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I’m going for 31 and will try to do count first time views only, unless any challenges necessitate a rewatch. I have Brightburn and Tales from the Hood out from the library so I’ll be starting with those.
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Sep 27, 2019 21:33
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Brgihtburn (2019) Brightburn is a ‘bad seed’ movie with a twist - what if Superboy was evil? This has been explored often in comic books but not so often in film. It starts in familiar territory, with a farm couple (played by David Denham and Elizabeth Banks) struggling to have a child. Their prayers are answered when a spaceship crashes on their land. They raise the child as their own but when he reaches puberty things change. He realizes that he’s not like other humans and has abilities that no one else does such as invulnerability and super strength. He also can emit electromagnetic pulses. The film is kind of clumsy at this point. I can accept the kid as inherently evil but there’s not much going on thematically beyond that. There’s some focus on his relationship with a girl at his school but that’s quickly dropped. It goes into his relationship with his dad but that storyline comes to an abrupt end as well. The lack of a central protagonist really hurts this film. This really just kind of ends up playing out as a super powered slasher film. Despite my complaints I did find this movie to be fairly entertaining in a mindless sort of way. There’s some good gore, including a really icky scene involving an eye. The closing credits are kind of interesting too. I wouldn’t recommend going out of your way to see it but if it hits a streaming service it’s not a bad way to kill 90 minutes.
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Sep 28, 2019 18:56
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Tales from the Hood (1995) This is a pretty drat great anthology that just oozes style throughout. We get 4 short stories plus a wraparound segment. The stories involve premises that are tragically times less, such as corrupt cops, child abuse, corrupt politicians and gang violence. The movie is almost 25 years old but it just as easily could have been made today. Still, I never got the feeling that this movie was being too heavy handed. Since it's a horror film we get our fair share of zombies, killer dolls and the supernatural. The movie has great visual effects. The film does not shy away from the gore. I wasn't crazy about the second story as I find child abuse to be a touchy subject but every other short was great. And even the child abuse story had some humour too. The real highlight of this is the wraparound segment itself. Clarence Williams III puts in a delightful performance as the funeral director Mr. Simms. As a big plus, even though you may think you see the end coming you really won't see how far things go until it gets there. I highly recommend watching this film. Pet Semetary 2 (1992) I am not the biggest fan of the original Pet Sematary, but when I saw this at a garage sale earlier this year I figured it would be worth the fifty cent price tag. After his actress mother is killed in an on-set accident, Jeff Matthews (Ed Furlong) and his dad (Anthony Edwards) move from LA to Maine to get away from the craziness of Hollywood. Jeff gets bullied at school and makes friends with Drew, another outcast. After Drew demonstrates the resurrection power of the cemetery, Jeff starts to wonder if it could resurrect his mother. This movie gets a little crazy from there. Like the first film the central theme is dealing with grief, but the film isn't concerned with going too deep into that or adding anything new. Instead, the focus is on the monsters created by the titular cemetery. We get a dog with glowing, red eyes and a zombiefied rear end in a top hat cop. We also get what may be the meanest bully I've ever seen in a movie like this. Although the movie is fun when it focuses on its monsters, it does drag a little when it focuses on its main plot. Still, this is probably worth checking out if you haven't seen it. Watched: Brightburn, Tales from the Hood, Pet Semetary 2
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Sep 29, 2019 14:03
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Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986, Amazon Prime Canada Ooh portrait, sounds classy. ... .... Okay, this is a seriously hosed up movie. It’s loosely based on real-life serial killer Henry Lee Lucas. There’s not much plot but that really doesn’t matter in this. It’s a total character study but we don’t see any character growth. We’re invited in to see slices of life of Henry and his roommate Otis and his little sister Becky. What’s scary about this film is how remorseless and confident Henry is. He goes out, he kills and there isn’t anything new can do about. There’s no hotshot detective piecing the clues together to track him down. Henry just does what he wants and there’s no one who can stop him. The cinematography is really great on this and the apartment where they spend most of their time is a really great set piece. It feels very claustrophobic and bleak. It feels like we’re caged in their with Henry. It’s a relief whenever we get out of there but when ever we do it’s only a matter of time before Henry does something terrible. It’s interesting in what is shown and what we hear as well. His early murders we only hear the audio of and see the aftermath. As the film goes on we see the murders. By the end of the movie we don’t need to see or hear anything - we know what exactly Henry is capable of and our minds can do the heavy lifting for us. Michael Rooker does a great job as Henry. His gruff delivery and hardened looks really help Henry seem dangerous. Tracey Arnold’s Becky is also a great performance and she really puts in a sympathetic performance. This is not a fun movie by any means. It’s bleak and hopeless. It’s definitely not for everyone but it is a great film. Watched (4): Brightburn, Tales from the Hood, Pet Semetary 2, Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer
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Sep 29, 2019 21:44
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Darthemed posted:Geez, going from Pet Sematary 2 to Henry is some serious tonal whiplash. After Henry I ended up watching TCM2 just for something a bit more light-hearted. That ones a rewatch though so I’m not counting it for this challenge.
