Topic: That Time of Year Again: Halloween/Horror Reviews 2018!

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Alien (1979/United States) Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (United States) Director: Ridley Scott (1937) Writing: Dan O'Bannon (Screenwriter), Dan O'Bannon (Story By), Ronald Shusett (Story By) Length: 116 min. Video: Widescreen 2.35:1 Audio: English: DTS-HD Master Audio: 5.1, English: Dolby Digital: 4.1, English: Dolby Digital: Dolby Surround, Portuguese: Dolby Digital: 5.1, French: DTS: 5.1, German: DTS: 5.1, Spanish: Dolby Digital: 5.1, Commentary: Dolby Digital: 2-Channel Stereo, Commentary: Dolby Digital: 2-Channel Stereo, Music Only: Dolby Digital: 5.1, Music Only: Dolby Digital: 5.1 Subtitles: Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish, Commentary

Stars:
Tom Skerritt as Dallas
Sigourney Weaver as Ripley
Veronica Cartwright as Lambert
Harry Dean Stanton as Brett
John Hurt as Kane

Plot:
The terror begins as the crew of the space-tug Nostromo responds to a distress signal from a desolate planet, only to discover a deadly life-form that breeds within human hosts.

Extras:

• Scene Access
• Audio Commentary
• Deleted Scenes
• MU-TH-UR Mode Interactive Experience

My Thoughts:

It has been years since I seen this movie and once again the first time I seen it on Blu-ray. Whether you are a horror fan... a sci-fi fan... or both this is a must see film. The movie is very well done and has held up incredibly well. I feel Sigourney Weaver does a fantastic job here as Ripley. The loiok and the feel of the alien was great, Especially considering this film is almost40 years old!

Rating:

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Dracula (1931/United States) Universal Studios Home Entertainment (United States) Director: Tod Browning Writing: Bram Stoker (Original Material By), Hamilton Deane (Original Material By), John L. Balderston (Original Material By), Garrett Fort (Original Material By) Length: 74 min. Video: Full Frame 1.33:1 Audio: English: DTS-HD Master Audio: Mono, French: DTS: Mono, English: Dolby Digital: 2-Channel Stereo, Commentary: Dolby Digital: 2-Channel Stereo, Commentary: Dolby Digital: 2-Channel Stereo Subtitles: English, French, Spanish, Trivia

Stars:
Bela Lugosi as Count Dracula
Helen Chandler as Mina
David Manners as John Harker
Dwight Frye as Renfield
Edward Van Sloan as Van Helsing

Plot:
The legend of vampire Count Dracula begins here with this original 1931 Dracula film from Bela Lugosi.

Extras:

• Scene Access
• Audio Commentary
• Feature Trailers
• Bonus Trailers
• Featurettes
• Gallery
• Alternate score by Philip Glass. Monster Track (commentary in subtitles).

My Thoughts:

This is a true horror classic and the first movie I ever watched with Bela Lugosi in it. This film is one of my favorite versions of Dracula. I think Bela Lugosi does an outstanding job in the iconic title role. Dwight Frye also did a great job as the crazed Reinfield. For me the only low part of this film has to be David Manners as Harker... I just found him to be so wooden and unappealing in the role. I would have also liked to seen this one to be a little longer. I found myself wanting more... but then I guess that is what the other films in the set are for.

Rating:

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The Good Witch (2008/Canada) IMDb |Wikipedia |Trailer | Gaiam Americas (United States) Director: Craig Pryce Writing: Rod Spence (Writer) Length: 88 min. Video: Full Frame 1.33:1 Audio: English: Dolby Digital: 2-Channel Stereo Subtitles:

Stars:
Catherine Bell as Cassie Nightingale
Chris Potter as Jake Russell
Catherine Disher as Martha Tinsdale
Peter MacNeill as George O'Hanrahan
Allan Royal as Walter Cobb

Plot:
A mysterious, yet charming woman arrives in a small town and causes a stir when people think she is an actual witch. The town's moral committee, lead by the mayor's wife, becomes convinced she is evil and begins a campaign to drive her out of town. This causes much stress to the town sheriff, a struggling widower, who is slowly developing feelings for the woman. As their relationship grows, the woman helps the sheriff's children, as well as several members of the community, face their problems and overcome personal obstacles. But is it common sense or magic that's helping the townfolk? And will they ever be able to accept her as one of their own?

Extras:

• Scene Access

My Thoughts:

I have made it a traditin to watch at least some of these films around Halloween for years now. And after Watching it multiple times... I found I enjoy it now just as much as I did the first time I seen it. I really like the character of Cassandra Nightingale (The Good Witch) and the lovely Catherine Bell did a wonderful job in the role. I couldn't imagine anyone doing it better. I been a fan of Catherine Bell every since her JAG days. If there is anything I didn't care for though... it would be that the ending felt like it was settled a little quickly and easily. But that didn't really take away from the movie for me.

Rating:

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Mini-Review:

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One of Takashi Shimizu’s two short films made for horror portmanteau Gakkô no kaidan G.

My Thoughts:
This is a Japanese short film on the blu-ray of The Grudge (US Remake). Not bad but I somehow expected more.

