October Horror Movie Marathon: Part 1 🎃
- J of JAF
- Oct 15, 2017
- 5 min read
It is the second year that I decide to embark on this ridiculous movie marathon, and, honestly, I can't complain. My eyes have already gotten used to the gore, screams and ectoplasm and its only been 13 days of October. But this time, I will share with you a brief review on each one of my daily doses of the macabre.
Here we go!
Bette Midler, what else can I say? She owns the screen. Even as an ugly witch, her presence just made my day. This movie kept its promise as a Disney production.
In the ranks of Jumanji and Matilda, I think Hocus Pocus is more than just a comedy horror. It is our childhood. All the Disney channel kids out there, can I get a hell yeah?
I think I have watched this movie a total of three times now, and I don’t know if it's because I've become numb to the whole “demon possession” plot or something else, but it just doesn’t scare me anymore. As far as possession films go, this one takes you into a courtroom and through the sequence of events, which is cool…until you get tired of it as a viewer.
To everyone out there, please avoid this movie. I literally wasted precious time watching it. I do not know how the cast kept a straight face throughout the filming of this monstrosity. Ah well. All I got to say.
Ah! Bruce Campbell, my love for Ash started here, even before the Evil Dead series. His attitude, his presence, that chin, *swoons* – have I made my love of him clear yet? This movie made me chuckle. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Memorable quote: “Gimme some sugar, baby.” This is what I like about 80s movies, the utter cheese.
If I learnt anything while watching this movie it is that not to yell out “hello” when you wake up in an abandoned, usually highly populated city. A city like, oh I don’t know, London. Danny Boyle is a fantastic storyteller, and the acting and tension and commentary on human psyche (and survival instinct…or lack there of) is great – but why Mr. Boyle insists on not calling them zombies, we’ll never know.
Clive Barker, what the hell man? I mean, the sadomasochism, the leather, the pain and pleasure mix up. Hmmm... But Mr. Pinhead will always be one of my favourite horror baddies.
I remember watching this movie for the first time and being creeped out by the creature terrorizing the young kids. Years later, I still find myself trying to keep my eyes open extra wide just to see the monster and concentrate on the way it looks, Well… as it turns out he’s not scary at all. It’s the reveal (in my case, it was years later) that was actually disappointing. Overall though, it was an enjoyable movie.
I can recite this movie almost by heart. A staple in the JAF household (“maggots Michael, you’re eating maggots” and “my name is Staaar” are oft repeated), The Lost Boys is your quintessential Vampire movie, with all the 80s rock and leather you could dream of. It is a typical movie of the time, with some of the star-studded cast of the Goonies (plus a few other actors who celebrated their prime in that era) but my god, sleeping all day? Partying all night? Never growing old? Never dying? They did make it look like fun to be a vampire. I mean look at Kiefer Sutherland’s 21-year-old face! Damn, that perfect face, platinum hair, and those fantastic one liners.
This movie holds a special place in my heart; it is the first horror movie I watched. At the tender age of five, I was playing in the living room at my uncle’s house as children are wont to do, and refused to leave the adults alone, even when they insisted on watching a movie that would scare me. So I sat in front of my dad on the floor and made him cover my eyes with his large hands, as I watched through the cracks of his fingers. The transformation of the golden boy, Jeff Goldblum, into a hideous and repulsive creature, a result of his scientific experiment, scarred me for life. (or did me a favor, still haven’t found out.)
Anyway, that scene where he spits up the acid to eat his food shudder I think I threw up just a little.
Finally! I think we have a worthy opponent! This Austrian horror film plays with your nerves. The suspense, the tension and the countryside, and if you add nine year old twin brothers, you got yourself a horror movie. Bravo Austria!
I thoroughly enjoyed this movie! It was enjoyable, super light, and made you look at the paranormal in a different way. By the way, totally relate to Norman. I mean, I have the same house slippers :D
Stop animation (or clay animation) really makes you appreciate the work and effort put into a film like Paranorman. Ah-mazing. Check out the gif image below to see how amazing those artists are!
Like Thomas Harris’s Will Graham, we have Jo Nesbo’s Harry Hole. And when I found out it was set in Norway, and that Michael Fassbender was going to be in it, and Val Kilmer too, I just had to include it on this year's marathon list. It really reminded me of Red Dragon's style of filming. Unfortunately, as beautiful as the cinematography was (you could almost feel the snow, and those mountains sigh), I felt that the ending was too rushed, the plot a bit predictable, which disappointed me.
Day 13: Psycho (1998) 4/5
Last year, I watched the 1960s Hitchcock original film starring Anthony Perkins and Janet Leigh, so this year, I went with the remake. It was a little difficult to stomach Vince Vaughn as a deranged killer, considering his more popular status as a silly-but-lovable comedian, but then again most sociopaths and murderers do not give off that vibe at first. It is not like they walk around wearing a T-Shirt that says Hello - I am going to kill you. So, yeah, Vince Vaughn was very creepy, and that made me love the film even more.
And that's it for the first batch of horror movie reviews! Have you seen any of them? Agree or disagree with my ratings and comments? Have any recommendations of what I should watch in these dwindling October days? Let us know in the comments below!
Comments