October Horror Movie Marathon

[MrBarlow]

Kingdom of the spiders 1977.

A small town is over run by killer tarantulas, the veterinarian teams up with a arachnologist to stop the invasion.

This wasn't a big blockbuster movie the way Arachnophobia was in 1990, even though William Shatner was in this film, there is no CGI effects all the spiders were real and there is a decent steady pace even to the end with painting resembling the outcome of the town.

In a interview with Shatner he said it did leave a opening for sequel that was drafted but never amounted to anything than a idea, on IMDB there is a sequel in production. This was a alot better than the other 70s movie The Giant Spider Invasion.

[bleakshaun]

Well I like the 3, haven't watched the 4th yet. My mate ain't seen them so hopefully he'll enjoy them.


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[Paul Zombie]

The Visitor.

John Huston is God and has taken Satan prisoner in his space ship. But Satan escapes to Earth and starts using his powers of evil to impregnate women and giving them antichrist babies.
So God sends a flock of birds to kill him, but he turns himself into a eagle and manages to kill all but three of them, eventhough they manage to fatally wound him.
afterwards God becomes an exorcist and hunts down all the satanic babies, and is now after a child called Katy collins who lives with her mother in Atlanta. Or something like that.

directed by some chap named Ovidio assontis, this is one seriously weird and out there film. a Omen, Exorcist type rip off with a bit of sci fi thrown in.

Not a big hit apparently and i can see why the film flopped at the time, as it would go over anybodys head.
but it does however have a certain amount of charm like most of the italian films from that period. and Katy collins is quite interesting as a female Damien type character, making basket balls blow up, turning a bird into a gun to shoot her mother, and not forgetting using her powers to see off a gang who are harassing her at a ice rink.

And featuring a all star cast as well, including Lance henrickson as part of a satanic cult who is sent to get Katy's mother pregnent again to bear a son, but fails, so her mother gets kidnapped by satanic aliens who impregnate her in their space ship. Glenn ford as the leader of the satanists. Shelley winters as a guardian angel. And a cameo from Franco Nero playing Jesus in a long blond wig were he's in sanctuary with a former group of satanic children who have been exorcised and now wear white robes and have their heads shaved.

Okay, not the best ever Italian horror film ever made but its not too bad either. and is certainly different with a interesting soundtrack.
so i award this unusual film 67.5 out of 100.

[Nosferatu@Cult Labs]

Crimes of Passion – Ken Russell's 1984 film about a fashion designer and high class prostitute accused of industrial espionage and stalked by a psychopathic preacher is a tough one to pin down. With strong horror elements, others which are more suited to a romance, some scenes of genuine suspense and some typical Russell WTF moments, it is occasionally brilliant and sometimes confounding. It's fascinating because it is so all over the place and would probably be a poorer film if it was just about a prostitute being stalked or a fashion designer caught up in a spying map, but the Cronenberg-esque design, especially a particularly dangerous looking vibrator and great performances by Kathleen Turner, Anthony Perkins, and Bruce Davison kept me engaged throughout. I watched the director's cut and will revisit the disc next week to check out the other cut of the film.

Train to Busan – I had high hopes of this South Korean horror and it not only met them, but exceeded my expectations. The premise is a fairly simple one: the Korean peninsula is in chaos when a Virus turns most of the population into violent flesh eaters with an express train going to the city of Busan as a form of safe haven. The film and some elements of 28 Days Later in the Way the people are transformed when infected, but I probably found this more emotionally engaging than Danny Boyle's film, particularly the father-daughter relationship which is really the film's emotional heartbeat. Yeon Sang-ho has created something very impressive which could easily be described as a modern day masterpiece and something which could be looked back on as a classic of horror cinema. It's a great movie and I highly recommend it.

Afflicted – What looks like a film about two Americans touring Europe to do outrageous things suggested by people on the Internet becomes altogether stranger and involving and one of them spends a night with a French woman, a night he can't remember and which leaves him with a strong reaction to sunlight, remarkable speed, strength, and agility, but the sense that all is not well grows as the 'illness' worsens. There was a stage during the first act where I almost think I would make it to the end, but found this take on vampirism to be really interesting in a way which few films have looked at the philosophical implications of such an 'affliction' (to borrow the title) in any depth. Those who don't like found footage films or those with a lot of 'shaky cam' sequences should probably avoid this, but for everyone else, it's well worth a watch.

Wrong Turn – It had been years since I saw this 2003 cannibal movie and had forgotten quite how nasty some of the sequences were, with some effects similar to the design and brutality in the Hills Have Eyes remake. The film doesn't win any awards for originality, but it entertained me for the 80+ minute running time and left me surprised at how well much of it holds up 15 years after its release, a timescale which, with the advancements in film technology, is probably quite useful in determining how well a film has aged.

Wrong Turn 2: Dead End – Released four years after the first film, this sequel uses a reality game show format as its central plot device, a conceit which means it has aged less well than its predecessor simply because of the way the technology used seems very outdated rather than anything else. It is a product of its time, with Henry Rollins' retired army colonel almost a parody of himself and the barbecue with 'mystery meat' one which would fool no one who has ever seen a cannibal movie!

