Monday, September 30, 2013

31 Days of Horror: Past Revisited Part Two



31 Days of Horror 3: 2010
-Oldboy
Some argued that Oldboy is not horror. It's definitely horrific.
-Dawn of the Dead(2004)
-28 Weeks Later
-C.H.U.D.
-Paranormal Activity
I was not sober for Paranormal Activity and I barely remember it.
-Darkman
-Burial Ground
-High Tension
-The Town That Dreaded Sundown
-Halloween 6: The Curse of Michael Myers
-Razorback
-1408 Director's Cut
-Bloody Mary
Bloody Mary was the choice of my friend Phil, from his parent's collection of pirated movies. It was terrible and horribly forgettable.
-Dead & Buried
This one has become a Halloween staple for me. I'll be doing a list next month of the best films to watch for Halloween that have nothing to do with Halloween.
-My Bloody Valentine 3D
-My Bloody Valentine(1981)
Another Classic Vs. Remake double feature, with the remake winning this round.
-Shaun of the Dead
-Doctor Butcher M.D.
-The Warriors
NOT horror, but was in the mood.
-Creepshow
-Trick r' Treat
-The Blob(1950's)
-The Blob(1988)
I forgot that I did 2 Original Vs. Remake double features. This one's a tie.
-Freddy Vs. Jason


This next one would be the year I decided to start covering my movie watching on this blog, which you can find(most of) in the archive.
If I remember correctly, I tried to make a rule for the month: every other movie watched had to be something I'd never seen before. This stopped rather quickly, as it's hard for me to stick to any rules I make up for 31 Days of Horror. It's also why I never get involved in anyone else's movie watching contests, because they seem to have too many restrictive rules.
31 Days of Horror 4: 2011
-Grindhouse

This was a viewing of the complete Grindhouse, seeing it in it's entirety for the first time since theaters. It didn't seem to hold-up well.

-Rituals
-Creepshow
These last two was a special Hal Holbrook double feature. You heard me.
-An American Werewolf in London
-Alligator
-The Fly(1986)
-The Fly 2
HEAD CRUSHING. BEST MOVIE EVER.
-Phantasm 2
CHAINSAW FIGHT. BEST MOVIE EVER.
-Rogue
-Pieces
-Psycho
-Psycho II
First time watching Psycho 2. I fully expected a bad, unwanted sequel, but was surprised at how good this film is.
-Dead & Buried
Tradition.
-Tales from the Crypt: Demon Knight
-The Horror of it All
Fun horror doc that covers the silent era all the way to the late '70s.
-Psycho III
-Jason X
-It's Alive
-The Video Dead
-Cloverfield
-The Children
-Sledgehammer
-The 1990 Horror Hall of Fame
-The Thing(2011)
-The Thing(1982)
-The Thing from Another World(1951)
Remake/reboot/prequel/whatever Triple Feature. Carpenter's take wins with little problem.
-Who Could Kill A Child
-The Monster Squad
-The Deadly Spawn
-Jason Goes To Hell: The Final Friday
-Red State
-Phantom of the Paradise
-Little Shop of Horrors(1986)
Horror Musical Double Feature. Never shown: REPO The Genetic Opera
-YellowBrickRoad
-The People Under The Stairs
-The City of the Living Dead
-PopCorn
-1408
-Halloween 2

Only 1 more year to cover and after that, we begin the decent into hell that is the  31 Days of Horror! Hashtag that shit.

Sunday, September 29, 2013

31 Days of Horror: Past Revisited Part One


We are 2 days away from October, and the first day of the 6th Annual 31 Days of Horror, and I couldn't be more excited.
Over the next several posts, I will go over my previous years of October Horror movie marathoning, with some extra commentary thrown in.
Now obviously, I've always watched a lot of horror films during the month of October, but it wasn't until 2008 where I would get the idea from the message boards at Joblo.com, to watch as many as possible and chronicle it. I didn't start this blog until 2010, and the only mention on the Joblo message board was just a photo of whatever I had watched that day. It was fun, but once I joined Twitter in 2009, my message board days came to an end.
In bold below, is the list I kept on my laptop of my first ever 31 Days of Horror, printed here for the first time. I've added in commentary when appropriate. Enjoy.

31 Days of Horror 1: 2008
-Monster Squad
-Blacula
For the first night(that probably wasn't October 1st, I really can't remember), I decided to start things off on a lighter note with a comedy double feature. This was my first time seeing Blacula, and it was pretty enjoyable.
I may revisit Monster Squad this year, as one of my horror cohorts has never seen it before.
-The Hills Have Eyes(1976)
-The Hills Have Eyes(2006)
-The Hills Have Eyes 2(2007)
The Hills Have Eyes Triple Feature was an interesting one. The only of these 3 films I'd ever seen was the 2006 remake, of which I'm a huge fan. 
On this night, I found the original HHE to be very boring and the sequel to the remake to be terrible(except for the awesome mutant baby birth scene in the film's cold open).
I plan on giving the original HHE another chance soon. Possibly this year.
-Grindhouse presents Planet Terror
-Friday the 13th Part Vi: Jason Lives
-Jason Goes To Hell: The Final Friday
This was a Double Feature of 2 Jason films: one's my favorite of the series, while the other gets a bad rap. While this hate may be deserved, I'm still positive that there's a good movie hidden in there, which I plan on getting deeper into during 31 Days of Horror.
-An American Werewolf In London
-Maniac
-Behind The Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon 
-Saw
-House II: The Second Story 
-Night of the Living Dead(1968)
-Saw II
-Saw III
-Chopping Mall
-Nightmare on Elm Street: Freddy's Nightmares - Freddy's Tricks & Treats
Watched the VHS release of this show. Hopefully there will be an official DVD/Blu Ray someday.
-Mothers Day
Pretty decent, yet short, list. In the coming years I'd try much harder to fit in a better mix of horror related films/shows/specials, to varying degrees of success.

