Trick r' Treat (2007)

Happy Halloween! What better film to review on such a holiday other than “Trick r’ Treat”!? This film is perhaps the best anthology ever made, rivaling even the original “Creepshow”. This movie blends the various story arcs in and out of each other with ample ease and grace, and it takes several viewings of this movie to catch all of the subtle details. Each story arc is solid and entertaining, a rare thing to find in an anthology; this might be because the writer and director are the same person, Michael Dougherty, instead of having a writer and possible director for each story. A sequel was recently announced!

One storyline is about a couple returning from various Halloween festivities. They are seen all around town throughout the other stories. Emma hates the holiday and is ready to be done with it while Henry loves it. While Henry is getting ready for bed and sexy-time, Emma is outside taking down decorations. While doing so, she is attacked and killed and when she doesn’t come back in, Henry goes out and finds her mutilated corpse hanging from a scarecrow.

The next story is about a Principal Wilkins who teaches a troubling making child to follow the rules of Halloween. This story has a brief introduction of Principal Wilkins neighbor, Mr. Kreeg.

The third storyline is about a group of teens who gather carved jack-o-lanterns and bring them to an old rock quarry. Here, local legend has it that a bus driver was bribed to drive eight troubled special-needs children off the cliff, but no one knows for sure whatever happened to the bus driver. While there, a prank gets goes terribly wrong and the teens must pay the price.

The fourth storyline is about Laurie, a 22 year old virgin who is being pressured by her older sister and her friends to find someone for the night. While the other girls are having fun at a party, Laurie meets a killer dressed as a vampire, but little does he know….

The final story arc is about Principal Wilkins neighbor, the hermit-like Mr. Kreeg. He hates everything, including Halloween, so when the spirit of the holiday arrives in the embodiment of Sam, the two go head to head. If only Mr. Kreeg knew the rules of the holiday as well as his neighbor!

V/H/S 2 (2013)

“V/H/S 2” is a vastly superior film when compared to the first anthology. This movie isn’t perfect but it was enjoyable and had a stronger connecting story. A typical problem with P.O.V films are the moments when the person filming the violent, intense events instead of running for their lives…or at least dropping the camera so they can actually get away. This happens more than once in this collection but there are some moments in the stories where it makes perfect sense!

The connecting story is about a couple of private investigators who are hired to find out what happened to a missing college student. They go to his house and find a room with a laptop and various VHS tapes. The girlfriend stays and watches clips from the laptop which shows the missing boy as well as a couple of the tapes while her boyfriend searches the rest of the house (sounds familiar, right???). It turns out that the missing student wants to star in his own VHS tape and has plans for the two investigators.

The first story line is about a man who suffered a horrible eye accident and has his eye replaced. As a part of a clinical study, the artificial eye is recording everything that he sees. But now he starts to see ghosts and soon a girl who had her hearing fixed by the same clinic goes to his house and explains that she can hear the ghosts. She wants to help him but ends up dying and the more he sees, the more aggressive the visions become.

The second story line, directed by Eduardo Sanchez (director of “The Blair Witch Project”), is about a man who loves to ride his bike through a large local park. One day while riding, he comes across a girl who is acting strangely. She’s strange because she’s a zombie and she bites him. He tries to ride away but soon the infection takes over and he falls to the ground. Soon two other bicyclists come and find him on the ground just as he fully turns into a zombie. He injures them and they turn. The three of them, along with other zombies in the park, walk upon a family birthday party in progress. The zombies attack, the children scream as parents are torn asunder or try to drive away with the kids. Some party people have guns and begin fighting back. The bike rider sees himself in a mirror as well as gets a phone call from his wife. With the last bits of humanity left within, he shoots himself in the head. The event was recorded by a camera that was strapped to his bike helmet.

The third story is about a documentary team filming a suicide cult in Indonesia who claims that it’s time to be reborn. The film crew goes to the cult’s compound and witnesses all sorts of disturbing behavior. The crew becomes split up right when the “moment of truth” occurs and they watch or suffer the results.

The fourth and final story line is also the weakest and least interesting in the anthology, which is about a group of kids at a sleep over and an older sister and her boyfriend who become targets of an alien abduction.

