October Horror Movie Marathon

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

October 27th

Tales of Halloween (2015)

Ten stories are woven together by their shared theme of Halloween night in an American suburb, where ghouls, imps, aliens and axe murderers appear for one night only to terrorize unsuspecting residents.

It's impossible not to compare Tales of Halloween to Trick r Treat (2007). However whilst that film works a treat (ahem) the same cannot be said for Tales of Halloween.

After a terrific opening half hour with the short stories hitting you thick and fast it suddenly became a bit of a chore to sit through. Visually it's excellent with so many references to horror down the years you just don't have chance to take it all in as one year after my first viewing, ten stories in a mere 90 minutes is too much and it feels unfocused after around the forty minute mark.

Where Trick r' Treat really shone through for me is the loving way all the stories interconnect with each other and you notice scenes from one story taking place whilst watching another. There's nothing like this here Some of the ideas used did seem to come from other films such as Jeff Lieberman's Satan's Little Helper (2004), but it was lovely to hear and briefly see Adrienne Barbeau reprise her role of a late night witching hour DJ throughout the film.

Some of the stories amuse, some repulse, a couple i felt didn't work at all. Mostly though Tales of Halloween is merely average and i think i'll be giving it a miss next year.

Blair Witch (2016)

Now if only Adam Wingard's Blair Witch were merely average it would be seen as something of a triumph. As it is this is a poor retread of the original 1999 film where three students disappear in the Burkittsville woods, only this time there are six of them which means more hysterical shouting - i was at near screaming point myself the number of times one girl cried 'Ashley' every two seconds once things became creepy.

Wingard basically failed to take in what made the first film a success - things that go bump in the night - bigger is not always better, Adam - and despite a lot more time frantically running round the supposed witch house, (which now appears the size of a blooming mansion) the film basically annoyed the shit out of me, especially as it ends exactly the same as The Blair Witch Project did.

[BAKA]

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[13] The Perfume Of The Lady In Black
Written by director Francesco Barilli alongside Massimo D’Avak, who both penned Aldo Lado’s ‘Who Saw Her Die?’, there’s a familiar emphasis on the psychological. The film feels more kin to Polanski than the typical giallo, steeped in a subtle paranoia that increasingly becomes overwhelming. It’s an incredibly slow burn, we take in meticulously composed interiors, awash with blue hues, architecture, fashion, the class and sophistication of the opening a juxtaposition to a chilling cavernous denouement. Mimsy Farmer is immensely watchable, her nuanced performance holds us rapt. The symbolism at first understated, the use of mirrors, ‘the looking glass’, to give us an alternate view, provide depth, elongate, eventually seems overwrought, the recurring book and quotes by Lewis Carroll. The past and the present hauntingly coalesce, child becomes matriarch, a delirious unravelling. The Perfume Of The Lady In Black is one of the more interesting examples of the genre, playful with traditional conventions, innovating, in a similar way to Lado’s Short Night Of Glass Dolls.


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[14] Don't Torture A Duckling
Morality is the pervading thematic in Lucio Fulci’s Don’t Torture A Duckling. Set in a small rural town, rife with superstition, an intense distrust of outsiders, feeling almost ruled by religion. A series of child killings, the local Witch caught fleeing from the church, of course no one suspects the Priest, not in those days, and especially not in Southern Italy. We see foretelling glimpses of the Fucli to come, the corruption of a minor, a spectacularly brutal retribution as the local residents take the law into their own hands. It’s a richly layered ecosystem, possibly one of Fulci’s classiest genre efforts, alongside Lizard In A Woman’s Skin. It’s almost the antithesis of The Beyond, where Fulci creates a world that feels moribund, a decaying husk lapsing into the underworld, Don’t Torture A Duckling feels full of life, selfish, mercenary, and imperfect.


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[15] Amuck!
It’s easy to pigeonhole Amuck as the plot begins to unfurl, the protagonist, played by Barbara Bouchet, takes a secretarial job for a writer at his mansion in an attempt to go undercover to unearth the truth behind the disappearance of her lover, who formerly held the same position. There’s not a strand of originality to the plot, and it deals with themes you’d come to expect; the manipulation and exploitation of those from less fortunate means, but it does so in an unexpectedly elegant, if kinky, way. Not quite as sensational as its alternate title of ‘Hot Bed Of Sex’, there’s an undeniable psychosexuality. Like so many gialli of the period the cinematography is sublime, from the canals of Venice, to the remote mansion, almost feeling locked away from the outside world, the gates resembling a prison cell’s door, framed with creeping vines.


