Full List 2013

1.  You’re Next (9/1)

2.  American Horror Story Ep 1&2 (9/1)

3.     Ravenous (9/3)

4.     AHS 3-5 (9/4)

5.     Under the Dome S1 (Ongoing)

6.     Simpsons Tree House of Horror 10-14 (s11-15) (9/5)

7.     Ed Wood (9/7)

8.     The ABCs of Death (9/7)

9.     Event Horizon (9/8)

10. Axe Giant: The Wrath of Paul Bunyan (9/9)

11.  Return of the Killer Tomatoes (9/9)

12. AHS 6-8 (9/10)

13. Carrie (9/11)

14. A Nightmare on Elm Street (9/11)

15. A Nightmare on Elm Street 2-Freddy’s Revenge (9/12)

16. Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (9/13)

17. Disney’s Legend of Sleepy Hollow(9/16)

18. American Horror Story (the rest of season 1) (9/17)

19. Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master (9/20)

20. A Nightmare on elm Street 5: Dream Child (9/21)

21. The Frighteners (9/21)

22. I Spit on Your Grave (9/21)

23. Freddy’s Dead (9/23)

24. A Horrible Way to Die (9/23)

25. Wes Craven’s New Nightmare (9/26)

26. Dead Snow (9/26)

27. House of a 1000 Corpses.

28. People Under the Stairs

29. Room 237 (Actually counted as subtracting one movie, so Flicker counts as 28 #2 also and so on afterwards.)

30. Flicker

31. Sleepaway Camp (9/30)

32. Sleepaway Camp II (9/30)

33. ParaNorman (10/1)

34. Sleepaway Camp III (10/1)

35. Hamlet the Vampire Slayer (10/4)

36. Pumpkinhead (10/5)

37. Pet Sematary (10/6)

38. Re-Animator (10/6)

39. Insidious (10/7)

40. The Gift (10/8)

41. Cabin in the Woods (10/8) (Counted as the same number as The Gift)

42. The Haunted World of El Superbeasto (10/10)

43. Army of Darkness (10/11)

44. Evil Dead II: Dead by Dawn (10/11)

45. The Evil Dead (10/12)

46. Hellraiser (10/13)

47. Hellbound: Hellraiser II (10/16)

48. Ghost Dad (10/16)

49. Pretty Dead Things (10/17)

50. Trick ‘r Treat (10/18)

51. Ghoulies II: (10/20)

52. Maniac

53. Ghostbusters (10/24)

54. The Howling (10/24)

55. Lords of Salem (10/24)

56. Hellraiser III (10/24)

57. VHS (10/27)

58. Child’s Play (10/30)

59. Bride of Chucky (10/30)

60. Child’s Play 2 (10/31)

61. Monster Squad (10/31)

62. It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (10/31)

63. Curse of Chucky (10/31)

64. Garfield’s Halloween Special (10/31)

Halloween Part 2 *the night, not the movie*

All right folks! Here is the last 60 Days of Horror report for the year! It was awesome, as always, this year. I didn't get to watch near as many flicks as I wanted to (or did last year), but, hey, it's been busy times in the land of Scott.

So here are the reviews of the last flicks that I watched. I also missed a few and don't see reviews for them here or on my Facebook page, so I'll do them now.

Maniac- I watched this one on about the 22nd. It's a great little indy psychological thriller about Frank, a maniquin store owner that is trying to deal with mom issues. His issues boil down to the truth that his mother was a filthy whore who performed yucky things in front of him as a child and now he butchers women to try and reconcile with her. It sounds crazy because it is. Elijah Wood stars as Frank, whose eyes nearly the entire movie is shot through in first person. That's right, Wood turns in a powerful, dark performance in a film where he is rarely on camera. There are only a few moments when he is shown: In mirrors and window reflections mostly, but there are a few times when the camera leaves his vision that could very well be interpreted as out of body experiences. It's a cool flick, I recommend it almost solely because Wood is pretty much my favorite actor right now.

