October Movie Challenge: Oculus (2013).

Mirrors are scary.

Think about it for a bit. Vampires avoid them.  Many cultures cover them or turn them around during funerals.  Witches use them to communicate or even pass through.  Then there is whole Bloody Mary thing.  So Oculus capitalizes on this fear with a scary mirror, two siblings and a warped sense of time with murders.
Karen Gillian drops her normal Scotish accent in favor of an American one in this thriller.  She and her brother witnessed something horrible 11 years ago.  So bad that we are not told at first, only that her brother, now 21, is just getting out of a mental facility.
Over the course of the movie we learn that their mom went crazy, their dad did too, shot their mother and then tried to kill the kids.  Tim, the brother, believes it was because their father was having an affair and their mother caught them.  Kaylie believes it is the mirror the family once owned and it is possessed.   She runs down the list of all the previous owners and the deaths and tragedies that befell them.  Kaylie also has elaborate systems put into place to watch the mirror and keep them safe.
But you know that will all fail.

It was fun seeing Karen Gillian in something very, very removed from Amy Pond.
The movie had a good creep factor to it and the "monster" looked really cool.  I was not totally thrilled with the end, but it was also not a surprise to be honest.

It gave me some ideas to use for mirrors in an adventure I am working on.

Stats
22 Watched / 17 New

October Movie Challenge: The Last Witch Hunter (2015)

Last week's Class Struggles I detailed many (but not all) of the Witch Hunter classes.  This last weekend I got a chance to see the movie.

Ok. So this movie is not going to win any awards. But it was still a lot of fun.  I have been a Vin Diesel fan since Iron Giant. In this one, he gets to punch things, stab things and generally have a good time.

Vin Diesel is good as the eponymous witch hunter Kaulder. I guess "Melkior" was out of the question.  Kaulder is the "no spells" type of Witch Hunter.

Rose Leslie is a lot of fun as "Dream walker" witch Chole and of course Micheal Caine is great in whatever he does.  Elijah Wood was also fun to see in a role that goes against type.

Don't go into this movie with high expectations. Go into it know it is a Vin Diesel flick.  Though from a gamer's point of view it is geek-worthy to know that he is basically playing his D&D character on screen.

Ok. What else did I like. The Witch Queen was really cool looking and I am happy they kept her "monstrous" rather than turning on the sexual charm.

The "witch bar" was really cool. A place where witches try out different potions and magical concoctions.  That is something I could totally steal for my own games (but obviously not of publication).

I also liked the mirror-ish, flashy, "Witch eyes" from the movie.  Basically this was so the audience could tell who was really a witch.  In my games witches can always tell who is who.  Some witch hunters can also learn this. There is the tacit assumption that witches in this world are a different species, much in the same manner as in Kim Harrison's "Hollows" books, Harry Potter and a lot of other media. Interestingly the movie contends that the Black Plauge was cooked up by witches to purge the Earth of humans. So like the Hollows, human diseases do not effect witches. There has to be diseases then that can infect witches that do not harm humans.

There is no doubt that this is a "D&D" movie. The opening scene, which takes place in the past, features a group of hunters. My kids pointed out that the group contained a fighter, a cleric, rangers, even one that could be a thief.

Even Kaulder's sword can be easily stated up.  Here it is with some liberties taken.

"Hexenbane"
+1 Sword, +3 Flaming vs. Witches*
Hexenbane is normally a +1 magical sword but in the presence of witches, warlock or evil-aligned spell casters it becomes a +3 Flaming sword.  Witches know this sword on sight and any witch below 5th level must save vs. Petrification (or Will or Wisdom) or act as if a fear spell has been cast on them.

I think I want to detail the Dream Walkers in another post.

Stats
21 Watched / 16 New

October Movie Challenge: Dracula (2006)

We have a saying in our house. "If it is on the BBC then it is going to be good."  Well...this movie is really testing that theory.

