***Official 22nd Annual HTF October Scary Movie Challenge 2021*** (1 Viewer)

[Ruz-El]

I like it quite a bit, and the monster does off to me, but still.

I don't remember the name of the Hammer Frankenstein film in which Peter Cushing delivered the best burn in cinematic history. Frankenstein is at a boarding house sitting with a few gentlemen in the study. They are lambasting Dr. Frankenstein unaware he is in their presence sitting with them reading his paper. Frankenstein enthusiastically asks the main culprit something to the effect of " Oh excuse me, I couldn't help but overhearing I didn't know you gentlemen were doctors". The man replies "we aren't", to which Frankenstein replies "I'm sorry, I thought you knew what you were talking about" in a dismissive tone like the men were less than nothing.
"That was Damn Rude sir" replied the insult recipient.
Just his delivery of those lines were laser perfect I still get chuckle thinking about it.

I'm hoping to run all of them before the end of the month. If I notice it I'll be sure to keep you posted lol.

Cushing is really perfect as Dr. Frankenstein, and it's kind of shocking to see how good he is as Van Helsing as well, since Helsing has been a much more physical role in the two I've watched so far.

 

[JasonRoer]

73. Night of the Blood Beast (NEW)
Oh Roger Corman, you always find a way to amuse those of us who love the shlock and campy silliness of b-level scifi and horror flicks. Here we have an astronaut crashing to earth impregnated with alien babies. Do you really need to know anything else? Typical ultra low budget Corman picture. 3 out of 5.

74. Tales From The Crypt: Came the Dawn
Fun episode with Brooke Shields. 3 out of 5.

75. The Raven (NEW)
Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff! So how, you may ask, is this the first time I'm watching this film?? I have no good answer. None. Because let's face it, there is none. I should be ashamed. But - at least I finally did get to it. What a treat! They each give wonderful performances (as usual), and I loved every frame. 4.5 out of 5.

76. Stranger Things S3 EP 3, 4
The series rewatch with my wife continues! We're still loving it.

77. Sleepy Hollow
Tim Burton is one of my favorite directors for more than a few reasons. I love his visual style, but I love even more his ability to get to the heart of his characters, many of whom are the outcasts, those on the fringe of society, the ones who think differently and are often criticized for it. The ones I relate to. We've all heard the tale of the Headless Horseman, of course, however, being raised in upstate New York relatively close to Sleepy Hollow, it was actually part of my childhood. Come October, the chill wind, the changing leaves, the ghost stories took over. Such delight. Anyway, Burton's vision of Sleepy Hollow is perfect. I love the film as much now as when I saw it in the theater. 5 out of 5.

78. The Mummy's Tomb
I love mummy flicks. Always have. Here we have a wonderful follow up to The Mummy's Hand. We're many years down the line and Kharis is once again called to do some damage, this time to the Banning family for Steve's transgression. Much of the film is flashback to the previous film, however, it works here and pushes the film forward at a good pace. The film isn't usually rated high in the Mummy litany, however, I enjoy it greatly. 3.5 out of 5.

79. Stranger Things S3 EP 5, 6
See above.

80. Killers From Space (NEW)
So I believe I have found the cheesiest special effects and makeup ever. They exist in this film. B-grade alien picture with an absolutely absurd plot to match the absolutely absurd SFX/makeup. Just watch it. Ridiculous fun once it gets going. The lean runtime helps it out. If you like cheesy scifi, you have yourself a winner here. 3 out of 5.

 

[dpippel]

OCTOBER 21:

40) Dracula: Prince of Darkness (1966) (Blu-ray Disc) 3.5/5 stars - A direct sequel to 1958's Dracula, Dracula: Prince of Darkness definitely does NOT live up to its predecessor. Even though much of the same talent is involved, sans Peter Cushing, this film pales in comparison to the original. Christopher Lee is willing, and Andrew Keir adds his usual gravitas, but it's a lesser work. Entertaining but flawed. The Shout! Factory Blu-ray offers both the U.K. and U.S. versions of the film. The major differences are in the source elements. The U.K. version was taken from the original camera negative and the U.S. version from an interpositive provided by 20th Century Fox. While the color timing and black levels are superior in the U.S. version, its lower resolution hurts it a lot, and the U.K. version with its overly bright and yellow-tinged look, is superior in resolution, even with too much DNR applied. Neither is great, but the U.K. version wins in my book. Still, a fun Hammer romp despite its shortcomings.

