Mini Movie Review - Tales of Terror (1962)

 Friday night’s selection called for some classic fun, in the form of an Anthology-themed entry called Tales of Terror. From 1962, it stars Vincent Price (that voice!) in three short works inspired by the short stories of Edgar Allen Poe. Apparently, the director, Roger Corman, made a series of such movies. And with a screenplay written by Richard Matheson (The Hunger anyone?) it was bound to be good.

The movie unfolds like a series of short plays, which would normally drive me nuts in a movie even this old. However, it totally works for this movie. Each one had very few sets and sparse casts. The middle one, The Black Cat, easily had the biggest cast, thanks to a scene with of a wine merchants convention.

So, let’s take a slightly closer look, shall we? The first movie, “Morella”, tells the tale of a daughter come home to the family estate, which is much in disrepair. Lenora has essentially never seen her father. He sent her away when she was just a baby, days old, after her mother died, accusing the baby of having killed her. Father and daughter actually start to reconcile, when Morella decides to have her revenge.

There wasn’t much to this one and it actually bored me just a little bit, but I love how expressive Price’s eyes can be. However, the danged thing is so short that it left me with several questions and few answers. Nevertheless, it was still better than Devil from Thursday night.

And so, we continued on to short story number two. This was a combination of Poe’s “The Black Cat” and the very chilling “Cask of Amontillado”. Peter Lorre took the starring role in this one, although Price still has a key role. And my goodness how talented Mr. Lorre is! Even if you only watch one short in this anthology, it is worth the time to track down and watch this middle one! Lorre and Price and amazing actors on their own, but when you put them together you have magic.

The final movie is “The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar” once again starring Vincent Price and based on a short story of the same name. It’s not one of his short stories that I’m familiar with, but I need to look it up now. M. Valdemar is dying of some sort of brain issue. This is a Poe story that I’m not at all familiar with, but that I also now want to dig up and read. No less than Sherlock Holmes himself (Basil Rathbone) plays a mesmerist helping a wealthy patient deal with the increasing pain from his impending death (Vincent Price). Mr. Valdemar has promised Mr. Carmichael that he can hypnotize him as he lies dying to discover if the moment of death can be prolonged via mesmerism.

Valdemar dies while in such a state, but his soul doesn’t leave his dead body and he remains trapped until Carmichael sees fit to release him. And Carmichael has his own plans. It’s a very neat concept that plays out with a sense of dread and horror – how long will the agonized Valdemar lie there before getting his final peace? And what will it take for Carmichael to finally relent and release his subject?

All in all, these were fun. I thought The Black Cat did drag a little in the middle, but not too much. And it might be my first Roger Corman film. I’m trying to remember. Regardless, I recommend this little anthology film for when you’re in the mood for something truly old school, but maybe not so old school that it predates color films! No gore, really, but lots left to the imagination.

As for a gaming connection, “Morella” could easily be adapted to a variety of game systems, but I see it best in a fantasy setting, such as Pathfinder or that other d20 fantasy system everyone is crazy about. Make it a curse of some sort, or perhaps Morella could be a lich. There are several possibilities.

“The Black Cat” is a bit harder if you’re intent on rescuing the victims. I’d suggest sticking to more of the “Cask of Amontillado” and having the investigators look into the winetasters disappearance. Add in some mythos elements and you’ve got a winner on your hands.

“The Facts in The Case of M. Valdemar” could be used similarly. Have him disappear. It may be known that he was near death, but there’s been no mention of him actually dying. Have your players investigate what is really going on. Toss in mesmerism as well as some Mythos activity of some sort – Yithians maybe? – and give them a good scare!

We’re almost at the end of the first week! Tomorrow’s selection, “Lost Boys” turned out to no longer be available on Pluto, dang it. You’ll have to continue checking out my blog posts to see what we watched instead. (Fortunately, I can get “The Lost Boys” from the local library, so all is not lost. It’ll just be postponed a wee bit.)

Check out the rest of my challenge choices here. And if you’d like to play along yourself, you can find Pun’s daily theme suggestions on his blog, Halls of the Niphilim. 

Mini Movie Review - Devil (2010)

Thanks to everyone who reads along and bears with me while I dust off both my writing and reviewing skills. It's been a few years since my brain would let me put words together into a string of written sentences. Lack of oxygenated blood and the mental messiness of menopause really had me messed up for awhile, but the menopause symptoms toned way down after a couple of years and a quadruple heart bypass earlier this year helped with the oxygenated blood issue. It's nice to get me life back!

