A blog featuring the game related ramblings and ideas of a role-playing gamer since 1980. My interests include many games and gaming related topics, but my main focus will be on Open Ended Original Edition Old School Fantasy Adventure Sandbox Role Playing Games (OEOEFASRPG™) The Open-Ended Sandbox Exploration of Dungeons, Wilderness and Cities. Occasionally, other topics outside of gaming will be discussed here as well.
ZODIAC is one of my all-time favorite movies regardless of how you choose to categorize the film. I am calling it a "real life horror" for this list because the basic events happened - dramatized and embellished I am sure - but The Zodiac is a real life killer. From the very first time I watched this film I was enthralled with the story, the details, the acting, and the creepiness in some scenes,
ZODIAC is not just one of those random murder movies that has been made dozens of times. There are moments where it creates a dreadful feeling in the viewer. One such instance is where the cartoonist turned amateur sleuth is following up a phone call conversation by visiting this guy at his house for some evidence. They go in the basement and while they are down there the little weasel guy he was visiting is turned different lights off and on as they walk around the basement. You can hear footsteps upstairs from a big heavy person that is creepy if you watch it late at night.
No trailer and no recollections about any particular movie in this entry. Just a simple question.
What is your favorite horror movie?
I have several films that are vying for the top spot. My favorite 80s slasher is Friday the 13th. My favorite found footage horror is probably Paranormal Activity. For my all-time favorite - and some people will protest that it is a true crime thriller but I am calling it a "real life horror film" - you will have to read the Z post tomorrow...
XTRO is on this list for one simple reason. It is the only horror movie beginning with the letter X that I can remember seeing. I admit it. I do not remember much about this movie at all. I think it is about a human woman that gave birth to a child fathered by an extraterrestrial. No idea if that is completely accurate. The only thing I do remember is that we got it from the video store and I believe some of the effects were the sort to gross mothers out. I have to track down a copy of this after all these years.
I am not discussing a film for the "W" entry but I am asking a simple question...
What is the WORST horror film you have ever seen?
I will do better than name one film but I will say these are the three worst horror movies I have even seen. My son and I were on a SHARKNADO kick and we decided to find something similar. I stumbled across the Shark Attack 3-pack at Wal-Mart for the low, low price of $5. I thought they looked fun and bought the DVD. I was about to find out just how very wrong I was just a short time later.
I attempted to watch these movies back to back and I failed. I fell asleep several times and it took about a week to watch all three. My son gave up much quicker than I did. He still has not watched any of these movies completely to this day. Besides having sharks in each movie, these three movies share some common traits. The acting is wooden and amateurish at best. The special effects are not really that special at all. The stories are all slow and tedious. The dialogue is pure gibberish. They are all just AWFUL from start to finish. There are NO similarities to SHARKNADO and no joke to "be in on" because the joke WILL be on you if you watch these films.
I will not directly post the trailers here; I will, however, provide links to the trailers below. Be warned - just watching these trailers may be similar to reading passages from The Necronomicon!!! Be cautious if you choose to tread further and view these trailers below. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!!!!
V/H/S was a film I gambled on and I wound up being pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed the stories. If I recall correctly, I knew nothing about VHS until I saw a preview on another movie I rented from redbox. Then I rented VHS from redbox on my next visit. The film has 5 found footage short films bookended by a 6th story. I found the sequel VHS 2 to be just as good as the original. The third film, VHS: Viral, was a disappointment to me. The stories did not hold my attention as well as the previous two films. A third film, VHS 94, has been announced but I have yet to hear any more information. I am sure I will give it a shot...
US seems to divide horror fans into the "great" and "meh" camps. I personally thought it was a great film. It was not another mindless slasher and the story was unique. US is an interesting twist on literally facing your inner demons and also touches of broader societal issues. I have not seen US in some time and I regret now owning it; I will remedy soon. Simply put, US is an engaging film that not only asks who the enemy is but it also answers it.
