Hallowe'en is coming up again! So in honour of that, here's a spooky themed post. :) Last year I did a Hallowe'en faves and round-up post, you can read that here: https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2016/10/halloween-faves-round-up.html
Two years ago I posted about Hallowe'en films, you can find that in the round-up post or here: https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2015/10/halloween-films.html
So today I thought I'd do a follow post on more scary films. As with last year I've tried to avoid spoilers but there are a couple. Unless otherwise stated all video clips are trailers. :)
The Disappeared (2008)
This is a British horror about teenage boy Matthew (played by Harry Treadaway, twin of Luke) who has recently returned home from a mental hospital. He suffered a breakdown after the disappearance of his little brother Tom, who is believed to be dead.
Matthew tries to piece his life back together and heal his relationship with his dad (Greg Wise) but he starts to see and hear things that make him wonder if Tom is still around. He strikes up a friendship with new neighbour Amy (Ros Leeming) but can he really trust anyone?
Note: The trailer contains a spoiler and strong language.
I first saw this a few years ago, I think they showed it for Hallowe'en. It's good; quite a haunting and bleak film. It's not a polished, big scare type movie but it has a good storyline, so doesn't need that. There is a twist at the end that I found creepy and felt added a new dimension to the story. I won't say what it is because I don't want to spoil it! If you're a Harry Potter fan, you might be interested to know that Tom Felton (Draco Malfoy) plays Matthew's best friend Simon.
Tales from the Crypt (1972)
Horror anthology based on comics. The sequel to this is The Vault of Horror which you can read more about in my Top 5 horror anthology post from 2011: https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2011/11/top-5-horror-anthologies.html
A group of people are on a graveyard tour and end up wandering off into a crypt where they meet the Crypt Keeper (played by Ralph Richardson). He tells 5 scary tales, which feature each of them dying in horrible ways.
And All Through the House
It's Christmas Eve and Joanne Clayton (Joan Collins) is in the middle of murdering her husband and making it look like an accident when (inconveniently), an escaped murderous mental patient dressed as Father Christmas turns up! (I would be thinking it would be sod's law he'd choose my house! lol).
The first thing you'd do would be to call the police, but in Joanne's case there's a bit of problem since she's just killed her husband. So she tries to secure the house and hopes he goes away. However she hasn't counted on her daughter Carol (played by Chloe Franks who also plays Christopher Lee's daughter in The House That Dripped Blood), who is excited that Santa has come...
Reflection of Death
Carl Maitland (Ian Hendry) is planning to leave his wife and kids for a new life with his secret girlfriend Susan Blake (Angela/Angie Grant). While they're driving away together he falls asleep and dreams that they have a car accident. He wakes-up suddenly and realises it was a dream, but then it happens for real and things are forever changed.
Poetic Justice
Arthur Edward Grimsdyke (Peter Cushing) is a friendly old man who likes to make toys for children. He's a widower who lives with his dogs, and has an interest in the occult and communicating with his late wife. For some reason his neighbour James Elliot (Robin Phillips) who lives across the street with his dad, deeply resents him and sets out to make his life hell.
His plan includes getting Grimsdyke's dogs taken away and implying that he's a paedophile so the local mothers stop their kids from seeing him. The final act is sending him horrible Valentine's cards. But that takes things too far and has consequences that James couldn't have imagined...
Wish You Were Here
Businessman Ralph Jason (Richard Greene) has serious money problems and he and his wife Enid (Barbara Murray) have to sell their collection of antiques. While deciding what to sell Enid points out a Chinese statue that they haven't paid much attention to before. They discover that the statue supposedly grants you 3 wishes, which puts Ralph in mind of the story The Monkey's Paw. Enid excitedly wishes for "lots and lots of money". An alarmed Ralph tries to tell her that in the story the wishes always end badly, but it's too late!
Blind Alleys
Major William Rogers (Nigel Patrick) has recently taken over as director of the Elmridge Home for the Blind. He's rather self-interested and begins to make changes which benefit him rather than the residents, such as saving on bills by turning the heating off after a certain time each night (but keeping warm in his own room) and scrimping on the food (while dining on steak himself).
