October fun: 31 days of Horror, Blood, Guts and Gore! (and zombies, too....) - Page 44

Sounds like a blast! Get those pictures up! I want to see them!

Actually, they were only showing 2 and 3, so you didn't miss the first. There is also a 4th film...RETURN TO SLEEPAWAY CAMP.

Ah, I wonder why it never airs?

Looks like I'll hit 50 today without trying. The wide declared today is "lounge around in our underwear day."

if my wife ever declared that day, i guarantee there'd be very little movie watching going on ;-)

48. Halloween II, 1981. I love the first the best, this one always felt like it was forced. Brutal kills save it. 3/5

Well I can vouch for the fact that you can indeed multitask!

Just finished watching #28 for the month, and that will be that. Wont even be able to watch Walking Dead on AMC tonite, but i will DVR it to watch whenever i can. However, while i failed to make the "magic" number of 31 movies, i am satisfied with 28. Congrats to you guys who made it, and congrats to anyone here who watched any number, this has been a fun month. I wonder how many people have been lurking and reading this thread without posting, and maybe they watched a few horror movies this month.

Anyway, i finished today with the alltime classic SILENCE OF THE LAMBS. No need for a review, i am sure almost everyone here has seen it. I love the interplay between Lechter and Starling, man how i love that. This is an absolute "10" rating for me, and for a crazy gorehound like me, thats saying a lot for a movie that when you come down to it really doesnt have much gore.

By the way, i look forward to this evening, because I'M HAVING AN OLD FRIEND FOR DINNER.

FINAL LIST FOR OCTOBER, 2010
1 - Grotesque - 9.25
2 - MOH Haeckels Tale - 4.5
3 - MOH Jenifer - 7
4 - MOH Pick Me Up - 5
5 - Murder-Set-Pieces - 7.5
6 - MOH Dance Of The Dead - 3.5
7 - MOH The Screwfly Solution - 4.5
8 - MOH Right To Die - 7.25
9 - Underworld - 9.25
10- The Last House On The Left - 9.25
11- Street Trash - 3
12- MOH Family - 7
13- Hannibal - 9.25
14- Fear Dot Com - 8
15- Pulse - 8
16- Deadgirl - 9
17- The Hitcher - 8
18- Return To House On Haunted Hill - 5
19- Saw - 9.5
20- Saw-2 - 8.5
21- Saw-3 - 8.5
22- Saw-4 - 8
23- Saw-5 - 8
24- Saw-6 - 9.5
25- Inside - 10
26- Saw-7 3D - 9.5
27- Frontiers - 10
28- Silence of the Lambs - 10

So far today I watched:

Inside

Possibly the bloodiest movie I've ever seen. Gore generally doesn't bother me, but there were a couple times during this one that I actually cringed. While it was a decent film, there are too many shortcomings to call it one of the "best ever."

7/10

Also, I watched it on DVD on my laptop and found some of the dark scenes almost unwatchable - I'll have to try to re-watch some of those on my projector to see if it can resolve a bit more black detail.

This MAY be my last movie of the month, but I might get in one more before the night is done. I'll post my full list either way later.

Wizzack, that's cool. I hope next year is as cool.

Finished up with yet another winner:

While I won't say it falls neatly within the "horror" genre, the inclusion of a couple scenes probably put it over just far enough:

Irreversible

This is not a film to be enjoyed. I had heard about the famous rape scene before (this is not really a spoiler, since every synopsis or description of the film includes this fact) and it is every bit as unnerving and difficult to watch as I expected. What I did not expect was to see a separate scene that was one of the most horrific and brutal scenes I've ever seen on film. This scene was done so well that I honestly have NO IDEA how the special effects were done. And I can almost ALWAYS tell right away whether an effect is practical, CGI or prosthetic.

This is not a film for everyone. If you're sensitive to rape violence and/or graphic depictions of homosexual sex, you'll want to stay far away.

8/10

I had a great time doing this this year and will definitely be participating again next year. While I love pretty much every kind of movie, there's something about horror films that keep me coming back like no other type of movie. Thanks to you guys, I've discovered some truly fantastic films that I've never heard of previously

Here's my list for the year. Until I tallied them all up, I didn't think I had made it to 31, but I actually passed it by a couple.

