Still hogging the remote

October 13, 2010

Oct. 8th Diabolique

The original in French with subtitles. My first foreign scare of the season. I’ve known the plot of this movie forever, but have never watched it. Not supernatural, but still creepy as hell, with a murder going horribly wrong and a vanishing corpse. A slow growing tension to an excellent climax.

Oct. 9th King Kong

The newest version. Scary enough, until Kong goes on his NYC date with Ann. Skating in central park? Why? Peter Jackson could have cut those fifteen minutes, and made me a happy camper. But I love deco New York, the dino stampede and assorted monsters.

Also, the labradoodle is obsessed with a rubber throwing toy also called a Kong. Half the dialog, and any comments from the audience left him in a conflicted state, thinking that we were about to go out for a game of fetch.

Since Havoc is one of the least scary dogs on the planet, it kind of killed the mood.

Oct. 10th Fright Night Soon to be remade with David Tennant and that McLovin’ kid from Superbad.

But this is the 80’s classic “My neighbor is a vampire” teen movie. The movie teen-agers are obviously closer to 30 than high school, but Chris Sarandon totally rocks a leather trench coat, as a New Wave Dracula.

Oct. 11th White Zombie

Not the band.

This has been in my collection forever, unwatched. I saw it in the 70’s, and missed the subtleties of it. Vaguely expressionistic and a little kinky, with a bride turned to zombie slave by an obsessed stalker. Full of shambling half-deads, jumping soundlessly off cliffs.

The 30’s costumes are great, like a zombie fashion show complete with evening bridal and lingerie. Both the hero and the villain prove that jodhpurs are a hard look to pull off.

And Bela Lagosi needs an eyebrow trim. They seem to be growing backwards. You can almost smell the spirit gum.

Oct. 12th Ghostbusters

You’ve all seen it. And if you haven’t, what are you waiting for? It manages to be both funny and scary, especially if you are a librarian with a fear of disordered card files.

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