Suspect's Spooktober Horror Watch 2022

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28 days...6 hours...42 minutes...12 seconds


A little late to the party, but I'll play catch-up. I love horror movies, always have, and always will. Whenever I would walk through my local video rental store back in the VHS days, I'd be line to the horror section just to look at the covers. They were gross, and creative and made me want to watch the movie. Every other genre had generic covers of the movie stars, but not horror. Horror had blood, guts, and skeletons on their covers.

So let's get our spookathon on.

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"A laugh can be a very powerful thing. Why, sometimes in life, it's the only weapon we have."

Suspect's Reviews



28 days...6 hours...42 minutes...12 seconds


Hocus Pocus 2


Yes, I have watched the original Hocus Pocus a few times, I grew up with it of course. So when the sequel was announced I had to roll my eyes a tad because sequels decades later have never really managed to recapture the same magic. Hocus Pocus 2 suffers the same fate as so many others with a quasi-lazy attempt to cash in on nostalgia.

I'll say a few positives first, the gals seem to slide back into their roles naturally. Bette Midler is commanding the screen as always and Sarah Jessica Parker brings back the ditzy goofy performance that made her my favourite from the original. Kathy Najimy feels a tad underused here though. Most of the spotlight lies on Midler.

In the climax, there is a moment of surprise that I thought was really sweet and made the film moments resonate a bit more and Doug Jones reprises his role of Billy, the zombie that scared a few kids in the original.

Now onto the issues, the film looks horrible. It has the made-for-tv feel that took me out of the story. Everything looks like it was filmed on a sound stage, the town, the woods, everything felt fake. It has lost the grits and grime of the original (never thought I'd say that about Hocus Pocus). It's also lost its edge (again, something I never thought I'd say about Hocus Pocus). The first talked about virgins, had more physical violence, and actually felt like there were dangerous stakes. That's probably the biggest offender, the film never felt like there was any danger.

Overall, this was a misfire. I'm sure the kids will enjoy it though.



28 days...6 hours...42 minutes...12 seconds


Who Invited Them


A one-location story about a couple who invite people over for a housewarming party, but two of the houseguests the couple don't recognize. When everyone else leaves, these two uninvited guests stay. Now, any sane person would immediately tell them to leave, or when things get really weird and awkward...you tell them to leave. The film finds excuses for the couple to stay.

The film tries to lure you in by having you ask, are these two people genuine or crazy? What sinister things are going to happen to this couple? Right from the start, you suspect something and the film never tries to really sway you in the opposite direction. I feel that it might have worked a bit more if the audience went back and forth and this odd couple's intentions. Despite the actors doing a decent job with their performance, the film lacks a lot of tension, mystery, and suspense; all key elements for a film that relies heavily on those elements to make it work.

By the climax of the story, you find yourself surprised that...nothing really happens. There is a moment in the film when a character talks about how they got such a good deal on this new house. That's maybe, halfway through the film and anyone with half a brain can connect the dots. I'm still not sure if the filmmakers wanted certain aspects of the climax to be a huge reveal, but the film was simply just catching up to what everyone else already knows.



28 days...6 hours...42 minutes...12 seconds


My Best Friend's Exorcism


In the late 80's, two best friends are tested as one of them becomes possessed by a demon. It's up to Abby to save her friend Gretchen through the POWER OF FRIENDSHIP!!!!

I read this book and thought it was pretty good, so I watched the film with tepid expectations. Unfortunately, the film doesn't get the tone right and it feels like an awkward attempt at a horror comedy that lacks both laughs and fright.

Jennifer's Body did the same thing, a bit better a few years prior. This film is scared to go where it needs to and none of the comedy works until Chris Lowell shows up as a cartoonish character who preaches religion through exercise with his brothers in malls and schools. He injects a bit of life into this dud, but his screen time is too short to really make any sort of adjustment to the pace and feel.

Taking place in the 80's, the film does feel like it actually belongs there. Everything feels put on and fake for the time era. Other films and tv shows (yes, that darn Stranger Things) do a better job of making it feel like that era. My Best Friend's Exorcism lacks everything it needs to be a hit, you'll find yourself bored by most of it... unfortunately.



Victim of The Night


Hocus Pocus 2


Overall, this was a misfire. I'm sure the kids will enjoy it though.
Ha! Color me surprised.



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Who Invited Them.
Every time Shudder tries to get me to watch this movie, I think of this (really good) short film from a few years ago:
https://vimeo.com/andrewdeyoung/rachel

Also, it's based on a true story and at the end of the film there's actual footage of the real confrontation at the party!



28 days...6 hours...42 minutes...12 seconds


Bodies Bodies Bodies


I wrote a script in college that was called Murder A La Mode, which was about a group of people who get together to play a murder mystery dinner game, then the host actually dies, but they think it's part of the game until more people start ending up dead. So when I saw the trailer for this, I was primed to hate it. I didn't. It's a fun take on the genre, diving into the headspace of GEN Z and an ad for how powerful iPhone batteries can be.

I think the cast here is really strong, special shout out to Shiva Baby's Rachel Sennott and Borat's Maria Bakalova. While these two stand out in the crowd, I think the film was cast really well. Even Pete Davidson, whom I usually can't stand, fits in with the younger cast here.

The mystery is set up and the film had me second-guessing myself right up until the reveal. The pace is great, never does it slow down to a slog and the film finds funny ways to keep the characters from distrusting each other. The script is well written, I laughed when one character threw an insult at another for being "upper middle class".



28 days...6 hours...42 minutes...12 seconds


SMILE


Jump scare the movie. Yes, this movie relies heavily on the most well-worn cliche in horror films, but damn does it make it work. Smile is a well-shot, constructed, and acted horror film that has more jump scares than any other film I can think of from the last ten years. It's specifically primed to make you relax, then boom, it gets ya.

The idea is also a well-worn one in the genre, a curse is passed on to our main character and she has so many days to try and evade it/cure herself or she will die. Sound like The Ring/Ringu much? Smile isn't concerned with re-invented the genre or being "elevated horror", it knows exactly what it is and what makes people jump.

Much of the movie feels similar to other horror films, but they do it well, so in my opinion, it is forgivable. The climax of the film is when it becomes more of its own thing and I had a smile on my face at the weird absurdity of it. Smile is a great film to see in theatre during the spooky season.