Friday, October 30, 2020

Tales Of Halloween

This hurts.



In a world where we don't get many anthology movies let alone horror anthologies I was very interested to see Tales Of Halloween, and reading through the cast list gave me hope. We get Adrienne Barbeau, Lin Shaye, cameos from John Landis and Joe Dante, and of course Sam Witwer. Sign me up and throw me in, hell yeah! But. But....it was mostly forgettable. And dude, that sucks to say. But it's true, it's a collection of 10 stories over the course of 90 minutes which already is a red flag because with such limited time for these stories there's simply no meat on the bones, what you see is what you get. Which may satisfy some but for me it was a rollercoaster of quality, with only the last two stories being my favorites! Now does that mean there is no artistic, stylistic, well made concepts and executions? Of course not, but that's sort of the catch with anthology movies. You never know what you're gonna get, and it could be a tonal and quality mess. Akira Kurosawa's Dreams is an outstanding anthology, with a handful of stories told with breathtaking visuals, well written stories, and enough substance for the audience to infer and enjoy. But it all came from one source, he directed all the segments and wrote them thus creating a better film. With 10 stories in Tales Of Halloween they had 11 directors and 12 writers. That is a f***ing problem. You get many wildly different stories in concept and execution, some looking like horror movie fluff and some bordering on student film arthouse, all of which are happening in the same town again very much like Trick r' Treat. And there ain't much entertainment value from it, the actors do fine and none are really bad at all, but the stories have no time to grow and breathe to create atmosphere and give us likable characters, it's quantity over quality. I called the twists for about 90% of these stories because I've watched way too much Twilight Zone and a bit of Tales From The Crypt, but even I know if you or someone you know who hasn't watched those shows are smart enough to figure this shit out. Sam Witwer alone saved this movie from being a forgettable and unremarkable film, I just appreciate that man so much already, the handsome devil, but he has such great screen presence and comedic timing that he made me excited to watch this movie. But he's the second to last story. And the last story was my other favorite, again down to the main character this badass cop who gets all these crazy stories down at the precinct and she goes out to try to deal with it. Beautiful! Perfect! That's all I need! Go forth and wreck shit babe. But! Again! We had 15 minutes of film left and surprise asshole, it ends on a cliffhanger and there is literally 6 minutes of credits so have fun with that shithead! And things were starting to look up for me. I just...God I had hope, I had hope it would be good but sometimes the IMDB stars don't lie. 2.5 stars, 6/10, what a f***ing bummer to go out on the day before Halloween. But I got nothing else, no extra reviews, no tricks up my sleeve, no further horror reviews in November. You get nothing! You lose! I hate it. See you in November, happiest of Halloweens to all and to all a good night.

Wednesday, October 28, 2020

Nosferatu

Not my first silent film but certainly one of the most effective.



Nosferatu deserves a lot of credit and a lot of respect in the horror genre, not only did it truly bring to life vampires in cinema but is such an eerie film that I can pinpoint to many different reasons. The plot is a loose adaptation of Bram Stoker's Dracula mainly changing the names of characters, and it's honestly a miracle this film even exists because Bram Stoker's widow sued the filmmakers and almost every print was destroyed. Sure London After Midnight is the holy grail of lost horror films, but I don't think people appreciate fully that we have this movie at all. There's many versions of this movie, it fell into the public domain which makes all of 3 horror films I know of that you can watch straight on YouTube, and the quality I got on there was good with the proper color tinting but the runtime didn't reach 90 minutes, I can fullheartedly say you should buy the Kino version because it looks outstanding and is at a pretty good price for a DVD. F.W. Murnau was a monumental director and did such a good job with this, the shots can be pretty and can also be skin crawling, and while I watched it with an organ accompaniment I feel the only true way is to watch it with zero audio. But not only that, the performance from Max Schreck is for my money the scariest vampire in cinema. His physicality can never be forgot and the strange unearthly way he moves in tandem with the rest of the cast is excellent. Silent cinema of the 1920s is never represented better than in the horror genre, I mean seriously how many silent black and white films can you name that aren't outright horror movies? I can name a few but that's because I enjoy that type of movie, especially with Lon Chaney as the star but an average person points to Nosferatu, The Cabinet Of Dr. Caligari, and The Phantom Of The Opera. This movie is nearly a century old and having that context makes it such a strange curiosity further engrossing the uncanny and creepy visuals. Bottom line, it's a classic for a reason. 4 stars, 7.5/10! But there's only one way to ever watch it, in the middle of the night ,when you are alone, edging towards sleep, with nothing but the silence and glow of your TV as company. And as you make your way to your bedroom in almost pitch black, you don't dare look behind you and hope that the sun rises a little quicker than usual.

