Halloween Viewing Thread

[AndyDursin]

OK so I am starting my Halloween viewing festival right now with THE OMEN...thought I'd begin a thread and have everyone chime in on what they might be watching this weekend.

I can't articulate how great this movie looks on Blu-Ray...the image is pleasantly crisp and looks very well detailed at every turn, next to no processing, and the colors are striking.

Right now I'm at the point where the priest gets it, lol. Movie is playing a bit better than I remember...despite a few yucks. David Warner is the man with that haircut too. I like how it's established early on that it's not really Lee Remick's son and how uneasy she is about the child.

And Holly Palance, IT'S ALL FOR YOUR DAMIEN, lol.

[Monterey Jack]

You're just starting your Halloween fest, Andy? I've been watching at least one horror movie a day since October 1st. Here's what scary/creepy flicks I've watched so far this month:

-Invasion Of The Body Snatchers (1956): 9/10
-Invasion Of The Body Snatchers (1978): 10/10
-Body Snatchers (1994): 7.5/10
-Horror Of Dracula (1958): 7.5/10
-Brides Of Dracula (1960): 6.5/10
-Dracula: Prince Of Darkness (1966): (7/10)
-Dracula Has Risen From The Grave (1968): 7/10
-The Hand (1981): 2/10
-Cujo (1983): 8/10
-Let Me In (2010): 8/10
-30 Days Of Night (2007): 7.5/10
-The Evil Dead (1983): 7.5/10
-Evil Dead 2: Dead By Dawn (1987): 8.5/10
-Experiment In Terror (1962): 8/10
-Christine (1983): 7/10
-The Ruins (2008): 7/10
-Freaks (1932): 8/10
-Dressed To Kill (1980): 8/10
-Trick ‘r Treat (2009): 7.5/10
-The Mummy (1959): 7.5/10
-Curse Of The Mummy’s Tomb (1964): 6/10
-The Mummy’s Shroud (1967): 4/10
-Blood Of The Mummy’s Tomb (1971): 3/10
-Body Double (1984): 4.5/10
-Raising Cain (1992): 7/10
-The Descent (2006): 9.5/10
-Psycho II (1983): 7.5/10
-Planet Terror (2007): 8/10
-Demon Seed (1977): 7/10
-The Other (1972): 7/10
-Near Dark (1987): 8/10
-The Fly (1986): 8/10
-Night Of The Lepus (1972): 1.5/10
-The Mist (2007): 8.5/10

[AndyDursin]

-Invasion Of The Body Snatchers (1978): 10/10

LOL...for real??!!?

I loved Seth MacFarlane's recent post on Twitter -- "if you want to lose your appetite, watch Donald Sutherland eat Chinese food in Invasion of the Body Snatchers".

[Monterey Jack]

Using Seth MacFarlane quotes for a comeback is pretty weak.

[AndyDursin]

That comment wasn't funny? Could have fooled me, lol.

Now watching that great AMC doc (aaah, back when they actually produced good TV!) THE OMEN LEGACY, with the tremendous Jack Palance narration.

[Paul MacLean]

I'm inclined to make my own list, but I'm not entirely certain what constitutes "horror". Certainly movies that deal with the supernatural (Dracula, The Omen, Interview with the Vampire, etc) or moves about heinous acts carried out by the demented (Psycho, Halloween, Saw, etc.). But is something like Jaws a horror film?

On the other hand, a movie like The Nightmare Before Christmas is filled with macabre, gothic imagery, yet I hesitate to call it "horror" because beneath it all it is really a sweet fairy tale. And is Ghostbusters horror? It's a primarily a comedy, but it also deals with the supernatural (and, for me at least, possesses some genuine scares!).

Maybe they all fit the definition of horror?

[AndyDursin]

Sure!! Any count. NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS as well.

[Monterey Jack]

Basically any film that falls into the broad catergory of "thriller" can be considered appropriate Halloween viewing. Nightmare Before Christmas is obviously appropriate for young viewers with a taste for the mildly macabre, but it fits just fine (as do a lot of Tim Burton projects).

