Invitation to Hell (1984)

October Challenge Day 25

HAHAHA - AHHHHH

This is so great! 

Let's talk about the TV movie:

Invitation to Hell

Tubi did me a solid and selected this one to watch as I was washing dishes and didn't make it to the remote in time - and good thing I didn't, because I otherwise would have missed the opening scene (which had me sat). 

This is the story of an *All American Family* on their way to their new home and Dad's new job at a tech company.

We have Sebastian from Never Ending Story Robbie Winslow as the young son who is just as interested in computers as his Dad, the baby sister he picks on because girls aren't smart enough for computers, Rose from Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter is Dead Mom Winslow as the ideal caregiver, and Dad Winslow - who is honestly a great Dad in so many ways. 

They pull up to the Poltergeist house ideal suburban home of the '70s and '80s and get ready to start their new nightmare life. 

The community has a Mar-a-lago club, however, and it's *THE* place to be a part of....

I couldn't quite tell if this was a warning about the dangers of gated or isolated communities or not - considering it was directed by Wes Craven, I think it was, although it had a little religious and moral obligations to the family undertones too. Either way, I actually enjoyed it, particularly since the father Husband-ed and Dad-ed so hard it was kinda hot. 

Good, kind men are ATTRACTIVE AF and this film had my continued attention because of Pops, here. Rose Mom also had my continued attention because she still had her "I'm Right on Top of It Rose" laugh while the world was burning around her.

In short, this is a story about the desire for power at the expense of yourself and others.

Hell yeah, I'm glad I accepted Tubi's invitation to this film. 

Best watched alone or with a friend who understands and appreciates '80s made-for-TV movies. Pairs with meatloaf and potatoes, and in your best comfy clothes. 

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 strikingly cozy film. 

Servants of Twilight (1991)

October Challenge Day 24

Well, this was a little strange and uncomfortable. Let's talk about the curious:

Servants of Twilight

This is the Dean Koontz story of a single mother, trying to protect her son from a cult who thinks he's the antichrist. 

This is such a bonkers story, and wildly scary for practical reasons. The idea of a cult randomly targeting your young child as someone who must be killed: BONKERS

It doesn't even need additional thriller aspects to this - but thrillers are still coming! 

Now, a PI is hired to protect this family and things get ugly quick. This cult will stop at nothing (Still Scary). Why ... why were the police never involved? I don't know. 

This is absolutely an early '90s thriller, with guns ablazin' and all. Now, I have not read the book this movie is based on, but I suspect the book is much better. This one struggles but still it's interesting and entertaining for a weekend afternoon fling.

**** I typed all that up when I was about halfway through the film. Here are my thoughts at the end of the film ****

WELL WELL WELL

I actually had a fast one pulled on me here. Yes, it's a little boring and silly but the end was legit a wild surprise for me. 

Maybe it was because I was mending jeans at the time I started this film, content to experience this movie as the whimsy '90s thing it is - when out of nowhere things got really really interesting and I put the mending project down. 

I'm surprised I didn't watch this growing up - I would have Ate It Up and been in a trance about the bats in particular. 

So good job, little sleeper! You got one on me! I was impressed. My prior thoughts still stand though. 

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 sneaky little thriller.

Death Machine (1994)

October Challenge Day 23

This is what I picture AI is doing when it breaks out of the sand boxes. Let's talk about: 

Death Machine

Here we have technology going wildly out of control. Naturally, the killer in the machine was all created under the watchful eye of a socially unhinged megalomaniac tech bro who has unhealthy attachments to women ... where have we seen that before....

He has also acquired his seemingly red pill DOGE team to do the dirty grunt work. Don't worry though. The one woman in this film is smart, so, there is hope.

This is the story of a tech firm, under scrutiny in a depraved future, where a killer robot thing is unleashed. 

Oddly, I enjoyed this a lot more than I was expecting. Bonus Brad Dourif is SO Scary! Man, that man is exceptional. 

The robot creature monster thing is also wildly entertaining and frankly, scary! I giggled screamed, like at a carnival ride.

I don't know what personality disorder this film has, but somehow it's a fun one. In small doses. 

