31 Demonic Days and Nightmarish Nights of Halloween: 2023 Edition!

[Sean Whitmore]

[QUOTE=Sean Whitmore;6619165]1a. Dracula 2000 (2000)
1b. Dracula II: Ascension (2003)
1c. Dracula III: Legacy (2005)
2.The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms (1953)
3. House on Haunted Hill (1959)
4a. Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist (2005)
4b. Exorcist: The Beginning (2004)
5a. Isle of the Dead (1945)
5b. The Night Flier (1997)
6a. Happy Death Day (2017)
6b. Happy Death Day 2U (2019)
7. The Old Dark House (1932)
8. El Conde (2023)
9. Silver Bullet (1985)
10a. Totally Killer (2023)
10b. Dracula (1931)
11. Transylvania 6-5000 (1985)
12. Young Frankenstein (1974)
13a. Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981)
13b. Friday the 13th Part III (1982)
13c. Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984)

14. Halloween (1978)

I watched the AMC version of this mainly because they did a crossover with Shudder’s “Last Drive-In”, and I wanted to see how Joe Bob fared on basic cable. The answer is not well; commercial interruptions on top of his interruptions don’t really mesh. Hopefully it drives some more viewers to check him out on Shudder, though.

[Astral Disaster]

46. The Exorcist III (1990) - The third installment of The Exorcist series and considered by many to be the proper sequel to the 1973 original. A series of grisly murders bearing the distinct hallmarks of the Gemini killer, executed 15 years prior, lead police investigators to the hospital psychiatric ward. There, a patient locked up in a cell in the "disturbed" wing, and catatonic until just recently, claims he is the Gemini and will continue killing unless his return is reported to the press. One of my favorite films after first seeing it on TV back in the mid 90s, it just has a creepy, disturbing atmosphere that's present in even the most mundane scenes, and it makes very effective use of sound and silence to accentuate the dread.

47. The House of the Devil (2009) - A well-crafted and suspenseful homage to slasher films of the 70s and 80s, with a nod to haunted house movies of the 50s and 60s, along with a dose of satanic occultism to spice things up a bit. It's a slow burn and takes a while to get going, and likely will not appeal to those looking for action and jump scares, gore, and an ever increasing body count (except for about the last 15 minutes), but it does an excellent job of creating a creepy, unsettling atmosphere prior to reaching its climax.

48. The Void - (2016) - Lovecraftian cosmic horror utilizing practical effects rather than CGI, most of which look pretty good for a contemporary low budget flick. The film borrows heavily from previous horrors, with The Thing (1982) and Hellraiser being two which immediately come to mind. My first time seeing it in the theater I couldn't stop thinking how I'd rather be watching the films it was inspired by, but over time and repeat viewings I've come to appreciate it on its own terms.

49. Sator (2019) - Minimalist, slow-burn horror heavy on atmosphere, though with a somewhat muddled plot. From Amazon Prime: "Secluded in a desolate forest home to little more than the decaying remnants of the past, a broken family is further torn apart by a mysterious death. Adam, guided by a pervasive sense of dread, hunts for answers only to learn that they are not alone; an insidious presence by the name of Sator has been observing his family, subtly influencing all of them for years in an attempt to claim them."

[CJStriker]

1.) Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977)(Original Cut)~ Blu-Ray!
2.) King Kong (1933)~ YouTube HD!
3.) Son of Kong (1933)~ YouTube HD!
4.) King Kong vs. Godzilla (1963)~ DVD Standard!
5.) King Kong Escapes (1967)~ DVD Standard!
6.) King Kong (1976)~ AMAZON PRIME!
7.) Queen Kong (1976)~ TUBI!
8.) King Kong Lives (1986)~ YouTube HD!
9.) The Mighty Kong (1998)~ TUBI!


10.) Kong: King of Atlantis (2005)~ TUBI!

A Movie Based on the Animated Show from the 2000, Honestly this movie for what it was worth for a Movie based on a Cartoon series was not that bad. Good animation, with interesting lore behind it, characters, and worlds to feed the mind of any Pop Culture Fan like Me! Also made me interested in seeing the show if I ever felt like it one day, but pushed me nonetheless, so Good!

