This year, more than any other, for almost the whole month of October, I've been watchin' just a crapload of "Halloweenesque" type of titles, to help enhance the spirit of the season for me.
Of the bunch, here are the ones that I've liked:
Zombieland I've never been really big into the horror-comedy genre. It always felt to me that the comedy sorta cancels out the horror aspect of the film. Fortunately, Zombieland seems to focus more with the comedy area of it's premise, & the story centered more on the main characters dealing in world with few human survivors than it does on these characters battling their way thru flanks upon flanks of zombies (though, there are enough of those scenes to warrant the name of this movie). So, even though I'm not a big fan of zombie apocalypses, I found that I was able to sit thru this one with a bit more of an appreciation not only for the sub-genre itself, but more importantly, with an appreciation for a certain actor* with the initials BM. And yet,
even more importantly, with an appreciation for the fact that I live in a time when I don't have to worry about life's little Twinkie gauge going on empty.
*Kind of a spoiler if I mention the actor's name.
The Orphanage An orphanage-turned-family-household begins to show signs of a haunting after an adopted orphan dissappears, leaving his adopted mother on a quest that will result in either solving the mystery of her son's disappearance, or lead her down a cryptic road to madness.
A film that's so Guillermo-Del-Toroesque, that it comes off almost exactly like a Guillermo Del Toro film. And surprise, surprise, even though it was neither written or directed by Señor Del Toro, he did pick it up as producer (the script was from the hand of Sergio G. Sánchez & the film was directed by Juan Antonio Bayona). However, let it be known that making such a comparison is not any kind of accusation of imitation, but more of a compliment to all those involved in making this creepy entertaining ghost tale which gears itself towards those viewers who are armed with a decent attention span.
Da Devil's Backbone "What is a ghost?
A tragedy condemned to repeat itself time and again?
A moment of pain, perhaps?
Something dead which still seems to be alive?
A emotion suspended in time.
Like a blurred photograph.
Like an insect trapped in amber.
A ghost.
That's what I am." Guillermo Del Toro's tale of how an orphanage-turned-temporary safe-haven begins to show signs of a haunting after one of the orphan boys disappears (can you see why I stressed the comparison to Del Toro on my Orhanage entry?).
A story that may seem somewhat simplistic at first,
but when combined with the background dramas of both the lead characters, along with those hinted at of the supporting characters, along with the blatant "not-so-blatant" metaphors that are the director's strong-suit (that is, it's his strong-suit only if he isn't directing a Hellboy movie),
The Devil's Backbone turns out to be a satisfyingly rich movie that goes more for creepy metaphysical melodrama than it does for in-your-face scare tactics.
Paperhouse 
What dreams may come from the imagination of a little girl. Especially when those dreams can become reality. First on paper, then into the world of the awakened.
This is a movie that I don't actually recall when it first came out, but whenever I mention it to anybody around me, most of them tend to respond with "Oh that's right, I remember that....". Paperhouse turned out to be a pleasant surprise for me & a good example of the best thing that can happen when going about these types of movie-viewing marathons.
Though the ending doesn't seem to come together as well as a majority of the first part of the story, over-all, I really liked the sparse fantasy element of the film, the way the sleep sequences are interwoven with the main character's life situation, & the slow build-up that starts out from a young girl's dreams & then leads into the fears of her nightmares.
Drácula (Spanish-language version)(1931) As anybody who knows me knows, the Universal Movie Monster Trio of Dracula, Frankenstein & The Wolfman are perennial favorites on my TV set every Halloween. Therefore, I had meant to watch this Spanish version of Dracky for awhile now, especially since TCM tends to show it every once in a while, back to back with it's American counterpart.
Filmed at the same time (literally) as the Bela Lugosi version, this one features the same energy & enthusiasm as it's originator, seems even crisper in appearance (at least, to my eyes), & has more creative camera work than was allowed to the original version. Yet the best part of it all, is that this one is longer in length, but without any sacrfice to it's story quality.
Though, the actor playing Dracula doesn't seem to have the "weight" in his presence that Bela Lugosi did,
over-all, this is still a version of the "rey de los vampiros" that, after finally watching it, makes me feel like I just struck some big time cinema gold.
Paranormal Activity 
Even though I find myself surprised at how much I've been consistantly entertained by the majority of those movies that have been made with the handheld-cam method of filmmaking, I thought for sure that by this point in time, we've pretty much reached the point of exhausting the genre.
Then comes along this movie & shows that in a style of cinema that should've been drained of life by now, when entering the realm of the paranormal, there can still be some signs of activity.
Trick 'R Treat What do you get when you pack in a coven of werewolves, a group of misfit zombies, a serial killing neighbor & a mischievious trick-or-tricking imp all into one script?
A Jack 'O' Latern filled candy-collection of quality, modern campy Halloween tales of the escapist-fare variety done right: With more focus on the quality than on the camp.
This movie, for me, has got the feel of all those big budget horror flix released during the late 80's & thru-out the 90's. The kind that always frustrated me because their scripts rarely reached the level of their budgets.
Trick 'R Trick comes closer to the type of fun onscreen fearfest that I would've like to have seen during that particular time of the horror cinema.
