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

[Oliver Ravencrest]

102) Deep In The Darkness (2014) New To Me 1/2

To escape the hectic pace of big city life, a Doctor moves his family to a small town with a sinister secret. He discovers that there's a race of creatures living in the woods that demand a sacrifice. When he can't get his family out of the town, he must find a way to kill the creatures. This one was better than i expected.

 

[Michael Elliott]

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.

Yep H2 really killed it. Carpenter took the money, which I don't blame him but it's interesting to think how the public would have accepted it after the original film. Not to mention that the sequel messes up the storyline of the first or at least took the series in a direction it didn't have to go in. As much as I'm glad it has all the sequels, it would have been more powerful and chilling just leaving the ending of part one as it is.

 

[Michael Elliott]

The Undertaker (1988) * 1/2

Roscoe (Joe Spinell) runs a funeral home but there aren't too many people dying so he's losing out on money. This gives him the idea of killing people so that his work will be full and this will bring in money. Soon the police are trying to track down who is mutilating all the people.

THE UNDERTAKER is somewhat of a mystery movie. It never got an official release in America when it was made and for many years it was only available via a bootleg. There were rumors that the film was never completed but that's certainly not true since there are opening and closing credits as well as a music score and so on. I think it might have been possible that the production ran out of money and this might explain why certain scenes end without reason or why other bits and pieces seem to not be complete.

As far as the film goes, honestly, it's pretty hard to judge the film because it just feels like it's incomplete. However, no one involved with the production has spoken up so it's hard to know what's really going on with it. As I said there are many scenes that just stop without reason or cuts off and goes to something else without much of a reason why. There are also countless scenes where people just walk or talk for no real reason other than to expand the running time. I will say that the special effects are decent for the obvious low-budget they were working on. A lot of the effects happen off screen but we get the bloody aftermath.

The main reason to watch the film or stay away from it is for Joe Spinell. The character actor appeared in films like THE GODFATHER, ROCKY and TAXI DRIVER but he will always be remembered for his role in MANIAC. That 1980 slasher was a masterpiece and several producers tried to recapture that film with Spinell. You had THE LAST HORROR FILM and then MR. ROBBIE: MANIAC 2. It's clear that they wanted this to be like MANIAC as we get some very familiar scenes and especially with Spinell talking to his victims and crying because of his pain. The performance is okay but there are some rather obvious moments where Spinell is drunk and having issues with his lines. Some might just wish not to see Spinell in this shape and especially when you considered he died a couple months after this was done filming.

So, it's really going to be up to Spinell fans on whether or not they want to see this film. It's strange that it isn't better known but there are just way too many issues for it to be a complete success.

 

[Oliver Ravencrest]

103) As Above, So Below (2014) New To Me

An Archaeologist leads a team down through the catacombs beneath Paris in search of a long lost treasure. What they find is a dark secret hidden beneath the city. This hand held camera filmed thriller held my interest all the way through and I liked some of the characters. One of the more interesting aspects of the movie was the mention of Nicolas Flamel and the Philosopher's Stone. I never knew that he was a real person, I had only heard of him from Harry Potter. Interesting stuff! This is a really good, claustrophobic thriller.

 

[whacky blacky]

October 28
89. Evil Exhumed (2016) * New To Me 1.5/5 Streamed

A kind of horror involving college students who travel to an island to excavate a burial ground. As soon as they arrive on the island they are picked off by a sickle packing mummy (an obvious Halloween costume).
All I can say is David DeCoteau did this one so you know what to expect. He is consistent at churning out really bad ones. You probably notice Eric Roberts name slapped on the cover so you figure he's in it. Wrong. He is in it, but in voice only as he reads a narrative at the beginning and at the end.
Each student shows up on the island alone and at different times which makes the mummy's job a little easier. There is no violence or even swearing which usually makes for a lame movie. You could probably write a book on what's wrong with this flick but it's easier just to avoid this one.

 

[TravisR]

108. The Funhouse

A group of kids hide in a funhouse over night and unfortunately, there's a deformed monster living in there as well. I'm a big fan of this movie. It starts with a great parody of slasher movies and has likeable kids so you care when they get killed. Wonderful widescreen photography and some creepy stuff. One of Tobe Hooper's best movies.


109. Eyes Of A Stranger (uncut version)

A killer is strangling women and a TV newswoman is suspicious of her neighbor. Nasty little movie. I always find the idea of some nut calling people on the phone before killing to be scary so I find a handful of legitimate suspenseful scenes. This isn't really a movie where you think much about the cast but Jennifer Jason Leigh actually gives a pretty believable performance as a blind and mute girl.


