*** Official 10th Annual HTF October Scary Movie Challenge 2009 *** - Page 5

Yeah, I didn't get any notices either.

Curse of the Werewolf (1961)

Another good one from Hammer films. This one is a bit of a different take on the werewolf story. This time a young mute woman is raped by an imprisoned beggar and becomes pregnant. She is taken in by a kindly man and his servant who cares for the baby upon her dead. There is a story about a baby being born on Christmas Day, being cursed. The beggar father himself had very hairy forearms and a wolfish look no doubt from being unjustly prisoned. Whether this has anything to do with the baby's fate, I don't know. Alot of time is spent on the young pregnant woman, her baby and the child as a young boy. We are not introduced to her son as an adult until half of the movie is over. Oliver Reed was quite believable in the role with what little screen time he had. Actually that's probably not a fair comment since he does dominate the second half of the film. I was worried that we wouldn't get a look at the werewolf because he's only seen in shadow until the end. The werewolf make-up was pretty good for its time. Though I haven't seen many, this is probably one of my favourite werewolf movies, an excellent time to spend on a rainy Saturday afternoon.

I don't care whether anything's mistaken for art or not when it comes to horror movies; it's all about fun and entertainment. They can call VAMPYR and THE THING 'art' until the cows come home, and I'll still always prefer to watch DRACULA VS. FRANKENSTEIN and THE MUMMY'S GHOST. 
 
I've never seen THE STRANGE CASE OF DR. Rx, but even if I dislike it, I am a Universal Completist for their movies of this type, and so I consider official releases of them to be a good investment. Certainly beats throwing tons of money away on cigarettes, which I've never done.    

DAY THREE:  October 3rd

 

Well, you think that girl was freaky? You should see it when they runs up in packs!  ..seen em chase some po' bastard down, only to stare at their prey for 2 full minutes before doing what they do to scare em to their death!

 

 

7. Ringu. (1998) Talk about running its course!  Spooky, long&springy-haired Japanese girl movies are gone like hoolahoops.  Damn shame for those of us just getting around to this gem.  But I just knew too much about what was going to happen next.  Still, I have to say I never got bored and enjoyed the Asian actors more than the ones in the remake.  The ending was the most creepy thing about it...I was happy they did that TV bit.  With all that said I AM excited about having the rest of the Japanese series.  I'd really like to give the remake another go too since I was slightly disappointed in it first viewing. 

 

HORRORTHON SUCCESS LEVEL:  7 

 

Not quite the glowing 24 karats I expected..

 

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I'm ready to convert!  Bring on the nunns!!

 

 

8. ALUCADO. (1975) This film has many of my favorite things in it!  It would get too uncomfortable to list them outright.  What this film has is blood!  There's hair!  There's screaming!  There's bloody, hairy, screaming nunns, baby!  Woohoo!!  There's much whipping and blood-letting to be done in the convent and we all get to witness for the Lord!  I'd say this film is like the beer keg of nunn movies.  It's a party!  I always knew those convents could be more exciting if they just let the devil in now and then...maybe on Fridays after dark.  Then in the morning you could exorcise things back to normal.

 

HORRORTHON SUCCESS LEVEL:  10

 

The film needs a good long spanking session! 

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Who would have predicted that? 

 

 

9. Donnie Darko. (2001) Picked this up this week.  I was expecting a modern-day horror formula...threw me off when this didnt' follow a formula AT ALL.  I had no idea exactly what the hell was going on until later in the film and started to catch on a little.  But there wasn't much here you could call predictable.  It ended without me fully understanding what'd I just seen.  I sure wish they'd make more horror movies like this today.  I'll say that again and in caps:  I SURE WISH THEY'D MAKE MORE HORROR MOVIES LIKE THIS TODAY.  With that said the following is necessary:  I don't mean more sequels of THIS idea I just mean creative, unpredictable horror movies.  Thank you and good night. 

 

HORRORTHON SUCCESS LEVEL:  9

 

I was like a rabbit looking at headlights through much of this... wtf? 

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Pity the poor summer camp that has no slasher legend to speak of...only famous for the time some kid lost a pinky finger in a particularly heated tug-a-war. 

 

 

10. FRIDAY THE 13TH. (1980) I don't want to face the year I don't roll this one.  Some really bad will have to happen...  It isn't scary at all.  But that matter nill.  It still reminds me why I love horror movies so much. 

