31 Nights (& Days) of Halloween: 2020!

[Astral Disaster]

52. Session 9 (2001) Another slow burn, psychological horror, "it follows an asbestos abatement crew who begin to experience growing tensions while working in an abandoned mental asylum (Danvers State Hospital); this is paralleled by the gradual revelation of a former patient's disturbed past through recorded audio tapes of her regression sessions." The movie is also pretty open to interpretation, whether it's the stress of an impossible deadline which causes one of the crew to snap, or possession by a malevolent entity which haunts the abandoned and decaying building.

53. Evil Dead (2013) Yet another iteration of the Sam Raimi story, this time updated for a contemporary audience and mostly playing it straight and serious, focusing on the horror and gore, though at the end of the opening sequence it almost feels like an outtake from Drag Me To Hell and doesn't really fit with the rest of the scene, which starts relatively strong, but ends with some mediocre acting and bad CGI. Unfortunately, that really pulled me out of the movie, which then introduces its main cast, who aren't particularly interesting or compelling either, hell, the character of Natalie is just there in the background as "the girlfriend" until she's dragged into the cellar, bitten, then lops off her arm and becomes a Deadite. There's also a sort of third act "twist" which really doesn't work very well since it doesn't feel earned. Outside of that, though, the effects, makeup and prosthetic work is really good and the filmmakers didn't skimp on the blood, it could be that this is only the second time I've seen the movies, but some of the mutilation and dismemberment scenes were a bit difficult to watch.

54. Halloween (2007) Rob Zombie's much maligned remake/reimagining of the John Carpenter classic. While I understand the complaints, I'm not as obsessive and precious about the original and appreciate the film on its own merits, and I think Zombie did a fine job incorporating, updating and expanding upon the most important aspects of the Micheal Myers mythos from the previous entries. It may be heresey to some, but it currently stands in my top five Halloween films, and is arguably the best of Rob Zombie's ouvre.

[Moon Ronin]

1. The Curse of Buckout Road (2017) on Tubi
2. Winchester (2018) on Netflix
3. The Curse of La Lorena (2019) on HBO MAX
4. Doctor Sleep (2019) on HBO Max
5. The Frighteners (1996) on HBO MAX
6. You're Next (2013) on Peacock
7. I Spit On Your Grave (2010) on Amazon Prime
8. Halloween (1978) on AMC
9. Halloween II (1981) on Vudu
10. Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988) on AMC
11. Fright Night (1985) on Amazon Prime
12. Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers (1995) on AMC
13. Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers (1995) on AMC
14. Halloween H20: 20 Years later (1998) on AMC
15. Halloween: Resurrection ( 2002)on AMC
16. Halloween (2007) on SYFY
17. Halloween II (2009) on Paramount
18. Halloween (2018) on DVD
19. House on Hunted Hill (1959) on Amazon Prime
20. Hubie Halloween (2020) on Netflix
21. Silence of the Lambs (1991) on Netflix
22. The Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954) on TCM

MV5BNjNhZTk0ZmEtNjJhMi00YzFlLWE1MmEtYzM1M2ZmMGMwMTU4XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNjU0OTQ0OTY@._V1_UX182_CR0,0.jpg

Quote: Hannibal Lecter: Well, Clarice - have the lambs stopped screaming?



Quote: Lucas: There are many strange legends in the Amazon. Even I, Lucas, have heard the legend of a man-fish.

[Jared]

October 22. 42 - Carnivore (2000). 43 - Chopping Mall (1986)



If Carnivore was released in 2000 it must have sat on a shelf for 9 or 10 years, and it seems unfinished at that. Bad lighting, bad sound, bad acting, bad script, almost decent looking low budget monster suit...if the movie had an ending I might recommend it as some schlock fun. But as it is, it just feels like a wast;e of time.


Originally released under the more accurate title of Killbots, this was quickly pulled from theaters, edited, and retitled to sound like a slasher. And it worked, the movie made money, because Roger Corman is a genius. It *is* a slasher, really, but there is no chopping of any kind. Their robot arms can't do that. The premise is that a lightnting strike turns futuristic and excessively armed mall security bots into killers. So like Short Curcuit, but evil. Lots of in-jokes about older movies. Only one of the deaths is gory but it's a hilarious one. Filmed in the same mall from Commando and Fast Times at Ridgemont High. If I'm ever in Sherman Oaks, CA for some reason, I will have to make it a point to go to this place for the history.

