|
My October ended up not going nearly as I had planned and I'm rather disappointed. But, I did hit my goal. 28. Lake Mungo Watched on DVD. Fran Challenge: The World Is A Scary Place 29. Winterbeast Watched on Scream Stream 30. Puppet Master Watched on Scream Stream 31. Night Of The Demons 2 Watched on Scream Stream I went a few over but I'm not too worried since they weren't part of my initial bid.
|
#
?
Nov 1, 2018 14:42
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 30, 2024 16:12 |
|
|
Basebf555, I hope you don't wait for May to watch The Lure. I'm so happy that so many people watched and loved The Lure!
|
|
#
?
Nov 1, 2018 14:46
|
|
|
Franchescanado posted:
31. V/H/S 2 (2013)  In before it's too late! And what movie could be better for this challenge than essentially a found footage anthology? Some PIs break into a house while looking for a missing person and watch his tapes to learn what happened while watching a lot of messed up stuff. Giant boobs on screen within the first minute so it gets points early on for this at least. The framing device with the detectives is a pretty good idea though I didn't think it added that much in the end. Each of the tapes they watch preset a different story with its own excuse for the footage - a bionic eye recorded for diagnostics, a gopro on a bicyclist's helmet, etc. As is often the case though some of the segments are way better than others, and you just end up wishing they focused on the good parts. The bionic eye one had potential but turned out to be kind of a dud ghost thing, zombie POV one was a bit more fun, though the third tape was probably the best of them. This still didn't convince me that giving up all that control over cinematography, lighting and other aspects of filmmaking is worth it for the few gimmicks, but I think they made the most of the concept they could and it's all right as a result.  /5
|
|
#
?
Nov 1, 2018 14:49
|
|
|
Franchescanado posted:Basebf555, I hope you don't wait for May to watch The Lure. Really the only reason I didn't watch it is because I got so close to Halloween and still had a few challenges left to do, I went with Tales of Halloween because it was at least Halloween themed. Definitely watching The Lure in the next week or so.
|
|
#
?
Nov 1, 2018 14:51
|
|
|
Basebf555 posted:Really the only reason I didn't watch it is because I got so close to Halloween and still had a few challenges left to do, I went with Tales of Halloween because it was at least Halloween themed. Yeah, that's what I assumed. I just remember you mentioning musicals being low on your priorities (which is the same for me) and wouldn't want you to sleep on it another 6 months.
|
|
#
?
Nov 1, 2018 14:56
|
|
|
Maxwell Lord posted:Most Pleasant Surprise: The Sadist. Seriously check this out, it's actually really tense and I'm surprised I hadn't heard of it before. Runner-up goes to Phenomena / Creepers, which I had heard some things about but not enough to prepare me for the reality. Is this the 2015 Sadist and one that came out in 1963?
|
|
#
?
Nov 1, 2018 15:36
|
|
|
 66. Frankenstein (1931) It's quite amazing how well this film holds up after countless references, parodies and spoilers. This was my first time watching Frankenstein but the most popular scenes had seeped into my consciousness somehow. Despite that it was still a powerful film. Frankenstein's Monster manages to be both creepy and probably the most sypathetic "monster" I have ever witnessed. The films overall aesthetic and atmosphere is also top notch and sets the mood for the events of the film extremely well. I've been really happy with the couple Universal horror films I have checked out and I can't wait to watch more of them in the future. Franchescanado posted:
 67. Blade II (2002) Both the Blade movies meant quite a bit to me when I was younger. My love was so strong that I convinced my parents to let me name the family dog "Blade," which I thought was a super cool name for a doberman. The first film is great, but I think that I ended up watching this one quite a bit more. I really enjoy the Bloodpack and all its stupid characters. As a kid I had all their names and specialties memorized, and really wished some of them had more screen time. It was cool to me that there was a new threat, the reapers, that meant Blade and the vampires had to come together. Plus the design of the reapers is pretty cool, like a disgusting Nosferatu with a facehugger for a jaw. Blade II isn't revolutionary or anything but it's such a great combination creatures, gore, combat and snarky lines that I still love it. There was a small discussion about whether it would work as Del Toro's worst, but I've definitely heard that from people and I wanted to watch it. Franchescanado posted:
 68. Project Metalbeast (1995) I guess I forgot to post this sick Metalbeast writeup, bummer. A cool premise that should have made for a wonderfully stupid fun movie is ruined by absolutely terrible pacing. It was just so boring that even the somewhat fun moments had little effect on my mood because I was so annoyed at all the garbage I had to sit through to get to those moments. Definitely not a fan of this one, not recommended. I think that's all of Fran's Challenges. 
|
|
#
?
Nov 1, 2018 15:49
|
|
|
drat this thread has been on FIRE the last 24 hours.
|
|
#
?
Nov 1, 2018 15:52
|
|
|
CRAYON posted:I've been really happy with the couple Universal horror films I have checked out and I can't wait to watch more of them in the future. I highly recommend the Frankenstein Legacy Collection blu-ray set, it's around $20 and contains 8 films, all of which are good to great in my opinion.
|
|
#
?
Nov 1, 2018 15:57
|
|
|
Franchescanado posted:We're gonna do this last one a little early, since this weekend might be everyone's Halloween celebration. 32. Murder Party (2007) Watched On: Netflix This was the perfect movie to take the bad taste of V/H/S out of my mouth and a fitting end to this October experiment. I loved Green Room and very much wanted to see what Saulnier's first movie was like. Unlike the comparatively realistic shittiness of most of V/H/S's characters, the would-be murderers in Murder Party are all pretty cartoonish and fun in their terribleness. But there's also a deep vein of hatred for the pretentiousness of the art world that grounds it. I went to college with people like Lexi, Paul and Alexander and it was immensely satisfying to see the walls of self-built mythology come crumbling down over the course of the night. Special recognition has to go to Macon Blair, for giving the most emotional performance in a film full of insanity. I definitely want to check out Blue Ruin now. ------------ Holy poo poo, I kind of can't believe I pulled this off. I tried my best with the Fran Challenges, but since I'm a relative horror novice, there were a couple I couldn't swing without spending money. I'll try and meet those as soon as they're announced next time so I don't feel like I'm rushing. So here's my list: 1. Hellraiser (1987) 2. Hellraiser 2 (1988) 3. He Never Died (2015) 4. The Void (2016) 5. Friday the 13th (2009) 6. My Bloody Valentine (2009) 7. Scream 2 (1997) 8. Scream 4 (2011) 9. Nightmares in Red, White and Blue (2007) 10. Resolution (2012) 11. Garth Marenghi's Darkplace (2004) 12. The Last Shift (2014) 13. The Seventh Curse (1986) 14. Magic Cop (1990) 15. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1973) 16. Halloween (1978) 17. Ghost Stories (2017) 18. Trick r' Treat (2007) 19. Sinister (2012) FRAN CHALLENGE #3: Hometown Horror 20. Upgrade (2018) 21. Rigor Mortis (2013) FRAN CHALLENGE #8: Once In A Lifetime 22. Night of the Demons (1988) 23. Nightmare on Elm Street 3: The Dream Warriors (1987) FRAN CHALLENGE #5: Birth of Horror 24. Opera (1987) FRAN CHALLENGE #7: The World Is A Scary Place 25. The Beyond (1981) FRAN CHALLENGE #6: Video Nasties 26. The Prowler (1981) FRAN CHALLENGE #9: Stranger Danger 27. Slumber Party Massacre (1982) 28. Evil Dead (2013) 29. Nightbreed (1990) FRAN CHALLENGE #2: Queer Horror 30. Tales of Halloween (2015) FRAN CHALLENGE #12: (Self-Described) Masters of Horror 31. V/H/S (2012) 32. Murder Party (2007) FRAN CHALLENGE #13: What We've All Been Waiting For Challenges Met: 9/13
|
|
#
?
Nov 1, 2018 16:02
|
|
|
gey muckle mowser posted:I highly recommend the Frankenstein Legacy Collection blu-ray set, it's around $20 and contains 8 films, all of which are good to great in my opinion. I actually just picked up the Universal 30-film Collection when it went on sale for $70, but it was too late to incorporate many into the challenge. If I would have gotten it earlier in the month my challenge would have probably looked a lot different.
|
|
#
?
