31 Horrid Nights of Halloween: 2022!

[CellarDweller]

01. Trilogy of Terror - A 1975 American made-for-television anthology horror film directed by Dan Curtis and starring Karen Black. It features three segments, each based on unrelated short stories by Richard Matheson. The first follows a college professor who seeks excitement with her students; the second is about twin sisters who have a bizarre relationship. These two segments were adapted by William F. Nolan. The third, adapted by Matheson, himself, focuses on a woman terrorized by a Zuni fetish doll in her apartment. Black stars in all three segments, and plays dual roles in the second.


02. Halloween A 1978 American independent slasher film directed and scored by John Carpenter, co-written with producer Debra Hill, and starring Jamie Lee Curtis (in her film debut) and Donald Pleasence, with P. J. Soles and Nancy Kyes in supporting roles. The plot centers on a mental patient, Michael Myers, who was committed to a sanitarium for murdering his babysitting teenage sister on Halloween night when he was six years old. Fifteen years later, he escapes and returns to his hometown, where he stalks a female babysitter and her friends while under pursuit by his psychiatrist.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5ke9IPTIJQ

[Astral Disaster]

Continuing the marathon with...

3. The Endless (2017) - From the Amazon Prime description: "[A] mind-bending supernatural thriller about two brothers who revisit the UFO death cult they escaped as teens, only to find there may have been truth to the cult's otherworldly beliefs all along."

4. The Night Eats the World (2018) - After passing out at a party at his ex-girlfriend's Paris apartment, a young man awakes to discover the zombie apocalypse has occurred while he was asleep. Barricaded in the building, it appears his resourcefulness will assure his survival, but the isolation gradually begins to take its toll, only he may not be as alone as he originally believed.

[Sean Whitmore]

Not sure how much I'll be able to participate this year, but thanks to Fathom Events and Shudder, it just so happens I'm off to a good start.

1a. The Mummy (1932)
1b. Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
Saw these at a double feature this afternoon. Great seeing them on a big screen, but unfortunately, they added a new soundtrack/foley track to The Mummy. The music was less dramatic than the original film's long stretches of silence, and when it played during dialogue scenes, it drowned out the actors. And the sound effects were just a hair too loud, which I wouldn't have minded as much except they were also a fraction of a second too late, making it all very noticeable.

1c. Dark Glasses (2022)
I just happened upon this when I got home from the above. Shudder aired it as a surprise drop, and I even missed the beginning, but what with it being a Dario Argento movie, I figured it was worth watching the rest. Almost made me a little nostalgic for the days of discovering new movies on cable. It was pretty good, about an escort who is blinded and then stalked by a serial killer, though I doubt it'll ever be spoken of in the same breath as his classic giallos.

[ZuLuLu]

I had a great time doing this last year and am glad to try it again. Starting with some light family-friendly horror comedy.

Day 1:
01. Hocus Pocus (1993) A Fantasy/Horror/Comedy film that follows a villainous comedic trio of witches' sisters who are inadvertently resurrected by a virgin teenage boy. This film has gained a cult following over the years, and I can see why it's camp and fun, but because the original started with a child sacrifice it and some tension to the story and emotional stakes.

02. Hocus Pocus 2 (2022) It takes place 29 years after the original a teenage girl on her 16 birthday lit the Black Flame Candle and resurrected the 17th-century sisters. This sequel did have its fun moments, but unlike the original, it focuses on the camp while totally eliminating any sense that the kids were in danger and seem from the start by highlighting that the sister were victims this was going to be a story of redemption.

[Nods]

Canterville-Ghost-ONE.jpg

October 1st
The Canterville Ghost (1944)

Awkward to see a WWII film shot during WWII, this film tells the story of a ghost cursed to stay at his manor until his honor has been restored. 300 years later war breaks out and his ancestor and himself end up fighting Nazi's trying to invade England. This was more goofy than scary and the humor was a bit to wacky/slapstick for me which is a shame because I like Charles Laughton but he just felt miscast here. 40's horror is always touch and go and this is one that needed to go.