 

HORRORTHON SUCCESS LEVEL:  10

 

Jason turns out to be a real biitch! 

 

11.  (coming soon)

 

12.  (coming soon)

Door Into Darkness: The Tram (1973)
 

Dario Argento
 

The second of four films in the Italian series "Door Into Darkness" has Dario Argento sitting in the director's chair.  The film tells the story of a young woman who is mysteriously murdered on a tram and the detective (Enzo Cerusico) who tries to figure out the killer.  The detective decides to bring everyone together who was on the tram in hopes that they can recreate the events and bring the killer out.  This is a pretty good little giallo even though it doesn't look too much like an Argento movie.  This was produced for TV so the director doesn't get to use his normal 2.35:1 ratio to really bring his style in so fans will want to keep that in mind.  The entire visual flair is pretty tame here as is the violence but this isn't the type of giallo that needs gory violence.  The story itself is a pretty good one, although I must admit that I figured out who the killer was early on.  I enjoyed the fact that the screenplay offered up quite a bit of black humor with the best sequence in the film being the one where a man walks into the police station and confesses to the crime, although he can't get any of the facts correct.  This scene plays out for quite a few laughs as does a couple other scenes where Cerusico begins to question everyone on the tram.  Cerusico delivers a fine performance as he manages to bring both laughs and believability to the role.  The one negative thing, outside the lack of any visual style, is the final ten minutes, which don't contain any suspense.  This entire sequence also seems to drag on, which was a shame considering everything leading up to it was pretty good.  If you've never seen a giallo then I wouldn't recommend you starting here but fans of Argento will certainly want to check this out.
 

Witchery (1988)

Fabrizio Laurenti
 

If you remember the whole saga of George Romero's DAWN OF THE DEAD being released in Italy under the title ZOMBI only to then have Lucio Fulci come along with ZOMBI 2 then you get the same type of thing here.  THE EVIL DEAD was released in Italy as LA CASA and its sequel was LA CASA 2.  Then Umberto Lenzi made a film called GHOSTHOUSE, which was released in Italy as LA CASA 3 even though it was in no way, shape or form connected to the Raimi series.  Then, this film, was released as LA CASA 4 but again, no Raimi connection.  Outside of Italy it was known as WITCHCRAFT, GHOSTHOUSE 2 and the current title listed above.
 

The typical group of people arrive at your typical old hotel where there's the typical legends surrounding its curse.  Apparently, many years ago, a pregnant woman committed suicide to keep from being burned alive as a witch.  Years later a strange silent actress moved into the house and was apparently the last owner but soon our new guests start to fall victim to the curse.  You have to hand it to the Italians when it comes to the horror genre but by 1988 their magic was running out and that's certainly true here even though they did manage to get Linda Blair and David Hasselhoff to appear in the film.  This is your typical cult mess that features a little bit of gore but not enough to keep people interested.  The story isn't any better or worse than a dozen other "witchcraft" tales we've seen from any country but the major problem here is the direction by Laurenti, which really shouldn't be called direction at all.  The movie moves at a snails pace, none of the build ups are any good, there's no suspense and the worst sin is that the thing is just downright boring.  It was rumored that Joe D'Amato did some of the direction as he and Laurenti would co-direct a movie a couple years later.  Having seen dozens of D'Amato's work, I'd say he did have a hand in this as it has the same slow pace of many of his films.  The one main reason to see the film is a creative death scene where a woman gets her lips sewn together before being hung upside down in a chimney to be burned alive.  Blair actually gives a pretty good performance with ol' David getting to act as the boyfriend of a witchcraft specialist who refuses to put out for him or anyone.  
 

Frogs (1972)
 

George McCowan

Sam Elliott and Ray Milland star in this AIP cult-classic from the drive-in era where it was quite popular.  The film starts off with Elliott taking pictures of the nature, which is being interrupted by people's pollution of the water and land.  Soon Elliott finds himself staying with a family being led by the cranky Milland.  Before the night is over one body is located and soon many more follow as the small creatures start to take their revenge.  If you put too much thought into the subject matter then you're going to think yourself to death so turn the brain off, sit back and just enjoy.  The killers in the movie aren't just frogs but we also have toads, lizards, alligators, birds, various snakes and spiders.  Some of the death scenes aren't very believable but then there are those that are quite effective.  Director McCowan does a very good job at building up the atmosphere of that deep Southern swamp nation.  The entire look of the film is perfectly captured as there isn't a single frame where you don't feel as if you're right there in that swampy mess and action.  The characters are pretty straight forward but the cast make them fun to watch with Elliott leading the way and delivering his ultra cool persona once again.  The laid back style of the actor has always been fun to watch and it remains so here.  Milland is over the top but in a fun way as the old man who refuses to spot the danger going on even as more bodies begin to pile up.  FROGS isn't a masterpiece or something by Welles but it does throw on back to the drive-in era when this type of thing was being released.
 

