Jacob's 31 Day Halloween Movie Challenge - Day 31

Day 31: The Legend of Hell House

This is the final entry in my 31 Day Halloween Movie Marathon, and I'm pretty glad this is the one I'm landed on.

Released in 1973, this film came out after the slew of haunted house films from the 1960's, which all follow very similar tropes. The Legend of Hell House begins as a deconstruction of haunted house films, with a group of intelligent, professional paranormal investigators being assigned to the notorious Belasco House. They're not scared, quite the opposite, this is their job and they're quietly fascinated by the ghostly happenings in the house.

After a certain point though, they begin to each get more than they bargained for, and it kind of just becomes a haunted house movie. It's nothing against the movie, I like haunted house stories and this one's perfectly serviceable, but I think I was misled by the unconventional characters at the start.

What makes this a great Halloween movie is all of the classic haunted house imagery, which is captured with excellent cinematography.

Pamela Franklin, who gave a brilliant performance as a child in The Innocents, easily gives the best performance of Hell House, going from a consummate professional to possessed by a serial killer to terrified by the house to completely insane all in a relatively short amount of time.

While it's not the deconstructionist movie I was hoping for, it's still a pretty unsettling haunted house film that's perfect for Halloween.

Thanks for reading my dumb stuff! Happy Halloween!

Jacob's 31 Day Halloween Movie Challenge - Day 30

Day 30: The Frighteners

This is the last film Peter Jackson made before making the Lord of the Rings movies, and it is weird with a beard.

Starring Michael J. Fox as a conman who can see ghosts, he becomes the only guy who can get to the bottom of a mysterious killing spree.

This script is so well-constructed and clever, it's clear that Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh spent a lot of time fleshing out this project.

While not all of the humorous dialogue works, the performances often sold it, especially in the case of Jeffrey Combs, who is delightfully over-the-top as always playing an FBI investigator the likes of which I don't think has ever been seen.

One element I simply couldn't get my head around was the occasional visit from R. Lee Ermey who is literally just playing Sergeant Hartman from Full Metal Jacket but as a ghost, and he's never particularly important to the story so it makes even less sense as to why he's there and causes him stick out even more.

The score by Danny Elfman is basically every score by Danny Elfman, but it perfectly fits the tone of the movie.

While the sets, make-up, and practical effects are great, the CGI is unfortunately dated and cartoony, which can sometimes be distracting, and a bit surprising considering how far Weta went with digital technology in Lord of the Rings, but the story and characters anchored my investment.

The movie is very fast-paced and has a lot going on at all times, especially since Michael J. Fox is always seeing ghosts so every scene he's in automatically has at least two layers going simultaneously.

It's a crazy movie, but it's a ton of fun, very well thought-out, and a great one to watch for Halloween.

Jacob's 31 Day Halloween Movie Challenge - Day 29

Day 29: Village of the Damned

There were a couple old horror films that my dad had described to me as a child, such as The Bad Seed and Scanners, and one of them was "about a group of these creepy, possessed kids."

A film that certainly has a place in pop culture, Village of the Damned is a wonderfully demented take on virgin birth. Two months after a bizarre event where the entire village of Midwich collectively passes out, the women of the town all become mysteriously pregnant. The resulting children are advanced beyond their years, are all blonde, and all have an unsettlingly polite way of speaking. Things only get worse from there.

While the film is small in terms of budget and length, it has big ideas and memorable, if not disturbing images and themes.

The performances, particularly from the children, are truly great, though the adults hold their own as well (Barbara Shelley in the court scene and George Sanders in the final scene come to mind).

The camera is moving a lot, which is strange for a lower budget movie like this, but it makes the film a lot more dynamic and interesting to watch.

A surprisingly twisted film for its time, it still holds up today on the creep factor.

Jacob's 31 Day Halloween Movie Challenge - Day 28

Day 28 - Train to Busan

Released last year, this Korean zombie film is available on Netflix and you should watch it now if you haven't already, because holy wow is this one a ride. 

Putting the running theme of empathy to the hardest test it can be put in: a survival situation, there are few films with both physical and emotional stakes that are taken this high. 

