Horror Movie Talk

We saw Terrified AKA Aterrados on Shudder (it’s a Shudder exclusive) and goddammit, it was a scary ride. This is an Argentinian horror film that knows how to terrify you – and holy jesus is it a blast! This movie is worth the price of entry and then some, if you are a horror fan you must check it out! Also, if you are a horror fan, you should check out Mondo’s Hottest Horror Products Now! Terrified (Aterrados) Overview Terrified is an 87 minute powerhouse of scares that skips all the story and exposition, instead choosing to head straight for the meat on the bone – scares. It utilizes a super-interesting format that allows it to focus on a few different story lines at once. As the movie progresses the story lines intertwine into a cohesive web of terror. https://youtu.be/Svhmi1wTs-A Terrified introduces us to a neighborhood that is plagued by an infection of sorts. The symptoms of this infection include the dead brought to life, strange creatures that resemble corpses, and invisible/visible spooks that seem to live in the dark corners of houses and apartments. A team of researchers and cops spend a night in the three houses affected by this plague and end up finding more than they bargained for. Check out Our Review of Evil Dead (2013) https://www.horrormovietalk.com/2019/05/01/evil-dead-2013-review/ Terrified is remarkably effective at what it sets out to do – scare. It utilizes some great camera work, sound design, acting, and visual effects to produce a real terror of a film. It doesn’t pretend to be anything it’s not, and as a result the viewer doesn’t get much of a chance to breathe. It’s tight, and it gave me real scares, which seem to be hard to find anymore. Our Score 9/10 Join Shudder to Watch Terrified Use code “HMT” at checkout for a 30 day free trial Watch on Shudder Terrified (Aterrados) Spoiler Terrified starts out in a couple’s apartment. Juan (Agustín Rittano) and Clara (Natalia Señorales) are plagued by what they believe to be their neighbor hammering on some DIY project every morning at 5 AM. After a couple mornings, Juan wakes up to his bed empty of Clara, but the hammering is still in full swing. Juan walks outside and buzzes the intercom in his neighbor, Walter’s (Demián Salomón) front yard. No one answers, just heavy breathing. As he walks back into his house and into the bathroom he witnesses his partner levitating, lifeless, and vertical in the bath, being slammed back and forth between the two, tiled walls. Check Out Our Review of Pet Sematary (2019) https://www.horrormovietalk.com/2019/04/10/pet-sematary-2019-review/ The focus then changes, and we get to see a bit of their neighbor, Walter’s week. Walter lives alone in this duplex he shares with Clara and Juan – or so he hopes. Walter seemingly lives in constant fear and mental anguish of something else inhabiting his house. Something is constantly unplugging his nightstand lamp and alarm clock, things move throughout the house, and Walter appears to be on high alert. As the viewers, we are granted a look at the thing that lives in Walter’s duplex with him. Check out Our Review of Us https://www.horrormovietalk.com/2019/03/27/us-movie-review/ Finally, a small child is killed when coming too close to Walter’s apartment. The child rises from the grave and makes his way back home to take his place at the dining table, a decomposing little boy. His mother, Alicia, is understandably beside herself and contacts the authorities, who show up to investigate. Want to Watch Terrified? Click the button to watch it on Amazon Watch Terrified At this point the three storylines morph into one when two detectives and a paranormal investigator who had been called by Walter when he was of semi-sane mind. The three decide to spend a night in the three houses in question and find quite a bit more than they bargained for. Deadly Serious Slasher Fan? Check Out our Child’s Play Review! https://www.horrormovietalk.com/2019/06/24/childs-play-1988-review/ Terrified (Aterrados) Sound Design The sound and sound design in Terrified is fabulous, and really understand how to work around tension and scares. Terrified (Aterrados) Camera Work The camera work is adept and is great at building tension with slow, back and forth panning shots that work to block the viewers at key points in the tension builds. Terrified (Aterrados) Final Recommendations and Summation This movie does not need lots of exposition, story, or plot. This is a vehicle to scare the shit out of you and it works. The subtitles don’t get in the way one bit. If you are a jaded horror fan that just want’s something unnerving and spooky to scare you, Terrified is your jam.

