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It's that time of year again, folks. Spooktober is here, and with that comes the seasonal viewing of horror films. Like in last year's thread , we talk about the horror movies we've seen in the days leading up to the 31st. To get the ball rolling, I'll start.

Just saw the 1974 Tobe Hooper film Texas Chainsaw Massacre for the first time.

It's one of the few films where I think its age has actually benefited it on an artistic level. The film grain, the jerky camera movements, and the slightly muffled audio help create this gritty, disturbing tone that makes the movie a very interesting sit. I still need some time to let it process, but it's on-par with Halloween (1978) in terms of actually good slasher movies. Eight spooks out of ten.

I haven`t seen one yet but one i gonna watch for sure

Lately I've rewatched John Carpenter's The Thing

Now this is a movie that really has stood the test of time and really makes you wonder why folks hated this movie at the time of its release other than maybe it wasn't like E.T. and really fucking horrifying for its day as well as being a remake of a earlier film.

The practical effects get a lot of praise, but a lot of should also go to the paranoid atmosphere of the movie that everything from the music to the actors help create as well as the sound design which those fucking screams… those fucking sounds from the monster still give me goosebumps.

So it is very easy to see why this movie is a massive influence in pop culture, especially Sci-fi and horror.

Kicked off Spooktober with a classic
NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD

pretty violent for its time and its bitter ending
They coming / to get you Barbara

second movie is
GHOST SHIP

Has some problems but i still like it
7 cursed gold boxes / 10

@Rustic I absolutely love The Thing, and while it's truly a shame it wasn't a critical success, there are some pretty definitive reasons why it failed in the box office.

The Thing released in theaters on June 25, 1982. A horror movie released in the middle of the summer, instead of sometime like October, has no chance of competing with summer blockbusters. Rather than being strategically marketed near Halloween when horror movies are more likely to sell.

Hell, that summer was so jam-packed with smash hit movies that in the two months prior to The Thing coming out it was facing off in the same stretch of box office hits as: Annie, Blade Runner, Connan the Barbarian, Mad Max 2; The Road Warrior, Poltergeist, Rocky III, Star Trek 2; Wrath of Kahn, and Tron.

It released 2 weeks after E.T, you know the number 1 grossing film of 1982, so it had some pretty stiff competition off the bat. However, worst than E.T was the fact the movie came out the same day as Blade Runner.

So all in all, The Thing didn't have a snowballs chance in hell when it came to having any large impact upon release.

@SCKW

Damn, I knew E.T. was a huge factor in what killed it, but that many films so close then it is no wonder why the movie was savaged at the box office.

Although this and what happened to other releases among many mediums like Titanfall 2 and Treasure Planet that get released at a awful thing is a good example of planning your releases right and maybe taking a risk to hold back for better timing maybe. On top of keeping your eyes on your rivals in the market.

That said, at least it could stand the test of time and give effectively flip the bird to those critics now and is a cornerstone of the genres like Alien and The Fly.

Unlike the 2011 The Thing which really to me is in name only since it relies on a idiot plot and characters (same thing that Prometheus and Alien: Covenant had) compared to John Carpenter's, a confusing title they could've just called something like Thule Station or The Thing: Thule, and it was too action focused with the executives getting cold feet on the practical effects and wasting millions on last minute CGI to cover up those practical effects. And the end result of all this executive meddling and designing to get more mainstream audience and fans helping the movie outdo the original Thing? It did just as bad if not worse at the box office and is very forgettable compared to its predecessor. Just… everything about the movie doesn't get the 1982 version like how Alien: Covenant and Prometheus don't get how the original Alien worked (as in the crew of Alien weren't scientists so dumb mistakes were understandable from time to time and yet they also weren't trying to get themselves killed by ignoring common sense 24/7).

I can't tell which is sadder: a great movie being denied a earlier chance in the spotlight because of circumstances probably out of the creators and studio's control; or a movie that had a lot of potential to be as good or better than the former but got butchered before it could get out the door by its own studio executives making many stupid decisions that make no sense on a practical and business angle.

