I figured this might be a fun topic. What are the last 5 horror films you have seen? If you can't think of 5 then just throw up whatever you can think of.



1. THE MONSTER CLUB - I rented this DVD recently. I had not seen it since I was a kid, but all the memories (both good and bad) came flowing back to me. The wrap around segment is very dated but the stories all still hold up. I think the one starring Stuart Whitman as a film director scouting for a new location is my favorite. While watching this, I noticed how Vincent Price and Donald Pleasance have the amazing ability to make any line, no matter how outlandish, sound credible.



2. BLUE EYES OF THE BROKEN DOLL (aka HOUSE OF PSYCHOTIC WOMEN) - all of the talk on the Euro board about Paul Naschy made me bust this one out. An excellent Spanish variation on the Italian giallo films. The film features some really nice twists including one I never saw coming.



3. IT'S ALIVE - another recent DVD rental. Larry Cohen is, for me, the ultimate idea man. He comes up with some amazing stuff. Sadly, sometimes he lacks the budget to fully see these ideas into fruition. Here, however, I think he succeeded in both worlds. I don't know what it is, but there is something very weird about John Ryan's performance in this. The DVD features an amazing Cohen commentary track where he explains how he came up with the film's premise (he states that he heard a baby cry with such ferocity that he wondered what it would be like if it had the physical strength to match that anger).



4. R-POINT - a Korean horror film set towards the end of the Vietnam conflict. I was really impressed by this. The basic plot is that a platoon of Korean soldiers went missing at R-Point, a former French plantation in Vietnam. A new group of soldiers is sent to investigate the disapperance after a radio message is received from the missing squad claiming they are still alive. There are two amazingly creepy scenes in it and, although it owes a lot to John Carpenter's THE THING when it gets down to a few guys left, it keeps up the intensity. The film is also impressive because it is an Asian horror film that made it to Korean theaters and no one has purchased the US remake rights. :D



5. TALES FROM THE CRYPT: FROM COMIC BOOKS TO TELEVISION - a friend recommended this hour long documentary chronicling the history of EC Comics and it is amazing. While I would have preferred more about the 70s Amicus films, the documentary features such a wealth of information that I can't really complain. Interviewees included Jack Davis, Al Feldstein, George Romero, John Carpenter, R.L Stine, Joel Sliver, comic book historians Roger Hill and Jerry Weist and Bill Gaines' daughter. The two disc set has an amazing amount of extras as well including an hour long meeting between Ray Bradbury and Al Feldstein.

I've been working my way through the 50 SF movies DVD - which has many obscure gems but some of the worst DVD transfers of all time.

SPOILERS

1. Unknown World

Scientists go down to the centre of the earth in a drill machine looking for a haven in the event of nuclear holocaust. Tedious and boring - as the film wore on I realised that no monsters were going to appear. You do get to see the same cave opening in Bronson Canyon that appears in Robot Monster.

2. Zontar The Thing From Venus

Larry Buchanan's remake of It Conquered the World. The original is, IMHO, one of the most laughable SF's of the 1950's with my all time favourite monster. This remake made the original look like high art although Anthony Houston's maniacal reading (in the Lee Van Cleef role of the human traitor) was delirous - he looked off-screen for stage direction at least twice. The monster reminded me of the Blood Beast Terror - this film in inept in every way.

3. The Atomic Brain

I really enjoyed this. It's the best bad movie I've seen in ages. Sleazy, ludicrous and really sexist. The inunendo-laden voice-over narration is a real hoot as well (nobody actually starts talking until over five minutes have elapsed). The highlight is a woman who has a cat's brain trnasplanted into her - she eats a mouse, climbs drainpipes and scratches another woman's eye-out. There's an old lady in a wheelchair who fondles the young women who's body she hopes to inhabit - and they don't really object until she pokes them with her stick. Thoroughly recommended.