TRICK'R TREAT is a horror comedy anthology film from 2007. The four stories take place on Halloween night. Each of the stories is a standalone tale with the exception of the appearance of Sam in each tale; showing up when the rules of Halloween are broken. I enjoyed all of the stories and the bookends included at each end of the film.
TRICK'R TREAT is a fun movie. I always include it in every Halloween horror movie marathon that I do every year. There was some talk of a sequel but so far nothing has materialized. I have not come across any rumors of a sequel lately either. One one hand, I think that is great because they have not tried to turn this into a franchise by quickly releasing a follow up movie of questionable quality. On the other hand, I think it is unfortunate that there have been no follow up films. CREEP and CREEP 2 have shown you can have several films years apart and maintain the quality. I think TRICK'R TREAT could do the same thing. If a sequel is never filmed I will still be happy with one very good film.
SILENT HILL is based on the video game franchise bearing the same name. I have played a bit of the first two but I never completed either one of them. I remember enjoying this movie and I used it for this challenge for no other reason than it does a great job of adapting the video game to the big screen. SILENT HILL looks and feels right to me. I will not try and argue that is perfect; it IS an adaptation after all. It does, however, do a much better job of adapting the game to the big screen than many other video game movies have done.
RACE WITH THE DEVIL is one of those movies that played on several Friday or Saturday nights when I was a young boy during the 1980s. According to the wikipedia entry RACE WITH THE DEVIL was released in 1975. It would fit right in with some 80s movies like Mazes & Monsters, Witchboard, etc. that used Witchcraft and/or Satanism as part of their horror.
The plot of RACE WITH THE DEVIL is pretty easy to follow. Two couples are on vacation in a RV and camp for the night. The men run across a ritual where a woman is sacrificed. They get noticed and chased throughout the rest of the movie. I remember bits and pieces of this movie but what really caught in my memory was the ending. No spoilers; see for yourself!
Q: THE WINGED SERPENT is from 1982 and I most likely saw it in 1983 or 1984. I honestly remember nothing about the movie other than the fact that we got it from a local VHS rental store and it prompted a little bit of discussion about the Aztec deity Quetzalcoatl. Maybe I will track down a copy and give it a go after all these years.
As I stated in an earlier post, I have been a fan of B-movie horror films since the 1980s. In my opinion Full Moon Features is the best representative of those types of films with series such as Subspecies, Killjoy, Gingerdead Man, and PUPPET MASTER. I am pretty confident that if you have rented from a video store in the 90s or early 2000s then you have either seen some of these movies on the shelves or seen previews for at least one of these movies.
I own all of the PUPPET MASTER movies except for the last two if I remember correctly; I would verify but the movies are all packed up so my best guess will have to be used. These movies - especially the first four - have held up pretty well. The effects are practical and look pretty decent for the most part. There are a few cases where things are not quite right but this is lower budget stuff. I will take these puppets over the shoddy CGI used for the Scorpion King in The Mummy 2 any time.
The PUPPET MASTER movie series does not flow in a strict timeline with each new movie following the movie before. There are movies that go back in the timeline and detail past events. One movie is a standalone movie and one of the newest ones - that I have not seen - even serves as a reboot or alternate universe story.
Overall, PUPPET MASTER is a fun series of films. They are films that try to do B-movies with a little bit of substance and quality instead of just turning out some garbage. Give one a chance. You just might like it...
ONE HOUR PHOTO has a simple premise if you think about it. Before cell phones and digital cameras, people would use actual film in their cameras. When the roll of film was full it would be taken to a photo lab and turned in to a technician for them to develop. You would then come back and pick up your pictures when they were complete. ONE HOUR PHOTO explores the dark side of this process. If you think about it there is quite a bit of information that can be learned from using this method; names, family size, address, phone number, etc. and it is all in a physical format.
ONE HOUR PHOTO is a great psychological thriller. It has been years since I last saw it but I remembered it for this challenge; I plan on picking up a copy as soon as possible. The biggest draw to this film is Robin Williams. He plays completely against his usual type - comedy roles - and it is unsettling and intriguing to watch. Check it out!
