31 Nights of Terror 2015 #40 - Goodnight Mommy (2014)

Goodnight Mommy (2014)
Director: Severin Fiala, Veronika Franz
Starring: Susanne Wuest, Lukas Schwarz, Elias Schwarz
Format: AVI

Plot: Twin boys move to a new home with their mother after she has face changing cosmetic surgery, but under her bandages is someone the children don't recognize.

And so the 2015 edition of 31 Nights of Terror comes to an end with the 40th entry, which I'm pretty sure is my best effort yet. I wanted to finish with something good, and I've been wanting to see Goodnight Mommy ever since I first started hearing buzz about it last year.

This German-language Austrian film is pure psychological horror. There's no body count and there's no gore, so if you're after that, look elsewhere. Instead Goodnight Mommy is a beautifully-shot slice of surreal and suspenseful mystery. The idea is that you're kept guessing the whole time as things unfold and the plot takes a bunch of twists and turns.

I say that because unfortunately I picked the plot twist right from the start, as I'm sure a lot of horror fans will. When you watch so many of these types of movies it happens. While I think not guessing the twist would add a lot to the viewing experience here, I did enjoy the movie anyway.

The directors do a fantastic job of capturing the absolute beauty of the remote countryside location, with some simply stunning cinematography. Simultaneously they use this isolation to build a atmosphere of complete and utter dread, without relying on lazy jump scares. Helped by some fantastic acting from the three leads (young twins Lukas and Elias are outstanding), this movie will have your skin crawling and the hairs on the back of your neck standing up for the whole ride. 

To say too much more would be to give too much away, but if you like slow-burning, suspenseful stories that will make you think, you can't go wrong with Goodnight Mommy.

31 Nights of Terror 2015 #39 - Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988)

Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988)
Director: Dwight H Little
Starring: Donald Pleasence, Ellie Cornell, Danielle Harris
Format: DVD

Plot: Ten years after his original massacre, the invalid Michael Myers awakens and returns to Haddonfield to kill his seven-year-old niece on Halloween. Can Dr. Loomis stop him?

Every Halloween night I like to watch one movie from either the Texas Chainsaw Massacre or Halloween franchises. Having watched Halloweens 1, 2 and 3 in recent times I decided on this, the fourth entry and, as the name suggests, the one where Michael Myers returns (after being absent for part three, the producers decided they needed The Shape back).

As a movie in its own right, Halloween 4 isn't anything great. Most of the plot is rehashed from the first movie (Michael escapes and heads to Haddonfield, teenage babysitter, friend who's the Sheriff's daughter, Dr Loomis etc) and Little's direction lacks the artistic eye of John Carpenter. But on the other hand there's something infinitely rewarding about hearing that theme song and seeing Michael creep around killing people, like putting on a pair of well-worn pants.

Obviously we all know that Danielle Harris has turned into a modern scream queen and darling of the horror nerds, but even as a 10-year-old here she's pretty great. Her scared facial expressions are really effective. The rest of the acting is pretty much just there, although of course Donald Pleasance hams it up as the ever-more-crazy Loomis. Also worth a mention is a brief but funny appearance by Carmen Filpi, whose comedic performances in Wayne's World and The Wedding Singer ("I used to be much stronger") make him a legend in my book.

The kills are unfortunately pretty mundane and the gore factor is pretty low. What does make this movie stand out in the memory is the ending. It's a nice little twist and I wish they'd continued with it into the next movie, but of course they ignored it and went back to the tried and true.

Overall part 4 is nothing spectacular, but it's a helluva lot better than what was to come. Hey, at least there's no crappy rapper kung fu fighting Michael, right?

31 Nights of Terror 2015 #38 - Hocus Pocus (1993)

Hocus Pocus (1993)
Director: Kenny Ortega
Starring: Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, Kathy Najimy
Format: Cinema

Plot: After three centuries, three witch sisters are resurrected in Salem, Massachusetts on Halloween night, and it is up to two teenagers, a young girl and an immortal cat to put an end to the witches' reign of terror once and for all.

As a treat to my girlfriend, I arranged for us to travel to our nearest city for a one-off screening of Hocus Pocus, a favourite Halloween movie from her childhood. With my five-year-old son along, we made a family trip of it, taking in a 1pm matinee.

I'm sure everyone reading this is familiar with the movie. As a family-friendly Halloween flick it's pretty good, and my girlfriend and son both really enjoyed seeing it on the big screen.

