Your favorite non-horror Halloween movies

Halloween and horror go together hand in hand, but not all stuff with Halloween is horror. Sometimes, they go a very family-friendly route with that shit. We have the upcoming Goosebumps movie, for example. It's set on Halloween, hence the subtitle "Haunted Halloween", but it's kind of impossible for a movie to be family-friendly AND horror, don't you think?

I watched Eli Roth's new movie The House with a Clock in its Walls recently, and like most of you, I was wondering how Eli Roth could make a movie PG. Now, I'll admit, I think Eli Roth is a cool motherfucker, and I've enjoyed all of his movies. He made this new movie based on some book, and I guess that could explain enough, but HE still made it, and while it tries to be horror-ish, it never really gets there.

It might be that kind of situation like with Robert Rodriguez, who made some gnarly movies, then made some shitty movies like Spy Kids, because he wanted something his kids could enjoy. I don't think Eli Roth has any kids, but what do I know? But either way, the movie was alright, but I couldn't quite say it's a horror movie myself.


Not that any of that matters. Just going on a rant here, and we need a bit of context for that. I was thinking about Kenny and Company (1976), Don Coscarelli's pre-Phantasm debut, which has a few familiar faces in what is generally a casual family film. Nothing great about it, but I do like it, as well as the few scenes that occur during Halloween night.

Donnie Darko (2001) is another one that has a plot centered around Halloween, or when the world is going to end. The movie is set in October, and leads up to the alleged date, where shit happens, and then... doesn't, apparently? I like the movie. I didn't at first, but it's grown on me, mostly because Patrick Swayze playing a pedophile is unique. This again prompts the curiosity about whether or not a dark(o) and gritty movie set on Halloween is or isn't a horror movie. I don't think Donnie is a horror movie though. Just weird.

The Crow (1994) is centered around Devils Night (October 30th) and is basically a Halloween movie, but not quite horror. Same goes for the sequel, which is mostly centered around the Day of the Dead.

Then, you have straight up family-friendly Halloween movies, like Nightmare Before Christmas, Hocus Pocus, The Halloween Tree, Ernest Scared Stupid, etc.



Do you have any thoughts on non-horror Halloween movies, or do you just stick with the horror ones? Can a family-friendly movie be horror? What are your thoughts on this mess?

How much Halloween spirit do you have?

Surprisingly, I don't have that much. I love the season, I love seeing all the Halloween sales in stores, the specials on tv (hell, Robert Englund is coming back as Freddy for a tv special this year, for fuck's sake!), and I love that horror movies crawl out of the woodwork. I love that this day can decorate an entire month, but do I do much about it? Not really.

I usually don't do anything out of the ordinary on October 31st, because I get drunk and watch horror movies year round. But I still love that everyone else is embracing it more so than I am, and it gives me a warm and fuzzy feeling inside.

This year will be my first Halloween at a house in a while. I've been living in apartments for the past several years, and those aren't condusive to seasonal shennanigans as much as a suburban house, where you'll get trick-or-treaters. I'm a bit excited about that aspect of it. I can decorate this year. Probably mostly autumn stuff, with a little bit of "halloween" specific imagery, but it's still something I know I ought to do, but I'm a bit clueless, seeing as how I haven't decorated since I was a kid.

Another good thing is that I can help force tradition on my nephews, which gives me a better excuse to carve pumpkins and trick or treat with them (and steal their good candy).



I understand that some of you around the world don't celebrate Halloween as much as in the states (and some of us in the states barely celebrate it, for shame), but surely, the spirit of these festivities must bleed over, at least a little bit.

So what about you? What does Halloween mean to you, and what do you do to celebrate your Halloween spirit?

What movies did you buy or watch this week? (9-24)

Last few nights I've watched The Strange Ones and Spinning Man. Neither really qualify as horror, and neither are very good.

I've also preordered Trilogy of Terror, Perversion Story, Leonor and What have they Done to Your Daughters.

My latest purchases

Well... I have gone on another splurge this week.

