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March 25, 2011

FMWL's March Midnight Madness Tournament - Round One (Part Two of Four)

If you missed Part One of the Round One, go here.
If you want to know who the selection committee for Round One is, here they are:
Now, let's all move on to.....
THE MYERS REGIONAL
 What The Mike says: This is the highest rated film (or, the number one overall seed) vs. the lowest rated.  And boy, does it show.  The Thing, of course. 
What the Selection Committee says:
  • "THE THING is the greatest remake of all time.  THE FOOD is the San Francisco 49ers vs. a rubber chicken.  It would be great if they remade it with the current real-life coach of the 49ers, Mike Singletary, bringing his terrible team to the island to be devoured by giant gerbils." - B.Stank
  • "The Thing: Aw, Food of the Gods, you’re awfully adorable with those fuzzy rats and fuzzy chest hairs on the late and still handsome Leslie Nielsen, but playing against The Thing is like watching Michael Jordan play against the idea that he’s actually retired." - Emily
  • "John Carpenter’s The Thing: “Man is The Warmest Place to Hide." The Food of the Gods: “Welcome to the Bottom of the Food Chain!”  The Food of the Gods does feature an alluring tagline, but John Carpenter’s The Thing wins because, well, it’s John Carpenter AND Kurt Russell and it’s awesome. Fact." - Liam
The Vote: The Thing 12, The Food of the Gods 0 - THE THING moves on!
What The Mike says: I am shocked and appalled that The House of the Devil's IMDB rating was low enough to "earn" it a NINE seed.  Seriously, I'm shocked.  It's one of the best horrors in YEARS, and I give it a nudge over the fun Crusoe/Mars flick.
What the Selection Committee says:
  • "Robinson Crusoe on Mars may make for campy (and monkey-filled) fun, but it's no match for Ti West's retro, understated thrills." - Andreas
  • "Ti West can do no wrong in my book. I ranked this as my #1 film of 2009, it get’s the easy nod this round. Despite seeing this at least a half dozen times, that scene in the graveyard where Megan meets a short and brutal end out of nowhere makes me jump every time still." - Mike S.
  • "I’m confused. Are these not the same movie?" - TL Bugg
The Vote: Robinson Crusoe on Mars 2, The House of the Devil 7 - THE HOUSE OF THE DEVIL moves on!
What The Mike says: I'm ALL ABOUT CLOWNHOUSE here.  I like Stir of Echoes a bunch, sure.  But Clownhouse, as sick and twisted as the story behind it is, was a family tradition when I was growing up.  It's one of the rare movies that's actually kind of a part of me, and it's a shame the director's a perv and now no one can see it.
What the Selection Committee says:
  • "Clownhouse: My feelings on Clownhouse are incredibly complicated (see Paracinema (Note from The Mike: PLEASE READ PARACINEMA, y'all!) Issue 10) and my adoration for all things bacon certainly extends to all things Bacon, but I find Stir of Echoes gets stuck in that goo that often slogs ghost tales, i.e., there being a letdown once (SPOILER ALERT) the ghosts turn out to be just rather than vengeful." - Emily
  • "As much as I enjoy The Sixth Sense, I always found it to be very unfortunate that due to the success of that film, Stir of Echoes went almost completely unnoticed. Stir of Echoes is wicked underrated, brah." - Matt
  • "STIR OF ECHOES has six more degrees than CLOWNHOUSE ever will." - Fred [The Wolf]
The Vote: Stir of Echoes 6, Clownhouse 4 - STIR OF ECHOES moves on!
What The Mike says: I never vote against Carpenter or Kurt Russell.  Period.
What the Selection Committee says:
  • "Scarecrows. What can I say? I live in Iowa." - R.D. Penning
  • "Scarecrows: I LOVE John Carpenter’s insane ‘80s candy, but Scarecrows is one of those low budget ‘80s horrors that could, a film I saw on VHS back when video stores were heaven on earth and one that has lasted through memory and Monsters HD airings alone (until now, where any old North American can experience it on Instant Watch)." - Emily
  • "This is my favorite documentary about Kurt Russell." - Mike S.
  • "You know what ol' Jack Burton always says at a time like this? Scarcrows doesn’t stand a chance." - Matt
The Vote: Big Trouble in Little China 8, Scarecrows 2 - BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA moves on!
What The Mike says: I actually paused on this one for a while, but then I realized that it was probably only because I just saw Of Unknown Origin for the first time.  I really liked that flick, but have a feeling that once my proximity infatuation wears off I'll realize it doesn't stand up to my love for De Palma's Sisters.
What the Selection Committee says:
  • "Mutant rats are cool and all, but De Palma's Sisters is my choice here because they are not of unknown origin, making De Palma's film much more real, and psychologically unnerving." - Emily C.
  • "Sisters: “What the Devil hath joined together let no man cut asunder.” Of Unknown Origin: “Two forces have claimed the house. Only one will survive.”  Of Unknown Origin does sound interesting, but Sisters wins because 1) I’ve actually seen it and it’s good, and 2) It’s Brian De Palma. Plus I quite enjoy the language used in the tagline, it’s all quaint and eloquent and stuff." - Liam
