MudSkippers Scary Viewing Log

MudSkipper · 10-03-2011 11:22am

The Mist (B&W)
Darabonts version of the Stephen King short story 'the mist' tells the story of a small town in Maine that gets hit by a powerful storm knocking down trees and powerlines... the following morning a thick fog rolls in from the lake and envelopes the town.... Creatures in the mist feed on humans and a large group of people are trapped in the local supermarket to fight for their survival.

Part creature feature and part psychological horror about human despair the movie is much improved in B&W over the colour one. The creatures are less CGI cheese and the atmosphere is much bleaker. As for the ending, I'd have preferred if

if there was no cavalry (fashionably late as they are) and David just wandered off into the mist, leaving the viewer to wonder if the town would survive at all

7.5/10

The Fog
John Carpenters masterpiece about a small seaside town celebrating its 100th birthday when a thick fog rolls in from the sea... in the fog are the victims of a crime committed by the towns founders and they've come to claim what is rightfully theirs....
8.5/10

MudSkipper · 22-03-2011 12:19am

Psycho
Caught this classic in HD about Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins, who else

), his mother and the Bates Motel and it still is as atmospheric and creepy as ever... who can forget the shower scene?
8/10

The Evil Dead 2
More a remake than a sequel Evil Dead 2 needs no introduction. It is great gory fun and Bruce Campbell as the hero Ash reigns supreme in this classic.
8.5/10

Requim for a Vampire
Two teenage girsl on the run, find shelter in a castle in the French countryside. Where they meet an aged vampire who wants to use their virgin bodies. Lots of flesh make this a typical Jean Rolling erotic horror. Too bad the pace in the first 40mins is sooo slow.
4.5/10

MudSkipper · 26-04-2011 2:31pm

Riget and Riget II
Lars von Trier presents Riget 'The Kingdom', Denmark's most advanced hospital... and some very strange going ons... phantom ambulance, zombie doctors, spirits and a monstrously fast growing fetus to name a few. With a slow-ish pace, 'dirty' camerawork and little gore this 8hr mini-series wont be for everyone, but if you enjoy atmospheric creepiness with excellent acting this is well worth checking out.

Too bad there will be no concluding part III

Stephen King's Kingdom Hospital mini-series is based on Riget and in my to watch pile

7/10

The Langoliers

Speaking of Stephen King, this straight for TV adaptation of his langoliers book about the survivors of a disappeared jet that find themselves in a deserted parallel world

where the langoliers are chewing up time

is let down by erratic pacing, a mismatched cast and too many filler segments (at 3hours it is too long)

4.5/10

MudSkipper · 04-05-2011 10:56am

Don't Torture a Duckling
A small sicilian town full of superstitious, perverse and strange townsfolk is hit by a series of child killings. A reporter and a rich ex-drug addict investigate. There are plenty of suspects, lots of twists and oodles of atmosphere. An excellent Lucio Fulci film and maybe not as big a gorefest as what he is most known for, there are some brutally violent scenes is this one.

7/10

The Breed
Five friends fly to a small island to party in an isolated house that one of them has just inherited. While exploring the otherwise deserted island they come across a pack of dogs... the dogs attack and lay siege to the house. Although acting and effects are ok, there is nothing here to grab and hold your attention or connect you to any of the characters. All in all very bland.

4/10

MudSkipper · 02-06-2011 12:20pm

Deep Red
A psychic giving a lecture picks up murderous thoughts from someone in the audience and is shortly after murdered. A jazz pianist witnessed the murder and investigates..... plenty of gore, oodles of atmosphere and several satisfying twists in this classic masterpiece by Dario Argento..

