***Official 18th Annual HTF October Scary Movie Challenge 2017*** (1 Viewer)

[Bryan^H]

16) Dracula Prince Of Darkness (1966)
Two couples are drawn to Dracula's castle by unfortunate circumstances. I wonder what happens? I love the ending which has Dracula meet a force only mentioned in the most devoted Romaninan tales of ways to kill a vampire. It is unique, and good.
Grade-B

17) Frankenstein Created Woman (1967)
Many people consider this one of the best Hammer Frankenstein films. I guess it is my second favorite behind 'Curse of Frankenstein'(perfection). It largely deals with a terrible, rich, ill-tempered gang of punks. The pinnacle of a revenge tale in a horror movie.
Grade-A-

 

[Pete Battista]

Orange Text - Theater Viewing
Blue text - Blu Ray Viewing
Black Text - DVD Viewing
Green Text - DVD-R Viewing
Purple Text- Streaming

BOLD - First Time Viewing

My List:
1. Dark Night of the Scarecrow - Rating: 4/5
2. Havenhurst - Rating: 2.5/5
3. Extraordinary Tales - Rating: 2/5
4. The Boy - Rating: 3.5/5
5. Dog Soldiers - Rating: 4/5
6. Get Out - Rating 3.5/5
7. It - 4/5
8. Fright Night (1985) - Rating: 4/5
9. Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse - Rating: 2.5/5
10. It - Rating: 4/5
11. Idle Hands - Rating: 3/5
12. Don't Be Afraid of the Dark - Rating: 3/5
13. The Exorcist III - Rating: 3.5/5
14. Offspring - Rating: 3.5/5
15. Dracula - Rating 4/5
16. Dracula's Daughter - Rating: 3.5/5
17. 13 Ghosts - Rating: 3.5/5
18. Vampire Circus - Rating: 3.5/5
17. Descendents - Rating: 2/5
18. The Fog - Rating: 4.5/5
19. The Visit - Rating: 3/5
20. Cat People - Rating: 4/5
21. The Watcher in the Woods - Rating: 3.5/5
22. The Worst Witch - Rating: 2.5/5
23. Visions - Rating: 3.5/5
24. Silver Bullet - Rating: 4.5/5
25. Warlock: The Armageddon - Rating:4/5
26. Vampires - Rating: 4.5/5
27. Mirrors 2 - Rating: 3.5/5
28. Monster Squad - Rating: 4/5
29. Near Dark - Rating: 4.5/5
30. The Invisible Man - Rating: 3.5/5
31. Vinyan -Rating: 1/5
32. Body bags - Rating: 3.5/5
33. The Mummy (2017) - Rating: 3.5/5
34. Tales of Terror - Rating 4/5
35. Let the Right One In - Rating: 4/5
36. Tower of Terror - Rating: 3/5
37. The Autopsy of Jane Doe - Rating: 3.5/5
38. Trilogy of Terror - Rating: 4/5
39. Badass Monster Killer - Rating: 0.5/5
40. Corpse Bride - Rating: 4/5
41. Cube - Rating: 3.5/5
42. Cube 2: Hypercube - Rating: 3/5
43. Resident Evil: The Final Chapter - Rating: 3.5/5



My Review:

Resident Evil: The Final Chapter (2016/United States)
IMDb |Wikipedia |Trailer |

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (United States)
Director: Paul W.S. Anderson
Writing: Paul W.S. Anderson (Writer)
Length: 107 min.
Video: Widescreen 2.40:1
Audio: English: DTS-HD Master Audio: 7.1, Audio Descriptive: Dolby Digital: 5.1, French: Dolby Digital: 5.1, Portuguese: DTS-HD Master Audio: 5.1, Spanish: Dolby Digital: 5.1, Thai: Dolby Digital: 5.1
Subtitles: Bahasa, Chinese, English, French, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish, Thai, Vietnamese
Stars:
Milla Jovovich as Alice
Iain Glen as Dr. Isaacs
Ali Larter as Claire Redfield
Shawn Roberts as Wesker
Eoin Macken as Doc

Plot:
Picking up after Resident Evil: Retribution, Alice (Milla Jovovich) is the only survivor of what was meant to be humanity's final stand against the undead. Now, she must return to where the nightmare began – The Hive in Raccoon City, where the Umbrella Corporation is gathering its forces for a final strike against the only remaining survivors of the apocalypse.

Extras:

• Scene Access
• Bonus Trailers
• Featurettes
• Picture-in-picture
• Digital Copy

My Thoughts:

I found this to be a good, fun film. But I am not surprised as I always liked Action/horror films. Not to mention I have always been a Resident Evil fan. I enjoy both the film and game franchises. I think they did a good job concluding the story line.

Rating:

 

[dpippel]

10/20:

14) Slither (2006) - 4/5 stars

James Gunn's alien invasion splatterfest is bloody, gross, highly entertaining, and funny as hell all at the same time. The comedy works so well because the horror aspects are taken seriously and the cast is completely on-target. Nathan Fillion, Elizabeth Banks, and Michael Rooker steal the show. Enthusiastically recommended!

