Cape Fear (1962)

October Challenge Day 17

I've been afraid - nay, terrified - of Robert Mitchum since I watched The Night of the Hunter. So I thought I would give this classic a go. Let's talk about (the original):

Cape Fear

This is a chiller, for sure! A man recently released from prison hunts down the witness who essentialy put him in prision and proceeds to torment his family. I say hunt, because that is what he is, a hunter, but he's also a stalker and psychopath. None of this is good for the good lawyers/witness.

When we are first introduced to the witness's family, his daughter gave me a jump scare. To my absolute astonishment, I legit could not tell if this kid was 13 or 33. I'm so, so, so sorry to the actress, Lori Martin, but the face straight-up frightened me. My brain short circuted and it never recovered. GADDAM

Back to the movie!

The family, aware of this unhinged ex-convict, try to hide out on a houseboat and that's when the shit really hits the fan. 

This is a fine film - a very solid thriller, but I felt it lacked something and I have no idea what it is. There is one scene, however, where our psychopath looks at a woman laying in a hotel bed and it is SO SCARY. His look, his face, is the thing of nightmares - particularly if you've experienced seeing that same look from a man and you know he's going to hurt you, badly. 

You know what he's going to do. You know she might not make it out of that hotel room alive. You know something very very very horrible is about to happen and there isn't a thing you can do about it. 

GAH. That scene alone is so awful, so, prepare youself. 

This movie actually makes me want to watch the 1991 remake, Cape Fear. As well as the recently released TV Series, Cape Fear! So stay turned for updates about those. 

Best watched late at night, alone, particularly when you are feeling especially safe. Pairs with something made from a 1950s cookbook. 

I watched this film on Amazon Prime, or use the Find It! Watch It! links on Horror Habit's sidebar to see where else you can find this solid classic that is deserving of all its remakes.

Reykjavik Whale Watching Massacre (2009)

October Challenge Day 16

Let's talk about the Icelandic unsupervised feral child that is: 

Reykjavik Whale Watching Massacre

Or as I was introduced to it as: Harpoon - Whale Watching Massacre

I was emotionally all over the place with this one. Let's see if I can parse it out....

First, this is the story of a group of tourists who want to see some whales, so they rent the sketchiest boat they can find. 

Everyone is terrible. The tourists are, comically, the worst type of tourists we can imagine, as if the characters were drunkenly drawn from the bowels of airport lounges.

I can't tell if the two young women are visitors from England or the US, but it doesn't matter - they are toxic, to each other, especially.

The Korean family.... yikes. YIKES. I'm sorry Korea.

The middle aged German ladies who say such things as: "I wouldn't mind being rescued by that black panther over there...." regarding the one black man who is the hero of the story and everyone wants.

The "Frenchman" who gets drunk, climbs up a mast and causes an accident which harpoons the Capitan, who is THE Gunnar Hansen - and that's when I realized how funny this film was. That's when I realized this was a tongue-in-cheek homage to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and that's when we meet the: 

"fishbillies"

Naturally, this crew of misfits get lost at sea and are hunted down by another ship that has more ill intentions then I could have imagined. 

I nearly rolled out of my couch, roaring with laughter, when one of the young women sadly started singing "It's Oh so Quiet (Blow a Fuse)" by Björk on the boat's intercom system - as everyone is scared out of their mind and there's a harpooned man on the ground.

HAHAHAHAHAHA Why did they do that? HAHAHAHAHAHA

This is an Icelandic gem - what kind of gem is yet to be determined. It rips and attacks so many different scenarios, people, and situations - just relentless and without care but with a bloody smile on its face that, by the end, you too will be laughing manically. 

In short, I'm still not sure how I feel about this film, exactly, but I can confidently say it is certainly it's own thing and taking no prisoners. Almost like a Viking. 

Thank you, Iceland, for creating this gross, gory, violent hot mess - I was honestly astonished, confused, and enteratained. 

I rented this film from Scarecrow Video or use the Find It! Watch It! links on Horror Habit's side bar to see where else you can find this one-of-a-kind feature.

Galaxy of Terror (1981)

October Challenge Day 15

Some might call this an Alien rip-off but I'm calling this a fever dream. Let's talk about the mess that is:

Galaxy of Terror

Where to begin...

So yes, while we do have a space crew out here - battling aliens and the aliens are taking out the crew one by one, these aliens mess with your brain and your body!

However, about 45 mins in, there is an alien rape scene that I was so wildly unprepared for I couldn't even put the image anywhere in my brain - and that's fine I suppose because I don't want it. Please take it back, Galaxy of Terror.

I walk into these films in October blind, folks. I had no idea what I had just witnessed was known. One minute I'm chillin' eating my broccoli mac n' cheese and the next I'm saying to myself "What the actual FUC!"