NIGHTMARES used to play on television somewhat frequently in my local area. It was one of those weekend or late night monster movies that used to air during the summer time. NIGHTMARES is a collection of four short stores that make up a larger film. It has been suggested that it was intended as shorts for an existing anthology series or a pilot for a new show. The show never materialized so the four stories in this film are all that is available.
NIGHTMARES consists of the following four stories. Terror in Topanga is a retelling of the urban legend about a killer in the backseat of the car. The Bishop of Battle is basically Tron done in reverse. It is my favorite of the stories and the one I remember the best. It has a young Emilio Estevez in the cast. The Benediction is about a Priest that is slipping in his faith and his encounter with a satanic car. Night of the Rat is about a family dealing with a rat in their house.
I have not seen this movie in years; probably twenty to be exact. I remember really enjoying The Bishop of Battle segment. Of course, arcades and home video game systems were really big at that time so that makes sense. I honestly do not remember much about the other other stories. I need to track down a copy of this film to see it again.
No other movie that I have watched has polarized opinions as much as MIDSOMMAR. I had seen Hereditary before buying a DVD of MIDSOMMAR for the incredible bargain of $5. I believe it was during some sort of sale. Whenever it was, I took a gamble and bought the movie without having seen it before.
I got around to watching MIDSOMMAR later that night and I was not disappointed at all. It was a slow burn that kept me highly interested the entire movie. The pagan references and rituals reminded me of The Wicker Man. I am not complaining or trying to detract from MIDSOMMAR. There is absolutely nothing wrong with wearing influence or inspiration clearly on your sleeve. What is the old saying? "There's nothing new under the sun.".
MIDSOMMAR had me enthralled the entire time. It was fascinating watching the deterioration of the relationship Dani and Christian, the interaction between the group and students and the Harga, and the events leading up to the climax. I know the film is two years old but I do not want to go into too much detail. Someone reading this may not have seen it yet.
MIDSOMMAR is a great film. It is not a jump scare movie or a gore-fest. It is more of a psychological thriller that messes with your head and makes you think. You might even think of it as a cautionary tale about knowing what you are getting into before jumping into things such as a trip to an overseas land with an isolated pagan civilization. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
I should have seen LEPRECHAUN and the sequels before the last year or so. I was a huge B-movie horror fan and I would watch them regardless of how corny they might sound. Who am I kidding? I still do that. Anyway, I was in the Army when this movie first came out. It should have been right up my alley. The premise is pretty simple; after his gold is taken from him, the leprechaun resorts to whatever means he can to get it back.
There have been eight entries into this series. I own all of the movies on DVD because I found a bundle of the original 7 for $7.50 and Leprechaun Returns as a separate DVD for $9.99. If that is not completely accurate then the prices were close to that. At just over $2 a film I can not really complain two much but there are some questionable entries into the franchise. That seems to be the way of things with horror.
I am not disappointed with having watched this entire film series. I would like for them to be remade. If the studio could provide a decent budget, play up the actual mythological aspects, and focus more on horror instead of the cornier side then they could be very good.
I saw KRAMPUS when it came to redbox. I remember enjoying it but I only saw it that one time. I do think it is one of the better Christmas horror films that I can remember. I am going to make it a point to see it again.
I just realized something that may be odd while I was writing this entry. I have either watched very few horror films with the title beginning with the K or I have only seen them once. There are definitely others out there that I can recall seeing - such as Killer Klowns From Outer Space - but I definitely need to see some more. I could be missing out on something. Any recommendations?
I can hear the protests already. "Jason in space? That's goofy.", or "Taking a horror franchise into space is just a short-lived fad that they should not have done.", or something similar. I understand but let me explain how JASON X is much better than similar efforts from other horror franchises.
JASON X is the third installment of the Friday the 13th film franchise after New Line Cinema bought the rights; the 10th entry into the overall series. JASON X embraces the film's setting much more clearly deeply than their previous two efforts. JASON TAKES MANHATTAN was in New York but not for very long and other than a nod or two it could be set anywhere. JASON GOES TO HELL fails on the same level. Sure, Jason does go to hell but it is really just hinted at by the demonic arms pulling him down into the earth at the end.