Monday, October 26, 2020

The Exorcist III

Why am I doing 3 before 2? Two reasons, 1. The second movie is bad, and B. While both have connections to the first this felt like a proper sequel.



After the total maelstrom of shite the second Exorcist movie became, the original author William Peter Blatty took it upon himself to write and direct the third. That's how much he hated it. And to be fair I haven't read The Exorcist and I think he does competent work here but my heavenly stars does this movie get odd. Honestly, if this wasn't an Exorcist movie or have any ties to the supernatural at all this would be a great film. The plot centers on a police officer who is working on murder cases that are identical to a previous serial killer known as Gemini, despite the killer being dead for 15 years. He discovers that Damien Karris from the first movie was possesed by the spirit of the Gemini Killer after his climactic fall down the stairs at the end of the first movie and has only recently started to murder. It's a bit bonkers to say the least, but if you can look past the outlandish plot elements which are really few and far between this is a pretty decent movie. But do you see why I say this would make a superior crime film than horror film? It really plays out as that for the majority of the film with instances of spooky supernatural stuff peppered throughout. In the original script there wasn't even an exorcism scene and I hear tale that there is a director's cut out there that fits more to that script. I still quite liked this movie but I feel it all comes down to the shoulder of the cast. George C. Scott is our main character, do I even need to go on? He's great as always and his reputation only improves with every film I see him in. With Gemini, both Jason Miller returns but we also get Brad Dourif as the embodiment of the killer and you can imagine the faces of fear I had watching him. F*** me sideways, it has been a good damn while since any performance has hit me like that! If there ever was a reason to watch this movie it is because of Brad Dourif, I seriously could go on a tirade just about him because I just adore that man to the moon and beyond. It really and truly is scary good. I love how the film is shot, it does not rush things and builds that tension and suspense well through great camera work and editing. I can see if people call it slow but I never personally thought the movie dragged even a smidge. The exorcism scene is just as wild with so much visual flair to it compared to the practically subtle first one, it's kind of a trip but nevertheless fascinating and interesting. It's a bizarre combination of genre and substance but I'll take it over The Heretic any day of any year, I won't blame anybody if they just want to stick to the original and not venture further beyond into the myriad of sequels, but if you're feeling adventurous and want to see something odd yet quite good give this a shot. I give it 3 stars, 7.5/10! Only two more movies to go before the bittersweet end, and needless to say in October it's a wonderful life.

Thursday, October 22, 2020

Day Of The Dead

I might have to give this a 9/10.