 

[Malcolm R]

Rawhead Rex

A farmer attempting to clear rocks from his field breaks the seal of an ancient crypt and releases a pagan demon creature that proceeds to rampage across the countryside in rural Ireland. Based on the short story by Clive Barker, who also wrote the screenplay but later disowned the picture.

This film doesn't have a great reputation, but I enjoy it. This was the first time I've ever seen the widescreen version, having just received the new Kino blu-ray. My prior viewings were probably in the 1990's on VHS.

The film gets knocked a lot for the creature FX, but I don't think they're significantly worse than any others in low budget creature features of the 80's. Before CGI, the creature was always a man in a suit or a jerky animatronic creation, or some combo of both.

An interview with the FX supervisor on the blu states they were very short on time for preproduction, only having four weeks to design, create, and test the creature for the start of filming. He also stated they ran out of money and much of the crew walked off the set prior to filming the finale (which I agree is quite weak).

Maybe it's nostalgia, but as one of those horror films I discovered by browsing the video stores of my youth, I like it.

 

[Pete Battista]

Orange Text - Theater Viewing
Blue text - Blu Ray Viewing
Black Text - DVD Viewing
Green Text - DVD-R Viewing
Purple Text- Streaming

BOLD - First Time Viewing

My List:
1. Dark Night of the Scarecrow - Rating: 4/5
2. Havenhurst - Rating: 2.5/5
3. Extraordinary Tales - Rating: 2/5
4. The Boy - Rating: 3.5/5
5. Dog Soldiers - Rating: 4/5
6. Get Out - Rating 3.5/5
7. It - 4/5
8. Fright Night (1985) - Rating: 4/5
9. Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse - Rating: 2.5/5
10. It - Rating: 4/5
11. Idle Hands - Rating: 3/5
12. Don't Be Afraid of the Dark - Rating: 3/5
13. The Exorcist III - Rating: 3.5/5
14. Offspring - Rating: 3.5/5
15. Dracula - Rating 4/5
16. Dracula's Daughter - Rating: 3.5/5
17. 13 Ghosts - Rating: 3.5/5
18. Vampire Circus - Rating: 3.5/5
17. Descendents - Rating: 2/5
18. The Fog - Rating: 4.5/5
19. The Visit - Rating: 3/5
20. Cat People - Rating: 4/5
21. The Watcher in the Woods - Rating: 3.5/5
22. The Worst Witch - Rating: 2.5/5
23. Visions - Rating: 3.5/5
24. Silver Bullet - Rating: 4.5/5
25. Warlock: The Armageddon - Rating:4/5
26. Vampires - Rating: 4.5/5
27. Mirrors 2 - Rating: 3.5/5
28. Monster Squad - Rating: 4/5
29. Near Dark - Rating: 4.5/5
30. The Invisible Man - Rating: 3.5/5
31. Vinyan -Rating: 1/5
32. Body bags - Rating: 3.5/5
33. The Mummy (2017) - Rating: 3.5/5
34. Tales of Terror - Rating 4/5
35. Let the Right One In - Rating: 4/5
36. Tower of Terror - Rating: 3/5
37. The Autopsy of Jane Doe - Rating: 3.5/5
38. Trilogy of Terror - Rating: 4/5
39. Badass Monster Killer - Rating: 0.5/5
40. Corpse Bride - Rating: 4/5
41. Cube - Rating: 3.5/5
42. Cube 2: Hypercube - Rating: 3/5
43. Resident Evil: The Final Chapter - Rating: 3.5/5
44. Barricade - Rating: 3/5



My Review:

Barricade (2012/United States)

WWE Studios (United States)
Director: Andrew Currie
Writing: Michael Brent Collings (Writer)
Length: 82 min.
Video: Widescreen 1.78:1
Audio: English: DTS-HD Master Audio: 5.1
Subtitles: French, Spanish
Stars:
Eric McCormack as Terrance Shade
Jody Thompson (1976) as Leah Shade
Conner Dwelly as Cynthia Shade
Ryan Grantham as Jake Shade
Donnelly Rhodes as Sheriff Howes

Plot:
Terrence Shade (Eric McCormack) takes his children on a holiday getaway to a cabin in the woods. But when a blizzard buries the house, the family finds themselves trapped and without communication. As the storm surges on outside, a sinister presence materializes. Unable to explain it, and unable to escape it, they quickly realize that maybe they haven't locked the evil out...instead they've just locked it in.

Extras:

• Scene Access
• Bonus Trailers
• Featurettes
• Gallery

My Thoughts:

Not bad... but it can get a little confusing if you don't give it your full attention.

Rating:

 

[Neil Middlemiss]

October 21: Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982) – 3.5 out of 5 - First Time Viewing (somehow!)

When a man winds up in the hospital, with a Silver Shamrock company Halloween mask in his hand – and is then murdered by a mysterious man who then blows himself up in his car in the parking lot, the man’s daughter, Ellie (Stacey Nelkin) and the attending Doctor Challis (Tom Atkins) team up to investigate. What they discover puts their lives in grave danger, and the lives of every eager child across America clamoring for the Silver Shamrock Halloween masks.

