[stonecountry]

* = First Time Viewing

October 1st

1. *The Haunting of Julia (a.k.a. Full Circle) (1977) 4/10 - Kinda boring with a few decent Rosemary's Baby-ish moments, stars the same woman too.
2. *Homicidal (1961) 6.5/10 - William Castle movie with a great twist
3. *The Werewolf of Washington (1973) 6/10 - Not nearly as bad as I expected; A pretty decent satire, especially for the time it was made and the budget it was probably made on...interesting for Quantum Leap fans to see Dean Stockwell, the hologram guy, as a werewolf political advisor
4. *The Phantom of the Opera (1943) w/ commentary by film historian Scott MacQueen 6/10 - Universal film with Claude Rains. I loved Claude Rains in Invisible Man, but I think he was wrong for this role. The Phantom wasn't the least bit menacing to me in this one.

October 2nd

5. *WILD CARD 1 The Opera Ghost: A Phantom Unmasked (2000) 7/10 - 51 min. Universal Documentary - Enjoyed the doc. better than the film actually cause it traced a lot of the history of several of the most popular Phantom of the Opera films
6. *Vampire's Kiss (1989) 8/10 - I don't get the hate for this one. Cage is gloriously over the top, and the 2nd half of this movie is absolutely hilarious.
7.*P2 (2007) 7/10 - Surprisingly good thriller with Wes Bentley, written and produced by Alexandre Aja...there's an eye piercing in this one that rivals anything Lucio Fulci ever did
8. *Count Dracula (1977) - BBC 2 part TV Mini-Series 5/10 - I'd heard great things about this adaptation for years but, although it follows the book better than most adaptations in many regards, it ended up being mostly an overly-long melodrama that bored me to tears more often than not. The guy that played Dracula was not particularly menacing or right for the role in my opinion. Plus, for a nearly 3 hour movie, he had very little screen time comparatively. Most plot points in this that followed the book were explored better in Coppola's version, minus the love story that was a conceit for Coppola's film not in the book.

October 3rd

9. The Shining (1980) 10/10 - Kubrick's version on Blu-ray, looks like a million bucks - an all time classic, not just in the horror genre either
10. *WILD CARD 2 30 Days of Night: Blood Trails (2007) 6/10 (short series compiled into Short Film) - Some decent Gore bits, but a little too short to make much of the story, even having watched the film.
11. *WILD CARD 3 30 Days of Night: Dust to Dust (2008) 6/10 (short series compiled into Short Film) - I felt exactly the same way about this one as its predecessor - worth watching but adds nothing to the base story and is generally forgettable despite a few decent moments here and there.

October 4th

12. *The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (1999) 7/10 - Hallmark movie - It was a little dry in the horror department up until the last few moments, but that's more or less how the original story and Disney cartoon are as well. I enjoyed it pretty well though. It'd be good to show to a literature class, even though there's a bit more speculation spelled out more in the film than there is in the story it's based on. - It still leaves it up to the viewer to decide what happens to Icabod ultimately, but they steer you into a less general direction. I guess you could argue the original story does somewhat as well, so I was fine with it.
13. *The Dark (2005) 6/10 - Maria Bello, decent thriller borrows liberally from The Ring
14. *Double Vision (2002) 6/10 - David Morse, Supernatural Asian Thriller

October 5th

15. *The Little Girl Who Lives Down The Lane (1976) 7/10 - Jodie Foster's always been a great actress. Even as a young kid she was better than most. I always thought this was categorized as horror and is in the horror sections of most stores, so I'm counting it, as that's what I thought it was as I watched it. There's certainly mystery and thriller aspects to it, people die, and it's definitely moody all throughout. It was good, but not at all what I thought it was.
16. *Crawlspace (1986) 6/10 - Klaus Kinski makes the whole movie. He's naturally off-putting and sadistic-looking
17. *WILD CARD 4 The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (1958) 10/10 - Disney animated version - used to love watching this every Halloween, and all year round. I still love it today just as much.
18. *She-Wolf of London (1946) 4/10 - Universal - Pretty boring except for the very end and felt kinda long despite the rather short running time of only about an hour
19. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) 10/10 - On Blu-ray, looks the best it ever has, especially the outdoor daytime scenes. I appreciate this film more every time I see it. It's truly a classic. When I first watched it about ten years ago or so I didn't see nearly as much in it as I do now.
20. Child's Play (1988) 8/10 w/ commentary by director Tom Holland and Tim Sullivan downloaded for free from www.iconsoffright.com - Excellent Commentary, should have been on the DVD - syncs very well better than most Rifftraxs. - Probably the best doll coming to life horror film ever made - this scared the bejesus out of me as a kid especially since I had a cousin that had a My Buddy doll that Chucky was loosely based on.

