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***Official 8th Annual HTF October Scary Movie Challenge*** (2 Viewers)

Jeff Reis

Stunt Coordinator
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185

Russell---yes it is. Don't get too excited about Cult of the Cobra though. I'm probably being too kind by giving it 2 1/2 stars. :) Looks great though, and the set is certainly worth picking up.
 

John Stell

Screenwriter
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003) 10/01/07 Dr. Terror's House of Horrors (1964) :star::star::star:1/2

Exceptional anthology film with Peter Cushing as Dr. Shrek, a mysterious fortune teller who uses the Tarot deck to foretell the supernatural future. Five strangers on a train learn their futures involve vampires, a creeping vine, a werewolf curse, a disembodied hand, and voodoo rites. Christopher Lee and Donald Sutherland are in the cast. Colorfully directed by Freddie Francis, with some neat story twists (especially in the final tale) by screenwriter Milton Subotsky. Great, great fun.

004) 10/01/07 From Beyond the Grave (1973) :star::star::star:

Peter Cushing is the proprietor of Temptations Ltd., a most unusual antique store where, if you lie, cheat or steal to get what you want, you will pay the ultimate price. Stories concern a haunted mirror, an avenging angel, an invisible demon, and a possessed door. Suitably intense when it wants to be but also has some well-handled humor. Horror familiars David Warner, Diana Dors, Donald Pleasence, and Ian Ogilvy are in the cast. Based on stories by R. Chetwynd-Hayes.
 

Joe Karlosi

Senior HTF Member
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10/01/07 The Phantom of the Opera (1925) :star::star::star:

I decided to begin with a silent this year. Lon Chaney's makeup is still the best of all phantoms, and the famous "unmasking" sequence still packs a jolt. What else I especially enjoy about this version are the sets and high production values.

SCARY MOVIE CHALLENGE 2007
01) The Phantom of the Opera (1925)
 

Ruz-El

Fake Shemp
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Well, day 2, and I already screwed up my viewing. I brought the wrong Hellraisers to work, so I have to watch 7, so I'm out of order. :S

HELLRAISER 7 : DEADER 1/5 : Just a boring piece of shit of a movie. You could cut all the Hellraiser stuff out of it and it would totally play as a boring piece of shit. I'm glad I got 3 movies to watch leading to this one. :frowning:

My tally:

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

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.

10/02/07
I watched Bride Of Frankenstein today. As with many of the Universal monster movies, there's not to say that hasn't already been said. I'd consider it the best of all Universal's monster movies.

My list so far...
1. Dracula (1931)
2. Dracula (Spanish language)
3. Frankenstein (1931)
4. The Mummy (1932)
5. The Invisible Man
6. Bride Of Frankenstein
 

Michael Elliott

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I'm currently moving and have limited internet access but hopefully I can get my reviews posted in a few days.
 

EricSchulz

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Let the games begin!

Never-before-seen titles are in red

#1: Cult of the Cobra: Looks like I'm not the only one that recently picked up that Best Buy set! Pretty dull, no-budget Cat People retread. At least they wisely shot the movie so you didn't notice how much money they DIDN'T use on SFX! 1.5/5

#2 Dead Men Walk: INCREDIBLY dull "mystery" about vampires that goes nowhere fast. Grade-Z 1940's cheapie. 1/5

#3 Frankenstein: Decided that my repeat viewings this year for titles I've seen too many times to remember will be the Commentary version if available. I'm listening to the new track on the "75th Anniversary Edition" along with the "Monster Tracks" captions. 4/5
 

TravisR

Senior HTF Member
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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.

10/02/07
Two new (to me) titles.

I watched Werewolf Of London. I liked the look of the werewolf since it wasn't the traditional look that The Wolfman seemed to establish (of course, The Wolfman wouldn't be made for another 6 years). Other than that though, I thought the movie was slow and only OK.

I also watched Dracula's Daughter. Once again, I liked aspects of the movie (like trying to change it up with a female as the villain) but there was too much melodrama for my tastes.

