u/SouzaOfTheNorth

🩸On Netflix 🩸

Happy Texas Chainsaw Massacre Day! 8/18

Influencers looking to breathe new life into a Texas ghost town encounter Leatherface, an infamous killer who wears a mask of human skin.

I’m not a huge fan of the franchise as I have only seen the 1973 original and the 2003 remake. But this reboot/sequel wasn’t awful (but not great either) as there are some GRUESOME kills (that bus scene was gnarly)! There are lots of plausibility issues, stupid character decisions, and unanswered questions, but you watch it to see Leatherface go on a bloody rampage.

❌Hulu❌

This is show creator Chris Carter’s original vision for the 2008 movie. It has a darker tone, a little more gore, body horror, and an R rating. I don’t remember the original PG-13 cut from 2008 in detail so it had to read what was altered in this recut version. It’s not well received but I enjoyed it as it felt kinda new to me after 18 years and some alternate scenes.

I have always loved the X-Files and anytime you can see Mulder and Scully together again is nostalgic.

Sinister things begin happening to kidnappers who are holding a young boy for ransom in a remote cabin.

This movie is like what would happen if you kidnap Damien from “The Omen”. Not bad and has many recognizable actors. There’s a few writing issues and some plausibly concerns but decent, creepy kid watch.

🔥 🐈‍⬛ Shudder, AMC+

A woman wakes in the back of a moving camper trailer with a badly infected wound. A voice from the truck towing it tells her they must reach a doctor within the hour or she'll suffer a horrific fate.

For most of the movie, it’s an intriguing mystery as to what is really going on. What is real, and what it illusion. By the end, the movie just gets…bizarre. I really don’t know how to describe it and still processing what I just watched.

The acting is good, story is intriguing, and there there is some metaphorical imagery. The bizarre ending just has me confused.

“HELLCAT” was released today on Shudder.

🧙‍♀️ Netflix, Shudder, AMC+, Philo, Kanopy, Sundance 🧙

A rebellious teenage boy, struggling with his parents' imminent divorce, encounters a terrifying evil after his next-door neighbor becomes possessed by an ancient witch that feasts on children.

I had been looking forward to watch this movie, but I ultimately felt a bit disappointed with the outcome. The premise was pretty good and it’s a quality production, but the writing seems to be all over the place and the finale and ending were a bit ridiculous. The twists also didn’t land for me.

I certainly think there are better witch/folk horror movies out there over “The Wretched”.

~Paramount+, Kanopy, PlutoTV, Fubo~

A small group of American soldiers find horror behind enemy lines on the eve of D-Day.

I’ve always been intrigued by WWII Nazi zombies and secret experiments ever since my days of playing the original Wolfenstein game many years ago as a kid. “Overlord” is one of the better movies on the subject as it’s a blend of war action and drama with horror, mystery, and gore. Sure there are lots of plausibly issues and many not enough detail on the experiments and Nazi lore, but it’s a pretty exciting and entertaining movie war/horror hybrid.

Some other good Nazi Zombie and Secret Experimentation movies: Dead Snow 1 & 2, Trench 11, Outpost, and one of my all time favorites, Frankenstein’s Army.

~ US Rental on Prime, AppleTV and Fandango ~

Successful horror screenwriter Adam struggles for inspiration until a terrifying nightmare about a masked killer sparks an idea for his new script. As he delves deeper into the story, the line between reality and fiction begins to blur.

Interesting take on a slasher movie as it’s a bit like a horror version of the classic John Candy film, “Delirious”. There are some pacing issues but watching Adam descend into madness and the rise of Big Baby was pretty entertaining. Enjoyable enough for a one time watch and horror writers may find some intrigue with the premise.

~ US Rental on Prime, AppleTV and Fandango ~

Set in the Aokigahara Forest (aka “Suicide Forest”) a real-life place in Japan where people go to end their lives, a young American woman comes in search of her twin sister, who has mysteriously disappeared.

Although the movie has its flaws with some pacing and character decisions, I found it pretty enjoyable with the forest as the dark, creepy atmosphere. A horror/mystery that’s based on the real life Japanese forest of lore.

“Lovely, Dark, and Deep” is another similar movie if you are into these forest horror types.

~ HBOMAX, YouTubeTV ~

After discovering a video showing what he believes to be his vanished sister Heather, James and a group of friends head to the forest believed to be inhabited by the Blair Witch.

Many of you know me as a purest of the original 1999 film as it was such a theater experience back when life was a bit more simple and less online. This sequel/reboot was fine as a FF movie. In fact it’s better than many I have seen as it’s got decent acting, production value, multiple cameras, and some scares.

With that being said, it’s hard to attach the Blair Witch name to any movie and capture the intrigue and magic of the original film. This 2015 movie really just modernized the original story and I felt tried to add “too much to see” as what made the original amazing was the unknown.

The upcoming 2027 Blumhouse remake may suffer from issue as it’s almost impossible to remake the impact of the original film.

