FEAR EXCHANGE: No Shark Shall Attack The Horror Digest On My Watch!

The superfantastic Andre Dumas of The Horror Digest writes about horror films as well as anyone does.  But she has a bit of a fear of sharks.  And since we're both awesome at what we do, and since she's afraid of sharks and I'm afraid of needles, we thought it'd be a great idea to exchange fears.  Hence, the Fear Exchange, which you read of above.
Andre has already tackled needles on my behalf, and it is now time for The Mike to tackle sharks in return.  And I shall tackle them with extreme prejudice.

To be honest, I've never taken sharks too seriously.  This could partially be because the first thing I think about when I think of sharks is THIS:

Yes, that's Saturday Night Live's famed Landshark.  And it's funny to me.  Plus, it's been revealed to be THIS:

See?  Chevy Chase, despite some of his later film roles, is not scary.  He was in Vacation and Fletch and even Spies Like Us (directed by John Landis!)...all amazing and funny.  If he's a shark, then sharks aren't that bad, right?

But I think the main reason Andre's afraid of sharks yet I'm not afraid of sharks is THIS:

I live in IOWA.  Since I'm relatively sure that the Great Lakes are shark-free, I live about as geographically far away from sharks as is humanly possible.  Heck, most of the time we can't even get carp or bluegills to bite up here.  So I'm chill, dude.

Movies, however, bring the pain when it comes to sharks.  Let's take a pictorial-style look at some of the scariest finned-demon flicks.  You know, the films that all contain a shot that looks like THIS:

JAWS

Any discussion of sharks on film has to begin with Jaws.  It is, after all, the only truly great movie ever made about sharks.  Some will tell you that "Bruce", who played the shark in the film, is a robot...and they'd be right.  But that doesn't make him any less scary.

To me, one of the scariest things about Jaws are those darn yellow barrels.  I would slow down if you harpooned a couple of those to me, but this fella...uh uh.  It's a great moment for showing us what the shark is capable of, and it sets the tone for what comes next, when the film reminds us that you're not safe in a cage:

And, you're not safe on a boat:

And if you're not safe in a cage or on a boat....then you should be scared.  It's so simple, Dr. Seuss could have sold it to kids.

Open Water

Here's a little tip for anyone who might become a horror movie character: DON'T TEMPT FATE.

Especially not in those goofy sunglasses.  Such is the crime committed by the leads of Open Water, the "realistic" shark movie made on a tiny budget with a handheld cam in which a couple is stranded after a diving trip and face dangers like jellyfish (jellyfishes?  jellyfi?) and, naturally, SHARKS like this:

OK, so maybe it is stock footage.  But the idea behind Open Water is scary enough for me that it doesn't even need sharks.  So, when that angry face above shows up, the tension goes to 11.  Which is a lot higher than it was when the jellyfi showed up.

(Side Note:  They say that the way to stop a shark from biting you is to hit it in the nose...but look how big that nose is!  I'm sure there's a part of the nose you have to hit, kind of like one of those stuffed animals that says "Squeeze My Paw" then plays music.  But those animals have a button inside the paw, and just squeezing the paw might miss it.  My point?  If you don't see a button, either hit several parts of the nose with a vicious combo or get the heck away.  Got it?)

Cyclone

Speaking of stock footage, let's talk about Cyclone.  Yes, the 1978 Italian film which promises a storm, a cyclone, a plane crash, and sharks.  Don't believe me?  Check out the DVD cover, which looks like THIS:

Yeah.  That happened.  Like the one rap CD my dad has (which he plays over and over and over and over in the car)...they gonna eat your body like a cyclone!

Truthfully, I'm a little more than halfway done with the two hour epic that is Cyclone as I type this, but I've already been scared.  Part of that fear comes from the '70s wardrobe of the crash survivors/shark bait:

 

But also by the attacks from the stock footage sharks that look kind of like THIS:

And THIS:

So maybe the movie breaks up its promise and gets done with the storm and crash in the first 30 minutes.  Maybe there have been ten to twenty minute stretches since where NOTHING HAPPENS.  The sharks are still a little impressive, and I'm sure they'll be back.  Ever seen an Italian film who's violence peaked at the 45 minute mark?  Me neither.

