YK October Horror Movie Challenge

[YellowKing]

This is (I think) my third year in a row of my 31 movie horror movie challenge, so I thought I'd keep a running tab here in case any of these movies interest anyone. I'll just keep updating this top post, but feel free to reply with what you're watching or comments on what I've watched:

1: DEATH HOUSE (2017) - On paper this seems awesome. Tons of horror personalities - Barbara Crampton, Kane Hodder, Felissa Rose, Tiffany Shepis, Dee Wallace, etc. in a story about some kind of virtual reality prison modeled after Dante's 7 levels of hell. In reality, it's an atrocious low-budget disaster of a movie with wooden performances, a completely incomprehensible plot, and a sluggish pace. The one highlight is some excellent skeleton/corpse people makeup, but not worth sitting through this slog.

2: MADHOUSE (1974) - Vincent Price and Peter Cushing star in this thriller that sees Price as an aging horror star attempting to revive his career by reprising his most famous character "Dr. Death." However, someone dressed as Dr. Death is killing off co-stars and bringing the horror to life. Lots of fun and a must-see for Vincent Price fans.

3: ANNABELLE COMES HOME (2019) - The latest entry in the Wan-iverse, this one feel a bit flat for me. I really enjoyed the previous Annabelle entry, but this one ups the premise to such a silly level I just couldn't buy into it. This time the Warrens themselves are being haunted when a teenager opens Annabelle's case and unleashes the spirits contained in their "haunted" room of cursed possessions. Having read tons on the real Warrens, the real Annabelle, and the real room of cursed possessions, this one was a bit of an eye-roller as Hollywood stretched "based on true events" to absurd levels.

4: C.H.U.D. II: BUD THE CHUD (1989) - The original C.H.U.D. is a moderately entertaining cult classic about cannabilistic humanoids living under the streets of New York. The sequel throws all that out entirely and goes with a zombie comedy plot in which the aforementioned Bud finds himself on the loose in suburban America. However, don't let that premise make you dismiss this out of hand. If you buy into CHUD 2's brand of silliness, it's actually a lot of fun and has some laugh out loud dialogue. Total surprise for me, but I loved it.

5: FROM BEYOND THE GRAVE (1974) - An anthology starring Peter Cushing and Donald Pleasence sounds like a surefire hit, but unfortunately this one falls a little short compared to other horror anthologies of the time. The one bright spot is the second story, "An Act of Kindness," in which Ian Bannon befriends a match salesman played by Donald Pleasence as an escape from his overbearing wife. It's surprising and fun, unlike the other three entries which all play off a too-similar plot idea and fizzle.

6: BODY BAGS (1993) - Another anthology, this one whose gimmick is to take famous horror directors and put them in *front* of the camera. Whether that is a good idea or not is a bit up in the air. The first segment "The Gas Station" is pretty entertaining with some great cameos, and I even enjoyed the bizarre "Hair" due to Stacy Keach's hilarious performance as a man deathly afraid of going bald. The last segment, "Eye" is notable primarily for Mark Hamill playing a baseball player with a southern accent. The real novelty, however, is watching John Carpenter ham it up as a ghoulish mortician in the wrap around - it's spectacularly cheesy in the best way. While I can't recommend BODY BAGS as a great film, it's certainly packed with novelties that any horror fan will want to see at least once.

7: GANJA & HESS (1973 - This is by far the most bizarre film on the list so far, and may be the most bizarre for the rest of the challenge. A low budget indie art house black vampire film, GANHA & HESS is considered a benchmark of African-American horror cinema. Dr. Hess is stabbed by an ancient knife and turns into a vampire-like creature who must kill and consume the blood of his victims. The film is surreal, dream-like, and creepy with some startlingly realistic performances and a grainy, seedy 1970s quality that oozes unease. The standout here, however, is the terrifying soundtrack which mixes children chanting, buzzing noises, men screaming, animal sounds, etc. in a cacophony that will keep you on edge throughout. The slow pace and lingering scenes will probably turn off many, but i found it to be haunting. This film was remade as "DA SWEET BLOOD OF JESUS" by Spike Lee in 2014.

[hitbyambulance]

random questions: have you seen

Midsommar
The Strange Color of Your Body's Tears

[YellowKing]

No on the latter, but I watched MIDSOMMAR last week and absolutely loved it. I understand why it's a polarizing film, but I found it utterly fascinating. I can't wait to grab the director's cut.