Back again for another year, both stopping in on the forum and doing the marathon! Off to a good start this year, because I have the week off from work to start, but it's the latter half of the month that will come into question...life is busy as ever.
The rules, as per usual:
As always, the rules are:
1. Horror is wide ranging; anything that includes horror as a general premise, even if comedic, is fine, though movies that are jokingly horrific ("Wonder Woman 1984 is so bad, it's scary!" is not a good excuse) do not.
2. One a day, for 31 days. It's already started as of me typing this, but go by your local time. It started 12:01 on the 1st, ends 11:59 on the 31st. At least, for starting movies. If a movie runs over time by a few minutes, but you started it, it's fine.
3. Front loading (watching 3 movies to get ahead and skip two days) is not OK, but catching up (watching three movies because you missed the last two) is OK.
4. Movies in a series count as separate entries, especially considering that they KEEP MAKING HALLOWEEN MOVIES. GOOD GRIEF!
5. New movies are encouraged, but old favorites are fine as well.
6. TV Specials are also OK (Simpsons, Peanuts, whatever you nostalgically remember).
7. Riffed versions are not only acceptable, they are encouraged!
8. Enjoy and have fun!
Movie 1: The Mutations (1974)
Movie 2: Day of the Reaper (1984)
Movie 3: Hocus Pocus (1993)
Movie 4: Garden of the Dead (1972)
Movie 5: Rifftrax: Beast of the Yellow Night (1971/2014)
Movie 6: Rifftrax: Lycan Colony (2006/2020)
Movie 7: Hotel Transylvania 2 (2015)
Movie 8: Rifftrax: Stitches (2001/2020)
Movie 9: Bloodbath in the House of Death (1984)
Movie 10: Pharaoh's Curse (1957)
Movie 11: Hellboy (2019)
Movie 12: Dark Tower (1987)
Movie 13: Cry of the Banshee (1970)
Movie 14: Destroyer (1988)
Movie 15: Rifftrax: Last Man on Earth (1964/2021)
Movie 16: Rifftrax: Robovampire (1988/2019)
Movie 17: Wolves (2014)
Movie 18: Rifftrax: Silent Rage (1982/2013)
Movie 19: Dr. Terror's House of Horrors (1965)
Movie 20: Strange Invaders (1983)
Movie 21: Renfield (2023)
Movie 22: The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
Movie 23: Absurd (1981)
Movie 24: Saturn 3 (1980)
Movie 25: The Caller (1989)
Movie 26: Trail of the Screaming Forehead (2007)
Movie 27: The Slayer (1982)
Movie 28: Rifftrax: The Dark Power (1985/2015)
Movie 29; Bonehill Road (2017)
Movie 30: The House That Dripped Blood (1971)
Movie 31: It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown/Garfield's Halloween Adventure (1966/1985)
I am pretty sure I can't do a daily run, but I will be watching horror movies all through October, so let's see how I do.
October 1 we watched
La Casa Lobo (The Wolf House). A very beautiful stop motion animated film from Chile.
It's more incredibly unsettling than scary, but it definitely fits the season. It's also very artsy-fartsy, which suits us well at least.
An incredible piece of work with the animation style constantly changing. It also has very strong sound design.
If the artsy-fartsy comment doesn't put you off, this is well worth a look for stop motion animation fans.
The Mutations (1974)
A doctor believes the future of mankind belongs to a sort of man/plant hybrid, and goes to great lengths to create one. However, while he does feed a cute animal to one of his plants, he does not do so in a Japanese mega-greenhouse, nor is he delayed by days...DAYS!
An interesting film. Slow as hell, but Donald Pleasance and Tom Baker are fun to watch, and the special effects are really pretty decent. Though I will admit, any effect that isn't created in a computer is a lot more impressive to me these days. The aforementioned cute animal into the plant is one of the great non-sequitur moments I've seen in a horror film, though. Also notable for Michael Dunn, who died shortly after his scenes were filmed but before the movie's release. He played Loveless in The Wild Wild West TV show, among other appearances, and I was surprised to find out not only wasn't he British, but he actually grew up in the Detroit area. Not a big deal to most, but as that's close to where I live, I just realized what a small world it really is.
Recommendation: Fans of slow-burn 70s suspense will enjoy, especially if you like British stuff. Everyone else, watch the last 20 minutes for the neat-o effects.
Sun 10/1: Saw X (2023) - Kicking off this year with a trip to the theater to see what Mister Saw is up to. This was one of the better entries in the series, putting in some new twists and, even better, giving Tobin Bell a chance to actually act. (Theater)
October 2 we watched another film on MUBI -
There's Nothing Out There.
A low-budget horror comedy written and directed by a 20 year old in 1990. It is a meta-comedy referencing the tropes of horror films and is often compared to Scream, saying it got there first. The director seems to believe his film inspired Scream even.
Some teens go to stay at a house in the woods, where there is an alien frog monster attacking them.
It's not roll on the floor funny, but it is amusing all of the way through, with some solid jokes here and there. We enjoyed it pretty well.
Quote from: WhyDontTheyLook on October 02, 2023, 02:38:41 PM
Sun 10/1: Saw X (2023) - Kicking off this year with a trip to the theater to see what Mister Saw is up to. This was one of the better entries in the series, putting in some new twists and, even better, giving Tobin Bell a chance to actually act.
Is that already out? I just saw the trailer for it on Saturday.
No chance of getting 1 a day this year, but I might manage 12-15 if all goes to plan.
1. We Have Always Lived in the Castle (2018) - https://forum.rifftrax.com/index.php/topic,5210.msg1041902.html#msg1041902 (https://forum.rifftrax.com/index.php/topic,5210.msg1041902.html#msg1041902)
2. The Thing From Another World (1951) -
https://forum.rifftrax.com/index.php/topic,5210.msg1041905.html#msg1041905 (https://forum.rifftrax.com/index.php/topic,5210.msg1041905.html#msg1041905)
Quote from: Pastor of Muppets on October 04, 2023, 07:08:20 AM
Quote from: WhyDontTheyLook on October 02, 2023, 02:38:41 PM
Sun 10/1: Saw X (2023) - Kicking off this year with a trip to the theater to see what Mister Saw is up to. This was one of the better entries in the series, putting in some new twists and, even better, giving Tobin Bell a chance to actually act.
Is that already out? I just saw the trailer for it on Saturday.
