Just A Look: Luz (2018)

 

Ranking the Silent Night, Deadly Night Franchise

To say that I'm very particular (or just peculiar) about any ranking of titles of any given slasher movie franchise is an understatement. So here we go, this is my list of the SNDN films from my mostest favoritest to my leastest favoritetest. I'm not going to bother with the plots because it's Christmas. So this is more "go go go" than "ho ho ho". And just for the record, I think Silent Night, Bloody Night (1974) by itself is better than this entire franchise. Boy oh boy, I'm glad I got that off of my chest.

1) Silent Night, Deadly Night 3: Better Watch Out! (1989) 

Explaining the appeal of this sleepy and bizarre gem is difficult. Hell, explaining why it's my favorite of the entire franchise is next to impossible. But let's get give it a go. First, this has two cast members and an associate editor on "Twin Peaks", so I like pretending that this is an unofficial TP spinoff film. Second, you have one of the most unlikable final girls in the history of slasherdom in the form of a Jennifer Connelly lookalike. Third, you've got lots of pretentious dialogue, a weirdly indescribably tone, and lots of stupid bullshit filler. And finally, this is from Monte Hellman, director of Two-Lane Blacktop (1971) of all people, giving it his all on a micro-budget.

2) Silent Night, Deadly Night 4: Initiation

Now this is how you make a sequel. Get a filmmaker (Brian frickin' Yuzna) who clearly isn't interested in making a carbon copy of the first film. I suspect that Yuzna had a ton of crazy ideas he wanted to double down on just in case he never got a chance to make them come alive for a standalone, non-franchise related film. Boom! Instant classic. This has lots of body horror -by Screaming Mad George and company- and an epic performance from Clint Howard. I love movies that try too hard and this is certainly one of them. For my money, this is the best of the franchise, even though it's not my favorite.

3) Silent Night, Deadly Night 5: The Toy Maker

In case you thought that part 4 was the most demented and wacky that this franchise could get, then you need to see this one. Mickey Rooney doing his gruff psycho grandpa bit is worth the price of admission alone. But then you have a deranged Pinocchio running around looking for a mommy/wife PLUS a subplot of killer toys. Screaming Mad George and Brian Yuzna are back too (albeit in a lesser capacity). And once again, the tone is all over the place. Come on, people! This is pretty fantastic.

4) Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984)

Finally, we get to the original film. I've always enjoyed this mean little film, so I was kind of reluctant to check out any of the sequels for a very long time. Yeah, I don't know why I did that either. Don't let how low this one is on the list mean it's any less loved by me. But as much as I cherish the original SNDN, it's the springboard that makes parts 3 through 5 that much stranger and all the more glorious. Not sure what else to say about this other than I'll see you ON THE WARM SIDE OF THE DOOR! 

5) Silent Night (2012) 

Okay, this remake is way better than it has any right to be. I don't love the MORE EXTREME THAN THE ORIGINAL vibe they were going for, but this one is heckin' entertaining. Luckily, this has a great and grounded lead character (and a few charming side characters) to keep it from having the one flaw that always drives me nuts with Black X-mas (2006). Don't worry, I love Black X-mas but everyone in it is pretty much a dickhead or just not memorable. This should've been called Cynical Night or Cynent Night or something? Recommended if you need a trashy stocking stuffer.

6) Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2 (1987)

The disappointment I feel when I think about this film is too much for me to bear. If this has been a short film just about good old "Garbage day!" Ricky himself, I would love it. Instead, this film is stuffed like a Christmas goose with 75% (or more) footage from the original film. One of my single greatest pet peeves in genre film is clip show movies. I hate them. I've heard people say "But this has Ricky AND you don't have to watch the first film because all the good stuff is in this one!" That's nice. I won't say they're wrong because they're not. Who cares? It's just a movie! Instead, I'll just say Merry freakin' Christmas. Or maybe I won't. 

