1980s movies, werewolves, and Coronavirus-inspired films
In March, I didn’t read a thing. At least, I didn’t finish anything. Too much stress and work left me little time to read. I watched a lot of movies; 25, in fact! Everything I watched is available to stream currently, and most of it is on free platforms like Tubi and Crackle.
Revisiting Old Favorites
Candyman, The Cabin in the Woods, The Stuff, Night of the Living Dead, Escape from New York, Quarantine, Attack the Block, Right at Your Door, American Werewolf in Paris, and The Witch were all rewatches. I think Paris is a terrible movie, but I was in the mood to watch a bad 90s horror. It’s unfortunate that both the story and effects were disappointing; it was risky to go with all-CGI effects, and the results were laughable. There were a number of scenes in the film that could have been awesome (like the church party) had the effects been decent.
Movies From 1984
I knocked out five films from my Birth Year Challenge: Wes Craven’s Invitation to Hell, Splatter University, The Muppets Take Manhattan, C.H.U.D., and The Company of Wolves. Wait, what’s a birth year challenge, you ask? It’s when you watch as many movies as years you’ve been alive, with the goal of completing before your birthday. (If you can’t finish before your birthday, add another movie.) What makes it difficult is that the movies have to be first-time watches. Here’s my Letterboxd list of 1984 films that I’m choosing from.
I was surprised by how much I enjoyed Invitation to Hell and C.H.U.D. I thought I was a Craven fan but I didn’t even know Hell existed until I was researching films released in 1984. Hell was a TV movie starring Susan Lucci as a fabulously dressed villain. Interestingly, both Splatter and C.H.U.D. had scenes discussing abortion that framed it as a woman’s choice. That was nice to see! Splatter otherwise was a bit disappointing although I liked the female lead. Manhattan is the setting for both Muppets and C.H.U.D., and in both movies the city was ready to eat its characters alive. Of course, the Muppets movie is much more light-hearted and was exactly what I needed to decompress from a stressful week. But by far my favorite film out of the bunch was The Company of Wolves. It was a dreamy, atmospheric, fairy tale horror. There’s also a couple of damn good wolf transformation scenes that are some of the best I’ve seen. Well worth the few bucks it cost me to rent on Prime.
Another werewolf movie I watched was Bad Moon. I paired it with American Werewolf in Paris, with Bad Moon being my palate cleanser. After Paris, anything would seem like a masterpiece I suppose. But Bad Moon was legitimately good. The werewolf effects are decent, and weren’t reliant on CGI; this was a smart move. But the best part of this movie is THOR THE DOG. Thor is the family dog who knows the Uncle is a werewolf, and he stole the show. I want my own Thor. Dog lovers must watch this movie!
Pandemic Marathon
I was in the mood to watch movies appropriate for the Coronavirus lockdown/quarantine, and then created a list which you can check it out here. I won’t rehash the movies, but the ones not previously mentioned in this post included:
- Take Shelter
- The Neighbor Zombie
- Containment
- High Rise
- The Carrier
I also watched the Korean film The Flu, which I didn’t include in my pandemic post only because it’s available on Prime, which is not a free service. I would definitely recommend it, if you can stand watching something hitting a little close to home – it’s got some great tension and definitely had me emotional at times!
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Cult Movie Challenge
I’m still behind on a few weeks in my ongoing cult movie challenge. For PM Entertainment Week, I watched Cyber Tracker. I never heard of the movie before, and it was super ridiculous – about what I expected from the poster and synopsis. Great for a laugh, and for Don “The Dragon” Wilson eye candy. For Bruno Mattei week, I found The Other Hell available to stream. I thought it was better than the reviews made it out to be, but likely something I won’t be revisiting. I had never seen a nunsploitation film before, so that aspect made it fun.
Finally, something cozy
I enjoyed a cozy watch with the BBC adaptation of a chilling M.R. James story, A View From a Hill. Yes, horror can be cozy! Highly recommend you make a cup of tea, get under a blanket and watch this unsettling ghost story. It’s under an hour long, available on the FilmRise Horror channel for free, and also on Prime.
If you’re on Letterboxd, feel free to add me. I log every movie I watch.
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