31 Days of Horror X: 2024 Edition

[Vincent Dawn Jr Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Vincent Dawn Jr]

Night #16 - Evil Dead Trap

Despite the reference to the American Evil Dead franchise, this Japanese gorefest from 1988 totally feels like a tribute to Italian horror. It's like Bruno Mattei went over there and made a film. Even the soundtrack is lifted from some old Italian horror film, can't quite place it though. The special effects are awesome, really gruesome stuff that'll make you squirm in your seat. The climax of the film is unforgettable!

Unfortunately, they also inherited the lack of plot from their European heroes. Story? Character development? Totally unnecessary. Even less than your usual Italian horror. I could have turned off the subtitles and I would have been able to follow along just fine.

Rating: 6/10

[Gary Banks Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Gary Banks]

Ratings: ack (honks on bobo) to 10. In bold 1st time viiewing, 1st time in ten years or I forgot when it was last viewed.

001-Die Sister, Die 4
002-The Mummy and the Curse of the Jackals 1.5
003-Devil's Express 0.5
004-Dungeon of Horror 2.5
005-Lurkers ack!
006-In Search of Dracula 4
007-Dear Dead Delilah 6.5
008-Torture Chamber of Dr Sadism 9
009-Lifechanger 6.5
010-ABCs of Death 2 1.5
011-Xtro 3 Watch The Skies 4
012-God Told Me To 10
013-Strangler of Blackmoor Castle 10
014-Endgame 4
015-Asylum (1972) 6
016-The Beast Within 6.5
017-Almost Human (2014) 4.5
018-Wrong Turn 3 Left For Dead 4
019-We Are What We Are 3
020-A Ghost Waits 10
021-Curse of the Stone Hand 4
022-the Mad Monster 3
023-Beyond The Door 3
024-The Legacy (1978) 7
025-Spirits of the Dead 5
026-The Mask (1961) 7
027-Crypt of the Vampire 6
028-Late Night With The Devil 6
029-Blu Monkey (Insect!) 4
030-Doctor X 7.5
031-The Beach Girls and the Monster 1
032-Shock (aka Beyond the Door II) 3.5
033-The Crazies (2010) 8
034-The Catman of Paris 4.5

[Newt Cox Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Newt Cox]

Hotel Translyvania-Blu Ray

Earlier this week on the thrifting run I got the blu ray/dvd of this for a buck. Looked the DVD is dirty and very scratched. The blu looked brand new.

Decent animated comedy. Dracula runs a hotel and is trying to keep his 118 year old daughter from going out into the human world.

Goofy and a bit dumb. But well animated that has enough laughs for the buck I paid.

[Cody Layne Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Cody Layne]

Day 17: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning. I may love the 2003 remake, but I’m not so big on its prequel. It speeds through everything it’s meant to set up in favor of just doing the typical plot for this franchise, and does so in a manner that goes into Saw/Hostel territory, which I’ve never been a fan of.

https://codysfilmandtvblog.blogspot.com

[Newt Cox Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Newt Cox]

Day 18 https://doubletsblogofreviews.blogsp...se-of.html?m=0

House of the Dead 2 is a slightly better than average DTV 2000s Zombie movie.

The idea that the zombie virus can be transmitted by mosquitos is interesting. And the cast isnt bad.

Doubting many saww this after how bad the first film was.

[f.ramses Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close f.ramses]

10/17
058 - House on Haunted Hill (1999)
059 - Return to House on Haunted Hill
060 - House on Haunted Hill (1959)
061 - Ghost Ship

I didn't remember the House on Haunted Hill remake so much but found it to be surprisingly decent on this revisit. The second one I didn't care for as much though, there's something about adding an element like the kidnapping that always seems to bring down a movie, kind of like when the protagonist has something going on like being chased by the cops. Things seemed to start OK enough but then the generic, annoying heist guys burst through the door, literally. The original House on Haunted Hill was, of course, better than either of those two, even with the annoying female lead. Characters like that, who are easily gaslit, get tiresome fast because of their stupidity and the fact that they're always screaming about something. Decided to end the evening with Ghost Ship since it was in the same 3 pack that House of Wax and Return to House on Haunted Hill was in and it is the most watched movie in the pack. I always remember really liking this one and I do like it but watching it makes me realize that most of what I always remember about this are the massacre scenes and almost nothing else. A nice set and a great example of how I like my studio titles; in cheap multi-packs, 1 movie per disc; so much better than an expensive boutique label release of a single title...

