Throwback Thursdays

A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)

This was one of the first movies I remember truly scaring me. “Nightmare” is right – Freddy Krueger haunted my dreams for months every time I’d watch it. And I’d watch it often, because it was also one of the first movies that made me realize…I love being scared.

Wes Craven truly understood how to scare his audience. Every aspect of the movie works in concert to evoke the most fear possible… the background music is perfect (that nursery rhyme sticks in your head in just the worst way), the sound effects are chilling (those “finger-knives” scraping across metal get me every time), and the pacing keeps you at the edge of your seat from beginning to end.

Alien (1979)

The entirety of my review tonight was going to be “movies are stupid” because that’s how I feel right now, but this is an incredibly not stupid movie so it didn’t feel right. There’s a lot to be said for this movie, and maybe you’ll get to read some of it next week when I watch the first sequel.

Alien³ (1992)

I know I’ve said it like every day this week, but I will be so happy when this week is over. It’s been a long sleepless week and I don’t feel like I’ve gotten much done. But what I did do is watch this movie. So at least there’s that.

I like this movie. It’s not quite as brilliant as the first one and not quite as ambitious as the second one, but H.R. Giger’s nightmare of a creature has never been more terrifying than in this movie. A David Fincher film, it’s definitely more Seven than Blade Runner or Avatar (or perhaps more closely related films by those directors). Which is to say it’s dark, it’s grim, and it’s not afraid to eschew a happy ending that might have fared better at the box office.

Aliens (1986)

Sadly it’s been a long and warm and busy day today, so I don’t have as much to say as I’d hoped. Which is sad, because there’s a lot of this movie. It’s long. Like James Cameron long. Oh, and did I mention it was written and directed by James Cameron?

So the dialogue at times sounds like James Cameron, the action sequences are loud and deliberate like James Cameron’s usually are, and the actors are familiar faces that seem to be favorites of none other than James Cameron. But it’s a damn good James Cameron film at that.

Alison's Birthday (1981)

Okay, okay, I have to be honest, a four-star rating is kind of misleading here.

An American Werewolf in London (1981)

This is actually the first time I’ve ever seen this film. I’ve heard about it, I know it’s got a cult following, but it’s never really appealed to me.

April Fool's Day (1986)

I can’t believe it’s almost April already. 2016 has just flown past so far. Anyway, here’s a thematically appropriate, Throwback Thursday, April Fool’s Day movie for you. And it’s not bad. It’s not great either, but it’s not bad.

I thought at first this might be one of the earliest “found footage” horror films ever made, but they moved away from the handheld camera gimmick pretty quickly (for which I’m thankful). It was a cute way to get some character development out of the way, though, and set a silly scene for the rest of the film. And it’s a pretty silly film.

Arachnophobia (1990)

(Spoiler warning, but also major content warning if you can’t deal with spiders or mentions thereof) Oh boy, THIS movie. This movie has haunted me since I first saw it probably more than 30 years ago. In fact, I’m pretty sure I had seen this even before my OWN scary spider incident…

Arbor Day (1990)

Happy Arbor Day! Is your turkey in the oven?

Army of Darkness (1992)

So, I like this movie okay. It’s definitely more “comedy” than “horror-comedy” and definitely the most absurd of the Evil Dead movies.

Black Christmas (1974)

I was surprised by how much I liked this movie. I shouldn’t have been, because I love Christmas and slasher films, but for some reason I had low expectations for this. I’m happy to say it exceeded those expectations.

Blacula (1972)

Well, we’ve made it through an entire month. And now it’s February. In the US (and Canada, I think), February is Black History Month. I want to be clear that I am not qualified to, nor do I intend to, go deep into any racial critiques here - but I did seek out movies made by and starring Black artists.

Otherwise, and as always, everything on here is strictly my personal opinion and about my personal enjoyment.

Blow Out (1981)

So I originally watched this last week, because it shows up on a bunch of lists for “best scary movies set on the 4th of July,” but…this movie is NOT set on the 4th of July. Who wears winter coats and hats in July in Philadelphia? No no, this film takes place on and around “Liberty Day”…but given the climax with the big parade with fireworks and Uncle Sam and ALLLLLLL the red, white, and blue throughout the movie, I can definitely see why it’s on a lot of lists. Even if they’re wrong.

