October Horror Movie Marathon

[MrBarlow]

The House Of Clocks. 1989.

Lucio Fulci's made for T.V. that was deemed too gory and really not surprisingly with a good death that this was released straight to video. This is like watching a extended episode of The Twilight Zone or The Outer Limits, maybe that gave him inspiration. Aside from the dubbing and Al Cliver going about with one eye, you can by pass all that and enjoy the scenery of the country side of Italy and the isolation of the villa and the actors doing their best. There is a good twist to the film at the end with some irony thrown in for safe measures. One of the decent late 80s Fulci films to enjoy.

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[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Shadow of the Cat (1961)

For all their Gothic leanings Hammer never really ventured or even strayed down two paths - The classic old dark house chiller and the stories of Edgar Allan Poe. Of course many Hammer films featured old dark houses but never really the 'old dark house' traits of 'expected inheritances', 'weird and wonderful freaky families', 'storm swept nights' and murder.

However Shadow of the Cat would change all that. It's a refined mixture of Poe's The Black Cat and classic old dark house horror with a classy cast including Andre Morell, Freda Jackson, William Lucas, Conrad Phillips and best of all Barbara Shelley.

There's tight direction from John Gilling and cool black and white photography which is both beautiful and innovative especially in the way we see the cat's point of view.

Shadow of the Cat isn't absolute top level Hammer, but for fans of 'old dark house' thrillers it's a must see.

The Blair Witch Project (1999)

Always enjoyable and very creepy. Featuring some delightful fear inducing sounds from the dark woods at night. The sounds of stones clattering and children screaming as well as the final exploration of the old witch's house is still the essence of all things creepy, and if you invest yourself in proceedings, still find it all rather disturbing.

[MrBarlow]

Flight Of The Living Dead. 2007.

It is what it is with this film, yeah we have zombies on a plane, sounds daft and corny but this does work if you give it a chance. Female flight attendants talking about Paris, a prisoner being transported, a pro golfer on holiday, some young 20 year old's doing shopping and surfing and a pilot on retirement and three scientists transferring a body in a freezer...what can go wrong? Plenty that can go wrong. The writing may seem daft but the film makes up for it with the effects of the zombies.

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[MrBarlow]

Nosferatu The Vampyre. 1979.

Nosferatu: Phantom der Nacht is a wonderful and atmospheric remake of F. W. Murnau's classic film based on Bram Stoker's novel. Warner Herzog does make a few changes to the story but manages to capture the creepiness that Max Schrek created for the character in 1922. Klaus Kinski 's performance is amazing to watch, with the make up on he emersed himself into the character deeply, as the character, he hates what he has become and never apologises, so you feel some sympathy for him, yet he never seduces and only takes the life away from his victims. The opening shot with the haunting background score definitely draws you into the film.

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[Justin101]

That is strange, I was going to watch that yesterday, I got my Herzog box set out as well, decided not to in the end and I watched Ju-on: The Grudge. Planning to re-watch Nosferatu this week though!

[MrBarlow]

Originally Posted by Justin101

That is strange, I was going to watch that yesterday, I got my Herzog box set out as well, decided not to in the end and I watched Ju-on: The Grudge. Planning to re-watch Nosferatu this week though!

Ok we got some weird Shining sh!t going on as I was going to watch Ju-On:The Grudge but changed it to Nosferatu


Salem's Lot. 2024.

I was apprehensive about this one, 79 version is great, the 2004 version mixes between the 79 version and a bit more of the book, both of them are over 3 hours long so we got a new version that runs just under 2 hours. Apart from having a decent cast involved and Stephen King as a executive producer, the characters have seemed to change to some minor spots. Give the creators their due, they did include Danny Glick at the window. The make up for Kurt is near the same and with more piercing eyes. It was good but wouldn't say it was brilliant.

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[Frankie Teardrop]

CARRIE - Follows 'The Shining' as another one from my favourite film ever list, an easy classic that again attests to the seventies / eighties reverence for Stephen King. Maestro Brian Depalma is so manipulative that it's hard to know which side he's on - do his sympathies lie with poor old Carrie White, or is he getting off on the shitstorm of suffering that surrounds her (and by the end, everyone else)? We sense a bit of a sneer. But he's an arch stylist too, and in the last half fashions a breath taking dive into fully orchestrated horror, full of unbearable tension, tragic sensibility and a plethora of imagery that now seems immortal. Sissy Spacek and Piper Laurie are similarly unforgettable.

OPERA - Obviously all Dario Argento's work is quite operatic, if that means his films are made up of impressions and gestures so loud they seem constantly on the verge of breaking out into a yodel (not an operatic term, but I am a philistine). Fittingly, this one's about a bloated high tech modernist version of MacBeth complicated by some bloody off-stage killings, and, as always, the star is the camera, floating through a multitude of unlikely iterations of space and movement. He's lucky when he can get performances that match his lust for mad stylistic excess - not sure that's the case here, the film seems split between its startling visuals and drab characterisation, but do you care? I don't, 'Opera' is disjointed and zany but above all visionary, and, whether it's showing us a mass raven onslaught, a blue tinted trip down a spiral staircase or a random pulsating brain, it's not often I watch something that makes me go "yeah!... huh?" pretty much minute after minute.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

The Seventh Sign (1988)

A tepid Omen wannabe that focuses on Demi Moore as a pregnant woman who fears the upcoming birth of her child is linked to a string of bizarre catastrophes across the globe and is the seventh sign of an upcoming apocalypse. Fears that are reinforced by her enigmatic new boarder, Jurgen Prochnow, who appears to know more than he lets on.

Despite some fun cataclysmic events the end of the world seems trivialised in comparison to Moore's pregnancy which takes up way too much of this daft story. Throw in the Roman soldier who refused Christ water on his way to the crucifixion and now condemned to walk the earth as a Catholic priest and you have one absurdity on top of another.

Pumpkinhead (1988)

Stan Winston's terrific morality tale of a demon resurrected from hell by a witch to carry out vengeance is a creature feature classic that is often overlooked when it comes to 80's horror. Supremely atmospheric with fairy tale like qualities and one of the greatest monster designs ever, Pumpkinhead is must see October viewing.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by Frankie Teardrop

OPERA - Obviously all Dario Argento's work is quite operatic, if that means his films are made up of impressions and gestures so loud they seem constantly on the verge of breaking out into a yodel (not an operatic term, but I am a philistine). Fittingly, this one's about a bloated high tech modernist version of MacBeth complicated by some bloody off-stage killings, and, as always, the star is the camera, floating through a multitude of unlikely iterations of space and movement. He's lucky when he can get performances that match his lust for mad stylistic excess - not sure that's the case here, the film seems split between its startling visuals and drab characterisation, but do you care? I don't, 'Opera' is disjointed and zany but above all visionary, and, whether it's showing us a mass raven onslaught, a blue tinted trip down a spiral staircase or a random pulsating brain, it's not often I watch something that makes me go "yeah!... huh?" pretty much minute after minute.

Ooh, i must dig that out to watch this October. An atmospheric classic not seen for ages.

[Frankie Teardrop]

Originally Posted by Demdike@Cult Labs

Ooh, i must dig that out to watch this October. An atmospheric classic not seen for ages.

Yeah, I always forget how wacky it is till I actually watch it again.