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March 30, 2011

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

If you missed part one of Round Two, go HERE.
If you missed Round One, go HERE to check out all the tourney action!
If you want to know who the selection committee for Round Two is, here they are:
There are eight spots left in the Sinister Sixteen, lets see what the Selection Committee has in store for them!
The Hammer Regional
#1 Seed - MMOTW #2: Moon vs. #9 Seed - MMOTW #36 - Candyman
What The Mike says: I adore Moon hardcore.  Yet, for no good reason, I want to pick Candyman here.  Maybe it's because it's a horror icon while Moon is barely established as a two year old film.  I don't know.  But I guess I'm slightly behind Candyman here.
What the Selection Committee says:
  • "It's a very tough call: Moon is a fantastic movie, both poignant and cerebral, but I personally lean toward Candyman, for its terrific Philp Glass score, its willingness to address real-life urban issues, and Tony Todd. Just Tony Todd." - Andreas
  • "Is Moon a better film? Of course, but I need to give a big boost to any great horror film that survived the '90s." - Emily
  • "Well, while I consider both films to be truly wonderful representations of their respective genres to the point where I could almost call them equal, I have to give that slight, and I mean slight, edge to Candyman. It's stood the test of time and that is really what pushes it over the line for me in this wicked tight pick." - Matt
  • "Moon is a horror film in a whole other sense and Candyman is a horror icon, but Moon is just a flat out top-notch flick that's too good to take a dive in the second round. This is another OT buzzer beater." - Geof
The Vote: Moon 7, Candyman 6 - MOON moves on to the Sinister Sixteen!
What The Mike says: The Devil Rides Out is still my baby, and will always be one of the most underrated horror flicks ever to me.  I don't know if I'd vote against it versus any of the films in this tourney.
What the Selection Committee says:
  • "Let’s face it…there’s plenty of “cheesy” movies out there, but there just doesn’t seem to be enough quality Satanic ones." - B.Stank
  • "I'm voting Piranha here in honor of Joe Dante and the fallen The 'burbs :( " - Emily C.
    "Piranha might want to gobble up the competion, but it's all going to go wrong for them and these little fishies are going to get hammered. What went wrong out there for Piranha? Well, could it have been.... SATAN!" - TL Bugg
  • "I'm a fan of the old school. So when you have an occult investigator battling a mad sorcerer of the dark arts over the souls of innocents (with the impressive Christopher Lee AND Charles "It's Just A Jump To The Left" Gray as said dueling forces), then we have a first class ticket to Awesomeville." - Joe Monster
The Vote: The Devil Rides Out 3, Piranha 9 - PIRANHA moves on to the Sinister Sixteen!
What The Mike says: Look, Silent Night, Deadly Night only made it to the MMOTW because it was Christmas.  Phibes was one of the first movies I thought about when I started the MMOTW.  Easy pick there.
What the Selection Committee says:
  • "Silent Night, Deadly Night, your "HO HO HO" is only so-so, and when squared off against Vincent Price, you've definitely got to go." - TL Bugg
  • "I don't know that I will ever be able to vote against Silent Night, Deadly Night. It wins!" - R.D. Penning
  • "Festive horror fun has to win. Christmas should be scarier, I mean... it celebrates home invasion." - Liam
  • "Vincent Price spanks naughty Billy out of this contest." - Fred [The Wolf]
The Vote: The Abominable Dr. Phibes 7, Silent Night Deadly Night 5 - THE ABOMINABLE DR. PHIBES moves on to the Sinister Sixteen!
What The Mike says: There are times when I forget how much I love The Omen.  It's so epic.  Yet, I think I'm going to have today be one of those times, because Spider Baby sounds soooo good right now.  Done.
What the Selection Committee says:
  • "I’m not sure what’s worse… giving birth to Satan, or to a baby that looked like Sid Haig?!  Kiddin’…just kiddin." - B.Stank
  • "Boom! Gregory Peck." - Christine
  • "Virginia, Ralph, and Elizabeth would eat Damien alive and Lon Chaney Jr. would sing about it. And it would blow minds." - Emily
  • "Damien squashes this SPIDER, BABY." - Fred [The Wolf]
The Vote: Spider Baby 7, The Omen 6 - SPIDER BABY moves on to the Sinister Sixteen!
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One of the newest films in the tournament leads the pack in this regional, but it's accompanied in the Sinister Sixteen by three titans made between 1968-1978.  Can Moon's modern sci-fi drama hold off some cult heroes?
SINISTER SIXTEEN MATCHUPS - The Hammer Regional
#1 Seed - Moon vs. #13 Seed - Piranha
#6 Seed - The Abominable Dr. Phibes vs. #7 Seed - Spider Baby
The Blob Regional
What The Mike says: I don't know why, but I'm not crazy about Evil Dead II in this tournament.  Maybe it's just too easy to pick it, and I'm trying to take it for granted.  Not sure.  I mean, I'm still picking it...but for some reason it doesn't seem like as passionate a pick as it should be.
What the Selection Committee says:
  • "Nostalgia alone is enough to make this an easy pick, but it's not all that difficult when we're talking about the heart of one of horror's most beloved and lauded franchises. I believe this has referred to as the holy trilogy of horror, and if that's the case, then Dead By Dawn is the horror equivalent of The Godfather Part II and The Empire Strikes Back. Nuff said." - Matt
  • "Hail to the King, baby." - Mike S.