Yeah, this past weekend was it's opening.
Mon 10/2: Phenomena (1985) - Young Jennifer Connelly comes to Italy and is immediately endangered by a serial killer. Even though Donald Pleasance and his monkey butler are there to help, it's ultimately her ability to talk to and summon swarms of insects that... doesn't really pay off in the end. It's a mess, sure, but it's a fun mess thanks to Dario Argento's direction. Have Giallo today! (Shudder)
Tue 10/3: One Man Band: Legion (2010) - The second coming is playing out in a dingy roadside diner in the desert, and even Dennis Quaid can't stop the demons from ripping apart his patrons and some of his staff. But One Man Band can riff it, and to hilarious effect. (Riff: https://www.rifftrax.com/iriff/legion-the-one-man-band Movie: YouTube (rental))
Wed 10/4: The Cell (2000) - Haven't watched this one in a long time, even though it's one of my favorites. It's an enthralling mix of dark fantasy, horror, science fiction, and psychological thriller. Vincent D'Onofrio makes for a deeply creepy and unsettling villain. (Prime (rental))
Thu 10/5: After Effect (2012) - A group of pharmaceutical test subjects discover the test is 'can you survive being hunted by unconvincingly made up insane predators'. The good news: it's pass/fail. Weak overall, but with some entertaining kills and gore. (Tubi)
October 5, we watched Night of the Creeps at our movie club. This is a fairly recent discovery for me - Seeing it for the first time last year. It's a horror comedy, but it's more gross than scary and more fun than funny - it leans into its silliness and is largely carried by Tom Atkins' exaggerated, hard-bitten, jaded cop. He uses his catchphrase twice within his first few lines of dialogue 'Thrill me.'
It was very well received at Movie Club - one of the watchers said the image of the zombie hand coming through the door had always frightened him at the video store, and was quite surprised at what the movie was having finally seen it :D
October 6 - for Family Movie Night - We watched Ebirah, Horror of the Deep. AKA Godzilla vs the Sea Monster.
We've been working through the Criterion Godzilla set with our 10 year old - He loves them. This was my first time seeing it unriffed, and also in the original Japanese without the American edits.
Gotta say, it was a much better movie this way. It's not considered one of the best apparently, and it's certainly quite goofy, as all of the Godzilla movies are getting progressively at this point, but we had a blast with it. The way the group all get together is so silly and fun.
Not a horror movie, but I think this kind of retro 'sci fi' fits the season well.
3. October 6 - It Came From Outer Space
https://forum.rifftrax.com/index.php/topic,5210.msg1041915.html#msg1041915 (https://forum.rifftrax.com/index.php/topic,5210.msg1041915.html#msg1041915)
4. October 8 - Jaws
https://forum.rifftrax.com/index.php/topic,5210.msg1041917.html#msg1041917 (https://forum.rifftrax.com/index.php/topic,5210.msg1041917.html#msg1041917)
Fri 10/6: Cinematic Titanic: Blood of the Vampires (1966) - Featuring a cast of Philipinos pretending to be Mexicans, this is one mess of a vampire movie. But Cinematic Titanic's riff was (and is) super-funny. (DVD)
Sat 10/7: The Exorcist: Believer (2023) - Blumhouse takes its swing at continuing the 'The Exorcist' franchise, and does a fairly good job of it. Not an enduring classic -- I'm not sure one is entirely possible anymore, given how thoroughly mined exorcism tropes have become, but it gives it one new twist -- a multidenominational exorcism -- and has some good performances. (Theater)
Sun 10/8: The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew Meet Dracula (1977) - a.k.a. the first two episodes of season two of the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew Mysteries. A two-part episode bringing together the Hardys and a Drew together to investigate who has the most feathery hair (that would be Sean Cassidy, who sings one of his songs in this one), and how unconvincingly they can make a case that Dracula has come back from the dead and is biting people around his old castle, which is now hosting a Halloween party, a singing Paul Williams, and a completely-innocent-you'll-never-suspect-him Lorne Greene. Retro-spooky Halloween fun. (YouTube - Part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Td-mQMJKNmI Part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8G792Cl_Ms)
October 7 we watched Final Destination. I have never seen any of these films before, but I heard they were pretty fun, and we wanted something mindless. It's fine, very goofy and has an abysmal soundtrack. I did spot a Cub poster in the background. A missed opportunity to have a cuddlecore soundtrack IMO :D
I would watch more from the series if they turned up on any of the streaming services we have, but I wouldn't go out of my way.
8 October we rewatched Jennifer's Body.
It's one of those movies that people suggest needs reevaluation, but it turns out I was right the first time - this movie is not good.
The writing is just awful. We rewatched Attack the Block a couple of weeks ago, another film we hadn't seen since it came out, and it's so good - I was struck by how authentic it feels. The dialogue is perfect, and the kids are so real. Jennifer's Body is the opposite.
It's phony and it's not even nearly as funny as it thinks it is.
9 October we watched The Brainiac, AKA El barón del terror.
What a bonkers movie. And more bonkers is getting to the end of that and thinking 'how weird this hasn't been riffed,' and finding out it has been riffed and we have watched it. How do you see this weird movie a second time and not realise you have seen it before? In out defense, it's been over a decade, but still...
Also, we watched a nice restored version with the original language, and I'm sure that made a difference.
It's certainly not a great film, but it is excellent fun (if baffling). A baron who has some kind of unexplained magic is sentenced to be burned alive for being a heretic and also not being upset about being tortured, While he is being burned alive, he swears his vengeance, saying he'll disappear on the passing comet and come back and kill the descendants of the people who are burning him. Pretty weak vengeance IMO.
When he comes back he is some kind of weird brain-eating monster sometimes? He keeps a bowl of brains in a cupboard that he sometimes goes and have spoonsful of.
The movie is super cheap - half of it is filmed in front of photos that look like postcards. The monster cost $10, tops.
Somehow the movie is charming instead of a chore. We will definitely revisit this, though we are also curious to rewatch the Rifftrax too.
5. October 9 - Dracula (1931)
https://forum.rifftrax.com/index.php/topic,5210.msg1041923.html#msg1041923 (https://forum.rifftrax.com/index.php/topic,5210.msg1041923.html#msg1041923)
Quote from: Edward J Grug III on October 09, 2023, 05:59:10 PM
October 7 we watched Final Destination. I have never seen any of these films before, but I heard they were pretty fun, and we wanted something mindless. It's fine, very goofy and has an abysmal soundtrack. I did spot a Cub poster in the background. A missed opportunity to have a cuddlecore soundtrack IMO :D
I would watch more from the series if they turned up on any of the streaming services we have, but I wouldn't go out of my way.
