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

[D Jilla]

Halloween Ends (2022)


Not the most well made or cohesive movie I've ever seen, but overall I would say I was satisfied with it. I thought some of the story choices were very interesting but were poorly fleshed out. This might have worked better if they played it out over two movies, or if they just cut some of the filler here and weren't so lazy to develop the Corey character. Either way, this makes me understand Kills even less.

Spoiler

After complaining about the weak attempts to kill Michael in Kills, I'm more than satisfied with the "weapon" they used in this one. Also, the tongue on the turntable scene bothered me more than the record was skipping/getting damaged than the fact that there was a severed tongue on it

 

[LeeVing]

#47.

X (2022)

Great slow burn I like from Ty West. All the actors are great...but Mia Goth steals the show....and she only gets better from here.

 

[LeeVing]

#48.

Pearl (2022)

This is how I like my prequels....totally different, but slightly similar at the same time.

Mia Goth's name better be around come award season for the monologue alone.

Looking forward to Maxxxine.

 

[LeeVing]

#49.

I watched this the other night but forgot to post it...

Mayhem (2017)

I have the blu ray, but I watched this with the commentary from Joe Lynch and Steven Yeun on Shudder or AMC+ - it's hard to find unless you're really looking for it.

A great commentary to a pretty entertaining movie. And I'll watch anything with Samara Weaving.

It also makes me want to spin Steve Moore's score again...which is excellent.

 

[LeeVing]

I watched this Monday morning prior to my work-week starting...

#45.

From Beyond (1986)

Not quite as good as Re-Animator, but a great successor - and better than that movie's sequels.

Jeffrey Combs and Barbara Crampton are great, and the practical effects are very well done.

View attachment 155395

Barbara Crampton herself reminded me that I watched From Beyond on its anniversary.

 

[EvanBenner]

My prompt for yesterday was haunted theme park, so we threw on one of the few recent Five Nights at Freddy's cinematic litmus tests: Willy's Wonderland.

I was busy testing out homemade latex prosthetics for my upcoming costume, so my attention wasn't squarely on the movie, but I honestly don't think it needed to be. This movie knows exactly what it is—no pretense. To emphasize its lack of pretense, it forgoes a lot of FNAF's key elements of solitary isolation and suspense in favor of crowded, cheesy slasher fodder where Sid from Ice Age...I mean Willy Weasel and his animatronic Chuck E. Cheese band go on an overnight murder spree (apparently a semi-regular occurrence that encounters its first real hitch in stranded, stoic motorist Nic Cage).

I got some good laughs out of this because of sheer ridiculousness, but it's definitely a background viewing horror movie at best.

 

[Hemotep]

I fell behind on posting for a couple days.

Day 56-58.

Episodes 3-6 of Cabinet of Curiosities.

Episode 4 was not great imo, but 3 and 6 were fantastic, and 5 was good. Such a great series.

 

[Bennnnn]

Finally finished up X. I had started watching it a couple months ago but never finished. So I went back and watched it all again. And…unpopular opinion…I did not enjoy it very much. It wasn’t a fun watch in any way for me. It was grimy and kind of gross, which I think was the point. So it’s not like a bad movie per se, it just isn’t for me. However, I don’t think it’s anything special really. Pretty meh on the whole story. Weirdly I am more excited for Pearl though. It looks more fun and interesting.

For X I’d go

 

[gaporter]

MOVIE #62
Scooby-Doo! and the Witch's Ghost (1999)

Time to revisit a piece of my childhood! I had a bunch of these direct-to-video Scooby-Doo movies growing up and this one was always one of my favorites. I'm glad to say it holds up, with great animation, fun voice acting, and a decent story. It captures the autumnal atmosphere very well, making it a perfect movie to put on this time of year. Nostalgia may be doing some heavy lifting here, but it was still nice to spend some time with the Mystery Inc. gang again after all these years. Besides, any movie that gave us the Hex Girls deserves at least four s.

Rating:

A ★★★★½ review of Scooby-Doo! and the Witch's Ghost (1999)

I have a feeling that these late-90s/early-2000s direct-to-video Scooby-Doo films were childhood cornerstones for a whole generation of budding horror fans growing up, because I know I'm certainly thankful I had gems like this and Zombie Island to satisfy my interest in the paranormal at an...

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[gaporter]

MOVIE #63
Son of Frankenstein (1939)

Not as good as the previous two Frankenstein movies in my opinion, but still definitely worth a watch. This film is just beautiful, every shot looks amazing, and it has great performances from almost everyone involved, especially Bela Lugosi as Ygor. My only main criticism is that the monster is once again non-verbal, undoing his development from the last film, though I realize expecting these movies to have consistency doesn't make a whole lot of sense. Since the rest of the Universal Frankenstein films don't seem to be available on streaming, I'll just consider this an end to the trilogy, which I think it works well enough as.