1. Fido - 6/10
2. Warlock - 4/10
3. Deadgirl - 8/10
4. Eraserhead - 2/10
5. Grace - 6/10
6. Isolation - 6/10
7. Fausto 5.0 - 6.5/10
8. Zombieland - 9/10
9. Mulberry Street - 7/10
10. The Crazies (1973) - 5/10
11. Carriers - 8/10
12. Blood: The last Vampire - 6/10
13. Drag Me To Hell - 6/10
14. A Tale of Two Sisters - 8/10
15. Lake Mungo - 10/10
16. Saw VI - 6/10
17. Paranormal Activity - 7/10
18. The Deaths of Ian Stone - 8/10
19. Survival of the Dead - 7/10
20. Triangle - 10/10
21. 1408 - 5/10
22. Them (Ils) - 7/10
23. Thankskilling - 3/10
24. The Haunting of Molly Hartley - 1/10
25. 100 Feet - 6/10
26. Daybreakers - 7/10
27. Zombie Town - 5/10
28. Zombies of Mass Destruction - 6/10
29. The Collector - 8/10
30. Orphan - 8/10
31. Frontier(s) - 7/10
32. Inside - 7/10
33. Irreversible - 8/10


Every single one of these was a first-time viewing for me but three stand out as my favorite discoveries of the month: Zombieland, Lake Mungo and by far my favorite, Triangle. There were also three huge "surprises" in terms of being way better than I would have thought: The Carriers, Mulberry Street and the Deaths of Ian Stone. As I look back over the list, there's several that I'd probably rate differently now that I've reached the end of the month, but I'm gonna stick with my gut ratings rather than second-guess myself.

Its, not possible for me... I have seen 5 horror movies in October month...
Saw VII
Paranormal Activity 2
Mirrors 2
My Soul to Take
The Hungry Ghosts

John Carpenter's Prince of Darkness: 7/10

This is a really awesome, low key, momentum-driven apocalyptic horror movie from Carpenter. I've seen this about 5 times now, and it seems to improve every time. This is a very smart movie that has similar themes and concepts to The Thing, but with less interesting character interactions, and a lower budget. However, the plot, atmosphere, soundtrack, concepts, suspense, and technical filming are just as engaging. Donald Pleasance, Alice Cooper, Victor Wong, and Jameson Parker are the main cast. This is a must for Carpenter fans, and strongly recommended for anyone who likes science and apocalypse films (The Thing, The Omen, Rosemary's Baby, etc).

John Carpenter's The Thing: 10/10

The Thing is the greatest remake of all time, and it is also one of the greatest horror movies of all time. This movie I argue is technically synonymous to Ridley Scott's Alien in filming expertise and psychological and psychical horror top notch excellence. JC's The Thing completely crushes the original, single handedly. If you have not seen The Thing, then I fully pity you.

Had a blast this year.

Wizzack - great photos, you and your lady look super, and the whole zombie walk looks like so much fun.

fenders - Yes, The Thing is a "10"-rated film for me too. What a great classic it is. You know, its funny, i never talk about Alien as a horror movie, i always lump it in my sci-fi movies, i guess its both. For me, Alien is also a "10"-rated movie. Super stuff.

shanny02 - as long as you enjoyed your 5 movies, thats what counts. How is Mirrors-2 by the way? I have only seen the first one, is the second one any good?

Thanks again to all here in this thread for a great month, and i cant believe as i write this its November already!!!!!

Well I was lucky enough to catch Saw 4 on tv this weekend. Not a huge fan of the series (although I admit the premise is one of the more interesting in a horror series). I saw (ha!) the first 3 and when this was on I figured "what the hell".

Meh. Fleshed out jigsaw more as a character but the story itself I didn't care for. Worst of the first 4 movies for sure (minus the jigsaw backstory).