I've gotten some kicks from the escalating Rube Goldberg fatalities in this series, with the obvious trade off of extreme deficiencies in nearly every aspect of filmmaking. Some hind quarter of my brain seems to recall liking part 2 the most, though I made no log of my viewings to certify that recollection.
Quote from: Edward J Grug III on October 09, 2023, 05:59:10 PM
October 7 we watched Final Destination. I have never seen any of these films before, but I heard they were pretty fun, and we wanted something mindless. It's fine, very goofy and has an abysmal soundtrack. I did spot a Cub poster in the background. A missed opportunity to have a cuddlecore soundtrack IMO :D
I would watch more from the series if they turned up on any of the streaming services we have, but I wouldn't go out of my way.
I always loved the Final Destination movies. They are so ridiculous. I have seen all 5 and FYI, they NEVER explain why anybody is getting these glimpses of the future.
Each movie has different rules. In the second movie, you can survive if somebody originally killed gives birth or is revived after being clinically dead. In the third and fourth they go back to that thing from the first where you get to survive if you somehow survive your freak accident. In the fifth one, you get to live if you kill someone else -- you trade your life for that person.
Quote from: Pastor of Muppets on October 10, 2023, 12:40:18 PM
I always loved the Final Destination movies. They are so ridiculous. I have seen all 5 and FYI, they NEVER explain why anybody is getting these glimpses of the future.
I have a soft spot for the fourth one...not only because of the 3D (which I'm glad to own, despite the fact that I recently found out they don't even make 3D TVs anymore and mine is now a rare thing to covet and avoid my children destroying), but that the director is the (late) director of Snakes on a Plane and Shark Night, which I always thought would get an Unrated release (it just seemed like it should have been a lot gorier, but sadly, that ship appears to have sailed).
Day of the Reaper (1984)
A serial killer attacks people with weapons that just happen to appear right next to him as needed. Hilarity ensues.
I entered this movie wondering why Amazon said it was a rare treat...and nearly turned it off 20 minutes in. It was dull, plodding, tedious, and the costume of the villain was ridiculous. "It's like The Room! Who made this thing, a toddler?"
Turns out, that's not actually far off...turns out the reason this is such a big deal is because it was made by a 15-year-old who made his dream come true by saving up $1000 as a dishwasher to make his serial killer movie on Super 8.
Watching it with that lens, it suddenly all makes sense...the moon logic, the plodding shots, the goofy costume...this is the kind of crap my brother and I would make when we were kids, except he actually got it made into a film he released.
Now, is it any good? Well...no. It's still not a GOOD film, but kicking it seems a little harsh. But any time the 'detective' comes onscreen is solid gold. There are flubs in the ADR (think about this...they recorded sound after the fact and STILL make mistakes), but all of his exposition is hilarious, and worth every minute of screen time. And the gore is decent as well...as is the completely out of left field finale in which the 'good' monster goes against the 'bad' monster. I recommend for sheer novelty value, but I wouldn't blame you for not coming back for seconds.
Hocus Pocus (1993)
Witches terrorize a small town, while Kenny Ortega choreographs. Bette Midler ensues.
I know this is becoming a classic for Halloween the same way that Die Hard became a Christmas classic, but this was a family watch. It's not one of my favorites. Though I do like how the zombie calls Midler a trollop. I like to think the actor improved that moment.
Garden of the Dead (1972)
Escapees from a chain gang are shot while trying to escape, but all the formaldehyde they've been huffing brings them back as blue ghouls to take revenge on the police and one of their own who's trying to go straight. Zombies ensue.
I think there is an error on Wikipedia...it says the movie is 85 minutes, but every copy I've seen is actually 58 minutes. I don't know why it's so short, but hey, it ends when it ends. Decent effects and has some genuinely eery moments (not played for comedy as you might suspect), but mostly notable for the inclusion of Marland Proctor, who plays one of the slabs of meat from Planet of the Dinosaurs.
Rifftrax: Beast of the Yellow Night (1971/2014)
A man dies, is brought back to life, and occasionally eats people as Filipino Satan desires. Roundness ensues.
I used to not care for this Rifftrax, but I found more to like this time around. I found myself laughing at the "The search for the credits lasted well into the night, involving all branches of the military" line more than I'd like to admit.
Rifftrax: Lycan Colony (2006/2020)
MISTAKE! ensues.
What's to say? Like Day of the Reaper, it's a labor of love. Unlike Day of the Reaper, Rob Roy doesn't have the excuse of being a 15-year-old kid to explain why nothing in this film is even remotely consistent, not even the aspect ratio. Still love the cave drawing animations where they go "Diddle-iddle-iddle" as the legs wiggle back and forth.
Hotel Transylvania 2 (2015)
Dracula is bound and determined to prove his grandson is vampire enough to stay in Transylvania. Nutsy-koo-koo ensues.
Another family watch, but this one is honestly my favorite of the series. Maybe it's because I saw this one ad nauseam when my wife was pregnant and it was one of three movies she wanted to watch, but I think everything clicks in this one in ways it doesn't in the other three.
Rifftrax: Stitches (2001/2020)
Devil comes to a boarding house to win souls. I ran out of the desire to do 'ensues' jokes.
The riffing is good, but I actually fail to see the purpose of this movie.
Sure, the whole point is that Satan wins and every becomes a paper soul puppet, but there's no journey. The demon learns nothing. No character development. Even freaking Friday the 13th movies have the final survivors learn SOMETHING about themselves.
It's basically a gag reel of the devil winning arguments.
That said, Full Moon is very good at making B-movie fare that treads the line between something truly cult classic and something that just falls short. This is one of those falling short moments.
Bloodbath in the House of Death (1984)
Paranormal investigators come to a house where 18 people suffered a horrible demise a decade before. It does not end well.
