The October Horror Movie Challenge 2013 (Week 3)

Week 2

I’m falling behind updating this damn blog, but here is week three’s progress. In case you can’t count, I completed the challenge already. Rock + Roll.

October 15th
24. Resolution (2012)
 I think we’ve all had that friend who has gone down the wrong path, and we want to help them, but being anti-social we do nothing and let fate decide what course their life takes. This buddy film explores a great friendship gone sour, while exploring a local mystery that for whatever reason is leaving them snippets of recorded media, from the past, present, and future. It’s rather unnerving, which makes it one of the better films this challenge.
25. The Ward (2010)
 Putting John Carpenter’s name on something only works if you’re not already a horror buff. If you are, you know he’s capable of some of the best horror out there. What’s sad is he seems content to crank out mediocre films instead. The ward is a complete rip-off of Girl Interrupted, splash in a certain Jake Busey film I won’t mention by name as to avoid spoilers (and yes, mystery film has much bigger stars, but it’s a giveaway,) and you’re stuck with a decent film, something you don’t mind catching when you’re bored, but won’t knock your socks off. It’s predictable for the most part, and would probably better serve non-horror fans.
October 16th
26. Maniac (2012)
 Elijah Wood finally escaped Frodo, and it took this remake to do it. There’s something especially creepy here, and it’s aided by a perfectly suitable soundtrack. Of course, that’s probably the only difference from the original. This film has divided audiences, especially fans of the original, but that’s ironic, since there was a planned sequel that was going to be a remake of another film. Oh, well.
October 17th
27. Devil (2010)
 I’ll wade through crap to get an Unbreakable sequel, even if it’s not really a sequel but instead a reworked script. This film didn’t make much sense. Not that it was hard to follow, but that none of it is plausible, at all. The Devil is on an elevator where people are trapped, only we don’t know which one is the devil. Enter a detective who has lost his faith and who must now narrow down the guilty, even though the Devil is narrowing them down, too. It was just ridiculous, and I felt like the nod to Agatha Christie was interrupted by Frank Miller, who apologized and returned the nod back to M. Night. Yeah, this film will hurt your head, too.
28. Occupant (2011)
 Another film that starts out fresh, deals with a lot of symbolism, and gets lost along the way, trying to salvage whatever was left. What would you do for a $10,000 rent controlled apartment for only $600? Probably the same, living here for 12 days until your legal paperwork comes through, only I doubt you would crack from the isolation in such a short period of time. That’s probably symbolic for something, but by the time that final one comes around, you’ve been done for a while.
October 18th
29. Beneath the Darkness (2011)
 It must be said that this is a solid Quaid performance in a not-so-solid film. If Kevin Williamson had a brother that he felt sorry for and pulled strings for him to get movies out, this would be it. It works, sometimes, but not always. You’ll see familiar territory travelled here with the teens know about a killer (Quaid), and honestly, the best part is seeing him play the other role for once. Other than that, not much new.
30. Romasanto: The Werewolf Hunt (2004)
 In order to complete the Insanislupus challenge this year, you had to watch a werewolf film on the full moon. Sorry it wasn’t announced, but neither is some lycanthropy, until it’s too late. Julian Sands has a tendency to star in films that look like off-Broadway plays, but luckily they are still horror. This period piece wasn’t bad, it just lacked overwhelming horror like what you would expect when dealing with a werewolf. If I had seen this on PBS, I’d be much happier.
31. Seventh Moon (2008)
 Eduardo Sanchez, Hungry Ghost Festival, China, Amy Smart, what more can I say about this? It was great if you liked Blair Witch Project and Altered. These films hit you close to home, because they could be you. This one was no exception. Not long ago I returned to my home in China with my wife, and there we planned on meeting my family before being ambushed by a bunch of albinos. Joking aside, this is probably going in my top five for the challenge.
October 19th
32. Spiderhole (2010)
 If you are afraid of spiders, well, none are in this. This film was about squatters who are unlucky enough to find a house with a deranged killer in it, who was related to Jigsaw from Saw and obviously owned a Hostel at some point.
October 20th
33. The Black Waters of Echo's Pond (2009)
 Fantasy and Horror generally blend well together, but they tend to limit themselves without enough money for some awesome special effects. If you liked the old Full Moon attempts at the genre before they decided to crank out the goofiest films imaginable, you might dig this, if you can get past redneck Robert Patrick.
October 21st
33. The Blood Spattered Bride (1972)
 I grew up on so many foreign horror films that this one had a huge nostalgia factor. These old films in the vein of Hammer are what made me love the genre. This Gothic tale about vampirism was more or less a tale of forced social orders and rape, something that was apparently an issue in Spain at the time. I highly recommend it. The film, not rape.
34. I Dismember Mama (1972) 
 This one was paired with the above film, and I guess they do share the rape theme, but other than that, no similarities at all. I'm not a fan of rape movies and that's all this one tried to be, with poor acting and even poorer plausibility. The star was creepy and his obsession with one of his victims daughter was unnerving, but the best thing about this film besides the comical title was the end credits.
35. Gallowwalkers (2012)
 There is nothing greater than getting out of prison, unless you're Wesley Snipes and your last film sucked. You ever read a comic book and thought, man, this would be an awesome movie? And then you hear about how they're doing it, going to make it into a movie? Well, Spawn was great as a cartoon, but looked goofy in film. That's the case here. Move along.

Final