25 Jan 1943 — 26 Aug 2017
Like George Romero (4 Feb 1940 — 16 July
2017), director Hooper was possibly plagued by the fact that his first general
release feature-film, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974), was such a stylistic
and influential masterpiece that there was no place for him to go but down. But
for all the bad or mediocre movies he made, he still made one more masterpiece
than most directors, as well as a small number of early-career horror movies of
note.
Go here for Part I: 1964-1982
Go here for Part II: 1983-1991
Go here for Part III: 1992-2003
The Nightmare Ends on Halloween
(2004, writ. & dir. Chris R. Notarile)
Tobe Hooper gets listed under "Those
Who Helped But Didn't Know It", along with other filmmakers whose famous
killers show up onscreen, however briefly (including Wes Craven). Leatherface has about five seconds screen time at most. Filmmaker Chris R. Notarile is
"a 2005 graduate from the School of Visual Arts with a BFA in animation
and does a lot of "fan movies".
Madhouse
(2004, dir. & co-writ. William Butler)
(2004, dir. & co-writ. William Butler)
Trailer to
Madhouse (2004):
Madhouse (2004):
All Movie
has the plot: "A deadly form of madness has taken over Cunningham Mental
Hospital, and it's not just the patients whose sanity is slipping in this dark
thriller […]. Cunningham is infamous for housing some of society's most
dangerously psychotic criminals, and when a staff nurse is murdered, newly
hired psychiatry intern Clark Stevens (Joshua Leonard of The Town That Dreaded
Sundown remake [2014 / trailer])
begins to sense that the staff is being held in the grip of a deadly madness.
As Clark begins an investigation into the murder, his research begins to yield
ominous answers that may be better left unexplored."
This movie gets mixed reactions: a search online
finds as many reviews praising its "unpredictability" and
"decent direction" as there are trashing its
"predictability" and "bad direction". Digital Retribution
is one of the yay-sayers: "I was really impressed […]. Director William
Butler […] does a really good job — Madhouse is stylish and pretty scary. It's
by no means a wildly original concept, but Butler injects a good bit of life
into whatever's trite — the scenes in the madhouse are particularly effective. The
performances are worthy of a nod too […]. Madhouse is stylish enough and scary
enough to warrant your immediate attention. Seek it out!"
Cinema Crazed
is of the less-impressed school of thought: "Madhouse is less of a bad
movie, and more an antecedent, a complete misfire of the potential towards its
concept from beginning to end. The plot and its characters are so ripe with
possibilities and writers William Butler, and Aaron Strongoni completely
sidestep that in exchange for attempted style. Which is a shame because Madhouse
has all the ingredients for easy-bake horror. There's atmosphere, gruesome
imagery, good-looking actors, a mental institution, nutty patients, a shady
staff, and a killer offing people (two total), but nothing is ever really
accomplished here. Director Butler does have a knack for sheer style and
atmosphere creating a setting that is both visually appealing and utterly sick.
He sometimes pays homage to Barker and Lovecraft — or at least he tries, and
sometimes he succeeds and this wasn't completely difficult to look at."
Toolbox Murders
(2004, dir, Tobe Hooper)
"Every year thousands of people come to Hollywood to pursue their dreams. Some succeed. Some move back home... And some just disappear."
(2004, dir, Tobe Hooper)
"Every year thousands of people come to Hollywood to pursue their dreams. Some succeed. Some move back home... And some just disappear."
Interestingly enough, the original Toolbox
Murders, from 1978, was inspired in part by the original Texas Chainsaw
Massacre (1974). Producer Tony Didio, impressed by the success of Hooper's movie,
decided to make a killer flick of his own, and the final result was the
misogynistic cult classic starring the great (?) Cameron Mitchell. "The
events dramatized in this film actually took place in 1967" — NOT!
Trailer to the original
Toolbox Murders (1978):
Toolbox Murders (1978):
So, 26 years later, Hooper helmed the
"remake", which was produced by the same producers as the first
version. In all truth, it is less a remake than simply a completely new movie
using the same title, as the original psycho-killer plot was dumped for a
supernatural-killer one. (The poster directly below is to the original film, by the way. Dunno of you could get away with a poster like that in today's prudish climate.) One notices a killer that reeks somewhat of "We hope he becomes a franchise".
