October Horror Movie Marathon

[MrBarlow]

The Lost Boys. 1987.

Directed by Joel Schumacher, The Lost Boys is a movie that effectively combines a cool and attractive look with a simple but entertaining plot resulting in a successful and charming film. The story modernizes classic elements of the vampire myth and adapts it to its time with intelligence and definitely tongue in cheek humor. In fact, this self aware comedy approach is what makes the film enjoyable, and it relies more on fun and laughs than in actual scares.

Visually the movie looks great, although by now it has that dated nostalgic look of a past decade. Still, the flamboyant visual composition fits perfectly in the film's time and context and it is one of the films biggest assets. Schumacher's fluid and energetic camera-work makes the movie flow at with a nice rhythm and the movie never becomes dull or boring and has a great background score.

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[Demoncrat]

Murder By Death (1976)

Slightly cheating, but I've always loved this silly spoof.
A group of world famous sleuths gather in accordance with a mystery host's wishes. What follows ... is fun if you know the various tropes at play here. Throw in some mild barbs here and there and we're off and running. The cast all play it to the hilt and whilst it's a bit slight after all is said and done, I'll watch this again for certain.
Ahem.
Philosophy Of A Knife next honest

[Nordicdusk]

30 Days of Unseen Horror

Day 4


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The Curse of the crying Woman

After many years apart Amelia receives a message from her aunt Selma to come and visit her in her country manor excited by their reunion Amelia and her husband depart without hesitation. On arriving at the manor their coach driver warns them about stepping foot into the evil house but they dismiss it as nonsense talk from superstitious locals but on entering the house they straight away begin to suspect something is seriously wrong within. As soon as aunt Selma arrives she shows Amelia a dark secret she has hidden in the basement and informs Amelia that she has a big part to play in an her inviting her wasn't for old times sake.

This film has some amazing atmosphere right from the very first scene we see an eyeless Selma standing with her three dogs in a foggy gloomy forest and her disfigured servant by her side waiting to ambush a passing coach this is a beautiful start and it continues that way throughout the rest of the film. I loved the look of the old manor both inside and out with its hidden passage ways and trapdoors and the eerie cobweb covered basement filled with torture devices and other surprises the house almost becomes another character in itself.

Great story beautiful sets and so much atmosphere a really wonderful film. I did have a good laugh at how fast Selma let Amelia know what was going to happen to her tho there was no trickery or forcing her to get involved in her plan just straight up well this is what's going to happen now deal with that .

The story was a bit rushed and should of been paced a bit better instead of right at the start bam here you go which was one of two things I can fault the film for the other was the welfare and condition of the animals in the film holy shit the horses at the start and those poor dogs were in a terrible state I know horses and the breed of dog used are supposed to be lean but spines and ribs sticking out didn't sit well with me.

A very enjoyable film that's 4 for 4 from that Mexico Macabre Boxset I'm well pleased and that's 3 for 4 so far this month may this continue. But as I said before this run won't last

[MrBarlow]

Nightbreed. 1990.

Clive Barker's own vision from his book Cabal is brought to the screen in his own vision, with a different set of shape-shifters and monsters. Craig Sheffer plays Boone who has dreams of Midian and David Cronenberg as the homicidal serial killer doctor and Doug Bradley as the Midian monster leader.

The plot seems long and complicated, but it really isn't hard to understand. The plot, among other things, makes this movie really interesting. The creatures look unique and amazing, and make this a very appealing film. To add to more senses appeal, we have a musical score by Danny Elfman. Thenmake up effects fornthencreatures is decently done and no creature is rhe same except the Beserker creatures who are tough and uncontrollable. This may not be to everyone's taste but it's entertaining.

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[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Curse of the Crying Woman and Nightbreed are two more i'm not reading the reviews for as i have them to watch as well.

[MrBarlow]

The ABCs Of Death. 2012.

26 directors certainly have a warped, sadistic, strange, bizarre waycof being creative at thinking of how to make a short segment using a letter from the alphabet. Yeah i will admit one or two are daft and and openly borderline sick yet still cant turn away and some you can have a laugh at, but doesnt disappoint in the gore.

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[nosferatu42]

Originally Posted by Demdike@Cult Labs

Damien: Omen II (1978)

Damien: Omen II is basically a rehash of the first film

The film does hit the mark with the death scenes most of which are beautifully inventive such as the guy sliced in half in an elevator by a falling cable, the death under the ice and the creepy killing of the reporter following a raven attack remain memorable even now.

I suppose when it comes down to it Damien: Omen II suffers from the curse of the sequel in that it tries to replicate the formula from the very successful first movie but fails due to most elements being so much less (acting, score and scares) this time round.

