Happy Halloween!

Horrorfest: The Horror When a 61 Year Old Has a Better Body Than You've Ever Had

BEYOND THE GATES
(Jackson Stewart, 2016)
Two estranged brothers cleaning out their father's video store stumble onto a VHS/board game that might hold their dad's soul. This took itself way too seriously, and should have been a fun throwback to the 80's heyday of VHS horror. I think my favorite parts were in the video store (shocker!), though I found it odd that many of the rentals looked to be blank tapes with white labels on them. Wut?!? Barbara Crampton was fun as the game host, and her scenes were probably the strongest. GRADE: C

BOO! A MADEA HALLOWEEN
(Tyler Perry, 2016)
This is my first Tyler Perry film and it's probably my last! I've seen bits and pieces of his films and I'm always struck at just how amateur they look. After a decade of making films, this is as good as it gets? There are scenes in here that feel like they run 30 minutes long, and everyone is just so sloppy. So Madea's niece is invited to a frat party but her family doesn't want her to go and that's the plot. THAT'S THE PLOT. This isn't a movie, it's an episode of a TGIF sitcom from 1994. The best part was looking at Brock O'Hurn. At least Tyler is smart enough to give that stud work. GRADE: D

GERALD'S GAME
(Mike Flanagan, 2017)
Netflix original movie based on Stephen King's story about a woman handcuffed to a bed after her husband has a heart attack during sex. I was really disappointed with this one because I had heard such good things but it just didn't work for me. (The gore towards the end delivered.) Carla Gugino's performance definitely lived up to the hype, and what a body Bruce Greenwood has for being 61. I'm still fully Team Mike Flanagan. GRADE: C+

HUSH
(Mike Flanagan, 2016)
This is more like it. Imagine The Strangers, but Liv Tyler's character is deaf. Clever twist on the classic home invasion scenario, I'd probably compare it to Wait Until Dark but the killer is never really given a motive. Very suspenseful, and the Final Girl is a smart one. Kate Siegel is very good, and John Gallagher Jr (10 Cloverfield Lane, Short Term 12) makes a creepy intruder. I might have considered taking the film a step further and have it be a silent film with just a score. GRADE: B+

PERSONAL SHOPPER
(Olivier Assayas, 2017)
Kristen Stewart plays a personal shopper coping with the death of her twin brother several months prior. She's determined to make contact with him after the two - both claimed to have medium abilities - made a deal that whoever died first would come through from the other side. Stewart continues to do strong work with Assayas, and despite the very modern European setting, this has a very old fashioned feel. Those looking for simple conclusions and answers will be disappointed with this more metaphysical drama. The spookier moments worked very well. GRADE: B+

THE POUGHKEEPSIE TAPES
(John Erick Dowdle, 2007)
This movie has been unreleased for almost a decade and finally made it to home viewing thanks to Scream Factory. It's a nasty and unpleasant experience, poorly acted and written. Police discover hundreds of a video tapes of a serial killer serial killing. It's commitment to the faux-cumentary format is admirable, but the parts that aren't laughably bad are just nihilistic. And not that the fun kind of nihilism! GRADE: D

TALES OF HALLOWEEN
(Various, 2015)
Ten tales of Halloween horror, in the tradition of anthology horror like Creepshow and Campfire Tales. Despite being from different filmmakers, most of them have the same feel. It would've been better to give this similar concept to more high profile filmmakers as most of these directors have only done direct to home video stuff. The exceptions are Neil Marshall, Lucky McKee and Darren Lynn Bousman. The best part was Adrienne Barbeau narrating as a radio DJ, bringing back pleasant memories of her iconic work as Stevie Wayne in The Fog. GRADE: C-