Children of the Corn: The Gathering (1996)
 

Greg Spence

Good performances and direction help this fourth film in the series be the best so far.  A registered nurse (Naomi Watts) moves back home to Nebraska to help her mother (Karen Black) who is slowly losing her mind.  The town's children come down with a mysterious virus and soon they are killing adults apparently with the possessed soul of a boy who died fifty-years earlier.  Normally you'd expect the fourth film in a rather mediocre series to be the pits but that's not the case here as we have a fairly good story brought to life with some nice acting and good direction.  Watts steals the film as she manages to make her character very believable and shows a good strength, which allows her to carry the movie without any problems.  Black is pretty much being Black as she plays the weirdo but who better to do that than her?  I was also impressed with Brent Jennings as a father accused of killing him wife and William Windom as the local doctor.  The actual story, as with the previous two entries, is far away from King's original short story but that might not be such a bad thing.  This entry also contains some of the most brutal killings, which leads to all types of gore.  One scene has a farmer getting all the equipment used to rip him apart and the every loving scythes.  The red stuff is constantly pouring but it never gets in the way of the story, which believe it or not, is trying to be told here. 
 

Mothra (1961)   American version

Ishiro Honda
 

A jerk businessman finds a couple twin fairies on an island and kidnaps then, which lets loose Mothra, a giant caterpillar who eventually takes flight to wreck Japan.  This monster movie from Toho is probably one of their most loved and it's also one of their best.  As with others films from this genre, most of the dialogue is either over dramatic or just downright silly and that holds true here.  It's a real shame the first hour isn't at least half as exciting as the final thirty-minutes, which features our beloved creature really doing some major damage and delivering all sorts of cheap thrills.  The human characters are all pretty one dimensional as they're either bad, good or there for comic relief.  The two twin fairies are somewhat as legendary as the creatures from Toho and I must admit they have a certain amount of charm that will keep a smile on your face.  With all of that said, the real star here is the title creature who I prefer to Godzilla.  The final thirty-minutes contain some great action sequences including a beautiful one where a bridge collapses into some water, which eventually causes some huge waves.  The entire sequence of the caterpillar falling over, building a cocoon and then flying off is extremely well done.  The special effects of the fire that comes before the flying sequence is rather silly looking but it doesn't take anything away from the film.  People have often complained about the poor looking special effects in Godzilla and to a point I'd agree with them but I think the work here is much better.  Perhaps because of the wind storm created by the creature is why they can get away with a lot more but the effects of this are nicely handled.

 

Looks like Michael and Mario are racing each other to the finish line, 15 films in just 3 days, wow how do you guys do it? I've only managed two.

Brian de Palma's The Fury (1978). His big budget followup to Carrie, not as good IMO, but it's still a favourite, I saw this at the cinema way back then, yes I'm old. More kids with telekinesis, this one starring Kirk Douglas. An 18 year old Daryl Hannah appears in one scene. The film features one of the most memorably messy deaths of a main villain in cinema history, and seemingly shot from every conceivable angle too.



A scene from The Fury (1978).

Radioman, agree with you about Donnie Darko. Loved that one. Which reminds me I should re-visit it for this challenge.

10/03 05 Vampires (1998)

Not the worse vampire movie that I've seen but alot of it is pretty hokey nevertheless. There are some good things here, namely James Woods. Love that man. I didn't mind Tim Guinee as the priest but the rest was just meh.

Not too bad today...

Oct. 3rd:
Movies:
6. Underworld: Rise of the Lycans
Good... though I think I was expecting more from it.
7. Creepy Clips: Girl's Night Out
One from the cheap 50 movie boxset. Not much worth while on this one.

TV Eps.:
2. Masters of Horror: Family
3. Masters of Horror: The V Word

Other:
2. Mr. Eryams (Short)

Getting a bit of late start this year, as I stupidly scheduled a mini-vacation on October 1-3.  But I'm home again and burned off one quickie to get started:

It Came From Beneath the Sea (1955) B-
IT CRUSHES! KILLS! DESTROYS!