Muuuuuuhhhhh the Frensh Champangg This week we chose to give a quick summary of every movie that we haven’t reviewed, but have watched over the past few months. Within, you will find a quick summary of each movie, and our opinion on whether or not it’s worth your time. Not a lot to say on this episode, guys and gals. Next week we will be back up with our normal format. Thanks for the support, remember to share the pod with a friend! Like Episodes Like This? Check Out The Beginnings of HMT! https://www.horrormovietalk.com/2018/11/01/the-horrific-beginnings-of-horror-movie-talk/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fs5YwFONswQ Make sure to check out our favorite drop…Orson Welles killing it in this commercial shoot.

Greta is an anagram for great, which this film is not. In this episode of Horror Movie Talk, we discuss this new thriller out in theaters starring Isabelle Huppert and Chloë Grace Moretz. Later on we do a round of Taglines and cover the most recent horror movie news. Greta Movie Synopsis Greta is one of those films that gives you pretty much everything in the trailer. You can pretty much figure out everything that happens in the movie by rearranging the sequence of the shots in the trailer to the most logical sequence of events. https://youtu.be/WAEoJkL_8zU Greta is directed by Neil Jordan and tell the story of Frances McCullen (Chloë Grace Moretz), a young woman that comes across a lost purse on the subway and being a good Samaritan, she returns it to its owner Greta Hildeg (Isabelle Huppert). The two strike a quick surrogate mother/daughter friendship and start spending time with one another. Frances soon discovers that the purse was really a ploy that Greta has used many times before to lure in young women into her orbit. She gets progressively creeped out  and discovers Greta’s evil secrets too late to save herself. Want To Watch It? Click the button to watch Greta on Amazon Watch Greta Review of Greta (2019) Greta is an ok film with good acting, but heavily contrived danger. If you can get scared by middle aged, slight, 5’3” women, this movie will terrify you. If you, like me, realize pretty much anyone short of a child could immediately overpower her, it loses some of it’s edge. The real power of this movie is when it focuses on the creep factor of having a stalker that progressively gets more threatening as she is pushed away. This isn’t a horror movie, but it does have some ok gore and some genuine darkness in the third act. It was entertaining enough, but never really grabbed me. Score for Greta 4/10 Greta Add the Greta Blu-Ray to your collection Buy on Amazon Spoilers Expand for spoilers As stated before, there aren’t a lot of spoilers to be had with this movie. The only mystery left is “what does Greta do with the girls?” and “why does Greta do this?” Both questions have unsatisfying answers. She imprisons them in a hidden room (or a box for punishment) until a replacement comes along and she kills them Because she’s crazy The official tagline for this movie is “Who is Greta?” So I guess that is supposed to be an interesting spoiler as well. The answer is she is a Hungarian woman posing as a sophisticated French woman. Because reasons. Check Out Our Review of Susperia 2018! https://www.horrormovietalk.com/2018/11/07/suspiria-2018-review/ Of note, this is the second Hungarian villain in the last month of episodes. The Prodigy also featured a Hungarian serial killer. The main draw back of this movie is that the character of Frances is smart enough to immediately recognize danger when she discover’s Greta’s multiple purses, but to dumb to know when to break a window to escape. Final Recommendations for Greta This would be a decent date movie, but you might want to wait till it’s on Netflix. Videos and Trailers Mentioned in Episode 33 of Horror Movie Talk https://youtu.be/VFevH5vP32s Muhuuuh the Frensh! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCx-M8dcDhk Boo Box scene in Hook featuring Glen Close https://youtu.be/cfaDM0Os_Qc Pet Sematary Trailer Mentioned in Horror Movie News Segment https://youtu.be/ZsBO4b3tyZg New Hellboy Red Band Trailer mentioned in Horror Movie News Segment https://youtu.be/gukMGtZoaKk IT: Chapter Two Spoilers from Jessica Chastain https://youtu.be/27RtJp-rhHk Hail Satan? documentary trailer mentioned in Horror Movie Talk segment https://youtu.be/I0UWIya-O0s Midsommar Trailer mentioned in Horror Movie Talk segment

