***Official 17th Annual HTF October Scary Movie Challenge 2016*** (1 Viewer)

[PatW]

020 The Prophecy (1995) 4/5
021 The Prophecy 2 (1998) 3.5/5
022 The Prophecy 3: The Ascent (2000) 4/5
023 The Prophecy 4: Uprising (2005) 3.5/5
024 The Prophecy 5: Forsaken (2005) 2.5/5

I love this series, well the first four anyway. The first three are related in that Gabriel is more or less the main character even though he doesn't have much screen time in the third movie.
The Prophecy deals with the Archangel Gabriel who comes down to earth looking for an evil soul that will help him end the civil war in heaven. What are they fighting over, well us humans who Gabriel and his faction despise because God favoured us by granting us a soul.
In the second one the Archangel Michael sends Danyael to mate with a human female in order to bring about a child, a Nephilim that they hope will end the civil war in heaven.
The third movie is the conclusion. Gabriel newly human having lost his powers as punishment and to be taught a lesson, watches over Danyael, the Nephilim from a far, intervening when able. Danyael has his own crisis of faith until he meets and interacts with Gabriel. The third movie is a tale of redemption both for Danyael and Gabriel who is reconciled to the word of God, an apt conclusion to this trilogy.

The acting was hit and miss in these three movie though Christopher Walken was brilliant as Gabriel in all three. There was just enough humour to cut through the heavy atmosphere with Walken providing most of the humour. The second movie was the weakest of the three though I enjoyed all immensely.

As far as the last two go, they really don't have anything to do with the first three movies other than angels and Lucifer are present in both. I don't know if they tried to get Christopher Walken to reprise his role as Gabriel but actually his story was satisfactorily concluded in the third movie. In the last two a woman is chosen to protect an ancient manuscript that leads to the location and identity of the antichrist. The fifth movie was the weaker of the two but still a worthwhile watch and an entertaining day was spent watching these five movies.

 

[dpippel]

10/26:

26) Tarantula (1955) - DVD (2016) - 3/5 stars

Another Jack Arnold (It Came from Outer Space, Creature from the Black Lagoon) directed creature feature from the fifties, Tarantula is a solid entry in the genre. Starring John Agar, Mara Corday, and Leo G. Carroll, who plays Professor Gerald Deemer, a nutritional biologist who's developed a radioactive nutrient solution that he and his team hope will end world hunger. Injecting lab animals with the substance results in astonishing rates of growth and turns normal rats, guinea pigs and a tarantula into giants. Things go wrong, of course, when his two assistants decide to test the solution on humans by injecting themselves before adequate research on the effect has been conducted. They both die from a rare pituitary gland condition in mere days, but not before one of them goes nuts, gets in a fight with Deemer, burns the lab down and injects Deemer with the solution. The destruction frees the tarantula, which escapes into the desert, continues to grow, and eventually threatens the nearby town. The movie is very formulaic, with Agar and Corday striking up a romance amidst all of the chaos. Carroll's performance as Deemer is quite good and somewhat haunting as he succumbs to the effect of his own serum. Pretty classic stuff.

 

[Oliver Ravencrest]

98) When A Stranger Calls (1979)

Have you checked the children? When a young woman takes a babysitting job, she starts getting mysterious phone calls. A gruesome discovery is made when the Police finally arrive. Seven years later, an ex-cop tracks down the killer after he escapes from a Psychiatric Hospital. This is a really good and fairly intense thriller with a great cast. I love how the movie bookends the babysitter stuff. The music is effectively creepy and the editing, especially in the first act, is really well done.

 

[TravisR]

10/26:

26) Tarantula (1955) - DVD (2016) - 3/5 stars

Another Jack Arnold (It Came from Outer Space, Creature from the Black Lagoon) directed creature feature from the fifties...

Jack Arnold was a really solid low budget director. He was the king of Universal's 50's sci-fi movies and then transitioned to TV but he did a couple of 70's blaxploitation movies that I like too.