One of the "atomic age" films where testing of these weapons causes a monstrous beast to wreak havoc on humanity.  Weapons testing in the Pacific has apparently altered the feeding habits of a giant octopus from the deepest depths of the ocean and it begins to hunt humans, mostly on the west coast of the U.S.  Only the great work of Ray Harryhausen keeps this film interesting.  When the creature is on screen (which doesn't happen for the first time until nearly the mid-point of the film) the FX are very well done and it's actually rather suspenseful watching these huge tentacles waving and grasping. The scene at the Golden Gate Bridge is amazing considering the year it was made and limitations of the filmmakers. The dialogue and situations are quite dated and the film tends to drag when the creature is not front and center.

One Missed Call 2 (2005, First time viewing) - I'd seen the original Miike film and the '08 remake, so I figured I should check this out when it came on Sundance earlier. More phone calls from the future lead to more deaths for various characters. I thought the original film was quite generic for a Miike film, and we get more of the same here. That said, Miike did bring more character and some solid set-pieces, like the girl killed on live television, to the table, something that this one doesn't really pull off. The storyline here is also very confused, and in the end, it just doesn't seem to make any sense. You would want to miss one of these calls, and you could certainly live with missing this movie.

I saw Zombieland this afternoon but, zombies or not, I'm not counting it as a horror movie. Definitely a fun comedy though.

5. Jaws III
It's the worst of the series but Louis Gosset does have the immortal line "Are you talking about some damn shark's mother?"

6. Jaws: The Revenge
Better than the third one but that's not saying much. The DVD has the international cut of the movie with the even worse ending where the shark explodes when it hits the front of the ship (using some footage from the original Jaws) for some reason and Mario Van Peebles is miraculously still alive.

Jim,

Hey, thanks again for the skulls.  But, the red stars seem to be more manageable.  The skulls are proving to be a bit difficult to load for some reason from home.  So, I will probably use the red stars. :)

Oct. 3:

Films:

 

Games (1967) 

This is a very neat film that I am quite fond of, and have been for many years.  It stars James Caan, Kathryn Ross, and Simon Signoret.  (It also features Don Stroud in one of his earliest roles.)  Simon Signoret has quite an eerie look about her in this film, and along the lines of (e.g.) Shelley Winters, has a very memorable stage presence and demeanor about her.  She's one of my favorite actresses.

The film is a macabre mix of mystery, suspense, and (for the time) minor gore.  But the real fun of the film is figuring out what is actually happening as four principle characters play 'games' upon one another without knowing whether or not it is actually real or a game.  (There is one segment where the leads are dressed up wearing masks, and there is incense burning and chilling organ music.  The organ music reminded me very much of what we hear in the Phibes films.)

Fun trivia: Fans of TOS will no doubt recognize Ian Wolfe ("Mr. Atoz"); he plays a doctor in this film.

Television episodes:

 

Charmed ("From Here To Eternity") (1999)  

Scooby Doo, Where Are You! ("A Night of Fright Is No Delight") (1969)  1/2

Scooby Doo, Where Are You! ("That's Snow Ghost") (1969)  1/2

The episode from Charmed ("From Fear To Eternity") is the one where the demon is released every 1,300 years on Friday 13th.  He goes after unmarried witches in the hopes of killing thirteen of them before midnight, which (if he is successful) will result in him being freed from his underworld.

This episode is the first to feature Billy Drago ("Black Hand Kelly" among many other roles); he comes back several times in the series.  Thankfully, I like him a lot and find him to be a very effective character.  There is something about his delivery that I really enjoy when watching him on Charmed.

Update:

Films:

01. The Creature From the Black Lagoon (1954)  1/2
02. Burnt Offerings (1976)
03. R. L. Stine's The Haunting Hour (2007)  1/2
04. The Three Stooges ("We Want Our Mummy") (1939)  1/2
05. The Three Stooges ("Spook Louder") (1943)
06. The Three Stooges ("Hot Scots") (1948)
07. The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971)  1/2
08. Games (1967) 

Television episodes:

01. The Avengers ("Castle De'ath") (1965)
02. Charmed ("From Here To Eternity") (1999) 

03. Scooby Doo, Where Are You! ("A Night of Fright Is No Delight") (1969)  1/2

04. Scooby Doo, Where Are You! ("That's Snow Ghost") (1969)  1/2

I plan on catching ZOMBIELAND this upcoming week as I might try to put it into a Steve Gon-Zombie-A-Thon day if I can pick up some more zombie titles that Steve has recommended over the years.

