Topic: Boomstick's 2009 Horror Marathon

[Boomstick98]

I have been looking forward to this marathon. I'm going to start a list and keep it up to date as best I can. Any film highlighted in blue signifies a first time viewing.

Rating System: Best -   - Worst (I think everyone is familiar with this rating system)

#        Title                                                      Date        Review

1.     Severance (2006)                                         1              
2.     House (1986)                                               1              
3.     The Thing (1982)                                          1              
4.     Deathwatch (2002)                                       2              
5.     The Shining (1980)                                        2              
6.     Zombieland                                                  3                
7.     Poltergeist (1982)                                         3                
8.     Hell of the Living Dead (AKA: Virus) (1980)        5                
9.     Maniac Cop (1988)                                        5                
10.   Anatomy (2000)                                            6                
11.   Cold Creek Manor (2003)                                 6                                  
12.   Fallen (1998)                                                7                        
12.   It Waits (2005)                                             8                                                                         

[Boomstick98]

Severance (2006)  

Plot: When a weapons multinational Palisade Defence reward their European sales division with a team-building weekend in the mountains of Eastern Europe, comedy blends with horror as the team fight first amongst themselves, and later for survival against a group of war-crazed killers intent on revenge.

My O: This is my second time watching this film and I enjoyed it a much the second time as I did the first. There are some very funny moments in this film and some really good gore effects. Nothing original about a group of people stuck out in the middle of nowhere with a bunch of crazed killers, but this one does it well with a comic flair.

[Boomstick98]

House (1986)  

Plot: Roger Cobb is a Vietnam vet. Whose career as a horror novelist has taken a turn for the worse when his son Jimmy mysteriously disappears while visiting his aunt's house. Roger's search for Jimmy destroys his marriage and his writing career. The sudden death of his aunt brings Roger back to the house where his nightmares began. The evil in the house forces Roger to endure a harrowing journey into his past.

My O: This movie was a little campier than I remember. I guess that's what I should expect since the last time I saw it I was 8 years old. The monster suits were bad yet fun.

(click to show/hide)

Is it just me or does the monster in the closet look a lot like the monster at the door in Hellraiser.

I found myself enjoying it in a its so bad its good sort of way.

[Boomstick98]

The Thing (1982)  

Plot: Scientists in the Antarctic are confronted by a shape-shifting alien that assumes the appearance of the people that it kills.

My O: This is still one of my favorite horror films. I remember this movie really scaring me when I was a kid. Watching it now I can see why. This movie has some nasty and creepy creature effects on the mutations. Nasty as in good. I miss these kind of creatures. It seems everything now has to be CGI. This movie really has that claustrophobic nowhere to go feel to it. I'm sure most everyone has seen it, but if you haven't give it a watch. Now I just need to get the original 1951 film so I can finally see it. Yes, I admit I've never seen the original.

(click to show/hide)

The scene where the blood jumps out of the dish made me jump again! It gets me everytime.

[Boomstick98]

Deathwatch (2002) 

Plot: In the brutal trench fighting of the First World War, a British Infantry Company is separated from their regiment after a fierce battle. Attempting to return to their lines, the British soldiers discover what appears to be a bombed out German trench, abandoned except for a few dazed German soldiers. After killing most of the Germans, and taking one prisoner, the British company fortifies to hold the trench until reinforcements can arrive. Soon, however, strange things being to happen as a sense of evil descends on the trench and the British begin turn on each other.

My O: This is my 2nd time watching this film and one of the better blind buys I ever made. I really like this movie. The idea of a haunting in a trench during the first World War is great and its pulled off pretty well. There are no visible threats other than the soldiers themselves for the majority of the film, but it only helps to build the suspense and atmosphere. You really get to see the mental breakdown of the soldiers from being secluded in a trench in the middle of nowhere with no outside contact. Definately give this one a chance.

[Boomstick98]

The Shining (1980) 

Plot: A family heads to an isolated hotel for the winter where an evil and spiritual presence influences the father into violence, while his psychic son sees horrific forebodings from the past and of the future.

My O: This was the first time I have ever watched this film all the way through. I have seen small clips over the years, but never took the time to sit down and watch the whole thing. WOW, what an amazing movie. The movie lasted 142 minutes, but I didn't take my eyes off it the entire time. The suspense and creepy atmosphere just keeps building and building. I wonderful performance by Jack Nicholson. I truly thought he was going insane. There are a couple of scenes that will leave you thinking "What the heck did I just see". If there are any holdouts that have not seen this movie yet I highly recommend it.

[addicted2dvd]

The Shining was the very first horror movie I ever seen... back when I was about 10 or 11yrs old. Definitely a fun movie!

There is a miniseries remake version out there that I also liked. I can't say first hand as I never read the book... but I hear that the miniseries is more loyal to the book then the movie is.

