***Official 23rd Annual HTF October Scary Movie Challenge 2022*** (1 Viewer)

[Ruz-El]

Add me to the list of being miffed by overly long films. I still haven't seen THE BATMAN or the Snyder JLA cut for that reason. As a little boy I dreamed of being able to see "good" superhero movies. Now they are the norm and I can't be arsed to keep up with them. Between the TV series , over long films, etc etc... they're feeling as impenetrable as the comic books that spawned them.

Busy day off yesterday so only three in since I feel asleep on the last one and will finish it later today

105 10/27 The Thing With Two Heads (1972) 3/5 Ever since seeing the much missed IT CAME FROM HOLLYWOOD when I was a little boy this film loomed large in my mind. It was the kind of thing where I so desperately wanted to see it for so long that I ended up avoiding it because I knew it couldn’t hold up to expectations. It didn’t. It’s a ton of fun as racist Ray Milland gets his head grafted onto Rosie Griers body, but after the grafting and the plot of Grier trying to prove his innocence it pretty much runs out of steam. Some neat ideas but too many goofy car chases and the whole thing is played pretty lightly which kills it. I liked it, didn’t love it, probably won't watch it again but glad I saw it.

106 10/27 The Torture Chamber of Dr. Sadism (1967) 2.5/5 So the second time wasn’t the charm for me on this one. Starts off with a bang before going on a long, long wander through haunted castle tropes until the last act when Lee returns to meet out some justice. Problem with this one is lead Lex Baxter is such a blank slate that he drags the whole picture down due to being boring to watch and never creating any emotional stakes. None of the set pieces create any tension and it just seems to take forever to get to the next one. Not even the “Pit & the Pendulum” gimmick really works. Christopher Lee is great in this, he’s easily the only reason to watch this. Bumping it up half a star but I can’t imagine watching it again.

107 10/27 Celia (1989) 3/5 A young girl discovers her grandmother's body and the trauma of that sets her off on an odd path in 1950s Australia. More a weird coming of age tale than a traditional horror film, it almost feels like the young years of a future serial killer in some regards. It tackles a lot, particularly the Red Scare aspect of the era and how that shakes out through the eyes of children. Even in the more fantastical elements this one plays it a little too straight. As a result, as interesting and well done as it is, it never really feels all that engaging.

 

[Malcolm R]

I read a synopsis of Barbarian a while back and decided it sounded too weird for me.

 

[sleroi]

89. Arachnophobia - S (Roku Channel) - A fun spider invasion movie made before CGI was all the rage. This film is mostly a comedy, John Goodman is hilarious as the town exterminator. But the use of hundreds of real spiders, as well as a great performance by Jeff Daniels, whose fear seems genuine and palpable, there is a real sense of tension and terror throughout.

90. Winchester - S (Roku Channel) - The story of the Winchester mystery house in San Jose. At the turn of the century, after secluding herself in an 8 room country home and continually building on, now with 100+ rooms, the widow Sarah Winchester agrees to have her mental condition assessed. The Dr. Hired for the job soon begins to question his own sanity as he experiences visions of possessed children. Sarah soon asks the Dr. to help her contain a particularly angry spirit.
This is a creepy, atmospheric haunted house story that slowly builds to a chilling, effective finale.
Helen Mirren and Jason Clarke are fantastic.

 

[Michael Elliott]

The Keep (1983) ** 1/2

Michael Mann's notorious film about Nazi soldiers coming into contact with some entity. I've heard a lot about this film over the years and finally decided to check it out. It's impossible to judge the film for what it isn't. After all, the original cut was 210-minutes and this clocks in at 95-minutes. I thought the film was mildly entertaining but it simply didn't make any sense. I'm guessing a lot of character development was edited out and I'm also guessing that a lot of the deeper meaning of the story was cut. The performances were good and the visuals were great but it just didn't add up to much.

They/Them (2022) **

A bunch of gay kids go to a camp where the owner (Kevin Bacon) is going to attempt to turn them straight. Umm... WTF was this? When I read about this film I figured it was going to be strange but it's really, really strange and really stupid. I'm not sure what the goal of this movie was other than to tell gay people it's okay to be gay and to say those who think otherwise should be killed. This is a really stupid movie and it's easy to see why it's the most brutally rated horror film of the year. Some of the reviews are incredibly awful and I get it. I totally get some of the hatred being thrown at this movie but I just found it to be so strange and so insane that it kept me entertained.

