***Official 7th Annual HTF October Scary Movie Challenge*** (1 Viewer)

[Michael Elliott]

Man From Beyond, The (1922) :star::star:

Early science fiction mixed with drama has a man (Harry Houdini) frozen in the Arctic for 100 years. When he's discovered, a scientist thraws him out and when he awakens he wants the love of his life back. This is a pretty boring film even with its short running time of 61-minutes. There's really not too much going on as a murder sideplot is pretty boring. An exciting ending and seeing Houdini do some of his famous stunts are the only reasons to watch this.

Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The: The Beginning (2006) :star::star:1/2

Prequel to the remake shows us how the cannibalistic family came to be. I was a strong supporter of the remake, not because I thought it was a good film but I did appreciate that they tried to do something new and fresh instead of just copying the original Tobe Hooper film. That film came slightly under a three-star (good) rating as does this one, although this new series seems to have a possible bright future. The first fifty-five minutes found me really caught up in the story and characters. As with the remake, R. Lee Ermey is very effective and quite creepy and this leads to some rather intense scenes between he and the four teens. Up to this point the film was a good three-stars but then the films dies in its tracks as the brain in the screenplay gets turned off in favor of showing us various graphic murders. I don't mind the murders but I wish the screenplay had kept its brains like the earlier portion of the film. I really loved the fact that they ended the film with everyone dying. This was the only way for the film to end and I'm glad the producer's didn't try to force on a happy ending.
Nothing great or even that good but a worthy film to view for horror fans.

Frankenstein, El Vampiro Y Compania (1962) 1/2:star:

Incredibly stupid Mexican film is pretty much a scene for scene remake of Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein. It's a wonder Universal didn't sue the hell out of the producers of this thing but I'm going to guess not too many people saw this thing in America. The man who played Dracula (I'm not going to bother looking up his name) gives without a doubt the worst performance I've seen anyone give as the Count and that includes my three year old cousin. The Frankenstein monster looks incredibly silly but the Wolf Man is a rather interesting cousin-banging inbred mess. He looks like a cross between a pig, a bat and a wolf. The director, Benito Alazraki, also directed the horrid Spiritism and Curse of the Doll People, which I had planned on watching later in the month. I'm not so sure now.

Hands of Orlac, The (1924) :star::star::star:

This German version of the famous story is certainly a lot better than the boring 1961 version with Christopher Lee and is also a step up from the more famous 1935 film Mad Love with Peter Lorre. As the story goes, a concert pianist (Conrad Veidt) has his hands damaged during a train wreck but doctor's do a transplant and accidentally give him the hands of a killer. Soon afterwards the hands take on a life of their own and start killing. Here's another German Expressionism horror film that really takes control of the viewer and takes them for a ride. The director, Robert Wiene, also made the masterpiece The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari and this film serves as one of the more chilling silent horror films. The best aspect is the performance from Veidt who I found just as good here as he was in The Man Who Laughs. He's able to get sympathy out of the character and he also manages to be very menacing during the murder scenes. The film also has some very eerie and creepy moments including the first scene where the hands come to life. This is a rather rare film and various versions are out there. I was able to view the longest cut of the film (93 minutes) but the title cards were in German with Spanish subs. The music score was also quite horrid so I actually turned the sound off while watching this. With a proper screening I'd certainly raise the rating.



