4th Annual N&G 31 Days* of Halloween (2022)

[EvanBenner]

4.

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Another one of the classics I hadn't seen. Somewhat different than I expected and even better than I expected. I really love the 80s era of practical special effects and mediocre acting - there's something truly special about the period. And the "digital" effects here cracked me the fuck up every time those neon dots and lines appeared, but they also didn't take away from being right in it from the opening minute. Not sure how deep I want to, or will dig into the rest of the franchise - I'd kind of like to keep this one pure. But I'm also open to recommendations from the more knowledgeable folk here. (@EvanBenner I'm looking in your direction!)

One of the hosts of the Horror Queers podcast I follow did a great round-up which I (mostly) agree with. If you love effects and general 80s weirdness, Hellbound: Hellraiser II may be a blast for you. Many people even come to prefer it! (I need to revisit that.)

I never realized 1-4 tells the complete story of "Pinhead." Three is funny-bad, and I found it to be a fun romp. Four is just a mess. There's really not much to offer in the rest—ranging form shoehorning cenobites into random scripts in an attempt to deceptively lure in series fans and eleventh-hour efforts to retain series rights.

Opinions range wildly in the middle. Some people hate Inferno, which was like an angry detective noir, but I thought it was fine. I despised Deader though. Some people really like that one.

The most recent wasn't terrible though. Hellraiser: Judgement was made by one of the longtime effects artists on the series, so it's highly stylized and delves a bit deeper into various sects of dimensional beings beyond cenobites.

 

[avecigrec]

One of the hosts of the Horror Queers podcast I follow did a great round-up which I (mostly) agree with. If you love effects and general 80s weirdness, Hellbound: Hellraiser II may be a blast for you. Many people even come to prefer it! (I need to revisit that.)

I never realized 1-4 tells the complete story of "Pinhead." Three is funny-bad, and I found it to be a fun romp. Four is just a mess. There's really not much to offer in the rest—ranging form shoehorning cenobites into random scripts in an attempt to deceptively lure in series fans and eleventh-hour efforts to retain series rights.

Opinions range wildly in the middle. Some people hate Inferno, which was like an angry detective noir, but I thought it was fine. I despised Deader though. Some people really like that one.

The most recent wasn't terrible though. Hellraiser: Judgement was made by one of the longtime effects artists on the series, so it's highly stylized and delves a bit deeper into various sects of dimensional beings beyond cenobites.

Sweet your thoughts and the attached tweet are very helpful. Thank you!

Reckon I'll try to check out the second one sometime this week

 

[EvanBenner]

Well, my Horror Queers Spooky Season theme of the day was Evil Twins (chosen by Dead Ringers podcast).

The challenge with a theme like that is how so many twins movies rely on the existence of twins as a reveal/twist.

So, how could I go wrong with a movie that puts it in the title like The Twin (2022) on Shudder?

Oh boy, it can go so, so wrong.

For the most part, this plays out super derivatively. Car crash kills a kid. The family moves to nowheretown to process their grief in solitude in hopes of building a new life. Nowheretown happens to have a history of unusual, conspiratorial occurrences, revealed by creepy old lady whom everyone else hates. Suspicions grow into suspense. And then it's like the filmmakers realized they'd basically rehashed a well-trodden storyline, so they pull out rug after rug in hopes to convince you at least they didn't leave it where everyone else already had.

What's frustrating is that this movie looks great, and the performances are great. I feel disrespected as a viewer though because it throws all good will it's sown out the window to make its "twist."

So much of this movie reminded me of Sacrifice (2021), but at least that movie didn't pretend to be what it wasn't. Despite its also derivative nature, my frustration with Sacrifice wasn't it's predictability but how it compartmentalized all its best visuals in deceptive dream sequences with tropey startled awakenings. At least it wasn't a total self-retcon.

 

[Hemotep]

Day 32.
Insidious


Had never watched this series all the way through, so decided to give it a go. I enjoyed the somewhat original take on the possession film of incorporating astral projection and the idea that the body gets haunted rather than a place.

Insidious: Chapter 2


The first half of this felt like the typical sequel let down from the first and I was ready for it to be a slog to get through. But the way they pulled in explanations for scenes in the first film worked really well, and combining temporal travel with astral projection was fun to see unfold. So this one slightly edged out the first for me because it had more original elements that kept me interested.

Watching Chapter 3 now.

 

[D Jilla]

5. The Babysitter: Killer Queen (2020)


Thanks to @EvanBenner and @Hemotep for recommending this one! I liked it better than the first as well - this one was legitimately funny throughout and had a couple good twists. I also like Jenna Ortega (I still need to finish watching the Scream remake), so having her in the mix was an improvement as well.

 

[LeeVing]

#17.

