Recent Viewings, Part 2

[FatFreddysCat]

"Jennifer's Body" (2009)
A high school cheerleader (Megan Fox) is possessed by a Succubus demon, which leads to numerous gory deaths around town. It's up to her mousy former best friend (Amanda Seyfried) to figure out how to stop the undead hottie's killing spree.
A sharp horror flick with great performances by the two leading ladies and a tongue in cheek sense of humor, ala the "Buffy" TV series. Worth checking out.

[indianasmith]

THE SLASHER NURSE (2025) I grew up in the late 70's and early 80's, the golden age of slasher films.
It's such an easy formula - get a bunch of teenagers in an isolated location, a masked killer, some drunken hijinks, a dash of nudity, a bunch of killing, a final girl, and a jump scare at the end because the killer isn't really dead.

This movie got it all wrong.  I mean, the body count was high, but the story was unconvincing and the plot was boring and full of holes; the victims were all in their late 30's and none of them were that attractive.  I couldn't even stay awake to finish it last night, I watched the last 40 minutes this morning and it was still bad.  The Nurse's rampage in the restaurant was the only remotely entertaining part of the whole film.

2/5

[Rev. Powell]

RIFFTRAX: UNDEFEATABLE: A serial killer preys on women who look like his ex-wife, but meets trouble when he accientally kills Cynthia Rothrock's sister. She beats up a suspect who has no evidence linking him to the murder, so naturally the police take her on as a trusted assistant investigator. It's a problem when Rothrock is the best actor in your crappy movie. Rifftrax makes it tolerable. 3/5.

[FatFreddysCat]

"Halloween III: Season of the Witch" (1982)
A doctor (Tom Atkins) investigating the mysterious death of one of his patients uncovers a high-tech Druid plot to kill millions of kids on Halloween night via booby-trapped masks activated by a sinister TV signal.
The only non-Michael Myers-related "Halloween" flick is a weird, sci-fi flavored horror story that tanked at the box office in '82 but slowly developed a cult following in the years since.

[indianasmith]

Halloween Double Feature:

RESIDENT EVIL:  (2026)  A hapless courier who delivers medical supplies, including human organs, is sent to Raccoon City on a cold, snowy night with a high priority delivery, only to wander into an outbreak of whatever it is that turns people into monsters. He soldiers on to the hospital once he finds out he is carrying an antidote, but after being bitten by an infected child, it becomes a race against time and monster DNA invading his system.  This was a fun horror movie with lots of great jump scares and some absolutely brilliant monster design.   5/5

THE SCOUT'S GUIDE TO THE ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE (2015):   I didn't intend to watch a second movie when I got home, but when I saw this was on cable I decided to check out the opening and immediately got sucked in.  This is a hilariously fun zombie flick about three Boy Scouts and a stripper who race against time and the undead to save the Senior Party from all becoming zombie chow - learning lessons about life, friendship, and how to get girls along the way.  4.5/5

[Jim H]

Leprechaun: Back 2 the Hood.  This one is also bad.  David is still pretty good, in his final appearance.  The lead girl actually is a decent actress I guess, but man this is badly written and kind of lackluster.  It's not super boring.  I don't know.  Two more to go.

I envy in a way Warwick Davis and those Leprechaun movie. Sometimes I unconsciously go to libraries and go to these cryptid books and start writing down names of all of the cultures who claim that they have legends and stories of little people and then I go on some berserk rage and write them down. The Yunwi Tsunsdi' those are cherkokee. And Kalanoro in Madagascar. What is going on. Leprechaun scares the crap out of me. Even the bad ones, because it is still the same theme and the same darn character. I feel like literally I might be the next one. That the Leprechaun has to encounter.

I feel like the Wishmaster movies (even though kind of similar in theme) were better. Wishmaster 3 was garbage, or basically redefined what the meaning of garbage is. And that horrible British actor. If you want proof that British aren't always better actors than Americans, watch Wishmaster 3. And that droid looking Blonde british guy with the goatee that is a different hair color. He is basically Hugh Newman. And if you don't know who that is, don't bother. You have lowlifes and you have Hugh Newman. Actually the british actor from Wishmaster 3 is kind of a spitting clone of Hugh Newman.

And who knows. I have never been to that country. Perhaps that is what they are doing there. Warrick Davis or him as Leprechaun should be our Border Security. We could drastically reduce the workforce and just have him. My guess though is that since he is evil (or his character) then he would be working for the other side. Oh shoot. So much for that romanticism.

Your Wishmaster comparison is pretty apt, in particular Leprechaun 3 clearly takes some influence from Wishmaster.  Except it can't, as Lep 3 came out two years earlier!  So perhaps it's the inverse.  But really, the setting, wishes gone wrong, the way the Leprechaun acts, etc, I definitely feel there's something going on there.  Andrew Divoff is just f**king amazing in those first two films too.

Incidentally, I finished off the Leprechaun films..

Leprechaun: Origins - This MUST be the least likely franchise to to get a gritty 2010s reboot, right?  Because seriously, what a terrible idea.  This movie actually visually and production wise looks a lot better than the last couple films, but it just is blah and boring.  I have nothing exceptionally bad or good to say about it.

Leprechaun Returns - This is kind of interesting as it's a direct sequel to the very first film, including one actor (Mark Holton, who I have seen in ZERO other films from 1994 to now, what happened to him?  He's great in Pee Wee's Big Adventure and Teen Wolf).  The new actor for Lep isn't bad, though I like Davis better.  There's a few good gore gags.  It's alright.  It's from Steve Kostanski, who many may know from Psycho Goreman, Father's Day, or the new Deathstalker film.  This isn't his best film, but it's alright.

I have also watched a batch of horror films recently for Halloween season.  I'll just mention two

Children of the Corn - Somehow had never seen this one.  That this spawned 10 followups is utterly insane - how did this quadruple it's budget theatrically?  Bonkers.  It's just flat and boring with only the killer children angle and the lead villain sparking any interest (and I'll admit, some of the corn field visuals and the rapid movement of the ground is neat I guess).  It's bad.

The Cycle - Best not to give too much away on this one, just well worth a watch.  Great lead performances, good atmosphere.  Probably could have stood to be trimmed like 10-15 minutes though, and the last act's writing is a bit wonky.

[M.10rda]

We tried to watch OG CHILDREN OTC a few years back and couldn't get through it. We agree w/ you, it's weak.

Also almost watched THE CYCLE twice this weekend. That one has a lot of buzz!

[lester1/2jr]

Pickup on South Street - not exactly a Halloween movie, I know. Somehow, I'd never seen this highly vaunted film noir type thing. The performances are good, but the whole notion of criminals putting themselves at risk to stop communism is a little ridiculous. The most memorable aspect is probably Richard Widmark's brutal performance as a sexy pick pocket (?) and the hot moll lady, whoever she is, who falls in love with him in like 2 seconds. You know those pick pockets have such nice hands!

I liked especially the shack Widmark lived in, which is right on the water in the middle of NYC. His "refrigerator" is a box full of beer that he lowers into the water. Pretty much everyone who comes in to the shack ends up having one. There's also a scene with a dumb waiter, so check it out if you are a fan of pulleys/ rope!

4.5 /5