Nov 1, 2018 16:07
|
|
|
CRAYON posted:I actually just picked up the Universal 30-film Collection when it went on sale for $70, but it was too late to incorporate many into the challenge. If I would have gotten it earlier in the month my challenge would have probably looked a lot different. Link to this, please?
|
|
#
?
Nov 1, 2018 16:10
|
|
|
Franchescanado posted:Link to this, please? Sorry, by just I meant like last week.  It's back up to full price.
|
|
#
?
Nov 1, 2018 16:12
|
|
|
I have the basic Universal Monsters set that has just what we'd normally consider the initial run of monster movies(Wolfman, Frankenstein, Bride, Invisible Man, etc.), so instead of going for the big comprehensive set I've been pretty happy with the Dracula Legacy Collection Blu Ray. I think the advantage of going for the Dracula set over the Frankenstein set(assuming you already own Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein) is that you get Dracula's Daughter. Plus, you still have House of Frankenstein and Abbot & Costello Meet Frankenstein in that set, so really I think it's overall the better set if you put aside the greatness of the two original Frankenstein films.
|
|
#
?
Nov 1, 2018 16:15
|
|
|
So that's a wrap for me. I watched 36 movies and completed all 13 Fran Challenges. Here's the list of what I watched (with ratings): 1. The Blob (4.5) 2. Mandy (5) 3. The Hands of Orloc (4) 4. Your Vice is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key (4.5) 5. Fright Night (3) 6. Black Magic Part II (4) 7. Body Melt (3.5) 8. Suspiria (5) 9. The Old Dark House (4.5) 10. The Nude Vampire (3.5) 11. The Thing From Another World (3) 12. Phantasm (4) (Fran Challenge 1) 13. Basket Case 2 (3) (Fran Challenge 2) 14. Murders in the Rue Morgue (2) 15. The Tenant (5) 16. The Howling (3) 17. Calvaire (3.5) 18. Hereditary (5) 19. Nothing Left to Fear (1) (Fran Challenge 3) 20. The Black Cat (4) 21. The Killing of a Sacred Deer (4.5) 22. The Hills Have Eyes Part II (0.5) (Fran Challenge 4) 23. Cannibal Holocaust (3) (Fran Challenge 6) 24. Apostle (2) 25. Christine (3.5) (Fran Challenge 5) 26. Winterbeast (4) (Fran Challenge 8) 27. Terrified (3) (Fran Challenge 7) 28. Halloween 2018 (4) 29. Revenge (1.5) (Fran Challenge 10) 30. The Witch in the Window (3.5) 31. The Bloodstained Shadow (3) 32. Zombie (4.5) (Fran Challenge 11) 33. The Gate (3.5) (Fran Challenge 9) 34. Zombie Holocaust (3) (Fran Challenge 12) 35. Night of the Demons (4) (Fran Challenge 13) 36. The Mountain of the Cannibal God (2) And some stats: Countries: USA (20) | Italy (7) | France (3) | Argentina (1) | Hong Kong (1) | Germany (1) | Belgium (1) | Australia (1) | Canada (1) Decades: 1920s (1) | 1930s (3) | 1950s (1) | 1970s (9) | 1980s (9) | 1990s (3) | 2000s (1) | 2010s (9) Ratings: 0.5 (1) | 1 (1) | 1.5 (1) | 2 (3) | 2.5 (0) | 3 (8) | 3.5 (6) | 4 (7) | 4.5 (5) | 5 (4) So 30 out of the 36 are films that I would recommend. Only six stinkers in the whole lot. Not bad at all.
|
|
#
?
Nov 1, 2018 16:30
|
|
|
My wrapup post for the year... My Full Reviews 1. Mandy - 4.5/5 2. Thelma - 4/5 3. The Midnight Swim - 3.5/5 4. Halloween (1978) - 3/5 (Fran Challenge #1) 5. Halloween II (1981) - 3.5/5 6. The First Purge - 4.5/5 7. Hell House LLC II: The Abbadon Hotel - 1.5/5 8. House of 1000 Corpses - 4.5/5 9. mother! - 3.5/5 10. The Devil's Rejects - 4.5/5 11. The Hills Have Eyes (1977) - 1/5 12. 31 - 1.5/5 13. Hold the Dark - 4/5 14. Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum - 4/5 15. Beetlejuice - 4.5/5 (Fran Challenge #3) 16. Re-Animator - 3.5/5 17. The Lost Boys - 3.5/5 (Fran Challenge #4) 18. A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge - 3.5/5 (Fran Challenge #2) 19. Downrange - 3.5/5 20. Friday the 13th Part III - 1.5/5 21. Dark Waters - 4/5 (Fran Challenge #5) 22. Scream 2 - 3/5 23. Return of the Living Dead - 5/5 24. The Beyond - 2.5/5 (Fran Challenge #6) 25. The Noonday Witch - 3/5 26. Unfriended: Dark Web - 3.5/5 27. Insidious: The Last Key - 2/5 28. Night of the Demon (1957) - 3.5/5 29. Evil Dead II - 4.5/5 30. Blind Sun - 3.5/5 31. A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors - 4/5 32. Army of Darkness - 5/5 33. Pyewacket - 3/5 34. The Addiction - 4.5/5 35. Apostle - 3.5/5 36. Halloween (2007) - 4/5 37. Halloween II (2009) - 5/5 38. Audition - 2/5 (Fran Challenge #7) 39. ParaNorman - 3/5 (Fran Challenge #9) 40. Carnival of Souls (1962) - 3.5/5 (Fran Challenge #8) 41. The Haunting of Hill House - 1.5/5 42. Excision - 3/5 43. Halloween (2018) - 4/5 (Fran Challenge #10) 44. Happy Death Day - 3.5/5 45. The Blob (1988) - 3/5 46. Cure - 4.5/5 47. Night of the Demons 2 - 4/5 48. Winterbeast - 4/5 49. Phenomena - 4.5/5 (Fran Challenge #12) 50. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 - 5/5 (Fran Challenge #11) 51. Scarab - 2/5 52. Street Trash - 3.5/5 53. Candyman - 5/5 54. Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers - 3/5 (Fran Challenge #13) 55. Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers - 1.5/5 56. Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers (Producer's Cut) - 1/5 57. Halloween H20: 20 Years Later - .5/5 58. Halloween: Resurrection - 2/5 59. Night of the Living Dead - 4/5 60. Dawn of the Dead (Theatrical Cut) - 4.5/5 61. Day of the Dead - 5/5 62. Zombi 2 - 4/5 what is wrong with me. Special Awards "Favorite Movie" - Halloween II (2009). The first slasher I've seen with deaths that actually saddened me. There's a beautiful empathy to this movie you wouldn't expect, given it's a Rob Zombie bloodbath. "Best Movie" - Return of the Living Dead. Perfect in every way. "The Median" - Pyewacket. Good and enjoyable, but sits perfectly in the middle of the pack. Probably not something I'd actively recommend or ever revisit. "Worst Movie" - Trouble Every Day. I caught the hype for Denis' new movie and I'd never seen any of her work, so I was excited to check out this vampire film. It's one of the most boring things I have ever attempted to watch. There's nothing going on here. "Why did I watch this?" - The Haunting of Hill House. I hated episode 1 and was guilted into watching more by a friend who loved it. Boy was I vindicated. "Best Movie for Someone Other than Me" - The Beyond. I did enjoy it, just not as much as I'd hoped to. Others seem to adore it, but there's some disconnect for me I can't quite place. "Biggest Surprise" - Phenomena, holy poo poo. That ending is unbelievable in a movie that's already crazy as poo poo. "Cheesiest Fun" - WINTERBEAST. Anyone who missed this on Scream Stream is a fool. "Best Sequel" - Evil Dead 2. Technically it should be Halloween II (2009) but I already gave that an award. To my shame I had never seen Evil Dead 2 or Army of Darkness before, but that's fixed now.
|
|
#
?
