#27: STAR WARS: EPISODE IV - A NEW HOPE (1977)

THRILL SCALE 1-10

9

HAVE I SEEN IT BEFORE?

Yes, several times. The first time I was probably age 10 or so. I'm not entirely sure when the last time was, though. It might have been about 20 years ago

BEST SEQUENCE

I'll go with the trench run and the climactic attack on the Death Star, but there are a lot of good options. Runner-up is probably the Mos Eisley cantina and the introduction of Han Solo (and yes, I choose to believe that Han shot first)

BEST LINE

"Use the Force, Luke"

Close second: "A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away..."

WORST LINE

"But I was going into Tosche Station to pick up some power converters!"

- It's not the line that's bad, it's the delivery. I love you, Mark Hamill, but GOD you sound whiny here

ROTTEN TOMATOES SCORE

93%

ROTTEN TOMATOES CRITICS CONSENSUS

"A legendarily expansive and ambitious start to the sci-fi saga, George Lucas opened our eyes to the possibilities of blockbuster filmmaking and things have never been the same."

IMDB SYNOPSIS

"A farmboy joins forces with various allies to save their galaxy from the evil Empire's planet-destroying battle station, while also rescuing the princess leading the rebellion against them."

DIRECTOR

George Lucas

MAIN CAST

Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Alec Guinness, James Earl Jones, David Prowse, Peter Cushing, Anthony Daniels, Kenny Baker, Peter Mayhew

