***Official 6th Annual HTF October Scary Movie Challenge*** (1 Viewer)

[Matt Stone]

Haha

I still haven't had the chance to watch anything (got frickin' called into work), but now that I'm up I'll probably pop on something. Still unsure what I'm going to go with first though.

 

[Scotty_McW]

I've been looking forward to this all year so I'm in again!

2005 HTF Scary Movie Challenge
1. Near Dark
2. Fallen
3. The Relic
4. The Evil Dead
5. Bats

First Timers

 

[Michael Elliott]

Which, like last year, is why I withdraw from the running. Jim, Matt and Justin were watching 90+ minute movies while for the most part people like you and I were watching 60 minute movies from Universal, Monogram and those types. From 12 to 4 last night I got four films on with the longest being 80 minutes. MANIAC was 54 minutes with WEREWOLF OF LONDON being around 70 minutes. That might "count" as two films but Scotty watched NEAR DARK, which is only one movie even though it nearly had a longer running time than mine combined.

Sadly, most of the short horror films are lost forever but FRANKENSTEIN (1910) is still there to be viewed and for historic reasons, I think it's a must see for horror fans. I've got one more short here and then I'm going to get to those really short Universal and Monogram titles. If Lugosi would hook me up with some of the stuff he was shooting I'd shoot for 24 Monogram's in a 24 hour period.

 

[Matt Stone]

I decided to dip into my Brentwood collection and watch House on the Edge of the Park as my first flick.

House on the Edge of the Park - This movie features the worst stunt fighting I've ever seen. Like Last House, Hess is the "bad" guy, but he's almost completely lost his edge in the film. It has a lot of the same rawness of Last House, but none of the documentary feel. I know some people on this forum (ehhhm, ehhhm, Michael Elliot) think of Last House as a rough shoddy first film from a mediocre director, but I still think the gritty amateur style struck the right chord. On the other hand, House on the Edge of the Park feels like a poorly made film with bad actors and stupid characters. The overbearing sense of loss and sadness that accompanied Last House is non-existent here. This is nothing more than horror-porn.


2005 Scary Movie List
1. House on the Edge of the Park (1/5)

 

[Michael Elliott]

I somewhat enjoyed HOUSE ON THE EDGE OF THE PARK for some reason. I thought the direction was a lot better than LAST HOUSE but like you said, it was all pretty silly in a weird exploitation type of way. About a month ago I watched Bergman's THE VIRGIN SPRING, which is what LAST HOUSE and the other's are based on. After viewing that my opinion on these films will probably drop. Blue Underground released NIGHT TRAIN MURDERS, another LAST HOUSE wannabe, which was decent but not great. CHAOS was released earlier this year and I believe it was the first time any film got a BOMB rating from the four big papers in America.

As much as I hate LAST HOUSE, for some reason I always watch it every year. I think I enjoy this more than HOUSE/PARK but I still can't get over a lot of the things that happen in the film, which I feel are just there for shock value, which takes away the sadness that some see in the film. A mother finds out a guy killed her daughter so she goes down on him? I know it was to get revenge on the guy but why pleasure him and do that to yourself when you simply could have killed him any other way? I personally don't think ANY mother would do that so it comes off more as a shock thrill and nothing set in reality, which is what I think Craven was trying to do.

I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE is the best of the rape/revenge films, although this one certainly took a worse beating from critics at the time of its release.

AUDITION just showed up from Netflix so hopefully it'll live up to its reputation for me. I've heard this is a rather brutal and nasty little film.

 

[Jason Roer]

Michael,

I loved Audition and just recommended it last night at a dinner party.

Matt,

I think you mean 2005 movie list unless you've found some interesting new means of time travel and you're trying to knock off Jim K before he can win the challenge!

I was able to sneak in my first film earlier today! I saw Tim Burton's Corpse Bride. I understand many people felt the music was just so-so and not as singable as Nightmare Before Christmas, but I found the songs quite enjoyable (though I have to agree they are less singable than Nightmare). I thought it was a very charming movie overall and while not to the level of Nightmare (God, I hate the inevitable comparison!), I was still moved by the characters and the simple, yet elegant story.

Now I'm going to sit back and begin my Horror Movie Night with my wife (though she's sitting the first one out). I'll be popping in Night of the Living Dead. I've been hankering to watch it for a few months now. After that it's onto Dawn of the Dead and Poltergeist (my wife hasn't seen either yet).

