October Horror Movie a Day 2013

[SJP]

MST3k - Samson Vs. the Vampire Women

One of my favourites.  I wish they did more Mexican movies, the odd dubbing is amazing.

"Sometimes lint gets in your eye and takes on ghoulish shapes.  It happens to everyone!"

The beginning of this one has some of my favorite MST quotes of all time.  "The devil's minions are cheap thugs!"

Once again, not behind on movies, but behind on reviews:

Day 25: House of Wax 3D (1953)
I have been waiting for three movies to get released in a proper 3D treatment...Friday the 13th Part 3D (none of this anaglyphic crap in this day and age, please), Jaws 3D, and this.  One of these has finally come true.

Henry Jarrod (Vincent Price) is a genius sculptor, who runs afoul of the business partner who owns the building where he works.  When the partner burns the place down with Jarrod still inside, a scarred murderer begins to stalk the streets, and amazingly lifelike sculptures of the victims begin to appear in the new wax museum.  When Sue Allen (Phyllis Kirk) sees what appears to be the body of her roommate Cathy (Carolyn Jones, aka the Original Morticia Addams) as Joan of Arc, she begins to suspect all is not well in the House of Wax.

This may well be the most fun I've had watching horror movies this month.  Not only is the 3D exceptional on the new Blu-ray, the film is actually still very effective, even if a bit timid by today's standards.  The melting wax dummies still look creepy as hell, and Price does a great job as the genius gone insane.  And it has Charles Bronson as Igor.  Come on, that alone is worth the price of admission.
RIFFABILITY: High.  The Charles Bronson impressions alone would be fantastic.

Day 26: Grave Encounters 2 (2012)
Hey, found footage, one of my least favorite genres (though I don't HATE it; I want to make that clear).  What could possibly go wrong?

A filmmaker finds out that the events of the original movie weren't fake, that the people really died and was sold as fiction due to its unbelievable nature.  Going to Canada to find the place with his friends, they realize that maybe going into a real haunted asylum might be a terrible, terrible idea.

Ok, first of all, the characters are annoying.  All of them.  Not one is fun to watch.  That said, I do like the ghosts in this, even though they are one trick ponies (make creepy face, charge directly at the people).  Movie doesn't make a lick of sense, but at least there is some pacing in this that, even if it isn't good, at least it's entertaining.  I'd rate it mediocre; not as good as the first Blair Witch Project (which I do actually like), slightly better than Paranormal Activity (any of them), and way better than Blair Witch 2.  This at least TRIED to make an effort at being a sequel.
RIFFABILITY: Medium.  Movie is a lot of people bantering in annoying ways which would be hard to riff, but at the same time it asks for it, so I say it lends itself to being doable, but challenging.

[Johnny Unusual]

Halloween

It was playing in the background of last night's Halloween party (with subtitles!)  So there.

Troll 2 - Rifftrax

Had it playing in the background while I was getting ready for the party.  So there.

The Birds

Never saw it before, and I'm not sure how to think.  Though it is mostly praised, I have heard arguments against it and I can see why: it is an oddly constructed film and while the threat is hinted at early on, it doesn't come until late into the movie.  Also there's a bit of incongruity between the two main plots.  Still, I think they dovetail into eachother nicely at the end, which I think is crazy strong.  I'm sure a lot of people found that ending abrupt, but I loved were it left off.

[d00hickey]

Halloween

It was playing in the background of last night's Halloween party (with subtitles!)  So there.

Troll 2 - Rifftrax

Had it playing in the background while I was getting ready for the party.  So there.

The Birds

Never saw it before, and I'm not sure how to think.  Though it is mostly praised, I have heard arguments against it and I can see why: it is an oddly constructed film and while the threat is hinted at early on, it doesn't come until late into the movie.  Also there's a bit of incongruity between the two main plots.  Still, I think they dovetail into eachother nicely at the end, which I think is crazy strong.  I'm sure a lot of people found that ending abrupt, but I loved were it left off.

In general I appreciate Hitchcock films for being really good and ground breaking for their time, however the don't hold up well against the test of time in my opinion.

[Charles Castle]

In general I appreciate Hitchcock films for being really good and ground breaking for their time, however the don't hold up well against the test of time in my opinion.

[Johnny Unusual]

No, they are still amazing.

The construction is genius in way that people are still learning from today.  In fact, they also break and subvert formulas in ways that very few films have done since.  Very few films kill their protagonist 40 mins in.  And while many films watch good people go bad, few do it in the unsettling yet sad way Jimmy Stewart does in Vertigo.

I'm not saying Hitchcock is perfect (the one big misstep in Psycho is grinding the movie to a halt near the end to explain Norman Bates, which is completely unnecessary) but he's not talented and creative "for his time", he's talented and creative period.

