Halloween Recap

This past Halloween, I held a 24 hour "Terrorpolooza 2012" horror movie tweet along.  From 1:00 am Halloween morning, to 1:00 am the next morning, I did nothing but watch horror movies and tweet along to them.  In total, I watched 13 movies- a number that seems rather fitting for day when superstitions and legends come alive, in my opinion.

Anyways, I would've posted my thoughts on the movies I watched on Thursday (or Friday even), but I was pretty much in a coma trying to catch up on my sleep.  The only time I woke up over the past two days was to do the tweeting for my "We Came From the Basement" as their show aired on CFBX 92.5 FM (www.thex.ca).  Other than that, I slept.  Just slept.

Which is why, today, I'm going to post a quick list of the movies I watched, and my thoughts on them.  Over the next couple of weeks or so, I'll be posting full length reviews of these movies as well.

1.  "Bluebeard" (1944)- A moody, black and white film starring John Carradine about a painter compelled to murder the women he paints.  Beautiful use of shadows, but for a movie set in Paris, there's a rather distinct lack of French accents.  Rating- The Good.

2.  "The Screaming Skull" (1958)- A low budget film about a woman who's convinced that she's seeing the ghost of her husband's previous wife... who's accidental death may not have been so accidental.  The scenes of the ghost chasing the heroine were great, but the skull scenes could've been done a bit better.  Rating- The Bad.

3.  "Creature From the Haunted Sea" (1961)- A Roger Corman horror comedy about some gangsters hoping to use the belief in a local sea monster to gain a strong box of gold... until the actual monster shows up.  There is some decent humour in this movie- but also some rather annoying characters.  Rating- The Bad.

4.  "The Manster" (1962)- A Japanese/United States joint venture about a man who unwittingly becomes part of an experiment in evolution... and must deal with the changes that overcome him.  Some decent visual effects.  The eye in the shoulder was remarkably well done.  Some nice Japanese monster movie goodness mixed with American filming styles.  Rating- The Good.

5.  "Nightmare Castle" (1965)- An atmospheric black and white film about a scientist who catches his wife and her lover together.  Soon, his new wife starts to experience hints to the fate of her sister- the scientist's previous wife.  The torture scene is short, but effective.  Colour would've added a nice touch to the slightly goreier visuals.  Barbara Steele is simply beautiful in dual roles.  Rating- The Good.

6.  "Guru, The Mad Monk" (1970)- A period piece about a monk who runs a prison with his vampiric lover.  Bad wigs, bad costumes, badly done gore, a hunchback named "Igor," and an idiotic hero.  Rating- The Ugly.

7.  "The Oval Portrait" (1971)- Another period piece adapts an Edgar Allen Poe story about a woman who must fight off the spirit dwelling within an oval portrait.  A decent piece that showcases the macabre touches that Poe brought to his stories.  The dance scene at the end is especially disturbing.  Rating- The Good.

8.  "It Happened at Nighmare Inn"- A Spanish film about two older sisters who run a family hotel... and have ways of dealing with the loose moral of some of their guests.  The sisters aren't bad looking for their age.  The heroine was cute, but rather unimportant until the climax.  Rating- The Bad.

9.  "A Nightmare on Elm Street" (1984)  The children on Elm Street are being butchered one by one in their sleep.  One of the classics of the 1980's- and still stands up in my opinion.  The remake/reboot didn't need to be made.  Rating- The Good.

10.  "Meridian: Kiss of the Beast" (1990)- A Charles Band film about a woman claiming her inheritance, and discovering that there's a curse that only she can dispel.  A nice surprise from Charles Band.  A great transformation scene, and some well done, trippy visuals.  Rating- The Good.

11.  "Mary Shelly's Frankenstein" (1994)- Victor Frankenstein seeks to create Life, and must deal with the consequences of doing so.  Tries hard to be an epic like "Bram Stoker's Dracula" (1992).  De Niro's great as The Creature.  Needed to be smaller in scope.  Rating- The Bad.

12.  "Orphan" (2009)- A family adopts a young girl named Esther, whose past is shrouded in some mystery.  Soon, accidents start to happen to those close to them.  Isabelle Fuhrman was great as Esther.  The shrink and the husband are idiots.  The black light scenes are well done and disturbing.  Reminded me at times of "The Good Son" (1993).  Rating- The Bad.

13.  "Trick 'r Treat" (2007)- The Halloween celebrations of various people are weaved together while the mysterious child, Sam does what needs to be done to remind people of Halloween is REALLY about.  Just plain fun.  Dark humour, with some decent chilly moments.  A classic in the spirit of "Creepyshow" (1982).  Rating- The Good.

Well, there is a quick look at my thoughts on the movies I watched Halloween.  Look for full length reviews to come.