Horror Movie Talk

In honor of pride month, we watched Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge, and it brings a whole new meaning to scream queen. Freddy’s back for revenge, and he doesn’t give a fuck if you’re dreaming or not. @dgoebel00 on Instagram provided this amazing artwork. Follow him and check out his website. Synopsis A totally straight young man named Jessie, with the scream of Ned Flanders, is haunted by nightmares of a scarred and razor clawed monster-man named Freddy Krueger. He finds out from his gym bro that the house he lives in was once inhabited by a young girl named Nancy driven crazy by the death of her boyfriend across the street. Jess discovers Nancy’s journal while cleaning his room and finds out that she was tormented by the same nightmares. Freddy Krueger in this film isn’t out to kill the protagonist, he seeks to possess his body and carry out his murders in reality https://youtu.be/9iqNVyjwLFA Review of A Nightmare on Elm Street 2 This film has a reputation as a huge disappointment to fans of the original, and has a long history of getting shit on. I don’t see the drop in quality as being that big. The reason for the dislike of this film is probably because it strays so far from the premise of the first movie. Freddy’s unique selling point is that he can kill you in your dreams and that sleep is unavoidable. In this film, that is barely touched on. The terror in this film is very personal to the protagonist, as he witnesses Freddy take over his body in harm his friends around him. A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge Poster Homosexual Subtext The homoerotic subtext might have been lost on a majority of general audiences in the 80’s. Many of the scenes must have felt random if you didn’t understand that Jessie’s experience was an allegory for being a closetted gay teen. Now 40 years later, it adds a new layer of interest, especially when you view it in the context that it was released right at the beginning of the AIDs epidemic. Special Effects and Acting All of that aside, this movie has some great special effects. The scene with Jessie’s were-Freddy transformation is going to stick in my mind. It’s definitely not as tight as the original. At some points it looks like Freddy runs out of ideas of how to supernaturally and psychologically torture his victims, and just resorts to chasing them around. The acting ranges from kind of bad to very good. Mark Patton does a really convincing job at conveying his torment and his performance keeps getting better and better throughout the film. I think it deserves more love. It’s not fantastic, but is a very good followup to the first film in my opinion. Score 7/10 Get The Whole Collection Buy Nightmare on Elm Street 1-7 on Blu-ray Buy Now Get 13% Off your order at NightChannels.com when you use code HMT at checkout.

What a great time we had bashing this train wreck of a Zack Snyder movie. We go on and on with this one, head on over to our patreon and consider supporting us to gain access to the full review!

We watched House of Wax starring Elisha Cuthbert, Paris Hilton, and Robert Ri’chard (from Cousin Skeeter) and were treated to a fairly decent bit of gore porn. This was a patreon pick, so if you ever get the idea to recommend we review a movie, head over to our patreon and see all the goodies we offer to our most loyal of fans! We had Max from Screaming Cinema Podcast on this episode! @dgoebel00 on Instagram provided this amazing artwork. Follow him and check out his website. https://youtu.be/Q-Akt68SGfE Synopsis House of Wax is based on a pretty simple premise and is a loose remake of the 1953 film of the same name. A group of fun-loving but angsty teens find themselves stranded in the woods near a strange, small community which seems to center itself around a wax museum. As the teens split up and try to find help in this sleepy community everyone seems to realize that the inhabitants aren’t as lively as they once thought In the end, everyone gets more wax than they bargained for. Review House of Wax is directed by Jaume Collet-Serra who also directed Orphan, The Shallows, and is in the middle of directing the upcoming Black Adam movie starring  Dwayne Johnson.  House of Wax was his directorial debut and is pretty good, all things considered. This effort is clearly inspired by early 2000’s exploitation gore/slashers like Saw and Wrong Turn. Throwing Paris Hilton into the mix gave this movie a huge amount of momentum at the time because just like candle wax – “that’s hot”. Unfortunately, House of Wax has a seemingly unlimited supply of rope to hang itself with. There is a tremendous amount of extraneous details that force us to wade through this 113 minute slog with no real rhyme or reason behind their inclusion. Watch House of Wax (2005) Watch on Amazon Click here to Buy or Rent Backstory and character development that doesn’t seem to matter. Character inclusion that is wholly unnecessary. Even chase sequences that are out of nowhere. If the movie were a bit tighter I would be impressed with it, especially after considering the ending payout, which is impressive to say the least.  Ultimately, House of Wax was a decently fun movie that shot itself in the foot with the inclusion of a ton of extraneous content. Even so, the ending makes it worth the wait. Score 6/10 Get 30 day free trial, with the code HMT at Shudder.com Get 13% Off your order at NightChannels.com when you use code HMT at checkout.

We had a TON of fun reviewing one of the most meta horror movies ever made, Cabin in the Woods, by director Drew Goddard! This was a total blast. If you would like to hear the full review, it will only be available on our Patreon at the “We all Spoop for Ice Spoop” tier. All proceeds go to making the show better and growing into a podcast that can support our families, so do consider this as us begging!

The Conjuring The Devil Made Me Do It, or as I call it “TCTDMMDI” is the 8th movie in the Conjuring Cinematic Universe, or as I call it “The CCU”, and the second direct sequel to the original The Conjuring, and the 5th film in the series since anyone gave a fuck. The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It Featured Artwork by Dustin Goebel. Follow him on Instagram @dgoebel00 https://youtu.be/h9Q4zZS2v1k Synopsis In this entry, Ed and Lorraine Warren are performing an exorcism on the young David Glatzel boy (Julian Hilliard), when oops, the demon is transferred over to Arne Cheyenne Johnson (Ruairi O’Connor) after he invites the demon to possess him instead. Everyone goes about their business like that didn’t just happen, and then Arne commits homicide, because, you guessed it, the devil made him do it. The Warrens rush to investigate the evil origins of the possession to convince the rubes on the jury in time to save Arne from the death penalty. The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It Poster Review of The Conjuring 3 I’m a little torn on how to review this one. It’s right in line with the other Conjuring Movies, none of which are bad (in the main storyline), but none are particularly great to me. I was relieved to see that it wasn’t all based within one spooky-ookie house, so that was nice.  One of the things that gets annoying after a while is the repetitiveness of the setup of Lorraine being psychic and Ed being worried.  The story is interesting enough. There is enough mystery and revelations over time that kept me engaged.  The special effects and scares were a little lackluster. You’ve seen most of it before. Demon possessed children, evil rickety contortion, rotted corpse ghosts, etc. The new element that was the most interesting, that I wished they explored more of was the Satanic element, specifically playing into the 80’s era satanic panic. It’s a really interesting topic that would have been more interesting if they committed completely to it, rather than just using it as a story device. Surprisingly, the whole premise of legally defending Arne on the basis demonic possession, is barely touched on. If you are expecting a courtroom drama, you will be disappointed. That all being said, the movie as a whole is of a high enough quality to be grouped in with the first two Conjuring movies, which is a welcome relief after The Curse of La Llarona.  Score 7/10 Buy The Whole Conjuring Collection on Blu-Ray or shop Amazon for your missing piece Buy Now Where The Conjuring 3 Disappoints It really is unfortunate that they didn’t pick a lane and either focus on the court case of Arne, or focus on the Satanic Panic elements. While I appreciate that they finally left the haunted houses behind, It would have been nice to see a stronger departure from The Conjuring formula. Support Our Sponsors Get 13% Off your order at NightChannels.com when you use code HMT at checkout.

We went and saw A Quiet Place Part 2 and it was quiet and then VERY loud, and then quiet again. Always loud after quiet. @dgoebel00 on Instagram provided this amazing artwork. Follow him and check out his website. https://youtu.be/BpdDN9d9Jio Synopsis A Quiet Place Part 2 picks the story up from exactly where we left off on A Quiet Place (2018) and progresses the story of the Abbott family who have just lost their father, Lee (John Krasinski). The surviving members of the Abbott family consists of Mother Evelyn (Emily Blunt), deaf daughter (Millicent Simmonds), brother Marcus (Noah Jupe), and their little baby have to travel the landscape to find someplace safe to live.  Along the way, they meet their neighbor Emmett (Cillian Murphy) who has recently lost his whole family to the hoards of angry alien librarians. As our rag-tag band of plucky survivors make their way through the apocalyptic landscape, everyone gets more quiet places than they bargained for. Review The first Quiet Place is a hard act to follow just about any way you cut it. Director, writer, star, and Pam-Pam enthusiast John Krasinski nailed it with the original movie in every way that counts. This second installment does an admirable job of trying to follow in very quiet footsteps of the first, but like so many sophomore attempts, doesn’t catch the magic that the first had.  Magic or not, A Quiet Place Part 2 is a stellar monster movie thriller with a ton of action and a tight run time of 97 minutes. I was not bored during the movie, and it provided wonderful argument fodder for after the show.  I can honestly say that I will remember many of the incredibly loud and offensive jumpscares until the day I die.  This is really a movie to see in the grandiosity of a theater not only for the dynamic range of the audio, but because hearing a totally silent theater with many viewers in it is something of a spectacle in and of itself. A Quiet Place Part 2 gave me my money’s worth and then some, and left me wondering how many installments they will be able to squeeze out of this audio-based entertainment.  Watch A Quiet Place (2018) Watch on Amazon Click here to Buy or Rent Score 7/10 Get 30 day free trial, with the code HMT at Shudder.com Get 13% Off your order at NightChannels.com when you use code HMT at checkout.

