The Horror Movie Club Part VII: Now Thats What I Call BOOsic

[chvrchbarrel]

12. Amityville 1992: It's About Time (1992; Tony Randel)


This is my bread and butter - direct-to-video, early '90s stuff reminds me of the horror movies I would come across on TV knowing I wasn't supposed to be watching. A movie about a haunted clock, basically, but sometimes it feels kinda 'off' in a Twin Peaks-y way that I really dug. This was good and I'd watch it again. 

Watched on Tubi.


13. Piranha 3D (2010; Alexandre Aja)


Sort of on you if you don't enjoy this one; you know precisely what it's going to be going into it and it delivers exactly that. Wicked fun with how many people kept popping up in this. Elisabeth Shue is a fantastic lead and also gets to reunite with Christopher Lloyd! Big dumb fun movie. So much nudity.

I really loathe Jerry O'Connell but there's a part in this where Paul Scheer is looking at two naked women swimming and says "Wow, they're like fish, with boobies!" which is obviously stupid enough but then Jerry O'Connell screams "IF FISH LOOKED LIKE THAT, I WOULD ONLY FUCK FISH!"

Watched on Prime.


14. Maniac Cop (1988; William Lustig)


Have tried many times to watch this and it never really took, so I pushed myself through it this time and was expectedly a bit underwhelmed. Bruce Campbell is obviously great, but there's too much of a police procedural thing (obviously) going on which isn't my favorite thing to vibe with for 80-90 mins.

Watched on Prime.


15. Strangeland (1998; John Pieplow)


Body horror? Scary. Dee Snider? Not that scary. Finding out that Dee Snider wrote this movie? Kinda scary. 

A sort of hybrid occult-internet thriller that is not very compelling either way, but Dee Snider plays "Captain Howdy," somewhat of a human Cenobite in that he is sort of the devil, likes to torture people (body-specific), and has a bunch of shit in his face.

Most of this is just Dee Snider babbling like he's on ayahuasca but occasionally he puts like a metal rod through somebody's tit or their penis and even one time I had to look away. Bottom line, there are worse ways to spend 90 minutes this month.

Oh, and people's mouths sewn shut? Scary.

Watched on Tubi.


16. Cemetery Man (1994; Michele Soavi)


Had a blast watching this!! Very solid "undead" movie but also riotously funny, laughed out loud more times than I could count. Big highlight of the month so far and would highly recommend it. 

Watched on Tubi.

Killer Rankings
1. Jigsaw (Saw II)
2. The Cenobites (Hellbound: Hellraiser II)
3. Piranhas (Piranha 3D)
4. The madman (Madman)
5. Vimuville (Body Melt)
6. Rabid grannies (Rabid Grannies)
7. Captain Howdy (Strangeland)
8. The strangers (The Strangers)
9. Maniac Cop (Maniac Cop)
10. Matthew (Rituals)
11. Feardotcom.com (FearDotCom)


Halfway Update
1. The Strangers
2. Madman
3. The Fly
4. Body Melt
5. Tucker & Dale vs. Evil
6. Hellbound: Hellraiser II
7. The Stepfather
8. Rituals
9. Feardotcom
10. Rabid Grannies
11. Saw II
12. Amityville 1992: It's About Time
13. Piranha 3D
14. Maniac Cop
15. Strangeland
16. Cemetery Man

[teekoh]

1. Pet Sematary (1989)
2. The Hitcher (1986)
3. Agatha All Along
4. Manhunter (1986)
5. Lockwood & Co.
6. Splice (2009)
7. Abigail (2024) - This was fun, even if it felt like the ending let down the rest of it just a bit.

[scoots]

14. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (zombies, a witch, etc. - I'm counting it)
15. Bones and All (I'm sure Chalamet shouting "I want you to eat me!" really got a lot of people going, but this was a weird attempt at a really pretty looking gorefest)

[sthubbins]

3. Ring (1998)
Handful of all-time iconic images but damn this is pretty boring most of the time.

[obmit]

17. Graveyard Shift - Rats in a rundown (but still operational) textile factory are making things difficult for the crew. Brad Dourif steals the show as the Exterminator, but the evil foreman Warwick is played by the dad from Monster Squad.

This has exceptionally poor reviews and Stephen King has branded it one of his worst adaptations. However, props for the unsettling locale, the underground caverns filled with rats definitely makes for an icky feeling. The main creature isn't the same as the short story version, and the ending is happier but overall I was impressed by the practical effects and the excessive gore.