We watched Summer of 84 on Shudder, and it was nostalgia-rific. Teenager Davey Armstrong is mired in conspiracy theories and the Weekly World News stories. Davey begins to suspect that a neighboring police officer is a serial killer who targets kids in the Cape May Oregon area (which is made up) called, “The Cape May Slayer. With some help from his friends, Davey begins investigating the perp, which eventually turns into a dangerous game of cat and mouse. Summer of 84 Overview Summer of 84 was a pretty fun nostalgia trip. This isn’t as crazy or pandering as movies like Turbo Kid, or Ready Player One,  which seeks to pile on all the nostalgia they can. Instead, this movie takes a close look at a boring old summer turned exciting, aka dangerous. It’s very similar in feel to Stranger Things. It’s basically a Stranger Things remake of Rear Window. https://youtu.be/vkalLfx229o While it slumps a bit in the middle, it holds up well and is able to pull off a high-quality production. In fact all of the Shudder exclusives I’ve watched so far have been worth my time. Want To Watch It? Click the Button to Watch Summer of 84 Watch it on Amazon My Score 7/10 Summer of 84 Spoilers To me, it’s always impressive when a movie seeks to create a new town that doesn’t exist in real life, and Ipswich, Oregon is no different. I’m a Washingtonian, but I live right next to Oregon and have most of my life, and I was tricked by Summer of 84 into believing that not only Ipswich existed, but it’s geographical location of Cape May existed when it does not. This speaks to the authentic feeling that this movie portrays. It’s authentic in its location, and in the believable characters. Check Out Our Review of Overlord! https://www.horrormovietalk.com/2018/11/14/overlord-review/ The sets were done well, which is always impressive to me in these period piece movies, even if the period is only the 80’s. The soundtrack is pretty much what you would expect it to be with lots of edgy, synth wave and Kavinsky-esque tracks in the original score. Let’s take a look at the main character, Davey (played by Graham Verchere of The Good Doctor). Davey is the quintessential 80’s movie star character – think Elliot in E.T. The Extraterrestrial. He’s slight of build, he’s relatable to the every-man, dorks but not jocks, and basically the human equivalent of vanilla ice cream. Davey’s three friends fill the appropriate roles: you have the nerd, Curtis (played by Cory Gruter-Andrew), the bad boy Tommy (played by Judah Lewis of The Babysitter), and fatty, fatty two by four Dale (played by Caleb Emery). These friends provide all the humor in the movie via boys-will-be-boys styles masturbation and your mom jokes. The humor is juvenile, but it feels like it’s in the right place. The next door neighbor/heart-throb is Nikki (played by the beautiful Tiera Skovbye). Mackey (played admirably by Rich Sommer who has done a bunch of shows you’ve seen) is the ultimate foil. He is a cop. They guess it’s him early on in the movie, leading you to believe that it’s probably not him – but it is – but is it? Ultimately the boys do their best to prove that it’s Mackey until Mackey takes matters into his own hands as a police officer. He decides to find a patsy to pin the murders on and is celebrated as the man who found the Cape May Slayer. Check Out Our Review of Hereditary! https://www.horrormovietalk.com/2018/11/21/hereditary-review/ The capture of the fake Cape May Slayer kicks the boys into high gear, and they decide to break into Mackey’s house where they find a room full of a few of his victims, both alive and dead. At this point, the movie flips a switch. Mackey goes on the lamb and eventually grabs Davey and Caleb, the large lad, and plays a big game of manhunt with them. This is where the movie turns into a hard horror. Mackey leaves Davey with a truly disturbing monologue that would leave any kid shaking in their boots. The two problems that I had with Summer of 84: The pacing wasn’t terrible, but it certainly could have been faster. They could have kept it at this pace if they had done thrown a little bit more to the audience in terms of fun visuals or intriguing dialog. The suspense falls flat until the last act of the movie, which means it’s mostly a love story and a fun whodunit until then. The jump scares are excessively loud and completely dangling in the wind. Most of the jump scares have no build up and therefore aren’t releasing any audience tension. The effect is minor confusion. Final Recommendations Summer of 84 was a fun movie that any casual fan of horror would enjoy. If you get done with Stranger Things and feel like you need more 80’s nostalgia, this is a great movie to scratch that itch. The Hole in the Ground Trailer https://youtu.be/BxY2vnJiByw

Happy Death Day 2U is the direct sequel to Groundhog Day plot stealing slasher Happy Death Day. Even though the slasher elements take a backseat in this entry, the fun and fresh tone of the original is maintained. This film has more of a sci-fi comedy than a horror movie and tries to extend the scope of the first film while maintaining the premise of living the same day over and over again. Happy Death Day 2U Synopsis The film starts out following Ryan Phan (played by Phi Vu) on the morning after the events of the first film. Ryan was only a bit part in the original Happy Death Day, but plays a much more important role in the plot this time around. In a welcome bait and switch, after rerunning Ryan’s day a couple times, the plot switches focus back to the original protagonist of Happy Death Day, Tree Gelbman (played by Jessica Rothe). Check Out Our Review Of Silent Night Deadly Night! https://www.horrormovietalk.com/2018/12/19/silent-night-deadly-night-review/ If you’re not familiar with the premise of the original, it is simply a horror version of Groundhog Day. Tree is