[Scott Taylor]

This movie had a few points in common with House on Haunted Hill - unfaithful wife, same sort of twist ending, unfaithful people getting what they deserve in the end, purposefully driving someone insane through fear. It has practically nothing to do with the Poe short story, as I had always suspected. Still pretty good, and as usual with his movies Vincent Price is the highlight. As a bonus you also have Barbara Steele and those wonderful eyes of hers. Note to self, though - never try and drive someone crazy through fear, it just won't work out well.

[CJStriker]

1.) Nosferatu (1922)! ~~ Amazon PRIME Video!
2.) The Phantom of the Opera (1925)! ~~ Amazon PRIME Video!
3.) Dracula (1931)! ~~ Amazon PRIME Video!
4.) Frankenstein (1931)! ~~ Amazon PRIME Video!
5.) The Mummy (1932)! ~~ Amazon PRIME Video!
6.) The Invisible Man (1933)! ~~ Amazon PRIME Video!
7.) Bride of Frankenstein (1935)! ~~ Amazon PRIME Video!
8.) Werewolf of London (1935)! ~~ Amazon PRIME Video!
9.) Dracula's Daughter (1936)! ~~ Amazon PRIME Video!
10.) Son of Frankenstein (1939)! ~~ Amazon PRIME Video!
11.) Mark of the Vampire (1935)! ~~ Amazon PRIME Video!
12.) The Mummy's Hand (1940)! ~~ Amazon PRIME Video!
13.) The Wolf Man (1941)! ~~ Amazon PRIME Video!
14.) The Ghost of Frankenstein (1942)! ~~ Amazon PRIME Video!
15.) The Mummy's Tomb (1942)! ~~ Amazon PRIME Video!
16.) Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1943) (1943)! ~~ Amazon PRIME Video!
17.) Phantom of the Opera (1943)! ~~ Amazon PRIME Video!
18.) Song at Midnight (1937)! ~~ Amazon PRIME Video!
19.) The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari ~ Silent (1920)! ~~ Amazon PRIME Video!
20.) Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (Sheldon Lewis)(1920)! ~~ Amazon PRIME Video!
21.) The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923)! ~~ Amazon PRIME Video!
22.) Son of Dracula (1943)! ~~ Amazon PRIME Video!
23.) The Mummy's Ghost (1944)! ~~ Amazon PRIME Video!
24.) The Return of the Vampire (1943)! ~~ Amazon PRIME Video!
25.) House of Frankenstein (1944)! ~~ Amazon PRIME Video!
26.) The Mummy's Curse (1944)! ~~ Amazon PRIME Video!
27.) House of Dracula (1945)! ~~ Amazon PRIME Video!
28.) The Invisible Man Returns (1940)! ~~ Peacock TV!
29.) The Invisible Woman (1940)! ~~ Peacock TV!
30.) The Invisible Man's Revenge (1944)! ~~ Peacock TV!
31.) Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948)! ~~ Peacock TV!
32.) Bud Abbott and Lou Costello Meet the Invisible Man (1951)! ~~ Peacock TV!
33.) Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954)! ~~ Amazon PRIME Video!
34.) Revenge of the Creature (1955)! ~~ Amazon PRIME Video!

35.) The Creature Walks Among Us (1956)! ~~ Amazon PRIME Video!

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0049103/

This Island Earth's Rex Reason is in this! That is All that has to be Said about Awesome! =)

36.) Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy (1955)! ~~ Peacock TV!

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0047795/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_2

37.) Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1953)! ~~ Peacock TV!