2005 Scary Movie List
Tim Burton's Corpse Bride (4/5)

 

[Matt Stone]

It was a typo...I swear

 

[Martin_T]

I am back to join in again this year. I am not nearly so busy at work, so I will hopefully not be dropping out after only a couple of movies like last year.

I managed to catch a triple feature Saturday.

I have been saving up a pretty good number of horror movies for first time viewings this October, but since I could not decide what to start with, I just went with the old Friday The 13th series to start off the month.


2005 Scary Movie List

1. Friday The 13th Part 6: Jason Lives 4.2/10
2. Friday The 13th Part 7: The New Blood 4.5/10
3. Friday The 13th Part 8: Jason Takes Manhattan 2.7/10

 

[Jason Roer]

I just wrapped up Horror Movie Night with my wife. As anticipated she sat out for Night of the Living Dead and then Dawn of the Dead. Only Poltergeist seemed to interest her. Oh well.

Night of the Living Dead - An absolute classic. What more can be said? Excellent story. Pretty damn good execution for the limitations of their budget. Incredible sense of dread throughout. This is an inspiration to all low budget filmmakers. Just see it if you haven't.

Dawn of the Dead(1978) - I have a feeling many won't share this opinion, but I was very disappointed with Dawn. Believe it or not, this was my first viewing. It simply lacked all the claustrophobic, dreadful feeling of the characters' world collapsing around them that Night accomplished so well. After all these years of build up, it was quite a let down. I did appreciate the dark humor that occasionally popped up, but I couldn't help feeling this was simply too gratuitous. It was at least a half an hour too long. Someone needs to go back to the editing suite, there's some great raw material. Oh well.

Poltergeist - I hadn't seen this in years and to be honest, I don't know if I've ever watched it all the way through. I think I saw it in parts. This was really a great film. It had humor, suspense, thrills - and though it wasn't directed by Spielberg (it was his story, he had his hand in the screenplay, and he produced), it had moments in it that are just classic "Spielberg Moments" - those wonderful character building moments that say so much in such a short clip. I really enjoyed myself watching this one.

2005 Scary Movie List
1. Tim Burton's Corpse Bride (4/5)
2. Night of the Living Dead (5/5)
3. Dawn of the Dead (2.5/5)
4. Poltergeist (4/5)

 

[Bill McA]

Started off with a trio of non-traditional titles beginning with my 4th or 5th viewing of I Married a Monster From Outer Space, an effective and scary sci-fi film saddled with a silly title.

Midnight Movies: From the Margin to the Mainstream - a new Canadian-produced documentary feature focusing on the six films most responsible for the creation of the "midnight movie" (El Topo, Night of the Living Dead, Pink Flamingos, The Harder They Come, The Rocky Horror Picture Show and Eraserhead). Featuring on-camera interviews with all six filmmakers as well as film critics Ebert, Rosenbaum and Hoberman and lots of clips from the films.

Galaxy of Terror - a cheesy low-budget Alien rip-off with horrible, wooden acting and darkly-lit set designs and 2nd unit directing by James Cameron.


2005 Scary Movie List

First viewings in RED

1. I Married a Monster from Outer Space (1958) (3/5)
2. Midnight Movies: From the Margin to the Mainstream (2005) (3/5)
3. Galaxy of Terror (1981) (2/5)

 

[Greg Black]

Identity - This film was a pleasant surprise. Despite the great cast, I was expecting it to be cliched and cheesy, but it was well done. Great atmosphere, and some creepy moments. Effective use of close-ups and music/sound effects to build tension. The use of color also helped the atmosphere.


6th Annual HTF October Scary Movie Challenge

1. Identity ***

 

[Adam Portrais]

I fell out of doing this last year (mostly because I'm often times too lazy to update a list) but I'm going to try really hard this year.

My first movie tonight was Ginger Snaps(2000). I had heard a lot about this flick but just never seemed to pick it up. So tonight I went to the video store to get a few movies to watch for just this occasion. I have to say I really enjoyed this even though I'm not a huge werewolf fan (loved American werewolf in London, hated The Howling, by the way). The only thing I'm curious about was if this movie's OAR was 4:3? If not I got duped.

Anyway, the next movie on tap was The Card Player (2003) a movie I don't think I would have given a second look to if I hadn't had noticed that it was directed by Dario Argento. It's not a true horror film, it's more like a thriller. It's about a man who kidnaps women and contacts the police and challenges them to a game of online video poker. If they win best out of five hands, the girl goes free. For every hand they loose, he cuts something off the girl. It's a pretty decent flick and no too bad on the HT, the sound design is actually pretty cool.

