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

[zomgbear]

10. The Babadook (2014)
Rating:
Thought this one was great! Genuinely creepy & love the pop-up book aesthetic of the babadook - even looked it up to see if it's a real popup book (spoiler alert: it is but it's limited and going crazy on the secondary market. I only wish they didn't kill their poor dog but i guess in a way the babadook is kinda replacing it as the pet. Other than that, I'd say the Babadook was a good thing for them - it resolved a lot of their deep seated issues.

 

[EvanBenner]

Yipes. I had no idea what I was getting myself into by choosing Marabunta: Kingdom of Ants a.k.a. Legion of Fire: Killer Ants for one of my two insect horror picks of HoopTober.

This was basically Birdemic but with ants.

I'd rather suffer the incessantly screeching pyro cockroaches of Bug (1976) than watch this snooze fest again. Poor Mitch Pileggi was actually trying his darnedest though.

For alternative swarming creature/eco-horror, I'd swap arthropods for the cephalopods in the goopy and gory Slugs (1988) or even James Gunn's absurd Slither (2006), both of which are actually fun. But I stick to the rules, and slugs aren't actually insects (and neither are arachnids, so that eliminates a lot of notable options for my challenge).

A ★ review of Legion of Fire: Killer Ants (1998)

Insectile horror for HoopTober 9. Ummm. Birdemic has some serious 'splaining to do. This bad movie has everything: A poorly established and inconsistently scaled threat. Questionable assertions. Terrible CGI. Sigh-worthy acting. Mitch Pileggi's about all this has going for it, and by going for...

boxd.it

 

[LeeVing]

#14.

The Fog (1980)

Love the score, don't really care for the movie. All the actors do a great job, but the story line and plot just barely manage to hold my attention. I've tried to give this one many chances, but it's the same every time.

 

[EvanBenner]

Had to follow up my previous travesty with something bound to be good, so I went with Bone Tomahawk—one that's been on my watchlist ever since I saw a gif of that one scene in a Twitter thread of brutal movies. So, yeah, I knew it was coming, but I didn't know to who or when.

Great grim film, though! I'm not a huge fan of overly "western" stuff, but this strikes a nice balance with the the bonus of horror flair. Talk about that cast to boot.

 

[gaporter]

MOVIE #19
Dog Soldiers (2002)

It's unfortunate that there's so few really great werewolf movies out there, especially since there's so much potential for stories you can tell with the monster. I think part of the reason is that having a decent effects budget is basically a prerequisite for making a good werewolf film, and the vast majority of movies featuring lycanthropes these days are trashy no-budget bargain bin fodder. Thankfully there are some diamonds to be found in the rough even from the last two decades, such as Neil Marshall's darkly comedic and action-packed take on the genre Dog Soldiers. Even as a fan of werewolves, I admit it can get stale seeing the same story beats over and over, so I'm always interested to see filmmakers attempt to bring something new to the table, and that's what Marshall and company do here. Proving you don't need high production values to make a thrilling werewolf movie, the film works due to a talented cast, the unique angle of having the main characters be soldiers and some awesome werewolf designs. I just love how animalistic and exaggerated they are in this. Though it's not my favorite interpretation of the classic monster, it's a significant horror film of the 2000s that really took a chance and tried something new, and I find that admirable.

Rating:

A ★★★½ review of Dog Soldiers (2002)

Neil Marshall's Dog Soldiers is an interesting attempt at combining a gritty military film with a werewolf movie, an original premise if ever there was one. Bolstered by a script laced with dark humor and some thrilling action sequences, it's worth a watch just for the dedicated performances of...

boxd.it

 

[Hemotep]

Day 23.

Bodies Bodies Bodies

 

[Hemotep]

Day 24.

Gone in the Night


Not a horror and not very thrilling, but I thought it would be more of both from the description. And despite guessing the plot fairly early on I still thought it was a decent watch.

 

[hype]

This new 4k is without a doubt a fairly big improvement over the BluRay i've gotten use to over the years. The movie is still a borderline classic and one of the best Funhouse/Carnival Horror films ever made (Or just flatout one of the best 80's Slashers period as well).

​

 

[EvanBenner]

Glad to finally cross this one off my watchlist.

