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

[Radioman970]

Saturday, October 6th
11. A Christmas Horror Story. (2015) Those Canadians with their comedy, their sci-fi, the horror, their comedy scifi horrors, etc etc. Love it! This is multi-stories, anthology, like it snowed on Creepshow. Really good horror stuff set at Christmas! Captain Canada William Shatner is a getting drunker and drunker radio host, rattling on and on about Christmas stuff. He's really good! The story range from okay to darn good! Love the one at Santa's massive magic toy making facility with all those elves. We had to know there would be trouble with that many in one place. Good humor in that one. Second fav, and it's all horror, is the one with the family retrieving the perfect tree on the other side of a no trespassing sign. Either would have made a fine movie on its own if expanded a tad. Also, the cover shows that there is Krampus here and they weren't kidding. I'd soil up my Rudolf red nosed pajamas if that showed up at my house. Krampus is a fun idea. The movie from 2015 was criminally under seen with some beautifully dark hard freeze snow scenes.


12. Deathgasm. (2015) An Evil Dead pizza with toppings of Shaun of the Dead, Tucker & Dale and a shake or two of Bad Taste. The crust is flavored with Freaks & Geeks and a stack of heavy metal 33 1/3s. Delicious. But don't actually eat with this playing there's some stomach churning going on! But so damn likable for the outcast in us all! I watched The Scouting guide to the Zombie Apocalypse last month and was reminded about that again. Outcasts doused with horrors are so much fun! I think Dead Girl would not be unwatchable without em.


13. Mummy 3D. (2017)(NEW) Action star Tom Cruise fighting mummies and demons in 3D? Are you kidding?! But but... did Mr. Cruise not see The Mummy with Branden Fraiser? We even get a dust storm face here! I wiped my eyes, backed it up and look again and that was in my face! wtf? lol But it's still pretty good. Not what it could have been, but nice 3D, visuals sound all pretty darn good. I'm not sure how Tom Cruise is able to pull off these roles at 56 but he does. I just wish he would have been more careful with this script. He's the kind of mofo who can get things changed when they need be. I mean... I imagined him looking at the script then spending 4 hours tongue lashing the higher ups about the blatant ripoff of the dust storm face! Many movies have similar, Lord of the Rings, Adventures of Tin Tin... I think a giant spider comin out of the dust could have been freaky in 3D! Just saying.. it might go Raiders of the Lost Ark one better too! A wave of dust shaped like a leggy tarantula is coming out of your screen! oooooHhh yeah!


14. Friday the 13th Part 2. (1981) Getting better in blu. Glad I got this set now. My favorite Friday. Watched originally in the 1980s with the channel surfing method, watch a bit, get scared, turn to Hazel reruns, back to Friday, whoa! , turn back to Hazel! Oh sweet Hazel save me! lol I miss those days so much and no amount of hard times will stop those memories from saving the day. These Fridays remind me I've had the best times of my life already and everything else is a bonus. I think that's why I get to a sissy level amount of emotional during the first 3 movies in the series. Happy times.


15. Number 23. (2007)(NEW) Sorry this was not my 23rd one. But I think that meeeeEeeeans something... ooooHHhh noooooOooo. (Means I couldn't be bothered to time that sucker out. lol) I like Jim Carrey but his movie was about mild obsession and I think Jim could have played it more over the top like Ace Ventura Pet Detective with a scene of him returning a schnauzer to Neil DeGrasse Tyson and noticing he'd been reading The Encyclopedia of Superstitions and had tried to hide it under some Sky & Telescope Magazines. Really, instead it just tries to get you excited about something you might not care all that much about.


(10-2) Dark Shadows (656)(NEW) David and Blueberry girl back at it. Naughty naughty! I hope Roger returns in time when the spankings are due!


Sunday, October 7th coming...

 

[Malcolm R]

11. A Christmas Horror Story. (2015) Those Canadians with their comedy, their sci-fi, the horror, their comedy scifi horrors, etc etc. Love it! This is multi-stories, anthology, like it snowed on Creepshow. ... The movie from 2015 was criminally under seen with some beautifully dark hard freeze snow scenes.

