Best horror movies that are not part of a series

What is your top 10? The criteria is no remakes, no separate adaptations, no sequels, no prequel, not a prequel or sequel, etc.

1. The Man Whi Changed His Mind (1936)
2. Day of Wrath (1943)
3. The Unknown (1927)
4. Shaun of the Dead (2004)
5. The Face Behind the Mask (1941)
6. Horror Hotel (1960)
7. The Witch's Mirror (1962)
8. Onibana (1964)
9. The Beast with Five Fingers (1946)
10. Cat Girl (1957)

Fag Hag - A 1998 Tromasterpiece

Granted, I was pretty drunk when I was watching this, but it got me right from the beginning. While it was made in 1998, it looks like it was made in the 70s. Very stylistically influenced by John Waters, what with the LGBT prominent trash themes.

This movie is mostly just stupid dialogue between a dull girl striving to be a bigshot in a pageant and some gay dude who started the movie as some actor playing Jesus. They'll just ramble on about how to be successful for about an hour until they go into the pageant thingy and the movie ends with her singing a song about how she needs to take a piss. I laughed a lot at this shit.

Demons 2

Does anybody here think maybe the baker/confectionery guy at the beginning of Demons 2 might really have been intended to be a demon, for the movie? I don't think we ever see his face, but right at the beginning there is a scene with what appears to be blood dripping, and a sharp knife... it gets the audience all freaked out, but then it just turns out to be a guy preparing a cake. So, the audience laughs at itself, and says "Chuckle chuckle chuckle, ohhhhh what a silly audience we are, for getting all bent out of shape about a cake baker."

But, I keep thinking, maybe he really was supposed to be an evil character. Maybe he's supposed to be someone from the original Demons movie? Not sure about that, but it's possible. He moves in a strange, slow way, like he has been crippled or is deformed somehow. And, the cake seems to be a significant step in completing Sally's transformation into the first demon of the movie! There are several significant-looking shots of the cake, perhaps intended to provoke a sense of foreboding and dread in the audience. And, it is only when Sally puts her face up close to the cake and blows out the candles (not all the candles, she misses one... bad luck for Sally!) that she finally totally demons out.

I might be missing something here, or maybe reading too much into it. Does anybody here have this on DVD, with some DVD extras where someone involved with the movie might have talked about this stuff?? Or, does anyone know of an interview with any cast members, director, etc where someone might have discussed this idea? Just wondering.

2019 October Challenge Progress Thread

It is that time of the year again!

Third challenge hosted here at Trash Epics, I believe, first by me.

Previous years challenges

https://trashepics.com/post/9/160/
https://trashepics.com/post/9/218/

Rules:


1. 31 Horror films must be watched during the month of October.
2. 16 of which must be first time viewings.
3. The challenge will begin as soon as October begins in your time zone.
4. In regards to runtime, historically, it is 45 minute minimum.
5. Again historically, documentaries and tv shows were not accepted.

6. To keep it simple, if there is any question as to whether a film is Horror, or not, just use your own judgement.
7. Also, please if it is possible to list the number of movies/FTVs you have seen during the month, that would be great.



FYI. Unlike other challenges, this is based solely on movies watched rather than a points system.



I think this pretty much covers it. If you have any questions or suggestions for the challenge, the discussion thread will be up soon.

The most important thing is to have fun, after all, it is October!

So, make your spot!

Halloween III: Season of the Witch!

The original Halloween is cemented in horror history as a classic slasher film. An "immortal classic" if you will... Nothing can top it, and even part 2 is a solid follow-up, albeit ignored in modern continuity. But that anthology idea took things to a new direction... Halloween could have been a totally different series if Season of the Witch took off in the way that the creators intended.

I remember when I was a kid and I saw VHS copies of Halloween 3, and I absolutely did NOT understand how that movie existed. I feel that most people still don't understand how H3 exists in any continuity, but I was always fascinated by the artwork. Just look at it... Some weird looking witch whose hair turns into the logo, with those classic pumpkin/skeleton/witch masks...

Somehow, this flick channeled the spirit of Halloween more than a lot of movies did, even the Myers series. This one had trick or treaters across the country, Tom Atkins, Stacy Nelkin, robots, Dick Warlock, actual warlocks, Dan O'Herlihy, masks, and an Irish influences throughout.