We watched Train to Busan, and it was a bullet train to fun! @dgoebel00 on Instagram provided this amazing artwork. Follow him and check out his website. Train to Busan Trailer https://youtu.be/pyWuHv2-Abk Train to Busan can be found on Shudder as well as on Tubi and Crackle with ads. Synopsis This synopsis is very easy. While a father takes his and daughter to her mothers house in Busan, a widespread zombie outbreak spills onto their bullet train. Wacky hijinx ensue. More detail? I have a sense there is a reader that wants more detail. The action starts with a reported leak in a biotech building starts spreading a zombie disease that makes zombies. The cynical workaholic protagonist is taking his daughter to Busan on the bullet train when chaos breaks out in the station. There is much confusion, but over time, it’s revealed that some of the infected have made their way onto the Train to Busan. The super aggressive contortionist zombies start taking over the train until only a few small bands of survivors remain. Like most zombie movies, there are many archetypal characters and dramatic relationships that explore all the implications of a zombie outbreak. Good enough? Ok, let’s move on. This is the poster to Train to Busan Review of Train to Busan I’m pretty jaded on zombie films. The variation of content in zombie movies only barely beats out the variation in content found in slashers. It’s a very simple premise. You set some simple human story with the backdrop of the zombie apocalypse. Rinse, repeat. In rare occasions, there are uniquely new interpretations of this genre. This would be one of them. This one takes the runner zombies from 28 days later, and puts them on a train. Honestly in describing it, it sounds much less impressive. But nevertheless, this zombie film feels fresh and brings a new perspective to the same old story. This film really excels at pacing. It’s not long, but zombie movies often feel like an eternity to me. This one kept me engaged throughout. Since Night of the Living Dead, social commentary has been built into pretty much every zombie movie, and this one is no exception. However, it keeps it simple. Should you help people or not. You’ll have to watch the movie to find out which. Watch Train to Busan Watch on Amazon Click here to Buy or Rent Score 9/10 Exciting Filler Did you know that there is a sequel to Train to Busan? No you didn’t. It’s called Peninsula. I don’t know anything about it, but thought I would mention it for SEO purposes. Leave a comment below to let us know if it’s worth watching. Ma Dong-seok, who played the inimitable Sang-hwa in Train to Busan is starring in they upcoming MCU film The Eternals. It’s very exciting. I’m very excited. Let’s look into Ma Dong-seok’s career in film. He is most well know for Train to Busan to American audiences, he also starred in The Neighbors , directed by none other than Hwi Kim. Isn’t that interesting? What else can we talk about? How about our sponsors? Get 20% off and free shipping at Manscaped.com, with the code HMT Get 13% Off your order at NightChannels.com when you use code HMT at checkout.

We watched Spiral in theaters, and if you aren’t familiar, this is the latest chapter in the book of Saw movies and this is exactly what you think it might be after having learned that it’s a Saw movie. @dgoebel00 on Instagram provided this amazing artwork. Follow him and check out his website. https://youtu.be/gzy6ORqE9IY Synopsis Spiral is a Saw movie from the perspective of the detectives on the case of the Jigsaw Killer. Chris Rock plays our classic burn-out detective Zeke Banks, who is constantly looking over his shoulder in the police force for having turned in a crooked cop over a decade ago. Max Minghella plays William Schenk, the rookie Dick that gets paired with Zeke to tackle the case of what appears to be a copycat Jigsaw Killer, because at this point in the timeline the original Jigsaw (John Kramer) is dead. The police force seems to have a problem with accountability at best and backstabbing murder at worst, and Zeke doesn’t like it. Zeke’s dad, Marcus (Samuel L. Jackson) is the, now retired police captain who used to manage this department.  This new Jigsaw killer seems to be trying to clean up the force by making ultimatums of crooked cops and detectives, forcing them into twisted games that make them choose between their body parts and life. In the end everyone gets more pig than they bargained for. Review I’m not a big fan of the Saw franchise, but I don’t hate it either, it just doesn’t hold a place in my heart. While Spiral tries to give us a new take on the perspective from which a normal Saw movie is shot, it delivers a very on-brand Saw movie nonetheless.  There are four or five creative gore-porn situations that our characters find themselves in, and an edgy take on what it means to be the good guy or the bad guy in real life. Casting The casting is pretty impressive for a Saw movie, with Rock and Jackson stealing the show as themselves, but I don’t feel like they were utilized as well as they could have been.  Rock had some great moments in Spiral, but they were few and far between. I wish we could have seen more clever takes from one of the most quick witted and interesting comedians of our time, but that didn’t end up happening. Watch the Original Saw Watch on Amazon Click here to Buy or Rent Storyline and Direction The story in Spiral was solid and not overly convoluted. I do feel like the places where I’m not as happy with this movie as I could have been are the directors fault. Darren Lynn Bousman who directed Saw II, Saw III, and Saw IV, chose some shots and deliveries on the editing room floor that I am certain could have been better.  Overall Spiral is a pretty good installment in the franchise, I’m just not the target audience, but I would say that if you hear “Saw” and get excited, this might be your favorite movie of the year. Score 6/10 Get 30 day free trial, with the code HMT at Shudder.com Get 13% Off your order at NightChannels.com when you use code HMT at checkout.

One of the best and most influential family-based haunted house movies. Poltergeist still holds up in terms of story and special effects. @dgoebel00 on Instagram provided this amazing artwork. Follow him and check out his website. Poltergeist Trailer https://youtu.be/9eZgEKjYJqA Poltergeist can be found places Synopsis From the director that brought you cannibalistic families in Texas, Tobe Hooper’s Poltergeist is the story of the Freeling family being tormented by an unseen force in their totally not built over a cemetery house. Just kidding, it’s obviously Spielberg’s film. The Freelings are an aggressively all american family comprised of the father Steve (Craig T. Nelson), mother Dianne (JoBeth Williams), almost non-existent teenage girl Dana (Dominique Dunne), young boy Robbie (Oliver Robins), and the littlest, and most angelic little girl, Carol Anne (Heather O’Rourke). Carol Anne starts talking to the TV, and not the wholesome Blues Clues kind of talking, more of the talking to whispers in the static kind of talking.  Weird occurrences start happening, at first to the delight, and then to the horror of that family when it ramps up and the house steals Carol Anne into the netherworld.  A Haggard Steven Freeling recruits paranormal investigators and the worlds tiniest psychic to get Carol Anne back and Exorcise the demons from their house. Poltergeist Poster Review of Poltergeist I am unapologetic in my love for this movie. It really is a template for family-based haunted house horror. It really has something for everyone. It’s accessible enough to general audiences that don’t want to see gore, or be constantly scared out of their gourd, but it has enough scares and good special effects to satisfy most horror fanatics. On the scale of Ghostbusters to Exorcist, Poltergeist definitely leans more towards Ghostbusters, but it matches the quality of both in my opinion. This is another example of Spielberg being a master storyteller. There is very little fluff in this finely paced film, but there are a constant stream of little vignettes that add character, humor, or realism to the story. Watch Poltergeist Watch on Amazon Click here to Buy or Rent Score 10/10 Get 30 day free trial, with the code HMT at Shudder.com Get 13% Off your order at NightChannels.com when you use code HMT at checkout.

We watched The Bad Seed (1956) and it was a lot slower than I remembered it being but knowing it was a stage play first, it kind of makes sense. @dgoebel00 on Instagram provided this amazing artwork. Follow him and check out his website. https://youtu.be/fZt7gtFiVJk Synopsis The Bad Seed can be found for rent on Amazon, or anywhere you rent movies online. The Bad Seed is a story about a little girl, Rhoda Penmark (Patty McCormack) who may have been born bad, with no conscience, empathy, or soul.  Rhoda’s mom, Christine (Nancy Kelly) learns of a death at her daughter’s school picnic. The Daigle boy, who died, just happens to have been the same young man that beat little Rhoda at the penmanship competition. Rhoda seems unconcerned and even a bit peckish following the death of her classmate.  As the story unravels we learn about more and more mysterious deaths that seem to have occurred in Rhoda’s presence, and everyone gets more evil child than they bargained for. Review The Bad Seed was directed by Mervyn LeRoy and adapted from Maxwell Anderson’s play, which was adapted from William March’s book, all of the same name.  As a result, it feels a bit like a stageplay, which by today’s standards means that it feels a little fluffy in areas. At the core of the movie is a mystery of how Rhoda got to be this way, was she born evil, or did Christine and her husband raise her wrong? The movie preys on a parents innate fear of being unable to bring their child back from completely unacceptable behavior. The way The Bad Seed handles tension works quite well, even by today’s standards. The conversations about Rhoda and what is to be done with her continue to escalate the feeling of unease. Watch The Bad Seed Watch on Amazon Buy or Rent Now! This is a character driven movie, and all of the actors chewed up the set in their respective roles. From precocious Rhoda, to suspicious Leroy, and even Rhoda’s teacher, the characters and dialog are what make this movie very similar to a play. The Bad Seed is incredibly slow by today’s standards, and a lot of the dialog winds its way in and out of being useful or progression the story. One thing that everyone will agree on is Patty McCormack steals this show and sets the standard for one of the biggest tropes in horror movie history – the evil child. https://www.horrormovietalk.com/2018/10/31/halloween-1978-review/ Score 8/10 Get 20% Off + Free Shipping, with the code HMT at Manscaped.com Get 13% Off your order at NightChannels.com when you use code HMT at checkout.

This is simply an introduction to the Horror Movie Talk podcast.

