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

[TravisR]

3. A Nightmare On Elm Street 3- Dream Warriors The best of the regular Nightmare sequels. The kids are likable, there's some nice effects (albeit they aim too high and some of them look pretty dated) and Freddy has decent jokes but not enough to really take away from the evil of the character. 4. A Nightmare On Elm Street 4- The Dream Master Freddy becomes funny and the series never recovers. 5. A Nightmare On Elm Street- The Dream Child They tried to make Freddy scary again but, unfortunately, the movie is too lousy for it to matter. 6. Freddy's Dead- The Final Nightmare Another dud. Not the worst of the series since there's some imaginative gags and fun cameos from Johnny Depp and Alice Cooper. Totals: 1. A Nightmare On Elm Street (1984) 2. A Nightmare On Elm Street Part 2- Freddy's Revenge 3. A Nightmare On Elm Street 3- Dream Warriors 4. A Nightmare On Elm Street 4- The Dream Master 5. A Nightmare On Elm Street- The Dream Child 6. Feddy's Dead- The Final Nightmare

 

[John Stell]

Rating - Out of a possible 4



Theatrical/Television Features


001) 10/01/2011 Le Manor du Diablo (1896)

The first entry in editor Phil Hardy's Encyclopedia of Horror Movies (1985) is a fun spook show-type film. The action takes place presumably in an ancient castle as Satan terrifies a couple of travelers. The camera does not move for the approximate three minute running time while bats, skeletons, ghosts, witches, and the Devil himself appear, disappear, and reappear at random. Rather fun for what it is.


002) 10/01/2011 Frankenstein (1910)

This unique take on the Frankenstein story deals more with metaphysics than mad science since the monster is created by the "evil in Frankenstein's mind", according to the title cards. The creature is whipped up via chemicals in a cauldron, rejected by his maker, and then terrorizes the doctor on his wedding night. Until Frankenstein's bride sees the monster the creation could just as easily been all in Frankenstein's mind. Thus the "love conquers all" ending actually fits with the premise of the film.


003) 10/01/2011 The Avenging Conscience (1914)

1/2


Legendary director D.W. Griffith's first venture into horror is a pretty good Poe-inspired psychological thriller. The protagonist of the film has even nicknamed his girlfriend Annabel after Poe's poem "Annabel Lee." When his uncle does not approve of their relationship, he murders uncle and walls him up in the fireplace. Lots of religious imagery, references to several of Poe's works, and a cop-out ending make for a not completely satisfying drama.


004) 10/01/2011 Weird Tales (1919)

1/2


Five tales of mystery and horror make for one of the earliest horror anthologies. Stories involve a disappearing divorcee; a ghost that haunts his murderer; a drunk who hides the body of his murdered unfaithful wife; a bizarre club that occupies a deserted house; and the test of courageous lothario. Notable for the presence of Conrad Veidt this film is entertaining but hardly impactful.


005) 10/01/2011 The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1919)

When his friend becomes the latest victim in a series of murders, a young man thinks the villain is a mysterious doctor who has set up shop at the local fair. In fact it is the doctor's exhibt - a somnambulist named Cesare - who is being compelled to commit the murders. Or is he? Still powerful thriller has dazzling production design, a twisting plot, and atmosphere to spare. Just the image of the black body stockinged Conrad Veidt as Cesare gives one the creeps.


006) 10/01/2011 Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (John Barrymore) (1920)

Best known silent version of the oft-told story: a noble scientist tries to separate his good self from his evil self. The result is throughly detestable character named Mr. Hyde. Barrymore is certainly flamboyant with grand gestures and poses. But he also is terrific as the evil Hyde. The scene where Jekyll transforms into Hyde in front of Jekyll's would-be father-in-law is quite powerful.


007) 10/02/2011 Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (Sheldon Lewis) (1920)

Lackluster version of the classic plays more like an extended chase movie, with Hyde running around slums of New York causing trouble. Lewis fails to communicate Hyde's evil and plays him more as a bratty kid. The drab visual look doesn't help either.


Specials, etc.


001) 10/01/2011 It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (1966)

Still wonderful after all these years, Linus foresakes tricks-or-treats and the Halloween party to await the arrival of the Great Pumpkin. Beautifully drawn and very funny. Snoopy's World War I Flying Ace role-playing has a great punchline.

 

[Sandro]

Rated from [/b]

 

[Sandro]

Daybreakers

Unusual, ambitious take on the vampire story where most of the world's population are vampires living off human blood except that the number of humans is dwindling. Ethan Hawke plays a scientist charged with finding a blood substitute who gets involved with some humans who have another cure. The film is a mix of sci-fi, horror and action without sacrificing story or intelligence and tackling some heavy religious and societal themes. However its ambition is its downfall as story threads and themes are not tied up that well. Still worth a watch for those tired of modern Hollywood horror.

