October Goal: Fourth Sequence

Time to update the goal again! Here is a recap of what I have seen so far:

1. Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter
2. Friday the 13th: A New Beginning
3. The Funhouse
4. An American Werewolf in London
5. Dracula
6. Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan
7. Frankenstein
8. City of the Living Dead
9. Planet Terror
10. The Video Dead
11. Death Proof
12. ThanksKilling
13. Day of the Dead
14. Chopping Mall
15. Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers
16. Creepshow
17. Masters of Horror - Family
18. The Human Centipede (First Sequence
19. Maniac

And being added to the list:

20. Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers (1989) -- D
Being very familiar with Halloween 1-3, and seeing part 4, I wanted to delve more into the story. The lats time I saw part 5 I was 9 years old so this was all fresh for me. Part 4 had some good scares and kept a nice pace, part 5 fell way off from 4. The movie seemed like it was going for PG-13 rating for a while. The kills are lack luster and uncreative. The movie ends with a cliff-hanger though. Myers is imprisoned and someone breaks him out, for reasons we do not know until Part 6, some six years later!

21. New Years Evil (1980) -- B
This is another movie I only was able to see because of my subscription to netflix. New Years Evil was not well known to me by any means but I saw a blog by my brother about the movie and was meaning to watch it so I gave it a watch. Overall I thought the movie was entertaining, nothing ground breaking here but it has some bright spots. I like that you actually get to see things and follow the killer in the act. The movie does have some comical moments, ah the life of a killer can be a hard one! This worth a watch if you like slasher movies, but good luck finding it unless you have a netflix membership.

22. Army of Darkness (1992) -- B+
This was my favorite movie for a long while in late 90's, I really enjoy the movie still to this day but I have noticed that it had lost some of its charm on me. I still think Bruce Campbell gives some of the best comedic line deliveries ever and I wish he could have become the star he should have been after this movie. It is more of a comedy set in a horror movie than an actual scary movie. If you like to have some fun laughs with your gore this is the movie for you! Still a great cult classic.

23. Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers (1995) -- C
Finishing off the Loomis series of Halloween is Part 6 (which somehow was left off of the name). I am sure people who saw part 5 either forgot or no longer cared about the cliff hanger that ended part 5. Well, they would most likely have been disappointed. We now learn that Jamie Lloyd is older and pregnant, so the movie shifts between Myers finding her baby and a new storyline that tries to explain why Myers kills. I got confused about the introduction of a new family of Strode's, and especially why one of the daughter's kid could be the next Myers. I guess it has something to do with that there is a much longer cut of the film. I saw at least twice that the movie just stops and then things seem out of place when they start up again (after Kara jumps out the window) and when Loomis goes to take care of Myers. Now that he has become a famous comedic actor it was odd seeing Paul Rudd in this film and also sad to see Donald Pleasence so old.

So I have fallen behind as you'll notice, Its time to get going!

Power Poll - Week 7

1. Pittsburgh Steelers (5-1)

2. New England Patriots (5-1)
3. New York Jets (5-1)

4. Baltimore Ravens (5-2)

5. Indianapolis Colts (4-2)
6. Tennessee Titans (5-2)

7. Atlanta Falcons (5-2)

8. Miami Dolphins (3-3)

9. Philadelphia Eagles (4-3)

10. Kansas City Chiefs (4-2)

11. New York Giants (5-2)

12. Houston Texans (4-2)

13. Green Bay Packers (4-3)

14. New Orleans Saints (4-3)

15 Seattle Seahawks (4-2)

16. Washington Redskins (4-3)

17. Chicago Bears (4-3)

18. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-2)

19. Minnesota Vikings (2-4)

20. Arizona Cardinals (3-3)

21. Oakland Raiders (3-4)

22. San Diego Chargers (2-5)

23. Cincinnati Bengals (2-4)

24. St Louis Rams (3-4)

25. Cleveland Browns (2-5)
26. Jacksonville Jaguars (3-4)
27. Denver Broncos (2-5)

28 Dallas Cowboys (1-5)

29. Detroit Lions (1-5)

30. Carolina Panthers (1-5)

31. Buffalo Bills (0-6)

32. San Francisco 49ers (1-6)

October Goal: Third Sequence

Time to update the goal again! Here is a recap of what I have seen so far:

1. Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter
2. Friday the 13th: A New Beginning
3. The Funhouse
4. An American Werewolf in London
5. Dracula
6. Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan
7. Frankenstein
8. City of the Living Dead
9. Planet Terror
10. The Video Dead
11. Death Proof
12. ThanksKilling
13. Day of the Dead

And now to what I have seen since last Thursday, as you can tell I am still a tad behind, it was a tough week to watch horror movies for some reason.

