Badmovies.org Forum

October is my favorite month and just perfect to watch horror movies.

Here is last year's thread (http://www.badmovies.org/forum/index.php/topic,126656.0.html).

Those who want to participate can post their scary October viewings in this very thread. I managed 64 movies last year, aiming for about the same this year.
However, this is not a competition or challenge as some of you might have seen at other internet forums where they usually have a goal of 100+ movies.

Just watch whatever and post here if you feel like doing so.

I was looking through last year's thread - gotta dust of some of those old favorites and give 'em a spin again   :teddyr:  I've still never watched my Feast Blu ray.

Do we have to wait for October, or can we start any time?

Might as well any time.

Parasite (1982) - In a very moderately post-apocalyptic future, a guy from the city goes to a small and nearly deserted town out in the country.  He gets a hotel room and sets up his scientific equipment - he's got a nasty worm living in his stomach and he's got another one in a thermos that he's using as a test subject to try to cure himself.  Of course some gang of morons steals his thermos, with very predictable results.  There's also some government guy driving around in a black Lamborghini Countach who's trying to track down the parasite guy because, of course, they want the thing back so they can use it for some nefarious purpose.  This was extremely slow moving, one of those movies that seems meant for people to smoke some pot while they watch.  That adds a certain retro charm for me.  Demi Moore is in this, looking pretty cute.  It was originally in 3-D, so things are constantly being thrust towards or away from the camera, which is good for a few chuckles.  3.25/5.

The Dead Hate The Living (2000) - repeat viewing.  Some young people are filming a horror movie in an abandoned building, but as it turns out it's not so abandoned - some mad scientist has been working on bringing the dead back to life, and the ghouls he's created chase our characters around for the remainder of the run time.  This is a nice cheesy Charles Band Full Moon movie, but unfortunately they had to add some overt comedy to the mix which destroyed whatever slight suspension of disbelief I might of had and made it tough to get into this.  Still, it was nice watching cute-as-a-button Jamie Donahue get chased around by nasty undead creatures.  3.5/5.

I will do my best to watch as many scary, thriller,sic-fi and gruesome movies as I can!   :cheers:  I have two on my Direct TV DVR to help start things off.  Vlad and The Killing Jar.  I will list the movie and my thoughts on it.

Let the watching begin.   :bouncegiggle:

Later,

John

The Legend of Hell House (1973) - a small group of researchers go to a haunted house in hopes of ridding it of its evil presence.  Quite a nice Gothic mansion, and when you've got Roddy McDowall wandering around acting spooky and the quite attractive Pamela Franklin getting attacked by unseen spirits, you've got a good movie.  Wasn't really as scary or tense as it could have been though, maybe just because I've seen it before.  3.75/5.

Hellraiser: Bloodline (1996) - In the future, a space station has been evacuated, leaving only the guy who designed it aboard.  A military unit is sent in to find out what's going on - he's summoned Pinhead using the puzzle box and has a plan to finally send him back to Hell.  But the military folks don't believe any of this, so he explains the whole history of the box and the demons, which we see via flashbacks.  Very cool, definitely my favorite Hellraiser movie.  The stories are all very good and have a wonderfully bizarre and creepy atmosphere.  4.25/5.

Going to try to watch Fiend Without a Face, Plan 9, and possibly Godzilla: Final Wars.

Saw Fiend Without a Face a few months ago.  Good cheeze.  I just got a double feature yesterday from Netflix -  Revenge of the Creature/The Creature walks among us.  Sequels to the Creature from the Black Lagoon.  :teddyr:

Going to kick off my October viewing with my first watching of Dawn of the Dead. Ill go from there on what to watch next.

I watch horror movies all year long, but this is a nice catch all thread for them. 

So, since this thread started....

Trick R Treat, which is practically Halloween itself distilled into movie form. It's just a MUST watch.

Next is Scooby Doo:  Camp Scare while not a Horror Movie, it's certainly a spooky monster movie, so that's got to count for something and it gives you some campfire stories and three "monsters" for your buck. 

Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood (1988) - A girl with psychic powers returns to her childhood home on Crystal Lake, accompanied by her mom and her psychiatrist.  The idea (I guess) is that she'll free herself from her guilt surrounding her father's death - which she caused by using her Carrie powers on him.  Next door of course you've got a group of hard partying teens who quickly befriend her.  Oh and that Jason guy is lurking about, really making a mess out of everyone's weekend.  Probably the scariest part about this movie is the girl's mom - she's got some severe hair.  The whole hairsprayed (possibly lacquered?) concoction sits about three inches too high above her head, looking like some bizarre airfoil.  And she's got one of those faces that looks like it could easily penetrate an eighth-inch of steel.  The story isn't bad as we learn that the psychiatrist isn't quite the helpful guy we originally thought he was, and the partying teens next door are all quite entertaining.  4/5.

The mom in that movie was Susan Blu, in a rare live-action appearance. She's a very successful voice actress, voice director and casting director. I remember taking note of that when I saw the movie, having seen her name on a number of animated shows. Just a bit of trivia.

Check out the filmography:
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0089454/ (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0089454/)

^ Holy crap that's quite a resume   :smile:  I was kind of disappointed to see that the bad girl in the film, Susan Jennifer Sullivan, was only in a couple of other things.  And nothing since 1989.  She was the most interesting character IMO.  Her last words in the film were "F*** you.  F*** both of you!"   :bouncegiggle:

Started off last midnight with Dawn of the Dead, and I guess ill go from there.

Still trying to get around to watching a real horror movie. The closest I've come in the last couple of weeks is Kolchak: The Night Stalker on Netflix. Haven't seen it in years. So far, I'm about 12 episodes into it. Just finished watching "Mr. R.I.N.G." which, in spite of being a decent episode, has one of the worst robot costumes I've ever seen.
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10/01 (Movies: 1)

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Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night II (1987)

A mix of cheesy and solid f/x, with notes to Carrie, The Exorcist and, call me crazy but I'm pretty sure about this: Sixteen Candles in two brief shots.
Entertaining but not perfect supernatural slasher sequel. 3.5/5

started with Xanadu in German, which was painful..... :lookingup:

I have a few torture porn titles on my list, but that isn't one of them  :bouncegiggle:

Kicked off my October (or should that be Schlock-Tober?) with "Man-Thing" (2005), based VERY loosely on the classic Marvel comic.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KR1uw4IAe6I

Rather than a gentle, mindless, empathic creature as he was in the comics, this "Man-Thing" is the vengeful guardian spirit of an Indian tribe's sacred swamp lands, who deals with intruders by tearing them limb from limb.

Somewhat useless as a comics adaptation but as a plain ole nothin' special creature feature it was pretty decent.
 

So far this month I have watched:

Shivers The residents of a suburban high-rise apartment building are being infected by a strain of parasites that turn them into mindless, sex-crazed fiends out to infect others by the slightest sexual contact.

Killjoy Say what you will about this film, I don't care. I think it's so funny and stupid. I love it.

I just watched CHUD.  I had never seen CHUD before.  I'd seen CHUD 2:  Bud the CHUD, but never the first one. It was really good. 

I also saw Night of the Demons 2.  It wasn't as good as the first, but still had a nice Halloween Haunted House feel to it.

