October Horror Movie Challenge 2016
This year heralds the birth of my first and only son so, in his honor, I have chosen the theme of "body horror" for this Challenge. Body Horror is a genre that focuses on the graphic destruction or degeneration of the body and includes a wide array of methods: decay, disease, parasitism, mutation, or mutilation. It's one of the few genres that can cause me nightmares and I'm super excited to see what happens! Happy Horrormas!!
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- DirectorCorin HardyStarsJoseph MawleBojana NovakovicMichael McElhattonA family who moved into a remote mill house in Ireland finds themselves in a fight for survival with demonic creatures living in the woods.Synopsis: Adam moves his wife and baby out to a secluded mill house in Ireland where he surveys the forest for a foresting company, much to the dismay of the locals. Making their house a little more like home, his wife Claire is immediately spooked by the neighbor who appears unexpectedly and issues a warning to stay out of the forest. When things start to go awry, Adam suspects the neighbor for only so long before strange creatures begin creeping in from the darkness.
Honestly, it wasn't half bad. The makeup effects were pretty neat and they waited a decent amount of time before revealing the baddies. The main creeping factor is the aggressive fungus which pervades the forest and their home and seems to be the conduit for The Hallow. The fungus turns this from creature flick to body horror which made me happy because I initially thought I wouldn't be able to count this one since the body horror bit doesn't show up until the second half. There's not a lot of scares and the parents keep doing things that make you yell at the screen, but it's still fair as far as creepy country settings go. - DirectorDanny PerezStarsNatasha LyonneChloë SevignyMeg TillyIn a desolate community full of drug-addled Marines and rumors of kidnapping, a wild-eyed stoner named Lou wakes up after a wild night of partying with symptoms of a strange illness and recurring visions as she struggles to get a grip on reality while stories of conspiracy spread.Synopsis: After blacking out at a party, stoner and party-girl Lou finds herself with a growing problem in the form of an unexpected pregnancy. Ignoring it for as long as she can, Lou gets high and refuses to deal. Meanwhile, a new drug is being cut by the local dealer and all variety of vices are explored by random background characters.
Spoilers of a sort: Significant body horror moments include peeling neck skin, lancing a gigantic foot blister, and, of course, full grown alien man birth. I'm sorry that I sort of ruined the movie for you, but it takes forever and ever to get anywhere and the ending is just ridiculous. I was thinking it would be something in the realm of Satanic baby, but no... Headless Creature from the Black Lagoon slithered out from Lou's nethers and rampages... as you do. Skip it unless you have two hours to kill and want to watch complete wastoids relentlessly bake their brains. Maybe you're supposed to be high while watching it? - DirectorTomm CokerDavid ElliotStarsShannyn SossamonPinkEmil HostinaVictoria visits her sister in Paris and goes to a rave in the catacombs under the city, on her first night. The remains of over 6,000,000 people are there and something evil is lurking in the tunnels.This is not a theme view, but I watched it start to finish so I'm counting it towards the total watched.
Synopsis: Overly anxious and cursed with an over active imagintion, Victoria arrives in Paris at the behest of her sister Carolyn. Constantly prodded, Victoria has little time to acclimate before Carolyn has dragged her underground to a party where her pretentious friends all gather and tell Victoria macabre tales involving the exploits of an evil Satanic cult known as the Cult of the Black Virgin. Once completely lost in the catacombs, Victoria must gather her wits in order to make it out alive.
Ugh. This is another example of the character least equipped to survive somehow miraculously does. The ending is completely predictable and we don't really need all those flashbacks of Pink taunting her supposed sister (zero on screen chemistry and Pink comes off as a mega bitch here) with scares in order to drive the point home. She flees at random, screaming and yelping and calling out when she knows she's being chased. She even has a chance to flee just by following the crowds, but she fights against them and knocks herself out. Even then, she should be able to follow the footprints in the copious amounts of dirt all around her, but she can't even do that and, instead, traces her way back to the party area where she knows no one will be. I just wish we could get a stronger heroine one of these movies... - DirectorBrandon CronenbergStarsCaleb Landry JonesLisa BerrySarah GadonIn a blackly satirical near future, a thriving industry sells celebrity illnesses to their obsessed fans. Employee Syd March's attempts to exploit the system backfire when they involve him in a potentially deadly mystery.Synopsis: In the future, celebrity worship has gone to extremes with companies harvesting illnesses from them to sell to and infect their fans. Syd March works for the Lucas clinic which has exclusive rights to superstar Hannah Geist's illnesses. He also smuggles illnesses out of the clinic by way of injecting himself with them and later extracting them to sell on the black market. When Hannah contracts yet another disease, Syd finds himself down the rabbit hole and has to figure out what she has before it kills him.
