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Last year I dove into “Noirvember,” where I watched a noir film for every day of November.
Yet, in all my years, I’ve never attempted the “31 Horror Films In October” challenge (i.e. watching a horror film a day leading up to Halloween).
Figured this year is as good as any to give it a go.
Lottsa offerings on the various streaming sites, so there is no shortage of (hopefully) terrifying fare.
We shall see.
Who else is up for this geeky challenge?
Pass.
Noir November sounds more appealing.
DAY 1
Werewolves Within - streaming on Showtime
In the pantheon of werewolf movies only four readily come to my mind as approaching greatness: An American Werewolf In London, The Howling, The Company Of Wolves, and Ginger Snaps. While Werewolves Within doesn’t come close, it is a breezy and often entertaining entry in the genre. Rather low on gore and scares, it’s a mildly campy effort which unfolds like an Agatha Christie whodunnit. While I was sufficiently distracted as to who the werewolf was—via classic bait-and-switch and countless red herrings—when the reveal came I wasn’t at all surprised. Sadly, the werewolf FX were a bit lame and some of the humor and stereotypical characters were a bit thin. Yet despite the lack of horror, gore, and the rather mediocre werewolf effects, this was a fairly enjoyable effort.
Love this! Unfortunately, I'm a day late and time short to participate.Quote:
Originally Posted by dookeyXXX
Are you taking reccs?
Sent from my SM-S908U1 using Tapatalk
Sure, I am open to recommendations…Quote:
Originally Posted by skinipenem
DAY 2
WRONG TURN (2021) - streaming on Showtime
This 2021 "reboot" is the seventh(!) entry in the Wrong Turn series.
For those of you unfamiliar with the original film's concept, it basically took key elements from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and The Hills Have Eyes, mashed ‘em together, moved the action to West Virginia, and BAM! called it a new movie. The original film was enjoyable, if predictable, fare. It certainly didn't warrant 6 sequels, though.
I am not sure why they decided to use the Wrong Turn name; I find it hard to believe that this series has such a devout fanbase (although the script here is penned by Alan B. McElroy, who wrote the first film and is returning to the franchise after 18 years). While there are some similarities, for the most part McElroy gave his original idea an overhaul and this film on resembles its predecessors on the surface. Sure, an annoying group of spoiled city kids get lost in the woods and all hell breaks loose, but everything else is just enough different that it really should have been a standalone film; we didn't really need a reboot of a mediocre franchise is what I'm saying.
As with the original film, this is an entertaining, if derivative bit of action horror. As for changes, they are subtle: as previously mentioned, the locale has been changed. Additionally, our protagonists get lost on the Appalachian Trail rather than on some backwoods road. The antagonists have changed a bit, too, but to talk about them would spoil the new slants on the familiar story. Speaking of which, the plot ticks off all the requisite tropes and cliches, starting with annoying and mostly unlikeable characters (except for Matthew Modine's father character; I love how he is becoming a horror icon in this part of his career!), creepy locals, and the like.
The acting is decent enough and the director knows when to amp things up; the action sequences are pretty intense, especially the opening act tumble down a hillside and the third act bravura finale. The reveal/twist is a little tepid, a little confusing, and meant to make some sort of socio-political statement, but exactly what, I'm not sure.
This film definitely falls squarely into the B-movie category and as such it provides some chills and thrills, but overall isn't terribly spectacular (though that hill tumble sequence and the finale are pretty sweet and there's a fair bit of solid practical gore sprinkled throughout). Sadly, the specter of the horrible Wrong Turn films (2-6) hangs over this endeavor. Personally, I woulda called it Appalachian Terror or just The Foundation. But what do I know?
Not able to partake but following along. Silver Bullet is high on my own list of werewolf movies.
:D:DQuote:
Originally Posted by Mazderati
Met Corey Haim at WonderCon back in the early oughts. He wanted to charge me $25 to take a picture with him using my own camera!
DAY 3
BENNY LOVES YOU - streaming on Showtime
Imagine Elmo on a killing spree.
