GhostPatch

Recently Watched - New Years Evil (1980)

Well I had watched this one on new years day but it took awhile to get to screen capping it.  

It may have been "different", but I really like the music in the movie.  I'm not sure if they were real bands, but the band in the movie, Shadow, were playing some pretty rad tunes.

At the New Years Eve bash the crowd of "punks" were the most stoned out and zombie-like crowd I've ever seen.  I can't imagine what the director told them to do but it was absolutely ridiculous.

The killer's motive was actually a pretty cool one.  A kill on the new year in accordance to every time zone with the last victim being Blaze, the New Years Eve bash host.

The elevator scene near the end of the film was pretty cool.  The actress, Roz Kelly, is a little bit on the crazy side in real life.  She once shot up cars and a neighbor's apartment after a car alarm had gone off early one morning and woken her up...yikes!

Blaze's son, Derek (Grant Cramer), looked very familiar to me but I couldn't put my finger on it.  After I looked him up I saw that I recognized him from Hardbodies (1984) and Killer Klowns from Outer Space (1988).

There are some musical cues that are very similar to Friday the 13th.  Around the 42:20 mark of the movie there is something that sounds extremely similar to the famous "ki ki ki ma ma ma" from Friday the 13th.

Overall I thought this was a decent early slasher that easily ranks over some of the shit they release today.  With this ending how is there not a New Years Evil 2 yet?!?  I'll start penning one right now.

Recently Watched - Happy Birthday to Me (1981)

This bad boy is a Canadian film from producers Andre Link and John Dunning who also brought us My Bloody Valentine that same year.

This is a good mystery murder movie with some fun misleads and a pretty intense twist ending.  It has some good death scenes that lead up to the final birthday slash!

Some cons for me are that it is honestly too long and is slow at times.  Its also confusing for awhile, but most of it is explained in the end. 

The "Top Ten" clique is basically a carousel of dicks and vaginas.  Everyone gets everyone, basically a free-for-all.

The ending "dead" party reminded me of the dead camper party at the end of Sleepaway Camp II (1988).  The killer's motive reminds me of one of the killer's motives in Scream (1996).  And finally, Alfred's taxidermy and mask making reminds me of Tommy Jarvis and his mask making hobby from Friday the 13th Part 4: The Final Chapter (1984).  What i'm getting at is that this movie has definitely had some influence on horror movies that have come after it.

Recently Watched - Santa's Slay (2005)

- I'm back from a stint away from watching horror for a couple different reasons but I'll be back at full force now!

- I decided to go a different route on my holiday horror movie watching.  Rather than go with classics like Silent Night, Deadly Night or Black Christmas I chose Santa's Slay.

- Starting off can we just agree that this was one of the most enjoyable opening scenes from a movie??  Santa killing a snotty rich family full of A-holes...can't get much better than that.

- Horror Hottie Alert - Emilie de Ravin....what a babe!

- Its a very hilarious movie with outrageous dialogue from kids to grandmas throughout.  We also get Santa in a strip club telling the strippers and patrons they're naughty.  Can't beat that anywhere.

-  I was a huge fan of wrestling back from 1996-2004ish so seeing Bill Goldberg as Santa was awesome!

- Overall its an ok flick with an out there story...Santa is Satan's son who lost a bet to an angel...just go with it and you'll have a good time.

Recently Watched - Sleepaway Camp (1983)

- I was first introduced to this series when I was a young one and took some birthday money to Best Buy (we had to travel an hour to go to any signifigant store).  I knew I liked horror movies but was still pretty new on the scene.  I actually bought the second film in the series, Sleepaway Camp 2: Unhappy Campers that day strictly based off the cover art.  I loved it, but for some reason it took me a couple years to go back to the original.

- This is such a good "camp" horror movie (like at an actual camp setting).  It is way better than Friday the 13th in my opinion.  Its probably up near the top of the list near The Burning.

- I also this it has a good soundtrack.  Its more early generic 80's sounding as opposed to the more out there soundtrack from The Burning.

- Be careful around Ricky though, he might start calling you a prick, cock sucker, or any other term for a penis.  That kid swears more than me playing an online game of COD. 

- The lingering shot of the cop near the end of the movie...That fake mustache is the worst! It is hilarious though.

- The end is and always will be one of the best twist endings of all time.

- I hear that we're getting a Blu-ray release soon and theres serious talks about a remake.....I like the Blu-ray, but i'm very skeptical of the remake.

