9th Annual Nic and Mitch's October Halloween/Horror Film Bonanza!!! 2022

9.16.22 NEW

First Bonanza in the new house! Mitchell's working at the Q Center at PFW now so he wanted to see if this would be a good film to watch with this students. We knew going in it hadn't gotten rave reviews (or even mediocre reviews). However, it was Queer, so we decided to try it anyway.

I can definitely see why it has such bad reviews. It wasn't scary. The tensest parts had nothing to do with the murders (I think the scene of the boy being forced to kill the dog was probably the tensest, but that's not saying much).

Kevin Bacon does alright in this film, but I feel like he's largely wasted.

The lead character is interesting, but still never felt fully fleshed out.

I honestly kept forgetting this was even a slasher film, as the murders happen so few and far between. No one really knows there is even a murderer until the very end and the twist as to who it is...well, it's not that noteworthy or memorable.

I also took a slight offense to the 'spy' within the campers circle who lures one of the campers into a trap. While they're certainly creepy, I just found it gratuitous and unneeded.

Where was the camp?! Where was the suspense?! Where was the memorable slasher?! This is a Queer slasher film about conversion therapy! The possibilities were endless, but the uninspired script takes itself way to seriously to allow any fun. Perhaps the scariest thing about They/Them was someone thought it would actually make a good story.

9.16.22

Okay, so we've been down the Friday the 13th path a few too many times. I personally am more inclined to watch Jason Lives or Final Chapter, but Mitchell wanted to watch this one. I was attempting to watch it in 2D format, but Mitchell insisted we try to relive our first experience and watch it in 3D. He dug in the garage for the DVD case and found the cheesy glasses, so we watched it in 3D. The first time we did that, we were blown away. We were also trashed. I didn't think it would be the same experience.

It wasn't the same, but I was still impressed with the old-timey 3D glasses. With a clearer head, you can see that it's more a depth perception thing, which makes sense, I know. Some of the shameless scenes for the sake of the 3D effect are corny, but it's still fun.

I mean, how can you not like this one? It's where Jason gets his iconic mask. I do like how Richard Brooker portrayed Jason. He's got some zest to him as he's not yet the hulking, zombie trudging through the woods just yet.

Shelly, that's fuzz-headed David Berkowitz-looking goofball, is one of my favorite characters! I mean, to think that he's the one that indirectly gave Jason the mask is quite hilarious to me. Jason had a little bit of Shelly with him at all times.

While it's still not my absolute favorite, it definitely makes my top three. While the 3D aspect might not work for everyone, I'm pleasantly surprised that it tickles me after all this time.

9.17.22

So I had to go down to my mom's house to spend the night and Mitchell couldn't come. My brother came over and my mom wanted to watch a scary movie. She'd never seen this so I thought I'd try to give her a legitimate scary movie.

What I love about this film is that it doesn't ratchet the dial up to 11 immediately. Most horror films do that, but they can't sustain it for the entire film and the audience adjusts so 11 quickly becomes a 5 or 6.

This doesn't do that. It builds upon itself. You have the tragedy the heroine's family. Then you have the claustrophobia of the cave. Then you have the calamity of the cave closing behind them and no map to get out. Then you have the tension of the affair bubbling up.

And just when you think it can't get worse...BOOM...creepy crawling cave dwellers who will rip your throat out...in a cave that you can't find your way out of...in the dark...battling these creatures with someone who had an affair with your dead husband that you just found out about...who also accidentally killed one of your fellow friends and left them for dead.

While I don't know if I'd have hobbled the last remaining survivor because of all the baggage that gets revealed, I honestly don't blame her for it.

I also think I prefer the British, less cheery ending than the regular American one where she makes it out alive. However, there's a sequel so I guess that's the one that's canon.

I hadn't seen this in such a long time and I'm glad to report that it's still as scary and effective as ever.

9.17.22

What can I say about this that I haven't already mentioned in previous years? See the last 8 years for commentary. It's brilliant. One of the best examples of a sequel surpassing its predecessor. Godfather: Part II...eat your heart out lol.

9.18.22

Again, see previous 8 years for commentary. Absolute classic and one of the best Tim Burton films ever.

9.18.22

Wow, I guess there was a streak of classics that I watched in a row. Again, see previous 8 years for commentary. Jeff Daniels, John Goodman, Mimi, and giant spiders. That's all the information you need to want to watch this amazing film.