Trailer to
The Toolbox Murders (2004):
There is rumor out there — Surprize! — that like
so many of Tobe Hooper's projects, Toolbox Murders fell victim to financial
difficulties, a rumor spread as fact by many, including Crimson Quill:
"[…] Toolbox Murders was plagued by problems which drastically altered the
end product. Once financing dissolved two-thirds of the way through principal
shooting, the entire production went into the shit-can, forcing him to
prematurely splice what footage he already had together haphazardly in a
frantic attempt to recoup any significant losses. Essentially, the final cut is
something of a hotchpotch and suffers all manner of lapses in cohesion and unevenness
of tone."
But assuming the two scriptwriters, Jace Anderson &
Adam Gierasch,
aren't lying through their teeth during their interview with Dread Central,
they totally refute the rumor, saying, "Oh, and for the record, about Toolbox
Murders: the rumor that's running around on IMDB saying that the film ran out
of money, and a third of the script wasn't shot — that's total bullshit. I don't
know where that came from, but it's just not true." Indeed, it would seem that if the
production company ran out of money for The Toolbox Murders, they would hardly
have had any money for their next production, Mortuary, which was written by
the same duo and directed by Hooper.
Mortuary
(2005, dir. Tobe Hoper)
Not in any way a remake of the much earlier and relatively forgotten dead teenager film Mortuary from 1983 (trailers), poster below, featuring (Spoiler!) a young Bill Paxton (17 May 1955 – 25 Feb 2017) as the obvious killer — he listens to classical music — and Christopher George (25 Feb 1931 – 28 Nov 1983) in one of his last roles. No, here Tobe Hooper finally directs his first
"zombie" film — and people generally hated it. Mortuary was to become
his last feature film project directed in the US.
In their interview at Dread Central, scriptwriters Jace Anderson &
Adam Gierasch
say, "[…] It's Lovecraft-inspired. It used to be set in Arkham,
Massachusetts. It used to be much more directly Lovecraftian and since we’ve
moved it to southern California, we toned that down. It's still definitely
influenced by Lovecraft. Lovecraft fans will see the influence of things like Colour
Out of Space." Indeed, around 28 minutes into the movie, one sees a quote
carved in the on the vault's door — "That is not dead which can eternal
lie, and with strange eons even death may die" — which is from H.P.
Lovecraft's The Nameless City.
Trailer to
Mortuary:
Masters of Horror —
Dance of the Dead & The Damned Thing
(2005 & 2006, dir. Tobe Hooper)
Mortuary:
Masters of Horror —
Dance of the Dead & The Damned Thing
(2005 & 2006, dir. Tobe Hooper)
Instigated by director Mick Garris (Sleepwalkers
[1992] and Riding the Bullet
[2004]), the anthology series featured name horror directors doing one-hour
movies, usually based on stories by genre masers. Hooper's first entry, Dance
of the Dead, was based on a short story by Richard Matheson, while The Damned
Thing was based on one by Ambrose Bierce; the teleplay of both was written by Richard
Christian Matheson. Masters of Horrors lasted two seasons before being revamped
as Fear Itself, which lasted one.
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The
Beginning
(2006, dir. Jonathan Liebesman)
Interestingly enough, this time around
neither Tobe Hooper nor Kim Henkel get any mention for "characters"
or even "inspired by", but for that they are listed among the many producers
of the movie. Director Liebesman, one assumes, won the job due to his
relatively entertaining if flawed horror Darkness Falls (2002 / trailer)
which, admittedly, we only bothered to see 'cause we used to find Emma
Caulfield a hot tamale. (We assume she still is; we just haven't noticed her anywhere.) The screenplay was written by Sheldon Turner, who, in
an example of apples and oranges followed this project up with the screenplay
to Jason Reitman's Up in the Air (2009 / trailer).
Trailer to
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning:
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning:
But not everybody hates the movie. For the Love of Celluloid
is of the opinion that "The Beginning is the movie that should
have been made the first time around. It's nasty, sweaty, and dark in
all the right places. It's really surprising that a movie this graphic even
made it through the studio system. It may be an entry in an already gory horror
franchise, but this is brutal stuff! Just because the film is violent as shit,
doesn't mean there aren’t moments of dark humor though. These are mostly
supplied by R. Lee Ermey's dialogue."
