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.