forced to relive day of her murder over and over again until she solves the mystery of who her killer is. This sequel throws in a wrinkle this time because despite being the same day, Tree is in a different dimension, so not everything is the same. https://youtu.be/THq6KlWgiqw HDD2U Lowdown Happy Death Day 2U maintains the fun and playful atmosphere of the original but basically switches genres. It’s much less of a horror movie, and more of a sci-fi comedy, ala Back to the Future. In trying to keep the premise fresh, they end up over-extending and there are multiple loose ends and skimmed over plot points that make this movie much less cohesive and tight as the first movie. Happy Death Day 2U is more enjoyable than the average movie nonetheless, and that is thanks to the performance of Jessica Rothe. Want To Watch It Now? Click the button below to watch on Amazon Happy Death Day 2 U Our Score 6/10 Final Recommendations for Happy Death Day 2U If you liked the first one, you will still like this one. Very light horror, so if you are going for a slasher, you might be disappointed. Bonus Trailer: Ma https://youtu.be/dvpKRSHIkzM

Today we review The Prodigy, which, if you recall from horror movie news a few weeks ago was pulled back into the edit bay because they claimed it was too scary. Well, mission accomplished, The Prodigy is no longer too scary. In fact, it isn’t too much of anything; it’s more of a forgettable horror movie that had decent promise and delivered on very little. The Prodigy starts with two stories happening simultaneously: One is a mother giving birth. Another is a woman escaping from the clutches of a deranged serial killer’s house minus a hand. The escaping woman notifies the authorities, and a swat team begins closing in on the serial killer’s house. As the baby is born the serial killer is gunned down, the insinuation being that the soul of the serial killer is reincarnated into this newborn baby. And, just like that, I was bored into oblivion. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BC4cyYRxjFk The Prodigy was a highly hyped movie that ends up falling flat. It was made up of a lot of hand-holding and exposition that was WAY too convenient for the story. It felt like lazy writing with a decent concept. The most notable stars of The Prodigy are Taylor Schilling from Orange is the New Black, and Jackson Robert Scott, who was the little Georgie in the It remake from 2017. Check Out Our Review of The Ritual! https://www.horrormovietalk.com/2018/11/28/the-ritual-review/ The men to blame for The Prodigy is the writer, Jeff Buhler (Midnight Meat Train), and director Nicholas McCarthy (The Pact). The Prodigy’s writing is so predictable that it sometimes feels like a paint by numbers for horror movies. The direction is just boring, leaving you wishing the movie ended an hour before it does. There are a few decent jump-scares but good god man, it’s just not worth it. That being said, it’s not a “bad” movie, it’s just bland as bland can be. Score For The Prodigy 4/10 It’s not fun, and it’s barely entertaining. Does that make it bad? I don’t think so, just pretty sub-par. The Prodigy Add The Prodigy to your collection Buy on Amazon The Prodigy Movie Spoilers The bones of The Prodigy are pretty good. The idea that a killer could be reincarnated is not a new one (Child’s Play, The Omen, and plenty of others), but it is compelling and could be made very scary. I think the way I would like to see a story like this play out is with a Rob Zombie flair. Miles is the formulaic evil child who has been placed in the formulaic evil child script to act out formulaic evil child things. Here is a brief rundown on the structure of The Prodigy: Mom has evil child Evil child is gifted but evil Doctors note gift, also note “some evil” Mom takes child to a brain quack who diagnoses evil within child with far greater accuracy than many doctors can diagnose the common cold Child confirmed: evil Evil deeds by evil child Evil child splits up family Evil wins, probably So, with the boring script stripped away, this becomes a movie that you have probably seen before, which would normally be fine. There are no original stories left to tell. The sin that The Prodigy commits is that it doesn’t add anything new or interesting to the story to make you care. Check Out Our Review Of The House That Jack Built! https://www.horrormovietalk.com/2018/12/05/the-house-that-jack-built-review/ Keep in mind, the bones of this story are the bones for many of the best horror movies ever made: Hereditary Rosemary’s Baby The Exorcist The Omen It wasn’t terrible, it just wasn’t fun or original or interesting. It made sense, and it wasn’t like the acting was poor. It was just boring and long. So, what’s so boring about The Prodigy? Well, let’s talk about a game that was played two, maybe three times in this movie – staring match. Can you think of a more bland activity for a movie than a staring match? I can’t, and I’ve seen some real piles of shit. Sarah and Miles play a game called, “staring” with each other, and it’s every bit as pointless as it sounds. The idea behind the direction is, “Let’s show off