The Watcher in the Woods 1980,B-, family moves into countryside where spooky stuff happens. The pieces are here for something special in front and behind the camera but they never come together. Saying that I enjoyed it now more as an adult than when I saw it as a kid. Spoiler warning, the ending is fine but it's just a light show continuing the supernatural theme. The real ending should have been used that involved an alien. In fact the whole narrative should have been wrapped around that idea.

Something Wicked This Way Comes 1983,B, evil comes to a small American town by way of railroad and two boys must overcome it. A wonderful gateway horror film that has the luck of having Ray Bradbury himself write the screenplay. The words, narrative, acting, and directing come together beautifully but Bradbury's words slightly overpower the visuals. Jonathan Pryce is great as Mr dark and Pam Grier is beautifully menacing as Dusk Witch. Not a perfect film but it does its job with elegance.

100 Feet 2008,C+, Famke Janssen plays battered wife who kills husband in self-defense then is placed under house arrest in the same house it happened in. Janssen is good but one or two scenes she needed another take. The music was bad and the fx of the ghost are terrible when computer enhancements are used. One fantastic kill that is hurt by editing and themes of misogyny and what women go through are better explored in recent remake of the Invisible Man.

Jack's Back 1988,B-, killer following the reaper's MO is being tracked by James Spader. A decent thriller with a good performance by Spader but I do wish this movie's crazy level was turned up to 11. Robert Picardo should have also been brought forward in the narrative rather than just being a bit player. There's a scene towards the end with Spader and Picardo that I'm a bit confused at, I'm not sure why Picardo was reaching for his gun.

Scarecrows 1988,B-, mercenary/thieves land on a haunted cornfield. Amateur acting and a silly premise is overcome by filmmakers who know exactly what they need to do. No BS, straight to the point, Mercs versus killer scarecrows, decent kills, creepy locations and atmosphere, appropriate score to enhance what's on the screen, bravo. Although there's a very annoying girl and the decision she makes are even more annoying but all is forgiven in this good horror film.

Frightmare 1981,C+, horror fans dig up recently deceased famous horror actor, and then said actor goes on killing spree. Decent premise, good lead villain, and nice atmosphere are hurt by some boneheaded filmmaker decisions, also just so so kills. The main villain starts the film in a speaking role and is immediately interesting, charming, menacing, and most importantly believable in the role but the filmmakers decided to make him a silent villain with only interludes of speaking, terrible.

The Pope's Exorcist 2023,C+, Russell Crowe plays exorcist and fights a demon. Not a big possession film fan but Russell Crowe makes this film very entertaining. Russell Crowe gives a fun performance and every time he's on screen I have a smile on my face. The movie making Crowe a action star is smart but that means the film becomes more action than horror. The narrative is interesting so that helps but it needed more horror, I would have given it an B-, if it had more horror.

Viking Wolf 2022,C+, Norwegian werewolf film about cop mom and teen daughter who deal with furry stuff. Interesting origin story but a by the numbers werewolf film. Everybody does a good job in front and behind the camera. The movie does run a little long and has some pacing issues but nothing that hurts it. There is a piece of werewolf lore that they use but discard too quickly. They should have leaned into it to pick up the creepy factor, enjoyable but nothing special.

Gargoyles 1972,C, dumb father and daughter investigate strange skeleton then horny dude in sort of decent gargoyle suit kidnaps daughter. When I was a kid this creeped me out, today I found it slightly boring and extremely annoying the decisions the father would make. Dude got to be one of the dumbest college professors ever. This was Stan Winston's first job and while I found the gargoyles outdated the face is creepy on the main gargoyle. Scott Glenn is in it too and is okay.

The Legend of Boggy Creek 1972,D, docudrama on different Bigfoot attacks. I saw this in 2010 I believe and thought it was garbage. It's not garbage but it's not very good either. The film has a very weird tone to it, the voiceover feels like he belongs in a Disney docu nature film from the 50s or 60s and the score and song selection is completely inappropriate to something that's supposed to be scary. I do like the daylight shots of nature though especially a field with an old ruined house.

