Horror-ific movies to watch this October

» The best of the Halloween genre

Cazzy Lewchuk
Staff Writer

he Halloween season is

upon us! As we begin
planning our costumes and
decorating for parties, we
inevitably find the spooky
movies available on Netflix,
cable, and (scariest of all)
physical DVD. There are
hundreds of movies available
to get you into the spirit of
Halloween, and here’s a look at
some of the genre essentials.

Slasher

The concept of a serial
killer stalking young adults
is one of the most iconic and
imitated horror plotlines.
Halloween (1978) was one of
the original and scariest pieces,
in which escaped psychiatric
patient and psychopath
Michael Myers slashes college
kids on Halloween night. The
movie featured much more
suspense and tension over gore
to build fright, leading to its
iconic status. Other iconic and
suspenseful entries in the genre

: include Psycho (1960) and The :
: Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974). :

Paranormal/Ghost
The supernatural has always

: been frightening, and haunted

: forces conflicting with human

: protagonists make for one scary
: time indeed. One of the greatest
: modern entries is Sinister (2012),
: in which a true-crime writer

: discovers disturbing videotapes

: in his attic—and the frightening
: entity beyond them. Indeed,

: writers tormented by literal

: (and inner) demons have always
: proven popular—like in The

: Shining (1980), in which Jack

: Torrance retreats to a secluded

: hotel for the winter with his

: family. The evil within quickly

: drives him close to the edge in

: what’s considered one of the

: scariest movies of all time. Other :
: great horror movies featuring
: hauntings include Insidious

: (2010), Poltergeist (1982), and
: The Ring (2002).

Demonic/Religious

: with the goodness that religion

: provides, it frightens audiences

: for their perpetual real-life basis,
: particularly the movies based

: on true stories. The Exorcist

: (1973)—another contender for

: scariest movie of all time—

: features a little girl possessed by
: something truly evil. It was one

: of the original demon possession :
: movies, along with Rosemary's

When demons from another : Baby (1968), in which a woman

: : : : t thi
: realm or evil place conflict becomes pregnant by something

: demonic. For other terrifying

Lite ies ELAS

: demon-infested children and

: adults alike, check out The Last
: Exorcism (2010), The Omen

: (1976), and The Exorcism of

: Emily Rose (2005).

Comedy/Parody
The opposite of fright and

: horror is humour and comedy,

and many filmmakers have

: blended the two together. Self-

: awareness, playing gore and

: ghosts for laughs, and parodying
: conventional horror standards

  

Image via thinkstock.co,

: can make for iconic genre-

: busting films. The Cabin in the

: Woods (2012) featured college

: kids going up to the woods for

: typical fun/sexy times, but their
: fate embodies and parodies

: almost every horror movie

: ever made. Other excellent

: horror-comedies include Young
: Frankenstein (1974), What We

: Do in the Shadows (2014), Hocus
: Pocus (1993), Beetlejuice (1988),
: and The Nightmare Before

: Christmas (1993).

 

Running the show

» Local producer/director Matthew Willis talks Vancouver theatre

Adam Tatelman
Sn Writer

Te paradox of theatre
performance in Vancouver
is one of quantity. There are
lots of opportunities, but also a
surplus of actors, Combine that
with super-expensive venues and
advertising, and you have a perfect
roadblock to discourage new faces
from chasing their dreams on
stage. What’s a young director to
do?
Matthew Willis, head of
Quimera Theatre Collective,
met with the Other Press at the
Vancouver Public Library this
week to discuss his methods of
producing and directing theatre.
“The first concern for me is
space,” said Willis. “Something

is site-specific theatre. It can be
done ina library, a parking lot.”

for site-specific performances
can be acquired for close to $200,
according to Willis. This is a mere
fraction of what a formal venue
would cost. For example, a space
like the Queen Elizabeth Theatre
rents to non-profit organizations
for over $3,000, according to their
website.

A great challenge, of course,
is always the budget. Aspiring
directors must always be willing

: going on, come see it.

: to invest some of their own money
: into their projects, fully cognizant
: of the risk involved. The director's
: goal should be to pay back all

: investors on a first-come-first-

: served basis.

Willis also finds it difficult to

: advertise on a low budget. Street-
? level productions cannot usually
: afford the large-scale billboard

: advertising that bigger theatre

: companies use. Instead, he relies
: on word of mouth.

“Social media is extremely

: helpful. Facebook, Twitter

: updates, Vlogs, Blogs,” said Willis.
: “I doa lot of cold-calling to artistic
: directors and theatre companies

: saying, ‘Look, I have this show

9

He also sends over 500

: e-mails per production.

In the course of any

that’s been emerging in Vancouver : production, Willis finds that

: advertising auditions is less

: onerous since most Vancouver
Insurance and zoning permits : actors use the same sources to find
: parts.

“In my audition process, it’s

: not about finding who looks the

: part—it’s about finding who can

: do the part the way you want it,”

: he said. “The Vancouver Public

: Library has an audition page that
: actors visit quite frequently.”

He also recommends the use

of Facebook groups to get the
: word out.

“Get as many people in the

: room as you can, because youre

: literally shot-gunning it,” he said.

Willis also advises directors

to take full advantage of post-
: secondary funding opportunities
: to improve their skills.

“You have to find an

opportunity to make mistakes.

: The best place to do that is at

: school. I wouldn't be the producer
: 1am today if it wasn’t for the UBC
: Players Club,” he said. “This is

: your laboratory. This is your time

: to explore and to make mistakes

: and learn your own voice as an

: artist”

Though Quimera Collective is

: an unofficial organization, Willis
: recommends creating a non-

: profit company. There is a lot of

: paperwork involved, but also a lot
: of benefits,

“You can write tax-refundable

receipts for donations. You can

: get free space at CBC studios,” he
: said. “There are grants you can

: apply for that are only available to
: organizations.”

Willis described the rapid

turnover among theatre artists

: as “a war of attrition,” though he

: maintained that a love of his work
: makes the struggles of production
: worthwhile.

“One of the things I love

: about being a producer is being
: able to make work happen for

: other people,” he said. “I get a

: satisfaction from just doing that,
: and I'll keep doing it.’

  

Image via thinkstock.co,