his different colored eyes that are the big tip-off that he is the killer reincarnated.” It flops hard because staring matches are inherently boring. Check Out Our Review of Black Christmas! https://www.horrormovietalk.com/2018/12/12/black-christmas-review/ There were some interesting bits and some decent scares. There was even an extremely unnerving scene where Miles, a ten-year-old boy, climbs into bed with and creepily caresses his mother. It didn’t go anywhere interesting or terrible from there; it just kept going in monotone until it ended. Final Recommendations Teenagers or equivalent who have no barometer or taste. The movie has decent production but falls flat otherwise. Upcoming Horror Movie Trailers https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwSr1KnGPTo The Trailer for Greta https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNp1LPm3Krs The Curse of La Llorona Trailer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aKXvex7b1Ew The Intruder Trailer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zK0LNzU2TQI Pet Sematary Trailer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THq6KlWgiqw Happy Death Day 2U Trailer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFy8ZgLd574 Child’s Play Trailer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QWbMckU3AOQ Dark Phoenix Trailer

Piercing is the story of man named Reed (played by Christopher Abbott) who is encouraged by his newborn baby to drug, kill, and dismember a prostitute in a hotel room. Murder isn’t as easy as it sounds, and after a Sitcom-esque introduction of Jackie the prostitute (played by Mia Wasikowska), his plans are inadvertently foiled. What follows is a weird sitcom trope of “will they, won’t they”, only referring to murder and not fucking. Piercing is a stylistic short film plot that was convincingly stretched to a feature length film. The director Nicolas Pesce borrows skillfully from many of my favorite directors. There is a bit of Tarantino, some Wes Anderson, and a healthy dose of David Lynch are included throughout. There aren’t many scares, but lots of tension and surprising moments. The performances of both lead actors were captivating to watch and provided foundation for the unhinged plot. https://youtu.be/7pj5u4r_eSE The plot of Reed trying to kill a hooker only really serves as a framework to explore a murky dreamscape of Reed’s psyche and the mysterious intentions of Jackie. If you want a movie with a beginning, middle, and an end, you might have to settle for 2 out of 3. However, I can definitely say that Piercing was an enjoyable movie, and I can definitely recommend seeing it if you like art-house horror. Want To Watch It Now? Click the button below to watch it on Amazon Piercing Score for Piercing 7/10 Piercing balances psychological horror and dark comedy adeptly while maintaining a fresh yet familiar style. Piercing Movie Spoilers Stylistically, this film reminded me of several other directors’ work: Quentin Tarantino – The 70’s cool, yet time period ambiguous setting Wes Anderson – The use of miniatures and the matter-of-fact absurd comedy David Lynch – The surrealistic drug trips and dream logic Paul Thomas Anderson – Specifically Punch Drunk Love with the slightly twisted yet still somehow wholesome interaction between the leads. Reed is an unreliable narrator and several times throughout the film, he is encouraged to go through with killing a prostitute. Those encouraging him in order are: His newborn baby The hotel clerk His wife It is obvious that something is not right with Reed, and that he is at the very least a paranoid schizophrenic, and could also just as likely be dreaming. Check Out Our Review of Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension! https://www.horrormovietalk.com/2018/12/24/ghost-dimension-review/ Dream logic abounds with strange actions and conversational non-sequiturs. Towards the end of the film when Reed is tying up Jackie, he does so in a impotent and lazy wrap of the rope only around her wrists. Piercing starts out with small doses of hallucinations and slowly descends to full a full on bad trip with a little girl stabbing bunny. It’s a wild ride, but enjoyable if you like stylistic psychological horror. Final Recommendations This is a great movie for people that like foreign films but don’t want to read subtitles. That sounds sarcastic, but if you watch it (which I suggest you do) it will make sense. Check Out Our Guest Spot on We Shouldn’t Be Here! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exvW7TbHEF8

