3rd Annual N&G 31 Days* of Halloween (2021)

[hype]

Spoiler

”I definitely had a VERY similar first viewing. I didn’t read much about the movie and I saw the trailer once or twice, so I did go in about as completely blind as you can in these technologically advanced times. The first viewing I went in desiring to be scared, and the second one I went in desiring to have a grand ol’ fun time. I’m almost positive Wan was trying to go for a campy Evil Dead type vibe for this flick, at least some of the scenes seem to indicate that. I think the cheese is definitely intentional, along with that ridiculous music that would pop up from time to time. Like when Emily/Madison tells her sister she’s adopted.

And then again, a second viewing doesn’t mean you’ll find it a masterpiece the second time around, as there are still a few scenes I have questions about. Like the scene where her sister drives up to the abandoned hospital and it’s light out with what seems to be about another 20-40 miles or so tops. When she arrives it seems like it’s a quarter of a day later, at the very least, and a midnight pitch black. But I think expectations can ruin an experience, and the right head space can remedy that.

Spoiler

Absolutely, I agree he was clearly going for the campy vibe from the dialogue to the music as well which I also thought about because his other horror stuff had some really solid scores so it's not like it was all just random. I forgot about that scene but yeah, the one where they tell her she's adopted was weird and awkward asf in the first viewing haha.. That was actually one of the biggest eye rollers and when I started getting F&F vibes dialogue wise along with the ridiculous music. I think this is why a lot of people are going to hate it because they wanted something more serious and "scary" even though I think the Jail scene is going to be remembered as a traumatizing scene for a lot of 8-14 year old's that watch it. That would have freaked me tf out for sure.

I doubt i'll ever think of it as a masterpiece but horror/comedy are far and away my two favorite genres so the movies that can melt them together with my kind of humor will always get much more views after the first one and I can see that def. happening with this movie. Speaking of the Hospital arrival scene I also loved how there's all this parking space and she decides to park within a couple feet of a massive cliff next to an abandoned building .. Like you said though, this all just adds to the fun when the director is clearly in on the joke like he was.

A movie this was not the case that got a ton of love which I never understood is A Quiet Place where theres so many over the top stupid decisions and scenes it just took me out the movie multiple times. It also took itself very serious which makes it all 10 times worse for me at least. I love over the top movies when they're in on the joke not so much serious ones that are just lazy which I thought Malignant was at first but was happy to be dead wrong!

 

[hype]

Part II isn’t terrible, it just isn’t anywhere near as special and well done as part I.
I should give it another go.
It’s only fair.


I had the pleasure of seeing this in the theater either late last year or earlier this year, when theaters weren’t really pushing out a bunch of newer flicks. Amazing atmospheric movie. It was incredible to experience it in the theater. Glad I had finally had the pleasure. Easy too 10 Horror film for me.

Pretty much agree 100% with your review of part 1 and 2. Absolutely loved part 1 and after seeing and really liking the majority of the cast decisions for part 2 I went in with big expectations and was pretty let down even though I didn't hate it. I haven't seen the second Chapter since but have watched the Part 1 probably a hand full of times. I need to give it another chance sometime though since it's been a couple years now and watch them back2back to see if anything has changed.

 

[hype]

Finally finished the trilogy of this last night. I'm a big fan of well done Found Footage films as it's pretty much the only thing can still freak me out at times. The first Hell House was great and I loved it, they never explained much and you didn't have a lot of answers to why and all that which just added to the creepiness. Then what happens to a lot of well done low budget Horror movies that are successful is that they got a bit of a bigger budget and fell flat on there face in the second one which made me weary to watch the third and final part.

On the positive it was better then the awful 2nd one at least but that's about where the positivity ends sadly. There was one really well done creepy scene involving a drunk dare but outside of that it was a bunch of fluff. I was still somewhat interested and holding on until "Opening Night". It pretty much just continued to outdo itself with horrible scene after horrible scene until we got to an iphone level special effect scene that left me shaking my head until the credits rolled.

