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

[Joe Karlosi]

10/05/05

Dracula A.D. 1972 (1972) :star: :star: 1/2
It's actually cool seeing the Hammer Dracula series brought into the 20th century, but it could have been better. Still, Christopher Lee makes a very powerful Dracula and his brief scenes are very atmospheric. Some fans think it was a good idea that the Count remains isolated in a gothic church throughout the movie, but I always figured what's the point of having him in swinging' modern times if he's not out on the town? Very nice to have Peter Cushing back as a descendant of the original Van Helsing, but he's involved in a lot of talky police investigation scenes that slow things down.



SCARY MOVIE CHALLENGE 2005 (First timers in BOLD)
01) Indestructible Man (1956) **1/2
02) The Curse of Frankenstein (1957) ***1/2
03) The Revenge of Frankenstein (1958) ***
04) The Seventh Victim (1943) **
05) Dracula A.D. 1972 (1972) **1/2

 

[Jim_K]

First update.

Very slow start for me this year, but I planned a more leisurely approach anyway. Was hoping to have the Val Lewton set by now but no go, maybe it'll arrive for the long weekend ahead. Also trying to stay away from the films I watched last year while looking for films I haven't seen before that would be worth my time. I'm 0 for 2 in that regard.

First time viewings in Red

The Return of Dr X (1939) :star:
Laughable D grade Horror schlock has nothing to do with the pretty good Dr X film of a few years earlier. Pasty faced with a skunk stripe in his hair, Humphrey Bogart looks rightfully embarrassed to be in this turkey.

The Amityville Horror (2005) :star:
Awful remake of the mediocre 1979 Horror flick, has plenty of cheap jump scares to please the teen crowd. I don’t even what to touch on the miscasting of the always annoying Ryan Reynolds as the head of the household. Merits a star for some T&A from Melissa George.


2005 HTF October Scary Movie Challenge
1. The Return of Dr X (1939) :star:
2. The Amityville Horror (2005) :star:

 

[Martin_T]

It's been a couple of days, so I have a few more flicks to add to my list.

First off was Dead Birds (2004). This turned out to be a very pleasant surprise. A group of Civil War soliders rob a small town bank and then take refuge in a haunted house.

Second was Dead Meat (2004). Mad cow disease mutates when it spreads to humans, causing a zombie epidemic. Not a very scary horror movie, and not a very good comedy either, with a lackluster ending to boot.

Third was Squirm. After a huge storm the worms in a small Georgia town turn into man eaters. Low budget 70's horror, enjoyable but not great. It does however make me want to watch the director's Blue Sunshine again.

Fourth (and final flick of the update) is Frankenfish. Filled with gore, violence, nudity and killer fish. A pretty nice surprise.


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
4. Dolls (laserdisc) 5.6/10
5. Dolly Dearest (laserdisc) 2.9/10
6. Demonic Toys (laserdisc) 5.0/10
7. Track Of The Moon Beast 1.5/10
8. Snowbeast 3.0/10
9. Creature 5.5/10
10. Ghost Rig 2.7/10
11. The Thing Below 2.3/10
12. Leeches 1.7/10
13. Infested 4.5/10
14. Spiders 4.2/10
15. Spiders 2 4.6/10
16. Sabretooth 3.8/10
17. Dead Birds 5.8/10
18. Dead Meat 3.0/10
19. Squirm 4.3/10
20. Frankenfish 4.8/10

 

[SteveGon]

Creep (2004)

(first viewing)

Gory shocker has Franka Potente and other late night London subway patrons being stalked and killed by a demented, deformed killer. Solid genre entry, but nothing new.

:star: :star: :star: out of :star: :star: :star:

 

[Jason Roer]

Ghostbusters - An absolute classic. It needs to be seen every year. This isn't only a great horror/comedy - it's an excellent film. The story is brilliant, characters are perfectly realized, acting superb, moves along - not a single sluggish frame. Bill Murray has his deadpan humor going into overdrive. Not enough can be said about how great it is.

Evil Dead - I'm researching this genre and needed to watch Evil Dead for that purpose. I watched it for last year's challenge for the first time. This viewing didn't hold up so well for me. While I'm still impressed with what they did for a $325,000 budget, I just wasn't as interested this time around. Can't say why for sure. Maybe because this year it was literally work for me to watch it; I don't know. The story was still great, that's for sure. Anyway, it's worth seeing if you haven't yet.