7.5/10

Bloodsucking Freaks
The owner of a macabre magic show uses naked women in his shows, torturing and killing them on stage while the audience believe it is all fake.... When he kidnaps a famous ballet dancer, her boyfriend starts to investigate the theatre and its occupants. Could have been interesting, but its all done rather tastelessly and the characters simply don't convince..... although the sidekick is succesful at being vile and leery

4/10

MudSkipper · 21-06-2011 2:51pm

Lake Dead
Three sisters inherit a motel from a grandfather they didnt even know they had and set off to their new property in an RV. Once they get there they find a demented family (what else) who brutally murdered their gramps. As predictable as they come and with average acting, its a meh movie for me.
5/10

Stash
A very low budget exploitation movie set in kentucky, where two stoners discover their dealers stash and when he catches them they have to provide him with 3 girls in 3 days or they're dead meat. Although the acting is pretty woeful bar one or two of the characters and the bad guy has the least convincing 'evil' laugh ever, I still enjoyed this for what it was.
4.5/10

Open Graves
Teenage surfers in spain get their hands on an old board game from the spanish inquisition.... the winner gets a wish granted and the losers suffer the death as it is written on the card they draw. Unconvincing acting, little gore or tension and a predictable ending, its just another meh movie
4/10

MudSkipper · 19-07-2011 12:22pm

A Blade in the Dark
A composer is writing the score for a horror movie in an isolated villa in italy... two beautiful women who disappear and a mysterious former tenant and a it's all connected to the movie hes writing the score for.... decent little italian giallo by Lamberto Bava (Mario's son)

6/10

Tenebrae
Staying with the italian theme, this is an Argento classic about an american author arriving in rome to find that someone is using his latest book as the inspiration for murders.. as the police are baffled (as usual) the author becomes very closely involved in the case

8/10

My Name is Bruce
B Movie actor Bruce Campbell is mistaken for his character Ash (from evil dead) and after being kidnapped to a small town is forced to fight a real life monster... Great to see Bruce can still ham it up in this horror/comedy

7/10

MudSkipper · 28-08-2011 11:56pm

Haven't updated in a while, but with nights getting longer... started going through my backlog (again :pac:)

Black Death
Set during the time of the first outbreak of bubonic plague in England, a young monk is tasked with learning the truth about reports of people being brought back to life, a mission that pulls him toward a village ruler who has made a dark pact with evil forces.
6/10

I Saw the Devil
Korean horror starring mr. Old Boy himself as a demented serial killer. He meets his match in a determined detective when he kidnaps and tortures the cops pegnant fiancee. The detective takes revenge in kind and then some... Excellent actng, a dark dark plot and plenty of gore
7.5/10

Alien
This one needs little introduction, a classic. The plot is simpe: A mining ship, investigating a suspected SOS, lands on a distant planet. The crew discovers some strange creatures and investigates.
8.5/10

MudSkipper · 13-09-2011 10:19pm

Manhunter
Before silence of the lambs the good doctor hanibal lector was introduced to the big screen in Manhunter where he 'assists' in the chase by a retired fbi agent of a serial killer nicknamed the tooth fairy. Excellent atmospheric stuff from michael mann
7/10

Aliens
big budget blockbuster follow up to Alien, Sigourney Weaver stars again as Ripley. kicking lots of alien ass when she returns to the planet of the original.... Great acting and non stop action make this a sequal almost on a par with the original, only thing missing is the chest burst.....
8/10

Alien 3
Ok, so I got the quadrilogy and still do not understand how this one fits in or ever got made, other than a cash-in.....Ripley is sort of there (all other survivors killed in a crash).... the rest of the cast are mostly non-descript inmates with bald heads, combined with a ludicrous plot and the cheap setting of a penal planet make this "Alien the Turd" to me
3.5 / 10

Carrie
Stephen Kings first novel is brilliantly brought to the screen by Brian de Palma. Sissy Spacek stars as a mousy and abused girl with telekinetic powers who gets pushed too far on one special night.... Piper Laurie also stars as Carrie's religiously fanatical mother (only matched by the bible basher in SK's the mist)
8.5/10

MudSkipper · 15-09-2011 9:50pm

Audition
A widower takes an offer to screen girls at a special audition, arranged for him by a friend to find him a new wife. The one he fancies is not who she appears to be after all. Although slow paced at the start, the tension builds nicely with excellent ending
7/10