Jordana Brewster, also found in the much
more fun pro-drug movie The Faculty (1998 / trailer)
and seen above from Allure magazine (2015), plays the not quite Final Girl.
The Lost
(2006, writ & dir Chris Sivertson )
Based on a novel by Jack Ketchum, who is
seen briefly playing a bartender. The novel was inspired by the true story of
American serial killer Charles Schmid
(8 July 1942 – 30 March 1975), aka "The Pied Piper of Tucson", who
had already inspired two earlier films: The Todd Killings (1971 / music score)
and Dead Beat (1994 / Debbie Harry).
Trailer to
The Lost:
The Lost:
Dr Gore
gives the flick "3 out of 4 Pied Pipers", saying: "The Lost is a
pretty good flick. I enjoyed it. The Lost takes a while to get going but
eventually delivers at the end. There is a lot of build-up between the first
murders and Ray Pye's eventual transformation into a raving psychopath. Ray
tries to grab onto whatever is left of his humanity but any normal woman will
see right through his deceit. The Lost paints a sick portrait of a budding
psycho. It's worth a look."
Autopsy
(2008, dir. Adam Gierasch)
Among the many names the director thanks in
the credits of this, his feature film directorial debut, is Tobe Hooper. Adam Gierasch, of
course, was half of the writing team that wrote Hooper's smash critical
successes, Crocodile (2000), Toolbox Murders (2004) and Mortuary (2005).
Indeed, he co-wrote this movie here with that other half, Jace Anderson.
Trailer to
Autopsy:
Autopsy:
The Woman
(2011, dir. Lucky McKee)
(2011, dir. Lucky McKee)
Yes, men are scum. (Have any doubts? Lose them by looking at at Roy Moore and Trump or even Micth McConnell... and Weinstein, of course.) Perhaps the most
contentious movie from director McKee, who wowed the masses with May (2002 /
trailer)
and impressed almost as many people with The Woods
(2006). Written together with Jack Ketchum, the movie is a loose sequel to the Andrew van den Houten
movie The Offspring (2009 / trailer),
likewise scripted by Ketchum. Tobe Hooper is among the many people "The
Producers would like to Thank".
Cine-vue
has a plot-lite version of the narrative: "In a small rural town, a family
man discovers the last remaining member of a flesh-eating cannibal clan roaming
the woods surrounding his home. Thinking he can cultivate this creature, he
captures it and introduces her to his family, with the plan of working together
to make her a respected member of society."
Trailer to
The Woman:
The Woman:
The Butterfly Room
(2012, dir. Jonathan Zarantonello)
(2012, dir. Jonathan Zarantonello)
"The filmmakers wish to thank Tobe
Hooper" — and some two dozen other people. And what a cast of faces and
faves: Barbara Steele as one of the leads, and elsewhere (sometimes just in
passing, sometimes more important) James Karen, Adrienne King, P.J. Soles, Joe
Dante, Camille Keaton, Heather Langenkamp, Ray Wise, and Erica Leerhsen (OK,
Erica isn't a name, but she should be).
Original Teaser:
Screen Daily
observes that "This psycho-horror film is constructed around the
magisterial presence of British-born actress Barbara Steele, who emerged as a
major presence in horror in the early 1960s with roles for Mario Bava in Italy
(La Maschera del demonio, aka Mask Of Satan, aka Black Sunday [1960 / trailer
below]) and Roger Corman in Hollywood (Pit And The Pendulum [1961 / trailer]),
though she also appeared in Fellini's 8½ (1963 / trailer). [….]
Steel here has the sort of star turn venerable genre icons like Boris Karloff
and Vincent Price often found in their golden years. Ann, the mad mother
Steele plays, feels like the sort of ageing female maniac popular in the wake
of What Ever Happened To Baby Jane? (1962 / trailer)
and often found in the films of Curtis Harrington in the 1970s — and gives
Steele more to chew on than her last psychopath casting, in the 1978 slasher
film Silent Scream (trailer)."