Nov 1, 2018 16:44
|
|
|
Fit in a couple more last night, surprising myself, so I guess I've got a couple of last reviews to make. #50. Trick 'r Treat (2007) (Vudu) -  /5An anthology film about a bunch of spooky goings-on on Halloween night - the principal is a serial killer and also dresses like a vampire for some reason, the girl in the "Little Red Riding Hood" outfit is a werewolf, some kids tell a spooky story about drowned kids and then get attacked by their ghosts, and an old man gets attacked by a little pumpkin monster who just wants candy. A pretty decent anthology film, even if those aren't my bag, personally. Some of the stories hit harder than others do - it still doesn't make sense that the serial killer principal is also moonlighting as a fake vampire, since that seems to be too many different character beats for the one guy. (though I do understand the desire to use Dylan Baker when you get him) - and I don't like the decision to cut the "kids collect jack o' lanterns for the kids drowned in a school bus story in half to wrap around the end of the "Anna Paquin is secretly a virgin werewolf" story beat. That's pretty much the nature of anthology films, though, I guess, since once bad segment or bad editing decision can bring things crashing down. I'm also only indifferent to Sam as a character, since he's too much of a weird cross between Chucky and that one weird "Newborn" alien from Alien Resurrection for my taste. Still, the opening and ending segments are pretty fun, and the whole thing looks fantastic. I just wish the middle segments didn't feel so weak.  #51. Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (Starz) - /5Larry Talbot, the Wolf Man, gets accidentally resurrected several years after his death at the end of his last film, still cursed to change into a werewolf and kill people when the moon is full. Looking to die to rid himself of his curse, he seeks out the help of Dr. Frankenstein, only to find his Monster instead. It all leads up to a disappointing Wolf Man/Frankenstein's Monster throwdown. So, I'd watched a "Wolf Man" movie and a "Vs." movie, so it made sense to watch a "Wolf Man vs." movie as well, so it's a shame this movie barely meets that criteria. The promised battle doesn't happen until the final two minutes of the movie, and barely qualifies for anything, either, before the whole thing just gets literally swept aside for the end credits. Lon Chaney Jr. is still fine as Larry Talbot, even if they pitch him as only able to play variations on "glum and disheartened" and "fevered hysteria" the whole movie. Bela Lugosi is wasted as the Monster, and they unfortunately cut out the section that talks about how the Monster is blind now following the brain implant from Ghost of Frankenstein, so that whole important character beat gets lost. That reduces Lugosi's blind fumbling here to reading as the stereotypical ridiculous "Frankenstein Walk," his one unfortunate contribution to the Frankenstein iconography. It's less a true "meeting of the monsters" movie, so much as it is a Wolf Man movie "with special guest appearance by Frankenstein!" Which could be okay, if Frankie didn't get top billing on a movie he's barely in. As it is, this movie isn't really worth seeking out for fans of either character. Not recommended.
|
|
#
?
Nov 1, 2018 16:52
|
|
|
Pulled an all-nighter and got myself to 31.Franchescanado posted:
#27 / 31 - Masters of Horror: Homecoming (2005) Well this was... an odd viewing experience and not a very pleasant one! I was expecting political satire that hadn't exactly aged well. That was... not what I got. What I got was exaggerated satire of 2004 that is essentially the most brutally honest possible depiction of the past couple years. It's less about the zombies, and more about complete cynical fucksticks ripping the country apart for money, with the zombies existing solely to give the viewer some kind of catharsis. It's not ineffective, but I didn't enjoy watching it and it wasn't really appropriate Halloween viewing; it felt more like something to watch to make myself angry than something to watch to thrill myself. I mean, it tries to make the viewer horny for an Ann Coulter stand-in, that's a crime against humanity in and of itself. Also, watching this after The Ring was a fun experience because it just proves my point about how poo poo most 2000s movies look. DV was just not good. Franchescanado posted:
#28 / 31 - The Blair Witch Project (1999) So this was a surprise: I totally loving forgot this was set in 1994. It's still as effective as ever, despite being a movie in which very little actually happens. It's almost the anti-Paranormal Activity; whereas PA spends most of its runtime making me loving hate Katie and Micah, to the point where the theatrical ending just makes me laugh my rear end off, Blair Witch Project actually makes its characters likable and relatable. You feel their fear when they start to realize how bad their situation is, rather than them just coming off like idiot ghost-hunter Youtubers. This movie is everything good that found-footage can be, condensed into an incredibly tight package. Franchescanado posted:
#29 / 31 - The Evil Dead (1981) Yeah, yeah, I'm uncreative. I know. The list of Video Nasties that are fun, light viewing, however, is pretty goddamned short, and not only is this a fun watch, it's one of those movies that's almost like comfort food to me because I've seen it so many times. (I could have, in theory, used Blood Feast, but I did that one for Dead and Buried. Womp womp.) The biggest thing that always gets me about this movie is how utterly unlike the rest of the series it is. Ash is almost a completely different character; rather than the buffoonish badass he is in 2 and Army of Darkness, he's just a regular-rear end dude in this who only survives by pretty much pure chance. Young Bruce Campbell also looks pretty hilarious- that chin would take some time yet to grow in. There's almost no comedic bent to the gore; the character interactions are a little funny, but the violence in the movie is absolutely brutal, with the pencil in the ankle coming as a particular highlight that most people don't mention. It's not really a shock that this is still NC-17 in the US today, and that's... actually something I can't say for a large chunk of the VN list. To be fair, they don't mention this because this is a movie in which a woman gets raped by foliage. In fact, that's actually one of the first scary bits to happen. I don't really like it, but it's... not as awful as it could be, I guess? Being a horror fan has exposed me to a loving lot of movies that just kind of play sexual violence casually, and it's one of my most absolutely hated tropes in the genre ordinarily, but I feel like Evil Dead makes it relatively tolerable by making the situation as absurd and as far removed from anyone's actual experiences as possible. I'm pretty sure nobody in reality has ever been consensually hosed by a tree, let alone raped by one. Jesus Christ please let this be the most words I ever write about the forest committing sexual violence against people, I need sleep. #30 / 31 - Evil Dead II: Dead By Dawn I mean you've gotta watch ED2 after the first one. This is a movie that I'm pretty sure I can't speak objectively about, because it might be one of my favorite movies of all time and has been for easily... holy poo poo, it's been 11 years since I first saw this as a middle schooler.  This is seriously a perfect movie, though. The pacing is absolutely perfect, the effects still hold up amazingly well, the Bruce Campbell factor is finally at maximum. I really don't know what insights I can possibly add here, except that I think the "it's a remake" thing is at least partially bullshit. Ghostbusters 2 isn't a remake of Ghostbusters, so I don't think I can in good conscience say that this is a remake of the original ED... though that's sort of an unfair comparison, since only the plot beats are really retreaded (there's even a scene early on where a woman gets bisected by a sentient tree!) and the style and tone are almost entirely different. Actually, you know what? I do have something to say. Evil Dead and Evil Dead 2 are remarkably relevant to the whole discussion on Marvel and DC's tonal issues, bizarrely enough. They are a shining, perfect example of how the same material can look and feel two completely different ways depending on how it's played by a movie; Evil Dead and Evil Dead 2 are both very very very violent movies, but Evil Dead 2's tone is light and comedic, whereas the original Evil Dead positions itself as "the ultimate experience in grueling terror" and has only become not so for many of us due to familiarity. Similarly, Marvel plays its mechanical ultra-violence with a light, cheery tone, making it much more palatable to audiences than it probably "should" be; DC, meanwhile, goes for slightly less horrific material in and of itself, but plays that material with as much gravitas as it can possibly muster, making it feel like it's more dark and serious, despite putting less horrifying imagery by far in front of the viewer. That was probably dumb but gently caress you I've been up for literally over a loving day, worked an 8-hour shift, and then marathonned a loving rear end-ton of horror. I'll probably look back on this review and think I wrote a bunch of stupid toilet words that go in the trash, but I'll also be happy I did it, because gently caress you October Challenge I have finally mastered you, you are my Movie Everest and I am at the god drat summit Franchescanado posted:
#31 / 31 - Halloween (1978) I had to end the horror challenge with this, the first time I've ever managed to complete one of these. I don't know how I did it, but I got to loving 31 and I knocked out all the Fran challenges, in a month where I've also gotten totally hosed by schoolwork and done a couple other hobby projects on top of that. It's Halloween. You've seen this. If you haven't, what the blue blazing gently caress are you doing go watch Halloween right now. This movie has seriously been absolutely picked apart and analyzed to death and I'm really not sure how much more blood I can get from that rock, so I'm just gonna reiterate that this movie loving owns until I feel like I've gotten the point across. It's the ur-slasher, despite Peeping Tom and TCM and Black Christmas predating it, for a reason; it pared the then-forming slasher formula down to the absolute barest possible basics, and by doing so, set those basics into stone for the rest of film history. This doesn't have the craziest kills of any slasher out there, or the funniest bit characters, and Michael is honestly a pretty unassuming killer compared to late-period Jason or Freddy or the Slumber Party Massacre drill-guitar guy, but that's not what you're here for. You're here to essentially see the Slasher Movie Recipe, cooked and presented as well as Carpenter can possibly give it to you. And that is exactly what Halloween gives you. Halloween rules, Halloween sequels drool. HOLY poo poo I'M DONE. To quote the Lost Skeleton of Cadavra, I SLEEP NOW.
|
|
#
?
