***Official 7th Annual HTF October Scary Movie Challenge*** (1 Viewer)

[Christopher B]

So far going through my horror collection alphabetically I managed 2 films yesterday.

1. 28 Days later - not technically a "zombie" movie, but I think it must have influenced Zack Snyder to have "fast" zombies in the Dawn of the Dead remake.

2. The Abominable Dr. Phibes - I bought this and Theater of Blood last year. I had forgotten how fun these movies are.

The Packers play on MNF, so no movies tonight. I will have to hit it hard tomorrow!

 

[Michael Elliott]

The film gets better with each new viewing IMO. The strange thing is that this film was lost for over 80 years but now there's apparently a second print out there. I'm not sure if it's in better condition than the more popular one though.


First time views in bold.

Crime of Dr. Crespi, The (1935) :star::star:

Ultra low-budget film based on Edgar Allan Poe's 'The Premature Burial' has Dr. Crespi (Erich von Stroheim) giving an enemy a serum that paralyzes the body so that he can torture him by burying him alive. I've heard a lot about this film over the years but just now caught up with it. The films 63-minute running time goes very fast, which is a big plus but the director doesn't do anything from the opening credits to the closing ones. The big "secret" that the enemy isn't really dead doesn't go anywhere and the ending is all too predictable. Von Stroheim must have really been down on his luck to do a film like this. I'm not sure what's up with his incredibly over the top performance but the director gives him a close up whenever he goes into one of his fits. Dwight Frye, of Dracula and Frankenstein fame, plays the hero, which is pretty hard to believe as he too goes over the top.

Missing Guest, The (1938)

Forgotten Universal horror film is a remake of the forgotten Universal horror film Secret of the Blue Room from 1933. A reporter goes to investigate the "Blue Room" where a man entered twenty years earlier and never came back. Once the reporter arrives at the house, another man enters the room and in the morning he is gone. Is it a ghost or something else? If you've seen the earlier version (or the second remake made in 1944) then you already know the story because all three feature the same story including who did the killings and why. This version here has a lot of comedy thrown in. Some of it works but most of the time it just comes off very obnoxious.

Torture Ship (1939) :star::star:

A mad doctor puts criminals aboard his ship so that he can do strange experiments on them trying to figure out what's wrong. This film was directed by Victor Halperin who previously made White Zombie, Supernatural and Revolt of the Zombies. Overall the film isn't too bad but there's really not too much action or horror in the film's short 50-minute running time. Lyle Talbot plays the hero and he always brings some "B" movie charm to a film but that's about it. Mixing the horror, sci-fi and gangster genres together should have worked better. Based on a story by Jack London.

Hand of Death (1962) :star::star::star:

A scientist (John Agar) experimenting with nerve gas accidentally infects himself and soon he's able to kill with the very touch of his hand. As days go on he also starts to form into a burned up monster. This film has gotten a lot of attention over the past several months since AMC started showing it in regular rotation. Most critics bash the movie but in my opinion this is one of the best "B" movies from the era. This certainly didn't deserve any Oscars but for a "B" movie it's damn entertaining from start to finish. There are plenty of campy moments but there's also some very nice cinematography and the look of the monster is brilliant.

Last Shark, The (1981) :star::star:1/2

Italian Jaws ripoff from director Enzo G. Castellari who's best known for his Euro Crime films. A 35-foot great white shark is terrorizing a small community so a shark expert and various others must try to kill it. I really wasn't expecting too much from this thing but it turned out to be pretty damn good with several excellent moments thanks in large part to the very tight direction and the fine music score. The exploitation level is quite high, Italian style, which means we get some over the top death and attack scenes including one moment where a man is hanging off a helicopter only to have the shark jump up and bite his legs off. The real shark footage is even better than that of the Spielberg film but the fake shark looks really dumb. It's interesting to note that Universal had this film pulled from American theaters and to this day it hasn't been released here. It's also even stranger that Universal ripped this film off with their Jaws 3. The entire ending of that movie as well as a certain character are ripped off from this thing.

