Racketboy Month of Horror 10: The Rebootening

[Ack]

I also watched the Bannana Splits movie. Honestly? Stuff like this is what I miss from old the old Sci Fi channel, so I was all for it. Probably not going to buy it on DVD though.

I also played and finished Silent Hill 3. It's a real good game, but I beat it in four hours, which I didn't expect. Clicked for me way better than SH2. Though screw those things that are really low to the ground. I could never kill them.

Yeah, part of the point of Silent Hill 3 is the absurd number of unlockables you can get in the game. Alternate weapons, alternate costumes, bullet multipliers, a couple of different endings...there is a lot to do. By the time I had found everything, I was regularly beating the game in an hour, though you can do faster.

Also, yes, the Banana Splits movie was originally a Five Nights at Freddy's script, but the license could not be secured(there is currently a movie version of that in the works). So instead, WB picked up the script. Yeah, it's a Warner Bros. production.

[Ack]

I'm behind in my horror movie posts!



10. 1922 (2017)

I first heard about this film when it debuted on Netflix in 2017, but only recently did I get to sit down and watch it. Thomas Jane plays a farmer named Wilf who, along with his son, murders his wife in 1922 to get access to her inheritance. Unfortunately, despite a bountiful summer, things go to hell in a hand basket as strange events occur, and by the start of 1923, Wilf's on the run. By 1930, when the overarching story takes place as Wilf writes down his confession, he's crippled, destitute, and an alcoholic. And then comes the end.

This movie hit onto a theme that has started to develop in my watchings: rat movies. The vengeful spirit that plagues Wilf is heralded by rats; they are her minions, and they wreak havoc on the farm. They're not all that gets to Wilf, but they're effective as a part of the overall haunting and a creepy component of her rage. As for Jane, he's phenomenal in the role of Wilf and feels authentic to a rural farmer in the days before the Depression. I had a wonderful time watching this.




11. Eaten Alive (1976)

I watched this because I was in the mood for another Video Nasty, and I was not disappointed. Judd, a hotel owner in a swamp with a pet crocodile, likes to take a scythe and go after people because...he's crazy. Or it's a sex thing. Or he's just crazy. Oh, who cares? This movie is ridiculous, and it's fantastic. Watching Judd justify how his crocodile kills folks because it's nature is just as good as him listening to old country songs or suddenly going hog wild with his scythe just because he can. He's also smart enough to realize he can't have witnesses, but he's too dumb to realize just how obvious he is. He's not smart enough to get away with all this, so you know he's gonna lose, but you're gonna get to see what he can do in the meantime.

In the meanwhile, this is a sort of who's who of horror and exploitation, with Robert Englund, Roberta Collins, William Finley, Carolyn Jones, and Marilyn Burns all putting in appearances. Oh, and Mel Ferrer too. Even the child, Kyle Richards, ended up in Halloween. All this, and it's directed by Tobe Hooper on a sound stage in LA. Of all the Video Nasties I've seen, this is one of the more watchable.




12. Manhattan Baby (1982)

While this isn't my favorite Lucio Fulci film, I had always been under the impression that it was supposed to be terrible. Fulci himself hated it, as did the screenwriter, though that was more over the lousy relationship with the producer than anything else. And the movie is classic Fulci: over emphasis on eyes, bizarre plots, fantastical supernatural elements that make no sense...it's one of his, all right.

A scientist works to uncover an ancient tomb in Egypt but is struck blind, while his daughter gets a magic amulet that uses her as a vessel to spread evil into New York City. While her new powers make no damn sense whatsoever, there is one element that I greatly appreciate: Egyptian horror without freaking mummies! Whenever Egypt comes up in a horror film, there's almost always a mummy; it's the easy, obvious way out. Fulci could have gone that route, but instead he goes full on bizarre with killer snakes, a gory arm breaking through the wall, and killer taxidermy birds.

Yes, it's ridiculous, but I still found it preferable to Fulci's later films such as Voices from Beyond or Aenigma.




13. Willard (1971)

This is the granddaddy of all rat movies. Willard is a dull boy, a weak-willed character who is controlled by his domineering and sickly mother while being humiliated by his cruel boss at work. But Willard finds a friend in Socrates, a white rat...and then a second in a big rat named Ben. As Willard spends more time with the rats, his confidence grows, while the real world around him starts spinning further and further out of control. Eventually, he uses his rats to commit murder. By this point he knows he's crossed a line and doesn't need the rats anymore. Unfortunately, Ben has other ideas.