Nov 1, 2018 17:09
|
|
|
Final Count: 1 Winchester 2 Blackcoat's Daughter 3 Ernest Scared Stupid 4 Angst 5 Sleepaway Camp 6 Dog Soldiers 7 Castle Rock 8 Timecrimes 9 Elvira, Mistress of the Dark 10 The Predator 11 Predator 2 12 Predators 13 Dogtooth 14 The Faculty 15 The Mummy Returns 16 Monster Squad 17 Little Shop of Horrors 18 Halloween 1978 FC 1 19 Event Horizon FC 4 20 Lake Placid FC 3 21 Ghostbusters FC 5 22 XX FC 2 23 Scooby Doo and KISS 24 Venom 25 Paranorman 26 Annihilation 27 Island of Death FC 6 28 Curse of the We're rabbit FC 8 29 Night of the Living Dead 30 Errementari FC 7 31 Apostle FC 10 32 Mom and Dad 33 Halloween 2018 34 Witch in the Window FC 9 35 Halloween 2007 36 Wicker Man FC 12 37 The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor 38 Edward Scissorhands 39 The Manitou FC 11 40 Halloween III: Season of the Witch FC 13 Challenges: 13/13 Best Movie Hereditary was the best horror movie of 2018 hands down, but I saw that in theaters well before the challenge started, so for this I'll go with The Blackcoat's Daughter , which was just excellent. Worst Movie Probably have to give Season of the Witch that one. I like the idea of doing an anthology series and I wonder if the issue wasn't so much a lack of Michael Myers as it was that this movie sucked. Biggest Surprise I'd say Tomb of the Dragon Emperor. I'd assumed it was terrible for the last decade or so but it was actually a lot of fun and easily in part with the first 2. Biggest Disappointment mainly that I went another year without having time to watch any of the stuff off my Universal Monsters boxed set, but for films that I watched definitely Monster Squad. That's been on my list for years and I didn't enjoy it at all. Opopanax fucked around with this message at 17:32 on Nov 1, 2018 |
|
#
?
Nov 1, 2018 17:27
|
|
|
81. Invaders from Mars (1986) - I watched this for the May challenge too, but I liked it more the second time around. I still admire how Hooper transforms the narrative into a nonsensical dream, in contrast to the original which used the artificiality of the sets to lead in to that revelation. Here, the plot becomes stranger and stranger as multiple leaps in logic are made to the point where it becomes completely how they got from point A to point B. But I didn't really get how much of a kids movie this was the first time around. It threw me off the first time as Hooper has never made a children's movie other than this. Even Poltergeist is told from the parent's perspective, not the children. On the other hand, this is filled with jokes about how frank and direct 50s B-movies are, which I'm sure would fly over the head of most children who would have seen this back in the 80s. The intended audience could probably actually best be described as Tobe Hooper (and maybe Joe Dante too) but I'm fine with that. 82. Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday - What a wild ride! I mentioned in the horror thread that I understand why this doesn't work for fans of the series (there's almost no Jason), but I had a blast. This is schlock in the best possible use of the term. The newly introduced mythology doesn't fit with what the previous films set up, but you can't exactly pretend that these movies fit together or form any strict continuity. I think if this didn't have the burden of being a Jason Vorhees film it would be much better regarded as a slice of 90s horror. 83. Freddy vs. Jason - Didn't quite make it to Jason X, but I thought I'd go ahead with this one because I haven't been watching the Friday series in order to begin with. It's pretty good! Not great, but it's much better than this movie has any right to be. The weakest elements are related to the teen characters. I can't quite explain it, but they aren't played (or written) earnestly enough to work seriously but they also aren't goofy enough to be campy. It's just stuck in an odd middle-of-the-road stylization. I kind of wish that Tommy and Nancy (even if she's dead) could've come back, but I suppose they didn't want to transform it into franchise cross-over instead of two characters fighting each other. And the fights are pretty good too! The decision to employ a Hong Kong action director really paid off. And unlike Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman, they get more than one fight scene together. Jason fights Freddy in his dreams, Freddy fights Jason in reality. Appreciate how much blood they were able to get away with in these parts too. Rather bizarrely, this movie seems to comment on the exploitation of labor, as well as an argue for why past trauma should be remembered. People forget Freddy exists (which it's hard not to read as Nightmare on Elm St losing cultural cachet), so he tricks Jason into kill people in order to piggy-back off the fear (franchise) created by him. Jason isn't exactly happy with having the fruits of his labor stolen and Freddy isn't happy that Jason is still taking his kills (audience). The only reason why Freddy comes back is the town of Springwood has forced themselves to forget he existed in the first, which damages nearly every character in the film in some way. Will is committed to a mental hospital as he saw a Freddy murder which everyone wants to cover up. Lori's mother was killed and she was forced to believe it was an accident rather than confront the truth. Only by coming to terms with the legitimate past trauma can they come to terms with the present. 84. Halloween (1978) - Man, after watching a bunch of trash slasher movies throughout the month (which I do love), this really stands out. I forgot how lonely this movie was and how totally great PJ Soles is. And after all the nonsense that gets peddled by Halloween 2-8, I'm surprised that it doesn't affect the power of the first film at all. So that's it for me!  I'm not any good at ranking movies, but a few of my favorite first time watches this year were:Phantom of the Paradise Serial Mom Pulse Psycho II Almost Blue fucked around with this message at 20:39 on Nov 1, 2018 |
|
#
?
Nov 1, 2018 17:29
|
|
|
Russian Guyovitch posted:I am way behind on my posting, and a couple movies behind pace. I'm going to make these brief. So life has prevented me from posting, but not watching movies. I'm putting this one in as a placeholder before this afternoon's deadline and will write the movies up later. My last eleven first time viewings for the month were: The Company of Wolves, Tales from the Hood 2, Carnival of Souls, Tenebrae, The Hills Have Eyes 2, Halloween (2018), Pet, The War of the Worlds, It Comes Without Warning, The Deadly Spawn, and John Carpenter's Village of the Damned. That batch also polished off the remaining Fran challenges for me, which I will outline later when I write these up.
|
|
#
?
Nov 1, 2018 17:35
|
|
|
And that's it for me. This was fun. Full watch list is below, with Fran Challenges noted. If anyone's interested, anything in italics is a movie I re-watched for the first time in a period of at least 5 years, and anything bolded is a movie I'm seeing for the first time. 01. Cat People (1942) - 4/5 02. Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers - 1/5 03. Mom and Dad - 3/5 04. Hell House LLC - 3/5 05. A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010) - 2/5 06. Beetlejuice - 4/5 07. The Horror of Party Beach (FC #3) - 0/5 08. Wes Craven's New Nightmare (FC #4) - 1/5 09. The Return of the Living Dead - 5/5 10. A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge (FC #2) - 1/5 11. Murder Party - 4/5 12. Anaconda - 2/5 13. Dracula (1931) - 3/5 14. The Ritual - 3/5 15. Blade II - 3/5 16. The Beyond (FC #6) - 2/5 17. Sleepaway Camp (FC #5) - 1/5 18. Lord of Illusions - 1/5 19. The Mummy's Ghost - 3/5 20. Children of the Corn II: The Final Sacrifice (FC #1) - 2/5 21. The Mummy's Curse - 1/5 22. The Prophecy - 2/5 23. Child's Play 2 - 4/5 24. Halloween II (1981) - 2/5 25. Hotel Transylvania - 3/5 26. Psycho (1960) - 5/5 27. Halloween III - 3/5 28. The Creature Walks Among Us - 1/5 29. Train to Busan (FC #7) - 4/5 30. Frankenstein (1931) - 3/5 31. The Addams Family - 3/5 32. Bedeviled (FC #9) - 1/5 33. Halloween (2018) (FC #10) - 4/5 34. The Old Dark House (1932) - 2/5 35. Pumpkinhead (FC #8) - 4/5 36. Friday the 13th Part 2 - 2/5 37. Dead & Buried (FC #11) - 3/5 38. Summer of 84 - 4/5 39. Bride of Frankenstein (FC #12) - 3/5 40. Jigsaw - 3/5 41. Son of Frankenstein - 4/5 42. Critters 3 - 1/5 43. Leviathan (1989) - 2/5 44. Killer Klowns from Outer Space - 4/5 45. Mark of the Vampire - 1/5 46. 31 (FC #13) - 3/5 47. The Mummy's Hand - 2/5 48. The Wolf Man (1941) - 3/5 49. Freddy vs. Jason - 5/5 50. Trick 'r Treat (2007) - 3/5 51. Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man - 2/5 = 3= 9 = 16 = 11 = 9ZERO = 1
|
|
#
?