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Sep 29, 2019 22:11
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One Cut of the Dead (2017, Shudder) I’m just going to echo what everyone else has said and just recommend that you go watch this blind. I’m not quite as enamoured with it as others but it’s still excellent and creative. Watched (5): Brightburn, Tales from the Hood, Pet Semetary 2, Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer, One Cut of the Dead
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Oct 1, 2019 00:42
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Leatherface (1990, library) This is aka The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 3. The first 2 entries in this series are both classics and both have their own distinct style and identity. This one...not so much. It just seems like a remix of what we’ve already seen. This ignores the events of part 2. We get a hitchhiker and a creepy red neck family of course. The familiar elements are done well. We get a survivalist character played by Ken Foree as well and while he puts in a good performance his scenes all take place at night and it’s so poorly lit you can’t tell what the hell is going on half the time. Viggo Mortenson is also in this and he puts in a good performance. Overall this is a pretty skipable movie and I’d only recommend watching it for completionists. Watched (6): Brightburn, Tales from the Hood, Pet Semetary 2, Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer, One Cut of the Dead, Leatherface (1990)
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Oct 1, 2019 04:02
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Summer of 84 (2018, Shudder) This is a nostalgia driven movie about the summer of 1984 and a group of kids who suspect that their neighbor is a serial killer. On paper it sounds good but it really fails in execution. A series like Stranger Things works because they realize that the kids are kids. Pre-teens can get away with quite a bit and naivety can be a valuable character trait. The kids on this movie are 15 years old and come off as more creepy than anything else. It doesn’t help that an older babysitter is a love interest for the main character and she comes off creepy as well. The movie has a really unsatisfying ending which makes the villains motivation really baffling. The parents of the main kid are really lame as well and irrationally angry for most of the movie. If you like 80’s throwbacks you’ll probably like the scenes of kids riding their bikes around and the synth soundtrack but I’m really getting tired of these throwbacks. Don’t let the gimmick fool you - don’t bother watching this movie. Watched (7): Brightburn, Tales from the Hood, Pet Semetary 2, Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer, One Cut of the Dead, Leatherface (1990), Summer of 84
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Oct 4, 2019 00:42
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I honestly had no clue there even was a Scanners franchise until these posts.
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Oct 5, 2019 18:22
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Viy (1967, Shudder) SUPER SAMHAIN CHALLENGE 1: The Best Month This was pretty good. A young priest is tasked with watching over a dead witch in a small, remote church. I found it pretty slow at first but it was at least somewhat interesting as it showed some hypocrisy from the religious class. It’s also interesting seeing a Soviet film from this era. It’s a huge blind spot for me. The cinematography was crisp and I really liked the landscape shots. The last ten minutes of this film are absolutely incredible and memorable and make this worth watching on its own. Mandy (2018, Shudder) This is the film that CineD has been in love with since it came out last year and I finally sat down to watch it and I just didn’t like it. The cinematography and lighting just didn’t appeal to me and distracted from everything. It has Nic Cage being Nic Cage but even that couldn’t get me into this. Into the Tall Grass (2019, Netflix) This is the newest Stephen King adaptation. There’s a field of tall grass theatres will lure people in but won’t let them out. It’s an intriguing concept but the execution wasn’t that great. It felt really long and there’s way too much shots of the grass. It just seemed like a 60 minute movie stretched into a 90 minute movie. I did like the cinematography and Patrick Wilson was good but this is definitely not anything worth watching. Street Trash (2017, Shudder) This is sleazy in a way that kind of works. The homeless get sold a toxic drink and chaos ensues. It feels like a troma film with a slightly higher budget. It’s a very sleazy movie and if someone were to shut it off midway I definitely wouldn’t blame them - it’s a pretty sexist and racist movie and there’s scenes that can definitely trigger people. It has incredible special effects though, and the set design is really good. It’s acting is all really over the top and I felt it benefitted this movie. I probably wouldn’t recommend this to anyone unless I knew they were a SA goon. Watched (11): Brightburn, Tales from the Hood, Pet Semetary 2, Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer, One Cut of the Dead, Leatherface (1990), Summer of 84, Viy, Mandy, In the Tall Grass, Street Trash Samhain Challenges: 1. The Best Month - Viy
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Oct 6, 2019 23:49
