...not to mention a very naked Natasha Henstridge. Christopher Young's score is very good, as well.
As a whole, though, the movie is pretty pants.
If I were a teenage boy, I guess the nudity would've excited me.
Frailty A masterpiece. I placed this at the top of my "Best of 2002" list. The hateful letters and emails I received were pretty funny. One guy said my "soul would burn for liking this filth!". Gee, thanks mister!
The strength of the series, aside from it's great writing and acting, was that it was about family and that was what grounded it. Hope is the very heart of the family grown up. Because of the time jump the final season has Hope played by a new actress. It sounds risky but Danielle Rose Russell is perfectly cast. Together the ancient and powerful Mikaelson clan face the malefic magic of The Hollow as well as another threat from their past. It's a fitting end with some surprises I wasn't expecting.
If I were a teenage boy, I guess the nudity would've excited me.
Frailty A masterpiece. I placed this at the top of my "Best of 2002" list. The hateful letters and emails I received were pretty funny. One guy said my "soul would burn for liking this filth!". Gee, thanks mister!
I saw Frailty when it was first released and it was such an unexpected surprise: a tautly directed, nicely acted little slice of atmospheric Southern gothic with a doozy of an ending. I'd always liked Bill Paxton as an actor and he surprised me by being an effective director as well. Such a loss to the film world that we won't get any more performances and directorial efforts from the man; I still miss him.
That being said, I still think you're being a little harsh with the silly fun that is Species...
A fun and disgusting horror-comedy written and directed by James Gunn in his directorial debut. I liked the cast with Nathan Fillion, Michael Rooker, and Elizabeth Banks. The practical effects and gore are also done very well.
September
[Show spoiler] Fade to Black*
Slaughter High*
Truth or Dare*
The Howling*
Cult of Chucky*
Maximim Overdrive*
Predator 2
My Boyfriend's Back*
The Predator*
The Nun*
He's Out There*
Jurassic Park: 25th Anniversary
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom 3D
Michael Jackson's Thriller - IMAX 3D
The House with a Clock in It's Walls* - IMAX
Slither*
18. DAWN OF THE DEAD 2004
Even after repeat viewings, I still enjoy this awesome remake of the classic zombie survival story in a shopping mall. Excellent zombie effects. The cast is more or less likeable, especially Ving Rhames. I've been a fan of this since it was released and consider it one of my favorite zombie movies.
[Show spoiler]
1. 10 CLOVERFIELD LANE
2. THE MUMMY 1959
3. SALEM'S LOT
4+5. FRIDAY THE 13TH 1+2
6. THE MUMMY 1932
7. THE THING 1982
8. SHAUN OF THE DEAD
9. FREDDY VS. JASON
10. THE PURGE
11. LAND OF THE DEAD
12. RAMPAGE
13-15. POLTERGEIST 1+2+2015
16. ALIEN VS. PREDATOR
17. THE MEG
The Orphanage (2007) A well-made, creepy, slow burn Spanish horror film. Very effective, and surprisingly moving at the end. This got our annual MonsterFest off to a great start! Village Of The Damned (1960) Hadn't seen this in a few years. I forgot how very well-made and effective it is. Terrific movie, and a great looking new blu-ray from Warner Archive. *The Devil's Daughter (1973) 1/2 (YouTube) My wife and I are old enough to have seen a lot of silly 70's TV movies as kids and we have a soft-spot for them. This is a completely predictable "Rosemary's Baby" rip-off -- campy, and a LOT of nostalgic fun. Decent cast too, with Shelly Winters, Joseph Cotton and a post "Dark Shadows" Jonathon Frid. We liked it ... but if you grew up after the '70's, you'll want to knock a couple of skulls off. The Dead Zone (1983) Easily my favorite SK adaptation -- great story, great cast. Brooke Adams is beautiful! A favorite. Imported the Australian blu-ray. A little disappointing. The audio is definitely an upgrade, and the picture is too, but it's subtle. Ghost Story (1981) 1/2 Another old favorite. I'm a sucker for slow-burn, well-crafted ghost stories ... and this one has those qualities in spades. Cool to see these old-time actors -- the cast is excellent -- along side Alice Krige, who is perfection as Eva/Alma. Loses half a star for over-reliance on shock cuts to gooey dead faces. They get a bit repetitive after a while, and they're not necessary in this movie -- it's strength is "eerie", not shock. *The Little Stranger (2018) theatrical Gee, I wanted to love this. It looked like the kind of subtle ghost story that's right up my alley, but I guess even subtle can be overdone. EVERYTHING is laid between the lines, to the point that I really didn't understand what happened in the film. Had to read about it afterwards to figure out what I missed. Good premise, well made and well acted ... but it needs at least a LITTLE more overt storytelling. A big disappointment. *Cronos (1993) :1/2 This didn't do much for me either. Some nice moments early on, but mostly gooey and pointless. *sigh* *Cat