Racketboy Month of Horror 15: Whelp, That Happened

[Note]

My girlfriend and I watched the original Beetlejuice over the weekend, as she had never seen it before but became curious after seeing the trailers for the new movie. As Maru mentioned, it's not scary but it's still in the Halloween spirit, and we both enjoyed it. We also watched Night of the Living Dead (1968), which we both hadn't seen in years and thoroughly enjoyed that as well.

Gaming wise, I'm starting my survival horror themed fall with taking another go at OverBlood. I'm about three hours into the game and have managed to get further than my previous attempts. The game mostly consists of puzzles, but there are a few enemies here and there. However, since the controls and camera are a bit wonky, the battle sequences and the preciseness needed for some actions to be successful can be frustrating. I'm still enjoying it though and hoping to (finally) beat it within the next few days.

[Ack]

For games, I would like to replay Resident Evil 4. I've beaten it on Wii and PC, but I'd like to play the PS4 version this time. It's been a while since I've played it on a big TV (as oppose to a computer monitor) and never in HD. I would like to try the RE4 remake, but I wont purchase the Steam version until after they drop the DRM requirement.

I'd like to play some classic Resident Evil games, but they never clicked with me. I have RE1 on Steam, and I've tried it a few times, but wasn't able to get into it. I'd love to be able to enjoy these games.

Maybe I'll play a little Castlevania. The classics are always easy for me to return to. But I just picked up that new DS collection which also includes the Haunted Castle remake, so it'd be nice to play some of those.

Outside of that, I have no other plans (yet) of games to play.

For movies, I'll probably end up rewatching some things. It's been a while since I've seen certain films, that I would like to see again. I have some classic Universal monster movies that I picked up on 4K, so I'm eager to see those. For new-to-me movies, I have the Dawn of the Dead remake that was included in a double pack, but I never watched it, so I might watch that. When I hear about remakes, I automatically assume they're bad. But I had someone recently tell me that the Dawn of the Dead remake is worth watching.

For books, I'm in the middle of Salem's Lot as an audio book, so I'll have to finish that. I haven't had time recently to read though. Maybe I'll do another audio book.

For comics, I have a few that I'd like to read. I wanted to read Batman Arkham Asylum last October, but ended up not having the time to even start it. It would be nice to finally read it this year. I also have a Tales from the Crypt collection, so I could also read a couple of those.

Oh, Ziggy, we need to talk.

First, yes, the Dawn of the Dead remake is worth watching, not because of what it does like the original, but for how it changed things up and became a key work in its own right in zombie cinema. While I also appreciate the early '90s remake of Night of the Living Dead, I appreciate it for adhering so closely, only updating relatively minor pieces. But it doesn't hold up nearly as well as the Dawn "remake".

Salem's Lot is probably my favorite of all of King's novels, but it was also my first of his. I appreciate sticking to the more horrific version of the vampire at the time, as opposed to the Anne Rice "sexy vampires" that became the popular trend.

And the best part of Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth is the psychiatric evaluations of Batman and his villains at the end. It is one of the greatest encapsulations of the mental issues that all of Batman comics represents.

[Gucci]

And the best part of Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth is the psychiatric evaluations of Batman and his villains at the end. It is one of the greatest encapsulations of the mental issues that all of Batman comics represents.

Just jumping in to add that Batman and Psychology: A Dark and Stormy Knight by Travis Langley is a great read/listen.

It's just that the RE1 formula just didn't click with me. I mean, I love just about everything about the game, but gameplay-wise I get bored from not knowing what the hell to do. Am I missing something? I want to enjoy these games!

In terms of puzzles, or where to go in the mansion? I kind of think of the early Resident Evils as sort of metroid-vania adjacent: Usually there's an item, or items, that unlock new areas; Often doubling back through places is required. I guess some of the puzzles are kind of reminiscent of P&Cs in some ways, but I generally find them to be fairly reasonable to figure out, personally.

I've never played any RE after Code:Veronica. I don't even really care that much about 2 or 3, tbh. It's mostly just the original and C:V for me. Even REmake doesn't exactly do it for me; I kind of feel it's the schlocky b-horror vibe that makes RE1 a classic.

Rumor has it that Capcom is working on a remake (remake remake? -- re-remake?) of the first one in the style of the RE 2, 3, 4 remakes. Same of CV I think. Could be bullshit but seems logical to me.

