31 Nights of Halloween: 2021 Edition

[NDX]

Decided to start this year with a classic.

01. Night of the Living Dead ('68)

 

[Nardz937]

Day 4. The Ring.

 

[cabel]

Finally watching Halloween 3

 

[CaptainWagner]

So... Kind of cheating here, but my schedule is so unpredictable right now I need a cushion to make it through all 31 Days. I watched a bunch of movies in the last days of September because they were leaving their respective services, so I'm going to log them in now as a head start:

1. The House on Haunted Hill (1999)

It isn't a house and it isn't on a hill but Geoffrey Rush and Famke Janssen's sparring is simply delightful. Our heroes are a bore, but this could have been a great remake up until the climax. You've established some splendidly creepy villains, why throw it all away on totally uncalled for and laughably bad (even for the time) CGI? A waste of a great setup. 2/5

2. Fright Night (2011)

Much like the prior film, this is a surprisingly strong remake marred by unnessecary CGI. (WHY is CGI blood splatter a thing?) Unlike 'Haunted Hill,' however, the questionable graphics are used sparingly enough (and don't sidetrack the entire climax), so they don't detract too much from the final product. Mintz-Plasse delivers a role on par with McLovin, Farrell is delightfully evil, Tennant is a blast and Anton Yelchin is so incredibly likable as a lead. RIP. 3/5

3. Scream

What can be said that hasn't already been said? Not EVERYTHING holds up, but it's pretty darn close. Matthew Lillard is everything and Hollywood should be ashamed for under-utilizing him all these years. 4.5/5

4. Scream 2

ALMOST as good as the original - The biggest flaw is the killer reveal simply doesn't pack the same punch as the original. My other big issue is they repeatedly call out the horror genre's historical negative relationship with Black characters only to, well, not exactly subvert them... I would have loved to get more of Cameraman Joel. 4/5

5. Scream 3

It feels like there's two very different movies at war here - One, an intimate character study of Sidney grappling with the deep-rooted effects of grief and trauma and society's sensationalization of the horrors she lived through. The other, a zany doubling-down on the spoof side of the prior films, with Gail, Not-Gail and Dewey Scooby-Dooing their way to the bottom of the mystery.

IMO, it would have been much better for the killer to be

Spoiler

Angelina (Emily Mortimer) as Sidney's half-sister, rather than Roman as her half-brother. It's a more shocking reveal and gives her a great backstory with her winning the open audition to play Sidney all to hunt down her and the people who hurt their mother.

2.5/5

Hopefully I'll be able to get back on a live schedule with these soon.

 

[DarthSkywalker]

Fright Night is one I keep meaning to do every year, and I continue to forget. I really need to do it this year. Also Emily Mortimer is in Scream 3? Why do I have no memory of this?

 

[DarthSkywalker]

Night 3

8. Mikey (New)

Fun Size Review: This was an odd one I found on Amazon. It definitely has it's charms. Honestly, while the little kid committing murder is all kinds of funny, I find his general interactions with adults, which all mirror each other, to be the funniest thing about it. It's like they copied and pasted the same conversation every single time.

 

[Nardz937]

2. Fright Night (2011)

Much like the prior film, this is a surprisingly strong remake marred by unnessecary CGI. (WHY is CGI blood splatter a thing?) Unlike 'Haunted Hill,' however, the questionable graphics are used sparingly enough (and don't sidetrack the entire climax), so they don't detract too much from the final product. Mintz-Plasse delivers a role on par with McLovin, Farrell is delightfully evil, Tennant is a blast and Anton Yelchin is so incredibly likable as a lead. RIP. 3.5/5

I love the original. Brad Fiedel's score and the 80's vibe was greatly missed in the remake for me.

 

[CaptainWagner]

Fright Night is one I keep meaning to do every year, and I continue to forget. I really need to do it this year. Also Emily Mortimer is in Scream 3? Why do I have no memory of this?

It's definitely worth it, if only for David Tennant stumbling around guzzling melloncello and being hot in leather pants. Farrell and Anton are both great, but Tennant is 100% the main attraction.

Mortimer played the new actress cast as Sidney in Stab 3. Not a memorable role (none of the new cast besides Parker Posey & Patrick Warburton were) but she did good with what she had.

