Halloween Horror Movie Picks: The Sequel / 2021 (The Movies I'm Watching for the Holiday)

Excellent way to kick off the Halloween (it's even mentioned twice in the movie) season! This is a crackerjack horror classic with tons of style due to the great direction of Jacques Tourneur (Cat People, 1942). If you never believed in demons before, you will now! Or not, perhaps, but it's a fun ride in any case. Happy (early) Halloween!

Universal's first attempt at a werewolf movie falls flat, despite the presence of the always enjoyable Warner Oland and Valerie Hobson. Alas, they are both wasted in this soap opera disguised as a monster movie. If you want to tick off the werewolf box without rewatching the The Wolf Man (1941), go for it, but don't expect too much.

Expertly directed thriller is more noir than horror in its way. Ironically, "Cat People" is probably not a good choice for cat people or other animal lovers, as they don't fare well in the film. It seems a bit overrated to me; it's a matter of style over substance, although it certainly has plenty of the former. Sadly, it portrays cats, particularly black ones, as evil, which, as you may know, leads to the killing of them, especially around Halloween. So a point off for that. I must say that it certainly was absorbing as my ADD didn't kick in until the movie was almost over.

Creepy, slow-moving avant-garde horror film with some disturbing scenes. Comes off as a surreal female revenge fantasy. It's stylishly done, if you like that sort of thing. I don't. Someone raved about this movie years ago, so I thought I'd watch it as part of my Halloween movie binge. Next time, I'll do some research first. Also, not a film if you're an animal lover.

I think the last one had more plot, maybe, and I wasn't overly impressed with that one. This is mostly a string of ghoulish events linked together, and there's a wisp of a plot so it won't be merely a special effects movie. The one strength is the lead actor from both films. Patrick Wilson plays his character so sincerely amidst the lackluster goings-on that it gives the movie a little lift. This is fans of the possession genre only, or if you need a little Christmas right this very minute!

After watching both the Conjuring movies, it appears that what director Wan didn't have there was good scriptwriting. This movie actually has a plot, sympathetic characters, and a genuine creepiness that crops up in the last third of the movie, along with a fun twist. Rose Byrne does a good job driving the first half of the movie, and she's a lot more interesting than Madison Wolfe's character in The Conjuring series. Patrick Wilson plays the husband here and is dependably good. Yes, they're all haunted house/possession flicks, but this one has style and old-fashioned flair.

I'm not sure you can call this a horror movie in the purest sense; it's more a thriller with no supernatural elements. Karloff is superb in a dual role. In fact, he's almost too good as the relentlessly evil twin brother. He helps create a (perhaps apt) dark atmosphere that is unpleasant and makes the film a bleak experience. However, the surprising cast member that "saves the day" is so unexpected that I added a star for creativity. Worth watching to see Karloff at his best, but be aware that it's a dreary journey.

45 minutes of great set-up, which is then mostly abandoned for typical early sixties supernatural goings-on. It doesn't always make sense, but at least the story is true to its title.

"Even the phone is dead!" PROS: Great sets and atmosphere, a certain level of creepiness, and the first pairing of Karloff and Lugosi. CONS: Goofy script, campy feel, and the feeling that this would have been awesome if I'd only seen it when I was twelve years old. "It's the red switch."

Tremendous fun, perfect for Halloween night. A different kind of pairing of Lugosi and Karloff, with Bela getting most of the attention. There's a special treat in store for Boris' character, but no spoilers here. Maybe not stylish like "The Black Cat" of 1934, but it's a great tale and includes the coolest elevator ever. The melding of Poe's "The Raven" with a mad scientist story works well and should delight his fans, provided they don't expect a literal portrayal of the work.

Great follow-up, although not so creepy. It is more of a futheration of the lead character, and the interaction between he and what is to, perhaps, be his latest victim. Alas, he claims to be having a mid-kill crisis, and the relationship, if you can call it that, between him and Sara, leads you to believe that things just might turn out all right. I don't know how Duplass manages to make his serial killer so likeable, but it works well with Sara's willingness to be up for just about anything. This is more a character study about two fucked up people, with the ending not being all that important. So, not a Halloween fright-fest, but more of an amiably weird sequel.

This did make me laugh a few times, and I appreciated its mockumentary-style approach, but it just didn't quite gel. The main twist was telegraphed early on, and the last-third of the movie was totally conventional. I'm not a slasher movie fan, but I've seen enough of the classic ones to get most of the jokes. This is pretty good fun, overall, for fans of the genre; just keep your expectations low and you'll have a reasonably good time.