2006 Horror Challenge

01. Crime of Dr. Crespi, The (1935) :star::star:
02. Missing Guest, The (1938) :star::star:
03. Torture Ship (1939) :star::star:
04. Hand of Death (1962) :star::star::star:
05. Last Shark, The (1981) :star::star:1/2
06. School Killer (2001) :star::star::star:1/2
07. Blackenstein (1973) :star:1/2
08. Dr. Black, Mr. Hyde (1976) :star::star:1/2
09. You'll Find Out (1940) :star::star:1/2
10. Weird Woman (1944) :star::star:1/2
11. Dead Man's Eyes (1944) :star::star::star:
12. Jess Franco's Perversions (2005) :star:1/2
13. Oomo-Oomo, The Shark God (1949) :star::star:
14. Terror From the Year 5000 (1958) :star::star:
15. Zombie '90 Extreme Pestilence (1991) :star:1/2
16. House of Terror (1959) :star::star:1/2
17. Chaos (2005) :star::star::star:
18. I'll Always Know What You Did Last Summer (2006) :star::star:
19. Imprint (2006) :star::star::star:
20. Lugosi: Hollywood's Dracula (1997) :star::star::star:
21. That's the Spirit (1933) :star::star:
22. Midnight Menace (1946) :star:
23. Monkey's Paw, The (1948) :star::star:
24. Host to a Ghost (1941) :star::star:1/2
25. Motor Home Massacre (2005) BOMB
26. Absurd (1981) :star::star:
27. Frankenstein (1931) :star::star::star::star:
28. Frankenstein (1910) :star::star::star:
29. Ninth Guest, The (1934) :star::star::star:
30. Undying Monster, The (1942) :star::star::star:
31. I Was a Teenage Werewolf (1957) :star::star::star:
32. Never Too Late (1937) :star::star:1/2
33. Murder in the Red Barn, The (1935) :star::star:1/2
34. Crocodile (2000) :star::star:
35. Dance of the Dead (2005) :star::star:
36. Black Dahlia (2006) BOMB
37. Cemetery of Terror (1985) :star:
38. Revenge of the Living Dead Girls (1987) :star::star::star:
39. Frozen Ghost, The (1945) :star::star:1/2
40. Strange Confession (1945) :star::star::star:
41. Pillow of Death (1945) :star:1/2
42. Flying Serpent, The (1946) :star::star:1/2
43. Visitor Q (2001) :star::star:
44. Ringu (1998) :star::star::star:
45. Vampiri, I (1956) :star::star:
46. Laurel-Hardy Murder Case, The (1930) :star::star::star:1/2
47. Maniac (1934) BOMB
48. Raven, The (1935) :star::star::star::star:
49. Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The (1974) :star::star::star:
50. Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, The (1987) :star::star:1/2
51. Man From Beyond, The (1922) :star::star:
52. Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The: The Beginning (2006) :star::star:1/2
53. Frankenstein, El Vampiro Y Compania (1962) 1/2:star:
54. Hands of Orlac, The (1924) :star::star::star:

 

[Bob Turnbull]

30. Prince Of Darkness - A few picky items first...1) The Physics books the Ph.D. students are carrying around are the ones I used in Grade 10 and 11 and 2) A guy going for a Ph.D. in Physics doesn't know about Schroedinger's Cat? Anyway, I still quite enjoyed this flick mostly because of Carpenter's direction. The story is goofy with lots of babble, there's some pretty bad acting and you just don't really care about any of the characters - it's OK though because Carpenter gives good atmosphere and delivers some solid scares with plenty of icky. And Alice Cooper!

31. Unborn But Forgotten - I believe the title of this Korean film translates better to Unborn But Unforgotten, but let's go with what's on the box for now. Either way, it doesn't amount to much. Women who view a web site end up dead and a reporter must solve the case before she is next. I'm fine with slow and deliberate pacing, but this just dragged on even though it doesn't lead you to where you might expect. And though the director attempted to build tension, I never felt it worked.


Running Tally of 2006 Scary Movie Challenge

 

[Joe Karlosi]

I agree he's terrible, but he's not playing Dracula, if that's worth anything. Just a generic vampire.

 

[Joe Karlosi]

The Virgin of Nuremberg (1963) :star: :star: :star:
Good and atmospheric Italian horror film that also goes by the title of HORROR CASTLE (which I think is more appropriate). A man's wife is terrorized in a German castle by all sorts of unspeakable sights and goings-on, seemingly commited by a maniac or "ghost" in a hood. The revelation of who is responsible and why is quite interesting. Christopher Lee is on hand as a scarred henchman of sorts, though it's unfortunate that his voice is dubbed. What really clicked for me with this film (and well-timed too considering my recent discussion with Mario Gauci) was the style of the movie. This was a gorgeous-looking film, brilliantly lit and full of mood, utilizing scenic locales and awesome castle dungeons and hallways. Its fine direction by Antonio Margheriti really made me sit up and take notice more than anything else, and it's what really elevated the film.

