October Horror Movie Marathon

[MrBarlow]

Candyman: Farewell to the flesh. 1995.

Candyman descends onto the Mardi Gras area where a teacher proves he doesn't exist and her brother is accused of murder and finds the truth about her family.

This was a decent sequel that looks more into Candyman/Daniel Robitaille's background on what happened and how he became the urban myth of Cabrini Greene. It may not be as scary as it's predecessor but still manages to keep the dark atmosphere inside it as well as the blood splatter. Tony Todd returns as the famous hook handed killer looking for more victims and a bride to share eternity with. I wouldn't say it was a masterpiece of a film but certainly entertaining.

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Up next Cannibal Apocalypse.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

I too like The Autopsy of Jane Doe. Very good film. No spoilers, as Justin said, it's better going in cold.

Brian Cox is pretty much brilliant at everything.

[MrBarlow]

Cannibal Apocalypse. 1980.

In Vietnam, American P.O.W.S held captive are exposed to a toxin, years later the toxin in their bodies is released and start to attack anyone in their way.

The movie that made the video nastie list and was prosecuted but by today standards it is pretty much tame even though there is a good amount of blood splatter and gore. John Saxon plays the ex-marine who tries to help his friend Charlie played by Giovanni Lombardo Radice (credited as John Morghen) who takes shelter in a superstore after going crazy in a cinema.

This is like humans being turned to zombies but are still human on the outside, it may not be the greatest Cannibal film made as it isn't set in the usual South American Jungle and we don't see how the toxin was used properly and the only thing saving this film from being really bad is John Saxon and the tension is decently built up as you don't know who is infected and when they will turn.

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[nosferatu42]

Vampira

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A substandard 70's Dracula comedy that isn't really funny at all, but despite that major malfunction still manages to be entertaining by bunging in a load of sexy 70's starlets, unfortunately most remain clothed.
Written by a guy who wrote a lot of "Are you being served" but unfortunately there is no pussy in sight, not even Mrs Slocombe's.

I've got a thing for 70's cheesy horror so despite it being generally a bit shit i still was entertained, Nicky Henson turns up as a stud muffin seducing everything with two legs, lucky bastard,( i always like him but i think i've been brainwashed by watching Psychomania far too much.)

Heads into blaxploitation territory in a hip for the 70's way but can't really be arsed to follow through and i'm pretty sure David Niven in blackface wouldn't go down too well these days.

Was ok for a watch and i will go back to it as i'm a sucker for 70's cosy horror, i first saw this late at night as a kid on T.V. So for nostalgia's sake it was worth a watch.

But to be honest i wouldn't recommend this to anyone..

5/10

[Susan Foreman]

'The Baby' (1973)

Ann Gentry, a social worker, is tasked with investigating the Wadsworth family, who have a delightful baby boy. However, this isn't an 'urgle-gurgle', crawling, crapping in a nappy, sleeping in a cot-type baby. Oh, wait a minute - yes it is...sort of. You see, baby is actually a 21 year old man who has been kept an infant by use of torture - electric cattle prods when he tries to stand up and talk etc. When Ann realises that something isn’t right, all hell breaks lose, and before you can say "who's a little diddums, den?", the Wadsworths and Ann are butting heads over what’s right for the mentally-challenged Baby – with each side willing to go to extreme measures to do what they think is right for the little tyke

What a bizarre film. 'The Baby' could only have been made in the 1970's when this kind of exploitation movie was rife

When you examine the film, which is equal part horror, comedy, melodrama and social satire, it's actually quite disturbing, dealing with themes of incest, child abuse, torture, murder and twisted love

Its certainly worth a watch if you have never seen it, or even a re-watch if you have seen it just to reaffirm it is as strange and *unique* as you remember it being! I originally saw it on either BBC or ITV sometime during the 1980's, and I can confirm that it *is* still strange and unique!

Rewatch value: Yes, at some point in the future!

[nosferatu42]

I am a Baby fan, it's a one of a kind film, which is a big plus n my books..
I saw it on TV too, not sure when but once seen never forgotten.

Didn't Ted Post do a Dirty Harry film??

Just looked he did Magnum Force and Beneath the planet of the Apes. So he's the man.

[MrBarlow]

The Hole. 2009.

Two brothers move to a new house with their mum, while carrying on they discover a small trap door in their basement, while they open it they discover it's a hole that has no end until they realise something dark in ithere knows their fears.

From director Joe Dante returns to the comedy horror genre with this that seems to be a nod to the 80s films, it does have it's tongue and cheek and not to seriously cliches but does have some tense moments. The acting isn't that bad and entertaining with Chris Massoglia and Nathan Gamble as the two brothers and Haley Bennett as the girl next door who is drawn into the mystery. There is some nods to other horror films that have been added in to the mix which adds to the dark atmosphere.

