*** Official 12th Annual HTF October Scary Movie Challenge 2011 *** (1 Viewer)

[Ruz-El]

Michael must have a time machine to have already watched all those...

 

[Brook K]

Yeah they're dead. They're...all messed up Kicked things off with the original Night of the Living Dead. 'nuff said

 

[PatW]

The Hitcher (2007) :star::star::half: Subpar remake of the Rutger Hauer classic. Enjoyed the actors in this remake. Sean Bean certainly plays a good psycho but alot of the actions of the two leads were non-sensical and down right dumb. Still entertaining enough for a one time view. 01 The Hitcher (2007) 2.5/5

 

[Frank Ha]

I,m up for another go. I think I'll start by watching a Hammer Frankenstein this morning. Frank

1. Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed 10/01 (First Viewing)
2. Theater of Blood 10/03 (First Viewing)
3. The Evil Dead 10/07 (First Viewing)
4. Mad House 10/10 (First Viewing)
5. The Horror of Frankenstein 10/12 (First Viewing)
6. Frankenstein & the Monster from Hell 10/14 (First Viewing)
7. The Addams Family 10/17
8. Bride of Frankenstein 10/18
9. An American Werewolf in London 10/21 TV Episodes: That 70's Show: Halloween 10/24

 

[Jim_K]

Ha! Great minds think alike


Watched......Hammer's Curse of Frankenstein in the wee hours last night. As much as I love the Whale/Karloff films, the weakest aspect of them was the portrayal of (Henry) Frankenstein. Colin Clive's sniveling, hand-wringing, self-pitying mad doctor just doesn't do it for me.

What appeals to me and what Hammer did right was focus the story (and subsequent series) entirely on Peter Cushing's bold and morally ambiguous (Victor) Frankenstein.........the ultimate dandy and a maker of Monsters!


Really had no intention of participating in this but since the spirit is upon me, and it doesn't hurt that I've picked up a few Halloweenish titles I haven't seen in decades.

 

[Dennis Castro]

[REC] ***1/2 2007 Directed by Jaume Balagueró , Paco Plaza [REC]2 ****2009 Directed by Jaume Balagueró , Paco Plaza [REC] ***1/2 I'm starting off with the Spanish original that was remade into Quarantine.This is what I refer to as "handi - cam horror." What sets this apart is that it uses the set up of reality TV which lends a more natural reason for having everything on a handi cam. This is the ol' virus/Zombie deal and it's done quite well. Once the situation starts to disintegrate and mayhem ensues it sets a frantic pace and holds you with a great sense of tension. While the American version "Quarantine" was a surprise and a faithful remake, I find I like this one better. I do have to admit, I do have a bit of a thing for foreign horror =). [REC]2 **** In this rare occasion I enjoyed this sequel better then fist one. It expands and develops upon the story that is set up in the first film as it picks up shortly after the events in the first film take place. It also converges two different perspectives from two groups of characters in a nice way I didn't expect. As in the first film the set up provides a natural and believable reason for the "handi-cam" approach. Unfortunately there is an American sequel to the first film and from the trailers they seem to be content upon putting out a generic product rather then something interesting and entertaining. One disappointment with both titles is that they are not available on blue ray. 1. [REC] ***1/2 DVD 2, [REC] **** DVD

 

[TravisR]

I wish I had the ability that some folks here have to discuss movies but I'll keep it simple. 1. A Nightmare On Elm Street (1984) I started things off with a classic. It's too bad that the sequels watered down the idea of a maniac getting you in your dreams because it's a pretty spooky premise. One of Craven's best movies. Totals: 1. A Nightmare On Elm Street (1984)

 

[Ockeghem]

October 1 I had a fairly good first day, and hopefully I'm not through yet. I'd like to get one more in before the day is over. I started things off around midnight with one of my favorites, and today, my youngest daughter picked one out for us to watch. First time viewings are in boldface. Films: The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971) Halloweentown (1998) Television episodes: Dark Shadows (Original series) (episodes nos. 476-478) (1967) R. L. Stine's The Haunting Hour: The Series ("The Dead Body") (2010) Charmed ("Trial By Magic") (2002) Charmed ("Lost and Bound") (2002) Total: Films: 01. The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971) 02. Halloweentown (1998) Television episodes: 01. Dark Shadows (Original series) (episodes nos. 476-478) (1967) 02. R. L. Stine's The Haunting Hour: The Series ("The Dead Body") (2010) 03. Charmed ("Trial By Magic") (2002) 04. Charmed ("Lost and Bound") (2002)

 

[TravisR]

2. A Nightmare On Elm Street Part 2- Freddy's Revenge A terrible sequel but for some reason, I find it oddly watchable (more so than Nightmare 4, 5 or 6 anyway). The movie is illogical- Freddy materializes without a dream, Springwood USA has a thriving gay S&M club?, did the massacre at the party get 'erased from time' because Freddy was vanquished?- but to say something nice, the makeup FX are pretty decent especially since it was probably a pretty low budget.

