OMM2024 - Night 14: The Taking of Deborah Logan (2014)

One movie at a time! This is one that was on my Netflix watch later before I cancelled that service. Finally time to watch it! #OctoberMovieMarathon

Night 14

The Taking of Deborah Logan (2014)

9/10

Deborah is suffering from Alzheimer's disease, and on the urging of her daughter, allows a film crew to document her condition.

 

Okay, woo, uh wow, this one got to me. The opening premise is already an emotional bomb, as we see Deborah dealing with losing her independence and mind from Alzheimer's and her adult daughter coming to grips with trying to help her ailing mother. That premise alone could make for a dramatic film. But as the movie goes on, it gets creepier and creepier and I was blindsided by all the twists and turns. Seriously, I had no clue where this movie was going- but in the best possible way. You think you know what tropes you'll be seeing- but you'll never guess what's going to happen next.

I highly suggest this one. If it weren't for a few technical things that brought me out of it (it's a found footage, but there's some parts that feel a little... forced) this would get a perfect score. But as it stands- 9/10 is fantastic. I actually like this movie the best out of everything I've seen this year. Absolutely terrifying. I was literally hiding under a blanket at one point. To be honest, I feel like how horror movies felt as a kid- and I need to go watch Winnie the Pooh to clear my head because otherwise this is gonna stick with me. (That was my tactic as a kid and it's never let me down).

 

Love it. Horrifying. If you're at all interested- please PLEASE watch it before reading the spoilers. This one deserves you going in blind.

 

SPOILERS BELOW THE POSTER!

SPOILERS BEGIN HERE!

 

The best part about this movie is you don't know where it's headed. We start off with a documentary feel, with some classic not-all-above-board filmmakers who seem to be more interested in getting a good story than giving the family the dignity and support they need. Then, we slip into a haunted house vibe. Watching the dark corners and backgrounds of the shots to see what that flash was. We even get cameras set up in the house- to perfectly prime us for seeing spooky ghostly activity.

But then, we switch AGAIN! Maybe it is just a tragic case of a woman losing her mind, as we get some fleeting (but gruesome) attacks. The physicality of Jill Larson (who plays the titular Deborah) is fantastic. I was legitimately worried for this frail woman and couldn't figure out if she was under attack or causing something.

Things change again when we shift to a cold-case from the town's past, then a shift to demonic possession. By coincidence- this movie also featured an anthropologist who had studied the cultural phenomenon of "possession" just like in last night's movie, The Exorcism of Emily Rose.

I don't even want to tell you the next shifts because it's just such a jarring change of pace. But I mean that in the best way possible. You feel like the characters in the movie, just grabbing on to the next idea- hoping this one will reveal the way out- the way through. This was the part that had the few technical issues however. I think there were moments where they wanted one character to go first, but they had to just... get the camera in order for us to see what they see? But huge props- because this didn't happen until literally the very end of the movie, and only for a short bit before the camera goes back to someone you'd expect to have it. I also appreciate that the camera has a light on it- which explains why it's being used throughout the climax- literally they're using it as a flashlight.

Speaking of the climax... *shudders* the effects are especially good and so freaky. It's probably CGI- but it meshes so well with everything else onscreen that it's haunting. I'm 100% serious on needing to watch something lighthearted and colorful to get that visual out of my head. I can't say it will hit everyone the same way as it does me- but it's such an effective scare. (and I'm not even scared of snakes)

This was a top tier entry for the movie marathon. And a fantastic "found footage" movie. Highly recommend it, and I've gotta see if the director has made any other films. I want more of this quality.

OMM2024 - Night 13: The Exorcism of Emily Rose (2005)

 Looks like during this year's #OctoberMovieMarathon it's easier to find time to watch movies during the week instead of the weekend. Interesting...

Night 13

The Exorcism of Emily Rose (2005)

6/10

Emily Rose dies after an exorcism. A lawyer is charged with defending the priest against negligent homicide in court.

