Night 6: Hellraiser

"An unfaithful wife encounters the zombie of her dead lover; demons are pursuing him after he escaped their sadomasochistic underworld."

I have a confession to make... I had never watched Hellraiser, nor any of it's 80 sequels, before now. I had no idea what I was expecting, but it wasn't that. I had always thought Pinhead was a Michael Myers/Jason type, stalking and torturing his victims. Little did I know... 

I get the descriptions I use straight from IMDB. If I read this before watching, I would've thought this was a mistake. There is no way someone read this and thought, "That will make an awesome movie!" I guess they were right...? 

I'm going to give this classic a personal creep-out score of 6. The gore was great. The acting was laughable. The story was insane. What creeped me out enough to overlook these things was, well, remember when I said I hate crawling things? Well seeing a half-formed, skinless body scurrying across the floor doesn't help. 

Once again, I was disgusted by the rando, lame human, Larry. Whilst trying to get laid, his wife is screaming in pure horror, "No!" I mean, she wasn't really yelling at him, but still. If a woman sounds that horrified and is screaming 'No," stop. Please, just stop. And after you stop, don't say, "I just don't get you!" and run off pouting. Ugh. This was an OK scene in 1987. Isn't that disgusting? That and when Julia licked Franks bloody guts finger... and let his slimy hand grope her. Get yo'self some standards, girl. 

One thing that made me chuckle was Julia carrying that man's body out of Frank's room to the other room... so effortlessly! Like it was a large body pillow. Why couldn't she drag it? It didn't have blood to smear around. Oh, and also the great line, "Don't look at me!" That voice... He also looked like Jim Carrey in The Mask. 

I read the director ran out of money for the last special effects, so he and another guy had to create them by hand one drunken weekend. Now I was half asleep when these occurred, but I'll give him extra points for creativity and resourcefulness. He finished his damn movie. That's already a million times more than I've done after a drunken weekend. 

Also, all the Cenobites reminded me of Dick Tracy characters. 

Now, is there a BEST Hellraiser movie? Which is your favorite? Should I watch any of them? All of them? Not waste my time? Let me know! This is one series I haven't indulged in yet. I will definitely have to watch this one again. But I bet when I attempt to, it won't be on Netflix. ;) 

Hi! List update!

Guys, I've been so tired lately. Plus, baseball postseason is underway and that has priority.

But, I've also lost my credit card (taken care of) so I've had to improvise for the movies I was planning on getting through Red Box or iTunes.

I am currently one movie behind (The Orphanage) and realized I watched The Awakening way early! I was supposed to watch Grave Encounters instead, so I'll go ahead and move that to the 25 spot. I'll just have to update this list.

If this continues, and I can't watch the movies that require some sort of purchase, I will throw in a substitute. Like right now, I'm watching Hellraiser... FOR THE FIRST TIME! EVER! But hopefully I'll have my new card soon.

Also, I might start a weekly American Horror Story: Hotel post. Are you watching??

Peace. I need to enjoy this movie.

Night 5: The Awakening

"In 1921, England is overwhelmed by the loss and grief of World War I. Hoax exposer Florence Cathcart visits a boarding school to explain sightings of a child ghost. Everything she believes unravels as the 'missing' begin to show themselves."

**This post will contain spoilers. I can't find a way to talk about the things I want to talk about without ruining the whole movie. Sorry! **

Jump scares. Dollhouses. Starks. Naked Dominic West. These are a few of my favorite things...

From the first moments of this movie, I felt myself rolling my eyes. There was every seance cliche in the book... a table of the haunted, candles, a living old person who looked dead. So, I was pleasantly surprised when that was ripped away and the brightness came! Yes, a movie with LIGHT. This movie proved that you can be scared with the lights on. It didn't depend on the cheap trick of walking through candlelight through 95% of the story. It mainly took place in the day, with natural light coming in through large windows. It was cold and it was wonderful.