I liked it better than Dawn Of The Dead which I consider a damn good movie. I honestly cannot believe how good it was. Which is funny because from all accounts I've heard, this movie didn't do super well when it was released in 1985 critically, but many people nowadays consider it to be the best. I have to very much agree with them! Once again I personally believe this to be a sequel to Dawn, the humans are now vastly outnumbered by the zombies and a small group have taken shelter in a mining facility, as the scientific and military personnel clash heavily making the human conflict in Night look like a minor squabble. The tension is here and bigger than before as each party has it's own plan of what to do with the situation at hand. So the story is outstanding and the cast is what really pushes it above and beyond. Lori Cardille is an awesome lead and a true sign of a stronger female character throughout the course of the series, she just ain't here to take anyone's shit and is the voice of reason. On the opposite side we have Joe Pilato as Captain Rhodes, probably one of the most berating asshole characters in cinematic history, he's so jerkish you can't help but love to hate him. My favorite character is the mad scientist Logan played by Richard Liberty who everyone calls Frankenstein, I buy every word he's saying and he has such a high level of energy and curiosity as he conducts numerous experiments to better understand the zombies and try to tame them. And I'll be damned if I don't say Howard Sherman is the best actor I've ever seen, if that ain't cinematic excellence then nothing is. With so much makeup and uttering one bit of dialogue I'll go out on a limb here and say he's the best zombie actor ever. Speaking of which the effects are absurdly amazing in this picture, ingenious in practicality and gory to the max and yes I would say it is award deserving. The location is instantly memorable, shot in a real life mine which I believe you can visit to this day making a very dark, dingy, and claustrophobic environment which fits perfectly with the tone. The soundtrack is simply the best, and I had a lot of love for Dawn's soundtrack but this is a whole other level. It's the only zombie movie I've seen that touches on the psychological effects in such a situation, normally it's a commentary on society or government but here it shows what a hopeless situation it is and how much it adversely effects our characters. It's nothing short of classic, and a truly improved film since Dawn Of The Dead. If I could give it 5 stars I would, and a full 9/10 from me! I knew one day I had to watch these movies and it was well worth the time, with full recommendations to all of them. If you're like me and don't have a lot of love for zombies unlike so many others, check these out, you'll appreciate it a bit. Only one week left, what to do now when we're so close to the end once more? Well if there is one thing I've learned, anything can happen on Halloween so the sky is the limit.

Wednesday, October 21, 2020

Dawn Of The Dead

I find it pretty surprising this movie came out a full decade after Night Of The Living Dead.



That movie probably was the most succesful independent picture ever at that moment in time, but George really got screwed over with his profits from the movie so maybe he took the time to better his knowledge of the film industry and better himself as a director before returning to make a sequel. I think that's the biggest question of all these Dead movies, is each subsequent movie following the events of the last or is it just a standalone film? And to me personally, I think this is a follow up to Night with the zombie epidemic spreading, nobody knows what in the hell is going on, groups of hunters and soldiers are patrolling the woods, I totally can see this as a continuation. We meet up with some new characters, a TV newsperson, a helicopter pilot, and two SWAT officers who meet up and decide the best place to hide out is a shopping mall. I find it incredibly interesting how much malls have changed in the ensuing 40 odd years, it really was the place to get everything and not just clothes, entertainment, and beauty products. They had food shops, hardware stores, arcades, banks, it truly was the one stop place if you had the scratch, so it's rather an ingenious place to hole up. The pacing of the film I feel was perfect, I'm not sure which cut of the movie I got, it clocked in past 2 hours and had a lot of the soundtrack by Goblin which is a great soundtrack by the way, so was it the theatrical cut or like a director's cut? Well I looked into it. The history of this movie is completely f***ed, there's so many different versions since it premeired depending on where you lived due to censorship, but yes the version I watched was the theatrical cut which apparently Romero preferred the most so I'm happy about that. But anyway, the film takes it's time showing these people survive in the mall, it takes about half an hour for them to get there which helps set up how the public is dealing with the situation and the pandemonium experienced by news crews, and when there's less than 30 minutes before the end is where the climax starts. It's pretty great, with a motorcycle army led by Tom Savini crashing their sanctuary and going wild, there's so much that happens it's difficult to recount everything that occured but instantly memorable at the same time. Good ol' Ken Foree is back and center stage and I flat out stated early in the movie, if he lives I'm gonna love it, and this film got me jumpy to see if he made it. In fact I really liked all our main characters, each having good personality and inner workings with the other characters that made them really click. Christ, they never even argue and start going at each other's throats, isn't that nice? Cooperation, it's grrrreat! I heard Tom Savini wasn't very pleased with how the zombies looked cause they had a slight blue tint to their skin tone, but honestly I never had a problem with it because the blood spurts and gore was divinely disgusting with once again the intestines being the real gross out moment for me, I mean I kinda felt queasy watching that, but I like the way they look once again being very minimal and I find the blue tint logical, if you lose oxygen you start turning blue so it makes sense why they look sort of ashy grey mixed with a smidge of pthalo blue. But before I start telling you what we wash our brushes with, let's continue. I really really liked it, maybe even more than the first. I still loved the cinematography, I really loved the soundtrack, acting was great, effects were great, the story was interesting and had it's suspenseful moments, I can't wait to see Day Of The Day which many now consider to be the best of them all so sign me up. 4 stars, 8.5/10! Hell you think this is how store employees feel on black friday? I'd take a machete to their brains too guys...