"Phase 1 Clinical Trials"

 "A Ride in the Park"

"Safe Haven"

"Slumber Party Alien Abduction"

Trilogy of Terror (1975)

The “Trilogy of Terror” is the only anthology that doesn’t have a connecting story and it’s the first Made-for-TV movie that I’ve reviewed so far. This movie was developed as a TV series pilot that was later passed over. It stars Karen Black in four different roles and was written by Richard Matheson. The first two stories were mediocre at best with disappointing endings that failed to shock. The third story, on the other hand, is highly regarded as one of the scariest moments ever seen in a Made-for-TV movie and it’s the only reason why I’m reviewing this film instead of John Carpenter’s “Body Bag”….(yawn).

The first story is about a college student that asks his teacher out on a date, drugs her and takes pictures of her, and then blackmails her into doing whatever he wants. But after a few weeks, the teacher tells the student that she has become tired of him and the entire experience was of her design. He’s shocked and dies after drinking a poisoned beverage. She burns down his apartment and makes it all look like an accident.

The second story is about two sisters who are the polar opposite of each other. One day the prudish one decides to kill the sexy one, but the only problem is that they happen to be the same person who is suffering from a split personality syndrome.

The third and by far greatest story of the trilogy is about a young woman who buys her boyfriend a Zuni fetish doll that has a warning to never remove the golden chain that it wears because it keeps the killer spirit that’s trapped within under control. Of course the chain falls off and the Zuni doll comes to life, attacking the woman over and over again. She tries to kill it in various ways but nothing works. Finally, she manages to trap it inside her oven where it burns to death…only to become a cloud of black smoke that she inhales when she opens the oven. The woman becomes possessed with the killer spirit and waits for the next victim to come along.

Author's Note - MOVIES YOU MUST SEE and my 200th Review!

Time flies by when you’re having fun and I am having an incredibly fun time watching and reviewing horror movies every day. Over the past 100 reviews I’ve discovered how amazing and freaky French Horror films can be (my newest love without a doubt!), I’ve seen many new films that have come out over the past couple of years, as well as having the chance to revisit some of my favorite horror movies from my youth. From zombies and vampires, to remakes and sequels, I feel like I’ve covered a lot of ground. But there are still many great titles left on my list of films to watch and review, so beware!

I also discovered that a friend of mine has her own horror blog! You should take a look a get a second opinion!
http://horrorhabit.blogspot.com/

Here are the films that I strongly believe that you NEED to see if you love horror! See these NOW!!!!

1.       “Martyrs” – Listed as one of Scarecrow Videos most disturbing movies in their collection, this gem explores the depravity that humans can inflict upon each other.

http://hauntingchillingthrilling.blogspot.com/2013/07/martyrs-2008.html

2.       “Inside” – A horrifying French film about a pregnant woman who is attacked ruthlessly by an unknown, scissor wielding stranger.

http://hauntingchillingthrilling.blogspot.com/2013/09/inside-2007.html

3.       “Insidious” – Another gem from director James Wan and Leigh Whannal, this time dealing with a little boy who becomes possessed.

http://hauntingchillingthrilling.blogspot.com/2013/08/insidious-2011.html

4.       “Insidious 2” – A thrilling non-stop ride that picks up right where the original leaves off.

http://hauntingchillingthrilling.blogspot.com/2013/10/insidious-2-2013.html

5.       “Rammbock” – A unique look at residents trapped in their apartments during a zombie apocalypse in Berlin.

http://hauntingchillingthrilling.blogspot.com/2013/09/rammbock-berlin-undead-2010.html

6.       “Dead Snow” – Zombie Nazis!!

http://hauntingchillingthrilling.blogspot.com/2013/09/dead-snow.html

7.       “We Are What We Are” – A dark and haunting story about a family who practices a cannibalistic ritual once every year.

http://hauntingchillingthrilling.blogspot.com/2013/10/we-are-what-we-are-2013.html

8.       “The Conjuring” – James Wan and his film about Ed and Lorraine Warren and their investigation of the hauntings at the home of the Perron family.

http://hauntingchillingthrilling.blogspot.com/2013/10/the-conjuring-2013.html

"

"Martyrs"

"Inside"

"Insidious"

"Insidious 2"

"Rammbock"

"Dead Snow"

 "We Are What We Are"

"The Conjuring"

Creepshow (1982)

“Creepshow” may be one of the better horror anthologies around. It might not be the best but it’s pretty damn good! It was directed by George A Romero and written by Stephen King, this collection of short horror stories offers interesting story arcs, screenshots that resemble old time horror comic book panels, and acting that is purposely over the top so that it feels like a comic book. The cast is packed full of famous actors of the time and they all give great performances. This one of the earliest horror movies that I saw from beginning to end and it remains one of films that I have the fondest memories of, that is why I thrilled to have this movie featured as my 200^th review!