[Sean Whitmore]

1a. The Mummy (1932)
1b. Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
1c. Dark Glasses (2022)

2. Odd Thomas (2013)
I've scrolled past this one on Amazon Prime for years now, and finally decided to give it a shot. Based on a Den Koontz book, Anton Yelchin (RIP) plays a psychic who can see ghosts and has limited precognitive ability. In a nice change of pace for this kind of setup, the movie gets right to it; there is precisely zero dicking around. Yelchin's character doesn't whine about what he is, he immediately uses his power to help, and when the movie starts both his girlfriend and the local chief of police already know his secret. Kinda like watching a supernatural TV series in its 4th season, just straight to the magic stuff.

[Nods]

sg3.jpg

October 2nd
The Smiling Ghost(1941)

A down on his lucky engineer agrees to take 1,000 dollars to fake marry a female black widow. This one is a mixed bag in the sense that it has a character named Clarence who used to go by the name Sleep'n'Eat. His form of comedy is pretty hard to watch he's The Shaggy in this Scooby-Doo esque mystery horror comedy film. The film has a lot of things going for it, the phantom looks great the Daphne and Velma characters exist and are well balanced couple for the lead Lucky. If you can look past the racism it's a fun short film worth checking out.

[CJStriker]

I honestly don’t plan on making reviews or talking about more of the movies I see this year unless I desire too, I won’t have enough time to do so, but my 1st Movie I just have to because it’s;

1.) Killer Klowns from Outer Space! (1988)
~ Amazon PRIME!

While My theme this year is mostly all Vampires, I just Had to start with this one the Celebrate the NEW Video Game coming out next year to catch-up with the movie & honor it before its release, looks forward to it!

The movie when I 1st saw it when I was very young, I think it was on Sci-Fi Channel on a Saturday morning, is another example of a Movie I should have run from fast but could not stop watching & being fascinated by. Their was one or 2 scenes as a kid I had to change the channel that was too scary, but overall I never forget my 1st time watching this movie.

Killer Klowns still holds up amazing well, it owns it premises like a champ & I love this movie for it. It is one of those classic B-Movies in the late 1980’s, the effects are Incredible, the Klowns are all unique & memorable, majorly funny at many points & intriguing with just the easter eggs of seeing how each Klown was uniquely made & how they bombastically go about their Klowny ways, Just a joy to watch!

Anyone looking for a movie still trying to fill in their Roasters I Highly Suggest Killer Klowns for Outer Spaces!

[Jared]

October 1st. 1- Psycho (1960)



I know this movie, of course, I think everyone does. But I never actually sat and watched it from start to finish before. So this was something I knew I would start with weeks ago. Of course it's well made, and Anthony Perkins is excellent. The exposition dump from the psychologist at the end feels clunk in how it comes up, though.

It's always fun to note that Janet Leigh did this and her daughter became famous from Halloween.

[caj]

10/01 - Poltergeist (1982) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poltergeist_(1982_film)
10/02 - Silence of the Lambs (1991) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Si...e_Lambs_(film)

[Jared]

October 1st. 1- Psycho (1960)
October 2nd. 2- Morbius (2022)



It's Morbin' Time! I always try to do vamp flicks on the weekends, so I decided to bite the bullet. This was definitely...a movie. Like a throwback to superheroes movies of the early 00s, pre-MCU and pre-Nolan.

Why would anyone catch bats that way? Why does a ship doing medical experiments off the coast of New York need to carry a bunch of armed mercenaries? Why is there an FBI subplot that goes nowhere? Why was Matt Smith's dancing scene left in? Why does a lot of the CG look rushed in a movie that was delayed multiple times? Why does the villain have two names used interchangably? I'm pretty sure the answer was always the same: "**** it, it's a comic book movie."

Jared Leto and Matt Smith are mostly good in it. And there's some kinda-cool vampire action. Overall I found it watchable, but not something I'd make a point to rewatch. It's a "I might leave it on background while I'm doing my laundry or cooking" sort of movie.

Sony tries so hard to make this feel like part of a wider cinematic universe, you almost have to admire the sheer moxy. There's even an allusion to the X-Men!

