October Horror Movie Marathon

[MrBarlow]

Devil Fish. 1984.

A team of a marine biologist, dolphin trainer, a research doctor and a local sheriff, try to hunt down a large sea creature.

We have a large half Shark, half Octopus terrorizing the sea and made by Lamberto Bava...wait..what...the guy who directed Macabre made this film, well he did, thankfully a year later make a decent horror film with Demons. The plot was probably good on paper a half breed amphibian terrorizing a coastal area and eating beach goers, it was not greatly executed on screen but good gore though. It must have caught someones cos i'm sure there was a movie released in 2009-2010 with Eric Roberts called Sharktopus.

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[MrBarlow]

Escape Room 2. 2021.

Six people who have played "Escape Rooms" before try to band together when they are thrown into another set of games.

I really enjoyed the first film and had some high hopes for this after a slow start basically we are thrown into the game which is predictable, but some things are explained and some things aren't. The games are ingeniously done so kudos for the creative writing and the acting was decent with a nice little twist and turn, this one do go into it with a open mind.

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[MrBarlow]

The Atticus Institute. 2015.

A institute in Pennsylvania 1976, run by Dr. Henry West and his team try to discover people with the power of the mind, when a woman is brought in with the ability to be psychic, they believe they are dealing with a unknown force and the government are brought in.

This is like a found footage mocumentary type film that had the basis to be interesting even with the build up on the characters, it is good but not really that great, there is a very slow build up and some parts seem to be tense but you know what to expect and drags on for a bit and very little jumps scenes, the actors do try their best to make it decent.

*There is a few scenes of flashing lights*

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Have a good day peeps

[MacBlayne]

THE EMPTY MAN

Wow!

The opening twenty minutes to David Prior's The Empty Man is some of the greatest horror you will ever see. Thrilling, widescreen visuals (and I mean widescreen), unsettling imagery, creepy sound effects, and a nerve-wracking soundtrack.

You're probably expecting me to say, "shame about the rest of the film," but no, as The Empty Man is a very strong horror film. It plays out like a Lovecraftian detective story, in which a former cop, James. is asked to track down some missing teenagers. One of the teenager's friends tells him she last saw them when they spoke about a demon known as the Empty Man. As James investigates further, he finds himself tangled in a conspiracy involving a pseudo-science cult, medical cover-ups, and his own tragic past - all of which make reference to the Empty Man.

Despite the two-hour plus runtime, The Empty Man is a tense experience that never lets up. Prior's use of detective motifs lets the horrors unveil at a gradual pace, and provides plenty of taut chases and stand-offs. The film cakes every scene with a thick layer of dread that it almost becomes unbearable to watch.

SPOILER:

My only issue with the film is the ending. Not the revelation itself, but how it is presented. Prior tries aping Shyamalan by using quick flashbacks to reveal it was all fake, but I think this causes some plot holes. My understanding that many of the earlier scenes did not happen, but we thought they did as we were in James's shoes. But the flashbacks inform us that they did happen, only they are recontextualised. This may not be Prior's fault, however. The film was a casualty of Disney's takeover of 20th Century Fox. Disney pulled the workprint from Prior before he was finished, and re-edited to 90 minutes. Test screenings were very negative, and so Disney just dumped the 137 minute workprint into cinemas. Prior is on record saying he wanted to remove 10-15 minutes.

The Empty Man is a bone-chilling horror that, despite pinching from noir and cosmic horror, feels fresh and original. There's not much like it nowadays. If anything, the opening is worth the price of rental. It's as perfect as films get.

WARNING: The Empty Man was shot 2.39:1 aspect ratio. The widescreen image is extremely important to this film. I bring this up, because I paid for it through Google Play, and it was 2.39:1. I recommended it to a friend, who used a different streaming service that played it at 1.78:1 aspect ratio. I checked a few torrents afterwards, and they were all 1.78:1. We all know that it's best to pay for stuff like this, but Disney are effectively burying this film despite a growing cult following. They refuse to do a physical release. Some of my friends are unable to find a version of this to watch that isn't a torrent. I don't mind how you watch it, just make sure it is the correct aspect ratio.

[Susan Foreman]

Originally Posted by Demdike@Cult Labs

I'm hoping the Phantasm box set will feature in the upcoming Arrow sale.

I've still got the Anchor Bay ball set but it lives in the back room with mementos i brought back from Egypt and is a bit out of sight out of mind as it's part of the furniture so to speak.

If you *do* get the Arrow 'Phantasm' set, you should do what I'm doing with the Anchor Bay release - pretend it is a Yeti control sphere from either 'The Abominable Snowmen' or 'The Web Of Fear'!

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by MrBarlow

The Atticus Institute. 2015.

A institute in Pennsylvania 1976, run by Dr. Henry West and his team try to discover people with the power of the mind, when a woman is brought in with the ability to be psychic, they believe they are dealing with a unknown force and the government are brought in.

This is like a found footage mocumentary type film that had the basis to be interesting even with the build up on the characters, it is good but not really that great, there is a very slow build up and some parts seem to be tense but you know what to expect and drags on for a bit and very little jumps scenes, the actors do try their best to make it decent.

*There is a few scenes of flashing lights*

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Have a good day peeps

I gave this half a star on Letterboxd when i reviewed it. Utter dross.

[bleakshaun]

Village of the Damned



Kids are always creepy, especially when they are all blonde haired. That scene where the guy was forced to shoot himself still gets me.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Pumpkinhead Ashes to Ashes (2006)

Out of the three Pumpkinhead sequels this is the only true sequel the classic original movie.

Hellraiser great Doug Bradley plays a small town doctor with an unhealthy line in organ trafficking and then dumping the bodies of his victims in the nearby swamp. When the townsfolk discover the grisly remains they ask the old witch Haggis to invoke the demon Pumpkinhead to avenge their desecrated loved ones.

Lance Henriksen returns as Ed Harley or should i say the ghost of Ed Harley as the demon is summoned from Harley's mummified remains in a bloody little ceremony and what follows is a very enjoyable tale of vengeance as the demon stalks the town searching for Bradley. The creature effects are again excellent even if they are no longer created by Stan Winston and British director Jake West kept me interested in what was going to happen (I've seen this before a couple of times but i'd forgotten much of it).

Although the creature as a practical effect is very good it looks shit when done via CGI which happened when it was on a rooftop and then crashing through a church window. Thankfully these were two brief sequences so didn't distract too much.

Pumpkinhead Ashes to Ashes is for me a fun film with decent suspense and some nice gore and no pretensions and i very much enjoyed seeing it again last night.

Hell Fest (2018)

A colourful slasher about a group of young people who visit a Halloween carnival and end up stalked by a mask wearing serial killer.

What i've liked on both viewings of Hell Fest is the fact the film looked so damn good. The Hell Fest was a fabulous place, all gaudy, day-glow colours - no running around in pitch black darkness here folks - in fact it's quite Argento like in it's use of colour and felt fresh and original - with a reasonably likable cast to root for and a couple of really well done practical murder set pieces. It only let itself down because there simply weren't enough deaths which was a real pity, but on the whole this is pretty decent and feels like a genuine 80's slasher. I must admit though were it a choice of going to Hell Fest or watching the movie i'd not be sat in front om my tv that's for sure.

[Justin101]

I was going to view Hell Fest last October and never got around to it, one for this year hopefully.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by Justin101

I was going to view Hell Fest last October and never got around to it, one for this year hopefully.

There are two splendid kills. One involving a big wooden mallet and another as eye popping as one in a certain Fulci zombie film. (Lovely and graphic)