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[patrickthehedgehog]

Made it through several movies this year, but didn't get to post on here much. Quick thoughts! Note: I've seen many of these before, but either didn't remember them or watched them because my S.O. hadn't seen them.

Friday the 13th 1980 - I've apparently never seen this film. The ending came out of nowhere. Final scare was great.
Amityville Horror 1979 - Much better than I thought it would be. Might check out the rest of this series.
Hush - The premise seemed genius but the movie left me very unsatisfied.
Suspiria - Not something I'll soon forget. Amazing lighting and colors.
Friday the 13th pt. II - Still enjoying this series.
The Blob 1988 - This scared the shit out of me as a kid. Enjoyed it as an adult too, but one of the sub-plots near the end is so played out at this point.
Friday the 13th pt. III - Weakest of the 13th movies I saw. Total snooze-fest and lame 3D scenes.
Sleepaway Camp II: Unhappy Campers What a fucking treasure. So good and fun that we watched it twice.
Friday the 13th pt. IV - Honstely can't remember it. I felt like it was still better than pt.II.
Evil Dead - I've seen this a long time ago and didn't particularly remember it. This was one of the only movies I saw this season that legit scared me. The effects and camera work were incredible and I now have a crush on Bruce Campbell.
Hocus Pocus - Watched drunk, passed out. Didn't bother finishing. We've seen it several times.
Evil Dead 2 - Halp plz. I do not understand why this one is held up as being better than the first. I get that they were trying to do something a little different, but it was so slap-dash and awkward. I thought the effects in the first were much better too.
Nosferatu - This is the one from the 70s. It had some cool scenes but I fell asleep to this one too.
The Shining - Amazing movie. I was totally engaged and into it even though I've seen it many times. Beautiful!!! A++++
Child's Play - Fun movie. Always afraid of getting my ankle bit by a doll when getting into bed. Worth watching for sure.
The Orphanage - Sad for about 20 min after it was over. Good stuff.
A Nightmare On Elm Street - Rewatched this before showing fiance New Nightmare. I'm glad we did because this is my favorite of the big horror movies next to Halloween.
New Nightmare - Freddy is back! What a great way to bring the series back nearly ten years after the first.
Friday the 13th part V Ummm...
Friday the 13th part VI Was this the first one to have better production value?
Friday the 13th part VII Or was it this one? I really don't care for this series at all.
Trick R Treat - First time seeing this. Kind of confused. This is like a mix of Hocus Pocus / Goosebumps / Disney Channel setting and plot but like wayyyy R-rated from time to time. I enjoyed it, but probably won't watch again. Fiance was like "Nope" about 45 min into it.

I think I forgot a few but whatever. Pretty impressed that I made it through so many.

 

[CharminUltra]

My very last movie this month. I'm sad because it felt less like going out with a bang and more like going out with a loud whimper.

34. Crimson Peak - 1/4 stars

Del Toro's take on the gothic romance/ghost story. This is easily one of the most gorgeous movies I've ever seen. It featured beautiful people playing beautiful characters inhabiting beautiful sets and dressed in beautiful clothes. Too bad the rest of the movie just didn't live up to the visuals. I'm usually pretty good at suspending my disbelief in order to enjoy something, but this movie tested my resolve way too many times. I didn't buy the villains's contrived plot, I didn't buy the "mystery" (did anyone not see that coming several miles away?), but worst of all I never bought Edith and Thomas's relationship. And to top it all off, the CG ghosts weren't scary in the slightest. The Innocents this ain't.

 

[Violence Jack]

Happy Halloween guys!

I'm on my way to Hawaii, but managed to get in two more films.

#37 The Howling (1981) - For years I deliberated which 1981 werewolf film I liked more: An American Werewolf in London, or The Howling. After another viewing, I can safely say that it's AAWIL. Not that I dislike the Howling by any means. It's still a favorite, but it's slightly marred by a rather plodding 2nd act only to ramp up towards a great ending. This was my introduction to Dee Wallace when I was a kid, and I still love her in this.

#38 A Scout's Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse (FTV) (2016) - I hope this won't end up being my final first time viewing of the marathon, because this was fucking terrible. And not even in a funny way. Just stupid all around. Acting is shit, script is terrible, story is horrible, I don't give a shit about any of the characters, and the jokes fall flat. I never want to see this shit again. It does have some cool zombie death scenes though. I'll give it that much.

Rating: 3.5/10
Genre: Zombie Horror

 

[Rhomega Beta]

Rankings

1. The Haunting (1963)
2. A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987)
3. Trick 'r Treat (2007)
4. Evil Dead 2 (1987)
5. A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
6. Shaun of the Dead (2004)
7. Halloween (1978)
8. Friday the 13th: Part III (1982)
9. Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1983)
10. Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982)
11. Psycho (1960)
12. A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge (1985)
13. Freddy vs. Jason (2004)
14. The Fly (1986)
15. Friday the 13th (1980)
16. Hotel Transylvania 2 (2015)
17. The Mist (2007)
18. They Live (1988)
19. Wes Craven's New Nightmare (1994)
20. The Blob (1958)
21. The Last Man on Earth (1964)
22. Hush (2016)
23. The Invisible Man (1933)
24. The Fog (1980)
25. Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981)
26. Army of Darkness (1992)
27. The Witch (2016)
28. Creepshow (1982)
29. Frankenstein Meets The Wolf Man (1943)
30. Halloween II (1981)
31. Hocus Pocus (1993)

Full list
Letterboxd

 

[pitcairn55]

31/10/16
Film 38
I Am The Pretty Thing That Lives In The House

Did I accidentally save the best till last? Did this fantastic, gorgeous movie steal in right at the death to take my not-at-all coveted Best Film of the Month award? I think it might have done.

I knew virtually nothing about it going in, other than it was a brand new Netflix original just released this week, that it starred the wondrous Ruth Wilson, of Luther fame, and that it looked like a ghost story. I was right about it being a ghost story, but in every other respect, I Am The Pretty Thing That Lives In The House is unlike anything else I’ve watched for the marathon. It’s deliberately slow, extremely wordy, and features more shots of empty rooms than probably any movie I’ve ever seen. I’m making it sound boring and arty, but in truth (and at the risk of sounding like a pretentious twat) I found it to be a captivating work of art.

Ruth Wilson plays a timid nurse who goes to live with and care for an ageing horror writer who seems to be suffering from dementia, in a house with a checkered history. As lovely and unusual as the script is, without an actor of Wilson’s calibre the film might have struggled a bit at times, but her quietly phenomenal, mesmerising performance just had me spellbound throughout. Alone on screen for much of the running time, and silent for quite a lot of it too, her portrayal of the easily frightened and lonely nurse really is a thing of beauty.

This movie definitely isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. It’s more elegiac and mournful than it ever is frightening. Sadness, loneliness and unease are the key notes here, and its amazingly atmospheric score brings this out so well. Don’t get me wrong, creepy moments abound, but this isn’t a film that wants to terrify. Apart from one remarkable, intense and fully justified moment, it does entirely without jump scares. And as you can probably tell, it’s hardly action packed. But as an exercise in beautiful melancholy, I have seldom seen its equal.

What an absolutely brilliant way to end a brilliant month.

My final list

Guess I’ll pop back later with a summary/rankings post to wrap up.

 

[Penguin]

Final Tally for the Year

1. #DeadSnow2
2. #KillorBeKilled
3. #Monsterville
4. #Ghostbusters
5. #MineGames
6. Let Us Prey
7. The Descent
8. The Collection
9.Honeymoon
10. Aftershock
11. #ScoutsGuide
12. #WereStillHere
13. #SweetHome
14. #BehindTheMask
15. #FrankensteinsArmy
16. #Prophecy
17. #Deathgasm
18. #FenderBender
19. #TheForsaken
20. #Joyride
21. #UnwantedCaller
22. #ScreamHalloween
23.#Darkfloor
24. #Stung
25. #HulkMonstersDwell
26. #TheVisit
27. #Cube
28. #Cube2
29. #MurderINTheDark
30. #KnuckleBone
31. #WhatWeDoInTheDark
32. #CabinFever
33. #DetentionOfTheDead
34. #Hush
35 - 46 Various Friday the 13th and Halloween movies

Of the 34, 33 were first time viewings.
Best new watch was Hush and Cube.
Worse was probably that one name I can't remember.

 

[CharminUltra]

I guess I'll rank mine, too! Out of 4 stars:

1. Lets Scare Jessica To Death ★★★
2. Dark Water ★★
3. Scream of Fear! ★★
4. I Spit On Your Grave ★★
5. Night Creatures ★★
6. Ouija: Origin of Evil ★★
7. Hush ★★ (Mandatory)
8. Nightmare ★★
9. Basket Case ★★
10. Shin Godzilla ★★
11. Panic in Year Zero ★★
12. The Last Man on Earth ★★ (Mandatory)
13. Dreams in the Witch-House ★★
14. Phantom of the Opera ★★
15. The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll ★★
16. The Gorgon ★★
17. Phantom of the Opera(1962) ★★
18. The Brides of Dracula ★★
19. The Curse of the Werewolf ★★
20. I Was A Teenage Zombie ★★
21. White Slave ★
22. Ghoulies II ★
23. The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb ★
24. Waxwork ★
25. Crimson Peak ★
26. Paranoiac ★
27. Kiss of the Vampire ★
28. Unrest ★
29. Stop Me Before I kill ★
30. The Evil of Frankenstein ★
31. Ghoulies ★
32. Twixt ★
33. Waxwork II: Lost in Time ★
34. Demonicus (ZERO stars because fuck this dumb shit movie)

Ridley182's Random Awards™:

Biggest Surprise Award - Let's Scare Jessica To Death
Biggest Disappointment Award - Crimson Peak
Vincent Price Is In This Movie Award - The Last Man on Earth
Grossest Movie Award - Unrest
Prettiest Movie Award - Crimson Peak
Cheapest Movie Award - Demonicus
This Is Making Me Uncomfortable As Fuck Award - I Spit on Your Grave
Funnest Movie Award - Night Creatures
Dumbest Movie Award - Demonicus
What The Hell Happened To Francis Ford Coppola Award - Twixt

Edit: added Hush. I knew I was forgetting something! Also marked mandatory movies.

