Sep 30, 2020

Monthly Media Recap - September 2020

Hey folks! As usual, this post is going up today because tomorrow starts the month long Countdown to Halloween celebration, so stay tuned every day! If you've got any good suggestions for horror, be sure to let me know in the comments.


Streaming

Marvel's The Runaways (S3, Hulu) - I'm so glad they did a decent job of ending the series and there was even a little Cloak & Dagger crossover action.

Cobra Kai (S1, Netflix) - Late to the game here and despite how much everyone raved about it, I was still surprised at how much I enjoyed it.

Movies

Trick or Treats (1982, Full movie on Youtube)
This was definitely an odd one! I'd had it on my Amazon to watch list for awhile but didn't pull the trigger until Dino Drac suggested it during his Halloween Countdown kickoff. It's sort of a horror comedy, but not very much of either. A lot of the movie is the world's most gullible babysitter trying to survive her prank loving charge on Halloween. It doesn't really get rolling until the final act and by then I was just waiting for it to be over.

Rating: 3/10, it's not great but maybe good for a watch party. 
 
It's been quite awhile since I read the original Lovecraft story so I can't even say how much it was inspired by it but I feel they nailed the essence of cosmic horror. I kept thinking back to From Beyond and that's always a good thing. If you have the right part for Nic Cage being Nic Cage, he's really good at it!

Rating: 8/10

The A-Team (2010)
If you want some elevated interpretation of an 80s action show, you're in the wrong place. If you're looking for something that recreates the crazy fun of an 80s action show, this it with more 'splosions! There's plenty of enjoyable nods to the original for the fans. I do feel like Murdock could have been featured more but he was always my favorite so maybe I'm biased.

Rating: 7/10

The Babysitter: Killer Queen (2020, Netflix)
I love, love, LOVED the original and while this one maintains the slapstick, over the top kills and attitude, it's not quite as good. It might be that it's too similar to the first, kind of like how riding a roller coaster again is never as good as the first time. I still had a good time with it and if you enjoyed the first one, this is worth a watch. A+ for the fun soundtrack.

Rating: 6.5/10

Finally crossed this piece of horror homework off my list. It definitely has that grindhouse sleaze vibe that makes you feel like you need a shower after watching it. It's unfortunate the tone of the movie doesn't stay consistent. I think they may have been trying to use humor to give you a chance to recover but there's just something about it that feels like it's from a completely different film.

I know it's considered a cult classic and maybe I just wasn't in the right mood but it never really clicked with me. I think Texas Chainsaw did it better a few years earlier.

Rating: 5/10

Definitely enjoyed this one more. Maybe it's because it follows more of a standard slasher blueprint. It does commit the major sin of reusing footage from the original but thankfully, it's not Silent Night Deadly Night 2 and the flashbacks are kept to a few minutes.

Rating: 6/10

Month
New: 7   Rewatch: 0

Year to Date
New: 54  Rewatch: 2
Didn't Finish:

4 comments:

  1. Tricks or treats was on my list for this year, And last house on the left is one of those I can not sit through maybe someday. Cheers to Shocktober

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    1. IS it because of the subject matter that you have a hard time with Last House?

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  2. Interesting mix. Last House and Hills Have Eyes are dark watches, not much enjoyment for me, just squirmy-uncomfortableness. But the Hills Pat 2 I thought was rubbish - even the freaking dog has a flashback! Looking forward to watching The Babysitter 2.

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    Replies
    1. Yeah, despite how much horror I've watched and being a "modern" audience, Last House was still a bit squirmy to watch.

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