Candyman (1992)

There’s something about the familiar that can be so scary. I think Candyman has always been particularly scary to me because it’s set in Chicago. I recognize the highways from above, I attended classes in that college, and I stared out my window at Cabrini Green every time we drove to my grandparents’ condo downtown. Everything about the movie (except, thankfully, for the Candyman) is so familiar.

And can I just say that Philip Glass should have done the music for every horror movie ever? That opening sequence is fantastic and incredibly haunting.

Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh (1995)

I wanted to celebrate Mardi Gras today by finding a movie somehow related to the holiday, and discovered there are surprisingly few out there. There are several horror movies that use (Louisiana) voodoo and similar folklore to build their story, but very few actually take place during Mardi Gras.

There is a movie called Mardi Gras Massacre, but everything I’ve read about it says it’s awful, and I was hesitant to do my first non-Thursday throwback review for something I knew would be terrible. Then I found that most of the events in this movie take place around Mardi Gras, and decided to make it the first sequel I’ve reviewed (it’s the second movie in the Candyman franchise) and the first throwback review I’ve done on a day other than Thursday. And I’m glad I did, because I mostly liked it.

Cape Fear (1991)

I forgot that this being a Martin Scorsese film meant it was going to be looooong. And it was long, but it wasn’t quite the slow burn of the original. And it was definitely much darker.

Cape Fear (1962)

So many old movies feel SO SLOW. Like everything is a slow burn telling of a story. And I find old acting performances so strange. Everything feels somehow stilted and overacted at the same time. And that’s kind of how I felt throughout this movie.

Carrie (1976)

I’ve always liked this movie. I’m sure that’s partly because my mom likes it and partly because I always secretly wanted to discover that I had telekinetic powers. I like this movie despite an unfortunate incident involving me watching this movie and a palmetto bug.

I suppose I also always liked this movie because of John Travolta. Despite the jerk of a character he plays as Billy, I even liked him in this movie. And Sissy Spacek is incredible. Carrie White is such a sympathetic character that I really felt for her every step of the way. Amy Irving helps round out the great cast, with Piper Laurie really shining as Margaret White. 

Child's Play (1988)

I know this is one of those iconic ’80s horror movies, but I’m admitting to you all right now that tonight was the first time I’d ever seen it.

Sure, I knew most of what it was about but I don’t think I’d ever realized that Catherine Hicks (whom I know from 7th Heaven which I totally never ever watched) and Chris Sarandon were in it. In fact, I may have been confusing Child’s Play with Problem Child because I kept expecting John Ritter to pop up on screen (he never did).

Children of the Corn (1984)

I’m surprised I haven’t already reviewed a Stephen King adaptation. I realized this was one I hadn’t already seen or read, which is impressive because I’ve seen and read a lot of Stephen King. Like, a lot. Anyway, it seemed like an appropriate choice for my first Stephen King review.

I may be a bit biased, but I haven’t met a Stephen King adaptation I don’t like. I think it’s partly because King is so great at describing scenes in such detail that a visual adaptation can’t help but be true to the original. 

Christine (1983)

I’m still catching up on sleep this week so I’m a bit tired but I’ll try to do this movie some justice. I’ll admit that nostalgia may be biasing my opinion on this one – it’s another movie I remember watching with my mom when I was younger. It’s also the first place I heard the song “Bad to the Bone.”

Critters (1986)

Oh look, another Scott Grimes movie! The youngest Scott Grimes yet! And I think he’s definitely my favorite character in this, though maybe it’s just his fashion sense…I mean, that pink (it’s SALMON) shirt?? So this is my favorite Scott Grimes movie so far, AND Scott Grimes is my favorite in this.

Cujo (1983)

I think I like Stephen King best when he’s really imaginative. The Regulators and Desperation are two of my favorite King novels, and there is some seriously fantastical stuff in them.

So it makes sense that I’ve never read Cujo. I do find it interesting that I like horror movies best when they’re more grounded in reality, but horror fiction best when it’s not.

Dawn of the Dead (1978)

Looking at my rating of this film, you might be wondering why I watched it this week after I said I’d be watching some of my favorites. Only 3 out of 5? Well, you’d be mostly right to wonder.