 This will be one of the shortest reviews yet, because I only made it 1/2 an hour before turning it off. Seriously. Some folks maybe will like it? I'm not one of them, and I can tell you why. But first, why did I pick this movie that none of us have probably heard of? Well, the day's theme was "With a Twist" and I know M. Night Shyamalan is known for his twist endings. And he's not only involved as a produce, but also created the story. So, I at least expected decent. Maybe I shouldn't have. I mean, the talk about his movies since The Sixth Sense. 

First thing that was wrong? The opening credits. Very stylized shots of the camera moving through an upside-down cityscape. All it had me asking was why. The story is about 5 people trapped in an elevator and one of them is the devil in disguise. So, they've already started to lose me. I thought it might be redeemed with the next few bits, but no.

Second thing that was wrong? The score. Do not start with tension building music when there's just ordinary stuff happening. And yes, i n this kind of move, a dead body on top of a van is just ordinary stuff happening. Now, if you'd shown the action leading up to the body coming through a high level window from the skyscraper office building....maybe. (And aren't those windows shatter-proof? How much forse would you need to get a body out one of them?) So, we have a rampant case of music not fitting the scenes.

Third thing wrong with the movie? Voice over exposition during the credits. Actually, I didn't mind this. It was a nice device to get us up to speed with the mythology behind the story. Except that it was continuing a third of the way into the movie. And I'm still not sure which character was doing the voice over. But seriously, if you need to still be giving me info on top of what I'm seeing by that point in the movie, you've lost. Seriously, show, don't tell si a mantra for storytelling for a reason.

And finally, the fourth and last reason I stopped e the movie? The folks in the elevator were too much a caricature of real characters. And I felt no sympathy for any of them really. At best I didn't feel anything about them either way and at worst I wanted to drop them down the elevator shaft myself. There were some characters outside the elevator who were decently done, but they weren't the focus. 

So, seriously, skip this movie. I couldn't even make myself sit through it for the sake of finishing my challenge movie for the night. I kept hoping it would get better, but instead it just got worse. It was so bad, you'll notice I didn't even post a handy IMDb link for you. And no, it's not a so bad, it's good kinda bad. It's just bad.

Given that it's the fifth movie in the challenge and the first I really haven't liked is a pretty good record. 

Check out the rest of my challenge choices at this post. And if you want to play along as well, you can find Pun's daily themes on his blog, Halls of Nephilim. And if you watch, or have watched, any of my reviewed movies, please leave me a comment in below.

Mini Movie Review - Let the Right One In (2008)

 

Wednesday was Foreign Language Day, and for me it was another no-brainer. I’ve been wanting to watch this one but have never taken the time to just sit down and watch it. I tend to put off movies I know I want to watch in the original language with the subtitles on. Some folks watch everything with subtitles on. I find them a distraction. However, this is the second of two movies I’ll watch this way during the month. The first was Train to Busan and the last will be Brotherhood of the Wolf. (Please, whatever you do, do not watch Brotherhood of the Wolf with the English dub! Trust me.) And then there was this one, Let the Right One In.

Anyway, I’ve been looking forward to this and am so glad Pun’s movie challenge gave me the kick I needed to finally watch it. It’s dark, atmospheric, and absolutely beautiful to watch. What is it with gorgeous cinematography in Nordic noir? There isn’t a lot of dialog, either, which is something else I notice in some the films of some countries, especially films with hoped for international distribution. I appreciate their taking it a little easy on us stubborn Americans.

As for the horror, Oskar is a boy who befriends the new girl next door, only she’s not a girl. I think it’s wonderful about Oskar that he doesn’t care that she’s odd or different. He doesn’t even flinch when finding out she’s not human. And yet, it’s also worrying that he doesn’t care. He figures out that she’s a vampire, and it doesn’t bother him in the least that she kills people to live. I think there’s some of the horror, right there. This kid likes reading about violent death and doesn’t flinch much when actually confronted with it either.

But maybe the true horror is the actions of his bullies. And they start out mean and only get meaner, until the vicious, bloody ending. It’s exciting, and we cheer, when Oskar finally stands up for himself, but that action triggers the finale. And it’s all horrific when you really contemplate it. The only actual hero of the story is Ginia, who knows something bad is happening to her and wants to stop it before it’s too late.

