The next 10 horror movies watched for October:
The Crazies (2010) Damn this was a surprisingly awesome remake. Wasn't expecting that! It does kinda fall apart in the final act with some sloppy editing and effects during the action, but it's still very solid. Not as good as the original obviously and it drops all of Romero's social satire, but man was I engaged the whole time. Good casting too.
Azrael (2024) Holy shit this is one of those 'we put the lead actor through a gauntlet' movies. Samara Weaving is constantly running, hiding or fighting, constantly covered in blood and dirt, and she has no lines. There's almost no dialogue in this movie, and it's almost all filmed in the woods of Northern Europe. She's incredible in this, and now I need to see Ready or Not. It's also as much an action movie as it is a horror, so right up my alley.
Boys from County Hell (2020) Pretty cool Irish folklore twist on vampires, but also funny in that dry British style. The supporting cast is everything here for me, lots of familiar faces if you've been keeping up with Irish movies lately, like Nigel O'Neill. Good to know stuff like this still gets made in the 2020's.
The Descent: Part 2 (2009) I'd been lead to believe this was terrible, the worst sequel ever etc. What a load of dross. I liked it a lot. Was it much more mindless compared to the first? Sure. It's basically half jumpscares and half popcorn splatter. But because it was directed by Jon Harris who edited the first one, with most of the cast and crew returning, the continuity feels correct. If anything this feels like a fun encore after the more slow-burning and tense original. There's a lot of gushing, squirting blood in this!
Hellboy: The Crooked Man (2024) This is a version of Hellboy that, unlike Perlman's more dumb/action version, is actually quite intelligent. He's wise, he's very knowledgeable about the occult, but he's still sarcastic and grumpy. Kind of a 1950's meets Clint Eastwood version which I actually prefer over Perlman's, just in terms of personality.
The aesthetic is really great, the visuals are super ambitious, but that's also where the under-funding is most obvious, with the CGI looking a decade out of date at times.
It will probably flop and produce no sequels, which is a shame because this has the potential to be the most gritty and faithful to the source material of any Hellboy so far.
The Substance (2024) This feels to me like Demi Moore's career defining performance. Kinda strange to consider this a horror movie because so much of it takes place in daylight and is poppy and upbeat, with constant glamour shots of nude bodies and Margaret Qualley's butt! It's a testament to the director's ability that this feels as horrific and uneasy as it does, even before we get into all the crazy and disgusting Cronenberg worship body horror stuff. If this film doesn't convince directors to start using practical effects again, I don't know what will. Truly a feast for the eyes, especially that unhinged Henenlotter-esque final act.
The Demon Disorder (2024) This was pretty cool! The biggest issue though is that it awkwardly exists between a serious family drama and an Aussie comedy. I thought it was at its best when it was leaning into the horror comedy stuff, especially because one of the main characters is the hilarious cop from Undead. The practical effects in this are great too, with old school creature mutations and weird body horror growths and shit. Lots of fun, I just wish it went full comedy instead.
Pandemic (2016) Totally surprised by how low rated this was on the sites, did we watch the same movie? Pretty relentlessly bleak and gritty. The tone kinda reminds me of the early seasons of The Walking Dead, but most of the movie is shot POV-style via two cameras set into biohazard suit helmets, so the action feels like a first-person shooter. Very well done. It's also insanely violent. If you like survival horror and shoot 'em up action, you should like this. Basically it's Hardcore Henry meets 28 Weeks Later.
Cat Sick Blues (2015) Aussie bizarro slasher! Definitely one of the weirdest fever dream films I've seen in some time. I really wish I'd watched this years ago but I just kept putting it off. For a film that is so obviously wacky and comical, not only is it extremely graphic with impressive practical effects, but the kills and the killer himself are surprisingly creepy. The director somehow does this balancing act with the tones that I can't really compare to anything I've seen. Maybe Bag Boy Lover Boy comes close. I really loved everything at play here, especially the soundtrack, and the Cat Man himself seems like such an authentic weirdo.
Subject (2022) Another Aussie movie and another one of those cool horrors where the monster/creature symbolises some kind of family-based guilt or grief. This one is quite creative on what I assume is a low budget, mostly taking place in a one room, interspersed with old camera footage showing the lead's past with his family, as he's interrogated in the present. Very mysterious. Also very short at 77 minutes.
I didn't include Alien: Romulus here because enough has been said about it.