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See No Evil (1967, Amazon Prime Canada) IMDB: A group of delinquents are sent to clean the Blackwell Hotel. Little do they know reclusive psychopath Jacob Goodnight has holed away in the rotting hotel. When one of the teens is captured, those who remain - a group that includes the cop who put a bullet in Goodnight's head four years ago - band together to survive against the brutal killer. This is a WWE-made horror movie, with long time star Kane as the main villain. The wrestler Kane was originally inspired by slashers so it's a pretty fitting casting choice here. He carries himself well in the role. I wish they leaned more into making him look unique though. He just looks like his wrestling persona wearing farmer clothes. They should have given him a mask, since he's always better with a mask. The thumbnail for the sequel looks like it solves that problem. It's a pretty by the numbers slasher and it has that mid-2000s gritty filter throughout. I honestly didn't think it was too bad, just kind of formulaic. The kills themselves were pretty good. There's one involving a pack of dogs and another involving a cell phone that really stand out. If you're into slashers this is worth checking out, or at least checking out a kill reel on YouTube. Watched (12): Brightburn, Tales from the Hood, Pet Semetary 2, Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer, One Cut of the Dead, Leatherface (1990), Summer of 84, Viy, Mandy, In the Tall Grass, Street Trash, See No Evil Samhain Challenges: 1. The Best Month - Viy
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Oct 8, 2019 04:25
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Haunt (2019, itunes) IMDB: On Halloween, a group of friends encounter an "extreme" haunted house that promises to feed on their darkest fears. The night turns deadly as they come to the horrifying realization that some nightmares are real. This movie is pretty good! I was a little hesitant going in because similar movies such as last years Hellfest and 2016’s House of Purgatory both had similar premises and both of those movies were disappointments. Haunt has a better set up and introduction to the characters and doesn’t burn through its good will as fast as those other movies. The plot synopsis above effectively describes the movie but there are some unexpected and welcome curveballs thrown into the story. The set design has some pretty good rooms but it is a little non-sensical in its design. It does a good job playing off Halloween tropes such as the “what’s that body part” game. This is a direct to video movie and does suffer from being low budget. The actors are competent but no one really stands out, and some set pieces look barren and incomplete. Overall I found this enjoyable and it’s definitely worth watching. The shudder logo popped up at the beginning so I assume it’s going to end up on there eventually. Watched (13): Brightburn, Tales from the Hood, Pet Semetary 2, Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer, One Cut of the Dead, Leatherface (1990), Summer of 84, Viy, Mandy, In the Tall Grass, Street Trash, See No Evil, Haunt Samhain Challenges: 1. The Best Month - Viy
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Oct 9, 2019 01:53
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Popelmon posted:10) The New Kids (1985) I watched this earlier this year and it’s such a hidden gem. James Spader is such a great rear end in a top hat villain in it.
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Oct 11, 2019 00:56
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Idle Hands (1999, CTV app) Idle Hands is certainly a movie released in 1999. The soundtrack, the clothing, the actors are really of that specific late 90s/early 2000s era. Devon Sawa stars as Anton, a teen stoner who’s hand becomes possessed and starts acting out on its own. This leads to a lot of murder and violence. It’s a horror comedy that leans way more into the comedy aspect than anything else. It really feels like a schlocky old B-movie updated for the 90s. It’s got pretty good gore and special effects but nothing comes off as too horrific. It’s certainly a decent enough movie to watch at this time of year, and bonus points for being set at Halloween as well. On a side note, the CTV app on the Apple TV is horrible. I paused the movie midway through and it reset it to the beginning and wouldn’t fast forward. I ended up finishing my watch on the phone Samhain Challenge 3: Horror noire Horror Noire (2019, Shudder This is a very good documentary, covering the role of African Americans in horror from the early days of cinema to the present. It offers very good perspectives on films and there were some things I had never really thought of before and I hope it allows me to be more mindful of things I see in films going forward. For example, it goes in to how black characters often have little agency of their own and often just serve the purpose of allowing the white, main characters to express how they feel. Aside from being educational, the documentary is very entertaining and well made, using archive footage and movie clips to demonstrate the talking points. Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night 2 (1987, Amazon Prime Canada It’s a possession/slasher flick that really doesn’t have anything to do with the first one. It starts off strong with a confessional scene but it really kind of tapers off for a while after. The actual prom night itself is pretty good. The film really wears its influences on its sleeve, especially Nightmare on elm street and Carrie. This leads to some tonal inconsistencies and may explain why o just wasn’t getting in to it. Doom Asylum (1987, iTunes This is a schlocky, low budget 80s movie about a doctor that is driven insane after barely surviving a car accident and kills anyone who intrudes on the abandoned asylum he inhabits. This is a decent satire of its contemporary slashers. The group of college kids are all over the top on their bad acting, and the dialogue is hilarious (“Please! No! I voted for Reagan”). The villains costuming and look is really good too. This was filmed at an actual abandoned asylum so it looks really authentic and gritty as a result. There are some B&W segments from another film that keep getting inserted in because they draw thematic similarities but I found those to be more distracting than beneficial. Also, like many other 80s movies the black characters only serve