April 11, 2011

VOTE NOW in FMWL's Midnight Madness Tournament Fatal Four!

For more than three weeks, we've been plugging away at FMWL's March Midnight Madness Tournament.  A fantastic team of writers/bloggers from around the web signed up to help whittle the field of the first 64 Midnight Movie of the Week picks down to these four survivors, who will now battle to become FMWL'S 2010-2011 MIDNIGHT MOVIE OF THE YEAR.  Though I'm entirely grateful to all those folks for helping out so far, I wanted to get as many opinions as is humanly possible for these final matchups.  So, it's time for you - the FMWL reader extraordinaire! - to be heard. 
So here's the rules:
  • Read about the matchups below.
  • In the comments (and using your name or your blogger account, anonymous votes will not be accepted!) tell me which film you prefer in each matchup.
  • Feel free to argue with other commenters, to make your case, to try and sway voters, etc.  (Of course, do so in a civil way.  Any overly mean stuff will be deleted promptly.)  I'm not counting votes right away, so you're free to change your mind all the way up to the deadline.
  • Voting will end at 12:01 (AM Central Time) on the morning of Monday 4/18.
  • After all the comments are left and the votes are tallied, I'll post your comments and votes here on Monday the 18th, at which point the same process will begin involving the final two films that will battle for the title!
Make sense?  Good.  Here's the four films and two matchups we're talking about....


#3 Seed & Frankenstein Regional Winner - The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
How It Got Here: Defeated #14 Seed Raw Meat (12-0); Defeated #6 Seed They Live (12-2); Defeated #7 Seed Ginger Snaps (13-0); Defeated #1 Seed Predator (8-2).  Total Vote = 45-2.
The Story Thus Far: It was a surprise to me that this film was as low as a #3 seed - it was the highest rated three seed, 9th overall - when I used IMDB ratings to formulate the original bracket.  None of the results here really surprised me, though I must admit I thought Predator might put up more of a fight.
My Favorite Screenshot: I'm not too proud to pick this iconic one.

#1 Seed & Myers Regional Winner - John Carpenter's The Thing
How It Got Here: Defeated #16 Seed The Food of the Gods (12-0); Defeated #9 Seed The House of the Devil (14-0); Defeated #4 Seed Big Trouble in Little China (13-0); Defeated #10 Seed Friday the 13th (11-0). Total Vote = 50-0.
The Story Thus Far: The results pretty much sum it up.  No one - including me - has voted against The Thing through four matchups.  It's been a juggernaut.  But it hasn't faced anything quite like TCM...yet.

My Favorite Screenshot: I love this one, which combines a pre-blood testing Kurt (and his beard) with the suggestive poster that proclaims THEY AREN'T LABELED and parallels the film's plot.

#1 Seed & Hammer Regional Winner - Moon
How It Got Here: Defeated #16 Seed The Roost (7-1); Defeated #9 Seed Candyman (7-6); Defeated #13 Seed Piranha (7-5); Defeated #7 Seed Spider Baby (6-4). Total Vote = 27-16.
The Story Thus Far: Despite it being the second highest rated #1 Seed on IMDB, I doubted Moon would make it this far from the start.  I didn't expect it to get past Candyman, and then Piranha nearly shocked it in the Sinister Sixteen.  But, the votes were just enough for it to make it through to represent the sci-fi genre in the Fatal Four.

My Favorite Screenshot: The haunting mysterious young woman from early in the film doesn't look too imposing here....but we just know there's something terribly wrong as soon as she shows up.  

#1 Seed & Blob Regional Winner - Evil Dead II: Dead by Dawn
How it Got Here: Defeated #16 Seed Attack of the 50 Foot Woman (11-0); Defeated #8 Seed The Curse of the Werewolf (11-2); Defeated #4 Seed Death Proof (11-2); Defeated #14 Seed Killer Klowns from Outer Space (9-1).  Total Vote = 42-5.
The Story Thus Far: The last Midnight Movie of the Week before the tournament was one I thought would do pretty well, and I haven't been proven wrong.  It also may have had the easiest run to the Fatal Four, with no disrespect meant to the likes of the Killer Klowns.  Can it survive till the final matchup dawns?

My Favorite Screenshot: There are few things that creep me out like the Evil Dead cabin, and I just adore this shot of it from the perspective of the makeshift cross that guards the grave of poor Cheryl 2.0.
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So there you have it!  Hit up the comments below and vote for the two films you want to see in the final matchup to become 2010-2011 MIDNIGHT MOVIE OF THE YEAR!!!!
Will it be The Texas Chainsaw Massacre or The Thing?
Will it be Moon or Evil Dead II?

YOU DECIDE!  All votes need to be in by 12:01 AM CST on Monday 4/18!

9 comments:

  1. +JMJ+

    I'd love to see The Thing go up against Evil Dead 2! =)

    By the way, when I do my own brackets, I find that there's always one unexpected contender in my Final Four. Dark horse, underdog, pick your own idiom . . . And I like that because I can usually predict the other three, but never that one--and it's good to be surprised, you know? =) I don't know if the same can be said for the Final Four in college basketball, though.

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  2. As much as I love Moon, ED2 is like my all-time favorite. So Ash takes out Sam to reach the finals.

    Another all-time fave, The Thing, gets my vote over TCM. Leatherface is the shiznizzle and all, but The Thing is one of the best original remakes ever with the best FX work pre-CGI.

    It doesn't matter I guess because if Dead By Dawn makes it to the Finals, that is getting my championship vote.

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  3. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre vs The Thing is without a doubt the most difficult match-up so far this tournament. Both are incredibly effective, and both are massively influential. I'm going to have to give it to The Texas Chain Saw Massacre though... I just can't bring myself to vote against Leatherface.

    As for Moon vs Evil Dead II... I watched Moon especially so I could judge fairly, and while it is good, Evil Dead II is better.

    I'd love to see Ash vs Leatherface in the finals - a true horror showdown!

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  4. I have to go with TCM vs. EVIL DEAD II. EVIL DEAD II was an easy choice, but man did you hurt me by voting against THE THING. Not fair, dude. Not fair.

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  5. My votes go to The Thing and Evil Dead II. I just love The Thing so much- even more than my dream guy Franklin and the lovable psychopath that is Leatherface.... and Evil Dead II is just so darn fun that I can't help but give it my vote.

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  6. Texas Chainsaw and Evil Dead II...it was meant to be!!

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  7. I'm voting The Thing over TCM - it's just tighter, leaner, scarier, and better-acted. TCM is powerfully gross and unyielding, but The Thing is just raw genius.

    And I have to go Evil Dead 2 over Moon. Moon just hasn't had enough time to marinate or for us to get perspective on it, and I can't resist Evil Dead 2's manic energy.

    Carpenter vs. Raimi!

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  8. The Thing over TCM for sure.

    While it pains me to do so, i have to vote for Moon over Evil Dead 2. Evil Dead 2 is one of my favorite horror movies of all time as well as one of the greatest cult films of all time. However, Moon is going to be a huge cult film if it isn't already. Sam Rockwell gave the performance of a lifetime. It is an original sci-fi thriller with heart as well as intrinsic likability [in one aspect or another]. And from a totally visual aspect, the cinematography was amazing and the visuals were some of the most gorgeous ive seen on screen for a long time. While Evil Dead 2 is pure and unadulterated campy horror at its finest, Moon is almost perfect in every aspect; the writing, the acting, the visuals, the direction, hell even the score, and thus it deserves to win.

    My final vote: Moon vs. The Thing

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  9. Sorry dude... Can't bring myself to vote. It would be against my religion or something.

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