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 #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 '12 #4 - Witchboard

Witchboard (1986)
Director: Kevin Tenney
Starring: Todd Allen, Tawny Kitaen, Stephen Nicholls
Format: VHS (Continental Video)

Plot: At a party, a guest brings out a Ouija board, and they attempt to contact a spirit he knows. The spirit does appear, but it becomes apparent to the one who brought the Ouija board that this is an evil spirit that is impersonating his spirit, and despite warnings not to use the board alone, a woman uses it alone, and becomes harassed by the evil spirit, his goal to possess her so he can walk the earth again.

A year before she became forever embedded in the fantasies of males the world over (including yours truly at age 13) by rolling about on the hood of a couple of Jaguars in a Whitesnake video, 80s hottie Tawny Kitaen starred in this pretty good paranormal horror flick.

Kitaen and her mountain of teased hair are in good form as Linda, the hot babe who falls victim to a vengeful spirit. Todd Allen (who has a roll in the upcoming DJANGO UNCHAINED) is her sceptical boyfriend and Stephen Nicholls (a veteran of several US soaps with Ken-doll looks) is the Ouija board owner and rival for Linda's affections.

Director Kevin Tenney (NIGHT OF THE DEMONS) does a nice job building up suspense and shows some Raimi-esque touches with POV spirit shots. The music makes this feel like a Poltergeist sequel at times, although things never get as batshit-crazy as in those films.

The acting's good across the board, except for Kathleen Wilhoite, whose Cali-speak spiritual medium character is the epitome of grating. You'll cheer as she bites the dust, trust me. Except for a terrible green-screen shot during the climax, the effects are minimal but effective (mostly objects moving by themselves).

The storyline does a good job of building up the characters and their back stories. It might be a bit slow at the start for some, but I found the plot to be engaging enough. Overall this was an enjoyable watch and there's even the pre-requisite Tawny Kitaen shower scene (with full frontal nudity) - my 13-year-old self would have been ecstatic.