 

[Tony J Case]

106) Night of the Living Dead (1968)
Accidental social allegory unfolds in an abandoned Pennsylvania farmhouse.
Yeah, still one of the best zombie flicks ever put to film. Oh sure it's a bit rough in places and not quite perfect, but it's still the gold standard for Horror flicks.
I give it 5 civil rights out of 5

* * * * * * * * * *

107) Day of the Dead (1985)
A mad scientist tries to tame zombies while the military men protecting his project rapidly go off the rails.
Of the original three, Day is severely underrated. The stark opening scenes where the zombies clearly have won is some good stuff. The Captain Rhodes and the military men in the base added a nice edge of tension, the effects were really solid and I liked the evolution of smart zombies. So yeah, Day really needs more love.
I give it 4 CHOKE ON 'EM!!! out of 5

* * * * * * * * * *

108) Land of the Dead (2005)
Eat the Rich.
And now we start getting away from the original three, where the ground gets more uneven. While I don't think that Land has the sharp sardonic edge that Romero's previous zombie flicks had, it wasn't that bad. I think the much wider setting hurt the claustrophobic feeling that these movies have, but otherwise I had no issue with the flick. Not great, not terrible.
I give it 3 smarter zombies out of 5

 

[whacky blacky]

October 27
87. Mark Of The Witch (2014) * New To Me 2/5 Streamed

The film has a young lady celebrating her 18th birthday which begins to set in motion her true destiny of becoming Satan's sorcerer. Dreams and reality are soon blurred as her transition begins.
The effects were pretty bad but for a low budget I guess they tried. They were doing some kind of Matrix witchery when everything was slowed down and the witches were fighting each other. The acting wasn't bad for this flick The story was screwed up the way they conveyed it, even worse when we watch five minute intervals of slow motion scenes. Someone had a wonderful vision but I just didn't see it.
My other bitch about this witch is it ended after 69 minutes and then 10 minutes of credits. The credits were even done slow motion. Do not bother with this one.

 

[Oliver Ravencrest]

99) Into The Grizzly Maze (2015) New To Me

A bloodthirsty Grizzly bear stalks the Alaskan wild killing anyone who crosses it's path. Two estranged brothers re-unite to rescue one's wife and hunt the bear, while also dealing with poachers. This has a really good cast featuring James Marsden, Thomas Jane, Billy Bob Thornton, Scott Glenn and Piper Perabo and cinematography is beautiful. The movie, however, isn't very good at all. The movie is filled with dumb, stereotypically evil poachers but the bear attacks are pretty graphic.

 

[Michael Elliott]

THE PROPHECY series.....darn. I meant to view them this year and forgot. I saw the first one when it was released to theaters but never got around to the sequels.


The Thing: Terror Takes Shape (1998) *** 1/2

Very good documentary discussing the making of John Carpenter's THE THING. The great thing about this 88-minute documentary is the fact that all the main players are here including Carpenter, Russell, Cundy and various others. If you're a fan of the film then there's no way you won't enjoy this.

Manhattan Baby (1982) **

A man opens a tomb in Egypt and soon his young daughter is possessed by an evil spirit. This Lucio Fulci film is one that most people either skip or if they do watch it they just don't care for it. This here followed his "gore" years and for some reason the director really didn't add any gore. There are just two violent scenes with one at the start and one at the end. Everything in the middle is okay but there's just no atmosphere or scares to be found here. With none of that AND no gore you're left with a rather bland movie.

Psychomania (1973) ** 1/2

A motorcycle gang known as The Living Dead commit suicide so that they can come back to life. This is without question one of the strangest horror films ever made because there's really not too much horror. There's not any gore. No real violence. No real "zombie looking" creatures. I'm really not sure what the producers were trying to do with this thing but it's very un-1973. Viewing the film today it somewhat works because of how different it is and there's no question that it has a bizarre atmosphere unlike any other movie out there.

The Body Beneath (1970) * 1/2

A family of vampires realize that their bloodline is coming to an end so they must try and get new mmebers. Here's another period horror film from Andy Milligan. This here was one of five movies that it made in Britian and much like his American movies this one here drags on with very little action and way too much boring dialogue. There's really not anything "good" here but at the same time I'm becoming a fan of Milligan. I've only liked one of his movies yet for some reason he's starting to appeal to me. I'm not sure why since the movies are so bad but oh well.

Bigfoot Wars (2014) ** 1/2

People are being brutally murdered by Bigfoot creatures and some women are being kidnapped. Could Bigfoot be needed women to breed? Not since 1970's BIGFOOT and THE GEEK has there been a film about horny Bigfoots but here ya go. The reviews for this have been very bad but I thought it was a decent "B" movie. There's some nudity thrown in for exploitation sake and there are some practical special effects, which lead to some very bloody throat rippings. You've also got C. Thomas Howell and Judd Nelson. What else do you want?

