1. House (1977) - This was quite the fever dream of a film. The editing was really unique and entertaining, and I feel a lot of the choices in editing made me enjoy the film much more than I would've otherwise. It was strange, comical, and very memorable.
2. Eyes Without a Face (1960) - This was a film I'd been meaning to watch for a while, and I really enjoyed it. I feel black and white really suited this, and color would have been a detriment, especially during the surgery scene. The mask also looked wonderfully creepy, and the mad-doctor-trying-to-fix-his-daughter plot was simple but really good.
3
. The Brood (1979) - This was a solid film. The ending scenes really saved it for me even though I felt the child actress that played the daughter was a bit weak. The army of mutated children that just killed anyone based on Nola's rage were pretty creepy. I kept thinking about Don't Look Now whenever I saw them. The small amounts of body horror mixed in, especially at the climax, were well done.
4.
Scanners (1981) - I decided to have a small Cronenberg marathon Friday night. I had only seen Videodrome before now, which I really liked, so I decided to watch more of his work. Scanners was definitely more sci-fi than horror, but like in The Brood there was some body horror mixed in. As a sci-fi film I enjoyed this, but as a horror movie both Videodrome and The Brood were far better.
5.
Eraserhead (1997) - This was surreal. Definitely oozing David Lynch's style. I feel like I might have to watch this again sometime to really figure out how I truly feel about it. There was a lot going on and a lot to take in. It seemed to be about fear of parenthood, but I feel like there may be more to it than just that.
6.
The Thing (1982) - I'm a big fan of John Carpenter, and this is my favorite movie I've watched so far for this marathon. There were so many memorable scenes and the creature effects were phenomenal. The isolation of the setting, as well as trying to figure out who was no longer human made for a suspenseful and fun watch.
7.
The Binding (2020) - This was just very average and forgettable. It's your basic evil-entity-tries-to-take-over-a-kid-and-the-family-has-to-save-them story. It did surprise me with some red herrings since the original direction I thought the film was going was slightly different. It was competent. I really don't have much to say about this one. I didn't hate it but it was nothing special.
8.
Witchboard (1986) - This was also pretty average, but I enjoyed the fact it was a ouija board story that centered around adults and not teens or children. This really didn't have much going for it other than that though. The characters were very stereotypical, but there was a bromance aspect going on that I thought was kind of fun. I wish there had been more campy deaths though, since the spirit killed people with a hatchet.
9.
The Loved Ones (2009) - Tonight was a night of re-watches, starting with this little Australian gem. Filled with dark humor and some pretty messed up torture, I still really enjoyed this film after years removed from seeing it.
10
. Excision (2012) - This film I have mixed feelings on. The performance by the lead actress is great, and the dark humor and plot itself I think make for an interesting film. Like
Akumatica I also feel like the ending is unearned
. Shit goes from 0-100 with how crazy this girl is and explodes in the ending scene. It would definitely be a stronger, shocking finale if she had shown herself or her visions becoming more and more extreme (though her fantasies/dreams were pretty messed up, but she barely acted on anything until the end).
11.
Fright Night (1985) - This was a fun little flick! I love the 80's aesthetic, and I enjoyed the fake TV vampire hunter the main character hunted down to help him; I thought that was a really fun idea. The effects were also pretty solid. Overall a fun film, of course not very scary though.
12.
The Final Girls (2015) - This had some fun moments. I enjoy movies that play on slasher tropes and this movie's plot was full on that. The final fight I didn't love just cause it was so over the top, but overall I thought it was a fun little film.
13.
Annabelle Comes Home (2019) - A rewatch for me. I enjoy this movie as a sort of haunted house attraction type film. You have different ghosts and demons throughout different parts of the movie and the main characters go from dealing with one thing to the next. It's simple fun but nothing special.
14.
Crimson Peak (2015) - Another rewatch, but I haven't seen this since it came out. Definitely not a scary film, but an enjoyable and atmospheric Gothic romance with a touch of the supernatural.
15.
Puppet Master (1989) - This gave me some Child's Play vibes, but I mean any movie with a killer doll/puppet that runs around makes me think of that. I really enjoyed the different puppets and watching them kill off the cast; not sure if it's something I'd watch again though.
16.
The Mothman Prophecies (2002) - This was more of a thriller than a horror film and I honestly did not like it. I debated turning it off halfway through but I wanted to give the full movie a chance. I did and it was definitely meh.
17.
Nocturne (2020) - This is one of the four movies Blumhouse released on Amazon this month. I actually quite liked this film. It reminded me of Starry Eyes, which is another horror film in a similar vein about the pressures of being in a competitive arts field. This isn't a particually scary film or anything; it's more of a drama with a small supernatural element to it. It was way better than I expected, given it was a Blumhouse film that went straight to Amazon Prime.
18.
Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives (1986) - I've never been big on Friday the 13th; there's not a lot of substance in the series (not that there has to be, I just prefer movies like Halloween and A Nightmare on Elm Street when it comes to slashers
). I enjoyed the watch overall -- it was a campy teen horror flick, though I doubt I'll revisit it.
19.
Wishmaster (1997) - I enjoyed all the special effects and body horror that was prominent in this film; it looked great and there was some pretty disturbing stuff in it. The plot was okay, but I wasn't too invested in that aspect.
20.
Swallow (2019) - This is more of a psychological drama than pure horror, but I definitely felt a bit squeamish seeing the stuff the main character decided to swallow. Really good movie overall with a lot to explore involving the main character's struggles. It also was a stylish, well shot, and gorgeous film aesthetically.
21.
Society (1989) - Another body horror film, but this time about the rich literally feeding on the lower class. This won me over with how crazy the ending section was.
22
. Hell House LLC 2: The Abaddon Hotel (2018) - I had no idea they made a sequel to the original Hell House LLC (which was just an okay horror film) but oh man this was completely unneeded. Some of the acting was pretty awful, and I don't remember having that complaint about the first. It wasn't the worst thing I've ever watched but I wouldn't recommend it.
23.
Sleepy Hollow (1999) - I hadn't seen this in years and it was an enjoyable rewatch. I enjoy Tim Burton's style most of the time (minus those Alice in Wonderland movies), and though this isn't quite a scary film I think it's a nice gothic horror story. Overall it's a fun, stylish take on the story of the headless horseman.
24.
The Blackcoat's Daughter (2015) - A rewatch for me, but a nice and creepy revisit overall. I really enjoy the way the story of this film unravels itself; I love a good slow burn horror film and this is definitely one of them.
25.
Poltergeist II: The Other Side (1986) - Well this was awful. Really a great example of a sequel that had no reason to be made (other than to make money). The preacher guy was slightly creepy I guess, and the acting was fine across the board; that's really the only positive points I can think of.
26.
Carnival of Souls (1962) - For it's age, this film stands up rather well. It's incredible what quality was accomplished with such a small budget here. I really enjoyed the ballroom scene with the ghosts especially, it was eerie and really stuck with me.
27.
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (1986) - This was quite a departure from the feel of the first movie. This almost felt like a parody of a horror movie at times, and some of the more over the top aspects of the film I really enjoyed. A fun ride from start to finish.
28.
House of 1000 Corpses (2003) - This film was a rewatch for me. It feels almost like an homage to Texas Chainsaw Massacre with the shared story element of a family of maniacs living in a secluded area. Overall I think this film is a fine, fun, gory haunted house attraction of a horror movie.
