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***Official 8th Annual HTF October Scary Movie Challenge*** (1 Viewer)

TravisR

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I liked the black humor but I've always found Psycho III to be too much like those slasher movies and that's why I never really liked it (despite being a fan of slasher movies). I love the second one though.
 

Michael Elliott

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I never really thought it was like the other slashers because I felt it was clear that Perkins was making fun of the violence in the genre. Nearly all the death scenes have a wink to them. When Perkins goes to kill Fahey we get the "Watch the guitar" line. There's also the scene with one of the dead girls in the ice maker and the cop eating the ice out of it.


Lost Book of Nostradamus, The (2007) :star::star::star:1/2

History Channel documentary on the recently discovered "last book" of Nostradamus, which featured various poems and photos, which some believe predicted 9/11 and also shows the end of the world. In case you're interested, the new end of the world year should be 2012 (remember when it was 2000?) and it won't be pretty. The documentary does a good job at showing various predictions and the recreations are pretty good as well. I wish it would have talked more about the end of the world timeline but they don't go into too much detail, although I'm guessing this part of the story will get it's own documentary. There's also some interesting stuff about the Catholic church falling and why this might have a connection to something that happened back in Nostradamus' day. It's also clear this guy would have been a great horror writer as he talks about zombies, Satan taking over the world, various demons and so on.

Zombies on Broadway (1945) :star::star::star:

RKO comedy has Wally Brown and Alan Carney going to an island to look for a zombie for their gangster boss' new club. Once on the island the run into a crazy scientist (Bela Lugosi) who might just be able to help them. This film doesn't get too many good reviews but I'll give it one because for some reason the comedy team makes me laugh. They certainly aren't in the same league as Abbott and Costello but their dumbness works on me but I'm not really sure why. The supporting players do nice work and that includes Lugosi who actually gets to do some nice comedy here.

Revenge of the Zombies (1943) :star::star:

Low budget shocker about a mad scientist (John Carradine) trying to bring the dead back to life so that they can help Hitler win WW2. All of the now politically incorrect material makes this film stand out from various other zombie films released around this time but the story is pretty lacking all the way around. Carradine sleepwalks through his role and the supporting cast doesn't fair any better with the exception of Mantan Moreland who plays one of the servants. Bob Steele plays a small role as well. The zombies are all pretty boring but thankfully the film only runs 61-minutes.

Brain Eaters, The (1958) :star::star:

AIP sci-fi about a ground an alien like critters that attach to the neck's of humans of suck their blood out. This is a decent time killer since it runs just over an hour but God knows this isn't the greatest film the genre has to offer. The low budget nature adds a lot to the film and the alien things are actually pretty neat and work well with the small budget. The performances and direction aren't anything to write home about but if you like silly little "B" movies then you might enjoy this one. The film would have worked a lot better without the Dragnet like narration.

Horror of It All, The (1963) :star:

Terence Fisher directed this incredibly bad "old dark house" film, which tries to blend the scares with laughs. The story is pretty simple as a man (Pat Boone) goes to visit his girlfriend and her uncle inside a strange house and soon mysterious activities start. This film borrows heavily from many of the old dark house films of the 1930's but it fails on pretty much every level. The laughs are never funny and the director never builds up any worthy atmosphere, which leads the horror elements very boring. Boone is horrible in the lead but the supporting cast does include Dennis Price and Valentine Dyall (Horror Hotel).