In other news I carved 9 pumpkins (badly) and put them around the yard. We quickly became "the pumpkin house" and kids and adults loved it. Next year I'll probably bump the number up and spend more time planning the designs to make a better presentation.

Wow Wizzack, those are some great pictures! Some of the people really got creative with their makeup! That must have been a sight to behold in person.

35. Halloween II (2009) (first-time viewing)
This movie had gotten a lot of mixed reviews but I was surprised how good it was. Sure, it's all over the place plotwise--it can't decide whether the important story line is Laurie Strode's mental recovery, Michael's seeking closure in his fractured family, or Loomis's selling out. But visually the movie is a treat and it actually does something few horror movies even aspire to: have an artistic look. The killings aren't very creative: mostly we get the same plunging knife over and over, but the violence seems more real and brutal in this one. This was a great choice for watching on Halloween night, especially for the final costume party scenes, and I look forward to seeing where Rob Zombie takes this franchise.

2010 Horror Movie Marathon List
FTV denotes first-time viewings
1. Severance (FTV)
2. Happy Birthday To Me (FTV)
3. The Howling
4. Dark Night of the Scarecrow (FTV)
5. Frankenstein (1931)
6. The Flesh and Blood Show (FTV)
7. Three...Extremes (FTV)
8. Lifeforce (FTV)
9. 30 Days of Night (FTV)
10. The Shining
11. The Human Centipede: First Sequence (FTV)
12. Don't Look Now
13. The Manitou (FTV)
14. I Sell The Dead (FTV)
15. Pet Sematary
16. Triangle (2009) (FTV)
17. The Orphanage
18. Trick 'r Treat
19. Ginger Snaps (FTV)
20. Dark Water (2002) (FTV)
21. The Devil's Rejects
22. Die, Monster, Die! (FTV)
23. Phantasm III: Lord of the Dead (FTV)
24. Teeth (FTV)
25. Grace (FTV)
26. The Mist (B&W)
27. The Lost (FTV)
28. Night of Bloody Horror (FTV)
29. Inferno (FTV)
30. City of the Living Dead (FTV)
31. The Omen (1976)
32. Frozen (FTV)
33. Fright Night
34. Sleepaway Camp (FTV)
35. Halloween II (2009) (FTV)

Well it has been a fun month, guys! Just for fun, a few quick ratings of my movies:

Discovery of the month: "Triangle"
Worst of the month: "Grace"
Funniest of the month: "Sleepaway Camp", or "I Sell The Dead"
Scariest of the month: Either "Dark Water" or "Three...Extremes"
Best acting: Marc Senter in "The Lost"
Worst acting: Desiree Gould as Aunt Martha in "Sleepaway Camp"
Movie I couldn't finish on time: "God Told Me To"

Really good? I got in my DVR now, will probably watch it early tomorrow morning. Tried to talk my wife into watching it with me on the couch just now, and got the usual LOOK and answer - NO.

Whats the deal now with The Walking Dead, is it a series, and is it on Sunday nights, and for how long?

Wizzack, excellent pics! Looks like so much fun, I'd love to do that one year!

My desk won second place by 1 vote! Total bs man, this other guy with some dressed up dollar store crap won. He blasted an email to the whole company with like 15 pictures of his cube before the voting ended... super lame but mine was legit and the people that came to visit were pretty stunned so it was fun.




I ended up with an annoying cough and so did my little girl so the weekend was a bit more mellow than we'd planned but I squeezed in Trick r Treat on Friday and Halloween (1978) last night. Well it's been a blast guys, guess that's all she wrote until next October.