4. Blood Tide

Obscure early 1980's piece set on a Greek island. James Earl Jones brood around in the lead as a treasure hunter who uncovers an ancient demon. Jose Ferrer, Deborah Shelton and Martin Kove also appear. The monster looks ridiculous and must have less than 10 seconds of screen time. Boo, hiss.

5. Die, Monster, Die

The UK MGM DVD. I'd only ever seen this on a washed out p/s VHS before. Picture quality was excellent and film looks really good. Some good scares and pretty entertaining but Nick Adams fails to convince as the hero in a trenchcoat and Bogart accent and Susan Farmer must be one of the dumbest women ever to be the heroine in a horror film.

I watched:

DRACULA 3000 - Um... not as awful as, say, a frontal lobotomy, but it was damn close. Recommended only if you are on some sort of illicit substance, or generous amounts of alcohol. Ranks right up there as one of the worst genre films I've ever seen... ever.

HUMANOIDS FROM THE DEEP (Japanese DVD) - Lots of fun and the Japanese DVD, while not anamorphic, is certainly a much better transfer than the US one. Also, it supposedly contains extra snippets of gore... I noticed the movie seemed a LOT juicier than I remember, but I haven't seen it in a while.

AMITYVILLE 3-D (PAL SPECIAL EDITION) - Ridiculous movie, but I thought it would be fun in 3D... That is, until I found out the hard way that the DVD is screwed up and the 3D doesn't actually really work. The red/blue filters are too far apart on the 3D version, so you get nothing but a blurry mess. The DVD Menus, surprisingly, work well in 3D, though. Whoopie!

NIGHT WATCH (Russian DVD) - Not the disasterous Miramax remake, but the new Russian film that was recently picked up for US distribution. While it was interesting to look at, the movie didn't make all that much sense to me and I decided that, perhaps, the subtitles weren't exactly helpful. Something about vampires, wind vortexes, and the rebirth of the messiah of evil... or something. I don't know. But it looked nice.

SHAUN OF THE DEAD (PAL) - Wanted to introduce a friend to this gem that seems to grow on me the more I see it. I still think it falls apart once everyone gets to the "Winchester", but its still a blast.

******SPOILERS******










1.) Species 3 - Somehow manages to be worse than the second, a feat I thought impossible... the script is not just bad, it's insanely bad... the grad student main character seems to be going to the toughest school in existence -he's working on a fusion reactor as a project, but apparantly having built a working prototype isn't very impressive, because he's on the verge of losing his scholarship, so he switches to the xenobiology project offered by one of his professors? What?! Glad I just rented it...

2.) Deranged - Far better than I expected, probably the best and most entertaining Ed Gein film I've seen(I don't consider Psycho and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre as Gein films) despite the changed names. Considering I got this on a double bill dvd with Motel Hell for $10, I'm rather impressed.

3.) The Monster Who Challenged The World - Another half of a MGM double feature dvd, I barely paid attention to it. Just a fairly basic 50s sci-fi/horror movie, not bad really, just not original at all.

4.) Deadly Spawn - Kick ass. That's all I really can say about this.

5.) Killer Nun - Spoke about this in it's thread, but I enjoyed this piece of crap more than I probably should've.

Bill Warren once mentioned he wanted to put together a list of all films to shoot in Bronson Canyon, but never completed it. I wish someone would; it would pretty fascinating. I visited there last summer, and it's a pretty surreal feeling knowing that everyone from John Wayne to Ro-Man have stood on the same dirt as you.

My last 5:
SILENT NIGHT, DEADLY NIGHT--Read my review here.

SPECIES III, which I wrote about here.

BLACK NOON, a 1971 TV-movie starring Roy Thinnes and Lynn Loring as a preacher and his wife who are stranded in the desert and rescued by the citizens of a small town called New Melas. It's not as interesting as its reputation suggests, mostly because it builds up to a twist ending that really doesn't have much of an impact, but it does have some nice ideas, as well as a swell cast including Ray Milland, Yvette Mimieux and Henry Silva.

PHANTOM OF THE PARADISE, which I wrote about here.