31 Nights of Terror 2015 #37 - Juan of the Dead (2011)

Juan of the Dead (2011)
Director: Alejandro Brugués
Starring: Alexis Díaz de Villegas, Jorge Molina, Andros Perugorría
Format: DVD

Plot: A group of slackers face an army of zombies. The Cuban government and media claim the living dead are dissidents revolting against the government.

Another recent pick up at the Armageddon convention, this is one I've been wanting to see for a while now. I'm a huge fan of Shaun of the Dead, and the name of this movie is obviously meant as a reference to that. And it's Cuban - not sure I've ever seen too many Cuban movies.

Juan of the Dead isn't some kind of remake of Shaun of the Dead. It shares a common starting point in that a zombie apocalypse breaks out and our protagonists are probably the last people you'd want to have to rely on to save you during it. 

Like Shaun and Ed in the English film, Juan and Lazaro are just coasting through life, but a point of difference is that they are always out to make a buck, and try to cash in on the zombie outbreak by setting up a "zombie exterminator" type business. Also, whereas Shaun of the Dead has a romance at its heart, here the "loved ones" trying to re-establish their relationship are Juan and his estranged daughter.

I loved the many references to the Cuban lifestyle, especially how the government tries to pass off the zombies as "dissidents" who are working with the Americans.

In terms of comedy, Juan of the Dead is funny. I didn't find it as hilarious as Shaun, but it's still got some golden moments. I do wonder if maybe some of the comedic timing is lost because it's in Spanish and you're busy reading subtitles (the characters talk damn fast). But overall it's funny and has heart (Juan and Lazaro have great chemistry, which is key to making this movie work).

The special effects are pretty good. There's some good blood and gore and while some of the CGI is a bit dodgy overall it works well.

If you're a fan of horror comedy along the lines of Shaun of the Dead, Zombieland and Return of the Living Dead, you need to see this one.

31 Nights of Terror 2015 #36 - Leatherface: Texas Chainsaw Massacre 3 (1990)

Leatherface: Texas Chainsaw Massacre 3 (1990)
Director: Jeff Burr
Starring: Kate Hodge, Ken Foree, R.A. Mihailoff
Format: VHS

Plot: A couple encounters a perverted gas station attendant who threatens them with a shotgun. They take a deserted path in Texas to seek help, but only meet up with a cannibalistic clan interested in helping themselves to fresh meat.

This is the only of the original TCM movies that I don't own on DVD (it's long out of print and expensive). In fact, I thought I didn't own it at all, until I stumbled upon a VHS copy in a box. I hadn't watched it since it came out on VHS back in the day, so what better time to check it out than now.

I make it no secret that the first two TCM movies are among my very favourite horror films. The first is pure low budget horror and the second is campy fun. But unfortunately when the Sawyer clan bit the dust in part two, it created a problem for anyone wanting to make a further sequel. My preference would have been continuing the story by explaining that Leatherface got away and putting him with a new "family" or some relatives that we weren't aware of. In fact, that's how I like to look at this movie, despite the fact most people say it takes place in an alternative timeline.

Either way, Leatherface is the only carry over from the earlier movies, as he has a new Sawyer family, made up of a wheelchair-ridden "mother", a daughter (WTF?), and three brothers (one of whom is played by future Aragorn Viggo Mortensen). The mother and daughter are interesting, but the others just kind of fade into the background.

The protagonists are an annoying yuppie couple and a survivalist, the latter played by the always-entertaining Ken Foree (Dawn of the Dead). Foree is one of the only real high points of this movie, as even Leatherface comes off as pretty boring in this one (and his make-up effects are shoddy).

Unfortunately the VHS of this movie was cut to pieces to get an R rating, so the version I watched was devoid of a lot of violence. In this form it came across as really short as well, as there's one big fight scene and then it's over. I must try to get hold of the unrated DVD at some stage, when it comes down in price.

But besides the obvious hackjob on the gore scenes, this movie has a lot of other problems, including some incredibly dumb moments. Leatherface can drive? Okay. His chainsaw can still run while underwater? Wow.

I'm usually very forgiving when it comes to TCM movies - I enjoy the remakes from recent years - but this one is just plain bad. It doesn't even have the camp factor of part 4. Unless you're a Texas Chainsaw completist, you're fine to skip over this one.

