October Movie Thrill-a-thon III — 2017 Edition
October means it’s time to hunker down and watch some thrilling movies while watching the daylight hours grow shorter. That’s right, it’s Thrill-athon month! Originally started in 2015, this is a tradition where we watch movies that adhere to, roughly, the following parameters: involves ghosts, the devil (or preferrably devil babies), mystery, the undead, the occult, the supernatural, murder, or suspense. Films that heavily rely on gore or jump scares have to be really fun to be included.
★ — Wish I hadn’t
★★ — Meh
★★★ — Worth a watch
★★★★ — Killer
Unexpected Gems
Get Out
★★★★ A Masterpiece. This is a very, very good movie any time of year. It’s so well constructed, from the story, to the casting and acting, to the symbolism woven throughout. That’s without even considering the cultural importance of this film. I think this should have won best picture. Therefore, it obviously belongs at the very top of any Thrill-a-thon list.
Little Evil
★★★★ Setting aside our household-wide crush on Adam Scott, this movie is great. It’s not subversive or groundbreaking, but it takes the Devil Child theme and puts a very fun and original spin on it. A new favorite.
Videodrome
★★★ Mysterious, disorienting, and weird. The story is still fresh even if the visuals are not. This is just a weird movie, but it’s a perfect thrill-a-thon movie.
Turds
Cube
★ How this movie gets 60% on RT I have no idea. I don’t think I’m giving anything away by saying this entire thing is filmed inside a cube. Sure, they are different cubes but, come on, you know they just had one cube set. Anyway, if the whole movie is in essentially one location, the dialog and character development had better be DAMN good. Guess what? It’s not. Not even close. That makes this movie very, very frustrating to watch since all there is to focus on is the annoying dialog and annoying characters who are, BAH, it’s just so annoying. I hated this movie.
Pet Sematary
★ I REALLY wanted to like this movie. The first time I saw it was in the theater, and it was the first movie I ever saw with a girl. She kept grabbing my arm which I thought was the best thing ever. So, I kinda didn’t pay much attention to the movie. On this second viewing I didn’t pay much attention either because it’s so bad. I think the translation from book to movie just didn’t cut it this time.
Maximum Overdrive
★ I think the translation from book to movie that book’s author decided to direct didn’t cut it this time. Not even close. Watch the first scene, which is funny, but then turn it off.
My Bloody Valentine
★ Wow was this movie ever bad. It’s not even fun bad. It’s just irritating, and bad. Did I mention it’s not good?
Classics and The Rest
- Hocus Pocus — It’s ok
- Rosemary’s Baby — A Triumph
- Shaun of the Dead — A Triumph
- Donnie Darko — I like it ok!
- Sleepaway Camp — A Classic