41) Lifeforce (1985) (Blu-ray Disc) 3.5/5 stars - A guilty pleasure to be sure. Even though this film has some serious talent behind it (directed by Tobe Hooper, Dan O'Bannon worked on the screenplay, Henry Mancini and Michael Kamen doing the score, John Dykstra handling the special effects), it has a cheese factor that just won't quit. And really, that's part of its charm. Based on a novel called "The Space Vampires," a mission to Halley's Comet discovers a 150 mile long derelict alien spacecraft hiding on the comet's coma. They board the ship, find three perfectly preserved humans (and a bunch of dead aliens that look like giant bats), and bring them back to Earth. Turns out they're from a race of beings who feed on the lifeforce of others and are the basis of the vampire legends of old. Pretty soon they're wreaking havoc and the "vampire" infection is spreading throughout Britain. Steve Railsback's completely overwrought performance is the weakest link in this film for me, but the lovely Mathilda May, who spends most of her screentime walking around London completely naked, almost counterbalances things. Patrick Stewart is also on board in a short, early role. It plays with some interesting ideas and is certainly different from practically anything else out there. Well worth your time, and the Shout! Factory Blu-ray looks absolutely marvelous.

 

[Neil Middlemiss]

October 21: Shocker (1989) – 2 out of 5

Brutal serial killer, Horace Pinker (Mitch Pileggi), has a strange connection with local high school football star, Jonathan Parker (Peter Berg), as Jonathan is able to identify and locate the nasty murder in his dreams. Pinker is caught, sent to the electric chair, but he manages to manifest himself in the real of electricity, traveling cable and circuits to restart his killing spree and take revenge upon Parker for getting him caught,

Wes Craven, director of impressive horror fare like A Nightmare on Elm Street, Swamp Thing, and The Serpent and the Rainbow, takes a serious creative misstep with Shocker. Mitch Pileggi, who would go on to play Mulder and Scully’s stern boss (FBI Asst. Director, Walter Skinner), on The X-Files, is fun to watch in this over-the-top and scene chewing killer role, but you’re never quite sure if Craven is looking for chuckles or shock (pardon the pun). Peter Berg, who would go on to become quite the successful director himself, isn’t really leading man materials and he’s a bit too loose and inexperienced to be convincing here.

If I had to guess, I’d say that Craven was looking to create something bloody and a little tongue in cheek, having fun with a heavy Rock-infused soundtrack and a third act which becomes a surreal jaunt through the television landscape. It’s a bizarre concoction of ideas and mismatched styles and tones that doesn’t really come together. I do remember having a blast with this at the end of my school days before my college years, but it’s not a film that holds up well. Doesn’t mean I didn’t have fun with it, but it’s not a film I can excuse the flaws of as they are plentiful. I can’t decide of the John Tesh cameo is one of those flaws. It probably is.

 

[JasonRoer]

October 21: Shocker (1989) – 2 out of 5

Brutal serial killer, Horace Pinker (Mitch Pileggi), has a strange connection with local high school football star, Jonathan Parker (Peter Berg), as Jonathan is able to identify and locate the nasty murder in his dreams. Pinker is caught, sent to the electric chair, but he manages to manifest himself in the real of electricity, traveling cable and circuits to restart his killing spree and take revenge upon Parker for getting him caught,

Wes Craven, director of impressive horror fare like A Nightmare on Elm Street, Swamp Thing, and The Serpent and the Rainbow, takes a serious creative misstep with Shocker. Mitch Pileggi, who would go on to play Mulder and Scully’s stern boss (FBI Asst. Director, Walter Skinner), on The X-Files, is fun to watch in this over-the-top and scene chewing killer role, but you’re never quite sure if Craven is looking for chuckles or shock (pardon the pun). Peter Berg, who would go on to become quite the successful director himself, isn’t really leading man materials and he’s a bit too loose and inexperienced to be convincing here.

If I had to guess, I’d say that Craven was looking to create something bloody and a little tongue in cheek, having fun with a heavy Rock-infused soundtrack and a third act which becomes a surreal jaunt through the television landscape. It’s a bizarre concoction of ideas and mismatched styles and tones that doesn’t really come together. I do remember having a blast with this at the end of my school days before my college years, but it’s not a film that holds up well. Doesn’t mean I didn’t have fun with it, but it’s not a film I can excuse the flaws of as they are plentiful. I can’t decide of the John Tesh cameo is one of those flaws. It probably is.