My Rating:

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Mini-Review:

In a Corner
Before Ju-On and The Grudge, Takashi Shimizu had to prove his new edgy take on horror in the form of two short films—this is the first.

My Thoughts:
Another short found on the blu-ray of The Grudge. This one I liked quite a bit more. Unfortunitly the quality of this one left a bit to be desired. It just wasn't as c;eaned up as it should have been.

My Rating:

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Galaxy of Horrors (2017/) Trailer | (Canada) Director: Writing: Length: 106 min. Video: Widescreen 2.35:1 Audio: English: DTS-HD Master Audio: 5.1, English: Dolby Digital: 2-Channel Stereo Subtitles:

Stars:
Wraparound StoryAdam Buller
EdenCharles Hubbell as President of Eden
David Tufford as Father

Plot:
Trapped in a damaged cryogenic pod, a man is forced to watch a series of horrific science-fiction tales while his life support system runs out. Featuring eight intense stories of the unknown and other-wordly, equally wonderful and terrifying. Visit GALAXY OF HORRORS, if you dare! Curated from Rue Morgue & Unstable Ground's Little Terror Festival.

Extras:

• Scene Access
• Audio Commentary
• Feature Trailers
• Bonus Trailers
• Featurettes
• Gallery
• Closed Captioned
• Bonus Shorts

My Thoughts:

This is one I never heard of before we spotted it used at half Price Book store. It is an anthology sci-fi/horror with several good segments. This movie has more segments then any anthology I ever seen before with 8 segments in the film. Of course some was better then others but they were all pretty strong. There is some that were in other languages with English subtitles which did catch me off guard. And the best part... if you didn't get your fill of shorts in this film... there is 7 more bonus shorts in the extras for a total of 15 stories here!

Rating:

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Graveyard Shift: Widescreen Collection (1990/United States) Paramount Home Video (United States) Director: Ralph S. Singleton Writing: Stephen King (1947) (Original Material By), John Esposito (Screenwriter) Length: 86 min. Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.78:1 Audio: English: Dolby Digital: 5.1, English: Dolby Digital: Dolby Surround, French: Dolby Digital: 2-Channel Stereo Subtitles: English

Stars:
David Andrews (1952) as John Hall
Kelly Wolf as Jane Wisconsky
Stephen Macht as Warwick
Andrew Divoff as Danson
Vic Polizos as Brogan

Plot:
From horror master Stephen King comes his most terror- filled tale yet... Gates Falls, Maine. When an abandoned textile mill is reopened, several employees meet mysterious deaths. The link between the killings: all occurred between the hours of 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. — the Graveyard Shift. The sadistic mill foreman (Stephen Macht) has chosen a group to clean up the mill's rat-infested basement. But what the workers find is a subterranean maze of tunnels leading to the cemetery — and an unimaginable horror that comes alive in the dead of night...

Extras:

• Scene Access
• Closed Captioned

My Thoughts:

While a solid horror film... it is far from my favorite Stephen King film. While some of the characters was likable there was also some that were just plain weird. It is worth the time put in to watch it. But not a favorite that I would watch often.

Rating:

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Trick 'r Treat: Special Edition (2008/United States) Trailer |IMDb |Wikipedia | Warner Home Video (United States) Director: Michael Dougherty Writing: Michael Dougherty (Writer) Length: 82 min. Video: Widescreen 2.35:1 Audio: English: Dolby TrueHD: 5.1, French: Dolby Digital: 5.1, Spanish: Dolby Digital: 5.1, Commentary: Dolby Digital: Dolby Surround Subtitles: English, French, Spanish

Stars:
Dylan Baker (1959) as Steven
Rochelle Aytes as Maria
Quinn Lord as Sam/Peeping Tommy
Lauren Lee Smith as Danielle
Moneca Delain as Janet

Plot:
A creepy, darkly comic celebration of the scariest night of the year from producer BRYAN SINGER (director of X-Men and Superman Returns) and writer-director MICHAEL DOUGHERTY (co-scripter of X2 and Superman Returns). Trick 'R Treat takes the Creepshow/Tales from the Crypt approach to nefarious new depths with four interwoven tales set on Halloween night: a high school principal (DYLAN BAKER) moonlights as a vicious serial killer; the quest of a young virgin (ANNA PAQUIN) for that special someone takes a gruesome turn; a group of teens carries out a cruel prank with disastrous consequences; and a cantankerous old man (BRIAN COX) battles a mischievous trick-or-treating demon.

Extras:

My Thoughts:

I always loved anthology horrors. While it is technically an anthology horror... it isn't the way I know anthologies at least. Instead of having 3 or 4 separate short stories along with a wraparound storyline... this one is done more like a regular movie with all the stories intertwined with each other. I think this makes for a nice change of pace. I enjoyed all the stories in this one. I would have to say the girls finding dates for the party was probably my favorite of them. I feel comfortable recommending this one to any horror fan. Well worth the time put in to watch it.

Rating:

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I have to work tonight so this is sadly the end of this year's marathon. I did get 33 films in so not like I did terrible. Though far from the best I have done.