School Killer (2001) :star::star::star:1/2

Extremely creepy Spanish film about six college students who go and spend the night at an abandoned school where six kids were killed 27 years earlier. This film from director Carlos Gil is without a doubt one of the best horror films I've seen in quite some time. The film had me on the edge of my seat throughout and that's saying a lot because I don't normally get creeped out by any film. Not The Texas Chainsaw Massacre or The Exorcist were able to scare me but this one here did. The film is neck deep in atmosphere and the direction is terrific throughout. The screenplay is also very good and gives us characters that we care about and know. These characters just aren't there to be slaughtered like so many American horror films. The film is smart about the genre and smart in the way it plays out. Spanish horror icon Paul Naschy plays the security guard and gives a very good performance as does the rest of the cast. The theatrical trailer makes it seem like this is an outright slasher but it's more in the ghost genre and certainly one of the best I've seen. The only negative is some heavy metal music that is played during a few scenes.



2006 Horror Challenge

01. Crime of Dr. Crespi, The (1935) :star::star:
02. Missing Guest, The (1938) :star::star:
03. Torture Ship (1939) :star::star:
04. Hand of Death (1962) :star::star::star:
05. Last Shark, The (1981) :star::star:1/2
06. School Killer (2001) :star::star::star:1/2

 

[JohnRice]

MIchael, I take it your ratings are out of 4 stars.

 

[Bill McA]

I probably won't get to watch as many as I did last year due to other commitments, but here goes...

Witchboard - 80s cheese with horribly superficial acting and lots of big hair. (2/5)

Asylum - one of the better Amicus anthology films and this one has the bonus of a decent cast. The first story concerning the freezer is still my favorite due to it's visual panache. (3/5)

Masters of Horror: Imprint - more grotesque than scary, featuring Miike's Audition torture scenes turned all the way up to 11 and icky abortion imagery abounds. Billy Drago's acting was awful. (3/5)

Gothic - Ken Russell's loopy tale of the drug-filled night that brought together Mary Shelley, Percy Shelley, Lord Byron and Dr. Polidori which resulted in some of horror's most enduring fiction. I hadn't seen this one in awhile and was pleasantly surprised by the film's stylish visuals which look terrific on the R2 widescreen DVD that I watched...avoid the crap R1 discs! (4/5)


2006 Scary Movie List

First viewings in RED

1. Witchboard (1986|Kevin Tenney) (2/5)
2. Asylum (1972|Roy Ward Baker) (3/5)
3. Masters of Horror: Imprint (2006|Takashi Miike) (3/5)
4. Gothic (1986|Ken Russell) (4/5)

 

[Angel Pagan]

The Hills Have Eyes (2006) :star: :star: :star:

Remake of Wes Craven's 1977 film which I've never seen. Movies like this never scared me back in the day yet I jumped at quite a few scenes.

The Descent :star: :star: :star:

Very creepy and intense.
2006 Scary Movie Challenge
1)The Hills Have Eyes
2)The Descent

 

[Matt Stone]

Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me - A bit of an iffy choice as a horror movie, but I thought I'd go with it. It definitely has that nightmarish vibe that Lynch does so well. This movie angered me more than any other film the first time I saw it. I made the mistake of watching it before I saw the series. Needless to say, I was pissed. I had no idea WTF was going on. My first move was to go out and buy the first season on DVD (hurry up on S2, Paramount)...I've been a fan ever since. Many hate this film, but after watching it countless times, I'm a huge fan. Lynch establishes a very palpable tone of menace. Dangerously underrated film, IMO.

Hostel - I decided to check out the Eli Roth commentary this time around. Eli's an interesting guy, and always very energetic about films. Very informative commentary for a very twisted film. I was a little luke warm the first time I watched Hostel, but it gets better every time. I still think I prefer Wolf Creek, but we'll see when I revist that later in the challenge.

Total List:
http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htf/...9&postcount=21

 

[Rob Brown]

Alright, since I didn't play last year, I'll give it a whirl this year. I'll list all the films I watch here by updating this post.

I decided that, as I've seen very few good horror movies in the last few years, I'd go back and view (or review) some of the classic films of long ago. To decide whether a film is a horror movie or not, I decided to let Phil Hardy's Encyclopedia of Horror Films be my guide...if a film's in there, it's fair game; if it's not, it's out. I also decided to limit myself to no more than one film from any given year, AND I plan to watch them in chronological order so that I get a few decades' worth of discovering the shifting tides in the genre. There're LOTS of classic films that I plan to view for the first time ever. So....