comedic purposes. Overall though this was a pretty fun to watch movie and it’s only 77 minutes long so it doesn’t drag at all. Arrow video does cheap digital releases on iTunes throughout October so it’s worth the $4 price tag if you see it there. Eaten Alive (1976, Amazon Prime Canada This movie was pretty drat good. It’s Tobe Hooper’s follow up to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. This movie really doesn’t have much of a plot. A hotel owner in rural Louisiana pretty much kills and feeds anyone who pisses him off to his giant crocodile. It’s a pretty drat sleazy movie and some of the content is genuinely disturbing, especially a scene involving a young girl and her dog. It’s a really atmospheric movie with all sorts of fog and neon lights and a really good set piece. This is probably not for everyone but it’s definitely worth a watch if you liked TCM. Watched (18): Brightburn, Tales from the Hood, Pet Semetary 2, Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer, One Cut of the Dead, Leatherface (1990), Summer of 84, Viy, Mandy, In the Tall Grass, Street Trash, See No Evil, Haunt, Idle Hands, Horror Noire, Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night 2, Doom Asylum, Eaten Alive Samhain Challenges: 1. The Best Month - Viy 2. Dead and Buried - 3. Horror Noire - Horror Noire
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Oct 13, 2019 16:19
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The Craft (1995, Amazon Prime Canada) This movie is about a new girl at a catholic school who gets involved in a teenage coven. This was decent, and the second best use of Neve Campbell as a catholic school girl in the 90s. My dogs were fighting during this so I can't say it had my undivided attention but I got the gist of it. The movie has a mid-90s look to it and it's always nice to see a movie from this era being in touch with its target audience though. It's not quite as hip as Scream was but the characters felt like mid 90s teens and while the soundtrack may seem dated now, it was the type of stuff that was popular at the time. The movie mainly focuses on the friendship between the four girls and the development of their powers, and then the eventual power struggle. The actresses all have good chemistry with each other and come off as genuine friends. There's some interesting subplots too, such as one of the witches dealing with a racist bully. I would recommend checking this out, especially if you were a teen in the 90s. The Wolfman (2010, Netflix) Samhain Challenge: Spooktober - keyword LegendThis is a pretty wide challenge that I could probably argue almost any movie fulfills, but I played it honest and looked for something that would really correspond with one of the words. So I browsed the list while browsing the horror collection on Netflix and came across this. The werewolf is a legendary character and I recalled the original wolfman movie dealt with gypsy legends so I decided to check this out. This turned out to be a good choice, at least for fulfilling the terms of the challenge. While this movie takes place in Victorian London, gypsy legends of the Wolfman help move the story along and provide backstory of the legend of the lycanthrope. The movie itself is fairly middling. Benecio Del Toro does a good job as the Lawrence Talbot/The Wolfman but the story itself is just kind of boring. The original wolfman movie is probably my least favourite of the original universal monster movies so I didn't have that high of expectations anyways. I did like the level of violence that we saw though, it was cool to see the wolfman as a ferocious killer that's capable of quick and brutal deaths. Watched (20): Brightburn, Tales from the Hood, Pet Semetary 2, Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer, One Cut of the Dead, Leatherface (1990), Summer of 84, Viy, Mandy, In the Tall Grass, Street Trash, See No Evil, Haunt, Idle Hands, Horror Noire, Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night 2, Doom Asylum, Eaten Alive, The Craft, The Wolfman (2010) Samhain Challenges: 1. The Best Month - Viy 2. Dead and Buried - coming soon 3. Horror Noire - Horror Noire 4. Inktober (legend) - The Wolfman (2010)
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Oct 15, 2019 03:06
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Three From Hell (2019, iTunes )Samhain Challenge: Dead and Buried RIP Sid Haig I just finished watching this and it was a delight. It manages to combine the grittiest parts of Ho1kC and Devils Rejects without feeling redundant. The leads all know their roles and play the parts perfectly and Richard Brake is a welcome addition. Regarding Sid Haig it was nice to see him in his most iconic role, I just wish he was healthy enough that we got to spend more time with him. Watched (20): Brightburn, Tales from the Hood, Pet Semetary 2, Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer, One Cut of the Dead, Leatherface (1990), Summer of 84, Viy, Mandy, In the Tall Grass, Street Trash, See No Evil, Haunt, Idle Hands, Horror Noire, Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night 2, Doom Asylum, Eaten Alive, The Craft, The Wolfman (2010), 3 from hell Samhain Challenges: 1. The Best Month - Viy 2. Dead and Buried - 3 from Hell 3. Horror Noire - Horror Noire 4. Inktober (legend) - The Wolfman (2010) 5. Tourist Trap [/quote]
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Oct 17, 2019 00:52
