#50!!!

Trick or Treat (1986)

• A fan performs a ritual to bring back his dead rock idol. Then things get out of hand when the risen rocker begins a killing spree.
• Lots of '80's commentary on music censorship. Many references to hidden backwards messages in metal songs. Ozzy Osbourne even plays a reverend who is speaking out against the evils of rock and roll.
• Producer Dino De Laurentiis wanted this film to be the first in a long series of sequels, just like the other money making horror franchises of the time. This one didn't quite make it though.
• The gore is minimal, with most of the kills involving kids getting zapped by magical electricity, then just disappearing.
• I was pumped to see this one based on the cameos and premise. Honestly, I was pretty let down.

Well folks, I made it. I was able to watch movie #50 on Halloween. I really enjoyed this challenge, as it got me to watch a lot of movies that I had been meaning to check out. It also forced me to find a lot of new ones I ended up liking a lot. Much to my wife's horror, this may be a yearly tradition. Happy All Saints Day!

#48-#49

John Carpenter's The Ward (2010)

• This is the latest movie from one of my favorite directors, John Carpenter
• The movie follows a group of women who have been committed to a Mental Ward in the '60's
• The montage of images at the beginning are frightening by themselves. They are pictures of procedures performed on the mentally ill back then.
• Some great scares and gore throughout.
• This movie was good, but nothing was that great about it. A similar movie that I liked much more is Session 9

Pieces (1982)

• A Spanish produced film. This gives it the same weird dubbed action as the many Italian horror films.
• The plot is that a young boy is caught putting together a nudie jigsaw puzzle by his mom. She starts beating him, so he kills her. 40 years later, he is stalking co-eds on a campus and is piecing the perfect woman together after cutting up girls with a chainsaw. 
• Christopher George is the main cop here. He looked so familiar, and then after some research, I realized he is in City of the Living Dead, which I also like.
• Lt. Bracken seems to have a very odd fondness of Kendall. Kendall might as well be deputized with how involved he is with the cops.
• This is probably my unexpected favorite movie so far. We get nudity, gore, chainsaws, lines that are hilarious on purpose (and not on purpose), and a great ending. Highly recommended. 

#47

Hell Night (1981)

• Things go wrong at a Fraternity/Sorority hazing at a haunted house.
• Linda Blair looks great and does a great job in this one. 
• I really enjoyed the mix of Frat hi-jinx and real scares in this one.
• Pretty good gore, and most of the people who get it, deserve it.
• Enjoyed this one a lot. Highly recommended.  

#45-#46

Just Before Dawn (1981)

• A good "kids go in the woods and get terrorized by who they find there" movie.
• Some really good performances by the likes of George Kennedy of The Naked Gun fame, Chris Lemmon, and Gregg Henry.
• The movie is heavily influenced by Deliverance and a character in this movie has a similar transformation as Jon Voigt's character.
• The gore is not excessive, but they are still effective. The last kill is very good.
• The setting of this movie is really great. Very majestic. It really adds to the atmosphere.

Nightmare City (1980)

• This is another Italian movie, but it is the first one I have seen by director Umberto Lenzi
• The main character is played by Hugo Stiglitz. I think it is awesome that a guy with this name actually existed (and not just in Inglourious Basterds). Also, the director didn't want him as the lead and thinks he did a crappy job, but was contractually obligated to cast him.
• The producers wanted a zombie movie in the vein of Romero or Fulci, but the director wanted to stand apart from those films with his monsters. He did so very well, to great effect.
• The story between the action scenes can get a little boring, but the gore is great when it is on screen.
• I had mixed feeling about this one. Mainly because it can drag, but over all I really liked it.