The first time I played RE4 I really didn't like how it controlled. Then I played the Wii version and had a lot of fun with the motion control for aiming. It was the first time that I played through the game. These days though, the Wii's graphics are too dated. So I ended up buying it on Steam for PC, and I played through that version once. The mouse is great for aiming, but the PC version has a bug with the QTE button presses. Then later, I think we were highlighting PS2 for TR one month, I gave RE4 a try on PS2 and was surprised how much I didn't completely hate the controls like I thought I would. The PS2 version is widescreen, and forced letterbox if you play on a 4:3 screen. So for that reason I started playing it on my HDTV instead of a CRT. At which point, I thought that was stupid, I might as well play the PS4 version. So LOL I bought it on PS4. But I didn't play through the entire game on PS4. And, long story short, that's partly why I want to play it this October. I mean, it's mostly because I feel like it's been long enough that I could enjoy playing through the game again. But that's why the PS4 specifically.

I know the remake of RE4 has a PS4 release, and I could get that. But I don't know, I just figured I'd rather have it on PC for mouse aiming and I assume better graphics. It's just that it requires third party DRM at the moment, which will eventually be dropped.

I have RE 5, 6 and 7 on PC. I got them from Steam during sales. But I have yet to play them. I also have RE1 on Steam, as I already mentioned. I'm more interested in playing 1, and the remakes of 2 and 3. It's just that the RE1 formula just didn't click with me. I mean, I love just about everything about the game, but gameplay-wise I get bored from not knowing what the hell to do. Am I missing something? I want to enjoy these games!

No I don't think you're missing anything. For how revered the first game is, it isn't for everyone. Whether it's because of the puzzle elements, the combat and movement, or the lack of hints, it may not click for everyone. I never played the PS1 game but I did play the GameCube release, along with the black sheep of the series: Resident Evil 0. But were good for me and I do have them digitally for the X360 and the XOne.

I totally forgot the Wii version of RE4. I did own that and played it to completion. Great way to play with this motion controls.

So many versions of RE4 exists:
- The original GameCube version
- The PS2 version which added the Separate Ways campaign at the cost of worse graphics
- The first port to PC -- I hear this one was really bad as far as PC ports go
- The Wii version, taking the GameCube version and adding the bonus campaign and of course, motion controls
- RE4 HD port on the Xbox 360 and PS3; based on the Wii version sans MC but higher resolution (30fps & 720p)
- A second PC port based on the 7th Gen version but with better options and just runs better
- An Xbox One & PS4 port based on the second PC port and now hits 60fps @ 1080p like the PC version
- A Switch port but I'm not sure which version it's based on - maybe 7th gen version given the hardware?
- VR version (I'm gonna vomit) -- no idea which version it's based on
- Lastly the remake -- totally new game from the ground up

There were three mobile ports but they weren't very good from what I've read.

[Ziggy]

Oh, Ziggy, we need to talk.

First, yes, the Dawn of the Dead remake is worth watching, not because of what it does like the original, but for how it changed things up and became a key work in its own right in zombie cinema. While I also appreciate the early '90s remake of Night of the Living Dead, I appreciate it for adhering so closely, only updating relatively minor pieces. But it doesn't hold up nearly as well as the Dawn "remake".

Salem's Lot is probably my favorite of all of King's novels, but it was also my first of his. I appreciate sticking to the more horrific version of the vampire at the time, as opposed to the Anne Rice "sexy vampires" that became the popular trend.

And the best part of Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth is the psychiatric evaluations of Batman and his villains at the end. It is one of the greatest encapsulations of the mental issues that all of Batman comics represents.

Oh, that reminds me, I've never seen the Night of the Living Dead remake. Should I?

But, cool, I'll definitely give the Dawn remake a watch.

This is actually my second read through (or listen, because it's an audio book) of Salem's Lot. Some years ago, when I had a steady and predictable (shitty) commute, I was listening to a lot of audio books. In addition to a few other things, I busted out a bunch of King novels. I was really enjoying King. I was reading many of his classics for the first time. Then I started Salem's Lot, and I didn't have a good experience with it. I think it was mostly because I was going through hell at work at the time, I was in a really bad mood. Especially during my Long Island rush hour commute. So I wasn't really tuned in for like 90% of the book. And what I did actually hear, I wasn't in a good enough mood to appreciate it. At the time, I thought it was because I didn't like the book. But then later, I realized that it wasn't the book's fault. So I finally gave it another go and started the audio book up last month. I think I'm about half way through right now, but I haven't been able to listen to it for a few weeks now. Mostly because my current work commute is only like 15 minutes for the job I'm on right now, that makes it annoying for audio books. But yeah, I very much want to continue it and finish it. For what I've listen to so far, this go around, I've been enjoying.