VHS- Another offering (one of the first, actually) from the team that has brought us the mind-bender A Horrible Way to Die and the perfectly crafted You're Next. This film is a nonlinear, cobbled amalgamation of images that all seem to be randomly taped on a VHS tape. It's as if people have used the tape in tons of different situations, constantly accidentally (or intentionally) taping over bits of stuff that was already on the tape. The common thread is that the situations recorded always end badly. The real genius of this flick is how realistic most of the episodes (each one was conceived and produced by different folks) are. It really seems like the filmmakers just went into an alternate reality and killed versions of themselves.

#63 Curse of Chucky- This is the latest in the 20 year old Child's Play franchise. In it, they have evolved with the times and present a much less straightforward story about Chucky enacting revenge on a family that wronged him in life. There are new revelations that continue to surprise and delight me.  I've rarely seen tricks like this used in the horror genre. Well played, child.

#64 Garfield's Halloween Special- I love it. It's awesome. Another pure dose of Halloween good vibes as we go trick or treating with the big cat and his dim-witted side kick of a mutt. You just know that some ghost pirates are going to show up at some point!

Okay! That's it! See you all right back here next year (hopefully)!

Day 61 Halloween Part 1

As far as I'm concerned, I have until I go to sleep tonight to watch movies and count them. And it's my list, so I make the rules!

#58 Child's Play 2: I actually watched this one last night. Kind of a run of the mill sequel until it gets to the climactic warehouse sequence. Then it gets all 'Shining' style with a chase through a maze of Good Guy dolls and deaths resulting in the elaborate assembly line that is used to create dolls. That shit is tits!

#59 Monster Squad- The quinteessential 80s Horror flick. It's probably technically for kids, but it has way too much adult material for anyone to come right out and say that. But I watched it as a kid, and I turned out all right.... oh.... well, maybe I'm not the one why should be telling you to watch that one. Get out of here, Phoebe the Pheeb!

#60 It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown- What a way to hit 60!!!!

Day 60: #56 and #57: Child's Play and Bride of Chucky

#56 &#57 Child's Play and Bride of Chucky

So I'm watching these a little bit out of order. We rented the new one (Curse of Chucky) and hadn't watched it due to time constraints (Mandy actually watched it while I was sleeping last night and now I have to catch up).

Mandy and I both love the Child's Play series. It's probably Mandy's favorite horror franchise and it is second only in my mind to Nightmare on Elm Street.

Some fun facts that you might not be aware of: All of the the Chucky movies are written and produced by the same creative team (including actor Brad Dourif as the voice of Chucky). It's not a franchise that people just kept pumping out crappy sequels on to make a quick buck. With the exception of the third installment, which is the only one that seemed a bit like it was made just for the sake of being made, they all take the franchise and the characters in new directions and into new creative territory.

The first film is based around the concept of 'what would happen to you if something real and terrifying happened and you tried to tell everyone and no-one believed you because they had mental blocks to the truth and you didn't have the credibility to be believed'. This is a concept that I am growing more familiar with every day, so it makes me love this film even more.

Bride of Chucky takes the series into new entertainment territory by introducing the lovely Jennifer Tilly as Chucky's ill-fated mate. This flick turns into a road trip of terror as the pair make their bloody way across New England in search of an amulet that will help them ditch their rubber selves for the much more appealing bodies of random-CW-star-looking-dude and a young Katherine Heigl. Yes!

Days 52-54 Ghostbusters, The Howling, Lords of Salem, Hellraiser III,

#52 Ghostbusters- One of the classics. I watch it almost every year and never get tired of it. This movie has what so few others bring to the table. It is adult and witty enough to keep me interested, inventive enough that it still impresses me even nearly 30 years after its release, it is innocent enough that it embodies the real pleasant vibes of the Halloween season, and poignant enough that it makes the skin crawl. I'm kind of glad they never got around to trying to make another one. It's just hard to capture the magic that this movie has. The sequel comes mildly close, but should also serve as a warning to the filmmakers to not try and capture lightning in a bottle twice.

#53 The Howling- This is my first viewing of this flick. I'd never seen it before. Oddly, last year was the first time I'd ever watched its sister film, An American Werewolf in London. I think I watched them out of order, because while I dug this flick, American Werewolf is obviously the superior film. But anyway, the effects are stellar, the plot is engaging enough, and that little werewolf babe is hot stuff. I guess I'm just an old fuddy-duddy, but practical effects still get my goat. No matter how good computer effects get, they just never match the effectiveness of a gallon of fake blood and some old camera tricks and makeup effects to turn man into beast.

