The 2016 October Horror Marathon

[prfsnl_gmr]

DOUBLE POST!!

I found this list of Fangoria Magazine's 300 Best Horror Movies last night:

http://www.listchallenges.com/fangoria-top-300-horror-movies

It is a decent list with both, IMO, glaring omissions (e.g., Army of Darkness, Cure, etc.) and some questionable inclusions (e.g., The Brain That Wouldn't Die, Dagon, etc.). It is also a bit dated, and the latest film on the list is from 2013. It is still fun to read through if, like me, you are looking for new movies. Moreover, you can check off the movies you've seen. (I have seen just over half of the films on this list.)

Enjoy!

[Ack]

There are some weird choices on that list, both in what was included and what was left off. In fact there were quite a few that I'd say aren't horror films, at least not in the traditional sense, even if some of their subject matter or visuals are quite horrific. I do appreciate that it is a variety of horror movies from an array of time periods and cultures though.

Anyway, I am at 159/300. I'm slacking.

[noiseredux]

Jordy, if you think Dagon is a questionable inclusion then I'm starting to think that YOU'RE a questionable inclusion.

[prfsnl_gmr]

There are some weird choices on that list. . . .

Yeah...The fact that the movie I watched last night, Fright Night (2011), is not on the list is baffling to me. Likewise, I do not think the list contains enough Asian or "found footage" horror films. That said, it is still a fun read, and it gives me some movies to seek out.

Also, you beat me. I have only seen 152 of those movies!

Jordy, if you think Dagon is a questionable inclusion then I'm starting to think that YOU'RE a questionable inclusion.

You're right. Dagon arguably deserves a place on the list. Trick 'r Treat, however, has go to go...

[Ack]

The one that gets me the most is Requiem for a Dream. Yes, the subject matter is pretty horrific, but I view it as a straight drama about a crumbling family. Likewise Un Chien Andalou is an experimental art film that ended up on this list probably only for the one famous gore scene. It's weird.

Also, none of the Coffin Joe movies? For shame.

[Ack]

14. Shock

Dora Baldini moves back into her home with her son and new husband after having spent several years in an institution, where she underwent electroshock therapy for a nervous breakdown related to her first husband's mysterious disappearance. The previous husband was an addict and a failure, and Dora tells her son that one day he left and simply never came back. What she doesn't yet realize is that her husband is most definitely dead, but he has also most definitely come back. Slowly but surely her son's behavior begins to change, dreams and hallucinations begin to haunt her, and objects start winding up in strange places. Everything comes to a head in the end, as Dora realizes her son is being possessed by the spirit of his dead father, and her second husband is keeping a terrible secret about a dark deed she committed.

While it's not my favorite haunted house movie by far, Shock still manages to offer up disturbing imagery and creepy moments, supported by a theme that seems to come from a music box but is often used for exploitative effect. You can never quite be sure if you are hearing the same music as the characters in the film, because they will also interact and react with it in ways that you don't always expect. One of my favorite moments involves our leading lady walking into the music room while a building piano tune marches on. She enters the room and discovers the piano still just as the music suddenly ceases, and I realize that she's been hearing the same things I have. It makes for a slightly jarring experience for me to know that even the soundtrack isn't "safe" in the context of the film.

If there is a downside, it's that I find the timeline of the story a little nonsensical. At one point the second husband mentions it being at least seven years since the first husband disappeared, but the son is of an indeterminable age(perhaps he was 1 or 2 when the first husband disappeared?), and from what I have gathered, that also means that Dora has spent nearly the whole of seven years in an institution. Also the movie doesn't seem to support its major plot reveal at the end; it just didn't seem plausible based on how the characters had been behaving. I'd also have loved more haunting stuff(of course I would have), but I am pretty happy with what I got, particularly the repetition of hands and the box cutter that keeps reappearing. There is also a sexual undercurrent to the ghostly first husband, though this gets a bit weird and incestual at times since he is possessing his son to go after the boy's mother.

Shock was director Mario Bava's last theatrical production, though he did make one more feature in 1979 before his death. Surprisingly it was also released under the title Beyond the Door II despite not being related to the Exorcist-rip off film Beyond the Door or even loosely pulling from The Exorcist. The only real crossover is the idea of a possession by a spiritual entity, but here the ghost felt more in line with the spirit in the later 1980 release The Changeling. I consider that a good thing though, as The Changeling happens to be my favorite haunted house movie.

