October Challenge: The Raven (2012)

The Raven (2012)

John Cusack stars as Edgar Allen Poe in the last few days of his life in the murder mystery with horror elements.   It's not exactly horror, but it has it's moments.

Of course this is a completely fictionalized account of Poe's last days and a murderer that is using his poems and stories to act out some grisly murders.  There are some issues with the movie from a historical perspective; the first that jumped out at me was a newspaper talking about a "Serial Killer" a term that was still 130 years away from being invented.

There are twists and turns and Cusack is great.  The movie did feel slow in some spots, but overall I rather enjoyed it.  I am not 100% sure it was horror though.








Tally: Watched 22, New 17

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October Challenge: Children of the Corn (2009)

Children of the Corn (2009)

Caught this on the Sci-Fi channel recently.  I have not watched the Sci-Fi (or SyFy) is years, but I'll get to that.

This is a remake of the original 1984 film (which I enjoyed) and the Stephen King short story (which I also enjoyed).  If anything this movie does cleave closer to the original story than the 84 movie did.  There are no overt demons and in some ways that almost makes the movie creepier.

This movie though has it's own problems.  Despite the issues with the first movie this one will always come up short compared to it.  There is no "He's waiting for you Malachi!" moment here.
The other is that our protagonists are completely unlikable. Don't get me wrong, Kandyse McClure is very easy on the eyes, but her character is so annoying.  In fact the only character you can related to in this is Malachi's pregnant girlfriend.

I give it a plus for adhering better to the source material but many minuses for poor execution.  My wife, who grew up in the country, though has a deeper issue with it.  She loved the first, but wants to know why city people are so afraid of the country.  I didn't have a good answer for her.

In other concerns, WYF happened to the SciFi Channel??

Once upon time you catch a decent enough movie (to be fair CotC was not bad, just not great) and some good sci-fi or horror related TV shows.  Now it is all "reality" based ghost hunters, terrible movies and Wrestling??


Tally: Watched 21, New 16

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October Challenge: Häxan: Witchcraft Through the Ages (1922)

This is one of my favorite movies about Witchcraft.

Häxan: Witchcraft Through the Ages

Instead of talking about it, here it is.



I wanted to rewatch this one because, well I like it and to get me geared up for the release of my Witch books.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H%C3%A4xan

Tally: Watched 20, New 15

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October Challenge: Le Frisson des Vampires (1971)

Le Frisson des Vampires (1971)

Oh. Jean Rollin, you tempt me so.  I enjoyed Fascination last year and was hoping for something similar here.

I did get something similar here, but this one was not quite as good as Fascination.
Also known as "The Shiver of the Vampires" or "Thrill of the Vampire" this movie features plenty of blood, nudity, lesbian overtones and implied incest. So everything you would expect from a Jean Rollin film.
The film follows the familiar ground of two young lovers coming upon a castle, in this case the castle of the young bride's cousins.  They hear the cousins are dead but go up to the castle anyway.  Here they encounter two servant girls that tell them their Masters will be along soon.  The cousins appear and oddly no one seems shocked.  But then again no one was shocked either at the supposed human sacrifice either.
Isla, the bride, is targeted by a vampire, Isolde that must have been the one that also converted her cousins (who were also former Vampire hunters).  The two servant girls spend most of their time naked or nearly so, oh and they are also lovers.

The movie itself has a lot of issues.  Consitent plot is only the minor one.  Frankly I found myself not really caring for these characters really at all.  Plus the story was a bit dull to be honest. The cinematography was odd with the constant spinning around, but the sets were very cool. Together it did give you the feeling of being somewhere else or even somewhen else.

Plus I was distracted on how much Sandra Julien (Isla) looks like Lily Cole.

Still though. I do enjoy a vampire flick.
You can see scenes from the movie over at this Jean Rollin blog.
http://requiemforjeanrollin.blogspot.com/2009/12/jean-rollin-thrill-of-vampires.html

Tally: Watched 19, New 15

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October Challenge: Red Lights (2012)

Red Lights (2012)

This one is a bit hard to classify.  It is certainly a thriller and has horror elements.  Plus just when you think it is all figured out, it gets turned on it's head.
I will say this though. It was a good flick and kept me interested till very end.  The cast is great,  Cillian Murphy is fantastic and Sigourney Weaver and Robert De Niro are equally good as opponents.  My surprise was Elizabeth Olsen, the "other" Olsen sister.  She is quite good as well.  Though I'll admit I didn't quite buy relationship between Murphy's character and hers.  Oh well.