#54 Lords of Salem- Hey Rob Zombie, why don't you tell us what you really think!? Jeepers, this movie really gets down to brass tax on the war between good and evil, and guess which side Zombie is on. His lady carries the picture with no problem, she's on familiar ground it would seem. And the rest of the Zombie film crew is there with bells on, as well as a host of old school fright movie favorites. I can't say that this movie is a good time, but it definitely has something to offer horror fans. There are things on display here that you don't usually see get through the filter of American cinema.

#55 Hellraiser III- I think I might be done with the Hellraiser flicks, at least for this year. Both this one and the second one allowed me a little nap time in the middle, as they all seem to follow a basic structure: Pinhead wants to sink some hooks into flesh but can't until some curious fool is confused enough to open the box/door to hell. Some fool does. Chaos ensues. Some nice lady comes along and figures out a way to put a stop to Pinhead's fun. Whatever. It's a fine enough time, but the highlight of this one is when the little slut gets her skin ripped right off in full view of the camera. That was cool.

Still Playing Catch Up: Read all about 'Pretty Dead Things', 'Trick 'r Treat', nd 'Ghoulies II'

#46: Pretty Dead Things: Sweet little low budge Vampire flick outta New England. This movie was made right on the cusp of the digital revolution, so while it has a look and feel that became old hat in the years that followed, it was actually a pretty impressive achievement at the time. Camera's were still expensive and not everyone on the planet thought they were going to make the next Nightmare on Elm St. So this flick gets a tip of the hat from ol' SB, and not just because the best parts of the movie are the charming performances of its main leading dudes and ladies (a few of whom I might be acquainted with.) I also dig the sleazy porn producer and the little weener bad guys. Yeah, that's wiener with two 'E's.

#47 Trick 'r Treat: Not a perfect movie by any stretch of the imagination, but it definitely achieves it's main goals. This flick was hoping to be a Halloween classic, which I would have no problem with, but at the very least it's a good little terrorizer for adults to enjoy after the kids go into a sugar coma. Great performances from some totally awesomely cast actors (Dylan Baker, what what?!), crisp directing from Michael Daugherty (who nearly had the plug pulled on this flick because of his involvement in the disastrous Superman Returns. Frown face) and interwoven plots that keep us juuuuussst interested enough to get through the kind of slow 82min runtime.

#48 Ghoulies II: This one goes down at a carnival. Just a solid 80s creature flick about some tiny demons wreaking havoc! No notable actors, plenty of awesome practical puppetry, an awesome old drunk dude, a totally bagable leading lady (sometimes that's important to keep a run of the mill dude interested in the flick), and a Shakespeare/Latin spouting little person! Perfect!

Day 46: Hellraiser 2 and Ghost Dad? Can't go wrong with that combo

#44: Hellbound: Hellraiser 2- The whole gang is back and ready for some more hooks in skin. Throw in a crazy doctor and a bunch of time spent running around a labyrinth in hell and you've got the fixins for a movie that is way less funny than this review makes it seem.

#45 Ghost Dad: This movie is freakin' weird as hell. Sidney Poitier and Bill Cosby, what the frack were you going on about? I remember when I watched it as a kid I just thought it funny. But now it's creepin me out. At least it has a happy ending.

Still Playin' Catch up! Here's Evil Dead 1 and 2 and Hellraiser

#41 Evil Dead 2: Dead By Dawn- Yessireeebobber, this is the granddaddy of them all. I say a lot of different movies are my favorite horror movie or the best horror movie ever made, but this is definitely one of them. Does that make any sense? This movie is perfect on so many levels it's hard to keep up. The shtick, the 80s, the low budget, the just big enough budget to make it awesome budget, the gymnasium shots, the pace, the Bruce Campbell. I don't know, man. This flick has it going on.

#42: The Evil Dead- Some uppity young filmmakers went into the woods to make their first feature. Not much money, 16mm film, mud, contacts you can't see through, determination, creativity, and a dwindling cast. That's how they had to do it. And they did it. 30 years later they're sitting pretty.

