October Horror Movie Challenge: Day 13

Alien. I finally saw Alien today. Of all the movies I have ever meant to see, this is probably one that's been there the longest. Despite hearing good things about it though throughout the years I was still able to totally appreciate it without the desire to view it critically. It was a fun experience and kept me compelled throughout. If for some reason you haven't watched it then it's worth looking into (even if you're not a sci-fi person).

One thing I will say though is that one point jumped out at me as being ridiculous. I am of course speaking about the one character being revealed as a robot. Yes, I understand this is a different, futuristic existence but that still just seemed incredibly hilarious to me. I don't see why he couldn't have just been a scientist incredibly focused on his mission, or that maybe he had some sort of alternate memory chip implanted into his brain. Whatever, I just didn't see the need to make him a full on robot.

With one great movie down I followed it up with HellBent. This film isn't one that I've heard talked about more than once, but it seems to be a modern slasher with a different take on the genre. It's not due to any incredibly creative killer or anything, but the fact that the lead characters in the film are all gay men. I was curious as to a horror film focused on exploiting men instead of women, so I gave it a shot.

It turned out to be a very nice slasher overall and with different jokes going on than a typical one. Sure, there are still things like goofballs getting killed in the woods, stalking, and everything else, but done with a different dressing. I enjoyed the characters and their banter and was curious about why some characters did die and why others didn't. These points were explained, although not explicitly, and were reasonable enough. If you feel like watching a fun horror film then HellBent is one worth looking into.

The final film of the day was StageFright: Aquarius. With a name like that, I was curious as to how exactly the film would be presented. Would it be some sort of artistic journey? Although I wasn't quite right, the film still turned out to be a winner. As StageFright implies, it is about people working on a stage production. The production itself seems fairly odd, but quite cool too. I was a big fan of shots of the practice as well as the accompanying music.

The rest of the plot isn't exactly creative, but it resolves in an entertaining fashion. Basically, there is a psychotic killer locked away in a nearby hospital. He gets out somehow and stalks one of the dancers back to the theater. From there, he gets himself into the theater and goes around killing people until everyone finally realizes. If it weren't for the characters and style, the movie would be much less notable. Since these things are all great though it helps create a neat little experience. I could see this being a movie I watch a few times over.

The Unborn II

Year: 1994
Director: Rick Jacobson
Writer: Rob Kerchner, Daniella Purcell
Genre: Horror: Sci-Fi, Evil Children

The Unborn was a movie that I feel is entirely unrated. It received a remake in 2009, which I knew of, but also a sequel. The sequel was something which caught me completely by surprise. Although I didn't remember the end of the first film, it didn't seem like something that would lead into a new movie. Now I can understand what angle they took with it although there didn't really need to be a sequel to begin with.

So the story starts us off with a woman moving into a new neighborhood. Her overly cheery (and pesky) neighbors butt into her life almost immediately, pointing out the baby gear she has in tow. We knows he has a child but for some reason isn't bursting to pull out photos to show everyone. Something is wrong... but what?

We're also shown a woman who puts on some heavy sunglasses before marching up to a child on the playground and shooting him square in the face. WHAT? It's really this scene (the first in the film) which sets the tone for everything else that comes. The idea behind the story may be serious - that experimental artificial insemination might be going wrong - but beyond that it's a hilarious little film. Who really just wanders around in broad daylight shooting children between the eyes? Even if they are cannibalistic monsters it just feels incredibly hokey.

Because it does feel so ridiculous I was able to enjoy it a lot. It's a very dumb film and the twist doesn't even make sense if you really think about it. It was just put there to give you something else to worry about besides a bloodthirsty infant. But why would you even need anything else when you have that? The Unborn II made me think about a few things though despite how silly it was. For one, who are these movies about pregnancies gone wrong made for? Are they made for women to prey on their very personal fears? Or are they made for the same audiences as everything else?

Anyway, it was a truly goofy experience and would probably be good to watch with friends. The basic plot does keep in line with the original movie, so if you've seen it, you might as well give it a shot too. However, don't expect them to feel at all the same. If anything, it really feels more like It's Alive.

PS: The Unborn II's soundtrack has nothing on the first film's awesome score by Gary Numan and Michael R. Smith.

The Blob (Remake)

Year: 1988
Director: Chuck Russell
Writer: Theodore Simpson, Kay Linaker
Genre: Horror: Sci-fi

The Blob has always seemed like something that just isn't appealing to me. Despite never seeing the original or any of either film, they both just seemed super cornball. I mean, come on, you've got a big glob of slime terrorizing a town. What is meant to be truly scary about that? It just seems too funny. Although there's nothing wrong with funny horror based on weird living/non-living entities I just wasn't ready to watch.

Grabbing The Blob I wasn't sure what version I had but popped it in and started watching. As it turned out it was the remake and while it was excellent it may have forever tainted my future opinion of the original. I say this because the remake is so fun and has great effects that the original may just seem completely dull in comparison, which is really too bad. I guess I'll find out when giving it a watch.

