Not to be confused with the 1977 Japanese cult movie of the same name, the 1986 film House (aka Ding Dong, You’re Dead, its original video release subtitle) stars William Katt as best-selling horror novelist Roger Cobb, a Vietnam vet who has been struggling with writing about his experiences in the war. One of his problems is that no one else seems particularly interested in this story, preferring he write another horror story instead, but more importantly, he is also dealing with the fact that his wife, popular TV actress Sandy Sinclair (Kay Lenz), has recently left him. Even more recently, his beloved Aunt Elizabeth (Susan French), committed suicide by hanging herself in her creepy old Victorian mansion, where Roger and Sandy’s young son Jimmy (played alternately by twins Erik and Mark Silver) disappeared some time ago. Roger inherits the house and decides to try and finish his new book there, in solitude, while also dealing with the demons of his past.

Of course, he doesn’t exactly find the solitude he’s looking for, due to a bumbling but well-intentioned neighbor named Harold Gorton (George Wendt), who provides much of the films comedy, and a series of strange monsters that seem to come from another dimension within the house, who provide the rest. Saying the monsters are more funny than scary is not a criticism of the film, however, as this is clearly intentional most of the time. Though the effects will look dated to viewers in the modern CGI era, they are quite well-done; they are not the nightmare creations of other films of the time like John Carpenter’s The Thing or David Cronenberg’s The Fly, but they stand up nicely alongside more silly films like Ghostbusters or Gremlins.

As it turns out, Roger’s preoccupation with his Vietnam memories is especially relevant to the literal demons he faces in the strange old house, and though the film takes some rather dead-end narrative turns along the way, its central story is pure pulp horror in the most classic sense. House is not a good horror film to watch if you want something genuinely frightening, but if you’re in the mood for tongue-in-cheek fun that only takes itself seriously enough to deliver a few cheap scares, it’s well worth a look.

Hidden Netflix Gems is a new feature designed to help readers answer that burning question, “What should I watch tonight?” It will be updated every Saturday before the sun goes down.

h/t The Playlist.

In some ways I think a little overrated, John Carpenter’s science-fiction/action/creepy alien monster flick from 1988 ,”They Live,” seems to me a thorough-going and obvious from-the-left savaging of the Reagan years and the consumerist, bland cultural mentality that went with it. Yet, oddly enough, it’s imagery has been picked up online by some Reagan-worshipping teapartiers. Well, history probably isn’t their favorite subject.

More clips and  commentary after the flip

Moving on, via Cinematical, we have the first quarter hour or so of a subtler and less strictly partisan commentary from the Jimmy Carter era (it was short, but he had an era), 1978’s “Dawn of the Dead.” Regular readers know of my rather fraught relationship with this zombie splatter classic and while I’ve only been up to watching the first five minutes or so of this clip recently, I can say that this one has it all: our questionable media, police attitudes towards minorities at the time, and NSFW head shots, language, and cannibalism, not to mention the scariest carpeting in film history and George Romero’s genius for pacing, intensity, and making the most of a not very experienced cast. Even if you’re a cinema chicken like me, try to watch the first few minutes. (Scaredy-cats and fellow gore-phobes may want to think about stopping after Romero’s credit appears and they leave the TV station.)

And, finally, I’d love to present a clip from my pick for the greatest of politically themed horror films, Guillermo del Toro’s remarkable “Pan’s Labyrinth,” which is also more than a political film, or a (possible) fantasy film, it’s real art. On the other hand, it does shine a light on the shameful bit of history in which the late-World War II-era Western Allies sold out the people of Spain to a brutal fascist dictator in preparation for the coming Cold War.

However, for whatever reason finding embeddable videos — even of relevant videos with del Toro, is next to impossible. I am therefore forced to show a brief reenactment by the ingenious Brandon Hardesty not because it’s particularly relevant to the discussion, but because it’s hilarious and seems to shown that Hardesty might have paid attention in Spanish class, which these days is itself a political act.

Oh, and please vote this Tuesday.

