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October 2023 Horror Movie Marathon!
YOU'VE BEEN INVITED! It's that time of year again! Welcome back to the 2023 October Horror Movie Marathon!
Here's how it works:
Watch scary/horror movies in October...whatever YOU think is horror (or scary) is fine!
Talk about them here, or at least list the title.
At the end of the month, we tally up how many horror movies you watched
1-12 movies: Bangor Buddies
13-18 movies: Tet-Mates
19-30 movies: Horrorslingers
31 movies or more: Ultimate Kings of Horror!
Even if you only watch one or two scary movies, this is a great thread for horror movie enthusiasts to share their finds and talk some horror!
Here's how it works:
Watch scary/horror movies in October...whatever YOU think is horror (or scary) is fine!
Talk about them here, or at least list the title.
At the end of the month, we tally up how many horror movies you watched
1-12 movies: Bangor Buddies
13-18 movies: Tet-Mates
19-30 movies: Horrorslingers
31 movies or more: Ultimate Kings of Horror!
Even if you only watch one or two scary movies, this is a great thread for horror movie enthusiasts to share their finds and talk some horror!
Tagged:
Comments
Great to see you Bob, thanks for doing this every year. ❤️
What can I say, it's a B-Movie that mostly delivers on it's premise and has some nice moments of gore, but not much else. Much of the intended humor is awkward and doesn't land. The CGI bear is often unnatural looking, particularly during scenes of quick motion and facial expressions. This could have been a better movie, but I guess it could have been worse. 3 out of 5 stars.
1. Beneath Us All (2023) The oldest "daughter" in a foster family unwillingly releases some buried ancient evil (ancient, rather viking age) and it infects her. The strange thing about this was that you really rooted for the daughter since the fosterparents were very unsympathetic. You positively wanted her to kill them! But far too long and not very well told. The actor who played the daughter made a very good job of it though. 2,5/5
1. El Conde — 2023 — Netflix
“After living 250 years in this world, Augusto Pinochet, who is not dead but an aged vampire, decides to die once and for all.”
I enjoyed this. Unique vampire take. Great visuals. Lots of humor.
1. El Conde*
2. Suspiria : Restored Uncut Version— 1977 — Criterion
“The film stars Jessica Harper as an American ballet student who transfers to a prestigious dance academy but realizes, after a series of brutal murders, that the academy is a front for a supernatural conspiracy.”
Sigh. I have no doubt that when this came out in ‘77 it was ever so frightful. Unsettling freakish environment. New! Exciting! Different!
The story was boring and disjointed.
But the look really stands shoulder to shoulder with Disney’s ride, It’s A Small World. It’s a magical, beautiful, gorgeous environment when you are a kid (or high as fuck), but when you really look at it with clear eyes, the cardboard and duct tape, the red and green gel lights scream cheap, sad and shabby. They tried. I give credit for the attempt.
*denotes first time viewing
1. El Conde*
Kurbens Horror movie list!
1. Beneath Us All (2023) 2,5/5
2. The Flood (2023) 3,5/5 this is a mix of a creature feature (alligators) and a prison break movie. A prisoner transport is forced to seek shelter in a small sheriffs office until the storm/flood dies down because of bad roads. Some tries to free one of them and then all of them, prisoners, bad guys and cops have to work together to survive the gators. The gators were rather real.....
A young girl, hated and shunned by an entire town, has an amazing home to do exactly what she wants in. And then, there goes the neighborhood— The Encounters of the Close Kind aliens come to town.
1. El Conde*
3. No One Will Save You*
In the days leading up to the 1st, (in truth, I got busy and forgot the calendar had flipped 😳)
I'd been watching the TV series "The Rig" on Prime.
I finished it on Sunday, so will count the series as my # "1".
"A group of workers on a remote Scottish oil rig are due to return to the mainland when a mysterious fog cloaks them and supernatural forces take hold."
I enjoyed it, there are a couple of actors I like from other things, in this. (Ian Glen, Martin Compston.)
*FTV (first time viewing)
1) The Rig* (Prime)
Investigative journalists spend Halloween night in Britain’s most haunted house, only to find themselves caught in an even bigger horror story.
Told with a completely straight face in news documentary style, Ghostwatch caused a bit of a stir when it was aired (once and only once) back in 1992 on BBC 1. Predating Paranormal Activity and The Blair Witch Project, audiences were caught off guard and because of the live “call in” feature and the use of real television hosts, many in the audience were convinced that what they were seeing was real. There was so much controversy about what many felt was irresponsible reporting and an abuse of public trust, Ghostwatch was effectively banned from further broadcast and only recently became available for home viewing.
Today, much of the film feels dated and creaky, and it’s hard not to chuckle at the (presumably regional) name they’ve given the dark space under the staircase, which I won’t print here, but it rhymes with “gory hole”. Things fly a bit off the rails towards the end as the paranormal entity expands its reach beyond just the house, but Ghostwatch always keeps us guessing and entertained, and even occasionally a bit creeped out. What I like is that the movie never once winks at the audience, even when the host (ably played by BBC mainstay Michael Parkinson) is being cynical, he never loses his professional sheen.
Ghostwatch pioneered the found footage genre in regards to horror, and many of the most effective moments are still imitated to this day. I wasn’t a child in 1992, but if I had seen this as a child I would have been terrified.
4 out of 5 stars.
Bob's October 2023 Horror Movie List
*FTV denotes first-time viewings
1. Ghostwatch 4/5 (FTV)
“An American author finds a dilapidated Welsh manor perfect for writing until the residents host a bizarre family reunion.”