This is also one of my favorite discoveries in the past couple years, loved it! Don't miss the feature film, Krampus (2015), if you have not seen it. Just make sure you have the version with Adam Scott and Toni Collette, and not one of the several knock-offs that came out around the same time. It's also great Christmas horror fun.

13. Mummy 3D. (2017)(NEW)
Action star Tom Cruise fighting mummies and demons in 3D? Are you kidding?! But but... did Mr. Cruise not see The Mummy with Branden Fraiser? We even get a dust storm face here! I wiped my eyes, backed it up and look again and that was in my face! wtf? lol But it's still pretty good. Not what it could have been, but nice 3D, visuals sound all pretty darn good.

Amazon UK was offering this for £4.99 recently, which comes out even less when VAT is deducted, so I finally caved in and ordered. It should be here later this week. A big-budget 3D film for roughly the equivalent of $6 has to be a can't miss, right? Right?

 

[Radioman970]

Rainy woodsy movies and hard freeze snow storm movies and movies with lighthouses... a feeEEEeew of my FaaaAAvorite things!!! lol The atmosphere is amazing, just the moments when they're looking out the windows and think they're seeing stuff.

Oh man! Mummy 3D for a fraction. I'll pretend it was way better. just just so good.. goooOOoood! everybody believe me!

 

[Ruz-El]

Had a good movie watching day despite Canadian Thanksgiving and a basement drain problem.

01210/07 Basket Case (commentary 2018) (1982) 4/5 I’ve seen this one a bunch of times, so since I got the new Arrow Video restoration, I figured I’d give it a spin with the new commentary. It’s an interesting and fun listen, and the film looks better than ever. I love the movie, it’s such a goofy idea and it simply works.

013 10/07 The House on Tombstone Hill (1989) 3/5 Better known as “Dead Dudes In The House” thanks to Troma, it shows how Troma can be a disservice to the films they release. A group of friends go to help restore an old house, desecrating a grave while their at it and unleashing vengeance from the former owner. Like all horror of this era, it’s got a goofy tone, but once things ramp up it starts to play it pretty straight and manages to be a pretty effective horror film with some messy gore. Under the “Dead Dudes” marketing I would have never given it a chance. The Vinegar Syndrome re-release is a pleasant surprise.

014 10/07 Drive-In Massacre (1976) 3/5 This is another one that I’m probably rating higher than I should. A killer is stalking a drive-in, and a couple of cops are trying to figure it out. It’s no great shakes in execution or plot, but the kills are fun and I typically have low expectations with this stuff.

015 10/07 Mother! (2017) 4/5 This one seems to be generally hated but I loved it. Womanhood:2017. Nuff said!

016 10/07 Snuff (1975) 2.5/5 this one feels like 3 movies. There’s the satanic/Manson cult bit with nubile women being sent out to kill by their leader. A larger chunk is spent with some actress in town for a movie, and then the big shocking finale that turns the whole film on its head. Really, the most incredible thing about this one is that the marketing was so successful that people were concerned it was an actual snuff film. The effects are graphic, but laughably cheap (as is the rest of the film.). The Findley’s hands are all over most of it, and as a Video Nasty it at least delivers some blood. The whole thing feels more like an excuse to have a Latin American vacation as much as anything.

 

[whacky blacky]

19. Buzzard Hollow Beef (2017). Something is making people go insane in Buzzard Hollow which turns out not to be a good place to have Thanksgiving. A well done horror comedy that coincides with our Canadian Thanksgiving today but this one is no turkey! 3/5.

20. The Gateway (2015). FTV. Watched on DVD. 2.5/5.

 

[Michael Elliott]

The First Purge (2018) ** 1/2

I will start off saying this here is certainly the best film in the series. As is the case with a lot of current horror movies, this here is pretty much far Left-wing propaganda mixed with a nice throwback to the 1970's Blaxploitation picture. If only Richard Roundtree had shown up to kick some ass. I really thought this was the best in the series thanks to a stupid but interesting set-up and I also liked that there really weren't too many white people here. Of course, what white people are here were evil but it's a nice throwback to 70's cinema. Marisa Tomei is on hand here in a small role and Y'lan Noel was very good as the drug dealing gangsta with a heart of gold who turns into John Rambo to save his community. The violence is as gory and over-the-top as you'd expect and it works as an action movie. Its message? Yeah.