These are what I came away with (right in time for the challenge too!):

bought:

Ju-On: The Grudge 2 (2003)
The Eye (2002)
The Eye 2 (2004)
Shutter (2004)
Dark Water (2002)
The War of the Worlds (1953)
The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)
Return of the Living Dead III (1993)
Deliver Us from Evil (2014)
The House of the Devil (2009)
The Enfield Haunting (TV Mini-Series 2015)
Frankenstein (2015)
Jessabelle (2014)
The Mummy (1932)/Creature From The Black Lagoon(1954) - two film collectors edition.
The Wolf Man (1941)/Werewolf Of London (1935) - two film collectors edition.


rented (from local library):

The Martian (2015)
Truth or Dare (2018)
Alien: Covenant (2017)
The Girl with All the Gifts (2016)
The Dark Tower (2017)
Dracula - The Legacy Collection (Dracula / Dracula's Daughter / Son of Dracula / House of Dracula/House of Frankenstein)

Anyone have any thoughts on these?

Doom House 2003

Really fucking stupid no budget horror short

They Shoot Zombies, Don't They?

So I stumbled upon this remarkable project - a list of the 1,000 Greatest Horror Films implemented with a weighting system that allows a representation of the best that the horror genre has to offer. Some dedicated (kudos to him) fan of the horror genre created it and the list has grown in popularity over the last few years with a new edition for every year being released.

Now, I don't pretend to comprehend the system devised to come up with this list, and I won't debate it's authenticity, or reliability - not for 1,000 films. However, I feel this is a acceptable resource, and a strong basis of a wide range of what the horror genre has to offer.

Anyone ever heard about this list? How many have you seen?

(I have seen 590 btw)

https://www.imdb.com/list/ls026616000/

https://letterboxd.com/jhillman/list/they-shoot-zombies-dont-they-the-1000-greatest-3/

https://theyshootzombies.com/ghf1000/

What movies did you buy or watch this week? (10-1)

Bent 0/10
What Have They Done to Your Daughters 8/10
Marrowbone 0/10

Body Snatcher Movies

I recently watched The Faculty for the countless time. I've always been a fan of that movie. Back in 1998, I was 11, not a fan of most horror, and I didn't know shit about sci-fi outside of The X-Files. Something about The Faculty appealed to me however. Was it the cast and characters? The late '90s music? The school setting I could sort of relate to? The body snatcher scenario? These days, the last one's definitely a big part of the appeal. It adds something interesting to the movie. The main characters, high schoolers already struggling to get along due to their social differences, don't know who's an alien or who to trust.

When you read the title of this thread, you probably thought I would be talking about the Invasion of the Body Snatchers movies. Well, I am, in a moment. But I used that title because I'm not sure what else to call these movies. In Invasion of the Body Snatchers, the aliens are usually referred to as pod people, but that doesn't fit something like The Faculty. That's more of a parasite. As far as I know, there isn't really a sci-fi sub-genre for this. Maybe there should be.

There are four Invasion of the Body Snatchers movies: Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956), Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978), Body Snatchers (1993), and The Invasion (2007). They're based on the novel The Body Snatchers (1955) by Jack Finney, which I haven't read. The Faculty is of course a homage to (Invasion of) the Body Snatchers and there's even a direct reference in the dialogue.

I like the first three adaptations a lot and The Invasion is okay. They almost feel like they could be sequels that take place at the same time due to the different locations. 1956 is in the small town of Santa Mira, 1978 is in San Francisco, 1993 is at a military base in Alabama, and 2007 is in Washington, DC. Plus the lead actor from the 1956 version appears in the 1978 version playing basically the same character. There are differences that make it improbable that they're actually meant to be connected outside of their source material, but that hasn't stopped me from watching the first three together a few times before.

The Thing (1982) and its 2011 prequel could be considered body snatcher movies. Much like the other movies mentioned so far, it involves characters who don't know who's an alien. The blood test scene in the 1982 movie is well-known by now. I remember South Park spoofing it one time and I'm sure it inspired the similar test in The Faculty. I haven't seen The Thing from Another World in a long time, but I'm pretty sure it doesn't involve any body snatching. I also haven't read the novella the three movies are based on, Who Goes There? (1938) by John W. Campbell, Jr.

