Horror Actressing: Janet Leigh in "Psycho"

by Jason Adams

Sixty years ago today Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho premiered at the DeMille Theater, located at 701 7th Avenue in New York City. That theater, just north of Times Square, no longer exists; funny enough, given the substance they used as a substitute for blood in the film's infamous shower scene, there's a Hershey's Chocolate store located there today. I wonder what they'd think if I went in there and started spraying chocolate syrup all over myself screaming, "Oh god! Mother! Blood! Blood!" I digress. (Do I ever.) Point being it's the right moment to finally devote some "Great Moments in Horror Actressing" to the shower's favorite Scream Queen, Janet Leigh.

But I want to take Marion Crane out of the shower. She deserves it, sixty years on...

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Horror Actressing: Patty Mullen in "Frankenhooker"

by Jason Adams

One of the instigating factors in me deciding to do this here "Great Moments in Horror Actressing" series at The Film Experience was the chance to write up performances that wouldn't normally get this sort of attention. That's not to say that Nathaniel doesn't encourage coverage of a wide-ranging, sea to shining cinematic sea, sort -- he's as fond of trash as I am, bless his heart. It's just I know for a fact -- I did a search! -- that today marks the first time the name Patty Mullen or the film Frankenhooker (which just celebrated its 30th anniversary last week) have been mentioned here on this site, and when those names rub up against something classy like the "Supporting Actress Smackdown" well, I get a buzz.

Cue trailer voiceover dude intonation -- Imagine A World where Patty Mullen's name, like a purple bolt of lightning, zapped oh let's say Mary McDonnell's name off of Oscar's Supporting Actress line-up of 1990...

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Horror Actressing: Betty Gabriel in "Get Out"

by Jason Adams

She says "No" fourteen times. It starts off with an "Ohh" that swings into an "Oh, no." Then it gets a little cutesy with a sarcastically sweet "Nooo" that reads as violently as a Southerner saying "Well bless your heart." From there it's a tumble, a cascade of no-no-no's swallowing up each one before it -- a walling-off of panic followed by a hard, thick swallow. A sharp inhale. The computer reboots. "Aren't you something," she asks, blinking off tears she can't seem to even feel running down her face. 

And now Georgina (Betty Gabriel) leans forward, conspiratorially, coming even closer to the camera...

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The New Classics: The Descent

Michael Cusumano here to discuss the movie scene that scared me more than any other in my adult life.

There are some tried and true rules of horror filmmaking that get trotted out whenever the topic is discussed. There is The Hitchcock Rule about the difference between suspense and surprise, and The Jaws Rule about withholding the monster from view until absolutely necessary. I propose adding a new rule to the list of horror maxims: The Descent Rule, named after Neil Marshall’s 2005 terrifying excursion into the caves of Appalachia: Structure your story so that it’s scary even if the main threat never arrived. 

Scene: The Tunnel
The Descent didn’t invent this principle, of course...

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Horror Actressing: Rosario Dawson in "Death Proof"

by Jason Adams

Every time I see Quentin Tarantino's bifurcated 2007 flick Death Proof I want to write about Death Proof, and every time I write about Death Proof I tell myself I'm going to write about something besides Rosario Dawson's performance in Death Proof... and every time I spectacularly fail at this mission. This "Great Moments in Horror Actressing" post you're now reading is further proof, dead proof, of just that. It's just there is that moment, that single moment seen above, where Tarantino's camera zooms in on Dawson's face as her worry melts into absolute exaltation, and it is by my humble estimate one of the greatest, most electric close-ups in cinematic history. Just that!

But we are, like so much of this movie, zooming right on ahead of ourselves. Just what is it about that moment that makes all the hairs on my arms stand on end?

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