October fun: 31 days of Horror, Blood, Guts and Gore! (and zombies, too....) - Page 66

Here is the tally for 2011, minus the first 3 from September .

1. Shadow. 3 out of 5 Netflix Instant

Good twist in this one, Surviving The Game meets Hostel. Real creepy bad guy.

2. People Under The Stairs. 2 out of 5 Netflix Instant

This is my 3rd viewing of this since its release, still kind of meh on it. The brother and sister are arguably the best part.

3. Tucker and Dale vs Evil. 4 out of 5 HDNET Movies

Loved it, very fun, laid back spoof with a nice twist on perception. Wife liked it. Nothing too over the top. With the genre full of CGI garbage this was refreshing.

4. Night of the Creeps. 5 out of 5 Crackle.com

Fred Dekker does it again, I love his stuff. It's been a long time since I saw this so it was pretty fresh. Great throwbacks to the 50's and a bit of Noir.

5. The Awakening. 1 out of 5 total piece of poop. Netflix Instant

Hipster youth die to crappy nu-metal at the hands of some ancient evil.

6. Intruder. 4 out of 5 Netflix Instant

Late 80's slasher that I'd not seen before. Sam Raimi stars. The camera work stood out for me. On further reading I think I saw the edited version because there wasn't any real gore to speak of just great tension. #trailer

7. Strangeland. 3 out of 5 Netflix Instant

Pretty decent flick, pretty decent badguy. Captain Howdy could use a prequel in my opinion.

8. John Carpenter's The Ward. 5 out of 5 Vudu

Very well done movie. Probably one of the better ones I've seen in a while. John Carpenter is a master so little doubt was there. Got at least 2 squirms and 2 jumps out of us without entering torture pron territory. Loosely plays with Alice In Wonderland and doesn't over do it.

9. Trick 'r Treat. 5 out of 5 Netflix Instant

Second viewing and it gets better. A series of connected events centered around Halloween. I cannot recommend it enough. It is to Halloween what A Christmas Story is to Christmas. Surely something for everyone in this movie. A huge bonus is the lack of CGI, it didn't need any.

10. Child's Play. 4out of 5 Netflix Instant

One of my all time faves, the killer doll has some great lines and the kid looks really scared. Lots of fun and creepy. Terrific fiery ending.

11. House on Skull Mountain. 2 out of 5 Netflix Instant

A slow atmospheric piece with hints of blacksploitation and Voodoo. Similar to Sugar Hill but no where near as good. This dish needed more cheese. I thought the audio was great. The chanting and hypnotic drums felt right for a voodoo flick.

12. Poltergeist 2. 3 out of 5 Netflix Instant

One of the stronger sequels to any franchise. I dig the Native American slant on this. Locally we have many Native sites that have been built over for urban development over the years. Some really great conventional effects in this movie and a really creepy old dude.

13. Frontier (s). 3 out of 5 Vudu

The lead actress in this one is the star. Some really great scenes but it feels like Hostel to me. This puts it over into the torture pron area which I feel is taking over the "horror" genre. Never the less, a great flick with some stuff that will stick with you.

14. Incident on and Off a Mountain Road. 3 out of 5 Netflix Instant

Pretty good short story. Good blend of two themes. Girl gets taught how to survive by her jerk husband and then puts all the training to use on a freak in the woods.

15. The Guardian. 5 out of 5 Netflix Instant

Being a new family this means a lot more now than it did when I saw it years back. They got the baby audio right, the new parent insecurities, and a tree that eats dudes. Really well done story that could be sold as a mystery or horror and it is rooted in just enough mystical stuff to not go crazy. Great conventional effects in this.

16. Deathwatch. 3 out of 5 Netflix Instant

Gritty, dirty, and bleak. Mud, rain, rats, and bodies in the water. A little slow but worth the watch. For some reason it reminded me of those old Eerie Comics.

17. Graduation Day. 1 outof 5 Netflix Instant

Normally I dig Troma stuff but this was bad. Best part would be the music and the non-augmented women. Nowhere near Class of Nuke 'em High in quality. At times it is very dramatic then decides to be a slasher flick. Mostly it was work to get through.

18. An American Werewolf in London. 5 out of 5 Netflix Instant

One of all time faves. Great blend of comedy and gore. I'll never forget the first time I saw the transformation or when I got old enough to understand the zombie scene in the theater. It's pretty much the standard by which werewolf movies are judged.