I had never heard of this movie before this year, and I don't know how that is the case. Sure, it bombed horribly when it came out and is not well regarded (which I will admit, I can understand), but I still found myself laughing. Apparently it was intended as a vehicle for then popular Kenny Everett (who passed in the mid-90s from AIDS) that never went anywhere, but is mostly memorable for being the last British movie Vincent Price attached himself to...and even though he's barely onscreen, every moment of him, like the detective in Reaper, is hilarious. This is a great example of getting somebody to act and say things you would never expect them to say (you just have to see it to believe it), far better than Michael Cera in This Is The End. I like to think of it as Britain's answer to Airplane, and as long as you see it that way and don't expect much (the ending falls apart rather quickly), it's got a fair share of giggles. Outside of Price, the library scene is worth a glance, as well as the first five minutes or so; if you get through that with a grin on your face, you'll probably be able to watch the whole thing. I don't know, maybe I was just in the right mood for this when I turned it on, but I had a good time with it, despite the reputation I found out it had earned.
Pharaoh's Curse (1957)
Trouble besets a dig on a pharaoh's tomb, and it becomes clear something strange is going on once the mummy vanishes and a member of the crew begins sucking the blood out of everybody.
I started watching this, and then halfway through realized that several scenes looked familiar. I went back and checked, and I saw this one back in 2014. I didn't review it then, which probably didn't help me remember much, but then, considering I'm pushing roughly 400 or so films over a decade that I've only seen once, I'm probably going to forget I watched a few unless they were really memorable. That said, its not a bad movie considering it was made for roughly $0, if the director's reputation is to be believed, but it's also unremarkable. Some good mood-setting shots, but the monster isn't particularly threatening and the explanation behind the goings-on is a little far-fetched (as in, why such an elaborate plot in the first place?), but I can see why I didn't recognize this one until I got further in...it's nothing special.
6. October 10 - Psycho III
https://forum.rifftrax.com/index.php/topic,5210.msg1041931.html#msg1041931 (https://forum.rifftrax.com/index.php/topic,5210.msg1041931.html#msg1041931)
Mon 10/9: My Bloody Valentine (2009) - Ten years after a miner goes around killing people in a mine, the son of the family that owns the mine comes back, and the carnage starts up again. A 'summer break' movie from Jensen Ackles, and one of the better horror remakes of the aughts. Some nice bloody mayhem in this one. (Tubi)
Tue 10/10: Film is Pwn: Moon of the Wolf (1972) - A creepy and cheesy werewolf movie set in a small Louisiana town. Film is Pwn delivers a good, if not great, riff of this one. (VOD iriff: https://www.rifftrax.com/iriff/film-is-pwn-presents-moon-of-the-wolf-vod )
Wed 10/11: Book of Blood (2020) - Fair adaptation of three of the stories from Clive Barker's "Books of Blood." I believe this was originally going to be an anthology series, before it got truncated into being an anthology movie. Barely a patch on Barker's work, but has some good moments. (Hulu)
Thu 10/12: Pet Sematary: Bloodlines (2023) - Not that any of the Pet Sematary movies/remakes have been classics in my book, but this manages to slide under even that mediocre bar. They tried switching it up some, at least, but that's all I can say for it. (Prime)
6. October 11 - Popcorn (1991)
https://forum.rifftrax.com/index.php/topic,5210.msg1041935.html#msg1041935 (https://forum.rifftrax.com/index.php/topic,5210.msg1041935.html#msg1041935)
11: Hellboy (2019)
Hellboy must defeat a resurrected Witch Queen with a medium and another BPRD agent, but to do so, he will need to understand the legacy of King Arthur.
Firstly, this was 18% on Rotten Tomatoes? Sure, it's not a fantastic movie, but this is well above "Lycan Colony" levels. It's crime is that it's essentially retelling the plot of the original Ron Perlman movie with (more) CG blood and an R rating (which come on, CG blood and one character dropping F bombs constantly does not an R rating really make; this is an R rating as envisioned by a 13-year-old, which ironically makes it more PG-13 than the original movies). Harbour is fine, and the monster encounters are interesting in concept, but the visuals are just so LAZY. The giant fight, which should be spectacular, looks faker than 1980s stuff because you can tell Harbour is greenscreened into either an empty field somewhere in England or a completely fake CG landscape, and perspective is so weird-looking as he runs around. I don't think it deserves to be considered so awfully (it admittedly is going to be compared to Del Toro's two movies, which are a tough act to compare to), but it's definitely not great.
12: Dark Tower (1987)
Something paranormal is murdering people in an office building in Spain, and a contractor who happens to be mildly psychic is trying to figure out why.
The movie itself is slow and fairly predictable once you know where the plot is going (very hard to be surprised when you have literally one suspect to choose from); the more interesting stuff is the people involved. Kevin McCarthy shows up at the end for about five minutes to be Kevin McCarthy, American Werewolf in London's Jenny Agutter plays the sultry architect/former architect's wife, and the most surprising, the writer of the film is Ken Widerhorn. If you don't know him, you probably should, since this gig introduced him to the producer, which led to them working on making Return of the Living Dead II together, with Wiederhorn as director. How much you like that movie is probably mostly based in nostalgia, but Wiederhorn's sense of humor doesn't really show up until the second half, and there is a great scene where a professor in the supernatural tries to speak with the ghost and ends up sliding into a monologue about how his colleagues don't show him respect. Otherwise pretty skippable.
13: Cry of the Banshee (1970)
Vincent Price plays evil Vincent Price, a 15th century lord whose desire to rid the area of witchcraft ends up being much more deadly than if he'd left well enough alone.
I'm torn on this one. The story is just OK, Price is surprisingly restrained, and all the gentry being a bunch of evil jerks who have their way with women is a little much (though that may be just because I recently listen to Pillars of the Earth where all the same crap happens and I'm just overloaded on medieval chicanery), but in the way I didn't care for the visuals in Hellboy, damn, this movie makes $50 look like a million bucks. Especially in the begining of the movie, this movie has incredible cinematography, and maybe it's the film stock or something, but the movie looks more like it was filmed in the mid-80s than something on the tail end of the 60s. This movie had to have been a low budget production, but it doesn't look that way, to its great credit.
14: Destroyer (1988)
A gigantic serial killer is put in the electric chair. It doesn't work. Years later, a movie crew filming at the decommissioned prison find out exactly by how much.
