clckworang

For what it's worth, according to Amazon, the studio release has deleted scenes, an audio commentary with John Carpenter and Keith Gordon, and three featurettes. Not too shabby.

Trevor

I know. But you say you're willing to pay $29, then immediately say you won't pay collector prices. Typo?

exharrison

Watched Ghosthouse with the Rifftrax this afternoon before football started. Maybe it was the Nyquil, but that was a good riff for an interesting movie.

Trevor

Yep thanks Chad!

We're behind our usual pace in posts, right? So might as well be thorough and paste the answers I gave Chad. Very predictable and generic perhaps, but films I doubt I'll ever stop watching regularly.

Halloween - The John Carpenter original is the perfect scary movie for Halloween. It combines the setting of the day itself, and the brutally realistic horror of a relentless killer on the loose. And that score is obviously amazing.

Halloween II - Almost a continuation of the first, the pros are largely the same. I love sequels that start immediately after the conclusion of the first. I'm also partial to this one due to the hospital setting, having worked in a hospital my entire life.

It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown - Watching this has been a family tradition since my childhood. I probably prefer the Christmas special, but not by much. This special always puts me in the mood for trick or treating. I like the fact that it premiered just days after my birth.

Trick r Treat - This anthology grew on me. At first, I didn't get all the hype and thought it was just average. But the more I see it the more I love it. Nice convergence of the common elements.

the Universal classics - A cheat maybe, but I often watch these originals on Halloween, or at a minimum sometime in October. They are timeless and get me in the mood for watching more and more.

Dick Laurent

Yeah, same stuff on Twilight Time. I'm hoping there's something new, though. Such a fun movie to watch.

No, just what it says. When the title was released I paid $29. But over this last year the BD for Christine has been selling for $50 - $150 on eBay. So retail I will pay, just not the ridiculous prices (being sold by collectors) when it went OOP. Not saying I won't pay ridiculous prices for other titles, just not Christine.

DEEveeDEE3

Yes, worth to check out. A mix of Assault On Precinct 13 and Silent Hill.

Dick Laurent

I PMd you mine already, but since everyone else is sharing, I might as well join in. I only did three. Too many titles kept popping up in my head.

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The Midnight Hour - Not only does this film take place during Halloween, but it celebrates the holiday in the wholesome good way that all kids should feel every October 31st. The made up town and costume party both paint a Rockwell-esqe feel for the night. And the graveyard shenanigans play like an old urban legend, wrapped in sweet candy corn goodness.

The Monster Squad - What better way to celebrate Halloween than to have all of your favorite monsters trying to keep a foothold and fight in the modern world. We have a Midnight deadline, an ancient amulet, and all the baddest of the classic monsters. And what adult today wouldn't kill to have a Squad and a mission, living it up Fred Dekker style.

Halloween (1978) - This film taps into what Halloween night is all about at its most basic root, to celebrate the scare. Younger kids can reflect their own trick-or-treating through that of the kids on the screen, and along with the older kids (some much older kids) allow the power and fright of the Boogeyman to take away your safety net, and fulfill that secret wish to be scared. Can't get much more "Halloween" than that.

bse

i thought this started off strong then kind of ran out of steam midway, not to mention the various plot holes. but like you said, the ending it pretty good and the atmosphere was great, just wished they fixed a few issues. i don't regret buying it, as i'll share it with others.

Trevor

Ah, makes sense now. My thought process is that I'd rather never pay more than $10. I miss out on a handful of titles I want, but most end up coming down or in cheaper options eventually. And for every $30-40 title I exercise patience on, I can buy ~6 other titles in my $5-10 range.

clckworang

The good news is that bringing my Blu-ray player on the road with me has paid off because I just finished a film in my hotel room that qualifies for today's theme. Yay! The bad news is that I might have an infection in my left eye. Boo! Below my eye is sort of swollen, and it's a little painful when I close my eye. Luckily, my vision is not affected, but I just feel a bit fatigued.

