#100HorrorMoviesIn92Days 2023, part 10

Happy Halloween, everyone! We made it! We are here! One hundred horror movies in under three months. I can’t believe I did it. Here are part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6, part 7, part 8 and part 9 in case you missed it. 🙂 Here we go, the last ten horror films of this challenge.

The Fall of the House of Usher (2023)
I was definitely cheating here cos this ain’t exactly a movie. But it’s Mike Flanagan and Spooktober, I couldn’t resist. Nothing says spooky season as pitch-perfectly as Edgar Allan Poe. And if there is a director who could do Poe justice on screen, it would be Flanagan. I haven’t seen Midnight Mass yet, but so far, this miniseries is my favorite Flanagan. My rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Greenlight (2019)
An indie movie about well, indie movies. 😀 I found the little details about getting a film made quite interesting but the horror instrument here… well, by this point with over 90 horror films the last few months, it was a little underwhelming. Like I was expecting something way worse. But that seemed to be a me problem. 😀
My rating: 3 out of 5 stars

The Night House (2020)
I actually enjoyed the first part of the movie. I thought it was a deep dive into grieving and anger and guilt etc with nightmares to spice it up. But then it kinda took a turn into cuckoo land with way too much horror aspects stuffed into one and it was like too much. It got way too busy and completely buried the film I originally thought this was going to be. A pity. Rebecca Hall gave a great performance.
My rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Five Nights at Freddy’s (2023)
First thing first, never played the game, got no idea about the story behind the game. I’m here just for Josh Hutcherson, cos I haven’t seen him in a movie for a while. And as expected, I think they kind of wasted his great performance. The sister was a bit annoying and the cop was so freaking suspicious right from the start and I think the actress over-did it. I’m not sure how to explain, like she was half a bit too fast at delivering her lines so it all felt very unnatural. Could be creepier.
My rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars

When Evil Lurks (2023)
Holy fucking shit. This is by far the most brutal and gruesome film I’ve seen in this horror film challenge. It’s not just the gore, there are so very many here, but it’s also the utter despair and hopelessness that was relentless throughout the film. It was a hard watch. The lead character made so many mistakes and he was just so frustrating to watch. A film with a punishing pace, it’s not going to be for anyone but I really admire the boldness of the writer-director Demián Rugna. He truly has a talented twisted mind and I love it. My rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Sissy (2022)
When an influencer ran into her childhood best friend and got invited to her hen party to a remote house in the middle of nowhere and got trapped together in it with her childhood bully, what could possibly go wrong. 😀 To be honest, I don’t blame her. One of those films that got very bloody and gory real fast but I would have given ‘Sissy’ a higher rating if there is more intention behind everything that happened here. My rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Cape Fear (1991)
Sorcesse feat. De Niro, it’s always movie magic. Max Cady must be my favorite De Niro so far, his character is so loud here. I’ve always enjoyed him as a villain more than anything. It’s a master class in suspense too, as Sorcesse created a highly unpredictable villain in Cady and my skin crawled everytime he was on screen. A classic for a reason. My rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

The Exorcist III (1990)
Thanks to the Youtuber Chris Stuckman’s recommendation, I went ahead and watched this, written and directed by William Peter Blatty (the one who wrote the original Exorcist novel and the script too). It’s one of the two movies Blatty every directed and I’m glad I got this recommendation cos it was damn good. It would even be a better known movie if it’s not carrying the ‘Exorcist’ sequel burden on its title. It is very different from the original, as it’s not that focused on exorcism at all. It’s a well acted, suspenseful movie about evil and faith. It’s gruesome and have one of the most effective jumpscares that puts all jumpscares from modern horror to utter shame. Don’t let the name fool you, it’s a damn good movie and it deserves to be judge on its own. My rating: 4 out of 5 stars