Tuesday, October 20, 2020

Night Of The Living Dead

Wow. I forgot how good it was!



I have only seen this movie twice now, once a long time ago in my early teens long before I settled on my dream job. And looking at it again really made my day! Should I recount the plot when it's one of the most famous horror movies ever? Yeah sure, why not. There's no real reason as to why the dead are walking the earth as we meet up with several people trying to find shelter and survive, as tensions rise and personalities clash. And I must say for an independent, very low budget movie, with a minimal crew this looks goooood! Oh my God it looks so good, the lighting, camera placement, editing, I've heard a lot of people talk about this movie but they never dug into how it actually looks so I had to profess my love for it. The cast is very good too, it's no real surprise Duane Jones is the shining star of the lot, I just point to about a 3 minute monologue of how he got to where he is at the house and damn I believe every word of it. He deserved that leading man role and nailed it! I have zero issue with Judith O'Dea as Barbara, honestly her acting as a very shellshocked person holds up well but lord help me, this character got grating. Either stonewalling or hysterical, and hardly ever useful. Say what you will about Mr. Cooper but he at least did stuff, despite being a raging jackass but I attest that to good acting from Karl Hardman. The zombies look good to, and since it's black and white the makeup is minimal and works great. It's such a humble genesis to a friggin' juggernaut of a monster nowadays, really comed up with on the spot that the dead don't stay dead and they love eating people. But there's obviously more than actors wandering a field and eating ham glazed with chocolate sauce, there is that human analysis element of why they act this way, what would I do, it's a microcosm of humanity now, thesis thesis thesis, it's good fun to talk about. Smart almost introspective writing in a horror film, that's pretty great. Also pretty sure this was the final push to get a film rating system out, so teen and pre-teen audiences don't have to see intestines ripped apart, so it left a mark just as much then as it does now. And yeah, about that ending....I was livid at the end my first time seeing it, I swear to God I couldn't believe it! It's bold yes and firmly set Romero's undeniable stamp that this is his own body of work, but shiet I was floored. 4 stars, 8/10, and this wasn't the end for dear George and his creations so check in next time for Dawn Of The Dead.

Thursday, October 15, 2020

3 From Hell

Fair is fair, Devil's Rejects wins the prize.



Did I hate 3 From Hell? Absolutely not. I think Rob Zombie wanted to kinda flip the script and do something different which I very much liked. If there was only one problem with the film I would say it's the fact that it takes place after Devil's Rejects and I felt that ending was pretty final. So somehow our favorite gang of killers survived the police blockade and have spent a decade in prison before escaping and trying to figure out what to do next, with no real end goal they take to the roads before ending up in Mexico for a unusual yet still good climax. I find it quite funny that Baby went from my least favorite to most favorite through these movies, it could almost be argued the film has a focus on her after being imprisoned for 10 years and she starts to question what's really the point of it all. I'm here for it, I love it, that's a good dynamic to have! Otis is still Otis but with a lot more humor this time, practically playing parent to Baby so I just had a ball with Bill Moseley's performance. I knew it was unlikely I would see Sid on the road again with the group, and to know he passed away not even a week after the film hit theaters is a damn shame but I'm happy to see just a little bit of him in this. So we have newcomer to the Firefly family Winslow enter the group and I will admit I did very much enjoy Richard Brake's performance throughout, so I wasn't upset about the mix up of cast. Once again, great tone setup and cinematography with most of it having that distinctive 70s film grain and I'm not sure whether my eyes got used to it or what but it was looking good near the end. One thing I of course noticed through all of these movies is the classic horror movies playing on the television sets, mostly Universal Monsters but if you know your stuff you'll pick out the lesser known films too, so no surprise I'm heavily appreciative of those inclusions. But yeah, the style is this odd mesh of documentary style footage like Cannibal Holocaust, the Rob Zombie zest we always get, there's even some Robert Rodriguez influence like Grindhouse and El Mariachi thrown in but it works very well for me. I haven't delved into any of Rob Zombie's work though I've heard a few tracks of his, so this was a very pleasant surprise and a mighty good week of movies to watch. He really is the kind of director who just wants to shoot what he wants, studio system be damned, amd I say good for him. He made some good movies more horror fans should check out, and for anyone who has a strong stomach and twisted sense of humor. I really had no idea what to expect in the slightest but consider me interested to talk about more of his movies in the future. I give this 3 stars, 7.5/10, might not be the best of them all but I'll take it over horror remakes anyday.