 

[GK86]

Final count:

1- The Fly ('58) 3.5/5
2- Alien 5/5
3- The Horde 3/5
4- Burying the Ex 2.5/5
5- The Thing 5/5
6- The Last House on the Left 3.5/5
7- Pandorum 3.5/5
8- What We Become 3/5
9- Nina Forever 3/5
10- Demons 4/5
11- Toxic Avenger 4/5
12- House 3/5
13- Timecrimes 4.5/5
14- Sleepaway Camp 5/5
15- Return to Sleepaway Camp 2/5
16- The Devil Rejects 2/5
17- The Blob ('58) 2/5
18- Child's Play 4/5
19- Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse 4/5
20- Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension 1.5/5
21- The Voices 3.5/5
22- The Night of the Demons 3.5/5
23- Troll 3.5/5
24- Sleepaway Camp 2 2.5/5
25- The Uninvited 3/5
26- All Cheerleaders Die 3/5
27- Event Horizon 4.5/5
28- The Crow 3/5
29- Re-Animator 4.5/5
30- ParaNorman 5/5
31- Re-Kill 2/5

 

[DeathoftheEndless]

31. The Bride of Frankenstein

The Bride of Frankenstein is one of the rare horror sequels that lives up to the original. The monster starts off this movie on a rampage and right when you least expect it, he finds a friend in the solitary house of a blind man. Those scenes in particular are very touching and show that Frankenstein's creature could have avoided a tragic end if it weren't for the cruelty of others. You truly feel bad for him and that's what makes these movies so great.

32. The Wolfman

The Wolfman is an excellent monster film because the characters are endearing. Its easy to root for Lon Chaney as Larry because he's very charming and its unfair what's happening to him. Like a lot of other werewolf movies, the story is bleak but beautiful.

 

[Fancy Clown]

Sadly didn't get to cap off my marathon with one last horror film on Halloween itself, since my girlfriend wanted to watch The Goonies instead--still a fun time of course. I had a blast with my 2nd of these marathons and topped last year's 25 films with a whopping 35, surpassing my expectations since I didn't think I'd even make it to 31. Not only that but I feel like this was an exceptionally strong batch of films for me. Sure, there were a few dullards, but most everything I watched was worthwhile if not downright fantastic. I kinda veered away from my draft of a list towards the end, as I felt I got my fill of Italian horror for the time being, as much fun as I had with it.

Here's my total list in a rough order of best to cannibal holocaust (which actually isn't the worst movie on the list at all, but...like how the fuck do you rank that movie). Bolds are rewatches, but even with those I hit 31 first time viewings, and the date is when I watched each film.

1. Cure (Kiyoshi Kurosawa, 1997) – Oct 17
2. The Witch (Robert Eggars, 2016) – Oct 13
3. The Wailing (Na Hong-jin, 2016) – Oct 4
4. Dressed to Kill (Brian De Palma, 1980) – Oct 9
5. Carrie (Brian De Palma, 1976) – Oct 28
6. The Devil’s Backbone (Guillermo del Toro, 2001) – Oct 25
7. The Innocents (Jack Clayton, 1961) – Oct 22
8. Shivers (David Cronenberg, 1975) – Oct 6
9. The Haunting (Robert Wise, 1963) – Oct 23
10. Deep Red (Dario Argento, 1975) – Oct 10
11. The Whip and the Body (Mario Bava, 1963) – Oct 1
12. City of the Living Dead (Lucio Fulci, 1980) – Oct 14
13. Lisa and the Devil (Mario Bava, 1973) – Oct 16
14. Spider Baby (Jack Hill, 1968) – Oct 2
15. Don’t Torture a Duckling (Lucio Fulci, 1972) – Oct 8
16. Cronos (Guillermo del Toro, 1993) – Oct 23
17. Torso (Sergio Martino, 1973) – Oct 10
18. A Bay of Blood (Mario Bava, 1971) – Oct 13
19. Pulse (Kiyoshi Kurosawa, 2001) – Oct 21
20. Baron Blood (Mario Bava, 1973) – Oct 14
21. Kill, Baby…Kill! (Mario Bava, 1966) – Oct 2
22. Hatchet for the Honeymoon – (Mario Bava, 1970) – Oct 4
23. The Beyond (Lucio Fulci, 1981)
24. Jigoku (Nobuo Nakagawa, 1960) – Oct 6
25. Sleepaway Camp (Robert Hiltzick, 1983) – Oct 21
26. The Fury (Brian De Palma, 1978) – Oct 29
27. Zombie (Lucio Fulci, 1979) – Oct 11
28. Hush (Mike Flanagan, 2016) – Oct 20
29. What Have You Done to Solange? (Massimo Dallamano, 1972) – Oct 9
30. The Last Man on Earth (Ubaldo Ragona & Sidney Salkow, 1964) – Oct 1
31. Five Dolls for an August Moon (Mario Bava, 1970) – Oct 3
32. The Driller Killer (Abel Ferrera, 1979) – Oct 12
33. The Cat o’ Nine Tails (Dario Argento, 1971) – Oct 7
34. The House by the Cemetery (Lucio Fulci, 1981) – Oct 18
35. Cannibal Holocaust (Ruggero Deodato, 1980) Oct 12

 

[ThirstyFly]

Happy Halloween everyone!

I'm way behind on my posts, but I did manage to keep up with my viewings, so I'm all done. Reviews 28-31 are on their way.

 

[.JayZii]

My very last movie this month. I'm sad because it felt less like going out with a bang and more like going out with a loud whimper.

34. Crimson Peak - 1/4 stars

Del Toro's take on the gothic romance/ghost story. This is easily one of the most gorgeous movies I've ever seen. It featured beautiful people playing beautiful characters inhabiting beautiful sets and dressed in beautiful clothes. Too bad the rest of the movie just didn't live up to the visuals. I'm usually pretty good at suspending my disbelief in order to enjoy something, but this movie tested my resolve way too many times. I didn't buy the villains's contrived plot, I didn't buy the "mystery" (did anyone not see that coming several miles away?), but worst of all I never bought Edith and Thomas's relationship. And to top it all off, the CG ghosts weren't scary in the slightest. The Innocents this ain't.

I saw this last week for the first time. I just kept thinking, "wow, I wish this was a good movie because it looks so gorgeous". It looks like a Bava movie with even more saturated colors, and the setting is great, but it honestly felt like a mediocre victorian romance, at best. And the ghosts, indeed, were lame.

 

[Ridley327]

Halloween

It's an anthology, so you know how this goes!

The wraparounds: Nothing too fancy here: just some good old context for the film's structure, as well as the setup for the eventual epilogue for just one more sting in the tail. Tom Atkins is definitely having fun as the asshole father, and it was nice to see a young Joe Hill as the son. Be on the lookout for Tom Savini, who also worked on the special makeup effects for the film!

Father's Day: Ed Harris is hopelessly lost in this story of people overacting to high heaven, but that's OK since he does get at least one fun moment as one of the world's worst dancers. Half of the short is an elaborate retelling of a character's backstory, in which Romero goes wild with all of the comic book panel framings to help move things along. What this lacks in narrative oomph, it makes up for with style, as Romero indulges in some outright Bava-esque visuals throughout this story, with all kinds of crazy colored lighting and camera angles. The short moves by rather quickly, book-ended by a deliciously deviant "oh yeah, they went there" ending that seems like it'll be a hard act to follow.

The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill: Stephen King makes his leading role debut in this short about a yokel who never learned to not touch a meteor. This one is a rather odd duck, as it tries to take a really campy approach to a rather terrifying concept, making some rather explicit connections to the thematically similar Lovecraft tale, The Colour Out of Space. While it does have a really nice use of the color green (so vivid, so intense!), it never quite solves the tone problem as it reaches its conclusion, though I must admit that there is a lot of absurdist humor that works with Jordy's ultimate fate. King is... well, there's a good reason why he never made for much of a leading man ever again, but those are the perks of being so heavily involved with the production of this film!

Something to Tide You Over: What could have easily been a genuinely unpleasant short, based around the concept of drowning people really, really slowly, is rescued back into blackly humorous territory thanks in no small part to the commitment on the part of Leslie Nielsen. While this wasn't his first punch on the horror movie villain dance card (see more of him in the insane "when animals attack" schlock-fest, Day of the Animals), his deadpan brilliance toes the fine line between genuine insanity and comic book kitsch, making even the most horrific actions of his feel like the work of a supervillain than a budding serial killer. A lot of time is spent on his revenge, to the point where it does throw the viewer off that this might be the whole story of the tale, which makes its finale so memorable as it moves into a very different mode, leading to a deeply satisfying conclusion that captures the spirit of the horror comics the film is based on with dead-on accuracy. While no one could possibly have ever wanted Nielsen career to not go in the direction that it did, I feel like he did miss his calling in horror as a steady source of confident and memorable heavies, but perhaps he would have run the risk of basically becoming a different kind of Frank Drebin had he stayed on that path. Maybe that makes his appearances in horror all the more fun and memorable.

The Crate: The longest tale, not only in terms of run time, but for also how it plays the long game. Seemingly two tales in one, one concerning Hal Holbrook's imaginative attempts at bumping off his better half (Adrienne Barbeau as a wildly over-the-top alcoholic) and the other centering Fritz Weaver being called into his school to investigate the titular object, they do eventually intersect with the expected results. I think the biggest problem with this short is that it is so obvious where things are eventually going to be headed that the longer length of the short doesn't do it any favors, though I must admit that the extra length does allow us to enjoy Hal Holbrook's trademarked understated yet confident acting abilities, offering up a nice palette cleanser to the ham the film otherwise prefers. That being said, there is a lot of nice filmmaking going on in this story, particularly with the crate opening sequence that gets surprisingly tense with just the right amount of protraction before we finally get to see what resides in it. The intense colors used in the attack sequences thereafter are also quite effective, as they do a great job of making a lot of the violence look even more lurid and ghastly. This is probably the first of the shorts that really feels truly R-rated, much to its benefit, and it does nail the unease of the "happy" ending that does occur with some nicely nasty humor and a simple, neat little visual cue to help cap the experience. It could stand to be tighter, but it's still pretty effective.

They're Creeping Up On You: The legendary E.G. Marshall plays the easiest man in the world to hate, so it's clear right from the jump that something horrible doesn't just have to happen: it needs to happen to ensure the proper karmic balance is restored. Along the way to the fate that no one will see coming (Savini, you magnificent bastard), Marshall's racist industrialist who laughs at other people's misfortunes in casual conversation (how topical!) must undergo a creepy crawler assault, which manifests itself in increasingly disgusting ways. It's a simple premise, but it's well executed throughout and is further accentuated by the novel setting, an germ-free apartment with all of the amenities that go along with it. Despite not having as much to do with the rest of the film's use of bold colors, Romero does manage to produce some striking visuals, including a virtually alien exchange between Marshall and his superintendent told through warped glass and muffled audio. And man oh man, does the ending deliver the goods, with an impressively gory and disgusting moment that feels like Comics Code Authority's worst nightmare come to life. It's always nice to see an anthology save the best for last.

