Back at this again after almost 3 years. New design from black and yellow to a 'Dracula' theme. Sounded appropriate for these posts at least. I haven't stopped watching movies during the month of October. One a day has been the tradition for many, many years. I'm just trying to catch up writing about all of them. Part of the problem is that it has been so many years since 2015, I can only remember the pieces that stick out. And that is if a movie doesn't bore me, which can happen if I'm cozy at home or on my phone, then it's even more fuzzy. I'll try to fit 2019 in sooner as that is much more fresh in my head but if I keep up my current pace, that should happen sometime in the year 2032.
Previous Years: (I have re-ordered these and even updated some comments, so please check them out if it seems interesting.)
Previous Years: (I have re-ordered these and even updated some comments, so please check them out if it seems interesting.)
31 Halloween Movies For October 3 2012
31 Halloween Movies For October 2 2011
31 Halloween Movies For October 1 2010
31 Halloween Movies For October 2 2011
31 Halloween Movies For October 1 2010
Rating these again with my thoughts, IMDB's and Rotten Tomatoes. I don't know why I wrote lists starting with #1, so that's out. So is the Netflix ratings, which I don't really trust as a tool for seriously ranking. I know there are other sites out there I've used before, Metacritic for example. And I could go by my own Flickchart rankings, which I have spent more time on but alas no, you get my gut here after almost 5 years.
31. Poltergeist 3
Year: 1988
Mine: 25
IMDB: 31
RoTo: 31
Enjoyed the original quite a bit and even liked pieces of the second. This one fell further to me. They are in a building now. Mirrors supposedly hold the spirits. Third and last movie from child Heather O'Rourke.
30. Return of the Living Dead 3
Year: 1993
Mine: 29
IMDB: 24
RoTo: 24
Second double sequel in a row. The lead's girlfriend gets killed but you don't feel too bad cause your watching a zombie movie. Not nearly as funny as the original but a different take at least.
29. Legion
Year: 2010
Mine: 21
IMDB: 28
RoTo: 28
Very creepy trailer. Dennis Quaid meets angel Paul Bettany inside a coffee shop and have to battle demons err other angels. Slow for an action movie.
28. I, Frankenstein
Year: 2014
Mine: 22
IMDB: 29
RoTo: 25
Basically Frankenstein's monster is a hero trying to protect the secret to creating an undead army. I do remember the ending just being one ginormous end piece. I'm a fan of both Aaron Eckhart and Bill Nighy but the story was mostly forgettable.
27. Dark Water
Year: 2005
Mine: 20
IMDB: 26
RoTo: 29
I've watched this twice now and I actually own it. I enjoy the story for most of the time. It's a neat idea about water being something sinister. Tim Roth and John C Reily join Connelly.
26. Poltergeist
Year: 2015
Mine: 15
IMDB: 30
RoTo: 30
I love this picture so much, but the movie didn't live up to it nor the original. I don't think it had anything interesting or new to say and didn't do much at all in a better way. Sam Rockwell leads and Sam Raimi somehow had a piece in this.
25. V/H/S/2
Year: 2013
Mine: 26
IMDB: 22
RoTo: 22
I like the idea of compilation short horror movies. Why they bother each time with a forced story which wraps around each of these seems like a waste of time.There was a zombie pov which was interesting. An Eye short about an implant that sees ghosts. Nothing too new other than some jumps. An average alien abduction and the best one was probably a cult infiltration.
24. Dracula Dead and Loving It
Year: 1995
Mine: 23
IMDB: 23
RoTo: 23
I enjoy Nielsen whenever he is onscreen, no matter how bad his jokes are. Ditto Mel Brooks. This one misfires even with some really funny parts at the end. Young Frankenstein is definitely Brooks's superior horror spoof.
23. Splice
Year: 2009
Mine: 17
IMDB: 25
RoTo: 26
Some scientists make a monster spliced...I don't know how else to put it.. with a human. Fear plays a big part in the themes of the movie. It has an interesting premise, even if your guinea pig couldn't speak to you, what if it could non-verbally communicate to you.