Dawn Of The Dead (2004) 
While I respect George Romero's horror/comedy zombie flix & I understand that there's an audience out there for it, the truth is, I myself have little patience for this specific brand of subgenre.
Therefore, when Zack Snyder came along & redid Dawn with a budget more substantial than what Mssr. Romero is used to, & with a more solid storyline, along with the shlock gage turned down a couple of notches, I found myself actually enjoying watching a film about a subject that beforehand, I had no interest in: a mallful of zombies searching for something to munch on beyond the barriers of the food court.
Session 9 A small group of professional asbestos removers find out what can be even scarier than having a job as asbestos-removers:
"cleaning out" an old abandoned mental state hospital, where the walls have a tendency to whisper out your name & old patient session tapes that reveal the darkness that lays not only within those same walls, but also the darkness that dwells within your soul.
Ooooo....
scary....
Dog Soldiers 
What do you do when the werewolves begin to attack systematically & in packs?
Send in the troops.
And then just sit back, and enjoy, as the bullets, blood, big booms & British accents fly.
The Descent Neil Marshall follows up his directorial debut, Dog Soldiers, with The Descent, a movie that goes about disproving the current popular idea that in order to make a really "good" horror flick, it has to have an incredibly limited budget.
In this one, a group of hot ladies go deep exploring into some dark, damp holes & then go about gettin' themselves eaten.
Believe me, it's not as sexy as it may sound.
Stuck 
Okay, this film is what I'm talkin' about.
To be honest,
I don't really regard this movie as a "horror" or "Halloween" flick, but I was parusing through an article about underrated & little known horror movies, & this one came up. I had never heard about it, but then again, I have a bad habit of not paying attention to what's going on in the world. (Blasted attention span. Despite what I said in the movie entry for The Orphanage, mine isn't as long as I like to claim. Probably due to all the hours upon hours I spent as a youth in front of the T.V. watching cartoons, playing Nintendo, & being totally hypnotized by the onion-booty porn that I kept sneaking outta my dad's so-called "secret" stash. Anyways....)
A story about a homeless guy who gets imbedded into a young woman's car windshield after she hits him with said car, and then, after weighing the consequences of the incident, she decides not to really do anything to help him. She doesn't even bother to try & at least squeegee him off.
And yeah, believe it or not,
they were able to extend this idea into the length of an entire movie.
Goes to show just what humankind is capable of.
No wonder we were able to put a man on the moon.
Okay,
these next couple of flix are films that I've already seen, but haven't given a view in quite a while. So their respective rewatches served more as a reminder to me of just how much I like each of 'em & probably should dust the cobwebs offa them more often:
The Sixth Sense Okay, saying that this is M. Knight Shyamalan's best film (by far) may sound overly obvious (by far),
but,
it is (by far).
A very good from-the-beyond-yarn that starts out by depicting the debilitating effects of being able to percieve ghosts. Then, almost completely, turns it around to show how this paranormal ability can be more of a help than a hindrance, if we just gave the spooky spectres a chance. Maybe seeing dead people ain't so bad.
Though when I really think about it, if I wanted any kind of communication with lost wandering spirits, I'd rather just stick to commiserating online with all of my fellow MoFos on this site.
Creature From The Black Lagoon 
A group of scientists go out on a South American expedition in search of a missing link to help them fill in the void of evolution.
However, once they find it,
the no longer missing link begins on his own quest, in search of a mate to help fill in the void within his heart.
Or maybe his dorsal-finned butt is just horny.
Either way,
the female crew member of this expedition ends up getting wet & screaming alot.
Nightmare Before Christmas I grew up at a time when animated features shown during prime-time were not the norm.
Therefore, holiday specials like It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown & Santa Claus Is Coming Town were usually an event, not only in that they were a rare moment to watch a cartoon at night, but also because they enhanced the feeling of the holidays. Of which, my faves were, obviously, Halloween & Christmas (free candy & free presents!).
I remember that when Nightmare Before Christmas first came out, I initially liked it. But, now, I find that this Burton-produced feature seems to age really well for me. As each All Hallow's Eve goes by, & I continually find myself liking it even more than before.
Not only because it manages to successfully merge my two fave holidays as a kid, but also, because it's macabre look & atmosphere are the type of traits that I would've died for (pun, not all that much intended) back then.
Not to mention that whenever I listen to tunes like "What's This?" or "This Is Halloween", I am reminded of hearing "Put One Foot In Front Of The Other", or "We're A Couple Of Misfits", songs that, as corny as they are, now with a grown-up's perspective, my hardcore, hairy pimp-ass' has to humbly admit, will always be a part of my childhood holiday memories.
Thirst 
Actually, this isn't so much a rewatch as it is a no-watch.
I haven't been able to see this latest effort by Korean director Park Chan-wook. Why? Because, even though I live near a major metropolitan area, it still never made it to any of the theatres around the area where I live. And as someone who really enjoyed all three films from his Vengeance Trilogy, particularly Sympathy For Lady Vengeance, I consider that to be a crime.
Therefore, I'm posting this entry as a sign of how this list
should look like. There is no reason why this film should've been so unavailable for the movie-viewing aspect that makes up the entertainment craving half of my brain.
I swear,
we can put a man on the moon,
but..........
(no rating
.... yet....)
Happy Halloween, everybody!
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