JohnnyCashFan
Well-Known Member
One of my wife's faves. On the agenda this weekend.
3rd Annual N&G 31 Days* of Halloween (2021)
- Thread starter LeeVing
- Start date
hype
Well-Known Member
Hell Night 1981
This is another 80's slasher I always meant to check out but never did until now. Extremely underwhelming and outside of the great atmosphere and location potential it was pretty awful. Midway through it was just a bunch of extremely uninteresting and boring college kids randomly talking and I was starting to check my phone and lose interest but I kept with it. Then the kills start happening and they're extremely pathetic as well. I really do not understand how this got an R rating? There's little to no swearing, no nudity, very limited on screen violence.. If someone told me this was a made for tv movie I would have absolutely believed it. I love plenty of even PG Horror movies but this one just had zero redeeming qualities imo. Not even Linda Blair being in the cast could make this one watchable.
Thir13en Ghosts (2001)
. I probably wont be watching this again but it was ok. 1/2
gaporter
Well-Known Member
I haven't posted in a couple of days but I've been watching!! Just need to get caught up on here
MOVIE #31
Halloween (1978)
I had to get this one in this season. One of the defining films of the Halloween holiday, it can also be credited with setting off the slasher trend of the 1980s. Because it has been often imitated, Halloween might not seem like a big deal to modern audiences, but it's influence on horror is undeniable. It introduced the world to Michael Myers, one of the most iconic antagonists in horror, as well as Laurie Strode, the prototype of the "final girl." The film is very straightforward, but effective in it's scares and atmosphere. A true classic!
Final rating:
MOVIE #31
Halloween (1978)
I had to get this one in this season. One of the defining films of the Halloween holiday, it can also be credited with setting off the slasher trend of the 1980s. Because it has been often imitated, Halloween might not seem like a big deal to modern audiences, but it's influence on horror is undeniable. It introduced the world to Michael Myers, one of the most iconic antagonists in horror, as well as Laurie Strode, the prototype of the "final girl." The film is very straightforward, but effective in it's scares and atmosphere. A true classic!
Final rating:
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Not really horror but watched
6. Roald Dahl's The Witches (2020 Robert Zemeckis version)
I thought it was pretty good - but I've never read the book nor have I see the 1990's adaptation so I have no frame of reference. It seems like a lot of people that don't like this one. A lot of CGI - but not really particularly bad CGI. I do plan on watching the 1990's adaptation too.
6. Roald Dahl's The Witches (2020 Robert Zemeckis version)
I thought it was pretty good - but I've never read the book nor have I see the 1990's adaptation so I have no frame of reference. It seems like a lot of people that don't like this one. A lot of CGI - but not really particularly bad CGI. I do plan on watching the 1990's adaptation too.
gaporter
Well-Known Member
The 90s version is on my list to try to watch sometime this season as wellNot really horror but watched
6. Roald Dahl's The Witches (2020 Robert Zemeckis version)
I thought it was pretty good - but I've never read the book nor have I see the 1990's adaptation so I have no frame of reference. It seems like a lot of people that don't like this one. A lot of CGI - but not really particularly bad CGI. I do plan on watching the 1990's adaptation too.
gaporter
Well-Known Member
MOVIE #32
Friday the 13th (1980)
Following in the footsteps of Halloween, Friday the 13th was one of the first of many films to utilize the slasher formula to great success. However, while this is an iconic movie, I have to say I don't really care for it. The movie's kills were shocking to audiences at the time, but are incredibly tame by today's standards, and unfortunately when that element is removed, the rest of the film isn't too terribly interesting. Parts of the film drag on and there's some sequences that are shot way too dark. The movie isn't devoid of good qualities though; there a moments where the panic-inducing atmosphere of being chased down by a killer really work here and the famous scene of Jason's corpse coming out of the water and attacking the last survivor in the canoe is quite memorable. However, as a whole, this movie strikes me as being just okay.