So those are the movies I watched tonight. Tomorrow night (well, I guess that would be tonight by now) it's Japanese horror night. I'll be watching Ju-On and for the first time Dark Water (Japan).


6th Annual HTF October Scary Movie Challenge

1. Ginger Snaps :star: :star: :star: :star:
2. The Card Player :star: :star: :star:


All movies based on a five star rating. All movies in red are first time viewings.

 

[Ryan Wishton]

13 will be a piece of cake for me & very easy to do this year. Count me in.

Another site has a challenge of 100 which for most of us would be impossible.

But, 13 I can handle. I'll probably get to the 30's or so.

I started late tonight which is now Oct. 1st, so here are the two I watched.

1. The Kiss: (First saw in 1988. Last saw in the early 90's). Ah, it still seemed ok to me which surprised me and kept me till the end. 6 out of 10.

2. Battle Royale: (First viewing) Not sure if I can consider this a horror film? There sure were horror elements. The idea of taking a bunch of junior high students and throwing them on a battleground with a variety of guns and sharp objects sounds horrorish to me. Movie dragged a tiny bit, had some good scenes, and was different to say the least. Hollywood wont be making anything like it anytime soon. For some reason it reminded me of Kill Bill a few times. 7 out of 10.

 

[Sebastien S]

Ok, All movies in "Red" are first time viewings. I'm basing my rating system on a scale of 1 to 10.

10/01/05 - "Resident Evil" - 8.5/10

Pretty good... Being a HUGE fan of the original games and series (on the original "Playstation") I expected to really hate this as I knew they had completely changed the story and had omited the characters in the game for totaly new one. However, the story was pretty decent, it had it's moments where it made me jump and the movie seemed to have a certain "claustrophobic" quality to it which was perfect. The music added quite well to it too and of course... "Milla" is very easy on the eyes which doesn't hurt this movie at all!

I do feel the need to mention that as good as I found this movie, it's nothing compared to the original story and experience one gets from playing the original game... That was en experience that was much scarier!!! If they had gone with the original story from the game, I would have given it a 10/10!



October 2005 Scary Movie Challenge

1. Resident Evil - 8.5/10 - 10/01/05

 

[Joe Karlosi]

10/1/05

Indestructible Man (1956) :star: :star: 1/2
I began this year with a childhood favorite of mine, and one which was always shown on Saturday afternoons while growing up (like today). Lon Chaney is a condemned man brought back from the dead who sets out to even the score by killing his back-stabbing lawyer and two of his former partners who betrayed him. Good fun.

The Curse of Frankenstein(1957) :star: :star: :star: 1/2
I hope to get a bunch of Hammer films on this year, so I began with the first Frankenstein one. Peter Cushing is outstanding as the sinister scientist who'll stop at nothing to create the perfect being from the dead.


SCARY MOVIE CHALLENGE 2005
01) Indestructible Man (1956)
02) The Curse of Frankenstein (1957)

 

[Joe Karlosi]

Aww, come on, Michael - join us! It was only a joke.

As for me - I'm just trying to see if I can at least match myself from last year (59). I doubt it, though!

 

[Michael Elliott]

I know but still.... Someone's eyes might pop out when they read below but there are four films under 1 hour and others barely over an hour. Not to mention all of that with a blind date last night, watching the Yanks/Sox game plus having to cut the grass. I guess the name of the game is numbers but I really take myself out of the running considering the running times.


Frankenstein (1910) :star::star::star:

First version of this often filmed novel is a good way to start off this year’s challenge. Charles Ogle plays the monster quite well and the creation scene, while strange, actually holds up pretty well. If you’re a fan of horror you owe it to yourself to see where the genre got started.

Golem, The (1920) :star::star::star:1/2

In order to save his Jewish people a Rabbi creates a clay figured named The Golem but soon the creature turns on its maker. This is a very good German film that had a huge influence on future horror films especially James Whale’s Frankenstein. The use of shadows and the wonderful set pieces really pushes this over the top. Director, screenwriter and star Paul Wegener does a great job in the role of The Golem and the makeup effects make it one of the best monsters ever put on screen. This was my third viewing but this here was the first time I had seen the film with a music score and the correct tinting. It’s also the first time I’ve seen the full version and I think I prefer the edited version somewhat since it cuts out some of the more boring backstory.

