I know there's people out there that do the whole watch a horror movie every
day in October thing but I don't have that much free time. I did pretty good
though and was shocked at what I crammed in over the month.
If you're looking for something to watch after Trick or Treating, grab a snack
and a beverage, I've got a good sized list to go through.
Series
I forgot to post S2 last month. I really enjoyed this series. It was like a
fantastical 80s kid adventure with a bit of horror and well written family
dynamics. I should probably check out the comics.
The 101 Scariest Horror Movie Moments of All Time (2022, Shudder)
How's that for a mouthful of a title? These type of list shows are always fun
to watch and see where you'd rank things.There were two or three on the list that I hadn't herd of before.
Queer for Fear (2022, Shudder)
This docu-series looks at the history of LGBTQ+ in horror from the very start.
I hope they do more seasons because they only got so far into "modern" horror.
There were plenty of negative comments about Shudder hosting this series to
which I say if you think they're "putting gay" into your horror, you need to
learn your horror history!
She-Hulk (2022, Disney+)
Who knew I wanted a sitcom in he MCU? This was a nice change from everything
that's come before. I thoroughly enjoyed the online antics it stirred up.
Seeing all the reaction videos schooling toxic fans on why they're wrong on
things was a treat unto itself.
Movies
A woman is the single survivor of a plane crash and now she's being haunted
(and hunted) by ghosts that want her dead. They're not even ghosts of people
that were on the plane so I don't know what their deal is. It started out like
an 80s Final Destination but then it's just random ghosts attacking her and/or
killing people around her to turn them into ghosts to try and kill her.
Rating: 5/10
Dark Glasses (2022, Shudder)
Shudder did this as a special screening, meaning they announced they were
showing something in this slot but didn't say what it was. Sounded like
it would be fun going in completely not knowing what I was going to see.
Argento is hit or miss with me and this was more on the miss side. I guess if
you want a Giallo that feels like it was done in the 80s, this would be up
your alley.
Rating: 4/10
Watching movies alone, it's sometimes hard to get a read on if something is
intentionally funny or just that bad. Based on the trailer, I think it's
supposed to be serious? I honestly can't tell here but a pumpkin-headed,
scythe wielding entity was too promising to pass up. Sure it's got Linnea
Quigley and a blink and you'll miss it cameo by Brinke Stevens but it's just
not a whole lot of fun. Of course I find out after watching it that there's a
RiffTrax version...
Rating: 3/10
I'm not sharing trailers for the next two because they show all the good
parts.
CarousHELL (2016, Tubi)
And then you have a homicidal carousel horse...sorry, unicorn. It's low
budget, it's dumb but it's just the right kind of dumb that's funny and
ridiculous. How does he shoot a bow? Who cares! Plus it has one of the most
memorable sex scenes you'll ever see. It's something that will stick with
you...for better or worse.
Rating: 7/10
CarousHELL The 2nd (2021, Tubi)
Duke the carousel unicorn is turned into the protagonist and we find out how
he came to life. It's still dumb, just not quite as funny. It's definitely
hurt by having most of the violence at the end. And...there's another sex
scene, weirder than the last. I have to applaud the person that filmed it for
totally committing to it.
Rating: 5/10
The lead actor (also writer/director) does a great job at playing one of those
YouTube personalities you just want to punch in the face repeatedly. To try
and atone for a past sin, he decides to stream himself in a rumored haunted
house over night. Unfortunately, this is a one man show for 40 minutes and
while I'm all for build up, it's a little too long to be with this idiot. Once
things finally get rolling, it's got a very Evil Dead vibe to it and is
actually fun.
Rating: 6.5/10
Prep for the sequel. This is the candy corn of movies for me: I enjoy it
during spooky season but don't really miss it the rest of the year. Also, I
never noticed how much of a dink Max is.
Rating: 7/10
Hocus Pocus 2 (2022, Disney+)
It may just be Disney trying to cash in but they did a good job of it! It's
more of the same and they expand on the Sisters history a bit while
introducing a new generation of protagonists. I definitely felt the lack of
some returning characters but the new kids are pretty good. The Sisters feel a
little less sinister and more jokey with pop culture references they couldn't
possibly know. My biggest complaint with this is the flying scenes. The
effects are terrible! You'd think Disney in the 2020s would do better.
Rating: 7/10
Based on the book by Grady Hendrix, who is my favorite current horror writer.
This is 80s high school Exorcist with a sprinkle of Heathers. He has a very
particular writing style which comes across here and because of that, I think
some people won't enjoy it as much if they're not fans of his books. It was
definitely fun seeing it come alive and seeing Elsie Fisher (Eighth Grade)
again.
Rating: 7/10
Had no clue this was the second in a series and really, I don't think it
mattered. It's supposed to be a horror comedy and I guess the comedy is the
students are basically one dimensional stereotypes? Or maybe it's how absurd
some of it is? I think I missed the "joke". I was getting Tragedy Girl vibes,
which came out the same year and is a much better movie.
Rating: 5/10
I honestly can't remember if I have seen this before so I'm counting it as a
first time. It was good. Don't get me wrong, it's not like you're going to
find another animated special exploring the history of Halloween. I've read
the book enough times that I have images of everything, especially
Moundshroud, so seeing this "new" version was different but still fun.
Rating: 7/10
V/H/S/ 99 (2022, Shudder)
Back for a fifth installment of found footage shorts, this may be my favorite
in the series so far. Setting them in specific years was a genius idea. Every
segment was a good time for different reasons. The wraparound story feels like the weakest and doesn't do as good a job as prior ones explaining why you're seeing all these videos. There's one short that takes
place on a Double Dare like show that is just peak 90s.
Rating: 8/10
And finally...
Barbarian (2022, HBO Max)
If you even think you may see this one day, avoid finding out anything about
it! I adore this movie because I really had no idea where it was going a lot
of the time and that got me really into it.
Rating: 9/10
Monthly Total
New: 12 Rewatch: 1
Year to Date
New: 78 Rewatch:4
New: 12 Rewatch: 1
Year to Date
New: 78 Rewatch:4
Click on the image below to
find a list of participants on the Countdown to Halloween site.
I wish I could get into horror, but it's just not for me. I do enjoy your reviews though. So much fun stuff out there. I did watch Season 1 of Eli Roth's History of Horror.
ReplyDeleteThat's a really good series
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