Overall: A real fun homage to EC Comics and their ilk! It seems so ridiculous to me that this got panned by critics for being underneath both Romero and King, which is about as much as anyone could miss the point of a project like this. Both men being able to figuratively let their hair down really helps the film, as Romero allows himself to push the visual landscape well beyond his usual output, which successfully replicates the aesthetic of those comic books. King, too, manages to deliver a ton of zingers to go along with the tales that, by and large, really would fit in the pages of the source material, though the more modern allowance for violence and profanity does help to push things past where they might have been able to go in their heyday. Like basically every anthology film on the planet, some tales are better than others, but I think the biggest asset that the film has is that Romero and King worked on all of them, which gives it a baseline consistency in terms of their structure and intention that most aren't able to have by having more creative talent to shepherd their own tales. It makes a considerable, and it's easy to see why this anthology film has endured for as long as it has and why it earns the title of being "often imitated, rarely equaled."

November 1: A final round-up of the films I've watched in October!

 

[Fox Mulder]

#29 An American Werewolf in London (1981)

The best werewolf movie really.


#30 Halloween (1978)

Classic, although watching with new viewers shows how tame it is today.

 

[Plasticine]

My final couple of reviews. I'm not going to bother reviewing my last three movies. It's NaNoWriMo time, so i won't have the time. Maybe later, though. So close to having all 31 reviews done...

Dead Alive [Oct 30]

Long before he bored audiences to death with ridiculous looking CGI elfin action, Peter Jackson delivered the ultimate splatter flick. After being bitten by the Sumatran rat-monkey, an over-protective mother dies, only to be resurrected as a dog-eating, neighbor-killing zombie. Inventive and energy packed, this baby keeps layering on the grue. Puss spurting, heads exploding, torsos ripped in half, kung-fu fighting priests impaled on statues and entrails come to life like snakes; this is all before the final thirty minutes where all hell really breaks loose. When Timothy Balme whips out the lawnmower to break-up an undead party, what had already been a delirious bloodbath becomes a truly transcendent experience. This kicks ass for the Lord.

Street Trash [Oct 30]

Hellbent to offend, this one pulls no punches. Scummy homeless degenerates and the toxic rot gut called Tenafly Viper. Bodies meltdown in spectacular technicolor displays of low budget special effects prowess. Even more shocking is the fathomless depths of the sleaziness on display here. Gang rape that plays like a zombie attack, necrophilia gags, Vietnam atrocities that would make Rambo wince and an extended sequence of severed penis hot potato; barely a scene goes buy without some abhorrent behavior on display. Even its most tender moments, a love story between a young homeless kid and a junkyard employee, are undercut by the fact that he's underage while she's an adult. It's all so overwhelming, but yet utterly compelling. Director Jim Muro delivered a brain-damaged masterpiece here.

The Monster Squad
Waxwork [Oct 30]
The Lost Boys [Oct 31]

Previously viewed:

1. The Exorcist
2. The Neon Demon
3. Chopping Mall
4. Most Likely to Die
5. Bats
6. Knucklebones
7. The Guardian
8. Fender Bender
9. House
10, The Crazies
11. From the Dark
12. The Brood
13. Shin Godzilla
14. Slugs
15. Dark Floors
16. All Through the House
17. Funhouse Massacre
18. Burial Ground
19. Legion
20. The Thing
21. Body Snatchers
22. Contamination
23. Eight Legged Freaks
24. Ticks
25. Wild Zero
26. Junk
27. Dead Alive
28. Street Trash
29. Monster Squad
30. Waxwork
31. The Lost Boys

First time viewings bold

 

[lordxar]

The VVitch. My final film of this month. I purposely put this at the end because I was looking forward to a rewatch. To recap, my first viewing was a total disappointment. I was tired, the movie is dismally slow and I found it to be more of a history drama type thing than a horror. Did my opinion change?

Spoiler

Sure did!

This time around I wasn't tired, did not find it boring, and actually can see the horror inside lol. This just did not catch me in the right mood the first time. Now I'm not saying it's the greatest thing ever but I did enjoy this much more this time.

So I polished off 75 films between September 15 and today. That is including both the Letterboxd Hooptober challenge and this one plus a bunch of extras. I used the extra time to pile on additional films on my quest for a history of horror and I think this was extremely successful. I had 8 rewatches from the total of 75. I will say that holy shit am I glad this is over. I loved doing this last year and this year both but damn it takes it's toll grinding it all out. I did watch some amazing stuff though. These are not in any particular order other than by star.


The Uninvited 1944 ★★★★★
M 1931 ★★★★★
The Birds 1963 ★★★★★
I Saw the Devil 2010 ★★★★★

Rabid Dogs 1974 ★★★★½

Blood Feast 1963 ★★★★
Q 1982 ★★★★
The Wicker Man 1973 ★★★★
Don’t Torture a Duckling 1972 ★★★★
Dead & Buried 1981 ★★★★
Häxan 1922 ★★★★
Nosferatu 1922 ★★★★
Children of the Corn 1984 ★★★★
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari 1920 ★★★★
Child’s Play 1988 ★★★★
Shock 1977 ★★★★
The Witch 2015★★★★
Citadel 2012 ★★★★
The Craft 1996 ★★★★
Funny Games 1997 ★★★★
Bride of Chucky 1998 ★★★★
Inside 2007 ★★★★
Child’s Play 2 1990 ★★★★

The Old Dark House 1932 ★★★½
Dementia 13 1963 ★★★½
Two Thousand Maniacs! 1964 ★★★½
Kill Baby, Kill 1966 ★★★½
Don’t Look Now 1973 ★★★½
The Beast Must Die 1974 ★★★½
The Skin I Live In 2011 ★★★½
Bad Taste 1987 ★★★½
Brain Damage 1988 ★★★½
Intruder 1989 ★★★½
Jacob’s Ladder 1990 ★★★½
Child’s Play 3 1991 ★★★½
Dagon 2001 ★★★½
A Tale of Two Sisters 2003 ★★★½

The Phantom Carriage 1921 ★★★
One Body Too Many 1944 ★★★
Eyes without a Face 1960 ★★★
Blood and Black Lace 1964 ★★★
The Monster of Venice 1965 ★★★
The Rocky Horror Picture Show 1975 ★★★
The Bees 1978 ★★★
Christmas Evil 1980 ★★★
The New York Ripper 1982 ★★★
Night Train to Terror 1985 ★★★
Combat Shock 1986 ★★★
House 1986 ★★★
Opera 1987 ★★★
Southbound 2015 ★★★
Krampus 2015 ★★★
Puppet Master 1989 ★★★
The Damned Thing 2006 ★★★
Family 2006 ★★★
Dream Cruise 2007 ★★★
Beyond the Black Rainbow 2010 ★★★
Ginger Snaps 2: Unleashed 2004 ★★★

The Student of Prague 1913 ★★½
Vampyr 1932 ★★½
Plan 9 from Outer Space 1959 ★★½
Monster a-Go Go 1965 ★★½
5 Dolls for an August Moon 1970 ★★½
The Burning 1981 ★★½
Curse of Chucky 2013 ★★½
Seed of Chucky 2004 ★★½
The Wicker Man 2006 ★★½
Wind Chill 2007 ★★½

The Avenging Conscience: or ‘Thou Shalt Not Kill’ 1914 ★★
Eaten Alive 1976 ★★
Cannibal Ferox 1981 ★★
Deep Sleep 2013 ★★
Xtinction: Predator X 2010 ★★
American Gothic 2005 ★★

2001 Maniacs 2005 ★½

The GAF 2016 list of 31
My Big List o 75 Movies

 

[An-Det]

I was really bad about keeping an updated post with my movies, but for the first time I finished the 31 without having to cram a movie or two in on November 1. A few differences from my originally posted list, but that just gets me more ammo for next year. Everything was a new watch for me besides 30 Days of Night and Halloween.

Here's what I watched this year.

1 Cult (Kôji Shiraishi) - the 'badass' character introduced later is dumb, but otherwise definitely creepy.

2 Occult (Kôji Shiraishi) - this went in a direction I didn't expect, getting super grim as things go on. Definitely the better of the two films, though Noroi is still my favorite from the direct.

3 30 Days of Night - Actually scary and vicious vampires is a nice change of pace. Not very good, but a solid atmosphere and feeling of isolation.

4 Area 51 - not as much weirdness as I had hoped, probably my biggest disappointment. I didn't go in expecting good acting or anything, but at least more weird things happening than what was in it.

5 The Brood - Not very good, but definitely some crazy body horror going on.

6 Stephen King’s Cat’s Eye - 3 stories interlocked by a roaming cat, it has issues but is fun to watch and the stories are good.

7 Stephen King’s The Tommyknockers - I accidentally watched part 2 before part 1, so I was very confused as to what could happen since that felt like an ending. It's got that cheesy style of early 90's tv Stephen King, but Jimmy Smits is worth it.

8 Jaws - A classic that I'd never seen, a bit laughable at parts but I could totally see why it became a phenomenon.

9 High Tension - a brutal movie, though otherwise nothing special.

10 Saint - the Dutch version of Santa comes to town and starts slaughtering people, this was a lot of fun.

11 Cannibal Holocaust - aside from the fucked up on-screen killing of real animals, this was pretty tame. I liked the format of the movie, presenting the mystery of what the original crew did.

12 Ouija: Origin of Evil - a pleasant surprise given that the first one was forgettable (so much so that I didn't realize the ties this movie had to the original). Definitely worth seeing.

13 Blood Punch - this was a lot of fun, Groundhog Day with a violent bent.

14 An American Werewolf in London - this was pretty good, and the brutal transformation scenes were a nice surprise.

15 The Abandoned (2006) - this got weirder than I expected. I appreciated a more mature protagonist in the scarier scenes, since she wasn't a helpless screaming damnsel.

16 Spring (2014) - this was pretty good. The mystery in the details of the woman was nice, and the back and forth of how things go.

17 Tokyo Gore Police - super weird dystopic Japanese gory movie. I liked it, and parts felt like it echoed the tone of the culture in Starship Trooper, but I can't stress 'weird' enough.

18 Ava's Possessions - having a story based on what happens to the possessed after they are cured is awesome. It's not necesarily happily ever after, and the possibilities that might develop around helping those people were pretty cool.

19 Kansen - a japanese horror movie about a hospital staff dealing with an infection. It was pretty bad.

20 The Stuff - Warnings about consumerism aside, this was pretty fun with some neat deaths.

21 Tusk - A dude gets captured and surgically turned into a walrus. It echoed stuff like Human Centipede with the crazy science/body horror stuff, and I appreciated the old dude's wackiness and the despair the main character goes through. It's not great, but I really liked what it was going for.

22 Odd Thomas - Since Anton Yelchin died this year I wanted to add this in and ended up rather liking it. Having it start with Odd being established was great, letting things go without being dragged down with origin story stuff.

23 Dead Alive - super wacky zombie movie by Peter Jackson. Pretty fun at times, and had my favorite quote from the marathon: "I kick ass for the Lord!"

24 Hostel - more tame than I expected such a pillar of torture porn to be. Parts of the story later I thought were poor, but overall it wasn't bad.

