What I Watched in October 2021

I've been very happy with both of the computer animated Addams Family films from the past couple of years. The second one isn't as strong as the first but I think that may just be that I'm no longer surprised by how well the material is being handled. The first from 2019 shocked me by keeping very well to the spirit and tone of the 1960’s television series and even finding ways to fold a lot of the original Charles Addams single panel cartons smoothly into the narrative. This new movie takes some inspiration from the 1970’s TV cartoon version of the family as well by having the entire crew riding around America in their gothic styled Creepy Camper. That was unexpected! And the plot smartly focuses on the precocious Wednesday (voiced by Chloë Grace Moretz) as she is lead to believe she might not actually be an Addams. Mon Dieu! The film is funny, eerie and visually arresting throughout with pitch perfect performances from the entire voice cast. In fact, it would be easy to picture most of the actors embodying these roles doing do in a live action film as well which would be quite fun. Oscar Issacs as Gomez and Charlize Theron as Morticia are excellent and I hope they continue to play these characters for years to come.

The List 

SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES (1983) – 6 (rewatch on Blu) 

THE ADDAMS FAMILY 2 (2021) – 7 

EVILSPEAK (1981) – 6 (rewatch on Blu) 

GRIZZLY (1976) – 6 (rewatch on Blu) 

CIRCUS OF HORRORS (1960) – 7 (rewatch on Blu) 

HOUSE OF HORRORS (1946) – 6 (rewatch on Blu) 

THE PROPHECY (1995) – 8 (rewatch) 

SCREAM (1980) – 3 (deadly dull horror effort made in Texas) 

THE UNSEEN (1980) – 6 (interesting basement lurker/hideous family horror) 

LEPRECHAUN (1993) – 5 (uneasy mixture of kid’s film and bloody horror) 

VILLAGE OF THE DAMNED (1960) – 8 (rewatch on Blu) 

THE MONSTER MAKER (1944) – 5 (rewatch on Blu) (Naish is great in this) 

13 GHOSTS (1960) – 6 (rewatch on Blu) 

ISLE OF THE DEAD (1945) - 7 (rewatch on Blu) 

BLACK AS NIGHT (2021) – 7 (New Orleans set vampire tale) 

DREAM DEMON (1988) – 6 (interesting British rubber reality film) 

THE FINAL TERROR (1983) – 6 (rewatch on Blu) 

FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE WOLF MAN (1943) – 7 (rewatch on Blu)

CIRCUS OF FEAR (1966) – 6 (krimi scares) (rewatch on Blu) 

NO TIME TO DIE (2021) – 9 (an excellent farewell to Craig’s Bond)

REVENGE OF FRANKENSTEIN (1960) – 8 (rewatch on Blu)

THE MAN WITH NINE LIVES (1940) – 6 (rewatch on Blu) 

DARK INTRUDER (1965)- 7 (rewatch on Blu) 

HALLOWEEN (2018) – 8 (rewatch on Blu)

THE DEVIL BAT (1940) – 6 (rewatch on Blu) 

ABBOT AND COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN (1948) – 9 (on the big screen!) 

HALLOWEEN KILLS (2021) – 7 

PLAGUE OF THE ZOMBIES (1966) – 8 (rewatch on Blu) 

LEPRECHAUN 2 (1994) – 4 (pretty blah and typically 90’s) 

DARK AUGUST (1976) – 8 (strong low-key horror tale from Vermont) 

AMITYVILLE: THE EVIL ESCAPES (1989) – 3 (with Rifftrax – 8) 

KING OF THE ZOMBIES (1941) – 7 (rewatch on Blu – Mantan Moreland makes this one) 

PROPHECY (1979) – 6 (rewatch on Blu) (by turns ridiculous and sublime) 

UBALDA, ALL NAKED AND WARM (1972) – 4 (Italian sex comedy set in the Middle Ages) 

HALLOWEEN 4 (1988) – 6 (rewatch on Blu) 

CASTLE FREAK (2020) – 4 (weak remake with some bold ideas) 

BODY COUNT (1986) – 6 (rewatch) (Deodado’s killer in the woods slasher) 

THE MANOR (2021) – 7 (slight but satisfying chiller about aging) 

HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL (1999) – 7 (rewatch on Blu) 

FRIDAY THE 13TH PART VI: JASON LIVES (1986) – 7 (rewatch on Blu) 

THE GHOST AND MR. CHICKEN (1966) – 8 (rewatch on Blu) 

WRONG TURN 3: LEFT FOR DEAD (2009) – 4 (terrible CGI weighs this down) 

THE RAVEN (1963) – 7 (rewatch on Blu) 

DEMENTIA 13 (1963) – 6 (rewatch on Blu)

What I Watched In October

There’s always the fear when a beloved property gets a new interpretation that the new version will fumble the ball. That it will focus on the wrong elements or that the flavor of the entire affair will somehow be off in a way that undermines the original intent destroying the chance for a new audience to experience the idea. I’m happy to report that THE ADDAMS FAMILY (2019) successfully gets things right in bringing Charles Addams’ creepy creations to the world of big budget animation. Pulling ideas from the original magazine cartoons and the live action television show from the 1960’s the film keeps the joy of the darker side of life centered as it tells multiple interlocking stories of the Addams crew getting to know their new neighbors down the hill. The movie starts with a slightly unnecessary origin story about Gomez and Morticia’s wedding but serves as a nice amuse bouche before settling in for the entire meal. The film is scary and funny in the way fans have come to expect and the voice talent is top-notch bringing fantastic nuance to the relationships of the family and the situations that propel the narrative. Good fun all around and I hope it does well enough for a sequel!