THOUGHTS

• Welcome to Star Wars, everybody! Before we get into the review, I have an announcement. The AFI decided to place only the first Star Wars on the list, which I think is a very sensible choice. However, as we all know, this was just the beginning (despite the first movie eventually becoming Episode IV). The Star Wars franchise has now spanned very close to 50 years, including books, video games, TV shows, comics, and yes, movies. 12 official movies, to be precise, including spin-offs. So what the hell, let's watch them all! We shall now embark on my longest side quest so far, reviewing every live-action theatrical Star Wars release
• I've seen every Star Wars movie except for The Mandalorian and Grogu, and I think they're fun, and fine, but I wouldn't really consider myself a Star Wars fan. If anything, during the rest of my reviews I've kind of come to realize that sci-fi just doesn't always do it for me. With that said, before going into this rewatch, I wasn't really expecting to rate it as highly as I did. But then the movie started, and John Williams' incredible music kicked in, and I have to admit it totally got me! I sat back and just enjoyed the ride
• I love the cast, and they're all completely selling this cheesy, fantastical space opera. The main trio is wonderful, give or take a whiny Luke line delivery (but whatever, it's part of the character). Carrie Fisher as Princess Leia is a total badass, and I absolutely love that she's not just a damsel in distress, she can grab a blaster and kick up some shit with the best of them. And Harrison Ford as Han Solo is unforgettable, an instant star-making performance
• Alec Guinness didn't have a whole lot of respect for Star Wars, calling it "fairy tale rubbish" at times, but I still think he's really quite good as Obi-Wan, and I even think it seemed like he had some fun in the role. We talked about Guinness a long time ago, when I thought he was incredible in The Bridge on the River Kwai, and I really think it's quite impressive that he can put in such good performances in such different movies. I also think it's kind of hilarious that when Obi-Wan went into hiding, he did so by slightly changing his first name to Old Ben, and not even changing his last name (but hey, it's a big galaxy)
• I have to admit, the only character that I actively disliked on this viewing was C-3PO. What an irritating prig. I don't remember having such strongly negative feelings about him before, so maybe he'll grow on me
• Considering where the Star Wars saga goes, I was kind of surprised that Darth Vader didn't make a bigger impression in this movie. He's certainly visually distinctive and stands out in a crowd, and the force choke is an extremely cool early demonstration of the Force, but he's actually a bit of a secondary antagonist in this movie. Remember, it's Grand Moff Tarkin (Peter Cushing) who obliterates Alderaan, not Vader, and I would say that this certainly qualifies as the most evil, villainous, destructive act in the whole movie
• I do love the way this movie sets us up for a big plot twist in the next one, however, including all of Obi-Wan's talk about Darth Vader's past (even if he's using some creative license with the actual events)
• At this stage, it will be pretty impossible to talk about each movie in a vacuum as if the rest of the franchise doesn't exist, so I'm not really going to try. I'm pretty sure that by the time I watched The Empire Strikes Back I knew about the famous plot twist, and the famous line, so I was ready for it. But I can only imagine how hard the Vader reveal would hit if you had no idea about it, especially after all the setup in A New Hope
• George Lucas was a visionary director, one of the most influential of all time. And yet, as we all know, he went a little CGI crazy and decided to touch up his original trilogy, releasing the Special Editions in 1997. Given the nature of streaming these days, the Special Edition was all I had the option of watching. The added CGI is completely unnecessary, and distracting, and I wish it wasn't there. The nice thing is that the later parts of the movie weren't really impacted as far as I could tell, at least not in an obvious way, and there are still a lot of charming, convincing practical effects, but that just makes the silly digital effects stand out all the more. The scene between Han and a CGI Jabba the Hutt is a travesty, though
• Something Han Solo-related that isn't a travesty: when he's on the communicator, trying to convince the Stormtroopers that they don't need to investigate. "Boring conversation, anyway". HILARIOUS
• Star Wars was a box office smash, megahit, genre-defining, era-defining cultural phenomenon. It set the record for the highest-grossing movie of all time, taking the spot from a movie we'll talk about eventually (Jaws), and keeping the title for 5 years until it was beaten by a movie we've talked about before (E.T.). It also won a ton of Oscars, and it was nominated for some big ones as well, including nominations for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and Alec Guinness for Best Supporting Actor. With all that said it's crazy to think that at one time it was not a sure thing, and in an alternate reality the first Star Wars movie might have been all we got. It even could have worked pretty well as a one-off. Obviously there was a lot of set up about Darth Vader, and the biggest hanging plot thread is the fact that Vader survives the Death Star attack, but aside from that it was fairly self-contained without too much need for a sequel
• Finally, a couple of points of order. You may have noticed that I added a new category above. George Lucas may have been a visionary director, but his screenwriting has been pretty laughable on occasion. So, with each movie, we'll have not just a best line, but also a worst line. And lastly, this is a big undertaking. And like I mentioned, I'm not even the world's biggest Star Wars fan. So I'm putting out a call. If you've ever wanted to write a guest review, send me a message! I'd love to have you. And speaking of which...

Up next: Our first guest reviewer gets the distinct honour and privilege of reviewing what many consider to be the best Star Wars movie, The Empire Strikes Back. Please look forward to Hank giving us his thoughts next time! And don't worry, he's a much bigger Star Wars fan than I am, so I have no doubt that he'll do it justice

#28: FATAL ATTRACTION (1987)

THRILL SCALE 1-10

9

HAVE I SEEN IT BEFORE?

Yes, once, I can't remember when

BEST SEQUENCE

The ending is somewhat controversial for reasons I'll explain later, but I have to say, it really worked on me, especially when Alex (Glenn Close) appears behind Beth (Anne Archer). "What are you doing here? Why are you here?" gave me chills

BEST LINE

"I'm not gonna be ignored, Dan!"

- It's a simple line, but Glenn Close's delivery is absolutely perfect

ROTTEN TOMATOES SCORE

74%

ROTTEN TOMATOES CRITICS CONSENSUS

"A potboiler in the finest sense, Fatal Attraction is a sultry, juicy thriller that's hard to look away from once it gets going."

IMDB SYNOPSIS

"A married man's one-night stand comes back to haunt him when that lover begins to stalk him and his family."

