OMM2018 - Night 10: Evil Dead Army of Darkness (1992)

 

Night 10: Evil Dead Army of Darkness (1992)

 

Quality: 3/5 - It's a B movie with no regrets. Is everything cheesy and over the top? Yes, but it works. The movie never shys away from how silly it is or how it looks. Nothing below the surface but surface is fun every once in awhile (although some bits did not age well).

 

Enjoyableness: 3/5 - It's campy and silly and has some good laughs. Maybe not for everyone- but at least it's paced well enough that you never feel bored.

 

Spookiness: 12 year olds - This feels like a middle school boy's ideal Halloween movie. Action, quips, and skeletons. What more you do want? Bonus points for skeletons playing bagpipes.

 

 

OMM2018 - Night 9: Alien (1979)

 

Night 9: Alien (1979)

 

Quality: 3.5/5 - It might be because of it's age, but there were a bunch of times we were brought out of it. Be it the clunky ship that seems in no way space-ready or the feeling that there is supposed to be some deeper meaning that just didn't quite make it, it's sadly only decent. I wish there was more about the people to care about... was everyone a robot? Maybe it's the hype. This might be a milestone but it's not a treasure.

 

Enjoyableness: 4/5 - It's pretty fun though! The effects are still very good. The alien is truly scary. The set pieces were awesome (even if they don't make sense). It's a fun watch for the visuals alone- and leaves you on the high of "Bam! Take that!"

 

Spookiness: Quite scurry - This movie has a dark palette and a somewhat gritty world. You really understand the trapped feeling. The jumpscares are exactly what a jumpscare should be. It's a good evening in-your-face movie without going too hard.

 

 

OMM2018 - Night 8: Contagion (2011)

 

Night 8: Contagion

 

Quality: 5/5 - That real world horror will get you every time. It's accurate, with the press saying the movie went out of it's way to check that this is how things would go down. Great acting and pacing makes this a great film.

 

Enjoyability: 4/5 - This is almost a crime mystery/medical drama more than straight horror. There were a couple times where I wasn't sure what was happening or what they were saying. It wasn't to the point where I lost interest, but it's thinky. Still a great scary movie- but for a different reason than most.

 

Spookiness: "Ahh! Stop touching your face!!" - By far the scariest movie yet this month, I actually started doing laundry because I couldn't bear to just sit and watch everything happen. It starts you off knowing this could happen and leaves you with the thought of 'what if?'. Honestly, it's when society breaks down that's really scary for me. I mean- what are you gonna do in this situation?

 

 

OMM2018 - Rankings so far

 

1. Lost Boys (1987)

2. Halloween (1978)

3. Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)

4. Frankenstein (1931)

5. American Psycho (2000)

6. Dark Shadows (2012)

 

Some fractions:

4/6 have had animal death (though 2 were subtle)

1/6 had POC characters (and that one was homeless and got murdered)

3/6 pass the Bechdel Test

6/6 have been male antagonists

2/6 had female protagonists

4/6 had sexual overtones (3 of which were about teenagers)

3/6 centered on teens and 3/6 on adults.

OMM2018 - Night 7: Nosfaratu (1922)

 Night 7: Nosfaratu

Quality: = 5/5 - despite being really old, the framing was awesome. Pacing was a bit slow at times, but that's really a nitpick since it is a silent film after all. And you always hear it- but it really in incredible how much comes from this movie in terms of monster lore. Sidenote- look for one with good scoring. The one we saw got tedious in the middle.

Enjoyableness: 4/5 - Nosfaratu himself is amazing and every second he's onscreen is great. We got a little restless in the third act- but overall it was just so fun!

Spookiness: PSpooky - Wow. I wasn' t expecting too much, but the vampire is actually scary. Even though some of the effects are basic it works so well in this movie. It's a great nighttime film. But be warned- you do have to pay attention and read!

OMM2018 - Night 6: Dark Shadows (2012)

 

Night 6: Dark Shadows (2012)

 

Quality: 1.5/5 - There's obviously some production quality, but the absolutely terrible writing, pacing, and overall story just ruin it. Even the "special" effects were just a snooze- especially for a Tim Burton film. Why didn't anyone understand that he was just into butts?