 

[Brook K]

Rubber (2010) :star::star::star::star: (of 5) This mind-bending, genre-bending, highly entertaining black comedy/horror tells the story of Robert, a sentient and pissed off tire! Once he figures out how his body works and begins to discover his place in the world around him, he discovers he has psycho-telekinetic abilities and uses them to rain destruction on the human and animal worlds Scanners-style. At the same time Robert is blowing up heads, a crowd of spectators is watching from a distance via binoculars. Why have they gathered? Who is the white-collar dweeb who seems to have organized them? What master does he serve? Is the sheriff just an actor? You'll have to watch to find out. While the movie may sound like Syfy channel dreck, probably the most striking thing about it (other than watching a sentient, killer tire) is how much care was put into the production. It has all the polish of a much larger budget movie, the cinematography is unusually high quality for a movie of this kind, with outstanding lighting that takes advantage of the desert locations. The head splattering and other tire effects are top notch and appear to be practical effects with little use of CGI. While the movie toes the line of being too clever for its own good, it never quite crosses it and has a lot of fun playing with the genre cliches of these type of movies in delivering plenty of laughs and plenty of wtf's. Recommended. Masters of Horror: Imprint (2005) :star::star::half: I had never previously watched any of the Masters of Horror series, but finally got around to checking this out since I'm a big fan of director Takashi Miike's work, having seen basically everything but this that is available in R1. I found Imprint to be a pretty mixed bag. It's a period Japanese horror in which an American (Billy Drago) stops at a hotel while searching for his lost love and discovers one of the prostitutes working there knew her and proceeds to tell the man several versions of her terrible fate. Imprint has all the crazed visuals one expects from Miike who captures the atmospheric mood and relatively creepy "otherness" of this brand of Japanese horror. However he shoots it in a very theatrical style which has a distancing effect, it feels like you're watching a stage play for the first half of the movie. Another problem is Drago is abysmal, a truly terrible performance that undermines a lot of the good points of the film. A shame because Youki Kudoh as the prostitute delivers exactly what you want from a villainess. There are also some rough scenes of torture that may go even further than Audition or Ichi the Killer but they lack the impact of the scenes in those better movies, because we never have the same level of connection to the characters or as firm a grasp on the story. The bad simply outweighs the good here. Challenge Total: 3

 

[Jim_K]

Okay, I felt oddly compelled to look up Rubber on IMDB to make sure that wasn't a gag. Looks like it wasn't.


I agree on Daybreakers, that was one of those "almost got it right" movies and yes Red Riding Hood sucked.


Got in the Blu-ray Del Toro cut of Mimic. The genetically enhanced super bug concept is interesting but this is really just a surprisingly dull, standard monster(s) on the loose B movie with paper thin characters. Disappointing given the Director and cast (Mira Sorvino, Josh Brolin, Charles Dutton, F Murray Abraham, etc). I barely remember this from watching this 14 years ago so for the life of me I couldn't tell how different this DC was to the original cut.


out of 4


Scary Movie count = 3

 

[Radioman970]

I agree about the Nightmare on Elm St series. It has some of my favorite and least favorites of any franchise. I think Fri13th and Halloween are better by being more consistent. Halloween is probably overall better while F13th I never expect a whole lot and it make every one of those more fun because of it. I've been watching Tales from the Cryptkeeper cartoon. Wanted to recommend it to 80s and 90s cartoon fans of the thread. Feels somewhat Heavy Metal but less adult. My expectations weren't real high on it but I'm glad I grabbed both seasons along with the rest of the live action series.

 

[John Stell]

Rating: Out of possible 4

008) 10/02/2011 The Penalty (1920)

Lon Chaney stars as a criminal mastermind who happens to have had his legs mistakenly amputated below the knees as a child. Now he plots revenge against the doctor who erred as well as staging the greatest crime San Francisco has ever scene. In his spare time he poses as Satan for a sculpture by the doctor's daughter! Wonderfully macabre outing with Chaney doing incredible work as the legless thug. The film literalizes the attraction-of-evil concept by having both an undercover officer and the sculptor sympathize with him. Chaney's ultimate planned revenge against the doctor fits well with the macabre themes Chaney and director Tod Browning would later explore together.


009) 10/02/2011 The Golem (1920)

1/2


When the Jewish community is threatened with eviction from their ghetto homes, a rabbi conjures up an ancient avenger know as the Golem to protect his people. But complications arise when the Golem desires to exist beyond his initial purporse. Visually dazzling film boasts a classic creation scene and intense performances. The plot also takes some unexpected turns, especially with regards to how the Golem is stopped. One can certainly see this film's impact on the 1931 version of Frankenstein.


