The Information Store's Top 5 Spookfests!

Rather than frightening you all with one horror film this year, we thought we would give you FIVE of our spookiest films  to chill you to your bones.
 

Ghostface in Scream

5. SCREAM (1996)

So strictly speaking, Scream is more of the horror spoof genre than an actual horror, but it is still packed with enough jumps, blood and gore to warrant a spot in our list. Scream has one of horror’s greatest opening sequences as a young girl is harassed on the phone by the murderous ‘Ghostface’ who murders her boyfriend and mutilates her in her own back garden.  Word gets around the school and young Sydney, a student, is reminded of her awful past and her mother’s brutal murder. However, it becomes clear that Ghostface’s intentions are to bring about a swift end to Sydney’s life as her friends are gut wrenchingly murdered one by one, will she be able to uncover the person beneath the mask?
 

Starring Neve Campbell, David Arquette & Courtney Cox

Best line: “Movies don't create psychos. Movies make psychos more creative!” – Billy



The Headless Horseman in Sleepy Hollow

4. SLEEPY HOLLOW (1999)
A genuine horror film this time, as creepy as the name suggests and sure enough to raise the hairs on your spine at least once. Ichabod Crane, played by Johnny Depp, is sent to the small village of Sleepy Hollow to investigate three beheadings, the culprit of which is the legendary Headless Horseman who haunts the nearby forest.  With the body count rising as the Horseman continues to massacre the village inhabitants, time is running out for Crane, who fears he could be next. With romance, comedy, peril, danger, mystery, magic and horror it’s a Halloween classic!

 Starring Johnny Depp, Christina Ricci and Christopher Walken

 

Best line: “Villainy wears many masks, none of which so dangerous as virtue...” – Ichabod Crane

The Biker Gang of Vampires in The Lost Boys

3. THE LOST BOYS (1987)

Again, like Scream, we have wandered into Comedy/Horror territory with our third place film. However, The Lost Boys is the perfect mixture of genuinely scary and subtly funny. It’s a cult classic about a gang of vampires who terrorise a small town in California. A series of unexplained deaths and strange goings on lead two of the towns newest inhabitants, two brothers to investigate further. One befriends a pair of so-called ‘vampire hunters’ and the other joins a biker gang who sleep all day and party all night…will they manage to uncover the towns gory secret? As scary as it is funny and gruesome enough to turn your stomach, this is the perfect example of how a vampire movie should be.

Starring Corey Haim, Keifer Sutherland and Corey Feldman

Best line: “What, you don't like rice? Tell me Michael, how could a billion Chinese people be wrong?” - David

Stabbing its way into second place:

Norman Bates in Psycho

2. PSYCHO (1960)

Last year’s blog entry for Halloween was all about Alfred Hitchcock’s creepy, suspenseful and terrifying Psycho so I won’t go in to too much detail.  Norman Bates is the owner of the secluded Bates Motel which is visited by a woman on the run. The heavy rain forces her to pull in and she famously meets her end while showering in her room. The mystery unravels in pure Hitchcockian style as more people fall to the same fate, but who is wielding the dreaded knife? From ‘The Master of Suspense’ Psycho is a classic horror movie with a gasp-inducing final twist.

Starring Janet Leigh and Anthony Perkins

Best line: “We all go a little mad sometimes” – Norman

Screaming into first place is:

A terrified Wendy in The Shining

1. THE SHINING (1980)
Based on Stephen Kings legendary novel of the same name, Stanley Kubrick took a classic text and turned it into something else, something more twisted, creepy and frightening than King could have predicted.  The Shining is a terrifying, psychological story of a family who offer to take care of The Overlook Hotel during the winter months when the road to it is closed off and the hotel is void of any guests. Jack and Wendy Torrance along with their strange son Danny travel up there for a peaceful, secluded winter in the mountains, but little do they know, the hotel has other ideas. Plagued with the terrifying memories, the hotel unleashes hell upon Jack and Danny who both receive strange visions and meet apparitions of it’s former inhabitants. The hotel takes a hold of Jack and he spirals into madness taking an unexpecting Wendy with him.  By far, my all-time favourite horror movie, it will stay with you for days.  What’s REDRUM backwards?

Starring Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall and Scatman Carruthers

Best line: “Redrum. Redrum. REDRUM!” – Danny Torrance
 

Further Reading the Information Store:

Come and see our HALLOWEEN display of books and DVD's. Its packed full of scary films, horror novels, books about ghosts, witches and hauntings! Plenty to scare you silly this Halloween!

DVD Review: Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)

This week in the Information Store we are displaying various resources to do with dyslexia and celebrating the work of some very famous and successful people who have dyslexia. Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley both suffer with dyslexia but have had very successful acting careers and starred together in this week’s DVD review Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl!

Since the released of the first instalment of the Pirates of the Caribbean series in 2003 there have been three more films and a fifth to be released in 2016. It’s become a massive franchise and although the subsequent films have been increasingly poorly received, the immense popularity of the characters, especially Captain Jack Sparrow, played by Johnny Depp is undeniable.  

