***Official 20th Annual HTF October Scary Movie Challenge 2019*** (1 Viewer)

[dpippel]

OCTOBER 4:

4) The Shining (1980) - 5/5 stars - One of Stanley Kubrick's best films IMO. I hadn't seen this in years, and watching the new 4K UHD release last night was a revelation. Gorgeous presentation, and the opening aerial shots have never looked so awesome.

 

[John Stell]

014) 10/04/2019 Night of the Demon (1957)

(Out of four)

The best horror film of the 1950s: American psychologist, skeptical of the occult, travels to London to debunk professed devil cult leader. But the professor is about to get schooled after falling under curse of fire demon. The title creature makes only 2 appearances but they're both very memorable. Dana Andrews makes for a cool skeptic but it's Naill MacGinnis' performance as the chief baddie that charms. Climax aboard a train is a nail-biter, as are several walks through the woods.

015) 10/04/2019 The Return of the Vampire (1943)

1/2

Interesting, modern take on vampires with Bela Lugosi playing bloodsucker who plots revenge in war-torn England. Some great atmosphere too but the film is hindered by laughable misuse of werewolf character who is more errand boy than menace. At one point two people plot against his Master and all he does is hide in the bushes and growl. Any killing he does is off screen. Lawrence Talbot would be embarrassed.


016) 10/04/2019 Ghost Stories (2017)

1/2

Psychic debunker is challenged by his idol to prove three cases of the paranormal are fake. A night watchman is tormented by mysterious figure; a nervous teen recounts a frightening experience in the woods; and a successful businessman reveals what happened with his wife's pregnancy. Entertaining anthology has an interesting twist at the end but there's really not much here that horror fans haven't seen before.


017) 10/05/2019 The House that Dripped Blood (1970)

Good Amicus anthology about rental home whose temporary occupants meet with grisly fates. An author watches his latest killer come to life; a retiree (Peter Cushing) becomes fascinated by nearby wax museum's Salome exhibit; a widower (Christopher Lee) seems to treat his young daughter terribly although he has his reasons; and a horror actor gets more authenticity than he expected when he buys a new vampire cape. Fast-paced fun.


018) 10/05/2019 Night of the Creeps (1986)

1/2

Homage to 1950s B pictures via 1980s sensibilities. A cryogenically frozen teen from 1959, who houses an alien lifeform, is freed by two nerds pledging a fraternity. Now parasites run rampant on campus, turning students into killer zombie-like beings. Self-aware blend of humor and horror is kind of clunky but still worth seeing, especially for Tom Akins' performance as wiseacre cop ("Thrill me!") with a secret. Likeable leads also helps.​

 

[dana martin]

Theatrical Viewing
Blu Ray Viewing
DVD Viewing
Streaming

October 4th
MOON that spells miniseries


The Stand: miniseries, good transfer, the sound could have been better, think CBS should have went with 2 disc instead of one, and included Master audio instead of DD, also one issue that i have, if you are going to treat this like watching the "actual" miniseries then why not include the individual credits and openings that were present on each night?

 

[Ruz-El]

I might hit the Stand, time permitting. I remember it being really good.

006 10/05 Blood Lake (1987) 3/5 A shot on video mess about a group of teens who head to the lake for a party weekend. If you like your horror looking like 80’s porno, this one's for you. That said, it’s pretty charming! The redneck cast is likable, the gore is ambitious and for a zero budget VHS feature, it plays pretty straight. So while it’s not a transcendent masterpiece, it is adorably dopey fun.

 

[Michael Elliott]

The Giant Behemoth (1959) **

British rip-off of GODZILLA has dummies using atomic weapons and soon a giant monster comes from the sea. This film was obviously done without too much money and there are way too many boring scenes of people talking. With that said, the monster effects are fun (not good) and I thought the destruction of the city made this worth watching.