A divorced, inadvertently selfish father takes his daughter to go see her mother in Busan, but a zombie virus has begun and has spread to passengers in the train. 

Keeping the concept and story simple, what's complicated are the emotions that the characters go through. Almost all of the characters are three dimensional and interesting without giving a bunch of explanation as to who they are. 

The only character who I could consider stock is a man who does many despicable, unforgivable things, all in the name of survival. It seems like he's purely put there to emotionally manipulate the audience into hating him, but even he still technically has a justification for his actions so he doesn't quite fall into that trope. 

The visuals are great, with some really unique zombie action (these are the modern, 28 Days Later fast zombies, not the classic slow ones). 

The emotional aspect is played up right to the point of saccharine but it never crosses that line, and there's plenty of action and zombie gore to satisfy the hardcore horror fans. 

This is definitely one I don't want to spoil, but I will say that I was at the edge of my seat the entire time, and by the last third I was floating in mid-air, almost literally glued to the screen. Go watch it.

Jacob's 31 Day Halloween Movie Challenge - Day 27

Day 27: Horror of Dracula

My first Hammer film, this is one I've been meaning to watch for many years and am so glad I finally did. 

I love the gothic sets and costumes, and putting them all through the filter of gorgeous technicolor brings it all to an even higher visual level. 

With a handful of exceptions, the story is mostly the classic tale of Dracula. Christopher Lee's Dracula is more menacing and violent than Lugosi's more subtle interpretation of the role. There's really not enough of him in the movie, as he only has 13 lines. For me the standout performance of this film is Peter Cushing, who begins as a doctor that is so believable I wouldn't think twice about letting the actor operate on me, and seamlessly becomes an action hero in the finale, sprinting and jumping all over the gorgeous sets. Carol Marsh is also fantastic as Lucy, going from an innocent British girl to an unhinged animal in the blink of an eye. 

There's overt sexuality and violence throughout the film that would certainly be exciting for an audience in the 1950's, and I believe it would still be considered exciting today. 

It definitely earns its place as a horror classic.

Jacob's 31 Day Halloween Movie Challenge - Day 26

Day 26: Shaun of the Dead

Tonight I went to the Greek Theater in LA for my very first outdoor screening to see my absolute favorite movie of all time: Shaun of the Dead. 

Edgar Wright and Lucy Davis presented the film live, and Simon Pegg did as well by hilarious video. Before the film played, Edgar Wright had us all honor the late George A. Romeo by doing a collective zombie moan, which was a very memorable and special thing. 

This was also my first time seeing Shaun with an audience, which is always a new experience for a favorite movie. Right away I noticed that the audience didn't laugh at the British-specific references, namely the Cornetto name-drop. But when they did laugh they laughed hard, which made it a very fun experience. 

Every time I watch the movie I find something new, and this time I noticed the connection between hog lumps being thrown at Shaun's face in the beginning of the film, then him catching the hog lumps towards the end of the film. 

This is a movie I can watch anywhere at anytime and will consistently react the same way every time. I love this movie both in sickness and health, and it will take death to tear me apart from it. It's my happy place. Here's to watching it a hundred more times. At least.

I'll talk more about this movie later.

(Shout out to Zach, Tawny, Jeff, Krista, Olivia, and Tyson for coming out!)

Jacob's 31 Day Halloween Movie Challenge - Day 25

Day 25: Only Lovers Left Alive

A movie that is unapologetically its own thing, a staple of any Jim Jarmusch film, this one tells the tale of a hipster vampire couple. 

I remember seeing the trailers for this film and being annoyed at how hipster it looked, and please don't let me be misunderstood, this movie has many hipster elements (one of the vampires owns a visible copy of Infinite Jest, not kidding), but there's something very hypnotic about both the tone and the deliberate pacing of the film that keeps the annoyance at bay, as if the movie itself is a vampire putting the viewer in a trance. 

There's not much in the way of story structure (another staple of Jarmusch's), instead it's more of a look at a week in the lives of this married couple who've been together for over a century. 

What makes it unique in terms of a vampire story is the characters' connection to music, philosophy, literature, etc. in that they've met and witnessed many famous artists. Art is the one thing they feel the "zombies" (their term for us mere mortals) actually did right, a sense of superiority that of course also falls into the hipster category. 

