It’s not often I see a horror movie with such a paper thin script that it blatantly pads the run time. And even when it pads the run time with filler, it still only amounts to a seventy two minute film. And it’s barely seventy two minutes when you don’t factor in the closing credits, and long opening credits. Filmed on a $150,000 budget, what I imagine happened was director/writer Steven M. Smith wanted to film a movie in the vein of “Saw.” He got a hold of a primo haunted house and decided to build his script around the house. That’s likely why the movie’s entire narrative begins and ends in this haunted house, and nothing ever feels organic.
The Wicker Man (1973) [The Final Cut, 4K Re-Release by Lionsgate]
After a girl goes missing, a police sergeant is sent to an island in Scottland when people do not cooperate in his search and seem more interested in their Pagan rituals than in assisting him in helping a missing child.
Dark Harvest (2023)
I admit that I’ve never actually read Norman Partridge’s Halloween horror novel, but I was always very interested in checking it out. Thankfully David Slade adapts it for the big screen and introduces the movie going audience to a small town that’s very heavily steeped in to such a horrifying nightmare of circumstances. Although the movie is thin in exposition and exploration of elements like character, and back story, “Dark Harvest” does manage to squeeze by thanks to its enthusiastic direction by David Slade, ace cinematography by Larry Smith, and excellent flourishes of gore and vicious violence.
Pennywise: The Story of IT (2021)
It’s easy to forget that once upon a time “It” was the prime example of a master class in terror. In a world that’s largely forgotten TV movies, “It” broke all kinds of barriers when it came to primetime TV movies. TV movies were mostly safe melodramas and soft thrillers that were never really about staying power. “It” came along and showed the world that not only could they be an event, but they could be as immortal as theatrical films. You’d think a documentary about a legendary TV movie wouldn’t be prime for valuable film information, but “Pennywise: the Story of IT” disproved a lot of the cynicism I had going in to it.
Halloween Giveaway Reminder
Reminder! Halloween is a time for fun, join us for a giveaway of films and television series as well as other Halloween goodies!
For Halloween, we are gathering all kinds of goodies for a few lucky winners.
Already in the box for the big winner are a trio of films from Visual Vengeance (big thanks!), a slew of varied sources DVDs and Blus, some stickers, bookmarks, candy, and a few more surprises. We still have a few feelers out for more goodies, so there will be plenty in the big winner’s box.
The Halloween that Almost Wasn’t (1979)
It’s surprising that “The Halloween that Almost Wasn’t” has managed to become something of a mini-cult classic over the years. It was a TV movie that was almost lost to time, and once reclaimed, has survived thanks to nostalgia. The TV movie was much before my time, so I don’t have any real sentimentality directed toward it. In either case, ”The Halloween That Almost Wasn’t” isn’t the best Halloween special, but it has its heart in the right place, even through the cheesy final scene.
The Banana Splits in Hocus-Pocus Park (1972)
Before they became hacking and slashing horror movie characters (?), “The Banana Splits” were a niche kids program from the seventies. They were performers dressed in animal outfits that performed original pop rock like “The Monkees” and got in to various misadventures. They’d also show various animated shorts during the program. While I was never personally a fan, “The Banana Splits” were so much more interesting than “The Monkees” ever were. Their animated Halloween special is also one of the highlights of their television life, even if you’re not a fan.