October Horror Movie Marathon

[Justin101]

Originally Posted by MrBarlow

It: Chapter Two. 2019

I think the main problem is, it's the just the worst part of the story. In the book the adult chapters are the worst, in the TV movie the adult section is the worst and in this newer version the adult section is the worst. The parts in Chapter 2 when it's about the kids is still pretty good, but the grown-ups, bleugh.

I agree about the CG as well, it's used way too much.

I've only seen it once myself and I thought it was 'OK' but I loved Chapter 1. I will watch it again though like you did at some point and see if I can re-appraise it.

[Frankie Teardrop]

CALVAIRE – AKA ‘The Ordeal’. Another one that’s been lying in the crumbs at the bottom of a Safeways bag since I watched it ten years ago. Shame on me for being so neglectful, having seen the superb likes of ‘Vinyan’ and ‘Alleluia’, also by director Fabrice Du Welz. ‘Calvaire’ is the equal of those. It’s an arch, Belgian art-house take on backwoods American horror, and follows a down-at-heel light entertainer (we witness him eking out a painful living doing bontempi cabaret in retirement homes) as he washes up in the Wallonian hinterlands. Stranded in the rain, he attracts the unwelcome advances of a B&B owner and discovers what tickles a lonely old man’s fancy when the nights grow long… ‘Calvaire’ is a black comedy at heart, but its atmosphere is formidable, and there is something quite spectral about the closing scenes. Before then, we have plenty of time to acquaint ourselves with the hotel owner’s tragic fixation, brutally realised when he holds bontempi guy hostage, and a set of locals H P Lovecraft would be proud to call ‘degenerate’, although it might be kinder to say that they’re just way down with nature. It’s all very disturbing, but very sly and very funny; the knowing nod to the ‘Texas Chainsaw’ dinner table scene is the closest it gets to cuteness, although Bridget Lahai is around for a bit earlier on. If grindhouse references can’t slake your spiritual yearnings, there’s also an apparent subtext about suffering and redemption (it’s a christmas movie after all). Wholeheartedly recommended, and a reminder that the supposedly ‘upmarket’ horror of today a la ‘Hereditary’ tends to fall short of a certain elusive something in comparison with genuinely beguiling films such as ‘Calvaire’.

[trebor8273]

Day 26

A double bill of Tim Burton and Johnny Depp.










Based on the American soap of the same name. Barnabas Collins spurns the love of woman , who turns out to be a witch and turns him into a vampire and has him buried after killing his true love.

Nearly two hundred later he is unearthed and returning to his home finds his family have fallen on hard times thanks to the witch who is still alive. He sets out too set things right.

Enjoyable and easy going with a great cast and nice 70s feel. 7.5/10




Perfect Halloween viewing with its eerie gothic atmosphere. Cowardly police inspector Ichabod Crane is sent to the small town to investigate a number of murders in the small village of sleepy hollow, reaching the village we find all victims have lost their heads and the townsfolk believe a ghost the headless horse man is responsible , believing it to be superstition he sets out to prove the deaths are of more natural causes but soon thinks something more supernatural is a foot. 9.5/10

Day 27



A fantastic anthology collection and a great Halloween movie, seamlessly weaves the story's together with not a bad one in the movie with the film coming full circle at the end. 9/10

[Demoncrat]

Originally Posted by Frankie Teardrop

CALVAIRE – AKA ‘The Ordeal’. Another one that’s been lying in the crumbs at the bottom of a Safeways bag since I watched it ten years ago. Shame on me for being so neglectful, having seen the superb likes of ‘Vinyan’ and ‘Alleluia’, also by director Fabrice Du Welz. ‘Calvaire’ is the equal of those. It’s an arch, Belgian art-house take on backwoods American horror, and follows a down-at-heel light entertainer (we witness him eking out a painful living doing bontempi cabaret in retirement homes) as he washes up in the Wallonian hinterlands. Stranded in the rain, he attracts the unwelcome advances of a B&B owner and discovers what tickles a lonely old man’s fancy when the nights grow long… ‘Calvaire’ is a black comedy at heart, but its atmosphere is formidable, and there is something quite spectral about the closing scenes. Before then, we have plenty of time to acquaint ourselves with the hotel owner’s tragic fixation, brutally realised when he holds bontempi guy hostage, and a set of locals H P Lovecraft would be proud to call ‘degenerate’, although it might be kinder to say that they’re just way down with nature. It’s all very disturbing, but very sly and very funny; the knowing nod to the ‘Texas Chainsaw’ dinner table scene is the closest it gets to cuteness, although Bridget Lahai is around for a bit earlier on. If grindhouse references can’t slake your spiritual yearnings, there’s also an apparent subtext about suffering and redemption (it’s a christmas movie after all). Wholeheartedly recommended, and a reminder that the supposedly ‘upmarket’ horror of today a la ‘Hereditary’ tends to fall short of a certain elusive something in comparison with genuinely beguiling films such as ‘Calvaire’.

Testify!!!

[MrBarlow]

Monster House. 2006.

Pre teen DJ believes the house across the street from him is a monster and sets out to prove with best friend Chowder and new girl Jenny who they rescue from the house.

This is mostly aimed for kids but how do you traumatise kids get them to watch this and say to them "go and knock on the door, get a treat and watch out for the monster" or is that something only I would do. Aside from all that this is a fun decent made movie for Halloween fest, it does have it's laughs and scares , fun for all the family.

Lady In White. 1988

A author returns home and tells a cab driver of how he saw a ghost of a girl and decided to find out who killed her .

