The last horror, thriller or suspense film you watched

October Horror Challenge – Day 30:



46. The Night Flier (1997; Mark Pavia) – It may be just a modest B-movie, but I always loved The Night Flier. It can be a bit clumsy at times and most of the acting Miguel Ferrer’s lead aside is not very good, but you can tell, that this was made by people who love the horror genre, and it’s so much fun to watch that I’m willing to forgive all its flaws.

7.5/10




47. Hannibal (2001; Ridley Scott) – My rating of this movie seems to go up and down depending on my mood. When I first watched it, I had just read the novel and felt the movie added too little to what was already on the page. On subsequent rewatches I began appreciating it more. It’s a gorgeous-looking movie with perhaps Hans Zimmer’s last great score before he went all bombastic. Hopkins is terrific and Julianne Moore every bit as good as Jodie Foster in Lambs.

Sure, it’s a bit goofy and tongue-in-cheek and you could tell that Thomas Harris fell a bit too much in love with the Lecter character turning him into a likeable anti-hero, but I have no problems with any of that.

As I have remarked before, it’s a ludicrous B-movie shot like an arthouse movie, and that alone makes it worth cherishing.

7/10

October Horror Challenge – Day 31:



49. Scream 2 (1997; Wes Craven) – After the first Scream turned out to be such a smash hit the production of the sequel was fast tracked and despite parts of the script being leaked to the public, resulting in rewrites and plot changes, the hectic schedule did not result in a bad film. On the contrary, Scream 2 works really well using its higher budget and wider scope wisely to deliver a follow-up that’s never boring and despite the novelty factor gone, occasionally very inventive.

Of course, as is often the case with sequels it was heavily, and I believe unfairly criticized by some as a cynical cash-grab. There is one scene however which always struck me as quite dumb, I’m referring to the one in the car where Sidney has to climb over the killer’s body and she just leaves without removing his mask (well, she almost does take a look at his face, but then changes her mind) that moment always felt rather contrived to me.

And then there’s of course the ending. There was simply no way the final surprise would be able to match the one from the original Scream. I recently read that in Kevin Williamson’s original script there would’ve been four (!) killers. Sadly, in the end Williamson had to go with something far more conventional.

Nonetheless I still find Scream 2 to be a very rewatchable slasher sequel.



7.5/10




50. Wolf (1994; Mike Nichols) – Jack Nicholson plays Will Randall, an aging employee of a large publishing firm, who one day while driving on a snowy mountain road hits a wolf and is bitten by the animal resulting in weird changes to his body and mind.

When previously mild-mannered Will is fired by his superior (Christopher Plummer in one of his rare unremarkable performances) he starts discovering the wolf inside him making good use of his newfound ferocity, even starting to romance the daughter of his boss (Michelle Pfeiffer).

On paper at least Wolf must’ve sounded like a good idea. Sort of like the thinking person’s werewolf movie, focusing on character rather than shallow effects and gore.

In practice however the movie is a disappointingly dull affair largely neglecting its talented cast. Nicholson delivers a performance that might well be called the Anti-Jack-Torrance, underacting to the point of boredom. His Will is a nice man and a loyal worker, but it’s weird that no one had bothered to give him at least some halfway interesting character traits.

James Spader meanwhile is so harmlessly nonchalant as Will’s back-stabbing colleague Stewart, that you must wonder whether anyone told him that he was supposed to be the antagonist of the piece.

Pfeiffer at least is very committed making the most of her scenes, but while the romance is perhaps the best part of the films it’s not enough to save this dud.

Director Mike Nichols, a baffling choice for this sort of movie, fails to bring any sort of visual flair to the proceedings shooting the film like he’d been making a sequel to Working Girl.

Reportedly author Jim Harrison who had been close friends with Nicholson hated the movie so much that he left Hollywood for good refusing any further work as a screenwriter. You really can’t fault the man’s taste in films.

4/10

Had a bit of a marathon on Halloween, didn't have an opportunity to write it up until now.



Videodrome

Continuing my Cronenberg kick with what, for me, is probably his best work. Every time, without fail, this one just crawls under my skin and f*cks with my head. Hallucinatory, visceral, sickening, and above all provocative. Even today, its themes still feel relevant, even with all the outdated technology on display. Much in the way Scanners was able to pull off the strange wavelength that could make the viewer feel as if they were being scanned; this movie makes one feel as if just maybe those dangerous Videodrome signals are infecting them, if maybe the media they consume really is becoming reality to them, in spirit if not in flesh. And you have to wonder if after the general lack of overt sexuality on display in Scanners and The Dead Zone, if maybe Cronenberg was feeling a bit pent up, because he ratchets that sh*t up big time on this movie. This movie is just unsettlingly lurid, from James Woods' grotesque, throbbing stomach vagina, to the fleshy VHS tapes, to Woods becoming merged with his own gun (similar ideas later revisited in The Fly) to Debbie Harry's sultry, S&M ghost haunting the film through the TV screens. With the exception of maybe Crash, it really is the most purely distilled version of Croneneberg's various fascinations and obsessions.



