6th Annual N&G 31 Days* of Halloween (2024)

[EvanBenner]

Finally got around to binging Katla on Netflix. Dark and disturbing secrets of locals in a small Icelandic town — reeling with the effects of a prolonged volcanic eruption — bubble to the surface when a woman rises from the ashes. While more drama/mystery, there are some prominent cosmic horror underpinnings to this miniseries.

 

[Hemotep]

13.) Creeping Death


A miss of a slasher. Had some made for tv in the 90s vibes.

 

[EvanBenner]

Kicked today off with a double feature of some of my Takashi Shimizu blindspots. I have an embattled relationship with Shimizu, as he directed one of my favorite movies with Ju-On: The Grudge. However, I've struggled immensely with a lot of his other work. I knew these were going to be a rough go for me as "made for 3D" movies.

I started with Tormented, but realized 10 minutes in that this is a "sequel" to Shock Labyrinth in some ways. (Clips of Shock Labyrinth appear in-universe in a cinema in Tormented.) So I switched gears and restarted with Shock Labyrinth.

Shock Labyrinth is a lot of nonsense where a group of teens grapples with the reappearance of their friend who went missing as a child when they all trespassed in a haunted house attraction and left her for dead. Just a disinteresting mess.






Tormented is a bit of a step up in having some visually interesting sequences, but the story again is a nonsensical mess. The stuffed rabbit bag of Shock Labyrinth reappears prominently here and in full mascot form as young Daigo is haunted by nightmares after seeing SL in the theater with his older mute sister.

 

[EvanBenner]

I have a lot of shows coming up these next few weeks, and I realized how much of a predicament I created for myself with nearly half of my Hooptober challenge selections being foreign language films. Got to devote hours outside of work for all that, so I took the chance to get ahead of my list on day 1.

Followed up my morning of disappointing J-horror with a fun Argentinian homage to 80's gialli in Crystal Eyes. Fashion models and murderers, oh my! I found it super enjoyable despite some clear production constraints.

A ★★★ review of Crystal Eyes (2017)

Movie #1 of Hooptober 11. Fashion model giallo homage from Argentina. Playfully 80's in style and camp factor. Less Blood & Black Lace and more Too Beautiful to Die, this movie would be fun and fitting to feature alongside other indulgent odes to giallo like Knife + Heart and In Fabric.

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Switched over to The Hands of Orlac — ostensibly the original criminal body transplant movie, adapted from a French novel for film by The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari's Robert Wiene. Not as iconic as Caligari, but still engaging. Better than the 1962 adaptation, Hands of a Stranger.

A ★★★ review of The Hands of Orlac (1924)

Movie #2 of Hooptober 11. The Hands of Orlac sits well alongside classic early titles like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, The Lodger, and M, which deal in humanistic themes of identity, autonomy, and accountability. I found this original adaptation of Renard's criminal transplant story more engaging...

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Followed that up with The Doll of Satan — my first of four Italian offerings. This one was a major bore for an inheritance/extortion plot.

A ★★ review of The Doll of Satan (1969)

Movie #3 of Hooptober 11. An unfortunately unremarkable showing from my first of four Italian picks. Next.

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Decided to get my natural disaster on with The Wave from Norway. Really solid, suspenseful flick without all the Roland Emmerich crap.

A ★★★½ review of The Wave (2015)

Movie #4 of Hooptober 11. Planet Earth is the real horror. Using this as my pick for "caused or worsened by weather" is a slight reach, as weather has little to do with the immediate events depicted within — although I'll argue the seismic event that creates the avalanche that birthed the...

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Lastly, landed on Bhoot (2006) from India. I love me a simple yet well-done haunted apartment unit storyline. This one is energetic, quippy, and pretty extra with its sound design and music.

A ★★★ review of Bhoot (2003)

Movie #5 of Hooptober 11. Bhoot proves haunted apartment stories don't have to be complicated to be fun. Just needs good use of a set and some sense of style. This one's approach to audio is extra in a weird and fun way.

