Left to my own devices

The 1980s were dominated (in the horror genre) by the Friday the 13th and Nightmare on Elm Street franchises. Halloween sequels were also present, albeit to a lesser extent. Of these, I was always partial to the  Friday the 13th series. It featured the right balance of terror, seriousness and humor. Halloween was often too far on the serious side, and Elm Street was, well, pretty silly most of the time. My favorite of the Freddy Krueger series is today's featured film.

I'm at a bit of a loss to adequately describe today's film, so I'll just dive right in and hope for the best.

Yesterday, we had a lady in white, and today we have.... The Woman In Black Just as Nosferatu was our oldest horror film to be reviewed this month, The Woman In Black is our most recent. Released earlier this year, the film stars Daniel Radcliffe in a more adult role than previously seen in his Harry Potter career. He plays a young lawyer whose wife died in childbirth, so he has been raising their son (mostly) on his own. With money tight, and his job on the line, the young attorney takes an assignment in a remote village, much to his dismay. The small, closed community Radcliffe's character finds himself in is apparently haunted by a woman dressed in all black. When she is seen, a child dies. She is seen quite a lot during the course of the film. The locals get edgy with the attorney, making him feel most unwelcome. And when he is doing his work, sorting through the papers of a deceased elderly woman, he discovers the secret of the woman in black. It doesn't...

We've been hearing the death knell for the middle class for some time now. Phrases such as "the middle class is under attack!" or "the middle class is being squeezed!" are not uncommon. And, to a certain extent, it's true. The cost of living increases, while worker compensation rises at a much slower rate. Those at the top can and do get greedy. Things are definitely not hunky dory. But the middle class, itself, needs to accept some of the blame.

Ah, another childhood favorite. Today let's take a look at.... The Lady In White Little Frankie (Lukas Haas) is locked in the (rather voluminous) closet of his school's classroom. As autumn day turns into night, he is disturbed by the image of a ghostly girl. He witnesses a re-enactment of her murder, and sees her lifeless body carried out of the closet by... someone. And then he, himself, is attacked. The titular lady in white is an old woman who lives in a cottage by the cliffs. I won't reveal how she plays into the story, or who the murderer of the young girl turns out to be (although, even as a kid, I'd guessed it long before for the film's climax). The Lady In White is a good, old-fashioned ghost story. I watched it years ago with my mom, and loved the cinematography. It worked well with the New England setting during Autumn as the changing leaves fell, and kids celebrated Halloween. In fact, now is the perfect time of year to watch this ...

Today's choice may take some by surprise. It can be argued that it isn't a horror film, by the classic definition. But I include it because I find its contents to be truly horrific. So let's delve into the sordid world of...

Tonight, we travel back to the earliest film to make an entry in this month's horror movie extravaganza. Let's look at... Nosferatu The 1922 classic by F.W. Murnau is a gem of early cinema. Not without its faults (the pacing is a little wonky at times), Nosferatu is still a captivating tale, even today. It tells the story of a town and its people that are terrorized by Count Orlok (Nosferatu), a vampire who arrives via a boat from the river (and who leaves a slew of dead in his wake). Although tame by today's standards, it's still obvious to see how Nosferatu frightened the daylights out of audiences some 90 years ago.

Okay, so, I skipped-out on doing a movie yesterday. Hey, it's the weekend, and I was busy having fun. To make up for it, I've got two films for today. First up, we have....

Actor Zac Efron celebrated his 25th birthday earlier this week, so he's our Pic o' the Week! As a bonus, here's his 2013 John John Denim commercial...

With today's film, we've got two days in a row of childhood favorites. Yesterday was Friday the 13th: A New Beginning , and today we have....

Today's film is a favorite from my childhood. That's right: I watched a slasher film as a kid. Don't judge (me, or my parents). You get scared. You laugh at some parts. It was fun. And this one didn't give me a single nightmare. Let's take a look at...

Director John Carpenter has certainly left his mark in horror cinema. Halloween grabs all of the attention, but I'm rather partial to his follow-up...

I had a conversation t'other night with a friend who seemed to make a distinction between horror movies and ghost stories. I tend to lump them together (although one could argue that 1981's classic Ghost Story isn't really a horror film). At any rate, today's pick could definitely fall into the ghost story realm for some, but I still consider it to be horror. With that said, let's take a look at....

Tonight we have a film that really shouldn't be watched by kids, yet, I first saw it as a kid. Go figure.

