Monster Zero x SciFi Japan - Archive Only

Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman - The Alamo Drafthouse showed this last night. I’d never seen it before and it was quite enjoyable. It’s definitely not the strongest classic Universal Horror film, and Bela Lugosi (through no particular fault of his own) just doesn’t make nearly as good of a Frankenstein Monster as Boris Karloff. But it’s still a fun film with lots of atmosphere, an interesting story, and another great performance from Lon Chaney Jr. as the Wolfman. And of course it was fun seeing for the first time in a movie theater rather than at home.

^ I wish I could jump into the alternate reality where the Frankenstein Monster was blind and spok in Ygor's voice as was intended. The film as is is a decent Wolfman sequel and a subpar Frankenstein sequel smooshed together.

I posted in another thread about my 12 year old son discovering Weird Al with some of his friends, so i showed my kids the movie UHF (which is free currently with Amazon Prime).

The movie is completely stupid, but definitely in a good way. It has some laughs, and all the charm of the 80's, pretty much in the same vein as Pee-Wee's Big Adventure.

The Mummy (Hammer version) - It's a well done film that takes the basis from the four Karis films Universal did and combines them all into one solid experience. On the downside, I feel the movie lacks a lot of atmosphere and the soundtrack leaves a lot to be desired. Still, it is enjoyable and watching Lee be bandaged up as Karis is pretty cool. I just wish there was more in the substance category. I give it a 7/10.

Trick 'r Treat

Yes, another cult favorite I'd somehow been avoiding. It's just as delightful as everyone says it is. I mean, it totally rips off that Tales From the Darkside episode, but if you're gonna rip something great off make sure yours is just as good if not better and no one will care! This movie hits every nostalgia button but also fells novel and original, which is a crazy difficult thing to manage. I can see why Sam has already become a bit of an icon.

I've given Hocus Pocus a lot of credit for summing up the holiday and being, essentially, 'Halloween: The Movie,' but Trick 'r Treat one-ups it. It's the most Halloweeny thing possible. Of course, the film's content makes multiple reruns of the film on kids' TV in October untenable.

Young Frankenstein - Perhaps the greatest comedy horror movie ever. It nails every joke perfectly and the fact that they put it in B&W makes it feel authentic as if it really could be part of Universal's Frankenstein franchise. If there are any nitpicks I have with the film it is that I feel like the last act drags on just a tad. Nevertheless, this film is just brilliance all around. 10/10.

^ I remember watching that movie in college, my roomate at the time walked in and asked why waste my time on something in black and white... for some reason we haven't kept in touch.

lol

Frankenstein 1931 - The best adaptation of Shelley's novel by far despite being a complete bastardization of it. Karloff is just grand as the monster as he doesn't have a single piece of dialog, yet, he manages to make the creature so damn sympathetic. There are some weird editing issues, and I really wish Universal had given it a score like they did with Dracula. Nevertheless, it is damn amazing. 9/10.

Mandy - Nic Cage has reached his final form.

^ i keep making plans to watch that but then it comes time for me to watch a movie and i forget it exists.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009) - This is only the second Harry Potter movie that I've seen in its entirety after Goblet of Fire. I thought it was really good, with a compelling mystery and an ending that surprised me. It has some real horror vibes and even with all of the fantasy trappings it manages to capture the awkward uncertainty of teenage years effectively.


It Follows (2015) - Intense as hell. It takes a simple survival premise and turns it into a nonstop nail-biter as one girl acquires a silent, supernatural stalker from a sexual encounter. Only she can see the demon, which has no real form and can choose to appear as anyone from her memories. If it catches her it will kill her gruesomely and continue killing its way back down the hookup chain, and she has to decide whether to pass it off to a different partner. This is definitely one of the horror highlights of this decade. Check it out on Netflix.


As Above, So Below (2014) - A group of people go exploring in the catacombs underneath Paris and they end up passing through a gate to Hell. Horrific mayhem ensues. This is a fun, claustrophobic thriller presented in particularly implausible found-footage style. It's no masterpiece but it's worth checking out, and it's also currently on Netflix.

A Simple Favor - An interestingly well done suspense thriller that keeps you intrigued with all of the plot twists it places upon the viewer as you can never figure out exactly what direction the film is going to swerve into. It has a perfect balance of comedy and drama and the actors all play their roles to perfection. There is not a single dull moment to be had, and there are a lot of legitimate moments of suspense sprinkled throughout the film. It's well worth checking out whether it's in theaters or when it comes out to video. A nice 10/10.

The Exorcist III

This is a terrific film that, sadly, has a studio mandated ending that is totally out of character for the rest of the film. Still, George C. Scott is amazing, and Brad Dourif manages to steal the movie from George C. Scott even though he's only in it for a couple minutes! Added kudos to maybe the best jump-scare in any movie ever. Seriously, not a huge fan of jump-scares but I have to give credit where credit is due here.

Zombieland - One of the best comedy horror films out there as it is so fun and poor Bill Murray. That is all. A nice 9/10.

The Haunting of Hill House on Netflix - This is a pretty great show. It wasn't always what I wanted from some October viewing...it's more of a kindred spirit with Crimson Peak, in that at times it's hard to even REALLY classify it as a horror thing. For the first half, it's not so much horror as it is a show about family trauma. Hell, the first four episodes do almost nothing but flesh out the main characters. There are a few issues I had with it too where some of the later moments kind of rob some earlier moments of their horror. Without spoiling too much, in an early episode, something happens that seems super duper scary and ominous, and then in a later episode, they reveal it was just one of the other characters doing something innocuous. It does things like that a couple times.
BUT there are some truly special episodes in there. Episode 6 in particular is one of my favorite episodes of television ever, up there with the "Why We Fight" episode of Band of Brothers, or "Ozymandias" from Breaking Bad. In terms of technical achievement, it's probably a bit better than both. Also all that early character work pays off. You're invested in the story and interested in the happenings. I'm not sure how it would hold up on repeat viewings, but I think it further solidifies Mike Flanagan as a great talent in this industry and delivers a very very good horror show. 4/5.

Alien - I saved the best for last. 10/10.

Made my way through my (non-Frankenstein) viewings of Universal classics with The Mummy '32 and The Invisible Man.

Watched the second Kolchak TV movie, The Night Strangler. It's a looser and funnier than it's predecessor, and regarded as inferior... well, that may be broadly true, but there's certain things I like about this one a bit more. In The Night Stalker it was about this one supernatural element intruding into a an otherwise very realistic world, and that supernatural element was a vampire, and everyone knows what a vampire is. Having this universally known gothic horror element intrude into the realistic streets of modern day Las Vegas was an instantly appealing hook; Count Yorga and Chris Lee's Dracula had recently arrived to modern times, but hang out in their castles and ruins to keep their old world charm. The Night Strangler, on the other hand, has an investigation into the workings of an original monster that the audience learns about along with the characters, which does a great deal to differentiate this film from the last one despite the major structural similarities in the plot.

^ Thinking about it. Leafed through it a few times.

After six years, Halloween finally came back to Haddonfield with a movie that was finally set to reveal who the man in black was that briefly appeared during the last movie and answer some questions about Michael's origin. Stuff happened and this is was the film we got. How is it? Watch to find out.

Went to see Halloween again tonight. Enjoyed it just as much as the first time, maybe even moreso, but as I said before, it still has its flaws. Nevertheless, it stays at a 9/10.

Psycho - 10/10.