Zombieland (2009)

Squeezing in one last Halloween review for the year! I opted for something under 90 minutes, clearly appropriate in theme but not seriously scary. Seemed like a partial palate cleanser.

We never learn the name of the narrator-protagonist (Jesse Eisenberg), because the few survivors of the zombie apocalypse don't want to feel too emotionally attached to each other. He goes by "Columbus," because he grew up in the Ohio capital. His long-time habits as a timid loner have prepared him for this new world, and he shares many tips with the viewers. While looking for a safe haven, he teams up with "Tallahassee" (Woody Harrelson), an older badass who loves hurting or killing zombies almost as much as eating the now-scarce Twinkies. Then they meet "Wichita" (Emma Stone) and her kid sister, "Little Rock" (Abigail Breslin). Columbus soon crushes on Wichita, but she's neither trusting nor trustworthy. Perhaps a shared crisis will change that....

The Platform (2019)

Of the scary Netflix movies recommended to me that I hadn't seen, this was one of the most highly rated. I opted not to save it for the end of the month because it's not a horror in the usual sense. It presents a nightmarish scenario, yes, but the protagonist is rarely in imminent mortal peril.

The Vertical Self-Management Center, also known as the Pit (a closer translation of the native Spanish title, El Hoyo), consists of stacked cells for two prisoners each, with a big hole in the floors/ceilings for a floating platform. Those on Floor 1 (the top) are treated to a sumptuous feast, Floor 2 gets their leftovers, and so on down the line. Once a month, everyone is gassed unconscious and wakes up on another floor (the number shown on the wall), seemingly chosen at random, albeit with the same cellmate -- if they both survive.

World War Z (2013)

I chose this partly for being relatively popular and partly because Netflix will drop it at the end of the month. Aside from that, all I knew going in was what the Z stood for. The first question in my mind was how the story would differ from that of the quintessential Dawn of the Dead.

Well, for starters, there is an unambiguous protagonist, Gerry (Brad Pitt), whose background as a UN investigator makes him especially important to combatting the viral zombie outbreak. Only about half an hour in, he gets his wife (Mireille Enos) and daughters (Sterling Jerins and Abigail Hargrove) from overrun Philly to a reasonably safe outpost. But even favor from the UN deputy secretary-general (Fana Mokoena) won't let them all live there indefinitely; Gerry has to pull his weight by going back into danger for clues on how to vaccinate against zombification. And yes, the characters do say "zombie" eventually.

American Psycho (2000)

Of all the horrors on Netflix I hadn't seen, this was the one I'd heard about the most. Partly, I suppose, because it's relatively old. My visiting friend hadn't seen it either, so we chose our viewing quickly.

In 1987, Patrick Bateman (Christian Bale, five years before he dropped the E from "Bateman") is a Wall Street investment banker with a luxurious lifestyle, often going to upscale restaurants with co-workers. That doesn't mean he enjoys it; as his first-person narration indicates, he can feel only greed and disgust, even toward ostensible fiancée Evelyn (Reese Witherspoon). At first, the only clear sign of something wrong with him is that he needs little provocation to make gory threats. Then his bloodlust grows beyond his full control, no longer reserved for envied colleagues and homeless people. How long can he hope to get away with murder?

The Wailing (2016)

I don't remember learning about this South Korean TV movie before. Most likely, it was on an online list of great horrors. In any case, it was the only horror I found left on my Netflix list.

Officer Jong-goo (Kwak Do-won), a police officer for the village of Gokseong, comes to recognize a pattern: Locals covered in boils are growing violently insane before dying. A theory tying the symptoms to drugs is not entertained for long, and for some reason, nobody even mentions the possibility of a natural disease. Reportedly, the first case emerged shortly after the arrival of an unnamed, reclusive Japanese man (Jun Kunimura), the subject of many rumors, including that he is a ghost. Jong-goo pays him a visit with a translating deacon (Kim Do-yoon) and finds a ghastly shrine but nothing to justify an arrest. When Jong-goo's preteen or early teen daughter (Kim Hwan-hee) shows early signs of the condition, his wife (Jang So-yeon) calls on a shaman (Hwang Jung-min) for an exorcism. A strange woman in white (Chun Woo-hee) often appears with warnings, but Jong-goo doesn't know much about her or whether to trust her.

Werewolf by Night (2022)

I had not heard of this Disney+ special or even the Marvel antihero of the same name until I perused the Halloween section of Disney+. Among the movies I hadn't seen, this was the only title to grab me. I realize its status as a movie is a stretch at a mere 55 minutes, but it felt long enough to me.