Only 11 months to go! Here's my final list:

1. Return of the Living Dead 1985 - Rating 3/5. My first zombie movie as a kid, saw it when I was about 12 and to this day it is campy and fun. The wife didn't appreciate it but oh well. Friday night was a late start so we just got the one in.
2. Man Bites Dog - Rating 3/5 - Interesting movie and very original.
3. An American Werewolf in London - Rating 5/5 - My all time favorite werewolf movie, nothing else comes close in my book.
4. Hostel - Rating 4/5 - I remember enjoying this one less the first time around but it was actually done very well.
5. Amityville Horror (2005) - Rating 3/5 - I enjoyed this remake and like both the leads. I just got my bluray copy so it was nice to see and hear this in a way I hadn't before.
6. In The Company of Wolves - Rating 4/5 - I'd never seen this before so wasn't sure what to expect but I found it to be very original with some excellent fx and creature creations for its time.
7. Se7en - Rating 5/5. And no I did not plan this it just ended up being what I reached for...weird. Ok, so maybe not a "horror" movie but it is a dark movie with psychologically disturbing content and some graphic images so I felt it was a good fit. I'd also been itching ti watch it since I got it on blu. 5/5, excellent film.
8. Splice - Rating 1/5 - Terrible and stupid all in the same low budget looking CGI. Ejected after 40 minutes of rolling my eyes at the creature and the blond from Dawn of the Dead who was terrible in this.
9. Nightmare on Elm St. (2010) - Rating 2/5 and that's generous. What a failed opportunity to add some new visuals to the dream world, up the gore factor, and add something fresh to the story... fail.
10. The Midnight Meat Train - Rating 4/5. Great cast, great gore, and although most complain about the end that was what sold this movie for me, never saw it coming.
11. The Exorcist (1973) - Rating 5/5 - Amazing to me how well this holds up after almost 40 years. Truly creepy, shocking, and all around classic horror. First time viewing for 2 guests we had over... one left the room half way through. Great stuff!
12. Dark Water (2002) - Rating 1/5 - What a stupid movie with good trailers.
13. Frozen - Rating 4/5. After you get past the stupid victims that don't have a shred of survival knowledge or even caught an episode of Bear Grylls it really delivers on the tension and suspense. Highly recommended!
14. La Horde (The Horde) - Rating 2/5. Pretty weak considering the quality of horro we've come to expect from the French.
15. Suspiria - Rating 4/5. High marks to this for amazing sets, use of colors and sound fx/music that combined create a fantastically creepy atmosphere for the film.
16. Inferno - Rating 2/5. This movie just did not do it for me. I really wanted to like it for all the reasons I love Suspiria but the acting was worse and I just couldn't get into it.
17. Lake Mungo - Rating - 2/5. The story was told well and it had some creepy moments but it just didn't deliver them hard enough towards the end to bring it to a proper climax.
18. Creepshow - Rating 4/5. Classic and campy I just love this movie, the music is great and the monster in the crate gave me nightmares when I saw this in the theater as a child.
19. Rawhead Rex - Rating 3/5. I really have no idea how I found this one but it's another that I kinda crew up with and it's really pretty cheesy but I'm a sucker for monster movies (especially the ones with no CGI) and at the time this one seemed to be pretty violent and had a few scares.
20. Triangle - Rating 5/5. This is just brilliant film making, no other way to put it.
21. Sweeney Todd - Rating 5/5. I love the music, the dark humor, the story, everything in this is just brilliant.
22. Sick Nurses - Rating 1/5. Pretty weak on story scares and gore.
23. Night of the Creeps - Rating 3/5. Fun movie with some humor and goof gore, I can see why it's a classin among so many.
24.The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003) - Rating 4/5. How ca you go wrong with "Gunny" then Biel with those jeans painted on, and a chainsaw massacre... what's not to love?
25. Halloween (2007) - Rating 4/5 - Another case where I really enjoyed this remake, the added past was nice and the extra violence helped make Michael scary again IMO. Solid effort.
26. The Shinning - Rating 5/5. This is a little slow but was just crafted perfectly. This has been a classic in my house for many years, excellent stuff!.
27. REC - Rating 4/5. Not as original as Pontypool for the zombie genre but close and very very well done although I think I may have enjoyed the sequel even more.
28. House of 1000 Corpses - Rating 4/5. The only thing that holds this back for me is some of the terrible work done by Sheri Moon, other than that I loved this movie!
29. Henry: Portrait of Serial Killer - Rating 4/5. Great movie and a seemingly realistic look into the disturbing logic of a sick mind.
30. The Devils Rejects - Rating 3/5. Not a bad movie and pretty much what you'd expect to happen after HOATC but still fairly weak by comparison.
31. 30 Days of Night - Rating 4/5. This is probably my second favorite vampire movie, the aerial coverage of the attack on the town is a benchmark in horror cinematography and the PQ on the bluray is top notch!
32. Trick r' Treat - Rating 5/5. This is just a super fun movie that really captures the spirit of Halloween and I think I enjoyed it even more this year for my 2nd viewing.
33. Halloween (1978) - Rating 5/5. Not much new can be said about this classic, it's a benchmark in the slasher genre and a must watch for October.

