An English Haunting (2020)

 October Challenge Day 6: 

I am an absolute sucker for spooky ghost stories, especially so when they take place in spooky mansions.

Rest assured, they weren't hiding much (or have they...) when they named this film:

An English Haunting

As one would expect with a title such as this one, this chiller revolves around a mother and son who move back into the family estate to take care of their ailing family member. 

Dilapidated, cold, distant and falling apart, this family's dynamics with each other mirror the condition of the mesmerizing Clemonte Hall. 

Atmospheric and effectively creepy - with just a handful of jump scares - this one wrapped me around its boney fingers and dragged me through dark hallways to dusty surprises. Like I said, I'm a sucker for this kind of stuff. 

If you're not a fan of these types of tales then it's likely you'll find plenty to pick apart and ruin all the fun. 

An English Haunting reminded me a lot of the gothic novels and short stories from such authors as Alernon Blackwood, Wilkie Collins, Edith Wharton, M. R. James, and Daphne du Maurier. So if you like their works then you'll likely enjoy this piece of ghostly magic. 

Pairs with dusty bottles of wine and soup in dirty bowls. Best watched alone on a dark, rainy night. Not a good one for the background - you'll need to pay attention at all times to this one.

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 creepy crawler. 

The Thing (2011)

October Challenge Day 5:

John Carpenter's The Thing is like scripture in my family. We quote it regularly, perhaps too regularly. 

Just last week my niece was put into quarantine after her college roommate tested positive for COVID-19. One of my brother's in our group chat responded with Blair's "I don't want to stay out here anymore. I want to come back inside" (as just one of thousands of examples). We all laughed and laughed and are very concerned of course.

I'm stressing this because when another brother and I decided to watch this prequel we were both intrigued and guardedly optimistic about what was in store. And now I have a few things to say about:

The Thing

Okay, so it started off pretty interesting. It really did. We were both fully tuned in and excitedly awaiting the creature's appearance. But as time went on and we spent more and more time with graduate student Kate Lloyd, irritations began to arise. I'm really terribly sorry actress Mary Elizabeth Winstead, but we legit didn't understand your character's history or actual purpose in this film. So much so that it became distracting. 

And then - the creature emerged from the melted ice. The ultimate test!

Which failed our expectations thoroughly.  

Considering how many easter eggs and tributes were on display for John Carpenter's version, throughout the film, you'd think more effort to not CGI this monster would have taken a priority. I'm sad to say ... I'm just sad. 

I have all the sads.

Let's get back to the positive for a second though and stress what a great idea this movie was. For those unaware, the 1982 version starts off with a husky running out of nowhere to an American scientific lab on Antarctica. We learn later this dog arrived from a Norwegian scientific lab not too far away. Brilliance follows. In this film we start with the Norwegian lab and learn about what happened ... what lead to that dog running away. I LOVE IT! Super great idea.

While this film had some promising moments, overall - for these passionately devoted fans of The Thing - it just wasn't good enough. Could have been done better. 

That said, I understand this was a difficult one to pull off for fanatic fans of John Carpenter's version. Although, expectations were not met (particularly in our family), if you're not a fanatic fan and/or never seen the 1982 version then I actually recommend this film. I recommend even watching the films in chronological order. Start with this one and prepare for life changing experiences. 

I know I'm giving this film a little bit of a hard time but I'm also going to embrace my Simpson's comic book guy side for a moment regarding my love for the original remake of the original. 

Check it out, you may like it. Fair warning for certain fans though. It isn't garbage, it just isn't all I was hoping for. 

Pairs with watching 1951's The Thing from Another World and a load of cozy blankets. Best watched when ready. 

I watched this film on HBO, or use the Find It! Watch It! links on Horror Habit's sidebar to see where else you can find this (personally) meh feature. 

The Manitou (1978)

 October Challenge Day 4: 

Every once in a while you come across a film that's so blatantly absurd you actually have some respect for it. According to IMDB's trivia, when this film was debuted in South Africa invitations were printed on vomit bags. I love hate this, and I'm not the slightest bit surprised all of it comes from the bowels of:

The Manitou

Tony Curtis stars in a film about a woman who discovers the lump on her back is not a cyst or a tumor. It's a 400 year old medicine man (in fetus form) that's trying to be reborn.