October 6th

21. *2001 Maniacs (2005) 6.5/10 - Robert Englund Tongue-in-cheek romp with some nice kills and genre trappings
22. *The Lodger (1944) 5/10 - A lot of folks call this one of if not the best films of the 40's, I don't see it. It's well-acted and photographed, but there's never any mystery at all as to who is the killer, and it's supposed to be a macabre mystery. However, from practically the first scene you pretty much know the whole deal.
23. Psycho (1960) w/ commentary by Stephen Rebello 10/10 - Excellent All Time Classic with a nice commentary track
24. The Amittyville Horror (2005) 7.5/10 - remake with Ryan Reynolds - Unlike most cases, I prefer this remake about 10 times more to the completely uneventful and rather boring original. I'd take this film over any from the original Amityville series.

October 7th

25. *Hour of the Wolf (1968) 6/10 - Ingmar Bergman - I guess I just don't get Bergman's sensibilities. There were some nicely filmed moments of oddness near the end of the film, but I'm just not a fan of Bergman's drab pacing and depressing characters. I didn't have a clue what was going on really until I watched the film and the making of doc. after it too.
26. *Hangover Square (1945) 5/10 - This film stars the same guy from the Lodger and suffers from the same problem. It claims to be a mystery, but you pretty much always know what's going on.

EXTRA: Watched All The New Documentaries on The New Psycho DVD - Some nice stuff there with a lot of current folks talking about Hitchcock

October 8th

27. *WILD CARD 5 The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror X 8/10 - I love all the Treehouse of Horror episodes. They're usually the first thing I watch when I get a new season set.
28. *Mother of Tears (2007) 7/10 - Dario Argento's long-awaited end to his loosely connected 3 Mothers Trilogy that started with Suspiria and Inferno - It's not shot at all like those films and bares little resemblance to them up until the final couple minutes - It holds up well on its own, and though it wasn't what I expected, I wasn't disappointed - It was quite violent and somewhat perverse in parts with a few nice surprises - This film's much grander than its predecessors and tries to bring the intensity up a few notches
29. Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh (1995) 5/10 Not nearly as good as the first. It explains the origin story of Candyman and his lineage a bit which is interesting, but that unfortunately I think humanizes the character too much and confuses the audience a bit when he becomes somewhat selective in his killing process.
30. *It's Alive (1974) 6/10 - I expected a comedy but got a decent low budget thriller with minimalistic old school effects and camera trickery

October 9th

31. *Premonition (2004) 6.5/10 - Japanese Horror film - An interesting twisty tale, very twilight zoney, even if it is a bit melodramatic and gets a tad bit confusing with the logic at the end
32. *Satan's Little Helper (2004) 6/10 - I expected a total crapfest from this one, but this low budgeter took the ridiculousness of the concept and actually made it work in a legit thriller way, with some dark humor, not at all what I expected. The kid's annoying though.
33. Fright Night (1985) w/ commentary by director Tom Holland, Tim Sullivan, Jonathan Stark, and Chris Sarandon downloaded from www.iconsoffright.com 8/10 - I appreciate this one more each time I watch it, and the commentary is excellent - I wish they did effects more old school like this one still today.
34. *The Happening (2008) 1/10 - Should be re-titled "The Crappening" - By far M. Night Shyamalan's worst, albeit his most commercial flick and first R-rated effort. M. Night has to be the MOST pretentious director of our time, maybe of all time. He made 2 pretty decent films: Unbreakable and Sixth Sense. It's been a steady and devastating decline from there. The only reason to watch this film would be for the unexpected nature of the concept of people suddenly killing themselves in horrible ways. That turns hokey pretty soon though and almost becomes a parody by the end. If you've seen any of his films, you'll probably be expecting a ridiculous twist, and this is the worst one yet. I guessed it long before I ever watched the film. I only watched this cause I used a promo code and got it for free from a Redbox machine.