The story goes a little something like this. Elizabeth Swann (Knightley) the daughter of a Governer is kidnapped by Captain Barbosa, of the Black Pearl ship as he needs her piece of Aztec gold and her blood to lift the curse set upon his currently un dead crew. Jack Sparrow (Captain) was marooned on an island by the same crew after Barbosa lead a mutiny against him. He meets a young Will Turner, who is head over heels in love with Elizabeth Swann and he and Jack team up to save her and to help Jack become Captain of his ship once more. Will young Mr Turner be able to save his true love from being sacrificed? Will Jack Sparrow be able to stop drinking rum long enough to overthrow Barbosa and regain control of his ship? The Curse of the Black Pearl is a fast paced, swashbuckling adventure full of sword fights, swagger, rum, romance and of course, pirates!

Johnny Depp’s portrayal of Captain Jack Sparrow is the main contributor to the film’s success. His appearance oozes cool and his mannerisms resemble those of a drunk Londoner as he very camply staggers around looking for his ship. The funniest lines in the film come from Jack and he is the perfect anti-hero to the clean cut, good boy Will Turner. All Jack cares about is his ship and drinking rum, he makes himself out to be this magnificent pirate, but in actual fact he is just a lazy drunk. He is very entertaining to watch and Depp carries the film throughout. Elizabeth Swann and Will Turner provide a heart-warming side to the adventure and the romance comes from their time on screen together. Will Turner looks like a Disney Prince and is ever girls dream hero,  when he scoops the vulnerable and beautiful Elizabeth up in his arms he simultaneously creates a chorus of ‘Awhhh’ from all the women in the room.  

It’s a great adventure film and an entertaining watch from start to finish. Knightley and Bloom are great, but it is Johnny Depp who really steals the show. Why not have a look at our display and find out which other famous people have dyslexia? For instance, did you know, the genius scientist Albert Einstein was dyslexic?

Further Reading in the Information Store:

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl Directed by Gore Verbinski – DVD ZONE – 791.43 P

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest Directed by Gore Verbinski – DVD ZONE – 791.43 P

Pirates of the Caribbean: At Worlds End Directed by Gore Verbinksi – DVD ZONE – 791.43 P

The display by the desk also has loads of great books about dyslexia, why not come and have a look?

Oo, arr me hearties!
 

DVD Review: To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)

 

October is Black History Month and Harper Lee’s classic novel To Kill a Mockingbird is often celebrated at a pillar of Black History literature. It seems only apt, to then for this week’s DVD review to write about the 1962 film adaptation by Robert Mulligan.

Thankfully the film follows the storyline in the novel very closely and the film takes place almost entirely in a court room. The film is show through the eyes of Scout, the daughter of Lawyer Atticus Finch, who lives in the American state of Alabama. Scout and her brother Jem develop a fascination with their mysterious neighbour known as Boo Radley who lives a life of solitude. They often find gifts in a nearby tree and spend their summer afternoon’s spying on him from afar. The era in which the story takes place in the era of the Great Depression and Harper Lee wrote it at the beginning of the Civil Rights Movement. Up until which, Black people had a tremendously hard time at being accepted by society.  Atticus is assigned the case of Tom Robinson, a black man accused of raping a white girl. Atticus, believing that everyone should be treated equally takes on the case and works hard at defending Tom Robinson.  Scout and Jem end up getting bullied at school for their father’s decision and they soon become aware of the racism and evil in the people of their town.

When the accused is ‘murdered’ during transportation to prison, the father of the young girl who was raped attacks Scout on her way home from a Halloween party at her school. Boo Radley, now a friend to young Scout takes matters silently into his own hands, how far will he go to protect the young girl and to help Atticus?

To Kill a Mockingbird is a ground breaking representation of racism in the Southern states of America during the late 1920’s/early 1930’s and is widely celebrated by all ethnicities and backgrounds all over the world. Harper Lee has confessed that in palces the story is semi-autobiographical having observed similar situations during her childhood, growing up in Alabama. The film, starring Gregory Peck as Atticus Finch was very well received by critics upon it’s released and hailed as a masterpiece, winning three Academy Awards and three Golden Globes. Gregory Peck has often declared how lucky he was to be cast in such a defining role.

Borrow it today from the Information Store and immerse yourself in an outstanding, gripping and heart-warming story. You could borrow the book as well!

 

Further Reading in the Information Store:

To Kill a Mockingbird (DVD & Novel) - BOOK ZONE - 823.91 LEE

Independence & Equality by Elizabeth Cregan - BOOK ZONE - 323.4 CRE

Building the Future by Elizabeth Cregan - BOOK ZONE - 305.8 CRE 

Think Pink in the Information Store this week

We've gone all the pink this week, come and have a look at what's on offer....

Information Store @ Norfolk House closed over half term

Please note that the library at Norfolk House will be closed over half term (w/c 28th October) for maintenance work.

The Information Store at the Ipswich Road campus will be open throughout half term (Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm), with librarians available to help with any queries.

We also run a book delivery service if there are books / resources at the main campus that you would like delivering to Norfolk House ahead of half term. Simply email tis@ccn.ac.uk with the details of your request and your student number.