Alligator (1980): 7/10




I remember this movie scaring the CRAP out of me when I watched it on TV around the age of thirteen or fourteen (back in the days when channel 38 showed gory horror and action movies with virtually no edits to the violence, like this and The Terminator, which didn't even snip Arnie's "F*ck yuoh, azzhole" line ), but viewed today, it's fairly cheesy stuff, albeit still fun for monster movie fans. Score by Crag Hundley, with ample use of his Blaster Beam BOW-BOW-ing away.

The Fly (1958): 8/10



The Fly (1986): 9/10




"help me! heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeellllllllllllllllppppppppppppppppp meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

THE FLY is one of Cronenberg's greatest achievements, and also one of his most emotionally moving films for me. The gun scene towards the end always gets me - also feel that Howard Shore's score is just right for the movie. Well done.

Monterey Jack wrote:(back in the days when channel 38 showed gory horror and action movies with virtually no edits to the violence, like this and The Terminator, which didn't even snip Arnie's "F*ck yuoh, azzhole" line )

Hahahahahahahahaha, YES. Channel 38. I remember Andy and I talking about that exact same thing (and that exact same TERMINATOR line) a few years ago over email. JAWS 3 was another shining light of bad words and violence from my formative years.

I'll never forget when Channel 38 showed SWEPT AWAY..., which was complete and uncut, and which I had on my bedroom TV. I remember my godfather Uncle Billy telling my dad not to miss it -- and then my dad telling ME to turn it off after seeing the content it contained! lol. I can't remember if I was in 7th or 8th grade, but it was awesome...my first taste of real on-screen sex and nudity (up until that point I had only seen Cannon Group movies, ALIENS and WITNESS -- stuff like that).

I don't know how Channel 38 managed to show those occasionally unedited movies -- remember when they aired THE DEER HUNTER, and it was actually uncut and LETTERBOXED? They had to have shown it more than a half-dozen times that I can recall.

I also had my letter to ASK THE MANAGER read on the air...I still have the tape of it too!

AndyDursin wrote:I also had my letter to ASK THE MANAGER read on the air...I still have the tape of it too!

Put it on YouTube! I'd love to see it. It was always a geeky thrill as a kid to have a letter you wrote to a magazine or comic book appear in print.

Anyways, shifting gears to funnier, lighter Halloween fare, appropriate for all ages...

Wallace & Gromit: Curse Of The Were-Rabbit (2005): 9/10



Toy Story Of Terror! (2013): 8/10

IN THE MOUTH OF MADNESS
5.5/10



One of John Carpenter’s few decent films of the last 20 years (faint praise as that may be), “In the Mouth of Madness” stars Sam Neill as an insurance adjuster hired by publisher Charlton Heston to track down the whereabouts of M.I.A. bestselling horror novelist Sutter Cane (Jurgen Prochnow). Along with book editor Julie Carmen, Neill travels to a small New Hampshire town where Cane’s insane mind is slowly starting to come to physical life, with slithery creatures and possessed townsfolk making for a particularly unpleasant stay for our narcissistic and increasingly demented protagonist.

New Line’s Michael DeLuca scripted “In the Mouth of Madness,” which has a definite feel of an H.P. Lovecraft story working for it. Like a lot of Carpenter’s films, however, the set-up is more compelling and satisfying than the resolution, with the director producing a number of unsettling shocks and creating a moody atmosphere in the film’s initial stages. Once Prochnow shows up as Cane, however, the movie falls apart and has nowhere to go, ending on a dismal note with one of Carpenter’s worst “rock fusion” scores adding further insult. A good supporting cast (John Glover, David Warner, Heston, Bernie Casey) also has precious little to do during this early '95 box-office bomb. Though admired by the director's devotees, I confess I have a softer spot for Carpenter's subsequent outing -- the underrated 1996 remake of "Village of the Damned," which featured one of Christopher Reeve's strongest late-career performances (and opened shortly before his tragic accident).

mkaroly wrote:THE FLY is one of Cronenberg's greatest achievements, and also one of his most emotionally moving films for me. The gun scene towards the end always gets me - also feel that Howard Shore's score is just right for the movie. Well done.

Croneberg's film is one of the best horror movies of the 80s, and Shore's score very effective.

Still, while it's not as good a film, I honestly always found the original Fly more disturbing -- the idea of an otherwise normal man who finds himself with a fly's head (and having lost the fly wearing his head) is infinitely more horrific to me than a guy who is slowly transforming into a fly. Though it's not at all scientific that he would retain his human brain inside the fly's head, the movie still creeps me out. The spider scene is also extremely disturbing. I honestly never want to see that film again!

The spider scene is also extremely disturbing. I honestly never want to see that film again!

Once was more than enough...one of the most disturbing things EVER put on-screen!

Carrie (1976): 10/10



A masterpiece. No matter how many times I watch it, I'm still entranced. One of Brian De Palma's greatest films.

The Prowler (1981): 7.5/10



Decent suspense, excellent Tom Savini effects.

Revenge of the nerds, Stephen King-style.

Carrie (2013): 6/10



Christine (1983): 8/10

Cujo (1983): 9/10



One of the most underrated Stephen King adaptations...taut, beautifully filmed and boasting an excellent Charles Bernstein score.

The Dead Zone (1983): 9/10



One of the most haunting and eloquent Stephen King adaptations ever, with a superb Christopher Walken performance, a tragically melancholic tone and a mournful Michael Kame score that ranks with his best work. And probably one of the most restrained films David Cronenberg has ever directed.

Prince Of Darkness (1987): 6.5/10



Buh?

LOL. The beginning of the end for Johnny C's career really.