October 10th

35. Dead of Night (1945) 8/10 - the oldest and one of the best horror anthologies I know of
36. From Beyond The Grave (1973) 6.5/10 - Amicus horror anthology
37. *Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer (2007) 6.5/10 - Pretty cool, but the main reason to watch this film is for Robert Englund's slapstick humor and the monster fight at the end

October 11th

38. *WILD CARD 6 The Making of Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer 8/10- approx. 50 mins. - excellent doc. with tons about the making of the gore and effects
39. *Storm Warning (2007) 5.5/10 - Dimension Extreme - Fairly intense psychological thriller about a couple being kept hostage by a crazy bunch of murderous Australian hillbillies - Not really my cup of tea for the most part, but it has a few good gore moments there at the end
40. *Automaton Transfusion (2006) 3/10 - Dimension Extreme - The cinematography on this film felt disorienting to me and took me out of the picture from start to finish. Not only did they do the whole shaky cam on most of the action sequences which is already a tired trick to hide shoddy effects, but the main problem was the film felt like it was never playing in real time. It felt like everything was going 50% faster than reality which gave me a headache. If it hadn't been for that, this would've been a halfway decent zombie flick with some decent gore. For a much better high school based zombie flick watch Dance of the Dead.
41. *The Hitcher (2007) 6/10 - nothing near the original, but better than most as far as remakes go
42. *Dead Silence (2007) 6.5/10 I really liked the ending and the freaky ventriloquist dolls and ghost lady. It got a little dry in spots though, but I loved the overall gothic feel and look to the picture.
43. *Pumpkinhead (1988) 6/10 - Probably one of the best looking monsters of the last couple decades. Stan Winston was a genius. The film could've been better, seemed to lack direction in what exactly it wanted to be...a nice twist to the revenge film genre with a gothic horror twist though.

October 12th

44. *Ichi The Killer (2001) 6.5/10 - I expected more from this after all I've heard about it. Ichi isn't at all what I expected. Apparently that's not even Ichi on the cover of the DVDs. Some nice gore moments, but I've seen better gangster flicks, martial arts flicks, and gore flicks. This did have elements of all those though, so it gets points for that.
45. *The Man With The Screaming Brain (2005) 6/10 - Bruce Campbell and Ted Raimi and great. The film could've been a little better though. I'm sure I'll enjoy the commentary though, as all Bruce's commentaries are great. Ted actually stole the show surprisingly as the mad scientist's assistant
46. *The Messengers (2007) 6/10 - Pang Brothers film - About what I expected, not near as bad as most films like this these days, but not near as good as some of the Pang Bros. other efforts like The Eye and Re-cycle
47. *The Deaths of Ian Stone (2007) 6.5/10 - I like many others enjoyed the core idea of this film, but once the mystery is uncovered I felt like it could've been pulled together a little better. It's certainly unlike anything else I've seen before though and was entertaining throughout.

October 13th

48. Nosferatu: Phantom Der Nacht (1979) 5.5/10 - My first time watching the German language version, though I'd seen the simultaneously shot English language version a number of years ago on IFC. - I remember liking this a lot more years ago - It had some nice shots and atmosphere, and Klaus Kinski looked great as Dracula, but the film was boring overall for the most part.
49. *Monster High (1989) 5/10 - Absolutely 80's and absolutely ridiculous but somewhat entertaining
50. *Mary Reilly (1996) 5.5/10 - A good period drama but not that great as a horror film simply cause there wasn't much horror. I didn't like the dicotomy between Jekyll and Hyde in this one. It was obviously not much of a transformation, much like Clark Kent and Superman. It was obviously John Malkovich with just slightly different hair and no real hideousness. The CGI transformation looked kinda cool though, even if there wasn't much difference with the overall result.

October 14th

51. *Teeth (2007) 7/10 - Dimension Extreme - some cringe-worthy moments in this one, especially for guys
52. Gremlins (1984) w/ Director and Cast Commentary, also listened to half of the Director/Producer/Special Effects Artist commentary 8/10 - A nice family-friendly monster flick that I grew up with
53. *Eight Legged Freaks (2002) 6.5/10 - a fun b-movie monster flick sendup of the old 50's movies - much better than I expected

October 15th

54. *Sublime (2007) 6.5/10 - I wouldn't recommend watching this if you have even the slightest fear of doctors or hospitals...this could only make it worse
55. Santa's Slay (2005) 7/10 - Hilarious! The first scene alone is required viewing where a number of big name stars get ripped to pieces. Brett Ratner of Rush Hour fame produced this. If you're a pro wrestling fan, this is required viewing to see none other than Bill Goldberg as the demonic son of Satan known as Santa Claus.
56. *Wallace & Gromit: Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005) 7/10 - A very unexpected twist
57. *It's Alive 2: It Lives Again (1978) 7/10 - better than the original in my opinion, much more engaging from beginning to end

October 16th

58. Escape to Witch Mountain (1975) 6.5/10 nice family flick with good special effects for the time

October 17th

59. *Return From Witch Mountain (1978) 6/10 - I may have watched this when I was young, but I don't recall it - more of the same with better villains but not much more to offer storywise
60. *It's Alive 3: Island of the Alive (1987) 5.5/10 - They tried to make you sympathize with the monster kids in this one which made it a bit ridiculous and a little too over-dramatic by the end - I was disappointed that none of these films were the schlocky fun fest of idiocy I expected, though this one probably came the closest to that.

