2020 Halloween Challenge

Darn, I was really hoping for time travel to be real.

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IMDb
Letterboxd

I thought that the relationship between Red and Mandy was actually really well drawn. The minimal subplot about him not drinking and overall his vibe of someone who has learned to be in control. Her story about a horrific moment of abuse from her father. They are a couple that makes sense together because you can tell that they anchor each other and help to keep each others' demons at bay. To use an incredibly cheesy phrase, you get the sense that they complete each other. It's not so much about their dialogue as it is about the ease between them. I happen to think that it was phenomenal acting on both sides, to so effortlessly convey the sense of two people who are so at comfort with one another.

For Red to lose Mandy cuts that cord, like a strap snapping on a load of huge trees. And as he goes more and more out of control, it's egged on by the increasing surreality of the evil he is fighting.

The scene where he

I loved their scenes together, and so despite knowing what was coming, I kept hoping they would have a little more time together.

What you're describing is how I would've liked to respond to the film. I just didn't get the same connection that you and many other people did towards it. To my eyes, Red's emotional journey in the second half felt stale, regardless of how much I don't want it to feel that way.

Among the Living, 2014 (A French Language Horror Film)

I'm aware of the reputation of the film Inside (the one about the pregnant woman being terrorized by another woman who wants to steal her baby), and this film apparently comes from the same creators.

The film begins with a disturbing prologue, wherein a pregnant woman attempts to murder her husband (after an exposition dump news report about soldiers exposed . . . fetuses with irregularities . . . ), their son, and her unborn child. The husband takes off with the son and fetus in tow. Later, three schoolboys hanging out on an abandoned film set witness a woman being dragged into a building. When the "family" discovers they're being watched, they come after the boys.

This film was a really weird mish-mash. The first 30 minutes or so have a "kids adventuring horror" vibe. But the last hour morphs mostly into a brutal home invasion film as one of the "family" goes after the witnesses.

This is a film that seems to mainly bank on brutality. I will concede that there were a few pretty excellent moments of suspense, but it's main point of pride seems to be its extremity. Yes, we will kill children. Yes, we will stab a boy in the eyes with broken glass. And so on. I actually really liked the beginning of the third(!) home invasion sequence, which had characters acting in a reasonable way and builds some real tension with simple dialogue ("There's something under my bed." "I told you, little things don't bother big things." "But . .. this thing is bigger than me . . ."). But then the characters morph into behaving unreasonably and it turns into extended brutality. The finale of the film likewise seems more interested in blood and guts than resolving any character arcs.

My general impression was pretty mixed. I will go full disclosure and say that I fast-forwarded a few parts--for example when a character was pinned down and another character slowly pulled out a knife--I just wasn't interested in seeing whatever the film wanted me to see. At that point there was no suspense (because the character obviously wasn't going to escape), and I was done with the scene. The acting was strong, but as the film goes on I felt like the characters were blurring as opposed to coming into focus.

Flashes of brilliance, but ultimately the emphasis on brutality over storytelling kept me at arm's length.

Tigers Are Not Afraid, 2017 (A Spanish Language Horror)

I believe someone else reviewed this one recently, but I skipped over it to avoid spoilers.

In a Mexican city besieged by gang violence, Estrella and her classmates survive a shooting near their school. Estrella's teacher gives her three pieces of chalk, saying that each one will grant a wish. When Estrella's mother disappears (presumably taken by one of the cartels), Estrella falls in with a band of orphaned street boys. Together they tentatively decide to strike back at the gang that has caused them so much pain. At the same time, Estrella is followed by her mother's disembodied voice and other mystical creatures.

I quite liked this film, which felt both brutal and gentle in equal turns. The movie does a very good job of establishing the complex relationships between the boys and Estrella. Much like Pan's Labyrinth, it's largely left ambiguous whether the fantasy elements exist mostly in Estrella's head, or if they are real. The fantasies all have a dark edge to them--like a line of blood that follows her down the street, or a moment in which she wakes from a dream only to cough up small flying creatures.

