This list is 100% medically accurate
10/1 Double Feature Kickoff!
1.
Frozen (2010) BD
How in the hell do 3 people get stranded on a ski lift? "Oh, that's how!" Kudos to Adam Green for trying something new and creating something completely different than Hatchet. Green does a great job at building suspense in truly ridiculous situation but I felt this movie was missing something to put it over the top. "Stupidity" is the enemy here. A welcome change from all the slasher/monster remakes.
C+
2.
Madman (1982) DVD
Warning: Madman should only be watched in groups and expect lots of laughs. It's Friday the 13th without the terror. The campiest of the "camp" movies. Cheesy music, bad acting, horrible dialogue, etc. The Madman theme song sung 'round the campfire will have your head rolling in laughter. PS - Madman Marz is in serious need of a mani pedi. Movie:
D Fun Factor:
B+
10/2
3.
The Living Dead at Manchester Morgue aka
Let Sleeping Corpses Lie aka
Don't Open the Window (1974) BD
JACKPOT! This is truly one of the best zombie movies I've seen. Radiation waves are reanimating the dead and giving them a taste for flesh. I loved the two lead characters and how the movie played like a zombie crime thriller. The scenery looked incredible and mostly all of the blood and guts popped off the screen. And the ending......NICE!
B+
10/3
4.
The Killer Inside Me (2010) BD
Casey Afleck plays a low-key sexually deranged murderer. This could have been a good movie but the violent sex was way overdone. After a dozen times I'm thinking "OK NOW WE GET IT!" I hate to hop on the chick bashing bandwagon but Alba and Hudson were the other weak points. I think Kate Hudson even lost her accent during a heated exchange. I had high expectations for this one. Meh....
C-
10/4
5.
Blood Creek (2009) DVD
What a pleasant surprise. Joel Schumacher directs this supernatural Nazi zombie flick. Looks great, sounds great, pretty cool story and bearable acting. Very good efx too! Aside from some of the usual horror pitfalls
Blood Creek was a good time. Who doesn't like Nazi zombies?!
B-
10/5
6.
C.H.U.D. (1984) DVD
Cannibalistic Humanoid Underground Dwellers! Toxic waste in the NY sewers is creating monsters and the government tries to cover it up. Pretty cheesy but has a charm to it. The lead cop plays it over the top and that's great for some laughs. Corny monsters, Daniel Stern and a young John Goodman also add to the goodness.
C+
10/6
7.
La Horde (2009) DVD
French. High energy. Zombies. Crooked cops & criminals. Gore. La Horde = Dawn of the Dead + Assault on Precinct 13 on cocaine.
B
10/7 Accidental Double Feature
8.
The Screaming Skull (1958) DVD
There's a warning from the producers before the movie saying they will pay for your coffin if you die of fright. OH SNAP - this has to be good! NOPE! I'll never complain about modern day horror movies again. For every s**t remake today there's a turd from the 50's/ 60's. Recap: Homeboy's rich wife dies in a mysterious accident. His new wife is rich too and has mental issues. She starts seeing the ghost of his old lady every time Mickey the suspicious gardener is around. Is she crazy? Do we care? Highlight was the 68 minute running time I needed to fit it in.
D+
9.
The Evil Dead II (1987) DVD
I'm more of an Evil Dead guy. I prefer the raw and gritty feel of it. ED2 is just a polished, funnier version that serves as the bridge to Army of Darkness. A great companion piece I suppose. The bread in this horror sandwich is much tastier than the meat in the middle. My horror fan license may be revoked here:
C+
10/8
10.
The Video Dead (1987) MGMhd
Zombies come out of a television. There's a fine line between "so bad it's good" and just plain bad. The Video Dead teeters on that line and luckily it lands on the good side (barely). Bad 80's acting and dialogue. Even worse directing. The kid smokes a little reefer, watches TV and all hell breaks loose. Kudos for the use of a bow & arrow. It's not often we get to see archery skills utilized in a horror film.
C+
10/9
11.
The Nail Gun Massacre (1985) DVD
This movie was grindhouse gold! It starts with a gal getting gang-r@ped at a construction site. It then turns into a wild vigilante tale with a disguised killer and his/her weapon of choice: A nail gun. Construction workers get punctured left and right in various body parts. There's lots of the other "nailing" too (T&A). A great revenge tale with the killer delivering hilarious one-liners after each murder. The acting is atrocious and the material these "actors" are given is some of the worst I've seen. The Nail Gun Massacre is a really bad movie but very entertaining trash cinema. Nails, B00bs & blood.
B-
12.