I find this movie a tough watch, not because it's bad, but because it's painful to see just how pathetic Willard is in the beginning. About a half hour in, things have begun to pick up, but it's rough going. What's not rough is Ernest Borgnine as the film's main villain, Willard's cruel boss Al Martin. He's a perfect representation of most of the bad executives I know, and Borgnine is fantastic coming off as a real sleazebag.

At some point, I'll get around to watching the sequel, Ben. Bring on more rat movies!

13/31

1. Mulberry Street
2. As Above, So Below
3. Southbound
4. Don't Look in the Basement
5. Turkey Shoot
6. Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer
7. It Chapter 2
8. Mausoleum
9. Razorback
10. 1922
11. Eaten Alive
12. Manhattan Baby
13. Willard

[Michi]

Write-up #5:

Blood Theatre

Killer Workout
A Blade In The Dark
My Mom's a Werewolf
The Prowler
Blood Theatre

[dsheinem]

Horror movie watching continues...

Creatures the World Forgot (1971) - I wanted to watch a few Hammer films this month and, while this one is hard to classify as horror, there is a fair amount of gore in the movie and at least a couple of horrific scenes - so it goes on my list! In any case, this is a dialogue-less and grunt-filled "caveman" film that, despite the semi-frequent sexploitation scenes, nonetheless tells a series of connected and compelling narratives about early humans (the "forgotten creatures") that are punctuated by B-movie special effects, overly dramatic musical cues and camera pans, and many of the other elements for which Hammer films are best remembered/revered. I enjoyed it far more than I should have, and I am guessing many folks here would too.

Happy Death Day (2017) - I really enjoyed this one, and while the "Groundhog Day as a horror movie" moniker isn't unfair, it doesn't mean that the film doesn't still have a lot of originality and charm. Jessica Rothe is fantastic, there are some key scenes that toe the serious/campy line quite nicely, and the film moves at a brisk pace. I am looking forward to checking out the sequel...


Previously:
1. The Beaning (2017)
2. Videodrome (1983)
3. Blood Feast (1963)
4. The Devils (1971)
5. Möbius (2017)
6. Fear X (2003)
7. A Quiet Place (2018)

[prfsnl_gmr]

Great reviews, team! I am really enjoying these.

.....

Last night, my wife and I watched Creepy (2016), a film by Kiyoshi Kurosawa, who directed Pulse (2001) and Cure (1997), two of the very best Japanese horror films. (He also directed Sweet Home (1985), which I haven’t seen, but which I understand is the basis for Capcom’s first survival horror game.) Stylistically and thematically, Creepy most resembles Cure in that it is somewhat of a mystery/police procedural with horror elements. (Other examples include Insomnia, Manhunter, The Silence of the Lambs, etc.). Without giving too much away, the film involves a retired police detective investigating a cold case in which a family disappeared six years earlier. As the investigation proceeds, it casts suspicion on the detective’s eccentric neighbors with whom his socially isolated wife is becoming increasingly friendly. For a little over half of it’s running time, the film plays more like a mystery, and I was wondering whether I should even write about it in this thread. By the end, however, there was absolutely no doubt in my mind it was a horror film, and the set up in the first 75 minutes pays off spectacularly in the film’s second half. Moreover, the performances are universally excellent, with Teruyuki Kagawa’s Mr. Nishijima echoing some of Peter Lorre’s very best work. The atmosphere instills a sense of growing dread, and the film is shot beautifully. True to it’s title, almost everything about the film is claustrophobic and creepy, and I doubt I’ll see a better horror film this month. In fact, Creepy May be one of the best film’s I’ve seen this year in any genre, and I really can’t recommend it highly enough. (As a bonus, it’s available for streaming on Amazon; so, anyone with the service can watch it for free.)

prfsnl_gmr’s Halloween Movies 2019 (The Ill-Conceived Reboot)
1. Witchboard -
2. Mad Love -
3. The Love Witch -
4. Goodnight, Mommy -
5. The Monkey’s Paw -
6. Spider Baby -
7. Bone Tomahawk -
8. Creepy -

[chupon]

Some might like this resource:

http://www.critcononline.com/horror%20d%20-%20i.htm

[Ack]

Boom, I watched another bunch of films.



