The Wailing (2016)

A visceral, dizzying, and visually powerful Korean ghost/demon possession story. 👍👍 A great start to the season!

Bone Tomahawk (2015)

Very cool conceit, a Western horror movie... EDIT: After a couple days reflection, I think this was an amusing novelty, but ultimately fluff.

Train to Busan (2016)

Watched Train to Busan (2016) with Sarah and Mark. A fresh take on the zombie story, focusing more on the relational elements and the horror of man's treatment of man, rather than the (still awesomely scary) fast zombies. In this way, it was reminiscent of (but much less horrific and cruel than) Sabu's revelatory Miss Zombie (2013).

Phantasm (1979)

Wow, can't believe I'd never seen Phantasm (1979)! 🤣 There was a lot going on in this movie, to say the least. Lots of jump scares, which I normally find very tacky, but this was old school and effective. Loved the 70s aesthetic, and the fact that the 13-year-old kid is driving around town and using a shotgun. Some fun practical effects too. Awesome. Also, the soundtrack was crazy good! I thought it was Goblin (sounded so much like Suspiria), but it was apparently Fred Myrow and Malcolm Seagrave.

The Loved Ones (2009)

The Loved Ones (2009) was viscerally disturbing. Felt like the psychological heir to House of a Thousand Corpses (2003), but need to sit with it to see if it has staying power. Do not recommend for the faint of heart... may not recommend at all, haha.

The Babysitter (2017)

The Babysitter (2017) was enjoyable fluff nonsense, but I'm not sure this can really be called "horror." It was more Scary Movie than scary movie. If you like tall leggy blondes and satanic murder cults with ludicrous dialogue and over-the-top sfx, this one's for you!

Ravenous (2017)

Ravenous (2017) was pretty good! :) I like slow burn. It's hard to do original zombie stories, and at first this felt like a Quebecois "The Walking Dead," but with less sensationalism and actors who look more like real people, but it definitely had its own unique and interesting elements. I always enjoy watching French language films (studied for 7 years), but Canadian French is a whole 'nother animal haha, it sounds to me like gargling. 🤣

From Beyond (1986)

Put a little Lovecraft in your life, with From Beyond (1986)! This Cronenberg-esque body horror thriller was just what the doctor ordered. 👍👍👍 gnarly practical effects ftw!!

Audition (1999)

Audition (1999) was awesome, altho parts were nearly impossible to watch. I'm not a fan of torture porn, but this had depth... like a much darker and more brutal Fatal Attraction. Thanks for braving it with me, Nicole!

Kill, Baby... Kill! (1966)

Kill, Baby... Kill! (1966) had some gorgeous shots -- the townsfolk carrying the coffin, silhouetted against the sky, is amazing -- but overall this movie feels a little ludicrous to a modern viewer. Not Bava's best. (And I'm pretty sure I've seen this before, or maybe it's just totally predictable? haha)

Parents (1989)

1980s horror is my favorite kind, and I loved the darkly comedic elements in Parents (1989), but in the end, this film was a little too scattered to be really effective. And it drove Mark crazy that the kid mutters so much that you can't understand him. 🤣 Some good ghoulish close-ups of meat tho... dinner never looked so sinister. 🍖

Society (1989)

Wow... Society (1989) was nuts. One of the horror tropes I really like is the paranoid, everyone's in on it, me-against-the-world conspiracy (cf The Truman Show, Rosemary's Baby), which this explored to good effect. The practical effects were pretty gnarly too, and I loved the tongue-in-cheek visual humor, reminiscent of my all-time-favorite movie, Heathers (1988).

Seven (1995)

Mark and I finally watched Seven (1995) last night. I love Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman, so I expected to like this movie, but it fell flat for me. It was reminiscent in some ways of Silence of the Lambs (1991), which I love, but felt shallow by comparison. I've never been a fan of noir and I couldn't relate to the characters (I found Paltrow vapid, Pitt puerile, and the villain inscrutable), so while I liked the premise and ending, in the end, would not recommend.