Anyway, it’s a beautiful, captivating movie. And I still recommend you take the time to watch it if you like vampires, or coming of age movies. It’s also a deeply moving story of friendship and how true friends have one another’s backs, because Oskar and Emi do just that.

From a gaming perspective, this could be a great idea builder for one of the roleplay heavy rpg out there. I'm just not sure which one to suggest. Any ideas? Share 'em below please.

Check out the rest of my challenges here. And if you want to play along as well, you can find Pun’s daily themes on his blog, Halls of the Nephilim.

Mini Movie Review - Jaws (1975)

 

The third night of our movie challenge was to watch a horror movie where nature strikes back. There are several movies that fall into this, but Jaws was the obvious choice for us. I mean, we did get to go to the beach again this summer, Rowan loves sharks, and I have a bit of a fondness for the odd creatures as well.

Jaws is considered one of, if not THE, first summer blockbusters out there, and Spielberg has malfunctioning animatronics to thank for it. We only see the shark towards the very end of the movie, while the first half is all about setting up the big showdown between man and shark. And that first serious look at the monster shark doesn’t fail to impress, leading to the classic movie line, “We’re gonna need a bigger boat.) And in the meantime we get plenty of blood and body bits.

This movie also showcases some social commentary, what with the mayor wanting to keep the beaches open at any cost, including the loss of human life. He even points out that during the July 4^th festivities his children were also on the beach. And this was after he bullied a friend to get in water, along with his wife and grandkids.

As already stated, most of the second half is simply the fishing trip to try and catch the shark. Just three men on a boat – the sheriff, the shark expert, and the crazy fisherman who owns the boat. I’ll let you figure out who, if anyone, makes it out alive. I will say that the tension building in the second half of this movie is a master class. And this was one of Spielberg’s first movies!

Not sure how I’d play this one up in a gaming sense. Maybe a small scenario for Call of Cthulhu? OR, it could be fun to move it to a fantasy setting, maybe, for Pathfinder or that other D20 game that’s popular. Could be fun. If you do, make sure that shark is a souped up version of the Monster Manual or Bestiary and that it has plenty of hit points or armor.

Seriously, this was a fun re-watch from when I was in high school. I’d forgotten how much humor it had. Unless you have a shark phobia, give it a watch.

 Check out the rest of my challenge suggestions here. And if you want to play along as well, check out Pun's themes on his blog, Halls of the Nephilim. . 

Mini Movie Review - Train to Busan (2016)

While I have time, let’s work in a quick review of Last Train to Busan (2016). This one made a lot of “Best Of” lists and it’s easy to see why – it’s well executed, the cinematography is wonderful, the acting solid, and the premise is simple at heart – Seok-woo’s daughter, Soo-an, just wants to see her mom for her birthday. All he needs to do is take the time from work, ride on the train to Busan to meet up with his ex, and come back to work.

But, of course, that would be a really boring movie. So let’s add some viral outbreak that quickly infects folks making them want to immediately infect anyone around them who isn’t already. That way you quickly get hordes of infected chasing non-infected, and it really does make for some effective and tense moments in the movie. I liked it.

I also like the social commentary of the movie, regarding who was maybe worth saving and what lengths some people would go to in order to increase their odds of survival. Or at least it let them feel that way. South Korea has a very polite cultural norm. And yet it would be easy to see the movie set in so many other places. The more different we are, the more we are the same, eh?

The ending of the movie is truly guy-wrenching. Heck, the last half is gut-wrenching and nail biting as we cheer on our male heroes who are trying to make their way through the rail cars to their female loved ones. And they don’t just bash their way though, either. There is some seriously observation, cunning, and quick thinking that happens in this movie. And I truly was in tears by the end. Sacrifices are made. The stocky businessman I cheered over finally getting his due at the hands of a horde of infected only to tear up when the director and writers managed to humanize him before his final death. Train to Busan belongs on all of those “Best of” lists for a very good reason.

