[Cal.]

Halloween (1978)

My favourite horror film of all time. The best saved for last BY FAR. I love EVERYTHING about this film. The soundtrack, the Halloween feel, the suspense building up through the ENTIRE film and coming to an amazing climax at the end, the characters and the intensity of some of the scenes. Michael Myers is the best slasher villain by far (Jason, Freddy and Leatherface are trash compared to Michael sorry about it) and it features the best horror character of all time Lynda Van Der Klok . Jamie Lee Curtis is amazing as Laurie too but Nancy Kyes is so ****ing annoying as Nancy. My favourite thing about the film is the lack of gore, I'm not necessarily against it in horror films but I love how this film can suggest everything without showing it and still make it creepy and terrifying and although the body count is not particularly high compared to other horror films it doesn't feel boring at any point and is paced fantastically. I also love how it doesn't use the typical suspense and then jump scare method like other horror films, it builds up the suspense until you think something's going to happen and then nothing happens - and then delivers the jump scare a few moments after you've relaxed yourself. I could go on forever about this film but I'll keep it short. My love for this film and the franchise only gets bigger as each Halloween season rolls around and I'll be making sure this is on the list again next year. 10/10 for sure.

[Jason.]

[Jason.]

I'll be watching this tommorow night alongside H2 and H20. <33

I'll review You're Next.

[Jason.]

You're Next

I'd never seen this one before so I was looking forwards to watching something new. I went into this not really knowing what it was about or what to expect but I really enjoyed this. The film is a mixture of both slasher and home invasion and it combines the two effectively.

Despite the inconsistencies that Cal mentioned, the pacing of the film was fine to me. The first twenty minutes are just getting to know the family before they're all killed left and right for the remainder of the film. The majority of the characters are likeable. Erin is a great final girl; well-developed, smart, rootable, strong and badass. I loved her and I was so disappointed when I originally thought she was killed by her own trap at the end so I was relieved to find out it was infact the policeman that died.

The relationship between the family members are interesting and realistic. Although I feel the mother was killed off too soon and could've been used more </3 Felix and Zee being revealed as the ones behind it all with the hiring of the assassins to murder the family for their inheritance was a sick, yet satisfying motive (I love it tbh). Crispian being in on the plan was an interesting twist but I think it could've been executed much better.

There are some great kills in this too. Aimee's death where she runs into a wire that slashes her throat is a stand-out kill for me as that combined with the slow-motion of the scene made it all the more suspenseful. Kelly and Felix's blender death were also good ones.

My only flaw with this would be that I wish it was more suspenseful. The film wasn't overly thrilling and it didn't leave me on the edge of my seat despite being quite action packed in some parts.

7.5/10

[Cal.]

Aimee's death where she runs into a wire that slashes her throat is a stand-out kill for me as that combined with the slow-motion of the scene made it all the more suspenseful.

I thought this was hilarious.

The fact they let the baby sister of the family go out to fend off the bad guys is an absolute scream when she has her father and 3 older brothers there.

[Jason.]

Originally Posted by Cal.

I thought this was hilarious.

The fact they let the baby sister of the family go out to fend off the bad guys is an absolute scream when she has her father and 3 older brothers there.

That whole scene was such a mess. She was going on about how nobody ever believed in her or s/t

[Lostie!]

You're Next: 8.5/10

I really wasn't expecting much from this so I was really impressed by how enjoyable it was. There's a brilliant atmosphere built up in the early portion of the film and the animal mask imagery is of course creepy as hell. The dark comedy aspect also works really well also, it manages to be genuinely humorous without delving into over the top parody levels.

The twists with Felix, Zee and Crispian were brilliant, did not see those coming at all. And even better is that it explains some quibbles I had earlier in the movie like Crispian's response to his family being slaughtered being oddly understated and Felix not volunteering to be the one to make a run for it.

Also I absolutely loved Erin, such a rootable protagonist (I remember her from Home and Away ). Shame she'll probably be blamed for the massacre.

