Out of the Crypt: Nine Hidden Fright Films for Halloween >>
By Craig Phillips
Angels and Demons commingle in Jan Svankmajer's "The Ossuary"
Horror film lists annually timed with Halloween often center on the usual horror subgenres and the usual suspects are rounded up — which is fine, my favorite out-and-out scary films are ghost stories like Poltergeist, slashers like Psycho and Halloween, and supernatural creepers like The Thing (the first two). But what about the indefinably creepy? The films that have a haunting air about them but in which the horror elements are present but subtle. These films are often overlooked. Shall we open up that creepy cabinet in the corner?
{creaky sound effect}
Loving homage to the chilling, thrilling tales of early horror meister HP Lovecraft, this 2005 silent-film style oddity is as amusing as it is creepy but certainly captures the author’s sense of dread. Andrew Leman and Sean Branney’sadaptation, despite what may seem an affectation of using a faux silent style, is admirably faithful to the story of an investigation into a mysterious cult. Low-budget and shot on digital video yet through trickery and cinematographic skill — and restricting themselves to early film techniques (stop-motion animation, forced perspective, etc) and the spirit and feel of silent expressionism is well-captured. It is full of nightmarish images, of demonic dreams and grotesqueries. At 45 minutes it’s just right — any longer and and Cthulu would have started to push it’s narrative limits into impatience. The music score is also a perfect match at all the right times. an underscore as it were.
[Feel free to "like" it and comment on it, so it doesn't get too lonely.]