Watched four spookies today. The first was Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers.

Not gonna beat around the bush with this one, it's terrible. The script is atrocious, with expositional dialogue executed with the grace of a sledgehammer, the characters are flat, and the overall directing feels tired. Donald Pleasence is fun to watch, and the gory kills (when they're not being cut around) are enjoyable, but neither are a good enough reason to watch this. It's bad. Four rednecks with shotguns out of ten.

The second movie I watched was Halloween 5.

Shocker, it was bad. Probably even worse than Halloween 4. The script is even worse this time, and the visual direction is amateurish at best. There are multiple points where the 180 degree rule is violated, and it doesn't feel like it was an intentional directing choice to disorient the viewer. Once again, though, Donald Pleasence is enjoyable to watch, and the young Danielle Harris is pretty good as far as child actresses go. There's also a somewhat effective scene in a laundry chute that's miles above any of the setpieces in Halloween 4. That said, none of the positives this film has going for it are strong enough to save it from being worse than its predecessor. The supporting cast is obnoxious, the music feels overplayed, the direction is bad, and most of all it's not even remotely spooky. Three annoying teenagers out of ten.

Next movie is the original Ghostbusters.

Kind of an odd film to chose as a Spooktober watch, but I needed a break from all the violent stuff. It's kinda hard to talk about this one without saying what's already been said: it's fucking great. It's insanely quotable, all the jokes land, the comedic timing is great, it's a fun watch. Eight marshmellows out of ten.

The final film was the original Evil Dead.

It's violent, it's oddly comedic, and it's fun. Despite its limited budget, the movie manages to create a batshit insane atmosphere that surprises at every turn. Again, it's hard to say what hasn't been said about this movie, but despite the film's effects coming off as dated they still manage to astound due to the over-the-top context they're used in. Great film, a solid eight tree tentacles out of ten.

First movie was
Maximum Overdrive

Even if it has some funny trash scenes, this movie is just horrible
5/10

Second was
We are still here

pretty generic ghost horror movie… until the last 20 min, where this movie turns into a splatter. There are better movies about ghosts, but the ending saves everything
7/10

Yesterday I saw two movies that stood at the polar opposite ends of the quality spectrum. The one on the "good" side was Frank Darabont's The Mist.

It's one of those movies that's best left unexplained, but all you should know going in is that it's un-apologetically dark. There's also a layer of cheesiness that you need to look past in order to appreciate it, but that cheesiness seems to be intentional, for the most part. Great acting, great pacing, a powerful ending, but admittedly weak effects. A solid eight spooks out of ten.

The next film was grade-A schlock.

City of the Walking Dead , more commonly known as Nightmare City (neither title being accurate), is an extremely silly 1980 Spanish-Italian co-production about fast zombies that organize extremely elaborate and well-thought-out attacks on people in an unspecified country. The best way to describe the film is "occasionally chaotic", with multiple sequences beginning with "AND THEN THE ZOMBIES ATTACKED". Highly recommended if you like cheap, late 70's/early 80's horror movies, but be wary of the ending, which is one of the most deeply contrived in cinematic history.

Three exploding televisions out of ten.

I figured I’d get myself prepped for the spooky mood, so I’ve decided to give a bunch of old horrors a shot.
The first of which was Halloween (1978).

I found myself tensing up in anticipation of when Michael would strike next. The big factors were the music and the camerawork. By focusing on the killer’s perspective, the tension is built up greatly and it feels like one is being involved in the actions that take place. The music was chilling and got stuck in my head for a good number of days. The acting was well-done, especially considering the small budget and when the kills happened, they could be felt. Halloween practically set a template for future slashers with the final girl trope, the killer having a theme song and the killing of sex-crazed young adults, and it deserved that honor.

The next horror flick watched was The Exorcist.

