Here's an Overview of my First Week of the October Horror Challenge

2019 SciFi/Fantasy Double Elimination Beat Down! (Round 1)

Rules for voting:
1. Contests will be held one at a time
2. Votes will only be cast by contestants not in the current contest
3. Ties will be broken by Vince


Contestants (X denotes a loss):
1. Der_Tables (X)
2. Box_a_Hair (X)
3. Snowey_Owl (X)
4. Bambithedeart (X)(X)
5. PickOfDestiny (X)(X)
6. Ballz
7. Gymnopedie (X)(X)
8. ZombieCPA (X)(X)


Picks:
PickOfDestiny: Mark Watney (The Martian), Predator (Predator), Starlord (Gaurdians of the Galaxy), Neo (Matrix), T-1000 (T2), Blade (Blade), Hackerman (Kung Fury), Alice (Residant Evil), Tallahassee (Zombieland), The Kid (Turbokid)

Der_Tables: T800 Terminator (T2), Lightning McQueen (Cars 3), Malcom Reynolds (Firefly), Ellen Ripley (Alien), Dr. Zaius (Planet of the Apes), Toxic Avenger (The Toxic Avenger), Triceracop (Kung Fury), Bender (Futurama), Doc Brown (Back to the Future), Herbert West (Reanimater)

Ballz: Robocop (Robocop), Roy Batty (Blade Runner), Max Rockatansky (Mad Max), Snake Plissken (Escape from New York), Darth Vader (Star Wars), Alex (A Clockwork Orange), Marty McFly (Back to the Future), The Gunslinger (Westworld '73), Reggie (Phantasm), Nada (They Live)

Box_a_Hair: Jack Burton (Big Trouble in Little China), Michael Waits (Troll 2), Kung Fury (Kung Fury), Swamp Thing (Swamp Thing), Special Agent Dale Cooper (Twin Peaks), Dr. Dan Challis (Halloween 3), Morty Smith (Rick and Morty), Tim, the Enchanter(Monty Python and the Holy Grail), Jack Deth (Trancers), Lucien Sanchez (Darkplace)

Snoweeey_Owle: Douglas Quaid (Total Recall), Sarah Connor (Terminator), Han Solo (Star Wars), Buffy Summers (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), Gordon Cole (Twin Peaks), The Flash (The Flash), Freddy Krueger (A Nightmare on Elm Street), Ashley "Ash" J. William (Evil Dead), Edward Scissorhands (Edward Scissorhands), Eric Draven (The Crow)


Bambithedeart: Dom Cobb (Inception), Xenomorph (Alien), Steve Rogers (Captian America), Furiousa (Mad Max 4), Frank N Furter (Rocky Horror Picture Show), Chewbacca (Star Wars), Gamora (Gaurdians of the Galaxy), Wonder Woman (Wonder Woman 2017), Ian Malcom (Jurasic Park), Trinity (Matrix)

ZombieCPA: Frankenstein's Monster (Frankenstein), King Kong (King Kong), Gojira / Godzilla (Godzilla), Dr. Jack Griffin (The Invisible Man), The Blob (The Blob), Killbot (Chopping Mall), Taarna (Heavy Metal), Flash Gordon (Flash Gordon), Jack Skellington (A Nightmare Before Christmas), Irena Dubrovna Reed (Curse of Cat People)



Gymnopedie: Vincent Freeman (Gattaca), Donnie Darko (Donnie Darko), Aaron, "Man" (Tetsuo), Jake Epping (11.22.63), John Oldman (The Man from Earth), Truman Burbank (The Truman Show), Nemo (Mr. Nobody), Winston Smith (1984), Tom Creo (The Fountain)



Round 1:

Box_a_Hair vs SnoweeeeeeeeeeeeyOwl
Pick_of_Destiny vs ZombieCPA
Der_Tables vs Bambithedeer
Gymnopedie vs Ballz

Round 2:
Bambithedeer vs Gymnopedie
Der_Tables vs SnowyOwl
Ballz vs Pick_of_Destiny
Box_a_Hair vs ZombieCPA

Round 3:
Der_Tables vs Pick_of_Destiny
Box_a_Hair vs Bambithedeer
Snowy_Owl vs Ballz

Back from the MIA List

2018 I went out to California to hike the Pacific Crest Trail. It's a long-distance trail from MExico to Canada, approximately 2650 miles long.
Got to mile 600 when I had to call it off, Going back out again in 2020.