I really like the set up here- it feels a bit like a good fanfiction, in that instead of seeing the main event (the exorcism) we see the fall out afterwards (the trial of the priest). Plenty of spooky scenes and some freaky moments, and there was a time when the clocks in the movie said 11:14pm and it was 11:14pm for me in real life! I think the movie did well to set up our lawyer character and give some growth for her. It did drag a bit at the end, it got a little monologue-y for my tastes. But a decent watch. It's a nice change of pace that still feels like a spooky movie.

SPOILERS BELOW THE POSTER!

SPOILERS START HERE!

I think my favorite part was the opening of the trial- where we see the flashback of Emily in her dorm room. I love that we get to see it as a demonic possession and then we see it shot as though it was a seizure. It put me in the same place as the jury- I don't know what happened and I'm trying to figure out the truth based on what I hear from the testimony. That's such a cool concept!

Sadly, we don't stay in this place of not-knowing. We get scenes where spooky things start to happen to our lawyer (shout out 3am) and we only get flashbacks that show what happened as an actual possession. Basically, the movie starts off as a mystery- then transitions into a "how will they get out of this one?" Which really cuts the stakes down a bit, as I couldn't see the movie taking the route of "proving demons are real in court" and then pulling the rug out with "the jury doesn't believe! we're doomed!"

Granted, we do end up with a guilty verdict- which surprised me, but I think it was handled well. Mostly because they didn't have the jury explain their decision. I was confused about what "time served" meant, as I didn't really have a firm grasp on how long ago the exorcism was. ("time served" means the court takes into account time already spent in custody into the sentence- i.e. if someone would be sentenced to 5 years in prison, but have been in prison for 3 years between arrest/trial/sentencing- "time served" means they only need to spend 2 years in prison)

As I said above, it drags a bit at the end. It almost feels like a secret "God's Not Dead" movie, which really took the drama away for me. It is spooky though, and I like how the scenes looked.

OMM2024 - Night 12: They Live (1988)

 Night 12 of the #OctoberMovieMarathon, a movie that Larry's been wanting to see:

They Live (1988)

2/10

A man travels to the city for work and learns the terrible truth- THEY walk among us, controlling us.

 

Bad movie. I expected more from the same director as "The Thing" but this movie was boring. A slow start, hardly any excitement after the reveal, and a mediocre ending. I think Larry summed it up best as "they're trying to bring a muscle head aesthetic to a conspiracy movie." And that just doesn't gel for me. And again, we get very few names/backstories to the characters. Perhaps that's a John Carpenter thing and not an 80's thing after all...

 

Also this movie was not spooky at all. Not Halloweenish or scary at all. It should not have been on this list >.<

 

Clearly my dislike of the film shows that the aliens have gotten to me. xD

SPOILERS BELOW THE POSTER!

SPOILERS START HERE!

Here's what happens: a guy moves for work, gets a construction job, goes to a homeless camp and across the street there's a church that's a front for a resistance because there are aliens controlling the whole world. Our main guy discovers this through sunglasses that let him see through the... illusions? Mind control?

On the way, he shoots up a bank, kidnaps a woman at gunpoint, gets into an entirely unnecessary and drawn out fist fight, gets guns from the resistance, goes to the bunker and kills a bunch of aliens, and takes out the disk sending their signal around the world. We end on a naked woman (full boobs) having sex with an alien who asks "What's wrong babe?"

It's like the movie is trying to be serious, but also is just very silly. There are a bunch of one-liners that do not land at all. Did you know the "I'm here to chew bubblegum and kick some ass, and I'm all out of bubblegum" comes from this movie? Did you know it's delivered like wet cardboard? It's almost like the characters walk into a scene and think "I should say something cool" then blurt out something ridiculous.

It's astounding how good "The Thing" was and this movie came from the same director.

But I can believe it because I also can't get behind the theme of this movie either. A big idea is that all the commercials/shows/magazines/etc are there to keep everyone complacent and docile. And yet, a large majority of the things shown as examples of this are aimed at women. Fashion shows, press on nails, Lamaze class, who served what at dinner. We do see an alien talking to another guy about getting a promotion and just waiting for it to come- but do you see the disparity here?