#42-#44

The Funhouse (1981)

• Tobe Hooper directs this evil carnival flick. Elizabeth Berridge stars, who you might remember from Amadeus. She gets naked in this one though.
• The first scene is pretty good, even though it is very derivative of Halloween.
• I have mixed feelings about this movie overall. There is a reveal that I think happens a little too early. More could have been done with the Funhouse as a setting as well.
• We have some fun kills here, but nothing too gory.
•  I really like the Frankenstein Monster mask worn by one of the characters. Very iconic.

Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979)

• A remake of the silent film classic. This one is directed by Werner Herzog.
• Dracula is played by Klaus Kinski. He does a great job and is very creepy throughout.
• This is an interesting mix of the classic Dracula story and the altered Nosferatu. Some very deliberate changes were made, which I didn't mind, and actually thought were somewhat refreshing.
• Some shots are very artsy, but  they aren't over done.
• I really like how we get a female protagonist step up to the plate in a vampire film. You hardly see that.

Don't Look Now (1973)

• A man and his wife deal with the death of their daughter while in Venice working.
• Donald Sutherland is really great in this one. He rarely disappoints. 
• I was lukewarm about this movie at about the halfway point, but was glad I hung in there. The ending is very good.
• This isn't a shocker type film. It is a slow burn that rewards the viewer at the end. The psychic aspect is also very well done.
• Venice is as much a character in this movie as anyone.

#36-#41

Firestarter (1984)

• Another Stephen King adaptation starring a young Drew Barrymore who has the power of pyrokinesis
• Really great fire effects at certain points. The ending is stellar.
• Heather Locklear, Martin Sheen, and George C. Scott also star. Scott turns in a powerful performance. Very cold and calculated character, but you can still sense he cares for Charlie.
• The father daughter dynamic is very real. Drew Barrymore does such a great job at such a young age.
• Truly crazy how many King stories have been adapted into movies. This is one of the good ones though.

The Birds (1963)

• Alfred Hitchcock's famous film about nature turning on man.
• The characterizations are very good and very well fleshed out. I even cared about lesser characters and their death is that much more effective.
• Funny little additions in this one, like the lovebirds swaying with the fast driving of Ms. Daniels.
• Some intense gore for the time.
• Over all, I liked it. I won't be rewatching it a lot though because while certain scenes are creepy, when ever the Birds actually attacked, it always seemed hokey to me.

The Mummy (1932)

• I always have an image in my mind of what these classic movies are like. They are usually really wrong. I figured a Mummy would be traipsing around killing people. Turns out, love story.
• Boris Karloff is a badass as Imhotep/Ardath Bey. 
• The make up effects are great as advertised.
• Some things about the plot didn't add up for me, but all in all, it was good story wise as well.
• I have no idea how accurate any of the movie is to ancient Egypt, but it didn't seem to dumb down the mythology.

Frankenstein (1931)

• Boris Karloff is awesome again as the Monster. The ability to emote through all that make up is amazing.
• It is really interesting to me how different this movie is than the original novel. Both are really great, and are based on the same concept, but how you get to this movie from that original story is beyond me. 
• I really liked the dark and gothic tone of the whole film.
• Colin Clive as Dr. Frankenstein is very good. Very believably swept up in his madness to imitate god.
• I wonder how amazed the original audiences were with all the electrical effects. They are still neat, but I'm sure they blew away people in the '30's.

The Bride of Frankenstein (1935)

• Karloff reprieves his role with improved make up and vocabulary.
• I was strangely attracted to Elsa Lanchester who plays both Mary Shelley and the Bride. Her bird like portrayal of the Bride was appropriately eerie.  
• I hated the character Minnie played by Una O'Connor. She was there for comedic relief. I thought this movie needed no comedic relief and had way too much. Including the scene with the "little" people.
• The story in this sequel is much better written, and the effects far outshine the original. There are flaws here though, such as the comedy, that taint it overall for me though.
• Interesting that they began it with Lord Byron, Mary Shelley, and Percy Shelley. There is a theory that Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein as an allegory for her husbands homosexual tendencies with Byron. The monster being his homosexual side. This first scene has echos of that, although I think unintentionally. 