10/1 -- DRACULA (1931) It's been several years since I've seen this one. It brought back good memories of seeing it at the public library one hot summer night when I was in 8th grade, and of watching the Castle Films version in my living room. Having said that, it DOES creak badly, but the new 75th Anniversary Edition at least makes it look better than it ever has before.

10/2 -- THE MUMMY (1932) Or was it made in 1933? Every reference book I've ever seen lists a 1932 release date, but the title card on the print itself reads 1933. Anybody care to shed any light on this one? (Thanks, Joe, for answering my question in Post #51!!) I don't remember the last time I saw THE MUMMY, but I enjoy it a lot. It has a lot of rather abrupt cuts (at least in the Legacy Collection DVD I watched), bespeaking where the other reincarnation scenes may have originally been. On the positive side, it does have a very strong atmosphere, and the scene where Karloff's Ardeth Bey meets Zita Johann's character for the first time has quite the sexual tension. Definitely deserving of its classic status.

10/3 -- MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM (1933) Hadn't seen this one since TNT aired it in the early '90s on Fay Wray's birthday. I have to admit, I enjoy Glenda Farrell. She and Fay Wray made the film for me. It's not scary (although the body stealing scene in the morgue is pretty creepy), but it is a lot of fun, and Anton Grot's set designs are really something. It's interesting to compare this to the Universal horror films being made at the same time... Universal was putting out classy horror films, and Warner Brothers released this film which shares the same fast and loose, irreverent feel of the studio's cartoons. It seems to have had a minor influence on some of my other favorite horror films; I see echoes of it in THE ABOMINABLE DR. PHIBES and BARON BLOOD.

10/4 -- THE BLACK CAT (1934) First-time viewing! I can't believe that I've waited so long to finally see this. It's shot to near to the top of my list of favorite golden-age horror films. Wow! Lugosi was never better; it's nice to see him in a sympathetic role that doesn't involve him wearing a tuxedo and announcing dinner. If it weren't for a few script problems, this would come mighty close to being a perfect horror film.

10/5 -- THE RAVEN (1935) First-time viewing! The follow-up to THE BLACK CAT is fun, but just can't equal its predecessor. It still has much to treasure, even if it isn't able to work up much in the shudder department.

10/6 -- DRACULA'S DAUGHTER (1936) I haven't seen this one in ages, so I thought that I'd give it another whirl. It was much better than I remembered it, and it has several memorable scenes. The film takes some unorthodox approaches to the genre (how is Countess Zaleska able to hold a cross at her father's pyre?) and they generally pay off. The print on the DRACULA Legacy Collection is impressively clean.

10/7 -- THE GORILLA (1939) Okay, cut me some slack. After five Universal classics in six days, I needed a break from quality--some junk food, if you will. So I picked THE GORILLA, which I inexplicably found amusing on first viewing several decades ago. Chalk THAT opinion up to being young--there were few laughs to be found this viewing. I recall chuckling at precisely ONE line. Still, the production values are good, and it does have lots of thunder and lightning, which I do love. I suppose there are worse ways of blowing an hour and some change.

10/8 -- THE MUMMY'S HAND (1940) First-time viewing! Universal's re-imagining of their THE MUMMY from eight years earlier eschews atmosphere and injects much more humor into the proceedings (and never unwraps the mummy). Perhaps because of this, it's great fun, and that optical trick done to the mummy's eyes is pretty creepy. It's a second-shelf classic, but there's never a dull moment. I would think that kids would love it.

10/9 -- THE WOLF MAN (1941) Okay, EVERYBODY! "Even a man who is good at heart, and says his prayers by night...." Man, but that gets annoying after a while! Don't misunderstand: I LOVE this movie, but it wouldn't have hurt the film any to lose a couple of iterations of that epigram (or the "thorny path" one either). I've seen this film a handful of times, and yet I found myself surprised this viewing when Lon didn't transform on camera. I somehow also forgot that Bela Lugosi showed up for the fun for approximately twenty-odd seconds. The forest set is a delightful creation, and Chaney milks as much good will out of the role as possible.