 

[Malcolm R]

Vampires: Out for Blood (2004) Grade: C Some decent effects cannot completely save the clichéd and predictable story, with much of the lore and makeup seemingly "borrowed" from the Buffy the Vampire Slayer series. Kevin Dillon is Hank, a burned out police detective confined to a psych ward under suspicion of killing his soon-to-be ex-wife. The movie unfolds via flashback, as we see Hank's drinking and anger over his impending divorce driving him close to the edge. Hank's Captain (Lance Henriksen) gives him one last chance to shape up by sending him on a search for a missing teenager. His search leads to the discovery of a nest of vampires. Bitten by the Master vampire, Hank has only a short time to prevent his transformation into one of the undead. He enlists the aid of his wife, who writes vampire romance fiction which, of course, also makes her an expert about how to fight the vampires and prevent Hank's transformation since nearly everything in her novels conveniently seems to apply to the real life vamps.

 

[Bob McLaughlin]

1. Antichrist This is a hard movie to review, as I'm not entirely certain what I just saw. At its base plot, the movie is about a couple dealing with the grief brought on by the accidental death of their child. But really this movie is more an examination of that grief, as well as the concepts of evil and the indifference of nature to man. Some really nasty scenes, a few good scares, and some scenes of horrific beauty, but it's hard to recommend this one. It never quite gets off the ground, it is quiet, moody and introspective, and confusing as heck.

 

[PatW]

Curse of the Living Corpse (1964) :star::star::half: Relatives gather at the reading of Rufus Sinclair's will. They are warned if they do not abide by the conditions of the will each one will die in accordance to their worst fear. Noted for an early performance by Roy Scheider. Though slow it did contain enough atmosphere to keep my interest. I wish it wasn't so easy to identify the real killer. House of the Living Dead (1976) :star::star: Good twin/bad twin scenario here. A young woman travels to South Africa to be wed only to be confronted with murder, madness, and voodoo. Some interesting elements here but the middle part is slow and uninteresting with not much going on. The scene at the end is laughably bad. Thankfully the movie is short. Totals 01 The Hitcher (2007) 2.5/5 02 Curse of the Living Corpse (1964) 2.5/5 03 House of the Living Dead (1976) 2/5 TV 01 Supernatural S2: Houses of the Holy 4.5/5 02 Supernatural S2: Born Under a Bad Sign 4/5 03 Supernatural S2: Tall Tales 3/5 04 Supernatural S2: Roadkill 4/5 05 Supernatural S2: Heart 4/5 06 Supernatural S2: Hollywood Babylon 2/5

 

[Ockeghem]

October 2 I began watching films from the 250 Horror Movie Pack last night. As some of the reviews of this collection have mentioned, not every film is from the horror genre, with some of them containing some sci-fi elements. Films: Atomic Rulers Of the World (1964) Okay, the next time some may think that Plan Nine From Outer Space is one of the worst films ever made ought to check out this gem. It was pretty bad, but fun from a low-budget standpoint. And it was frightening insofar as it was made. The Alpha Incident (1977) This one was okay. It had to do with an alien microorganism which is brought back to Earth. The organism is being transported on a train and it gets out and infects three or four of the passengers. The government is called in to try to stop the spread of the virus and hopefully to find a cure, and to help those whom are infected. One of the interesting aspects of the strain is that those infected have to remain awake until a cure for the disease is found or they will die. The train conductor is quite a hoot in this one, although I'm fairly certain he did not win an Oscar for his performance. I think the most interesting aspect of this film was the musical soundtrack. The first thing that caught my ear was the use of microtonal elements during the introduction, as those are relatively rare in films (at least in my experience). R. L. Stine's The Haunting Hour (2007) Television episodes: R. L. Stine's The Haunting Hour: The Series ("The Perfect Brother") (2011) R. L. Stine's The Haunting Hour: The Series ("Wrong Number") (2011) House of Anubis ("House of Secrets"; "House of Attitude"; "House of the Black Bird"; "House of Dares"; "House of Lies") (2010) Wizards Of Waverly Place ("My Two Harpers") (2011) Total: Films: 01. The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971) 02. Halloweentown (1998) 03. Atomic Rulers Of the World (1964) 04. The Alpha Incident (1977) 05. R. L. Stine's The Haunting Hour (2007) Television episodes: 01. Dark Shadows (Original series) (episodes nos. 476-478) (1967) 02. R. L. Stine's The Haunting Hour: The Series ("The Dead Body") (2010) 03. Charmed ("Trial By Magic") (2002) 04. Charmed ("Lost and Bound") (2002) 05. R. L. Stine's The Haunting Hour: The Series ("The Perfect Brother") (2011) 06. R. L. Stine's The Haunting Hour: The Series ("Wrong Number") (2011) 07. House of Anubis ("House of Secrets"; "House of Attitude"; "House of the Black Bird"; "House of Dares"; "House of Lies") (2010) 08. Wizards Of Waverly Place ("My Two Harpers") (2011)