110. The Burning (uncut version)

A killer stalks kids at a summer camp. Tom Savini's effects are pretty impressive because he puts in all the tricks he learned from Friday The 13th & Maniac and it's fun seeing young Jason Alexander (who even as a kid is a naturally funny actor).


111. Happy Birthday To Me

A girl's friends at a private school are disappearing or are they being murdered? Slightly more upscale and bigger budgeted than most slasher movies so it's not as much fun. That being said, some of the deaths are pretty good (the shish kabob is a classic and on the one-sheet).


At the rate I'm going, I think I can hit 120 by the end so I better get in at least one more tonight.

 

[Oliver Ravencrest]

104) Shocker (1989) 1/2

A murderer survives the electric chair and goes after the adopted son of a cop. Using black magic, Horace Pinker becomes an electricity based killer who can take over people's bodies. The cop's son dreams about Pinker's crimes as they happen and must find a way to stop him. Wes Craven tries to recapture the magic of Freddy Krueger but doesn't quite get there. Pinker is an interesting villain and well played by Mitch Pileggi but the movie is a bit of a mess. It seemed to be all over the place and they went for humour instead of scares.

I won't be able to watch anything else til tomorrow. I might be able to squeeze in 13 more movies before the Challenge ends. I was hoping to get in some TV episodes too, we'll see. I may be behind but I got in a good number of movies.

 

[whacky blacky]

October 28
90. Paranormal Asylum (2013) * New To Me 2/5 Watched On DVD

I was getting sick of asylum films and starting to hate paranormal movies so what do I do, I watch Paranormal Asylum. Instead of a team of ghost hunters, there are two buddies who set up shop in the old facility hoping to catch a ghost or two.
Not a very captivating film by any means. I did like how the man's possessed wife looked like Frankenhooker with glowing eyes. The rest of the film is a bore.

 

[Neil Middlemiss]

October 28: The Frighteners (1996) – 4 out of 5

A man, Frank Bannister (Michael J. Fox) with the ability to communicate with the dead is haunted by a frightening spirit taking the lives of inhabitants in his small town. Frank is the only one who can see the ghastly spirit, who carves numbers in to the heads of his soon to be victims (that again only Frank can see), but every attempt to help save lives only makes Frank look more guilty when he’s unable to save them. Teaming up with a recent widow, Dr. Lucy Lynskey (Trini Alvarado) and pursued by a fastidious, unhinged, and peculiar federal agent, Milton Dammers (Jeffrey Combs), Frank is running out of time to put an end to the deathly spirit.

The Frighteners is a film that superbly bridges Peter Jackson’s low-budget horror films (Dead Alive, Bad Taste), with his large-scale and large-budget fantasy adventures (The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, King Kong, The Hobbit Trilogy). It’s a marvelously ambitious affair with complex and plentiful visual effects (for its day) and a compelling idea at its core. In Michael J. Fox. Jackson found his biggest actor to date to play leading man, but no ordinary leading man. Fox would be a disheveled fraudster with a checkered past, innately likeability, and of course the ability to see and talk to the dead – and he’s terrific in the role. What I find most entertaining about The Frighteners is the conviction of its horror and the mix of humor amongst all the death and ghastly ghosts. There’s also an earnest drama running through the film given weight by compelling performances (with the always excellent Jeffrey Combs shining very bright).

The Frighteners was a hard film to market, and Universal failed to market it correctly which contributed to its disappointing box office performance. But the film is genuinely terrific and bizarre and energetic and macabre in delightful balance. All the costly computers purchased by Peter Jackson and the very young WETA effects studio to deliver the outsized number of visual effects the film required were at risk of going to waste once production was over, but Jackson began to explore ideas for how they could be repurposed – and they were indeed repurposed into his next project – The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Rings – so it all worked out in the end . Highly recommended.

 

[TravisR]

112. Final Exam

A killer stalks a college campus. A lesser known slasher but enjoyable because they avoid some of the slasher tropes (the killer is just a nut with no real origin) and they have some elements that are crazy in today's world (like a frat faking a school shooting). One thing that's fun for me is that the college in the movie looks similar to my college and friends' colleges in sticksville Pennsylvania.

 

[PatW]

025 Snakes on a Plane (2006) 2.5/5

I avoided this when it first came out. It just seemed like a dumb movie with fake looking snakes and a catch phrase uttered by Jackson. I was in the drugstore the other day and I found the bluray of this in their bargain bin for $2.00. I couldn't resist and even if it was garbage, no loss.
Well it was as I expected but I found myself entertained for the duration of the movie. Everything was predictable, the deaths were predictable but for this movie who cares.