Had fun while I was out there, interspersed with some not so fun.
Day 1: Mile four had a 1000 foot, four mile climb. Welcome to the PCT, ya mook!
Day 2: Tripped on a root and gashed my knee pretty good. Will have that scar for life.
Day 3: Walked into a scene where I got to see a hiker die. A Korean gentleman, and another Korean with him that didn't speak English very well, so I spoke with rescue to get them where they needed to be. Three miles by foot to get there, plus travel time to the trail head. Was dead long before they got there. (That was one of the not so funs.)
Day 4: Hiked a 24 miler.
Tripped an fell a few times, cut my face a few times. Nothing serious til the last one outside Tehachapi, CA, where I ended up biting a hole clean thru my lower lip. Didn't lose any teeth, but my bottom teeth hurt so bad I couldn't even bite a donut for two weeks.
Ended up calling it there and headed home, for family reasons. That's all sorted out now, so heading back out in April 2020.

Death

So I've died, or completely flatlined at least 4 times (It's why I have a pacemaker now). But after 15 seconds (Not that long to be dead, but still dying a few times is strange) my body did what is pretty much cpr on itself via constriction of muscles. Ever since I found this out I've changed a lot. Including a new value of what life is. This being said, does anyone else ever feel all of the overblown death in horror movies makes us devalue our own lives?

Boar! An Aussie Horror Flick

Okay. A movie about a giant killer pig sounds really stupid, doesn't it? And by all means, this movie ought to be a really stupid creature feature, but to my surprise, I really liked it.

Universal delivers this outback tale of animal atrocity involving a family who goes to visit a relative in an area that seemingly has some trouble with wild animals. Fences are getting destroyed, but that's the least of these people's problems, because as you guessed it... there's a giant killer pig on the loose.

This movie has quite a few things going for it. The high production values entail some good practical effects, and things get pretty messy when you have an animal as savage as this ripping through people. To contrast the nastiness of the titular enemy, the film also showcases some great Aussie scenery. There's a lot of that going around, and this country is really pretty to look at.

The best thing about this movie... what makes this nonsensical plot work... is that it's got a great cast with some likeable characters. It's really fun to watch John Jarratt NOT playing a maniac for a change. He actually has sympathy for other people, can you believe it?! And Bill Moseley is also another star, and he isn't playing a weird or eccentric character this time either, but rather a regular ordinary family man!

The coolest character is definitely Bernie, a huge hulking hunk who's the only guy that can stand a chance against a creature of this magnitude. This guy was a wrestler, if you couldn't tell just by looking at him.

So with all the right ingredients, you can turn a stupid premise into something wonderful, and this movie is proof of that. It's got good character development, a good cast, loads of gore and atmosphere, and some fine women in it to boot. A solid creature feature that gives Australia something to brag about.

Bates Motel - The 80s TV Movie

It was 1987, arguably the pinnacle of the decade. The Psycho series just had its third entry and the series was in a good place at the time... so, for some reason, they pitched an idea for another entry in the saga...

"Hey, what if the sequels never happened and Norman isn't even in it?!"

Who will be the main star then?

"Oh, that's easy! It'll be Norman's protege in the institution!"

So already, we're off to a strange start, but okay. So we have some awkward looking guy inheriting the Bates Motel and we spend about two-thirds of this movie with our new owner Alex West as he fixes up the motel.

Honestly, not much happens in that time as he really is just going through basic procedures on how to reopen the motel and all the hoopla that goes with it. He meets a few people along the way, such as Gregg Henry who gives him a loan, Moses Gunn who helps him design the place, and Lori Petty who helps him run the place. Pretty standard fare, but passable.

At least they use the same sets, so we're still in the classic Psycho house and they try to utilize all the locations, but the movie is pretty lite on the horror. We have a vague idea that the place is haunted, and we deal with a little bit of backstory with Norman's parents and their missing bodies.

Then, the final act goes on a tangent that has almost nothing to do with our protagonist, but rather a slightly supernatural subplot involving a depressed (and sexy) aerobics instructor who joins Jason Bateman for a dance. It's at this point that you start to wonder if you're watching an episode of some anthology series, but it'll come as little suprise that this tv movie was a failed pilot.

Toward the last few minutes, things return to the main premise in what could be considered a real Scooby Doo ending.

Speaking of Scooby Doo, remember one of the endings in Wayne's World when they unmask Benjamin and it turns out to be Old Man Withers, played by Carmen Filpi? Well, Carmen Filpi has a scene with another iconic hobo actor George Buck Flower. To see them both playing bums in the same frame makes this a trash epic in its own right.

So overall, the movie ain't bad, but it's barely barely barely got anything to do with horror. If the series took off, I'm not quite sure where it would go other than in some preposterously random subplots, but I'd give 'em a watch. It's also fun to read the imdb trivia page, which claims that Anthony Perkins watched the film and described it as "just terrible". 😄

Anybody remember The Frighteners?