#43: Hellraiser: This flick is creepy. It just has a feeling to it that no other horror movie has. Not better or worse, just indescribable. I think it has to do with that they keep saying in the afterlife you'll feel pain AND pleasure, but then all it is is a bunch of hooks that rip you apart.

Day 41, We're in the last third...so little time...so many movies.

#39 The Haunted World of El Superbeasto- Throw together Rob Zombie, Ren and Stimpy style animation, sweet jams, crude humor, Paul Giamatti, and cartoon boobs and what do you have? An hour and twenty minutes of fun. These guys ain't looking to change the world. They just want to have a good time on the darker side of life, and there ain't nothin' wrong with that!

#40 Army of Darkness- Man do I love this movie. We've all seen it. We all know it. We all love it. So I'm just going to let Ash speak for himself: "Yeah. Alright you primitive screw-heads, listen up. See this? This... Is... My... BOOM-STICK! It's a twelve gauge double barreled Remington, S-Mart's top o' the line. You can find this in the sporting goods department. That's right, this sweet baby was made in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Retails for about $109.95. It's got a walnut stock, cobalt blue steel, and a hair trigger. That's right. Shop smart. Shop S-Mart. YOU GOT THAT! Now I swear... the next one of you primates... even touches me.... YARGGGHHHH!" Aaaaand he blasts 'em back to hell.

Day 37 (Continued) Cabin In the Woods

#38 Cabin in the Woods- I like this movie. So do a lot of people. That darn Joss Whedon and his friends are so darn clever. This flick just knows what is fun about horror movies and uses it all to its advantage while still turning the genre a bit on its head. Plus the kids they got to be in it are just spectacular. The Fool is perfect. Love that guy.

Day 37 and 38: Insidious and The Gift!

#37 Insidious: I as never too intrigued by this one, but got it because the new one's trailer looked promising. Now I'm glad I watched it. James Wan's style is really cool and kind of mature in ways you don't see in horror movies very often. He reminds me M. Night's early stuff (in a good way, I know everyone hates Shyamalan now. But the guy did make some good movies). Plus it got me thinking about some new stuff that I hadn't considered yet.

#38 The Gift- Yeah, I know it's not technically a horror movie. But whatever! It's Sam Raimi and it has ghosts and psychics and murder. So it counts. It's also a totally sweet flick with tons of great actors giving sweet performances. Kate Blanchett as a timid southern psychic! Katie Holmes as a total whore! Keanu Reeves as an abusive redneck! What?! Giovanni Ribisi as... Giovanni Ribisi.

If you missed this flick back in the day before you knew who Raimi was, or if you just haven't revisited it in a while, I totally recommend it. You can really see the evolution of a great film maker who was learning to work within the Hollywood system during this period. For further examples of his transition see his other post Darkman pre Spiderman works, including For Love of the Game and A Simple Plan.

60 DOHM: Day 36

#35 Pet Sematary- One of the classics. I reviewed it last year, I'm sure. One thing I noticed this year that I never had before was when Louis is putting his family on the plane after Gage dies and his father-in-law says he's sorry and he goes to shake Louis' hand, it's a really soft handshake. Not a manly shake at all. I had a good giggle at that for some reason.

#36 Re-Animator- How have I never watched this movie before!? Man that was a good time. I like it a lot. You guys probably already knew. That's 2 (count 'em: 2) new discoveries for me this year (the big one last year was An American Werewolf in London. Lord, that flick is good) and it's barely October. (The other big discovery was the Sleepaway Camp movies.)

60 DOHM: Days 34 and 35 (4 new reviews!!)

60 DOHM: Day 34

#31 ParaNorman- I have to admit, I wasn't really paying attention to most of this movie. But when I did get jarred back into it or look up for a few minutes, what I noticed that the animation (done, in part, by lots of Henry Selick alum) is pretty stellar and the themes and subject matter rather adult. Both aspects that will definitely warrant another watch down the road.

#32 Sleepaway Camp 3: Not as surprisingly awesome as the second one was, but in the same vein. Bruce Springsteen's sister is back to murder another bunch of naughty campers. The deaths and moments aren't as creative and cool as the last installment, but I guess you can't blame them for that. It also appears as though the MPAA may have had a hand in the editing of some of the violence in this one.

