It is time for the treasured tradition of reviewing the movies I've seen so far this year and offering up the creepiest selections in celebration of this spooky time of the year! Yay!
To continue with Halloween Sampler protocol, each of this year's frightening films will be rated not only according to my usual 1 - 5 rating scale, but also with the scary/intense rating system of 1 - 5 exclamation points (e.g., ! = not at all scary, !!!!! = so scary!).
Let's dive in, shall we?
"The Omen" (1976)
Rating: 3.5 Scary Rating: !!!
This year's throw-backy entry! This classic "bad seed" tale has many delightful and unexpected twists and turns, including but not limited to a trip to an Italian cemetery, spooked giraffes, infuriating outdated psychobabble, and awesome dun-dun-DUNNN moments in a photography darkroom. Drawback: it's possible this movie was a player in the freak-out over Rottweilers whose present-day manifestation is the freak-out over pitbulls. But the dogs, for all their forboding and ominousness, look beautiful?
"Nightcrawler" (2014)
Rating: 3.5 Scary Rating: !!!!
In an earlier post, I already mentioned how over it I am with the now-quite-tropey character piece centered on a soulless male psychopath. That being said, "Nightcrawler" makes for a pretty potent creepfest from beginning to end, thereby making it perfect for Halloween.
Jake Gyllenhaal does a deeply disconcerting turn as Louis Bloom, a reptile doing its darndest to impersonate a human. Not actually, but that's really what he seems like. He's actually an off-putting screw-up with delusions of grandeur whose aim is to be the best carnage documenter for the local news. And by "best" I mean "most sociopathic." It's a charming, breezy romp! (In case it wasn't clear: sarcasm.)
Jake Gyllenhaal does a deeply disconcerting turn as Louis Bloom, a reptile doing its darndest to impersonate a human. Not actually, but that's really what he seems like. He's actually an off-putting screw-up with delusions of grandeur whose aim is to be the best carnage documenter for the local news. And by "best" I mean "most sociopathic." It's a charming, breezy romp! (In case it wasn't clear: sarcasm.)
"The Blob"(1958)
Rating: 4 Scary Rating: !
This year's even throw-backier offering!
Also: STEVEN McQueen??!!!
This film was this year's superb selection for our viewing-whilst-jack-o'-lantern-carving pleasure. It is a completely absurd delight. The effects become increasingly desperate as the movie progresses. The movie appears to periodically forget that it's telling the "chilling" tale of a gelatinous, carnivorous interstellar being possibly bent on world destruction while it instead postures as a dreamy little romance. THAT THEME SONG. WHY IS IT SO PERKY?
Perhaps the only truly spooky part of this movie is the oddly prescient final quip that the world will be safe from the eponymous blob "as long as the Arctic stays cold." And all this time I was thinking the blob was communism, it was actually catastrophic global climate change!
Also: STEVEN McQueen??!!!
This film was this year's superb selection for our viewing-whilst-jack-o'-lantern-carving pleasure. It is a completely absurd delight. The effects become increasingly desperate as the movie progresses. The movie appears to periodically forget that it's telling the "chilling" tale of a gelatinous, carnivorous interstellar being possibly bent on world destruction while it instead postures as a dreamy little romance. THAT THEME SONG. WHY IS IT SO PERKY?
Perhaps the only truly spooky part of this movie is the oddly prescient final quip that the world will be safe from the eponymous blob "as long as the Arctic stays cold." And all this time I was thinking the blob was communism, it was actually catastrophic global climate change!
"Let the Fire Burn" (2013)
Rating: 5 Scary Rating: !!!!
This year's documentary offering!
This film tells the harrowing story of the slow-brewing, ultimately disastrous and deadly conflict between MOVE, an increasingly cornered and radicalized African-American led activist group, and Philadelphia police and elected officials in 1985.
Although the film isn't set up to be a horror story, it is nevertheless disturbing, frightening, and chilling just as much as it is also sickening and heartbreaking. The title of the movie refers to then-mayor Wilson Goode's instructions to firefighters on the scene after police dropped an incendiary bomb on MOVE's occupied headquarters. The aftermath is not only an indictment of City leaders' overly militarized response to a fringe group, but also its willingness to destroy and never rebuild the otherwise-not-involved surrounding community.
This film tells the harrowing story of the slow-brewing, ultimately disastrous and deadly conflict between MOVE, an increasingly cornered and radicalized African-American led activist group, and Philadelphia police and elected officials in 1985.
Although the film isn't set up to be a horror story, it is nevertheless disturbing, frightening, and chilling just as much as it is also sickening and heartbreaking. The title of the movie refers to then-mayor Wilson Goode's instructions to firefighters on the scene after police dropped an incendiary bomb on MOVE's occupied headquarters. The aftermath is not only an indictment of City leaders' overly militarized response to a fringe group, but also its willingness to destroy and never rebuild the otherwise-not-involved surrounding community.
"A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night" (2014)
Rating: 4 Scary Rating: !!!
This year's contemporary offering!
"A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night" is truly a movie after my heart. It's like "Let the Right One In" (2008) and "Sin City" (2005) had a baby that was raised by "Persepolis" (2007), but with an awesome soundtrack.
And skateboarding.
It's visually stunning, beautifully and hauntingly atmospheric, intoxicating and transfixing. I've never seen anything truly like it, but I hope to see a hell of a lot more. Ana Lily Amirpour, I've got an eager eye on you!
Also there's a cat.
Really, what more could I ask for?
I hope you all enjoy an expertly titrated mix of spookiness and fun this Halloween! Happy Hauntings!!
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