And our main character (who isn't actually named in the movie) is just... some white guy? Perhaps it worked better in the 80's, but from a 2024 lens, I just can't buy the idea that he's supposed to be the everyman we can all relate to. Especially when he kidnaps Holly- YIKES. I couldn't even get behind his struggle to be unable to tell her what's happening because- you just JUMPED a woman in the parking garage with a GUN and made her drive you to her house after learning that she lives ALONE. That's the start of so many horror stories I cheered when she hit him and threw him out the window. I think maybe I was supposed to intuit that she was under the alien's control and that's why she was so calm about it? But that doesn't translate well, and especially not 40 years later.

Another idea is that it feels like the movie is clinging to the idea that all the problems in the world are "someone else's fault". In this movie, it feels like it's saying if the aliens weren't here things would be great. But if this movie were made today- there would be more about the people "selling out". There'd be something about profiting against your own people. Maybe even an insinuation that systemic problems may have started with aliens- but were perpetuated by people trying to game the system. I don't think the "one boogeyman" works as well as it once did. Or at least, it doesn't work for me. I have been reading a lot of books that challenge the ideas of revenge/getting even and if it's even possible... but that's a different post.

I think the memes that are lifted from this movie are funnier. This movie was terrible. Skip it.

OMM2024 - Night 11: Darkness Falls (2003)

 I was donating platelets today and had a couple hours to kill, so why not take in a movie? Night 11 of the #OctoberMovieMarathon

Darkness Falls (2003)

5/10

Matilda was an old woman would would trade a gold coin for lost baby teeth, but gets disfigured in a fire. Unable to stand the light, she only comes out at night. When 2 children disappear, Matilda is blamed and the town hangs her. She curses the town: "What I took before in kindness, I will take forever in revenge". The next day, the missing children are found and the incident is buried and forgotten.

100 years later, when a child loses their last baby tooth, she appears. Kyle peeked as a child and lost his mother as a result. He is called back to his hometown when his friend's kid brother starts to say he sees her too.

 

I like the idea of this movie. I was scared of the dark as a kid, so I wanted to see how you would bring that fear into a story with adult characters. I love the shot in the beginning where child Kyle is hiding in the bright white bathroom and the camera slowly moves out to show the dark hallway and this... creepy ghostly figure above the doorway. Half-floating and half-clinging to the wall- it's evocative! And I like the idea of an unfair death haunting a town until the once righteous urge for justice twists into a sick sense of revenge on those who don't deserve it.

 

Sadly, nothing else is really that great about this movie. It's honestly, a bit of a let down. If they had gone harder on the execution of light and dark this could have been neat. Overall, just a meh movie, and not even bad enough to really hate watch.

SPOILERS START AFTER THE POSTER!

SPOILERS START HERE!

I think a lot of my problems stem from the story itself and the fact that technically, the story doesn't treat it's light/dark motif well. This review might be a bit wordy...

We get an opening monologue describing Matilda and her curse on the town before cutting to our main character Kyle. He's losing his last baby tooth (so probably a preteen in middle school). That night, he wakes up and catches a glimpse of Matilda. While he tries to escape he finds that if he's in light she cannot get to him. Sadly, his mother goes into his dark room to show him that no one is there and Matilda kills her. Kyle is blamed for his mother's death and is sent into foster care. The police chief is surprisingly cold to him considering the town is labeled a "small town". (Usually, cold police are for cities in movies)

At this point, there's a lot of opportunities. And with the scene with the bathroom/ghost looking cool I had hopes for this movie pulling off it's concept. It would be a technical challenge to be able to communicate the creature in the darkness and the characters needing to be in shafts of light while still allowing the audience to be able to see what you need them to see. This awesome type of shot is sadly, not repeated.

12 years later, Kyle gets a call from his childhood crush Caitlin- who's little brother is so afraid of the dark he won't sleep more than 10 minutes and claims "she" is coming to kill him. Kyle does return and faces a lot of flack from the people in the town who think he murdered his mother.