If anyone hasn't seen the first Hell House I highly still recommend that though! You can just end it with that one and pretend the following two do not exist.

 

[hype]

I threw my server to "random" and it picked this one and it surprised the hell out of me! It felt like a throwback Horror/Comedy which I am always down for. A nice mixture of The Breakfast Club meets Night Of The Demons. You got five teenage employees working at a movie theatre that stumble upon an old hidden room which unleashes a Succubus demon on them all... Beyond that, it's better to just find out the rest along the journey. It's a little choppy at times but for a low budget film the special effects, acting & music are all well done. If you're not easily offended (Not quite as crazy as some might think from the title alone but it def. has it's times!) and love over the top 80's horror it's hard not to enjoy this one. Perfect late night movie when you just want to turn the brain off and throw on something fun and entertaining! It also has a good, solid ending which is becoming more and more rare it seems.

3.5

 

[LeeVing]

I threw my server to "random" and it picked this one and it surprised the hell out of me! It felt like a throwback Horror/Comedy which I am always down for. A nice mixture of The Breakfast Club meets Night Of The Demons. You got five teenage employees working at a movie theatre that stumble upon an old hidden room which unleashes a Succubus demon on them all... Beyond that, it's better to just find out the rest along the journey. It's a little choppy at times but for a low budget film the special effects, acting & music are all well done. If you're not easily offended (Not quite as crazy as some might think from the title alone but it def. has it's times!) and love over the top 80's horror it's hard not to enjoy this one. Perfect late night movie when you just want to turn the brain off and throw on something fun and entertaining! It also has a good, solid ending which is becoming more and more rare it seems.

3.5

I was going to watch this the other night...then fell asleep while looking for something to watch. I'll check it out.

 

[gaporter]

MOVIE #12
Tales from the Crypt Presents: Demon Knight (1995)

Basically just a big budget episode of the TV show, this movie is an enjoyable piece of 90s cheese. It's one of those "characters get stuck in one location" kind of plots and though the story isn't anything special, it's not without its moments. Billy Zane is clearly enjoying playing the villain and gives the standout performance, but the rest of the acting is fine too. There's some decent effects work and the designs for some of the creatures in the film show a decent amount of creativity. I feel like if you know what the Tales from the Crypt series was all about, then you pretty much know what to expect here. It's not a movie that's trying to seriously scare you to your core or anything, it's just a fun horror movie that aims to entertain and I think it succeeds on that front.

Final rating:

 

[LeeVing]

MOVIE #12
Tales from the Crypt Presents: Demon Knight (1995)

Basically just a big budget episode of the TV show, this movie is an enjoyable piece of 90s cheese. It's one of those "characters get stuck in one location" kind of plots and though the story isn't anything special, it's not without its moments. Billy Zane is clearly enjoying playing the villain and gives the standout performance, but the rest of the acting is fine too. There's some decent effects work and the designs for some of the creatures in the film show a decent amount of creativity. I feel like if you know what the Tales from the Crypt series was all about, then you pretty much know what to expect here. It's not a movie that's trying to seriously scare you to your core or anything, it's just a fun horror movie that aims to entertain and I think it succeeds on that front.

Final rating:

I saw this in the theater when it came out and liked it. Then I spun the CD soundtrack in my car until it was worn out. I haven't watched it in years so I'm not sure how it would hold up for me.

 

[gaporter]

I saw this in the theater when it came out and liked it. Then I spun the CD soundtrack in my car until it was worn out. I haven't watched it in years so I'm not sure how it would hold up for me.

The soundtrack definitely helps date it a bit. The fact that Filter's "Hey Man Nice Shot" is played in the beginning is a big tell that it was made in 1995.

 

[LeeVing]

And that kinda leads to my next watch...

#10. The Frighteners (1996)

Originally pitched to Robert Zemeckis for an episode of Tales From The Crypt, he decided to have Jackson and Fran Walsh write it and then make it a feature length movie with Jackson directing.