Ranking:
1. You're Next (8.5/10)
2. Carrie (8/10)
3. Jeepers Creepers (8/10)
4. The Shining (8/10)
5. The Hills Have Eyes (7/10)
6. Cherry Falls (6/10)

I'll watch TCM when I get home tomorrow then Trick r Treat and Halloween later in the evening (which works perfectly given the date )

[Cal.]

Happy Halloween everyone thanks for sticking with it!

[Jason.]

How bloody rude @ 15 people agreeing to be reviewers yet only about 5 people have stuck with it!

Happy Halloween

Thanks for running this again Cal. You've put so much effort in and I've enjoyed it just as much as I did last year.

[Lostie!]

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: 7/10

This is alright for what it is. As far as horror movies go, it's extremely generic and unoriginal but if you're looking for something new then you probably wouldn't go for this anyway. It's a passable creepy movie with some legitimately unsettling sequences, like the documentary footage at the end (the grainy freeze frame of Leatherface is chilling) and the shot of Leatherface wearing Kemper's face works well.

But on the whole its scares are mainly derived from how grotesque and gruesome it can be, which doesn't do much for me if it's not backed up by much substance but for what it is, it could do a lot worse.

Ranking:
1. You're Next (8.5/10)
2. Carrie (8/10)
3. Jeepers Creepers (8/10)
4. The Shining (8/10)
5. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (7/10)
6. The Hills Have Eyes (7/10)
7. Cherry Falls (6/10)

[Jamie89]

Happy Halloween everyone, and yes thanks Cal for doing this

Sorry I didn't end up having chance to watch them all (although I'm still going to for completions sake it'll just be late)

I've watched Jeepers Creepers and Trick R Treat though and I'll post my reviews for them tomorrow morning. (Trick R Treat was amazing )

[Lostie!]

Originally Posted by Jamie89

Happy Halloween everyone, and yes thanks Cal for doing this

Sorry I didn't end up having chance to watch them all (although I'm still going to for completions sake it'll just be late)

I've watched Jeepers Creepers and Trick R Treat though and I'll post my reviews for them tomorrow morning. (Trick R Treat was amazing )

I adore it, a must for Halloween. Excited to watch it later

[Jason.]

Yeah I kinda wish I saved Trick 'r Treat for tonight. The Halloween atmosphere in it is amazing. There's always next year I guess.

[Cal.]

Originally Posted by Jason.

How bloody rude @ 15 people agreeing to be reviewers yet only about 5 people have stuck with it!

Happy Halloween

Thanks for running this again Cal. You've put so much effort in and I've enjoyed it just as much as I did last year.

Originally Posted by Jamie89

Happy Halloween everyone, and yes thanks Cal for doing this

Sorry I didn't end up having chance to watch them all (although I'm still going to for completions sake it'll just be late)

I've watched Jeepers Creepers and Trick R Treat though and I'll post my reviews for them tomorrow morning. (Trick R Treat was amazing )

[Jamie89]

Originally Posted by Lostie!

I adore it, a must for Halloween. Excited to watch it later

I'd never seen it before so it was such a nice surprise, I'd never even heard of it or knew anything about it so I had zero expectations, but I absolutely loved it

[Lostie!]

Trick 'r Treat: 10/10

I don't usually give out full marks for anything but I just absolutely love this movie. It's absolutely perfect for Halloween, it captures the atmosphere perfectly. I also love that it's a collection of short stories that overlap with one another rather than one continuous story, this format works perfectly for this sort of movie (it's like Love Actually's evil twin ) and it's one of the most genuinely fun movies I can think of.

The way they play with the structure and the timeline is really cool and I love how it comes full circle with the opening scene being revisited in the end. And of course, each story having a big twist was great. The first time I saw it i was genuinely gobsmacked by the werewolf and bus driver twists (and when rewatching it, there are so many great lines of foreshadowing for the werewolves).

Sam is a brilliant character. The physical embodiment of Halloween going around as a young trick or treater punishing people who don't respect the customs is such a neat concept and his physical design (both his costume and real face) are great. I especially love how he just silently shows up at certain points throughout the movie leading up to his big reveal scene. Also his name being a reference to Samhain is a nice touch.