I may have seen more than a few references to its iconic moments, but that didn’t prepare me for exactly how scary this film was. Its special effects were pretty impressive for the time and they managed to hold up today. Throughout the possession ordeal, I could feel the pain experienced by the girl as the demon was practically destroying her from within. Each time she went berserk, the hopes of the priests purifying her seemed more and more desperate. The acting really captures what it is like to perform an actual exorcism. This is pretty much a staple in any horror viewer’s watchlist.

Scores are 9/10 for both Halloween and The Exorcist.

i plan to watch way more horror movies this month but this is what i did manage to find time to watch

It was pretty good to be honest, i watched the original japanse Ju-on with dubs and i was fairly spooked. not scared like i thought i might have been seeing how hyped it was to appear absolutely terrifying but still raddled none the less.
If there was one thing i absolutely loved it was how subtle it was sometimes, now mind you it wasn't subtle the entire movie but when it tried to be lowkey with the atmosphere it nailed it.

only thing holding it back from making it an instant classic in my eyes is that i'm not really scared of japanese style ghosts and what not.
89/100

Are Halloween comedies relevant? If so.

I just saw it recently & I have no idea how it slipped past my radar for so long.
It's a brilliant hybrid of supernatural horror & slacker comedy. That combination has been done before, but Idle Hands does it so exceptionally well.
It has enjoyable dialogue, delightfully excessive violence & gore (including what I would say, with no hyperbole, is the best movie decapitation I've ever seen), Seth Green's hilarious delivery, & a cameo appearance by the Offspring.
The main character's friends come back as zombies, not because of magic, radiation, or toxic chemicals, but because they were too lazy to make the short walk to Heaven.
It is so stupid & so wonderful.
"Look at me! I'm Leatherface!"

Saw two movies yesterday.

The Witch was… good. I can't really praise it more than that. It had some fine cinematography, great acting, good lighting, and overall I'd say it's leagues above the stuff that comes out these days, but I don't have any strong feelings towards it. I'll give it seven spooks out of ten for being a well-crafted film. May have to give it another watch to let it really sink in.

Second was Return of the Living Dead.

I haven't seen this film in years, and I'm happy to say that it's still a lot of fun. It's insanely quotable, the comedy is on-point most of the time, the gore and zombie makeup are top-notch, the soundtrack's leitmotif is catchy, it's a great time. The gradual escalation is the film's greatest element, with the characters constantly screwing up and making things worse for themselves, and watching it all unfold is enjoyable. I feel like the pacing could be better and some of the film's humor falls flat, but it's still a super fun watch. Seven BRAINS out of ten.

i never knew the name of this movie most of my life but it legit gave me nightmares when i was a little dude

I watched this

Can't describe how horrible this is.
the only good thing in this is the john kramer and the OST
Me trying to figure out how the fuck this movie fits into the timeline

So one day, I was watching TV and they happened to have this 2003 gem playing.

I watched this as a kid and even have the DVD copy of it. Of course, the movie is well bad, but there were some stuff in it that scared as a kid, for sure. The makers of this film probably thought the film was going to be too scary for kids, so they just hauled over Eddie Murphy as the lead actor. I wouldn't recommend watching it, unless you're a fan of the Haunted Mansion attraction. And if not interested, just watch something instead.

What I can recommend is this.

Back when the Tales from the Crypt TV show was happening, they made a TV movie based on the EC Comics publication Two-Fisted Tales. The best part of this anthology is the segment "Yellow", which I highly recommend watching, since the Tales from the Crypt show had it as an episode. Despite not being horror-related, it became regarded as one of the best episodes of Tales from the Crypt, as well as being the the most depressing and rather darkest. Plus, watch it to have William Sadler act as the narrator (and a bit of a hammy one, at that!).

Alright, lightning round of stuff I saw within the past week but was too lazy to post in this thread about.

Great makeup effects, some of the acting was pretty decent even with the bad dubbing, spooky musical leitmotif. Seven eye-gouges out of ten.

Quite possibly one of the worst sequels I've ever seen. The characters are annoying, the soundtrack has a disgusting layer of mid-90's early-2000's edge to it that makes it come off as try-hard, the cinematography was hot garbage, not helped by the awful editing, and the plot took away what made Michael Myers interesting. The producer's cut of the film apparently isn't much better either.
2/10.

