A Brush With Genius...

Every once in a while there is a scene, a bit of dialog, an acting touch, something that makes you think greatness is evident in this artistic collaboration. I say to myself "The people involved with this film aren't living up to their potential." These are scenes I like to highlight as a brush with genius. And with that, I give you A Brush With Genius #1:

from Night of the Creeps (1986):

The scene is a college frat party. J.C. goes to find out about Cynthia on behalf of Chris (who's "too chicken shit to do anything about it"). J.C. is obviously a charmer, and quickly gets rid of Cynthia's date, Steve. Once they're alone J.C. admits that he is only there to find out more about Cynthia for Chris, who would rather sit back and wonder about her than to meet her. Steve quickly interrupts the conversation as he has figured out that he's been duped. As J.C. leaves to report back to Chris, the camera, stuck on Cynthia and Steve, slowly pans back. The party continues on behind the characters and the music swells (Jane Weidlin's Blue Kiss). Steve is showing he's territorial and in-charge, while Cynthia looks intrigued at what has just happened. Now SHE is the one who is curious...

Overall, as the camera pans back for that 3 or 4 seconds, all the elements come together perfectly as I think to myself "The people involved with this film aren't living up to their potential."

The Rules

Before I just start entering movies into The Horror Canon, there needs to be a certain set of guidelines. These are the prerequisites for which all nominees must meet:

1) The film being nominated must adhere to the definition of a horror film: a film that strives to elicit the emotions of fear, horror and terror from viewers.

2) The film being nominated must be 5 years past its theatrical release date (or 5 years past its home video release date for direct to video titles).

3) The film being nominated must be feature length (defined as over 40 minutes).

4) The film being nominated must be in its originally released form. This is defined as a film's version that is passed by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA). For nominees that have not been reviewed by the MPAA, it is the version of the film originally released into theaters in its country of origin, or as originally released direct-to-video (This also applies to nominees that were originally released outside of the United States, but were then recut in order to be passed by the MPAA for American audiences). In the event that the film being nominated was released before the MPAA, or was given a certificate of "Not Rated," this is the version of the film that will be reviewed.

So, there they are. The rules...

Welcome to The Horror Canon

Inspired by this recent collaboration by The Cyber-Horror Elite, this little corner of the Internet is a place to celebrate the great horror films of all time.

As many others do, I often spend time with new and unfamiliar movies, hoping for greatness. Sometimes greatness comes... a lot of the time disappointment shows up instead. It's a bummer, but we choose to soldier on... Maybe it makes sense to slow down and remember why we love the genre in the first place.

This blog, for me anyway, will be a place to rediscover the genre. I'll watch movies and share my thoughts. Some will be honored as part of The Horror Canon. Some will be forgotten immediately. Most will fall somewhere in between. Whatever the outcome, it'll be a fun time!