I know Halloween is the most iconic movie for, well, Halloween but for me, Trick 'r Treat is the movie to watch on the night.

Ranking:
1. Trick 'r Treat (10/10)
2. You're Next (8.5/10)
3. Carrie (8/10)
4. Jeepers Creepers (8/10)
5. The Shining (8/10)
6. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (7/10)
7. The Hills Have Eyes (7/10)
8. Cherry Falls (6/10)

[Jamie89]

Jeepers Creepers 7.5/10

I thought Justin Long was really likeable and a strong lead... and it's quite unusual to have a strong male lead in teen horror films like this, I can't think of many. It's only a small-ish thing but it's something that helps make the film stand out from a lot of others. In fact I found the gender roles quite interesting in general, like the scene near the beginning where the two of them are arguing over whether or not to go back and check the pipe, Justin is established as being moral and courageous, and the girl is established as a jerk It just struck me as really unusual when one of the most common tropes in films like this is 'the final girl'/ingenue, and male characters tend to be portrayed quite negatively, in fact if you watch that scene and imagine the gender roles switched it comes across much more cliched. So I felt like they avoided some typical teen-horror stereotypes and that was a nice touch (although they could have carried it through to the end and had him be the one who survived - and by ending it the way they did I felt a bit like they were playing it safe). But anyway none of that really matters it's just something that I noticed. Also, on the two main characters, I agree with what other people have said in that I liked their brother/sister relationship and that it was a really good dynamic to see.

The Creeper was a great character. After they ran it over and the wing shot out from it's body, I was genuinely freaked out. It was a great moment and I wasn't expecting it at all. And then learning more about it, they gave it a really good backstory. I loved the design of it too.

Overall it was a well made film, it had a good atmosphere, good characters and premise... I dunno though, I just don't feel that enthusiastic about it. Like I have no real faults with it, but at the same time I could quite happily never watch it again. So maybe a stingy 7.5/10, maybe it deserves more than that. I'd recommend it to other people... but although I appreciated it, it didn't really grab me beyond that.

[Jamie89]

Trick r Treat - 9/10

Trick r Treat was such a nice surprise Totally different to what I was expecting (I'm not sure what I was expecting really, just a typical horror I suppose). It felt more like an ode to horror films though, and in particular, Halloween as an event. And as a big fan of Halloween that's something that totally connected with me. And as an ode it worked brilliantly! It was like one long advert for Halloween in a way In fact this film, more-so than any other that's been in the countdown (or any that I can think of off the top of my head) put me in the mood for Halloween, and I know that it will now be one that I'll want to watch every year to get me in the mood - so thank you Lostie for suggesting it and everyone who voted for it as otherwise it might have completely passed me by.

It's so hard to fault because everything it does, it does well. It was scary/funny/eerie all in good measure. Like Jason said, it's sense of fun really stands out, and it's just very enjoyable throughout. It was a film full of surprises in the plot, and each segment led seamlessly to the next - and back again... I mean it could have been confusing had it not been handled so well but even though you were going from one story to another, it just worked. It all slotted together perfectly.

In terms of plot surprises, my favourite one was the reveal of the women being werewolves. But literally all of the stories were great and the surprises executed wonderfully.

The core concept of this film, I just think is brilliant in it's simplicity. Basically there's no reason for the people to die other than just the fact that it's Halloween. It's not a killer with a convoluted storyline It's like it's Halloween itself taking people out for not respecting it, and I love that!

The only reason I'm not giving it a 10 is because I'd really only give it that depending on it's re-watch value, and obviously I can't judge that yet... I will be able to next year though so if when it's on the list again next time I might!

[Jason.]

Originally Posted by Jamie89

Jeepers Creepers 7.5/10

Justin is established as being moral and courageous, and the girl is established as a jerk

Patricia Jenner is amazing, mister.

No I do get what you're saying lol. Although her decision with wanting to carry on driving home and not go back would've been much smarter in the end as it probably would've saved Darry's life and them being terrorised by The Creeper.

[Jason.]

Originally Posted by Lostie!

