While me and my brother were doing Shocktober, we also watched some more family friendly horror films with our younger siblings. I've talked about Beetlejuice, The Blob and The Nightmare Before Christmas before, so I won't bother to repeat myself here. We also watched:
The classic 80's comedy, Ghostbusters is perfect family viewing for October. The plot, part working class comedy, part parody of haunted house films, part send-up of cosmic horror stories, shouldn't work but somehow it does. The chemistry of the four leads is pitch perfect, with each character contrasting the others. Bill Murray's acerbic jerk is the perfect foil for Dan Aykroyd's wide-eyed, enthusiastic man-child and Harold Ramis' stiff, obsessive nerd, while Ernie Hudson serves as a relatable everyman, helping to ground the crazy supernatural hijinx. Sigourney Weaver and Rick Moranis are great as well, while William Atherton and Annie Potts are perfectly cast in their respective roles. The over-the-top special effects and shear imagination on display are just icing on the cake and director Ivan Reitman weaves together all of these disparate elements with real flair.
Score: 10/10
The Batman vs. Dracula (2005)
A direct-to-video animated film based on WB's The Batman TV series, The Batman vs. Dracula is surprisingly dark and violent given it's target audience. There are copious amounts of blood and the film's portrayal of a vampiric Joker (already an unnerving presence in the show) is truly frightening. The film has an eerie tone and the more grounded, realistic look the The Batman, contrasted with the exaggerated, anime influenced character designs serve the material really well (though I think that the Bruce Timm style would have worked even better). As in the show it remains a character driven story, and never falls into the trap of relying on it's admittedly gimmicky central premise to make it work.
Score: 8/10
Ok so this one may have been a mistake. It was way more intense then I remember and the stuff with the witches, in particular, was a little too much for my youngest sister, who wisely went to bed half way through the film. In any case I've always liked the way Tim Burton's film acts as a send-up of old Hammer Horror movies. Like those films it is a period piece and an literary adaptation but in this case it adapts American, not English literature. The set and costume design is great as are the blood and gore effects or at least the practical stuff (the CG hasn't held up well at all). The performances are also solid all around and the film has a great cast. Danny Elfman's score is superb as usual. On the other hand I find the directors revisionist take on the religious moralism of the time rather distasteful.
Score: 8/10
2. Horror of Dracula (1958)
A superb adaptation of the definitive vampire novel, even if it plays a little fast and loose with it's source. One of my absolute favorite horror movies.
3. Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
A worthy sequel to the classic 1931 adaptation of Mary Shelley's story, James Whale delves deeper into the psychological aspects of the story while upping the amount of black comedy, at which the director excels.
4. The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
A truly chilling thriller The Silence of the Lambs is carried by it's lead performances from Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins. A great film.
5. Psycho (1960)
Hitchcock's groundbreaking masterpiece changed cinema for better or worse but nevermind, his direction is positively masterful and Anthony Perkin's career defining performance paints a picture of a man set on constructing his own reality at any cost. The ending remains haunting and impactful to this day.
6. Misery (1990)
Though it's another performance driven movie, director Rob Reiner makes the best of the film's isolated, claustrophobic setting to deliver a really suspenseful thriller.
7. Zodiac (2007)
The first David Fincher film I've really liked, Zodiac minimalist approach to it's story and it's fidelity to the historical facts really impressed me.
8. Wes Craven's New Nightmare (1994)
Easily the best of the Nightmare on Elm Street sequels, Wes Craven's New Nightmare returns the series to it's roots in psychological horror and introduces a meta-elements which are echoed in the director's Scream movies.
9. The Quatermass Xperiment (1955)
A classy little sci-fi horror that put Hammer studios on the map The Quatermass Xperiment is just as good as the gothic, period piece horror films that the studio is now famous for.
10. The Mystery of Edwin Drood (1935)
Not a horror film, but a fairly chilling gothic romance The Mystery of Edwin Drood does a good a job adapting it's unfinished source material as can be expected. Claude Rains is magnificent, as always.