Return to Boggy Creek 1977,D, non-official rated PG sequel to Boggy Creek. These filmmakers took the weird Disney stuff going on in the original and ran with it, they ran off of a cliff but it was an admirable try. It might be unfair to rate it because I think I saw a version with 20 minutes cut off but I don't think it would have made a difference. It would still be a bad movie. I personally would have had Bigfoot murder the hell out of those kids but that's just me.

Boggy Creek II: And the Legend Continues 1985,C-, official sequel abandons docudrama and goes straight horror film. 1 dumbass college professor, 1 scrawny dude who is always taking off his shirt, 2 girls who I think are lesbian but don't come out because 1980s Arkansas and fear of Governor Bill Clinton popping out and doing creepy shit, 1 gross scene with a redneck, Sears catalog, and outhouse, 1 squatch parent, 1 thief squatch kid, 1 interesting climax that is not enough to save this film.

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow A Shadow Puppet Film 2020,B+, short film of Washington Irving's classic tale told with shadow puppets. Entertaining short with filmmaker who really cares about the tale. Wonderful voice over and beautiful low-key music. In the short making of the director showed some pretty neat tricks he used to get some shots, bravo.

The Dead Next Door 1989,B, zombie squad looks for serum and deals with religious cult. This low budget film shot on super 8 doesn't have the best cast or greatest director but it doesn't need it, the director loves what he's doing and it shows. Fun fx, interesting story that seems to take its love of Day of the Dead and runs with it. The cheap look of the super 8 film really helps this film and adds to the film's vibes. The poster says you would want this on your DVD collection and I do.

Subject 2023,C+, Man convicted and headed to prison is intercepted by secret government agency and given a dangerous opportunity. Mostly a one-man show and he does a good job carrying the film. Filmmaker keeps everything mostly practical which I'm grateful for and the entity is suitably creepy and the ambiguity of what's going on is appropriate. Narrative is good was interesting backstory and is also short so never wears out it's welcome.

The Dunwich Horror 1970,B-, young Dean Stockwell a student of the occult tries to get his hands on a book with the unwitting help of another student to open a doorway to ancient horrors. Why can't low budget movies today look as good as old Roger Corman low budget movies? A slow burn film that gets no help from its pacing. Stockwell is good and I did not find him stiff it's part of the role. Not being able to see the monster is a let down, I would have gone stop motion.

Wolf 1994,B-, Jack Nicholson plays a werewolf. Film is entertaining but you can see right away that the pieces could become something great but never come together. The seriousness of the narrative and what it means for a man that society looks as weak becoming a dangerous animal in modern civilization never pays off but the director and great actors keep it on a steady course. On the flip side of that coin the B level stuff doesn't really work either but together it becomes a decent movie.

Pearl 2022,B-, prequel story to the creepy old horny lady from X. Mia Goth again delivers a good performance and the story is interesting with decent violence. I like the juxtaposition of actor and serial killer but I'm not blown away by this one or X before it maybe when I see the full trilogy when MaXXine releases I'll enjoy it more. I'm not dissing the movie I enjoy them both and I love Ti West as a horror director but I'm just not blown away as so many people are.

Ghost Story 1981,B, four old timers get together and tell scary stories and fear that something from the past has come for them. I enjoy this classic type horror film but every time I've seen it I've been distracted, got to see it again sometime. Everybody does a good job acting wise, Alice Krige is unsettling and the director make sure there's no fat to the narrative. Dick Smith's FX work is great and the score is good but I do wonder if a different score could have helped the horror element.

Savage Weekend 1979,B-, rich New Yorkers head to rural upstate New York then an interesting slasher film that bites off more than it can chew happens. Actor David Gale is used correctly but William Sanderson is wasted. Interesting gay character that goes nowhere. Film takes too long to get going. There's two types of sexual stuff happening in this film the regular vulgar slasher sexual scenes and some weird sexual repression stuff that perhaps is better off in a Brian De Palma film. Fascinating.