Horrorfest: Hanging Out Underground With the Skarsgard Boys

DEMONIC
(Will Canon, 2017)
Maria Bello and Frank Grillo star as detectives investigating what happened to a group of college friends who went to a haunted house in Louisiana to summon some ghosts. Pushed all over the release schedule for the past 2 years before going direct to home viewing this year, this is a total snooze. Literally, I could barely stay awake. I like Grillo in the Purge franchise and Bello was utilized memorably in last year's solid Lights Out, but both actors are wasted here. Cody Horn and Dustin Milligan also appear. GRADE: D

A GHOST STORY
(David Lowery, 2017)
Philosophical drama about a man (Casey Affleck) who dies in a car accident and returns home to his house where his widow (Rooney Mara) tries to go on without him. Affleck literally haunts the film in a white sheet. It'll try the patients of some viewers even at only 87 minutes, but most of it worked for me even if its experimental nature doesn't always get off the ground. Obviously, this isn't a horror movie except for the sight of Mara eating an entire pie. GRADE: B

HIDDEN
(The Duffer Brothers, 2015)
Alexander Skarsgard and Andrea Riseborough star as parents who are raising their preteen daugther in an underground bunker after humanity has been wiped out by a virus. Constant threats abound, including the "breathers" above ground. Not even 90 minutes, this is a nifty little post-apocalyptic thriller that delivers. It's nothing groundbreaking for the genre, but it does have a clever twist. I was surprised when the credits rolled to learn that The Duffer Brothers (Stranger Things) were behind this. GRADE: B

IT: CHAPTER ONE
(Andy Muschietti, 2017)
Previously adapted into a hugely successful miniseries in 1990, this theatrical adaptation of the first half of Stephen King's killer clown saga focuses on a group of misfits joining forces to stop an evil force that has preyed on children in their small Maine town for almost a hundred years. Well cast (Sophia Lillis and Finn Wolfhard are fantastic!), I liked that this kept its characters first so when the scares and set pieces come, they are well earned. I'll being doing a Chapter 2 suggested cast list in the near future, so stay tuned. The other Skarsgard brother fares well, but he's no Tim Curry. GRADE: B+

JACKALS
(Kevin Greutert, 2017)
Home invasion horror in which a man is kidnapped by his parents after being brainwashed by a cult. They attempt to de-program him in a cabin in the woods, but things backfire when the cult members show up and things get bloody. While it has some potent moments and it smartly keeps the cult members masked, it's packed with one eye-roll after another given the epically stupid decisions of the characters. The 90's tinged cast includes Stephen Dorff, Johnathan Schaech and Deborah Kara Unger. GRADE: C

MONSTER TRUCKS
(Chris Wedge, 2017)
After an oil corp's drilling unearths some ancient creatures, a high school student and mechanic finds that the monsters have a habit of taking over their trucks. Family comedy/adventure that never quite gets off the ground and becomes the fun/memorable film it should have been. I think this might have been chopped up before release, as the film's massive budget caused the studio to actually declare it a write-down months before it even opened. Lucas Till and Jane Levy star, with Amy Ryan, Rob Lowe and Barry Pepper in smaller roles. GRADE: C-

Box: Jigsaw Vs Pennywise

1. Jigsaw - $15m / $15m / $35m
2. Boo 2 - $10m / $35.5m / $54m
3. Suburbicon - $8m / $8m / $22m
4. Geostorm - $6m / $24m / $36m
5. Happy Death Day - $5m / $48m / $58m
6. Thank You For Your Service - $4m / $4m / $11m
**Blade Runner 2049 - $4m / $81m / $90m
**Only the Brave - $4m / $12.5m / $21m
9. The Foreigner - $3m / $28.5m / $34m
10. It - $2.5m / $324m / $329m
***All I See Is You - $.5m / $.5m / $1.2m

Another ho-hum weekend before November hopefully comes to save things. The Saw reboot should do okay. I doubt it cost much. Suburbicon and Thank You For Your Service both feel like dumps, while All I See Is You isn't even getting a wide push. RIP October.