Never see CHUD, but really want to as I found the first one to be enjoyable

Last night, watched Hocus Pocus (1993) and Wrong Turn (2003). Discussed them in the Recent Viewings thread. Hocus Pocus was a pretty good kids Halloween fantasy/comedy. It kind of reminded me a bit of Ernest Scared Stupid but without Ernest of course and with witches instead of trolls. Wrong Turn was pretty much a modern mix of the Hills Have Eyes and Texas Chainsaw Massacre, not as good as either, but it had its moments. It did move along very well and was surprisingly gruesome. It actually proved slightly better than I expected it to be.

10/02 (Movies: 2)

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Mentally unstable Vicky returns home after spending five years in the nuthouse. Once accused of murder Vicky herself is now the target of a murderous plot.
Doris Wishman's inept home-made psychedelic slasher is a prime example of bad movie making, mostly because the original print was nearly destroyed in a fire. Wishman patched things up ala Ed Wood and the results are pure hilarity. 5/5

Dead Birds (2004) - Back in the Civil War era, some outlaws pull off a bank robbery and then hide out in an abandoned plantation house.  Little do they know the terror that awaits them mwahahahahahaha.  Really good movie with well developed characters, tons of scary atmosphere, and a real feeling of dread throughout.  4.5/5.

10/03 (Movies: 5)

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Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981) BD 4/5
Creepshow (1982) BD 4.5/5
The Thing (1982) BD 5/5

My sister got to pick movies today and this is what we watched. Seen all three on my own this year already.

Watched the first three films from the Universal Horror Classic Movie Archive Collection. These were The Black Cat (1941), Man Made Monster (1941) and Horror Island (1941). I discussed these in the Recent Viewings thread. Black Cat and Horror Island are old dark house comedies while Man Made Monster is a science fiction horror story. Of the three, Black Cat was the best film of this bunch mainly because it features such an host of familiar faces and stars including Basil Rathbone, Bela Lugosi, Gale Sondergaard, John Eldredge, Alan Ladd, Gladys Cooper but the main stars here are actually Borderick Crawford and Anne Gwynne. Sadly Lugosi and Ladd are given little more than bit parts although Lugosi's is at least a bit more memorable. Black Cat has some fun moments but it pales next to The Cat and the Canary and is never quite as ominous as it wants to be. Man Made Monster had the potential to really be something special and star Lon Chaney Jr. tries and does manage to create a very sympathetic lead character in Dynamo Dan the Electrical Man. In the end though it falters as it talks about stuff happening off-screen that sounds far more exciting than anything on screen and the symbolism of drug addiction, here in terms of electrical jolts, never fully quite gets across as well as perhaps it might have. Still it's miles ahead of future Chaney remake of sorts Indestructible Man. Finally Horror Island is a kind of mish mash of many genres (adventure, horror, comedy) but mainly it's an old dark house comedy with a mystery Phantom who may or may not be the killer. It's never quite satisfying although it does leave you guessing as to the killer and is a little unpredictable overall. In the end, it's just a bit too confusing and the only thing it truly has going for it as its likable lead characters played by d**k Foran, Fuzzy Knight, Peggy Moran and Leo Carrillo.

I watched the original Frankenstein (1931) tonight.  I really haven't seen it in years, and for some reason, thought I would be bored with it.  Instead, I really enjoyed it.

 I had never really taken the time to notice before, but even in black and white, the make-up on Boris Karloff was outstanding. And as Dr. Frankenstein's creation, BK was perfect.

 I had always thought of the "creature" as being nothing more than a murderous, lumbering hulk, but Karloff gave him a "soul" of sorts.  Without uttering a word,  the actor managed to convey a wellspring of emotions in the creature using only facial expressions and gutteral sounds.  He was truly a "monster" to be both despised and pitied. 

OCTAMAN (1972) Terrible semi-remake of THE CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON featuring one of the goofiest lookin' monsters in movie history (courtesy of a very young Rick Baker). You'd think Octaman would crush his victims in his hideous tentacles but he instead slaps 'em silly with them.

Here's a great VHS cover for OCTAMAN (why isn't it OCTOMAN?) that for some reason features a Skekix (whatever) from THE DARK CRYSTAL:

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There's a great goof in this one. When the cast first enters the house, on the right hand side of the screen you can clearly see a stagehand holding a spotlight on them. He follows them with the light as they walk across the set, clicks it off, and then walks off the set.

QUEEN OF BLOOD (1966) Curtis Harrington

In 1990 an Earth ship is on a mission to rescue a crashed alien ship on Mars. They find a mysterious green-skinned woman and take her aboard. They soon realize she is an insect-like vampire with a mysterious and horrible reason to visit our planet!

Harrington very cleverly combines ultra cheap new footage featuring Basil Rathbone, John Saxon, Dennis Hopper, Forrest J. Ackerman, and the terrific Florence Marley (as ? in the credits) with some special effects leftovers from a couple of Russian films.

Otherwise great, creepy little film is somewhat marred by the incredibly stupid actions of the crew once they discover their passenger's true nature. "Well, she's recently fed and bloated with blood so it should be fine to leave her unguarded to sleep it off."

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Dennis Hopper is puzzled by THE QUEEN OF BLOOD!

Watched the last two films from the Universal Horror Classic Movie Archive Collection - Night Monster (1942) and Captive Wild Woman (1943). Night Monster seems somewhat of a mix between the old dark house horror tale and the straight Universal monster story - in this way, it feels kind of unique. It does feature a great cast of veteran performers but I'm sure many Horror fans will be disappointed by the small roles Lionel Atwill and Bela Lugosi play in this one. Still the story proves very unpredictable and we're given a large number of potential suspects to be the hideous monster that lurks the swamp and in the hidden passageways of remote Ingston Towers. It keeps you guessing although ultimately most will probably figure out where it's going. Have to say I enjoyed it especially all the fog and moody atmosphere it has going for it. Captive Wild Woman I wanted to like a whole lot more as it's much closer to your traditional Universal monster style story. It features a mad scientist in one John Carradine, who comes across as just plain cold, remorseful and always calculating. Anyways said scientist becomes obsessed with the idea of using human glands to transform a female gorilla into a stunningly beautiful yet animalistic young woman brilliantly played by the silent Acquanetta. The movie though gets bogged down with animal training footage, a lion and tiger taming act borrowed via stock footage from a Clyde Beatty film The Big Cage and a lot of said footage is obviously and disturbingly real. It takes away somewhat from the rest of the fun in watching this one which is still a lot better than one might expect given the subject matter.

10/04 #6

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Zombieland (2009) BD

Only seen once when I bought the Blu-ray last year so it was time for a re-visit. Very entertaining and fun zombie comedy. Perfect for October/Halloween viewing. 5/5

1) My first movie. Vlad.


Follow up, I finishedthe movie.  I liked it but it could have been better.  I think Billy Zane was the only redeeming quality.  The movie was a lot better than the supposed romantic vampire movies.

Would watch again.

Later again,

John

Aerobicide (1987) - Girls go to Rhonda's health club and jiggle around in their spandex outfits!  Oh, and there's a killer on the loose, offing people with an oversized safety pin   :bouncegiggle:  Kind of slow moving and more than a bit cheesy, but there's some pretty good '80s pop music and did I mention the spandex and the jiggling?  4/5.

Curse of the Devil (1974) - one of those Paul Nasche things.  Many years ago some witches were hung/burned at the stake and they  placed a curse on their executioners.  Now Naschy is the descendant of the executioner, and the followers of the witches put a werewolf curse on him.  These things are very, very slow, and atmospheric.  You've really got to be in the mood for them, and I just wasn't.  Naschy is about as dull as it gets as a leading man.  Of course they always feature their fare share of nudity.  I'm not going to rate it as I wasn't in the mood for it.