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The Most Powerful Witch 1&2 (2019?, YouTube)Samhain Challenge: TouristTrap I decided if I’m going to do this challenge I’m going to go all out and watch some Nollywood. I found this by searching for Nigerian horror movies on YouTube and selected this as it was only 64 minutes. I had a hard time figuring out what was going on because the sound mixing was terrible! Some characters were clear but in the same scene there would be characters that sounded whisper quiet and characters who spoke so loud that it sounded distorted. As far as I could tell there is an evil witch named Krashka who is jealous of a girl named Amalinda who is secretly the granddaughter of a powerful witch, although she doesn’t know it. There’s also some male character named Harris who looks like he’s supposed to be a student who meets a tiger but the good witch stops it. And then a talking dragon shows up and strikes him down. Then the good witch shows up and they proclaim themselves to be friends now. Then they lead some group of warriors through the jungle and encounter all sorts of strange creatures and dangerous animals. Look I’m going to be honest I really wasn’t sure what was happening here. The exposition scenes were so quiet. A lot of scenes inexplicably go into slow motion for no reason and so often that even Zack Snyder would consider it overkill. Seriously, this movie would easily be 10 minutes shorter if they didn’t switch to slow motion so often. The special effects are low budget as well and it is clear that they are just in steering creatures and animals from other movies or video games into the movie. There is a charming aspect to this type of movie. Even though it’s terribly edited and low budget the actors are all enthusiastic and the set design is kind of good. But overall this movie isn’t exactly enjoyable and I honestly couldn’t recommend it. There is probably better Nollywood out there but I don’t think this is my thing. Still, I’m glad I expanded my horizons! Watched (22): Brightburn, Tales from the Hood, Pet Semetary 2, Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer, One Cut of the Dead, Leatherface (1990), Summer of 84, Viy, Mandy, In the Tall Grass, Street Trash, See No Evil, Haunt, Idle Hands, Horror Noire, Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night 2, Doom Asylum, Eaten Alive, The Craft, The Wolfman (2010), 3 from hell, The Most Powerful Witch 1&2 Samhain Challenges: 1. The Best Month - Viy 2. Dead and Buried - 3 from Hell 3. Horror Noire - Horror Noire 4. Inktober (legend) - The Wolfman (2010) 5. Tourist Trap - The Most Powerful Witch 1&2
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Oct 18, 2019 05:09
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Untrustable posted:Movie 8 of 31: Annabelle I agree that this move sucks, but the second Annabelle isn't that bad.
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Oct 19, 2019 14:22
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Zombieland 2 (2019 Theatre) The first movie was a somewhat muddled movie but largely entertaining due to the chemistry of the cast, an impressive cameo and slick stylistic choices. The sequel follows a lot of the same blueprint but can’t reach its’ successors heights. We join our cast as they have now set up camp in the White House. We learn that zombies are evolving but some of these evolutions really don’t matter to the story and are just used for quick gags. The only evolution that really matters is the T-800s - zombies that are tougher, better fighters, and harder to kill than the rest. The plot is set into motion when Little Rock leaves the group so she can find people her own age and perhaps even a boyfriend out in the wild world. This leads to the rest of the gang trying to find her. They’re joined by Madison, a ditsy blonde who has survived the zombie apocalypse by hiding in freezers. All the roads lead to Tennessee, where the new super zombies are converging upon a hippy camp. The movie really doubles down on its stylistic choices and I feel that it really overdid it. The rules pop up on the screen all the time and it gets really distracting. They also revisit the Zombie Kill of the Week/Year jokes which surprised me, as in the original that was a holdover from when this was supposed to be a tv show. I don’t mind this as it leads to good gags. The chemistry between the core cast is really great, and Zoey Deutch’s Madison is a welcome addition to the cast. Her interactions with Emma Stone in particular are great. The politics of this movie are a little muddled but I felt they were ultimately positive. There are a lot of jokes bashing hippies, vegans, pacifists, etc, but when it comes down to it none of these characters are forced to compromise their core values when faced with a deadly conflict and it doesn’t condemn their dreams of creating a utopia out of dystopia. Overall this isn’t a bad movie but what felt fresh in 2009 doesn’t hold up quite so stongly now. This movie really does really amplify the weaknesses of the previous movie and the good stuff isn’t quite as strong. I would recommend checking it out if you enjoyed the first one, but you might want to wait until this become available to watch at home. Watched (23): Brightburn, Tales from the Hood, Pet Semetary 2, Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer, One Cut of the Dead, Leatherface (1990), Summer of 84, Viy, Mandy, In the Tall Grass, Street Trash, See No Evil, Haunt, Idle Hands, Horror Noire, Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night 2, Doom Asylum, Eaten Alive, The Craft, The Wolfman (2010), 3 from hell, The Most Powerful Witch 1&2, Zombieland 2 Samhain Challenges: 1. The Best Month - Viy 2. Dead and Buried - 3 from Hell 3. Horror Noire - Horror Noire 4. Inktober (legend) - The Wolfman (2010) 5. Tourist Trap - The Most Powerful Witch 1&2
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Oct 20, 2019 00:53
