Hooptober 9 #12
So I watched this for the special 50th episode of the Blake’s Buzz podcast, where I guested alongside famed comic writer Cullen Bunn.
I was worried as hell about watching this one. I let my guard down once I saw the monster in the first minute (and the monster actually looked good). Turns out that was a mistake.
We have a guy who runs into the creepiest crematorium ever (because I'm sure tiny rural towns in the…
I can't believe I forgot to review this when I saw it... so now a month later (give or take) I'm going to have to go mostly on memory.
This movie was like one of those completely sexist, racist problematic pulp magazine covers come to life. It was hyper-masculine to the point of misogyny. And I was just completely bedazzled and enthralled by the film's commitment. It was like a feature-length NC-17 Old Spice commercial set in the Indiana Jones-verse.…
I can't remember if I realized this when I saw it in the theaters... but everyone, titular hero and love interest included, are pretty awful. Has what's acceptable changed so much in 14 years? Or was Bryan Lee O'Malley always trying to depict a group of shitheads?
Just thinking about this as an homage to all the Gremlins-inspired little puppet mischief maker movies (Ghoulies, Munchies, Critters, etc.) will not prepare you for how absolutely bizarre this movie is. Keep it that way until you invite friends over for a movie night and throw this bad boy on.
I was really picking up what Tobe Hooper was putting down. Seriously, how is there not more buzz around this movie as an all-time classic?!
Now one of my favorite opening credits of all-time. And a PERFECT example, just like with Creepshow, of creating a pre-code horror comic on film. The shots and set pieces and colors were on-point. The characters were sufficiently caricatured to be ludicrous. And the plot mechanics are just terrific.
The set up is way bigger…
My first Hooptober movie of the season, and I'm glad to have started with it.
At multiple points I forgot that this movie came out in 2009. The dedication to not just the style of the era, but also to the cinematic style of the era, was admirable.
There was nothing revolutionary here in terms of plot or horror, really... it was just a very well-done horror flick. West's ability to generate suspense is among the best of working directors.…