Recently Watched - The Gate (1987)

This has to be one of my all time favorite 80's horror movies.

Way back when you could rent VHS tapes from the video store is when I first saw this.

I was about 10 or so at the time.  I was at the video store with my friend and his mom.  We were preparing for an epic sleepover and needed a horror movie to top it all off.  Just when we thought we knew what we wanted his mom said it had to be rated PG-13...and thats when The Gate was bestowed upon my eyes.

I love everything about this movie.  From being a young punk to where I am now I still can't get enough of this movie.

We have a good, young cast including the film debut of Stephen Dorff.  I really liked and identified more with Louis Tripp as Terry.  He's into metal music and even wears a jean jacket with a big "Killer Dwarfs" patch on the back...Fuck Yeah, Rock On Terry!

The effects are mind-blowing for the time and the forced perspective shots of the small demons are bad-fucking-ass.

This is a perfect "getting into horror" movie for kids and an enjoyable watch for adults too.  Its not too violent with minimal gore, but a fun story with the visuals to match.

I'll stop ranting about how awesome this movie is, but if you haven't seen this movie I highly suggest it.

Recently Watched - Night of the Creeps (1986)

One of my favorite 80's horror films.  It has everything. Great characters, good effects, great visuals, and good acting.  It borrows some ideas from The Blob and mixes it with zombie creatures, guns, flamethrowers, and don't forget a sorority house full of horror hotties.....and we get Tom Atkins!

I've always heard this referred to as a cult classic, but this one should be more widely known in the horror world in my opinion.

The movie pays homage to film directors such as "Corman University" referring to Roger Corman and the main girl Cynthia Cronenberg refers to David Cronenberg.  There are maaaaany more references to the great horror directors in most of the characters names in the movie.

As a huge 80's metal fan I loved the graffiti  on the stall where J.C. is in the bathroom.  It says "Stryper Rules". This refers to the makeup artist, Kyle Sweet's relationship with Stryper's frontman, Michael Sweet.

Speaking of 80's metal our horror hottie in this movie, Jill Whitlow (Cynthia), appeared in Winger's "Hungry" music video.

Overall its just a great, fun movie that captures 80's teens at their best.  That along with the awesome visuals make for a nice ride

Recently Watched - Intruder (1989)

Right from the get go I see a familiar face, Renee Estevez, who I know from Sleepaway Camp II: Unhappy Campers.  Then along the way we get Sam Raimi (Evil Dead, Spiderman) and briefly Bruce Campbell (Evil Dead trilogy) which is awesome.

This is just such a kickass movie.  Even if people consider this a B movie (which some people think is a bad thing) its still worth a watch for the death scenes alone.

This film was orginally titled "The Night Crew"

It was shot in an actual grocery store.  I think that setting is a nice idea for a slasher flick and they take full advantage of their surroundings in the creative deaths.  Gore Galore!

The ending twist was cool and we get a real "crazy" performance from the killer.

Though we have some querky lines and acting along the way this is definitely worth your while

Recently Watched - Halloween H20: 20 Years Later (1998)

We finally reach the Scream-style Halloween reboot thanks to Kevin Williamson.

I'm very indifferent on this film, I neither like it or hate it.  Its just kind of there.

Steve Miner (Friday the 13th parts II & III, House) is in the director chair for this one.  We have the debut for Josh Hartnett and his messy hair along with a young Joseph Gordon-Levitt.

This movie (the theatrical cut anyways) throws away the idea that Halloweens 3-6 ever took place and starts fresh with the idea that it follows 20 years after Halloween 2.

Its so nice to see Jamie Lee Curtis back.  Even her mother, Janet Lee, is in the movie with a couple nice nods to Psycho.

The acting from most is spot on.  I have no idea why rappers get roles in horror movies.  LL Cool J in this movie, Busta Rhymes in Halloween Ressurection, Trey Songz in Texas Chainsaw 3D and many many more rappers ruin other movies.  Just stay the fuck out of my movies and go back to your shitty ass rapping.

I can only imagine what this film COULD have been if Carpenter had come back

A big gripe I have about this is that you can see Michaels eyes way too clearly and way too much throughout the film.  The mask is ok, it looks like its aged just like a humans face with wrinkles and such.

There were sooooo many references to the original film in this and i'm not sure if thats a good or bad thing.  This movie is just trying way too hard to be smart.  The ending is satisfactory and the movie overall is not as good as some people say.