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Eli (2019, Netflix This is Netflix’s newest horror offering, with many of the people behind last years hit Haunting of Hill House involved in this. A young boy named Eli suffers from a vague medical condition and is admitted into a special facility where they assure him that he will be cured. Of course things at this facility are more sinister than they appear... This was a pretty average movie. It’s plot is kind of jumbled but it has some pretty good scare scenes and a few decent jump scare. I think your enjoyment of this will probably depend a lot on your enjoyment of Hill House, as it has a similar look and feel to it. Return of the Living Dead 3 (1993 Amazon Prime Canada This was a really fun movie that I regret not renting ages ago. RotLD is one of my favourite movies, but I’ve always been skeptic all of the sequels. I was disappointed by part 2 and I was put off of renting this entry, despite its pretty awesome cover. This is loosely related to the first movie. The military is conducting experiments on the dead, and a colonel’s son discovers this and uses the zombie gas to resurrect his dead girlfriend. We then get what is probably the first entry in the Zombie Romance genre. The plot itself is merely okay, but what stands out is the special effects and creature design. It’s directed by Brian Yuzna of Society and are-animator fans, so we get a good dose of mind bending creatures and body horror. The special effects are so good that when the closing credits hit the first names we see are the effects crew. I would recommend watching this one if you haven’t seen it. Psycho (1998, Netflix) Samhain Challenge: Sometimes they come backWhen I suggested watching a remake as a challenge I had an ulterior motive. This movie has been in my watchlist for ages - it’s disappeared and reappeared on my Netflix list several times - but I’ve never had much desire to sit down and watch it. I knew I needed an extra push to watch this so I suggested this challenge and figured I’d watch it if the challenge was accepted. What we get is essentially a shot for shot remake of the original. It’s kind of off-putting to see old transition styles and staging in a modern setting. The dialogue is largely the same too and that’s a really bizarre directorial choice. The way people talk changes over the years so when people use old slang and phrases it seems anachronistic. The acting is pretty bad in this. Vince Vaughn in particular is a horrible Norman Bates. Some reviews suggest that this film is intentionally campy. I’d agree for this to a degree but I wish it embraced its campy aspects a little more. I’m really not even clear on what the point of this was. It’s too similar to the original to really offer any artistic vision. I suppose is Van Sant changed anything though then people would have complained so maybe that’s a meta-commentary? Either way I can’t really recommend watching this. Watched (26): Brightburn, Tales from the Hood, Pet Semetary 2, Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer, One Cut of the Dead, Leatherface (1990), Summer of 84, Viy, Mandy, In the Tall Grass, Street Trash, See No Evil, Haunt, Idle Hands, Horror Noire, Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night 2, Doom Asylum, Eaten Alive, The Craft, The Wolfman (2010), 3 from hell, The Most Powerful Witch 1&2, Zombieland 2, Eli, Return of the Living Dead 3, Psycho (1998) Samhain Challenges: 1. The Best Month - Viy 2. Dead and Buried - 3 from Hell 3. Horror Noire - Horror Noire 4. Inktober (legend) - The Wolfman (2010) 5. Tourist Trap - The Most Powerful Witch 1&2 6. Sometimes they come back - Psycho (1998)
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Oct 21, 2019 03:37
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Monster Mash: The Movie 1995, YouTube Samhain Challenge: Monster Mash As a genius, I decided to google monster mash movie to overcome this challenge, and it led me to this. When you watch a movie named after a song from boomer times it’s fun to make prop bets on whether the song will play during the opening credits or closing credits. In this case it’s the former. And the latter. Candace Cameron and some guy’s car breaks down near a gothic mansion owned by a doctor Frankenstein, who is played by Bobby Pickett himself. There’s all sorts of guests at the mansion and oh Christ it’s a musical. Anyways, Dracula, Frankenstein, Igor and a Wolfman all have ulterior motives for the young couple. Oh and there’s a mummified Elvis Presley. If anything I have written so far makes this seem fun I sincerely apologize. This movie is terrible. Apparently this was released theatrically but I find that claim really dubious. It looks like a made for TV movie but made specifically for YTV or Nickelodeon. Its based on a stage play and looks like it was shot as a three camera set up sitcom. It’s production values are just bottom of the barrel and the costuming is lazy as hell. The musical performances lack energy and when there’s no cinematography to complement it it just looks lazy as hell. There’s a reason why this movie is not part of the camp-horror pantheon. I did think Pickett was fine as Frankenstein but that’s about all that’s good about it. Avoid this movie like the plague! Watched (27): Brightburn, Tales from the Hood, Pet Semetary 2, Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer, One Cut of the Dead, Leatherface (1990), Summer of 84, Viy, Mandy, In the Tall Grass, Street Trash, See No Evil, Haunt, Idle Hands, Horror Noire, Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night 2, Doom Asylum, Eaten Alive, The Craft, The Wolfman (2010), 3 from hell, The Most Powerful Witch 1&2, Zombieland 2, Eli, Return of the Living Dead 3, Psycho (1998), Monster Mash: The Movie Samhain Challenges: 1. The Best Month - Viy 2. Dead and Buried - 3 from Hell 3. Horror Noire - Horror Noire 4. Inktober (legend) - The Wolfman (2010) 5. Tourist Trap - The Most Powerful Witch 1&2 6. Sometimes they come back - Psycho (1998) 7. Monster Mash - Monster Mash: The Movie [/quote]
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Oct 22, 2019 03:52
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Ghostbusters 2 can be used for the holiday challenge.
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Oct 22, 2019 18:41
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Friends Are Evil posted:
I don’t think many people have seen Neon Maniacs but I have, and I’ll vouch for you on this. Although they’re all humanoid it’s like a team of unique, evil action figures.