  • "Twice the Margot Kidder, double the win for SISTERS." - Fred [The Wolf]
  • "Of Unknown Origin - only because I just got done reading your review" - R.D. Penning (Note from The Mike: DO YOU SEE??? I do have powers after all! MUAHAHAHA!)
The Vote: Sisters 7, Of Unknown Origin 1 - SISTERS moves on!
What The Mike says: Happy Birthday to Me and I are pretty tight, but Karloff means something.  Plus, Lugosi.  Therefore, I'm down with The Body Snatcher.
What the Selection Committee says:
  • "I love The Body Snatcher's portrayal of Burke and Hare, and Karloff gives a wonderful performance, but Happy Birthday to Me wins here due to it's creative kills and memorable birthday party finale." - Emily C
  • "I blew out the candles and my wish came true: THE BODY SNATCHER won the round." - Fred [The Wolf]
  • "Canada threw some high heat in the early 80’s when it came to slasher films. I love the fact that this is essentially a Scooby Doo whodunit episode right down to the unmasking at the end-except this episode would feature Scrappy getting a metal shish kabob jammed down his gullet. I also love the scene where the college kids are kicking back at the pub and mixing it up with the townies. Yeah, they were hooligans, but they weren’t unlikeable douche nozzles that we typically see nowadays. The only drawback to the film is it stretched out a bit too long." - Mike S.
The Vote: The Body Snatcher 5, Happy Birthday to Me 4 - THE BODY SNATCHER moves on!
What The Mike says: This is where I disagree with most of the horror 'verse.  I'd rather have a middling gothic horror over a F13 movie almost any day of the week.  If we're talking about one of the cheesy F13 sequels I might think a bit harder about picking it, but since it's the first I'm siding with Doc Z.
What the Selection Committee says:
  • "Jess Franco at his most artistic is no match for Mrs. Voorhees at her most murderous." - TL Bugg
  • "I liked slasher movies more when they played out like a Miss Marple story and the killer looked a little bit like my mom." - Mike S.
  • "While the villainess in The Diabolical Doctor Z kills in a much more unique fashion than Mrs. Voorhees' machete attacks by using her poison tipped fingernails, I'm rooting for simplicity and big knives here.  Plus, Friday the 13th gets points for the ending making me jump every single time."
The Vote: The Diabolical Doctor Z 0, Friday the 13th 9 - FRIDAY THE 13TH moves on!
What The Mike says: YOU GUYS.  I know we're all a lot younger than Horror of Dracula, but COME ON!  This is Hammer's masterpiece!  It's so groundbreaking and cool and luscious, and...well, no there aren't any chainsaws.  But I so heart Hammer's Dracula.  Y'all won't let me down, right?
What the Selection Committee says:
  • "TCM 2 is an above-average sequel buoyed by black humor and a crazier-than-usual Dennis Hopper, but it has nothing on Lee's iconic performance and the garish color of this Hammer classic." - Andreas
  • "Cushing, Lee…so unbelievably classic.  But let’s face it, Dracula has been around for over a century. Chop Top is one of the most original and unforgettable genre characters from the last 30 years.  May “horror purists” condemn me to hell!!" - B.Stank
  • "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 is good old sleazy fun, but Horror of Dracula is a beautiful film and possibly by favorite adaptation of Bram Stoker's Dracula, thus I choose Horror of Dracula." - Emily C
  • "I love Christopher Lee. I really do. I love him as Dracula, but... not as much as Bela Lugosi and not as much as Texas Chainsaw Massacre. To paraphrase Chop Top, that dog will NOT hunt!" - TL Bugg
The Vote: Horror of Dracula: 5, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2: 6 - THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE 2 moves on!
---------------------------------------------------------------
OK you guys, that last one stung.  But, The Mike plays through pain.  Will the next region hold more shocking upsets?  Can John Carpenter and Kurt Russell defeat all?  We'll find out soon enough!
SECOND ROUND MATCHUPS - The Myers Regional
#1 Seed - The Thing vs. #9 Seed - The House of the Devil
#5 Seed - Stir of Echoes vs. #4 Seed - Big Trouble in Little China
#6 Seed - Sisters vs. #3 Seed - The Body Snatcher
#10 Seed - Friday the 13th vs. #15 Seed - The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2
Midnight Musings by The Mike at 7:31 AM
Keywords:

3 comments:

R.D. Penning said...

It just upsets me that Food of the Gods was put up against The Thing. It didn't stand a chance, and I love that film!

8:07 AM, March 25, 2011
Liam Underwood said...

I'm going to make an early prediction at The Thing not struggling too much next round either! That was one impressive (but hardly unexpected) victory.

Some very interesting choices - but some very difficult decisions to make next round.

9:45 AM, March 25, 2011
Fred [The Wolf] said...

I can't believe TCM 2 beat HORROR OF DRACULA by one vote. I sat out that round too I believe. It was just too hard of a vote for me. I love both of those films equally. Next round looks like fun.

11:47 AM, March 25, 2011

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