31 Nights of Terror 2015 #35 - Felt (2014)

Felt (2014)
Director: Jason Banker
Starring: Amy Everson, Kentucker Audley, Ryan Creighton
Format: AVI

Plot: A woman creates an alter ego in hopes of overcoming the trauma inflicted by men in her life.

Wow, what the hell did I just watch. I've heard a lot of talk about this movie and it seems to be polarising - people either loved it or hated it. Which camp do I fall into? Well, I don't hate it, but it's not a horror movie. In fact, I hesitated to include this in the 31 Nights of Terror countdown after I got finished watching it, but so many other reviews refer to it as horror that I decided to go ahead.

There's really no point in talking about this movie in length. I'll just say that it's well shot, the acting is pretty good (especially by Everson, who does a great job portraying a girl who's losing her mind), and the ending is pretty brutal. Other than that... I don't know quite what to say. It's safe to assume I won't be watching a movie quite like this again any time soon.

If you go into this one expecting horror, you'll be disappointed. If you like quirky indie movies with mumbling, awkward characters and plenty of WTF moments, this is probably right up your alley.

31 Nights of Terror 2015 #34 - The Borderlands (2013)

The Borderlands (2013)
Director: Elliot Goldner
Starring: Gordon Kennedy, Robin Hill, Aidan McArdle
Format: AVI

Plot: A team of Vatican investigators descends upon a church in a remote area to demystify the unusual happenings, but what they discover is more disturbing than they had first imagined.

Also known as Final Prayer (a more fitting name), this is one of those movies that is saved by its third act and ending.

That's not to say the rest of the movie is bad. As found footage paranormal movies go it's simply watchable for the first two-thirds. Like all films of this kind, nothing much happens at the start, then the tension and suspense ramps up. The early portions are all about getting us comfortable with the characters before the bad stuff goes down, and the actors do a good job of bringing fun-loving techie Gray (Hill), hard-drinking and cynical church investigator Deacon (Kennedy), and by-the-book priest Mark (McArdle) to life.

Once the paranormal stuff starts it's nothing we haven't seen before, but the isolated setting (which I love) adds to an overall creepy atmosphere. Then late in the piece one of the characters goes investigating by himself at night and the suspense really ramps up, leading to an ending that I was left thinking about for days afterwards.

Those who don't like found footage films will probably want to bypass this one, but if that doesn't put you off, give it a watch, for the ending alone if for nothing else.

31 Nights of Terror 2015 #33 - Don't Look in the Basement (1973)

Don't Look in the Basement (1973)
Director: SF Brownrigg
Starring: Bill McGhee, Jessie Lee Fulton, Robert Dracup
Format: DVD

Plot: Nurse Charlotte Beale arrives at the isolated Stephens Sanitarium to work, only to learn that Dr. Stephens was murdered by one of the patients and his successor, Dr. Geraldine Masters, is not very eager to take on new staff. Charlotte finds her job maddeningly hard as the patients torment and harass her at every turn, and she soon learns why Dr. Masters is so eager to keep outsiders out.

I picked up this movie as part of a 12-movie DVD set called American Horror Stories, which I bought while visiting the US a couple of years ago. Most of the movies are public domain stuff (House on Haunted Hill, Bucket of Blood, Little Shop of Horrors) or very bad prints of other 60s and 70s horror. While the picture quality of this 70s indie cheapie (apparently it cost $100,000 and was shot in 12 days) isn't great, luckily the movie itself makes up for that in spades.

Also known as The Forgotten, this was the debut for late director SF Brownrigg, who does a great job of building up a tense atmosphere. The acting, all by unknowns, is rough around the edges as you'd expect, but does a great job of conveying the various mental short-comings of the inmates. There are some genuinely chilling moments and a bit of blood is shed here and there.

The setting and opening kill (axe to the head while chopping wood) invoked comparisons with Friday the 13th: The New Blood, while the rest of it kind of reminded me of a low-budget Shutter Island. I won't go too much into the plot since there's a pretty good twist involved (which veteran horror movie fans will probably guess but is good anyway).

I highly recommend Don't Look in the Basement, although fans of more modern and polished horror might not find it to their liking.

As a post-script, I should mention that the director's son has helmed a sequel, the trailer for which you can find online. I'm looking forward to checking that out when it's released.

31 Nights of Terror 2015 #32 - Cannibal Ferox (1981)

Cannibal Ferox (1981)
Director: Umberto Lenzi
Starring: Giovanni Lombardo Radice, Lorraine De Selle, Danilo Mattei
Format: DVD

Plot: Three friends out to disprove cannibalism meet two men on the run who tortured and enslaved a cannibal tribe to find emeralds, and now the tribe is out for revenge.