9.24.22 NEW

Well, this kicked off our Halloween/Horror Film Bonanza and it's a weird one. It kinda of has that so cheesy it's campy and therefore not terrible vibe.

I will say this is probably my favorite Megan Fox performance, though that doesn't really mean all that much, I fear.

Adam Brody as a homicidal, eye-liner wearing singer was absolutely hilarious and definitely ages the film as he's literally nowhere to be found in today's day and age.

JK Simmons as a really weird teacher with a hand missing was also so screwball that it absolutely worked.

Amanda Sigfried was amazing in this film! While Fox chewed the scenery, Sigfried wasn't a terrible actress and came across like she knew what this was all about.

I thought the whole idea of 'some' of the powers passing to her friend was a little over the top and kind of out of leftfield. However, I did appreciate the end credits scenes. Who doesn't like a bit of comeuppance?

I can't say I particularly liked the film, but again it bordered so closely to camp that I couldn't help but not hate it.

9.24.22 NEW

Not sure what I was expecting with this one, but I wouldn't classify this as a horror movie, per se. Definitely more psychological thriller. It was still interesting, but ultimately not what I was looking for in my Halloween/Horror film Bonanza! Still, I'm glad we watched it.

Anthony Hopkins at 40 man...wow. How does this man, at 40, still look like he's old? I guess maybe it's because in my mind that man is always between the ages of 60 and 80. You still get that creepy Hannibal Lecter-like look from him and it's definitely a stretch to believe that he's some kind of showman/comedian and not a cannibalistic psychiatrist.

I did love Fats and the slow transformation of his face to resemble more and more of Anthony Hopkins.

Margaret Ann! Who doesn't love Margaret Ann! She's as bubbly and effervescent as ever! I did some research on her and had no idea she got her start in the Elvis movies and hooked up with him!

I loved Burgess Meredith! Who doesn't want to see the original Penguin as a badass agent tracking down his talent that's slowly losing his mind.

I did find it hard to believe that a ventriloquist could reach the heights that Corky did...but then again, it's not too far outside the realm of possibilities otherwise you wouldn't have Jeff Dunham. Ew.

There are a few deaths in the film as Anthony Hopkins descends into madness, unable to figure out where he starts and Fats ends.

I did appreciate the ending and how Corky was able to take back control of his life, even if for just a little while.

All in all, it was a good psychological thriller. Certainly not horror. I appreciated that film. I guess there is a reboot in the works.

10.1.22 NEW

10.1.22 NEW

Oh man...to try and make a sequel to one of my most favorite Halloween films seems like an impossible task. Tack on 30 years between the original and it's even more difficult. I was nervous watching this.

After a viewing, most of my worries were put to rest...but it definitely didn't reach the heights of the original.

I LOVED the flashback to the sisters as children. To see why they were rejected from society and how they became witches was really amazing. I was super sad that these scenes weren't interspersed throughout the film. The actress who plays Winnie DEFINITELY UNDERSTOOD THE ASSIGNMENT!

I love Sam Richardson, but felt is character wasn't entirely developed and he felt like he was just a tool to bring back the Sanderson Sisters.

Their return was really great with a parody of The Bitch is Back. I thought they came back in a pretty spooky way in total darkness and then head straight into the musical number. I also appreciated the meta quality in the scene as well and thought it lended itself to the humor of the film.

The film is definitely more light than the first one. The sisters didn't feel as much of a threat this time as they did in the previous one. Which...isn't my taste, but it also wasn't a bad decision necessarily. This was the largest opening for a Disney+ film...you gotta know you're audience. The jokes that they throw in were funny. However, I hated the 'cowabunga' that Sarah yells as she flies off on the Roombas.

Billy felt like a tag on for nostalgia sake. I wished they had done more with him.

The new trio of girls were...okay. I did like their dynamic and how the story centers on their fragile relationship. Between the new girls and the Sanderson Sisters, the them of sisterhood was strong in this film.

What I really wanted to see in this film was embodied in a throwaway line the Richardson says. He mentions that the sisters weren't bad, they were just misunderstood. I really wanted them to play up the idea that the sisters were just from a time that didn't get them, and that in this day and age, they have a place and a sense of belonging. However, that never materialized.

Still not sure how I felt about the ending. Part of me wanted the evil witches and their endless crusade to destroy Salem...but part of me really felt something when Winnie realized that in her quest, she accidentally lost the things that mattered to her the most. It was a touching ending, regardless.