Don't Open Till Christmas (1984) ** 1/2

U.K. slasher has a maniac running around killing anyone in a Santa outfit. I understand why SILENT NIGHT, DEADLY NIGHT was so controversial since you had an actual guy dressed as Santa killing people and these TV spots were being played where children could see them. With that being said, this film here is a lot more naughty, vile and downright dirty. This has to be one of the bloodiest slashers out there and while it doesn't reach the levels of something like MANIAC it's still pretty darn bloody. Technically speaking the film really isn't all that well-made and you do have to wonder why people keep wearing Santa suits out knowing they could be killed. Still, this was more entertaining than I thought it would be.

Stage Fright (1981) ** 1/2

Australian slasher about a play production whose cast members are being killed by someone dressed in black. This film is also known as NIGHTMARE and it's yet another slasher that isn't all that well-made but it's sleazy enough to the point that it's rather entertaining for what it is. Thankfully it only runs 79-minutes so it doesn't overstay its welcome. The plot doesn't make too much sense at times but the film does go overboard with some of the killings, which are rather nasty and you've got the typical nudity that you get from something like this. It's flawed but mildly entertaining for what it is.

Strangler's Morgue (1946) *

Praise da dear Lord, my Tod Slaughter horror movies is complete. This one here really is beyond awful on so many levels but it's basically another melodrama about a creep killing people in a small town. As with the horror films he made the previous decade, there aren't many horror elements here outside of Slaughter's over-the-top and wild style of acting. There is a torture chamber but it is rarely used and instead we get non-stop scenes of bad actors reading very poor dialogue.

Angel Above - The Devil Below (1974) ** 1/2

A good, sweet young lady is reading the Necronomican when the Devil appears. She turns down his advances and he puts a curse on her. What that curse is can't be said here but for the most part this here was a fun film for what it was. The mix of adult time, horror and comedy was cheaply made but I thought most of the jokes were rather funny and for the most part the lead girl was fine. With that said, the reason I watched this was for Rene Bond and my bias opinion says that she stole the film as the nurse.

 

[Ruz-El]

Got in two this afternoon. Back to work tomorrow and my week is going to be crummy so I'm posting them now. Revisted a couple of Zombie movies that Severin put out earlier this year.


017 10/08 Zombie 3 (1988) 2.5/5 This one find Fulci returning to the Zombie series, and it’s a mixed bag. It’s not really a series, they’re all stand alone films. This one finds some scientist working on a chemical that cause people to turn into to zombies, so it’s ripping of RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD more than the Romero films. The zombies are also tough as fuck and take no shit, read to flat out fight as opposed to stumble around. Great gore, but the movie rambles on and the production values don’t help it either.

018 10/08 Zombie 4: After Dark (1989) 2/5 This instalment finds the return of voodoo style zombies but honestly, it’s so dull that the ample gore and gay porn icon Jeff Stryker can’t save it.

 

[Neil Middlemiss]

October 8: The Wailing (2016) - 4.5 out of 5 - First Time Viewing

A policeman, Jong-goo investigates a brutal murder in a quiet rural, mountainside village in South Korea. Rumors circulate that the recent arrival of a Japanese man may be the cause. With a strange sickness infecting more villagers, more brutal slayings, and his daughter beginning to exhibit strange behavior, Jong-goo decides to confront the man with catastrophic results.

The Wailing is hard to describe without giving too much away, but this South Korean horror film leaves a lasting impact. It's a frightening descent into a loss of control and power against unfathomable darkness and impossible forces. It begins with a brutal murder and the film has a lighter than expected early tone, before the true dark of the story sets in, and from there its genuinely scary. A blend of the bloody and the mystical, with ideas of possession and curses, and fears that pray on prejudice and unhealthy influence . It's a haunting film. and despite its two-and-a-half hour run time, does not feel over long.