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[EvanBenner]

Busy watch day thanks to a steady flow of menial projects.

Kicked the morning off with a couple of Hooptober challenge selections before shifting into more watchlist items.

Student Bodies came out the year after Airplane! and you can really feel it. (I say this having recently seen Airplane! and Airplane II for the first time — and while I wasn't head over heels for either, I preferred the second.) This send-up of slasher movies sics a killer with a breathing problem on a high school's horny populace. I have to give credit where it's due, because this movie likely had a huge influence on later parody movies like the satirical Reefer Madness remake and the Scary Movie series. The comedy leans heavily into cringe, and despite some zingers, it's just not really my thing.

A ★★½ review of Student Bodies (1981)

Movie #6 of Hooptober 11. A slasher horror send-up that heavily rides the gaggy comedic coattails of Airplane! Mostly cringey, which is a hard sell for me, but there are some undeniably funny one-liners.

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Night of the Cobra Woman is a Corman-produced movie about scientists studying snake venom who encounter a life-sucking snake woman. It plays things pretty straight, which is where it all kind of falls apart for me. So much of this feels like it wanted to be a dark misandrist comedy, and I wish it was.

A ★★ review of Night of the Cobra Woman (1972)

Movie #7 of Hooptober 11. A bafflingly boring product with glimmers of wasted potential. This so wants to be a dark comedy, but I don't think the filmmaker(s) even realized that. Glad to see how other reviewers have filled in this film's unfortunate blanks on their own and found some enjoyment...

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Party Line is a very 80's, sleazy little movie where people who call in to local adult group hotlines start turning up dead. The exploitative sleaze factor is hampered by much of the story being from the cops POV as they deal with petty drama alongside their investigation, which kinda puts a damper on the amusement factors. I enjoyed the babysitters' plot line though, and that was thankfully less exploitative than one might expect for the 80's.





The Ghost Station is a Korean horror movie written by Japanese filmmakers Koji Shiraishi (Noroi: The Curse) and Hiroshi Takahashi (Ringu, Ju-On: Origins). It's adapted from a short webtoon comic by Korean artist Horang, which serves as the opening scene of the movie. The rest of the movie is very much an ode to J-horror tropes. It's well done overall with empathetic characters and good production, together which help undercut some of the derivativeness. The station setting is used well, too.





Grave Torture is a 2012 short from Indonesian director Joko Anwar (Impetigore, Satan's Slaves remake). Watched this because I plan to dive into his brand new feature length rendition of this concept which landed on Netflix suddenly yesterday.





Closed the day out with Legions, an Argentinian offering. An asylum-bound shaman battles for the faith and soul of his middle-age daughter to protect his bloodline's power from falling into demonic hands. I was expecting more consistent fantasy and supernaturalism given the poster style, but this is a stylistic and tonal hodgepodge. First half is more One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest patients overtaking the asylum all just to get the shaman in position to spend the second half reconnecting with his estranged daughter. Oddly quirky and slightly comedic. It needed to choose a direction and go full hog. I'd have prefered less shallow quirk and more sincere family drama with shaman battles.

 

[EvanBenner]

Coming to Criterion Channel in October:

 

[EvanBenner]

Gonna skip a few rubbish watches in today's wrap-up to stick with what's worth a comment.

Hippopotamus is a lean and mean chamber piece with a woman who wakes in a barren room with no memories, wounded legs, and nothing to go off of but what her admitted abductor tells her — that she will only earn her freedom when she falls in love with him. It's well done and takes some interesting turns.





It's not really clear what GoodBi is going for from its synopsis and poster graphic, so let me tell you this thing is by and large gastric horror. Anyone with IBS/celiac/Chron's, etc. is sure to find this an uncomfortable watch. It's super filthy. Some elements feel amateurish, but it makes some bold commitments that surprisingly had me uncomfortably glued to the screen.





I found The Dentist 2 slightly more enjoyable than the first. Can't really explain why, but it hits a more consistent stride.





Finally made time for Misery since we got free tickets to a local stage production this weekend. So fricking good.