10/10 -- BOWERY AT MIDNIGHT (1942) First-time viewing! More Bela! I've always been more of a Karloff fan than a Lugosi fan, but watching three Lugosi films that I'd never seen before during the last week has really upped Bela's value in my eyes. This film, though, isn't really one of Bela's best. He does, however, get to wear a pair of glasses that are supposed to make him look smart (but don't really), and in one scene he sports one of the worst hats I've ever seen. This is only nominally a horror film, as the horror elements make up approximately, oh, maybe 10-12 seconds of the actual running time, but it does keep one's interest. It's essentially a gangster picture, but it's entertaining nonetheless. If only the leading lady weren't SUCH a bad actress!

10/11 -- I WALKED WITH A ZOMBIE (1943) First-time viewing! At last, I finally get to some Val Lewton films! As much as I love the Universal horrors, the Lewton films affect me on a different level entirely. And as much as I profess my love for the Lewton films, I realized that I've actually only seen three of them. So I now begin to rectify this situation. I LOVED IWWAZ! I think that I've avoided it because of a perceived lack of horror elements, but I was just flat-out missing the point. Now that I've seen it, I feel that parts of it can be favorable compared to Cocteau's BEAUTY AND THE BEAST. Just an incredible film.

10/12 -- THE CURSE OF THE CAT PEOPLE (1944) First-time viewing! Again, I've somehow avoided this one over the years, probably due to the fact that it has a juvenile lead. Big mistake on my part! All of the performances are very good, and Ann Carter is simply remarkable. I'll admit that I teared up a little bit at the end. This is now probably my favorite Lewton film, beating out CAT PEOPLE by a slight edge.

10/13 -- ISLE OF THE DEAD (1945) First-time viewing! Three Lewtons in three days--this challenge is rockin'! Maybe because I was beat-down tired, or maybe because the film IS slow during the first 40 minutes or so, I found my mind wandering. The last thirty minutes were absolutely riveting (I actually jumped a little at one point), but it was an uphill slog to get to them. I have the feeling that this is one of those films that I'll enjoy more the second time I see it, but for now, it ranks last on my list of viewed Lewtons.

10/14 -- SHE-WOLF OF LONDON (1946) First-time viewing! It's really hard for me to muster any enthusiasm whatsoever for this film. It's watchable, but it's instantly forgetable. June Lockhart, the only actor I recognized, has nothing to do except to see how wide-open she can make her eyes. Feh.

10/14 -- STRANGLER OF THE SWAMP (1946) Interesting but not entirely successful ghost story about the spirit of a wrongfully hanged man killing the men (and their offspring) who sent him to the gallows. You can tell that this cost chump change to make, but it still manages to work up a little atmosphere. The overt religious angle is interesting for a film from the 40s. Copious amounts of fog (which is probably where a large chunk of the budget went) and a short running time helped keep my interest. Worth seeing, if only to catch Blake Edwards as an actor.

10/15 -- ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN (1948) After viewing this one, it suddenly feels like October! Perhaps A & C's best movie; everything about it just seems right. If you don't own it yet, seek out the first release (the one NOT in the "Best of A & C Collection, Vol. 3") for the informative commentary track by, IIRC, Greg Mank.

10/15 -- THE STRANGE DOOR (1951) First-time viewing! I'm going to go against the grain and say that I really enjoyed this one. Admittedly, one's tolerance for Charles Laughton's rather arch performance will color one's appreciation for the film. I thought his performance was a hoot. Karloff doesn't have a lot to do, but it's still a lavishly-appointed, well-made film. If you have any inclination towards talking back to the screen, I'll wager that you'll be shouting to the characters during the last ten minutes of the film.

10/16 -- THE BLACK CASTLE (1952) First-time viewing! I was surprised to find that Nathan Juran had directed this movie. As much as I love the Harryhausen films, though, I wasn't particularly entranced by THE BLACK CASTLE. It's a watchable film, but I probably won't remember anything about it in a week.