Lady Frankenstein (1971) - Ol' Dr. Frankenstein creates his usual monster.  It kills him, but never fear, his daughter has just finished medical school and takes up where he left off.  This has got a wild and crazy plot, with the Dr.'s assistant being in love with the daughter, and her telling him that if he allows her to transplant his brain into another man's body, she'll be his lover.  Ah, the things we do for love   :teddyr:  Excellent, strong characters and plenty of plot.  4/5.

Ralph Morgan's reveal of his true physical condition is probably the most shocking image in any of the 40's horror films.

Too bad Lugosi didn't play the mysterious swami but got stuck with another stupid red herring butler role.

"I'm not great at farewells, so uh... that'll do, pig."

I love that line.

10/05 #7

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Lost Highway (1997) BD

Twisted, creepy and may I say scary? This is pretty much a horror movie in my book even though it takes turns into film noir, drama, love story, crime and what not.
The German Blu-ray presents the movie with solid quality and fine detail, very good HD audio in my opinion as well. 5/5

10/06 #8

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Cemetery Man (1994)

Frightfully funny indeed, with a great ending. This is in need of a nice remastered Blu-ray release though. The old AB DVD doesn't look that hot. 4/5

Watched "Scream 4" last night. Whether or not that qualifies as "horror" depends on who you talk to, though. I've always found the Scream flicks to be more of a comedic murder mystery series than straight up horror flicks.

The Brides of Dracula (1960) - A woman's traveling to her new job but the stagecoach driver takes off and leaves her at a local inn.  Those Transylvanian stagecoach drivers - so skittish.  So she meets this old lady who offers her shelter, but the old lady had a son she keeps chained up in his own set of rooms.  So our nice little lost traveler lets him go and oops - he just happened to be a vampire.  She travels on to her new job, but the vamp' has taken an interest in her.  A fine Hammer Horror movie, with the usual Gothic setting, lush colors, well drawn characters, and a plot that moves along quite well.  Peter Cushing plays Dr. Van Helsing.  4.25/5.

10/07 #9

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The Dead Zone (1983)

Long time fave that still holds up these days. I love Walken's performance and the snow setting. It adds so much to the atmosphere. 5/5

One reviewer called this one a mixture of Hammer and Tennessee Williams, which is pretty accurate. A shame Christopher Lee refused to be in this one, but David Peel is so good as the vampire - he's much more cultured and devious than Lee's Dracula ever was - Lee is barely missed.

Today, I plan to watch Creepshow.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_6vtAmFnkA

Our local MeTV or THISTV (I forget which) is showing the Svengoolie Movie on Saturday nights now, featuring classic Universal horrors.  last week it was THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING MAN, this week it's MOLE PEOPLE, and next week the original DRACULA with Lugosi. Fun host segments with funny but respectful digs at the film.

It's definitely a step up qualitywise from the overly familiar public domain crap Elvira and Wolfman Mack hosted movies they were showing last year.

I believe they also made a novelization of that movie.

Last night I watched CHROMESKULL: LAID TO REST 2.  It was a pretty interesting slasher with some very gory kill scenes; I wish they explained a bit more about who Chromeskull was, why he was killing, and how it was that he had a complex organization to clean up after him and cover up his kills.  This one was good, but left a LOT of things unexplained.

10/08 #11

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The Voodoo That You Do Double Feature:

The Serpent and the Rainbow (1988)

Craven's most ambitious horror movie? or just another location for Elm Street? Either way, nightmarish visions and cruel political reality clash in this voodoo infused terror flick. Very good film, but the old Universal DVD is lacking. 4/5

The Kiss (1988)

I always thought The Kiss was underrated. And I still think it is. Even though not very original but still decent enough. Gotta love the vicious handpuppet cat from hell! 4/5

10/09 #14

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Zombified Triple Feature:

Let Sleeping Corpses Lie (1974)

Even though sexist and sporting a bad fake British accent this one is still oozing with creepy atmosphere. 4.5/5

Shock Waves (1977)

Seeing John Carradine almost nude is quite unsettling but the rest delivers the creepy goods. 4/5

Zombie (1979)

This looks fabulous upscaled so the upcoming Blu-ray should look amazing. Classic Fulci with a great score. 5/5

Great show!!!!

Will be on my watch list!

2.  Troll 2

I added this to my list, I decided to wath this before the Killing Jar.


Watching this now. Will have to stop, got to get ready for work.  Talk about a cheese fest.  I love the absense of acting, the bad Goblin suits (eventhough it the movie is called Troll 2), the jello that the people turn into when they drink the green koolaid and the sex starved teenage boys.  More to come.

Later,

John

The Blancheville Monster (1963) - Back in the 1800's a group of college grad's go to the castle of one their families.  The father has supposedly been killed in a fire, but it turns out he's just been horribly disfigured and gone insane.  Of course he's kept in the tower room.  Spooky thing happen   :teddyr:  This is an old favorite, with quite an involved plot and fairly likable characters.  One of them's a real screamer though, which does tend to grate on the nerves after a while.  3.5/5.

SHERLOCK, JR (1924 Keaton)
Not a horror film, but an incredible comedy/fantasy by the amazing Buster Keaton. Keaton plays a movie projectionist falsely accused of stealing his girlfriend's father's watch. He falls asleep and dreams he enters the movie he's showing, which is about the theft of a string of pearls.

Keaton is always fun but what makes this required viewing are a series of amazing stunts/visual effects Keaton pulls off, almost all done 'in camera': he runs across the top of a moving train, steps into a movie (getting pummeled as the scene keeps changing), jumps through a window into an old lady disguise, rides a railroad crossing gate from a roof to a moving car, jumps into an open suitcase, rides around on the handle bars of a driverless motorcycle, etc.

One stunt has him hanging in a roaring torrent of water that washes him onto a railroad track. He literally broke his neck performing this one (the shot is in the movie), an injury not discovered until the 1930s!

Here's a 'best of' reel:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4nT5vNb7NBk

How he managed the motorcycle passing in front of the approaching train puzzled fans for years until he revealed the simple trick:




it was filmed in reverse.
 

I'm planning on watching some legit horror classics and the lovable B-movie horror movies this month: Dracula, Bride of the Monster,  Hobgoblins, Plan 9 From Outer Space, Robot Monster, The Exorcist, Jaws, Manos: The Hands of Fate and Rosemary's Baby.

3.  Little Shop of Horrors (1986)

The Plague of the Zombies (1966) - a professor of medicine is called to the village of one of his former students to help diagnose a mysterious series of deaths.  You might guess from the title what the cause is   :smile:  This is a real favorite of mine.  Classic hammer horror, with some of the best characters I've ever seen on the screen, a fairly involved plot, and good pacing throughout.  4.5/5.

I would consider it my Halloween equivalent of A Christmas Story.

And speaking of quality entertainment with Darren McGavin, Im almost finished the complete series of Kolchack: The Night Stalker. Finished episode 18 of 20 on Sunday.

Oh, I also have a couple of horror/thriller movies on deck for today. The Burrowers, which looks kind of interesting, and American Psycho.

