No One Will Save You (2023)

October Challenge Day 11

Well I loved the SHIT out of this!! Let's talk about the petrifying and stellar story of:

No One Will Save You

First and foremost, this should have had some time in the movie theaters. It's a shame for us all that it didn't.

Secondly, with almost no dialog, this film, most impressively, had my rapt attention!

This is the story of a lonely young woman, socially isolated by some wrong she did in the past, who - one night - wakes up to find a comically typical looking alien in her house. 

Now, although this alien is a 1950s style alien, don't mistake its menace. These things are downright Scary! And I mean, scary scary!!

When it first started to get going, I thought to myself that it feels as if someone saw the Season 2, Episode 15 of the Twilight Zone and got inspired... and then I saw Stephen King essentially said the same thing, according to IMDB Triva, and now I have complicated but honored feels about my noticing the same thing he did.

Back to the story:

The woman and alien battle it out with profound tension (there is profound tension throughout the whole film, by the way) and things get so much more worse for her by morning.

This is a fast-paced, non-stop, thrill ride of very scary proportions. I had no idea where it was going, no idea what to expect, and the aliens managed to get more and more frightening. 

I don't think I watch a lot of alien films but when I do, I am thankful to have found gems.

Now, I would have liked to see more practical effects over the CGI, but the monsters were still pretty well done all the same. 

IMPORTANT: Watch with headphones on - or in a room with a great sound system!

This would make for a great movie watching experience at night, in a fully dark room. Pairs with theater snacks and drinks. Watch with friends and family (recommended, so you can talk about the ending, especially) or alone!

I watched this film  on the Roku Channel (in fact, Roku picked it out for me....) or use the Find It! Watch It! Links on Horror Habit's side bar to see where else you can find this stellar alien invasion!

Braindead aka Dead Alive (1992)

October Challenge Day 10

The other day I went to Scarecrow Video, as it was rent one get one free day, and browsed through their staff's hand-picked Halloween choices. 

I found three I hadn't seen before and then I saw this film:

Braindead aka Dead Alive

I have seen this gruesome film before and thoroughly enjoyed it! Even added it to my 2018 50 Movies You May Have Missed List!

So I decided to re-watch it and took my selection to the front desk for check out. It was discovered then, that they were actually out of this film and it was a mix-up. 

Now, this was not a problem for me, I had seen the film already anyway and saw others I could check out. Except, the staff alerted me there was one more edition available. 

Okay, fine, I'll check that one out then. A DVD was then pulled from the back of the store.

As they were checking me out, the clerk added "Oh, and there is a $200 deposit for this", pointing to Braindead.

Me: Say what now?

I love my local non-profit video store. I love all the work they did to get me a copy. I said, "Okay".

And that was a first for me! Flushing out $200 to *rent a movie*. There is a first for everything! Apparently I rented a 2001 foreign and out of print edition!

*(Update: I later found that I had watched the German Cut or Blood Edition, of this film.)*

My brother looked at me and said "Don't break it". Such a bro thing to say to his big sister...

But this really is such a boy film. I wish I had better words. It's just so gross, over the top, gnarly, reckless, goofy, grotesquely comical, absolutely hilarious, visually over-the-top, inappropriate, vaudevillian, and did I mention GROSS GROSS GROSS?

Don't forget the dialogue which has such gems as: "I kick ass for the lord!" (slays me every time). 

This is the story of a New Zealand young man, living with his overbearing mother - a mother who is bit by a monster monkey at the zoo and turned into the living dead.

Absolute. And I mean, Absolute Mayhem proceeds. 

I watched this film first thing on a Saturday morning. May I suggest, perhaps, an evening watch, long after a meal. 

This film is so fun, the body horror and practical effects are exquisite - TOP TIER - and you can't help but find the entire film wildly entertaining. Hell, there's even a love story! Something for everyone!

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

Garfield’s Halloween Adventure (1985)

October Challenge Day 9

I went down a Susan Dell and Kelly Loeffler rabbit hole. I don't know what's going on there but I'm scared out of my mind about it. Creepy Shit.

To cleanse the pallet, I needed some nostalgia, something classic, something warm and fuzzy, something like:

Garfield’s Halloween Adventure aka Garfield in Disguise

It has probably been since the '80s (mostly likely '90s) since I last saw this childhood classic and let me tell you - the SECOND it started - I was instantly taken back with core memories and childhood delight.

