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Originally Posted by neverending
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Excellent recs, though I am afraid we might have to skip the Corman doc for the reason above.
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Originally Posted by Kandarian Demon
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I don't want to focus on documentaries of specific films, hence didn't name some others - the
Friday the 13th one,
Omen Legacy,
Terror in the Aisles, etc.
Looking specifically for documentaries which broadly covers most of our genre's films, it's history and it's impact on modern society and culture.
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Originally Posted by metternich1815
Two other horror movie documentaries I watch alot are Monster Mania (narrated by Jack Palance) and The Red, White, and Blue one (hosted by Lance Henrikson). I have seen the Monster Mania one dozens of times.
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Originally Posted by hammerfan
Oh yeah, the Red, White, and Blue documentary is excellent!
EDIT: The full title is "Nightmares in Red, White, and Blue"
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Nice. I haven't seen it yet so I'll have a look into that one. Thanks for the heads up!
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Originally Posted by Straker
Mark Gattis (The League of Gentlemen) made a quality horror doc, A History of Horror which is worth consideration. Filled with interviews and insights from horror legends and presented by someone with a genuine passion for the genre, well worth watching.
I haven't really seen that many horror docs though to be honest, so I haven't got much input to add, but I would like to see something special effects orientated in the list. Guys like Harryhausen, Bottin, Baker, Savini have really given a lot to the genre and this seems like a good opportunity to acknowledge their contribution, if possible. Something like;
The Starz Inside: Fantastic Flesh
Not a pure horror doc, but focuses on special effects, contains a lot of horror legends, well worth watching.
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Nice. And thank you for the youtube link as well!
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Originally Posted by Straker
Haven't seen it, but yes I definitely think that fits the bill.... I guess I was hoping for something that covered the history of sfx rather than just Harryhausen. That said, Harryhausen is an absolute legend and I'd be more than happy to have him represent the importance of special effects in horror.
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Same here. I am sure the Harryhausen doc would have covered his sci-fi career tool, but he did some quality work in giant monster films and fantasy films bordering on horror. We can include the doc based on him, no problem.
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Originally Posted by Giganticface
Great idea, V! A list of horror documentaries could be really valuable to a visitor stumbling upon our list. Maybe 5 is not enough, and at you'd consider reducing the number of Special Recs in favor of a handful more documentaries that you deem worthy.
I haven't seen many of the films mentioned, but now I'm excited to go watch them. Nightmares in Red, White and Blue is on Netflix streaming -- score! I've seen half of 100 Years of Horror, which was great. (That reminds me, I need to finish it.) I loved learning about the visionary Lon Chaney, who did his own makeup, the diverging careers and personalities of Bela vs. Boris, the Hammer explosion... Really interesting and informative.
As a counterpoint to all the straight horror documentaries, one film that was influential in my horror vocabulary was American Grindhouse (2010). While 100 Years of Horror covers the true legends, this film covers the branch of cinema that will never win an Academy Award, but had a stark influence on the horror genre (among others), including Freaks (1932), Maniac (1934), Blood Feast, and the like. It also puts legit classics like Dracula (1931), Frankenstein (1931) and Psycho in context as films that were subversive and disturbing for their time. I might have first learned about the cannibal subgenre from this film, but I could be misremembering. It definitely includes stuff like Ilsa, She Wolf of the SS and other shlocky stuff. However, more important than the actual films mentioned, it focuses on our collective lust to see shocking stuff, as well as the once-bustling grindhouse theater culture in which these films could be viewed. Anyway, just throwing it out there for variety. As others have mentioned regarding other documentaries, this one is not purely horror, but covers the underground that I believe is important to the genre. |
Thanks! Gee whiz how could I forget
American Grindhouse?! Quality stuff. Thanks for reminding me.
Yes, like Giganticface suggested, with so many good recommendations coming through, I am tempted to increase the number of documentary recommendations to TEN. The "Specially Recommended" section will be further pruned to 35 films, instead of 40.
Thanks, folks. We seal off the 2000s here, now that the majority don't seem to have any problems with the final SIX Honorable Mentions.
The final list of documentaries will be posted tomorrow by me, and we will wind up this project. If you can think of some other good recs for the documentaries, feel free to post ahead.
Expect the sticky up by Sunday, September 1st. I hope all fans of horror (and beyond) of our forum and the outside world benefit by it when the holiday season comes through in a month's time.