They left it open for a sequel and judging by the numbers that Disney+ is reporting...this may not be the last time we see the Sanderson Sisters!

10.1.22 NEW

10.4.22 NEW

This film was about a glory hole...and I guess I had preconceived notions of what kind of horror film that this was going to be. I was completely and entirely wrong about that.

This is certainly in the vein of Lovecraftian horror that just so happened to be centered around one of the biggest sex symbols of Queer culture...and yet, there is no queerness involved. There is no camp. It is entirely devoid of all the trappings and wonder that Queerness can provide...and for that, I was sincerely disappointed.

The guy from True Blood does fairly well. I haven't seen him in anything since that. It's weird not to hear him with a Southern draw...but the twist at the end was completely out of nowhere and made me feel like I shouldn't have connected with him the entire movie and I felt cheated.

JK Simmons as the Lovecraftian monster was okay, but he has such an iconic voice that it was hard to separate the actor from whatever was inside the stall. They really should have gone with someone else. It pains me to say that.

The graffiti in the stall what great. However, the complicated and convoluted plot regarding the monster was almost laughable.

To find out that the True Blood guy was a serial killer all along was just something that I couldn't get over. It completely erased all the hope we had for the character. I'm not really sure why it had to be that way other than it felt like a plot twist for a plot twist sake.

If you're going to write a screenplay about a glory hole...you need to include all the Queerness and camp that a glory hole deserves. Sure, it can be Lovecraftian in nature, but when you strip it of its cultural relevance this film falls incredibly flat for this film goer.

10.7.22 NEW

Well this was certainly a departure for the MUC, but in the best way possible! It's the directorial debut of one of the biggest film composers of our time. Influenced by old universal monster movies, it was definitely a call back to those films, but also wholly it's own thing.

I loved Gael Garcia Bernal in this! His performance is both the heart and the claws of this story which centers around an old monster hunter who has died. His amulet, which gave him powers, is now up for grabs and other monster hunters have come to claim it. His widow puts them to a challenge of finding a beast on the grounds. Whoever kills it first, gets the amulet. Fairly simple premise.

I was shocked and happily surprised by the gore in this film, which partly explains the use of black and white in the film. You can get away with a lot more when it's not in color. Not sure of the sturdy logic there, but there you have it.

Loved the scene where the Elsa Bloodstone cuts off Liorn's hand with the bow and then uses his cutoff hand to shoot him in the head.

I appreciated all of the various hunters and felt, overall, even with the short runtime (less than a hour), you could see them all as individuals.

Harriet Harris as the widow was so spot on!

Seriously though, Ted stole the show! I had no idea that Marvel had their own Swamp Thing. It shouldn't surprise me because there are mirror versions of a lot of characters. However, Ted gave me a Cthulhu vibe with his tentacled face that I super appreciated. He got so much better when the film ended in color, too. Loved his eyes!

My only issue is that this should have either been a miniseries or a TV movie (longer than an hour). It gave us enough to want more, but it still didn't feel like it had enough meat on its bones.

10.7.22 NEW

While I can appreciate the commentary on Gen Z culture in his slasher film that's not a slasher film...much like the annoying characteristics that they played up, it was a little grating throughout the film.

It centers around a bunch of Gen Zers who go to a mansion during a hurricane. One of their friends dies from a throat slash and they all begin to suspect one another, slowly picking each other off, one by one, until the reveal at the end.

There were definitely some funny parts to this film, but they didn't outweigh the incredibly annoying parts of the film.

The message at the end was also incredibly odd. Are they trying to say that Gen Zers are just witch hunters looking for the next person to cancel (literally?). Are they saying that they turn on their fellow friends on a dime? I'm not quite sure what the message at the end of the film was supposed to tell me, but the one I got I didn't necessarily care for. It was also easy to spot about halfway through the film as well.

All in all, it was an okay film, but I certainly wouldn't classify it as a horror film.

10.8.22 NEW

This film started out promisingly enough. Found footage can be hard to pull off, as we've seen in recent years. I was intrigued by the plot. A massacre happens as a local haunted house on opening night and folks are trying to piece together what happened. They find footage from those putting on the haunted house that records their descent into the darkness surrounding the vacant hotel they're using as a backdrop for their production.

You could tell these people had a shoestring budget to go off of when making this film, but they were still able to pull off some tense scenes and it's really one of the first films on this list that I would actually classify as a horror film.