Trailer: Phantom Thread

The latest from Paul Thomas Anderson and potentially the last from Daniel Day Lewis. Looks great!

Horrorfest: Make Every Day Your Death Day!

THE AUTOPSY OF JANE DOE
(Andre Ovredal, 2016)
A father and son coroner are tasked with performing the autopsy of a woman found at a crime scene. She has no identity, and the more they investigate, the more they start to realize something is off about the body. Suitably creepy with potent performances by Brian Cox and Emile Hirsch. It fizzles out towards the end, but definitely has its share of hair raising moments. Thinking back, outside of the Danish film Nightwatch and its American remake, not many horror films take place in morgues. GRADE: B

THE DARK TOWER
(Nikolas Arcel, 2017)
Idris Elba and Matthew McConaughey are wasted in this dull adaptation of Stephen King's book series. Simultaneously cramped (not good to put 8 books into one movie) and empty, the film follows a young boy who envisions a world dominated by a Man in Black who wants to take down The Dark Tower and end the universe. Or something. Both leads, usually bastions of charisma, look like they'd rather be getting a root canal, though McConaughey would still make a decent Randal Flagg should that film re-adaptation ever happen. Let's just hope it's way better than this mess. GRADE: D

HAPPY DEATH DAY
(Christopher Landon, 2017)
In a slasher twist on Groundhog Day, a college student lives her last day - also her birthday - over and over until she can figure out the identity of her killer. Hybrid comedy and horror, the more over the top aspects and comedic parts of the story work the best and keep the pace moving. The slasher elements are nothing new. Outside of the investment in "torture porn", I'm not sure the slasher genre has really had a strong revival this millennium. The genre desperately needs another Scream. Jessica Rothe is a great find and the story is clever enough to overcome most of its flaws. Israel Broussard (The Bling Ring) co-stars. GRADE: B

THE SENTINEL
(Michael Winner, 1977)
A model-actress moves into a cheap New York City apartment, is introduced to its eccentric tenants, and discovers it's actually a gateway to Hell. Kinda surprised this hasn't been remade? I think I wasn't aware of this movie's existence because I confused it with The Entity and The Fury. It's pretty cheesy in that sordid 70's way. It also is stacked with veteran actors in small roles: Beverly D'Angelo (making quite an impression!), Christopher Walken, and Jeff Goldblum in some of their earliest work, while Burgess Meredith, Ava Gardner, Jerry Orbach and Eli Wallach also appear. GRADE: C+

UNDER THE SHADOW
(Babak Anvari, 2016)
In war-torn 1980's Tehran, a mother begins to suspect a spirit - or Djinn - is in her apartment building and has its sights set on her daughter. I think this might be the first horror film I've seen from the Middle East. Lots of people have compared this to The Babadook, but the film's spirit is a lot less specific as an entity. When it does appear, it delivers the jolts. Lead actress Nargess Rashidi is very good. Sidenote: the subtitles on this DVD also described the action on the screen. Very annoying. I just need the dialogue. GRADE: B

THE UNINVITED
(Lewis Allen, 1944)
A brother and sister buy a mansion along the sea for a cheap price and soon learn why the house was such a steal. I guess in 1944 it wouldn't raise any eyebrows for siblings to purchase a home together. Clever photography for when the ghost does appear, this was nominated for a Black and White Cinematography Oscar. The best part of the film was the punchline delivered at the end. Starring Ray Milland and Ruth Hussey. GRADE: B

WISH UPON
(John R. Leonetti, 2017)
Variation on "The Monkey's Paw" in which a teenage girl is given a music box by her dumpster diving dad. The box grants her seven wishes, but unbeknownst to her, blood will be required as payment. This proceeds exactly as you imagine it will. The only notable thing is seeing Ryan Phillippe - 20 years after I Know What You Did Last Summer - as the father. I'm so old. He still looks amazing. Relatable Joey King stars. GRADE: C

27TH GOTHAM AWARD NOMINATIONS!