You Are Not My Mother is contemporary Irish folk horror with a lens on familial ties and mental health. Appropriately, it takes place around Halloween, but it's neither costumey nor campy. The holiday seems to underscore how our inner demons often hide in plain sight.

Would make for a great, moody double feature with The Relic (2020).

A ★★★½ review of You Are Not My Mother (2021)

I hadn't realized my latest HoopTober 9 pick would be set around Halloween, so color me pleasantly surprised at the appropriate (though long belated) timing of my watch. Halloween, however, isn't central to this examination of mental health through an Irish folklore lens, but the movie's...

boxd.it

 

[EvanBenner]

Fun little bit of Sam Raimi worship out of Japan, currently on Tubi in the U.S.

 

[Hemotep]

Day 25.

Speak No Evil



This was anxiety provoking. It went from uncomfortable and awkward to diabolical. You'll need a shower after this one.

 

[gaporter]

MOVIE #20
Halloween (2007)

Watched this and its sequel the other night but just now getting around to posting. I know I said I was going to take a break from the Michael Myers Marathon™ but honestly I was eager to wash the taste of Resurrection out of my mouth and this did the trick. I get why people don't like that this movie shows Michael Myers in a more vulnerable light and gives you a glimpse of the troubled child beneath the mask, but I prefer a remake that tries to be its own thing to one that doesn't bring anything new to the table. This is also the most bleak, violent and depraved film in the series so far, it lingers on the brutality and leaves no hope for a light at the end of the tunnel. This feels like one of the only Halloween films that makes you feel the pain Michael's victims go though and it's nothing if not effective. I appreciate Rob Zombie's reinterpretation more with each rewatch, even if I still prefer the John Carpenter classic.

Rating:

A ★★★★ review of Halloween (2007)

 

[EvanBenner]

Before tackling The Invisible Man vs. The Human Fly for my HoopTober list's "insect" challenge, I figured I should check out Daiei Films' earlier riff on the H.G. Wells/Universal classics first with The Invisible Man Appears. And it sure is fun!

The Invisible Man is my favorite of the Universal horrors. It's sassy and campy and fun. The Invisible Man Appears is less sassy, but it weaves together a super fun tale of scientific subterfuge, abduction, manipulation, and embattled romantic interests. A worthy addition to the invisible saga!

A ★★★½ review of The Invisible Man Appears (1949)

What a fun and worthy addition to the Invisible Man saga! I'm always down for a tale of good science gone bad when it falls into the wrong hands. And there's some impressive, real scientific ideas at play here right from the start. For instance, in chasing invisibility, the scientists mention...

boxd.it

 

[EvanBenner]

Okay, so The Invisible Man vs. The Human Fly is totally unrelated to The Invisible Man Appears, and it's also a lot less fun.

More details in my Letterboxd review, but this one has me feeling burnt. Like a bad filler episode of a legacy TV series.

A ★★ review of The Invisible Man vs. The Human Fly (1957)

Although I watched The Invisible Man Appears in preparation of this HoopTober 9 pick, it turns out this movie is fully detached from Daiei's earlier earnest addition to/iteration of the classic Invisible Man saga. Interestingly, this odd mashup of a title was released just two months after the...

boxd.it

 

[hype]

HauntedWeen (1991)

I had been looking for a solid quality copy of this one for years and finally tracked one down not too long ago! It's clearly a no budget obscure movie that's for the most part forgotten but any Horror movie that has a Halloween vibe to it will get my attention as this one did. All things considered it's actually a pretty fun movie if you're up for a "so good it's bad" kind of night. There's a specific scene in the Haunted House though that was a legitimate great idea and pretty well done. There's a Frat bro that sounds like a second rate Jeff Foxworthy imitator that got on my nerves more then anything else.

​

 

[EvanBenner]

Jumbo killer mosquito creature feature with practical effects and stop motion? Count me in.

Aliens crash, bugs feed, and jumbo skeets run amok right form the start. Love a movie that doesn't waste my time (*cough* The Great Spider Invasion *cough*).

Mosquito has a distinct Midwest feel, which I also love. Made me a tad nostalgic for the many summers spent in the Wisconsin Northwoods as a kid including campground foggers and all.

