It (2017)

You may have noticed that most of my reviews for the month have reported lackluster thrills. I decided that my best bet for a decent scare on Halloween was a recent, popular, R-rated horror based on a vintage Stephen King hit. It was either that or A Quiet Place, and I figure on saving the latter for a while after Tremors.

The fictitious town of Derry, Maine (of course), has a disproportionate rate of mysterious disappearances and/or deaths, especially among kids. A new wave emerges in the late '80s. Seven preteen or early teen misfits rapidly catch on to the cause as it, or rather It, tries to claim them too. It takes many shapes, but you've seen its favorite: Pennywise the clown, often announcing his presence with one or more red balloons.

The Fly (1986)

I saw the 1958 original a few years ago. It struck me as decent but more tragic than scary. At the same time, it bordered on unintentionally comical with a few ludicrous premises. Well, David Cronenberg is no stranger to ludicrous premises, but I can count on him not to be funny. He might have been just the director for the remake.

Seth (Jeff Goldblum) gains the interest of science reporter Veronica (Geena Davis) by showing her his invention of a teleportation device. He wants her to hold off on reporting it until he gets it to handle a living thing properly. With her assistance, he succeeds. But when he gets drunkenly rash enough to teleport himself, he doesn't notice the housefly in the "telepod" with him....

The Innocents (1961)

Hmm, another haunted mansion story endorsed by Martin Scorsese. And another experimental '60s film that wasn't a hit at the time. On those bases, I might have expected good cinematography but little fear. OTOH, there is the element of children. It's also based on a Henry James novella, The Turns of the Screw, and adapted primarily by Truman Capote.

In 19th-century England, Miss Giddens (Deborah Kerr) shakily accepts the invitation of an aristocrat (Michael Redgrave) to be the governess for his nephew, Miles (newly recognizable Martin Stephens), and niece, Flora (Pamela Franklin), who have been largely raised by the various hired help. The children have a good deal of cutie charisma, but sometimes they appear to know too much and/or care too little. Could they know about the merciless-looking figures who spook Miss Giddens but whom no one else confesses to seeing?

Dead of Night (1977)

I'm not sure what got this TV movie with a 6.4 on IMDb onto my queue. Someone other than Netflix must have suggested it to me. Anyway, it's not like Night of the Living Dead. It's an anthology more along the lines of The Twilight Zone, starting with a Rod Serling-style narration that explains the title as referring to "a state of mind."

In "Second Chance," a young enthusiast for classic cars restores one from 1926, takes an old road, and finds himself literally in 1926. In "No Such Thing as a Vampire," around the time of Dracula, a woman keeps waking up with a bleeding neck, and her husband and servants can no longer shrug off the village rumors. In "Bobby," a woman appeals to a pagan deity to bring back her drowned son, but he's not quite the same anymore and becomes increasingly hostile.

Tremors (1990)

One glance at the poster told me to expect something pretty trashy. It looked like a Jaws knockoff minus the water. The movie even had Land Sharks as a working title. Nevertheless, it gets occasional mention to this day, including as an inspiration for part of Stranger Things. It seemed as good a choice as any to round out my October viewings.

Val (Kevin Bacon) and Earl (Fred Ward) are on the verge of leaving the fictitious ghost town of Perfection, Nevada, to look for less lowly job opportunities. They meet a visiting grad student, Rhonda (Finn Carter), who wonders about some irregular seismograph readings. Then they discover some extraordinary deaths outside town. The cause: rapidly burrowing worm-like giants, which the citizens eventually dub "graboids." Between rock slides and downed power lines, it's too late to leave the area or get outside help before the graboids reach the rest.

The Old Man & the Gun (2018)

I had enjoyed many movies featuring Robert Redford, mostly from the Silver Age but up to Captain America: The Winter Soldier. These did not make me eager to see what's touted as the last time he'll appear on the silver screen. No, my main reason for watching this in a theater was a Meetup invitation; I hadn't accepted one of those in months.

Set mainly in 1981 in the western U.S., it follows Forrest Tucker decades after he made a name for himself as a prison escapee many times over. Now rather old (if much younger than Redford really is), he counts on people not knowing who he is when he robs banks, usually with two other old guys (Danny Glover and Tom Waits). He takes interest in a less criminal woman (Sissy Spacek) who isn't sure what to make of him. Nearly half the movie focuses on John Hunt (Casey Affleck), who doesn't care much for his police work until he gets the chance to, well, hunt the robbers, primarily Tucker.

Seconds (1966)

I didn't feel like filling up my entire month's worth of Netflix deliveries with outright horrors. This one gets classified as a sci-fi thriller, so I figured it was still appropriate for the lead-up to Halloween.

Fifty-something Arthur Hamilton (formerly blacklisted John Randolph) receives messages from a friend who was reported dead, pointing him to the reason for that misinformation: A special company has given him a new identity, complete with a more youthful new look. Arthur is unhappy enough that he eventually accepts the invitation to get the same sort of treatment, becoming "Antiochus Wilson" (Rock Hudson). But it's not an easy transition, and even afterward, a second chance may not be all it's cracked up to be....