The Stepford Wives (1975)
The remake in 2004 was shit, and now having seen the original… Hollywood should really stop remaking classic horror. This OG is a slow burn, creepy and eerie to no end and the ending was really shocking albeit very very frustrating. But, the ending is what made this a classic. My rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

The Ninth Configuration (1980)
So here is the other William Peter Blatty‘s direction, and it’s actually a stunning film that I really didn’t expect. On surface, it’s a story how a psychiatrist attempt to help Vietnam veterans in a mental hospital located in a remote castle. But then it ended up being a weirdly beautiful film about conversations and debates about the decency of humanity, philosophy, healing, God, life after death and fear of being alone. It’s a great film to end this horror film challenge with. My rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

That’s all folks! One hundred horror films in 92 days. It had been a crazy ride. But also a very fun one! It definitely reignited my passion for horror, so I actually would love to aim to watch more horror from now on. Probably wouldn’t do this challenge again, cos I did miss watching films from other genre. Hundred horror per year should be easy that that I actually did it in less than three months, right? Right? XD Well, let’s see.

#100HorrorMoviesIn92Days 2023, part 9

Here are part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6, part 7 and part 8 in case you missed it. 🙂 Here we go, another ten horror films.

The Innocents (1961)
When the movie began, it felt awfully familiar. When they mentioned the name of the manor (Bly), I realized that it’s based on the same story as Mike Flanagan’s ‘The Haunting of Bly Manor’. So. The kids had always been creepy af, huh. It’s hard for me to properly review this film, cos I’ve seen Flanagan’s series first, and my brain is automatically comparing the two. My rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Onibaba (1964)
This is an off-kilter stunning looking piece of cinema that still mesmerize after more than half a century. The lighting, the music and the performances work in tandem to amaze and shock. The matter-of-fact way the film takes on violence and the brutal consequences and effects of war is unflinching. You can find the film on Youtube with subtitles, do give it a watch. My rating: 4 out of 5 stars

White Dog (1982)
I admit, it’s a little on the nose, the message about racism. But sometimes it works. I’m of course biased cos I like dog movies, I don’t care what role the dog takes on in the film, I’m in. The lead doggo (I think there are like multiple ones), they gave an excellent perfomance. There should be doggy Oscars. As intense as most of the film was, the ending was very underwhelming. So nothing happens to the original owner of the dog? Why the hell not? My rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Bad Taste (1987)
Finally got around seeing this cult classic, the debut of Peter Jackson. I don’t think I’m the only one who would love to see more horror from Jackson, post LoTR era Jackson. He really had a talent for practical effects even with a very low budget in this film. I had a blast, it was silly and disgusting but I guess that was the point. 😀 My rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Cronos (1992)
I feel like there’s more ambition here than anything else, the lore of the machine alone would take a whole film. Instead, they decided to focus on very boring characters and their lives. I would love to know more about the machine, the maker of the machine and I wanted this to be bigger, way bigger.
My rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Tigers Are Not Afraid (2017)
What made this film scary was the brutality of the real world, this is probably really happening somewhere, millions of children forced into the streets to face this world by themselves. The child actors were incredibly great here. Too heart-breakingly mature and just kids who gets very excited about a box of footballs. I wasn’t sure if the haunting aspect should be as strongly portrayed, weren’t the real-life tragedies terrifying enough? My rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Saw X (2023)
The first Saw will forever be one of my favorite horror movies ever. I’ve been a faithful fan for the sequels once but gave up like, after the 5th one I think. Like the Final Destination franchise, they are always entertaining if not that good. Saw X might be the first with actual effort put into being more than just the regular torture porn. I loved to see more of Jigsaw and actually him as a person interacting with others. Makes me want to watch those Saw films I haven’t seen yet (probably would regret it later). My rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Thesis (1996)
This is the second film where I randomly guessed who the killer was the moment they came on screen. But still, there were enough twists and turns in ‘Thesis’ to keep you guessing till the end. The only thing that was left un-explored was Angela’s obvious obsession with violence. It was heavily hinted on but what the point was if the film was never going to make more out of it.
My rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