We now have Kyle, who's maybe 25 at this point. Caitlin, who's Kyle's age, has a little brother (Michael) who's... maybe 10? I'm totally fine with a large age gap between siblings, but Caitlin and Michael are at the hospital dealing with intense treatments. There is no mention of the parents at all. Where is Michael's parents? Why is his sister dealing with this? It almost feels like they wanted Kyle to come back to deal with the Tooth Fairy going after the next generation- but didn't want Caitlin to have a kid by someone else. After all, in the beginning of the film, Kyle and Caitlin are just starting to be an item- about to go to their first boy-girl dance together. And the way Caitlin acts to Michael is much closer to a mother than a sibling. All this could have been solved with a line about the parents being dead or something, but we don't get that. It's just Caitlin making the medical decisions for her brother and the parents just... aren't there.

And this leads me to the other part of the movie that bugged me. Kyle is shown to be taking lots of medications for depression, anxiety, and psychosis. And it's hinted that Michael is on the same path, since the doctor's are treating him the same way. But everyone is so... mean. Kyle reluctantly goes to a bar and is almost immediately physically attacked by a guy who thinks Kyle murdered his own mother. And I don't understand why this man is so upset by it. Is he just angry that murder happens? The way it happens it feels more like school bullying than anger at the justice system or something. It's weird and seems to only be there to excuse that guy's later death at the hand of the Tooth Fairy. Who I guess is after Kyle again now that he's back in town. And there's an interrogation scene where the chief of police pulls out Kyle's pills and says something to the effect of "you take anti-psychotics because you might become psychotic?" Which I'm sure is a real thing that happens to people which is just gross and rude and terrible.

While writing this, I looked at the Wikipedia article for this movie, and apparently there was a plan to have Kyle be more suspicious as a killer and the Tooth Fairy more of a twist reveal. I think that would have helped with how harsh the townspeople are to Kyle. Because from the audience's perspective, everyone is being really mean to someone who's mother was just killed in front of him!

 And poor Michael is not given any comfort at all. At the end of the movie, the doctor suggests they put him in a sensory depravation chamber to "prove there's nothing in the dark"? I guess the idea being he'll face his fears and then be fine afterwards. But this seems like more harm than good because they also think Michael is causing the scratches he gets himself? So they have to strap him to a table?? And this is supposed to make him calm down??? It's much closer to the "cures" 1900s sanitariums had, which seem more like torture than something that would actually help.

Don't worry, Kyle ends up saving everyone and the Tooth Fairy is killed. The climax is not very exciting and felt like going through the motions. By the end of the movie I just didn't care anymore. I couldn't root for anyone. Kyle was boring, the townspeople were all horrible and mean, Caitlin and Michael were just kinda there... even the ghost doesn't get to do anything fun after the opening.

But the worst part is they had this concept of the creature only being in the dark- and the light being safe. But then we get weird moments where people get attacked instantly the moment they're in the dark one minute and being in the dark for awhile but being fine. And the ghost started off going after people who've seen her? But then she just starts killing anyone in the dark at all? There could have been a lot of interesting shots showing people in the light/dark and crossing that line. There is one moment where the ghost starts to reach and gets burned as soon as it's fingertips hit the light. But that's only one scene.

A frustrating movie, but nothing super duper bad. But skippable for sure.

OMM2024 - Night 10: The Thing (1982)

 Night 10 features me facing one of my movie fears- The Thing. I've never seen it, but I heard that it was super gory and scary and I have honestly been avoiding it... But Larry was home tonight and was able to accompany me- so I finally felt brave enough to watch it. #OctoberMovieMarathon

The Thing (1982)

10/10*

Researchers in Antarctica face off with an unknown creature that can imitate anything... or anyone.

 

*This is a great movie, a 10/10 movie- but there is a small asterisk... because I didn't like it. Don't get me wrong, this was scary. Larry and I were both screaming multiple times while watching. The hype is worth it. The effects are fantastic. It doesn't feel incredibly dated. It's a good movie. It's just... not for me. But even saying that, I can't think of a reason to dock it points. Perhaps if I watched it with a fine tooth comb I could find things to complain about? But nothing sticks out to me from this first watch.