 

[Jim_K]

Originally Posted by TravisR


I do agree about the sequels which were pretty hokey.


Scary Movie Challenge count = 2

 

[Bryan^H]

1) Friday The 13Th Part 2-1981(Blu-Ray) It has been a few years since I watched my favorite of the 13th movies. I picked this up for $10 a few weeks ago, and specifically waited to watch it for the Scary Movie Challenge. What a fantastic transfer. Looked, and sounded simply great. What is not to love about this one? Likeable(and attractive) cast, and a very suspenseful ambiance make this light years ahead of the rest of them in my book. While the first one was great, this one to me is perfection. A+ 2) Halloween-1978(Blu-Ray) John Carpenter's masterpiece. I watched it last year, but it doesn't get old to me. Love the final scene, and the montage of houses with the music/breathing.A 3) The Town That Dreaded Sundown-1977 Loved this film. Ben Johnson is great as a Texas Ranger hunting masked killer in a small town. GReat performances(Dawn Wells/Mary Ann from Gilligan's Island has a small role) and a well written story. B+

 

[Bryan^H]

1. Antichrist This is a hard movie to review, as I'm not entirely certain what I just saw. At its base plot, the movie is about a couple dealing with the grief brought on by the accidental death of their child. But really this movie is more an examination of that grief, as well as the concepts of evil and the indifference of nature to man. Some really nasty scenes, a few good scares, and some scenes of horrific beauty, but it's hard to recommend this one. It never quite gets off the ground, it is quiet, moody and introspective, and confusing as heck.

HA HA!!! You and me both. I didn't know what I watched but it was sure as hell atmospheric. I thought the the early scenes of the couple and the cabin were fantastic(very creepy vibes)......and then the film just went F^&%$#NG CRAZY! But you summed it up very well.

 

[Ruz-El]

I really liked Antichrist. I've been saving the Blu to watch this month, look forward to it. The cinematography was amazing. I got in a couple yesterday. I plan to watch a bunch of films that were part of the "Video Nasties" ban in Britain in the early 80's. So I started off with some documentaries and a new slasher. I'll get to the video nasties eventually. 001 (10-01)[COLOR=FF00AA] Video Nasties, Moral Panic, Censorship and Videotape[/COLor] (2010) 4/5 002 (10-01)[COLOR=FF00AA] Ban The Sadist Videos[/COLOR] (2005) 3.5/5 A pretty decent pair of documentaries on the “Video Nasties” panic in England in the early 80’s. I think everyone has heard the term, I however had no idea just how bad the panic was and the far reaching censorship it caused. Both doc’s cut familiar ground and are worth a watch, I’m giving the edge to the newer one as it was a bit more fun and had a few more participants of the era in it. Also, the first doc comes with 7 hours of bonus features featuring clips of and discussion of all 79 films listed as “Video Nasties”. I haven’t watched all that yet, but it’s a pretty fine extra. 003 (10-01)[COLOR=FF00AA] Laid To Rest[/COLOR] (2009) 3.5/5 A real nice throwback to the slasher films of the 80’s. Chromeskull it a great villain, the rest of the cast do an adequate job of keeping you interested and the effects are all very well done. The best though is that it doesn’t bother trying to explain everything or give the baddie pathos. It’s just a bad night with lots of questions left unanswered for a sequel. Look forward to watching that one. I'll change the purple to red for those first time viewings when I'm on a PC that has an older browser compatible with the forums. Sigh.... this is disheartening.

