Augeleven’s 2024 spooky season movie log

[lheugh]

Yeah, that behaviour is borderline child abuse. I'm also seeing it happening more and more these days, but Terrifier is a helluva choice to fuck your kids up with.

[augeleven]

Movie #19 - Child’s Play 2

I probably saw this in bits and pieces on TNT or USA in the 90s, but I didn’t remember most of it. I wanted to like this, really I did. But this is the movie where my ability to suspend my disbelief finally failed. I found it very silly, but not very funny, if that makes sense. The last scene in the factory was ok, but everything else was lame. I might show it to the kid, but pretty sure she will be bored

5 out of 10

[augeleven]

Yesterday also

Movie #20 - Friday the 13th V: A new Beginning
I’m pretty sure I’ve never seen this one before. I liked it just fine. The twists at the end call back to the old Giallo movies.
6 out of 10. Better than Jason goes to Hell, but not as good as part 6.

Today
Movie #21 - The Last Broadcast
This popped up on my radar as an older, better Blair Witch Project. Well, I liked it better than Blair Witch, but I was still pretty bored by it. Whatever. I need some good movie recommendations.
4 out of 10

[lheugh]

Yesterday also

Movie #20 - Friday the 13th V: A new Beginning
I’m pretty sure I’ve never seen this one before. I liked it just fine. The twists at the end call back to the old Giallo movies.
6 out of 10. Better than Jason goes to Hell, but not as good as part 6.

Today
Movie #21 - The Last Broadcast
This popped up on my radar as an older, better Blair Witch Project. Well, I liked it better than Blair Witch, but I was still pretty bored by it. Whatever. I need some good movie recommendations.
4 out of 10

I quite enjoyed Mr. Crocket. Daddy's Head wasn't bad either.

[augeleven]

I quite enjoyed Mr. Crocket. Daddy's Head wasn't bad either.

Movie #22 - Mr Crocket

Great recommendation. I’ll probably give Daddy’s Head a shot this week.

10/10 no notes. I am very susceptible to recency bias though. I’ll probably watch this with the wife this weekend.


This film sees my xellenial self. The big takeaway:

SpoilerShow

even if I’m a garbage parent, I’m probably better than a tv demon. And even if I give my kids a throwing-the-football/reading-a-book-together montage, they’ll still end up super evil.

[lheugh]

I quite enjoyed Mr. Crocket. Daddy's Head wasn't bad either.

Movie #22 - Mr Crocket

Great recommendation. I’ll probably give Daddy’s Head a shot this week.

10/10 no notes. I am very susceptible to recency bias though. I’ll probably watch this with the wife this weekend.


This film sees my xellenial self. The big takeaway:

SpoilerShow

even if I’m a garbage parent, I’m probably better than a tv demon. And even if I give my kids a throwing-the-football/reading-a-book-together montage, they’ll still end up super evil.

This made my day! I'll throw-in The Taking of Deborah Logan for a palate cleanse.

[weisgarber]

I watched "Talk to me" last month and thought it was pretty good, if you're looking for a decent horror movie with a bit more polish. The sound design and background music/noises made a bit of an impact.

I watched Hell House Origins over the weekend and thought it was decent if not great. The original Hell House was found footage in 2015 about a bunch of guys setting up a haunted house for Halloween and was actually decent. The next two sequels were terrible (I'm still amazed they had the gall to release the first sequel, which should have torpedoed the careers of everyone involved). Origins (#4 in the series) was sort of a return to the original vibe, though it had the usual trappings of people behaving in very stupid ways, and the lead character was annoying to the extent that I was wishing her dead 20-30 minutes in.

Grave Encounters, another found footage from 2011, was also decent. The writers had the sense to trap them in the abandoned hospital so the characters couldn't be blamed for not leaving when things got bad.

[augeleven]

I’m putting Talk to Me on the list. Deborah Logan might be too much for me. Not sure if I want to watch any more found footage, especially if the characters are annoying.

I still got to get through
- Train to Busan
- Iichi the Killer
- Cannibal Holocaust
- Hausu
- The Blob
- a new-to-me Fulci movie (The Psychic?)