Nothing happens until 30 minutes in - there's a lot of silent brooding and soft talk which leads to even more silent brooding. It gets old real fast and I kept falling asleep during this portion. When something finally happens, it happens fast, but it still takes awhile before any resolution is revealed. I feel like this movie could have definitely had a shorter run time and it barely qualifies as body horror - we've got a tuberculosis like mouth bleeding and a concept of injecting disease into your body, but not much else until the very end where we see Hannah's final fate and even that's barely a glimpse. - DirectorPhilip BrophyStarsGerard KennedyAndrew DaddoIan SmithResidents of peaceful Pebbles Court, Homesville, are being used unknowingly as test experiments for a new 'Body Drug' that causes rapid body decomposition (melting skin etc.) and painful death.Synopsis: Everyone on Peebles Ct is dying to get healthy and Vimuville has just the vitamin line to do it! Unknowingly, the inhabitants are being used as guinea pigs by the evil vitamin manufacturer and spa and, when people start melting left and right, it's up to the evil doctor behind it all to save the day.
Beyond campy, Body Melt is the embodiment of the body horror genre as it had evolved through the 90s. Featuring inbred Australian hillbillies who peg kangaroos in the head for their adrenal glands and a wide array of 90s stereotypes - pregnant woman wearing overalls, 90s company go-getter, the family with 2.5 kids, and two stoner teens - Body Melt is a fantastic slice of Ozploitation. With only the barest setup, the movie wastes little time before killing off its first character in a gruesome car accident where tentacles squirm out of the driver's severed throat before retreating back inside his body. It only gets better from there! The plot isn't the most refined, but it's what you get when you throw a bunch of soap opera actors and actresses together in a movie about a vitamin that melts and explodes people. - DirectorPatrick KennellyStarsEffie LavoreMary LovelessWes McGeeObsessed with her sexy roommate, Jill violently imprisons Jennifer in their apartment in a twisted attempt to bring them closer together.Synopsis: Shy and just a tad socially awkward, Jill watches her social butterfly roommate Jennifer with envy and more than a little resentment. When Jennifer fails to show up for a friendly meeting, Jill can no longer stand her cruelty and must teach her a lesson.
There’s one stand-out moment of body horror, but this is gruesome more for the terrible eating disorders that both women exhibit. Jill and Jennifer have a fully dysfunctional relationship that’s exacerbated by Jill’s awkwardness and Jennifer’s willingness to sleep with her friend’s romantic interests. It’s definitely an interesting character study, but it doesn’t do much in the way of horror. - DirectorStuart GordonStarsJeffrey CombsBarbara CramptonTed SorelA group of scientists have developed the Resonator, a machine which allows whoever is within range to see beyond normal perceptible reality. But when the experiment succeeds, they are immediately attacked by terrible life forms.Synopsis: After inputting Dr. Praetorius’ code, Dr. Crawford unleashes horrors from another dimension using the Resonator. The sinister Dr. Praetorius refuses to turn the machine off and loses his head for his efforts. Dr. Crawford is taken to Miskatonic Medical Center where he comes under the purview of Dr. McMichaels who wants to take him back to the house to see if she can get to the bottom of his supposed mental illness.
Cheesy 80s schlock, but it delivers on the gore and mutated bodies. The actors have a tendency towards overacting in the beginning, but they seem to find the pace towards the middle. Ken Foree is great in this! Sadly, though, this is not the movie to give me nightmares. Points for the obvious Lovecraft references. - DirectorClive BarkerStarsAndrew RobinsonClare HigginsAshley LaurenceA woman discovers the newly resurrected, partially formed, body of her brother-in-law and lover. She starts killing for him to revitalize his body and escape the demonic beings that are pursuing him after he escaped their underworld.Synopsis: Uncle Frank brought a puzzle box home and used it to call Hell down upon him. Now in pieces beneath the floorboards, he waits in the attic while his brother Larry and Larry’s wife, Julia, make the house a home. Kirsty, Larry’s daughter, discovers her step-mother’s infidelity and, when attempting to confront her, discovers Uncle Frank’s gruesome secret.