Final rating:
Friday the 13th (1980)
Following in the footsteps of Halloween, Friday the 13th was one of the first of many films to utilize the slasher formula to great success. However, while this is an iconic movie, I have to say I don't really care for it. The movie's kills were shocking to audiences at the time, but are incredibly tame by today's standards, and unfortunately when that element is removed, the rest of the film isn't too terribly interesting. Parts of the film drag on and there's some sequences that are shot way too dark. The movie isn't devoid of good qualities though; there a moments where the panic-inducing atmosphere of being chased down by a killer really work here and the famous scene of Jason's corpse coming out of the water and attacking the last survivor in the canoe is quite memorable. However, as a whole, this movie strikes me as being just okay.
Final rating:
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gaporter
Well-Known Member
MOVIE #33
Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981)
This movie, on the other hand, is actually pretty good. The characters are much more identifiable and the POV-style shots from the first film are refined here and used to better effect. It follows the formula set by the first film closely, but actually manages to execute it better, with better pacing and more engaging chase sequences. This is the first time we get to see the iconic Jason Vorhees in action and it's a solid introduction to the killer. Definitely an improvement over the first movie and overall an enjoyable slasher film.
Final rating:
Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981)
This movie, on the other hand, is actually pretty good. The characters are much more identifiable and the POV-style shots from the first film are refined here and used to better effect. It follows the formula set by the first film closely, but actually manages to execute it better, with better pacing and more engaging chase sequences. This is the first time we get to see the iconic Jason Vorhees in action and it's a solid introduction to the killer. Definitely an improvement over the first movie and overall an enjoyable slasher film.
Final rating:
7. Misery
I'm like 50% I've seen this before but it might be that I've seen clips from it. I thought it was really good - the casting was spot on. Kathy Bates plays the crazy fan very well. It was super suspenseful in the right places.
I'm like 50% I've seen this before but it might be that I've seen clips from it. I thought it was really good - the casting was spot on. Kathy Bates plays the crazy fan very well. It was super suspenseful in the right places.
Got busy on my days off playing Far Cry 6...so I didn't really watch much of anything this past weekend.
We'll see if I can get to some later in the week. I got a couple of my favorites in the mail...so no more DVD copies for those.
We'll see if I can get to some later in the week. I got a couple of my favorites in the mail...so no more DVD copies for those.
gaporter
Well-Known Member
MOVIE #34
Legend of the Werewolf (1975)
This is actually really good for a low-budget mid-70s werewolf movie. I was surprisingly invested in the story and liked a lot of the characters. The werewolf design is a simple one, but pretty decent for this kind of movie. Really, I was just impressed with how well put-together this movie was as a whole, since I didn't expect too much going in. It's directed by Freddie Francis, who is known for directing several Hammer films and later being the cinematographer for many David Lynch movies. His direction paired with an engaging story make this a very solid watch.
Final rating:
Legend of the Werewolf (1975)
This is actually really good for a low-budget mid-70s werewolf movie. I was surprisingly invested in the story and liked a lot of the characters. The werewolf design is a simple one, but pretty decent for this kind of movie. Really, I was just impressed with how well put-together this movie was as a whole, since I didn't expect too much going in. It's directed by Freddie Francis, who is known for directing several Hammer films and later being the cinematographer for many David Lynch movies. His direction paired with an engaging story make this a very solid watch.
Final rating:
gaporter
Well-Known Member
MOVIE #35
Elvira: Mistress of the Dark (1988)
This is a really fun movie to watch around Halloween. If you know who Elvira is, then you pretty much know what to expect from this already. Nothing in the movie is taken very seriously, the camp factor is turned all the way up and every other line is a sexual innuendo. That said, Cassandra Peterson is so likable in her iconic role that you can't help but get sucked into the movie, as ridiculous as it is. A very silly, but very entertaining film.