At one point Mia Wasikowska's character actually accuses Adam and Eve (the lead couple) of being hipsters, bringing to light the idea that Jarmusch knew that that's exactly how others would view these characters. This opens up a whole other theory about this entire film being an exploration of making the act of being contrarian an entire lifestyle, literally making these hipster characters an entirely different species from humans, exactly how a true-to-definition hipster would view themselves.

The acting is great, particularly Tilda Swinton and Tom Hiddleston, though a special shoutout goes to the late Anton Yelchin, who I didn't even recognize until I remembered seeing his name at the beginning and realized that guy with the beard was him. 

It's a very odd film and certainly not for everyone, but if you're down for a slow-paced, voyeuristic experience that feels more like a hangout than a structured movie with set-ups and pay-offs, then you'll definitely enjoy it.

Jacob's 31 Day Halloween Movie Challenge - Day 24

Day 24: Drag Me to Hell

Critics adored this film when it first came out in 2009, and I believe the reason is simple: it's something that's different from the rest of the onslaught of mainstream horror movies. 

A Sam Raimi film through and through, this takes place in a heightened reality where the dialogue is purposefully all bluntness and no subtext, perhaps taking a jab at other horror films that do this on accident. Supporting this theory are all of the stock characters, including our main protagonist up until the last 20 minutes or so, which is easily the best section of the movie because she goes completely off the rails and it's great. 

Most of the film contains scenes of her dealing with her curse when it's the least convenient for her, which I think would be funnier if Raimi leaned a little more into the tongue-in-cheek style that he was going for. 

I feel like this screenplay needed a punch-up, or a complete heightening of the comedic tone. The finished project seems like an awkward attempt to be a horror-comedy but never goes all the way with the comedy. 

An example of a film that nailed the tone I'm attempting to describe is James Gunn's Slither, which is a clear parody of b-movies and has plenty of genuinely funny humor in addition to genuine scares. 

Drag Me to Hell never really made me scared and it also never really made me laugh, but I hesitate to call it a "failure" because there were certainly high points that make it worth seeing, mostly in the last 20 minutes. 

I can see where the critics and fans of the film are coming from, but for the most part it just didn't do it for me.

Jacob's 31 Day Halloween Movie Challenge - Day 23

Day 23: Dawn of the Dead

Another case of me having only seen the original, I was pretty shocked by my own enjoyment of the remake. 

To add to my shock, not only is this a Zack Snyder film, but it's his very first feature length movie. 

To soften the shock, this is a James Gunn script, hence the perfect balance of fun, gore, and intensity. 

This film is at its best when it's having fun, which is the opposite of how I felt about the original Dawn of the Dead, with the pie fights merely confusing my high school brain (I know, due for a rewatch). Making games out of zombie-killing, funny banter between the characters, and one of the most bizarre needle drops in a horror movie ever, these are the most memorable moments of the movie and what makes it stand out as an example of a good remake. 

The more intense dramatic scenes work for the most part, but there's a handful of moments that don't really convey the seriousness that they were clearly hoping for (looking at you, baby scene). 

The visuals are unique, with the heavy saturation and grainy film style, though there's surprisingly no slow motion (we'd have to wait 2 years for Zack to go full Snyder on 300). The violence is good when it's done practically, but there's a few cases of obvious CG blood which never ceases to take me out of a movie. 

But overall I really enjoyed this take on the iconic zombie classic, especially James Gunn's screenplay really getting creative with both the setting and the situation, and Zack Snyder's surprisingly good first-time directing.

Jacob's 31 Day Halloween Movie Challenge - Day 22

Day 22: Invasion of the Body Snatchers

I had only seen the original 1956 Invasion of the Body Snatchers, which, while impressive for its time, has nothing on this reboot. 

This is exactly what a remake should be, taking what worked about the core concept of the original, then running wild with it, which is exactly what this tense, disgusting, terrifying film does. 

If the original Body Snatchers was about the fear of communism, the 1978 version is about the fear and distrust of absolutely everyone that began after the Vietnam War and Watergate. 