Honestly, this is the best Hellraiser movie so far. Pinhead and the Cenobites are effectively creepy, but they still play by the rules. The gore is on par and the anatomy seems pretty believable. There’s nothing better than watching little fishhooks on chains jump out from the darkness to rip and rend flesh. There’s also a fair amount of dark humor since the audience is in on Julia and Frank’s little homicidal secret while Larry and Kirsty remain deliciously unaware. Makeup effects are superb and set the standard for the sequels. - DirectorTony RandelStarsDoug BradleyAshley LaurenceClare HigginsKirsty is brought to an institution after the horrible events of Hellraiser (1987), where the occult-obsessive head doctor resurrects Julia and unleashes the Cenobites and their demonic underworld.Synopsis: Picking right up from the ashes of the first movie, Kirsty finds herself stuck in the mental ward of a hospital under the care of Dr. Channard and Kyle the nurse. Little does she know, Dr. Channard is secretly giddy over her story of puzzle boxes and Cenobites as he goes about quickly obtaining the mattress upon which Kirsty’s poor, unfortunate stepmother Julia exsanguinated. Eavesdropping, Kyle discovers the good doctor’s obsession and falls victim to the newly reconstituted Julia. Can Kirsty find a way to send all the demons back to Hell once again?
Building upon the last movie was a brilliant idea and we get a little more back story for Pinhead which is neat. The gore is still pretty on par and we get to see how Cenobites are made along with the inner workings of the puzzle box. It’s a decent sequel, but I found the addition of Tiffany’s story line to be a little unnecessary for the plot. My only real criticism is that there are far too many long shots where they focus on one character’s face as they stare off into space or ready themselves to do something; it could do with a bit more dialogue in some places. - DirectorAnthony HickoxStarsTerry FarrellDoug BradleyKevin BernhardtAn investigative reporter must send the newly unbound Pinhead and his legions back to Hell.Synopsis: A club owning playboy buys a piece of art which, after being vandalized by a club goer, causes a sequence of events which lands a desperate reporter with the story of her life if she can only survive the night.
(Here there be spoilers for Hellraiser II)
So, in Hellbound, Kirsty (who does not show up in HoE outside of a cameo [played by another actress] on a video recording supposedly taken at the Channard Institute) reminds Pinhead that he used to be Capt. Elliot Spencer and he reverts back to his previous form before getting his throat slashed by the Channard Cenobite. The Channard Cenobite also manages to take out all the other Cenobites which is sad because they’re iconic compared to the Cenobites in later films. Anyway, that sets up HoE as we discover Pinhead has come unglued and is separate from the good guy Capt. Elliot Spencer. Pinhead, trapped in the artwork, encourages playboy JP to feed him souls whereas Capt. Spencer reaches out to the reporter Joey through her dreams. Eventually, we learn that Pinhead needs Joey to give him the puzzle box so he can bring Hell to Earth. The Cenobites which join him in his crusade are ridiculous and I hate them. HoE is proof positive that you can ruin a good bad guy by giving him too much dialogue and caking on bad makeup. - DirectorKevin YagherStarsBruce RamsayValentina VargasDoug BradleyIn the 22nd century, a scientist attempts to right the wrong his ancestor created: the puzzle box that opens the gates of Hell and unleashes Pinhead and his Cenobite legions.Synopsis: In the year 2127, Pinhead and his Cenobite friends find themselves trapped onboard a space ship by Dr. Phillip Merchant who is determined to right the wrongs of his ancestor who built the puzzle box gateway. Unfortunately, before the trap is complete, Dr. Merchant is set upon by well-meaning, but ultimately clueless, space ranger people who go about mucking things up for him and everyone else.
Again, bad guy Pinhead should not have this much dialogue and Cenobite dogs are just no - how does a dog open a puzzle box and call Hell upon himself?? Maybe he’s a Hell Hound, heh... Anyway, once again Pinhead has way too much white makeup caked on his face and it cracks around his mouth in a lot of closeups which is as sad as it is distracting. We get a bit more backstory about the origin of the puzzle box and the fate of the box from III becomes an influence in IV (Joey shoves the box into wet concrete at a construction site that later becomes the building that modern day architect John Merchant is running around to escape Pinhead and his demon princess). From this point, I just started to feel bad for Pinhead because, while he’s steadily adding to the residents of Hell, he keeps coming back with different Cenobites which, to me, means he just can’t find good help in Hell these days. And it’s almost comical how he keeps getting beaten by his targets! He was chasing a reporter in the last one and his own previous identity outsmarted him! In this, he’s like the Scooby Doo monster who gets duped by a mirror trick and blown up! Oh gosh, got me again, you slippery kids! It's a weak and uninspired attempt of a sequel. - DirectorScott DerricksonStarsCraig ShefferNicholas TurturroJames RemarA shady police detective becomes embroiled in a strange world of murder, sadism and madness after being assigned a murder investigation against a madman known only as "The Engineer".Synopsis: A crooked detective, Det. Joseph Thorne, finds his world falling apart around him as he hunts an evil killer known only as The Engineer. The chase begins at the scene of a murder when Thorne finds the puzzle box at the base of a candle which holds the burned remains of a child’s finger. As he gets closer to The Engineer, more people close to him wind up dead and suspicion lands heavy on the Thorne.
