October Horror Movie Massacre!!!

[Andrew]

The Outing (1987)



This is your standard 80s' low budget monster movie.  The monster is a djinn released from a magic lamp.  There are some early characters used to create a body count and to show some female nudity.  The main cast includes a girl whose ex-boyfriend is a dangerous punk, but whose current boyfriend is both heroic and understanding.  There is a car chase, scenes in a school, and then a group of teenagers (main female and her new boyfriend included) who all decide to spend the night in the museum, where of course the magic lamp is being stored.  Various unlikely deaths ensure - levitated into ceiling fans, etc.

[fulci420]

Movie # 16
Bride of Chucky

In this 1998 sequel Chucky finds the love of his life who comes in the form of a murder obsessed Jennifer Tilly. It takes some spells and some bloodshed but sure enough Tilly is transformed into a doll and yes Chucky has sex with it...

Unlike Seed of Chucky which was pure goofy spoof this one still has some good atmosphere and is still going for some scares. The cast was pretty interesting certainly didn't expect to see John Ritter and a young Katherine Heigel in here. After having a tough time with Seed of Chucky I found this to be a great deal better and overall was a fun watch. Having now seen every single Chucky movie and checked out a lot of the special features my opinion of the franchise has gone up. It's rare for a series to have one writer (Don Mancini) to be behind every single script one gets the feeling from listening to the commentaries that he writes these films out of love of the character rather than as a cash grab. This is especially apparent in the most recent "Curse of Chucky" which is clearly a gift for the fans that feel Chucky had gone a little too goofy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtDElSGxU8s
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Movie #17
Excision (2012)
The rare horror movie that simultaneously seems to bring in influences from other films yet feels completely unique as a whole. We follow a disturbed awkward teenager dealing with a borderline insane mother and a sister with cystic fibrosis. In some ways it feels like a horror version of Todd Solondz "Welcome to the Dollhouse" with hints of "Ginger Snaps" and a bit of John Waters (who stars in this film, making his second appearance in this horror marathon) "Serial Mom". Performances are all around great with Traci Lords doing a fantastic job as the domineering mother. The highlight is the lead actress Annalynn McCord who plays the extremely homely lead. It was quite a shock to see that she looks like a model in real life because here you totally believe her as the zit faced scowling outcast who cant get a date to save her life.
Very good movie recommended for horror fans that want to see something different.  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWJHOdjuOlY
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[Chainsawmidget]

Tonight I watched "The Fear: Halloween Night" (1999), an instantly forgettable sequel to an equally forgettable early 90s direct-to-video flick about a killer wooden dummy (?) named "Morty."

Seriously, if you're trying to create a new horror icon, why would you name it "Morty?"

Oddly enough, I just watched the original.  It was really average.  Still, Morty wasn't a bad design for a horror character.  The problem was the wisecracking.  That look would have fit a more silent Myers or Vorhees style killer better.

I also just watched the remake of Last House on the Left.  The first half was decidedly unpleasant then it turned into a standard cat and mouse slasher style movie.  I can't say i much cared for it.  The think the Hollywood glossyness really hurt the movie.  I imagine the older version with less production values would have fit the feel of the movie much better, but I haven't seen that one.  

On the opposite end of the glossyness spectrum is CHUD.  That movie just has a very grimy dirty feel to it that really helps give the movie a realistic feel.  If you've never heard of it before, it's about Cannibalistic Humanoid Underground Dwellers, whioch are weird glowing eyed mutants that live in the tunnels underneath New York. 

I also really have to share what it says on the back of the DVD with you. 
John Heard, Daniel Stern, and Kim Greist star in this wildly original horror shocker, filmed on (and below) the streets of New York City where hundreds of tourists every year and still devoured by actual C.H.U.D.!

So, anyone planning a trip to NY soon?   

[fulci420]

Movie # 18
Some Guy Who Kills People (2011)

Kevin Corrigan puts in a rare lead performance here as Ken a man fresh out of a mental institution. He lives at home with his mother (Karen Patrick) and works at an ice cream parlor with his friend (Leo Fitzpatrick). Just as his long estranged daughter makes an appearance in his life people that have wronged him begin showing up dead. Is Ken just a quiet loner or a murderous psychopath?

This is a pretty odd film. Not really an outright horror film and not a full out comedy either. Instead the relationship between him and his daughter is largely the focus of the story with the horror stuff being more of a subplot. This is a much better film than the goofy title would imply. Performances are good and the script is pretty funny making this a recommendation.
 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dP9rU5LvFeg
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[fulci420]

Movie # 19
The Loved Ones (2009)

This is one of those movies that you look up reviews for and you get nothing but praise, then you actually watch the thing and think WTF were they thinking. Maybe because it's Australian and not that well known people give it a pass, but really this is just crap. Plot is boy gets asked out to prom, boy refuses, girl and father kidnap boy and then torture him for 50 minutes. In between there is a subplot in which a short fat kid takes a goth girl to prom. They get drunk/high and she tries to jerk him off on the dance floor. This plot adds nothing to the movie and has no relevance whatsoever to the final act of the film. Not since "The Aggression Scale" have I seen such a terrible film showered with hyperbolic internet praise.