Creature (1973) youtube 1/2 OK, I knew this wasn't going to be good, but I thought it would be entertaining. As I said (see: The Devil's Daughter) I have a fondness for campy 70's TV movie horror. I don't mind if they're silly, over-acted, unbelievable ... but this one was dull. How do you take a plot about a 2,000 year old cat creature stalking Los Angeles and make it boring? Simple: all "cop investigation" and very little cat. Interesting cast though -- Peter Lorre Jr? Who knew? (NOTE: OK, this is weird! Peter Lorre Jr wasn't related to Peter Lorre! Check this out: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0521137/bio) The Grudge (2004) 1/2 The best of the 4 we saw this weekend ... and the only one I had seen before. Not a great movie by any means, but fun and entertaining. (Are you listening, Cat Creature?) The Fog (1980) A favorite, and IMO, one of JC's best films. However, I might skip this one for the next few years. No fault of the movie, but I've seen it many times and it's become so familiar that it didn't do as much for me this year. Still, it earns it's 4 skulls. Asylum (1972) Boy, did I enjoy this! Never had the DVD, so I hadn't seen it since the VHS days. I love all the old Amicus anthologies, and although I had forgotten some of it, this is one of the best. The wrap around story is much better than most, and each tale worked quite well. Decent blu-ray too -- some nice extras. Silence Of The Lambs (1991) What a powerful movie this is. Jody Foster and, especially, Anthony Hopkins are so perfect in their roles. Controlled, understated, underplayed and completely chilling. Also, for a film with such gruesome subject matter, it's surprisingly restrained -- it's dark and oppressive, but most of the violence is off-screen. A smart, well-made, grim thriller. My wife and I tend to stick to lighter, "fun" horror movies, but this one is too good to miss. *Ghost Stories (2018) 1/2 I can't stop thinking about this movie! Too many jump scares perhaps, but there is a lot more here than shock. This film demands to be watched closely with no distractions, and the closer you watch, the more you'll get out of it. Plus, it's a lot of fun! I hate it when people say "You didn't get it" if you don't like a certain movie. However, in this case, if all you see is what's in plain sight ... you didn't get it. Or at least you missed the best part. A new classic. Trick Or Treat (2007) 1/2 I love the way this movie looks, and the way the stories intertwine. I like the Sam character, and all the Halloween iconography too. It's a fun film, that loses half a skull for me for being a bit too sleazy in spots. (Really don't enjoy hearing a 10 year old say "butt-f***.") Still, very enjoyable. The Funhouse (1981) 1/2 This gets off to a really lunk-headed start -- dumb characters, cheesy dialogue -- but once they get inside the funhouse and the main story starts, it really goes! We see the "monster" close enough and long enough to realize that it's an immobile mask, but this works as a fun, simple horror movie. Captures the whole garish carnival atmosphere nicely too. Turn off your brain and go for a ride. *Unsane (2018) (Amazon streaming) 1/2 This has ... *ahem* ... a few problems. It's impossible to like the main character -- she's obnoxious -- and it's really, really far-fetched. Unless, of course, she imagined the whole thing (which I tend to believe. She's obviously nuts.) I like the ambiguity of the ending, but this was pretty "meh.". The most impressive thing was that the whole movie was shot on an iPhone! Looked pretty good too. Near Dark (1987) I've always liked this one -- it's a really cool reworking of the whole vampire mythology. Great cast -- Lance Henriksen is amazing. So is Bill Paxton -- first time I've seen it since he died. Funny that neither of the leads, Adrian Pasdar (Caleb) or Jenny Wright (Mae), went on to much movie success. They're both quite good -- and she was gorgeous! A favorite ... even if the whole
[Show spoiler]"vampires are cured by a transfusion" idea
is a little unconvincing! Repulsion (1965) 1/2 This movie takes its time -- there's a lot of mundane details of our main character's life. But there's also a growing sense of unease, the sense that things are not right. By the final third of the movie, she has left all reality behind and what happens is all the more shocking because the first half of the film is so restrained. Maybe not a "fun" movie -- but a disturbing and effective portrait of mental illness. Very chilling. Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992) I've seen this many times, but I still have such mixed emotions about it! It's fun to watch, and as eye-candy it's an easy 5 skulls, but as an adaptation of Dracula ... well, it's far more concerned with over-the-top style than substance. It's fun (and occasionally very good, when it calms down a bit) but I wish more of the talent and money had been aimed at the story instead of the flash. (Although it's fun to watch Keanu's hair constantly change color!) The Fly (1986) 1/2 Watching this last night, I was really admiring it -- it has a literate, witty script, great performances and incredible make-up. I always forget how good it really is. Then the final act hits and pulls me out of the movie. All the sympathy the film has built for the characters is forgotten under a ton of (incredibly well-done) gore. It's still fun in a "Ewww! Look at that!" way, but it's so much more than that before the ick hits the fan. A 5 skull movie that loses 1 and 1/2 under the glop. (Fun fact: I never noticed before that Jeff G says "Help Me, please help me" to Geena D -- that must be a nod to the original film.) A Quiet Place (2018) 1/2 Who would have thought that a PG-13 film with no profanity, no gore, and no nudity would become such a big hit -- and be so intense? When this came out last spring it was a real breath of fresh air, and it plays just as well at home. Incredibly fun old-school monster movie with an amazing sound design. Yeah, it's got a few plot holes ... but who cares? The most fun I've had at a monster movie in ages. Psycho (1960) Not a lot to say about this movie, except that it still holds up. Big time. It doesn't matter that everyone knows the reveal -- the acting, the cinematography, the tight construction all really work. Why on earth didn't Tony Perkins get nominated for an Oscar? A classic that I admire more every time I see it. *Psycho IV (1990) A first time watch, and a disappointing one. The worst of the sequels by a long shot, and surprisingly, where it fails most is the writing. Joseph Stefano, who did the original Psycho script, also wrote this, but it has some truly cringe-worthy dialogue. ("That's all that thing of yours is for, making wee-wee!") Sadly there was potential here, and a few decent ideas, and even a decent moment or two, but it never takes off. It's always good to see Anthony Perkins as Norman, and it's worth owning just for that, but Tony AND Norman both deserved a far better farewell. City Of The Dead (1960) Quick! Name the movie: a 1960 black and white thriller with a pretty blonde that stays in a lonely hotel, and disappears from the movie halfway through after being
[Show spoiler]stabbed to death by the owner.
The second half of the film has her sibling searching for her and finding out the shocking truth about the innkeeper. Psycho, you say? Nope. City Of The Dead! A fun, old school horror movie with fantastic atmosphere, and Christopher Lee to boot. A low-budget, but very effective and eerie little film, with an especially chilling prologue set in the 1700's. A real Halloween treat, and a great blu-ray too! Fade To Black (1980) : (Amazon Prime) I'm tempted to call this a first viewing -- it's been over 30 years, and I didn't remember much of it ... if I had, I wouldn't have watched again. There's actually a very good idea here: a movie obsessed kid, killing his enemies in the style of characters from films. There are several cool movie clips, movie references and memorabilia, plus a few nice shots. And Dennis Christopher is pretty good. But everyone else is awful, and the script is a complete mess. A missed opportunity, but at least it was fun to watch.
The House That Dripped Blood (1971) Another old Amicus anthology movie ... but one of the lesser ones. The best story is probably the third, about Christopher Lee and his voo-doo practicing daughter, but none of the four tales have quite the punch of the stories in Asylum, or Tales From The Crypt. Still, a good time ... and a wonderful blu-ray. Great colors on all those cheesy 70's era ascots that everyone wears in this.
9/7 - The Nun (Theater Showing)
9/8 - Day of the Dead: Bloodline
9/10 - Verónica
Documentaries:
TV Shows:
9/8 - The Purge: Season 1 - Episode 1 - What Is America?
9/10 - Fear The Walking Dead: Season 4 - Episode 13 - Blackjack
9/11 - The Purge: Season 1 - Episode 2 - Take What's Yours
9/13 - American Horror Story: Season 8 - Episode 1 - The End
9/18 - Fear The Walking Dead: Season 4 - Episode 14 - MM54
9/18 - The Purge: Season 1 - Episode 3 - The Urge to Purge
9/24 - Fear The Walking Dead: Season 4 - Episode 15 - I Lose People
9/24 - American Horror Story: Season 8 - Episode 2 - The Morning After
9/25 - The Purge: Season 1 - Episode 4 - Release the Beast
9/26 - American Horror Story: Season 8 - Episode 3 - Forbidden Fruit
Ugetsu [1953; First Watch (2017 Criterion Blu-ray; 4K Restoration)]
Rating:
Analysis: Not knowing much beyond the fact ghosts are part of the narrative and it is considered one of Japanese cinema’s must see films, Ugetsu is a difficult film to categorize. Based on supernatural/ghost tales of the Ming Dynasty and published in the 18th century by Ueda Akinari, in large part it is a realistic portrayal of war and its effect on the populace, specifically two married peasant couples, intertwined with elements of the supernatural. If you are willing to take a chance on a sometimes surreal but always compelling story featuring ghosts and samurai, be prepared for greatness.