Clownado (2019) **

A woman is abused by a psychotic clown so she has another woman use black magic to defeat them. A tornado takes the clown and his killer crew and soon they are chasing people around slaughtering them. This is a pretty awful movie on many levels but at the same time I've never seen anything quite like it. There's a ton of gore and nudity on display here and in its weird way it has a certain charm that worked for me. The biggest problem is that it's 99-minutes, which is way too long. Linnea Quigley and Jeanne Silver have small roles.

Killer Crocodile II (1990) * 1/2

Another large crocodile is eating people. Enough said. I actually enjoyed this sequel a tad bit more than the original. Sure, it's the same poor filmmaking, bad acting, awful dialogue and so on but I thought this one was so silly that I couldn't help but have a better time with it. The croc still looks really stupid and fake but the attack scenes are just so silly and over-the-top that I enjoyed them. And wait until you hear the dialogue during a love making scene!

The Night Child (1975) **

Poor Emilio Estevez leads a good clean life and no one remembers him. Charlie Sheen is a bad boy and he gets headlines and work. I say that because Italy gave us a ton of gory, graphic, profane and disgusting rip-offs of THE EXORCIST and they're all remembered and loved yet THE NIGHT CHILD is pretty much forgotten. Richard Johnson (ZOMBIE) plays a father dealing with a possessed child. This film was actually well-made, featured some very good performances and overall I was impressed with how serious it was on the subject. The problem is that it was just way too boring and this here pretty much killed off all the style points. There's no green puke or slime here folks.

Scars of Dracula (1970) ***

A vampire bat helps bring Count Dracula back to life and he teaches the villagers who burned his castle down a major lesson. The opening fifteen or twenty minutes of this Hammer film are excellent and really pack a nice little punch. The rest of the film is more routine but it's still a lot of fun and Lee is in fine form as Dracula. The film has an added touch of violence and it really is one of the better films in the series.

 

[Ruz-El]

007 10/05 Rawhead Rex (1986) 3/5 Some mopes clearing rocks awaken a murderous demon in this one from the mind of Clive Barker. Surprisingly average monster movie stuff from Barker, but it’s good monster movie stuff. Especially for an 80’s picture. It’s nice to see a horror film played straight instead of being a pun fest. That said, it’s nothing too remarkable despite being well done.

 

[dpippel]

OCTOBER 5:

5) The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll* (1960) - 2.5/5 stars - A Hammer film that I'd never seen until today, but I wasn't missing much. A surprisingly tawdry and melodramatic take on the Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde story directed by Terence Fisher, it's quite randy for a Hammer. The acting is superb all around, but even Christopher Lee couldn't save this one for me. Decidedly mediocre.

 

[Ruz-El]

I don't think my great grandpa would appreciate the representation.

008 10/05 Invasion of the Blood Farmers (1972) 3/5 I’m getting punchy from too many movies already in this challenge, but I quite liked this one. I am biased though, it’s about Druids harvesting blood for a ritual and as I come from Druids, I’m into it. It’s cheap and corny, but I dug it and it mostly held my interest for the running time.

Anyone guess which boxsets I'm diving into? I'll give you a hint, the company that put them out rhymes with Beverin.

 

[JohnRice]

If a movie is intentionally bad, and succeeds at it, then is it a "Bad" movie? That's the question with my first two viewings yesterday.

10/4
(6) Shark Night (2011): A group of college students visit a parents' house on an inland (Louisiana, I think) salt water lake, which it turns out is infested with killer sharks. Sara Paxton and Katharine McPhee provide some very satisfying bikini-clad eye candy in this campy, intentionally (and successfully) bad movie.

(7) Evil Toons (1992): The crown jewel of Fred Olen Ray's illustrious directing career has relative headliners like David Carradine, Dick Miller and Arte Johnson, along with an assortment of Screams Queens and porn stars, as well as a horny, animated demon. Michelle Bauer appears for an entire 30 seconds, for not other reason than to pull her top down.