Night Terrors (1993) * 1/2

A woman travels to Alexandria where she soon falls in with a deranged descendent of Marquis de Sade (Robert Englund). This Tobe Hooper film is the perfect movie to show someone if they want to know why the 90s pre-SCREAM era was so awful. Who would have thought that the director of THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE and the star of A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET would deliver such a turkey? There's some mild violence as well as some sex and nudity but it all adds up to a big nothing.

Identikit (1974) ** 1/2

Elizabeth Taylor plays a woman who travels to Rome in order to find someone to kill her. This is a very strange movie from start to finish. It seems most people consider this to be Taylor's worst movie and it's easy to see why they'd think that but I found the film to be so strange and so surreal that it kept me entertained. I wouldn't say Taylor gave a good performance but this is basically Euro Sleaze and it was fascinating seeing someone like her in a picture like this. The ending is 100% horror and you just walk away wondering what the hell you just watched.

 

[sleroi]

Who would have thought that the director of THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE and the star of A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET would deliver such a turkey?

Have you seen Eaten Alive? I think it was Hooper's first film after Chainsaw. Robert Englund plays Buck and utters a famous line that inspired the same line in Kill Bill. Other than that, it is unwatchably bad.

 

[Robert Crawford]

I'm going to keep my comments for each movie short today because I'm not in the mood to expand on my thoughts. See my summary for film grades! Right now, I've watched 74 movies with 36 of them first time viewings. Not bad, since I didn't start participating in this "Scary Movie Challenge" until October 10th.

71) The War of the Worlds (1953) (4K/UHD) 4.5/5 Stars
A wonderful film that I've enjoyed many times over the years. This movie is so well known, I don't feel the need to talk about the film's premise at all. I thought the 4K/UHD disc offered an excellent video presentation on my OLED. I know other people have issues with this disc, but not I. I'm very happy with it. Once I have more time, I'm still going to compare this 4K disc to the Criterion and Imprint Blu-rays.

72) When Worlds Collide (1951) (Blu-ray) 2.5/5 Stars
This was a first time viewing of this movie. I didn't like it as much as I thought I would, but will watch it again because I have the Imprint Blu-ray too that I will compare to this Paramount Blu-ray. There is some controversy regarding the color scheme on the Paramount Blu-ray. Also, the Imprint Blu-ray has an audio commentary that I need to listen to, as it might enhance my appreciation for this movie. I liked the film's premise about Earth being destroyed by a collision with another planet, but the awful special effects affected my rating for this film. I just thought they were cheesy especially at the end of the movie.

73) Horror Island (1941) (Blu-ray) 3/5 Stars
Another first time viewing. This Universal "B" movie isn't a good movie, but I enjoyed this mystery about a hidden treasure on an island that several people are searching for, as the body count piles up during the course of one night on the island. A nice cast of actors and some funny moments. The Blu-ray is part of Shout! Factory's "Universal Horror Collection Volume 3" Blu-ray set. The Blu-ray has an audio commentary that I will listen to during my next viewing.

74) The Mummy's Hand (1940) (Blu-ray) 3/5 Stars
Yup, I never seen this movie before today, even though, I had this film title in my disc collection for over two decades. I just never got around to the 2001 & 2004 DVDs, but at least I finally watched the 2017 Blu-ray which is part of "The Mummy Complete Legacy Collection" Blu-ray set. Anyhow, it's a fun "B" Universal follow up to the original "The Mummy" (1932). A fine cast of actors with some good comedic moments thrown in. Frankly, I'm surprised I liked this movie.

 

[TravisR]

Have you seen Eaten Alive? I think it was Hooper's first film after Chainsaw. Robert Englund plays Buck and utters a famous line that inspired the same line in Kill Bill. Other than that, it is unwatchably bad.

I love Eaten Alive. It's absolutely crazy and I'm pretty sure Neville Brand had really gone nuts by the time of that movie.

 

[Neil Middlemiss]

October 28: Hellraiser (2022) – 3.5 out of 5 – First Time Viewing

Riley (Odessa A’zion) struggles with addiction. She’s drifting through life a bit of a mess and currently staying with her brother at his apartment. But when Riley’s untrustworthy boyfriend convinces her to join him in breaking into a storage locker to steal something that must be valuable from someone very wealthy, they discover a strange object-a puzzle-that Riley starts to unlock. In doing so, she inadvertently calls the Cenobites, brutal pain-mongers from beyond our dimension, who lavish unparalleled, flesh-tormenting pain upon the summoners.

