A scary thing happened on the way to the Movie Forums - Horrorcrammers

With my family and I trying to cram as many hikes in before it gets too much colder, I have been slacking on my horror watching! Only got one film in this weekend - the so-bad-it's-good 80s flick, Witchboard.

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Though I'm not as down on Evil Dead 2 as some people are, I prefer its approach by a decent margin. Don't get me wrong about Viy, I like how it starts out with a strong basis in reality as this makes certain scenes in the final act work really well. A lot of what goes on before that, however, contains so many scenes I find dull which don't sit well for me upon rewatches in comparison to the latter scenes. I prefer both Evil Dead 2 and, especially, ED 1, in terms of atmosphere.

Yes, there’s nothing worse than receiving a PM from @Yoda informing me of my latest infraction. (Admittedly, it hasn’t happened for quite some time now.)

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I’m here only on Mondays, Wednesdays & Fridays. That’s why I’m here now.

Fun film, if only for trying to imagine the audience reactions to the last act

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I liked Viy but I didn't love it. Same goes for The Tingler. I love Evil Dead II, though.

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Down The Rabbit Hole
Down A Dark Alley

Latest Movie Viewing: Wings (1927)
Latest Album Listened To: Honky Château, Elton John (1972)
Latest TV Show Viewed: Doctor Who

They'll be running a bunch of great oldies for October. I already DVR'd Twice Told Tales (which I've never seen) and Black Sabbath (which I watched last Halloween but feel a strong need to rewatch.)

"Have you ever heard of Kurgaal? It is a prison below Omsk. Many men have gone there. Few have returned. I have returned. After fifteen years... I have returned."


Legit had chills during this scene. God tier line delivery from the man Bela Lugosi.

I have an inexplicable affinity for movies where characters wander through creepy corridors so I didn't haaaaaate it, but yeah, not nearly enough cool stuff happens. Paganini doesn't even look like he does on the poster!

I don't know if I'm just high off my viewing two days ago and maybe I've been tuning out all the mentions over the years, but this is absolutely a top tier horror movie.



I'm thinking I'm gonna have to squeeze in another Bela/Boris teamup this month.

I watched Boar, about a giant boar terrorizing a small Australian town. Standard monster fare if a bit too leisurely paced. The cast is charming though especially Rictus from Fury Road. I was expecting a bad CG monster but aside from a few shots it’s mostly done with animatronics and puppetry. And for a big animal that’s constantly breaking branches and making grunting noises it sure is good at sneaking up on people.

I also watched Vampires vs The Bronx. So Netflix wanted their own Attack the Block. This was cute.

Ooh! The Body Snatcher.

Dagon -

Not to take away from Forrest and Jenny, but he and H.P. Lovecraft really go together like peas and carrots. Like he did in his other Lovecraft adaptations, Gordon respects the source material without alienating Lovecraft amateurs and makes a movie that is a blast to watch. I like how the slightly fisheye (no pun intended) lens and unsteady camera put you in Marsh's shoes and amplify his confusion and desperation. It helps that Ezra Godden - who was inspired by Harold Lloyd, but he might as well have been channeling Gordon muse Jeffrey Combs - is so expressive. I was also impressed with Francisco Rabal (R.I.P). and Macarena Gómez as Paul's would-be mate Uxia, who made her feature-film debut in this movie and has deservedly had a successful career since. Not to mention, if you also enjoy Gordon's movies for their laughs as much as their scares, you'll find them here, especially during a scene with a not-so-responsive innkeeper and the reveal of Uxia's...umm...condition. The production does not have a huge budget, and while some of the special effects like the underwater scenes and the one in the flooded house hold up, others are as shoddy as ones in the typical SyFy original movie. Also, Gordon's more perverse tendencies are often a boon - see Re-Animator and Castle Freak - but they do not always work in this movie's favor. It's still as enjoyable as the typical Gordon movie and is bound to please those who are new to or familiar with his or Lovecraft's work. Just be warned that you may be compelled to cancel any upcoming lake or beach trips after you watch it.

Dug that one when I saw it a few years ago, might be due for a rewatch. Boris really got under my skin in that one.

some thoughts:

For Karloff and Lugosi going head-to-head I'd go with The Raven ('34) or The Invisible Ray, which is more sci-fi than horror but still kinda cool.

Body Snatcher: Probably my favorite Karloff role, but Bela is stuck with a too-minor character. (watch it anyway!)
Son of Frankenstein: Probably my favorite Lugosi role, but Karloff's monster is reduced to a mute zombie. (watch it anyway!)
Black Friday is a gangster film which I've seen multiple times but can't remember any of it to save my life.

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Captain's Log
My Collection

Well this is a helluva thing! By far the goriest thing I've ever seen from the 1930s. (from Italy, natch) I feel like this needs to be way more famous/infamous.

It's silent and 12 minutes long so for those not familiar with Poe's short story this may be hard to follow. Short version: Dying man agrees to be hypnotized at the moment of death in an attempt to forestall his demise, but there's an unforeseen glitch in the plan. Those of you who've read it know what's coming but I was not prepared for how gruesome this was going to be. Or for the camera to just stay on it in closeup. This must have traumatized some folks back in the day.

Also lots of wacky lighting and dutch angles which I'm always up for.

I think it might be the best performance of his career.

I agree in both cases, but any time I get a chance to recommend The Body Snatcher, I do.
And I love that the guy who directed it also did The Sound Of Music and Star Trek: The Motion Picture. (The historic masterpiece, West Side Story, aside, because it's not as funny as the tBS/TSoM/Star Trek triple-shot.)

Black Sabbath - Watched this just last year around this time but felt the pull to re-watch, I suppose because of Mario Bava's involvement. It's an anthology and starts out with my #2 The Drop of Water, about a nurse that steals a dead medium's property and ends up paying for it. Then there's my 3rd ranked The Telephone about a woman receiving mysterious phone calls from someone she thought was dead. The last one and my favorite is The Wurdalak, (which incidentally is now my favorite vampire moniker over stuff like der Vampyr, the undead, ghoul, bloodsucker or Mitch McConnell). Boris Karloff plays the patriarch of an 1800's Russian family who sets out to kill a local bandit that's been terrorizing the countryside. He's rumored to be a Wurdalak and when Karloff shows up at their home after five days they know somethings up. I'd like to check out the Bava's original Italian version. 80/100

This is the correct ranking.

Just wandered in from the cold. Just another hungry transient thrown out into the street by Uncle Corrie.


Can I enter and have a bowl of soup?