Horror Movie Characters Play Deadly Casino Games and Win
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Casino Survival Game: How Horror Movie Characters Emerge Victorious from Deadly Games When you go to a casino to play roulette or any other game, you’re probably not thinking about some horror movie psycho like Freddie Krueger or Michael Myers suddenly appearing out of the shadows to terrorize you and the rest of the players at the table. No. You’re thinking about having fun and maybe winning some money. The idea of a slasher or supernatural being wreaking havoc on unsuspecting gamblers is very far-fetched. However, it isn’t so far-fetched for some horror film creators.
Bad Example One example of why casinos don’t make for the best settings for horror films is the 2007 film The Haunted Casino also called Dead Man’s Hand. A guy named Matthew inherits an abandoned casino on the outskirts of Vegas. Of course, the casino is haunted by a crew of dead mobsters who are out for revenge on the unsuspecting Matthew because it turns out that Matthew’s uncle was the reason they died.
If that premise isn’t lame enough, audiences are subjected to horrific gambling references. When a ghoul cuts off the hand of a guy playing roulette, it says “You’ve got a dead man’s hand.” If you’re even remotely familiar with gambling, you know that the dead man’s hand is a poker term that specifically refers to a hand consisting of a pair of aces and a pair of eights. According to legend, Wild Bill Hickok was holding aces and eights when he was killed. Hence the name.
Anyway, let’s get back to this stinker of a movie. As you would expect, the ghosts are vanquished and Matthew and most of his friends make it through the night alive. Too bad most viewers won’t make it through this brutal film.
Good Examples One of the best stories to intersect gambling with the horror genre was actually an episode of the Twilight Zone. On the surface, “The Fever” tells the story of an older curmudgeon, Franklin, who hates gambling. However, he ends up at a casino with his wife after she wins a trip to Las Vegas. As luck would have it, a drunk guy gives Franklin a coin which Franklin hesitantly uses on a special slot machine. He wins the jackpot which you would think is a good thing.
The thing is, Frankin ends up becoming obsessed with the slot machine in a very Twilight Zone way. The entire story is a simple metaphor for gambling addiction which is an all too real horror. The Prime Mover, The Silence, and A Nice Place to Visit are also highly relevant Twilight Zone episodes although the main characters don’t always emerge victorious.
Future Cult Classics? Probably Not Other not-so-memorable horror films that incorporate gambling include:
- Cabin Fever: Patient Zero - Mansion of Blood - 13 Eerie - Ouija: The Insidious Gamble - Vegas Vampires - Spirits of the Dead - Tzameti - Army of the Dead - Jackpot
Now, these and most other horror slash gambling films aren’t exactly Academy Award nominees. Heck, they’re rarely even on the radar for Razzies despite the awful writing and terrible acting. Nevertheless, they are a good way to disconnect and get a few unintended laughs along the way.
The truth is that most gambling films have a small element of horror simply due to the nature of gambling. They typically don’t offer the blood and guts type of horror in which the gambler has to face the final scary boss. Instead, they depict the true horrors that exist in the real gambling world. These horrors can be even scarier than many of the genre’s greatest villains.
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Casino Survival Game: How Horror Movie Characters Emerge Victorious from Deadly Games
When you go to a casino to play roulette or any other game, you’re probably not thinking about some horror movie psycho like Freddie Krueger or Michael Myers suddenly appearing out of the shadows to terrorize you and the rest of the players at the table. No. You’re thinking about having fun and maybe winning some money. The idea of a slasher or supernatural being wreaking havoc on unsuspecting gamblers is very far-fetched. However, it isn’t so far-fetched for some horror film creators.
Bad Example
One example of why casinos don’t make for the best settings for horror films is the 2007 film The Haunted Casino also called Dead Man’s Hand. A guy named Matthew inherits an abandoned casino on the outskirts of Vegas. Of course, the casino is haunted by a crew of dead mobsters who are out for revenge on the unsuspecting Matthew because it turns out that Matthew’s uncle was the reason they died.
If that premise isn’t lame enough, audiences are subjected to horrific gambling references. When a ghoul cuts off the hand of a guy playing roulette, it says “You’ve got a dead man’s hand.” If you’re even remotely familiar with gambling, you know that the dead man’s hand is a poker term that specifically refers to a hand consisting of a pair of aces and a pair of eights. According to legend, Wild Bill Hickok was holding aces and eights when he was killed. Hence the name.
Anyway, let’s get back to this stinker of a movie. As you would expect, the ghosts are vanquished and Matthew and most of his friends make it through the night alive. Too bad most viewers won’t make it through this brutal film.
Good Examples
One of the best stories to intersect gambling with the horror genre was actually an episode of the Twilight Zone. On the surface, “The Fever” tells the story of an older curmudgeon, Franklin, who hates gambling. However, he ends up at a casino with his wife after she wins a trip to Las Vegas. As luck would have it, a drunk guy gives Franklin a coin which Franklin hesitantly uses on a special slot machine. He wins the jackpot which you would think is a good thing.
The thing is, Frankin ends up becoming obsessed with the slot machine in a very Twilight Zone way. The entire story is a simple metaphor for gambling addiction which is an all too real horror. The Prime Mover, The Silence, and A Nice Place to Visit are also highly relevant Twilight Zone episodes although the main characters don’t always emerge victorious.
Future Cult Classics? Probably Not
Other not-so-memorable horror films that incorporate gambling include:
- Cabin Fever: Patient Zero
- Mansion of Blood
- 13 Eerie
- Ouija: The Insidious Gamble
- Vegas Vampires
- Spirits of the Dead
- Tzameti
- Army of the Dead
- Jackpot
Now, these and most other horror slash gambling films aren’t exactly Academy Award nominees. Heck, they’re rarely even on the radar for Razzies despite the awful writing and terrible acting. Nevertheless, they are a good way to disconnect and get a few unintended laughs along the way.
The truth is that most gambling films have a small element of horror simply due to the nature of gambling. They typically don’t offer the blood and guts type of horror in which the gambler has to face the final scary boss. Instead, they depict the true horrors that exist in the real gambling world. These horrors can be even scarier than many of the genre’s greatest villains.