What's more, Hitchcock films had a timeless quality to them and they hold up INCREDIBLY well.  In fact, they don't just "hold up" because they aren't rickety old ships, they are built to last.  Except a lot of his early stuff, before he found his voice.

[Relaxing Dragon]

The only real issue with Hitchcock films is that so many other films have imitated his ideas, styles, twists, and everything else (usually poorly) in the past few decades that his stuff doesn't seem as "fresh" anymore, as it were. Which is generally a problem with all groundbreaking things. In Hitch's case, his very name has entered film lexicon for certain sorts of movies. It can therefore be a bit tricky to view them all objectively.

All that said, The Birds (which is probably my second favorite of his films, behind Rear Window) is one of his more straightforward films (I mean that as in even he admitted as such). So it may just naturally seem like it has less to offer. Doesn't stop it from still being some damn effective filmmaking (the bit at the school when the birds start to take over the playground... still one of the highlights of the whole horror genre).

[Darth Geek]

It think the only one of his that I've seen is The Birds. I just found it kind of boring. I watched it because I figured it would be the most "commercial" of his and would be the most accessable to get my interest. Plus, the premis was at least promising because the horror wasn't just another person.

[d00hickey]

Just to be clear, I love Hitchcock and love watching them on a regular basis I simply feel the quality of his films are overrated.

[SJP]

Kind of did a double feature over the past two days, since they fit so well together:

Day 27: Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988)
Michael Myers is not dead following his full body immolation of 1978; rather, he has been kept alive in a basement of a mental hospital in a comatose state.  When he hears that he has a niece, since people apparently think its fine to talk about a psychotic murderer's family directly in front of him, he breaks loose and goes back to Haddonfield to murder once again.  Donald Pleasance guest stars as the well-meaning doctor who is actually not all that competent at dealing with his patient.

And...wow.  I forgot how dull this was.  Save for one or two somewhat imaginative death scenes (including a shotgun being put to a use it was definitely not intended), this just makes me wistful for the original.  As much as the original seems to have lost its scare factor, it's still a very well-made film.  All this does is make me wonder how many people who clamored for Halloween to go back to being about Michael Myers saw this and went, "Oh.  That's why they stopped."  Say what you will about Halloween III and its over the top weirdness, at least it was trying.  The acting is bad, the story isn't that much fun, and the special effects are...well, the gorier stuff is actually not bad.  But definitely a low point for the series.

Day 28: Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers (1989)
Somehow Part 4 missed the important step of showing the police throwing dynamite down the mine shaft Michael fell into, though we do get to see it in recap at the beginning of Part 5.  Michael escapes before he's blown to smithereens (not that that would stop him, really), and falls into a coma for a full year.  When he awakens, his urge to kill rises and he now has a weird tattoo on his wrist and his niece is psychically linked with him.  And there's guy in a hat walking around that won't be explained until the next movie (or, at least, the Producer's Cut...never watched 6 all the way through).  Donald Pleasance once again guest stars as a doctor who likes to get tossed through windows by Myers.  Did I mention he doesn't appear to be that good a psychologist?

It's not a great film, but it is definitely a step up from 4.  Goofy psychic power aside (which doesn't interfere in the plot as much as you might think, like Friday 7), it has some memorable scenes in it.  While I could barely remember what happened in 4, having seen it years ago, at least 5 has the death scenes in the barn, which if not exactly clever, sticks out compared to most of the rest of the series.  Though that ending is the most ridiculous thing...

Oh, and Myers looks pretty good for a man who was once wrapped in flames.  Only slight hand burns, eh?  Comas are amazing at healing the human body.

[ScottotD]

No, they are still amazing.

Eh, the filmmaking itself has certainly aged well but a lot of the characters are (obviously) very much of their time which dates the films quite a bit. 

[Charles Castle]

For instance, the characters in Vertigo act like people did in 1958.

Wait, what?

[Johnny Unusual]

I swear, you people.

Anyhoo.

Hellboy

Rewatched this one.  I think that Hellboy 2 is the better made movie, but I also have problems with it's tone (it's humour doesn't really work for me).  I like the original better (though Abe Sapien is used much better in part 2), though it has some weaknesses.  Still, Perlman is perfect in the lead role and there are some great set pieces and great use of practical special effects for the most part (though there is a bit where it looks like the monster Samael is attacking Hellboy with a vestigial arm).  The main villain isn't that compelling (but I never found him that interesting in the comics, either), though the wind-up Nazi is both cool and spooky.  Watching it, though also reminds me that I hope that Del Toro gets to do At the Mountains of Madness someday.  Few people can tackle the Lovecraft stuff well, and I'd love to see a horror movie with a cosmic scope.