One little touch I appreciated was scene where Michael Morbius stands amid a swarm of bats and what sounds like the theme notes from Batman Begins are played.

[CJStriker]

1.) Killer Klowns from Outer Space! (1988)~ Amazon PRIME!


2.)The Vampire Bat (1933) ~ Amazon PRIME

Starting of original King Kong Fame, Fay Wray!

3.) The Devil Bat (1940) ~ Amazon PRIME!

Staring of Classic Dracula Fame, Bela Lugosi! =)

[avenjee]

So my next movie was Fear Street Part 1 1994. I was spooked lol.The movie is basically about a witch who possesses these different people who go on killing rampages. I loved the movie surprisingly as I basically avoided horror movies for a while. This had me on the edge of my seat throughout. Great movie for horror fans. I read the books when I was a teen although I have not read these specific ones. I liked this and am sure from just watching the movies the books are fantastic. I actually surprised myself I was able to watch for someone who was never into horror/slasher movies totally recommend.

[Moon Ronin]

It's Hammer time! that was a little corny but who cares. Watching the Hammer Frankenstein so much fun, Peter Cushing so awesome and Christopher Lee has so many iconic characters.

#1: The Curse of Frankenstein(1957)

THE CREATURE CREATED BY MAN AND FORGOTTEN BY NATURE!
Baron Victor Frankenstein has discovered life’s secret and unleashed a blood-curdling chain of events resulting from his creation: a cursed creature with a horrid face — and a tendency to kill.

#2: The Revenge of Frankenstein(1958)

WE DARE YOU TO SEE IT! WE DOUBLE-DARE YOU TO FORGET IT!
Baron Frankenstein, working under the protective pseudonym Dr. Victor Stein, together with his assistant Dr. Kleve, transplants a dwarf’s brain into another body and unleashes a deranged being.

#3: The Evil of Frankenstein(1964)

HE’S NEVER BEEN MORE SHOCKING! SHOCKING! SHOCKING!
Once hounded from his castle by outraged villagers for creating a monstrous living being, Baron Frankenstein returns to Karlstaad. High in the mountains they stumble on the body of the creature, perfectly preserved in the ice. He is brought back to life with the help of the hypnotist Zoltan who now controls the creature. Can Frankenstein break Zoltan’s hypnotic spell that incites the monster to commit these horrific murders or will Zoltan induce the creature to destroy its creator?

[Scott Taylor]

01. Queen of Blood (1966) - Movie about the year 1990, when space travel is common, there is a moon base and space travel to Mars and other planets in the solar system is pretty routine. A signal comes in from an alien spaceship, which is heading to earth but then crash lands on Mars. Naturally, a team is dispatched to rescue them and bring them back to earth, since this is the first alien contact. One of the aliens is dead but the other, a woman, is alive. They bring her aboard and it turns out she survives on blood and starts draining the crew members and is planning on colonizing the earth with her offspring. The movie could get a sequel, as the ending is a big question mark since there are now tons of offspring on earth, in egg form.

02. Die Monster Die (1965) - Movie set in an English countryside village and a spooky mansion on the outskirts. All the townsfolk are reluctant to talk about the mansion or anything about the family who owns it, when a young man comes from America to call on the daughter of the family. A series of events leads to the discovery of a meteorite that the mansion hides, which has led to experiments that have ended up infecting the residents and driving them crazy. In one case melting one of them. Based on Lovecraft, so I thought it could be really good. The mystery element is nice but the movie really lacks interesting characters and there is just almost nothing but the mystery that is of interest.

03. The Vampire Bat (1933) - Pre-code film (these are always fun). Movie about a superstitious town that is being preyed upon by what seems to be a vampire. It features strong performances by Fay Wray, Lionel Atwill and Melvyn Douglas and the film looks really good with several re-used backlot sets made for Frankenstein (1931). I enjoyed that this movie took the more skeptical approach to horror movies, which were super popular at the time, making the villain reveal into a rather mundane affair rather than going the hideous monster route. Highly recommended.