See, the remake of this movie is one of my all-time favorites. I’ve seen it at least 200 hundred times. And since it is a remake, I figured I’d watch it on a Friday so I could use Throwback Thursday for the original. This one. Only (and I hate to admit this) I’d never seen the original before. And to be honest, I wasn’t impressed.

Day of the Animals (1977)

(Sorry, lots of spoilers, and brief mention of sexual assault) If you’ve ever wanted to see Leslie Nielsen wrestle a bear, this is the movie for you! This is like the American version of Long Weekend, basically. Though I guess this one came first.

Dead of Winter (1987)

When I originally picked Dead of Winter for this week, I wasn’t fully expecting it to actually BE the dead of winter for us, but I probably should have. We’re blanketed in snow and it’s freezing outside. Below freezing, even.

But if I was hoping this movie would keep me warm, I was wrong. There’s a good story in there (and apparently this was a loose remake of a 1945 film?), but it takes way too long to tell it, and there’s not enough tension or action to keep the audience hooked for so long.

Deadly Blessing (1981)

Okay, I know I said last week that it’s hard to go wrong with Wes Craven, but this one kind of did.

Deadly Friend (1986)

I’m going to be so honest right now that I’m watching this the day after the US presidential election and I am certain that’s having a major impact on how I feel about this film…but I found it so weird and funny and entertaining.

Devil Times Five (1974)

So, first things first, I have no idea what to call this movie. I first heard of it as Peopletoys, which was an intriguing enough name…and when I looked it up to pull movie details, it was listed as Devil Times Five, which is…fine, I guess.

Then I started the film, and the title screen shows The Horrible House on the Hill, and when I went to look that up to make sure it was the same film, I learned it was also released on video as Tantrums, which I think I like better than both Devil Times Five and The Horrible House on the Hill, but not as much as Peopletoys.

Now, all that out of the way, this movie is not as good as ANY of its names.

Don't Look Now (1973)

I honestly wish I had more to say about this movie. Especially because it stars the late, great, Donald Sutherland. And, like…ALL of Donald Sutherland.

Dr. Black, Mr. Hyde (1976)

I found this movie interesting, if a bit slow and campy. This movie was directed by William Crain, who also directed Blacula. I found this movie more straightforward and less ethereal than Blacula, but maybe not as entertaining?

Evil Dead II (1987)

Ah, here’s an Evil Dead movie I can really get behind. I mentioned way back when that I wasn’t a huge fan of the original, but I liked the others, and watching this again today…yeah, that’s still true.

Flatliners (1990)

Maybe it’s that thing I have for Kiefer Sutherland (or Oliver Platt), but I’ve always liked this movie.

Perhaps it’s because Joel Schumacher seems to have a thing for Kiefer Sutherland as well? Regardless, Joel Schumacher does know how to entertain me.

Okay, the last scene and the end credits score are a bit cheesy, but it actually feels like a nice payoff to all the tension build up here.

The acting is great – aside from Platt and Sutherland there’s also Julia Roberts, Kevin Bacon, and Billy Baldwin to round out a rather spectacular cast. Everyone was believable and pretty impressive here.

Friday the 13th (1980)

Would you believe I’d never seen this movie before today? I’ve seen clips of it several times, and I’m familiar with the character of Jason Voorhees, but I’d never gotten around to watching this from start to finish before.

And I’m a little disappointed. I figured with Kevin Bacon in it, it had to be good! But it was just okay. Not bad, but not as good as, say, A Nightmare on Elm Street (then again, few things are). And no, I don’t plan on seeing Freddy vs. Jason any time soon. Unless I run out of other movies to watch first.

Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981)

So I am going to watch a LOT of Friday the 13th films this month, leading up to and just after Friday, September 13th. Like, a lot. I want to say ten different movies starting with this one.

So I’m going to try to change up my viewing habits for this collection and not only watch these a little earlier, but also swap between this franchise and the other movies on my calendar, because ten Jason movies in a row is A LOT. We’ll see if this plan makes it any easier.

Friday the 13th Part III (1982)

Yeah, this…really doesn’t bode well for the rest of this series, but I’m sticking to it. I really wanted to give this one a chance! It’s (spoiler alert?) the first appearance of the hockey mask! It’s another direct sequel!

Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives (1986)

I didn’t really like this one, and I don’t have too much to say about it.

Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood (1988)

I guess I can see what this movie was going for, but I didn’t find it super entertaining.

Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan (1989)

This entry in the franchise was just boring. I like the idea of a change of scenery, but the execution here didn’t really work for me.

Friday the 13th: A New Beginning (1985)

This one wasn’t bad. It wasn’t great, and it definitely wasn’t as good as yesterday’s, but it was better than the second and third entries in the franchise. It was just okay.

Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984)

Oh, now THIS is a Friday the 13th movie I can get behind! How did I not know that (very young) Corey Feldman was in this? That’s not the only reason I liked this, but it certainly helped.

Fright Night (1985)

I’d never seen this movie before and went in without much in the way of expectations. Luckily that meant I wasn’t too let down when this turned out to be an unremarkably average attempt at horror/comedy.

Let’s just say that The Lost Boys did the same thing way better a couple years later. In fact, all three of those movies did the same thing better than this one.

Frogs (1972)

In honor of the fact that I’m being eaten alive by mosquitoes this month, I watched yet another “eco-horror” movie.

Sadly, it doesn’t seem like eco-horror is quite my cup of tea. I liked this one about as much as Long Weekend and Day of the Animals, which is to say…not very much.

From Dusk Till Dawn (1996)

I’ve been feeling a bit off this week and today I kind of wanted to watch something silly that I’d seen (and liked) before. Originally I was thinking Planet Terror, but then I remembered it’s Thursday and Planet Terror is definitely not 20 years old yet. So I picked the next best thing.

Can you believe it’s been 20 years since this movie came out? Okay, I’ll be honest, I can totally believe it, especially with how young George Clooney and Juliette Lewis look in it. But you know what? It still holds up.

Ganja & Hess (1973)

I thought this movie was beautiful, hypnotic, weird, and smart, and just a little too long.

Halloween (1978)

There’s not much I can say about this movie that hasn’t already been said better elsewhere.

Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988)

So I’m finding that on the whole these sequels are better than most of the Friday the 13th sequels, but that doesn’t really make them good. They’re just passable.

Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers (1989)

I don’t have too much to say about this one, except that it feels like “a thing” that when a franchise reaches a certain number of films, it has to have a telepathic child connected with the antagonist somehow?

Halloween II (1981)

Okay, welcome to another round of “too many movies in a single franchise”! Probably similar to the Friday the 13th collection, I’m not going to watch these all back to back. Also, fair warning, some of this is going to be posted out of order. Like, I’m not watching Halloween 3 until next week, because it’s basically a standalone film unrelated to Laurie Strode and Michael Myers and it fits better with my schedule this way.

Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982)

Happy Halloween! I hope you get all the candy you want tonight!

Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers (1995)

Wow…this was a bad movie. And it has PAUL RUDD in it! And it was still bad.

Hellraiser (1987)

I watched this for the first time tonight and found myself mostly unimpressed. I imagine that it would have given me nightmares had I seen it when I was much younger, but the scary scenes were limited and overshadowed by the echoing audio effects, and the weird pacing and awkward jump cuts made it a bit hard to follow.

It felt very much like an 80’s horror movie that didn’t quite hold up through the years. That said, although I haven’t read any Clive Barker (I’ve mostly stuck with Stephen King and Christopher Pike, with some R. L. Stine thrown in for good measure), this story intrigued me enough to want to read his original novella and look into his other works.

Home Sweet Home (1981)

Wow, this movie. I was considering rating it at only two out of five, but I gave it an extra star because it’s just so bad. You know, in that can’t look away from it kind of way.

I Spit On Your Grave (1978)

I can see why this movie was controversial when it came out. Like The Last House on the Left, it shows a lot of graphic violence and rape. Unlike The Last House on the Left, this movie at least attempts to provide some character development to all sides.

While I certainly wouldn’t call the men sympathetic characters, I appreciated that this movie tried to be about more than just violence and rape.

Interview with the Vampire (1994)

I forgot how long this movie was. I don’t think it’s the longest movie I’ve watched so far, but it may be the longest that wasn’t originally a TV miniseries adaptation of a Stephen King novel.