[scoots]

16: Terrifier: Great villain. Extremely schlocky. Incredible amount of gore. I enjoyed it.

[obmit]

Oct 15, 2024 21:20:17 GMT -6 scoots said:

16: Terrifier: Great villain. Extremely schlocky. Incredible amount of gore. I enjoyed it.

Haven't seen the third one yet, but I felt the 2nd one was a step up from the first one. Just as gory too. 

[munkivelli]

Oct 16, 2024 8:43:00 GMT -6 obmit said:

Oct 15, 2024 21:20:17 GMT -6 scoots said:

16: Terrifier: Great villain. Extremely schlocky. Incredible amount of gore. I enjoyed it.

Haven't seen the third one yet, but I felt the 2nd one was a step up from the first one. Just as gory too. 

Just saw the third one, and I think it was my favorite...leans more into the camp than the first two and doubles as a Christmas film (with an original Christmas song to boot)...and a few of the kills are insane.

[obmit]

18. Oddity - this one's been getting some buzz so I checked it out. Def a handful of terrifying moments albeit mixed with some silly ones to me. A tad predictable plot wise but tension is handled well. Even though I knew what was coming it still lured me in.

19. In a Violent Nature - Friday the 13th vibes for sure here with a dead guy named Johnny coming back to life after his mommy's locket is stolen from his buried corpse (or it was in the vicinity? I missed that part), so he goes on a rampage to get it back.

A majority of the movie is literally just rear view shots as we follow Johnny. Would fit nicely into the LOTR franchise with how much walking we see.

The drawing point for me was that Fangoria names the Yoga death scene as one of the best... And it def doesn't disappoint. There's hardly any music/score here so that makes for some unsettling moments but also some silly ones that feel excruciatingly drawn out.

Overall pretty meh but that death scene is memorable.

[chvrchbarrel]

17. Anaconda (1997; Luis Llosa)


Possibly/probably the funniest horror/thriller I've ever seen, solely due to Jon Voight. He is speaking with the most ludicrous, ridiculous accent, just fully committed and chewing his way through every scene that he's in. JLo and Ice Cube are both boring but I don't mind, this movie is like a warm late-'90s blanket. Totally feels like something we would've rented for a sleepover when we were kids, can't believe it took me til now to see it. I didn't LOVE it but it was comfortable enough that I wouldn't mind sitting through it again. Actually would watch again just for more of whatever the fuck Jon Voight was doing.



Watched on Max.


18. An American Werewolf in London (1981; John Landis)


An excellent movie.

Watched on Prime.

Killer Rankings

1. Jigsaw (Saw II)
2. Yorkshire werewolves (An American Werewolf in London)
3. The Cenobites (Hellbound: Hellraiser II)
4. Piranhas (Piranha 3D)
5. The madman (Madman)
6. Vimuville (Body Melt)
7. The anaconda (Anaconda)
8. Rabid grannies (Rabid Grannies)
9. Captain Howdy (Strangeland)
10. The strangers (The Strangers)
11. Maniac Cop (Maniac Cop)
12. Matthew (Rituals)
13. Feardotcom.com (FearDotCom)

[scoots]

17: Trick 'r Treat - Second time watching - still good, just probably not a rewatch candidate for every Halloween.
18: The Shining - I appreciate new things about this movie every time I watch it.

[obmit]

20. The Crow (2024)

Counting this bc Plex says it's horror....

I'm 2 mins in and this is easily one of the worst movies I've ever seen. Given the talent, budget, source material, etc. It's astonishing how terrible this is. If Edward Furlong were dead he'd be rolling in his grave.

I can get behind collecting a paycheck but there's actual work being done here by Bill Skarsgard and FKA Twigs. And not Trump scooping fries "work" they actually appear to be fully committed to this shit.

The original is great imo. It's minimal, straightforward, and very dark for its kind. This isn't. This is armadillo shit. That's right. Of the optional local mammals to compare this to, I've risen the armadillo. Not bc I feel this flick had a protective exterior, but because it was time someone acknowledged the armadillo.

This movie sucks. Don't watch it. If you want something to watch, watch the original, if that's too high on your standards I have a 12-part mini-series on how to properly clip your toenails in Portuguese that's more interesting than this.

Like...Jesus Christ. This is shit.

[chvrchbarrel]

Oct 21, 2024 21:08:31 GMT -6 obmit said:

I'm 2 mins in and this is easily one of the worst movies I've ever seen. 