Next week, a very long awaited genre of monster is finally walking in.

Wednesday, October 14, 2020

The Devil's Rejects

Man I really will have to wait until 3 From Hell to pin my favorite here.




Now I know this has always been the favorite out of quite possibly all of Rob Zombie's movies, and I can totally see why. I'm not sure if this is a straight up sequel to House Of A 1000 Corpses because I really doubt 3 From Hell follows after this, but regardless how is it? Well pretty damn good, while the first movie was more style over substance this takes the opposite stance, substance with a bit of style, both of which having their place of course but despite my amazement at the style of the first the story and progression is what really made me like the second. It's pretty much a hunt movie with our three killers Otis, Baby, and Captain Spaulding being pursued by a sheriff hell bent on taking them in or taking them out. It's not often you see any kind of movie let alone a horror movie where the killer is always on the run from being put down by the law, so it gives a lot more downtime between killings and thusly more character. Not to say you don't get some gruesome and nightmarish visuals, but it's more about their journey together than the killings themselves. Before, Bill Moseley was very much akin to Chop Top from Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 but with this he gets to expand and put in one of his strongest performances and I just love that guy so any movie with him is A-okay by me. More fun times with Captain Spaulding, I'm still honestly grappling with Sid not being here cause if there was ever a horror star I wanted to meet, besides like Heather Langenkamp, Edwin Neal, and Felissa Rose, it would be him! If I was being honest, Baby was probably the least interesting of the bunch in the first movie but boy did that pull a 180° in this movie, I mean damn you rock that part lady. Even William Forsythe who I haven't really seen in anything besides this, did mighty good and I'll be looking out for him in the future. So cast gets A's across the board, story is definitely good, I like the very grounded and more brutal style of this movie once again proving that Rob knows how he wants his films to be. Now I did know parts of this movie before I actually saw it but it really didn't detract from anything, I was just aware of the more humorous quotes. So still gets 4 stars from me, another 8/10, well done to all who worked on it! And next time we get to talk about the incredibly recent third installment so stick around to see if it possibly tops them all. Until next time, I'm gonna go get me some ice cream.

Tuesday, October 13, 2020

House Of A 1,000 Corpses

I would like to take a quick minute just to say, WHAT THE F*** WAS THAT??




What a wild ride! I had a great time with this movie! I didn't really have doubts about the quality, but this was a very different beast. For Rob's directorial debut I must say he knows the style of the movie that he wants to show, I mean I could talk about the look of the movie for hours so I'll have to condense it down once we get there. But first, story time! The movie takes the basic plot of Texas Chainsaw Massacre, group of kids travelling the back roads of the country, get lost, introduced to a family of nut cases, and the bodies start hitting the floor. But it's such a huge disservice to this movie by saying that because of it's style and unique look, if you have reservations about seeing it I've honestly seen more horrific and gory horror films in my time, this won't scar you for life, go watch it. The cast was really well picked in my opinion, and it is nice to know we'll see Bill Moseley, Sid Haig, and Sheri Zombie in future movies but the rest of the cast does fine work and the script feels natural with the conversations. Plus you killed Rainn Wilson, that gets you 2 stars off the bat. Fffffff*** The Office (I'm just being an ass, I haven't even watched it. Nor will I.)! Oh my boy Walton Goggins is in this, I freaked when I saw that in the opening credits. So absolutely nothing but love for the cast. This is very much a horror movie that does horrify you, I mean that's just naysty! And I appreciate it so much, it should be like that, it doesn't glorify the violence or give you the special effect money shot, it's there to make you squirm and feel bad. Well done on that! But what seriously won me over above all was the way the film is shot, to put it simply it's like if a movie took the aesthetic of a music video and used it throughout. There's weird color filters, changes in lighting, that cool split screen technique you see in Carrie, quick zooms, grainy footage that simultaneously looks like it was shot on a 16mm camera and a VHS camera, I was diggin' it man. Plus I had the wonderful experience of having no friggin' clue where the story was going, cause it kept throwing curveballs at me and I was thrilled to see where it was going, and yes it most certainly did keep me guessing till the end. 4 stars! 8/10! The Devil's Rejects coming next time, consider me interested and excited.

