Day 3 started out with a film that I've wanted to watch during the last 2 October marathons and never got to it and after a buddy mentioned it on Facebook I figured it was time. The film is Below, which was written by Darren Aronofsky, one of my current favorite directors. The film surrounds a World War II submarine that is apparently haunted. The crew deals with mounting tension and danger from other ships and things just spiral downward. Without going into great detail, the film is creepy and pretty well done. There are some corny spots but overall I thought it was one that deserves more attention.
Next up was one that I was really excited to watch as a big fan of both studios involved, Hammer and Shaw Bros - The Legend Of The 7 Golden Vampires. A total mashup of Hammer gothic horror and Shaw Bros kung-fu madness. The first few minutes are pretty bad but afterwards it becomes something of incredible awesomeness. It is far from perfect but anything starring Peter Cushing and featuring about a half dozen fights between kung-fu masters and vampires gets my seal of approval. If you're into either genre featured you'll have a blast with it.
After some sleep that day it brought me to The Asphyx, a movie I've had on DVD and never watched it and now I've had the Blu-ray for quite a while and finally checked it out. This is a cool story about a scientist who discovers the means to immortality and it is by capturing your Asphyx, a ghost like apparition that appears just before you die. If you're able to capture it and trap it you will live forever. This is another good one for gothic style horror fans.
I closed out the day with Tower of Evil on Blu-ray from Severin. A group of people are murdered on Snape Island and another group goes to figure out why and how, and maybe look for old treasure. Tower Of Evil features some cool set design, a gross looking monster and lots of nudity. Not the best of the decade by any means but an entertaining ride either way.
Day 4 began with The Blood Rose, a French horror film centered around an art museum curator who falls in love with a beautiful woman and they move to his villa in the deep countryside, where they encounter a pair of midgets who have lived on the grounds for years. After an accident the woman is left badly burned and her lover turns to a convicted surgeon to try a risky face transplant... the only problem is they need the face from a living woman. The midgets act as perverted little henchmen in the game and it ends up being a cool movie, if not all that original.
The only other movie of day 4 was one of my favorite viewings of the month so far, The Monster Club. I had never even heard of this anthology film starring Vincent Price until Scorpion announced they were releasing a Blu-ray of it. After reading a bit about it I knew I had to own it. This movie was a blast, with everything from strong horror segments, to rock and roll performances inside the club, Price/Carradine/Pleasance trio, and of course the stripper! This movie was made to be fun and it is.
Later that day a buddy and I ventured to The Ottobar in Baltimore. I've been to this club probably a hundred times easy but never had I been more excited. Goblin was in town on their first ever North American tour. The band that wrote the soundtracks for such classics as Suspiria, Dawn of the Dead and Tenebre were in my hometown at a pretty small club compared to the other venues they'd be playing. The show was sold out, we had VIP tickets for a meet and greet and fun things like that. First off let me say that Goblin sounded amazing, they nailed their set, aside from maybe one slip-up during the Suspiria theme toward the beginning where it sounded like someone was late coming in, it was quickly rectified. On top of that for as much fun as everyone in the crowd was having, the band members were having just as much. They were all smiles all night, from the soundcheck, to the meet and greet where they mingled with fans for a long time, to the entire duration of their set, they were constantly taking out their phones to take pictures of everything. It was well worth every penny spent to see them and meet them and it was absolutely refreshing to see that they're in love with what they do. The opening band, Secret Chiefs 3, was fucking killer as well.
Day 5 was another pair of films starting off with the lame Hell High after getting home from the Goblin show. This is a late 80s rape/revenge flick about a dickheaded group of teens that terrorize their teacher. Eventually she reaches her breaking point and flashes back to a traumatic childhood event and goes on a streak of revenge on the students that made her life hell. Too bad it wasn't all that interesting at all.
Later on I gave a re-watch to Child's Play. I had wanted to watch Curse Of Chucky but it wasn't available on demand and I didn't care enough to check any other sources so I popped in the Blu-ray of the first film in the franchise that I had just bought on the cheap recently. I apparently had forgotten several parts of the film in the years it has been between viewings as there were a couple of kills I just didn't remember at all. The movie is still decent and I enjoy it and the first 2 sequels.
Today's Rundown
Below - 6/10
Legend of the 7 Golden Vampiers - 7/10
The Asphyx - 7/10
Tower of Evil - 7/10
The Blood Rose - 7/10
The Monster Club - 8/10
Hell High - 4/10
Child's Play - 7/10
No comments:
Post a Comment