October Challenge

October 1st: Halloween II (2009)

I must some sort of weird freak, because I think this might be a contender for my top 100. Brutal, emotional, well acted (Brad Dourif is really good), a great example of a sequel being much better than its dodgy predecessor.

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"George, this is a little too much for me. Escaped convicts, fugitive sex... I've got a cockfight to focus on."

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It's what you learn after you know it all that counts. - John Wooden
My IMDb page

Challenge review 2, quick & easy: Devil's Playground, starring Danny Dyer and an imposing Craig Fairbrass, it's basically a wanna-be 28 Days Later, but with humor (intended and unintended) adding some B-movie charm. The story is thin, the acting is engaging if a bit too histrionic yet as far as zombie outbreak flicks go, you could do a helluva lot worse. The zoms/mutants are fast and strong due to side effects of an experimental performance-enhancing drug (giggle), and they do stuff like run, leap and smash through doors, so yeah, there's that. Devil's Playground isn't an especially bad movie; it's derivative but solid, the FX are decent, nice direction, the cast is fine, the action sequences are mildly entertaining, and overall Devil's Playground is fairly amusing when it isn't trying too hard to be serious. Fun enough for a viewing, but ultimately forgettable. 5/10

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#31 on SC's Top 100 Mofos list!!

October 2

Rosemary's Baby


Explanation: she wanted a suspense story. So I threw her off a bit.

Fright Night 2011 - Day 2

I went to the remake because of Marti Noxon who had a hand in crafting Buffy, so I thought this would be half decent...and it was. It doesn't hold a candle to the original and tries to make it bigger than what the original intended but it gets the job done, if only marginally.

I guess I just prefer the classic 80's horror feel to what we are given today. Christopher Mintz-Plasse is annoying to me, so I guess it serves him right to play Evil Ed, as he was annoying in the original. Farrell plays it sexy and mysterious, Yelchin is an unlikable lead and Imogen Poots has zero chemistry with either of the men.

Yet, it's not awful. Tenant takes the Peter Vincent character in a different direction, but not one that made me hate his choices. Just one that made me appreciate the original even more.

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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

Good review, Suspect. It definitely was better than I expected too, but as hard as it tried to be hip, it only made me appreciate the charm of the original Fright Night even more.

October 3

The Exorcist


Another that needs no review, but this is more of a month to expose my girlfriend. Hopefully I get to see a couple new films for myself.

Third review: Apartment 143. It starts off promisingly enough, with a bit more emphasis on characters, but it's all squandered by a stalled story in its lame second half. Early scenes are fairly spooky and the cast is decent, but then the movie increasingly hits the viewer over the head with boring scenes of the poltergeist raising hell and tearing the place up while they shout at each other and run around in confusion. It happens way too much for there to be any real tension and just drags on pointlessly. The filmmakers should've realized that less is definitely more. Better timed, less frequent, and more imaginative scares combined with more character development would've gone a long way toward making this a modestly enjoyable ghost story. Instead, they opted for FX overkill and destroyed the spookiness and tension. Having a ghost go predictably crazy every five minutes and then the characters shrug it off immediately afterward each time makes no sense and just gets tiresome. 4/10

Pretty neutral on this so far:
Lisa and the Devil (1974?) –
I think I saw the extended cut, so I'm not positive of the release date. I regret putting this off for so long though. It may not be as unique as Bava’s best, but for a slightly more accessible film from him, it’s still pretty trippy and atmospheric. And Telly Savalas in his Norman Bates-esque performance is definitely the highlight.
Parents (1989) –
A slow burner, heavily accentuated by an unsettling dark ambient score that gives it a bizarre edge. Don’t expect much of a lively dark comedy. The bleakness may make it more interesting, though it does tend to drag. It would have made a great short film.
The Stepfather (1987) –
Good suspense towards the end, but until that I thought it was a pretty banal thriller. Not bad, just didn't catch my interest.
Warlock (1989) –
This actually has a pretty entertaining premise. The hammy dialogue and characters might irritate some, but they made it worth watching for me.
War of the Worlds (1953) –
Clearly shows its age, but it’s so representative of the exuberant thriller style of 50’s sci-fi that it’s difficult not to enjoy.

This shouldn't really count but...
Of Freaks and Men (1998) –
I watched this with the challenge in mind, even though it’s erroneously labeled as a horror film on IMDB. The visuals aren’t spectacular (though a few shots stand out), but the sepia tone easily sets it apart from most other films without being too intrusive. The film itself doesn’t have too interesting of a plot, but it does have a very strange appeal. Also very convincing as a period film.

Ghosts of Mars - Day 3

This is in the category of so bad it's good. John Carpenter seems to be on autopilot here and not really give a crap. The documentary Nightmare Factory can back this up as he and Greg Nicotero got into a mini argument re: make-up. Hahahah, silly I know, but Nicotero is a horror make-up icon and when something doesn't look right he wants to fix it. Carpenter's response? I don't care, just leave it. Hahaha, they guy has gotten old and cynical it seems.

