*** Official 10th Annual HTF October Scary Movie Challenge 2009 *** - Page 19

Here's another vote for Theater of Blood.  Just pure fun and surprisingly violent.

Every time I watch Phantasm I love it more and more.  I don't think that it should be taken as a conventional horror film - I see it as a surreal nightmare film.  Coscarelli succeeded in creating a  dreamlike atmosphere and capturing the illogicality of nightmares.  Although the usual reviews say that the plot is nonsensical I disagree.  It makes perfect sense as a dream.  There are jumps and reverses in the narrative.  There are scenes which seem pointless (the guitar scene).  There's a major character who drives around in an ice-cream van, pseudo Jawas, the Tall Man.  It's great.

Out of

Baby Blues  1/2
Suspenseful but morally dubious film about a woman suffering from post partum depression who terrorizes her kids on a deserted farm.

Zombie  1/2
I figured out that I saw this 17 years ago and never since.  It did not really work for me - too slow.  I much prefer Fulci's early films and even his other zombie films.

Walking Dead  1/2
This was a lot better than I remembered.  Excellent work by Karloff in an atypical horror film with a melancholy story of revenge.

Plague of the Zombies
I love this Hammer film which deserves to be more widely known by horror fans.  It came out one year before Night of the Living Dead and looks very dated in terms of zombie behavior.  Here they are being deliberately revived to work in a squire's mill and are certainly not munching on anyone.  However they do get their revenge in the end. 

Dead Snow  1/2
Boring first half before the zombie action gets started then it's good fun.

Burrowers
This movie seems to have got lost in the shuffle - it's a horror Western that pretty much went straight to DVD.  It's a rare modern horror film that relies on suspense and mystery rather than violence and gore although the climax delivers.  After a family is killed and another disappears, a group of men try to track them down.  Their initial feeling is that an Indian tribe is responsible but as things develop, the men discover some strange happenings and even stranger creatures.  I could have done without some of the social commentary but this film is worth a watch.

Oct. 21:

House On Haunted Hill (1959)

After reading recent posts on this film, I had to see it tonight. :)

In my estimation, this is a first-rate film. It is probably my favorite all-time Halloween-ish type film. It has everything one could want in a spook-flick: blood, ghosts, a haunted castle, a hanging or two, murders, hidden rooms with secret panels, screams, skeletons, an acid trough, and of course, Vincent Price. And it has a couple of twists and turns along the way that keep you guessing amidst all of the chills.

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) 
09. The Monster That Challenged the World (1957)
10. Halloweentown (1998)
11. The Screaming Skull (1958)  1/2
12. Tales of Terror (1962) 
13. Halloweentown II (Kalabar's Revenge) (2001)
14. The Fly (1958)
15. Them! (1954)  1/2
16. Signs (2002)  1/2
17. Halloweentown High (2004)  1/2
18. Return To Halloweentown (2006)
19. Revenge Of the Creature (1955)
20. The Bad Seed (1956) 
21. The Creature Walks Among Us (1956)  1/2
22. Mostly Ghostly: Who Let the Ghosts Out? (2008) 
23. The Three Stooges ("If A Body Meets A Body") (1945)
24. The Three Stooges ("The Ghost Talks") (1949)  1/2
25. The Haunted Mansion (2003)  1/2
26. Tower of Terror (1997)  1/2
27. The Giant Gila Monster (1959)  1/2
28. The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)
29. Frankenstein (1931)
30. House On Haunted Hill (1959) 

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
05. Mr. Monk Goes Home Again (2005) 
06. It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (1966) 
07. Dark Shadows (Episode #78) (1966)
08. Dark Shadows (Episode #79) (1966)
09. Scooby Doo, Where Are You! ("Bedlam In the Big Top") (1969)  1/2
10. Scooby Doo, Where Are You! ("Scooby-Doo, and a Mummy Too") (1969)  1/2