DIRECTOR

Adrian Lyne

MAIN CAST

Michael Douglas, Glenn Close, Anne Archer, Ellen Hamilton, Stuart Pankin

THOUGHTS

• Considered one of the quintessential erotic thrillers, I was struck by how early and how drastically the movie becomes distinctly unerotic. The sexy part of Dan (Michael Douglas) and Alex's (Glenn Close) affair only lasts for the first 30 minutes or so, before things take a very dramatic turn and the drama and tension only escalate for the rest of the movie. Given the circumstances and the moral transgressions at the heart of the movie, some viewers might not find any parts of the film to be erotic at all
• Similarly, a huge part of the intrigue here is the fact that Dan is entirely complicit and not at all innocent in this situation, so opinions may vary on how much of a victim he was vs. how much of this was justified (although once Alex got to the point of kidnapping Dan's daughter, yeah, that's pretty unjustifiable)
• I was strongly reminded of Cape Fear in the sense that Dan knows Alex is dangerous, he knows his family is at risk, but he can't actually do anything about it legally until Alex commits any sort of crime (at which point it's almost too late)
• I must admit, throughout the whole movie I kept assuming that Alex was lying about being pregnant, mostly just based on preconceived notions and how other, similar movies and stories would have played out. But after reading about the movie after the fact, I think it's safe to say that it's official, she really was pregnant. And honestly, even more so than if she was lying, I think that this does add even more complexity to the story
• I mentioned that the ending was controversial. It was a reshoot after test audiences reacted negatively to the original ending, and several people disagreed with the change, including Glenn Close. Like I said, I did find the new ending to be effective, but I can also acknowledge that it's a little hackneyed in a "standard thriller movie climax" way. I mostly just like it for the performances. The original ending is available on Youtube, however, and you can watch it here (although it won't really mean much to you if you haven't seen the movie)
• Finally, you may be surprised (and I'm a little surprised myself) that I've gone through this whole review without mentioning perhaps its most famous scene, the one involving a pet bunny rabbit. It is a really good scene, and the tension is palpable while Beth approaches what she's about to discover, but for me it's ultimately just one more tense moment in a movie that's full of them

Up next: Well gang, it's a big one, and a movie I've been looking forward to reviewing for a very long time. In the words of Lucille Bluth, "Here's some money, go see a Star War". That's right, from 1977, it's Star Wars, the movie that started it all. Plus, stay tuned for a big announcement next time

#29-B: MISERY (1990)

THRILL SCALE 1-10

10

HAVE I SEEN IT BEFORE?

Many times

BEST SEQUENCE

It has to be the hobbling scene

BEST LINE

Annie: "When I was growing up in Bakersfield, my favourite thing in all the world was to go to the movies on Saturday afternoons for the Chapter Plays."

Paul: "Cliffhangers."

Annie: "I know that, Mr. Man! They also called them serials. I'm not stupid, ya know... Anyway, my favourite was Rocketman, and once it was a no-brakes chapter. The bad guy stuck him in a car on a mountain road and knocked him out and welded the door shut and tore out the brakes and started him to his death, and he woke up and tried to steer and tried to get out but the car went off a cliff before he could escape! And it crashed and burned and I was so upset and excited, and the next week, you better believe I was first in line. And they always start with the end of the last week. And there was Rocketman, trying to get out, and here comes the cliff, and just before the car went off the cliff, he jumped free! And all the kids cheered! But I didn't cheer. I stood right up and started shouting, 'This isn't what happened last week! Have you all got amnesia? They just cheated us! This isn't fair! HE DIDN'T GET OUT OF THE COCK-A-DOODIE CAR!'"

ROTTEN TOMATOES SCORE

86%

ROTTEN TOMATOES CRITICS CONSENSUS

"Elevated by standout performances from James Caan and Kathy Bates, this taut and frightening film is one of the best Stephen King adaptations to date."

IMDB SYNOPSIS

"After a famous author is rescued from a car crash by a fan of his novels, he comes to realize that the care he is receiving is only the beginning of a nightmare of captivity and abuse."