11.) Kong: Return To The Jungle (2007)~ TUBI!

The Sequel movie to the 2000’s Shows 1st movie if you can call it that and honestly not as good as the 1st one by a long shot, but not bad either. Yea the animation was clunky cheap 2000 computer animation that was far inferior to the 1st classic animation style of the 1st movie, but it was something to enjoy for what it was, but still interior in both story, animation, and character the 1st one had.

12.) King Kong (2005)~ AMAZON PRIME (EXTENDED EDITION)(4K ULTRA HD)

When I saw this movie back in 2005 in theaters, I thought it was Mid-Good, just Average at the time.

Mid-Good, just Average?!? O_o

SERIOULY, I must have been Really Hard to please, spoiled or just not good of seeing, hearing and just getting it! =/

King Kong by Peter Jackson is AMAZING, a Sight of an Amazing world brought back to the 1930’s, Great Set Pieces, A Beautiful Yet Incredibly Deadly Skull Island that Lives up to its name in every word and on par A-Plus Acting, I can go on!

This Movie is a Stunning Achievement! ^_^

[Mister Mets]

I'll make a go of it. I'll see if I can catch up.

Movie #1: The Cabinet of Dr Caligari (Blu-Ray)
The highlight is obviously the expressionistic sets, but it is worth checking out for the other reason because this was at one point the best movie ever made. The competition was the work of DW Griffith, and various serials.
10/10

Movie #2: From Caligari to Hitler (Blu-Ray)
This is a decent extra on the Kino Caligari blu-ray, a documentary that looks at the historical context of films in Weimar Germany while considering a critic's views that this also says something about how German Society would go very wrong (even if it was not an example of that.)
9/10

Movie #3: Frankenstein (DVD)
The first big Universal film seems a bit unfinished at times, but comes with one of the great film monsters in Karloff's Frankenstein.
9/10

Movie #4: Bride of Frankenstein (DVD)
I have to agree with the consensus that this sequel is better than the original, building on the story and its themes, while introducing some new concepts and sticking with excellent production designs, and benefitting from a director who has much more fluid camera motion than was the typical in the early sound era.
10/10

Movie #5: The Invisible Man (Amazon Prime Video)
Along with the first two Frankenstein films, and The Old Dark House, this is a reminder that James Whale is one of the best horror directors ever. The story just covers what the reaction would be if a lunatic was able to turn invisible. It's a great showcase for the mostly offscreen Claude Rains, the debut of a major film career.
9/10

[Sean Whitmore]

1a. Dracula 2000 (2000)
1b. Dracula II: Ascension (2003)
1c. Dracula III: Legacy (2005)
2.The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms (1953)
3. House on Haunted Hill (1959)
4a. Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist (2005)
4b. Exorcist: The Beginning (2004)
5a. Isle of the Dead (1945)
5b. The Night Flier (1997)
6a. Happy Death Day (2017)
6b. Happy Death Day 2U (2019)
7. The Old Dark House (1932)
8. El Conde (2023)
9. Silver Bullet (1985)
10a. Totally Killer (2023)
10b. Dracula (1931)
11. Transylvania 6-5000 (1985)
12. Young Frankenstein (1974)
13a. Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981)
13b. Friday the 13th Part III (1982)
13c. Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984)
14. Halloween (1978)

15a. Nightbeast (1982) - Peacock

In my effort to watch all the movies featured on Cinemassacre's Monster Madness (a task I am in no hurry to complete), I've now seen my first Don Dohler flick (something I am not interested in doing again). Reeeal piece of crap, and only very occasionally in a funny way. An alien crash-lands on Earth and decides to kill everyone in sight, first with a ray gun, then with its bare hands. The alien kills people, the police shoot at it, the police run away and regroup, and they try again. Even that description makes it sound more exciting than it is. I can't believe it was never on Mystery Science Theater.



