September 2014 Recap

Again, I watched far too few movies this month... here are my top 5 and bottom 5 for September, 2014:

My top 5 (in no particular order):
1. Bad Boy Bubby
2. Edge of Tomorrow
3. The Prowler
4. Tusk
5. Curtains
Runner Up: Night Train Murders, Doctor Gore

The bottom 5 (in no particular order)
1. Blood Creek
2. Anna Karenina
3. Halloween The Curse of Michael Myers The Producer's Cut
4. The Man Who Collected Food
5. The Battery
Runner Up: Graduation Day

361. Doctor Gore (1973) aka The Body Shop

September 30, 2014

This was a fun movie. J.G. Patterson, Jr. wrote, directed, produced, did the makeup and special effects for, and starred in this film (as Don Brandon). Clearly an inspiration for films like 'Frankenhooker', 'Doctor Gore' featured a mad scientist intent on collecting female body parts and building the perfect woman after his wife died. Along with his hunch-backed assistant Greg, the doctor finally succeeded in bringing a body back to life to be his eternally devoted concubine, dedicated to fulfilling his every desire. Of course things went awry, as they tend to do when you kill a bunch of girls and reanimate a corpse. It isn't a benchmark in competent film-making, but it did have some quality special effects (as seen in the clip below). If you're looking for a good time, I'd call 'Doctor Gore' an entertaining place to look.

360. The Man Who Collected Food (2010)

September 30, 2014

I can't remember what I expected from 'The Man Who Collected Food', but I have to say I had at least hoped it would be better. It was about a guy who, as the title suggests, collected food for a hobby. Obsessed with collecting all kinds of food and drinks and keeping the packages pristine, he found himself unable to actually eat real food, leading him to more cannibalistic tendencies. I think I would have preferred the movie to take itself a little more seriously, but it was unabashedly absurd, which made it seem like a joke that it desperately wanted to be in on but wasn't really that funny in the first place. Maybe I read into it more than I should have, but I also got the feeling that it was trying to say something about people who collect things in general. As someone who collects a lot of movies, I don't need anything in my collection pointing out how stupid it is to collect things. Then again, maybe that wasn't what it was trying to say at all. Whatever the case may be, 'The Man Who Collected Food' was not really a movie I would recommend.

359. Edge of Tomorrow (2014)

September 29, 2014

As I've said before, Tom Cruise is awesome. I didn't hear a lot of people talk about 'Edge of Tomorrow' when it came out, which is a shame because it was spectacular. The special effects were great and the acting (including Cruise, Emily Blunt, Brendan Gleeson, Noah Taylor, and Bill Paxton) was fantastic. It did leave a lot more questions unanswered than it could actually answer, but it was still a lot of fun. Cruise starred as an officer stripped of his rank and thrown into a war nobody could win against an alien race with telekinetic powers. When he wound up with alien blood on his face, he found himself caught in a loop where every time he died he was sent back to where he was right before the war. Fortunately, he was able to retain the knowledge from previous cycles and build up his strength and intelligence to attempt to defeat the aliens. Picture 'Groundhog Day' meets 'Aliens' and you'll have a decent idea of the plot. I loved it, so I strongly recommend you see it.

358. Halloween The Curse of Michael Myers (The Producer's Cut) (1995)

September 28, 2014

I was pretty excited when Scream Factory announced a partnership with Anchor Bay to release all 10 Halloween films in one box set (as well as the previously unreleased producer's cut of 'Halloween The Curse of Michael Myers'). I was even more excited when it showed up on my doorstep. I was ecstatic when I popped in the blu-ray and watched the only Halloween film that had thus far eluded me. Unfortunately I have to admit I was disappointed by it. As convoluted and confusing as the theatrical release was, the producer's cut was almost even more. In comparison to the theatrical cut, the producer's cut has some longer scenes and the character Jamie doesn't actually die, as well as some other key differences. Overall, I'd recommend it to anyone who has seen all the other movies and wants to see something a little different. Nothing special though.