 

My only warning to those who are iffy on watching it- there is a lot of gore/body horror, and the movie does not ease you into it at all. But I, squeamish gal that I am, was able to watch the whole thing- just with a lot of screaming.

 

However, I do think it's worth a watch- it's clear why this movie is lauded as such a fantastic horror film. The effects alone are incredible. But unlike, say the original Frankenstein, it still holds up as just a regular movie- not just a historical curiosity.

 

But skip the popcorn, trust me, you won't want it.

 

SPOILERS START BELOW THE POSTER!

 

 

SPOILERS START HERE!

I mentioned that this movie didn't feel dated- and that's true! But there is one thing that I think gives away it's age: the characters.

 

The characters are barely characters in this film. None of them go beyond their basic summaries: MacCready is a pilot, Cooper is a doctor, Garry is the captain?, there are... other guys? The communications guy, the 2 black men (one more stoic, one more comedic), the autopsy/old man character? None of them have any backstory as to why they're here or in the positions they're in. Aside from the doctor and pilot none of them even have official jobs. Were this movie made today- I think the characters would each have something- someone waiting for them at home, a reason why they're on this research team, perhaps a mission that brought them here. They'd have something.  But this was made in 1982, and I think a lot more movies had characters that were just archetypes back then.

Normally, that would be reason enough to dock a few points- but this movie didn't need any character development. Heck, we barely needed characters beyond them being people in the wrong place at the wrong time. The pacing is so tight, any backstory would have just crowded the already tense atmosphere. And the tension in this movie never ever lets up. You never get a break, just like the researchers.

 

It is no wonder this movie has such a reputation for practical effects. Even the still figures the camera lingers on are just freaky to look at. Slimy and bloody and... so so strange. It's hard sometimes to wrap your brain around what exactly you're looking at. And it's wonderful. The sequences where the Thing attacks are viscerally gross. And since we're not attached to anyone in particular- you never know who to root for or who to suspect. There was a point were I was convinced MacCready had been infected and we were going to be watching the other characters. That didn't happen, but I was never sure who was infected or not. Even at the end.

 

Heck I'm not even sure if everything was okay at the end! It leaves you with this sickening sense that the Thing didn't get defeated- or maybe, just like our researchers did, someone will come in spring and reawaken it somehow.

 

I'm pretty sure I'll have nightmares about this one, and it's gonna stick with me for a long time. And even though I don't have anything bad to say about it- I still feel conflicted. It's a great movie and I think it deserves a 10/10. It has really stood the test of time as a fantastic film. But, I don't think I'll ever watch it again. Is it too scary for me? Is it because the characters left me with nothing to hold onto? Are the effects too creepy for me? I can't put my finger on it. Larry's suggested it might be the themes of the movie: isolation, suspicion, being unable to trust anyone, the sheer bleakness of it- that feels like it's getting closer, but I'm not sure.

 

It's still a great movie. Even better for the fact that I'm still rating it 10/10 even though I wouldn't watch it again. But you should.

OMM2024 - Night 9: Hard Candy (2005)

 And we are now caught up with the #OctoberMovieMarathon. I might have to pull double duty for the end of the month, but I can schedule posts to go day by day. But that's a problem for later- onto the film!

Hard Candy (2005)

7/10

A 14 year old girl decides to meet up with the adult man she's been talking to online. Things do not go the way he expected them to.

 

More of a thriller/action movie than regular horror, maybe a bit of Saw vibes? There's definitely some mystery to be solved and trying to figure out exactly how far things are going to go. 7/10 because it's not really my cup of tea, although it is well done. All the actors were great, the visuals are good, and I'm thankful for how tactful the camera was towards anything that might be too graphic. Very tasteful without feeling like "whoops we can't show this actually".

I'm not sure how much to give away, but if you've got an axe to grind against bad people- you'll enjoy this film.

SPOILERS BELOW THE POSTER!