I hate the voice over gimmick. The characters are wholly unlikable so I don’t care what happens to them. The Cenobites feature better designs this time and the way they bleed into the reality is neat. Pinhead’s makeup is better in this one and less distracting and he returns to the creepy whisper dialogue featured in the first two which is great. The ending is a little forced and doesn’t really make sense in context, but one could argue that everything from the moment the box is opened is part of the fantasy torture rather than reality. It’s not a great sequel, but it’s getting there. The main character is such an unlikable douche that it really just becomes a countdown to the reveal where he's dragged off to Hell. - DirectorRick BotaStarsDean WintersAshley LaurenceDoug BradleyAfter a car crash, a shady stockbroker suffers from amnesia. This leaves him in a hazy limbo of sex and murder. But, as in a predestined journey, he unmistakenly takes the bait and follows the marked-out clues all the way to Pinhead.Synopsis: After a deadly car accident claims his wife, a businessman must piece together his memories to discover what really happened and who he really is as a husband. Harangued by detectives who don’t believe he’s as innocent as he appears, he struggles to remember the importance of a 5th anniversary present puzzle box and why monsters seem to be following him and killing those connected to him.
Kirsty (played by yet another actress) makes a comeback as Trevor Gooden’s ill-fated wife. The whole story is told in pieces of flashback and it really is devious once revealed in its entirety. I like Dean Winters from Law & Order SVU and a handful of other tv series he’s done so I enjoyed his acting here as well. The Cenobite makeup design is back to boring, but Pinhead is back in the saddle with the creepy whisper voice and some solid dialogue. There’s not a ton of gore in this one outside of the standard hooks on chains (and I have some issues with the anatomy of skin in that scene) and some chunks of flesh and organs in the morgue. There’s a cheesy CGI bit with the detectives that was unneeded, but whatever. It was a decent addition to the gang. - DirectorRick BotaStarsKari WuhrerIonut ChermenskiHugh JorginA journalist uncovers an underground group who can bring back the dead and slowly becomes drawn into their world.Synopsis: A unscrupulous journalist with more curiosity than brains takes an assignment after watching a video where a guru encourages a woman to commit suicide and then brings her back to life. Amy Klein arrives in Budapest to track down Marla, the sender of the video. Finding death and the puzzle box, Amy falls down the rabbit hole and soon discovers she’s stuck in a war between Pinhead and the guru Winter who both want her soul.
There’s a lot of blood and nudity, but the gore is a little lacking in this one. There was one particularly good jump scare in the beginning as Amy navigated around Marla in the bathroom. Beyond that, the movie was able to maintain a constant amount of creep which would have been better if not for the incessant soundtrack. Boring Cenobites with typical disfigurements grace the screen yet again, but Pinhead’s makeup and dialogue are back to being on point. I think they figured out less is more in his case. Unfortunately, like so many movies of this era, this has such a bad made-for-Tv vibe that the whole movie just feels like an extended episode of something produced by Aaron Spelling. - DirectorRick BotaStarsStelian UrianKatheryn WinnickAnna TolputtGamers playing a MMORPG based on the "Hellraiser" films find their lives endangered after being invited to a rave, the host of which intends to show them the truth behind the Cenobite mythos.Synopsis: Five friends secure invites to a private party hosted by their favorite MMORPG: Hellworld, a game based on the mythology of the puzzle box. When they arrive, their host gives them a tour of the house and then lets them loose amongst the party-goers to separate and enjoy themselves.