 

[PatW]

The Omen (2006) :star::star::star: An inferior remake that lacks in atmosphere and dread like the original. Still parts were very good and I certainly would recommend this film as a one time watch. Though the cast was adequate I found myself wanting to watch the original again. Totals 01 The Hitcher (2007) 2.5/5 02 Curse of the Living Corpse (1964) 2.5/5 03 House of the Living Dead (1976) 2/5 04 The Omen (2006) 3/5 TV 01 Supernatural S2: Houses of the Holy 4.5/5 02 Supernatural S2: Born Under a Bad Sign 4/5 03 Supernatural S2: Tall Tales 3/5 04 Supernatural S2: Roadkill 4/5 05 Supernatural S2: Heart 4/5 06 Supernatural S2: Hollywood Babylon 2/5

 

[Michael Elliott]

Sinister Eyes of Dr. Orloff, The (1973) :star::star::half: Going by his filmmography, lesbians would be the most recurring thing in Jess Franco's career but the second thing would be the Dr. Orlof character. Franco first hit with THE AWFUL DR. ORLOFF, which was quickly followed by DR. ORLOFF'S MONSTER and he has returned to the character throughout the rest of his career. In this film, Dr. Orloff (William Berger) is working with a family and trying to make a heir (Mona Proust) believe that she is crazy. The woman, who is a cripple, keeps suffering from a nightmare dealing with her father and she believes that Orloff is trying to help her but he has some dark secrets of his own. THE SINISTER EYES OF DR. ORLOFF isn't as glossy as the earlier films dealing with the character and it's also a lot more tame than those as well as most that would follow. Those expecting sex and gore are going to be disappointed because most of the violence takes place off screen and what little nudity there is doesn't appear until nearly an hour into the movie. The story itself is basically just your normal revenge plot but Franco does manage to build up some atmosphere. Of course, one wishes that the production values had been a tad bit higher because the film is hampered by its low-budget and of course we get countless zoom shots, which were a favorite money-saving ploy by the director. Berger, filling in for Howard Vernon, isn't nearly as effective but he's not too bad. Proust does what she can with her role but that's not too much. Franco appears briefly as the father and you can get a quick look at Lina Romay in an early role. I think most people are going to find this film a chore to sit through even with its short running time. If you're a die-hard fan of Franco then you might want to check this out but others should probably start with a different film. Colossus of New York, The (1958) :star::star: This sci-fi flick has gained a good cult following over the years but that doesn't make it a good movie. A man is struck and killed by a car so his father (Otto Kruger) and brother decide to take his brain and put it into a robot. The robot starts off doing pretty good but soon the brain part of him starts to miss his son and wife and this here leads to trouble. I admit that I was really shocked to see Paramount made this thing because just by looking at the picture you'd think it came from one of the lower-quality studios. I say that because it's quite obvious that the studio didn't spend too much money on the production. The special effects are quite laughable from start to finish but wait until you see the "lasers" that shoot out of the creature's eyes. This is how the monster kills his victims but it certainly brings more laughs than chills. Another problem with the picture is that the characters are just all so dull that you really don't have any rooting interest in them. The one exception would be the son who does get to share a few good moments with his father, now the murdering robot. The one saving grace is the monster itself because it looks quite good, if still very cheap. I really loved the look of the monster's head, which appears to be made out of wood. The body of the thing isn't all that impressive effects wise but it's still an overall interesting look. The performances are pretty much what you'd expect from a film like this but fans will enjoy seeing Kruger playing the main scientist. At just 70-minutes the film moves along well enough but in the end there's just not enough here to keep the viewer entertained. Quarantine 2 (2011) :star::star::half: Better than average sequel has a group of people heading off in a plane but on the journey one of them gets sick and they are forced to return to the airport. Once there they are all put under a quarantine and soon each of them start changing due to some sort of virus. The original film was a poorly made, scene-for-scene remake of a wonderful Spanish film but thankfully this sequel decides to do its own thing and it doesn't try to just rip REC 2. What I really enjoyed in this sequel is that it takes place at the same time as the events in the first movie. Early on one of the passengers is watching a news clip of the events going on at the apartment complex and the way the two films are brought together was nicely done. I really enjoyed how this film tries to expand on the events of the first film and the way they connect them was nicely done. With that said, there is one major flaw and that's the "reason" behind the virus. We finally learn the cause of the virus and why it's out there and you can't help but roll your eyes when you learn what it is. Performances are pretty good here with Mercedes Mosohn and Noree Victoria really standing out. One issue with the film is that it really lacks