2007 Scary Movie Totals:

1. Frankenstein (1910)
2. Dr. Chopper (2005)
3. Beast of Yucca Flats, The (1961)
4. Grizzly Rage (2007)
5. Earth Dies Screaming, The (1962)
6. Raven, The (1935)
7. Evil Breed: The Legend of Samhain (2003)
8. Murders in the Rue Morgue (1932)
9. Tomb, The (2003)
10. Sealed Room, The (1909)
11. Land of Death (2003)
12. Borderline Cult (2007)
13. Invisible Ghost (1941)
14. Corpse Vanishes, The (1942)
15. Giant Gila Monster, The (1959)
16. Man Made Monster (1941)
17. Maniac (1980)
18. Attack of the 50 Foot Woman (1958)
19. Ghost Wanted (1940)
20. Earth vs. the Spider (2001)
21. Murder By Numbers (2002)
22. My Son the Vampire (1952)
23. Return of the Vampire, The (1943)
24. Scooby-Doo and the Legend of the Vampire (2003)
25. Scooby-Doo and the Loch Ness Monster (2004)
26. All Work and No Play (1942)
27. Spook to Me (1945)
28. One Spooky Night (1955)
29. Pardon My Nightshirt (1956)
30. Ghost of Slumber Mountain, The (1917)
31. Scooby-Doo: Where's My Mummy (2005)
32. Adoration (1987)
33. Hollywood Babylon (2000)
34. Le Poeme (1986)
35. Maneater (2007)
36. Strangler of the Swamp (1946)
37. Tomb, The (2007)
38. Blue Demon (2004)
39. Corruption (1968)
40. House on Bare Mountain (1962)
41. Kiss Me Quick! (1964)
42. Vampyros Lesbos (1970)
43. Venom (2005)
44. Body Snatcher, The (1945)
45. She Creature (2001)
46. Vampire, The (1957)
47. Maniac (1934)
48. Zodiac Killer (2005)
49. Curse of the Zodiac (2007)
50. London After Midnight (1927)
51. Teenage Monster (1958)
52. Lycantropus (1996)
53. Sister Lulu (2001)
54. Chambre Jaune (2002)
55. Miss Greeny (1997)
56. Tea Break (2004)
57. Bad Moon (1996)
58. Zombie Island Massacre (1984)
59. Cannibal Campout (1988)
60. Watch the Skies (2005)
61. Unknown, The (1927)
62. Masters of Horror: Pick Me Up (2006)
63. Demons of Lust (1999)
64. Return of Dracula, The (1958)
65. Purei (2005)
66. To Heir is Human (1944)
67. Raven, The (2006)
68. Wolf Man, The (1941)
69. Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1943)
70. Homicidal (1961)
71. Ghosts (1915)
72. Savage Man...Savage Beast (1975)
73. Women's Camp 119 (1977)
74. Strike of the Tortured Angels (1982)
75. MOH: Dreams in the Witch-House (2005)
76. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1912)
77. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1920) Lewis version
78. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931)
79. Horror Island (1941)
80. Living Coffin, The (1959)
81. Man and the Monster, The (1958)
82. Last Warning, The (1929)
83. House of Fear, The (1939)
84. Freaks (1932)
85. Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986)
86. Lost Book of Nostradamus, The (2007)
87. Zombies on Broadway (1945)
88. Revenge of the Zombies (1943)
89. Brain Eaters, The (1958)
90. Horror of It All, The (1963)
 

TravisR

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As always, I'm not a critic- I just know what I like but I'm not very good at articulating it.

10/29/07
107. Halloween (1978)
A true classic and my favorite movie of all time.

108. Halloween II
A fairly good followup. It's not the original but in the realm of Halloween sequels, I think it's the best one.

109. Halloween III: Season Of The Witch
The somewhat unfairly maligned Myers-less sequel. The villain's main plan to kill millions of children with Halloween masks is quite sick and unbelievable. And the movie has plot holes so big you could drive a bus through them (how do they plan to kill kids on the east coast when most would be asleep at 9 PM PST?). Since director Tommy Lee Wallace obviously learned alot from working with John Carpenter (who was also a producer and a composer) and he has Dean Cundey as his director of photography, it looks very much like a Carpenter movie and that's why I enjoy it as much as I do. If this movie was the same movie but just called Season Of The Witch, it would have a better reputation. Once you hear the Silver Shamrock jingle, it's in your head forever. "Happy, happy Halloween Halloween. Silver Shamrock!"

110. Halloween 4: The Return Of Michael Myers
A pretty solid sequel directed by Dwight Little that tried to emulate the original's suspense and have less of the 1980's gore. The characters are reasonably likable and while it's ridiculous that Dr. Loomis survived Halloween II, it's good to have Donald Pleasence back in the role.

111. Halloween 5
The onscreen title doesn't have 'The Revenge Of Michael Myers' subtitle. A lame sequel with obnoxious characters and a goofy looking Michael Myers mask.

My full list is in post #389.