Manos hand of fate
'Plot' from imdb: A family gets lost on the road and stumbles upon a hidden, underground, devil-worshiping cult led by the fearsome Master and his servant Torgo. Some movies are so bad they're good.... this isnt one of them, it;s bad, real bad... only way to watch this is to get the mystery science theatre 3000 version.... their running commentary makes it bearable
3/10 (mostly for the mst3k bits)

Lemora (a childs tale of the supernatural)
low budget vampire version of little red riding hood about a young girl returning home to see her dying father but being pulled into a web of dark magic and vampirism instead is slow but atmospheric in places.
4/10

MudSkipper · 17-09-2011 10:28pm

Alien Resurrection
Ripley is revived 2000 years after her death and has yet again kick some alien butt, only this time......... well she's related to them... Sigourney Weaver once again steals the show as Ripley
6.5/10

Martin
George A Romero's unconventional tale about a vampire who goes to stay with his cousin....... martin is unconventional as crosses, garlic or sunlight dont hurt him... excellent acting and oodles of atmosphere make this one to watch.
6.5/10

Night of the Lepus
A ranch is over-run by rabbits and the owner brings in the help of a zooological expert to stop them breeding... the experiment goes wrong and the local town is overrun by ginormous rabbits. Low budget with cheap effects, but good fun for what it is.
5/10

Stake Land
'Mister' and teenager martin travel north across an american wateland filled with vampire-zombies to new eden in Canada. Throw in some pockets of survivors and a semi-religious fanatical group called the brotherhood and the resulting mix reminded me of both 'the road' and 'the walking dead'.
6.5/10

Not horror, but after his role in Walking Dead I spotted Michael 'Henry' Rooker in Burn Notice , still as menacing as ever

MudSkipper · 30-09-2011 10:32am

The Loved Ones
Sometimes imdb sums the plot up best: "When Brent turns down his classmate Lola's invitation to the prom, she concocts a wildly violent plan for revenge" (with help of her father) Excellent acting by the tortured lead and the creep out father carry this one, the blood just helps it along :-)
7.5/10

Session 9
Hard pressed for cash an asbestos cleaning crew take on a job clearing out an old mental hospital. The eeriness of the place and the disturbing files some of the crew find make for a psychological disturbing ride. The 'twist' is bit too obvious, but doesnt take away from the atmosphere of the movie as whole :-)
7/10

The Thing From Another World
Scientists and an airforce crew find a mysterious craft buried in the ice. On examination it's a spacecraft and they find the alien pilot, frozen and presumably dead. They take him back to their station for research and when he accidentally thaws out.... all hell breaks loose :-) Sounds familiar? It is as it's based on the same short story as John Carpenters the Thing.
6.5/10

MudSkipper · 06-10-2011 4:50pm

The Beyond
A young woman inherits a rundown hotel in Louisiana and decides to restore it, little does she know that there is a doorway to the beyond in the basement of the building, until workmen meet with fatal accidents. Great gory fun from Fulci
7/10

Conspiracy of Torture
A young woman, her lover and her stepmother plot to kill her abusive father..... set in the 16th century in italy the horror is not the traditional Fulci fare, but more about the evil of the roman catholic church as it investigates the death of a 'nobleman'. Acting is solid, but it all moves along a bit sluggish and the torture scenes are kept short.
5.5/10

Invasion of the bodysnatchers
A doctor returns to his small town practice and finds that slowly the towns inhabitants are being replaced by emotionless clones... atmospheric sc-fi horror and imo one of the best from that era.
7.5/10

MudSkipper · 30-10-2011 3:25pm

Nightmare in a Damaged Brain
An escaped mental patient suffers from nightmares and carries them out...... one of the 'video nasties' of the early eighties. Works well on the psychological level and has decent gore.
6/10

Trollhunter
Four students investigate the illegal killing of bears in Norway and follow the suspected hunter, who turns out to actually be a troll hunter to keep the troll population under conttrol. Decent acting and story, the one letdown is that there is not enough of the mythical trolls that live under bridges, can smell christians and turn to stone when exposed to sunlight.
6.5/10