Maniac (1934) BOMB

Even though I’m giving this sucker a BOMB this is a must see for any fan of exploitation since this was the first and probably the most outrageous. A wacky assistant (Bill Woods) kills his mentor, takes over his identity and then starts killing off his patients. This is easily one of the worst films ever made technically but if you can laugh at bad films then this one will have you on the floor. We get several nude scenes, a nervous breakdown, the doctor popping a cat’s eye out of its head and eating eat, two women fighting with needles and some insane dialogue as well. The performances are so bad and over the top that you’ll be howling in laughter. This is an outrageous film that has to be seen to believed.

Werewolf of London (1935) :star::star:1/2

On a trip to Tibet a scientist (Henry Hull) is bitten by a wolf and soon finds himself turning into a werewolf. The first werewolf picture fails miserably when compared to Universal’s The Wolf Man but on its own the thing isn’t too bad. Warner Oland plays the second wolf and steals the picture. Hull gives a decent performance but he doesn’t have too much to work with. The makeup effects are less than stellar due to censorship issues, making the wolf look more like Mr. Hyde. The biggest problem is the awful comic relief and the fact that Hull’s character is such a jerk it’s hard to really care about him.

Chloe, Love Is Calling You (1934) BOMB

Incredibly bad film and I’m really not sure what the hell it was suppose to be about. Chloe (Olive Borden), a mixed race girl, returns to the swamp with a voodoo priestess who might be her mother. The voodoo priestess then wants to use Chloe to kill the man who lynched her father. The side plot deals with Chloe not knowing if she should be black or white or something like that. The biggest issue with the film is that it’s confusing as hell and nothing ever really happens. Everything leads up to a voodoo sacrifice, which is just downright silly. This didn’t ever make it into theaters back in the day. Instead the producers would go around to black neighborhoods and show it. This was apparently done because it was a “black film” but perhaps they just didn’t want people seeing something this bad.

Devil’s Daughter, The (1939) :star:

After her father’s death, a woman (Ida James) returns to Jamaica to run his banana plantation but her stepsister (Nina Mae McKinney) wants her out of the way and is willing to use voodoo. Film buffs will be more attracted to this film rather than horror fans since McKinney was the star of 1929’s Hallelujah. Unless you’re interested in seeing a rare horror film with an all black cast then there’s really nothing here. Very little horror and very little plot makes for a pretty boring film that actually manages to be slower than Dracula and White Zombie.

Audition (1999) :star::star::star:1/2

A widower (Ryo Ishibashi), being single for too long is talked into having an audition to find the right woman for him. Let’s just say the woman who catches his eye happens to have a dark side. This was my first Takasi Miike film and I really didn’t expect too much. I was expecting a cheap exploitation film with lots of violence and gore but I got quite the opposite. I was rather shocked at how much story was behind the madness, which occurs at the end. American films would never allow that much story to enter a film and that was the best thing here. The love story was wonderfully done and quite touching. The story of the man wanting to find love was a brilliant setup and it was perfectly executed by the director. I think the film could have ended in a different way but I guess this is a Miike spin.

Silver Bullet (1985) :star::star::star:1/2

I know An American Werewolf in London and The Howling usually get all the praise but for my money this is the best werewolf film of the 1980s. I thought everyone loved this film until getting the internet and reading how many people actually didn’t enjoy it but I still love it. I think the film works well as a coming of age story with all the horror elements thrown in for good measure. Kinda like a horror version of The Goonies with Corey Haim and Gary Busey doing great work together. The supporting cast of actors also serve well in the story. The scene in the fog and the ending are full of wonderful tension as well.

Grudge, The (2004) :star:1/2

I’m all for remakes whenever they actually try to do something different, tell the story from a different point of view or whatever. However, I can not stand when a remake is basically nothing more than a scene for scene remake of the previous film. I watched Ju-On: The Grudge about a week earlier and found it to be a flawed, if creepy little horror film. This American remake just got on my last nerves because nothing new is really tried. It’s rather shocking that the man who directed the Japanese version also directed this. It would seem that he would look at his original and try to fix the things that didn’t work it in but instead he pretty much just repeated them here or made things worse. Unlike the original, this one here has no atmosphere, no creepy moments and the only real benefit is Sarah Michelle Gellar is hotter than the women in the original.

Humanoids From the Deep (1980) :star::star::star:

Outrageous sci-fi/horror film about half man/half salmon creatures coming on shore in a small town to kill all the dogs, children and men while mating with all the big breasted women. This here is one of my favorite “B” movies of the decade. Produced by the legendary Roger Corman this sucker has his style all over it, which certainly adds to the fun. Gory violence, fun monsters and nudity…what else do ya need?

