#horror 14

[robedperformer]

Halloween Horror Spook-A-Thon 2014 Report Card

1. Daughter - B- 2. Halloween - A- 3. Halloween II - B 4. Escape From Tomorrow - C 5. Midori - C- 6. The Aswang Phenomenon - C- 7. Dawn Of The Dead - B 8. Ebola Syndrome - A- 9. The Ring - B 10. Freaks - B+ 11. Wild Zero - B+ 12. Mulholland Dr - A+ 13. The Blair Witch Project - B- 14. Let's Scare Jessica To Death - A- 15. Possession (1981) - A 16. Repulsion - B+ 17. Lake Mungo - B 18. Toad Road - B 19. WNUF Halloween Special - A- 20. Deep Red - B 21. The Exorcist - B 22. Shivers - A- 23. Rear Window - B+ 24. VHS: Viral - C 25. Sleepaway Camp - B+ 26. The Beyond - B 27. The Candy Snatchers - A- 28. Diabolique - B+ 29. Tetsuo: The Iron Man - B- 30. Going To Pieces: The Rise & Fall Of The Slasher Film - C 31. Friday The 13th - C+

i think next year i will just do rewatches (18 of these are first-time viewings) and uhh not start almost a week into the month.

[robedperformer]

HALLOWEEN HORROR SPOOK-A-THON #31

Friday The 13th (Sean S. Cunningham, USA, 1980)

the gore holds up in 2014 and i really like the scene that leads to the very first kill in the beginning of the movie. i've endured some mean-spirited horror films in the last month but this one sticks out the most to me as the worst offender for whatever reason. the teenagers in this movie all seem like pretty nice people (from what i can glean with the little characterization this movie attempts during its first half) and yet you already know what's gonna happen so this movie is seriously no fun. i ended up getting pretty bored in its last 40 or so minutes and i couldn't wait for it to be over.

[robedperformer]

HALLOWEEN HORROR SPOOK-A-THON 2014 #30

Going To Pieces: The Rise & Fall Of The Slasher Film (Jeff McQueen, USA, 2006)

wanted to do some light viewing and i think this appropriately caps the month off for me. this was a can of old vegetable soup tho, i feel like it barely scratches the surface on certain aspects of the slasher phenomenon that could have been really interesting and the movie could have used a lot more analytical talking heads instead of these dudes telling us nothing new. HOWEVER it is pretty well-researched and the interviews are not bad.

[robedperformer]

HALLOWEEN HORROR SPOOK-A-THON #29

Tetsuo: The Iron Man (Shinya Tsukamoto, Japan, 1989)

combines the surreal industrial metallic cling-clang aesthetic of eraserhead (yeah, down to the music) and the grotesque body horror of cronenberg with a quick-cut, manga twist, the 60 minute length of this movie is almost perfect as it doesn't dazzle visually so much as it pummels you into submission. from the elaborate costumes and set design to the editing, it's undeniably remarkable from a technical standpoint although it really did lose me at multiple points. i bet tumblr likes this movie.

[robedperformer]

HALLOWEEN HORROR SPOOK-A-THON #28

Les Diaboliques (Henri-Georges Clouzot, France, 1955)

gives sleepaway camp a run for its money as the best twist ending i've seen this month. it's definitely the most cold blooded, and honestly a lot more implausible than the most ridiculous horror twist endings. i also love the prolonged scene where michel gets poisoned, really good performances and tension. one of my favorite movies ever is the wages of fear and this is my second clouzot, can't really help but feel a little underwhelmed but it's a terrific movie in its own right.

[robedperformer]

HALLOWEEN HORROR SPOOK-A-THON #27

The Candy Snatchers (Geurdon Trueblood, USA, 1973)

i'm not sure if these screenshots i took does this sentiment justice but despite making los angeles look kinda ugly this is one of the most visually arresting exploitation films i've ever seen. some genuinely artful use of shadows and lighting for such a sleazy film, i love it. come to think of it every facet of the candy snatchers is executed at a shockingly competent level: the performances, there is lots of time devoted to character development in this fuckin thing and it totally works, the plot twists are hilarious and well-placed, and it has some great low-budget action scenes. it came out on dvd a few years ago so it's not nearly as obscure as it used to be. i grabbed this thing from cinemageddon back in the day and i found it on a big torrent site this month and i bet it's on youtube so please watch.

[robedperformer]

HALLOWEEN HORROR SPOOK-A-THON #26

The Beyond (Lucio Fulci, Italy, 1981)

i think this movie is still pretty great but well...it certainly takes the cake for most disappointing rewatch this month. moves at a much more turgid pace than i remember and yeah i know bad acting and nonsensical storytelling is fulci's bread and butter but the death scenes are so hilariously stitched together it's like he took all these ridiculous ideas for on-screen kills he's had over the years and just decided to thinly tie them together. which is simultaneously dumb/awesome and actually does make for a truly unique, occasionally beautiful experience but yeesh, how many times did i go seinfeld.gif on this movie

[robedperformer]

HALLOWEEN HORROR SPOOK-A-THON #25

Sleepaway Camp (Robert Hiltzik, USA, 1983)

haha this movie rules. it runs at a pretty snappy pace that moves along incredibly quickly, has the most over the top, ridiculous dialogue and acting performances even for its subgenre, the worst fashion in movie history, and of course that magical, sublime piece de resistance of a plot twist in the end. that's all you're gonna hear when this movie is ever talked about and although i didn't get spoiled prior to watching i expected the huge plot twist looming and i still was not prepared for how great it was.