The latest purchase made literally minutes ago for a whoppin’ $4.23 at Thrift Store USA. I only know the name from the receipt. The big sign on the side of the building just says “Thrift Store.” So lessee here…Darjeeling Limited. Yeah, not horror, but Wes Anderson is one of my very most favoritest non-horror directors, and I needed a copy of this. The Cell I just had to get because, as bad alotta folks seem to think it is, it’s got a couple of things going for it. One is that it’s just straight up unapologetically bonkers and two, even better, Vincent D’Onofrio also being straight up unapologetically bonkers. White Noise was there, and I was already gettin’ other stuff anyway. And finally, Black Sunday. No, not 1960 Mario Bava Barbara Steele iron mask nailed to the face Black Sunday. No this is 1977 John Frankenheimer Robert Shaw Bruce Dern blimp crashing into the Superbowl Black Sunday. I have never seen a copy of this anywhere, so I figured it was a professional obligation to pick it up.

Okay, it’s not exactly a genuine, dyed in the wool, bona fide thrift store purchase per sem, but I’m gonna list it here anyway, for three reasons. First, when I did hit up one of the local thrift stores this week, all I found were some bowls to use for Lord Groovy’s cat food. Gotta keep Castle Blogferatu’s One True Lord And Godking appeased ere he rain down madness and despair upon all of Grooveland.

Second, I got a Criterion Flash Sale notification in my email. 50% off. I’m listing the ordered titles here mainly because I’m proud that I kept the order under $100 for once. Plus they’re all titles I’ve wanted for some time. Plus plus, the sale prices were really good for Criterion stuff. They have hands down the best transfers/restorations along with great special features.

And  third, as I’ve mentioned on numerous occasions, (switching to Bugs Bunny imitating Edward G. Robinson) it’s my blog, see? Yeah, yeah.

Crash

I’ve seen most of Cronenber’s movies, but this one I haven’t gotten to yet.

Jigoku

I’ve been a fan of Japanese horror for a good long time, but I’m low on many of these classics. I picked up Kwaidan a while ago, but there are still a few I need to pick up as well as watch.

The Night Of The Hunter

Of these 4, this is the only one I’ve seen, and it’s definitely one of my Top 10 Favorite Movies In The History Of Ever.

Onibaba

I’m really looking forward to this one. I’ve never seen it, always wanted to, and have had a helluva time getting a hold of my own copy. Every time a Criterion sale comes up, it’s either been out of print or out of stock. Finally I’m getting one.

Right. So with the good graces of those fine folks in brown, it should be a great viewing weekend.

315 posts! A mere 50 left! The light/train at the end of the tunnel! I recall saying a while back that I wanted to mark this milestone with something at least kinda special. Actually, I think I was going to do that for Post #300 originally but for some reason either I forgot or decided not to. But here we are!

So today’s celebratory post is a list, but not just any list. Some time ago I posed a question: What is a movie scene that disturbed/upset/traumatized you? What follows are the coindentally 20 responses I got to this question. In the interest of privacy, I’ve substituted people’s real names with usernames, nicknames, or first names only. There are a few exceptions, in which case, there’s probably a link to something.

It goes without saying that there will be spoilers. Let’s jump in.

1. Ann R– the rape scene in Last House On The Left when there is a runner of spit from Krug’s mouth to the girl’s face
   
2. bxbrucem– the guy with his eyes pecked out in The Birds
3. Cinema Parrot Disco– the orgy scene from Seconds
4. Cj– she actually gave me a number of these, but the one I’m choosing is the one she mentioned again at Venue last night: the Skeksi Chamberlain going “mmmMMMMmmmmm” in Dark Crystal
5. cosmoforking– I’m including both of his because I love his short film Commune: as a kid, the robot assimilation scene in Superman 3! As an adult the rape scene in Irréversible. Or in fact just all of Irréversible (I’m with him on this)
   
6. Dale– the death of Old Yeller (yeah, now I’m gonna be bummed out all day)
7. dalink– the beach scene from Saving Private Ryan (originally I asked specifically for horror scenes, but she argued quite convincingly that this is, in fact, very much horror)
8. Film Miasma– I’m listing all 3 of his because I love his blog: the murdered twins in The Shining, when that lady is looking through that peephole and (I think) Norman pops up up on the other side is Psycho 2 which “f-d me up for… a long time,” and an honorable mention would be the footage from the first ship in Event Horizon
9. Forrest– all of Apocalypse Now cuz he watched it when he was like 10
10. Frankenberry (author of Frankenberry’s Attic)- Malcolm McDowell singing Singin’ In The Rain in Clockwork Orange
11. geelw (author of Destroy All Fanboys!)- the diner scene from Mulholland Drive
12. Jennie– the Killer Dwarf killing Donald Sutherland in Don’t Look Now
13. jexsicadigital– baby scene from Trainspotting
14. JoeMatt– the Swamp Of Sadness from Neverending Story (jeebus I hated that as well)
15. Mack– the basilisk from Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets which, he says, “fucked me up for years”
16. Madame Verdurin (author of Cinemuffin)- she describes what she calls a “completely heartbreaking” scene from Blood Red Sky: the mother who’s become a vampire tries to protect her son. She repeatedly pushes the child away to put him under the sunlight. The boy can’t see the other vampires, so he just thinks his mother is pushing him away. She is completely transformed and cannot talk. The boy looks at her crying and keeps trying to go near her, and she has to push him away more violently. The more she fights to keep him safe the more he is desperate, thinking that his mother is definitely rejecting him and not recognizing him anymore (I haven’t seen this, but it sounds as bad as The Swamp Of Sadness and Old Yeller)
17. sarahh.eileen– the turkey baster in Don’t Breathe
18. Teech– the guy shot in the hand in Taxi Driver
19. teridammit– decapitation by phone pole of, as she called her, “that little demon child” from Hereditary (and this woman’s a nurse, so…yeah)
20. thevawriter (author of A View From This Wilderness)- Olivier/Hoffman dentist scene from Marathon Man. (Yeah. Is it safe?)

As for me, I actually never stopped to consider an answer. If I had to pin myself down to just one, I’d hafta go with… well… uh… it’s kind of an odd one given my ability to tolerate just about anything in a horror movie. But the “Help me” scene from the 1958 version of The Fly. Man, that voice. To this day, that voice gives me chills and makes me cringe, shudder, and wince. And that’s all of ’em! As always, feel free to leave your own down in the Comments!