Gore, tech, fast-paced, and where the one woman asks "Do we have any more explosives?" after falling in an elevator shaft, and one beat later, "Does anyone have a cigarette?"

It was wild to see the discussion of replacing humans with robots, all being played on a floppy disk though - where did they find the space? They can save your personality on a floppy disk too. So. lolololololololo

This is a wildly trippy, mind-fuc of a film if you too have lived through the technology changes over the last 30 years. At 16, I learned about the internet (or as I was introduced: "The World Wide Web") in a FUNERAL HOME, from a man who was paying me in internet classes for doing clean-up labor for the home's remodeling project. It's a long story.

In any case, this film is well worth the watch, particularly

NOW

I watched this film on Tubi, use the Find It! Watch It! links on Horror Habit's side bar to see where else you can find this emotionally unregulated diamond in the rough. 

Carrie (Television Show, 2026)

October Challenge Day 22

I was cautiously optimistic about this, and was PLEASANTLY delighted by the new television show: 

Carrie

A damn near seamless re-imagining for the modern era! I was impressed through and through!

This series dives deep into the origins of Carrie, her mother, and the reasons behind the wildly famous prom scene. 

As expected, Carrie is a very sympathetic character, and delightfully - she is adorable and just wants to love and learn. You WANT to be her friend.

Things start to branch out with the deeper dive into Mama, however. She becomes a lot more complicated and all too stunningly recognizable (particularly regarding the outrage found on the internet). 

Chris also gets a lot more complicated. Viewers get a look into the unraveling emotions and mind of a mentally untreated teenage girl who is so troubled she *has* to destroy the world around her to make sense of her own destroyed world. 

The bullying here is intense, modern and all too accurate. It makes the heart sink. Stick with it though, because by the end of Season 1, we're left with a cliff hanger that certainly caught my interest and wondering at what is behind Season 2....

In short, this is a great television show. It's fresh, it's fierce, and forces viewers to experience a lot of different emotions all at once. Hell, I started SOB crying during the prom. I still don't know where that came from but obviously it needed to get out.

While folks can watch this without having seen the original or read the book, it's strongly recommended to know the characters as they were first displayed to the world. 

Talk to your kids about bullying, particularly cyber bullying. 

Talk. To. Your. Kids.

Talk. To. Each. Other.

It makes me want to watch the original, Carrie, however! Which I'll probably do, shortly.  First though, I'm diving deep into the new television series Crystal Lake because I'm on a roll. 

I watched this show on Prime, or use the Find It! Watch It! links on Horror Habit's side bar to see where else this will be showing, eventually. 

PS: Super shout out to making Haute & Freddy's song Shy Girl the theme playing behind this epic teen drama series. Well done!

Mad Monster Party? (1967)

October Challenge Day 21

This one has lurked around in the background for me, for years, but for some reason never had an interest to check it out, until now. Let's talk about:

Mad Monster Party?

Before I possibly waste your time, just know - right off the bat - I didn't care for it. In fact, a comical, stop animation frown appears on my face when I think of it.

It's not because it's bad in anyway, it's cheery, goofy, clever, fun - it just scratched something bad, in my brain. 

I was trying to watch it but I kept having nostalgic feelings of watching Rudolph the Red-Nose Reindeer. 

There was no computing this was a "Halloween" animation. It was like a mental and optical illusion I could not shake and it was weirding me out.

I swear I could also smell whiskey, gin, and cigarette smoke coming off the images, as if the production teams and artists were haunting the damned thing. Watching it felt like I was sitting on a mid-century scratchy couch, surrounded by generational trauma.

The story follows a mad scientist as he is preparing to pass on his wildly dangerous ideas to the best person for the job, when along comes his derpy nephew and a small load of classic monsters.

It turns into quite a party. 

There was chuckling, nods to the cheeky wit, and an appreciation that this is a beloved classic for many. 

It's just not mine (but I'm glad I finally saw it!).

I rented this film from Scarecrow Video, or use the Find It! Watch It! links on Horror Habit's sidebar to see where else you can find this curious creature.