Katheryn Winnick (actress who plays Chelsea) cannot scream; she sounds like a strangled cat and it’s wholly unpleasant. I think I was expecting something more like a virtual reality game exploring the Hell of the puzzle box. I was really disappointed when the movie didn’t really have anything to do with the game outside of using it as a plot device to get all the characters in the same house. Even though it wasn’t the movie I was expecting, it’s still not a good movie - the party is cliche, the rampant debauchery is cliche, and even the deaths are fairly predictable. The reveal just seems like a cheap way out as it allows the two “good” characters a chance to survive. Lance Henriksen (the Host) will literally play any role offered to him, I’m certain of it! - DirectorVíctor GarciaStarsJolene AndersenSteven BrandDan BuranTwo college friends unwittingly release Pinhead and his minions.Synopsis: Niko and Steve head to Tijuana to get laid and end up unintentional owners of the puzzle box. After their disappearance, their families get together for dinner and a light reminiscing about their lost sons. When Emma, Steve’s sister, finds the puzzle box, she becomes obsessed with opening it even after Steve suddenly appears out of nowhere. With Steve visibly shaken and talking about Cenobites, the families band together to fight off an invisible force.
Ye gods! They couldn’t get Doug Bradley, but that’s ok because they named one of the families with his surname and they “honored” Wes Craven by giving his surname to the other family. The reveal was incredibly predictable and ho hum while Baby Pinhead was just.... no. This sequel needs to be forgotten in much the same way as The Crystal Skull needs to be forgotten and purged from cinematic memory. The hooked chain gore was pretty good at the end though, but it’s not enough to save the movie. - DirectorKevin KölschDennis WidmyerStarsAlexandra EssoeAmanda FullerNoah SeganA hopeful young starlet uncovers the ominous origins of the Hollywood elite and enters into a deadly agreement in exchange for fame and fortune.Synopsis: Struggling actress Sarah deals with her terrible waitress job, gossipy roommate, and a frenemy who keeps stealing her roles by ripping her hair from her scalp. When she gets the chance to audition for The Silver Screen from legendary company, Astraeus Pictures, she blows it and has a hair pulling meltdown in the ladies’ room. Lucky for her, the casting assistant witnesses the brutal self-attack and demands a repeat performance in front of the casting director. How far will she go to be famous?
Apparently very far. I hate scenes where fingernails or toenails are either peeled, ripped, or broken off; they give me the heebeejeebees and I hate them. But this movie is incredibly and unrelentingly visceral from one scene to the next. The ending is a little abrupt for my taste, but it doesn’t detract from the overall enjoyment. - DirectorDavid S. GoyerStarsOdette AnnableGary OldmanCam GigandetA young woman fights the spirit that is slowly taking possession of her.Synopsis: After suffering a series of nightmares featuring a sallow faced young boy, Casey realizes that the increasingly violent ghost of her twin brother who died in utero is attempting to be born through her.
Ahhh!! This movie is so very, very boring! Odette Yustman does not have the acting skills necessary to carry a lead role for 90 minutes. The story doesn’t do her any favors being that it too is just terrible and overuses the creepy black-eyed ghost kid cliche way too much. They even try to pull in Mengele’s Nazi experiments with twins and manipulating eye color because the ghost needs a better backstory than just being a dead twin - now it’s a dead Holocaust victim twin! Ugh, there’s way too much running back and forth, dragging the movie on for far longer than it deserves. I can’t believe Gary Oldman is in this and it’s one of the few roles that he’s completely unmemorable in for me. As far as body horror goes, there’s one scene where her stomach is all distended and gross, but that’s about it. Apparently if your twin dies in utero and then his ghost possesses your unborn fetus, it changes your eyes. Don’t ask why because the movie never really explains how that’s even possible. - DirectorAlexandre BustilloJulien MauryStarsAlysson ParadisJean-Baptiste TabourinClaude LuléFour months after the death of her husband, a woman on the brink of motherhood is tormented in her home by a strange woman who wants her unborn baby.Synopsis: It’s Christmas Eve four months after the fatal car crash that killed her husband and Sarah is about to give birth. She returns home to spend the night alone only to be interrupted by a knock at the door from a woman demanding to be let in. Sarah calls the police, but the strange woman continues to terrorize her while eluding or killing any and all who would help.
Holy jeez! As I sit here mere days from delivering my son, this movie hit the closest to home. Right from the start, this movie is violent and bloody, featuring nasty stab wounds and creative supporting character deaths. The ending is just gruesome and completes the body horror requirement all on its own. There’s a fair bit of dark humor in places, but it doesn’t overwhelm the narrative or make the whole scenario goofy. This one caused me to write a facebook post warning my friends should I fall under the attack of someone who wants to cut my unborn child from my body prematurely. - DirectorDavid CronenbergStarsMarilyn ChambersFrank MooreTerry SchonblumA young woman develops a taste for human blood after experimental plastic surgery, and her victims turn into blood-thirsty zombies, leading into a city-wide epidemic.Synopsis: During a motorcycle ride in the country, Hart and Rose are tossed when they unexpectedly encounter a broken down van in the middle of a narrow road. Responding to the accident, Dr. Dan Keloid of the Keloid Clinic for Plastic Surgery performs an experimental surgery on Rose who suffered burns and lies in a coma. Unbeknownst to staff, Rose awakens with a hunger for blood and everyone she bites becomes infected with an insatiable hunger.
