2017 October Horror Challenge Day 7

When Intervision announced they were releasing a film called SUFFER LITTLE CHILDREN and I saw the trailer of this 1983 shot on video movie starring a bunch of kids and a few unfortunate adults I knew I had to see this obscurity. It didn't really look good, most shot on video movies don't, but damn if it didn't look interesting. Well that pretty much sums it up. It isn't good. The acting is predictably shitty and large chunks of the dialogue is so poorly recorded that it's inaudible under the synth score which just pounds and pounds. Luckily the story is simple enough that we don't need those bits of dialogue to figure out that a girl who has shown up at the orphanage ("children's home") is controlling the other kids to do harm to the adults and is of Satanic nature. It's definitely interesting with the kids acting and it's no budget nature and seeing how creative they could get but seeing it once is probably more than enough in a lifetime. It's an oddity and a curiosity but there's better shot on video, better Satanic horror and better evil kids movies out there.

Next was a bit of a disappointment, 1953's THE MAGNETIC MONSTER from writer director Curt Siodmak who is a familiar name in the science fiction and horror genres having been a writer on dozens of projects. Unfortunately THE MAGNETIC MONSTER isn't one of his most exciting. The production is solid, with good performances but there's little in terms of anything exciting or action that isn't implied. 50s sci-fi enthusiasts and completists might appreciate it more but it's a good looking production that doesn't offer a ton of fun.

It's been a decade since I last saw BLACK SHEEP and decided to see how it holds up. I didn't love this movie the first time I saw it but I did think it was an interesting mashup of nature run amok and zombie tropes with a hint of werewolf movies tossed in just for some seasoning. I still feel that. BLACK SHEEP is a very comedic film and it works more often than not but there are a few moments where the comedy turns into fart jokes and those scenes just plain stink but otherwise I had fun with it all. Look for some creative and well done makeup and creature effects. This product of New Zealand carries on the tradition of Peter Jackson's early work in gory and comedic horror films.