No, not the woods, nothing good ever happens in the woods.. @dgoebel00 on Instagram provided this amazing artwork. Follow him and check out his website. https://youtu.be/2YYnSJF0fcY In The Earth Trailer In The Earth can be found in theaters now for probably one more week. Synopsis Martin Lowry, played by Joel Fry, leaves behind COVID quarantine to help with important scientific work in the woods. He will be working with his Ex, and she is studying forest rave science or something. Martin is led through the woods by Alma, played by Ellora Torchia, who is a capable young woman that side-eyes Martin’s lack of hiking skills. Things don’t go well. In the Earth Poster Review of In The Earth This movie had two speeds. Slow and measured, and Intense skull fucking. It has a lot going for it, Great acting performances, a unique story, and crazy hobos. I went in with no expectations, and was pleasantly surprised by an engaging, and entertaining Lovecraftian story. It’s an interesting mix of Midsommar, 2001: A Space Odyssey, and intense foot trauma. Score 7/10 Get 30 day free trial, with the code HMT at Shudder.com Get 13% Off your order at NightChannels.com when you use code HMT at checkout.

The original Annabelle, while not an audience favorite, is one of my favorites in The Conjuring franchise because it is bare bones scary. It takes the scary doll concept, and does something kind of new with it. @dgoebel00 on Instagram provided this amazing artwork. Follow him and check out his website. https://youtu.be/paFgQNPGlsg Synopsis Annabelle follows a new family of Mia (Annabelle Wallis) who is a pregnant homemaker in the 60’s, and John (Ward Horton) who is a new doctor at a hospital. John gets the Annabelle doll for Mia, who is a doll collector as a present, and very soon the couple find themselves with more doll than they bargained for! The Annabelle doll seems to attract bad luck at best and demons and killers at worst. As the family finds themselves constantly the target of misfortune and terror they begin to realize that the doll is at the center of the horrors being inflicted on them.  The family reaches out for help to the local priest, who is surprisingly well versed in dealing with “demons and shit”, and he tells them that the doll basically is a lieutenant of hell and wants to grab their newborn’s soul for satan. https://www.horrormovietalk.com/2019/07/03/annabelle-comes-home-review/ Review I don’t get the hate for this movie, I think it’s one of the strongest in The Conjuring franchise, and does a great job with disturbing themes and spooky jumpscares. Annabelle does an admirable job of keeping tension high and the scares are legit. The two real issues I take with this film are the rather lackluster ending and the total lack of levity or humor.  If you are looking for a good, formulaic horror movie, Annabelle fits that bill nicely. Watch Annabelle Watch on Amazon Buy Now! Score 7/10 Get 20% Off + Free Shipping, with the code HMT at Manscaped.com Get 13% Off your order at NightChannels.com when you use code HMT at checkout.

We had a TON of fun reviewing one of the most insane horror movies ever made, Dead Alive (Braindead), by director Peter Jackson! This was a total blast. If you would like to hear the full review, it will only be available on our Patreon at the “We all Spoop for Ice Spoop” tier. All proceeds go to making the show better and growing into a podcast that can support our families, so do consider this as us begging!

Mary is scary. Not the virgin Mary, I’m talking about a different switcheroo Mary. This film ends up being an interesting idea poorly executed. @dgoebel00 on Instagram provided this amazing artwork. Follow him and check out his website. https://youtu.be/1Uog4AeVdIk The Unholy is in theaters now. Synopsis A disgraced journalist Gerry, played by Jeffrey Dean Morgan, is sent out to a small town to investigate cattle mutilations. When he finds out the story is a fraud, he scrambles to salvage it by creating his own false narrative. While there, he inadvertently stumbles into the story of a lifetime when a deaf and dumb girl named Alice, played by Cricket Brown, is visited by Mary and is now able to hear and talk for her. As the story spreads thousands flock to witness the miracles that Mary continues to perform. When bad things start happening, Gerry starts to wonder whether it’s the virgin Mary or some other more nefarious Mary that fucks. Leprechaun in the Hood Poster Review of The Unholy This one is a hard one to review for me. There are a lot of things that I like about it. I love the religious theme of good being deceived by Evil. The bones are really great in this story, however, it’s dragged down by ham-handed dialogue and mediocre acting.  You know how some TV shows get exported to other countries and remade with that country’s language and actors? Like when the Everybody Loves Raymond concept is remade over in Russia, or when the US remade the Office. This movie feels like a better Hollywood movie was remade in a foreign country and then was remade in the US. Like if you put something through Google translate and then back into English. It all makes sense, seems really simplistic, and something is slightly off. That being said, I do think there was some creativity with some shots and the creature design was good.  As far as scares, it relies heavily on jump scares. Some of which are very effective. I want to like it more, but it was very predictable and I was bothered by the dialogue and acting. Score 4/10 Get 20% Off + Free Shipping, with the code HMT at Manscaped.com Get 13% Off your order at NightChannels.com when you use code HMT at checkout.

Godzilla vs Kong is a complicated, mind bending thriller that will have you asking what is real. It’s got me wondering if movies will ever be the same again.  @dgoebel00 on Instagram provided this amazing artwork. Follow him and check out his website. https://youtu.be/odM92ap8_c0 Synopsis The story starts with an attack by Godzilla upon a private megacorp out of Pensacola, Florida, called Apex. It seems that he has turned from a good ultra-monster to a bad one, and everyone is very concerned about it. The leading mind scientists in the world decide that earth’s only hope is to take Kong out of his enclosure on Spider-Skull island to do battle with Godzilla. Shit starts to go sideways when Monke realizes he can’t swim, and everyone gets more big bonk energy than they bargained for. Review There is no way to prepare the audience for Godzilla vs Kong. All we can do is tell you to find a table, get under it, and start blowing mud in your big boy pants. Once your pants are full, pray that society will mend itself before you have to throw your own turds at the biggest monkey you’ve ever seen. Honestly, there is nothing that I can say that you don’t already know. Even if all you know is the title of this movie, you know everything.  There is either a gigantic hole in your life that only monkey punches can fill, or there isn’t.  I’m not going to lie, I liked this movie more than I thought I would. This is a hard movie to quantify because it’s so obvious in so many ways.  Watch Kong: Skull Island Watch on Amazon Buy Now! Some of the things I struggle with in reviewing Godzilla vs Kong are: Top tier talent behind the helm and on the screen. This is directed by Adam Wingard, who also directed V/H/S and You’re Next, which are some horror films I loved. It also stars and features,  Alexander Skarsgård, Millie Bobby Brown, Rebecca Hall, Julian Dennison, Lance Reddick, and Demián Bichir.  On the other hand, none of them give a good performance in this, and are as melba toast boring as you can possibly imagine.  But, Godzilla does fight with King fucking Kong.  The sound design is unbelievable, and this whole movie seems like one big Dolby display for massive crunching and roaring sounds, which could be a drawback if you are looking to sip some wine and fall asleep on the couch.  But, Godzilla does fight with King fucking Kong. In my opinion this isn’t as good as movie as Kong: Skull Island, or Godzilla (2014). But, Godzilla does fight with King fucking Dong.  So, you have a choice ahead of you. You can watch this movie and be pummeled by monster fights the likes of which you’ve never seen before, or you can save yourself two hours and pretend like you saw this movie and no one will ever be able to tell the difference.  I will say that this felt pretty similar to The Meg, but now all I can think is who would win if Godzilla and Kong fought the Meg.  Score 4/10 Get 20% Off + Free Shipping, with the code HMT at Manscaped.com Get 13% Off your order at NightChannels.com when you use code HMT at checkout.

The Thing is the thingiest thing that ever thinged. @dgoebel00 on Instagram provided this amazing artwork. Follow him and check out his website. https://youtu.be/5ftmr17M-a4 The Thing is available for rent on all the places. Synopsis The Thing takes place in an Antarctic research station, where they are studying… snow or something. Their sleepy routine is broken when a dog with shifty eyes appears while being chased by crazed Norwegians with guns in a helicopter. It turns out that the dog with shifty eyes is some sort of evil…thing. When the researchers discover that the dog has turned into a tentacle monster, they start to become suspicious. The thing turns out to be an alien that can imitate any animal or man exactly. When the researchers can’t identify which of them is human or thing, everyone, as gen Z says, becomes sus. Leprechaun in the Hood Poster Review of The Thing I went into this thinking great ANOTHER remake. What was wrong with the 1951 original? Well, this one won me over. Just kidding, The Thing is The Thing. It stands as one of the best practical effects horror films of the 80s, which is saying a lot. The story has tension baked in, and John Carpenter sucks every drop of tension out of it.  The character development is pretty thin, but you end up rooting for Kurt Russell to win, because he’s Kurt Russell. Overall, the cast is great, and the acting is excellent. The two main characters though, are the snow and the thing. The thing is one of the best monsters in horror, and lends itself to unlimited creativity when it comes to horrific appearances. The practical effects and puppetry are the things of a hentai addicts wet dream. It is really disturbing and surreal whenever the thing attacks or goes through a transformation. It’s one of the tentpoles of the genre, and is a must watch for any horror fan. Score 10/10 The Thing Watch it now or add it to your collection Buy Now Get 20% Off + Free Shipping, with the code HMT at Manscaped.com Get 13% Off your order at NightChannels.com when you use code HMT at checkout.

