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In for 31. Personal record is 34, hoping to top it. No theme or goals beyond “watch movies”. Gonna cherry pick mostly from the 2 threads and Frans 151 Hidden Gems list.
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Oct 1, 2021 04:44
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| # ¿ May 18, 2024 23:36 |
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1. Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master I had a really good time with this. I’ve seen people say it’s decent when talking about the NoES series but I thought it was outright good. It’s not 1 or 3 but it’s better than 2 imo. The plot is a little so so and basically exists to get from one kill to the next but that’s ok because there are a couple of all timers in there (inhaler, roach) but I really enjoyed most of them. From what I understand it’s downhill from here but then the 7th film is decent again. I’d say only 2 bad movies out of 7 is a pretty great batting average for a slasher series. 2. Final Destination Probably haven’t seen this since it was in theaters. No particular reason why but I know it’s a thread darling and my wife was actually interested so an easy choice. It was alright, it sets up the lore for the rest of the series and a couple of the kills are inspired. I thought it took a while to get going after the crash but I guess that comes with having to set everything up. I’m excited to watch the rest of the series. Except 4.
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Oct 5, 2021 01:33
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3. Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers This was always my favorite non-OG Halloween, but I hadn’t seen it in a decade plus. My wife and I were watching a Universal Studios Halloween Horror Nights haunted houses video on YouTube and it gave me a hankering to revisit. It’s ok/slightly above average. For my money it’s still a better film than any Friday the 13th in terms of quality. The first 45 minutes we get a lot of Loomis and Jamie and it really works! Loomis and Jamie/Laurie are all I really need to enjoy a Halloween movie. At about the half way mark they both disappear for awhile unfortunately and the movie begins to drag. It picks back up for the finale and the ending scene is iconic and the reason I loved it so much originally. It’s around 60 minutes of a good movie but 88 minutes long. There’s a bunch of really corny moments but some compelling stuff as well.Not the worst, not the best. (The mask is terrible, oof)
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Oct 5, 2021 15:17
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4. V/H/S 94 Surprised I haven’t seen more people watching this but truthfully you’re not missing a whole lot. I wouldn’t call any of the shorts misses but I wouldn’t call many of them hits either. The best one for my money is the next to last bit, which kind of eschews the whole 94 gimmick. The last short is about a (presumably) white power militia that’s going to attack a federal building. I was really excited to get some fake comeuppance for our January 6th friends but it really kind of drags until the final reveal which is pretty cool but short lived. I’d say this is probably my least favorite VHS, though I still wouldn’t call it terrible or anything.
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Oct 6, 2021 22:02
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5. Basket Case When I went to Letterbox to log this I was surprised at the reviews other poster gave it because they were mostly 3 stars or below and I LOVED this. It’s everything I want from a strange 80s horror. Bad acting, terrible wigs, one random kinda bad stop motion scene. But mostly it was hilarious, hokey, and strange. I loved the weird little puppet and the main characters hair which was its own character. I could have done without the weirdest rape scene ever, but otherwise I thought it was a blast. 6. Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers We all know this is kind of a stinker. The mask is TERRIBLE, but oddly kind of looks like Zuckerberg? The psychic connection bit is lame as hell and I feel really bad for Danielle Harris but she pulled it off as well as anyone her age could have. But let’s talk about some other things. Michael is loving WEIRD in this movie. It’s the worst job of stalking he’s ever done. There are a couple scenes where he’s just pacing around the back ground clear as day. He pulls over at a gas station so one of his victims can get a pack of smokes? He has a long conversation with Doctor Loomis towards the end? Just strange behavior from The Shape all the way around. Also, just kind of a random, extended, in depth sex scene that’s really out of place? Like it might fit in a Friday the 13th movie but does not fit Halloween’s tone. Did we need to see him pull out his condom, put it on, and then insert? Weird as hell, man.