As teased in yesterday's round-up, I decided to get in early on Joko Anwar's surprise Netflix release of Grave Torture. It's a heavily religious horror that poses some interesting questions about hellish consequences and motivations for faith. Great performances. One especially top-tier banger of a set-piece. Plenty for fans of the hellish visions of As Above, So Below and themes like the terrifying exploitation of forgiveness and confidentiality in Absolution (1978).

 

[zomgbear]

5) The Exorcism of Emily Rose (2005)

This was OK. It's like a courtroom drama "horror". Horror in quotes because i feel like it's a bit lacking in that area. The pacing worked well for a drama but it drags on the horror side of things because it was jumping back and forth between the court case and the flashbacks. I just realized director also directed Black Phone, Doctor Strange, and Sinister. The latter I also plan on watching soon at some point.

 

[Hemotep]

I'm behind on posting but have seen a few I'll need to post tomorrow. Just finished this and really liked it. One of the better creature horror films I've seen in recent years and it'll definitely get another watch.

13. Cuckoo

 

[EvanBenner]

Time for a round-up of my last several days.

Obsession



De Palma does Hitchcock. This failed to engage me, but I may revisit this one down the road. Was missing a lot of what I consider De Palma signatures, but I make up for that latter in this list.




Eyewitness



Mild AF thriller with a total waste of a cast. Feels like a diluted, made-for-TV Taxi Driver in some unsavory ways.




The Lamp (aka The Outing)



Very 80s in production style with some interesting ideas, but falls flat hard on story/performance.




The Final Terror



Generic but solid backwoods slasher. Checks all the slasher boxes.




Vicious Fun



Stylish with great needle drops. Tonally not really my thing (a bit goofy). Horror journo/blogger accidentally infiltrates a serial killer support group.




Beetlejuice Beetlejuice



Fun. Hectic. Loose. Superfluous.




The Strings



Now, this was great! A struggling musician books a remote stay to work on new solo material but is hounded by a dark force. Great music in this!




Frogman



Solid docu-style cryptid hunt. Wins on charisma. Wish it did more with its creature and lore.




The Strangler



A rather unique serial killer offering where the perp only kills women who have already resigned themselves to death. Engaging.




Blow Out



Now THAT'S a De Palma movie. Lots of fun. Love the camerawork.

 

[EvanBenner]

The Substance

Probably my movie of the year. Absolutely disgusting in all the best ways. From the Herbert West incandescent green "Substance" to the Tetsuo as fuck closing scene, this hits all its body horror homages just right. This shit is GRAPHIC. Love the energy Fargeat delivers — already setting a consistent high bar between this and Revenge. Demi Moore is Oscar-worthy.

1/2

 

[EvanBenner]

Found footage phenomenon It Doesn't Get Any Better Than This is making the screening rounds for spooky season!
(This movie has no physical or streaming release plans, so catch it if you can! If it's not appearing near you, the filmmakers still have a form for screening requests on the link above!)

• Sept 24th in Hanover, Germany at Broyhan Fantastik Festival | BUY TICKETS
• Sept 25th in Chicago, IL at Comfort Station | FREE
• Sept 27-28th in Los Angeles, CA at Alamo Drafthouse | SOLD OUT
• September 27th in Vienna, Austria at Slash Film Festival | BUY TICKETS
• Oct 1st in Philadelphia, PA at PhilaMOCA | BUY TICKETS
• Oct 1st in New York, NY at IFC Center | BUY TICKETS
• Oct 3rd in Toronto, CA at Toronto Indie Horror Festival | BUY TICKETS
• Oct 11th in Catalonia, Spain at Sitges Film Festival | BUY TICKETS
• Oct 18th in St Louis, MO at Arkadin Cinema | BUY TICKETS
• Oct 25th in Seattle, WA at Grand Illusion Cinema | BUY TICKETS

A ★★★★ review of It Doesn’t Get Any Better Than This (2023)

As serendipity would have it, my missing a timed festival premier of this fresh found footage flick would only lead to an even cooler first viewing experience. After realizing my extremely limited streaming window had long departed, I frantically reached out to the filmmakers to tease out any...

boxd.it

Cross posting from the general movie thread for us especially horror-minded folks.