That’s the gist of this Brit horror comedy.
This is a bonafide red eye matinee, best viewed through an alcohol and psychedelics fueled haze with a loud crowd of like-minded viewers.
Sadly, I am off the sauce and on the wagon and I watched at home alone, so a lot of the purile humor fell flat.
In many ways the film owes a debt to Edgar Wright, but it lacked any of his snappy wit and brilliant staging.
The bits with Benny (is he a bear or a rabbit?) are pretty hilarious as it looks like the director just moved him around with his hands like he was playing with a stuffy with his kids and then edited out his hands; Benny isn’t articulated or animated, he just bounces around with his ears and arms and legs flopping. Sure, that shit is kinda funny, but after awhile, especially if you are sober, it wears thin. Additionally, the blood and gore and practical effects are super cheap.
In the end Benny Loves You kinda flails at it’s intended mash-up of comedy, horror, and nostalgia. That said, I know if I had seen this at at Midnite Matinee hopped up on brew and bud with a raucous crowd I’d be giving it 5 stars…instead I’mma go 2.5.
Don't bother with When The Screaming Starts
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1129942..._=nv_sr_srsg_0
Garbage
It wasn’t on my radar mostly because I’d never heard of it before now.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike Pow
:biggrin:
But thanks for the tip!
I can’t quite do 31, but my wife and I have been doing this for a few years now. Last night was The Ritual on Netflix. I’d give it a solid C+.
The newest rendition of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre from a few nights ago however gets an F. Good lord was it bad.
I’m regards to The Ritual, if you are referring to the film about the annoying Brits who get lost whilst hiking in Sweden, yeah a C+ might even be a bit generous. :DQuote:
Originally Posted by alias_rice
As for TCM, the only ones worth watching are the original and the 1986 sequel, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Part 2. The latter only gets a rec because it’s just so over-the-top. All the other entries in the franchise are weak.
DAY 4
DACHRA - streaming on Shudder and Canopy
There’s quite a bit to like about this Tunisian horror film. There’s also quite a lot to be frustrated about.
On the positive side, the direction is crisp and cool with lots of wonderfully composed shots that help to instill a sense of unease and dread. The acting is solid, too. But damn if this isn’t one derivative endeavor.
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: a group of college kids decide to go investigate a strange patient at a creepy insane asylum and film the interview for their journalism senior project. Naturally, they uncover a mystery and end up in the woods “enjoying” the hospitality of a strange community. Witchcraft and demons may be involved. Furthermore, our protagonist is an orphan who has been experiencing menacing nightmares.
Culling elements from The Blair Witch Project (and dozens of other like-minded films that followed in its wake), the “Lady In Black” mythos, and of course the whole creepy backwoods locals schtick really hurts the story, especially since it embraces so many worn-out tropes without really giving them a new shine.
I am cutting the film a little bit of slack due to “exotic bias,” as the Tunisian locales were stunning and weird and the language (a mixture of Arabic and French) is mellifluous to the ears.
DAY 5
V/H/S/94 - streaming on Shudder
Sewer rats, the living dead, cyborgs, and vampires, oh my!!!
This 2022 reboot of the V/H/S anthology franchise is more or less a gonzo good time rife with splatter gore, jump scares, and twisted tales from the warped minds of Simon Barrett, Timo Tjahjanto, Ryan Prows, and Chloe Okuno.
Really the only weak link is the wraparound story by Jennifer Reed, which is convoluted and confusing, both in its editing and story. The rest of the vignettes, however, more than make up for it.
Oh, man. I thought The Ritual was pretty good and conveyed a sense of hopelessness. The visuals were pretty killer.
How about one of my favorites, Cabin in the Woods? When it came out 10 years ago, I hadn't even seen a preview, so went in having zero expectations about anything. First act seemed like a good old fashioned paint by numbers teen slasher. And that was fine and all, but boy was I wrong. Movie REALLY caught me by surprise in the best possible way. What a fun ride! I need to rewatch it.