I loved the design of the clown mannequin. I wanted more of it, but aside from a few tense scenes and it mysteriously moving around and turning its head...nothing much materializes with it which was disappointing.

The characters were just okay. They were was some (just some) development there where I did end up caring for a few of them. However, the ones I cared about were never the ones in the spotlight which was also disappointing.

The biggest issue that I have with this film is that by the end, it just devolves into chaos and you're not sure what's causing the massacre. Yes, someone said they used to hold satanic rituals in the basement...but by the end...what's killing everyone? It's people in cloaks...but then someone shouts they're dragging people into the walls. Is it demons? It is devil worshippers? Is it both? It has to be both...at least I think. The devil worshippers massacred the people in the haunt house and then demons possessed some of the crew? That would explains a few things, but your audience shouldn't have to start writing things down to make educated guesses on what's going on. They really deflated this film with the ending.

10.8.22 NEW

I wasn't expecting this film to be as tense as it was. Again, not something I was strictly consider horror, but a super suspenseful thriller that so far has taken the cake of '22 Halloween/Horror Film Bonanza!

Any time you put two children (and these were actual children, not 20-somethings pretending to be children) in a kidnapped scenario is always terrifying.

I truly loved the two kids relationship. If I were the one in the trunk and broke out, I would have headed for the hills. But this boy decides to go into the belly of the beast and free his friend so they can escape the clutches of pedophiles.

One of the hardest parts of the story was the kid killing the pedo and being able to clean up all the blood on the floor before the owner of the house walks in as if nothing happened. There is absolutely no way that he could have cleaned up that mess so quickly and left nearly nothing on the floor. Could she not smell the stench of blood in the kitchen? Really, that's the only criticism I have in terms of suspension of disbelief.

I personally did not see the kidnapper coming as a women. I thought it was super refreshing and Pam from True Blood as the kidnapper?! I'm in! She played it with such nastiness. The scene where she's chopping down the bathroom door was super reminiscent of The Shining.

You get hints and snippets of what's actually going on here. Pam steals little children, takes them to her house where she locks them up and lets pedos come to play with them for a price. I really liked how it didn't come right out and tell you everything, but showed you hints here and there of the travesty that's really going on in the house.

The ending does somewhat devolve into 'by the numbers' horror. The children escape into the woods being chased by their axe-wielding killer only to have her gunned down right before the final blow. However, the rest of the movie more than makes up for the generic ending.

This was a taught and suspenseful thriller that I thoroughly enjoyed right up until the ending. I appreciated how well-acted it was, the showing over telling, and the twists and turns it took.

10.9.22 NEW

So I'm not entirely sure what I was thinking with this one. It was just okay. I gave it a 7, but I'm not sure if it'll stay that way. It certainly was terrifying or suspenseful in most ways. It felt more like a drama that just happened to have vampires in it.

Who doesn't love to see a young Fred Willard in satin boxers!

I do also love some James Mason, but I felt like his character wasn't the Renfield that I'm used to as it was definitely that character, but much more muted.

I needed a whole lot more of Kurt Barlow! Also, sometimes Stephen King has a terrible time naming characters. Who names a cool, Count Orlok-looking vampire Kurt? That just doesn't make any sense in my book.

Also, he's literally in it for less than five minutes and gets dispatched relatively quickly.

The only saving grace in this TV miniseries were the humans that turned into vampires. Their eyes alone were super creepy, especially the kid that gets turned first. I really liked how creepy they became, even if they didn't add up to much in the end.

I don't have much to say on this one as it was way too long, a little too boring, and not enough vampires to really muster up anything higher than a 7. I felt I was being generous with that rating.

10.14.22

After a year and upon rewatch, this film wasn't able to hold the 8 rating I had given it previously. While I still feel that this one really amped up the kills (as the title states), there are too many cartoonish qualities and half-baked ideas that never come to fruition for me to really keep it that high.

EVIL DIES TONIGHT!!!

That line man...said WAY TOO MANY TIMES...makes me laugh, each time pulling me out of what's supposed to be a horror film.

While I understand having to take Laurie out of the fight because of her wounds makes sense, there's so much about this film that doesn't so why did they have to ground that fact in logic, but then throw everything else all topsy-turvy?!?!

One of my favorite kills is when Michael opens the vehicle door on the girl in the nurse costume, hits the gun with it, and she accidentally shoots herself. Again though, it's more hilarious than it is horrifying.