The first half is subtle, interesting, and often funny character building, introducing us to the stellar cast of Donald Sutherland, Jeff Goldblum, Veronica Cartwright, Leonard Nimoy, and Brooke Adams (who is incredibly talented and should be getting a lot more work) and also slowly introducing the body snatching. The second half is when things really kick off and the film becomes a race against time. 

The cinematography is very 70's, with a lot of handheld camera and an overall seemingly-sloppy style, but there's actually a lot of wonderful subtle things to pick out in nearly every scene, showing that Philip Kaufman clearly had a specific vision in mind. 

The ending is not only terrifying, but truly hopeless, the darkest possible way a film like this could end. 

I don't know if I love it as much as my other favorite sci-fi horror films The Thing and Alien, but I would definitely say it comes close.

Jacob's 31 Day Halloween Movie Challenge - Day 21

Day 21: Ringu

The spark that started The Great Early-2000's American Remakes of Japanese Horror Movies Jamboree™, I would consider this less of a horror film and more of a quiet mystery-thriller. 

The idea of a cursed video tape is so simple and brilliant that all the filmmakers really had to do was follow a trail of logic from there, and that's exactly what happens. 

It's an investigative drama grounded in reality up until the last 5 minutes, and that's when the most famous part happens. 

I don't really have much to say on this one, it's a really solid movie but it's not particularly mind-blowing, especially since I saw the remake first so I already knew the twists going in. 

If you've never seen the remake then I would highly recommend this film, if you've already seen the remake then the experience will be diluted but it's definitely still worth checking out.

Jacob's 31 Day Halloween Movie Challenge - Day 20

Day 20: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

With this being my first John Barrymore film, I can now understand what all the fuss was about. 

This is the classic Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde story that everyone is familiar with, but it's Barrymore's performance that elevates it into something special. 

As Jekyll he radiates professionalism and innocence, and as Hyde he tears apart the screen with his unsettling contorted faces and spidery movements. 

Because this is a silent film, he has to act very theatrically in order to convey emotion, and he does so beautifully. It's endlessly entertaining to watch him work. 

The sets, costumes, tone, and supporting cast are all quite good as well, but John Barrymore is definitely the film's driving force.

I've been told the 1930's film adaptation is the best version of the classic story, so I'll have to check that out at some point.

Jacob's 31 Day Halloween Movie Challenge - Day 19

Day 19: Blade

This was definitely less of a Halloween vampire movie and more of a big dumb action movie with vampires, but hey, I still think this is appropriate. 

One of the first big, dark, R-rated comic book action films (The Crow came out before this, but I don't think that was from a publisher as big as Marvel), this movie is just a good time. It's not consistently fun, with several exposition-heavy scenes that could've been trimmed way down, but when the action starts it's hard not have a blast. 

Wesley Snipes is absolutely the highlight of the film, delivering classic action lines that wouldn't sound anywhere near as good coming from anyone else. 

A lot of the effects hold up, but some of the CGI is definitely a bit dated. 

The acting is over the top, as is everything else about the movie, but that's what makes it great. 

I'm gonna keep this one short cause I gotta rush to work, but if you haven't seen it yet it's a fun popcorn movie to watch with friends. 

Now, if you don't mind, I'm gonna try to ice skate uphill.

Jacob's 31 Day Halloween Movie Challenge - Day 18

Day 18: Interview with the Vampire

Another big one I had never seen before, this is one of those movies that's so popular people often reference it even if they haven't seen it before, myself included. 

While I certainly appreciate the excellent visuals and how grand in scale the story is, there's simply a lot of this movie that's unintentionally funny to me. 

It mainly stems from Tom Cruise's performance, a bizarre casting choice from the start, who is over the top to the point of silly in every single scene he's in. His blonde wig and eyebrows don't help either. But I had several people on Facebook tell me to check out the book, because apparently this is how he's meant to be portrayed, though the author Anne Rice herself hated him in the role.

Brad Pitt doesn't really seem to care about the film, which, after doing a little background check, turns out he actually just didn't care about the film. 

The best performance in the movie is by 12-year old Kirsten Dunst, who also happens to be the most interesting character in the story. But even then I wasn't always convinced by her, with some of her more dramatic scenes being just her shrieking, a method I'm sure she picked up from Tom Cruise. 