(8) Doomsday (2008): I have always enjoyed Neil Marshall's homage to a variety of 80s action/apocalypse movies, but it completely failed to resonate with audiences. It's just funny, absurd and a blast to watch. It always cracks me up when The Fine Young Cannibals fires up on the soundtrack, followed by Jacques Offenbach. I think this movie is a hilarious mess.

 

[Michael Elliott]

Anyone guess which boxsets I'm diving into? I'll give you a hint, the company that put them out rhymes with Beverin.

Oh I know..... I couldn't resist watching them earlier when they came out.

 

[Ruz-El]

Oh I know..... I couldn't resist watching them earlier when they came out.

You know it! I've been itching to dive into both Hemispheres sets but other things always got in the way. I've decided to watch them all in rough order of release as opposed to just the Blood Island set and the other Hemisphere set that came out after. All first timers for me.

009 10/05 Terror Is A Man (1959) 3.5/5 A dude from the states washes up on an island of Dr. Moreau deal in this monster film from the Philippines and I dig it. It’s nothing super revolutionary, just a dead solid monster film in the classic tradition. It’s got a great look, and while there’s only one Cat-Man monster, it delivers. I’m a sucker for this stuff and this one left me happy.

 

[Ruz-El]

(8) Doomsday (2008): I have always enjoyed Neil Marshall's homage to a variety of 80s action/apocalypse movies, but it completely failed to resonate with audiences. It's just funny, absurd and a blast to watch. It always cracks me up when The Fine Young Cannibals fires up on the soundtrack, followed by Jacques Offenbach. I think this movie is a hilarious mess.

I saw this one on it's opening weekend and really liked it. It's as if Marshall thought he had a last shot at making a movie, so he made one with every genre he loved in it. I think that love shines through it.

 

[Neil Middlemiss]

October 5: Evolution (2016) - 3.5 out of 5 - First Time Viewing

A young boy, Nicholas, lives on a small island with a group of other young boys and women who say they are there mothers. These boys undergo unusual medical treatments, and one day, Nicholas sees a drowned boy on the ocean floor with a starfish on his belly. When he tells his mother, she tells him he is mistaken. Nicholas recognizes that something isn't right and begins to investigate.

Evolution is an artsy French horror film, filmed on a small Spanish Island to avoid tougher child actor rules, allowing writer/director Lucile Hadzihalilovic more freedom in telling this unusual, mysterious and creepy film. The film exists in an almost hypnotic state and there's a pervasive lack of affect, especially from young Nicholas (Max Brebant). This, along with the peaceful island setting, with lingering shots of the crashing waves, and the heaving of the ocean from beneath, become a captivating quality. But I can't imagine most will have the patience for it.

The tight framing, the purposefully restrained performances, and the unusual beauty found in the decrepit island hotel, and standout elements. The horror here comes from what we see being done to the boys, the implications for humanity, and, really, from whatever your imaginations makes from all the hints and implications because the film doesn't leave you with an obvious idea of what its supposed to mean.

I liked Evolution and consider it a good and off beat find for this year's Halloween challenge, but it isn't an ordinary 'horror' film, and most certainly won't be everyone's cup of tea.

 

[HawksFord]

4) The Blob (1958) - It has been decades since I last watched this, and I probably shouldn't have waited so long. The Criterion Blu-ray looks great, and the movie is still goofy fun.

 

[Jeff Flugel]

2) The Deadly Mantis (1957)
I'm a sucker for 1950s big bug movies, and this is a decent one, despite the ridiculous science and over-reliance on stock footage. The special effects are actually rather impressive for the day. The giant mantis prop looks cool and the producers even went to the trouble to shoot several scenes of the creature flying. Solid cast too, with Peter Gunn's Craig Stevens as the stalwart air force Colonel, William Hopper (good old Paul Drake from Perry Mason) as a paleontologist, and sloe-eyed hottie Alix Talton as a photographer that Stevens has eyes for. There's a neat moment when the mantis lands on the Washington Monument and we see a close-up of the critter's thorax moving slowly past a window. A fun movie, nowhere near as good as Them! but a solid effort from Universal. This would act as a warm-up for director Nathan Juran, who would go on to direct the Ray Harryhausen movies 20 Million Miles to Earth, The 7th Voyage of Sinbad and First Men in the Moon.