Finding Nemo

Before we head back to Italy, I'd like to remind everyone that family movies are often unfriendly when it comes to our fears.  Such is the case with Finding Nemo, which everyone and their mother loves.  It offers up something that looks a lot like THIS:

Honestly, that's as scary as any shark I've seen on screen.  Sure, he ends up friendly and stuff because it's a cartoon, but kids remember images.  Were I still Baby The Mike, with my homemade Mr. T Cabbage Patch Doll and my peanut-shaped head, I'd be afraid of that.  And you would be to.

Zombi 2/Zombie

And now, back to Italy, the only place where the idea of zombie vs. shark could have been born...in the '70s!  Think about that.  It's the late '70s.  America's getting Kramer vs. Kramer, Italy's getting shark vs. zombie.  Western Hemisphere, you fail me.

There have been many questions raised regarding shark vs. zombie over the years, but one of the things that most perplexes me is THIS:

Our mustachioed zombie friend not only rips open the shark's topside (which, per the nose punching theory, is impossible), but takes a bite out of the zombie.  Honored texts say that a bite transfers the zombie gene, which means that somewhere out there - there might be a zombie shark.  And theoretically, a zombie shark could "survive" out of water, right?  It's already dead, after all.  So...there could be an undead shark slithering around the streets of Italy or France or America RIGHT NOW.  

Orca

I haven't actually seen this movie all the way through, but - from what I recall - it's got some strong shark action early on.  Stuff that looks a lot like THIS:

But, just when you think shark vs. Richard Harris is gonna be a great battle....a vicious killer whale comes along and makes the shark its own meal.  From what I understand, the rest of the movie looks a lot like THIS:

So....that happened.  Scary?  

Piranha

Yeah, I know.  Piranha are not sharks.  But I can hear Mike Myers (not the scary one) as Dr. Evil saying "I shall call them...Mini Sharks."  The piranha of Piranha aren't really scary on their own, because they look a little too much like THIS:

Yet there's an undeniable charm to the film that really keeps me digging it and raises the tension when the attacks begin.  And seeing children react in terror to these miniature sea-bound flesh-eaters?  That's scary.

(Brief update from Cyclone, as mentioned above:  Silly stranded folks tried to catch a shark with a rope.  What are you gonna do with an angry shark once you pull it up onto your little boat, huh?  That's a scary thought!)

Deep Blue Sea

If Jaws is the Citizen Kane of shark flicks, Deep Blue Sea is the Die Hard of shark flicks.  Because it's kickass and awesome and is directed by the wickedly awesome Renny Harlin.  Despite the fact I love Deep Blue Sea dearly, there's certainly something very scary about it.  You see, the sharks in the film start out like THIS:

Honestly, that's not too scary, right?  The shark's chillin' in a net, chewing on a license plate and hanging with a token Latino helper and Tom Freakin' Jane.  This is a domesticated shark, right?  Nothing you could do would make this shark dangerous, right?  

WRONG!  They (and by they, I mean those who are interested in that evil thing known as SCIENCE!) went and did THIS:

 That's right.  They put a NEEDLE in a SHARK.  What happened next?  THIS:

Oh, sorry dude-from-True-Blood's-dad!  Because you and your sciencey friends went and used a needle on a shark, YOU GOT YOUR ARM EATEN.  And now you're dead, and three "smart sharks" who don't have Alzheimer's are hunting everyone else who's stranded for the weekend in the middle of the ocean.  LL Cool J said it best - "Other fish in the sea but barracuda's ain't equal to a half human predator created by a needle".

Preach it, Brother Cool J.  The big problem in Deep Blue Sea?  THE NEEDLES.

Shark Attack 3: Megalodon

Look, I can't put Shark Attack 3: Megalodon into words.  But before Spring Break Shark Attack, before Malibu Shark Attack, before Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus, before Sharktopus....Shark Attack 3: Megalodon started it all.  