The movie itself deals with a couple of paranormal investigators (Murphy and Weaver) and their attempts to disprove various claims of the supernatural. This eventually leads them into a confrontation with DeNiro's character a Yuri Gellar type coming out of retirement for another show.

I don't want to ruin the movie for you, except to say that it starts out as a paranormal movie (ala Paranormal Activity) turns into something else, and then again.

The question here is not is this a good movie (it is) it's whether or not it can be classified as horror.  I was ready to say no till I got to the very end and then changed my mind.  Your mileage may vary of course.

I think that since I am couple of movies ahead right now I will call it horror and pick up a couple of extra ones.  There has to be something from the 70s I haven't seen yet.


Tally: Watched 18, New 14

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October Challenge: Twins of Evil (1971)

Twins of Evil (1971)

My love for Hammer films is well known and well documented.  I am also a huge fan of the Carmilla story.  So it really seems like a no-brainier that I had already seen all the movies in the Karnstien Trilogy. Except that I haven't.

This movie works a little a prequel to The Vampire Lovers. This time we have a Count Karnstein.  I like the story itself is not a bad one.  Afterall the Karnsteins were supposed to be a family of evil, this current Count helps fill in some of those gaps.  We get a guest appearance from Mircalla who turns our count into a monster.  There are other call backs to the first movie in how the vampires can still move about during the day, but their shrouds they need in death are now gone.

Let's be honest here.  There was really only one (er..two) reasons why this movie was made.  Mary and Madeleine Collinson.  The former Playmates, and the first twins to appear in Playboy, where here not for their acting ability (they were over dubbed in fact) but for their ability to appear in the movie nude. Mind you this is usually a good enough reason for me, but I did want some more.

Peter Cushing is back, but not as the same or related character, but as a witch-hunting zealot and uncle of the twins.  In fact he plays a rather unlikable character.  In truth his character kills more people than the Count does either before or after his vampiric transformation.

The plot seemed a bit confused and it isn't due to my lack of sleep here.  I think some bits were cut out of the version I saw on TV via some channel/cable service called Impact.   Pity really.  I had great hopes for this one.
This one put my wife into a deep sleep and she is just about ready to ban me from watching anymore Hammer films.  I did point out that the Woman in Black was also Hammer.

Tally: Watched 17, New 13

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October Challenge: I am Legend

I am Legend

One of the things that I love doing (but irritates my wife) is watching multiple versions of the same movie.  This year I choose the various incarnations of Richard Matheson's "I am Legend".  I had read the book years ago back in grad school and I recalled seeing "The Omega Man" (which I ad always thought the Police song was based on).  Well the new I Am Legend was on so I figured what the heck.

The Last Man on Earth (1964)
Vincent Price stars as the Robert Neville character, Robert Morgan.  The interesting thing about this movie is that Matheson worked on the script, but decided that he didn't like it.   The vampires in this version are more of the classical, "Hammer" vampires.  Affected by mirrors, sunlight and garlic.  This premise though is the same as in the book.  Neville/Morgan spending his day killing vampires.  As far as the movie adaptions go, this one is the closest to the book, though there are still some differences.  The name it the first obvious one.  Plus while the vampires are closer to the book, they are more like zombies here in the movie. They are fast and more vampire like in the book.  The feel of the movie is closer to the book as well.
Vincent Price of course is always a joy to see in the movies and frankly it would not be Halloween without him.
This movie was also an influence on George Romero for his zombie movie Night of the Living Dead.

The Omega Man (1971)
I remember seeing this one years ago.  At the time I thought it was a little stupid and slow.  It took a lot a liberties with the book and the vampires now were suddenly a thinly disguised racial tension metaphor.
Rewatching it now a lot fo that still holds true, but it is also a fun horror/action movie.
So what was going on in the 70s? Cause there is a lot of fear in this movie.  Not horror movie fear, but fear of the world written into the movie.  Chemical waefare, race riots, all sorts of things to scare you.
Now I like Heston in this, even if his Robert Neville is getting further away from the book.
The movie has a similar ending to the book, but not really the same impact.
This movie is notable for one of the first interracial kisses between Charleston Heston and Rosalind Cash.