 

[sleroi]

OCT 5

13) Army of Darkness - International cut
Blu Ray - ***_

First time to watch the international cut, wich is 7 minutes longer than the theatrical, with the same ending. The only change I noticed was that the "London Bridges Falling Down" bit was missing from the tiny Ash scene. This version was a 4k scan from the interpositive and looked fantastic.

I still prefer the directors cut, with a longer battle sequence and the idiot Ash ending, but still a fun movie no matter wich version is on. So many great quotes.

 

[Radioman970]

Wednesday, October 2nd
3. The Collection. 2012
As creepy/kooky as masked wrestlers are (except for the hero of the world El Santo!) The Collector is on a whole new level with his head gear. I just think he's po'd cause his black grappler mask got ruined in the dryer. I hate it when my shirt sleeves get all twisted up!! Ironing sucks and I won't do it and neither does The Collector!! Anyway, me and him should follow the washing instructions labels inside they is there for a reason! In this followup to The Collector, which I watched the weekend before and my butt is still hanging off the edge, we see exactly what this mysterious and demented fella is up to with all this sudden collecting. And it's a mess! A good mess! Familiar for sure, but superior to so much that's been done before. Especially the first one which has a twist at the end of the first act that I really like. Warnings though, this series isn't nice to animals. I know the first credits stunt dogs and stunt cats. I keep up with that. I think F13th series is best for pet lovers.

TV:
1b. Dark Shadows. 704 (NEW)
No grandma gifts at Christmas for Quinton this year. And Barnabas brushes the dust off his fangs.

Thursday, October 3rd
4.The Reef. 2010
Even the oceans around Australia are just pure evil. Just saying what everybody else won't! A group of down under people (including a timid fisherman who should change his line of work and maybe move somewhere else like lovely Florida or somewhere inland away from water) take a trip on the ocean to deliver a large safe looking luxury yacht that is even towing a comfortable looking motorized dingy that would rescue a large group of people should they get stranded in the ocean because of, I don't know...REEFS!!!, and have ride back to the mainland for safely but damnit this is Australia we're talking about so forget the damn dingy even exists!! Reefs are a bitch but why don't we ride over some for fun and do a little snorkeling? This is all the set up to what becomes a very tense fishy movie. I joke but at the same time recommend this one for fans of waterlogged victim movies. It's not award winning but it does have me yelling at the characters which is fun. I even had an idea that might have made the movie much shorter but of course I was not there to suggest it. damn that..
5. Maggie. 2015 (NEW)
Slow moving infection story covering the human side of an outbreak. I got a Earth bound moments from Interstellar feeling. I guess it's the farm land it's set in with Arny Swartznegger pretty good as a dad wanting to keep things normal for his family and friends but knowing it's probably not going to end well. Mostly subtle and quiet, not for splatter fans. I liked.

TV:
1c. Dark Shadows. 705. (NEW)
Grandma's secret is not her Cauliflower Casserole. Unless the Casserole rises out of a coffin!

Extra: Dark Shadows Interview and that bastard Quinton spoilers what's upcoming! dang him! But nice fella who plays the character. I think he had a great time doing the show.