19. Hell Night. 1 out of 5 Netflix Instant
This confirms that Linda Blair's best movie is the Exorcist. I will say the sets were interesting. The fact I'm into the sets also says that the rest sucked. Maybe I need to revisit this one another year?

20. Body Snatchers. 3 out of 5 Netflix Instant

I love the original and most of its remakes, this is a 90's version. Not so much horror in the traditional sense but the social asspect is scary. I see hive minds and they really scare me.


21. The Howling. 4 out of 5 Netflix Instant

Pretty decent werewolf flick. I was introduced to the sequels far before I saw the first so the marsupial mess ruined the franchise for me. The original is a nice and dark movie with pretty good monsters and a good story.


22. Ginger Snaps Back: The Beginning. 3 out of 5 Netflix Instant

A bit slow but well made, I enjoyed the first one and this is recommended by fans. It's sort of a "Last of the Mohicans" meets the Wolfman. There are way worse wolf flicks out there.

23. The Craft. 4 out of 5 Netflix Instant

Big fan of this. Nice slice of the 90's. Even the wife will watch. The effects are mostly well done and as things come back to haunt the girls it gets really good playing with the high school tension and the "craft."

24. Scream. 4 out of 5 Netflix Instant

I missed this back in the day. I never saw it or the " I Know What You Did" movies. Glad I waited. This is a smart movie that cashes in on the history of horror which gives fans of the genre an extra bit to hold onto. Little hidden things make the watch all the better. One of the cooler ones this year.

25. Silver Bullet. 4 outof 5 AMC

I like this movie a lot. Gary Busey stars as himself along with Sam Emerson before he met the Frog Brothers. Anne of Green Gables narrates. How much better can a movie get? Add a werewolf priest and Stephen King.

26. Parents. 2 out of 5 Vudu

I like dark comedy. This is a dark comedy with not a lot of funny. It pokes holes in the gleaming suburbia we all see and reveals things that are very scary. Some deadpan acting from Quaid stands out and the feelings of the boy really come through and are shown expertly. It gets a 2 because it just doesn't fit the genre for me.

27. Joshua. 3 out of 5 Vudu

I dug this slow burner. Hard to tell who is in charge but by the end it's very clear. Evil kids owning their parents really hits home with a newborn in the house. They capture the stress of having a newborn quite nicely and they build out Joshua's plan expertly. Sam Rockwell tries to go to war and it is funny. If you like evil kid films check it out.

28. Happy Birthday to Me. 3 out of 5 Crackle

Quite a good entry into the 80's slasher stuff. Not a ton of gore but it didn't need it. It plays up the mystery side and has a few twists that I loved. Pretty smart in my opinion. It didn't hurt that is had Tracey E. Bregman in it either.

29. The House of the Devil. 5 out of 5 Netflix Instant

Still love this. Perfection.

30. The Legend of Hell House. 4 out of 5 Netflix Instant

Such a good classic movie, actual effects and actual acting. Very well done scary house. Great atmosphere. Roddy McDowell pretty much rules. I love the conventional effects and I’m sure real smoke was used.

31. The Lost Boys. 5 out of 5 Netflix Instant

One of the best vampire movies ever. One of the best 80′s movies ever. If you like it you need to see the most recent one. The only sparkle on the vampires is when they are on fire. Great soundtrack too.

32. 976-EVIL. 4 out of 5 Blockbuster Movie Pass Dish Network

Some great 80′s cheese. Flirts with Freddie with many one liners after it gets going. I hated it the first time I saw it but this time around I loved it. I hesitate to say it but it felt one of Stephen King’s lowly type of guys that gets powered up.

33. Cameron’s Closet 2 out of 5 Crackle.com

Not a good one but worth a viewing. Feels like a cheap Poltergeist slash Exorcist thing.

34. The Thing. 5 out of 5 Netflix Instant

What a great film. To this day the effects hold up. Very creepy very claustrophobic. Very badass. Even if you aren’t into horror this one is hard to deny.

35. Prince of Darkness. 5 out of 5 Netflix Instant

This movie is freaky on lots of levels. Some people don’t get it and that’s fine. I love it. It sticks with me. The Jesse Ferguson scenes gives me chills and I feel the panic when they have to fight their way out. I kept an eye open for transmissions up until 1999.