Halloween III is a very well made, brave sequel to the popular horror series started in 1978 with John Carpenter’s original Halloween. The film is brave in moving completely away from the Michael Myers storyline from the first two films into an anthology concept, where if the film had been a success, each successive film in the series would have explored new ideas, characters, and chills. Director Tommy Lee Wallace, working with legendary cinematographer Dean Cundy (who worked on many John Carpenter films), and composers Alan Howarth and John Carpenter, imbue Season of the Witch with the fertile DNA of a John Carpenter picture. So, in terms of look, feel, flavor and atmosphere, Halloween III is a winner. In terms of story, and execution, it’s a near miss.

The set-up for the film is good stuff. There’s a creepy, deadly mystery, an ominous and unknown threat, with twinges of something odd and bizarre teased throughout. The cast is good. Tom Atkins, who Carpenter used well in The Fog, is a good hero for us to buy into, as is Stacey Elkin’s Ellie character – young, persistent, and tough. The film’s nemesis – or rather the architect of the threat – is Dan O’Herlihy, who uses a similar mix of charm painted over a dark soul used in his corrupt corporate character in Robocop.

This film gets a bad rap, and an unfair one at that. Far removed from its original release, on the heels of audience expectations around Michael Myers and what the series has meant up to that point, it’s easier to appreciate this film for what it is. At the time, I can imagine that it would have been seen as a bizarre and uncharacteristic disappointment. It’s worthy of reevaluation, even of the very end of the film is suspiciously wobbly and unable to live up to the fine build up throughout.

 

[Pete Battista]

Orange Text - Theater Viewing
Blue text - Blu Ray Viewing
Black Text - DVD Viewing
Green Text - DVD-R Viewing
Purple Text- Streaming

BOLD - First Time Viewing

My List:
1. Dark Night of the Scarecrow - Rating: 4/5
2. Havenhurst - Rating: 2.5/5
3. Extraordinary Tales - Rating: 2/5
4. The Boy - Rating: 3.5/5
5. Dog Soldiers - Rating: 4/5
6. Get Out - Rating 3.5/5
7. It - 4/5
8. Fright Night (1985) - Rating: 4/5
9. Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse - Rating: 2.5/5
10. It - Rating: 4/5
11. Idle Hands - Rating: 3/5
12. Don't Be Afraid of the Dark - Rating: 3/5
13. The Exorcist III - Rating: 3.5/5
14. Offspring - Rating: 3.5/5
15. Dracula - Rating 4/5
16. Dracula's Daughter - Rating: 3.5/5
17. 13 Ghosts - Rating: 3.5/5
18. Vampire Circus - Rating: 3.5/5
17. Descendents - Rating: 2/5
18. The Fog - Rating: 4.5/5
19. The Visit - Rating: 3/5
20. Cat People - Rating: 4/5
21. The Watcher in the Woods - Rating: 3.5/5
22. The Worst Witch - Rating: 2.5/5
23. Visions - Rating: 3.5/5
24. Silver Bullet - Rating: 4.5/5
25. Warlock: The Armageddon - Rating:4/5
26. Vampires - Rating: 4.5/5
27. Mirrors 2 - Rating: 3.5/5
28. Monster Squad - Rating: 4/5
29. Near Dark - Rating: 4.5/5
30. The Invisible Man - Rating: 3.5/5
31. Vinyan -Rating: 1/5
32. Body bags - Rating: 3.5/5
33. The Mummy (2017) - Rating: 3.5/5
34. Tales of Terror - Rating 4/5
35. Let the Right One In - Rating: 4/5
36. Tower of Terror - Rating: 3/5
37. The Autopsy of Jane Doe - Rating: 3.5/5
38. Trilogy of Terror - Rating: 4/5
39. Badass Monster Killer - Rating: 0.5/5
40. Corpse Bride - Rating: 4/5
41. Cube - Rating: 3.5/5
42. Cube 2: Hypercube - Rating: 3/5
43. Resident Evil: The Final Chapter - Rating: 3.5/5
44. Barricade - Rating: 3/5
45. Insidious - Rating: 3.5/5



My Review:

Insidious (2011/United States)
Trailer |IMDb |Wikipedia |

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (United States)
Director: James Wan
Writing: Leigh Whannell (Writer)
Length: 103 min.
Video: Widescreen 2.40:1
Audio: English: DTS-HD Master Audio: 5.1
Subtitles: English, Spanish
Stars:
Patrick Wilson (1973) as Josh Lambert
Rose Byrne as Renai Lambert
Ty Simpkins as Dalton Lambert
Lin Shaye as Elise Rainier
Leigh Whannell as Specs

Plot:
From the makers of Paranormal Activity, INSIDIOUS is the terrifying story of a family who, shortly after moving, discovers that dark spirits have possessed their home and that their son has inexplicably fallen into a coma. Trying to escape the haunting and save their son, they move again only to realize that it was not their house that was haunted.

Extras:

• Scene Access
• Bonus Trailers
• Featurettes
• BD-Live

My Thoughts:

This is my second viewing of the film. I did like it but found I didn't care about the characters as much as I should have. The atmosphere was good... but not great. Though it did have some pretty cool visuals.