It (1990)

I may be biased writing this, because you could probably say that this is the movie that started it all. The details are fuzzy, but I remember seeing this when I was about five, so it may have been when it aired the first time. I think I was supposed to be asleep, and whoever was watching didn’t see me sneak up behind them (I do that sometimes) until the commercial break.

Anyway, next thing I do remember is that for the next several years, I thought there was a clown under my bed that was going to eat me. I still sometimes leap into my bed from three feet away so nothing grabs my ankles. And sometimes I still have to turn on all the lights in my house in the middle of the night so I can fall asleep.

Jacob's Ladder (1990)

I’m feeling less sleepy tonight (I caught up on sleep last night!) but I have very little to say about this one.

Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday (1993)

Well, here we are. The last Friday the 13th film of the 20th century. And despite its subtitle, not the actual “final Friday.”

Jaws (1975)

I always liked this one, though its PG rating is a bit deceiving (it’s another from before the PG-13 rating existed).

Leprechaun (1993)

Yes, this is the obvious choice for St. Patrick’s Day, but it works so well! And it’s fitting that St. Patrick’s Day falls on a Thursday this year.

I’d never actually seen this one all the way through, though I caught bits and pieces of it on network television growing up, along with its sequels. Can we all agree this was one of Warwick Davis’s more ridiculous roles? Actually, ridiculous seems an apt word for the whole movie.

Long Weekend (1979)

I’m still not feeling very talkative, or maybe I’m just choosing movies that don’t give me much to say. Either way, I don’t have much to say about this one.

Lord of Illusions (1995)

This is another movie I liked more than I really feel I should. It definitely didn’t earn it.

Seriously though, where has this movie been hiding from me? No wait, don’t answer that, I already know – 1995. This movie is all ’90s, through and through.

The first clue? Scott Bakula is first billed in the cast. Don’t get me wrong, I like Scott Bakula, I just…haven’t seen him as a leading man since the ’90s.

Madman (1981)

This is a fairly standard slasher film of the 1980s. The story isn’t very original (group of folks around a campfire discussing an urban legend no one believes in), the acting isn’t great, and the “madman” isn’t super terrifying.

Mortuary (1983)

This was a weird little movie that I wasn’t sure about at first, but that won me over in the end. I think I might even recommend it quite broadly!

Mosquito (1994)

I was going to rate this three out of five instead of four out of five, but I’d be lying if I said this movie wasn’t way more entertaining than any of the three-star movies I’ve seen recently. Which isn’t to say it’s a good movie. But it feels like the kind of movie I would write.

My Bloody Valentine (1981)

Valentine’s Day is fast approaching, and since I’d never seen any version of My Bloody Valentine (okay, that’s not quite true – I did see the band in concert once), I figured there was no better way to celebrate than to give it a try. While stuffing myself full of candy, of course.

So how was it? Eh, it was okay. Pretty much your standard 80’s slasher fare. As it turns out, the vague details I knew about the movie going into it (there’s a mine, and a killer in a gas mask) were basically the whole movie.

New Year's Evil (1980)

Okay, I know it’s not yet the new year, but it’s the last Throwback Thursday of the year so I felt this was fitting.

Night Life (1989)

This is the first of at least a couple of movies on my list starring Scott Grimes. No real reason, other than I really like Scott Grimes, mostly since watching The Orville, and ESPECIALLY for the absolute best episode of The Orville.

Nothing but Trouble (1991)

Okay, so this is probably a weird choice for Thanksgiving, but it turns out there aren’t a whole lot of pre-1996 horror movies set on Thanksgiving? That I could find, anyway.

Pet Sematary (1989)

I have to apologize to all of you. It seems my word of the year is “fine”. It’s only March, and I’ve already called 11 movies “fine” this year! Well, let’s make it 12, because…you can probably guess where I’m going here.

Phenomena (1985)

I definitely should not have enjoyed this movie as much as I did. It’s a bit longer, and feels that way…it’s not really scary (unless you’re scared of insects in general), and a lot of it is just silly.

Poltergeist (1982)

This is one of the first horror movies I ever saw (on purpose, anyway) and boy, did it stick with me. I remember when I was younger I used to wake up in a cold sweat after nightmares about this movie. Luckily, I haven’t had one of those in years…but then again I also hadn’t watched this movie in years.