I Am Legend (2007)
Will Smith is now Dr. Robert Neville in this version that tries to use more science.  In this case the vampires are altered humans from a genetically re-engineered measles virus.  In this movie Neville is the last man here, but maybe not the last man anywhere
It is a passable version.  Will Smith is fun actor and he is good in this role.  The movie though in the translation seems to have lost something since the 60s and 70s.

I Am Omega (2007)
I am not even sure what to say about this one. I will be honest, I like The Asylum. Their "Mockbusters" are often a lot of fun  But this one fell far from the mark.  It only shares surface similarities with the other movies and book; only enough to make it any generic Post Apocalypse movie really.  I suppose you can admire their cheek of it all.

This Tally: Watched 4, New 2. Best: Last Man on Earth
Tally: Watched 16, New 12

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October Challenge: Dark Shadows (2012)

Dark Shadows (2012)

I was eagerly anticipating the new Dark Shadows from Tim Burton and Johnny Depp.  Well tonight, thanks once again to the magic of OnDemand I was finally able to catch it.

Well. I liked it, but not as much as I wanted to to like it.  Depp is brilliant as always and Helena Bonham Carter is there too, this time with an American accent (loved it).  Chloë Grace Moretz is here as well and way under used.  Same as Michelle Michelle Pfeiffer.

If you don't know the background to Dark Shadows, over watched the old show, then there are some things that will be lost on you, but the film was still fun. Eva Green was surprisingly good as Angelique.  But the movie lacked a real conflict and climax.  I felt like they were trying to cram as much from the series as they could into a two hour movie.

The movie was fun, but it is really stretching the definition of horror for this.  I am including it because I was such a fan of the original series.


Tally: Watched 12, New 10

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October Challenge: Fascination (1979)

Fascination (1979)

You can't blog about horror movies and not do a Jean Rollin movie. I am likely to do more than 1 thanks to the combined magic of the new Redemption collection on Blu-Ray and Amazon Instant Video.

So what do we have here.  Well We have some high society types drinking ox blood in a butchery.  This shifts to a scene of a bunch of thieves and their double cross.  Long story short our double crosser escapes to a house where two servant girls, Franca Maï (Elizabeth) and Rollin mainstay Brigitte Lahaie  (Eva).  They toy with the theif (Mark) a bit. Mess around with each other some, and generally and alternately try to keep him or send him away.

Soon more women show up and it obvious that they are toying with this man and they plan to drink his blood or have sex with him.  Maybe in that order.

The film is very visually appealing and has that dream-like quality I always see in Euro-sleeze/erotics/horror.  There is plenty of exposed female flesh and plenty of blood and a lot of death.

The scene with Lahaie and the scythe is a classic one.

I don't want to ruin the ending of this in case there is anyone out there reading this blog who hasn't seen this (I am guess there is one or two).  But it is an unexpected twist.

The script is somewhat weak and the movie won't win any awards, but the cinematography is great.  Again, very languid, almost surreal really.

I am planning on checking out some more.

Tally: Watched 11, New 9

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October Challenge: Vampyr (1932)

Vampyr (1932)

This is one of those movies I have known about forever but never had the chance to see. Well now I can say I have seen it.

Vampry is loosely based on  J. Sheridan Le Fanu's short stories in "Through a Glass Darkly" including the most famous one, Carmilla. The movie, while slow, is full of atmosphere and is generally very creepy.  The whole thing seems like some sort of weird dreamscape than anything else.
There are many scenes in this film that are quite famous really.  The one legged guard with his independent shadow, the look of pure terror on the face Allan Grey (Julian West  aka producer Nicolas de Gunzburg) and the scene where he put into a coffin. One of my favorites are where the skulls all turn to watch the vampire enter a room. It worked just as good here as it did 80 years later in Doctor Who.   I am going to need to use that sometime.

There is a lot here that reminds me of Nosferatu, not just the black & white or the fact that they are both German cinema, but something in the tone.  These vampires are death and pestilence. I like have the vampire has the ghosts of convicted murderers in it's service (well, at least in the book that Allan is given).