Freaks

It was neat to finally see this one.  It is also an oddball movie in many ways.  The film is about a group of circus freaks.  A little person falls for a beautiful trapeze artist.  The trapeze artist leads him on because the little person is very wealthy and gives her gifts.  The trapeze artist laughs at him sleeps with the strong man behind the little person's back and tries to kill him with poison.  When the little person learns the truth, he and the rest of his friends plot revenge.

This movie is seen as a classic and while there's a lot of good in it, it has some problems.  The little people in the film are really terrible actors (though the male little person has one good moment where he contemplates his revenge in bed).  I'm also not sure how to take it's message since it spends a long time humanizing the freaks, but in the end they become murderous monsters.  Don't get me wrong, you really want them to get their revenge and I think that it arrives there in a way that makes sense, but it really is a movie that makes you question how the film makers wanted us to view them.  Not necessarily a bad thing, I suppose, and perhaps intentional.  Still, there is some bad acting in this one.

Suspiria

I love this movie.  Watching it again with friends, I forgot how cheesy this movie is, at least in the dialogue (that that one scene with the bat).  Still, it is an amazing movie and probably the most eye-poppingly beautiful looking horror film of all time.  The first death scene is still amazing even today. and it's use of colour has never been rivaled.

[SJP]

Day 29: Rifftrax - House on Haunted Hill (1958/2010)

Ok, I was at a friends and we needed something we both could watch.  It was fun as usual.

[SJP]

Day 30: V/H/S/2 (2013)

Hey, the second newest movie I've seen this year (next to The Conjuring).  And hey, it's found footage to boot!  But it is an anthology film, and I do like those...hmmm...

Two somewhat morally ambiguous private investigators are hired to look into the disappearance of a college kid.  Checking out his last known location, they discover a mountain of VHS tapes, and watch them to see if they find any clues.  Unfortunately, only more mayhem is revealed on each tape...

Ok, probably best to review each story individually, starting with the wraparound.  Yes, I have to agree with Brad Jones on this one.  There is absolutely no need to call these movies V/H/S if the damn movies on them aren't going to be recorded on VHS tape.  It's one thing to have a gimmick, it's another thing for your gimmick to not actually be used properly.  That said, the wraparound is pointless, because it tries to make a thread between the stories when there isn't one there.  The stories are random, there's no need for the videos being watched to have a connecting story that tries to drum up something between them.  Cut it out, or make it useful next time.  It doesn't really add to the proceedings, either.

"Phase I Clinical Trials"
A man's new bionic implant in his eye has him seeing strange phantoms.  Clever concept, poor execution.  There is an out of nowhere scene that isn't clever, sexy, or funny, it just eats up an additional 45 seconds of story.

"A Ride in the Park"
A man riding his bike in the park runs afoul of zombies, and we are witness to a zombie's life from a first person point of view following this encounter.  Again, clever concept, but definitely executed better than the first story.  Has some witty moments and some unexpected pathos.

"Safe Haven"
Some documentary filmmakers visit a cult compound in the hopes of an interview with its leader (and possibly catch some incriminating evidence of his dealings with some of his flock).  Unfortunately, their interview coincides nicely with the cult's prophecies...
The best story of the lot.  Scary, gory (with excellent effects work), and given that it seems like it was the longest story of the five, the best developed.  Its only issue (and a minor one) is the ending, which feels a little silly compared to the sheer madness that preceded it.  If nothing else, I recommend watching this segment at least...which appears to be a big consensus among people who've seen it.  And for once, I agree.  I had heard the word 'cult' when I first watched this, and I almost ended up skipping it thinking it would suck for that reason alone, but it is exceptionally well-put-together.

*Title redacted, since it's pretty much the spoiler of it*
The fourth story is shot mostly from a dog's eye view, from a camera mounted on its back.  The shortest story, and while I won't say it is the worst of them, it isn't great.  Not all that scary, and lots of bouncy camera work that does more to hide the rubber monsters than it does to add tension.  And it confuses scares with "giant loud noise RIGHT NOW oh, sorry, what if we DO IT AGAIN right here."

Of the directors that worked on this, the only ones I didn't know previously were the ones who did "Safe Haven," and I really guess I can't say I was surprised by the work of the ones I knew.  But damn, Safe Haven is worth the watch for that alone.

RIFFABILITY: Medium.  The different styles would make perhaps a crossover riff project more palatable than a single riffing team.

[Johnny Unusual]

The Village of the Damned

An interesting movie, but not so scary.  The kids are pretty cool and I was almost more on their side in this one.  They just wanted to survive and would go to any lengths to do so.  I bet you could make a really good TV version (if you have good kid actors) of the Midwich Cuckoos, in which the kids are still threatening, but we also get to spend time in their world and see what male them tick.