25 Rifftrax Live: Carnival of Souls - what a godawful movie, but such a fun time with the Rifftrax crew covering it. A great time.

26 Hostel Part 2 - About on par with the first one for me, expanding the details of the operations in some neat ways and some neater torture at the risk of not being as tight as the first movie.

27 One Missed Call - You get a call from your future self, and then you are killed at the future time. Not a great movie, but some great scenes and a cool concept.

28 Halloween - I'd seen it before, but it was showing at the local movie theater so I had to go see it. What a great movie, especially with a crowd into it like that.

29 Sleep Tight - kinda fucked up story of a stalker. I liked the acting of the main dude, he really sold how fucked up the character is.

30 I Am The Pretty Thing that Lives in the House - Not very scary outside of a moment or two, but I loved the narration and acting by the nurse

31 Neon Demon - Similarly, more fucked up than scary. The story isn't great (though there are a few great moments), but the presentation and use of color is amazing and unlike anything I'd seen before.

 

[mariachi507]

Warning, influx of reviews are coming!

Happy Halloween everyone!

I'm way behind on my posts, but I did manage to keep up with my viewings, so I'm all done. Reviews 28-31 are on their way.

Happy Halloween to you too and everyone else!

24. Possession

I'm not sure that I'm capable of describing what this movie is. I can tell you that it is definitely a divisive film, but regardless of whether you like it or not you will still have a strong reaction. Most likely, regardless of your opinions on its quality, you will probably ask "what the fuck just happened?" when the credits start rolling. There are similarities with the film and the works of Cronenberg, Lynch, Bergman, and many others. This is the kind of movie that can't be labeled by a specific genre, instead it uses these various genres as tools to express itself figuratively and symbolically. At its core, this is a film about separation or divisiveness. As the viewer you are constantly reminded of these concepts not only because of what the character's are going through, but by the constant imagery of the Berlin Wall.

The two leads, played by Sam Neill and Isabelle Adjani, have hit a rough spot in their marriage. This is where the film starts us and ultimately shows us through some highly unexpected moments. The actor's both play their roles at a constant high volume, it can be alot to take in, but it's very powerful. Isabelle Adjani is an absolute revelation in this movie, the title of the film itself could very well be referring to how much she gave for this role, but I believe the title itself carries many different meanings. This is not a straight possession movie as you may believe. To be honest, you're probably not going to find many movies like this one. Excuse the hyperbole, but this film is an experience. Ever since my viewing, the weight of this movie has hung over the remaining films on my list. I can't stop thinking about it.

Also, up to this point my film of the month was Cronenberg's The Brood. I must have a thing for divorce and horror.

Verdict: 10/10

25. Tenebrae

Last year I ventured into the world of Italian Horror. This film feels like a capstone to an era and seems like Argento's final word on the genre he made famous. What makes Tenebrae work so well is not only Argento playing through the tropes he perfected in the 70's, but at the same time this film works as a commentary of the director reflecting on some of his more famous works warts and all. On a technical level, he is at the height of his powers here with great camera movement as well as using trickery to fool his audience. The plot is as crazy as it needs to be with the dialogue supporting that craziness. On the surface this movie is everything you would expect an Argento Giallo to be. We've got the crazy kill scenes, we've got the awesome score by Goblin, but underneath there is a bit more to it.

Verdict: 8.5/10

26. Green Room

To keep it short, this is a very tense horror movie. It uses a familiar scenario that we've seen in other movies such as Assault on Precinct 13, Night of the Living Dead, etc., but it still manages to make it seem fresh. The film avoids using cheap tricks to get it's scares, instead it relies on building dread throughout its runtime. I was impressed by the strong acting, especially from the late Anton Yelchin, and the characters were able to differentiate themselves from each other. There is the occasional moments where you'll ask, "wait a second, didn't they just...?", but aside from those few lapse in logic, this is a nice tight film.

Verdict: 8/10

27. Spring

Why did this fly under the radar? It's basically Before Sunrise meets HP Lovecraft, and it works. To be honest, that's probably the best description to give this movie. It's well made with some good acting and some great music. The third act was rushed a bit, but the ending still felt satisfying even if it was a little safe. That's ok though, sometimes it's ok to be safe. Check it out.

Verdict: 8/10

28. Demons

This is the most "80's" movie on my list, and I even watched Night of the Comet haha. It's a fun blast of b-movie cheese and horror. The characters are thin and stereotypical, but it's more about experiencing the ridiculousness that they go through. Lamberto Bava is definitely not his father, and he even pales in the shadow of his school of Argento peer Michele Soavi, but he makes a pretty decent gore-fest. I think I might watch the rest of the "Demon's" series next year, even though there is technically only one real sequel.

Verdict: 6.5/10

29. Psycho II (Rewatch)

To be honest, I was a bit checked out the night I watched this and just put in something that would be an easy watch. I blame Possession for this, fucking Zulawski am I right? I stated earlier this month that Psycho II is better than it has any right to be, and I still stand by that. It's not close to the quality of it's predecessor, but it manages to create an interesting though highly insane plot, and makes Norman Bates a sympathetic character. Most of the story beats are a bit of a stretch, but I kind of just roll with it. The ending even makes sense in context with the rest of the film. I would say the worst thing about Psycho II is having to conform to being an 80's slasher. The death scenes feel out of place to me, and some of them really don't matter that much to the story. Anthony Perkins makes it all worthwhile though, he is commanding in his iconic role, and can make you switch from feeling sympathetic to be scared shitless instantly.

Verdict: 7/10

 

[Steamlord]

#48 - The Midnight Meat Train [2008]

What a strange movie. The protagonist is a photographer who wants to capture the "reality" of the city, then descends into a mess of candy apple red blood and slow-mo head crushing. I don't know to what extent it was intended, but I found the odd juxtaposition of seriousness and downright cartoony CGI violence strangely amusing; it works in its own way to create a mix of drama, gory over-the-top action, and dark humor that's entertaining to watch. I already had some idea of what the ending would be like based on what I've seen other people say about the movie so it didn't bother me much, but I can see how it could have been disappointing if I hadn't been expecting it.


#49 - Chopping Mall [1986]

Delightfully stupid fun.


#50 - Prince of Darkness [1987]

It doesn't make a ton of sense, but the atmosphere is great and it's entertaining throughout. Not Carpenter's best, but still up there.

Letterboxd list

 

[mariachi507]

Here's my total list in a rough order of best to cannibal holocaust (which actually isn't the worst movie on the list at all, but...like how the fuck do you rank that movie). Bolds are rewatches, but even with those I hit 31 first time viewings, and the date is when I watched each film.

Hey, I really enjoyed you're write-ups this past month! I've actually got the courage to place Cannibal Holocaust on my list for next year because of them. Thanks for recommendations. I figured you were good people though when I saw the John Carpenter thread you made.

 

[ehead]

Oct. 30

Below (2002)

I kinda liked it. We rarely get any horror films set under the sea and during the second world war too. I saw it after seeing the Ghost Ship episode of The Twilight Zone (also set during WW2). I don't want to compare the two but I can't help it. For a feature length film, I thought they could've paced it better. And again, keep some of the mystery unexplained. Lastly, I was surprised to see Zach Galifianakis in this.

Oct. 31

Body Snatchers (1993)

I saw the 1970s remake this month and I have to say this was also enjoyable. I prefer the body snatching effect in the 1970s movie though, much cleaner. I prefer the ending in this one even though it is still ambiguous.

 

[HP_Wuvcraft]

31/10/16
Film 38
I Am The Pretty Thing That Lives In The House

Did I accidentally save the best till last? Did this fantastic, gorgeous movie steal in right at the death to take my not-at-all coveted Best Film of the Month award? I think it might have done.



I knew virtually nothing about it going in, other than it was a brand new Netflix original just released this week, that it starred the wondrous Ruth Watson, of Luther fame, and that it looked like a ghost story. I was right about it being a ghost story, but in every other respect, I Am The Pretty Thing That Lives In The House is unlike anything else I’ve watched for the marathon. It’s deliberately slow, extremely wordy, and features more shots of empty rooms than probably any movie I’ve ever seen. I’m making it sound boring and arty, but in truth (and at the risk of sounding like a pretentious twat) I found it to be a captivating work of art.



Ruth Wilson plays a timid nurse who goes to live with and care for an ageing horror writer who seems to be suffering from dementia, in a house with a checkered history. As lovely and unusual as the script is, without an actor of Wilson’s calibre the film might have struggled a bit at times, but her quietly phenomenal, mesmerising performance just had me spellbound throughout. Alone on screen for much of the running time, and silent for quite a lot of it too, her portrayal of the easily frightened and lonely nurse really is a thing of beauty.



This movie definitely isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. It’s more elegiac and mournful than it ever is frightening. Sadness, loneliness and unease are the key notes here, and its amazingly atmospheric score brings this out so well. Don’t get me wrong, creepy moments abound, but this isn’t a film that wants to terrify. Apart from one remarkable, intense and fully justified moment, it does entirely without jump scares. And as you can probably tell, it’s hardly action packed. But as an exercise in beautiful melancholy, I have seldom seen its equal.

What an absolutely brilliant way to end a brilliant month.

My final list

Guess I’ll pop back later with a summary/rankings post to wrap up.

That movie is gorgeous and the twist is the most original thing I've seen in horror films since the original Blair Witch.

 

[gabbo]

I'm a little disappointed. Only managed 24 films this year.

 

[ThirstyFly]

28) Black Belly of the Tarantula (La tarantola dal ventre nero) (1971) (Oct 28)

I had to squeeze in one more giallo for the month. Black Belly of the Tarantula is pretty standard fare so there wasn't much in the way of surprises, though I suppose to does lean a little more into the poliziotteschi subgenre than your typical giallo.

A nice cast of ladies including Barbara Bouchet (Don't Torture a Duckling) and Claudine Auger (A Bay of Blood), a good Ennio Morricone score (though perhaps used a little repetitively) and some cool set pieces make for an entertaining time. Unfortunately the story doesn't flow particularly well and there isn't really anything that makes it stand out among other titles in the subgenre.

Overall, it's decent but not very memorable. The most noteworthy thing about it is how many actors were also in James Bond movies at some point in their career. Mild recommendation for giallo fans only.

Rating:

out 5 "What's in the basket?"

29) Inferno (1980) (Oct 29)

I'm not a huge fan of Suspiria, so I never bothered with the rest of Dario Argento's Three Mothers trilogy. I figured I'd give Inferno a shot this year since my list was already so Italian heavy and I hadn't watched any Argento yet this month.

The sudden turn to supernatural in Suspiria is where that film lost me. I just wasn't a fan of the

Spoiler

witch

reveal and the way the ending was handled. From the very start, Inferno eases you into the supernatural in a much smoother way. Perhaps it's because Suspiria already softened me up towards it, but I felt it was handled better overall in Inferno. I fully admit Suspiria is the superior movie, I think I enjoyed Inferno more.

