31 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN 2021!

Normally, I love to try and watch at least thirty-one new horror films during October in celebration of Halloween but October 2021 I was not able to do this as I was also watching a bunch of TV shows during the month as well (I actually enjoyed this more than catching up with the horror films that I had missed throughout the year).  So, I am a little disappointed that I was only able to watch about fifteen horror films during the month but some of these films were the very best I’d seen all year.

 

I’d like to first take a look back to some of the older films I viewed during the month.  The only film I had already seen was The Wraith (1986) which was one of my favorite films of the ’80s and which still holds up extremely well today.  I still love this film!  I also (finally) got around to watching Buried Alive II (1997).  I had already watched the first film earlier in the year.  These were films I just never got around to.  I also watched Nightflyers (1987), The Ladies Club (1986), and Deadly Games (1982).  I generally hated the recent TV series of Nightflyers and this ‘80s film was just a derivative but at least it wasn’t drawn out like the series.  I just did not like the story which is based on a sci-fi novella by G.R.R. Martin.  It did star Catherine Mary Stewart which is the only plus in my opinion.  Deadly Games was completely forgettable and derivative of other ‘80s horror films but it was The Ladies Club which was the big surprise.  The Ladies Club, which is more a thriller, was actually better than I expected as it is a smart and provocative thriller whose themes of rape and abuse are still relevant today for women.

 

The oldest film that I happened to view is the 1976 film Schizo from director Pete Walker, one of the directors whose films I was watching in October and November.  This happened to be the only horror film of his that I ended up viewing as I was catching up with his sex comedies (which he also did a lot of).  Walker is one of those unusual directors whose filmography is mostly horror films and sex comedies – two genres on opposite sides of the spectrum.  I love his style of film-making and this is just as good as other films in his filmography.

 

I caught up with some more recent horror films Voice From the Stone (2017), Gwen (2018), Downrange (2017), Still/Born (2018), and Superdeep (2020).  Voice From the Stone was a pretty average film but it was Emilia Clarke that was the true standout and made it worthwhile whereas Downrange had a pretty basic plot that was made better by the cinematography and suspense as it was a non-stop film in the tradition of thrillers like Joy Ride (2001), Duel (1971), and Breakdown (1997).  Gwen was another mediocre film but it had a lot of atmosphere and strong performances for a slow burn folk film.  Still/Born wasn’t much better as I ended up with a lot of ambitious horror films that had a lot of atmosphere and great cinematography but were not always all that good.  On the other hand, Superdeep was a fun and entertaining Lovecraftian horror film that took a lot of its inspiration from John Carpenter’s The Thing.  Although not a great film it was entertaining and engaging.

 

I do want to take a few moments to make comment about the lost George A. Romero film The Amusement Park (2021) which audiences finally get to see.  This is not entirely a horror film but it is a mindfuck of a film that more a David Lynch film in the tradition of Romero’s early films Season of the Witch (1972) and There’s Always Vanilla (1971).  If you’re a fan of these early films then this film will be a great treat but if you’re not familiar with Romero’s less popular films then this film may leave you wanting more. 

 

The last group of films that I want to include is one of the best horror trilogies put out in a long time and they were released weekly via Netflix.  Fear Street Part 1: 1994 (2021), Fear Street Part 2: 1978 (2021), and Fear Street Part 3: 1666 (2021). Utilizing the same cast members in various roles, the films do an amazing job of linking multiple characters and timelines in a story that’s both entertaining, suspenseful, and at times horrifying.  I was never bored and watched all three in a single day.  The performances from the young cast are exceptionally well done as are all other production elements.  These films are some of the best horror films released in ’21.

 

I did catch up with two TV series this month – Black Summer (Season 2) and Holliston (Season 2).  Black Summer has some amazing production value and the winter setting was a great touch but the show is just too fragmented due to the frequent cutting back and forth between so many characters and so many stories.  The best episodes were character episodes where there were just a handful of characters.  This show has the same problem that The Walking Dead has where the character episodes are better than most other episodes in general.  The show also suffers from characters who repeatedly make dumb decisions and most of the characters are not likable or even interesting.  Holliston, on the other hand, was a vast improvement over the first season as you can tell that the writers finally knew how to tell the stories (and jokes) that best fit the actors.  This was a strong second season and I wished that the show had been able to do a third.

 

This is all for my viewing habits for October 2021!  Not as many as I would have liked and I saw a lot of mediocre films but watching horror films during October is never a bad thing!  Can’t wait until October 2022!

MONTH OF INTERNATIONAL FILMS

February 2021 is a special month for my viewing this year as I’ve labeled it my Month of International Films.  Each month this year I’m giving a theme in the hopes that I will (finally) catch up with a lot of the films that have been on my “watch list” for quite some time.  In January, I watched a lot of 2020 films that I had missed and now we are on to the Month of International Films.