 

[Neil Middlemiss]

October 27: Dead Alive (aka Braindead) (1992) – 4 out of 5

When Lionel’s emotionally manipulative mother is bitten by a rare Sumatran rat-monkey, she falls desperately ill. Then she starts to fall apart, literally, before passing away. But she doesn’t stay dead for long and attacks and kills a nurse which puts a bit of a dampener on Lionel’s unexpected budding romance with a local shop girl (of whom his mother did not approve). But the nurse too doesn’t stay dead for long. Unsure what to do, Lionel locks the hungry undead in his basement. Things quickly start to get out of control and pretty soon he’s got a small collection of the undead locked away beneath the house and it’s starting to raise questions.

Dead Alive, or Braindead as it was titled in the UK where I first discovered it, is gloriously gory, vividly imaginative, and boundlessly bloody. Before becoming a household name for his work directing The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Peter Jackson was a master at teeny-budgeted gross-out flicks (see Bad Taste and the bizarre adult puppet tale, Meet the Feebles for more). Dead Alive reportedly had a much higher budget than his first two films ($3MM – still small) but regardless of the budget or the genre, Peter Jackson is clearly having fun. Here his directorial style has obviously already been forged. Low-angle close-ups, swinging the camera around action, and letting the camera enjoy the special effects work (without fast or unnecessarily sharp cuts to try and smooth out or hide the rough edges) is fully on display here and it’s incredibly fun.

It’s reported that there is no bloodier movie (measured by the number of gallons of blood used) than Dead Alive, with 90% of that blood spewing during the brilliant pre-finale event that involves hordes of undead and a lawn mower. Where Dead Alive is perhaps most memorable is in the cheeky humor and balls-to-the-wall gross effects work. There’s shooting puss, zombie babies (and a blender), decapitation, electrocution, faces being ripped off (in the middle of a zombie kiss) and a grown man being pulled back into his mother’s womb that is gross and funny in all the right and wrong ways.

Dead Alive is one of those films that I saw at an impressionable age. I saw it in 1992 when I was 17 and already a big fan of the genre. It’s the kind of film that has wonderfully juvenile but endlessly quotable lines that are to be delivered your best New Zealand accent (“I kick arse for the Lord”), and the absurdity, rawness, and wickedly inventive ways in which people and zombies are dispatched all add up to a memorable experience. As a “grown up”, some of the grossness was harder to stomach than it was for me in my youth, but my appreciation for what Peter Jackson and his team created on such a small budget, while delivering a cohesive story, a likeable romance, and many, many chuckles, has only grown.

 

[whacky blacky]

October 27
88. The Cutting Room (2015) * New To Me 2/5 Watched On DVD
The film opens up with a real old song I'm In The Mood For Food playing, while some masked dude is carving away on a chained up girl. You think this film might be good but then nope. All the energy was put into the beginning and then they burnt out.
It turns into a found footage where some friends investigate a cyberbully disappearance. They end up in the lair of the killer getting lost and almost killed but luckily escape. So they decide to go back. Some people never learn.
Forget about this one. All you're going to miss are shaky cameras as they are always running and constant screaming.

 

[TravisR]

104. He Knows You're Alone

A killer stalks women who are soon to be married. Another slasher movie with a great opening sequence but the rest can't live up to it. Still not a bad movie if you're a fan of the slasher genre.


105. Terror Train

A killer stalks graduating college kids on a train trip. It's nice seeing Jamie Lee Curtis, Ben Johnson and Hart Bochner but this is probably Curtis' weakest horror movie (at least Prom Night has disco music and some amusing slasher cliches). I like the idea of the killer changing his costume with his victims though.


106. Maniac (1980)

A killer stalks women in New York City. Brutal and sleazy movie about the bad old days of New York City. Joe Spinell gives an excellent performance as a really messed up sicko. Disturbing and great effects work from Tom Savini. A number of scenes generate real tension. Not for the faint of heart but a gem from the era.


107. My Bloody Valentine (1981) (uncut version)

A killer stalks a group of miners and their girlfriends who are celebrating Valentine's Day. Enjoyable slasher enhanced in its uncut form. For a movie like this, the actors and their characters come across as surprisingly real. For fans of the soundtrack, Waxwork Records recently released this score on LP.

 

[Malcolm R]

THE PROPHECY series.....darn. I meant to view them this year and forgot. I saw the first one when it was released to theaters but never got around to the sequels.