The latter is a movie I have so far managed to avoid seeing, but I see it listed on Netflix al the time, and I feel like checking it out. I also just recently found out that the director of American Psycho, Mary Harron, is in fact the daughter of Don "Charlie Farquharson" Harron and his first wife, Virginia "Jan in the Pan" Leith. That got me curious as well.

10/10 #15

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Anguish (1987)

Zelda Rubinstein delivers as "The Mommy" plus you get a few great psychedelic hypno-moments. Why aren't there more film-in-film movies? 4/5

10/11 #16

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Stagefright (1987)

Thrilling slasher, and I always forget how gory it actualy is. Certainly one of Soavi's finest. 4.5/5

Prom Night IV: Deliver Us from Evil (1992) - a psycho priest stalks some kids who are partying it up at a remote house.  He doesn't like that they're engaging in pre-marital sex, the little miscreants.  I think this is a wonderful slasher.  Just a bit of cheese, otherwise fairly serious.  Great characters, sort of a spooky location;  a fun time overall.  4.25/5.

"Halloween H20: 20 Years Later" (1998)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fcKi-D-zUL0

The "Halloween" series had been pretty well run into the ground after the previous two installments, so the producers only had one choice for the seventh (!) film: ignore the events of the last three sequels and bring back Jamie Lee Curtis as Laurie Strode instead. This flick picks up two decades after the events of "Halloween II"

Laurie's now all grown up and still living in fear. When Little Bro Mikey turns up at the prep school where she works for a family reunion, a way overdue showdown finally happens.

This seriously should've been the last Halloween film IMO (the ending would've been a perfect capper to the series) buuuuut... nope, they had to make "Resurrection" after this one and totally screw everything up. Sigh.

This is also one of the few Halloween sequels that I haven't seen a zillion times so I'm not terminlally sick of it.

I just bought the Mill Creek Pure Terror set and plan on watching all of them before Halloween is over. 

As always wt these sets, there's a few gems and a lot of garbage.  Mutant and Monstroid were particularly good ones.  It also has Manos and Curse of Bigfoot, which are so garbage that they are gems.

     I own a copy; you'll have a ball.

10/12 #17

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Altered States (1980)

Shrooms bring out the primitive in William Hurt: psychedelic mindtrip with amazing optical effects and lots of creepy moments. Great soundtrack, early bladder f/x (one year before The Howling) but the ending came a bit too soon for my taste. This should make for a neat double feature with Demon Seed (1977). 4.5/5

I always do with these packs.  It's like trick or treating for movies.  You don't know what all you're going to get, but at the end there's always something good in the bag. 

SOMEONE'S KNOCKING AT THE DOOR (2009): Two possessed serial killers who rape their victims to death stalk IV-drug abusing medical students.  Extremely ridiculous, but not in a particularly fun way. You may be able to squeeze some "so-bad-it's-good" value out of this, but I couldn't get much.   Nudity, violence and low-budget psychedelic sequences keep it from being a total bore, though. 2/5.

I'm FB friends with the director. I love his first movie, The Ghouls (2003), which is highly recommended if you are not easily offended  :wink:
Still need to check out Someone's Knocking At The Door though.

10/13 #18

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The Ninth Gate (1999)

Only seen once when the DVD first came out. Wasn't much impressed back then. Actually, I thought The Ninth Gate was kind of weak. Watching Polanski's supernatural mystery thriller again after one decade was like watching it for the first time. And yes, I did enjoy it more the second time around, even with slow pacing and all. 4/5

SCREAMING MIMI (1958)

After surviving an attack while in an outdoor shower by a mad slasher,  Yolanda (Anita Ekberg) is committed to the local insane asylum. Her psychologist falls for her, so naturally he fakes her death so they can run off together so she can become an exotic dancer at a night club, which is ran by 'Gypsy' (Gypsy Rose Lee).

Soon the local beautiful busty blondes are falling victim to a Jack the Ripper-style killer. The victims all are found with a small statue dubbed 'Screaming Mimi' - and now one of the statues has mysteriously turned up in Yolanda's dressing room! Can this mean she is the next target of the killer... or something even more shocking...

I'm pretty familiar with at least the titles of most horror films form the fifties so it was a nice surprise to discover this lurid melodrama. I'd never even heard of it! Ekberg is stunning and has a cleavage that literally defies the laws of gravity. The nightclub scenes are a classic - the highlight is Gypsy Rose Lee strutting around singing 'Put the Blame on Mame' and a weird guy who plays the vibraphone. The little Screaming Mimi statues look a lot like 'The Victim' model from Aurora's Monster Scenes series.

FUN FACT: The same story was filmed as THE BIRD WITH THE CRYSTAL PLUMAGE by Dario Argento.
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/4a/Screaming_mimi_poster.jpg)

The Stay Awake (1987) - a group of girls and their teacher are terrorized by a demonic monster at their school.  This is a real favorite of mine.  Like I always say, if you were a 12 year old girl and you wanted to watch a scary movie at your slumber party, this would be the perfect choice.  Cheesy as can be, but maintains a naive seriousness about it.  Good characters, sort of snotty girls and their concerned teacher.  4/5.

10/14 #19

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Someone's Watching Me! (1978)

Do I ever love the Twisted Terror set. Though I've seen almost every movie from the set last year October, but the urge to rewatch Carpenter's classic TV thriller was just too big. Loved it as a kid, still love it these days. 4/5

A Steven King adaptation night.  I just sat through Pet Semetery and Pet Semetery2.  Crazy cat, crazy dog, and crazy people that ALL happen to be dead. So so.

Watched CARRIE last night. Now that one I love :teddyr:

Today:

The Being - a monster rampages through Pottsville, Idaho and eats a lot of people.  Meanwhile, Detective Mort Lutz lazily wanders around, looks at stuff, and addresses everyone he meets with "you son of a b***h".

Creature - a monster on one of Saturn's moons eats a few people and makes zombies out of a few others.

I actaully own this  :buggedout:

Watched Isolation (2005) this afternoon. Kind of an interesting little monster movie, very atmospheric and well acted. Genetically altered livestock mutate horribly. Familiar Alien/Thing-style plot on an Irish dairy farm with spiky, deformed and extremely nasty bovine slugs running amuck. About the only complaint I have is that I never got a really good look at the monsters.  In some ways, that made them more effective, but I came away without a really good idea of what they looked like as a whole, which was a little unsatisfying.
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/12/Isolation_FilmPoster.jpeg)

Got part of the way into "1408" this evening. Looking forward to the rest. Based on a Stephen King story. John Cusack is a skeptical writer staying in a haunted hotel room with a history of chewing up guests and spitting them out. Things were just starting to happen when I had to shut it off. Can't wait to see more.
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/63/1408poster.jpg)

I watched a VERY gruesome slasher flick called SWEATSHOP tonight.  Actually, it's more of a smasher than a slasher - "The Beast's" preferred weapon is a truly monstrous hammer that knocks heads off and smashes bodies into jelly!

This movie is set at a rave which is taking place in an old grain silo/warehouse - it does mention that the film is set in Texas, I haven't looked up the IMDB page yet, but I think I have driven by that silo before!  It is full of thrashing punk metal music, fairly attractive goth/punk girls, a fair amount of nudity, and some of the most gruesome kills I have ever seen!  (The lower jaw removal is impressively filmed, I'll tell you that!)

Anyway, if you like boobs, gore, blood, and thrashing punk metal music, this one is for you.