[crackers]

I did a bit of catching up recently:

The Offerings
Eric's Revenge
Class Of Nuke Em' High 2
Frankenweenie
Slugs
Halloween 3 : Season Of The Witch
The Bad Seed

[BakuryuuTyranno]

Rewatched Wyvern recently. Despite the Syfy dogma, its better than most Hollywood horror recently. That it establishes anything about the characters that isn't plot-relevent shows they cared more about the characters than the average Hollywood. Heck, that most characters have last names is deeper character writing than most modern Hollywood horror.

[indianasmith]

Last night I watched THE PURGE.  I found it to be pretty enjoyable and wildly improbable.  A wealthy suburban family locks their house down during the annual "Purge Night", when American citizens are allowed to commit any crime they want for 12 hours in order to rid them of their violent impulses.
  But the younger son sees a homeless man fleeing from a gang of wealthy punks, and lets the defenses down to shelter the guy.  The punks come after their quarry, and mayhem ensues.

[Andrew]

I did a bit of catching up recently:

The Offerings
Eric's Revenge
Class Of Nuke Em' High 2
Frankenweenie
Slugs
Halloween 3 : Season Of The Witch
The Bad Seed

I need to watch Slugs again,  That movie was among the first I ever reviewed for the site, because (along with, or because of their lack of menace) making a movie about killer slugs took guts on the part of the filmmakers.

[Jack]

Ju-on: The Grudge (2002) - Japanese movie about a haunted house and the nasty things that happen to anyone who enters it.  It took a while to get going but it wasn't long before this thing was totally creeping me out.  It just sucked me into it's world and took me for a ride    The plot is a bit of a puzzle as new characters are continually introduced and you're left to figure out how they fit in with the everybody else;  that uncertainty added a little bit of extra discomfort to the whole thing.  The situations in this are genuinely unsettling, everything is just weird and Takashi Shimizu, the writer / director, milks that suspense for all it's worth.  I really liked it    5/5.

Blood from the Mummy's Tomb (1971) - an archeologist digs up the tomb of an Egyptian princess who's perfectly preserved, while at the same time back in England his wife gives birth to a girl who will grow up to be the spitting image of the mummy.  The guy keeps all his archeological findings a secret, locked up in his basement, and he's got some sinister plans for his daughter when the stars all align correctly.  This was really slow moving, especially in the second half, but I seem to have some odd tolerance for really slow stuff.  As long as it's got atmosphere (and lots of marvelous Valerie Leon cleavage), I'm fine to just kick back and enjoy it.  The plot ends up being a bit like a video game:  collect items A, B and C to unleash evil D, but the characters and situations were interesting enough.  Kind of a favorite of mine.  4.5/5.

Event Horizon (1997) - a spaceship disappears and then mysteriously reappears years later, and a second ship is sent out to Neptune to investigate.  This could have been such a great movie if they'd done it in a serious horror fashion but the whole thing just reeks of cheese.  It's more like Armageddon than Alien.  None of the dialogue rings true, it's your typical stuff written for paper-thin characters in an action movie.  Psychological horror gets kicked to the curb and replaced with explosions and CGI effects throughout.  The drive section of the ship looks more like a medieval torture chamber than any sort of technology.  Meh...it succeeds just fine at being a fun popcorn movie but with a 50 million dollar budget I really wish they'd hire an actual filmmaker to do something memorable instead of getting Paul W.S. Anderson to babysit the ADHD kids for 90 minutes.  3/5.

[FatFreddysCat]

Tonight I watched "The Fear: Halloween Night" (1999), an instantly forgettable sequel to an equally forgettable early 90s direct-to-video flick about a killer wooden dummy (?) named "Morty."

Seriously, if you're trying to create a new horror icon, why would you name it "Morty?"

Oddly enough, I just watched the original.  It was really average.  Still, Morty wasn't a bad design for a horror character.  The problem was the wisecracking.  That look would have fit a more silent Myers or Vorhees style killer better.

I saw the original "Fear" years 'n' years ago but remembered nothin' about it except that it kind of sucked, haha. But if memory serves "Morty" looked more like an actual wooden puppet/dummy in that one. In the sequel you can tell it's a guy in a (very silly looking) rubber suit.