The Poughkeepsie Tapes
Hundreds of videotapes containing violence and torture are found in an abandoned house. The investigating officers discover a decade long reign of the 'water street butcher'. Shot in a 'discovery channel' documentary style, the movie starts slow but comes into its own with the case of 'Cheryl'
7/10

MudSkipper · 07-11-2011 11:23am

Monsters
Earth has been invaded by aliens and the US government is trying to contain them in the 'infected zone' in Mexico, Two americans make their way home through the zone..... Sounded good, but the lack of monsters, the so-so acting (especially the 'photo journalist' lead) and the predictability of the 'plot' make this one forgettable.
4/10

Nightbeast
An alien crash lands near a small town and goes on a rampage... vaporizing people with his laser gun or tearing their heads of with his claws. The high bodycount is the best part of this B movie of B movies. The acting is bad, the dialogue is worse, the plot is full of holes and the effects are laughable. Still fun for what it is.
5/10

The New York Ripper
Probably Fulci's best known slasher, there is a serial killer (who talks like a duck) on the loose in New York, killing young women in varied and bloody ways. A burned out cop and a psychotherapist investigate to try and stop the killer.
7/10

MudSkipper · 13-12-2011 1:06pm

House by the Cemetery
More Fulci gore :-) A professor and his family move into their new house beside a cemetary, unaware that the previous owner (an evil doctor) hides in the basement and only comes out to hack people up for their blood... plenty of gore in this one only the badly dubbed voices let it down.
6.5/10

Daybreakers
Vampires rule the world and their supply of human blood is dwindling fast, scientist are attempting to create artificial blood to stop his fellow vampires from going mad and attacking each other..... the solution is not in imititation blood but

in reversal of the vampire infection and returning to humans

decent enough vampire flick, with solid acting.
6/10

Supernatural
A convicted female serial killer on death row, a young millionaire heiress and a shady medium running rigged seance's.. what could possibly go wrong
5/10

Turkey Shoot
In a totalitarian state, deviants are sent to camps to be 're-educated'.. in the toughest camp of them all the commander promises some new arrivals their freedom if they can survive until sundown... while being hunted by the commander and some of his 'guests'..... cheesy fun
6/10

MudSkipper · 13-12-2011 6:06pm

Dr Giggles
Crazed son of a murderous doctor escapes the mental instution and returns to his small home town to re-open his fathers practice. Fun little slasher, nothing new but the lead actor is solid and the rest are mostly dumb teens as usual.

One of em drops condom in the toilet while unwrapping it and tries to fish it out with a toothbrush

6/10

Swamp Thing
Wes Craven comedy-horror about a scientist who hidden away in a murky swamp is trying to create a new lifeform by combining plant and animal tissue. When an experiment goes wrong he himself is transformed into.... the Swamp Thing. Good cheesy fun.
6/10

Return of the Swamp Thing
The follow up (not directed by Craven) is more comedy than horror and pretty much picks up where the original finished, it is definitely cheesier than the first and a young heather locklear is probably it's best feature

5/10

MudSkipper · 16-12-2011 3:43pm

Midnight Killer
A cop finds out his wife is having an affair, he storms off angry.. few hours later she's found dead with the cop as main suspect. When a second victim is found the cop turns to his criminologist friend to help clear his name.... she suspects a long dead serial killer as it matches his MO... A competent and entertaining giallo from Lamberto Bava
6/10

Black Sabbath
A collection of 3 atmospheric shorts from the master Mario Bava.. In 'the telephone' a beautiful young woman is terrorised in her own appartment by mysterious phone calls. 'The wurdulak' stars boris karloff as a vampire who one by one turns his own children into vampires... 'Drop of water' is the tale of a nurse who steals a ring from a dying patient and soon regrets it.
7/10