First out for the season. I don't think we get anything else until the Spirit Award nominations in a month or so.

BEST FEATURE:
CALL ME BY YOUR NAME
THE FLORIDA PROJECT
GET OUT
GOOD TIME
I, TONYA

BEST DOCUMENTARY:
EX LIBRIS - THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY
RAT FILM
STRONG ISLANT
WHOSE STREETS?
THE WORK

BINGHAM RAY BREAKTHROUGH DIRECTOR AWARD:
MAGGIE BETTS - NOVITIATE
GRETA GERWIG - LADY BIRD
KOGONADA - COLUMBUS
JORDAN PEELE - GET OUT
JOSHUA Z WEINSTEIN - MENASHE

BEST SCREENPLAY:
THE BIG SICK - EMILY V. GORDON AND KUMAIL NANJIANI
BRAD'S STATUS - MIKE WHITE
CALL ME BY YOUR NAME - JAMES IVORY
COLUMBUS - KOGONADA
GET OUT - JORDAN PEELE
LADY BIRD - GRETA GERWIG

BEST ACTOR:
JAMES FRANCO - THE DISASTER ARTIST
WILLEM DAFOE - THE FLORIDA PROJECT
DANIEL KALUUYA - GET OUT
ROBERT PATTINSON - GOOD TIME
HARRY DEAN STANTON - LUCKY
ADAM SANDLER - THE MEYERORITZ STORIES (NEW AND SELECTED)

BEST ACTRESS:
HALEY LU RICHARDSON - COLUMBUS
MELANIE LYNSKEY - I DON'T FEEL AT HOME IN THIS WORLD ANYMORE
MARGOT ROBBIE - I, TONYA
SAOIRSE RONAN - LADY BIRD
LOIS SMITH - MARJORIE PRIME

SPECIAL JURY AWARD FOR ENSEMBLE PERFORMANCE - MUDBOUND

BREAKTHROUGH ACTOR:
MARY J. BLIGE - MUDBOUND
TIMOTHEE CHALAMET - CALL ME BY YOUR NAME
HARRIS DICKINSON - BEACH RATS
KELVIN HARRISON JR - IT COMES AT NIGHT
BROOKLYNN PRINCE - THE FLORIDA PROJECT

Box: Different Kind of You Is Same Of Me

1. Boo 2: A Madea Halloween! - $20m / $20m / $50m
2. Geostorm - $16m / $16m / $42m
3. Only the Brave - $12m / $12m / $40m
4. Happy Death Day - $11m / $42m / $65m
5. Blade Runner 2049 - $8m / $74.5m / $94m
6. The Foreigner - $7m / $24.5m / $40m
7. The Snowman - $6m / $6m / $15m
8. It: Chapter 1 - $3.5m / $320m / $330m
9. The Mountain Between Us - $3m / $26m / $34m
**American Made - $3m / $45m / $52m
**Same Kind of Different As Me - $2.5m / $2.5m / $7m
**Kingsman: The Golden Circle - $2.5m / $94m / $100m
**The LEGO Ninjago Movie - $2.5m / $55m / $60m
**Victoria and Marshall - $2.5m / $15m / $24m

5 openers, each more forgettable than the last. Only the Brave has very good reviews, but I do wonder how much the current fire in California will help or hurt. Audiences are increasingly looking to escape lately, so that doesn't help. Geostorm and Madea...yeah. They'll do okay, I guess. Geostorm probably cost a shitload, though. The Snowman has genuine talent associated with it, but the movie has awful reviews. And again, Fassbender is box-office poison. Lastly, Same Kind of Different as Me opens after being delayed for over a year. (IMDB says it was supposed to open April 2016.)

Horrorfest 8: What happened to 7?

I just realized I did a Horrorfest 6 followed by a Horrorfest 666. Here we go for the 8th year!

