Horror Movie Talk

Terror Train is slasher set on a train during New Years Eve. That’s pretty much all you need to know.  @dgoebel00 on Instagram provided this amazing artwork. Follow him and check out his website. https://youtu.be/MLTllP-_i58 Synopsis It’s set in an alternate universe where people celebrate new years, by chartering a train for an eyes wide shut style costume party fuck fest, people never disclose pertinent life and death information, and David Copperfield is sexy.  At the opening of the film, we are introduced to a group of friends including the ring leader Doc (Hart Bochner), and a sorority sister, and final girl expert Jamie Lee Curtis playing Alana. By the way, this was shot only a year after the release of Jamie’s breakout role in Halloween. The beginning of the movie is set 3 years prior, on a fateful new years celebration where this group of friends punk-ed a fraternity pledge student so hard that he spun himself into an insane asylum. 3 Years later, during the train ride, the students start getting murdered by a mysterious… almost magical killer. Review or Terror Train I picked Terror Train because I was trying to find a horror movie set during New Year’s, and apparently the picking is very slim, because this is considered “the good one”. It isn’t. The plot, like most slashers, is incidental, and is held together by a thread composed of awful dialogue and terrible direction. I was honestly confused about what happened in the opening scene, because I didn’t know if I was supposed to understand that the dead body featured was a murder victim, or a medical school cadaver. I guess all we need to know is that the victim of the prank was pranked TOO HARD. The dialogue is truly laughably bad, it feels like the adlibbed lines in the fast forwarded parts of pornos. I was bored throughout the whole film, and not because I was tired, but because it was boring and dumb.  The most dread filled moment of the movie was when I checked the time code, and I had half of the movie left to watch. There were two things that almost saved the movie for me though. David Copperfield as the magician reminding me that only a magician can be as creepy as a magician. The ending was so dumb I laughed out loud. Score 2/10 Terror Train Add the Blu-ray to your collection or stream it now Buy Now Support Cinema 21 in Portland by buying merch or gift certificates at https://cinema-21.square.site/  Go to https://www.clarityincrazy.com/ and get 10% off your first order with the code: HORROR

We watched Krampus because it’s one of the biggest blockbuster releases in recent memory that is Christmas themed and for a PG-13 movie, it wraps a nice little present. @dgoebel00 on Instagram provided this amazing artwork. Follow him and check out his website. Watch Krampus Watch on Amazon Click here to Watch https://youtu.be/h6cVyoMH4QE Synopsis Krampus is the story of Max, a young boy who still believes in Santa, and his family who are visited by some bummer relatives.  As the relatives whittle on Max’s last nerve, he loses the Christmas spirit, which is the straw that breaks this town’s back in terms of being on Krampus’ good side. Or maybe a better way to explain it is to say, Max’s village loses their Krampus protection plan when he loses faith in Christmas. Krampus comes, bringing a slew of “helpers” and a devastating blizzard that seems to gut the entire town.  As Max and his family fight to survive, we learn the importance of family, and keeping the spirit of Christmas alive. Review Director Michael Dougherty, who brought us holiday themed cult classic Trick ‘r Treat has deigned to bestow this holiday themed treat upon us. Krampus is kind of like National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation if it included the fictional anti-santa myth, Krampus. It’s based around a “perfect family” and their super trashy relatives who show up and turn everything wrong. If that isn’t enough for you there is also a jack-in-the-box that resembles a massive worm that’s capable of eating people and a Krampus that looks like Satan and eats whole villages raw. While this is not the most impressive movie I’ve seen, it’s damn solid and very full of Christmas feels. It’s got lots of fun characters, and enough creepy imagery and tension to keep you on your toes while sippin’ on some nog. I can remember watching this in theaters and being somewhat surprised at how well it held my attention, but on second viewing I did lose interest around the ¾’s mark.  It does a decent job of not being too long and is a great movie to watch with kids who can handle really scary imagery, because it’s not terribly violent. Overall, if you are in need of a Christmas horror movie, I would say this, and Gremlins are the best choices when you have to keep your family entertained. Score 6/10 Final Recommendations If you have family over and want to watch something very Christmassy but also horrorish, Krampus is your jam. Keep your Christmas spirits up to keep him out of your face!

Better Watch Out is one of the strongest christmas themed horror movies of recent memory. It’s a unique viewing experience and worth your time this holiday season. @dgoebel00 on Instagram provided this amazing artwork. Follow him and check out his website. https://youtu.be/1BDxAsaoM1Y Better Watch Out is available on Shudder and various streaming platforms for free if you don’t mind ads. Synopsis Better Watch Out starts out as a home invasion thriller, and turns into something completely different. Young Lucas (Levi Miller) is a twelve year old that has the hots for his only five years older babysitter Ashley (Olivia DeJonge). He’s got a whole night planned out to seduce Ashley with horror movies and his mid-pubescent body.  As they are hanging out having pizza, someone starts terrorizing them. You won’t believe who it is. Click through to horrormovietalk.com to find out! Review of Better Watch Out This is a pleasant surprise of a home invasion movie. It stays on the well laid trope tracks until about third of the way through the film, then it goes off the tracks and then onto essentially the same tracks again. The concept was interesting, and they did do a lot with it. I think it could have gone farther with the set up and delay the twist a little longer. Another gripe was that the villain was way too broad a lot of the time. Score 7/10 Better Watch Out Add the Blu-ray to your collection or stream it now Buy Now Go to http://manscaped.com/ and get 20% off + free shipping with the code: HMT #manscapedpod  Go to okdrugs.co and get 10% off your first order with the code: HORROR