The Girl Who Knew Too Much
Nora, a young female tourist in rome to visit her ailing aunt witnesses a murder, but after reporting it there is no body or crimescene. It is up to Nora, a doctor and a friend of her aunts to solve the mystery.. only made more urgent when she herself becomes a target. Another Mario Bava and arguably the very first giallo, shot beautifully in B/W
7/10

MudSkipper · 19-12-2011 4:59pm

Zombie Flesh Eaters
A rudderless sailboat arrives in New York with a hungry zombie on board, the missing owners daughter is joined by a journalist and investigates. Their investigation leads them to a tropical island where a dr is trying to find a cure for a disease that turns humans into flesh eating zombies. Great gory fun from the master.
7/10

Naked You Die
A killer is on the loose at a posh all girl private school. An early italian gallio, not a lot of gore or nakedness to be had tho.
5.5/10

Splintered
A group of friends head of into the woods for bit of fun and maybe track down a wild animal that's been killing livestock..... yawnnnn. The acting is bad, the dialogue is bad and gore/shocks/horror are missing.. avoid
4/10

Thirst
A priest volunteers for a secret medical project to help find a cure for a deadly virus. The virus takes over the priest and he nearly dies. An accidental transfusion of vampire blood cures him, but also leaves him conflicted between his faith and his desire for human blood. A vampire flick with a difference from the director of Old Boy.
7.5/10

MudSkipper · 21-12-2011 5:22pm

Hobo with a Shotgun
A hobo arrives in the small and thug/pedofile/crooked cop invested city of hope town and after witnessing a violent stick-up picks up a shotgun and starts to rid the town of thugs, one shell at a time..... Brilliant over the top action/gore and it's great to see Rutger Hauer at his best and enjoying himself.
7.5/10

Silent Night, Bloody Night
A man inherits a mansion from his uncle and when he decides to sell it to the town folk, visitors to the mansion mysteriously get killed... a very low budget 70s slasher which starts of very slow but picks up pace halfway through and has a nice twisted ending.
5.5/10

One Missed Call
A group of teenagers start receiving voicemails from their future selves at the moment of their own death, the next victim is someone in their contact list. Bit like Ringu, but with mobile phones. Solid Japanese horror, slow burning and full of atmosphere.
7/10

MudSkipper · 01-02-2012 10:59pm

Havent updated in a while, willl try to catch up over next week or so. Starting with 5 of the Hammer Frankenstein movies

The Curse of Frankenstein
Dr Frankenstein is in prison awaiting execution and tells a priest his story, from his inheritence of large fortune to his tuition to thee creation of his creature and his downfall. Hammers re-imagination of the frankensteiin tale oozes atmosphere and Peter Cushing steals the show as the dr (Christopher Lee stars as the monster)
7/10

The Revenge of Frankenstein
The Dr escapes the guillotine and moves to Germany where he works as a GP in a hospital. When he is recognised by an old colleague they revive his experiments using bodies from the hospital. Excellent sequal to the 'curse' Peter Cushing once again steals the show.
6.5/10

Frankenstein Created Woman
A frozen dr Frankenstein is revived proving that the soul doesnt leave the body when dead. When his assistant is falsely accused of killing a landlord and executed he acquires the body and when the landlords daughter commits suicide he transplant the assistants brain (and soul) into her body... revenge on the actual killers ensues. The weakest of the hammer frankenstein series.
5.5/10

Frankenstein Must be Destroyed
The Dr returns (appearing slightly demented himself) and blackmails a young doctor and his fiancee to help kidnap a mentally ill professor, transplant his brain, cure his insanity and transplant the brain back. Once again Peter Cushing steals the show in another atmospheric outing.
6/10

Frankenstein and the Monster From Hell
The good doctor starts working in an insane asylum and together with one of the inmates (promoted to dr assistant) starts experimenting again on bodies. The last of the hammer frankensteins once again stars Peter Cushing providing oodles of atmosphere
6/10

MudSkipper · 09-02-2012 2:54pm

Scanners
Scanners posses very strong psychic powers that enables them to control peoples minds and actions. An underground movement of scanners is intent on world domination and destroying humans. The doctor who invented the drug that created the scanners recruits a lone scanner to infiltrate the movement and kill their leader. Solid Cronenberg horror with a menacing Michael Ironside stealing the show.
6.5/10