I still thought the ending was too abrupt and the story could have been told better, but overall I'd recommend it for Italian horror fans. It did rekindle my interest in the series and I think I'll be giving Suspiria a rewatch as well as checking out The Mother of Tears (don't worry, I'm going in with low expectations for that one).

Rating:

out 5 "What's in the basket?"

That

Spoiler

underwater ballroom

scene was awesome.

 

[GhaleonEB]

#22: Trick'r Treat | via owned blu-ray

The perfect Halloween movie (sorry, Carpenter). No film captures the spirit of the day as well as Trick'r Treat, with the added bonus of being a superb anthology film. I just love hell out of this one. How well put together the stories are, how the closing scenes tie them all together, Sam's presence throughout them, alternately condoning and condemning the characters. The dark, mean undercurrent that runs through the film, sprinkled with mischievousness and the right amount of empathy for innocent characters. How Brian Cox is both utterly unrecognizable and perfectly cast.

My annual Halloween tradition.

***** jack-o-lanterns out of five

This was the most films I've seen in the annual marathon. It's hard to keep it up when I'm the only one in the house that likes horror films, though my older daughter joined me for one. She might for more next year.

I'll post a wrap up tomorrow. Fun month!

 

[ThirstyFly]

30) Pin (1988) (Oct 30)

Possibly the most unique film I've watched all month, I don't quite know how to explain Pin without saying too much, nor do I really want to as I feel it's one you should go in fresh.

All you really need to know is that Pin is an expertly crafted psychological horror that doesn't rely on gore or LOUD NOISES to be unsettling and simply looking upon the title character is enough to make your skin crawl. It's pretty amazing to me that a movie like this managed to get made in the 80s and not be a total cheesefest.

Highly recommended. Fans of Psycho or understated, moody horror should definitely check this out. Be warned though, it is a very slow burn.

Rating:

out 5 "What's in the basket?"

31) Tales of Halloween (2015) (Oct 31)

Always looking for more Halloween themed movies and after seeing praise for it in the general horror thread, I figured this would be a good way to end off the month. Since it's an anthology movie, here's my brief impressions of each story:

Sweet Tooth (dir. Dave Parker) – This is a rather typical setup, so there's no real big surprise here, but it was done very well and made excellent use of the short run time.
The Night Billy Raised Hell (dir. Darren Lynn Bousman) – Probably my favourite of the bunch. This one was creative and fun.
Trick (dir. Adam Gierasch) – Super dark and an unexpected twist. I really liked this one as well.
The Weak and the Wicked (dir. Paul Solet) – Nothing too surprising here, but this one was done well enough and the two leads were good.
Grim Grinning Ghost (dir. Axelle Carolyn) – Again, nothing too surprising here. It was okay, but nothing special. The highpoint for sure was seeing

Spoiler

Stuart Gordon and Barbara Crampton being reunited again.

Ding Dong (dir. Lucky McKee) – Easily the most original of the stories. Creative and fun.
This Means War (dir. Andrew Kasch and John Skipp) – Fun idea, just not really executed the best way. Perhaps it needed a longer run time?
Friday the 31st (dir. Mike Mendez) – Silly but a lot of fun. Cook makeup and effects on this one.
The Ransom of Rusty Rex (dir. Ryan Schifrin) – Another fun one. Probably my second favourite out of the bunch. R.I.P. Ben Woolf.
Bad Seed (dir. Neil Marshall) – This one should have been really fun, but it didn't really work for me. It felt the most cheaply made out of the bunch, which is weird to me considering how good Neil Marshall has been with stretching budgets in the past. The few effects it had were great though.

Overall, a little uneven and fairly cheap feeling but overall very enjoyable. Recommended and would make a great double feature with Trick 'r Treat for any Halloween night.

I feel it's also worth noting the creative use of horror icon cameos. Instead of going with the usual suspects and just slapping Sid Haig or Bill Moseley in the movie somewhere, they went with more unique people and I really enjoyed that.

Rating:

out 5 "What's in the basket?"


Final Viewed List (2016):
01) The Last Man on Earth (1964) (Oct 1) - 2.5 / 5
02) Black Sunday (La maschera del demonio) (1960) (Oct 2) - 4 / 5
03) A Blade in the Dark (La casa con la scala nel buio) (1983) (Oct 3) - 4 / 5
04) Kill, Baby… Kill! (Operazione paura) (1966) (Oct 4) - 4 / 5
05) Demons 2 (Dèmoni 2… l'incubo ritorna) (1986) (Oct 5) - 3.5 / 5
06) A Bay of Blood (Reazione a catena) (1971) (Oct 6) - 3.5 / 5
07) Delirium (Le foto di Gioia) (Reazione a catena) (1987) (Oct 7) - 3.5 / 5
08) Lisa and the Devil (Lisa e il diavolo) (1973) (Oct 8) - 5 / 5
Bonus 01) The House of Exorcism (1975) (Oct 8) - 1 / 5
09) The Neon Demon (2016) (Oct 9) - 4.5 / 5
10) Tusk (2014) (Oct 10) - 1.5 / 5
11) The Night Evelyn Came Out of the Grave (La notte che Evelyn uscì dalla tomba) (1971) (Oct 11) - 3 / 5
12) The Red Queen Kills Seven Times (La dama rossa uccide sette volte) (1972) (Oct 12) - 4 / 5
13) Rock 'n' Roll Nightmare (1987) (Oct 13) - 1.5 / 5
14) Black Roses (1988) (Oct 14) - 2.5 / 5
15) Hush (2016) (Oct 15) - 3.5 / 5
16) Phantasm II (1988) (Oct 16) - 3 / 5
17) Phantasm III: Lord of the Dead (1994) (Oct 17) - 2 / 5
18) The Wailing (Goksung) (2016) (Oct 18) - 4.5 / 5
Bonus 02) Slugs: The Movie (Slugs, muerte viscosa) (1988) (Oct 18) - 3.5 / 5
19) Christine (1983) (Oct 19) - 4 / 5
Bonus 03) The Thing (1982) (Oct 19) - 5 / 5
20) The Brides of Dracula (1960) (Oct 20) - 3 / 5
21) Twins of Evil (1971) (Oct 21) - 4.5 / 5
22) The Witch (2016) (Oct 22) - 4.5 / 5
23) Trick or Treat (1986) (Oct 23) - 2 / 5
24) The Demoniacs (Les démoniaques) (1974) (Oct 24) - 1 / 5
25) The Grapes of Death (Les raisins de la mort) (1978) (Oct 25) - 3 / 5
26) The Invisible Man (1933) (Oct 26) - 4 / 5
27) Son of Frankenstein (1939) (Oct 27) - 3 / 5
28) Black Belly of the Tarantula (La tarantola dal ventre nero) (1971) (Oct 28) - 2.5 / 5
29) Inferno (1980) (Oct 29) - 3 / 5
30) Pin (1988) (Oct 30) - 4.5 / 5
31) Tales of Halloween (2015) (Oct 31) - 3.5 / 5


Postmortem:

Number of New Movies Watched: 31
Number of Bonus Movies: 3
Highlights: Lisa and the Devil, The Neon Demon, The Wailing, Christine, Twins of Evil, The Witch, Pin
Best Overall: The Wailing. I didn't rate it the highest, but it was the most compelling.
Complete Crap: The Demoniacs
Biggest Surprise: Twins of Evil
Biggest Disappointment: Tusk
Biggest Blasphemy: The House of Exorcism
Best Kill: Tie:

Spoiler

Killer bees

in Delirium and

Spoiler

turned to dust by being pulled out of a TV

in Trick or Treat
Best Character: Leandro in Lisa and the Devil
Worst Character: Guy Lapointe in Tusk
Best Mario: Lisa and the Devil
Best Lamberto: A Blade in the Dark for overall quality, Demons 2 for fun.
Best Bava: Mario. But Lamberto's cool too.
Best Cameo:

Spoiler

Ozzy Osbourne

in Trick or Treat
Worst Cameo:

Spoiler

Johnny Depp

in Tusk
Best Goofy Dance: Erika Blanc's coffin dance in The Night Evelyn Came Out of the Grave.
Second Best Goofy Dance: Erika Blanc's sex dungeon dance in The Night Evelyn Came Out of the Grave.
Best Fashion Sense: Marina Malfatti in The Night Evelyn Came Out of the Grave and The Red Queen Kills Seven Times.
Second Best Fashion Sense: Joëlle Coeur in The Demoniacs
Number of Movies With Giacomo Rossi Stuart: 3
Number of Movies Where Giacomo Rossi Stuart Hates Garlic: 2
Number of Movies That Start With "The" in the Title: 12
Boy, that Escalated Quickly: The Witch
Because She Deserves a Mention: Barbara Bouchet
Most Unconformable Nudity: Anything directed by Jean Rollin
Probably Should Have Stayed a Podcast: Tusk
Number of Minutes Kevin Smith Spent Masturbating On-Screen with Tusk: 102

 

[mariachi507]

Definitely adding I am the Pretty Thing That Lives in this House and Pin for next year.

 

[Divius]

#31 - The Wailing (2016)
My first and only rewatch of the marathon, but since the movie left me scratching my head after the first time, a second viewing couldn't hurt. Luckily this second time I was still left scratching my head as some things are not made 100% clear and left up the viewer to interpret however they like. The Wailing is top shelf Korean cinema that perfectly blends drama, mystery and horror. The runtime feels appropriate since it is such complicated and rich movie with fantastic acting, a lovely setting+atmosphere and genuine scares as well. Amazing movie. 8/10

 

[Divius]

I made it! Man, I love 31 Days of Horror.

My list (click the pictures to see what I thought about the movies):

---

Best movie: The Wailing
Worst movie: Black Christmas (2006)

Most fun: Chopping Mall / The Faculty / Ginger Snaps / The Blob
Most WTF: Santa Sangre / Contamination / Deadgirl

Biggest surprise: Lisa and the Devil / Ginger Snaps
Biggest disappointment: Carpenter's Vampires

Best Robot: Chopping Mall
Movie that weirdly enough stuck with me the most: They Look Like People

Summary: A solid month for me. A handful of actually good movies. Quite a few really fun movies, not a lot of boring/bad/terrible ones.

---

Next year:

I'm definitely watching horror franchises: Halloween / Nightmare on Elm Street / Friday the 13th / Child's Play / Final Destination / Hellraiser / The Texas Chainsaw Massacre / etc

For most of those I've only seen the first entry and I will definitely be needing some help next year in what I pick. Should be fun. Or horrifically terrible. Or a mix of both.

