Because of the snow storm I stayed home from work today and watched John Carpenter's The Thing (1982), the greatest movie ever made to watch while snowed-in at home . I always loved this movie and can actually remember watching it on Laserdisc back in the 80s. I still get a kick out of the way they used make-up and props to create special effects, a style that is lost in today's CGI movies.
I get real nostalgic about old school geek movies like The Thing, The Fly (1985), Scanners, Videodrome, Re-Animator, Total Recall, RoboCop, Hellraiser, Evil Dead I & II, and the Toxic Avenger (as well as everything else made by Troma Films). Back in the pre-Jurassic Park CGI era, horror and science fiction movies still managed to produce some of the most wicked makeup and special effects, all of it natural, created using real concrete props and make-up. I've got nothing against CGI. In fact I love the use of CGI. But there is something about the old green-screen, matte painting, Lon Chaney make-up movies that I miss. Sometimes I feel they go needlessly out of their way to use CGI. Did they really have to use CGI to create the infected zombies in I Am Legend? Such character's were screaming for the George A. Romero make-up treatment. With the exception of a few shocker moments in David Cronenberg movies such as A History of Violence and Eastern Promises, you never see that old style anymore. But at least will always have the videos.
Scanners. Stay With It.
A Bit Dated but still a classic.
Simply the best of its kind.