Some might think that was pretty audacious to assume that it would be possible to make a successful sequel a full decade after the original film came out and was an unexpected worldwide hit. But the fact is that the people who made the first Zombieland film had no idea that it was going to be a massive hit and really had no idea for a direct follow-up in 2009. Of course, the franchise hasn't been totally moribund in the past 10 years. There was a failed TV series pilot done for Amazon that showed promise but garnered little interest. That could have taken the idea into a potential fun area but maybe the concept requires more than weekly TV can allow for. Now I think we can be very happy that, if you were a fan of the first movie, the writers had as much time as they did to come up with something as fun as this sequel. ZOMBIELAND: DOUBLE TAP (2019) picks up right after the first film and follows our mismatched but loveable quartet to the White House where they set up safe residence and then slowly become bored. In fact, the group dynamics eventually sends the youngest off on her own to find a romantic entanglement that home-life cannot provide. And then the happy couple of the team suffer a crisis of the marital kind making a cross-country journey necessary again. This leads to meeting new survivors in Zombieland and further funny adventures trying to keep everyone alive. This one is at least as fun as the first movie and may actually be better thought out and emotionally satisfying than its predecessor. If they are going to make another one, I hope it happens before 2029. 

The List 

THE MASK OF SATAN (1960) – 9 (rewatch on Blu) 

INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS (1978) – 8 (rewatch on Blu)

THE DEVIL’S NIGHTMARE (1974) - 7 (rewatch on Blu)

FRIDAY THE 13TH (1980) -6 (rewatch) 

MUMMY’S BOYS (1936) – 3 (sad attempt at comedy) 

ABBOT & COSTELLO MEET THE KILLER, BORIS KARLOFF (1949) – 7 (rewatch) 

INSEMINOID (1980) – 4 (rewatch on Blu) 

THE BLACK ROOM (1935) – 7 (Karloff period horror) 

THE BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN (1935) – 8 (rewatch on Blu) 

THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER (1960) – 8 (rewatch on Blu) 

THE ADDAMS FAMILY (2019) – 8 

BEETLEJUICE (1988) – 9 (rewatch at Drive-In!) 

SON OF FRANKENSTEIN (1939) – 9 (rewatch) 

EL CAMINO (2019) – 8 (solid coda to Breaking Bad) 

IN THE TALL GRASS (2019) – 7 (well done King/Hill adaptation) 

CONTAMINATION .7 (1993) – 3 (a.k.a. The Crawlers) Euro-trash plant monster mess) 

THE GHOST OF FRANKENSTIEN (1942) – 7 (rewatch) 

ALIEN (1979) – 10 (40th anniversary rewatch on the big screen) 

MARK OF THE WITCH (1970) – 5 (OK reincarnated witch tale) 

SLEEPAWAY CAMP III: TEENAGE WASTELAND (1987) – 5 (silly but fun) 

SATAN’S DOLL (1969) – 6 (fairly sloppy Italian gothic thriller) 

THE CORRUPTION OF CHRIS MILLER (1973) – 9 (rewatch on Blu) 

MALEVOLENT (2018) – 7 (solid British ghost tale) 

FRIDAY THE 13TH PART 2 (1981) – 7 (rewatch on Blu)

THE ENDLESS (2017) – 7 (well done sci-fi looper) 

THE FOG (1980) – 9 (rewatch) 

THE MUMMY (2017) - 7 (rewatch) 

RETURN TO HORROR HIGH (1987) – 3 (pretty bad horror/comedy) 

BOO! (2018) – 3 (dull, slow horror tale) 

THE INVISIBLE MAN (1933) – 8 (rewatch on Blu) 

ZOMBIELAND: DOUBLE TAP (2019) – 8 

THE GHOST AND MR. CHICKEN (1966) – 8  (rewatch) 

HOUSE OF THE WITCH (2017) – 4 (mediocre, tame haunted house movie) 

THE MUMMY’S CURSE (1944) – 6 (rewatch) 

THE INVITATION (2015) -8 (very good slow burn drama/horror) 

ELVIRA’S HAUNTED HILLS (2001) – 7 (rewatch)

THE UNCANNY (1977) – 6 (not bad anthology horror) 

Charles Addams Cartoons!

And I'm actually looking forward to that new animated Addams Family film!