Topic: My October Horror Marathon

[Jimmy]

I've decided to make it too this year (in fact I was too late last year since I've rediscover the website only at the end of november). I don't really have an objective to reach since it's my first try, but I want to watch the more movie I can.

Month Long Horror Marathon

Title : Zombie (1979)

Overview
In Italy, it was considered the ‘unofficial sequel’ to DAWN OF THE DEAD. In England, it was known as ZOMBIE FLESH-EATERS and banned as obscene. In America, it was called ZOMBIE and advertised with the depraved tag line “WE ARE GOING TO EAT YOU!” 'Tisa Farrow' (MANHATTAN), 'Richard Johnson' (THE HAUNTING) and 'Ian McCulloch' (CONTAMINATION) star in this worldwide splatter sensation directed by the Maestro Of Gore 'Lucio Fulci' (CONTRABAND, CONQUEST, THE BEYOND) that remains one of the most eye-skewering, skin-ripping, gore-gushingly graphic horror hits of all time!

My Impression
I've always like those italian zombie movies and this one is my favourite. I like the fact that the action is situate on a deserted island and not in an urban city, this situation remove the army factor : the movie protagonists are alone and they must act to save themselve. The special effect and the zombie make-up are well done something not really surprising since the Italian crews are recognize for making the great things with almost nothing. The musical score brings a perfect mood to the film and there is no use of cheap music cue to create a jump scare. I can't comment on the acting since the film is dub in english and this one is not too bad, evidently sometimes it's pretty funny (mostly the dubbing of Lucas). Another plus is the presence of Tisa Farrow in the cast, I'm always happy to see her since she had a little something that make her beautifull for me. No problem for recommanding this one.

Rating :

Number of film watch : 1

[Jimmy]

Title : Zombi 3 (1988)

Overview
A group of terrorists release a cloud of putrefying toxic waste, causing the local population to mutate into a mass of ferocious, flesh-chomping zombies! A group of young people led by Kenny and Patricia are barricaded in a hotel and seek refuge at an abandoned military base. Together, they must rely on their most savage instincts to survive the apocalyptic onslaught of blood-crazed ghouls.

My Impression
This one is a sequel by name only, the only common thing with Zombi is the living dead. The basic story for this is interesting and possible in reality, not the zombie invasion but the release of a deadly virus by a terrorist group. The problem with this movie is that it can't fix its mind, just one exemple the zombies : some are fast, some other super fast (kind of funny to see), some are slow, for some the transformation is a long processus and for some other it's a question of second. The interaction between the scientist and the millitary is really caricatural and cliché. As usual the english dubbing is annoying and sometimes very laughable. The special effects are well done again, but the print used by Shriek Show for this dvd is really bad : the majority of the movie is clear, but all the gore scene seams to have been source from a third generation vhs tape.

Not the best movie in the "living dead" genre, but not a bad one.   

Rating :

Number of film watch : 2

[Jimmy]

Title : Zombie 4: After Death (1988)

Overview
A voodoo curse on a remote island opens the gate of hell for the flesh-eating undead to devour the living. With bloodspurting, head-bursting, human puppetry, cannibalism, & great zombie gore & FX, who will survive this onslaught of the undead while coping with the harsh realities of the jungle?

My Impression
Third part of these serie that have no link between each of its film. This one isn't really great, it was filmed fast and this is really evident. The story doesn't really make sense (even for a zombie movie), the premise of a young girl of 7 or 8 years old escaping alone an horde of living dead and coming back 20 years later remembering everything is stupid. No characters in this movie is likeable and when they die we are happy, the zombie are not better they just look like a bunch of black face monk on drugs. Evidently the fact that the big name in the movie is Chuck Peyton doesn't help, for those who doesn't know Peyton is more known as Jeff Stryker an adult gay movie star. The effects are really cheap and only the last death scene is well made. The dubbing is one of the worse that I've heard.

Really not recommanded unless you are a completist. At least this is better than Zombie 5 that I will not watch in this marathon.

Rating :

Number of film watch : 3

[Jimmy]

Title : Ring Around The Rosie (2005)

Overview
In this electrifying suspense thriller, your deepest fears become reality.