14. Chopping Mall (1986) -- D+
The poster for this movie is really cool, and it does have one or two pretty cool kills. Otherwise I felt this movie to be a huge let down. I was expecting really cool robots and instead they looked like that Nintendo robot.


15. Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988) -- C+
This was Myers return since part 2. I remember I saw these movies as a kid (I was 8 when I first saw them) but I wanted to revisit parts 4-6. I thought the movie had it's moments and having the daughter of Jamie Lee Curtis' character was a nice (and convenient) way to keep the story in family. I will say the way Myers gets his mask is comical, it just happens to be in a store selling Halloween goods, but then again later in the movie about 6 kids play pranks wearing the masks as well. I like the ending, good homage to the first film.

16. Creepshow (1982) -- B
For some reason I have scene the second Creepshow and for some reason I can remember it really well. But I had never seen the original in its full glory, until now. Creepshow comes off as a great throwback to the old EC comics. The stories are not gory or even all that scary, but they have some good suspense. I bet they played great for teenagers in 1982.



17. Masters of Horror - Family (2006) -- C+
I wanted to see more of John Landis horror movies, so I checked this out on netflix. It comes from a TV show called Masters of Horror. I am not to familiar with the show, but the movie must have been on cable. George Wendt (NORM!) of Cheers fame stars as Harold. I thought the story was amusing, sort of like a Tales from the Crypt episode. The ending of this threw me for a curveball, and overall its enjoyable and worth the hour that it runs.

18. The Human Centipede (First Sequence)(2009) -- C-
Having heard all the hype about this movie I had to check it out. And it was pretty much a movie that is centered around one idea. Now that idea is pretty fucked up, but the rest of the movie is sort of boring. I will give props to the main star Dieter Laser as Dr. Heiter. He really stands out but given the limited material he has to work with he doesn't reach the potential he could have had as a legend of horror. Overall I was expecting this movie to be full of gross out moments, but it really is quite tame.

19. Maniac (1980) -- A-
Joe Spinell gives a haunting performance as Frank Zito in the disturbing Maniac. I was given the movie as a gift from a friend and just got around to watching it. I was really impressed with the movie. The way director William Lustg keeps the suspense going for a long time (Bathroom scene goes on for days, right when you think all is ok....) and does of a great portrayal of what I assume a real life psychopath would act like. Also look for a head splitting cameo from Tom Savini! Good atmosphere and suspense (along with some gore) make this an instant classic.

Power Poll - Week 6

1. New England Patriots (4-1)
2. New York Jets (5-1)
3. Pittsburgh Steelers (4-1)
4. Baltimore Ravens (4-2)
5. Indianapolis Colts (4-2)
6. Philadelphia Eagles (4-2)
7. New Orleans Saints (4-2)
8. Atlanta Falcons (4-2)
9. Miami Dolphins (3-2)
10. Tennessee Titans (4-2)
11. Chicago Bears (4-2)
12. Houston Texans (4-2)
13. Green Bay Packers (3-3)
14. New York Giants (4-2)
15. Kansas City Chiefs (3-2)
16. Seattle Seahawks (3-2)
17. Minnesota Vikings (2-3)
18. Washington Redskins (3-3)
19. San Diego Chargers (2-4)
20. St Louis Rams (3-3)
21. Arizona Cardinals (3-2)
22. Jacksonville Jaguars (3-3)
23. Denver Broncos (2-4)
24. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-2)
25. Cincinnati Bengals (2-3)
26. Detroit Lions (1-5)
27. Dallas Cowboys (1-4)
28 San Francisco 49ers (1-5)
29. Oakland Raiders (2-4)
30. Cleveland Browns (1-5)
31. Buffalo Bills (0-5)
32. Carolina Panthers (0-5)

October Goal: Second Sequence

It is October 14th, very much the midpoint until the end of Halloween. My goal of 31 movies is still going strong. Here is the updated movies seen, and the previously seen ones as well.

1. Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter
2. Friday the 13th: A New Beginning
3. The Funhouse
4. An American Werewolf in London
5. Dracula
6. Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan

And here are the movies being added to the list:

7. Frankenstein (1931) -- A
Already having watched Dracula and being somewhat disappointed, I turned to another classic monster movie, this time Frankenstein. I was pretty much taken in from the first scene. This is just a masterpiece of its time. The sets are amazing, and the acting is perfect. When I think of what a classic monster movie is, this is it.