14. TerrorVision (1986)

Did you know this movie has a Rotten Tomatoes score of 0%? Maybe it's because TerrorVision mocks everything about our 1980s culture, from our failing obsession with sexuality to our conservative military worship to our materialistic consumerism fueled by teenagers to our worship of television. Everybody is on the chopping block to be laughed at and criticized in a film about a hideous alien monster that comes through the TV. That, and it feels like a 1950s B-movie.

There is a difference between something like this and a movie like Monster in the Closet. That one apes the 1950s style in its entirety, while this one feels more like it's updating the tropes of yesteryear to slam what was at the time modern. And it does it with gooey special effects and tongue firmly in cheek. It deserves better than a 0% from the critics...but then my opinion is most certainly flawed.




15. Bride of Re-Animator (1990)

Yes, it's basically Bride of Frankenstein through the Re-Animator lens. It's not as good as either of those movies, but that's ok, it still has its weird bit of charm. Basically the characters from the first film try to continue their work, but one is sorting out the mess that are his feelings, while the other is still the same old Herbert West, obsessed with his work and that's all.

What do you get? You get zombies, weird dead things stitched together, and some gore; you get dark humor as well as sometimes goofy special effects; you occasionally get a ridiculous amount of blood. It's not as good as the first, but it's still more watchable than a lot of other crap sequels. Know that if you loved the original, you'll probably still like this one, even if it isn't as memorable.




16. Return of the Living Dead III (1993)

Director Brian Yuzna did Bride of Re-Animator but wasn't happy with how little time was spent focusing on his stitched together undead lady, so when he got his hands on the third chapter of the Return of the Living Dead series, he made sure to highlight his female zombie as much as he could.

Mindy Clarke takes center stage as a woman who gets killed in a motorcycle accident and brought back by her boyfriend using his dad's top secret military project. Unfortunately, she's dead and wants to eat brains, so she subjects herself to pain to stop it from consuming her...until she gets the chance to feed. Yeah, Yuzna got what he wanted, so if you're into masochistic necrophilia, well, you might just be into this movie. Me, I kinda have a thing for the still living. I never did go watch Nekromantik.

Still, the zombie effects here are memorable, particularly one guy early on who's face splits off to reveal half his skull. While it isn't Tarman memorable like the original film, it's cool to watch. Also, there are some dudes totally failing to play a Street Fighter II arcade cabinet in this one yet claiming they made it to "level 7." Dude, you guys suck at Street Fighter.




17. Darkness Falls (2003)

This is the name of one of my favorite X-Files episodes. As for this movie...*yawn*. Look, it's a PG-13 horror film from the early 2000s when CG was thought to cure all ills, and the central premise is darkness, so what you can see doesn't look good, but you can't see it anyway.

Look, it's not a bad premise. The Tooth Fairy is an evil lady who attacks folks who see her face and can't stand the light, hence why she comes at night when everyone is asleep to collect your teeth. It's a good place to start. In execution, it feels silly and inconsistent how the light weakness is handled.

That said, the big monster gets killed by a dude lighting his arm on fire and then upper cutting it in the face with his flaming fist, so...not all bad.




18. The Unnamable (1988)

The movie could have been called The Unwatchable, because it's bland. Then again, it's a Lovecraft story that was translated into a script in under 7 days, so the stilted dialogue and one-dimensional characters seem like a pretty accurate capturing of Lovecraft's style of prose.

Basically a bunch of college kids who definitely look to be in their late 20s end up in a house that houses a weird demon lady. Two are the most frat-tastic douche canoes you will ever see, and they invite two ladies to come along to try and get laid. One of them is a final girl-type character, so that doesn't work out, and we get an attempted rape scene before the guy realizes what he's doing and instead has a heart to heart with her. The other guys are three friends who accidentally wandered out of The Dead Poets Society, one of which is some kind of stand in for Lovecraft. He even talks like a Lovecraft character, which is to say that I'm surprised he can walk from all the wedgies I'm sure he got in junior high.