But I will take all the suggestions

Movie #23 - Poltergeist (1982)

I thought I hadn’t seen this before, but I probably watched it once like 15 years ago, because some of the scenes stuck out to me. It is officially checked off my list now though. I know I’m supposed to love this one, but:
1) I didn’t like Craig T Nelson’s character too much.
2) too saccharine and wholesomely melodramatic for me. Goldsmith’s beautiful score did nothing to help here.
3) The mom is 31 - no - 32 and she has a 16 year old daughter. Then the 16 year old daughter reminiscing about a hotel by the airport is played for laughs. If teen pregnancy is part of the story, maybe it needs to be more than a punchline?

I was ready to give this a 7 out of 10 while I was finishing the 15 or so minutes on the cardio machine, but then my man James Karen came to the rescue (+.5) delivering the bug-eyed histrionics the ending went full Goonies with skeletons (+.5) and the weird esophagus with the tentacle (+.5) is probably as eldritchly goopy a practical effect could get with a PG rating.


8.5 out of 10

[lheugh]

Mayhem is good fun.

[weisgarber]

One other interesting fact about Talk to Me: it takes place in Australia. Early in the movie two of the main characters are driving home at night and come across what I initially thought was a dying deer in the road that had been hit by a car. They get out--accompanied by some very unsettling music--and try to figure out what to do (not much, it turns out, but they . . . revisit the scene later). So, just a deer hit by a car, nothing that would come as a surprise to a lot of people in the US.

Except, because it's in Australia, it's a kangaroo. They apparently hit kangaroos over there the way we run into deer here.

[augeleven]

Movie #24 - Cannibal Holocaust
I started this one Thursday and finished it in the car on Friday. I may have actually seen this one before and my brain conveniently erased all evidence. This movie isn’t wholly without merit - the score is awesome and I liked some of the cinematography. I have a grainy .avi rip so it could have looked better, but I wanted to hide watching this sin as much as possible. The actual animal killings were the sickest thing I’ve seen, and they definitely primed the brain to accept the other atrocities as real.

Fuck this movie out of 10. I can’t give it a 1, but I feel dirty even thinking of giving it anything more.

Movie #25 - Train to Busan
After CH, I needed something to cleanse the soul. How have I not seen this? So good! I watched the first 90 minutes on my phone in the car, and when I got to SiL’s house, I finished it on Peacock (or Max, I forget) which was the English dub. I definitely preferred the Korean version.

9 out of 10 - not bad considering I definitely overdosed on zombie movies in the 00’s and didn’t think I had recovered yet.

Bonus movies

Possessing Piper Rose
SiL was watching this when we arrived. I caught the last half of it. Pure cheese. I think this is the only non-Mystique role I’ve seen Rebecca Romijn in.

Phantasm IV
I watched this about half way through then went to sleep. Kind of bored by it. I’ve seen it before at least once - this is my least favorite Phantasm movie.

[augeleven]

Movie #26 Hausu

I found my limit for too silly. This was waaay too saccharine and silly for the first hour. I’m glad I watched it, but I will probably never watch it again.
5 out of 10

[augeleven]

yesterday:

Movie #27 - Talk To Me
It's an A24 movie. I'm not always in the mood to investigate my feelings when watching a horror movie, so I was a bit hesitant to dip my toes into this one.
I'm glad I did. What a well made film! The sound design was great - I've been watching a lot of these movies on my phone or ipad with bluetooth cans so the sound was extra immersive. I was freaked out a bit by this one.

9/10 a really well done movie; probably too serious for my tastes but I'm glad I watched it.

This is more horror movies than I've seen in a while. I'm not full-on craving a RomCom or anything, but it will be nice to NOT watch in 10 days.

[weisgarber]

I'm glad you enjoyed Talk to Me. I like good horror movies but there just aren't that many of them that click with me.

I watched "As Above, So Below" last night from 2014. It's in the style of found-footage (I know you said you'd had enough of that genre) but this one was a little different. It's ostensibly about a guy doing a documentary of an archeologist looking for a stone in the catacombs beneath Paris. They get together with a group of 20-something spelunkers to serve as their guide, and the majority of the movie is actually shot in the catacombs, which is supposed to have the bones of 6 million people in it. They walk past walls of real femurs and skulls, so it's not your typical set dressing.