The Bloodstone is a gem that weakens and angers monsters but strengthens monster hunters. Now that longtime wielder Ulysses Bloodstone has died (so much for the Wikipedia claim that he's immortal), widow Verussa (Harriet Sansom Harris) hosts a contest to see who will own it next. Five accomplished hunters plus Elsa (Laura Donnelly), not the Arendelle queen but Ulysses' daughter by another woman, are assigned to kill a Lovecraftian creature trapped in a labyrinth. Elsa cares only about an inheritance from a father with whom she did not see eye to eye. One of the hunters, Jack (Gael García Bernal), secretly wants to free the monster, for reasons of kinship. Yep, it doesn't take long to guess he's the title character, and no, nobody calls him "Wolfman Jack."

It Follows (2014)

This was the first Halloweeny title I found on my Netflix list. It also happened to be leaving Netflix today. Sorry if you wanted to see it there but read this too late.

College undergrad Jay (Maika Monroe) has casual sex with "Hugh" (Jake Weary), only to learn that he's not whom he claimed to be and has dishonorable intentions toward her. He forcefully conveys that he has been stalked by a killer monster invisible to everyone it hasn't targeted yet, and the only way he knows to get it off his trail, at least temporarily, is to have sex so it goes after the partner instead. He does want her to survive too, if only because the monster will turn its attention back to him otherwise. Most of the movie consists of Jay escaping the monster, often with help from her true friends, who vary in how much they believe her. And yes, she keeps the pass-it-on option in mind.

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (2024)

I was a casual fan of the 1988 original, having regularly viewed the tamer TV adaptation before that. When I felt like going to a theater again, this sequel was the only feature to grab me. Ordinarily, I'd save its genre for next month, but that slipped my mind.

The decades have not been very kind to Lydia Deetz (Winona Ryder). Her husband (Santiago Cabrera) died in an unlikely accident, and despite her success as a televised ghost whisperer, she hasn't been able to contact him. Disbelieving teen daughter Astrid (Jenna Ortega, fresh off Wednesday) wants as little to do with her as possible. She still freaks out every time she sees someone wearing black and white horizontal stripes, rightly suspecting that the titular source of her PTSD (Michael Keaton) hasn't given up on coercing her hand in marriage so he can return full-time to the land of the living. In some ways, she has it together even less than her eccentric artist stepmother (Catherine O'Hara), who now reports that Lydia's father also died in an unlikely accident. At his wake, her unorthodox producer (Justin Theroux) aggressively talks her into an imminent Halloween wedding. And when Astrid gets involved with a local boy (Arthur Conti) who's not as harmless as he acts, Lydia fears that her worst nightmare has become her best hope.

Batman: The Long Halloween (2021)

This isn't the first time I've watched a two-part Batman animated direct-to-DVD movie for my October set at a friend's suggestion, but it is a more appropriate choice than before. I won't split this into two reviews, partly because I watched both halves back to back and partly because it doesn't feel like two stories stuck together.

In contrast with The Dark Knight Returns, this takes place pretty early in the Caped Crusader's (Jensen Ackles) career: Old-school mafias are still big in Gotham, Barbara Gordon (Amy Landecker) is a little girl, and a moderately sane Harvey Dent (Josh Duhamel) has just become the district attorney. From one Halloween to the next, an anonymous killer code-named "Holiday" picks off people close to Carmine "The Roman" Falcone (Titus Welliver) on major holidays, leaving a seasonal decoration and a handgun with a bottle nipple for a suppressor. (Seems a bad strategy to leave the weapon in plain sight every time, but Batman enemies aren't known for their caution.) As usual, Gotham police protection is inadequate. Any number of people could have a reason to get at a mob boss, so Batman and Commissioner Gordon (Billy Burke) must examine many a suspect.

Us (2019)

Another Monkeypaw Production already. I didn't set out to do this; it was simply the next horror I found on Netflix. And it got a somewhat better reception.

Adelaide Wilson (Lupita Nyong'o, getting top billing for the first time I've seen) is reluctant to go with husband Gabe (Winston Duke) and their children, teen Zora (Shahadi Wright Joseph) and preteen Jason (Evan Alex), on vacation to Santa Cruz, because that's where she developed childhood PTSD from an encounter with an identical girl. Her anxiety increases as she notices coincidences. Gabe doesn't take any of this seriously until around the midpoint, when doubles of the entire family show up -- with murderous intentions.

Wendell & Wild (2022)

In my continuing quest for Halloween-type movies that I haven't seen before and might want to, I accepted Netflix's up-front suggestion, which they had pushed quite a bit last year. It has fared a bit better with critics than with general audiences, but hey, I've seen and reviewed less popular on this blog.

