Tag: Halloween

Nosferatu

There are two, count them, TWO versions of Nosferatu being released this year. One is a slightly new take by Robert Eggers and the other is meant as a direct remake of the 1922 version using modern technology.

It’s an interesting story. Nosferatu was an unofficial adaptation of Bram Stoker’s novel, Dracula. So unofficial that Stoker’s widow sued the makers of the new version. There were minor changes to the story and names (for example, Count Dracula became Count Orlok), but many elements made it from page to screen.

  • Werner Herzog’s 1979 version retains much of the plot from the novel and Murnau’s film. While it follows the original closely, it lacks much of the dramatic lighting and scares that made the 1922 version what it is. There are some minor changes that helped make it a fresh adaptation.
  • You can see a very heavy influence the look of Francis Ford Coppola’s Bram Stoker’s Dracula, mostly through the heavy use of the vampire’s shadow.
  • Shadow of the Vampire is yet another take – it portrays the actor playing Orlok in Murnau’s movie as an actual vampire.
  • Both the 1979 and 2024 versions of Stephen King’s Salem’s Lot use Orlok’s look as inspiration for their main vampire (Kurt Barlow).

1922 by F.W. Murnau (full film on Vimeo)

1979 by Werner Herzog

2024 by Robert Eggers

2024 by David Lee Fisher

1992 Francis Ford Coppola

2000 by E. Elias Merhige

Talk to They/Them, Fresh and Freaky Abigail and Lisa

In my last post, I somehow missed the best of the horror movies I’d recently watched, Talk to Me.

I’ve had a bit of a light-horror Catherine Newtonfest with Lisa Frankenstein, Freaky, and Abigail. Lisa Frankenstein was probably the weakest of the bunch, but all are fun and new takes on the horror genre. Avoid the Abigail trailer if you don’t want spoilers.

Fresh is another movie where I would avoid knowing too much, though skip it if you’re at all squeamish. Daisy Edgar-Jones and Sebastian Stan are great. Like a lot of the other movies on this list, it’s a mix of genres… it starts out as a rom-com and moves away from that quickly.

The less said about They/Them, the better. It had potential, but it was mostly a jumbled mess.

Omenbarmaladook Follows

I recently watched The First Omen which kicked off a run of watching other horror films. While many were just the other films in The Omen series, the rest were horror movies from the last 10 years that had been on my list since they were released. I’d probably call out The First Omen, The Omen, and Barbarian as the highlights. I realized that Sam Neil was in The Omen III and Possession in the same year, 1981. While The Omen III is flawed, I was impressed to learn those intense performances were the same year. It Follows and The Babadook were close to being great, but both left too many questions. Malignant has some great WTF moments, but it’s incredibly poorly acted. I was glad to see others calling it the horror equivalent of The Room. The Omen IV would be skippable, but are you not going to watch the whole series?

Late Night with the Devil

Last night I watched Late Night with the Devil, a horror film set in the world of ’70s late-night television. Overall I thought it was a great concept, but I had minor squabbles with the execution. Low budget or not, some of the effects, makeup, and technical aspects took me out of the film. Performances, set design, and (again) the concept, were great. Interestingly, there are several other films in a similar vein that I need to check out.

Halloween VII

I’m severely behind in my Halloween movie and TV watching.

  • Midnight Meat Train
  • Candyman
  • Fall of the House of Usher (three episodes)
  • Coraline

What else should I watch? Check out my past posts about horror movies and Halloween.

Halloween VI

Continuing a tradition I started in 2020, I’ve been binging horror movies for the spooky season. As time passes, I’m pretty sure they’ve gotten weirder. I’ll likely keep watching this month and will post here (and Letterboxd) once I’ve watched more!

  • C.H.U.D. (1984)
  • Elvira, Mistress of the Dark (1988)
  • Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977)
  • The Exorcist III (1990)
  • Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982)
  • Halloween H20: 20 Years Later (1998)
  • Halloween: Resurrection (2002)
  • Halloween Kills (2021)
  • House (1986)
  • Inferno (1980)
  • In the Mouth of Madness (1994)
  • John Carpenter’s Vampires (1998)
  • Midnight Club (2022)
  • Mr. Harrigan’s Phone (2022)
  • The Neon Demon (2016)
  • Suspiria (2018)

See previous posts: Halloween, Halloween II, Halloween III, Halloween IV, Halloween V

Halloween V

I managed to squeeze in a few more horror / semi-horror movies and TV shows for October/November. Gotta say, House, the Haunting series, and Squid Game are probably the standouts from this batch. Mike Flanagan might be a new favorite!

Halloween IV

I’m bit behind on my October/November horror movie watching compared to last year (see posts Halloween, Halloween II, Halloween III) where I hit 30+ movies. I may have been distracted by Dune (both versions!), No Time to Die, Shang Chi, and other new movies (some of which I saw in a real theater!!!).

I’ll concede that some of these lean towards Sci-Fi or psychological thrillers and maybe even outside October and November… my blog, my rules!

  • Dark Star (1974)
  • Martin (1977)
  • Phantasm (1979)
  • Halloween II (1981)
  • A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 2: Freddy’s Revenge (1985)
  • Slither (2006)
  • Attack the Block (2011)
  • Fright Night (2011)
  • The Lighthouse (2019)
  • Parasite (2019)
  • Bit (2019)
  • Love and Monsters (2020)
  • Shadow in the Cloud (2020)
  • The Forever Purge (2021)
  • Midnight Mass (2021)
  • American Horror Story: Double Feature (2021)

I’ll also be updating this list on Letterboxd: https://letterboxd.com/captainq/list/2021-horror-binge

Tip: if you’re looking for something scary to watch, I’ve noticed Shout Factory TV has old episodes of Elvira Movie Macabre, VHS rips, Cult films, and more!

Halloween III

Continuing on my horror movie and TV kick (see also Halloween and Halloween II, here are some more recent watches:

  • Phantasm (1979)*
  • Prom Night (1980)
  • The Funhouse (1981)
  • Chopping Mall (1986)*
  • Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night II (1987)*
  • Sleepaway Camp II (1988)
  • Sleepaway Camp III (1989)
  • Body Bags (1993)
  • Hereditary (2018)
  • Lovecraft Country (2020)*

*Currently watching or started

I’ve slowed down a bit on the scary stuff as Die Hard and Home Alone season is in full gear. Maybe it’s time to fill in some of my Christmas/horror flick gaps!