In true Cronenberg fashion, there’s a lot of talking intermixed with scenes including nudity and weird body morphing as people react to the bites. It takes way too long for people to figure out what’s going on and, by then, whatever it is has spread beyond the clinic. It’s definitely got some pretty scenery, but it takes forever for anything to happen. - DirectorRoman PolanskiStarsMia FarrowJohn CassavetesRuth GordonA young couple trying for a baby moves into an aging, ornate apartment building on Central Park West, where they find themselves surrounded by peculiar neighbors.Synopsis: Rosemary and Guy move into a huge apartment and are immediately set upon by their overbearing elderly neighbors, Roman and Minnie, after a terrible tragedy befalls a young woman connected to both apartments. When Rosemary discovers that she is indeed pregnant, she begins having strange nightmares involving Guy and the neighbors. Is she simply paranoid or is something sinister going on around her?
Roman Polanski definitely pulls off creepy atmosphere and the “am I crazy or are they really out to get me” vibe. Guy’s emotional retreat is even more frustrating when she’s in the thick of it with each “hallucination” becoming ever more vivid and terrifying. The film has a way of making poor Mia appear suffocated under all the attention given by the neighbors and, just as she escapes and gets that breath of air, Guy shows up and drags her back to the apartment. It’s a decent thriller, but it’s a little light on the body horror side unfortunately. I can't remember if there's nudity in this one like a lot of Polanski films, but, if there isn't, it's a welcome relief as none of the characters are particularly attractive outside of Farrow. - DirectorDavid CronenbergStarsPaul HamptonJoe SilverLynn LowryThe residents of a suburban high-rise apartment building are being infected by a strain of parasites that turn them into mindless, sex-crazed fiends out to infect others by the slightest sexual contact.Synopsis: In a new, state-of-the-art apartment high rise, a scientist kills a girl and uses acid to melt her internal organs. During the investigation, Detective Heller discovers that the scientist was attempting to genetically modify parasites for use in organ transplants. Unfortunately, the parasites break loose in the apartment and begin infecting the residents, turning them into sex-crazed parasite carriers determined to infect any and all.
Cronenberg manages to take this out of the horror realm and toss it causally into dark humor. The bathtub scene is stolen almost wholesale for the schlocky contemporary alien parasite movie, Slither. Essentially, the parasites infect random people and then those people seduce and have sexy times with other people, thereby spreading the parasitic infection. Detective Heller tries to save one of the female residents and they run everywhere from the roof to the basement to try to escape. Some of the individual seductions are really quite funny, and, in the end, the main characters are faced with a never-ending wall of horny rapists who go to all lengths in order to infect the last remaining hosts. It wouldn’t be Cronenberg if there wasn’t a gratuitous amount of nudity. - DirectorÉric FalardeauStarsKayden RoseDavyd TousignantÉmile BeaudryA Hellenic word referring to the visible signs of an organism's decomposition caused by death. One day, a young and beautiful girl wakes up and finds her flesh rotting.Synopsis: After a tame party with friends erupts into a bout of drunken domestic violence, Laura wakes up to find the expected bruises are accompanied by unexpected ones as well. Over the next few weeks, her sexual trysts become gag-inducing as her body slowly and disgustingly decomposes and falls apart.
Don’t watch this after eating. The effects people put a LOT of work into this one and her response to things like fingers falling off and bruises becoming festering sores is just completely baffling. At what point do you just throw in the towel, game over man, we’re going to the hospital to get this checked out because I don’t think this is supposed to happen...? She becomes visibly upset when the scumbag pursuing her refuses to take her in a manly fashion, but I don’t know how she expected him to perform when there are literal maggots dropping from her nethers. This movie is an experience in how far effects makeup has come, but I still wouldn’t watch it on a full stomach. It's like Starry Eyes in how awful it is, but without the benefit of an interesting storyline to move it along. - DirectorJack BenderStarsJustin WhalinPerrey ReevesJeremy SylversChucky returns for revenge against Andy, the young boy who defeated him, and now a teenager living in a military academy.Synopsis: Now a teenager, the foster system places the troublesome Andy in a military school for problem children. With eight years since the last killer doll incident, the company behind The Good Guy dolls decides it’s about time to revamp their image with another run of the dolls, allowing Charles Lee Ray to reconstitute and ship himself to the school.