8. City of the Living Dead (1980) -- B
I wasn't too sure what to expect seeing this one, having not heard much about the movie at all. Its an Italian movie directed by Lucio Fulci who also did more many more horror movies. The movie has great atmosphere and some great gross out sequences. I liked the ending and how they vanquish the priest, a steak to the groan is always an instant kill!

9. Planet Terror (2007) -- B-
I decided to re-visit the Grindhouse movies, but this time split apart and with the extra footage. Planet Terror comes off as a good little zombie movie. Nothing new here (and that was the point) but director Robert Rodriguez pays great homage to the zombie movies of old. I didn't see anything in this new cut that made me feel like the movie was a better flick this time.

10. The Video Dead (1987) -- B
If you want to see this movie, its either find an old VHS copy or get netflix and watch it on the instant watch feature. I thought it was cool that netflix was able to have this movie even available to watch. So I thought it was a perfect time to check it out. I believe the idea of the movie has been thought up by every kid who has ever seen a horror movie. The premise is that a TV somehow only shows a zombie movie and those zombies are allowed to go from the TV to the real world. The acting is pretty bad, no one famous at all in the movie but that's not the real point here. The ideas behind the movie are well done. You think this person will live because he is a main charter? You are in for a surprise. I enjoyed that the zombies would act normal if you didn't show them fear, something that sort of pays of for our main heroine. To see what happens, you should check out this cult classic.


11. Death Proof (2007) -- C+
This was hard to give the movie the grade because Quinten Tarantino is one of my all time favorite movie makers. I was also revisiting this movie. The first time I felt the movie was slow and had way too much talking for talking sake. It was also the second half of the double bill with Planet Terror, which was a much more exciting movie. I thought maybe breaking up the movies and watching this special edition would push this movie over and give it that extra kick I missed out on the first time. And well, the movie starts out promising. I think I really enjoyed the first set of girls, they seemed to have a lot more appeal and mystery surrounding them. The first acts culminates in a head on collision for the ages. The second set of girls seem to just talk like anyone else would, which I just couldn't get into. I love the Tarantino dialogue, I would say Inglorious Basterds had a lot of long dialogue but I felt that was building up to something or had conflict. The girls in the second half of the movie added characterization but I just found myself saying, why am I listening to this? And yes again ,there is an amazing 18 minute car chase but Kurt Russell has almost no screen time before the car chase. Anyway that's some reasons why this movie just didn't do it for me. It seems like it could have been cut in some places and been a more successful movie.

12. ThanksKilling (2009) -- D+
Now here is a movie that know what it is. A movie about a a turkey that comes alive every 505 years and kills kids in crazy ways. The turkey actually talks, and yes it is as hilarious as it sounds. This turkey also offers sex for a ride and rapes the town slut, uttering "You just got stuffed!" afterwords. Movies like this are a fun when in the right mood. It made me long for a Thanksgiving movie (a great grind house trailer by Eli Roth).



13. Day of the Dead (1885) -- B
Having seen Night and Dawn of the Dead, I wanted to finish off the series with Day of the Dead. The movie starts off from what was hinted at in Dawn of the Dead. A small group of survivors in an underground military base. The movie really delves into how to deal with the zombies. A mad scientist feels they can be trained, and he works one on one with a zombie he calls Bub. The leader of the base is huge asshole named Captain Rhodes who of course disagrees with everything the other people want. I was surprised how in depth the movie goes how the people should deal with the zombies, But of course at the end you get the classic Romero style kills when the zombies are some how allowed into the base. Just some amazing special effects by Tom Savini here. This is a nice follow up to Dawn of the Dead.


Now I just have to keep up the goal!

Power Poll - Week 5

1. Baltimore Ravens (4-1) (-) - Beat an average Broncos team, you got to beat those average teams to remain on top.

2. New York Jets (4-1) (-) - They played a pretty good Vikings team and handled them at home, I think they could be the class of the AFC, but the one loss was to the Ravens.

3. Pittsburgh Steelers (3-1) (-) - On a bye week, but they just gained a lot by getting Big Ben back at qb.

4. Atlanta Falcons (4-1) (-) - They could be the class of the NFC, but so could the Cardinals at this point...

5. Indianapolis Colts (3-2) (8) - There D showed up at home and they handled a tight game, Manning threw no touchdowns for the first time it seems like forever.

6. New England Patriots (3-1) (-) - On a bye week, they end up losing Randy Moss because he didn't like Brady's hair.

7. Chicago Bears (4-1) (11) - They showed that they can win without even throwing the ball. Todd Collins was 6/16 for 32 yards! Mike Martz is still a genius.