Rating:

 

[TravisR]

October 21: Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982) – 3.5 out of 5 - First Time Viewing (somehow!)

Halloween III is a very well made, brave sequel to the popular horror series started in 1978 with John Carpenter’s original Halloween. The film is brave in moving completely away from the Michael Myers storyline from the first two films into an anthology concept, where if the film had been a success, each successive film in the series would have explored new ideas, characters, and chills.

And the idea of doing a new scary story each time around has been successfully pulled off by American Horror Story. I guess the rest of the world needed about 30 years to catch up to Halloween III: Season Of The Witch.

 

[TravisR]

Today was a great day of movie watching. Me and a buddy wasted a full day watching slasher movies. We even went to buy hoagies so I'm not going full vampire yet.


112. Friday The 13th Part III

Jason finds a group of young adults at a cabin and begins to kill them. The 3-D has a lot of fun pop out moments but having the 3-D be the primary concern, also led to a number of weak performances (even for a F13 movie). A few of the kills & scares are copied from the first two movies and most of the score is pulled from the first two movies. Jason does get his hockey mask in this one though so that’s cool. This is the weakest of the first four movies.


113. Friday The 13th: The Final Chapter

Jason comes back from the dead and heads to Crystal Lake to kill young vacationers. There’s great special effects from Tom Savini, some moments of actual tension and likeable characters. This is my favorite of the series.


114. Friday The 13th: A New Beginning

Tommy, the survivor from the previous movie, is now in a half-way house for trouble teens and then someone begins committing murders. I used to hate this movie but for some sick reason, I now love watching it. It’s lousy and it’s more like a person’s idea of what a slasher movie is (“More nudity! More killing! More cursing!”) rather than an actual F13 movie but its badness has become fascinating to me.


115. Friday The 13th Part VI: Jason Lives

Jason is revived and heads back to Camp Crystal Lake to kill counselors and anyone on the way. They added some humor to this movie and it makes it one of the better installments in the entire series. Also, there’s Alice Cooper songs so it must be good.


116. Friday The 13th Part VII: The New Blood

Jason is accidentally brought back by a girl with telekinetic powers. A fan favorite but this movie doesn’t do much for me. The ‘Carrie vs. Jason’ idea is ridiculous and doesn’t fit with the rest of the series to me. Kane Hodder is the definitive Jason though.


117. Friday The 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan

Jason is accidentally brought back by an anchor and an underwater power line and then he hops aboard a cruise ship filled with teens and, despite the title, he spends about 30 minutes in ‘New York’. This is another movie that I know is bad but I enjoy watching it. The effects are bad, there’s literal a handful of shots that were filmed in New York City (the role of NYC is played by Vancouver) and the movie is silly but I like it more than Part VII.


118. Halloween (1978)

A man breaks out of an asylum, goes back to his home town and starts killing people on Halloween night. Great direction & cinematography combine to create real suspense and scares. Excellent score and a good cast with likeable teens so you care when they're senselessly killed by The Shape. One thing that gets lost in the sequels' quest to give motive is that Michael having no motive at all is much scarier than brother/sister or Rune stones. My favorite movie of all time and a true classic.

 

[Malcolm R]

Hangman (2015)

A family arrives home from a 2-week vacation to find their house has been broken into and ransacked. They clean up and move on with their lives, but things may not really be back to normal.

A mash-up of several horror subgenres (serial killer, home invasion, stalker), I thought it worked fairly well. I was skeptical that I would enjoy this, but I found it to be rather creepy and unsettling. I was kind of disappointed that

Spoiler

there was no real insight into the background or motivations of the stalker/killer. For a while I thought he must have some connection to this family given some of his actions and reactions. However, based on the prologue and epilogue scenes, he seems to just be doing this at random. But we're not given any kind of insight as to why? He's apparently just a disturbed psycho stalker/killer who moves from one family to the next.

I also wondered if the cops were in on the plan, since at the start of the film they claimed to have searched the attic, but apparently did not search it very well.

Cast includes Jeremy Sisto and Ty Simpkins, but given the style of filming they really could have hired complete unknowns since there are no real close-ups where you can even identify the actors. I also liked how the action was not confined solely to the house.

 

[Suzanne.S]

I was fairly busy at work Thursday, so I only got a few episodes in.

10/19
Dark Shadows Episodes 999-1001 (3 episodes)

10/20
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1920)

I had never seen the film before and was blown away. The accompaniment by the Invincible Czars was phenomenal. Very spooky and atmospheric. The showing used the new Kino Blu-Ray which runs approximately 80 minutes. The picture quality is decent, some of it is a little rough which just adds to the atmosphere to me. Barrymore is really amazing to watch, especially in the transformation scenes. The makeup effects for Edward Hyde are very effective. It is rather amusing, though, how the director takes every opportunity to show handsome Dr. Jekyll in profile.

The showing was fairly well attended for a silent movie. I do hope that Webster can find a way to bring the Invincible Czars back next year for another film if they are on tour again.