I'm always torn with Damien:Omen 2 as I like it almost as much as the original, The original is undoubtedly a better film but I like the fact that there seems to be some confusion in Damiens mind.

Instead of being an out and out rotter, he seems oblivious. He is just a awkward teenager who seems to be surprised when he discovers his powers and actually seems conflicted, the discovery of the mark in his hair and death of his friend are obvious examples.
I think this links to the turmoil of being a teenager and the confusion with hormonal changes that are out of your control.

I think the elevator scene is just a rehash of the Warner scene.

I love the wall mural, and the reporter death is fantastic, i also love the deviation from the dog as protector, ever since I saw this film i've always wanted a Raven,

I have the soundtrack on LP and although it isn't quite up there thematically with the original I find it has a more eurohorror feel.

The end I find less satisfying, but the fact it is a couple turning against each other kinda shows Damiens power overwhelms everything.

Maybe it comes from seeing the series run on consecutive weekends on TV growing up, waiting for the next one in anticipation, but I have a real soft spot for Omen 2 and feel despite it's differences and also maybe because of them for me it's a really decent sequel that is almost as good as the original.

[MuckyFunster]

Originally Posted by MrBarlow

The ABCs Of Death. 2012.

26 directors certainly have a warped, sadistic, strange, bizarre waycof being creative at thinking of how to make a short segment using a letter from the alphabet. Yeah i will admit one or two are daft and and openly borderline sick yet still cant turn away and some you can have a laugh at, but doesnt disappoint in the gore.

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I think it was the “C for Capital Punishment” segment that really stuck in my mind over the years. Was horrific watching the guy running though the woods to try and halt the execution!


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[MuckyFunster]

October 2023 so far -


1. No One Will Save You (Disney+) - first time watch - my attention was drawn to this when Stephen King tweeted his approval. It’s an interesting one - zero dialogue other than the occasional noise to indicate mood or shock (or screaming). It begins like a home invasion story involving aliens, pacing fairly quickly but then climaxing the tension too soon by allowing you to see the alien too early. Then it changes direction and it more of a slower paced dread builder. Worth a watch.

2. The Greasy Strangler - I love this film and I enjoy sticking it on now and again just so I can refresh my memory on the infinitely quotable, mostly NFSW, bits of dialogue. Recommended if you enjoy off the wall bits of madness.

3. Cujo - first time watch - Mrs Funster isn’t a fan of horror at all, but she and I are both big fans of creature features (and will pretty much watch anything with Sharks in it). For some reason or another she’s always been resistant to watching Cujo. The film must have too much of a terrifying reputation for her to want to risk it! I hadn’t seen it before and I enjoyed the bat attack and progression of the dogs symptoms. I’m left wondering how accurate it would be to a real life rabies case! I’ll end up on the Wikipedia wormhole soon. The actor playing the wee boy was great! All the freaking out and screaming, then the seizures and stuff - all looked spot on. Reminded me of the young lad from The Babadook.

4. Lover’s Lane - first time watch - I’d heard horrible things about this movie but was super keen to see it. I’m a sucker for the cover artwork - I *always* judge a book by its cover, so to speak I really enjoyed this. I think I had a smile on my face for the whole film. It was like American Pie crossed with Scream with a little bit of That 70s Show thrown in (“Michael! Michael! Michael!). Some good kill scenes and some good fun cliched characters and dialogue. I’ll be watching it again, no doubt.


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[Frankie Teardrop]

A DARK SONG – Unlike a lot of genre product, 2016 indie ‘A Dark Song’ takes a thoughtful approach to the occult. Its use of shadowy esoterica bespeaks a seriousness of intent, and somewhere between that and its claustrophobic set-up lurks an atmosphere of real menace. In it, Catherine Walker plays a woman who has retreated to a remote manor to immerse herself in a gruelling ritual; Steve Oram is the gnostic specialist who will guide her. The mood is set from the start, when we see that Oram is clearly quite a volatile character and Walker isn’t really being very straightforward about her reasons for being there. The tension between the two occasionally spills over into violence, but, more insidiously, it infects the world around them, darkening mundane events and throwaway encounters to the point where they seem charged with threat and significance – a woman whispers to her child in a car park, a bird flies into the side of the house – or perhaps it’s the other way around, and the deepening mood is a consequence of hermetic realities seeping through. ‘A Dark Song’ doesn’t necessarily give us any easy answers, and instead presents its lead character’s descent into murky depths, a journey that eventually crescendos into full-tilt otherworldliness. An impressively sinister slow burn, well worth a look.