Terror Train (1980)

• Jamie Lee Curtis continues her horror streak in this slasher on a train. 
• Wait a second. You mean to tell me that there is a horror movie with David Copperfield in it, and nobody told me? I can't believe it. He is amazing in this by the way. 
• Pretty good whodunit. I figured it out, but was very proud of myself.
• Really good use of masks and costumes to keep us guessing.
• The gore is minimal here, but even though, this movie is very fun. A great one to watch with a group of teens. Just one quick boob shot. Highly recommended. 

#35

Lifeforce (1985)

• Tobe Hooper directs this roller coaster ride of sci-fi and horror. Dan O'Bannon co wrote the screen play. He is famous for writing Alien and directing Return of the Living Dead
• Mathilda May plays Space Girl. She is also nude in 90% of her scenes. I would like to shake Tobe Hooper's hand for making The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and for making that directorial decision.
• Some really great effects. I can't overstate enough how much I love old practical effects.
• I'm surprised this movie doesn't have more of a cult following (maybe it does?). It has gore, nudity, space, aliens, vampires, British people. I mean, what more do you want?
• Another great recommendation from Pablo.

#34

Killer Joe (2011)

• Originally a play, the movie is directed by William Friedkin, who is famous for The Exorcist
• Matthew McConaughey plays a detective/killer for hire who gets hired by a family to off the mother/ex-wife for life insurance money. 
• This one might not be technically a horror movie, but it has way more realistic violence, creepy situations/scenes, and horrible people in it that a lot of the other movies I have watched. 
• Some funny humor is littered throughout. The scene in the insurance agent's office had me laughing a lot. 
• I think this is the only NC-17 rated movie I have watched during the challenge. I recommend it, but put the kiddos to bed.

#31-#33

Cabin Fever 2 (2009)

• Sequel to Eli Roth's feature debut of the same name. I loved the original, but was not impressed by this one directed by Ti West
• Plenty of gross out gore and some TnA. I thought the gore was excessive and didn't add to the story. More shock value than anything.
• Didn't care about the characters in this one. The story didn't matter as much, and too much was attempted to be wrapped up in the animated scenes.
• Brief cameo by Rider Strong, who I loved in the first one. Also, Giuseppe Andrews repeats his Deputy Winston role. He was enjoyable.
• All in all, might be fun to watch with a group and be rowdy. Not one that I will be revisiting though.

White Noise 2: The Light (2007)

• Another sequel, however, this was more to capitalize on the name than it having much to do with the first movie.
• Nathan Fillion stars as a husband who loses his wife and child, tries to kill himself, then has a Near Death Experience. This let's him see who is about to die.
• I liked the twists and turns that this one took. Layered and interesting.
• The ending was a little shaky, but didn't detract too much.
• Looking at the main character objectively, he sort of sucks, which is an interesting twist.

The Sentinel (1977)

• This one was a surprise. I really enjoyed it. Thanks to Pablo for the recommendation. 
• The cast is a veritable who's who of modern stars.
• Strong story and acting really help this one stand out.
• Very creepy demons. I can't believe they went the Freaks route and had actual disfigured people. Freaked me out. 
• I was a little confused at the end, but again, didn't really matter.

#27-#30

House (1977)

• Japanese film about a group of girls who head to a house. You guessed it, turns out it is haunted.
• This movies is really fun. Seeing all of the stuff in this movies makes me appreciate where the classic Japanese type stuff we see probably originated.
• Examples include girls in school outfits, melons, random kung fu, etc..
• At it's heart, this movie is a pretty traditional Japanese ghost story.
• This one is so all over the place from comedy to horror, it makes it a really entertaining watch.

Cat People (1982)

• Remake of a film from 1942
• Lots and lots of sexual themes here. And plenty of nudity to go with it.
• Gore is few and far between, but delivers when it is on screen.
• Really weird seeing Malcolm McDowell with so much hair, and not being in A Cockwork Orange.
• Interesting concept for the ending. 