Arkham Asylum I had read a few pages of when I was first getting into graphic novels a year or two ago. But after reading those first few pages, and from what I've read about it, I thought it would be best saved for October. But last October didn't end up giving me the time needed for it. Hopefully that wont be the case this October. At the end of the work day, I only have an hour or two that I can actually play a game, watch a movie or read. Sometimes even less (if I'm more tired, I'll fall asleep watching a movie, which is so very annoying). So I can really only do one thing at a time, a game or a book might take a week or more to finish, with no time for anything else like movies. Even a movie can take a few days, if I end up falling asleep watching it. That said, I think Arkham Asylum is at the bottom of my list. Not that I'm less eager to read it than I am to watch a movie or play a video game, it's just easier to do those other things. So we'll have to see.

No I don't think you're missing anything. For how revered the first game is, it isn't for everyone. Whether it's because of the puzzle elements, the combat and movement, or the lack of hints, it may not click for everyone.

Also, the saving. IIRC, you have limited opportunities to save. Right? So if you're solving the puzzles for the first time, you might have to play for long stretches to accomplish anything, since you can't always save. That makes it hard for me. I rarely play video games for long stretches any more.

[marurun]

spoopy

Is that like scary poopie?

I'll watch it eventually, but I'm always afraid to watch sequels like this.

Spoopy is a thing, definitely.

https://www.merriam-webster.com/wordpla ... rd-history

It's just fine to have trepidation. This sequel is very different from the original in a lot of ways. It's been long enough (30 years?) that it's not going to be a smooth pick-up. But given that time gap and some issues with actors and such that they made a good run of it and I enjoyed the resulting product.

[prfsnl_gmr]

Salem's Lot is probably my favorite of all of King's novels, but it was also my first of his. I appreciate sticking to the more horrific version of the vampire at the time, as opposed to the Anne Rice "sexy vampires" that became the popular trend.

+1

It is a really solid book and my favorite of King’s works (not that I’ve read them all, but of those I’ve read). I recommend following up with the short stories Jerusalem’s Lot and One for the Road. They both appear in Night Shift. One is a prequel, of sorts, and the other is an afterword. Both are great.

……

This year, my wife and I are focusing on horror TV series, and we’ve completed two so far, both of which (witch?) we’re pretty great.

1. Marianne - This is a French series about a writer troubled by the titular witch, Marianne. She keeps her nightmares at bay by writing books about the witch, but when she announces her retirement, the nightmares start again. This series is consistently engaging, extremely creepy, and kept us enthralled from start to finish. I really can’t recommend it highly enough. (Sadly, when it released in 2019, almost no one watches it; so, it has only one season.)

2. Midnight Mass - This series is directed and produced by Mike Flanagan, who also created The Haunting of Hill House, The Haunting of ably Manor, and most recently, The Fall of the House of Usher for Netflix. (He’s also behind the outstanding horror films Hush, Oculus, an Ouija: Origin of Evil.). In my opinion, Midnight Mass is his strongest work. It is a little preachy at times (both literally and figuratively), but it is full of complex characters and relatively deep, nuanced, and respectful philosophical/theological discussions. It also demonstrated clearly how certain rhetoric can turn beautiful religious beliefs toxic. More importantly for our purposes, though, it features a really great vampire, and the series is very obviously an homage, to a certain extent, to Salem’s Lot. From the setting to the characters to the creature design, the series clearly calls back to, perhaps, the best vampire novel and limited TV series of all time, and if you’re a fan of either, you should definitely watch Midnight Mass. Even if you’re not a fan, or even a horror fan, though, Midnight Mass is an easy recommendation.

prfsnl_gmr’s Series of TERROR!
1. Marianne (Netflix) -
2. Midnight Mass (Netflix) -

[Ack]

Truth be told, since I started working in movie production, it's been tough for me to actually watch films. This is for a variety of reasons, from seeing things in the background that I can't get away from, to the glorification of directors and actors while the crews that make the movie go unseen, to the greed of studio heads (and above the line folks) while crew again breaks their bodies in the hopes of paying off a few bills (we joke that after a production, the director gets to buy a new car while a grip gets to make a single car payment). But horror is and has always been a great equalizer, because it's so often lower budget, because it's so often a starting ground for new studios, new directors, new talent, and so forth, people who haven't yet fully manifested a lot of the problems that come once they're established.