This is an '80s horror film so you know the practical effects are On Point, especially since it was inspired by Alien. Bonus a star-studded cast, including a sweet and innocent Robert Englund, a silent SigHaig, and a mean Grace Zabriskie - this film feels like it took itself a lot more seriously than I did when I put it on.

We have exploding heads, gratuitous violence, and a land found only in nightmares - a land that reveals itself in the end.... 

It's a good late night pick that I won't be voluntarily returning to (but if I walk into a place and it's playing in the background, I will watch it, there is a mesmerizing aspect about it....).

Watch with your best nerdy friends who want to argue about the meaning of life and fear's role in it. Pairs with food that sound terrible when your hear about it but is surprisingly good. 

I watched this film on Shudder or use the Find It! Watch It! links on Horror Habit's side bar to see where else you can find this cult classic[?]! 

PS: The poster really speaks to an era, doesn't it though?

The Hole in the Wall (1929)

October Challenge Day 14

What do you get when a psychic, who works for the mob, is suddenly killed in a freak train accident, and then a random young woman, seeking revenge, turns to the group of gangsters for assistance - and they turn her into the new "psychic".

You get:

The Hole in the Wall

A strange and wild ride into the underbelly of crime, spirits, psychics, and dangerous love.

There's a line here, said by a patron, that slayed me. The patron turned to the psychic for assistance, as her stocks were diving, and she wanted divine intervention. Taken back, I shouted to the TV: "Ma'am, It. Is. 1929 - I have bad news for you...."

This is a strange and creepy film that is sure to tickle the hearts of fans who like cinematically significant black and white classics. 

According to IMDB, here are some of the tag lines used to advertise one of the earliest talkies. I would have ran to the theater if I saw these:

"She Saw Too Much in the Realm of Spirits Beyond!" (Print Ad- The Journal and Republican, ((Lowville, NY)) 4 July 1929)

"Hear the Dead Speak!" (Print Ad- The Kyle News, ((Kyle, Texas)) 24 May 1929)

"A beautiful girl turns "spiritualist" for revenge! Her crook pals prey on the wealthy. A child is kidnapped. Terror! Thrills, Tremors!" (Print Ad- Bismarck Tribune, ((Bismarck, ND)) 8/8/29)

Hilariously, I stumbled across this film because I was looking for the 2019 The Hole in the Ground. Read my review here!

Pairs best with dark, stormy nights and whiskey on the rocks. 

I watched this film on the Roku Channel or use the Find It! Watch It! links on Horror Habit's side bar to see where else you can find this historic gem.

Hack-O-Lantern (1988)

October Challenge Day 13 

This is an absolutely zany movie where you'd totally expect to hear such lines as: "But he killed my boyfriend, Grandpa!!"

This is a Halloween/spooky season must watch - at least once - a MUST. Let's talk about the feral film that is: 

Hack-O-Lantern

It's a slasher film from 1988 so you already kinda know what to expect, but like every slasher film from 1988, you're never fully prepared. 

Naturally, (again, as a slasher from 1988) we have a lot of breasts, butts, puns, odd characters, creeps, and slap-sticks abound, but it's the family dynamics with this one that really took me out. 

TOOK ME OUT

SLAYED ME

This is the story of a grandfather who leads a satanic cult and kills his grandkids' father (.... if they really were his kids....) on Halloween night. 

Years later, the family tries to keep it together but lispy grandpa won't let them. Everyone is dying and Mom can't catch a break.

Hy Pike is monstrously fun in this film - just an absolute lunatic. Brava!

This is my kind of trash, however, so I was fully invested. Well, mostly invested. I had it on while I was trying to find a way to preserve onions in pantyhose - we'll see how well that worked out in a month or so. In short, together, this film and I were just being delightful menaces. 

This film is messy *MESSY*, hilarious, and an absolute great time. Come for the devil masks, stay for the garden tool swashbuckling. Watch with friends just before heading out for a party or haunted house. 

Speaking of haunted houses and since it's the extra spooky day of October 13th - I recently went to a haunted corn maze and had the best time! Nature could not have been more perfect, with the crisp air and natural fog making the entire experience all that much better. 

It's hard to describe the gleeful, deeply freeing feeling of running through rows of corn, in the dark, and people are jumping out to scare you for delight - best I can do is say: I've been looking forward to this all year.

Shout out to Stalker Farms for putting on a great attraction! If you live in the Pacific Northwest, I highly recommend checking it out (and be sure to get the VIP tickets. Those lines to get in were LONG). 

A visual little treat at the end of the attraction

I couldn't believe this exit!

A quiet moment in the corn

Speechless 

I rented this film from Scarecrow Video or use the Find It! Watch It! links on Horror Habit's side bar to see where else you can find this hot mess.