Free Solo (2018)

You may think, "Aw, man, you're breaking up the pattern of Halloween movies for the month." But if one genre ever gets scarier than horrors and thrillers, it's documentaries. After all, they tend to depict real dangers. Not that I've seen many such.

The title refers to the practice of climbing a rock face without ropes or other assistance. The focal figure is Alex Honnold, 33, who does it as a career, not a hobby. Oh, he gets into safer forms of climbing now and then, especially at super-hard locations like El Capitan. But he keeps hoping to be the first to free-solo up "El Cap" (which I heard as "Al Capp") someday. Naturally, this feature builds up to that day.

The Uninvited (1944)

Martin Scorsese and Guillermo Del Toro count this among their favorite horrors. In earlier days, it stood out as one of the first non-comedy ghost stories in Hollywood. It's also remembered for the debut of much-covered jazz standard "Stella by Starlight," which, oddly enough, isn't remotely scary. I don't know which if any of these details first drew my attention to the film, but I wanted at least one oldie for the month.

While vacationing on the Cornwall coast, Rick (Ray Milland) and Pamela (Ruth Hussey) stumble on a disused yet charming cliffside mansion and decide to move in from their London flat. Commander Beech (Donald Crisp) gives them a good deal on it, explaining that it is not only out of the way but often considered creepy, if only by virtue of having enigmatic old-house personality and his daughter Mary's tragic death 17 years ago, which had prompted him to move out. Beech's 20-year-old granddaughter, Stella (Gail Russell), is too sentimental about her childhood home to let it go altogether, so she appeals to Rick's heart, and he lets her visit. Only after they enter the one unpleasant room do they start to see why previous tenants bailed. Something there overwhelms the senses if not the will, and that something doesn't entirely restrict itself to that room thereafter. What were the exact circumstances of Mary's death, anyway?

The Fog (1980)

While I haven't reviewed other John Carpenter flicks on this blog, I have mostly enjoyed the seven I've watched, especially the ones from the late '70s and early '80s. It's too bad he apparently lost the knack in the '90s and largely retired from directing early. The Fog was his first post-Halloween silver-screen feature, so I figured it held promise.

The story follows multiple heroes -- among them radio DJ Stevie (Adrienne Barbeau), her young son Andy (Ty Mitchell), career fisherman Nick (Tom Atkins), drifter Elizabeth (Jamie Lee Curtis), festivity hostess Kathy (Janet Leigh!), her assistant Sandy (Nancy Loomis), and Father Malone (Hal Holbrook) -- in the fictional California town of Antonio Bay within the course of a day, namely the town's centennial. It's also the centennial of a fog-based fatal shipwreck. From the stroke of midnight, strange things happen around town. And where the glowing fog hits, death is likely to follow. None of this being coincidental, of course.

Paranormal Activity (2007)

I don't normally watch movies with middling ratings across the three major sites, especially in genres that aren't among my favorites. But this one did spawn quite a few sequels, launch some fledgling careers, and make #9 on a Nostalgia Critic list of best recent Halloween movies/series. Besides, [REC] taught me that even without originality, a "found-footage" flick can scare me.

The story begins somewhat in medias res in 2006, when Micah (Micah Sloat) buys a camera and tripod in response to cohabiting girlfriend Katie (Katie Featherston) telling him that strange things happen around her at night, supposedly thanks to a malevolent spirit. He doesn't really expect to catch anything spectacular -- maybe he hopes to reassure her that it's all in her head -- but as weeks pass, the signs get harder and harder to dismiss as natural or harmless occurrences. When they invite vaunted ghost expert Dr. Fredrichs (Mark Fredrichs), he soon declares it the work of a demon instead, and the demonologist he recommends is unavailable for now.

The Count of Monte Cristo (2002)

I saw the 1934 adaptation of the Alexandre Dumas classic some years ago, inspired by its excerpt in V for Vendetta. Although I enjoyed it (and seeing why V did too), later I could remember little more than the basic outline: A wrongfully imprisoned swordsman gets revenge. Perhaps a second take, especially one for a modern audience, would stay with me better.

Illiterate sailor Edmond (Jim Caviezel) helps his dying captain pay an emergency visit to Elba during the exile of Napoleon (Alex Norton). The price of treatment by the local physician is Edmond's agreement to stealthily deliver a letter, which Napoleon claims is innocent. Upon returning to France, Edmond is charged with treason—thanks not to an honest misunderstanding regarding the mail, as he first believes, but to treachery by three acquaintances. During his long stay at the Château d'If, priestly inmate Faria (Richard Harris in one of his last roles) secretly teaches him in many ways and then helps him escape and find a vast hidden treasure. Edmond reappears in civilized society in the guise of the titular count, observing his old enemies and plotting their downfalls....