The Month of Horror PART IV: dsheinem vs. noiseredux

[Luke]

Watched GHOSTBUSTERS, GHOSTBUSTERS II, and THE RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD.

It was my first time seeing RETURN, and I found it very interesting. When I was a teenager, I had a subscription to Fangoria, had a stack of horror movies on vhs, and loved all things scary. If I had watched RETURN during that time of my life, I probably would have hated the movie. I wouldn't have been scared nor grossed out.

But I would be missing the point of RETURN. It's a hilarious comedy that doesn't really follow any zombie rules splattered with special effects that are too goofy to take seriously. It aims to be a fun zombie romp and hits its mark. Fun stuff.

[Ack]

Ok, so this particular film based on the Slender Man internet myth was funded on Kickstarter and...well...you get what you pay for. I'm guessing of the $10k that was spent, most of it went to special effects and costuming, not so much to scriptwriting, and none to pay for the actors. At least I hope none of those actors were paid. The movie is in the found footage style, which makes sense considering one of the most influential sources for the Slender Man myth is a found footage YouTube channel. But for this, it doesn't particularly make sense why everyone has a camera, the acting ranges from decent to abyssmal, and the script, while holding some interesting ideas, could have used another couple of dozen passes. But hey, for $10,000 made through Kickstarter, I'm not really surprised.



What a great idea for a slasher film! And it stars some of my favorite B-movie actors, particularly Bruce Campbell and Tom Atkins! It's just too bad that Maniac Cop never managed to live up to the concept, and the plot is all over the place. So why is the evil killer cop attacking innocents, why is he framing a low-level nobody on the police force, and why is he trying so hard to kill him when his real goal is to take down the mayor, the chief of police, and corrupt members of the city government? But man, Officer Cordell is imposing. And his work in that police station borders on Terminator-level efficiency. This is a film I don't think I would watch too often...except on Saint Patrick's Day. It's still far better than Leprechaun.



This movie is laughably horrible, from the cheesy stop animation to the puppetry and gore effects. I admit, I was entertained by Basket Case's quirkiness. I also appreciate the filthy side of New York City that gets presented here. But this movie is an odd duck, full of moments that border on slapstick alongside blood-soaked murder frenzies and one of the weirdest rape sequences I've ever seen in a film. And lots and lots of screaming.

Total: 27

Anguish
Demons
Creepshow
The Beyond
Zombi 2
The Screaming Skull
The Killer Shrews
The Tingler
Viy
At Midnight I'll Take Your Soul
Black Sunday
Children of the Corn
The Burning
The Descent
Trick 'r Treat
The Innkeepers
Stake Land
The Evil Dead (remake)
The Lords of Salem
The Gate
Kuroneko

Alternates:

Halloween H20
Fright Night (remake)
C.H.U.D.
The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms
The Slender Man
Maniac Cop
Basket Case

[J T]

This weekend's movies included...



and



Creepshow 2 was a bunch of mostly cliche short horror stories, but I really liked one of them about a nondescript moving sludge in the lake. My wife even screamed at one point, even though she knew what was coming. The gore effects were really quite impressive in that story as well.

Fright Night was a fun vampire movie about realizing your neighbor is a vampire and having everyone else believe you are crazy. I loved the makeup and creature effects. There were some wicked looking creatures in this 80s classic.

[Luke]

Fright Night was a fun vampire movie about realizing your neighbor is a vampire and having everyone else believe you are crazy.

I like to think it is also about a high school girl who is confused about her own sexuality, and a man who feels as he has lived a lie his entire life and is afraid to confront what would bring him personal redemption.


But yeah, it's a vampire movie.

[Hobie-wan]

Did you play in total darkness? Headphones?

Ear buds wouldn't have been appropriate and my smallest dimmest lamp was on across the room, but it wouldn't have mattered. I was still hoarding tinders and finished with more than 55 of them and used perhaps 6 or 7 jars of oil, but still ended with a full lamp and tons of leftovers. I thought the soundtrack was cool and listen to stuff with a similar vibe so while it was great for the mood, it didn't creep me out either. I was cutting snippets of music at school for a project once and one of my friends was complaining I was creeping him out in the middle of the day in the computer lab.

