[HeresJohnny]

I watched Black Cab yesterday. Interesting concept, but the ending left me unfulfilled. I was hoping for more.

 

[Franky Family]

Blair Witch
Directed by Adam Wingard

Definitely a must watch. I'm hoping that it gets an anniversary showing in theaters one of these days so that I can see it on the big screen. Also hoping to watch this with others for a second go at it already. I love scary movies that have a lot of scenes in the woods, or out in the wild, in the middle of nowhere, and Blair Witch was perfect in its execution in that regard. Whoever hasn't seen this already ought to watch it soon and boy do I wish I had seen this at the cinema during its opening weekend... If somehow the original and this movie had been swapped and my 8-9-10 year old self could have watched this one instead I'm pretty sure it would have wrecked my psyche even worse it's just that intense towards the end. It's not enough to scare seasoned horror fanatics much but man.. the last twenty to twenty five minutes, they're definitely dropping bombs on the more casual viewers lol. Loved it, many of the scenarios are truly horrific and frightening to think about if you put yourself in the campers' point of view. Not sure what Rotten Tomatoes is thinking putting this film at 38% / 31% but to me, Blair Witch is must see horror

Overall = 9.8/10
Fright Meter = 34/100

 

[Franky Family]

Movies watched during last month's horror marathon and my general impressions of them. The best ones were definitely Willow Creek, The Thing, Haunt, and Oddity. Final Prayer truly shocked me, there's one scene in that film that I rewatched about fifteen times because I couldn't believe what I was watching and it might be the most disturbing scene I've ever watched. In any movie. Scariest movie of the bunch is definitely Willow Creek. Funniest movie is Rob Zombie's 31 or maybe Sleepaway Camp. Most misleading score on that list is probably V/H/S Beyond as three of the short stories are good while the other three are either poor, mediocre, or terrible. Oddity had a little bit of everything. I usually like to watch two pivotal movies Halloween night if I can and Oddity was an excellent way to close out the month of October

The Taking of Deborah Logan = 6.8/10
The Tunnel = 7.3/10
10/31 Part 2 = 5/10
Scream 3 = 6.5/10
Zombie = 9.2/10
31 = 7.5/10
Willow Creek = 9.2/10
Aliens = 8.8/10
Hocus Pocus = 2.5/10
Final Prayer = 9/10
Terrifier 3 = 5/10
Sleepaway Camp = 5.7/10
REC = 3.3/10
Saint Maud = 6.3/10
Blair Witch 2: Book of Shadows = 3.6/10
Haunt = 9.5/10
JeruZalem = 6.5/10
Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum = 7/10
Scream 4 = 7.8/10
V/H/S Beyond = 5.7/10
The Thing = 9/10
Halloween = 6.5/10
Oddity = 9.6/10

 

[HeresJohnny]

Movies watched during last month's horror marathon and my general impressions of them. The best ones were definitely Willow Creek, The Thing, Haunt, and Oddity. Final Prayer truly shocked me, there's one scene in that film that I rewatched about fifteen times because I couldn't believe what I was watching and it might be the most disturbing scene I've ever watched. In any movie. Scariest movie of the bunch is definitely Willow Creek. Funniest movie is Rob Zombie's 31 or maybe Sleepaway Camp. Most misleading score on that list is probably V/H/S Beyond as three of the short stories are good while the other three are either poor, mediocre, or terrible. Oddity had a little bit of everything. I usually like to watch two pivotal movies Halloween night if I can and Oddity was an excellent way to close out the month of October

The Taking of Deborah Logan = 6.8/10
The Tunnel = 7.3/10
10/31 Part 2 = 5/10
Scream 3 = 6.5/10
Zombie = 9.2/10
31 = 7.5/10
Willow Creek = 9.2/10
Aliens = 8.8/10
Hocus Pocus = 2.5/10
Final Prayer = 9/10
Terrifier 3 = 5/10
Sleepaway Camp = 5.7/10
REC = 3.3/10
Saint Maud = 6.3/10
Blair Witch 2: Book of Shadows = 3.6/10
Haunt = 9.5/10
JeruZalem = 6.5/10
Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum = 7/10
Scream 4 = 7.8/10
V/H/S Beyond = 5.7/10
The Thing = 9/10
Halloween = 6.5/10
Oddity = 9.6/10

Which version of The Thing did you watch? I'm still of the opinion the John Carpenter version is the best, but I've heard good things about the new one. I've still yet to see the old 50s version too.

I'll have to watch Willow Creek, that slipped under my radar. Also a bold statement on Final Prayer because the scene in the first Terrifier is pretty nasty.