And it has Jeffrey Combs, so it's already awesome.

This blu ray also has both cuts AND Peter Jackson commentary AND the almost 4 hour long "Making Of".







This is also the movie that made WETA Digital - they had 1 computer when they started working on this movie.

 

[hype]

Maniac (2012)
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I forgot how good this one was! I watched the 4k version for the first time tonight and it was as beautifully filthy as I remembered. Easily one of the best remakes and film scores of the last decade+ imo and kinda like Suspiria where the remake is original and unique just enough to where you clearly still see the resembling roots but different enough to form it's own great movie.

I love seeing Elijah in the Horror/Thriller genres, he absolutely nails his role as Frank. It's brutal, disturbing and at times legitimately hard to watch because they do a fantastic job of putting you in his perspective/view flawlessly kind of reminiscent of how we met Michael Myers for the first time as he is watching his prey in the original Halloween but this goes down a much more disturbing path. It pulls you in right from the opening scene and never lets go. Acting is great, camera work is top notch, well done practical effects along with a fantastic score makes this a legitimately great film.

Extremely solid 4 mayyyyybe even nearing 4 1/2.

 

[Dark Star Boogie]

Movie 5: The Babadook (2014)

The Babadook (2014) ⭐ 6.8 | Drama, Horror, Mystery

1h 34m | Not Rated

m.imdb.com

In my opinion, a phenomenal film that blurs the line between waking and dreaming although I’m not quite sure that was the intention.

This film revolves around a mother and her son finding a book entitled The Babadook one evening, and upon reading through a couple pages quickly learn that it is not the benign bedtime children’s story they were lead to believe. Supernatural, “was that real?” moments begin and quickly and aggressively worsen.

It’s been probably since 2014 or 2015 when I originally first watched this film, and I still find it extremely unnerving at times. The actress and actor who play the mother and son do a wonderful job at capturing and displaying their increasingly insane tendencies due to this children’s book boogieman.

I love/loved it. I would recommend this if it sounds like your thing, I have a couple times in the past and the recipients of that recommendation only had to report how annoying the little kid is in the movie. So I don’t really outright recommend this movie anymore, haha! But it’s fucking great.

Also, I’d like to send a shout out to On Demand for having this in the free movies with no commercials section. Very cool. It was a pleasure watching The Babadook again.

.5

 

[gaporter]

MOVIE #13
Häxan (1922)

This movie is incredible, not just for it's time, but even from a modern standard, it's an incredibly gripping and unforgettable viewing experience. Equal parts a documentary and a narrative film, this film is infamous for it's frank depictions of witches and their practices, including of course many liaisons with the devil himself. The sequences showing us hellish rituals full of witches and demons are unbelievable for a movie almost a century old. There is some truly disturbing imagery in this film even outside of these moments however; the film doesn't relent in giving us insight into how the "witches" of the past were mercilessly tortured in order to get confessions out of them. Controversially, the movie does not always seem to entirely condemn the witches, and in some parts portrays them as sympathetic compared to their religious persecutors. Because the film takes on a more scholarly presentation style, it ends up blurring the lines between history and myth, fact and fiction. The unnerving thing is that Häxan feels like it wasn't meant to scare, but more to educate. But the film is undeniably horror and it's incredible that even being made at such an early point in film history, this film puts many other horror movies made in the years after it to shame. Truly an amazing piece of cinema.

Final rating:

 

[LeeVing]

#11. Swamp Thing (1982)

More of a nostalgic watch than anything - I get that it's not really "horror", but it was my gateway to Wes Craven when I was a kid. I even watch the full frame version on this flipper disc, as the wide-screen is non-anamorphic.

This is the recalled DVD from 2000 - that has the international R-Rated version, and some mom renting it for her kid at a Blockbuster got mad.



A side note - the more recent Shout Factory blu ray is also OOP and gets more $$$ on ebay than this version with boobs.