Specials, Documentaries, etc.


002) 10/03/2011 Kingdom of Shadows (1998)

1/2


Written and directed by Bret Wood, and narrated by Rod Steiger, this seventy-minute documentary looks at silent films and the themes that were explored. Sexuality, religion, the nature of good and evil, and the mistrust of advances in science are some of the areas the film highlights with clips from about 50 or so films. Steiger sounds ominous and serious, and there are some interesting points made. But the film is disjointed and not organized well enough to have the impact that great documentaries have. Still recommended as an introduction to silent horrors.

 

[Michael Elliott]

I watched RUBBER back when it was first on TV and thought it was horrid. I knew about its reputation and I had high expectations for it but I had a very hard time making it through the picture. Detention (2010) :star: Really bad horror film starts off in 1976 as a bunch of jocks play a prank on a nerd and sure enough it goes wrong and the nerd dies in a fire. Flash forward to the present day when a group of kids find themselves in detention and the ghost of the nerd comes back for revenge. Yawn. DETENTION is a really bad, really boring and really stupid little movie that doesn't have too much going for it. The best thing you can say about the movie is that the producers paid some extra money to get David Carradine to show up for a few scenes. This would eventually be released after his death but the few minutes seeing him is the only thing this movie has going for it. The rest of the movie you'll have a hard time finding something good to say. The opening prank features the nerd being put into a device, which lightening strikes and soon he catches on fire. The CGI fire is among the worst you're ever going to see and I can never figure out why if something looks this poor the filmmakers just don't try and shoot it in a different way. Things do get worse though. When the "revenge" aspect of the story starts not a single bit of it makes any sense. There are certain things alluded to but these never really play out and they're certainly never explained. I'm not sure why the spirit waited 24-years to seek its revenge and I'm not sure how these certain kids got picked to be in detention at the same time. As you can probably guess, the kids are "connected" to the events of the past and are having to pay with their lives. The screenplay leaves so many questions unanswered you really start to wonder if there was any attempt to really tell a story. Even worse is how stupid all of the characters are. It seems as if they are all doing something that doesn't make much sense including a rich brat and a gangster who seem to find time to flirt, act, mess around and just have a good old time even though they're being stalked by a killer ghost. There are other couples and stereotype characters who are just downright annoying and the role that the new teacher plays is just a joke. The entire set-up makes very little sense and in the end the movie adds up to very little. DETENTION is a pretty awful movie all around and the only reason someone would have to watch it is to see David Carradine but I'd recommend you go watch BOUND FOR GLORY instead. Cornered! (2009) :star::half: Pretty bad slasher flick about a serial killer stalking convenient stores in Los Angeles. A store owner and his friends sit down to have a poker game after hours one night and sure enough, the killer shows up and starts to pick them off one by one. There are countless direct-to-DVD horror releases out there so you have to pick them with caution but I decided to give this one a go since Steve Guttenberg has a small part. I'm sure those who grew up watching POLICE ACADEMY wondered what he was up to in his recent movies and this here was my shot of seeing him again but it frankly wasn't worth the trouble. This screenplay is without question one of the strangest I've seen because it features a lot of bums and the reason for this is beyond me. We have the store owner who is obviously a cheap, rude jerk. We have his nephew who runs the cash register and just happens to be a meth head. We've got a prostitute trying to pick up some extra cash. We have one lady who works as a phone sex operator. We even have an overweight guy hooked on donuts. Umm....what the hell? Have we really gotten to the point in horror films where one of the characters needs to be addicted to donuts? I'm not sure if this was meant to be part of the humor but the laughs certainly never work and this is painfully obvious in a scene early one where another bum, this time a homeless man, tries to steal some alcohol. I'm really not sure what the point of this comedy was but it certainly doesn't work but then again neither does the horror or mystery aspects. The killer was rather obvious within the first five minutes so the entire mystery gets flushed right down the toilet. With the comedy and mystery gone you'd think we'd at least get some gory deaths, right? Well, wrong. The violence for the most part is rather tame and the bloodiest scene is actually a quick edit to part of a jelly donut dripping onto a table. The performances in the film were fair and that includes Guttenberg who at least proves he still has some nice comic timing. With that said, CORNERED! is a low-budget slasher film that doesn't work on any level and should certainly be skipped. Ward, The (2010) :star::star::star: John Carpenter's long road back to the director's chair has a young woman named Kristen (Amber Heard) burning down an old farm house, which has her sent to the local psych ward. Once inside she gets to know some of the others girls there and before long she also starts seeing a mysterious ghost. It appears the other girls are scared to talk about this ghost but soon Kristen starts to fear that there's a lot more going on than that. THE WARD isn't a masterpiece and it certainly can't compare to the classic Carpenter pictures but I think on the whole the film has gotten a lot of negative press, which really isn't fair. It's rather sad to see that the film got a very limited theatrical release before being dumped to DVD because this is certainly much better than the majority of the horror films out there from the major. I think on the whole this is just a "B" picture