[Jack]

Tonight I watched "The Fear: Halloween Night" (1999), an instantly forgettable sequel to an equally forgettable early 90s direct-to-video flick about a killer wooden dummy (?) named "Morty."

Seriously, if you're trying to create a new horror icon, why would you name it "Morty?"

Oddly enough, I just watched the original.  It was really average.  Still, Morty wasn't a bad design for a horror character.  The problem was the wisecracking.  That look would have fit a more silent Myers or Vorhees style killer better.

I saw the original "Fear" years 'n' years ago but remembered nothin' about it except that it kind of sucked, haha. But if memory serves "Morty" looked more like an actual wooden puppet/dummy in that one. In the sequel you can tell it's a guy in a (very silly looking) rubber suit.

Oh gawd now I finally remembered that movie.  That white gangsta guy was putrid and it would have been pretty terrible even without him. 

[claws]

10.16.13 (21)



Isolation (2005) (Blu-ray)

Mutated gen-parasites born from infected cows wreak bloody havoc on a lonely farm in Ireland. CGI-free gory gross-fest with impressive practical f/x, tight plot and claustrophobic setting. Recommended if you dig Carpenter's The Thing. 4/5

[crackers]

I did a bit of catching up recently:

The Offerings
Eric's Revenge
Class Of Nuke Em' High 2
Frankenweenie
Slugs
Halloween 3 : Season Of The Witch
The Bad Seed

I need to watch Slugs again,  That movie was among the first I ever reviewed for the site, because (along with, or because of their lack of menace) making a movie about killer slugs took guts on the part of the filmmakers.

Very true. Plus, it's an enjoyable flick.

[Jim H]

I haven't been posting on this board much lately.  But I really have to do this every year!

To catch up:

#1 Hatchet 2 - Pretty uninspired..  Just not very interesting.  I did like seeing Kane Hodder without makeup and just acting - he's actually a competent actor I think, though I don't think he could carry a film.

#2 Abominable Dr. Phibes.  Enjoyed this one.  Vincent Price is terrific, the pacing is mostly good (though it lags a bit in the last third), great sets, very over the top.  Just fun.  I'm looking forward to watching the sequel soon.

#3 Forbidden World.  Saw this ages ago, barely remembered.  Entertaining alien ripoff from Roger Corman's people.  Has one of the most gratuitous nude scenes I've ever seen.  Worth a watch.

#4 This is the End.  Obviously heavily adlibbed, which was interesting but led to mixed results.  Little too loose on the plot and story for how funny it is.  The scene where Danny McBride talks about what he'll do anywhere he likes is one of the funniest bits I've seen in a movie though.  Very mixed feelings overall.

#5 Sleep Tight.  Genuinely disturbing, in a very believable and sort of sad way.  I don't want to say too much, but I think this might be the horror film of the month for me - and it's "horror" in an emotional sense, if that's understandable.  Very good.

#6 House at the End of the Park.  Predictable, not very interesting.  Meh.  The title is very misleading too, in tone and plot has nothing to do with the 70s movies it reminds you of.

#7 The Bay.  Interesting take on found footage, some parts of it are very creepy and effective, and the overall "horror" is good.  But, it doesn't really build to anything.

#8 Sweatshop - Interesting to randomly come across this on NetFlix instant.  Sort of old school slasher, but with literally ZERO explanation of who the killer is or anything about the things that help him.  However, it had some of the most OOOH-OUCH and most effective gore shots I've seen in any slasher.  Worth a watch for gore fans.  Also, the ball-gag is...  Uh.  Memorable.

#9 Night of the Creeps.  It's an enjoyable film, always worth a rewatch.  Love Tom Atkins.

#10 My Bloody Valentine.  Finally watched my uncut DVD.  Kind of sad about the shape of the footage, and it seems clear more is missing.  Still makes the film a little better.  Some good atmosphere, but the film is definitely rushed - feels uneven.

#11 Warhammer 40k: Ultramarines.  Poor animation, characterization, and weak action scenes.  Decent vocal talent is all it has.  Skip it.

#12 Ghostbusters.  It's a classic.  What else is there to say?  Hilarious, great effects, great characters.

#13 Basket Case.  I quite enjoy the whole trilogy, though the first is definitely the best.  Ultra grimy and gritty, and gives a good peek at pre-cleanup early 80s Manhattan.  When it comes to low budget grimy gore flicks, this is one of the best. 

#14 Doghouse.  Kind of meh on this one.  Not nearly as funny as it wants to be, though I like the variation on the "zombie" concept.  It's especially rare as this basically has a group of "hero" zombies, those which are made up more specifically and easy to spot, rather than large crowds of average ones.  A few good bits of gore.  I didn't really care for any of the characters though.  Oh, and it completely drops a couple subplots.  it was OK.

17 more to go!