Following her grandmother's last wish, Karen (Gina Philips, 'Jeepers Creepers') reluctantly travels to a remote, run-down mansion to sell the family estate where she grew up. Karen soon realizes that she's not alone at the property. Living in the shanty at the horse stables is Pierce (Tom Sizemore, 'Heat'), an odd and mysterious caretaker. With every passing night as she rummages through the dusty house, Karen's fond memories of her childhood turn into nightmares.

Haunted, Karen feels relief when her sister arrives, but things only spiral out of control when Pierce becomes increasingly more violent. Suddenly both women find themselves trapped in a house that preys on their greatest fears. Karen has no choice but to face the horrible memory she thought she put behind her and walk the line between bad memories and deadly reality.

My Impression
This movie has completely gone unnoticed at its released 3 years ago, it was a box-office flop and I really don't think that the dvd sales were good either. I really want to like this movie : the story is good, Tom Sizemore is incredible (too bad that he is unable to control his drug problem because he is one of the best actual actors), Gina Philips isn't so bad either and the movie is a good suspence with a twist ending. But the the movie running time (1h18) is too short for a movie like this and this is where is the problem. The story isn't clear and I was confused for certainly 30 minutes, the characters are not developed enough we know nothing about their past.

Like I've said I want to like this movie, but the lack of characters development harms this movie too much. Not a strong recommandation, but it worth a try at least the director intention were good.


Rating : between and

Number of film watch : 4

[Jimmy]

Title : Cloverfield (2008)

Overview
From visionary producer J.J. Abrams '(Lost)' and director Matt Reeves comes the worldwide sensation of nonstop terror and suspense everyone is talking about.

My Impression
After a false start last week because we were not suppose to watch horror movies before the marathon, I've decided to retry this one tonight. Like everyone know here usually I don't like the recent movies, but with this one it was different. To be honest the beginning of the movie didn't look promising to me : almost all the characters stressed me with their idiot way of talking (does every young American really say dude, cool or totally every 2 phrases?). But when the attack start... WOW!

The found video recording is not something new, the first movie that I'm aware of this concept use is Cannibal Holocaust. But in this movie the concept is well use, in fact it helps a lot to create a feeling of insecurity since we never really see what happens and when we see it it's too late.

None of those actors are really familliar to me and this is a good thing since it's more easy to believe. I was impress by the principals actors who are really credible. Talking of actor, am I the only one who was thinking that the actor playing Jason Hawkins was Jared Lehto?

The effects are really well done and for one time I can't criticize the use of CGI. Evidently they look good because we don't see too much...

Sure they are some impossibilities, but it's a movie and for this it's better to be completly entered in it. Really like this movie, one the best recent movie.

But please don't make a sequel this will have no sense!

Finally, the monsters in this look exactly at how the ones in The Myst looked like to me when I've read it the first time.


Rating :

Number of film watch : 5

[Jimmy]

Title : Planet of the Vampires (1965)

Overview
A band of space travellers has just intercepted a distress call from a distant world! Is it a desperate cry for help... or something far more sinister? After landing on the shadowy planet, the crew s attacked by a horde of disembodied aliens with a diabolical plan: to conquer the universe by controlling the crew's minds and stealing their souls - proving that even in outer space, possession is 9/10 of the law!

My Impression
I'm a big fan of Mario Bava the director of this movie and I've bought it because of him. What a deception! This movie is so slow moving that I've fell asleep while watching it (that's why I've watched only one movie this afternoon). Nothing happen, no action, no vampires, ....Sure the visual is beautifull, but this is not enough.

Now maybe the problem is the american version of this film, my oppinion could have been different with the original italian movie : Terrore nello spazio (Terror in space). The original movie version is only 2 minutes longuer, but maybe the editing or the dialogue are different. I'm not sure if I really want to try it, but I can't believe that Mario Bava had directed a movie boring like this one.

Rating :

Number of film watch : 6

[Jimmy]

Title : Dagon (2002)

Overview
Dagon is a monstrous God of the sea. His evil, half-human offspring have overrun the fishing village, Imboca, off the coast of Spain. When a boating accident forces Paul Marsh and his girlfriend, Barbara, to seek shelter in the decrepit village, they soon realize that Imboca has a horrifying secret. Now they must escape - before they are condemned to a nightmare of merciless terror...