The Hills Have Eyes (1977) :star: :star:1/2
I finally got around to Wes Craven's acclaimed horror classic, but for me I think it was too late. It's one of those unfortunate cases where, having been so hit over the head by so many subsequent remakes, sequels, rehashes and ripoffs, that what might once have been so fresh came off as a little routine. But it's certainly much better than the needless remake (BOMB), which I stupidly went to see before I saw Craven's film. The original's got some intense moments, is better directed, and the cast is better than in the re-do. I almost gave it a solid three stars except that the abrupt ending really stank. It's not that I mind negative endings (hell, I think NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD's is excellent) but this one here really spoiled the momentum. On the DVD there was an alternate climax which reversed a couple of scenes and added a new "upbeat" conclusion, and I think it worked better for this particular film. Oh, and I have to say I felt so sorry for the little baby that's constantly crying and was probably scared as hell in this film, the poor thing. I wouldn't be surprised if she's scarred for life. Michael Berryman is creepy looking, but here again I've seen him so many times since the film that the effect wasn't as strong.


01) Dracula (1931)
02) Dracula's Daughter (1936)
03) White Zombie (1932)
04) Werewolf of London (1935)
05) The Man They Could Not Hang (1939)
06) Before I Hang (1940)
07) The Boogie Man Will Get you (1942)
08) Life Returns (1935)
09) The Black Room (1935)
10) Munster, Go Home (1966)
11) Captain Kronos, Vampire Hunter (1974)
12) Mark of the Vampire (1935)
13) The Return of Doctor X (1939)
14) Mad Love (1935)
15) Zombies on Broadway (1945)
16) Blackenstein (1973)
17) The Devil-Doll (1936)
18) To the Devil - A Daughter (1976)
19) The Viking Women and the Sea Serpent (1957)
20) Teenage Caveman (1957)
21) The Virgin of Nuremberg (1963)
22) The Hills Have Eyes (1977)

 

[Ruz-El]

Ill have to check it out after this challenge. Although, with some of the debates going on here with horror films, I'm not sure I want to see the debates between french new wave and the independent film movement of the 90's.

Got in 2 more last night!

From Beyond 3/5 : It was no Re-Animator, but it was still goey fun. I love these Lovecraft films, actually, anything remotely Cathulu like works for me. I'll have to read more of his books.

Phantom of the Opera (1929) 2/5 : This was my first viewing of the sound re-issue. I didn't like it. The added sound was jarring and if not for the incredible restoration it would of been worthless. I've seen the 1925 version (versions?) many times, and would easilly rate it at least a 4. I might have to re-watch it and see if the 1929 version has soured me on it.

I forgot to copy my link, so you'll hae to find page 1, post 3 for my tally yourselves!

 

[Garrett Lundy]

Rating system: 1-5 (Awful, Bad, Average, Good, Excellent)
1st time movies listed in bold
foriegn language films (personal challenge) in red

10/16 - World Of Warcraft® addiction is seriously cutting into my movie watching time. Probably not the best time to buy Fallout® for Macintosh on Ebay either...

La Noche De Walpurgis/ Wolf Man Vs. Vampire Woman (1971) - Oh god this is bad. I'm talking Uwe Boll bad. Very little of this movie makes any sense, but if you watch it with the sound turned-off it seems to be about a werewolf that kills a vampire. Call it Underworld 1971. Why Netflix sent me this ahead of Battlestar Galactica season 2.5, disk 2 I'll never know.
*While the title clearly wasn't "wolf man vs. vampire woman" in spanish, I have no idea what "walpurgis" is supposed to be in English.
Rating 1

2006 Horror Challenge
01. Mask of the Demon (1960) :star::star::star:
02. Baron Blood (1972) :star::star::star:
03. Event Horizon (1997) :star::star::star::star:
04. An American Werewolf In London (1981) :star::star::star::star:
05. Jacob's Ladder (1990) :star::star::star::star::star:
06. The Ninth Gate (1999) :star::star::star:
07. Night Of The Blind Terrors (1971) :star::star::star:
08. Attack Of The Dead People Without Eyes (1973) :star::star:
09. The Damned Ship (1974) :star::star:
10. In The Mouth Of Madness (1995) :star::star::star:
11. The Ring (2002) :star:/:star::star::star::star::star:
12. The Night Of The Seagulls (1975) :star::star:
13. Masters Of Horror: Jenifer (2005) :star::star:
14: Wolf Man Vs. Vampire Woman (1971) :star:

 

[Tim Tucker]

Try looking here.