I am unsure if this is a continuation of the 1987 classic film of the same name helmed by Clive Barker, or a remake. That film saw a string of sequels, most direct-to-video disposable product not to be taken seriously. This film, directed by David Bruckner, is, however, of considerably better quality than almost all the other follow-ups. The new batch of Cenobites are suitably creepy, led by a new Pinhead (called The Priest), played by Jamie Clayton, the first time a female Pinhead has appeared. She’s terrific in the role and different enough from Doug Bradley’s legendary performance as Pinhead in the original and many of the sequels.

This new film honors the world of Cenobites and gory flesh-tearing mutilations that Clive Barker imagined all those years ago. It presents a rather good collection of new characters who contend with the otherworldly menace, the plot makes sense, and the execution of the ideas rather effective. That it doesn’t fully land as a bold new experiment in the realm of horror is a result of some familiar choices and more so the merely modest ambitions it attempts. Still, I was rather impressed with the film. Christopher Young’s absolutely brilliant score from the first two Hellraiser films get some nice quotes here, but it just made me wish he’d score the whole thing because he’s an absolute genius composer who I have adore for years.

 

[Michael Elliott]

EATEN ALIVE was CITIZEN KANE compared to poor NIGHT TERRORS. Each time I see a new Tobe Hooper film that more convinced I am that he didn't direct POLTERGEIST.

 

[TravisR]

EATEN ALIVE was CITIZEN KANE compared to poor NIGHT TERRORS. Each time I see a new Tobe Hooper film that more convinced I am that he didn't direct POLTERGEIST.

To me, Hooper was another director that turned out amazing work in the 70's and took a major tumble in the 80's. Unfortunately, he's got some great company in that category.

 

[sleroi]

Speaking of Tobe Hooper, I just got home and Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 4k was waiting in my mailbox.

 

[Michael Elliott]

Haha. I want to ask if you're a subscriber but I'm guessing you're not since you've already got your order. My tracking says my order should be here tomorrow but they're usually off by a day or two. We shall see.

 

[Malcolm R]

Riley (Odessa A’zion) struggles with addition.

Multiplication is my downfall.

Fright Night (1985)

Horror film fan, Charlie Brewster, is suspicious of his new neighbor, Jerry Dandridge. He arrived in the middle of the night, carried what looks like a coffin into the basement, and young women seen entering his house seem to turn up dead. Charlie's surveillance finally crosses the line with Dandridge after Charlie brings the police to his house. After being threatened by Dandridge in his beastly form, Charlie calls upon his friends and local TV horror host, Peter Vincent, to try and take down the vampire before everyone he cares about become victims.

I really love this film. This is a go-to almost every Halloween and it can still make me jump in my seat. The casting is nearly perfect (I find Ragsdale the weakest link), the great physical effects still hold up pretty well for a nearly 40 year old film, and it has a great score (by Brad Fiedel) and soundtrack. I also love how Dandridge's house almost becomes another character. As the film goes on, the house is shown to be more and more creepy looking and is surrounded by more and more fog and mist until at the climax, the mist is just pouring off the house.

The 2012 remake just reinforced for me how much fun this original film is.

 

[Neil Middlemiss]

Multiplication is my downfall.

Ha! That gave me a good chuckle this morning

 

[Robert Crawford]

Multiplication is my downfall.


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Fright Night (1985)

Horror film fan, Charlie Brewster, is suspicious of his new neighbor, Jerry Dandridge. He arrived in the middle of the night, carried what looks like a coffin into the basement, and young women seen entering his house seem to turn up dead. Charlie's surveillance finally crosses the line with Dandridge after Charlie brings the police to his house. After being threatened by Dandridge in his beastly form, Charlie calls upon his friends and local TV horror host, Peter Vincent, to try and take down the vampire before everyone he cares about become victims.

I really love this film. This is a go-to almost every Halloween and it can still make me jump in my seat. The casting is nearly perfect (I find Ragsdale the weakest link), the great physical effects still hold up pretty well for a nearly 40 year old film, and it has a great score (by Brad Fiedel) and soundtrack. I also love how Dandridge's house almost becomes another character. As the film goes on, the house is shown to be more and more creepy looking and is surrounded by more and more fog and mist until at the climax, the mist is just pouring off the house.

The 2012 remake just reinforced for me how much fun this original film is.

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I’ll be watching my 4K disc this weekend.