VAMPIRELLA, which--you guessed it--I wrote about here.

I reckon I might be writing too much lately!

1. SEEDING OF A GHOST- insane Shaw Bros. film with tentacles, people vomiting worms, ghosts, magic and sex. Just...nuts.

2. WHITE ANGELS...BLACK ANGELS- weird Italian mondo film that "shows" bizarre religious practices from around the world. Lots of fake voodoo, fake black masses, and maybe a genuine religious rite or two. Made in 1969 at the height of the mondo craze, I thought this avoided the depiction of animal slaughter until a repulsive murder of a live goat for a faked voodoo-ish ceremony. No justification for killing an animal just for a scene in a movie. I saw it in Italian because the English-dubbed version doesn't contain the lush Piero Umiliani score.

3. THE BLACK CAT- 1960s B & W low-budget version of the Poe classic, ridiculously acted but not without it's charms. It's one-half of a decent Something Weird DVD (along with the non-horror THE FAT BLACK PUSSYCAT).

4. VAN HELSING- rented it from Blockbuster, and really disliked it. I thought UNDERWORLD was a much better contemporary* use of vampires and werewolves.

5. THE GIANT CLAW- hilarious 50s giant monster flick about a bug-eyed vulture/turkey thing that flies around on visible wires. I loved it when I was little and watching it on "Creature Feature", and I still had fun with it now.

* I mean the movie was made currently, not set in the present day...

1. PROPHECY (the mutant bear movie, not the Miramax release that should've kept its original title GOD'S ARMY). Not a first time viewing, but the first time in at least 15 years, and my first time viewing it in widescreen. I picked up the Paramount DVD at Best Buy for $9.95, and it was well worth it. Not only is the film itself still a lot of fun, but the transfer is superb. A wonderfully detailed film-like image with a minimum of edge-enhancement.

2. FRANKENFISH. Worth the rentral price, but pretty stupid. Still, some nice gory fun, and Tomas Arana is actually pretty good for once. One weird thing- although the DVD looked fine, throughout something seemed "off" about the image and framing, and low-and-behold, the end credits indicated that this was shot in 24P High-Definition. I dunno exactly what it is about that process, but as good as it looks (and it looks GREAT for video), something just looks a wee bit "off" about it, and I was able to pick up on the image not being quite "right" pretty quickly while watching FRANKENFISH. Interestingly, I felt the same way while first viewing SESSION 9, which I didn't know was shot in 24P going in, but it just didn't look "right" to me when I watched it.

3. 13 SECONDS. I rented this due to some good notices on the DVD box (including from Fangoria), but wound up fast-forwarding through most of it. Pretty crappy.

4. MONSTER MAN. Rented this on the reccomendation of both my dad and the video store clerk. BIG MISTAKE. 'Nuff said.

5. BLEED. Shot-on-video slasher film most notable for it's abundance of nudity, both male and female. Otherwise, crap.

Vincent

I have almost picked up this DVD myself on occasion, but I figure the old prerecord VHS will serve me a little while longer.

SPOILERS

While GRIZZLY, an earlier killer-bear flick, is more consistently funny, the best parts of PROPHECY far outshine anything in it--the dog in the helicopter sling, the shots of the bear chomping down on the wise (he seems pretty senile to me) old Indian medicine man, the cheap studio set substituting for a cabin and lake exterior, a hilarious axe/chainsaw battle, Richard Dysart continuing to assert that his mill is not polluting the environment despite obvious proof to the contrary, the bear managing to blow up a jeep while wrecking a camp, Bobby Foxworth's final battle with the bear using a mere arrow as a weapon (the movie makes a big deal out of Armand Assante and his skill with a bow--he carries the damn thing around through half the movie--but he never really uses it), and, especially, the notorious exploding sleeping bag scene, which is so ridiculous in its execution and non-scariness quotient that I defy you to watch it only once. And I don't know how John Frankenheimer or anyone else involved with the production thought an audience could sit through the brilliant raccoon-fighting scene and think they wouldn't laugh.