Murders in the Rue Morgue (1932) :star::star:1/2

Dark, gritty horror film has Bela Lugosi playing a mad scientist trying to mix the blood of his killer gorilla with that of a woman. The film is a bit too low moving for its own good but that’s made up for by Lugosi’s very good performance and Robert Florey’s nice direction. The set design, shadows and overall tone keeps the film going even though some of the slower numbers.

Chandu the Magician (1932) :star:1/2

Chandu (Edmund Lowe) must stop a madman (Bela Lugosi) from blowing up the world with his death ray. Action, horror and fantasy elements are scattered throughout this film but none of those elements ever come together to make a very interesting movie. There’s non-stop action but it’s all rather boring, although a few of the magic tricks are nice. Lugosi is good in his role but the character never really gets to do too much. Lowe is downright boring as Chandu and this hurts the film a lot. The serial/sequel The Return of Chandu has Lugosi playing Chandu and is a lot more entertaining.

Return of the Ape Man (1944) :star::star::star:

A scientist (Bela Lugosi) and his assistant (John Carradine) travel to the arctic, find the missing link, bring him home, thaw him out and then he goes on a rampage. Extremely cheap, but enjoyable Monogram film isn’t Citizen Kane but it’s not suppose to be. Lugosi and Carradine work well together and both men are good in their roles playing it straight. The actual ape man is rather silly and gets plenty of laughs but this just adds to the entertainment value.






2005 Horror Challenge First time view in bold.

1.Frankenstein (1910) :star::star::star:
2.Golem, The (1920) :star::star::star:1/2
3.Maniac (1934) BOMB
4.Werewolf of London (1935) :star::star:1/2
5.Chloe, Love Is Calling You (1934) BOMB
6.Devil’s Daughter, The (1939) :star:
7.Audition (1999) :star::star::star:1/2
8.Silver Bullet (1985) :star::star::star:1/2
9.Grudge, The (2004) :star:1/2
10.Humanoids From the Deep (1980) :star::star::star:
11.Murders in the Rue Morgue (1932) :star::star:1/2
12.Chandu the Magician (1932) :star:1/2
13.Return of the Ape Man (1944) :star::star::star:

 

[Matt Stone]

Only one film so far today. I tried to start Creepshow 2, but got paged into work. This has been the world's shittiest on-call week

Children of the Corn - Another "classic" from my childhood. This movie absolutely scared the shit out of me with I was little. The combination of tone with the setting (I grew up in rural Indiana) really made me uneasy. This was my first revisit in about 10 years or so, and while most of the elements haven't aged well, there still is a very solid creepiness factor to the film. There were moments of low-budget brilliance (the opening scene at the diner) where the editing was spot on, and then there's sequences that fall completely flat. The child actors are mostly crap-tastic, but Courtney Gains's Malachai and John Franklin's Issac put on an intense show. The story is pretty muddled, and the monster is unclear, but the overall storytelling is enough to give a few good scares. Not as good as it was when I was a kid, but not nearly as bad as I was expecting.


2005 Scary Movie List
1. House on the Edge of the Park (1/5)
2. Children of the Corn (2.5/5)

 

[Matt Stone]

Glad to see you're a fan of Silver Bullet, Michael. I completely agree with your comparison to The Goonies. Both were in my most-watched collection when I was younger.

 

[Michael Elliott]

My buddy, his girlfriend and her friend came home with me last night after dinner and we all watched it together, which really threw me back into the older days. On Friday's my friends from school would usually ride the bus home with me and we'd watch stuff like SILVER BULLET, THE GOONIES, STAND BY ME and other films of that ilk. I think that's why I have such fond memories of these films because we use to act like we were the ones going through the adventures of the film. Growing up I was a huge fan of THE WOLF MAN so pretending to be Haim in SILVER BULLET with the crazy uncle always made watching the film fun. My parents would let me rent films every weekend and SB got rented EVERY weekend. The store owner finally took pity on me and just gave me the store's copy of the film.

I also think nostalgia plays a big part of this challenge. Over the years I've come to realize that most of these horror films I watch are badly made films but they always bring back good memories. Later in the month I might explain why Lucio Fulci's ZOMBIE means so much to me. :b

It goes without saying but the three of them last night enjoyed THE GRUDGE more. I wanted to tell this blind date to leave after she said CURSED was better than SB.