During the Q&A with the musicians after the film, someone asked why they hadn't done scores for DVD versions of these films. I think that they are comparable to some and infinitely better than many of the scores for films on home video. They answered that dealing with the studios was a nightmare (they had worked with some in the past but couldn't come to an agreement) and they felt that they were better served by sticking to live performances and touring. I can understand their frustration but it is a shame that their scores aren't widely available.

I bought the CDs of their scores for Nosferatu and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. They do point out that they can by synched with the DVD versions of the films.

10/21
It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (1966)
Toy Story of Terror (2013)

These provided some much needed levity after spending the day deciding on long term care for my father. It is a decision that no family should ever have to make. So it was nice to revisit a classic from my childhood. I love Snoopy as the World War I flying ace!

 

[JohnS]

TV Shows:
Charmed
Finished out season 1
121 Love Hurts
122 D'eja Vu All Over Again -Fun Groundhog Day episode with a time warping demon.(David Carradine)
Started season 2
201 Witch Trial

Ducktales (2017)
106 Terror of the Terra-firmians!
Only mildly enjoying the updated version of Ducktales.

Movies:
Curse of the Werewolf (1961) *NEW* 6/10
TCM
I really enjoyed this film.
I liked the origin story of Leon.
I enjoyed adult Leon more than him being a kid.
I really wished this took place in Paris (from novel) and not Spain.
Satisfying ending.
Another great Hammer Horror picture.

 

[dpippel]

10/21:

15) Fire Monsters Against the Son of Hercules (1962) - 2/5 stars (NEW TO ME)

Wow, talk about a stinker! This English-dubbed Italian film is about as lame as it gets, but for some strange reason it is TOTALLY watchable! Maxxus, one of the Sons of Hercules, wanders the Earth seeking to right wrongs and come to the aid of those in need. He gets between two warring tribes, the Sun worshippers and the Moon worshippers, and uses his bravery and brawn to win the day. The "fire monsters" in the movie's title are noticeably absent from the story, unless you include Maxxus' short battles with two full-sized monster puppets that together make up less than 5 minutes of runtime. So, I'm not sure it quite fits in with the theme of the challenge. Unintentionally hilarious, I can wholeheartedly recommend this if you're looking for something that is absolutely magnificent in its badness. I may have to seek out the rest of the Hercules films from this time period just for laughs!

16) Coraline (2009) - 4/5 stars

Henry Selick's WONDERFUL stop-motion tour-de-force, Coraline is a beautiful film with a great story, and it's pretty creepy if you've got a thing about dolls. A vivid mix of fantasy and mild horror, the villain is nicely realized and the feisty, independent Coraline is a sympathetic protagonist. It's just a joy to watch the craft that went into this film, and the Blu-ray looks stunning upscaled to 4K on my LG OLED. Gorgeous!

 

[Malcolm R]

The Last Shark (1981; a.k.a. Great White)

A giant great white shark begins to terrorize a seaside community at the height of summer, threatening to disrupt tourism and the annual sailboarding regatta. In the meantime, the shark destroys a dock from which people are trying to lure it with meat on a hook, takes down a helicopter, kills a local fisherman and damages his boat which is found adrift and abandoned except for one body part, and bites the leg off another person. Sound familiar?

An Italian "homage" to Jaws, it pretty blatantly lifts most of the script directly from scenes in Jaws and Jaws 2 (Universal was successful in having the film pulled from US theaters at the time).

Overall a pretty bad film with a mechanical shark that only seems to work vertically, with most of the shark scenes consisting of the shark's head just rising up out of the water and slowly sinking back down. A couple other scenes look like a child's tub toys in an aquarium. These are mixed, occasionally effectively, with footage of real sharks (though sometimes of seemingly different species).

Though it was kind of fun to match the characters in this film with their counterparts in the Jaws franchise.

 

[Neil Middlemiss]

October 22: Children of the Corn (1984) – 3.5 out of 5

Children of the Corn is the story of two travelers, Burt (Peter Horton) and Vicky (Linda Hamilton) who strike a child on an empty road. The child dies, but appears to have been fatally wounded before they struck him. Looking for help, they find the desolate nearby town of Gatlin, Nebraska. Here, Burt and Vicky eventually discover that all the adults were slaughtered by children, led by religious child zealot, Isaac (John Franklin). Under Isaac’s command, henchman Malachai (Courtney Gains), and the rest of the town’s children, offer reverence and worship to something mysterious they refer to as “He who walks behind the rows.” Things then get weird, then bad, then interesting.

I’m borrowing here from my just published review of the latest Blu-ray release from Arrow).

Children of the Corn isn’t a bad film, it simply lacks cohesion in its foe, definition in its supernatural element, and compelling protagonists. The rejection of King’s screenplay for the film, which reportedly focused more on the children’s uprising and the Burt and Vicky characters, adds to the underwhelming sense one gets from watching this film. But all is not lost. There is good use of abandoned locations, which provides effective ambience and atmosphere for the cut-off, helpless travelers. There is even much to be said for the film’s pacing through the first and second acts, which present a careful, evenly balanced positioning of the young Job and Sarah (two kids immune to the religious fervor and who wish to escape), and the unwitting adults heading into the realm of the murderous child mob.

