My own personal October Challenge thread

Silent Film
Der Golem, wie er in die Welt kam [The Golem: How He Came Into The World]
(Carl Boese & Paul Wegener, 1920)

A little slow in the first couple of chapters and the modern score by Polish artist Wudec (at least I assume it is he) accompanying the images for the version I watched was ok though personally I'd have preferred something a little more sparse. Although I still struggle a little with the silent era one has to admire the sets and scale of this and the use of colour/filters/tints was nicely inventive and the tale itself was put across well. I doubt it would ever become a personal favourite but it's impressive for it's era and rightly well regarded.

1/35

Banned at one point
Freaks
(Tod Browning, 1932)

Possibly regarded by some as more drama/curio than drama/horror but having finally gotten around to watching it I'm happy to qualify it as the latter no matter that the horror is more subtle/intrinsic than overt. The acting and dialogue are a little stilted in places but as much of the cast are circus performers (as opposed to trained actors) I think that is only to be expected and in fairness most of the cast do a good enough job for it not to be a major consideration or drawback. The real strength of this lies in the humanity of the story and in that regard it is well presented and quite powerful in showing that the title can be applied in more ways than one.

2/35

Universal Horror
Horror Island
(George Waggner, 1941)

+
Far more light-hearted mystery/thriller with slight horror overtones than horror imo which although reasonably enjoyable for what it is makes it difficult to make a case for it qualifying for this challenge.

Pillow Of Death
(Wallace Fox, 1945)

Enjoyable piece that plays more like a murder mystery for much of it's runtime before ultimately showing it's horror cards in the closing stages .... Lon Chaney Jr., large house, secret passages, mysterious deaths - what's not to enjoy?

3/35

Highest rating unseen
Les Diaboliques aka Diabolique [The Fiends]
(Henri-Georges Clouzot, 1955)
+
Far more crime drama with just a tinge of horror here and there imo but my list of films to see for this challenge is long enough and I don't feel like adding another one so IMDb and the like can rule the roost in terms of decision this time. As for the film itself it's very nicely made and acted (even if there are brief moments where it almost veers into melodrama and some of the early scenes with the children are a tad weak) and the pace in general is delightful. Sadly though the ending is far too easy to foresee which does lessen any impact but the journey to get there is well worthwhile.

4/35

Year of Birth
I lunghi capelli della morte [The Long Hair Of Death]
(Antonio Margheriti, 1964)

Atmospheric period piece which is rather cheesy in both dialogue and acting but that's actually part of the appeal with a plot that wouldn't win any awards and a score that may be over the top in places but does help drive things along nicely to a climax that's brief but fitting .... Barbara Steele and Halina Zalewska, creepy castle, secret passages, dastardly deeds - what's not to like?

5/35

Hammer Horror
Frankenstein Created Woman
(Terence Fisher, 1967)

Weaker offering from Hammer that is born of an interesting concept and has some decent enough performances but fails to deliver much as it devotes far too much of it's energy on building the tale and not enough realising any pay-off.

(Had originally planned to watch The Devil Rides Out but eventually remembered I only threw that in the player last month anyway ..... my advice people: don't get old )

6/35

Horror Anthology
Trilogy Of Terror
(Dan Curtis, 1975)

Made-for-tv anthology with three tales in total, all starring Karen Black and named after the characters she portrays. Both the first and second are rather dull and predictable affairs but the third is a nice, lively little single-hander that is both daft and fun with enough edge to at least somewhat redeem proceedings.

7/35

Watch three in a series
Night Of The Living Dead
Dawn Of The Dead
Day Of The Dead
(George A. Romero, 1968, 1978, 1985)
+, +, +
First three offerings in the iconic zombie series (later expanded) that are still a fun watch as a trio even after numerous repeat viewings. Night's importance to the zombie canon may outweigh it's merit as a standalone film but it's still a well made film which is nicely atmospheric in it's original b&w version and it circumvents the restricted budget without becoming tedious via some decent interplay between those inside the house. Dawn is fairly average until it comes into it's own with an oftentimes wicked vein of humour expressed within the mall - a situation that appeals to the inner child and is oh so easy to enjoyably transplant oneself into despite the overall premise. Day is definitely the weaker of the three and often harshly criticised for it's substandard aspects (#1 being some of the acting) but imo still contains enough moments that are fun to watch and the inclusion of 'Bub' allows what I find an interesting tangent to be explored.

10/35

Three Continents (Europe)
żQuién puede matar a un nińo? [Who Can Kill A Child? aka Would You Kill A Child?]
(Narciso Ibáńez Serrador, 1976)
+
Very effective horror that fully utilises a languid pace and what isn't there in tandem with a spartan score to build a genuinely disquieting atmosphere that gradually becomes more menacing and foreboding whilst fully playing on the sentiment of it's title. Unfortunately the inevitable violent climax doesn't reach the same heights but to be fair that was always going to be a tall order and that and the unsurprising ending don't really do much to diminish all that has gone before.

11/35

Three Continents (Asia)
Ringu [The Ring]
(Hideo Nakata, 1998)

Slow but very nice supernatural horror that eschews graphic content in favour of slowly developing an unsettling aura via it's 'procedural' narrative mixed with superb use of both sound and vision and is all the better for it imo.

12/35

Remake
The Ring
(Gore Verbinski, 2002)
+
Decent remake of Ringu in which most of the additions/alterations actually enhance the investigative aspect whilst still generally preserving the overall tone of the original.

13/35

Three Continents (America)
Dead Birds
(Alex Turner, 2004)
+
Supernatural horror set in the American Civil War that doesn't have the greatest production values, offers little that's original and becomes a little monotone as it tries to pack too much into it's runtime but it does build some decent atmosphere at times and remains watchable and of interest.

14/35

Much Beloved
The Loved Ones
(Sean Byrne, 2009)
+
Darkly comic and twisted coming of age horror which is inventive enough to avoid becoming repetitive and wisely varies the tone to also avoid becoming blasé that has some nice use of sound and a delightfully demented central performance from Robin McLeavy (ably assisted by both John Brumpton and Xavier Samuel) that I can watch time and time again.

15/35

Wes Craven
Scream
(1996)

Nicely self-aware slasher that is beautifully written and orchestrated to be both playful with common horror tropes yet still present an enthralling and exciting mystery that imo remains extremely enjoyable even on repeat viewings as long as they are not too close together.

16/35

Current Decade
Oculus
(Mike Flanagan, 2013)

A relatively quick rewatch as I only watched this for the first time in May this year and it's obviously slightly less intriguing but I still think the interplay between the timelines is generally very well managed and to good effect. The continual blurring of reality allows for a gradual escalation of tension and although the very ending is standard the journey to get there is well worth the time and just as enjoyable second time around.

17/35