The second Dominic West opened his mouth, I was expecting McNulty. I forgot how beautiful his real voice is. (McNulty is his character on The Wire. If you're not watching, or haven't watched, what is wrong with you?)

Then I saw the toad, Dolores Umbridge. I will never trust Imelda Staunton again. Ugh. 

As for the story, I thought I had it figured out. Then, I realized I was wrong, so I started back at square one. I was actually surprised! Ha! Basically, what I thought was going to happen, did, but to another person. It was a nice little twist.

Now, here's where I'm going to get into some spoilers.

At the end of the story, some people die. I don't want to completely ruin the film for you, but I'm going to say the main character lives. But they way it is set up, you're not completely sure she does... until she talks to a couple of students. Some might say you could tell when she speaks to McNulty, but even then I was wondering... The whole point was that the ghost needed her. "People see what they need." 

I would have liked to see she and Mallory having a conversation. Then as she walks out of the yard, down the road, cut out the parts where she says hello to the two little boys. Leave it up in the air... did she live? Or did she die and he can still see her because he needed her? Also, throw in a moment where she sees a student smile at her. Just one student seeing her and not saying anything would have left it open to interpretation too... If he needed a friend, as Walter did. 

Maybe there's an alternate ending out there... I didn't do too much research. If the movie would've ended on that note, I would have given it a perfect score. If I gave scores. However, it didn't, and I still liked it. 

Movies like this one are almost hard to watch again, but it's almost necessary just to see what you missed. I will probably do that eventually. The acting was good, the lighting was great, and for the most part, I don't remember yelling at my TV because someone did something stupid. Thumbs up!

Now night 6's movie was supposed to be The Orphanage. Well, I do want to watch this one, but I will have to turn to iTunes or Amazon, and I just had to cancel my credit card because I left it in another state. SO, I'll be switching it with something more accessible right now. Stay tuned!

Thanks for reading! Questions? Suggestions? Leave me a comment and tell me what you think!  :) 

Night 4: Day of the Dead

"A small group of military officers and scientists dwell in an underground bunker as the world above is overrun by zombies."

First zombie, best zombie ever.

The crocodile. Yes.

The creepy part about this movie is the idea the zombies could learn, and that they remembered. The scene with the talking, thinking, head was probably the best, scariest zombie scene I've ever seen. The thought that they're not just rotting, thoughtless things, but trapped people... I think Bub represented that well. The raw emotion...! ;)

This movie got me thinking of a new zombie movie... if the ZA happened on Halloween and all zombies were in costumes! Yes. Uhhh... copyright 2015 me.

There were so many great lines (You sit in the dark and think about what you did!) and the visuals were pretty entertaining, if you like that sort of thing, which I do. The most disgusting part of the movie is how abhorrent humans can be. 

The music was probably better suited for a early 80s teen movie, but we'll overlook that.

If you love zombies, this and the rest of the Dead series, are a must. But if you love zombies, you know that. 

I can't think of anything else to add. Shout out to Greg Nicotero! 

Night 3: Exorcism: The Possession of Gail Bowers

"A priest in an undisclosed part of Florida is called upon to help exorcise Gail Bowers."

This movie was a substitute for my original choice, The Exorcist. Read previous post for why.

This. Movie. Was. Horrible. And not even in the horribly good way. But, I figured all this just by looking at it. We all do... you can always tell. Anyway...

It was based on the real events that inspired The Exorcist. I find possession movies to be the best... the ultimate good vs. evil. Unfortunately, there was zero good in this movie. From the script, to the acting, the the effects, it was all bad. 

Another annoyance in scary movies, or paranormal encounter shows, is when everything creepy is happening, THEY NEVER TURN ON LIGHTS. Ugh. This movie had a lot of that as well. Mood lighting, I get it.

The only good thing I have to say about this movie is I'm glad someone made it. Good for you for creating something! Keep going...

With the plethora of exorcism movies out there, I missed a great opportunity to watch one. So if you're interested, don't be.

Change of plans...

Netflix is ruining my life.