DIRECTOR

Rob Reiner

MAIN CAST

James Caan, Kathy Bates, Richard Farnsworth, Frances Sternhagen, Lauren Bacall

THOUGHTS

• I may be inflating the Thrill Score a little bit, but this really is one of my favourite thrillers and it might be my favourite Stephen King adaptation. A tight, tense thriller with iconic moments and incredible performances, plus some pitch-black comedy. Noteworthy also as one of King's few stories with no supernatural elements whatsoever. Just two people in close quarters, engaged in a battle of wits and wills
• The performances are really what make this movie for me, especially since it's basically a two-hander (but Richard Farnsworth and Frances Sternhagen have some fun moments). James Caan conveys a lot with a relatively subtle performance, and his physical acting is superb. Anytime he takes a hit to the legs, you can practically feel his pain. And speaking of his legs, a lot of credit goes to the makeup and special effects that made his injuries look so terribly believable
• Kathy Bates, however, she's the real star of the show, and it's one of my favourite performances ever. The subtle ways she creeps under your skin, making you come to understand that she is not a stable person. Her sudden outbursts, which can be downright hilarious. At times I wonder, is Bates hamming it up a little much? But on this last watch, it occurred to me, that's basically who Annie Wilkes is. Putting up a normal facade, hiding the sociopath within, sometimes going a little over-the-top with it and not being able to modulate properly. I honestly think it's a fun added layer to Bates' performance to look at it this way
• There's also something pitiable about Annie Wilkes. She's a lonely woman, who doesn't have much joy in her life; the Misery books are pretty much all she has. She takes it to the extreme, of course, but it's possible to find some sympathy for her
• The script was written by William Goldman, whose work we've talked about several times already (All the President's Men, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and Marathon Man). I do believe this will be the last of his movies we'll talk about (although shout out, as well, to Goldman and Rob Reiner's previous collaboration, one of my favourite movies, The Princess Bride). Also, the direct opposite of Stephen King's reaction to The Shining, King loved Misery and called it one of the best adaptations of his work. This is noteworthy also because of a huge change between movie and book, in a pivotal scene. Spoilers follow (and also TW for a description of violence)
• My pick for the best sequence, the hobbling scene, is absolutely excruciating to watch. Annie discovers that Paul has been exploring the house and getting out of his (locked) room, so she breaks both of his ankles with a sledgehammer. It's perfectly acted, and the special effects are extremely convincing. And yet, it's interesting that they went this route, because in the book Annie chops Paul's foot off with an axe. Goldman and Reiner disagreed on this, with Reiner wanting the sledgehammer and Goldman the axe. Ultimately, Goldman agreed that the sledgehammer was the right choice
• Side note, runner-up favourite line is Annie's rant about the vulgarity in Paul's new novel: "What do you think I say when I go to the feedstore in town, 'Oh, now Wally, give me a bag of that F-ing pig feed, and ten pounds of that bitchly cow corn'? And at the bank do I tell Mrs. Bollinger, 'Oh, here's one big bastard of a check, give me some of your Christ-ing money'?"
• Bates won the Oscar for Best Actress that year, deservedly so, and also a rare Oscar win for a horror/thriller film
• Lastly, reviewing Misery gives me the chance to pay tribute to Mr. Rob Reiner, tragically taken from us last year. I haven't seen all of Reiner's movies, but I understand Misery to be the only one that would have a place on a list of thrilling movies. It's amazing how many different genres Reiner worked in, though, and with such incredible success. The first decade of his directorial career, especially, gave us one classic movie after the next. This Is Spinal Tap, Stand By Me (also considered one of the best King adaptations of all time, despite not being a horror), the aforementioned The Princess Bride, When Harry Met Sally, Misery, these are some of my favourite movies of all time, all directed by the same guy, within a 6-year span (The Sure Thing and A Few Good Men are also in there, and they're also very good movies!). Thank you for all the joy and entertainment you brought us, Mr. Reiner, and thank you for the changes for good you made in this world

Up next: I saw it once, a long time ago, but I don't remember much about it. From 1987, Fatal Attraction

#29: THE SHINING (1980)

THRILL SCALE 1-10

10

HAVE I SEEN IT BEFORE?

