Horror Costuming: Bram Stoker's Dracula

by Cláudio Alves

For the past few weeks, I've been exploring the greatness of costume design in the realm of horror cinema. None of the movies we discussed, not even those somewhat embraced in the awards circuit, got many golden laurels for their feats of costuming. That's, unfortunately, what usually happens to cinematic excellence that happens to manifest outside the boundaries of prestige drama. However, there are always a few exceptions that prove the rule. Such is the case of Francis Ford Coppola's 1992 adaptation of Bram Stoker's Dracula. The picture won three Academy Awards, including the prize for Best Costume Design.

The creations of the late Eiko Ishioka are some of the weirdest and most spellbinding costumes ever made for cinema and, as far as I'm concerned, she's the greatest recipient of my favorite Oscar. Michael has recently explored his first foray into the dark marvels of Dracula, and Jason has previously explored Eiko's Oscar win. Nonetheless, I couldn't let Halloween go by without revisiting this most wondrous of big-screen wardrobes. Join me on this deep dive into the nightmarish fantasy of Eiko Ishioka's Dracula…

Click to read more ...

Fave Costume: Dr Ellie Sattler from "Jurassic Park"

We thought it would be fun to have Team Experience share favourite Halloween costumes with you. Here's the final entry from Ginny O'Keefe

It’s DOCTOR Ellie Sattler. She went to school and got a PhD in paleontology so you better put some respect on her full name!

 Jurassic Park was the first film I remember seeing. It was on a constant loop throughout most of my childhood. As a kid I would re-enact the kitchen scene with the raptors by hiding in my kitchen cabinets and crawling on the floor hoping to be unseen by my mother who just wanted to make dinner in peace! I also saw the movie in theaters when it was re-released and in 3D back in 2013 for it’s 20th anniversary. Yes, I sobbed like baby because of the power of nostalgia. This movie has always been a huge part of my life and it helped unleash my imagination and creativity as a kid. So, of course I needed to honor it on the scariest night of the year. I just happened to honor it 26 years after its original release. A little late, but better late than never...

Click to read more ...

Himbos in Peril: The Boxer-Briefs Horror of David DeCoteau

by Patrick Gratton

Marcus Hobson’s body trembled as he felt an external power take control. “Is this what enlightenment feels like?” Nothing’s been the same since the night he met Jaspen Frasier, the president of Omega Alpha Psy. Marcus never saw himself pledging. But that all changed with a single touch, as Jaspen confided in Marcus the secrets of his success. This holy ointment, was god’s, or the devil’s, gift to man to reclaim eternal power. The veil that set him back had been lifted, everything was within his grasp. Exhilarated, he wanted to be free to possess whatever his will desired. He basked in his beauty. His modesty had withered away, he felt free, free of the confines of his mind and soul. What mind? What soul? Little did Marcus know that those were withering away as well.

This is an excerpt from a synopsis of the David DeCoteau film The Brotherhood VII: The Ascension. Or is it? Does the film actually exist? I might have made it up but does it matter? With a filmography whose imagery and plots are so indistinguishably alike, as to make the audience's mind as foggy as the hunky protagonists, who is there really to say?

As a self-described “Gay Roger Corman”, the prolific DeCoteau has 160+ directorial credits to his name. It’s rare to find a filmmaker with such a large output, delving into so many various genres, with such limited social imprint. Despite his success working with B-Movie Mogul Charles Band, DeCoteau’s name is barely mentioned, even within the halls of the queer horror canon...

Click to read more ...

Horror Actressing: Manuela Velasco in "[REC]" (2007)

by Jason Adams

Whenever you read a plot synopsis of the 2007 found-footage masterpiece [REC] by Spanish filmmakers Jaume Balagueró and Paco Plaza (both of whom have gone on to make outstanding films on their own, not to mention a couple of outstanding sequels to [REC] itself) it's worth noting that the synopsis always leaves out the first fifteen minutes of the movie. It's always like this, stolen off Wikipedia:

"Reporter Ángela Vidal and her cameraman Pablo are covering the night shift in one of Barcelona's local fire stations for the documentary television series While You're Sleeping. While they are recording, the firehouse receives a call about an old woman..."

There is far more meat to that "while they are recording" then one would think...

Click to read more ...

Horror Costuming: Us

by Cláudio Alves

Many a great horror movie gained its place of honor in film culture partly due to its images of evil. There's Hannibal Lecter muzzled like a mad dog, Leatherface in a taxidermized mask, Dracula's sharp tuxedo, and other such sartorial miracles of materialized malevolence. Jordan Peele's Us adds another unforgettable sight to this gallery of rogues. With their red jumpsuits and golden shears, the Tethered are one of cinema's newest and most complex monstrosities, as memorable as they are frightening…

Click to read more ...