CLOSE YOUR EYES - A bit disappointing and not very scary. But I admit I rented it for the Goran Visnjic factor.

A TALE OF TWO SISTERS - One of the best movies I've seen all year, genre or otherwise.

Umm... I'm drawing a blank. I've surely seen some Sci-Fi channel trash in the last month or two, but all I can think of is the wretched "Earthsea".

I DRINK YOUR BLOOD - Been curious about this one for years and I truly loved it. The DVD is well done.

LEMORA - Hadn't seen it since the VHS release on Moore Video about a decade ago. Synapse's DVD is wonderful. Whereas before I thought it was just an above average drive-in flick, I really do consider it a horror classic, now.

DEATH BED: THE BED THAT EATS: I don't know, man. I'm glad I have it. I'm glad I watched it. It's a truly freaky piece of cinema. I just don't know that I'll ever be moved to watch it again.

DAWN OF THE DEAD (remake): It's not the original, but I still liked it. It did make me realize just how much I like zombie movies. Vampires I can take or leave. Zombies I dig.

100 DAYS: The Indian remake of Fulci's THE PSYCHIC. I can't really say how much I like it yet because I'm not done watching it. I've been watching it in 30 minute segments all week long and the sucker's almost three hours long. I'm almost 90 minutes into it and the story is *just* starting to kick in.

Most recently I checked out FRANKENFISH and really had a good time with it. Pretty good monster movie. Otherwise......

BEYOND RE-ANIMATOR (2004)-- The joy is gone. While I consider the original a classic and loved the madness of the first sequel this third trip to the well comes up dry. Herbert West has been in prison for his earlier crimes for 13 years when he is given the chance to continue his experiments behind bars. It’s great to see Jeffery Combs playing the cold-blooded West again and the movie has flashes of fun but it never comes together. A mess, but at least it leaves the door open for another sequel that might be better. Produced in Spain and at times the (funding mandated) need to have a mostly Spanish cast is a major hindrance.

STARSHIP TROOPERS 2: HERO OF THE FEDERATION (2003)-- I’m one of the few, the proud, the fans of the first film. I loved its black humored satiric take on Heinlien’s rah-rah patriotism and the fact that most people miss the social commentary only makes me happier. That type of intelligent vitriol can rarely be maintained so I was unsurprised when they didn’t even try. More of a horror film than anything else, the story centers on a small number of troopers trapped behind enemy lines on a bug planet. Holing up in an abandoned fortification they
slowly discover they’ve been infiltrated by a new kind of bug that takes over a human host body. Poorly written, poorly directed and just generally crappy this is one to avoid. If not for the pretty good special effects I would have dozed off.

GINGER SNAPS BACK: THE BEGINNING (2004)-- While I really liked both of the first two GINGER SNAPS films this one just doesn’t quite make it. It’s not bad but it has many elements that felt too 20th century for me to take the 1815 setting seriously. Still, there’s a lot in the film to like, including the ending. This one tells the tale of how the werewolf curse came to be loosed on the countryside (i.e. Canada) by events surrounding a pair of orphaned sisters attacked by beasts in the woods. Brought into a lycanthrope-besieged fort by an Indian warrior they try to survive and rid themselves of the shape changing disease.


SERIAL KILLING 101 (2003)- I checked this out because Tom Weaver (yes that Tom Weaver!) recommended it in his Fangoria column. In an attempt to impress a cute classmate (singer Lisa Loeb who’s too old for the part), high school senior Casey tells his guidance counselor that he wants to become a serial killer. He gets the girl’s attention but even with her help he’s less than successful at becoming a killer. The pair runs through a checklist of serial killer traits, none of which describe Casey, but they forge ahead anyway to often amusing results. Meanwhile the local murders of teenage girls might be the work of a real serial killer and Casey’s choice of future vocation marks him as a suspect. He starts putting his newfound knowledge to use to find the killer but does he want him as a mentor or to stop him? Although the film is never as funny as it could be it’s still pretty damned good. The film has a great cast giving it their all and one corker of an ending. Recommended.