36. Ginger Snaps. 4 out of 5 DVD

Nice weaving of werewolves into puberty. Good effects and characters that work. Should become a classic in the werewolf genre. It was a first time viewing for me and the suggestions held up. Nice creature design.

For 37 through 42 I watched the first 6 of the A Nightmare On Elm Street series. The first is an obvious classic. Later films in the series draw lots of debate. I like them all differently as Freddy dished out cool demises across all his movies. Standouts are to be found in all of these. A particular favorite is part 3. Some people don’t like Alice but I really dig part 4 and 5 with her in it. They are well done and seem to give the series some weight and a great mythology. Speaking of mythology part 6 kind of shoots that notion down. I wasn’t impressed with the direction it took. Part 2 seems to be hard to place within the later ones and is probably the most true sequel in that sense regarding the original. Lots of excellent effects in this series. You can watch how effects progress across each movie. I really like the animatronic stuff. All in all a classic series that just about anyone can get into I think there’s something for everyone in it. 5 out of 5



There you have it, October Horror Fest 2011. This year I stayed away from the total gore fests and looks like I hit werewolves a lot. No zombies. What is up with that? I think I did well considering we had a newborn in the house. I’ll have to rethink this for next year as she’ll be old enough to understand some things that we don’t really want her to understand. I’m not ready for those questions and I prefer that she find her own way into a film genre.

Guess this Tuesday my choice will be 'The Crow'..
Sweet. Finally comes out on blu-ray..

Good flick...

In the essence of having fun and to take some of the work off, I will stop seeking unseen films and actually watch a few favorites. I need some Freddie, Jason, and Frog Brothers in my life.

Great bunch with some of my absolute favorites on there, Frontiers, The Hills Have Eyes, Dawn of the Dead, etc. Nice.

Today i watched MUTANTS. A French film, a lot like 28 Days Later and Dawn of the Dead with some other stuff thrown in. Very well done, certainly horrific at times, good photography, plenty of action, i really enjoyed this, and it was a first time watching for me.

I would rate this a 4 out of 5 stars.

2011 October Ratings - 5 Star Scale
01- Return of the Swamp Thing - 2.5
02- Hostel - 5
03- Event Horizon - 3.5
04- Resident Evil: Apocalypse - 4.25
05- Sphere - 3.75
06- Wrong Turn 3 - 3
07- The Human Centipede - 3
08- Berlin Undead - 3
09- House of 1000 Corpses - 4.5
10- The Midnight Meat Train - 3.75
11- The Human Centipede II - 1.5
12- Aliens - 5
13- Grotesque - 4
14- The Cave - 1
15- The Thing (2011) - 4
16- Mutants - 4

I'm going to see 50/50 instead of the thing.

Ok so anyone who ever wondered what could be creepy about some guys dancing in a bar...

Seriously... wth

I've read really good things about Price in The Witchfinder General.

October 15: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (1986), directed by Tobe Hooper.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0092076/

This has such a different style from the first one. More humor and more gore. And - Dennis Hopper as a vengeful relative of a character from the first TCM. He does his usual good job in a larger-than-life role. He is left in the dust by veteran horror actor Bill Moseley as "Chop Top." I never knew Bill's work until I saw him in House of a Thousand Corpses. Now I notice him in many horror flicks. He's a hoot!

The lead actress becomes annoying very quickly. They guy playing LeatherFace is no Gunnar Hansen. Still, it has some good scenes.

The Ward is on Netflix Instant.

Sorry once was bad enough.

Just putting it out there. Save a buck in these hard times.

Good call for sure. Since many of us are doing a title a day Blockbuster is a good solution too since they have .99 one day rentals.

I've been doing a blend of my own library, Blockbuster, NF, Vudu, Amazon VOD, and Comcast OnDemand... nice to have options!

Been watching football all day but finally found a little time to play catch up with my posts. Yesterday produced one of the craziest double-features that I have ever had the pleasure of watching. To say that we were mentally drained after it was all said and done would be an understatement.

13. Frontier(s) (2007)- {4.25/5} DVD (First-time viewing) What a thrill ride! Even though much time was clearly spent making sure that each scene was as gruesome as possible, this movie still had great substance to it, which was appreciated. Acting was excellent all around (we especially liked Jean-Pierre Jorris as Von Geisler). I purposely went in with very limited knowledge of what to expect, and when it began, I questioned whether or not I had picked up the right movie. Once we meet the hostel Nazis though, things get rolling nicely. By the end, we were literally cheering our lovely heroine on. Very highly recommended.

