October Horror Movie Marathon

[Nosferatu@Cult Labs]

Resident Evil (2002) ★★★

I've never played a Resident Evil video game. I've seen my brother play one or two of them many years ago, but not to the extent that I have a good working knowledge of the massively successful Capcom series.

I remember watching this shortly after it was released for home viewing and thinking some of the special effects, particularly the lasers and the dogs, were superb. Nothing else about the film (good or bad) stuck in my mind until I bought a cheap DVD set of the first four films and watched them all last year. I hoped upgrading that to a Blu-ray set would make the viewing experience a bit more immersive because of the high definition picture and sound.

From the opening with the T-virus breaking open and contaminating the Hive to Alice, alone and with amnesia, awaking and being captured by commanders breaking into the mansion, the beginning of the film is well-designed and sets up an interesting group of characters and locations. The highlight of the first half is probably the commandos in the room with the laser defence system, but Paul W.S. Anderson keeps things moving at a good pace and introducing the Lickers, infected 'zombies' and an espionage subplot means there's plenty to see and keep your interest.

I think the film is somewhat hamstrung by the videogame so the infected have to be quite slow and are unlike the quick moving infected in 28 Days Later or Zack Snyder's Dawn of the Dead remake and none of the principal characters are particularly well-rounded or given dialogue which makes them particularly interesting or worth emotional investment. It's a film which would be better in a single location and certainly the best sequences are those which are the most claustrophobic – Anderson makes good use of a train for this – with events moving from the mansion to the Hive, to a train, then back to the mansion means this isn't possible. Ultimately, the film is just too expensive for its own good.

This is something I would normally hate, but there's something about it which I enjoy and have seen a few times. Milla Jovovich is a good action lead as her Alice looks the part and is reasonably well supported by Michelle Rodriguez, Eric Mabius, and James Purefoy; they may be playing clichéd characters, but they are all good in those roles. Although this is an easy film to watch, it doesn't come close to besting Event Horizon as Paul W.S. Anderson's most accomplished film.

[Nosferatu@Cult Labs]

Resident Evil: Apocalypse (2004) ★★

This is much more of an action-horror the first Resident Evil film, one in which the 'zombies' have a much greater presence, where Sienna Guillory's Jill Valentine is a welcome addition to the cast, being someone I remember from the videogame and who fits in very well with the other characters. Similarly, Oded Fehr is perfectly fine as Carlos Olivera that the main acting plaudits have to go to Jared Harris, and Iain Glen; Thomas Kretschmann is very disappointing.

This is a film with some spectacle: the first encounter with Nemesis is very well designed and blends CGI with the actors very well, credit must go to Jovovich for an impressive stunt where she abseils (face first) down the front of large building.

Although I liked the tone in this film far more than the first, this is often too dumb to be a 'dumb but fun' movie and not fun enough either! There are a few scenes which needed a breather to develop the plot and characters rather than plough on with more action. I don't think it's terrible or a crime against, but it's one which strives hard for mediocrity and falls just short

[Nosferatu@Cult Labs]

Resident Evil: Extinction (2007) ★★

Inspired by films from Mad Max to Lawrence of Arabia and directed by Russell Mulcahy, this is a visually stylish film with great effects and cinematography, but the plot is an incomprehensible mess.

Resident Evil: Afterlife (2010) ★

Having an antagonist in Albert Wesker who has no back story and looks like a rip-off version of Agent Smith from The Matrix films really hampers the film because the narrative is pretty dull and suspense-free..

If I was feeling kind, I'd say this was boring, incomprehensible, and derivative; if was feeling brutal, I'd say it was utter crap.

[Demoncrat]

See, this is why I've always hated them Nos. Wesker is germane to the plot of the games ahem, so the woeful way he was portrayed made me reach for my crowbar tbh

Ahem.

[bleakshaun]

don't start me on the introduction of the classic game characters into the films

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by Nosferatu@Cult Labs

Frankenstein (2015) ★★★★★

I bought this without knowing anything about it – it was in a 2 for £4 offer online and I noticed 'From the director of Candyman' on the cover, so that was a good enough reason for me to add it to my basket.