47 METERS DOWN
(Johannes Roberts, 2017)
Sisters (Claire Holt and Mandy Moore) go cage diving off the coast of Mexico, but a break in the line causes the cage to plummet to the bottom of the ocean floor. The only way out is up where countless sharks are swimming the waters looking for food. After last year's successful sleeper The Shallows, this film did pretty well given it was supposed to go direct to home viewing. The Shallows it ain't. While the sharks are surprisingly realistic, the film generates very little suspense. It's a shame because this is a decent concept. GRADE: C

ALIEN ABDUCTION
(Matty Beckerman, 2014)
Found footage horror in which a family's trip to North Carolina is cut short after witnessing the Brown Mountain Lights (it's a real thing!) and the next day coming face to face with aliens. Silly but hugely effective yarn, and the camera is being held by the family's autistic son which adds a valid reason why he keeps filming. I've said here before alien abduction stuff actually works for me, and this one has several well done sequences. There's a chilling sequence in which the family pulls up to a tunnel where the remains of the other abductees' cars sit like a graveyard. If you are not into abduction stories, your mileage with this may vary. GRADE: B

ANNABELLE: CREATION
(David F. Sandberg, 2017)
Superior prequel to 2014's lackluster Annabelle, the film shows the origins of the Annabelle doll first shown in the first The Conjuring film. Tracing back to a desolate farmhouse in which the owners have recently tragically lost a daughter and the group of orphans they take in, this prequel has a really fun final act. I just wish they had done more that scarecrow! Scarecrows are sadly underutilized in horror. I also wish Miranda Otto's exposition scene had explained a little more about the family contacting evil to get their daughter back. Between this and Ouija: Origin of Evil, there's hope for mediocre horror movies if you give them a prequel. GRADE: B

THE DEVIL'S CANDY
(Sean Byrne, 2017)
Metal music causes a man to murder, and after he's caught, the new inhabitants of his home find themselves haunted. Probably a little too short for its own good (it's only 80 minutes), the film didn't quite go the direction I thought it was going with the storyline. I assumed Ethan Embry's character would pick up a guitar and take things from there, but it didn't happen. Embry looked really hot, even with the ridiculous wig. Pruitt Taylor Vince and Shiri Appleby co-star. GRADE: B-

IT COMES AT NIGHT
(Trey Edward Shults, 2017)
In a world wiped out by a virus, a family's sheltered existence in a cabin the woods is interrupted by the arrival of a young family. Tense and realistic indie with a terrific cast, this won't be everyone's cup of tea as it's not standard horror and is about as bleak as can be. I still haven't seen Shults's Krisha as it's not available on DVD? WTF? Joel Edgerton, Carmen Ejogo, Christopher Abbot and Riley Keough star. Pay attention to the aspect ratios! I wish IMDB was still around so I could see what other people that the significance of the change was. GRADE: B+

RAW
(Julia Ducournau, 2017)
A young vegetarian starting veterinary school in France discovers a taste for human flesh in this grisly character study. Feels like a European version of Ginger Snaps given the sisterhood storyline, but minus the werewolves. The lead actress, Garance Marillier, is terrific, but big props to the film for its portrayal of her gay roommate, played by Rabah Nait Oufella; he's out, sexually active, sexy and unapologetic. This film could teach American films a lesson or two in that regard. Great ending scene, too! GRADE: B+

SIREN
(Gregg Bishop, 2016)
Spinoff of the first short in the first V/H/S film, this film makes up for that short's misogynist tone by turning the tables on a bachelor party looking for a night of debauchery. The "Siren" is some kind of creature - this film seems to suggest Biblical - that can lure men into a trance before killing/eating them. She was much creepier in the short where she was more mysterious. I think this debuted directly on Chiller, but it does have nudity and swearing. It's story is all over the place, going from religious fanaticism, to creature feature, to feminist revenge and none of it quite lands. Thinking back, it's like a lesser From Dusk Till Dawn. GRADE: C