This is not a film afraid to pull it's punches. In that way, it also made me think a bit of The Devil's Backbone. These children live in a brutal world, and the movie does not pretend that just because they are young and cute they will be forever immune to flying bullets or cruel men. And yet the attention that the film gives to small moments of tenderness and humor between the children keeps it from ever feeling like it's wallowing or misery porn.

I also have to say that I thought the actors did a very good job, with the humor being very funny and the two leads being especially strong.

And I enjoyed the idea that through various means (graffiti, drawing on a soccer ball, drawing on a skateboard, even drawing on their own skin, the children expressed their hopes and anxieties, creating their own mythology.

Inside seems on one hand to be aiming for controlled, minimalist suspense and on the other hand is giddy about throwing the most outrageous, disgusting gore possible on screen. That conflict probably makes it more interesting than if it had wholly to either approach, but also means that it frequently undermines itself (breaking tension to go for a really contrived, over the top gore gag). I will say that from my severely limited experience in French New Extremity, it's the only film in that movement I've seen that actually seems like it's trying to be fun. (High Tension is the only one I'll probably ever revisit, though.)

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre movie from the same directors is atrocious, however. Not necessarily directed all that incompetently, but seemingly making the most obnoxious possible artistic decisions at every turn. The reveal of the origin of Leatherface's mask did make me laugh pretty hard though. A fresh tomato for that scene and a dozen rotten ones for the rest of the movie.

That absolutely perfectly describes Among the Living. Sometimes from scene to scene, but other times even from moment to moment the film seemed to be aiming for a completely different tone. Which also meant that I constantly was oscillating between being really interested and engaged and being really put off. Making it through the last 30 minutes of the film was a bit of a slog, just because the frequent regression to "look at the gory thing!" made it feel as if there was no actual regard for the characters and that they were just props for cruel death sequences. BUT THEN WHY SPEND SO MUCH TIME DEVELOPING THEM?! Yeesh! If there was some deliberate commentary or something in this regard it was completely over my head.

Also, I'm watching the second half of Mandy (pulling a classic move of just straight up skipping past the stuff that I find upsetting), and I really think that the second half is just a descent into madness. Like, how insane and depraved can you get and still be a human. Also, I'd forgotten that the first half of the film is an hour! In my mind, all the stuff with the cult and Mandy went down in like the first 30 minutes. NOPE.

It might be a challenge to find a way to watch it, but I really enjoyed The Boys in the Trees:



It's a coming of age tale using Halloween imagery, in a quite creative way, to illustrate some moments where the main character realizes that growing up requires accountability and often requires separation from friends and renewed appreciation for family.

It won't be for everyone - it's odd, quirky, non linear at times but well worth it IMO.

October 21st - A Stephen King Horror Film

In the Tall Grass(2019) is a great trailer and a lousy film. A couple hear a boy crying for help in a field, they follow the boy into the field get separated and more things happen. The pacing is really bad this could have been a decent 30 minute Creepshow entry what we got was something else.

The first twenty minutes of the film are fine, but the premise weres thin and you end up with a narrative crutch.

Alright I'm going to get into spoilers so you might skip this review.

October 22nd - A Ghost Haunted House film


Well it's less a haunted house and more a haunted ship. Triangle(2009) is directed by Christopher Smith. And it tells the story of a group of people who when yachting get caught in a storm. The survivors are picked up by this massive seemingly empty Ocean liner. The group is stalked by a masked killer...how did the killer end up on the ship well that's the twist in the story.



Melissa George is the lead in the film and she's very good in this. The entire second act of the film she has to basically carry and she does a remarkable job at it. Then you get to the third act and a huge gut punch that you don't normally see in horror films today.

Really liked this film. Had a nit to pick, one that really bugged me, but I had to let it go because I thought the rest of the movie was so good.

I love me some Triangle. Of course, there is the obvious aspect of the film's lead being my future ex-wife, but aside from that, Triangle has a giant brass balls ending that is ever so bleak, and pulls exactly no punches. Too many films these days pull back at the last minute, copping out and leaving at least a glimmer of hope or happiness, but not Triangle. As I mentioned in another thread, Triangle borrows quite a bit from Time Crimes, but I still like it a whole lot.