Videodrome
More Cronenburg mayhem, Videodrome stars James Woods as a sleazy cable TV operator who while searching for new content for his channel stumbles upon 'Videodrome' a depraved show filled with torture, bondage and sex. When his girlfriend signs up as a 'contestant' and disappears he investigates and the lines between fiction and reality disappear....
7/10

MudSkipper · 31-05-2012 12:16pm

Quatermass and the Pit
A mysterious object is discovered while building a new london underground station... is it a bomb? a missile? or maybe an alien spacecraft.... Renowned scientist Dr. Quatermass is called in to help investigate. This is one of Hammer studios best movies and one of my personal favorites.
7.5//10

The Stepfather
Probably not strictly a horror, but has a psychopathic killer as the main character who is looking for his 'perfect' family by marrying divorcee's or widows with children. If they turn out to be less then perfect he murders them, changes appearance and moves to another town.
6/10

Antichrist
A couple grieving for the loss of their young son who fell out of an open window while they had sex in another room, move to a remote cabin in the woods where the husband (who is a therapist) attempts to treat his wife... Even with strong performances by both leads, a dark menacing atmosphere and escalating gore, it still is a Lars von Trier film and wont be for everyone

The womans self mutilation scene was hard to watch

6.5/10

MudSkipper · 29-06-2012 12:28pm

The Traveler
Christmas Eve in a small town and a stranger (Val Kilmer) enters the police station confessing to six murders... the detectives cant identify him and as he confesses each murder in great detail, one of cops gets killed in exact same fashion.... Disappointing tale of a vengeful spirit, not even Val Kilmer can safe this one.
3.5/10

Supernatural season 6
The continuing adventures of Sam and Dean Winchester and their fight against evil. Has lost some of its momentum from the first five seasons, but still very enjoyable
6/10

Kingdom Hospital
Stephen Kings take on Lars von Triers Riget series does not deviate to far from the story thankfully, the budget is bigger so the effects are better, but somehow felt the gritty atmosphere wasnt all there and the characters are less fleshed out, a decent remake nonetheless and easier accessible than Riget.
6/10

MudSkipper · 19-07-2012 10:41am

Attack the Block
A gang of amoral hoodlums defend their towerblock in London from an alien invasion. Refreshing take on the alien invasion theme that doesnt rely to heavily on special effect, add a healthy dose of humor and its a very enjoyable romp.
6.5/10

Infestation
A lazy so-n-so goes to 'work' as normal, gets fired and wakes up wrapped in a web.... he manages to wake some random people and together they set off to find the nest and destroy the bugs. Was expecting a B movie, but it delivers with decent acting, understated CGI and not too many plot holes. Solid, good fun.
6/10

Confessions
not strictly horror, but this tale of a grieving mother taking revenge for the death of her young daughter is slow burning and chilling like most Asian horrors. Starts of slow, but picks up pace after the first part.
6.5/10

Caveat_ · 13-04-2014 12:00am

MudSkipper wrote: »

Attack the Block
A gang of amoral hoodlums defend their towerblock in London from an alien invasion. Refreshing take on the alien invasion theme that doesnt rely to heavily on special effect, add a healthy dose of humor and its a very enjoyable romp.
6.5/10

Infestation
A lazy so-n-so goes to 'work' as normal, gets fired and wakes up wrapped in a web.... he manages to wake some random people and together they set off to find the nest and destroy the bugs. Was expecting a B movie, but it delivers with decent acting, understated CGI and not too many plot holes. Solid, good fun.
6/10

Confessions
not strictly horror, but this tale of a grieving mother taking revenge for the death of her young daughter is slow burning and chilling like most Asian horrors. Starts of slow, but picks up pace after the first part.
6.5/10

Really enjoyed Attack the block too. Well worth a watch.

MudSkippers Scary Viewing Log

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