It feels like a cross between a regular movie and found footage. The group all have headlamps and several have GoPros, and the scenes frequently cut between cameras. The style is reminiscent of Homicide: Life on the Streets from the 90s without the benefit of steadycams. There's not much in the way of monsters or gore--it's just weird and creepy and gradually get more bizarre as the movie goes on. Once the movie gets going about 15 minutes it doesn't slow down. Most found footage movies have a lot of downtime punctuated by moments of action. This movie has a time-pressure where they realize they're screwed and they're desperate to keep moving to try to find a way out, so it has faster pacing than your typical FF and there aren't many moments of introspection.

They use up their entire CG budget in a 0.5 second shot near the end of the movie involving a flaming car (in the catacombs) that ends with a shot that makes you go "WTF?" Most movies would dwell on that for a bit, but 5-10 seconds later they've moved on. The ending in particular was strange. If you hear it described without any context it would sound anticlimactic, but given the lead-up and the way it's shot, it's fitting. Particularly given the box art of the movie.

If you stop to think about what's going on, and why the main character has so many PhDs at her age and is able to solve riddles so quickly on the fly it strains credulity a bit, but the pacing is fast enough that it feels more like a long action ride.

Anyway, I hadn't been expecting much but came away surprised. If you're at least somewhat interested, I'd check out the trailer on YouTube.

[augeleven]

I saw As Above, So Below last year, IIRC @weisgarber
I remember enjoying it, although I don't remember much about it. I'm a sucker for occult historical fiction, so the title grabbed my attention. I should probably watch it again.


I have fallen off on watching (and training, and dieting) this past week, so I need to get back on the wagon.

It is my daughter's 11th birthday weekend, and she is expecting to see some scary movies. I'm planning on showing Arachnophobia, Fear Street 1666 (she has already seen the first 2) and a couple of others. I'm open to suggestions though.

[weisgarber]

I saw the Fear Street movies two years ago. I thought the first was decent but became progressively less interested with each sequel. I think the target audience was teens/young-adults so that probably tracks.

The next few recommendations are more for you than an 11-year old.

Did you ever watch Oculus? It's about a haunted mirror that affects people's minds and take place in two different time periods, modern day and when the protagonists were kids and exposed to the mirror the first time. It sounds stupid but has kind of Amityville Horror sort of vibe.

I also saw Sputnik a few years back. It's a Russian film about an astronaut who returns to earth with an alien inside him that . . . comes out to say "hi" occasionally. Probably the first Russian film I've ever seen and not bad, though it's a much slower tempo than As Above, So Below or a lot of other horror movies. The director isn't in a rush to get anywhere (i.e. probably not a good film for an 11-year old).

And you had to have already seen this, but I'll mention it in case you somehow have not: Jacob's Ladder.

[augeleven]

I saw the Fear Street movies two years ago. I thought the first was decent but became progressively less interested with each sequel. I think the target audience was teens/young-adults so that probably tracks.

I agree. She wanted to watch them, as she loves RL Stine stuff. I liked all the 90s stuff, and it's nice to see Benjamin Flores still getting work (My kids watched Haunted Hathaways a lot).

Did you ever watch Oculus? It's about a haunted mirror that affects people's minds and take place in two different time periods, modern day and when the protagonists were kids and exposed to the mirror the first time. It sounds stupid but has kind of Amityville Horror sort of vibe.

Maybe this will be my gateway into Mike Flanagan stuff. I've always shied away due to hearing he commonly uses themes of generational trauma and domestic issues. That's my achilles heel.

I also saw Sputnik a few years back. It's a Russian film about an astronaut who returns to earth with an alien inside him that . . . comes out to say "hi" occasionally. Probably the first Russian film I've ever seen and not bad, though it's a much slower tempo than As Above, So Below or a lot of other horror movies. The director isn't in a rush to get anywhere (i.e. probably not a good film for an 11-year old).

This sounds like something for me!

And you had to have already seen this, but I'll mention it in case you somehow have not: Jacob's Ladder.

Yeah dude. Although I'm probably due for a rewatch.