11. Wizards of Waverly Place ("Franken-girl") (2009)

12. The Waltons ("Ghost Story") (1974)
13. 7th Heaven ("Halloween") (1996)  1/2
14. Jonas ("The Tale of the Haunted Firehouse") (2009)
15. Charmed ("All Halliwell's Eve") (2000) 
16. The Nightmare Room ("Camp Nowhere" pts. 1 and 2; "Don't Forget Me"; "Full Moon Halloween") (2002)

Edited by Ockeghem - 10/22/09 at 7:06am

Curse of the Faceless Man (1958) 
 
An ancient gladiator who was buried alive when Mt. Vesuvius erupted in Pompeii is resurrected and searches for the reincarnation of his lost love. This was a staple of "Creature Features" on TV where I grew up and is still a good time, with a monster made of stone and some creepy sequences (the standout is when the creature comes alive and begins to move while on display at the local museum).

Voodoo Man (1944) 

A hoot of a silly film features a bearded Bela Lugosi utilizing the services of many kidnaped young women to help him restore his wife through bizarre voodoo rituals. John Carradine and George Zucco are his assistants who help to lure the women to Bela's secret lair. This has got to be one of Carradine's all-time lows as an actor, and it's worth watching just for his turn as a dimwitted dolt alone!

TV:

The Munsters: "Herman's Child Psychology" -- Eddie threatens to run away from home and Herman allows him, thinking he'll just come right back. But when Eddie leaves for real, Herman has to go out and find him, resulting in an encounter with a mama bear and her cub.

The Munsters: "Herman, the Master Spy" -- While swimming out at the beach, Herman becomes trapped in the fishing net of a Russian ship and is mistaken for either some odd type of sea monster or an American spy.

The Munsters: "Bronco-Bustin' Munster" -- Eddie volunteers his dad as a great bronco-riding rodeo star, so Grandpa turns himself into a horse so Herman can ride him and hopefully win the event.

The Munsters: "Herman Munster, Shutter Bug" -- Herman's latest hobby is photography, but trouble ensues when he accidentally takes a picture of bank robbers pulling off a job.

The Munsters: "Herman, Coach of the Year" -- Herman tries to coach Eddie in the school gymnastics competition, but Grandpa secretly devises a pill to help speed Eddie up.

The Hearse (1980, FTV) - having recently gone through a tough divorce, a middle-aged woman decides to get out of town and spend the summer at her dead aunt's old country house. She finds that the house has a stigma among the locals and they don't welcome her with open arms. It turns out that her aunt may have been involved in the occult and perhaps the sinister hearse that's been lurking about is connected in some way as well. Slow moving picture that certainly takes it's time in getting where it's going. Trish Van Devere is good in the leading role. However, it's unfortunate that she was portrayed as such a good judge of character only to be fooled by the obviously off kilter antagonist. I was happy to see that the subplot of the handyman with a crush on Trish didn't devolve into an attempted rape scenario with his buddies. From the emphasis put on the three, I feared it might go down that typical road. By the way, it was very cool to see Christopher McDonald in an early role as one of the aforementioned friends. The guy is one of the more underrated actors out there.

Intruder (1989) - a grocery store's night crew is stalked by a maniac. This is a fun little slasher with some odd camera angles. The original Paramount release was heavily trimmed but the DVD versions are uncut. The gore effects are well handled, particularly one involving a band saw. It does take a while to get to the bulk of the killings and it's over pretty quickly once it starts. The main draw for me is the grocery store setting, which is wonderfully unique. There's also some solid dark humor here, my favorite example involving a severed head and a reference to a story told earlier in the movie. One complaint I have with the film is that Renée Estevez should've been given the lead role. The actual lead is more than a little bland and Estevez has proven quite appealing in some of the other roles she's taken. Bruce Campbell has a really small cameo at the end.

I am not big on reviewing movies, but I do enjoy reading all of yours. I will try and get a few reviews in before the end of the challenge, but I am trying to use all of my available time to watch movies!

I read some of the bickering going on and hope we are all getting along now. It used to bother me that someone will watch a 10 minute short and count it as a movie, when everything I watched was at least an hour long, but everybody does their own thing and I know when the challenge is done, even if I am not at the top, at least I know I have met MY criteria for the movie challenge.