EDIT:RE: Psycho IIIBesides Anthony Perkins (who is excellent in the role again), Jeff Fahey is probably my favorite thing in the movie. And I always get a kick out of the cop eating the ice. :)
 

Joe Karlosi

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UPDATE:


SCARY MOVIE CHALLENGE 2007
01) The Phantom of the Opera (1925) ***
02) The Black Cat (1941) **1/2
03) Horror Island (1941) *1/2
04) Man Made Monster (1941) ***
05) Dracula (1931) ***
06) The Monster and the Girl (1941) *
07) The Lodger (1944) ***1/2
08) Hangover Square (1945) ***
09) The Undying Monster (1942) **1/2
10) Cat People (1942) ***
11) Cry of the Werewolf (1944) **
12) Night Monster (1942) **1/2
13) Captive Wild Woman (1943) **1/2
14) The Invisible Man Returns (1940) ***
15) The Invisible Man's Revenge (1944) **1/2
16) The Return of the Vampire (1943) ***
17) The Werewolf (1956) **1/2
18) Creature with the Atom Brain (1955) **1/2
19) The Giant Claw (1957) **
20) The Mummy (1932) **1/2
21) The Mummy's Hand (1940) ***
22) The Mummy's Tomb (1942) **1/2
23) The Mummy's Ghost (1944) ***
24) The Mummy's Curse (1944) **
25) Count Dracula (BBC 1977) ***
26) Frankenstein (1931) ****
27) The Old Dark House (1932) ***1/2
28) Bride of Frankenstein (1935) ****
29) 28 Weeks Later (2007) ***1/2
30) Corridors of Blood (1958) ***
31) Saw IV (2007) BOMB
32) Saw III (2006) **1/2
33) Dracula's Daughter (1936) ***1/2
 

Radioman970

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I appreciate the kind words. A death like this makes you feel alone sometimes but the online well wishes I've gotten have been humbling.

I took Goldie (the dog in my sig) to the vet yesterday because of breathing problems related to her cancer (I'm about to lose her too :frowning: ) and Bear's records at the vet confirmed she was nearly 16 (born in 1992). My vet said that was unusual for a dog her size living so long. She lived nearly 4 years extra. Knowing that has really helped the healing. Bear's death seemed so sudden because I was preparing for the cancer to take Goldie.
 

Ruz-El

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Buster Brown is getting up there too, about 10 or so. Not sure if this works, but heres a link to his own gallery on my facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?ai...f&id=713345411

RACE WITH THE DEVIL 4/5 : While vacationing a couple of guys and their wives stumble upon a satanic ritual being performed in an off the road spot in Texas. This one was pretty darned good. It never got too over the top, so the secret society thing played really well and was genuinely creepy. Peter Fonda and Warren Oats did a great job of being reluctant heroes.

TED BUNDY 2.5/5 : "The Ted Bundy Story" gets the exploitation treatment, and it's not terrible. It's sleazy as fuck, wallowing on the crimes, but it plays it pretty straight. Just brought down due cheapness and kinda crap actors.

SHADOW PUPPETS 2.5/5 : Spike From "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" enters the direct to video market with a former Vulcan broad and The Candyman. Cheapness does this one in, a neat premise (people find themselves in a facility with no memory of who they are, and theres a monster about) as they just can't seem to hold up suspense. All the whispering lulled me to sleep.

Tally MON!
http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htf/...70&postcount=7
 

Tim Tucker

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Thanks, Eric. I do take a lot of care in these write-ups, so it's gratifying to get some feedback.

First time viewings in red
.

12-13. Beginning of the End (1957). This was next on my scheduled viewing of Mystery Science Theater 3000, so I decided to watch both the uncut and MST3K versions. It’s a wonder that Warner Bros. didn’t sue the pants off of Bert I. Gordon when this film was released, because this is an almost exact remake of Them!, right down to emulating some of the plot structure. The result is silly (I mean, really, locusts made gigantic by radioactive plant food?!?!?!?), the effects are cheap (but reasonably effective), and too much stock footage is used, but it’s enjoyable if you are in the right frame of mind. Needless to say, Mike and the ’Bots really tear into this turkey. Still, I have a soft spot for the movie because of all the location footage from Chicago. I’ve visited the city several times over the years, and recognize a lot of the landmarks, which haven’t changed that much in fifty years.