JASON X does not just tease the viewer with hints at space; the film completely embraces the space setting. The technology level is futuristic and obviously advanced from today. Jason was cryogenically frozen, there are space ships, hologram, space station, virtual reality gaming, space marines, nanotechnology, an android, and even Jason gets upgraded at one point!
I will not argue whether or not the idea of Jason in space is goofy or not. Of course, it IS goofy but these films are not meant for deep cranial thought. These films are meant for fun and entertainment. Viewers watch these moves for the body count and creativity of the kills. JASON X definitely delivers what may be the best kill in the entire series. This is the one scene that even non-fans seem to like. Click the link and tell me what you think in the comments.
JASON X also embraces what has come before in the series. The group of young adults in the film are confined to the space ship much like the campers being confined to Camp Crystal Lake. There is a lot of darkness and moments of isolation in the film. At one point, they use a holographic depiction of the camp to distract Jason while they are trying to accomplish a task. Jason even does a sleeping bag kill like he has in previous films.
JASON X is a fun slasher and one of the better entries in the Friday the 13th franchise. Give it a chance instead of pre-judging the film and you might just like it.
IN THE MOUTH OF MADNESS is one of my all time favorite horror films. I do not want to give any possible spoilers at all - can I really spoil a film released in 1994? - so I will keep the details to a minimum. The best way to describe this film might be as a homage to H.P. Lovecraft directed by John Carpenter. That should be enough! IN THE MOUTH OF MADNESS is an underappreciated effort starring an underappreciated Sam Neill. This film will leave you wondering at the end. Give it a chance and I do not think you will be disappointed.
THE HOUSE OF THE DEVIL is a unique horror film because it was made in 2009 but it was made to intentionally resemble the horror films from the 1970s and 1980s. The film also includes opening text claiming it was based on true events similar to other films of that era such as The Amityville Horror or The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. The "satanic panic" of the 1980s is also used in an effective manner in this film.
I received THE HOUSE OF THE DEVIL as a gift. I had heard of the movie but I had never seen it; really did not know anything at all about the film. I was working a lot of mandatory overtime so I had to wait to watch the film. Work demands calmed down weeks later and I watched the film. THE HOUSE OF THE DEVIL is very well done. It does a great job of recreating the look and feel of the slasher and haunted house movies of that time. Definitely recommended.
THE GATE was one of those films my buddies and I just stumbled across at the video store. It became one of our repeat rentals after watching it the first time. THE GATE struck a chord with us not because it was a slasher or full of jump scares but because it was more of a horror adventure movie. The use of practical effects and forced perspective worked really well in this film.
THE GATE follows two young protagonists, Glen and Terry. Glen's parents are out of town for the next couple of days and leave his older sister, Alexandria, in charge while they are gone. Predictably, she has a party while they are gone. Glen and Terry are too young so they are upstairs fiddling around with a geode they found earlier that day from a hole construction workers left in the yard. They crack it open and strange words appear on a nearby notepad. The pair go downstairs as the older kids are playing a levitation game and Terry gets levitated.
The next day, Terry brings over a heavy metal album. The lyrics to this album are based on "The Dark Book". The lyrics explain how to open a portal to a realm of dark gods. The kids discover that they have done just that. Do they close the gate? Do they stop the evil demons from entering their world? Watch THE GATE and find out...
This post is different from the rest. Instead of talking about a specific film I am going to provide links to several fan films based on horror properties. I was bored one night and tried searching for fan films since I used to read fan fiction. Some of these I have watched some I have not so I have no guesses on overall quality. Maybe you will like some of these?
EVILSPEAK shares a very basic premise with The Exorcist; demonic possession. Instead of a person getting possessed against their will EVILSPEAK tells the story of Stanley Coopersmith. He is the awkward kid that is always getting bullied and picked on at school. One day he finds an ancient tome and figures out how to use the rituals contained within the book. Stanley summons a demon and gets revenge on his bullies.
