OCTOBER HORROR MOVIE CHALLENGE (10/17)

Challenge Totals to Date:

Movies Watched Today: 5
Total Movies Watched: 60
Total First Time Views: 31
Scare-A-Thon Donations: $1491.00

Remember, if you would like to make a pledge toward Scare-A-Thon 2015 (benefiting PLANNED PARENTHOOD and GREENHOUSE SHELTER) at any time, drop me an email at drach101@gmail.com to say how much you would like to pledge. Your donation is tax deductible and, seriously, even a penny per film helps.

56.
Reflection of Fear (1972) d. Fraker, William A. (USA) (1st viewing) 90 min

Twisted little flick starring Sondra Locke as a sheltered, sensitive child yearning to connect with her absent father (Robert Shaw), perhaps more than socially acceptable. To further complicate matters, she projects her more hostile emotions onto her favorite doll “Aaron,” even going so far as to take on his persona (a la Mother Bates) to express them fully. This spells trouble for her own mater (Mary Ure), her prospective stepmother (Sally Kellerman), and, well, pretty much anyone else.

57.
The Bad Seed (1956) d. LeRoy, Mervyn (USA) (3rd viewing) 129 min

The Original Killer Kid Movie, with most of the Broadway cast expertly recreating their stage roles, including Nancy Kelly as the beleaguered mother who slowly comes to suspect that her angelic little daughter, Rhoda Penmark (Patty McCormack), may be a cold-blooded murdereress. So many great lines and performances, with quite possibly my favorite ending movie moment, like, EVER. (This astonishing jaw-dropping WTF was imposed by the heavy-handed censors, changing the play’s downbeat ending, as well as demanding a hilariously artificial “curtain call.”)

58.
Deadly Lessons (1983) d. Wiard, William (USA) (1st viewing) 100 min

Dandy little TV-movie body-count flick with all the pretty little maids at Donna Reed’s exclusive finishing school getting bumped off by a mysterious killer, and no shortage of suspects for Larry Wilcox’s frustrated cop to shake down. Lots of familiar and to-be familiar faces in the cast, including Diane Franklin, Ally Sheedy, Nancy Cartwright (aka Bart Simpson), Bill Paxton, and Rick Rossovich.

59.
Hide and Creep (2004) d. Harstell, Chuck / Shirley, Chance (USA) (1st viewing) 85 min

Wow, this $20,000 Southern-fried zombie flick is sooooooo much funnier than anyone (meaning me) would ever have guessed it would be. It’s a mix between Clerks (clever commenting on pop trivia) and Night of the Living Dead, with an Alabama accent. Not all the jokes land, nor do all the performances deliver the groceries, but overall it’s a good 'un.

60.
Night Train to Terror (1985) d. Various (USA) (1st viewing) 93 min

More like Train Wreck to Terror! This bizarre hodgepodge of an anthology flick has God and Satan riding a mystery locomotive with a pop band (complete with backup dancers), debating over the fates of three different protagonists. The first two stories are directed by John Carr, the third directed by three more directors, the wraparound helmed by producer Jay Schlossberg Cohen, and all of it written by classic Hollywood screenwriter (Detective Story, King of Kings, 55 Days at Peking) Philip Yordan. Tons of female nudity, decent splatter, stop-motion monster effects by Anthony Doublin and William R. Stromberg, and Richard Moll in two of the three sections keep things lively, and it’s all so batcrap bonkers that it approaches fever dream terrain. Definitely worth seeking out, perhaps as a centerpiece for your next Turkey Day.

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