The first story, “Father’s Day”, is about a rich patriarch who acquired his wealth through unsavory deeds, who is then killed by his aged daughter who was left to take care of him on Father’s Day. On the anniversary of the murder, the surviving relatives gather to “pay respects’ but are killed off one by one by his reanimated, revenge filled corpse.

“The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill” stars Stephen King as Jordy, a down on his luck farmer who has a meteorite crash into his barren corn field. Jordy touches the meteorite cracks and is immediately burned by it and is now infected by a fast growing plant “virus”. His dreams of wealth and fame are dashed when the meteorite cracks. He goes into his house and laments his loss as the infection slowly overtakes him. He only makes matters worse when he takes a bath, dooming the transformation.

The third story, “Something to Tide You Over”, is about a wealthy man named Richard who finds out that his wife Becky is cheating on him with a man named Harry. Richard coerces Harry into joining him on a drive to the beach where Richard forces Harry to dig a hole in the sand and bury himself. Richard leaves a TV set on the beach that shows that Becky is also buried up to her head on the beach and is about to be drowned by the incoming tide. Both Harry and Becky die, only to come back and have their revenge on their happy-go-lucky killer.

The fourth story, “The Crate”, is the most in depth piece of the anthology, focusing on both a mysterious crate found in the basement of a university and the vicious beast that’s trapped inside…for over 148 years, and the dysfunctional relationship with a meek professor and his overbearing wife.

The fifth story, “They’re Creeping Up on You” is the most memorable piece, about a wealthy, ruthless business man with a fear of germs who lives in a secluded New York penthouse. He watches as the city is suffering from a massive black out, as well as receiving threatening phone calls from those who he has wrong. Over the course of the story, cockroaches, one by one, begin invading his sealed environment. When the power goes out in his building, the bugs begin to take over until they drive the miser to his death.

The overlapping storyline is about a boy who loves reading horror comics but is yelled and at slapped by his disapproving father. The boy gets his revenge by ordering a voodoo doll and sticking it with a pin over and over again….

Father's Day Cake!

Poor Jordy

Sea-Zombie Becky and Harry

The Yeti from the Crate!!

 Voodoo doll

V/H/S (2012)

I was really excited to see “V.H.S” and I am still unable to express how disappointed I was after I saw it. I was bored and uninterested during most of the movie and this feeling grew as the movie dragged on and on. I was only amused by two of the six shorts and they happened to have been at the beginning of the film. Overall the scripts were weak and the acting was even weaker. The effects were fine and I was thrilled to see some of the clever uses of the devices that gave a P.O.V perspective but there was one story that wasn’t even from the point of view of a video recorder of any kind?!? This was a great concept that just didn’t pan out.

The first and wrap around connecting story is about a group of punks who are hired to burglarize a house and return with a specific VHS tape. They go to the house and find a messy room with stacks of tapes and an old dead man. One of the kids stays and begins watching different tapes while the others searched the other rooms. The old man turns out to be in a zombie-like state and kills the intruders.

The second story, “Amateur Night”, is the strongest of the set. It’s seen through the eyes of a guy wearing a pair of Google Glasses which records everything that he sees. His friends are trying their best to hook him up with a girl for the night. While at a club, he meets a quiet girl who only says “I like you”. They take her and another girl back to a hotel room where they begin to have sex. One girl is drunk and passes out, leaving the quiet girl alone with the three guys. The two friends try to have sex with her while the main character watches; suddenly the quiet girl changes, developing scales and a weird face. The quiet girl is in a murderous mood and only wants the shy boy, repeating over and over “I like you”.