The residents' anger and distress builds and when one of their friends dies due to Major Rogers' neglect, George Carter (Patrick Magee) formulates a plan to get revenge. The major believes himself to be untouchable because he can see and his dog Shane (who is a German Shepherd) protects him, but is he right?
It's Santa!
I prefer The Vault of Horror to TFTC but this is good. I have it saved on Sky+ and watched it again the other day. My favourite stories are Poetic Justice and Blind Alleys. The character of James in Poetic Justice is just so horrible. I understand being annoyed by a neighbour's dogs if they bark a lot, but don't understand his hatred and persecution of Grimsdyke. He seems to have nothing better to do than stand and watch him all day! You feel so sorry for Grimsdyke. :( And in Blind Alleys Major Roger is not a very likable man either. I like Shane though!
The one thing I don't get with this is that most of the characters have done "bad things" (such as murder their husband, persecute old men , treat vulnerable people badly etc.) so they're being punished, but in the case of Ralph (Wish You Were Here) I don't get it as much. However, I think the wife does say that he sold guns to the Chinese man they got the statue from, so maybe he's into shady business!
For another version of the Monkey's Paw check out the Are You Afraid of the Dark episode The Tale of the Twisted Claw in the Hallowe'en Faves post here, or at the link above (top of the page).
There was also a TV series of TFTC but they haven't shown it in the UK in years. Season/Series 1, Episode 2 is another version of And All Through The House starring Mary Ellen Trainor. I have seen it years ago. You can watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlNG5rWNokk
Scary or Die (2012)
This is another horror anthology set in Los Angeles. There are 5 stories loosely linked by a strange woman walking through the areas where they're taking place.
The Crossing
Buck (Bill Orbest Jr) and his friends aren't very pleasant people to be around, they enjoy killing immigrants on the Mexico-US border. But they haven't planned what they'd do if their victims don't stay dead...
Taejung's Lament
Taejung (Charles Rahi Chun) is mourning his dead wife. One night he saves Min-ah (Alexandra Choi) from a strange man and she invites him to a party at her apartment to say thank you. But it's no ordinary party and Min-ah and her friends aren't ordinary people, and Taejung realises he's got himself involved in something very strange.
Re-membered
Crooked policeman Sam Franks (Christopher Darga) carries out a hitman job and then goes about his business with the dismembered body in the boot of his car. But this body isn't like all the others.
Clowned
Emmet (played by Corbin Bleu, best known for High School Musical) has a normal life with his mum, brother Andy (Xavier Davids) and girlfriend Kelly (Elizabeth DiPrinzio), but he's also a drug dealer on the side. One day while at the beach, Andy hears a child crying under the pier. The child isn't alone, there's something else down there but luckily Andy gets away. Later, a strange clown (Domiziano Arcangeli) (nicknamed "F*cko) turns up at Andy's birthday party and bites Emmett! From then on he begins to undergo a strange transformation.
Lover Come Back
A woman who has been badly treated by her husband has recently died, but she just can't rest and needs to make things right. So she sets out to do just that, drawing on things her grandad (played by Corbin's dad David Reivers) has taught her.
This is a bleak film at times too. Clowned is by far the best story in my opinion, although I like Taejung's Lament too. The Crossing would probably be the segment I like the least. The clown in Clowned is really creepy, worse than It/Pennywise! It's an interesting idea, a clown bite infecting someone. I like the relationship that the brothers have as well.
Sorry I haven't written so much about some of the stories; I haven't seen this for a couple of years or so and can't remember all the details.
Darling (2007)
Darling is a Bollywood film. It's about Aditya ("Adit") (played by Fardeen Khan) who is married to Ashwini (Isha/Eesha Koppikar) but having an affair with his secretary Geeta (Esha Deol). When Geeta gets pregnant and refuses to abort the baby, she and Aditya fight and he accidentally kills her. Geeta's ghost then starts haunting him, intent on getting revenge.