"They'll take you one-by-one...and no one will hear you SCREAM!!!" Well, this was a bit of fun. Atmospheric, semi-avant-garde seventies zombie flick that also manages to also be campy and weird. There's a great apartment set that has a lot of eerie paintings. I also learned never to go to a movie called "Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye" if there are zombies about, and try to avoid the Ralph's as well. Nice widescreen print restored (by a YouTuber) available at https://youtu.be/C6GbS82WVrg as of 10/8/21.

It's all about the apples. And Christopher Lee with seventies hair plus wearing a kilt (when he's not dressed as a woman with long black locks); a Christian copper (Edward 'the right kind of adult' Woodward acting either exasperated or outraged) vs. the island pagans; Britt Eckland singing a traditional-style folk song toplessly; some gross depictions of dead animals and such; ancient rituals with naked girls dancing; an orgy outside a pub while a bawdy song is song inside; the Hand of Glory (not really salacious like you might think); a penchant for animal mask wearing; echoes of Fairport Convention's classic track "Farewell, Farewell" during the procession scene; a lot of other cool traditionally based Celtic music which you can read about at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wicker_Man_(soundtrack); beautiful Scottish location(s) enhanced by good direction and cinematography; and a nice twisty conclusion. It all seemed a bit silly to me, and way too much time was spent with Woodward questioning every single person on the island. Still, some fun was had, and I imagine this movie is beloved by Renaissance Faire folks everywhere!

The last of three "I Love A Mystery" film versions of the radio show. "The Unknown" is very entertaining, and tweaks the dark old house scenario with originality and flair. Not a classic, but just a different approach that involves interesting plotting matched by fine performances led by Karen Morley, who is not "all there" after an incident that occurs early on in the film. While there are no evil spirits as such, there's just enough creepiness to satisfy your Halloween needs. If you want to watch the films in order, the first one, which is actually called "I Love A Mystery," is at https://youtu.be/8PNI6IjsHws. I haven't watched it yet, but fans of the three films seem to like it best.

I think it's perfectly okay to lower your standards a bit for Halloween. There's nothing you haven't seen here before, but it's dumb fun and I'll be watching Part 2.

It's a horror movie, alright: horrible script, horrible acting, and horrible direction. Perhaps this was an indicator of De Palma's inability to choose good material, something that would haunt him later in his career. It's almost worth it, though, just to watch one of the actors explode!

The title is a bit of a misnomer; they should have stuck with the early idea to name it "The Return of Frankenstein." I don't think the film deserves its reputation as it plays more of a parody of the first movie. It looks great, alright, but nearly everyone in the cast is directed as crazed or hysterical. There is one great scene in which a blind violinist befriends the Monster which made me think that I'd rather hang with Frankenstein's creation, smoke and drink wine with him, and perhaps discuss Nietzsche, than with anyone else in the cast.

Excellent mix of ghost story and suspense thriller, it also looks incredible thanks to Del Toro's usual attention to set design, direction and cinematography. The acting is great throughout, and the whole thing has a gothic supernatural novel meets Hitchcock vibe. Very cool.

Pretty water. So many dead Sallys. Half-hearted attempt to to make it all stop. Water sprinklers are creepy? Yacht-hog Day? Where's Tommy? Poor Heather - so little screen time, and I liked her. What's with the birds; this ain't Hitchcock. Maybe if you stop up all the plotholes, the boat won't sink. Yeah, yeah, Sisyphus, I get it. // "Here's one for mother." - Frank Zappa. - "Tommy can you hear me?" -The Who // Somehow I still kind of enjoyed it. Nicely directed but maybe Smith should leave the writing to someone else.

Picks up where Insidious leaves off, and gets the tone right. In fact, it feels like the second episode of a mini-series for the first hour or so. There's a lot of plot explanation continuance, and it can be a bit confusing at times, but Patrick Wilson and Rose Byrne work well together and the supporting characters are all here to support the continuity. It runs a little too long, and depends on those eye-rolling horror movie tropes in the last twenty minutes, but this is mostly a worthy successor and recommended if you liked the first one.

Low-budget indy set in Garden Grove, CA with dialogue in Vietnamese and English. Creepy premise oddly has a sweetness about it for the first hour, and then it gets genuinely disturbing (but in a good horror-ish way). The ending is not so different than most movies of this type, with a bit of a twist and some horror troping. It gets points for being a little offbeat, and loses some for the non-acting of the marginally necessary roommate character. Better than "Audition," but, then again, I didn't like that one!