Edited to add: Turns out this was on ITV.  So my theory is still good!

This was part of Masterpiece Theatre and BBC so I really expected a lot more than what I got.

He had some interesting ideas. Secret Society dedicated to the undead. Certain have a use for that.  Linking vampirism, blood diseases and syphilis; always fun.  Plus another retelling of the Dracula story.  I liked the actors that played Seward, Mina and Lucy. Sophia Myles as Lucy was exceptional.   But Harker and Van Helsing were a waste.

But I also had a lot of problems with this one.
First of the actor playing Dracula, Marc Warren, was just too young look really. Secondly casting Arthur Holmwood as a villain was a mistake.  Killing Harker early, while not original, is still a bad idea. Also there was no Reinfield. That I can't abide by.

I don't have an issue with people tinkering with the Dracula story as long as it is a good story.  NBC's Dracula series was a good example.  But this one was not.

I had hoped for better to be honest.


Stats
20 Watched / 15 New

October Movie Challenge: Wicked Lake (2008)

I am not sure if I have ever said "everything is better when you add witches."  It certainly sounds like something I might say. Wicked Lake tests that assumption...and I am not sure it got it right.

Ok I knew I was getting into a third or fourth rate "I Spit On Your Grave" here.  But it is no where near as brutal as that movie.  There are four women in this one and two different groups of men.  Really it is confusing mess.
Here is the basic gist.  Women get attacked, the moon rises and they turn the tables on the men and slaughter them all.
The sun comes up and they all swim in the lake naked and have a happy ending.

It amused me in the sense that it was so cheesy and it the formula was so obviously "hey lets add witches and plenty of naked girls to this".  There is almost a sincerity in it.

I wonder what other movies could be improved if the women in the film were in fact witches?
Thelma and Louise? Silence of the Lambs? A League of Their Own?

Well the thought amuses me at least.

Stats
19 Watched / 14 New

October Movie Challenge: Demon Hunter (2005)

Continuing the "Hunter" vibe I also picked up Demon Hunter starring Sean Patrick Flannery in the role of the "brooding loner with a chip on his shoulder and a dark past".  The movie is predictable, but it has some nice features.

Billy Drago stars as Asmodeus. Basically he is playing the same character he did on Charmed only now he surrounds himself with more naked women.  Drago chews up scenery as a slimy bad guy like no one else save for maybe Eric Roberts.

Tania Deighton plays his succubus lieutenant.  She has the look, but I can't tell if her fake fangs make it hard for her to talk or if she is just a bad actress. Her succubus looks really cool. The wings were a nice touch.  Yes, she is also featured on the Succubus.net website.

The movie though is predictable, even to the "surprise" ending.  But it has some good moments.

This movie has me curious though.  Here Asmodeus is played as the Demon of Lust as he is depicted in many older texts and not so much as the King of Hell.  I wonder why Gary picked him as the ruler of hell and devils in D&D?  Was it because of him being described as the King of Hell in some books?  Curious. The classic "Politics of Hell" notwithstanding I am curious about his rise over other names like Baalzebul or even Mephistopheles.


Stats
18 Watched / 13 New

October Movie Challenge: Hansel & Gretel (2013, 2015)

The Asylum is not really known for quality productions.  They are known for fun "mock busters".

Hansel & Gretel (2013) was an obvious jab at the bigger budget "Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters" and Hansel vs. Gretel from this year could be capitalizing on the Vin Disel "Last Witch Hunter".

Both feature brother and sister witch hunting team Hansel and Gretel Grimm and both feature a battle with the witch/demon Lilith.  So really one should expect it is my cup of tea.  But...this is the same group of people that gave us three "Sharknado" movies.

I have to admit I crack up every single time someone says "Hansel and Gretel" with a straight face.

Ok so, these are not great movies, but they are not supposed to be.  The acting is not great, even by those that should be better.  Even the actress for Gretel changed between one movie to the next.