The whole idea of Michael transcending was brought up in this film, but nothing much is done with it. Especially after watching the final film, it's more like an after thought. In this film he's made out to be more of a monster that's growing in power the more he kills. That doesn't jive with the Halloween Ends (more on that later).

I thought that Anthony Michael Hall as Tommy Doyle was completely miscast.

I will say one of my favorite scenes is the flashback to the 1978 night when it all first went down. I thought they did an excellent job on the mask. After finishing the final film I'm still not sure what it meant with Hawkins accidentally killing his fellow officer. It just seemed to go nowhere.

Big John and Little John...ugh...I'm glad on the one hand there is LGBTQ representation in Halloween now...but seriously...Little John and Big John? And after Big John gets dispatched...Little John just stands there and screams.

For me, you either have to really lean into Michael Myers being otherworldly or you keep him mortal. This trilogy can't seem to make up its mind. Ambiguity is fine, but when you show/say one thing, then show/say another...it's not ambiguity it's just downright confusing. This is especially the case for the end when the town shoots Michael and beats him up, yet he just gets right up and kills them all.

For me, the kills in this are pretty good. I like the idea of the town going crazy, but the execution was just cartoonish and heavy-handed. The confusion regarding what Michael is also is frustrating. After rewatching, I had to knock it down another star, but as Halloween films go it's probably still up there.

EVIL DIES TONIGHT!!!

10.14.22 NEW

Okay...I honestly still don't know what to think about this end of Green's Halloween trilogy. It's just so not how I pictured it ending. It still has me flummoxed, perplexed, and somewhat stultified.

It's a Halloween movie that's not a Halloween movie. It's a slasher film, but it's also a deeply interesting character-driven portrayal of how society can make its own boogeymen. Michael doesn't show up for the first half of the film, and yet...I'm wasn't screaming at the TV about it.

The Haddonfield we find ourselves in now is different from the one in Kills. It's been four years since those events and it seems like the town is trying to move one (as it has many times previously). So too is Laurie. Gone are the traps and shutting oneself away. After the death of her daughter, Laurie is playing doting grandmother. Both Laurie and the town aren't running from Halloween, but embracing it...almost to a desperate degree. Laurie is decorating, carving pumpkins, making pies, etc. The bar scene in Ends is very different from the one in Kills. There's a fevered pitch now. People dancing crazily as if that's all they can do.

I know this is going to be controversial, but I honestly didn't hate Corey. At least initially, I thought it was very interesting what they were trying to do with him. A victim of circumstances, he too is shunned by Haddonfield. He's trying to make the most of his life, but the town keeps holding him down, reliving his past.

I actually liked Corey's version of Michael. He was certainly just as nasty, but with a more updated take. He could drive a car (well so could Michael, but he didn't prefer it). He just had a little bit extra to him that you could really understand that he was primed to be a younger, more refreshed Michael. It didn't last for long, but the moments we got with Corey and the mask were pretty spectacular.

Again, my issue here is with the ambiguity of Michael. Is he superhuman or only a man? Kills seemed to make an astounding argument that he was superhuman. There are things in Ends which suggests that same (the scene where killing the officer gives Michael 'life', comes to mind). Then we get Laurie mentioning several times that he's only an old man. WHICH IS IT?!?!

I thought they were really trying to show us the future of Halloween. That Michael's evil could transfer and we would have a new killer to contend with, one that has a relationship to the Strode lineage through Allyson. However, by the end, that doesn't seem to come to fruition.

The big battle toward the end certainly wasn't as big as I would have liked it. The original fight in the 2018 Halloween was way better. It takes probably ten minutes all in all. I didn't for once believe that those knives held him down and if they did, he was certainly in a weakened state. It was a little bit of a let down. Then you tag on the weird town funeral cortege...it just got to be a little too much.

And so ends Green's trilogy of Halloween films. While it's certainly a mixed bag...Ends didn't leave me absolutely hating what was given to me. Maybe with a rewatch in a year's time that might change. It was a huge gamble. Did it pay off? Somewhat, but not fully. If I watch it was a slasher film, it works. If I watch it as the culmination of the Halloween franchise...well, there's a lot to be desired. Maybe in the end, it's okay to kill the thing you love and let it fade into the background. Michael isn't gone forever. As Laurie states in the book she's writing...evil doesn't die, it just changes shape. Hopefully, the next shape comes a little more fully formed.