Rob Zombie promised he would never make a sequel to his disastrously bad remake of John Carpenter’s “Halloween,” so why couldn’t he just keep his word? Zombie picks up the story where the last one left off, with Michael Myers (Tyler Mane) shot dead by his long-lost baby sister, Laurie Strode (Scout Taylor-Compton). Apparently, death didn’t suit him, because Myers somehow survives, and after two years wandering the great outdoors as a hobo, he returns to Haddonfield to finish the job. There’s really no explanation as to how Myers was able to walk away with no apparent injuries after a coroner pronounced him dead, but Zombie’s first film didn’t make a whole lot of sense either. In fact, Myers isn’t just invincible, he’s also a trained ninja who’s capable of walking around a creaky old house without making any noise. Either that or he’s received the power of teleportation from his ghost mommy (Sherri Moon Zombie), who appears in a series of dream sequences seemingly designed to allow Zombie’s wife to reprise her role. The whole charade is not only incredibly lame, but quite boring as well, especially now that Laurie is supposed to be this devil-may-care anarchist with her own psychological issues. She’s probably the most unlikeable lead protagonist to ever grace a horror film, but “Halloween II” is such a bloody mess that it’s the least of its problems.

Click to buy “Halloween II”

* The saddest for me personally, and perhaps for some of you horror fans out there, is the most recent. Dan O’Bannon has died from Crohn’s Disease at age 63. Best known for the horror-comedy hit, “The Return of the Living Dead,” and for writing the screenplay for “Alien,” O’Bannon emerged out of U.S.C.’s film school with his friend, John Carpenter and together they collaborated on an odd science fiction comedy called “Dark Star.” While few remember that film, it set them both on a pretty interesting path.

When I was in the middle of high school and at the height of my geekness  (three terms as president of the Venice High science fiction club!), I actually met O’Bannon in some odd circumstances at a crisis point in his career. Buy me a drink and I’ll tell you the story, but suffice it to say he seemed like a good guy and he was clearly something of a minor genius. He’ll be very much missed.

* Roy Disney, the nephew of Walt Disney and the son of Roy O. Disney, also passed on at age 79. The younger Disney emerged as a king-maker and king-breaker of sorts, launching insurgent movements that wound up putting Michael Eisner in charge of the studio in 1984 and then deposing him in 2004.

* Finally, if you’re a former film student like myself you’ve probably had to read some of the work of famed academic critic and scholar Robin Wood, who was so respected that almost no one noticed when serious film-criticism aficionado Joss Whedon named a supercool cool high school principal/cum monster-fighter after him on “Buffy.” (How could anyone namecheck him on a mere TV show? It had to be a coincidence.) One of the first critics to approach genre films seriously, he is famous for works on Alfred Hitchcock and Howard Hawks, among many others. He has passed on at age 78, and the always interesting Glenn Kenny has a remembrance.

* On a lighter note, Nikki Finke is closely monitoring the early grosses for “Avatar” which looking pretty good right now. Will that big storm on the East coast cost Fox millions? I’m sure the difference between it making $80 or $85 million is really important.

* The Screen Actors’ Guild (SAG) award nominees were announced a couple of days back. Not too surprisingly, “Up in the Air” and “Inglourious Basterds” got the most nominations. The only real surprise to me was the lack of a nod to Christian McKay. His performance in one of the title roles of “Me and Orson Welles” (he’s not “me”) has been earning so much buzz I assumed he was the only real Oscar competition for Christoph Waltz in the Best Supporting Actor category, but I’m starting to wonder about that. I assumed the ex-unknown would benefit from the same bump that Martin Landau got for channeling Bela Lugosi so humanely in “Ed Wood,” and Jamie Foxx did for his detailed recreation of Ray Charles. Apparently it only works for name actors. On the other hand, Eli Roth’s semi-unfairly maligned performance as “the Bear Jew” is nominated (he’s only “bad” in comparison to the rest of the amazing cast). Stop scratching your head, he’s only nominated in the “Outstanding Performance by a Cast” category.

* What do you do if adults seem to be rejecting  your Oscar-bait film. Try the teens!

* Inquiring minds want to know: When it comes to picking up awards, is the strangely spelled Mo’Nique all about the Benjamins, and will that end up costing  her the Oscar for “Precious“? Stayed tuned because it’s terribly important!

* According to Metacritic, the best reviewed film of the decade is…”Pan’s Labyrinth.” Not a terrible collective choice, actually. (H/t The Auteurs Twitter Feed)