Recently Watched - Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers aka Halloween 6 (1995)

Overall this movie was a disappointment.  I liked a few things but had complaints about a few more things throughout the film.

I actually liked the mask Michael wears in this movie compared to parts 4 and 5, but its still not quite as good as the original.

Paul Rudd....I love you, man....but this was an atrocious performance!

I really did not like the music in this.  There are a million Slayer and Pantera-esque guitar dive bombs throughout the second half of the movie.  I like Slayer and Pantera, but that music doesn't need to be in a Halloween film.  It distants itself from the original movie's roots by using the music they did.

I've only seen the theatrical cut of the film, but I will watch the producer's cut eventually when I can get my hands on a copy.

R.I.P. Donald Pleasence

This is an extremely confusing movie that waters down the Michael Myers legacy.  It turns to the Thorn cult and ancient beginnings....

Fun Facts:

-Howard Stern was originally offered the role of the radio shock jock.

-The script went through 11 different drafts

-Scott Spiegel (Evil Dead II, Intruder) was at one point going to direct and Quentin Tarantino was going to produce it.

-The original title was "Halloween 666: The curse of Michael Myers" later it became "Halloween 6" then eventually "Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers"

-Paul Rudd's film debut

Recently Watched - House (1986)

This is an overall fun movie that is directed by Steve Miner who also directed Friday the 13th Part II & III, Warlock, and Halloween: H20.  I also saw it was written by Fred Dekker who I know also wrote House 2, The Monster Squad and also wrote and directed one of my favorite 80's horror movies Night of the Creeps.

It almost feels like a Friday the 13th reunion because Sean S. Cunningham and Harry Manfredini (Writer, Director, Producer and Music for Friday the 13th) are here for the Producer and Music roles.

This definitely has some fun, unique and interesting monsters in it along with a story that involves flashbacks to Vietnam.

You can tell that Harry Manfredini has done the music, especially in a couple scenes.  In the beginning when the grocery boy discovers grandma the music reminded me of the "carousel" theme from Friday the 13th Part 7: The New Blood

In this movie we get 2 horror hotties, Kay Lenz and Mary Stavin...Both are smokin!

The look of zombie Big Ben reminds me a little of Jason Voorhees from Friday the 13th Part 7: The New Blood

Recently Watched - Halloween 5 (1989) Part 2/2

Fun Facts:

- While The Shape was driving the car the other mask he was going to wear was originally a Ronald Reagan mask.

- SFX supervisor, Greg Nicotero (He's a legend, look him up) and Wendy Kaplan (Tina) were seeing each other during filming.

- The film was released straight to video outside North America with exception of a few countries.

- While filming, Donald Pleasence (Loomis) accidentally hit Don Shanks (The Shape) in the nose with a 2x4.  It broke his nose and the mask had to be altered because of this.

- The Film's ending was not scripted, it was just stated in Fangoria magazine by Pleasence that the film would contain the death of his character.

Recently Watched - Halloween 5 (1989) Part 1/2

Well my girlfriend and I have been slowly watching the Halloween franchise from start to finish.  I've seen all these movies plenty of times before, but she is somewhat new to the sequels.  We both agreed this was a decline from Halloween 4.  

I said in my Halloween 4 post that I hated that version of the mask.  Well this version is a little better, but I still am not satisfied with the look.

We get plenty of returning characters which is really nice to see.  I'm just a little bummed Rachel was killed so early.

We get some new characters and one of them is Tina.  She is Rachel's friend and eventually becomes the "protector" of Jamie.  All I have to say about her is that she needs to calm down.  She is like a 5 year old kid who just ate a cup of sugar. Hyper!

We get ANOTHER dead dog in the series...that's the 4th through five movies!  This time Max the doberman gets it.

Michael finally ditched the football pads he was wearing underneath his costume in part 4, only to put on a life jacket for the opening scene of the movie.

This is definitely a more dark-toned movie...except for the stupid cops and that dumb music that accompanies them.

Recently Watched - Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988) Part 2/2

Fun Facts:

-The original script explained and showed how Loomis survived the hospital explosion, but it was decided not to go that route.

-The girl, Lindsey, who drove Rachel and Jamie to the drug store, was originally intended to be Lindsey Wallace from the original Halloween.  She was supposed to have a larger role in the movie, but it was cut due to budget constraints.

-The original ending was supposed to have Rachel go upstairs to take a shower and Jamie was intended to kill Rachel instead of Mrs. Carruthers.