 

[JasonRoer]

69. The Funhouse (new) Another slasher I somehow missed as a kid. It had me from the creepy opening title sequence, which was so simple yet so effective. I love amusement parks, I love carnivals and side show oddities, I love random oddball characters, I love horror movies, and I love the 80s. This was bound to win me over. 3.5 creepy old God preachin' ladies out of 5

70. The Thing From Another World
My favorite film of its subgenre. I seem to be one of the few who feel it is superior to Carpenter's The Thing. I love the humor and the romance element here vs the bleakness of The Thing. Mind you, I still love The Thing. It's just missing the other bits that make Thing From Another World such perfection. 5 regenerating arms out of 5

 

[BobO'Link]

October 28th
☼ = First time viewing

106. The Mad Ghoul (1943)

error comes to campus as a professor, Dr. Alfred Morris (George Zucco), has harnessed the power of an ancient gas, using the substance to control one of his medical students, Ted Allison (David Bruce), forcing the zombified young man to kill to remain alive.

Also features Evelyn Ankers as Ted's love interest, Isabel, and Turhan Bey as the suave piano accompanist Eric, who also has eyes for Isabel, as does Dr. Morris, creating a whole love quadrangle. And that whole love interest melodrama somewhat takes away from the zombie plot. Because of the gas, Ted goes into and out of zombie mode being quite confused at times (and who wouldn't?). And it's still as good an effort as many other 40s horror titles from Universal, though I feel it'd have been better with the love interest bit dialed down some and more time given to the zombie portion of the film.

107. Darkman II: The Return of Durant (1995)

Darkman (Arnold Vosloo taking over from Liam Neeson) and Durant (Larry Drake) return and they hate each other as much as ever. This time, Durant has plans to take over the city's drug trade using high-tech weaponry. Darkman must step in and try to stop Durant once and for all.

This direct-to-video film picks up where the first film left off, bringing supposed dead Durant, who was in a coma, back to life while scientist Peyton Westlake/Darkman continues his work on creating a stable "second skin." Of course that gimmick is used extensively as Darkman disguises himself as several of Durant's lackeys while battling to take him down. Renee O'Connor (Xena's Gabrielle in a pre-Xena role) co-stars. It's a kind of by-the-book sequel and really doesn't do anything new though is a fun SF/action film. The cast is generally good and interesting to watch. It was filmed back-to-back with:

108. Darkman III: Die Darkman Die (1996)

In need of money to continue his synthetic skin experiments, Darkman (Arnold Vosloo) steals a crate of cash from drug lord Peter Rooker (Jeff Fahey). Rooker uses beautiful, but evil, Dr Bridget Thorne (Darlanne Fluegel) to lure Darkman into a trap making Darkman believe the doctor will be able to restore the damage to his nervous system. Discovering too late that they have taken a sample of his adrenaline, which they will market as a super steroid, Darkman must now find a way to destroy Rooker before he uses the adrenaline to plunge the city into chaos.

I like this one just a bit better than the 2nd film as it's not another direct sequel, though neither this or the 2nd film are as much fun as Raimi's first in the series. Of course that first film was directed by Raimi and contains lots of his typical "trademark" stuff that makes many of his films lots of fun. The two sequels aren't "bad" but are in that realm of "good enough yet disposable" entries. Vosloo does a good enough job in the title role in both. This was the first time I've seen the films in many years so it was interesting to recognize Vosloo (1999's The Mummy) this time out.

109. Beyond Re-Animator (2003)

Young Howard Phillips witnesses a zombie break into the house and kill his sister. As Herbert West is arrested for the crime, young Howard picks up the vial of reagent that Herbert dropped. Thirteen years later, Howard has become a medical doctor and, upon his own request, is posted to the Arkham State Penitentiary where Herbert is in custody. Howard has an ulterior motive and requests Herbert for his assistant, using is as an opportunity to perfect the reagent formula. Together they begin experiments but things start to go wrong when Herbert tests the reagent. As the number of zombies grow, the prison spirals out of control as it is overrun by the dead.

The third of the Re-Animator series based on stories from H.P. Lovecraft, this one goes in a slightly new direction. And it's more interesting for the change. It's still full of the dark comedy bits, over-the-top re-animations, and outrageous scenes that made the first two fun. I get a kick out of West's Frankensteinian bringing a rat to life in his jail cell scene.

110. The Monster and the Girl (1941)☼

After a young woman is coerced into prostitution and her brother framed for murder by an organized crime syndicate, retribution in the form of an ape visits the mobsters.

