*** Official 12th Annual HTF October Scary Movie Challenge 2011 *** (2 Viewers)

[Bob McLaughlin]

3. The Crimson Cult (aka Curse of the Crimson Altar) (first-time viewing) In its opening 10 minutes, this film tries too hard to convince us it's going to be edgy and hip (a topless dominatrix, a title card talking about the effects of psychedelic drugs, a "swingers" party scene), but that can't hide the fact that this is just another creaky old British horror film trying to be as good as Hammer films but failing. Christopher Lee does what he can with his role, and Boris Karloff late in his career (and wheelchair bound) steals every scene, but it just isn't enough. Ultimately the script and story are just too weak. Bob's A-Z 2011 Horror Movie Marathon FTV means first-time viewing 1. Antichrist 2. Burning Bright 3. The Crimson Cult

 

[Michael Elliott]

Tucker and Dale vs. Evil (2010) :star::star::star: This horror-comedy is slowly making the rounds but the strong word-of-mouth has already gained it a strong cult following. Rednecks Dale (Tyler Labine) and Tucker (Alan Tudyk) are going to the country to work on their summer house when they run into a group of college kids. After the rednecks save one of them from drowning, the rest of the group thinks that they are serial killers and soon the two sides are doing battle. It seems like every year one or two horror films build up a strong reputation but more often than not I often find myself disappointed. I'm not sure why it is but much too often these type of low-budget films are given all sorts of hype and they usually don't live up to it. TUCKER AND DALE VS. EVIL is the exception because it actually does deliver a good number of laughs and it plays against the horror genre quite well. With that said, I still think the film contains quite a few flaws and it certainly isn't the masterpiece some people are making it out to be. One strong point is certainly the screenplay that is smart enough to know how to make fun of the genre by setting up familiar things that fans are going to pick up on. Just check out a hilarious sequence where Tucker is using a chainsaw on a log and hits a bee hive. He starts swinging the chainsaw like a maniac, ala Leatherface, and this joke really pays off and especially how it eventually ends for one of the teenagers. Another terrific sequence deals with Dale and Tucker thinking that the teens are in a suicide club and that the two rednecks have interrupted them. A lot of the humor is the over-the-top kind and this here includes quite a few bloody death sequences. Most of the deaths happen accidental but this does lead to plenty of the red stuff including one poor soul who runs into a wood chipper. Fans of movies like DEAD ALIVE are going to know the type of humor that this film has to offer even if the end result is several notches below that Peter Jackson classic. Both Labine and Tudyk are extremely good in their roles. The entire redneck genre has been done to death but I thought the two actors handled their parts quite well and managed for them to come across rather fresh. Katrina Bowden plays one of the college girls who ends up on the redneck's side and she too is quite good. There are several problems with the film including the fact that many of the jokes fall flat on their face. Another problem is that even at just 88-minutes the film seems a bit too long. With that said, fans of the genre are still going to want to check this out and especially with the strong performances, sick humor and the gore. Beginning of the End (1957) :star::star: Bert I. Gordon will always be remembered for his "giant" movies and this one here is without question one of his most infamous. In the film, a scientist (Peter Graves) and a reporter (Peggie Castle) must help the Army when hundreds of grasshoppers get into some nuclear material, which causes them to grow to gigantic sizes. Soon they start destroying entire cities and they have Chicago on their radar. Gordon's first "giant" movie is about as silly as its reputation would have you believe and thankfully there are some really silly moments that help keep the entertainment level rather high. Needless to say, the actual story here is quite weak and the explanation given as to why the insects are growing is rather silly and hearing Graves have to explain it should have gotten him a special Academy Award since he was able to get through the dialogue with a straight face. While I don't think the movie is as bad as its reputation there's still no way to defend what bad moments are here. I think the biggest burden is that the special effects are so lame that you can't help but laugh and it actually appears they get worse as the movie goes along. The most infamous moment happens at the end of the picture when the grasshoppers are climbing up a building and attacking our heroes who are inside. Now, in order to pull off this special "effect" the filmmakers decided to photograph some sort of postcard or perhaps poster and then have the grasshoppers walk on it. The effect doesn't work but to make matters worse is the now famous moment when one of the grasshoppers walks on the skyline making it obvious that the effect is fake. Another major problem with the effects is that the grasshoppers are always strange looking because they appear as a different color compared to everything else in the frame. I think most producers would have taken a look at these effects and pulled the plug