The tale is nothing we have not seen before. Vampire attacking humans and feeding off of them.  But in 1932 this was all still new ground.    The interesting twist in this movie is the doctor character is actually in league with the vampire.

I am glad I finally got to see this.


Tally: Watched 10, New 8

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October Challenge: Underworld: Awakening (2012)

Underworld: Awakening (2012)

The vampires and the lycans are back in the 4th installment of the horror/action franchise.
I felt this was one of the weakest of the movies, picking up more or less where movie 2 left off.

Selene is back and so is her hybrid vampire/werewolf boyfriend.  Only now their war has spilled out and everyone knows about them.  The Vampires are almost extinct and the lycans are all ready there.

Great for a bit of dumb fun and there is a surprise in this one.










Tally: Watched 9, New 7

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October Challenge:Season of the Witch (1972)

Season of the Witch (1972)

I never knew this little gem existed till last month and I knew I needed to add it to my queue of movies.  It features direction by Zombie Master George Romero and the title song sung by Donovan (ok his song Season of the Witch was used in it) and a bunch of pretty much unknowns.

The movie is slow and typical Occult 70s fare, but still fun.

Joan is unsatisfied in her life and marriage and turns to Witchcraft to spice things up.
It's not horror so much as it is occult thriller-ish.

Still though not a bad flick and certainly has a great 70s vibe about it.







Tally: Watched 8, New 6

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October Challenge: Blade (1998)

Blade (1998)

So my son wanted to watch a horror movie, but he is not a fan of horror films.  But he does like action and Marvel.  So we decided on Blade.

I have seen this one before and it is stupid fun.  Vampires killing each other. Ancient vampire gods. Good times.
Blade is one of the few Marvel characters I still like.  Maybe because he created by Marv Wolfman who would also be responsible for the New Teen Titans.

A couple of points of interest.
This is one of the very first "Cinematic Marvel Universe" movies, though I am not sure if it fits into it proper.

Udo Kier is in this as the head of the vampire council. I think you can do a horror movie fest just on movies he was in.   I might have to do that sometime.




Tally: Watched 7, New 5

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October Challenge: The Omen (2006)

The Omen (2006)

Generally speaking remakes of horror movies are not very good.  Every so often you get one that is better than the original.  The Omen (2006) is not really any better, but it looks better and it is certainly better acted.
The original Omen I watched as a kid and it was goofy fun with the Anti-Christ.  But a lot of the movie was very stiff.  The new Omen is a better movie, even if the story is exactly the same (give or take).

Famously released on 06-06-06, I remember the ads for this one well.  Fitting for my 6th movie.
The best I can say about this is that I like Julia Stiles a lot better in this one.  Pete Postlethwaite did a good job as Brennan and did (I'll admit) a better job than Patrick Troughton who I have said before was the best actor in the Original Omen.

If you know the original story you know this one.  Thankfully we were spared the sequels that followed.

Tally: Watched 6, New 5

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October Challenge: Solomon Kane (2009)

Solomon Kane (2009)

Pity poor Robert E. Howard.  Considered one of the best of the pulp writers of the age, the movies made from his works, Conan and Solomon Kane, have languished.  In the case of Conan, three movies across two franchises and not a one is considered true to the character.  Then there is Solomon Kane.  His movie is out in theaters now despite being filmed over three years ago.

Now I have just started reading some Solomon Kane, so I will say this.  The movie is brutal but it holds close to the books at least as far as I can tell.

While this could have descended into the pits of hell know only as "made for the SciFi channel" this is actually a very good movie.  James Purefoy is almost Hugh Jackman like in his portrayal of Kane.

The build up to the end is slow, but it starts with a very bloody fight, so it does pull you right in.

While it could be classified as horror, dark fantasy might be a better term for it.


Tally: Watched 5, New 4

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October Challenge: Ginger Snaps (2000)

Ginger Snaps (2000)

The best thing about cable during Halloween is all of the horror movies you can find.  I remember hearing about this one when it was out and then promptly forgot about it.  No fault of the movie, just me.

The relationship between emergent female sexual  urges and horror/monsters is old ground here at the Other Side.  This though is the first time I have tackled the link between it and the werewolf myths.  We will see later how this plays out in "Jack and Diane", but tonight we have Ginger.