Nov 1, 2018 17:57
|
|
|
Since everyone else is posting a recap, here's mine. This feels like it needs the That's Entertainment theme playing in the background. Movies Watched and my Writeups: 1- The Golem 2- Dr.Jeckyll & Mr. Hyde 3- Hands of Orlac 4- Haxan 5- Phantom of the Opera 6- The Lodger 7- Werewolf of London 8- Freaks 9- Frankenstein 10- Bride of Frankenstein 11- Dracula 12- Spanish Dracula 13- Supernatural 14-The Mummy 15- King Kong 16- Invisible Man 17- Mummy's Hand 18- Mummy's Tomb 19- Mummy's Curse 20- Mummy's Ghost 21- Dracula's Daughter 22- Son of Dracula 23- Son of Frankenstein 24- Ghost of Frankenstein 25- Frankenstein meets the Wolf Man 26- Caltiki: The Immortal Monster 27- The Blob 28- Quatermass Experiment 29- Spacemaster x-7 30- Blood of Dracula 31- I was a Teenage Frankenstein 32- I was a Teenage Werewolf 33- How to make a Monster 34- The Bad Seed 35- Fiend without a Face 36- I Married a Monster from Outer Space 37- Invasion of the Saucer Men 38- Curse of Frankenstein 39- Horror of Dracula 40- The Mummy 41- The Monolith Monsters 42- From Hell it Came 43- Night of the Demon 44- Them! 45- The Deadly Mantis 46- Day the World Ended 47- Day of the Triffids 48- Kwaidan 49- Quatermass and the Pit 50- Queen of Blood (Fran Challenge #2) 51- Comedy of Terrors 52- Island of Terror 53- Whatever Happened to Baby Jane 54- The Blancheville Monster 55- The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies 56- Dr. Terror's House of Horrors 57- Matango 58- Curse of the Werewolf 59- The Green Slime 60- It! 61- Blood Feast 62- The Flesh Eaters 63- Horror of Party Beach 64- Eye of the Devil 65- The Undertaker and his Pals 66- Tales of Terror 67- Daimajin 68- Return of Daimajin 69- Wrath of Daimajin 70- The Raven 71- The Fearless Vampire Killers 72- Island of the Burning Damned 73- Brainiac 74- Torture Garden 75- Mr. Sardonicus 76- Reptilicus 77- Mill of Stone Women 78- Burn Witch Burn 79- The Birds 80- Twice Told Tales 81- X, the Man with the X-Ray Eyes 82- Slime People 83- Last Man on Earth 84- Night of the Living Dead. 85- Planet of the Vampires 86- Plague of the Zombies 87- Hausu (Fran Challenge #1) 88- Track of the Moonbeast (Fran Challenge #3) 89- The Baby 90- Mephisto Waltz 91- I Drink Your Blood 92- Devil's Nightmare 93- Deathmaster 94- Don't Go in the House 95- Messiah of Evil 96- House that Dripped Blood 97- Equinox 98- Grapes of Death 99- Tales that Witness Madness 100- Count Yorga 101- The Return of Count Yorga 103- The Keep (Fran Challenge #4) 104- Nightmare in Wax (Fran Challenge #5) 105- Faces of Death (Fran Challenge #6) 106- House of Laughing Windows 107- The Wicker Man 108- Alucarda 109- The Abominable Dr. Phibes 110- Dr. Phibes Rises Again 111- Zombies of Sugar Hill 112- Deranged 113- Alice Sweet Alice 114- The Evil 115- Simon, King of Witches 116- Horror High 117- Blue Sunshine 118- Carrie 119- Dr. Jeckyll & Sister Hyde 120- Madhouse 121- Frightmare 122- Bloodsucking Freaks 123- House of Seven Corpses 124- Raw Meat 125- Beware! The Blob 126- Redeemer: Son of Satan 127- Slithis 128- The Legacy 129- Grave of the Vampire 130- The Comeback 131- Toolbox Murders 132- Buio Omega 133- Prophecy 134- Tombs of the Blind Dead (Fran Challenge #7) 135- Return of the Blind Dead 136- The Ghost Galleon 137- Night of the Seagulls 138- Cannibal Girls 139- Phase IV (Fran Challenge #8) 140- Toxic Zombies 141- Redneck Zombies 142- Fade to Black 143- Beast Within 144- Boogens 145- The Funhouse 146- Cabin in the Woods (Fran Challenge #9) 147- Nomads 148- Monster Club 149- Trick or Treat 150- Black Roses 151- Shocker 152- Monster Dog 153- Rock 'n' Roll Nightmare 154- Zombie Nightmare 155- Spookies 156- Company of Wolves 157- Demons 158- Demons 2 159- The Church 160- 976-Evil 161- I, Madman 162- Terror in the Aisles 163- Shock 'em Dead 164- Desecration 165- Pledge Night 166- DeadAlive 167- The Ugly 168- Wishmaster 169- Witch in the Window (Fran Challenge #10) 170- Psycho 171- Jack Frost 172- Tremors 173- Full Eclipse 174- The Frighteners 175- Frostbiter 176- Night of the Living Dead 177- The Guardian 178- House on Haunted Hill 179- Cronos 180- Dellamorte, Dellamore 181- Land of the Dead 182- Diary of the Dead 183- Survival of the Dead 184- Dead Birds 185- KM 31 186- The Irrefutable Truth about Demons 187- Hellhouse LLC (Fran Challenge #12) 188- Frankenstein's Army 189- Deathgasm 190- Cockneys vs Zombies 191- WNUF Halloween Special (Fran Challenge #13) 192- World War Z 193- Tucker & Dale vs Evil 194- VHS 195- VHS 2 196- VHS: Viral 197- Warm Bodies 198- Phantom of the Paradise 199- Son of Dracula 200- The Night Stalker I'm sitting here and looking at this and I'm like 'Holy poo poo.'. When this started I wasn't thinking it'd end up being this much. When Spatulater did rough math early on about where I'd be if I kept pace, that got me wondering if it was even possible, then when I went over that and STAC Goat was saying the same thing as my fiance with 'make it 200 you're that close', well, there it is. I know there were some rooting for me to go over 200, but I figured to call it where it was. I really liked reading everyone's reviews, they gave me some new perspectives on films. It was nice giving films I've not sat through in years another watch, and giving some films I passed on before a try. Some like Full Eclipse had me thinking 'Oh God...this is so dated it makes my brain hurt', and some I wasn't likely to end up sitting through like Witch in the Window I ended up enjoying. It was interesting to watch the evolution of movie posters when I was picking images. I really like the Fran Challenges since those had me really thinking on my choices, well save for Challenge #9 but that was very cathartic to get all that out. Having seen how others handled the Ironman does have me thinking on how I'll approach it next year. Equally I really enjoyed the hell out of Scream Stream. Overall, I'm adding this to my Halloween traditions, it's been just too much fun.
|
|
#
?
Nov 1, 2018 18:03
|
|
|
 CLOSING TIIIIIIIME I will no longer accept any new movie entries. Feel free to post summaries and list favorites and let-downs, but do not try and increase your final tally. I'll elaborate on prizes and such soon.
|
|
#
?