Here's about the time that I take my glasses off and rub my eyes and face in exhaustion. This absolutely ridiculous premise is also the only reason I wanted to check the film out. I watched The Manitou with my brother (another hardened horror fan), and folks, we were beside ourselves. 

Is the film insane? Yes. Is it interesting and engaging? Yes. Is it good or bad? Yes. 

I legitimately was struggling with how best to describe this movie - then I realized I might need to invoke some Joe Bob Brigg's tally skills to best present viewers with what to expect. So here we go, Horror Habit's Terror Totals - we have:

Two breasts

One frozen nurse

One skinless medical professional

One tarot reader

Two possessions

Gratuitous use of cultural and racial ignorance

Gratuitous use of lasers

Gratuitous use of finger lasers

Computers roll

People roll (down the stairs and I'm a horrible person for laughing so hard)

Buildings roll

Ancient demon fu

South Dakota wisdom fu

Love conquers all fu

False history fu

Space fu

And that's about all I got folks - except one last Joe Bob invocation: Four Stars, Horror Habit says "Check it out". 

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 insane feature. 

See No Evil (2006)

October Challenge Day 3

I was today years old when I learned that WWE made a horror film. How in the world did this one slip past my radar for so long?!

Say hello to the grindhouse slasher: See No Evil!

Not sure if this is a good one to start watching at 8:00 AM (like I did), but what the hell! See No Evil kicks off right away with a dingy room, a crazy giant gouging eyes out, and a chopped off arm - that's about 30 second in. Unapologetically gross, greasy, and gnarly, I truly appreciated this film's gusto. 

Staring WWE wrestler, Kane, the movie follows a group of delinquent young adults as they embark on a trial rehabilitation study. Their assignment: clean up the old, abandoned Blackwell Hotel for a reduced jail sentence. 

My immediate reaction: "YEEEEEEAAAAAHHHH!" and "This is so insane I love it!"

Is this film a little trashy? Yes. Does it matter? No. It's a gory and graphic blood bath that is unashamedly aware of exactly what it is. 

There are some kill scenes here that are rather remarkable and the effort put into the scenery and feel (so that you want to take a really hot shower afterwards) is also rather remarkable. Overall, kickass.

Pairs with sick days and food you can put together and keep down during sick days. Snuggle up buttercups and enjoy this WWE show. 

I watched this film on HBO or use the Find It! Watch It! links on Horror Habit's sidebar to see where else you can find this manic of a movie.

The Other Lamb (2019)

 October Challenge Day 2:

As someone who genuinely enjoys my own company and thoughts for extended periods of time, I find cults to be not only very confusing but deeply disturbing. Let's tack on cult leaders - narcissistic sociopaths that they are, preying on people who are looking for hope, light, and clarity - and we have a recipe for disaster in every single form. 

Let's welcome The Other Lamb!

Now, I recognize there can be a very fine line between spiritualism and cultism. This film's line is not fine at all - it's glaring, red, and flashing lights.

This was a hard one to watch, folks. It brought out some real horror and rage in me - suppose that's a good sign that I really hate to see women blindly following an abuser. This quiet and menacing slow burn of a movie is all of this and more... 

Premise: A religious cult of mothers and daughters, (unsurprisingly) headed by a man they creepily call "Shepherd", is lead into the middle of nowhere to escape the law. As the trek continues one daughter begins to see what's really happening... 

Scenic, beautiful, ethereal, and nightmarish, I don't think this is a horror film for all horror fans. When I turned this one on I crawled onto the couch and almost immediately my two cats hopped up on me and sat there, like gargoyles. Not a film for all horror fans but quite possibly a good one for witchy b*tches like myself. 

Overall a really spooky and decent film, but again, not everyone's cup of tea. Best watched in a minimal but sensible environment wearing itchy, shapeless clothes. Eat foods that hurt.

I watched this on Hulu, or use the Find It. Watch It. Links on Horror Habit's side bar to see where else you can find this enraging (but oddly satisfying) feature.