8. New Orleans Saints (3-2) (5) - They suffered a huge set back in losing to a Cardinals team who was giving a first time start to QB Max Hall.

9. Philadelphia Eagles (3-2) (13) - They seemed to have hit an injury bug but still managed to handle the 49ers on the road. They get Vick back next week, he will be playing Atlanta.

10. Green Bay Packers (3-2) (7) - They also got a ton of injuries, two tight ends, their best line backer (Matthews), and to add insult to injury Aaron Rodgers got a concussion on his last play!

11. Tennessee Titans (3-2) (19) - They showed that they could hang around with the talented Dallas Cowboys, this team could be a surprise contender.

12. Miami Dolphins (2-2) (-) - They were on a bye week.

13. Houston Texans (3-2) (10) - I think only getting 11 carriers for 25 yards from stand out RB Arian Foster doomed them. But to get beat 34-10 at home is no good.

14. Kansas City Chiefs (3-1) (15) - They hung around on the road with a good Colts team, I think they will gain a lot of confidence even though it was a loss.

15. Washington Redskins (3-2) (23) - This team seems to keep every game close. They have already had two overtime games, winning this past week against the Packers.

16. Minnesota Vikings (1-3) (16) - Randy Moss was suppose to help them more! I still feel they have a chance to turn this around, but that needs to happen sooner then later.

17. Jacksonville Jaguars (3-2) (20) - This team seems like they can just as easily beat the Colts one week and then let the Bills score 26, oh wait! They did!

18. New York Giants (3-2) (25) - They have a ton of talent on both sides, and getting two wins in a row against the Bears and Texans easily moves them up.

19. San Diego Chargers (2-3) (14) - This team seems to kick themselves down, something new always goes wrong for the Chargers. I won't count them out but they need to step up.

20. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-1) (-) - I apologize to the Buccaneer organization, I felt they were one of the worst teams and have already have one more win then I thought they would have.

21. Dallas Cowboys (1-3) (9) - Playing at home after a bye week should have been enough for this talented squad to win. I don't really get whey they are doing so bad.

22. Denver Broncos (2-3) (17) - Broncos at least have that awesome Orton to Lloyd combo. Seriously, this is not a joke.

23. Arizona Cardinals (3-2) (27) - Yes they are 3-2, and yes I moved them up but I still think this team is all smoke and mirrors. Maybe they will prove me wrong.

24. Cincinnati Bengals (2-3) (18) - At least T.O. is getting his catches!

25. Oakland Raiders (2-3) (29) - The Raiders played a good game and blocked two punts which lead to a dramatic win over their hated rivals the Chargers.

26. Seattle Seahawks (2-2) (24) - On a bye week, they signed Marshawn Lynch and he could give them a boost.

27. Detroit Lions (1-4) (28) - This team is actually much better then I think they have been given credit

for. They blew out the Rams 44-6. Shaun Hill keeps teams in games, I sure wish he was on my team...

28 . St. Louis Rams (2-3) (22) - Rams suffered that crushing loss when they were coming off a great win, at least they know while they lose Sam Bradford is learning.

29. Cleveland Browns (1-4) (26) - Wallace and Delhomme both got banged up in a loss to the Falcons. They know Peyton Hillis is a white running back, right?

30. San Francisco 49ers (0-5) (-) - They have hung around with some good teams, but it's sad to say the season is pretty much over.

31. Buffalo Bills (0-5) (32) - Ryan Fitzpatrick has been doing well, 7 tds to only 2 interceptions in 3 games so far.

32. Carolina Panthers (0-5) (31) - This is a sad day for the Panthers, who usually field good teams. They are trying to break in rookie Qb Jimmy Clausen but it's been a very tough road.

October Goal: First Sequence

As I stated in my previous blog, my goal for this month was to watch 31 horror movies during the month of October. I felt that I should update with the movies I have watched, during this first week (it being October 7th and all).

So far I have watched 6 movies, leaving me 24 more days to watch 25 more movies. So far I am happy with the goal. It is tough to find time when you work two jobs twice a week and work 6 days in the week. I am still set on my goal. Here are the movies I have watched so far, in order of how I saw them. I will include a small write up on my thoughts of the film.



1. Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984) -- C+
I had it set that I would complete the the missing pieces of the Friday the 13th series. That included the "final" chapter of the Friday the 13th series. This was the only Friday movie to have some star power, in the young Corey Feldman and Crispin Glover being the star power (OK so maybe in 1984 that was star power?). Anyway the movie was average and Feldman's character Tommy Jarvis would star in 2 more movies after this, making him Jason's greatest foe.