357. Hocus Pocus (1993)

September 27, 2014

Sure, it's a silly, family movie from Disney, but you have to watch 'Hocus Pocus' if you want to start the Halloween season off right. Let's call it a 'guilty pleasure'. Bette Midler, Kathy Najimy, and Sarah Jessica Parker star as three Salem witches accused of witchcraft and murder and sentenced to hang for their crimes. Upon their death, they placed a curse on the town that they would return when a virgin lit a black-flamed candle on All Hallow's Eve. For three centuries they waited, until Max (Omri Katz) lit the candle, trying to impress a girl. As he was a virgin, the witches curse was lifted and they were able to return to life to try to suck the lives out of the children of Salem and regain their own youth. It was then up to Max, his sister Danny (Thora Birch), his girlfriend, a talking cat, and a zombie (Doug Jones) to try to stop the witches before they could harm any children. It is a fun movie, and one that everyone can enjoy this time of year.

356. The Battery (2012)

September 26, 2014

I really tried to like 'The Battery', but it was just so boring. It had good moments, and the main guy (Jeremy Gardner - who also wrote and directed) was a pretty good actor. The other guy (Adam Cronheim) was annoying and whiny, and made the movie feel longer than it needed to be. Essentially it was about two guys surviving after a zombie outbreak of some kind wiped out most of civilization. Most of the time they just wandered around, occasionally killing zombies, and occasionally finding food or shelter. When they find some other living people who seriously do not want to be found, things get more dangerous than ever before and the guys have to try to survive some more. It wasn't a bad movie, it just didn't have enough going for it to keep me that interested for an hour and a half. Apparently the budget was less than $10,000 though, which is pretty impressive. When a movie with big names and a decent budget tries to call itself independent, it should look at 'The Battery' and say, "Oh, that's how it's done." Honestly, if it hadn't been for Cronheim's character's incessant complaining, 'The Battery' could have been a lot more entertaining.

355. The Frighteners (1996)

September 25, 2014

Pre-Lord of the Rings Peter Jackson was an indomitable genius. Everything he made was brilliant. From 'Bad Taste' and 'Meet the Feebles' to 'Dead Alive', 'Heavenly Creatures', and 'Forgotten Silver'. 'The Frighteners' is absolutely no exception. A masterpiece of a fun horror film, 'The Frighteners' has everything I need in a movie. Michael J. Fox stars as Frank Bannister, a paranormal investigator who actually has the ability to communicate with ghosts and uses his special skills to con people out of money. When people start dying around town, Frank eventually finds out that it is the work of a long-dead serial killer (Jake Busey) who, along with his accomplice (Dee Wallace), is continuing his life's work to rack up the body count. Seriously, this movie is unbelievably awesome. If you haven't seen it, the only person you are hurting is yourself.

354. Night Train Murders (1975) aka Last Stop on the Night Train

September 24, 2014

I have to admit, for a film called 'Night Train Murders', I was expecting more murders, and I was expecting them to happen on a train (in its defense, it has a bunch of alternate titles - 'The New House on the Left', 'Second House on the Left', Don't Ride the Late Night Trains', 'Last Stop on the Night Train', 'Late Night Trains', 'Last House Part II', and 'Xmas Massacre' - which don't all necessarily have to do with trains, and point out that it is basically a ripoff of Wes Craven's 'The Last House on the Left'). That said, it was a pretty good film, with a lot of suspense and some genuinely disturbing situations. When two young girls take a train to Germany to visit one of their parents, they meet two deviants who boarded the train to abscond from a policeman. The girls help them avoid the ticket taker, but eventually get creeped out and try to get away from them. After a potential bomb scare, the girls switch trains to a seemingly empty train to finish their journey, and the criminals (as well as a strange and promiscuous woman who joins them) board the train as well. What follows is a claustrophobic and hopeless scene of torture in a train cabin, with devastating consequences. I feel like I've already said too much about the plot, and since it was a good movie I will suggest you watch it yourself because the conclusion is pretty fantastic.

353. Bad Boy Bubby (1993)

September 22, 2014

I found 'Bad Boy Bubby' on a list of "weird" movies that someone posted. Since it was one of the few on the list that I hadn't seen (and the list was pretty good) I had to check it out. Within the first few minutes I was hooked, and by the end it had already cemented a place in my favorite movies of all time. Nicholas Hope stars as Bubby, a 35 year old man who lives with his mother in a small flat and has never been outside and has never met another person aside from his mother. His mother tells him the air outside is poisoned and she wears a gas mask every time she leaves. When Bubby's father shows up after three and a half decades of absence, Bubby's life gets turned upside down, and after an unfortunate incident with a cat, Bubby finds out that the air is in fact not poisoned. He manages to escape and is immediately thrust into the real world, all alone and oblivious to everything. Since he had no social contact throughout his life, he communicates primarily by mimicking and winds up getting in and out of trouble as he struggles to fit in with the world around him. Hope's Bubby is the most innocent, heartfelt performance I've probably ever seen and the film deserves a lot more recognition. I strongly recommend seeing this movie.

