***Official 19th Annual HTF October Scary Movie Challenge 2018*** (1 Viewer)

[Ruz-El]

I remembered liking the first one too, and my lists show that I gave it 3 stars, a good rating meaning I would probably watch it again. Which explains my interest in this one, plus it made the Video Nasties list for those death scenes you mentioned and I'm attempting to wrap that list up this challenge. I unknowingly "acquired" this incredibly terrible version. I might seek out the actual part II, but not this year!

Anyone who ripped George Lucas for messing with the Star Wars films should be forced to watch this one, Clockwork Orange style!

 

[Michael Elliott]

It seems a lot of directors (Lucas, Chaplin) edit their old films because they don't have any current projects that they are working on. With Lommel he was constantly busy so who knows why he did this. I just consider REDUX part 4.

 

[Radioman970]

Thursday, October 4th
8. The Changling. (1979) I would spend my last 25 years in a house like this exploring a different room under inches of dust every month or so. Exploring and restoring! Only in my head unfortunately. I love old houses and out of the way roads. The realtor has to drive George C. Scott through the mud in her Mercedes to get to this place and I was wondering if George apologizes for getting dirt on her floorboard mats. This house is far too large for one person. He should have moved into a cabin way out in the forest like in Evil Dead to write his music! (joking!!) he gets wrapped up in a pretty good mystery. Some nice spookiness in the later 1970s but I always think it could have been better.

9. SiREN. (2016) (NEW) From the character featured in V/H/S "Amateur Night". Starts very strong but instantly goes limp. Slowly gets a little better but doesn't hit the potential. It's like it borrows from other movies instead of developing an original idea. Was mostly thinking of From Dusk Til Dawn. First, the idea of weird theme drinks at the bar was a good one and they should have at least done 3 or 4 and make a few actually funny sort of like the sweets from Harry Potter. But we get one pretty good one. Can't believe they didn't run with that. Also, the Lily character was extremely weird in the original short. Here, less weird because we've seen it before. I was thinking how alien that little creature on the wing of the plane is in Twilight Zone the Movie. That could have been a model for Lily. The actress is very cool to watch but it just didn't hit the right marks. The whole movie was disappointing but okay too.

10. Dark Shadows. (TV) (NEW) (655,nnn,nnn) nnn marks the places for 2 more DSs after I get to them. 655 finally has Elizabeth ending her long time nightmare... but that is actually a bad thing!! ooOOOoooo.. And the bitch in the brunette wig is baaack! Some episodes back they finally adding a character that I had spoiled a long time ago. Glad to have it. They also added another child, a little girl friend for David played by blueberry girl from Willy Wonka. Took me a few episodes to figure out who she was! lol Was really liking their story of adventures in another part of the house. Sorry it didn't last though. Hope they'll do more with this.

Tried to watch the interview on this disc but Carolyn Stoddard was spoiling things worse then Buzz ever did! wwooooaoaoaoo ! shhHHHhhhh lol Been a while for that, most of the last ones have been safe.


Friday, October 5th
Nothing, not a fun day. Can't wait for tomorrow though if I'm not too sleepy from Friday.

 

[Ruz-El]

8. The Changling. (1979) I would spend my last 25 years in a house like this exploring a different room under inches of dust every month or so. Exploring and restoring! Only in my head unfortunately. I love old houses and out of the way roads. The realtor has to drive George C. Scott through the mud in her Mercedes to get to this place and I was wondering if George apologizes for getting dirt on her floorboard mats. This house is far too large for one person. He should have moved into a cabin way out in the forest like in Evil Dead to write his music! (joking!!) he gets wrapped up in a pretty good mystery. Some nice spookiness in the later 1970s but I always think it could have been better.
.

I got that new Changling bluray from Severin sitting on my shelf waiting to be watched. I haven't seen it since it gave me nightmares when I was a little boy and the CBC played as an early night movie on the weekend. Canadian TV is NO JOKE! I was holding off for the disc replacement to arrive, but I'll watch it regardless before the month is through!

 

[whacky blacky]

7. The Virgin Of Nuremberg (1963). FTV. Watched on DVR. The virgin is actually a torture device which is another name for the Iron Maiden. Good flick anyways with Christopher Lee playing a German and the Living Skull. 3/5.

 

[Malcolm R]

Insidious: Chapter 2 A-
It will take what you love most.

The Lamberts continue to be plagued by spirits from the "Further" that latched onto Josh as a boy, and now threaten his son, Dalton. Can they break these attachments before the evil spirits trigger a massive family tragedy?

This direct continuation of the first Insidious makes some great connections to the first film, showing a different POV of specific events and at times almost a mirror image of what was happening in that film. The only downside is that the film ends on a cliffhanger of sorts that has not yet been picked up as the next two films in the franchise follow different stories with only the Elise (Lin Shaye) character as a link. Perhaps Chapter 5 will circle back.

One of my favorite supernatural franchises, along with the similarly-styled Conjuring universe films.