So to try and reclaim my faded love for cinema, I continue to watch horror movies. They encourage experimentation and allow even big established names to come in and have fun. I have several that I am considering for this October and have already done a bit of pre-gaming, both in movies and games, though let's face it, movies was and is always my major October focus.

Here's what I'm looking forward to checking out:



Arcadian

Nicholas Cage plays a man who, along with his two sons, resides in a house in the countryside after the collapse of civilization due to some kind of monster that attacks at night. Only now the creatures are coming after them, so what else is there to do but fight back?




Threads

Ok, it's not a horror movie. It's a horrific movie though, so I'm counting it. Threads is a made-for-TV movie that Britain about exactly what would happen in the aftermath of a nuclear holocaust and nuclear winter, and it makes the similar American movie The Day After look like a lighthearted drama. It's supposed to be a brutal experience. Not like me not to seek some brutal cinema.




Saloum

I've enjoyed the few horror films I've seen come out of the African continent. Saloum is from Senegal and follows a trio of mercenaries trying to hide after their most recent raid, only to be discovered and enter a mad fight to survive.




Evil Dead Trap

I'm told this is like if a Japanese director decided to make a 1970s batshit Italian giallo film. How could I say no?




Alligator II: The Mutation

It's a giant mutant alligator movie. Do I need to say more?

Ok, I will. Because while it might be a weird fact about me, it's true: I actually really enjoy movies involving killer alligators and crocodiles. Crawl, The Pool, the original Alligator, even ones where it's a bit tangential like Eaten Alive, I love a movie where the current king of the killer lizards in the US takes a bite out of whatever. I want more. Let's do it.

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And those are just some of the movies I'm considering tracking down and watching. As for my pre-gaming, I've actually been gaming a bit with Blood West, a Weird Western stealth FPS on Steam:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1587130/Blood_West/

It's been an enjoyable experience so far, sneaking up on shotgun-toting horrors with an ax or plugging rounds into pyschotic undead with my trusty six-shooter. I'm not very far into the game yet, but it offers me large, open environments to wander around and stalk my prey, which is every enemy in the game. Plus I can get drunk and throw dynamite.

And yes, I am still watching movies.



In a Violent Nature was a massive treat for me when I watched it last week, not because it does anything special with a generally generic slasher script, but because of what it does following the killer around to ambient noise as he stalks the woods. In particular, the daytime shots are done with a shoulder cam and only natural lighting. That is so refreshing, it's ridiculous. I only had a few complaints, and the biggest one is that I wanted more of the movie to take place during the day! There were some missed opportunities as well, particularly one kill that I wish had been handled differently to make more memorable (a bisection was possible. How could you not?), and the movie adheres painfully to the standard slasher morality tropes. But for what I got, I was very pleasantly surprised.

[Golgo 14]

I'm part of a movie club that meets a couple times a month in bay area movie theaters to watch old movies. For Halloween, the screenings are once a week, and first up is a double feature: They Live and The Fog. Looking forward to chewing gum and watching a ten-minute fist fight on the big screen!

Threads

Oh man, Threads. That'll have you walking around in a daze for a week.

[Note]

That's awesome, Golgo 14. Enjoy the Halloween screenings!

In regards to my Halloween gaming, I managed to finish OverBlood, which was really exciting for me. It was a bucket list game of mine, since I was never able to beat it around the time of release. After finishing that last night, I was still in the mood to game, so I started up Parasite Eve. I've reached the beginning of Day 2, at the police station. I'm liking it so far, but I feel like I still have some ways to go in regards to mastering the battle system and figuring out the inventory management.

[marurun]

My wife has not seen Bram Stoker's Dracula, and knowing her she would love it, so I'm going to try to carve out some time with her with no kid around to watch it (how to get the kid to not be around is the real challenge, here).