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Oct 8, 2021 20:20
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7. Psycho Goreman I went in to this apprehensive because the reviews on it were so divisive. There really wasn’t any “it’s ok, I guess”. I would say now I see why, except everyone should love it!!! My wife and kids were out of town, and I NEVER laugh out loud at things when I’m alone and I LOL’d twice at this. I guess I understand the criticism of not liking the little girls character but that was also wholly the point. I found PG to be smart, funny, plenty of spatter, I really dug it. Hoping to rewatch with my kids. 8. Revenge I’ve almost watched this about 8000 times and I’m glad I finally decided to stop and check it out. First of all, this film is equally disgusting and beautiful. The colors are bold and brilliant and the camera work is the real hero of this movie. There are some really great subtle shots like Jens finger on the trigger being equally neon pink nail polish and half missing and bloody from all the poo poo she has been through. Somehow they managed to make the rape scene (I really hate rape scenes) not even the most disgusting thing about the god drat rape scene! Dimitri close up chewing Charleston Chew knock off was equally as vile. Jens body hanging off the tree being slowly covered in ants also gave me the heeby Jeebys. The plot is your typical revenge plot but you should watch it for everything else because it’s really well made and somehow, beautiful. TheBizzness fucked around with this message at 16:03 on Oct 13, 2021 |
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Oct 13, 2021 15:55
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9. Amusement Park This is barely a horror movie and closer to a PSA on how senior citizens are discriminated against which is still tru today despite the film being made almost 50 years ago. It’s not particularly scary or anything but it is an interesting watch and since it’s Romero I felt like I needed to see it. I realize it’s runtime doesn’t meet the criteria of the challenge but I plan on watching more than 31 movies and maybe Fran will make it part of a challenge so I’m counting it. 10. VFW Assault on Precinct 13 meets Bucketlist. I really love how well this captured the 80s feel almost everything seems to be going for now better than things that are explicitly nostalgia cash-ins. Especially the “this is what the breakdown of society will look like” vibe that 80s apocalypse movies had. The story itself is pretty typical siege film but is elevated by wonderful performance from Stephen Lang and Fred Williamson. Some wonderful colorization that sets the tone for the aforementioned apocalyptic 80s feel. Nothing game changing here but a nice way to spend 90 minutes. 11. Horror Express A thread darling, and one I wish I would have checked out sooner. Not enough Lee and Cushing would be my only complaint. The Thing on a Train doesn’t really do justice to what’s captured here but as close as I can come to explaining it and not at all what I was expecting. Stellar performances all around highlighted by the father/monster monologuing why they should let him live. 12. No One Gets Out Alive I was all set to say this was a boring stinker (first one of the month) but the last 20 minute or so is where they spent all their budget and almost redeems it. Unfortunately for must it’s run time it’s a pretty paint by the numbers “the ghosts aren’t the real threat here” haunted house tale, and the true horror is what undocumented immigrants have to go through in this country. I would still probably say to skip it if you have other options but at least it wasn’t a complete 0.
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Oct 13, 2021 21:06
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Are you a bot who goes around rewriting peoples reviews better than they did? Frankly, I don’t appreciate it. 
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Oct 16, 2021 04:35
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13. Halloween Kills Not gonna risk it, too new, gonna spoiler the whole thing. I liked a lot of this but there are some things I really hated. I know these are decisive issues but I liked the 1978 flash backs, I didn’t mind the main story focusing on side characters and the lack of JLC.Some of the kills were super brutal and fun and I really liked the idea that Michael is supernatural due to the fear of the people of Haddonfield. I really, really dug the idea that Michael would as a child, stare at himself in the reflection of the window studying his true self. I really hated the characterization of Michael. He’s The Shape. He’s the Boogeyman. He’s a stalking shadow or a killer not a guy who fights 12 armed people at a time (multiple times) and comes out victorious with ease. Even the scene where Michael is stabbing the corpse in the back with knives to find the one he wants would be bad rear end normally but just does not fit Michael Myers as we’ve known him. This was a mixed bag for me but probably not something I will revisit like I have 2018 multiple times.
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Oct 16, 2021 22:00
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14. Child’s Play (2019) Solid if unspectacular. I know the movie is about Chucky and Andy’s relationship but I really would have preferred to watch Aubrey Plaza and Brian Tyree Henry do well, just about anything. Hamill’s voice acting is like an old friend there to comfort and guide you through unsure waters. This really could have just started a new killer doll franchise but I guess it’s an easier sell if you throw the Child’s Play name on it. I didn’t think they went far enough with the concept of “What if “the cloud” was taken over by a psychopathic AI”. Even the final fight at the end contained it to just the one Zed Mart. The original is a really really good slasher. The Remake is ok.
