31 Scary Movie Mini Reviews 2024 – Part 2

Every October I watch and write mini reviews for 31 scary movies. It’s the last day of October 2024, so here are my final 16 reviews.

Scary Movie Mini Review #16: House of Usher (1960) Directed by Roger Corman

Another Poe story from schlock master Roger Corman, who used his schlock money to make these artful Poe adaptations. The fiancé of a wealthy woman visits her family’s brooding gothic home. He finds both her and her brother in a sickly and fragile state, claiming to be cursed and unable to leave. The house is literally crumbling around them. If you’ve read the Poe short story, you know how it ends, though Corman never stuck that faithfully to the text, and deviates pretty wildly on some major plot points here.

House of Usher has atmosphere for days, a striking technicolor palette and grand, melodramatic acting and music. The concrete soundstage floor in some scenes is a bit distracting, but the otherwise elaborate house sets make up for it, as does the sound design and simple yet effective visual effects. There are even some crane shots and camera moves that feel strikingly modern, as well as a gorgeous color-tinted nightmare sequence. I particularly liked the creepy paintings of past Usher family members and the house itself, done in a wild neon abstract style that’s as creepy as it is anachronistic. Corman always got the maximum bang for his buck, and House of Usher has plenty of bang.

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31 Scary Movie Mini Reviews 2024 – Part 1

Every October I watch and write a mini review for 31 scary movies. Since we’re half way through October, here are the first 15 reviews:

Scary Movie Mini Review #1: Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (2024) Directed by Tim Burton

Tim Burton’s 1988 film Beetlejuice is not a great movie, but its weird story and inventive visuals have captured viewers imaginations for decades, and I’ll admit that I enjoy it myself, though it’s always felt a bit shallow. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is just as shallow, but also feels like multiple sequels crammed into one. There are at least three subplots in this movie that could have easily been their own more clearly defined stories. I suspect this script started out as a TV series that was then condensed into a feature.

Tim Burton is at peak Tim Burton here and clearly having a non-Disney blast. The visuals are striking and it’s nice to see so many practical makeup effects and sets. It’s also fun to have talents like Catherine O’Hara, Winona Ryder and Jenna Ortega riffing off each other, though it’s sometimes difficult to understand their motivations. The rich artistic yuppie vs mortality-obsessed goth dynamic from the first movie has become confusingly blurred with these characters as they’ve aged. Keaton’s Beetlejuice performance has actually gotten better with time. He’s great.

I was ready to give up on Beetlejuice Beetlejuice as just another nostalgic cash grab crammed with too much plot, but then the third act happened. Burton goes so bonkers here that I had to admit he was doing something special, something more than just another fan pandering sequel. I only wish he could have paired this ultra-silly, anything goes cinematic energy with more disciplined storytelling.

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31 Scary Movie Mini Reviews 2023 – Part 2

Every year in October I try to watch and write about a scary movie for each day of the month. Here are my last 16 Scary Movie Mini Reviews for October 2023. Enjoy!

Scary Movie Mini Review #16: One Cut of The Dead (2017) Directed by Shin’ichirō Ueda

Here’s a fun one from Japan: filmmakers making a low budget zombie movie run into real zombies? This movie requires zero spoilers to fully enjoy so I won’t give you any. But if you don’t mind some splattery zombie gore, it’s a fun ride. That’s it. That’s all I can say. Watch it, it’s awesome! (I should watch more zero spoilers movies because writing the reviews for them is so easy.)

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