Deadpool – Perhaps a strange choice for October viewing, but I've had the 4K Ultra HD release for a while and, as our hero/antihero remarks "Did I see this was a love story? It's a horror movie." Additionally, there are comments about his complexion being similar to Freddy Krueger's burned face! Of all the recently released Marvel films, this is one which stands out simply because of the huge amount of gratuitous violence, pop culture references, in jokes about the star actor's previous work, and sexual content. I think I've seen it five times now and I still notice new things with every viewing whilst really enjoying every minute. I wasn't disappointed by the sequel at the cinema and ordered it immediately after watching this.

Panic in the Streets – Recommended by Demdike because it fits the 'Virus film' definition and watched on Amazon Video (a free and poor quality stream). There are some parts of this which reminded me of The Naked City in the Way in Which Elia Kazan Uses New Orleans, and the structure and central character may have been an influence on the 1956 Invasion of the Body Snatchers. I'm very pleased it was recommended because it's a film I really enjoyed and was impressed by and will look out for a physical copy with better A/V quality and some extra features.

Popcorn – This Canadian film is perhaps an unusual addition to 88 Films' Slasher Classics Collection because it is relatively blood-free and reminded me like a cross between Lamberto Barber's Demons and Brian DePalma's Phantom of the Paradise in terms of the location and antagonist. The film follows a group of horror film fans who put on a horror film festival in an old cinema which, as they tend to do, has a past. With any film like this, it needs to have a group of characters who you like and become emotionally invested in, and this fortunately happens here. It also helps that the films they are truly during the festival are so interesting and innovative, making it an event I would love to have attended! When it finished I put the commentary on and watched it again, finding the contributions from director Mark Herrier, actors Jill Schoelen, Malcolm Danare, and Special Makeup artist Matt Falls to be very interesting and well moderated by film journalist and a big fan of Popcorn Kristy Jett.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Nice review of The Visitor, Paul.

Outstanding stuff, Nos.

Glad you liked Panic in the Streets. I think i'll have to get Train to Busan bought in my next 5 for £20 HMV dvd batch.

[Nosferatu@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by Demdike@Cult Labs

Outstanding stuff, Nos.

Glad you liked Panic in the Streets. I think i'll have to get Train to Busan bought in my next 5 for £20 HMV dvd batch.

I bought it in the 5 for £30 HMV and it really impressed me, but left me emotionally shaken afterwards. I suppose sceptics could dismiss it as the zombie equivalent of Snakes on a Train, but the confined environment and excellent characterisation makes it a step above most recent zombie/infected films and I can see it becoming one of my 'go to' horror films for the foreseeable future.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by Nosferatu@Cult Labs

I bought it in the 5 for £30 HMV and it really impressed me, but left me emotionally shaken afterwards. I suppose sceptics could dismiss it as the zombie equivalent of Snakes on a Train, but the confined environment and excellent characterisation makes it a step above most recent zombie/infected films and I can see it becoming one of my 'go to' horror films for the foreseeable future.

What was The Wailing(?) like? That was hyped quite a bit a few months after.

[trebor8273]

Up next Anthony Hopkins cutting the ham as thick as he can in Bram Stokers Dracula.

[Nosferatu@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by Demdike@Cult Labs

What was The Wailing(?) like? That was hyped quite a bit a few months after.

I haven't seen The Wailing, but I would like to because it was critically acclaimed and a massive commercial success in Korea and elsewhere.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

The Reptile (1966)

Filmed back to back on the same sets as Plague of the Zombies, The Reptile has never been a favourite Hammer horror of mine but it remains a highly interesting watch.

One of those reasons is dear old Michael Ripper, who for once gets a rather meaty role and shows what a good actor he is away from the constraints of minor innkeeper roles. Naturally he's an innkeeper here but he's also so much more. The craggy Ray Barrett makes for an interesting and slightly unconventional leading man and Jacqueline Pearce as the afflicted Anna is also excellent.

I did notice a terrific scene this time round. When Barrett and his wife attend dinner at sinister Dr. Franklyn's (Noel Willman) house, Anna, Franklyn's daughter, plays a sitar in an impromptu recital. As it continues Anna's playing becomes more and more improvised as the camera flashes between her and Franklyn as both it seems become more and more sexually aroused. It's a genuinely odd scene and is never returned to in the story but it does suggest some sort of sexual defiance from Anna towards her father, if he is indeed her father.

The Reptile make up is okay and the creature is thankfully kept in the shadows for the most part making the big reveal even more shocking than the way the creature kills it's victims - with a bite of venom to the neck in a wound that very quickly discolours the skin and makes the victim froth violently at the mouth. It's all rather nasty really. In fact the whole film contains an air of claustrophobic doom throughout.

The Reptile - Perhaps not a top level Hammer film but still worth your time.