---

My previous years: 2011 / 2012 / 2013 / 2014 / 2015

 

[Zombine]

This is the first year that I made it! Had to do a lot of coordination and put some other hobbies on hold, but I had a great time with my mix of favorite films and new classics. This isn't the end for horror for me because I watch all year, but it's definitely the end of my favorite season. The final list( new films bolded):

31 Days of Horror

1. Dead Alive
2. Sleep Away Camp
3. Pet Cemetery
4. The Town That Dreaded Sundown (2013)
5. Texas Chainsaw Massacre
6. Halloween (2007)
7. Tremors
8. Wes Craven's New Nightmare
9. V/H/S
10. Shin Godzilla
11. The Thing
12. Event Horizon
13. Tucker & Dale vs Evil
14. Curse of Chucky
15. Fright Night
16. Killer Klowns
17. Jeepers Creepers
18. Return of the living dead 2
19. Final Destination
20. Friday The 13th pt I
21. Krampus
22. From Dusk Till Dawn
23. Child's Play 3
24. Halloween Pt. VII: The New Blood
25. Lights Out
26. The Conjuring
27. Pretty Things
28. Tales From The Darkside
29. Trick R Treat
30. Conjuring 2
31. Halloween

New: 8/30

I actually watched many more new films than I posted about, but I felt some of them were so mediocre that I was actively ruining the challenge for myself. My final list is somewhere around 37 movies or so.

 

[Fancy Clown]

Hey, I really enjoyed you're write-ups this past month! I've actually got the courage to place Cannibal Holocaust on my list for next year because of them. Thanks for recommendations. I figured you were good people though when I saw the John Carpenter thread you made.

Thanks man, backatcha. You will definitely need a supply of courage and perhaps a vomit bag or two to tackle Cannibal Holocaust.

 

[Blader]

I wrapped up this year's marathon with a Sunday double feature and a Halloween on Halloween.

Carrie
One of those movies that I've only ever seen out of order; I think this is the first time I watched the whole thing, start to finish, in one sitting. Even still, my opinion is the same as all those other fragmented viewings: it's one of DePalma's best, and the prom sequence alone is probably the single best piece of filmmaking he has ever done. I kind of hate the expression "pure cinema" but that's exactly what comes to mind watching that sequence unfold: you're so easily suckered into hoping for the best for Carrie that night, knowing full well things aren't going to turn out that way and dreading that inevitability. And then, the absolute carnage that follows. One thing I'd never noticed before: the score is quite good! Reminds me a bit of Morricone.
8/10

It Follows
Great concept, genuinely creepy and tense at times, I dug the sound design and I like Maika Monroe -- the only other thing I've seen her in is The Guest, and I thought she was great in both. The friends are all well-acted supporting players. The film feels slow at times and occasionally maybe too cold, but whatever, this was good shit.
7or 8/10

Halloween II
I was admittedly not a fan of the first movie so I'm not sure why I decided to watch this. But I kind of liked it, more so than the first one really. I like that it starts immediately after the first Halloween, which gives it a rush of momentum and urgency right from the start (though the pace does fall off a bit from time to time). The kills were more startling and effective this time around. I thought the cast of dopes in this movie were more tolerable than the cast of dopes in the first one. I can see why people think the sequel is inferior to the original, but for me it felt like an improvement. I still think Dr. Loomis is a completely ridiculous character with some hilariously bad lines (virtually all of his lines).
6 or 7/10

 

[DeathoftheEndless]

My full list:

1. The Beyond
2. REC
3. The Frighteners
4. King Kong*
5. Deep Red
6. Orca
7. Ringu
8. Planet of the Vampires
9. The Innocents
10. Shin Godzilla
11. Black Christmas
12. The Last Man on Earth*
13. House (1977)
14. Suspiria
15. A Tale of Two Sisters
16. I Walked With a Zombie
17. The Invisible Man*
18. Hush
19. Don't Look Now
20. Ouija: Origin of Evil
21. The Blair Witch Project
22. Day of the Dead
23. The Howling
24. Near Dark
25. The Shining*
26.The Thing from Another World
27. Son of Frankenstein*
28. Dracula (Spanish)
29. Creepshow*
30. An American Werewolf in London*
31. Bride of Frankenstein*
32. The Wolfman*

*rewatches

My top 5 first-time watches of the month are The Innocents, A Tale of Two Sisters, Ringu, Day of the Dead, and Deep Red (in no particular order).

 

[Steamlord]

It's been a good month. Now to wrap up...

Top five:
The Collector [1965]
Lisa and the Devil (Lisa e il diavolo) [1973]
The Wailing (Goksung) [2016]
Taste of Fear / Scream of Fear [1961]
The Housemaid (Hanyo) [1960]

Bottom five (limited to one per franchise):
Halloween II [2009]
Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare [1991]
Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday [1985]
Five Dolls for an August Moon (5 bambole per la luna d'agosto) [1970]
Who Can Kill a Child? (¿Quién puede matar a un niño? / Island of the Damned) [1976]

Favorite: The Collector
Least Favorite: Halloween II
Biggest Surprise: Taste of Fear
Most Average: The Black Torment
Best Looking: The Neon Demon
Favorite Character(s): Leandro (Lisa and the Devil)
Least Favorite Character(s): Those hillbillies in Friday the 13th: A New Beginning
Most Window Jumps: Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter


Full List:
00. Poltergeist [1982] (rewatch) - 7/10
01. The Last Man on Earth [1964] (rewatch) - 6/10
02. Five Dolls for an August Moon (5 bambole per la luna d'agosto) [1970] - 4/10
03. Hatchet for the Honeymoon (Il rosso segno della follia) [1970] - 7/10
04. Baron Blood (Gli orrori del castello di Norimberga) [1972] - 6/10
05. Lisa and the Devil (Lisa e il diavolo) [1973] - 8/10
06. Shock (Schock) [1977] - 6/10
07. The Neon Demon [2016] - 7/10
08. Candyman [1992] - 7/10
09. The House That Screamed (La residencia) [1969] - 7/10
10. The City of the Dead / Horror Hotel [1960] - 6/10
11. The Collector [1965] - 9/10
12. Who Can Kill a Child? (¿Quién puede matar a un niño? / Island of the Damned) [1976] - 4/10
13. Night of the Eagle / Burn, Witch, Burn! [1962] - 6/10
14. Train to Busan (Busanhaeng) [2016] - 7/10
15. The Wailing (Goksung) [2016] - 8/10
16. Night Tide [1961] - 7/10
17. The Black Torment [1964] - 5/10
18. Taste of Fear / Scream of Fear [1961] - 8/10
19. The Pit and the Pendulum [1961] - 6/10
20. Witchfinder General [1968] - 7/10
21. The Plague of the Zombies [1966] - 6/10
22. Demons (Dèmoni) [1985] - 5/10
23. The Housemaid (Hanyo) [1960] - 8/10
24. Frankenstein Created Woman [1967] - 6/10
25. Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter [1984] - 3/10
26. Friday the 13th: A New Beginning [1985] - 2/10
27. Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives [1986] - 6/10
28. Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood [1988] - 5/10
29. Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan [1989] - 2/10
30. Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday [1993] - 2/10
31. Jason X [2001] - 3/10
32. The Santa Clause [1994] (rewatch) - 4/10
33. A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master [1988] - 4/10
34. A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child [1989] - 4/10
35. Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare [1991] - 1/10
36. Freddy vs. Jason [2003] - 4/10
37. Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers [1988] - 3/10
38. Hush [2016] (rewatch) - 7/10
39. Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers [1989] - 3/10
40. Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers [1995] - 2/10
41. Halloween H20: 20 Years Later [1998] - 4/10
42. Halloween: Resurrection [2002] - 2/10
43. Halloween [2007] - 3/10
44. Halloween II [2009] - 1/10
45. Friday the 13th [2009] - 3/10
46. A Nightmare on Elm Street [2010] - 3/10
47. The Addiction [1995] - 6/10
48. The Midnight Meat Train [2008] - 6/10
49. Chopping Mall [1986] - 6/10
50. Prince of Darkness [1987] - 7/10

Letterboxd list

 

[pitcairn55]

Time for a summary...

Christmas Movies:

Winner: A Christmas Horror Story

Great:
Black Christmas (1974)
Don’t Open Till Christmas
Christmas Evil
Silent Night, Deadly Night
Krampus

Good:
Holidays
All Through The House
P2
Rare Exports

Bad:
Dead End
Silent Night, Bloody Night
Santa’s Slay
Black Christmas (2006)
Silent Night (2012)

Completely Frigging Terrible:
Elves
Silent Night, Deadly Night part 2

Non-Christmas Movies

Winner: I Am The Pretty Thing That Lives In The House

Great:
Spider Baby
It Follows
Starry Eyes
Housebound
The Blob (1988)
You're Next

Good:
Ava's Possessions
Crimson Peak
Jug Face
Thirst
The Canal
My Bloody Valentine (1981)
Hush
We Are Still Here

Not Bad:
Contracted
As Above, So Below
The Last Man On Earth
Deathgasm

Bad:
Two Thousand Maniacs!
Saint

Big thanks to ThirstyFly for sorting out this amazing thread every year. Can't believe it's all over again, but I've got some great ideas for next year's list already.

 

[mariachi507]

30. Tales of Halloween

To keep it short, this didn't really work for me at all.

Verdict: 2.5/10

31. Rosemary's Baby (Rewatch)

Since the previous film was a dud I decided to close out with a sure thing. Polanski nailed psychological horror with Repulsion, and he does it yet again with Rosemary's Baby. Despite knowing the outcome, I still feel compelled by whether Rosemary is delusional or justified in her madness. The reason for this is the more Rosemary's physical and mental state decline, Polanski uses the camera as a tool to show this. The camera movement becomes dynamic and claustrophobic and this is what makes the movie so effective. This is top tier filmmaking, and even if we don't notice this, our brain does.

Verdict: 9.5/10

Up Next: Wrap-up and Reflections

 

[Ridley327]

Final thoughts: Boy, that month went by quick, didn't it? Whether it was because of the busy schedule or the high quality of most of the offerings I programmed this year, 50 films went by like it was nothing at all. I gained a newfound appreciation for the depth of the quantity and quality of 80s horror from all over the world, while also growing my love for the genre even more.

Looking forward to next year: Despite the obviousness of what next year's theme is going to be, I must say that I did have to talk myself into going forward with a 90s theme. As most horror fans will attest to, it was not the kindest decade for the genre, with the slasher icons dying absolutely miserable deaths early on and the genre starting shift into copycat thrillers in the wake of the unprecedented critical and commercial success of The Silence of the Lambs. A lot of the old masters were either finding it more and more difficult to get films off the ground, or were commercially successful enough to remind you that they've had better days in terms of quality. In short, it was a recipe for wide-scale disaster.

But that doesn't mean I'm not going to try my absolute goddamned hardest to look under every rock to find the best the decade had to offer. No matter how hard it might be at first, I am going to persevere and make my ninth annual marathon just as strong as the ones that came before it. No matter what part of the world they might be in, I will find them and I will watch the fuck out them.