The third story, “Second Honeymoon”, is about Sam and Stephanie, a married couple travelling around a desert “Western” area. While they sleep, a stranger uses their video camera and films themselves going through their belongings. This happens a few times until things turn violent.

“Tuesday the 17^th” is an odd piece about a group of friends being killed off by a killer who is all blurry. This is the section that is not POV.

Yawn……

“The Sick Thing That Happened to Emily When She Was Younger” is a piece that is about a couple that is using Skype to talk to each other. The girl is having strange things happen at her apartment and has a weird bruise. The boyfriend pretends that he cares but he knows what’s really going on.

“10/31/98” is about a group of guys and their experience in a haunted house.

"I like you"

Tales from the Darkside: The Movie (1990)

“Tales From the Darkside: The Movie” is a fun anthology that has three great acts that are connected together with a cute “Hansel and Gretel” style story about a boy who is biding his time from the evil witch that wants to cook him as the main course for a dinner party. What’s noticeable about this film is that the cast consisted of some established actors as well as a few who were just cutting their teeth and have risen to stardom since then such as Steve Buscemi and Julianne Moore. The make-up and special effects are fine considering when this film was made although the gargoyles in the third act look too much like puppets to be effectively scary.

The first story arc is an adaption of Author Conan Doyle’s story “Lot 249” about a graduate student (Steve Buscemi) who uses a mummy to exact revenge against those who have wronged him.

The second story arc is an adaption of Stephen King’s short story “The Cat from Hell” about a hit man who is hired by an eccentric owner of a pharmaceutical company who is being terrorized by a black cat.

The third story arc is an adaption of an old Japanese ghost legend Yuki-Onna, about a painter who witnesses a gargoyle murdering a human. The gargoyle is about to kill the painter but spares his life, making him promise to never tell anyone about this moment; if he ever breaks the promise, the gargoyle will find him and kill him. The painter promises but how long can he keep this secret?

The witch and her dinner

The Gargoyle and the painter

Cat's Eye (1985)

“Cat’s Eye” is a collection of three stories that were written by Stephen King and includes a cat that’s eventually named General in the third act. General only makes brief appearances in the first two stories but when he is seen, there is usually a subtle reference to a previous Stephen King film; in one scene General is being chased by a St. Bernard and in another one he’s almost ran over by a car that is similar to Christine.

The first act is known as “Quitter’s Inc”, a company that resorts to unusual but effective methods of ensuring that their clients quit smoking. Starring James Woods as Dick, he becomes a client of the unique company. It’s only after he joins that he learns that his wife and daughter will be subjected to horrific punishments for his relapses.

The second act is known as “The Ledge”, Robert Hays plays Johnny, a professional tennis player who is sleeping with the wife of a mob boss. The boss finds out but instead of killing Johnny outright, he makes a bet with him. If Johnny can walk around the outside of the apartment, clinging to a narrow ledge, the crime boss will divorce his wife so the two can live happily together. If Johnny declines the bet, then the boss will have Johnny arrested and framed for possession of drugs, ruining his career. Leaving Johnny with very little choice, he begins to walk around the ledge….

The third and final act is called “General”, which about the cat who is taken in by Drew Barrymore who gives him his name. Her parents don’t like the cat but she convinces them to let her keep him. At night, a tiny troll sneaks into her room and tries to steal her breath. General stops him but is seen as the aggressor by her parents and thrown out. Without her protector, the troll tries again to kill the young girl. But General didn’t cross half the country to give up now…

 Smoking in not allowed!

The troll and his bloody knife!

Grrrr

Johnny and the mob boss

General attacking the troll

Author's Note - Anthologies

Some of my favorite horror moments come from short pieces that are collected in anthologies. Anthologies themselves can be very hit or miss and I prefer the ones that have an over-arching storyline to tie everything together; all of the movies I’m reviewing this week are of this nature except for “Trilogy of Terror”, which has one of the most memorable stories around. A proper anthology will showcase established directors and a star-studded cast; Stephen King and George A Romero were involved in one way or another in a few anthology projects that I have enjoyed.