I enjoyed Children of the Corn more this second time around (my first and only previous viewing was back in 2009), and I think I was able to appreciate the atmosphere and mood the film establishes better with expectations in check. But it still isn’t a great film.

 

[TravisR]

All day Halloween marathon for me.

119. Halloween II (1981)

Picking up immediately after the original, Laurie is taken to the hospital and Michael continues to kill people as he tries to kill Laurie. Solid sequel that greatly benefits from having many of the people in front of and behind the camera (Carpenter only co-wrote the movie though). Unfortunately, this movie gave a motive to Michael Myers but it’s still the best Halloween sequel.


120. Halloween III: Season Of The Witch

A rubber mask maker has a hideous plan for Halloween and a doctor & a woman try to stop him. I think this movie has deservedly overcome its bad reputation over the last few years. It’s not a great movie but it’s entertaining and the score & cinematography are very good. The movie is pretty crazy (the bad guy’s plan is one of the sickest things ever in a movie) and there’s some big lapses in logic but its positives outweigh its negatives.


121. Halloween 4: The Return Of Michael Myers

Ten years later, Michael Myers awakes from a coma and goes back to Haddonfield to kill his niece on Halloween. Very good sequel that manages to generate some suspense (a la the original movie) rather than going entirely for the gore of the Friday The 13th or A Nightmare On Elm Street movies. The cast is good and they make you like the characters so you care when they get killed. The best sequel after John Carpenter totally left the series.


122. Halloween 5

One year later, Michael Myers returns to kill his niece. It’s not scary, its attempts at comedic relief are painfully unfunny and it adds nonsense about Druids to Michael’s origin. A good thing about the movie is that they clearly are in the same town as Halloween 4 (though they bear no resemblance to the first two movies) and they use a lot of the same characters so there’s some nice continuity. However, that’s kind of undone because they kill off a character that the audience really liked from the last movie and basically replace her with a much more annoying character. It’s a really crummy movie and if it wasn’t for Halloween: Resurrection being so bad, this would easily be the worst movie in the series (yes, even including the Rob Zombie remakes).


123. Halloween: The Curse Of Michael Myers

Six years later, Michael Myers returns to Haddonfield and kills because a Druid curse is compelling him to (or something like that). Despite being bad, I have come to enjoy this movie. Much like Friday The 13th: A New Beginning, there is something about the badness of this movie that I just find weirdly entertaining. I’ve seen the producer’s cut and while it’s better, it doesn’t salvage the movie by any stretch. I’m sure not defending this as a good movie but I admit, somewhat embarrassedly, that I am a fan of it.

As an aside, I still remember seeing this movie on opening day as soon as school was over and hating it but for some reason that memory adds to the nostalgic feeling I get when I watch this clunker.


124. Halloween: H20

Twenty years after the first two movies (and forgetting that the three previous happened), Michael randomly returns to kill his sister, her teenage son and some teens at a prep school. It’s fun seeing Jamie Lee Curtis back again but unfortunately, the movie doesn’t really deliver. Still it’s a more well-made movie than the last couple of Halloween movies.

 

[JohnS]

I'm glad someone else endured the awfulness of "The Last Shark"
I actually watched the rifftrax version a week before the challenge.
Both versions are free on Amazon Prime.

 

[Radioman970]

Playing catch up... almost... happens every time....

October 16th
48. Chronicle. (2012)
Smartass high school friends find this insane looking glowing thing in the ground and do the right thing calling the cops so it can taken away to a safe place and disposed of, movie over. hahaha! Kidding, they screw around with it like most of us would at that age and all hell breaks loose. The guys are all pretty good. One is particularly good as the outcast complete with a-hole daddy. Batshit crazy ending that's edge of the seat. A blind buy a few years back and couldn't be more happier.

49. The Raven. (2012)
John Cusack is Edgar Allan Poe helping authorities chase down a killer using Poe's stories as inspiration. No really... well, not really, but in the movie really! :p The Pit & the Pendulum part is so damn gross I decided not to tell mom about this! But I got this blu ray from Big Lots days ago to upgrade my old DVD. $3! I'll just warn her about what part to look away at and after the screaming and tearing splattering sounds she can look back. Love the look. It's like one of the Thief games. This would be a fun game if done like those. Exploring under the sewers and other places trying to save folks from events taken from Poe stuff. Tell me that wouldn't be amazing!

October 17th
50. Evidence. (2011) (New View)
Starts well enough with a group of likable people, including a cute short haired blonde who boob flashes without a second thought. Where are these women? I'd never had that! One of the guys looks like a young Vince Gill so I was singing all my fav Gill songs. don letare luuuv start slippin, luuuv start slippin uhwAAayy... Soon my fun wore off though and I watched the movie. blah, really not good and wanted to bail but didn't. Waste of time.