Obviously neither is very scary. But there are some neat ideas for witches and witch hunters here.  Though to be fair Hansel kills more people than the witches do.
It also proves my long held belief that being evil makes you better looking.

Stats
17 Watched / 12 New

October Movie Challenge: Weekend Updates

I am SOOOO far behind schedule on this challenge.  But I managed to get some movies in, some I have seen before, but my kids wanted to see them.

Pacific Rim (2013)
Giant mechs vs Kaiju.  What is there not to love?  Caught this on FX even though I have the Blu-Ray. Still though a lot of fun and some good scary moments of giant monsters.
Status: Seen.

Beetlejuice (1988)
Ok, not really scary but also a lot of fun. Kids loved it.  The start of Tim Burton's rise to stardom.  Great performances by Micheal Keaton and Winona Ryder.
Status: Seen about 167 times and it keeps getting funnier every single time I see it.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011) and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014)
I enjoyed the old Planet of the Apes series but did not care for the 2001 reboot.  These two are a better movies. While the CGI is great and convincing there is still a bit of unreality about all of this that sometimes bugs me.  I find myself asking how an ape can use a gun designed for human-sized and shaped hands for example.  Either way great post apoc fun.
Status: New to me.

La Fille de Dracula (1972)
Another attack of opportunity.  Saw it in 2013.  Was testing out a new DVD drive in my Frankencomputer and this was the one I grabbed.

Stats
15 Watched / 10 New

October Movie Challenge: Witchhouse (1999)

Ah well. It couldn't last.  Witchhouse from the turn of the century (that sounds odd while still being correct...) is neither interesting nor a lot of fun.  At least with Full Moon Features (the production company) I'll get a little fun.

Ok.  Lilith Le Fay (I am not joking here) invites all her college age  friends over to her ancestor's house one May Day eve (Wallpurgis Night) to have a party.  In truth she is a witch and she wishes to raise her ancestor Elizabeth Le Fay back from the dead.  All her friends are the descendants of the witch hunters who killed Elizabeth.

This could have worked, but honestly the acting was terrible and the plot...well here is an indication of what we are dealing with here.  The castle that Lilith stays in is now located in Dunwich, MA but was brought over brick by brick from Scotland.
Including the dungeon.
So lets throw everything we have ever heard of against the wall and see what sticks.

In a note of true tragedy to the movie one of the stars, Dave Oren Ward who played the stoner Tony, was murdered right after the film was done and in post production.


Stats
10 Watched / 8 New

October Movie Challenge: Horns (2013)

Ig Parish is having a terrible day.  His girlfriend was raped and murdered and now he has these two horns growing from his head.  Now everyone wants to tell him their deepest, darkest secrets.

Horns (2013) marks the return of both Daniel Radcliffe and Juno Temple to my horror reviews.  I have made a couple of decisions here.  First, Daniel Radcliffe is a phenomenal actor.  Second, Juno Temple is not.  Sorry. I really wanted to like her but she just was not that good in this.

The story here is interesting and Daniel Radcliffe makes Ig as about as distant from Harry Potter as you can make it.  No reason is given as to why he grows these horns and gains his powers, but none it really needed.

Game wise I think I want to redouble my reclassification of fiends and only have devils as fallen angels.  Everything else is a demon or something like that.

Stats
9 Watched / 7 New

October Movie Challenge: Nocturna: Granddaughter of Dracula (1979)

I do feel the need to point out that just because a movie is from the 70s that's doesn't mean I am going to like it.   Case in point this cinematic turd known as Nocturna: Granddaughter of Dracula.

On paper it has a lot going for it.
John Carradine turning in his last role as Dracula.
Yvonne De Carlo, though given the really unfortunate name of Jugulia Vein.  What is this a Scooby-Doo movie?
Brother Theodore in a Reinfield like role.  Brother Theodore was just an odd dude.  He has never really ceased to entertain me. ....Till now.
Even Nai Bonet, whom I was sure couldn't act, at least would look good in the part.

