Wrong Turn (2021)

🎃 Horrorthon 2023 #35

So I know I said I wasn't gonna watch any more Wrong Turn franchise films, and I thought I wasn't: this one came up when I searched my library to see if they had Wrong Turn 2003 on DVD. I thought this was a new movie that just happened to also be called "Wrong Turn" (it happens), but nope, it's a remake, I knew as soon as it said "Constantin Films" in the opening credits, lol, they even wink-and-nod to the franchise towards the end.

HOW👏EV👏ER👏 -- crap franchise or not -- this turned out to be really good! They replaced the inbred hillpeople with some folk-horror cultist types, and took out most of the cannibalism (but not ALL of it). There's A LOT that happens in this movie, so much so that by the end you kinda forget how it started. It's better and more interesting than the original, by far.

Watched on DVD (library) 👁️ Trailer on YouTube  

The Wicker Man (1973)

🎃 Horrorthon 2023 #25 🔥 50th Anniversary

There were so many awful musical numbers in the first 25 minutes of this, I almost ragequit. But I'm glad I stuck with it, because it shaped-up to be bizarre and off-putting in that intriguing folk-occult way, and Christopher Lee is awesome.

Watched on DVD (library) 👁️ Trailer on YouTube  

Moloch (2022)

🎃 Horrorthon 2023 #6

Watched on Shudder 👁️ Trailer on YouTube  

Kill List (2011)

This was just slow, hard to follow, incongruous, with many discrepancies that are never addressed. Not sure why it has such good ratings on IMDB and Rotten Tomatoes, it's not scary and kinda boring.

Watched on Tubi 👁️ Trailer on YouTube  

Matriarch (2022)

Watched on Hulu 👁️ Trailer on YouTube  

The Last Winter (2006)

Too heavy-handed and slow, just not quite interesting. Wendigo "ghosts" didn't make sense within their own mythos, and the attempted Resident Evil-style ending flopped.

Watched on Amazon (rented) 👁️ Trailer on YouTube  

Hagazussa (2017)

🎃 Horrorthon 2022 #37

There is a sparse amount of actual dialogue in this film -- it's mostly comprised of stunning imagery and shocking tragedy and suffocating dread.

Watched on Kanopy 👁️ Trailer on YouTube  

The Accursed (2021)

🎃 Horrorthon 2022 #31

I accidentally watched the "wrong" Accursed, but it worked out fine. This one is kinda complicated and slow, but very old-world magicky which was at least interesting, and some mystery in there. Very tragic ending.

Watched on Hulu 👁️ Trailer on YouTube  

Candyman (2021)

🎃 Horrorthon 2022 #27

Wanted to rewatch the original before I took a crack at this new one.

Great homage to/continuation of the original. Amazing cast, excellent storytelling, very heavy material.

Watched on Amazon Prime 👁️ Trailer on YouTube  

Candyman (1992)

🎃 Horrorthon 2022 #26 🔥 30th Anniversary

Got to watch this outside with our projector! It was an unseasonably warm autumn evening, we had a group of friends get together, and it was a lot of fun! Still one of my all-time favorite horror flicks, but my son was unimpressed.😆

Watched on DVD (owned) 👁️ Trailer on YouTube  

You Are Not My Mother (2021)

🎃 Horrorthon 2022 #23

Watched on Hulu 👁️ Trailer on YouTube  

The Wailing (2016)

🎃 Horrorthon 2022 #21

This one is a significant time and attention investment, at 2-1/2 hours of reading subtitles, but absolutely worth it. Lived up to the hype in a massive way, and the ending was like KAPOW!

Watched on Kanopy & Shudder 👁️ Trailer on YouTube  

Hellbender (2021)

🎃 Horrorthon 2022 #16

Watched on Shudder 👁️ Trailer on YouTube  

Lake Nowhere (2014)

🎃 Horrorthon 2022 #10

I stumbled on this movie earlier this year while obsessively searching for the best horror soundtracks on vinyl I could get my hands on. Finally watched the actual movie... it was better than I expected! Intense! Much better than the trailer indicates, FYI. With the doofy commercials at the beginning and the vintage style and effects, it's like watching an old VHS tape!

Watched on Amazon (rented) 👁️ Trailer on YouTube  

Antlers (2021)

🎃 Horrorthon 2022 #1

OH DANG -- This was good. The monster was epic (love the wendigo), and even though it was only fully revealed in about the last quarter of the film, the horror was appreciable throughout (psychological and sociological). Well done.

Watched on HBO Max 👁️ Trailer on YouTube  

Night of the Demon (1957)

Watched on MPEG 👁️ Trailer on YouTube  

Sinister (2012)

🔥 10th Anniversary

Practical makeup effects were underwhelming in this, but the movie was still creepy overall, with a predictable yet grotesque ending. Most of the film is so visually dark that watching it at night in a dark room is very immersive.

Watched on Amazon (rented) 👁️ Trailer on YouTube  

The Cursed (2021)

Interesting presentation of the werewolf concept. Atmospheric and brutal period horror, with an adequate amount of story and absolutely lovely cinematography.

Watched on Hulu 👁️ Trailer on YouTube  

The Vigil (2019)

  Much more drama than expected, fair warning.

Watched on Hulu 👁️ Trailer on YouTube  

Woodlands Dark & Days Bewitched: A History of Folk Horror (2021)

Big viewing-time investment, but well worth it if you're interested in the folk horror genre. Be ready for lots of pausing to look up/write down movies you'll want to watch. 😉👍

Watched on Amazon (rented) 👁️ Trailer on YouTube