It's a bummer that the acting isn't so great because there was so much hard work put into making every other aspect. The sets, costumes, lighting, cinematography, and both practical and digital effects are all stunning, they're just slightly muddled by weird acting choices. 

The ending is especially silly, which wouldn't have bothered me too much seeing as how I was never that invested, but then they played that awful Guns N' Roses cover of "Sympathy for the Devil" and I was very annoyed.

Oh, but Christian Slater's great. He's always great though.

Jacob's 31 Day Halloween Movie Challenge - Day 17

Day 17: The Eyes of My Mother

Recommended to me by Scott Parsons, I went into this movie completely blind (ironically (eye-ronically)) and that's exactly how it should be seen. 

That being said, this is almost exclusively for fans of horror and/or people who can stomach quite a bit. 

This is the kind of horror film I love in terms of building an atmosphere and being unpredictable. It's shocking to me that more people aren't talking about this as much as they talk about It Follows or The Babadook in terms of great modern horror movies, because it easily surpasses both of those films in terms of sheer terror (Though The Witch is still my favorite horror film of this decade). 

The only complaint I can think of is that the ending doesn't really fit the tone that the rest of the movie did such a strong job of setting up. 

I'm not gonna say anything else in terms of story because it's best to not know anything going in, but overall this is an incredibly confident film debut by 27-year old Nicolas Pesce, and one of the strongest arguments against anyone who says they don't make good horror movies anymore.

Jacob's 31 Day Halloween Movie Challenge - Day 16

Day 16: A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors


Tonight the Frida Cinema had a double feature: the first Nightmare on Elm Street and Nightmare on Elm Street 3. 

I've seen the first Nightmare before, and had a great time seeing it on the big screen, with the awkward acting being the only thing that really doesn't hold up (and getting consistent laughs in the theater). 

But I was confused, why show it with 3 and not 2? 

Well, my horror fanatic friend Scott Parsons explained that apparently 2 has hardly anything to do with the first film, but 3 has a direct connection. 

That connection is Nancy, the first film's protagonist. Now she's the new intern at a psych ward (it's not exactly clear how much time has passed, but this film was released three years after the first one) and is helping a group of children who are all haunted by Freddy Krueger because they're the last of the descendants of those who killed Freddy. 

While it's certainly not without its fair share of both intentional and unintentional laughs, there are undoubtedly some fun creative moments to enjoy. It's worth it for the stop motion and practical effects alone, but there's also some great set design and plenty of unfocused creativity in terms of scares. 

The characters, while stock and one-dimensional, are given enough scrappy charm and personality by the actors to make them likable, and the story, while predictable, is still consistently entertaining, though not as engaging as the original. 

It's worth checking out once for fun, but it won't be a Halloween regular for me.

Jacob's 31 Day Halloween Movie Challenge - Day 15

Day 15: Black Sabbath

One of Mario Bava's most famous films, this served as an inspiration for both Quentin Tarantino and, yes, the band Black Sabbath. 

Another anthology movie, this tells three distinctly different tales. 

The first is a suspenseful horror story which gave me the feeling of anticipation and dread that I crave from every horror movie I watch. It was easily my favorite of the three. 

The second was more of a modern thriller tale about a stalker, and the third was a more gothic tale featuring Boris Karloff as a vampire. 

The set design, costumes, and cinematography are the strongest features of the film, giving the viewer a real feel for each time period. The acting and dialogue are a bit awkward, though the introductions for each story by Boris Karloff make the entire movie worth it. 

Overall, I liked Black Sabbath, but didn't love it. Still definitely worth checking out though. I highly recommend watching Bava's earlier film Black Sunday, which so easily captures what it feels like this movie is sometimes struggling to find.

Jacob's 31 Day Halloween Movie Challenge - Day 14

Day 14: The Toxic Avenger

Troma is an indie film production company that is notorious for making shocking exploitation films, but has churned out some very impressive alumni including James Gunn and Trey Parker and Matt Stone.

The Toxic Avenger was Troma's first foray into horror-comedy, and, with a budget of half a million dollars, this tiny movie from 1984 still manages to be darker, more memorable, and more entertaining than most Hollywood blockbusters today. 