[weisgarber]

Your description of Flanagan's work matches what you can expect in Oculus (I haven't seen his other films so I'm not that familiar with him). The mirror causes hallucinations and general madness (plus being a great alternative to RoundUp). In the first time period, both parents gradually go crazy and wind up dead, with one of the kids going away for (murder/being nuts?) for 11 years. I thought the brother going away while the sister went into some kind of foster home never made much sense, but they didn't really dwell on that part--after both parents die the timeline jumps ahead to the present day with the brother getting out.

The sister spent ensuing years researching the history of the mirror and managed to "borrow" it right before her brother is released, and decided the two of them were going to face it down and "win" this time.

[augeleven]

Log catch-up
10/21-23 no movies
Feeling very low all week. Also severely addicted to Skyrim.

10/24
Movie #28 - Tucker and Dale Must Die
This started out great, with razor sharp turns in tone horror to comedy, but it quickly hopped on the obvious comedy of errors train. Alan Tudyk though…
6 out of 10 for Tudyk

10/25
Unfinished movie - My Name is Bruce
Put this one on for the birthday girl. She canceled it due to racist portrayals of Chinese people and the standard Bruce Campbell misogyny. She liked Army of Darkness, and it’s obvious that the movie is roasting Campbell’s machismo, but Ted Raimi in yellowface and a Chinese demon-god of tofu is pretty heinous.
I’ll probably finish it sometime this week, but unfinished it’s a 4 out of 10. Because despite its need to be canceled, it’s still great watching Bruce be a schmuck.

10/26
Movie #29 - Demonia
Quite the garbage Fulci movie. Shudder said it was his last best movie. If this was a good Fulci movie then I don’t want to see a bad one. It lacked the atmosphere of the Gates trilogy and Zombi. The main gross out piece where the guy was cut in half was laughably bad and the ending was spoiled by the cover art.
3 out of 10 - the lead actress was cute.

Movie #30 - All Hallow’s Eve
This made for the Fulci Fail. What a great anthology film! It was a musing to see the large differences in makeup from one monster to the next. A great start to the Art the Clown franchise, this one might edge out Terrifier
8 out of 10, unless I gave Terrifier a better score


10/27
Movie #31 - House
I knew I had seen this one before, but couldn’t remember anything about it. William Katt (I’m probably the only person to remember the touchstone film “Baby” about the Mkole Mbembe?) is great in this and the set pieces are zany but kinda grounded. Or at least I thought they were grounded after watching House 2. Not a great movie, but a watchable movie, very dadcore, I’ll probably put this one again at some point.
6 out of 10

Movie #32 - House 2
This might be crazier than Hausu. House 2 lives in the same world that is equal parts Bill and Ted Bogus Journey, Weekend at Bernie’s 2, Demons, Back to the Future 3 and Temple of Doom. I need to watch this again to make sure I didn’t accidentally dream the whole thing.
5 out of 10

10/28
Movie #33 - Tremors 2
I have been trending a lot of horror comedies in this back half of the list, and this one is about as non-horror as a horr comedy gets. What this movies does have is a comfy late 90s Sci-Fi (as in pre SyFy) channel vibe that reminds me of my teens. Chicken soup for the soul, but not a bit scary
6 out of 10 for the nostalgia.

[augeleven]

Yesterday

Movie #34 - Demons 2
I love the first one, and started Demons 2 a couple times, but have never finished it. It’s a fun party vibe - a great movie to put in and only occasionally pay attention. It suffers from the same tonal balance issues that Phenomena had: upbeat, major-key punk rock is inappropriate for harrowing chase scenes. There are some cool gags in it though, and the scene where the demon pushes through the tv is very effective. It’s also a blast to the same actors from Demons playing different roles.
6/10

Today I wanted to watch a Hammer film I haven’t seen. I’m in the middle Vampire Lovers. So far it’s passable as far as checking the baudy, gothic melodrama I was craving.
I’ll update this tomorrow.

Speaking of tomorrow, I want to close this out with a Halloween movie, but not sure which one. I’ve seen the first 7 a million times. I might rewatch an RZ one, or maybe the first DGG one. Or maybe I’ll get Drunk and watch Busta Rhymes karate chop the shape.