2021 Halloween Challenge

Tools    





28 days...6 hours...42 minutes...12 seconds
October 7th

Under Wraps




I fully admit, I am not the target demo for this movie. My kids watched this and found some enjoyment out of it, but they most certainly enjoy the hell out of Hocus Pocus more than this stuff. This has to be a remake of a kids movie from the 90's, it even has the same name. I never saw that one, but it's probably better. That isn't some kind of nostalgia talking, that's coming from the fact that they don't make kids movies like they used to.

Poor production quality, bad acting, slapped together story and the Disney shine gives this film a once and done viewing that I hope my kids don't want to revisit. My oldest, who is 4, his favourite film right now is Edward Scissorhands. He's sophisticated like that.
__________________
"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
October 8th

Muppets Haunted Mansion




I was never a HUGE fan of the Muppets, but I do think they are funny.

This was a solid entry that had some laughs, songs and good entertainment for kids. I don't really know what else to say? Maybe more celebrity cameos?



28 days...6 hours...42 minutes...12 seconds
October 9th

Body Bags




This was a lot of fun, in a Tales from the Crypt kind of way. I loved seeing Carpenter be a bit of a goofball since I've only really seen him as a grumpy old man.

3 stories, all of them decent. One is a typical slasher-type story, shot well with great tension. The second was a wild story about hair and it was hilarious and probably the most creative. The third was another somewhat generic bit about a guy who gets a new eye from a killer and then he sees what he did, etc.

Harmless campy and fun. This is something I could see myself revisiting another Halloween season, even though I think the first segment is best suited for that.




Adding more "WTF" to this mix, Samuel L. Jackson stars in the film as well. While this film most certainly has the biggest names of the series, the film as a whole is one of the lamer entries.
Honestly, for the last 20 years, seeing SLJ name attached to a film has not been a good thing and a sign of a poor film. The final nail in the coffin for me was 1408, which was a battle between SLJ (a man I was by then convinced was a bad sign) and John Cusack (someone whose films I'd watch regardless because they were usually decent) I think most who've seen the film knows which of these won and it sealed my opinion of SLJ.
__________________
5-time MoFo Award winner.



October 11th Pure (2019)

18. A film on Hulu



A pair of sisters one bad the other good go on a retreat with their father to a purity camp were girls pledge not to have sex until marriage. This is Blumhouse/Hulu's into the dark series which is kinda TV kinda film and I was extremely disappointed in this one. I don't know if this is the worst of the Get Out cheap political horror films but it's just so one note.

If you are like are the men in the story hypocrites.. yeah
If you are like are the men in the story evil...yeah
Does the third act drag on forever for a lecture of women's rights killing any possible horror...yeah pretty much.




October 12th Slumber Party Massacre (1982)
An original franchise



Slumber Party Massacre was originally supposed to be a parody of Halloween. Roger Corman decided to make the film more straight so we ended up with a satire. It's the story of a group of young ladies who are stalked by a killer with a drill. Obviously the drill represents his penis but they don't go out of the way with the humor.

To be frank after watching the overtly politic PC horror this year it's nice to see a subtle satire slasher. When you have to admire the subtly in a film where the pizza guy get's his eyes gouged out to have to acknowledge the problem with modern horror.

The movie is not perfect, the jokes don't really land all the time and points of the film are a logical mess but I did laugh at several scenes and I enjoyed the horror elements of the story.




October 13th Slumber Party Massacre (2021)
A reboot, remake, or prequel to a horror film





So syfy channel decided to unload a remake/sequel/reboot of Slumber Party Massacre and it's not terrible. They've updated the story made the cast much more ethnic and decided to make a full comedy. It's closer to Tucker and Dale vs Evil than Scary Movie but it's not as good as the original. While the original had bite and the gags where classic the humor here is really cheap and obvious.

You have moments where the characters sort of break the fourth wall and are just commenting on Toxic masculinity...which is better than movies like Pure, Spiral or Antebellum. But it's still annoying and overdone. The guys in the film are played for jokes..they're the ones sexually objectified problem being is it's hard to criticize character development when you don't bother to develop female characters. Like congratulations you striped the women on their sexuality and dressed them in comfy JC Penny outfits...but they had personalities in the original.

Still I did laugh a few times and I enjoyed parts of it, and it's a huge step up over crap like Black Christmas(2019). Still the humor doesn't really work as a LOL comedy and the slasher doesn't really engage.




October 14th Run (2020)
A horror film with 1 word



A premature baby is born with a series of illnesses. 17 years later she gets ready to go to leave her home but she starts to experience paranoia that somethings are just not right.

I don't want to talk to much about it because it's very much inspired by Hitchcock and the film is littered with great scenes of suspense. While the story does get a little obvious at points it's very well shot and paced to the point that this might be the best film of the countdown for me.

Sarah Paulson from American Horror Story is excellent in this. This is right up there with some of her best characters. But for me the star of the film is the tone which balances paranoia with claustrophobia incredibly well.




October 15th Return of the Living Dead III (1993)
20. A film on a different streaming site(Youtube, HBO MAX, Tubi, etc)




I always avoided this one because the cover always just felt like the cheapest of the B-films. Also it's the third part of the story when the second was so bad I just turned it off. The flip side is The Return of the Living Dead III isn't a cheap little B-horror but it's a cheap little B everything from horror to science fiction to romance. An aging military brat decides not to move with his father to a new base, his father is running experiments with zombies. He decides to run away with his girlfriend who sadly dies in a car accident. The lead boy decides to use the gas to bring his girlfriend back and continue on the road.