14. The Black Cat (1941). I was predisposed not to like this movie, since Edgar G. Ulmer’s Black Cat is one of my all-time favorite Golden Age horrors. Once I started watching it, however, I found it was better than I expected. I was impressed by the caliber of the cast: Basil Rathbone, Broderick Crawford, Gale Sondergard, Alan Ladd, Bela Lugosi and Hugh Herbert (acting like he had just wandered over from a Warner Bros. Busby Berkeley musical). And poor Bela, stuck once again playing a red herring. (There is even a pointless close-up of Lugosi’s eyes á la Dracula.) No wonder he worked so much on Poverty Row; the roles were better. There’s very little Poe in the script (other than an imprisoned cat tipping off Crawford), so the film is just another variation on the old Cat and the Canary/Old Dark House plot. However, the villain’s comeuppance is surprisingly brutal for a film of this type. Plus, I loved the joke that Broderick Crawford had after Rathbone did some fancy deductive reasoning: “He thinks he’s Sherlock Holmes.” By the way, what is it with all these humorous “old dark house” films from this era? Was it Bob Hope starring in The Cat and the Canary and The Ghost Breakers? Was it Boris Karloff starring in Arsenic and Old Lace on Broadway? Or just a sign that this vein of horror was finally being tapped out?

My tally.
 

Michael Elliott

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There's probably more "old dark house" films than any other sub-genre in horror. I've probably seen nearly one hundred or more from the silent era up to 1945. If you get any of those Mill Creek 50-Movie packs then you could see a lot of the rarer, less talked about movies.

What I've always wondered is why people were so terrified of gorillas back in the day. It seems nearly all of these old dark house films feature at least one gorilla to scare people.
 

Brian Kissinger

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Zombie Campout (2002)
Joshua D. Smith

This was one of those SteveGon recommendations. For the first half, it was pretty hard to get through. But as the film went on, some things that bugged me were revealed to be purposeful. All in all, not too terrible for a shot-on-video production.



28 Weeks Later (2007)
Juan Carlos Fresnadillo


A few folks here have stated they felt this movie to be superior to the original. Well, I have to respectfully say, "No fucking way." Remember, I said respectfully. While this film is by no means bad, it relies too much on convenience and watching it gave me the same sense of watching a foreign film with foreign dialogue and no subtitles. Or an Ancor Bay dvd (once again, fuck you very much Ancor Bay). There was more than one occasion where I was like, "What just happened?" And not in a good way where a film takes an unexpected turn and leaves you jaw-dropped that the filmmakers had the balls to do what they just did. No, I mean the "you just blacked out for a minute and now there are several naked men in the room" kind of what just happened.

Now, some people might be all like "Well it's the filmmakers way of trying to put you actually in the situation. Chaos is all around you, and you rely on your instincts for survival." Well, I have to respectfully say, "No fucking way." I remember my good friend and pal Mr. SteveGon going all bananas over the movie Gladiator for the crappy editing. Yet, he digs this movie. I think this kind of behavior on his part calls for a Michael Bay Marathon.

Back to the movie. Two little kids manage to sneak out of a military complex (where the situation is so dire that a Code: Red action is in place.....basically just kill everything that moves) but these little sneaks just waltz out. Then they happen to find their mother (wait....did I mention that these were the only kids allowed into the military complex) who just happens to contain a natural immunity to the rage virus (two different colored eyes....I'm glad to know that my cat will be immune to the rage virus) and on and on. There's rogue helicopter pilots who can just do whatever they want. There's a right nasty zombie/whatever who manages to escape firebombing, gassing, mass snipers and on and on. Throw in the crappy editing, and you got a bit of a stinkburger......granted a well garnished stinkburger (with that pretty multi-colored kale and the cool sword toothpick), but a stinkburger all the same.