 

[Garrett Lundy]

I finished Lucio Fulci's Conquest. I can't count it as a horror movie because its sword & sorcery ( I assumed Lucio Fulci=zombie). But mein Gott I have never imagined such a movie could be made. Its like Make Them Die Slowly knocked-up Deathstalker and the resulting abortion was Conquest. More titties than a New Jersey strip club, more gore than Rotten.com.
*If I had known about this movie when I was 12, It would have been my favorite movie ever.
*I think Uwe Boll could learn alot from Lucio Fulci.
I already lowered my personal sense of depravity when I bought the autographed director's edition of Nekromantik. If I try to watch an even worse film I'll end-up killing and eating the local schoolchildren.

As for my personal take on Ring/Ringu. I like the remake better. But the original better explained Samara's origins.

 

[Mario Gauci]

Russell,


Re: The "Sight & Sound' Poll:

I hope you do join the list of participants. The more the merrier!


Bob,

Re: The "Sight & Sound" Poll:

The reason you gave as to why one should go through that poll hits the bullseye and I couldn't have put it better myself. As for reading through those 95+ pages, I've been meaning to give it a go for some time now, but...


Joe,

Re: THE VIRGIN OF NUREMBERG (1963)


For being a notable Italian Horror movie, this film never gets shown on Italian TV so I haven't seen it. I'm glad your experience, aesthetics and all, was so positive.


Re: THE HILLS HAVE EYES (1977)

Telepathy rears its head again as this too should land on my doorstep (hopefully) in a couple of weeks and it's going to be a first viewing for me as well. Personally, I resisted watching the remake before tackling the original. On the contrary, however, I shall be watching THE DEPARTED (2006) on Saturday before the original INFERNAL AFFAIRS Trilogy...


Michael,

Re: THE HANDS OF ORLAC (1924)

My jaw just about dropped after reading your review since I actually held this film in my hands on DVD-R - in a Santa Monica DVD rental store while I was in Hollywood - but, given the astounding selection of rare titles available there, I didn't get a chance to rent it after all. It's a pity that I only discovered that store - "Cinefile", right next to the Nuart Theater - in the very last days of 2005 when I only had about a month left to go! For the record, Spanish subtitles wouldn't be much of a problem for me given that language's affinity with Italian!

By the way, I have seen the 1961 remake with Mel Ferrer and Christopher Lee and it is indeed a disappointment...

 

[Michael Elliott]

I was curious as to why this film wasn't better known (compared to THE GOLEM, CABINET and NOSFERATU) and I then read that this here was lost for many decades. Not to mention that there's apparently four prints out there and each of them are in major need of work. The print on the Spanish copy was actually pretty good but the sound and lack of subs really hurt it. It wasn't hard to follow the story but I'm going to guess the film would have been even more creepy with the right music score and not the jazz number that kept repeating throughout the film.

I thought about it all day and I'd probably put the "hand coming to life" scene right up there with the greatest scenes in horror history.

 

[Mario Gauci]

I know this isn't quite the right thread for it but I just stumbled on this and I thought I'd share it with y'all:

http://www.criterionco.com/asp/boxed_set.asp?id=364

By the way, 3 of the other Criterions for January are also must haves for me!

 

[Ruz-El]

Nice posting Mario!! That Criterion is a must own!

 

[Ruz-El]

hmmm... I looked at the list, and there's a lot there that I don't care for. I think I should probably stay out of it.

 

[TravisR]

It may not be Reservoir Dogs but it's pretty grim.

 

[Ruz-El]

the gay kids short shorts??

 

[Joe Karlosi]

This illustrates what I'm trying to say. For me personally, I rate the 1974 TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE and HALLOWEEN highly and I don't think the constant redo's and imitations have dulled those originals for me whatsoever. However, it is my feeling that THE HILLS HAVE EYES is kind of weak now. It's all a matter of how it strikes people on a personal level; it's not meant to stand as a 'fact' that applies for all.

 

[Joe Karlosi]

The Mummy's Hand (1940) :star: :star: :star:
First and best "Kharis" film. The mythology was still new and fresh, the players are likable, George Zucco is a great villainous high priest, and Tom Tyler remains my favorite mummy - very creepy.

The Mummy's Tomb (1942) :star: :star:1/2
Pretty good sequel to HAND with Lon Chaney taking over as the mummy and looking pretty awesome with his bad eye. Some nice shots of Kharis lumbering around town on dark windy nights, and Turhan Bey fits easily into his part. While fun, it feels kind of pedestrian as directed by Harold Young.