11. The Hound of the Baskervilles (1959)
I'm a sucker for Sherlock Holmes so, this being an adaptation one of Doyle's best novel, it may be a little high but it is a well made detective story, despite being flawed.
12. The Curse of Frankenstein (1957)
Though not quite as good as the 1931 Universal version, The Curse of Frankenstein is a respectable adaptation in it's own right and a triumph for Hammer and Terence Fisher.
A worthy follow-up to Curse, even if it's a little more rough around the edges.
14. The Raven (1935)
The pairing of Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff is, by itself, worth the price of admission but the Poe inspired story is not half bad either.
15. Quatermass 2 (1957)
Though less focused then it's predecessor, Quatermass 2 still has a lot going for it, not the least of which is it's paranoid, conspiracy fueled plot.
17. Sleepy Hollow (1999)
Tim Burton's loose adaptation of the classic Henry Irving story is equal parts flawed and brilliant. As a result it tends to go up and down in my estimation every time I see it.
18. The Mummy (1959)
The Mummy is yet another strong period horror film from Terence Fisher but I have to admit that it bored me at times. It seems I just can't get into this kind of material.
19. X: The Unknown (1956)
Another well made sci-fi horror/thriller from Hammer, X: The Unknown lacks the sharp scripts and unique visual style of the Quatermass movies.
20. The Invisible Ray (1936)
The third pairing of Karloff and Lugosi may be their weakest so far but it still oozes atmosphere and the two titans are as good as ever.
21. Freddy vs. Jason (2003)
Freddy vs. Jason is not a great film by any means but if you look up dumb-fun in the dictionary you may find a picture of it.
22. The Man Who Reclaimed His Head (1934)
A well made little drama that doesn't really belong on this list. It's interesting thematic ideas are let down a little by a script that is lacking in subtlety but the performances are top-notch.
23. Jason X (2001)
Though a guilty pleasure at best, Jason X is still a more entertaining film then at least half of the Jason movies.
24. Werewolf of London (1935)
A middling effort from Universal, Werewolf of London's biggest strengths are it's atmosphere and some better-then-average comic relief, even if the latter is resorted to a little too often.
25. Dracula's Daughter (1936)
An interesting, if uneven, follow-up to the Bela Lugosi classic, Dracula's Daughter works best when it focuses on the internal struggles of the titular vampiress which is all-too-often sidelined by the activities of the Otto Kruger's protagonist.
26. Red Dragon (2002)
A decent enough follow-up to The Silence of the Lambs even if it falls short of Micheal Mann's 1986 version.
27. Secret of the Chateau (1934)
Secret of the Chateau is largely forgettable but, as I said, I have a soft spot for detective movies and this one, if nothing else, has an interesting cast of characters to keep me engaged.
28. The Abominable Snowman (1957)
Overall the weakest of the early Hammer sci-fi pictures, The Abominable Snowman is still quite good. It has a unique atmosphere and wrestles with some really intriguing ideas.
29. Saw (2004)
An at times promising but ultimately frustrating debut for James Wan, Saw is too focused on its contrived mystery plot and spends too little time on its intriguing central premise.
30. Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday (1993)
The first really bad film on this list, The Final Friday deserves credit for trying to take the series in a different direction, even if it falls a little flat.
31. A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master (1988)
A truly terrible sequel that wastes its impressive production value on an overstuffed, incoherent and mean-spirited script.
32. Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare (1991)
Freddy's Dead is that special kind of sequel that is fascinatingly bad.
33. Halloween II (2009)
Though a more interesting film then it's predecessor Halloween II is still marred by it's directors blunt approach and love of excess to really work.
34. Life Returns (1935)
An utterly inept production, more remarkable for the bizarre true story that inspired it then anything else.
35. A Nightmare on Elm Street: The Dream Child (1989)
Though technically a better film then The Final Nightmare, Dream Child is at the bottom of the list because it repeats and doubles down on all the mistakes its already awful predecessor made while adding nothing new or interesting to it. It's also thoroughly forgettable.
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