One thing that definitely went over my head when I was younger is the sense of humor this movie has. From the parents getting stoned in their bedroom to the teenage daughter letting it slip that she “remembers” the Holiday Inn down the street, there are several jokes in this that land much better now that I understand them. This movie hasn’t just held up over time, it’s actually gotten better – or I’ve gotten smarter or more experienced or something. Either way, I like this movie even more now than I did when I was a kid.

Prince of Darkness (1987)

I really wanted to like this one. I’d never seen it before, but I love John Carpenter and I like a lot of cult-favorite films! But I didn’t really like this one.

Prom Night (1980)

I liked this movie okay, but I have very little to say about it.

Pumpkinhead (1988)

As far as scary movies go, this one isn’t terrible. It’s got Lance Henriksen and apparently a very young Mayim Bialik.

The story is interesting and Pumpkinhead is pretty scary (despite his kind of silly name).

It just feels slow. I notice I’ve been saying that of a lot of films lately. Maybe 2016 is just dragging on and I’m ready for it to be over.

Rabid (1977)

I actually saw the 2019 remake of this movie (which I’ll be watching tomorrow) before ever seeing this one, and honestly…it’s weirder. Which I think is interesting! The remake somehow out-weirds David Cronenberg!

Re-Animator (1985)

Well, I have now finally seen this movie. And it was…okay. I can see why it’s a cult favorite, but I wasn’t terribly impressed.

Scream (1996)

I’m so glad this movie turned twenty years old this year, albeit almost at the end.

Shocker (1989)

I really wanted to like this more than I did. It has Mitch Pileggi! And Peter Berg! And an interesting storyline!

Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984)

It is cold and dry when I’m watching this, and honestly that’s kind of how I feel about this movie? My eyes are tearing up trying to hold on to some moisture but this movie kind of makes me want to cry…from boredom?

Sleepaway Camp (1983)

Okay, this is another older scary movie that I can definitely understand gaining a cult following. I’m not quite sure I can fully count myself among them, but I get it.

Sometimes They Come Back (1991)

I’ve recently been watching The West Wing for the first time ever (I know, I know) so it’s appropriate that I’d watch a movie starring Tim Matheson. He’s much more likable in this as Jim Norman than he is in The West Wing, though, which is probably for the best.

This definitely watches like a Stephen King story, although it’s another I haven’t read. The premise is reasonably interesting but after watching the movie I don’t feel the need to read it also. Which isn’t to say the movie isn’t interesting – it is interesting. And well acted. And, for the most part, with nicely done background music.

Straw Dogs (1971)

I had a lot of problems with this movie. I thought the acting was great, but the pacing was off and parts of the story didn’t sit right with me, either.

Suspiria (1977)

This movie was fine. I know it’s a classic and I know people like it, and it’s made a major cultural impact. I thought it was fine.

Tales from the Crypt: Demon Knight (1995)

I know this isn’t a good movie, but I think I’m feeling particularly nostalgic this week. And Tales from the Crypt is definitely hugely nostalgic for me.

Tales from the Darkside: The Movie (1990)

I don’t really have much to say about this one. I liked it for the most part. It’s an anthology of three stories (plus a wrapper story) and they’re all pretty entertaining.

Tales from the Hood (1995)

I had fun with this one! Despite, or perhaps because of, how awfully relevant each of these stories still feels today.

Terror Train (1980)

This isn’t the first (or even the second) horror movie I’ve watched that takes place on a train, but it might be the most fun. Despite the standard “mean prank gone horribly wrong” revenge trope, this movie is campy 80s horror fun, Jamie Lee Curtis included.

This movie was so fun that despite all the murder, I still kind of want to go on a train party? A party train? Conceptually, trains are such a neat setting for stories. Trains running in endless loops around the world. Trains stopped in the middle of the woods late at night. Trains where everyone conspires to murder a passenger and cover it up. Trains where Keanu Reeves is taller! There’s something about the limited escape options – and generally limited intruder options – that gives trains their own personality and ambience as a setting.

The Amityville Horror (1979)

(Spoilers ahead) We’re in the last month of the year, so I feel it’s time to admit something: I’m a sucker for a happy ending.