Same here. Some of the many films that will probably not get watched this year. I've loved Prophecy for years. I'm pretty sure I've seen parts two and three, not sure about the rest.

lights out (new)

Martin is beginning to worry about his mother. One night he hears her talking to herself, but when he asks if she's OK, she replies, "Sorry, did we wake you"? His response is a suitably freaked out, "Wh...Whaaat?" Martin seeks help from his older half sister, Rebecca, who had moved out of the house as soon as she could to escape her mother's delusions. But Martin knows there's something lurking in the shadows, and delusions don't rattle doorknobs, move objects, and scratch the walls.

Neat concept. Unfortunately most of the scares were used in the trailers, which had me jumping out of my chair this past summer. So it took some of the tension out of the film. But the film was still suitably creepy. The blu ray includes deleted scenes which apparently has the original, extended ending. I think they must have cut it to preserve a jumping off point for a likely sequel.

 

[Oliver Ravencrest]

100) The Exorcist (1973) 1/2

A young girl slowly begins to act strange, so her Mother seeks medical help. When the doctors can't find anything wrong medically, they suggest that she should see a Psychiatrist. Her Mother instead seeks the help of two priests when her daughter starts speaking in tongues and levitating. They soon believe she is possessed by the Devil and perform an exorcism! This movies is really well made and acted. This movie holds up incredibly well and though it isn't as scary as it was when I was younger, the tension is still there. The make-up effects are amazing. Great movie!

 

[Oliver Ravencrest]

101) The Omen (1976)

A U.S. Ambassador and his wife adopt Damien after their child is born stillborn. They ignore warnings about their son until after a series of accidents happen, then they begin to believe that Damien is really the spawn of Satan. Protected by his Nanny and a large dog, young Damien must be destroyed! Richard Donner directs the always great Gregory Peck in this well made thriller.

 

[dpippel]

That one's on my list too Oliver.

 

[John Stell]

110) 10/26/2016 Horror Hospital (1973)

1/2 (out of four)

Mad doctor Michael Gough runs "health clinic" which he uses to secure his youthful victims, bending them to his will. Two young people try to stop him. Very amusing horror entry has a sense of humor that mostly works. Nothing really groundbreaking except maybe for the decapitating car.

111) 10/26/2016 Operating Out of Battersea: The Making of Horror Hospital (2015)

Refreshingly frank making-of feature where various behind-the-scenes persons talk about making the film and share their feelings on the late Anthony Balch, the film's director. The DP admits he didn't really care for the film.

112) 10/26/2016 Robin Askwith is Admitted to Horror Hospital for Further Treatment (2015)

1/2

Star of Horror Hospital talks about how he got the gig, etc. Askwith is a real character and has his share of amusing anecdotes to tell.

113) 10/27/2016 Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension (2015)

Wow, what a lazy way to close out (?) the series. It's the found footage version of Poltergeist. Parents fight to save their young daughter from demonic forces. More loud noises and sudden shocks. But it takes half an hour for anything to star happening and there's very little that's new or fresh. It becomes a total bore and the ending stinks. Maybe the extended version or the extended version with alternate ending is better but I'm in no hurry to watch this thing again. I can't imagine enduring a longer cut of this. The least of the series (or maybe tied with Part 4).

114) 10/27/2016 Burial Ground (1981) 1/2

Those wacky Italians and their zombie movies: this one's the pits. Three couples (one of which has a son who looks like Rachel Dratch) get trapped at a villa where the dead have been revived. And these dead guys know how to use sharp tools and throw weapons! One woman never stops screaming or moaning. There's a WTF moment of potential incest. At the 55 minute mark I couldn't believe there was half an hour left. P-U.

115) 10/28/2016 The Embalmer (1965)

In the catacombs of Venice, a mysterious figure, who alternates between wearing scuba gear and monk robes with skull mask, kidnaps and petrifies young women. The cops think the disappeared have just fallen into the channels. So a reporter decides to get to the truth. I like the film's atmosphere and finale. But most of the time this is pretty listless.

116) 10/28/2016 Spider Baby (1964)

Very entertaining oddity about unusual "children" and the man (Lon Chaney) who takes care of them. They'll occasionally kill the stranger who visits their house, so when relatives show up to claim the residence, watch out! Fascinating, one of a kind film from director Jack Hill.

 

[Ruz-El]

I only got in three movies since the last update. I thought I'd easily break 100 this year but I'll be lucky to make it. Not cool!

086 10/26 Burnt Offerings (1976) DVR 4/5
This one is supposedly one of Stephen Kings favourite movies and you can certainly see aspects of “The Shining” in it. A family rents a house for the summer and starts to become affected. This one a really good, mainly due to Oliver Reed being so intense throughout. The rest of the cast with Karen Black and Bette Davis were great too.