Ginger and her sister Brigette are the weird girls in school. Obsessed with death, dying and all that fun stuff and ignoring the in crowd when they can.  That is till something not-quite a dog bites Ginger.

There is serious Buffy the Vampire Slayer vibe about this flick.  Came out right around the same time to be honest, so that is no surprise.

The movie was not was I was suspecting and the ending was a surprise.
I enjoyed it to be honest, I am not a big fan of werewolf movies in general.  The leads were great and I am going to look for them in other movies to see if they are as good as this in all flicks.

Tally: Watched 3, New 3

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October Challenge: Sweeney Todd (2007)

Sweeney Todd (2007)

Oh Tim Burton. Sometimes I think you are a mad genius. Other times, well maybe only half that.
Sweeney Todd is horror. Is Victorian and does star Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter. So really it has "win" written all over it? Right? Right???  Well yes and no.

I enjoyed this movie. It was a lot bloodier than I expected it to be. For some reason I had forgotten there was singing in it, but that is fine.  Part of me of course kept thinking of this a Edward Scissor Hands gone really, really wrong.

Depp is great in this. As he is in everything. I loved him in Sleepy Hollow when I watched that last year.
And one can't but help see Bellatrix in HBC during this as well.

My one complaint about this movie was it seemed to be over so fast.
Ah well.

Surprisingly, this is a new one for me.

Tally: Watched 2, New 2

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October Challenge: The Woman in Black (2012)

The Woman in Black (2012)

I wanted to start off my October Horror movie Challenge right.  I wanted something with a good actor and a pedigree.  I choose the 2012 version of The Woman in Black.  Starring Daniel Radcliffe and Ciarán Hinds (good actors) from Hammer Films (pedigree).

I am never sure how much to put into these reviews.  They are not reviews in the fullest sense but I think recapping the entire movie would be a bad thing for others participating in this Challenge.  I don't want to spoil the ending for anyone.

So I will say this.  Daniel Radcliffe never once reminded me in word or deed that he was Harry Potter in this.  He is a great actor and has a great carrier a head of him.  I went into this film expecting only a nice period piece haunted house movie and that is what I got.  The story is one we have all seen dozens, if not hundreds, of times before, but that did not make it less enjoyable. On the contrary I rather enjoyed this movie a lot. It also goes to show you that there is no such thing as a simple ghost story.

Not that the movie is perfect either, it had it's own issues. But all in all this is a great start to the Halloween season.

Tally: Watched 1, New 1

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Not to sound like a broken record...

But there are a couple of Kickstarters worth having another look at.

First is the D&D Documentary
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/andrewpascal/dungeons-and-dragons-a-documentary

18 days to go and still more than 100k to make.
You funding other games, show this one some love too!

Band of Zombies for All Flesh Must Be Eaten has just under 2 hours left.
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1801360072/all-flesh-must-be-eaten-rpg-band-of-zombies-source

The stretch goals make this one worth some of your attention.  And money.

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What Was Your Childhood Monster?

I write a lot of horror into my games.  I love horror movies and books and pretty much have dedicated all this writing to horror and horror-themed RPGs.  So you might be wondering what is it that scares, or rather scared, me.

Tree Monsters.

Well a specific one at least.

Back when I was young I remember watching this movie on KPLR-TV Channel 11 out of St. Louis.  It was an old 50s horror film called "From Hell it Came".  My gods it was terrible.
But the monster in it, a cursed tree that grew out of the grave of a wrongly condemned man, freaked me out to no end.

I am not sure why.  Maybe it is because trees are alive and they are everywhere.  I think too it was the noise it made. The monster was called a "Tobonga" but in my young mind it became "Taboo the Tree Monster" and I must have freaked out pretty hard cause to this day I still get grief for it from my family.  I even get "gifts" of little tree monsters for Halloween from them.

I have never made a tree monster that I thought worked well enough to match the memory of fear (not the fear itself, that is long gone) I had then.  I did create Druthers for various games and I think they have a link to this guy.  Though I did buy this bit of art to come up with something.  I still might.

Yeah. So I was never afraid of witches. I loved them back then too.  Scarecrows freaked me out for a bit.  But the real horror is in walking, back from the dead, killer trees.

I am posting this as part of Christine Rains: What Was Your Childhood Monster Blogfest. 

And check out here new novella, Fearless.

You can sign up too!

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