10/15 #20

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Dagon (2001)

Boat trip ends in a struggle for survival as a young couple discovers horrible secrets in a small Spanish coastal town.
Fantastic Euro-Horror with great creepy and gory f/x. 4/5

Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982) - Tom Atkins stars as a doctor investigating strange goings-on at the Silver Shamrock Halloween mask factory.  "Eight more days to Halloween, Halloween, Halloween.  Eight more days to Halloween, Silver Shamrock!"  Another old favorite of mine, with Dan O'Herlihy doing a great job as the creepy and menacing president of Silver Shamrock.  Utterly bizarre plot, wonderful '80s atmosphere, just a fun time all around.  4.25/5.

PRIVATE PARTS (1972): A sexually curious teenage runaway negotiates the deviant scumbags in her crazy aunt's creaky boarding house.  Director Paul Bartel slathers on the spooky, sleazy psychosexual atmosphere in this tastefully depraved debut film.  3.5/5.

(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/3c/Private_Parts_%281972%29.jpg)

The Fog (1980): John Carpenter's original eerie spookfest that blends mystery with suspense as an old ghostly yarn of murder and revenge comes to haunt a hundred year old seaside town. On board is a great cast including Adrienne Barbeau, Jamie Lee Curtis, John Houseman, Janet Leigh, Hal Holbrook and Nancy Loomis. It's a tad slow establishing the story background and history but if you can be a bit patient, I think it delivers in the end making the fog more villainous than any other film I think I've ever seen. **** out of ***** stars.

Village of the Damned (1960): Creepy and effective little thriller based on John Wyndham's The Midwich Cuckoos. A mysterioys unexplained event happens in Midwich, England that inexpicably leaves every child-bearing women in town pregnant. When these kids are born, they don't seem to be quite usual in fact they are far more advanced that normal from an early age and soon start to develop a group mind between them as well as other mysterious power and menacing glowing eyes if you happen to cross them could mean your doom. This was very well done and featured a great cast including George Sanders, Barbara Shelley, Martin Stephens and Michael Gwynn. It builds up slowly but there's never a dull moment here as something interesting always seemed to be happening and the performances of the actors are captivating. The eye effect is quite effectively done too and I wouldn't be surprised if those eyes weren't in a few nightmares back in the day. ****1/2 out of *****

Children of the Damned (1963): Sequel of Village is much more clearly in the realm of Science Fiction than its predecessor, although both are certainly of the Sci-Fi genre, at least in terms of style. This film plays arguably like an hard SF style film very slowly building its story, characters and the conflicts and challenges they face as several nations of the world each learn they each possess an unique special child far more advanced than any other person in the country but when they are brought together and learn of each other, these kids seek each other out learning they are more powerful together than separate.  Eventually humanity comes to see them as different and a threat but one man points out that these kids who use their special powers in defense of themselves although when they do, it is brutally efficient in dispatching those who oppose them. In many ways, this story is actually more challenging and interesting than its predecessor but those wanting simple and effective horror chills and thrills may be disappointed and may well find this more than a bit dull. This is a more challenging sci-fi story that isn't for everyone but for those who can appreciate, they will probably think of it pretty highly. ***1/2 out of ***** stars.

10/16 #24

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Cam-Horror Marathon

Quarantine (2008) BD

Solid remake. 4/5

The Blair Witch Project (1999)

Modern Classic. 5/5

Paranormal Activity (2007) BD

Still creepy. 5/5

Paranormal Activity 2 (2010) BD

Decent. 4/5

Watched RUBBER last night. Pretty funny horror spoof about a sentient tire that rolls around blowing things up with its mind. Maybe a bit long, but I got a kick out of the audience watching through binoculars, and the attempts to avoid having to go anywhere with the silly premise. It mocks some cliches pretty effectively, and the constant breaking of the fourth wall is funny, and done in an interesting way.
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/fa/Rubber-2010-film-poster.jpg)

I see Wings Hauser's name on that poster.  :teddyr:

He's probably the best character in the movie.

Have you seen INVSION aka INFECTION (2005)?

It pretty much takes the 'cam-horror' genre to the extreme - except for a couple of framing bits with a reporter the entire film about a mysterious alien virus turning good county people into mind-controlled drones capable of faking normality and bent on taking over the world is done in one continuous take supposedly from a patrol car's dash camera.

I'm sure there's some editing in there somewhere but it's neatly masked by meteor flashes and the such.  The few effects, such as something briefly being 'wrong' with a character's face, are simple but quite effective.

I know lots of folks would find this brief film (it's about 60 minutes of film and almost 30 minutes of credits. Even the florist who supplied the teen girl with her corsage gets a big full screen credit!) very tedious but I thought it was very cleverly done, and anyone familiar with driving around lost on a country road on a dark night will feel some eerie familiarity. Particularly effective are shots where you (and the main character) think you see something walking around just out of range of the car lights.

Again: there's a lot of hatred out there for this but it gave me some genuine creeps. I enjoyed it.  :thumbup:



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ir8L_3vQsxI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrg73BUxJLI

10/17 #25

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Doom Asylum (1987)

Silly but entertaining slasher comedy with decent blood letting. Filmed in the abandoned Essex Mountain Sanatorium which makes for a perfect location. 4.5/5

Never heard or seen but it looks interesting. Thanks for the tip!

10/18 #26

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Next of Kin (1984)

Creepy happenings, murder and dark secrets in an elderly home. Yep, this one still sends chills down my spine. Great film, amazing soundtrack. 4.5/5

The Mummy (1959) - Some archaeologists discover the tomb of an Egyptian queen.  As usually happens with these sorts of things, there's a curse attached to it, and next thing you know Peter Cushing has got a mummy (Christopher Lee) chasing him around.  Really good Hammer Horror film, an old fav'e of mine.  4/5.

Dracula Has Risen from the Grave (1968) - A small village is having a bit of a problem with the local vampire, Count Dracula himself (Christopher Lee).  A well-intentioned monsignor goes and puts a big ol' crucifix on the front door of Drac's castle...oh yeah.  Way to pi$$ of the vampire  :teddyr:  Meanwhile the Monsignor's niece is having a nice little romance with a guy who works at the local bakery, and Dracula would like to take a little nibble out of her.  Great characters, interesting plot, another Hammer Horror classic.  4.5/5.

Nice bit of trivia for you: Sir Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing became good friends on the set of that film. Lee burst into Cushing's dressing room, loudly complaining "I haven't got any lines!" Cushing's reply was "You're lucky. I've read the script."

 :teddyr: :teddyr:

LOL, would have loved to have met Cushing in real life.  I'm sure he had quite a personality.

