[A MONTH OF HORROR – XI] The Sound of Horror

On By Cullen M. M. WatersIn A Month of Horror, Monster MoviesLeave a comment

The header image is AI generated and doesn’t really reflect the flick too well at all. But it’s fun.

Treasurer hunters unleash an invisible prehistoric horror.

Hey, I’ve been watching. Just haven’t been posting.

Anyways, this was a pleasant surprise. It’s no worse than most B-Science Fiction films. A little too talky in the beginning, a trifle slow here and there. I felt, though, it picked up nice towards the end, despite a rather silly attempt to fight the monster. Most of the Special Effects come in at the end and are so-so.

Honestly, a tighter script, bigger budget, and you’d really might have something.

I’d say a low good. I liked it and will watch it again in future.

This was a part of a Horror Movie collection I’ve had for years. Never watched it till now. Kind of sorry I waited.

Oh! This is also this was the first film for Ingrid Pitt, Vampire Lover extraordinaire. She made a place for herself in Doctor Who history as the only person to try karate on a dinosaur.

It wasn’t super effective.

3 out of 4

[A MONTH OF HORROR – X] Occupied [Short]/2AM: The Smiling Man

On By Cullen M. M. WatersIn A Month of Horror, Short FilmLeave a comment

All of today’s subjects can be found on YouTube. The header image is, of course, AI generated.

Occupied

A park ranger finds his night lock up of rest rooms problematic.

This short cartoon is more Comedy than Horror, but that’s all right. Very entertaining.

3 out of 4

2AM: The Smiling Man

A night walker encountering a stranger night walker

This is another repeat.

I rewatched this to compare it to another short. Then I discovered this other short had six previous entries and I thought: Here’s a whole night’s viewing. So I put it off.

My opinion of this hasn’t changed over the years. Four minutes, and not a moment wasted. No CGI, no seriously goofy twists. Just a creepy short, well worth anyone’s time.

3.5 out of 4

[A MONTH OF MONSTERS – IX] The She Creature

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A hypnotist has access to a prehistoric monster.

Not a bad way to start the week. This is a nice little B-Picture about past life regression and all the harm it can do if you metally regress a beautiful woman back to prehistoric times.

Or something.

Well acted with a decent monster suit and decent acting. It ain’t scary, but it works as entertainment (1.5 points). I liked it and wouldn’t mind seeing it again (1.5 points).

Oh, I’ve been using AI to create the headers to various effects. The above image? Nothing like the real monster.

3 out of 4 points

[A MONTH OF HORROR – VIII] Strange Frequencies: Taiwan Killer Hospital

On By Cullen M. M. WatersIn A Month of Horror, Ghost Movies, Review SiteLeave a comment

Streaming in a haunted locale proves foolhardy. Shocking, right?

I picked this one because it was one of my favorite subgenre. Namely, annoying internet influencers go some place bad and die. It’s a surprisingly big subgenre including films like Deathstream and #ChadGetstheAx.

Anyways, it has its characters head to a spooky hospital where people died from one reason or another. I’m enjoying it, getting vibes like from one of my faves of this subgenre, Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum. More than that, the film even name checks Gonjiam.

Film ends, and as the credits roll I’m mentally comparing the two. It’s been a couple years, so memories fade, but I was thinking this was the better of the two flicks.

Then it happens. A credit pops up saying this flick was a remake of Gonjiam.

I just started laughing.

Fine flick. I’m giving it the same score as Gonjiam, but this, I think, is the better of the two.

3 out of 4

[A MONTH OF HORROR – VII] Francis and a Summation of the First Week

On By Cullen M. M. WatersIn A Month of Horror, Monster Movies, Short Film, SummationLeave a comment

A girl rows out to the middle of the wrong lake.

Thought I watched this for a Month of Horror. The second one, in fact. As that’s in the archives and not easily gotten to, I’m reprinting what I said here about the short:

So I’m looking for an animated Horror short to watch on YouTube. This one looked interesting to me for whatever reason, and I clicked on it. As it loaded up, I thought I’d look for another one after I was done here. A cartoon about a young woman going to the center of a lake, where something knocks at the bottom of her boat. Thought it was called Knock, Knock.

It wasn’t. It was called Francis.

Well I thought it was a funny coincidence.

That out of the way, this is a nice little feature, with only one or two missteps along the way. These are Cullen Carps, though, and we can ignore them safely.

(Well, no, let’s hit one: we see the underside of the boat when the knocker should be there and see nothing. Shouldn’t have done that.)

Everything else, though, works. It’s narrated, and the narrator does a hell of a job selling the story. Even without the animation, just listening to it, you’d have a nice chill going for you.