 

[zomgbear]

Time for a round-up of my last several days.

Obsession

View attachment 214310

De Palma does Hitchcock. This failed to engage me, but I may revisit this one down the road. Was missing a lot of what I consider De Palma signatures, but I make up for that latter in this list.




Eyewitness

View attachment 214309

Mild AF thriller with a total waste of a cast. Feels like a diluted, made-for-TV Taxi Driver in some unsavory ways.




The Lamp (aka The Outing)

View attachment 214307

Very 80s in production style with some interesting ideas, but falls flat hard on story/performance.




The Final Terror

View attachment 214306

Generic but solid backwoods slasher. Checks all the slasher boxes.




Vicious Fun

View attachment 214305

Stylish with great needle drops. Tonally not really my thing (a bit goofy). Horror journo/blogger accidentally infiltrates a serial killer support group.




Beetlejuice Beetlejuice

View attachment 214304

Fun. Hectic. Loose. Superfluous.




The Strings

View attachment 214303

Now, this was great! A struggling musician books a remote stay to work on new solo material but is hounded by a dark force. Great music in this!




Frogman

View attachment 214301

Solid docu-style cryptid hunt. Wins on charisma. Wish it did more with its creature and lore.




The Strangler

View attachment 214300

A rather unique serial killer offering where the perp only kills women who have already resigned themselves to death. Engaging.




Blow Out

View attachment 214299

Now THAT'S a De Palma movie. Lots of fun. Love the camerawork.

I had the opposite DePalma take as you. I enjoyed Obsession but had trouble getting into Blow Out actually. I meant to revisit Blow out at some point.

If you haven't I'd check out Sisters, that one I really liked a lot too. Really felt Hitchcock inspired

 

[EvanBenner]

I had the opposite DePalma take as you. I enjoyed Obsession but had trouble getting into Blow Out actually. I meant to revisit Blow out at some point.

If you haven't I'd check out Sisters, that one I really liked a lot too. Really felt Hitchcock inspired

Sisters was good! It ranks either 4/5 in my De Palma watches alongside Dressed to Kill. Based on my Letterboxd scores, I like Carrie, Phantom of the Paradise, and Blow Out best so far.

 

[zomgbear]

6) Teen Wolf (1985)

Not a horror but it involves werewolves so why not, I count it. I didn't like it. Found it boring and cheesy.


7) Bone Tomahawk (2015)

I thought the concept of western horror would be interesting but did not dig the vibe. The cast / acting was good but hated most of the characters.

 

[LeeVing]

I'm going to be watching more movies eventually.

My ADHD has me binging MSNBC and political youtube channels and I don't want to miss anything that may happen.

 

[avecigrec]

I'm going to be watching more movies eventually.

My ADHD has me binging MSNBC and political youtube channels and I don't want to miss anything that may happen.

Yeah, between politics, family and watching disc golf playoffs I haven't nearly hit the stride I'd like to with movies

 

[zomgbear]

I'm just trying to hit 31 so been watching some sporadically.

8) The Cat (1992)

This one is super wacky. The plot is a bit lacking but I like the practical effects. Its like a mix of sci-fi b-movie and grotesque cronenberg-esque body horror. There's also this crazy cartoon-ish sequence where a cat and dog have a fight scene in a junk yard (and by fight scene I mean like if you were to watch an action movie and two people fight in it). If you like weird movies, this might be up your alley.


9) eXistenZ (1999)

Speaking of Cronenberg, I revisited eXistenZ. I've seen this before many years ago but besides the main plot, I didn't remember much of it. This was a lot more funnier than I remember it being. The whole movie makes you feel a bit uneasy because its so weird and you don't know what's really real. People say this is like the Matrix - but I've never really seen the resemblance. If anything, I thought it was more like Inception in that the whole thing feels dreamy and the theme of characters being disassociated with reality. (Also want to note that I saw this before I saw inception - so this comparison is an afterthought. First time I saw it, I didn't think it was like anything I've ever seen).