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DAY 6
THE PERFECTION -streaming on Netflix
This is a jarring mash of revenge fantasy, body horror, and Lifetime styled lesbian love affair, with some additional heavy nods to MeToo.
For about the first 20-odd minutes I thought I’d been duped as nothing much happened other that some minor projectile vomiting and a low level lovemaking montage. But then it gets kinda bonkers and eventually kinda creepy, and not in the scary way, but in that creepy, cringey way.
While the gore and jump scares are minimal, it’s the odd twists and turns that really make this an interesting and entertaining effort.
DAY 7
BLACK MAGIC
This Shaw Brothers production is an odd duck of a film. Looking like a cheap cross between a Hammer horror flick, an early Mario Bava effort, and a weird riff on Fantasy Island, it’s injected with some soft-core eroticism and hokey creepiness. This is essentially a tale of misguided love (aka infatuation), dueling practitioners of black magic, and spiteful lovers. The scare factor is dismally low and there are zero bouts of kung fu craziness. Believe it or not, they made a sequel (which is next up in my queue, although I am not expecting much based on this film).
Great thread.
Not sure if these qualify:
Inheritance
School Tales The Series
Both on Netflix. Reasonably entertaining.
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DAY 8
FEAR(S) OF THE DARK - streaming on AMC+ and IFC
(In French with subtitles)
Rendered in black and white and heavily relying on shadow and light, this is a dark, moody, and downright eerie animated anthology.
Rabid dogs, swamp beasts, dead samurai, creepy crawly insects, malevolent ghosts, and a disembodied voice scared of philosophy and ideology inhabit the various vignettes that unfold before your eyes in a rich variety of illustrated styles ranging from ligne claire to aquatints, and big eyes inflected anime.
Each of the stories adeptly conjure up feelings of dread, claustrophobia, paranoia, and in some cases mild revulsion, the end result being a satisfying cavalcade of chilling cartoons.
DAY 9
PYEWACKET - streaming on AMC+
This is a prime example of how just because a film screened at a prestigious festival doesn’t always mean that it’s good.
I had high hopes for this endeavor since it premiered at TIFF a few years back.
Sadly, it’s a run-of-the-mill teen angst and emotionally distraught parent story, albeit with supernatural undertones.
To make matters worse, all of the characters are one-dimensional, the plot is pretty predictable (the ending terribly so), and the lack of necessary exposition just seems lazy.
On the one hand the slow-burn pacing does create a certain sense of apprehensive dread, but when the insanely rote “twist” ending comes, it all seems for nought.
DAY 10
BEYOND THE GATES - streaming on AMC+
Today was a weird one. I first watched a film called Proxy, which I more or less enjoyed, but felt that it didn’t really qualify as a horror film. Then I checked out Dementia 13, Francis Ford Coppola’s first official film. Again, didn’t really feel like it fit the definition of a horror movie.
Third time was the charm.
Beyond the Gates is like a bugged out mash-up of House, Phantasm, and Jumanji. It’s creepy, funny, and weird. While it bogs down at times, the quirk factor is high enough to keep you watching.
Also, how the hell did I miss out on VHS board games?
The whole crux of this film hinges on a bugged out “interactive” ouija board game.
Cult scream queen Barbara Crampton adds some wonderfully campy and macabre ambiance to the whole proceedings. And there’s some pretty decent practical splatter gore to keep things appropriately ewey and gooey.
DAY 11
HOUSE ON WILLOW STREET - streaming on AMC+
This multi-genre mash-up has its moments, but overall ends up just being ho-hum.
The practical effects are pretty decent, but sadly are marred by some seriously cheesy digital components (what the hell is the fascination with long, saliva drenched tongues writhing around like snakes in horror films?).
The story, centered around a kidnapping, starts out promisingly enough, but soon gets bogged down with murky, half-assed exposition (or lack thereof) and underdeveloped and well-worn tropes.
Then again, if you dig low-budget, SyFy Channel styled action horror, this might be in your wheelhouse…
DAY 12
BLOOD VESSEL -streaming on AMC+ and Shudder
Naziferatu.
That was gonna be my pithy, one word review of this film.
