Monthly Media Recap - September 2024

 As usual, the September Recap is coming to you a day early because tomorrow starts the 31 day Countdown to Halloween Blog-a-thon! Also as usual, the linked titles below are Amazon affiliate links where I may earn from any qualifying purchases.

 

Handmaid's Tale (S2, Hulu)

Some of the scariest non-horror stuff ever because it feels like we're one bad election away from it. I've been a fan of Elisabeth Moss after seeing her in 2020's Invisible Man and she just continues to be amazing in this series, which is also outstanding.

 

American Horror Stories (S1-S2, Hulu)

This took up a whole lotta movie time this month but it's good prep for spooky season. This is a spin-off anthology series where each episode is a self contained story; very Tales from The Crypt. There are occasional references to one of the main series stories but you can fully enjoy this without having seen any AHS. If you know AHS, you're familiar with their opening credits sequences. They do that for each episode, giving it a unique sequence which just adds to the fun.

Movies

Horny Teenagers Must Die! (2024, Tubi)
Based on the title (and category tags) I assumed this was going to have some comedic elements to it. As it is, it's a pretty generic "horny teens in the woods" slasher that might keep you guessing who the killer is...if you're not really paying attention. If you're going to give your movie a title like this, you have to deliver on it, especially in the kill department.

Rating: 3/10

Star Slammer aka Prison Ship (1986, Tubi)
Back in the 70s & 80s, "women in prison" was a whole sub-genre of exploitation films. This is one of those but innnn spaaaace. It's got a lot of the standard tropes of WiP films and plenty of generic sci-fi stuff to make it entertaining even if it's not a good movie. And how about that knock-off Raiders music?

Rating: 4/10

Monthly Media Recap - August 2024

Happy October Eve month! As usual, the blog will be going into hibernation for most of September to prep for the 31 day Countdown to Halloween celebration. Also as usual, links below are Amazon Affiliate links where I may earn from qualifying purchases.

On with the show!

 

Series

Cobra Kai (S6 Part 1, Netflix)

Karate Fight Soap Opera is back! It's still fun but after last season I just can't take the "serious" parts seriously. Sometimes it feels like a spoof of a Mexican soap opera with the drama and the who's teaming up with who.

Unsolved Mysteries (S4, Netflix)

I don't know that I needed an episode about Jack the Ripper, it's been unsolved for a little while now but the Mothman ep was kinda fun. Fun in the "turn all the lights on your way to bed" way. The true crime eps are where it's at and they've definitely got some interesting cases.

Files of the Unexplained (Netflix)

Hey, you got your Unsolved Mysteries in my In Search Of! It's like the Time Life Mysteries of the Unknown books in half hour format. If you were the kind of kid that always checked out books about Bigfoot, UFOs, etc, it's worth checking out. The last episode about a beach that's had way more than it's fair share of human severed feet wash up is a must watching because WTF?

Movies

Abigail (2024, Peacock)

I don't know marketing but if I were in charge for this movie, I would have found a way to not reveal the vampire angle in the trailers. Talk about giving too much away! Knowing that twist going in, this becomes an average "haunted house" type movie with a couple of good scenes.

Rating: 5/10

Tarot (2024, Netflix)

I'm somewhat familiar with the Tarot and I'm pretty sure it doesn't work the way it does in this movie. I can give them a pass on it because of the great monster designs that come out of it. Unfortunately, the rest of the movie is a little predictable as each character meets their "foretold" death. It feels like Final Destination by way of Blumhouse which isn't necessarily a bad thing.

Rating: 6/10