Was going to wait till 31st to watch it but decided to watch it early, this has always been a favourite of mine since seeing it in early 90s, Lucas Haas plays the young Frankie who sees a young girl ghost who re-lives her murder and decides to find out why and how she was killed and what the murderer was trying to find in a grate in the school. Alex Rocco plays his dad who is oblivious as to what his son is up to. It is a decent teen ghost story with a nice little twist and some laughs Jared Rushton (whatever happened to him?)

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[Justin101]

The Chill Factor (1993)



My mind is blown... when I added this, it came up on Letterboxd production year 1993... Seriously, I just spent the entire film thinking this was a mid 80's film haha...

What an odd film, the only thing worse than the weird dialogue is very odd delivery of it by the actors in it! I kind of liked it though. It's certainly like nothing else I've seen.

Plot, as uncomplicated as it is, 3 couples are snowmobiling and 2 of the MEN needed a dick measuring contest to prove how MANLY they are by having a race on the snowmobiles, obviously something goes wrong because there wouldn't be a film otherwise! I honestly thought that this was an 80's low-tier slasher film, I mean look at the poster. I guess I should have read the synopsis on the back of the bluray, it would have given me a hint about the production year too hah. It turns out it's a Cabin in the Woods film with a Satanic possession! I never would have guessed.

Yeah, so it's not good, and I can't recommend it really, but I did enjoy it. I mean, how many snowmobile Cabin in the Woods horror films with terrible acting can you name?

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Sleepy Hollow (1999)

A New York police constable is sent to the village of Sleepy Hollow to investigate the murder and decapitation of three of its citizens. Once there he learns of the mythical ghostly Headless Horseman whom the locals are sure is the killer.

Tim Burton perfects his love of all things Gothic in Sleepy Hollow, from the misty and foreboding woods to the numerous jack o' lanterns lighting the way. His greatest creation being the Horseman itself. A dark scary figure riding a pure black stallion, sound systems positively thunder whenever the horse charges into a scene.

Johnny Depp leads an outstanding, mainly British cast in this Halloween classic.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Dracula (1931)

I watched this in a watch-a-long with a Letterboxd friend last night. Despite me owning this film for years in the Universal Monsters legacy collection i'd never bothered to watch it and neither had she.

Filmed Corman gorilla style on the sets of Universal's Dracula production when filming wrapped for the day this is a fair bit of fun. Parts of it are suitably Gothic, parts better than the main feature, but at 105 minutes it is overlong.

I think among the many laughs we had at the antics on screen the main thing we took out of this was changing Jonathan Harker's name to Juan (Why not Juanathan?) and the fact Van Helsing was the spitting image of Eugene Levy. "Now then Juanathan, i'm going to tell you about crosses ... and probably masturbation too"

[Dave Boy]

Universal Monster Bash..

28.

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FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE WOLFMAN (1943)

The most atmospheric opening of any Universal horror movie.
Poor Bela. Totally unsuitable for the role of the monster and having all his dialogue taken away as well. Chaney Jr continues in his role as Lawrence Talbot, looking for Dr Frankenstein's diary so he can die and be free of turning in to The Wolfman.

29.

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HOUSE OF FRANKENSTEIN (1944)

Dr Niemann (Boris Karloff) and friend Daniel (J. Carrol Naish) escape from prison and seek to continue the work of Dr Frankenstein. Taking cover under the guise of a travelling horror show, they first encounter Count Dracula (John Carradine), whose skeleton body is part of the show.
As we continue on, Niemann and Daniel arrive at the ruins of Castle Frankenstein, flooded from the previous movie. Here we encounter the Wolfman and the Frankenstein Monster preserved in ice.
Glenn Strange takes over the role of the Monster and looks much better in the role than Lugosi in the previous film. Lon Chaney JR moping around again in his quest to get rid of the beast within him. At least gypsy girl Ilonka (Elena Verdugo) gets him to smile once.

30.

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HOUSE OF DRACULA (1945)

Count Dracula is back and seeks a cure for his vampirism from Dr Edelmann.
Lawrence Talbot arrives as well for a cure for his Wolfman alter ego. Tired of the time it will take for a cure and with the moon about to rise, Talbot tries to end it all by jumping off a cliff. Talbot is washed in to a nearby cave,
Here we find the remains of Dr Niemann and the body of the Monster from the end of the previous film. Dracula is up to tricks and transfuses his blood into Dr Edelmann who randomly turns mad. While sane, Edelman drags Dracula's coffin into the sunlight.
Talbot undergoes an operation and is seemingly cured of his Wolfman alter ego. Edelman, now mad again, unleashes the Frankenstein monster and it all ends in a fiery finale.

This marked the end of the era of those Universal Monsters until resurrected three years later in the comedy Abbott and Costello movie.
Universal's next new monster would continue in the 1950s with The Creature From The Black Lagoon.

[Nordicdusk]

30 Days Of Unseen Horror

Day 29

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When word of a seemingly unfinished cursed horror film reaches a group of film students they take it upon themselves to secure the rights and finish it themselves. The original director was brutally murdered on set by the killer from the film and the film was canned but the producers wife kept the film reels after her husband died and if someone finished the film she stood to make from the profits so she was more than happy to pass them on to anyone foolish enough to take on the cursed project.

A pretty decent slasher with plenty of good kills and a cool looking killer. I really like the mask and the killers weapon is fairly unique looking like a flower pruning tool but with a longer blade as the killer himself says for cutting off heads. Its a fun film but i was laughing all the time once the killer started talking when his face is revealed because it was just Alf Stewart from Home And Away. I would of liked to have seen more Kylie Minogue she did a great job and was a complete bitch sadly it was only a cameo.

Well worth a watch.

7/10