October 18th

61. *Stephen King's Desperation (2006) 6/10 - Starts off really strong and dwindles from there into fluff - I could've done without all the crazy ancient language talk and with more of Ron Perlman who was the best thing about the movie with his character
62. *Zombie Honeymoon (2004) 6/10 Decent although you pretty much know what's going to happen by the set up - It's probably the most romantic zombie film though
63. *Lightning Bug (2004) 7/10 - perhaps a little more drama than horror, but definitely has a few horror moments and an overall tone - The girl from That 70's show was pretty hot in this one
64. *Nightmare Detective (a.k.a. Akumu Tantei) (2006) 6/10 - Dimension Extreme - Good set up and overall concept but falls apart a bit by the ending
65. *The Undertaker and His Pals (1966) 5.5/10 - very schlocky with lots of silly gore like Herschell Gordon Lewis' stuff

October 19th

66. *Andrew Lloyd Webber's Phantom of the Opera (2004) 8.5/10 - My favorite Broadway musical done in a grandiose way by Joel Schumacher, almost makes up for his forays into the Batman universe...almost
67. *Vampire Journals (1997) 6/10 - a little better than expected even if it is low-budgeted and simplistic in its story
68. *Rogue (2007) 7.5/10 - Dimension Extreme - Probably the best Crocodile horror film I've ever seen

EXTRA: Watched Behind The Mask: The Story of the Phantom of the Opera from the Andrew Lloyd Webber Musical Version Blu-ray 8/10

October 20th

69. *Masters of Horror: The Screwfly Solution (2006) 7/10 - pretty disturbing but interesting and very different, very twilight zoney
70. Identity (2003) 9.5/10 - One of my favorite psychological horror thrillers of the last decade
71. *Dance of the Dead (2008) 8/10 - The best zombie flick since Planet Terror

October 21st

72. Land of the Dead (2005) 7/10 - The first time I watched this in the theater, I liked it pretty decently as a zombie flick but was still somewhat disappointed and considered it the lesser of Romero's first 4 zombie films. Upon subsequent viewings, I'm taking to it more and more and appreciate more of what was attempted with this one. It's more of what Day of the Dead could have been if it were made as a more open and less isolated film. Sure there are things that could be done better here and there, but as a zombie flick, it's better than most. This is about the 3rd time I've seen it now, possibly 4th. It doesn't hurt to watch it in Blu-ray as I did here.

October 22nd

73. *Black Sabbath (1963) 7/10 - A very nice Mario Bava Italian horror anthology film with Borris Karloff. Great for fans of old school gothic horror.
74. *Masters of Horror: Right To Die (2007) 7/10 - Actually one of the better MOH episodes I've seen with great special effects makeup by Greg Nicotero
75. *Masters of Horror: The Black Cat (2007) 8/10 - I wasn't the biggest fan of MOH Season 1 with a couple episodes as the exception. However, Season 2 is looking good so far. This is another one of the best I've seen. Stuart Gordon, the king of H. P. Lovecraft adaptations, brings to life his first Edgar Allan Poe adaptation casting Jeffrey Combs (a.k.a. Herbert West of Re-Animator fame) as Poe himself. Combs is the best Poe I've seen put to screen surprisingly, and I've seen several attempts at the character. This is also probably one of the most faithful adaptations of a Poe short story ever put to screen but with a twist - the twist being Poe is the protagonist of his own story in this one which is fitting since he was practically mad himself.
76. *Eaten Alive (1976) 4/10 - Tobe Hooper movie about a man-eating alligator. Though it had a lot of the same look and feel of Texas Chainsaw Massacre, it's nowhere near as good. The plot had very little to offer, and there wasn't much to the characters.
77. *The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll (1960) 5/10 - It has Christopher Lee in it, but sadly, he was a secondary character and just like Mary Reilly, the transformation was little more than a hair cut and a shave. Pretty bland overall.
78. Night of the Creeps (1986) 8/10 - One of the best 80's horror flicks and most fun for my money. I can't believe this still doesn't have a release. It's vastly superior I think to the director's second film, Monster Squad which finally got a release. Until it finally gets a DVD release, I'll have to watch my bootleg ebay DVD that includes a pretty good transfer, albeit fullscreen, and an alternate for cable only ending....not too shabby for $6. It reminds me a great deal of Slither with the slugs.
79. The Frighteners: Director's Cut (1996) 8/10 - I haven't seen this in years, and it was the first time watching the Director's Cut for me which I think is probably a lot better. This film really revolutionized CGI and brings a lot of elements together that ultimately culminate into a really entertaining movie, and poor Michael J. Fox's last hint of real awesomeness.