Inside (À l'intérieur) (2007) DVD
Inside is one the most violent, bloody and brutal horror movies I've ever seen. This crazy film never loses its impact no matter how many times I watch it. A home invasion on your last day of pregnancy? Talk about a bad night. And that's just the beginning! "La femme" is right up there on my favorite horror villains list. She's [Rick James voice]"cold blooded!" Oh and the 5.1 sound mix is a kicker.
Inside leads the pack in the recent French horror invasion.
A-
13.
Re-Animator (1985) DVD
Nothing new to say here. Jeffrey Combs gives an outstanding performance as the insanely demented scientist Herbert West. Who wouldn't want to play God? Glowy green glowstick juice brings the dead back to life!
50% Frankenstein
50% Zombie movie
100% PURE INSANITY!
Re-Animator is a blast and contains one of the best 3rd acts in horror. It gets better every time I see it!
A-
10/10
14.
The Blob (1988) DVD
Congratulations to Kevin Dillon on winning the “worst hair ever in a horror movie” award. The Blob is a gooey good time from beginning to end. I forgot Shawnee Smith was in this too. She must have been lying in a ditch somewhere between 1988 and 2004 (Saw). Like The Thing, The Blob is one of the rare instances where the remake owns the original. The fast pace, fun story and gross kills (including an all time great involving a sink) make The Blob a very entertaining small town horror movie. The rich pink/purple/blue visuals are a nice touch too. I'll coin it: “Bubblegum Argento”.
B
10/11
15.
So Sweet, So Dead (1972) DVD
Pretty good giallo where the killer is slicing up cheating wives one by one and leaving photos of them in the act. All of the murders are pretty much the same with little variation. Beautiful wife cheats, gets naked, then cut up. Rinse, repeat. The uncut footage (mostly sex) that was spliced in wasn't needed and didn't add anything to the movie. Wait did I just write that?!
So Sweet, So Dead is decent genre pic and definitely worth checking out – just not at $35!
C+
10/12
16.
The Wizard of Gore (1970) DVD
I've been meaning to watch this for a long time but never got around to it. Everything about this movie is so horribly bad, yet it's so damn good. In Juno Jason Bateman and Ellen Page have an Argento vs. HG Lewis discussion that leads to a viewing of this movie. Juno ends up loving it and gives the "Godfather of Gore" his props. The acting and sets are worse than anything I've seen in a student film. The gore is fresh, wet and extra sloppy. The story is fun and Montag the Magician is highly entertaining with his commanding stage presence. This fine film wraps up with an ending that blew my mind in a way that only Inception could top [pun] this year. Definitely my favorite of 2010 so far.
A
10/13
17.
Ben (1972) DVD
This was my wife's pick for 2010. Mostly for nostalgia reasons I guess. Ben is the original "squeakel" I guess since it picks up where Willard left off. Little kid with health and mental issues befriends the lead human killing rat pack. Very tame and lame. The title song by Michael Jackson is the best part.
C-
10/14
18.
The Pit (1981) DVD
I wanted to reach in and strangle the main character Jaime. That little 12 year old son of a *****! He's weird, creepy and mischievous. He finds a hold in the ground where little trolls live. Whoever pisses him gets pushed into the pit. Highlight of the movie is his baby-sitter giving him a bath and him asking her to wash his back like his mom does. WHAT!? Very strange movie. Not enough monsters but enough wackiness to make it watchable.
C
10/15
19.
Phantasm II (1988) DVD
More Tall Man. More sphere. More killin'. Not much more to say other than how is "bald-with-a-pony-tail" Reggie such a ladies man? A worthy sequel.
B-
10/16
20.
Dark Ride (2006) DVD
When will this lame ride be over? Lets break into the haunted house! Uh oh, there's a deranged killer on the loose inside. Blah blah blah. Jamie Lynn Siegler you are too good for this mess! I liked that it took place in Asbury Park NJ.
D+
10/17
21.
Orphan (2009) BD
Esther I love you. I couldn't help but root for this sinister little *****! Adopted kid tale gone wrong. Fun movie. Some stuff is pretty unbelivable though. Peter Sarsgaard does not have the acting chops for a male lead. Vera Farminga was great. I believed her. I didn't believe that there would be a homeless person living in their neighborhood park. Nicest house in a horror movie. Movie: C- Entertainment factor:
B
10/18
22.
I Spit on Your Grave (1978) DVD
Holy cow! R@.pe, revenge, s3x, & dismemberment. The ending nearly propelled me from my seat! *rimshot* Wow they really don't make them like they used to. Thank God! I was entertained the whole movie though so I have to go with:
C
10/19
23.