This is why I watch some classic pre-70s films; it's to get a break from movies like this one. Nothing happens for the first 13 minutes, by the way; I should have turned it off then. There is, however, an interesting middle section with some humor, cool indy music, a Dodge Dart Lite appearance, and the introduction of Monte Markham, still acting after all these years. Alas, there is also the token black guy trope. (sigh) Then, you know, dead son, possessed house, psychic friend, eerie townspeople, blah blah blah. I guess it is supposed to be a homage to all that stuff, but it just comes off as, well, all that stuff. So, the band that does the music is obscure, they're called Wooden Indian and sound influenced by The Shins. You can listen to the opening song to the movie here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmpbvl4nBeM

This is no Fear Street - Part One. Seems like a weird thing to say, but the first one had some humor, and the characters were more interesting. This version is a typical camper-slash-slasher movie that retains the "witch" legend. The humor is largely gone, but the seventies soundtrack is well chosen, and you can play Spot-The-Bowie-References to keep you awake, if only for a short while. This story is being told backwards, and I fear (Fier) that this was because they realized the "last one" was the best, so they just reversed the order. Part 3 will determine if I am correct about that. Oh yeah, there's lots of modern teenage melodrama iffin' you like that kinda thing.

Sure to be a disappointment for fans of the original "Cat People" film, as it is about something that can be equally fraught with peril...childhood!! This is a psychological ghost story/thriller that revisits the original movie's characters in a different light. The child in this movie shares a troubled childhood with Irena, but not one of legend. It's more about the reality of being the kid that is lonely and rejected by his or her peers. Perhaps it is a movie that only introverts can appreciate. I found it well done and poignant. However, if you're looking for an old fashioned horror movie, this is not it.

Yeah, just take a stranger's word that the knows your dead son and let him stay for a few days. No matter, it's a Halloween thing, and I must give credit for this not turning simply into a creepy guy terrorizing a family movie. Our hero, although you can tell he's "off," wins you (and the family) over, even avenging the son's bullies. However, halfway through, the movie shifts tone and turns into an action-adventure flick. No matter, there's lots of Halloween imagery, and a satisfying ending, for the most part. So thumbs up for Halloween credibility, but loses a little when the non-holiday subplot kicks in. Dan Stevens is great in the lead as the nice guy/nutcase who you want to root for...until you don't.

The Monster meets Sherlock! Ok, so it's not perfect, but there's a lot to like in the last of the Universal/Karloff Frankenstein movies. Rathbone is refreshing as the increasingly unhinged Dr. F., who is always up for a good game of darts. Lugosi is excellent playing an different sort of character for him, and one could argue that he steals the picture. The lighting and set design are lovely, and the story is solid for the most part. Oh, and those damn villagers, don't they ever sleep?!! // The trivia at here at IMDB is worth checking out at https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0031951/trivia?ref_=ttqu_ql_1

This is the first Hammer House of Horror movie I've watched since I was a kid I think. Nicely filmed and Peter Cushing is great as usual. One can almost miss the presence of Christopher Lee if it weren't for the last third of the movie. Two of our major characters make major mistakes (a horror movie trope, I know, but this is HHoH, not Halloween 2) that compromise the ending. This is a hallmark of either lazy directing or writing, and spoiled it a bit for me. Still, I'm looking forward to more Hammer House fun.

Lackluster finale has every cliché in the book (or movie, in this case). The three movies would probably be fun if I was with friends on Halloween night, was young, and preferably, drunk. Alas, none of this was true so I just suffered through it. CAUTION ANIMAL LOVERS: Lots of animal death imagery, including a pet dog. You'd think filmmakers would know by now; that ain't cool or scary. And, oh yeah, of course there's a sequel tag, just in case. Bah.

Style over substance rules the day. This Argento feature is highly considered. I saw the cut version, but it was pretty slow moving, so I can imagine that sitting through the long one would be best for his fans only. Susperia is definitely better. The plot is weak here, the twist is a bit silly, and the acting is just okay. I would have probably thought it was way cool if I'd seen it when it came out, though. The bird and the lizard in the film don't do well, so a cautionary note for animal lovers. It's also typically politically incorrect for its time; a rape joke, really?

A creative set-up, a bit of humor, and a sullen-but-determined protagonist makes this a good Halloween watch. It might be a little disappointing as it shifts from a ghost story to something non-paranormal, but the second half of the movie is still enjoyable. There are some glaring plot holes, but we're used to that, yes? It's getting harder to find good semi-modern/modern horror movies these days, but this New Zealand import is one of them.

If you think that this is just going to be a crazy-cult movie, you're in for a surprise. Even at its protracted length, I was rarely bored by the story of brothers making the dubious decision to re-visit a commune that they renounced as a death cult when they fled as teenagers. The writer manages to interweave brotherly relationships, the meaning of life, a supernatural presence, the loneliness and frustration built out of day-to-day existence, but also the experience of having a purpose. Sadly, the director's mother committed suicide three days before shooting started, but Justin Benson was able to share his grief with his dad, who was the caterer on the film. This is a micro-budget movie, so don't look for production values galore, but the rustic backdrop provides a setting that matches the movie's style. The film isn't exactly original, but the way the script is put together gives it a one-up on most of the crap that passes for horror these days.