Nov 1, 2018 18:04
|
|
|
Okay, I'm bored at work so here's a brief summary: Movies Seen: The Witching Season | Lifeforce | Terrifier | Unsane | I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House | From Beyond | 13 Ghosts | The Ritual | Child's Play | Twice-Told Tales | Beyond the Gates | Cat People (1982) | Fright Night | The Vampire Lovers | The Vampire Doll | Frightmare | Honeybee | Murder Party | Child's Play 2 | The Beyond | The Night of a Thousand Cats | Mandy | My Soul to Take | Apostle | Near Dark | Child's Play 3 | The Phantom Carriage | Halloween (1978) | Halloween II (1981) | Halloween (2018) | Creep 2 | The Quatermass Xperiment | Darling | Bride of Chucky | Phantom of the Opera (1943) | Ghost Stories | Ginger Snaps 37 films total 25 first time watches Best first-time watches: Mandy, Creep 2, The Ritual Best re-watches: From Beyond, Ginger Snaps, Near Dark Worst: Cat People remake, Honeybee, The Night of a Thousand Cats All Fran challenges complete! 1 - Love Something You Hate - Fright Night 2 - Queer Horror - The Vampire Lovers 3 - Hometown Horror - Honeybee 4 - Worst of the Best - My Soul to Take 5 - Birth of Horror - Frightmare 6 - Video Nasties - The Beyond 7 - The World is a Scary Place - The Phantom Carriage 8 - Once in a Lifetime - Near Dark 9 - Stranger Danger - Darling 10 - Fear and Now - Halloween (2018) 11 - Dead and Buried - Phantom of the Opera (1943) 12 - (Self-Described) Masters of Horror - Ghost Stories 13 - What We've All Been Waiting For - Ginger Snaps gey muckle mowser fucked around with this message at 18:30 on Nov 1, 2018 |
|
#
?
Nov 1, 2018 18:18
|
|
|
Was going to watch Young Frankenstein as a cooling lap. But my daughter wanted to watch the next item in the Frankenstein set  talked her into saving that for next season and jumping to the end for... Love that costume. 66. Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948) - Blu-ray A solid movie. When you can say that about an act's middling and arguably lower end material, you know the world had something special. Abbott and Costello are yet another comedy act I can watch with a grin any time and any place. Vincent Price's cameo was the highlight of this one. Not just for the legend himself but it being a genuinely good gag with nice effects. Tally: N/A Psycho (1960)*, 1. Halloween (1978), 2. Halloween II (1981), 3. Carnival of Souls (1962), 4. The Blob (1988), 5. I Bury the Living (1958), 6. Dead Men Walk (1943), 7. Nosferatu (1922), 8. Les Revenants (2002), 9. The Mummy's Hand (1940), 10. House on Haunted Hill (1959)*, 11. Lifeforce (1985), 12. The Gorilla (1939), 13. The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll (1960), 14. November (2017), 15. Doghouse (2009), 16 Sssssss (1973), 17. Maniac (1934), 18. Thirst (2009)7, 19. Horror Hotel (1960), 20. Event Horizon (1997)*, 21. In the Mouth of Madness (1994)3, 22. Frankenstein (1931)*, 23. Monster from a Prehistoric Planet (1967), 24. The Bride of Frankenstein (1935), 25. The Funhouse (1981)6, 26. Beetlejuice (1988)5, 27. Fright Night (1985)2, 28. Son of Frankenstein (1939), 29. The Terror, 30. A Cure for Wellness (2016), 31. Blood Diner (1987), 32. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978), 33. The Killer Shrews (1959)9, 34. The Devil Bat (1940)9, 35. The Bat (1959), 36. Alien Apocalypse (2005)*, 37. Dave Made a Maze (2017)8, 38. Wrong Turn (2003), 39. Last Woman on Earth (1960)4, 40. Halloween (2018)10, 41. I Sell the Dead (2008), 42. Village of the Damned (1995), 43. Beast from 10,000 Fathoms (1953)*, 44. Gamera (1965), 45. Parents (1989), 46. Rigor Mortis (2013), 47. Sundown: The Vampire in Retreat (1989), 48. Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982), 49. The Mist (2007)*ish 1, 50. The Slumber Party Massacre (1982), 51. Village of the Damned (1960)11, 52. The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)*13, 53. The Blob (1958), 54. Corpse Bride (2005), 55. Phantasm II (1988), 56. The Brain That Wouldn't Die (1962), 57. Piranha (1972), 58. The Fly (1986), 59. The Return of the Living Dead (1985)*12, 60. Scream of Fear (1961), 61. The Mummy (1959), 62. The Ghost of Frankenstein (1942), 63. The Evil Dead (1981)*, Evil Dead II (1987)*, 64. Hocus Pocus (1993), N/A It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (1966), 65. Army of Darkness (1992), 66. Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948) Years Spanned: 96 (1922-2018) Tally by Decade: '20s (I), '30s (V), '40s (V), '50s (VII), '60s (XII), '70s (IV), '80s (XVI), '90s (VI), 2000s (VIII), 2010s (V) B&W/Color: 26/43 Rewatch/Total Counted: 12/67 Countries: 'Murika, Canada, Blighty, France, Germany, Estonia, China, South Korea, Japan Fran Challenges Complete: * Rewatch E: Watched it this morning and was typing the slightly delayed post while Fran rang the bell. Leaving it in 
|
|
#
?
Nov 1, 2018 18:22
|
|
|
So here's how I did:Sir Kodiak posted:Goal #1: Watch The Terror (AMC miniseries) this week as a warmup. Completed, as it's the first thing I did. Sir Kodiak posted:Goal #2: Starting this weekend, watch 30 movies by November 1 to make, with The Terror, 31. Exceeded, with a total of 47, 32 of them new. Very happy with that. New (32): #1 The Terror (2018), #6 Mandy (2018), #7 Dead Alive (1992), #8 Would You Rather (2012), #9 1922 (2017), #10 Infinity Chamber (2017), #11 Venom (2018), #12 Dagon (2001), #13 Demonic Toys (1992), #14 Murder Party (2007), #16 Godzilla (1954), #17 The Vault (2017), #18 Cargo (2017), #19 Berlin Syndrome (2017), #22 Dawn of the Dead (1978), #26 Seven in Heaven (2018), #27 Happy Death Day (2017), #28 Into the Forest (2015), #29 Hardware (1990), #30 Prodigy (2018), #31 The Survivalist (2015), #32, Honeymoon (2014), #33 Child's Play (1988), #37 Halloween (2018), #38 Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986), #39 The Last House on the Left (1972), #40 The Exorcist (1973), #41 Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018), #43 Tremors (1990), #44 Phase IV (1974), #45 Hold the Dark (2018), #47 The Brood (1979) Rewatch (15): #2 The Cabin in the Woods (2011), #3 Gone Girl (2014), #4 Annihilation (2018), #5 Seven (1995), #15 A Quiet Place (2018), #20 Doom (2005), #21 Predator (1987), #23 Gremlins (1984), #24 The Andromeda Strain (1971), #25 Split (2016), #34 Dawn of the Dead (2004), #35 Alien vs Predator (2004), #36 Alien vs Predator: Requiem (2007), #42 The Guest (2014), #46 Predator 2 (1990) Most impressive first-time watches: Godzilla (1954), The Survivalist (2015), Halloween (2018) Most impressive rewatches compared to recollection: Gremlins (1984), Predator 2 (1990), Dawn of the Dead (2004) Least impressive overall: 1922 (2017), The Vault (2017), Seven in Heaven (2018) Sir Kodiak posted:Goal #3: Watch these 13 new-to-me movies: Only made it to 6/13 here. To the extent that I was watching specific things for an external reason, rather than just whatever sounded good at a time, it was for the Fran Challenges. I think that made for a better October, as those were more varied and interesting. I'm okay with leaving some of these on the table for next year or just regular movie watching during the year. Sir Kodiak posted:Goal #4: Complete all the Fran Challenges. Completed. These were a lot of fun and really added a lot to my experience. Fran Challenges (13/13): #7 [The World Is A Scary Place] Godzilla (1954), #3 [Hometown Horror] Dawn of the Dead (1978), #2 [Queer Horror] Into the Forest (2015), #8 [Once In A Lifetime] Dawn of the Dead (2004), #11 [Fear and Now] Halloween (2018), #12 [(Self-Described) Masters of Horror] Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986), #6 [Video Nasties] The Last House on the Left (1972), #13 [What We've All Been Waiting For] The Guest (2014), #9 [Stranger Danger] Tremors(1990), #11 [Dead & Buried] Phase IV (1974), #4 [Worst of the Best] Hold the Dark (2018), #1 [Love Something You Hate] Predator 2 (1990), #5 [Birth of Horror] The Brood (1979) Thanks to everyone who organized this and participated. I know I write relatively brief reviews, but I appreciate everyone who produces more detailed thoughts.
|
|
#
?