but thankfully they stuck together as we at least got an at times funny picture out of it. At 72-minutes the film moves along well enough even though there are certain times when the film starts to grow cold. The performances are about what you'd expect from a film like this but Graves is at least giving an obvious effort. Just about the only real good thing you can say about this film is that the title is actually an effective one but it's too bad the material wasn't up to its level. Sisters (2006) :star::star: Remake of the Brian DePalma thriller didn't cause that much bickering among fans when it was released because most people still don't know it exists. The film has a reporter (Chloe Sevigny) witnessing a murder by a mysterious twin (Lou Doillon) but when the police arrive on the scene there's no blood and no body. The reporter then starts to investigate the woman's doctor (Stephen Rea) and soon begins to unravel the secrets. This remake of SISTERS certainly isn't as good as the original but the nice cast and a good start are quickly ruined in a needlessly insane second half where everything just unravels. The first hour is pretty much exactly like the previous movie so if you've seen it then it's doubtful any of the plot points here are going to throw you. I found the opening hour to be a fairly well-made thriller because the director at least kept everything moving at a nice pace and the three lead actors were doing so well that it helped keep your attention. Then, the final thirty minutes just go crazy in terms of wanting to shock you and come up with bizarre story lines that just never make much sense. It should go without saying but any movie made after THE SIXTH SENSE needs that "shock" ending. I'm guessing the filmmakers didn't think the DePalma version had a big enough of a shock (I'd disagree) so they decided to take the story into new directions. The only problem is that the twists here aren't shocking and what they've added to the story just doesn't work. I won't spoil anything but we get all sorts of scenes where characters just sit down with the reporter and begin telling her about what really happened. I always find scenes where we have characters sitting down to explain things bad writing because it's obvious the film is lost and they just need to keep moving along so they try to fill us in on everything we've missed. What direction they take the doctor just doesn't work, comes off forced and at times it's almost laughable. Outside of that this is a pretty solid little thriller that cranks up the violence, sex and nudity. That's the one big adjustment over the DePalma version as this one here features a little more dirty moments and the reporter has an added backstory that actually works well with the twin's story. Sevigny can always be counted on for a good performance and she manages to bring a lot to the role of the reporter. I thought she was believable in the role and certainly helped keep the movie going at a good pace. Doillon is also extremely good in her part as the twins. I was a little shocked to see Rea in a movie like this but it was still nice to see him after all these years. Fans of the DePalma movie really don't have much of a reason to watch this unless they simply want to compare the two versions. I'm sure if you're unfamiliar with the original version then many of the story lines here will throw you for a loop but if you haven't seen either one then it's still best to go with the original first. Night at the Movies, A: The Horrors of Stephen King (2011) :star::star::star: The third film in Turner Classic Movies "A Night at the Movies" series takes a look at the horror films that influenced Stephen King and the ones that scared him. This is basically a sixty-minute interview with the legendary author as he discusses what he feels works in the genre as well as where he thinks the genre has gone wrong. He states that the first film that truly scared him was BAMBI and then he relives the experiences of seeing movies like NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, PSYCHO as well as the terror he had going into THE EXORCIST. Many of the famous films are discussed but King also talks about some of the more laughed at entries into the genre like ATTACK OF THE GIANT LEECHES, I WAS A TEENAGE WEREWOLF and ATTACK OF THE 50FT. WOMAN. One of the most interesting parts of the documentary happens towards the end when King talks about some of his books that were adapted into movies. He talks about a pre-release screening he had of CARRIE and also talks about MISERY and how he felt that Dee Wallace Stone was better in CUJO and deserves more credit for her work. Of course, if King is discussing his own movies then you expect him to discuss his somewhat hatred of THE SHINING. King shares his opinions on the movie and why he and Stanley Kubrick had such a different opinion on what the story was really about. This documentary pretty much covers everything from the silents to the slasher period and up to today's torture porn. Fans of the genre will enjoy hearing some of their favorite films discussed and I'm sure fans of King are going to enjoy him sharing all these personal stories. This third entry in the series is certainly a major step up from the previous two but once again this film really doesn't seem to have any direction going on as the way the stories are told are all over the place and one wishes that it had followed some sort of order.