We saw The Wolf of Snow Hollow and were pleasantly surprised by a character driven movie with more good acting than I’ve seen in a while. The Wolf of Snow Hollow is a slice of life, horror-comedy that transforms from a mild mannered movie into a hairy, scary thriller that will rip you to shreds. @dgoebel00 on Instagram provided this amazing artwork. Follow him and check out his website. https://youtu.be/q03zOoH-hGo Synopsis The quiet life in a small mountain town is disrupted when bodies are discovered mutilated in gruesome fashion.  This story follows officer Marshall who has been struggling with alcoholism, and gaining respect from his co-workers, father, and his daughter. Each time the body count rises, it’s a full moon, which leads the townsfolk to suspect a werewolf. It also adds increasing stress to officer Marshall who seems certain that it’s just a very large man, but no one seems to respect his opinion.  As the tension rises, so does the volume as officer Marshall seems to believe that shouting at everyone is the best way to lead, but in the end, everyone gets more wolf than they bargained for. Review I knew nothing about The Wolf of Snow Hollow when I started watching it, and found myself delighted at the writing, acting, and characters within this comedic, horror/thriller.  Watch The Wolf of Snow Hollow Watch on Amazon Buy Now! This is the second feature length directorial credit to Jim Cummings name, and it has placed him in the upper echelon of up-and-comers that I will be watching for the next few years. As it happens, Jim Cummings plays our imperfect protagonist, which is great because he is a total hunk. My wife walked into the room as I was watching this and had a hard time remembering my name, which is fine because I couldn’t remember it either. The small-town characters are straight out of Groundhog Day and the banter is both charming and real.  The lack of respect that is paid to officer Marshall echoes how I imagine everyone feels in their life as they try to prove themselves competent and worthwhile in a sea of people who only want to put them down. While this was not a tongue-in-cheek comedy, like Butt Boy, it feels like a slice of life. The incredible brutality of the murders are offset by some very fun and lighthearted moments for the first two acts before The Wolf of Snow Hollow takes a deadly serious turn in the final act. The Wolf of Snow Hollow is a very relatable and well-made movie that just happens to feature some very tense moments. It’s more fun than I bargained for, and the twist is quite good once you put together what it all means for all the characters involved. Score 9/10 Get 20% Off + Free Shipping, with the code HMT at Manscaped.com Get 13% Off your order at NightChannels.com when you use code HMT at checkout.

It’s Lep in the hood, and he’s up to no good. No seriously, it’s pretty bad. @dgoebel00 on Instagram provided this amazing artwork. Follow him and check out his website. https://youtu.be/40P3TYKEdKA Leprechaun in the Hood can be found streaming on ad supported Peacock, and for rent everywhere else. Synopsis Leprechaun in the Hood can be found streaming for free with ads on Peacock or available for rent wherever. Leprechaun in the Hood, or “Lep in the Hood” if you’re cool, is the fifth entry in the Leprechaun series about an evil Leprechaun. This time he’s in the hood. The Leprechaun played by Warwick Davis is awakened inadvertently when his gold doubloons, magic flute, and necklace are stolen by three aspiring terrible rappers from a pimp/music producer played by Ice-T. Leprechaun in the Hood Poster Review of Leprechaun in the Hood You should know what you are getting into when you watch a fifth sequel to a straight to video franchise. This is not a good movie per se, but it can be enjoyable. This movie enters the realm of so bad it’s good. The cheap production design, bad acting, and the aggressively corny rhyming dialogue all make this to be a great movie to mock with friends. It’s also entertainingly out of date and worth a watch this St Patrick’s Day in my opinion, just know what you’re getting into. Score 3/10 Leprechaun in the Hood Watch it now or add it to your collection Buy Now Get 20% Off + Free Shipping, with the code HMT at Manscaped.com Get 13% Off your order at NightChannels.com when you use code HMT at checkout.

We watched Butt Boy, and to be honest, it’s simultaneously exactly what you think it is and nothing like you’ve ever seen. @dgoebel00 on Instagram provided this amazing artwork. Follow him and check out his website. https://youtu.be/0sRvZ8siWLY Synopsis Butt Boy is the story of Chip (Tyler Cornack), a disaffected man in his midlife, and Russ (Tyler Rice), a greasy detective with a drinking habit.  Chip realizes one day that his life is missing something – killing innocent people and animals for his own perverse enjoyment.  Chip realized he has gone too far when he kills a little baby. He swears off killing and joins Alcoholics Anonymous to find the support he needs to help quell his addiction. Nine years later Chip meets Detective Gutchell at his weekly AA meeting and becomes his sponsor. Subsequently, Chip is spurred to kill again by Detective Gutchell’s stories of his love of alcohol, and the high it gets him. What Chip doesn’t realize is that Detective Gutchell is the man assigned to the missing boy case – the very boy Chip killed. What ensues is a terrifying game of cat and mouse, will Chip keep killing? Will Detective Gutchell crack the case? Now, every iteration of the word “kill” above and replace it with “shoving things and people up his butt” and you have Butt Boy. Watch Butt Boy Watch on Amazon Buy Now Review Butt Boy is an incredibly funny movie by writer/director/lead actor Tyler Conack came up with. It’s deadpan delivery and serious tone lend such an air of sophistication to such an incredibly absurd premise that all you can do is laugh. This movie takes deadly serious topics of serial killing and detective work and throws the biggest wrench it possibly can into the works, to see what happens when shit gets real. Butt Boy takes a color-drenched neo-noir world with serious characters and forces the most emotionally vacant character to enjoy shoving things, animals, and people up his butt so much that he becomes a serial butt-shover.  But my enjoyment goes so far beyond the delivery and the premise of Butt Boy. When you start to realize what is happening, that a grown man can somehow cram picture frames, and dogs into his butt the movie starts to force you to ask, “”Is he going to shove that up his butt?” every time Chip looks at something a little too long.  The tension is Butt Boy is handled with deadly seriousness and for some reason it works. The name works against and for the movie. I’ll say this, it makes it really difficult to convince people that they should watch it, and they should. But when they do start watching it, they will immediately ask, “is that butt boy?” or “is butt boy going to put that up his butt?” or “no butt boy, don’t put that up your butt!” I have to say, after having watched Young Frankenstein recently, it’s astonishing to see how far genre comedy has come in 50 years. It’s become simultaneously so sophisticated and so crass that I have to laugh. Score 8/10 Get 20% Off + Free Shipping, with the code HMT at Manscaped.com Get 13% Off your order at NightChannels.com when you use code HMT at checkout.

Society is gory goopy 80s fun. This film should be at the top of your watch list if you are a fan of body horror. @dgoebel00 on Instagram provided this amazing artwork. Follow him and check out his website. https://youtu.be/inrBU8juGI8 Society can be found streaming on Amazon Prime and Tubi for free, and for rent everywhere else. Synopsis Society is about 17 year old Bill Whitney (Billy Warlock) who has a sneaking suspicion that something is strange about his upper class family. Plagued by grotesque visions, he turns to his therapist for answers, but is reassured that he is just hallucinating. His suspicions don’t go away, and a series of freak accidents follow him whenever he is close to getting answers. In the end, he gets more Society than he bargained for. Society Poster Review of Society Society is probably one of the most well known body horror movies because of the last 30 minutes. If you want goopy eighties body horror, this is your movie, but be advised that you can probably skip the first hour. This is a movie that feels like it could have been a short film. There is really nothing going on in the first hour other than a teenager feeling suspicious. Overall, it’s goofy and tasteless fun, but I just wish there was more to it. Score 6/10 Society Watch it now Buy Now Get 20% Off + Free Shipping, with the code HMT at Manscaped.com Get 13% Off your order at NightChannels.com when you use code HMT at checkout.

My Bloody Valentine is another slasher from the early slasher days, where the formula is generic, the kills are frequent, and there’s probably a boob floating around out there for the dudes in the audience. @dgoebel00 on Instagram provided this amazing artwork. Follow him and check out his website. https://youtu.be/YYHWUP_FKQU Synopsis My Bloody Valentine is the story of a small mining town in the rural US in the early 80’s. This town is celebrating Valentines day for the first time in 20 years.  The town is full of young couples who plan on partying during their new Valentines celebration.  But everyone seems to have forgotten the reason why this town didn’t celebrate Valentines, because on this day many years ago there was a terrible min accident that left a man named Harry Warden crazy and seeking revenge every February 14th. Everyone ends up with more candy hearts than they bargained for. Review My Bloody Valentine got in near the ground floor of the slasher craze in 1981. This is the same year that Friday the 13th Part 2 and Halloween 2 were released.  It was directed by George Mihalka, and manages to be a better than average slasher. My Bloody Valentine has a few things going for it: Interesting setting Decent acting Fun characters Good budget Unique villain Watch My Bloody Valentine Watch on Amazon Buy Now Unfortunately it just doesn’t set itself apart from the vast array of other slashers very well. For it’s time it was a head above the rest of the competition, and probably one of the most notable slashers behind the big boys.  However, today My Bloody Valentine just doesn’t have any memorable moments that make it undeniable. Sleepaway Camp is so over the top and crazy with the pedophiles, and shocking conclusion that it stakes out a spot in your memory. My Bloody Valentine is full of nostalgia, but that’s not enough. Score 5/10 Get 20% Off + Free Shipping, with the code HMT at Manscaped.com Get 13% Off your order at NightChannels.com when you use code HMT at checkout.

