movies

Blood Red: Hooptober 6(66) – Week Three

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blood red 2019 week 3

We’ve hit the halfway point in films for Hooptober 2019, and the drive to see blood-drenched visceral horror has yet to abate.  In fact, maybe it’s gotten a bit stronger, because this week’s outings were light on any actual terror.  Between the jump to a more action oriented tone in It: Chapter Two and the tongue-in-cheek humor embedded in the core of both Bride of Re-Animator and the first two Slumber Party Massacre films horror didn’t feel like the first priority.  As for the abominable Miner’s Massacre, well…the less said the better.

So grab your glowing hypodermic and let’s jump in. Continue reading →

Blood Red: Hooptober 6(66) – Week Two

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blood red 2019 week 2

Strolling into the second week brought a few surprises to Hooptober 2019.  Who in the world would have suspected I would find and genuinely enjoy some subversion in Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives?  And that a classic Universal Monster film like The Mummy’s Tomb would be the weakest film in the bunch?  In between we have some strong outings from Australia in the giant mutant gore of Boar, the slick and dream-like French giallo Knife+Heart, and we finally learn what those chair towers are all about in the French Canadian “zombie” apocalypse Ravenous.

It’s been a full week, so grab your rosary and your preferred religious text and let’s jump in. Continue reading →

Blood Red: Hooptober 6(66) – Week One

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blood red 6 week 1

Like every Hooptober, the first week brings in some of the best films…and some of the worst.  On one side of the spectrum you have the emotionally punishing Lynchian warp of Andrzej Żuławski’s Possession and the beautifully fragile horror fantasy of Issa Lopez’s Tigers Are Not Afraid.  On the other hand you have, well…Hobgoblins.  In between there are various levels of good (and bad) with both Deliver Us From Evil and Dracula’s Daughter, but in the end I have to once again call it a crap-shoot.

So come on in and check out the week’s wares for Hooptober 2019.  Watch the creaky step and the things that go bump in the night. Continue reading →

Blood Red: Hoop-Tober 6(66) is Back to Haunt You With the Chair Tower

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blood red 6(66) kickoff

Walk a little faster. Try not to think about the ominous sounds of gnawing coming from the dark, or the disjointed, wicked shadows splayed on walls lit only by a dim and fast fading street light. And whatever you do, for God’s sake don’t look behind you as Blood Red returns once again, coming closer and closer… Continue reading →

Blood Red: Hoop-Tober 5.0 – Week Four

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blood red hoop-tober 2018 week four

Ok…on the reviewing side I’m definitely starting to feel the burnout now that I’m 20 films into the annual Hoop-Tober horror marathon.  But the good news is the good is definitely outweighing the bad this week With films ranging from “meh but worth it” to “oh crap totally worth it” on the spectrum of watchability.  Joe Dante more than cashed in on the success of Jaws by crafting in Piranha a wickedly fun chomp-fest that has its tongue planted firmly in cheek without sacrificing some tense, gore-filled moments.  I satisfied my Barbara Crampton requirement by checking out the nostalgia-filled Beyond the Gates, which has its moments of fun recalling the heyday of VHS board games but it’s really the score by Wojciech Golczewski that satisfies.  The Strangers isn’t normally the type of horror I go for, but I’m glad I tried it, because the simplicity of its approach and the craft on hand both in front of and behind the camera made for a chilling, thrilling experience to watch.  Netflix has quietly been amassing a plethora of independent horror films to release under its banner, but Gareth Edwards’ follow-up to his Raid films is a masterclass of crazed  religious fever.  Apostle might be Dan Stevens best performance yet, sacrificing none of Edwards’ gore and action for a nasty take on The Wicker Man.  And finally Jaws 2 shows that by turning the shark into essentially a slasher killer and giving us copious amounts of Roy Scheider and Keith Gordon is an okay replacement for a great movie.

Two weeks and 11 films to go, so let’s wade through the viscera tunnel that is this week’s review excerpts and get to it.   Continue reading →