 

[Franky Family]

@HeresJohnny it was the version that John Carpenter directed. That's my favorite of his now, tbh his movies (of the four that I've seen) aren't that impressive but they are at times very good. Guess I'm just not a huge fan of his like most are. I was surprised by Willow Creek, my expectations of it were that it would be a typical horror movie to pass the time but arguably it was the best movie I'd seen throughout that entire month. Terrifier did have that one scene and it was for sure unbearable to think about the first time but the shock value dwindles. Final Prayer has something far more evil to show for itself than Terrifier imo

 

[MetalAlien]

I like Late Night With The Devil. It's the same old possessed girl story but I like where they went with it in the end. They did something i've never seen before and I wish it had a bigger budget to really explore the idea.

Spoiler

the idea that she wasn't just spiritually possessed but she was physically possessed as well. The Demon was actually inside her and split her open to show itself.

 

[quickwhips]

So I watched Alien Romulus last night. I didn't mind the movie until the last 20 minutes when it became an abortion movie. Ending felt weird as fuck.

 

[Franky Family]

I like Late Night With The Devil. It's the same old possessed girl story but I like where they went with it in the end. They did something i've never seen before and I wish it had a bigger budget to really explore the idea.

Spoiler

the idea that she wasn't just spiritually possessed but she was physically possessed as well. The Demon was actually inside her and split her open to show itself.

I've seen this one. I forgot to post about it, watched Late Night With The Devil shortly after Halloween maybe a few days or so afterward. It has some fairly strong talk show energy going on that feels kind of authentic most of the time. The twists caught me off guard a little, for a bit there I didn't understand what was happening. There was one theme that was lingering on my mind:

Spoiler

How the assistant or I guess right hand man for Jack Delroy knew that there were things being tampered with that are 100% left alone and wanted out but Jack in his greed went all the way. He had tunnel vision and the idea of success that he couldn't touch or achieve drove him to his end. And not just himself but many of the crew perished. The wish to become #1 and to taste what that would be like drew him to the occult and took everything he had

 

[Goatmilk]

The Empty Man
Directed and written by David Prior

Not very good. Visually and artistically there are decent scenes here and there to look at but this one fell flat on me. Especially for a two hour movie, ya gotta do better than that. Honestly I think the characters are just boring and everything is kind of a slog to watch most of the way through. Very depressing tone with no high notes anywhere to be found. Not a fan of this one

Spoiler: Discussion

Thought it was shallow. I think one of the only things I enjoyed about The Empty Man was the fact that there was a society out there that was crazy yet perceptive enough to know about this entity and to sort of research it to some degree. They worshipped it and allowed it to 'thrive'

Only redeeming part of The Empty Man: the scenes where the characters are vulnerable, isolated or picked apart due to the entity that is The Empty Man. Can't say there was anything all that great about this movie. I don't usually care for cult horror but some have done well for themselves. I would say that this is not one of the successful ones that hits the target as The Empty Man is a bore to sit through

Overall Rating = 5.3/10

I loved it. Long and deep, feels like a movie from the 90s.

 

[Franky Family]

@Goatmilk

Spoiler: The Empty Man

I don't know about deep, but it took me three or four tries to finish the movie. Remember that one scene where she begins to explain everything to him? I thought it was a jumbled mess; convoluted and dumb. This random high school girl just happens to be an up to date professional like some omnipresent detective of some sort with unlimited knowledge of this man's file and life, then it goes as far as her telling him he was basically bred for this moment. It kind of reminded me of Wanted in that sense (the movie with Angelina Jolie) except Wanted at least pieced some things together. There was mystery to the Empty Man but nothing given in the movie was satisfying enough to call him a proper villain in any way. I guess the only part about the entity that sticks is that there was so much nonsense information thrown out about him and so much mystery that you never stop wondering... But it's mostly in vain and the wondering and wandering to any kind of substantial conclusion is done in the dark. Nothing points to anything substantial imo. Not a very chilling horror/mystery. I was glad to have finished it by its end and it's not a film I would ever want to revisit at any point even if someone was hyped to see it

 

[Franky Family]

Eyes of Fire
Directed by Avery Crounse

Good. But not scary. This is a trippy one, but the mood is pretty relaxed all throughout. This movie kind of reminds me of when a substitute teacher would teach for the day; introduces himself or herself and then puts on an educational movie. It had that same kind of effect on me. Mildly interesting, kind of boring at the same time. I liked a handful of the ideas and there are some good scenes here and there but nothing incredible. Execution was kind of weak. Felt like this could have been a very creepy horror film but it's not. Plays out kind of like a slightly disturbing fairy tale

