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March 25, 2011

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

If you missed Part One of Round One, go here.
If you missed Part Two of Round One, go here.
If you want to know who the selection committee for Round One is, here they are:
And now, we move on to.....
THE HAMMER REGIONAL
#1 Seed - MMOTW #2: Moon vs. #16 Seed - MMOTW #10: The Roost
What The Mike says: I like The Roost a ton.  Ti West's debut feature is a fun little late night spook show.  But Moon is one of my favorite movies of the last few years, thanks to Sam Rockwell basically owning the whole film.  I gotta give it the edge.
What the Selection Committee says:
  • "Look, I know Moon is a much better film. I’m not a complete moron. But you know what it lacks? Tom Noonan as a UHF style horror host. The Roost is a bat shit insane B movie homage. Is it a zombie film? Is it a killer bat film? Is it a teen slasher? I’ve seen the film three times and I still can’t figure it out past knowing that I love it." - Mike S.
  • "THE ROOST gets eclipsed by Sam Rockwell and MOON." - Fred [The Wolf]
  • "There are a handful of reasons why Moon is a wonderful piece of cinema, but what really drives it, what is essentially the film’s core, is that deep emotional impact that it emotes thanks to Sam‘s existential interactions with himself. One of the best science fiction films of the last ten years, Moon is a movie that will most certainly stand the test of time." - Matt
The Vote: Moon 7, The Roost 1 - MOON moves on!
What The Mike says: This is a little tough, because I don't want to dishonor my dearest Caroline Munro.  C-Mun, I love you dearly.  But Candyman's really freakin' good.  
What the Selection Committee says:
  • "Candyman - Gave me nightmares up until about last week." - R.D. Penning
  • "Captain Kronos – Vampire Hunter: “Evil Ends Here."  Candyman: “We Dare You To Say His Name Five Times!” It has to go to Candyman really – it’s such an awesome film with a tagline and idea that has really permeated popular culture in a way Captain Kronos – Vampire Hunter can only dream of. Besides, I don’t think Captain Kronos would stand much of a chance against the Candyman, he can’t be used to finding things in mirrors." - Liam
  • "I don’t particularly want to look into a mirror and say either of these guys names in hopes (?) that they will show up. I’ve got to give this one to Tony Todd’s Candyman. Only one of these dudes had to face Virginia Madsen, and that goes a long, long way." - TL Bugg
The Vote: Captain Kronos - Vampire Hunter 1, Candyman 8 -CANDYMAN moves on!
What The Mike says: The Devil Rides Out is kind of my baby.  I mean, it was the first MMOTW for a reason.  I flat out adore it.  Burning Bright's good - I mean, it has TIGER VS. HOTTIE! - but it'll never match The Devil Rides Out's Christopher Lee flavored goodness.
What the Selection Committee says:
  • "Devil worshipers vs. hungry tiger.... hmmm, while the hungry tiger stalking kids trapped in a house during a hurricane sounds ridiculous, the fact that this film was created in such a way to make it utterly believable, and not only believable, but awesome, gives Burning Bright the edge in this matchup." - Emily C
  • "Seen neither, as of yet." - Fred [The Wolf]
  • "Another pair of films I haven’t seen, but I know that BB doesn’t end with the autistic kid getting eaten whole by a tiger, so I’m holding that knowledge against the movie." - Mike S.
The Vote: The Devil Rides Out 4, Burning Bright 3 - THE DEVIL RIDES OUT moves on! 
What The Mike says: We'll come back to that....
What the Selection Committee says:
  • "This is a battle of style versus cheese.  Style, especially that of Mario Bava, wins over cheese every time." - B.Stank
  • "You may think you can pick against Piranha, but Paul Grogan’s beard and tucked in flannel believe otherwise. You best listen." - Matt
  • "Have to give it up for the film that gave Joe Dante his start.  Yes, it’s a Jaws rip-off. However, unlike the modern day cash in companies such as Asylum, Piranha’s a good little B movie with fun character, ad for its time, FX that works. Plus it featured little kids getting eaten ass first by schools of fish. Good times." - Mike S.
  • "This one is tough, as I love both ghost stories and creature features... and I love both Mario Bava and Joe Dante.... so child ghosts or killer piranhas?  What do I choose?  Well, since I love ghost stories just a little more than creature features, that's going to edge Piranha out on this one.  Kill, Baby..Kill! it is!" - Emily C
The Vote: Kill, Baby...Kill! 5, Piranha 5 - IT'S A TIE!  THE MIKE GETS TO USE HIS TIEBREAKING VOTE!
NOW...What The Mike says: OK, this is a tough one.  But when I think of these two films, the first thing that pops out in my memory - just ahead of Giacomo Rossi-Stuart's ridiculously impressive chin in KBK - is that scene in Piranha when little Suzy, who's terrified of the water, starts rowing out to save Piranha victims.  Oh, how I love acts of childhood heroism in b-movies.  I'm thus voting for PIRANHA to move on. 
What The Mike says: Oh boy oh boy oh boy! I've been waiting for this matchup all week, because I looked at Phibes' iconic tagline and the matchup, and realized I could say.......*drum roll*.......LOVE MEANS NEVER HAVING TO VOTE FOR THE UGLY!  (I know, that was mean.  But it's PHIBES!