15b. Dracula's Daughter (1936) - Peacock

I have to admit, I really liked this movie the first time I saw it, but I find myself cooling on it with each rewatch. Not enough that I dislike it, I've just started thinking of it as lesser Universal, like the followup Son of Dracula. The antagonism/attraction between Otto Kruger and his secretary feels less charming than it did, far too much time is given to the Van Helsing trial without a real resolution, and there's simply not enough vampire-y stuff in it.

[Scott Taylor]

13. Scream and Scream Again (1970). Scientists develop synthetic replacements for humans in secret, in cooperation with a shadowy autocratic government. The synthetic humans are essentially unstoppable, made of durable and unbreakable materials, and they are super strong with super healing. Not many of the replacement humans are out and about, most are in the lab or working on creating more synthetics. The movie centers around a mysterious and brutal string of murders that are being committed by one of the replacements. This movie leaves much unexplained and it both starts and ends quite abruptly without much ado. But its an interesting example of horror-scifi by Amicus, the big rival of Hammer during the time period.

14. Sherlock Holmes: Terror by Night (1946). Holmes and Watson solve a murder mystery and prevent a diamond theft on a night train going to Scotland. Another very entertaining movie with Basil Rathbone as Holmes and Nigel Bruce as Watson, this time with the bumbling LeStrade of Scotland Yard returning. Its one of the more engaging of the series of this era of Holmes films, just because it all takes place in a single train car with a fixed group of suspects. Amusingly, one of the suspects is only around for the first half of the movie and then mysteriously vanishes from the rest. Oh well. And though I strongly suspected the person who ended up being guilty, there was a fun twist at the end that I did not foresee.

15. Son of Dracula (1943). Third movie in the original Universal Dracula series, this one features the return of Dracula, played by Lon Chaney Jr., and his attempt to establish himself in America. An uneven film that never really takes off. There is too much exposition and Dracula, known as Alucard, is more of a problem to be solved rather than an existential threat.

[Astral Disaster]

50. Murder Party (2007) - from Wkipedia: "Christopher, a lonely and plain man, finds an invitation to a Halloween costume party entitled "Murder Party", on the street. Constructing a knight costume out of cardboard, he makes his way to Brooklyn to attend the party, only to discover it is actually a trap set by a group of deranged art students." Actually, more inept, for the most part, than deranged, and that is where a lot of the comedy springs from in the film. Unfortunate and unnecessary use of the "n word", outside of that though, an entertaining film with decent acting and a couple of really well done efx shots accomplished on a shoestring.

51. Tucker and Dale vs Evil (2010) - Tucker and Dale are "a pair of well-meaning hillbillies who are mistaken for killers by a group of clueless college students."(from Wikipedia) Plenty of bloody, slapstick hilarity ensues, with the typical backwoods horror tropes turned on their heads.

52. Deathgasm (2015) - A group of friends form a metal band, after finding old, tattered pages of sheet music they play the song, the so-called Black Hymn, which summon demons that possess the townspeople. Now that the gates of hell are open, they are in a race gainst time to prevent a satanic cult from summoning the head demon, which will bring about the end of the world. This movie is essentially the New Zealand heavy metal Evil Dead, the influence is clearly obvious in the motion and mannerisms of the main demon-possessed characters, one even straight up belts out the line "I'll swallow (possibly 'eat', I don't remember exactly) your soul!". The movie doesn't do anything particularly new, but does it all well, is genuinely funny and entertaining, and doesn't skimp on the blood.

53. The Evil Dead (1981) - The concept Sam Rami has revisited and revised several times since first filming it as a short (Within The Woods) in 1978. This entry in the Evil Dead franchise plays things fairly straight, leaning into the horror aspects of the story while only very mildly hinting at the slapstick which would be featured in Evil Dead II and Army Of Darkness.

54. Evil Dead II (1987) - We start with a courtesy recap of the previous film with a few revisions, mainly being that Cheryl, Shelly and Scott are dropped entirely, then it's basically a continuation from where the original left off. This is the one where the slapstick becomes much more prevalent and is considered by many to be a high point of horror comedy. The character of Ash Williams is also more fleshed out and becomes the cocky, yet occasionally reluctant, hero fans of the franchise know and love.

