November 27th, 1999"TWISTED FAMILY VALUES"   Some families are considered to be dysfunctional. Well the three families that make-up this grab bag are quite beyond that. These families enjoy murder, bloodshed and torture. These families just love to see people suffer. Yet these families, as nutty as they may be, do love each other...oh yes. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre [1974] shows what has to be the most twisted family in the annals of motion picture history. This legendary 1974 classic has a Texan brood who just love to have visitors (and love to torture and kill them too). And wouldn't you know it along come some youngsters who get lost. Meet "The Hitchhiker" who enjoys cutting himself, meet "Pa" who's withered old hide can hardly lift a hammer and meet "Leatherface" the chainsaw wielding son who wears a mask of stitched together human flesh. Based loosely on real life serial killer Ed Gein this is director/co-writer Tobe Hooper's masterwork. He's yet to top it and has made mostly crappy films since. But here he's made a film loaded with tension and mind-trickery. Most violence takes place off-screen but the power of suggestion makes this seem much more violent than it is. And this is one awesome film. Mother's Day [1980] sports an unconvential family, as a kindly old Grandmother and her two slow-witted Grandson's take a trio of reunioned college girls hostage and proceed to torture and kill. But they get theirs, do they ever. Directed by Charles Kaufman, brother of Troma founder Lloyd, this is a grisly and highly effective film that not only manages to make you feel uneasy it also makes you feel for the main characters. Plus it has tons of effectively gruesome scenes such as the "claw hammer to the privates" and "Draino" scenes. Called sleazy and ugly by many a critic, this treads the same ground as Last House On The Left, but is much better. The Stepfather [1986] has one of the creepiest performances in a modern day horror film yet. Terry O'Quinn plays a quite psychotic man who wants the "perfect family". Well to get this he'll do anything in his power, even resort to murder. O'Quinn is just awesome here and this has enough suspense to keep it moving at a nice clip. Plus there's the memorable birdhouse dialogue exchange and one Hell of a cool finale. Followed by two sequels (the third minus O'Quinn) which are entertaining also, but can't quite reach the heights of this one. This stepfather be baaaddd... |