October Horror Movie Marathon

[bizarre_eye@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by Demdike@Cult Labs

I see you watched Prince of Darkness again. I too watched it on Sunday night.

Yes - it's fast becoming a Carpenter fave of mine with every re-watch.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by bizarre_eye@Cult Labs

Yes - it's fast becoming a Carpenter fave of mine with every re-watch.

I love it's stench of decay, helped by that deep bass synth sound every few seconds.

[BAKA]

[29] The Fan
The Fan is one of those films whose power is difficult to contextualise. Simone is completely disconnected from reality, under the thrall of the hypnotic synth sounds of a pop artist known simply as ‘R’. It’s an all-encompassing, entrancing obsession that gives the film a discordant vibe, reminiscent in tone of Shunji Iwai’s All About Lily Chou Chou, but taking an alternately dark turn. The final act is chilling in its sterility, everything so clean and concisely dealt with. The haunting imagery, and mesmerising soundtrack cast a spell on the viewer in a sort of parallel to R and Simone. It’s an ethereal experience, utterly compelling.



[30] Retribution
The final moments of Guy Magar’s Retribution are a sensory assault, garish ‘80s block colour, wind, rain and smoke machines all set to maximum output, the light constantly in flux. The denouement is a complete vindication from the meandering pace preceding it. Falling neatly into a wave of body-inhabiting horror from the period, Retribution lacks originality, but features a string of effective murderous revenge set-pieces, from a slaughterhouse scene tinged with a dark sense of humour as a victim cries out between a dead pig’s butt cheeks, to a fiery hand severing confrontation with a mechanic. The kill scenes are so potent that it’s hard to endure the sentimental social rebirth of hybrid protagonist antagonist George, after a failed suicide attempt. During much of these scenes I found myself obsessed with his helmet-styled hair. The fashion is unmistakeably ‘80s, the street workers resembling early era Madonna. It has an ominous score, reminiscent of A Nightmare On Elm Street or Hellraiser, but lacking a persistent hook to elevate it to that level. Retribution is an inconsistent experience, but at its best gloriously captivating in its typically '80s horror aesthetic.



[31] Chopping Mall
I have a huge soft spot for mall-set horror movies, and Jim Wynorski’s Chopping Mall hits that sweet spot. The vapid, paper-thin premise of teenagers being locked overnight in a shopping mall that’s trialling a new security system is clearly an excuse to justify some awesome scenes of robots murdering teens. Chopping Mall is so typical of the period; it all goes downhill for the teens after a few saucy scenes, kitsch laser effects aplenty. With a lean 77-minute runtime the film has a brisk breathless pace, particularly when the robot murder rampage begins. The character actors are woefully under-utilised, but when they’re present they imbue the film with a waspish sense of humour; the Killbots remind one character of their Mother-in-Law, remarking ‘It’s the laser eyes’. There’s a distinct lack of logic, many decisions a means to propel events in a specific direction, to perpetuate the murderous fun. It’s preposterous nonsense, but totally awesome.



[32] Tales Of Halloween
From the moment that amazing title sequence hits, reminiscent of Game Of Thrones’ title sequence, but set in the suburbs, crossed with a pop-up book, overlaid with a Goosebumps-like theme, I felt completely under Tales Of Halloween's spell. The setting and styling are a joy, from the pumpkins to the parade of trick-or-treaters. Sadly Tales Of Halloween doesn’t quite live up to the aesthetic, the tales are scatter-shot in terms of quality. With the chilling parable of Sweet Tooth, the blackly comic The Night Billy Raised Hell, the short, sharp, fun of Trick and The Weak And The Wicked and hands-down the most effective, Grim Grinning Ghost, all taking place in the first half, it feels very front-loaded. Some of the more conceptually interesting tales aren’t as effectively executed, like This Means War, the tale of warring house-decorating neighbours. The Adrienne Barbeau voiced radio broadcast is so compelling that it feels as if Tales Of Halloween missed a trick not developing that further as a wrap-around segment, a late night phone-in would have provided an ingenious method of linking the tales. There are so many missed opportunities, but for the most part Tales Of Halloween is a pleasure, particularly for those, like me, who countdown to the period as a child does to Christmas.