[Show spoiler]9/06/18: The Little Stranger * (2018):
9/07/18: The Nun * (2018):
9/10/18: Predator (1987):
9/11/18: Predator 2 (1990):
9/12/18: Predators (2010):
9/14/18:The Predator * (2018):
9/21/18: Fade To Black * (1980):
9/23/18: The Hidden (1987):
9/24/18: Season Of The Witch * (1972):
9/25/18: Assassination Nation * (2018):
9/27/18:
“I’m not like other guys…”
-Thriller (1983):
-The House With A Clock In Its Walls * (2018):
A terrific twofer starts with a tasty appetizer, Michael Jackson’s groundbreaking 1983 music video (brilliantly remastered in 3D for special IMAX showings of the feature presentation, albeit with a matted “widescreen” presentation that cuts some of the actors’ foreheads at times), which stands as one of the King Of Pop’s crowning achievements. Hard to believe that MTV and the whole concept of music videos was only about a year old at the time, but “Thriller” remains one of the early pinnacles of the nascent art form, directed by John Landis (who co-wrote it with Jackson) and boasting super-duper makeup effects by Rick Baker (re-teaming with Landis after An American Werewolf In London). The song itself is irresistible, one of the best Halloween-time novelty songs this side of “The Monster Mash” (with incidental “scary music” by Elmer Bernstein), and Jackson’s dance choreography remains peerless, not to mention Vincent Price’s peerless narration, capped by one of the best sinister laughs ever recorded for the video’s great freeze-frame capper. I hadn’t seen this video since I was a kid (when it scared the CRAP out of me), and it’s a blast to see it again large and in charge, and looking so spiffy. It’d be nice to see this new restoration released on Blu-Ray, provided they offered the original 1.33:1 ratio as an option for viewing.
And as for that feature presentation, the awkwardly-titled The House With A Clock In Its Walls turns out to be an unexpected delight, a thoroughly winning throwback to the kinds of “80’s PG” flicks out my youth that weren’t afraid to offer authentic thrills and chills (the under-ten crowd will find the film a bit too intense at times) as opposed to today’s PG kids’ movies, which are all but indistinguishable from G-rated ones, with only a tad more “rude humor” or “thematic elements” thrown in. Owen Vaccaro stars as a young, recently-orphaned boy sent to live with his eccentric uncle (Jack Black) and his bickering neighbor (Cate Blanchett) in his cavernous mansion, only to discover that the pair practice magic (“So, you’re a boy witch”) and continuously search their house’s numerous nooks and crannies in search of the titular clock that keeps ominously counting down to a potential apocalypse set in motion a year earlier by Black’s former magician partner (Kyle MacLachlan). Incredibly the work of director Eli Roth (the torture-porn specialist who made the reprehensible Hostel movies, as well as turkeys like Knock Knock and this year’s lousy Death Wish remake), The House… is a film brimming with lavish sets, broad humor (the roly-poly Black and the swanlike, elegant Blanchett make for an ideal team, sporting excellent chemistry and terrific comic timing) and moments of genuine darkness that will make the littlest viewers shiver and will make their parents who grew up in the heyday of classic Amblin productions very nostalgic. It’s not a perfect film (young lead Vaccaro has some stilted moments, and the movie moves so briskly you wish it had time to breathe with more character-building), but it’s ideal family fare for the upcoming Halloween season, and boasts a terrific Nathan Barr score reminiscent of old-school James Horner efforts from the 80’s and 90’s.
The House of Sorority Row (1983) -Saw in theaters-
Saw this as part of Bloody Disgusting's Retro Nightmares Cinema series in theaters.
The DCP was iffy, not sure if it was due to the HD transfer or the age of the film source but the sound was solid.
The movie itself doesn't quite hold up like I remember. Though the storyline's solid enough. I like it that it kept it basic and didn't become convoluted and had a touch of class to it. It also had it's fair share of good atmosphere and suspense along with an awesome score but it feels like a cheesy affair with many unintentionally funny moments, sub standard characters that you don't really care for and felt incomplete.