The round-up: Here are links to all of my reviews, as well as a simple rating for each of them for those annoyed that I don't do star ratings on this board:

• Wolfen (flawed, but recommended for werewolf enthusiasts and the crowd wanting to know what Edward James Olmos looks like naked)
  The Beast Within (dire to an offensive degree; avoid unless you hate yourself)
  The Company of Wolves (goddamned great and a must for anyone that likes anything in the same mold as Del Toro)
  Bad Taste (deliciously trashy New Zealand horror mash-up, and a really fun debut for Peter Jackson)
  Street Trash (secretly brilliant, though bound to offend anyone that watches it)
  Poltergeist (fun blockbuster horror, even if it's really obvious how much of a two-man job this is)
  A Chinese Ghost Story (a low-budget marvel and the rare genre-bender that manages to hold all of them without tripping over itself)
  The Boogens (harmless creature feature that hits all the notes it's supposed to and nothing more; not as bad as that makes it sound like)
  Ghost Money (an interesting look into Thai horror with some fun elements and an interesting visual component, but nothing terribly exceptional and really long for the ground it covers)
  Cat People (incredibly unfaithful remake, and despite its flaws, all the more interesting, intriguing and kinky for it)
  The Blob (masterful reworking of questionable material that keeps its foot on the gas and never comes close to crashing; deserves to be praised as much as The Thing for its showcase of How The Fuck You Do A Goddamned Remake
  Contamination (Italian Alien knockoff, and that pretty much says it all right there)
  The Hidden (super fun and surprisingly smart horror hybrid that has as many car chases as it does moments of body horror)
  The Thing (guys, it's The Thing)
  Crimes of Passion (arguably not much of a horror film, but who is complaining when Anthony Perkins snorts coke and is menacing people with a razor dildo? No one, that's who!)
  The Lair of the White Worm (gleefully insane reworking of Bram Stoker material anchored by a terrific villain performance from Amanda Donohoe and a third act that constantly answers the question of if it can get any crazier by shouting out yes at every interval)
  The Hitcher (intense and beautiful road thriller that does go a bit too far in a couple of places, but manages to nail the interplay between predator and prey about as good as you could ever ask for)
  The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Miss Osbourne (hypnotic and lyrical take on well-worn material that feels very fresh again, with an absolutely marvelous ending)
  Parents (a complete failure as a comedy, but one of the most dead-on and immensely disturbing films in the same mold as Lynch out there; do not want to watch this ever again, which says a lot about how effective it wound up being in the horror department)
  Of Unknown Origin (pretty much a live-action Roadrunner cartoon, with Peter Weller as our Wile E. Coyote; lots of really nice humor to go along with the over-the-top physical violence inflicted upon and by our "hero")
  The Children (the usual poorly made Troma crap that is designed to offend, making it all the more remarkable that wasn't a Troma film originally)
  Combat Shock (the unusually thought-provoking and psychologically intense zero-budget grime-fest that Troma is not known for; amateur at times, but manages to stick the landing and rises well above its distributor)
  Vampire Hunter D (what it lacks in animation budget, it makes up for with an awesome world design and a hell of a lot of style)
  Lily-C.A.T. (faithful aping of all things Alien and The Thing, but constrained by its short run time and still wanting to cover as much ground as humanly and alien as possible)
  Wicked City (I hate to have to heavily qualify my otherwise strong admiration of this well-made and refreshingly low-key horror noir, but hentai pandering is hentai pandering no matter where it shows up)
  The Hunger (technically beautiful film that wants you to to believe it's high art, but insists so much that it is that it is impossible not to laugh at)
  The Lost Boys (a Joel Schumacher-ass Joel Schumacher blockbuster sorta-horror film
  Tetuso: The Iron Man (a fast-paced decent into machine madness with a great sense of style and an absolutely marvelous industrial soundtrack; the things you can do with drills!)
  The Stepfather (pleasant little anti-slasher bolstered by strong lead performances from Terry O'Quinn and Jill Schoelen, saddled with a dead-end subplot of an intensely uninteresting squeaky wheel character that really didn't need to be there
  House on the Edge of the Park (pretty typical low-budget home invasion shocker with all kinds of sexual assault, but doesn't have anywhere near the lasting impression of Cannibal Holocaust did a few months prior, despite a valiant attempt at a twist ending so stupid that it defies explanation)
  White Dog (morally complex exploration of the "nurture or nature?" aspect of racism and hatred, wrapped in a deceptively simple "when animals attack" packaging, made with strong conviction and offering up no easy answers)
  The Monster Squad (disappointingly woeful kids adventure film that never can decide if it wants to play it straight or riff on the genre, and for something meant to be kid-friendly, I would never show this to any child for how unpleasantly mean-spirited it gets
  Lady in White (Amblin-esque ghost story that nails the period details and fully commits to its earnestness, though its reach does sometimes extend well past its grasp for some of the issues that it tries to tackle, well-intended as it is)
  Der Fan (minimalist while still being beautifully stylish, violent and sexual without being exploitative, hypnotic while never droning, and anchored by a wonderful lead performance of a teenager playing an actual teenager; what's not to love here?)
  Angst (brutally brilliant spin on the home invasion genre with breathtaking camerawork that make it look far younger than it actually is, as well as going to some truly harrowing places without ever feeling gratuitous or excessive)
  Nekromantik (poorly made on a technical level and relies far too much on shock value over telling an interesting story or having interesting characters, but hey, at least I got to check off "seeing a guy ejaculate while disemboweling himself" on my imaginary list of things that I really could have done without seeing)
  Pet Sematary (ridiculously fun in spite of its macabre subject matter, and the rare film not hurt by an awful lead performance as a result of it hating the hell out of the character anyway)
  The Dead Zone (a nice precursor to Cronenberg's more reserved side, and a really interesting film from a structural standpoint)
  The Shining (guys, it's The Shining, in a theater)
  Possession (riveting divorce drama that takes a sharp turn into horror partway through and never lets up on the psychological and physical trauma; brilliantly constructed film from a technical standpoint, and some marvelous acting to boot
  The Hand (intensely mediocre take on the "is he or isn't he the killer" genre that does little more than what it's supposed to do, while trying to have its central mystery any way it can take it)
  Vampires in Havana (crudely drawn and even more crudely animated feature that nevertheless dazzles you with its endless charm and inventiveness)
  Night of the Comet (scrappy little end of the world/budding zombie apocalypse that could have done with a bit more conflict, but excels with its fun leads and a surprisingly bigger scale than the budget would suggest possible)
  Chopping Mall (in the immortal words of Pieces, it's exactly what you think it is, with all the fun and cheese that goes along with that territory)
  Q: The Winged Serpent (gee, I wonder when the film is going to be the goofy 50s giant monster movie that it should have been, and not the marathon sessions of Michael Moriarty being weird that it is for 75% of its screen time)
  The Return of Godzilla (in its original form, it is truly one of the finest installments in the series, though as someone who has seen both, one can't notice how much Shin Godzilla is an improved version of this)
  Mystics in Bali (as crazy as one could hope for, though it's painfully obvious how much this was cut down from its original source, which seems to have sadly gone MIA and could be lost to time; it's a shame, since the film's intense disjointedness could be easily improved by whatever was taken out of it)
  The Boxer's Omen (a nasty supernatural shocker that's also visually exciting, fascinating to ponder about its juxtaposition of Buddhism and more arcane sorcery, and comes up with some absolutely unforgettable imagery)
  Pumpkinhead (what should have been a welcome antidote to slasher schlock winds up making the same goddamned mistakes as all of them, seemingly to spite its fertile exploration of the apocalyptic nature of revenge)
  Creepshow (incredibly fun and stylish anthology with a better batting average than most, with choice performances throughout and a genuine level of engagement on the part of both its masters of horror)

See ya next year, folks!

 

[mariachi507]

Reflections

The List

1. The Exorcist (Rewatch)
2. Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein (Rewatch)
3. Night of the Comet
4. The Mutilator
5. Blood Rage
6. Phantasm: Ravager
7. The Final Girls
8. The Invitation
9. Shivers
10. Carrie (Rewatch)
11. Rabid
12. Motel Hell
13. The Brood
14. Pieces
14.5 Scanners
15. Slugs
16. Videodrome
17. Don't Look Now
18. Repulsion
19. The Thing (Rewatch)
20. The Wicker Man
21. The Innocents
22. Carnival of Souls
23. Legion: The Exorcist 3
24. Possession
25. Tenebrae
26. Green Room
27. Spring
28. Demons
29. Psycho II (Rewatch)
30. Tales of Halloween
31. Rosemary's Baby (Rewatch)

First Time Views - Ranked

1. Possession
2. The Brood
3. Don't Look Now
4. Videodrome
5. The Wicker Man
6. The Innocents
7. Tenebrae
8. Pieces
9. Spring
10. The Final Girls
11. The Invitation
12. Slugs
13. Carnival of Souls
14. Green Room
15. Night of the Comet
16. The Mutilator
17. Legion
18. Shivers
19. Motel Hell
20. Rabid
21. Scanners
22. Demons
23. Phantasm: Ravager
24. Blood Rage
25. Tales of Halloween

Overall, it was the greatest month I've had yet during this marathon. I'm excited that it's finally over but at the same time I'm a little sad about it. Next year is already starting to look promising with some leftover titles from this year, and some recent releases.

 

[Violence Jack]

Final Results for 2016

1. The Beyond
2. Suspiria
3. Blood and Black Lace
4. Bay of Blood
5. The Invisible Man
6. Torso (FTV)
7. Black Sabbath
8. Black Sunday (FTV)
9. Lord of Illusions
10. Children of the Corn
11. Hellraiser
12. Kill List (FTV)
13. Innocent Blood
14. Santa Sangre (FTV)
15. Shock (FTV)
16. Nosferatu, The Vampyre (FTV)
17. Hush (FTV)
18. Pieces (FTV)
19. Nightmares (FTV)
20. Splinter (FTV)
21. The Blob (1988)
22. The Howling
23. An American Werewolf in London
24. Return to Sleepaway Camp (FTV)
25. The Church (FTV)
26. Candyman
27. The Fly (1986)
28. Behind The Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon
29. The Toolbox Murders (FTV)
30. Day of the Dead (FTV)
31. Blood Feast (FTV)
32. The House of the Devil (FTV)
33. Genocyber
34. A Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse (FTV)
35. Posession (FTV)
36. City of the Living Dead
37. Deep Red
38. Last Man on Earth (FTV)
39. Planet Terror

Top 5 First Time Viewings:
1. Day of the Dead
2. Return to Sleepaway Camp
3. Santa Sangre
4. The Last Man on Earth
5. Nightmares/Pieces (tie)

Bottom 3 First Time Viewings:
1. A Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse
2. Blood Feast
3. The Church

Not the best marathon month that I've participated in to be honest. I wasn't feeling a lot of the first time viewings this time around, plus I was too busy preparing for my wedding which took up a lot of time. Be that as it may, I still had fun, and I will definitely be back to take place in the festivities again next year.