Man, this thing was loaded with all the old horror guys. And I’m going to like it for that. Interesting idea for a story. Desi Arnaz, Jr. is cute. That’s the most positive thing I can say about him.
1. El Conde*
3. No One Will Save You*
Kurbens Horror movie list!
1. Beneath Us All (2023) 2,5/5 FTV
2. The Flood (2023) 3,5/5 FTV
3. Island Escape (2023) 2/5 FTV This was messed up. A team of soldiers sent on a rescue mission discover that the island they are on is full of monstrous creatures. They tried to do something that was both scary and smart and succeeded in neither. Illogical too. Mercifully not too long. I hope i find a good first time view soon....
“In the Old West, a sheriff (Kurt Russell), his deputy (Richard Jenkins), a gunslinger (Matthew Fox),and a cowboy (Patrick Wilson) embark on a mission to rescue three people from a savage group of cave dwellers.”
I truly love Kurt Russell. I think he is one of those underrated actors we hear about. And this is one of the movies that came across my radar periodically during my podcast listens. Someone would throw this movie in the conversation and I knew I had to see it by the vague discussions around it. It took a long time for me to find it free.
denotes first time viewing
1. El Conde*
3. No One Will Save You*
5. Bone Tomahawk
“Banker Arthur Hamilton (John Randolph) gets a call one day from a friend he thought was dead. It turns out that the friend is not a ghost, but was simply faking all along, and was placed into a new existence by a company who can give you a completely new face and life. Hamilton decides to undergo the procedure himself and becomes Tony Wilson (Rock Hudson), an artist who lives in Malibu. He is given a manservant to help him adjust but soon finds that adjusting will be the least of his worries.”
A while back I watched a documentary on Rock Hudson and they mentioned this movie. Rock in a horror movie? Again, searched for it and had to wait for it to show up free.
1. El Conde*
3. No One Will Save You*
5. Bone Tomahawk*
An orphaned girl seeks to bring her parents back to life with the help of a pair of misfit demons who dream of opening a theme park for the dead.
Stop motion-animated horror comedy feature from Henry Selick (the animator of Nightmare Before Christmas and Coraline), and co-written by horror master Jordan Peele? I’m in. W&W is a strange film, seeming to play by its own set of twisted rules--know of many animated features that kill off the parents in the first 5 minutes, or feature a shovel murder?
At times this ambitious film can barely contain its large number of ideas, characters and a decidedly non-childish plot, and the tonal shifts between the human world and the demon world can be jarring. The protagonist can be abraisive, but we understand her bitterness—she feels she’s to blame for her parents’ death and seeks to fix things. Not shying away from demonic entities, W&W is pretty far from the relatively familiar territory of Disney, Pixar and Dreamworks, so it’s likely going to turn off those who just want some animated comfort food.
Boasting a funk-rock retro soundtrack that features Fishbone, The Specials, and Living Colour, Wendell & Wild dances to the beat of its own drum.
4 out of 5 stars.
Bob's October 2023 Horror Movie List
*FTV denotes first-time viewings
1. Ghostwatch 4/5 (FTV)
2. Wendel & Wild 4/5 (FTV)
3. Dolls (FTV)
A dysfunctional family and a group of road-trippers get stranded at a creepy old mansion where the dolls come to life and dish out justice to the baddies.
Sometimes you just want a horror movie that does exactly what you think it’s going to do, and Dolls does not disappoint. Directed by Stuart Gordon (Re-Animator) in 1987, it would be tempting to write off Dolls as a straight-to-video cash grab that attempts to one-up Chucky in Child’s Play, but Dolls actually pre-dates that film and in fact saw a theatrical release. Of course the critics hated it, but this isn’t Citizen freakin’ Kane, it’s a movie about killer dolls.
What keeps Dolls from achieving greatness is a lack of involving characters, a cheesy intrusive music soundtrack, and a truly terrible child actor whose whiny nasal voice grates early and often. On the plus side, we have the killer dolls themselves, brought to life through various means including animatronics, master puppetry imported from Italy, and stop motion-animation. There’s also a fair amount of authentic 80’s-style gore, poked out eyeballs, and an unforgettable transformation scene.
Got 77 minutes and want to see a bunch of creepy dolls killing people? Look no further than Dolls.
3 out of 5 stars.
Bob's October 2023 Horror Movie List
*FTV denotes first-time viewings
1. Ghostwatch 4/5 (FTV)
2. Wendel & Wild 4/5 (FTV)
3. Dolls 3/5 (FTV)
Kurbens Horror movie list!
1. Beneath Us All (2023) 2,5/5 FTV
2. The Flood (2023) 3,5/5 FTV
3. Island Escape (2023) 2/5 FTV
4. Vampires vs The Bronx (2020) 4/5 FTV Vampires tries to take over the bronx by buying up properties and form a nest. Thrre best friends kids after watching Blade becomes vampire hunters. This is actually a rather successful mix of funny and scary. Nothing that will revolutionize the horror movie industry but a fun watch. Except for Zpe Saldana in a small part no actors i've heard of.
“John Trent, an insurance investigator who visits a small town while looking into the disappearance of a successful author of horror novels and begins to question his sanity as the lines between reality and fiction seem to blur.”
I’ve tried to like Lovecraft. Surely there has been some adaptation of his work I’ve enjoyed that keeps me coming back. But for the life of me, I don’t know what it is.
1. El Conde*
3. No One Will Save You*
5. Bone Tomahawk*
...you mean the use of the term "eldritch" is wearisome....p'shaw.....
....maybe his fashion sense will be more appealing....