I know what you're thinking.  You're thinking: The Mike, what is "it"?  And wouldn't Shark Attack, or even Shark Attack 2 have started "it"?  And I say: NO.  Just trust me, there isn't a worst amazing piece of shark terror out there than Shark Attack 3: Megalodon.  It's got the worst effects, it's got the worst characters, it's got dialogue like THIS.  (And you NEED to click on THIS.  Seriously.  CLICK THIS.) That was awkward, wasn't it Roy Scheider and friends?

See?  AWKWARD.

So, if you're scared of any of these sharks (or shark-like creatures), Shark Attack 3 is the cure.  It's the moment when sharks JUMPED THE SHARK.

Don't believe me?  Watch this clip of the film.  And fear not!

FMWL is Nominated for the Total Film 2011 Movie Blog Awards!

So, some awesome person (I'd like to assume it's Caroline Munro, who's madly in love with me...) decided it would be a good idea to nominate From Midnight, With Love in Total Film's 2011 Movie Blog Awards.  And, most surprising to me, I've been informed that FMWL made the ballot in the Best Fan Blog category!

Along with us, there are 8 other fabulous blogs that you could find on FMWL's sidebar - including 365 Horror Movie, Chuck Norris Ate My Baby, Italian Film Review, Kindertrauma, The Lightning Bug's Lair, The Vault of Horror, Zombo's Closet of Horrors, and Zombots - who I've long been fans of, and 11 other blogs that I don't know yet, but will be checking out once I finish this post.  The honor of being listed among such fine company is more than enough to give me joyous shivers.  (And "joyous shivers" might be the creepiest phrase I've ever used here.)

My point? GO VOTE!  It's award season, after all.  Click the banner above, click the links above, click the links RIGHT HERE...click anything.  You don't have to vote for FMWL - just vote.  Because that'd be cool.  Let's show 'em all that us horror and genre film fans have a voice, too!

But on a serious, thanks to whoever was behind the nomination, and congrats to all the other nominees!  

 So, in the name of Ron Perlman, GO VOTE!

Midnight Movie of the Week #53 - Burning Bright

When I first heard about Burning Bright, a 2010 thriller in which a young girl and her autistic brother are terrorized by a man-eating tiger, I lusted for it with nefarious intent.  Surely, this was gonna be the kind of movie I could vigorously mock; the kind of movie I could make Eye of the Tiger jokes about, the type of movie that I could eventually cal Grrrrr-eat!  I sought it out under those assumptions, but when I got it...I got something different.  Something that was surprisingly...competent.  My thrill-seeking mind was pleased, yet the film wasn't laughable.  What the heck was going on here?

Let's break it down.  First of all, the film opens on the side of a highway where a man (Garrett Dillahunt of No Country for Old Men and The Last House on the Left) is attempting to purchase a tiger from a grizzled man...played by MEAT LOAF.  Now, if you want to draw The Mike in to a movie...you might want to throw Meat Loaf at him.  (Not literally, of course, that would be dangerous.)  The scene sets the tone for the film, as Dillahunt's character seems to take the situation lightly, while Mr. Loaf recounts the reason this tiger is for sale - because it went haywire and slaughtered a horse at its last circus - with a grave tone.  It's a simple cameo for the most famous actor/rocker named after a protein-filled dish, but it had me hooked from the start. 

The next introduction involves Dillahunt's character's stepdaughter (played by Sorority Row star Briana Evigan) and her autistic brother.  She's set to head off to college while he's being placed in a special school that can deal with his needs, but the check bounces.  Turns out, stepdad cleaned out the bank account to create his "Safari Ranch"...by buying a tiger.  The stepkids head home to confront the situation, but in the meantime the house has been boarded up...because there's a hurricane coming.

If you've heard something more ridiculous today, I'd like to hear it.  But the stars align for Burning Bright, and suddenly we've got a tiger, a hurricane, an autistic, and a young woman who's not hard on the eyes and has that raspy Demi Moore voice.  You can imagine what happens next: stepdad disappears, Evigan's Kelly starts to freak about her school situation, and the tiger ends up loose - and hungry - in the inescapable house.