Red Eye 2005,B-, hotel manager takes red eye flight and deals with terrorists who wants to take out government official. Wes Craven can do this stuff in his sleep, not his best but respectful tight thriller. Rachel McAdams and Cillian Murphy are good together, never over acting which can be very easy in a thriller. Although, I believe the climax called for Murphy to go just a tad more crazy and that goes for Craven as well. Final fight is not as good as Freddy versus Nancy but it's up there.

Blue Sunshine 1977,C+, dude's friend goes on murder spree because of a bad batch of acid from the past. Then he goes on a quest to clear his name. Interesting political horror film with a message that I'm not too clear on. The main dude is okay, I'm not bothered by the overacting. Some choices that he makes acting wise and his actions in the narrative I find annoying and to a lesser degree his girlfriend is in the same boat. Would've gone with a B but main actor hurt it, failure but enjoyable.

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow 1980,C, Washington Irving's classic starring Jeff Goldblum. Three major changes to the classic tale, Ichabod is rational now rather than superstitious, a change of season from fall to winter and an ending change, none of the changes are offensive. Goldblum is good but being a new actor the director doesn't understand the talent he has at his disposal. The classic story really does seem bulletproof even when it's done in a made for TV fashion, nothing special but okay.

Unhinged 1982,C, college girls get into a car crash and then wake up in a spooky mansion with a slasher running around. The movie is too dark for my taste and apparently they have no negative to fix it so that really killed my enjoyment from the start. The movie is subdued with violence some interesting camera positions but the look of the film killed that enjoyment too. Acting is passable and it has a very entertaining score. Ending is interesting but look of film really bothered me.

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow 1988,B+, classic story made for TV illustrated by Robert Van Nutt and narrated by Glenn Close. This is a wonderful version of the tale, Glenn Close does a great job with narration, she both makes it welcome but with a hint of menace underneath and the illustrations by Van Nutt seem to match wonderfully with the narration and music. Perfect film for the spooky season.

Vacaciones de Terror 1989,C+, family buys old house that used to belong to a witch who was burned alive. I read a review that said this was a boring movie which it is not. The movie starts as a witch movie but it's more of a killer doll (The witches spirit is in the doll or something) movie which is a tad disappointing but it's fine. No Great kills or special effects but the atmosphere and actors create a decent horror film.

Vacaciones de Terror 2 Cumpleanos Diabolico 1991, C, the witch from the first movie is back and is actually a witch and not a doll anymore who fights one cast member from part 1. I enjoy when a horror movie gets a little crazy and this film does get crazy but it just feels a bit incoherent narrative wise and the longer the film drags on that incoherence turns a little boring. Nothing offensive, the witch looks like she comes out of a D&D campaign, just okay, extremely skippable.

Fright Night 1985,A, kids new neighbor is a vampire, come on folks you should know what this movie is about, it's a classic. Not a perfect film but damn close. This film just gets all the ingredients right, from Chris Sarandon as the lead villain to the three kids and how they interact together and the masterful Roddy McDowall as cowardly over the hill horror actor who becomes a hero. Jerry Dandrige - "welcome to... Fright... Night! For real." Love it.

Fright Night Part 2 1988,B, the sister of the vampire from the first movie wants pay back and she brought three cool friends with her. Used to think that this film was a was a narrative remake of the first film just like Return of the Living Dead sequel is a remake of the first film just more kid friendly but that's not unfair this is its own thing. Julie Carmen is both menacing and unbelievably beautiful and McDowell runs with the character which is fun. First is best but this one's good to.

Carver 2015,C, young kids are involved in the death of three people, years later they are being hunted by a slasher. Film was written, edited, and directed by a 14 year old. She doesn't embarrass herself and shows talent. The acting ranges in the subpar category and the narrative has some okay story beats but nothing special, although, the ending is interesting. Violence is passable but like everything else nothing impressive. I sound negative but I do think it's cool a 14 year old created this.