I'm not going to pretend to be some sort of expert on Italian cannibal movies, because I'm not. I haven't seen Lenzi's other cannibal flicks like Man from Deep River and Eaten Alive, and I have never seen the one that everyone talks about, Cannibal Holocaust. I guess these movies just aren't my thing.

I bought this Cannibal Ferox DVD a good long while ago (I can't remember when, probably 10 years ago now) and it has sat on my shelf ever since that first viewing. I dragged it out now for one reason only - my girlfriend hasn't seen it (or any Italian jungle cannibal flicks) and I'm trying to expand her horror movie horizons.

Now, let me say that this isn't a bad movie. It has a certain charm about it, in the way that only 1970s/early 80s movies seem to have. The story is simple but effective, and I like the fact that it doesn't make out the "savages" to be the bad guys. It's the white man that starts the bloodshed, they simply get their own back (even if some of those punished are innocently caught up in it).

The gore is pretty intense, no doubt about it. But I think the impact of it has been lessened by the recent "torture porn" craze. Seeing a man castrated is unfortunately not that unusual anymore. Still, the one scene with the guy's head trapped in a table and cut open ranks up there as one of the most gruesome effects I've seen.

But, what really stops this movie from getting repeat views is the animal cruelty. I'm no tree-hugging vegan greenie, but I don't like it when animals suffer un-needingly. There's too much of it in this movie, and it sours the whole experience for me. A copy of the movie without the animal deaths would be good, but I'm not sure one is available.

31 Nights of Terror 2015 #31 - The Changeling (1980)

The Changeling (1980)
Director: Peter Medak
Starring: George C Scott, Trish van Devere, Melvyn Douglas
Format: DVD

Plot: A man staying at a secluded historical mansion finds himself being haunted by the presence of a spectre.

This is one of the classic horror movies that have so far evaded my collection - it's been quite hard to find here in New Zealand in recent years. So when I spotted the DVD at a booth at Armageddon (NZ's big Comic Con-type convention) on Saturday October 25 I snapped it up and watched it that night.

That's right - movie number 31 on the 25th! I'm well ahead of schedule this year! And what a great movie to pass that magic 31 milestone.

I won't go too much into the plot, because most people have probably seen this (if not, you should), and it's also one of those movies best watched without knowing too much about it. But what I will say is this is one of THE great haunted house movies, up there with the original The Haunting in my opinion.

Director Medak does a fantastic job of building up the suspense and atmosphere, and the acting is ably handled by real life couple Scott and van Devere. The cinematography is top notch and the script has enough twist and turns to keep things interesting throughout. I'm a great believer in less-is-more when it comes to ghost movies, and The Changeling fits the bill perfectly.

I really don't know what else to say about this other than if you haven't seen it, you need to!

31 Nights of Terror 2015 #30 - Halloweentown (1998)

Halloweentown (1998)
Director: Duwayne Dunham
Starring: Debbie Reynolds, Kimberly Brown, Judith Hoag
Format: AVI

Plot: Marnie, Dylan, and Sophie Piper have their first out of many adventures! On Halloween, while Marnie is arguing with her mother Gwen, the kids' grandmother Aggie comes to visit. Aggie wants to start Marnie's witch training before her 13th birthday or Marnie will lose her powers forever. But there is another reason for Aggie's visit. Something dark & evil is growing in Halloweentown & Aggie wants help to defeat it. While Aggie & Gwen are arguing, Aggie uses magic which Marnie observes. After Aggie leaves to return to Halloweentown, Marnie, Dylan and, unknown to Marnie and Dylan, Sophie follow her onto the return bus. Soon afterwards, Gwen follows the children to Halloweentown. While there, Aggie & Gwen are attacked by the dark force in a movie theater. Marnie, Dylan & Sophie race to get the ingredients to activate Merlin's Wand to stop the evil.

This one was a request of my girlfriend. There's a bit of an age gap between us. I'm 40, so my childhood horror memories are from the late 70s and early 80s. She's 25, so for her it's stuff in the late 90s and early 2000s, like this TV movie (it originally played on Disney Channel).

We sat down and watched this as a family, me, my girlfriend and my five-year-old son. I'm not going to do a long review about it, because, well, it's a kids' movie, but I have to say that it is well done for what it is. It's family-friendly fare, but it captures the essence of Halloween quite nicely. Debbie Reynolds is charming as the grandmother witch and some of the "monster" effects are cool in a goofy kind of way (like a G-rated version of Night Breed monsters or something Charles Band would dream up).