The Descent: Part 2 (2009)

While not as good as the original, I do like this one as it just continues the story a couple days later. For some reason it has never been released on Blu Ray in the US, so having to rely on streaming it makes it sometimes hard to watch when no one is carrying it. Luckily Shudder has it this month.

 

[EvanBenner]

WNUF Halloween Special is supposedly leaving Shudder soon, so I decided to watch it before it goes.

This fun "recovered" 1980s broadcast special is chock full of seasonal jokes and commercial skits anchored by the story of a local news affiliate's clumsy investigation of an abandoned murder house.

 

[Hemotep]

Day 33.
Insidious: Chapter 3



I finished this from last night and it was my least favorite of the bunch.

Insidious: The Last Key


This one got good again! Even the wife liked this one. She didn't care for how much the series relies on jump scares, and while this one has a couple it was less dependent on those. The story had more effort than Chapter 3, and it comes full circle after going to the past from the first and second. I'll be looking forward to seeing the fifth one coming out in July.

 

[gaporter]

I've been watching, just lazy in actually posting. I'm going to see Barbarian in a bit, hoping to get caught up in the thread later tonight.

 

[EvanBenner]

Tubi coming through with another of my Hammer horror blindspots—and this one is a doozy!

Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde in name alone doesn't sound terribly exciting, rather like a cheap spin on Robert Louis Stevenson's classic Strange Case. But in fact, it's a highly conceptual and ambitious premise with a surprisingly progressive spirit.

While researching a cure-all for worldly diseases, Jekyll discovers great potential in female hormones for instead developing an elixir of life, sourced from cadavers supplied by (now infamous) murderers Burke & Hare. His concoction works unexpectedly, and Jekyll temporarily transforms into a woman, though he learns this only through the amusing recollection of others.

His obsession with the experiment grows, culminating in the classic battle of inner beings.

It's a move rife with trans allegory—and (in its better judgment) it refuses to relegate this to a story of good versus bad. Plus, it's got so many of the Hammer signatures: strong set pieces, extravagant costumes, a sprawling lab. This really is one of Hammer's most fascinating films.

 

[EvanBenner]

As teased in my Sleepaway Camp posts, one of my HoopTober challenges is to watch the lowest rated 90's horror sequel I can find.

My simplest option would have been Candyman 3, being super low on the rankings and the only one I've not seen in that franchise. Unfortunately, it's only on premium streaming. Not far up the ladder sits From Dawn Till Dusk 2, which I did watch and felt like I cheated myself a bit since it was boring but not bad bad.

Unfortunately, Sleepaway Camp 4 (the absolute lowest-rated 90s horror movie on Letterboxd) wasn't available.

Well, worse sequels than FDTD2 included The Howling 7, Children of the Corn 6, The Birds 2, and Sometimes They Come Back 3—and I sure as hell am not going to watch 5 movies just to get deep enough into either of those first two franchises. The Birds II: Land's End seems only on physical—so that left me with Sometimes They Come Back.

The first STCB movie was a painfully boring, unremarkable adaptation of a Stephen King short, so you can probably guess my excitement level for working my way through two more movies linked in title only.

Despite sounding like the undead greasers from the first make a comeback, Sometimes They Come Back...Again is totally unrelated to the first—but at least it still has undead greasers. Killed while conducting a ritual for eternal life, these ne'er-do-wells come back decades later to reap revenge against the kid who killed them while trying (and failing) to save his sister from their blood sacrifice. Now they want his daughter.

This movie is a slog, and I thought its story arc was coming to a close, only to realize there was still 40 minutes left.

It's boring and nonsensical, making it easily worse than the first.

But, wait. Sometimes They Come Back...For More is also a thing. And "They" are not greasers this time. And "Back" is in the Arctic Circle? And I'm not sure what they got first that they need "More" of.

People trapped at an arctic research facility start dropping like flies. Bodies start relocating. Visions. Voices. Bad acting. A half-assed attempt to force-fit all three movies into a larger global demonic conspiracy. It's all pretty incomprehensible.

This one's truly bad, and not in a fun sense. Mission accomplished, I guess?

 

[EvanBenner]

My Spooky Season theme for the day was "Real Zombies" (as opposed to fake ones, I guess?), so I opted for Train to Busan's sequel Peninsula.

I never considered zombies my thing, but I've come to appreciate when it's done well. I mean, 28 Days Later is one of my favorite movies after all. Train to Busan is a fantastic example that puts its story and characters first—and leave it to a zombie flick to unexpectedly make me cry.

Peninsula picks up four years after the events of TtB (and its alright animated prequel Seoul Station). The Korean peninsula has long been quarantined for its unresolved zombie epidemic, but some avaricious outsiders see profit potential in the untapped spoils of abandoned Incheon (accessible by water). So, they send in a crew of Korean expats/refugees to pick up where their earlier failed heist left off.