Final rating:
Elvira: Mistress of the Dark (1988)
This is a really fun movie to watch around Halloween. If you know who Elvira is, then you pretty much know what to expect from this already. Nothing in the movie is taken very seriously, the camp factor is turned all the way up and every other line is a sexual innuendo. That said, Cassandra Peterson is so likable in her iconic role that you can't help but get sucked into the movie, as ridiculous as it is. A very silly, but very entertaining film.
Final rating:
gaporter
Well-Known Member
MOVIE #36
Poltergeist (1982)
There have been a lot of haunted house movies over the years, but few can match the spooky aura of Poltergeist. Infamously, the movie is rated PG despite a lot of intense sequences, and Spielberg's name being slapped on it may lead some to think it's more family friendly fare, but it actually manages to be far scarier than a lot of R-rated films about the same subject. The special effects in this movie are unbelievable and there are just so many creepy things in the movie. The film's story is also very emotionally-charged, as it preys on parental fears as well as those a young child would have. The film is enough to disturb viewers of any age - obviously making it the perfect family horror movie!
Final rating:
Poltergeist (1982)
There have been a lot of haunted house movies over the years, but few can match the spooky aura of Poltergeist. Infamously, the movie is rated PG despite a lot of intense sequences, and Spielberg's name being slapped on it may lead some to think it's more family friendly fare, but it actually manages to be far scarier than a lot of R-rated films about the same subject. The special effects in this movie are unbelievable and there are just so many creepy things in the movie. The film's story is also very emotionally-charged, as it preys on parental fears as well as those a young child would have. The film is enough to disturb viewers of any age - obviously making it the perfect family horror movie!
Final rating:
gaporter
Well-Known Member
MOVIE #37
A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
Of the iconic slasher films, this might be my favorite. Much of the movie taking place during dreams allows the film to conjure up a lot of creative and creepy imagery, which it has plenty of. This is before a long line of sequels turned Freddy Krueger into a wisecracking joke; in this film, he is legitimately threatening and, quite literally, the stuff of nightmares. The mere concept of a killer that attacks you in your sleep is such a genius idea for a horror movie. While a lot of slasher movies have aged poorly with time, this one is still a very well-made and ingenious work of horror.
Final rating:
A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
Of the iconic slasher films, this might be my favorite. Much of the movie taking place during dreams allows the film to conjure up a lot of creative and creepy imagery, which it has plenty of. This is before a long line of sequels turned Freddy Krueger into a wisecracking joke; in this film, he is legitimately threatening and, quite literally, the stuff of nightmares. The mere concept of a killer that attacks you in your sleep is such a genius idea for a horror movie. While a lot of slasher movies have aged poorly with time, this one is still a very well-made and ingenious work of horror.
Final rating:
gaporter
Well-Known Member
MOVIE #38
The Fly (1986)
In my opinion, this is honestly just one of the best films ever made in any genre. There's not many movies I consider to be near-perfect but this is one of them. Everything about this movie just works; the acting, the special effects, the story, the music, all of it is incredible. Jeff Goldblum as Seth Brundle is one of my favorite performances; the character's transformation is seen in great detail and even through heavy make-up, Goldblum conveys a lot of emotion and plays the role perfectly. The film is both scary and tragic, as it plays on the fear of losing a loved one to some sort of disease that overtakes them physically and mentally. To see someone you care for succumb to an illness like that is very frightening and this movie takes the concept to its extreme. It's a masterpiece and I love it.
Final rating:
The Fly (1986)
In my opinion, this is honestly just one of the best films ever made in any genre. There's not many movies I consider to be near-perfect but this is one of them. Everything about this movie just works; the acting, the special effects, the story, the music, all of it is incredible. Jeff Goldblum as Seth Brundle is one of my favorite performances; the character's transformation is seen in great detail and even through heavy make-up, Goldblum conveys a lot of emotion and plays the role perfectly. The film is both scary and tragic, as it plays on the fear of losing a loved one to some sort of disease that overtakes them physically and mentally. To see someone you care for succumb to an illness like that is very frightening and this movie takes the concept to its extreme. It's a masterpiece and I love it.