any atmosphere, which is a real shame. There's a tad bit when the people are on the plane due to how tight of a space they have to deal with but once the action hits the hanger things start to die down. It might have been a more clever idea to keep everyone on the plane. Fans of the gore certainly won't be disappointed as there's quite a bit of violence and plenty of flesh is bitten off. QUARANTINE 2 went straight to DVD and it's easy to see why because it's really just a "B" movie at heart. With that said, it's a pretty good "B" movie that delivers some nice thrills. Let Me In (2010) :star::star::star: Remake of the Swedish film LET THE RIGHT ON IN tells pretty much the same story. Owen (Kodi Smit-McPhee) is a kid constantly being tormented by the kids around him but he soon finds a friend in Abby (Chloe Grace Moretz), a strange girl who just happens to be a vampire. When LET ME IN was announced it was hit with quite a bit of hatred because fans of the original film wasn't sure why a remake was even needed. Sadly, most people in America aren't interested in watching a movie with subtitles so the makers of this thing wanted to bring the film to America. We could debate this until the end of time but the remake is here and it turned out to be a pretty good and faithful film. If you're familiar with the Swedish version then there's really not going to be anything here that you're not going to see coming. The story structure and many plot points are the same here so those familiar with the original aren't going to have many new things thrown their way. What I was pleasantly surprised about is how faithful the movie was. You'd think that they'd dumb down the subject matter for American audiences or that they'd try and make a faster paced film but that's not the case. Much like the original movie, the impact of this film comes from the two lead characters who grow closer to one another as the movie goes along. As with that film, the two of them go through many violent episodes but thankfully the film doesn't try to sugar coat them or present them in a cleaner fashion. Another version strong aspect are the two lead performances. Both Smith-McPhee and Moretz are very good in their parts and you really do forget that you're watching actors. Both kids are so believable in their parts that you really do feel as if you're seeing real troubled souls connected to one another. The actors certainly deliver some of the strongest performances of the year. Jenkins isn't given as much to do but when he's on screen he's quite good. Again, this remake really doesn't change too much in terms of the story but I do think there are some effective moments here. Just take a look at the first sequence where the "father" goes out to kill for the girl. The sequence with him in the back of the car is quite effective. Overall, I'd say that the original film is slightly better but this here just goes to show that not all remakes are evil. Was the film necessary? Well, that's up for debate. Red Riding Hood (2011) :star: Boring thriller about a small village that comes under attack from a werewolf. A girl (Amanda Seyfried) from the village appears to have a connection to the beast and perhaps it's one of the two men that are in love with her. RED RIDING HOOD is yet another film that had an interesting trailer but the film itself turned out to be really bad. It's such a shame because the story is such a classic that we really did need another big-screen adaptation but sadly this mess of a film is simply a TWILIGHT wannabe that is pretty much dead on all levels. The one good thing the film has going for it is the cinematography, which is very impressive from start to finish. Now for the bad stuff. You can start off with the performances, which is another major letdown considering some of the talent involved. Seyfried made such a strong impression in CHLOE that it's rather sad seeing her in something like this, although I'm sure the check was nice. She's certainly easy on the eyes and fits the role just fine but the screenplay gives her character nothing and she just comes off incredibly stupid. Gary Oldman plays a Van Helsing type and he's so corny here that you can almost have a good time with the performance. Even Virginia Madsen, Julie Christie and Lucas Haas come out looking bad. Shiloh Fernandez and Max Irons play the boys in love with our lead and it's clear that casting directors are now spotting talent at modeling school and not acting school. The werewolf in the film looks better than those in TWILIGHT but the CGI creation is still silly looking and never gives you any fear. What's so incredibly silly about this movie is how poorly written it is and yet everyone is taking it so serious. You keep wondering when someone is going to break down laughing due to how stupid the lines they're saying are. You really do feel as if you're watching a school production of this story written by a woman who has a crush on a couple boys in her class and now she wants to be in a play with them so that she can kiss both. RED RIDING HOOD is a real mess of a movie and sadly it probably ruined us from getting a good version of the story.

 

[Chucky P]

I randomly picked three films over this weekend because I really like them and I hope I can one more in before Sunday ends. Here is my list * Will mark first time viewings October 1 1. The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971) 2. Shaun of the Dead (2004) October 2 3. The Fog (1980)