We went and saw Saint Maud, and Oh god, Oh God, Oh gooood! @dgoebel00 on Instagram provided this amazing artwork. Follow him and check out his website. https://youtu.be/EXs2-TY9qok Saint Maud can be found on Epix streaming and on Region b/2 bluray. Synopsis Saint Maud is about a devout christian English nurse named Maud played by Morfydd Clark, who takes a job as an in house hospice nurse for an American ex-pat Amanda, played by Jennifer Ehle. Amanda is an ex-dancer/choreographer of some fame, that still holding onto as much drama and vanity as she can in her final moments. Maud becomes enamoured with Amanda and quickly takes her on as her personal project to save her soul before she dies.  Maud starts off looking like a typical naive, but earnest believer, but soon is eventually revealed as a dangerously unhinged zealot.  Review of Saint Maud This is my type of movie. It’s another film suggested by hard fucker Dustin Goebel.  It is the best example of a slow burn. While not the same thing at all, this is the infinitely better version of “I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House”. Unlike the aforementioned, the pacing is excellent. There is plenty of room given for character development and for things to unfold in a very natural way. Without much hand holding, you are given everything you need to know to unravel the puzzle that is Maud. If it weren’t for a couple disturbing flashbacks in the beginning of the film, you would never expect that this would be a horror movie.  It really is impressive how off balance this film kept me. It felt like it could have gone in dozens of different directions. I think I would have been satisfied with any of them, because I was thoroughly on-board by the mid point of the movie. The last act really ups the tension because of the uncertainty of how it is going to end, and when it comes it is deeply disturbing and satisfying. I highly recommend seeing this movie. It’s up there with anything by Ari Aster or Robert Eggars. Score 10/10 Saint Maud Watch it now Buy Now Get 20% Off + Free Shipping, with the code HMT at Manscaped.com Get 13% Off your order at NightChannels.com when you use code HMT at checkout.

We watched Pieces on Shudder, and it was a fun if extremely dated slasher from 1982. It’s got intensely awkward scenes, lots of nudity, and is the ultimate form of copycat slasher bullshit. Listen to Horror Movie Talk’s take on this fun and puzzling slasher. Pieces can be found on Shudder and Amazon. Watch the trailer for Pieces: https://youtu.be/S1cnjEAZOjk Pieces starts with a young boy putting a smutty puzzle together. His mom walks in on him fiddling around with this puzzle and does what any good mom would do; she flips out. The boy leaves and comes back within ten seconds wielding an ax that he uses to murder the bejesus out of his mom. This supposedly happens in the 1940s, which is weird because I don’t know for sure, but I imagine it was remarkably hard to get your hands on a smut puzzle from the ’80s in the ’40s. We fast forward in time 40 years to a university that is having some issues with a grizzly series of chainsaw murders. The movie transforms into a who done it with plenty of potential suspects that could be the shadowy killer who seemingly only targets attractive, naked co-eds. Pieces wants to be a fun, funny, cult slasher, and to some extent it is. It tried so hard to cash in on the early slasher craze that it actually ends up being a fun, funny, cult slasher because of how hard it falls on its face. It is good because it’s bad, and it’s funny because it’s not. Gratuitousness and bad irony are what rules the day in Pieces, and I had a pretty fun time watching this. My Rating 3/10 On paper, this movie is a solid 2/10, but somehow, through silly bullshit and charm, it edges it’s way up into a pretty watchable piece of camp fun. Spoiler for Pieces In the opening where the little boy kills his mom, the goof-factor is already off the charts. How did this boy make it to ten years old without already killing his mom? So much about this scene is silly that I immediately knew I was in for a good time. When the police entered the room where the boy murdered his mother, they found her severed head in the closet, and I laughed out loud at how alive the actor who played his mother was behind that dresser. I think I saw her eyes move. Cutting up your mom really can take it out of you. The stars of Pieces are all B movie and TV actors, with the only two actors of any real note being Lynda Day George (Mary Riggs, the hot undercover cop/tennis player) and Christopher George (Lt. Bracken who looks an awful lot like a young Roger Moore). There was a lot of audio dubbing and voice over work in this movie, which was distracting at first, but after some time it just added to the campiness of it. Weird Storytelling The who done it aspect of Pieces is only interesting enough for you to say, “Hey, they are trying to do some sort of Clue ripoff.” However, then you would be terribly wrong because Clue didn’t hit theaters until three years later in 1985 – silly you. The story is very heavy-handed in its suggestion that the antagonist is Professor Arthur Brown, which leads you to believe that it’s probably him. Professor Brown is in charge of the Anatomy Dept. and is always sneaking around where he shouldn’t be. It also insinuates that the killer might be the beefy groundskeeper with the shifty eyes who enjoys stroking his chainsaw when he isn’t raking the grounds of the University or shiftily shifting his eyes. Shifty eyed groundskeepers are prime chainsaw massacre suspects…duh. Pool Sex? At one point in Pieces, a girl asks one of the lead characters, Kendall, if he wants to have sex in the school pool. He answers in the affirmative, then becomes sidelined by a plot point. As she waits for him in the pool, she is murdered, which is a good thing because let me just say, you should never have sex in a pool. Not only is pool sex gross for everyone else who has to use the pool after you, but it can also cause some nasty UTI’s and other infections that can mess up your system for weeks, maybe months. This girl is extremely lucky that she was killed before having sex in the pool. Insane Deaths The deaths in Pieces are ridiculous to the point of being hilarious. Some of the ways that people die in Pieces are: Skateboarding through a mirror Chainsaw in the pool room Chainsaw in the garden Chainsaw in the elevator Waterbed stabbing Ax to the noggin Death by pool skimmer Death by dick grab Pieces also include a tremendous amount of what is almost stock-footage-level boring shots and scenes. Some of the most notable boring bologna that you will have to sit through includes: Stock Footage Bonanza The killer solving a smutty puzzle Jazzercise The lowest energy tennis match I’ve ever seen at any level, let alone “pro” level Boring chit chat The ending of this movie reminded me of the 2018 The House That Jack Built ending. The lousy Dean was building a corpse replica of his mother out of the PIECES of his victims. It made me wonder if The House That Jack Built was paying some respect to this somewhat lovable

This week we rewatched Mel Brooks’ comedy horror masterpiece, Young Frankenstein, and with the recent passing of Cloris Leachman, I’m starting to think that the cast are immortal warriors battling until the last man standing ala Highlander. It looks like Gene Hackman and Terry Garr are setting their sights on each other. @dgoebel00 on Instagram provided this amazing artwork. Follow him and check out his website. Finally we review a comedy horror classic. Next up, Dracula, Dead and Loving It. https://youtu.be/ZL9Q_0JtMNA It can inexplicably only be found on Starz subscription as of this recording. Young Frankenstein Synopsis Young Frankenstein is a satire remake of the Universal Frankenstein movies. It stars Gene Wilder as Frederick Frankenstein, the grandson of the infamous mad scientist Victor Frankenstein that created a monster out of dead flesh. This YOUNGER Frankenstein, seeks to distance himself from the infamy of his family, but finds himself being driven by destiny to follow in his grandfather’s Vootshteps. Along the way he is assisted by Marty Feldman as Igor the stock minion that comes with his family castle, Cloris Leachman as Frau Blucher the housekeeper, and Terri Garr as Inga the lab assistant. The cast is rounded out by Frankenstein’s fiancee Elizabeth played by Madeline Kahn and the monster played by Peter Boyle.  Young Frankenstein is a loving homage to the Universal horror movies of the 30’s and a lot of care is taken to match the look and feel of the original Frankenstein. But more to the point, the film is a platform to make dick jokes while playing on man’s greatest fear: Germans. Review of Young Frankenstein Mel Brooks, who directed and cowrote with Wilder sees Young Franknestein as his best film, and third funniest behind Blazing Saddles and The Producers (Both starring Gene Wilder coincidentally). I would agree with that. As an homage to black and white gothic horror, and specifically the 1931 original, this film hits dead center on target. However, a resulting downside is that the pacing matches the slow and measured progression of its source material.  The cast of Young Frankenstein is perfect, and each are excellent comedians in their own rights, but Gene Wilder stands head and shoulders above the rest of the cast with a pitch perfect mad scientist that swings from mania to bottled rage. Watching him in this film is a master class on silence and timing in comedy. There are a ton of jokes and gags, that are as funny and juvenile as you would expect from any Brooks film, but most of the laughs come from the line delivery and reactions of the amazing cast. Score 9/10 Young Frankenstein Add the Blu-ray to your collection or stream it now Buy Now Get 20% Off + Free Shipping, with the code HMT at Manscaped.com Get 13% Off your order at NightChannels.com when you use code HMT at checkout.

We have been told that we needed to see The Dark and the Wicked by several of our friends and listeners, and I can see why. This is a scary movie if paranormal subject matter is your thing. @dgoebel00 on Instagram provided this amazing artwork. Follow him and check out his website. Watch The Dark and The Wicked Watch on Amazon Click Here to Watch https://youtu.be/Hk1mVaGq_t0 Synopsis The Dark and the Wicked is the story of a family of grown, adult children Louise (Marin Ireland) and Michael (Michael Abbott Jr.), and their aging parents.  Their mother (Julie Oliver-Touchstone) has been taking care of their father (Michael Zagst) whose health is failing leaving him non-responsive and bedridden. Mom has also been doing her best to take care of the family farm, in an unmentioned American rural area somewhere in the heartland. The kids are back at home trying to help their mother with the care of their ailing father. Mom seems to be haunted by something that creeps onto the property at night, and begs her children to leave. As the story progresses we begin to learn about the family’s lack of faith and everyone gets more dark and wicked shit than they bargained for. Review This movie was Directed by Bryan Bertino, who was the writer and director for The Strangers and Producer for The Blackcoat’s Daughter, this is similar and ambiance to those movies. It was released in November of 2020. The Dark and the Wicked is a serious movie that doesn’t offer a lot in the way of light moments or levity of any kind. It starts serious and spooky, and does a good job of keeping that ramp going until the end. It felt a lot like The Lodge from 2020, in it’s super serious tone. The settings are bleak and run-down, and the characters are sad and in a state of mourning almost constantly. Add to that, there is something that seems to be preying on this family and trying to tear them apart, and you have a movie that might not be for everyone. With that being said, we here at HMT are pretty jaded but this set my spook detector off more than a few times.  The imagery is disturbing. The scares are not always easy to feel coming, and there are a few scenes that made me distinctly uncomfortable. The Dark and the Wicked is a strong entry into the paranormal horror sub-genre and is a must-see for anyone who really needs to be subjected to unpleasantness.  Score 8/10 Final Recommendations This is a paranormal fan’s dream come true. It’s also pretty great for anyone who enjoys possession movies.

