10/31: Trick 'r Treat || Carrie || Still/Born
In what's becoming a pretty awesome yearly tradition, Halloween was host to a triple feature. I tried to mix in a some classics with an unknown horror movie as well. Here we go:
10/31
Trick 'r Treat
First up for the triple feature was the Halloween classic Trick 'r Treat. It's been years since I've given this movie a watch, which is truly criminal; could there be a movie that feels more Halloween than this 'un? Trick 'r Treat is an anthology film that features four lightly interconnected spooky tales and surprisingly each one is quality. This isn't usually the case for anthology films as there's usually a few gems and turds mixed together, but Trick 'r Treat is a blast the whole way through. The crowning achievement may be the woman's coven tale with its surprise twist, but the quality of all is top notch.
If this one isn't a mainstay in your Halloween watching you're doing something wrong; I definitely was. Also, where the hell are the sequels?!?! I need some more, yo.
10/10
Carrie
For our second film in the climax of this year's Binge, I gave the classic Carrie a watch. This one had been on the list for the wife all month and we finally got to it as the month was closing out. This is one of those movies that is so in the public consciousness that I wasn't honestly sure if I had seen it before. I, of course, know the entirety of the plot, but after watching I realized that no, I had in fact never seen it before; a pretty egregious gap in my horror watching.
Man... and what a movie this is. I grew up a fan of Stephen King, but always with a caveat: the man, most of the time, can't write an ending to save his life. In fact, I've always felt he was more of an ideas man than being a stellar writer. I'm not sure how the Carrie book differs from the movie, but I'm happy to say that this movie breaks the mold for King. It's an incredibly original story, well told and infinitely relatable. Growing up and feeling out of sorts with those around is an experience many of share. I, as a man, can't relate to the struggles of the female gender of course, but it is on stark display here, not to mention having an oppressively religious mother and uncontrollable psychic powers. No bueno.
Carrie still more than holds up and the climax still feels intense and fresh. It's criminal it took me so long to see it.
10/10
Still/Born
Ok guys I'll level with you... I've written something like 30+ of these reviews this month, and I'm burnt. So here goes Sean's-done-with-reviews review of the crap pile that was Still/Born:
This movie sucks. Do not watch it. It is derivative, nonsensical, inept filmmaking at its finest. It never decides what it wants to be and everything about it is shoddily done, from the writing to the acting on down. It is cliche as hell. Do not be made a fool like me and watch the trailer and think this looks good; it is not. Trust me, the only scary scenes are in the trailer. Is my rage against this movie at least partly fueled by it being such a horrendous cap off to this year's Horror Binge?
Absolutely.
2/10
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