V/H/S (2012)

• Horror anthology. A group of terrible people plan on stealing a VHS tape with something valuable on it. They find a bunch of tapes with creepy shit on them.
• This one had me hot and cold. Really liked some of the stories, didn't care for some of the others.
• Some really good FX and TnA though.
• The haunted house story and the killer in the woods story were the best two in my opinion.
• Better concept than execution.

[REC] (2007)

• Found  footage film. A news person follows a team of fire fighters to a call. They find some people who have decided to eat other people.
• A Spanish film. It was remade in the states as Quarantine
•  Really good effects. The scares were on point, and I cared about the characters.
• I liked the science in this movie. Very plausible.
• The ending was shocking, and great.

#26

The House of the Devil (2009)

• Another film directed by Ti West
• Set in the '80's, I love the throwback feel and look of the whole movie.
• The suspense in this is palpable through out, whether it be at the beginning with the uncertainty of Samantha's finances or the end when she is truly threatened.
• I enjoyed everyone's performance in this one. I was truly bummed when characters met their demise.
• Not a crazy amount of gore, but what is there does deliver.

#25

The Innkeepers (2011)

• Ghost story that takes place in the final days of an old hotel.
• Likable characters really make this one shine.
• This one is a slow burn, with a pretty good pay off. Minimal gore, but plenty of spooky frights. Mostly at the end.
• Director Ti West has made a name for himself with this one and The House of the Devil
• Good one for people who might get too scared with a more intense movie.

#24

The Dead Zone (1983)

• I had totally forgotten David Cronenberg directed this one.
• Christopher Walken is really great in this one. He has become a character actor, but this movie shows his versatility.
• I think this movie is incredibly underrated. It is just really cohesive.
• I wish you had a little more closure on the relationship with the rich kid.
• Great ending.

#21-#23

Mimic (1997)

• Guillermo del Toro 's US debut. 
• Really fun monster movie. The Judas bugs were very well done.
• The character Chuy really pissed me off. Which is fine, because there are kids out there like that I'm sure, but I wanted to smack him.
• The plot sometimes felt like it was stretched in too many directions, but never to the point of ruining the movie.
• Guillermo was brutal with the kills. Kids, dads, priests. No one was safe.

Red State (2011)

• Kevin Smith's take on religious zealots and the horror genre. Some action is thrown in there as well.
• I think this is a fairly realistic tale. The dialogue is obviously a little heightened to that Kevin Smith wit at times, but other wise, very believable.  
• Lot's of gory gun shot wounds.
• The tall kid in this reminded my wife and myself of our  friend Big Pat.
• John Goodman is awesome. I love him in almost everything.

Jack Clayton's The Innocents (1961)

• Film adaptation of The Turn of the Screw by Henry James.
• This one keeps the ghosts ambiguous. Are they real or not? The movie works very well either way.
• This one would hold up to multiple watchings due to how many layered themes and visuals are in it.
• Some interesting Freudian sexual themes.
• Truman Capote wrote the majority of the screenplay.

#19-#20

The Incredible Melting Man (1977)

• An astronaut back from a mission to Saturn starts melting from the radiation he encounters. Oh yeah, and he also eats people.
• Effects were neat and original in this one. Especially when he finally melts away.
• Some odd narrative choices. Having a couple of loose cannon security guards just start shooting people up is not too believable.
• The old couple in the car are pretty hilarious. Kissing each other, stealing lemons, and scolding each other.
• MST3K riffed on this one. I'll have to check that episode out.

Massacre at Central High (1976)

• More of a revenge film than a scary one, but I think it still qualifies.
• The movie Heather's takes a lot from this movie, including the final scene.
• Great boobs in this. Natural and curvy.
• Robert Carradine and cast give some pretty good performances. 
• Really goofy theme song.