Check out a scene from the movie here where Aditya is at the cinema and fantasises about himself dancing with the actress (played by Nisha (Priyanka) Kothari). The song is Aa Khushi Se Khudkhusi Kar Le: https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2013/06/j-pop-vs-bollywood.html
Thirst (2009)
The Korean title for this is Bakjwi. It's partly based on the book and play by Therese Raquin. Priest Sang-hyeon (Song Kang-ho) volunteers to be a test subject in Africa for a new drug that doctors hope will cure the deadly illness sweeping through much of the world.* The treatment fails and he becomes ill, but after receiving a blood transfusion he survives. However there is an unexpected consequence- he needs to drink blood to keep the illness from returning and he is now sensitive to sunlight.
As Sang-hyeon adjusts to his new life as a vampire he becomes involved with Tae-ju (Kim Ok-bin) the wife of his childhood friend Kang-woo (Shin Ha-kyun), who he has recently became reacquainted with. Kang-woo is ill and Tae-ju feels trapped in her life looking after him and being put upon by his mother. Sang-hyeon starts to open up to desires that he's previously denied as a priest and sleeps with Tae-ju. He ends up telling her his secret and she wants to join him, but it's a decision he comes to regret.
Spoiler below!
Thirst is a very strange film but good! Sang-hyeon makes Tae-ju into a vampire (already an unwise decision since she involves him in murder) but while he is careful about what he does, she is quite unhinged and once she's a vampire she's even worse, killing people without a thought. In the end he has to take drastic action. I'd recommend this if you like horror films, vampire movies and Asian horror in particular.
*I've written the names the Korean way, with the surname first.
Dorian Gray (2009)
Based on the classic novel The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde, set in Victorian times, this is the tale of young man Dorian Gray (Ben Barnes) who moves to London after he inherits his uncle's house. At first he is naive and bewildered by his new life, but is quickly taken under the wing of Lord Henry Wotten (Colin Firth) and artist Basil Hallward (Ben Chaplin), who starts painting a portrait of him. Henry however proves to be a bad influence with his loose morals. He is envious of Dorian's youth and encourages him to enjoy it and push the boundaries.
When Dorian meets theatre actress Sibyl Vane (Rachel Hurd-Wood) he falls in love and asks her to marry him. His new friends and social circle disapprove because of her profession (in those days acting wasn't rated very highly, thought of as on a par with prostitution) and Henry thinks Dorian should try other women before settling down.
One night during a conversation with Henry, Dorian makes a remark that he would sell his soul to be young forever. It seems that the devil (or some dark force) is listening because from them on, he never ages. No matter how hedonistic his lifestyle and how many people he hurts, Dorian remains young and handsome. However it's a different story with the picture that Basil painted.
Dorian Gray isn't a horror but it is a dark, gothic thriller so it suited this post! I saw this when it first came out at the cinema in 2009 (think it was October when I went). Don't think I've read the book but I plan to. There are two other films, a 1945 American version and a 1970 Italian one. I may have seen the American one.
This is a fave of mine; I have it saved on Sky but plan to get it on DVD. It's entertaining and you emphasise with Dorian, even though he does some bad things he comes to regret them but he's trapped in a cycle.
Bonus- TV
I decided to include a TV entry as well. :)
Hammer House of Horror
Hammer House of Horror was a 1980s British TV series, made by the Hammer company (responsible for the Hammer horror films which Christopher Lee was well known for). It featured stand alone episodes which included werewolves, witches, murders and supernatural occurrences. There was only one series made.
My favourite episode is No. 5, The House That Bled to Death (not to be confused with The House That Dripped Blood mentioned above, which I must write about in future!). Couple William (played by Nicholas Ball) and Emma (Rachel Davies) and their daughter Sophie (Emma Ridley) move into a house that has a dark history due to a murder. It's not long before strange things start happening, such as a knife/sword (the murder weapon) randomly appearing, the death of Sophie's cat and blood literally dripping from the ceiling. But is all what it seems?
This is entertaining and has a good twist at the end. Here is the scene at Sophie's birthday party where the house "bleeds". If this happened in reality I'd imagine it would traumatise the kids (as it does poor Sophie)!
Update 14/10/24: The video is now gone and I can't find another clip. But here is a trailer for the whole series: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kf-n_nBXHG8
Update 2- 9/11/24: I found another clip from The House That Bled to Death: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_xkU-sYqPyE
Hope you enjoyed the post and have a good Hallowe'en on Tuesday (if you celebrate). Happy Hallowe'en! :)
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