51. Flesh for Frankenstein. (1973)
Needed a sure thing so I went with this absolutely uproarious masterpiece of goofiness. In the 80s during the 3D craze I saw this as "Andy Warhol's Frankenstein 3D" with the young son of a guy who worked with my dad, we were 14 and 12 or something like that. Mom dropped us off and got huffy when she had to pay for our tickets. It's just Frankenstein! She didn't know... hahaha! After a bit of the movie my friend leaned over and said he didn't think he should be watching this. I told him to cover his eyes at the bad parts. But mine were freakin glued!! Looking at it now I can't help but belly laugh thinking about it. That part where he f's the life into her, holy shit that is on one of my brain cells forever! My mind almost couldn't process that! I still need to sit down with mom some time and watch it but I'm afraid she'd laugh herself to death. She's nearly done that before (Star Crystal, haha!) I believe I like Blood for Dracula better, but both these are just way more fun than they should be. A bluray with bluray 3D + bluray is long overdue so I can do the music from Count Floyd's Monster Horror chiller Theater every time some pumping guts are thrown in my face! I so want that! aaahhhhwooooOOOOOOooooooo! heh heh....

Marble Hornets (New View)
Not counting but just wanted to brag about finishing up the looooong walk/drive/coughing fit with the totheark bits on youtube. Used a nice playlist to keep all in order but it really didn't help all that much. The adventures of Alex, Jay and Tim are like Part 4-56 of the Bradys at the Grand Canyon (joking, I love TBB). Expected to have my nerves undone but instead it was really just okay in parts. Nice effects in places. Not a bad conclusion.

October 18th
52. Zombie Nightmare. Mystery Science Theater 3000.
A fan favorite. Hysterical, 80s Canadian craptastic with totally rockin soundtrack. The disc has some good interviews with several actors on the DVD. These guys know what MST3K did for their fandom unlike others who hated the show. They, Adam West (who is also on it and hosted a Turkey Day show once that included this episode) and others know that the show is a new generation of fans who might never know who they are. They guy who played the policeman has a hell of a good attitude. One of the best for October.

53. Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon. (2006)
Such a good idea and done exactly right. From uneasy comedy to edge of seat horror. Really works as a slow build... very tense at the end.

TV
11. Night Gallery. Episode 3 (New View)
"House"/"Certain Shadows on the Wall"
Really wanted to do a 3rd movie just couldn't do it. Still, I'm glad I was able to squeeze in one of these. Simple ghost story in "House". Actress Joanna Pettet has amazing eyelashes. I think they were real! She's like thin Karen Carpenter type only she seems much more healthy. I loved watching her along with the guy with a soothing voice who plays the real estate agent. I wished it was longer though. Next, "Certain Shadows..." had Agnes Moorehead from Bewitched and Grayson Hall from Dark Shadows. Hall is a very good actress here. More than any other on the show I thought she often looked as if she was worried she hadn't finished all her line and she'd do that thing with her bottom lip. I do that myself sometimes and see her face in my mind. Awkward bottom lip biting, she was a master!

October 19th
54. Coherence. (2013)
Reminds me of a favorite The Last Supper. Not the same story, but it definitely comes out of friends/family getting together and talking about funky stuff. Dinner conversation, the movie.. what if this or that happened? In Last Supper it was all about what if this person was never born, in this one it's alternate realities, reality streams that kind of thing. Don't take psychodelic drugs before this since you won't need them. I just read this was done with improv actors and with no script just general ideas filmed in the director's own home. Holy smokes! amazing what they did. The kind of movie that makes me want to try making my own sometime.

55. Vampyres. (1974)
Was choosing between my new Bram Stoker's Drac blu ray (with ATMOS sound!) and this. I chose the teethy girly magazine babes of course! :p Stunning setting along with all the skin, blood and fine wines!

56. A Nightmare on Elm Street. (1984)
I'm planned to watch up to 3. So I thought I'd better force myself to watch this.

October 20th
57. Hammer's Phantom of the Opera. (1962)
Before it's done this year I have to catch my most favorite version, Phantom of the Paradise, but still wanted to watch this one too. I forget how really good it is! And the way the DePalma one was done you could watch these as a double and it really wouldn't be too much! LOVE Patrick Toughton's short turn as the rat catcher. He's my favorite Dr. Who so far up to Baker. And Herbert Lom is brooding and darn good.

58. The Birds. (1963)
Hitchcock's amazing critter feature. Only The Master could pull this off in the early 60s. Them holed up in that house reminds me so much of Night of the Living Dead. Had to have influenced that classic as well. Again, I had to pass on the extras which include alternate damn ending! Can't wait to watch that and everything else after October. That's gonna be fun.

TV
12. Dark Shadows. 607
13. Dark Shadows. 608
Took a letter opener to remind me why I want that hottie Angelique dropped into the bowels of hell.
Liked seeing the Blue Whale again...and that same song playing. No wonder everybody goes crazy here!