I had a lot of fun watching Creepshow (1982). It’s presented in an entertaining way, has a ton of big names, and if you aren’t into the story, you can wait 20 minutes and see a new one because it’s a compilation of five horror stories. This was the only George A. Romero film to open at number one in the weekend box-office. It was a sleeper hit in theaters, and its charm is mostly to blame. Creepshow Trailer https://youtu.be/owdnnaNs2RI Creepshow is a cult classic that has remained low on horror fan’s collective radar since it was released. It was directed by the great and powerful George Romero and written by Stephen King, so it already has a huge amount going for it. Add to it a cast that includes Leslie Nielsen, Ted Danson, Ed Harris, Adrienne Barbeau, and Stephen King himself, and you have a horror gem. Creepshow is comprised of five short horror stories that are each compelling and envelope-pushing and memorable. The acting is hammy, the actors are having fun, the stories are spooky but not hard to handle for the easily spooked horror fan. This movie is like a trip down to nostalgia town. Creepshow is a fun, funny, and scary movie that I had not seen before this, and will now revisit year after year. Want To Watch It Now? Click the button below to watch it on Amazon Creepshow My Rating 8/10 While Creepshow is an excellent example of a cult classic, it’s too light and breezy to be much higher than an 8/10. Spoilers Creepshow is presented in a comic book format. They do some interesting paneling shots where the video is shown in the same way that a comic book panel would be presented. The motif is made to look eerily similar to the classic comic titles, Eerie and Creepy did, almost down to the T. It’s clear that these comics made a big difference in Stephen King’s childhood, and probably Romero’s as well. This was Stephen King’s screenwriting debut, and it’s pulled off without all the confusing bullshit that is known to accompany much of his writing. Father’s Day The first of the stories that Creepshow has to offer is titled, “Father’s Day” and is the story of a well-to-do family who is reprehensible human beings whom each get their comeuppance. The dead father was killed by his daughter, Bedelia, on Father’s day while being a real jerk to her. The rest of the family is rich and living off of daddy’s fortune. On this Father’s day, dad comes back from the grave to exact revenge on his ungrateful and equally terrible kids. Father’s Day presents a bit of a lesson to the audience, which I took to be, you get what you give. Alternatively, don’t be a dick, especially when family is involved. Check Out Our Review of Gremlins! https://www.horrormovietalk.com/2018/12/26/gremlins-review/ The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill The second story is titled, “The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill”, which is based on the short story “Weeds.” This is a one-man-play starring the King himself as a goofy hillbilly who finds a meteorite that crashes to earth on his property. He touches it, which is enough to spell his doom. King, bumbles and stumbles around as his luck grows worse and worse until he finally is overcome by the plants that the meteorite brought to earth. The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill was reminiscent of pulp mags and stories from the ’50s and ’60s. I enjoyed the special effects on this story quite a bit – tons of plants! Something to Tide You Over “Something to Tide You Over” is the third story in Creepshow, and it’s one of my favorites. This one stars Ted Danson as Harry, who is the victim to Leslie Nielsen’s wealthy psychopathic killer. Leslie’s wife has been cheating on him with Ted, and he exacts his revenge in an extremely creative, ocean-themed way. What he doesn’t bargain on is his revenge coming back to bite him. Check Out Our Review of Bird Box! https://www.horrormovietalk.com/2019/01/02/bird-box-review/ The Crate “The Crate” is probably the longest and most notable story in Creepshow, and features a college janitor who drops a quarter underneath an old, forgotten stairwell. Upon closer inspection, he finds an old, forgotten crate under the stairs that dated back to the 19th century. He notifies Dexter Stanley, a college professor. They open the box to find one of the craziest movie monsters I can recall. Of all the great practical effects, this monster, coined Fluffy, is the best. Fluffy has an incredible appetite and seems happy to live solely within the box that it’s been locked in for over a hundred years. I can’t believe how much room Fluffy has in his belly, because he ate, three, maybe four people. The Crate had a great story about Northrup, whose old lady was a real bitch. The amount of revenge and comeuppance in The Crate works well. This short left me with the same feeling that Raiders of the Lost Ark left me with – some treasures are sitting in some vault somewhere, waiting to be rediscovered. Check Out Our Review Of Escape Room! https://www.horrormovietalk.com/2019/01/09/escape-room-review/ They’re Creeping Up on You “They’re Creeping Up on You” is the final installment in the short story horror powerhouse, Creepshow. They’re Creeping Up on You is short, effective and fun. It stars, E.G. Marshall as Upson Pratt who is a cruel and ruthless businessman who lives like Howard Hughes did, in a hermetically sealed apartment. He is a major dick and comes under attack from cockroaches. Final Recommendations Creepshow is such an interesting and fun crowd pleaser; I would recommend this to anyone who is looking for something “spooky” and fun. It’s a great palate cleanser and made me so interested in the series that I watched the sequel, Creepshow 2 (1987) which is somewhat less impressive.

