Haunted Movie Marathon 2012 - Finale

The last part of October can feel a bit melancholy. I sometimes get so excited about Halloween in the first few weeks that I get a little tired when the actual event rolls around. I totally kept my steam up this year, and even had a few days where I just completely gorged myself on horror movies and candy, as Satan intended. As always, first viewings are in orange, rewatches are in black. (May contain light spoilers.)

October 22nd

The Gate (1987)
I feel like I should have seen this movie as a kid, but it somehow stayed under my radar until it popped up on Netflix. I loved it. This painfully 80s selection stars 14 year old Stephen Dorff who accidentally opens a gate to hell in his backyard, unleashing a bunch of demons. It's totally a "kid's" horror movie, but it's actually pretty damn Satanic, complete with a rare heavy metal album that contains the secrets to the demon world. Aces.

October 23rd

Beyond Re-Animator (2003)
I was glad to finally finish the Re-Animator trilogy, but man is this movie awful. I mean, I loved it, but let's not pretend that it's anything but a set-up for gratuitous splatter, sexy girls, and dismembered phalli.

October 24th

The Innkeepers (2011)
I mentioned this in my review of The House of the Devil. I actually caught this film in theatres when it came out last year, and was glad to see it again. I actually didn't quite pick up the first time that this movie is supposed to be set in the late 90s/early 00s, and there's a sort of cheesy feeling to it that plays off of that era. A tad predictable, but the humor and creepiness make it solid enough in my book.

October 25th

Audrey Rose (1977)
This wasn't really a horror movie in the traditional sense, though there were some startling scenes, but I found it intriguing and enjoyable. The concept is pretty cool, it's about a girl who dies at the exact second another girl is born, and her spirit enters the body of the other girl.

October 26th

The Wicker Man (1973)
This is my movie, dudes. I first watched this when I was a teenager and haven't seen it since. I quickly realised while I was watching it that the version I had first seen had been heavily edited, as it had way more tits and random musical numbers than I remembered. Anyway, it's a genuinely good and scary film and I highly recommend it.

October 27th

Insidious (2010)
I had heard a lot of buzz about this movie being really good/scary, but it literally put me to sleep. Like, I can't actually review it because I missed the last 15 minutes and I don't feel super motivated to fire it back up to watch the end. The acting was piss-poor, I didn't think it was scary at all; all the "ghosts" or whatever just looked like people in goth make-up. I was like, hey, you're not scary, I saw you at the club last week.

October 28th

Dead Snow (2009)
I had been wanting to see this for awhile, and I'm thrilled I finally got the chance. It really is hilarious, and gory, and gross, and everything you'd expect in a Nazi zombie film.

October 29th

Scream 2 (1997)
I was actually quite fond of the Scream films when they first came out. I'm pretty sure this was my first time watching this since it then, but it's still a fairly good watch. Nothing too mind-blowing, but a solid Halloween selection, and a lot of great 90s nostalgia.

October 30th

Atrocious (2010)
I have mixed feelings about found footage films, but this wasn't too bad. At least...it was short, and it came together at the end. I don't really get scared by films like this, but if you don't mind shaky cam, it could be worth a look.

October 31st

A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987)
This is my favorite of the NoES films, and it stands up to watch after watch. I am totally planning on being Taryn (dream version, pictured at left) for next Halloween (or just, you know, the next time I go to the club.)

Other honorable mentions include Garfield's Halloween Adventure, It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, and the Invader Zim Halloween episode. That's it for this year's films! I hope everyone had a great Halloween!

Haunted Movie Marathon 2012 - Week 3

Most of week 3 of October I spent traveling, and the rest was spent partying and getting trashed, so that's why this entry is being written in November, with the finale to come at a slightly later date. Sue me! As always, first viewings are in orange, rewatches are in black. (May contain light spoilers.)

October 15th

House (1986)
I'll be honest: I was expecting this to be awful and figured that at best I'd have something I could make fun of. It's actually awesome and funny as hell. Any movie where a dog carries around a severed demon hand in its mouth is generally going to go over well with me.

October 16th

The Shrine (2010)
I doubt this film will go down in any history books as an example of high quality cinema, but it will always hold a special place in my heart for being one of the few horror films to make me scream out loud (The Orphanage is another on that list, you may recall from last year). It's actually not a bad film at all, with some genuine creepiness, a cool twist at the end, and some seriously fucked up death scenes.

October 17th

Alien (1979)
I don't really need to write a review of one of the best films ever made, but I will throw out the recommendation that this is not the best film to watch while completely shitfaced. I ended up getting really confused.

October 18th

The House of the Devil (2009)
I. Love. This. Movie. Seriously. I've been a fan of Ti West since I saw Innkeepers in theatres last year, and I put this film on the second I realised it was on Netflix. I first watched it in September, but of course I had to watch it again as part of my Halloween preparations. The thing I really like about this movie and Ti West's other work is that it's great at building tension and suspense. It might seem slow to some people, but it has a great atmosphere and some incredible pay-off scenes.

October 19th

Reaper (2007–2009)
Technically not a film, but I really wanted to include it here. My roommates and I spent much of this week watching this entire series on Netflix, and what's more Halloween-ish than a show about kid whose parents sold his soul to the devil and is forced to become a soul reaper working directly under Lucifer himself? Reaper isn't particularly scary, but it's full of fun demons, engaging characters, and a lot of great one-liners. Definitely worth checking out (even if it was cancelled prematurely.)

October 20th

Apartment 143 (2012)
Our decision to watch this was mostly spurred by the fact that it featured Rick Gonzalez, who plans Ben in Reaper, and that was actually the sole redeeming factor of this skippable, not scary yawn-fest.

October 21st

Seed of Chucky (2004)
I've actually never seen any of the Child's Play films, and I never would have bothered to watch this, but my roommate randomly put it on and I didn't feel like getting up off the sofa. That said, I thought this was pretty funny and it had some good death scenes and also, randomly, John Waters.

I apologise again for the delay in week 3. I will be posting the finale and some other Halloween entries in the next few days, so sit tight and don't lose your Halloween spirit just yet!