As clever as I thought it was, I decided to double check the webz to see if it had already been used.
Fudge me like a day old brownie, cuz some nerd bro used it in his review back in 2020.
My initial thought was “great minds think alike,” but then I realized I can’t vouch for that other guy.
Any way, this is a nazi vampire action film that unquestionably would be a few nods better if seen at a midnight movie with a rowdy crowd hopped up on brew and booze.
Sober, it’s mildly entertaining, if a bit predictable.
DAY 13
SOLE SURVIVOR - streaming on AMC+ and Shudder
Written and directed by Thom Eberhardt (best known for his cult classic Night of the Comet), this 1983 slow burn horror thriller is the undisputed spiritual precursor to the Final Destination franchise.
Granted, it’s not as gonzo or gory as those films, but it still packs a decent amount of creepy tension.
The acting isn’t terribly great and the cinematography has that 1980s made-for-tv look, but the story is intriguing and quite a lot of the shots of an empty Los Angeles at night are unsettlingly cool.
In the grand scheme of things it’s very much like an extended Twilight Zone episode.
DAY 14
SHE WILL - streaming on AMC+ and Shudder
Cabin in the woods?
Check.
Weird allusional folk horror trappings?
Check.
Creepy score?
Check.
Witches?
Check.
Owing an obvious debt to Dario Argento (who just so happens to have produced this effort), Charlotte Colbert’s debut feature is a dreamy, art-house horror offering that slides by the eyes with lush imagery and an eerie tone of feminine vengeance and nature’s immense power. A little uneven at times (there’s a somewhat incongruous comedic performance from Rupert Everett, for example), the film is beautifully shot, has fantastic sound design, and the preternatural elements stir up enough unease and tension to make it thoroughly engaging, not to mention just a tad thought provoking.
The concepts of transformation and revenge are as old as the horror genre itself, but here they are unleashed with such visual flair as to make them seem sufficiently fresh.
DAY 15
SEANCE - streaming on Shudder and AMC+
Simon Barrett, best known for penning two of my favorite genre flicks from the past decade—You’re Next and The Guest—steps behind the camera for this slick and entertaining swipe at late 90s/early oughts ensemble horror films.
Mixing Mean Girls-styled melodrama with ghost stories, Ouija boards, masked killers, and a tale of revenge, Seance tweaks tired tropes just enough to keep things interesting. Sure, a large chunk of the ending is utterly predictable, but there’s decent enough red herrings swimming throughout, a passable double-twist, and a well choreographed boffo brawl to even things out.
DAY 16
THE SADNESS - streaming on Shudder and AMC+
This Taiwanese update on the inner city zombie outbreak is a strange, uneven, yet relentless beast of a film. Definitely not for the faint of heart as the gore is insanely gruesome and stomach churning. I have a pretty high threshold when it comes to cinematic violence and I found myself wincing more than once; the bloodletting is in that video nasty grindhouse vein a la I Spit On Your Grave
and makes Tom Savini’s work look like amateur hour.
I mentioned the film is uneven and that’s due to stop-and-go pacing, which initially is kind of frustrating. There are bouts of intense violence followed by seemingly long stretches of dialogue that feels like mansplaining exposition. This technique also made it predictable as to when crazy stuff was going to jump off. It was distracting until I realized that it may very well have been intended to mimic the actions of the zombies.
The ending, at first, feels like a cop-out. But when you realize the subtle nastiness of it, it becomes quite brilliant.
The film manages to mix in Covid hysteria, politics, and conspiracies rather nicely, too.
And stalwart horror geeks should no doubt recognize the obvious homage to films like Dawn of the Dead, Night of the Comet, and The Crazies.
DAY 17
SHREDDER
If you shred, you’re dead!
Somebody is killing off all the obnoxious snowboarders poaching the closed (and possibly haunted, or so the locals claim) Rocky Summit ski resort.
Welcome to the world of Shredder, where being a snowboarder is hazardous to your health.
Snowsports are sorely underrepresented in horror movies. Sadly, this effort doesn’t up the ante all that much.