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[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by nosferatu42

Vampira

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A substandard 70's Dracula comedy that isn't really funny at all, but despite that major malfunction still manages to be entertaining by bunging in a load of sexy 70's starlets, unfortunately most remain clothed.
Written by a guy who wrote a lot of "Are you being served" but unfortunately there is no pussy in sight, not even Mrs Slocombe's.

I've got a thing for 70's cheesy horror so despite it being generally a bit shit i still was entertained, Nicky Henson turns up as a stud muffin seducing everything with two legs, lucky bastard,( i always like him but i think i've been brainwashed by watching Psychomania far too much.)

Heads into blaxploitation territory in a hip for the 70's way but can't really be arsed to follow through and i'm pretty sure David Niven in blackface wouldn't go down too well these days.

Was ok for a watch and i will go back to it as i'm a sucker for 70's cosy horror, i first saw this late at night as a kid on T.V. So for nostalgia's sake it was worth a watch.

But to be honest i wouldn't recommend this to anyone..

5/10

Only seen this once, think it was last Christmas. I really enjoyed it.

[Frankie Teardrop]

Another hit from the carrier bag at the back of my wardrobe:

LAST HOUSE IN THE WOODS – Very trashy attempt to update Italian horror with a vid-cam, yer mate Sergio Stivaletti, and, basically, a house in some woods. The vibe is more ‘backwoods throwback’ than giallo homage, but the emphasis is ultimately on the gore, here lovingly served up by the aforementioned and possibly quite generous Italo fx maestro Sergio. Grindhouse references aside, it reminds me more of the shot-on-video harsh splatter movies that came out of Germany in the nineties and noughties, but it’s not really like those either. Story-wise, don’t expect much. It’s another of those about one woman’s struggle to escape the clutches of a cannibalistic family after she’s captured for the sake of their pointy toothed tyke’s next ready-meal. The avalanche of poorly choreographed splatter, when it arrives, is undermined by a slightly dull build-up and a bit of running about. A trio of highly unrealistic wannabe-rapist drug thugs is in the mix, as are two mutant brothers, played by actors whose gurning, spasmodic performances left me with the impression that they could only have been taking the piss in a spectacularly joyless manner. It fell flat either way. LHITW is a total mess, badly filmed with incessant rapid zooms and the sort of style you might pick up on a media technology night school course (or less even), although it does aspire to some level of basic competence during its opening half hour, which plays a bit like an amateur version of ‘Hollyoaks’. There are far, far worse films in the annals of video junk, but LHITW does not make for a very ‘cinematic’ encounter, and people with great taste who for some reason decide to follow in my footsteps had better be prepared to feel uninvolved and turned off by this rancid, plastic experience. Having said all this, who cares? I liked it, I like shit films. Some shit films. There is enthusiasm here somehow, despite the flatness. Moreover, LHITW displays a willingness to embrace the dross at the kernel of its soul, and sometimes that’s all I require.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by Frankie Teardrop

Another hit from the carrier bag at the back of my wardrobe:

LAST HOUSE IN THE WOODS – Very trashy attempt to update Italian horror with a vid-cam, yer mate Sergio Stivaletti, and, basically, a house in some woods. The vibe is more ‘backwoods throwback’ than giallo homage, but the emphasis is ultimately on the gore, here lovingly served up by the aforementioned and possibly quite generous Italo fx maestro Sergio. Grindhouse references aside, it reminds me more of the shot-on-video harsh splatter movies that came out of Germany in the nineties and noughties, but it’s not really like those either. Story-wise, don’t expect much. It’s another of those about one woman’s struggle to escape the clutches of a cannibalistic family after she’s captured for the sake of their pointy toothed tyke’s next ready-meal. The avalanche of poorly choreographed splatter, when it arrives, is undermined by a slightly dull build-up and a bit of running about. A trio of highly unrealistic wannabe-rapist drug thugs is in the mix, as are two mutant brothers, played by actors whose gurning, spasmodic performances left me with the impression that they could only have been taking the piss in a spectacularly joyless manner. It fell flat either way. LHITW is a total mess, badly filmed with incessant rapid zooms and the sort of style you might pick up on a media technology night school course (or less even), although it does aspire to some level of basic competence during its opening half hour, which plays a bit like an amateur version of ‘Hollyoaks’. There are far, far worse films in the annals of video junk, but LHITW does not make for a very ‘cinematic’ encounter, and people with great taste who for some reason decide to follow in my footsteps had better be prepared to feel uninvolved and turned off by this rancid, plastic experience. Having said all this, who cares? I liked it, I like shit films. Some shit films. There is enthusiasm here somehow, despite the flatness. Moreover, LHITW displays a willingness to embrace the dross at the kernel of its soul, and sometimes that’s all I require.

I have this on region one dvd from Ghost House Underground / Lionsgate comes with a crappy plastic slip case.

Anyway, i love it, seen it a few times now, scuzzy, gory rubbish and as far as Italian horror goes wee wee's over a hell of a lot of so called 'good' films from the 'classic era of Italian horror'.