Ah. I've been waiting for something that's pure schlock. Starring the late Lyle Alzado as the serial killer (who is intimidating, but not scary, until the scene where he eats hair...hair, for Pete's sake!), this is an 80s trash fest that has it all: decent if minor gore, Anthony Perkins (who actually shows up for more than 5 minutes, amazingly), electronic music, and pointless nudity (which is amusingly enough satirized, as the movie crew points out, "It's the 80s, everyone's naked, Nicholson, Streep..." which would be a stronger point if it were in a smarter movie than this). Nothing spectacular, but fun for what it is.
Of bonus note to aspiring filmmakers...you know, when you want to make your killer seem dangerously unkillable...don't make your leads get up just as easily as he does after they've been beaten senseless. It makes everyone else who was murdered offscreen seem really, really incompetent.
October 10 - Truth or Dare?: A Critical Madness (With Rifftrax). WTF
October 12 - Diabolique. Beautiful, dark and atmospheric - A fantastic French thriller/horror movie set in a boarding school run by a horrible, abusive headmaster. His wife and his mistress plot a murder. Strongly recommended, has Hitchcock vibes for sure.
October 15 - The 'Burbs. First watch in over a decade. The movie is fantastically put together, and I had forgotten how fun Tom Hanks used to be. Probably should have got my hands on more Dante for this month.
7. October 13 - Night Train Murders (1975)
https://forum.rifftrax.com/index.php/topic,5210.msg1041942.html#msg1041942 (https://forum.rifftrax.com/index.php/topic,5210.msg1041942.html#msg1041942)
Quote from: Charles Castle on October 16, 2023, 03:08:51 AM
7. October 13 - Night Train Murders (1975)
https://forum.rifftrax.com/index.php/topic,5210.msg1041942.html#msg1041942 (https://forum.rifftrax.com/index.php/topic,5210.msg1041942.html#msg1041942)
I saw this last year on Criterion and your review is great. I thought it was a bit more heavy-handed than you do though.
The nastiest bit was when the woman slaps the young girl's corpse. Repeatedly. Yikes.
And btw the rifftrax Bog. Anyone else think this was a 10? Rednecks and monsters and rifftrax go together well. Galaxy Invader is my favorite trax of all time after all.
Quote from: losingmydignity on October 16, 2023, 07:50:45 AM
And btw the rifftrax Bog. Anyone else think this was a 10? Rednecks and monsters and rifftrax go together well. Galaxy Invader is my favorite trax of all time after all.
I thought it was a great riff. I'm considering watching the unriffed version on Tubi this month, but haven't gotten up the nerve yet.
Fri 10/13: Jason X (2001) - Jason... in... spaaaaaaaace! One of my favorite 'comfort food' horror movies. Not to say it's made of quality, or it's super scary, but it knows how absurd it is and rolls with it, without tipping into outright comedy. (Prime (rental))
Sat 10/14: Tokyo Gore Police (2008): This one, meanwhile, is full-on insane. Everyone in it apparently has a blood pressure of 1 million over 500 thousand, hosing down the scenery with spraying blood from every lost limb. It manages to be both hilarious and deeply disturbing at the same time, and I'm there for it. (Tubi)
Sun 10/15: Chopping Mall (1986): Young adults partying in a mall after hours are targeted by the new robot security force. Not a lot of chopping, but a lot of badly aimed laser beams and exploding bodies. Fun times! A Jim Wynorski classic. (Tubi)
Quote from: losingmydignity on October 16, 2023, 07:50:45 AM
Quote from: Charles Castle on October 16, 2023, 03:08:51 AM
7. October 13 - Night Train Murders (1975)
https://forum.rifftrax.com/index.php/topic,5210.msg1041942.html#msg1041942 (https://forum.rifftrax.com/index.php/topic,5210.msg1041942.html#msg1041942)
I saw this last year on Criterion and your review is great. I thought it was a bit more heavy-handed than you do though.
The nastiest bit was when the woman slaps the young girl's corpse. Repeatedly. Yikes.
It definitely has those moments, and that's a big one. For me, it feels less common than in
Last House or genre contemporaries, and more impactful as a result.
8. October 14 - The Last Voyage of the Demeter (2023)
https://forum.rifftrax.com/index.php/topic,5210.msg1041950.html#msg1041950 (https://forum.rifftrax.com/index.php/topic,5210.msg1041950.html#msg1041950)
I'm guessing they called it "The last voyage of the Demeter" is because it vaguely sounds like "The Voyage of the Damned". I don't know for sure, I'm just having fun speculating.
Mon 10/16: The Relic (1997) - Through a series of funky plot contrivances, the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago is menaced by a large mutant beast. With some great Stan Winston creature work, more than enough fun to carry through the strained setup. (Prime)
Tue 10/17: Rifftrax: Demon Island (2002) - My wife and I actually watched this one on direct-to-streaming unriffed a few years back, and found it to be stupid, but fun stupid. The Rifftrax riff makes it much better, though. (Rifftrax.com)
Wed 10/18: 1408 (2007) - A writer of pop-lite haunted house guides encounters the real deal in a New York hotel's room 1408. Creepy, at times surreal, anchored by John Cusack's performance. (Prime (rental))
Thu 10/19: Rifftrax: Godmonster of Indian Flats (1973) - While a scientist grows a monster sheep in a lab in a mine (I think), a guy named Barnstable tries to buy some real estate and is nearly lynched, and then things get weird. Not so much 'intertwined plots' as much as 'plots drunkenly staggering around one another.' Very funny riff of a very bad movie. (Rifftrax.com)
9. October 17 - Last House on the Left (1972)
https://forum.rifftrax.com/index.php/topic,5210.msg1041980.html#msg1041980 (https://forum.rifftrax.com/index.php/topic,5210.msg1041980.html#msg1041980)
October 16 - Drag Me to Hell for the first time in a long time. Just a gross as I remember.
Quote from: Edward J Grug III on October 22, 2023, 10:26:40 PM
October 16 - Drag Me to Hell for the first time in a long time. Just a gross as I remember.
For all the nasty moments I sit through in films, the death of the cat in this one upsets me perhaps more than any in all of cinema.