Today's movie, The Exorcist, was also taken off. This week. Probably Thursday when they took a bunch of stuff off. Lame.

I'm in a bit of a rush today, so I didn't have a backup planned. I searched for The Exorcist online, but Hulu had Exorcism: The Possession of Gail Bowers and that is what I am currently watching... stay tuned.

Night 2: It Follows

"A young woman is followed by an unknown supernatural force after getting involved in a sexual encounter."

I'm going to try to write this post without revealing any spoilers. I apologize if one slips. 

When I first watched the trailer for this movie, I was instantly interested. It looked and sounded like a horror movie that left you creeped out without any specific visual burned into your brain. Plus, people genuinely seemed excited to watch it. 

Then people watched it. 

I've seen so many mixed reviews on this movie! A LOT of people hated it. They didn't think it was scary. They thought the plot was dumb. There was disappointment in lack of explanation. Why though? Why does everything need an explanation? Isn't it scarier when something just... is? This guy's review on IMDB pretty much summed up my thoughts on the matter.

"As it seems to be the case these days, horror movies without the tiresome jump-scares or which don't regurgitate haunted houses, creepy kids, or possessed girls get a lot of abuse from certain sections of the horror audience. If you like those tropes, avoid It Follows. If you like fresh, daring, and thoughtful horror which lingers long after the film ends, watch it. Now!" - Roman James Hoffman, IMDB

I got to watch this movie with my 21-year-old nephew and my sweet mom. It was interesting hearing the thought dynamics between us. But we all did get the heebie-jeebies at the same parts. We all had the same questions. We had a lot of fun with it! 

I've read the director took a lot of inspiration from older horror movies. The opening shot makes this clear as a teenage girl runs away from something in little clothes and heels. HEELS. One of my pet peeves with any movie is when women continue to run in heels (Jurassic World, I'm looking at you). However, I also hate when they DON'T put shoes on and they're running around with no shoes on (The Strangers). It really bothers me, guys. 

This movie was also different in the sense they never addressed when it was taking place. Present? Future? Past? Summer? Winter? Characters were in swimming pools one scene, coats in another. There is literally a scene where one character is in shorts and a t-shirt and the other is in a heavy sweater/coat and jeans. Also, there is Jetsons-like technology going on with one girl and if you don't read ahead, you're bothered by exactly WHAT she is using. At one point my nephew asked when this was supposed to take place, because they didn't even have color televisions, but that was definitely a 2014 Ford F-150. So let me save you some time and say this may have been done intentionally, taking nostalgic scenes from the past, putting them in present time with some future aspects. Sounds weird, but you'll see. 

It's hard to not make the STD comparison. So hard. You have sex with someone, catch It, and then have to pass it on to someone else. Easy enough, right?

Overall, I did like this movie. Is it a favorite? Not yet. Will I watch it again? For sure. There seems to be layers to this movie and I expect to catch something new with each viewing. And while it didn't leave me scared of creepy dead kids standing at the foot of my bed, it probably did ignite a paranoia of, well, people walking my way.

"Don't have sex, because you will get pregnant and die! Don't have sex in the missionary position, don't have sex standing up – just don't do it, OK? Promise? OK, now everybody take some rubbers." - Coach Carr, Mean Girls

Night 1: Ju-On: The Grudge

"A mysterious and vengeful spirit marks and pursues anybody who dares enter the house in which it resides."

Let me tell you, this first night was already complicated and confusing.

I want to start by explaining why I picked this movie to start this grueling journey. Way back in 2004, I went to see The Grudge in theaters. It was one, if not THE, most memorable theater experiences I've ever had. Here is what I remember:

My sister and I travelled an hour away from home to see this; our hometown, which we were both visiting, did not (and still does not) have a movie theater. The closest one is in the next town, and while historically beautiful, it's really a dump. I wore a hoodie. The movie started and I decided to wear the hood, for extra protection of course. I watched the majority of the movie through the opening, which I had closed to the size of a baseball. My sister on the other hand, did not watch the movie, but watched my reactions instead. There was one moment, a sudden action by a character, when everyone in the room gasped! All together! Then we all laughed. All together! What camaraderie. And then this movie scared the SHIT out of me. Now... on to this experience.