My Impression
Watching this was like revive the summer that we got this year here : rain, rain, rain and more rain. I really like this movie, but I can't compare it with the Lovecraft's short story since I've never read it. What I like in this movie is the mood of it : it's depressing (the rain), it's confusing (the absence of traduction for the Galician, I can deal with the Spanish a little bit but no more than that) and the uncleanliness of this place. It doesn't take long to discover that something doesn't sound right in this village and the explication is given much later in a perfect way. The effects are a mixed bags : the old schools one like when a character is skinned alive are good, but the ones with the CGI are really weak (too obvious and honestly this is possible to do the same thing with some mechanical devices). The acting is not good or bad, but I really like the accent of Raquel Meroño. But, if you watch this film take the time to observe the eyes of the actors playing the citizens of Imboca (really really impressive). The last think that I like is the fact that Paul Marsh isn't a superman, just like everyone in real life he can hurt himself.

I recommand this one, but don't expect an Hollywood film where everyone is happy, get married and have a lot of children.   

Rating :

Number of film watch : 7

[Jimmy]

Title : Brain damage (1988)

Overview
A chatty worm-like parasite offers the utmost psychedelic experiences to its host if they allow him to latch onto their necks and inject their brains with a bizarre secretion. For Brian, this trip is better than his dull life, but in order to maintain the buzz, he must provide this parasite with its favorite food - human brains! The original cult classic.

My Impression
Time for a little comedy. This one is a film from Frank Henenlotter, a director who had never disappointed me. This is the third film directed by him that I've watched, the others are Basket Case and Frankenhooker. By the way After 14 years of waiting henenlotter had made a new film that will be release soon : Bad Biology 

But I'm here to talk about Brain Damage. I don't think that it will be a surprise if I say that I've appreciated this movie. The story is great and this little Aylmer is really funny, this is the parasite. He sound like a documentary narator (a very serious voice) but his apearances make this really funny. Kevin Van Hentenryck from Basket Case had a cameo in it and this one is great, but you need to know what he had in his basket to understand it. The withdrawal attempt by Brian is a great moment full of good lines from Aylmer. The effect are well made, old school like I like. The acting is so-so, but this is not that important.

No problem to recommand it and when was the last time you have seen a girl having her brain eaten while she try to give a fellation? 

Rating :

Number of film watch : 8

[Jimmy]

Title : The Bagman (2002)

Overview
Fifteen years ago Jack Marshall's house burned to the ground, living him with disfiguring scars and both parents dead. Cruely teased and tormented by his peers, his own private hell came to an end at seventeen when he was savagely murdered by his classmates. Ten years later the classmates reunite where, one by one, they disappear in a swirl of grisly slaughter.

Is Jack Marschall really dead?

My Impression
Does this synopsis look familliar to you? I hope so, more than a hundred movies with the same basic story were made in the eighties. Ok this film is unoriginal but how is the rest of it? Honestly quite bad... Most of the film is too dark (yes, I've adjusted my screen brightness), many times the image is blurry maybe the "DP" doesn't know that the camera had a focus option on it. The acting is really, really bad nobody sound natural and it's very obvious that most of the time the actors read their lines on a Cue cards. The effects are worst than the one in The Undertaker and His Pals that was made 1966.

A complete lost of time and money, but at least Stephanie Beaton get naked in this.
 
Rating :

Number of film watch : 9

[Jimmy]

Title : The New York Ripper (1982)

Overview
A blade-wielding psychopath is on the loose, turning The Big Apple bright red with the blood of beautiful young women. As NYPD detectives follow the trail of butchery from the decks of the Staten Island Ferry to the sex shows of Times Square, each brutal murder becomes a sadistic taunt. In the city that never sleeps, he's the killer that can't be stopped!

Written and directed by acclaimed horror maestro Lucio Fulci (ZOMBIE, CITY OF THE LIVING DEAD) and filmed on location in the mean streets of New York City, THE NEW YORK RIPPER is one of Fulci's most savage and controversial thrillers and is presented here completely uncut and uncensored.¹

My Impression
A real masterpiece, this one as a strong reputation and it's fully deserved. This is certainly one of the most violent giallo ever made. This violence is shown in a very realistic way and this demonstrate one time again that you don't need cheap CGI effects to look real : you only need talent. The story is dark, depressing and not for everyone. This is the genre of movie that you love or hate, in my case I love it.

My version is the Denmark zone 2 release without the missplaced freeze frame present in all the zone 1 dvd.
 