Anyway, The Blob is a great, goofy film. It starts out with a meteor crashing in the forest. Aliens don't pop out or anything, but instead we see some weird pink goo bubbling in the rock. A homeless man pokes at it, gets it stuck on his hand, and is rushed to the hospital by the lead teens. Everyone watching the movie knows how bad this is, but the film lets it build up for a little bit... making you wonder just when something will happen. Once it does, though, boy it lets it out.

Like I mentioned earlier, the effects are fantastic. They are so perfect and if there is another remake in the future they will probably be ruined with computer graphics. What we see from this late 80s film is pure artistic skill of putting skeletal people inside a pink blob, which is somewhat translucent. It's super effective to watch a face slide into the front of the blob, or see the remains of people terrorized by it.

As far as acting and storytelling goes it was well done too. It all helped progress the ridiculous story forward and get you into the world. The way the organism was depicted made it seem actually fearsome as well, instead of as just some funny-looking goo. I wouldn't say it was actually menacing, but there were parts that were slightly nerve-wracking. Overall, it was a tremendously enjoyable film.

The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension

Year: 1984
Director: W.D. Richter
Writer: Earl Mac Rauch
Genre: Sci-Fi: Comedy

With a massive name like The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension how can you possibly go wrong? The film seems to really divide the film community and unfortunately I was not someone who will now be singing its praises. I didn't think it was awful by any means, but it just never managed to hook me in to the weird narrative.

Honestly, I'm not sure what was even going on. Despite that I still was able to enjoy the characters, costumes, and aliens. The film centers around Buckaroo Banzai (and his crew) as they fight against some alien menace. Apparently not all the aliens are bad though, as they are helped by a "Blackleckloid". I have no idea if that's the real name but that's what it sounded like they said.

So you've got some weirdly dressed men fighting against aliens who lust for some Earth technology and somehow it plays out as entirely normal. It's not really surprising that in this place that a musical star (which Buckaroo is) would be helping the government with its alien issues. Why not?

Although I wasn't grabbed by the strangeness of the whole thing I was interested in how many famous faces were a part of the film. The most surprising to me were Jeff Goldblum and Christopher Lloyd. It took me a while to even recognize Lloyd as he spent half the film in an alien mask and the other half in... human face.

I'd say it's worth watching Buckaroo Banzai because it is such an odd little film. However, it may very well be something you can't stand. On the other hand, you might be someone who will be singing its praises and quoting its goofy lines for a long time.

PS: The credits are wonderful for both the song and accompanying video. Don't watch if you don't want the purely 80s goodness spoiled!

Game Box 1.0

Year: 2004
Director: David Hillenbrand, Scott Hillenbrand
Writer: Worm Miller, Patrick Casey
Genre: Sci-fi

Although video games are definitely big business there haven't been many movies based around them. There are a few like Gamer and the like, but not really all that much considering. In fact, it feels like there are more movies based around retro arcades than anything attempting to be modern. Anyway, here's this sci-fi or horror movie about a new video game machine - Game Box 1.0.

So what's special about this latest gizmo? Unlike every console before it, it interfaces directly with your head. By using the included attachment that fits onto the player's head, the machine can pull out pertinent thoughts and memories to use in games. For example, you use your thoughts to plug in someone to be the game's villain.

In theory it's pretty cool but in action Game Box 1.0 is painfully bad. The effects are shameful and would make anyone who actually plays modern games laugh. The story is completely dumb and the characters are to. The only redeeming value of the film is how juvenile the story is. This is a good thing because it makes it a lot of fun to watch with friends and joke about it being awful.

Class of Nuke 'Em High

Year: 1986
Director: Richard W. Haines
Writer: Richard W. Haines, Mark Rudnitsky
Genre: Sci-Fi, Comedy

Is it sacrilegious of me to not like this movie? I feel like it's supposed to be a classic Troma centerpiece, but I just couldn't get into it very much at all. Perhaps it had to do with the fact that I was tired. Or maybe it's just due to the fact that it's not very good.

Class of Nuke 'Em High starts us off in a small town which is right by a nuclear facility. Of course, something goes wrong there but they mostly don't seem to care about it. Water tainted with nuclear goo seeps into the local school and from there things get a little disgusting.

For a Troma film it's not all that gross. You've got weirdo teens screwing around with other oddballs but nobody is really that interesting or entertaining. The characters are all such caricatures but not in a way that I found appealing. There was a lot going on but I never cared for anyone so obviously didn't care when they came up on screen. But, when you don't like anyone in a movie then that means every seen is dull.

I still intend to watch the rest of the films in this series but I hope they pick up. This one seems a little close to The Toxic Avenger but without any real heart.

Thomas in Love

Year: 2000
Director: Pierre-Paul Renders
Writer: Philippe Blasband
Genre: Romance, Sci-Fi

I didn't know what to expect when plunging in with Thomas in Love. The cover looked kind of odd and I worried it was going to be some cheesy Y2K-type romance movie. However, as soon as it started up I was immediately left speechless by what was happening on screen. Every once in a while movies can throw me for a loop within the first five minutes (the closest thing coming to mind right now being Barbarella). Anyway, the movie was pretty weird but I enjoyed it.

