John Rozum's Blog, page 50

31 Days of Halloween - Day 15 - Movie 2

As the zombie apocalypse spreads across the earth, a group of people hole up in a local shopping mall in order to survive. This basic premise is really all that connects Dawn of the Dead (2004) with the superior George Romero film that it "reinvents." I remember first seeing this and being really impressed with how intense the pre-credits opening of this film was. Few zombie films start with the outbreak just taking place. Most of them already have civilization essentially collapsed by the time the story starts. Unfortunately, all of that tension dissipates by the time the characters get to the mall and never really comes back.

In the mall, the characters don't really have to go through the process of clearing out the undead and shoring it up as a safe house. Here, the mall is essentially empty except for a trio of redneck security guards, who don't take long to stop being a threat themselves. This whole crew goes through the rest of the movie almost completely safe from the zombies until they decide to leave and head for a boat and then an island. With many of these films, it's really a commentary on how humans are their own worst enemies, especially in times of crisis. I've seen that movie before and this Dawn of the Dead remake, while being fairly entertaining, doesn't bring anything new to the subgenre.

31 Days of Halloween - Day 15 - Movie 1

When a nightclub owner is murdered for not selling to a local criminal, his girlfriend, Sugar (Marki Bey) turns to an old voodoo queen for help. Summoning Baron Samedi, Sugar makes a pact with him for revenge using Samedi's army of the undead.

Sugar Hill (1974) is a perfectly entertaining supernatural revenge thriller. The plot structure is pretty much by the numbers for this type of story.  It does have its tongue too far in cheek to ever really be effective as a horror movie. The bad guys, led by Robert Quarry,  are vile and racist, so their offing one by one is something to cheer. Baron Samedi is a little too much the clown to be effective as an intimidating supernatural power, but the stylized zombies, with their grease paint emaciation and bulging silver eyes are great. Covered in webs, and when they emerge from the ground, leaves and pine needles, they really do convey the idea of genuinely rising up from their graves.

31 Days of Halloween - Day 15

The Ymir from 20 Million Miles to Earth (1957). Cut paper.

31 Days of Halloween - Day 14 - Movie 2

Two bumbling American cops (Bud Abbott, Lou Costello) training with the London police find themselves tracking down the murderous Mr. Hyde, unleashed by his alter ego, Dr. Jekyll (Boris Karloff) to murder colleagues who have scoffed at his ideas.

Somehow I've managed to go my entire life until now never having seen Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1953). While not the masterpiece that Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein was, this film does it right in the same way by keeping the horror elements horrific and playing them mostly straight. Amplified by some nice photography, sets, and atmosphere, these scenes fit right in with the Universal horror classics of the 1930s and 1940s. There's even a nice nod to Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein in the wax museum scenes. The comedy elements work well for the most part, only fumbling with the reuse of some familiar gags.

31 Days of Halloween - Day 14 - Movie 1

When a series of murders take place at a remote hotel, the bellboy (Lou Costello) becomes the prime suspect, but the hotel detective (Bud Abbott) and a police detective (James Flavin) try to determine the identity of the real killer amongst a pool of suspects.

Abbott and Costello Meet the Killer, Boris Karloff (1949) is something of an old dark house mystery set in a hotel, and with a bunch of shenanigans from the comedy duo. The solution to the mystery is unnecessarily convoluted, but is really not terribly important when the real concerns of this movie is to supply laughs, of which there are many. Karloff is great as one of the key suspects who tries to hypnotize Costello into killing himself. It makes you wish that Karloff had participated in more comedies.

31 Days of Halloween - Day 14

Igor (Marty Feldman) in Young Frankenstein (1974). Cut paper.

31 Days of Halloween - Day 13 - Movie 2

When a family movies into a new house and finds itself assaulted by unexplained phenomena, they turn to Ed and Lorraine Warren (Patrick Wilson, Vera Farmiga) for help. The paranormal investigators determine that their house is possessed by an inhuman spirit and set about doing what ever it takes to rid the house of it's unwelcome occupant and save the family.

This is probably James Wan's best realized movie. I admit to not being drawn to much of his work, but this was right up my alley. Based on a real case investigated by real life paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren, the film shows some restraint, relying more on a general sense of dread and foreboding, which makes the scares when they come more effective. You are invested in the people in this film, and their predicament.

31 Days of Halloween - Day 13 - Movie 1

A family (Oliver Reed, Karen Black, Lee Montgomery, and Bette Davis) move into a run down mansion for the summer. As the summer progresses, not only does the house start to look restored beyond what a bit of elbow grease and furniture can accomplish, but the family members begin to act peculiar, until Oliver Reed begins to sense that the cause is the house and that they should leave right away. The house, however, has other plans.


Burnt Offerings (1976) is a standout malevolent objects movie. It's a slow burn film that never gets tiresome as it gradually ratchets up the tension and mystery happening to the characters on screen. More concerned with the psychological toll on the family than jolts, the film only really features one special effects moment, letting the atmosphere and performances do the rest.

FYI, the house is the same one that served as the mortuary in Phantasm (1979).

31 Days of Halloween - Day 13

A morlock from The Time Machine (1960). Cut paper.

31 Days of Halloween - Day 12 - Movie 2

A blind veteran (Nick Damici) moves into a gated retirement community and on his first night there his next door neighbor, and his seeing eye dog are both viciously killed. He does a little digging and figures out that someone in his community is a werewolf, and begins planning to confront that person on the next full moon.

Late Phases (2014) was a real breath of fresh air in the werewolf subgenre. It has a good cast, well done characters, and even the basic premise of having the hero someone who can't see what's threatening him, really work to keep this movie intriguing. The werewolves are also really cool looking practical effects creatures and not cgi. This one gets a strong recommendation from me.