I liked it...the movie has heart and it takes it's time with the zombie formula. The film has nudity but it's not gratuitous it actually calls back pretty well. The body horror feels Lovecraftian at times and the lead performances are surprisingly solid. My only complaint is the pacing when the third act comes along it just drags on forever and loses the note and tone of the story.

But this was good I recommend it.




Victim of The Night
October 12th Slumber Party Massacre (1982)
An original franchise



Slumber Party Massacre was originally supposed to be a parody of Halloween. Roger Corman decided to make the film more straight so we ended up with a satire. It's the story of a group of young ladies who are stalked by a killer with a drill. Obviously the drill represents his penis but they don't go out of the way with the humor.

To be frank after watching the overtly politic PC horror this year it's nice to see a subtle satire slasher. When you have to admire the subtly in a film where the pizza guy get's his eyes gouged out to have to acknowledge the problem with modern horror.

The movie is not perfect, the jokes don't really land all the time and points of the film are a logical mess but I did laugh at several scenes and I enjoyed the horror elements of the story.

I'm actually a pretty big fan of this one. I liked all the subversions.



Victim of The Night
October 15th Return of the Living Dead III (1993)
20. A film on a different streaming site(Youtube, HBO MAX, Tubi, etc)




I always avoided this one because the cover always just felt like the cheapest of the B-films. Also it's the third part of the story when the second was so bad I just turned it off. The flip side is The Return of the Living Dead III isn't a cheap little B-horror but it's a cheap little B everything from horror to science fiction to romance. An aging military brat decides not to move with his father to a new base, his father is running experiments with zombies. He decides to run away with his girlfriend who sadly dies in a car accident. The lead boy decides to use the gas to bring his girlfriend back and continue on the road.

I liked it...the movie has heart and it takes it's time with the zombie formula. The film has nudity but it's not gratuitous it actually calls back pretty well. The body horror feels Lovecraftian at times and the lead performances are surprisingly solid. My only complaint is the pacing when the third act comes along it just drags on forever and loses the note and tone of the story.

But this was good I recommend it.

You're the second person recently to tell me this film isn't bad. *scratches chin*



A system of cells interlinked
Added The Lair of the White Worm and The Descent to the list, in the categories of A Horror Movie That Has a Title That is a Full Sentence, and A Horror Film from the MoFo List, respectively.

The Lair of the White Worm was another bonkers flick. It stars come poor chap that has the sad misfortune of being a spitting image of Hugh Grant. It also stars another poor chap that has the even worse misfortune of actually being Hugh Grant. This film had me roaring though. Hilarious in places and always entertaining, I had fun with this one.

The Descent is one of my favorite horror flicks ever, and this time, I was watching it with a couple of family members that had never seen it. They were hiding their faces behind pillows etc. as we watched.
__________________
“It takes considerable knowledge just to realize the extent of your own ignorance.” ― Thomas Sowell



Victim of The Night
Added The Lair of the White Worm and The Descent to the list, in the categories of A Horror Movie That Has a Title That is a Full Sentence, and A Horror Film from the MoFo List, respectively.

The Lair of the White Worm was another bonkers flick. It stars come poor chap that has the sad misfortune of being a spitting image of Hugh Grant. It also stars another poor chap that has the even worse misfortune of actually being Hugh Grant. This film had me roaring though. Hilarious in places and always entertaining, I had fun with this one.

The Descent is one of my favorite horror flicks ever, and this time, I was watching it with a couple of family members that had never seen it. They were hiding their faces behind pillows etc. as we watched.
Wait, which one was supposed to be a complete sentence?



October 11th Pure (2019)

18. A film on Hulu


I liked the film's commentary--on the nose as it was--about purity culture and the creepy excess of men acting out their ownership over their daughters' sexuality. And I thought that one particular effect at the end was pretty cool.



October 16th The Comfort of Strangers (1990)
14. A film from Italy



At first this was my four letter horror film but after watching it and researching it...it's very much an Italian horror film. The Comfort of Strangers could have been made as either a play or a lost Antonioni, Pasolini or Bertolucci film. It's the story of a couple who meet up with a strange man in a white suit (Christopher Walken) while on holiday in Italy. Walken is the wealthy son of a diplomat and he takes an interest in the couple.

Much like Run I don't want to give away the plot and this is a slow film, filled with a tension and creepiness that most films don't have. This might be Walken at the height of his powers, I've seen him in dozens of films but when he's restrained like he is in this one he's much more terrifying. Helen Mirren plays Walken's wife and she's her own thing.

I really can't say enough good things about this...this is one of those films with a really creepy tone and the horror comes not from what you see on the surface but all the stuff that's happening just below it.




I liked the film's commentary--on the nose as it was--about purity culture and the creepy excess of men acting out their ownership over their daughters' sexuality. And I thought that one particular effect at the end was pretty cool.

I think they needed to show a lot more restraint, to me it felt like it was written by a 15 year old mad at her MAGA dad. Had they just stuck with the purity culture they could have had something really good but with the economics, racial and gun elements it was just too much. Had they just focused on the manipulation aspect of the story especially with the daughter and her estranged father it could have been really good. But it just was really lazy and it left me deeply unfulfilled.



I think they needed to show a lot more restraint, to me it felt like it was written by a 15 year old mad at her MAGA dad. Had they just stuck with the purity culture they could have had something really good but with the economics, racial and gun elements it was just too much.
I sort of get what you mean. But also, those things are not necessarily unconnected. I think I gave it a
or
.



Victim of The Night
The Lair of the White Worm!

I know, I know...a stretch, for sure!
Yeah, I was lookin' for a verb but what am I, the Grammar Police?