Monster Zero x SciFi Japan - Archive Only

^ I really liked season 1, but season 2 lost me by the end - I should probably come back around and watch season 3 at some point

I was with season 2 until they got to the cabin and just started re-doing scenes from the movies.
But that stuff was all foisted upon the show by Tapert and Starz, who were worried that it wasn't "evil dead-y" enough.

^I had an inkling of the behind the scenes turmoil, but thanks for laying it out.

I thought the stuff at the cabin is where Season 2 really took off.

I liked the stuff in the asylum a lot. The cabin stuff was just a lesser version of Evil Dead 2...which I already own and can watch whenever I want.

Finally, finally, FINALLY watched the first Blade. It was pretty awesome... I mean, not as awesome as Blade II (what is?) but pretty great Wesley Snipes killing vampires horror/action goodness. The only unfortunate thing is some terrible '90s CGI in the finale, which is not only really bad but also just doesn't gel visually with the rest of the film. Snipes saves it all with that classic, inscrutable one-liner.

Amazed by how ahead of it's time Bob Clark's Black Christmas is, not just in its use of slasher tropes, but also in the fact that it does the central premise of When a Stranger Calls five years before that movie! Apparently they're both based on a real urban legend. One thing that makes this movie different from the slashers that follow is just the sadness of the deaths. Usually deaths are played for surprise and horror, but this movie leans into sad making for a more melancholic experience, which is exacerbated by the gentle Christmassyness of the whole thing.

Murrder on the Orient Express - This was quite enjoyable and Brannagh was an excellent Poirot. 8/10.

Bride of Frankenstein - this movie is just so weird to me. The tone is ALL over the place varying from near-slapstick comedy to horror to sci-fi to pious inspirational. I feel like it finally comes into its own and finds its voice in the grave robbing scene where the mad scientist guy has a meal over the coffin of his victim while conversing with the monster. From there on it’s solid Universal Horror. Prior to that it’s just... bizarre.

Edit, forgot last week’s Halloween viewing:

The Monolith Monsters - love this movie. A fun 50’s sci-fi with a very unique alien invader and some really cool practical effects.

Yeah I'm not the BIGGEST fan of Bride...I've always found it odd that it's considered by many to be the best Universal movie. There are several I like more (including Son of Frankenstein, which a lot of people I think just kind of ignore)

Bride is not only my favorite Universal Monsters movie, but one of my favorite films period. It's wild, it's weird - and if you're expecting a straight horror film you'll be dissapointed.

Ghostbusters 1984 As much as I enjoy this film. I do not own it, and I find that I appreciate it more through infrequent viewings. I watched it a ton as a kid and in my early 20's, but it's probably been at least 5 years since I last saw it, maybe longer. Man do I love all the practical effects, not a hint of CG anywhere. I know it sounds silly, but in the opening, I'd love to know how they made all the cards fly out of the library DD index. The Music, the script, the acting, its all top notch, really lightning in a bottle we may never see again. I'm sure most fans own it in some form, but of not, Vudu currently has I&II to watch for free with ads.

There are people who think BoF is the best Universal horror? Crazy! I mean, I *do* like it. But I’d easily rank Dracula, Frankenstein, The Invisible Man, and Creature from the Black Lagoon over it without question. I’m sure there’s plenty more too, those are just off the top of my head. Personally, Dracula and CFtBL are my favorites of the classics. Invisible Man might be the “best” (from a critical perspective) film of the bunch.

The Mummy is hands down the best Universal film. I like Bride, but it has way too much comedy involved and those shrunken people in jars is just stupid.

I definitely feel like Son is a much better sequel.

Speaking of Universal classics...

Creature from the Black Lagoon - Haven't watched this one in a few years (since seeing it at the Drafthouse when Julia Adams was there), so it time to watch it again. I don't think there is anything I can say that I haven't sid over the years as it is my second favorite of the Universal horror films. 10/10.

Wasn't Julie Adams a sweet lady? I met her (and Ricou Browning - the stuntman who played the creature under water) at a Monsterpalooza convention years ago. I remember her being so genuinely kind and happy to meet fans. She'd chat as long as you wanted and had all kinds of cool and interesting tidbits about the film.

The Mummy might be my least favorite of those Universal horror features that always were considered in that "essentials" package. I also like some of the mummy sequels better than The Mummy. It just doesn't hit the right spots for me.

Also binging Universal Monsters! Watched Dracula for the first time all-the-way-through with the Phillip Glass score from the late '90s. Now, Glass is a genius and the music here is very good, but it's just way too much and it smothers the film. It's effective in a few places, but overall is ill-fitting. Also watched Creature From the Black Lagoon, so I'm really bouncing around chronologically, here!

Bad Times at the El Royale - 10/10 "OH GODZILLA! WHAT TERRIBLE LANGUAGE!" brilliant!!!

Halloween TV update:

Just like to point out that AMC's Fear Fest is pretty strong this year (of course, nothing will ever top the Monster Fests of my childhood) . TCM's Halloween programming is okay. The Mummy is a poor choice of monster of the month because there's only so many watchable mummy movies, but the days highlighting horror stars as well as the two-day salute to the 200th anniversary of Frankenstein are legit. Svengoolie is showing some new movies this month too!

As always, the Family Channel... err, 'Freeform' will be showing The Nightmare Before Christmas and Hocus Pocus a million times. It's funny, seems Hocus Pocus has become the de-facto Halloween movie for this generation and maybe the last one? I can't complain, as it has a very autumnal and Halloweenie feel.

Annabelle Creation - What a load of horse dung this was! I thought this was supposed to be better than the first one, but it was just as boring, albeit better made. The whole plot was so god damn stupid and made little sense. So is Annabelle a girl's soul in a doll or a crazy cult member's soul? Because the first movie show... oh, they managed to find a way to fudge that plotpoint into the film. Well, at least I have to give them some credit there even if it doesn't make a damn lick of sense. Overall, I am so glad I did not waste money or time to see this in the theater as it was barely better than the first one. A 5/10 I guess.

The Shining - 10/10

Apostle - Gareth Evans redefined action and martial arts with his Raid films, so I am game for whatever he does next -- queue Apostle, which is available on Netflix. It has more in common with his VHS2 short than the Raid franchise, but its a wild ride. Its a period piece involving a cult. AVOID the Netflix trailer!! They give away a large number of the twists and third act surprises including multiple sequences from the finale. The film sits a little over 2 hours so it could probably have trimmed a bit off the set up, but the air of mystery (and my faith in the director) kept me hooked. It's a bit grisly at times, so not for the faint of heart

Upgrade - Saw enough buzz about this that I blind bought a used BD copy off of ebay. Overall very good, not sure if I would have picked it up if I had seen it first. What i found really interesting is with the slightest changes in execution and casting (but with the same script) this could have been a comedy for the majority of its run, i think that says a lot about the director and in less deft hands this would have been a tonal mess.