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Oct 24, 2019 03:15
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Ambitious Spider posted:Aight hit me up with a wild card. Shudder Netflix Hulu tubi and criterion are at my disposal I’m going to assume you have YouTube as well, so here’s Pin: https://youtu.be/DMoeYWQmRuQ I would like a recommendation as well, preferably from YouTube. I also have shudder/prime/netflix but not everything may be available here. If you want to know what I’ve previously seen my Letterboxd is here: https://boxd.it/iduZ
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Oct 24, 2019 20:28
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Countdown 2019, Theatre Samhain Challenge: Hackers Finally, a movie about an evil app. The premise isn’t really that bad - it’s an app that tells you how long you have to live so it’s really not much different from the concept of The Ring. Unfortunately this movie doesn’t even come close to matching the scares or urgency of that movie. This movie is a hard PG-13 and leans heavy into the jump scares and not much else. The countdown clock is really inconsistent so it fails to build a sense of urgency. I was going to give it a pass but the plot resolution is stupid so I’m going thumbs down. Watched (29): Brightburn, Tales from the Hood, Pet Semetary 2, Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer, One Cut of the Dead, Leatherface (1990), Summer of 84, Viy, Mandy, In the Tall Grass, Street Trash, See No Evil, Haunt, Idle Hands, Horror Noire, Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night 2, Doom Asylum, Eaten Alive, The Craft, The Wolfman (2010), 3 from hell, The Most Powerful Witch 1&2, Zombieland 2, Eli, Return of the Living Dead 3, Psycho (1998), Monster Mash: The Movie, Evil Ed, Countdown Samhain Challenges: 1. The Best Month - Viy 2. Dead and Buried - 3 from Hell 3. Horror Noire - Horror Noire 4. Inktober (legend) - The Wolfman (2010) 5. Tourist Trap - The Most Powerful Witch 1&2 6. Sometimes they come back - Psycho (1998) 7. Monster Mash - Monster Mash: The Movie 8. Happy Holidays! - 9. Hackers - Countdown 10. Navel Gazing - Evil Ed 11. All Hail the King - 12. Cavalcade of Creepiness - 13. Maniac - CopywrightMMXI fucked around with this message at 21:44 on Oct 26, 2019 |
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Oct 26, 2019 17:54
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Hocus Pocus 1993, DVD Samhain Challenge: Maniac This is somewhat of a guilty pleasure for me. It’s one I had never really cared for but my wife loved, so she has made me watch it each year for the past few years. My indifference to it has changed and I now look forward to our viewings. It’s a very “Disney” movie so everything in terms of set design is idyllic and nothing ever gets too scary. It has a good amount of humour and fun characters though, and Bette Midler hams it up. This is definitely worth watching, and probably a good intro to halloween/horror movies for young kids. Since this is a rewatch I’m not counting it towards my overall goal of at least 31 first time viewings. Prom Night (2008, Amazon Prime Canada[/i)) Samhain Challenge - Happy Holidays!This is less of a remake and more of an original screenplay capitalizing on the fame of its predecessor. This time around a former teacher is stalking a student he was obsessed with at her prom. This is endless jump scares. It does that thing where someone is in the mirror but not there when a character turns around at least twice. The characters are all underdeveloped, even by horror standards, so it’s impossible to care when someone dies. It has some terrible acting so, with the notable exception of Idris Elba. It also shys away from showing any gore. This is a lame movie and should be avoided. Watched (30): Brightburn, Tales from the Hood, Pet Semetary 2, Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer, One Cut of the Dead, Leatherface (1990), Summer of 84, Viy, Mandy, In the Tall Grass, Street Trash, See No Evil, Haunt, Idle Hands, Horror Noire, Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night 2, Doom Asylum, Eaten Alive, The Craft, The Wolfman (2010), 3 from hell, The Most Powerful Witch 1&2, Zombieland 2, Eli, Return of the Living Dead 3, Psycho (1998), Monster Mash: The Movie, Evil Ed, Countdown, Prom Night (2008) Samhain Challenges: 1. The Best Month - Viy 2. Dead and Buried - 3 from Hell 3. Horror Noire - Horror Noire 4. Inktober (legend) - The Wolfman (2010) 5. Tourist Trap - The Most Powerful Witch 1&2 6. Sometimes they come back - Psycho (1998) 7. Monster Mash - Monster Mash: The Movie 8. Happy Holidays! - Prom Night (2008) 9. Hackers - Countdown 10. Navel Gazing - Evil Ed 11. All Hail the King - 12. Cavalcade of Creepiness - 13. Maniac - Hocus Pocus
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Oct 28, 2019 00:20