I skipped straight to the remake because I don't think I have the patience to deal with H20 and Resurrection.
The remake is a mixed bag. The first fifty minutes feel unnecessary, and the constant vile and crude nature of the characters came off as funny rather than depressing. Surprisingly, the movie started to pick up once it began the replicate the plot of the first movie, which is usually where remakes tend to start sucking. Giving credit where credit is due, it's obvious how much Rob Zombie loves the original, as he's willing to take major liberties with the story and characters to make it stand out as its own film. That said, though, it's still a very tonally uneven and occasionally obnoxious movie, with a couple highlights. 5/10.

Super duper lightning round GO

It was great. The heck happened to Shyamalan after this? 8/10

Also great. The pacing and set design is fantastic, but there were moments when the alien was on-screen that haven't aged super well. The shots focused on specific parts of its body look great, but all the scenes where it's just a guy in a suit don't look very good. Still an 8/10.

Laughably bad. Despite being a movie shot in 3D, the shots, and characters, are all flat as hell. Any attempt to actually utilize the 3D just looks awful. Hard to recommend as a so-bad-it's-good movie either due to its sluggish pacing, too. Stay away. 3/10.

First time watching it, underrated as hell. It's tightly-written and wonderfully performed. The actors all play off each other really well, every small detail in the script has a great payoff, and the special effects are pretty top-notch for the time. Great movie. 8/10.

At first I thought it wasn't as bad as Jaws 3D. The actors are working with a bad script, but their interactions almost come off as likable, but the moment the shark plot kicks in it's all downhill. An entire paragraph's-worth of questions could be written about the fact that a shark not only understands the concept of revenge but is also able to follow a family for hundreds of miles on pure instinct alone, but there are moments and character motivations that make zero sense. Why the hell would Ellen Brody want to take a vacation to the Bahamas, a place surrounded by water, when she's obsessed about making sure her family doesn't go near the water? Why does she have flashbacks to scenes from the first film she wasn't even present for? Why does she go out to fight the shark with no weapons? Why does the shark violently explode when it comes into contact with the pole of a boat??? The final twenty-five minutes of this movie are truly a sight to behold, as what little logic there is is thrown out the window and it turns into pure schlock. If you're planning on watching the movie, skip to the final act, because the hour preceding it is a chore. By far one of the most baffling sequels ever made. 2/10.

…5/10. Was fun, I guess.

A delightfully weird slasher movie. The odd acting, dialogue, and other bizarre discrepancies actually add to the almost dreamlike experience this movie provides. Nobody acts like a real person, the music sometimes blares over the dialogue to the point of it being unrecognizable, the editing holds on certain things to the point of getting uncomfortable, the makeup and gore effects are pretty good, and the ending… the less said about it the better. It's not a movie for everyone, so I'm hesitating to recommend it. Give it a watch if you're genuinely curious, but go in expecting some really weird content. 6/10

just got done watching the first 3 Friday The 13th and here's my take on it

honestly this entire movie is just a pure aesthetic to me now a days, but as a horror moive its not exactly scary but by god the kills were fucking amazing.
69/100 (heh)

this to me was the first real friday the 13th, not exactly better the the first one in scares or story but it does have something the first one didn't, some god damn creative kills. that alone jumps it just ahead of the first one
75/100

my first ever horror movie, fucking hell did it not age well. the constant junk being thrusted into the camera was super annoying but other then that gripe i have nothing really bad to say about it, plus jason finally gets his hokey mask so that's cool
70/100

Don`t you like when a movie says "Based on True events"? Too bad here is another one.

But this time its really "Based on True Events". It based so much on real events that the real canibal of rothenburg tried to ban this movie. 3 years was it banned and 2009 rereleased. So is Rothenburg (or the US title Grimms Love) good?
Well its a disturbing and unsettling movie. Not for @everyone 7.5/10

Just saw the 2018 sequel to the original Halloween.