The Believers (1987)

Maybe it’s just Martin Sheen’s soothing voice hypnotizing me into acquiescence, but I liked this movie. I’ve been watching The West Wing for the first time recently – I know, I know, late to the party – so when I saw that Martin Sheen was in a horror movie (that was available on Amazon Video!) I had to watch it.

The Beyond (1981)

Y’all, I am tired this week. And still not feeling very talkative.

The Craft (1996)

Okay, let me preface everything else I might say here with the fact that I am absolutely biased when it comes to this movie. I can’t tell you how excited I was when I realized I could use it for a Throwback Thursday review this year.

I can’t believe this movie was released twenty years (and two days) ago. I mean, I guess I can believe it. Middle school does feel like twenty years ago (yes, I’ve just dated myself). This movie was a sleepover staple for me and my three friends. We argued over who was whom in the group, because of course we all wanted to be Sarah (no, Sara, you don’t get to be her just because you have the same name).

The Evil Dead (1981)

I have a secret. I’ve been worried about admitting it to all of you, but I think the time has come. I…am not a huge fan of The Evil Dead.

Don’t get me wrong, I like Bruce Campbell. I liked Evil Dead 2, and I really liked Army of Darkness, but somehow the original just doesn’t do anything for me.

The Exorcist (1973)

I’ve been hearing a lot about the new series lately so I figured it was a good time to watch this one. I’ll admit I haven’t yet watched the TV series, but I’ve heard good things about it.

The Fog (1980)

So I apparently made a mistake watching the remake of this one before watching this one. More on that remake tomorrow, but basically I found it so boring that I never bothered to watch the original. I guess I figured there was no way that a movie from 1980 was going to be that much better than its remake.

I should have given John Carpenter the benefit of the doubt, of course. This one was pretty good. Not like The Thing good, but good. And while I think the remake suffers from taking itself too seriously, this one doesn’t have the same problem. John Carpenter knows exactly how seriously to take his movies, but no further.

The Frighteners (1996)

I was disappointed with this one. I blame myself on that front, because I went into this with my expectations way too high.

I never saw this until tonight. I remember really really wanting to see it when it came out just over twenty years ago but for one reason or another it never happened. So I was excited about getting to watch it for this blog, and even more excited when I realized it would fit into a Throwback Thursday review quite nicely (after July 18, of course).

The Good Son (1993)

I feel like it’s been a while since I’ve given a truly nostalgia-driven rating, but this might be it. I remember watching (and rewatching) this movie around when it came out, and being creeped out by Macaulay Culkin back then.

The Hills Have Eyes (1977)

I must be getting to the part of the year where I’m tired and I don’t have much to say. I still don’t have much to say about this one.

The Hitcher (1986)

I saw Michael Bay’s remake of this movie a while back (more on that one tomorrow) and didn’t even realize it was a remake until recently so I figured I’d give the original a try. With C. Thomas Howell (as Jim) and Rutger Hauer (as the hitcher) I figured it couldn’t be all bad. And it wasn’t!

There were some interesting choices made in the remake that make more sense now that I’ve seen both films, but I really like both of them. I think I like them in slightly different ways, though. In this one, it’s because Rutger Hauer is a total creeper and C. Thomas Howell is so believably distraught that the whole movie was really compelling.

The House on Sorority Row (1983)

This movie was okay. It’s a pretty standard slasher film from the 1980s.

The Last House on the Left (1972)

This movie is hard to watch. Not in the normal, almost tongue-in-cheek way I usually say it. There’s nothing wrong with this movie, but the things it depicts…well, there’s a lot wrong there. There’s no need for fancy special effects here, and while there’s not a whole lot of gore, there are several graphic, disturbing scenes.

For a directorial debut, this was quite a statement. If Wes Craven was here for anything, it was to scare as many people as possible.

The Last Man on Earth (1964)

I hesitate to admit that I tend to stay away from movies made in the 1960s or earlier. I don’t have a great reason for it, either – I finally saw a Hitchcock film (Vertigo) this year and thought it was pretty good, and it’s not like I’ve had many bad experiences that might steer me away from old movies.