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0045469/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_4

[CJStriker]

1.) Nosferatu (1922)! ~~ Amazon PRIME Video!
2.) The Phantom of the Opera (1925)! ~~ Amazon PRIME Video!
3.) Dracula (1931)! ~~ Amazon PRIME Video!
4.) Frankenstein (1931)! ~~ Amazon PRIME Video!
5.) The Mummy (1932)! ~~ Amazon PRIME Video!
6.) The Invisible Man (1933)! ~~ Amazon PRIME Video!
7.) Bride of Frankenstein (1935)! ~~ Amazon PRIME Video!
8.) Werewolf of London (1935)! ~~ Amazon PRIME Video!
9.) Dracula's Daughter (1936)! ~~ Amazon PRIME Video!
10.) Son of Frankenstein (1939)! ~~ Amazon PRIME Video!
11.) Mark of the Vampire (1935)! ~~ Amazon PRIME Video!
12.) The Mummy's Hand (1940)! ~~ Amazon PRIME Video!
13.) The Wolf Man (1941)! ~~ Amazon PRIME Video!
14.) The Ghost of Frankenstein (1942)! ~~ Amazon PRIME Video!
15.) The Mummy's Tomb (1942)! ~~ Amazon PRIME Video!
16.) Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1943) (1943)! ~~ Amazon PRIME Video!
17.) Phantom of the Opera (1943)! ~~ Amazon PRIME Video!
18.) Song at Midnight (1937)! ~~ Amazon PRIME Video!
19.) The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari ~ Silent (1920)! ~~ Amazon PRIME Video!
20.) Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (Sheldon Lewis)(1920)! ~~ Amazon PRIME Video!
21.) The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923)! ~~ Amazon PRIME Video!
22.) Son of Dracula (1943)! ~~ Amazon PRIME Video!
23.) The Mummy's Ghost (1944)! ~~ Amazon PRIME Video!
24.) The Return of the Vampire (1943)! ~~ Amazon PRIME Video!
25.) House of Frankenstein (1944)! ~~ Amazon PRIME Video!
26.) The Mummy's Curse (1944)! ~~ Amazon PRIME Video!
27.) House of Dracula (1945)! ~~ Amazon PRIME Video!
28.) The Invisible Man Returns (1940)! ~~ Peacock TV!
29.) The Invisible Woman (1940)! ~~ Peacock TV!
30.) The Invisible Man's Revenge (1944)! ~~ Peacock TV!
31.) Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948)! ~~ Peacock TV!
32.) Bud Abbott and Lou Costello Meet the Invisible Man (1951)! ~~ Peacock TV!
33.) Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954)! ~~ Amazon PRIME Video!
34.) Revenge of the Creature (1955)! ~~ Amazon PRIME Video!
35.) The Creature Walks Among Us (1956)! ~~ Amazon PRIME Video!
36.) Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy (1955)! ~~ Peacock TV!
37.) Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1953)! ~~ Peacock TV!

38.) Blood of Dracula (1957)! ~~ Amazon PRIME Video!

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0050201/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_3

39.) The Return of Dracula (1958)! ~~ Amazon PRIME Video!

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0052131/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

[CellarDweller]

01. Friday the 13th (1980)
02. Friday the 13th Part II
03. Friday the 13th Part III
04. Friday the 13th Part IV (The Final Chapter)
05. Friday the 13th Part V (A New Begining)
06. Friday the 13th Part VI (Jason Lives)
07. Amityville Horror (1979)
08. The Conjuring
09. Insidious
10. The Exorcist
11. The Shining
12. The Crazies (2010)
13. Trick R Treat
14. Ghost Ship
15. 13 Ghosts
16. House on Haunted Hill
17. The Changeling
18. Pumpkinhead
19. Nightmare on Elm Street
20. Oculus
21. Final Destination
22. Final Destination 2
23. Final Destination 3
24. Annabelle
25. Night of the Living Dead (1990)
26. Dawn of the Dead (1978)

[Jared]

October 23. 44 - The Mummy's Hand (1940). 45 - Freddy vs Jason (2003).



This is the first one to have a traditional mummy shambling around in bandages, but it's much worse than The Mummy with Boris Karloff. The actual mummy isn't an effective killing weapon at all, the Egyptian priest controlling him would be better off just using a gun.