It has some things that gave me pause,  Like renaming Dracula's Castle as Hotel Transylvania 33+ years before Adam Sandler did.

But when I realized this was going to be a disco-dance movie I should have ran.  But dear readers I am committed.

Lets be honest. This is a terrible movie. I wasn't expecting much, but I was hoping for more than this.  Carradine's talents are wasted on this, even more so that "Billy the Kid vs. Dracula".  Nai Bonet is just bad. She is a great dancer to be sure, but her acting is so bad.
It also strikes me that there are a lot of similarities between this movie and "Love At First Bite".

In the end nothing really can save this movie.  I can't even find something small in it for a game.


Stats
8 Watched / 6 New

October Movie Challenge: Simon King of Witches (1971)

There is something about the 70s Occult Revival that keeps me coming back for more.  This movie has been in my queue since the summer so I was really looking forward to it.
It starts kind of slow and you are never really sure at the start if "Simon Sinestrari" is a real witch or just a con man.  But as the movie goes on the magic is played as being very, very real.
I have to admit I was surprised by the performance of Andrew Prine.  Not that I didn't think he was a good actor, but because he played the role of Simon with such earnestness.

The horror elements are few, but many of the occult trappings are good. There is a camp to it that doesn't quite allow the movie to be fully comedy, satire or even supernatural horror.  Though there are some good scenes.  I liked his whole astral-projection bit, more late 60s than 70s. I also liked the part when he is about to make a sacrifice for his big spell and he ponders how he must not be done with violence yet in this life.  A wholly cheesy line but Prine pulls it off with earnestness and even conviction.
Brenda Scott on the other hand was sleep-walking through her role as Linda, the love interest. I found her neither convincing nor interesting.  Heck, Simon had better on screen chemistry with Turk the young male prostitute he befriends.  In fact there was more emotion in the scene where Simon removes Turk's memory of him so he would not get caught up in his magical doings than any scene with Linda.
I ended up liking it more than I anticipated, but not as much as I wanted to like it.

It was a good one to watch along with The Devil Rides Out.  Two differing views of occult ceremonial magic.

Simon of course would make for a great NPC in a modern horror game.  Something about the setting and how he was portrayed makes me think Chill more than say Buffy or World of Darkness.
He is not entirely evil, but he is also not entirely good either.  He would play like a bargain basement Aleister Crowley; a human with some magical power that now thinks he is akin to the gods. This can be threatening or comical depending on how you want to play it.


Stats
7 Watched / 5 New

October Movie Challenge: The Devil Rides Out (1968)

I swear I had seen this movie.  I knew the story, I knew about the stellar performance of Christopher Lee in one of his few turns as a good guy.  An intense good guy, but a good guy all the same.  So when I sat down to watch it last night imagine my surprise when I realized I had not seen it at all.
I think I was confusing it with another Christopher Lee movie.

In any case The Devil Rides out is fantastic.  A nice little battle with the forces of evil.
Hammer based on the book by occult writer Dennis Wheatley. It would not be the last time that Hammer and Christopher Lee would collaborate on a Dennis Wheatley tale, this time putting Lee back in the role of bad guy for To The Devil A Daughter.

The feel to this movie is very much like the book Tanith. In fact the book of The Devil Rides Out was one of the influences on Tanith.  Each features a central character named Tanith and also deals with rural England paganism and/or satanism.

There is so much here for a game. Occult secrets, cultists, magical battles.  You can also do worse than model your clerics after Lee.   Plus I am dying to role up a new witch named Tanith that may or may not be involved in devil worship.

This reminds me how much I love Hammer Films.

Stats
6 Watched / 4 New

October Movie Challenge: The Babadook (2014)

"If it's in a word or it's in a look, you can't get rid of
The Babadook."

Now this is more like it!