Basically the film focuses around a man who is an agoraphobic. This means he can't leave his apartment and also doesn't want anyone ever entering it. Since this is a vision of the future he is able to communicate with services, insurance, and his therapist over videophone. His therapist decides to thrust the man into a dating club and from there the lead character Thomas is introduced to some women.

Although the movie is focused around a then pretty modern concept of video chat it never attempts to play it up. Where some movies would scream about how COOL and FUTURISTIC everything was, this movie plays it straight. If you were living in a world with these devices they would be entirely commonplace and that's how everyone treats them. Of course, now Skype and other programs make Thomas' reality all the more relateable.

I wish there was more to the film because I really did like seeing the world through Thomas' eyes. Basically every second of the film is from his perspective. As such, we're treated to many videophone conversations and left to imagine basically everything else about the apartment and even Thomas himself. This movie probably won't appeal to a lot of people but it'll be a perfect match if you're anything like me.

Deadly Friend

Year: 1986
Director: Wes Craven
Writer: Diana Henstell, Bruce Joel Rubin
Genre: Horror: Sci-fi

Deadly Friend is definitely a child of the 80s. That's the very first thing I thought as the movie started off with a boy and a large, friendly-looking robot buddy. The movie may verge on sci-fi for some important plot points, but  there's still a horror movie at the base of it. It feels more like a young teen horror flick than anything else, but that doesn't mean it isn't worth a watch. If for nothing else, it's worth watching to see a woman get her face smashed clean to bits after getting hit with a basketball.

Basically, the story revolves around a mother and son family who have moved into a new town. The teen is a genius and makes a robot that is able to learn and act of its own accord. Nothing could ever go wrong with that! Anyway, he makes friends with the neighbor girl. Boy likes girl, girl dies, boy puts robot brain into girl, girl comes back to life, girl-with-robot-brain goes on a killing spree... Same old, same old.

The theme of not being able to let someone go reminds me of the movie I watched earlier, Make-Out with Violence. It's handled differently obviously since she's not a zombie but a robot-brained girl. Either way, I found it fun. The sci-fi aspect doesn't make that much sense but if you just go with it you can enjoy the film. The ending in particular makes absolutely no sense. I think that Wes was forced to shove in an "exciting!" ending by others though, kind of like how he had to change the ending for the first Elm Street flick to satisfy others.

If you're watching the movie just because Wes Craven directed it you may be a little disappointed. A Nightmare on Elm Street this is not. For a movie that starts off with a cute babbling yellow robot though it's surprisingly enthralling.

The Children

Year: 1980
Director: Max Kalmanowicz
Writer: Edward Terry, Carlton J. Albright
Genre: Horror: Sci-fi

Going into The Children I had no expectations. I'd never heard of the film before or anything but it was in the horror section, so I went for it. Occasionally blindly jumping into movies like that has yielded some real gems (Brutal Massacre). Of course, it has also yielded some real junk (Terror Toons, Don't Scream, Stupid Teenagers Must Die!). Anyways, I like to watch random movies in case they end up being my next favorite.

The Children is not my next favorite. It's pretty dry and predicable. You have a story that starts out with some charming kids on a school bus that drives through some weird mist and then they all disappear. As they show up later they seem very interested in hugging. Once someone gives them a hug the hugging party is burned/melted. It really makes no sense and apparently has to do with a nearby nuclear power plant. How a nuclear power plant makes children go insane and give them the ability to melt people I'll never know.

The effects for the dead people are pretty good. For the children themselves not so much. They basically just have darkness around their eyes and fingernails painted black. Wow! I got really bored about 3/4th in and the finale was weird. It kind of comes out of nowhere and although it's really predicable once you're there, it feels like they just had no way to complete the script. Oh well.

Equinox

Year: 1970
Director: Jack Woods
Writer: Mark Thomas McGee
Genre: Horror: Sci-fi

Equinox is a film in the Criterion Collection. For the uninitiated, Criterion puts out DVDs of movies that are for some reason important in cinema history. Oftentimes these are films overlooked by others and usually watching something from the Criterion Collection is a good bet. They're also known for making very ornate DVDs but at extremely high prices.

That's why it was so striking to me when Equinox mostly felt like an average teen sci-fi slasher flick. I don't know the full history of the film however. What it seems to be is a more "modern" take on Ray Harryhausen-type monsters attacking people. Overall though the story is very average and the effects look hilarious. Obviously this was a different time but there are better examples of effects from the time period than this. Perhaps it truly was a love letter to older monster flicks.

There was something cool and unexpected about the film. The teenagers talked in a mostly regular fashion. They had great dialog back and forth which felt natural. This is especially good for the time period where a lot of teen flicks were relegated to weird, slang-ridden messes (Did anyone say Beyond the Valley of the Dolls?).

It was an okay film but mostly laughable. I wouldn't recommend it because nothing truly stands out. This wouldn't be the first time I've struck out with Criterion. Hausu is another film which is on their list purely for "odd" value. Apparently they're both cult classics, but they don't hit the mark for me.