Total Recall: 3D Horror Films
With Texas Chainsaw 3D hitting theaters, we look at some memorable fright fests screened in three dimensions.
January is traditionally known as a cinematic graveyard, so it's only appropriate that our local cineplexes are kicking off 2013 with something as death-obsessed as Texas Chainsaw 3D, the latest chapter in the seemingly never-ending saga of the cannibalistic lunatic Leatherface and his equally depraved family -- and the most recent in a growing list of slasher flicks to make use of Hollywood's on-again, off-again fascination with 3D technology. Of course, we couldn't help thinking of some previous entries in the genre, and you know what that means -- it's time to Total Recall, 3D horror style!
Amityville 3-D
0%
1982's Amityville II: The Possession was something of a critical dud, but it still managed to top the box office. The audience's reward was 1983's Amityville 3-D, which fast-forwarded past the previous installment's prequel storyline and completely departed from the original film's putatively fact-based mythology. This time out, the haunted house at the core of the franchise is purchased by a professional skeptic (Tony Roberts), who (barely) lives to regret his foolish insistence that there isn't any supernatural funny business afoot on the premises. Also filled with regret: The critics who wrote up Amityville 3-D, including Janet Maslin of the New York Times. "The cast is good," Maslin reluctantly admitted, "but the characters are idiots."
The Creature from the Black Lagoon
83%
A classically constructed "damsel in distress" creature feature with the bonus of 3D effects and a slight narrative twist (some of the poor woman's would-be rescuers are just as repellent as the gilled-and-taloned antagonist), 1954's Creature from the Black Lagoon thrilled the audiences of its day -- and it remains a favorite for modern scribes like Slant Magazine's Steve MacFarlane, who credited its director's sure-handed style for its enduring success: "What distinguished Jack Arnold's pictures from mutant spinoffs/knockoffs is even more imperative to sci-fi today than it was in 1954: wonderment."
The Final Destination
29%
The first few installments in the Final Destination series earned a little extra critical love -- and no small amount of box office success -- thanks to their knack for dispatching their young victims with devilishly ornate, Rube Goldberg-worthy setups. But by the time 2009's deceptively titled The Final Destination rolled around, not even the addition of 3D effects could rejuvenate the franchise's fortunes with scribes who were getting tired of watching fresh-faced teens get the axe (and the scythe, and the shower curtain, and the exposed electrical wire, and...). Jake Wilson of the Age cast a dissenting critical opinion, however, arguing that "The characters are crash-test dummies, with dialogue to match. Yet Eric Bress' script is mockingly self-aware, framing the film as the ultimate example of violence as entertainment."
Freddy's Dead - The Final Nightmare
21%
"They saved the best for last," boasted the tagline for the sixth entry in the Nightmare on Elm Street series -- and even if this 1991 slasher did not ultimately live up to its poster's wishful thinking, give the producers points for trying, as well as for trying to put the proverbial nail in the coffin with what was supposed to be the franchise's final installment. Of course, Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare was just a temporary conclusion for the Freddy Krueger saga, but with a somewhat more sprightly script and some inventive 3D effects, it would have provided a satisfying coda for critics like the Washington Post's Richard Harrington, who sighed appreciatively, "So long, Freddy, it's been good to know you."
Friday the 13th Part 3
13%
A number of horror franchises caught the 3D bug during its re-emergence in the 1980s, but none of them were still as commercially viable as the Friday the 13th movies, which was just hitting its stride when Part 3 slashed its way to the screen in the summer of 1982. The in-your-face effects didn't help make the movie any more appealing to critics, who were just as dismissive as ever -- as Eric D. Snider put it, "It's in three dimensions, and all of them suck" -- but the audiences kept coming, and while Part 3's storyline was every bit as formulaic as any other entry in the series, it did boast some of the more inventively filmed 3D effects of the era.
House of Wax
94%
Never mind the Paris Hilton-assisted 2005 remake -- for 3D fans as well as horror aficionados, it's all about 1953's House of Wax, starring Vincent Price as the demented, wheelchair-bound proprietor of a wax museum whose grand opening coincides with a rise in local graverobbings. Directed by André De Toth (who, ironically, had only one good eye), Wax was the most financially successful of the 3D horror films made during the 1950s, but audiences weren't alone in loving it; it's also earned the admiration of critics like the Chicago Reader's Dave Kehr, who argued, "The effects are done with playfulness, zest, and some imagination (they range from a barker batting paddleballs in your face to a murderer leaping from the row in front of you), making this the most entertaining of the gimmick 3-Ds."
Jaws 3
12%
Given the titular great white shark's gruesome demise at the end of Jaws, a sequel seemed narratively unlikely -- but box office grosses demanded more aquatic terror, so Jaws II surfaced in 1978. And even though no one from the original cast would agree to come back for more after that, Universal remained interested in more Jaws -- to the extent that the studio even briefly entertained a spoof sequel titled Jaws 3, People 0. It sounds ridiculous, but it probably couldn't have fared much worse than 1983's Jaws 3-D, which starred Louis Gossett, Jr. as an unscrupulous water park manager whose focus on the bottom line prevents him from understanding that he and his guests are in danger of being swallowed up by -- you guessed it -- a giant shark. "Put in a baking tray, gas mark 7, and enjoy a turkey," recommended Time Out's Derek Adams.
Jon Cox
there are a lot of bad movies that intentionally misuse the 3D technology
I was baffled hearing Clash of the Titans added it in post yeesh
half the time though the filmmakers use it relatively well: Journey 1 and 2, Avatar, My Bloody Valentine 3D, Piranha 3D and some others
Jan 2 - 05:08 PM
Ian DiLorenzo
"Jackass 3"; "Tin Tin" and the most recent "DREDD" 3D are my three favorite films that have used 3D to the very best. Though these may not be horror films, they are films that offered the best experience in 3D.
Jan 2 - 05:33 PM
Scott Dolan
You have GOT to see Pirhana 3D. not 3DD, they just made a 2nd one, keep in mind!
Jan 7 - 09:48 AM
Matthew Reimer
Most of the time, animated and motion capture films look better in 3D due to how much easier it is to do the effects through a computer though films like "The Avengers" and "Avatar" have used great 3D effects.
Jan 2 - 05:36 PM
The Watcher
Avengers had very mediocre 3D. It had pop-out, but no depth because it was converted, and not shot in 3D. Prometheus, while a so-so movie, has fantastic 3D.
But yes, CGI films looks great since they were made on a computer, making it easy to go back into it and create an alternate angle for a simulated "shot in 3D" experience.
Jan 2 - 08:01 PM
Steven Hoover
Avengers was post production 3D. Wouldn't Qualify that at all.
Jan 6 - 10:45 AM