14. Antichrist (2009)- {4.5/5} Blu-ray Just when you think things can't get any crazier, you follow Frontier(s) with Antichrist. Has there ever been a movie so beautiful and disturbing at the same time? If so, I would love to see it. The cinematography is absolutely stunning, the acting is excellent and the overall presentation of the movie at the hands of Lars Von Trier was amazingly unique and artistic. This was my second time seeing this so I knew what to expect, but for my wife, it was her first. The look on her face during a few of the many shocking scenes was priceless. She does not get grossed out or disturbed easily but she was noticeably uncomfortable at times in this one. This is a one of a kind movie that I would highly recommend for those that can handle the gruesome brutality and borderline pornographic sex. Both of us loved it!


On tap for tonight is either Ginger Snaps or Black Christmas (1974).....or maybe both. We'll see how awake I am at midnight.

Apollo, i am always glad when someone really likes Frontiers. As you guys know, its one of my absolute top favorites, but many here think its over-rated. Now i got the itch to watch it, definetely will work it in soon.

In honor of the season premier of The Walking Dead I give you a sneak preview of my cubical decor:


October 16th: 80's Horror Week!
The Shining: 5 stars - Not much I can say about this one that has not already been said. Simply put: Masterpiece!

14b. John Carpenter's Hair from Bodybags. The second, and easily the best episode from Bodybags. Awesome smooth jazz soundtrack, with some truly hilarious, yet horrific scenes. This reminds me of the meteor segment from Creepshow. 8/10.

14c. The Eye from Bodybags. The final episode in Bodybags, directed by Tobe Hooper. Mark Hammill did surprisingly good here. Not my favorite episode of the trilogy, but it wasn't bad, either. Make sure you know where the organ came from before it gets transplanted in you! 7/10.

17. Evil Dead 2. The best one. Truly magical in every category. Everything is 120%, and Raimi is maturing at this point. Can't wait for the Blu-ray! 9/10.

18. Army of Darkness. The second best one, IMO. A different movie all-together, but a fantastic one at the least. I can probably write out a script to this movie without looking; seen it so much as a kid. 9/10.

19. Coraline. This was really fun to watch. 106" of pure, old-school 3D, and it worked pretty damn well. I always loved this movie. It's a fun, dark, haunted adventure that is almost for adults. The concepts were all done before (e.g. Alice in Wonderland, Clive Barker's The Thief of Always, etc), but this was executed very well. It took me into a different world, and made me feel lost for an hour and a half. Success. 8/10.


And I'm totally glad I watched 50/50 over The Thing! Such a damn good movie.

Ordered the Nightmare on Elm Street boxset from the UK. Hope it gets here before October ends...

Kenobi, your stuff is looking great dude!!!

This morning i watched Saw 7 (Saw 3D). Didnt watch in 3D, but thats not necessary. I love the Saw series, and the more i watch these movies the more i like them. This one is totally over the top with the number of traps and the horror and the body count. For my taste its a 5 star movie, not for most, but for me, and thats what my ratings are based on, how much i love a movie.

2011 October Ratings - 5 Star Scale
01- Return of the Swamp Thing - 2.5
02- Hostel - 5
03- Event Horizon - 3.5
04- Resident Evil: Apocalypse - 4.25
05- Sphere - 3.75
06- Wrong Turn 3 - 3
07- The Human Centipede - 3
08- Berlin Undead - 3
09- House of 1000 Corpses - 4.5
10- The Midnight Meat Train - 3.75
11- The Human Centipede II - 1.5
12- Aliens - 5
13- Grotesque - 4
14- The Cave - 1
15- The Thing (2011) - 4
16- Mutants - 4
17- Saw 7 (Saw 3D) - 5

Here's my list from yesterday. I'm finding it pretty sad that most of the new stuff really sucks. Have to return to the 70's & 80's to find some worthwhile, entertaining movies.

Oct. 16th -

49. "The Cave" = "Bloodthirsty creatures await a pack of divers who become trapped in an underwater cave network."

Not fun, not scary, don't waste your time.