JAWS 3 is certainly the worst of the bunch but I'm going to try and get it on this month.  As for JAWS: THE REVENGE, I must admit that I love the film with a passion.  I think it's the greatest "bad" movie of the past thirty years and that includes the incredibly stupid ending, Caine swimming in the ocean but getting out dry or Mrs. Brody having flashbacks to something she didn't even see.  I love the film. 

Thanks to everyone for the congrats.  Mom and baby are home now - so while they rest I watch.  Most of this challenge's viewing will be 30s/40s stuff.  And I'm starting with my faves - the Universal horrors.  (Rating - Out of a possible 4 )

001) 10/01/2009 Dracula (1931)

Bela Lugosi's definitive performance of the title role carries this film through its second-half lulls.  No need to go through the plot I guess.  But I don't count myself among those who find this film less than good.  Lugosi makes such a strong initial impression that we feel his presence when he's not on screen.  Too bad director Tod Browning didn't open it up a bit once Dracula reaches Carfax Abbey.

002) 10/01/2009 Frankenstein (1931)

Colin Clive is the mad scientist Henry Frankenstein who creates life from dead tissue in the form of Boris Karloff.  I've always found Frankenstein's belief that he is like God to be absurd - since Henry is a recycler, not a creator.  (Who did create the parts he's using, hmm?)  But Clive's intensity drives the first half, and Karloff's iconic performance drives the second.  Watching it again I appreciated its brilliant structure all the more.

003) 10/01/2009 Murders in the Rue Morgue (1932) 1/2

When Whale took over directing duties from Robert Florey for Frankenstein, and Bela Lugosi passed on playing the monster, Florey and Lugosi's consolation prize was this film, based in part on Edgar Allan Poe's classic story.  Lugosi has fun as the sinister Dr. Mirakle, who claims he can talk to apes and wants to mix ape blood with human female blood.  But the energy and conviction are lacking, and the film is only moderately entertaining.

004) 10/02/2009 The Old Dark House (1932) 1/2

 

Five travelers are stranded at the Femm house when a fierce storm washes out the roads.  But the eccentric, to put it mildly, Femms are hiding a horrible secret in an upstairs bedroom in their creepy abode.  Director James Whale does a marvelous job balancing the humor and suspense, and the cast makes the potential victims a sympathetic lot.  The ending is appropriately suspenseful.

005) 10/02/2009 The Mummy (1932) 1/2

 

Karloff plays Im-Ho-Tep, a mummy accidentally resurrected by an English expedition.  Years later he discovers the reincarnation of his lost love.  Beautifully done horror tale with Boris giving IHT a quiet intensity that makes him both sympathetic and sinister.

006) 10/02/2009 Secret of the Blue Room (1933) 1/2

 

Gloria Stuart plays a young woman whose three suitors agree to each spend a night in the notorious Blue Room, where several unsolved murders have occured.  Atmospheric mystery thriller has Lionel Atwill as a suspect, and never really explains if the earlier murders where supernatural in nature or not.  The story itself is hardly credible, but the film is still rather enjoyable.

007) 10/02/2009 Invisible Man (1933)

 

Claude Rains' vocal performance of the title character, slowly going mad as he tries to regain visibility, is the main reason this film plays so well today.  The special effects remain excellent, and there's Whale behind the camera again juggling humor and horror.  A film that just gets better with each viewing.

008) 10/02/2009 The Black Cat (1934)

 

Up until now Karloff's monsters had always been sympathetic to a certain degree.  Not here.  Karloff is evil personified as a satan-worshipping architect who plans to sacrifice an injured young newlywed who was brought to his home.   Lugosi is the doctor who, betrayed years ago, plans vengeance.   The film features some of Karloff and Lugosi's best work, and some of the genre's best dialogue ("Even the phone is dead.")

009) 10/03/2009 Bride of Frankenstein (1935)

 

Colin Clive, Karloff, and Ernest Thesiger are the perfect cast in James Whale's perfect Universal Monster Movie.  The monster talks!  But what he really wants is a friend.  It's also clear the real monster of this film is not played by Karloff.  Witty, humorous, and horrific in equal measure.