10/17 -- HOUSE OF WAX (1953) First-time viewing! It amazes me that I've never seen this film before now. I'm a HUGE Vincent Price fan, and I also owned this on VHS several years ago, but I never got around to watching it. Now that I have, I have to say that I enjoyed it, even though it's almost a carbon copy of MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM. It looks as if it would be a LOT of fun in 3-D! Even though there were no surprises, it was still entertaining. Major debit: Carolyn Jones's REALLY annoying performance.

10/18 -- BLOOD OF DRACULA (1957) Mere words cannot describe my love for all things AIP. I'd seen this film once before and found it to be pretty weak, but I can honestly say that I saw it in a whole new light this viewing. First of all, vampire chicks in tight sweaters are HOT, even IF their teeth are all wonky. Secondly, I saw this film as the forerunner to I WAS A TEENAGE WEREWOLF that it truly is. It's a dry run for WEREWOLF, which is essentially a remake of this film with the sex and type of monster of the main character changed. If horror films really do reflect the anxieties of their times, this one shows that in 1957 people were afraid of, in no particular order: a) egghead academics; b) the A-bomb; c) the disintegration of the traditional family unit; d) women in general, and lesbians in particular; and e) vampire chicks in tight sweaters. The attention to detail in this film is quite sly, from the batwing eyebrows sported by the heroine/monster to the bat shape that the thesis attains as it burns. Truly, truly awesome.

10/19 -- HOW TO MAKE A MONSTER (1958) First-time viewing! A follow-up to I WAS A TEENAGE WEREWOLF and I WAS A TEENAGE FRANKENSTEIN, HTTAM is fast, goofy fun. It's not as scary as WEREWOLF, nor as funny as FRANKENSTEIN, but it's more than watchable. The DVD presents the film as it was theatrically, with the last reel in color (the RCA/Columbia VHS had the whole thing in B & W).

10/20 -- THE GHOST OF DRAGSTRIP HOLLOW (1959) First-time viewing! Ouch! My love for all things AIP just went down a notch! This movie, about hot-rodders who lose the lease on their hot-rod club digs and go looking for a new one, is simply awful. As such, it will require many more viewings to try to figure out what the filmmakers were thinking. Specifically, I have to wonder about Lou Rusoff's ability to string words in English together to form coherent sentences. As writer/producer, the failure of this movie to make any semblence of sense falls squarely on his shoulders. Oddly enough, this movie feels at times like a proto-beach party movie, mainly due to its whacked-out attempts at humor and non-stop use of teenage slang. Here's an example of dialogue from THE GHOST OF DRAGSTRIP HOLLOW--"Take your flippers off me, seal. Take the stairway, creep. Vanish!" By the way, BEACH PARTY was written by...Lou Rusoff. One last thing...the hot-rodders have a full-time band(!) at their clubhouse, and they do this song called "Geronimo" that MUST be heard to be believed. By all means, see this once, just to prove to yourself that there are worse films than PLAN 9 and ROBOT MONSTER.

10/21 -- THE TELL-TALE HEART (1960) First-time viewing! I'd never heard of this until I was thumbing through Hardy's book to find something to watch from 1960. I'd already seen all the biggies from that year, so I thought that I'd give this one a whilrl. I'm glad that I did, because it's pretty good. The story remains faithful to Poe in spirit, if not in detail, and the performances are better than they have any right to be.

10/22 -- NIGHT CREATURES (1961) First-time viewing! The third of four (that I know of) tellings of the "Scarecrow of Romney Marsh" tale is great fun, and absolutely gorgeous to look at. Something different from Hammer.

10/23 -- TOWER OF LONDON (1962) First-time viewing! Vincent Price chews the scenery in a pseudo-Shakespearian stew of RICHARD III and HAMLET. It's not scary, but the horror elements are out in full force. Too bad that Corman was forced to shoot it in black and white at the last minute; this one screams for color. The cost-cutting measure of lifting the battle scenes at the end from the Universal TOWER OF LONDON from 1939 doesn't fool anybody.

10/24 -- THE HAUNTED PALACE (1963) First-time viewing! Hybrid of Poe and Lovecraft is visually arresting and perhaps the best-looking film Corman had done up to that point, but it's a good-looking failure. The plusses: Price's performance is very good; he keeps his hammy tendencies in check. Debra Paget is, for my money, the best-looking ingenue of all the Poe films. The minuses: the makeup for both Lon Chaney and the town's mutants is pretty badly done; the ending needed much more oomph. Still, Corman is able to build some atmosphere, and the performances are solid.