I wouldn't necessarily say that Burning Bright takes a "slow burn" approach to creating tension, but when the film only has two characters and one of them doesn't form sentences, it runs the risk of losing steam.  What surprised me most about the film was how briskly it moved.  The plot is entirely wrapped up by the explanation I've given, yet director Carlos Brooks finds interesting ways to keep the tension up as Kelly and her brother struggle to deal with the beast in their home.

It also helps that Brooks avoids CGI almost entirely, using three REAL tigers and a lot of green screen technology to put the cast in front of a deadly killer.  An early scene involving Evigan, the tiger, and a laundry chute is very effective, and there's a lot of intrigue as the game of cat-and-young lady plays out.  The tigers look dangerous, (yet kinda cute, I love kitties), and Evigan is a fine visual lead for a script with little dialogue.

 Like the best b-movies, Burning Bright takes its premise very seriously, yet it doesn't suffer from the groan-worthy developments we'd expect from something we see on SyFy.  There are a couple of slips (the brother seems to have been written as autistic simply to add to Kelly's plight; the final reveal is a little obvious; an iron should not be used as a hammer), but the film feels more serious than I ever expected it would.

Maybe I'm overreacting to Burning Bright - it's happened before - because there's something about this kind of simple, serious creature feature that I just love.  It's no Jaws or Gojira, but it's incredibly practical and efficient.  Compared to my meager expectations for a film of this sort, Burning Bright is one of the most surprising horror films I've come across in recent memory.  I'm sorry that I took it for granted, and I look forward to a future in which tiger-based horror cinema is a very real thing.

FMWL Indie Spotlight - Enter The Dark

(2010, Dir. by Todd Miro.)

Preying on the found footage/horror-at-home subgenre that's gained popularity since Todd Miro's debut short, Enter the Dark, is a wicked slice of simple fear.  Miro, who worked as editor and producer on FMWL favorite The Commune, put together his first short from the comfort of his own home, but his 17 minute tale feels like more than the late night adventures of the average fellow with a handheld camera.  (To be fair, Miro's film uses two cameras.)

The story of Enter the Dark focuses on two friends, Rob and Charles, played by Rob Sandusky and Charles Yoakum.  Rob is the token skeptic, and his voice - which is creepily similar to comedian John Michael Higgins' voice - helps us understand from the beginning that he's not buying Charles' alleged haunting.  Their journey offers some of the things you'd see on an episode of Ghost Hunters, but also throws in some unique touches to create scares with children's books and stuffed animals.

It's impossible to dive into a 17 minute story without giving away the ending, so I'm slightly limited in regard to what I can say about the story as a whole.  But I can assure you that I didn't see the twist coming, despite a couple of hints that I picked up on a second viewing.  Miro's story works like a good horror tale should, suckering us in with one hand while it's preparing to pop up and scare us with the other.  There's a command here that can't be taught, and Miro shows a natural gift for creating tension.

Enter the Dark might not pass for The Twilight Zone - the final reveal is more aggressive than it is poetic - but it's a fine way to wrap up Miro's tale in a quick manner, and it leaves the film open to discussion as the credits roll.  The time and effort Miro and has crew put into the film pays off, because the simple story sucks in the viewer and keeps us hungry for more.

For more information on Enter the Dark, check out the film's website or check the film out at Indieflix!

Midnight Top Five - The "What If Christopher Lee Starred in Halloween?" Edition

Y'all know I love Halloween by now, even if I've never reviewed it here.  To be fair, asking me to review Halloween would be like asking Russell Brand to review Katy Perry (+1 pop culture cred for me knowing who that is!).  It'd be wrapped up in two words: "Ummmm...Duh."

You also know my feelings about Christopher Lee. (If not: I'm for him.) And you just might know that Christopher Lee, star of 266 different films/TV shows, states that his greatest regret as an actor is turning down the role of Dr. Samuel Loomis in...Halloween.  Full circle, I know.