Is Shock worth tracking down? If you like 1970s Italian horror movies, then yes, I'd suggest checking it out. It's not great, nor is it as iconic as the titles that helped Mario Bava bring Italian horror to the forefront of horror film, but it is good enough to seek out if you are a fan.

14/31

1. Late Phases
2. Ghoulies
3. Nightbeast
4. Tombs of the Blind Dead
5. Return of the Blind Dead
6. The Ghost Galleon
7. Night of the Seagulls
8. Chopping Mall
9. Bad Moon
10. C.H.U.D. II: Bud the C.H.U.D.
11. Dead Heat
12. Varan the Unbelievable
13. The Milpitas Monster
14. Shock

[J T]

The one that gets me the most is Requiem for a Dream. Yes, the subject matter is pretty horrific, but I view it as a straight drama about a crumbling family. Likewise Un Chien Andalou is an experimental art film that ended up on this list probably only for the one famous gore scene. It's weird.

Also, none of the Coffin Joe movies? For shame.

Requiem is definitely an odd choice. I think Un Chien Andalou is a worthwhile mention though. That scene of the eyeball being cut with a straight razor is forever burned in my memory, and is particularly gruesome for the time period in which it was released. But beyond that graphic image, the surreal nature of the film has an almost nightmarish quality to it that is steeped in the symbolism of the popular psychoanalytic dream analysis of its time. I haven't seen the film in many years, but I recall there was a scene where I believe a man was dragging a piano that was tied to him with a large chain. That felt so much like nightmares where you can't run. While it's not overtly of the horror genre, it is often a symbolic meditation on darker aspects of the human psyche. It's such an unusual film, that it doesn't really neatly fit into any genre other than 'experimental art film', so I think it's a fair addition. Plus, they probably just wanted to say "Hey! Look! Here's a cool weird film that Salvador Dali was involved in creating!" to get more people to watch this movie and to keep it from being lost in the annals of time.

[Jagosaurus]

I really did enjoy 2011 Fright Night also. I kept waiting for an awesome Werewolf transformation (or de-transformation) scene, but no luck. My only gripe.

I had no idea there was a 2013 Fright Night 2: New Blood. Any one see this?

[Jagosaurus]

Okay, so this is interesting. To anyone who has heard of the Stardust Ranch, Top5s just put out a short documentary style video on the ranch. I think this guy might be experiencing something on the property, but at this point it has drove him be mentally unhealthy.

The Mysterious Stardust Ranch | Aliens, UFOs & Paranormal Activity | Documentary (YouTube)

Also knocked out another episode of:

The No Sleep Podcast: How Many Fairies

... something about fairies and the fae lore freaks me out. Not sure why. Not the best episode writing, but the voice actor did a solid job and the content itself is a topic I find interesting.


2016 Month of Horror so Far:

Podcast - Count: 10
• Stuff They Don't Want You To Know: The Secret World of Psychopaths
• The No Sleep Podcast: Borrasca
• The No Sleep Podcast: The Woman Made of Glass
• The No Sleep Podcast: Dead Arm
• The No Sleep Podcast: Sisters in the Snow
• The No Sleep Podcast: You Are What You Eat
• The No Sleep Podcast: My Little Sister
• The No Sleep Podcast: Stories for My Daughter
• The No Sleep Podcast: The House in the Field
• The No Sleep Podcast: How Many Fairies


TV/Streaming - Count: 8
• 5 Creepiest & Most Huanted Locations in World (YouTube)
• 5 Terrifying Ouija Board Experiences & Gone Wrong Stories (YouTube)
• 5 Incredibly Creepy & Chilling Paranormal Photos (YouTube)
• 5 Terrifying & Convincing Videos of Ghosts Caught On CCTV Cameras (YouTube)
• 5 Darkest & Most Sinister Haunted Hospitals in The World (YouTube)
• The Mysterious Stardust Ranch | Aliens, UFOs & Paranormal Activity | Documentary (YouTube)
• Halloween Wars S6 E1
• Halloween Wars S6 E2

Movies - Count: 2
• Backcountry


• Scream (re-watch)

[prfsnl_gmr]

I had no idea there was a 2013 Fright Night 2: New Blood. Any one see this?

I saw a copy of it in a store...but since it looks pretty terrible, I didn't pick it up.