THEY'RE WATCHING
(Jay Lender and Micah Wright, 2016)
Comedy/horror focusing on a House Hunters International-esque reality show where the cast and crew try to escape a small town in Moldova that might be cursed by a witch. The idea of combining a lampooning of HGTV with a horror plot is definitely something custom made for me, and the film for most of its running time has a breezy feel. However, it throws in everything but the kitchen sink and tone veers from found footage horror to Borat-like mocking of small European towns. I wish the team behind What We Do In the Shadows had done a rewrite of this because that could've been something truly special. As it is, though, it's still enjoyable. GRADE: B-

Box: Does Hallmark have Death Day cards yet?

1. Happy Death Day - $18m / $18m / $40m
2. Blade Runner 2049 - $15.5m / $60.5m / $100m
3. The Foreigner - $9m / $9m / $25m
4. The Mountain Between Us - $6.5m / $21.5m / $36m
5. It - $5.5m / $314m / $328m
**My Little Pony - $5.5m / $17m / $30m
7. Kingsman: The Golden Circle - $4.5m / $88.5m / $100m
**American Made - $4.5m / $39m / $50m
**LEGO Ninjago Movie - $4.5m / $51.5m / $65m
10. Victoria and Abdul - $4m / $12m / $25m
***Marshall - $2.5m / $2.5m / $8m
***Professor Marston and the Wonder Women - $2m / $2m / $6m

4 openers, and 2 probably won't make the top 10. This October is proving exactly what's wrong with the movie industry (and this is all outside of current events!): too many films coming out at once, poor scheduling, and most of these shouldn't have gotten past the development stage. But, I digress. Happy Death Day looks clever enough and the marketing has been solid, so it should knock Blade Runner 2049 from the top spot. That film disappointed, so we'll have to wait to see worldwide numbers before deciding how it will fare. Jackie Chan's The Foreigner will see if he can still bring in audiences even if it looks like another Taken sequel. Victoria and Abdul keeps on doing strong business, though I'm wondering why it's not getting a more aggressive expansion this weekend. It should have at least doubled its theater count. Marshall is only getting about 800 theaters. It has decent reviews (all four of the openers are so far positive on RT), while Professor Marston... will be good for anyone who wants a biopic about the creator of Wonder Woman and is also into bondage. The Florida Project did great business last weekend in just 4 theaters. No idea how many theaters it expands to but hopefully it continues to impress.

Box: At long last, an awards bait film about the friendship between Victoria Beckham and Paula Abdul

1. Blade Runner 2049 - $52m / $52m / $165m
2. American Made - $9m / $31.5m / $52m
**The Mountain Between Us - $9m / $9m / $28m
**My Little Pony - $9m / $9m / $30m
5. It - $8.5m / $303.5m / $325m
6. Kingsman: The Golden Circle - $8m / $80m / $100m
7. The LEGO Ninjago Movie - $7m / $44m / $60m
8. Victoria and Abdul - $3.5m / $5m / $25m
9. Flatliners - $2.5m / $11m / $16m
**Battle of the Sexes - $2.5m / $7.5m / $15m

Blade Runner 2049 kicks off a pretty weak October. It won't dominate the month the same way It dominated September, but it should be enough. There are a lot of movies opening in the next month, but very few look like breakouts. The Mountain Between Us seems like a movie that would have done big business in 1994, while My Little Pony might take advantage of the dire family market. Victoria and Abdul has done very well in limited and goes wide this weekend. It might be the crossover hit I thought Battle of the Sexes would be. Opening in limited is Oscar hopeful The Florida Project. Can it be another Moonlight for A24?

Trailer: Wonder Wheel

Woody Allen's next hits theaters in December, though reactions should be coming within the next week. Gorgeous cinematography and nice ensemble, but this trailer is pretty messy. Very little rhythm, just a bunch of scenes cut together.