What starts as a noir about white prostitution slavery turns into a horror film when the executed brother's body is appropriated by mad scientist Dr. Parry (George Zucco), who hopes to transplant the dead man's brain into the body of a gorilla. The gorilla goes on a killing spree, killing all those responsible for his sister's ruin and *his* death. The cast is generally good, especially Ellen Drew as the young woman, and Zucco is, well, Zucco so there's no problem at all in that aspect. Kind of different, it somehow works and is better than you'd think.

It's the first of 4 films in the Universal Horror Collection: Volume 5, which also features the three "Paula the ape woman" movies...

 

[sleroi]

91. The Devil Below - S (Netflix) - A group of scientists led by a female guide searching for a mysterious mining town that has disappeared inadvertently unleash some nasty creatures into the woods.
What starts out as an intelligent horror movie soon becomes mundane with the stupidity of the first kill. People are then offed one by one. This film mostly takes place at night and is very poorly lit, so we end up with more than one extended sequences of people running in the dark, with very little to see on the screen. And the queen creature is never really seen in focus. Started good, but fizzled out halfway through.

92. Raw - S (Netflix) - This movie was not what I was expecting from the description and picture, but It held my interest nonetheless. It is French, with English subtitles. A young vegetarian veterinary student is forced to eat a piece of raw rabbit kidney during initiation. The rest of the film is a slow character study as she starts giving in to her more animal instincts. It is very well written, and the final scene comes full circle with the first scene very nicely.

 

[Neil Middlemiss]

October 29 (a): I Am Lisa (2020) – 2.5 out of 5 – First Time Viewing

Lisa (Kristen Vaganos) is a quiet young woman. She runs a bookstore in her hometown but is bullied by the Sheriff’s daughter and her friends. The sheriff herself is a nasty piece of work. When the sheriff, her malicious deputy, and her daughter and friends brutally beat Lisa and leave her to be eaten by the wolves in the middle of a dark forest, something unexpected happens. Lisa is bitten by a wolf, rescued by someone, and soon discovers that she is a werewolf. Revenge is now on the menu.

I Am Lisa is a mixed bag. A strong opening act with good characterization, a welcoming performance from Kristen Vaganos as the timid Lisa, and some good production values despite the limited budget, can't stop the film from veering off the tracks as the nefarious bunch who wind up trying to kill Lisa are shown to be unflinchingly evil. It’s unpleasant to see such unharnessed awfulness – and I suppose that helps you want to see them get their comeuppance – but some balance would have made them, and the film, more interesting.

The film loses steam midway through the second act and by the time we get to the end, it all seems out of focus and far less interesting. The makeup effects aren’t that effective, the drama slight, and the various plot elements, some of which are supposed to me mysterious (but just seem random), are underwhelming by the time we get to see them play out. This had promise but didn’t come together for me.

 

[John Stell]

Rating out of 4

Bold is first ever viewing

086) 10/28/2022 The Bat (1959)

1/2

A mysterious villain known as the Bat terrorizes writer (who has rented a country estate) and her guests. He's looking for over a million in stolen cash possibly hidden within. But who is the killer? Vincent Price plays a suspect. Hokey but fun version of famous stage play, better adapted in 1926 and 1930 (as The Bat Whispers). My nine-year-old daughter watched this with me and guessed the killer; made my night.

087) 10/28/2022 10/31: Part III (2022)

A real disappointment. The first one was OK, the second had some good stuff, but this one mostly smells. The four main stories: a mummy Halloween figure comes to life; a believed-dead killer kills again; some dumb teens decide to break into old grouch's home for a Halloween prank; and a jack-in-the-box houses a vicious demon. The middle two tales are tired retreads of overly familiar material. The first one has a sense of humor and offers some fun. The last one is too short, ending just as it was getting interesting; the creature effect is low budget but rather effective. The overall acting in Part III is weaker than the other two, and on some segments the overly loud music score obscures some of the dialogue. Like in Part II, there are some faux trailers before the main feature but they're not as good as Part II's.

088) 10/28/2022 Satan's Little Helper (2004) 1/2

A serial killer dressed as Satan is loose on Halloween, murdering people and then making them part of outside Halloween displays. He gets unexpected assistance from a precocious lad who thinks it's all in fun, just like the video game that bears the film's title. This is great fun for while, nicely combing dark humor with genuine horror. But writer/director Jeff Lieberman should have ended the film two acts earlier than he does, as they basically repeat the same joke with diminishing returns. I'd recommend it though for at least a one-time viewing. There' are some really ballsy gags here, especially during the shopping cart sequence.