Jaws is the archetypal monster movie blockbuster, and for good reason, It’s great! Spielberg and the principle actors do a fantastic job of capturing the dread and dangers of the sea and the eponymous shark. @dgoebel00 on Instagram provided this amazing artwork. Follow him and check out his website. Patrons voted, and we rewatched Jaws, and if you don’t like this movie, you don’t like movies. https://youtu.be/U1fu_sA7XhE Jaws can be found on HBO Max as of this recording, and any where else you rent movies. Jaws Synopsis Jaws is about the origins of one of the most popular James Bond Henchmen. We learn about how he gained his signature steel teeth and brute strength in this emotional coming of age tale. That’s not the Jaws YOU watched? OH JAWS. The shark film by that up and comer Stevie Spielberg? OK, I’ve seen that, we can talk about that instead. That movie is based on the Peter Benchley novel of the same name about a huge killer Great White Shark terrorizing the island community of Amity. Review of Jaws Jaws is Jaws. It’s pretty much the shark movie, every other shark movie is compared to, and for good reason, it’s the best one! There are many imitators, but none live up to its example. This film is great at portraying a known, but not fully respected actual killing machine. But what makes the movie great is the skill of the direction, and the great acting of the principle cast. Score 10/10 Jaws Add the Blu-ray to your collection or stream it now Buy Now

Our patrons decided that it was time for us to review Hellhouse LLC, and frankly, I’m not even mad. This is a found footage movie about a Halloween spookhouse from 2015 and it does a pretty great job at unnerving me late at night. @dgoebel00 on Instagram provided this amazing artwork. Follow him and check out his website. Watch Hellhouse LLC Watch on Amazon Click here to Watch https://youtu.be/kZ40kOmOgEI Synopsis Five years after a disaster at a local spookhouse known as Hellhouse LLC where 15 people lost their lives, a documentary crew goes back to the scene to try and determine what really happened. What they learn is that a group of young but somewhat experienced spookhouse creators bought the abandoned Abaddon hotel, which they planned to make into a spookhouse for the Halloween season. Good news for the documentary crew – the Hellhouse LLC crew decided to take video footage of their whole project from beginning to end.  The premise at the start is that it’s a documentary, which draws my attention quite well. At some point it seems to shift into a first-person perspective of the Hellhouse Crew. and then it remains that way for almost the entire rest of the movie. This includes buying the Abaddon hotel, and trying to make it safe enough, clean enough, and scary enough to be a Halloween destination. As the group fix up the hotel, they also live there, because otherwise the cost-benefit-analysis doesn’t add up, and as you might imagine, it gets weird.  This prop clown keeps showing up all over the house and it seems like there might be someone else living there.  As Halloween draws nearer, they start to lose it, and end up with more Hellhouse than they bargained for. Review Hellhouse LLC and both sequels, were written and directed by the same guy, Stephen Cognetti. I immediately was hooked because it was a better-than-average found footage movie from the outset of the movie. The thing that struck me immediately was how they kept talking about “the incident” as though it was this astonishingly terrifying occurrence, and it sucked me in from there. Almost the entire movie is set within this already spooky place that they are fixing up to be even spookier, so the set almost always includes weird imagery and backdrops. The characters are jaded enough to be believable in their ability to live in such a place, which makes the premise solid enough to be believable. Really, Hellhouse LLC boils down to a solid premise with a very scary setting and a lot of hype.  Ultimately the payout at the end is pretty intense, but I can see how some might be underwhelmed when it’s been built up so much by the documentary portion of this film. In terms of scary movies, this is one to me, and that’s something of an accomplishment in itself. Score 8/10 Final Recommendations If you enjoy found footage horror, Hellhouse LLC is one of the good ones. I would also recommend this to anyone who digs on clown related horror – blech!

This week we are having a different kind of show. This show we are looking back at the delightsome year that was 2020, and awarding the best and worst of Horror Movie Talk. This is fine. @dgoebel00 on Instagram provided this amazing artwork. Follow him and check out his website. Best ad Ju-on (The Grudge) Gators ade (Crawl) Blumhouses The Brady Bunch (Fantasy Island) Donald Deadly Doll Emporium (Brahms: The Boy 2) Paganism (The Wicker Man) Virginity Incorporated (It Follows) The Company (Alien) Wormhole to go (Event Horizon) Sincorporated: Hedonism (Seven) Jigsaw’s Seesaws (Saw) Anti-Santa Home Defense (Better Watch Out) Best new drop Chompa Chompa (Crawl) Bye Bye Man (Bye Bye Man) Oh Hey Ho, a Squirrel (Wrong Turn) Tits, Boobs, Boobies…Machines (Wrong Turn) Paganism (The Wicker Man) Drain Addict slew Candy Man Song (The Candy Man) It’s thick (Around Scream) Can I see one Titty? (Ghost Ship) Ew David (Friday the 13th part 2?) Best new Bit FNict or Fcagetion Don’t Blank on The Blank (CAndyman) BAconator (Tremors)  Horror Movie or Frankie MacDonald Guess That Death (The Exorcist) Horror Movie Whoooores (Event Horizon) Christmas Wishlist by Country Living (Krampus) Best Guest Garrett (Event Horizon) Erin (Trick R Treat) Brad (Rats) David’s Mom (Rosemary’s Baby) Magnus (Bye Bye Man (Bryce)) Marc (Alien) Dustin (Possessor) Best Interview JJ Villard (Friday the 13th) Robert Englund (Nightmare on Elm Street) Cat Solen (It Follows) Derek Carl and Hank Huffman (The Brain that Wouldn’t Die) Tara Westwood (Color Out of Space) Thirstiest Moment Tara Westwood interview (Color Out of Space) Cop in Invisible Man Micah Monrow (It Follows) Drew Barrymore Riley Keough Booty Shorts Janelle Monet Ass shot Best Tagline The Platform: The Hunger Games part 2 Gretel & Hansel: and that was the last time the German’s used ovens for evil Wrong Turn: Looks like their Genes took a wrong turn Wrong Turn: its as if cable made a movie for itself Never Trust a Swede Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The what not to do part of to do portion of the chainsaw safety course The Brain That Wouldn’t die: Could you fuck a head? Asking for a friend. Antebellum: The Village, Woke Edition Antebellum: If ye ain’t fer bellum, you’re anti bellum Terror Train: Trapped on a train with the true terror, illusionists Terror Train: We run a train on your terror Worst Horror Movie We Watched this year Bats The Turning The Bye Bye Man Event Horizon Terror Train Rats Best Horror Movie We Watched this year Alien Texas Chainsaw Massacre The Exorcist Seven Possessor Uncut Rosemary’s Baby The Blair Witch Project Worst New Horror Movie of 2020 Gretel & Hansel The Lodge Antebellum Fantasy Island Underwater The Turning Best New Movie of 2020 Possessor Uncut Invisible Man His House Color Out of Space The Platform The Brain that Wouldn’t Die Interesting Scoring Stats Looking through the scores we’ve given for all the movies we’ve reviewed, it was interesting to see where we agreed and disagreed. Perfect 10s All of these films received a perfect 10/10 score from both Bryce and David. Alien Texas Chainsaw Massacre The Exorcist Seven Possessor Uncut Rosemary’s Baby The Blair Witch Project Lowest Scored These were the lowest scoring movies, including our first movie to receive a 1/10 from both of us (Rats). The Bye Bye Man Event Horizon Terror Train Rats Biggest Discrepancies in Scores The Lodge (David=9, Bryce=4) Host (2020) (David=4, Bryce=9) Best Co-Host David Day Bryce Hanson

Terror Train is slasher set on a train during New Years Eve. That’s pretty much all you need to know.  @dgoebel00 on Instagram provided this amazing artwork. Follow him and check out his website. https://youtu.be/MLTllP-_i58 Synopsis It’s set in an alternate universe where people celebrate new years, by chartering a train for an eyes wide shut style costume party fuck fest, people never disclose pertinent life and death information, and David Copperfield is sexy.  At the opening of the film, we are introduced to a group of friends including the ring leader Doc (Hart Bochner), and a sorority sister, and final girl expert Jamie Lee Curtis playing Alana. By the way, this was shot only a year after the release of Jamie’s breakout role in Halloween. The beginning of the movie is set 3 years prior, on a fateful new years celebration where this group of friends punk-ed a fraternity pledge student so hard that he spun himself into an insane asylum. 3 Years later, during the train ride, the students start getting murdered by a mysterious… almost magical killer. Review or Terror Train I picked Terror Train because I was trying to find a horror movie set during New Year’s, and apparently the picking is very slim, because this is considered “the good one”. It isn’t. The plot, like most slashers, is incidental, and is held together by a thread composed of awful dialogue and terrible direction. I was honestly confused about what happened in the opening scene, because I didn’t know if I was supposed to understand that the dead body featured was a murder victim, or a medical school cadaver. I guess all we need to know is that the victim of the prank was pranked TOO HARD. The dialogue is truly laughably bad, it feels like the adlibbed lines in the fast forwarded parts of pornos. I was bored throughout the whole film, and not because I was tired, but because it was boring and dumb.  The most dread filled moment of the movie was when I checked the time code, and I had half of the movie left to watch. There were two things that almost saved the movie for me though. David Copperfield as the magician reminding me that only a magician can be as creepy as a magician. The ending was so dumb I laughed out loud. Score 2/10 Terror Train Add the Blu-ray to your collection or stream it now Buy Now Support Cinema 21 in Portland by buying merch or gift certificates at https://cinema-21.square.site/  Go to https://www.clarityincrazy.com/ and get 10% off your first order with the code: HORROR