but the strong lead performance and Carpenter's terrific style really pushes the film up several notches. What I enjoyed most about the picture is how strong the atmosphere is once we get inside the ward. The film takes place during 1966 and the director does a very good job at making you feel as if you're in the past and I also love how he creates this rather eerie atmosphere inside the hospital. It should go without saying but hospitals could certainly do a lot more "experiments" with patients back in the day and Carpenter has a lot of fun with this. While we do get a couple gory killings, the film's strong point is the atmosphere. You can tell that Carpenter was influenced by the 60's Gothic films and especially those from Mario Bava and Hammer. The atmosphere in the film really makes you feel uneasy and especially in the scenes where Carpenter keeps his camera and that beautiful 2.35:1 framing going and capturing every dark shadow. Just take a look at a very good sequence where the girls are standing around talking and the lights go out. Another strong sequence happens when Kristen tries to escape from the hospital and finds herself in a morgue. Heard turns in an extremely strong performance here and she certainly takes the material and raises it up. I thought she was quite believable playing the strong female and she certainly handled the part without any issues. Jared Harris is also impressive in the role as the lead doctor and Danielle Panabaker, Mamie Gummer and Laura-Leigh also turn in good performances. THE WARD does have several problems and this includes the fact that the ghost itself just isn't scary. There are many fake jump scenes that never work and sadly the big twist at the end is something that will have your eyes rolling. There are also some minor issues with the story here and there but again, this is certainly a "B" level movie but thankfully Carpenter's attention to detail and ability to make an eerie atmosphere makes it worth viewing. Krueger (A Tale from Elm Street) (2011) :star::star::star: Filmmaker Chris R. Notarile has several credits under his name but here recently he decided to make a trilogy of horror films in loving memory of three of the most famous killers from recent horror history. This film here is obviously an homage to Wes Craven's A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET and is actually a pretty good little gem. The film starts off in 1972 as Freddy Krueger (Roberto Lombardi) has murdered yet another child and now is being interrogated by Lt. Thompson (Shawn Parr). Thompson wants Krueger to admit to the child killings but Freddy has his own way of handling things. At just 10-minutes there's really not enough time to stretch out everything in order to connect it to the events in the first movie but it comes pretty darn close. I can't see how any fan of the Craven film could be disappointed with this thing because it certainly has more imagination than the recent remake and the majority of the original film's sequels. What I enjoyed most were actually the performances, which isn't what you'd typical say about a low-budget film like this. I thought both men were quite good in their roles and especially the small touches in playing the roles that were done by Robert Englund and John Saxon in the original film. I really thought Lombardi nailed Freddy's little bits perfectly and especially that voice at the start when he's about to kill the girl. On a technical level the film is certainly well-made and the director deserves a lot of credit for making the film look as good as it does. Voorhees (Born on a Friday) (2011) :star::star::star: Chris R. Notarile's second film in a trilogy playing the "what if" game to some of horror's biggest franchises. This one here takes place a year after Mrs. Voorhees (Monica DiNatale) has been told that her son Jason drowned while at camp. Mrs. Voorhees has tracked down the councilor (Dana Jesberger) who was supposed to be watching him and demands answers as to what happened. This short film isn't meant to be some sort of big-budget prequel but there's enough imagination in it to at least put a smile on the face of those who enjoy the Friday THE 13TH series. Needless to say, it's going to really help that you are a fan and can connect the events of this film to that 1980 thriller. The series made it clear why Mrs. Voorhees went on a killing spree but I thought the meeting between her and the councilor responsible for Jason's death was fairly well-written and you can't help but smile when you see how the mom being told is played out. Clearly the director is a fan of the series as there are a couple nice little nods to the film but the most impressive thing is simply the story itself. It really does a nice job being a prequel to the events and I think it's done well enough to where you could really watch this film as part of the series. DiNatale is decent in her role but it's Jesberger as the victim who really stands out. Myers (Rise of the Boogeyman) (2011) :star::star::star: The third and final film of Chris R. Notarile's "prequel trilogy" takes place in Haddonfield as Judith Myers is taking her younger brother Michael trick or treating. Along the way Judith runs off with her boyfriend as a mysterious figure begins to stalk Michael. I won't spoil who this figure is or what happens but I must say it's certainly an interesting idea. This "prequel" takes place a few minutes before the legendary opening sequence to John Carpenter's HALLOWEEN and at first I was thinking that this might have been the weakest of the director's trilogy but then the final minutes really pack a nice little punch. I wouldn't say the explanation of Michael killing is sister is perfect but it's certainly a lot better than a bigger budgeted remake came up with. Obviously there are a couple nice touches here including the use of the song Mr. Sandman and of course Carpenter's song gets a nice play (and I'm sure without permission but that's okay with me). At just 6-miutes there's really not too much filler as we're introduced to the characters and then the story takes off. Vincent Depinto does a nice job in the role of Myers, which is another plus. Fans of the series have been treated to many explanations over the years but this short is certainly worth checking out.

