Topic: Marie's 2013 Halloween/Horror Marathon

[Dragonfire]

Here's my spot.  No idea how many I will get to, but I'll be trying.  I'll try to keep up with writing about them too.

[Dragonfire]

The Witches of Eastwick Only two casting choices exist to play the Devil: Old Scratch himself...and Jack Nicholson. The Witches of Eastwick took the better actor and this slyest, sexiest supernatural comedy thriller ever earned New York† and Los Angeles†† Film Critics Best Actor Awards for the two-time Oscar® winner.††† Three modern-day "witches" (Cher, Susan Sarandon and Michelle Pfeiffer) yearn for Mr. Right in a New England town. Is the arrival of wealthy and irresistible Daryl Van Horne (Nicholson) a coincidence — or the women's unconscious sorcery at work? Based on John Updike's bestseller, The Witches of Eastwick is a star-bright otherworldly delight. †For Witches of Eastwick, Ironweed and Broadcast News. ††ForThe Witches of Eastwick and Ironweed; co-winner with Steve Martin. †††Best Actor (1975) for One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest and Best Supporting Actor (1983) for Terms of Endearment.

I decided to start early with this one late Sunday night.  I know it isn't exactly horror, but I like watching it closer to Halloween.  This is the first time I've watched it in a few years.  The movie is entertaining, though I could have done without the nasty snakes at one point.  I think it would have been interesting if they had explored more of the abilities of the women.  I've been interested in reading the book for a while, but I haven't yet.  I need to look for that again.  I did really notice when watching the movie this time that the picture quality isn't that good - blu-ray has spoiled me I think - and some of the effects stand out a lot and are very dated looking.  The movie is still entertaining and worth checking out.

I did write about this one here before.  I also posted a longer review on Epinions a few years ago.

The Witches of Eastwick

[Dragonfire]

I've watched a few of Treehouse of Horror episodes and Practical Magic.

[Dragonfire]

I've watched more of the Treehouse of Horror episodes from the Simpsons sets I have..still more to go.  There were also 2 recent ones on FOX last night, followed by the new one.  There was a Halloween episode for Bob's Burger's that I watched too.  Family Guy and American Dad weren't exactly Halloween episodes, but they fit..American Dad was basically them doing a Poltergeist type thing. 

[Dragonfire]

Practical Magic Fun and excitement abound in the Owens family of wily witches. One problem, though: the men the Owens women fall in love with are doomed to an untimely death. Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman sparkle in Practical Magic, adapted from Alice Hoffman's bestseller and directed by Griffin Dunne (Addicted to Love). They play Sally and Gillian Owens, sisters hexed by a centuries-old curse...and coping with a witches brew of events involving a possible love match (Aidan Quinn) for one, a zombie (Goran Visnjic) for the other and a need to resume the age-old witchcraft taught by two doting Owens aunts (Stockard Channing and Dianne Wiest). Sit for a spell and enjoy!

This is another one that isn't really a horror movie or scary movie, but that I like to watch in October.  I first saw it in the theater and it was one of the first DVDs I got.  I still really enjoy the movie.  The plot isn't overly complicated, but it is fun and entertaining overall.  I like Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman and I think they worked together well as sisters in the movie.  There is supernatural type things going on since they are witches and they go and bring Jimmy back to life.  I never really did fully get why Gillian wanted to bring him back...he was trying to kill her before he died.  Unless it was just so they wouldn't possibly face being charged with murder or something.  I haven't read the book, though I did consider it before. 



I did post a longer review at Epinions several years ago if anyone wants to take a look. 

Practical Magic

[Dragonfire]

I have finished watching all the Treehouse of Horror episodes for the seasons that I have on DVD.  I have all the seasons out on DVD.  I did watch most of Twitches 2 on tv the other night.  I missed the beginning of it.

[Dragonfire]

A Nightmare on Elm Street From modern horror master Wes Craven ('Scream', 'Scream 2') comes a timeless shocker that remains the standard bearer for terror. Nancy (Heather Langenkamp) is having grisly nightmares. Meanwhile, her high-school friends, who are having the very same dreams, are being slaughtered in their sleep by the hideous fiend of their shared nightmares. When the police ignore her explanation, she herself must confront the killer in his shadowy realm. Featuring Johnny Depp in his first starring role and mind-bending special effects, this horror classic gave birth to one of the most infamous undead villains in cinematic history...Freddy Krueger.

This is the first time in a few years that I've watched this one.  It works well as a horror movie.  The movie does get violent at times and there is a lot of blood gushing in a few scenes.  Freddy works well as the killer.  There is something scary and disturbing about the idea that someone could get into your dreams and kill you.  There is decent suspense to what is going on at times.  The movie does have a decent plot, though a few things could have been handled a bit better.  Nancy and Glen are decent characters.  Something about Nancy's mother bothers me whenever I watch the movie.  I don't know exactly what it is, but something bugs me.  Many sequels have been made, as well as a reboot from a few years ago.  I have seen bits of some of the other movies.  I haven't decided if I am going to watch any more of them this year or not.

I do think this is a very good horror movie.  When the movie first came out, the idea of Freddy was pretty original...of course now, Freddy is known by just about everyone.



I did post a longer review on Epinions a few years ago.

A Nightmare on Elm Street

[Jimmy]

Too bad they turn the character as a joke in the next movies in that franchise... even if I've seen and appreciated most of them when they were release at the theatre they didn't hold well with me.