-Originally Sheriff Meeker was supposed to get killed by Michael in the basement, which would have set the house on fire.  The roof top chase scene was supposed to be going on while the house was on fire, but was cut due to budget constraints.

-The role of Jamie was between Danielle Harris and Melissa Joan Hart.

-Ellie Cornell (Rachel) cut her stomach on a nail while she was sliding down the roof during the chase scene.

Recently Watched - Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988) Part 1/2

     Ah yes, the return of Michael Myers and the start of the more stereotypical slasher in the Halloween series.  After Halloween III: Season of the Witch they dropped the idea of Halloween being an anthology series.  Let me just say I absolutely love *most* of this movie.

In each of the previous Halloween films you always got a pumpkin in the opening scene.  This movie opens on a seemingly barren, Midwestern farm.  The atmosphere is very eerie, desolate, and haunting.  The orange credits are a perfect contrast to the bland, dark colors of the farm equipment and horizon.  This is easily my favorite opening scene in the series.

The Writers Guild of America was about to go on strike so that gave writer, Alan B. McElroy, only 11 days to turn in a full script.  He turned in the script literally hours before the strike commenced.

I love the whole movie but I do have a couple gripes:

Sundae the dog…Noooo!  Sundae is the third dog in the series to die up to this point in the series.  What does Michael have against dogs?  Maybe he’s just a cat person.

There is one scene in the school house where Michael throws Loomis through a door.  Looking closely you have to say to yourself, “blonde Michael Myers?”   I have heard that that was the original mask from Halloween and that the hair had changed overtime and they had to do reshoots because of it, but I’m not 100% about that.

The stuntman playing Michael wore football pads under the costume…Horrible Choice!  It looks absolutely ridiculous.

The Mask….The Mask, The Mask, The Mask.  A much as I love this movie I can’t get over the fact that the mask that they used/made is horrendously bad.  The facial expression on the mask is not true to the original and the hair looks like a wannabe 50’s greaser’s hair.  I know it’s supposed to be a “new” mask, but I just can’t get over it.

Recently Watched - Critters 4 (1992)

"In Space...They Love to Hear You Scream"

So I finally got around to completing the Critters series.  Needless to say this was by far my least favorite film in the series.  When a horror franchise goes into space you know its in the skid (ex.  Leprechaun in Space, Jason X)

It was directed by Rupert Harvey who also was involved in every critters movie except the second one.  He was also a line producer on The Blob remake (1988) and producer on A Nightmare on Elm St. 5: The Dream Child (1989)

I have a few problems with this film:

-This movie is actually very dull looking.  There are a few space shots, but thats really the only visuals you get. 

- The characters are just plain lame.  Nobody is interesting.  You have your daddy problems protagonist who looks like Brad Taylor from Home Improvement, a perv captain, a token black character, a perscription drug crazed crew member, the quiet heroish character and Charlie.

- You barely see the Critters, and for most of the movie there are only 2!  There are barely any crazy Critter antics like in all the previous films.  They don't even shoot any poison spikes for God's sake!

- The bounty hunter, Ug, the hero bounty hunter character from the previous films, turns into an asshole for no particular reason.

There is a garbage disposal scene that seems to be lifted from a certain popular space movie.....uhhhhm... Star Wars.

I guess the one redeeming factor is we get Brad Dourif, who I know from Child's Play fame, as a character, but that still can't redeem this.  This was a major disappointment in my books, but, hey you can't expect much from a 4th movie in a creature feature line.

My ranking for the Critters series:

1. Critters 2

2. Critters

3. Critters 3

Recently Watched - Critters 3 (1991)

"You are what they eat"

Well I've written about the first two Critters films and really enjoyed both of them.  So I decided I just needed to watch the whole series.

This direct-to-video film stars a young Leonardo DiCaprio.  Some other people I recognized were the litte boy (played by twins), who I know from Kindergarten Cop and Frank the apartment building's "handy man" who I know from an episode of 21 Jump Street.  

The whole movie reminded me of the original Troll movie because of the apartment setting.  That's not necessarily a good thing either.  It felt very cramped.

The Critters themselves looked fantastic.  Its the best they've looked so far in the series.  Their screams on the other hand were horrible.

Fun Facts:

- This was Leonardo DiCaprio's film debut

- This movie was shot back-to-back with Critters 4

- Cary Elwes (Dr. Lawrence Gordon from the first SAW movie) turned down the role of Josh, which eventually went to DiCaprio