 

[Radioman970]

I got that new Changling bluray from Severin sitting on my shelf waiting to be watched. I haven't seen it since it gave me nightmares when I was a little boy and the CBC played as an early night movie on the weekend. Canadian TV is NO JOKE! I was holding off for the disc replacement to arrive, but I'll watch it regardless before the month is through!

I'm on the HBO DVD. It's not too bad. My TV magically transforms it into glorious 1080! lol

If I had seen this as a boy i'd still have the scars. well under our house!1 I can only imagine that! Like vampire winder screen scratchers like Salem's Lot

 

[Neil Middlemiss]

October 5: Winchester (2018) - 2.5 out of 5 - First Time Viewing

Sarah Winchester, widow to the late owner of the Winchester Repeating Arms company, has a controlling stake in the firearms company and the board are concerned with her bizarre behavior. She lives in a sprawling mansion with endless rooms and new additions being built around the clock. She believes the house is haunted by the ghosts of all the victims of Winchester firearms. Dr. Price is hired to evaluate her mental state and report back, but with demons of his own to face, the house and whatever inhabits it may be his undoing.

The cast, with Helen Mirren as Sarah Winchester and Jason Clarke as Dr. Price, along with the curiosity that this film is based on a real story is what saves it from being a tired collection of cheap jump-scares. While it is handsomely produced, and Clarke in particular is very good in the role, it simply isn't compelling. Take away the frequent jump scares, and there's little else going on to build a sense of horror. There's no earned sense of dread, nothing chilling or affecting that would serve the good cast assembled here. What makes Winchester all the more disappointing is the promise of the premise and the previous work of the directors, the Spierig Brothers, who delivered quality work before with Undead, Daybreakers and Predestination.

As big as the Winchester estate was, it all feels very small and unexplored. The standard haunted house tropes are used here, rattling doors, characters heading down dusty steps with just the illumination of candlelight, heavy footsteps and loud banging on walls and floors. And without any fresh ideas, or fresh takes on the materials, this feels like a missed opportunity.

 

[whacky blacky]

8. The Paranormal Diaries: Clophill (2013). FTV. Watched on DVD. A really bad faux found footage that was difficult to get through. Avoid. 1.5/5.

 

[TravisR]

8. Dracula's Daughter

Dracula's daughter is also a vampire. One of the best of the lesser known Universal horror movies.

 

[John Stell]

Bold - Denotes first ever viewing
Rating - Out of a possible 4

017) 10/05/2018 Time After Time (1979)

In 1893, H.G. Wells (Malcolm McDowell) has completed his time machine and is ready to visit the future. But he’s beaten to the punch by his doctor friend (David Warner) who is actually Jack the Ripper. Now, Wells must travel to 1979 to track down the vicious killer. Wonderful blend of thrills, romance, ingenuity, and humor. The cast is great, especially McDowell, who has one his few “normal” roles.

018) 10/06/2018 Scooby-Doo and the Gourmet Ghost (2018)

1/2
Fred's uncle is famous chef Bobby Flay who's opened a high-tech culinary resort reportedly haunted by the Red Ghost. When the specter finally appears, it's up to Scooby and pals to solve the mystery. Enjoyable enough installment in the almost-50 year old series has a decent mystery and several good laughs.

019) 10/06/2018 Inseminoid (1981) 1/2

An alien life form impregnates one of the scientists exploring its planet. Mom-to-be then goes on slasher-type rampage killing the other members of her team. Awful Alien ripoff is gory and tasteless as well as being pretty dull, even during the various attack scenes. Judy Geeson does a good job as the murderous mother. But that’s not nearly enough to make this thing bearable. ​

 

[Ruz-El]

Got in two last night, both re-watches.

006 10/05 Die, Monster, Die! (1965) 3/5 Re-visited this one, having forgotten I watched before a few years ago! I liked it more this time around, it’s a clever take on HP Lovecraft. Clearly influenced by Roger Corman’s Poe pictures, you could pretty much call it a knock-off. It’s a great concept, excellently executed, Karloff is good as the miserable old man causing all the trouble. The only problem is lead hero Nick Adams who I found more annoying than interesting. With a better lead, this could have been a 4 star picture.

007 10/05 Last House on the Left (1972) 4/5 Thought I’d give this one a spin, it’s from the new Arrow Video set and I couldn’t tell you if it’s more complete than the previous “Unrated” version I watched. It looked great and is still effective, even after watcher the “Krug & Company” cut and all the extras (aside from commentaries) earlier in the year.

 

[EricSchulz]

#002: Terrifier (first time viewing) Sorry but the terrible acting and ridiculous story aren’t saved by a few graphic scenes. 1/5 stars

 

[EricSchulz]

#003: American Horror Story: Roanoke (episodes 5 & 6) (first time viewing). I’m really liking this season! Some genuinely creepy scenes and an interesting storytelling device. But, so many previous seasons veer off into bizarre zones I’m hoping this one doesn’t. 3.5/5

 

[whacky blacky]

9. Extremity (2018). FTV. Streamed. 3/5.

 

[Malcolm R]

Ghost House (2017) B-
She will never let you go.