[Boomstick98]

I saw a newer version on DVD, but didn't realize it was a miniseries. I will have to check it out so I can compare the two. 

[Boomstick98]

Zombieland (2009) 

Plot: In the horror comedy Zombieland focuses on two men who have found a way to survive a world overrun by zombies. Columbus is a big wuss -- but when you're afraid of being eaten by zombies, fear can keep you alive. Tallahassee is an AK-toting, zombie-slaying' bad ass whose single determination is to get the last Twinkie on earth. As they join forces with Wichita and Little Rock, who have also found unique ways to survive the zombie mayhem, they will have to determine which is worse: relying on each other or succumbing to the zombies.

My O: I haven't had this much fun at the Cinema in a long time. I found myself laughing out loud on several occasions. I'm ranking it right up there with Shaun of the Dead and Return of the Living Dead as one of the best comedy horror movies. Woody Harrelson was perfect as the quirky gun toting zombie slayer. There is also a suprise appearance by a Comedy Icon, but I will not ruin the suprise. Its not the slow moving Romero type zombies (which I usually prefer), but this movie was great. It only lasted 81 min, but I think it was perfect at that length. 

[Boomstick98]

Poltergeist (1982) 

Plot: A young family are visited by ghosts in their home. The youngest daughter seems to be connecting with the ghosts through a dead channel on the television. At first the ghosts appear friendly, moving objects around the house to the amusement of everyone, then they turn nasty and start to terrorise the family before they "kidnap" the youngest daughter.

My O: I had not watched this movie in many years, so I wanted to make it part of my marathon. 27 years after the movie was originally released this is still one of the best haunted house movies you will find. The effects in its time were really great and they still hold up pretty well today. The scene with the clown in the bedroom is really tense and creepy even now.  There aren't a lot of monsters jumping out at people all the time, but there doesn't have to be. Its fear of the unknown that really drives the film. I enjoyed the movie as much this time as I did the first time I saw it.

[Boomstick98]

I'm getting way behind.  I need to pick it up a little. 

[Boomstick98]

Hell of the Living Dead (AKA: Virus) (1980)  

Plot:After a chemical leak at the Hope Centre in Papua New Guinea (an organisation devoted to feeding underdeveloped countries) turns its staff into flesh-eating zombies, a four-man commando squad led by Mike London are sent to investigate. They run into a TV news crew led by celebrity reporter Lea, who are after the same story, but when they discover that the entire country has been overrun by zombies, what are the chances of them getting the message across?

My O: The acting in this movie is simply horrible, but its a low budget zombie movie so that's the norm. Plenty of zombie action to keep you entertained if you can forget the horrible acting. I actually enjoyed this movie in a so stupid its funny sort of way.

[Boomstick98]

Maniac Cop (1988) 

Plot:Innocent people are being brutally murdered on the streets of New York by a uniformed police officer. As the death toll rises and City Hall attempts a cover-up, Frank McCrae heads the investigation. A young cop, Jack Forrest, finds himself under arrest as the chief suspect, having been the victim of a set-up by the real killer and a mysterious woman phone-caller. Forrest, his girlfriend Theresa, and McCrae set out to solve the puzzle before the Maniac Cop can strike again.

My O: I wasn't expecting much going into this one, but it was a little better than I expected. While still a little cheesy I enjoyed this movie. Kudos to the stuntman that pulled off Bruce Campbells part of the crash sequence at the end. Really Cool.

[Boomstick98]

Anatomy (2000) 

Plot: When a gifted medical student is accepted into a prestigious anatomy class it seems like a dream come true. But she soon uncovers a secret society whose members perform grisly autopsies on living subjects plunging her into a nightmarish world from which no one escapes to tell the terrifying truth.

My O: This movie had a good premise, and I was expecting good things going in. Maybe a little too much. It started out really well with a well done autopsy scene at the beginning, but then it didn't do much. I felt like this movie really wanted to be a "hostel" type movie, but was afraid to go that far. The director tried to build the suspense for the end, but it just wasn't there. I also got the vibe that they had a hard time figuring out how to end the story as the end was just kind of goofy and unoriginal.

[Boomstick98]

Cold Creek Manor (2003) 

Plot: A family relocates from the city to a dilapidated house in the country that was once a grand estate. As they begin to renovate the place they discover their new home harbors secrets, conceals a horrific past, and may not be free of the former inhabitants completely.

My O: I guess I can include this one in this marathon. From reading the plot I thought it would be more of a horror film, but it turned out to just be a thriller. It wasn't a bad movie, I was just expecting something that it wasn't. I thought it would be sort of a haunted house story, but it really wasn't about the house at all. It was just about the former owner wanting it back. Stephen Dorff did a really great job with the character he had, but I have seen better performances from Dennis Quad.  If your in the mood for a simple thriller you could do a lot worse than this film.