Nov 1, 2018 18:26
|
|
|
Here are some rankings, for shits and giggles. Just wanted to thank all the participants in this challenge who reminded me that there is much uncharted territory in the horror genre, with seemingly endless new and interesting choices, good or bad, fun or tortuous. BEST OF THE BEST (aiming to be as objective as possible here) 1. Alien (1979) / Aliens (1986) - tied for first place! 2. The Haunting of Hill House (2018, TV Series) 3. The Fog (1980) / They Live (1987) - tied for third! 4. Tremors (1990) 5. Halloween: H40 (2018) WORST OF THE WORST 5. The Relic (1997) 4. C.H.U.D. (1984) 3. The Fog (2005) 2. Maximum Overdrive (1986) 1. Spawn of the Slithis (1978) BIGGEST LETDOWN The Descent (2006) - went in expecting this to rank at the top but ended up being one of my least favorite movie-watching experiences this Halloween. Objectively it is not among the worst, but the character behavior and writing was atrocious, and that's a fundamental part of a movie. FAVORITE NEW DISCOVERIES / FIRST VIEWINGS 1. The Fog (1980) 2. Monkeyshines (1986) 3. Phantasm (1979) These may just end up being annual traditions to watch, much like The VVitch and Creepshow! (though I emphasized new viewings this year). STATS ON REWATCHES AND FIRST TIME VIEWINGS New movies watched out of 31 total count: 23 Rewatches out of 31 total count: 8 Percentage of new movies watched overall: 75%, slightly short of my 80% goal but I'm quite happy!
|
|
#
?
Nov 1, 2018 18:50
|
|
|
Had these already written, but had to get on the road this morning.  #123. House on Haunted Hill (1959) * I usually fall asleep when I watch this, but managed to stay up through it last night. And it wasn't as enjoyable as I remembered. It's very quaint, with the skeleton marionettes, pits of acid, floating heads, and so on. And it's fun seeing it as a precursor to Clue. But something about it just doesn't quite work for me. Maybe it's the staginess, or the obvious set-up with the guns (which one character even immediately identifies as being useless against ghosts), or the flat '50s characters outside of Price's character and his wife. / 10   #124. Theatre of Blood, a.k.a., Theater of Blood, a.k.a., Much Ado About Murder (1973) I liked this more than House on Haunted Hill, but less than The Abominable Dr. Phibes. Kind of the same structure as the latter, with a wronged man taking murderous revenge against those he felt did him wrong (in this case, a Shakespearean actor offing his critics for not giving him an award), but with less style. / 10And that's it for me, time to rack up the challenges met and break down the movies into rating groups.
|
|
#
?
Nov 1, 2018 19:03
|
|
|
Dr.Caligari posted:Is this the 2015 Sadist and one that came out in 1963? The 60s one, sorry.
|
|
#
?
Nov 1, 2018 19:03
|
|
|
Well, the month is over, and the challenge is done. What a month. I way, way out did myself, more than doubling the count of two years ago's time. I saw lots of great films, and more than a few terrible ones. I had the humbling lesson that there's always someone out there that's better than you, so don't stop improving--I kid about you being a monster M_Sinistri, but you're legit impressive, with good film opinions, and I'm happy to know you. And the rest of you it has been great seeing your journeys alongside mine as well. New perspectives on classics, new eyes getting to see amazing sights. What a trip. I don't think I'd be able to effectively rank the films I saw, but the ones that were probably the most standout to me were Soft Matter, Skins, The Lure, Mandy, and Suspiria (2018) for stuff that will stick with me, and not all for the same reasons. There were plenty of other excellent films, but those five were probably at the top with no specific order, and are movies I plan on rewatching some time, whether in a group or alone. Anyways, here's my list of everything I watched that I counted for the challenge. Again, I only count new-to-me films, not films that are rewatches. Due to things like scream stream, I got my share of those in too: 1. Ravenous 1999 2. Ghost Stories 2018 3. Insidious 2010 4. Baby Blood 1990 5. Tenderness of the Wolves 1973 6. The VVitch 2015 7. The Rosary Murders 1987 8. The Autopsy of Jane Doe 2016 9. Count Dracula 1970 10. 1922 2017 11. Belladona of Sadness 1973 12. Soft Matter 2018 13. Pet 2016 14. The Doctor and the Devils 1985 15. Ghost Dance 1980 16. Creep 2015 17. Eyes Without A Face 1960 18. Housewife 2017 19. Celia 1989 20. Resolution 2012 21. Human Lanterns 1982 22. Skeletons in the Closet 2018 23. Monster X 2018 24. Beyond the Door 1974 25. Microwave Massacre 1983 26. The Last Horror Film 1982 27. Who Can Kill A child? 1972 28. All The Colors of the Dark 1972 29. Demon Wind 1990 30. Lord of Tears 2013 31. Dead End Drive-In 1986 32. November 2017 33. Creep 2 2017 34. I am the Pretty Thing That Lives In The House 2016 35. Nail Gun Massacre 1985 36, Mutations 1974 37. Shock Waves 1975 38. Fury of the Demon 2016 39. Delirium: Photos of Gloria 1987 40. Blood Diner 1987 41. Carved: The Slit-Mouthed Woman 2007 42. Thoroughbreds 2017 43. The Blackcoat's Daughter 2015 44. The Endless 2017 45. The Litch 2018 46. Xibulba 2017 47. Found Footage 3D 2017 48. Bedeviled 2018 49. Diary of an exorcist 0 2017 50. The Lure 2015 51. Eko Eko Azarak: Wizard of Darkness 1995 52. Beyond The Darkness 1979 53. Zombi 4: After Life 1988 54. Bone Sickness 2005 55. Teaching Mrs. Tingle 1999 56. Splinter 2008 57. CreepTales 2004 58. Doom Asylum 1987 59. Shock 1977 60. Project Metalbeast 1995 61. Evil Dead Trap 2 1992 62. Bad Dreams 1988 63. pumpkinhead 2 1993 64. winterbeast 1992 65. Road Games 1981 66. I Bought A Vampire Motorcycle 1990 67. Leprechaun 4: In Space 1996 68. When Good Ghouls Go Bad 2001 69. Critters 4 1992 70. The Night Flier 1997 71. Singapore Sling 1990 72. Prom Night 2: Hello, Mary Lou 1987 73. Ghutan 2017 74. Zombie 5: Killer Birds 1987 75. Shocking Dark 1989 76. Monster Dog 1984 77. The other hell 1981 78. Scorpion with Two Tails 1982 79. Demonia 1990 80. Carved 2 2008 81. Eko Eko Azerak 2 1996 82. Scanners 3 1991 83. Mandy 2018 84. psycho cop 1989 85. Brotherhood of Satan 1971 86. Something Evil 1972 87. Do You Like Hitchcock? 2005 88. Good Against Evil 1997 89. Dinner With A Vampire 1988 90. Night of the Demons 2 1994 91. Creatures from the abyss 1994 92. Carnival of Souls 1998 93. Fermat's Room 2007 94. high school ghostbusters 1995 95. black candles 1982 96. The Flesh And Blood Show 1972 97. Beyond the Door 3 1989 98. Frankenstein 2011 99. Blood Car 2007 100. Halloween 2018 101. Hereditary 2018 102. Fascination 1979 103. Wizard of Gore 2008 104. Strange Rituals 2017 105. Zombie Holocaust aka Doctor Butcher MD (Medical Deviate) 1980 106. Touch of Death 1986 107. Hell Has No Boundaries 1982 108. Blood Beach 1980 109. Caltiki 1959 110. Ganja & Hess 1973 111. Scarab 1983 112. Skull Forest 2012 113. Slumber Party Massacre 2 1987 114. Phantom Empire 1988 115. Attack of the Beast Creatures 1985 116. Trick or Treats 1982 117. Tales From The Hood 2 2018 118. Must Love Horror 2018? 119. The Signal 2008 120. Cold Skin 2018 121. Skins 2017 122. The School 2018 123. Malevolent 2018 124. Incident in a Ghost Land 2018 125. Suspiria 2018
|
|
#
?
