darkfact

Those who know me, or as I'm sure most would be able to easily gather--October signifies my favorite month of the year; which of course brings about my favorite holiday that used to mean free candy when I was a kid. But beyond that this month also ushers in the official changing of the seasons, where the always enchanting fall weather eases us into it, with its familiar nuances to the senses, such as--Seeing leaves changing color and spiraling with the breeze and looking up on most days to admire the grey clouds that gather and hang heavy in sky, Breathing in deeply the smell of the first rainfall in months that bathes the surrounding concrete and those other scents associated with the chill that sets in and permeates the air, Feeling the skin begin to yearn for warmth and having the acceptable excuse to wear more layers of clothing to compensate for that longing, and Hearing the streets grow just a bit quieter than usual and how especially listening to melancholic music can serve to make one more sentimental and aware to it all.

Anyway, anyway..October for me, is also supposed to be all about violence, blood, gore, masked killers, ghosts, the dead, the undead, etc. and enjoying some frights. So to celebrate such things I've made the resolved decision that, sleep depravation and socializing be damned, that until Halloween arrives I shall watch a minimum of 1 horror movie per each day of this month!
So I'll have this particular blog serve witness to this endeavor by documenting each specific eclectic movie title that I shall enlist for my viewing pleasures..

10/01- Herschell Gordon Lewis' "Blood Feast" (1963)
10/02- Herschell Gordon Lewis' "Blood Feast 2: All You Can Eat" (2001)
10/03- Tobe Hooper's "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" (1974)
10/04- Alexander Aja's "The Hills Have Eyes" (2006)
10/05- Mario Bava's "The Whip and The Body" (1963)
10/06- Jonathan Liebesman's "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning" (2006)
*** I just have to mention, that Friday October 06, 2006, couldn..t have been a better night to have seen this movie. Reminiscent of the great shots in the original, there was a full-moon commanding attention to the sky outside that night and I made the fitting suggestion of having dinner at Armadillo Wily's Texas-Style BBQ right before the movie ***
10/07- Takashi Shimizu's "Marebito" (2004)
10/08- Gil Kenan's "Monster House" (2006)
*** Viewed in glorious 3-D, with some sweet glasses I got to keep! If anyone tries to nitpick that it shouldn't qualify as a Horror movie selection, I may punch ya in the jaw. It was Halloween related damn it! ***
10/09- Herk Harvey's "Carnival of Souls" (1962)
10/10- Joe D'Amato's "Anthropophagus: The Grim Reaper" (1981)
10/11- Stuart Gordon's "Dolls" (1987)
10/12- Michael Almereyda's "Nadja" (1994)
10/13- Takashi Shimizu's "The Grudge 2" (2006)
10/14- Grant Harvey's "Ginger Snaps Back: The Begining" (2004)
10/15- Tony Randel's "Hellbound: Hellraiser II" (1988)
10/16- Wes Craven's "A Nightmare On Elm Street" (1984)
10/17- Robert Wiene's "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari" (1920)
10/18- Lucky McKee's "The Woods" (2006)
10/19- John Gulager's "Feast" (2005)
10/20- Neil Marshall's "Dog Soldiers" (2002)
10/21- Joseph Zito's "Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter" (1984)
*** Alright, so I didn't watch a Friday The 13th flick, when it was technically Friday the 13th this month--I know, I know what a screw up, huh? Ah well, I think it was better to have been saved for this particular occasion instead since I decided to watch this particular entry in the franchise to honor my meeting of Mr. Crispin Hellion Glover himself upon this day ***
10/22- Christopher Smith's "Severance" (2006)
*** Heh, sorta ironic to have watched this clever twist on the slasher-genre as a start to this particular week-- considering this week marks my last week being employed with a corporate office job after so long --- I was given the figurative "axe" and offered "severance", Hahahahahahaha...ah...{sigh}.... ***
10/23- John Shiban's "Rest Stop" (2006)
*** Guess it was bound to happen...especially since I've tried injecting a steady dose of unseen horror movies into this endeavor of mine. This wanna-be of the torture-horror movie wave is pretty blatant in its borrowing from the likes of the latest Texas Chainsaw Massacre movies, Haute Tension, Wolf-Creek, and even SAW. That in itself might not be so despicable, but what makes it appalling is just how bad it got pieced together. Its insult-the-viewer's-intelligence of a plot was just horrendous-- followed by the overly dramatic TV quality acting and dialogue. And a skinny truck driving redneck gospel killer with a fake moustache?! WTF, that's supposed to be scary? Watching stuff like this makes it difficult being a fan of the horror genre sometimes..{sigh} ***
10/24- Stanley Kubrick's "The Shining" (1980)
10/25- Dario Argento's "Suspiria" (1977)
10/26- Darren Lynn Bousman's "SAW III" (2006)
10/27- Dan O'Bannon's "The Return of the Living Dead" (1985)
-------- Ken Wiederhorn's "Return of the Living Dead II" (1988)
-------- Brian Yuzna's "Return of the Living Dead III" (1993)
*** Ah, zombie love...{smile} ***
10/28- Fabrice du Welz's "Calvaire [The Ordeal]" (2005)
*** This French horor flick, brought to mind an interesting amalgamation of Resident Evil 4 + The Texas Chainsaw Massacre + Deliverance. The visuals were fantastic and it had some impressive camera work as well-- Most memorable and favorite scene of the film? The bar scene to be sure.. ***
10/29- James Gunn's "Slither" (2006)
10/30- Lucio Fulci's "The Beyond" (1981)
-------- George A. Romero's "Day of the Dead" (1985)
10/31- Mario Bava's "Black Sabbath" (1963)
-------- Lucio Fulci's "Zombi 2" (1979)
-------- Dario Argento's "Inferno" (1980)
*** ..and so another October draws to and end. I wasn't certain which route to go for my official Halloween movie selections, but as ya can see I went with some Italian cinema classics. Figured they fit the mood nicely dealing with topics of murderers, vampire-like creatures, ghosts, zombies, the occult, witches and gore. I feel quite proud of myself for staying true to my endeavor and making it through, it was enjoyable for sure. Beyond spending a good portion of my Halloween watching these movies, I managed to take a stroll around my neighborhood in casual costume to checkout a really cool haunted house setup that was done down the street from where I live--it was really, really rad and well and put together; definitely made me smile and feel nostalgic. Ah well, until next year.. ***