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Films seen in October
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October's Halloween Horror Movie Marathon is on.... How many will you watch?

01. Funny Games (1997, Austria) Michael Haneke [3rd viewing; last viewing sometime in '04; no change in rating ****]

What better way to start off a marathon of depravity than with a film that takes the genre, smears it in the viewers face, and makes you re-think everything you ever felt when watching a horror film? Probably will be the most disturbing and terrifying film I view all month, this also remains Haneke’s most perfectly realized picture. If the American remake is anything like I’ve heard it is, oblivious American audiences expecting yet another torture-porn film are in for one hell of a mind-fuck.

02. The Amityville Horror (1979, USA) Stuart Rosenberg -

worth seeing

Worthy of its reputation as one of the more frightening films to come out of the Seventies, it’s a shame that the few effective scares on display here don’t add up to a great film. This lacks the unapologetic manipulation of The Exorcist and/or the skilled craftsmanship of The Changeling. Nothing but a drawn-out build up to a wholly unsatisfying ending that drew a gasp from this viewer.

03. Satan's Baby Doll (1982, Italy) Mario Bianchi -

worthless

Neither erotic, nor exploitive, nor even much of a horror film… What in the hell is this? Where one can appreciate the nonsensical approach of Franco or Fulci, which has always come across as a strong example of surrealist narrative for myself (others read it as the work of a clueless filmmaker -- they are wrong), this truly is the work of a no-talent director seemingly unaware of the medium in which he is working. European trash cinema from this era has always carried a reputation of being awful, and it is because of movies like this -- one of the worst I’ve ever encountered.

04. Ravenous (1999, USA) Antonia Bird [2nd viewing; last viewing Nov. 05; rating raised to **** Excellent]

Certainly one of the most overlooked and masterful horror films of the Nineties, and from a female director no less. You owe it to yourself to catch up with this.

05. Alligator (1980, USA) Lewis Teague -

a must see

Highly entertaining, with a sharp script by John Sayles, it’s a shame that with the ease of CGI these days, low-budget efforts like this are all but extinct. The impending terror of the beast in these ‘animal attack’ pictures is drawn from keeping the monster off-screen. When you had very little money, your picture was limited in its monster effects, forcing filmmakers to focus on a purer form of terror inducing filmmaking via editing and sound as well as developing the characters. This one deserves so much more than a reputation as a “camp film.”

06. Paranoiac (1963, UK) Freddie Francis -

worth seeing

Early Hammer horror, and the first film of DP Freddie Francis, is a bit more classical in its approach than most (owing a great deal to Hitchcock no doubt) while still managing to remain unique in its own right. It was an attempt by the studio to move outside the monster paradigm and one wishes it would’ve worked, as there is a great deal to admire here.

07. 3 Dead Girls: Short Film by Christopher Alan Broadstone
Scream for Me (2000, USA) ** worth seeing - Out to get your attention no doubt with its brutal shock value, this works simply because the performances are so strong.
My Skin! (2002, USA) *** a must see - Ok, now this guy has something. Very strong little horror film, once again boasting a strong performance by Tony Williams, it is alive with dread and atmosphere in a way that few horror shorts are. The story has the literary meat of a Ray Bradbury or Charles Beaumont. Strongly recommended.
Human No More (2004, USA) • worthless - Some embarrassingly retched camera work here diminishes anything Broadstone could have accomplished. We know DV looks amateurish, but DV that is this manipulated is even worse. Bad film school works from kids high on Fincher and Twin Peaks strive for something like this.

08. The Burning (1981, USA) Tony Maylam [3rd viewing (although first in widescreen); last viewing ???; rating intact at ***]

I’ve always been a sucker for this summer camp stuff, but wouldn't it be great if more people recognized this as one of Harvey Weinstein's greatest contributions to cinema? Perhaps they do and that is why he chose to hate on Mandy Lane?

09. Wrong Turn 2: Dead End (2007, USA) Joe Lynch -

has redeeming facet [D-]

The reality show twist has something going for it, but the first film was not very good and this one is even worse. Anything with Henry Rollins as an ex-Seal, painting his face and going all Rambo cannot take itself seriously.

10. Splatter Beach (2007, USA) John & Mark Polonia -

worthless [F]

And I’m officially DONE with this Shock-O-Rama shit.

11. Don't Deliver Us From Evil (1971, France) Joël Séria -

a must see

Mouchette, re-imagined as a pair of Satan worshipping sluts. No jokes!

12. The Ferryman (2007, New Zealand) Chris Graham -

worth seeing [C-]

Gets points for daring to be a horror film that is outside of the box in current horror trends (ie. Jap-Horror, re-makes, torture porn), and while the story is a bit campy at times and does require more than what some of the actors are capable of supplying, I found myself pleasantly surprised by this. Let’s just say the concept of body transference is taken to new heights when masturbation is involved.

13. Scarecrows (1988, USA) William Wesley -

worth seeing

Often referred to as an under-seen little gem but only available in washed out VHS, MGM has gone all out this Halloween, and now with this release, along with The Burning, Stuart Gordon’s brilliant From Beyond, and a half dozen other formally obscure films, we are able to finally enjoy these titles for the first time and in widescreen digital clarity. Originally titled Crows, this eerie and quite remarkably edited tale involves a haunted graveyard and some possessed Scarecrows. If you can get past the ridiculous set-up involving a band of AWOL soldiers who hijacked a military jet filled with cash, this more or less lives up to the hype. Certainly one I will re-visit.