The Exorcist: Believer (2023)
I could have given this a zero if I could. Not only was it a terrible film on its own, it dared to used the theme song and carry the same name. Not only that, they got some of the OG characters to make an appearance. And then proceeded to shit all over the legacy of the arguably best horror film ever made. I wasn’t just disappointed at this, I was angry. David Gordon Green, stop ruining classic horror franchises. Just stop. My rating: ½ out of 5 stars

Spontaneous (2020)
Having seen ‘No One Will Save You’ and liking it, I wanted to see Brian Duffield’s debut film ‘Spontaneous’. The bloody plot and effects didn’t disappoint, but I didn’t expect the incredibly cute first love relationship in this film. It was so cute that it made my heart explode. Pun intended. 😀 For once, the way the film depicted teenage angst didn’t sound annoying to me. 😛 I actually really liked the lead character. I can’t wait for Brian to make more films! My rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Ten more horror films coming in a week. 🙂

#100HorrorMoviesIn92Days 2023, part 8

Here are part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6 and part 7 in case you missed it. 🙂 Here we go, another ten horror films.

Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)
I have a very particular to alien movies with a rather controversial ending and I happened to like this one a lot. The way we got there might not be as smooth as possible but the ending, I liked. I realize that there are multiple versions of this same film, and I wouldn’t mind watching all of them, even the newest one that’s not as highly rated. My rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Repulsion (1965)
I think the fact that it is directed by Roman Polanski just added to the ick factor, considering the subject matter of the thing. I was on her side the whole film. XD Even before it was revealed that she has very legitimate reasons to hate/be terrified by men. And the way it was revealed, it’s… well, repulsive. Catherine Deneuve gave a stellar performance, she gets many of my stars I gave out for this film. My rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Lake Mungo (2008)
This reminds me of ‘Noroi: The Curse’ except it’s basically not even close. Made in the documentary style, I was never in the moment cos of all the jumpscares and dramatic music ruining the mood of a believable documentary vibe. Which is a pity, cos it was quite creepy at times. My rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Deep Red (1975)
I’ve always wanted to like Dario Argento but I can’t seem to, no matter how many times I try by watching his movies. I find them unnecessarily cruel at points, slightly boring most of the time. But I gotta admit, that puppet jump-scare was fucking brilliant.
My rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Tenebre (1982)
Maybe it was because I watched the second Argento movie right after another, I found this even more boring and the ending very unsatisfying. By the point of the last big twist, I ran out of fucks to give.
My rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars

Don’t Torture a Duckling (1972)
For no reason at all, I randomly guessed the killer the moment I saw them on screen. XD But I still enjoyed this crazy ride, this literal witch hunt of the small village mentality. The practical effects were pretty darn awesome for its time and so over the top gory for the rest of the story, but I loved it for some reason. 😀
My rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

The Day of the Beast (1995)
This felt like the Spanish ‘Dogma’. A threesome of weirdos teams up to save the world from a hostile takeover from the Devil himself, or they might just be on some good shit. XD Either way, I love how chaotic it was and I had the best time on this crazy train. 😀
My rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Prince of Darkness (1987)
I guess we continued with the Devil theme. On the contrary to Dario Argento’s films, the more I watch John Carpenter’s films, the more I like him as a filmmaker. Some might call my taste basic. Carpenter is nothing if not entertaining af. It’s bold and from time to time, ridiculous. But it’s also bloody, gory and 100% fun.
My rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

The Brood (1979)
Like Carpenter, dislike Argento, I guess David Cronenberg falls smack in the middle. But, you can always count on his films to have the shock factor and yuckie uniqueness to them. More than once, the thought ‘how on earth he comes up with this stuff’ comes to mind while watching his films. The Brood is no exception.
My rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

The Hunger (1983)
How have I never heard about this vampire lesbian gloriousness featuring Susan freaking Sarandon? And also, David Bowie? He was surprisingly great too. The idea of this lady vampire’s attic was fascinating to me, and incredibly cruel. I loved it. 😀
My rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Ten more horror films coming in a week. 🙂

#100HorrorMoviesIn92Days 2023, part 7

Here are part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5 and part 6 in case you missed it. 🙂 Here we go, another ten horror films.

