Watching- October Edition

      As always I try to make my October movie watching exclusively horror or horror adjacent films. This year there was one exception, because I didn’t want to wait until November to see the Amazon John Candy documentary. Other than that one deviation I did watch only horror or horror adjacent movies. Along with a smattering of TV shows. I’m working my way through Orphan Black, finally started the final season of Sweet Tooth, and a few other shows here and there. Now, here are the movies I had the chance to watch, at home, over the month of October…

The Raven (1936)- See Classics section for full review

Vampires vs The Bronx- This 2020 Netflix flick wasn’t as bad as it sounded.

Something Wicked This Way Comes- I don’t think I’d seen this dark Disney movie since it was released in 1983. I recalled enjoying it more back then when I was a teenager. It’s not like it’s bad it just had some technical issues that I bumped up against here and there.

Little Evil- Another Netflix original, this one from 2017. Starring Adam Scott and Evangeline Lilly. A comic take on The Omen. I had a good time with this one. It didn’t go where I expected.

Darkman- This was Sam Raimi’s response to the success of Batman from the year before. When I saw it upon it’s release I wasn’t a fan of this Liam Neeson movie. This time around I liked it a bit more, but I wouldn’t put it on any list of favorite movies of 1990.

The Stand (1994)- This is the ABC TV mini-series. I recorded it on VHS when it originally aired and enjoyed it so much that I would revisit it over the years. A few years back I bought the DVD and finally got around to watching it. Even with it’s TV budget and early ‘90’s SPFX, it’s still better than the recent Paramount+ series.

Death Proof- This was the only Quentin Tarantino directed movie I had not seen. Now I’ve seen it. I guess he succeeded in making a grindhouse flick. It’s about as good as one of those 1970’s quickies. I still need to see the other half of the theatrically presented double bill- Planet Terror by Robert Rodriguez. I have a feeling I’m going to like it more.

John Candy: I Like Me- A great documentary. Especially if you’re a fan of Candy.

Presence- Maybe I’d heard this movie being hyped up too much. I thought it was good. I had the twist figured out before the third act started dropping all it’s hints though.

It! The Terror from Beyond Space- I hadn’t seen this bit of 1958 SF, and one of the inspirations for 1979’s Alien, since I was a kid. The Creature still looks pretty cool, but I kept wishing they’d actually given them a bigger budget so it could look better and cast it with more than a couple of good actors.

M3gan 2.0- I liked the original M3gan, but not being a huge fan of the horror genre, I may have enjoyed this one a bit more. Because it’s an action/comedy and not really a horror movie. I know a lot of other people didn’t like it for the exact opposite reason.

Abigail- This is sort of a horror take on O. Henry’s The Ransom of Red Chief. Only instead of the kid being an annoying handful, they’re a vampire. Actually, I liked it more than I thought I would. It didn’t take itself too seriously which gave it a more fun than horrific tone. If you’re a fan of gore, you get that too.

Warm Bodies- I showed my wife this zombie comedy. I liked it the first time I saw it and still enjoy it. This movie does a really nice job of balancing its comic and horror tones.

When A Stranger Calls- This is the original 1979 film. The first 20 minutes or so was lovingly ripped off by Wes Craven for Scream. The rest of the movie, after a weird detour where we follow the bad guy for a little while, isn’t bad.

Love at First Bite- I finally bought this 70’s comedy classic on Blu-Ray and enjoyed it very much. I don’t think I’d seen it since I was a kid. It still works, though I see that a lot of the humor is dated and might keep younger viewers from having as good a time as I did.

The Company of Wolves- I’ve been curious about this movie since it came out in ‘84. I’d seen pictures of the wolf affects that looked pretty cool. In reality, it’s kind of a strange, surreal ride that isn’t really worth the only 95 minute running time.

The Monkey- Inspired by the Stephen King story this movie about an evil wind up monkey toy starts off good but kind of peters out after a while.

The Shallows- Now this one is a pretty effective shark thriller and Blake Lively is quite good in it. Which is a good thing since she is the only person on screen for the majority of the movie.

Train to Busan Presents: Peninsula- I watched the Korean zombie movie Train to Busan a few months ago and liked it, so I checked out this follow up. This one is pretty good too.

KPop Demon Hunters- I finally broke down and watched this movie that took pop culture by storm earlier this year. I’m not the target audience but I did enjoy a good bit of it.

The Wicker Man- My first time seeing this 1973 English/Horror classic. It’s pace is a little slow but does have a very fun and effective third act. I can see this movie being, at least in part, an inspiration for Midsommar.

Halloween (2018)- My second time watching this one. I think it’s a pretty effective and entertaining retcon sequel to the original movie.

The Bride of Frankenstein- A classic. Now I’m even more excited to see Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein.

The Babysitter- Yet another Netflix original, this one from 2017. It’s not bad. I think it doesn’t balance the humor and horror as well as Abigail, but it has it’s moments. There is a sequel but I haven’t seen that yet.

The Dead Don’t Die- A Jim Jarmusch zombie horror/comedy. I had a good time with it, but he didn’t quite stick the landing. The ending isn’t as satisfying as the rest of the movie.`

Invasion of the Body Snatchers- This is the 1978 version. I have to admit, the original 1956 film is my favorite, but this remake is also very good. They were allowed to turn up the “ick” factor and play up the more mature aspects of the story that could only be hinted at in 1956.