So, while I could wonder about what Halloween would have been like with Peter Cushing as Loomis (he was offered the role too) or with Anne Lockhart in Jamie Lee Curtis' role or with Dennis Quaid playing the boyfriend of his then real-life girlfriend P.J. Soles' Lynda....I'm gonna use this Midnight Top Five to ponder what might have happened if Christopher Lee had starred in the ultimate slasher film.


(All speculations below are mine and totally mine, and are based on other unfounded things I've seen once or twice on the internet.)

If Christopher Lee stars in Halloween - What happens to Christopher Lee?

By all accounts, it doesn't seem like this is a huge loss for Lee.  He had five other roles in 1978, most notably Return from Witch Mountain, Circle of Iron, and a TV remake of How the West Was Won.  (SHAMELESS PLUG: That was also the year in which Christopher Lee hosted Saturday Night Live.)  But if there was a time in the man's busy career that was a little short on iconic roles, it was the late '70s through early '80s.  It's quite possible that an appearance in Halloween would have bridged the gap between his late success in the Lord of the Rings/Fake Star Wars trilogies and Tim Burton films.  Alas, he's left with high points of the '80s like Howling II and The Return of Captain Invincible.

If Christopher Lee stars in Halloween - What happens to Donald Pleasence?

While I've seen plenty of films in which he starred (nearly as busy as Lee, Pleasence appeared in 216 roles), it is totally impossible for me to see Donald Pleasence and not IMMEDIATELY think Dr. Samuel Loomis.  Aside from Halloween, what other films come to The Mike's mind first when he thinks of Pleasence? They're either a) directed by John Carpenter, or b) Halloween sequels.

Let's say that Lee stars in Halloween, and thus Pleasence never works with Carpenter or Michael Myers...what's his legacy to genre fans?  Is he remembered as a Bond villain in You Only Live Twice?  In supporting roles in films like THX1138, John Badham's Dracula, or Dario Argento's Phenomena?  Do we have to go all the way back to Fantastic Voyage?  I just don't know...and it bothers me.

If Christopher Lee stars in Halloween - What happens to the Halloween series?

More assumptions are needed this time around.  Let's assume that the change at the top doesn't affect the film's reception, and the slasher craze begins as it did in reality.  Let's assume that the producers decide to go the route they did with Halloween sequels.  Does Christopher Lee star in them, too?

It's been told that Lee got pretty distraught by the time he had played Hammer's Dracula the sixth and final time, and I've always assumed that there were some resentments from Lee in regard to being part of a series - and to being part of the horror genre.  Pleasence played Loomis five times over 18 years, would Lee (whose Drac series stretched across 16 years) have wanted to do the same thing?  Or, would the Halloween series have lost its lead by the time they wanted to make the 4th or 5th film?  Nobody knows what kind of commitment Lee would have had to the series, but his rumored distaste for the Dracula series' trajectory leads me to think he might not have wanted another franchise.

(Personally, I don't think we'd lose much if there hadn't been 11 Halloween films, but that's a different story for a different day...)

If Christopher Lee Starred in Halloween - What happens to John Carpenter?

OK, this is more crazy speculation.  I already warned you, just roll with it.

One of the trivia facts I've heard about Halloween is that John Carpenter was extremely intimidated on set by Donald Pleasence.  The story, as I like to believe it, says that Pleasence was by far the oldest person on set - as well as a favorite actor of Carpenter's - and thus the generational gap gave the director some pause.  However, Pleasence turned out pretty chill, and the two worked together well.

So, what if Lee had been the star?  He's taller, he's louder, and he was freakin' Dracula.  What if Carpenter cast him, was intimidated by him...and somehow, things didn't work right and Halloween failed to reach its current status?  What would have become of him after it?  Would The Fog have happened?  Would Escape from New York or The Thing have happened?  Would we have ever gotten to our current state where we long for one more great film from a man who created an unmatched string of genre hits from 1976-1988?  Only The Shadow knows....

Finally - If Christopher Lee starred in Halloween - WHAT HAPPENS TO HALLOWEEN?

And, the big question.  What would happen if the planets had realigned and Halloween was made starring Christopher Lee instead of Donald Pleasence?