As for tonight's film...

Below (2002): 7.5/10

Zach Galafanikas...?!

[AndyDursin]

BELOW was pretty good as memory serves. No idea Galifankis was in there.

Watching FINAL CONFLICT with Sam Neill's overanunciated American accent right now ("nazarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrene, you have won....nothing!").

Love Goldsmith's score...just spectacular....

[AndyDursin]

I finished THE FINAL CONFLICT -- along with the other two Omen movies -- and I am continually surprised how underrated this film is.

Neill's performance is actually pretty good all things considered, it has more ambition than DAMIEN OMEN II (which I also like, but is more of a paint-by-numbers retread of the first film's formula), some of the individual set-pieces are very well directed (the fox hunt in particular; Damien gathering his troops), some of the concepts are disturbing (like all the dead babies), and best of all, Goldsmith's score -- just SO outstanding.

This is very definitely one of my all-time favorite Goldsmith scores, and it carries the film at times in a way neither of his previous OMEN scores did...in fact it's like a virtual symphony, more reliant on thematic development, than the kind of one-dimensional (though very effective) "shock" scoring you get in DAMIEN OMEN II and the first film. His Damien theme, particularly when he rides on horseback during the hunt sequence, is just so stirring -- and then the gorgeous, majestic music which concludes the film makes you forget how anti-climactic the finish is.

In short the sequel has its issues -- there should've been more connection with the prior sequels other than just the dog coming back, the priests should've been developed more, and the last half-hour sags -- but it looks really nice, is well composed (it's the best of the three films on Blu Ray), and to me, works better the more you see it, since you know its shortcomings and can appreciate some of the other aspects that generally get overlooked on first view.

As for the other two, I like THE OMEN but more for Donner's direction than its story; DAMIEN OMEN II is interesting but I think is almost too cookie-cutter in how it recycles its predecessor (Holden for Peck, the female journalist instead of David Warner, etc.), and doesn't really advance its story as much as it could have (I agree with Harvey Bernhard it might've been more interesting to see the character a couple of years older and thus in more control, as opposed to merely awakening to his powers).

Overall I really like this series and always have. Fox's Blu-Ray box nicely dumps OMEN IV and adds the respectable (but not extraordinary) remake; all the transfers are terrific, and the soundtrack on THE FINAL CONFLICT is superb (the earlier two have okay remixed for stereo mixes). Generous extras on the first film, and trailers on the others (plus those old DVD commentaries, including Graham Baker's on Final Conflict -- a candidate for worst commentary ever, lol).

[AndyDursin]

I should add Quint give it a fair review in his AICN column yesterday...
http://www.aintitcool.com/node/47212

[Monterey Jack]

The Relic (1997): 7.5/10

A big guilty pleasure of mine (I must have watched this at least 10 times over the last 13 years ), despite the gigantic plot holes (why can the monster change size at will? How can it be in the basement in one scene then crash through the skylight like two minutes later? Why do the monster's footsteps rattle all of the jars in the room Penelope Ann Miller is hiding in, yet earlier in the film this Triceratops-sized creature can literally sneak up on an unsuspecting victim?), it's Peter Hyams' last competent film, and it's appropriately claustrophobic and just plain "monster movie" fun all the way through. John Debney's shrill score is an earsore (oh, what Christopher Young or Goldsmith could have done with this...), but overall it's pure candy.

[AndyDursin]

Yeah I agree with you totally on THE RELIC. So damn dark, even the Blu-Ray is still dim!

[AndyDursin]

Trying to figure out what to watch next....so many choices, so little time, lol....

[Monterey Jack]

So damn dark, even the Blu-Ray is still dim!

Someone needs to buy Peter Hyams some damn light bulbs. I understand the whole "shroud the monster in darkness" thing, but there are times you can barely make out anything on the screen due to the incessantly dim lighting and lens flares. Hyams basically apologizes for this in the Blu-Ray commentary, which was good for a chuckle. The weird thing is, the footage in the trailer included on the disc is far brighter and easier to follow than in the actual movie.