352. Graduation Day (1981)

September 20, 2014

Another in a string of lesser known slasher films being given a high definition treatment, Vinegar Syndrome just released 'Graduation Day' on blu-ray and it looks pretty good, despite being a pretty dull movie. A high school track team suffers from the sudden loss of a star athlete who collapses during a race and dies shortly after. When the deceased star's sister comes home to attend the funeral and say a few words at what would have been her sister's graduation, the rest of the track team starts dying. All fingers point to the team's overzealous former coach, Christopher George, but nobody seems that concerned about any of it. I guess it is worth watching if you're a slasher fan, but it doesn't really offer anything new in that department.

351. Drive Angry (2011)

September 16, 2014

'Drive Angry' is another film I've watched a few times this year, and I'm still surprised by how fantastic it is. Nicolas Cage stars as a guy who escaped hell on a mission to save his baby granddaughter from a cult bent on sacrificing her to Satan. Amber Heard plays his sidekick, a jilted ex-waitress with nothing to lose. Together they fight demons and cult members while they try to save the baby. William Fichtner plays the accountant sent from hell to collect Cage after his escape. The special effects are ridiculously awful, but they do nothing to distract from the pure brilliance that is 'Drive Angry'. Even Tom Atkins has a small role (and you know a movie is good if Tom Atkins is in it)! If you haven't seen it, go out and buy it and watch it several times because it is that good.

350. Curtains (1983)

September 14, 2014

The creepy poster art for 'Curtains' has been calling my name for years. I tried watching a grainy VHS rip on YouTube once, but couldn't get into it. Thanks to Synapse's fantastic new blu-ray release, I was able to watch 'Curtains' and actually see and hear what was going on. A woman who takes method acting to a new level has herself committed to a mental institution in order to prepare for a part in an upcoming play. The play's director helps her get into the asylum but never helps her get out. When she finally does get out and learns that the director is looking for a new, younger actress to play her part, she pays the casting call a surprise visit and soon people start dying. It was a very suspenseful slasher film that I'm happy to see get a new blu-ray release. You should check it out.

349. Tusk (2014)

September 13, 2014

I've never liked a single movie that Kevin Smith has made, so I had serious reservations about seeing 'Tusk', but the concept was so weird that I couldn't miss it. I absolutely loved it! Michael Parks deserves an award for his outstanding performance as the old man in the film. Justin Long and Haley Joel Osment run a podcast that talks about funny and peculiar happenings. When they see a video of a kid accidentally chop off his own leg while practicing sword fighting, Long goes out to interview him, only to find that the kid has already died from his injuries. Not wanting to go back empty handed, he seeks out a new story and finds Parks, an old man with promises of all kinds of stories. Cordial and intriguing, Parks tells Long his outlandish life stories until the drugs he put in Long's drink take hold. At that point the movie gets crazier than anything else that has come out recently. I'm not going to spoil anything for you here. Just go watch it and see for yourself how awesome this movie is.

348. Anna Karenina (2012)

September 12, 2014

Once again, I'm not a fan of Kiera Knightley, and in 'Anna Karenina' she plays a raving lunatic who cheats on her husband in the name of love, despite her husband being an overall good guy, and then must face the consequences of her actions all while falling deeper and deeper into an all-consuming madness. I know movies like this have their own fans, and I'm not their target audience, but do they have to be so boring? Not surprisingly, my wife wanted me to watch this with her, so I obliged. A lot of times when she has me watch one of her movies, I'll admit to finding them somewhat charming, if not actually entertaining, but some of them are just garbage. 'Anna Karenina' was garbage.

347. Lawless (2012)

September 12, 2014

Anytime Nick Cave has anything to do with a movie, you can bet I'm going to see it. He wrote the screenplay for 'Lawless' and John Hillcoat directed it. I've seen this movie twice now, and I think it was better the second time. It is a really good movie set during prohibition, and it involves a family of bootleggers who stand up against crooked authorities who threaten their friends and families in exchange for a cut of their business. I'd definitely recommend seeing it if you haven't already.