The novel The Puppet Masters (1951) by Robert A. Heinlein features some body snatching. For a change, I've read the book and haven't seen the 1994 movie. In the first Men in Black, I remember the alien antagonist basically wearing a human, except the skin didn't fit correctly and sagged.

These are all the body snatcher movies that come to mind right now. I think it's a fun concept that hasn't been done to death, yet. While all the movies I mentioned involve aliens doing the body snatching, I suppose it could be another invading force. Maybe some mutated plant or insect already on Earth.

I have no doubt there are other body snatcher movies out there. Feel free to list them and any other thoughts you have about this.

How many viewings have you watched this year so far?

I just logged on to my Letterboxd account and it never really registered with me until now how many titles I have seen this year so far. I have seen 330 titles to be exact, as of today - all FTVs, and all feature-length films. That breaks down to 182 horror films, and 148 non-horror films. A good mixture. It would be a safe bet to assume I will get over 400, possibly 500 before the year is out. Good grief! I need to get a life! It is down from 500 or so this time last year, but it is not bad considering I work full-time is a stressful job.

My current favorite horror FTV would be: Aswang (1994) 8.5
My current favorite non-horror FTV would be: The Mystery of Natalie Wood (2004) 9

Anyone have any idea of what they have watched this year so far? What would be your current favorite?

60's horror

I don't think we discuss the 60's horror movies very often here so I thought I would go ahead and discuss it...

So what are your favorite horror movies from the 60s?

What makes the 1960s such an interesting decade for horror films is that—without any build-up or warning from the previous decade—the genre started off so good in 1960 in Eyes Without a Face, Psycho, Peeping Tom and Black Sunday to name a few - that it was too much for most audiences. The more well-known directors made psychological horrors and the Italians and the low-budget exploitation American films made the more bloody efforts.


This is a list of the best horror films that I have seen (rated 7 or higher) from each year of the 60's:

1960 - Pretty solid year for horror.
Psycho
Peeping Tom
Village of the Damned
Eyes Without a Face
The City of the Dead
Mill of the Stone Women
House of Usher
The Flesh and the Fiends
Black Sunday

1961
The Innocents
Pit and the Pendulum
Scream of Fear

1962
What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?
Carnival of Souls
Night of the Eagle
Premature Burial

1963
Il demonio
The Haunting
The Birds
Blood Feast
X: The Man with the X-Ray Eyes
The Sadist
The Whip and the Body
Black Sabbath
The Ghost
Diary of a Madman
The Kiss of the Vampire
The Day of the Triffids

1964
Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte
The Last Man on Earth
Castle of Blood
Nightmare
The Flesh Eaters
The Gorgon
The Tomb of Ligeia
Children of the Damned

1965
Repulsion
Planet of the Vampires
The Nanny
The Skull
Dr. Terror's House of Horrors

1966
Kill, Baby... Kill!
Eye of the Devil
Incubus
Queen of Blood
The Witch
The Reptile
The Plague of the Zombies
Dracula: Prince of Darkness
An Angel for Satan
The Witches
Island of Terror

1967
Viy (1967)
Wait Until Dark
Spider Baby
Torture Garden
The Mummy's Shroud

1968
Rosemary's Baby
Night of the Living Dead
Hour of the Wolf
A Quiet Place in the Country
Witchfinder General
Even the Wind Is afraid

1969 - oddly enough possibly my least seen year of the decade.
What Ever Happened to Aunt Alice?
Fear No Evil
Daughter of the Mind

There are other horror movies I still want to see (possibly October) from the decade namely:

Blind Beast (1969)
Paranoiac (1963)
The Shuttered Room (1967)
The Book of Stone (1969)
The Time Machine (1960)
The Night Walker (1964)
The Oblong Box (1969)
Blood and Roses (1960)
Nightmare Castle (1965)
Homicidal (1961)
The Haunted Palace (1963)


What about you what are some of your favorites from the 60's?