Critters 2 (1988) DVD
The Crites are back! Critters 2 is a good time. Just like the first it's Gremlins but not as good and with more gore. I'd trade my 3 dogs for 1 critter in a heartbeat. The babies are so darn cute, even with their gnarly teeth and a taste for flesh. I needed something light-hearted after yesterday's movie and this fit the bill nicely.
B-
10/20
24.
Lake Mungo (2008) Netflix streaming
I thought this was pretty good! A ghost documentary with lots of eerie atmosphere. Just when you think they're going to play it straightforward it takes a very unexpected turn. Not 100% sure if I'm down with the twist but either way it was still good. TONS better than Paranormal Actrocity.
B-
10/21
25.
Blood and Lace (1971) Netflix streaming *not on dvd
First time viewing. Right off the bat I recognized a part of the music. It sounds very similar to what you hear in the beginning of
Hard Eight and I think the parking lot scene in
Boogie Nights. Was PTA a fan of this movie?
Blood and Lace is way ahead of its time. Part slasher part murder mystery with an interesting twist. After witnessing her whore mother's murder Elle is forced to stay at an Orphanage until she's 21. Here's the problem: Elle is a free spirited babe and the old hussy that runs the orphanage is crooked & murders kids. Uncle Leo from Seinfeld does a great job at playing the creepy handyman and Mel from TV's Alice is also a nice addition as the caring yet self serving detective. I was smitten with Melody Patterson after watching and was sad to see she didn't do too many other movies. Tame by today's standards but very good.
B
10/22
26.
The Wolfman (2010) BD
Since there was a full moon last night my wife suggested we watch a werewolf movie. Good thinkin'! I've been wanting to see In the Company of Wolves but since this was a last second decision we settled for The Wolfman (2010). It should have been great but half of it felt like a jumbled mess. I don't feel like expending energy on coming up with why. I did enjoy the sfx (even though lots of CGI) and was surprised to see Rick Baker did them. When the credits came up and the music started I said "wow this sure does sound like the Batman score". Sure enough Danny Elfman's name popped up. Hey Danny, your stuff is getting tired and weak. You need to change it up! :shakes head:
C-
10/23
27.
Der Golem (1920) web stream
This morning was redemption with the silent film Der Golem (1920) accompanied with Black Francis' (The Pixies) score. This was a first time viewing and I enjoyed it. The Golem is summoned to protect a Jews but things eventually go wrong and Golem goes Frankenstein on the ghetto.
A-
28.
Dead Alive (1992) DVD
Dead Alive was a blast as expected. I haven't watched it in a few years and forgot how many ridiculous scenes there are. The movie hovers at 1 for a while but eventually the zombie insanity goes to 11 and stays there for the entire third act. Maybe one day Peter Jackson will go back to his roots and he'll treat us with another masterpiece like this.
A
Best "group movie" ever? Yes
10/24
29.
Imprint (2006) Netflix stream
Totally wacko with an almost Lovecraftian type twist that comes waaaaaay out from left field. Gross torture scene that made me sweat. Holy cow! Haven't seen anything like that since Guinea Pig: The Devil's Experiment. Beautifully shot as well.
B-
10/25
30.
Mirrors (2008) BD
Pretty good but started to fall apart towards the end. I selected the "unrated" version but didn't really see anything that should be removed from the R cut. Maybe I missed something? I love the look of Aja's movies and this was right up there in the PQ department. He's a great horror director that knows how to fill up a frame with delicious visuals. SCOPE FTW!
C+
10/26
31.
Swamp Thing (1982) Netflix stream
Tonight was
Swamp Thing in HD on Netflix streaming. Didn't really look HD but Adrienne Barbeau's b00bs looked as nice as I remember them. This was one of my favorite movies as a kid. It's not as good as I remember but still has its charm. They sure don't make like the 80's anymore. I forgot Wes Craven directed this!
B
10/29
32.
Contamination (1980) DVD
Crazy Italian alien movie with lots of ridiculousness and bodies exploding all over the place. Extreme gore with an excess of guts. Very slow in the middel but the first and third acts make up for it - big time!
B-
33.
Inferno (1980) DVD
Checked out Inferno tonight. Creeped me the hell out. Suspiria gets all the attention but I think this gives it a run for its money. Especially the last scene. Colors, music & gore. Extremely creepy and Intense!
B+
10/31
34.
Halloween (1978) BD
The greatest horror movie hands down. I still scream when the shape sits up in the background and turns to Laurie. Yikes! I can't express my love for this film. Carpenter is a genius.
A+
11/1
35.
Trick 'r Treat (2008) BD
Good gory fun. Twisted stories that twist together nicely. The outcast chidren on the bus sequence is amazing. What a great little movie that should be watched
before Halloween. One year I'll be able to do it.
A-