010) 10/03/2009 Werewolf of London (1935)

 

People frequently cite Henry Hull's unsympathetic botanist as the main reason this film is not in the class of the other Universal horrors - as if someone who's a bit gruff at times deserves to turn into a wolf.  It's actually the fact that Hull's character is not the fuzziest of Teddy Bears that gives his earnest pleas to his wife their power.   Warner Oland gives good support as a fellow werewolf.  A good, solid horror film.

011) 10/03/2009 The Raven (1935)

Bela Lugosi is a brilliant surgeon with a Poe fixation, and enough dough to install custom-built torture devices in his basement.  When he is denied the love of the woman whose life he saved, he plots a grisly revenge with the help a gangster (Karloff) he intentionally deformed.  Lugosi cuts delicious ham here, although non-fans may find it too salty.  Others should dig in.

Edited by Mario Gauci - 10/4/09 at 4:02am

Oct. 3

03) The Mummy (1932)

Nope, hasn't clicked yet. Karloff is believable in his part, opening chill scene is still potent even today. The rest is

TV Episodes:

06) The Munsters: "Grandpa's Call of the Wild"
07) The Munsters: "All Star Munster"

Joe,


For a 'correct' review of THE MUMMY (1932), follow this link:


http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0023245/usercomments-68

Not necessary, Mario. I already know what you'll think of THE MUMMY even without reading your review. Just like I knew what your reaction to your current lower-tier Universal screenings would be.  
Edited by Joe Karlosi - 10/4/09 at 5:13am

Being greeted with your redundantly Kaplanesque one-liner review on this very thread, I looked for your "official" IMDb comments but, to my horror, I didn't find any! Any particular reason for that, Joe? Because, different opinions nothwithstanding, I always enjoyed reading those. Perhaps you didn't want to diss an established classic among your beloved Universal horror cycle.

Also, your nth viewing of THE MUMMY (1932) just now couldn't help but remind me of your old argument 'against' me i.e. that of watching a unanimously acclaimed classic I was lukewarm on until I came to like it...even if, your integrity has not been compromised just yet (since it apparently put you to sleep yet again)! 

I didn't fall asleep, though I used that emoticon to make a point. But my rating of two and a half stars is still 'Above Average' enough for me to see the film once a year for Halloween-time viewing, and I have said I enjoy Karloff's performance, as well as the chilling opening. I even re-watch some films that get less of a rating. I'll probably never think much more of THE MUMMY, and I'm fine with that.
Edited by Joe Karlosi - 10/4/09 at 9:37am

 You guys crack me up!
Anyway, getting a late start to posting. But i only have 2 films under my belt so far.

American Werewolf in London (Blu-ray) 1/2

Great movie, even if it doesnt scare anymore. But maybe thats cause ive seen it to many times. The Blu-ray looked really good, and the doc on the disc lasted almost as long as the movie. I enjoyed it all! Oh, and i still love Jenny Agutter.

Freddy vs. Jason (Blu-ray) 

The final duel between these giants of slasher movies is what brings this to 3 stars, and the fact it has breasts! Otherwise it was kinda boring, as its all been seen before, in each of the respective movie franchises.

Tonight, i move on to my new NetFlix title i have had sitting all weekend, Night Caller From Outer Space!

3 days in and some of you are killing us! How are you doing it? I am only on my third film. I actually made a list of movies (all new) that I want to see for this challenge. Hopefully I will get to them all. I did set aside a few nights to just do nothing but watch movies, however, with young kids, it's hard. I work from home two days a week, so I am definitely going to try my best to fit a lot in on those days.

My goal this year was to do mostly new films that I had never seen, but it just doesn't feel right to ignore my favorites during my favorite month of the year.

I'm nowhere near the top but I have no life or family or 9 to 5 job and that frees up my time quite a bit. Plus, I have friends that think that hanging out on a Saturday night watching Jaws III is a good time.

Somewhat frighteningly, I would have watched alot more than 5 movies by now if I hadn't seen 4 movies in the theaters in the last two days.

I would definitely count it.  I don't think we're that strict about horror "horror".  Horror comedies are definitely OK, IMO.

Lucia: I'm always amazed by the number of films some of the people here rack up.  I always thought I had no life until I saw how much free time other members apparently have to do nothing but watch horror movies. I also think I'm just somewhat incapable of watching so many movies in a row.  I think my current record is four in one day.

I think I'll have a "Made-for-TV" day today then I'm going to go back and re-watch movies that I hate and have no interest in seeing. 