 

[Ruz-El]

[SIZE= 14px]Chalk me up as one who didn't care for RUBBER either. I didn't like the sefl awareness of it, the breaking the 4th wall. I would of preffered to just follow the tire around, it would of been more interesting.[/SIZE]


[SIZE= 14px]Neat find too Michael on the "Kruger" shorts. I've not heard of them, I'll have to track them down.[/SIZE]


[SIZE= 14px]I got in three more yesterday. I wont count my 4th film, STAR WAR EPISODE 1: THE PHANTOM MENACE since that's more horrible then horrific. F'narr! Kidding, I actually don't mind it. Here's my list! [/SIZE]


[SIZE= 14px]004 (10-02) Terror In The Aisles (1984) 3.5/5
I hadn’t seen this one since the 80’s when I had a copy on VHS that I practically wore out from watching it so many times. So revisiting it was like catching up with an old friend. A murdering bastard of an old friend, but still, it was nice. I remembered most of the clips, but mostly forgotten about the wrap around bit with the movie audience. I was also pretty sure the actress host was Jamie Lee Curtis. So it was practically a new film for me! Anyways, I still really enjoyed it. As far as clip shows go, you do worse. There were also some clips from movies I haven’t seen, I feel like I have to track those down now.

005 (10-02) Halloween II (1981) 3.5/5
On the same disc as the above, so I figured I might as will spin it again. I liked it a lot more this time around then I did the last. I think the film benefits from not watching it immediately after the original film. Even if it does take place from right where the first one ends. I’d also forgotten the “Samhain” druid malarkey so it makes sense that the sequels will run with that thread. So yeah, a not bad sequel really.

006 (10-02) [COLOR= rgb(255, 0, 0)]Anthropophagus[/COLOR] (1980) 3.5/5
The first of what will be many “Video Nasty” banned films of the challenge for me was a strong start. Seeing Joe D’amato as the director made me groan a bit. I know that Italian horror has it’s fans but I tend to find them really hit and miss. They can be poorly executed, dragged out affairs. This one though was good! It had a pretty good set up, a group of people stop off at a Greek island to find it empty of people. The characters are believable, D’amato keeps the tension at a good pace, and the nutter Cannibal guy who is the baddie is a neat surprise. It reminded me of a European take of a “Halloween” type slasher. I’m not sure what the deal was with the cannibal guy and why he was so crazy starving, but I also didn’t really care. The gore was over the top as expected. Not amazingly executed, but good enough thematically to make you go “WTF? Ewwww!” So this one’s a winner.[/SIZE]


[SIZE= 14px]I hope the rest of the video nasties play as well as this one.[/SIZE]

 

[Bryan^H]

4)]The Thing-1982(Blu-Ray) Another John Carpenter classic. Great on BLu-Ray except it is missing all the freaking special features(except commentary) of the s-dvd!! After watching it, I felt like pouring a glass of Jim Beam on a circuit board, and calling it a "cheatin Bitch".A 5) The Creature From Black Lake-1974*first time viewing* A Bigfoot movie from 74' that is about as interesting as watching a plaster cast dry. Wasn't really my cup of tea, but as a character study is was ok I guess. C- 6) Gargoyles-1972(dvd) Yes, this is a great film. Well, it's just so weird it has no choice but to be great. The slow-mo scenes of the Gargoyles are creepy. Jennifer Salt is more than attractive, and the transfer on this new classic media disc is great.A

 

[Mario Gauci]