Just watched this and was not disappointed

(http://www.slasherstudios.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/killerparty.jpg)

10/19 #28

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Infestation (2009) BD

Alien insects have taken over the world and a handful of survivors are trying to stay alive. Funny Sci-Fi Horror, mixing CGI with cool practical effects. Pretty good movie and not what I expected. Recommended 4/5

The Skeptic (2009) BD

Arrogant lawyer inherits house and soon the spooky stuff begins. Laid back chills, thrills and some hidden humor. Zoe Saldana steals every scene and leaves quite an impression. 4/5

Watched Videodrome yesterday. Probably been at least 15 years since I last saw it. Found it gorier in places than I remember, and the story a little slower. Still, classic Cronenberg, with some freaky imagery and bending of reality.
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/0f/Videodromeposter.jpg)

I've viewed Cannibal Holocaust and The Demon for my reviews on here: nuff said.  :buggedout: :tongueout:

10/20 #30

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The Sentinel (1977)

No October without The Sentinel. Still delivers the creepy goods. 4.5/5

Stigmata (1999)

Another movie I haven't seen in ten years. This one comes with a very Tony Scott/Adrian Lyne visual style and story telling. Slick and thrilling. A Blu-ray release is long overdue. 4/5

TrollHunter (2010) - sort of the Norwegian version of Blair Witch, with a group of student reporters trying to track down a suspected bear poacher.  Of course the title of the movie is TrollHunter, so you kind of know he's not actually after bears.  He decides to let the kids in on his troll hunting exploits, and they follow him around as he tries to find out why the trolls have been acting so strangely recently.  I really liked this.  Absolutely gorgeous Norwegian scenery, good characters, and the plot was, well, "believable" in the way the kids obviously didn't believe in trolls but came to realize they were real as time went on.  It had a small bit of tongue-in-cheek attitude to it, but for the most part it took itself fairly seriously.  The trolls were all done with practical effects and looked terrific.  4.5/5.

Watched The Sentinel myself, a few weeks ago. Pretty effective using real human oddities as the minions of Hell. And Burgess Meredith actually manages to be really menacing.


For me, October puts me in the mood for horror anthologies. Yesterday, I watched Vault of Horror (1973). It hasn't been that long since I last watched it, but it's one of the more fun of the subgenre. Five strangers, played by Daniel Massey, Terry-Thomas, Curt Jurgens, Michael Craig and Tom "Doctor Who" Baker, get out of the elevator of a London office building and find themselves alone in a sort of gentleman's club with no button to call the elevator back. They decide to sit down and pour themselves a drink, and each ends up sharing a story of a recent nightmare, which leads into their individual segments of the movie. It has vampires, voodoo, grave robbing, black magic, murder, revenge and all that good stuff. Clever stories, good acting and a satisfying conclusion. If there is a downside to this movie, it's that a couple of times when it tries to be gory, the effects are unconvincing. But that's maybe once or twice in the entire thing, and the scenes themselves are good enough to overcome it. Kind of adds to the movie's charm in a way.
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/2e/Vault_of_Horror_%281973%29.jpg)

Watched Monster Squad the other day. So awesome, perfect for Halloween.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4VAat7Q--wQ

The Clown At Midnight - A guy dresses up like a clown and kills people some teenagers.  Having read that sentence, you've probably imagined a better movie than this actually is.  The only thing of note is that Christopher Plummer shows up to play the clown and by damn he tries hard.  Bless him.

This week I watched:

The Ward
And Now The Darkness
An American Werewolf in London
Bloodlust Zombies
Strangeland
Cabin Fever 2

Kudos to whoever recommended ATTACK THE BLOCK!!!
I just finished it, and I must say it is one of the best alien invasion movies I've seen in a long time.  I loved the slouching, impenetrably black alien beasts with their glowing blue teeth!  Even the characters, whom I was fully prepared to despise at the beginning of the film, wound up being sympathetic, believable, and REAL!
This is an OUTSTANDING film with lots of great moments!

10/21 #31

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The Strangers (2008)

Young couple in a cabin are terrorized by three strangers wearing masks. Simple but effective and very creepy "home invasion" horror with a good amount of jolting jump scares. Perfect for October/Halloween. 5/5

Another anthology for me. Good old Trilogy of Terror.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLFqtrm2R1s&feature=related

10/22 #32

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The Omega Man (1971) BD

*gasp* First-time viewing. How I managed not to watch this over the years remains a mystery. But hey, better late than never.
Enjoyed this very much. 4/5

The Rocky Horror Picture Show - an alien mad scientist creates an artificial man, has sex with him, then has sex with two stranded people who stop by his castle to use the phone.  The scientist's two assistants decide they don't want to remain on Earth any longer, a point which they choose to communicate with an anti-matter gun ...

10/23 #35

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Friday the 13th Part III (1982) BD

Already seen on my own in April, watched it again today with guests so no big comments: 3.5/5

Inferno (1980) BD

I finally gave in to one of my least favorite Argento movies and decided to just enjoy it for what it is: a bit confusing, a bit cheesy and very colorful. Looking great in HD. 4/5

Scanners (1981) BD

I thought the German Blu-ray looks pretty good. Soft image at times, but also rich on fine details (clothes pattern). Audio seemed briefly out of sync during the school bus scene. 4.5/5

Today I watched:

Amityville Horror (remake)
Salvage
Monster in the Closet

6.  House of Bones

Discussed these also in the Recent Viewings thread but feel they belong here too...

Wait Until Dark (1967): Granted more a crime suspense/thriller than horror but has an edge of your seat intense climax that'll rival most slashers as three clever thugs terrorize a recently blind woman (played adeptly by Audrey Hepburn). Things get really edgy when the lights go out. ***1/2 out of ***** stars.

Of Unknown Origin (1983): Again not your conventional horror as a man (Peter Weller) finds himself in an out and out war of wits with a rat for ownership of the brownstone he renovated with his own hands. This rat is however nothing usual - it's more of a super rat which stretches credibility on some levels. Still there's lots of intense  and sometimes gory scenes in this one which should please horror fans. This is one of those films that IMO stays with you for days after watching it and it'll likely have you on the lookout for unwanted critters and noticing unusual sounds late at night. *** out of ***** stars.

Suspect Zero (2004): Not your usual serial killer thriller, this features a most unusual serial killer suspect who's apparently taking out other serial killers. While this is quite gory and disturbingly bleak, it ultimately becomes part gory serial killer horror, part spy-fi thriller. Good performances from Ben Kingsley and Aaron Eckhart make this watchable enough if you're not squeamish, can take a film that's in large part depressing and can get past the confusing first half which will make sense by the end believe it or not. Some great unusual and bizarre visuals enhance the surreal experience of it all. *** out of ***** stars.

*Hits self on head repeatedly*  :buggedout:

I checked Sir Christopher Lee's autobiography again ~ I should have checked it before I posted ~ and this bit of trivia is about The Curse of Frankenstein, not The Mummy.

*Apologizes and takes aspirin for headache*

10/24 #36

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Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1994) BD 3.5/5

http://www.badmovies.org/forum/index.php/topic,136119.0.html

Creepshow 2 (1987) - A trilogy of frightful tales.  The first has a wooden Indian taken revenge on those who killed its owners.  The second had a group of kids out on a lake being attacked by a killer oil slick.  And the third has a woman accidentally running over a hitchhiker who just refuses to die.  Pretty good overall.  I especially liked the one with the kids on the lake.  The totally unknown nature of their attacker adds a nice bit of mysteriousness to it, and the characters are pretty likable.  I think all three had very predictable "twist" endings though.  4/5.

I haven't watched too much lately.  All I've seen this month is One Dark Night (1983) which was kind of fun, and Dracula vs. Frankenstein (1971) which was awful in a spectacular way.  I need to see more Al Adamson flicks.