Running Tally

1. Freeze Frame

2. The Lost Boys
3. Bubba Ho-Tep
4. The Messengers this film is a turd
5. Cannibal Holocaust
6. When a Stranger Calls (2006)
7. The Covenant
8. Bug **Best New Discovery**
9. Tokyo Zombie
10. Black Sheep
11. Vacancy
12. Hot Wax Zombies on Wheels
13. Night of the Comet
14. Return to Halloweentown
15. Chaos
16. Mustang Sally's Horror House
17. The Hills Have Eyes II
18. The Thing From Another World
19. Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon
20. Dead and Breakfast
21. Planet Terror
22. Slither
23. Family
24. Pelts
25. Nailed
26. The Number 23
27. Turistas
28. Battleground
29. Crouch End
30. Umney's Last Case
31. Hostel II
32. Zombie Campout
33. 28 Weeks Later
 

Garrett Lundy

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Scale: 1=awful 2=bad 3=average 4=good 5=excellent. 1st viewings in red.

The Craft (1996):star::star::star::star: Your fairly average run-of-the-mill tween film. It gets an extra point because I really want to get my bone on with Fairuza Balk.

the butcher's bill...
1. Monster Squad
2. Call of the Cthulhu

3. Mimic
4. The Omen
5. The Descent
6. Manos: The Hands Of Fate
7. Isolation
8. Insatiable
9. The Changeling
10. Perfect Creature
11. The Ninth Gate
12. The Nightmare Before Christmas
13. Nekromantik
14. Nekromantik 2
15. Bride Of The Monster
16. Saw 3
17. Plan 9 From Outer Space
18. Primeval
19. Slither
20. Bug
21. 28 Weeks Later
22. Fright Night
23. Feast
24. Dead Silence
25. C.H.U.D.
26. The Abandoned
27. Unrest
28. The Gravedancers
29. The Hamiltons
30. The Tripper
31. Penny Dreadful
32. The Fly
33. The Fly 2
34. Panic In Year Zero!
35. The Last Man On Earth
36. Poltergeist 2
37. Poltergeist 3
38. The Terminator
39. Hostel Part 2
40. The Craft
 

JohnRice

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Michael, I have both the 50 and 100 movie Horror Mill Creek packs and the 50 movie Chilling one. Can you recommend a decent "Dark Old House" from one of them I might not have seen. FWIW, I also have the 50 movie Sci-Fi pack.
 

Michael Elliott

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John, I'm not sure which sets the 100-pack comes from but here are a few of the titles:

Horror Pack:

The Monster Walks (so-so)
The Gorilla (Lugosi, Atwill, Ritz Brothers; I enjoyed this one)
A Shreik in the Night (so-so)
The Bat (Price; boring)

Tales of Terror Pack:

Crimes at the Dark House (Tod Slaughter, decent)
The Ghost Walks (skip it)
Midnigth Shadow (haven't watched)
Murder in the Red Barn (Slaughter, melodrama)
Night Fright (horrid)
One Frightened Night (so-so)
A Walking Nightmare (poor)

Night Screams Pack

I haven't went through many on this set, although there are countless ones included. There are a couple more Slaughter films and several "B" mysteries.

Chilling Pack:

I don't think there are any on this set as this one contains a lot of 70s and 80s stuff.
 

TravisR

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As always, I'm not a critic- I just know what I like but I'm not very good at articulating it.

10/30/07
112. Halloween: The Curse Of Michael Myers
I must have suffered some type of head injury because I've disliked this movie for about a dozen years but I'm starting to like it. It's not good and Michael Myers is a gigantic guy who is fairly fat rather than the skinny guy of the original. However, this movie has grown on me. I guess that's because Daniel Farrands (the screenwriter) is obviously a big fan of the original and he tried to make as many tie-ins as he could with character names like John and Debra, the correct house number on the Myers house, bringing Dr. Wynn and the Strode family back. Plus, I give the movie a break because it was stuck with the unenviable task of explaining the terrible plot threads started in Halloween 5. I've seen the producer's cut and it's better but not that much.

113. Halloween H20: 20 Years Later
Dimension's attempt at making a Scream movie but calling it Halloween and while I like both series, they don't go together. Or at least they didn't in this movie.

114. Halloween Resurrection
I always say that this movie will be a camp classic in a few years. The web cams, 'hip' dialogue and Busta "Trick or treat, muthafucka" Rhymes really cement it in the year 2002 which is going to make it the Plan 9 of the Halloween series. It's staggering to me that Jamie Lee Curtis is in this movie. She must have gotten a mountain of money for two days worth of work or she was contractually obligated after H20 to be in this one.