Friday, October 4th
6. Deathproof 2007 (NEW)
7. Planet Terror 2007
Accidentally watched these out of order. Oops! Worked fine though. I've seen Planet Terror a couple of times and can't help but like the splattering mess. Have avoided Deathproof up until now since reviews threw me off of it and I kinda forgot to give it a try. For DP it's like a pretty good movie being spoiled by a bunch of chatty girlfriends. Did guys blow up in the theater when this came out because they took their chatty girlfriend to this movie about chatty girlfriends because they thought it was a movie about a serial killer and would keep their chatty girlfriend quiet but instead all the chattiness set her off even worse like a great big chatty marathon? What the hell QT! Small talking us to death! man! I was actually worried this wasn't going to be a horror movie at all. Luckily there's some and a final act to save the day kinda. Russell is all in it and often cool and hilarious at the same time. Glad he was there. I was thinking you could replace him with Dennis Quaid or Nicholas Cage or another over the top guy I thought of during but now can't remember but would have been perfect and it would be just as good.
8. Halloween 2 1981
Halloween and Halloween 2 are like Rocky and Rocky 2. I love em all! and so glad they did direct continuation stories for these. Not much to say. Always love these first 2. Just wonderful. The location tour on the disc is better than you'd think. The host knows his horrors.

Saturday, October 5th
9. Next of Kin. 1982 (NEW)
So this really wasn't a Patrick Swayze movie at all and I missed his cameo somehow!! heh heh, no this is different kins. There's a scene with ladies hanging sheets to dry and then a spider appears on one of the sheets... an Aussie spider, not a regular one, but a small monster that probably has friends coming over to the sheet for all sorts of spider activities and should be run from and maybe even move to another area of the world if you see a spider like this but here one of the ladies calmly flicks it off the sheet so it can go on it's merry spider way and I'm "F U Australia! F U " (say all this in John Oliver voice!!) And I'm sorry Oz but your critters and your acceptance of such critters is unacceptable to the rest of the damn world! there! I said what others didn't wanna say!! so nan nan nan NAN! This one put me in mind of another movie filmed on the island call Picnic at Hanging Rock just because it's a mundane nursing home here and a girls school there, and unnerving stuff starts to happen among the seemingly boring exterior but slow builds to something beyond. Next of Kin is not even in the same league as Picnic though but still pretty okay. I guessed most of the red herrings and part of the ending. But it's not bad.
10. Sector 7 3D 2011 (NEW)
I'd read great things about the 3D but this is just okay overall. Best 3D in the face moment was when dust/debris came all the way out of the screen and threatened the need for artificial tears drops. It's Korean so there's subtitles or a yucky dub, has a very bumpy/pointy looking monster, takes place on an oil platform, there are motorcycles they ride sometimes...which was pretty cool in 3D. Most of the cast is actually likeable enough. But it made me think of all those great Corman flicks like Galaxy of Terror, and also The Meg 3D. In fact I pulled Meg out of storage to maybe watch again soon. So much better than this one.
11. The Sailor Who Fell From Grace...(breath breath breath)... With The Sea!! 1976
Finally broke down and got a used DVD to replace an old VHS I couldn't find anyway. I will be glad when they one day Blu ray this and I'm glad they haven't put it out on blu ray until they are sure they had a good source to use and fully restore it in all it's beauty and splendor since anything less would PO all the fans. (Please don't argue) It's been way too long for me and this. Everything I felt about it came rushing back, another very very nice slow build to one helluva punch that I remember totally freaking me out before. A worthy remake, maybe in it's native form, could be spectacular. Do they even make movies like this anymore? For this version I felt an almost total revamp of the cast would improve things. Mother and son could remain as well as all the kids except Chief, who isn't played by a very strong actor and really needed to be. (Imagine somebody like a young Keiffer Sutherland or Ed Norton in that role) Also, Kristopherson, who looks the part, but plays it like he's hoped up on Nyquil the whole time. I wonder if he was sick throughout considering the cold location and gusty cold air seaside. Poor guy. I guess that enhances that ending a bit. lol But still, nostalgia tells me nothing should be ever changed on this version of it except a big shout to some company known for doing some grand blu rays of all movies like this. A big SHOUT OUT to come OTHER company who does this...!