Trailer to
Black Sunday (1960):
Black Sunday (1960):
The plot, as found at Click the City:
"Elderly, reclusive Ann (Barbara Steele) spends her days tending to her
butterfly collection. The film documents her relationships with two young
girls. The first is her neighbor Julie (Ellery Sprayberry),
who finds herself neglected as her mother pursues a new beau. And the second is
Alice (Julia Putnam),
an eleven year-old she encounters at the mall. Ann lavishes motherly affection
on these two young girls, but that love soon transforms into something darker
as she struggles to keep them under her thrall."
Trailer to
The Butterfly Room:
UK Horror Scene is
of the opinion that "The supporting cast are of course excellent, particularly
Heather Langenkamp as Ann's daughter — if only she’d do more movies. Ray Wise
also has a relatively prominent role as the apartment handyman and is as
memorable as always. With the aforementioned other notables in the cast there's
always a danger of star spotting dominating the movie as opposed to the actual
narrative. Here though the cameos are nicely navigated and rarely get in the
way of things. The Butterfly Room is a rarity as what it's done has taken the
21st century horror rulebook of predictability, ripped it up and created a
sinister tale of maternal control and feverish obsession that is dripping in
class thanks to a terrific central performance."
Slice and Dice: The Slasher Film
Forever
(2012, dir. Calum Waddell)
Tobe Hooper appears as a talking head in
this documentary celebrating "slasher cinema — from Psycho (1960 / trailer)
to the present day, with a focus on highlighting many of the genre's forgotten
cult classics, deconstructing how to survive a slice and dice movie and
meditating upon why it is almost always a final girl and rarely a final guy...
this is a documentary which is designed for both the biggest fan of 'mad
maniac' movies and the person who may only have seen Halloween and
Scream."
Trailer:
The film is cut-up (get it? hah-hah) into six body parts:
"How to survive a slasher film", "The genre's greatest
hits", "The final girl", "Making a memorable movie
maniac", "The secret of a good gore gag" and, finally, "The
slasher film forever". Tobe Hooper is probably the best known of the few
granddaddies of the genre to make an appearance, followed by Mick Garris and Tom
Holland (Fright Night [1985 / trailer]
and Chucky [1988 / trailer]),
while most of the other names are from the new generations or relatively
obscure. (Scott Spiegel and Intruder / Bloodnight [1989 / trailer],
anyone? Or how about Dave Parker and — GAG! — The Dead Hate the Living
[2000])?
Texas Chainsaw 3D
(2013, dir. John Luessenhop)
Let's whip that dead horse! Not that Tobe
Hooper had all that much to do with the movie, other than to share credit with
Kim Henkel for "characters".
2D Trailer to
Texas Chainsaw 3D:
Texas Chainsaw 3D:
Plot, from Jigsaw:
"Literally picking up moments after the 1965 [sic] classic, Texas Chainsaw opens
with a gunfight at the ranch that sees the Sawyers protecting their own against
the vigilantes seeking revenge after the events of the original and intend to
leave the farmhouse with nothing less than the head of Jed, or more prominently
known as… Leatherface (Dan Yeager). Fast
forward several years and the sole survivor of the shootout finds herself
inherent [sic] of a mansion that brings back memories for the locals but not Heather
(Alexandra *sigh* Daddario). Taking the news that she was adopted badly,
she turns away from her trailer-trash parents Gavin (David Born) and Arlene
(Sue Rock) and heads into the homeland of Leatherface with her friends seeking
her true identity..."
Djinn
(2013, dir.Tobe Hooper)
(2013, dir.Tobe Hooper)
Written by David Tully, who, if rumors are
correct, is currently writing the screenplay to a Dario Argento horror movie
based on ETA Hoffmann's short story The Sandman to feature Iggy Pop. (The mind
boggles.) His only other credit that we could find was the script to a German
TV horror movie, Hepzibah — Sie holt dich im Schlaf (2010 / English trailer),
directed by Robert Sigl, who way back in 1989 made minor waves with a perverse
little horror movie entitled Laurin (German trailer).