Julie and Jim, an American couple visiting Thailand, stumble upon the legend of the "ghost house," tiny houses (like large bird houses) built around the country for spirits to occupy so they don't bother the living. Through circumstances, the couple find themselves linked to a malevolent spirit from one of these houses and if they cannot break the connection within three days, the soul will be lost forever.

Nothing original here, but it's still a rather effective creepy story. Seemingly incorporating bits of The Grudge, It Follows, The Ring, and The Woman in Black, the acting isn't always great but the effects are decent and there are a few good scares. Available on Netflix.

 

[Michael Elliott]

Panic (1982) *

Awful Italian-Spanish co-production has a scientist getting a bacteria that turns him into a mutant. David Warbeck is called in to try and track him down. This is a really awful movie on several levels and the added gore doesn't help the film any. The pacing is truly horrible and worst of all is that the film is deadly dull.

The Thing (1982) ****

My heart will always be with HALLOWEEN but I think it's time that I finally admit that this here is Carpenter's greatest film. It's funny to think that I didn't like it the first couple times I watched it but it certainly gets better with each new viewing. I'm at the point where I'd call this one of the greatest science fiction movies in history. Great performances and characters.

Lake Placid Legacy (2018) 1/2

The sixth film in the series is the worst yet and it actually made me violently angry while watching it. The croc is in the movie for probably four minutes worth of screen time. The characters here are among the most annoying I've seen from any movie and I so wanted them to suffer a bad fate. What fate they did have was often off screen. This is certainly a horrible film but for some reason the performances were very good. Go figure.

Parasite (1982) **

Charles Band madness is part MAD MAX and part any type of ALIEN movie out there. A young Demi Moore does have a role here so that's probably what the film is best remembered for today. It was originally released in 3D but I couldn't view it that way so there were several silly scenes of the camera floating towards various items. There's nothing really good about this film but it was decent and had some nice gore.

Blood Song (1982) ** 1/2

Now here's a forgotten slasher from the Golden Age of the genre. Frankie Avalon plays an escape mental patient who breaks free and goes around killing people. He eventually runs into a crippled teenager (Donna Wilkes from JAWS 2) who has some sort of connection to him. The performances here are exceptionally good and I was surprised to see how well Avalon was at playing a psycho (who plays a flute). There are a couple pretty gory death scenes that make this fit in perfectly with the type of films that were being released at the time. This was actually a lot better than I expected.

Crash! (1978) **

THE EXORCIST meets SMOKEY AND THE BANDIT as a jealous husband (Jose Ferrer) tries to murder his wife (Sue Lyon from Kubrick's LOLITA) but she becomes possessed and begins to control her car into killing people. This was meant to bring together two popular genres during the era and it's certainly a nutty little picture. As far as the "car chase" side of things, there are a lot of crashes here and a lot of explosions so fans of that genre should be happy. The possession stuff is really stupid on so many levels but the two items mix together in a way that you think is silly but the film is at least watchable. John Carradine has a small role.

 

[John Stell]

Rating - Out of a possible 4

020) 10/06/2018 Dracula (1973)

Jack Palance makes for a grand Count Dracula in director Dan Curtis’ first-class adaptation. When he sees a photograph featuring a woman who looks like his late wife, Dracula decides she will be his and dispatches anyone who gets in his way. Reverent, handsome production features Robert Cobert’s best score.

021) 10/06/2018 The Gorilla Man (1943)

Wartime England: wounded captain, nick-named the Gorilla Man for his climbing abilities, is being treated at hospital run by Nazi doctors. They’re able to learn what the captain knows and act on it while trying to frame their patient for murder. Okay but hardly credible thriller; it’s difficult to believe the powers that be would dismiss the hero’s claims so easily.​

 

[whacky blacky]

10. Valley of The Witch (2014). FTV. Watched on DVD. A slow moving flick about witches in a small town. The end has a cool scene but you have to stay awake to see it. 2/5.

 

[Neil Middlemiss]

October 6: The Shallows (2016) 4 out of 5 - First Time Viewing

Nancy (Blake Lively) finds a secluded beach, one her late mother had visited in her youth, and enjoys an idyllic day of surfing. As the day draws to a close, she is attacked by a shark, her leg badly bitten. She survives and is able to swim to a tiny rock island that appears only during low tide. Injured and stranded, and with the shark circling, she has until the tide comes in and her rocky refuge disappears, to find a way the short distance to the shore alive.

The Shallows is an interesting film. Simple premise, driven by a central and effective performance by Lively, and beautiful to look at, its almost like an extended sequence from a Jaws film, but as a standalone piece following Blake Lively's fear and problem-solving proves surprisingly compelling. There are long moments of mounting worry punctuated by swift moments of terror. The combination works and the tight and taut scale bring an intimacy to the terror that give the film something refreshing. While the film largely operates on a grounded approach, it does go for a more implausible (but enjoyable) finale.

A nice surprise for this October challenge.