Once upon a time, Peter Jackson made good movies. It was a long time ago, before he made his boring epic fantasy garbage about elves and midgets who walked places. He used to make horror movies, and The Frighteners was the last good movie he made and seemingly his last venture into the genre itself. Then he sold his soul and became a Hollywood legend. What a dick...

So while this film starts with a lot of atmospheric haunted house imagery, it also starts with some really bad CGI. It probably looked good at the time, but it's kind of painful to watch now. Of course, there's also some good CGI involving the regular ghosts, because yes. This is a ghost movie, but it's a rather comedic take on these traditionally creepy themes.

Michael J. Fox plays Frank Bannister, a paranormal investigator who is also a con-man. He has the profound ability to see and interact with ghosts and he uses this to his advantage to make a living, but as the tagline suggests, "Death is no way to make a living".

The cast is quite wonderful in this. Dee Wallace plays a traumatized shut-in who lives with her overbearing mother after having been involved with a mass murderer played by Jake Busey. Now, if they ever made a good film about Venom and Carnage, Jake Busey demonstrates a perfect rendition of Cleetus Cassidy. He was born to play Carnage, but he seemingly never will.

This film also features horror icon Jeffrey Combs as a peculiar FBI agent butting heads with our protagonist due to Frank's shady backstory. This dude is fidgety and has some serious issues with women. He's always fun to watch.

The side characters are great too, including Chi McBride as the disco afro who helps Frank, R. Lee Ermey as the drill sergeant guardian of the cemetery who naturally wants to protect all those maggot-infested apparitions, Troy Evans as the sheriff who actually believes in Frank's abilities, and then Trini Alvaredo (who I don't know anything else she's been in) does good too.

Spoilers who have seen the movie... Dee Wallace does a fantastic job as a maniacal psychopath. She looks like she had a lot of fun running around blasting holes in the walls with shotguns and stabbing shit with big knives. Too bad you don't see certain actors playing crazy people more often. For instance, I would have loved to see Jack Nicholson play a homicidal maniac in more than just The Shining, and Matthew McConaughey as a psycho in more than just TCM4 and Killer Joe. Some people do too good of a job at having a screw loose and are underutilized in their talents.

The story has some interesting interweaving plotlines going on and some good concepts. Again, some of the CGI is really tacky and the horror elements are more cliche than scary, but Peter Jackson was always more of a horror/comedy guy, and there's no problem with the balance in here. I've always liked this movie.

Bloodline, a Dexter-esque Movie

I wont go on too much about this movie because it's one of those types that it's best to go into blindly and see where it takes you. Seann William Scott plays a social worker at a high school and his wife just gave birth. However, the stories he hears from the students, coupled with the stress of raising a new child have made him a bit unhinged. Or was he always that way?

It's a decent little thriller with a few good bits of gore and torture. I found a lot it comparable to Dexter in many ways. Particularly Dexter season 4, so if you've seen that season, you'll probably know what I'm talking about.

Stay Alive (2006)

So today I watched Stay Alive. Years ago, I saw the trailer and thought this movie looked cool, but I never watched it. I still though the movie looked cool, and the concept seemed very interesting. For the most part it was intriguing. It wasn't the best thing out there, but I didn't hate it. I think I have a soft spot for movies that have this kind of concept. Like final destination, and truth or dare. Mostly I like seeing the different ways people get killed.

Anyways, have y'all seen this movie? I would love to hear your thoughts on it!

Did you hear? We're getting another Chainsaw Massacre...

From the producer of the Evil Dead remake, and guess what? It's going to be... a direct sequel to the original. 😐

And I thought the continuity for the Halloween series was bad! It's like they're not even trying anymore. They're rehashing and rehashing until they're rehashing a rehashed rehash. What's wrong with continuity these days?

Remember when they already did a direct sequel to the original in 2013? It may have lacked grit, but it was still a fun movie and its heart was in the right place. And if you also remember, that movie was supposed to kickstart a deal with Lionsgate to produce a total of six films, but that never happened. Instead, we got another prequel instead. Granted, it was a prequel to neither the original nor remake seeing as how it doesn't share any of the characters, and leatherface wasn't even retarded in it. More of a spin-off than anything.

I predict this next film will have yet again another different family, because Leatherface has thousands of relatives that he stays with. There's no word on the timeline of this one yet, because when we finally brought this film to modern times with the 2013 film, the following film took us straight back not to the 70s, but even earlier! Why does Leatherface need to be stuck in the past? If Michael can make it to modern times, why can't Bubba?

I shouldn't expect anything from the series at this point. Either way, I'm going to end up watching it and I'll probably end up liking it just I have every other movie, but I think their approach is always off. We'll see what happens...