Horror Film Hits of 2007 (For Those of You Who Would Like To Know)

2007 was a huge year for the horror genre as it had two films that grossed north of $100 million (i.e. I Am Legend and Ghost Rider) while the rest of the successful genre films were filled with sequels (i.e. Saw IV and Alien Vs. Predator: Requiem) and remakes (i.e. Halloween and Premonition) not to mention animation (i.e. Beowulf) and even a musical (i.e. Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street). Yes, 2007 was a successful year all around for the horror genre and following is a list of the top 10 for us to review once again, in case you missed one or more of them.

At the bottom of the list is the Sandra Bullock psychological thriller Premonition ($47.9 million), which was a remake of an Asian film. An interesting remake to say the least that focused more on story and character rather then scares although there were many suspenseful moments in the film. Similar in tone to such films as The Butterfly Effect and Jacob’s Ladder, Premonition was an interesting departure for Bullock best known for such films as While You Were Sleeping and Miss Congeniality.

For many filmgoers Resident Evil: Extinction ($50.6 million) was a return to form after the abysmal second film Apocalypse. This next chapter of a world over-run with the undead takes place years after the previous film in a time when nature has reclaimed most of the Earth. With most of the horror occurring during the daylight hours, this was a more stylistic film then the previous one and made audiences believe that there was no place to hide in a world ravaged by zombies.

And the winner for best horror musical of the year goes to Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street ($52.9 million), which was a huge departure for both director Tim Burton and star Johnny Depp but audiences didn’t care as this was a hugely successful adaptation of the hit Broadway musical. Not only was it a visual tour de force but it also had great music as well.

Next up is the infamous Rob Zombie remake of Halloween ($58.3 million), which was still successful despite harsh criticism of the film from both critics and fans of the John Carpenter original. I for one did not mind Zombie’s revision of the film which was better then most of the sequels in the series.

Coming in at number six on the list is Saw IV ($63.3 million), which was less successful then the previous two films in the series but nevertheless popular with fans of the series. This was the number one “true” horror film of the year as the rest of the list includes more mainstream genre fare.

Stephen King was popular this year as one of his most acclaimed short stories finally made it to the big screen with 1408 ($72 million). This psychological haunted hotel thriller was a surprise success for many who didn’t think it was possible to bring the character heavy story to the big screen. John Cusack’s stellar performance holds this mostly one-person film together when it could have so easily fallen flat on its face.

Next up is the teen thriller Disturbia ($80.2 million), which held its own despite the lack of any star talent. This was just a film that had all the right elements in the right place at the right time that delivered a suspenseful thrill-ride for audiences of all ages.

The animated Beowulf ($82.3 million) took audiences by surprise when it debuted on both regular and digital 3D screens (not to mention the IMAX Digital 3D as well). This uncompromising Robert Zemekis directed film took the original epic story to new heights delivering an action packed epic adventure. It was filled with monsters and blood and gore like no other mainstream animated film before it.

Now I know I will be criticized for putting this film on the list but the film adaptation of the Marvel Comics character Ghost Rider ($115.8 million) comes in at number two. Fans of the comic book know that the original stories had many elements of horror contained within, but this big-budget film watered-down all those elements to deliver a mostly “comic” and camp film with no redeeming qualities of the original source material. Nevertheless, many audiences (who knew nothing about the original comic) enjoyed the film and made it a huge success. Not since the adaptation of Spawn (1997) have so many fans been so disappointed.

And the highest grossing horror film of the year goes to I Am Legend ($256.4 million). Starring the always bankable Will Smith this loose adaptation of the Richard Matheson novel was not well received by die hard Matheson fans, but there is no denying that the film (like all the other adaptations of the novel) had a life of its own allowing it to become one of the biggest horror films in history. Not since Tom Hanks’ performance in Cast Away (2000) has an actor commanded such a performance. It may not be exactly Matheson’s novel but this version of I Am Legend holds its own.