Although EVILSPEAK shares some story elements and has similar effects to The Exorcist it did not frighten me like The Exorcist. I watched this several times over the years. My buddies and I would either find it on cable light night or rent it from one of the video stores. It has one of the best cuts from an opening scene in ancient times to the modern world with a decapitated head turning into a soccer ball. The effects during the possession period of the movie looked pretty decent as well. If a movie that basically mixes The Exorcist and (sort of) The Omen together then check out EVILSPEAK. An underappreciated gem from the best horror decade, the 1980s.
I was very young the first time I watched THE EXORCIST. I am not quite sure how young I was but it was not more than 9 or 10 years old. Maybe not the best choice of film for someone of that age but that is an entirely different discussion. It was the very first horror movie I can recall viewing.
THE EXORCIST had a profound affect on me. I grew up going to church so just the basic premise of the movie gave me a chill. After I saw THE EXORCIST I was terrified of the prospect of being possessed by the devil. When I went to bed the closet door absolutely had to be closed; even then I would lay facing the door so I could notice if the door started to open during the night. I would also cover up my head and leave a small hole allowing me to see that closet. For me, the young me anyway, THE EXORCIST will always be the scariest movie ever made.
I have never watched THE EXORCIST as an adult. I am not worried about being scared all over again. No, not at all. I am concerned that I might just find it boring or not worthy of the fear my young mind associated with the film. There are times that nostalgia is better left untainted.
The horror films of Rob Zombie seem to be a collection of polarizing efforts. I believe I have seen all of them. I only own 4 of his films - the firefly family trilogy and Lords of Salem - and I intend to buy his two Halloween films. I am a fan of his films in general. I get why there are unfavorable opinions of his work but I am willing to give any of his films a chance.
I was pretty excited when I first heard Rob Zombie was going to get into horror films. I waited for House of 1,000 Corpses but then it got delayed. I do not remember how many times or how long it was delayed but I do recall that it made me wonder whether it was getting released at all. I finally saw it and - I was not blown away or anything like that - I did not feel let down and was interested in seeing more of his films.
I was not one of the first people in my circle to see THE DEVIL'S REJECTS but I do remember hearing a lot of buzz about the film. It was suggested almost every time we were looking for something to watch while enjoying a small gathering drinking adult beverages or just hanging out. No one seemed to ever have a copy available but I eventually watched it.
THE DEVIL'S REJECTS became an instant member of my personal top 10 horror films list; I have watched it countless times after the initial viewing. It has several memorable moments with some definite quotable lines such as "I am the Devil and I'm here to do the Devil's work", "Official clown business", and "Tutti F--n Fruitti" to name a few. I find many of the characters in the movie to be interesting and would enjoy a separate feature with The Unholy Two played by Danny Trejo and Dallas Page. Yes, the film and characters are sleazy but that is appropriate. I would have liked to see his take on the Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
I consider THE DEVIL'S REJECTS to be the best work of Rob Zombie. He has other films I enjoy but this is the one I always recommend. House of 1,000 Corpses and 3 From Hell are both good but I feel they are inferior bookends to THE DEVIL'S REJECTS. House is a little uneven and 3 From Hell suffers from the (mostly) absent Sid Haig. I enjoyed Zombie's take on the Halloween franchise. I know there are detractors but you can not claim any high standards from previous entries when Michael Myers is crying in one movie and the rapper Busta Rhymes beats him down with Kung Fu in another one. Lords of Salem is a slow burn and I understand why people have issues with the film. It took me two or three viewings to really get into it.
There are my thoughts on THE DEVIL"S REJECTS. Give it a shot. You just might like it...
My son and I went to the Easter sale at Vintage Stock yesterday. While he was browsing through the selection of video games I decided to check out the book section to see if there were any role-playing items I might be interested in purchasing. The usual D&D items were there but on the bottom shelf was the Warhammer: Age of Sigmar core rules and the Stormcast Eternals battletome and they were only $14.99 each! I had always intended on buying the full rules for Age of Sigmar after getting the Storm Strike starter set last year. Yesterday was my lucky day.