The Moviethon Vlog 45

My Horror Shelfie 20

Films I Watched: November 2021

* means a First Time Watch.

First Love (2019)*
The Wraith (1986)*
Jacob's Wife (2021)*
Night Teeth (2021)*
Dune (2021)*
Thor: Ragnarok (2017)
Cure (1997)*
Goke: Bodysnatcher from Hell (1968)
The Sparks Brothers (2021)*
The Horror of Party Beach (1964)*
Shang-Chi and the Ten Rings (2021)*
The Chinese Boxer (1970)*
Ticks (1993)*
Elvira's Haunted Hills (2001)
Nothing Underneath (1985)
Too Beautiful to Die (1988)
The Laughing Dead (1989)*
Miles Davis: The Birth of the Cool (2019)*
Shock Treatment (1981)
Body Count (1986)*
Bloody Moon (1981)
Night School (1981)
Pieces (1982)
Madhouse (1981)
Happy Birthday to Me (1981)
Double Exposure (1982)*
Stagefright (1987)
American Nightmare (1983)*
Absurd (1981)
Schizoid (1980)*
Edge of the Axe (1988)
Nightmares in a Damaged Brain (1981)*
Addams Family Values (1993)
Creep (2014)*
Turkey Hollow (2015)
The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (1982)
Blood Rage (1984)
White Christmas (1954)
Iron Man 3 (2013)
Black Friday (2021)*
Christmas Evil (1980)
Silent Rage (1982)
A Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
Black Christmas (1974)
1974: La posesión de Altair (2016)*
The Collingswood Story (2002)*

Total Films Watched: 47
Total First Time Watches: 22

Films I Watched: October 2021

*means a first time watch.

So Sweet, So Dead (1972)
Death Carries a Cane (1973)
Bewitched (1995)
Hack-O-Lantern (1988)
Halloween II (1981)
The Pedal Movie (2021)*
Night of the Demons (1988)
Practical Magic (1998)
Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (2019)
She-Freak (1967)*
Blades (1988)
Midnight (1982)
Angel (1983)*
Shallow Grave (1987)*
Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982)
The Fourth Victim (1971)
Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962)*
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920)*
Attack of the Demons (2019)*
The Girl on the Broomstick (1972)*
Death Screams (1982)*
The House on Haunted Hill (1959)
Halloween Kills (2021)*
Lady of the Manor (2021)*
Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988)
Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers (1989)
Tough Guys Don't Dance (1987)*
Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers - Producer's Cut (1995)
The Midnight House (1985)
Resurrection (1999)*
Coco (2017)*
The Crow (1994)
Sleepy Hollow (1999)
A Day of Judgement (1980)*
Bad Dreams (1988)*
ParaNorman (2012)
Halloween H20: 20 Years Later (1998)
Hellions (2015)*
All About Alice (1972)*
Freaky Farley (2007)
The Worst Witch (1986)
The Halloween Tree (1993)
The Hollow (2004)
Halloween (2007)
Halloween II (2009)
Night of the Demons 2 (1994)
Halloween: Resurrection (2002)

Total Films Watched: 47

First Time Watches: 18

Films I Watched: September 2021

 

*means a first time watch.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992)
The Guest (2018)
Lemonade Mouth (2011)
Halloweentown (1998)
The Resurrected (1991)
Halloweentown II: Kalabar's Revenge (2001)
Evil Dead (Unrated) (2012)
Love Ghost (2001)*
The Werewolf (1956)*
Inseminoid (1981)
Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Unearthly (1956)
Phantom of the Paradise (1974)
The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)
The Undying Monster (1942)*
Haunted Honeymoon (1986)
Batman: The Long Halloween (2021)*
Monster House (2007)*
When Michael Calls (1972)*
Symptoms (1974)
Hell Night (1981)
The Witches (1990)
My Mom's a Werewolf (1989)
Nightbooks (2021)*
The Norliss Tapes (1973)*
Ghostwatch (1992)*
The Creeping Flesh (1973)
Heavy Metal (1981)
Let's Scare Jessica to Death (1971)
Jack-O (1995)*
The Night Before Halloween (2016)*
Ginger Snaps (2000)
Nosferatu in Venice (1988)*
The Godsend (1980)*
Elvira, Mistress of the Dark (1988)
Fear Street: Part Three - 1666 (2021)*
The Fear Resurrection (1999)
Trick'r Treat (2007)

