issue 9 // volume 44

So bad, it’s

good: Terrible
horror that’s

still fun

> Awful doesn’t
mean boring

Duncan Fingarson
Columnist

 

phrase that is sometimes used in

elation to movies, or other forms
of media, is that something is “so bad
it’s good.” In the case of movies, this is
often applied to films that have become
cult classics. Such films are typically
bad, by many standards, but people
still want to watch them. Why?

The idea is that these movies have
gone so far beyond bad that they wrapped
around and become good again, though
perhaps not for the reasons the director
originally wanted. Most directors don’t
want their horror movies to be treated
like comedies. Comedy is, however, where
a lot of these movies end up. Here, then,
are a few horror movies released over
the last few years that were objectively
terrible, but still kind of fun. Fair warning:
None of these are objectively good, and
are probably best viewed with a friend.
Misery loves company, after all.

 

 

Still from ‘The Quiet Ones’ via wheresthejump.com

 

Apollo 18 (201)

A found-footage style movie made in the years following
Paranormal Activity’s popularizing of the technique, Apollo
18 is awful... but it’s also incredibly entertaining. Ostensibly
a record of the final, unreleased Apollo 18 moon mission
that failed horribly and was covered up, this film’s plot is
full of holes big enough to fly the space shuttle through.
The monster is stupid, the science nonexistent, and all

the characters make frequent terrible decisions. It is a
rambling, incoherent mess, and | loved every minute of it.

arts // no. 7

The Wolfman (2010)

Admittedly, a great deal of the entertainment value in
this film comes from the fact that the police inspector
is played by Hugo Weaving, better known for his roles
as Agent Smith and Elrond in The Matrix and Lord

of the Rings respectively. The story is a fairly typical
werewolf tale, so if watching Agent Elrond investigate
werewolves doesn’t sound funny, maybe skip this one.

The Last Exorcism Part IT (2013)

Easily the worst of the movies on this list, with some truly
terrible effects and a barely memorable plot. This one
unfortunately might go past “so bad it’s good” straight into
“bad” again, but is still worth mentioning for how completely
half-assed it is. Friends, and quite possibly alcohol, are not
required to enjoy watching it, but would certainly help.

The Quiet Ones (2014)

A British-made film that actually has a couple solid jump
scares, and a plot that sounds good on paper. Produced
by horror-veteran Hammer Film Productions, the movie
follows a university professor attempting to prove that
the supernatural doesn’t exist and that there’s no such
thing as ghosts. The professor is of course wrong, and the
possessed girl he’s trying to cure proves to be a lot more
dangerous than he originally thought. Special mention
goes to a scene involving the demon/ghost branding
people, for reasons which are obvious once you've seen it.

YouTube Music Video Classics: The early Hip

> Remembering Gord Downie

Jerrison Oracion
Senior Columnist

 

QO: October 17, 2017, Gord Downie
passed away from brain cancer. The
following day was one of the saddest
days in Canada and a lot of people
were affected about this, including
Justin Trudeau and Heather Hiscox.
Downie’s band, The Tragically Hip,
made a lot of songs about Canada and
had a distinctive Canadian sound.

The band’s heyday was in the 1990s
where they had a lot of hit singles and
interesting music videos that made
them hip. Here are some of the greatest
music videos of the band’s early years.

“Blow at High Dough’ (1989)

I remembered this song as the theme song
of Made in Canada (a show on CBC that
Rick Mercer was in). The song begins with
the famous line that Downie says, “They
filmed a movie once in my hometown.”
The music video of the song involves the
band performing in front of a background
showing archival footage of the golden

age of Hollywood, which part of the song
talks about. At one point, it looks as if
they are performing in a volcano. Also,
each member of the band is showcased.

Link: https://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=aGRNEJiD3PY

“Courage” (1992)

Downie dances a lot when he performs,
and this is showcased in the music
video of this song, which is ahead of
its time because he looks like the lead
singer of Sum 41. It pays tribute to the
book The Watch that Ends the Night,
written by Hugh MacLennan, whom the
song is dedicated to. This is one of the
most ’gos songs that I know. Downie
can be seen wearing a homemade
Boston Bruins sweater, which shows
that he is a big supporter of the team.
This song can be heard in the Atom
Egoyan film The Sweet Hereafter.

Link: https://www.youtube.com/
watch ?v=FhpezwGtDEg

“At the Hundredth Meridian’ (1992)
The band tried to make it big in the
United States and it did not happen.
However, it looks like they do in this
music video. Downie takes a picture
with a polaroid, and as it develops,
various objects including a horse and a
chained person are moved with a crane
as the band performs. The music video
was filmed in the United States. Some
of the lines in the song are similar to
the lines in the R.E.M. song It’s the
End of the World as We Know It.

Link: https://www.youtube.com/
watch ?v=BC Fooa8V-Ag

“Ahead by a Century” (1996)

You likely heard this song as the theme
song of the TV show Anne, and I thought
that it was made for the show and the
song is made during the band’s early
years. The music video begins with a boy
being stung by a hornet in a tree, and

we see the same person a few decades
later being chased by a gang. In scenes
where the band performs, the video is

made up of frames that are not perfectly
aligned. The farm on which the video
is set looks like a farm in Canada.

Link: https://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=QE2joQsWXJg

“Bobcaygeon” (1998)

Asong about a cottage town in Ontario
would be one of the most famous songs
of the band. Downie plays a police officer
who manages a crowd at a concert in
Toronto, and the rest of band is seen as
a band called The Constellations. Next,
a protester interrupts it and as the riot
starts, he sees the constellations that
he saw in Bobcaygeon. It ends with the
rest of the band including Rob Baker,
Gord Sinclair, Johnny Fay, and Paul
Langlois playing. On Baker’s guitar, it
says, “This machine kills fascists’—a
machine that reappears in the band’s
last album, Man Machine Poem.

Link: https://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=06QDjDPRF5c