10. October 18 - Case 39 (2009)
https://forum.rifftrax.com/index.php/topic,5210.msg1041994.html#msg1041994 (https://forum.rifftrax.com/index.php/topic,5210.msg1041994.html#msg1041994)
11. October 19 - Fright Night (1985)
https://forum.rifftrax.com/index.php/topic,5210.msg1041996.html#msg1041996 (https://forum.rifftrax.com/index.php/topic,5210.msg1041996.html#msg1041996)
Fri 10/20: Halloween (2007) - Rob Zombie's reboot of the 1978 original, with Tyler Scout-Compton filling in as Laurie Strode. Sleazy and skeevy, sometimes depressingly so, but entertaining enough for a night. (Peacock)
Sat 10/21: Phantom of the Opera (1989) - A month or two ago, I watched Shudder's excellent doc on Robert Englund ("Hollywood Dreams and Nightmares: The Robert Englund Story"), and it reminded me of this non-musical, full-on-horror adaptation, with Robert as the titular Phantom. It was hard to track down; I eventually had to buy a second-hand DVD. But I'm glad I did -- he's really good in this one, and it's pretty enjoyable. (DVD)
Sun 10/22: House on Haunted Hill (1999) - Another favorite of mine. 'The Haunting' was released the same year, and what it had over this film in budget and effects, it lacked in exuberantly salacious, cheesy fun. Geoffrey Rush and Famke Janssen are great in this, never moreso than when they're sniping at and trying to out-conspire one another. (Tubi)
Quote from: Charles Castle on October 23, 2023, 01:30:38 AM
Quote from: Edward J Grug III on October 22, 2023, 10:26:40 PM
October 16 - Drag Me to Hell for the first time in a long time. Just a gross as I remember.
For all the nasty moments I sit through in films, the death of the cat in this one upsets me perhaps more than any in all of cinema.
Yes! It's such a bummer and also for nothing! :C (Works well in the film though)
October 19 - Hobgoblins - MST3K version. We showed this out our weekly movie club - a cheer up/baffling distraction movie after one of the group was made redundant suddenly.
October 22 - Nope. Such a bold and odd film, I liked it even more on this, my second viewing.
I love final alien design so much.
I can't wait to see what his next film is.
Quote from: Edward J Grug III on October 23, 2023, 07:39:48 PM
October 22 - Nope. Such a bold and odd film, I liked it even more on this, my second viewing.
I love final alien design so much.
I can't wait to see what his next film is.
I love Nope so much. So damn fascinating and tense AF. It's kind of like Close Encounters in several ways(Not The Fourth kind, the THIRD kind).
Mon 10/23: Movie Jo Night: Scream of the Wolf (1974) - Peter Graves investigates a series of murders that may have been done by a werewolf, or a wolf, or maybe just the guy who's the obvious villain. Mary Jo Pehl and Chris Gersbeck screened this for this month's Movie Jo Night; it's more of a commentary than a riff, per se, but it's fun to watch them watching the movie. (Mary Jo Pehl Clubhouse)
Tue 10/24: Halloween II (2009) - Rob Zombie's second stab at a Michael Myers movie. The studio let him go his own way with the story for this one, and it manages to be simultaneously better and worse than his previous effort. Overall, was happy to see Michael killing off almost everybody in this one. (Peacock)
Wed 10/25: Silent Hill (2006) - A mother, attempting to unravel the mystery of her daughter's tortured dreams, takes her to the mysterious town of Silent Hill. She immediately loses her, and runs around shouting her name a lot. Not sure how faithful it is as an adaptation, but it's a fun, creepy, twisted flick. (Peacock)
Thu 10/26: Lifeforce (1986) - Space vampires make their way to Earth and begin sucking electricity from everybody's faces. By popular demand, they are naked a lot. I can't believe this was my first time seeing this; it's demented and amazing. (Tubi)
12. October 20 - Re-Animator (1985)
https://forum.rifftrax.com/index.php/topic,5210.msg1042025.html#msg1042025 (https://forum.rifftrax.com/index.php/topic,5210.msg1042025.html#msg1042025)
13. October 21 - The Resident
https://forum.rifftrax.com/index.php/topic,5210.msg1042027.html#msg1042027 (https://forum.rifftrax.com/index.php/topic,5210.msg1042027.html#msg1042027)
14. October 21 - The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (1949)
A true Halloween classic which hasn't lost a scintilla of resonance for me since the first time I saw it at age 6.
https://forum.rifftrax.com/index.php/topic,5210.msg1042029.html#msg1042029 (https://forum.rifftrax.com/index.php/topic,5210.msg1042029.html#msg1042029)
This morning, I thought back to 10 Cloverfield Lane(which... came out 7 years ago already) holds up VERY well. HOLY SHIT!
Great movie, and IMHO, MUCH better than the original Cloverfield. It's pretty rare that a movie franchise changes genres, but in this rare case, Monster movie to straight up horror film works very well.
Also... Mary Elizabeth Winstead is fucking beautiful and badass.
There's something very cool about a movie spent in a very claustrophobic location, then we get outside and somehow.... things get even more fucked up... and even more interesting.
Fri 10/27: Hor-Riff-Ic: Friday the 13th (1980) - Can't let an October go by without at least one Hor-Riff-Ic riff. This year I picked their fabulous riff of this old-timey slasher classic. So much fun. (Movie: dvd Riff: https://www.rifftrax.com/iriff/hor-riff-ic-friday-the-13th-remastered)
Sat 10/28: Silent Hill: Revelation (2012) - Sharon's grown up now, and is ready to face the fact that she's in a middling sequel to a pretty good horror video game movie. Not as good as the first, but has some effective bits, and Sean Bean doesn't die in this one... exactly. I think. (Prime (rental))
Sun 10/29: The Gateway (2016) - I saw the 'Uncork'd' logo at the start and immediately lowered my expectations to be flush with the floor. But this one surprised me by actually being entertaining. It feels a little threadbare (it is an Uncork'd feature, after all), but the tart comic approach to this dimensional-vortex-in-my-shower horror feature made it surprisingly fun. (Tubi)
15. October 23 - Frozen (2010)
https://forum.rifftrax.com/index.php/topic,5210.msg1042040.html#msg1042040 (https://forum.rifftrax.com/index.php/topic,5210.msg1042040.html#msg1042040)
October 23 - Rock 'N' Roll Nightmare - Easily one of my wife's top three riffs, watched on a night where she'd had a stressful day. So silly and fun.
October 26 - The Black Cat (1934) - Screened at our movie club. A couple honeymoon in remote Hungary for some reason, and are in a bus accident in front of the house of a famous architect (Boris Karloff) who a fellow passenger (a doctor played by Bella Lugosi) holds a grudge against. The doctor takes the injured woman up to the house, where the creepy architect is forced to put them up.