Go with your gut. A John Tesh cameo is always a concern.

 

[Tony Bensley]

13. DRACULA (1931) Universal DRACULA COMPLETE LEGACY COLLECTION Blu-ray

Although this iconic Horror classic is now over 90 years old, it never gets too old to enjoy, and this excellent 2012 restoration means we get to see (and hear) Count Dracula, Renfield, Van Helsing, Harker et al with more clarity than ever (The recent 4K release, notwithstanding) before! Just try to resist imitating Bela Lugosi’s stylistic performance while watching. Impossible! The same goes for Charles Gerrard as Martin the caretaker, at least for me.

Over the decades, I don’t even really notice the flaws in terms of pacing, anymore. They are all an essential part of the DRACULA (1931) viewing experience.

Absolutely essential viewing!

DRACULA (1931) Starring the inimitable, but always imitated Bela Lugosi as Count Dracula!:

DRACULA (1931) Featuring Charles Gerrard and two Uncredited Actresses as Nurses!:

CHEERS!

 

[Michael Elliott]

Children of Camp Blood (2020) **

The latest film in the series is finally the last one I have to watch (although I'll get to WITHIN THE WOODS next year). Once again it thankfully runs just 69-minutes with the end credits and that includes some footage from previous movies. Troubled teens who are afraid of clowns are taken to Camp Blood where they're attacked by a clown. The film was okay for what it was but pretty much middle ground for the series.

Foes (1977) ** 1/2

Three people isolated on an island lighthouse are terrorized by a UFO. I went with the 72-minute director's cut and for the most part I was impressed. The film has a very raw, documentary like feel to it and it's cheapness actually helps the film. The special effects were quite good and the cast were at least good enough for their roles. There's really nothing here that jumps off the screen as being great but for its budget you have to tip your hat.

The Last Performance (1929) ***

Universal mix of drama, horror and romance has Conrad Veidt playing a famous magician who loses the woman he loves and decides to get revenge. I'm really not sure why this film hasn't gotten a proper release considering it's a Universal "horror" film and it has Veidt and Mary Philbin who are quite known to horror fans. At just 60-minutes the film has a very fast pace and I thought Veidt's wonderful performance made the film. There's also some wonderful cinematography. I believe there's a version with sound clips but the one I watched was all silent.

The Land Unknown (1957) ***

The U.S. Navy sends an expedition to Antarctica and soon a helicopter crew crashes into a volcanic area with dinosaurs and monsters. If you're looking for great special effects then you're not going to find it here but for the most part I thought this Universal film was a lot of fun. The cast were fun, the set design was quite good and the monsters were at least fun even if they did look fake. I might have seen this one back in the day but I honestly couldn't remember anything about it.

Strange Behavior (1981) ** 1/2

Strange film from New Zealand about a scientist doing experiments on teenagers that turn them into murderers. This is basically a 1950s science fiction movie mixed with an 80s slasher. I didn't love anything about the film but for the most part it was mildly entertaining. There are some rather bloody death scenes that are clearly trying to match the slasher craze but the real highlight was an attack sequence inside a pool, which was rather intense.

 

[sleroi]

25. The Wolfman (1941) - - I havent seen this since I was a little kid and barely remembered it. What a joy of a rediscovery.

Everything works. A solid story, a mysterious eerie atmosphere, fantastic acting from the leads to the most minor roles. (Although having recently watched of Mice and Men I kept seeing a lot of Lenny in Lon Chaney, but after about 20 minutes he had become Larry Talbot.) Bela Lugosi was only in the film a few minutes, and was barely recognizable, his makeup was that good.

Such ornate sets in the castle and all of the buildings in the village. And Lugosis entrance on a grand carriage was amazing.

And the Cinematography was amazing too. Not just the great use of shadows and shillouettes, but there is an amazing depth of field throughout. Two gentleman will be sitting in one room, and a door will open in a room beyond them and fine detail can be seen in the hallway through that door.

The Wolf makeup is pretty cool as well. I love how initially we only see the feet transform, and then walk off on just the balls of the feet.

I think the only flaw is that in Chaney's initial encounter with the werewolf it looks like a doberman pinscher, and clearly not man like at all. But when he himself becomes the werewolf he is an upright half man half beast creature. But that is a minor quibble.