Yes, several times, although I don't think I've rewatched it recently. Probably not within the last ten years

BEST SEQUENCE

There are so many good options to choose from, especially the scenes that introduced unforgettable images, like Danny and the Grady sisters in the hallway or the blood pouring out of the elevator. I'm going to go with Jack's investigation of Room 237 after Danny is attacked, though. It's maybe the scariest part of the movie for me, and I like the juxtaposition of titillation and horror. The shot of Shelley Duvall screaming as Jack hacks through the bathroom door is also incredibly effective

BEST LINE

Again, lots of good options, but I can't deny "Heeere's Johnny!" Honourable mentions to "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy" and the way Jack says "Wendy, darling, light of my life"

ROTTEN TOMATOES SCORE

84%

ROTTEN TOMATOES CRITICS CONSENSUS

"Though it deviates from Stephen King's novel, Stanley Kubrick's The Shining is a chilling, often baroque journey into madness -- exemplified by an unforgettable turn from Jack Nicholson."

IMDB SYNOPSIS

"A family heads to an isolated hotel for the winter, where a sinister presence influences the father into violence. At the same time, his psychic son sees horrifying forebodings from both the past and the future."

DIRECTOR

Stanley Kubrick

MAIN CAST

Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Danny Lloyd, Scatman Crothers

THOUGHTS

• I've mentioned before that Stephen King is my favourite author, and The Shining is one of his best books, so let's discuss this right off the bat: King doesn't like this movie, or, at least, he doesn't think it's a good adaptation of his novel. And honestly, I completely understand his point of view. The book is about a decent man, a loving father and husband, who is fighting his own alcoholism and violent impulses and who is basically possessed by the hotel and made to lose that battle. This is perhaps also due to the length of the book compared to the length of a movie, but Jack's descent into madness is much more gradual in the book, and the movie loses some of that suspense and nuance. Crucially, in the book we also get several early scenes of Jack enjoying his time at the Overlook, and the quality time he spends with Danny and Wendy
• That last point, in particular, we really don't get in the movie. Jack Nicholson's movie Jack is a pretty unstable asshole right from the beginning, and there aren't any scenes that I can think of of him being a loving father and husband. Despite all the supernatural happenings in the movie, it comes across less as a story of a man being possessed by a haunted hotel, and more a tale of an already dangerous man hitting his breaking point thanks to cabin fever
• That's enough comparing between book and movie, though, because even though I think the book is excellent and terrifying, the movie is too, in slightly different ways, and it contains scenes and moments and images that I will simply never forget
• It's a total cliche to say that a movie's setting is its own character, but I think this is the best example of that. This movie simply wouldn't be this movie if the Overlook Hotel wasn't so singularly memorable, and crucial to the movie's effectiveness. The massive, imposing exterior, the long, slightly cramped hallways that Danny trikes through, the huge, empty lounge where Jack writes, they're all integral to the movie's impact
• Nicholson doesn't hold back, he chews up the scenery with gusto, but he's pretty convincing and terrifying. Danny Lloyd, as Danny, is also quite good for a child actor. Supposedly Kubrick managed to hide the really scary stuff from Lloyd, who didn't even know he was in a horror movie
• Now, I had always heard that Kubrick was awful to Shelley Duvall while making The Shining. And this is not meant to question anyone's personal experiences, but this may have been less verifiably true than I thought, with even Duvall having varying emotions about her time working with Kubrick. It does seem like it was an exhausting, emotionally draining experience, though, and that definitely comes across in multiple scenes, including the aforementioned sequence of Jack chopping through the bathroom door, or of him pursuing her up the flight of stairs
• Finally, I said something similar five summers ago when I reviewed The Thing (and holy shit, that was five summers ago?!): if you, like me, are experiencing a heatwave currently, The Shining is a pretty damn cold movie. Just imagine that you're Jack, limping through the snowy hedge maze, eventually freezing to death, as a surefire way to beat those summertime blues

Up next: Stephen King adaptations have appeared multiple times on both the official AFI list and the Readers' Choice list, but The Shining is his last appearance. I'm not quite ready to say goodbye yet, though, so we'll have one last Stephen King movie, and it's one of my favourites. From 1990, it's Misery (and it's also a pretty cold movie, come to think of it)

#30: THE DEER HUNTER (1978)

THRILL SCALE 1-10

5

HAVE I SEEN IT BEFORE?

