It’s French, it’s low budget, it’s found-footage style, and it’s not bad. Masks, creepy sets and a Go Pro camera are used effectively to create a dark ominous atmosphere. The movie fails in the way that the characters respond to certain situations, but if they made smart decisions and walked away from danger it wouldn’t be a horror movie.
31 Nights of Horror VII, Night 27: The Thing (1982)
Three sentence review:
I looked back on all of the movies I’ve featured over the years and could not find John Carpenter’s The Thing. That is a damn shame, because it’s undeniably one of the greatest horror movies of all time. Not just because of the (iconic/legendary/GOAT) special effects either; the claustrophobic, dire environment that Mr. Carpenter created is as terrifying as it was in 1982.
Halloween met my expectations. I enjoyed the parts that clearly respected the original, such as the nice balance between gore and implied kills. I liked Michael’s look and the music was amazing.
I’m not sure about the new Doctor Loomis and the direction his character took. I’m also unclear if Michael was even out to get Laurie. In “Rue Morgue” magazine, David Gordon Green talked about disassociating Michael from being Laurie’s brother, that it was scarier to imagine Michael Myers as this random psychopath. That’s why I’m uncertain about the connection to Laurie in this one. Michael was killing everyone in his path throughout the film. He was brought to Laurie’s house, he was never seeking it out.
The new Halloween wasn’t perfect but I wasn’t expecting or hoping for it to be. What I loved was seeing it with my parents and brother and listening to their reactions:
My dad: “I was entertained”
My mom: “I am desensitized. It was too predictable for me.”
My brother: laughing out loud at the reactions of the police in the film (he’s a police officer himself)
That’s what great about horror. Coming together in a theater to laugh or feel scared. In that sense, it hit the mark.
31 Nights of Horror VII, Night 3: The Strangers: Prey at Night
Three sentence review:
In order to appreciate The Strangers: Prey at Night you have to accept that it’s a complete 180 from the original film. I absolutely loved it and I’m so glad I saw it in a movie theater. Yes, at times I found myself shaking my head but all flaws are forgiven when you include a pool scene as awesomely epic as that one.
31 Nights of Horror VI, Night 27: I Spit on Your Grave (1978)
Three sentence review:
It’s not easy watching exploitation movies like I Spit on Your Grave or Last House on the Left. Though the women or families thereof are successful in their revenge, the unspeakable horrors they must first endure hit too close to home with too many women – and men! Still, I must admit there’s a quiet satisfaction in watching Jennifer systematically take down her abusers one by one.
31 Nights of Horror VI, Night 26: Lights Out
Three sentence review:
I think if I had not watched Green Room and Don’t Breathe first I would have liked this movie much more. I think darkness is pretty scary in general and I thought the super short film of the same name was TERRIFYING, but I wasn’t feeling this one. Maybe I just felt bad for the Mom and wanted her to have her friend.
31 Nights of Horror VI, Night 25: Slasher: Guilty Party
Three sentence review:
Last year I reviewed the Canadian Horror tv show Slasher, which I very much enjoyed but don’t really know if I would recommend it per se unless you’re a dedicated and forgiving fan of the genre. Well, now they got that Netflix money and made a VERY solid season two with a brand new story and much gnarlier kills that make it worth the watch. The cabin-in-the-snow “who dunnit” storyline isn’t totally fresh but the acting is pretty decent and as someone who isn’t above watching MTV’s Scream, I didn’t mind the overly stylized soap opera aspects.
31 Nights of Horror VI, Night 24: Willow Creek
Three sentence review:
I’m fairly certain that I’m the right audience for this movie because I am very forgiving about annoying characters and shaky found footage. That being said, I can understand exactly why people didn’t like Bobcat Goldthwait’s Big Foot movie, Willow Creek. Though it is a slow build, I liked the use
of scary sounds and implied “baddies in the woods” during the realistic scene inside the tent and I also felt the payoff at the end was satisfying.
31 Nights of Horror VI, Alien vs. Predator: Requiem
Three sentence review:
First of all, a big ol’ LOL that this movie was released on Christmas day in 2007 and had one of the taglines as “This Christmas, there will be no peace on earth”. Okay, we’ve officially reached the “jump the shark” moment for the Alien franchise in AVP: Requiem and that’s OKAY. I mean, this is the only entry where we get a full glimpse of the PREDALIEN and that is cool enough for me and at least this tangent of the franchise went full throttle action and gore instead of metaphysical bologna.
31 Nights of Horror VI, Night 22: Alien vs. Predator
Three sentence review:
After Alien Resurrection happened we went a few years without seeing our xenomorph friends on the big screen. Luckily, that all changed in 2004 when Paul W.S. Anderson decided to finally bring the Alien versus Predator comic book to life. I don’t really care what you or any critic thinks – you can file this movie under “Films I Can Watch a Billion Times and Still Love”.