Nov 1, 2018 19:32
|
|
|
Final Tally: 20/17 Fran Challenges:7/13. All except one were random hits. The List: 1. Creepshow II 2. Monster Squad Once in A Lifetime 3. Mandy Fear and Now 4. Shock Dead and Buried 5. Devil Fetus Masters of Horror 6. Black Cat The World Is A Scary Place 7. Suspiria (Rewatch) 8. Legend of the Seven Golden Vampires 9. Vampire's Kiss 10. The Vampire Lovers Hometown Horror 11. The Howling II 12. Deathwatch (Rewatch) 13. Lord of Illusion 14. Don't Torture a Duckling 15. The Burbs 16. The Cell (Rewatch) 17. Cast a Deadly Spell 18. Hobo with a Shotgun (Rewatch) 19. Revenge Stranger Danger 20. Pulse Favourite first watches: Vampire's Kiss, Black Cat Least Favourite: Vampire's Kiss By country: USA: 9 Italy: 4 UK:2 China: 2 France: 1 Canada: 1 Japan: 1 Spook tally: Man: 6 Vampire: 4 Ghost: 4 Misc. Undead: 3 Wildlife: 3 Demon: 3 Werewolf: 2 Witch: 1 Verdict: I feel like I didn't really challenge myself too much and just took it easy, watching mostly movies I'd have watched either way. 'Twas fun though, and thanks Fran for putting in all the work!
|
|
#
?
Nov 1, 2018 19:53
|
|
|
1. Night of the Creeps 2.5/5 FC 5 2. Creep 2 3/5 3. A Nightmare on Elm Street 4/5 4. Maximum Overdrive 3.5/5 5. Creepshow 3/5 6. Viy 4/5 7. The Eternal Evil of Asia 4.5/5 FC78. Friday the 13th 3/5 9. Hostel 3/5 FC310. The Gestapo's Last Orgy 2/5 FC611. Student Bodies 2.5/5 FC812. Into the Dark / The Body 3.5/5 13. The Neon Demon 4/5 FC2 14. Psycho 5/5 15. The Wicker Man 3/5 16. Loved Ones 4/5 17. Suspiria (1977) 3/5 18. Chopping Mall 3/5 FC419. Mandy 4.5/5 FC1020. Ebola Syndrome 4/5 21. Cronos 3/5 22. Wild Zero 3/5 23. Summer of 84 3.5/5 24. The Babysitter 4/5 25. Venom 2.5/5 FC926. Halloween (2018) 4/5 FC1327. The Invisible Man (1933) 4/5 FC1228. Diabolique 4.5/5 FC1129. Serial Mom 3.5/5 30. Slither 3.5/5 31. V/H/S 2 3/5 FC1Another October is over, and all I have to show for it is another 31 horror movies watched and 13 Fran Challenges completed. No rewatches. Which is a pretty good result all things considered! I generally tried my best to pick the best possible movies as I have no desire to knowingly spend two hours on something lovely so there weren't any real stinkers this year either. A few were somewhat disappointing due to high expectations or just a wrong mood, but plenty of good stuff as well. The reviews and scores probably aren't particularly good or consistent as I tended to write them while half asleep or during lunch break the next day, but hopefully they were somehow useful. Thanks everyone for the fun thread, it's always great to experience something new and get inspired by others' ideas. Especially you crazy mothterfuckers who watched over a hundred movies 
mobby_6kl fucked around with this message at 20:02 on Nov 1, 2018 |
|
#
?
Nov 1, 2018 19:58
|
|
|
Is anyone else pretty burned out on horror? I need to watch Andrei Rublev or something.
|
|
#
?
Nov 1, 2018 20:07
|
|
|
Spatulater bro! posted:Is anyone else pretty burned out on horror? I need to watch Andrei Rublev or something. I'm always a little burned out at this point but I'm actually not totally this year for whatever reason. I'm probably gonna watch a few of the lingering movies I wanted to get to in the last week and didn't. But right now i'm just feeling a sense of relief that I can watch whatever I want tonight without any sense of obligation for it to be horror.
|
|
#
?
Nov 1, 2018 20:17
|
|
|
I think I’m gonna do westerns this month. RDR2 got me in the mood.
|
|
#
?
Nov 1, 2018 20:18
|
|
|
Spatulater bro! posted:Is anyone else pretty burned out on horror? I need to watch Andrei Rublev or something. is there witches or gremlins in that?
|
|
#
?
Nov 1, 2018 20:18
|
|
|
Yeah I get a little burnt out, but horror is my passion in life, and I'm sure I'll be watching a few flicks this month at least. Horror is never going to leave this system, I assure you.
|
|
#
?
Nov 1, 2018 20:21
|
|
|
Spatulater bro! posted:Is anyone else pretty burned out on horror? I need to watch Andrei Rublev or something. I'm not. However I am thinking of different angles for the future challenges than watch a shitload.
|
|
#
?
Nov 1, 2018 20:21
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 30, 2024 16:12 |
|
|
62 this year which is 16 more than last year and quite a lot more than I expected to watch going into the challenge. I think I'm going to watch romantic comedies for the rest of the week. November will be the month for getting through my Filmstruck watchlist. A Rough Top 5 (no rewatches, alphabetical order): The Addiction Possession Return of the Living Dead Revenge Tales From the Hood Worst: Halloween: Resurrection 7 2018 movies By Decade: 2010s: 14 2000s: 4 1990s: 13 1980s: 19 1970s: 6 1960s: 3 1950s: 1 1930s: 2 Countries: USA: 34 Hong Kong: 7 UK: 5 Italy: 4 France: 3 Mexico: 2 and 1 each from: Canada, Austria, Germany, Japan, North Korea, New Zealand, and Poland Fran Challenges: #1: Love Something You Hate - 28 Weeks Later #2: Queer Horror - Nightbreed #3: Hometown Horror - The Oregonian #4: Worst of the Best / Best of the Worst - The Ward #5: Birth of Horror - Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer #6: Video Nasties - Tenebre #7: The World Is A Scary Place - Alucarda #8: Once In A Lifetime - Angst #9: Stranger Danger - Pulgasari #10: Fear and Now - Tales From the Hood 2 #11: Dead & Buried - The Crazies #12: (Self-Described) Masters of Horror - Phenomena #13: The Night We've All Been Waiting For - Halloween (2018) Star ratings: 5 - 7 4 - 29 3 - 14 2 - 8 1 - 4 Complete list: Total: 62. The Untold Story (3/5), *The Sleep Curse (4/5), The Faculty (3/5), Demon Knight (4/5), Return of the Living Dead (4/5), The Evil of Frankenstein (3/5), Hellraiser: Judgment (1/5), Vampyres (3/5), We're Going to Eat You (3/5), The Slumber Party Massacre (4/5), The Eternal Evil of Asia (3/5), ~*28 Weeks Later (3/5), Phantasm II (4/5), Ravenous (4/5), Carrie (4/5), The Beyond (4/5), ~The Ward (1/5), Village of the Damned['95] (2/5), Amer (4/5), Halloween 4 (2/5), Halloween 5 (2/5), Manhunter (4/5), Revenge (5/5), ~Nightbreed (3/5), Mandy (4/5), Shivers (4/5), The Purge (2/5), The Purge: Anarchy (3/5), Satanico Pandemonium (2/5), The Purge: Election Year (2/5), ~Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (4/5), The First Purge (4/5), The Addiction (5/5), Tales From the Hood (5/5), ~Angst (4/5), Apostle (3/5), ~Tenebre (4/5), The Invisible Man (4/5), Halloween 6 (1/5), Halloween H20 (2/5), Possession (5/5), The Old Dark House (4/5), ~Alucarda (4/5), Halloween: Resurrection (1/5), The Pit and the Pendulum (4/5), Corpse Mania (4/5), ~The Oregonian (3/5), Near Dark (4/5), ~Tales From the Hood 2 (3/5), ~The Crazies (3/5), Spooky Encounters (4/5), The Curse of Frankenstein (4/5), Onibaba (4/5), *Demons (5/5), Eyes Without a Face (4/5), ~Phenomena (4/5), ~Pulgasari (2/5), Visible Secret (4/5), Braindead (4/5), *The Lure (5/5), ~Halloween 2018 (3/5), *Halloween 3 (5/5) *-rewatch (5) ~-fran challenge
|
|
#
?
Nov 1, 2018 20:22
|
|