  • "Even a hirsute Oliver Reed can't make me enjoy this shaggy wolf story, so it has no chance against Raimi's near-perfect explosion of horror awesomeness." - Andreas
  • "All who are pure in heart: turn back now! As a genre fan I realize that I'm practically consigned to a life of shameless love for all that is Evil Dead. But nay, brothers and sisters! Here you will only find love for the lupine naughtiness of one Oliver Reed. Scream, destroy, hunt me down with torch and pitchfork, but I shall not move! I cannot explain; all I can say is that my devotion is as natural as the moon." - Joe Monster
The Vote: Evil Dead II 11, The Curse of the Werewolf 2 - EVIL DEAD II moves on to the Sinister Sixteen!
What The Mike says: I gotta go with Tarantino's flick, mostly because it reminds me of one of my favorite flicks, Vanishing Point.  The Challenger rides on, as does Kurt Russell.
What the Selection Committee says:
  • "Quite possibly my favorite Tarantino. Also, Russell. I have sung this film’s praises since its release and I am so glad people seem to be coming around and embracing it. My preferred ½ of Grindhouse." - Christine
  • "Martin.  An imperfect film, but one that offers something truly new for the vampire genre." - Emily
  • "I'm voting Death Proof here because while I like Martin's ambiguous vampiric nature, Martin is no Stuntman Mike, and ambiguous vampires are no match against a trio of angry women with an awesome car." - Emily C.
  • "I would take Martin over any of Romero's last three movies, and Death Proof was just a little too slowly paced for me at times. Martin Wins!" - R.D. Penning
The Vote: Martin 6, Death Proof 7 - DEATH PROOF moves on to the Sinister Sixteen!
What the Mike says: Do you really want to know?  Nah, I'll let the committee handle this one.
What the Selection Committee says:
  • "Maniac features Joe Spinell, Tom Savini effects, and William Lustig in the director's chair. Killer Klowns from Outer Space is about Killer Klowns from Outer Space. If Manaic doesn't win this round it will go down as the greatest robbery since Tarantino saw his first Ringo Lam movie." - TL Bugg
  • "My head almost exploded at the thought of having to choose between these two films! But the Klowns prevail!" - R.D. Penning
  • "C'mon, Killer Klowns from Outer Space... it's no contest!" - Liam
  • "Blame it on my genetic preference to have fun when watching a horror film. Not that scalpings and heads full of prosthetic blood and cottage cheese being blown up can't be called a certain kind of fun, but I guess the air of sophistication that Killer Klowns brings with its cotton candy cocoons just puts it one rung higher than Maniac." - Joe Monster
  • "Killer Klowns from Outer Space...probably the second toughest match in this part of the bracket." - Geof
  • "I won't vote for this one. I love both these films equally." - Fred [The Wolf]
  • "I voted against Killer Klowns from Outer Space in the first round, but I'll give them some love here because, while it's easy to find a maniacal killer, I have a feeling it's not so common to run across a Killer Klown, thus making them much more unique.... and I'm pretty sure that the Maniac does not drink his victims with straws." - Emily C.
  • "Killer Klowns From Outer Space. Just typing those words makes my mouth water for cotton candy. And blood." - Emily
  • "Gritty, dirty and genuinely disturbing, Maniac is one of my favorite 70s (even though this was released in 1980, it is totally 70s) depictions of NYC." - Christine
  • "I’d like to see Joe Spinell scalp every single last one of those annoying EXPLETIVE DELETED clowns." - B.Stank
The Vote: Killer Klowns from Outer Space 6, Maniac 6 - IT'S A TIE! THE MIKE GETS TO USE HIS TIEBREAKING VOTE!
NOW....What The Mike says: Wow, it's something to see how far people fall on opposite sides of the Killer Klown train.  And I can see why, especially against a dark, twisted flick like Maniac.  Which also has my true love, Caroline Munro.  So, I'm going to use my tiebreaking vote to say....hey....I like to party with Killer Klowns.  I admit it.  KILLER KLOWNS FROM OUTER SPACE moves on to the Sinister Sixteen!
#10 Seed - MMOTW #48: The Entity vs. #15 Seed - MMOTW #52: The Pit
What The Mike says: I feel like both of these great little '80s movies deserve a slow clap just for being here.  Can this end like Rocky III, with Balboa and Creed both locked in a carbonite-esque freeze frame of them punching each other?
What the Selection Committee says:
  • "The choice here is if one shoud root for the raping ghost picture or the, you know, there really is no choice." - TL Bugg
  • "Entities possess more of a threat than pits. Unless we're talking unshaven feminist armpits... but we're not, so The Entity wins." - Liam
  • "Somehow I feel that the world is a better place knowing that a little boy can push a wheelchair-bound old woman into a hole full of flesh-hungry monsters and we can all look on approvingly." - Joe Monster
    "If ties were allowed, I'd offer one here. Since there isn't long live a film with a sequel we never got to see, The Pit." - Geof
The Vote: The Entity 7, The Pit 4 - THE ENTITY moves on to the Sinister Sixteen!
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Underdogs still rule the day in the lower half of this region, while a showdown between Raimi and Tarantino looms in the upper half.  Can Kurt Russell, who has three films in the Sin16, pull off an upset?  We'll find out when we return for Round 3!
SINISTER SIXTEEN MATCHUPS - The Blob Regional
#1 Seed - Evil Dead II vs. #4 Seed - Death Proof
#14 Seed - Killer Klowns from Outer Space vs. #10 Seed - The Entity
Midnight Musings by The Mike at 1:13 PM
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