by Michael Arruda)

THE MONSTROUS QUESTION OF THE MONTH – JULY

Excluding JAWS, what is your pick for the ultimate summer horror movie?

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RESPONSE # 2 – COLLEEN WANGLUND:

I had a tough time with this one.  JAWS was great, but a lot of movies tried to mimic the formula and failed miserably (has anyone seen the trailer for PIRHANA 3D?).  One movie that really affected me is ON THE BEACH (1959) based on the novel by Nevil Shute and starring Gregory Peck and Ava Gardner.

In 1964 World War III has brought about the complete nuclear destruction of the northern hemisphere.  One Navy submarine managed to escape to Australia, but only for a few months reprieve.  The winds are blowing radioactive fallout their way and the residents have only months to live.  Most of the movie is actually spent at a beach house in Melbourne and it’s a beautiful setting.  They’re swimming and sunbathing, but all the while they’re waiting to die.  While not considered a horror movie, it is a post-apocalyptic story with very scary implications.  During the Cold War Era total global destruction was a very real possibility and that’s pretty damn horrifying, in my opinion.

If you want strictly horror, one other movie that came to mind is BLOODY REUNION (2006) from South Korea and directed by Dae-wung Lim (I’m the Geisha of Gore, of course I’d pick an Asian film!).  Former classmates gather at the seaside home of their former teacher for a summer reunion.  The table is set, tiki torches are lit, and the barbeque is heating up right on the sand.  What’s meant to be a nice weekend together turns into a massacre as one by one the classmates are slaughtered, but by whom?  Each of the former students seems to have an issue with their former teacher but pay attention because things are not what they seem in this movie.  The murders are interesting and imaginative, and contrast nicely to the beautiful setting.  Horror movies don’t always have to play out in such dark atmospheres.

So those are my picks for “ultimate” summer movie.  Enjoy them if you decide to check them out.

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This entry was posted on July 28, 2010 at 3:00 am and is filed under 2010, Apocalypse Films, Asian Horror, Monstrous Question of the Month with tags bloody reunion, colleen wanglund, geisha of gore, Monstrous Question of the Month, on the beach, summer movies. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.