The structure is pretty bad, told in flashbacks by Henstridge we go back and forth between the two which takes us out of the immediate suspense and action. Despite all this, I enjoyed how terrible it was. I've seen this movie more times then I want to admit.

Carpenter wouldn't make a movie for about ten years because of this.

Definition of B-Movie for this generation.

I can't bring myself to watch this for some reason. I remember as a kid always renting Red Planet and Mission to Mars, yet seeing this in the corner of my eye and always thinking "I..just..can't"

It doesn't take itself seriously, but at the same time I can't really recommend it to someone. hahahaha

Hey, I love the original The Stepfather. I saw it at the theatre repeatedly and was constantly talking at the screen. It's a good thriller, but it's damn funny... intentionally so. I don't know, re93, if you missed the laughs or thought they weren't there for a reason, but I've watched it recently and still dig it. Terry O'Quinn gives an awesome performance as the perfect stepfather, except sometimes he forgets who he's supposed to be.

Inferno (Dario Argento, 1980) +



This is probably Argento's most exquisite use of lighting ever. Sometimes the walls and ground appear to be painted red and blue rather than just lit. It's got the memorable underwater room and a surprising meat cleaver... well, it's Argento, so what did you expect? The follow-up to Suspiria has a dream logic in so far as it has any logic at all, so that's why I can't put it up there with Deep Red as his best, but fully worthy of being compared to Suspiria if you pay enough attention because otherwise, it could lose you in a few places.

The Four Skulls of Jonathan Drake (Edward L. Cahn, 1959) Cult/Camp Rating



Edward L. Cahn cranked out a lot of B-movies (47! from 1956-1962 alone) during his career, so it's not surprising that many of them are bad. This is a cult item, although I don't understand why. It has a veteran cast and a weird story, so I guess the Indian curse put on Jonathan's family and the way their heads keep disappearing appeals to some viewers, but be advised that this is no better than an Ed Wood film. Even so, it ranks up there with It! The Terror From Beyond Space (an Alien-precursor), Creature with the Atom Brain and Shake, Rattle & Rock! as his most well-known films.

Yay! I'm glad we are doing this!! I've got to catch up a bit but on Oct 2nd I watched THE POSSESSION.

I don't want to give away spoilers as I know this movie just came out this year but here is a quick un-spoiling review: I was not a fan. Of course it's a matter of opinion but the trailer made it look like a great possession movie but the actual movie was very porely written. If anyone else saw it let me know if you also felt that scenes were just skipping through. Like, litterally you'd think you were in the middle of a movie sceen and it just adruptly stops and then it's night time or the next day. Yes there were some bumps and jumps but after the movie is over you don't think about it when you're trying to go to bed. To me it was just a big dissappointment and I'm not just saying that because I didn't like it much. I'm saying it because this was a movie I was REALLY excited about seeing, and after seeing it, I felt it wasn't worth the excitement I had towards it.

Well tonight is the 5th, So I've got to catch up on 4 movies. I will let you know tomorrow which one(s) I end up watching tonight.

One of my guilty pleasures as well. I've seen it well over 10 times. I was addicted to it when I was younger.

It started off pretty well, but shortly thereafter it's effect was lost on me. Maybe I wasn't paying attention close enough, but I didn't get too much humor out of it either, apart from O'Quinn's performance, which I did enjoy.

October 4

The Blob


Bewaaaare of the blob, it
creeps
and leaps
and glides
and sliiiiides across the floor
Right through
the door
And aaaall around the wall
A splotch
a blotch
Be caaaaareful of the blob


October 5

The Beyond


I will never get into any of his movies, and this was his last chance. Sure the violence was funny but what the hell is wrong with the audio in all of his movies? Fulci is below the B-movie in every way by not being remotely entertaining.

I won't make it to 31, but I'll try to get some in and post my thoughts here later.

I just watched Dog Soldiers (2002, Marshall). Very underwhelmed by it. The pacing isn't tight enough and the tension isn't built up very well. The dialogue is nothing to write home about and as a result, when it isn't used strictly as a means to advance the story, it downgrades the overall quality. The action bits are the best part of the film and I liked that the threat to the soldiers (i.e. werewolves) was only showed in full form in the last third of the film, thus making it a bit scarier (although overall this wasn't a scary film, at all).

+

October 6

Island of Lost Souls



Really fun. I'm surprised this doesn't get more praise than King Kong considering the make-up effects and just overall being better in every way possible, especially atmospherically. It's that plus the smiles of the actors and the last scene that deem it creepy enough for October. It's also remarkably professional, I don't get how it was made in 1932.

I Walked With A Zombie (1943)



And so I get to revisit my favourite Val Lewton/Jacques Tourneur film of the 40s. A story of girl who is under control by some black magic or voodoo that the island's native inhabitants practice. Her zombified persona defies scientific explanation. Some of the most beautiful black & white cinematography I've ever seen. I also highly recommend Cat People.




- An all-time top 100 film for me.