I had to do such a hard double-take at the year next to the title after reading this

I've honestly never ever seen the original I just know those sound like fightin' words

[chvrchbarrel]

I also didn't even know we had armadillos until this summer

[chvrchbarrel]

19. Child's Play 3 (1991; Jack Bender)


Unbearably cringe-y to listen to Chucky walking around talking about "hide the soul" for as long as he does, but then the actual "hide the soul" scene manages to be kinda creepy. Chucky is mostly just a huge asshole in this though... its hard to root for basically anyone in this movie. I just want everyone to shut up.

Watched on Netflix.

20. Late Night With the Devil (2023; Cameron Cairnes, Colin Cairnes)


I'm still going back and forth on parts of this, and in hindsight it seems almost insultingly predictable, but I did still have a good time watching it so there's that. Reminded me of Ghostwatch even if its not really the same; I would recommend everyone just watch Ghostwatch anyway.

David Dasmaltian is good tho.

Watched on Hulu.

Killer Rankings
1. Jigsaw (Saw II)
2. Yorkshire werewolves (An American Werewolf in London)
3. The Cenobites (Hellbound: Hellraiser II)
4. Piranhas (Piranha 3D)
5. The madman (Madman)
6. Vimuville (Body Melt)
7. Chucky (Child's Play 3)
8. The anaconda (Anaconda)
9. Rabid grannies (Rabid Grannies)
10. The Devil (Late Night With the Devil)
11. Captain Howdy (Strangeland)
12. The strangers (The Strangers)
13. Maniac Cop (Maniac Cop)
14. Matthew (Rituals)
15. Feardotcom.com (FearDotCom)

[obmit]

Agreed on Late Night with the Devil. Was a bit too overhyped to me, but David Dasmaltian is easily the best part. Had higher hopes for it but yeah it was at the very least entertaining.

[thebosma]

Everyone should absolutely see Ghostwatch that movie rips

[rango420]

At 21, will watch 2 today, 1 tomorrow and than gonna be a bit tough but I'm going to make it. Eventually I will update with a list and pictures like usual lol

[chvrchbarrel]

21. Infinity Pool (2023; Brandon Cronenberg)


Despite wanting to see it last year, I actually had no idea what this was about and threw it on on a whim. . First of all, glued to the vibe here. Reminiscent of the best of both Aster and Peele in its underlying thread of pure dread while still oozing "cool." I haven't stopped thinking about it since I watched it, and already can't wait to watch it again. I've always hated The Prestige so it was fucking awesome to see a movie that takes a central piece of its concept and completely humiliates it.

Also yeah this guy is definitely a Cronenberg. Constantly toeing the line between "is this scary" and "is this just uncomfortable;" that element of second-guessing becoming part of the horror experience.

Why isn't Mia Goth more of a sensation? Maybe because horror doesn't have the market share it did in the '80s-'90s? She delivers one genre performance after another that simply does not miss - people talk about scream queens, but Mia is typically the one making others do the screaming. Seeing her name on the credits of any movie is going to expedite it to the top of my watch list from here on out.

Best movie I've watched this month, hands down.

Watched on Hulu.


22. Tales From the Hood (1995; Rusty Cundieff)


This was on the program last year but I never got around to it. I've since acquired it on VHS and made my way through it last night. I didn't think it was that great but I did think it was a lot of fun to watch. I also thought it was cool that a mid'90s horror anthology decided to theme itself around social commentary.

Watched on VHS.


23. Wendigo (2001; Larry Fessenden)


I will be issuing a formal apology for including this in the program. This movie's best reviews cite it as a "folk drama" but I cite it as a boring heap of shit. There is little to no Wendigo in this movie - the most we really, truly get of it is an Indigenous man explaining the lore of the Wendigo to Dewey from Malcolm in the Middle (above).

There is a little sprinkle of Wendigo at the end but its not even REAL Wendigo content. More like when Bosma posted that he is "pretty sure he saw a cryptid" except someone made a 90 minute movie about it, but then still only 15 minutes were about the cryptid.

Watched on Tubi.


24. Misery (1990; Rob Reiner)


Annie Wilkes scares the fuckin' shit out of me because she actually seems kinda nice and even though I've never been hobbled I have to imagine the stockholm syndrome would be insane if I were in Paul Sheldon's shoes (not that he'll be wearing shoes for awhile)

Watching on VHS.