 

[NDX]

01. Night of the Living Dead ('68)
02. Dawn of the Dead: The Argento Cut ('78)

I've decided to break open the brand spanking new Second Sight Dawn of the Dead ser I have and finally watch the Argento Cut. Even though I've has a copy of it on DVD for 12 years (that Ultimate Edition set I lucked into buying after getting a copy of Seven Samurai for free) I never gave this version a shot.

The BD looks lovely. Clear but not too disturbingly so. Just the right level. Second Sight is quite the company, need to.make sure to pick up a few more releases from them. I really hope they do a release for In The Earth like they did Upgrade.

 

[Mani-Man]

31 Nights of Halloween 2021:

1.Wrong Turn - The Foundation
2.Awaken The Shadowman
3.The Elf
4.Saint(Sint)

Ah good old Saint, a dark comedy pretty much from the netherlands about their version of Santa Claus who comes back as Undead to haunt and kill people.
Its a pretty neat movie when you dont take it too serious, which i think is a problem.
The overall idea is really neat, the setting works, the effects and the Makeup are very well done.

Its a movie i watch all few years and enjoy.

 

[Kane52630]

Demonic

At the Movies with Kane and BN
2/5

31 Day Horror Marathon 2021
Day 1 | Malignant (4/5) (REWATCH)
Day 2 | Bingo Hell (3.5/5)
Day 3 | Black as Night (3/5)
Day 4 | Demonic (2021) (2/5)

​

 

[Kane52630]

A Classic Horror Story

At the Movies with Kane and BN
4/5

31 Day Horror Marathon 2021
Day 1 | Malignant (4/5) (REWATCH)
Day 2 | Bingo Hell (3.5/5)
Day 3 | Black as Night (3/5)
Day 4 | Demonic (2021) (2/5)
Day 5 | A Classic Horror Story (4/5)

​

 

[Asr]

1. 30 Days of Night (7/10)
2. Ghoulies (1/10), and Ghoulies II (3/10)
3. Malignant (7/10)
4. Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (7/10)

This was better than I thought it'd be. Very entertaining and unique plot, even if the action scenes weren't the most inventive. I also feel like it could've taken more advantage of its R rating, since it felt kinda tame in the "blood & guts" department. The lead actor playing Lincoln (Benjamin Walker) looks so much like Liam Neeson btw. I see he's actually played a young Liam Neeson in another movie (Kinsey, which I have yet to see). Also any movie with Rufus Sewell playing a villain gets an automatic thumbs up from me.

 

[DarthSkywalker]

Night 4

9. Malignant

Fun Size Review: One night, James Wan got extremely high and played Bloodborne. That's the only way to explain Malignant. Wan promised something different, and that's definitely what we got. As fun as it is horrifying, Malignant is an instant classic that sits comfortably next to the Conjuring 2, as the best things Wan has done so far.

10. Guilty (New)

Fun Size Review: Jake Gyllenhaal, the close up. That's the film. Perhaps the most overt "pandemic era" film I have seen, the movie basically comes down to Gyllenhaal's facial expressions, which means it's delivers.

 

[NDX]

01. Night of the Living Dead ('68)
02. Dawn of the Dead: The Argento Cut ('78)
03. Day of the Dead ('85)

I sense a theme here. Can you guess what's next? This series of films are some of my favorite. Most everyone says they have a favorite, either Dawn or Day, but i find it very hard to narrow down which one I like most when it comes to the first 4.

Probably gonna fall even farther behind because NYCC is this weekend. But catch up is always fun.

 

[Mani-Man]

31 Nights of Halloween 2021:

1.Wrong Turn - The Foundation
2.Awaken The Shadowman
3.The Elf
4.Saint(Sint)
5.Killer Klowns from Outer Space

I watched the movie a dozen times, but im always baffled at how well the concept works.
Because it shouldnt at all.
Aliens who look and act like clowns, come to earth to kill people while using the full gimmick of being clowns.
It has no right to work with a concept like that, but it does for the love of Odin.
That movie no matter how old, works.
And i dont get how.
But i find myself enjoying it over and over again.

 

[Kane52630]

Wasn't there supposed to be a sequel in the works?