10.15.22 NEW

I honestly can't even with this film! Talk about not expecting what was put in front of me! It's like if the creators of Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers all got really high and decided to make horror comedy with the leftover monster suits they didn't end up using in the TV series. Just wow...

The child actors in this are fantastic, especially the little girl who plays Mimi (by the way, who in the world name's their child Mimi?!?!). She was hilarious nearly 100% of the time. She was a badass boss bitch and I was there for every minute of it. I loved how they turned the whole 'big brother/little sister' dynamic on its head. She was the one pushing her big brother around. Loved it!

The character of Psycho Goreman was also quite brilliant. I loved his long soliloquies of death and destruction that always got interrupted by the children. For a somewhat made to be B movie, I thought his character was really nicely fleshed out and you eventually are on his side...even if that means death and destruction.

All the aliens/monsters were pretty fantastic in that super sentai kind of way. The alien council was just a smorgasbord of cheesy goodness that was just sheer fun to watch!

The parents in this film are all over the place, but the deadbeat dad was particularly hilarious.

I just really appreciated this film from start to finish and found myself laughing through most of it. Clearly the director and creators had a vision and they definitely hit the mark with what they were trying to accomplish. My only issue was that I was really hoping that the last fight would morph into a battle of giants over the town. Though that didn't happen, I still found this to be a delightful edition to my usual horror comedy films! Will definitely watch again!

10.15.22 NEW

This movie was AWFUL! I do not get why this has a high rating on Rotten Tomatoes! This really blows...like chunks...I honestly don't want to write about it because I don't want to give it any of my time or energy.

Here is what I will say...it was honestly one of the most annoying movies that I've ever experienced. The characters weren't just unsympathetic, they were downright repellent. I couldn't wait for another to get picked off and thought it took way to long for the dying to happen.

Tech movies are really hard because they get so dated. While it's reminiscent of what still happens today, it was odd to see all this taking place on Skype instead of Zoom. The way it all takes place on her computer screen, flipping back and forth between different screens was grating on the eyes.

However, the real travesty here was the story itself. I get what it was trying to do. It really wanted to say something about cyber bulling, but didn't have any impact. They could have done so much more, but they bungled it.

'HOST' DID IT SOOOO MUCH BETTER!!!

10.22.22

At the end of the Green trilogy, we decided to rewatch one of our favorite Halloween films. This was Halloween 2018 before Halloween 2018. After this viewing it still maintains its top tier status as my third favorite of the films.

It's very clear that this was Halloween's Scream. You can tell that it's riding the wave of the Scream style that became the fashion of mid/late 90s horror films. However, I honestly think that in certain respects, it benefits from that formula.

I get why so many people hate this film based on Michael Myers mask alone. However, I can gloss over it. I personally don't mind the Stan Winston mask. I get what they were doing with the more exposed eyes to relay more emotion. I also kinda liked the hair. Thank god someone saw the KNB mask on film and decided they needed to reshoot everything. Yes, the CGI mask was laughably awful. And yes, they probably just should have went with the H6 mask from the opening scene. However, it's not as jarring for me as it is for others. Not sure why.

Josh Hartnett made me gay. End of story. This is not hyperbole.

It's interesting to track Laurie's story between H2O and 2018. There are definite similarities, however, there are prominent aspects of Laurie's story arc that I actually prefer the H20 version. In this one she's a pill-popping, functioning alcoholic that's barely able to handle her shit. The 2018 film tracks this trajectory 20 years later into a story of a doomsdayer-esque mentality where she lives in a giant trap. H20 felt like a more logical path for Laurie than 2018 did at some points.

The kills weren't especially interesting and Halloween night at the school could have been a little longer.

All in all, I still think it holds up well as a good Laurie Strode story, even if Michael's story behind the scenes isn't the greatest.

Also, as a teen watching this...Josh Harnett was literally the man that made me realize I was gay so in a way, this film gave me a very important part of myself.

10.26.22 NEW

I wasn't expecting to enjoy this film as much as I ended up doing. It harkened back to the old '70s slasher films with a touch of the 'hags of horror' element that was popularized back in the '60s with Bette Davis and Joan Crawford. It was giving me grindhouse, Texas Chainsaw, Whatever Happened to Baby Jane all at the same time.

It was certainly a slow build up which I didn't particularly mind as much as I thought I would. I get it. When you ratchet up to 11 from the get go, you have nowhere to go from there. While the characters still left something to be desired, at least we got to spend enough time with them to at least feel for the final girl by the end of it.