THE EYE (2002)-- Hong Kong scare film in Cantonese with English subtitles. A woman blind since the age of 2 is given a cornea transplant that restores her sight. It also seems to give her the ability to see ghosts! The film is quite good and packs an emotional punch even though I feel it gets a bit unfocused at times. Also, there are leaps of story logic that I might understand if I were more in tune with the culture. As it stands I wanted more info on a couple of topics but the strength of the story won me over completely.

1.) Centipede Horror- the title intrigued me enough to rent this and despite what the cover said, there were no English subtitles, so I could not follow the dialogue, and a lot of it was boring, there was a scene in the later half of the movie where a woman appears to vomit up a large amount of huge centipedes. Incredible and definately a surprise, but I felt the rest of the movie was pretty dull.

2.) Nightbeast- that pool party scene is a classic. super gory early 80's monster movie.

3.) Night of the Demon- a very angry Bigfoot rampages around and offs a lot of people in some pretty gory ways. Very entertaining, moreso than Nightbeast, which was pretty fun itself. There is castration, stabbings, axings, impaling and a load of other grue.

4.) Don't Go In The Woods- very poorly made early 80's woods slasher movie where the killer is some goofball mountain man in a fur coat. Plenty of gore, but most of the people dying don't seem to be too distressed about the fact that they are being killed. Or the acting is just plain bad. Also, the end credits have the worst song ever played over them. "Hello cabin..."

5.) Ghost Story- a not very scary or anything else movie from the late 70's. if a lot of spooky atmosphere made a great movie, then i would have loved this, but the scares are not there and i was bored. sorry.

also, last night i started watching the puppet master vs. the demonic toys on sci fi late when i got home and i was not tired, but i fell asleep before the second commercial break. bad movie. very bad.

Thanks to some masochistic urge to return the world of Full Moon from when I was 15, I watched the whole thing and you should consider yourself lucky. It was beyond awful.

Final Destination - I always enjoy this one. should I bother with #2?
Saw - utterly worthless
Black Sunday - utterly brilliant and one of my favorite films ever
Shaun of the Dead - much better than I had expected and likely to be a future purchase
The Golem - pretty fascinating and looks great on the Kino tinted print.

Hmm, well I found Final Destination 2 to be a pleasant surprise. I prefer it to the first(for not especially intellectual reasons), but it's different enough that I can't be entirely confident of recommending it. Essentially it just uses the premise of the first film as an excuse to set up even more elaborate Rube Goldberg-esque death scenes, while not extending the first film's storyline much at all. It is rather well done technically however, so if you think you'd enjoy a series of malicious, inventive, and gory "accidents," then you might like it.

1. IT'S ALIVE - What I love about this Larry Cohen vehicle is Bernard Herrmann's score...

2. THE INCREDIBLY STRANGE CREATURES WHO STOPPED LIVING AND BECAME MIXED-UP ZOMBIES!!? - Best thing about this DVD is the Joe Bob Briggs commentary...

3. PROFONDO ROSSO - Took me about a half dozen attempts to get through this Argento film - I love it almost as much as SUSPIRIA...

4. DAWN OF THE DEAD (2004) - Hmm....I wanted to hate it but actually kinda liked it...

5. VAN HELSING - Is this really a horror film? Nothing remotely scary about it...but I dig it...

6. LEMORA - Probably one of the strangest films I've seen. Really creepy...

NIGHTMARE WEEKEND (vhs) - Jaw-droppingly bad. Words fail me. I loved it!

VAN HELSING (DVD) - Jaw-droppingly bad. Words fail me. I hated it!

FASCINATION (vhs) - I loved it! My fav Jean Rollin film so far.

EMANUELLE IN AMERICA (dvd) - What's all the fuss about? The snuff sequence was good but not convincing enough to be seen as real mutilations. Loved the music and the 1970s feel of it but there's no actual ending.