It Comes at Night (2017)
I’m rarely this frustrated about a movie than I am about this one. Both the poster and trailer gave a very distinct idea what the movie is going to be and the movie was NOTHING like it. Also the title, I’m not gonna lie, I was waiting for ‘it’ the whole movie and simply enjoying the film was out of the question. Go in blind, ignore the title, so you might just enjoy this.
My rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars

Black Christmas (1974)
I think English is not the main character’s mother tongue, and maybe that’s why she spoke funny the whole movie. It’s so slow in the worst way, like I always get frustrated when people are acting super slow in horror movies but this is especially slow. It was decent I guess. My rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars

Re-Animator (1985)
This gotta be one of the most hardcore horror from the 80’s. It almost went to places that would have made this impossible to forget, and I’m sure it’s already gone way too way for most people but hey, at the end of the day, it’s just a movie. 😀 That’s my excuse of like this, yes. Shhh. It’s between me and my therapist. My rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Don’t Look Now (1973)
I like how Venice looked very menacing and scary in this. That’s pretty much it. The pacing was a little off. It’s a unique way to deal with grief but I really think the ending is a cop-out completely. I don’t quite get why it got relatively high ratings.
My rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars

Scanners (1981)
Those faces they made while doing to scanning. XD I’m sorry, I had way too much fun giggling at them. Otherwise, I enjoyed the premise of the movie, not so sure about the casting all around. This could have been so much better with a better cast, especially the lead actor.
My rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Pet Sematary: Bloodlines (2023)
I expected nothing, and it did meet my expectations. It was exactly what it advertised itself to be, maybe slightly more boring than I expected. Just another of those sequels no one asked for. I hope they would let this franchise be dead and buried, away from the Pet Sematary so it won’t resurrect itself in a couple of years.
My rating: 2 out of 5 stars

Totally Killer (2023)
A minimal marketing budget but it was actually pretty fun, especially if you like Kiernan Shipka. The mask is kinda silly though but I guess the point of the movie is not about being scary. The time travel aspect was pretty fun, as long as you don’t think too hard about it. My rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Hellraiser (2022)
*sigh* This whole movie just reminds me that I might want to rewatch the Hellraiser, the original one or even watch the sequels. I love me some Hellraiser no matter how bad it gets. The effects look great in this one but the story was slightly over-blown and way too long. Felt less like a Hellraiser.
My rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars

Saloum (2021)
It’s my first movie from Senegal and the style and vibe was really unique. I enjoyed the first half of it quite a bit, but once things got weird, it kinda lost me. Would be way better if it would just stayed down to earth. A for effort though.
My rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Dead Ringers (1988)
The idea and the premise was great, creepy and very well established but after the first act, I felt like the film didn’t know where to take the idea. It never went anywhere and the ending really felt like ‘that’s it?’ type of ending. I wish they could have explore and focus more on those tools and how they were gonna be used initially. My rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Ten more horror films coming in a week. 🙂

#100HorrorMoviesIn92Days 2023, part 6

Here are part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4 and part 5 in case you missed it. 🙂 Here we go, another ten horror films.