Trailer to
Djin:
One wonders how problematic a reputation
one has when it takes a "name" director seven years to get another
project, and then the "name" even has to travel all the way to the United Arab
Emirates, a monarchy in which 7.8 of its 9.2 citizens are expatriates, where women
who report getting raped are jailed, flogging is an accepted punishment for
criminal offenses such as adultery, premarital sex and alcohol consumption, and
as recently as 2014 two women were stoned to death for adultery. But that
seems to have been the case with Tobe Hooper with this UAE-financed movie, his
last completed feature film.
Djin was not well received anywhere,
including the UAE: according to The Guardian,
the release of "the United Arab Emirates' first horror film and the eighth
full-length Emirati feature to date [2012]" was delayed because
"someone close to Abu Dhabi's royal family has seen the movie and does not
appreciate its portrayal of the UAE, and considers the movie to be politically
subversive." A revelation sharply contested by those in UAE involved in
the production, but what cannot be contested is that it took forever to get
released and then, after a few film festivals, it ended up pretty much being put
out with the trash and, as far as we can tell, was never given an official
theatrical release. Djin is, however, now available on DVD.
The Science Fiction, Horror and Fantasy Film Review
watched the DVD and has the plot to a film they call "an exercise in
tedium": "In New York City, Khalid's wife Salama (Razane Jammal) has
been having emotional problems since the death of their child due to Sudden
Death Infant Syndrome. A counselor they consult suggests it would be a good
idea if Khalid (Khalid
Laith) took a job has he been offered back in the United Arab Emirates so
that Salama can reconnect with and benefit from the support of her family.
Arriving back in Abu Dhabi, they are driven to their new home, the Al Hamra
tower block in the desert, which is surrounded by perpetual fog bank. Salama's
mother is fearful as Al Hamra has been built on the site of a village reputed
to be haunted by djinn. Almost immediately after moving in, Salama starts to
see things haunting her. She becomes very afraid as a supernatural force seems
determined to expose the true cause of her baby's death."
But to offer a rare voice of positivism
regarding the movie, UK Horror Scene
liked it: "That was great! So glad I watched it. Now it's not perfect, but
dang, do yourself a favor and check it out! It also seriously blows Wishmaster
(1987) out of the water! Which is the only other djinn-based horror movie I can
think of…"
Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold
Story of Cannon Films
(2014, writ & dir. Mark Hartley)
Tobe Hooper appears as a talking head and
receives a "Deepest Appreciations" credit in this documentary about
the legendary independent producers Yoram Globus
and Menahem
Golan, otherwise known as Cannon Films. (Interestingly enough, both refused
to be interviewed for the film.)
Other docs Mark Hartley has made include Not
Quite Hollywood: The Wild, Untold Story of Ozploitation! (2008 / trailer)
and Machete
Maidens Unleashed! (2010 / trailer);
in 2013, Hartley made his first non-documentary feature film, Patrick (trailer),
obviously enough a remake of Patrick (1978/ trailer).
Trailer to
Electric Boogaloo:
Electric Boogaloo:
2,500 Movie Challenge says, "[...]
Electric Boogaloo covers the careers of Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus, a pair
of cousins from Israel who loved movies so much that they decided to make some
of their own. After scoring major hits in their home country (Lemon Popsicle [1977
/ trailer],
a nudity-laced look at teenage life in Tel Aviv, is still one of that country's
biggest Box Office successes), the two headed to America where, in 1979, they
took control of Cannon Films, at the time a small, struggling studio. Putting
the focus squarely on B-movies, the duo produced flicks like Enter the Ninja (1981
/ trailer),
The Last American Virgin (1982 / trailer)
(a U.S. remake of Lemon Popsicle), and Death Wish II (1982 / trailer).
Golan was a filmmaker at heart, and left the financial side of the business to
his partner Globus, who many called the more 'reasonable' of the two. For a
while, their approach worked; throughout the '80s, Cannon turned out dozens and
dozens of low-budget pictures each and every year, a few of which actually made
money. [...]"
Deleted segment on
Cannon & Marvel
Comics:
Video Graveyard
raves "Hartley has gathered an impressive array of subjects here and they
offer up many stories of Cannon's iffy business practices and cheapness. [...]