But despite all of that, it manages to be an entertaining flick for fans of the slasher genre.
Throw a Michael Myers type all kills no frills villain into a horror theme park and you get Hell Fest. Director Gregory Plotkin keeps the plot simple and the atmosphere tense.
Hardware A solid debut from Richard Stanley, who sadly never became a horror icon. On a related note, I highly recommend the documentary Lost Soul: The Doomed Journey of Richard Stanley's Island of Doctor Moreau.
Hard to believe that MTV and the whole concept of music videos was only about a year old at the time, but “Thriller” remains one of the early pinnacles of the nascent art form
Terrific film, but I beg to differ on videos being about a year old at that time. MTV was only about that old, but music videos had been around in one form or another for decades. Certainly the Beatles were doing concept videos (Penny Lane, Strawberry Fields Forever, A Day In The Life, etc) in the mid 60's, and they didn't invent the form. Pre-Beatles videos were likely to be performance clips, but not always.
Rick Nelson had a short film for Travelin' Man in the 50's, and there some are "soundies" - short theatrical films made to promote songs- dating back at to the beginning of the sound era - that were "concept" shorts rather than performances. Even before The Jazz Singer came out there were a number of musical sound shorts -- basically, videos.
After MTV began, everyone did them and they got more elaborate, but videos were around long, long before that. Here's a Halloween soundie from 1942.
Friday the 13th Part 2 The existence of an adult Jason Voorhees doesn't really make sense. If you can overlook that ridiculousness, this is easily the scariest film in the Friday the 13th series. (The best film in the series is Jason Lives: Friday the 13th Part VI.) I wish they had kept the baghead/hillbilly look; to me, it's a lot scarier than the hockey mask/button-up shirt look.
[Show spoiler]hannibal tv series complete.
season 1 and 2 - 4.25 of 5 stars
season 3 - 3.75 of 5 stars
perfect blue - 5/5
predator 2 - 3/5 truth or dare 2018 - .25/5 slice - 3/5 the sorority house massacre - 1.75/5
halloween II - 2/5 vampire clay - 4.5/5 mandy 2018 - 5/5 the predator - 2.75/5 mom and dad 4.5/5 it stains the sand red - 4.5/5 the great alligator - 4/5 prom night 3 - the last kiss 1.5/5 prom night 4 - deliver us from evil - .5/5 the house of the devil - 1.5/5 the autopsy of jane doe - 2/5 necronomicon - 3/5 the uninvited 5/5 splinter 3.75/5 among the living - 3.5/5 body melt - 3/5 magic - 4.5/5
***in New York City this week for the argento series at the metrograph. even though giallo is not horror, some of his work feels a great mixture of both. lots of prints!!!!***
opera - 5/5
inferno - 5/5
the stendhal syndrome - 5/5
suspiria - 5/5 assassination nation - 4/5???? creepers 4.75/5
tenebre - 5/5
from beyond - 5/5
bride of frankenstein - 5/5
not as revelatory as the other prints. (it's probably always been kept in great condition) but still nice to see on a big screen.
hell fest - .5/5
with a classic, everything works and every choice made is the right choice. this is the opposite. nothing works. and it's from top to bottom. in fact, the only thing that really isn't bad is the production design. but even that is almost ruined by the poor acting. now this wasn't as bad as say truth or dare, but this had probably one of the stupidest endings I can recall in recent memory. this feels like the kind of horror movie made by someone who doesn't like or understand horror movies. like a terrible dtv mess, but with better production. ugh.
All countries
Argentina
Austria
Belgium
Brazil
Bulgaria
Chile
China
Colombia
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Estonia
Denmark
Finland
Greece
Hong Kong
Hungary
Iceland
Indonesia
Ireland
Israel
India
Latvia
Lithuania
Malaysia
New Zealand
Norway
Philippines
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Russia
Singapore
South Africa
South Korea
Sweden
Switzerland
Taiwan
Thailand
Turkey
Ukraine
United Arab Emirates
Christopher Young's score is very good, as well.
Still, it earns it's 4 skulls.
It's impossible to like the main character -- she's obnoxious -- and it's really, really far-fetched. Unless, of course, she imagined the whole thing (which I tend to believe. She's obviously nuts.) I like the ambiguity of the ending, but this was pretty "meh.". The most impressive thing was that the whole movie was shot on an iPhone! Looked pretty good too.
31 Days Of Horror 
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