Tourist Trap (1979)
 

David Schmoeller

Interesting and rather strange "slasher" about four teens who stop off at a roadside museum after their jeep breaks down.  They're invited in by the owner (Chuck Connors) who seems like a nice man but he might have a crazed brother lurking around.  After hearing so many different things about this movie it was nice to finally see it for myself.  The movie isn't a complete success but at the same time there's enough unique items here that make it worth seeking our for fans of the genre.  I think the biggest problem with the film is its final thirty-minutes where we pretty much have to go through the previous first hour again.  All four teens are captured and thought killed by the one-hour mark but then we have a twist where we have to deal with their fates again only to be given another twist later on.  The twist as to who is doing the killings isn't all that mysterious and the twist on who is going to survive is easy to figure out as well.  What makes the movie work is the rather bizarre atmosphere created by the director.  You could say this film has the atmosphere of THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE with story elements of HOUSE OF WAX and PSYCHO.  Mixing the three together makes for a rather nice blend and this is especially true early on when we're stuck inside the house, which has one trick up its sleeve after another.  Connors is very good in his role and really comes off as that kind old man who'd expect to run into throughout ones life.  The supporting female players, including Tonya Roberts, are also nice and make for some good victims.  The lack of blood earned this a PG rating but this certainly isn't a bad thing as I'm sure gore would have taken away from what the film was going for. 
 

American Werewolf in London, An (1981)
 

John Landis
 

Classic horror film has friends David (David Naughton) and Jack (Griffin Dunne) backpacking through the fog drenched hills of London.  One night the duo are attacked by a werewolf where Jack is ripped to shreds and killed but David lives.  Soon he's going to regret surviving because when the moon is full he too turns into a wild beast.  I watch this film after every five years or so and it's rather amazing to see how well it holds up with each passing year as time has certainly been kind to the movie.  This isn't really a horror film or a comedy but instead it's pure Landis, which means you're going to have just about everything thrown in from graphic violence and gore to some great comedy moments and even some rather sad moments.  It seems Landis wanted to make two or three different movies but crammed everything into this one and in the end everything mixes quite well together.  There's no question that in the end this is still a horror film as it's these moments that are most memorable.  The most famous sequence is the transformation, which is still rather eye opening nearly thirty-years after being created.  This sequence is certainly amongst the greatest in any werewolf picture and they rightfully got Baker an Oscar.  Another great moment is the opening attack, which is pretty intense.  I love the way Landis keeps us guessing as to where the beast is and then throws in a brief moment of humor just to throw us off guard.  The humor that works is Dunne's decomposing corpse that keeps showing up to warn his friend of what's coming.  The make up on him are terrific and really adds some great dark humor.  The performances are another major plus as Naughton really makes for a believable man trapped with this curse and he makes us care and feel for everything he does.  Jenny Agutter is wonderful as the love interest and she helps make the ending so moving.  The soundtrack is another major plus as Landis picked all the "moon" titles he could get.  This early part of the decade delivered quite a few different werewolf movies but after all these years I think it's pretty clear that this one here was the best of the bunch.
 

Saturday night viewings:

An American Werewolf in London (1981) - This Blu-ray is a beautiful way to view one of the best horror films of the 1980s and one of the greatest creature features ever made.  The werewolf FX are outstanding and the performances engaging.  My only qualm is that the climactic werewolf sequence could've used more monster and less car crash spectacle.  

Still, a minor complaint.  This is one of my favorite films.

The Hills Run Red (2009) - Every few months, the horror community does their part to overhype an upcoming film to the point where you'd think it was a second coming.  You'd be best off to jettison all such expectations for this one, part slasher flick and part "torture porn".  Frankly, it's premise (about the search for a lost horror film) is a LOT more interesting than the execution, which is littered with baffling character behavior (and I'm not just talking about "let's split up" type stuff - you seriously have to see this one to believe some of this nonsense) and gaping lapses in plot. 

It's an entertaining enough pile of trash and, at 75 minutes long, it doesn't really overstay its welcome.  I thought it had enough to like abot it, but I found myself wishing the filmmakers had spent some time fleshing out the script.

Christ...Talk about a sourpuss!!

Oh, well...I'll have fun reading other people's opinion of what they're watching this Halloween while you 'have fun' watching the "same old, same old" stuff.

Looks like everyone was watching AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON last night.  If anyone ever gets the chance to see it in a packed theater I'd recommend going.  I got to see it twice at midnight screenings and all the screaming and jumping by those who hadn't seen the movie was great.