Here is my updated list so far. Keep in mind that I am unfortunately unemployed at the moment!

1.Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)

2.The Monster That Challenged The World

3.It! The Terror From Beyond Space

4.House of Wax (1953)

5.Peeping Tom

6.Psycho

7.The Uninvited

8.Inside

9.Quarantine

10.White Zombie

11.The Believers

12.Asylum

13.The Deadly Mantis

14.I Walked With A Zombie

15.Last House On The Left

16.Friday The 13^th

17.Delirium (1972)

18.House On Haunted Hill (1999)

19.Anatomy

20.Anatomy 2

21.Evil Dead 2

22.The Jacket

23.Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)

24.Disturbing Behavior

25.Patrick

26.Behind The Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon

27.Friday the 13^th Part 2

28.Creepshow

29.The Burning

30.Curse of the Faceless Man

31.Retribution

32.Silent Night, Deadly Night

33.Videodrome

34.Evil Dead Trap

35.Don’t Look Now

36.The Untold Story

37.Suspiria

38.Tetsuo: The Iron Man

39.Frailty

40.House of Horror

41.Tales of Terror

42.An American Werewolf In London

43.Deranged

44.The Body Snatcher

45.The Haunting (1963)

46.Ravenous

47.Halloween III: Season of the Witch

48.The Other

49.Fido

50.Tales From The Crypt (1972)

51.Vault of Horror

52.Theater of Blood

53.Teeth

54.Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers

55.28 Weeks Later

56.The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)

57.Prophecy

58.Willard (2003)

59.Trick ‘r Treat

60.Grace

61.Psycho II

62.Psycho III

63.Motel Hell

64.Street Trash

65.Drag Me To Hell

66.Stagefright

67.Tokyo Zombie

68.Masters of Horror: Sick Girl

69.The Hills Run Red

70.The Children

71.Psycho IV: The Beginning

72.Vacancy

73.Sublime

74.The Omega Man

75.Sleepaway Camp

76.Sleepaway Camp: Unhappy Campers

77.A Nightmare On

Elm Street

78.A Nightmare On

Elm Street

2: Freddy’s Revenge

79.A Nightmare On

Elm Street

3: Dream Warriors

80.Mr. Sardonicus

81.Strait-Jacket

82.Drive Thru

83.The Tingler

84.The Thaw

85.Troll 2

19) The Blob (1958)                                 

As an arthouse pic, (which its not) its conventional, but as a 50's monster movie, its easily the most convincingly executed and inventive I've seen. (Granted, I've not seen many, but it easily aces It Came From Beneath the Sea and Them (1954) with superior performances, proper believable characters, and one of the most unique monsters ever created. To its credit, unlike the other 50's monster pics I've seen, I wasn't just waiting around for the special effects sequences; I enjoyed the people too! It helps that its presented in a nice widescreen colour image, making it that much more snazzy (I like my b/w 4:3 movies, but 16:9 just always has that "wow" factor for me).

20) The Toolbox Murders (2003)               

As with The Blob, I checked this out based on other people's reviews, and it was definitely pretty good. The characters were in the better-half of horror-moviedom, which is not saying much, since what we often want are obnoxious saps that are only good for dying. A few of those featured here, I was actually sad when they died, which is something I've not felt for a long time. Its easily a 3-star experience for me, but I docked it a star because of this spoilerised issue:

Warning: Spoiler! (Click to show)

ChristopherB,

Nice list you have there -- and you've watched a ton of films in such a short time.

I appreciate too what you wrote here, as it applies to a degree to me (even if you did not have me in mind):

"It used to bother me that someone will watch a 10 minute short and count it as a movie, when everything I watched was at least an hour long, but everybody does their own thing and I know when the challenge is done, even if I am not at the top, at least I know I have met MY criteria for the movie challenge."

For my own part, you're exactly right.  I've been struggling with how to number my Stooge shorts for the Challenge, and then realized that this is a list of my criteria, and will probably be changed to fit RussellG's criteria when the final tally is completed.  This is how it should be, as the Challenge is his creation.