At 13, delinquent Kat (Lyric Ross) gets transferred to a Catholic girls' boarding school in her fading former hometown, Rust Bank. There she discovers a captive demon (Phoebe Lamont) who makes her a "hell maiden" able to summon Wendell (Keegan-Michael Key) and Wild (Jordan Peele), two disgraced sons of underworld lord Buffalo Belzer (Ving Rhames). She wants them to bring back her parents (Gary Gatewood and Gabrielle Dennis), whose deaths she had accidentally caused ages ago. The boys stumble on the revitalizing properties of their dad's hair cream. They also learn that two execs (Maxine Peak and David Harewood) could pay them enough money to start their own afterlife amusement park -- provided they use the cream only on the dead councillors who could sway the vote in favor of turning Rust Bank into a prison complex, a motion otherwise unanimously opposed. Let's just say demons aren't so good with promises. But despite Kat's efforts to avoid friendships lest she jinx more people, she can get a fair amount of support from certain students and faculty to save both the town and herself.

The Face of Another (1966)

Hiroshi Teshigahara directed this in the wake of Woman in the Dunes, also based on a Kōbō Abe novel, so it's considered something of a companion piece. It did not fare nearly as well at the international box office, probably because the modern urban setting felt a lot less exotic than the desert. Also, by that time, people were getting tired of artsy projects like Last Year in Marienbad. Still, I got curious.

Following an accident, Mr. Okuyama (Tatsuya Nakadai) keeps his head wrapped in bandages not for healing but to spare even his wife (Machiko Kyō) the sight of his burned face. Despite her and others trying to support him emotionally, he remains terribly bitter -- until his psychiatrist (Mikijirō Hira) gives him an excellently lifelike experimental mask. It looks nothing like his original face; they use a mould from a hired stranger (Hisashi Igawa), albeit with results that look rather different from him too. Okuyama takes a while to get used to the mask and tires of the doctor keeping tabs on him and expressing concern that the mask could influence his personality. Indeed, he deliberately hides his identity from everyone else as best he can. Whatever he was like before, he seems increasingly corrupt.

Child's Play (1988)

This franchise has had eight movies, the 2019 one a remake/reboot, but nearly all have subpar ratings. I decided that the first and most popular entry must have something enduring about it if Hollywood keeps trying. Different people had told me that it was either scarier than other famed slasher films or just plain campy. Either could explain it.

In Chicago, after losing a police shootout, serial killer Charles Lee "Chucky" Ray (Brad Dourif) uses his voodoo training to possess a nearby robotic doll, ironically of the "Good Guys" brand. From there, he ends up as a sixth birthday present to one Andy (Alex Vincent). At first, the doll seems to do only what it should: say a few basic sentences (including stating its name), turn its head, and move its eyes. But Andy keeps denying responsibility for Chucky's apparent actions, especially when they turn deadly. Andy's mom, Karen (Catherine Hicks), begins to suspect that her son is neither lying nor insane. She appeals to Detective Norris (Chris Sarandon), incidentally the guy who shot human Chucky and thus is an intended target....

Arachnophobia (1990)

This feature gets a very mixed reception, as reflected by the disparity between critic and audience scores on Rotten Tomatoes: 93% vs. 54%, respectively. Regardless, I'd heard enough good things about it, mostly pertaining to the humor, to give it a whirl.

An entomologist's (Julian Sands) research party enters a highly secluded area of Venezuela. The photographer (Mark L. Taylor) gets bitten by a tarantula and dies in seconds. The spider hitches a ride in his coffin to his fictitious little hometown of Canaima, California, where it reproduces with a local. Not only are the smaller hybrids just as venomous; they are extraordinarily eusocial, effectively taking orders from their hulking progenitor. The merciful news is that the first batch of hybrids is sterile and short-lived. But that could change soon, and given how the species dominated that secluded area...

Son of Frankenstein (1939)

I didn't think I'd be seeing any more old Frankenstein entries from Universal Pictures. Even The Bride of Frankenstein was more cheesy than scary or funny. But this one was on a list of horror recommendations, and I did want something older and more allegedly classic than I've been seeing this month.

Shortly after the natural death of Heinrich von Frankenstein (why he wasn't Victor is beyond me), his son Wolf (Basil Rathbone) moves into the castle, hoping to make use of the adjoining lab and restore honor to the family name. There he finds squatter Ygor (Bela Lugosi), who had assisted Heinrich; and Heinrich's infamous creation (Boris Karloff), who has been secretly alive but comatose for some time. Wolf performs a project to re-energize the monster, if only for scientific study. The monster does as Ygor bids, apparently out of sheer fondness for a fellow misshaped outcast. Alas, Ygor is vengeful....