#14-#18

Halloween II (1981)

• Picks up at the next shot after Halloween
• A kid in a Michael Myers mask gets hit by a cop car, and burned alive when they both hit an ambulance. No one seems to care except to see if it really is Michael Myers or not. So messed up.
• The kills here are good, but not that effective because we don't know the characters.
• Jamie Lee Curtis is great here still. Donald Pleasence is classic, but the character Sam Loomis acts in a pretty irrational way.
• Big fan of the use of the hospital and the syringe kills.

Halloween III (1982)

• An attempt to take the series in a new direction. The goal was to have a yearly movie under the Halloween title that was a different tale. Obviously didn't take off.
• The lead actress, Stacey Nelkin, is cute in an odd sort of way.
• The effects far outshine the plot in this one.
• I will always remember the Silver Shamrock jingle every Halloween now.
• I like how Tom Atkins' character isn't that likable, but still attempts to be the hero.

Let's Scare Jessica To Death (1971)

• Strange little film that walks the line of mental illness and ghosts/vampires.
• Zohra Lampert plays Jessica and does so well. We get a great feel for the toll of Jessica's mental illness takes on her relationship and her ability to trust anyone.
• Nice use of the unfriendly townspeople.
• I thought that Cello case looked a little suspect.
• Kevin O'Connor's character gets the shaft. He doesn't get laid, has to do all the work, and meets an untimely demise.

The New York Ripper (1982)

• I couldn't help thinking of the Bush lyric, "You want sex in your violence" while watching this one.
• The Killer makes calls to the cops using a Donald the Duck voice. I don't know if it is supposed to be creepy, but it comes off more as silly.
• The effects are great, as they often are in these Italian gems.
• Some of the sexual stuff will be sure to make you squirm in your seat. Unless you love feet!
• The ending had my wife and I guessing 3 or 4 times. Props to Fulci for that.

The Fly (1986)

• David Cronenberg brings the pain with a thought provoking story with amazing and gross practical effects.
• Jeff Goldblum is great here. His character changes so much through the film, and he makes each transformation believable. 
• Geena Davis is beautiful here. Great performance from her as well.
• There are some genuinely gag inducing scenes. The abortion scene and anything with BrindleFly eating. Yuck.
• Even though he is far beyond saving, I still feel sorry for BrindleFlyPod at the end.

#10-#13

John Carpenter's Christine (1983)

• I enjoyed this one, but it wasn't that scary.
• Stand out scenes are Christine fixing herself, and Christine running down the bully while on fire.
• The main love interest is a hottie.  Alexandra Paul also continues to be. She also has a twin sister. Bonus!
• Harry Dean Stanton appears here. Love him and a Kentucky native.
• Carpenter himself has said this movie wasn't that successful because it was hard to make a car scary.

C.H.U.D. (1984)

• Cannibalistic Humanoid Underground Dwellers
• To quote Sheena Odenweller, "It's CHUD crazy!!!"
• This one is a fun watch, especially the effects for the CHUDs
• One CHUD has his neck grow like Henrietta in Evil Dead 2. Gets his head chopped off just like her as well.
• Weird scene where a lady is taking a shower, the drain clogs, she goes to clear it, and then CHUD blood sprays her. She just continues to shower and cleans up. I would have been a little more disturbed.

Night of the Hunter (1955)

• The villain considers himself a man of God, who goes town to town, marries a widow, then kills her for her money. He also has LOVE and HATE tattooed on his knuckles.
• Robert Mitchum plays said villain. He does a great job. Very strong screen presence. 
• I really liked this one. The pacing is good, except for an extended sequence where the two main children are on the run down the river.
• A woman in this movie is named Icey. That is awesome.
• Interesting twist at the end with a mob of townspeople looks villainous.