 

[cabel]

3 From Hell

Sucks that they weren’t able to do more with Sid Haig before his health started deteriorating. The loss of that dynamic plus a drag in the middle ultimately results in a lesser but still entertaining Devil’s Rejects.
6/10

Rob Zombie’s Halloween

A lot of people dislike this movie for various reasons, some justified, but I’m a mild defender. It’s lesser in craft and character compared to the original, but I do think it has some interesting ideas in terms of how it characterizes Micheal.
6/10

 

[Nardz937]

Day 5.
Trick 'R Treat.
Mike Dougherty's love letter to the holiday. Short, sweet, beautifully shot and a lot of fun.

Day 6.
The Mutilator.
A shlocky, semi-obscure 80's slasher is an essential Halloween watch. It feels a bit slow but when it gets to the kills they are gnarly and the make-up is impressive.

 

[DarthSkywalker]

Night 5

11. Scare Me (New)

Fun Size Review: This is pretty much Amadeus set in a cabin, and by God does it work. The two leads kill it, especially Cash, but it's the sound design that might actually steal the show. The perfect little campfire tale.

12. The Mortuary Collection (New)

Fun Size Review: Terrible color grading aside, I really liked this one. Anthologies can be hit and miss, but overall this one works. Especially the framing story and the overall mythology. Also, it has Clancy Brown. Would love another one of these.

 

[Asr]

1. 30 Days of Night (7/10)
2. Ghoulies (1/10), and Ghoulies II (3/10)
3. Malignant (7/10)
4. Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (7/10)
5. The Quiet Ones (4/10)

Meh this could've been better. Not that much happened in it, and it wasn't all that creepy or scary. I've seen plenty of other possession flicks (that weren't that great themselves) that were better than this one. And it was one of those movies where I felt like the actors got on my nerves more than they were supposed to. It needed someone like James Wan to amp it up.

 

[CaptainWagner]

1. The House on Haunted Hill (1999) - 2/5
2. Fright Night (2011) - 3/5
3. Scream - 4.5/5
4. Scream 2 - 4/5
5. Scream 3 - 2.5/5

6. Young Frankenstein

Kicking off October proper right. You just can't beat that Brooks/Wilder combo. 4.5/5

7. You're Next

The acting is... not great. The script is... not great. But the tense directing and Sharni Vinson's sheer bad***ery can overcome even the weakest links. 3/5

8. The Resort

This movie is so bad that no one's even bothered to make a single gif of it for me to use here. Hulu was pushing it so hard earlier this year and it's so short I thought I'd give it a chance. It was not worth it. A disgraceful waste of a great shooting location. It was hilarious though how obviously each of the cast was a "bottom of the bargain bin" fill-in for more famous stars they were riffing off of. I'm letting it have .5 just because of how pretty the setting was. 0.5/5

 

[Snow Queen]

1. The House on Haunted Hill (1999) - 2/5
2. Fright Night (2011) - 3/5
3. Scream - 4.5/5
4. Scream 2 - 4/5
5. Scream 3 - 2.5/5

6. Young Frankenstein

Kicking off October proper right. You just can't beat that Brooks/Wilder combo. 4.5/5

7. You're Next

The acting is... not great. The script is... not great. But the tense directing and Sharni Vinson's sheer bad***ery can overcome even the weakest links. 3/5

8. The Resort

This movie is so bad that no one's even bothered to make a single gif of it for me to use here. Hulu was pushing it so hard earlier this year and it's so short I thought I'd give it a chance. It was not worth it. A disgraceful waste of a great shooting location. It was hilarious though how obviously each of the cast was a "bottom of the bargain bin" fill-in for more famous stars they were riffing off of. I'm letting it have .5 just because of how pretty the setting was. 0.5/5

I watched The Resort with Darth last month to pad out our respective 2021 lists. How does a movie so short feel so long?

 

[DarthSkywalker]

I watched The Resort with Darth last month to pad out our respective 2021 lists. How does a movie so short feel so long?

Seriously.

It has two solid moments in it's 80 min runtime. Both near the tail end. Who thought it was a good idea for a movie like that to have like 60 mins of build?

 

[CaptainWagner]

I watched The Resort with Darth last month to pad out our respective 2021 lists. How does a movie so short feel so long?

I literally fell asleep for almost 15 minutes and woke up having missed absolutely nothing. Like... that shouldn't be possible in an 80-min movie.