01/10/11: MYSTERY OF MARIE ROGET (Philip Rosen, 1942) **1/2 This was among the very few remaining vintage Universal Horror titles, a genuine ‘B’ movie but a surprisingly effective one nonetheless – if only tenuously related to the genre (being based on an Edgar Allan Poe tale, the presence of an ostensibly dangerous animal i.e. a leopard, thus anticipating the Val Lewton chiller THE LEOPARD MAN {1943}, and its utilizing a steel-claw for a murder weapon that literally obliterates the victims’ faces…which, apart from the latter film itself, would subsequently see service in at least 2 more of the studio’s efforts, namely the Sherlock Holmes adventure THE SCARLET CLAW {1944} and the maligned SHE-WOLF OF LONDON {1946}!). Incidentally, this can be considered an unofficial sequel to one of the earliest Universal horror classics, MURDERS IN THE RUE MORGUE (1932), since it is not only set in much the same surroundings as that more popular Poe story but it actually features one of the protagonists, forensic expert Pierre Dupin (here played by stiff-upper-lipped but likable Patric Knowles, who around this same time would co-star in two higher-profile genre efforts for the studio in THE WOLF MAN {1941} and its direct successor in the Larry Talbot franchise FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE WOLF MAN {1943}!). For the record, MYSTERY OF MARIE ROGET managed to rope in another cast member of those very pictures, Maria Ouspenskaya…who is at her most outspoken here, constantly belittling Prefect of Police and Knowles’ long-suffering sidekick Lloyd Corrigan (who indeed has no easier time with the doctor, in view of the fact that the latter never bothers to fully explain his schemes in entrapping criminals to his understandably flustered superior!). Which brings us to nominal lead Maria Montez though, given the brevity of her appearance in an already tight 61-minute film, this cannot be deemed a star vehicle for her (as it happens, I currently have 7 of those in my “To Watch” pile!). Anyway, while heavily-accented, she does get to warble a song in French (to the evident delight of Corrigan) and, in any case, her character is established as being wicked…which Knowles goes to extreme lengths to prove (by stealthily extracting the brain from her corpse in the morgue – the scene evoking FRANKENSTEIN {1931} in conception and MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM {1933} in execution – and, under advise from some eminent authority on the workings of the criminal mind, carrying out experiments on it off-screen!). Despite watching this via a worn-out VHS print, where the detail is so far gone one can hardly discern the actors’ facial features(!), the unmistakable atmosphere of a good old Universal horror movie is well in evidence, thus making this a blast (if clearly a minor entry in the field). For what it is worth, we are also treated to a horse-and-carriage chase along the cobbled streets of a studio-built Paris and, while I was sure I had figured out the culprit’s true identity, the script (which is surprisingly complex and eminently engaging) went on to prove me wrong by making him out to be the guilty party the Police had fingered all along! 01/10/11: FEAR (Robert Wiene, 1917) **1/2 Though the German Expressionist movement in cinema officially began with THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI (1919; coincidentally from the same director as the film under review), the country’s first brush with the horror genre occurred in 1913 via THE STUDENT OF PRAGUE (subsequently much-remade). The movies in this vein that emerged in between these two titles are not easily come by, so it was interesting to catch this obscure effort (which lasts for only 54 minutes!). Actually, FEAR is now the fourth Wiene I have checked out after CALIGARI itself, RASKOLNIKOV aka CRIME AND PUNISHMENT (1923; as it happens, an American potboiler from 1946 based on the same Dostoyevsky source shared its title with the film under review!), and the 1924 version of THE HANDS OF ORLAC. For the record, I am also familiar with the compressed surviving version of the director’s GENUINE: THE TALE OF A VAMPIRE (1920) and own but have yet to watch his DER ROSENKAVALIER (1925). Anyway, the film’s plot deals with a man haunted by a misdeed he has committed (his obsessive passion for rare objets d’art has driven him to make away with a statue from an Indian temple). In fact, the plot opens with the hero’s arrival at his estate from abroad where he is already in an agitated state and orders his myriad servants to bar the entrances and exits! One of them, however, is worried by his master’s paranoia and seeks advice from the town minister and the hero’s former schoolteacher, who instantly realizes that what he needs is not a man of God but of Science! Soon after, he is visited by a mysterious man in Indian garb (a brief role for Conrad Veidt, later co-star of CALIGARI and protagonist of ORLAC) who prophesies that, in seven years’ time, the man will meet his come-uppance by the hand of the one whom he loves most! Somewhat relieved, the hero decides to live up the time allotted to him and begins to lead a hedonistic lifestyle which, however, he soon tires of, so he picks up medicine and apparently comes up with some astonishing discovery but which he promptly destroys at its much-publicized unveiling! So, as he often says, “on to something new” and, now, he falls in love and plans to marry but, since the ‘contract’ is about to expire, he soon grows morose and alienates his intended! At the appointed time, even if he had disposed of the statue in a river in a desperate attempt to break the spell (should he not have contrived to return it to the rightful owners if any hope of clemency was to be expected?), he is so nerve-wracked that he shoots himself…suggesting that he had loved himself best of all! Soon after, Veidt reappears and picks up the statue not from the river-bed but rather from where the hero used to keep it, to which cabinet it had magically returned! While the film’s visuals are nowhere near as striking as Wiene’s subsequent forays into outright Expressionism, the exaggerated acting style is evocative of them, since the protagonist shares the mental strain that affects the heroes of CALIGARI, RASKOLNIKOV and ORLAC – which can now be identified as something of a pattern within his work!; in the end, this is no lost classic but worth viewing nonetheless. 01/10/11: THE DRUMS OF JEOPARDY (George B. Seitz, 1931) **1/2 Like MYSTERY OF MARIE ROGET (1942), this is more thriller than horror but there is still enough atmosphere and thrills here to make it an entertaining ride (which, as with the above-mentioned film, clocks in at just over an hour and is therefore not allowed to overstay its welcome). The plot is that of a hoary melodrama – not unlike the Oriental Lon Chaney vehicle MR. WU (1927) – as an eminent personality (in this case, scientist Warner Oland: interestingly, his most famous role was the multiple genial appearances as popular Chinese sleuth Charlie Chan!) has his life virtually brought to a stand-still by the death, over her romantic attachment to a member of the aristocracy, of his young daughter. So, he swears vengeance and nearly accomplishes his mission, were it not for the intervention of an elderly but strong-willed lady (here, it is Clara Blandick, the landlady of the heroine who chooses to shelter one of Oland’s ‘targets’) – though her annoying characterization reminded me of the middle-aged ‘fraidy cat’ maid in THE BAT WHISPERS (1930) and the romantically-inclined (albeit still very much way- past-her-prime) one in THE GHOUL (1933)! Incidentally, the title refers not to the musical instrument but to a diamond-studded necklace belonging to the upper-class family and which had been donated to Oland’s daughter by her paramour. It eventually comes into play in the scientist’s revenge scheme since he is gentlemanly (or is that sadistic?) enough to forewarn his next victim with a note accompanied by one of the jewels; by the way, Oland has an accomplice in a lanky and somber Mischa Auer, that is before he became everybody’s favorite eccentric Russian! The few murder/action sequences deliver the goods – especially one in which Oland’s shadow slowly bends over the kidnapped eldest nemesis to strangle him and then plants his body in a window so that, during a roof-top chase with the man’s relatives and the Police, they take him for Oland and take several pot-shots at the poor soul! Then there is the finale where, as I said, it is Blandick who contrives to literally make the drop on Oland by pushing him through a trap-down into the river running under his hiding-place/laboratory/operations center as he is about to blow everything sky-high via a potion he has concocted. Ultimately, this is a minor yet engaging outing that ought to be better-known (I only learned about it myself when I came across the film fairly recently)…if only because Oland’s character here is named – brace yourself – Boris Karlov (the picture under review came out eight months prior to FRANKENSTEIN, released the same year and which, I am sure no-one needs reminding, immortalized its star who was soon to be billed simply as “Karloff, the Uncanny”)!!