What unfolds is a high octane, post-apocalyptic spectacle with rogue survivor factions, a Mad Max-style thunderdome, Fast & Furious rampages through the decrepit streets of Incheon, a little too much CGI, but a whole lot of entertainment to be sure.

I hadn't expected much, but it's a fun watch, and I feel like I probably got more than Netflix's Army of the Dead would have offered for an action-packed zombie heist.

 

[Hemotep]

Day 34.

The Invitation



I really enjoyed this one. I tend to get pulled into stories about cults and this was no different. I remembered @hype posting about a movie with this name so I went back and looked and saw it was terrible and that vampires were in it, so I had a moment of confusion till I realized this was definitely not the same movie

 

[EvanBenner]

Day 34.

The Invitation



I really enjoyed this one. I tend to get pulled into stories about cults and this was no different. I remembered @hype posting about a movie with this name so I went back and looked and saw it was terrible and that vampires were in it, so I had a moment of confusion till I realized this was definitely not the same movie

I love a dramatic dinner party, as long as it's not at my place.

 

[DrainedPatience]

I don't have Shudder, but I was extremely pleased to see Dark Night of the Scarecrow listed. It used to air practically every year on TNT or TBS near Halloween and is one of my favs!

 

[hype]

Day 34.

The Invitation



I really enjoyed this one. I tend to get pulled into stories about cults and this was no different. I remembered @hype posting about a movie with this name so I went back and looked and saw it was terrible and that vampires were in it, so I had a moment of confusion till I realized this was definitely not the same movie

Crazy thing about that is a few pages before I talked about that oh so trashy new Invitation there was another new movie called "Who Invited Them" that I watched which I mentioned the above movie and how I wished I just watched that again instead so I actually did mention THIS Invitation as well! haha

Def. a really good movie though and pretty much spot on with what i'd rate it as well!

 

[hype]

Day 31.

Hocus Pocus 2


The wife was a fan of the old one so she was looking forward to this one but had low expectations. It was okayer than either of us expected given what it is. Kids will probably like it enough and parents who grew up with the first one will be entertained for the nostalgia factor. I'm not sure if it will hit with the tweens or not, but I think it was aiming there more than kids.

I haven't been home much so looking forward to get back into watching at night as October unfolds! I did watch the original and this sequel with my nephews and pretty much agree with you on this one as well so i'll piggy back this post and be lazy haha.

It was cool finally seeing the Sanderson sisters again and I thought they did a really solid job but outside of them and Sam Richardson the rest of the new cast were kind of just there while feeling almost like they were all the same character much of the time and I truthfully can't remember any of there names haha. I doubt i'll be re-watching anytime soon but it could have def. been much worse. The first one is still a Halloween staple when I need something lighter slipped in though!

 

[EvanBenner]

Did a double feature with the S.O. and roomie last night to cover both an animation selection for HoopTober and a "Good Sequel" for my HQ Spooky Season theme (technically today's).

We went for both Vampire Hunter D movies to get our gothic horror sci-fi on.

The first has some wild pacing and feels more akin to a hasty dark fantasy. It's hard not to be a bit disappointed in the art style since it doesn't really capture what one might hope of Amano's original illustrations (which accompany the source novels and get enthusiastically, misleadingly plastered across the cover, poster art, and menu screens).

The second movie, Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust is far more polished and atmospheric. It's got true gothic romance, way more clear sci-fi elements, and a whole lot of character nuance. I'm honestly surprised we haven't seen more adapted in this series, but you can totally see its influence in series like Castlevania (both the games and the show).

 

[LeeVing]

#18.

Sleepaway Camp (1983)



@EvanBenner's run through of the sequels made me think that I hadn't watched them in quite some time...so I had to get my old DVD box set out and start at the beginning.

 

[gaporter]

Okay, time to play catch-up...

MOVIE #28
Frankenstein (1931)

I want to know when Hollywood decided that every movie needs to be over two hours long. It's weirdly refreshing how so many of these early Universal monsters films clock in at either right around or just over 70 minutes.

Anyways, I'm not sure I have much to add to the conversation with this one, hence why I'm talking about the runtime of all things. I guess, having now seen Dracula, I could compare it to that, but to me this is clearly the superior movie. It's a classic, I love it, I'm sure I'll watch it again several more times down the road.

Rating:

A ★★★★★ review of Frankenstein (1931)

"Have you never wanted to do anything that was dangerous?" I love that this starts out by warning the audience they're about to have the shit scared out of them. The filmmakers knew they'd made a masterpiece. I feel this is one of those movies everyone should see at least once, if for no other...

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