55. Army Of Darkness (1992/93) - The horror comedy of Evil Dead goes Ren Fest, getting a sword and sorcery makeover. Again there's an opening recap of the previous two films, with the narrative picking up where it last left off, though the beginning differs fairly significantly from the ending of ED II, with Ash being taken prisoner rather than hailed as a savior. It's definitely a fun, entertaining movie, though it kind of veers even farther into campiness than its predecessor.

[Jared]

October 1st. 1- The Necronomicon: Book of the Dead (2023)
October 2nd. 2- The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923)
October 3rd. 3- Warlock (1989). 4- Warlock: The Armageddon (1993). 5- Warlock: The End of Innocence (1999)
October 4th. 6- Isle of the Dead (1945)
October 5th. 7- Doppelganger (1993)
October 6th. 8- Dracula in Instanbul (1953)
October 7th. 9- Children of the Night (2023)
October 8th. 10- We Are the Night (2010)
October 9th. 11- Justice League Dark (2017). 12- Constantine: City of Demons (2018). 13a- Constantine: House of Mystery (2022). 13b- The Spectre (2010)
October 10th. 14- The Devil Rides Out (1968)
October 11th. 15- The Video Dead (1987)
October 12th. 16- Hell Target (1987). 17- Sorority Babes in the Slime-Bowl-O-Rama (1988)
October 13th. 18- Friday The 13th: The Final Chapter (1984)
October 14th. 19- Vampire in Venice (1988)



Italian b-movie, also known as Nosferatu in Venice, no doubt in a shameless attempt to make people think it was a sequel to Werner Herzog's remake from 9 years earlier. Deranged German actor Klaus Kinski "returns" as Nosferatu, yes, that's apparently his name. He mostly just walks around Venice, stands in a gondola, occassionally bites a naked girl. Christopher Plummer is a scholarly vampire expert who mostly walks around Venice, stands in a gondola, and is completely useless at actually applying his expertise toward destroying the vampire. But, he also has a sweet green cape. Donald Pleasance is...present, as a local priest.

The movie is a mess. Apparently it went through multiple directors, including Kinski. The story is disjointed and wafer thin. The tone is slow and pretentious. The characters are nonsensical. The actors vary from seeming lost, disinterested, and regretful. The score is enough of a ripoff of Vangelis that he gets partial credit.

[Yun Lao]

Note: A bit late for this one, but I will have Sunday and today's entries in my next update, in which the week's theme will be "cults"

10/01: Clive Barker's Book of Blood
10/02: The Wolfman
10/03: The Mummy
10/04: Dracula
10/05: Creature from the Black Lagoon
10/06: Frankenstein
10/07: House


10/08: Versus
Year: 2000
Director: Ryuhei Kitamura
Online Synopsis: "There are 666 portals that connect this world to the other side. These are concealed from all human beings. Somewhere in Japan exists the 444th portal.... The forest of resurrection." (IMDb)
My Thoughts: As great as thought provoking movies can be, sometimes, I just wanna turn my brain off and watch cool stuff happen and this movie delivers in spades. Despite the world-building the synopsis suggests, the movie's plot does little to expand on it. A deal made between a pair of escape convicts and the Yakuza goes south when the main character (named only as his prisoner ID) discovers that an innocent girl is involved and when two people die from the ensuring disagreement, they don't stay dead for long. What follows is two hours of flimsy excuses to watch the main protagonist and the Yakuza members fight one another and the rising hordes of the undead, culminating in a duel between two souls fated to fight each other with each reincarnation. If the "Rule of Cool" was a movie, this would probably be it and it was fun the entire way.

With week two, I drew the theme of "Western", which I hadn't really thought was a thing before this.

10/09: Ghost Town
Year: 2023
Director: Owen Conway
Online Synopsis: "In the untamed West of Victorian-era America, a drifter takes a job as a barman in a small Arizona town. After a series of bizarre deaths, he soon finds himself the target of suspicion." (IMDB)
My Thoughts: A low-budget independent film with the director, writer, and main lead played by the same guy, I can't say I was too impressed with this one. That isn't to say I hated it, but rather I found myself frustrated with it, from the main character's social awkwardness to the townsfolk's almost inhospitable stubbornness to give the guy a break. It felt deliberate, especially after the revelation of an otherwise predictable twist, which I applaud it for. That was enough for me to go easy on the amateurish effects and hollow horror elements. Overall, it was an interesting watch.