October 23rd

80. *The Kiss of the Vampire (1963) 6/10 - A Hammer vampire film without Dracula or Christopher Lee. No one is particularly menacing, and I don't fully understand the ending, though I appreciate its unique approach. Good scenery and sets all around as is usually the case with Hammer period films. Recommended as a decent Hammer vampire film that takes a detour from the usual route. It's not required viewing by any means though.
81. *Paranoiac (1963) 6.5/10 - A decent psychological horror thriller from Hammer starring Oliver Reed. It's got enough to it to keep you watching, but it's not a classic.
82. *The Strangers: Unrated version (2008) 7.5/10 - I thought this one was a nice simplistic but effective thriller. They could have done more with it to make it better, but this movie goes to show that real suspense is more than just a bunch of jump scares. The realism of this film really adds to the effect. I've never seen the original foreign film it was based on, but I can definitely recommend this one.

October 24th

83. *House (2008) 7/10 - No this ain't the 80's comedy/horror of the same name with George Wendt. This is the latest one starring Michael Madsen, who seems to be cropping up in quite a few pretty decent cult flicks lately. This one meanders a bit into confusing weirdness from time to time, but it starts into the action straight away and never really lets up. It definitely brings some unique ideas to the table and has a really cool ending that really saves it and makes some of the weirdness make a little more sense. Definitely worth a look. It's not what you'd expect.
84. *Manos: The Hands of Fate - MST3K Version (1966) Film Itself = 1/10 MST3K Version = 6.5/10 - This was my first time watching this after wanting to for years. I finally discovered that Google Video has about every other episode of MST3K in its entirety for FREE. I can't imagine watching the regular version of this without commentary. It's a hoot with the MST3K dudes though.
85. *Zombie Strippers (2008) 4.5/10 - Hey, the title says it all. Not nearly as much zombie action as I'd prefer, but it's definitely something different. There are a couple good gore bits, and Robert Englund turns in a nice offbeat performance as usual. It's not quite the mix I expected though.
86. *Dracula Has Risen From The Grave (1968) 7/10 - One of the better Hammer Dracula films with some of the goriest moments of the franchise...and all amazingly with a G Rating
87. Halloween (1978) 10/10 - My favorite horror film of all time. I watch this one at least a couple times a year, and of course I always have to get it in around this time of year. It's been emulated and immitated many times, even remade to horrid effect, but you just can't beat the original. Even John Carpenter can't make something this good again it seems unfortunately.
88. *Diary of the Dead (2008) 8/10 - I really don't get the hate for this film. I mean sure the social commentary is laid on pretty thick, but that's always been the charm of Romero zombie flicks. I expected little from this one and was pleasantly surprised in the end. With repeated viewings, this could eventually become my 3rd favorite in the series behind Night and Dawn. Watching this made me wish I had gone to the pre-screening here in Nashville where George was doing a Q&A afterwards. I won't make that mistake again based on reviews if he comes around with his next flick.

October 25th

89. *Masters of Horror: The Damned Thing (2006) 7/10 - This one was highly entertaining and gripping all throughout with some intense violence and craziness. However, I was a little disappointed with the ending reveal. I guess with supernatural stuff you're always going to reach that point where you say, "Do I really buy into this...or not?" Though the ending got a bit shaky, it wasn't enough to discredit the pretty awesome 50 some odd minutes leading up to it, and with the final few seconds they tie things together suitably for my taste but perhaps not for everyone's.
90. Dawn of the Dead: Unrated Remake (2004) 8/10 - Usually remakes are blasphemous and wicked in my book, but every once and a while you actually get a really good one with a new spin on the subject that works. This is one of those rare instances. It's not Romero's Dawn of the Dead, but it's a nice alternate take on the same world.
91. *Masters of Horror: The Washingtonians (2007) 4/10 - This was just friggin' retarded. I've really been liking MOH Season 2 so far, but this one was laughable in the storyline. I mean George Washington wanting to start a nation of children-eating cannibals and a cult that wants to preserve his historical image?...come on.
92. *Masters of Horror: Valerie on the Stairs (2006) 5.5/10 - I really wanted to like this one. I mean there is a good idea in here, it's just a little convoluted. It pulls together better by the very end, but it's somewhat anti-climatic. The great battle at the end with the beast doesn't pay off very well, and the twist that pulls it together just seems rushed or something. By the end of the journey, it just doesn't seem like the right ending to me, and yet, that seems to be what the whole story is built upon. So while I didn't outright hate it, I felt it didn't live up to its potential.