~ US rental on Prime, AppleTV, Fandango ~

Living inside a fallout shelter after a deadly outbreak, a family faces a mysterious threat from the outside.

It’s got a slow buildup of tension and uses flashbacks to piece together the backstory, but the final act is pretty wild and very surprising. The movie even has some depth, emotion, and heart. I really enjoyed it and it’s a quick watch under 90min.

~ Theaters and US Rental on Prime ~

After her husband's abrupt death, Alice seeks solace with his remaining family — descendants of a leading researcher on demonic possession. As her in-laws transform one by one into creatures that feed on fear, she comes to discover that the vows she took in life survive even in death.

Despite being light on story and having a few plausibly issues, it was a wild, gory ride like most of the other films in the Evil Dead franchise. Burn may have been the most brutal and violent entry yet as there were some really gnarly kills and twisted body horror.

It does have ties to the other films and yes, there is a Bruce Campbell Easter egg. Also, two credit scenes.

~ US Rental on Prime, AppleTV, and Fandango ~

Two teenage boys must escape a violent entity that takes the form of the person they desire most - each other.

I feel like this movie would make a good double feature with “IT FOLLOWS” as they both deal with teenage, coming of age romance and the horror is metaphorical.

“LEVITICUS” deals with themes of religious trauma, identity, sexuality, and homophobia. I wish there was a little more backstory or lore into the religious fanaticism and rituals, but overall it was a pretty good movie and I enjoyed the horror themes.

~ On Prime ~

When Cecilia's abusive ex takes his own life and leaves her his fortune, she suspects his death was a hoax. As a series of coincidences turn lethal, Cecilia works to prove that she is being hunted by someone nobody can see.

I went in blind on this one and now I can understand why it is so highly rated. Very suspenseful, builds up tension, and quite a few pretty shocking scenes. Elisabeth Moss was amazing in her role and the cinematography was superb in giving a sense of mystery if someone was really there.

There’s a few plausibly issues but I can overlook them for the thrilling, psychological ride.

The wide cinema release was on this day 27(!!!) years ago.

I was 21 and went with a buddy to a packed indie theater its 2nd weekend. In 1999, there were no “smaht” phones, limited internet usage, social media Reddit, Rotten Tomatoes scores or IMDB apps. It was a viral marketing plan (the actors even went into hiding to sell the realism) and word of mouth for this movie and it worked! It was a much different time in 1999 that many young people will never understand.

After the final credits, the theater was silent. Eerie. Outside people gathered to discuss as to what they saw was actually “real” as FF was still in its infancy. Went to Papa Gino’s pizza and still lots more discussion.

I went home later that evening, terrified, unnerved and lived alone. Living in and growing up in a rural area in MA, the scenery could have been the woods I played in all my life. (Complete with rock piles but in real life those are trail markers).

I didn’t not sleep a wink that night. I stared into the woods from my windows thinking there was “something out there”. Again, 1999, so I could not text anyone or call my buddies directly as there there was only landlines. (Not gonna wake up grumpy parents!)

I white knuckled it until sunrise and eventually passed out. By far the most terrifying movie experience of my life and iconic for me. Started my love of FF to this day.

Now I understand anyone seeing it now on their TV and after years of the market flooding us with clones and copies would think it sucks. It just hit different then back then as 1999 was just different. But I do know people back then who hated it too.

To me it will ALWAYS be the OG of FF (not the first, but the movie that put FF on the map). It will always hold a place in my heart as such an iconic and influential movie of my life.

I am very skeptical of the upcoming reboot/remake as this movie is so influential in my life.

~ Prime ~

During a fictional series of Big Brother, a zombie outbreak occurs, but the house-mates are unaware of the impending doom outside of the Big Brother House.

This is actually a 5 part British horror miniseries, but you can watch it as one long movie as the entire runtime is only 2:20. (First episode is 45min and the remaining are only around 23min).

It was actually really good and far more bloody, gory, and violent than I expected. It’s got a pretty unique wrinkle for the zombie genre as it’s part faux reality show, and the behind the scenes production and area that gets overrun by the impending zombie apocalypse.

There are a lot of shaky camera scenes however, if you are not into viewing that.

\~ Prime, AMC+, Tubi \~

(Spoken the majority in Polish w/English subtitles.)

A bridegroom is possessed by an unquiet spirit in the midst of his own wedding celebration, in this clever take on the Jewish legend of the dybbuk.

I checked this out because of their reasons: 1) My late mother’s family is from Poland and 2) I don’t remember seeing a whole heck of a lot of Polish horror movies. It was pretty good with the setting, dreary environment, and sometimes darkly humorous. (Especially the father of the bride)

The horror is far more symbolic and metaphorical rather than supernatural. There’s an underlying history on how the family acquired the land and post WW2 Polish culture. It certainly is not your standard “possession” movie but it may divide audiences on enjoyment. The title “Demon” does seem to be bit misleading.