10/10: Dead Birds
Year: 2004
Director: Alex Turner
Online Synopsis: "A group of Confederate soldiers hole up in an abandoned plantation after robbing a bank and find themselves at the mercy of supernatural forces." (IMDb)
My Thoughts: I was surprised by how much I liked this one despite it being your usual tale of a band of nogooders shacking up in a haunted house while on the run. Despite it's predictability, I found the characters interesting and the atmosphere immersive enough to enjoy it.

10/11: Eyes of Fire
Year: 1983
Director: Avery Crounse
Online Synopsis: "A preacher is accused of adultery, and he and his followers are chased out of town. They become stranded in an isolated forest, which is haunted by the spirits of long dead Native Americans." (IMDb)
My Thoughts: I was a bit conflicted with this one since it's not entirely "western", but figured it was close enough not to break the rules. I'm glad I did because this one was great.

10/12: The Wind
Year: 2018
Director: Emma Tammi
Online Synopsis: "A plains-woman faces the harshness and isolation of the untamed land in the Western frontier of the late 1800s." (IMDb)
My Thoughts: This one was really good, managing to tell both a supernatural and psychological story in one.

10/13: The Burrowers
Year: 2008
Director: J.T. Petty
Online Synopsis: "In the Wild West a rescue party sets out to find a family of settlers that has vanished from their home under mysterious circumstances." (IMDb)
My Thoughts: I really wanted to like this one after hearing a lot of praise for it, but I just couldn't get into it. There were a lot of great ideas I liked, but the film itself was ultimately just all right.

mad-banner-2-1024x512.jpg
10/14: Mad God
Year: 2021
Director: Phil Tippett
Online Synopsis: "The Assassin travels through a nightmare underworld of tortured souls, ruined cities and wretched monstrosities forged from the primordial horrors of the unconscious mind of Phil Tippett, the world's preeminent stop-motion animator." (IMDb)
My Thoughts: Have you been tired enough that your mind will drift off in mid-thought and start dreaming, only for you to snap awake when you realize how absurd it's gotten? That's the best way I can describe this film.

[Jared]

October 1st. 1- The Necronomicon: Book of the Dead (2023)
October 2nd. 2- The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923)
October 3rd. 3- Warlock (1989). 4- Warlock: The Armageddon (1993). 5- Warlock: The End of Innocence (1999)
October 4th. 6- Isle of the Dead (1945)
October 5th. 7- Doppelganger (1993)
October 6th. 8- Dracula in Instanbul (1953)
October 7th. 9- Children of the Night (2023)
October 8th. 10- We Are the Night (2010)
October 9th. 11- Justice League Dark (2017). 12- Constantine: City of Demons (2018). 13a- Constantine: House of Mystery (2022). 13b- The Spectre (2010)
October 10th. 14- The Devil Rides Out (1968)
October 11th. 15- The Video Dead (1987)
October 12th. 16- Hell Target (1987). 17- Sorority Babes in the Slime-Bowl-O-Rama (1988)
October 13th. 18- Friday The 13th: The Final Chapter (1984)
October 14th. 19- Vampire in Venice (1988)
October 15th. 20- Twins of Evil (1971)



Seen this one a few times now. Fun Hammer horror, and a loose prequel to The Vampire Lovers. Peter Cushing is a hoot as a fanantical witchburnin' puritan. I with the ending was a little more drawn out, we don't get any reckoning Cushing's cohorts.

I watched the AMC version of this mainly because they did a crossover with Shudder’s “Last Drive-In”, and I wanted to see how Joe Bob fared on basic cable. The answer is not well; commercial interruptions on top of his interruptions don’t really mesh. Hopefully it drives some more viewers to check him out on Shudder, though.

Interesting, basically all my memories of Joe Bob are from his TNT Monstervision, so commercials wouldn't seem out of place to me.