A veritable paint-by-numbers affair teeming with mediocre acting, lots of outdated slang, over stereotyped stoner boarders, and ho-hum kill scenes are intermingled with okay boarding and skiing sequences (this ain’t no Aspen Extreme or Hot Dog, though).
The major takeaway: KNOW THE CODE!!!
Is anyone on shudder or amc+? This thread kinda blows, dude.
I watched Hell House LLC on Prime a couple of nights ago, very enjoyable. I am a sucker for found footage though.
https://youtu.be/n8OE1wNMHE4
Tuesday is soylent green day.
Wrong genre.Quote:
Originally Posted by SB
:D:cool:
However, this horror film from Down Under has a nice (and twisted) homage to Soylent Green:
DAY 18
BLACK MAGIC 2
While the Shaw Brothers first Black Magic film was lacking, this not-quite sequel goes full gonzo.
We’re talking man-eating alligators, hopping zombies, empty eyed ghouls, breastfeeding evil sorcerers, slutty living dead escorts, grave robbing, worm and writhing maggot infested wounds, melting faces, and blistering skin. There’s a bit of clunky kung fu tossed in for good measure, too.
Imagine a Hammer horror film gone awry, then crossed with voodoo and The Devil’s Rain and you’ve only just scratched the surface.
This is pure midnight movie madness.
Now THIS one looks like my cup of tea. Solid suggestion. Haha.Quote:
Originally Posted by dookeyXXX
DAY 19
TERRIFIER
Part stalker, part slasher, part torture porn, and part supernatural injected evil entity, this 2016 low-budget effort owes a huge debt to Halloween and Friday the 13th, amongst other like-minded horror outings.
While the gore is splatterific, there just seems to be an inherent meanness to the film. Art the Clown is creepy AF—imagine Marcel Marceau as a demonic butcher—but he’s also sadistic beyond reproach and comes off even more empty and evil than Michael Meyers, if you can believe that. The film definitely would have benefited from a bit more humor as much of the action just feels callous.
That said, I was pleasantly surprised by the acting, production value, and the weird intro.
Ultimately, however, this is aimed purely at gore hounds who favor violent onscreen kills over story and character development.
Lol
DAY 20
THE MIND’S EYE
Certainly not a great movie by any stretch, it is at least, in many ways, ithe spiritual sequel to Scanners, as it’s heads and tails better than either Scanners II or Scanners III.
Director/screenwriter Joe Begos inserts a few interesting elements into his story about people with super acute mental powers and his antagonist is promising. The film flounders, however, by not making the villain dastardly enough and by not taking the effects and gore to more creative levels; Begos, who is known for his over-the-top splatter effects, keeps things rather tame here. Plus he more or less sticks to the blueprint devised by Cronenberg. The one stand-out is the sound design (the film even begins with the prompt: This Film Need To Be Played LOUD.”)
DAY 21
POSSUM
Best described as “psychological horror,” this British export is disturbing and unnerving. There is a sinister undertone that runs at a constant velocity leaving you wondering exactly what in the hell is going on. The exposition is left to an almost nonexistent bare minimum, requiring the viewer to fill in the blanks. This is a tricky tactic that actually ends up working, as it helps to create an even more oppressive sense of eerie dread.
I’m not even gonna talk about the titular character; it’s harrowing and nightmare inducing, to say the least. And Sean Harris is brilliant as the ostracized loner who may or may not be crazy.
DAY 22
DEAD OF NIGHT
streaming on Kanopy
This 1945 anthology is a veritable Old School horror film, relying more on creepy atmosphere and supernatural allusion than jump scares and gratuitous gore. Produced by Ealing Studios (the oldest continuously operating movie studio in the world) it was apparently a rarity for the time as Britain had banned the production of horror movies during WWII. Additionally, it has been name-checked by Martin Scorsese in interviews.
While not particularly scary, it does resonate with a strange eeiriness and is definitely a precursor to things like The Twilight Zone and Final Destination.
The wraparound story is particularly cool and a delicious bit of a mindf@$k.