You won't be checking this one out unless you have a young child or you were a kid yourself in 1998, but for a children's movie I give it a thumbs up.

31 Nights of Terror 2015 #29 - Tales of Halloween (2015)

Tales of Halloween (2015)
Directors: A bunch of people
Starring: A bunch more people
Format: AVI

Plot: Ten stories are woven together by their shared theme of Halloween night in an American suburb, where ghouls, imps, aliens and axe murderers appear for one night only to terrorize unsuspecting residents.

Between this one, All Hallow's Eve and A Christmas Horror Story, this year's countdown has become something of an anthology-fest. This is probably the most-hyped of them, with such high-profile directors as Darren Lynn Bousman (Saw series), Lucky McKee (May) and Neil Marshall (Dog Soldiers) helming a series of short segments all based around Halloween.

The acting credits are also fairly impressive, with appearances by such genre favorites as Adrienne Barbeau (The Fog), Lin Shaye (Insidious movies), Barry Bostwick (Rocky Horror Picture Show), Barbara Crampton (Re-animator) and Caroline Williams (Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2). A handful of horror directors - Mick Garris, Joe Dante, Stuart Gordon, John Landis and Adam Green among them - also make cameos in acting roles.

With 10 segments there's no way I'm about to go through them one at a time. Instead I'll mention the ones that stick out.

My favourite is "The Night Billy Raised Hell", by Bousman and starring Bostwick  at his campy best causing all sorts of havoc on Halloween night. It's just so much fun and has a dark twist to it.

I also really enjoyed "Bad Seed" by Neil Marshall, about a killer Jack O' Lantern that eats people. Simple but effective and the pumpkin effects are top notch. 

Another great one is "The Ransom of Rusty Rex", directed by Ryan Schifrin and starring the late Ben Woolf (Meep on American Horror Story) and John Landis. It's funny and creepy at the same time.

In truth there are no stinkers amongst the 10 segments. All are good, all are different, but they all have a real Halloween feel to them. Some are funny, some are scary, some are both - but all are quality. Tales of Halloween blows the VHS movies and the ABCs of Death series out of the water, and deserves to be watched every Halloween season alongside Trick R Treat.

31 Nights of Terror 2015 #28 - Dead Weight (2012)

Dead Weight (2012)
Director: Adam Bartlett, John Pata
Starring: Joe Belknap, Mary Lindberg, Michelle Courvais
Format: AVI

Plot: Charlie is traveling through the wilderness to find his girlfriend, Samantha, after civilization is destroyed by widespread biological attacks. He must try to survive while dealing with other survivors and his own emotional burdens.

From the never-ending line of low budget zombie flicks comes Dead Weight. Like most people I'm a bit burned out on the zombie craze, but I read a review of this one that made it sound like something a bit different, so decided to give a try. It definitely is different, but sadly not in a good way.

Where to begin? Oh, I know - this movie has bugger all zombies in it! I understand it's low budget, or maybe it was a conscious choice not to fill the movie with gut-munching walkers, but either way it can only work if the story and acting are strong enough to carry the load. They're not.

The acting is pretty awful and the story... well there really isn't one. Our main guy (who's a bit of a douchebag to start with and gets worse as things go along) joins up with some other survivors and heads off to try to find his girlfriend. They meet other survivors, things basically go badly... yawn. The ending tries to be shocking but it can't save what is a boring movie.

The least said about this one the better. Avoid.

31 Nights of Terror 2015 #27 - The Relic (1997)

The Relic (1997)
Director: Peter Hyams
Starring: Penelope Ann Miller, Tom Sizemore, Linda Hunt
Format: Netflix

Plot: A homicide detective and an anthropologist try to destroy a South American lizard-like god, who's on a people eating rampage in a Chicago museum.

I was looking for something to watch on Netflix and came across this one, which I hadn't seen since the time it came out. I remember back in 1997 there were two big-budget monster movies that came out at the same time - Guillermo del Toro's Mimic and this one. Both even had woman scientists as their main protagonists.

In this one the role of museum scientist is played by Penelope Ann Miller, what ever happened to her? It seemed like she was in a few things for a while there, but I haven't heard much from her in recent years. On the other hand the downfall of Tom Sizemore is well documented - he went from landing biggish roles to low budget obscurity thanks to his vices.