Watching Tales from the Darkside: The Movie right now. This is another one I'm quite fond of. Saw it with friends at the drive-in, and a couple of times since. Nice trio of tales, with a preppy-killing mummy, a black cat you just can't get rid of and a monstrous love story, all tied together by a boy trying to stall the nice lady who wants to cook him. Cast includes Steve Buscemi, Christian Slater, Julianne Moore, William Hickey, David Johansen, Rae Dawn Chong and Debbie Harry. Similar in many ways to Creepshow, and even includes a Stephen King story adapted by George Romero. Fun movie.
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/67/Talesfromthedarkside.jpg)

10/25 #37

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Let's Scare Jessica to Death (1971)

October wouldn't be the same for me without watching this. Creepy little gem that deserves its cult status. 5/5

Stephen King's Silver Bullet. Something about the 80s made it not the least bit silly for a paraplegic kid to have a tricked-out gasoline-powered wheelchair. And where else can you see Gary Busey as a drunken, erratic nutbag? Oh, right. :teddyr:
(http://www.horrorphile.net/images/silver-bullet-movie-poster1.jpg)

I love the fact that Silver Bullet's very ending happens on Halloween. Perfect for October viewing :)

10/26 #38

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The People Under the Stairs (1991)

Wes Craven's urban fairy tale is a fun(ny) thrill-ride. Still holds up pretty well. 4/5

With Everett McGill, who was also the villain in Silver Bullet. Always liked him in this movie - he looked like an evil Darren Stevens with a leather fetish.

Watching the Rifftrax Live: House on Haunted Hill video. I like the movie fine by itself, but it's also one of the funnier Rifftrax, and comes with a couple of shorts about grocery shopping and how paper is made. I think the audience reaction enhances the humour quite a bit.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AsSgRfXSiFk

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)
Trick or Treat (1986)

10/27 #39

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Anthropophagus (1980)

People on vacation end up on the menu of a cannibalistic madman. Notorious shocker with graphic violence, slasher elements and awkward euro-dubbing. 3.5/5

HOW TO MAKE A MONSTER (1958)

(http://images.ha.com/lf?source=url%5bfile%3aimages%2finetpub%2fnewnames%2f300%2f6%2f6%2f4%2f1%2f6641841.jpg%5d%2ccontinueonerror%5btrue%5d&scale=size%5b450x2000%5d%2coptions%5blimit%5d&source=url%5bfile%3aimages%2finetpub%2fwebuse%2fno_image_available.gif%5d%2cif%5b%28%27global.source.error%27%29%5d&sink=preservemd%5btrue%5d)

When new owners take over a movie studios they decide stop making monster movies and produce musical comedies instead. This leaves the resident makeup artist, responsible for creating popular (and profitable) famous monsters for the studio, out of a job. He seeks his revenge against the heartless suits by creating a new makeup that allows him to hypnotise teenage actors into thinking they are the Teenage Werewolf and the Teenage Frankenstein!

Fun, cheap AIP 1950s horror flick, featuring a behind the scenes look lots of their iconic monster makeups and costumes and a fiery ending in blazing color!

(http://www.dvddrive-in.com/images/a-d/arkofffilmlibrary3.jpg)
Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man
American International Pictures Style

I just watched "The Haunted Casino" don't waste your time with this boring piece of crap.

The Batman vs. Dracula (2005)

Yet another animated Batman movie better than any of the live action ones.  Batman is startled when he starts having to fight honest-to-goodness vampires on the streets of Gotham.  Where are they coming from?  Why, Dracula is in town, of course!  Batman confronts Dracula and gets his ass kicked six ways to Sunday.  Is there any way he can defeat the undead King of Darkness, or has Batman finally come up against a foe he cannot overcome?

I can't even begin to tell you how much this movie rocks.  C'mon, it's BATMAN VS. DRACULA, for crying out loud!  What more do you even need to know?  Aside from the wonderful premise, we've got what is, quite honestly, one of the best interpretations of Dracula put to screen.  Peter Stormare does an outstanding job providing his voice, and the way he looks and moves is absolutely perfect.  This Dracula is intelligent, powerful, extremely dangerous, and no fool.  He is more than a match for Batman.  In fact, the first time he and Batman face off, he delivers the most thorough ass-kicking I've ever witnessed the Caped Crusader receive on film.  Oh, and let's not forget the unbelievably bloody fight scene between Batman and a vampirized Joker.  It is shockingly gruesome and I did not see it coming.  Quite honestly, I can't believe it made it into the movie.

10/28 #40

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Offerings (1989)

Blatant Halloween clone (right down to Carpenter's score) but charming because of typical 80s cheese (big hair, belly-free shirts).
Cheap but decent production. Never heard of this film until a few years ago. This one went under my radar in video rental days I guess. Either way, worth watching. 4/5

I watched a movie called GOOD NEIGHBORS last night.  A strange love triangle between a cat-loving waitress, an awkward Jewish neighbor, and the paraplegic jock who lives downstairs, all of whom are fascinated by the exploits of a serial killer who rapes and strangles women in their area.  Intriguing premise but overall, a rather boring and pedestrian film.  I just couldn't make myself care about any of the characters - with a different cast and editing it might have been quite good; the screenplay was fairly interesting.

Taste the Blood of Dracula
Halloween 5
The Body Snatcher

10/29 #43

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Jurassic Park (1993) BD

Though not horror but there is enough stuff that could qualify as horror in Spielberg's Jurassic Park for sure. Fun and thrilling creature feature that looks and sounds great on Blu-ray. 5/5

Bride of Re-Animator (1990)

Decent sequel, fun f/x. 4/5

Innocent Blood (1992)

With a little more polish this could have been a classic. Still entertaining enough, with at times rather nasty f/x. Such a shame this never got a decent R1 DVD or Blu-ray release. 4/5

I remembered really liking Monster Squad when I was little so we just rented it for my daughter!  She loved it!  She has insisted on watching it 3 times now over 4 days.  I still cry at the end.  The language is a little uncomfortable for having a little kid watch, but thankfully, she didn't pick up on it yet.  We've also been watching Ernest Scared Stupid (we call it Boogerlips because I'm not about to let her use the word "stupid" yet)  and out of the entire movie, she recites the line "Evil Demons, make me strong!", only she says "Evil Evil, make me strong!" .. really creepy seeing a 3 year old say that... it was short lived and she's on to other movie quotes now, but now I'm really nervous about what she's going to pick up from some of these movies!

My husband wants her to watch Army of Darkness for Halloween, I was kind of hoping for at least part of Creepshow, but he thinks that movie is too "adult", and he's probably right, it could be a little too scary.

Halloween
Ed Wood
Curse of The Mummy's Tomb

Dracula Has Risen From the Grave (1968): Enjoyable Hammer Dracula sequel starring Christopher Lee has stylistic gothic visuals, exotic women and energetic acting performances going for it. Decent. *** out of ***** stars.

Attack of the Crab Monsters (1957): Really fun Corman sci-fi cheapie with cool if not thoroughly convincing crab monsters tangling with a group of scientists (including familiar faces Richard Garland, Russell Johnson and Pamela Duncan) on a shrinking desert island. Loved it! **** out of ***** stars.

Children of the Corn (1984): Kids are tricked and manipulated by an evil demonic corn entity into committing murderous acts targeting every adult in sight. A couple makes the mistake of visiting said town and now the question is will they get out alive? A rather unsettling film in terms of subject matter, this has good kid villains going for it but is a bit too dull, overlong and dragged out and it's hard to feel sympathy for the leads as they seem more than a bit dumb. ** out of ***** stars.

The Fearless Vampire Killers (1967): Really fun zany vampire spoof has a buffoonish professor and his hapless assistant (Jack McGrowan and Roman Polanski) getting into one misadventure after another as they perhaps rather foolishly tangle with some slightly over the top vampires. A lot of fun. **** out of ***** stars.

