Horrorfest 2022 Presents: Trick ‘r Treat (2007, Michael Dougherty)

Finally after years of watching my cheap DVD copy I got at maybe Best Buy or Barnes & Noble I was able to see Trick ‘r’ Treat on the big screen. The way God, cinema and mankind intended. Despite some obvious low budget or dated 2000s material this is a really good, fun and nicely creepy horror anthology from Michael Dougherty, who has gone on to bigger and arguably better things. My overall rating is an 8.5, yet I will rate and review each of the segments individually.

The Opening, or cold opening, is decent yet also sets up the rest of the movie. Leslie Bibb is a woman who finds out that her Halloween obsessed boyfriend is right that you should adhere to certain holiday traditions. There is some good gore in this one, however it’s a bit too short to have enough of an impact. I believe it is in this short opener that the location of the town the movie is set in is revealed: Warren Valley, Ohio, which does not exist I think. Or at least that’s what the movie tells us, ha ha…

Principal is a really good second tale, elevated by Dylan Baker as a man who has a dark hidden life. This one does a much better job than the first one at covering Halloween traditions, and it pays off very well in the end. If you don’t like kids, this is probably the tale for you. You also won’t ever look at jack-o’-lanterns the same way again.

The only reason I don’t give Halloween School Bus Massacre a full 10/10 is because I wanted it be longer. This is one they could have made into a longer movie, and it’s just wonderfully freaky and offers a nice twist. A group of kids trick a nice young girl named Rhonda (Samm Todd), into accompanying them to a local quarry. This is a chilling reminder that you should believe local legends. The kids find this out all too well in what is my favorite segment in this movie.

Sorry folks but I still think Surprise Party is the weakest one of the bunch. Too bad since it features the always great Anna Paquin, who makes this one at least passable. I would have been fine if they had cut this one from the movie. I will still refuse to give away the ending since I don’t do spoilers on principle, but let’s just say it’s pretty damn obvious from the get go. Lame. Also loses points for use of Manson song that was dated the minute it was featured in the movie.

Even though Sam is the best one of the bunch, earning that 10/10 rating, I doubt it would be as effective in longer form. Brian Cox unsurprisingly steals the movie as a cranky elderly neighbor who fails to give out candy on Halloween. Sam, the official Halloween mascot of this movie, shows up to force the curmudgeonly miser the error of his ways. I love how Sam uses his powers in so many different ways, and this story’s ending is just marvelous.

Now the actual Conclusion offers a nice wrap around to events, and ties up the movie very neatly. It also has a truly bone chilling moment, too, and offers one thing I really enjoy about this movie: the little clues to what is happening spread throughout the movie. Each story weaves into the other tales, and that’s why this a pretty good anthology movie. It would also be nice if we got more movies set on and or around Halloween that don’t require a certain William Shatner masked individual, although I enjoy those, too.

Cool, end credits!

Horrorfest Presents: Dr. Terror’s House of Horrors (1965, Freddie Francis)

Both Amicus Productions and Freddie Francis have done better, yet I still thought Dr. Terror’s House of Horrors was pretty decent. Some of the stories could have been cut, others deserved to be turned into full length movies. Which is often how it goes, and the cast here elevates some of the weaker material.

A group of men are on a train with a mysterious doctor who tells them their futures. It’s Peter Cushing sporting a bad accent and a neat outfit, and all of his tales end in, well…I think you can figure that out. The first one, “Werewolf,” begins with Neil McCallum going back to his old family estate. I enjoyed the ending, and one clever moment, yet this story is kind of bland. Ursula Howells was really good in this one at least.

The second one features Bernard Lee who played M in the Bond movies, plus Alan Freeman and Ann Bell. “Creeping Vine” is decent enough yet has the feel of a bleaker Doctor Who episode. Still that one could have been fleshed out into a longer movie, and it would have worked better as such. The killer vine effects aren’t too bad for a low budget movie, either.

Dudes On a Train

I actually liked “Voodoo,” if only because it leans into being a cautionary tale about imperialism and stealing from other cultures. Roy Castle is a jazz musician who learns the hard way that one should not steal tunes from other people. The cool thing is his backing band is Tubby Hayes’ quintet, so they’re real actual jazz musicians. Kenny Lynch is his fellow jazz performer who spends the whole segment warning Castle not to be a fool. I wouldn’t mind someone remaking this one into a longer movie.