22. White Noise
Year: 2005
Mine: 3
IMDB: 27
RoTo: 27
I really love the premise of this. I enjoy Michael Keaton, so it's mostly a win for me. This concept is creepy as all get out. I think the end falls apart quite a bit but the ride leading up is an enjoyable one I've taken many times.
21. Slither
Year: 2006
Mine: 16
IMDB: 18
RoTo: 18
James Gunn gets his first major acting debut here after writing the Dawn of the Dead screenplay. Alien infestation. I personally enjoy The Faculty Tremors and Evolution more. I had no idea James Gunn was married(previously) to Jenna Fischer.
20. Insidious: Chapter 3
Year: 2015
Mine: 10
IMDB: 21
RoTo: 21
These do blend together after one watch. I remember the first one fondly which is why I keep coming back. Elise was an interesting side character, the exorcist who comes to help the family, but when it started to focus on her it drifts into some strange territory. This one is run of the mill, could be an Exorcist clone with jump scares and less puking.
19. The Thing from Another World
Year: 1951
Mine: 31
IMDB: 9
RoTo: 9
I really enjoyed the 80's one and after having watched the latest installment, I had to go back to watch the original. It's obviously a different special effects show. The monster is clearly humanoid, I do not recall any shape shifting of any kind. Same artic backdrop. The ending sticks out the most where they try to trap it and electrocute it.
18. Underworld Evolution #2
Year: 2006
Mine: 24
IMDB: 14
RoTo: 11
Who is Scott Speedman, I don't recall who that is or why he is headlining. More of the original story/fighting, definitely not as fresh though. There is no internal dilemma in this one as Selene has chosen her side. The generic names are all a blur watching these years apart. Marcus, Marco, Michael, William, Jim Bob, Joey, Frank, they are all some sort of head vampire/werewolf.
17. Candyman
Year: 1992
Mine: 13
IMDB: 16
RoTo: 19
I remember this being quite popular when I was a child. Never saw it until now. Looks like they are doing a sequel soon. I don't think the hook is particularly scary, at least compared to a spikey hand glove/hockey stick/knife. Race is a thing here as is re-incarnation. No dumb teenagers. The most memorable scene to me besides all the mirror pieces is the heroine trying to save a baby from a fire.
16. Stigmata
Year: 1999
Mine: 12
IMDB: 19
RoTo: 17
Religious horror kind of reminds me of either the Devil's Advocate or Rosemary's baby.. I don't remember it being scary, the setup is quite Exorcist. I don't think it's as good as any of those. The Da Vinci Code and the Passion have caused much more of an uproar since this came out.
15. Odd Thomas
Year: 2013
Mine: 18
IMDB: 13
RoTo: 15
Staring the late Anton Yelchin and Willem Dafoe about a guy who can see ghosts. Plays more like a typical action movie, hero gets set up has to shoot baddie at the end. I'm more of a fan of Stephen Sommers other horror like movies - Van Helsing and The Mummy.
14. 30 Days of Night
Year: 2007
Mine: 11
IMDB: 15
RoTo: 20
Vampires roll into town in an Alaskan during deep winter on Josh Hartnett and a large game of hide and seek entails. It's all very survival horror with townspeople getting picked off one by one until our lead goes rogue and turns himself into a vampire to fight on an equal playing field.
13. Only Lovers Left Alive
Year: 2013
Mine: 30
IMDB: 6
RoTo: 8
Quite the cast. Part drama, part comedy. Centuries of music and romance all changed when little sister comes into town. I do appreciate the Detroit set piece. There was a concept of dirty blood which the vampires couldn't drink safely. The end cafe scene is memorable.
12. Silent Hill
Year: 2006
Mine: 8
IMDB: 17
RoTo: 16
I think I've watched this at least twice. The first time it didn't hold my interest well. But this time I made it through. I never played the video game so not familiar with the story. Woman wakes up and finds her daughter missing. I did like Sean Bean's character. Lots of dark grays and blacks throughout. I appreciate the sirens, sound is an important piece of getting a horror movie mood correct.