I am endeavoring to shatter my (modest) record of last year by enough films so the question of how many shorts constitutes a full-length film is a moot point.  But it's still a ton of fun compiling one's own list of everything they've watched for the month.  The variety in this thread has in my estimation been staggering.
Edited by Ockeghem - 10/22/09 at 10:05am

041) 10/21/2009 Angel Season 4, Episode 06: Spin the Bottle (2002) 1/2

Lorne discovers a magic spell that could return Cordelia's memory.  Of course, things go horribly wrong.  While this episode was written and directed by series co-creator Josh Whedon and is meant to be a lighter entry, the fact that charcters revert to previous obnoxious personalities makes much of this unpleasant.  David Boreanaz again demonstrates how terrific he his at comedy.

042) 10/21/2009 Angel Season 4, Episode 07: Apocalypse, Nowish (2002)

Cordelia has her memory back and reveals that a destructive demon is about to emerge from the earth's core.  Good episode that kicks off the main villain storyline of the season.
 

043) 10/21/2009 Angel Season 4, Episode 08: Habeas Corpses (2002) 1/2

The Beast starts a massacre at Wolfram and Hart - where Connor has gone to get answers regarding his destiny.  Meanwhile, Wesley chooses sides.  Grand episode with zombie lawyers and some strong character development.

044) 10/21/2009 Angel Season 4, Episode 09: Long Day's Journey (2002) 1/2

It turns out the Beast intends to perform a ritual to bring darkness 24/7 to the earth.  It also appears the Beast may getting help from one of Angel's team.  Strong episode with a surprising revealation at the end.

045) 10/21/2009 Angel Season 4, Episode 10: Awakening (2002)

 

Now that it has been revealed Angel knew the Beast when he was Angelus, Wesley decides the only way for Angel to remember his encounter with the Beast is to have Angel's soul extracted.  Excellent episode has a sting in its tail that packs a wallop.

Once again, a movie is a movie no matter if it's 1 minute or 1928 minutes.  Next year whoever is in charge needs to put a time limit on things but I'm really surprised so many people are throwing a fit about what others are watching.  Perhaps everyone should count the minutes of the movies they're watching so that no one takes offense.  It's gotten so ugly this year that I won't be taking part in another one.  We've had people called losers if they watch too much, called cheaters if they watch something under 60 minutes and so-called funny jokes calling people out on what they watch. 

There are all kinds of ways one could "cheat" to win but whoever accused someone of that is throwing out some pretty strong words.  Calling someone a cheater over something with no prize and nothing to win is pretty low to me but again, there are several ways to get more viewed.  I wonder how many people are actually sitting down watching every single minute of a movie.  To me, getting up and cleaning the house while the movie is on in the background isn't really watching a movie but to some it might be.  I wonder how many hit a bad movie and then hit the FF button to get it over with.  If someone is going to give their word that they're actually watching the movies then they should be given their word that they are watching what they want.  As Christopher so welly put it, reviewing the movies takes away a lot of time from watching so people, if they were wanting an advantage, could just cut this out and not have to take a break from watching anything.  I was unemployed last year at this time so I had extra time to watch stuff.  Doesn't mean I'm a cheater.  I've got a kid coming next month so I'm not out doing "extra" stuff and blowing money.  That leaves me at home, in front of the television.  Again, doesn't make me a cheater. 

And to be honest, a Stooge short is a lot more of a "movie" than half the DTV, filmed in mom's basement movies I've been watching this year.

I'm Mr. Hot Head but even I'm scratching my head at all the negativity in this thread, which has taken the fun out of it.  I love reading the reviews by Travis, Pat, Russell and various others but perhaps everyone should put a disclaimer on them saying they're doing it for fun and not to win a prize-less contest.

I didn't think my post was bashing. I didn't talk about anything not counting but ok I will quit.

Well Gary, you've been critical of members here. That remark to Michael, myself for spelling a name wrong, and another member for disliking a movie. I would call that bashing.