Dead Men Walk (1943) :star:1/2
I only saw this once before and it is still just as disappointing. It should have been pretty effective having George Zucco in a dual part as twin brothers - one a kindly doctor and the other an evil one who returns as a vampire after his death. Instead, it's a dull hour or so. And though this also has an older Dwight Frye doing his usual Renfield-type schtick as the vampire's servant, this is very ineffectively handled.

The Flying Serpent (1946) :star:1/2
George Zucco again, this time as a professor who has possession of Montezuma's treasure and sends the flying half-reptile, half-bird "Quetzalcoatl" serpent out to kill anyone getting in his way. This is basically Bela Lugosi's THE DEVIL BAT re-worked, but it's nowhere near as entertaining.

Saw II (2005) :star: :star: :star:1/2
My second time, and I really enjoyed this sequel to the surprisingly top-notch SAW, though I don't recall liking it as much the first time. But on this viewing I found it consistently interesting and intense, and I have to say that Donnie Wahlberg is just excellent in it. So is Tobin Bell (as "Jigsaw"), and their scenes together are very good. I see we seem to be in a "torture phase" in modern horror films, and when it's done well like this, I have to give credit, unlike HOSTEL ( which got *1/2 from me). I still don't like where SAW III seems to be heading by this ending, but now I'm anxious to see the new sequel later this month.


01) Dracula (1931)
02) Dracula's Daughter (1936)
03) White Zombie (1932)
04) Werewolf of London (1935)
05) The Man They Could Not Hang (1939)
06) Before I Hang (1940)
07) The Boogie Man Will Get you (1942)
08) Life Returns (1935)
09) The Black Room (1935)
10) Munster, Go Home (1966)
11) Captain Kronos, Vampire Hunter (1974)
12) Mark of the Vampire (1935)
13) The Return of Doctor X (1939)
14) Mad Love (1935)
15) Zombies on Broadway (1945)
16) Blackenstein (1973)
17) The Devil-Doll (1936)
18) To the Devil - A Daughter (1976)
19) The Viking Women and the Sea Serpent (1957)
20) Teenage Caveman (1957)
21) The Virgin of Nuremberg (1963)
22) The Hills Have Eyes (1977)
23) The Mummy's Hand (1940)
24) The Mummy's Tomb (1942)
25) Dead Men Walk (1943)
26) The Flying Serpent (1946)
27) Saw II (2005)

 

[Michael Elliott]

Re: original HILLS

Well, I think that's what ranks this higher than most other horror films. Craven makes us care about the characters and none of them are just there to be killed. Of course some have to be killed so..... The death of the baby's mother was quite brutal but things happen in real life this way and I think that's why the film has remained so powerful for me. It seems like real life.

And yep, I've seen the alternate ending but I prefer the bleak one. We could have guessed the alternate ending but I didn't feel the need to show us. I mean, we never see what happens after the credits start to other horror films but we assume they go to safety, blah blah blah.

As for the impact of films, I think most are jaded and that's the reason for all the remakes. I'm getting ready to watch THE OMEN and I'm going to guess that for the majority of film viewers, the original is quite dated and overly talky. I try to make it a mental thing and realize when a film and released and made and what came before and after it.

As for the Criterion set....$80 blah. I'll stick with what I've got.

 

[Joe Karlosi]

So do I, and often times this works for me, but sometimes it doesn't.

There are probably a lot of reasons for this epidemic of modern horror remakes of post-'60s films that really were already "modern enough". I think lack of many original new ideas is a big part of it, but another reason is because the originals already have a following and thus already some guaranteed $$$$.

 

[JohnRice]

26) Angel Heart - I saw this in the theater when it originally came out and have probably only seen it once in its entirety since. It's impact has gradually declined over the last 20 years. It also doesn't hold up as well as some others when you know "what is going on". Still, nice atmosphere and especially nice juicy bits. I've always like the "altered perception" aspect.
3/5

27) The Omen: 2006 - Sure, the obvious question is, Why? Still, it was decent enough, didn't have too many demons in the mirror and sound queues, though just one is probably too many for my tastes. Has enough respect for the original and does ramp up certain scenes nicely, particularly the finale. Admit it, you're all wondering how a certain character is going to lose his head. Sucker didn't even see it coming. Excellent cast.
3.5/5