Happy Halloween - October Week 4

Good Morning Ladies & Gentlemen,

Yes, the month continues... finding a home for MIL continues... doing all of the jobs at work continues... Q4 continues with the motto "It's going to be great!" In the meantime, I saw a few movies...

October 21 – The Mad Monster (1942)
 
This was an MST3K watch… and it’s about a mad scientist who turns his Simple Jack employee into a werewolf in order to prove that he’s the maddest scientist in the world… and to exact revenge against his enemies!!! Sounds awesome, right? Well… this was a ROUGH watch because of the pacing & sound mixing. Sure, it may have been because this was the 3rd episode of MST3K ever made so they might have still been figuring things out… but the movie itself was a LOT of silence… and when they were talking it was like they were in a can in the bottom of the ocean… and the dialogue is crap… and the action is… well, not very action.
 
Rating – 4/10 – Maybe an Incomplete score but I doubt there’s a better version of this movie out there… and I’m not going to try it.
 
October 23 – Phantasm (1979)
 
Two teenage orphans (eldest might be like 20?) stumble upon a mysterious tall grave robber in their small town… and hijinx ensue when they find out that he has some pretty weird, mystical powers and a loyal army of Jawas or something? Look, my description isn’t the best… but it’s from the director of Beastmaster… and it spawned a handful of sequel over the years… and it’s definitely worth a look if you like 70’s horror that doesn’t have to necessarily have a point or mean anything. The Tall Man is creepy… the cinematography is creepy… the effects are pretty dope for the time… if you like horror, and you haven’t seen this, check it out!
 
Rating – 10/10 – Horror classic and the sequels are… okay, especially if you like Supernatural
 
October 26 – Hobgoblins (1988)
 
When the world’s worst security guards let out some tiny aliens out of a safe in an office building… and the aliens start killing people by making their fantasies come true… hijinx ensue! The acting is godawful… the effects are laughable puppets… the music is ridiculous… but for some reason, about the time that the army cadet starts hucking grenades around a strip club, I find myself enjoying this dumpster fire of a Gremlins ripoff.
 
Rating – 7/10 – It’s 2.2/10 on IMDb… but there’s some charm… and a familiar face or two (like Maynard from Pulp Fiction as the bouncer named Roadrash)
 
October 29 – The Fall of the House of Usher (2023)
 
This is the latest Netflix release from directors Mike Flanagan (Doctor Sleep & Haunting of Hell House) & Michael Fimognari (his cinematographer on those) comes the story of a billionaire American family… and how their pasts come back to destroy them in the most Edgar Allen Poe way possible. Yeah, it’s basically all of the works of Poe turned into an eight-hour miniseries… and guys… it f**king worked & is fantastic. Bruce Greenwood, Carla Gugino & dozens of other actors NAIL it… it’s dark, creepy, funny, poignant, the dialogue pops… check it out if you enjoy ANYTHING horror related.
 
Rating – 10/10 – EIGHT hours is a lot… but we managed to watch it all in three evenings, even after working overtime each day
 
October 31 – The Frighteners (1996)
 
Michael J Fox is a paranormal investigator who can see ghosts… and people are dying mysteriously of heart failure… and hijinx ensue. Peter Jackson’s greatest film!!! If you haven’t seen this movie, I don’t want to spoil anything… go see it now on Tubi before it’s too late!!! This movie is a classic & I thoroughly enjoy myself every single time!!! I cannot say this enough… go see this movie!!!
 
Rating – 10+/10 – Have you not watched it yet?!? GO!!! GO NOW!!! What’re you waiting for?!?

Have a great November everybody!!!

​Steve