Director Hong-jin Na turns up the horror very slowly, pulling us in with little moments of humor that set us at ease, seemingly tricking us into believing the dark avenue the film takes isn't what's in store. It expertly builds the tension, with frightening images and scary images that seem to be nightmares, but are stepping stones down into the chaos and heartache the film has for us. With brilliant editing, scenes toward the end are constructed with such skill that we're never quite sure what to believe - and it's magnificent.

 

[John Stell]

I LOVE The Wailing. I think it's the best horror film of the 21st Century so far. That "is he or isn't he" ending so effectively turns the screws that I was going more than a little bats. I can't wait to watch it again.

 

[whacky blacky]

21. The Crescent (2017). FTV. Streamed. A slow burning mind trip that is depressing as hell. 2.5/5.

 

[EricSchulz]

#007/#008: American Horror Story: Roanoke (episodes 7, 8, 9

, 10) This season was, for me, one of the better ones. I was surprised by these last several episodes wondering what could possibly happen after THIS? As long as you can suspend disbelief over the found footage improbabilities (why do people being chased by cleaver wielding psychopaths NEVER drop their smartphones?) it’s worth checking out. 3.75/5 stars

 

[TravisR]

I watched a ton of movies late last night & today and my eyes are bleary with black & white.

13. The Wolf Man (1941)

Larry Talbot gets attacked by a wolf man and becomes cursed with lycanthropy. Probably my favorite out of all the Universal monster movies.


14. Invisible Agent

The Axis powers want the invisibility formula so they can win the war. An interesting movie due to its being a propaganda piece.



15. The Mummy's Tomb

The Mummy is brought back to life again and goes on a rampage in a small town. Lon Chaney Jr. is now playing the Mummy and while he hated the makeup, he's the best Mummy. They aren't great art but I love these Mummy sequels.


I went slightly out my chronological order a buddy and I could watch a Frankenstein double feature:

16. The Ghost Of Frankenstein

Igor frees the monster and eventually his brain is put inside the monster. These monster sequels keep getting crazier and crazier as they go on but Lugosi is fun as Igor.


17. Frankenstein Meets The Wolf Man

The title says it all. A fair criticism is that they started these team-up movies because they were out of ideas but this one works for me.


18. Son Of Dracula

Dracula (under the less than clever pseudonym of Alucard) comes to the bayou. Thanks to The Wolf Man, Chaney was Universal's horror star so he got to play Dracula and while I like most of Chaney's Universal movies, he's not right for the Dracula role.


I was only going to watch the main Universal monster movies but today, I decided to mix the Inner Sanctum series in too.

19. Calling Dr. Death

Lon Chaney is a doctor whose wife is murdered and he isn't sure if he did it or not. The first of the Inner Sanctum movies is a fun watch for Chaney fans.


20. Weird Woman

Lon Chaney marries a woman who practices voodoo. One of the weaker entries in the Inner Sanctum series.

 

[Malcolm R]

Masters of Horror: Pick Me Up A
Directed by Larry Cohen

After a bus breaks down along a rural road in the middle of nowhere, the handful of passengers find themselves caught in the middle of a psychotic tug of war between a mysterious hitchhiker and an oddball truck driver.

This was a great episode by Larry Cohen. Awesome twisted story and a couple of great off-kilter performances from Michael Moriarty and Warren Kole. The plot kept me guessing until the end, and the final twist was perfect (though I probably should have seen it coming). Not as much gore as in prior MOH installments, but this one veered more toward comedy than horror (watched on DVD).

 

[John Stell]

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

030) 10/08/2018 The Great Alligator (1979)

1/2
American developer has destroyed African land to build awesome Paradise House resort. This has angered a local god that takes the form of giant alligator to wreak havoc. Italian Jaws rip-off is largely uneventful and plodding for much of its running time. But the action-packed finale is appropriately frenzied and offers a few late-in-the-game thrills.

031) 10/08/2018 Screamers (1979)

1/2
The ads promised, “You will actually see a man turned inside out.” No, you won’t. What you will see is a well-cast variation on The Island of Dr. Moreau, concerning doctor who turns humans into fishmen. There’s also an evil businessman who’s using the mutants to retrieve lost treasure of Atlantis. Moody and atmospheric Italian-made thriller was re-edited for American audiences, with an effective 12-minute opening sequence with gore and beheadings added.