Have you ever lit your worst enemy on fire, decapitate them, and use their still burning severed head to light your cigarette? Better yet, have you seen Nicolas Cage do it? Mandy is an exercise in world bending drug trips, fantasy novels, 70’s & 80’s horror movie tropes, and insane revenge. It starts in the woods in 1983 and ends up in some crazy fantasy land that I don’t understand, but I love it nonetheless. There is this trend in shows and movies right now that seeks to capitalize on the nostalgia of the 80’s. Some things do it quite well; others just make me feel like I’m being taken advantage of – Mandy is the former. Mandy is like a strange amalgamation of Turbo Kid, The Amityville Horror, Raising Arizona, and Stranger Things. The whole production is slow, methodical, and feels quite unhinged. Mandy Trailer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rI054ow6KJk Synopsis of Mandy The story starts with Nicolas Cage and Andrea Riseborough (Mandy) living their best life in a nice little cabin in the forest. There is something slightly supernatural about Mandy, and she infatuates Cage. A van full of “Jesus Freaks” see Mandy walking down the road one day and the cult leader decides he can’t live without her. After that, this movie descends into some of the strangest territory that I can recall. Watch Mandy Mandy Full Movie Click here to Watch Written and directed by Panos Cosmatos with additional writing credits Aaron Stewart-Ahn, Mandy makes sure to pay homage to its roots. There are tons of callbacks and references to old-school horror, fantasy novels, music, and tropes. It’s mostly a mood piece, and the mood is drug-fueled. Check Our Our Review of The Killing of a Sacred Deer https://www.horrormovietalk.com/2019/07/17/the-killing-of-a-sacred-deer-review/ The music drones loudly and angrily, the setting morphs into a dark fantasy land, Cage turns into a bad ass narco messiah, it’s nuts. My Rating 8/10 Mandy is insane. It features Cage in quite possibly the best way you can feature Cage, the same way Raising Arizona features him, as a normal, everyday lunatic. Mandy Spoilers Once the aforementioned Jesus freaks catch sight of Mandy and decide they need her in their cult, they make use of an artifact whistle that summons the four quad-men of the apocalypse. They are a motorcycle gang who has been turned into something eternal and perverse by some sort of trucker crank. This drug has altered the biker gang into super mutants who can be controlled by anyone who gives them more insane drugs. The Jesus freaks give the quad-men some drugs and demand that they help kidnap Mandy, which they do while Cage and his girlfriend are asleep in their bed. Check Out Our Review of Gremlins 2: The New Batch https://www.horrormovietalk.com/2019/07/24/gremlins-2-the-new-batch-review/ The Jesus freaks give Mandy some heinous psychedelics from a giant wasp, and the cult leader, Jeremiah (Linus Roache), tries to convince Mandy to sleep with him in front of his followers. Mandy openly laughs at an mocks Jeremiah, so he decides to sacrifice her in front of a bound and gagged Cage by lighting her on fire. As it turns out, that was a mistake on Jeremiah’s part. Enter the rage Cage. Cage becomes a man with a purpose – to kill anyone who was involved with the kidnapping and murder of Mandy. The movie morphs into a dark fantasy-horror landscape that was inspired by 70’s and 80’s fantasy novel covers. Is Mandy Worth Watching? To answer the question of, “Is Mandy worth watching?” please refer to the following list. Do you enjoy: Revenge Cults Destroying cults The 70’s The 80’s Fantasy novels Psychedelic vibes Bad ass weapons Insane drug trips Revenge Apocalyptic themes and tropes Burning religious imagery Dark and sinister characters Lude sexual acts Horror movies Tigers Nicolas Cage in his element Revenge If you answered yes to some of these things, it’s probably worth a watch. Mandy is clearly on it’s way to becoming a cult classic of sorts, so watch it now on Amazon or in a limited release theater so that you can say you saw it on release.

