“Ki ki ki ma ma ma…”
Story: Remember that kid that drowned at Camp Crystal Lake? You know, that camp where so many counselors died? Then the killer went to NYC and outer space? Yeah, this is a movie about all that.
Scares: Unless you get scared from film clips of movies you’ve probably already seen before? This is more infomational than eerie.
Splat Factor: Lots of clips from the film series. So, yeah. Lots of blood.
Subgenre: REALLY Long Documentaries
Year Released: 2013
Remake, Sequel or OG (Original Ghoul)?: Based on the book of the same name.
Trick or Treat?: It’s taken me a while to get to this one. Why? Because this sucker is almost seven hours long. That’s a whole lot of documentary at one go. So I didn’t do it in one go. And that’s exactly how I suggest you approach this beast.
Memories looks back at all the films – and even that TV series from the 80s. It’s got just about everybody you’ve ever seen in a F13 film, plus a whole lot of directors, writers, and FX gurus. Okay fine; the big names like Kevin Bacon, Peter Barton, Crispin Glover and Kelly Rowland aren’t here. However, with a list of interview subjects like this, you’re honestly not missing much at all.
Director Daniel Farrands has done docs on A Nightmare On Elm Street and Amityville, so he knows how to dig into this genre. Plus, letting the folks he interviews just talk about how their experiences were is better than anything he could have steered. Final Chapter‘s Corey Feldman hosts a wraparound segment at the beginning and end that both sets the mood nicely, and sends us off with a fun ending before the credits roll. But it’s the way Farrands cuts together the interviews that’s worth the watch here. It really feels like you’re in the room with them, and that sense of natural interaction kept me coming back for more.
Think of this as a movie version of something like Eli Roth’s History of Horror, or Horror’s Greatest. People in the know talk about a film they worked on, and/or one that really struck a chord with them. There are anecdotes, personal thoughts, and lots of on-set moments we get to see in stills and brief clips. Memories is broken down into chapters, each about forty minutes or so, which is perfect for episodic viewing. Like a anthology paperback, feel free to check out one or two of these chapters at a time. There’s no need to force yourself; you’ll want to sit back and really enjoy these stories.
Score: 4.5 out of 5 pumpkins.