 

[GhaleonEB]

One a one to five star scale:

#01 - 10/01/2016: Stung ***
#02 - 10/02/2016: Animal **
#03 - 10/03/2016: The Hallow *
#04 - 10/04/2016: Beneath ****
#05 - 10/05/2016: Harbinger Down ****
#06 - 10/06/2016: The Canal *
#07 - 10/07/2016: Dead Snow *
#08 - 10/08/2016: The Thing *****
#09 - 10/09/2016: Spring ****
#10 - 10/10/2016: Indigenous *
#11 - 10/11/2016: V.H.S. 2 *
#12 - 10/12/2016: Dead Silence ***
#13 - 10/13/2016: It Follows *****
#14 - 10/14/2016: Cabin in the Woods *****
#15 - 10/16/2016: Housebound *****
#16 - 10/17/2016: Village of the Damned **
#17 - 10/19/2016: Lake Mungo *****
#18 - 10/21/2016: We Are Still Here **
#19 - 10/23/2016: Ginger Snaps ****
#20 - 10/27/2016: As Above, So Below ****
#21 - 10/30/2016: They Look Like People ****
#22 - 10/31/2016: Trick'r Treat *****

bold = rewatch

I couldn't keep pace for the back half of the month - work interfered, turns out it's hard to watch movies when you don't leave work until 10pm - but this was far and away the most I've seen for one of these marathons. I'll get to 31 eventually.

Best First Time Watch
It Follows | Richly atmospheric, stylish and often very intense, It Follows benefits further from a mesmerizing electronic score, a remarkably strong young cast and a novel concept. Its tremendous tension is made greater for being steeped in humanity, with characters we connect to and empathize with immediately. Brilliant film I'm already looking forward to revisiting.

Best Rewatch
Lake Mungo | Man, this is one sad goddamn movie. It's one part memorial to a (fictional) young girl who drowned, and one part the scariest and most fucked up ghost story I've ever seen. I found many new things to appreciate this time around, from the film's odd but deliberate narrative structure to just how messed up the events that befall the young woman are. I love this movie, it rips me to shreds every time.

Biggest Disappointment
Village of the Damned | Given how much I love Carpenter's The Thing, alongside a long list of his other films (The Fog, They Live, In the Mouth of Madness, Halloween - the list goes on), I was looking forward to this, though I'd heard it was one of his weaker films. That turns out to be a huge understatement, as the pace is plodding, and the excitement level never rises above mild interest. It has the distinction of featuring the most boring shootout I've ever seen on film. You can tell his heart just wasn't in this one.

Dumbest Protagonists
We Are Still Here | I didn't pick a theme this year but this showed up so often it almost became one. Horror movies often make the mistake of having dumb people do dumb things and expect me to be scared, but all that does is make me hate them, and the movie they are in. I ran into that a lot this year - it was a toss up between this and the fucking idiots in The Hallow - but holy shit did the couple in We Are Still Here take the cake. They move into a house in the countryside and there's all but a giant neon flashing sign reading, "GET THE FUCK OUT" hanging over it, and they seem oblivious. They don't flinch when objects move or get thrown about in plain sight. Or when they hear - and see! - ghosts in the basement, even when they attack the electrician. They seem mildly interested when the neighbors drop by to tell them the sordid past of the home and its prior occupants. By the time the townsfolk show up en masse and grue starts flying from all directions I'd had with their dipshittery.

Best Random Netflix Instant Watch
Beneath | Most of the time, when I roll the dice with Nextflix' streaming horror films, I get snake eyes. This one was a huge relief. A premise that sounded all too familiar - a group of miners trapped by a cave in are stalked one by one by an unseen threat from deep in the tunnels - turned into something quite different than it was set up to be. A bit overstuffed with characters, it uses steadily contracting darkness to underscore how desperate the miners are becoming to escape, as oxygen and time run out. A strong female lead, excellent photography and lean script are highlights.

I had a lot of fun this year, and will mine everyone's impressions for movies when next year's marathon rolls around.

 

[gabbo]

Viewed:
1. The Texas Chainshaw Massacre
2. Blair Witch Project
3. Ginger Snaps
4. The Omen
5. The Last Man On Earth
6. Damien: The Omen 2
7. The Final Conflict (Oemn 3)
8. A Nightmare on Elm Street
9. Pontypool
10. Cub/Welp
11. The Thing
12. A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night
13. The Exorcist
14. We Are Still Here
15. Hush
16. The Battery/Ben and Mickey vs the Dead ... Which wasn't originally in my list. Don't know how I snuck it in here
17. Demons
18. Europa Report
19. Who Could Kill A Child
20. Mama
21. Dracula (1931)
22. Don't Breathe
23. The Beyond
24. The Vanishing (1988)

Didn't View:
Goodnight Mommy
The Neon Demon
Black Christmas
Repulsion
Frailty
Salem's Lot
Rosemary's Baby
The Howling

Bolded in the above lists are first views/would have been first views.

Best first watch:
A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night - Simply like none of the other films, with it's decidedly unvampire like take on vampire films. Atmosphere abound and a great cast anchor a great film.
Easily my favourite film of the month and one I would recommend to everyone

Worst First Watch:
Demons - I don't know what I expected, but this was 80s garbage that felt like it was trying to justify a soundtrack.
I'm probably going to avoid Italian horror from this period next year unless GAF can convince me of the value in Fulci, Bava and Argennto films I haven't already seen.

Best Rewatch:
Ginger Snaps - Seeing my girlfriend's positive and humourous reactions to one of my favourite werewolf films made it even more fun to watch.
It's nice to be able to share something like this 'fest with her, and Ginger Snaps was one of the few we really both liked on the same level. It's also a good female positive twist on the usually masculine werewolf subgenre.

Worst Rewatch:
Omen 3 - A PSA for the power of Christ (who had taken a bit of a beating up to this point in the series). It's just a long, boring series of 'accidents', with no tension because Damien is an adult fully aware and in control, and he's set up to lose from the get go.
Just not a good conclusion to this series and the 'accidents' simply don't live up to the earlier films creativity/shock.

Not my best marathon, as I only got through 24 films this year, but my god Cub/Welp, A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night, Don't Breathe, and the inadvertent The Battery/Ben and Mickey vs the Dead were excellent first watches. Still have to convince my girlfriend of a few films' worth, but I've got some good left overs for next year to do it.

 

[ThirstyFly]

Thanks again to everyone for participating this year! I still have to go though all these fantastic summary posts to pick out some goodies.

So for next year, do you ladies and gents want to see the The Curse of the Mandatory Movies continue?

I only added that in because of some people wanting a set list to follow -- which I thought would be impossible, so I found a middle ground. They seem to get ignored more every year though and quite frankly, it's tough picking public domain movies that won't waste everyone's time.

And if anyone has any other suggestions for next year, I'd be more than happy to hear them. I plan to trim the fat from the OP next year so this is the time to make changes.

 

[mariachi507]

Thanks again to everyone for participating this year! I still have to go though all these fantastic summary posts to pick out some goodies.

So for next year, do you ladies and gents want to see the The Curse of the Mandatory Movies continue?

I only added that in because of some people wanting a set list to follow -- which I thought would be impossible, so I found a middle ground. They seem to get ignored more every year though and quite frankly, it's tough picking public domain movies that won't waste everyone's time.

And if anyone has any other suggestions for next year, I'd be more than happy to hear them. I plan to trim the fat from the OP next year so this is the time to make changes.

I like the idea despite being one of the one's that ignore the mandatory films from time to time. The reason for this year being that I had recently seen both movies. Since the thread gets very active in the weeks before Oct 1st, maybe there is a way to have a nomination process and vote on a consensus since there was quite a few complaints from people who had already seen Hush. That may be just a bunch of unnecessary work though.

 

[GhaleonEB]

Gotta be honest: I've ignored the mandatory movies every time. I love horror films, but really only certain sub-genres, so I pick from them.

 

[gabbo]

A vote from a selection of movies isn't a bad idea, if the options cover a wide spectrum of subgenres. So long as the post is up early enough in September, i think it could work. It may not get more people to watch them, but it's fun for those of us who do

 

[Divius]

Regarding my Hush pick: Obviously I was anticipating some people having seen it already, but that's bound to happen whatever is picked. I wanted to pick something that was either unknown or new-ish so that not many people watched it, but it also had to be not terrible.

plus

I do not have access to US Netflix so how am I even picking these

I'm fine with dropping the 'mandatory' movies even though I like the idea of having something common to discuss in the thread. However, intentional or not, sometimes movie will show up on multiple peoples lists which leads to people jumping on the bandwagon and adding it as an impromptu viewing.

 

[ThirstyFly]

Well, it's not looking good for the mandatory movies. I'll give it a few more hours for anyone to plead its case before it gets the hatchet, but it's looking grim.

I don't really think it's worth doing a poll because I'd either have to bother a mod to set that up, or do a manual tally (which I won't because history has shown interest to not really be there).

I do not have access to US Netflix so how am I even picking these.

You don't? Haha, how did we even get started on this? I don't remember.

 

[lordxar]

How about a suggested movie selection and doing some sort of theme? Like pick x number of movies and pick out a list so people can choose from something they hopefully haven't watched. I kind of dig having some that I may not have otherwise watched and having the list in advance helps secure a streaming or disc option. This would be open to any film public domain or no just to make it easy.

Example: 70's horror
Shock
The Wicker Man
Baron Blood
House That Dripped Blood

On the other hand if the list idea went away I wouldn't be hurt by it. I mean there's a shit ton to pick from anyway.

Edit: I watched half of those last year, Caligari was a hard watch at that time but I brought it forward to this year's and this year I'd already watched both of the required.

 

[Blader]

So overall, maybe not as great a marathon as last year's -- I'm guessing mostly because I only did half as much this time (16) -- but I still managed to see some good and great stuff I hadn't seen before. And, thanks to the half-as-long marathon, I saw far fewer mediocre/bad films too.

The best of my 31 Days of Horror 2016:

1. Wait Until Dark

2. Carrie

3. Poltergeist

4. The Fly

5. It Follows

6. They Live

7. Invasion of the Body Snatchers

8. Sisters

9. Halloween II

10. Videodrome

And the rest:
You're Next
Theatre of Blood
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
Blood and Black Lace
Freaks
House on Haunted Hill


See you again next year!

 

[Dancing Queen]

Saw "We Are Still Here".

SO REFRESHING! Things I liked

- Short and sweet
- No convoluted plot
- No crazy twists
- Plot is vague and lack explanation, which is OKAY
- No "young" characters (pretty much). All mature cast