My first thought when this question came to me was that I couldn't think of two actors who seemed to be on such opposite ends of the spectrum of horror goodness.  I've always looked at the role of Loomis, as played by Pleasence, as a proper, quiet, average guy who is pushed to extremes by his job.  I think of the "I met him fifteen years ago..." speech as his defining moment, and I LOVE how Pleasence delivers that speech in his own way.  I think of the moment of levity in which Loomis has to scare little Lonnie Elam away from the Myers house, and I think of Pleasence's sly smile from the moment when he realizes he had fun scaring children and well...I just don't know what it would look like coming from Christopher Lee.  Does that scene become a Dracula joke if Lee is involved, or could it play out the same way?

With Lee in the lead, there's no doubt that Loomis would become a more intimidating force.  Heck, Pleasence stood 5'6" short while Lee towers at 6'5".  What does Halloween look like if Dr. Loomis looms (unfortunate pun) over Michael Myers?  And that speech I mentioned - the speech which is the most important character moment for Loomis, in my eyes - how does that speech sound if it's coming at us in the deep tones of Sir Christopher Lee?

I...look, I love Christopher Lee.  I couldn't be writing the things I write, loving genre flicks like I do, without Christopher Lee.  But I just can't do it.  I just can't think of that speech, the one about "that boy's eyes", and hear it having the same poetic and haunting nature in Christopher Lee's voice.  Would the scene be more intimidating?  Yes.  Would I have been able to accept Lee in a bold hero role, like the one he played in The Devil Rides Out? Absolutely.  But would Halloween be the same film to me without Pleasence's broken tone in that scene?  I don't think it would have.

I can't say for sure if this casting, which was the filmmakers' original intention, would have affected the film in the world around me.  Perhaps we'd still be lauding it as the father of the modern slasher, and Lee's hero would have ushered in a slew of heroic, bold doctors in the slashers that followed.  But there's this feeling in my gut, a small dose of doubt, a morsel of fear...that tells me the film might not have become my favorite horror flick if it had featured my favorite horror star.  Maybe it's just the fact that I'm comfortable with Pleasence's Loomis and am afraid of change (that's true), but my heart tells me that Halloween needed Pleasence more than it needed Lee.

I've said it already, but it bears repeating: we'll never know what could have been.  But I gotta say, it's been fun to wonder.  What say you, Midnight Warriors?

(And don't just say that I'm crazy for putting this much thought into this.  I already know that.  And to be fair, I propose that we go back and cast Christopher Lee as Conal Cochran in Halloween III.)

FMWL 2010 - The Year That Was (Part Three) - The Midnight Movie of the Week Recap

Yep, 2010 was a year so big that one year could scarcely contain it.  As the next to last part of our recap of the year, I wanted to look back at my babies, the Midnight Movies of the Week, and see where FMWL has been.