I guess I'm going to go down to the welcoming mixer - at least for some of the snacks that are down there. I don't anticipate socializing for long and will probably come back early to get at least one more title in. Then I might call it an early night and try to get more sleep than usual. Maybe that will help me feel better. It's not fun when you're not feeling well on the road.

Chad

I definitely support them, and even own a few. It's just when there's a 3 year exclusivity agreement, and a German Blu-ray with near identical specs shows up not two years later it's frustrating. And it sold out (to mostly scalpers) before you could blink. This new one even comes with a slipcover, which the TT didn't have. I just wish they'd they'd focus their efforts on more obscure offerings, because I don't think any Carpenter films would have trouble generating interest. Scream Factory is a testament to that.

We're actually 200+ posts ahead if you count the pre-challenge thread. And yes, I checked.

clckworang

True to my word, I went down to the mixer and got a plate of food. I looked around as I ate and didn't see anyone I knew or anyone I work with. I promptly decided to go back up to my hotel room. Ha, ha. I might walk somewhere a little later to get a real dinner and take it back up to my room, but I wasn't in the mood to deal with a mixer. I guess that means off with the work clothes and on with one of my horror T-shirts!

clckworang

And in the spirit of sharing, this is what I sent to Chad late last night. I noticed a few typos and poorly written sentences that I wouldn't have ordinarily sent but oh well.

1. Halloween
There's a reason this is still probably the most watched movie on Halloween night. You've got the unstoppable killer with a creepy mask, the simple but suspenseful music, and the group of high school students set up for slaughter on Halloween night. Time has been kind to this film as it's still one of the most effective slasher films out there. While you might sometimes groan at the horror movie cliches, just remember that many of those cliches originated here.

2. Halloween 2
Taking place immediately following the events of the first Halloween movie, this makes for a good double feature with its predecessor. While the killings might be more graphic, the movie does suffer from John Carpenter not being in the director's chair. It's still a fun ride on Halloween night, though.

3. Halloween 3
This entry in the series is unfairly maligned because of the total absence of Michael Myers, and that's a pity because few movies embrace the spirit of Halloween more than this one. Don't look for this one to make much sense. Just sit back, enjoy the ride and try to avoid singing the jingle used throughout the movie.

4. Trick 'r Treat
The various stories in this anthology film give a little something for pretty much any viewer to enjoy. It also does a great job of capturing the essence of the Halloween.

5. Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)
Sometimes you just have to go a little bit more low budget for true scares, and this horror classic still retains its ability to frighten and shock. The low budget and savvy filmmaking combine to make this one a true horror classic. Despite its reputation, it actually isn't a very bloody movie, but that doesn't make it any less effective.

indiephantom

Yay! I watched this the other day for the Police Stations theme night and really enjoyed it. The lead actress gave a great performance and it was one of the creepier films I've seen this month thus far.

Spiderbite

My 11 year old son and I went to see Goosebumps this morning and we both loved it. It is a lot of fun and has some minor creepy/spooky moments but is mainly just in the fun column.

I am too old for Goosebumps and didn't grow up with the series but I am sure that those who did will enjoy this movie. It is more of a tribute to the stories by including monsters from several different books that he did and combining them into one story. It is a perfect movie for introducing the young'uns to some monsters without freaking them out. The humor is actually funny and there are a few references that only adults will get. Jack Black keeps it in check but gets to let a little more loose as the voice of Slappy.

I found Slappy to be the creepiest "monster" but that was probably due to me watching Magic as a kid and hating all dummies after that.

The best news is that the kids are not annoying and the cliche "wimp/nerdy" kid is actually funny most of the time and has some decent lines. The movie is a little cliche but your kids won't notice that. This was a perfect release date for this film.

I definitely recommend it, with or without kids. Oh, and skip the 3D showing. It isn't worth the money and desaturated the movie to the point of almost making it too dark. We only saw the 3D version because our theater mixed the regular showing times up with the 3D show-time.