Rating:

A ★★★★ review of Son of Frankenstein (1939)

Son of Frankenstein doesn't quite reach the heights set by its predecessors, but even if the story here isn't as intriguing to me, it's still among the most visually rich and well-acted installments in the classic Universal Monsters canon. From what I can tell, director Rowland V. Lee didn't...

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[Hemotep]

Day 59.

Barbarian



I started this the day it came out on HBO but stopped so that I could watch it with the wife. One of the best of this year's crop of horror films. Go in blind and enjoy the ride.

 

[LeeVing]

#50.

Cooties (2014)

This one has grown on me the more I've watched it. I runs a a bit too middle of the road as far as horror - comedy.

Would probably be a bit better if it skewed more horror or more comedy....it seems to want to be more comedy, but isn't all that funny..

 

[LeeVing]

I had myself a marathon last night...

#51.

Night Of The Living Dead (1968)

The genre wouldn't be where it is with out this movie, and the sociopolitical themes are still as relevant now as they were then.

 

[LeeVing]

#52.

Dawn Of The Dead (1978)

Not much to say...it's as much of a classic in the genre as Night.

This year I watched the 4K Theatrical version.

 

[LeeVing]

#53.

Day Of The Dead (1985)

This has gained a half-skull since the last time I've watched it....maybe living though a pandemic has changed my view.

The practical effects from Savini are spot on (mostly) and the score by John Harrison is one of my favorites.

 

[gaporter]

MOVIE #64
Bad Moon (1996)

This was a decent werewolf movie, though some of the acting and direction felt like a cheesy mid-90s TV movie. I can look past that though because the lycanthrope action here is great, a lot of nice gory practical effects and a legitimately cool-looking werewolf design that is actually shown for more than the last five minutes! (Looking at you, Howling sequels). It also features a dog as the main hero, which is unique, but that's also where some of its issues come in. Some scenes are straight out of a sappy family-friendly dog movie while other scenes are full of sex and violence, so it's a bit inconsistent tonally. Overall though, I enjoyed it for what it was.

Rating:

A ★★★½ review of Bad Moon (1996)

A gory werewolf movie sprinkled with some 90s cheese, Bad Moon may feel tonally inconsistent at times, but it's a fairly entertaining film nonetheless. One of the more unique aspects it has going for it is that the main character is a dog. Sure, why not? At the very least, it's a gimmick that...

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[Hemotep]

Day 60.

Mayhem


This is a fast and fun one.

 

[gaporter]

MOVIE #65
Malignant (2021)

I've made no secret that I'm a big fan of James Wan's style, and this honestly may be my favorite film of his yet. I loved it when I first saw it, but I was worried that it wouldn't have the same impact on a rewatch already knowing the twist. However, I've seen it three times now and it only grows on me more and more. With each viewing, I notice more things I missed, like bits of foreshadowing and shots and lines of dialogue that hint towards what's really going on. I have a feeling most people already know about the big reveal at this point, but I love this movie so much I wouldn't dare to even accidentally spoil the surprise. I'll just repeat what I said last year and say go into it blind if you haven't seen it, and hopefully you have as much fun watching it unfold as I do.

Rating:

A ★★★★★ review of Malignant (2021)

This is my third time seeing this and I think I'm finally ready to admit that Malignant is among my personal favorite films of the last couple years. I think I wanted to refrain from praising it too much at first because I was waiting to see if it would hold up on a rewatch, once the initial...

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[gaporter]

MOVIE #66
Hocus Pocus (1993)

Family wanted to watch the sequel so I figured I'd revisit this one in preparation. I think it holds up pretty well, though it was never my favorite holiday staple to begin with. I remember being disturbed by the fact they had the balls to actually show a cat get run over as a kid. Of course, he comes back seconds later, but still kind of cruel. The movie is a bit more racy than other Disney movies, the whole "virgin" part of the plot is kind of infamous, but it becomes a totally different, much more fun film whenever the Sanderson Sisters are on screen. I love this trio of actresses giving it their all and going unapologetically over-the-top, and they really are the reason I think that has endured as long as it has.

Rating:

A ★★★½ review of Hocus Pocus (1993)

Like many people, I was introduced to Hocus Pocus as a kid, though admittedly I don't have as much of a nostalgic attachment to this one as others do. That said, I get why this is a seasonal staple for so many, as there is a charm to it even all these years later. It's silly, spooky falltime...

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[gaporter]

MOVIE #67
Hocus Pocus 2 (2022)

This was what I expected it to be, pretty much just a more sanitized version of the first movie. It's harmless and got more laughs out of me than I expected it to, but it's probably not anything I'll ever go out of my way to watch again. I do want a whole movie about the exploits of Sam Richardson and Billy Butcherson now, though.

Rating:

A ★★★ review of Hocus Pocus 2 (2022)

After years of empty threats, Disney finally gave in and released a Hocus Pocus sequel just shy of the first film's 30th anniversary. I wasn't originally planning to watch this, because I didn't really have high expectations for it, but I ended up putting it on anyways and honestly it wasn't as...

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