Rate the Last Film You Watched

[Geriatric hedgehog]

Day 7

I cheated. Instead of a movie I played a bit of forbidden siren. It's a good if very difficult horror game from the creators of Silent Hill.

Have had this on my playlist not realising it was from the creators of Silent Hill. Not sure if I actually bought this or the second one during a sale. Now I'm tempted to play a horror game for the season too heh. If you've never played Hellblade: Senua's sacrifice and like Norse mythology with psychological horror, I would highly recommend that for the next season perhaps.

 

[HWR]

31 Days of Halloween 2024! Day XI: Cannibal marathon: Man From Deep River (1972, Umberto Lenzi), Eaten Alive! (1980, Umberto Lenzi), Cannibal Holocaust (1980, Ruggero Deodato), Cannibal Ferox (1981, Umberto Lenzi)

Spoiler

(No poster for Eaten Alive as they’re all too graphic + nudity)


Both Lenzi and Deodato are synonymous with the birth and rise of the cannibal subgenre of horror, which led to the Cannibal Boom of the 70s and early 80s, from which I chose four films to marathon here.

MFDR feels more like a cannibal romance film than the more grisly films it inspired, whilst EA amps up the shock factor and violence, distinguishing itself though incorporating a Jonestown-like Cult to the story. Both it and CF apparently borrow footage from prior cannibal films and in CF’s case it goes further to feel like a retread of CH with certain plot elements and being the overall weakest film here.

CH is arguably the most well known cannibal-themed movie of them all, incorporating a found-footage narrative as footage from a missing documentary film crew is examined in an attempt to figure out what went down in the Amazon rainforest when they journeyed there but never returned. It was a brutal and unpleasant watch, but I couldn’t look away as the chaos unfolded (and needed a breather after it was over.)

Overall, the cannibal subgenre is a hard one to recommend to horror fans unless you know what you’re getting yourself in for. These were rather well-made entries but their especially violent content makes for some difficult watches. However, part of these marathons for me is being able to explore new sub-genres of horror, so it was at least a change of pace to explore some notable entries. 3/5, 3/5, 3.5/5, 2.5/5

I’ve put this in spoilers due to the nature of these films.

 

[Professor Irony]

Prey (2022)

A fresh and engaging entry to the Predator series (when last could you say that?), that sees a young Comanche woman (Amber Midthunder) and her brother encounter cinema’s most famous big-game hunter in the wilds of 18th century America. The film’s modest circumstances do show in the CG effects and I felt it lost its lustre a little with a finale that feels a lot like a retread of the original film, but otherwise this was a taut and exciting little thriller with a real standout performance from Midthunder in the lead.

Wouldn’t argue that this is the best Predator sequel to date, although I think it would take a lot to replace the daffy second one in my affections…

 

[Vincentdante]

I'll just say upfront my weekend plans is still horror games, I had intended earlier this year to play one of the siren games for the season, though I am unlikely to complete it lol. I shall resume movies likely closer to halloween itself or if I want a break. I will keep an eye on the thread though to read everyone's reviews

 

[HWR]

31 Days of Halloween 2024! Day XII: The Toxic Avenger (1984, Lloyd Kaufman, Michael Herz), The Toxic Avenger Part II (1989, Lloyd Kaufman, Michael Herz)



A change of plans last night led me to bump these up. It was overdue that Troma would get a spot for one of these marathons, and TTA is arguably the most well-known project from Lloyd Kaufman. The first film is tasteless and excessive but also an entertaining mess, whilst its first sequel takes the story to Japan and is still fun though not as enjoyable as its predecessor. 3.5/5, 3/5

 

[HWR]

31 Days of Halloween 2024! Day XIII: The Toxic Avenger Part III: The Last Temptation of Toxie (1989, Lloyd Kaufman, Michael Herz), Citizen Toxie: The Toxic Avenger Part IV (2000, Lloyd Kaufman)



These sequels were more of a mixed bag than the first two - TLTOT sees Toxie become embroiled with a corrupt chemical corporation to fix his blind girlfriends’ sight, whilst CT incorporates a parallel universe wherein Toxie has to take down his evil counterpart. I thought CT was the stronger of the two and that TLTOT was the weakest of the lot and, overall, the first film is still probably the best. 2.5/5, 3/5

 

[Vincentdante]

Those are the greatest taglines I have ever seen on a movie poster

 

[Geriatric hedgehog]

FYI horror aficionados, Film 4 are showing a few of Ben Wheatley's movies this week including Kill List, Sightseers and A Field in England. I guess that's down to his TV series Generation Z coming out soon. Of that list, I quite enjoyed the first two but haven't seen the third so will hopefully try to watch that.