115. The Blob (1988)
One of the better 1980's remakes of 1950's movies (but not as good as The Fly or The Thing). Any fan of Entourage will want to see Kevin Dillon when he had a mullet. :)

116. Re-Animator
It's been so long since I've seen this that I remembered almost none of it. This is a very violent and very funny movie all at the same time.

117. The Exorcist
I watched the original version since I prefer it to The Version You've Never Seen Before (although I love the scene with Karras and Merrin talking on the steps when they rest during the exorcism). There's not much to say about this movie that hasn't been said before. It's excellent and should have been on the AFI's Top 100 list.

118. Suspiria
It took me a number of viewings to get into this movie but I've grown to love it. The score is great, the photography, the semi-surreal visuals and colors all add to the mood and make it a great movie.

I have time to watch one more too.

My full list is in post #389.
 

JohnRice

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Michael, thanks for the list.

FWIW, the 100 movie Horror pack is completely different from the 50 movie Horror pack. It is the Tales of Terror 50 pack plus another Horror themed pack, but I forget the name of that one. The 100 movie Sci-Fi pack is the 50 pack and the 50 Alien Worlds pack. There is a new Drive-In pack that looks good.
 

Michael Elliott

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I think I now have 21 of those packs now and keep buying them even though I'll never get everything watched.


Scream of Fear (1961) :star::star::star:1/2

Extremely strong and sometimes eerie Hammer film isn't talked about much but I found this to be one of the best from the studio. A paralyzed young woman (Susan Strasberg) goes to live with her father and stepmother (Ann Todd) after the death of her mother and best friend. When she arrives at the house she learns that her father has gone out of town on a trip but soon she starts to see his dead body around the house. The stepmother and her doctor friend (Christopher Lee) has the woman thinking she's losing her mind but the butler (Ronald Lewis) believes something more sinister might be going on. There are three plot twists within the final thirty-minutes, which had my jaw on the floor and I'd say these plot twists are among the most shocking that I've seen in any movie outside of Psycho. Normally these plot twists don't work or simply seem too far fetched but that's not the case here as they play out perfectly. Strasberg is very good in her role and works perfectly with both Todd and Lewis. Lee gives a very strong performance as the doctor who keeps trying to treat the young lady. The direction is strong throughout and the B&W cinematography is very well done as well. This is a film that certainly deserves to be rediscovered.

Berserk (1967) :star::star:

Joan Crawford runs a circus, which is being stalked by a murderer. I've been wanting to check this film out for quite some time due to the fact that material like this is certainly below Crawford's talent and after watching this and Trog I must compare her to Bela Lugosi in the fact that even though the material is pretty bad she, like Lugosi, still gave her all. Director Jim O'Connolly doesn't give the film any motion as it feels like the film is a complete stand still from start to finish. There's no energy, no excitement and the mystery of who the killer is gets quite boring very early in the film. Outside of Crawford you do get a good performance from Michael Gough who overacts as usual but it's still nice to see him. When the killer is eventually identified, the performance by this person is so over the top that you can help but scream with laughter. What follows isn't any better.

Monster a Go-Go (1965) BOMB

Bill Rebane directed this horrid film but producer Herschell Gordon Lewis went back and directed some newly shot scenes, although I'm not sure which ones are his. Either way, this is clearly one of the worst films ever made. A spacecraft returns to Earth but the astronaut it missing. Soon a 10-foot-tall monster is stalking the teens so could there be a connection? Well, of course there is. This film runs 68-minutes but I swear to God it feels like hours, days, weeks. I couldn't believe how hard it was to get through this film but this turkey doesn't even deliver on the so bad it's good theory. Everything in this movie from the acting to the direction is beyond horrid and I'm really not sure if there's a word mean enough to say how bad it actual is. Perhaps Lewis should have shot some scenes with nudity, sex or gore to pump this thing up. Lewis also does the narration added to the film.

Psyched By the 2D Dot (196x) :star::star::star:

Funny sexploitation short has various nude women modeling in front of the camera when a censorship dot shows up to cover up their nude parts. The film is actually pretty good and shows a good imagination as it mixes the score of Night of the Living Dead with that voodoo drum beat that we saw in many early zombie films.