Cheers,

Jason

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)
5. Creepshow (1/5)
6. Land of the Dead (3/5)
7. Young Frankenstein (5/5)
8. 28 Days Later (4.5/5)
9. Ghostbusters (5/5)
10. Evil Dead (3/5)

 

[ElAhrai]

Joining in late (due to work obligations) but here is where I stand so far. New ones are bold

A History of Violence : 5/5

After watching this, and pondering that last scene, I realized what an incredible work of art this is. There's no denying that Cronenberg is a master at using gore and violence to amazing effect.

The Corpse Bride: 2/5

While visually stunning, this is essentially the Nightmare Before Christmas lite. The music isn't as strong, nor is the story. But the visuals are great and I'm a sucker for dancing skeletons.

The Amityville Horror (2005): 4/5

I may be in the minority here, but I really enjoyed this movie. After reading the (unintentionally) hysterical book, this was able to breathe some life into the story. I particularly liked the way that the theme of a newly formed step-family was weaved into the movie.

The Amityville Horror (1979): 1/5

This movie slavishly recreates the pacing of the book and it derails any narrative flow that the movie could have otherwise built. And Jason Robards goes from dull to sweaty, not exactly great character development. At least it made my wife and I laugh.

2005 Scary Movie List

A History of Violence 5/5
The Corpse Bride 2/5
The Amityville Horror (2005) 4/5
The Amityville Horror (1979) 1/5

 

[Michael Elliott]

I agree regarding the remake of THE AMITYVILLE HORROR. I thought it was a pretty good film on its own terms and A LOT better than the original. The remake owes more to THE RING than it does the original film but that's okay.



Maniac (1980) :star::star::star::star:

Incredibly brutal and vile film from director William Lustig who now runs Blue Underground. The film tells the story of Frank Zito (Joe Spinell), a lonely and confused man who was abused by his mother as a child. Now as an adult Frank spends his time going through the streets a New York killing and scalping women. I first viewed Maniac around eight years ago and my first thought was that the film was your typical slasher film full of gore and over the top violence. The film was sick, vile and utterly insane with all sorts of gore, which put other slasher films to shame. Over the past few years though I started to watch the film over and over and I soon realized that Lustig’s Maniac was the greatest of the slew of slasher films released through the 1980’s. Maniac on the other hand is far from mindless and actor Joe Spinell, who also wrote the screenplay, takes every effort to put a real story behind the tragic life of Frank. The film is about child abuse, probably both physical and sexual and the effect it has on Frank. Due to this sexual abuse Frank kills and mutilates women that he doesn’t know. Frank doesn’t enjoy what he’s doing, which is shown in one of the film most important moments. After Frank has strangled a prostitute, he goes to the bathroom to throw up and returns crying. Even though he is upset over what he did, that doesn’t stop him from going a step further and scalping the victim. Another aspect that keeps this film from becoming your typical slasher is the fact that director Lustig actually makes the film look real. The characters involved aren’t stupid, good-looking teenagers but real people you’d expect to see out on the streets. The film plays out more like a documentary in a guerilla type setting. Maniac is a cruel, brutal, vile but most importantly, honest film, which doesn’t hold any punches back. Like the underrated I Spit on Your Grave, this film is never taken serious due to the graphic violence and gore, which isn’t very fair. Take away all the gore and you are still left with a very intense and shocking film. By adding the gore director Lustig takes that shock and just multiplies it. That intense level is what makes Maniac so much better than any of the other slashers released throughout the decade. None of those slashers had the courage to tell a real story or to show a real person dealing with abuse from his mother. Instead of a typical revenge film we are shown a character study of a deranged mind. Just take a look at the scene where Frank has a victim tied to the bed and is torturing her by rubbing a knife on her naked body. That “shock” you get from this scene is something no other slasher could come up with. Maniac is a repulsive film but no one ever said art must be pretty.

Joe Spinell Story, The (2001) :star::star::star::star:

Another brilliant documentary from director David Gregory and Blue Underground taking a look at the troubled like of character actor Joe Spinell. From The Godfather, Taxi Driver, Rocky all the way up to Maniac and his incredibly bizarre and still unsolved death. What’s so great is that the documentary doesn’t pull any punches and shows the complete life of this guy who had a heart of gold but personal demons as well. We get to see him with Steven Spielberg during the Oscar nomination announcement for Jaws as well as footage from the unfinished Maniac 2.