This episode we review the cult classic Sleepaway Camp. This campy slasher combines the most horrifying elements of the eighties: over-the-top teen bullies, and casual pedophilia. Listen to Horror Movie Talk’s take on this fun thriller. Sleepaway Camp is a 1983 teenage slasher that has become a bit of a cult classic. The film follows Angela Baker (played by Felissa Rose), a painfully shy girl recovering from the psychological trauma of a tragic boating accident as she attends a Summer Camp filled with 80’s teen movie villains. She is accompanied to camp with her cousin Ricky (played by Jonathan Tiersten) who at times is very protective towards her. Pretty soon after camp starts, there are a series of murders. The camp owner Mel (played by Mike Kellin) does his best to keep the murders under wraps and becomes increasingly suspicious of Ricky as the victims seem to be people that have bullied Angela. Sleepaway Camp Trailer https://youtu.be/T9K2ARikYzE This movie is a lot of fun and maintains a great balance of passable quality, campiness, and tastelessness that is essential for being granted cult status. The film gets most of its cred from its surprising conclusion, but it isn’t defined by it. This is a great time capsule of eighties teen movies that have that “Should I be watching this” vibe. Too mature for young viewers, and too much teenage sexuality for adults to feel comfortable watching. It’s that elusive 80’s vibe that Stranger Things, IT, and other shows that attempt to exploit. Check Out Our Review of Child’s Play (1988) https://www.horrormovietalk.com/2019/06/24/childs-play-1988-review/ The special effects sequences range from 50’s workplace safety videos to straight up graphic, gooey 80’s horror. The real charm of the movie comes from it’s non sequitur writing and acting. I found myself saying “What?!” or laughing out loud at unintentionally ridiculous moments. My Rating 7/10 Sleepaway Camp Watch it now or add it to your collection. Rent/Buy on Amazon What works well about this movie This is a very campy movie, and as such, is tonally all over the place in a good way. Angela’s mother seems picked straight out of a 1930’s talkie. The teen villains are the kind only found in 80’s teen movies. Finally, Artie, the openly casual pedophile could only exist on film in the 80’s. I particularly enjoyed the score of the film. It was repetative, but featured a full orchestral sound, with real orchestra stings to emphasize the horror. I wish more modern horror movies wouldn’t rely so much on ambient spooky soundscapes, and go back to full orchestras. Check Out Our Review of The Dead Don’t Die https://www.horrormovietalk.com/2019/06/19/the-dead-dont-die-review/ What really steals the show is the abundance of cock outlines. If you can remember that one scene in Juno where she is ogling the cross country team in their runner shorts, imagine that stretching for about 80 minutes. It’s distracting, and dare I say… Immodest. Sleepaway Camp features dick outlines pretty heavily. Most of all, what makes this movie great is it’s charm. What doesn’t work This mustache: Fakest mustache in horror Spoilers for Sleepaway Camp This is the rare occurrence where naming the killer is the least relevant spoiler in the movie. If you don’t know the “twist” at the end, I won’t spoil it here. But just look at Angela’s face. You know she’s hiding something. That being said, Angela was definitely the killer even though they heavily alluded to her brother being guilty. The filmmakers went as far as to have the actor playing her brother appear as a silhouette wearing a wig during one killing. Final Recommendation I highly recommend Sleepaway Camp. It proves that in many very important ways, you can’t recreate 80’s horror. This movie might not be for everyone, but if you are a fan of campy horror, or even just cult classics in general, you should enjoy this one as much as I did. Sleepaway Camp as of the publish date of this episode is available on Shudder. Use “HMT” at checkout to get a 30 day free trial.