October Horror Movie Marathon

[bizarre_eye@Cult Labs]

Slither (2006)



Loving homage to '50s B-Movies with added '80s-style grue effects and heavily laden with comedy, James Gunn's Slither, whilst concocted from the right ingredients and laced with nothing other than good intentions, has never been a favourite of mine.

I suppose the comedy element is mostly to blame as it never really hits any bulls-eyes in this department for me. However, it's still an entertaining film in many respects and is one I'll probably find myself watching again sometime.

[bizarre_eye@Cult Labs]

Left Bank (Linkeroever) (2008)



Marie is a keen runner, so keen in fact that she has had and has little time for anything else in life and the drive to train, compete and win eclipses all. Her world takes an irrevocable turn when she suffers a collapse due to exhaustion and is forced into a new life of recuperation and relaxation, something that is the anti-thesis to all that she has known. Marie decides she needs a break from her home-life and shacks up with the enigmatic Bobby, whom she has only just met, in Left Bank; the tower block that harbours a deep, dark secret from an age long past, steeped in folklore, mystery, ritual and sacrifice.

It is here at Left Bank, where Marie’s supposed recuperation turns into a mysterious self-voyage of discovery and self-analysis. She experiences strange fever dreams and a further injury to her knee pushes her ever further away from her previous life into the unknown. Her days are spent feeling increasingly more isolated from her previous existence and transition is in the air. The membrane of mystery becomes denser throughout as Marie begins to investigate what happened to the previous tenant who suddenly disappeared; her inquiries raise further questions: who really is the enigmatic man she has moved in with? What is the history of Left Bank? What really lurks in its subterranean depths?

A fantastically moody work with a complimentary score and superb cinematography, Left Bank is an allegory-steeped chilling mystery that encapsulates the notion of sacrifice whilst propagating the hope of second chances.

[bizarre_eye@Cult Labs]

Christine (1983)



John Carpenter’s Christine, whilst not cited by most (including myself I may add) as amongst his best work is still a brilliantly executed piece of film-making. This is in no small part aided by the solid source material from Stephen King, as well as some impressive effects work and a staple minimalistic but brilliant Carpenter/Howarth score.

Christine, in essence, is a tale of infatuation and an almost pre-determined doomed love that leads to all-encompassing obsession. As Arnie first lays eyes on Christine his transition has begun. He slowly starts to devote all of his physical and emotional energy into Christine and in effect by doing this, she is in turn changing him… whether he’s becoming the person he has always wanted to be, rather than the bespectacled nerdy outcast who is a prime target for school bullies is unclear, but there’s no denying that Christine’s influence on him gives him purpose, strength and joy, however warped these may manifest themselves, and at the exception and expense of all others.

Arnie and Christine by the end of the film, whilst physically and biologically separate, are by all accounts a gestalt entity on some meta-physical plane somewhere and are inter-linked through the mutual requisite of one another to survive – this can be realised in the scene where Artie first spies Christine’s first scene, where due to the death of her previous owner (symbiont), she had resorted to nothing more than a rusty, broken down shell (just like Arnie was in many ways) and the two rejuvenated themselves through rejuvenating each other.

However in the end, if we love too much and to the point of obsession, it will end up destroying us.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Great reviews, Bizarre_Eye.

Pity Left Bank is long out of print on dvd.

I've only seen Christine once. That was when i bought it a couple of years ago. It might not be Carpenter's best film as such but i'd maybe suggest it was Carpenter's most entertaining film in a horror and fun sense.

[bizarre_eye@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by Demdike@Cult Labs

Great reviews, Bizarre_Eye.

Pity Left Bank is long out of print on dvd.

Thanks Dem.

Indeed. I've been wanting to see it since a couple of the usual suspects (Frankie, keirarts) reviewed it on here some time ago and I'm glad to have finally checked it out. Hopefully it will get a much deserved re-release somewhere in the near future.

Originally Posted by Demdike@Cult Labs

I've only seen Christine once. That was when i bought it a couple of years ago. It might not be Carpenter's best film as such but i'd maybe suggest it was Carpenter's most entertaining film in a horror and fun sense.

It's definitely entertaining, although to be honest I find a lot of Carpenter's '80s output to be. It's been so long since I've seen Christine and a re-watch made me raise my score for this one a bit too.

[trebor8273]

Will be ending the festivity's with these 3, Halloween and tales of Halloween for tonight and as usually will end Halloween viewings tomorrow with Halloween 2

[Demoncrat]

Well, I'm watching the bleedin' Jungle Book.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by Demoncrat

Well, I'm watching the bleedin' Jungle Book.

Trust me. It's a damn sight better than The Houses of Halloween.

[Nosferatu@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by Demoncrat

Well, I'm watching the bleedin' Jungle Book.

Which version?

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Quick pumpkin tip!

Coating all flesh parts with petroleum jelly prevents the pumpkin deteriorating at least for 7 days. The Jack pumpkin i did last Monday still looks exactly the same and the lid still fits as if i'd just carved it.