10/28 -- THE MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH (1964) First-time viewing! I watched this at an appropriate time, as I taught the story to my 10th-grade classes this week. Vinnie is good, but not as good as he was in THE HAUNTED PALACE. Hazel Court's role seems to be there simply to pad the running time. Nicholas Roeg's cinematography is quite beautiful, and Danny Haller's production design is top-notch, but the script is all over the map and has little real momentum. All in all, I wound up being vaguely disappointed by this film that I've heard nothing but good things about.

 

[Ruz-El]

I snuck in 2 more tonight:

Color Me Blood Red 2/5 : Nowheres near as entertaining as "Blood Feast" or "2000 Maniacs", I couldn't help but be dissapointed. Even the gore stuff was poor in this one. A sad end to Hershal Gorden Lewis's "Blood Trilogy"... or is it??

Blood Feast 2: All You Can Eat - 2/5 : Lewis is back with this cheapo follow up to one of his most popular films. The grandson of Ramses the 1st arrives in town and gets haunted by the egyption statue. This one is played more for laughs, and it suffers for it. kind of crap gore. Nicer boobies than then original and John Waters in a cameo aren't enough to make this worth while.

See post #3 for my tally.

 

[Michael Elliott]

Yep, four star scale.



Blackenstein (1973) :star:1/2

A black man has his arms and legs blown off in Vietnam but Dr. stein puts him back together again using his DNA potion. However, an crazy assistant injects him with another potion, which turns him into a monster. I had heard this was one of the worst films ever made but I didn't find it that bad. If you enjoy bad drive-in flicks then you should get a few laughs out of this thing. Being blaxploitation, it's mostly dumb white people being killed by the monster but the stereotypes are rather hilarious. The monster looks very stupid but the death scenes are rather brutal, although the special effects are a joke. I would tell you how the monster dies at the end but you really need to see if for yourself.

Dr. Black, Mr. Hyde (1976) :star::star:1/2

The black Dr. Henry Pride (Bernie Casey) takes a formula that turns him into an evil white man. Here's another blaxploitation film but this one here is actually pretty good thanks in large part to the very good performance by Casey. The film is over the top in every way possible from the non-stop Kung Fu fighting to the wonderfully funny pimp. The first scene where the evil white guy is about to get jumped by three hoods is priceless.



2006 Horror Challenge

01. Crime of Dr. Crespi, The (1935) :star::star:
02. Missing Guest, The (1938) :star::star:
03. Torture Ship (1939) :star::star:
04. Hand of Death (1962) :star::star::star:
05. Last Shark, The (1981) :star::star:1/2
06. School Killer (2001) :star::star::star:1/2
07. Blackenstein (1973) :star:1/2
08. Dr. Black, Mr. Hyde (1976) :star::star:1/2

 

[Bob Turnbull]

Only one tonight...

Terror Train - No scares. No suspense. No fun. And way too much David Copperfield. Blech.


Running Tally of 2006 Scary Movie Challenge

 

[Joe Karlosi]

Rob -- the film was made in 1932 and released on December 22, 1932. Maybe the title card printed 1933 because it was so near the end of '32.


10/2/06

Dracula (1931) :star: :star: :star:
Bela Lugosi's marvelous performance makes up for the slow pacing of this flawed classic. I began this year with the new 75th Anniversary DVD, and it was a major disappointment. While the picture is brighter and somewhat preferable to the two releases we've had before (not much), the loud audio hiss was very distracting and really sinks this release as far as I'm concerned.

Dracula's Daughter (1936) :star: :star: :star:
Although the rating is the same as the original, this is still a more satisfying film than DRACULA. Gloria Holden is perfectly cast in the title role, and the film's loaded with mood and atmosphere. Otto Kruger is refreshing as the older leading man.

2006 Scary Movie Challenge:

01) Dracula (1931)
02) Dracula's Daughter (1936)

 

[SteveGon]

Knocked off four:

C.H.U.D. - Hadn't seen this in years. A hidden cache of chemical waste turns sewer-dwelling homeless people in to Cannibalistic Humanoid Underground Dwellers. Look out!