I had never heard of CREEP before I watched in on one of the streaming services. It showed up under the "You May Also Like" listing on another movie. I watched the trailer and thought it looked like a decent film. I went in with very minimal expectations.
CREEP begins with a simple premise. Aaron answers an ad placed by Josef to create a video diary. Josef has discovered he has an inoperable brain tumor. He wants to create this gift for his unborn son since he is expected to die before his wife gives birth. Aaron accepts and the job and the rest of the story begins.
I do not want to give too much away. I just want to say that CREEP caught me off guard and had me enthralled the entire time. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
I know The Blair Witch Project seems to leave viewers with a pretty strong love or hate reaction after watching the film. I will state up front that it is one of my all time horror favorites. It was the first found footage movie I ever watched and was like nothing else I had ever seen.
I was stationed at Fort Hood, TX when the media blitz for The Blair Witch Project started. The ads running on television had us mesmerized. The footage looked so authentic and real at the time. The missing persons posters and the website added to the hype. As members of the unit would go watch the movie the anticipation built for those of us that had not seen it.
I finally saw it with my future ex-wife and some friends that had come for a visit. I thoroughly enjoyed the movie from start to finish. It was a slow burn and I really dig those types of films. The other three people had different reactions ranging from "it was ok" to "that was stupid". I noticed that similar conversations were taking place among the small groups leaving the theater.
The film was an overwhelming success and really brought the found footage genre into popularity. There have been other films such as Paranormal Activity, Cloverfield, and a whole slew of others that have used the technique. I even read that a found footage Friday the 13th film has been considered. I would watch the hell out of that!
The sequel, Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2, was done in a more conventional manner. It did not create the same type of buzz as the original Blair Witch. The third film, Blair Witch, was more in line with the story of the original film.
I am Charlie and I am NOT a fan of Army of Darkness. I admit it.
I am sure some other horror fans will think this is a bad take on my part but it is my honest take on the film. I enjoyed the original EVIL DEAD for the straight up horror and EVIL DEAD 2 had the perfect mix of horror and comedy elements. I have been a big fan of B films and these two were numerous rentals from the video stores back in my youth. I was really looking forward to a third EVIL DEAD film after the ending of the second film.
I rented ARMY OF DARKNESS upon release at the video store and I watched it. Something has always felt "off" about this film ever since my first viewing. It might be the more polished look of the film compared to the previous two entries. It might be that the comedy in this film feels different to me. I can not really quite put my finger on it except to say that ARMY OF DARKNESS feels like a "safe" entry in this series when I expected a little more risks in the film-making. Maybe that is an unfair expectation on my part but the film just does not do it for me. I would buy it as part of a boxed set but I would never buy this film by itself.
On a related note, what about the stuff that came next? I think the EVIL DEAD remake is a great film. It is probably my favorite remake and I would definitely give a sequel a fair shake. ASH vs. EVIL DEAD is a brilliant series. I own all three seasons on DVD and I have watched the series several times. The mix of comedy and horror elements works much better in this series than in ARMY OF DARKNESS.
I bet some of you are thinking "Alien isn't even a horror movie. It's science fiction.". Yes, it is a science fiction movie but it has strong horror elements. I have always considered Alien a sci-fi horror film. The film has the characters facing the unknown, moments of isolation from the group, jump scares, darkness, body invasion, etc. It feels like a horror movie set in space to me.
I think ALIEN and ALIENS are great films. I have watched them both numerous times. ALIEN³ is flawed but I still do watch it occasionally; I have heard the original concept for the third film was to have an all out battle on Earth with the xenomorphs. That could have been great! ALIEN: Resurrection has some decent ideas but I enjoy that film the least out of the four. PROMETHEUS did a lot of things right but I can not help but feel it is also flawed. Finally, ALIEN: Covenant just felt like a wasted opportunity to me. For my ALIEN fix I turn to the numerous novels, video games, and the ALIEN Role-Playing Game.