Seeing Freddy vs Jason in a theater on opening night was like going to a sporting event. But without that experience, its just an OK entry for each series. It's Freddy who drives thr plot and Jason who does most of the killing. "That goalie was seriously pissed off." Not sure where or when Freddy learned Muay Tai. I wish Jason's actor did the more aggressive body language stuff that Kane Hodder did.

[Astral Disaster]

55. Halloween II (2009) Rob Zombie's follow up to his Halloween remake/reimagining of two years prior. While on the one hand it's commendable he took some chances in an attempt to expand on the lore and not simply do a by the numbers Micheal Myers slasher, Zombie colored way outside of lines and added an excessive amount of unnecessary baggage. Still, I find it enjoyable enough and it isn't considered canon anyway, like nearly everything in the franchise, and it's still not anywhere near as bad as Curse or Resurrection, so it has that going for it.

56. The Corpse Eaters (1974) LOW budget Canadian zombie flick, which wastes a lot of it's relatively short 57 minute run time with a funeral home director taking the hearse for a spin around the cemetary while we hear his inner thoughts, then a pair of couples boating on a lake to a remote picnic spot where two of them provide a soft core interlude. Apparently the cut which is currently available is not the complete movie, though the original negatives still exist, and despite some talk of the complete film being put together after the copyright expires in 2024, I don't think this is one I'll be revisiting.

57. Nosferatu: A Symphony Of Horror (1922) The German Expressionist silent horror classic. Being that I recently watched both the 1979 remake, Nosferatu: The Vampyre, and 2000's The Shadow Of The Vampire, which took it's inspiration, and a few direct frames, from the original, it seemed only logical to include it as part of my viewing this year. Of course it's far from frightening after nearly a century, though there are a handful of scenes which remain genuinely creepy to this day.

[Sean Whitmore]

1. Body Bags (1993)
2. The Hitcher (1986)
3a. Child's Play (2019)
3b. The Haunted Palace (1963)
4a. Cult of Chucky (2017)
4b. Night of the Demons (1988)
4c. The Gate II (1990)
5. Vampires vs The Bronx (2020)
6a. Ghost Ship (2002)
6b. The Guest (2014)
7. The Fly (1958)
8. Village of the Damned (1960)
9a. Children of the Damned (1964)
9b. Hand of Death (1962)
9c. Friday the 13th (1980)
10. An American Werewolf in London (1981)
11a. Ice Cream Man (1995)
11b. Child's Play (1988)
12a. Child's Play 2 (1990)
12b. Child's Play 3 (1991)
13. Peeping Tom (1960)
14. Sleepwalkers (1992)
15. The Dark Half (1993)
16. The Beast Must Die (1974)
17. Friday the 13th Part II (1981)
18a. Friday the 13th Part III (1982)
18b. The Omen (1976)
19a. Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984)
19b. Friday the 13th: A New Beginning (1985)
19c. Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives (1986)
20. Dementia 13 (1963)
21. Ready or Not (2019)
22a. Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood (1988)
22b. The Black Cat (1981)
22c. Transylvania 6-5000 (1985)

23a. Haunt (2019)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haunt_(2019_film)
Shudder

Pretty good little movie. A group of friends become trapped in a roadside haunted house run by masked murderers who want to steal their faces. Nothing you haven’t really seen before, but well done, and the leads are more likable than not. The writing team would later go on to do the first A Quiet Place.


23b. Hack-O-Lantern (1988)
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093135/
Shudder

Really stupid, cheap little slasher. Worth a watch if you’re looking for something goofy to laugh at; Hy Pyke as Grandpa Satanist chews up the scenery like a starving man.

[Celgress]

Here is an interesting video for the season -

[Astral Disaster]

58. The Cabinet Of Dr. Caligari (1920) " Considered the quintessential work of German Expressionist cinema, it tells the story of an insane hypnotist who uses a somnambulist to commit murders." The sets really are what sell the film, the spaces become off kilter geometric abstractions which serve to reinforce the notion that this is a tale told by a madman.