My oldest daughter wanted to come to work with me today, as she knows that when I work in the evening, she gets to use my 'super fast computer' for about four hours at my workplace (as opposed to our home computer, which uses dial-up).  Her primary reason for wanting to come tonight was so she could download about 60-70 iTunes that she received for free due to her having attended a rock concert the other night.  I told her that she could come with me, but reminded her that she told me that she was going to use tonight to rewatch Frankenstein (1931).  This excited her, so in my book that's a good thing. :)

BTW, a question for Frankenstein enthusiasts/specialists:

What is the 'logical' (if there is one) ordering which one should watch the five films included on the Legacy Collection?  Or does it even matter?  I don't want to assume I know this.  Thanks in advance.
Edited by Ockeghem - 10/22/09 at 4:11pm

Quote:
If you like this, I'd also recommend Funny Games. I watched the 2007 US remake (of the 1997 Austrian original).

I enjoyed Funny Games a bit more than The Strangers, but neither film was really to my taste.


Feast (2005) B+
They're hungry. You're dinner.

The result of the third season of "Project Greenlight," a moviemaking contest involving Matt Damon and Ben Affleck. Director John Gulager was the winner and this was the film he made.

A group of strangers (quite literally, the characters are never even given formal names, though several seem to be regulars at this bar) at a remote desert roadhouse are trapped and attacked by mysterious monsters who seem to follow the "Hero" (Eric Dane) to the bar after his car strikes and kills the beasts' child. GIven the speed and nearly indestructible nature of the beasts, can anyone survive until morning?  The cast also includes Henry Rollins, Jason Mewes, Navi Rawat, Balthazar Getty, and Josh Zuckerman.

If you like gory monster movies with a splash of comedy, this one's for you. My only real issue here is the frenetic editing of the attacks, as you really cannot see anything clearly. I found myself using freeze frame and slow motion several times to try and figure out what was going on. I assume this was related to the tiny budget, as the producers accomplished most of the FX by traditional, physical means rather than CGI. So I guess if they stayed too long on any shot, things would look fake. So they used fast cut editing and sprayed gallons of blood over everything.

There are also two sequels that I have, but have not yet watched.  Maybe tonight I'll spin Feast 2: Sloppy Seconds.
Edited by Malcolm R - 10/22/09 at 11:14am

Now back to the enjoyable task of reviewing movies.

Warriors of the Wasteland (1983)

A lone warrior  by the name of Scorpion travels around in a souped up V8 interceptor trying to escape his enemies who give chase in a variety of vehicles and bikes wearing outlandish costumes. This group is named the Templars and it's their mission to wipe out the remaining life on earth and as the leader succinctly puts it " the earth is dead, it raped itself. Scorpion runs across a group of survivors who have received a message that there is possibly other groups of people left alive. We have an assortment of characters here, one that wears a Mohawk type hairstyle and seems of be second in charge of the Templars. We even have a kid that's quite handy with the slingshot.

 

I must say, this is the most original movie......no wait, I think I might have seen it before. I think it's probably a tribute to George Miller that his little trilogy was probably the most copied in the 80's. I really enjoy the various post-apocalyptic films and this one is probably alittle bit better than some. The acting for the most part is terrible but I'm not watching it for that. It's the comedy, I like. 

Someone is Watching (1999)

After a home invasion, and a failed relationship a mother and son move to a new house hoping for the start of a new life. Her young son comes to her one night and says he hears noises coming from the closet and when the mother investigates she finds nothing. Eventually the boy loses his fear but still insists that a voice is talking to him from the closet. The mother concludes that this is just an imaginary friend until things start to happen. The mother is played by Stephanie Powers and Margot Kidder plays a friendly neighbour. Both actresses did a good job here. Mickey Toft who plays the young son was also very good in his part. This was an above average, made for tv movie with a good amount of thrills and one I would recommend. 
 