Day 35

#33 Hamlet the Vampire Slayer- Went at watched a screening at Aaron Hendren's Movie Night downtown (next month they are playing Drunk. Woot!). It was super fun and I saw some folks I hadn't seen in a while. This flick will always have a special place in my heart. Despite it's lame production value and crappy sound, it was the movie that started all of us on the road to making better movies. And it still makes me laugh a lot.

#34 Pumpkinhead- Probably the best creature to ever be featured in a creature feature! Special effects legend Stan Winston in one of his rare directorial roles, brings to life the tale of a father who conjures a demon to enact revenge on a group of rowdy youngsters that accidentally kill his son. Hijinks ensue, nobody wins. Except us. 

#s 29 and 30: Sleepaway Camp 1 and 2

60 DOHM: Day 30

#29 Sleepaway Camp- The original. I've been wanting to see it for a long time, but it's super hard to find. But I did and now I know why. Do you? You only would if you've seen the last 5 minutes of the flick. Yikes. : )

Otherwise, this movie is a weird trip to camp and a study on simple interaction between humans (or more specifically, children).

60 DOHM: Day 31

#30 Sleepaway Camp II: Unhappy Campers- Just a random pick for something to watch last night. Hey, that first one was crazy, I can sit through a crappy sequel. But it was actually pretty quality. There is no plot. We know who the killer is from the first scene and then with a little establishment or the various characters personalities and conflicts, the killer just kills them. But what is great about this flick is all the little horror movie things that the makers made sure to do right. Hot girls showing their boobs. Plenty of gore, no flimflam. Fun, varied deaths and a villain that is truly intriguing to watch as she flip flops from the picture of morality to brutal slasher.

60 Days keeps on truckin', went to a wedding and got Drunk.

60 DOHM: Day 29

#28 (Again) Because we had to subtract one movie over 'Room 237' I had to go out and find the real crazy people. And it turned out it wasn't too hard. They're right in my back yard. Tonight I watched 'Flicker'. This film was produced in New Mexico and it is one crazy whirlwind of backwoods psychedelia. Campers, torture, cut off her hair, cops and tents and blood and Kevin R. Elder. It's an awesome ride with director Aaron Hendren at the helm. You kind of feel like he's guiding his cast and his viewers and his crew right to the back of his head so we can all sort it out together. Nicely did.

In other news, my brother from another mother, Westin, saw his second sister walk down the isle today. It was a fine evening to be sure. We danced, we sang, we hugged, I met new people, some dudes tried to hit on my wife (who, as you may have guessed, is the most beautiful person on the planet, which works out splendidly for me). They drank, I drove home. It was a great time! Good to see all my old friends from around the corner. Congratulations Dawn and Justin.

Oh, and in case you forgot, drunkwillbecommingoutondvdonoctober22!!!

60 DOHM Day 26

#25 Wes Craven's New Nightmare- ol Craven comes back to show the kids how it's done. New ideas, a scarier Freddy, and all the s**t that made the series awesome in the first place.

#26 Dead Snow- Just your ol' fashioned, run of the mill Norwegian made nazi zombie extravaganza. There's lots of good stuff here, but there is always something off-putting to me about these foreign horror movies. It has something to do with the hot sex scene that is conducted on the toilet. I'm not sure what else. Anyway, tons of fun, lots of guts flying everywhere. And did I mention the nazi zombies?

60 DOHM- A Horrible Way to Die

60 DOHM: Day 23 (a couple of days ago)

#24 A Horrible Way to Die- Thanks again to Stan Shunkamolah and family for hosting me the other night and suggesting this psychological killfest. I'm surprised after how much I loved 'You're Next' that I didn't immediately look up that crew's other flicks. 'A Horrible Way to Die' is a lot more indy rock than 'Next', with a non linear story structure and no exposition before the first killing. But it is another testament to these folks being able to craft seriously true moments with their character's every gesture and uncomfortable word.

60 Days of Horror Movies: Day 23

#23 Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare- A fine enough capper to the original series. Fun cameos by Alice Cooper, Johnny Depp, Roseanne and Tom Arnold. Then there's the old school 3D ending. And it's always fun to learn more stuff about Freddy. Robert England and Wes Craven definitely created a character for the ages.