Final rating:
gaporter
Well-Known Member
MOVIE #39
The Fly II (1989)
This is a pretty alright movie, though it obviously doesn't hold a candle to the first film. The main reason to watch this movie is for the effects; while they were just one of many highlights of the first movie, here they take center stage and uproot any kind of story the movie is telling by the end. Chris Walas, who worked on the effects for the first film, has been promoted to director, so it makes sense that this is more of a straightforward creature feature. The story as a whole is fairly interesting and at the very least makes sense for a continuation of the first movie, though any of the emotional complexity has been pretty thoroughly drained. The film tries to recapture the more romantic aspects of its predecessor but doesn't quite succeed. But that said, the effects are very well-done and do make it worth watching, if you have a stomach for the grotesque (seriously, this movie can be fucking disgusting).
Final rating:
The Fly II (1989)
This is a pretty alright movie, though it obviously doesn't hold a candle to the first film. The main reason to watch this movie is for the effects; while they were just one of many highlights of the first movie, here they take center stage and uproot any kind of story the movie is telling by the end. Chris Walas, who worked on the effects for the first film, has been promoted to director, so it makes sense that this is more of a straightforward creature feature. The story as a whole is fairly interesting and at the very least makes sense for a continuation of the first movie, though any of the emotional complexity has been pretty thoroughly drained. The film tries to recapture the more romantic aspects of its predecessor but doesn't quite succeed. But that said, the effects are very well-done and do make it worth watching, if you have a stomach for the grotesque (seriously, this movie can be fucking disgusting).
Final rating:
hype
Well-Known Member
As Above, So Below (2014)
It's been awhile since I seen this one but it's still as good as ever and I had forgotten quite a bit of the middle portion. There's a lot to dissect and really see especially if you know much about "Dante's Inferno" it will help make certain parts of the movie much more understood as there is some clear crossover but it's not mandatory. If you crank the sound up and just watch it, it gets legitimately creepy and kept me on the edge of my seat waiting what craziness was around the next corner for the entire second half of the movie.
I remember reading about the scene with a piano and the crew actually built a fully working piano themselves and took it down six stories of stairs and into the catacombs through a manhole instead of simply filming the scene in a look alike set. I don't see that kind of dedication to lower/middle range budget horror movies this era nearly as often as it happened in the past decades and there's plenty of other small details that was clearly very thought out (there's details before they even get in the cave that help explain certain scenes you would not expect so paying close attention from beginning to end really pays off for this one). I think the one thing that slightly brought it down for me was the unnecessary love story thrown in which got a bit corny at times but is more so a minor nit pick also the ending while not bad at all could have been better which I wont go into any further. One other thing I really loved is they did not go overboard with backstories of every character which I have seen many movies ruined and could have very easily done the same to this. There's like 2-3 things at least I was a bit confused about still and people caught them on reddit or a few youtube I watched.
8. Carnival of Souls
I enjoyed this one. On the surface it's a pretty simple movie and almost feels like an extended twilight zone episode. But the one thing it does really well is the atmosphere. It almost feels dreamlike - like you're in a nightmare. I kind of like that whats happening in the movie is not fully explained.
I enjoyed this one. On the surface it's a pretty simple movie and almost feels like an extended twilight zone episode. But the one thing it does really well is the atmosphere. It almost feels dreamlike - like you're in a nightmare. I kind of like that whats happening in the movie is not fully explained.
Most of the movie, I assumed that she was stewing and living in nightmare because of the guilt she felt from being the sole survivor of the crash. But the end scene makes me think that she never survived and what she's experiencing is the in between of life and death - she's dying and trying to escape her fate with her mind
9. Final Destination 2
It wasn't very good. It feels like it took the main idea from the original and just brought a new cast of people that they didn't bother developing. It starts out ok but the ending really doesn't make sense - it feels like they were just making up rules as they went along towards the end.
