For the next 30 days, this blog is going into full on spooky mode!
Every day this month, I'll have a new post celebrating the most wonderful time
of the year. There's a whole gang of us that celebrate this way. Head on over
to the Countdown to Halloween blog
to see the list of this year's crypt keepers.
For now, sit back, relax, and let Zacherle usher you into this most haunted of
holidays. And if you have time, give the whole album a listen, it's great!
This is one of those "change your life" albums for me. It's what really got me
to dive into horror themed music. Of course, I was familiar with Rob Zombie,
but I just had no idea there was so much more monstrous music out there.
It also introduced me to artists like The Bomboras, The Ghastly Ones, and The
Dead Elvi.
Be sure to check out all the Countdown bloggers by clicking the link
below.
This month's Media Recap is going up a day early because tomorrow starts the
post-a-day
Countdown to Halloween! Every year, many bloggers and I Countdown the most wonderful time of the
year with daily posts about all things Halloween, horror, spooky, kooky, you name it!
Not a lot of movies this month as I spent around 5 movies worth of time
catching up on American Horror Story. Title links will take you to a
trailer.
Roll it!
Series
Spider-Noir (2026, Prime) Why can't Sony deliver Spider-adjacent
movies that are this good?! Cage is at his Cage-iest and that's exactly what
the role needs. You can watch it even if you barely know anything about
Spider-Man but fans will catch a lot more. Highly recommend watching the
B&W version for maximum noir pulpiness. The camera angles and shot
compositions are a love letter to classic Hollywood.
American Horror Story Season 10 (Hulu) Usually my biggest issue with any season of AHS is that it falls off
the path somewhere after the mid way point. Here, you get two mini seasons of
6 and 4 episodes. I think they both really shine due to their shorter runs
time making their stories tighter. Who knew aliens were behind Marilyn
Monroe's death?
Gatchaman Progress
Only 3 this month, but there's only 13 more to go! Currently
up to 93.
Movies
Strange Darling (2023, Shudder) At first I didn't like this
one. It has 6 chapters and they're shown out of order. But as I stuck with it,
I really began to enjoy the non-linear story telling and putting the pieces
together of what was going on. They definitely made the right choice for how
to spoon out the story and keep it interesting. Strongly recommend going in
cold on this one and enjoy the ride. The trailer is well done in that it
doesn't give anything away.
Rating: 7/10
Penny Lane is Dead (2025, Shudder) A modern day Ozploitation
revenge thriller that takes place in 1986. It's an odd blend of home invasion,
great practical gore effects, and punk vibes. The bad guys have a wicked mean
streak which makes it all the more satisfying when they get what's coming to
them. Still debating if I like the ending or not.
Rating: 7/10
Enola Holmes 3 (2026, Netflix) As much as I've enjoyed the series so far, I think this is the low
point for me. The mystery didn't quite grab me and while Cavill is back (still
needing a spinoff!) he spends a lot of the movie being the MacGuffin and not
having as much to do. MBB is still a delight to watch even as her character
continues to mature.
Rating: 6.5/10
Borderlands (2024, Apple TV) How do you turn a beloved video
game franchise into a movie that sucks the soul out of what makes the game so
much fun? Easy, blend Temu Mad Max and wannabe Guardians of the Galaxy. If I
didn't know anything about the game, this would be an ok sci-fi action flick
that would get me to check out the game. The characters just felt kind of flat
compared to their digital counterparts. Cate Blanchett is as good as you'd expect her to be. A lot of the supporting characters and stuff about the world, they nailed...just not the important stuff. And I don't care what you do, you can't
make me believe Kevin Hart is any kind of action hero.
Rating: 5/10
Backrooms (2026, HBO Max)
This was so good! The pervasive feeling of dread while navigating a liminal space that feels like it was filmed from a bad dream is fantastic. I can't say enough about how perfect the set design is. It just captures the wrongness of a familiar nightmare. Be sure to stick around after the credits.
It's been a rough couple weeks for losing beloved entertainers: Dolly
Parton, Tim Curry, and Peter Cullen all left us last week. If you don't know
Cullen, you've at least heard him as Optimus Prime and dozens of other iconic
cartoon characters.
With the blog rolling into September, regular posts will go on hiatus
while I prep for the annual
Countdown to Halloween
with a post every day in October. Every year I think I don't have it in me and
struggle to find things to talk about but every year I pull it off.
Anyway, let's get this recap on the road!
Series
The Righteous Gemstones (HBO Max)
More like Riotous Gemstones! I've been binging the series over the summer and
just wrapped it up. If Danny McBride knows how to do one thing, it's create
people you wouldn't go near in real life but find some way to make you root
for them.
Another summer binge. This one took me by surprise. Not only is everyone great
in it but this is probably Harrison Ford's best role (sorry Han and Indy!).
It's good to see him get into something with real depth and also show that he
can be funny! This show alone is worth getting AppleTV for.
Gatchaman Progress
Knocked out 5! Currently up to 89
Movies
The Devil's Mouth (2026, Prime) One final shark movie for the
summer. It started off pretty good but once the shark gets going, it basically
turns into a slasher. For some reason, the shark has it out for this tour
group beyond just needing to eat, or maybe he's really hungry. I don't know a
lot about shark eating habits. The ending goes a little too far into action
movie territory antics where the rest was pretty grounded.
