2022's Halloween haul

October 01, 2022

No money for Steam sales, I guess...

I am a notorious physical horror movie hoarder. I call myself a collector because that sounds better. Every year, I hit movie sections at pretty much any store that carries movies and isn't grossly overpriced, while also ordering a bunch from websites like Arrow Video, Vinegar Syndrome, Kino Lorber, and Scream Factory. This year's haul is tremendous and will probably take me until next October to fully polish off. What did I land this time around?

After Midnight
Annabelle Comes Home
The Asphyx
Baba Yaga ('70s giallo)
The Battery
The Black Belly of the Tarantula
The Blob ('80s)
Body Melt
Body Parts
The Cabin in the Woods
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh
Cannibals
Carved: The Slit-Mouthed Woman
Cinderella (South Korean)
The Cloverfield Paradox
The Convent
Crawler
Dead Ringers
Deadly Advice
The Demoniacs
Edge of Sanity
The Exorcism of Emily Rose
Final Exam
Flatliners (original)
The Frighteners
Ganja & Hess (original)
Girls Nite Out
Girls School Screamers
Halloween Kills
Hatchet for the Honeymoon
The Hills Run Red
Impetigore
It
It: Chapter Two
Jennifer's Body
Kill, Baby... Kill!
Land of the Dead
Lifeforce
Little Shop of Horrors (musical)
The Lodge
Mimic
Monstrous
Near Dark
Nekromantik
Night of the Demons (original)
Pale Blood
The Phantom of the Opera (Argento)
Phantom of the Paradise
Pontypool
Rats: Nights of Terror
Ravenous
The Secret Window
The Seed
Sightseers
Splice
Stagefright (the one with the owl mask, not the one with Minnie Driver)
Strip Nude for Your Killer (Please don't laugh, it's the title of a giallo. Eroticism and sexuality are common themes in the sub-genre.)
Tales from the Crypt Presents Demon Knight
Terrifier
They Live
Titane
Two Evil Eyes
The Wind: Demons of the Prarie

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overdrive - October 03, 2022 (08:02 AM)
A couple comments, as I've seen or will eventually see a few of those.

Always good to see someone else who watches giallos here and there. Hell, last night, I finally got around to seeing Argento's Suspiria (aka: a movie that is a giallo or isn't quite one due to the supernatural element, depending on who is writing about it) and pretty much try to get to all I can without putting that much effort into it (ie: YouTube rips, a "less-than-legal" app I obtained on my Firestick, watching via Tubi or Plex or, if it comes to it, renting via YouTube or Prime). Seen Stagefright (more a pure slasher, but it is Italian and Michele Soavi did work with Argento on a lot of projects) and Strip Nude for Your Killer (any giallo with Edwige Fenich is a winner, as far as I'm concerned!!!). Still have to get to Black Belly of the Tarantula, but with the trio of Claudine Auger, Barbara Bach and Barbara Bouchet in it, I'm sure it will be vastly more than great. Ah, that's one thing I love about this genre -- it's the perfect chance to let out my inner sleaze!

Final Exam might not be a particularly good movie, but it has one scene of a frat prank to get out of exams that is just amazing. Amazing in how, in today's world, there's no way it would fly. Also, the frat dude "Wildman" totally seems to have been created due to someone involved with the film HATING big, dumb, bullying jock-types because he's portrayed as such an over-the-top idiot version of that sort.

While I didn't dislike Land of the Dead, it's hard for me not to notice that in going from the 60s and 70s to more modern times, Romero lost something in translation when it came to making a good zombie film. It was just a good couple steps behind any of the original trilogy.

JoeTheDestroyer - October 04, 2022 (02:00 AM)
I got into giallo films after buying a cheap, potentially unlicensed copy of Cat O' Nine Tails from a cheapo distributor called Diamond Entertainment when I worked on the local air force base. I also managed to snag their releases House by the Cemetery and Mutant (aka Night Shadows) at the same time for under $10 apiece. And this was in the early 2000s, when you'd be lucky to find any of those movies under $20 on DVD, if at all. Sadly, I missed my chance to grab The Beyond, which they titled The Seven Doors of Death. I'd have to settle for that overpriced $30 special edition version instead... Hey, at least that DVD helped me discover Necrophagia.

I only watched a giallo or two after that, but I ended up getting into a giallo kick a couple of years later. Back then, I bought just about the entire Argento and pre-'90s Fulci horror catalog, and only recently have I begun branching out further.

Final Exam is more of a nostalgia thing for me because it was one of the movies my parents taped off Showtime when I was a kid. I ended up watching it one summer and kinda liking it, though it was pretty much your run-of-the-mill slasher. I do remember Wildman being particularly annoying, though. I got a bit squeamish during his death at first because I thought for sure the movie was going to pull a Toxic Avenger and have the killer crush his head with the weights.