Sizemore is perfectly cast here as the slightly-grumpy old school cop, who pairs up with Miller to track down a monster lurking in a large museum. Wisely the creature is kept off screen for most of the running time, but even when it appears in full it's impressive (designed by the late great Stan Winston). The story around how it ends up in Chicago is fairly well thought out, while the rest of the plot is pure monster movie. The kills don't get very graphic, but there's a decent amount of kills and blood.

The more cynical out there have referred to this as nothing more than Alien in a museum, and that's not far from the truth, but it works. Another comparison I would throw in is Jurassic Park - it has similar cinematography and music and that big budget polish. If you like your horror move gritty and less refined, you'll probably want to pass by this one. Otherwise it's definitely worth a watch, particularly if you like monster movies.

31 Nights of Terror 2015 #26 - Savaged (2013)

Savaged (2013) aka Avenged
Director: Michael S Ojeda
Starring: Amanda Adrienne Smith, Tom Ardavany, Ronnie Gene Blevins
Format: AVI

Plot: A deaf girl is brutalized by a murderous gang who are then hunted by her when the bloodthirsty spirit of an Apache warrior inhabits her lifeless body.

Rape revenge movies are a regular staple of the horror/exploitation market, with movies like Last House on the Left and I Spit on Your Grave the most well-known of them. With this lower-budget offering, director Ojeda takes that familiar theme, adds a supernatural Native American element and produces a pretty damn good little watch. Think of it as a mix of The Crow and I Spit on Your Grave.

Amanda Adrienne Smith plays the raped girl and does a great job playing both the victim and then subsequently the avenger. Because her character is deaf she doesn't talk much except for in the beginning, but her expressions get the job done. In some ways she has a Marilyn Burns from TCM vibe about her.

The acting is one of the biggest assets of this movie. Along with Smith, the acting is great from the rest of the cast, which is mainly made up of scumbag rapists. Too often in low budget movies the "bad guys" aren't convincing, but these guys sure are. Trust me, by the end of proceedings you'll be cheering as they get their nasty comeuppance.

And nasty it is. Ojeda and company don't skimp on the gore, which I appreciate. They also do a good job with the many fight scenes, which isn't surprising given Ojeda's background in choreographing battle re-enactments in historical documentaries.

Savaged is a nice little spin on the rape revenge sub-genre. If that's not your thing give it a miss, but otherwise I recommend it.

31 Nights of Terror 2015 #25 - All Hallow's Eve (2013)

All Hallow's Eve (2013)
Director: Damian Leone
Starring: Katie Maguire, Catherine A Callahan, Marie Maser
Format: AVI

Plot: While watching two children on Halloween night, a babysitter finds an old VHS tape in the kids' trick or treat bag. The tape features three tales of terror, all linked together by a murderous clown. As the night goes on strange things begin to occur in the house. It isn't long before the babysitter learns the horrifying truth... the maniacal clown is slowly working his way into her reality.

I do love a good anthology movie, and having watched A Christmas Story earlier in the marathon, I felt it was time to check out a Halloween-themed one. What I do not love is clowns. I hate them. They terrify me. Take a look at that cover art above - yikes!

A bit of background on this one - two of the three segments in All Hallow's Eve are actually short films made by director Leone years before. So he shot a new segment and some wrap-around stuff and Bob's your uncle. Well Bobo I guess, and he's your murdering uncle.

One of the pre-made shorts deals with a woman who is visited by aliens. It's not terrible, but definitely the weakest of the segments, held down by some dodgy effects and the fact that, well, not much really happens in it.

The other segments are all pretty good, especially considering the low budget. The wrap-around segment is simple enough and akin to the VHS movies in involving a mystery video tape containing the three "stories", and has a fairly brutal and gorey pay-off. The first segment, which introduces the clown, isn't anything too great but gets good use out of a creepy setting (deserted railway station and railway tunnels) and an even creepier clown. The best of the three is the segment titled Terrifier, involving the same clown and a gas station.

Leone achieves a lot with very little with this nice little anthology. It's not flawless by any means but what is lacks in budget it makes up for with creepy style, some good gore and simple storytelling.

31 Nights of Terror 2015 #24 - Ju-on: The Grudge (2002)

Ju-on: The Grudge (2002)
Director: Takashi Shimizu
Starring: Megumi Okina, Misaki Ito, Misa Uehara
Format: DVD

Plot: A mysterious and vengeful spirit marks and pursues anybody who dares enter the house in which it resides.