 

[John Stell]

Rating - Out of a possible 4



010) 10/03/2011 The Phantom Carriage (1920)

1/2


Legend has it that the last person to die each New Year's Eve will become the new driver of the Phantom Carriage, the vehicle Death uses to collect those whose time on earth is up. This tale concerns the remorse and suffering of a drunkard who is shown by the driver how his awful actions have affected his family and a Salvation Army nurse who tried to help him. Filled with haunting imagery of the traveling carriage, the film builds to an emotionally wrenching climax. A film that gets better with each viewing.


011) 10/03/2011 Destiny (1921)

When a woman's fiance dies, she tries to bargain with Death to allow him to live. Death gives her three chances to save her love. Director Fritz Lang's striking tale has beautiful visuals (a room filled with lit candles represents life) to spare and is entertaining. But the ultimate fate of the woman relating to how to reunite with her fiance is troubling in its implication.

 

[John Stell]

Originally Posted by Michael Elliott

I hope this plays on the East Coast at some point 'cause I really want to see it. Leonard Maltin, of all people, wrote a "go see this movie" piece on his blog.

 

[Ruz-El]

I was on the fence with "The Phantom Carriage", but now I'm thinking I have to pick up the Criterion. Sounds pretty great.

 

[TravisR]

Sisters (2006) :star::star: Remake of the Brian DePalma thriller didn't cause that much bickering among fans when it was released because most people still don't know it exists.

Yep. The first thing I thought when I saw you were writing about Sisters (2006) was "I didn't know they remade Sisters".

 

[Radioman970]

I didn't know either. I'll bet DePalma himself couldn't make a decent remake of that.

 

[Bryan^H]

October 3 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)[/SIZE]

Excellent choice with "Catspaw". One of my favorite Trek episodes period, not to mention it was the "Halloween episode" for the series.

 

[Ockeghem]

Bryan, Thanks. I try to watch Catspaw every year during or around Halloween. I've been doing this for several years.

 

[Radioman970]

Catspaw was my first VHS purchase of the series. namely because it was next in line at the time I decided to start buying them.

 

[Ockeghem]

Catspaw was my first VHS purchase of the series. namely because it was next in line at the time I decided to start buying them.

Radioman, Awesome. "You've earned your pay for the week."

 

[PatW]

Catspaw, Trek at its best. Haunted Palace (1963) :star::star::star::star: I thought I had pretty much seen everything that Vincent Price has done but I missed this one. Directed by Roger Corman and based on the Lovecraft story The Strange Case of Charles Dexter Ward. Ward is the great great grandson of a warlock who was burned alive by the townfolks 100 years or so ago. Of course as the warlock dies he places a curse on the town. A century later Charles Ward arrives to claim his inheritance, the palace his ancestor lived in. Ward is possessed by his ancestor and the townfolks, those who ancestors were responsible for the warlock's death, start dying. This is one of Corman's better movies and Vincent Price can certainly do these movies in his sleep. The movie has great atmosphere, music and is highly entertaining. Sorority Row (2009):star::star: Sorority sisters cover up the accidental but violent death of one of their own. A year later people start dying. This is a typical teenage slasher movie which has some good moments but is ultimately forgettable. 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 07 The Haunted Palace (1963) 4/5 * 08 Sorority Row (2009) 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]

Pat, I too thought I had seen most (if not all) of Vincent Price's work. Now I'm quite intrigued by what you've written regarding The Haunted Palace. Is the film anything like Witchfinder General, or are the two films quite different?

 

[PatW]

Pat, I too thought I had seen most (if not all) of Vincent Price's work. Now I'm quite intrigued by what you've written regarding The Haunted Palace. Is the film anything like Witchfinder General, or are the two films quite different?

I think the two films are different though they both deal with witchcraft in a roundabout way. I enjoyed the Haunted Palace alot more than the other. Ward was a more sympathetic character even when he became possessed by his great great grandfather. If anything it vaguely reminds me more of Frankenstein.