It wasn't very good. It feels like it took the main idea from the original and just brought a new cast of people that they didn't bother developing. It starts out ok but the ending really doesn't make sense - it feels like they were just making up rules as they went along towards the end.
gaporter
Well-Known Member
MOVIE #40
Halloween (2007)
I'd only seen this once a couple of years ago and didn't like it very much. But after watching the original, I felt like giving it a second chance with an open mind and I have to say I did enjoy it much more this time. It's far from a perfect movie, but it really comes down to if you can admire Rob Zombie's signature style. He has no qualms about writing characters with absolutely zero charisma or likable traits to speak of, the dialogue is exceptionally vulgar and the violence is sadistic and cruel. So basically, it's what you expect from a Rob Zombie film. But the part of the film I find to be actually interesting is the part many fans of the Halloween franchise consider sacrilege - the fact that the movie shows us the backstory of Michael Myers. I get that for many people (including John Carpenter, apparently) this completely betrays the idea of the character, but I'll defend it because it's at least something different. I respect that Zombie attempted to do something new with the character and seeing the origin of Michael Myers is by far the most intriguing part of the film. However, once it starts being a retelling of the original Halloween, it mostly becomes just an okay slasher film and isn't nearly as engaging as the first half of the movie. Not only that, but the ending drags on too long. Really, it's a mixed bag of a movie. I can appreciate parts of it, but as a whole, it isn't Zombie's best work.
Final rating:
Halloween (2007)
I'd only seen this once a couple of years ago and didn't like it very much. But after watching the original, I felt like giving it a second chance with an open mind and I have to say I did enjoy it much more this time. It's far from a perfect movie, but it really comes down to if you can admire Rob Zombie's signature style. He has no qualms about writing characters with absolutely zero charisma or likable traits to speak of, the dialogue is exceptionally vulgar and the violence is sadistic and cruel. So basically, it's what you expect from a Rob Zombie film. But the part of the film I find to be actually interesting is the part many fans of the Halloween franchise consider sacrilege - the fact that the movie shows us the backstory of Michael Myers. I get that for many people (including John Carpenter, apparently) this completely betrays the idea of the character, but I'll defend it because it's at least something different. I respect that Zombie attempted to do something new with the character and seeing the origin of Michael Myers is by far the most intriguing part of the film. However, once it starts being a retelling of the original Halloween, it mostly becomes just an okay slasher film and isn't nearly as engaging as the first half of the movie. Not only that, but the ending drags on too long. Really, it's a mixed bag of a movie. I can appreciate parts of it, but as a whole, it isn't Zombie's best work.
Final rating:
hype
Well-Known Member
Fright Night (1985)
I feel like this was a very much needed self aware of the over saturation of copy cat slashers of the time almost like an 80's version of Scream in that regard. It called that out along with some Vampire tropes while also just making a really fun movie that stood out from the pack. It was also nice seeing the Vampires having much of the best powers and limitations from past movies, they didn't try to re-create anything but found a great sweet spot imo. It's def. not perfect but I feel it aged pretty well and is still enjoyable from the opening sequence to the credits.
TerrorVision (1986)
Hey you guysssss!
I watched this right after Fright Night and it ended up being a perfect double feature! This one is just blatantly bat shit crazy and I love every minute of it especially since it had been quite awhile since I last seen it. The acting is mostly pretty bad but it doesn't stop it from being ridiculously fun. There are some legitimately hilarious scenes like the brother and sister walking in the room to see "everyone" in the bed to Uncle Rico calling the monster a Metal lover. I never really realized when watching this as my younger self how weird and awkward it is to have a young son walking around with a rifle in a house with parents getting pissed off at him for not going to bed because they're swingers and have a couple over ready to... swing. Then they have a sex room and kinky, bdsm art all over the place
. It's the 80's though and this movie embodies the decade beautifully with the well done practical effects for a low budget movie and just pure craziness. Perfect movie to throw on at 2-3am when you can't decide what to watch. 1/2