1

50. "The Skeptic" - "After the mysterious death of his Aunt, a confirmed skeptic lawyer, Bryan Becket, dismisses reports that his Aunt's house is haunted and moves in. Immediately occurrences begin he cannot explain."


Chills without gore, nice little haunted house story too bad the ending sucks.

2.25

51. "Christine" - "A nerdish boy buys a strange car with an evil mind of its own and his nature starts to change to reflect it."

It's a shame there aren't more movies made like this now a days. Great story, great movie!

4

52. "The Walking Dead" Season 2, Episode 1: What Lies Ahead - "Police officer Rick Grimes leads a group of survivors in a world overrun by zombies."

Yeah, I'm counting this as a horror movie. It's pretty sad when a 'made for TV' movie is better than 90% of the movies I've watched so far. Excellent episode! Can't wait for the next installment. If you haven't been watching "The Walking Dead" it's time to catch up on last season and tune in to what appears to be an excellent season.

4

October 16: Shaun of the Dead

Always good for a laugh!

Very busy weekend, but I did watch all my movies, I just didn't have time to post reviews here...

14. Night of the Living Dead (1968)
Often imitated, never duplicated, this classic horror film is one I can watch any time, and often do. Not much needs to be said here except every time I view this movie, I see something new and the movie still feels fresh and gutsy (no pun intended). I am also impressed with George Romero's direction of human-to-human conflict, which often gets overlooked in all the zombie shuffle.

15. The Old Dark House (1932)
This is one of the original "travelers stranded on a stormy night in a creepy house" movies, and it's a lot of fun to watch. This movie has everything you'd want in the genre: Boris Karloff plays a creepy disfigured Lurch-like butler, there is a woman playing a 102-year-old man, a pyromaniac locked in a room, and a squabbling older brother and sister, and the requisite uncomfortable dinner scene. On top of this we have an old-fashioned romantic subplot to keep things light. Nothing really scary here but this is still effective entertainment that's worth checking out.

16. Popcorn (1991) (first-time viewing)
Hard to believe I have gone 20 years without seeing Popcorn, but it's even harder to believe this isn't an 80's movie, because it wears its 80's horror influences proudly on its sleeve. This is not a masterpiece by any means, but it's a fun little movie that people who love the whole cinema experience will enjoy. After all, the title is Popcorn, that says it all, this is a popcorn flick! No, this isn't as good as "Matinee" but if you don't mind a lot of cheesiness and some bad acting (plus Mr. Hand/My Favorite Martian in a cameo!) you should have a good time.

Bob's A-Z 2011 Horror Movie Marathon
1. Antichrist
2. Burning Bright
3. The Crimson Cult
4. Dead of Night
5. Evil Dead 2
6. Frontier(s)
7. The Ghoul
8. Hidden (2009)
9. I Can See You
10. The Janitor
11. Kill Theory
12. The Last Exorcism
13. Midnight Meat Train
14. Night of the Living Dead
15. The Old Dark House
16. Popcorn

More pics, Kenobi! Looks great!

Looks like we're past the halfway mark, boys and girls! Can't believe Halloween is only 2 weeks away.

Fun movie...though I think John Carpenter's Assault on Precinct is better...especially the horror elements.

I know! And once again I find myself pressed for enough time to fit in everything I want to see and I've been getting in 2 a day mostly!

I'll have Pieces from netflix for tonight and Blockbuster just shipped Dark Night of the Scarecrow and Prince of Darkness all for my 80's week

Next week will be really tough as I plan to come into work for 2-3 nights to get my desk done up... lots of prep for this one but I'll still try to squeeze in at least one a night.

Dark Night of the Scarecrow. Can't wait for this one. Wasn't there a new blu-ray version of this just released? I have it queued up on Blockbuster but there is no option for blu-ray. I'll probably just settle for dvd, but it would have been cool.

BTW, good luck with your desk. Remember that we expect nothing less than a first place prize this year.

Hostel 3 anyone?

Thanks guys, I'll do my best not to bring shame to the thread

I don't like that Hostel III is in the U.S. now but I'll give it a shot.

wizzack - I was just marveling at the things Kubrick did with The Shining, how did he do the scene where Jack was looking at the hedge maze model and Danny and Wendy were walking in the center? I also love the blinding lights they set up outside the windows of The Overlook... gave it such a creepy atmosphere even in the day.