Trick 'r Treat: 10/10

I know Halloween is the most iconic movie for, well, Halloween but for me, Trick 'r Treat is the movie to watch on the night.

Halloween is iconic all year around! But yeah you and Jamie have kinda inspired me to start watching this on the actual night of Halloween as opposed to a few days before so I'll be doing that next year.

Trick 'r Treat first and then Halloween (and II) followed straight after!

[Lostie!]

Oh I found Trish annoying too

Originally Posted by Jason.

Halloween is iconic all year around! But yeah you and Jamie have kinda inspired me to start watching this on the actual night of Halloween as opposed to a few days before so I'll be doing that next year.

Trick 'r Treat first and then Halloween (and II) followed straight after!

I think the fact that I only watch it once a year adds to my enjoyment too, it never gets boring.

[Lostie!]

Originally Posted by Jamie89

Trick r Treat - 9/10

Trick r Treat was such a nice surprise Totally different to what I was expecting (I'm not sure what I was expecting really, just a typical horror I suppose). It felt more like an ode to horror films though, and in particular, Halloween as an event. And as a big fan of Halloween that's something that totally connected with me. And as an ode it worked brilliantly! It was like one long advert for Halloween in a way In fact this film, more-so than any other that's been in the countdown (or any that I can think of off the top of my head) put me in the mood for Halloween, and I know that it will now be one that I'll want to watch every year to get me in the mood - so thank you Lostie for suggesting it and everyone who voted for it as otherwise it might have completely passed me by.

It's so hard to fault because everything it does, it does well. It was scary/funny/eerie all in good measure. Like Jason said, it's sense of fun really stands out, and it's just very enjoyable throughout. It was a film full of surprises in the plot, and each segment led seamlessly to the next - and back again... I mean it could have been confusing had it not been handled so well but even though you were going from one story to another, it just worked. It all slotted together perfectly.

In terms of plot surprises, my favourite one was the reveal of the women being werewolves. But literally all of the stories were great and the surprises executed wonderfully.

The core concept of this film, I just think is brilliant in it's simplicity. Basically there's no reason for the people to die other than just the fact that it's Halloween. It's not a killer with a convoluted storyline It's like it's Halloween itself taking people out for not respecting it, and I love that!

The only reason I'm not giving it a 10 is because I'd really only give it that depending on it's re-watch value, and obviously I can't judge that yet... I will be able to next year though so if when it's on the list again next time I might!

I'm glad you loved it so much!

I only discovered it by accident a few years ago, it's so criminally underrated. It deserves to be far more well known (but it has a really strong cult following )

[Jason.]

Originally Posted by Lostie!

Oh I found Trish annoying too

I'm sorry.

I think the fact that I only watch it once a year adds to my enjoyment too, it never gets boring.

I do that too. I'm like that with the Halloween films also. Despite loving the original and franchise so much, I just can't watch them in June or any other time than October / during the run-up to Halloween.

I think it's because the Halloween atmosphere is so strong in Trick 'r Treat that it just feels odd watching it outside of Halloween really. And like you say the boredom thing as well, it makes you look forwards to it more when you watch it once a year at a certain time - it's like tradition.

[Lostie!]

Originally Posted by Jason.

I'm sorry.

Originally Posted by Jason.

I do that too. I'm like that with the Halloween films also. Despite loving the original and franchise so much, I just can't watch them in June or any other time than October / during the run-up to Halloween.

I think it's because the Halloween atmosphere is so strong in Trick 'r Treat that it just feels odd watching it outside of Halloween really. And like you say the boredom thing as well, it makes you look forwards to it more when you watch it once a year at a certain time - it's like tradition.

Yeah exactly, there's always parts of it I've forgotten about because it's been so long.

Did you know the guy who did Trick 'r Treat was also behind Krampus? I haven't watched that yet, might give it a watch nearer Christmas.

[Lostie!]

Oh and unrelated sort of but I found out the actor who played Sam in Trick 'r Treat was Hansel (as in Hansel and Gretel) in Once Upon a Time and I can't believe it (that's my ultimate guilty pleasure show and I never knew Hansel was our very own demon pumpkin trick or treater).