Thursday, October 8, 2020

Friday The 13th: The Final Chapter

Mmmm, this is where it gets tough.



Which do I like better part 2 or part 4? Even I'm a bit surprised when I say part 4 "The Final Chapter" is the best of the lot. After all my praise for the second movie, this really took those elements and boosted it to 11. I love the cast, the effects are pretty grand, the story works really well, and I was more invested in this than any that have come before it. So once again we pick up after the events of part 3, having an ultimate recap that make the Rocky movies burning with envy, with Jason being taken to the morgue and a group of teenagers are renting out a house next to the Jarvis family. But knowing Jason, all he needs is a power nap to recover from any head wounds and is on the hunt for fresh blood. I was heavily shocked with the characters this time around, it has to be quite possibly the only slasher movie where I wanted no one to bite the dust besides Halloween. I really enjoyed these people, and the cast must be commended for their work bringing personality and charm to them all. I genuinely got pretty good reactions from all of the death scenes due to the masterful work of Tom Savini who came back for the final round, and the cast who made these characters very likeable so it made me pull a gross out or shocked face every single time. Jason is at his best here doling out memorable kills galore and getting a improved facelift from last movie, and while it does suck to hear Ted White really detest the movie due to production troubles I still feel he's the best Jason yet. I had a great time with this movie, so dang memorable, so dang entertaining! From good and even funny bits of dialogue, to the best dance scene ever put to celluloid (don't try to fight me), the great effects, it's a wonderful time at the movies. 4 stars, I kinda want to give it an 8/10 and I think it deserves it so sue me, this is worth every second of your time. I mean you got Crispin Glover and Corey Feldman doing their thing and doing it well, and if that doesn't get that little .5 boost to an 8 then I simply have no clue what will. And to close this week out, I think this fandom is brilliant that no matter how many different video releases there are, no matter if it's on a box set with 11 of the Friday The 13th movies, it's always titled The Final Chapter. They know, I know, I appreciate a sense of humor like that, you're wonderful. Oh yeah go check out Dead Meat on the YouTube's too, it's quite honestly spectacular and their videos on this series are always a favorite of mine.

Next week, a movie series with a bit more spice from an interesting director.

Wednesday, October 7, 2020

Friday The 13th Part 3

This is very very much more the movie you think of when you think Friday The 13th.


I just don't mean the first appearance of the hockey mask but just in terms of characters, story, and Jason himself. Personally I think this is the most average entry in the series so far, I really only enjoyed our final girl, Jason, and the final confrontation. I think it was a combination of the stock characters, the average bordering on dull plot for a slasher movie, and those little leaps of logic only to be found in a horror movie that really made this a giant ball of ehhhhh. And yeah, it's no secret this was meant to be seen in 3D, I would have to call you a complete waste of brain matter if you didn't know, and the horrible thing is well how shamelessly blatant it is. The object is always smack bang in center frame, looks like it's about to hit the camera from shoving it so close, and a nothing short of awkward lingering runtime on it. It's...yikes. At least I have greatly liked all our main protagonists in this series, including this one but as for the rest of the cast, well let's discuss. This is about as cookie cutter of a horror movie cast you can get, we get the good looking male lead, the sexophile couple, the potheads, the dweeb, and the main girl. Really most of the acting is okay but boy does it have it's moments, and I see so much of what now is considered complete cliche horror fodder in this movie right off the heels of one of the best not just in this series but this genre of horror. Jason has a good update though, going from feral wildman to a more tall and lean appearance, gone is the sack of shame and we get the fancy mask, and a pretty good face to go with it. Hell we even get the machete wielding Jason too in this one, but it's kind of funny to think Jason didn't have the mask from the get go and took almost an hour of this movie to see him in it but well worth the wait. I also find it interesting that this could very well have been a trilogy, there's no loose ends or cliffhanger at the end of this so it could have been possible to lay these movies to rest in 1982. Honest to God, unless you want to see the origin of the hockey mask which in and of itself is quite dumb you could skip this one big time. It's not horrible but it certainly could have been better. 2.5 stars, 5.5/10, thank the heavens part 4 is up next.