Overall Rating = 7/10

 

[Franky Family]

Hellbender
Directed by John Adams, Zelda Adams, Toby Poser

I've seen one of their films called The Deeper You Dig and that one was good so this was my second time watching an Adams Family film. I like the spots where they film, there's usually a decent bit of snow, some nature to be seen, green forest, etc. They also have a pretty cool house that has appeared in both movies from what I can tell, I'm guessing its their vacation home or something out in the middle of nowhere. Kind of reminds me of a snowbound version of Courage the Cowardly Dog's home lol

But to speak on Hellbender, it's great. Much better than the Deeper You Dig. The writing and acting was better than I expected. For a low budget film they sure did an excellent job. Moderately disturbing scenes to be viewed in Hellbender and I like the spin they had on the narrative. It's not a frightening film to watch play out but there are some very dark moments

Overall Rating = 8.2/10

 

[Franky Family]

Sam Was Here
Directed by Christophe Deroo

This is a good one. I loved the cinematography often times; kind of reminds me of the setting of the Hills Have Eyes but at the same time it's nothing like that movie. Not sure I'd call it great but definitely enjoyed watching this movie. Keeping this brief review vague because this is a movie I wanted to see for the past ten months or so and the ending is one of those left to one's own interpretations kind of thing. Put it on randomly to finally give it a chance and decided it was worth watching the entire way

Overall Rating = 7.5/10

 

[Franky Family]

Horror in the High Desert 3: Firewatch
Directed and written by Dutch Marich

I think there's plenty to discuss with this one. I love these movies; and the first and second ones are the best. Firewatch has me extremely excited to see what happens in the next film that follows but the final moments were not as intense nor as frightening as the first two. But I like how the lore was built up in Firewatch and am 100% hoping that Oscar Mendoza returns in some way to reprise his role as one of the more daring and capable adventurers. Beautiful shots in Firewatch. It's a slow burn, extremely slow burn and the payoff wasn't as not as strong as I was expecting it to be but the ending was still very good. Marich sets up the fourth film well and I expect great things but who knows if he'll stick the landing. Definitely, the next one should be absolutely terrifying. Firewatch has the last sequence, which was kind of creepy and I was definitely holding my breath but in the end it wasn't a wild ride of a finish like the first two were. Don't get me wrong though, to anyone who has finished it, the prospect of that last bit of footage is enough to give someone a heart attack if they were in Oscar's shoes. And after thinking about it for a while, what was shown opens up a world of terror to be shown in Horror in the High Desert 4. But I still wish there had been more moments at the end like the first and Minerva

My pros would be that the shots are incredible, the protagonist is intrepid, ambitious, and went in with a plan. The lore is expanded a bit and whatever it is exactly that we are dealing with in the past three films, those entities are terrifying. The cons for some are probably that it's an extremely slow burn with a minimal payoff, but found footage fans will probably appreciate some of what the movie has to offer

I really liked the exploration in this film. It could have been scarier if there was better sound design going on towards the end imo, but maybe next time there will be more spooky sounds like in the first movie. I'll be eagerly awaiting the next installment because I have a feeling that it's going to be a shocker and a must watch

Overall Rating = 8/10
Terror Meter = 11/100

 

[HeresJohnny]

Definitely going to check out Sam Was Here.

 

[Franky Family]

Abigail
Directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett

Very fun movie at times, some good scenes and most will probably be thoroughly entertained with this one. I saw about thirty minutes or so of that 2003 House On Haunted Hill movie and Abigail sort of reminded me of that setup a decent bit for a while. Haven't seen too many films in this subcategory, and tbh it never was a favorite of mine. With Abigail, most things are done well. But I don't particularly care much for the comedy portions in modern vampire flicks. The cringe can be unbearable sometimes imo. Couldn't wait for the driver to get killed off. Some of the lines and jokes were corny and delivered poorly but overall there was a bunch of action, twists, an insane amount of gore and that mansion turned out to be one hell of a battlefield, or playhouse, whatever you want to view it as. Whoever wrote the comedy portion of this movie could have done better, but there are more pros than cons and for an hour and forty-five minutes there aren't many dull moments. Some bad acting and delivery of lines, some jokes that don't necessarily hit, but all in all it's a solid movie. The only funny moment to me was when the driver put his hands up and was ready to throw down with the rat. If this were a movie that took itself a bit more seriously in tone, and did something a bit more unique with the monster's design then it could have been a better experience

Overall Rating = 7.9/10

 

[Franky Family]

Dog Soldiers
Directed and written by Neil Marshall

Action packed, tons of gore. I went in thinking that it would be a decent watch, kind of figured it'd be overrated thirty or so minutes in but was surprised with this movie

Overall Rating = 8.5/10

 

[HeresJohnny]

Dog Soldiers
Directed and written by Neil Marshall

Action packed, tons of gore. I went in thinking that it would be a decent watch, kind of figured it'd be overrated thirty or so minutes in but was surprised with this movie

Overall Rating = 8.5/10

Werewolf films making a big comeback too. Great news.