Dead End aims to finally answer the questions “are we there yet?” This is a tight package of a movie and the simplicity really sells it for me. @dgoebel00 on Instagram provided this amazing artwork. Follow him and check out his website. Watch Dead End Watch on Amazon Click here to Watch https://youtu.be/j_ihzCUh_k4 Synopsis Dead End is the story of a family who are on their way to their grandma’s house during Christmas Eve. Husband Frank (Ray Wise), Wife Laura (Lin Shaye), son Richard (Mick Cain), daughter Marion (Alexandra Holden) and her boyfriend William (William Rosenfeld) are pretty much the only characters throughout the majority of the movie. As they make their way down the road, things become strange when they pick up a women in white holding a baby.  Slowly, the passengers start to realize that this road doesn’t seem to end, and they are haunted by a terrible car that occasionally drives by. Review Dead End is a French movie by Directors Jean-Baptiste Andrea, and Fabrice Canepa and like so many French horror movies, it packs a punch. It remains off most people’s radar for reasons that elude me, because this is a special gem. Our blogger, Keith, reminded me of this vaguely Christmassy movie, and I knew I had to review it.  Dead End takes a car ride and slowly builds it from something mildly disconcerting to something so horrifying and perverse that I knew it was something special many years ago after I first watched it.  The dry comedy and believable characters add a charming element that make this something special.  When you add in the seemingly supernatural goings on around this road that they are driving on and the interesting twist at the end, I think you have a solid horror movie that is sure to make you laugh, and will stick with you in the grossest way possible. Score 8/10 Final Recommendations I really enjoy this movie because of how it handles comedy and the characters who are believable but kooky. While it’s not a well-known movie, I think it’s worth a watch because you probably won’t forget it, and that’s what we all love about horror movies.

Where did Remi Weekes come from, and why is he out of the gate, such an amazing horror director? That is the first question I have for this film. His House has instantly become one of my favorite horror movies. That may seem like hyperbole, but I have legit not seen anything like this film, and have rarely felt the same amount of emotion while watching a horror movie. @dgoebel00 on Instagram provided this amazing artwork. Follow him and check out his website. https://youtu.be/DYY0QJhlXjc His House can be found only on Netflix. Synopsis Two Sudanese refugees Rial (Wunmi Mosaku) and Bol (Sope Dirisu) arrive in the UK after a perilous journey. After a stay in a detention center, they are granted asylum and a new place to live, which they are assured isn’t just a shit hole, it’s a palatial shithole. They are given a set of rules that all refugees are given to maintain their status, that being, they are only to live off the meager wage the gov’t provides and not seek employment, and to definitely not move away from their apartment. The couple who have definitely seen some shit… start seeing shit in the apartment. Soon it is apparent that there is an evil force preying on them. Review of His House Without hyperbole, this is one of the best horror movies I have ever seen. I’m reminded of my experience with Hereditary, where I asked myself, “How is this director so good on his first film and where did he come from?”. The main difference between Hereditary and this film, is that I don’t think I’ve ever seen a horror movie like His House before. Sure, at its core, it is a haunted house movie, but the aesthetic and subject material are uniquely new to me. The best horror movies in my opinion are those that have a human core, that focus on character and relationships while drawing a line to real horrors that people experience every day. Rosemary’s Baby uses the fear of the unknown and social pressure during pregnancy. The Exorcist uses the terror of having an undiagnosable, severely sick child. The Shining uses Jack Nicolson. In this film, it uses the lived experiences of refugees of war torn countries and the trauma associated with it. This is exactly the type of storytelling that the horror genre excels at. It amplifies real human emotions and fears to the level of overload, resulting in a uniquely empathetic experience. I’m very excited to talk about this movie, and also excited to see what Remi Weekes, the director will do next.  Score 10/10 Go to http://manscaped.com/ and get 20% off + free shipping with the code: HMT #manscapedpod  Go to okdrugs.co and get 10% off your first order with the code: HORROR

This is the final episode of the series, and it focuses on the Red Room and how everyone finally escapes the pull of the dreaded Hill House.

In this episode we finally learn what happened “that night” with Liv and the Red Room.

This episode marks the beginning of the end of the series. Luke has gone missing, It’s Halloween, and while Steve and Hugh try to find Luke, Theo and Shirley deal with some nefarious goings on at the mortuary.

In this episode Hugh Crain tries to slowly make amends with his estranged family and we learn more of the history of the Hill House from the groundskeeper. Also, black mold is bad. The Haunting of Hill House

In episode six, Two Storms we get to witness the most impressive technical achievement of the series, the long-shot cinematic cuts of this episode. We also get to see two storms, one in the present day and one set in Hill House. These storms did a great deal to shape the characters, and this episode does a great job of showing that this series is more than just stellar writing and character development.