Fade to Black (1980)

October Challenge Day 18 

5 minutes into this film and I knew I was instantly in love. Calling all cinephiles! This is a film for us - let's talk about:

Fade to Black

Simply put, this is a beautiful and (somewhat?) heartbreaking film about a very pathetic and pitiful man. 

It's clear right away that this young man hung his attachment to the world via movies, and his home life was dysfunctional AF.

Apparently his "mom" was his aunt (watch the movie for more details....) and they fought constantly. Both are clearly unhinged but he's doing his best to make it through. She is in a wheelchair and there are stairs in the house - we all know where this is going...

*This is a bad man and I do not excuse the character's behavior - but like the Joker there is a lot of "I get it" happening in this film*

Our young man is trying to connect with people - best as he can - and he sees a young woman who reminds him (overwhelmingly) as Marilyn Monroe. Infatuation sits in and now we're all in trouble. 

The planned date they made does not go as planned and he turns into a monster as a means to release this heartbreak. By monster, I mean also the monsters of cinema.

This film felt like a love story to cinema. Also as a "Dear John" letter to the recognition of when the movies are not going to save you from feelings you're trying to hide from.

This is a mature and honest look at film and the attachments these moving pictures can bring. I dare say, this is an artist's look at film - but at its core, this is a story about heartbreak. 

I loved everything about this movie! Not surprised I found it hiding in the quiet [digital] shelves of a library system. 

This is best paired with a doctor recommended diet and perhaps one other person (best alone). 

I watched this film on Hoopla (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 hand-written advertisement for connection with others.

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.