Kwaidan (1964)
A collection of four folktales, this film is nothing short of a masterful art piece. The music, beautiful sets, and sound design were all created with careful details to put the audience into a dream-like state. Especially the third story about the blind musician features a traditional song about the ancient war, which was simply mesmerizing. Every story features a lesson, whether they are fair or not, one can decide for themselves. My rating: 4 out of 5 stars

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920)
The stunning set design and the ingenious usage of dyed films into different colors to represent places and time were a sight to behold. Credited as one of the first horror films, it can be interpreted in many ways but just at face value, it still holds up and I can see its influence for decades to come in multiple genres including horror and film noir. My rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Inland Empire (2006)
I’m the first to admit, I’m not smart enough to understand David Lynch. To be fair, ‘Inland Empire’ probably isn’t the beginner-friendly starting point of his films. For three hours, I had a constant frown on my face, trying to ‘get it’. Sometimes I feel like I did, sometimes I definitely didn’t. I’m not sure if it’s the remastered version I saw, but it’s absolutely hideous to look at. What can I say… it’s definitely unique. I’m just a too simple blood and gore gal. 😀 My rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars

Cold Fish (2010)
Sion freaking Sono, he would never stop to amaze me. Holding up a giant mirror to reflect the darkest themes of Japanese society and culture, it’s violent and hard to watch. I’ve seen a handful of his films, they tend to stick with you for a long time. Cold Fish might just be one of his most unhinged films. Based on a true story, it’s definitely dialed up to the extreme and I absolutely loved it. I need to watch his other films. My rating: 4 out of 5 stars

The Empty Man (2020)
A debut feature film by David Prior, this is nothing short of impressive. In the age of franchises, reboots and remakes, Prior set out to create a new world, a new villain and new lore. Sure, you can argue that ‘The Empty Man’ takes inspiration from many other stories, I argue that it should get some credits for trying to create something new. The acting was decent, and the story was highly ambitious. And I think it actually managed to pull it off. I wouldn’t mind seeing a sequel and definitely I would be following what Prior does next. My rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

No One Will Save You (2023)
I had an absolute blast watching this. The choice of no speech was smart, and to be honest, I don’t think I missed it. As someone who lives alone too, I can actually relate to not speaking for days. XD The aliens were fucking creepy. I like how the trauma was told and I like the main character’s journey a lot. Kaitlyn Dever as Brynn absolutely knocked it out of the park. I freaking loved the ending. It’s just one of those films that makes me feel comfy cozy inside just because it got made, it just feels like a home-made cookie (in the best possible way). The director Brian Duffield is definitely going on my follow-list. My rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Shin Godzilla (2016)
I had a Japanese-themed weekend of watching four films, and I started with a bang with ‘Shin Godzilla’. Hollywood can try but no one makes a Gojira movie like Japan. I’m a sucker for them and I freaking loved this one. It made the Hollywood version look like a hissy lizard having a wee tantrum. A sequel to this one is supposed to come this or next year and I can’t wait! My rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Retribution (2006)
It’s creepy and absurd and made by Kiyoshi Kurosawa, the director of ‘Cure‘. The detective story for the most part of the movie was very disorientating and the big reveal was shocking. But I’m not sure about the ending when it got very weird and the haunting aspect of the story… I’m just not sure that was the direction I was expecting. It ended up being slightly underwhelming and anticlimactic. What a pity. My rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Noroi: The Curse (2005)
I’ve seen a lot of documentary-styled horror, but I gotta say, this was one of the best ones. It trusted in the creepy factor of its materials so it doesn’t necessarily play it up with camera tricks or music. It simply felt real despite how unbelievable the subject matter was. I very much enjoyed the crazy ride. My rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Gozu (2003)
This felt 100% like my dreams. It was nonsensical with a strong and constant sense of confusion and disorientation. I had no idea where the film was going, half the time my jaw was opened wide with disbelief at what I was witnessing. I felt like slapping myself multiple times during this film just to check if indeed I was dreaming this all up. For this fever dream of a film to simply exist, I feel like there’s hope for mankind. And with hope I meant chaotic, psychotic, unhinged, unadulterated fun. XD I absolutely loved every second of it. Takashi Miike, you freaking genius. My rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Ten more horror films coming in a week. 🙂