The Lost Boys (1987)

This is one of those movies that has had a lasting impact on me. The more I think about it, I realize it’s informed a bunch of aspects of my life: my brief obsession with Kiefer Sutherland that led me to write a fan letter to him describing the dream I had in which he was my father (to which I received no response, of course)…my love for cover songs (and Echo and the Bunnymen)…my affinity for scary movies and vampire novels.

I hadn’t watched this in a couple years, but the sense of nostalgia and whimsy I felt watching it tonight was awesome. Almost 30 years since it came out, this is still one of the best vampire movies I’ve ever seen and absolutely one of my favorite movies.

The People Under the Stairs (1991)

After watching this for the first time tonight, I’m wondering how had I not seen this before tonight? It must be the end of the year, because I’m pretty sure I’ve used that joke before.

The Prophecy (1995)

This was a weird movie. I kind of get where they were going with the story, but it didn’t quite land for me.

I think Christopher Walken is not so much terrifying as he is intimidating. He intimidated the crap out of me in this movie, but I was never really scared. Maybe it’s the accent. I just don’t buy that the archangel Gabriel would be Christopher Walken. Clearly it was my inability to suspend my disbelief for the movie that ruined it for me.

The Return of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1995)

Wow, this was a pretty bad movie. It had enough scares and plot and silly moments to earn it two stars, but definitely no more.

The Shining (1980)

Here’s another Stephen King work I haven’t yet read. I should probably get around to it, because a sequel was released a couple years back that’s apparently pretty good. Speaking of which, I should probably also get around to reading the Dark Tower series, what with the film version being talked about now…

Anyhow, if Stephen King plus Stanley Kubrick seems like a win to you, you’re right. And I can’t imagine anyone better than Jack Nicholson to help them out. I mean, even if you’ve never seen this movie, you know Jack Nicholson’s face and his timelessly creepy “Here’s Johnny!” And Jack Nicholson isn’t the only cast member who delivers a stellar performance. Everyone in this movie is spectacular, including little Danny.

The Stuff (1985)

Well, HERE is a silly B Movie I can get behind. Seriously, I knew I was going to like this from minute one.

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)

I don’t have too much to say about this one either. I like Tobe Hooper, and this is definitely the film that put him in the spotlight, but it’s also definitely not his best film.

The Thing (1982)

The Thing is one of the first scary movies I remember watching with my mom when I was younger (I’m pretty sure it’s mostly her fault that I love scary movies as much as I do), and I’m happy to report that 30-some years later, it’s still a great movie.

Sure, the special effects aren’t always believable and the technology is a bit outdated, but The Thing is a shining example of what the right cast can do in the hands of an amazing director like John Carpenter.

The Unseen (1980)

This movie was…not what I expected. And not in a great way. More in a “WTF did I just watch” kind of way.

Also, I feel kind of weird writing too much about it myself. If you’re interested, I suggest reading the plot summary on Wikipedia instead of watching the film?

The Wicker Man (1973)

Am I a bad horror movie fan? I thought this was just okay. On thinking a bit, I guess the remake was one of the earlier/earliest Hollywood horror remakes, so there were probably more critical eyes on it than for some of the later ones? But honestly, I liked them both about the same.

They Live (1988)

I decided to watch this one tonight because…well, because it seemed fitting.

Thinner (1996)

I really like this movie. I also really like this book. This is probably my favorite film adaptation of a Stephen King story (though it may be tied with The Shawshank Redemption). It’s definitely one of my favorite Stephen King novels, and I think one of the first of his books that I’ve read.

Uncle Sam (1996)

Happy 4th of July! Here’s a VERY silly on-theme movie for you.

Village of the Damned (1995)

I wish this movie were better. I think it might be the oldest remake I’ve watched yet? It’s old enough to be a Throwback Thursday pick itself!

Village of the Damned (1960)

This is partially a nostalgia-driven rating, but also this is truly just a classic horror movie. Made on a shoestring budget with minimal special effects, this movie is apparently a pretty faithful adaptation of John Wyndham’s The Midwich Cuckoos, which I admittedly still have yet to read.

When a Stranger Calls (1979)

I was really torn on how to rate this one. The opening and closing were fantastic, but the whole middle seemed to drag on. And it’s not a long movie.