 

I’m a huge lover of foreign films but sometimes you have to be in the mood to read subtitles (my preferred way to watch a foreign film).  This being said, my viewing spanned all genres and all parts of the world as I love to explore the many different cultures through their art and film.

 

ACTION.

I should first mention that I finally got around to viewing the cult favorite Female Prisoner Scorpion films (the original series) with Female Prisoner #701: Scorpion (1972), Female Prisoner Scorpion: #701’s Grudge Song (1973), Female Prisoner Scorpion: Beast Stable (1973), and Female Prisoner Scorpion: Jailhouse (1972).  This is quite a film series of the ‘70s with its nudity and violence glorified to the 100 power.  These were actually very stylized productions that had some amazing cinematography .  There are many more films that have expanded the franchise but these are the core films (maybe one day I’ll get around to those other films).   I also watched a couple Jackie Chan films this month that had been sitting on my shelf for years – 1911 (2011) and Railroad Tigers (2016), of which both were quite good and very different from one another.  Chan is a very versatile actor and producer and hopefully I will get around to the other films of his that I’ve yet to get around to.  He is still an amazing actor that I try to view as many of his films as I can.

DRAMA.

Moving on to drams, of which Chan’s 1911 fits better, I ended up viewing several dramas on the streaming service that I believe were marked as Horror.  The films Blue My Mind (2017) and Zombi Child (2020) are both very much dramas with motifs and themes from the horror genre but if you go in thinking they are horror films then you will be completely disappointed.  These two films are amazing at creating character and drama within stories not typical of the genre.  Some audience members may never take a look at them believing they are horror while horror fans may be disappointed because they are horror at all.  They both occupy a unique middle bridge and successful tell their respective stories with no compromises due to genre.

 

Another drama film I’d like to mention is Pete Walker’s Home Before Midnight (1979), one of the director’s non-horror films that has to deal with a musician who gets involved with an underage woman and controversy surrounds.  Not what I was expecting (since I was expecting a horror film) but a film whose themes still resonate and are current even today forty years later.

 

THEATRICAL & FANTASY.

I only saw one international film at the Box Office this month and it also happens to be the only fantasy film as well – A Writer’s Odyssey (2021).  This was an amazing film with a huge story whose themes and influences encompass many different genres.  Some critics have said that the film is too complicated but I loved the complex story and the many different elements that will make repeated viewing richer.  It is by far one of my favorite films of 2021!

ANIMATION.

I did manage to get a couple animated films through into the mix!  First up is Ne Zha (2019) the hugely successful animated film that presents audiences with everything missing from a Disney animated film.  I don’t know why it took me so long to get around to this film as it was one at the top of my “watch list” but I’m glad I had the chance to watch it this month instead of waiting around any longer.  I loved this film and will watch it again because of how different it is from other films being produced by American animation studios.  The same can be said of the cryptic and mind bending The Wolf House (2020), which is unlike anything out there right now.  It’s style of storytelling reminds me of Triplets of Belleville while the animation style is pure experimental filmmaker yet it has a charm all its own like something David Lynch would create.  This is a film in which repeat viewings will be needed (and maybe even a few shots of alcohol).

 

HORROR.

As can be expected, the horror genre made up the largest segment of films I got around to!  I spent most of the month buried on Shudder catching up with tons of films that I hadn’t seen yet.  The first selection of films being Italian Giallo genre but also includes films inspired by these films as well.  Some of them were – Black Belly of the Tarantula (1971), The Case of the Bloody Iris (1972), The Fifth Cord (1975), The Corruption of Chris Miller (1975), Short Night of Glass Dolls (1971), The Strange Vice of Ms. Wardh (1971), and What Have You Done to Solange? (1972). Once I started I just couldn’t stop until I had finished them all.  I’m a huge fan of the Giallo film by way of Dario Argento and Mario Bava so finally getting around to seeing some of these cult classics was great (thank you Shudder!).  Now, unfortunately, they were all as great as an Argento or Bava film but they were entertaining even when the plots were completely ludicrous.

 

The rest of my horror viewing list was all over the map with the original and modern remake of The Queen of Black Magic (1981, 2020) followed by the sequel May the Devil Take You Too (2020), which I didn’t even know was a sequel until I already was watching it (I’ll eventually get around to watching the original).

 

Other films include The Canal (2014), Demon (2015), and Noroi: The Curse (2005).  I didn’t care for The Canal at all while the Demon was an interesting take on a possession film.  Noroi is the film that was recommended to me but I just didn’t really care for it at all.

 

 

I also watched some more recent films like 32 Malasana Street (2020), Belzebuth (2019), DeadTectives (2019), Hunted (2020), and The Platform (2019).  A lot of these made their debuts at film festivals before being picked up by Shudder and other streaming services.   I especially enjoyed Hunted and The Platform!

 

This makes up all the films for my Month of International Film which allowed me to reach my goal of at least thirty films!    I hope that you seek out some of the films mentioned here as there were some gems but if none of them interest you then maybe of March Month of Action Films (!) will have something for you!