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Tag Archives: Horror Films

31 Days of Howl-oween: Day 30 – Night of the Creeps

30 Oct

Only two days left in October, which means only two more films to review!  I went back and forth on what the final two ought to be.  Of course, the temptation to do “Halloween” and “Halloween II” were there, but I opted to pass on those classics.  “Halloween III: Season of the Witch” also was an option, but again, I decided to avoid the John Carpenter series entirely.

Instead, I chose two films that were films I had never seen before, but heard of.  I did watch a few more films than needed, as I desired to get as many films in as possible.  Of course, “Suspiria”, “[REC]” (an excellent film from Spain, which was remade here as the equally impressive “Quarantine”), “Paranormal Activity” (another excellent film which, as did the previous film, saw a sequel this year), and “Zombieland” were films I could have reviewed, as I watched those as well.  In the end, however, I decided to stick with a theme of sorts.

With that, I give you…

31 Days of Howl-oween

A Review of Films Filled with Frights

Day 30

Film #30


~ Night of the Creeps ~

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Posted by on October 30, 2010 in Movies

 

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31 Days of Howl-oween: Day 26 – Waxwork

26 Oct

I have so many fond memories of films my brother and I would watch together.  We both had very similar tastes back then in movies and would spend hours going to the local mom and pop video stores to find the zaniest of films to watch.  Odyssey Video, Starburst Video, and Mammoth Video were our favorite stops, although Meijer would also stock a very cheap section with many hard to find films.

Today’s film, along with a few of the others that I’ve re-watched for this blog, was one of those films that we loved.  Anytime werewolves, vampires, and mummy’s were in a film together, I particularly would sit down in my favorite seat and watch it repeatedly.

As I’ve said before, I must never return to films that I loved as a child, because I usually see how horribly produced those films actually were.  Was today’s film the exception to the norm?

31 Days of Howl-oween

A Review of Films Filled with Frights

Day 26

Film #26


~ Waxwork ~

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Posted by on October 26, 2010 in Movies

 

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31 Days of Howl-oween: Day 22 – Session 9

22 Oct

I have a disease.  I’m not particularly aware of what this disease is called, but it is easy to describe (and I’m not alone).  Whenever I see a film that has been shot in HD on the big screen, I can notice it immediately as not being film.  It has a very distasteful video look to me.  It is extremely noticeable in scenes that are dark, having almost a home video appearance to me.  My good friend suffers from the same disease, and it makes trips to the cineplex together a gamble many times.  The reason being, I don’t enjoy the experience.  If it is a film meant to look like video from a camcorder, say “Cloverfield”, I can get by.  But if it’s a film that the director was trying to be artistic, such as “Public Enemies”, I almost expect my money back.

That leads us to today’s film.  I will attempt to rate the film apart from that hapless setback, as it wasn’t a horrible film.

31 Days of Howl-oween

A Review of Films Filled with Frights

Day 22

Film #22


~ Session 9 ~

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Posted by on October 22, 2010 in Movies

 

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31 Days of Howl-oween: Day 21 – The Terror

21 Oct

Today’s film had the benefit of my never having heard of it before.  I came across the film, and seeing Boris Karloff was in it made sure to watch it for this 31 Days of Horror movies for Halloween series.  I went in to the film without any knowledge of the storyline, the history of the film, or it’s creators.

Sometimes that is a good thing.  It gives the viewer an unbiased beginning for the film.  Then there are times like these…

31 Days of Howl-oween

A Review of Films Filled with Frights

Day 21

Film #21


~ The Terror ~

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Posted by on October 21, 2010 in Movies

 

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31 Days of Howl-oween: Day 20 – Drag Me to Hell

20 Oct

I am a fan of films that are unpredictable. I also am a fan of films that can deliver in droves. Do either of these fit the bill for today’s feature?

I, being a fan of most of director Sam Raimi’s other films, was excited to sit down and review today’s film for this look at 31 Horror Films for each day of October. I knew he was capable of films better than part 3 of a certain web slinger.

It was with this that I dimmed the lights, cranked up the sound, and sat back with a bag of Orville Redenbacher’s.

31 Days of Howl-oween

A Review of Films Filled with Frights

Day 20

Film #20


~ Drag Me To Hell ~

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Posted by on October 20, 2010 in Movies

 

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31 Days of Howl-oween: Day 19 – Monster Squad

19 Oct

One thing has always puzzled my regarding today’s film.  Throughout the years, I’ve watched all the 80’s “gang of kids” movies.  With almost all of them, a handful, if not all, of the kids went on to long careers, many still working today.  Three films that were quite entertaining, and have gained a cult following of their own since their initial release I can recall quite easily.  1985s “Explorers” had Ethan Hawke and River Phoenix, while 1986s “Stand By Me” had Jerry O’Connell, Corey Feldman, River Phoenix, and Wil Wheaton.  Of course, one of the best, 1985s “The Goonies”, had Sean Astin, Josh Brolin, and Corey Feldman.

So what happened to the cast of today’s film?  I could never understand why we never saw any of them again?  Surely they didn’t go into seclusion like the brilliant writer did soon after?  In fact, the only time I ever thought I saw any of them beyond the film was seeing Adam Lambert on “American Idol”, who looks uncannily like Ryan Lambert (I wonder if they are related?).