Face of the Screaming Werewolf (1964) :star:1/2

If Jerry Warren wasn’t the biggest hack in film history then I’d like to know of one bigger. Warren would buy the rights to foreign films, cut out the dialogue scenes so he wouldn’t have to dub them and then hire an American actor to narrate the action and then get another actor to shoot new scenes to add in. In this film scientist discover a mummy (Lon Chaney, Jr.), take him to Mexico where they unwrap him only to discover he’s also a werewolf (also played by Chaney). This is one mess of a film that doesn’t make any sense but it’s interesting nonetheless since this was Chaney’s last role as a wolf.

Ghosts on the Loose 1943 :star::star:

The East Side Kids go to clean up a house not knowing it’s haunted or that a strange Nazi (Bela Lugosi) is doing business there. This film is probably best known today for having Ava Gardner in a small role, which is probably the only reason it should be remembered. The East Side Kids certainly made better movies as did Lugosi while he was at Monogram and this here just comes off as a cheap cash in bringing the two together. There are a few laughs but very little else.


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:
14.Sleepaway Camp (1983) :star::star::star:
15.Sleepaway Camp 2 (1988) :star::star::star:
16.Sleepaway Camp 3 (1989) :star::star:
17.Walking Dead, The (1936) :star::star::star:
18.Doctor X (1932) :star::star:1/2
19.Return of Doctor X, The (1939) :star::star:1/2
20.Mask of Fu Manchu, The (1932) :star::star::star:
21.Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde (1953) :star::star::star:
22.Black Room, The (1935) :star::star::star:
23.Brides of Dracula, The (1960) :star::star:1/2
24.Curse of the Werewolf, The (1961) :star::star:1/2
25.Psycho 2 (1983) :star::star::star:1/2
26.Psycho 3 (1986) :star::star::star:
27.Haunted House, The (1921) :star::star::star:
28.Phantom of the Opera, The (1962) :star::star:
29.Paranoiac (1963) :star::star::star:
30.Mark of the Vampire (1935) :star::star:
31.Humanoids From the Deep (1996) :star:1/2
32.Voodoo Woman (1957) :star:
33.Undead, The (1957) :star::star:1/2
34.Friday the 13th (1980) :star::star::star:
35.Friday the 13th 2 (1981) :star::star::star:
36.House of Frankenstein (1944) :star::star::star:
37.Cosmic Man, The (1959) :star::star:
38.Satan’s Black Wedding (1975) :star::star:
39.Criminally Insane (1975) :star::star:1/2
40.Criminally Insane (1987) BOMB
41.Maniac (1980) :star::star::star::star:
42.Joe Spinell Story, The (2001) :star::star::star::star:
43.Face of the Screaming Werewolf (1964) :star:1/2
44.Ghosts on the Loose (1943) :star::star:

 

[Matt Stone]

Is that on the DVD, Michael? If so, I'll definitely have to watch it.

 

[Michael Elliott]

Yep, it's on the Anchor Bay version of MANIAC. The disc is pretty packed with a commentary (w/director, Savini and others), a 20-minute radio interview w/the director, Spinell and Caroline Munro, 9 radio spots, 9 TV spots, several trailers, poster gallery and best of all is a section called "Gallery of Outrage", which features various reviews from around the country from when the film was released. Gene Siskel walked out after 30 minutes.

The documentary was the first big project for David Gregory who of course does all the Blue Underground stuff now. Spinell and Sly Stallone were good friends and it talks about Sly wearing a MANIAC t-shirt to the Cannes showing plus the footage of Spielberg learning he didn't get nominated for JAWS was pretty funny. Spinell's unknown death is just about as creepy as any horror film I've seen. The Bill Lustig version of it at least.

 

[JohnS]

Yes! Thanks SteveGon.
now I will have to check this out!!

 

[Jim_K]

The Ring? Maybe a little.

The TAH remake is much more of a blatant rip-off of The Shining.

 

[Michael Elliott]

Hmmm...didn't think about THE SHINING.

I still really enjoyed the movie because it actually did creep me out and make me jump at a few scenes. I think it went a bit over the top at the end but I did enjoy seeing an actual R-rated horror movie with the violence, blood, sex and nudity. I haven't seen too many of the recent horror films but I can't remember the last time one actually had nudity in it. When I saw it in April I felt it was a real throwback to the 80's horror films.

I doubt I'll rewatch it this year but I do have the original and parts 2 and 3 on my Netflix list.

 

[Garrett Lundy]

I can only imagine how much the actual Amityville house is worth these days (assuming the original 1/4 circle windows were restored). They must have the line of trick-or-treaters come Halloween.

 

[Ruz-El]

Big day so far for me, had the flu and have been watching Hammer Horrors all day! All first timers!