I'M DANGEROUS TONIGHT (vhs) - Forgettable Hooper flick.

1. Van Helsing - I've never felt so angry about watching a film as the credits crawled.

2. Dawn of the Dead (Theatrical Cut from the awesome boxset) - I enjoyed watching this so much, I fished out:

3. Day of the Dead - Grim and gross. Love it.

4. Shredder - Terrible slasher movie about kids snowboarding on an abandoned mountain and <Spoiler> being picked off by an irate skiier <end-of-spoiler>. Great fun though. This was twinned with (in my house only):

5: Snowbeast: Large monster stalks ski resort.

snowbeast! as a child, this was frequently on tv and i watched it everytime.

Five more:

Destination Moon - Rather entertaining, undercut at times by the HORRIBLE "everyman" character director George Pal felt compelled to insert in a few of his films. Apparantly to Pal an "everyman" is a dumb, ethnic, and obnoxious jerk. When ***SPOILER*** all the astronauts are deciding who will stay behind and it looks like this jerk was the "winner" I was cheering. Unfortunately events didn't unfold that way....sigh...at least with the number of cigarettes the characters constantly smoked he probably got lung cancer. BTW, Merry Christmas! Scratchy print but for $5(it was a $10 twopack at Best Buy with Rocketship X-M) I ain't complaining.

It! The Terror From Beyond Space - Second half of the MGM Midnite Movie Double Feature I started with the previously mentioned The Monster That Challenged the World this is the clear winner of the two. Basically it's Thing From Another World on a spaceship, minus the scientists and snappy patter, but enjoyable despite.

Motel Hell - Another half of a MGM Midnite Movie Double Feature(this time paired with the again afore-mentioned Deranged). I basically bought the disc for Deranged but found this surprisingly the stronger of the two films. A lot of fun. Sleazy and deranged(heh), but fun.

3: Extremes - Loved it, far better than I'd expected.
1.) The Box : An excellent short... I think I prefer Miike when he pays more attention the visuals than the gonzo factor he seems to emphasize on his more extreme films. Of the Miike I've seen this feels closest to the first I saw, Audition.
2.) Dumplings : I have to confess I'd never heard of Fruit Chan before hearing about the #: Extreme project. Looking over his credits on imdb I've never even heard of any of his previous films, which is an interesting perspective to havewalking into this film, I think. I have nothing to compare/contrast his short to, unlike Miike and Chanwook Park, the work of both of whom I'm comfortably familiar with. That said, I thought this was excellent as well. Not especially a "scary" horror story, the premise is well...probably ultimately the most horrific I've ever seen committed to film. My stomach's queasy just thinking about it.
3.) Cut : Well Dumplings is a tough act to follow but if anyone could top it, it's Chanwook Park. Unfortunately he doesn't. His is the most stylish of three(which is saying something) but unfortunately his segment uses the "Psycho kidnaps people, blames them for his misfortunes, tries to force them into committing horrible acts to prove something about themselves" cliche plot. Granted it's exceptionally well done in this variation, but after some rather interesting and unique scenarios in the first two this was slightly disappointing. Only in comparison though.

Cannibal Ferox - If you even know the title you probably know what you're in for. Insert rote "I find the animal killing ABHORRENT! Worse than the Olsen Twins! But, that said..." copout justification here. Yeah it's trash. Yeah it's indefensible. Pure sleaze. But I enjoy it.

The last five horror films I watched were:

THE SHINING - (on DVD) I am a huge fan of the soundtrack, obviously, but the clinical coldness of Kubrik's adaptations have always fascinated me. Hopefully the score will be released legitimately at some point in the future on SACD or DVD audio; the Japanese release was a rip from the LP, and you can hear vinyl pops on the CD. I rewatch this film (and THE EXORCIST and LEGEND OF HELL HOUSE) often.