We watched Krampus because it’s one of the biggest blockbuster releases in recent memory that is Christmas themed and for a PG-13 movie, it wraps a nice little present. @dgoebel00 on Instagram provided this amazing artwork. Follow him and check out his website. Watch Krampus Watch on Amazon Click here to Watch https://youtu.be/h6cVyoMH4QE Synopsis Krampus is the story of Max, a young boy who still believes in Santa, and his family who are visited by some bummer relatives.  As the relatives whittle on Max’s last nerve, he loses the Christmas spirit, which is the straw that breaks this town’s back in terms of being on Krampus’ good side. Or maybe a better way to explain it is to say, Max’s village loses their Krampus protection plan when he loses faith in Christmas. Krampus comes, bringing a slew of “helpers” and a devastating blizzard that seems to gut the entire town.  As Max and his family fight to survive, we learn the importance of family, and keeping the spirit of Christmas alive. Review Director Michael Dougherty, who brought us holiday themed cult classic Trick ‘r Treat has deigned to bestow this holiday themed treat upon us. Krampus is kind of like National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation if it included the fictional anti-santa myth, Krampus. It’s based around a “perfect family” and their super trashy relatives who show up and turn everything wrong. If that isn’t enough for you there is also a jack-in-the-box that resembles a massive worm that’s capable of eating people and a Krampus that looks like Satan and eats whole villages raw. While this is not the most impressive movie I’ve seen, it’s damn solid and very full of Christmas feels. It’s got lots of fun characters, and enough creepy imagery and tension to keep you on your toes while sippin’ on some nog. I can remember watching this in theaters and being somewhat surprised at how well it held my attention, but on second viewing I did lose interest around the ¾’s mark.  It does a decent job of not being too long and is a great movie to watch with kids who can handle really scary imagery, because it’s not terribly violent. Overall, if you are in need of a Christmas horror movie, I would say this, and Gremlins are the best choices when you have to keep your family entertained. Score 6/10 Final Recommendations If you have family over and want to watch something very Christmassy but also horrorish, Krampus is your jam. Keep your Christmas spirits up to keep him out of your face!

Better Watch Out is one of the strongest christmas themed horror movies of recent memory. It’s a unique viewing experience and worth your time this holiday season. @dgoebel00 on Instagram provided this amazing artwork. Follow him and check out his website. https://youtu.be/1BDxAsaoM1Y Better Watch Out is available on Shudder and various streaming platforms for free if you don’t mind ads. Synopsis Better Watch Out starts out as a home invasion thriller, and turns into something completely different. Young Lucas (Levi Miller) is a twelve year old that has the hots for his only five years older babysitter Ashley (Olivia DeJonge). He’s got a whole night planned out to seduce Ashley with horror movies and his mid-pubescent body.  As they are hanging out having pizza, someone starts terrorizing them. You won’t believe who it is. Click through to horrormovietalk.com to find out! Review of Better Watch Out This is a pleasant surprise of a home invasion movie. It stays on the well laid trope tracks until about third of the way through the film, then it goes off the tracks and then onto essentially the same tracks again. The concept was interesting, and they did do a lot with it. I think it could have gone farther with the set up and delay the twist a little longer. Another gripe was that the villain was way too broad a lot of the time. Score 7/10 Better Watch Out Add the Blu-ray to your collection or stream it now Buy Now Go to http://manscaped.com/ and get 20% off + free shipping with the code: HMT #manscapedpod  Go to okdrugs.co and get 10% off your first order with the code: HORROR

Dead End aims to finally answer the questions “are we there yet?” This is a tight package of a movie and the simplicity really sells it for me. @dgoebel00 on Instagram provided this amazing artwork. Follow him and check out his website. Watch Dead End Watch on Amazon Click here to Watch https://youtu.be/j_ihzCUh_k4 Synopsis Dead End is the story of a family who are on their way to their grandma’s house during Christmas Eve. Husband Frank (Ray Wise), Wife Laura (Lin Shaye), son Richard (Mick Cain), daughter Marion (Alexandra Holden) and her boyfriend William (William Rosenfeld) are pretty much the only characters throughout the majority of the movie. As they make their way down the road, things become strange when they pick up a women in white holding a baby.  Slowly, the passengers start to realize that this road doesn’t seem to end, and they are haunted by a terrible car that occasionally drives by. Review Dead End is a French movie by Directors Jean-Baptiste Andrea, and Fabrice Canepa and like so many French horror movies, it packs a punch. It remains off most people’s radar for reasons that elude me, because this is a special gem. Our blogger, Keith, reminded me of this vaguely Christmassy movie, and I knew I had to review it.  Dead End takes a car ride and slowly builds it from something mildly disconcerting to something so horrifying and perverse that I knew it was something special many years ago after I first watched it.  The dry comedy and believable characters add a charming element that make this something special.  When you add in the seemingly supernatural goings on around this road that they are driving on and the interesting twist at the end, I think you have a solid horror movie that is sure to make you laugh, and will stick with you in the grossest way possible. Score 8/10 Final Recommendations I really enjoy this movie because of how it handles comedy and the characters who are believable but kooky. While it’s not a well-known movie, I think it’s worth a watch because you probably won’t forget it, and that’s what we all love about horror movies.

Where did Remi Weekes come from, and why is he out of the gate, such an amazing horror director? That is the first question I have for this film. His House has instantly become one of my favorite horror movies. That may seem like hyperbole, but I have legit not seen anything like this film, and have rarely felt the same amount of emotion while watching a horror movie. @dgoebel00 on Instagram provided this amazing artwork. Follow him and check out his website. https://youtu.be/DYY0QJhlXjc His House can be found only on Netflix. Synopsis Two Sudanese refugees Rial (Wunmi Mosaku) and Bol (Sope Dirisu) arrive in the UK after a perilous journey. After a stay in a detention center, they are granted asylum and a new place to live, which they are assured isn’t just a shit hole, it’s a palatial shithole. They are given a set of rules that all refugees are given to maintain their status, that being, they are only to live off the meager wage the gov’t provides and not seek employment, and to definitely not move away from their apartment. The couple who have definitely seen some shit… start seeing shit in the apartment. Soon it is apparent that there is an evil force preying on them. Review of His House Without hyperbole, this is one of the best horror movies I have ever seen. I’m reminded of my experience with Hereditary, where I asked myself, “How is this director so good on his first film and where did he come from?”. The main difference between Hereditary and this film, is that I don’t think I’ve ever seen a horror movie like His House before. Sure, at its core, it is a haunted house movie, but the aesthetic and subject material are uniquely new to me. The best horror movies in my opinion are those that have a human core, that focus on character and relationships while drawing a line to real horrors that people experience every day. Rosemary’s Baby uses the fear of the unknown and social pressure during pregnancy. The Exorcist uses the terror of having an undiagnosable, severely sick child. The Shining uses Jack Nicolson. In this film, it uses the lived experiences of refugees of war torn countries and the trauma associated with it. This is exactly the type of storytelling that the horror genre excels at. It amplifies real human emotions and fears to the level of overload, resulting in a uniquely empathetic experience. I’m very excited to talk about this movie, and also excited to see what Remi Weekes, the director will do next.  Score 10/10 Go to http://manscaped.com/ and get 20% off + free shipping with the code: HMT #manscapedpod  Go to okdrugs.co and get 10% off your first order with the code: HORROR

This is the final episode of the series, and it focuses on the Red Room and how everyone finally escapes the pull of the dreaded Hill House.

In this episode we finally learn what happened “that night” with Liv and the Red Room.

This episode marks the beginning of the end of the series. Luke has gone missing, It’s Halloween, and while Steve and Hugh try to find Luke, Theo and Shirley deal with some nefarious goings on at the mortuary.

In this episode Hugh Crain tries to slowly make amends with his estranged family and we learn more of the history of the Hill House from the groundskeeper. Also, black mold is bad. The Haunting of Hill House

In episode six, Two Storms we get to witness the most impressive technical achievement of the series, the long-shot cinematic cuts of this episode. We also get to see two storms, one in the present day and one set in Hill House. These storms did a great deal to shape the characters, and this episode does a great job of showing that this series is more than just stellar writing and character development.

As the title of this episode states, we witness the origins of the Bent-neck lady, and learn more about Nell leading up to her death.

In this episode we learn quite a bit about Luke and his bond with drugs, the Hill House ghosts, and his twin sister, Nell. This episode really helped me to see the humanity in addicts, and those who have suffered a loss.

In this episode we are given Theodora’s back story and are shown how keenly perceptive she is as a therapist as she helps a young girl being haunted by “Mr. Smiley”.