You would think a toy company responsible for a killer toy doll might scrap the whole line or at least upgrade their materials. There are some decent kills and the puns are almost incessant, but I still think this is a weak sequel. Tyler replaces Andy as the annoying little kid who doesn’t do what he’s told and takes far too long to figure out that the doll isn’t his friend. The ending is cheesy and begs the question - just what is Chucky’s carrying capacity? He manages some pretty impressive feats for a possessed plastic doll. I still am in shock that absolutely no one punts this runt into the campfire. Nope, not a single person... Instead, handguns and grenades are the weapons of choice to eradicate the evil My Buddy, oh, er, Good Guy doll.
I'm not going to lie - at this point, I was just watching movies on tv. There was a Child's Play marathon, I couldn't bring myself to watch anymore body horror, and my list was already dwindling to the dregs. This sort of schlock was just what I needed. - DirectorRonny YuStarsJennifer TillyBrad DourifKatherine HeiglChucky, the doll possessed by a serial killer, discovers the perfect mate to kill and revive into the body of another doll.Synopsis: Charles Lee Ray’s girlfriend, Tiffany, manages to procure the remnants of Chucky’s possessed Good Guy doll from a corrupt cop who steals it out of an evidence locker. Tiffany then stitches him back together and tries to raise him with the same incantation used in the previous films. When he does reconstitute in the doll, he dashes Tiffany’s hopes of engagement so she punishes and mocks him, causing him to break free and electrocute her in the tub with a tv. Regretting his decision, he brings her back in the body of a wedding dress clad female doll and they make plans on how to become human again by hopping a ride with two teenagers who are about to elope. Unfortunately, their intended victim, Jade, has an overbearing cop uncle who runs a little corrupt himself and, when bodies start to pile up, Jade can’t help but consider that Jesse might be a serial killer.
Campy with a lot of great kills, this is a pretty decent sequel, though it does have the same issue that plagued almost all 90s horror movies in that it’s never-ending night. My favorite kill by far is the honeymoon hotel thief couple. The kills aren’t all that surprising, but they are pretty satisfying in this one. - DirectorDon ManciniStarsJennifer TillyBrad DourifJohn WatersChucky and Tiffany are resurrected by their innocent gender-confused child, Glen/Glenda, and hit Hollywood, where a movie depicting the killer dolls' murder spree is underway.Synopsis: Fresh off the lot of her newest horror movie, Jennifer Tilly dodges paparazzi while trying to seduce rapper Redman and downplay her involvement with her driver. When Tiffany decides that Jennifer is the perfect specimen to host her soul, both she and Chucky find their way into the actress’s home where they impregnate her and terrorize her guests.
I’m so META, even this acronym... So Tilly plays the human Tiffany in Bride of Chucky and she plays herself in Seed of Chucky. But no one really addresses that other than having doll Tiffany say that she likes Tilly’s voice when Chucky complains about it. The offspring doll is annoying, but it provides a lot of gender queer joke ammunition so that’s a thing. I’m at least happy that Redman ate it rather early on in the movie. I hate when rappers essentially play themselves in horror movies. It's RV-ish because I've seen scenes before, but never watched the full movie. - DirectorJason ZadaStarsNatalie DormerEoin MackenStephanie VogtA young woman's desperate search for her twin sister brings her to a ghost-filled stretch of wilderness known as the 'Suicide Forest.'Synopsis: When authorities call her about her twin sister’s alleged demise, Sara rushes off to Japan’s notorious suicide forest in order to find her. At the edge of the forest, Sara meets Rob who introduces her to a guide who agrees to take them on the path. Will Sara find Jess in time to save her or will she need saving of her own?
Natalie Dormer has come a long way since Anne Boleyn in The Tudors, but I still think her face is weird. The movie has a nice polished look to it and has a few jump scares, but it ultimately fails at establishing a real creep factor. At one point, the motives of established characters are questioned, but there’s no lead up for why Sara is suspicious. Suddenly there's a cabin and maybe Jess is there and maybe it's just Sara going insane, but there's just not a great lead up to this freak out. It’s just another mediocre PG-13 to add to Dormer’s filmography. - DirectorBo MikkelsenStarsBenjamin EngellTroels LybyMille DinesenA family of four is quarantined in their home as a virulent strand of the flu spreads into town and they are forced to the extreme to escape alive.Synopsis: A typical family lives their lives in suburbia while the TV news reports on how the government is combating a particular nasty strain of the flu. Suddenly, their neighborhood is besieged by the military as a quarantine is put into effect. When demanding answers isn’t enough, how far will they go to find out where their neighbors are being taken?