 

[Franky Family]

Carnival of Souls
Directed by Herk Harvey

Almost felt like an episode of the Twilight Zone

Overall Rating = 8/10

 

[Franky Family]

Annabelle: Creation
Directed by David F. Sandberg

Annabelle: Creation has it all, very strong movie and I thoroughly enjoyed watching this prequel. This was the first Annabelle movie I've seen so I figured why not start with the origin story. Location is really good, I liked the shots and the house. Actors are alright, jump scares, chilling atmosphere, great sound, a couple memorable lines, tense moments - all those things are done well here. I like how this movie actually tries to scare its audience and does a fair job of bringing the scares. I still think the first two Conjuring movies have the best frightening scenes and atmosphere, but Annabelle: Creation definitely has its moments too

Spoiler: Discussion

Great horror movie. The doll is creepy and the jump scares are actually alright. There was one scene that really caught me off guard and impressed me. On that note, the writing is pretty good too. There was one line that was fairly chilling to read, the one scene where the girl with polio is reading the diary and gets to that one page towards the middle of the book which says, "Today I came home" I thought that was brilliant. Good twist too, I figured based on what the mother had said that there daughter was actually present in the house tormenting them. But it was a demonic force, a highly dangerous demon of some sort. The demon's design was good, kind of intimidating

The house was good, barn scenes were good, I liked how the friend of the polio orphan had the bravery to take the evil doll out of the house in the middle of the night all alone and attempt to get rid of it by throwing it inside the well. Above all though, my favorite part about this movie is how well it creates tension and fear. The filmmakers do such a great job that there is some level of apprehension every time you know that one of the girls was attempting to enter Annabelle's room or discover something more about the doll to confirm their fears and/or suspicions. They couldn't believe it was real, and had to make sure for themselves and the terror they went through was kind of intense

I haven't seen the first Annabelle movie or any others but decided to watch this prequel and it was a great choice. Wouldn't mind watching this again at some point. Man there was one scene that had some sound that was getting so extreme and building up fear that I was relieved when that brief moment was over. Was definitely holding my breath a couple of times. James Wan sure does know how to put together a compelling story. He's three for four now imo from the movies I've watched in The Conjuring universe. Can't wait to see another Annabelle movie and hopefully soon

Overall Rating = 9/10
Terror Meter = 63/100

 

[Franky Family]

The Strangers: Prey At Night
Directed by Johannes Roberts

Not bad. Not as good as the first one, the first one was a true home invasion nightmare

Overall Rating = 6.2/10

 

[GreyHorace]

Again, not a horror movie fan at all. But I thought I'd share this news here.

Oscar Isaac Is Guillermo Del Toro’s Frankenstein In First-Look Photos From Netflix Gothic Horror

New images from GDT's adaptation of Mary Shelley's sci-fi horror classic, starring Jacob Elordi and Mia Goth, have been released. See them at Empire.

www.empireonline.com

Guillermo Del Toro is not a filmmaker I follow regularly, but I've liked all the stuff he's directed that I've seen. I thought Blade 2 was decent, as were both Hellboy films. Pan's Labyrinth though, was where I saw just how talented a filmmaker he was. I thought it was great (if a bit brutal). Pacific Rim was okay but not really memorable. His Pinocchio though was FANTASTIC. I love that movie. It's a shame we never got to see his take on The Hobbit. It would have been far better than the bloated monstrosity that we eventually got.

The last Frankenstein movie that I saw was Kenneth Branagh's version, and I thought it decent if a bit overwrought. I'm curious to see what new twists Del Toro can bring to Mary Shelley's classic story of science gone mad. And having Oscar Isaac play the titular mad scientist is a WIN in my book. After the triumph that was Robert Egger's Dracul- er, Nosferatu, I'm ready for a another classic Horror tale given a modern take.