This movie is all atmosphere and talking. Some fantastically composed shots, including a memorable shot of Karloff waking and stiffly sitting up in bed in silhouette.
27 October - Hold That Ghost - My son has really gotten into Abbott and Costello (via the Universal Monster movies they did) so I picked up a boxset of their films, and this one seemed perfect for a Halloween family movie night. My ten year old does not do too well with spooky stuff and definitely got scared a few times, but still enjoyed it quite well. It has some of the worst musical segments you'll ever see at the start of the movie, and the whole set up is so over-complicated, but in the end, it's a fun watch.
28 October - M3GAN - We only just got to this smash hit from last year. I enjoyed this a lot more than I thought I would, to be honest. It really successfully sets up and executes its premise. It's no masterpiece, but it's one to revisit every few Halloweens.
October 30 - Onibaba - Now THIS is a genuine masterpiece.
Two women (a mother and daughter in law) in medieval Japan are left to fend for themselves when their son/husband is forced to go to war. They ultimately resort to killing and stealing to survive. Then the son/husband's friend returns without him and threatens to interfere with the mother's livelihood and survival.
Every shot looks impossibly perfect. The sound design and the score (taiko drumming and jazz) is extraordinary.
It doesn't get much better than this.
10/30: Rifftrax: Amityville Dollhouse (1996) - Of the 'official' sequels to the Amityville Horror, this film is the weakest, with random plot developments and irritating characters screaming half of their lines. Without the riff, it's nigh-intolerable. With the riff... it's a lot better. (Rifftrax.com)
10/31: May (2002) - Part psychological thriller, part character study, part black comedy, this one stays together on the strength of Angela Bettis' performance, taking a character that might otherwise tip into parody and making her at once sympathetic, tragic, and terrifying. (Tubi)
I made it, though it sucks that I didn't space out my reviews...almost fell behind due to work obligations, but I'll try and keep it short, and only talk about the really obscure ones in detail.
Rifftrax: Last Man on Earth
I like the movie, riffing was OK. My favorite bit was when Vince throws a bomb about three inches away from himself and Kevin shouts, "Eat this, bitches!"
Rifftrax: Robo Vampire
Godfrey Ho loves to staple movies together, doesn't he? Too bad he went a step too far with this one. Riffing is great, movie is nonsensical, and ends...well, it ends. Kind of. Let's leave it at that.
Wolves
Never heard of this originally, but Jared Padalecki's younger clone finds out (in a rough way) that he's a werewolf, and Jason Momoa (no, really, he's in this) is the evil king of the little fiefdom in the middle of nowhere Padalecki clone takes refuge in. Not a 'great' movie, but a hell of a lot better than most low-budget werewolf films in that the plot is followable and the special effects are surprisingly decent...even the CG segments, which I didn't expect. I guess when you assume all werewolf movies made after, say, 2000 are guaranteed to suck unless they are obvious comedies (Wolfcop), it's nice to find something that is decently watchable, even if it's nothing special.
Rifftrax: Silent Rage
This is a Rifftrax that I like the beginning, because the opening rampage is freaking hilarious, but I sort of taper off once it gets into the actual "Frankenstein" murderer plot. The sped up death by wall slam most of the way through the film is funny as well.
Dr. Terror's House of Horrors
First of two anthologies I watched that star both Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee, this one with Cushing as a man who invariably sees the fates of fellow passengers on a train. Incredibly British, and while you can see the ending coming a mile away, a couple of stories (the killer vines, Donald Sutherland as The Clumsy Vampire Hunter) are enjoyable. In the end, though, I liked the other anthology better...more on that in a minute.
Strange Invaders
I first saw this movie when I was three, and the images of the aliens heading to the spaceship at the end ripping off their human disguises haunted me for YEARS. Which is funny, because beyond that (and the orb scene in the bedroom, MY GOD), the movie is not terrifying, just sci-fi homage writ large, with a pre-Robocop Nancy Allen having fun with a post-Rock & Rule Paul Le Mat.
Renfield
The newest movie on my list. I actually like the idea of Renfield trying to break free from Dracula by joining a co-dependency group, though I think the movie gets a little too snarky for its own good (like Hellboy, it seems like it shot for an R-rating through a lot of swearing that, while it fits the mood, doesn't seem like it should be coming from RENFIELD, of all people). Also, the CG blood is absolutely horrendous. Shamefully so for a 2023 movie. Saying the blood looks like the water monster from The Abyss does disservice to The Abyss, and that movie is damn old compared to this. Still, worth it for Nicolas Cage actually reigning it in a bit. Sure, he's still hammy, but he could've been so much hammier.
Nightmare Before Christmas
I don't even need to talk about this. The blowups in my neighborhood show how beloved this movie is these days.
Absurd
A 'spiritual' sequel to Anthropophagus, in which the same actor plays a similarly unkillable serial murderer, but good grief, does this movie move slowly. There are literal shots of people taking minutes to cross rooms, and it's not even intended to be suspenseful...and this doesn't even count the ending, in which the killer endlessly gropes for his victims with little success (he's blind by that point, but I won't spoil how or why). Has its grotesque moments, but not as much as you'd expect from Italo-horror.
Saturn 3
This movie is much more of a "What could have been" than "What it is." Keitel reportedly dropped off the earth after filming and wouldn't come back for audio inserts, so he's completely redubbed by a British actor. It also feels like there's a lot more they wanted to explore in the nature of humanity vs. robot programming, but opted instead to go, "Eh, let's just let the robot go nuts." Probably a lot of heart was sadly lost when the original director left and died shortly afterwards. Still, I think this movie is hated a lot more than it deserves. I've seen much worse.
The Caller
The movie tells you right off the bat it has a twist. The opening few minutes show you this is not a typical movie, and you spend the entire running time trying to figure out what it is. Chances are, you won't get it, and when it is revealed, you're either going to be supremely pissed off, or you're going to be completely on board with it. It really would work as a stage play, in many respects, and feels that way. I enjoyed it, but I recommend it for dialogue and suspense hounds; most will turn it off before the end.
Trail of the Screaming Forehead
I don't think this has been released on disc, unlike the other Blamire productions, and I would say it is the least of them, but saying it is the least isn't like saying it's bad. It's the same ridiculous stilted dialogue, same homage to the old-style sci-fi/horror films, and same stable of actors that make his other efforts so much fun to watch. If you've never seen a Larry Blamire...watch Lost Skeleton of Cadavra first. If you already like him, you'll find a lot to like here.