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022)

Given how much I loved the first Doctor Strange outing, it would take an extraordinary misfire for his next eponymous feature not to be worth my while. This one is only moderately popular, probably below average for the Marvel Cinematic Universe (that term seems inadequate now), but hey, that didn't stop me from liking X-Men: Apocalypse.

Dr. Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) has been having a glum but quiet time in New York when he and Wong (Benedict Wong) suddenly have to fight a giant demon targeting teen America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez), who can open portals between alternate universes but manages to do so only when terrified. Noting signs that a witch summoned the demon, Strange seeks support from his old comrade-in-arms, Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen), now finally going by "the Scarlet Witch." Alas, she's the summoner. She wants to absorb Chavez's power through a method that would kill Chavez, just to try to be happy in a more promising universe with the option of moving again as needed. Strange can't abide that, but Maximoff is too powerful for him to take on alone. The answer may lie in another universe....

The Conjuring 2 (2016)

I browsed Netflix for a good end to the month and came across this title. Why wasn't it on my list already? After all, I liked The Conjuring, and the first sequel was reputed to be almost as good. I'm just not in the habit of watching horror sequels.

Around Christmas of 1977, shortly after their Amityville incident, paranormal experts Ed (Patrick Wilson) and Lorraine Warren (Vera Farmiga) are invited to the London Borough of Enfield. The Hodgsons, consisting of mother Peggy (Frances O'Connor) and four kids, have lately had stressful domestic conflict and an abortive Ouija effort, both of which are said to feed into an unwelcome presence, and the ensuing events have been frightful enough to make them seek shelter with neighbors. These events, including apparent part-time possession of 11-year-old Janet (Madison Wolfe), are attributed to the hostile spirit of a prior resident (Bob Adrian). The Catholic Church won't authorize an exorcism without compelling evidence. That's where the Warrens come in, coordinating with convinced investigator Maurice Grosse (Simon McBurnie) and doubtful psychologist Anita Gregory (Franka Potente). But Lorraine, with her psychic connections, gets the feeling that this mission will be more dangerous than any they've tackled before....

Eyes Without a Face (1960)

If your first thought was the Billy Idol song, yup, this is where the title came from. It's also thought to have influenced the appearance of Michael Myers in Halloween. But contemporary critics hated it, and one of the few positive reviews nearly got the writer fired (not even in France). That might be why it was marketed deceptively as The Horror Chamber of Dr. Faustus in the U.S. I was pretty reluctant to watch it myself, not for lack of reputed quality but for disturbing premises. Still, I mustered the courage.

Christiane (Edith Scob) has been facially unpresentable since a car accident. Dr. Génessier (Pierre Brasseur), being her father, a reconstructive surgeon, and the cause of the accident, takes it upon himself to give her skin grafts. Of course, it's hard to find a willing donor for a face transplant, so with the help of assistant Louise (Alida Valli)...well, you can guess. And no, once isn't enough.

Blade (1998)

Before 2000, almost all Marvel Comics movies bombed. I'd heard that this was the one standout, however mixed its reception. At least it garnered a trilogy. I chose to watch for its seasonally appropriate theme and so I'd know Wesley Snipes from something other than the Bad music video, what little I recall of Murder at 1600, and To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar.

Modern L.A. is far more populated -- and dominated -- by vampires than you might guess. Nevertheless, Eric "Blade" Brooks (Snipes) is unusual: His mother (Sanaa Lathan) having been bitten moments before she gave birth, he has inherited most of their powers and only one weakness, the need for blood or its chemical equivalent. Under the influence of Abraham Whistler (Kris Kristofferson), he has moved away from preying on humans and toward taking down vampires. By the beginning of this story, he is their bogeyman, "the Daywalker." But he doesn't scare vampiric playboy Deacon Frost (Stephen Dorff), who believes that Blade can unwillingly help him awaken a dark god worshipped in ancient times.

Friday the 13th (1980)

Rarely is there such a discrepancy between a movie's popularity and its enduring influence. This one got middling ratings at best across the board, both when new and at present, yet it spawned a long series with a highly iconic character. I thought I knew enough not to bother watching, but Scream called my attention to my ignorance. I doubt my new knowledge will spell the difference between life and death for anyone, but it couldn't hurt, could it?

Seven counselors (Adrienne King, Harry Crosby, Jeanine Taylor, Laurie Bartram, Mark Nelson, Robbie Morgan, and early Kevin Bacon) and their director (Peter Brouwer) prepare to reopen Camp Crystal Lake for the summer, disregarding local rumor of a fatal curse on the area based on a series of unsolved murders and suspicious "accidents" starting in the late '50s. I'm relieved to say there are no campers yet when the "curse" strikes again, with the eight getting picked off one by one, primarily at night with an unreliable power source. It's quite late in the movie before anyone who isn't already a victim has any idea that people are dying.