Total Films Watched: 37

First Time Watches: 14

Giallo Meltdown: Slashing Back To You

  

I'm back in the world of what some people refer to as "writing a book". To keep folks (hopefully) excited about the second volume of Giallo Meltdown, I have shared the latest chapter right here. There's few things I enjoy more than wandering around that twilight world where the giallo and the slasher meet. Italian and Spanish filmmakers fresh from the giallo craze making slashers and American filmmakers making slashers that might as well be gialli. It gives me goosebumps in my unmentionable though non-physical areas. I hope you enjoy this installment as it will be the ninth chapter of Giallo Meltdown 2. Will the book be 13 chapters or more? Maybe!

P.S. The title of this chapter is a little nod to this classic.

Films I Watched: August 2021

 * means a first time watch.

Giallo alla regola (1988) *
I due gattoni a nove code... e mezza ad Amsterdam (1972) *
Mania (1974)*
Ciak si muore (1974)*
Shadows Unseen (1972)*
The Sunday Woman (1975)*
Fear Street: Part One - 1994 (2021)*
The Compleat Al (1985)*
Woodstock 99: Peace Love and Rage (2021)*
Altered States (1980)*
Personal Shopper (2016)*
The Suicide Squad (2921)*
The Highwaymen (2019)*
Treasure of the Ninja (1987)*
Venus of Ille (1981)*
The Crimes of the Black Cat (1972)
Who Saw Her Die? (1972)
Friday the 13th: A New Beginning (1985)
Young Sherlock Holmes (1985)
Cast a Deadly Spell (1991)
Lesson of the Evil (2012)*
Real Genius (1985)
PCU (1994)
Sky High (2005)
Heathers (1988)
Grease (1978)
Jennifer's Body (2009)
Gundam I (1981)*
Jawbreaker (1999)
Grease 2 (1982)
Werewolf of London (1935)*
Happy Halloween, Scooby Doo (2020)*
She-Wolf of London (1946)*
Vampyr (1932)*
Alien (1979)
Ninja III: The Domination (1984)*
Mad Monster Party? (1967)
Fear Street: Part Two - 1978 (2021)*
Once Bitten (1985)

Total Films Watched: 39

First Time Watches: 23

My Horror Shelfie 19

 

My Horror Shelfie 18

 

The Slow Wizard Halloween Special

Recently I talked about how I've started a new YouTube channel for my music projects called The Slow Wizard. For the first ever Halloween Special, I filmed me twiddling some knobs! How is that different from any other episode of The Slow Wizard? That's a fair question! This time I used my Rob Zombie's Halloween II flag as a tablecloth. I can hear your oohs and ahs echoing from your caverns right now. I attempted to make these particular sounds to spookier than normal. Hopefully, I was successful! Before I go I just want to thank all of you who are still following this old blog. You are all amazing folks. Talk to ya later!

Shock Cinema Magazine

Check out Shock Cinema Magazine right here.

The Slow Wizard

Hi there, pals. I have started a new YouTube channel called The Slow Wizard. It's dedicated to my strange sound ventures. A little bit of background: I've been collecting guitar pedals and music gear for many years now and I thought that I needed a new venue to present my tinkering with such things. I'd be honored if you'd check it out and consider subscribing. While it's not exactly movie related, these sounds are directly inspired by the horror and cult film soundtracks I love so much. Season 1 of The Slow Wizard will focus more on guitar playing and guitar pedals while Season 2 will be all about them synths. Anyway, here's the first episode:

My Horror Shelfie 17