Kenobi, you deserved to win, but thats the way contests go. Right now i have been in some baseball card contests on a forum, and i will put up a fantastic great old card and some jerky modern card will win it. The best does not always win, be happy with the knowledge that you did so great with your display.

General Kenobi, you have shamed us with your loss. jk

That's not BS. At a company I worked for 2 years ago we had a chili cook-off and some vegetation mess won first prize. Now THAT is bullsh*t.

I've been away from the forum for a few days, so here is the final 4 movies from Horrorfest.


28. Trick 'r Treat (2007)- {3.75/5} Blu-Ray Rating stands from last year. I bought this movie a few months back as it figures to be in regular rotation for future October Horrorfest challenges. A fun and entertaining Halloween flick.

29. Hostel (2005)- {4.25/5} Blu-Ray Its been a few years since I've seen this movie so I jumped at the chance to buy the blu-ray for $10 a few weeks ago. Its a cool and original story with solid performances by the cast and the fact that it could actually happen in real life makes it that much more disturbing to watch. The eye candy is in full effect as well. Some of the scenes are quite gruesome and realistic and the surround mix was done exceptionally well. Aside from a few minor flaws, this movie is a very solid effort IMO. In fact, I think I'm going to add Hostel II to my library for next year's Horrorfest.

30. The Final (2010)- {1.75/5} DVD (First-time viewing) This movie is a part of Afterdark Horrorfest IV. It is about a group of high school kids (who have been bullied by the "upper class" of students at their school) who decide to anonymously host a costume party of which only the popular kids were given an invitation. Once there, they plan to torture them in an effort to teach them a lesson and get revenge. I read somewhere that this movie resembled a glorified high school production and that analysis is spot on. The acting was extremely weak and the pacing was absolutely atrocious. I felt that the overall premise was interesting and once the movie began, it succeeded at holding my attention as I anxiously anticipated the beginning of the "party". Unfortunately the trailer made this movie look alot better than it was and it ended up being nearly a complete flop. Not recommended.

31. Orphan (2009)- {4.75/5} Blu-Ray This is the perfect way to end another October Horrorfest. My rating remains the same from last year as this is a repeat from last year's challenge. There isn't much to say about this movie that I haven't already posted. Personally, I think this movie is a near masterpiece. Vera Farmiga and especially Isabelle Fuhrman give outstanding performance and I can't say enough about the cinematography and all the subtle touches that make this such a fun watch even after several prior viewings. An absolute thrill ride!

No Final Chapter Apollo.

You know, closing this whole thing out damn near brings a tear to me eye. It really has gotten more fun as the years go by and I really appreciate everyone's participation. When I have time, I'll look back through this thread and everyone's lists and jot down the movies that were recommended so I can remember to add them on the list for next year. With regard to my final list, check out my sig as I was just able to bang out 31 again this year.

Bob M., nice idea with the awards for best movie, worst movie, etc. I think that would be a great idea for everyone to do. If anything, I'll make sure to implement a "movie award" post for next year.

Wizzack and Kenobi, thanks for the great pics! The zombie walk looks like a great time and Kenobi, even though you have shamed us, I think you deserved better.

Someone mentioned earlier about doing a Western-themed challenge in the future. Although, I'm not the biggest Western fan in the world, I could maybe be talked into a Comedy or Sci-Fi challenge at some point. I can't guarantee anything because all the movie watching this past month has left me with virtually no spare time to do anything else, but who knows........

Thanks again for all the great participation and recommendations! I had a great time as usual and I'm already looking forward to next year.