026 Zoombies (2016) bomb

Well this piece of art was a different story. A virus spreads quickly through a park rendering all the animals, yep you guessed it. A typical Asylum movie which could have been slightly interesting if the acting hadn't been atrocious and the CGI of the animals laughingly bad. And trying to pull a Jurassic Park even with similar music at the end. Who do they think their kidding?

 

[whacky blacky]

October 29
91. House Of Purgatory (2016) * New To Me 2/5 Streamed

This one had me intrigued with the plot of finding the urban legend haunted house that pays you cash if you can go through all the levels. A group of friends do find the house but once inside they realize it might not be of this realm.
I was let down once again with a boring Little Engine That Couldn't kind of film. Instead of preying on your fears, the house exposes your darkest secrets. So one girl keeps seeing her sexually abusive uncle and another is chased by a man he killed in a hit and run. You do hit with familiar themes that get portrayed in purgatory and hell type dimensions. What would they have done if someone's biggest secret was cheating on a test? No violence or gore in this one either.
Watch The Houses October Built (2014) which is much better.

 

[Tony J Case]

From last night's vewing:

109) Count Yorga, Vampire (1970) - New To Me
It's interesting that Count Yorga isn't a typical vampire in that he has a master plan of domination or the desire to increase his undead army of the night. More the movie is about just an immortal, undead fellow trying to get by day to day. It's just that his current friends wont leave unanswered questions about his past alone. Pretty good stuff for an AIP cheapie.
I give it 4 bats out of 5

* * * * * * *

110) The Return of Count Yorga (1971) - New To Me
Revived by the mysterious and mystical Santa Anna Winds, Count Yorga (a vampire) returns. Both these flicks are a fun take on the typical tried and true Dracula story, but with the added benefit of being modern (well, 1970's modern), putting a kind of cool spin on the vampire tropes. Equally fun as the first one.
I give it 4 well done sequels out of 5

* * * * * * *

111) An American Werewolf in London (1981) - New To Me
Horror comedies are very hard to get right. Ghostbusters and Gremlins are pretty much the only ones I can think of that nailed it. To that list, I should add An American Werewolf in London, a flick that balances both without tipping into being trite or corny. Some great effects too - that transformation scene is really fucked up.
I give it 5 full moons out of 5

* * * * * * *

112) The Mutilator (1984) - New To Me
Pretty much what you would expect from a movie were a group of horny, drunk college kids head out for a weed filled weekend of sex. But instead of a cabin in the woods they go to a condo on a beach and are dispatched in a series of clever and well done ways. Top marks for the gore effects and makeup.
I'll give it 4 slasher tropes out of 5

 

[dpippel]

10/28:

28) The Orphanage (2007) - BRD (2008) - 3/5 stars - NEW TO ME

The debut feature film of Spanish director J.A. Bayona, who's on-board to direct the upcoming Jurassic World sequel,The Orphanage is an entertaining and atmospheric ghost story that starts off a little rocky but comes together pretty well about half way through. Guillermo del Toro executive produced and it shows. Recommended.

 

[whacky blacky]

October 29
92. Monster From Bikini Beach (2008) * New To Me 2.5/5 Watched On DVR

A campy low budget horror comedy where a big fish creature comes to shore killing everyone.
The flying limbs and cut off heads are done in the same tradition as Troma movies. Surf rockabilly soundtrack all the way through and tons of go-go dancing. The monster looks like a team mascot more than anything. He doesn't appear to like bikini tops as he's always removing them before he kills. I figured there might be some nudity since Trash Film Orgy is the production company.
This one is watchable and not to much of a brain strain.

 

[John Stell]

117) 10/28/2016 Halloween (1978)

(out of four)

One of the few films I watch at least once a year. Still works beautifully.

118) 10/28/2016 Candyman (1992)

1/2

Reporter investigates claims of legendary figure Candyman killing people in Cabrini Green, a Chicago slum. She gets way more than she bargained for. One of the 1990s best horror films. Great performances, score, and pretty much everything else.

119) 10/29/2016 The Hollow (2004)

Even though this carries a R rating, this film seems geared to young adults. Descendant of Ichabod Crane brings the Headless Horseman back, and he's out for heads. Appropriately atmospheric with a hammy but enjoyable performance by Stacy Keach as graveyard custodian. Not bad. But not particularly memorable either.

120) 10/29/2016 Salvage (2006)

1/2

19 year old woman is attacked in her home after work early one morning: or is she? After her ordeal she wakes right back in the gas station store where she works the night shift as if nothing happened; or did it? One of those what-the-heck-is-happening Twilight Zone stories that does actually have a mild surprise at the end. Lauren Currie Lewis is good in the lead.