*** out of ****


The Thing With Two Heads - Bigoted surgeon Ray Milland wants to live forever so he has his head transplanted onto Rosey Grier's body! Not as bad as it sounds, but not particularly interesting either. Worth the price of a ticket just to see the two-headed Rosey trying to escape from the cops on a dirtbike (but even that goes on forever).

** out of ****


The People Under the Stairs - Finally got around to seeing Wes Craven's odd shocker about three robbers who pick the wrong house to burgle. Pretty good first half, but falters with a shaky resolution.

**1/2 out of ****


Dead Life - Fairly effective no-budget zombie flick. A guy and his buds try to get out of town after a mysterious plague causes an outbreak of flesh-eating ghouls. Shot on Super 8 which gives it a cheesey seventies vibe (replete with variable acting and spotty techical saavy). Features a pointless, if rather gruesome, blowjob scene!

**1/2 out of ****

 

[Garrett Lundy]

Rating system: 1-5 (Awful, bad, Average, good, excellent)
1st time movies listed in bold
foriegn language films (personal challenge) in red

02/10 - Orrori del castello di Norimberga/Baron Blood (1972). - My second Bava film, and I like this one much better. Certainy the cinematography isn't as nice (but still quite good), and it is filled with period 70's elevator music. The overall "flow" of the movie is much better. I'd wager a guess that this movie was clearly the result of finding a spooky location (old castle) and then writing a story around it. Rating 3

2006 Horror Challenge
01. Mask of the Demon (1960) :star::star::star:
02. Baron Blood (1972) :star::star::star:

 

[Rick Spruill]

10/2

The Monolith Monsters (1957, John Sherwood) - 6/10
- Even though this was a first time viewing, I feel like I've seen this movie a dozen times. It has that "comfortable" feel to it that I enjoy. The highlights are the solid Universal B production values and acting. The biggest weakness is the "Monsters" from the title. It's difficult to make a rock look threatening.

 

[SteveS.]

2. Frailty- 3.75/5

Very good movie. Nice twist towards the end. I just picked this up for $6. It will be a nice cheap addition to my collection.

Running total located on Page #2, post #38.

 

[Garrett Lundy]

Rating system: 1-5 (Awful, bad, Average, good, excellent)
1st time movies listed in bold
foriegn language films (personal challenge) in red

03/10 - Event Horizon (1997). - Netflix has sent me the first three Blind Dead films, but the DVD for Tomb Of The Blind Dead was broken! So I can't watch any of the later sequels until I watch the original so I started in on my personal stock of DVDs. Event Horizon, which scared the crap out of me on its theatrical release has lost a bit of its edge in subsequent viewings. Its a haunted-house movie set in space. I often call it "The reimagining of Disney's The Black Hole with a horror movie twist". Plots are similar: Evil doctor, giant ship, and people end up in hell at some point or another.
There are no teenagers to water-down the film, and acting is pretty good for the genre. The GCI is starting to show its ages, but I think the miniature-work with the ships is very good. The early DVD transfer isn't helped by every frame of film needing at least 10,000 criss-crossing beams, grids, and honeycombs (which Mpeg-2 hates to do), but the 5.1 mix is agressive and quite good 10 years later. Rating 4

An American Werewolf In London (1981) - Violent, funny, and willing to take the lycanthrope picture in a new direction, AAWIL raced The Howling to theaters for horror-movie of the year in 81. Solid casting and amazing effects are film highlights, but I find it can drag-on a bit in the middle of the film. Rating 4

2006 Horror Challenge
01. Mask of the Demon (1960) :star::star::star:
02. Baron Blood (1972) :star::star::star:
03. Event Horizon (1997) :star::star::star::star:
04. An American Werewolf In London (1981) :star::star::star::star:

 

[Ruz-El]

I always liked "Event Horrizon". Theres a new SE of it on DVD, I might have to pck t up and revisit it. I too plan on watching the Blind Dead films, maybe this weekend.