Bernard Rose's adaptation of Mary Shelley's famous story relocates the action to present day Los Angeles, telling the story from Monster's perspective. As the film begins when the creature, called Monster in the credits, is brought to life, we know nothing about how he was created and, with the film cutting to black when he loses consciousness, the gaps in his knowledge are shared by the viewer.

This is a really interesting way to tell the story, making you fully invested in the main character, shifting the focus away from Victor to his creation and making Victor secondary to Elizabeth, his wife and laboratory assistant. Showing what happens to Monster when he encounters members of the public, police, and particularly a blind, homeless man (Tony Todd) makes you acutely aware that people are products of their environment.

The film is emotionally and intellectually interesting and involving, the central performance from Xavier Samuel is superb, and it's a thought-provoking and affecting film, one which mixes melodrama and extreme violence in a way which few others have managed so effectively. It's possible that this is Bernard Rose's best film, one which should be seen by everybody with an appreciation for Mary Shelley's timeless classic and other films based on the novel.

I really liked this when i watched the dvd a few years ago. The scenes with blind Tony Todd are superb and i'd go as far as to say it's his standout performance.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988)

The best of the Halloween sequels and remakes. I don't count Halloween II as a sequel as i always watch it directly after the original so to me The Night He Came Home lasts three hours.

Continuing the story ten years later this is a fast paced and often thrilling movie. There's no 'Getting to know you' opening half hour without any shocks as Michael is in the film from the first scene.

Halloween 4 has a strong cast headed of course by Donald Pleasence whilst the largely unknown Ellie Cornell makes for an appealing heroine.

There are some nicely realized kills and some great scenes of suspense and i'm sure more than a few flaws but it's all whizzes by at such a break neck speed i never notice them.

Dr. Terror’s House of Horrors (1965)

The first of the Amicus anthology films and one of the best. Largely great with it's scenarios - the killer vines, Christopher Lee and the severed hand - but the Roy Castle voodoo one i always find a slog.

Ends brilliantly as we discover who Peter Cushing really is

[MrBarlow]

The Last House On The Left. 1972.

Two girls on their way to a concert try and score some pot, are kidnapped and beaten by a gang of convicts. Believing the girls are dead, the gang stumble on to the home of the parents of one of the teens who plan a revenge on them.

Given the budget and first time director Wes Craven teams up with Producer Sean S. Cunningham probably didn't realise they were making a movie that would be remembered to this day with their view of stolen innocence and psychological terror, beating, rape and murder.

The way the parents plan their revenge is not the greatest, using wire to trip a guy up and watch him fall only to get up didn't really do much, the sodomise of a man by the mother was a bit of a painful scene to watch but at least she got another killing in. The acting isn't great but not anywhere near rubbish, David Hess plays the gang member who is very unbalanced in the head know how to play mind games, with films from the 70s Angie usually asks "when will this film end, what's happened there etc" she managed to sit through it and say "prefer the remake watched it the other day on Netflix" IMO it's still enjoyable to watch.

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[Justin101]

Sleepwalkers (1992)



When you're watching the first interaction between mother and son and you think to yourself, 'this seems a bit off' and next thing you know he's got his tongue in her mouth and carrying up the stairs like a newlywed...

Yep, it's that kind of film! Don't let the gentle strains of Enya on the opening soundtrack fool you, Sleepwalkers is Stephen King doing King things!

Guess I'm a sicko though because I enjoyed it. Knocked half a star off the score based solely on the crap quips coming from Charles in the graveyard scene because they totally came out of nowhere and seemed a bit tonally 'out there'. However, I did get a kick out of the who's who of horror film director cameos. This is the third film in three nights with a load of cameos in it!

Also, damn I hate cats...

[MrBarlow]

Beyond The Door. 1974.

A woman falls pregnant and is told the baby inside is growing at a alarming rate and slowly she becomes possessed.

Second time seeing this and still doesn't get any better really, but why is this film still enjoyable to watch, yes The Exorcist meets Rosemary's Baby rip off, it does suffer with really bad dubbing with familiar voices we recognise. Richard Johnson is always a pleasure to watch in a film even though he does try to make things look serious and scary at the same time, any regrets about buying this...oh heck no.

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