The Slayer
Another slow-moving 'slasher' film with a dearth of victims (and by that, you know you're in for a ride where a good chunk of the movie has everyone looking for one character by saying his name over and over again), and it really only shows anything truly supernatural at the end of the movie. Skippable, but it has an intriguing premise, if nothing else.
Rifftrax: The Dark Power
I love this riff dearly, but I have to ask: Who is this movie made for? Why did anyone think this needed to be made? Why are the evil risen Toltecs ripping people's faces off and stealing beers? It just makes no sense at all, but at the same time, it's so stupid it's fun.
Bonehill Road
How do you make a movie about werewolves that is almost not about werewolves? As a Kickstarter project, of course! Let me put it this way: the movie is 84 minutes long. The first ten minutes are a domestic abuse saga, the next twenty (TWENTY!) is sitting around in a broken-down car talking about said domestic abuse and the occasional noise outside the car which is also occasionally investigated (yes, they search for noises more than once), and then the half hour after that has to do with an evil cannibal. Then werewolves, then weird post-credit scene, then end. It's an odd soup, poorly acted, poorly scripted, with decent transformation effects, but I have to agree with a reviewer on one point; it is beyond hilarious how a character is shown having a painful, disturbing, and horrifying transformation, and then, at the last minute the transformation effect COMPLETELY CHANGES following a cut and appears much more human/flattering to the actress involved. It is literally a "Well, I guess she didn't want to be in too much latex, let's make her sexier" moment, and it's so jarring it's laughable. Linnea Quigley is in it...kinda, for no real reason than for them to say, "Hey, here's a name you might recognize!" The cannibal gets a few good lines, but overall, this is my pick for worst movie of the month. Lycan Colony may be technically inept, but at least you can tell it had amateurish passion and they tried to make a movie. This is technically inept, but made by people who should know better, and it is aggressively distasteful as well. Still, it is not Dark Moon Rising or Paranormal Asylum, so it can still claim to not be those.
The House That Dripped Blood
Not On Alex. This is the other anthology movie with Misters Lee and Cushing, probably much better known thanks to the grisly cover artwork with the half-skull-faced woman holding Lee's head on a plate (ironic, because that scene actually kind of happens, but Lee is not in that story). I tend to agree with some reviews I saw that the first two stories take awhile to get going, but they are still fun, mostly because I just like Denholm Elliott and Peter Cushing, but the final story with then Doctor Who Jon Pertwee is a lot of goofy fun, despite apparently having a lot of comedy removed because the producers didn't want to make it too silly. Lee's story is also good, but is definitely the biggest downer of the four.
Great Pumpkin/Garfield's Halloween Adventure
Two TV classics, not much needing to be said. But when it comes to Bonehill Road, if I may quote Sally, "I DEMAND RESTITUTION!"
16. October 24 - Altitude (2010)
https://forum.rifftrax.com/index.php/topic,5210.msg1042056.html#msg1042056 (https://forum.rifftrax.com/index.php/topic,5210.msg1042056.html#msg1042056)
17. October 25 - Darkness (2002)
https://forum.rifftrax.com/index.php/topic,5210.msg1042058.html#msg1042058 (https://forum.rifftrax.com/index.php/topic,5210.msg1042058.html#msg1042058)
Quote from: WhyDontTheyLook on October 31, 2023, 08:15:49 PM
10/30: Rifftrax: Amityville Dollhouse (1996) - Of the 'official' sequels to the Amityville Horror, this film is the weakest, with random plot developments and irritating characters screaming half of their lines. Without the riff, it's nigh-intolerable. With the riff... it's a lot better. (Rifftrax.com)
10/31: May (2002) - Part psychological thriller, part character study, part black comedy, this one stays together on the strength of Angela Bettis' performance, taking a character that might otherwise tip into parody and making her at once sympathetic, tragic, and terrifying. (Tubi)
The only
Amityville sequel, or
Amityville movie at all, that I have rewatched in years is
Amityville: It's About Time. This one really rides that fine line between bad and good to a point where I just throw my hands up and stop trying to analyze which it is. It is clearly batshit insane, compelling, hilarious, and worthy of discussion and analysis every time my wife and I watch it (8 times).
May is absolutely fantastic.
18. October 27 - Suitable Flesh (2023)
https://forum.rifftrax.com/index.php/topic,5210.msg1042061.html#msg1042061 (https://forum.rifftrax.com/index.php/topic,5210.msg1042061.html#msg1042061)
Glad to say that I watched this on the first day of release, October 27th, and quite enjoyed it. The baby of this year's October batch.
SJP mentioned Saturn 3, which somehow has one of the worst gore effects of all time at the beginning of the film. Harvey Keitel is in a LOCKER ROOM, and his character Murders a guy in the LOCKER ROOM by opening a door from the LOCKER ROOM, that of course leads directly to outer space. No outer door, no inner door, but PLENTY of safety hazards... because, of course, the FUCKING LOCKER ROOM HAS A DOOR THAT LEADS DIRECTLY OUT INTO FUCKING SPACE, that can easily be opened by any other schmuck sitting in the room!
But that's not the gory part... because of course, since it's so goddamn logical to have a door in the LOCKER ROOM that leads directly out into outer space, there's of course(razor sharp???) safety wires RIGHT OUTSIDE THE AIRLOCK DOOR FROM THE LOCKER ROOM that instantly shatter this poor guy's body into about 30 pieces. I mean... it's definitely gory, and horrific, but the more times you see it, the worse, and therefore, the sillier it looks.
The ending of Saturn 3 somehow makes even LESS sense. Saturn 3 is fascinating, it's scary, but there are things about it that doesn't make a whole lot of sense. I will give it this though, it has one of the best damn trailers of all time.
19. October 28 - The Burning (1981)
https://forum.rifftrax.com/index.php/topic,5210.msg1042072.html#msg1042072 (https://forum.rifftrax.com/index.php/topic,5210.msg1042072.html#msg1042072)
20. October 30 - Daybreakers (2009)
https://forum.rifftrax.com/index.php/topic,5210.msg1042090.html#msg1042090 (https://forum.rifftrax.com/index.php/topic,5210.msg1042090.html#msg1042090)