[Jared]

October 1st. 1- The Necronomicon: Book of the Dead (2023)
October 2nd. 2- The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923)
October 3rd. 3- Warlock (1989). 4- Warlock: The Armageddon (1993). 5- Warlock: The End of Innocence (1999)
October 4th. 6- Isle of the Dead (1945)
October 5th. 7- Doppelganger (1993)
October 6th. 8- Dracula in Instanbul (1953)
October 7th. 9- Children of the Night (2023)
October 8th. 10- We Are the Night (2010)
October 9th. 11- Justice League Dark (2017). 12- Constantine: City of Demons (2018). 13a- Constantine: House of Mystery (2022). 13b- The Spectre (2010)
October 10th. 14- The Devil Rides Out (1968)
October 11th. 15- The Video Dead (1987)
October 12th. 16- Hell Target (1987). 17- Sorority Babes in the Slime-Bowl-O-Rama (1988)
October 13th. 18- Friday The 13th: The Final Chapter (1984)
October 14th. 19- Vampire in Venice (1988)
October 15th. 20- Twins of Evil (1971)
October 16th. 21- Dante's Inferno: An Animated Epic (2010). 22- Batman: The Doom That Came to Gotham (20230



Animation Monday.

Electronic Arts wanted the game to the next God of War. It wasn't, though it was fine. They went all out on the promotional material, including this anime. Loosely inspired by the Italian poem, this tells the story for of a crusader whose sins result in him having to through Hell itself in an relentless quest to rescue the captive soul of his beloved. There's a couple story elements from the game that are mostly missing here, which I find odd given they wouldn't have needed much screentime. The voice acting is good, there's tons of blood and action with a variety of foes. The tour of Hell's 9 Circles is interesting and the art style varies in different sections. I had seen this once before. I like it, but don't love it. Helped scratch an itch until I have time to get into the new Castlevania.




Bruce Wayne, an adventurter in the 1920s and his young wards uncovers a plot of Lovecraftian horror. I only recently read the comic this is based on, written by Mike Mignola. While the comic had moodier art, I think the movie does a better job executing the story and characters. Batman has more to do in the movie, both buttkicking and in detecting. Supporting characters get more depth, and tragedies are given a bit more weight. I found some of the characters hard to tell apart visually and in how they talk. That's not a problem here.

Definitely worth checking out for fans of Batman, or Lovecraft, and a must-see for fans of both.

It's nice to see Cassandra Caine (called Kai Lin here) get some attention. She replaces Tim Drake from the comic.

Kudos to everyone involved for not shoehorning Joker in.

48. The Void - (2016) - Lovecraftian cosmic horror utilizing practical effects rather than CGI, most of which look pretty good for a contemporary low budget flick. The film borrows heavily from previous horrors, with The Thing (1982) and Hellraiser being two which immediately come to mind. My first time seeing it in the theater I couldn't stop thinking how I'd rather be watching the films it was inspired by,

I remember that being my exact reaction, as well

[Sean Whitmore]

1a. Dracula 2000 (2000)
1b. Dracula II: Ascension (2003)
1c. Dracula III: Legacy (2005)
2.The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms (1953)
3. House on Haunted Hill (1959)
4a. Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist (2005)
4b. Exorcist: The Beginning (2004)
5a. Isle of the Dead (1945)
5b. The Night Flier (1997)
6a. Happy Death Day (2017)
6b. Happy Death Day 2U (2019)
7. The Old Dark House (1932)
8. El Conde (2023)
9. Silver Bullet (1985)
10a. Totally Killer (2023)
10b. Dracula (1931)
11. Transylvania 6-5000 (1985)
12. Young Frankenstein (1974)
13a. Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981)
13b. Friday the 13th Part III (1982)
13c. Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984)
14. Halloween (1978)
15a. Nightbeast (1982)
15b. Dracula's Daughter (1936)

16a. Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man (1951)

This is really not horror in any way, but it directly references Jack Griffin and his fate from the original Invisible Man, so, screw it, I'll count it. It's got a few good gags, and it's always nice to see Fred Mertz pop up in a movie, but I doubt it's one I'll be revisiting.

