October is almost done which means we have a batch of horror films that we watched!
What We Do in the Shadows (2014) – A mockumentary about how tough is for vampires living in present day? 5/5 This also spun off into a TV show which Vero and I find highly amusing. Vero is also in love with the theme song for this show.
The Lighthouse (2019) – Imagine actually taking care of a lighthouse all alone with your partner in the 19th century. That’s a horror story right there. But couple it with some true weirdness and this makes for a disturbing film. Not very scary, but the sheer horror of what is happening is worth the ride. 4/5
Vampire Circus (1972) – For the past few years, I have been adding a lot of the Hammer Horror films into rotation as they are fun to watch. Not overly scary by today’s standards but you get some classic vampire tropes happening here. This movie follows a travelling circus who just happen to be vampires. No scary clowns here. 3/5
Happy Death Day (2017) and Happy Death Day 2 U (2019) – The elevator pitch: This is Groundhog Day about a girl who gets killed over and over again and then tries to figure out who the killer is as she keeps reliving the same day. The first film was pretty good but the second one definitely lost of its scary elements and went into a science fiction realm where they explained the time loop that the girl was stuck in. It felt much like Back to the Future 2 in ways. Not that it was a bad film, but if you’re looking for October to be scary movie month, the second one felt as a waste. 4/5 and 3/5.
Twins of Evil (1971) – Look at that poster…One Uses Her Beauty for Love, One Uses her Lure for Blood! What a killer movie this must be! I have to admit that this actually was one of the better Hammer films I have seen. You have to understand that a lot of these movies from the 1970s (and Hammer productions in general) move at a much slower pace than modern horror films. I didn’t lose interest and it made for a good late night movie after everyone has gone to bed. 3/5
It Follows (2014) – Vero didn’t know what to expect when I told her that the movie was about a sexually transmitted ghost (seriously!) and neither did I. But what we found was a pretty original film which was pretty scary as well. 5/5
It Chapter Two (2019) – Meh. We definitely enjoyed the first film better. I’m sure if we rewatched the original mini series we would have preferred this one but it was a slow moving beast for us. 2/5
Us (2019) – A great movie has you talking about it for days. This is what Us did to us. If there was one film we would have to recommend it is this one. I’m not even sure I want to talk about what the plot of the movie is. Let’s just say a girl ends up disappearing for 15 minutes at an amusement park one night which is super stressful on the parents and in the future she is still on the edge of what she experienced in those 15 minutes. 5/5
The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires (1974) – I have never experienced the martial arts craze of the 1970s but I can only imagine that someone at Hammer Horror said “Hey, what if we combined a kung fu film with vampires?!” and this is what happened. Yet another great late night, not much brain activity needed film. 3/5
The Vampire Lovers (1970) – When looking at Hammer Films to check out this year, I must have accidentally stumbled upon someone who really liked the erotic Hammer films and that’s how I came across all these classics. I was going to type out the plot but honestly, what vampire movie is different? Vampire infiltrates the village, sucks some blood and then the villagers rebel against the vampire. I see this was the first film in the Karnstein trilogy and I’ve already seen the third film. Maybe I can squeeze the second film in when Vero’s parents visit? 3/5
Devil Times Five (1974) – I saw an interview yesterday where Quentin Tarentino gave this as his suggestion as a great Halloween film to watch this year. Immediately I went to download it and I also see that immediately the bluray is going to be reissued in February. Tarentino has quite the influence! Vero and I watched this last night and it definitely was a fun film to watch. 1970s films definitely move at a slow pace but the last 30 minutes ramped up everything and it was quite wild to see five kids wreak havoc over a house full of adults. 4/5
Friday The 13th (1980) – Not only were we watching a great docuseries about the film franchise, but the bluray set I ordered for Vero’s birthday finally came in so we watched the first film. What we can we say…it’s a classic and has a few good kills in it. We look forward to rewatching the series. 3/5
Final thoughts: As of October 28, we might be able to squeeze out one more film before Halloween night. Hopefully it’s Wolf Cop 2 which I had purchased a few years back but haven’t found time to watch. Those types of films deserve to be watched with a crowd but since that’s impossible these days maybe we will get around to watching it. Happy Halloween!