Something in my bones even remembered the hair trapped in the film - which is still on display, all these decades later. 

Naturally, I remember this story being a lot longer but it's only 24 minutes. 24 sweet, sweet minutes. 

I think I will be incorporating more childhood TV classics into my regular viewing. It was nice to go back, for a change. It was also startling to see how much I still remembered - little things, like movements and sounds. In all, it's a wild experience! Highly recommended. 

I watched this on Paramount+ or use the Find It! Watch It! links on Horror Habit's side bar to see where else you can find this absolute delight.

PS: Be sure to VOTE this November!

PS: If you're looking for more spooky Garfield (and more serious), make this a double feature night with the wildly disturbing: Garfield: His 9 Lives. This TV movie upset me so much, as a kid. I remember being scared, crying, confused - you name it. I think, overall, I was a bit too young to truly understand this abstract concept. So, watch the Halloween Adventure for the kid in you, watch his 9 Lives for the existential crisis in you.

The Dunwich Horror (1970)

October Challenge Day 8

Well, what in the hell was that? Let's talk about the trippy little nightmare that is:

The Dunwich Horror

Is this tentacle porn? Maybe.

Is this a very 1970s late night film, best suited for shady theaters and sticky seats? Yes.

Did I like it? Maybe.

Did I respect it? Yes.

You know things are about to get raunchy when the Necronomicon is introduced right away!

Here we're at college, and two young women are tasked with taking the doomed book back to the library when a "dashing" man interjects himself and asks to borrow it. Against their better judgement, they let him, and this leads to one of the students riding to his sprawling mansion where, evidently, he has bad intentions for her and all hell breaks loose for everyone - literally. 

Allagories aside, and not to be detoured, the local town folk had this man on their radar for generations and are constantly on his ass, which was mildly amusing. Our young co-ed, however, is enamored and falls for his charms, to her detriment. 

Sex is splattered all over the place with this film, so prepare for the sounds and innuendos. It's fun for a while but also got old quick, so thankfully the film is not too long. That said, I'm just not a fan of H.P. Lovecraft and the stories often wear me out so, there's that.

Solid, standard, and fun for a late night watch - particularly with the presentation of the creature (psychedelic through and through) - it's a film to see at least once.   

Pairs with meals made out of jello. Lots of jello. Lots and Lots of jello. Best watched late at night and with someone who also appreciates the '70s horror aesthetic. 

I watched this film on Tubi or use the Find It! Watch It! links on Horror Habit's side bar to see where else you can find this classy, sleazy, trippy film. 

Too Late (2015)

October Challenge Day 7

So, what do you think would happen if David Lynch and Quentin Tarantino had a love child... 

Let's talk about the morbid and well made:

Too Late

This film, told in scenes but not sequentially, follows a private investigator who is looking for a missing young woman. Things get messy when both the woman and the investigator get tangled up with some bad people.

The dialog is exceptional - right off the bat - but I quickly got the impression it was written by a man who likes to hold captive audiences with a somewhat nagging wit, particularly with women. After looking it up, I found it was written and directed by a man (Dennis Hauck) but I know nothing of his character so I'll just stick with the experience of the film.  

The story meanders through the sad, lonely lives, of lost souls and greedy men who make the twisted worlds of Lynch and Tarantino go round. The inspirations are obvious and celebrated with this film, with top tier camera work to boot. 

While this film is really well made and deserves more attention and recognition, it's a hard watch, particularly with the treatment of the women in this story. It's a dismal place for women, here, and that quite likely is on purpose. A well placed camera light glaring into the face of dark places where even the most well meaning of actions end up hurting others because of a man's guilt, shame, and/or greed. Or maybe that's the surly private investigator in *me* talking (shout out: Bergman Investigations circa 2009 - 2014).

This is a thriller/drama, and it's heavy on the drama but I have it listed here as a horror story because this is a nightmare for all the characters involved. Not for everyone, and on the slower side of a burn, this film might also piss you off for many reasons because everyone here is far, far too late.

Best watched alone, pairs with cigarettes and ecstasy. And I mean A LOT of cigarettes and ecstasy.

I watched this film on Kanopy (support your local libraries!) or use the Find It! Watch It! links on Horror Habit's side bar to see where else you can find this sad but delicate yet exquisite feature.