Well that's it. Despite intending to reduce my backlog of horror films this month, I've ended up yet again buying more to watch for next year. I think I've had enough sugary treats last night to last me a lifetime. I don't think I can be bothered to formulate another sentence on a film ever. Very few films let me down this year too, which was a surprise, because I watched more modern horror than I typically would. Had fun reading everyone's thoughts.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Loved reading all your posts Baka.

Thanks for contributing so brilliantly to the October Horror Movie Marathon.

[bizarre_eye@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by Demdike@Cult Labs

Loved reading all your posts Baka.

Thanks for contributing so brilliantly to the October Horror Movie Marathon.

Ditto, some very enjoyable reviews.

[Deadite]

Sorry to report that i found Crimson Peak far too dull for a halloween binge, so i turned it off after 30 minutes and watched some Millenium instead, followed by the usual watch of Evil dead II.

I don't think i was in the right mood for a leisurely pot-boiler, so i'll certainly watch it in full at a later date when i feel more gothically inclined!

Also, i must admit that seeing Hiddleston in his gothic pomp just reminded me of Loki. I kept expecting his ludicrous helmet to appear on his head.

[Demoncrat]

Originally Posted by Nosferatu@Cult Labs

Which version?

Twas the new one. 10 minutes I lasted. Then on went The Exorcist
Watched that with the Friedkin comm, as I'm rereading Easy Riders, Raging Bulls at the moment. He seems to have calmed down a lot, does our Bill haha.

[Nosferatu@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by Demoncrat

Twas the new one. 10 minutes I lasted. Then on went The Exorcist
Watched that with the Friedkin comm, as I'm rereading Easy Riders, Raging Bulls at the moment. He seems to have calmed down a lot, does our Bill haha.

I saw the new adaptation of The Jungle Book at the cinema and very much enjoyed it. Some of the CGI was a little ropey and it was all too evident it was a boy wandering around in a green/blue room with nothing else around him, but it was energetically directed and the voice acting was spot on.

It's been a long time since I listened to that commentary, but remember finding it enjoyable and informative and long overdue another play. As for Easy Riders, Raging Bulls, it's a book I have been meaning to buy for long time because the content sounds like it could be fascinating and it has good reviews – you gave me the prompt I needed to push the button and order it, so it should be with me tomorrow.

[Demoncrat]

Originally Posted by Nosferatu@Cult Labs

I saw the new adaptation of The Jungle Book at the cinema and very much enjoyed it. Some of the CGI was a little ropey and it was all too evident it was a boy wandering around in a green/blue room with nothing else around him, but it was energetically directed and the voice acting was spot on.

It's been a long time since I listened to that commentary, but remember finding it enjoyable and informative and long overdue another play. As for Easy Riders, Raging Bulls, it's a book I have been meaning to buy for long time because the content sounds like it could be fascinating and it has good reviews – you gave me the prompt I needed to push the button and order it, so it should be with me tomorrow.

Enjoy, it's a revelation in places. Made me watch Shampoo

[Demoncrat]

Originally Posted by bizarre_eye@Cult Labs

I've no doubt there are some superb commentaries out there (one of the best I've listened too was Ferrara's legendary Driller Killer comm teehee), however, for me, I think it's a mixture of having time (I'd rather be using the time watching an actual film than a yap track), not necessarily being interested in how the idea for such a scene or character came to fruition; whether it be based on the director's high-school gym teacher or the local mailman, plus partly also because I generally like to feel connected to a film on a personal and emotional level based on my own inferences and feelings rather than breaking it down into critique-able chunks and knowing for 100% why a director decided to shoot a scene in a specific way.

If there's anything specific I want to know about a film I tend to use the plentiful vastness of the world wide web to find out, or a book, but to be honest that rarely happens other than the odd "hey, I'm sure I've seen that actor before, I wonder what else they've been in" or "I love this score and need to find out who did it and whether I can buy it".

Different strokes and all that though.

It's a doozie that one.