1. The Devil Rides Out (1968, Horror, Terence Fisher.)
2. Moon (2009, Sci-Fi, Duncan Jones.)
3. The Food of the Gods (1976, Sci-Fi, Bert I. Gordon.)
4. Popcorn (1991, Horror, Mark Herrier.)
5. Martin (1977, Horror, George A. Romero.)
6. Robinson Crusoe on Mars (1964, Sci-Fi, Byron Haskin.)
7. The Omen (1976, Horror, Richard Donner.)
8. Dead of Night (1945, Horror, Alberto Cavalcanti/Charles Crichton/Basil Dearden/Robert Hamer.)
9. Killer Klowns from Outer Space (1988, Sci-Fi/Horror, Stephen Chiodo.)
10. The Roost (2005, Horror, Ti West.)
11. Friday the 13th (1980, Horror, Sean S. Cunningham.)
12. Scarecrows (1988, Horror, William Wesley.)
13. The Body Snatcher (1945, Horror, Robert Wise.)
14. Spider Baby, or: The Maddest Story Ever Told (1968, Horror, Jack Hill.)
15. The House of the Devil (2009, Horror, Ti West.)
16. Mr. Majestyk (1974, Action, Richard Fleischer.)
17. The Descent (2005, Horror, Neil Marshall.)
18. Captain Kronos - Vampire Hunter (1974, Horror, Brian Clemens.)
19. Roadgames (1981, Thriller, Richard Franklin.)
20. The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957, Sci-Fi, Jack Arnold.)
21. Clownhouse (1989, Horror, Victor Salva.)
22. Kill, Baby...Kill! (1966, Horror, Mario Bava.)
23. Happy Birthday to Me (1981, Horror, J. Lee Thompson.)
24. Fire in the Sky (1993, Sci-Fi, Robert Lieberman.)
25. The Thing (1982, Horror/Sci-Fi, John Carpenter.)
26. Ginger Snaps (2000, Horror, John Fawcett.)
27. The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971, Horror, Robert Fuest.)
28. Pretty Poison (1968, Thriller, Noel Black.)
29. The Ugly (1997, Horror, Scott Reynolds.)
30. C.H.U.D. (1984, Horror, Douglas Cheek.)
31. They Live (1987, Sci-Fi, John Carpenter.)
32. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974, Horror, Tobe Hooper.)
33. Piranha (1978, Horror, Joe Dante.)
34. Raw Meat (1972, Horror, Gary Sherman.)
35. Death Proof (2007, Horror, Quentin Tarantino.)
36. Candyman (1992, Horror, Bernard Rose.)
37. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (1986, Horror, Tobe Hooper.)
38. The Diabolical Doctor Z (1966, Horror, Jess Franco.)
39. The Curse of the Werewolf (1961, Horror, Terence Fisher.)
40. The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires (1974, Horror/Kung Fu, Roy Ward Baker.)
41. Maniac (1980, Horror, William Lustig.)
42. Night Creatures (1962, Horror, Peter Graham Scott.)
43. Horror of Dracula (1958, Horror, Terence Fisher.)
44. Vice Squad (1982, Thriller, Gary Sherman.)
45. Cat's Eye (1985, Horror, Lewis Teague.)
46. Assault on Precinct 13 (1976, Action, John Carpenter.)
47. Stir of Echoes (1999, Horror, David Koepp.)
48. The Entity (1982, Horror, Sidney J. Furie.)
49. Predator (1987, Sci-Fi, John McTiernan.)
50. Blue Steel (1990, Thriller, Kathryn Bigelow.)
51. Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984, Horror, Charles E. Sellier, Jr.)
52. The Pit (1981, Horror, Lew Lehman.)

A few stats to bring it all together (because I'm kind of a nerd):

• 39 horror flicks.  Kinda saw that one coming.  I try to bring in other genres (9 sci-fi, 4 weird thrillers, 2 '70s action flicks), but horror usually wins the day.
• Both John Carpenter (my favorite topic to write on) and Terence Fisher (Thanks, Hammer Films Month!) directed 3 MMOTW's from the first year.  Directors with two films on the list include Ti West, Tobe Hooper, and Gary Sherman (my favorite underloved director).
• Also predcitable - Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing lead in appearances by an actor (as far as I can tell) at 3 each.  Other actors with two films on the list include The Mike faves like Kurt Russell, Keith David, Ron Silver, Sam Rockwell, and Tom Noonan.
• Counting her cameo in Phibes, Caroline Munro leads actresses with three appearances.  Jamie Lee Curtis pops in twice.
• I'm a little surprised how often I went with films from the '80s (17 flicks), and I especially seemed to go there a lot in the final months of the year.  The '70s followed with 11, and may have had more if I hadn't covered a lot of my favorites in FMWL's '70s Cult Project.
• After those decades, the '60s sent 8 films while the '90s and '00s each had 6.
• Only one female director (Bigelow for Near Dark).  On the bright side, that's tied with the one Stephen King adaptation (Cat's Eye).

What's the point of it all?  Heck if I know.  But if you wanted a one stop shop for flicks I love and would recommend for late night viewing....here it is.  Can't wait to see what 2011's list looks like!

And now....The Mike's favorite MMOTW Screen Shots from 2010!  (Click to huge-ify!)