Killer Rankings
1. Jigsaw (Saw II)
2. Yorkshire werewolves (An American Werewolf in London)
3. The Cenobites (Hellbound: Hellraiser II)
4. Piranhas (Piranha 3D)
5. The madman (Madman)
6. Vimuville (Body Melt)
7. Chucky (Child's Play 3)
8. The anaconda (Anaconda)
9. Rabid grannies (Rabid Grannies)
10. The Devil (Late Night With the Devil)
11. Captain Howdy (Strangeland)
12. The strangers (The Strangers)
13. Maniac Cop (Maniac Cop)
14. Matthew (Rituals)
15. Feardotcom.com (FearDotCom)

[teekoh]

1. Pet Sematary (1989)
2. The Hitcher (1986)
3. Agatha All Along
4. Manhunter (1986)
5. Lockwood & Co.
6. Splice (2009)
7. Abigail (2024)
8. A Quiet Place (2018 - Solid. Enjoyed the kids’ performances and the score and that it was short.

[sthubbins]

4. Night of the Living Dead

4th time watching. It holds up!

[chvrchbarrel]

stubs you only need to watch 4 movies a day (including today) to make it

i believe in you

[scoots]

I'm going to a screening of Texas Chainsaw Massacre tonight at a local theater. That'll be great to see on a big screen.

Also trying to prioritize Max content since that subscription runs out in a couple days - tried starting up the original Amityville Horror but almost fell asleep.

[chvrchbarrel]

Oct 25, 2024 8:38:10 GMT -6 scoots said:

tried starting up the original Amityville Horror but almost fell asleep.

this is great foreshadowing for what will happen if you continue watching the movie

[sthubbins]

5. Tenebre

Yes

[obmit]

Cheating again. The following movies were dubbed "scary" by my daughter this weekend so from a 2.4 y/o's perspective I'm counting them....

21. Transformers One - really great movie, probably the best movie with the transformers brand on it. Love the quick Key & Peele reference. But as far as scariness goes, some of the moments of intensity are a bit uh... Intense. The design of the elder Transformers def gave her a rise. But once she started doing somersaults on the couch and ignored the movie she was fine.

22. The Wild Robot - okay this was a great one, but the thunderstorm scenes and scenes with the main antagonist were a bit extreme for her. And she tells us "I don't like this. I'm scared." But then it would switch to the animals and she'd be okay and giggling. Good family movie, not very scary to me though.

23. Trolls Band Together - These movies are cash grabs for Timberlake these days but my daughter only likes a certain color of troll.. (Racial Trollfiling?)... Either way when the blue ones are on screen she's happy, if Anna Kendrick is on (she's the pink one) she gets sad and says "I don't like, I'm scared." I've tried to convince her that Kendrick is only doing these movies for a paycheck and that she's actually a very talented actress. This made no difference. Not really scary to me, though the music is horrifying, especially since my son always wants to listen to it in the car.

Movies she didn't find scary

24. The Nightmare Before Christmas - She's obsessed with roles right now. Identifying the mommy, the daddy, the brother, and the baby. So we told her Jack was the daddy, Sally the mommy, the mayor the brother, and Dr Finkelstein as the baby... And she loved it. I haven't seen this in a minute but both kids thoroughly enjoyed the creative animation and the singing. I was surprised.

[chvrchbarrel]

Alllllright let's go, big update incoming

25. A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge (1985; Jack Sholder)


Changes the rules established in the first movie so drastically that I'm not sure how it manages to still be as good as it is. Unfairly maligned.

Watched on VHS.


26. Army of Darkness (1992; Sam Raimi)


I had not seen this despite enjoying Evil Dead, and it is not my thing. Setting was the most difficult part for me to sink into. Constantly felt like I was trying to enjoy this, which just made Bruce Campbell seem hammy and annoying.

Watched on VHS.


27. Halloween (1978; John Carpenter)

Without question the best movie for the season. No notes; if you've seen it you know, and if you haven't what are you even doing.

Watched on VHS.


28. Beetlejuice (1988; Tim Burton)

One of those movies where new shit makes me laugh every time I see it. One thing I've never really understood is why his name is spelled Betelgeuse several times throughout the movie but the movie is called Beetlejuice. 

Watched on Max.


29. Escape Room (2019; Adam Robitel)

It's been a long time since I've seen a PG-13 horror movie (I think) and I kind of enjoyed this one (I think). It was very very watchable, usually somewhat predictable, and incredibly silly. With every new turn, the movie reveals itself as an amalgamation of franchises that have come before it - mostly evocative of the Saw / Cube movies in that players must look inward to solve the traps. Also some real oddly shoehorned Final Destination zest thrown in. Wild-card ending that feels insane; I was not surprised to learn it was not the original ending.

Watched on Hulu.