Mondo Kane

Has anyone watched The Possession of Michael King on any of the Showtime networks? I don't know if that movie experimented with a never-before-heard audio mix, but man, the sound effects were LOUD AS HELL! I had to constantly lower the volume on that one. It must have been a deafening experience to have watched this in a theater or on a BD disc with multiple speakers blasting.

mrcellophane

This morning I decided to watch the rest of the Mummy movies. I'd seen them before, and judging by my previous ratings, I liked them a bit more this time around. They aren't very good, but they are entertaining. The Mummy's Hand reworks the mythos of the series, and the rest transport the mummy to the United States for increasingly silly shenanigans.

bse

I finally picked up The Frighteners blu-ray, a film I've always loved, after watching it I was going through the extras and started watching the "Making Of' I planned on watching a few minutes of it, ended up watching the entire thing, almost 4 hours. I love Peter Jackson so much, I'm not a huge fan of his LOTR films, but I'm a huge fan of Bad Taste, Dead Alive, and Heavenly Creatures and am a huge fan of listening to him talk about film, he never forgets what started him down the path he is on and always pays tribute and never disowns his splatter films. I could listen to Peter Jackson and del Toro talk film, monsters, etc forever.

After the Cubs game I'm going to listen to the Frighteners commentary before bed.

ViewAskewbian

I've decided to attempt something I've been wanting to do with this challenge for years.

All the Simpsons Treehouse of Horror in a row. By my count now that's 28.

SethDLH

I posted my thoughts on yesterday's viewing - a new Italian piece of gory exploitation, a childhood favorite with French audio, The Green Inferno and an underwhelming film lead by Peter Cushing. http://celluloidterror.blogspot.com/...15-day-17.html

ntnon

Quite. I get very frustrated when there are artificial sellouts - indicating "demand" - and thn immediately a third of them are on Amazon and eBay at twice+ the price.

Where's the benefit to the company? How do they justify a sellout at Number X so that hundreds of people can scalp them on the secondary market anf make money that could have been funnelled into future releases, when producing Y copies could see everyone happy BUT the scalpers..?

(Limited Edition most things annoy me for the same reason, but the artificially small numbers seemingly creatwd JUST to garner a quick sell out always co-sell out to speculators and bastards.)

ntnon

Agreed on all counts. And the side (respectful) digs at Stephen King were amusing, too.

Dick Laurent

Oooo, slipcover... yum!

I didn't think about that 3 year exclusivity agreement. That part of the deal is pretty lame. They do a good job with their releases, though. Simple, not like Arrow or Criterion [edit: I meant this as one of TT's faults. They don't do much more than what is already available from previous editions ]. I did see a report that the US version of Christine is EXACTLY the same as the previous German one. Even down to the home screen. I have neither so can't confirm, but for $8 I could go for a slipcover.

Also, Carpenter's Vampires BD is up for pre-order now at Screen Archives.

Trevor

That sounds wonderful!

I'd join you but don't own them all, or subscribe to wherever they are now.

Julie Walker

I saw Goosebumps this afternoon, and it was entertaining like Spiderbite said. I saw it in 2D, and avoid 3D today for the exact reasons he mentioned. Also most 3D releases today are not even shot in 3D which makes them pointless and kills 3Ds already wonky reputation.

I've never really had much interest reading the books since they're definitely aimed at younger kids from the looks of it and I always wanted to read the older kids books. So I was more drawn to Fear Street(loved the original cover art,fonts) which I was forbidden from reading back then. I never understood why they never made a tv or movie series out them though, since they had potential for fun and slightly darker entertainment.


And speaking of dark entertainment. Here is the widescreen print of Night of the Living Dead I mentioned previously. I did some slight adjustments to the picture quality since it's a not restored high contrast blown out print(the opening credits were impossible to make more readable). And it's filled with natural scratches and stuff, so it's a 'grindhouse' version in many ways and a new way to experience the movie.

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