It's been a while since I've seen Wes Craven's New Nightmare (almost 20 years...) but I think that one was more serious.

[Dragonfire]

The movies did go downhill....getting more and more ridiculous. 
I have seen at least most of New Nightmare..if not all.  If I remember right, I saw that before I saw much of the earlier movies.  I think it was more serious too..not so...cheesy.  And more original with Freddy going after the actors.  Definitely an interesting idea and I think it worked well.

[Dragonfire]

Dracula: Dead and Loving It Mel Brooks, the unhinged movie parodist whose Blazing Saddles sent us Westward ho-ho-ho and whose Young Frankenstein electrified with mad-scientist nuts and jolts, now stokes the Bram Stoker vein with the comedy transfusion: Dracula Dead and Loving It. Leslie Nielsen plays the title role, and what's not to love? His Count is a pratfalling evil prince of a guy who believes in long relationships. Brooks portrays vampire hunter Van Helsing who won't give a bloodsucker an even break. Stakes, garlic, mirrors and more – they're all part of vampire lore. And along with top supporting players Steven Weber, Peter MacNicol and Harvey Korman, they're all part of Brooks' tricks and shticks assuring that from dusk to dawn, the hilarity's on.

Yes I know this is silly..but it is supposed to be. It is a spoof after all.  And it is way better than Date Movie, Epic Movie and all those.  I do think this is a well done spoof, though I know others don't care for it.  I like to see some sillier Dracula movies at times.  I find them entertaining.  This silly Dracula is a better vampire than Edward in Twilight.  No stupid sparkling here. 

The basic story is still here, just with...silly twists and some things are exaggerated at times.  I think it works.  I've seen the movie several times by now, and I still enjoy it every time.  The cast handles their parts well.  Some of the accents are a bit overdone, but I think that is part of the spoofing.  The movie is too silly for some people.  I think it is fun and entertaining.



I did post a review at Epinions a few years ago.

Dracula: Dead and Loving It

[Dragonfire]

The Lost Boys Sam and his older brother Michael are all-American teens with all-American interests. But after they move with their mother to peaceful Santa Carla, California, things mysteriously begin to change. Michael's not himself lately.  And Mom's not going to like what he's turning into. The Lost Boys reshapes vampire tradition, deftly mixing heart-pounding terror, rib-tickling laughs and a body-gyrating rock soundtrack. Under Joel Schumacher's direction, a marvelous cast - Jason Patric, Jami Gertz, Kiefer Sutherland, Corey Feldman, Corey Haim, Barnard Hughes and Edward Herrmann - stakes you to gleefully ghoulish entertainment.

I had heard about this one for many years before I finally watched it and it is one of my favorite vampire movies...about proper, creepy, scary, will rip your throat out vampires...not sparkly, wimpy, whiney vampires.  The plot works well without being too simple or too complicated.  Some of the dialogue is a little cheesy at times, but that doesn't bother me too much.  When I first saw the movie, it was probably one of the first things I saw with younger vampires and had teenagers in danger of becoming vampires.  Things develop a little slower, which works for the movie.  It isn't clear at first what is going on or that David and his gang are vampires.  The story works very well.  The movie isn't too violent overall, though there are a few scenes that are bloodier than others.  The effects are fine and while some things might look a little dated now, I think they and the movie has held up well overall.  The movie is definitely still worth watching.  People that like good vampire movies should check it out.



I did post a longer review at Epinions several years ago.

The Lost Boys

[Dragonfire]

Slither Prepare yourself for this terrifying, twisted and chilling film that critics are calling "the most entertaining horror movie in years" (Joe Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch). From the writer of 2004's Dawn of the Dead comes the deliciously demented story of an unnamed evil wreaking havoc on a small town. Intent on devouring all life on Earth, this dark force is infecting anyone in its path. Now it's up to the local sheriff, Bill Pardy (Nathan Fillion, Serenity), and his team to stop the spread of rampant devastation – and shocking mutilation – before it's too late.

I hadn't really seen many horror movies when this one first came out.  This was not anything like the movies I normally was interested in seeing, but I still wanted to see it....because Nathan Fillion was in it.  This one came out after Firefly and Serenity, so I was already liking Fillion.  I'm glad I ended up seeing the movie because I find it highly entertaining and I love Fillion in it. 

The plot is interesting and I like a little more original than what has been done in other more recent horror movies.  When it came out, most horror was like Saw or Hostel...the type of thing I have no desire at all to watch.  I think of this as more of a monster movie since there the ...alien worm things taking over the town.  The worm things are gross looking and sort of snakelike, but they didn't freak me out like snakes do.  The plot is entertaining, with enough time taken to set things up before all hell breaks loose.  There is violence and things get a bit gory at times.  There is also humor added in through things that characters, usually Bill - the one played by Fillion - say or do.  This isn't a movie for everyone, but I think people that like monster type movies should give it a chance. 



I did post a longer review on Epinions after I first saw the movie.

Slither

[Jimmy]

I should watch Slither this year, I had it for our last year marathon but always skip it for something else... But it can't be worst than The Undertaker I skip every years since 2010

[Dragonfire]

You should watch it...it is good.

[Achim]

I should watch Slither this year, I had it for our last year marathon but always skip it for something else... But it can't be worst than The Undertaker I skip every years since 2010

I agree with Marie! I don't know The Undertaker, but Slither is a fun flick with Nathan Fillion, Michael Rooker and Elizabeth Banks. Some cool gore and very funny.