Horrorfest: Here We Go Again

Coming this year...
+50th Anniversary viewing of Night of the Living Dead
+20th Anniversary viewing of Practical Magic
+Viewing the Final Destination franchise

HEREDITARY
(Ari Aster, 2018)
The art-house-ening of mainstream horror continues! After the death of their matriarch, a family descends into madness as a supernatural entity begins to make its presence known. I think this is Aster's first feature-length film and he does a great job with it. It builds tension while tearing you down psychologically. It has moments - one occurring about half an hour in - that truly sting. I appreciated that this plays out like a drama with horror elements tossed in. (I said LIKE a drama. Not an actual drama. This IS horror, people!) Yes, it loses a little steam in its second half, and at 127 minutes it runs about 10 too long. However, there's still much to admire including the stellar work of the cast. Toni Collette is terrific as always and her dinner table moment is phenomenal. Alex Wolff probably has the best moment of the movie, and that shot of his horrified reaction really nails a moment when you realize nothing will ever be the same. And of course, Character Actress Ann Dowd was born to play her part. Gabriel Byrne is a little under utilized, though. GRADE: B+

THE PREDATOR
(Shane Black, 2018)

Another disappointing installment in this franchise after 2010's Predators, though I prefer this one slightly. Boyd Holbrook leads a misfit group of soldiers to find the predator that has just arrived on Earth. Teaming up with scientist (though she seems not particularly bright) Olivia Munn, they try to get to the predator before it gets to his autistic son (Jacob Tremblay) who he stupidly sent part of the predator's equipment. Or whatever. This was apparently cut to bits by the studio in the recent months and it definitely shows. Scenes are choppy and continuity is all over the place. Where did they get that trailer, by the way? And why did the predator ignore naked Munn? It's a Shane Black film, so there are still some solid one-liners and it moves fast with fun performances. I'm curious if there will be a Director's Cut released to DVD/Blu. That might be worth a re-watch. The best thing about this may be the sexy cast. Between hottie Holbrook and Trevante Rhodes, I'm already stocked up on some Halloween man-candy. GRADE: C+

SCARECROWS
(William Wesley, 1988)
Low budget schlock about a group of criminals who, after stealing a load of cash and hijacking a plane with a father and daughter aboard, crash-land in a cornfield filled with murderous scarecrows. Okay, that sounds like fun, but the execution leaves a lot to be desired. Even by slasher standards, the film is super short - barely 80 minutes. I think it would have been smarter to show the robbery and the hijacking, but the film kicks off mid-flight. The scarecrows themselves aren't very scary. I brought up last year during my viewing of Annabelle: Creation that scarecrows should be utilized in more horror movies and I wouldn't mind if Hollywood would take a stab at a remake of this. It's probably too obscure a film, sadly. GRADE: C