If you want to watch this in English, there’s a similar title called “Viral” streaming right now. “What We Become” is a character study of a typical family and their neighbors in a bad situation. I don’t want to give too much away and the plot isn’t exactly complex. The effects makeup is pretty decent, but this low-budget flick isn’t going to add anything new to the genre. This could be considered body horror, I guess, but it's more zombie. Let's just agree that I quit the theme a few movies ago. - DirectorJordan GallandStarsLouisa KrauseWhitney AbleDeborah RushA young woman recovers from a demonic possession.Synopsis: Waking up from a pretty violent possession, Ava finds herself on the outs with her family and is required to attend Spirit Possession Anonymous, group therapy for previously possessed individuals. Forced to find those she hurt to make amends, she struggles to piece together the bits of her life that were stolen from her while avoiding the advances of the demon who stole them.
The movie treats demonic possession with the irreverence it deserves and shows the practical side of recovery. Ava’s family and friends treat her like she’s personally responsible for what she said and did while possessed and they’re all pretty awful people. The demon is effectively creepy, but the best part comes in when a fellow group therapy member decides that she’s unhappy being without the demon who possessed her and elists Ava’s help in inviting him back inside her. It’s a pretty good comedy with a bit of with a horror premise. - DirectorTed GeogheganStarsAndrew SensenigBarbara CramptonLarry FessendenIn the cold, wintery fields of New England, a lonely old house wakes up every thirty years - and demands a sacrifice.Synopsis: Paul and Anne move to the country to flee the memories of their teenage son’s death, moving into a large house in the New York countryside. The locals react to them with a mixture of hostility and fear, but the couple is intent on winning them over. When they invite their friends, May and Jacob, up to spend the weekend, spooky events cause the couples to consider conducting a seance.
The premise is a little weak, but the effects are particularly good concerning the ghosts. I wish they would’ve delved a little deeper into the house’s history and how it connects to the town and maybe adding a sympathetic townie would’ve been a decent move, but the film is good enough to stand on its own. The ending is a little abrupt, but it delivers some delicious justice. It’s not a bad way to spend 84 minutes. - DirectorTom SixStarsDieter LaserLaurence R. HarveyEric RobertsTaking inspiration from The Human Centipede films, the warden of a notorious and troubled prison looks to create a 500-person human centipede as a solution to his problems.Synopsis: A racist, sexist, abusive warden fights to keep control of his torture chamber jail in the wake of a governor who threatens to shut down his jail and remove him from power. When his toady assistant shows him the Human Centipede movies, the warden decides to link all 500 inmates together.
Ugh. Just *beep* ugh. The first movie had an almost believable storyline to it. The second was just disgusting and completely invalidated the first. The third adds absolutely nothing to the trilogy. Dieter Laser screams all his lines and is almost comical in his ignorance and cruelty. There’s just nothing to redeem this awful addition; none of the characters are likable, especially not the protagonists! The thrill that accompanies most good horror movies has been noticeably lacking since the second movie. Even bad movies have their moments, but Human Centipede 3 just never provides even an iota of comedy to alleviate the awful screaming nonsense.. Honestly, I think I put more effort into writing their review than the writers put into the storyline. Awful, just *beep* awful. - DirectorOz PerkinsStarsRuth WilsonPaula PrentissBob BalabanA young nurse takes care of an elderly author who lives in a haunted house.Synopsis: Lily comes to the strange country house to care for the elderly writer, Iris Blum, who only addresses Lily as Polly, a ghostly character in her book series. While Iris sleeps, Lily takes advantage of the library and reads Polly’s story, finding an instant connection with the woman. When Iris dies, Lily is hired on to care for the house until the estate is settled and she learns more than she ever bargained for while alone in the house.
Ruth Wilson immediately sets the tone with her even voiced narration, explaining that, while her clients rarely ever required it of her, she wears white to illustrate the untouchable nature of her profession from death. All at once, the large house with its winding multi-leveled staircase seems impossibly large and claustrophobic, its walls closing in on Lily. The movie’s pacing is incredible - while it could be considered meandering, the narration keeps it moving. The monologues are almost poetical with Ruth Wilson whispering her lines at various points. She makes it feel like we are visitors in this place, invited to witness the story unfold as it must. I really enjoyed this one and I’m glad I forced this movie into the final spot rather than settling on #31.