11. House of 1000 Corpses
Year: 2003
Mine: 4
IMDB: 20
RoTo: 14
I think I first watched this prior to things like Texas Chainsaw Massacre and not really understanding where Rob Zombie could take even a concept like evil hillbilly family and dial it to 11. The beginning is neat with these guys trying to run like a fun house and the end is a descent into madness.
10. REC
Year: 2007
Mine: 27
IMDB: 5
RoTo: 5
Another found footage movie. I was interested enough throughout to not be bored, though some ideas ran long - the idea that police couldn't make it into the house safely. The end is a kind of Blair Witch what exactly did I see happen kind of moment. Much better than the sequel, but we will get to that.
9. An American Werewolf in London
Year: 1981
Mine: 28
IMDB: 4
RoTo: 4
Not to be confused with the Werewolf in Paris or the song Werewolves of London, or the Boy Who Cried Wolf, or the Wolfman. The townsfolk are all in denial. The victims try to get the main character to commit suicide.
8. Night of the Living Dead
Year: 1990
Mine: 9
IMDB: 11
RoTo: 13
An updated version of the original story in color. I don't think the remake really added anything too new. At least I don't remember the differences other than the the lead female being smarter and the lead male doesn't get killed by a hunting party in the morning.
7. The Changeling
Year: 1980
Mine: 19
IMDB: 7
RoTo: 6
Classic mansion ghost story with banging and attics. Main character loses a wife and child so despair is a theme. The ghost helping plot device would be used in later movies. Clever camera. A smarter version of The Amityville Horror.
6. The Monster Squad
Year: 1987
Mine: 14
IMDB: 8
RoTo: 7
Monster fanatic kids have to stop the 1930's Univeral Monster movie characters from first taking over the town and the world. Typical bad guy MO. No one else believes you trope. Going into a scary house set piece. Features the creature from the Blue Lagoon. Has a feel not unlike The Goonies/ET/IT/Super 8 with the Dracula/Mummy/Frankenstein/Wolfman monster squad.
5. Stir of Echoes
.jpg)
Year: 1999
Mine: 5
IMDB: 10
RoTo: 12
Kevin Bacon has some range. He can be a smart villain, awful villain, creepy villain, understandable antagonist. Here is the main hero character. Another ghost story featuring visions of a troubled girl after a batched hypnotism. Bacon spends most of the movie digging up his house trying to uncover the mystery.
4. The Babadook
Year: 2014
Mine: 2
IMDB: 12
RoTo: 10
Awesome concept, creepy as hell to me. I've only watched it this once, but I think it's quite well done on the same level as The Conjuring or IT. There are ghost stories and there are can't escape situations involving ghosts like Get Out or It Follows. There are difference in quality between one of these good films, which Babadook is and say a lesser movie - with the same kind of idea. Circle, 9 Dead, Halloween Night all come to mind.
3. American Psycho
Year: 2000
Mine: 6
IMDB: 3
RoTo: 3
Christian Bale before we knew him. Not counting that Spielberg movie when he was a child. OH GOOD FOR YOU. Fucks sake you're amateur. Turns out Bale is partially psycho, so this was a good part for him. The Business cards, the axe murdering with plastic down, the Gattaca like showering. He thinks everyone is out to get him. How much of it was in his head?
2. Let The Right One In
Year: 2008
Mine: 7
IMDB: 2
RoTo: 2
The original to Let Me In featuring the centuries old vampire watching over the little boy getting bullied. I can't even begin to fathom what that would be like. Maybe like talking to a cricket, something that has no comprehending of your existence. Really a story about friendship.
1. The Sixth Sense
Year: 1999
Mine: 1
IMDB: 1
RoTo: 1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LGu1sOvxYs
If you don't know the twist and you like ghost stories, it won't disappoint you. It's almost become a yearly Halloween tradition to watch it.
Comments
Post a Comment