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Oct 19, 2021 13:05
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15. Terrifier I had been wanting to check this out for awhile because I really loved the short featuring Art from All Hallow’s Eve. Truthfully, I didn’t really like it that much. I think Art is a fabulous villain but the movie itself just seems like violence against women for the sake of it. If it had been a half hour/45 minutes long featuring just the two ladies from the beginning it probably would have been pretty effective. The gun bits had been spoiled for me a hundred times over so it was not shocking to me as maybe it should have been. They could have saved it somewhat by ending it when Art blows his brains out but as soon as they cut to the coroners office you knew what was coming.
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Oct 19, 2021 15:08
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FreudianSlippers posted:How have you watched almost a hundred films so far? I’m pretty sure they have watched over 300 movies in an October once. Definitely more than 200.
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Oct 21, 2021 23:07
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16. Spiral: From the Book of Saw I gotta be honest, I don't understand why this has gotten such poor reviews. Is it a cinematic masterpiece? No. Is it about as good a movie as you'll get from the Saw universe? I say yes. Admittedly, I've only seen the first 2, and I would watch Chris Rock monologue about anything, but I doubt either of those things would change my opinion. Other than more Sam Jackson, I'm unsure what more someone could want from this film. It's got some gruesome traps/kills, corrupt cops eating poo poo left and right, and Chris Rock! I guess the "twist" was a little obvious but otherwise a good time. 17. Raw I feel like once a challenge I finally watch something I've considered but flipped past numerous times. It seems that every time I really love whatever film that is and this one is no different. A very strange coming of age tale that masquerades as a "cannibalism" movie but is reveled to be more about a family curse. In a film where a girl consumes a part of her own sister, the most shocking thing is probably the sex scene. Raw is funnier than you would expect and features some striking camera work and visuals. Garance Mariller brilliantly captures Justine's transformation from prey to predator as she grows into her new form. If you've been sleeping on this one you should check it out right away. 18. His House As I recall, the horror thread was pretty positive on this early but then kinda of evaporated before gaining much traction. Well that is a shame! When I first put it on I thought I was in for a boring Haunting of Connecticut haunted house situation but boy was I wrong! The "haunts" are generally really well done (but not over done!) and at times creepy as hell. Unlike my review for No One Gets Out Alive, His House is able to pull off both the scares from the supernatural as well as the harrowing way immigrants are treated around the world. The most painful example being our protagonists being told to go back to Africa by some young black British boys. Adding the finishing touch to an already interesting film is the explanation/reveal of why exactly this family is being haunted and it is heartbreaking. His House is able to create feelings of anger, sadness, and fear all for entirely unrelated reasons and I give it a hearty recommendation.
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Oct 22, 2021 16:03
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Ambitious Spider posted:
I’ve watched it 3 times since last October and the gold paint scene gives me goosebumps every time. Great score, great visuals, great movie.
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Oct 23, 2021 00:34
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19. Nightmare Cinema The VHS films could take notes on how do to a solid Wrap Around from Nightmare Cinema. Its not fantastic or anything but at least it doesn't make my eyes roll out of my skull and fall on to the floor. The shorts themselves can be fantastic at times though! The first is a slasher send-up that ends up more alien invasion (reminds me of Tales from Halloween kinda) and it is most hilarious with a cool finale. The second is a story of sinister plastic surgery and truth be told I can't even remember the resolution but I do remember they hosed that poor girl up proper! Even gave her the Total Recall treatment. The third is probably my favorite while also slightly disappointing. Its about a demon who possesses a catholic school and the demon looks loving rad and is way underused. Just throw that demon in every scene of every short if you ask me. However, the most hilarious scene in the whole move occurs in this story where a priest slices up a whole class of school girls with a sword, body parts flying everywhere. Where the third is mostly hilarious and cool. The fourth story is the ultimate tail of gas lighting and is mostly meh except some cool visuals. Where the third story is hilarious and fun, the last story is brutal and depressing. It STARTS with a teenager witnessing his dad being shot in the head and his mom shot multiple times to death. Then he gets shot through the chest! The rest of the short is spent showing his time in the hospital where he is stalked and attacked by his would be killer. I found it to be pretty depressing. Overall though Nightmare Cinema is a pretty good anthology. 20. Late Phases: Night of the lone Wolf I really, really liked this. A blind, retired bad-rear end Vietnam vet moves into a retirement community with a secret (werewolves!). Our hero wastes no time solving the mystery and rather than this movie being about figuring out whats going on, almost its entire length is dedicated to his preparing to be attacked. The thing I really liked about Late Phases is that it has this strange undercurrent sense of humor that it never outright addresses. It knows its not serious, and it knows you know, but behaves like it is deathly serious the whole time. Its not campy but its camp adjacent I would say. I'm sure theres a German word for this. The transition scene was mediocre but considering the rest of the film I was kind of surprised we got one at all. The werewolves themselves were more Wolfman which is what I prefer (to actual wolves) and all varied in look depending on who was in wolf form. My research shows there aren't a lot of highly thought of werewolf movies you probably haven't seen already, so if you need one for the spooky board and haven't seen this, I highly endorse it. At worst, I'd be surprised if you were bored.