A prominent influence of the movie was Invasion of the Body Snatchers, and I'm talking the original 1956 version with the city of Santa Mira. I love the vibe of it. I view it as an essential Halloween film for the season, but I can't quite pinpoint why.

In a sense, I expect that I might love it so much because of its misfit status. It has a cult following because of its different nature, and people never quite understood it when it came out. However, in recent years, the internet has proved that it's reputation has grown somewhat significantly. I suspect that this might be due to John Carpenter fanboyisms and the general sense that older movies gain more notoriety as they age, but I was always fascinated by this movie's approach. It has an interesting history, if you're one to read the trivia behind it and the themes it proposes.

I remember first seeing this movie circa '98, when H20 was on its way. The series was gaining a reputation as a never-ending horror epic, and this bastard played on TV. I didn't get it, but I was still fascinated to ponder on its relevance in the series. Obviously, it seemed to have NO relevance, but a fan could dream, and somehow, this movie lingered in my brain for years to come, because somehow, it technically DID exist in the Halloween continuity at that point, so it would always be canon in some way or another.

Like many, I was plenty surprised to see the 2018 movie at least acknowledge this movie by including the masks in a particular scene, and I even got James Jude Courtney to sign an 8x10 of him with the shamrock kids. That was a wet dream come true.

There's so much to ponder about this movie, like what came next? Did Dan Challis stop the commercial? Did it destroy society? I've even read on a message board that someone approached director Tommy Lee Wallace about their proposed sequel, and he was quite intrigued about their take on it. A sequel probably wouldn't work though. And if Rob Zombie did a Halloween 3, would he rip off this movie? Who fucking knows!

October Challenge: A Month in review

So with the 31st fastly approaching, I thought it was apt to look back on some of my most enjoyable FTVs of the month.

I am pleased with the turnout for this years challenge, and the overall upsurge of activity recently..

I will briefly list a few of the best views I have seen for this years challenge:

Ju-on (2000): the first installment in the Ju-on franchise, following two short films. With a runtime of 70 mins, it is super creepy. This is a film of slowly building dread and unease more than jump out of your seat scares, very effective! 8/10


Circle (2015): Wow, one of the most orginal horror movies I have seen in recent memory. At first glance this film seems like pretty typical Saw-esque horror fare, but it becomes a study in sociology, psychology, morality and Darwinism. I won't give away any spoliers, but wow, I was impressed. 9/10


Let Me In (2010): I know, it divides quite a few, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.


Terrified (2017): Now, this is one scary South-American horror. Magnificent movie.


Those were the two best for me, but here is a few others that impressed me (7/10s):

Await Further Instructions (2018): very good Black Mirror-esque. Indie production, very unique, has great characterization and cinematography.


Voices (1974): Another one of these obscure horror that I really dig. "Voices" is from a class of thriller in that it achieves its shocks through the use of story and character interaction.


Veronica (2017): I am a sucker for "this film is based on true events"!


What were some of your best views of the challenge? Any thoughts on this years challenge?

Has anyone seen any of the movies based on the La Llorona legend?

There seems to be a lot of them, old and new, and it's hard to tell one from another without having seen them because the titles are all so similar and they have mostly unknown actors in them.

I've only seen one of them and I can't recall the exact title. It's the one with Dee Wallace in it, and it wasn't great.

Are any of the others worth seeing?

Burnt Offerings

Dan Curtis always had a thing for haunted houses, didn't he? After milking the horrors of Collinwood for about 5 years, he wasn't quite done with the subgenre yet, opting to turn this novel into a feature film. Funny enough, trivia says that he read the book years before getting the offer to direct, and thought that it was less than ideal for a screenplay. Fortunately for us, he put his magic touch on it and turned it into one of the best haunted house movies of all time.

The story is about a family who rents a summer home with the simple condition that they take care of it. Notably, this is the same house they used in the original Phantasm, as well as the 1985 Bond flick "A View to Kill". The place is a bit of a wreck when they get there, so it may seem a bit daunting at first, but no matter. Things seem to work themselves out... at the cost of our family's sanity.

The cast is what makes this film work. Karen Black is the mother who gets too interested in the upkeep of the place, often prioritizing it above her family's wellbeing. Oliver Reed plays the father, and this dude oozes charisma in everything he's in. He's a regular guy who starts to understand that the place is getting to everyone's head, including his own. He wants to fight it, but it's never that easy when the place seems to have a mind of its own.