Bedtime Booga Booga (197x) :star::star::star:

A man gets home and starts watching Night of the Living Dead only to fall asleep and start having a nightmare about zombies and ghouls attacking him. This is one of the better shorts I've seen as it has some very good cinematography, which makes for some nice atmosphere. The budget of this thing couldn't have been over a few hundred bucks but the thing plays out very well.

Psyched by the 4D Witch (1972) :star::star:

Insane little sexploitation flick about Cindy, a female virgin who won't even masturbate even though she wants to experience an orgasm. Wanting to keep her virginity, she learns that her aunt was a witch so she sells her soul to her and Satan in exchange for "Fantasy Fucks". This is an incredibly strange and psychedelic film, which works pretty well with the exception that it runs way too long even at just over 80-minutes. There's countless nudity, lesbian sex and other strange doings, which keep the film moving. The film was recorded silent and then voiceovers were added along with a trippy music score, which works pretty well. There's really nothing great about this movie but it ranks among one of the better sexploitation flicks I've seen.

Goke, Body Snatcher from Hell (1968) :star::star:

Japanese horror/sci-fi, which is a mixture of The Blob and Mario Bava's Planet of the Vampires. A plane flies through a blood red sky and eventually crashes into the desert. It turns out that a UFO forced the crash and now one of the passengers is a vampire out to kill the others and take over the world. I first heard of this film after Quentin Tarantino mentioned it as one of his favorites and he even payed homage to it in Kill Bill Vol 1 but I found this to be an extremely disappointing film. The biggest problem is that all of the characters are very annoying and rather mean so it's impossible to want them to live through this event. Another problem is the screenplay, which has the characters doing nothing except fighting, bitching and moaning. This grows very tiresome after the first half hour and we get an hour more of it. The special effects are good and the alien/vampire creature is pretty good but that's about all this film has to offer.


2007 Scary Movie Totals:

1. Frankenstein (1910)
2. Dr. Chopper (2005)
3. Beast of Yucca Flats, The (1961)
4. Grizzly Rage (2007)
5. Earth Dies Screaming, The (1962)
6. Raven, The (1935)
7. Evil Breed: The Legend of Samhain (2003)
8. Murders in the Rue Morgue (1932)
9. Tomb, The (2003)
10. Sealed Room, The (1909)
11. Land of Death (2003)
12. Borderline Cult (2007)
13. Invisible Ghost (1941)
14. Corpse Vanishes, The (1942)
15. Giant Gila Monster, The (1959)
16. Man Made Monster (1941)
17. Maniac (1980)
18. Attack of the 50 Foot Woman (1958)
19. Ghost Wanted (1940)
20. Earth vs. the Spider (2001)
21. Murder By Numbers (2002)
22. My Son the Vampire (1952)
23. Return of the Vampire, The (1943)
24. Scooby-Doo and the Legend of the Vampire (2003)
25. Scooby-Doo and the Loch Ness Monster (2004)
26. All Work and No Play (1942)
27. Spook to Me (1945)
28. One Spooky Night (1955)
29. Pardon My Nightshirt (1956)
30. Ghost of Slumber Mountain, The (1917)
31. Scooby-Doo: Where's My Mummy (2005)
32. Adoration (1987)
33. Hollywood Babylon (2000)
34. Le Poeme (1986)
35. Maneater (2007)
36. Strangler of the Swamp (1946)
37. Tomb, The (2007)
38. Blue Demon (2004)
39. Corruption (1968)
40. House on Bare Mountain (1962)
41. Kiss Me Quick! (1964)
42. Vampyros Lesbos (1970)
43. Venom (2005)
44. Body Snatcher, The (1945)
45. She Creature (2001)
46. Vampire, The (1957)
47. Maniac (1934)
48. Zodiac Killer (2005)
49. Curse of the Zodiac (2007)
50. London After Midnight (1927)
51. Teenage Monster (1958)
52. Lycantropus (1996)
53. Sister Lulu (2001)
54. Chambre Jaune (2002)
55. Miss Greeny (1997)
56. Tea Break (2004)
57. Bad Moon (1996)
58. Zombie Island Massacre (1984)
59. Cannibal Campout (1988)
60. Watch the Skies (2005)
61. Unknown, The (1927)
62. Masters of Horror: Pick Me Up (2006)
63. Demons of Lust (1999)
64. Return of Dracula, The (1958)
65. Purei (2005)
66. To Heir is Human (1944)
67. Raven, The (2006)
68. Wolf Man, The (1941)
69. Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1943)
70. Homicidal (1961)
71. Ghosts (1915)
72. Savage Man...Savage Beast (1975)
73. Women's Camp 119 (1977)
74. Strike of the Tortured Angels (1982)
75. MOH: Dreams in the Witch-House (2005)
76. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1912)
77. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1920) Lewis version
78. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931)
79. Horror Island (1941)
80. Living Coffin, The (1959)
81. Man and the Monster, The (1958)
82. Last Warning, The (1929)
83. House of Fear, The (1939)
84. Freaks (1932)
85. Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986)
86. Lost Book of Nostradamus, The (2007)
87. Zombies on Broadway (1945)
88. Revenge of the Zombies (1943)
89. Brain Eaters, The (1958)
90. Horror of It All, The (1963)
91. Scream of Fear (1961)
92. Berserk (1967)
93. Monster a Go-Go (1965)
94. Psyched by the 2D Dot (196x)
95. Bedtime Booga Booga (197x)
96. Psyched by the 4D Witch (1972)
97. Goke, Body Snatcher from Hell (1968)
 