60 DOHM Day 21

#21 The Frighteners- I think this is a long overlooked piece of awesome. It came out right in that weird little period where the Spielberg/Zemeckis team (who, up to that point, seemed like it could do no wrong) ran into a couple of big flops. The Frighteners was one of them; but now, looking back, I can't remember why. It had a great star (Michael J. Fox, who had previously scored big with Zemeckis and the Back to the Future Trilogy), a great supporting cast (Jake Busey, come on!), the best special effects money could buy at the time, and at the helm of it all was a little nobody up and coming director named Peter Jackson. It was Jackson's first real big budget American movie, and I guess that audiences of the negative 90s just weren't ready for his weird blend of the truly creepy and utter slapstick. Oh well, it's fun to watch it now.

#22 I Spit on Your Grave- What can you say about this 1978 cult horror torture porn classic that hasn't already been said a million times. It's slow, meticulous, agonizing build is the ultimate nightmare for any woman; and the pay off, while satisfying, is hardly a happy ending. It's tuff stuff, no doubt, but somehow mesmerizing at the same time. Some would call it high art while others would discard it as misogynistic garbage. Nobody's wrong here, or right. I don't know.

60 DOHM Day 20

#20 Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child- Yeah, it's not so bad. Freddy wasn't really scary anymore by this point and the 80s had gone too overboard, but it's still a fun time. And you get some good backstory stuff.

60 DOHM: Day 20 #16 Nightmare on elm Street 4: The Dream Master

60 DOHM Day 20

#16 Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master- This could be considered one of the two 'bad' Freddy movies (the other being 5) but really, as far as crappy horror movies go, they're still pretty good. Hack director Renny Harlin has fun and we see a not-Patricia-Arquette Kirstin get bumped off and the buck is passed to her bud Alice (the dream master, oooooooooo) who will carry us home in the original series before Freddy's Dead. So Now all the Elm Street kids are dead and Freddy's unleashed on the rest of Springwood. 

And I call Renny a hack, but he has directed movies in 2 of my favorite franchises, this flick and Die Hard 2: Die Harder-except-it's-not-as-good-as-1-and-3-or-even-4-but-at-least-it's-not-the-worst-one-anymore-because-die-hard-5-was-awful-and-I'm-not-even-going-to-buy-it.

News 9/20

Exciting News #3 for the month: I am now (almost completely but for suresies) signed with the Applause Talent Agency and Carissa Mitchell. This is very exciting. Carissa is awesome and Applause is definitely the place to be for actors in Albuquerque right now.

I also had a head shot shoot today with Zach Sutton Photography. I highly recommend him. He was great and I already have my proofs to look at and decide on my final shots.

I also finished authoring the Drunk DVD today, complete with commentary and special features. I played one on my big ass tv and it looks and sounds great, I hope you all are ready for this flick to (finally) be unleashed on the world. October 22nd! Now I just have to finish my cover art for the disc and packaging and I'm on my way. It will be available thru Amazon, Create Space, my website (scottbryantheperson.com) and thru me personally. If you can, get it from me (that way I get more cash from the sale). I will be able to accept credit cards soon (by October 22nd for sure).

60 DOHM 9/20

60 Days of Horror Movies: Day 20

#15 American Horror Story (Season 1 Thru Finale): The last episode basically wraps up all the loose ends and prepares us for changes in season 2. Good times. I'll be sad to see some of these story lines go. And I love that all the weirdness of the season is wrapped up by the end.

Also, look for my 60 Days posts on this new blog from now on. Older posts including the first 20 days worth of watching can be found on my facebook page.

9/17/2013

Scott Bryan's Personal website www.scottbryantheperson.com is finished and about to go live.

The Drunk DVD release has been set for October 22, 2013. The DVD will contain behind the scenes interviews, the festival cut of the film, trailer, and a commentary by writer/actor Scott Bryan.

A Guy, a gril and Their Monster has been made a Semifinalist in MSN's 'Short Form Story-Telling' contest and a chance to win a $75,000 budget for season 2.

Scott has finished his performances of The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) and starts rehearsal for Love and Beauty, debuting in October as part of the Tricklock Company's 20th season.