 

[Ruz-El]

Got in a bunch yesterday. My Vinegar Syndrome monthly pack arrived and I tore right into it. That means I was tricked into watching a movie that wasn't really horror. I then watched a movie I had DVR'd off of Turner that also wasn't a horror despite sounding like one in the description! I'm including them out of spite!

089 10/28 Deathrow Gameshow (1987) Blu 2.5/5
Goofy comedy that doesn’t work as a comedy or a horror film where convicts compete for pardons. It\s over the top in 80’s smarm and is more annoying than good.

090 10/28 Nightmare Sisters (1988) Blu 3/5
A trio a sorority girls become succubi after playing around with a crystal ball. It’s painfully bad in the acting department, but the trio is played by Scream Queens Brinke Stevens, Linnea Quigley and Michelle Bauer, and they turn into naked succubi which makes it all worthwhile.

091 10/28 Hobgoblins (1988) Blu 2/5
Not as bad as “Troll 2” as far as Gremlins rip-offs go, but it ain’t very good. When you can’t be better than “Ghoulies” as a horror comedy, you know you’re in trouble.

092 10/28 Pretty Maids All In A Row DVR 2/5
Rock Hudson stars in this thriller about a series of high shool girl murders. Except the majority of the film is about a high school boy with boner problems. This one is supposed to be a black comedy but it never really worked and felt like it would never end. Written and produced by Gene Roddenberry, Gene should have stuck to space.

093 10/28 Murder Weapon (1989) Blu 3/5
094 10/29 Deadly Embrace (1989) Blu 2/5
A pair of erotic thrillers, meaning “Skinimax” type fair in which women with big hair really get off on kissing guys bellies. Both star Linnea Quigley with “Murder Weapon” about a pair of mob daughters getting out of a asylum is the better of the two mainly due to how insanely gory it gets in the latter half. “Deadly Embrace” sounded like more of the same but sadly it’s just a mediocre skin flick about a neglected wife who hires a pool boy. It’s boring.

 

[Malcolm R]

The Wolf Man (1941)

Larry Talbot returns to his hometown after the death of his older brother and immediately starts stalking a local shopgirl. One night as they visit a gypsy caravan passing through town to have their fortunes read, Larry is attacked by a wolf. As the next full moon comes around, the finds he is cursed to become a beast himself.

I don't really hold this film in as high regard as some, the thumbs up is marginal. There's precious little of the wolf man, only two short scenes, and Lon Chaney's performance has never impressed me. There are also couple of things that always bug me when I watch this. One, when Bela is reading jenny's palm, he says the left palm is the past and the right is the future. But he sees the pentagram on her left palm. Seems like it should be on the right, if her future is to be attacked. Also, Larry is attacked by what looks like a real wolf, but turns into a bipedal wolf-man. Why the difference?

The Wolfman - Extended Version (2010)

Lawrence Talbot returns home after his brother goes missing. Ben's mutilated body is soon found, and Lawrence intends to discover the truth behind his murder, even if it means revealing every skeleton in the Talbot family closet.

In the minority, perhaps, but I really enjoy this remake (the extended version is my preferred version). I wasn't really sold on Benecio del Toro as Larry Talbot in the beginning, but have been more forgiving on repeat viewings. The rest of the cast, including Anthony Hopkins, Emily Blunt, and Hugo Weaving, are quite good.

There is more background, plot, and wolf action in this film (I love the rampage through London). Make-up (largely practical outside of the transformation scenes) and sound design are wonderful. Wolf howls echo around the room and the wolf's growl practically rattles the windows.

 

[whacky blacky]

October 29
93. Bill Huckstable: Serial Rapist (2015) * New To Me 2.5/5 Streamed.

A low budget spoof of the Bill Cosby allegations. This depicts him doing his television show during the day (titled Safe At Home) then when he gets home, he has fun with his kidnapped, chained up sex slaves in the basement. He has a seedy helper who takes care of getting rid of any problems.
This is not politically correct and the humour is very dark. They make Cosby seem more like Bob Crane from the Hogan's Heroes show mixed with the Hillside Strangler. Not for everyone's taste.

 

[Oliver Ravencrest]

105) The Conjuring (2013) New To Me

A family moves into an older, secluded farmhouse where strange events start to occur. When things start getting really bad, the family turns to Ed and Lorraine Warren, a husband and wife team of paranormal investigators and Demonologists, for help. Based on a true story, the events of this movie allegedly took place in 1970 in Rhode Island. I didn't care for this movie, it didn't work for me. I tend to believe that the Warrens were frauds, so that didn't help.

TV: Simpsons: Treehouse of Terror V and VI