16b. Halloween II (1981) - Peacock

If you listen hard enough while watching this movie, you can actually hear John Carpenter at his typewriter getting to the end of any given scene and punctuating it with, "**** it, I don't know!"

[Astral Disaster]

56. Shaun Of The Dead (2004) - Underachiever Shaun resolves to sort out his life and win back his girlfriend, Liz, but the zombie apocalypse may just exacerbate things and derail his plans.

57. The Autopsy Of Jane Doe (2016) From Wikipedia: "father and son coroners who experience supernatural phenomena while examining the body of an unidentified woman". I like the basic premise of the movie, but find the execution severely lacking, imo the most interesting and engaging scenes are the autopsy of the anomalous corpse as clues to her "death" are gradually revealed, the other corpses in the morgue are just used for tired and cliched CGI jump scares, and I still hate the very end after three viewings over the last five years. Always feels like there was a lot of squandered potential here.

[Sean Whitmore]

1a. Dracula 2000 (2000)
1b. Dracula II: Ascension (2003)
1c. Dracula III: Legacy (2005)
2.The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms (1953)
3. House on Haunted Hill (1959)
4a. Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist (2005)
4b. Exorcist: The Beginning (2004)
5a. Isle of the Dead (1945)
5b. The Night Flier (1997)
6a. Happy Death Day (2017)
6b. Happy Death Day 2U (2019)
7. The Old Dark House (1932)
8. El Conde (2023)
9. Silver Bullet (1985)
10a. Totally Killer (2023)
10b. Dracula (1931)
11. Transylvania 6-5000 (1985)
12. Young Frankenstein (1974)
13a. Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981)
13b. Friday the 13th Part III (1982)
13c. Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984)
14. Halloween (1978)
15a. Nightbeast (1982)
15b. Dracula's Daughter (1936)
16a. Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man (1951)
16b. Halloween II (1981)

17. Sleepy Hollow (1999)



I liked this movie a lot back when it first came out, and that was before I had any affinity for horror, and probably before I'd ever even heard of Hammer. Revisiting it now that I'm a big fan of both just makes the movie all the more enjoyable.

I've also always felt that the Headless Horseman should be one of the more A-list movie monsters, even if his look far outstrips his mythology. I like to imagine an alternate history where Karloff and Lugosi did a Headless Horseman movie in the 30s, which then got remade in the 60s with Cushing and Lee.

[Astral Disaster]

58. Beyond The Black Rainbow (2010) - More of an art-house sci-fi, though it does dip into horror imagery throughout the run time, and the slow tracking shots of cold, minimalistic interiors combined with droning synth sounds, odd framing shots, and dialogue drained of nearly all emotion, serve to create an air of dread and unease. I've described it to friends as mixing the trippier elements of Scanners, 2001, and Altered States then playing it back at 1/4 speed, all that AND a slasher inspied final act.

59. Mandy (2018) - Panos Cosmatos' second film, while it does recycle some of the themes, imagery and production style of Beyond The Black Rainbow, it's anything but a retread. Set in 1983, "the enchanted lives of a couple (Red Miller, a logger with a past [played by Nicolas Cage], and Mandy Bloom [Andrea Riseborough], a writer and illustrator) in a secluded forest are brutally shattered by a nightmarish hippie cult and their demon-biker henchmen, propelling [Red] into a spiraling, surreal rampage of vengeance" (from IMDb). While not technically a straight up horror, the first half of the film builds up an atmosphere of dread, while the second half has the look and feel of a descent into hell.

60. In The Earth (2021) - Folk horror set in a post pandemic world, with an audio-visual assault on the senses peppered throughout the second half of the film, from director Ben Wheatley. If you enjoyed his earlier 2013 film A Field In England, then this should be right up your alley.

61. Legacy Of Satan (1974) - From Wikipedia: "Set in New York, the film revolves around... a young woman who is chosen to be the queen of a satanic cult, and her descent into madness when her normal life is hindered by a series of evocative dreams." Apparently this film was originally intended as a hard core porn, but was either rewritten or had the sex scenes edited out. The acting and dialogue is fairly typical of 70s trash cinema, but it does occasionally feature some decent camera work and an interesting synth score.