Tuesday, October 6, 2020

Friday The 13th Part 2

I was shocked I won't lie.


Friday The 13th was good do not get me wrong, but part 2 in my opinion is a rare case of the sequel being better. I kinda loved it, and for a movie being released just one year after the original it didn't feel rushed or botched at all. So the story takes place about 5 years after the original with a new set of camp counselors opening not Camp Crystal Lake but a neighboring camp, while Jason takes center stage for the first time in the series to guard his favorite summer getaway. I was really surprised how well this movie works, the pacing could not be better I mean this is a 90 minute movie that flies by, I quite liked all the characters and each was striking and memorable in their own way, it's shot very well and has those bits of atmosphere which I'm very much a fan of, and the effects are real good but not quite the peak which we'll see later. The only real complaint which in and of itself is a nitpick is the ending very much hits the beats of the first movie, but I think from here on it does it's own thing. But it wasn't just the production stuff that surprised me, the kills get more inventive, there's a real spike in nudity with this entry, probably the most explicit of them all I mean you get the buttocks, the breastises, you even get full frontal which just floored me to see in a widely released horror film at that time. You think I would have remembered something like seeing full bush, though I will say I haven't watched this one in about...shit like 10 or 12 years. I didn't really hit the slasher genre till I was 13, so it's pretty cool to watch the Friday's again. I had a great time with this one, so much so that I think it's gonna be real tough to top the quality presented here. I'm actually incredibly curious where this entry ranks among the big fans of this series, cause I for one hold it higher than the first, which may or may not get an arrowhead shoved somewhere unpleasant in me but there you go. 4 stars, 7.5/10! Check it out if you haven't already and we'll catch you next time in the third dimension.

Sunday, October 4, 2020

BONUS: Tenet

Well I certainly didn't see this coming.


Yeah yeah, I'm late but time is relative and I'm just so damn happy to see a new movie in theaters, even if it was a freak accident. But do I really have to tell you to check this out? It's a Nolan movie, watch it. There's no doubts or disparaging comments about the quality here. So instead let's talk plot basically without going off on tangents, an agent is recruited under a bizzare program focusing on a even more wild mission where he tracks down an arms supplier who seems to know about things before they happen. Mad times ensue. Yes it's no surprise unless you've seen nothing of the advertisments for the film, that time is in a state of flux. It doesn't reverse or proceed, it constantly mixes and while the movie doesn't fully explain how or why the point of it is to get some great visuals. It's more a tool of the director than an actual plot element, which may bother some but for me I honestly didn't mind. And it does lend to very interesting visual landscapes and scenarios, but it never gets so over your head you get confused. Me, I'm okay. I've travelled in the fourth dimension for a decade, this sort of stuff is normal. But never worry, every instance of time manipulation is tied up, with zero loose ends so if you're confused by one moment you'll get it before the end credits roll. I really liked the cast in this, John David Washington is a really good lead and slips into a secret agent role very easily, Robert Pattinson is awesome no further comment, Elizabeth Debicki I felt was a good emotional center for our lead, and Kenneth Branagh as a villain is hard not to hate in the best way possible. The film looks great with several gorgeous shots and it has that Nolan quality to it all. I mean...he does so much for real it gets kinda scary. You'll see what I mean. Also, no joke this is the best soundtrack to a film I have heard in a loooong time. It's the best soundtrack to a Nolan film I've heard, yes even better than The Dark Knight surprisingly so let's add another album to the collection. All in all, it's an interesting movie to say the very least and worth the time to watch whether you're a fan of his films or not. Now if I only could find a good spot for Inception, I'm still waiting to watch that for the first time. 4 stars, 8/10 from me! Until next time, well time is relative and all wibbly wobbly but you knew that already. You fabulous humans.