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Oct 23, 2021 22:24
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Hollismason posted:7 . Halloween 5 : Revenge of Michael Myers Hahaha he also drops off a victim to pick up cigs, and in one scene just paces around behind some trees rather than hiding.
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Oct 25, 2021 04:56
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21. Children of the Corn I haven't been this unprepared for a bad rear end opening scene since the first time I watched Hellraiser. Sadly, after the first 10 minutes not a drat thing of interest happens for an hour. After they strap Issac to the corn cross, poo poo pops off again but there are probably only 20 quality minutes in the 90 minute run time. So I'd like to take this time to talk about my favorite part of the whole movie, Peter Horton's 1977 Banana Yellow Buick Lesabre. What a ride! In all honesty I had a couple of adult beverages before I watched this so maybe I went a little overboard for my love of the car but here we are 2 days later and I'm still trying to find one for sale. I actually was able to find one at a good price only 30 minutes from me but the listing was 2 months old and nobody has gotten back to me. Children of the Corn ladies and gentlemen! Banana Yellow! 22. The Ranger The Ranger reminds me a lot of the last season of Game of Thrones. The filmmakers had a list of things that needed to be done and they were determined to make it from point A to point B to point C with absolutely no nuance. A brief 80 minutes but you can really tell. It needed another 15 minutes to flesh out both the main and the Ranger himself. As I can recall, there is 0 characterization given to why the Ranger does what he does other than he's mad about his mountain. There is not one single likable character in this whole movie. The protagonist sucks, her friends suck, the ranger sucks. Everybody sucks. If I was trying to take any artistic reading of this at all, the only thing I could come up with is the irony of how similar these counter culture punk rockers are to the mainstream they probably hate. The only difference between the punk rock scene they are a part of and normal college aged poo poo heads are the clothes and the music. 23. One Cut of the Dead I'm not gonna be as high on this as most others. Its not that I thought it was bad, it just didn't blow me away. Now, part of that might be because the "twist" was spoiled for me from reading 1000 reviews on this over the last couple of years. I can imagine going in blind would have a lot more impact. Once the change over happens and they start showing you how everything was done, it is pretty god drat funny.
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Oct 26, 2021 14:05
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24. 3 From Hell I originally saw this in the theatre and didn't care for it much. Unfortunately by the time I bought tickets we were sitting in the front row and having to crane my neck definitely enhanced the bad time I was having so I promised I would rewatch. I liked it much more this time. My main issue with it the last time around was the making of the 3 heroes and them receiving no comeuppance for their terrible actions. This time, maybe it was knowing the beats or whatever, it didn't concern me at all. I was really able to enjoy some of the grimy hectic shots and understood a lot of the people they killed deserved it. I still think its somewhat redundant to and not nearly as good as, Devils Rejects, but it does stand on its own and I could see rewatching it again. 25. Sputnik For whatever reason, Hulu thinks this movie needs audio descriptions on and theres absolutely nothing you can do about it. Between that, and my expectation that much more of this movie would take place in space, I don't really have any complaints. The alien design is super cool and looks great every time its shown. The plot itself and resolution are both strong. The film is well paced and there really aren't any slow moments. It I had to nit-pick one thing, it would have been nice to see the actual alien attack thats hinted at on the movie poster. 26. House (1986) A movie that I'm sure every one of us stared at the cover art for at Blockbuster many times. Sadly, the movie does not live up to the poster. There are some really great Raimi-esque monster designs and puppets that I wish had been recycled and used in a better movie. I don't believe we ever get an explanation as to WHY the house is haunted and the plot is mostly a muddled mess. I guess this is supposed to be a comedy of some sort but the jokes must have gone over my head or under my butt because other than a line or two I found nothing humorous about House. But Boy oh boy those creatures! Anytime they are on screen the quality of what you're watching improves 100 fold. I can not express enough how good, cool, and perfectly 80s they are. 27. Sweet 16 (1983) This will be one of those rare reviews where I don't have a ton good to say about this movie and yet I still liked it? A pretty blatant attempt to ape Friday the 13th but with even worse acting and a less interesting story. I still liked it more than The Burning which is probably not a popular opinion. Almost everyone in the movie is likable and those who aren't bite it. The pacing leaves never a dull moment for phone checking. The mystery is not easily solved although I might argue thats because the solution is silly and kind of out of nowhere. There's even some recognition of white people being lovely towards Native Americans and some sympathy towards their situation which seems somewhat progressive for 1983.
