Racketboy Month of Horror 10: The Rebootening

[Michi]

Here is but a small portion of my tentative list for this month:

Killer Workout
The Prowler
Rabid Grannies
Leviathan

I wasn't planning on it, but it looks like everything I have on my list came out in the 80s. But I think it's a nice, eclectic mix, so it should be fun. With my work schedule I can usually manage to get in two movies a week. So here's hoping I hit my usual 8/9 movies for the month

[Ack]

Killer Workout - YES!
The Prowler - YES!
Rabid Grannies - HAHAHAHAHA
Leviathan - YES!

Michi, you have some fantastic choices picked out this year. It's a good mix of quality, that's for sure. If you end up enjoying Killer Workout (or more likely enjoying making fun of it), I have some other David A. Prior films to point you towards.

[Michi]

Killer Workout - YES!
The Prowler - YES!
Rabid Grannies - HAHAHAHAHA
Leviathan - YES!

Michi, you have some fantastic choices picked out this year. It's a good mix of quality, that's for sure.

I'm glad you approve. I tried to pick out a nice variety pack with a little bit of everything. By the end of the month you'll have to tell me if I succeeded.

If you end up enjoying Killer Workout (or more likely enjoying making fun of it), I have some other David A. Prior films to point you towards.

Ooo....I am intrigued. I'll have to make Killer Workout my first movie I guess....

[Ack]

I hope you like killer mullets and burn scars made from chocolate pudding mixed with mud. I highly recommend you put on some spandex before watching.

[Nemoide]

BEHOLD, my spooky HALLOWEEN MOOD TABLE! I love this thing. It really DOES fill me with spooky holiday excitement and I highly recommend building one if you have any available space.

"Soft rollout" of horror binge this season: yesterday I watched The Little Stranger (2018) which is heavy on the gothic atmosphere, light on the horror and melodrama. I enjoyed it though! I can't recommend it to everyone, but if you like slow, reflective films with a gothic setting, it's a good one. (But I'd hold up Crimson Peak or My Cousin Rachel as more interesting modern gothic films.)

And tonight I watched Ghost (1990). Yeah, the Patrick Swayze romantic comedy... hey, it's got ghosts, it counts for Halloween! The movie was a lot less sappy than I expected, but it also failed to really elicit any strong feelings.

Here's a list of other films I'm planning to watch this month:
Attack of the Beast Creatures
Black Sunday (rewatch)
The Blob (rewatch)
The Changeling (rewatch)
Critters 3
Critters 4
Don't Breathe
The Haunted Mansion
Halloween III (rewatch)
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)
Killer Klowns from Outer Space (rewatch)
Lady in White
The Last House on the Left (1972)
Mr. Brooks
The Omega Man
Paranorman (rewatch)
Psychos in Love
Transylvania 6-5000
The Wasp Woman (1959)
You're Next

I also started watching the first season of American Horror Story and am aiming to start the Vampire Princess Miyu anime TV series AND watch a bunch of Scooby-Doo: 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo, Witch's Ghost, Curse of the 13th Ghost, and Return to Zombie Island.

As for gaming, for this month's SPOOKY TR, I'll be playing The New Addams Family Series for Game Boy Color and will probably also play Luigi's Mansion for Gamecube. PLUS I GOTTA READ SOME HORROR COMICS! Piling lots on my plate right from the get-go!

[prfsnl_gmr]

Off to a solid start with...Witchboard (1987)! This was my wife first horror film, and just as she remembered, it’s an absolutely hilarious disaster of a movie. In it, Tawny Kitaen dates the two douchiest guys on earth. (Seriously, the male lead has all the good looks, charisma, and charm of an enema. The other lead wears a pinky ring.) The acting is, in turns, really wooden and over-the-top melodramatic, and the movie isn’t scary AT ALL. (There’s like a Ouija board and an evil spirit. They think it’s some kid, but - surprise! - it’s not. It’s this ghost that’s an expert at making stuff fall on people. Oh...spoilers...sorry about that. If you watch this movie, you’re basically going to be watching people ask inane questions to a Ouija board for about 60 minutes, and you’ll spend another 40 minutes watching stuff falling on people. Not scary.) The film does have a few redeeming qualities, besides the fact that it’s so easy to ridicule. First, the male lead’s name is Jim, which results in a lot of people yelling, “Dammit, Jim!” throughout the movie. One character also says, “I’ve got a bad feeling about this!” a lot; so, the film echoes both Star Trek and Star Wars. Also, whenever a character in the movie is surprised, he or she just starts cursing like crazy. (In my favorite scene, Tawny Kitaen closes a mirrored cabinet, is surprised by her douchey boyfriend, and she yells, “F**k! F**k! F**k! Sh*t! Dammit!” It’s hilarious.) Finally, the movie, which, as I mentioned earlier, stars Tawny Kitaen, is really, really from the 1980s. There’re waterbeds, loud wallpaper, wall-to-wall hunter green carpeting, sweaters worn under blazers at a party, giant hair ribbons, jean jackets, poofy hair, Puma t-shirts, synth music, frumpy dresses, you name it.

Available for streaming on Amazon Prime!

prfsnl_gmr’s Halloween Movies (The Ill-Conceived 2019 Reboot)
1. Witchboard -

[noiseredux]

Killer Workout is awesome!

Also, Witchboard is a bit of a cult-classic in my home. It was my wife's favorite horror movie when she was a kid. We're pretty big fans of Kevin Tenney also. He did Night Of The Demons which is a huge favorite for us.

Heads up if anyone doesn't use Pluto TV - they have tons of great/free horror stuff streaming right now; they just added an MTV channel called Holla Ween which plays 'scary' music videos too.

[Ack]

Also...who wants to build a "Racketboy forum recommendations" list for folks who want to check out some amazing horror movies?

I do! Let me know what you’re looking for, and I’ll get started on it. (My specialty is...Giallo.)

What I was thinking is that we each put together a list of, say, 50 films each that we consider the "must see" films. I know different folks here have specializations, like you enjoying giallo or noise and his slasher films, so if you prefer to lean into those, that would be great. Once done, we compile a list and offer it up as what we recommend to people looking to get into horror or those trying to expand upon their fandom and knowledge.

How's that sound, folks?

[prfsnl_gmr]

That sounds awesome. I’ll consult with my wife and get you a list of outlet 50 favorite horror films ASAP.

@Noise

I can see why Witchboard’s a cult classic in your house. It is one of those incredibly entertaining bad movies. Perfect MST3K fodder. Night of the Demons is on our short list this year; so, hopefully, you’ll see a write up of that one soon.

[Ack]

A thought popped into my head this morning, and I figured I'd share it and see how people respond.

I've seen all of the Nightmare on Elm Street movies, including the 2010 remake. It's been several years since I watched many of them, so some of the details can get a little vague. However, one of the main plot points is that Freddy Krueger was a child killing pedophile, which is part of the reason why he goes after children as opposed to the adults that formed a lynch mob and murdered him.

My question is...do we ever actually get proof he was a child killing pedophile (outside of the remake, which does delve into this)? I recall it's stated that he was let off on a technicality, and that's when the townspeople come after him, but what I also remember is that most of the proof offered in the first film comes from hearsay and people simply claiming he was this monster in real life, the same people who participated in his murder and are covering it up. Is it possible instead that he had a tough life and stood out from the other townsfolk, and that made them uncomfortable enough to blame him for crimes and then brutally murder him when their attempts to convict fell through?