It was great to see cult movie goddess Sybil Danning, Cannon's always busy
go-to director Sam Firstenberg [...], and even Django himself, Franco Nero. I
also really loved the segments involving American Ninja (1985 / trailer)
star Michael Dudikoff as he recalls them trying to make him into the next big
young action hero and Tobe Hooper's recollections of basically flipping the
bird at them by making his Texas Chain Saw Massacre sequel more of a black
comedy than horror. There's just so many hilarious stories on hand and
astonishing details of the studio's inner workings that this is essential
viewing for anyone who remembers their anticipation when they'd see that famous
logo and hear the iconic 'dum-dah-dum' music before the movie they were about
to watch. [...] If you grew up with Cannon like I did you're going to adore
this. Even if you didn't this should still be essential viewing if you have any
interest in the behind-the-scenes workings of a company that played it fast and
loose but somehow had a hell of a run. This has been my most anticipated doc
since it was originally announced and I came away from it with a huge grin
plastered on my face."
Leatherface
(2017, dir. Alexandre Bustillo
& Julien Maury)
Tobe Hooper is gone, but his characters live
on. He's even listed as an executive producer. The French team Alexandre Bustillo
& Julien Maury
came to the project, on assumes, by way of their previous French projects, À
l'intérieur / Inside (2007 / French trailer),
Livide / Livid (2011 / French trailer), and Aux yeux des vivants / Among the Living
(2014 / French trailer).
And though they wrote the scripts to those three projects, the screenplay for
this one came from Seth M. Sherwood.
Trailer to
Leatherface:
Leatherface:
A prequel to TCM (choose your version),
despite its Texas setting Leatherface was shot in Bulgaria, making it the first
of any TCM movie to not be filmed in the US of A. The film, yet another prequel
— see The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning (2006), the existence of which
this movie totally ignores. According to Wikipedia, "Seth M. Sherwood
pitched Leatherface to Millennium Films as a prequel that would follow the
titular character in a mentally competent state, enduring trauma that
transforms him into the intellectually disabled murderer seen in the previous
films. Maury and Bustillo signed on as directors after reading the screenplay,
impressed with what they found to be a unique take on the long-running
franchise. The film takes place in the canon established by [Michael Bay's]
Texas Chain Saw Massacre (2003) and Texas Chainsaw 3D (2013), chronologically
taking place before the two films."
Casey Movie Mania
pretty much sums up what most people seem to feel about the movie when he says,
"Been there, done that." Over at Roger Ebert
infers the same by claiming that movie has "a sleepy story that could
easily be titled I Was a Teenage Leatherface". And while we haven't seen
it, we can't help but notice that both the key features that made the original
film so scary, the claustrophobia of the location as well as the total removal
from civilization, are thoroughly lacking in what is almost a road movie. The
events of the original TCM could happen because the events were done under the
radar deep in the middle or rural nowhere; here, the events scream for the
world to take notice.
Digital Journal
has the plot: "Jed (Boris Kabakchiev)
is the youngest of the Sawyer clan, not yet inducted into their bloody
traditions of torture and murder. But it's not for a lack of trying or
encouragement by his mother, Verna (Lili Taylor)… the boy simply appears to have
the conscience the rest of them were born without. However, when they brutally
kill the wrong person, the sheriff (Stephen Dorff of Botched
[2007 / trailer] and Blade [1998],
seen below from Shadowboxer [2005 / trailer])
makes it his mission in life to 'save' children from familial endangerment by
removing them from their homes. As a result, Jed grows up in the system before
finally landing at a mental institution. The inmates are restless and desperate
to avoid the doctor’s experimental procedures, so at the first available
opportunity they break out. A deranged couple, Clarice (Jessica Madsen) and Ike
(James Bloor), take a couple of their fellow inmates, Jackson (Sam Strike) and Bud
(Sam Coleman), and a nurse named Lizzy (Vanessa Grasse) along for the ride, but
it's not going to end well for any of them. [...]"
Used in the movie —
Nathaniel Mayer's
Leave Me Alone:
Tobe Hooper — May He R.I.P.
Leave Me Alone:
Tobe Hooper — May He R.I.P.
No comments:
Post a Comment