Gordon (1985-1986)

1985 - Re-Animator - Decapitations, naked corpses going nutso, glowing-green vials of science, extended female nudity: what's not to love? Jeffrey Combs gives a perfect performance as Herbert West. He's at once a mad scientist and that utterly socially inept, geeky guy we all knew (or were) in high school. Re-Animator is one of the all-time classics of the modern horror era. If A Nightmare on Elm Street's Freddy was our new Dracula, Herbert West is definitely our new Dr. Frankenstein.

1986 - Dolls - Probably the best killer toy movie ever made. There's something about old-school porcelain doll faces reflecting lightning flashes that is wholly spooky. The special effects still hold up well; I particularly like the wrinkled, black skeletons inside of the dolls where they're smashed. The fairy tale-like feeling of the film is nicely different. It reminded me that fairy tales were the original horror stories, where the wicked are punished and the pure of heart escape from the evil. And, of course, this film appears to have had a life-long impact on Charles "Full Moon" Band.

(comment in the main post)

SWH: 2005 (6)

Re-Animator (1985)
Balls-to-the-wall fun, with a perfect performance by Jeffrey Combs. (9/10)

Dolls (1986)
Best killer doll movie ever; reminded me that fairy tales were the horror genre's precursor. (8/10)

Gordon-Yuzna (opening thoughts)

What is a chronocinethon? It's just a word I made up to describe when I watch all of someone's films in chronological order. It allows me to marvel at their growth over the years... or lack thereof.

This time, I'm doing a combined chronocinethon: Stuart Gordon and Brian Yuzna simultaneously. It makes sense to me to watch their movies mixed together, since they've worked with each other so often (and it allows me to watch all 3 Re-Animators).

(comment in the main Stuart Gordon post)
(comment in the main Brian Yuzna post)

SWH: 2005 (5)

Color Me Blood Red (1965)
Some surprising gore for 1965, but otherwise dull. (5/10)

Codename: Kids Next Door: "Operation T.R.I.C.K.Y." (2004)
Non-special Cartoon Network cartoon. (5/10)

Aqua Teen Hunger Force: "Bus of the Undead" (2001)
"The D is for DraCOOla." (8/10)
[watched with C]

The Stendhal Syndrome (1996)
Has some unique stuff but was executed a little sloppily. (7/10)
[watched with C]

Tales from the Crypt: "And All Through the House" (1989)
Nothing like a good killer Santa story. (8/10)
[watched with C]

The Return of the Living Dead (1985)
Near-perfect horror-comedy. (9/10)
[watched with C]

SWH: 2005 (4)

Troll (1986)
Jim Henson horror; not enough crazy Michael Moriarty. (5/10)
[watched with P]

Troll 2 (1990)
Worst acting and SFX I have ever seen… and I own a lot of Troma movies. (3/10)

SWH: 2005 (3)

Lust for Dracula (2004)
Erotic horror without the horror or eroticism; nice Misty Mundae performance. (5/10)

SWH: 2005 (2)

The Toolbox Murders (1978)
Cool slasher intro delves into slow-paced pathos. (6/10)

SWH: 2005 (1)

Saw (2004)
Cool extension of Se7en, but the last half is weak and could've used more traps. (7/10)

Tales from the Crypt: "The Man Who Was Death" (1989)
William Sadler and Roy Brocksmith ruled, but the plot was nothing special. (7/10)

Six Weeks of Halloween: 2005

Six Weeks of Halloween
2005

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Six Weekends of Movies: September 23rd September 30th October 7th October 14th October 21st October 31st

---

The Plan

There is no real plan this year. I'll be watching horror movies of my choice throughout the six weeks. I will start with Netflix rentals and movies from my own collection that I haven't seen. For the 7th year in a row, Halloween will be watched on Halloween.

Beer and candy will be present often.

---

26-Sep-05
Saw
Tales from the Crypt: "The Man Who Was Death"

28-Sep-05
The Toolbox Murders

29-Sep-05
Lust for Dracula

30-Sep-05
Troll
Troll 2

1-Oct-05
Color Me Blood Red
Codename: Kids Next Door: "Operation T.R.I.C.K.Y."
Aqua Teen Hunger Force: "Bus of the Undead"
The Stendhal Syndrome
Tales from the Crypt: "And All Through the House"
The Return of the Living Dead

4-Oct-05
Re-Animator
Dolls

5-Oct-05
From Beyond
Society
The Haunted History of Halloween
The Saturday Night Live Halloween Special