That said, I could still totally nit-pick this movie to death. There are so many little things from continuity issues to just logic ones. But I made the decision while watching it, not to do that, and I’m still not going to do that here. It was really that good, in spite of any issues I might have found. (I mean really, what virus has an infection rate of less than 3 seconds. It’s not sustainable, at the very least.) I thought the amount of blood and core was about right – it added to, rather than distracted from, the movie. And the earlier actors playing the roles of the infected did an amazing job with the necessary body work. Those early scenes of the infection taking hold were especially physical.

How can it apply to a gaming setting? Well, Rowan, my eldest, thinks it would be a decently adapted idea for The Walking Dead. They’re probably right. And I think it would make a great Humans vs. Zombies game, which is already a live-play game of horror survival.

Anyway, check it out. It’s a fun, yet heart-wrenching, couple of hours that you won’t regret. 

 Check out the rest of my challenge suggestions here. And if you want to play along as well, check out Pun's themes on his blog, Halls of the Nephilim. . 

Mini-Movie Review - John Carpenter's The Fog (1980)

 

My mini reviews of the movies we’re watching this month are going to run a wee bit behind. October decided to come in with a bang and I’ve barely been home. Fitting in a movie in the evening has been challenging.

1 October – The Fog (Day’s theme was First Time Watch) This was the original version of the movie, from 1980. I really enjoyed it and loved how it didn’t play to the tropes we so easily toss about nowadays when discussing movies. It would be worth a re-watch.

My biggest problem was the age difference between Tom Atkins and Jamie Lee Curtis. I might not have discovered just how big of an age difference there was, except Jeff pointed out that he looked a little old for her. A little! Try he was 45 to her 22. Once I knew, it just became icky. However, you can already tell how good of an actress she is.

I really loved that the three female leads are the top billed in the credit, with Jamie Lee Curtis and Adrienne Barbeau having top billing on the movie poster. And the women were smart, too.

The movie makes the most of suspense, which I like. It’s also got some slasher vibes as the creatures in the fog exact their revenge, but you don’t see a lot of blood splashed about. I honestly think that would have been a distraction from the suspense John Carpenter kept building as the story progressed.

And since this is a, at least in theory, a gaming-related blog, I started thinking Call of Cthulhu by the mid-point. I mean, really, creepy fog with murderous monsters coming out of it? It practically screams Deep Ones – and I’m not talking about those Hybrid nasties either. Oh, and the movie backs up my philosophy of if you play well, and smart, you have a good chance of surviving.

That's it for now! Play along with your own Halloween movie challenge and check out Pun's themes here. 

Pun's October Horror Movie Challenge

 

You are invited to join me. Apparently October horror movie challenges are a thing this time of year. Who knew? A gaming friend of mine – Pun Issac, decided to create his own challenge. And me being not of a normal person’s right mind decided “Why not?”. And so, here we are. I spent HOURS yesterday coming up with the schedule below.

There are some caveats. I don’t watch a lot of horror, although there seem to be more movies and television seeping into my viewing nowadays. I was a teenager in the 80s, at the height of the slasher movies, where directors and producers kept pushing the limits of just how much fake blood they could toss around. Even action movies got into the game, upping both the blood and the body count. And I loved action movies, until it just got to be too over the top. As for horror, give me a good Hitchcock or similar movie any day. So you won’t really find any of those sorts of movies on my schedule. I also don’t do torture porn. Totally not my thing.

Also, 31 movies in 31 days is a lot to clear one’s schedule for. So, some movies will need to become part of a double feather either the day before or the day after. I’ve gaming commitments twice a week. Some movies, depending on length, I can watch after gaming on Wednesday nights, but our Monday group goes to 11 pm. And I’ve a podcast review livestream every other Sunday, but can probably still fit in a movie after.

All of these movies will be watched at home, except for Five Nights at Freddy's, which I hope to catch opening night. (I had to change New Movie and Found Footage to make that happen. Not a big deal. Most of the movies can be found on streaming services, although there are several I already have on DVD. I bought The Thing on Amazon last year, and will probably buy two others for this horror movie challenge.

I hope to provide quick reviews as we go, but that will probably depend on just how busy October gets. Anyway, I hope you watch along, leave your own comments, and generally enjoy the spooky fall weather and atmosphere of October. It’s one of my favorite months.

The original challenge can be found at Halls of the Nephilim, so you can see the various categories I needed to use. (And for the most part, I did!) And an easier to read/print version of my schedule can be found here. 

Happy Spooky Season! It's good to be back!

Melinda