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[16] The Last House On The Beach
Inspired by Wes Craven’s The Last House On The Left, The Last House On The Beach is part of a wave of Italian films that would exploit it, which includes the likes of Night Train Murders and The House On The Edge Of The Park. Florinda Bolkan reprises her calling as a Nun (in quite a dramatic departure from Flavia The Heretic) in charge of a group of teens rehearsing for a play. The house becomes besieged by a group of criminals on the run; the Sister and her students become victims to abuse at their hands. It’s a fairly standard set up, but in execution never manages to be as sleazy or depraved as its inspiration or contemporaries. It still manages to shock; one character’s violation at the hands of a make-up smeared antagonist in particular is haunting. Bolkan is mesmerising, and there’s an air of ambiguity to Ray Lovelock’s character, which makes for an engrossing experience. The finale is a spectacle of overacting.


So behind as usual.

[bleakshaun]

Humanoids from the Deep
Sea monsters terrorize a small town, by killing their dogs and rape the woman. Its now up to a group of people to figure out a way to stop them.
Its ok, the monster effects and gore is great. Its a B movie so acting is not important. Probably would watch it again, but I won't buy it.
6/10

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[Justin101]

Originally Posted by Demdike@Cult Labs

October 27th

Tales of Halloween (2015)

Blair Witch (2016)

I was considering both of these today, but I don't think that I'll bother with either of them! Thanks

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

October 28th

Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers (1995)

Should have been titled The Mess of Michael Myers because that's what it is and is as far removed from Halloween 4 The Return of Michael Myers as can be, never mind John Carpenter's original. That final shot of Donald Pleasence sticks in the memory as he states he has some business to attend to even if the film doesn't.

Still, it's an easy if daft watch in the run up to October 31st.

I Walked with a Zombie (1943)

Director Jacques Tourneur and producer Val Lewton's masterpiece. A poetic mix of Jane Eyre and Caribbean voodoo, beautifully photographed - the use of light and shadow has never been bettered with innovative camera work that belies the films low budget.

I Walked with a Zombie is truly a special film.

Blackburn (2015)

A group of friends become trapped in a deserted Alaskan ghost town formerly home to an asylum whose inhabitants may not have left.

Blackburn is one of those films that should have been better than it is. The ingredients are right - good location, reasonable budget, bloody gore, Wrong Turn style mutants - it just lacks any suspense whatsoever, which i have to say is unforgivable when it comes to horror films of this ilk.

[Demoncrat]

Rise Of The Scarecrows (2006)

Amateur hour goes on and on ... and on and on. Small towns can be hell so they say. This one sure is. City slickers get their arses kicked is not the most original storyline. Not to worry, as there are distractions. Mainly 'actors' who can't help staring into the camera .... the most inept 'slaughter' scene since Snuff....
But I can't stop watching it
The sheriff knows something .... but he's not saying much.
When a group a friends get stranded in rural Murica, abusing the locals isn't the smartest mother truckin' move y'all. To add to this there's 'something' in the woods. It's like horror Top Trumps .... without the horror. Filmed mainly in daylight, this is witless in extremis.
I may revise this.

Two directors!!! and the ST features a band called .... Bitchslicer. Ring any bells does that?? Harumph

[trebor8273]

Just started watching this which is perfect Halloween viewing with its fantastic creepy atmosphere one of Carpenters best.

[bleakshaun]

Children of the Corn
All the adults in a small town are murdered by the children. X amount of time later, a couple find themselves in the same town and discover these children follow a demonic entity hiding in the cornfields.
First time I have ever watched this and to be honest I liked it. The whole killer kids idea is fun, Linda Hamilton is in it as well which also makes it winning.
7/10

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[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by trebor8273

Just started watching this which is perfect Halloween viewing with its fantastic creepy atmosphere one of Carpenters best.

I must eject this from my Halloween Horror schedule.

It really needs to be watched on the 21st of April.

[Justin101]

Here's my final list, I'll be watching RotLD3 tonight and Halloween 3 tomorrow night I fell a little short of 31 films but such is life I guess!

Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954)
Death Line (1972)
Dracula’s Daughter (1936)
The Black Cat (1934)
Ghoulies (1984)
The Awful Dr. Orlof (1962)
Rosemary’s Baby (1968)
House (1977)
Son of Dracula (1943)
The Munsters Season One (1964)
Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984)
Francesca (2015)
The Shallows (2016)
Wrestlemaniac (2006)
Jeepers Creepers (2001)
June (2015)
The Babysitter (2017)
Trick ’r Treat (2007)
Don’t Torture a Duckling (1972)
Child’s Play 2 (1990)
The Headless Ghost (1959)
Stranger Things 2 (2017)
The Transfiguration (2016)
Return of the Living Dead part 3 (1993)
Halloween 3: Season of the Witch (1982)