Have you ever been struck by an energy vampire? You know the sort: The person whose life seems comprised of one issue after another? They either thrive on, or seem to attract, drama. They make bad choices. Sometimes, they're just damn unlucky. Regardless, they're someone that you know, someone that you care about, yet time spent with them is simply draining. I've just described an energy vampire, and I've known a few. Conversely, you have energy givers. These are folks who, through their sheer presence of being are enough to re-invigorate you. Perhaps it's their demeanor, or their choice of words, or a cornucopia of interests and/or talents that they have, but being around one of these people is an energizing experience. Then you've got your energy neutral people. Most of us probably fall into this category, neither draining or inspiring. We're just... us. Nothing wrong with that, per se. We tend to bring and take from the table in equal measu...

There can be some debate on what exactly constitutes "horror," and that's a fair argument to have. You've got your horror films, and then you've got your thrillers. Because you can have thrills in horror movies and horror in thrillers, I'd argue that there can be cross-overs between the two. That brings us to today's film....

Last week we experience terror at a wax museum , but have ever ventured to the... House of Wax This 1950s gem is a certifiable classic. You've got the 3-D gimmick, Vincent Price, Carolyn Jones (Morticia Addams), and even Charles Bronson! Add to this some grisly murders, and then a horrible secret being kept by Dr. Jarrod (Price), and you've got the makings of one great horror picture.

It is one of the cruel ironies of life that, sometimes, the same fate befalls us as has befallen generations before us. Each generation seeks to do better than the one that came before it. And, at times, it does. Other times, it simply succeeds at excelling in one area, while faltering in another. Such is life. One area that I've always expected my generation to do better at is in relationships -- romantic ones, specifically. Don't ask me why. This wasn't even something I was aware of until fairly recently. As a child, we are often witness to the curious goings-on of the adults around us. Sometimes, but not often, this includes a glimpse into their relationships.

While not a scholar or even a purist, I am somewhat of a film snob. Not a big fan of remakes, specifically when the originals don't need updating. It is therefore an unusual position I find myself in, preferring a remake to an original, and by leaps and bounds. Let's take a look at today's feature...

On the eleventh day, Matt decided upon....

Today we've got another film adapted from a Stephen King story. So, let's dive right in.

With the possible exception of Suspiria , all of the films I've written about this month have been personal favorites. It's my blog, so that makes sense. But if one is doing an overview of a particular subject, there are some entries that must be made which may be admired, rather then liked, by the person doing the write-up. And that brings us to today's horror film...

Week two of our foray into horror-dom finds us venturing into France, for a truly classic film that, while light on blood and gore, certainly qualifies as horrific. Let's take a look at...

Day 7 of our horror movie appreciation may seem like a bit of an obscure choice, but bear with me as I delve into....

It's been too long since we've had a pic of the week. Today, I present to you Rob Wilson, who has just been announced as the first male showcase model for the long-running Price Is Right game show. Who knows... this could get me to DVR the program from now on.

There's really no easily cogent way to prep you for our 6th horror film of the month, so we're just going to dive right in....

Yesterday we focused on the original  Night of the Living Dead . It is my opinion that there hasn't been a better zombie movie since that 1968 classic. If any serious film has come close (there have been some humorous outings within the genre), it would have to British director Danny Boyle's 2002 horror gem...

We arrive at day 4 of our horror film fest with the original....

T'other day at lunch, I was sitting there, eating my chicken strip basket from Dairy Queen and thinking about the first time I felt romantic love for someone, as you do. His name was Kyle. I'm sure I've mentioned him here before. The feelings I developed for him prompted me to eventually face being gay, and to eventually come out of the closet. The lunchtime thoughts pertained mostly to what a significant effect Kyle had on my life, and if he ever thought about me, or if it's more like, 'Matt who?' for him. The realization then struck that the 20th anniversary of my coming out is in 6 months.

Day 3 of our horror movie fest finds us with a 2009 film set during the 1980s. Welcome to....

Our month of horror film blogging continues today with a stone-cold classic from thirty years ago. Dark Night of the Scarecrow is the real deal. Don't be put off by the fact that it was a TV movie. This little gem knows how to affect creeping terror quite deftly. I just watched the restored blu-ray release last year, and the movie has aged well.

I'm going to crib a bit from David Thiel's blog , and consume the month of October here with a '31-Days-Of' theme. That's right: each day, I'll write a sub-section of a particular topic. The topic/theme this month? Horror movies! Why not, right? It's Autumn, it's October, and Halloween (my favorite holiday) is just around the corner. What better way to celebrate than to single-out some of the best horror films ever made? On that note, here we go....