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The Dead Zone (1983, amazon prime Samhain challenge: All Hail the King My original plan was to watch Salem’s Lot with my wife but we didn’t have time to watch anything that long together. So I went through what was available on Prime and settled on this. I was pleasantly surprised by this. I had not read the novel so I really didn’t know what to expect, but it’s about a guy who awakens from a coma with psychic powers and he learns that a rising politician will be the next hitler. I had no clue that David Cronenberg directed this either so that was another big plus. He doesn’t get into his trademark body horror but he does have a good understanding of King’s work and characters. I recommend this movie. The Willies (1990, youtube) Samhain challenge - cavalcade of horror I was going to watch Body Bags but everyone’s watched Body Bags. I wanted something more obscure and came across this anthology. The framing device is 3 kids telling scary stories/urban legends to each other. It starts out with quick vignettes and I was hoping the movie would stick with that but instead it has two longer segments. The first is about a monster in the school bathroom and the second is about a loner child obsessed with flies. Neither story is particularly great, but there is some okayish special effects. I do like the energy the kids have in this too, the dialogue felt very authentic for how kids would have talked back then. Overall it’s a pretty average -> below average movie so I don’t think I’d recommend it but it’s not a complete waste of time. And with that I’ve hit my target and all the Samhain challenges. My next few nights will be busy but I hope to get at least one more in before Halloween. Watched (32): Brightburn, Tales from the Hood, Pet Semetary 2, Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer, One Cut of the Dead, Leatherface (1990), Summer of 84, Viy, Mandy, In the Tall Grass, Street Trash, See No Evil, Haunt, Idle Hands, Horror Noire, Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night 2, Doom Asylum, Eaten Alive, The Craft, The Wolfman (2010), 3 from hell, The Most Powerful Witch 1&2, Zombieland 2, Eli, Return of the Living Dead 3, Psycho (1998), Monster Mash: The Movie, Evil Ed, Countdown, Prom Night (2008), The Dead Zone, The Willies Samhain Challenges: 1. The Best Month - Viy 2. Dead and Buried - 3 from Hell 3. Horror Noire - Horror Noire 4. Inktober (legend) - The Wolfman (2010) 5. Tourist Trap - The Most Powerful Witch 1&2 6. Sometimes they come back - Psycho (1998) 7. Monster Mash - Monster Mash: The Movie 8. Happy Holidays! - Prom Night (2008) 9. Hackers - Countdown 10. Navel Gazing - Evil Ed 11. All Hail the King - The Dead Zone 12. Cavalcade of Creepiness - The Willies 13. Maniac - Hocus Pocus
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Oct 28, 2019 04:24
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Assimilate (2019, Netflix) This is a body snatchers movie for the social media age. It starts out promising and looks like itll be semi found-footage/mic lime tart style but it turns into standard Netflix house-style direction pretty quickly. There’s a good story in here but it looks like it belongs on the CW. Watched (33): Brightburn, Tales from the Hood, Pet Semetary 2, Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer, One Cut of the Dead, Leatherface (1990), Summer of 84, Viy, Mandy, In the Tall Grass, Street Trash, See No Evil, Haunt, Idle Hands, Horror Noire, Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night 2, Doom Asylum, Eaten Alive, The Craft, The Wolfman (2010), 3 from hell, The Most Powerful Witch 1&2, Zombieland 2, Eli, Return of the Living Dead 3, Psycho (1998), Monster Mash: The Movie, Evil Ed, Countdown, Prom Night (2008), The Dead Zone, The Willies, Assimilate Samhain Challenges: 1. The Best Month - Viy 2. Dead and Buried - 3 from Hell 3. Horror Noire - Horror Noire 4. Inktober (legend) - The Wolfman (2010) 5. Tourist Trap - The Most Powerful Witch 1&2 6. Sometimes they come back - Psycho (1998) 7. Monster Mash - Monster Mash: The Movie 8. Happy Holidays! - Prom Night (2008) 9. Hackers - Countdown 10. Navel Gazing - Evil Ed 11. All Hail the King - The Dead Zone 12. Cavalcade of Creepiness - The Willies 13. Maniac - Hocus Pocus
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Oct 31, 2019 04:38
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I didn’t watch anything new tonight, so it’s a total of 33 first time watches this year, which may be my personal best. My list is: Brightburn Tales from the Hood Pet Semetary 2 Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer One Cut of the Dead Leatherface (1990) Summer of 84 Viy Mandy In the Tall Grass Street Trash See No Evil Haunt Idle Hands Horror Noire Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night 2 Doom Asylum Eaten Alive The Craft The Wolfman (2010) 3 from hell The Most Powerful Witch 1&2 Zombieland 2 Eli Return of the Living Dead 3 Psycho (1998) Monster Mash: The Movie Evil Ed Countdown Prom Night (2008) The Dead Zone The Willies Assimilate I would have to say the best movie I saw was Henry:Portrait of a serial Killer. It’s so disturbing and well-made, but nothing I really want to rewatch anytime soon. The Best Surprise was Tales from the Hood. I always thought it was just some low budget anthology but it turned out to be really great. The Worst movie was the Monster Mash. I truly cannot express how poorly made this was. Had you said it was a rejected Full House episode I would’ve believed you. Overall I enjoyed most of what I saw this year, but there aren’t too many in eager to see again. I’ll be adding a few to my collection for sure, but most of these movies are one and done for me. I also want to thank Fran for running this and for everyone who contributed to the Samhain challenges. I managed to complete all of them and it was very difficult to meet some of these challenges. It really pushed me out of my comfort zone for a few choices as well.
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Nov 1, 2019 03:32
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