October 26th

93. *[REC] (2007) 8.5/10 - Up until about the halfway point I didn't know if I was really going to get into this or not, but that last 30 mins. is relentless. It definitely felt like real footage which pretty much makes the horror for this one. A lot of it is in what you don't see. This film to me is basically 28 Days Later inside an apartment building in Spain shot like The Blair Witch Project. It takes it a little bit to pick up steam, but it ends up being pretty cool and about a million times better than the Blair Witch Project.
94. *Hard Rock Zombies (1985) 0/10 - This one was an utter disappointment! It really sucks hard. I thought any movie about zombie rock stars trying to thwart Hitler's plan to take over the world would have to have at least some funny camp value going for it, but alas I was wrong.
95. Dog Soldiers (2002) 8/10 - One of the best and most inventive werewolf films that helped breathe new life into a tired and forgotten genre. Stars Kevin McKidd, the star of one of my favorite 2007 shows Journeyman.
96. Halloween II (1981) 9/10 - For me personally, this is THE most perfect and best horror sequel because it picks right up immediately following part I, though it was filmed 3 years later, and it flows seamlessly. Sure it falls into more genre conventions since it was coming in just as the big slasher craze of the 80's was taking off. It's still a great sequel, and though I love Michael Myers, by all rights the series probably should have ended here as John Carpenter intended. I say this is the best sequel because I consider Dawn of the Dead more of its own intenty rather than a direct sequel though it is in the same universe.

October 27th

97. Saw IV (2007) 7/10 - I'll be the first to say this franchise is being stretched and that by all rights the series should have ended with the death of Jigsaw in part 3. However, I also have to admit that no matter how I come into a new Saw flick, I usually leave satisfied with how they tie it all together in the end. This one is no different. With this one they essentially set up the base elements for a whole new trillogy or beyond. Part 5 is out now, and I'll be watching that in a few days. Part 6 is coming next year. I do hope that is the last one though. It is nice to know on some level just as a horror fan that a horror franchise is doing this well and is being received as well as these films have been. It may eventually go down as the most successful horror franchise before it's all said and done.
98. *Special Effects (1984) 6/10 - A pretty interesting concept for 1984, blurring the lines between film and reality. It could have been done better and has been since, but this was a nice thriller for the era and budget...another pretty decent film from genre director Larry Cohen.
99. Waxwork (1988) 7.5/10 - This is a fun 80's movie starring the same Zach Galligan of Gremlins fame. There have been other wax museum films, most popularly House of Wax, but overall, I think this is the most original use of the entire concept. The special effects, particularly on the werewolf, are surprisingly good too.

