The last week of HORROR MONTH is regrettably here. I still have a few days left, but I wanted to get this out there in case you see something you were thinking about watching and wanted to know if you should or not. So here are the last few movies I watched.
Also, I wanted to make a quick list of some of the best horror films I’ve seen this year that you should try to check out. These aren’t my favorite horror films of all time, someone else can make that list, but these are just a few of the new ones that I think rise above the rest. So make sure to give that a quick look before Halloween night.
WEEK 4
Extracurricular – I thought it had an interesting premise. Basically it’s The Strangers, but told through the point of view of the killers instead of the victims. The problem I had with that however, I hated everyone in the movie. Unlike something like 3 From Hell, where we also get killers as our main characters, but somehow we love them. Here however, I just wanted it to hurry up and get to them all getting murdered. But having said that, it wasn’t a bad film and I think is worth checking out. RENT IT
Luz – I mean I guess this was a horror movie… I’m not sure what this was. Not good, I know that. It’s only an hour and 10 minutes long, but even that felt too long. I guess I knew what to expect once the film starts off with 5 minutes of nothing but a hallway. But hey, it has style and the trailer looked cool. The plot is incoherent as hell. I guess it’s about a girl in an all-girl school who tricked this other girl into performing a satanic ritual, resulting in something possessing her, a demon or the devi, and I guess it has been searching for the Luz lady this whole time, transferring from one body to the next. But the way the story is told it’s like every checklist of all the things that make up a shitty arthouse film. SKIP IT
Tigers Are Not Afraid – To continue my subtitled foreign horror movie theme, I decided to check this one out, as it has been highly recommended by others. I thought it was pretty good. Like City of God meets The Ring. It’s a very bleak story, with main characters dying brutally out of nowhere, also dealing with an uncomfortable subject matter. I believe this is an exclusive to Shutter, so if you have a subscription, I say it’s worth checking out. RENT IT
Honeymoon – This was a film I’ve been meaning to watch for several horror months ago, since it came out, really. For some reason I never got around to it. But I saw that it was on Hulu and decided, okay, let’s finally check this out. And it was pretty good. I do however think the strongest aspect of this film is the actors. I don’t know if a different cast would have kept my interest for very long. I thought it was a good sci-fi horror film, worth a watch. RENT IT
47 Meters Down: Uncaged – Better than the first film I guess but still, this isn’t a very good movie. One thing kept bugging the shit out of me and that’s how they communicated to one another underwater. Their visors, I guess I can concede maybe had microphones in it, but… how are they hearing what they are saying? The visor only covers their face, but their ears are uncovered, meaning they’re out in the open. How the hell are they hearing anything anyone is saying to them? I’m also pretty sure for a few scenes when they are meant to be underwater, they aren’t. They’re just adding CGI bubbles to make it look like they are. Speaking of bad CGI, the sharks look terrible. But that goes well with the bad acting and writing, so why play against the theme they have going on. But still, it’s a PG-13 shark film and I didn’t hate it, so for that I say… RENT IT
Wounds – So much for wanting to check out other Hulu movies after Little Monsters. This film sucks. It felt like a total missed opportunity, as the film squanders its potential. The premise is very interesting, a slacker bartender finds a phone with evidence of ritualistic human sacrifices, summoning a demon. But the film meanders and eventually just ends pathetically. SKIP IT
Midsommar – I’ve been putting this one off because of how much I hated Hereditary. But, I ended up really enjoying this. I didn’t watch the director’s cut unfortunately. There are a bunch of things I really loved in this movie. Movies about ghosts and haunted houses don’t scare me because that shit isn’t real. Demon possession movies bore me because that shit isn’t real. You know what is real? Crazy people in cults. SEE IT
TOP 10 BEST NEW HORROR MOVIES TO WATCH THIS HALLOWEEN
10. Girls with Balls – This was a movie Netflix has been recommending to me forever now. From what it showed me in the preview, it looked like some dumb badly dubbed comedy. However, I looked a bit closer and saw it was a horror film. I said what the hell and gave it a shot. To my surprise, this was good. This was damn good. But not just that, it was fun. Hot ladies in the woods, a ton of gore and even some laughs. There’s this dumb line where the coach runs into the villain’s little dog and asks him if he wants to eat a rock, for some reason that cracked me up. This is a fun one, check it out.