 

[HawksFord]

18. House on Haunted Hill (1959) – My wife requested this William Castle directed film last night. Vincent Price stars as a millionaire hosting a group of strangers for a night in a haunted house. If they survive the night, they get $10,000. Much shrieking ensues. When it was over my wife said, “It wasn’t as good as I remembered.” This is one that is worth watching at least once, but the script isn't strong enough to hold up well for repeated viewings.

 

[John Stell]

Rating - Out of a possible 4

077) 10/21/2021 The Mummy's Hand (1940)

1/2

First of the Kharis films is probably the best, with group of fortune hunters unwisely seeking tomb of Princess Ananka, which ticks off high priest George Zucco and Tom Tyler's mummy guardian. The horror stuff is good and the mummy itself is a great monster. But the overall tone is pretty lightweight and the comedy frequently intrusive.

078) 10/21/2021 The Mummy's Tomb (1942)

Supposedly set about 30 years after the events in The Mummy's Hand, which makes this taking place in the late 1960s/early 1970s, the second world war is still going on! Anyway, the survivors of the Banning expedition are being murdered by Kharis, now played by Lon Chaney, Jr. One of the character's last name has changed from the previous film. The mummy stalks a bunch of old people. One of the laziest of the Universal sequels. On the other hand its pace is fast and it's rather gutsy for its cynicism.

079) 10/22/2021 The Mummy's Ghost (1944)

1/2

The soul of Princess Ananka is transferred to fetching Ramsay Ames. John Carradine is the new high priest who tries to reunite Kharis with his beloved. A dog named Peanuts barks happily. Formulaic to say the least but still has its moments, especially the downbeat ending.

080) 10/22/2021 The Mummy's Curse (1944)

An excavation unearths the bodies of Kharis and Ananka, who doesn't remember who she is or much of anything else for that matter. You can guess the rest. Humdrum sequel gets buy on typical Universal style and atmospherics.

 

[BobO'Link]

October 21st
90. Dawn of the Dead (2004) ▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲☼
Yep - another zombie movie. This one's a remake of Romero's 1978 film of the same name. I like the original much, much better.

A nurse, a policeman, a young married couple, a salesman and other survivors of a worldwide plague that is producing aggressive, flesh-eating zombies, take refuge in a mega Midwestern shopping mall.

While mostly different, it generally follows the same plot as the original (survivors trapped in a mall), attempts to inject humor (that mostly fell flat with me), has more forgettable characters (many more - all rather standard types), and offers nothing truly new. It's just another zombie survival film.

91. The Terror (1963) ▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲
An old, fairly decent, favorite from Roger Corman. I own a copy of the HD Cinema Classics BR, a good, but not stellar, transfer of this PD "classic."

A French Army officer, Lieutenant Duvalier (Jack Nicholson), has been separated from his unit and receives help from a mysterious woman, Helene (Sandra Knight). He follows her to the castle of Baron Von Lepp (Boris Karloff) only to find that she is the Baron's wife who died 20 years ago.

As the story goes: Corman had four days extra shooting time left on the sets for his Edgar Allan Poe film The Raven (1963) so used the extra time to shoot Karloff's parts, while he still had him under contract, in order to make another entire film. Supposedly many of the scenes that tie it all together (exteriors, ocean, etc.) were shot up and down the CA coast using fill in "directors" (calling themselves anything *but* a director) to avoid Union issues.

And it really shows upon repeated viewing of this one. It's mostly Duvalier walking around, seeing/talking to Helene, telling everyone about it, no one believing it or just ignoring him. It has lots of atmosphere, very good sets, and Karloff, but a story that's somewhat meandering. To watch Jack Nicholson you'd think he'll not be acting very long - his deliveries are quite stilted and he's the weak link in the production. In spite of that it's not bad and mostly suffers from some boring sameness at times as characters walk up/down hallways and repeatedly open hidden doors/rooms.