Yes, once, about 20 years ago

BEST SEQUENCE

All the Russian roulette scenes are harrowing and tense and darkly suspenseful, and you could pick any one of those. However, in terms of most memorable sequence, I have a soft spot for the scene of the guys all hanging out in a bar, playing pool and belting out "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" by Frankie Valli

BEST LINE

"If anything happens, Mike, don't leave, don't leave me over there."

ROTTEN TOMATOES SCORE

86%

ROTTEN TOMATOES CRITICS CONSENSUS

"Its greatness is blunted by its length and one-sided point of view, but the film's weaknesses are overpowered by Michael Cimino's sympathetic direction and a series of heartbreaking performances from Robert De Niro, Meryl Streep, and Christopher Walken."

IMDB SYNOPSIS

"The lives of a group of friends are forever changed by the Vietnam War."

DIRECTOR

Michael Cimino

MAIN CAST

Robert De Niro, Christopher Walken, John Savage, John Cazale, Meryl Streep

THOUGHTS

• I've said it before, and I'll say it again, it's not a very cheerful exercise to decide how thrilling a dark and sombre war movie is. War is Hell, and war movies aren't really in the same category as most of the films I've reviewed. Assigning an arbitrary Thrill Score is extra hard for a movie like The Deer Hunter, which is 3 hours and 3 minutes long, and, shall we say, somewhat leisurely paced at times. A huge chunk of the movie's first hour takes place at a Russian wedding, and a thrilling wedding it is not. There are some who say that this attention to detail is crucial to show what the characters' normal lives are like, and to let us get to know these men before they go off to war, and I can see the logic behind that argument. It could also be said that the scenes of normalcy make the horrifying violence all the more startling, and I can understand that argument too. However, the movie certainly takes its time for long stretches, and I'm not sure I'm personally convinced that it's necessary to this extent
• That said, a 5/10 Thrill Score might seem generous, but I'm following my Ben-Hur philosophy. The movie as a whole isn't all that thrilling, but the heart-pounding sequences really do stick in your mind. That brings us to this movie's use of Russian roulette, a terrifying concept that has claimed many lives. I don't want to describe it in detail, but if you're unfamiliar, here's the Wikipedia article. There aren't many movies with scenes tenser than the Russian roulette sequences in The Deer Hunter, they really do rip your guts out. However, The Deer Hunter was fairly controversial when it came out due to its negative depiction of Vietnamese people. This is compounded by the fact that there's no evidence whatsoever that any Russian roulette occurred during the Vietnam War, making this an effective central metaphor for the movie, but one that was pretty much invented by Cimino
• De Niro is very good as the stoic Mike, but it's Christopher Walken who really leaves an impression. For people my age, it may even be hard to think of Walken as a serious dramatic actor, given his warm, relaxed public persona and the fact that he hasn't been known for any really serious roles for a very long time. He won the Best Supporting Oscar for The Deer Hunter, though, and it's well deserved, especially for the way his cheerful and carefree early-movie character contrasts with the haunted (and haunting) late-movie scenes
• Aside from Walken's Oscar, The Deer Hunter won four more, including Best Picture and Best Director
• This was John Cazale's last movie, and he died before it was released. We've talked about Cazale before (Dog Day Afternoon) and we'll talk about him again (The Godfather). Cazale was only in five movies total, but every one of those movies was nominated for Best Picture, and three of them won. Meryl Streep has a relatively small role in The Deer Hunter, and it's said that she accepted the part mostly to be close to Cazale, her romantic partner until he died
• Lastly, not to be too glib about a very serious subject, but please enjoy Bob & Doug McKenzie playing The Beerhunter

Up next: We'll hear from two guys we haven't seen in a little while. It's Stanley Kubrick's The Shining, based on the book by Stephen King (and we'll talk about it more, but believe it or not, King wasn't a fan of the movie)

BONUS REVIEW: A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET (1984)

THRILL SCALE 1-10

9

HAVE I SEEN IT BEFORE?