The elderly couple in this was absolutely crazy! It felt as though the porno the protagonists were filming set off the old lady on a murder spree. It goes back to the cautionary tales of the early slashers. Sex = death. But really, this film flips the script on that as most of the people that die are those not having sex.

I appreciated how unassuming everyone thought the old lady was which got her close enough to kill some of them. Although, in my head she's the real killer...but she really only has one up on her husband. At least her kills were more memorable. I loved how she danced after killing her first victim. All the old man did was pull a trigger a couple of times.

I was certainly not expecting the sex scene between the elderly couple. That might have been the scariest scene of them all!

I also had no clue that the final girl was also the old lady! I thought they did an excellent job on her makeup! So many times you have people in old age makeup that don't actually look old. I had no clue until I was told that she played both characters.

X is a throwback to the older slasher films and it works by taking the formula that has worked for so many decades and still making it an original work. It's a nod to the grindhouse horror at midnight showings.

10.28.22 NEW

Technically an unofficial entry for this year. I had some time to spare so I put it on.

It's a decent documentary about the filming of the television miniseries. I guess I didn't realize just how impactful that first iteration of It was. I had always somewhat grown up with it so I had always loved it.

Tim Curry is an absolute legend and it's so sad to see him now post-stroke. I had no idea how difficult the makeup was on Legend so when this came around, he refused to do prosthetics. In the end, it works so much better that way because it allowed Curry to use his face to twist and contort to his delight.

I had no idea the the child actor who played Bill died by suicide.

In the end, the entire production basically says that the first night is the best part of the miniseries (definitely agree) and that they totally biffed it when it came to the spider at the very end (also definitely agree). They weren't able to give Tim Curry a good way to exit the film in the way he should have.

I enjoyed the documentary and I think that it was definite evidence that television could push the same boundaries as films and Curry's performance left an indelible impression on an entire generation of children. Want to know how everyone started to be terrified of clowns? Watch the television miniseries It.

10.28.22 NEW

This film completely subverts all your expectations regarding what you think is going on and I was there for every minute of it!

It starts out making you think that this is somehow going to be a film about a stalker/slasher luring people to an Airbnb. I mean, when you have Bill Skarsgaard as your 'roommate' you expect things to go south pretty quickly. Instead, he's a sweetheart that gets it pretty early on. First time that it completely subverted my expectations.

Then you get your first glimpse of the Mother...something you aren't expecting. At first I thought may it's going to be a cheesy rehash of something like The Descent...but wait...there's more!

Then we suddenly cut over to Justin Long (oh, how I've missed Justin Long!) who's basically an actor just finding out he's been #MeTooed. Then you find out he's actually a very sleazy man who probably did rape a girl and now suddenly he's the main character?!?! Second time my expectations were subverted!

Now he's selling his Airbnb house to pay for his legal fees and so he goes back to check on the property. He gets embroiled along with the chick who survived the first encounter.

Then we cut to a scene back in time where the original owner of the house is basically kidnapping girls and bringing them to his makeshift dungeon in the basement. We find out that the Mother is a product of incest on top of incest. All she's known is the basement and just wants the chick and Justin to be here babies. Then Justin finds the kidnapper still alive down there! Another subversion of my expectations!

The final scene was awesome! I mean who really was the barbarian in this film? Was it the kidnapper or Justin Long's character?

Again, complete subversion of my expectations for this film. It's probably the best horror film we watched this Bonanza and will go down as one of my favorites of all time!

10.28.22 NEW

This was more or less a middling film. It tried to capitalize from the early slashers like Halloween and Friday the 13th by bringing in the legend of Cropsey, which itself is a pretty chilling urban legend. However, they completely redo the backstory of Cropsey to the point that it no longer resembles what actually made us scared.

Cropsey is now some weirdo working for a camp that the campers pull a firework prank on that goes sideways. He gets badly burned and then decides to take his revenge out on the campers again.

Was not prepared to see a 20 something Jason Alexander. That was super weird.

It was fun seeing the geek in Fast Times at Ridgemont High in this film.

All in all, I don't remember much of this film and it was quite forgettable. I found it on some best slasher list and thought I'd found something cool again like with The Town that Dreaded Sundown. It certainly wasn't that.

10.29.22 NEW

I absolutely loved Hereditary and think that Ari Aster is certainly someone to watch in the horror genre. I've been waiting to see this for whatever reason. Maybe because it is quite a long film clocking in at nearly two and a half hours.

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