30. Halloween (2007; Rob Zombie)

No, we didn't "need" this movie, but its fine. I have actually come to appreciate RZ's approach and prefer this to the 2018 David Gordon Green one, as far as I can recollect. I like brutal Michael and the backstory is welcome.

Watched on Tubi.



Seeing a 35mm print of Nightmare on Elm Street tomorrow night (!!!!!!) so will definitely make it to 31!



Killer Rankings
1. Michael Myers (Halloween 1978, 2007)
2. Freddy Kruger (A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge)
3. Jigsaw (Saw II)
4. Yorkshire werewolves (An American Werewolf in London)
5. The Cenobites (Hellbound: Hellraiser II)
6. Piranhas (Piranha 3D)
7. The madman (Madman)
8. Vimuville (Body Melt)
9. Chucky (Child's Play 3)
10. The anaconda (Anaconda)
11. The Game Master (Escape Room)
12. Rabid grannies (Rabid Grannies)
13. The Devil (Late Night With the Devil)
14. Captain Howdy (Strangeland)
15. The strangers (The Strangers)
16. Maniac Cop (Maniac Cop)
17. Matthew (Rituals)
18. Feardotcom.com (FearDotCom)

[sthubbins]

6. A Bucket of Blood

Fun watch. Rog really stuck it to those beatniks.

[sthubbins]

7. Halloween (2007)

Wow this takes a while to really get going. Michael's backstory didn't interest me at all, felt very basic and obvious. Even when it flashes forward there are a bunch of kills with no real tension to them. I liked when it got to directly aping the original but more extreme, and it was fun to see all the different actors who popped up. Baby Skyler Gisondo!

[chvrchbarrel]

31. The Omen (1976; Richard Donner)


Had not seen this since I was basically a kid and I think its a tremendous movie - gorgeous photography, a kind of crazy performance from Gregory Peck that I somehow love, and countless instances of dread, paranoia, and real fear. Counting Damien as a killer because even though he commits shockingly little murder in this movie it is clear that death is at his hands.

Watched on Hulu.

32. A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984; Wes Craven)


Screened in 35mm at the Coolidge Corner Theater in Boston. Happened to line up with the final night of a long weekend I'd planned here, so obviously we took advantage of it.

To my memory, I've seen ANOES on the big screen 3 times prior to last night, but never on film. Definitely made for a cool experience. We sat in the third or fourth row - I was obsessed with immersing myself completely in the screening, and only barely hurt my neck by the end of the night. The print was mostly gorgeous and clean, with only a few minutes of dirt / damage. The sound however was terribly shrill and seemed to almost be clipping during the loudest scenes. It sounded like the bulk of the audio was coming from the front of the theater, where we were seated, and moments like Freddy dragging his glove across metal were borderline excruciating to hear.

Theatrical screenings of A Nightmare on Elm Street have made me appreciate its comedic moments so much more - like when Nancy's mother comes into her room and removes at least 3 coffee mugs and a full coffee pot, only for Nancy to pull an on-and-brewing pot from under her nightstand as soon as mother leaves the room.

I would say a solid half of the theater raised their hands as first-timers last night. When I was a first-timer with this movie, it showed me an exciting element of fear that I wanted to chase. It led me down the Horror aisle of the video store, then to sneaking downstairs after bed to watch AMC horror marathons, then to convincing my mom to let me rent FOUR (4) horror movies, even if they were Rated R, every Halloween, and then to 'programming' (celebrating, rather) a month-long activity for me and my friends. I am certainly not shy about my true love for A Nightmare on Elm Street and I love taking opportunities to talk too much about it, and I am glad that I have a place to do so.


Killer Rankings
1. Freddy Kruger (A Nightmare on Elm Street; 2: Freddy's Revenge)
2. Michael Myers (Halloween 1978, 2007)
3. Jigsaw (Saw II)
4. Yorkshire werewolves (An American Werewolf in London)
5. The Cenobites (Hellbound: Hellraiser II)
6. Piranhas (Piranha 3D)
7. Damien (The Omen)
8. The madman (Madman)
9. Vimuville (Body Melt)
10. Chucky (Child's Play 3)
11. The anaconda (Anaconda)
12. The Game Master (Escape Room)
13. Rabid grannies (Rabid Grannies)
14. The Devil (Late Night With the Devil)
15. Captain Howdy (Strangeland)
16. The strangers (The Strangers)
17. Maniac Cop (Maniac Cop)
18. Matthew (Rituals)
19. Feardotcom.com (FearDotCom)