October Horror Movie Marathon

[MrBarlow]

The Witches 1966.

Missionary teacher Gwen Mayfield angers a witch doctor in Africa and has a nervous breakdown. She is offered a teaching job in small town and soon realises that there may be witchcraft practising going on.

This is a different take on hammer horror, there is no crumbling castles or dark gloomy woods, or witches flying on broomsticks.

This really isnt horror as such but more chiller type with a blend of witchcraft and voodoo, Joan Fontaine and Kay Walsh do give out good performances aswell as Alec McCowen. Martin Stephens star of The Innocents and Village of the damned does have small role and Michele Dotrice stars. Richard Rodney Bennett's background score does give the movie creepy vibe from the opening credits. 6-7 out of 10

[Crimson Blade]

Haven't seen The Witches in ages. But I remember it being pretty decent until the rituals near the end which I thought were a bit lame.

[MrBarlow]

Originally Posted by Crimson Blade

Haven't seen The Witches in ages. But I remember it being pretty decent until the rituals near the end which I thought were a bit lame.

It had a good build up then last part went down like the titanic.

[Demoncrat]

Well I have decided to watch the most horrible film I have in the house


Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again

[Demoncrat]

I love The Witches me. Proto Wicker Man that it slightly is ... cough.

[MrBarlow]

The Stendhal Syndrome 1996.

A young police officer in Rome tracking a sadistic rapist and murderer becomes his obsession.

This is different from Argento's previous movies as we only see the hands but here we see the killer who is basically twisted, Thomas Kretschmann performance was great. Asia Argento gave it all she could and more as the police officer tracking him and as the victim of a brutal attack.

Like Argento's previous movies it's well shot with good colour background that you can watch without the lights off and a haunting score by Ennio Morricone, that helps with driving sane person into madness. 8 out of 10.

[MrBarlow]

Originally Posted by Demoncrat

Well I have decided to watch the most horrible film I have in the house


Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again

Aslong as you enjoy it that's the main thing Demoncrat,

[Demoncrat]

Endure ...

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by Demoncrat

I love The Witches me. Proto Wicker Man that it slightly is ... cough.

Me too. I've even got the novel.

[BAKA]

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[#23] The Erotic Rites Of Frankenstein
Jess Franco’s The Erotic Rites Of Frankenstein is immediate, dispensing with the build up, dropping the viewer in at Doctor Frankenstein’s success, just prior to pulling the rug from under us, as it lurches from the source material into the unexpected. There’s a magnetism to the deviation, a malevolence to Cagliostro, and his own construct, Melissa, a meld of human and crow, realised with an erratic performance, unnervingly vocalised, convincing despite the economical costume. We’re in typical euro-horror territory, an experience that hinges on atmosphere, the macabre spectators in Cagliostro’s castle, cloaked in white wearing skeletal masks, silent as the erotic rites play out. It’s completely absurd, a spectacle of nonsense, but arresting in ambiance and captivating in its helter-skelter delivery.



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[#24] The Grapes Of Death
Jean Rollin’s The Grapes Of Death feels like a riff on George Romero’s work, particularly Night Of The Living Dead and The Crazies. An experimental fertiliser has infected the local populace of a small rural farming village, their flesh slowly decaying in a mess of gloop and rubber prosthetics. Rollin is adept at conveying isolation, the deserted train is steeped with a foreboding atmosphere, and the protagonist fleeing across the bridge in the fog is a haunting visual, the desolate landscape eerie. There’s a succession of demoralising encounters, the remnants of the village as disturbing as the barren countryside. The eventual fate of the blind girl, whose eyes are as white as her dress, is a shocking image, despite inadequate effects. The denouement leaves a deranged residue, psychological scars that burrow as deep as the fertiliser penetrates.



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[#25] The City Of The Dead
Whitewood has an ominous ring to it, despite connotations of light and purity with the colour, there’s a sinister feeling to the name. The floor is permanently ensconced in mist. There’s a hellfire and brimstone scenery chewing opening that lays the foundations for a delightfully campy but effective and engaging chiller. A student researching witchcraft takes up residence at the Raven Inn in Whitewood, at the suggestion of her lecturer. An inn ran by Mrs. Newless, which remarkably sounded out backwards bears an uncanny resemblance to the name of a witch that was burned at the stake centuries earlier. There’s a suggestive dread, the viewer possessing more pieces of the puzzle than the characters, an anticipation of a nefarious fate. There’s a power to The City Of The Dead that most films struggle to conjure, terror as a mute housekeeper is unable to scream, a righteous fiery retribution as one character lurches upon the coven with a towering tombstone shaped like a cross.



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[#26] Apostle
Gareth Evans’ Apostle spends over half its running time laying foundations, defining the period, the rule of the land and the spiritual beliefs of the people, or those forced upon them by the monarchy. It’s a luxury that probably wouldn’t have been afforded to it if this were from a major studio set for a widespread theatrical release. It’s this laboured build up that allows Apostle’s roots to plant, nurture, the revelations to fester, and become all the more compelling. There’s a harshness to the landscape, the desperation of the inhabitants wrenching as their way of life spirals into an inevitable chaos. The god they worship, a victim to the opportunistic prophets as they attempt to mete out a communal life at its expense. It’s visceral and breathtaking as it heads into a finale that sows a grim seed of despair.



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[#27] Witchhammer
The horrors of Otakar Vavra’s Witchhammer are human, a vile inquisitor preying upon the superstitious and the uneducated. The inquisitor expends more time researching the finances of the town than those he persecutes for crimes of witchcraft, deviously leading the direction of the investigation by implicating those with means, as greed motivates his sinister machinations. Witchhammer feels authentic in its depiction of the subject matter, there’s a reference to the watching and we see them scour the bodies of those on trial for the mark of the devil. They systematically deprive these women of their pride and decency and eventually their sanity, clipping their hair, invading their privacy and torturing them into delirious false confessions. The scenes where we see those convicted burnt at the stake are harrowing, but breathtaking in the magnificence of the imagery.



I managed to watch everything I intended to, I'm just a little slow at both reviewing and posting them. Around 8 more to do. I'm very happy with my selection, and had a great October. I also managed to fit some books into October, The Witchfinder's Sister and The Loney, and thoroughly enjoyed both. Started compiling next year's list already...