Carrie (2013)

The 2013 version of “Carrie” is a well-made remake that is able to modernize the film while keeping the heart of the story. This version doesn’t feel outdated (but it might be in 30 years, who knows?) and keeps its scenes brief and to the point. It also follows the novel a bit more than the original movie does which helps to flesh out the characters thoroughly. The visual effects are believable and effective for the most part; the only part that I found a little hokey was the scene in the restroom and the floating pieces of glass. While Sissy Spacek and Piper Laurie made had the perfect dysfunctional abused/abuser relationship, Chloe Grace Mortez and Julianne Moore had compelling chemistry as well. The remake did have a stronger supporting cast, a cast that could actually act and looked to be near the ages of the characters that they were portraying, the characters Chris, Sue, and her boyfriend Tommy were the most improved upon in comparison to the 1976 version.

Favorite remade scene – The chaos of the prom scene is more vicious and intense as well as believable.

The girls mocking and teases Carrie

Carrie and Mother praying after the prom

Carrie at the prom

Carrie walking home,

The Conjuring (2013)

One of the surprise hits of the 2013 Summer line up was "The Conjuring", a little 20 million dollar budget film that managed to bring in over 300 million at the box office. Directed by the incredible James Wan and staring one of his regular actors, Patrick Wilson, "The Conjuring" is a clever, scary horror movie is about Ed and Lorraine Warren, real life paranormal investigators, and one of their encounters while investigating the home of the Perron Family. Along with Patrick Wilson, the movie stars Lili Taylor, Ron Livingston, and Vera Farmiga. The movie has a great script, beautiful and effect scenes, and some of the best practical effects I've seen in a horror movie in a very long time. The use of digital effects is kept to a minimum which allows the other effects to feel real. This film is intense and unforgiving and is smart enough to avoid out right gore or extreme violence. I think it's great that James Wan came out with two superb horror movies in the same year and that he was able to make them almost equally as intense while having one rated be "R" and the other "PG-13".

"The Conjuring" follows Ed and Lorraine Warren as they go about their lives teaching classes about their paranormal research and investigations as well as solving two distinct cases. The first case involves a doll that was allowed to be possessed by a demonic force. The Warrens take the doll, Annabel, to their home and add it to their vast collection of demonic and haunted artifacts for safe keeping. The second and prominent case revolves around the Perrons, a large family of two parents and five daughters, who move into an old farmhouse in Harrisville, Rhode Island. Strange occurrences and frightening disturbances are witnessed by the family, including unexplained bruises that appear over the mother's body. When the mother, Carolyn, reaches out to the Warren's, they agree to go to the farmhouse and take a look. Lorraine immediately sees that there is a sinister force that has already attached itself to the family. With the help of the Warrens and their assistants, the Perron family attempts to stay strong and survive the ordeal at being at the mercy of an ancient evil...

Favorite moment - I love the scene when Ed Warren is showing the artifact room to a reporter and explaining that they keep the items here, where the room is blessed weekly by a priest, because destroying the items would only release the evil trapped within.

 Annabel, the possessed doll

 Ed Warren and the vision that only his wife can see...

Lorraine Warren trying to help during the exorcism 

Lords of Salem (2012)

Like every other movie Rob Zombie has directed after “House of 1000 Corpses”, “Lords of Salem” is a clever idea that fails to deliver. This time around, Zombie has written a story that has less gore, less out right violence, and tries to make his characters more grounded and believable. His penchant for focusing on the film’s villains is still present, as the main character is slowly seduced as she becomes the newest member of a modern day witch coven. While his wife, Sheri Moon Zombie, gives a better-than-expected performance in this film and the rest of the horror star-studded cast do a thorough job as well, the overall chemistry still falls flat somehow. This is Rob Zombie's first original film that is easily accessible to a mainstream audience.

Heidi is a DJ at a radio station in Salem, Massachusetts. She receives a mysterious record that she decides to play on the air, even though it clearly does not fit with the station’s normal style or rotation; the track is a recording of witches chanting. While Heidi is befriended and brain washed by three modern day witches, a local historian is following his gut feelings and trying to find out who the “Lords of Salem” really are.

Favorite moment - Realizing that one of the modern day witches is Patrica Quinn (Magenta from "The Rocky Horror Picture Show)!!! 

Modern Witches

A Salem Witch's Execution

Heidi and the Beast

A possessed Heidi