Mastodawn

Halloween season seems like it starts sooner every year... But when September rolls around, I can't help gobbling up every horror-related whatchamacallit that comes my way! So that's why it's time for:

👹☠️ slanderoid's Horri-fearingly Hell-icious Halloween Hootenanny 2025! ☠️👹

Until Halloween, I'll be posting about the horror stuff my wife and I check out. I'll tag each post with #slanderoidHalloween in case anyone wants to follow along... Or block it. Whichever floats your boat!

Last year's Halloween fest can be found here: https://goblin.camp/@slanderoid/113101713641715533

Happy Halloween, everyone! Let's get this party started! 🎃🕷️

#Halloween #SpookySeason #horror #movies #books #VideoGames #series

"The Toxic Avenger" (Movie, 2025)

- There's actually an interesting story this time 👍
- Peter Dinklage as Toxie is pretty damned great! 👍👍

Let's start the year off swinging with the 2025 remake of "The Toxic Avenger". Honestly, this movie was much better than I expected it to be. It somehow managed to balance the fun of the original movie with a new storyline that nearly everyone can relate to (how the medical system sucks). I was laughing my ass off for most of this one. Pitting it against the original, however, I don't think it's my preferred version of the movie - but, if it manages to introduce a new audience to the original series, then it's okay in my book!

#slanderoidHalloween #Halloween #SpookySeason #horror #movies #books #VideoGames #series

"Late Night with the Devil" (Movie, rewatch)

- The monster is just as awesome the second time 👍👍
- The story holds up, too, with more revealed on a second watch 👍👍

We've started collecting physical movies lately, so there will be some rewatches this year. I'm excited to see if they still hold up!

The first one, and the one I've been dying to see again since picking it up, is "Late Night with the Devil". This was my movie of the year last year and... Yeah, not much has changed. It's still fucking awesome. The production, the story, the humor, the grotesqueness... It's all just spot on. There are a lot of subtleties that are undetectable the first time through, too, and - to anyone who liked this one before - I'd argue that it's even more awesome the second time. It's still a 10/10 for me! 🎃

#slanderoidHalloween #Halloween #SpookySeason #horror #movies #books #VideoGames #series

"Weapons" (Movie)

- The monster has me torn so it gets a 😐
- The story is told in a fun, time jumping, shifting POV kind of way 👍

This post has *SPOILERS*. Okay, you've been warned.

(If you would like more context for my opinions, check out this link: http://slanderoid.com/2024/10/01/slanderoids-monster-of-the-week-4-zombies/ )

This is a zombie movie, and I usually hate zombie movies. But, this is a *traditional* zombie movie, where there is a bokor that can control them. This is something that I've wanted to see for a long time. However, I feel like these zombies were wasted. I wish the bokor had some kind of plan to do something with the zombies they made... But they literally spent the whole movie hiding in a basement. Ultimately, this one is a mixed bag: something I've wanted to see that just doesn't hit the mark

#slanderoidHalloween #Halloween #SpookySeason #horror #movies #books #VideoGames #series

"The Stepford Wives" by Ira Levin (Book)

- No monsters here to speak of... Maybe 😐
- An accessible and truly creepy story 👍👍

I decided to start my horror reading marathon with a classic this year and, damn, was that a good choice. Even though the ending left a lot of lingering questions unanswered, the story here is compelling and genuinely freaky. It's a short book that starts slowly (while being consistently engaging) and goes from zero to one hundred in the matter of a few pages. And, unfortunately, it's getting more and more relevant by the day. If you haven't read this one, you need to!

#slanderoidHalloween #Halloween #SpookySeason #horror #books

"Infidel" by Jose Villarrubia and Aaron Campbell (Comic)

- Freakish monsters that will stick with me 👍
- A strong story with a good message 👍

This comic series always comes up when I search for good horror comics. Luckily, I found it at the local library sale and got to read it this year! I thought the monster was really scary, with its hideous design and the way its actions are behind some of the misconceptions that lead some people to embrace xenophobic ideologies. This was an excellent read and I definitely recommend it!

#slanderoidHalloween #Halloween #SpookySeason #horror #books #series

"The Wolf House" (Movie)

- A couple of really strange creatures but I don't think they're monsters 👍👍
- A deep story hiding in a simple story 👍👍

I bought this Blu-ray because I couldn't find this movie on streaming platforms last year... I'm glad I did! The most amazing part of this movie isn't the horror (which is disturbing) or the story (which is a powerful account of an authoritarian cult thing in Chile) but the presentation itself. This is a stop motion movie that defies description and challenged what I thought stop motion was. This is a beautiful work of art and anyone who can find a way to watch it should do just that! 🎃

#slanderoidHalloween #Halloween #SpookySeason #horror #movies

"Bodies Bodies Bodies" (Movie)

- The killer is hard to rate but I'll give them one point for the ending 👍
- The story is fine, I guess 😐

This is a pretty standard slasher movie. In fact, I didn't think any of the kills were that spectacular and I didn't find any of the characters to be likeable tonight enough to cheer them on. The best part is the last five minutes of the movie, which came as a huge surprise to me. I don't know if I'd recommend it unless you have nothing else to watch. However, my wife liked this one much more than I did, so your mileage may vary.

