Schocktoberfest 2019 Update #2

Shocktoberfest 2019 Update #2

Week Two has been all about the new films. Five of the 7 were first time views. But I also visited some old favorites!

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre

16) The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) [Classic American Horror] Wow! The 40th Anniversary Edition Blu-ray of Tob3e Hooper's seminal film looks fantastic! Everyone has heard about what a grueling ordeal making TCM was, especially for Marilyn Burns. I had never noticed before but when the Hitchhiker and Leatherface  cut Sally's finger to feed Grandfather, they actually cut Ms Burns finger. That is actual blood John Dugan is sucking when they stick her finger in his mouth! That is right, a movie about actual cannibals had actual on screen cannibalism.

15) Bliss (2018) [Modern Vampires] First Viewing! Jeff Begos is one of those guys  whose films are, at the very least, a product of their person vision of what horror films should be. He clearly knows and loves the genre. The down side of that coin is that his movies are sometimes a lot like the movies already out there. Visually, Bliss is a psychedelic treat about an artist pursuing her vision who uses drugs to break her creative block, but it was hard to pay much attention to what else was going on. One positive note, the soundtrack is killer featuring Electric Wizard.

Ginger Snaps

14) Ginger Snaps (2002) [Coming-of-Age]  Director John Fawcett and writer Karen Walton's werewolf themed Bildungsroman is a fantastic exploration of the difficulties of remaining loyal in morally ambiguous times. Emily Perkins and Katharine Isabelle deliver excellent performances as a pair of outsider sisters whose dark dreams become an unwelcome reality for one of them. My appreciation for how thoughtful this movies is grows every time I watch it.

13) Hell House LLC (2015) [Found Footage, Haunted House]  First Viewing! The second movie of the week featuring Haunted Houses and spooky clowns was a real lukewarm glass of flat ginger ale. I know this is a fan favorite that has spawned several sequels, but I had a hard time staying invested in it. Five people from the city try to exploit human tragedy and horror for their own ends end up losing everything. Plus a couple of documentary film makers get thrown into pot too.

Ravenous

12) Ravenous (1999) [Folk Horror]  First Viewing! Robert Carlyle's super power is his ability to portray mentally unhinged characters in such a cool way that they seem almost reasonable. Taking place at a desolate army outpost in California in the middle of the 19th century, the myth of the wendigo becomes transmuted into the quest for America's Manifest Destiny.


11) Haunt (2019) [Scary Clowns]  First Viewing!A slasher taking place in a Halloween Haunted House staffed by people wearing scary clown costumes. The make up effects were pretty good.

10) In Fabric (2019) [Cautionary Tale]  First Viewing! I am not sure what exactly this movie was about other than a it concerns a haunted dress and pretty biting commentary about the perils of consumerism.

In Fabric - the dress tries you on

What else have I been watching for Shocktoberfest 2019?