2. Friday the 13th: A New Beginning (1985) -- C
I enjoyed the opening of the film, and it was nice to see Feldman back, even if it was for a cameo. They keep the Tommy Jarvis arc going, this time he is older and messed up because he killed a homicidal maniac when he was kid (wow they went with a somewhat realistic story). The whole story takes place in a mental camp for teens, Tommy just got in and now people are dying. I did like the mystery, I really didn't know who the killer was and I thought it was a fresh take on the Friday the 13th films.

I have heard most people hated this movie because Jason was not officially in it, but trust me there was a much worse movie with Jason in it (Part 8). The only thing that made me dislike the movie was the ending. Basically instead of taking off with is Jarvis the new Jason, it waits all the way until the end to ask the question, a question they already asked at the end of the movie before it, ugh.


3. The Funhouse (1981) -- C
I checked this one out because it came highly recommended by a fellow slasher fan and it was directed by Tobe Hooper. The story starts out dead slow, I mean nothing really happens at all but there was a nice homage to Psycho and Halloween to start the film. The movie could have used more atmosphere but instead tends to go the route of a teens wanting to get into trouble by sleeping the night in the funhouse even though they were warned type story. The reveal of the killer was nicely done, I didn't see that surprise coming.



4. An American Werewolf In London (1981)-- B+
I was looking forward to seeing this movie for a long time. I knew how the special effects were really well done for the time, and they still hold up amazingly well in 2010. It was nice to not see it all done in some CGI. What I didn't know was how comical the movie was. Personally, I enjoy some nice horror comedy if it is done correctly. Then I saw it was directed by John Landis, he of Animal House and Blues Brothers fame and it all started to make perfect sense. The dream sequence with the Nazi was crazy fun. The ending had me laughing, how they cut right from something graphic then the fade black with Blue Moon playing, classic!



5. Dracula (1931) -- B
I decided to get out the 1980 horror films and go really old school, and watch the original Dracula, starring Bela Lugosi. The movie starts out well enough and the atmosphere and sets are pretty amazing. I found the movie very slow, but taking in account the time it was made I am okay with it. Any time that Lugosi was not on screen the movie suffered for I felt. Edward Van Sloan as Van Helsing also was very good and Dwight Frye's Reinfield has some great facial expressions and steals every scene he appears is in. I am watching another classic monster film from the same year as we speak...

6. Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan (1989) -- D-
I am sad to say I had to watch this movie to finish off seeing every Friday the 13th. I am sure glad I watched it last because I found this movie to be just an utter waste of time. Jason now has more to say apparently, and getting rid of his classic KI KI KI MA MA MA sound is unforgivable. The director seemed like he was trying to do something new with Jason, and I guess I could applaud him for that if he didn't fail miserably. Oh well, I am glad I never have to see this again.

Power Poll- Week 4

1. Baltimore Ravens (3-1) (8)
2. New York Jets (3-1) (3)
3. Pittsburgh Steelers (3-1) (2)
4. Atlanta Falcons (3-1) (4)

5. New Orleans Saints (3-1) (4)
6. New England Patriots (3-1) (9)

7. Green Bay Packers (3-1) (7)

8. Indianapolis Colts (2-2) (1)
9. Dallas Cowboys (1-2) (11)

10. Houston Texans (3-1) (13)

11. Chicago Bears (3-1) (6)
12. Miami Dolphins (2-2) (12)

13. Philadelphia Eagles (2-2) (10)

14.San Diego Chargers (2-2) (19)
15. Kansas City Chiefs (3-0) (17)
16. Minnesota Vikings (1-2) (15)

17. Denver Broncos (2-2) (20)

18. Cincinnati Bengals (2-2) (14)
19. Tennessee Titans (2-2) (16)
20. Jacksonville Jaguars (2-2) (26)
21. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2-1) (22)

22. St. Louis Rams (2-2) (23)
23. Washington Redskins (2-2) (24)
24. Seattle Seahawks (2-2) (18)

25. New York Giants (2-2) (25)
26. Cleveland Browns (1-3) (32)
27. Arizona Cardinals (2-2) (21)

28. Detroit Lions (0-4) (27)

29. Oakland Raiders (1-3) (29)

30. San Francisco 49ers (0-4) (28)

31. Carolina Panthers (0-4) (31)

32. Buffalo Bills (0-4) (30)