346. Neon Maniacs (1986)

September 11, 2014

This was the second time I watched 'Neon Maniacs' this year. I showed it to some friends of mine who probably think less of me now for showing them something so weird and silly. Well, I still love it. Twelve maniacs with strange characteristics, living under the Golden Gate bridge, terrorize San Francisco by night. Despite living under a bridge, they're deathly allergic to water, and try to avoid it at all costs. Some kids try to kill them before they get killed. I don't care what anyone says, this movie is awesome.

345. Black Roses (1988)

September 10, 2014

Since the untimely passing of John Fasano in July this year, I've been meaning to re-watch all of his films. I've obviously been running behind on that, but I do plan to have a John Fasano Tribute bad movie night pretty soon... 'Black Roses' is an intentionally awful, low budget film about a heavy metal band starting their tour in a small town against the wishes of many worried parents and townsfolk. The kids think it is great, and they all go to the show and become hypnotized by the band members (who are actually demons). The band plays for several days in the same town for some reason, and the kids don't miss a performance. They stop paying attention at school and start killing their parents and other people because the music is turning them evil. If you're into fun, bad movies, you really need to see this one.

344. The Prowler (1981)

September 10, 2014

Tom Savini has said before that the best special effects he ever did were on 'The Prowler', and I believe him. This movie was awesome! Released in the prime of the slasher boom, 'The Prowler' is often overshadowed by it's heavyweight peers. Just like 'The Burning', 'The Prowler' deserves a resurgence and a much bigger following. Taking place during a college spring formal dance, a series of intense and suspenseful murders recreate events that took place over 30 years prior, sending several people into a panic. It is a slasher movie through and through, and enthusiasts will no doubt be familiar with this movie, but I honestly believe more people need to see it and realize just how great it really is.

343. Ginger Snaps (2000)

September 6, 2014

There aren't enough good werewolf movies out there. Sure, there's 'An American Werewolf in London' and 'The Howling' and 'Dog Soldiers' and a few others, but when you factor in all the vampire movies and haunted house movies, I'd say the werewolf sub-genre is relatively untapped. 'Ginger Snaps' is one of the good ones, in my opinion, and one that is regrettably under appreciated. Katharine Isabelle stars as Ginger, and together with her sister Brigitte (Emily Perkins), the two high school outcasts fantasize about death and other morbid curiosities. When Ginger is bitten by a werewolf she begins changing both physically and mentally. Scared by her sister's changes, Brigitte consults with a local drug dealer to find a cure for Ginger's new-found lycanthropy. Scream Factory just released a nice looking blu-ray, so go pick up your copy and check it out.

342. Triangle (2009)

September 2, 2014

This was a pretty strange film. It featured a handful of teens on a yacht trip that find themselves trapped in stormy weather. When the weather subsides, they see their boat is ruined. As they're going under water they see another ship coming and climb on board, but the ship is abandoned and strange things keep happening. A hooded figure keeps killing them, with a twist that I won't divulge in here. It is worth watching just for the curiosity of it all. I would recommend watching this one.

341. Blood Creek (2009)

September 2, 2014

Joel Schumacher has made his fair share of duds in his career as a director, but 'Blood Creek' has got to be the worst. It has a small following of people who seem to think it was good, but I can't for the life of me figure out why. I was initially excited to see it because I wanted to see Michael Fassbender and Henry Cavill in a horror movie together. Unfortunately that excitement died pretty quickly. Fassbender plays a Nazi who visits a small farm and finds a stone wall covered with Nazi and occult symbols. He tricks the family into allowing him to do experiments there, which leads to the family becoming immortal as long as they provide Fassbender with human sacrifices. One of the attempted sacrifices was Cavill's brother and, upon his escape from the farm, he goes back and brings Cavill with him to kill the crazy farmers (unaware that Fassbender was the true evil on the farm). Together they fight to stop Fassbender and end the Nazi curse. Everything about this movie should have been better. I would recommend avoiding it.

340. Blue Ruin (2013)

September 1, 2014

When a homeless man living in his car on a beach gets the news that the man responsible for killing his parents has been released from prison, he finds and kills the man, putting his life and the lives of his sister's family in danger from the man's family when they plot their own revenge. With several twists and turns along the way, 'Blue Ruin' was a solid and surprisingly good independent film. It is a slow burning film that packs an explosive punch, and I would definitely recommend it.