Smile 2022,B+, lady deals with curse that feeds on trauma. Fantastic horror film with good directing and no BS narrative. There is a more serious and interesting film that this movie failed to be when it came to trauma but I'm completely fine with that. The frights do come from jumpscares but the narrative, lore, and the main actress do build up a small quality atmosphere that helps this film be more than just jumpscares. Filmmaker knows his stuff.

Laura Hasn't Slept 2020,C+, short film that inspired Smile, lady talks to shrink about nightmare and entity who is hunting her. The full length movie is better and more interesting but this does a good job at telling a decent story but again the film does the idea better. Adding a dream element to the story is interesting but filmmaker probably wanted to avoid A Nightmare On Elm Street similarities.

Vampire 20210,C+, dude from London goes to Serbia to be cemetery caretaker. I can understand someone saying that the totality of the film has nothing to say that is interesting but for me the slow burn, Balkan folklore, mundane mixed with brutality creates an interesting feeling to the film. Although the folklore of the area is impenetrable in its meaning which can be a problem with fully understanding the deeper themes of the narrative. My ignorance of the folklore did not hinder my enjoyment.

The Being 1983,C-, nuclear waste dump site creates a monster that terrorizes a town. I saw director Jackie Kong's In Search of Darkness interview about this movie and I really wanted to see it. It was a let down. The main actor is a black hole of charisma, the editing is really choppy to the point it looks like they deleted scenes, Martin Landau is under used but he was hired off the street so I don't blame him. The ending is okay, monster is so so, a bummer all around.

Sweet Home 1989,C-, TV crew investigate haunted Mansion. Movie is ground zero for the origin of the first Resident Evil game, well the Nes game based on this film is. The script is completely flat when it comes to the characters emotional impact. Pacing is also off and the movie takes too long to get to the good stuff ie FX which are fun. When the good stuff happens the bad pacing happens as well and we go a while without good effects. Actors are good the script is the weak point, lore is fun.

Fade to Black 1980,B-, movie fan has a mental breakdown and begins killing people as famous Hollywood characters. Interesting film and actor Dennis Christopher does a good job in the part of the killer but there was some acting choices that seemed off for me. He doesn't just snap all at once there is a descent and I did feel sorry for him even though he did go full creep. There is a criminal psychologist in this film who's kind of a dipshit but I love the actor that plays the part, good stuff.

The Ninth Configuration 1980,C+, military psychiatrist tries to help soldiers at abandoned castle. Fascinating film made by an intelligent filmmaker who makes choices that end up failing the whole of the film. Movies tone is all over the place except in the horror wavelength. The main reason to see this movie is Stacy Keach giving a fantastic performance. Interesting theological debate with some mysterious visuals but I just wish it had more horror.

Nightbeast 1982,C-,bad looking alien crashlands in small town and tears shit up baby. This film is both pure cheese as well as pure honesty, not a hint of cynicism. Director seems to love what he's doing, I wasn't feeling it. Alien is completely ridiculous, it looks like a goomba from the Super Mario live-action '90s movie, just with gnarly teeth. And the terrible script with bad acting even though it's done with sincerity just doesn't work in an entertaining way. 16 year-old JJ Abrams composer?

Final Exam 1981,C+, slasher hunts college students on campus. A well written slasher film with okay character development and more importantly the director / writer has a grasp with pacing / suspense. The violence isn't anything special but the director shoots the kills in an interesting manner so nothing never feels boring. Good score that helps the film but the biggest problem is the slasher is just some crazy dude, no mystery, no lore, and no mask equals no bueno. Film needed better slasher.

Dave Made a Maze 2017,C+, frustrated artist creates a cardboard maze and lives out the frustrations of said art creation. Interesting and smart film that leans more into the quirky than the horrific. I'm fine with the cast and the script but I can see how some people would be turned off by them. Not a pure horror film but the stuff in there is okay and intelligent. My problem is the quirky stuff isn't as good as Wes Anderson stuff and darker edge themes aren't as good as Terry Gilliam stuff.