087 10/27 The Believers (1987) bluray 2.5/5
I had memories of this one being hot stuff and controversial on release but it ends up being a pretty boring thriller. Martin Sheen is a police psychologist who gets mixed up in Voodoo crimes in New York. Some neat ideas and fine acting but it never really adds up to much.

088 10/27 Mazes and Monsters (1982) YouTube 2/5
“Evilspeak” had me craving this one and I should have left it alone. I recall it being great, but it’s just plodding and stupid. Tom Hanks and his friends get way to into Dungeons and Dragons and the result is boring.

 

[dpippel]

10/27:

27) The Wolf Man (1941) - BRD (2012) - 4.5/5 stars

One of Universal's seminal classic monster movies, The Wolf Man is a complete treat. A stand-out atmospheric film of its genre, the lighting and cinematography are simply a joy to behold and the sets are amazing. Apart from some very obvious (and not very well done) matte paintings and rear projection screen use at the beginning of the movie, The Wolf Man set the bar pretty high for its time. Sure it's corny and a bit cheesy, particularly Lon Chaney Jr.'s interactions with Evelyn Ankers, but it never fails to entertain and all of the players are great. Bela Lugosi and Maria Ouspenskaya, as mother and son Gypsies with a terrible family secret, are particularly memorable and help turn the mysterious atmosphere up to 11. Highly, highly recommended.

I'd forgotten how great the Universal Classic Monsters: The Essential Collection Blu-ray set looks, and I totally enjoyed revisiting The Wolf Man. So much so that I may just try to burn through all of the other films in the set this weekend, before it's too late!

 

[Michael Elliott]

The Burning (1981) ***

Outside of the F13 series this here is certainly the best of the 80's slashers. You've got a lot of fun characters. You've got a great killer. You've got a pretty good story loosely based on the Cropsy legend. You've got a terrific setting and a group of familiar young actors. Then there are the special effects from Tom Savini. The now legendary raft sequence is one of the genre's best moments and the end is excellent as well. This one here is certainly a winner among the genre.

Psycho II (1983) *** 1/2

I really love this sequel and especially how it tries to stick to the mystery of the original. I thought the story was excellent and I really liked the mystery and how they wanted to keep you off guard throughout the running time. Yes, there are some cheats that prevent the movie from being perfect but they're making a sequel to one of the greatest movies ever made. That's not easy and yet they pulled it off. I think all the performances are wonderful and especially Perkins who had no problems fitting back into the role. The supporting players are great and there's some nice suspense throughout. The ending is wonderful.

Psycho III (1986) ***

This third film breaks away from the "mystery" aspect of the first two. Director Perkins brings in some humor as well as more slasher touches but the film is still a success. What I like most is that it works as a character development because the story of Norman and the girl is rather good and you certainly want to see them happy together. Jeff Fahey is wonderful in his roll as the rocker. This was one of my favorite films to watch when I was younger and it still holds up quite well.

The Amityville Legacy (2016) **

The AMITYVILLE series is one of the worst ever made with the countless bad sequels. Sadly the Amityville title can be used by countless knock-offs so I wasn't expecting much out of this low-budget film. I was surprised to see how slightly entertaining it was as the story deals with a toy monkey given to a father for his birthday. The only problem is that this toy was in the Amityville house and soon the father is possessed. This here is slightly entertaining as it features some good performances and some nice direction but it's just 69-minutes so by the time the film seems to get going it's over.

Chopping Mall (1986) ** 1/2

A group of teens are trapped inside the mall with three killer robots. I love Jim Wynorski's approach to low-budget movies and if anything CHOPPING MALL shows what you can do without much money. I thought the film was pretty damn creative for what it is and it certainly looks a lot better than it probably should have. You've got the nudity, the wacky violence and everything you'd expect out of this type of "B" picture. It's not a masterpiece but it's entertaining.

Halloween III (1982) ***

Like most I used to hate this film because it didn't have Michael Myers but as I've grown older I've come to appreciate it a lot more. There are still some problems with the film including the fact that it lasts a bit too long and I'd argue that it needed another re-write but at the same time it's too bad people were willing to let each sequel be a new story. Tom Atkins is great in the lead role and the ghoulish idea to the killing of children leads to a brilliant ending.

 

[Malcolm R]

but at the same time it's too bad people were (not) willing to let each sequel be a new story.

It might have worked if they'd started a new story with H2, but by making that a Myers continuation they were kind of stuck. By then, making H3 different was an unexpected curve ball.