A creepy movie monster that remembers that often less is more.   From newcomer Jennifer Kent this is a tale of a widow (played wonderfully by Essie Davis) and her son (Noah Wiseman).  In some ways this is the "Sixth Sense" except instead of dead people the little boy sees monsters.  Trouble is the monsters are not at all real and the little kid is a handful.

One day a mysterious book shows up in their home and the mother reads it.  It is the story of Mister Babadook who knocks on your door three times, then bangs on it three times wanting to be let in, "ba ba ba DOOK DOOK DOOK"!

We then follow the mother's descent into madness as she acts out the book.  It is quite effective and at points quite scary.  For example I was pretty sure I knew what was going to happen to X character only have something else happen entirely.  It was a nice change of pace.

I watched this with my youngest son who loved it, but hated the ending.  I loved the ending myself because I understood the metaphor.  But it is not a movie I would let my youngest or wife watch since I know a few of the scenes would really bother them.
If things that go bump in the night scary you easy then this not the movie for you.

The Babadook himself would be great for any modern supernatural horror game.  Not so much D&D since the monster is more of a psychological one.  But say for Buffy or Ghosts of Albion he would be great.

If you get the chance see this one.  It's not just a great horror movie it is a great movie.

Stats
5 Watched / 3 New

October Movie Challenge: Carrie (2013)

I have had the new Carrie Blu-Ray since it came out but only watched it last night. I enjoyed it, Chloë Grace Moretz and Julianne Moore are pretty much fantastic in everything they do, this was no exception.  Julianne Moore gave a stellar performance as Carrie's mother Margaret White, much better than Piper Laurie was in fact.

Chloë Grace Moretz was fantastic of course, but the trouble I have with her in this movie is she is just too good looking.  Sure Carrie is supposed to be an outcast, but she is no Sissy Spacek.

The story is what we all know at this point; enjoyable yes but not really needed.










Stats
4 Watched / 2 New

October Movie Challenge: The Sixth Sense (1999)

1999's The Sixth Sense was a huge surprise hit.  The writer and director, M. Night Shyamalan was all but an unknown at the time.  This movie is also the first and best use of what is now known as the "Shyamalan twist".  Ignore some of his latter movies (though I will admit to enjoying "The Happening") and enjoy this one for what it is.

I have been wanting to rewatch this one for years.  Knowing "the twist" is one thing, seeing the movie in light of that is another.  One thing is sure, Shyamalan is a damn fine director.  Course the cinematography from the legendary Tak Fujimoto (of Silence of the Lambs fame) so the movie looks good.

Haley Joel Osment is praised for his acting, and it is justified, but let's not forget the stunning performance from Bruce Willis.  Casting mega action and comedy star Willis as a ghost who never touches anyone throughout most of the movie was genius.  I have liked Bruce Willis since "Moonlighting" and he did not disappoint here.  The surprise of the night though came from a young Mischa Barton as the girl killed by her Munchausen syndrome by proxy mother.

I watched this one with my youngest son, who had never seen it.   It was great to see his reaction to everything and then the final twist.  He loved it.

Almost immediately after seeing this for the first time I wanted to use an adult Cole Sear (Seer, get it! It's a twist name!) in a Cinematic Unisystem game. Make him older and more jaded like Micheal J. Fox's character in the Frighteners.
Still might do that.


Stats
3 Watched / 1 New

October Movie Challenge: War of the Gargantuas (1966)

Going back a bit to movie I first saw years and years (at least 30) ago on KPLR TV out of St. Louis.  War of the Gargantuas was a sequel to Frankenstein Conquers the World, though I didn't know that at the time.

All I knew is it freaked the heck out of me.  Those giant monsters eating people and spitting out their clothes recall bugged me when I was 10-11.  It was one of the sources of the the Gargantua monster I would later create.

The movie this time around was not scary but still fun to watch. It was shorter than I remember and I am sure there were more scenes of Gaira eating people.