59. Halloween (2018) Doing away with everything that followed the original it is a direct sequel of the 1978 film, though, at least imo, there are some sly nods to other films in the franchise. It picks up 40 years later, Micheal Myers is still held at Smith's Grove (apparently in an alternate universe, as having residents chained up in the courtyard would have gotten the facility shut down in our reality) and Laurie Strode is still obsessed with that Halloween night and has essentially become an end times survivalist/doomsday prepper. While I generally like the movie, even after two years I'm not quite sure where I'd place it, though it's definitely top 5 out of the series. I think knowing it was set up for a sequel, and having two confirmed, I'm waiting until those are out to better assess the overall ranking.

[CellarDweller]

01. Friday the 13th (1980)
02. Friday the 13th Part II
03. Friday the 13th Part III
04. Friday the 13th Part IV (The Final Chapter)
05. Friday the 13th Part V (A New Begining)
06. Friday the 13th Part VI (Jason Lives)
07. Amityville Horror (1979)
08. The Conjuring
09. Insidious
10. The Exorcist
11. The Shining
12. The Crazies (2010)
13. Trick R Treat
14. Ghost Ship
15. 13 Ghosts
16. House on Haunted Hill
17. The Changeling
18. Pumpkinhead
19. Nightmare on Elm Street
20. Oculus
21. Final Destination
22. Final Destination 2
23. Final Destination 3
24. Annabelle
25. Night of the Living Dead (1990)
26. Dawn of the Dead (1978)
27. Pet Semetary (1989)

[Sean Whitmore]

1. Body Bags (1993)
2. The Hitcher (1986)
3a. Child's Play (2019)
3b. The Haunted Palace (1963)
4a. Cult of Chucky (2017)
4b. Night of the Demons (1988)
4c. The Gate II (1990)
5. Vampires vs The Bronx (2020)
6a. Ghost Ship (2002)
6b. The Guest (2014)
7. The Fly (1958)
8. Village of the Damned (1960)
9a. Children of the Damned (1964)
9b. Hand of Death (1962)
9c. Friday the 13th (1980)
10. An American Werewolf in London (1981)
11a. Ice Cream Man (1995)
11b. Child's Play (1988)
12a. Child's Play 2 (1990)
12b. Child's Play 3 (1991)
13. Peeping Tom (1960)
14. Sleepwalkers (1992)
15. The Dark Half (1993)
16. The Beast Must Die (1974)
17. Friday the 13th Part II (1981)
18a. Friday the 13th Part III (1982)
18b. The Omen (1976)
19a. Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984)
19b. Friday the 13th: A New Beginning (1985)
19c. Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives (1986)
20. Dementia 13 (1963)
21. Ready or Not (2019)
22a. Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood (1988)
22b. The Black Cat (1981)
22c. Transylvania 6-5000 (1985)
23a. Haunt (2019)
23b. Hack-O-Lantern (1988)

24a. Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan (1989)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friday...akes_Manhattan

The evidence of this franchise being at the end of its rope is all over the place. Most telling, I think, is that the uncensored kills in the Bluray's special features were all just as boring as what made it to screen.

Any fondness people have for this movie seems to come from the couple minutes of screen time where Jason is active in the middle of a big city (mostly Vancouver standing in for New York). And that is fun, it's just not enough to make the whole thing worth. Though, to be fair, even the much longer section where Jason is killing people on a boat is preferable to seeing him in the woods yet again.


24b. The Fly (1986)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fly_(1986_film)

I'd actually never seen this before, despite being old enough to remember the trailers for it and the sequel pretty clearly. It's good, but gross! What else is there to say, really.

[Jared]

October 24th. 46 - Dracula (1931). 47 - Dracula's Daughter (1936)


Bela Lugosi in the movie that defined vampires in popular culture. There's a version of this with a score added by Philip Glass, unfortunately I've never seen that one. Being just a few years removed from the silent era, the music and sound effects are incredibly sparse, and it doesn't play like a stylistic choice, just an oversight.

I have no idea why there are armadillos in Castle Dracula, or anywhere in Transylvania. And a cockroach in a tiny coffin? Does Drac have a private zoo? Maybe the brides take care of the animals and that's why we barely see them around.



When Dracula's daughter is on screen this movie is pretty good. When the forgettable young(ish) hero is, it's hard to pay attention.