No points given in that golden oldie. So here’s what I thought about tonight’s viewing:

4 out of 4

Summation of Week One

This is what was watched:

  • House on Haunted Hill (1959)
  • The White Reindeer (1952)
  • House on Eden (2025)
  • Suspiria (1977)
  • The Vampire (1957)
  • Werewolf in a Girls’ Dormitory (1961)
  • Francis [SHORT] (2013)

Best Movie of the Week

This was a great week for Horror, with only one stumbling block out of the bunch. I’m going to give the nod to Suspiria, as that never fails to delight me. Honestly, though? It could easy be a six way tie as far as I’m concerned here and now.

Worst Movie of the Week

Werewolf in a Girls’ Dormitory. Hands down. Not a chill to be found. The Vampire is a better werewolf movie.

Unintended Themes 

Three werewolf movies and three movies out of the Fifties. I don’t care, just noting something interesting

Biggest Surprise

 House on Haunted Hill. That one was creepy, and I’d seen it before. Most interesting.

Newest Film Watched

House on Eden at 2025.

Oldest Film Watched

The White Reindeer at 1952.

Best Monster Flick

Francis.

One week down, three more to go!

[A MONTH OF HORROR – VI] Werewolf in a Girls’ Dormitory

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A werewolf stalks around a girl’s dormitory

The title makes it sound more interesting than it is. It’s dubbed, so I couldn’t tell about the acting. The story… meanders. The werewolf looks awful.

It’s a movie I’ve seen. Though I kind of liked it…

God, my taste is horrible.

I’ve been using AI for the headers in this series. The above one? Not only is it scarier than the flick in question, it doesn’t even remotely look like the werewolf in this picture.

2.5 out of 4

[A MONTH OF HORROR – V] The Vampire

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Taking the wrong pill changes a small town doctor.

I picked this because of its short run time. I got plenty of bonuses to go with it.

First off, this stars Kenneth Tobey, star of The Thing from Another World. He brings a lot to a flick, and this one is no exception. Though, frankly, he’s underused.

Then there was the movie itself. I’d avoided it for years because it’s more Sci Fi than Horror. That was a mistake. This is a entertain film, well made, if questionable in its science (which, thankfully, it doesn’t go into much.) The protagonist (not Tobey) probably should have acted sooner in handling the matter, but I’ll let that slide.

I’ll also let the FX slide. They ain’t primo, just enough to get the job done. But I’ve seen worse.

All in all, I had fun with this one.

Amusingly enough, this is about as much a Werewolf flick as a Vampire one.

3 out of 4

[A MONTH OF HORROR – IV] Suspiria (1977)

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A young woman picks the wrong school to learn dancing from.

I watched this one for an earlier Month of Horror, and what I said there remains true.

While I try not to repeat movies, I honestly don’t care if I do. This one felt right, you know? And it had been a while.

I noticed something this time that I hadn’t realized before. This flick moves. It wastes so little time. It builds its moments up nicely.

I will say, though, that I feel Deep Red is the better film, and probably Argento’s best flick

Still 4 out of 4

[A Month of Horror – III] House on Eden

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A trio of filmmakers go ghost hunting and find something worse.

And here we have year another of the Blair Witch’s prodigy. We get three young people (in this case two girls and a guy) head out to a spooky location, ignore all good sense, and end up… pretty much like everyone else in a found footage flick.

Not a great deal gets explained and some scenes seem there for scene’s sake. But it’s well acted, well shot, and very creep. One of the best in the subgenre, I’d say. I liked it.

3.5 out of 4

[A Month of Horror – II] The White Reindeer

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A herder’s wife transforms into a white reindeer that leads hunters to their doom.

This is a 1952 Finnish Horror flick that frankly makes no sense to me. This young woman seems happily married to a reindeer herder. One day, though, while her husband is away, she heads off to a local wizard. She wants him to make her a love potion that makes her irresistible to men. What happens instead is she periodically transforms into a white reindeer, then leads men off to their doom.

Why she wants this potion is never explained. Why she now transforms into a reindeer is never explained.

You’d think she’d kill the men as a reindeer. Not the case. Instead, she changes into her real form, only with vampire teeth. Which is not explained.

I dunno. Maybe it’s a cultural thing I’m not getting.

What I am getting is a creepy vibe from the proceedings. There’s a expressionistic silent movie vibe to the proceedings. Long shots of empty snowy wilderness. Not a lot of talking–this film made me realize how chatty American movies are.

There’s no special effects to speak of. The murders all take place off screen. This is only noted in passing, and not a note passing judgment.

I don’t know what I was expecting, but this wasn’t it. Not a bad little flick. I rather liked it.

3 out of 4