Curse Of Frankenstein 4/5 : This was a nice surprise. the only Hammer Horror I've seen before this was the "Countess Dracula"/"The Vampire Lovers" Midnight Movies Double Feature DVD, which left me flat. this however, was one of the best FRankenstein adaptations I've ever seen, with Peter Cushing just perfect in this film.

"Taste The Blood Of Dracula" 3/5: Not as good as Frankenstein, but not bad. Didn't have enough Dracula for my taste, but the blood effects and Pagan ritual stuff was fine.

With the Warner double feature disc out of the way, I moved onto Universals "Hammer Horror Franchise Collection"

"Brides Of Dracula" 2/5 : I enjoyed it, but it just seemed to be a bit draggy for me. Cushing was great though.

See post 45 on page 2 for my running tally.

 

[Michael Elliott]

For those interested, DigitalEyesDVD has the SUSPIRIA Limited Edition for $7.49. I ordered mine the other night and should have it by the weekend. They're out of stock right now but it's a great price for those who don't have it already.

 

[Matt Stone]

Indeed...a great deal. I posted about it over at DVD Talk, but forgot to mention it herre.

 

[SteveGon]

Thanks! It's on R2 DVD. If you like Franka, I'll also recommend the German film Blueprint, available on a German R2 DVD. Good movie, in the vein of Gattaca.

 

[Michael Elliott]

A great deal but the downfall of Anchor Bay. :frowning:

 

[Jason Roer]

Two more down, both newbies for me:

The Nightmare Before Christmas Commentary Track - It's one of my favorites films, yet I had never listened to the commentary track. For those looking for an exciting narrator on their quest for knowledge about The Nightmare Before Christmas, you will not find one on this commentary track. My wife walked in and commented that these were the most boring speakers she'd ever heard. She was partially correct. The information given was excellent. However, both Henry Selick (the director) and Pete Kozachik (Director of Photography) are snooze inducing in their presentation of the material. Too bad, because like I said, the info is great for anyone interested in some of the tricks in making a stop motion animation film. Definately worth it if you fall into this category.

House of 1000 Corpses - Wow. That was disturbing. After a pretty engaging opening 20 minutes or so this quickly turned into a real mess. I appreciate what Rob and company were going for here, but it seemed like every so often in the film he became fascinated with a particular effect in After Effects and randomly used it because it "looked cool". This was actually a pretty damn good idea for a story - particularly the Dr. Satan legend. But Rob is just not skillful enough behind the camera. It could have been a terrifying movie. A real shame. Still, I sat through it and definately enjoyed moments.

Cheers,

Jason

2005 Horror Movie List
1. Tim Burton's Corpse Bride (4/5) (new)
2. Night of the Living Dead (5/5)
3. Dawn of the Dead (2.5/5) (new)
4. Poltergeist (4/5)
5. Creepshow (1/5) (new)
6. Land of the Dead (3/5) (new)
7. Young Frankenstein (5/5)
8. 28 Days Later (4.5/5) (new)
9. Ghostbusters (5/5)
10. Evil Dead (3/5)
11. The Nightmare Before Christmas Commentary Track(3.5/5) (new)
12. House of 1000 Corpses (2/5) (new)

 

[Rick Spruill]

First time viewings in bold:

10/6 - Tombs of the Blind Dead - 4/5
- Tombs of the Blind Dead has so much going for it. The movie just drips with atmosphere. It's aided by a wonderful soundtrack featuring haunting music and an assortment of odd, creepy sounds. The crumbling monastery has to be one of the best sets I've ever seen. I can't imagine spending the night in this place. There are some places that look spooky in the daylight and this is one of them. The eyeless Templars are some of the most frightening creatures I've ever seen. They say the eyes are the windows to the soul - so what does that say if your eyes have been plucked out?

10/6 - Return of the Evil Dead - 3.5/5
- The second in the Blind Dead series. I didn't enjoy it as much as the first because I feel it lacks some of the suspense found in Tombs of the Blind Dead. But, it features a few solid moments (the Plaza scene immediately comes to mind) and those always creepy Templars making it a winner in my book.



2005 Scary Movie Challenge Summary

1. Don't Torture a Duckling - 4/5
2. Dungeon of Harrow - 1/5
3. The Big Alligator River - 2.5/5
4. Son of Frankenstein - 4.5/5
5. Halloween: Resurrection - 2/5
6. The Four Skulls of Jonathan Drake - 3/5
7. Tombs of the Blind Dead - 4/5
8. Return of the Evil Dead - 3.5/5