Rating :

Number of film watch : 10

1. This not the overview on the back cover on my dvd. Unless you speak in danish it doesn't mean anything.

[Jimmy]

Title : An American Werewolf in London (1981)

Overview
It's a rainy night on the Welsh moors. Two American students on a walking tour of Europe trudge on to the next town, when suddenly the air is pierced by an unearthly howl. . . . Three weeks later, one is dead, the other is in the hospital and the nightmare begins for "An American Werewolf In London". David Naughton, Griffin Dunne and Jenny Agutter star in this contemporary story of the macabre which takes you from the Welsh moors to Picadilly Circus, Trafalgar Square and the grounds of Windsor Castle.

My Impression
This one is a special one for me since this is the first movie that I've seen in a theatre at 12 years old. It was a triple features horror night and the 2 others one were "The Funhouse" and "Dead & Buried", evidently the theatre weren't really a theatre (we talk about Petit Saguenay, a village with less than 1000 citizens) but the church basement at the same place where the dead are expose (no they were none this night  ). I've always like this film and this is one of the first dvd that I've bought.

The chemistry between David Naughton and Griffin Dunne is really good, they are supposed to be friend in this and they look like. Jenny Agutter is certainly a beautifull nurse and she's good in this one, but I prefer her performance in "Logan's Run". The transformation effect is certainly the best thing in this movie, 27 years later nothing equals this FX creation by Rick Baker and honestly I don't think that we will see better soon since every movie use CGI now. Another good make-up job is the one when we see Jack after his death, look real to me. I love the music in this too, nice idea to have the word "moon" in the title of each of these songs. I love everything in this : the story, the dream sequence, the acting, the end setting, ...

The only critic that I can make is that the comic relief character (the policeman) was not necessary.
 
Rating :

Number of film watch : 11

[Jimmy]

Title : Wolf Creek (2005)

Overview
Three unsuspecting hikers take off for a drive across Australia. When the trio returns from a four hour hike to Wolf Creek National Park, they find their car is dead. Help comes in the form of big, back-slapping bushman Mick (John Jarratt). Since Mick appears to be more Crocodile Dundee than Freddy Krueger, the trio trusts him...which proves to be a grave mistake.

My Impression
This is supposed to be based on a true story, usually when it happen I do some research after watching the movie to see what is true and what isn't. For this one I couldn't care less. For more than 50 minutes we have to endure 3 stupid and annoying "teenagers" while they do a car trip in Australia doing stupid things like every stupid kids. Finally after one hours a man who is as much annoyed than me with them decide to kill the idiotic kids. Sadly, for a guy who seams to have killed a lot of travellers he had a lot of problems for exterminate those 3. So we will have to wait another 35 minutes to finally see him succeed, but all this time we have to suffer the tribulations of the 2 girls. The stupid boy escape from our savior, but at least he doesn't have anything stupid to say anymore.

Do I need to say that I didn't like this movie?
 
Rating :

Number of film watch : 12

[Najemikon]

Finally after one hours a man who is as much annoyed than me with them decide to kill the idiotic kids.

 

I love that line! I have this film and liked it, sort of. However my mate hated it, so I'm sure he'll appreciate that line.

All that said, don't you have any kind words for Mick? I thought he was a fantastic villain. Top drawer maniac. The "head on a stick" was pretty memorable too.

[Jimmy]

He is the only reason why I've continued to watch this film, even if he is too caricatural for my taste. I like how he play with the stupid kids when he want them to see him as a Crocodile Dundee funny type of guy.

I'll buy a complete series of films with this guy as the hero cleaning the world of a lot of annoying kids or a serie of prequel about his past crime.

[Jimmy]

Title : Sole Survivor (1982)

Overview
Before there was FINAL DESTINATION, there was SOLE SURVIVOR, directed by Thom Eberhardt (NIGHT OF THE COMET), this chilling tale tells of a young woman who is the sole survivor of an airplane crash. Disregarding the warnings of a psychic friend. Denise tries to get on with her life, but she has somehow cheated Death, and the Grim Reaper sends his minions to bring her to him.

My Impression
The story in this one is interesting, this is about how you can't cheat death : sooner or later it will catch you. Except for that there is no real connection with Final Destination, but I understand easilly why Code Red play it strong on the cover and their publicity. I like the idea that the death use freshly dead peoples to try to take the survivor and not some over the top way to kill her. This movie is slow moving so don't expect an action festival, but if you want something original and not fill with tv actors of the month you will like this movie.
 
Rating :

Number of film watch : 13