By god we’ve done it. We’ve closed the 50% threshold and are officially well on our way to the other side. Hooptober continues to invade my every dream, dancing behind my eyelids and bringing visions of schlock and awe. And some times really odd nude dance sequences, as is the case with the bizarre and wonderful original version of The Wicker Man. After a lot of late misses from the marathon’s namesake it was great to see the spirit of Tobe Hooper really peeking through the fun Mortuary. On the conflicting side I’ll just say The Boy Behind the Door is super tense and terrifying, and an excellent film I’ll never watch again, owing to the content of child abduction. But if you can stomach it, the film is a near-flawless execution of a cat and mouse chase. Currently holding the trophy of my favorite film of the marathon this year is Shin Godzilla, the first film to really mirror the intent of the original 1954 classic, and a terrifying look at what a kanji attack would look like from the view of the government tasked to keep its country safe and running. Finally Evilspeak is a wild 80s horror flick that takes the then-burgeoning computer craze and marries it to satanic worship, possession, and a delightful Clint Howard performance.
It’s a shortened week for me, folks…heading out for Columbus weekend to take in the autumn and clear the brain of the demons dwelling within. As always, scan the summaries, check out the full reviews over on Cinema Dual, and I’ll see you in seven days…
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Officer Neil Howie is on the case! After receiving a message about the disappearance of a young girl, Howie travels to the remote island Summerisle where his strict Christian upbringing is immediately at odds with the free-loving and clothing-optional paganism of its inhabitants. What happened to the young Rowan Morrision – is she dead? Where’s the body? Why does no one seem to acknowledge her? And what’s with all the nude dancing? Howie is determined to get to the bottom of things and lay down the law, but what he discovers is that his law holds little sway with the populace, and his idea of a Christian God even less…
(full review here)
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Hoping for a new life, Leslie Doyle and her family move cross-country to try her hand as a mortician…as you do. The old abandoned Fowler Mortuary has seen some better days: the septic tank hasn’t been flushed in 50 years and there’s also rumors of a deformed mutant child roaming the graveyard to this day. They probably should have drained that septic tank as soon as they arrived because soon, weird vines start coming up and turning people into zombies – and yeah, there’s a large deformed ghoul running around too. It’s up to young Jonathan to save his family and kiss the girl, but since this is a Tobe Hooper film, things don’t go as planned…
(full review here)
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Kevin and Bobby are best friends, at that magical age where friendship means everything and girls aren’t yet on the horizon. Walking home from a baseball game in the woods they’re abducted, thrown into the trunk of car. Arriving at a solitary house the trunk is popped and Kevin is taken inside, leaving Bobby locked in. He manages to escape but the screams coming from inside the house stop him. Friends to the end, Bobby creeps back to the house to save Kevin from the monsters who took him. It’s a deadly game of cat and mouse as the boys try to get away from an all too real threat.
(full review here)
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Something has erupted in the waters off the coast of Tokyo. The government assumes volcanic activity or active vents on the sea floor, despite growing evidence of a large creature. When the massive leviathan emerges to cause havoc in the surrounding area, ministers and military and politicians of all stripes work through enormous amounts of red tape and bureaucratic bumbling to arrive at placating press conferences and restrictions in the name of government to move decisively, even as the creature evolves and grows to astonishing heights. What’s happening? How can it be stopped? Can young Rando Yaguchi cut through enough of the red tape to enact a plan to stop Gojira, the God Incarnate before the US-led forces decide another atomic bomb is just what’s needed to stop the creature – and the country – in its tracks?
(full review here)
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Poor Stanley Coopersmith. He’s an outcast welfare pickup at the nasty West Andover Military Academy, constantly picked on and never seeming to catch a break. Good thing Stanley found the black mass bible from excommunicated satanic priest Father Esteban, and uses computers to conjure up the devil to give him the power to overcome his bullies. Soon pigs go wild, people float, and bodies will accumulate. Serves you right for picking on poor Stanley!
(full review here)
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Next week is a complete grab bag…I don’t know WHAT I plan on watching next. Surprise for everyone!
Until then, keep it Blood Red.
– Chris
Nine Circles 