This is the story of how Theo became the funeral director that she is today. It also does a good amount of setup for many episodes to come. The Haunting of Hill House

In the first episode of the series, we are introduced to the Crain family, both past and present. First we are shown the young Crain family being awoken by the young Nell (Violet McGraw) who apparently had seen “the bent neck lady”.  Her father Hugh Crain (Henry Thomas) explains how her dreams spilled over and that she was just imagining seeing the scary lady. Jumping forward, we see all the children now as adults with adult problems and an extreme amount of baggage in relation to the Hill House.  Something terrible happened in the past that led the family to flee from the house, and now in the present, it seems it is calling back to them. The Haunting of Hill House

Rosemary’s Baby is probably in the top ten most influential horror movies ever made. It prays on the rational and irrational fears of something truly universal, pregnancy. This movie is controversial, well-done, and important. @dgoebel00 on Instagram provided this amazing artwork. Follow him and check out his website. Watch Rosemary’s Baby Watch on Amazon Click here to Watch Synopsis Rosemary’s Baby is the story of Rosemary, a seriously delusional and paranoid woman who is impregnated and kept safe by her loving husband, and caring neighbors. She gives birth to a totally normal baby and all is well.  Actually, Rosemary’s Baby is kind of the inverse of everything I just said. Rosemary (Mia Farrow) and her husband Guy (John Cassavetes) move into a new apartment in New York City, and are immediately greeted by super-nosey neighbors, Minnie (Ruth Gordon) and Roman (Sidney Blackmer).  Small hints of things not being normal are dropped continuously throughout, but the young couple decide to try and have a child.  Their neighbors, the Castevets, offer a bit too much help for comfort, even in the friendly age of the 60’s with everything from advice to daily vitamin shakes for the newly pregnant Rosemary. Her entire life seems to become supplanted by offerings and suggestions made by the neighbors and enforced by Guy, her actor husband.  Guy has come into a bit of good luck as the understudy for a play, but it’s because of the misfortune of the lead of the pla (obviously).  As the gaslighting of Rosemary progresses, the audience knows that something is up, but it’s hard to read too much malice into it until the end. Review Rosemary’s Baby is one of the most influential films of the 60’s and is a masterpiece of storytelling and suspense. Direction and screenplay by Roman Polanski, it’s just as horrific and perverted as him. Everything about this film is wonderful, but the casting, acting, and story is really what makes this movie shine. It’s not full of the most artistic shots, and it’s as slow as they come, especially for today. Perhaps the real triumph here is the effort that goes into stringing the viewer along. There are tons of little clues and nudges that we receive as we make our way through this sometimes innocent, sometimes diabolical journey that poor Rosemary is forced to endure. It’s always interesting to see movies that tap into our most innate fears, and what could be a more natural minefield for worry than a mother’s journey through pregnancy? Rosemary’s Baby takes the little flap of cuticle and peels it all the way up to the elbow. It was clearly the inspiration for many movies and moviemakers since. While watching this, I kept drawing parallels with Hereditary. Watching this movie is like scaling Mount Everest – it’s a slow and dangerous journey, but the view from the top is second to none.  Score 10/10 Final Recommendations This is one of the easiest recommendations I have ever made. Everyone except, or maybe especially those who are pregnant or are trying to become pregnant should see this movie.

At long last, and after much misunderstanding, we turn to the 1984 cult classic (at least in Sweden apparently) Rats: Night of Terror. We did it. It’s done. Let’s never talk of it again. @dgoebel00 on Instagram provided this amazing artwork. Follow him and check out his website. https://youtu.be/NlOcKL2l_m0 Rats can be found on streaming platforms for rent now. Rats: Night of Terror Poster Synopsis A tribe of rats called the Jellicles must decide yearly which one will ascend to the Heaviside Layer and come back to a new Jellicle life. Oh wait that’s not right. Rats is about a post nuclear apocalyptic world in which all vegetation is destroyed and humans are separated in to two factions, one above ground and one below. This has little to nothing to do with the actual plot of this movie, but the filmmakers thought it important that you know this.  Rats is really about killer rats. That’s it. Review of Rats: Night of Terror Rats is bad. Sure it can be argued that it is so bad it’s good, and there are many times that I can point to where I laughed that the ridiculousness of certain scenes, but when it comes down to it, it’s a bad movie. What makes it worse is that we were forced to watch it, which in essence makes this a school book report. No one likes reading books for a book report. It took me about 2.5 hours to watch a 1.5 hour long movie, because I had to just take a break from the boredom every couple minutes. The worst part about Rats is the snails pace in which anything happens. Even if you are looking for a gory exploitation horror film, this one falls short. Most rat attacks just look like a bunch of dead rats being dumped on someone, proceeded by the victim lazily rolling around among some lazy and disinterested rats. Score 1/10 Rats Add the Blu-ray to your collection or stream it now Buy Now Go to http://manscaped.com/ and get 20% off + free shipping with the code: HMT #manscapedpod 

Friday the 13th Part 2 is the continuation and borderline recreation of the first part in the franchise.  The old proverb, “If it ain’t broke don’t fix it.” rings so true in this sequel that I’m not even mad that I watched the same movie all over again.  @dgoebel00 on Instagram provided this amazing artwork. Follow him and check out his website. Watch Friday the 13th Part 2 Watch on Amazon Click here to Watch There were new counselors at Camp Blood, er, I mean Camp Crystal Lake and damnit, they had to pay! They never seem to learn, and that’s what I love about kids these days.  https://youtu.be/FX5Cf77kM-E Synopsis Friday the 13th Part 2 picks up the reins from the first movie and just does it all over again.  Holy moly, come to think of it as this episode of Horror Movie Talk releases, Friday the 13th is in just 2 days! Part 2, 2 days, coincidence? There is a new camp in town around Crystal Lake, and wow, it looks pretty much just like the camp from the first movie. The driveway, the doom prophet, the buildings, the boobs, it’s all the same. Two things have changed – there is a new group of campers and a new killer. Our last killer, Mrs. Voorhees, was killed by beheading while seeking vengeance for her son Jason, who died due to (in her eyes) negligent camp counselors.   This time around we get to learn a bit more about Jason, and what makes him tick. Review While Friday the 13th Part 2 doesn’t do much to add anything new to the story, it does give us Jason, and to be honest, that’s enough for me.  I can’t quite pin down the difference in my opinion between Michael Myers and Jason Voorhees, but they are the two least complicated and most iconic slasher baddies. I can say, I tend to prefer Jason. I’m not sure why. Maybe it’s the super distilled execution of the script – Horny youth must die. Maybe it’s the unapologetic grab at quick cash – Horny youth pay to see horny youth while horny. Maybe it’s the, well, that’s probably enough. This is a paint by numbers slasher, but it was released only a year after arguably the first honest-to-goodness modern slasher, and that was the original Friday the 13th. So, whatever. It’s still the basis for most slashers to this day and it’s maybe the most engaging of the bunch that I have seen with the exception of meta slashers, like Scream Score 6/10

In which we apologize for an egregious recent error on our part.

We watched Bats on Tubi because Magnus, our Swedish super-fan has been clamoring for it for months. Our fans have united behind Magnus and demanded that we review Bats, and I have to say, I get it! It was a fun movie with a decent but goofy premise and some B-list actors that you will definitely remember from the 90’s! @dgoebel00 on Instagram provided this amazing artwork. Follow him and check out his website. https://youtu.be/3NWlsXlHT9Q Synopsis Bats is about, you guessed it, killer bats. These bats have been genetically tampered with and now have a taste for blood.  This small town in Texas has been hit hard with this new strain of genetically modified bats, and our small team of bats biologists and police need to get it under control before they spread across the continent in exactly the same way that real life scientists told us killer bees would take over in the 90s.  Eventually, the military is called in and everyone gets more bats than they bargained for. Review  Bats is a very stereotypical creature feature from a time when Jurassic Park, Gremlins, and Anaconda were big hits. There was a formula, and if you stuck to it, generally speaking, it paid off.  In this instance, they stuck to the formula but it didn’t pay off, and I’m not totally sure why. Is Bats an undeniably great movie? No. Does it deserve the kind of ire that it drew from critics at the time? Maybe a little bit, but I would argue, no. Bats had me laughing more than a few times, and it definitely left me wondering why I had never heard of this made-for-cable movie. Watch Bats Watch on Amazon Click Here to Watch I was never left totally amazed but I had a good enough time. I think the reason this movie got waylaid the way it did was because it was released on the tail-end of a totally fucked-out concept. By the time Bats was released, everyone was tired of this super generic creature feature  kind of movie because it had been done to death.  I think if it had been released in 92 instead of 99 we would all remember this movie fondly, instead of never having heard of it at all.  Score 5/10 Final Recommendations If you like fun, campy 90’s creature features, this is totally that kind of thing. Is it good? No. Does it make sense? Yeah, pretty much. It’s mostly a good time and a laugh.

We rented Trick ‘r Treat, and it’s Pulp Fiction for horror fans. This episode we are joined with my wife and discuss some of the recent one-star reviews we have gotten. The salt flows, and then we play a new game “Sense and Stabability”. @dgoebel00 on Instagram provided this amazing artwork. Follow him and check out his website. https://youtu.be/AoBx7F-q2CA Trick ‘r Treat can be found on streaming platforms for rent now. Synopsis This movie reminds children of their worst fear during Halloween. Bryan Singer! Trick ‘r Treat is an anthology film set during Halloween in suburban Ohio. Seven short stories are loosely interwoven with each other in a non-linear narrative to tell the dangers of eschewing Halloween traditions. Wearing costumes, giving out candy, and lighting Jack-o-lanterns are all a part of ancient traditions whose purpose are long forgotten, but are made… kind of apparent in this movie. Review of Trick ‘r Treat Trick ‘r Treat basically accomplishes in one movie what John Carpenter wanted to do with the Halloween franchise when they made Season of the Witch. That is, telling an assortment of spooky tales set during Halloween.  The seven stories told throughout the film are of varying quality and complexity, but the non-linear narrative structure keeps the audience engaged and never dwells on one story long enough to bore the audience. Most of the stories do little in the way of set up, and prefer to jump right to the good scary part. It’s a decent film that deserves to be on the rotation during the Halloween season. Score 6/10 Trick ‘r Treat Add the Blu-ray to your collection or stream it now Buy Now