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Oct 29, 2021 14:45
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28. Saint Maud An atmospheric slow burn but worth the wait. Well paced and entertaining throughout, however the biggest compliment I can levy is that this gave me my biggest scare of the whole month. I don't know if it was actually scary or I was just unprepared but in the next to last scene when Maud's former patient looks and speaks like she's possessed gave me goosebumps and I was quite uncomfortable during and for a few minutes after. The following scenes are also incredible and really give a strong end to the film. 29. The Shallows I saw this in theaters on its original run and I liked it a bunch. As it turns out, its the first and only horror movie I ended up with on 4K UHD but thats ok because it is STUNNING. Perfect movie to watch in 4k. The beautiful beach, the overhead shots of the water, the underwater shots, everything is just gorgeous. More importantly, this is just a good rear end movie! For my money the best shark attack movie aside from Jaws. Now, you will have to suspend some disbelief because this is the hungriest most vicious shark of all time, but if you can ignore the logical inconsistencies, this movie really delivers on the tension. As I mentioned I had seen it before and even still was startled a few times on second viewing.
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Oct 30, 2021 20:21
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30. The Funhouse (1983) I was so ready to jump into this thread and refute all the other reviews of this film. Everything about it suggests that it should be fantastic. The setting, the aesthetic, Tobe Hooper. Ultimately, I will not be upsetting the apple cart. All the other reviews are pretty much spot on. Nothing happens in this movie for a solid drat hour. The setting is barely used and even when it is, not well enough imo. There is no funhouse full or deadly animatronics or killer freaks, I guess there are a couple funhouse traps but nothing mind blowing. There isn't even a drat clown with an axe like the cover art suggests. Its basically a group of "teens" stuck in a funhouse with a couple of TCM's cousins who left Texas to hit the road. Now, the best part of the whole movie is, the reveal of and any scene featuring, the monstrous son of the seemingly lead carnie fellow. Great design, ugly and terrifying as heck. But that is really all the positive I got out of The Funhouse. 31. Hocus Pocus Not gonna spend a ton of time on this because I watch it and try to find some new angle to review it from every year. Just a great movie let alone kids movie and with some more serious adult tones than you might expect. If you haven't seen this, remedy that already for heavens sake. 32. The People Under the Stairs This was not at all what I expected but I really liked it. Its equally spooky, strange, and at times downright hilarious. The dog going down the slide and accompanying sound effects had me in stitches. I don't say this often but this is a film that could really benefit from a remake if done correctly, at least from a scary movie point of view. There is no way they could recapture the early 90s hokeyness that provide the humor throughout. The themes of the movie still resonate today and probably more so than ever. Its always jarring when you watch a movie made in the early 90s or earlier and realize not a loving thing has changed in this country in 30+ years. Somehow, horror comedy The People Under the Stairs captures that perfectly with regards to race and capitalism. Most importantly it touches on them effortlessly as its barely spoken out loud just simmering underneath the surface. I sort of hit my goals! I watched 31+ movies but did not get to 35 which would have been a new personal record. Though if you counted the movies that were on when I was black-out on Saturday night I might have gotten there! I also, most importantly, hit a SPOOKY! The few black and white movies represent things I watched before the challenge started just to see how much of my card I covered but none of them counted towards the Bingo. I apologize for my terrible editing skills. 
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Nov 1, 2021 15:40
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| # ¿ May 18, 2024 23:36 |
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Can I please have a spook a doodle crew tag again as well?
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Nov 22, 2021 05:29
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