SPOILERS START HERE!

First off, I was relieved that this movie wasn't NEARLY as graphic as I thought it was going to be with the R rating. I thought for sure it would turn my stomach, but instead we get more psychological thrills than visual. There is some blood and LOTS of gross insinuations about pedophilia though- so watch out if that's a no-go for you.

 This was a fascinating twist on the victim/killer setup. I don't think I've run into another movie where I felt so conflicted on who to root for. Naturally, I'm 100% on the side of our protagonist, Hayley, but also- Jeff are you gonna get out of this one? Is someone going to discover what's going on? Will Hayley get what she wants? What's her endgame? I don't want it to be quick or simple because that would rob me of watching the movie.

And I did enjoy(?) being put in the spot of rooting for our torturer, especially since we're on her side from the start. There's no switch to "oh the torturer is sympathetic after all". Instead we get straight vengeance seeing a bad guy get his comeuppance. The bait and switch on the castration? Masterful. And I guess thinking back, it does track for what an actual (non-sociopathic) teenage might do... however, there is a part of me that thinks Hayley didn't go far enough, although the ending play was great.

In a twisted way, this movie is pure girl power. And if you enjoy that slightly-hopeless feeling that you get from Saw movies, but dislike all the gore- this movie might just scratch that itch.

OMM2024 - Night 8: Pontypool (2008)

 Night 8! Make it a double feature tonight and we're back on track for #OctoberMovieMarathon

Pontypool (2008

7/10

An early morning radio host arrives for the start of the broadcast day. But he and his coworkers start to get reports that something is happening in their small Canadian town- while on the air.

 

I always want these summaries to be as vague as possible, since I do believe that a big part of movies is getting to watch the way the story unfolds. And this movie is one of those. It's not what happens- it's how we discover what happens. It's also a movie that really knows where it's strengths are: mainly tone and delivery. I really enjoyed the acting here. I was invested the whole time and eager to see what would be revealed next. Though the ending was a little... abrupt? And then... out of place? The first 7/8 of the movie are very fun to watch. Give this one a shot- it's a good time.

SPOILERS BELOW THE POSTER

SPOILERS START HERE

The whole thing takes place inside the radio station. Whether this was a specific choice or due to budget- it was such a good decision. The confusion of trying to figure out what is happening when there's no official answer, no other reports- I wonder if this is how actual news people feel when breaking news is developing. There's an extra bit of tension since we never get to see what happens outside. We only hear the eye-witness accounts from the one radio employee who's in the field. I've heard this movie has also been made into a radio-drama, and I can totally see how scary it would be to listen a-la "War of the Worlds".

I think my only complaint is the ending of the movie. I really enjoy how they get stuck in the booth, then leave it and lure the infected away and have a quiet moment in the canteen. It's a nice bit of breathing room and a chance for our leads to show more of their feelings and reactions. The idea of a virus/disease being transmitted though words is such a neat concept. And Canada (since a lot of people speak French) was a great place to set the story. I do wish we had gotten a bit more time with trying to figure out what words to say or how they were going to do it. It almost feels like they had a couple scenes ready but discovered the film was too long and just did the final scene. And then there's a weird post-credits scene that feels completely out of place. I don't know if it's a funny easter egg or tied into the story, in either case I don't get it. Which is why the movie only gets a 7 from me.

It's still such a cool concept and setting. I'd love to see more movies that really tie into disasters/scary things happening somewhere away from our main cast. Letting them get trapped wherever they are and try to figure out what's happening and what's going on. It's very refreshing to see a movie lean into a lack of information- especially since we live in such a connected world. But it makes sense for Pontypool, a small rural town in Canada, to not have instant access to what's happening even in their own town. If something happens, someone has to report it to the police/news/something before you can search it elsewhere- and if those contacts aren't able to get information out (or are waiting for it to be confirmed before they spread possible misinformation)... well you're gonna have to make due.

 

Though the ending feels a bit abrupt and I wish we could have gotten more between our quiet scene and the finale- I still say this movie is worth a watch. Very fun!