Sunday, September 27, 2009

The Ghoul Report - An Introduction

Greetings, fellow horror enthusiasts,

Here is a little project I've had in mind for quite a few years. You see, I've always wanted to review horror films and make a HUGE compendium of those reviews, like a book, a book flaunting "Over 2,000 reviews!" on the cover. This would serve two distinct functions in my life: a) to legitimize the time I spend watching old tapes of axe-wielding monsters and castles shrouded in fog, and b) to expand my diminutive memory (as a sort of external hard drive), to allow my thoughts and ideas to take a distinct, palpable shape that time won't be able to erode.

Since a blog is very much like a "book in progess", I've decided to try this avenue. To catalogue my impressions of EVERY, SINGLE HORROR FILM I SEE, to make ny experiences and knowledge useful to others. I don't claim to possess "the truth", but I still am an enlightened reviewer. I will try to go beyond the acting/script appraisals that constitute the bulk of mainstream texts, and appeal to discriminatory audiences everywhere. I certainly hope my insights are helpful in some regard.

I've devised a very simple system to classify my reviews. I will flag them according to three factors: director, country of origin (two or more distinct countries will be used in the case of co-productions) and rating (from 0 to 5 stars. a number pertaining to my personal/analytical appreciation of the film). This should make it easy for you to navigate through and find exactly the right film to watch tonight! I would simply like to mention that extreme ratings (0 and 5) will be used very rarely. To get a 5, you'd need a true classic, a groundbreaking, technically wondrous piece that has withstood the test of time, a film that spawned icons such as F.W. Murnau's "Nosferatu" or James Whale's "Bride of Frankenstein". To get a 0, you'd need a totally inept, or shockinlgy reactionary piece of garbage. I don't even have an exemple for such a bomb. Even "Troll 2" and "Plan Nine from Outer Space" wouldn't fall in this category.

I will try to review as many films as possible. 2 or 3 per week sounds good. 2 or 3 per week will constitute my objective. I will try to review the whole gamut of horror films (from the US to Japan, starting from the turn of the century to the present day), focusing on titles that are actually playing in theaters. So, without further ado, let us begin!