Saturday, October 3, 2020

Halloweentown

I could have sworn I already did a review of this.

I distinctly remember, and that's something I cannot often say nowadays, of watching both Halloweentown 1 and 2 with the intent of writing a review. But I never did, and that was 3 odd years ago. So what do I think of such a fondly remembered Halloween classic for no doubt not just my generation but others as well? I did like it, yes it's very much a movie of it's time, yes you can poke fun at it a number of ways, yes it's not great, but it has a charm of it's own. For a Disney channel original movie from the 90s it has quite good production values, with prosthetics, and masks, and animatronics oh my, which I didn't fully expect upon rewatching. The cast I think did very well, I mean of course you have Debbie Reynolds and can I just take the moment to say God bless her, cause she never looked down on the role or thought it a waste of time but enjoyed every moment of it and was always happy to play the part in future installments. But even the kid actors do mighty good and are given good and kinda real dialogue, sibling rivalry is easy to write for certain folks, and they treat it seriously thus making it more enjoyable. Even the mom I thought was going to be a stick in the mud the whole time but Judith Hoag gets a fair portion of screen time and actually does something other than nag or worry. It doesn't have the deepest of plots but the way it's executed is why it works, concerning three children who inadvertently discover their loving grandma is indeed a witch and follow her back to the eponymous town as they encounter monsters and ghouls while an evil plot stirs in the background. And the film has good pacing, while it takes about 25 minutes until they actually get to Halloweentown by the time the conflict comes up it still has ample time to resolve it. Nothing feels rushed or half-assed, and to be perfectly honest I would only change one aspect of the film which is only really a slight readjusting to the plot. I personally felt all the various gatherings of the potion to save everyone should have come before the villain was actually revealed, to further have that tension and not to feel like a montage of funny moments after a big emotional push for our heroes. That's just me of course, and it doesn't by any stretch hurt the movie at all it's just something I noted. But all in all it's entertaining and fun, I can easily see why this became a Halloween tradition for many kids and growing adults year after year. I give it 3 stars, 7/10, and I think next week it's gonna be a bloody affair.

Thursday, October 1, 2020

Nightmares In Red White And Blue

What a day. What a lovely day!


YES!!! It's here, the most wonderful time of year! And what better occasion to actually talk about one of my favorite documentaries of all time, no joke I really do sit down and watch this at least once every single year. And I've seen really good documentaries on Friday The 13th, Nightmare On Elm Street, and I can't truly put my finger on why this one is such a instant classic for me. It follows the basic history of the horror genre from 1910 to 2009, seeing how the genre shaped and formed throughout each decade. I think the biggest reason I always come back to this is because of the guests, they really pulled all the stops cause you get John Carpenter, Joe Dante, friggin' Lance Henriksen narrates, Roger Corman the king himself, and good ol' Mr. Romero all are there among other dignified and quite intelligent guests. It's just so interesting to hear their stances on specific films and what horror meant to them as time went on. And in true horror style they don't shy away from anything, oh sure you see the blood and the nipples and the hoopblah, but it brings up real world shit and they show real world shit whereas other documentaries might not even bring it up. The collection of clips did elicit reactions from me whether from film or life, and it's a practical feast to the eyes seeing so many advertisments for horror movies and clips galore. But the film is not terribly in-depth and the production values while still good are on the lower end of the spectrum, and that honestly doesn't hurt it for me personally, credits and all it's about an hour and forty minutes so you certainly get ample time. To be honest the thought never once occured to me until I watched this for the first time, is the fact that horror movies are the most reflective and product of their times pieces of media ever. You get a real strong grasp on that time and place in the world and more importantly what scared it by watching a certain horror movie, Invasion Of The Body Snatchers sums up the 1950s, The Exorcist sums up the 70s, and so on. I was just watching a scary movie before but if you stop and think about it, pieces of the jigsaw start popping into place. It's just a wonderful documentary and you can watch it on Amazon Prime right now, it gets nothing but recommendations from me and I hope you have a real good time with it as well. 4 stars, 8/10! And I might just say screw it and give you a fun and family friendly movie to check out this Saturday, I mean this year is off enough as is so if you can't beat it join it.