The film also features a troubled Bette Davis who finds mind and vitality are challenged by the place, but at her age, no one believes she has a valid reason to be alarmed by the madness she bears witness to. Burgess Meredith has a bit part as the man renting the home out, and he enthusiastically overlooks any wrongdoing so long as the house will flourish.

It's easy to think that this film could have influenced The Evil Dead. You have a creepy old house in the middle of nowhere that doesn't seem to want its guests to ever leave. It wants to swallow their souls even, not to mention a bit toward the end when they try to leave in the storm, but the trees block their path and the vines wrap around old Ollie and smack him around a bit. Plus, there's also the theme of being possessed, which while not as prevalent as in Evil Dead, it's a more gradual approach that goes along with the theme of people going mad.

At about two hours, this movie maintains a decent pace because our lead actors are so easy to watch. Hypnotic, even. The ending is fantastic and makes it all worth it. Quite a chilling little horror story for those who are willing to dig a little deeper into the genre.

Night School - Another 1981 Slasher

I've made it a quest in my life to watch as many 1981 slashers as I can, because this was the pinnacle year for the slasher subgenre. Somehow, most of them end up being pretty decent because the genre wasn't fatigued yet. Filmmakers were enthusiastic about it still, and they had a few good ideas up their sleeves. Most importantly, they still took themselves seriously, and camp value didn't destroy the integrity of slasher movies yet.

When they made slashers back in the day, it all about finding the right ingredients. This meant an original look for the killer, a unique weapon, a proper M.O., and a setting. For this one, we have a black clad biker whose identity is concealed by a helmet. This killer wields a kukri and is terrorizing the female students of a Boston night school, cutting off heads left and right.

We have a few prominent characters throughout, such as the male professor who has relations with all of his students, his sexy foreign assistant/"lover", a dumb peeping tom, and a couple of detectives investigating the murders around it all.

There are a few good moments here and there, some violent slashings, and a decent score by Brad Fiedel of Terminator and Just Before Dawn fame. It's a whodunnit, but the twist shouldn't come as much of a surprise considering we're only ever following a handful of characters, but it's decently crafted, and I've definitely seen worse.

Italian horror directors and movies

Any faves there or opinions you want to share?

Mario Bava (probably my number 1 mostly because of his older atmospheric stuff) In my collection (all Arrow releases):I Vampiri
Black Sunday
Black Sabbath
The Girl who Knew too Much
Blood and Black Lace
Kill Baby Kill
A Bay of Blood
Baron Blood

Lucio Fulci (made some pretty decent gialli late 60s eearly 70s even though they don't really have RW value to me. I know The New York Ripper is well liked but that was the first in a series of 'monstrosities' to me and yes I have seen all of the man's horror flicks). In my collection:
Zombi 2
City of the Living Dead
The Beyond
House by the Cemetery
The Black Cat

Dario Argento (the guy has huge potential and a great craftsman but I find his style over substance approach not really satisfying. Especially Phenomena sounds like the coolest premise ever only to find out it's the umpteenth style exercise. Yeah Suspiria is hailed as one of the greastest horror movies. It does have its gruesome scenes but overall I find it rather empty and boring). So no I don't have any of him in my collection. Still 2 I would consider:
The Bird with the Crystal Plumage (at least this has a decent story)
Trauma (more straightforward than his others)

Ruggero Deodato (honestly I haven't seen that much except for his most infamous ones and also 'The House at the Edge of the Park' That's how The original Last HOuse on the Left should have been like IMO) IN my collection:
Last Cannibal World
Jungle Holocaust
Guess I need to dig deeper into his filmopgraphy

Umberto Lenzi (I have seen a handful but I tend to forget which ones. NOt really a good sign.) Anyway those I have seen at least I can remember I did:
Man from Deep River (first cannibal movie with little cannibalism, disappointing)

Eyeball (seen yesterday, giallo not bad bur far from good rather repetitive and proly sleep inducing without the nudity)
Eaten Alive (well it's a cannibal movie and it copied a lot from other movies, better watch the ones it copies from cos this one doesn't offer much original)
Cannibal Ferox (very weak Cannibal Holocaust clone)
Ghosthouse (barely remember it)