 

[HWR]

31 Days of Halloween 2024! Day XIV: The Ring (2002, Gore Verbinski)


A remake of the 1998 J-horror classic, The Ring follows a similar narrative to that original entry but now sees Naomi Watt’s as the lead. This isn’t as good as the original but having the talented Gore Verbinski directing helped elevate the production. 3/5

 

[HWR]

31 Days of Halloween 2024! Day XV: The Ring Two (2005, Hideo Nakata), Rings (2017, F. Javier Gutiérrez)




After the first film was commercially successful Paramount decided to make a sequel, and interestingly enough managed to bring in Hideo Nakata, the director of the 1998 original, to direct. This unfortunately doesn’t save the film from its mediocrity, and the 2017 follow up Rings is an even worse and muddled origin story. 2/5, 1.5/5

 

[HWR]

31 Days of Halloween 2024! Day XVI: Bubba Ho-Tep (2002, Don Coscarelli)


A bizarre premise which sees two elderly retirement home residents, one who’s convinced he’s Elvis (Bruce Campbell) and the other JFK (Ossie Davis) forced to fight off an ancient Egyptian mummy invading their retirement home, BHT is a blast with its leads on great form. 4/5

 

[Otomo]

31 Days of Halloween 2024! Day XVI: Bubba Ho-Tep (2002, Don Coscarelli)

View attachment 36325
A bizarre premise which sees two elderly retirement home residents, one who’s convinced he’s Elvis (Bruce Campbell) and the other JFK (Ossie Davis) forced to fight off an ancient Egyptian mummy invading their retirement home, BHT is a blast with its leads on great form. 4/5

I chose to believe it is Elvis and JFK.

 

[HWR]

31 Days of Halloween 2024! Day XVII: The Little Shop of Horrors (1960, Roger Corman), Meatcleaver Massacre (1977, Keith Burns, Ed Wood - credited onscreen as “Evan Lee”)



Roger Corman’s passing this year was very sad to see, but his legacy and efficiency as a filmmaker is unmatched, and as such it felt appropriate to check out one of his earlier classics in TLSoH. Notably shot in just a few days and reusing sets from his earlier project A Bucket of Blood, this was also one of Jack Nicholson’s early film appearances, and regular Dick Miller appears as well. It’s a fun romp that’s worth a look. 3.5/5

After watching Tim Burtons’ seminal biopic on the filmmaker it was about time I had something Ed Wood-related in one of these marathons. MM is a low-budget slasher, bookended by some Christopher Lee segments from an unrelated project and repurposed here.

The film’s title is very misleading as there’s not a meatcleaver in sight, and Ed Wood was brought in apparently as a replacement director owing to a mishap with the previous director. As is, this is a lesser horror and slasher film but I have to get at least one or two from the genre in here. 2/5

 

[HWR]

31 Days of Halloween 2024! Day XVIII: Jaws 2 (1978, Jeannot Szwarc), Jaws 3-D (1983, Jon Alves), Jaws: The Revenge (1987, Joseph Sargent)




With thriller Jaws becoming the first Summer Blockbuster and catapulting Steven Spielberg into one of Hollywood’s’ most prolific careers, it was perhaps inevitable that Jaws would receive a sequel or three.

Jaws 2 is the only sequel that feels in-line with the original with Roy Schneider returning as Martin Brody to once again stop the threat of a Great White Shark terrorising the beach-going citizens of the fictional Amity Island. It’s a decent film despite not reaching the heights of the first but isn’t anything too special, and the teen characters are tedious to watch.

Jaws 3D swaps up its setting to a Seaworld Marine Park and capitalises on the 3-D revival trend of the time, also seen with Friday the 13th Part 3 and Amityville 3-D. This is a less serious sequel that feels more b-movie in its approach, and is a mediocre slog to get through, but still manages to be better than its successor.