I've seen this one before a couple of times and may have even reviewed it here on the blog (I'm too lazy to check), but chose it for the marathon because my girlfriend hasn't seen a lot of classic J-Horror. I've also seen the American remake with Sarah Michelle-Gellar, which I actually enjoyed, although it's not as good as the original Japanese version here.

Sadly I find that J-Horror doesn't stand the test of time. Once upon a time these movies really creeped me out, but I guess the tropes of the sub-genre were done to death and that takes away some of the impact. Still, the little boy is creepy, some of the scares are still good (attic, elevator, shower) and the story is good (if a little confusing due to it's non-linear style).

As J-Horror goes this is one of the best and certainly holds up better than Ring (which I tried re-watching a couple of years ago and didn't enjoy much at all).

31 Nights of Terror 2015 #17-23 - Saw series (2004-2010)

Saw series (2004-2010)
Format: DVD

My girlfriend is a big fan of the Saw movies and I hadn't seen all of them (giving up after part 5), so we decided to do a marathon of them as part of this year's 31 Nights of Terror. Rather than give individual reviews of each of the movies (and try to explain the plots, which let's face it get pretty intricate and confusing, and impossible not to post spoilers), I thought I would give a few observations about each entry and then rank them.

Saw (2004)

Director: James Wan

Starring: Cary Elwes, Leigh Whannell, Danny Glover
- All these years later it's easy to think of the Saw movies as classic "torture porn", but it's also easy to forget that the first movie was more of a psychological thriller. The gratuitous torture scenes would become prevalent later in the series. Instead this one is all about the twists and turns of the plot, feeling like a sequel to SE7EN in some ways. While I'm not a big fan of some of the "music video" editing, I think James Wan did a great job here. The acting is also top notch, minus Danny Glover who seems, well, tired or something.

Saw 2 (2005)

Director: Darren Lynn Bousman

Starring: Donnie Wahlberg, Tobin Bell, Shawnee Smith

- Part two is can't really be classed as out-and-out torture porn, even if there are more "traps" in it, some of them truly cringe-worthy. The syringe pit in particular had me squirming in my seat. I like this one better than the first movie mainly because we get more Jigsaw and Donnie Walhberg plays a better protagonist than Glover did.

Saw 3 (2006)

Director: Darren Lynn Bousman

Starring: Tobin Bell, Shawnee Smith, Angus McFadyen

- The torture porn aspect is definitely ramped up in part three, which has some really nasty moments (pig shredder is gross-out and the rack is brutal). I do enjoy the fact that the relationship between Jigsaw and Amanda gets explored here - I think their relationship was what made these early movies so great. Thumbs up to the ending twist.

Saw 4 (2007)

Director: Darren Lynn Bousman

Starring: Tobin Bell, Costas Mandylor, Scott Patterson
- Clearly this was meant to be a three-part series and in hindsight it probably should have been left that way, but you can't blame the studio for wanting to milk the golden goose (I think I screwed up the metaphor there somehow). Unfortunately, while Saw IV is indeed watchable, these movies had become very formulaic by this stage - trap, trap, trap, twist ending. In its favour, this entry has some good background on why Jigsaw became a killer, although the amount of flashbacks does drag down the middle portion. Also, am I the only one who found it damn difficult to tell the difference between Agent Strahm and Detective Hoffman? Couldn't they have chosen two actors that didn't look so similar? It's nice to get some closure on the Eric Matthews story arc.

Saw 5 (2008)

Director: David Hackl

Starring: Scott Patterson, Costas Mandylor, Tobin Bell

- By this stage the series was becoming a bit like the Final Destination movies - you keep watching to see what cool kills they can come up with. The biggest fault of Saw V is that it doesn't have enough Jigsaw, as the story revolves around Strahm and Hoffman, neither of which has the charisma to replace John. Points for casting Julie Benz, who is always good, but the ending twist (while involving a great gruesome kill) is pretty weak.

Saw 6 (2009)

Director: Kevin Greutert

Starring: Costas Mandylor, Tobin Bell, Mark Rolston

- I really don't have much to say about part 6, as it suffers from mostly the same faults as the last entry - not enough Jigsaw, too much Hoffman. I will say that the ending twist is pretty good and I enjoyed the overall "game". I really dug the merry-go-round trap.