Meanwhile, speaking of copping out. I am adding another seriously-questionable-candidate for-its-category film in the Spanish Language slot, with Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones. Sure, only about 1/3 of the film is in Spanish, and I will fill the slot with a proper Spanish film if I can get it in by the deadline, but for now, it is what it is!

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Yeah, I'm a really big fan of it. Definitely a must-see for horror. To my memory, there may have been a couple plot holes here and there, but they were mostly lost in the large scope of the film and the strengths of its third act.

Heck yeah, and I've Been trying.

Yeah, Triangle is pretty great. Probably my favorite of Smith's films.

I actually (MAJOR MAJOR SPOILERS)

Update!*
]So far my results are as follows:

A. Source Material
1. A Stephen King Adaptation
2. An Edgar Allen Poe Adaptation
3. An HP Lovecraft Adaptation
From Beyond

B. Language of Origin
4. A Spanish Language horror film
5. A French Language horror film
Les Diaboliques
6. An Asian Language horror film
7. An Eastern European/Slavic Language horror film

C. Time Period
8. A Classic Creature Feature (30's-50's)
Bride of Frankenstein
9. A Gothic Horror Tale (40's-60's)
10. The B-List Killer/Slasher (70's-80's)
Slumber Party Massacre
11. A Sex Thriller (80's-90's)
12. A Revival/Remake/Throwback (00's-10's)
The Hills Have Eyes (2006)
D. The Players(Actors/Actresses/Directors/Producers)
13. A Brian De Palma/William Castle/Wes Craven film
The Hills Have Eyes (1977)
14. A Linnea Quigley/Jamie Lee Curtis/Barbara Steele film
15. A Peter Cushing/Vincent Price/Christopher Lee film
House on Haunted Hill
16. A Lucio Fulci/Dario Argento/Mario Bava film
City of the Living Dead
17. A Alfred Hitchcock/Terence Fisher/Christopher Smith film
18. An A24/Blumhouse/Roger Corman/Hammer/Universal film

E. Distributor
19. A Rotten Horror Film from Rotten Tomatoes
Feardotcom
20. A Fresh Horror Film from Rotten Tomatoes
21. A Horror Film on Shudder
22. A Horror Film on Hulu
23. A Horror Film on Amazon
Razorback
24. A Horror Film on Netflix
Under the Shadow
25. A Horror Film from 2020
The Invisible Man
F. Genre
26. A Werewolf Film
The Howling II
27. A Vampire Film
28. A Ghost/Haunted House Film
Bhoot
29. A Witchcraft/Satanic Film
Satan’s Slaves
30. A Frankenstein's Monster Film
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein
31. A Zombie Film

Left overs:
Deep red
Black Belly of the Tarantula

The Cremator, 1969 (An Eastern European /Slavic Language Horror Film)

Sometimes I'm not in the frame of mind for a certain film, I watch it anyway, and then immediately regret it. I don't know if it's the looming election, the end of our marking period, the COVID cases that have started to crop up in my school, the bad reaction I'm having to the flu shot I got earlier today, or all of the above, but I was just not in the mood for what The Cremator was putting down.

Kopfrkingl works as a cremator in his Czech town. Believing that cremation, by more quickly destroying the physical body, is a form of releasing the soul, he espouses cremation almost as a religion. When Nazi sentiments begin to creep into his life, Kopfrkingl's passion for cremation and the intentional destruction of the Jewish people begin to overlap in an unseemly way.

The movie is a comedy, and it has a bold style with extreme angles and some outlandish visual moments. I think that it set out what it intended to do, and I appreciated the way that the horror and the humor were allowed to co-exist and how each played its own part in skewering complicity and self-justification.

But, darn it! I WANTED MORE CREMATIONS!

The violence/murder proper only really begins well over halfway into the movie. I found those scenes powerful and disturbing, but also felt like it took a bit too long to get there. The darkly funny moments are wonderfully morbid (like ).

In the realm of benign things that are disturbing, I loved the detail that he constantly combs other peoples' hair (including that of corpses) and then his own with the same comb.

