If You Like ______, Then You Should Watch _______ - Vol #1: Suspiria/The Bird With The Crystal Plumage

If You Like _______, Then You Should Watch _____ is a new column that will be appearing here on CCD.NYC weekly. Whenever people try recommending a movie to someone they instantly go with the line: "It's like ____ meets ____". It is the easiest way to convince someone to watch a new film... appeal to their basic sense of past movies they have seen and might have liked. It usually works too, since people like to compare & contrast things they are going to do with things they have already done. So in order to broaden your horizons and open you to some new films, we will use that model to help you discover some celluloid gold.

Today's Pick: If You Like Suspiria, Then You Should Watch The Bird With The Crystal Plumage

My 3 Favorite Scary Movies Of All Time: Mike D. Edition

Ever since that scene in Scream where Ghostface asks Ms Barrymore that same question people have been asking each other it with regularity. Actually, I'm pretty sure they have been asking each other that since the beginning of film itself. Scary movies are just so easy to talk about... and so easy to form an opinion of. For many reasons they are the genre of movies that you can point to and say "Yup, these are the ones I LOVE!!!" In honor of CCD's 1st annual All Horror Week, we decided to highlight some of our contributors and friends 3 favorite scary/horror movies of all time. These may not be the best, but they are each person's FAVORITE, so these lists should be quite fun. Here we go!

"It's The Drunk Monk with a Quart of Balantine..."

I've been writing these blurb paragraphs all week about the great group of people we got here at CCD who commented on their 3 favorite scary movies. Now its time for my picks... damn, I wish somebody could write this intro for me. Anyways, I am the creator of CCD and I am an absolute horror fanatic. When I was a kid, my mom owned a flower shop. On the same block was a video store. She would give them a free arrangement once a week, in return I was allowed to rent a movie a day. So I used to rush home and rent a horror movie, and run to watch it before anybody got home from work. I watched so many horror flicks it hurts my head. Thats when I got hooked. So here are the 3 scary movies that I love the best:

Evil Dead 2 (1987) - There are two reasons why I love this movie (and the franchise so much.) Number 1: Sam Raimi and the cast never take themselves to serious. They make you smile, while in the next scene they make you scream. It's like a bigger budgeted version of the first one (which was made on the cheap). I love the chainsaw scenes, and all the basement locking that takes place puts a smile on my mug. Number 2: I loved, loved, loved the box cover art above!!! That skull stuck with me for my whole childhood. Once I got a shot at seeing some horror flicks, I was renting this one quite regularly. I thoroughly recommend this one!!!!

Suspria - (1977) - I remember the first time I watched Suspiria. I had gotten my aforementioned 1 movie rental one day (this one recommended by the counter guy), and after I popped it into my VCR, I sat down and was not really to optomstic about it. Then the hanging scene (above) came on, and I almost choked on my popcorn... WTF was this??? The colors were so bright and vivid, the POV of the killer that has become Argento's trademark, and the total brutality of the kills (another Argento trademark) had me hooked. After it was done, the next day I confronted the counter guy and begged him for more... did this guy Argento make any other movies? He hit me off with a few more titles, and my life as a Argento fanboy was set in motion. Every top 10, 50 or 100 horror movie list I have ever seen has this in the top 5. There is a reason for that. Amazing... just amazing. 

Bloodsuckng Freaks (1976) - Good. Fucking. God. Why is this my all time favorite scary movie, ever? Let me briefly explain: Midget henchman? Check. Psychotic hypnotist/magician/sadist? Check. Magic show that is really a snuff show? Check. Blowdarts? Check. Head drilling? Check. Brain being sucked through a straw? Check. Kidnapping & inprisionment of naked women? Check. Woman being used as a dinner table? Check... I can do this all day. Honestly, this is the sickest movie I have ever come across (and I have watched some sick ones, right Jeff, Bri & Taa? Turtle soup anyone...lol) It's a amazing precursor to the torture porn of Saw & Hostel by 25 years, the most bloody and violent movie I have ever seen, and its completely unapologetic approach towards violence makes it tough to watch again. I tried recently, and actually turned t off because it made me uncomfortable (despite the fact that I have seen it 100's of times). It's on Netflix Instant... just make sure no kids (or judgemental adults) are around when you induldge. Sick fun. 

*****Honorable Mention*****

I Spit On Your Grave (og version), Creepshow, Tenebre, Evil Dead 3: Army of Darkness, and High Tension. 

Check Out The Italian Horror Film Invasion On Netflix Instant Streaming!!!

It's October, aka Spook Season... so what better way to spend it then watching horror films? I am a huge fan of Netflix Instant Streaming, and they have tons of wonderful horror titles ready for your viewing pleassure at the click of a button. Today I am going to focus on one of my favorite sub-genres of horror films, Italian horror movies. Italian horror is an acquired taste. The movies are usually in English (or dubbed in English) and tend to be a bit gore orientated. Though not as popular as their American counterparts, Italian horror films make up some of the best in the genre. I am a particular fan of late 70's/80's Italian horror, particularly the work of Dario Argento. He is my second favorite film director behind Kubrick. Not just horror director, all kinds of movies. The guys is amazing. Ask any true horror fan, and they will tell you that Italian horror is a must watch.

First up, lets take a look at Argento's films that Netflix Instant has to offer. His seminal classic, Suspiria (1977), is unreal and a must watch amongst all film fans. The colors, the scenery... wow, just wow. Also,  catch Opera (1987), Two Evil Eyes (1990), and his two contributions to the great Masters of Horror TV series entitled Jennifer (2006) & Pelts (2006). Also, check out The Church (1989), which was written and produced by Argento. The rest of his titles are available on traditional mailing Netflix. I reccomend Tenebre (1982), Inferno (1980) and Phenomena (1985) if you are going to add any to your mailing que. 

Next, we got Mario Bava.You can start with the all time great analogy film Black Sabbath (1963), which features 3 nerve tingling tales narrated by horror icon Boris Karloff. Next, check out Hatchet for the Honeymoon (1988), Shock (1977) & Panet of the Vampires (1965). If you are going to get any Bava flicks in the mail, try the all time classics Black Sunday (1960) & Blood and Black Lace (1963). Most people say that Bava was 20 years ahead of the curve in the slasher genre, and Blood and Black Lace is often sited as such an example.

Finally, we get Lucio Fulci. Fulci is a very gifted filmmaker, but unfortunately his best works are not available for instant streaming. City of the Living Dead (1980) and The New York Ripper (1982) are. If you are a serious horror fan then order The Beyond (1981), House by the Cemetary (1981), The Black Cat (1981), and Zombi 3 (1988) by mail. Trust me, you will not be disappointed.

Hope you enjoy the great 3 Italian Horror directors and all their films. Expand your horizons and check some of these titles out if you truly love horror cinema. At this time of year, its good to get some new scares. Happy viewings!!!