14. Mark of the Devil (1970, West Germany) Michael Armstrong -

a must see

A Euro-Co-Production about a town ravaged by Witch-hunt hysteria during the 18th Century. Not really a great film, however director Michael Armstrong fucks with our sympathies using all manner of over-the-top violence and plot contrivances, that we can’t help but be effected in some way. Call it the antithesis to Fritz Lang’s disturbing mob mentality drama Fury, which used oppressive camera angles and sharp edits to make its impact, Armstrong’s film, although far from subtle and even a tad sleazy, is almost just as powerful.

15. Dead Heat (1988, USA) Mark Goldblatt -

worth seeing

A detective winds up a re-animated corpse while investigating a series of jewel heists when he discovers a demented group of scientists toying with cheating death are behind the robberies. This is late-eighties cheese through and through, a tongue-in-cheek cop movie made at a time when the horror genre was at a decline. Action-horror hybrids like this are rarely successful, however as mindless entertainment, you could certainly do much worse. I’m sure Edgar Wright was aware of this film when he made Hot Fuzz, as his film also had a fascinating incorporation of horror elements, into what is an otherwise straightforward cop film.

16. The Quatermass Xperiment (1955, UK) Val Guest -

worth seeing

A rocket ship on an expedition to Mars, returns to Earth short a few crewmembers and with one that may be host to a deadly alien, it is up to Dr. Quatermass to unravel the mystery at hand. The first in a long line of Quatermass films, this is also one of the defining films that helped launch the prestigious Hammer Studios. Hard to track down, and with a hefty reputation on its back, I have to confess to a certain level of disappointment with this one. Val Guest is a reliable talent in the genre, but this is basically standard 50’s sci-fi fair and pales in comparison to later Quatermass films. Worth checking out mainly for its historical significance.

17. The Redsin Tower (2006, USA) Fred Vogel -

a must see [B-]

A group of teens decide to party in a rundown old tower said to be haunted, while one of them is being stalked by her ex-boyfriend.
Fred Vogel scares me. My first exposure to the work by the infamous Toe Tag Productions, Vogel and his crew are responsible for the string of August Underground movies -- pseudo-snuff films, shot on grungy DV and featuring nothing but the most extreme in hardcore graphic violence. I have no desire to see these films, however gore hounds tend to eat them up, and the buzz is strong enough to make Vogel a name to watch for. This is his first foray into straightforward narrative movie making, and I was eager to see what the guy was all about. Let’s just say besides being thoroughly disgusting and more disturbing than probably any film I’ve seen this year, Redsin Tower is also crafted with great care and shows that Vogel is more than just an exploitation director. This film harkens back to the days of Cannibal Holocaust and Lucio Fulci’s The Beyond, when horror films were still capable of making you feeling icky for watching them, while also telling great scary stories.

18. Primeval (2007, USA) Michael Katleman -

has redeeming facet [D-]

The US media sends a crew to capture a mythical crocodile that is terrorizing an African village. This film feels like a serious production, and the acting is actually rather solid, but what makes this lackluster mess so annoying is that it forgets completely that it is a monster movie. When you are making a film about a 25-foot man-eating croc, there is really very little time for edifying subplots about the state of Burundi. By juxtaposing the local warlord with the crocodile -- which one is the bigger monster they want you to ask -- the film asks to seriously consider some real life issues that it is not really qualified to ask. Supplying the ‘horror’ by showing human atrocities is a cheap way to make your film seem good. At least Lake Placid new it was shit and embraced that fact wholeheartedly.

19. Chosen Survivors (1974, USA) Sutton Roley -

a must see

The US Government selects a group of unique citizens and locks them in an underground living facility so that they may populate the world following an apocalyptic nuclear war. A true B movie, made in the spirit of the late 50’s, but adopting that cold, clinical feel of so many post-2001 science fiction works, this is yet another small gem that MGM has unearthed for us on home video this Halloween. The screenplay by H.B. Cross remarkably juggles a vast array of sci-fi and horror tropes, throwing out idea after idea in such a way that the setup story almost becomes superfluous. Unique doesn’t even begin to describe this one…

20. 30 Days of Night (2007, USA) David Slade -

a must see [B]

21. Castle of Blood (1964, France) Antonio Margheriti -

a must see

22. Experiments in Terror 2
Hold My Scissors (2004, USA) Usama Alsaibi [3 mins.] - **
Amor Peligrosa (2002) Michelle Silva - **
Psych-Burn (1968, USA) J.X. Williams - ****
The Early 70s Horror Trailer (1999, USA) Damon Packard - **
Between 2 Deaths (2006, USA) Wago Kreider - *
She Sank on Shallow Bank (2005, USA) Clifton Childree & Nikki Rollason - *
Opus 5 (1961, USA) Lloyd M. Williams - ***
The Fear (2001, USA) Angel Nieves - ***
The Mesmerist (2003, USA) Bill Morrison - **
Warhol Beyond the Grave (unknown) - zero

23. Rise: Blood Hunter (2007, USA) Sebastian Gutierrez -

has redeeming facet [D-]

24. Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983, USA) -

a must see
Segment #1 & Prologue (John Landis) - **
"Kick the Can" (Steven Spielberg) - **
"It's a Good Life" (Joe Dante) - ****
"Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" (George Miller) - ****

25. Someone's Watching Me! (1978, USA) [tv] John Carpenter -

a must see

26. X: The Man with the X-Ray Eyes (1963, USA) Roger Corman -

a must see

27. Basket Case 2 (1990, USA) Frank Henenlotter -

worth seeing

28. Ghosts... of the Civil Dead (1988, Australia) John Hillcoat -

has redeeming facet

29. Night of the Sorcerers (1973, Spain) Amando de Ossorio -

worth seeing

30. Fido (2006, Canada) Andrew Currie -

a must see [B+]