The main reason I chose this movie as #1 was because the American version scared me and stuck with me. I still don't ever want to look under my covers. I absolutely hate things that crawl and stark-white faces. So folks, I decided to face my fears and watch the Japanese version that was said to be so much scarier... Basically, I wanted to get it over with and the images out of my head as soon as possible!

Complications: I KNOW this was on Netflix like, yesterday, but today it was gone. So I had to search around and decided to just rent it on iTunes. I have no intentions on fully purchasing this and having it stare at me for the unforeseeable future.

Confusions: I only remember watching The Grudge that one time (never wanting to again), so I couldn't really remember the plot. When Ju-On was about 30 minutes in, main story lines were so confusing, some research had to go into this. Ju-On: The Grudge is the third in a series; the first two being Ju-On: The Curse and Ju-On: The Curse 2. I thought I had invested in the wrong one, but this is the version that led to The Grudge. If I am wrong, let me know, but it won't matter because it will be at least another year until I attempt that again. The crawling, man.

Overall, I was creeped out. I can see where people would think this was the scarier version, but I think I was distracted by subtitles. Also, the plot has a lot of time jumping and interweaving of story lines from the first two movies. It took more brain power and puzzle solving than I was expecting, but I suppose if I had watched the other two, I would have enjoyed it more. Maybe? I really want to like this version, but I have to give it more credit for inspiring the visions that haunt my soul, rather than it actually scaring me.

Applause goes to Takako Fuji for once again, bringing my nightmares to life with her body contorting. Ugh.

If you watched it, or have previously watched Ju-On: The Grudge, let me know what you thought! Tomorrow is It Follows! It's currently at RedBox, Netflix DVD, and of course Amazon & iTunes. I've heard good things, so I'm excited! Good night!

Welcome to the Hellmouth!

Welcome!

This is my attempt at completing the challenge of watching 31 horror movies in the 31 days of October. I love horror, so the true CHALLENGE in this is I will be traveling every weekend this month, including going to Las Vegas! But, I have comitted myself to this and will succeed!!! YES!

A little about me:

I’m 31 and living in the OKC metro. I love scary & gory movies. I love movies, period. And TV. And pop culture. My favorite scary movies include the first in their series: The Omen, Scream & Halloween. The movies that made me scared of the dark were Nightmare on Elm Street and The Grudge (btw, this is a no-judgement zone.)

Follow along, if you wish. Here is the list I will be following. I wanted a mix of movies I haven’t seen as well as some favorites, good and bad. However, if you have a suggestion, I am open to substituting! I’ll be searching for these movies through personal collections, Netflix, Hulu, iTunes, Redbox, etc., and I’ll list where I found it. Let’s remember, piracy is a crime, yo! I’m not about that life. ;) But do what you will… 

1. Ju-On
2. It Follows
3. The Exorcist
4. Day of the Dead
5. Grave Encounters
6. The Orphanage
7. 1408
8. Carrie
9. Mama
10. The Omen*
11. The Shining
12. Evil Dead
13. Friday the 13th
14. Dead Silence
15. Psycho
16. Nightmare on Elm St. 
17. Scream*
18. Texas Chainsaw Massacre
19. Blood Creek
20. Crimson Peak
21. Poltergeist
22. The Serpent & The Rainbow
23. As Above, So Below
24. Reincarnation
25. The Awakening
26. Severance
27. High Tension
28. The Conjuring
29. Sleepaway Camp
30. 30 Days of Night
31. Halloween**

* Since these are my favorites, I will possibly be watching more than one from the series.

** I definitely plan on watching John Carpenter's original Halloween, followed by Rob Zombie's Halloween II. 

LET THE FUN BEGIN!! Ju-On is currently on Netflix! See you tomorrow!