Cat's Eye

Another random HBO Max viewing. I've long seen this one sitting around on the DVD shelves, but I'd never gotten around to it before now. And it's fine. Sort of a lightweight Creepshow, the idea of linking the stories through General the cat is actually pretty intriguing (and this may sound odd, but this cat gives a hell of good performance, he must've been remarkably well-trained). Also, the brief shout-outs to Cujo and Christine are both cute. In addition to General, the rest of the cast has some strong performances, particularly from James Woods, Kenneth McMillan, Alan King, Drew Barrymore, and Candy Clark. Where I think the whole thing falters for me is in its tone. I dunno, it's just a little to broad and cartoonish for my tastes, which is a real shame- the first two stories, "Quitter's Inc." and "The Ledge" are some prime, Richard Bachman-era bitterness. Needless to say, I think they both worked better on the page, but some of that early King mean streak still shines through and keeps my interest. The third segment, written for the movie, really falls flat for me, despite the strong work from Barrymore and the cat. It's just too cutesy, although the troll effects are pretty fun. Overall, it's a fun little movie, if not entirely successful or essential viewing.



Creepshow

"The most fun you'll ever have being scared." And damned if it isn't true. I have loved this movie since childhood, and time after time it's never gotten old. It's pretty much my go-to Halloween movie at this point. It somehow manages to hit that exact sweet spot in nailing the childlike glee a good, gruesome horror story can give you as a child; hell, it nails that E.C. Comics vibe more than the Tales from the Crypt show ever did. And with all the fantastical, vibrant lighting, the exaggerated, convincingly cartoonish make up effects, and the comic panels and borders, it's maybe the best comic book movie ever made, even without actually being based on a real comic book.

You've also got an embarrassment of talent on display in the cast- Tom Atkins' surly, drunken child abuser; Viveca Lindfors' raving wealthy basket case and Jon Lormer appearing essentially as a close up and a disembodied voice (before his zombified corpse shows up anyway) as her vindictive, equally raging father; a super-young Ed Harris (still with some hair!) bringing his usual steely-eyed intensity to the act of disco dancing; Stephen King's doomed, hapless yokel; Ted Danson's nervous philanderer facing off with a deliciously evil jilted hubby played to perfection by Leslie Nielsen (and don't get me wrong, I love his comedy work, but in a better world we would've seen this side of Nielsen more often); Fritz Weaver's realistically shocked, panic-stricken professor; Hal Holbrook's henpecked, sadsack husband feeding his fire-breathing wife Adrienne Barbeau to a monster in a crate; E.G. Marshall's cockroach-hating, misophobic, misanthropic douchebag billionaire. They're all spectacular.

In addition to the great visuals, the movie sounds fantastic too. John Harrison's playful, ghoulish score is practically a character in its own right. Top to bottom, both visually and audibly, it's just a perfect movie.



Creepshow 2

Now this one? Not so much. It's cheaper and inferior to the original in just about every way. The expressive lighting is gone, the comic book effects are more or less dropped, the music is terrible and undistinguished, and the stories just aren't as good. Still, it's not a terrible way to kill 90 minutes- the gore and make up effects are still okay (particularly the full body suit in "Old Chief Wood'nhead" and the progression of zombie make ups in "The Hitch-hiker"), and there's a few solid performances (particularly Lois Chiles, George Kennedy and Dorothy Lamour). And hey, no matter what its flaws, it's a masterpiece compared to that garbage Creepshow 3. But I would probably take Cat's Eye or definitely Tales from the Darkside: The Movie over this one any day.

Freaky, 2020, dir. Christopher Landon.



I expected Happy Death Day to be a frothy, one-joke teen comedy masquerading as a horror film and was delighted to find out that both it and its sequel are funny, charming, clever, witty, and even, believe it or not, moving in the dramatic moments.

Unfortunately, Freaky, writer-director Landon’s extremely similar follow-up, is exactly what I expected of Death Day. Once again, Landon is doing a comedy-horror riff—without much horror—on a premise stolen borrowed from a famous comedy movie (Groundhog Day for Happy Death Day, Freaky Friday for this). Once again he’s working with a young, blonde, attractive, talented lead actress.

So why is it the Death Days work and this doesn’t? Simple: Both Death Day movies have lots and lots of good jokes. Offhand I’m thinking of that great montage in the second one in which Tree cheerily kills herself multiple times to restart the time loop.

Freaky’s one joke is its premise: The Final Girl and the slasher switch places, Freaky Friday-style. That’s the joke. I can’t recall a single witty or funny line or sequence from this movie. It just relies on its premise, and when the premise quickly starts to wear thin, the viewer is left with nothing except Kathryn Newton’s lead performance.

Newton convinces as two totally different characters, a bubbly 17-year-old girl and a deranged, male killer—which is hard to do. Just look at the atrocious superhero flick Shazam! (2019), in which two actors never convince as the same character.

But a lead performance doth not a movie make, and at the end of the day Freaky is a painful disappointment. Here’s hoping that Newton gets more roles and that, if Landon wants to keep doing slashers, he does at least one without any gimmicks, steals, or in-jokes.

1/10
Boring as living hell film with not much of a story or characters.

1/10
Dumb as hell far left propaganda slasher film.

4/10
Basic slasher film but with a female killer. Not too good but watchable.

6/10
Pretty good mystery slasher film. Good to see Tom Atkins again.