 

[EvanBenner]

Lots to catch up on so I'll be brief.

V/H/S Viral – Not much to get excited about in this anthology, but I feel ready to now dive into the Shudder exclusives that, by most accounts, likely offer more entertainment value.

Tragedy Girls – Kinda on a similar wavelength as V/H/S Viral in how far characters will go for views (here orchestrating a series of deaths). It was fine, but still too flat for my liking.

Mountaintop Motel Massacre – A total snooze fest I only watched as one of the few remaining NWP productions I hadn't already seen for Hooptober.

The Undertaker – Sleazy mortician flick with Joe Spinell (Maniac). Not really worth attention.

GirlHouse – Solid enough slasher in a college cam girl house.





Ma – Has some fun moments but is a bit of a mess in the end. Octavia Spencer is great.





Three on a Meathook – Kinda clumsy and not very engaging rural/regional slasher.

They Have Changed Their Face – A totally unexpected reprisal of Dracula from a somewhat progressive/anticapitalist viewpoint where the vamps are now just the business elite. Quite entertaining (not seasonal or scary, though).

A ★★★½ review of They Have Changed Their Face (1971)

They'll bleed you(r wallet and soul) dry! Without reading the synopsis, I originally anticipated this to be an oddball Italian riff on bodysnatchers based on the title alone. Not five minutes in and the conspicuous name drops of Harker, Helsing, and Nosferatu had me quickly reshuffling my...

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She Creature (Mermaid Chronicles: Part 1) – Some decent practical costuming bogged down by a rather disinteresting plot. It won't surprise you that there's no Part 2.

The Rosary Murders – A rather disappointing movie for a title so incendiary. A flaccid priestly procedural that wastes Donald Sutherland.

A ★★½ review of The Rosary Murders (1987)

Movie #12 of Hooptober 11. Yeesh. With a title like The Rosary Murders and a star like Donald Sutherland, this movie should have been straight fire. Unfortunately, this hits more like an excerpt from a priestly TV procedural already slated for midseason cancellation. A far more engaging horror...

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Puppy – Hmm. This one took some interesting swings, but kinda lost me overall. Reminded me quite a bit of Hippopotamus, which I logged earlier this month and liked the overall arch of better.

Valley of the Sasquatch (aka Hunting Grounds) – Guys in woods with Bigfoot. Forgettable.

Twixt (B'Twixt Sundown and Sunrise) – Francis Ford Coppola vampire/ghost nonsense.

Maximum Overdrive – Stephen King's overlong series of laughable machines-on-rampage vignettes (derogatory).

Sundown: The Vampire in Retreat – Oddball vamp comedy that just didn't really work for me.

Blood Freaks – Experimental Mexican fever dream.

13: Game of Death – Thai original of 13 Sins. Desperate man is offered a major windfall over a series of 13 escalating challenges. More of a dark comedy. Squid Game before Squid Game, but solo instead of a competition.





Oddity – New Shudder original from the director of Caveat. Really liked this one. Great atmosphere and polish.

 

[LeeVing]

I'm just trying to hit 31 so been watching some sporadically.


9) eXistenZ (1999)

Speaking of Cronenberg, I revisited eXistenZ. I've seen this before many years ago but besides the main plot, I didn't remember much of it. This was a lot more funnier than I remember it being. The whole movie makes you feel a bit uneasy because its so weird and you don't know what's really real. People say this is like the Matrix - but I've never really seen the resemblance. If anything, I thought it was more like Inception in that the whole thing feels dreamy and the theme of characters being disassociated with reality. (Also want to note that I saw this before I saw inception - so this comparison is an afterthought. First time I saw it, I didn't think it was like anything I've ever seen).

I haven't watched it in quite some time (at least 20 years), but I do really like it. I picked up a british quad poster (30"x40") a while back but I just don't have the wall space for it at the moment.