6-Oct-05
Daughter of Darkness
Robot Jox

7-Oct-05
Bride of Re-Animator
Initiation: Silent Night, Deadly Night 4

8-Oct-05
The Inquisitor
Fortress
Tales from the Crypt: "Dig That Cat… He's Real Gone"
Return of the Living Dead Part II
Michael Jackson: "Thriller"
Return of the Living Dead III
The Simpsons: "Treehouse of Horror 04-1: The Devil and Homer Simpson"
Necronomicon

11-Oct-05
House of 1000 Corpses

12-Oct-05
Castle Freak
Tarzan: The Epic Adventures: "Tarzan's Return"

14-Oct-05
The Amityville Horror
Strangeland

15-Oct-05
A History of Violence
Tales from the Crypt: "Only Sin Deep"
Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer
SNL: "Gay Dracula"
The Dentist
Space Truckers

16-Oct-05
Rob Zombie: "Super Beast"
Rob Zombie: "Never Gonna Stop (The Red Red Kroovy)"
Toolbox Murders

17-Oct-05
Unspeakable
Rob Zombie: "Demonoid Phenomenon"

20-Oct-05
The American Nightmare
Rob Zombie: "Spookshow Baby"

21-Oct-05
The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit
Progeny

22-Oct-05
Tales from the Crypt: "Lover Come Hack to Me"
Man Bites Dog
Pagan Invasion: Volume I: Halloween: Trick or Treat?

23-Oct-05
The Dentist 2
Honey, I Shrunk the Kids: The TV Show: "Honey, Let's Trick or Treat"
Faust: Love of the Damned

24-Oct-05
Dagon
Beyond Re-Animator

25-Oct-05
King of the Ants
Rottweiler

26-Oct-05
May
Dracula
The Road to Dracula
Frankenstein
The Frankenstein Files: How Hollywood Made a Monster
Boo

27-Oct-05
The Mummy
Mummy Dearest: A Horror Tradition Unearthed
The Invisible Man
Now You See Him: The Invisible Man Revealed!

28-Oct-05
The Paul Lynde Halloween Special
Bride of Frankenstein
She's Alive! Creating the Bride of Frankenstein
Werewolf of London

29-Oct-05
Merrie Melodies: "Claws for Alarm"
Freddy vs. Jason
Tales from the Crypt: "Collection Completed"
Halloween III: Season of the Witch
The Simpsons: "Treehouse of Horror 05-1: The Shinning"
Tales from the Crypt: "Dead Right"
Dracula's Daughter

30-Oct-05
Son of Frankenstein
Hard Rock Zombies
The Simpsons: "Treehouse of Horror 14-1: Reaper Madness"
The Simpsons: "Treehouse of Horror 14-2: Frinkenstein"
The Simpsons: "Treehouse of Horror 14-3: Stop the World, I Want to Goof Off"
The Invisible Man Returns
The Simpsons: "Treehouse of Horror 15-1: The Ned Zone"
The Simpsons: "Treehouse of Horror 15-1: In the Belly of the Boss"
The Simpsons: "Treehouse of Horror 15-1: Four Beheadings and a Funeral"
Scarecrow
The Mummy's Hand
The Invisible Woman

31-Oct-05
Halloweentown
The Wolf Man
Monster by Moonlight: The Immortal Sage of the Wolf Man
The Real Ghostbusters: "Citizen Ghost"
Tales from the Crypt: "The Switch"
City of the Living Dead
Rob Zombie: "Dragula"
Rob Zombie: "Living Dead Girl"
Rob Zombie: "Super Beast"
Rob Zombie: "Never Gonna Stop (The Red Red Kroovy)"
Rob Zombie: "Feel So Numb"
Rob Zombie: "Demonoid Phenomenon"
Rob Zombie: "Return of the Phantom Stranger"
Rob Zombie: "Spookshow Baby"
Halloween

Totals
62 movies / 47 shorts
average rating = 7.0

Coscarelli (closing thoughts)

That's it! That's everything Mr. Coscarelli has directed so far. I may just be subscribing to expensive Showtime, just so I can see his newest effort in the Masters of Horror. Waiting for the DVD sets for that would be hard.

The Phantasm quadrilogy is probably my all-time favorite horror movie series. I love the fact that Coscarelli wrote and directed each and every installment. I love that -- except for fake-Mike and no-show Jody in P2 -- the four main characters stick around for the entire series. I love Reg's everyman hero. I love the surreal aspects of P1 and P4. I love the "road trip through a post-apocalypse" theme of P2-P3. It's truly a unique series. I'm saddened that it seems -- like every other horror series -- we will be getting a remake instead of P5. Worse yet, Coscarelli will not be directing the new trilogy. Because of this, I doubt very much that these new films will have a fraction of the magic of the originals. Ah well. We're lucky to have the four that we do.