There are ways to sum up Jaws: The Revenge, but I’ll paraphrase star Michael Caine’s thoughts on the film instead: “I have never seen it [the film], but by all accounts it is terrible. However, I have seen the house that it built, and it is terrific!" JTR is indeed terrible, with a ridiculous premise, roaring shark, a messy climax and Caine coming out of the sea with an instantly dry shirt just to name a few issues, and unlike 3D before it, doesn’t have enough cheese to make it fun, it’s just a poor film all-around, even Caine and Mario Van Peebles can’t elevate proceedings. 3/5, 2/5, Michael Caines’ house/5

 

[HWR]

31 Days of Halloween 2024! Day XIX: Ginger Snaps (2000, John Fawcett), Ginger Snaps 2: Unleashed (2004, Brett Sullivan), Ginger Snaps Back: The Beginning (2004, Grant Harvey)




Initially struggling to find an audience in cinemas, GS gained a cult following owing to its themes and story, being a supernatural horror film focused on a a pair of sisters whose world is rocked by an affack from an unknown creature that threatens their relationship.

It’s a solid film with great lead performances and garnered two sequels, Unleashed and The Beginning, which were made back-to-back and released in the same year, with Unleashed being a sequel and TB a prequel. Both sequels try and carve their own identities from the first film, with Unleashed being the better of the two thanks to its plot, whilst GSB is just a mixed bag all around despite trying a different time period. 3.5/5, 3/5, 2.5/5

 

[Professor Irony]

Day of the Dead (1985)

A team of civilian scientists trying to find a cure for the zombie plague faces mutiny from their military protectors in the third instalment of George A. Romero’s Living Dead series. Opinion seems to have warmed to this film over the years, with its fans citing the return to a darker tone and the memorably disgusting gore effects, but, rewatching it for the first time since I was a teenager, I find my opinion of it really hasn’t changed much; it sucks.

Okay, that’s a bit harsh. It’s a perfectly competent horror movie with some interesting ideas and a nice score, but a couple of good performances notwithstanding, so much of it is just unlikeable characters screaming at each other in a featureless corridor. It’s an ugly, angry film that I find difficult to get invested in. Even the gruesome death of its chief antagonist at the end brings me only mixed feelings; he was the best thing in it.

It did strike me on this viewing that it feels more like a sequel to the original Night of the Living Dead than Dawn (comparisons to the latter usually featuring heavily in negative reviews), setting the action in a similarly claustrophobic space dominated by violently opposing points of view, but even by that metric, I think it lacks the immediacy and sense of urgency that set the first film apart.

In the end, my main takeaway is probably that, as 80s zombie horror goes, I’d actually rather watch Lucio Fulci’s daffy-but-entertaining Zombi 3 than this, and that is not the conclusion I was expecting at all.

 

[HWR]

31 Days of Halloween 2024! Day XX: Dolls (1987, Stuart Gordon), Cellar Dweller (1988, John Carl Buechler)



A pair of features from Empire Pictures (Charles Bands’ independent theatrical distribution company that preceded Full Moon Features), Dolls and Cellar Dweller offer some low-budget fun and each had their highlights.

Dolls notably feels like the inspiration for Bands’ Puppet Master franchise later on, with Guy Rolfe appearing in the film alongside the stop-motion animation of David W. Allen. CD, meanwhile, follows the premise of a monster brought to life thanks to a comic book artist (Jeffrey Combs), and though not a great film and rather slow despite its short run time, Buechler tries to make the most of a limited budget and the creature looked solid. 3/5, 3/5

 

[HWR]

31 Days of Halloween 2024! Day XXI: The Amityville Horror (1979, Stuart Rosenberg)


A haunted house classic that spawned many sequels and a remake, this is perhaps more tame than I anticipated, with a slow-burn approach, but considering the many lesser sequels and also a smattering of films inspired by the Amityville name, there’s no denying its legacy. 3/5

 

[HWR]

31 Days of Halloween 2024! Day XXII: Anthropophagous (1980, Joe D’Amato), Absurd (1981, Joe D’Amato)



A duology of films from director Joe D’Amato, Anthropophagous takes place on a desolate Greek island wherein a group of travellers uncover the brutal truth behind the remaining inhabitants, whilst Absurd (also known as Rosso Sangue) borrows a lot from like likes of Halloween with a small village being terrorised by a seemingly immortal killer.

Absurd is easily the better film as the former is very dull except for the occasional moment of brutality, with a middling cast to be picked off, though the climax almost but not quite makes up for these shortcomings. Absurd also utilises lead actor George Eastman a lot more as the serial killer threat. 2.5/5, 3.5/5

 

[HWR]

31 Days of Halloween 2024! Day XXIII: Dr. Lamb (1992, Danny Lee, Billy Tang)


Dr. Lamb is a Category III film which pushes black comedy alongside its violent streak, with a story allegedly based on the crimes of an actual serial killer. The film has an edge but was fairly effective in earning that notorious rating despite some of the borderline stapstick sequences. 3.5/5