Does that mean it's good? Well...it's definitely impressive, with explosions and all kinds of special effects make-up being done with almost no budget, but the acting, dialogue, story, and music are all pretty terrible. 

It's somewhat saved by being a comedy, with some surprisingly funny comedic editing moments. It also has a genuinely endearing romance...somehow...between the Toxic Avenger and his blind love interest. 

It definitely delivers on its premise of a superhero who brutally murders people who technically deserve it, and, while it fits almost no definition of a good movie, I love the fact that it technically has an important place in film history. 

Way to go, you disgusting thing, you.

Jacob's 31 Day Halloween Movie Challenge - Day 13

Day 13: Creepshow

It's Friday the 13th in October, so I clearly had no other choice but to watch the movie Creepshow.

Written by Stephen King and directed by George A. Romero, when this movie was originally announced there must've been countless horror fans' heads exploding all over the country. 

Overall, much like the large majority of Stephen King's work, this is fairly hit and miss. 

The first half of the movie is a ton of fun, with the very opening being perfect Halloween imagery; pumpkin in the window, kid reading scary comics in the dark, parental disapproval, it's classic Halloween nostalgia. 

The following three stories are great, with Father's Day, The Lonesome Death of Jody Verrill, and Something to Tide You Over. They're very tongue-in-cheek and silly, but wonderfully stylized and a perfect love letter to old horror comic books. 

But the second half, starting with The Crate, is where the tone gets completely thrown off and it feels like an entirely different movie. 

With the pace being significantly slower than the first half, it causes the movie to really drag and become less interesting. According to the internet, I am very much in the minority on this, with The Crate being most fans' favorite segment. To each their own, but for me it really doesn't fit in the movie and it's a confusing tonal mess, plus it's at least twice the length of the rest of the segments. 

The last segment is pretty amusing, with the grotesque final image being both incredibly shocking and funny. Then the bookending segment is a lovely way to wrap it all up. 

Again, just to me, if they had cut The Crate this would be a really tight, fun, silly 80's horror movie that would stand the test of time. As it is though, it still manages to do so, just with a little less punch.

Anyways, where's my cake?

Jacob's 31 Day Halloween Movie Challenge - Day 12

Day 12: Saw

Probably the biggest horror movie that I had never seen before, Saw was undoubtedly a cultural phenomenon that's still adding new films to the saga today. 

The premise is simple but clever: two guys wake up in a room, chained to the wall, and figure out that they only have a few hours to get out before they're killed. The problem is that the rest of the movie isn't as clever as the premise. 

There's lots of "plot twists", but none of them are particularly shocking or interesting, and the dialogue is very plain and forgettable. 

Okay, so it isn't smart, that's not a surprise. But what about the torture/gore? That's what the fans want to see! Well, there's really not anything that gross or violent in the movie. 

No death in this movie is more shocking or disgusting than anything in films like Se7en, or creatively violent like Dead Alive. A guy has to put his hand in a dirty toilet. Great. A lady gets a giant bear trap off her face by fishing the key out of a dude's stomach. Okay. Nothing that interesting. 

Visually, the movie looks like an anti-piracy ad from the early 2000's. James Wan clearly watched Run Lola Run before making this, cause there's lots of fast-forwarding and quick pans that became huge during this period in film. 

The acting isn't anything to write home about, though it's not like the actors had a lot to work with. What's really disappointing is that Cary Elwes, who's normally great, is really stiff and awkward throughout the entire movie while trying his darndest to do an American accent. 

Overall, I really didn't care about this movie. It wasn't awful, but it definitely doesn't live up to the hype. 

So then the big question: why was this movie such a huge deal? 

I think the reason Saw was/is so popular, and the reason that it's the first example anyone thinks of when they hear the term "torture film", is pretty simple: it's a really accessible, inoffensive, unscary, generally kinda bland horror movie. 

People who are easily scared can still enjoy this movie without getting nightmares; horror junkies still get some bloodshed but it's not too gross for a scary movie date night; kids can feel cool having seen a torture film without having to see Salò. It's serviceable. 

I don't plan on seeing the sequels, but I'm glad I can finally check it off my list.