 

[Chucky P]

I missed seeing a film yesterday so I decided break the emergency glass and watch Mark Of The Vampire. 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) October 4 4. Mark Of The Vampire (1935)

 

[Dennis Castro]

The Last Man on Earth Directed by Sidney Salkow 1960 **** The great Vincent Price stars in what is the best adaptation of Richard Matheson's "I am Legend." I must admit my bias as "I am Legend" is one of my favorite stories. Very faithful it keeps the story small personal and character driven. This is were the other adaptations fail. They take a small personal story and try to blow it up into a epic blockbuster missing the essence of the original story. While The Omega Man and "I am Legend" starr Charlton Heston and Will Smith respectively, they aren't Vincent Price!I was turned on to this adaptation from an article on George Romero were he stated that "The Last Man on Earth" was his inspiration for "Night of The Living Dead." You can definitely see that here. I simply love this film to death! 1. [REC] ***1/2 DVD 2. [REC] **** DVD 3. The Last Man on Earth **** DVD

 

[TravisR]

In anticipation of getting the Scream 4 Blu-ray, I started watching the series late last night. 10. Scream Depending on the scene, it's scary, funny, smart and plain old entertaining. A likable cast playing enjoyable characters helps amp up the suspense. For my money, it's the best horror movie of the 1990's. 11. Scream 2 A very worthy sequel. Like its predecessor, it manages to be suspenseful, funny and make a few comments about society. 12. Scream 3 It isn't terrible but it's easily the weakest in the series. There's some good stuff in it (any scene with Parker Posey or Lance Henrikesen is good, funny cameos and the exploding house sequence is a big set piece for a Scream movie) but it moves too slow and the reveal of the killer is a letdown. 13. Scream 4 Since it just came out on video, I won't go into spoilers but I was very happy with this movie. All the new actors are fun (Emma Roberts, Hayden Panetierre, Rory Culkin, Anthony Anderson, Alison Brie, Adam Brody). Hopefully, its reputation will grow over the years like Scream 2's has. If this is the last Scream movie, they went out much stronger than they did with Scream 3. 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) 10. Scream 11. Scream 2 12. Scream 3 13. Scream 4

 

[Malcolm R]

Pitch Black (2000) Grade: A One of my favorite sci-fi/horror films. After flying through the tail of a rogue comet, and being pelted with debris, a passenger ship crash lands on a distant planetary moon. The motley crew of survivors--including a bounty hunter and his prisoner, a group of Muslims headed for "New Mecca," and several other 'tourists'--are forced to work through their differences and band together after it's discovered that the moon is infested with nocturnal predators. I've been in love with this film since I first saw it over 10 years ago. Vin Diesel is perfectly cast as the highly-lethal convict, Riddick, creature design by Patrick Tatopoulos is very cool, and I just love the look of the film as directed by David Twohy (who directed another of my favorite horror films, the underrated Below, which I hope to revisit again as part of this year's challenge). The pseudo-sequel, The Chronicles of Riddick, wasn't as successful as it became more of a straight-up sci-fi film, losing the horror elements. A second sequel is in pre-production and sounds like it'll be closer to Pitch Black in tone and content.

 

[Ockeghem]

October 4 Films: Mostly Ghostly: Who Let the Ghosts Out? (2008) This is another of those family-oriented films we watch every year around Halloween. It's a fun film, and one that has most of our children laughing frequently. It stars several people from various Disney shows and/or other films, including the sister of Lindsay Lohan, whom I've not seen in anything else. Television episodes: Charmed ("Charmed and Dangerous") (2002) R. L. Stine's The Haunting Hour: The Series ("Ghostly Stare") (2011) R. L. Stine's The Haunting Hour: The Series ("Catching Cold") (2011) "Charmed and Dangerous" introduces the Seer into the series, and gives us our first look at the Source's face. As much as I like the series, I wish that the original Source (especially the voice) had remained throughout. 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) 08. Mostly Ghostly: Who Let the Ghosts Out? (2008) 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) 12. Charmed ("Charmed and Dangerous") (2002) 13. R. L. Stine's The Haunting Hour: The Series ("Ghostly Stare") (2011) 14. R. L. Stine's The Haunting Hour: The Series ("Catching Cold") (2011)

 

[Ockeghem]

I think the two films are different though they both deal with witchcraft in a roundabout way. I enjoyed the Haunted Palace alot more than the other. Ward was a more sympathetic character even when he became possessed by his great great grandfather. If anything it vaguely reminds me more of Frankenstein.

Pat, Thanks. I will be getting this film. I may actually own it and not even know it. That would be a pleasant surprise.