#slanderoidHalloween #Halloween #SpookySeason #horror #movies

"Freaky" (Movie)

- The killer is a little lame... but gets better when he swaps bodies 👍
- The story is good but is held back a bit 👍

This one was a lot of fun! (My wife didn't like it as much as Bodies Bodies Bodies, though.) The kills were graphic and fun, the story wasn't half bad, and the cast does a great job. There were some nitpicky things I had about the direction/writing that affected the scares. And, as a guy, I'm not sure how well Vince Vaughn did playing a teenage girl... My wife said he was fine, though. Regardless, this one is entertaining and probably worth a watch!

#slanderoidHalloween #Halloween #SpookySeason #horror #movies

"Get Out" (Movie)

- There aren't really any monsters except body swapped people 😐
- The story is full of awesome characters and tense moments 👍👍

I tried watching this movie several years ago... But I fell asleep in the middle and never tried it again. That might be for the best - I don't know if I would have appreciated it as much then as I do now. (Between this and "Late Night with the Devil", I'm starting to think that horror movies with hypnosis really freak me out!) Jordan Peele pulls out all the stops for his directorial debut, putting together a bizarre story that is equally entertaining and truly disturbing. While it's light on action, it's constantly engaging. The cast does a phenomenal job bringing this story to life. It's a must watch if you haven't seen it!

#slanderoidHalloween #Halloween #SpookySeason #horror #movies

"Renfield" (Movie)

- Nick Cage as Dracula is pretty fun 👍
- The story left me feeling meh 😐

This is one that we wanted to see in theaters but missed it... I guess two years later will have to work 😅

I'm not sure it was worth the wait. Both my wife and I feel like this movie is missing something, but neither of us can say what. Soul, maybe? Besides that, though, Dracula was pretty great, even if his fake teeth make him hard to understand. (I get the feeling that it was part of the joke.) This one is occasionally pretty funny and some of the kills are wild. I'd recommend it if you find it for free at the library like we did.

"Loop" by Koji Suzuki (Book)

- Sadako doesn't even show up until the end 👎
- Interesting but poorly paced story 😐

Yikes. I thought I'd have better things to say about this book (the third book of the "Ring" series) when I went to write this but, now that I think back on it, I kind of wish it had been completely different. There is no "horror" in this book. It is almost purely a sci-fi story. That's okay! I think it's cool to switch genres mid-series. It's kind of interesting and recontextualizes the first two books in the series... but it does so with a plodding story that tends to meander. I really think it should have been whittled down to a novella or taken a different approach altogether. It won't stop me from reading the next books in the series but, after disliking the last one, I have started to wonder what I'm doing with my life.

#slanderoidHalloween #Halloween #SpookySeason #horror #books

"The Grudge" (Movie)

- The monsters are better than I remember 👍👍
- Slow and uninteresting story 👎

I thought this movie was going to be kind of awful. The last time I saw it was twenty years ago and I didn't really remember anything about it... Thankfully, I was sort of wrong. The story is presented in a series of vignettes about the people who are getting killed by the ghost, which is a cool presentation. Unfortunately, most of them don't move the plot forward other than "another person died" until close to the end. But, the monsters were waaay less cringe than I thought they would be with some cool special effects and designs. The cast is pretty stacked and the sets and lighting were pretty good too. A solid C+

#slanderoidHalloween #Halloween #SpookySeason #horror #movies

"Pet Sematary" (1989) (Movie)

- The cat and kid are fine but no mention of the wendigo 😐
- The story is still pretty strong after moving to film 👍

I'm not a fan of Stephen King's movies. They almost never survive the transition to the silver screen. (The recent "It" remakes are an exception to that rule.) So, I wasn't exactly dying to see this one. (Har har!) I didn't start to love the cast until the second half, even if Jud was great the whole time. And, why is the sun always in the wrong place? It's out at night, or disappears at odd times... But, I (and my wife) feel that the story is still impactful, even if it chops out all the wendigo stuff. It's not as good as the book - which was one of my favorites from last year - but, if you just want the jist of the story, it's passable

#slanderoidHalloween #Halloween #SpookySeason #horror #movies

"Pet Sematary" (2019) (Movie)

- The monsters are pretty good and the wendigo is at least mentioned 👍
- The changes made to the story weaken it 👎👎

This... is kind of a weird one. Somehow, it manages to replicate the issue from the first movie where the cast seemed terrible until the horror kicks in. Then, they're great. But my biggest issue is with the changes to the story. What once was a haunting exploration of grief has been reworked into a more straightforward horror movie. Certain parts are more fleshed out (including a nod to the wendigo) but other parts have been altered, seemingly, just for the sake of it. Why is Jud so sinister? Why did Zelda's story change? And why introduce the kids in the masks just to immediately ignore them? This one was a dud but it's probably not the worst thing I've seen

#slanderoidHalloween #Halloween #SpookySeason #horror #movies

bisexual baddie Sep 16

@slanderoid this movie has a couple of absolutely terrifying scenes for anyone whose been in an abusive relationship. It was very cathartic to watch

@superviviansunshine That's true! I didn't mention much about the story but I did really like the exploration of Renfield's relationship to Dracula

Jaymi Elford (she/her)Sep 20

@slanderoid It was good for a laugh and the gore.