 

[Franky Family]

Return to Horror Hotel

The first Horror Hotel might be the funniest movie I've ever seen. This sequel pales in comparison, pretty weak. My hopes were high because every segment of the last movie was hilarious. This one can be skipped but it is kind of nice to see a lot of the same actors returning even if this one is a dud. Most would probably slap me across the face for suggesting the first one, but personally it was comedic gold imo. Second one did noting for me

Overall Rating = 3/10

 

[Bonfires Down]

Blair Witch
Directed by Adam Wingard

Definitely a must watch. I'm hoping that it gets an anniversary showing in theaters one of these days so that I can see it on the big screen. Also hoping to watch this with others for a second go at it already. I love scary movies that have a lot of scenes in the woods, or out in the wild, in the middle of nowhere, and Blair Witch was perfect in its execution in that regard. Whoever hasn't seen this already ought to watch it soon and boy do I wish I had seen this at the cinema during its opening weekend... If somehow the original and this movie had been swapped and my 8-9-10 year old self could have watched this one instead I'm pretty sure it would have wrecked my psyche even worse it's just that intense towards the end. It's not enough to scare seasoned horror fanatics much but man.. the last twenty to twenty five minutes, they're definitely dropping bombs on the more casual viewers lol. Loved it, many of the scenarios are truly horrific and frightening to think about if you put yourself in the campers' point of view. Not sure what Rotten Tomatoes is thinking putting this film at 38% / 31% but to me, Blair Witch is must see horror

Overall = 9.8/10
Fright Meter = 34/100

I also loved it. I get the criticisms, especially the unnecessary jump scares which I agree just detracted from the movie. But the atmosphere is so thick and the scenario so hopeless. One of the most underrated horror movies out there.

 

[HeresJohnny]

Just watched Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person. What a pleasant surprise. Imagine if John Hughes had done a vampire flick. It's endearing and different, something new to the genre but also a little predictable. It's carried a long way by how sweet it is. I dunno, maybe I'm getting soft in my old age, but I liked this one.

 

[J-Roderton]

My wife won and we ended up watching My Bloody Valentine 2009 instead of the original. Feelsbadman.

 

[HeresJohnny]

My wife won and we ended up watching My Bloody Valentine 2009 instead of the original. Feelsbadman.

I steered away from that one. Got bad vibes from it.

 

[Franky Family]

Downrange
Directed by Ryuhei Kitamura

A very simple horror movie but it's decent. Nothing crazy to see here or anything new but still enjoyable

Overall Rating = 7.2/10

 

[Franky Family]

Hell House LLC: Lineage is going to receive a theatrical release at some point in August-October 2025 thanks to Iconic Events Releasing. It's the fifth and apparently the final movie of the series and director Stephen Cognetti wants to send it all off with a bang. There's even going to be a shift in how it's shot; no found footage but Stephen Cognetti promises fans it will not disappoint. Can't wait to see how he strings all four Hell House LLC movies together

I might marathon the movies to see if there was anything I missed. They're all excellent. Maybe one of my top ten franchises in horror. Here's a teaser for the new one releasing. Not the biggest fan of the song being sung but it's been there since the first one (piano) so it makes sense. Creepy and atmospheric visuals and sound, I like that part of the teaser a lot. And the Carmichael Mannor, love that setting. Glad to see it'll be in the new movie. Anyway here's the teaser:

 

[Grisham]

 

[Franky Family]

Unwelcome
Directed by Jon Wright

Overall Rating = 8/10

 

[Franky Family]

Hell Hole
Directed by John Adams and Toby Poser

The cover makes this movie look like it's going to offer something great but it's no where near the quality of the Adams Family's last film, Hellbender. A fracking company drilling in Serbia unearths a monster and what follows is an aberrant blood bath at the fracking site

Unfortunately, I can't recommend this one. There were some good ideas, to be fair. But the execution is terrible. I don't know how they take this many steps backward from their last film, which is great. I liked the location(s) they filmed at, how the film looked, and the premise. But this one is a miss if I'm calling it. Dialogue is cringe, tries way too hard to make this a comedy horror but only like 4% of the jokes elicit a chuckle. Acting was very poor, if not horrible from many of the actors. I also think that Adams and Poser failed to capture anything that builds any kind of horror despite having a grotesque monster at the center of this movie once it begins to take off. But it doesn't take off that's the unfortunate part. This movie is sort of a nod to The Thing but falls flat on its face. I like the Adams Family and their work, and this was worth seeing just to get a look into what they've been working on in my opinion, but unfortunately there was only one scene that was disturbing

Overall Rating = 4.8/10