I'm annoyed because I obviously owe this movie a rewatch. I won't rate it, because I wasn't really meeting it at its level. I'm watching Brain Damage right now, and this is clearly the vibe I needed tonight.

And with that slightly anti-climactic viewing of The Cremator I am finished! Stars next to the films I enjoyed the most.

A. Source Material
1. A Stephen King Adaptation 1922
2. An Edgar Allen Poe Adaptation Extraordinary Tales
3. An HP Lovecraft Adaptation Color Out of Space***

B. Language of Origin
4. A Spanish Language horror film Tigers Are Not Afraid***
5. A French Language horror film Among the Living
6. An Asian Language horror film Godzilla***
7. An Eastern European/Slavic Language horror film The Cremator

C. Time Period
8. A Classic Creature Feature (30's-50's) Attack of the Crab Monsters***
9. A Gothic Horror Tale (40's-60's) Masque of the Red Death***
10. The B-List Killer/Slasher (70's-80's) Prom Night
11. A Sex Thriller (80's-90's) Angel Heart
12. A Revival/Remake/Throwback (00's-10's) Leprechaun: Origins

D. The Players(Actors/Actresses/Directors/Producers)
13. A Brian De Palma/William Castle/Wes Craven film Scream 4
14. A Linnea Quigley/Jamie Lee Curtis/Barbara Steele film Horrible Dr Hitchcock
15. A Peter Cushing/Vincent Price/Christopher Lee film Pit and the Pendulum***
16. A Lucio Fulci/Dario Argento/Mario Bava film Blood and Black Lace***
17. A Alfred Hitchcock/Terence Fisher/Christopher Smith film Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell
18. An A24/Blumhouse/Roger Corman/Hammer/Universal film House of Usher

E. Distributor
19. A Rotten Horror Film from Rotten Tomatoes Silent Hill Revelation
20. A Fresh Horror Film from Rotten Tomatoes Deep Red
21. A Horror Film on Shudder Daniel Isn’t Real
22. A Horror Film on Hulu The Lodge***
23. A Horror Film on Amazon I See You***
24. A Horror Film on Netflix Holidays
25. A Horror Film from 2020 Books of Blood

F. Genre
26. A Werewolf Film Howl
27. A Vampire Film Vampire Doll
28. A Ghost/Haunted House Film Ghost of Yotsuya***
29. A Witchcraft/Satanic Film Necromancy
30. A Frankenstein's Monster Film Lady Frankenstein
31. A Zombie Film Zombi Child***

Well done, Tak!

I am resigned to the fact that I am just not going to make it this year. I will get a couple more in before midnight tomorrow, but I don't see any chance of filling out the rest of the slots I am missing by then. There is always next year!

Meanwhile...


Landon, 2014





Continuing my tradition of liking these crappy films way more than I should, I will throw a full 3 boxes of popcorn at this for now. I enjoy the clever meta aspect of these flicks, and I enjoyed how they worked the events of the final act of this film into the original with some clever ret-con. Aside from that, this chapter is funny. I had a few good laughs at some of the antics they kept injecting in to keep things light. As someone who grew up in South Tucson, AZ in the 70s and 80s, I felt like I knew these kids, and this could have been my old neighborhood. Add in a couple of decent scares and I had fun watching this.



Arnold, 1954





A true gem. This film builds suspense really well, and it moves right along with efficient direction and narrative momentum, clocking in at only 79 minutes. Some of the music cues were a bit too jarring, but other than that, I couldn't find anything wrong with this seminal classic. Also, Julie Adams as Kay was quite a knockout!

October 23rd - A Witchcraft/Satanic Film


The Devils(1971) is a historical horror film and it's a hard watch. Lots of nudity, blasphemy, and frankly the narrative is all over the place. But on the plus side it's a gorgeous film to look at. I watched this on Laserdisc and I was still impressed with the visuals.



It's a two man show...Olivier Reed plays the lead he treats the film like a drama which takes away from the horror a bit. Vanessa Redgrave is the nun with serious mental issues and that's where the story excels.



Not a great halloween film but something worth checking out.