My list so far...
(new titles in bold)
1. Dracula (1931)
2. Dracula (Spanish language)
3. Frankenstein (1931)
4. The Mummy (1932)
5. The Invisible Man
6. Bride Of Frankenstein
7. Werewolf Of London
8. Dracula's Daughter
 

Ruz-El

Fake Shemp
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I really liked that Werewolf of London as well. Not as much as Wolf Man, but it is damned good.

I watched the in betweener Hellraisers. here's the dope.

HELLRAISER 4 BLOODLINE : 2.5/5 - Hellraiser in space. Pretty dull, goes into the history of the cube and really, I could give a crap. Another one where the cenobites don't really do anything, and it all felt rather vampire-ish, in a bad way.

HELLRAISER INFERNO: 1.5/4 - The series attempts to be a gritty noir. A whore mongering detective stumbles upon the puzzle box, and you can probably guess what happens. Dull and the lead is a Stephen Dorff wanna be.

HELLRAISER 6 HELLSEEKER 1/5 : This has no business even being a Hellraiser movie! It's basically a ghost story. If you had never seen a Hellraiser film, you would wonder what the hell all the Pinhead crap is. And Pinhead now officially sucks as a villan. Due to these crappy movies.

now I have on left in this stupid series. This sucks. I was all excited for this challenge, and this was a god awful disappointing start :frowning:

My running tally of disgrace:

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

Bob Turnbull

Supporting Actor
Joined
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Messages
840
I like the new titles in BLOOD RED idea. I'm so gonna do that...

10/01/07 - Suspiria (1977) - I haven't seen Argento's tense colour-drenched beauty of a film for a while. He really stretches out the suspense and when he isn't you can just drink in the sets. Yeah, some of the acting and dialog is pretty terrible, but it's highly entertaining.


10/01/07 - Tales Of Terror (1962) - A trilogy of Roger Corman directed horror tales starring Vincent Price (in all three) with Peter Lorre and Basil Rathbone making appearances as well. All three stories are well done (though the middle one "Black Cat" is a little long and Lorre's attempts at being comically drunk don't fare so well) and Corman brings some nice touches to all three - different camera angles and sparing use of effects.


2007 Scary Movie Challenge:

1. 10/01/07 - Suspiria (1977 - Dario Argento)
2.
10/01/07 - Tales Of Terror (1962 - Roger Corman)
 

John Stell

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005) 10/02/07 The Black Cat (1941) :star::star:1/2

Not too bad horror comedy with a gathering of greedy relatives, a gaggle of cats, and a mystery killer the main ingredients. Plenty of smiles, a memorable demise for the villain, and a clever touch or too make this above average for the subgenre. Lugosi has funniest moment in the film, "Here, kitty, kitty, kitty."

006) 10/02/07 Man Made Monster (1941) :star::star:1/2

Lon Chaney Jr.'s official entry in the Universal Horror canon has him playing likeable lug "Dynamo" Dan, whose circus act with electricity saves his life in bus accident. Enter mad doc Lionel Atwill who sees Dan as his next guinea pig. Fast paced thriller boasts good effects but features too many stereotypical characters to really score.

007) 10/02/07 Horror Island (1941) :star::star:1/2

Mystery killer stalks those who are searching for buried treasure on Morgan's island. Oh yeah, it's haunted. Dick Foran and Peggy Moran reteam after The Mummy's Hand (1940) but the chemistry isn't as strong. Universal's production values help this familiar tale go down easy.

008) 10/02/07 Night Monster (1942) :star::star::star:

Strong mystery-horror film about murders at an eerie estate, with Bela Lugosi as a mysterious butler. Atmospheric, fast-paced thriller with good performances.
 

Garrett Lundy

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Mar 5, 2002
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Scale: 1=awful 2=bad 3=average 4=good 5=excellent. 1st viewings in red.

The Descent (2006):star::star::star: Eh, its OK. The much hyped gore simply isn't very gory. Not even in the same ballpark as 1983's Conquest.

The Omen (2006):star::star::star: Not nearly as bad as the reviews led me to belive. Not very good, but not terrible either.