032) 10/09/2018 Island Claws (1980)

Leakage from a nuclear power plant creates giant killer crab. But you won’t see much of it in this uninspired, tedious offering that throws in various subplots concerning various characters — some romantic, some tragic — to no avail. The attacks by regular-sized crabs are mostly comical. They are the Pepe Le Pew of the sea world.​

 

[Michael Elliott]

Murder By Television (1935) *

An inventor comes up with some new television technology but refuses to sell it so he's murdered. This Bela Lugosi film is without a doubt the worst thing he ever did. What's so shocking about this movie is that the actor usually managed to at least bring some life and energy to his films but that's not the case here. The "mystery" makes no sense and the entire cast is just downright boring.

The House on Sorority Row (1983) ***

Some sorority sisters decide to play a prank on their House Mother but they accidentally kill her. They decide to hide the body but soon after it goes missing and before long the girls are being murdered one by one. I honestly can't remember if I had seen this one before but if I did it was back when that horrible remake was in theaters. I really thought this was an effective film because the actual mystery of the story works well and it also avoids falling into the mindless slasher traps. The film also offers up some terrific atmosphere and the performances were quite good as well. There are a few logical issues with the film and the finale was rather weak but overall I thought the film was very good.

Sweet Sixteen (1983) ** 1/2

A 15-year-old girl moves to a new town with her parents and soon every guy who messes with her ends up dead. Hmm... how in the hell did the filmmakers get such a good cast for this film? There's no question that the cast keeps this slasher going as we get some good performances from the likes of Bo Hopkins, Patrick Macnee and Susan Strasberg. You've also got Dana Kimmell from FRIDAY THE 13TH PART III in a small but fun role. The movie's greatest asset is Aleisa Shirley who plays the lead female who is drawing up all of the sexual attention from the men in town. She was really wonderful in the picture and sells the rather strange vibe to the film (don't worry, she was 20 when it was made). The film eventually runs out of gas towards the end but I did enjoy the final twist and for the most part this was entertaining enough.

Trick or Treats (1982) 1/2

It's Halloween night and a babysitter is taken care of an annoying brat not knowing that his father has escaped from a mental hospital. I'm going to guess that this film was meaning to spoof movies like HALLOWEEN but it's just so damn awful that I really wanted to throw something through my television. The jokes are downright horrid and they never made me laugh. Even worse is the brat kid who has to be one of the most annoying characters in horror history. His pranks weren't funny and I kept wishing the babysitter would just throw him in a lake somewhere. The one saving grace was Jacqueline Giroux who plays the babysitter. David Carradine appears briefly for some reason.

Evil Spawn (1987) **

An aging actress wants a major movie role so she takes a potion given to her by a scientist and soon turns into a rubber monster. This "B" film was actually a lot more entertaining than I was expecting even though it's not original and is basically a remake of THE WASP WOMAN. Bobbie Bresee was a lot of fun in the lead and she certainly had the body to sell what the film was offering. The rubber monster looked silly but that just added to the charm. John Carradine appears during one scene, which was one of the four sequences that he shot for Fred Olen Ray.

 

[whacky blacky]

22. Demon(2017). FTV. Watched on DVD. A crappy anthology flick involving you guessed it, demons. 2/5.

 

[Neil Middlemiss]

October 9: Deep Rising (1998) - 3.5 out of 5

A rag-tag crew, hired by mercenaries for a mysterious mission in the middle of the ocean, soon realize the 'job' is raiding a luxurious cruise liner, but when they board, all the passengers are missing. The job goes from bad to worse when they realize the ship is infested with a deadly and grotesque creature from the sea. The mercenaries are becoming food one by one, and a small handful of survivors trying to make it out alive along with the hired crew, its going to be one long, deadly night.

Before he directed the wildly successful The Mummy and The Mummy Returns, Stephen Sommers wrote and directed Deep Rising which barely made a splash at the box office. Sommers, a man who fights against the mantra of "less is more," packs as much as he can into this film, a collection of stock muscle-brain mercenaries, wise-cracking good-guy thieves, and a generous dose of CGI creature effects that deliver gruesome deaths and plenty of action entertainment. Deep Rising is such a fun film, B-grade excess with the right balance of quips and humor to accompany the action and nasty creature mayhem.