Saw 3D: The Final Chapter (2010)

Director: Kevin Greutert

Starring: Costas Mandylor, Tobin Bell, Betsy Russell

- And so the series comes to an end, and not before time. The formula is very, very tired by now and this entry doesn't even have the benefit of the directing of James Wan or Darren Lynn Bousman. This entry does ramp up the gore, rivalling part three for most gruesome, but that can't make up for its faults. The biggest fault is the acting - the guy who plays the character Gibson is so hammy and annoying I felt like punching the screen at times. And, as the name suggests, this one was filmed in 3D, so we get plenty of hokey "stuff flying at the screen" effects. The final twist is pretty good and it does tie everything together in a satisfying way (even if you can tell it was story writing on the fly).

My ranking of the Saw movies from best to worst:

1- Saw 2

2- Saw 3

3 - Saw

4 - Saw 4

5 - Saw 6

6 - Saw 5

7 - Saw 3D: The Final Chapter

31 Nights of Terror 2015 #16 - The Beast of Xmoor (2014)

The Beast of Xmoor (2014)
Director: Luke Hyams
Starring: Melia Kreiling, Nick Blood, Mark Bonnar
Format: Netflix

Plot: A pair of documentarians head into the woods of the Exmoor countryside to find proof of the mysterious big cats that roam the area. But what they find in the depths of the forest is a horror beyond imagine. They must fight tooth and nail to survive or fall prey to what lurks in the darkness.

I've said before that I love horror movies set in isolated locations, especially the wilderness. While writer and director Luke Hyams hasn't re-invented the wheel with The Beast of Xmoor, he has taken a common horror trope (people hunt for Bigfoot in the American wilderness) and given it an English twist.

The setting is the expansive, windswept English moors (actually shot in Ireland, doubling for England, apparently) which are incredibly eerie. The urban legend in question is the English black panther. Like Bigfoot in the US, it has intrigued Brits for a long time now and makes for plenty of speculation (google it if you're unfamiliar). 

On top of a unique location and would-be monster, there are a few other twists thrown in that keep things interesting. Oh, and it's not found footage (despite having documentarians as main protagonists) which I was glad of, having seen way too many of those movies lately.

At its essense Exeter boils down to a "survival in the wilderness" flick, but it works because of the location and because of the acting, especially of lead Kreiling, who plays a great damsel in distress who is forced to kick butt to survive. Once the action starts it's pretty fast paced and never boring, although it won't please gore fans very much. While the ending feels a bit rushed, it is satisfying enough. 

Overall, Exeter won't blow you away, but is definitely worth a watch for having a different take on a well-worn genre.

31 Nights of Terror 2015 #15 - Exeter (2015)

Exeter (2015)
Director: Marcus Nispel (Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake)
Starring: Stephen Lang, Kevin Chapman, Kelly Blatz
Format: Netflix

Plot: During an all-night, drug-fueled party at an abandoned asylum known for the horrific treatment of its patients, a group of ordinary teens decide to experiment with the occult, mysteriously leading to a violent possession. In an effort to find help, the group rushes to escape, only to find themselves locked inside with no means of communication. Tempers flare, trusts are broken and in attempt to save one of their friends possessed by the demon, the amateurs try to perform an exorcism. Instead of solving the problem, and unbeknownst to them, they unleash an even more powerful and vengeful spirit, one with a distinct motive and which wants them all dead. The teen's only chance of survival is to uncover the asylum's deep mysteries and find a way out before it's too late.

After a career dedicated to music videos and big franchise remakes (Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Friday the 13th, Conan the Barbarian), Marcus Nispel offers his first original feature film with this decidedly-mediocre outing.

Yes, it involves possession, but it's not your usual possession movie. Instead Exeter comes off more as a live-action Scooby Doo adventure. Okay, there's no talking dog (unfortunately) but the group of teens are you basic Mystery Inc group - one of them is even a stoner who looks like Shaggy.

An abandoned asylum can be a great setting (Session 9), but it's wasted here as Nispel discards suspense in favour of big special effects moments. About the only thing he gets right is the gore, with a good amount of blood and guts strewn about. But the story is lame and the actors (mostly no names) look lost most of the time. It doesn't help that the main protagonists look way too much like Shia Lebouf and Lindsay Lohan, two actors I can't stand.

For 91 minutes the teens creep around the asylum, a possessed person goes nuts and makes things fly around, they creep around some more, rinse and repeat. Of course's there the required twist ending, which also falls flat.

Avoid.