DOLL MASTER (festival screening) Miramax purchased this Korean film for remake, but I've no idea if it will get any sort of wide theatrical release, or who will own it for DVD (outside of Korea, where it should be available soon). A better than anyone would have guessed horror film about the concept of toys and their attachment to the children who play with them, as well as the need for everyone to know their creator. It runs the gamut of average exploitation to touching human drama over the course of its runnig time. *Possibly of interest is the fact that American Pop star Jessica Simpson stars in a variation of this story on the currently running TWILIGHT ZONE series, scheduled to screen this week.

UNINVITED (screener cassette) This is another damn good Korean Horror film with a remarkable cast and moody circumstances. My favorite Asian horror film right now. Not a hint of cheap exploitation. Just solid creepiness, with some surprising moments of violence and shock. Probably very deserving of a remake in the right hands.

EYES WITHOUT A FACE (on DVD) I have been holding off on watching this until a high quality release, and Criterion have pulled through with flying colors. The most heavily ripped-off horror film in Europe was really worth the wait. Even after seeing all of the immitations (shame on you, Jess!), the original is awesome.

RINGU TV series - (Japanese video store rental) I think the beta SP shot-on-video look made this much more frightening than the subsequent feature film versions and sequels. As powerful as those early bootleg video tapes of Blair Witch in the days before the hype -simply mesmerizing. In case anybody cares, I prefered the Gore Verbinski remake to Nakata's film, and prefer the tv series to both.
Since this is tv and not a film I'll list one more...

GODZILLA FINAL BATTLES (private theater screening) What can one say? I prefer the GMK entry a few years ago, but it was cool to see Gojira make short work of the Emmerich incarnation of Godzilla. A little less action than I would have preferred. I also miss those great scores from the classic films. I'm a huge fan of the "Godzilla Fantasia" videos that made the rounds a few years ago, and if anybody knows whether they are available on DVD, I'd appreciate knowing. I'd even be interested in tracking down the LDs if anybody's got them.

Just last night I was watching the Korean horror film SPIDER FOREST and thought of THE UNINVITED. I was thinking about buying THE UNINVITED but hadn't read too many reviews. Your thoughts have sold me on it.

As for my latest views:

1. SPIDER FOREST - very creepy Korean horror film told via flashbacks. Kept me guessing and has a one pretty shocking moment.

2. THE BONEYARD - the discussion of this film on the board earlier got me to rewatch it. I still think the first 40 minutes are somewhat slow, but it picks up when the dead children are reanimated. The make up F/X are excellent and those kids are so creepy.

3. CHRISTINE - listened ot the audio commentary featuring Carpenter and Keith Gordon on the DVD. They really get along well and it is amazing to think that both the leads from this film went on to be film directors (it warms my heart ot hear Gordon say that both Carpenter and DePalma were his cinematic instructors).

4. THREE - the Asia anthology with a films from Korean, Hong Kong and Thailand. The best segment is Peter Chan's "Going Home" which features an excellent performance by Leon Lai. "Memories" is by Korean director Kim Ji-woon and I guess could be considered a precusor to his A TALE OF TWO SISTERS. It is very stylish but most people could figure out what is going on about half way through. "The Wheel," about possessed dolls, is from Thai director Nonzee (NANG NAK) Nimibturis and is the least of the three, but still worth watching.

5. PUPPET MASTER VS. DEMONIC TOYS - beyond awful which is surprising because director Ted Nicolau can usually deliver a solid B-movie. The plot is a carbon copy of HALLOWEEN III (here Satan worshipping toymakers create toys that will awaken on Xmas morning and kill) but without the style or suspense. Corey Feldman is the lead and hams it up terribly. I guess I got what I deserved.

1. TERROR CREATURES FROM THE GRAVE
2. KEEP MY GRAVE OPEN
3. GIRL IN ROOM 2A
4. NIGHT OF THE SORCERERS
5. THE NIGHT AFTER HALLOWEEN (onscreen title: THE DAY AFTER HALLOWEEN) - not really a horror movie.