“Disembodied Hand” is pretty twisted, as art critic Christopher Lee and Michael Gough’s artist going at it which leads to disastrous results. Both really deserved what they got considering how they refused to put their egos aside. This was probably the best one of the bunch, and the hand itself looks really wicked.

“Vampire” features Donald Sutherland and Jennifer Jayne as happy newlyweds who move to a small village. Max Adrian is the local doctor who suspects the new bride is a vampire. While the ending is a bit obvious I still grinned anyways, and I rather enjoyed this one a lot. The movie’s finale is a bit clear to those like myself who’ve seen way too many of these anthologies, yet I didn’t mind. Viewed on Tubi, and worth a watch just because they don’t really make these types of movies anymore.

Horrorfest 2014 Presents: Black Sabbath (1964, Mario Bava)

Years later I finally viewed this movie thanks to Shudder (I believe it was in 2018, maybe). Black Sabbath is probably Mario Bava’s best film although a few others do qualify, and this also inspired a certain famous rock band that I am a big fan of as well. Black Sabbath is easily one of the best anthologies ever made, and although one of the stories is weaker than the other ones all of them are still pretty great and make the film a quality viewing experience. Bava wisely sticks to only three stories, and has the legendary Boris Karloff narrate and star in the film as well. The title of the three tales are The Drop of Water, The Wurdulak, and The Telephone.

Maybe it’s the copy I viewed or the Wikipedia page is wrong (shocker!) yet the version I watched had The Drop of Water story first. This tale is utterly terrifying and has an marvelously creepy finale that works incredibly well. A woman foolishly steals a ring off of a dead woman’s finger and discovers too late that you should never rob from the dead. The dummy featured in this movie is pretty freaky looking, and this story is a great exercise in unbearable tension. I feel this one was the best of the bunch honestly, and shows that Bava was a master of the supernatural, a strong element of most of his movies.

The Wurdulak is Bava making a vampire story that is one of the best vampire stories ever put to film. Planet of the Vampires also shows that Bava has a knack for vampire films, and it’s a shame he didn’t make more of them. Karloff appears as the head of a family that has a serious and very unique vampire problem. There’s plenty of bite in this one hehe, not to mention those who end up becoming the undead turn on their own family members. Many consider this tale the best of the bunch, yet I feel it’s not as scary as Water is although the gore factor is certainly featured in this one pretty well.

Finally there is The Telephone, which although is the weakest of the bunch is still very suspenseful and well crafted. Michèle Mercier is a woman who is haunted by her former boyfriend, who she believes was in prison but has in fact broken out and is seeking revenge. It just occurred to me that each of the stories are very bottle episode in nature, as all of the characters are limited to one particular location. How this one concludes is rather bleak, although that can be said of all of the tales in this movie.

Although I’m not sure if Bava should have featured a wrap around story, I’m fine with how this works as a book style movie with different tales featuring new people each time. Black Sabbath is easily one of the best horror films of the 1960s, and is easily in my Top 100 horror movies.

Horrorfest 2020 Presents: The House That Dripped Blood (1971, Peter Duffell)

Even though this movie has a cool title, The House That Dripped Blood is a bit of a lie. Still that’s a title that will grab your attention and make you want to watch it, which is what I did. I liked all of the stories except for one, and while maybe only one or two were really great this is still a very enjoyable Amicus Productions movie from a studio famous for its anthology movies. Oh and of course both Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee show up in this one, although believe it or not they weren’t in every British horror movie. Just most of them.

Also Robert Bloch was responsible for all of the stories, which of course surround a giant old mansion that a local real estate agent insists is cursed and ruins people’s lives. The first story is Denholm Elliott thinking he is going insane, and has a wonderful twist that I actually did not see coming. The man supposedly haunting him looks wonderfully creepy. Even though I liked the second tale I expected a bit more from one featuring Peter Cushing, although it does stick the landing.

The Christopher Lee one has a cool title yet I was bored by that one. Easily the weakest of the bunch. Luckily the last tale starring Jon Pertwee and Ingrid Pitt is the best of the bunch, and feels wonderfully meta for an early 1970s horror movie. The wrap around tale is enjoyable and has someone breaking the fourth wall, a bit that is eye rolling these days but was fresh back then. Amicus has done better ones, yet The House That Dripped Blood is an enjoyable and solid effort from a fun studio during the heyday of British horror films.

Someone has to clean that up…