(comment in the main post)

Coscarelli (1998-2002)

1998 - Phantasm IV: Oblivion - A welcome return to the surrealistic style of P1 and a welcome return of the Reg-Mike friendship started in P2. The emptiness of the world of P4 is subtle. Coscarelli doesn't announce it, but by the end of the film it's fairly clear that the Tall Man has been consuming the country unabated, despite 20 years worth of interference from Reg and Mike. There are only six characters in the entire film, and only two (one?) are actual human beings. Tantalizing glimpses of potential futures, definite pasts, blurry faces, and the psychic from P1 all add to the fun. A bittersweet, but appropriate, ending to the series (if this is indeed the last).

2002 - Bubba Ho-Tep - Hellishly good idea for a movie, though executed a tad slowly. This is probably due to stretching out a short story into a full movie. Bruce Campbell absolutely disappears into his role. I love the design of the mummy and the fact that he speaks in hieroglyphs. It's also nice to see Joe R. Lansdale get some movie love; he's one of the best horror writers no one knows about. I wasn't blown away by this movie as I was expecting to be, but it was a lot of fun.

(comment in the main post)

Coscarelli (1989-1993)

1989 - Survival Quest - Beautiful scenery, but nothing terribly special. Lance Hendrickson, as always, does a bang-up job as the Survival Quest master. He's essentially the Mr. Miyagi to his group's Daniel. Their rivals, the military boot camp sharing their woods, are essentially the Cobra Kai dojo. Similar lessons are learned. Also: man, Catherine Keener has aged very well since this.

1993 - Phantasm III: Lord of the Dead - Not as annoyingly goofy as I'd remembered. Clearly, Coscarelli is a fan of Sam Raimi. I think he was going for the Evil Dead 2 style of horror-humor in this one. Doesn't stray too much from the path P2 blazed; it's a road trip movie with a mausoleum. However, we're thrown some juicy info concerning the Tall Man and his interest in Mike. A satisfying Phantasm film.

(comment in the main post)

Coscarelli (1982-1988)

1982 - The Beastmaster - Never really congealed into a solid universe for me. There seemed to be a lot of Marc Singer running around barren landscapes and inside of pyramids. And, unfortunately, the stunt fighting was pretty bad. The mix of Celtic, Greek and Mayan mythology was unique, however. I can't figure out why they painted a tiger black?

1988 - Phantasm II - All you need is a 70s muscle car and a trunk full of weapons. Coscarelli leaps forward as a director; he's far more confident with his camera than he was before this. Reggie Bannister establishes himself as one of the (sadly, seldom recognized) gods of the horror hero pantheon. P2 is in the top tier of 80s horror movies and one of my favorite post-apocalyptic films.

(comment in the main post)

Coscarelli (1975-1978)

1975 - Jim the World's Greatest - I don't know the history behind this film; it's hard to say how much Coscarelli versus how much Craig Mitchell is in the direction. However, Coscarelli's warmth towards both childhood and brotherly love seems to have gotten started right here. With the possible exception of the drunken father, the characterization in this film was surprisingly deep. Because of this, Kelly's death had an appropriately weighty impact. The hopeful ending, though, isn't quite; instead, it comes off a bit strange. I just wish I had a better copy of this rare movie.

1976 - Kenny & Company - Pretty much every cool / stupid / embarrassing thing you ever did as a kid rolled into one movie. Despite being their age 10 years later in history, I still saw my own childhood reflected. It's easy to see why many folks have such fond memories of this movie and why Anchor Bay released such an obscure flick. Structurally, I can see some of the free-flowing narrative of Phantasm in here as well.

1978 - Phantasm - A gem of a horror movie. From the sentinels to the blind psychic to the Lady in Lavender to the gate to the yellow-goop-for-blood to the Hemi to the Tall Man to the ice cream man to the hammer & bullet trick to the surreal construction, everything about this film is special. Phantasm, outside of David Lynch, is the closed film I've seen to a nightmare. And, indeed, it is - or may be - just Mike's nightmare. Like all good films, this is open for interpretation. This is also the final chapter in Coscarelli's exploration of childhood (at least, I suppose, until P3).

(comment in the main post)

Coscarelli (opening thoughts)

Chronocinethon? Made up word. It means I watch all of someone's films in chronological order. It allows me to marvel at their growth over the years... or lack thereof.

(comment in the main post)