Yes, a few times

BEST SEQUENCE

I'll talk about a couple of other scenes in the "Best Kill" category later, but for "Best Sequence" I'll go with the iconic bathtub scene. The shot of Freddy's glove rising out of the water is unforgettable

BEST LINE

"Whatever you do, don't fall asleep"

ROTTEN TOMATOES SCORE

94%

ROTTEN TOMATOES CRITICS CONSENSUS

"Wes Craven's intelligent premise, combined with the horrifying visual appearance of Freddy Krueger, still causes nightmares to this day."

IMDB SYNOPSIS

"Teenager Nancy Thompson must uncover the dark truth concealed by her parents after she and her friends become targets of the spirit of a serial killer with a bladed glove in their dreams, in which if they die, it kills them in real life."

DIRECTOR

Wes Craven

MAIN CAST

Heather Langenkamp, Robert Englund, Johnny Depp, Ronee Blakley, John Saxon, Amanda Wyss, Nick Corri

THOUGHTS

• As some of you may recall, for the past few years now, I've been reviewing the Friday the 13th franchise every time a Friday the 13th rolled around. In my last Friday the 13th review I decided, this is all well and good, but we're missing out on some other famous slasher franchises, namely Halloween and A Nightmare on Elm Street, and I would consider these three properties to be the Slasher Trifecta. And now, here we are! From this point forward, with every Friday the 12th, I'll review another Elm Street movie (and Halloween movies on every Friday the 14th)
• Given the nature of this, comparisons may be hard to avoid, but I'll try to focus on each franchise as its own thing. I will just say, though, Halloween and Friday the 13th both started out fairly grounded, adding more supernatural touches as time went by (especially Friday the 13th, which basically turns Jason into a magical zombie), but Nightmare was supernatural right from the jump, and it's this flavour of scares that really sets it apart from the others
• Director Wes Craven really let his imagination run wild with Freddy Krueger, a killer who can attack you in your dreams, and Craven's creativity and inventiveness are a lot of fun in this movie, even aside from how effectively he uses the lack of real-world constraints to scare us. Moments like Nancy's phone turning into Freddy's mouth and tongue, or his arms crazily stretching out while stalking Tina, or the aforementioned shot of Freddy's glove reaching out of Nancy's bathtub, all of these moments are not just scary and shocking, but also incredibly memorable
• Speaking of Freddy's glove, certainly not the most practical movie weapon, but maybe the most iconic?
• Which brings us to Best Kill: Johnny Depp getting dragged into his own bed, and a geyser of blood flooding his ceiling
• Second-Best Kill: Tina getting thrown around the room and dragged across the ceiling
• There are some fairly melodramatic performances in this movie, especially from Ronee Blakley as Nancy's mom, and while there's a kind of fun scrappiness to Heather Langenkamp's performance as Nancy, she's not great. In fact, I think Baby Johnny Depp probably gives the best performance. He was 21 or so, and this was his first on-screen performance ever
• I did like Langenkamp setting a bunch of traps for Freddy, a sequence that gave very strong Home Alone vibes
• Especially in comparison to other slasher villains, Freddy would come to be known as the one with a strong personality and morbid sense of humour, but we actually don't get a whole lot of that in this first movie. Which is probably just as well as a starting point, since we need to be scared of him first
• Finally, even without factoring in Freddy as the killer, I find the whole premise of this movie incredibly effective - the idea that you can't let yourself fall asleep, or you'll get killed. When you really stop to think about it, the whole idea of sleeping is really kind of strange, and the fact that the human body requires it, and you can't delay it forever, adds a lot of tension to Nightmare. Eventually Freddy will get his chance to get you, and hey, if you don't sleep, you're going to end up dead anyway. You only have so long before your body forces you into a dangerous situation
• And that's our first Nightmare! We'll be seeing Freddy again in 2027, on Friday, February 12th

#31: CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND (1977)

THRILL SCALE 1-10

9

HAVE I SEEN IT BEFORE?