 

[Michael Elliott]

Hopefully these links will work for those who might want to check out that Prequel Trilogy. Fred: Jason: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AlgYvIeSVQ4&feature=relmfu Michael:

 

[Jason Roer]

Hey Guys! Late to the party here. This year is going to be very tough for me. I have a huge road trip that I'm going on. Leaving Sunday. So I won't be able to watch much of anything. Though I'm passing through LA, so I'm hoping to catch a few classic horror flicks on the big screen. We'll see. Hope everyone's enjoying challenge! Anyway - viewings so far... movies 1. The Fog 2. Lips of Blood tv 1. Fringe season 3, EP2 2. Dexter season 6, EP1 3. Twilight Zone season 1, EP1 Cheers, Jason

 

[PatW]

The Last Exorcism (2010) :star::star::star::half: I don't enjoy handheld camera work so I was surprised that I enjoyed this one so much. The movie was creepy and scary in parts. I didn't recognize any of the actors but I guess that was the point. The ending of the movie was a fail for me since I wish they had gone in a different direction. For a quasi-documentary style movie this was fairly decent. For a better film along these lines I would check out The Exorcism of Emily Rose. The Mothman Prophecies (2002) :star::star::star::star: What is interesting about this film is the backstory of the Mothman myth which I looked up the first time I saw this movie. Robert Klein is a Washington Post reporter who finds himself miles away from his home one night in the small town of Point Pleasant West Virginia. We learn that he is recently widowed, and that his wife in the last days of her life drew a mysterious character, moth-like and dark over and over again in her diary. Slowly he comes to believe that this figure seen by his wife and several residents of Point Pleasant is somehow interconnected and he is desparate to unravel the mystery. This movie is extremely creepy and atmospheric. Even the music gets to you. We never really find out what the Mothman is but the movie allows you to draw your own conclusions. 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 * 05 The Last Exorcism (2010) 3.5/5 * 06 The Mothman Prophecies (2002) 4/5 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 *