 

[EricSchulz]

#22 Teeth (first time viewing)

A high school girl is a spokesperson for the school's "purity" abstinence group. However, she has a secret. During a trip with her platonic boyfriend to "the old swimming hole" she slips and starts making out with him. When she tries to stop him he ends up raping her. She has vagina dentate which in mythical tales clams that the vagina has teeth to protect it. Well, you get the idea where this is going. Unfortunately, an incredibly clever premise is blown by the campy, humorous take on the story. Disappointed that this could have been so much better! 3/10 stars

 

[Ruz-El]

My apologies for the length of this post! I haven't had a chance to update my list the past three days since I've been at the DEDfest film festival and not home but to sleep. Everything following was shown there, aside from the first three which I watched Friday before heading out. I can't recommend TIGERS ARE NOT AFRAID enough, a film I'm still thinking of.

Also, it kills me that BAD BLACK is all action with no real horror tropes that will allow me to include it since it's one of the best times I've had in a theater. A Ugandan action film that looks like it was shot on iphones, it's barely a film (if you have seen DECKER on Adult Swim, you have an idea of the production value, only more bonkers and less budget.) It was a total hoot, and being no fools on how to appeal to a crowd, the filmmakers added custom narration to include DEDfest and mention of Edmonton, Alberta. If you get a chance, GO SEE ONE OF THEIR FILMS!

Here's the past three days

062 10/20 Blackenstein (1973 Theatrical Version) 2.5/5 This is one that regularly gets slammed for being terrible. And it is “bad”, but I found it fun bad. Everything about it is a bit too cheap but they go for it with aplomb which is better than some of these low budget films.

063 10/20 Psychos In Love (1987) 3/5 I’m not typically a fan of horror comedy of this stripe, but this one managed to mostly charm me. A couple of psychos fall in love. It’s never tries to be more than it is, and has a self awareness that I think saves it.

064 10/20 Orgy Of The Dead (1965) 3/5 This is not a good film. A couple go driving looking for a graveyard and stumble upon an Orgy of the Dead! The orgy being a bunch of tedious striptease acts. What makes it bearable is the Ed Wood Jr. connection, with Criswell as the head of the Orgy and Wood’s goofy dialog. It makes for a charming take on the typical dreadful nudies of the era. The Vinegar Syndrome blu-ray looks so gorgeous it’s unbelievable.

065 10/20 Transmission (2017) 2/5 Short film supposedly about Brexit but plays more like a take on Incident At Owl Creek. Didn’t do much for me.

066 10/20 The Lodgers (2017) 3.5/5 Irish gothic horror about two siblings living in an old secluded house. Slow starter but gets creepy and turns into an atmospheric ghost story by the end.

067 10/20 Game Of Death (2017) 3/5 Jumanji re-imagined as a splatter-fest as millennials discover a cursed board game. This one was a lot of fun that has style and gore to spare. Being a miserable old geezer though means I can’t identify or care about any of the protagonists.

068 10/21 Death On Scenic Drive (2017) 2.5/5 A woman house sitting in a remote acreage gets witch-y. This one had lots of style and some good ideas with atmosphere, but it was a little to precious which gave it some pacing/story problems to be completely successful.

069 10/21 Lowlife (2017) 3.5/5 A grindhouse crime comedy about a group of separate people who come together over an organ harvesting crime lord. One of them is a Luchadore. This one does a great job with a gimmick to establish all the characters, and by dealing with mostly minorities and people who are perceived with stereotypes manages to really humanize them. It allows the filmmakers to rise above traditional exploitation to address some real world issues. Good stuff

070 10/21 Rite of Passage (2017) 2/5 Short film about a group of nuns reaping vengeance on a priest. It’s not as gripping as it sounds.

071 10/21 Tigers Are Not Afraid (2017) 4/5 A dark fairy tale about kids orphaned from the cartel wars in Mexico trying to survive. To be able to make a horror film about such tragedy and still keep things hopeful makes this one a real gem. It’s going to be rattling around my brain for a while. Very highly recommended.

072 10/22 Deliver Us (Libera Nos) (2016) 3/5 Documentary following a real Sicilian exorcist. This looked like abuse to me, with religion triggering mental illness more than actual demon possession. The filmmakers wisely depict what is happening without comment, leaving it up to you to decide.

073 10/22 It Began Without Warning: Phase 1 (2017) 2.5/5 Short film about murderous kids that is such a demo reel/proof of concept I’m surprised it was released as a short film.

074 10/22 Night Of The Living Dead (1968) 5/5 Beautifully restored, what’s left to say about the classic that defined an entire genre? Newly noticed from watching it on the big screen, Romero perfectly framed every shot. It’s easy to miss how talented he was despite his budgets.

075 10/22 Sequence Break (2017) 3/5 This one could best be described as “David Cronenberg’s Tron.” A young arcade game repairman gets a little too intimate with a strange machine that might be a doorway to another dimension. Gooey fun that was admirably more ambitious than its budget.

076 10/22 Tragedy Girls (2017) 4/5 A couple of high school girls who are willing to kill to get followers, this is a pretty near perfect social media satire. The leads are both fantastic with the film having some fun set pieces as will as numerous nods to the horror genre. Recommended.

077 10/22 Victor Crowley (2017) 4/5 The surprise Hatchet sequel is more than the same, which isn’t a bad thing. Gorey fun that continues to the perfect slasher throwback to the 80’s while still feeling fresh.