31 Days of Horror 2: 2009
-A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: The Dream Warriors
-Headless Eyes
-Dead Dudes in the House
This year I went way in the other direction with my film choices, and tried to share the experience with some friends. This particular double feature was a total dud in that regard.
Headless Eyes is pretty bad, but despite this, owning the VHS Big Box is something to be proud of amongst collectors.
Dead Dudes, much like Jason Goes to Hell, is a bad movie that could be awesome with some(or lots) of work. It has some neat claustrophobic Haunted House ideas(being trapped in a house and the windows won't break, crazy old woman ghost who wants to kill you and may get off on it sexually), but it has purposely unlikable characters, which hinders everything. 
It's a Troma film, if that tells you anything.
-Godzilla Vs. Megalon
I'm pretty sure this was the Mystery Science Theater version.
-A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master
-Laid To Rest
-Fido
-Shocker
-Evil Dead 2: Dead By Dawn
-Night of the Bloody Apes
Great "Mexican Wrestling/Human with an Ape's heart goes on a killing spree" film.
-Texas Chainsaw Massacre(1974)
-Texas Chainsaw Massacre(2003)
Much like the previous year, gotta do the double feature of Original Vs. Remake. Here, the original wins with little problem, but the TCM remake is no slouch.
-Idle Hands
-John Carpenter's The Thing
-Army of Darkness
-Return of the Living Dead
-Satan's Little Helper
-Halloween(1978)
-Wacko(1981)
Those last 2 were watched on Halloween night. I decided to end with Wacko because the idea of a slasher satire from the '70s where the killer uses a lawn mower as his signature weapon had promise, but failed to deliver, as I remember. Might play better with an audience.

Friday, September 13, 2013

Friday the 13th: Four Color Gory

Today is the 13th day of September. A day that just happens to fall on a Friday. lt's a day that all hardcore HorrorHounds love, for obvious reasons.
lt wasn't until the early '90s that Jason was put into a graphic novel: the adaptation of Jason Goes To Hell: The Final Friday, released by Topps Comics. Since then, Avatar, Chaos, Wildstorm and Dynamite have all taken stabs at putting Jason to comics, with mixed results.
Here l've collected my favorite images of Jason's four colored adventures from around the 'net. Enjoy.




Thursday, September 5, 2013

lnstant Feedback: Robocop Remake Trailer


l just watched the trailer for MGM's Robocop remake, due in theaters February 2014, and l'm sure lt's no surprise that it was an underwhelming experience.
Right off the bat the film has a huge strike against itself because it's been watered down to a PG-13 rating. The original Robocop almost received an X rating, for violence.
Now, l realize that a movie does not need to be overly violent to be good(although it is what saved Robocop 2 from beng a real stinker, just ask Robocop 3 what THAT feels lke), so l will keep an open mind, story-wise, when the film gets released at the beginning of next year.
l will give ths movie one kudos: it's has a spectacular cast!
Gary Oldman!
Michael Keaton!
Jay Baruchel!
Samuel FUCKlNG Jackson!
Jackie Earl Haley!
That one dude from The Killing on AMC!
lf this was a 100% original Sci-Fi film, this cast would have me doing cartwheels. But alas, it's a nuetered remake.
Hopefully the story surprises us.

Quick Notes:
l wonder if there are any cameos from Peter Weller or Nancy Allen?
l don't mind Robocop's more slender design, and l love the light-up visor.
Although, the ED-209 desgn sucks.
Does the "l'll Buy That For A Dollar" guy/joke make an appearance(he fucking better)?

"Bitches, leave."

"Will You Smile Again?"

'Sup?
No blogs since November. Sorry about that, Warriors. My excuse is solid though, what with being sent to Bermuda to work construction for a few months. Internet SUCKS there, unless you wanna pay by the hour, like AOL circa 1996. Which makes perfect sense since most of Bermuda's furniture looks like it was used in an early Wes Anderson movie. The dream of the '90s is alive in Bermuda(sorry Fred and Carrie!).
The only thing l'll say about Bermuda: truly gorgeous beaches, with people to match. I honestly don't stare at people, but l saw some women on these beaches with the best abdominal muscles l've ever seen. Just unreal. One of which deserved a basket full of money and puppies.
Nice knowin' ya, Bermuda. You'll never have me inside you again.
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Here's the list of theatrical and VOD horror films I've seen so far this year, most of which l'll try to give a better review to in October:
Texas Chainsaw 3D: Liked it, despite it's utter stupidity.
John Dies at the End: Fantastic! Supernatural meets The Naked Lunch.
Evil Dead: Fucking loved it. Possible Movie of the Year contender.
The Purge: Liked it, despite some utter stupidity.
The Conjuring: Loved it, but best watched with a large crowd.
The ABCs of Death: Dreck.
Bad Milo: Really good, and played more serious than expected, which through me off.
You're Next: Have not seen it yet. PLEASE forgive me! l chose to see The World's End first.
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This blog post is not an isolated incident, l promise you. This week l'll be posting my Monster Mania-Con review(some drunken wackiness, plus my disdain for where the con seems to be heading creatively), some horror toy reviews(Neca's NES Jason, Freddy's Furnace playset) and the countdown to the greatest month of the year:

October.

Which includes:
31 Days of Horror(Watching as many horror movies as possible in 31 days).
Posting one Halloween special a day, everyday on this blog and the facebook page.
Planning on how l'm gonna scare the Christ out of the children on Halloween night.
And, the MAlN EVENT, on October 26th: The Exhumed Films 24-Hour Horror Movie Marathon!

Thanks for reading! See you tomorrow.