Mr. Sardonicus (1961) 

This one was just on TCM recently and was the first gimmicky film that I remember seeing. The gimmick was, that the audience could choose the movie's ending whether a certain character could be let go, or suffer further punishment. I prefer that the director just gets on with it and shoots the ending he wants. Despite that, this was a fairly effective thriller with good performances especially from Oskar Holmolka as Krull, Sardonicus's servant and Ronald Lewis as the Doctor. The make-up on Sardonicus was quite effective adding to the creepiness of the movie. I think the ending was alittle unsatisfying but for the most part a decent film.

 

Quote:
I had a similar experience awhile back with "Jumper."  I'd watched it on my HT system and really enjoyed it.  Then I took it over to the home of a friend without a HT (just a DVD played thru the TV speakers), and it was really rather boring.

And I agree with your spoilerized point.  I'd forgot about that and do recall that it was rather distracting.

71. Deranged (1974) first time viewing
Ezra's mother dies but he misses her so he digs her up. Then he starts killing women to get fresh 'parts' for her as she decays. Roberts Blossom gives a very good and geniuinely creepy performance that elevates this movie from being a lesser AIP movie. Just like Psycho and The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, this movie is based on the Ed Gein murder case. It's funny that all three are based on the same case and all are very different (even with the names being changed, this movie is the closest to the truth).

Scott, Universal's complete Frankenstein cycle is:

1.  Frankenstein (1931)
2.  Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
3.  Son of Frankenstein (1939)
4.  The Ghost of Frankenstein (1942)
5.  Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1943) (available in The Wolf Man:  The Legacy Collection)
6.  House of Frankenstein (1944)
7.  House of Dracula (1945) (available in Dracula:  The Legacy Collection)
8.  Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948)

so you need to track down three more films to watch the entire series. 

I haven't been posting lately, because, although I am still watching movies, I haven't had muich time to write up the results.  But I should have them ready soon. 

For my part, I'm sorry if I offended anyone with the "funny" faux movie titles I posted yesterday morning. It was all in fun and I guess it's not always easy on the internet to understand that -- I myself have gotten the wrong impression at times as well from others' posts or comments. The best that can be done is to just move on and have a good time... after all, there are still 9 days left to Halloween Month!

I have been guilty in the past of tweaking about the running times of movies, but yet here I am watching movies that are mostly only 60 - 70 minutes myself! It's not a big deal, people just have to choose their own criteria and go for it accordingly. Personally, I just try to make it to 31 films in a month, and I figure anything extra is gravy. I think my highest total one year was only 59 films watched, so it's not like I have a serious stake in "winning".

I hope Michael will be back here next year (with a junior Elliott to introduce these movies to) and the same goes for everyone else.

72. Saw
Two men wake up locked in a bathroom. Now they have to figure out a complex trap to free themselves. At first, I wasn't that big of a fan of this movie but it's grown on me over time. It's a clever little movie and the performances are good but I like most of the sequels more.

One of the things that I like about the Saw movies is that they're this generation's Friday The 13th or A Nightmare On Elm Street. When I was young, I couldn't wait to see a new F13 movie on cable or video every year (or so) and I imagine that kids today look at the Saw movies in the same way.

Don't derail the thread on my account. If he wants to continuously make fun of me for not liking The Descent or Inside, I have a thick skin. I'll give the man his wish though and bow out of the thread. I have no desire to cause trouble and apologise for the thread being derailed.

Russell,

Thanks.  That sounds like a reasonable plan. :)

Tim,

I didn't know that there were eight films in the series.

"7.  House of Dracula (1945) (available in Dracula:  The Legacy Collection)."

The above title is really one of the Frankenstein films?  Thanks.  I would never have checked for that, given the title.

^^^

 

"Ghoulunitics."

 

Russell,

Patent it before it's too late! ;)

73. Saw II
The Jigsaw killer continues his reign of terror by putting a group of people in a house rigged with deadly traps. This probably my favorite entry in the series mostly because I like the house full of traps. Plus, there's a couple of gleefully sick moments involving a hidden key and another with a pit of needles. I do hate director Darren Lynn Bousman's rapid editing though.