[Cody Layne Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Cody Layne]

Day 18: Texas Chainsaw 3-D. For me, this is the worst one after The Next Generation. It’s not just poorly-acted and written, it’s also downright incompetent and its attempt at social commentary is badly mishandled (Adam Marcus is an idiot).

https://codysfilmandtvblog.blogspot.com

[Vincent Dawn Jr Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Vincent Dawn Jr]

Night #17 - The Sect

Directed & co-written by Michele Soavi, produced and co-written by Dario Argento, this 1991 occult mystery is fantastic! I'd heard about it but had never seen it until last night. Caught it on Prime, and I plan to order the blu-ray from Severin during their next big sale.

There are familiar thematic elements to the basic story, but they are approached in a fresh, original way. Filled with symbolism and religious iconography, this is one suspenseful film that will keep you guessing as the plot unfolds. Even the end is somewhat ambiguous, although I think I figured it out. Excellent cinematography, special effects and acting with lead roles by Herbert Lom (from Mark of the Devil) and Kelly Curtis (the much more attractive sister of Jamie Lee).

Mariangela Giordano also has a supporting role. When I saw her name in the credits I was enthused, but I had my doubts as to whether or not she'd do a nude scene. This is 1991 after all, a full decade after she stripped down in films like Patrick Still Lives and Malabimba. She plays a schoolteacher so I was like "Oh, OK maybe they're gonna let her keep her clothes on." Like 10 minutes later--she's spread eagle, displaying full frontal nudity. She would've been 53/54 at the time this was filmed, and she still looked smokin' hot!

Rating: 8/10

[Gary Banks Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Gary Banks]

Ratings: ack (honks on bobo) to 10. In bold 1st time viiewing, 1st time in ten years or I forgot when it was last viewed.

001-Die Sister, Die 4
002-The Mummy and the Curse of the Jackals 1.5
003-Devil's Express 0.5
004-Dungeon of Horror 2.5
005-Lurkers ack!
006-In Search of Dracula 4
007-Dear Dead Delilah 6.5
008-Torture Chamber of Dr Sadism 9
009-Lifechanger 6.5
010-ABCs of Death 2 1.5
011-Xtro 3 Watch The Skies 4
012-God Told Me To 10
013-Strangler of Blackmoor Castle 10
014-Endgame 4
015-Asylum (1972) 6
016-The Beast Within 6.5
017-Almost Human (2014) 4.5
018-Wrong Turn 3 Left For Dead 4
019-We Are What We Are 3
020-A Ghost Waits 10
021-Curse of the Stone Hand 4
022-the Mad Monster 3
023-Beyond The Door 3
024-The Legacy (1978) 7
025-Spirits of the Dead 5
026-The Mask (1961) 7
027-Crypt of the Vampire 6
028-Late Night With The Devil 6
029-Blu Monkey (Insect!) 4
030-Doctor X 7.5
031-The Beach Girls and the Monster 1
032-Shock (aka Beyond the Door II) 3.5
033-The Crazies (2010) 8
034-The Catman of Paris 4.5
035-Xtro 6
036-The Slayer (82) 5
037-Legend of the Witches 4
038-The Black Abbot (1963) 10

[Newt Cox Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Newt Cox]

Finally got MaXXXine watched.

I see this having way way more rewatch value than Pearl and maybe X. Good way to end the trilogy.

Set in the 80s in LA,Maxxxine is now working in porn out on the west coast. And trying to get a part in The Puritan II,a sequel to a video nasty.

Great casting in most of the roles. This avoids the OMG LOOK HOW 80s THIS IS look that lots of films set in that era have now.

Makes me wonder what is next from Ti West.

[Lorne Marshall Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Lorne Marshall]

She learned I had never seen the first Final Destination movie. "But you own it on Blu ray" yea along with a pile of other films I have never watched.

Seen like 3 of the sequels. This first one isn't bad. Ali larter is playing against her normal type. Sean William Scott is playing his normal self. Devon Sawa had a small horror career going.

Some of the FX work looks bad. Then gotta remember this is from what 99 or 2000?