 

[Bob McLaughlin]

2. Burning Bright (first-time viewing) If you can get over the contrived setup--a young woman and her autistic younger brother are stuck in a boarded-up house during a hurricane with a starving tiger--you will enjoy this little thriller. Personally I went along for the ride and had a great time. Maybe this is more of a thriller than outright horror, but this did have several great scares, and a feeling of tension throughout. I will admit actually screamed out loud a few times, probably due to the fact that one of my recurring nightmares is that I find a wild tiger in my house (seriously!) Bob's Alphabetical 2011 Horror Movie Marathon List FTV means first-time-viewing 1. Antichrist (FTV) 2. Burning Bright (FTV)

 

[Radioman970]

I'm mixing non-horror stuff in my viewing so many things won't count for me here unless they crossover. I'll list some anyway but won't number them. (actually started watching lots of horrors the 1st of sept. hope I don't get totally burned out//./!) Movies: 1. Sixth Sense. 2. The Nanny. Bette Davis. 1965. Wonderful seeing this again after many years. Didn't realize before that this is a Hammer. 3. Malevolence. (2004) TVs: 1. Sigmund & the seamonsters. "Is there a doctor in the cave?" Still scary as hell! tee hee! 2. Tales from the Cryptkeeper/animated. "Pleasant Screams". These are so much fun so far... (first time seeing) Watching and not including: MST3K: The Alien from LA. Flightplan Stephen King's Golden Years miniseries. Decided not to include. More of a comedy thriller. Fun seeing that stapler guy from Office Space in this. I absolutely couldn't stop doing the voice every time he was on screen. "But I want my stapler, they said I could keep my stapler". Finally finished and probably won't ever watch this again. Good for a one timer...

 

[Radioman970]

The Last Exorcism (2010) :star::star::star::half:.... For a better film along these lines I would check out The Exorcism of Emily Rose. The Mothman Prophecies (2002) :star::star::star::star: What is interesting about this film is the backstory of the Mothman myth which I looked up the first time I saw this movie. .... ....

I liked Last Exorcism MUCH better than Emily Rose for some reason. I do like Emily too though. I was disappointed in Mothman. I felt it could have been scarier by a long shot. And I remember the ending being anticlimactic. Still, was good seeing Gere again in something. I think An Officer was the last one of his I bothered with! (off to finish Golden Years. Sure is looooooooooooooooong. I could have just watched 3 episodes of X-files)

 

[TravisR]

7. Wes Craven's New Nightmare Freddy begins to escape the movies and get out into the dreams of people in the real world. The best Nightmare sequel and it has no real connection to the other movies. This movie is the beginning of Wes Craven's best period of work. 8. A Nightmare On Elm Street (2010) Not quite the cinematic antichrist that people make it out to be but certainly not good either. The biggest disappointment is that the movie has a decent cast of relatively likable young actors and some really good veterans like Jackie Earle Haley (who does a very good job with the impossible task of trying to fill Robert Englund's glove), Clancy Brown and Connie Britton. 9. The Hills Have Eyes (1977) A family of cannibals attack a non-cannibal family traveling through the desert. Fortunately, it's not as gritty and gross as The Last House On The Left but Wes Craven's second most infamous movie is still pretty effective in spite of or because of its limited budget and lack of technical polish. Totals: 1. A Nightmare On Elm Street (1984) 2. A Nightmare On Elm Street Part 2- Freddy's Revenge 3. A Nightmare On Elm Street 3- Dream Warriors 4. A Nightmare On Elm Street 4- The Dream Master 5. A Nightmare On Elm Street- The Dream Child 6. Freddy's Dead- The Final Nightmare 7. Wes Craven's New Nightmare 8. A Nightmare On Elm Steet (2010) 9. The Hills Have Eyes (1977)

 

[Ockeghem]

October 3 Films: The Fly (1958) Creature From the Black Lagoon (1954) My daughter asked me over the weekend what film it was that we saw last year where a 'guy' is coming out of the water with stripes on his body. I couldn't figure out what she was talking about, but the Creature From the Black Lagoon (or one of the trilogy) is my best guess. Television episodes: R. L. Stine's The Haunting Hour: The Series ("Lights Out") (2011) R. L. Stine's The Haunting Hour: The Series ("Best Friend Forever") (2011) Star Trek ("Catspaw") (1967) 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) 06. The Fly (1958) 07. The Creature From the Black Lagoon (1954) 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) 09. R. L. Stine's The Haunting Hour: The Series ("Lights Out") (2011) 10. R. L. Stine's The Haunting Hour: The Series ("Best Friend Forever") (2011) 11. Star Trek ("Catspaw") (1967)