 

Enjoyability: 1/5 - Nothing happened until 25 minutes in, and we had to pause it just to give ourselves a chance to make it through. A wonderful example of Telling not Showing. We spent the last hour of the movie just talking over it and we didn't miss anything. If anything- we made better jokes. Also, this did NOT age well- especially considering the recent stuff about Johnny Depp. That kid is 15 dude stop talking about birthing hips.

 

Spookiness: ??? - Was this supposed to be spooky? Scary? Funny? Some combination? It wasn't any of those. Listen, Tim Burton from 6 years ago- if you want to make a spoopy porn about witches and vampires starring your wife and Johnny Depp- just do it! We're all behind you.

 

But in the end, this was the worst movie so far.

 

 

OMM2018 - Night 5: A Nightmare on Elm Stree (1984)

 

Night 5: A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)

 

Quality: 4/5 - The special effects were fantastic! And really that's what the movie was all about. The acting/directing was nothing special... But man those effects!

 

Enjoyableness: 3/5 - A slow beginning and a slower end. It was pretty funny in the parts that weren't scary but I'm not sure that was supposed to happen.

 

Spookiness: 2spoopy4me - this will creep you out a bit, it's a good choice for the atmosphere. It's the scariest film so far with a lot of gore. But like Lost Boys has a weird ending that just makes you laugh. Maybe that's an 80's thing...

 

 

OMM2018 - Night 4: The Lost Boys (1987)

 

Night 4: The Lost Boys

 

Quality: 4/5 - Almost everything was tight, well paced, funny, nicely shot... but they have unnecessary characters. Seriously, what do Star and Laddie add to the story? And what happened to Thorn at the end?

 

Enjoyableness: 5/5 - It's funny, tight, and doesn't go overboard with gore or jumpscares. I can see why everyone suggested this one. It's a fantastic Halloween movie!

 

Spookiness: Just Spooky Enough - The beginning is spooky and really builds tension. But it's not going to keep you up- actually this is a great slumber party movie, because you can get some spooks and still sleep soundly. Vey nice.

 

 

OMM2018 - Night 3: American Psycho (2000)

 

Night 3: American Psycho (2000)

 

Quality: 4/5 - Everything is well shot. It's got production polish. Technically it's competent.

 

Enjoyableness: 2/5 - You could call this corny or campy, but it doesn't have any fun. The story doesn't pull you in, it just feels flat. You feel every minute pass individually.

 

Spookiness: "I'm uncomfortable." - This barely qualifies as a thriller. It's almost a dark-comedy but?? I don't?? Points off for animal creulty.

 

 

OMM2018 - Night 2: Halloween (1978)

 

Night 2: Halloween (1978)

 

Quality: 4/5 - Larry thought this movie was better than I did. It may have been the site we were watching, but the sound mixing was off (music very loud, dialogue soft) and I couldn't tell if it was a poor quality rip or weird unfocusing for effect. Solid directing, even if some shots were confusing in terms of POV.

 

Enjoyableness: 3/5 - dialogue was clunky, a few good scares, but nothing great. Maybe it's because of it's age but the beats were pretty obvious, especially after the 2nd fakeout (spoilers?)

Spookiness: Spooky! - it's a solid scary movie. You won't nessecarily keep thinking about it afterwards- but I had to turn the lights on after it was done. For all of it's corniness there is some true horror in it.

 

 

OMM2018 - Night 1: Frankenstein (1931)

 From my #OctoberMovieMarathon in 2018.

Frankenstein (1931) (Night 1)

 

Quality: 4/5 - a few "old movie" issues (scoring, transitions, sound mixing) but a very solidly directed movie. And Boris Karlof's performance was excellent.

 

Enjoyableness: 3/5 - it's a classic and worth a watch if you've never seen it before. But I won't be requesting to rewatch it. Young Frankenstein does so many callbacks and homages to this movie I never understood before!

 

Spookiness: PSpoopy - (Pretty spooky, but no lasting unease)