I won't be spoiling it, but I'll give this post a spoiler tag just in case you want to go in completely blind.

after finishing the rest of the friday the 13th movies, i thought i might watch nightmare on elm street next

i'ma be real with you all, when i was a little motherfucker this movie scared the shit out of me, like the movie's premise alone was more then enough to scare little me. a serial killer who can kill you in your dreams? couldn't sleep on command for around a month afterwards. after rewatching it i can confirm that even though it's old and outdated, its still somewhat scary to me. its mostly to how it invades your sense of safety like ju-on but instead of slowly creeping up on you and hiding right outside your vision, it just metaphorically begins to strangle you.

due to personal bias i give it a
87/100

I may get some hate for this, but the first Paranormal Activity was actually kinda good.

Now its sequels were really lazy and it did kinda spawn a trend of lazy, un-original super natural horror movies, but the first one was legit good, so i'd give it a look if you have the time.

Dawn of the Dead is probably one of my favorite zombie movies ever.

I know stranger things technically isn't a movie, but its still worth watching i'd say.

sorry dog, we don't do that here

I came back from the ded to tell you what motion pictures with spooky themes i watched since the last time i posted here
first
Theater of Blood
Sweet dark comedy with a great Vincent Price
8/10

and the second
Halloween

9/10

three new movies
first

8/10
second

3/10
and the last and most dissapointing one

#WhatAreYouAfraidOf ? definitely not of this shitfest 2/10

I finished Spooktober implying it ever ends with a classic

Spooktober 2
Well, time to cover the rest of the films I’ve watched back in October.
First is The Evil Dead

The first Evil Dead did have a b-movie vibe, but its gore and dark humor was what made it a horror favorite. Ash isn’t quite as badass here as in the sequels but it’s forgivable. 8/10
Next is Carrie.

It’s basically a tragic tale of a girl who was bullied relentlessly and ends up wreaking havoc once pushed too far. Also a lesson on periods. 8/10
Now for The People Under the Stairs.

This film was surprisingly progressive for its time period and was basically a riff on gentrification. Pretty underrated and is a good watch for any fan of Wes Craven. 8/10
And on to The Shining.

I’ve already been well aware of the iconic scene and I’ve got a gander of what made this Stephen King adaptation effective. It’s got ghastly imagery and shows a careful depiction of a man being driven to insanity. It’s slow paced to be sure, but Kubrick’s films normally require a repeat viewing to truly appreciate them so not that big an issue. 9/10
Continuing with Shaun of the Dead.

This was a pretty damn funny movie as it lampoons various zombie tropes and it depicts how the English might react to the zombie apocalypse. But it also embraces the tropes with glee and has more than a few gory moments. Simon Pegg is one heck of a comedian. 9/10
Next is Freddy Vs. Jason.

I’ll admit. The parts that don’t have the title characters fighting are pretty by-the-numbers and not particularly amazing. But when the fight happens, the film delivers on the action and bloodshed. 6/10
On to Halloween 2018.

This was a well-deserved return to form for the franchise after a string of unimpressive sequels. It uses the tactic of building up a ton of tension and has great lighting and cinematography to enhance the mood. The kills look as gruesome as ever and Jamie Lee Curtis was amazing even after 40 years later. Its attempts at comedy are a bit distracting but not that harmful to the horror experience. 8/10
Heading to Cult of Chucky.

This has a decidedly different style compared to past Child’s Play films. It goes for a more psychological approach to horror and there’s lots of exposition surrounding Chucky. It doesn’t really pick up until late in the movie and the writers appear to have trouble keeping the franchise fresh. Still, not bad but a bit polarizing. 6/10
Last up is The Blair Witch Project.

This was the film that put found footage on the map as a genre. Keeping the details about the monster a secret instills terrifying imaginations about what it could look like and the film’s mock-documentary style made the events seem realistic in a way. The scares create a ton a build up about what lurks in the woods and the characters react as you would expect. 8/10

I’ve had a damn good October when it comes to films. Here’s to the rest of the year being solid.