Land of the Dead has a handful of cool scenes, but a disjointed story. I only grabbed it for completion purposes. With this, I only need Survival of the Dead for the complete series. I haven't seen that one, but the trailer looks awful and I'm almost certain I won't enjoy it much (hell, I didn't even like Diary of the Dead). However, it'll bother me not having the full series. It's weird because I don't always feel obligated to be a completist with some franchises, like Hellraiser or The Howling. However, with others I just feel like I need to fill in the holes.

overdrive - October 04, 2022 (12:56 PM)
Hellraiser probably is as close to "gotta get them all" as I've been with horror. And that has just applied to the first eight of them. The first two are great, the third is decent with one weird decision (the two important characters who got the Cenobite treatment get one scene after transformation, while the lesser guys are seen regularly destroying the city), the fourth has the cool "twin security guards joined together" Cenobite but not much else, the fifth and sixth were pretty fun mind-screw films, the seventh was pretty weak and the eighth was notable for being an early role for Henry Cavill, but didn't offer much other than that.

The fifth and sixth saved the series from being pure diminishing returns after the first two, but I could see the way things were going and heard the ninth and 10th were pretty trash, so figured I'd cut bait after getting through the DVD set that had 3-8.

Feedback
	overdrive - October 03, 2022 (08:02 AM) A couple comments, as I've seen or will eventually see a few of those. Always good to see someone else who watches giallos here and there. Hell, last night, I finally got around to seeing Argento's Suspiria (aka: a movie that is a giallo or isn't quite one due to the supernatural element, depending on who is writing about it) and pretty much try to get to all I can without putting that much effort into it (ie: YouTube rips, a "less-than-legal" app I obtained on my Firestick, watching via Tubi or Plex or, if it comes to it, renting via YouTube or Prime). Seen Stagefright (more a pure slasher, but it is Italian and Michele Soavi did work with Argento on a lot of projects) and Strip Nude for Your Killer (any giallo with Edwige Fenich is a winner, as far as I'm concerned!!!). Still have to get to Black Belly of the Tarantula, but with the trio of Claudine Auger, Barbara Bach and Barbara Bouchet in it, I'm sure it will be vastly more than great. Ah, that's one thing I love about this genre -- it's the perfect chance to let out my inner sleaze! Final Exam might not be a particularly good movie, but it has one scene of a frat prank to get out of exams that is just amazing. Amazing in how, in today's world, there's no way it would fly. Also, the frat dude "Wildman" totally seems to have been created due to someone involved with the film HATING big, dumb, bullying jock-types because he's portrayed as such an over-the-top idiot version of that sort. While I didn't dislike Land of the Dead, it's hard for me not to notice that in going from the 60s and 70s to more modern times, Romero lost something in translation when it came to making a good zombie film. It was just a good couple steps behind any of the original trilogy.
	JoeTheDestroyer - October 04, 2022 (02:00 AM) I got into giallo films after buying a cheap, potentially unlicensed copy of Cat O' Nine Tails from a cheapo distributor called Diamond Entertainment when I worked on the local air force base. I also managed to snag their releases House by the Cemetery and Mutant (aka Night Shadows) at the same time for under $10 apiece. And this was in the early 2000s, when you'd be lucky to find any of those movies under $20 on DVD, if at all. Sadly, I missed my chance to grab The Beyond, which they titled The Seven Doors of Death. I'd have to settle for that overpriced $30 special edition version instead... Hey, at least that DVD helped me discover Necrophagia. I only watched a giallo or two after that, but I ended up getting into a giallo kick a couple of years later. Back then, I bought just about the entire Argento and pre-'90s Fulci horror catalog, and only recently have I begun branching out further. Final Exam is more of a nostalgia thing for me because it was one of the movies my parents taped off Showtime when I was a kid. I ended up watching it one summer and kinda liking it, though it was pretty much your run-of-the-mill slasher. I do remember Wildman being particularly annoying, though. I got a bit squeamish during his death at first because I thought for sure the movie was going to pull a Toxic Avenger and have the killer crush his head with the weights. Land of the Dead has a handful of cool scenes, but a disjointed story. I only grabbed it for completion purposes. With this, I only need Survival of the Dead for the complete series. I haven't seen that one, but the trailer looks awful and I'm almost certain I won't enjoy it much (hell, I didn't even like Diary of the Dead). However, it'll bother me not having the full series. It's weird because I don't always feel obligated to be a completist with some franchises, like Hellraiser or The Howling. However, with others I just feel like I need to fill in the holes.
	overdrive - October 04, 2022 (12:56 PM) Hellraiser probably is as close to "gotta get them all" as I've been with horror. And that has just applied to the first eight of them. The first two are great, the third is decent with one weird decision (the two important characters who got the Cenobite treatment get one scene after transformation, while the lesser guys are seen regularly destroying the city), the fourth has the cool "twin security guards joined together" Cenobite but not much else, the fifth and sixth were pretty fun mind-screw films, the seventh was pretty weak and the eighth was notable for being an early role for Henry Cavill, but didn't offer much other than that. The fifth and sixth saved the series from being pure diminishing returns after the first two, but I could see the way things were going and heard the ninth and 10th were pretty trash, so figured I'd cut bait after getting through the DVD set that had 3-8.

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