Well, monster shows up, folks run around the house, monster kills folks. End of movie. Also, the Necronomicon pops up. That book gets around like an eager French prostitute during Libération de Paris.




19. The Driller Killer (1979)

Do you like your movies with things like pacing and plot? No? Then have I got a movie for you. I told my therapist this morning that I was watching this movie. He nearly sprayed his coffee all over me. This is why I attend counseling.

Look, this is a scuzzy piece of sleaze set in New York about an outsider artist struggling to pay the bills and finish a piece of art while going insane, struggling with his two girlfriends, and putting up with the proto-punk band that moved in next door. When all else fails, he snaps and kills homeless people with a power drill once mutilating a rabbit corpse no longer does it for him. The violent cover art and content (possibly along with a random lesbian shower scene, though it was mainly the VHS cover art) got this movie onto the Video Nasty list in the UK, which is why I tracked it down. Hell, it basically caused the VN list to get created in the first place. As far as the lower budget end of the Nasties list goes, I'm on the fence about whether I like this one; I think I prefer The Toolbox Murders for these kinds of kills, but it's head and shoulders above Don't Look in the Basement.

Most of this feels like a music video combined with street people in NYC. At times it's cinéma vérité at its grimiest. Director Abel Ferrera dedicated this movie to the people of New York, "The City of Hope." I like his sense of humor.

19/31

1. Mulberry Street
2. As Above, So Below
3. Southbound
4. Don't Look in the Basement
5. Turkey Shoot
6. Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer
7. It Chapter 2
8. Mausoleum
9. Razorback
10. 1922
11. Eaten Alive
12. Manhattan Baby
13. Willard
14. TerrorVision
15. Bride of Re-Animator
16. Return of the Living Dead III
17. Darkness Falls
18. The Unnamable
19. The Driller Killer

[Michi]

Write-up #6:

The Killing Hour

Killer Workout
A Blade In The Dark
My Mom's a Werewolf
The Prowler
Blood Theatre
The Killing Hour

[dsheinem]

moar scarez:

The Monster Maker (1944) - This film holds a 3% on Rotten Tomatoes, which seems very unfair. There's some nice of-its-era makeup effects here that create the titular "monster" and the larger plot about a crazed mad scientist who disrupts the life of a famous pianist and his family is enough to sustain attention for the short hour that the film takes to unfold. The performances are campy and there are some boring "chasing through the shadows" scenes, but otherwise this one is decent enough if you are looking for a short film in the genre/from the era.

The Purge (2013) - The premise here - an annual night of state-licensed anarchy - holds a lot more promise than the film ultimately delivers. Despite the cool idea, what unfolds is a pretty straight-up home invasion flick with better-than-average performances for the genre from Ethan Hawke and Lena Heady. It whet my appetite enough to check out the sequels (I hear the newest one is the best?), and I look forward to seeing if, in subsequent installments, the idea behind the series spills out into the kind "carnage and chaos in the streets" that I was hoping to see in this one.

Us (2019) - I was more lukewarm than most to Get Out, and my reaction to this one was basically the same: I liked it, but there's some glaring plot holes and underdeveloped ideas that hold it back from greatness and work against the film's success as a whole. The film is extremely technically competent and the main draw - the attack scenes and the supernatural elements - are genuinely thrilling to watch and, at times, deliciously unnerving. I think Peele has a great horror film in him, and I think this and Get Out are steps along the way - and so I am excited to see what comes next.

Dolls (1987) - This one is a bit of an underrated gem, and while the next year's Child's Play would come to define the "slasher doll" style of horror films, this one offers a lot of great ideas and does a number of things better. It tropish characters are well cast, the creepy doll special effects regularly offer a nice uncanny valley effect, and there are some inspired kill scenes (I especially like the toy soldiers' firing line assault).

Previously:
1. The Beaning (2017)
2. Videodrome (1983)
3. Blood Feast (1963)
4. The Devils (1971)
5. Möbius (2017)
6. Fear X (2003)
7. A Quiet Place (2018)
8. Creatures the World Forgot (1971)
9. Happy Death Day (2017)

[prfsnl_gmr]

Nice reviews, DSH. My wife watched Us during a flight earlier this year - I, apparently, was too busy playing Tecmo Bowl on my PSP to enjoy an in-flight movie - and your thoughts echo hers almost exactly.