A ★★★ review of Mosquito (1994)

"They must be stopped. Wiped out from the face of the earth." I couldn't agree more, Chief! Mosquitos are the absolute worst, which makes them such a great monstrous creature for my latest HoopTober 9 feature. This movie is a fun B-level surprise, but I may be biased given its many upper-Midwest...

boxd.it

 

[gaporter]

MOVIE #21
Halloween II (2009)

Sorry to disappoint the guy that commented on my review of the first one to say the sequel sucks, because I love this sad, surreal, savage slasher tragedy. This is even more violent, psychological and soul-crushing than the first film and is my personal second favorite installment in the franchise behind Carpenter's original classic, haters be damned. I love how Zombie continues to assign weight to the deaths in his movies by showing the grief and trauma the survivors endure in vivid detail. Scout Taylor-Compton and Brad Dourif both give haunting performances, and I love Malcolm McDowell's Loomis becoming a grifter exploiting the tragedy, as it's not only a new story idea, but it also shows how not everyone processes being through a cataclysmic event in the same way. I find it interesting that this is almost structured the reverse of how the first movie was; here, the first 20 minutes or so are a more straightforward remake of the original while the rest of the film is largely Zombie's own creation inspired by Carpenter's original ideas. I know giving Michael Myers a direct motive spits in the face of the original vision, but honestly, I like that you actually get to see his point-of-view here and that his story is paralleled closely with Laurie's. Another neat touch is how this actually ends the same way the original Halloween II did, with a chilling close-up on Laurie Strode's face. Though admittedly the context is much different here. I know it's an unpopular opinion, but I think this is a fantastic film.

Rating:

A ★★★★★ review of Halloween II (2009)

There's a handful of heavily maligned movies out there where, try as I might, I just don't get the vitriol. I see a perfectly fine, well-made film, while everyone else sees an irredeemable piece of shit. I wouldn't necessarily consider Rob Zombie's Halloween II one of those examples, though...

boxd.it

 

[gaporter]

Convenient timing to finish the Zombie movies on the eve of The Munsters premiere! Despite @Hemotep's strongly-worded review, I'm still holding onto a glimmer of hope

 

[Hemotep]

Convenient timing to finish the Zombie movies on the eve of The Munsters premiere! Despite @Hemotep's strongly-worded review, I'm still holding onto a glimmer of hope

Hopefully you'll enjoy it! If you find something redeeming about it that I missed let me know.

 

[EvanBenner]

MOVIE #21
Halloween II (2009)
View attachment 152382
Sorry to disappoint the guy that commented on my review of the first one to say the sequel sucks, because I love this sad, surreal, savage slasher tragedy. This is even more violent, psychological and soul-crushing than the first film and is my personal second favorite installment in the franchise behind Carpenter's original classic, haters be damned. I love how Zombie continues to assign weight to the deaths in his movies by showing the grief and trauma the survivors endure in vivid detail. Scout Taylor-Compton and Brad Dourif both give haunting performances, and I love Malcolm McDowell's Loomis becoming a grifter exploiting the tragedy, as it's not only a new story idea, but it also shows how not everyone processes being through a cataclysmic event in the same way. I find it interesting that this is almost structured the reverse of how the first movie was; here, the first 20 minutes or so are a more straightforward remake of the original while the rest of the film is largely Zombie's own creation inspired by Carpenter's original ideas. I know giving Michael Myers a direct motive spits in the face of the original vision, but honestly, I like that you actually get to see his point-of-view here and that his story is paralleled closely with Laurie's. Another neat touch is how this actually ends the same way the original Halloween II did, with a chilling close-up on Laurie Strode's face. Though admittedly the context is much different here. I know it's an unpopular opinion, but I think this is a fantastic film.

Rating:

A ★★★★★ review of Halloween II (2009)

There's a handful of heavily maligned movies out there where, try as I might, I just don't get the vitriol. I see a perfectly fine, well-made film, while everyone else sees an irredeemable piece of shit. I wouldn't necessarily consider Rob Zombie's Halloween II one of those examples, though...

boxd.it

I, too, liked RZ's H2 quite a bit!