 

[Bryan^H]

The Navy Vs. The Night Monsters (1966)
What a boring movie. Even the beautiful Mamie Van Doren can't save this movie that seems more concerned with talk, and more talk than actually providing scares.
Grade - D

The Wild World of Bat Woman (1966)
Insufferable comedy that has nothing going for it. Not even an attractive cast could make this charming. Just bad.
Grade - D-

Curse of the Stone Hand (1965)
What did I just watch? Scenes that go nowhere, and dead end only to lead to more scenes that are more puzzling with no sense. Some scenes are way too long, and some way too short. Feels like I'm going crazy trying to watch with the pacing. Like an incomplete film of sorts that had bunch of footage, but the film editor was drunk, and laughing putting this together.
Grade - F

Man Beast (1956)
Finally a coherent somewhat slow film about the search for the Yeti. I was beginning to think this Jerry Warren fella was completely useless. The female actor in this makes the film more enjoyable than it would be otherwise.
Grade - C+

 

[dpippel]

View attachment 116770

The Navy Vs. The Night Monsters (1966)
What a boring movie. Even the beautiful Mamie Van Doren can't save this movie that seems more concerned with talk, and more talk than actually providing scares.
Grade - D

The Wild World of Bat Woman (1966)
Insufferable comedy that has nothing going for it. Not even an attractive cast could make this charming. Just bad.
Grade - D-

Curse of the Stone Hand (1965)
What did I just watch? Scenes that go nowhere, and dead end only to lead to more scenes that are more puzzling with no sense. Some scenes are way too long, and some way too short. Feels like I'm going crazy trying to watch with the pacing. Like an incomplete film of sorts that had bunch of footage, but the film editor was drunk, and laughing putting this together.
Grade - F

Man Beast (1956)
Finally a coherent somewhat slow film about the search for the Yeti. I was beginning to think this Jerry Warren fella was completely useless. The female actor in this makes the film more enjoyable than it would be otherwise.
Grade - C+

I'm really in awe of the deep dives some of you are taking!

 

[Bryan^H]

I'm really in awe of the deep dives some of you are taking!

Sorry, backlogged by about 12 movie

 

[Michael Elliott]

Jerry Warren really is the worst director ever. Ed Wood really gets a bad wrap because I'd rather watch his movies in a non-stop cycle then have to sit through a Warren picture. MAN BEAST is probably his best one but it's a real hard decision coming up with the worst because most are BOMB type pictures.

 

[BobO'Link]

Yeah... I own copies of both of those Kit Parker Jerry Warren collections. They're some of the worst things I've ever seen. And to think, I'd watched the first one, knew how bad the are, and intentionally purchased the 2nd - partly hoping it wouldn't be that bad. It was.

I also purchased a copy of The Navy vs. The Night Monsters because the package blurbs made it sound like something I'd possibly like. It, too, is pretty bad... like Bryan said...

 

[Johnny Angell]

View attachment 116770

The Navy Vs. The Night Monsters (1966)
What a boring movie. Even the beautiful Mamie Van Doren can't save this movie that seems more concerned with talk, and more talk than actually providing scares.
Grade - D

The Wild World of Bat Woman (1966)
Insufferable comedy that has nothing going for it. Not even an attractive cast could make this charming. Just bad.
Grade - D-

Curse of the Stone Hand (1965)
What did I just watch? Scenes that go nowhere, and dead end only to lead to more scenes that are more puzzling with no sense. Some scenes are way too long, and some way too short. Feels like I'm going crazy trying to watch with the pacing. Like an incomplete film of sorts that had bunch of footage, but the film editor was drunk, and laughing putting this together.
Grade - F

Man Beast (1956)
Finally a coherent somewhat slow film about the search for the Yeti. I was beginning to think this Jerry Warren fella was completely useless. The female actor in this makes the film more enjoyable than it would be otherwise.
Grade - C+

I have to laugh at a package called “Positively No Refunds Triple Feature.”

 

[TravisR]

Jerry Warren really is the worst director ever. Ed Wood really gets a bad wrap because I'd rather watch his movies in a non-stop cycle then have to sit through a Warren picture. MAN BEAST is probably his best one but it's a real hard decision coming up with the worst because most are BOMB type pictures.

Coleman Francis is another one that makes Ed Wood look like Orson Welles. Faint praise but Wood's movies are at least unintentionally entertaining while there's other guys' movies that are about as interesting to watch as drying paint.

 

[John Stell]

Coleman Francis is another one that makes Ed Wood look like Orson Welles. Faint praise but Wood's movies are at least unintentionally entertaining while there's other guys' movies that are about as interesting to watch as drying paint.

In the case of Warren I think watching paint dry is much more interesting.

 

[Michael Elliott]

Absolutely. Thankfully for us he only made three films. haha I have watched two as I finally found a non-MST3K version of RED ZONE CUBA. I guess I can brag that I've seen all of Warren's films and don't need to track any more down.