It was highly original when it came out. Some nice shocking moments * SPOILER ALERT * like the plane blowing up early on and the first girl getting hit by the bus out of nowhere. That last scene especially has been replicated many times since. But 25 years ago, the film was unique enough that commercials advertising the film in the weeks following its release showed audience reaction shots as a selling point.

[Lorne Marshall Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Lorne Marshall]

...Adam Marcus is an idiot...

Cody, watch SECRET SANTA (2018), you might think differently.

[Lorne Marshall Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Lorne Marshall]

032-Shock (aka Beyond the Door II) 3.5

No, Gary, say it ain't so!

[Newt Cox Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Newt Cox]

It was highly original when it came out. Some nice shocking moments * SPOILER ALERT * like the plane blowing up early on and the first girl getting hit by the bus out of nowhere. That last scene especially has been replicated many times since. But 25 years ago, the film was unique enough that commercials advertising the film in the weeks following its release showed audience reaction shots as a selling point.

Got me wanting to go ahead watch the rest.

Might be doing a Puppet Master marathon over the weekend. She claims to have only seen 2 of them.

[BW Haggar Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close BW Haggar]

Post-full moon Friday night werewolf double bill!

#19
Dog Soldiers
(Neil Marshall, 2002)

I believe I wrote about ‘Dog Soliders’ somewhere on this forum a few years ago - now re-visiting via the Second Sight blu-ray, so I will try not to repeat myself too much.

For some reason, this film didn’t immediately click with me when I saw it on video shortly after release - maybe the shortcomings of VHS were to blame, or maybe it was just too bloke-y and heavy on the military-type shit to appeal to my sensibilities at the time, who knows.

Re-discovering it two decades later though - long story short, I fucking love it. Definitely in my top 5 werewolf movies, were I to bother to make such a list.

Astoundingly good action / combat scenes (the first attack on the farmhouse in particular is just phenomenal filmmaking), scarifying gore (poor Sarge!), and a lot of top quality swearing across the board. Best of all though, Marshall takes a group of characters (working class Northern squaddies) whom most genre writers / directors would have treated as interchangeable goons, and turns them into sympathetic, fully formed human beings. I know it’s all basically all boilerplate war movie cliche, but within its pulp/genre context, the character stuff here is some top drawer Hawksian gear.

And ok, yes, I also know the whole thing is basically ‘Aliens’ (with side dishes of NOTLD and ‘Zulu’), but complaining about that feels like dismissing ‘Assault on Precinct 13’ for being ‘Rio Bravo’ - ie, missing the point, missing all the fun, and generally making yourself look like a twat.

I’ve said this before, and I’m sure I’ll say it again, but… what the hell happened to Neil Marshall? He comes straight out of the gate with two of the best horror films of the 21st century, and then for the next 20 years..? *Shrug.*

No shade on him personally - but I suppose that’s just the way a career in the movies goes sometimes, isn’t it?

A


#20
Dr Jekyll and The Werewolf
(León Klimovsky, 1972)

Finally digging into the Mondo Macabro blu-ray, and *of course* opted for the saucy export version.

And, to be honest I don’t remember whether or not the version I previously had on the Code Red DVD included all these comically repetitive scenes of topless women being mauled by Naschy in wolf mode, or Shirley Corrigan being tied up naked and flogged etc…. but damn, this is some pretty misogynistic stuff right here?

Given that ‘Dog Soliders’ has a few leanings in that direction too, maybe I could have billed this as a “misogynistic werewolf movie double bill”?

Anyway - probably not my pick for one of the best early / Klimovsky-era Naschy flicks to be honest (it has a slow start, and seems to fizzle out and end just when it’s getting going), but nonetheless, it is still full of wonderful, wonderful things - Jack Taylor as the suave mad scientist, Mr Hyde freakin’ out at the disco, all that gratuitous London stock footage, Mirta Miller being evil, some superb psyched out music cues, lots of hilarious line readings on the English dub, and arguably the coolest-looking werewolf make up and best wolfy acting of any of the early '70s Naschy movies.

Oh, and the "werewolf stuck in a lift" scene is genius! If only John Landis had remembered that gag a decade later, it would have fitted right into 'American Werewolf..'.

A great one for post-midnight / verge-of-sleep viewing, no doubt.

B+