![]() Summer is finally here, and that means it’s time to kick off your shoes and head outside to the wonder of the great outdoors. PsychoĬast: Ellora Torchia, Joel Fry, Hayley Squires Even still, The Thing’s prequel is a great concept well executed, and even a slightly pale imitation of the original movie is more fun than most other horror movies you can stream. The biggest tragedy of this version of the Thing is the production originally featured practical effects reminiscent of Carpenter’s classic, but those were scrapped in favor of CGI creations that aren’t nearly as neat or scary. The story of the Norwegian base that first fell victim to the Thing monster’s mimicry and rampage is every bit as brutal, bloody, and creepy as the original, even if no one here is as charming or interesting as the characters in the first movie. Yes, really, the prequel to John Carpenter’s masterpiece is actually pretty good. The early days of summer, just as everything’s starting to heat up again, are the perfect time to throw on a very chilly horror movie, and 2011’s The Thing is an excellent option. It's a smart, immaculately-made horror that's a must-see for any slasher fans or, indeed, any fans of cinema in general.Photo: Kerry Hayes/Universal Pictures/Everett CollectionĬast: Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Joel Edgerton, Ulrich Thomsen It's easy to see why so many filmmakers have paid homage to it, and why we can't seem to stop returning to Bates' eerie roadside motel. Watching Psycho today, you can't help but feel it was ahead of its time. Despite an all-star cast, the experimental film flopped, with Roger Ebert noting, "Attending this new version, I felt oddly as if I were watching a provincial stock company doing the best it could without the Broadway cast." It was a reminder that filmmaking is far more than just a series of boxes to check. It also has a legacy of its own, spawning two sequels, a prequel TV show, and a 1998 shot-for-shot remake by Gus van Sant. This combination of suspense and terrifying release has become a staple of the slasher genre, with pretty much every staple of the genre owing it some debt. The creeping, eerie strings build as Hitchcock uses first-person camera angles from the killer's perspective to remind us that the victims are always being watched. Of course, there were horror films that put viewers on the edge of their seats before Psycho, but it revolutionized suspense in large part thanks to its inventive camera work and radical score by Bernard Herrmann. Psycho works because of, rather than despite, its unpresuming scale. Sometimes all you need to be scary is a knife. There are no extras, no special effects, no big budget, so it's very modest." "In the case of Psycho, it could happen next door," the film's star, Anthony Perkins, told Johnny Carson. In Psycho, he achieved new levels of suspense by understanding that we are most scared by the ordinary being confronted by the bizarre. Hitchcock's hardline approach is a testament to how vital he considers suspense to be to Psycho, and to horror in general. It was, at the time, an unusual marketing approach, and the director has since been credited with "inventing" the spoiler warning. ![]() It's the only one we have." Hitchcock also encouraged theaters to deny entry to late arrivals the viewer, he believed, should experience the film from start to finish, allowing every twist and turn to come as a surprise. One of the film's taglines was, "If you can't keep a secret, please stay away from people after you see Psycho." Another read, "After you see Psycho, don't give away the ending. We won't spoil the famous twist, because Hitchcock was passionate about giving people a spoiler-free viewing experience. ![]() ![]() Then a horrific event turns the story on its head, leading to a murder investigation. She winds up at the Bates Motel, where she meets owner Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins). Secretary Marion Cane (Janet Leigh) steals cash from her employer and anxiously sets off on the road.
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