10/30 #45

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The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997) BD

More dinos, more havoc and some T.Rex tongue-fu. Why people dislike this sequel is a mystery to me. I think it delivers. 4.5/5

The Entity (1982)

Now this ghost doesn't f**k around. Well it does but you know what I mean. Disturbing Paranormal Activity 80s style that might be the scariest ghost movie ever. 5/5

I got this in a box set, just recently watched it and really liked it. Silly but good.

First things first, I know I'm super late on this one. I just watched Re-Animator for the first time

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I just never got round to watching it, but I'm so glat I did.

Are the sequels any good?

A little late but last movie for this Halloween ...

Halloween Town.  Three kids - big sister, middle brother, little sister - discover that they hail from a powerful line of wizards and witches, a fact which their mother (herself a powerful witch) has kept from them.  They venture to Halloween Town, a place where all magical folk and creatures congregate, to learn magic from their grandmother.  However, an evil shadow creature picks just that time to conquer Halloween Town and use its inhabitants as an army to take over the mortal world ...

Harmless family movie, good to watch with your girlfriend and her kid.   :smile:

'Twas a good October.   :smile:

10/31 #49

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Jurassic Park III (2001) BD

This is actually a pretty good sequel, though missing the Spielberg "magic" but still entertaining enough. 4/5

Darkman (1990) BD

Not really horror but it has all the typical wild Raimi ingredients. Over-the-top greatness. 4.5/5

Candyman (1992) BD

Looking and sounding pretty good on Blu-ray. Todd's voice is booming and Madsen's eyes are more clearer and sharper than ever. 5/5

Halloween (1978) BD

Had to flip a coin. It was either this or Season of the Witch. 5/5

Ghosts of Mars (2001) - Mars has been terraformed but a group of miners unwittingly release the planet's previous inhabitants - a red cloud that takes over people and turns them into rejects from a Mad Max movie.  It's up to Natasha Henstridge and Ice Cube to save the day.  Or at least shoot everything in sight.  An old favorite of mine, which looks quite spectacular on Blu ray.  Written and directed by John Carpenter, it's not altogether serious and includes a few humorous character moments.  Quite action packed, and I really liked the people in it.  I never have been able to figure out the plot though - the inhabitants of Mars died off quite some time ago, but they want to take revenge on anyone who comes to their planet?  Revenge for what?  Oh well, an enjoyable Halloween night was had by all   :thumbup:  4.25/5.

A couple more from Halloween night. Since we don't get many kids down our street, we take Ro across town to trick-or-treat with her friends, and just leave the house dark so nobody knocks. I miss putting on a big display, but this year I stayed home and took advantage of being all alone in a dark house for most of the evening. Put the jack-o-lantern on the table next to the couch for an eerie glow, pulled the laptop close and watched a double feature of Mad Love (more of a thriller, but still a good movie) and my second viewing of Creepshow for this fall.
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"Just tell it to call you Billy."

Originally I never cared about the Goosebumps series but we have been watching them and I'm quite surprise how good some of the stories are especially for our 3-year-old!!!

She also enjoys Monster Squad (seen it 3 times) and Nick's The boy who cried Werewolf (which isnt bad)...

We also watch Army of Darkness although the story seemed little boring for her at some parts...

Oddly, the flying monkies in Wizard of Oz seemed to scare her...

Not up to the level of the original (not surprisingly) but still worth watching.  I was slightly disappointed with BRIDE but I thought BEYOND was a nice over-the-top bad movie.

As for me, I watched the Spanish [REC] for the first time.  A TV crew follows firemen into an apartment building on a routine rescue call, but soon find themselves trapped inside the building where the residents have contracted a virus that causes them to turn homicidal.  It's basically a mashup of NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD and THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT, and although it's not too original, it is about as much scary fun as you could hope for from the combination.  4/5.

My Halloween night viewing included

Curse of the Mummy's Tomb (1964): I usually like to get in a Mummy movie for some reason and this year I picked this one. Honestly it's a bit on the slow side as the Mummy doesn't really factor too heavily into things until towards the end. Still when he does, he's memorable and does some rather atypical kills and in the end, he's truly shown to be a different kind of Mummy. Also notable how he breathes heavily like Michael Myers as he stalks his victims and he looks a bit on the chubby side around the middle. This one was fairly entertaining overall with lots of cheesy over the top gore with hands getting lopped off, Fred Clark hamming things up a bit, and a love triangle with a few interesting twists. *** out of **** stars.

Not of This Earth (1957): I've been wanting to see this one for ages. Kind of fitting I finally did so on Halloween. It didn't disappoint and I'd argue this Corman cheapie could stand side to side with some other 50s Sci-fi/Horror classics of the era that perhaps cost far more. It features a mysterious alien stranger hiding among us using dark shades in order to hide bizarre alien eyes capable of frying human brains while said alien searches for human blood both for himself and to send back to his home world as well as selecting human specimens for study. This was quite well done and features a number of familiar B-movie stars including B-Movie Queen Beverly Garland looking quite fetching here as a nurse, Jonathan Haze as the alien's servant/chaffeur who suspects something's not quite right about his employer, Morgan Jones as Garland's love interest/cop boyfriend and finally Paul Birch as the alien who goes by the name Mr. Johnson. Also look for Dick Miller in a memorable bit part as a vaccum cleaner salesman. This was a lot of fun and offers up a few unexpected surprises before it's over. ***1/2 out of ***** stars.

Halloween (1978): Had to make room for Carpenter's classic again. The best film of its type IMO. Just love the way this film builds and builds and how Myers is always seemingly in the shadows or just lurking around the next corner out of sight. Kudos also must go to Jamie Lee Curtis for being such a likable lead here that she's very easy to root for. The music, settings, atmosphere, lighting , all of it works so very well.  ***** out of ***** stars, especially on Halloween.

Trilogy of Terror (1975): TV adaptation of three Richard Matheson stories, each featuring actress Karen Black in the title roles. These stories all have unusual little twists and in many ways recall the classic Twilight Zone. Of the three stories, by far the best and most suspenseful is the last featuring the Zuni fetish doll, an evil thing that comes to life and stalks its prey. Actually predator and prey themetacially runs at the heart of all 3 stories. Honestly though only the last story moves this film into the realm of outright horror although the first two do possess elements of it even though they are more tales of suspense. *** out of ***** stars.

Now that sounds like a nice evening in.

I figured I'd watch a couple more tonight, even if it is November. With all the other anthologies I've been watching, I had to watch Cat's Eye. Fun little movie that I haven't seen in a few years. And I had the 1979 Dracula movie on the PVR, which is one I haven't seen in probably 20 years or more. Not used to seeing Frank Langella playing young and handsome. Donald Pleasence is good as always.

I wrapped it up with:

Night of the Living Dead
Redneck Zombies (Well, only half because Netflix crashed.)

I watched GRAVE ENCOUNTERS last night because I had to work Halloween night this year.  If you love horror films, you must see this movie.  It scared me silly! :buggedout:

The Manster (1959) - Just picked a movie at random out of a Mill Creek 50 pack.  This wasn't too bad actually.  An American reporter in Japan goes to interview a scientist who lives halfway up Mt. Fuji.  As is usually the case, he turns out to be a mad scientist, and injects the reporter with some experimental formula that turns him into an angry drunk.  And later makes him grow a second head!  The characters were well developed and the plot actually moved along at an acceptable pace.  2.75/5.