Didn't really mean to go this long before posting. I've fallen behind on watches, but keeping up with reviews! I have nothing better to do tomorrow, so I'll probably spend the day watching horror flicks. Hope to get 4 or so watched. I'm already veering away from my initial list with some titles I honestly forgot about. Now on to the first batch of reviews.
1. Return of the Living Dead 3 (October 1)
Director Brian Yuzna dumps the comedy and makes with the horror in this third installment of the Return of the Living Dead series. Lean and mean, not a minute is wasted in this tale of star-crossed lovers, brain-eating and Trioxin fueled military experiments. Most of the shoe-string budget is spent on the truly spectacular special effects. While the zombie make-up is awesome, the real reason to see this one is Melinda Clark. Playing a zombie struggling to retain her humanity, Clark either agonizes over the pain of being dead, lusts for brains or wrestles with the sheer horror of it all. Features a show-stopping sequence where Clarke goes apeshit and pierces herself with glass, nails and whatever the fuck else she can find before slithering out to reveal her handiwork to her horrified boyfriend. While not quite soaring to the dizzying heights of the first film, this is more than worth your time.
2.
976-Evil (October 1)
Hoax is just your average twitchy, God-fearing geek obsessed with his big brother until he discovers a 976 psychic phone number. Next thing you know, hes drawing pentagrams on the floor and becoming the living embodiment of evil. Life comes at you fast in horror movies. Robert Englund does a dutiful job in his first directorial outing. Heavy on the atmosphere but poorly paced. Over-stuffed with storylines, characters gets side-lined for long stretches and things never take-off as we reach the climax. Feels like a Tales from the Crypt script stretched to feature-length. Make-up work is handled by the ever dependable Kevin Yagher. Not his finest hour, but an easy highlight. More a curiosity than anything. Recommended to Stephen Geoffreys and Robert Englund devotees. Everyone else should look elsewhere.
3.
The Slayer (October 2)
Two couples take an impromptu vacation on a remote island. Plagued by nightmarish dreams of a blood-thirsty demonic beast, Kay has a bad feeling about this shit. Fortunately for us, the others ignore her pleas and set-out for their get-away where they get picked-off one by one. Is it the creature from Kays dream, or is it something else? A real slow-burn high on atmosphere and mood. The empty beaches and haunted locations of Tybee Island do most of the heavy lifting between kills. Far from a body count flick, but the few kills here are really good ones. Keeping the identity of the killer a mystery adds a nice sense of tension. Could it be a monster? Is there someone else on the island? Did Kay snap? Not quite top shelf slasher fare, but close enough. Plucked from obscurity by Arrow, it deserves to be discovered by a new audience.
4.
Lake Bodom (October 3)
Four Finnish teens set out to reenact the infamous Lake Bodom Murders and test a theory they have about the crimes. They get more than they bargained for when the staged violence turns real and theyre stalked by a psycho-killer. Twisty slasher flick that makes one turn too many for its own good. The stalk and slash scenes are staged very well. Tension builds slowly to the breaking point in each sequence before blood is shed in brutal and unforgiving fashion. Includes a great white-knuckle car chase sequence. At a lean 85 minutes, its a solid thrill ride that puts a welcome fresh coat of paint on the genre.
5.
Jackals (October 8)
Their son rescued from a cult, a family convenes in their remote summer home to assist deprogramming him. Unfortunately for the family, the sons cult wants him back even more than they do. Lots of standard home invasion stuff ripped from the Straw Dogs playbook but given a slasher mindset. Improvised weapons, boiling water and barricaded doors are the order of the day. Slick direction from Kevin Greutert keep things moving at a fast pace. The script doles out story details piece by piece, keeping the viewer on edge with each new revelation bringing better understanding to the whole. Thanks to some solid performances and smart choices, the core family dynamic is believable even if the characters themselves arent very likable. During the third act people behave out of character to wrap things up quickly and efficiently rather than in a fully satisfactory manner. Could have been a great, but falls short of the mark.
6.
Geralds Game (October 11)
A married couple go on a romantic retreat in an effort to save their marriage. Next thing you know, they breakout the handcuffs, partake in a little rape fantasy and the husband keels over from a heart attack while the wife is left chained to their bed. Pretty damn faithful adaptation of Stephen Kings novel by up and coming horror director Mike Flanagan. The centerpiece is a riveting performance by Carla Cugino. Spending most of her screen time chained to a bed, she pours every ounce of herself into true tour de force thats worth the Netflix subscription alone. She digs hard into material to make a character who is handcuffed in more ways than one absolutely convincing. Terse, powerful and grotesque, its easy to forgive a less than graceful finale.
7.
The Babysitter (October 14)
Twelve-year old Cole loves his babysitter. She sticks up for him against the neighborhood bullies, knows all his favorite geeky movies and even lets him drink booze. So of course she winds up being the blood-crazed leader of a Satanic cult that wants to kill him. Theres not a realistic moment in this comedic horror romp that leans hard into the comedy, but thats totally okay. Super slick direction with tons of great comedic beats and smart one-liners courtesy of the Black List favorite script. When the red stuff flows, direct McG isnt afraid to let it spray all over the place, especially when its in service of another punchline. While the cast is uniformly great, the eternally shirtless Robbie Ammell steals the show as a murderous jock with plenty of advice for young Cole. At a lean-mean 90 minutes, the rapid fire editing and propulsive pace never lets you scratch below the shiny, glistening surface to see how hollow it all is. But does that really matter when the surface is so much damn fun? Hands down McGs masterpiece.
8.
The Autopsy of Jane Doe (October 15)
Father and son coroners perform an autopsy on a mysterious female corpse. As they unravel the truth, they begin to suspect Jane Doe may not be that dead afterall. Creepy and effective haunted house flick. Director André Øvredal meticulously sets-up things up and builds the tension through an expertly crafted first hour. All hell breaks loose in an intense third act that pays it all off in spades. Lots of solid scares, including a great one that involves a bell tied to corpses toe. Brian Cox and Emile Hirsch sell what the movie is selling like the top shelf talent they are. A top shelf haunted house flick that I wish Id watched sooner.
BOLD denotes first time viewing