Yes, once, probably in high school

BEST SEQUENCE

The abduction of Barry, the little boy

BEST LINE

I'd have to sing it for you, but if you know solfège, it's "Re - Mi - Do - Do (down an octave) - Sol"

ROTTEN TOMATOES SCORE

91%

ROTTEN TOMATOES CRITICS CONSENSUS

"Close Encounters of the Third Kind is deeply humane sci-fi exploring male obsession, cosmic mysticism, and music."

IMDB SYNOPSIS

"An Indiana electric lineman finds his quiet and ordinary daily life turned upside down after a close encounter with a UFO, spurring him to an obsessed cross-country quest for answers as a momentous event approaches."

DIRECTOR

Steven Spielberg

MAIN CAST

Richard Dreyfuss, François Truffaut, Melinda Dillon, Bob Balaban, Teri Garr, Cary Guffey

THOUGHTS

• Movie thrills can come in various forms. Sometimes we're reacting to terrifying monsters or sadistic killers, sometimes to frantic shootouts or death-defying stunts. Other times, however, thrills can come from pure spectacle and movie magic, when our jaws drop in wonder and amazement. That's largely the case here. Referring especially to the last half hour of the movie, the meeting between humans and aliens, it's simply wondrous. It's not action packed, it's not even really scary, just eerie at most. And yet, I was enthralled and, yes, thrilled. In fact, while typing that out, I just convinced myself to bump the Thrill Score up by a half point
• I've reviewed other movies that maybe could have benefited from the same argument, movies like The Wizard of Oz, 2001: A Space Odyssey, and even Spielberg's E.T. (which absolutely shares a lot of the same DNA as Close Encounters), but there's just something really special about what Spielberg does here. He doesn't rush, he takes his time with showing us this colossal mothership, and we end up feeling just like the characters in the movie must have felt. When I reviewed 2001 I saw it in the theatre shortly after, and I'm definitely going to keep my eyes open for a big screen showing of Close Encounters as well
• This also contains some of the best uses of light and darkness I've ever seen in a movie, from the very effective shots of whole city blocks going dark (something that's easy for us to imagine, but no less effective to see), to the vibrant and otherworldly beams of light that come from the UFOs. In fact, my pick for the best sequence, Barry's abduction, is the only really scary part of the movie, and it's pretty terrifying. It's entirely done with light, though. We never even get a glimpse of the aliens themselves until very close to the end
• You do kind of need to buy into the visual appearance of the aliens a little bit, especially the short ones wandering around (who were just a bunch of tweenaged girls in costumes), but this didn't bother me so much because Spielberg had already pulled me in by that point so it was easy to suspend my disbelief
• Even though I'm largely focusing on the special effects, the actors are all very good and convincing at making us believe they're seeing what we're seeing, a skill that's much more necessary these days in the age of CGI than it was back in 1977. It's also interesting to note that Close Encounters was Spielberg's direct follow-up to Jaws, a much less fantastical movie
• As always, John Williams' music played a big part in making this movie work so well, and once you've heard it you'll never be able to forget the famous 5-note sequence. Another favourite scene was the one in the Indian village, with massive crowds of people joyfully singing the melody
• Finally, I want to shout out Devils Tower, which looks so bizarre that you might think it was just another special effect Spielberg invented, but which is in fact a very real monolith in Wyoming. It's such a cool setting, and I loved the scenes of Roy constructing his replica, especially when the same landform is shown on the TV right beside his model

Up next: The Deer Hunter, 1978's Best Picture winner