As you can see 2007 had genre films for everyone and along with those top 10 there were many other noteworthy films including Alien Vs. Predator: Requiem ($41.8 million), 30 Days of Night ($39.6 million), The Messengers ($35.4 million), Zodiac ($33.1 million), 28 Weeks Later ($28.6 million), and The Mist ($25.6 million), to name a few, so if you don’t feel like watching any of the top 10 take a look at a few of these, you’ll be glad you did.

As box office information was provided by Box Office Mojo (www.boxofficemojo.com).

"My Trip To HOUSE ON HORROR HILL!"

Several people read and saw pictures about my trip to Netherworld this past Halloween and wanted to know what I thought about the "other" haunted house I visited this year which was the House on Horror Hill. Nothing can compare with the vastness and budget of Netherworld but it's always good to keep an eye out for the smaller venues and competition because you never know what you'll get.

Having gone to Netherworld first (three days earlier so it was still frest in my mind) Horror Hill was a bit guvenile as it's primary audience was for eight to sixteen year olds as only they would be scared on the antics of this type of house/attraction. The venue was made up of several rooms depicting scenes from which patrons would be simply squeezed into the room and allowed the scenes to unfold before having all the lights turned out (thus ushering the strobe lights) and the actors in the scenes would thene grab out at the patrons as they were pushed from that room into the next. The whole experience was very "militaristic" as we were marched from one room to the next and I didn't enjoy any of the rooms regardless of some of the rooms and scenes actually being very well made with actors who really put an effort into their work.

There were too many people crammed into each group and the person leading the group from from room to the next was someone whom you think didn't want to be there. This being said, me and my friends did go on the busiest day of the season - HALLOWEEN, so I'm willing to forgive them a little. I do have to say that the people behind the actual production of the venue did care about the quality of what they were putting together as they gave comment cards to every person who went through the house wanting to know which were their favorite and least favorite of the rooms.

Although I now know that this in not the venue for me, it's definitely a place I could take my little nephew who would actually get a kick out of the place.

"My Visit to the NETHERWORLD!"

It's been a long time since I visited a haunted house so when someone at my job suggested that this year we all go to Georgia's (in)famous Netherworld I jumped at the opportunity. I decided to bring my sister along since (if I recall) I don't think she's ever been to one.

The first thing you notice when you walk to the location is that it is housed in what appears to be a two story furniture store. It may not look (at first) like something special but that's just the impression they want you to have about the place. After you get your ticket(s) you have the choice of going to one of two houses (or haunts) to enter. In the case of Netherworld they have the Manger and the Carnavore. You can buy tickets for only one of the houses but its just as cheap to get them both.

Once you have tickets in hand then you have to stand in line until its your turn in the house. The great thing about Netherworld is that there are just as many monsters and creatures outside as there are inside and those monsters are doing anything and everything to get the patrons ready for when they enter the house. It's a great audience booster as the patrons get an up close and personal look at all the great make up and creatures on hand and believe me there were many and they were great. One of the fun things on this trip for me was watching the eight year old kids in front of me get excited by all the monsters that roamed the street. At first they were scared and didn't want to go near them but as time went on they got used to them and at one point even tried to scare the monsters.

Needless to say it was a very enjoyable beginning.

When it was time to enter the house Carnavore (and I refuse to give up the goods in hopes that those of you that can do decide to go) I was at first captivated by the great lighting of the facility. Being a lighting technician that's always the first thing that I think of and take notice. Netherworld's Carnavore is the most traditional of all haunted houses as rooms remind you of EVENT HORIZON, POLTERGEIST, CLOVERFIELD, PUMPKINHEAD, and just about any other haunted house and horror film you can think of. It is truly an experience not to be missed. A trip through this house runs about fifteen to twenty minutes (yet seems longer) and is truly fun for the whole family.

Next up was the house Mangler which looks like something Clive Barker cooked up and is a bastard child of the film SE7EN and THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE or SAW. This was a much shorter haunt (about ten minutes) but works because from the moment you enter you just want to get out as soon as you can (this is in the good way).

Both houses were worth the small admission $20.00 with coupon (or $25.00 regular) and was better then any horror film currently at the box office. If you want to spend this Halloween getting scared then there's no better way then this.