October 28th

100. *Waxwork 2: Lost in Time (1992) 6.5/10 - I have seen the first Waxwork a number of times down thru the years, but I honestly don't recall ever seeing this one. Perhaps I did once, but I'm gonna say it was a new one for me. This changes the concept that I loved so much from the first movie and flat out makes it a time travel film. This one plays up the comedy with a lot more slapstick and tons of famous movie parodies including Aliens, the original The Haunting, and Dawn of the Dead. There's also a nice small but memorable role by Bruce Campbell which perfectly fits in with the tone of this film, going back to his Evil Dead 2 roots a bit. However, this film does fall a tiny bit flat from about the 50 min. to 80 min. mark where it basically lingers as a middle ages Arthurian Sword and Princesses kind of flick. It really kicks into action with some of the more memorable parodies in the last 15-20 mins. though.
101. *The Dark Hours (2005) 7/10 - A surprisingly good low budget psychological horror thriller with some nice twists and turns. Starts out being one thing then becomes something completely different.
102. *Los Monstruos del Terror (a.k.a. Dracula Vs. Frankenstein) (1970) 3.5/10 - I picked up a cheap DVD called Dracula Vs. Frankenstein thinking it was another B-movie from the same era of the same title with Lon Chaney Jr. in one of his last roles. However, instead I found this was actually the 3rd entry in the Paul Naschy Werewolf series where he plays the ill-fated Waldemar Daninsky. He'd go on to play this role in 13 films and make another wolfman film in between that was slated to be in the series, only he hated the script so much that he didn't use the same character name to connect it to the series. This one though is a very odd scatter shot of ideas that just ultimately don't connect in the end. This could be because I watched a butchered U.S. crappy vhs transfer public domain sort of DVD that's probably missing several minutes of plot from what I hear. Basically the premise is these aliens come to Earth and re-animate our greatest monsters to try to take over the world, including The Mummy, the Wolfman (played by Naschy), Frankenstein, and Dracula. In the end though it all seems rather poorly planned, and the aliens themselves can't even keep their plan together. It could have been interesting but just fell apart into a mess as many of these sorts of films of this era tend to do. Oh, and for the record, Dracula and Frankenstein have no confrontation whatsoever in this one oddly enough.
103. *Pulse (2006) 4/10 - This concept had some real potential, but it just meanders through, never really hitting its stride until around the ending possibly. The tone changes immediately from feeling like a rather isolated incident to being a global meltdown. If they'd escalated to the point of the apocalyptic world sooner, it may have held my attention more. Kristen Bell was decent, playing a much more sympathetic character than her character on Heroes. I just don't have much to say about this one other than it was a missed opportunity.
104. *Director's Cut: A Killer Comedy (2003) 4/10 - A decent concept though it has sorta been done and done much better. It's neither all that funny or horrorific. They pull away on all the good potential gore scenes and just imply the horror, which is great if you have a great riveting movie, but with a wannabe schlock-fest, it requires gore and tons of it if it really wants to be what it claims to be. The ending was decent, but the pacing overall is slow and plodding, the characters are stereotypical, and the plot is muddy at best. I did finally get around to watching this rather obscure title though that I got in a trade on DVDtalk about 4 years ago.

October 29th

105. *Masters of Horror: Sounds Like (2006) 7/10 - This was pretty cool. It's not one I'll probably watch over and over again, but it's very intriguing and is a nice story that hasn't really been told.
106. *Dr. Phibes Rises Again (1972) 7/10 - Vincent Price is always entertaining, and this is his most over the top character. I'd seen the first film but never this one. It's probably just as entertaining as the original.
107. *Bruiser (2000) 6/10 - This film isn't at all what I expected, and though it was really odd and not at all like a Romero film really, I found myself strangely enjoying it. I doubt it'd be one I'd revisit often, but it's worth a look as long as you're not expecting a slasher film or anything of the sort. It's sort of an odd, darkly humorous twist on the revenge film with a bit of satire.
108. Child's Play 2 (1990) 7/10 - I've always enjoyed this film about as much as the original.
109. Child's Play 3 (1991) 6/10 - I know I've seen this one a couple times before, but I honestly didn't remember about the entire second half of it, particularly the stuff at the theme park. I thought they cast the older Andy pretty well. The fact that it takes place amongst a military school full of army weapons allows for some more over the top moments than in the other films. It's not as good a film though since Chucky isn't even particularly after Andy from the first two films anymore. It's got some interesting stuff to offer though and probably effectively bridges the gap between the horror tone of the first two and more campy comedy tone of Bride and Seed of Chucky.
110. The Thing (1982) 9/10 - Watched it on Blu-ray for the first time, and it looked and sounded fantastic, better than ever before. This film is a classic, one of Carpenter's best with some of the best old school special effects ever put to celluloid. It's a movie full of paranoia that contrasts tight enclosed spaces with vast empty snowy landscapes. Its pacing broods at a slower pace than current horror films, but that makes those freakout moments all the more powerful and effective, even when you've seen the film numerous times.

October 30th

111. *Black Sheep (2006) 6.5/10 - Zombie Sheep...what's not to love, right? Well, with the exception of just a couple of instances, the sheep looked pretty run of the mill mostly. There were a few humorous scenes, particularly with the men turning into sheep and the sheep driving a car in one scene. Somehow overall though I expected more from this one just in the ludicrous possibilities. The idea of it was better than the execution of it.
112. Feast (2005) 8/10 - Love this movie. It reminds me of a demented version of Night of the Living Dead only with beasts instead of zombies. I hope the sequel holds up.

October 31st

113. *Inside (2007) 6/10 - Dimension Extreme French title. I expected more from this. I can't decide if this one is too clever for its own good or just isn't as clever as it claims to be.
114. *Saw V (2008) 6/10 - The first half of this one seemed a little bit forced and plodding, but I got into it as it progressed and started liking the new villain/protagonist, especially in the final scene. These films always close on a high note that makes me feel like forgiving a lot of things that come before it. I want the next one to be the last one though. It just feels right.