9. Eli – All the scary stuff they show in the trailer, however, this film to me was all about the plot twists. There are a few, none that I saw coming. And there’s no way I’m spoiling them here. Check out this Netflix exclusive.
8. Zombieland: Double Tap – If you’re looking for something to see in theaters for Halloween this year, look no further than this mostly decent sequel. It doesn’t have as many laughs or as much original plot this time around, but it has some good zombie kills and you get to spend some time with these characters once again.
7. Midsommar – I held off on watching this for as long as I could, only because Hereditary was so terrible. However, I found myself loving this movie to my surprise. Movies about ghosts and haunted house, demon possession films, they do nothing for me as they are all bullshit. However! Crazy religious people in murder cults do exist and I find that far more terrifying than some haunted doll movie. I will concede that this won’t be for everyone. It’s a slow burn, but I was hypnotized by the beautiful imagery and uneasy atmosphere. Shocked to say, but this is really worth checking out.
6. Satanic Panic – Not too many horror comedies came out this month, so when one hits the mark like this one did for me, I say put it at the top of your priority list. Some good gore and a likable but cute and naïve main character makes this a worthwhile watch.
5. 3 From Hell – As a fan of Rob Zombie, even though I shouldn’t as he has made more shitty films than good films, I’m still willing to give him a shot. I liked 31, his last film before this one, I liked it more than most it seems. But I’m happy to say 3 From Hell is a return to form. This isn’t a perfect film, it rehashes maybe a bit too much of Devil’s Rejects, but to me, this film is all about the characters and I was over the moon to hear Richard Brake was going to be the 3rd from hell. As an added bonus, the bluray features a fantastic almost 2 hour making of, a must see for low budget filmmaking. I believe 31 had a 4 hour making of, but was only available somewhere online, not on the bluray… If you’re a relapsed Rob Zombie fan. This is a good film to maybe make you a convert once again.
4. The Perfection – I had no idea what to expect from this film. But holy shit this blew me away. Twist after twist. It reminded me slightly of Martyrs, but with a coherent ending, not to mention a satisfying ending. I don’t want to say too much about it, just see it for yourself.
3. Sweetheart – A film I easily dismissed as lame because of the PG-13 rating. However, I managed to overcome my bias and gave it a watch. I’m glad I did as I loved this movie. Think Castaway meets Predator. I was also impressed with how well the creature looked, as it was intimidating while at the same time realistic looking. I love the idea that this lady now has to deal with not only having to survive on this island, but now must try to outsmart this creature trying to eat her. The film does hit a small bump in the road once more survivors show up as the dialogue and acting isn’t very good. But they are quickly dispatched with, so it isn’t like we are spending a ton of time with them. This is another must see this Halloween.
2. Haunt – I wasn’t expecting much out of it as it went straight to VOD, however! I ended up loving the hell out of it. There’s a lot to love about this movie. I liked all the characters, the lead actress was fantastic, mostly devoid of cheap jump scares, I also loved how the killers all modified their faces to match the Halloween costumes they wear, and with a fantastic ending, it’s a top choice to watch this Halloween, as it’s the very few on my list that is actually set during Halloween. This is a must see!
And finally, number one with a bullet… or should I say machete.
1. The Furies – I absolutely loved this movie. I love the idea of our slasher film survivor girls having to team up with horror movie-like slashers in a battle royal type of setting. I do feel they could have done more with the concept, like having them actually team up. If our survivor girl dies, the slasher they are paired with also dies, forcing our Leatherface-like slashers to have to team up with them to survive. Fantastic concept, but I wanted more of that. Fantastic gore, amazing slasher designs, as they all have their own unique look. This is a must see for Halloween.
-Cap’n Peachfuzz
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