The butcher's bill...
1. Monster Squad (1987)
2. Call of the Cthulhu
(2005)
3. Mimic (1997)
4. The Omen (2006)
5. The Descent (2006)
 

Ruz-El

Fake Shemp
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Russell
I remember really liking Suspiria, and not thinking anything else by Dario was all that great. It's been ages since I watched it though.

Anyone have an opinion on this? We've always included the MAster Of horror episodes as mini movies cause thats basically exactly what they are. How about "Steven Kings Nightmares and Dreamscapes"? I've never seen them but a friend lent them to me. I think they are kinda like the MOH, except based on King stories. If they are like what you would see on NBC or a Twilight Zone type anthology though, then I wouldn't want to include them. Anyone familiar let me know. It's not like I'm going to run out of thing to watch if I skip these till novemeber :P
 

Jeff Reis

Stunt Coordinator
Joined
Dec 6, 1998
Messages
185
First time viewings in orange. 5 Star Scale

3) 10/02 Witchfinder General (1968) :star: :star: :star: :star:1/2
Remarkably grim and sadistic for its time, with stellar performances across the board and spot-on sets and locations. It lacks the supernatural trappings that one might expect, opting instead to play out as more of a historical revenge drama with shockingly blunt and realistic (well, except for the bad tempera paint blood) outbursts of violence.
 

Ruz-El

Fake Shemp
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Nice to see that Witchfinder review, I picked up the Price collection and plan to watch them all. :)
 

Bob Turnbull

Supporting Actor
Joined
Dec 2, 2001
Messages
840
10/02/07 - All The Colors Of The Dark (1972) - Edwige Fenech (no wait, I should say "the gorgeous Edwige Fenech") stars in this dream like story of a woman possibly going crazy or potentially being stalked. It's a bit goofy (there's a zombie gang bang, a grotesque opening dream, a ritualistic animal killing, etc.) and some odd directorial choices, but it's mostly good. Not overly scary though.


2007 Scary Movie Challenge:

1. 10/01/07 - Suspiria (1977 - Dario Argento)
2.
10/01/07 - Tales Of Terror (1962 - Roger Corman)
3. 10/02/07 - All The Colors Of The Dark (1972 - Sergio Martino)
 

Joe Karlosi

Senior HTF Member
Joined
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Messages
6,008
10/02/07 The Black Cat (1941) :star::star:1/2

Black comedy/horror from Universal that's not as bad as its reputation suggests. It's got a decent cast including Basil Rathbone, Gale Sondergaard, Broderick Crawford, and Bela Lugosi. Everyone's waiting for grandma to die so they can gain their inheritance amidst stormy nights and gloomy old dark house atmosphere. There are some chills along with some funnies (the best giggle comes from Lugosi and his frustration with a bunch of cats).

10/02/07 Horror Island (1941) :star:1/2

One of Universal's instantly forgettable offerings. I'd only seen it one other time several years ago on a dupe tape and it's easy to see why I haven't remembered anything about it. A group of treasure hunters gather in an old castle on a dark island, and are menaced by a so-called phantom in a dark cape and large hat who wants the fortune for himself. This "phantom" is far from scary, and is little more than a skinny John Carradine lookalike whose face is not kept obscured enough to remain mysterious. At least it's always a joy getting to see perky Peggy Moran. She teams up with leading man Dick Foran once again after their stint in THE MUMMY'S HAND.


SCARY MOVIE CHALLENGE 2007
01) The Phantom of the Opera (1925)
02) The Black Cat (1941)
03) Horror Island (1941)
 

Rick Spruill

Stunt Coordinator
Joined
Oct 2, 2004
Messages
96
10/2 - The She-Creature (1967) - :star:
- What an uneventful way to spend 77 minutes. Dull all the way through. Lance Fuller makes for the most "do nothing" lead I've seen. I usually enjoy Tom Conway, but here he's sleepwalking his way to a paycheck. The only positives worth noting are the creature special effects (very nicely done) and the sight of Marla English in a sweater.



Official 8th Annual HTF October Scary Movie Challenge Totals

1. Cult of the Cobra
(1955) - :star::star:
2. Hillbillys in a Haunted House (1967) - BOMB
3. The She-Creature (1956) - :star:

Total - 3
Total 1st Time Viewings - 3
 

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