The Stepfather (1987)

• Terry O'Quinn plays a man who is a master of making new identities to find the perfect family, but when the family he is in disappoints him, he kills them all.
• So, we get to see Jill Schoelen's boobs in a shower scene at the end of the movie, and it is awesome, but she is supposed to be 16. Luckily she is 24 in real life.
• Gore very quickly in this one. First scene. 
• I got really bummed about the death of the psychiatrist. 
• Interesting take on the slasher genre.

#9

Fallen (1998)

• Interesting mix of crime drama and demonology
• Denzel Washington is great here. Great cast in general. 
• The sheer mass of people they show in some scenes (such as the closing) makes me claustrophobic.
• Some plot holes, but they are easily overlooked to make the movie more suspenseful.
• That ancient language sure is creepy.

#8

The Gate (1987)

• What a gem! I love this movie. Great one for young teens.
• The demons are really neat. Nice mix of stop motion (which I love) and live action midgets in suits (which I also love)
• A young  Stephen Dorff as Glen. All the characters here are likable, and relate able. Even Terry, the little punk, turns out to have a heart of gold.
• A little confused by the eye in the palm of the hand, but the plot here is great otherwise.
• Great depiction of '80's brother/sister relationship. Also, good lesson in gun safety.

The Horror Challenge #1-#7

Hello World. My epic friend, the Displaced Kentuckian, has embarked on a challenge. A challenge for the ages. He is going to watch 50 Horror Movies before Halloween. Read more here. Well, I started roughly two weeks ago, and need to start listing/reviewing these films for my own good, and maybe yours. If I'm able, I'll update posts with pictures, but for now, text only.

Dario Argento's Phenomena (1985)

• Great performances by a very young Jennifer Connelly and seasoned Donald Pleasence
• Helper Chimps only improve movies that they are in
• Metal in the soundtrack detracted here
• Great individual scenes, but could have been edited for a quicker pace
• Crazy ending, with a gag inducing cesspool

John Carpenter's The Fog (1980)

• My first viewing, even though I'm a huge Carpenter fan, and I loved it
• Really great fog effects and the ambiance in this one is spot on spooky
• Adrienne Barbeau and Jamie Lee Curtis offer up some great eye candy 
• Jamie Lee Curtis and Janet Leigh together for an excellent Mother/Daughter connection
• Great modern take on a ghost story

The Boogens (1981)

• Some authentic and funny performances here, including the dog.
• As sexed up as some of the characters are, only minimal nudity
• More story than action here. Most of the kills are off screen, and Boogens don't appear until the last 10 minutes of the movie.
• Sound is good in this one. The Boogens sound much scarier than they look.
• The old man who sees it all coming is pretty comical

Mario Bava's Black Sabbath (1961)

• A trilogy of terror. Three short stories hosted by the iconic Boris Karloff
• Boris Karloff also plays the main antagonist in the final story, "The Wurdalak"
• Interestingly dubbed in English. Are all movies made be Italians this way?
• Bava uses setting very well in all three stories.
• Each tale is well fleshed out, scary, and deep in its own way.

Night School (1981)

• This one gets right to it. First kill in the first scene.
• Cool antagonist in this one. Anonymous Biker get up with a large knife
• Some decent TnA, although short lived
• A fast paced watch, except for a scene in a diner the night after a killing. Way too long for the pay off
• If the teachers at night school are anything like this, keep your daughters away

Squirm (1976)

• Killer man eating worms! 
• Ignorant back water rednecks!
• Uppity know-it-all city slicker!
• The worms revolted because of high voltage! (Danger! Danger!)
• A fun watch for sure.

Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things (1973)

• One of Director Bob Clark's first films. He went on to do Black Christmas and Porkies among others.
• The title here really drives home the lesson of the whole film. The cast really has it coming by the end.
• Pretty silly until the action starts at the end. Things get legitimately creepy at that point. Great zombie effects.
• Alan Ormsby plays the demented and egotistic theatre troupe leader. He also was the main effects guy on the film.
• Sort of messed up about the current Caretaker.