This Island Earth 4/5 : I'm hesitant to include this as it's really more of a sci-fi flick, but I am for 2 reasons. 1: I've never seen it, nor knew much about it, but saw it cheap and picked it up, and 2: From the case it looked like an alien monster movie so I expected it to be like the "creature " films from the 50's. this is my ringer choice, unless the membership would like me to strike it from my tally. The monster in it, at the end was totally kick ass though, and there was a bit of blood as well.

See post#3 for my running tally.

 

[JohnRice]

The Killer Shrews - Dug into my 50 movie Horror set with this no budget thrill-less, horror-less flick from 1959, starring James Best and Sydney Lumet's father, among a few others. A group of people is "trapped" on an island during a hurricane, in which the wind hardly blows. Unfortunately, Sidney's father plays a scientist who has created a killer breed of giant shrews (the rodent type, not the ex-wife type) and they must go through all sorts of absurd things to escape. Basically what you would expect from a 50 movie DVD set that costs $16. 1/5

 

[Michael Elliott]

THE KILLER SHREWS has always been one of my favorite bad movies. I just love cute little dogs with big ears glued to them to make 'em look like rats.


You'll Find Out (1940) :star::star:1/2

Kay Kyser and his band are paid to perform at a birthday party but they are stalked by Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi and Peter Lorre. The horror, comedy and musical genres are all mixed together in this decent film that turned out to be a lot better than I was expecting. I had put off viewing this for years because I had heard that Lugosi and Karloff didn't share any scenes together but that turned out to be false because they are together in at least three scenes. Lorre and Lugosi steal the show with some nice comic touches. The film goes on a bit too long at 97 minutes but fans of the three should enjoy themselves.

Weird Woman (1944) :star::star:1/2

Second in the Inner Sanctum series has a college professor (Lon Chaney, Jr.) marrying a former voodoo princess (Anne Gwynne) only to have his ex (Evelyn Ankers) seek revenge. This was certainly better than the previous film but like that film this one here leaves a lot to be desired. I'm a big fan of Ankers and it was nice seeing her play the bad girl instead of the girl always being saved by the hero. She does a very good job here as does Gwynne. The ending is very effective but can't overcome slowness in the first part of the film.

Dead Man's Eyes (1944) :star::star::star:

Third in the Inner Sanctum series has a painter (Lon Chaney, Jr.) accidentally pouring acid into his eyes causing him to go blind. Soon he's suspected of killing his father in law, the man who was going to give him his eyes for a transplant. This is certainly the best of the three film's I've seen in the series due in large part to a pretty good screenplay that has plenty of twists and turns. I picked up on the ending ten minutes before it actually happened but the film still remained a lot of fun. Chaney also delivers a good performance.



2006 Horror Challenge 1st time views in bold

01. Crime of Dr. Crespi, The (1935) :star::star:
02. Missing Guest, The (1938) :star::star:
03. Torture Ship (1939) :star::star:
04. Hand of Death (1962) :star::star::star:
05. Last Shark, The (1981) :star::star:1/2
06. School Killer (2001) :star::star::star:1/2
07. Blackenstein (1973) :star:1/2
08. Dr. Black, Mr. Hyde (1976) :star::star:1/2
09. You'll Find Out (1940) :star::star:1/2
10. Weird Woman (1944) :star::star:1/2
11. Dead Man's Eyes (1944) :star::star::star:

 

[Joe Karlosi]

10/03

I got gypped last night and I'm still pretty annoyed about it. I watched Laurel and Hardy's film A-Haunting We Will Go (1942) for the first time, thinking it was an obvious "horror"-comedy. I mean, even the title card had the name of the movie in ghoulish letters with a drawing of a ghost chasing L&H. There I was, all set to list it on the Halloween Challenge as one of my "first timers" -- but besides the basic point that it wasn't very good, I am especially P.O.'d that there were ZERO horror elements in it. NONE. Therefore, I'm not going to include it here and I could have better spent that time watching something else for the challenge!!
Okay -- End of Rant.


White Zombie (1932) :star: :star: :star:
I've boosted this one up half a star from the last time I watched it. A little creaky, but Bela Lugosi is perfectly sinister as the zombie master who commands a legion of Walking Dead. The camerawork is interesting for the time it was made.

2006 Scary Movie Challenge:

01) Dracula (1931)
02) Dracula's Daughter (1936)
03) White Zombie (1932)