EXTRA: Watched Midnight Meat Train (2008) Sat. Nov. 1st 6/10 - I expected more from this, especially with all the good reviews and the hype. However, I felt the pacing left a lot to be desired, and at 94 mins., it felt about 30 mins. too long. I really think this would have been served much better to have been adapted as a Masters of Horror episode. It was based on a Clive Barker short story. After watching the film though, I had to turn to the short story just to understand what happened. That means there was a flaw in the delivery somewhere, and I think it mainly comes from that surprise ending in the last couple minutes that completely redirects the entire picture. I was left scratching my head over this one, and still am even after understanding from the source material what happened more so.

EXTRA: Watched The Shining (1980) Sat. Nov. 1st for the first time ever in the local arthouse movie theater that's doing a Stanley Kubrick festival. 10/10 - I had no idea how great and effective the soundtrack was to this film until I watched it in the theater. It was an original film print too which was awesome.

END OF CHALLENGE RECAP AND USELESS STATISTICS:

First Time Viewings: 87 or 76.3%

Titles I've Already Sold or Traded Since Watching Them For The Challenge: 43

Movies Watched on Blu-ray: 9

Movies Watched Online: 5

Rented For Free From Redbox Using Promo Codes: 4

Watched Via Comcast On Demand: 8

Movies I Do Not Own But Will Purchase As A Result of Watching Them in This Challenge: 3 ([REC], Dance of the Dead, The Strangers: Unrated)


Movies That Will Probably Give Me Lingering Nightmares:

1. Teeth (2007) - There were just far too many atrocities committed to the male genatalia for my liking in this one, the kind of imagery that stays with a a man.

Movies That Are So Bad They're...BAD! (A.K.A. Blasphemous Film Atrocities):

1. Hard Rock Zombies (1985) - They weren't very good zombies or very good rockers since all the music was pretty much the worst pop rock of the early 1980's. It doesn't help that at least a 1/3 of the film is pretty much entire performances of this crappy music that is the furthest thing from hard rock as you can get short of Yo Yo Ma.
2. The Happening (2008) - M. Night Shyamalan is the worst highest paid filmmaker in Hollywood. This film further proves why. Nobody can take decent actors and make them seem like horrible ones better than good ol' M. Night. Nobody can beat a ridiculous concept into the ground with less than subtle and irrelevant social commentary like M. Night either. I'd say M. Night is the king of doing both of these things. As wretched as it is, it's just a tiny mark above his previous film, Lady in the Water, which makes my eyes bleed and my heart cry.

Best Movies First Time Viewing:

1. [REC] (2007) - The last 30 mins. make the whole thing with a breakneck pace of realish images of horror, yet the real horror comes in what you don't see and what is hinted at.
2. Diary of the Dead (2008) - I was surprised how much I enjoyed this film despite all the bad press. I think Romero went a step in the right direction with this one.
3. Dance of the Dead (2008) - This film was great fun and for my money one of the best zombie films of the last few years.
4. The Strangers: Unrated Version (2008) - This thriller did a lot with a little and shows that true suspense can be made with use of sound and shadows.

I Can't Believe I Actually Liked These:

1. Vampire's Kiss (1989) - This film is hilarious as a dark comedy with Nic Cage. It's over the top, and I love it completely. This was the biggest surprise of all to me cause I'd heard this was crap and ended up loving it.
2. Werewolf of Washington (1973) - This actually ended up being a pretty decent satire
3. Satan's Little Helper (2004) - This actually ended up being a decent dark horror satire and wasn't at all what I expected. The only really negative about it was the kid was annoying.

What the Deuce? (Still Scratching My Head Over This):

1. Hour of the Wolf (1968) - I had to read about this one afterwards to even halfway understand what happened. I just don't get Ingmar Bergman I think.
2. Masters of Horror: The Washingtonians (2007) - This was utterly ridiculous but has potential camp value just due to the ludicrousness of it all. An underground society of people who dress up like George Washington and Eat people...? I don't even quite know what to say about that.
3. Inside (2007) - I had to read a little about this one afterwards to really get what happened. They tried to be clever, and many folks think it turned out right. I'm not sure I'm one of them though.

Better Upon 2nd Viewing:

1. Land of the Dead (2005) - I don't know why, but I like this one more each time I watch it. I'm becoming more accepting of it as a Romero zombie film, even though the style sticks out from the others.