So yeah, even in 'not quite ideal' conditions I wasn't creeped out, so it wouldn't have been brown trousers time in the total dark with a set of nice cans on my head. *shrug*

[prfsnl_gmr]

Last Saturday, my wife and I fixed a nice pasta dinner and watched:



Lisa and the Devil (1973). This fun, imaginative, Italian horror film tells the story of a young woman in Spain who, after getting seperated from her tour group, arrives at a remote chateau occupied by a blind countess, her creepy son, and their demonic butler. (The butler is played by Telly Savalas, who steals each of his delightful scenes.) There were several points in the first half of the film where I wondered whether it was actually a horror movie, but as the death toll mounts and the movie becomes increasingly macabre, I was certain it had been classifed correctly. Moreover, director Mario Bava - who has become my favorite Italian horror director - has his fingerprints all over this film. His signature use of garish colors and lengthy shadows is evident in every frame, and causes the film to play out a like a lost, acid-soaked Edgar Allen Poe story. (At one point, my wife leaned over to me and whispered that the film had gone off the rails. I retorted that it was never on the rails to begin with.) Although the film was often creepy, it was never frightening, but I still enjoyed it immensely. It is currently available for streaming on Netflix, and I recommend it to any fan of Italian horror.

(NOTE: The American cut of this film, titled "House of Exorcism", is also available for streaming on Netflix. From what I have read, however, this recut version is markedly inferior to the Italian original; so, if you plan to watch this, be sure that you shoose the correct version a/k/a "Lisa and the Devil".)

.....


prfsnl_gmr's 2013 List of TERROR!
1. The Frighteners (1996)
2. Kill, Baby...Kill! (1966)
3. Salem's Lot (1979)
4. Blood Thirst (1965)
5. The Hunger (1983)
6. Jigoku (1960)
7. Full Circle (a/k/a The Haunting of Julia) (1977)
8. Corridors of Blood (1958)
9. The Craft (1996)
10. The Bay (2012)
11. V/H/S (2012)
12. The Faculty (1998)
13. The Devil's Carnival (2012)
14. 28 Weeks Later (2007)
15. The Host (2006)
16. Dumplings (2004)
17. Lisa and the Devil (1973)

[Ack]

I had never heard of The Boogens before, so I figured I would check it out. What I got is a nice little horror film that, while not spectacular or groundbreaking, generally handled itself well. Basically, a mining company reopens an old silver mine that had been closed decades earlier by the Army. But in the process, the miners end up releasing the lizard-like monsters that live inside and hunger for flesh! There's a lot of POV work for the monsters, who aren't revealed until the final 20 minutes, but they're swiftly shown to be nasty buggers with tentacles, claws, and jaws full of teeth.

I should also point out that the best acting in the film was done by a dog. Not to knock the human cast, but this dog was really well trained.

Total: 28

Anguish
Demons
Creepshow
The Beyond
Zombi 2
The Screaming Skull
The Killer Shrews
The Tingler
Viy
At Midnight I'll Take Your Soul
Black Sunday
Children of the Corn
The Burning
The Descent
Trick 'r Treat
The Innkeepers
Stake Land
The Evil Dead (remake)
The Lords of Salem
The Gate
Kuroneko

Alternates:

Halloween H20
Fright Night (remake)
C.H.U.D.
The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms
The Slender Man
Maniac Cop
Basket Case
The Boogens

[Luke]

Best place to buy Halloween candy on the cheap?

[dsheinem]

Best place to buy Halloween candy on the cheap?

[Luke]

Best place to buy Halloween candy on the cheap?

Yawn.

Seriously. I don't want to spend over thirty bucks on candy. Big Lots? Wal-Mart? Walgreens? Which retail shop has the best deal on bulk candy?