Ruz-El

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I agree completely. Way too convenient. Not a terrible film, but not up to the original.

Also, I always thought that gorilla stuff in the old movies and pulps was a hangover from Darwinism. When that book came out, it freaked out everyone with the whole "Animal nature of man" stuff. Can't remember where I rad up on it (David Skall "The Horror Show" maybe?" But it made sense.

Anyways, I caught this one tonight, *ducks*

HALLOWEEN (2007) 4/5 : Rob Zombie is the man. As much as I like what Eli Roth is doing with horror, Zombie seems to really understand the genre. This was pretty great. Incredibly dark it never really let up. Any humor derived in it comes from the fantastic cameo casting for pretty near all the secondary characters (Mickey Dolenz???) and this variation of Michael Myers is a savage bastard. Now, did we need a remake of the John Carpenter classic? Of course not. We didn't need a remake of "The Thing From Another World" either, and like that remake, this one stands on it's own as a great piece of work.

Tally:
http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htf/...70&postcount=7
 

Radioman970

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James Perry
Good writeup. Nice comparison with The Thing, reallys gets the point across. I agree. I don't remember the last time a film was trashed beyond what it should've been (EDIT: just remembered, Shrek II). Like you say, they didn't need to remake but what they did wasn't bad. I didn't like it as much as you but I did like it.

Didn't know Dolenz was in it! The audience was lively when I saw it at the cinema so that's no wonder I missed it.
 

Malcolm R

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Feb 8, 2002
Messages
25,140
Real Name
Malcolm
SAW II :star::star::star:

Hadn't revisited this since I watched it in theaters two years ago. I recall enjoying it at the time, but I think I like it even more on a second viewing. It's rare in the horror genre to find a sequel that is nearly as good as the original, but I'm tempted to put this on equal footing with the first SAW. It had also been so long that I'd forgotten most of the "twist" at the end, too, so it was almost like watching it again for the first time. And I love the ending. Jigsaw may be a lot of things, but he's not a liar. ;)

Jigsaw sets his sights on a good cop gone bad by tossing the detective's teenage son into a house filled with grisly traps and the cop's framed suspects. The cop easily finds Jigsaw (he wants the police to find him), but then discovers the predicament of his missing son and is forced to play Jigsaw's "game" before his son falls victim to a trap, the slow-acting poison gas filling the house, or one of the criminals should they discover their common link.

I don't know if I'm just jaded after watching so many horror films, but for all everyone talks up the Saw films and their gore, I really don't think they're all that gory (at least the first two). Yes, they do have gory moments, but they're generally brief and in service to the main-event psychological thriller plot. That said, the "pit" scene in Saw II is pretty intense, and Obi's screaming has the potential to cause nightmares. :eek:

THE CARNAGE SO FAR...
 

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