At any rate, I didn’t let that interfere with my review of today’s film…

31 Days of Howl-oween

A Review of Films Filled with Frights

Day 19

Film #19


~ Monster Squad ~

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Posted by on October 19, 2010 in Movies

 

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31 Days of Howl-oween: Day 17 – The Wicker Man

17 Oct

Today’s film was an interesting experience.  I had watched the film on a DVD disc that arrived in the little red envelope, and sat to write my review.  As I began some research, I learned that there were three versions of the film in existence.  It turns out that upon the initial production, the studio ordered some cuts and restructuring, bringing the original running time to 87 minutes.  Years later, director Hardy restored some footage, recut it, and rereleased the film as a 96 minute film.  Fast forward a couple of decades later, and the film was released on an Extended Edition DVD in its original running time of 99 minutes.

Desiring to be thoroughly educated on the final product, I rented the longer edition as well.  The question as I inserted the DVD into my PS3 remained:  Would I experience a situation that was similar to the atrocity that befell Terry Gilliam’s “Brazil”?  Or would I wonder in awe as I did with the variants of George Romero’s “Dawn of the Dead?”.

I’m here to tell you that indeed th…..I’m getting ahead of myself.

I’ll let you read the review first…

31 Days of Howl-oween

A Review of Films Filled with Frights

Day 17

Film #17


~ The Wicker Man ~

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Posted by on October 17, 2010 in Movies

 

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31 Days of Howl-oween: Day 16 – Ghost Story

16 Oct

As with many other films in this review of 31 Horror movies this season of Halloween, I never actually saw today’s film in its entirety.  I do remember as a young boy sitting in the living room of my aunt (who would let my brother and I watch movies that my mother would have killed her for) watching this film, but didn’t remember much beyond a scene near the end of the film involving a car, a deserted country road, and a ghost standing in the middle.

Through the years, I’d see the video sitting on the shelf of the local rental store, and would usually pass it over for the newest release.  I did intend on getting around to seeing it, but alas, that never happened.

Until now…

31 Days of Howl-oween

A Review of Films Filled with Frights

Day 16

Film #16


~ Ghost Story ~

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Posted by on October 16, 2010 in Movies

 

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31 Days of Howl-oween: Day 15 – Bad Channels

15 Oct

I’d watched today’s film because I’d heard that it was in the same universe as yesterday’s film.  I’d never heard of this straight-to-video feature before my research for films to watch as a part of 31 days of horror movies, much to my surprise.  Perhaps I didn’t watch enough late night cable on those cold Friday nights?  After the viewing, I did find some other sites with interesting takes on the film (here) and (here), as well as its own Facebook page (here).

In any case, I’m not so sure any film should feature the word “BAD” in its title?  Does that word serve as a premonition for my review of this film?  Read on to find out…

31 Days of Howl-oween

A Review of Films Filled with Frights

Day 15

Film #15

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Posted by on October 15, 2010 in Movies

 

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31 Days of Howl-oween: Day 14 – Puppet Master

14 Oct

Today’s film had slipped me by for reasons unknown.  I’ve been aware of this film since its late night showings on “Joe Bob’s Drive-In Theater”, for whatever reason, opted to watch reruns of the Three Stooges or Laurel and Hardy instead.

You may never see a clown puppet the same way again…

31 Days of Howl-oween

A Review of Films Filled with Frights

Day 14

Film #14


~ Puppet Master ~

Director:  David Schmoeller
Year:  1989
Cast: Paul Le Mat, William Hickey, Irene Miracle, Jimmie F. Skaggs, Robin Frates, Matt Roe, Kathryn O’Reilly
Language:  English
Country:  United States
Specs:  90 mins. / Color / OAR 1.85:1 / MPAA Rating: R

A group of psychics are called to a hotel on the sea cliffs of California by a former colleague.  They arrive to learn that he is dead, but a group of puppets he found from magical puppeteer Andre Toulon (Hickey) are alive and doing the murderous biddings of their deceased master, for an unspeakable purpose.

There are few horror films with musical themes that are forever etched into my mind.  The haunting piano keys that make up John Carpenters “Halloween”, the echoing “coughing” sounds that make up the “Friday the 13th” musical score (“Chyck chyck chyck, kah kah kah, kooh kooh kooh”), and if you were to include it here, the marvelous bass keys that let us know “Jaws” is just below the surface, are a few.  I would happily include the music from Puppet Master in this list.  I simply love the tune here, and found it simply original and fitting.

The film itself is a fun b-movie sci-fi horror film.  The puppets are simply wonderful creations, and truly take on a life of their own.  The wonderful thing about the puppets is that you know exactly what they are “thinking” in every scene, without any dialogue!  The facial expressions, the sound effects of the puppets grunting or cooing, and the music timings all are wonderfully meshed together to produce a simply addicting foray into campiness.

The acting itself isn’t anything special, but it isn’t horrible either.  The same can be said for the story.  There certainly are elements about the film that are simply out of place, such as the woman who can tell anything about the history of an object, we are told, yet for some reason the only things she sees on camera are sexual in nature?  Fan-service for the late night cable crowd, to be sure.

I believe I’m not alone in my enjoyment of this film, as there were not 1, not 2, but 8 sequels!  I certainly will be giving them a spin, if not for this blog, then for my own personal enjoyment.

I’m certain fans of dolls-come-to-life films will agree:  Blade to me is found here, not in some Wesley Snipes vehicle from a few years back…

My Rating:  **** / B

Available on Amazon: Puppet Master [Blu-ray]

or Amazon Video on Demand: Puppet Master

Stay tuned…

 
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Posted by on October 14, 2010 in Movies

 

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