 

[LeeVing]

#12. Wicker Man (1982)

Another classic - watching the 99 minute version w/ commentary from Robin Hardy, Christopher Lee and Edward Woodward

 

[hype]

The Midnight Hour (1985)

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This movie has a bunch of interesting things about it that keep it afloat just enough to remain a fun movie throughout. First off, between the fantastic score (Brad Fiedel who did scores such as The Terminator and especially Fright Night the same year as this and you could tell a bunch of the tracks for either movie could be interchangeable) then the rest of the Soundtrack is packed with great classic Halloween songs

Here's a playlist which is still missing several.

Then for the cherry on top you got Wolfman Jack! as the background DJ introducing a bunch of the songs. It could very well be the best Horror/Halloween Soundtrack that doesn't have a physical release.

This is also the film debut of Mr. Macaulay Culkin sporting a Halloween 3 looking skeleton mask credited as the "Halloween Kid". Then you got LeVar (mf Reading Rainbow) Burton, The Dad from that 70's show, Harry Belafonte's daughter, Michelle Pfeiffer's sister etc. The majority of the makeup and practical effects are actually very well done and the overall acting for the most part is solid especially for a TV Movie.

Before this viewing I only seen it in poor quality but someone had done a very good job on an upscaled version and it really boosted it up for me this time around since I was able to really notice so much more. It just absolutely engulfs the 80's in everything it does. It even has a super random Halloween dance scene by Belafonte's daughter which added to the fun of it all.

As a note, this is pretty family friendly as it was a made for tv movie on ABC so there's nothing too crazy that happens but it just hits those right Halloween nostalgic heart strings ala Hocus Pocus. I think it had all the tools to become a classic and even though it def. never reached that potential it's still an extremely fun time worth taking for anyone that is even mildly interested in it.

but another one I can see rising in score now that I can start watching it in solid quality. This is gonna be a new yearly around Halloween watch for me going forward.

 

[cashew]

House of leaves. I love it, I consider it a favorite, and I will never read it again.

This is exactly my reaction to this book. It has sat my shelf for decades since the first and only read, beloved and feared.

Fun fact, the author’s sister is Poe and she put a song on one of her albums called the 5 1/2 Minute Hallway.

 

[yukbon]

This is exactly my reaction to this book. It has sat my shelf for decades since the first and only read, beloved and feared.

Fun fact, the author’s sister is Poe and she put a song on one of her albums called the 5 1/2 Minute Hallway.

That whole album is about their father and supposed to be a counterpart to the book

 

[zomgbear]

01. Circle +(.5 )
I've read the synopsis of this movie a while back and it sounded interesting. It's kind of a very basic character study of how and what people would do in that situation where you need to decide who dies if you had to choose. Without any spoilers, the plot is easy enough to understand. Not sure I really like any of the characters in here but I think that's on purpose so you kind of see everyone the way that everyone else sees everyone. I was still engaged enough to want to know what happens in the end and why it was happening.

 

[zomgbear]

And that kinda leads to my next watch...

#10. The Frighteners (1996)

Originally pitched to Robert Zemeckis for an episode of Tales From The Crypt, he decided to have Jackson and Fran Walsh write it and then make it a feature length movie with Jackson directing.

And it has Jeffrey Combs, so it's already awesome.

This blu ray also has both cuts AND Peter Jackson commentary AND the almost 4 hour long "Making Of".

View attachment 112415





This is also the movie that made WETA Digital - they had 1 computer when they started working on this movie.

Haven't seen this in forever! Might have to revisit this one too.

 

[hype]

This is another one i've been meaning to re-watch for over a decade it seems like so finally got around to it and it didn't disappoint! It amazes me how well so many movies of the 80's (and older) age so well when quality practical effects were used. The phone booth scene is beautifully made and I also love how nobody is safe in this movie and they say eff "the genre rules" on what kind of characters normally always make it and to top it off some of the kills are pretty damn brutal. This would be a really fun double feature with The Thing I think.

It was also kind of hilarious watching a young Kevin Dillon (Johnny Drama) as the lead which makes the role that much better if you watched Entourage.