TV:
2. Night Gallery. Season 2 Episode 16.
Three very nice stories including another seaside, one of my favorite settings for horrors. Stuart Whitman look the part as an old bitter sailor who suddenly nets the one in every sailor's dreams! Then there's pre-MASH Harry Morgan, superb as a Funeral Home guy who discusses arrangements with a perfect Kim Hunter taking a break from the fur makeup. Then there's beautiful Sondra Locke doing a perfect Brit accent while telling some old guy to bloody buzz off! And then you gladly watch the whole thing again with commentary from a couple of Professors of Night Gallery. Lots of great facts about Locke who sadly died last year. Great time.
3. Alfred Hitchcock Presents. Season 1 episode 11. "The Guilty Witness"
so wonderful is this nosy neighbor story that I remembered at the beginning I'd already watched some months back and was on the next one. Kept telling myself to advance to the next but could not do that. GREAT story that's just as great again. Superb cast, especially grocery store owner who is darn perfect.

Finally caught up. Real life has been a bummer. Glad for all the fun horrors.

 

[Michael Elliott]

Vampire Cop (1990) **

Donald Farmer's direct-to-video mix of horror and action has a vampire cop trying to bring down a drug dealer. You've gotta know what you're getting into when watching a film like this but for the most part I found it to be entertaining. There's plenty of vampire action, lots of cute naked ladies and overall it's certainly not the worst I've seen.

It Came from Outer Space (1953) ****

For my money this here is one of the greatest science fiction films from this era. I really loved Jack Arnold's direction here and especially the slow burn of the two main characters realizing that something from outer space is taking over their city. I really loved the cast, the special effects (even the wire) and everything this film has to offer.

When a Stranger Calls Back (1993) *** 1/2

I'm really not sure why I never got around to this one before now but I'm really kicking myself. WHEN A STRANGER CALLS was an extremely well-made little thriller and this sequel is every bit as good and improves in so many areas. This one here really kept me on the edge of my seat throughout. The opening stuff with the babysitter was different than the original yet it was just as effective. Carol Kane, Charles Durning and Jill Schoelen were all excellent and the story itself left you wondering what was going to happen next.

The Uncanny (1977) **

I remember watching this one on TBS as a kid and not liking it and time hasn't been any kinder to it. An all-star cast is pretty much wasted on three stories dealing with evil cats. HOWEVER, none of the cats in the stories are really evil as they're just protecting people and getting revenge against the really evil people. I honestly thought the first story was the best but in reality it wsn't all that good. The second and third stories are weak and the second one really suffers from some poor special effects.

Last Rites (1980) * 1/2

A funeral director, a sheriff and a doctor are vampires and need strangers to come through their town for blood. Once they get that blood their victims turn to vampires but the three don't want more running around so they kill them. LAST RITES is a film I heard about recently on Siskel and Ebert's Dogs of the Week and the end result is certainly a dog but there was a great story here. I really liked the first ten or so minutes when everything was set up and I thought the story was an interesting one. The idea of these three needing victims for their blood but not wanting more vampires should have made for a better film but sadly the low-budget, bad direction and ugly look of the picture ruined it.

 

[dpippel]

OCTOBER 5:

6) The Conjuring (2013) 4/5 stars - James Wan's wonderful film about demonic possession that's "based on true events" is still 100% enjoyable for me 6 years down the road. The story is compelling, as are the performances of Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson as the Warrens. I can excuse a few standard jump scares here and there, as I find the movie to be genuinely creepy. We watched this in part to set ourselves up for more Conjuring Universe films this coming week - Annabelle and The Nun, possibly The Conjuring 2 as well.

 

[JohnRice]

5. Maggie. 2015 (NEW)
Slow moving infection story covering the human side of an outbreak. I got a Earth bound moments from Interstellar feeling. I guess it's the farm land it's set in with Arny Swartznegger pretty good as a dad wanting to keep things normal for his family and friends but knowing it's probably not going to end well. Mostly subtle and quiet, not for splatter fans. I liked.

I was surprised how much I Liked Maggie. I've been considering giving it a second viewing thins month.