Too late. That's what they used to call The Crypt Keeper, The Vault Keeper and The Old Witch in the old EC Comics. As if it wasn't clear that I was a nerd before, I had to say that. 

Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon (2006) A-
Jason, Freddy, Myers. We All Need Someone To Look Up To.

Leslie Vernon (Nathan Baesel) aspires to be the next legendary slasher killer, following in the footsteps of such famous men as Jason Voorhees, Freddy Krueger, and Michael Myers (who are considered "real" people in this film). To document his humble beginnings and begin to build his legend, he allows a grad school filmmaker and cameraman to follow him around as he plans and plots his first great murder spree.

In a similar subgenre as the "Scream" films, the movie is quite funny and starts out documentary style with the students trailing Vernon as he takes the first steps to slasher immortality, including interviewing his retired "mentor" and deconstructing many slasher film conventions with Vernon providing a behind-the-scenes perspective. The amount of preparation these killers put into their set-ups is amazing.  Eventually, things go too far and the film crew wants to pull the plug and stop Vernon. But it may be too late, as he appears to have prepared for all possible contingencies. Features cameo appearances by horror fixtures Zelda Rubenstein and Robert Englund (no, he doesn't play Freddy).

Travis,

I wondered.  I really did.  But I had to take a chance and say it anyway. :)

13 Ghost (1960)
 

William Castle
 

Fun, if minor, film from Castle has a poor family moving into an inherited house, which just happens to be haunted by twelve ghosts.  The family soon learns that the spirits want a thirteenth one but there's also a fortune someone inside the house.  As with a lot of Castle's other films, this one here was sold to the public with a gimmick.  Here, the gimmick was some glasses that people would wear in order to see the ghosts whenever they're on the screen.  This is certainly a true gimmick as you're able to see them no matter if you have the glasses or not but that doesn't take away from the charm of the picture, which is certainly Castle's best without Vincent Price.  I think the film benefits the most from the attractive cast members who really fit their roles perfectly.  Donald Woods and Rosemary DeCamp are both very good as the parents and their perfectly fit that "perfect parents" format that ran through television and the movies during this era.  Margaret Hamilton, the witch from THE WIZARD OF OZ, is also a lot of fun in her role and the jokes aimed at her and that classic 1939 film are very nice.  Charles Herbert turns in fine work as well as the young kid who isn't scared to see a ghost.  I think the film could have benefited from a stronger screenplay because there's not too much going on here except for the build up to the next ghost sighting.  None of the plot twists are all that shocking but this is still a fine little film that manages to keep the viewer entertained from start to finish.
 

Old Dark House, The (1963)
 

William Castle
 

Gimmick master William Castle went to England to work with Hammer in this semi-remake of James Whale's 1932 film.  In the film, a car salesman (Tom Poston) brings some bad luck to his boss so he is asked to deliver a car personally to his home.  Once at the creepy mansion he finds the boss is now dead and he must spend the night with his rather strange and eccentric family.  From what I've read and heard, Castle was tired of critics saying he couldn't produce a film without all the gimmick so he went to England to make this and prove them wrong.  The plan backfired as the film was a bomb at the box office and I personally don't see how anyone could enjoy this thing.  There are a lot of issues with this film but it's clear that Castle lost something on his way overseas.  For starters, fans of the 1932 film aren't going to find too many things in common with this film.  Whereas that film contained some black humor, this one here pretty much plays everything for laughs.  I don't have a problem with that except that the jokes here are terrible and I can only remember laughing once.  The second problem is that it's never quite clear what Castle is trying to do.  Yes, the humor is out front but the story is all over the place and it's never really centered on anything.  The actual murders are meant to be funny but they're not.  The dialogue is meant to be funny but it's not.  Castle was known for delivering some campy laughs in his films but this thing here is just a complete misfire from start to finish.  One positive aspect is the color photography but I was shocked to learn that the film was eventually released theatrically in B&W with the color prints only be shown on television!  I'm really not sure who this film was meant for because fans of the 1932 film aren't going to like it and I doubt fans of Castle are going to like it either.  It's an interesting train wreck but folks should certainly stay away.