What the Selection Committee says:
  • "While The Ugly looks incredibly promising (in fact I think I'm moving it up on my Netflix queue ASAP) as an interesting and creepy psychological thriller, The Abominable Dr. Phibes may just be my favorite Vincent Price film, and the inspired thematic killings that Dr. Phibes performs are some of the most memorable I've seen.  Dr. Phibes for the win!" - Emily C
  • "The Abominable Dr. Phibes: “HE CAME BACK FROM THE DEAD FOR REVENGE with Nine Diabolical Curses ... BEES ... BATS ... BEASTS ... BLOOD ... FROGS ... HAIL ... LOCUSTS ... DARKNESS ... DEATH! THE ABOMINABLE DR. PHIBES ... the most terrifying film you will ever see!"  The Ugly: “The Ugly - It's not a pretty picture!”  Wow. Just look at how exciting The Abominable Dr. Phibes sounds! All those capitals, all those curses. It sounds fantastic. And it promises to be the most terrifying film I’ll ever see. That’s quite a statement to throw out there. The Ugly, yeah, I see what your trying to do, but no, not this time." -  Liam
The Vote: The Abominable Dr. Phibes 8, The Ugly 1 - THE ABOMINABLE DR. PHIBES moves on!
What The Mike says: Y'all know I'm talking about the ORIGINAL Assault on Precinct 13 right?  It's one of my absolute favorite movies - in fact, I'd wager it's my favorite of the four Carpenter films in this tournament.  That's right, I said it. 
What the Selection Committee says:
  • "Silent Night, Deadly Night: I was tempted to vote the other way simply to make a political statement about how what REALLY belongs in Seed 14 is Silent Night Deadly Night 2: Garbage Day, but then I remembered that you can’t fight City Hall or The Mike, so hence, somehow, that equates to NAUGHTY!" - Emily
  • "While I love the punishing Santa as much as the next gal, I'm going for Assault on Precinct 13 here as it's one of the best siege movies out there, with some great multi-dimentional characters, and has one of my favorites of John Carpenter's scores." - Emily C
  • "One of the rarest of times where I won’t pick Carpenter. I really dig Assault, but a Santa Slasher is the quickest way to my blackened heart. That and Mrs. Budd's White Meat Chicken Pies. Seriously, why are those things so friggin good?" - Matt
The Vote: Assault On Precinct 13 2; Silent Night, Deadly Night 7 - SILENT NIGHT, DEADLY NIGHT moves on! (Note from The Mike: Part of my soul just DIED.)
What The Mike Says: Two groovy 1968 hits here, but my vote is securely in the hands of Spider Baby, which is one of the most bizarre horror comedies ever.  
What the Selection Committee says:
  • "Danger: Diabolik's super-spy hi-jinks are sexy and ridiculous, but utterly superficial; Spider Baby's over-the-top madness cuts deep as the film plays a sick joke on families everywhere." - Andreas
  • "This is another battle of style versus cheese.  Unfortunately, this time Bava finds himself on the wrong side.  SPIDER BABY is the blueprint for ALL “crazy family” horror movies, with a style all it’s own…classic." - B.Stank
  • "SPIDER BABY puts DIABOLIK in DANGER in this one." - Fred [The Wolf]
The Vote:  Spider Baby 10, Danger: Diabolik! 0 - SPIDER BABY moves on!
#2 Seed - MMOTW #7: The Omen vs. #15 Seed - MMOTW #4: Popcorn
What The Mike Says: Another sad seeding, as I think Popcorn's a lot better than a 15 seed.  But, it's an unfortunate victim here, as The Omen is one of my very favorite religio-horrors.  I gotta go with the Oscar winning musical score.
What the Selection Committee says:
  • "I know some in the horror blogging community are going to be tempted to root for Cinderella here due to Kristy Jett’s outstanding efforts to give ‘Corn a proper DVD release. The Omen is one of the classics though, and it represents the last period in Hollywood history where studios actually gave a hoot about the genre, and worked on producing the best possible film they could. The scene where Damian’s first nanny joyously professes her devotion to the boy before plunging to her death (at a children’s birthday party no less!) remains one of the all time most chilling moments in horror history." - Mike S.
  • "Popcorn: The Omen is one of the duller classics that, save for a brilliant birthday party hanging, does absolutely nothing for me. Popcorn, on the other hand, is a scrumptious valentine aimed at genre fans." - Emily
  • "Look at me, Damien! It's all for you! No, not the POPCORN, Your win, silly!" - Fred [The Wolf]
  • "Damien sucks, Jill Scholen rules. Any questions?" - TL Bugg
The Vote: The Omen 7, Popcorn 3 - THE OMEN moves on!
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Just when you think you've got our selection committee's answer...they change the question.  A couple of surprising upsets should set up a very interesting second round in this region!

SECOND ROUND MATCHUPS - The Hammer Regional
#1 Seed - Moon vs. #9 Seed - Candyman
#5 Seed - The Devil Rides Out vs. #13 Seed - Piranha
#6 Seed - The Abominable Dr. Phibes vs. #14 Seed - Silent Night, Deadly Night
#7 Seed - Spider Baby vs. #2 Seed - The Omen
Midnight Musings by The Mike at 10:05 PM
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