Interestingly it stars Russ Tamblyn looking almost exactly like his daughter does now. She is now the same age he was in this movie.
I always wonder when one actor is speaking English and the rest Japanese are we supposed to assume they are all speaking the same language?

In any case I now need to see Frankenstein Conquers the World.

Stats
2 Watched / 1 New

October Movie Challenge: Spell (2014)

Spell (2014) aka "Nam Man Prai".

A monk/sorcerer is caught in customs with a strange vial, a love potion he claims.  It gets into the wrong hands and soon poor Prae (played by Wanida Termthanaporn) is infected.  She goes from sweet, shy office girl to a sex fiend.  Somewhat literally since during sex she transforms into this monster (a "ghost" in the translation) that looks like a cross between a hag and a lamia.

The movie is a bit confusing in places, mostly because it is from Thailand and I think the translation was a bit off.  Also I am not 100% that some scenes were cut out.

The monster in this was a nice little shock the first time since I was not expecting it.  The story is your basic morality play of "don't have sex, sex is bad, mkay?"

Though there is a neat little twist at the end.

Nam Man Prai I guess means "love potion" or "love spell" in Thai.

For games I guess a cursed love potion could turn whomever drinks it into a homicidal hag.

All in all not a bad flick to start out October!

Stats
1 Watched / 1 New

2015 October Horror Movie Challenge

I so look forward to this every year, but this year I think I am going to fall a little short of my goals.
Busy time at work and with projects means less time to enjoy some horror.

So this years theme will be "Attacks of Opportunity".  That is, I will watch movies as the come on or as I get access to them.  The nice thing is this year I have Netflix in addition to my Amazon Prime.  So I do have many more choices.  Plus I have a stack of DVDs laying here that need to be watched.

Normally hosted by Krell Laboratories I think offical hosting is now covered by the Facebook group.

Halloween Head Count

Checking on my numbers for my October Movie Challenges.

2014
39 Total Watched,  26 New

2013
35 Total Watched, 30 New

2012
33 Total Watched, 24 New

2011
31 Total Watched, 24 New.

Not too bad really.
Got in some horror-related gaming in too.  No new releases; Eldritch Witchery came out in 2013 and The Witch in 2012.  But still a fun month.

October Movie Challenge: Mad Scientist Marathon

I have a mini marathon of movies I have watched in the last few hours.  All dealing with Vampires and Mad Scientists (give or take)

The Vampire Bat (1933)
This one turns some of the vampire tropes into plot fodder and features a mad scientist that needs human blood to keep his new creation alive.  An older flick but fun.  It features the ever impressive Faye Wray and Dwight Frye.  Frye of course played one of the first ever Renfields in 1931's Dracula.  I am struck by how good his range was and his performances reminds me of Andy Serkis.

The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)
This of course features a song about Faye Wray and a mad scientist.  No real vampire, but they do come from Transylvania. I have seen this one hundreds of times of course, but I still enjoy it.  It is though no where near as fun on TV as it is in the theaters.
I have to admit I have always wanted to write a Buffy RPG adventure based on this.  Have players play the original cast.  Great for an adult themed Con game I am sure.  Gotta get worked down to 4 hours.

Vampire Girl vs. Frankenstein Girl (2009)
Man. I have no idea where to start with this one.  Dracula and Frankenstein's monster battle it out.  IF they were both super cute Japanese school girls.  There is so much blood and gore in this movie. but it is comical and beyond over the top. Plus stereotypes of all sorts of Japanese cultural fads.  It's insane.  The big battle on top of Tokyo Tower is the climax of the movie.
The interesting bit is the mad scientist (who is related to Frankenstein) uses vampire blood to animate the corpses.

Might get to more tonight.
--

Tally so far:  39 Total Watched / 26 New

What do you find scary?
October Horror Movie Challenge hosted by Krell Laboratories.