Sommers has fallen from the box office heights he reached with the two Mummy films. His fall from box office glory started with the maligned Van Helsing, stumbled again with the first G.I. Joe movie, and he has largely been absent from movie making save for perhaps his most measured and effective film, Odd Thomas (starring the late, wonderful Anton Yelchin). If Sommers can continue with the 'less really can be more" that he found with Odd Thomas, he has a path back to box office glory. But even if he never makes another movie, he'll always have the first two, entertaining Mummy films, plus this cheesy, bloody, creature-filled fun-fest called Deep Rising to his name, and that ain't bad.

Oh, and a shout out to @dpippel for recommending the new Kino Lorber Blu-ray of this film. It looks terrific!

 

[whacky blacky]

23. Cynthia (2018). FTV. Streamed. An average horror comedy with Sid Haig and Lynn Lowry making appearances. 2.5/5.

 

[TravisR]

Another long day of Universal horror pictures.


21. The Invisible Man's Revenge

A criminal, who is invisible, kills the people who he feels wronged him. This Invisible Man movie is more in line with the Mummy sequels where the main character kills people.


22. The Mummy's Ghost

The Mummy is on the loose in a small town. Another fun Mummy sequel.


23. Dead Man's Eyes

Lon Chaney is blinded but has his sight restored thanks to the murder of a man. Unfortunately for Chaney, he becomes the suspect in the murder. One of my favorite of the Inner Sanctum series.


24. House Of Frankenstein

This movie has it all- the Monster, Dracula, the Wolf Man and a mad scientist. I like John Carradine but, like Chaney in the previous Dracula movie, he's miscast as the Count. Karloff is good, as always, as the mad scientist though.


25. The Mummy's Curse

The Mummy kills people in the bayou. Continuity wasn't too important since in the previous movie, the Mummy sank in a swamp in Massachusetts but now, he's in Louisiana.


26. The Frozen Ghost

Lon Chaney fears that his hypnotic powers can kill. Another good Inner Sanctum movie.


27. Strange Confession

Lon Chaney is a scientist working on a vaccine. His scumbag boss releases it early which results in the death of Chaney's son. Another Inner Sanctum movie that is more film noir than horror. One of the weaker of the IS series.


28. House Of Dracula

Dracula and the Wolf Man are looking to cure their afflictions via a mad scientist. The end of the line for the Universal monsters (Abbott & Costello notwithstanding) but they throw in everything but the kitchen sink.

 

[John Stell]

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

033) 10/09/2018 Devils of Darkness (1965)

After his friends die under mysterious circumstances, a British author investigates and encounters 16th century French vampire and the satanic cult he oversees. When he gets hold of an ancient talisman, he becomes marked for death. A jumbled, sluggish script is made watchable by attractive production and some effective moments.

034) 10/09/2018 Eye of the Devil (1966)

1/2
Marquis is summoned to his vineyard because of failing crops. His wife is horrified to learn how he plans to fix things. The film is worth seeing for the cast alone, which includes David Niven, Deborah Kerr, Donald Pleasence, Sharon Tate, and David Hemmings. The script, however, is muddled and director J. Lee Thompson’s arty approach can be off-putting sometimes. But he stages some impressive scenes, including Kerr being pursued in broad daylight by figures clad in black.

035) 10/10/2018 Crowhaven Farm (1970)

No sooner has she moved into her recently-inherited farm when Maggie starts feeling a sense of déjà vu and having visions of being crushed to death. It turns out her new hometown has a history of witchcraft. One of the first great made-for-TV horror films. There’s a clever script, fine direction, and game cast. The ending is unsettling. John Carradine plays a creepy handyman.

036) 10/10/2018 Trog (1970)

Joan Crawford’s last theatrical feature. She plays anthropologist trying to study recently-discovered troglodyte. Michael Gough is a bitchy developer who wants Trog destroyed because it lowers property values. Crawford is just fine is this unfairly bashed camp classic. No, it’s not very good. But it is fun in its own way whenever Trog’s on the loose, flashing back to the past, or having a sit-down with Joan. Directed by Freddie Francis.​