Profondo Rosso, aka Deep Red (1975)

Suspiria (1977) is my favorite horror film, so it was LONG overdue for me to watch Argento's Profondo Rosso, aka Deep Red (1975), also scored by Goblin. This movie has excellent shots and some very memorable dialogue. One of my favorite exchanges, after a woman is brutally murdered in her home:

Prof Giordani: Who could have done this?

Old housekeeper: A maniac, of course! It's always a maniac, and they never catch them.

I enjoyed this film, although to me it felt kind of all-over-the-place.

Raw (2016)

YESSSSSS FINALLY, a movie worthy of the Top 100 challenge!!!! Julia Ducournau's Raw (2016) is the best horror movie I have seen in so long. If you liked Ginger Snaps (2000) or Når dyrene drømmer (2014), you're gonna love Raw (French: Grave)! Prepare to say "oh my god f*ck oh no, no don't do it!!!"  cause it gets bloody and graphic fast, but this is transformation horror at its finest. 💯🏆🏆🏆

Prince of Darkness (1987)

I watched Prince of Darkness (1987) a couple days ago, and I've been letting it stew in my brain a little bit before writing a review, but this one just didn't really do it for me. 80s horror is my favorite so this should have been my jam, but I REALLY wanted to slap mullet girl and mustache man 🤣, and the plot felt a little thin for my taste. If pressed, my favorite part of the movie would have to be the swirling green tank of doom.

Split (2017)

Split (2017) was awesome! A spiritual successor to Silence of the Lambs, with a psychologically complex and devious villain, and a heroine who at first seems fragile, but who ultimately evinces surprising strength. The same kind of edge-of-your-seat thrills, but a fresh and gripping story. Excellent!

Why I Love Horror

I love horror for so many reasons, but one reason is because many horror stories are really hero stories -- faced with horrible challenges (like being stalked by a maniac killer, imprisoned, tortured, or deceived), the protagonist discovers reserves of strength and ingenuity they never knew they had. It's thrilling and satisfying in some deep, visceral way to see the powerless defeat the powerful. I think there is also a feminist case to be made for some films (altho the ubiquitous use of female bodies as props for rape, murder, and torture is more problematic than laudatory, but I'll save that rant for another day) -- seeing women conquer the evils of the world just feels good.

Hereditary (2018)

Thanks to Terra for braving Hereditary (2018) with me! A startling and visually searing take on the "I know yall think I'm crazy, but..." genre of horror. I wasn't wild about the ending, but this one is definitely a thinker!!

Midsommar (2019)

Midsommar (2019) was a crock. Ali and I braved the torture porn together, but there was no redeeming plot or reason behind it. A few very powerful and visually striking scenes, but all in all, this felt pretty cheapo and disappointing to us. Ali says, "cop out!"

Opera (1987)

Watched Dario Argento's Opera (1987) tonight. WOW, it was amazing! Soo many incredible shots (love the crow's eye at the beginning), gorgeous music, and the series of strangely beautiful yet utterly grisly murders. I don't want to include any spoilers, but there was at least one shot I've definitely never seen before - honestly not sure how they did it. 😱👍👍

Child's Play (1988)

Saw Child's Play (1988) for the first time. My favorite decade for horror, which is prob why I didn't hate it as much as I thought I would (grr Chucky's stupid face... 🤣) but this movie was... very silly, to say the least. 😅 Also sad, that poor kid was treated terribly by all the adults. Altho what a tough little kid! Phantasm vibes.

The Beyond (1981)

Mark and I did not quite make it all the way thru The Beyond (1981), aka "...and you will live in terror! The Afterlife." The title was the best thing about this utterly ridiculous film. The dialogue (dubs) is so bad that it seems like a porno. This movie is ripe for hecklevision. (Normally I never wimp out on finishing movies, but we were busy and our streaming rental expired, and I just couldn't bring myself to spend another $3.99 on this nonsense. 🤣🤣)

Timecrimes / Los Cronocrímenes (2007)

Timecrimes (Spanish: Los Cronocrímenes) was good, but I think calling it horror is a bit of a stretch. Definitely sci-fi, maybe more of a thriller. Fun tho, worth a watch!

I Walked with a Zombie (1943)

I Walked with a Zombie (1943) was super racially cringey and uncomfortable. As a horror film, it was understated and evocative, but hard to enjoy, given exchanges like this one. 😵